Metropolitan Tabernacle Church will have Sam Childers, aka "Machine Gun Preacher," as guest speaker at Sunday's 10:30 a.m. service. Mr. Childers is a former Outlaws member who now dedicates his life to rescue children in the war zone of South Sudan. Mr. Childers and his wife, Lynn, founded and operate Angels of East Africa, the Children's Village Orphanage in Nimule, South Sudan, where they currently have more than 300 children in their care.The worship will be led by Pastor's Adam and Olivia Aziz and Metro Praise and Band.Children's Pastor's Brian and Brittni Raff have a great experience in store for Metro Kidz Church. The nursery will be open.There will be a meet and greet after the service under the big tent with the senior pastors and the pastoral staff.The service may be viewed live on Facebook or at www.metrotab.net. For more information call 894-3377.Merge Youth happens each Wednesday at 6 p.m. under the care of Pastors Larry and Chanel Montgomery.
Written by Meagan Drillinger

Mar 25, 2021

Oaxaca is often referred to as Mexico's "last coast." When first you feast your eyes on its enigmatic coastline, it will be easy to see why. Backed by the rugged Sierra Sur mountains, the best beaches in Oaxaca run along a jagged coastline that weaves in and out of rocky bays and inlets. Hidden from view until you're right up on them, the best beaches in Oaxaca are protected like secrets, which is probably why this is one of the last remaining coasts in Mexico to draw mass-market tourism.

The beaches in Oaxaca, La Costa Oaxaquena, stretch for hundreds of miles of Pacific Ocean along the southern heel of Mexico. While most travelers are visiting Oaxaca for the attractions of its highland eponymous city, known for its cuisine, architecture, and history, some of the best kept secrets of the state of Oaxaca can be found along its coastline.

It's difficult to name the best beaches in Oaxaca, as so many are worthy of mention. What they all have in common is an off-the-radar status, a fiercely loyal local community, and an authenticity so rarely captured in larger destinations with a more obvious tourism presence. Get ready for thatched palapa beach huts, fiery sunsets, and a ubiquitous motto of, "no shirt, no shoes, no problem."

If you're ready to discover the best beaches in Oaxaca, this would be the best place to start.

Note: Some businesses may be temporarily closed due to recent global health and safety issues.
A 31-year-old emotional counselor specializes in breaking up married Chinese men from their mistresses and making sure they return to their wives, who are also his clients.

Xiao Sheng has been in the business of breaking up married men from their mistresses for six years, and has come a long way since he first started his unique business. He now has an 8-person staff working alongside him, including a situation analysts, and a customer service manager, as well as actors and directors ready to assist him when certain scenarios need to be staged. His techniques can get very complex, and very expensive, with the average contract costing the client a hefty 150,000 yuan ($23,000).

In a recent interview, the young emotional counselor detailed some of his most recent cases and the ways in which he handled them. Last fall, he was hired by a woman whose husband had been cheating with a younger woman, so he posed as a vacation planner and organized a short getaway for the married couple. During the vacation, the husband received a letter from a stranger, warning him to break up with his mistress as soon as possible because she had a new boyfriend. The envelope also included some photos as evidence.

During the 10-day vacation, the husband had plenty of time to asses his situation, and mend the relationship with his wife. When they returned home, he broke off the relationship with the mistress, never knowing that Xiao Sheng had set up his mistress and arranged for him to receive compromising pictures of the woman.

For his services in the case presented above, Xiao Sheng received a fee of 200,000 yuan ($30,000), which the cheated wife was more than glad to pay to have the interfering mistress discretely removed from the picture. Apparently, such clients are not at all rare, even though the 31-year-old entrepreneur never makes any kind of guarantees, as there are always too many uncontrollable factors.

Although most times Xiao Sheng and his team will find ways to get the married men to break off with their mistresses, sometimes they will approach the women directly and try to convince them that the best thing for them would be to break off the relationship with the married man. Thats a very difficult and time-consuming feat to pull off.

A big part of Xiao Shengs service is analyzing the situation and all the parties involved and coming up with the best way to smoothly solve the problem, Sometimes they will hire an attractive actor to seduce the mistress and secretly photograph the two together, to later send the married man photos as proof of her infidelity, other times they will follow her around to see if she has any secrets that can be exploited.

While the young emotional counselor is dedicated to keeping married couple together by discretely getting rid of the third wheel, other services are stress testing peoples relationships by renting out love testers who do their best to try and seduce one of the partners to see how faithful they really are.


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.
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.
Uthaka Energy has been interdicted from mining coal in the critical water source area of Mabola, Mpumalanga, until legal challenges to the mine have been settled.

The urgent court application was brought by a coalition of environmental and civil society organisations.

The legal battle to stop the mine has been waged for six years.

Mabola is one of only 22 protected areas that together supply more than half of the country's fresh water.

In yet another turn in what is already a six-year legal battle, Uthaka Energy (Pty) Ltd, a coal-mining company, has been interdicted by the Pretoria High Court from mining in one of South Africa's critical water source areas.

A coalition of civil society organisations brought the urgent interdict application against Uthaka Energy (formerly known as Atha-Africa Ventures), a local subsidiary of India-based mining and minerals company Atha Group, which had planned to start operations at its Yzermyn underground coal mine at Mabola, Mpumalanga, this week.

Read the court order

The proposed mine lies within a Strategic Water Source Area in the grasslands and wetlands of the Wakkerstroom area, one of only 22 areas that together produce more than half of South Africa's freshwater requirements.

Until January this year, the proposed mining area was also included within the Mabola Protected Environment, a protected area declared under the Protected Areas Act in 2014.

Any mining within a formally protected area requires the joint permission of two cabinet ministers: the Minister of the Environment, Forestry & Fisheries and the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy.

However, after several flip-flops, Mpumalanga environment MEC Vusi Shongwe in January this year revoked the protected area status of Mabola, effectively allowing the proposed coal mine to proceed without the joint ministerial permissions.

The coalition has been working since 2015 to block the proposed mine, and to undo various approvals and permits already obtained by the mine. It has five court challenges pending and has announced that it will shortly bring a sixth - against Shongwe's change of protected status of Mabola.

On 5 March, after Uthaka Energy had given notice of its intention to start mining (as required in terms of an earlier court ruling), the coalition brought the urgent interdict application in which it asked the court to block any mining until all its other legal challenges had been adjudicated.

In a founding affidavit by coalition member Nkwane Thobejane of the Mining and Environmental Justice Community Network of South Africa, the coalition argued that starting mining operations at Yzermyn would cause "irreparable harm to the wetlands, grasslands and other aspects of the environment".

"It would also cause irreparable harm to the occupiers of the affected homestead and subsistence farmers ... The applicants are justified in seeking an urgent interdict to prevent the harm to this highly sensitive area of environmental importance from materialising."

In an answering affidavit, Uthaka Energy senior vice-president Praveer Tripathi argued that the mine had been authorised by all the relevant authorities and was at a stage where mining could lawfully start - "despite the barrage of litigation by the Applicants [the coalition] in which they sought for the past decade to delay and derail this development completely".

Tripathi said the mine met all the requirements for a sustainable development "as contemplated by the Constitution".

However, the court ruled in favour of the coalition and issued an order interdicting Uthaka Energy from conducting any mining activities and mining-related operations, other than the survey pegging of the surface infrastructure boundary of the mine and pegging to demarcate wetlands in terms of its approved plan.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines South Africa Legal Affairs Mining By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

The interdict will remain in force until the final determination of a series of reviews and appeals being brought by the coalition that include full judicial review applications of the mine's water use licences, its mining right and of its environmental authorisation.

In a statement after the interdict was granted, the coalition said it was "relieved that the court has granted a reprieve to allow proper judicial assessment of the legal proceedings underway before the environmental harm is caused".

The coalition members are the Mining and Environmental Justice Communities Network of South Africa, groundWork, BirdLife South Africa, the Endangered Wildlife Trust, the Federation for a Sustainable Environment, the Association for Water and Rural Development (AWARD) and the Bench Marks Foundation, and they are represented by the Centre for Environmental Rights.
Gun owners could be in trouble after hackers breached their sensitive information on Guns.Com. These online attackers leaked their personal data on Dark Web.

Also Read: FatFace Gets Hacked But Sends Discreet Email to Customers, Saying to Keep it Secret Despite Losing Sensitive Information!

According to Gizmodo's latest report, the latest online attack might be a big one since the mentioned website is used by many U.S. citizens interested in buying guns and other weapons. The online store also allows its consumers to have their purchases delivered right at their doorsteps.

The massive attack started in January when the cybercriminals temporarily disabled the website's system. Because of this, the company's regular retail operations were stopped, forcing the owner of the gun retail store to apologize to its consumers.

"First, we want to apologize for any inconvenience this has caused our customers," said the company via its official blog post.

"We are working hard to make sure that any and all orders that were impacted are fulfilled satisfactorily, and fully expect to be able to do so," added the retail store.

What the leaked data on Dark Web contains

Security experts confirmed that the hackers were able to leak the gun owners' IDs, email addresses, full names, phone numbers, hashed passwords, and more. They explained that the most alarming info that was leaked is the physical addresses of the customers.

Hackers were able specifically to acquire their zip, state, and city code information.

Aside from these details, the leaked file also contains the information of the firearms providers, who usually sell their guns on the platform.

Possible reason why the hackers breached the platform

Guns.com explained that the main reason for the online attackers is probably to stop their business from operating. The company even claimed that there are no signs of stealing their data.

However, their statemet turned out to be incorrect after security researchers discovered a large file cache, which was leaked on the popular Dark Web site called Raid Forums. Security researchers claimed that the cybercriminals might have leaked the administrative data as well.

They added that the leaked excel file shows sensitive login details of Guns.com's consumers such as WordPress, MYSQL, and Cloud credentials. However, the security experts said that it is not confirmed yet if the mentioned details are the only ones leaked on the Dark Web.

For more news updates about the Guns.com attack and other security breaches, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

Related Article: US Navy Wants People to Breach Its System: How to Join and Common Hacking Methods Use

This article is owned by TechTimes.

Written by: Giuliano de Leon.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
- By GF Value





The stock of Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ, 30-year Financials) gives every indication of being modestly overvalued, according to GuruFocus Value calculation. GuruFocus Value is GuruFocus' estimate of the fair value at which the stock should be traded. It is calculated based on the historical multiples that the stock has traded at, the past business growth and analyst estimates of future business performance. If the price of a stock is significantly above the GF Value Line, it is overvalued and its future return is likely to be poor. On the other hand, if it is significantly below the GF Value Line, its future return will likely be higher. At its current price of $30.09 per share and the market cap of $35.8 billion, Canadian Natural Resources stock appears to be modestly overvalued. GF Value for Canadian Natural Resources is shown in the chart below.





Canadian Natural Resources Stock Is Believed To Be Modestly Overvalued

Because Canadian Natural Resources is relatively overvalued, the long-term return of its stock is likely to be lower than its business growth.

Link: These companies may deliever higher future returns at reduced risk.

Since investing in companies with low financial strength could result in permanent capital loss, investors must carefully review a company's financial strength before deciding whether to buy shares. Looking at the cash-to-debt ratio and interest coverage can give a good initial perspective on the company's financial strength. Canadian Natural Resources has a cash-to-debt ratio of 0.02, which ranks in the bottom 10% of the companies in Oil & Gas industry. Based on this, GuruFocus ranks Canadian Natural Resources's financial strength as 3 out of 10, suggesting poor balance sheet. This is the debt and cash of Canadian Natural Resources over the past years:

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Is Believed To Be Modestly Overvalued

It poses less risk to invest in profitable companies, especially those that have demonstrated consistent profitability over the long term. A company with high profit margins is also typically a safer investment than one with low profit margins. Canadian Natural Resources has been profitable 7 over the past 10 years. Over the past twelve months, the company had a revenue of $13.1 billion and loss of $0.209 a share. Its operating margin is -2.54%, which ranks in the middle range of the companies in Oil & Gas industry. Overall, GuruFocus ranks the profitability of Canadian Natural Resources at 6 out of 10, which indicates fair profitability. This is the revenue and net income of Canadian Natural Resources over the past years:

Story continues

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Is Believed To Be Modestly Overvalued

Growth is probably one of the most important factors in the valuation of a company. GuruFocus' research has found that growth is closely correlated with the long-term performance of a company's stock. If a company's business is growing, the company usually creates value for its shareholders, especially if the growth is profitable. Likewise, if a company's revenue and earnings are declining, the value of the company will decrease. Canadian Natural Resources's 3-year average revenue growth rate is in the middle range of the companies in Oil & Gas industry%. Canadian Natural Resources's 3-year average EBITDA growth rate is -12.3%, which ranks worse than 69% of the companies in Oil & Gas industry.

Another way to evaluate a company's profitability is to compare its return on invested capital (ROIC) to its weighted cost of capital (WACC). Return on invested capital (ROIC) measures how well a company generates cash flow relative to the capital it has invested in its business. The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is the rate that a company is expected to pay on average to all its security holders to finance its assets. If the ROIC is higher than the WACC, it indicates that the company is creating value for shareholders. Over the past 12 months, Canadian Natural Resources's ROIC was -0.30, while its WACC came in at 10.32. The historical ROIC vs WACC comparison of Canadian Natural Resources is shown below:

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Is Believed To Be Modestly Overvalued

In closing, the stock of Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ, 30-year Financials)is estimated to be modestly overvalued. The company's financial condition is poor and its profitability is fair. Its growth ranks worse than 69% of the companies in Oil & Gas industry. To learn more about Canadian Natural Resources stock, you can check out its 30-year Financials here. To find out the high quality companies that may deliever above average returns, please check out GuruFocus High Quality Low Capex Screener. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


The tenth anniversary of the conflict in Syria that began on March 5, 2011 was greeted with deafening silence in Washington, D.C. Though the Biden administration would favor a political settlement of the conflict and is conscious of humanitarian problems of displaced civilians in the area of Idlib, it has not settled on any policy on Syria, which appears to rank relatively low on its list of global and regional priorities. At present, it has no intention of drawing another "red line" as the Obama administration did.

In contrast, it comes as no surprise that the Russian Wagner Group, a paramilitary organization and private military company headed by Yevgeny Prigozhin, an oligarch and a close friend of President Vladimir Putin, has taken part in the civil war in Syria, as well as in a number of other countries, including Ukraine, Sudan, Libya, Venezuela, Azerbaijan, and Germany. It is, however, a surprise that three human rights groups, from France, Russia, and Syria, have been able in March 2021 to file a criminal complaint, a landmark criminal case, in Moscow over the torture by Wagner of a detainee in Syria.

This provides a rare opportunity for the U.S. and the international community not only to learn more about the activities of Wagner and its deployment across the Middle East and Africa, but also to realize the continuing involvement of Russia in the civil war in Syria, the most important proxy war of our age with its regional and international dimensions.

The Syrian conflict began in March 2011, after an initially peaceful protest in Deraa, inspired by uprisings for reform in neighboring Arab counties, against the existing Ba'athist Arab regime of Bashar Assad, originally an ophthalmologist who inherited power from his father Hafez. The protests were brutally crushed, propelling Syria into a civil war that has embroiled a mixture of domestic and foreign forces on both sides. The conflict has caused more than 500,000 deaths and the displacement of 13 million, half of the pre-war population.

At the height of the conflict in 2014, forces opposed to the Assad regime controlled most of the country east of the Euphrates and much of the north of the country, and fighting continued in the main cities and threatened Damascus. Assad had lost the provincial capitals of Idlib and Raqqa, and several provinces, in spite of his use of air strikes, barrel bombs, and chemical attacks. The Islamic State declared areas across the Syrian-Iraq border as a caliphate.

The tide began to turn in favor of Assad only with intervention on his behalf by countries opposing his removal from office, most notably Russia, whose intervention in 2015 was crucial. That intervention prevented the collapse of the Assad regime, and helped lead to eliminating or marginalizing of opposition forces, recapturing of East Aleppo; Raqqa; and eastern Ghouta, a suburb of Damascus, along with the taking of Baghouz in 2019 that ended the caliphate, and the Syrian-Russian offensive in Idlib in 2020 that caused dissidents to flee to Turkey.

Assad, therefore, remains, at least temporally, in power, but complications exist, and the country is still divided into enclaves and has a Kurdish presence. One of the most complex concerns is religious differences. Assad is an Alawite, a sect of Shia Islam, which has 500,000 Syrian adherents, 17% of the total population, of which three quarters are Sunni Islam who see them as heretics. Alawites are not simply a secret sect but are, though Arab, also a semi-ethnic group. No longer second-class citizens, the Alawites, in conjunction with the Ba'ath party, secular and nationalist, control the senior military and security, the republican guard, and the air force, though most of the pilots are Sunni.

It is improbable that the case concerning the Wagner mercenary organization will ever come to trial, but it may lead to appraising the Russian involvement in the Syrian civil war and its substantial support for the Assad regime in Syria. That entrance may be explained for a reason of reasons. Possibly, though unlikely, it was the result of the visit to Moscow in July 2015 of General Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Iranian Quds Force, assassinated in January 2020 by the U.S. in Baghdad, calling for Russia to intervene to save Assad.

Russia has been interested in playing a role in the Middle East, in Syria and in Libya, after its loss of influence following the end of the Soviet Union. It wanted to prevent or halt the spread of terrorism, especially the threat of the Islamist State (I.S. or ISIS). It acted in the area with an air strike against the Islamists after the U.N. Security Council on November 20, 2015 unanimously called on all members to "redouble" action against ISIS. It upheld, militarily and politically, the Assad regime, which would have fallen, and indeed the very existence, the territorial integrity, of Syria as a country. In the U.N., Russia has protected Assad, vetoing 16 Security Council Resolutions critical of Syria. For its own advantage, Russia has used Syria as a testing ground for its new weapons systems, estimated at 600, including the T-14 Armata battle tank, and systems for its air force. It has become a powerful player in the region, politically and in diplomatic arrangements, such as the Astana Process talks.

These talks, in Astana (renamed Nur-Sultan), Kazakhstan, officially launched in January 2017, bring together Russia, Turkey, and Iran to seek a ceasefire, reduction of violence, and peace talks. They are based on and go beyond U.N. Security Council Resolution 2254 of December 18, 2015, which calls for a transitional governing body to end the conflict in Syria. Russia organized a series of meetings in Astana, including groups close to representatives of Assad, Turkey, and Iran-backed militias. Russia devised various military alternatives, and reconciliation deals with local fighters. These meetings suggest to the international community that Russia, and to a lesser degree Turkey and Iran, are the decisive players in any settlement in Syria, and who are willing to act and use military force to change the political contours.

The Astana format was established to help negotiate an end to the Syrian conflict. It did bring together representatives of Assad with some opposition groups who were not demanding Assad's resignation. But it is more a Russian showcase than an effort to create a genuine negotiating process. The most recent meeting of Astana, held in Russian Sochi in February 2021, purportedly on a constitutional process for Syria was deadlocked.

However, in effect, the process has a triple-purpose: it has been a means of protecting Assad in power, it has sidelined the U.S. in the area, and it has indicated the bilateral links between Russia and military forces on the ground with consequences favorable to Russia's goals.

Russia is still assisting Assad, calling for the lifting of international sanctions against Syria, and is anxious to oppose jihadists. Its record is clear. After it had been supplying the Syrian army with arms and equipment, Russia directly intervened in the war in September 2015, the first time in recent years that Russia has been involved in an armed conflict outside the borders of the former Soviet Union. Starting with strikes by its air force against militant opposition groups such as the Syrian National Coalition, the Islamist State, al-Qaeda, and the al Nusra Front, Russia increased its participation, with special operations forces and military advisers, fighting to retake territory from anti- government groups, and above all to keep Assad in power against the combination of rebels, jihadists, and outside forces. In February 2020, Russian Sukhoi SU-34 planes accompanied Syrian SU-22 fighter jets in bombing Turkish- backed rebel forces in Idlib province.

Russia now has a permanent military presence in air and naval bases in Syria. By agreement in January 2017, it is allowed to expand its naval facility at Tartus, Russia's only overseas base, and can harbor eleven warships, including nuclear ships. It has an air base in Latakia, which has recently become a component of the Russian permanent military contingent stationed in Syria.

Undoubtedly, Russia is now increasingly influential in the Middle East, a part of its overall political ambition. Economically, it is planning investments in the country and preparing to make it a vital transit place for its oil and gas shipments.

What should the U.S. now do or intervene to counter Russia in Syria? Should there be a new, effective red line, especially if the Assad regime again uses chemical weapons? Should the U.S engage in air strikes, as the Trump administration did on a number of occasions  on April 7, 2017 and April 14, 2018  to prevent further use of those weapons and to defeat jihadists? It is time for the Biden administration to formulate its policy on Syria.

Image via Good Free Photos.
Hagerstown Housing Authority closes in on end of McCleary Hill project

After objections from neighbors, the Hagerstown Housing Authority's McCleary Hill project is done its first phase. Officials held an open house.


Receives Final Payment For Menzies

Perth, Mar 25, 2021 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Horizon Minerals Limited ( ASX:HRZ ) is pleased to advise the receipt of the final cash and share payment for the divestment of the Menzies and Goongarrie gold projects.As announced to the ASX on 9 July 2019 and 18 September 2019, the Company agreed to divest its 100% interest in the projects to Kingwest Resources Limited ( ASX:KWR ) ("Kingwest") for a total consideration of $8 million on the following terms:- An initial deposit of $750,000 cash- On settlement:o A further $1M in cash; ando Issuing 20M ordinary shares in Kingwest to Horizon at a deemed issue price of $0.15 per share subject to voluntary escrow from date of issue to the earlier of (a) 18 months following settlement and (b) 3 months following the payment of the deferred consideration.- A deferred payment no later than 18 months after settlement of:o A further $1.625m in cash; ando $1.625m in value of ordinary shares in Kingwest at a deemed issue price being the lower of $0.15 per share and the 30-day VWAP (subject to shareholder approval and Horizon not exceeding 19.9% ownership in Kingwest).The Company has now received the deferred $1.625 million cash payment and 10.83 million shares in Kingwest, taking the total shareholding to 30.83m shares representing 18.7% of the issued capital.As a result, Horizon's cash at bank totals $9.8 million and holds $5.6 million in listed investments.About Horizon Minerals Limited

Horizon Minerals Limited (ASX:HRZ) is a gold exploration and mining company focussed on the Kalgoorlie and Menzies areas of Western Australia which are host to some of Australia's richest gold deposits. The Company is developing a mining pipeline of projects to generate cash and self-fund aggressive exploration, mine developments and further acquisitions. The Teal gold mine has been recently completed.

Horizon is aiming to significantly grow its JORC-Compliant Mineral Resources, complete definitive feasibility studies on core high grade open cut and underground projects and build a sustainable development pipeline.

Horizon has a number of joint ventures in place across multiple commodities and regions of Australia providing exposure to Vanadium, Copper, PGE's, Gold and Nickel/Cobalt. Our quality joint venture partners are earning in to our project areas by spending over $20 million over 5 years enabling focus on the gold business while maintaining upside leverage.
Massachusetts is shifting its focus to get COVID-19 vaccines to homebound residents, starting with the launch of a phone line to get these residents appointments.

The state plans to launch an in-home vaccinations phone line Monday to connect the estimated 25,000 residents to in-home appointments. The program will be led by Commonwealth Care Alliance with help from 170 local boards of health.

This program is designed for individuals who have considerable difficulty and/or require significant support to leave the home for medical appointments, Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders said during a news briefing Thursday morning at the Massachusetts State House.

Homebound residents can call 1-844-771-1628. The line is staffed 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. There are English and Spanish lines, and translators are available in 100 other languages.

The phone lines will connect residents to in-home vaccinations administered by health care providers, councils on aging and other community organizations, Sudders said.

While the state wants to make the signup process as barrier-free as possible, Sudders said there will be a screening process for those who request in-home vaccinations.

There is a series of questions well ask: Where do you get your care now? How do you receive it now? Sudders asked.

If someone is not eligible for in-home vaccination, the phone line staff will connect the person to other resources through the call center or transportation resources through MassHealth or community services, Sudders said.

This is very much like a velcro kind of a connection, Sudders said. Its not just handing somebody off with the telephone number.

The program will start out with roughly 10,000 doses of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, part of a 40,000 shipment the state is receiving this week from the federal government.

Citing Bloomberg, Gov. Charlie Baker said Massachusetts is the first large state in the country to administer at least one COVID-19 vaccine shot to 30% of the population.

The state has fully vaccinated 1.1 million people, meaning they have received both doses of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Altogether, the state has reported more than 2 million people have received at least one dose, between the first dose of a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine and those who have been able to get a Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Were optimistic the federal government will deliver on bigger shipments on vaccines as we go forward so we can continue to make progress and make sure that the vaccine is available to everybody who wants one, Baker said.

But the state is seeing an increase in new cases, particularly among residents under age 30. State health officials on Wednesday reported another 1,865 new COVID-19 cases and 54 deaths, which bring the death toll from the pandemic to 16,632. Hospitalizations also increased to 628 Wednesday, up from 608 a day earlier.

It remains critically important for all residents, especially young people, to continue to practice prevention strategies and not let down their guard, Baker said. He also reminded the public of safety workplace requirements in place across several sectors of the state economy. We urge the public to continue to be vigilant with respect to the virus.

Vaccines are here, and thats a great thing, he added, but were still in a race against time, especially as supply remains constrained.

Related Content:


By Spencer H. Kim





As a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, I have read and heard from many foreign policy experts.



As a co-founder of the Pacific Century Institute, which has funded many projects related to "building bridges of understanding" with North Korea over 30 years, I have talked to many North Korean officials, economic planners and even military officers, both in the U.S. and on my many trips to North Korea, some of which included travel outside Pyongyang.



I spent a year at Harvard as a resident fellow studying North-South issues and learning from the bright brains assembled there.



I have boiled what I have learned down to three incisive quotes from three very incisive men that, together, cut to the heart of the North Korean nuclear issue.



In a Q&A after receiving the Pacific Century Institute's "Building Bridges Award" in 2020, Dr. Siegfried Hecker, the leading expert on North Korea's nuclear program, was asked, "Will Kim Jong-un give up his nuclear weapons?"



He answered, "I don't know, and I don't think Kim Jong-un knows. It will depend on if the ROK and U.S. give him an offer that he thinks will be better for him than keeping his nuclear weapons."



Former Secretary of Defense William Perry summed up his famous review of U.S. policy toward North Korea in 2000 by saying, "We have to deal with North Korea as it is, not as we want it to be." And, he added, the most important goal for Kim is regime survival.



There is no such thing as a double superlative. Only one thing can be most important. If what is good for the Kim regime is what is most important, the idea that North Korea will never give up its nuclear weapons is bunk  if the regime sees something else as better.



But what will Kim see as his best choice? Denuclearize first and, "After you have done that completely, we promise we will give you all the economic assistance you need and you can trade freely with the world and we will never, ever sanction you again, for example, for human rights violations. And we promise new presidents elected in the U.S. or ROK will never, ever change this policy, and would never, ever think of attacking or threatening you militarily."



On the other hand, international, U.S. and ROK sanctions tie Kim's hands and make China his only effective economic partner. The overbearing, bossy China that would love to make its Korean buffer state a tributary de facto province. (See not only the fraught history of China-Korea relations but the Hu Jintao/Jang Song-thaek/Zhou Yongkang/Kim Yong-nam saga). As the saying goes, when the door is open, the North curses the U.S., but when it is closed, it curses China.



Is the ROK the benevolent big brother, the solution? Twice as big population-wise, 70 times the GDP, vibrant democracy, free speech, cosmopolitan, alluring culture  perhaps for a little sunshine, but get too close and get burned. In a meeting in Pyongyang in 2014 discussing North Korea's long-range economic plan, I asked a high-ranking official what his most pressing need was.



He replied, "English language training for our economic development cadre." The long-range wish/plan is not China or South Korea, but the broad world as a balancer to the two all-too-close neighbors.



Enter the third gentleman, Dwight Eisenhower, and his famous quote: "Whenever I run into a problem I can't solve, I always make it bigger. I can never solve it by trying to make it smaller, but if I make it big enough, I can begin to see the outlines of a solution."



My year at Harvard led me to the conclusion there was no untying bit by bit of the Gordian knot that is the North Korean nuclear issue. Only a powerful stroke that cuts all the tangled strands has a chance.



A treaty, entered into by the U.S., both Koreas, China, Japan and maybe Russia, with a step by step, time-phased internationally verified denuclearization may persuade Kim Jong-un the process can be trusted if he has received removal of sanctions and a build-up and diversification of his economy has taken place as the weapons are drawn down.



And the treaty has security guarantees from all the parties, paired with meaningful confidence-building measures. Coincidentally, the daily life of the average North Korean would probably be more enhanced than it would ever be by a human rights pressure campaign.



A treaty involving all the main players in Northeast Asia, one focused on a weapons control regime and economic development, would likely rapidly expand into issues of regional security architecture and regional economic cooperation. But given the instability in the region being engendered by China's rise and the U.S./allied search for a response, is that a bad thing? Is Dwight right?



Does expansion of the North Korean nuclear issue not only bring into focus the outlines of a solution to that problem, but can it also be less of an intractable headache, and more of the convening catalyst to address a much bigger issue?



I think it is possible Kim could be persuaded. Especially if any military/security and economic development institutions created by the treaty are sited in the North.



Spencer H. Kim is CEO of CBOL Corp., a California aerospace company. He is a co-founder of the Pacific Century Institute and a member of the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations. He was appointed by President Bush to represent the U.S. on the APEC Business Advisory Council for 2006-08. He was a resident fellow at Harvard's Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation in 2012-13.




Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 19:39:56|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

BEIJING, March 25 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

- - - -

KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysia recorded 1,360 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing its total tally to 338,168, according to its Health Ministry on Thursday.

Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a press statement that one of the new cases is imported and 1,359 other are local transmissions.

- - - -

MOSCOW -- Russia confirmed 9,221 coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, raising the cumulative count to 4,492,692, the official monitoring and response center said Thursday.

The center said that 10,881 patients recovered from the virus over the previous day, taking the number of recoveries to 4,109,281.

- - - -

BEIJING -- The COVID-19 vaccine assistance provided by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) to some foreign militaries is not out of any geopolitical calculation or attached to political strings, a Chinese military spokesperson said Thursday.

Upon approval by the Central Military Commission, the PLA recently sent several batches of COVID-19 vaccines to the Pakistani, Cambodian, Mongolian and Philippine militaries, according to Ren Guoqiang, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense.

- - - -

PHNOM PENH -- Cambodia on Thursday confirmed two more deaths from the COVID-19, bringing the total number of deaths in the country to seven, the Ministry of Health (MoH) said in a statement.

The deceased patients were identified as a 43-year-old Chinese man living in southern Kandal province and a 38-year-old Cambodian man residing in capital Phnom Penh, the statement said, adding that they both confirmed to have COVID-19 on March 11 and 16, respectively.

- - - -

BANGKOK -- Thailand confirmed 97 cases of coronavirus infections on Thursday, mostly in Bangkok, according to a report of the Center for the COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).

Of these new cases, 92 were domestic infections and five others referred to imported cases, the CCSA report said.

- - - -

SYDNEY -- Health experts have identified a unique variant of COVID-19 stemming from a surge of cases in Papua New Guinea.

According to a statement released on Thursday by the Australian State of Queensland Health Department, the new variant was the most common detected in travellers from PNG who were assessed in Australia.

- - - -

MANILA -- The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported on Thursday 8,773 new COVID-19 infections, the highest ever daily tally since the outbreak began in January last year, raising the nationwide tally in the Southeast Asian country to 693,048.

The DOH said there are now 99,891 active cases in the Philippines.

The death toll climbed to 13,095 after 56 more patients died from the viral disease, the DOH added. Enditem
A study funded and led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will evaluate how well COVID-19 vaccines prevent laboratory-confirmed, symptomatic COVID-19 in healthcare workers in the real world, outside of a clinical trial. The study, currently enrolling healthcare workers at 34 sites nationwide, is one of many projects analyzing the real-world protection afforded by COVID-19 vaccines.

CDC is leveraging four existing programs, each with multiple sites, to evaluate COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness among healthcare workers across 26 states:

Vaccine effectiveness studies allow researchers to assess how well vaccines protect people from illness in real-world conditions. The real-world effectiveness of vaccines may be affected if vaccination process requirements, such as vaccine storage and dosing intervals, are less strictly adhered to than they were in clinical trials. These real-world effectiveness studies may also enable researchers to evaluate vaccine effectiveness in groups not included in clinical trials, such as people with underlying medical conditions. Additionally, they can help inform COVID-19 vaccine policy decisions made by the U.S. Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

user md solid icon Healthcare workers with COVID-19 symptoms will be eligible to enroll, and the vaccination status of healthcare workers who test positive for SARS-CoV-2 will be compared with that of healthcare workers who test negative for SARS-CoV-2. Initial results will be available in the coming months.

CDC is investing more than $11 million to support the study partners through various mechanisms. These include a cooperative agreement with the Emerging Infections Program (EIP); a cooperative agreement with EMERGEncy ID NET for Project PREVENT; an Interagency Agreement with the Denali Commission; and contracts with SHEPheRD.

Study Partners

CDC Arctic Investigations Program (AIP) sites include the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) and the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation (YKHC). In Alaska, the project will be implemented through a collaboration between the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC), Southcentral Foundation (SCF), Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation (YKHC), and CDC AIP.

EIP sites include a mix of hospitals and long-term care facilities selected in the following states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Tennessee.

Project PREVENT participating medical centers include:

Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, MA;

Brigham and Womens Hospital, Boston, MA;

Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami, FL;

Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA;

Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA;

Truman Medical Centers, Kansas City, MO;

University of Alabama Hospital, Birmingham, AL;

Community Regional Medical Center/UCSF, Fresno, CA;

University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL;

University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA;

University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center, Worcester, MA;

LCMC Health Hospitals, New Orleans, LA;

University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS;

University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Parkland Hospital, Dallas, TX;

University of Washington Hospitals, Seattle, WA; and

Valleywise Health Medical Center, Phoenix, AZ.

SHEPheRD participants include:
Sections 1005 and 1006 of the American Rescue Plan were roundly hailed as an overdue legislative victory for Black farmers, with The Washington Post describing the $4 billion debt relief program as the most significant legislation for Black farmers since the Civil Rights Act.

Even opponents of the measure zeroed in on its significance to the African American community. U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham referred to the aid as reparations, a term generally associated with monetary compensation for the descendants of enslaved people.

(He ought to be ashamed of himself, U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn told CNN in response, suggesting his fellow South Carolinian is familiar with the plight of Black farmers.)

Yet the word Black doesnt appear anywhere in the portion of the bill addressing longstanding inequities in agriculture. Instead, the funding is reserved for socially-disadvantaged farmers, ranchers and forest landowners, a group which includes American Indians or Alaskan natives, Hispanics and Asians or Pacific Islanders.

That broad definition concerns some advocates for Black farmers. They want to make sure Black farmers in particular benefit from the supplementary research, education and extension programs outlined in the act, since they were uniquely hurt by governmental bias.

Over the past century, Black farmers in the U.S. have lost approximately 90 percent of their land holdings. While that statistic cant be attributed to any one factor, scholars estimate discriminatory policies have cost Black farmers $250 billion to $350 billion.

There are loopholes created to just take another pile of money and result in more disenfranchisement, said Germaine Jenkins, co-founder and chief farm officer of Fresh Future Farm in North Charleston and chair of the S.C. Black Farmer Coalition. The Coalition on March 28-29 is hosting its third annual S.C. Black Farmers Conference, sponsored by Fresh Future Farm.

I want to ensure the waters dont get muddied, so money allocated to those who have been harmed by anti-Black racism doesnt get scooped up, Jenkins said.

Black farmers will not be in competition with other farmers for debt relief, according to a congressional source familiar with the legislation, which forgives up to 120 percent of the value of loans given or guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. So long as farmers qualify for loan repayments, they will receive them.

But the USDA has not yet disclosed publicly how it intends to administer other elements of the program. A USDA representative did not return messages seeking comment.

One thing were interested in is ensuring new farmers learn the ropes, said Jenkins, the subject of a new documentary about seeking justice in the food sphere. And college is not the only way: I learned from a Black elder. He was able to tell me all the roadblocks. The coalition provided its feedback, so hopefully its still under discussion.

Media representatives for Clyburn and U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., who introduced the Emergency Relief for Farmers of Color Act, also did not respond when asked how the legislation would help Black farmers specifically.

Regarding the perception that Black Americans are overlooked when the feds dole out money, an impression deepened by flaws in the first round of the Paycheck Protection Program, cultural sociologist Ellen Berrey said there is remarkably little data on the topic.

Sign up for our food & dining newsletter. We publish our free Food & Dining newsletter every Wednesday at 10 a.m. to keep you informed on everything happening in the Charleston culinary scene. Sign up today! Email

Sign Up!

Government set asides can be very hard to study because there are many different kinds and they are not well tracked, said Berrey, author of "The Enigma of Diversity: The Language of Race and the Limits of Racial Justice."

Still, proponents of justice for Black farmers emphasize the stimulus package is just a start. U.S. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey in a press conference said, This is our first step. We must provide more access to credit and land for these farmers who have suffered this long history of wretched and painful discrimination.

Booker reiterated his commitment to enacting the entirety of the Justice for Black Farmers Act, which would establish land grants for Black farmers and create a civil rights oversight board within the USDA, among other measures.

In South Carolina, state Rep. JA Moore this session introduced the Black Farmer Restoration Program. Under his program, Black farmers who found land they wanted to buy could apply to the state for a grant to purchase it.

I wanted to be very specific on the language of the bill, Moore said. This is specifically for Black folks of African descent: This isnt minority restoration. This legislation is all about people brought here during slavery (who) were disproportionately discriminated against.

He added, I didnt want to be nuanced. I wanted to be clear.

Moores bill didnt go anywhere in the House, which is the outcome he anticipated. He said a few colleagues dismissed it as too radical, a charge Moore contests  he points out land grants were instrumental in the 19th century development of the Midwest and West. Others were troubled by singling out a racial group.

This isnt taking anything away from farmers of other racial backgrounds, Moore said. I voted for the farm bill and will continue to be supportive of all farms. This legislation goes a step further because we know the percentage of African Americans who can get access to funds to start farms is minimal at best and egregious at worst.

By facilitating the creation of new farms, Moore said, South Carolina would increase its supply of locally grown food, which he characterizes as an economic and environmental win for the state.

Yet Moore recognizes that the proposed legislation is unprecedented.

Other states, including Mississippi and Hawaii, have taken up farmer equity bills, but there arent any land grant programs for Black farmers in place. State legislatures are more inclined to consider resolutions calling upon departments of agriculture to address the issue, such as those recently introduced in Illinois and Michigan.

What Moore wanted most was to start a conversation. Now that hes filed the bill, he said, he has a jumping-off point for discussions with the S.C. Department of Agriculture and South Carolina Farm Bureau: This was the first step of a longer process. Were talking about 450 years of discrimination.

One bill, Moore said, wont fix it.
Connecticuts daily positivity rate for COVID-19 remained above 4 percent on Wednesday as researchers continue to track COVID-19 variants across the state.

Statewide, 1,457 new COVID-19 cases were detected out of 33,848 tests as of Wednesday, bringing the daily positivity rate to 4.3 percent. The seven-day positivity rate sits just below 3.5 percent, the highest since early February.

Earlier this week, Gov. Ned Lamont said he heard that in New York as many as 50 percent of new COVID-19 cases could be from variants, but the picture was less clear in Connecticut.

We dont really know. We arent doing as much of that genetic sequencing as we could, Lamont said Monday.

Josh Geballe, Lamonts chief operating officer, said the state is working closely with the Yale School of Public Health, which is doing much of the sequencing and analysis of variants in Connecticut.

New Canaan Men's Club / Contributed photo

Geballe said Monday that the experts there believe about 30 to 40 percent of new cases are connected to the B.1.1.7 variant of COVID-19, the strain believed to have come from the U.K. It is an estimate at this point, Geballe said.

The state has confirmed 283 cases from the variant through time-consuming genetic sequencing. Data shows Connecticut has also recorded 46 cases of variants first detected in California, along with five cases of the B.1.351 variant first seen in South Africa and a single case of the P.1 variant first seen in Brazil.

The Yale School of Public Health is starting to look for the new variant that has surfaced in New York, referred to as B.1526, but no cases have been reported yet in Connecticut.

Mark Masselli, president and CEO of Community Health Center, said there's been an uptick in the positivity rate and testing volume across the network, which operates testing sites across the state.

In the Danbury and Stamford area we are going to keep a close eye on it, the New York variant," Masselli said. We want to make sure we are getting as many people vaccinated as quickly as we can so the virus can not get a foothold here.

While the variants are something to keep an eye on, Keith Grant, Hartford HealthCares senior system director for infection prevention, does not thinks an uptick in cases may come down to peoples recent behaviors.

I think its less about the variants than our strategies, our discipline, our attitude that has shifted a little bit, said Grant, the networks senior system director for infection prevention

He said some variants, including the B.1.1.7 and P.1 that have shown up in Connecticut, are of some concern.

Appreciate the fact that the one true way to really stop the virus from mutating is to control the spread itself, Grant said. If we continue doing the things we did at the start of this we will definitely get there. Its not going to be a smooth road going down but we do believe we are on the right track.

Dr. David Banach, head of infection prevention at UConn Health, suggested the recent higher positivity rates could be the result of more people getting tested after feeling sick as more and more people get vaccinated.

Banach said hospitals are not informed if a patient they treated for COVID-19 later comes back as a case of one of the variants. While having that data might be useful for hospitals, I dont think it would change any of our infection control measures, he said.

Given the time it takes to confirm a COVID-19 case is a variant, Dr. Michael Parry, Stamford Hospitals head of infectious diseases, said patients will have already been cared for, so the information is not clinically relevant.

The problem is that we just dont know who has variants, Parry said.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDCs director, cited concerns over the spreading variants this week after she acknowledged that both the Northeastern and Midwestern states are beginning to see a significant rise in cases.

As I've stated before, the continued relaxation of prevention measures while cases are still high and while concerning variants are spreading rapidly throughout the United States is a serious threat to the progress we have made as a nation, Walensky said Monday in a weekly White House briefing on the pandemic.

Walenskys statement comes as Connecticut and other states recently eased restrictions. Last Friday, Connecticut lifted occupancy limits on many businesses and public venues while increasing the allowable gathering sizes. Connecticut has maintained requirements that people to wear masks and socially distance.

While Connecticuts positivity rate has shown slight increases in recent weeks, it remains just one metric that state officials weigh when gauging whether to address restrictions on gatherings and businesses. Lamont has often cited hospitalizations as the key measure he will use to determine whether to ease or increase restrictions meant to curb the spread of the virus.

On Wednesday, a net bump of nine more patients brought the states hospital census for the disease up to 412 on par with the first week of November during the fall wave of infections. Seven more fatalities attributed to the illness bringing Connecticuts official death toll to 7,852.

Parry noted that Stamford Hospitals census of COVID-19 patients has trended downwards over the past several weeks, with just 16 patients reported as of Wednesday.

I think we just need more vaccinations under our belts and a little more time, Parry said.

The state continues to push forward with its vaccination program, reaching more than 1 million first doses this week. Officials said the state remains on track to launch universal adult vaccine eligiblity on April 5.

Staff Writer Nicholas Rondinone contributed to this story.
Slovak coalition party completes withdrawal from government View Photo

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP)  A party in Slovakias ruling coalition completed its withdrawal from the government on Thursday amid a political crisis triggered by a secret deal to buy Russias coronavirus vaccine.

Two ministers for the Freedom and Solidarity party, Foreign Minister Ivan Korcok and Education Minister Branislav Grohling, joined their leader, Richard Sulik, to hand in their resignations to President Zuzana Caputova. Sulik resigned from his deputy prime minister post on Monday.

Sulik said on Thursday his party is withdrawing from the coalition until Prime Minister Igor Matovic resigns.

The crisis erupted when a secret deal came to light three weeks ago involving Slovakias agreement to acquire 2 million doses of Russias Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine. The populist prime minister orchestrated the deal despite disagreement among his coalition partners.

Matovic has defended the Sputnik V purchase, saying it would speed up the vaccination program in one of the hardest-hit European Union countries.

But two parties in his coalition government, Freedom and Solidarity and For People, which had clashed repeatedly with Matovic Ordinary People party over how to tackle the pandemic, demanded his resignation as a condition for the coalition to survive.

Matovic indicated he was willing to step down on condition he would assume a deputy prime minister post instead. The Freedom and Solidarity rejected that.

Matovic and his party struck a deal a year ago to govern with the pro-business Freedom and Solidarity party, the conservative For People, and We Are Family, a populist right-wing group that was allied with Frances far-right National Rally party.

___

Follow all of APs pandemic coverage at:

https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic

https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine

https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
DEAR ABBY: My twin sister moved to another state years ago. We always kept in close contact through telephone calls. But since the invention of caller ID, call waiting, cellphones, texting, etc., things have changed.

Examples: She'll cut off a conversation to answer another nonemergency call. She frantically texts that she needs to talk right now, then doesn't call and won't answer when I try to call her. She doesn't return calls or texts for days.

When we do talk, she complains nonstop, and if I try to chime in about what's happening in my life, she cuts off the conversation. Also, we have a two-hour time difference, so when she does call, it's either super late or the dinner hour. If I can't talk long, she gets mad and blocks me for days.

I don't want to be the etiquette police, but something is off. Advice? -- JUST ABOUT HAD IT IN ILLINOIS

DEAR HAD IT: Has your twin always been this self-centered and rude, or is it relatively new behavior? Do not blame advances in technology for it. Accept that she may have a low level of tolerance for frustration and little interest in what is going on in your life.

If I were you, the next time she blocks you, do not repeatedly try to reach her. Wait until she calls back. If you haven't already taken this up with her directly, you should, because her phone manners are atrocious.

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I are elderly. We live in a renovated shack I inherited from my family. The neighborhood is degrading, and I'm trying to decide whether to build a new home out in the country on property I own.

If I do, my family, which needs a better place to live, could live in my current house. But I'm worried about the physical and emotional toll it will take on my husband and me to improve the wooded property. I also worry about issues like potential dementia living nearly 30 miles from town in the country.

No matter how much I weigh the pros and cons, I can't reach a decision whether to build or not. Because of our ages, it's now or never. Can you please help me decide? -- STUMPED ABOUT THE FUTURE

DEAR STUMPED: Allow me to offer a third alternative. You described your husband and yourself as elderly and expressed concern about the physical and emotional toll building a new home far from town could cause. It might make more sense to consider selling your current home and/or the rural property and using the money to buy a place in town in a neighborhood that isn't degrading and is near medical facilities should you and your husband need them. At this point in your lives, the last thing you need is stress and isolation.

Couple works to overcome revelation of man's affair

DEAR ABBY: I have been married to my husband for 13 years. He has lied about little things and also about emotional relationships he has had with co-workers. It went on for years, as he moved from one job to another.

A few months ago, I found out from the other woman that he'd had a sexual affair with her. He had been in counseling for months prior because of what he said were mental health issues. In reality, it was because of his guilt.

We are now in marriage counseling and individual counseling, as well. I don't know if it will help because he has been a gaslighter for years. Please tell me what you think. -- PATIENT WIFE IN MINNESOTA

DEAR WIFE: Give the counseling a try. But because of your husband's long history of lying to you, things will have to drastically change in your relationship. Until trust can be established, his life must be an open book -- including his phone messages, texts and credit card statements. That he felt enough guilt that he started counseling is a hopeful sign, but there are no guarantees that your marriage can be saved.

DEAR ABBY: This message is for all those well-meaning people who ask women if they plan on having children (or more of them). Just don't! They may not want children or the inevitable discussion about why they have made that choice. They might be "one and done," and that's OK, too. They may be trying without success or had miscarriages. Or they might even be pregnant but not ready to announce it to anyone.

The last time I was asked was the day I found out I was pregnant. I lost the pregnancy a month later. This line of questioning is not meant to be anything more than curious and kind, but at best it can be uncomfortable, and at worst, painful. Thanks for letting me vent. -- CAREFUL IN CONNECTICUT

DEAR CAREFUL: You're welcome. You have stated it well, and I agree with you. Another common question that can be emotionally loaded is, "Do you HAVE children?" For someone who has lost a child, or has one in rehab or in jail, a truthful answer can also be painful.

DEAR ABBY: A co-worker moved into my town about 18 months ago. Because we have the same schedule, he asked me for a ride to and from work one day. Well, now it seems that I drive him about three times a week.

When he works and I'm off, he takes an Uber, which costs around $25 round trip, but he has never even offered to buy me a cup of coffee. I stopped to buy gas one morning and mentioned I was only going to get $10 worth because it was all the cash I had. He didn't even blink! My daughter says I should charge him a weekly amount or quit taking him. What do you think? -- FROSTED IN NEW JERSEY

DEAR FROSTED: Shame on him. Feel free to tell your co-worker that providing transportation on a regular basis (three times a week?!) is not a free service, and in the future you expect compensation for your efforts. Frankly, he should have offered when it turned out he needed transportation so often. If he gives you an argument, quit allowing him to use you because that is exactly what he is doing.

DEAR READERS: This is my annual reminder to all of you who live where daylight saving time is observed: Don't forget to turn your clocks FORWARD one hour tonight at bedtime. Daylight saving time begins at 2 a.m. tomorrow. It's a ritual I love because it signals the coming of spring, and with it longer, brighter days and warmer weather. -- ABBY

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.
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.
Mere miles from Brazil's presidential palace, the bodies of COVID-19 victims were laid on floors of hospitals whose morgues were overflowing. Lawmakers fielded calls from panicked constituents across the country, where thousands awaited intensive care beds, and they had no effective health minister to turn to Sunday.

Meanwhile, a smiling President met hundreds of supporters to pass out pieces of green-and-yellow cake in celebration of his 66th birthday. The mood was jubilant even as the country approached a bleak milestone.

was in political disarray as it surpassed 300,000 deaths from the virus Wednesday evening. Foes and allies alike are pleading with the president to change course to stem a recent surge of daily deaths accounting for almost one-third of the total worldwide.

Bolsonaro this month began shifting rhetoric on the value of vaccines but continues to refuse restrictions on activity he paints as infringement on personal freedom and still promotes unproven COVID-19 cures.

Should I change my narrative? Should I become more malleable? Should I give in? Do what the vast majority is doing? Bolsonaro said Monday during a ceremony at the presidential palace. If I am convinced to do otherwise, I will. But I haven't been convinced yet. We must fight against the virus, not against the president.

Lawmakers have been seeking ways to prevail upon Bolsonaro. As hospital systems collapse and crucial supplies run dry, four lower house lawmakers told the Associated Press their constituents are calling them his accomplices. Two are members of allied parties and spoke on condition of anonymity in order to speak freely.

There is a lot of solidarity, but everything has its limit. Everything, the house's speaker, Bolsonaro ally Arthur Lira, said Wednesday afternoon in Congress. Congress' political remedies are known, and they are all bitter. Some, fatal.

Opposition Sen. Alessandro Vieira, who is recovering from COVID-19 at home, said the Senate's president won't be able to hold back a congressional investigation much longer. Another prominent senator from a centrist party, who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to speak freely, anticipates the chamber opening an investigation next month. That could further damage Bolsonaro's popularity ahead of his 2022 reelection bid.

Bolsonaro has made some overtures to show he is taking the pandemic seriously -- one year after he first declared it a little flu. Tuesday night, hours after posted a single-day record, he delivered a national address to blame variants for the virus's more aggressive spread and to defend his administration's actions to ink deals for more than 500 million vaccine doses.

We will make 2021 the year of vaccination, said Bolsonaro, who until recently cast doubt on some vaccines' efficacy while outright rejecting offers from some producers. Most vaccines his health ministry has secured will only reach Brazilian arms in the second half of 2021. His address was met with pot-banging protests in major cities, including capital Brasilia.

Earlier the same day, the nation's fourth pandemic health minister was sworn in, a week after he was named. Marcelo Queiroga secured the spot once the original nominee, Ludhimila Hajjar, declined the job.

When interviewing for the position, Bolsonaro and one of his lawmaker sons peppered Hajjar with questions not just about contentious pandemic lockdowns, but also topics of concern to their conservative base, like abortion, according to two ministers present at the meeting, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they're not authorized to speak publicly. Avid Bolsonaro supporters also launched an aggressive defamation campaign against her, issued death threats and tried to sneak into her Brasilia hotel.

The choice of Queiroga, a Bolsonaro loyalist, convinced some lawmakers that the president still fails to grasp the gravity of the situation.

On Wednesday, Bolsonaro held the first-ever meeting with leaders from all branches of the federal government to coordinate efforts. Once more, he advocated for malaria drugs that have shown no effectiveness in treating COVID-19 and didn't propose any policies to deal with the pandemic.

He also offered no update on imminent risks to oxygen supply in several states, dwindling stocks of sedatives for intubating COVID-19 patients, nor whether the federal government will resume timely reimbursements to governors for expanding hospital bed capacity. Among Brazil's 26 states and federal district, 18 are reporting at least 90 per cent intensive care unit occupancy.

Mato Grosso state's health care system already collapsed. Dr. Maria Auxiliadora Rosa, director of the Hospital Evanglico in the small city Vila Bela, said in a video that went viral on social media that she fears there will be no oxygen for patients by the weekend.

We need help, Rosa pleaded.

One of the few governors who attended Wednesday's meeting, Alagoas' Renan Filho, of the centrist Brazilian Democratic Movement party, was nonplussed by Bolsonaro's performance.

(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.)
Huntsville police officer Billy Clardy III, who was killed in the line of duty, was honored Thursday for devoted and faithful service to his city and state by Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall.

While we all hope for a time in which we no longer have a need to hold memorials for those who are sworn to protect us, Marshall said, we acknowledge that sacrifice is inherent in the field of law enforcement. The men and women who night and day stand guard and protect us do not do so for fame or fortune, but out of a selfless duty to be able to serve their communities.

Clardy, a 14-year veteran of the Huntsville police, died after being shot Dec. 6, 2019. He was a member of the Madison Morgan County HIDTA Drug Task Force and was shot during a residential drug stakeout. A suspect has been arrested.

Huntsville police officer Billy Fred Clardy III was shot and killed in the line of duty on Dec. 6, 2019. His father, Huntsville policeman Billy Clardy Jr., was killed in an on-duty crash in 1978.

A decorated Army veteran before joining the force, Clardy received 19 certificates of commendation, two outstanding unit citations and at least eight letters of appreciation for his work as a city police officer.

He was a 48-year-old husband and father of five and himself the son of a police officer killed in the line of duty. Clardys father, Billy Clardy, Jr. died in an on-duty automobile crash in 1978.

Marshall presented a plaque and a bronze statue of praying hands to two of Clardys children, Brandon and Keaton Clardy, at a ceremony in downtown Huntsville attended by law enforcement officers from agencies across the state. The ceremony would normally have occurred at an annual statewide gathering of Alabama law enforcement officers, Marshall said, but COVID-19 canceled that gathering this year.

The attorney general said America saw a dramatic increase in law enforcement deaths from 150 to 358 in the period from 2019 to 2020. Alabama lost five law enforcement officers from felonious assault and three to COVID-19 in the same period, Marshall said.

Clardy had a history of service to his country, Marshall said. In addition to his Army service, he was a veteran of the Limestone County Sheriffs Office and Ardmore Police Department.

Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle also praised Clardy today noting his earlier work as a community resource officer who knew the homeless people of Huntsville by name and background. Without public servants like Billy Clardy, Battle said, our society would not be what it is today.
LONDON - A British court on Thursday refused Johnny Depp permission to appeal a judges ruling that he assaulted ex-wife Amber Heard, saying his attempt to overturn the decision had no real prospect of success.

FILE - In this file photo dated Sunday, Sept. 20, 2020, US actor and film producer Johnny Deep during the photocall for his film "Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane Macgoman" at the 68th San Sebastian Film Festival, in San Sebastian, northern Spain. Appeal judges said the Hollywood star cannot challenge the High Courts rejection of his libel lawsuit against publisher of The Sun newspaper for labeling him a wife beater in an article. High Court Justice Andrew Nicol ruled in November that allegations against Depp, made in a April 2018 article, were substantially true. The judges said Thursday that the earlier court hearing was full and fair and the justices conclusions have not been shown even arguably to be vitiated by any error of approach or mistake of law. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos, File)

LONDON - A British court on Thursday refused Johnny Depp permission to appeal a judges ruling that he assaulted ex-wife Amber Heard, saying his attempt to overturn the decision had no real prospect of success.

Two Court of Appeal judges said the Hollywood star cannot challenge the High Courts rejection of his libel lawsuit against publisher of The Sun newspaper for labeling him a wife beater in an article.

The justices, James Dingemans and Nicholas Underhill, said the earlier court hearing was full and fair and the trial judge's conclusions "have not been shown even arguably to be vitiated by any error of approach or mistake of law.

They concluded that the appeal has no real prospect of success and that there is no other compelling reason for it to be heard.

High Court Justice Andrew Nicol ruled in November that allegations against Depp, made in a April 2018 article, were substantially true. The judge ruled that Depp, 57, assaulted Heard, 34, on a dozen occasions and put her in fear for her life three times.

Lawyers for Depp argued at a court hearing last week that Depp hadn't received a fair hearing and that Heard was an unreliable witness. As evidence of her unreliability, they claimed that Heard hadn't kept her promise to donate her $7 million divorce settlement to charity.

The appeals judges said it was pure speculation, and in our view very unlikely that the fate of the divorce money influenced judge Nicol's decision.

It is clear from a reading of the judgment as a whole that the judge based his conclusions on each of the incidents on his extremely detailed review of the evidence specific to each incident, they said.

"In an approach of that kind there was little need or room for the judge to give weight to any general assessment of Ms. Heards credibility."

Depp and Heard met on the set of the 2011 comedy The Rum Diary and married in Los Angeles in February 2015. Heard, a model and actress, filed for divorce the following year and obtained a restraining order against Depp on the grounds of domestic abuse. The divorce was finalized in 2017.

The High Court ruling came after a headline-grabbing three-week trial in July, in which Depp and Heard gave conflicting accounts of their brief, tempestuous marriage, with each accusing the other of being controlling, violent and deceitful.

During the trial Depp acknowledged wide-ranging drug problems, but accused Heard of making up abuse allegations and insisted he was not a violent person, especially with women.

Heard's public relations firm said in a statement that she was pleased - but by no means surprised by the Court of Appeal decision.

Mr. Depps claim of new and important evidence was nothing more than a press strategy, and has been soundly rejected by the court, the statement said.

Jeffrey Smele of law firm Simons Muirhead and Burton, which represented The Suns publisher News Group Newspapers, said Thursday's ruling was a victory for the freedom of the press and for victims of domestic violence everywhere.

Depp's lawyers have said that the allegations in The Sun caused serious harm to the actors reputation and significant distress and embarrassment. In the wake of the November court ruling, Depp said he was leaving the Fantastic Beasts film franchise after studio Warner Bros. requested his resignation.

Depp is also suing Heard for $50 million in Virginia over a Washington Post op-ed essay that she wrote about domestic violence. The trial in that case was recently delayed until April 2022.

Depp's British lawyer, Joelle Rich of Schillings Partners, said there are clear and objective reasons to seriously question the decision reached in the U.K. court.

Mr. Depp looks forward to presenting the complete, irrefutable evidence of the truth in the U.S. libel case against Ms. Heard where she will have to provide full disclosure, Rich said.
Jaipur, March 25 : With mounting cases of rapes being reported from the desert state, some even inside police stations, hospitals, DCP office -- National Commission for Women chairperson Rekha Sharma has confirmed she will be visiting Rajasthan on April 6 to seek answers from the Ashok Gehlot government.

Sharma, speaking to a women delegation which went to Delhi to apprise the commission of surging numbers of crime cases against women said, "The situation in the state of Rajasthan is indeed worrisome. I have written several letters to the state government but there has been no response." "I will come to Rajasthan on April 6, and seek answers from the state government on all matters," she said on Wednesday.

Sharma expressed her displeasure at the way the Congress government has been handling the crimes. She said that it has been more than two years since any key appointments have been made to the State Women's Commission.

On Wednesday, MP Diya Kumari along with other women leaders went to Delhi and met Rekha Sharma and national human commission senior member Justice P.C. Pant urging them to take immediate cognizance into the matter of rising rape cases in the state.

Diya Kumari told Rekha Sharma that the situation in Rajasthan "has gone out of control as women are not safe even in police stations".

As per the official sources, one of the most gruesome incidents was reported in Kota when a 15-year-old minor was raped by more than 30 culprits from February 25 to March 6 in Jhalawad.

On March 5, a rape victim was immolated, while on March 6, a woman was gang raped in Kota.

On March 7, an ASI allegedly raped a woman in Alwar district, who came to a police station to lodge a complaint.

On March 13, rape attempt was made on a school teacher in Nagaur district.

In the most shocking incident, an ACP attempted rape on a woman inside DCP office in Jaipur on March 14 and the next day, a woman, admitted in ICU, was raped by nursing staff in a hospital.

Diya Kumari was accompanied by Alka Gurjar, Jaskaur Meena, Anita Baghel, Alka Mundra, Anita Gurjar among others.
There are no new community cases of Covid-19 being reported today but there are six new positive cases managed isolation.

The number of previously reported cases that have now recovered is two. The total number of active cases in New Zealand is 71.

The total number of confirmed cases is 2,120.

Since January 1, 2021, there have been 41 historical cases, out of a total 308 cases.

Grand Mercure managed isolation facility Auckland

As part of investigations into a recent day 12 case at the Grand Mercure managed isolation facility in Auckland, health officials are looking at the possibility of a transmission within this facility, says a statement from the Ministry of Health.

Results from genome sequencing show a link between two returnees at the Grand Mercure. The infection for both returnees is confirmed as B.1.1.7, the variant first identified in the UK.

The returnees were staying in separate rooms on different floors. They arrived on separate flights within two days of each other. An investigation into the source of the infection is underway.

At this stage, no other cases within the facility have been found linked to these two cases but investigations continue, says the ministry.

As a precautionary measure, around 250 returnees who have left the facility since March 10 are being contacted today, asked to get tested immediately and remain in isolation at home until a negative result is returned.

Other immediate steps taken include additional on-site testing being provided and exit tests put in place for all returnees leaving the facility. The Ministry of Health and Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment will communicate with all current returnees within this facility about any public health measures being put in place for them, says the MOH statement.

Additional surveillance testing of staff at the Grand Mercure facility is being put in place as a further precautionary measure.

Both returnee cases have been previously publicly reported and one is the case previously reported related to two bus journeys from the Grand Mercure to an exercise area.

The classification of 14 returnees who were also on the bus as close contacts is based on a public health assessment of the exposure event. The assessment will have included consideration of proximity to the case, amount of time that they may have been exposed, how infectious the case was likely to have been at the time, whether the virus is a new more infectious variant, and whether infection, prevention and control protocols were followed, says the statement.

There is no evidence of any Covid-19 cases in the community connected to this situation at this time.

MBIE is conducting an internal investigation into the bus journeys to determine what happened in this case and what improvements, if any, can be made to strengthen their processes, says the statement.

Grand Millennium managed isolation facility Auckland

As previously reported, Case As household member remains under investigation following one weak positive result followed by a negative test result. They are being managed as a close contact rather than as a case with further testing planned, says the ministry.

Auckland regional public health officials consider there to be a very low risk to the persons workmates at Countdown Auckland City, but have discussed the results with the supermarkets health and safety team.

As a precautionary measure, it was agreed that some colleagues identified as working closely with the person under investigation will stay home until they receive a day five negative test says the MOH.

Shoppers and other staff are not considered to be at risk.

Testing information

Testing remains steady across the current Auckland testing sites. These will continue to assess whether they need to increase capacity at these sites or stand up new sites.

On Wednesday, 6,209 tests were processed. The seven-day rolling average up to yesterday is 4,575 tests processed.

The total number of tests processed by laboratories to date is 1,867,966.

For up-to-date information on testing locations in Auckland, visit https://www.arphs.health.nz/ and for all testing locations nationwide, visit the Healthpoint website.

New border case details
A protester holds a sign near the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, on June 8, 2020. On May 25, African-American George Floyd died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. His death has triggered prolonged, large-scale protests against racism and police brutality across the United States. The ethnic minorities in the United States are devastated by racial discrimination, and racism exists in a comprehensive, systematic and continuous manner, according to the Report on Human Rights Violations in the United States in 2020, which was released by China's State Council Information Office on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

BEIJING, March 24 (Xinhua) -- China's State Council Information Office on Wednesday issued the Report on Human Rights Violations in the United States in 2020.

The report said Washington's incompetent pandemic containment led to tragic outcomes and that American democracy disorder triggered political chaos.

Ethnic minorities suffered racial discrimination and continuous social unrest threatened public security in the United States, it said.

The report also drew attention to the growing polarization between the rich and the poor that aggravated social inequality in America.

The U.S. trampling on international rules resulted in humanitarian disasters, it added.

11

1

[ Editor: WPY ]
Nairobi  Deputy President William Ruto on has urged Kenyans to present themselves at the various vaccination centers across the country and get vaccinated against coronavirus.

DP Ruto said it is imperative that as many Kenyans as possible endeavor to get the Oxford AstraZeneca jab noting that being inoculated will help control the worsening virus situation in the country.

"it is important for Kenyans to get vaccinated, I urge every Kenyan to get vaccinated because it is through the vaccination that we will be able to reduce the severity of the disease and perhaps our fatality rate will decline," he said on Thursday during an interview on Radio Citizen.

DP Ruto who is yet to be vaccinated himself said that once accorded the opportunity he will get the jab even as he asked those spreading rumors about the vaccine to stop.

"The Cabinet sat and decided that we allow the frontline workers to take the vaccine first. We prioritized the frontline workers first like those in the medical fraternity and so it would have not looked well for me if I was seen taking the vaccine first. When my opportunity comes I will surely be vaccinated," he said.

Kenya has so far vaccinated more than 40,000 people from the 1.02 million vaccines which were acquired through the COVAX facility.

The Ministry of Health on Wednesday said it had planned to scale up the COVID-19 vaccination and called on more Kenyans to turn up. The inoculation was targeting healthcare workers in the initial stage.

The ministry's Head of Immunization Programme Dr.Collins Tabu said vaccines have a short shelf life and therefore, require to be utilized on time.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Coronavirus By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"Once we scale up the vaccination, I hope and believe that more Kenyans will get the jab before the end of next month when we receive the next shipment. Normally, flu vaccinations have short shelf life and it is important that Kenyans come out in large numbers to be vaccinated," Tabu said.

AstraZeneca was an early frontrunner in the global race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine but the Swedish drugmaker has in recent days come under intense scrutiny after a majority of the European nations claimed that the jab causes blood clots on most recipients.

Several European countries paused its rollout over potential blood clot risks before later resuming its use.

The European Medicines Agency deemed the vaccine safe and said it was not associated with blood clotting generally -- but added it could not rule out a link to two highly rare forms of clotting, and suggested these risks be mentioned on a warning label.

The AstraZeneca vaccine is still seen as vital to vaccinating the world because of its low price and the fact it can be stored long term at fridge temperatures.

It uses an adenovirus that causes colds in chimpanzees, modified so it can't replicate, to carry the gene for a key protein of the coronavirus into human cells.

The cells then produce that protein on their surface, training the immune system should it encounter the real virus.
(Natural News) AstraZeneca may have cherry-picked its data and included outdated information when the company published the results of its U.S. trial for its Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine. This is according to independent experts monitoring the pharmaceutical companys work.

AstraZeneca has been enduring months of public criticism over the effectiveness and safety of its coronavirus vaccine. This is in part due to how multiple people in Europe may have developed rare blood clots and possibly even died as a result of the companys vaccine.

On Monday, Mar. 22, the company caught a moment of reprieve when it published the data from the U.S. trial of its vaccine. This trial involved around 32,000 volunteers and found that the vaccine was 79 percent effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 cases. The trial data also showed that there were no concerns regarding the vaccines safety, none of the volunteers experienced any severe illnesses or hospitalizations and the shot was supposedly working very well for elderly people.

But less than a day after the trial data was published, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) released a statement regarding a letter submitted to it by an independent panel of experts. This independent monitoring board oversaw the AstraZeneca vaccines trial.

According to the NIH, the independent monitors expressed concern that AstraZeneca may have included outdated information from that trial, which may have provided an incomplete view of the efficacy data.

The independent panel wrote to AstraZeneca and to U.S. public health officials about its concerns regarding the data the company chose to highlight. Specifically, the data from the company do not represent their most recent and complete findings. AstraZeneca stopped publishing data after Feb. 17, more than a month before the study was made public.

Decisions like this are what erode public trust in the scientific process, wrote the independent panel.

According to several federal health officials who stood up to AstraZeneca, if the company actually accounted for the full trial data, the vaccines purported efficacy would be a lot lower.

The NIH has urged AstraZeneca to ensure the most accurate, up-to-date efficacy data be made public as quickly as possible.

Other experts were surprised by the public disagreements between the public health officials and AstraZeneca, as such a spat rarely ever happens. But these same experts noted that, ultimately, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the agency that has to scrutinize the data and decide whether the vaccine is safe enough to be rolled out in the U.S.

It would seem that, whatever this communication misstep is, at the end of the day the data will have to stand for itself, said Dr. Jesse Goodman, former chief vaccine scientist of the FDA.

AstraZenecas credibility forever tarnished by recent missteps

In response to the independent panels report, AstraZeneca stated that the unpublished results are consistent with the information that it has already released.

But whether or not the inclusion of later data will lower the efficacy of the AstraZeneca vaccine, the companys long-term credibility has already been tarnished. Scientists and investors alike are beginning to second guess the reliability of the companys vaccine.

Furthermore, many medical experts believe AstraZenecas recent actions will go a long way to increasing vaccine hesitancy among the population. This can already be seen in Europe, where more than a dozen companies temporarily halted their use of the AstraZeneca vaccine after reports of rare blood clots and deaths in people who were jabbed with it. (Related: EU IN CRISIS: Deadly rollout of AstraZeneca vaccine destroys EUs reputation, shatters image of unity within bloc.)

In Norway, a top public health official warned that the government might not be able to resume its use of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

People clearly say that they do not want the AstraZeneca vaccine, said Dr. Marte Kvittum Tangen, the leader of a Norwegian doctors association.

in Romania, the vaccination coordinator of the capital of Bucharest said around 33,000 immunization appointments were canceled and around 10,000 other appointments ended with the people scheduled to receive the vaccine not showing up. All 43,000 appointments were for the AstraZeneca vaccine.

In the Serbian capital of Belgrade, the local government rented a large exhibition center to vaccinate people with the AstraZeneca vaccine on Monday. This vaccination drive failed when very few people showed up to get the shot.

In France, President Emmanuel Macron initially suggested that the AstraZeneca vaccine should not be used on older people, specifically on adults over 65 years of age. He was forced to backtrack his statements moments later when his government changed its mind.

Scientists and public health officials all over Europe are now looking at the U.S. These experts are waiting for the FDA to greenlight the AstraZeneca vaccine. They believe this will reassure many people who have become skeptical about the shot.

If the U.S. regulator looks at this data and authorizes AstraZeneca, that will carry a lot of weight, said Jimmy Whitworth, professor of international public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

AstraZeneca has promised to release the rest of its data soon, and the company is hoping to file a proper application for approval with the FDA within weeks.

Learn more about the recent concerns about the AstraZeneca vaccine by reading the latest articles at Vaccines.news.

Sources include:

Bloomberg.com

SFGate.com 1

SFGate.com 2
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Libyan Prime Minister Abdelhamid al-Dbaiba has asked his ministers to redouble their efforts given the brevity of time they have and high hopes of the population
(Natural News) This isnt an overreaction to Gates latest foray into the news cycle. Its an observation based on a long pattern of statements and behavior by the founder of Microsoft and one of the richest men who has ever lived which, were any of us normal people guilty of them, would result in our being institutionalized.

(Article republished from HumansAreFree.com)

Bill Gates is crazy. And hes dangerous, because hes willing to put untold sums of money toward making the insane things he believes a reality  and all of those insane things hurt people.

The most recent idiocy? Impossible Burgers for all the white people.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates recently stated that he believes rich countries, such as the United States and western Europe, should switch to eating 100 percent synthetic beef.

In a recent interview with the MIT Technology Review, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates discussed his environmental impact efforts and various green initiatives aimed at reducing global carbon emissions.

One suggestion Gates proposed was for wealthy and developed nations to move entirely to synthetic beef in efforts to reduce the carbon emissions from livestock.

Explaining the suggestion, Gates told the MIT Tech Review:

For Africa and other poor countries, well have to use animal genetics to dramatically raise the amount of beef per emissions for them. Weirdly, the US livestock, because theyre so productive, the emissions per pound of beef are dramatically less than emissions per pound in Africa.

And as part of the [Bill and Melinda Gates] Foundations work, were taking the benefit of the African livestock, which means they can survive in heat, and crossing in the monstrous productivity both on the meat side and the milk side of the elite US beef lines.

So no, I dont think the poorest 80 countries will be eating synthetic meat. I do think all rich countries should move to 100% synthetic beef. You can get used to the taste difference, and the claim is theyre going to make it taste even better over time.

Eventually, that green premium is modest enough that you can sort of change the [behavior of] people or use regulation to totally shift the demand.

So for meat in the middle-income-and-above countries, I do think its possible. But its one of those ones where, wow, you have to track it every year and see, and the politics [are challenging].

There are all these bills that say its got to be called, basically, lab garbage to be sold. They dont want us to use the beef label.

This isnt even the scariest idea-biscuit Gates has floated. Remember this?

It sounds like a wacky idea out of science-fiction  but its funded in part by billionaire Microsoft founder Bill Gates and backed by top scientists at Harvard University.

The researchers believe that a fleet of specially-designed aircraft could spray sulfate particles into the lower stratosphere to cool down our planet and offset the effects of climate change.

A test of the technology has been proposed for this year, the Daily Mail reports, with the Stratospheric Controlled Perturbation Experiment (SCoPEx) seeing a bag of carbonate dust released into the atmosphere 12 miles up.

If that experiment proves successful, the researchers will move on to releasing the dust from planes.

The researchers suggest that jets flying 12 miles up would complete over 60,000 missions in 15 years, starting with a fleet of eight and moving up to 100 planes.

As bad as denying people in First World countries access to beef might be (and putting a massive industry employing more than half a million people out of business), creating an artificial Nuclear Winter is even worse.

More people freeze to death in extreme cold weather than die of heat-related causes when its hot, you know.

And then theres the population control piece, which the Left  many if not most of whom operate on a Malthusian principle and dont actually disagree with Gates  denies hes for.

How you deny this is a question

Were not going to get into the vaccine stuff, much of which is the product of Alex Jones-style conspiracy theories every bit as crazy as Gates is. Theres a lot out there, though, and not all of it is good.

Read more at: HumansAreFree.com and Technocrats.news
On Tuesday evening, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told a private Zoom meeting of backbench Tory MPs in the 1922 Committee, The reason we have the vaccine success is because of capitalism, because of greed my friends It was giant corporations that wanted to give good returns to shareholders. It was driven by big pharma.

The comments recall a speech Johnson made last June when he said, Of course we clap for our NHS. But under this government we also applaud those who make our NHS possible: our innovators, our wealth creators, our capitalists and financiers. In the aftermath of the 2008-9 financial crash, Johnson defined himself as the chief political opponent of banker bashing and champion of the City of London.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson holds a Covid-19 Press Conference on Saturday October 31 in 10 Downing Street. (Picture by Pippa Fowles / No 10 Downing Street)

This time, Johnson was more nervous about the political impact of his obscene remarks reaching the ears of the public. He is reported to have said afterwards, Actually I regret saying it, repeating several times Forget I said that and asking those present to remove that comment from your collective memory.

After his remarks were leaked to The Sun newspaper, probably by an MP who saw no need for political caution, a coordinated effort was launched by Downing Street to insist that Johnson was joking and that his words had been distorted.

Johnson, who is usually entirely unconcerned with the words coming out of his mouth, is right to be worried. Media commentators have focussed almost exclusively on the danger that Johnsons comments inflame tensions with the European Union (EU) over the supply of AstraZeneca vaccine doses by bragging of the successful rollout in the UK. More likely is that Johnson belatedly remembered he is sitting on a powder keg. He made his remarks on the evening of the governments hypocritical national day of reflection, one year after the first lockdown was implemented, and after more than 147,000 people have lost their lives to the COVID-19 virus in the UK.

This catastrophe has exposed capitalism as a dysfunctional, murderous social order to millions. Johnson was clearly worried that gloating about how greed is good after so many have lost so much would provoke widespread anger and did not want to open a debate on the glories of capitalism and the free market that would prompt a deeper questioning of social and political realities.

The truth is that capitalisms division of the world into competing nation states and stultification of social production by private ownership and the profit motive is responsible for the suffering that has overtaken the world in the last year. The pandemic got out of control because governments internationally refused to implement the necessary measures of containment that would cut across the drive for profit and national competitive advantage. They used the pandemic as an excuse for funnelling trillions of dollars into the coffers of the major corporations and the super-rich, before being forced reluctantly into limited lockdowns by growing resistance in the working class.

Employers determination to keep down costs blocked the implementation of workplace safety measures and the payment of wages for those who needed to self-isolate.

The surge of infections which followed overwhelmed health services gutted by decades of cuts and privatisation.

Parasitic private companies, frequently run by close friends of the Tory party, ran away with billions in government contracts to provide test and tracing services and protective equipment. Advisers were paid up to 7,000 a day for their role in the national test and trace programme that failed in every conceivable way. Consultants from Deloitte were on 2,360 a day. Serco made 400 million for its COVID-related services.

Capitalisms role in the development and distribution of vaccines has been no less damaging.

The BBC reported in December, Initially firms didn't rush in to fund vaccine projects. Creating vaccines, especially in the teeth of an acute health emergency, hasn't proved very profitable in the past. A spur had to be given by public funding, with billions of tax revenues poured into vaccine development programmes. Much of the science which underpins the vaccines was also conducted with public funding.

Once vaccines were developed, their international rollout was cut across by rival national interests. The UK and the EU have carried on a despicable scramble to secure vaccine supplies for their own populations. Europe is now well into a third wave of the disease with less than 14 percent of the population having received their first dose.

Things are even worse on the world stage. The pricing of the vaccines, the failure to increase production to meet the global demand and the appalling state of infrastructure in many countries thanks to global inequality and war mean that most people in the world will be waiting years to receive a jab.

Wealthy and middle-income countries account for 90 percent of the vaccines delivered so far. Johnsons big pharma heroes have refused to waive patents or share technology and research with potential manufacturers in lower-income countries.

The day before Johnson praised this greed as the motor of human progress, World Health Organisation director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the monopolisation of vaccine stocks by rich countries as a catastrophic moral failure.

World Health Organization Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (centre) declaring the coronavirus pandemic a Public Health emergency of International Concern [Credit: Fabrice Coffrini]

We have the means to avert this failure but its shocking how little has been done to avert it, he told a press conference. The gap between the number of vaccines administered in rich countries and the number of vaccines administered through COVAX is growing every single day and becoming more grotesque every day.

Not only is this a moral outrage, said Ghebreyesus, but also economically and epidemiologically self-defeating.

As long as the virus continues to circulate everywhereanywherepeople will continue to die. Trade and travel will continue to be disrupted and the economic recovery will be further delayed.

Johnsons claim of success amounts to a boast that the UK is beating its rivals in the EU and elsewhere in measures that in the end produce a disaster for everyone. In addition, moves to scrap public health restrictions and reopen economies all over the world are undermining even the limited vaccination programmes that are underway. Infections are being allowed to surge once again, which will lead to countless more deaths and could lead to new variants of the virus which evade the vaccines already administered.

Johnson would also have been worried about his remarks drawing attention to the fact that the pandemic, by contrast, has done wonders for the capitalists. Fuelled by unprecedented government handouts, the worlds billionaires have seen their fortunes soar by $3.9 trillion, even as millions of lives, hundreds of millions of jobs and trillions of dollars of wages were lost.

It should be recalled here that Telegraph assistant editor and leading business and economics columnist Jeremy Warner wrote at the start of the pandemic, From an entirely disinterested economic perspective, the COVID-19 might even prove mildly beneficial in the long-term by disproportionately culling elderly dependents.

According to actuarial firm XPS, this grisly prediction is being borne out. They estimated a 25-60 billion saving for defined benefit pension schemes thanks to the direct and indirect effects of the pandemic taking an average of seven months off the projected life expectancy of 65-year-olds.

The pandemic crisis has prepared the way for a massive corporate onslaught on workers jobs, wages and conditions. More and more companies are carrying out brutal fire and rehire restructurings, in pursuit of the good returns for shareholders hailed by the prime minister.

Johnsons comments sum up the response of the ruling elite to the pandemic. All in all, as they see it, nothing all that bad has happened in the last year. The profits continue to roll in and, for those at the apex of the existing social order, things have never been better. All this cost was the lives of working people, above all the old and the infirm who are viewed as an intolerable drain of profits in any case.

This is an utterly psychopathic social class which has lost any right to rule. Capitalism is at war with society and must be overthrown. In its place, workers internationally must establish a socialist system of planned production to meet human need not private profit.
State Forest Ranger recently came to rescue of a hiker who fell into a deep gully and three others who got lost with night approaching.

The following incidents were reported by the state Department of Environmental Conservation. All information below was supplied by the DEC.

Town of Italy, Yates County

Wilderness Rescue: On Mar. 20 at 4:20 p.m., a Forest Ranger was dispatched to a rescue in the High Tor Wildlife Management Area. A 20-year-old individual from Geneseo was hiking with friends and fell into the Parrish Gully. The Ranger responded, along with a DEC Environmental Conservation Police Officer and DEC Bureau of Environmental Crimes Investigation (BECI) officer Once on scene, the Naples Fire Department and the Ontario County Ropes Rescue Team quickly located the subject and hoisted him out to a waiting UTV. The subject was brought to a roadside ambulance but refused transport to a local hospital, and instead sought additional treatment on his own.

City of Beacon, Dutchess County

Wilderness Rescue: On Mar. 20 at 6 p.m., a Forest Ranger overheard State Parks Dispatch reporting a hiker with a lower leg injury on a hiking trail in Hudson Highlands State Park. The hiker became disoriented on the trail network while hiking with a group of 16 visiting the park. The Ranger and State Parks staff hiked in and located the 25-year-old subject from New York City approximately one mile in. The Ranger provided medical care for a lower leg injury, and with the assistance of the group, the hiker walked out to the trailhead. The individual refused further medical care and the group returned home.

Town of Fort Ann, Washington County

Wilderness Rescue: On Mar. 20 at 8:11 p.m., DECs Ray Brook Dispatch received a request for Forest Ranger assistance from Warren County 911 for a report of three 19-year-old hikers from Saratoga Springs lost on Buck Mountain in the Lake George Wild Forest. The reporting party stated the hikers had no light source and were cold. Two Forest Rangers responded to the trailhead and hiked into the woods, locating the lost group at 9:44 p.m. The hikers were in good condition and able to hike out on their own. All parties involved were cleared of the incident at 10:15 p.m.

Town of Salem, Washington County

Wildland Fire: On Mar. 21 at 3:28 p.m., a Forest Ranger responded to the town of Salem for a report of a brush fire. Fire crews had extinguished the fire by the time the Ranger arrived, but after a brief investigation, the property owner was issued a ticket for setting forest lands on fire during the States residential brush burning ban. The Ranger was clear of the scene by 4 p.m. To reduce the number of spring brush fires, New York States residential brush burning ban is in effect through May 14.

Town of Warrensburg, Warren County

Wilderness Rescue: On Mar. 21 at 7:42 p.m., DECs Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from Warren County 911 reporting a woman lost with her two horses on private property in the town of Warrensburg. The 22-year-old subject from Queensbury became lost when she left the trail to take a shortcut back to her starting point. At 9:16 p.m., a Forest Ranger advised dispatch that the woman and her horses were located and safely escorted back to their barn.

Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge, Ulster County

Prescribed Burn: On Mar. 15, Region 3 Forest Rangers assisted the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) with a prescribed burn at the Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife refuge. The operation successfully burned 417 acres. Prescribed fire benefits include improvement of wildlife habitat by maintaining grasslands for nesting birds and improving wildlife habitat by maintaining a diverse forest environment. Additional benefits include reducing highly combustible fuel loads that could potentially feed a wildland fire, as well as the establishment and maintenance of fire breaks that improve control and access to wildland fires. Prescribed fires also represent a valuable training opportunity for local firefighters who develop skills needed to fight wildland fires. Before fires are conducted, careful consideration is given to environmental factors such as current and expected weather conditions and smoke management considerations in close coordination with the National Weather Service.

Be sure to properly prepare and plan before entering the backcountry. Visit DECs Hike Smart NY, Adirondack Backcountry Information and Catskill Backcountry Information webpages for more information.

MORE UPSTATE NY OUTDOORS

Caught on film: Family of 6 bears rip apart, feast on homeowners bird feeders

Who goes there? The owls of New York, the unique sounds they make and more (videos)

DEC: Hunters killed more than 1,700 black bears during 2020 seasons

Sure sign of spring: Hundreds of thousands of snow geese migrating through Upstate NY (pictures, video)

Highly aggressive invasive plant species in Skaneateles lake could affect fishing, boating

NYS Canal System Update: All sections will be open to boating starting May 21

Wild Carp Classic fishing tournament on Seneca River set for May 19-22 with $40,000 in cash and prizes

Violators of annual statewide residential brush burning ban face $500 fine

UPGRADE YOUR OUTDOOR GEAR

Fishing Gear | Camo Face Masks | Hunting Gear | Camping Supplies
An NHS trust fears it could face a huge Covid surge this summer  and is preparing to treat as many infected patients as it did last April.

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells, which was hit hard in the second wave, expects up to 100 beds to be occupied by coronavirus patients in mid-June under a 'reasonably optimistic' scenario.

But it warns this could double to 200 beds  more than a quarter of those available  if vaccine uptake is poor, hampered by supply issues or affected by new variants.

The trust, which runs two hospitals, saw 90 beds occupied by Covid patients in the peak of the first wave last spring.

But this spiralled to more than 300 during the darkest days of the second wave, after the more infectious Kent variant triggered a devastating outbreak.

The forecasts were based on modelling by local health chiefs. But NHS sources said similar plans made at other trusts were based on gloomy predictions from SAGE that there could be a third wave of hospitalisations later this year.

Experts have poked holes in SAGE's forecasting, pointing out that coronaviruses are seasonal and spreads better in the winter.

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust - that was hit hard in the second wave - warned it could have up to 100 Covid patients in its beds by June

But it warned this could double to 200 beds if Britons failed to adhere to social distancing and a mutant variant took hold which made vaccines slightly less effective

Hospitalised Covid patients suffer crippling 'long Covid' for five months Seven in 10 patients hospitalised by coronavirus still suffer debilitating 'long Covid' symptoms five months after being discharged, scientists say. Research laying bare the toll of the condition revealed survivors were plagued with problems including breathlessness, fatigue and muscle pain. University of Leicester experts, who quizzed 1,077 long-haulers, found two in five had reduced their workload or were off sick because of their persistent symptoms. They also found evidence of organ damage in sufferers, and that those who required mechanical ventilation took longer to recover from long Covid. Separate data from Glasgow University released today further highlighted the plight of long Covid victims, saying women under-50 were worst affected. Professor Chris Whitty, England's chief medical officer, claimed the studies added to knowledge of long Covid, which is still surrounded in mystery. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he was 'determined' to improve care for Britons suffering the 'lasting and debilitating' impacts of Covid  which is estimated to have infected around 15million people in the UK. Advertisement

Medics argue there is a 'high probability' of infections spiking in younger age groups when restrictions are relaxed over the coming months.

The successful jabs roll-out is expected to do much of the heavy lifting in preventing hospitalisations.

But a rise in admissions is still anticipated because no vaccine has ever been 100 per cent effective.

And not everyone will be protected, meaning the virus still has a pool of at-risk people that it could reach.

The Trust's meeting minutes, revealed by the Health Service Journal, showed they estimated a peak in Covid hospitalisations in the summer.

'With schools returning and public behaviour changing, infection levels have a high probability of starting to pick up again in the younger, less medically vulnerable populations,' they said.

'This was observed in autumn, when case counts started to rise in the younger population, but hospital admissions remained very low until a few weeks later, when infections started to rise in older populations.'

But the trust also predicts hospitalisations should start to tail off from June in its 'optimistic scenario' as the pandemic starts to 'burn itself out'.

They said this would be because the percentage of the population protected against the virus, either from vaccination or prior infection, would hit the critical 70 to 75 per cent 'herd immunity' level.

Ministers are aiming to vaccinate every adult in the country  52million people  by the end of July.

But their roll-out has hit a snag this week amid a blocked delivery of 5million doses from India, and EU threats of a vaccines export ban.

And as the clock ticks down to when second doses must be administered en masse, millions of jabs are being held back to ensure the NHS has adequate supplies.

It comes after it was revealed NHS hospitals in London had also been told to prepare for a 'possible surge' in Covid patients later this year.

Leaked guidance handed to trusts in the capital last month revealed they must begin to plan for a 'possible wave three Covid surge', according to the HSJ.

The presentation, from NHS England and NHS Improvement, added: 'The purpose of the critical care de-surge plan (is to) ensure that the... bed base can be expanded safely in the event of a third Covid surge and/or other major incident/event.'

NHS sources claimed hospitals needed to be ready for every eventuality, including a further spike in Covid admissions.

A spokesperson for Kent and Medway CCG said: 'These are not predictions. Modelling a range of possible scenarios helps the NHS plan to respond to any future Covid demand and to maintain other services for patients.

'And ultimately the level of transmission will still depend on people following guidance, while the vaccination programme continues at pace.'
Thursday, March 25, 2021

Earlier today, a number of law school securities clinics met online with the SEC thanks to its Office of the Investor Advocate to talk about what they have been seeing in their cases. By the most recent count, we're down to only about 12 securities clinics nationwide. Jill Gross has written about these disappearing clinics. In my role, I teach business organizations, securities regulation, professional responsibility, and also offer a clinic from time to time. At UNLV, clinics are not always offered every semester because our faculty also teach other courses. With the need to turn a clinic on and off, I can't run the kind of investor protection clinic I ran when I was at Michigan State because the cases just don't wrap up in a semester. Although we've done it in the past at UNLV with good results for clients and students, it's not something that works well without attorney support to carry the cases and provide broader assistance when we're not in session. With that in mind, we've offered a "Public Policy"clinic here this semester with a focus on helping non-profits in preparing comment letters and advocating for their own goals. This new offering focuses mostly on the advocacy work that other investor clinics do in their comment letters, only with a broader portfolio. We'll tackle a few things outside the securities realm as well. It's also been challenging because the federal rulemaking environment has been in flux with the Presidential transition.

Still, we've also been able to get students some real speaking experience. A few weeks ago, we had a student team represent a non-party customer in an expungement hearing within the FINRA forum. They were able to do openings, closings, and cross examinations--even cross examining the CEO of a brokerage firm. These matters are intense because they happen on an expedited basis. But they also don't require the kind of long-term commitment that an ordinary customer arbitration does. Today, that same student team was able to turn around and present to the SEC about the experience and interact with sitting SEC Commissioners. Although outside the securities realm, we also had another student team prepare a white paper and present at the Consumer Product Safety Commission, sharing views on how the CPSC might regulate consumer products with AI and machine learning technology embedded in the devices. This work gets us into some fascinating areas and gets the students writing, presenting, and having client experiences.

But there are still too few of these clinics and we need more of them. They play a vital role because the economics don't make sense for most ordinary securities attorneys to take cases with relatively smaller damages or take on matters where there isn't any money to recover. If you get swindled out of a million dollars, attorneys will fight for you. If you get taken for forty grand, many lawyers will pass because they have to put food on their own tables. Of course, this leaves bad actors free to continue to take people for significant amounts without much fear that they'll be held accountable for swindling investors.

A short time ago, the SEC's Investor Advisory Committee recommended financial support for law school clinics. I know that if we had funding, I could hire counsel, help more people, help a broader class of people, and provide more opportunities for our students. We might eventually get something similar for securities law to what already exists for tax clinics, but it's still uncertain whether we'll get there. Absent that, it seems likely that these kinds of clinics are going to continue to vanish.

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/business_law/2021/03/vanishing-investor-clinics-and-the-hope-on-the-horizon.html
Kakao Founder Kim Beom-su / Courtesy of Kakao



By Kim Jae-heun



Kakao, which operates the largest mobile messaging app in Korea, may consider taking over younger e-commerce platforms like 29CM, Musinsa or Grip after deciding to drop out of the bid for eBay Korea.



Although Kakao said it is not reviewing any type of acquisition deal at the moment, it is still very interested in expanding into the e-commerce business and is searching for new products to sell.



Contrary to expectations, Kakao did not take part in a preliminary bid earlier this month for the third-largest e-commerce firm active in the country, even though the acquisition would have put the messaging app in direct competition with Coupang and Naver.



EBay Korea owns e-commerce affiliates Auction and Gmarket, which focus on offering better prices or faster delivery services. Their main customers are people in their 30s and 40s who have proven to be avid online shoppers.



However, Kakao's commerce business centers on mobile messenger platform Kakao Talk. The app's 46 million monthly active users (MAU) naturally flow into Kakao's online shopping pages, such as "Gift sending" or "Talk deal." Kakao wants to partner with relatively young companies that can create synergy with its mobile based e-commerce platform.



Medium-sized businesses such as 29CM, Musinsa and Grip are mentioned as strong candidates. Their marketing strategy is similar to that of Kakao's by offering brand new products that are not well-known to the public, while providing a space online for customers to share their shopping experiences.



The main customers of Style Share, the parent company of 29CM, are part of Generation Z, or "zoomers," born between 1996 and 2010. The e-commerce firm encourages active discussions of shopping experiences in its online communities. The platform was launched in June 2011 and it acquired 29CM three years ago.



Musinsa is one of the largest online shopping malls here with over 8 million members as of February and some 5,700 brands sell their apparel on the platform. In 2019, Musinsa's annual gross merchandise value (GMV) stood at 900 billion won.



Grip is the country's very first live-commerce mobile application. The service was launched in February 2019, but in just two years it has accumulated GMV surpassed 24 billion.



The COVID-19 pandemic has boosted the trend toward online consumption and there has been a surge in the number of shoppers starting to use Grip to communicate with sellers in real time. As of last December, about 8,200 dealers were selling their products on Grip.



Due to a flourishing online business, the three companies' enterprise values have been soaring. Musinsa's enterprise value is estimated at 2.5 trillion won to become the priciest company among the three, followed by Style Share with an enterprise value of 200 billion won and Grip's 50 billion won.


In this image published by the Suez Canal Authority, a ship navigates before a huge freighter named Ever Green, stranded on Wednesday, March 24, 2021, after being traversed in the Suez Canal, Egypt, and blocking a crucial sea passage for the global freight traffic. Suez Canal Authority via AP

Ever Given, one of the largest cargo ships in the Suez Canal, has run aground.

The ship has caused a massive logjam in one of the world's most important trade routes.

The internet was quick to give the bottleneck the meme treatment.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Days after the Suez Canal, one of the most important shipping routes in the world, was blocked by a massive container ship, the Eiffel tower-length ship received the meme treatment.

Video: How American Airlines flies 715K pounds of cargo every day

Ever Given, a nearly 200-foot-wide, 1,300-foot-long cargo ship sailing under a Panamanian flag, caused a transcontinental logjam in the Egyptian waterway, which directly connects Europe to Asia.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, salvage efforts from smaller tugboats and excavators along the Suez Canal's banks were unsuccessful and authorities said that those efforts would resume early Thursday, with an "elite salvage squad" joining in from the Netherlands.

Social media users were quick to find deeper meaning in the "Big Engine That Couldn't."

-Nasri Atallah    (@NasriAtallah) March 24, 2021

Many of the memes spoke to the feeling of being stuck in life, or on grueling tasks one simply can't muster up the will to complete. Others pointed out the colossal task the tiny excavators faced in re-floating the ship.

The excavators represented inspiration and grounding for some, and fruitless efforts for others.

Comic artist Chaz Hutton depicted maybe the most relatable original artwork about the traffic jam, where shipment delays (or procrastination in this case) have stacked up for days now.

And a parallel was immediately drawn to a scene in Austin Powers.

There were different interpretations of what "re-floating" means.

Story continues

And references to "Lord of The Rings."

-Lord Of The Rings Memes Bot (@LOTRMemesBot) March 25, 2021

People fixated on the path Ever Given took as it lost control of its steering, saying it looked...like something a middle schooler might draw.

And there were niche historical memes, too, like this one plastered with portraits of Gamal Adbel Nasser, referencing the Suez Crisis and war of 1956, when the former Egyptian leader nationalized the Suez Canal to the ire of European nations and neighbors. Egypt fended off an invasion of Israeli and European forces, and through UN and US pressure, managed to keep Suez nationalized for a few years.

-Guns, Ganders, and Goats (@MENA_Conflict) March 24, 2021

Read the original article on Insider
Hearst Connecticut Media file photo

MIDDLETOWN  Cross Street AME Zion Church, 440 West St., holds a weekly COVID-19 vaccine clinic on Tuesdays. Initial doses are administered between 1 and 4 p.m., and second shots from 9 a.m. to noon.

Participants must wear a face mask and loose-fitting clothes, be 45 or older or a health-care worker or congregate resident/staff to be eligible. Photo identification is required and appointments are necessary.
* Username

This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely!
Morning Pointe of Chattanooga at Shallowford resident Halie Forstner is turning 110 years old. The long-time Chattanooga native and one of Tennessees oldest residents will celebrate her milestone birthday on Sunday. A grand celebration is planned for Monday at the assisted living community, 7719 Shallowford Road.



A program honoring Ms. Forstnerincluding proclamations from Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and U.S. Congressman Chuck Fleischmannwill be held in front of her friends and neighbors at Morning Pointe at noon. A large, pink cake fit for a queen and 110 balloons will cap the event. At 2 p.m. a parade of well-wishers and friends will drive through the main portico for Ms. Forstner to enjoy, complete with Shriners clowns, antique cars and community members with birthday messages and signs. Her fellow church members from Lookout Valley Presbyterian Church will also be in attendance.



Im just a girl from Dade County, Georgia, said Ms. Forstner. I just cant believe that there is

such an event as being 110-years-old. Its really interesting to know that Ive lived through all

this history in the United States!



If you dont already know, Ms. Forstner is a big Coca-Cola fan. Morning Pointe of Chattanoogas Executive Director Cody Harvey, has secured 110 cans of coke for her to enjoy.



Morning Pointe of Chattanooga is so excited to celebrate Halies monumental birthday! When

Halie moved into our community, it didnt take long for us to see just how special she is. Shes

an amazing woman and were all absolutely inspired by her, said Mr. Harvey.

Ms. Forstner is a beloved member of the Chattanooga area, well-known for her decades of life

experience and now impressive age. She graduated from Chattanooga High School (now called

the Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences) in 1930 and enjoyed a longtime career with

TVA. In 2016, Ms. Forstner was named an honorary graduate of the University of Tennessee at

Chattanooga and was recognized by state legislators and then-Governor Bill Haslam. From the

Spanish flu pandemic, the invention of the television and the Internet, to now living through

another pandemicshe is a woman with wisdom many have yet to find.



Its not very often that we come together to celebrate a person turning 110 years old, so we are

elated to celebrate this birthday with Ms. Halie, said Greg A. Vital, president of Morning Pointe

Senior Living. A fitting tribute to a lady who has seen a lot during her lifetime.






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.
Armenian acting minister: EU allocated EUR 68,700,000 to Armenia for budget support in 2020

Armenia Finance Ministry: MFA's budget grew by AMD 1,600,000,000 in 2020

Bodies and remains of Armenian soldiers are kept in morgue in Armenia's Martuni

White House confirms Biden-Erdogan meeting in Brussels

Armenia acting MOD touches upon priority directions for development of Armed Forces

Diaspora Armenian writer, publicist Toros Toranian dies

2 Armenian soldiers injured in scuffle with Azerbaijan, Armenian POW is hospitalized, Jun. 3 digest

Wedding held in Armenia's Shurnukh for first time since the war ended

EEU member states to finish preparing for negotiations over free trade zone in Iran in late June

Armenia Central Bank: Economic downfall in 2020 was due to decline in service and construction sectors

Armenia legislature adopts several bills in first reading

Armenia President meets with Nursultan Nazarbayev

Dejavu: Armenia ruling party distributes money for votes at Yerevan district election office

Chief Advisor to Karabakh President sacked

Russian MFA: Works are carried out to settle situation around Karabakh every day

Armenia opposition MP sounds alarm about Baku fabricating criminal cases against Armenian prisoners

Armenia acting health minister: I have apologized, I am not going to resign

Helga Schmid meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Armenia's deputy foreign ministers resigned or have heavy workload?

Dollar goes down in Armenia

Armenia Elections Oversight Committee reports Iranian citizenship of ruling party's MP candidate

Acting deputy minister: Only 17 of 711 Iran-Armenia power transmission line towers were installed by 2017

Armenia Parliament Council holding session

Armenia to host CSTO "Thunder-2021" military exercises

NYT: Chinese hackers launch cyberattack on New York city transportation authority

Armenia President to Kazakhstan counterpart: I would like to see much deeper cooperation between our countries

Armenia citizens shut down Etchmiadzin-Ashtarak road, complaining about lack of irrigation water

Armenia independent MP: Foreign minister and his deputies don't want to take part in treacherous acts

Armenia to get $11mn loan, 350,000 grant for agriculture

WHO worries about worsening mental health worldwide amid pandemic

Armenia health ministry on improper handling of Artsakh war victims bodies: There is no justification

Armenia bloc election foundation already in operation

Russia ambassador to Armenia paying working visit to Syunik Province (PHOTOS)

China pledges to step up resistance to foreign interference in Hong Kong

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: There can be no talk of corridor for Azerbaijan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on incumbent authorities: Wherever they flee, we will bring them by the feet

President: Impossible to ensure peace in region or stay in Artsakh without Russia army joint efforts

China Daily: Dispatch from Makit: Thriving in the desert

Karabakh President: We will never put up with being part of Azerbaijan, it is ruled out

Armenia MFA information department chief: All deputy FMs carrying out their duties

Ardshinbank invited children to the cinema on International Childrens Day

Armenia judiciary to have 10 more judges

Armenia acting premier: We had recorded 40% increase in tax revenues according to 2019 results

Armenia acting PM on Artsakh war casualties bodies: We have 50 remains in which case DNA was not separated

Azerbaijan authorities plan to "squeeze" everything from "terrorist show" related to Armenian captives

Ameriabank announces a contest for bank card design

108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia parliament convenes special session

Armenia interim government holding Cabinet meeting

Catholicos of All Armenians heads for Syunik Province, Artsakh

World oil prices going up

Iran loses right to vote in UN General Assembly

Newspaper: Armenia authorities come up with new way of punishing unwanted characters

Newspaper: Russia army Southern Military District deputy commander to arrive in Yerevan Thursday

Lebanese Armenian man taken prisoner by Azerbaijan is hospitalized

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Are we getting under the burden? Then lets get under to the end

Armenia acting health minister on keeping fallen soldiers bodies in bags: What else should they be kept in?

Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation

Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow

2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik

Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center

"Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans

Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel

Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna

Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations

US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies

Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week

Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection

Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential

Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement

Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues

Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo

Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation

NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident

Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices

Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over

Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest

Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia

Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia

Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels

Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters

Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021

Dollar is stable in Armenia

Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector

Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out

Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe

Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia

Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border

Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor

Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue

Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia

Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this

Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia
Sorry!

This content is not available in your region
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


Secures 80% Ownership of the Olympic Domain Tenements

Melbourne, Mar 25, 2021 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Cohiba Minerals Limited ( ASX:CHK ) is very pleased to announce that it has executed a Deed of Settlement (Deed) with Olympic Domain Pty Ltd (OD) in relation to the dispute regarding the Company's 80% ownership in the OD tenements.Cohiba's 80% interest in the Olympic Domain tenements will now be formally registered with the Department of Energy and Mining, South Australia.Following the executed Deed of Settlement, Olympic Domain will be required to meet 20% of the eligible, ongoing exploration expenditure on the Olympic Domain tenements back-dated to January 15, 2021.The successful resolution of this dispute now frees management to focus solely on its highly prospective ground position in South Australia. The Company was highly encouraged by the discovery of high grade copper at its Horse Well Prospect and anticipates updating the market on the next phase of its drilling at Horse Well amongst other prospects early in the June Quarter. This region should see a high degree of activity in 2021 with BHP recently announcing a program of resource definition drilling at the very large Oak Dam IOCG copper project just to east of Horse Well.The Company is also pleased to announce that one of the key Olympic Domain tenements, EL 6183 has been successfully renewed through to October 21, 2022.Chief Executive Officer Mr Andrew Graham said, "We are pleased that this dispute is finally behind us and we can apply even greater focus to our ongoing exploration efforts over the Olympic Domain tenements. In particular, we are determined to build on the encouraging recent results from the Horse Well project as well as investigating new potential targets. Our goal remains the same, to build significant shareholder value through the identification of one or more IOCG deposits within our tenement package."About Cohiba Minerals Limited

Cohiba Minerals Limited (ASX:CHK) is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange with the primary focus of investing in the resource sector through direct tenement acquisition, joint ventures, farm in arrangements and new project generation. The shares of the company trade under the ticker symbol CHK.

The Company recently acquired 100% of the shares in Charge Lithium Pty Ltd, which holds exploration licences in Western Australia.
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.
Anti-infective treatments are an area of the pharmaceutical research industry that had been somewhat neglected  until recently.

Since the 1980s, little development and funding attention has been paid to the development of new antibacterial and anti-infective drugs, however, the steady rise of Superbugs and Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) combined with the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has sent the need for infection prevention to the very top of the public consciousness and government policy agendas.

With several potential treatments for serious infections currently in development, ( ) has therefore found itself in an enviable position.

We have several shots on goal, but infection prevention is our main focus, Destiny chief executive Neil Clark told Proactive.

Key inflexion point

One of the key events recently has been data from a Phase 2b trial of XF-73, a nasal gel designed to prevent post-surgical Staphylococcal aureus infections such as MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus).

It is well known that patients who are carriers of Staphylococcal aureus in the nose have a 10x higher risk of post-surgical infections, therefore the Phase 2b trial is testing if XF-73 can reduce nasal carriage of the bacteria in patients scheduled for surgical procedures who are deemed to be at high risk.

On March 29, the company reported positive top-line results from the study, saying the primary efficacy endpoint was met with an exceptionally high statistical significance and there were no treatment-related safety events.

The gel achieved a 99.5% reduction in S. aureus bacterial nasal carriage, which the company said is a very effective reduction by accepted clinical measures. It also showed more than a 99% reduction compared to the placebo in the same patient population. The effect was maintained during surgery, considered the period when the risk for infections is the highest.

The Phase 2b data has been highlighted by Clark as a key inflexion point for the programme, which if successful will move to a Phase 3 trial ahead of commercialisation.

Destiny is also moving toward a Phase 3 trial of a separate programme, NTCD-M3, which is designed to help treat the recurrence of C. difficile infection (CDI) a particularly nasty bacterial gut disease.

Both of these, if taken to commercialisation, will initially target the expansive US market, although the CEO said the company will also look at expanding into other markets as these are global opportunities.

Expansion eyed

On the business side of things, Clark says Destiny will aim to expand both by commercialising its existing assets but also by potentially bringing in other treatments into its already well-developed pipeline.

The world needs new anti-infective drugs. We all learned during the coronavirus pandemic about the need for vaccines, but there is a similar issue with anti-microbial resistance and superbugs, the CEO said.

Preventing these infections from happening in the first place is better than curing them.

With this in mind, Clark said that COVID-19 has raised this need for new treatments and anti-infection drugs to the front of the public consciousness, which in turn has been reflected by greater interest from investors and potential partners over the last year.

He added that Destinys mature pipeline of potential treatments means it is well placed for success.

Hopefully, the coronavirus calms down, but there are still many other infectious diseases that require new treatments.

2021 to be a year of preparation and delivery

Looking across the remainder of 2021, the current year will be one of preparation and delivery, focusing on bringing the companys existing treatments, particularly the XF-73 and NTCD-M3 trials, towards Phase 3 clinical studies and commercialisation.

Discussions with regulators, preparing the new trials and setting up manufacturing processes are all on the agenda, with Clark adding that the company also has a COVID-19 project, known as SPOR-COV, currently in development that won a government grant in September 2020.

Data from SPOR-COV is due later this year, he said, and that aside from COVID-19 the treatment could also have potential applications in similar areas such as influenza.

The firm is also moving into dermal infections, having won a grant in March from the US government to use its XF-73 technology to combat infections associated with open wounds and broken skin, particularly those associated with diabetic foot ulcers and burn wounds.

Clark said these programmes show the depth of Destinys pipeline and he is confident of the group producing more clinical candidates in the future.

The firm is also continually looking for partners to help market its treatments, having already secured a partner in the Chinese market while also focusing on potential collaborators in Europe and the US.

The CEO added that the company is well funded through to the end of 2022, meaning it has no immediate need to raise cash and can take time to assess its options.

In the longer term, he said the ongoing prominence of anti-microbial resistance will benefit companies in the anti-infection space.

Theres a lack of variety in the development of new drugsits been a neglected area, but now regulators and governments are looking to change that with policies that will help companies like us.

What the brokers say

In a note following the results of the Phase 2b trial of XF-73, analysts at house broker finnCap said this is a significant milestone for the company and a major valuation inflexion point, enabling Destiny Pharma to progress this asset towards Phase 3 development.

The broker increased the target price to 370p from 300p after increasing the probability of XF-73 being commercialised from 2025 from 53% to 67%.

"Whilst the shares have more than doubled year-to-date, we see further substantial upside," analysts commented.

"Destiny Pharma is an increasingly attractive investment opportunity focused on serious microbial disease prevention, which should have two Phase 3-ready assets (XF-73 having been awarded both QIDP and Fast Track status by the FDA) for development, licensing and/or co-development by the end of 2021."

Meanwhile, analysts at Equity Development also raised their fair value of the company to 357p per share from 262p, saying Destiny is now "in the attractive but unusual situation (amongst UK biotech companies) of having two Phase 3-ready assets".
By Tom Wilson and Marc Jones

LONDON (Reuters) - China proposed a set of global rules for central bank digital currencies on Thursday, from how they can be used around the world to highly sensitive issues such as monitoring and information sharing.

Global central banks are looking at developing digital currencies to modernise their financial systems, ward off the threat from cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and speed up domestic and international payments. China is one of the most advanced in its effort.

Mu Changchun, the director-general of the PBOC's digital currency institute, laid out the new proposals at a Bank for International Settlements seminar.

"Interoperability should be enabled between CBDC (central bank digital currency) systems of different jurisdictions and exchange," Mu said. The PBOC had shared the proposals with other central banks and monetary authorities, he said.

"Information flow and fund flows should be synchronised so as to facilitate regulators to monitor the transactions for compliance"

"We also propose a scalable and overseen foreign exchange platform supported by DLT (distributed ledger technology like blockchain) or other technologies."

As digital currencies such as bitcoin gain more traction with mainstream companies and investors, and as private efforts like the Facebook-backed Diem seek approval, the onus is on central banks to accelerate plans to issue digital cash to fend off threats to their control over money.

The PBOC is aiming to become the first major central bank to issue a CBDC, part of its push to internationalise the yuan and reduce dependence on the dollar-dominated global banking system. [nL4N2H72KY]

The European Central Bank is also exploring the introduction of a digital euro, within the next five years. It's running into opposition from Germany, though, where the Bundesbank worries that a digital euro could pose risks to banks.

A CBDC that gains wide acceptance in international trade and payments could ultimately erode the dollar's status as the de facto currency of world trade and undermine U.S. influence, many analysts say.

Story continues

The U.S. Federal Reserve head, Jerome Powell, has said it is more important for the Fed gets its approach to a digital dollar right rather than leading the pack. Nevertheless, he expects this year to be an important in getting the ball rolling.

China said separately on Thursday it would quicken pilot programmes to develop its digital yuan, as it seeks to boost consumption to shore up economic growth.

Mu added that a key global rule should be a "fair supply of digital currencies" by world central banks to continue supporting the healthy evolution and financial stability of the international monetary system.

A "digital currency supplied by one central bank should not impede another central bank's ability to carry out its mandate for monetary and financial stability," he said.

(Reporting by Tom Wilson and Marc Jones)
MONTREALArousr, an interactive chat platform for adults, is launching a Bodysuit Model Search to find the sexiest rising stars to best represent the companys brand.

Aspiring models need only tag #arousr and #arousrstars in their hottest Instagram photos or simply retweet the companys formal post on Twitter about the contest. Officials will look over all submissions and choose their favorites, then mail them an Arousr bodysuit. Take a sexy snapshot and post the bodysuit pic on their IG profile to win a $200 cash prize plus free promotion on the Instagram , Twitter and other Arousr profiles.

Think youve got what it takes to fill out the Arousr bodysuit? Join us in celebrating your best sexy self and send in your sexy submission today. If we republish your post, youll win $200 and extra added exposure through our growing Arousr network, said Patrick Roy, the companys founder and CEO.

Its a win-win in terms of increased awareness and visibility for everyone," Roy continued. "As long as they keep the post up on their account and use our hashtags #arousr and #arousrstars, they are getting exposure, and attracting more fans, collaborators and other models to your brand.

For more detailed information about how to become an Arousr model, with posing tips and tutorials to increase the chances of being selected, visit ArousrOfficial.medium.com

Arousr is a paid token-based service to avoid the intrusion of ads, bots and pop-ups. New users will be awarded 100 free credits in order to try the service before making a commitment. After that, members only pay for the credits they use. Casual and discreet, Arousr is just a download away in Play Stores or its official site which only takes seconds to join
Arcules is a Canon Company that delivers the next generation of cloud-based video surveillance, access control and video analytics - all on one unified, intuitive platform. Arcules was the ideal choice for Renown because of its scalability, flexibility, and its ability to integrate with both the organizations existing video infrastructure seamlessly.

Arcules, the leading provider of unified, intelligent security-as-a-service solutions, announced that Renown Health has deployed the Arcules Unified Security Platform to enhance safety and security at mobile COVID-19 test facilities. The Arcules solution helps ensure the remote locations security as physicians and medical personnel work to test and care for patients.

Like most healthcare facilities and hospitals, Renown Health has faced an influx of individuals infected with COVID-19. As a result of this demand, Renown built remote facilities to address the growing demand but needed to ensure the locations security. Because these sites are not permanent, stakeholders needed to find a solution that could monitor activity while addressing connectivity and bandwidth limitations. It also required rapid deployment of technology that could integrate with its Milestone Systems XProtect Video Management System seamlessly and support the ongoing expansion of connected devices.

We wanted to migrate to the cloud, but we needed to ensure it was built specifically for video use cases and offered options to expand as needed as the healthcare environment evolves, said Joe Edwards, Director of Security at Renown Health. During our selection process, both our security team and our IT organization discovered that Arcules delivered the best solution for our growing environment. When all things were considered, Arcules was the winner hands-down.

Technology integrator and Renown partner Incline Technology Consulting recommended the Arcules Edge Cloud Solution to collect and store incoming video data from five Axis cameras on an edge storage device. This allows users to remotely view and manage incoming data via the cloud.

Arcules was the ideal choice for Renown because of its scalability, flexibility, and its ability to integrate with both the organizations existing video infrastructure seamlessly, said Nic Hasler, Founder and President at Incline. Beyond its technology capabilities, the Arcules team delivered outstanding service and support to ensure the system met all of our requirements.

Renown is a leader in healthcare excellence, and we are pleased to play a role in helping the organization protect critical assets and enhance security operations so that they can focus on taking care of its patients, said Nigel Waterton, CRO at Arcules. The healthcare market in particular experiences significant benefits and cost savings through the implementation of cloud solutions  not to mention the increased security benefits for providers and patients - which reduces complexity and cost, delivers scalability, and increases resiliency.

About Arcules

Arcules, a Canon Group company, addresses the unmet need of modern enterprises for integrated cloud-based video surveillance, access control, and IoT with its Unified Cloud Security Platform. Arcules combines previously untapped video monitoring data with sensor data and analytics to deliver actionable insights that ultimately drive better business decisions, optimize operations and improve safety. Visit arcules.com for more information.
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.
Before the glam teams and constant photo shoots, she was best known for her social media content consisting of mostly selfies.

And Kim Kardashian went back to her old artform in her latest social media post.

The 40-year-old reality star took to Instagram to share a 'photo dump' of snaps from her phone's camera roll on Thursday night.

Letting it all out: Kim Kardashian took to Instagram to share a 'photo dump' of snaps from her phone's camera roll on Thursday night

No doubt the images that will draw the most attention from her 211million followers will be the mirror selfies from her sprawling closet.

In one of the snaps Kim showed off her ripped abs as she donned a clinging grey, long-sleeved crop top and body-hugging, sheer cream-colored maxi skirt.

She of course had to show off her famous backside in one of the pictures as she donned a clinging blue gown featuring a corseted top along with details including gold lace and sheer paneling.

Curves ahead: The 40-year-old star showed off her famous backside in one of the pictures as she donned a clinging blue gown featuring a corseted top along with details including gold lace and sheer paneling

Simple: She puckered up for a selfie

Squad: She also shared a snap of herself with sisters Kourtney Kardashian and Kylie Jenner in skimpy bikinis while soaking up the sun

She also shared a snap of herself with sisters Kourtney Kardashian and Kylie Jenner in skimpy bikinis while soaking up the sun.

There were also plenty of vacation snaps including skyscapes and one of her swimming in a murky pool while daughter North walks alongside.

Obviously her children have a big presence on her camera roll as she shared a snap of seven-year-old North holding a bird in addition to a snap of their collection of luxury toy cars.

Serene: There were also plenty of vacation snaps including skyscapes

Interesting: There was a photo of herself swimming in a murky pool while daughter North walks alongside

Beautiful: Kim was shown in an indoor pool as she looked out into the wilderness

Making a splash: She shared a selfie of her legs poolside

Sweet: Obviously her children have a big presence on her camera roll as she shared a snap of seven-year-old North holding a bird

Caravan: She shared an image of her kids' impressive collection of luxury toy cars

The social media gallery post comes amid her mother Kris Jenner's appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show where she said Kim was focusing on her children and law career amid divorce news from Kanye West.

When asked by Ellen, 63, how Kim is doing as she navigates her split from the rapper, 43, Kris said: 'Kim's good. She's really busy, working on all of her different projects

'She's so focused. Her study time is all blocked out, so nothing else can get in the way. I don't know how she does it, with all [my] grandbabies. She's got a lot of energy, that kid.'

In happier times: Meanwhile, Kris Jenner has revealed Kim is focusing on her children and law career amid her divorce from Kanye West (Kim and Kanye pictured at the 2016 Met Gala)

Update: The Keeping Up With The Kardashians matriarch, 65, gave updates on her reality star daughter, 40, during Thursday's episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show

The mother-of-six also told Ellen: Opening up about Kim's dedication to preparing for the bar, momager Kris added: 'She's just passionate about the whole thing and everything she stands for, and I see her studying.

'It's in her schedule every single day, when I get all the schedules for the kids. I'm so proud of her.'

Kris also credited Kim's father Robert Kardashian - a high-profile lawyer - as her daughter's biggest inspiration.

Focused: When asked how Kim is doing as she navigates her split from the rapper, 43, Kris said: 'Kim's good. She's really busy' (Kim pictured with North, seven, and Chicago, three)

She said: 'I think that's a big motivation for her, having her dad do what he did. She always looked up to her dad, and that was her idol.'

Kim spends 18 hours a week studying law under the guidance of Jessica Jackson, Van Jones, and Erin Haney so she can pass the California State Bar in 2024 and eventually start her own law firm.

The TV personality juggles her studies with raising her four children with Kanye; North, seven, Saint, five, Chicago, three, and Psalm, 22 months.

SKIMS founder Kim and rapper Kanye are in the midst of a multi-million dollar divorce.

The mother-of-six marvelled: 'I see her studying...It's in her schedule every single day when I get all the schedules for the kids. Her study time is all blocked. I'm so proud of her'

Last month, Kim filed for divorce from the musician following a six-year-plus marriage, asking for joint custody of the kids.

The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star is also requesting spousal support be terminated as an option for either party in the divorce.

In her February 19 split filing, Kim cited irreconcilable differences, noting that they have a prenuptial agreement in place.

Doting mother: The TV personality juggles her studies with raising her four children with Kanye; (L-R in December) Saint, five, Psalm, 22 months, Chicago, three, and North, seven

Their date of separation, however, remains to be determined in the eyes of the court, with the date becoming a potential point of contention when dividing up assets.

Kim and Kanye have a prenuptial agreement in place that should govern the issue.

It was later reported that the couple are only only communicating through security after Kanye changed his number and cut-off of Kim, despite a source telling MailOnline last month: 'The split is amicable and there is no drama.'

Insiders told Page Six: 'Even before Kim filed for divorce, Kanye changed his numbers and said, "You can contact me through my security". Despite this, she trusts him around the kids. He loves them and is seeing a lot of them.'

To be decided: Kim last month filed for divorce from the musician following a six-year-plus marriage, asking for joint custody of the kids

Kanye and Kim began dating in 2012 and got engaged in 2013, before marrying in a lavish ceremony in Florence, Italy, in May 2014.

The divorce is the first for Kanye and third for Kim, who was previously married to Damon Thomas from 2000 to 2004 and Kris Humphries from 2011 to 2013.

Kanye and Kim began dating in 2012 and got engaged in 2013, before marrying in a lavish ceremony in Florence, Italy, in May 2014.

The divorce is the first for Kanye and third for Kim, who was previously married to Damon Thomas from 2000 to 2004 and Kris Humphries from 2011 to 2013.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Older than Washington state, the biggest Douglas firs on this patch of state forestland have stood through more than a century of logging.

Part of a 180-acre timber sale auctioned off for $4.2 million last November by the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR), their next stop was a plywood mill. Then, something unusual happened.

Hilary Franz, state commissioner of public lands, pulled back nearly 40 acres with most of the biggest, oldest trees from the sale.

Now, this timber sale named Smuggler (sales are often whimsically named by state foresters) also is swinging open a door to a broader conversation in Washington, home to the second-largest lumber producer in the nation, to rethink the value of trees on state lands not as logs, but as trees to help address the twin crises of species extinction and climate warming.

Franz is kicking off an examination over the next three to four months of all older forests on DNR lands west of the Cascades not already in conservation statusabout 10,000 acres.

But that is nothing compared to positions staked out by two of her predecessors: Jennifer Belcher, commissioner from 1993-2001, and Peter Goldmark, commissioner from 2009-2017. They have launched a proposal to gradually stop all commercial harvest of state forests west of the Cascades, for what they see as a higher purpose: combating the climate crisis.

Nothing we currently know of works better than allowing trees to suck carbon from the atmosphere when they are living, and store it in their branches, roots and the forest soil for centuries after their death. Treesespecially mature forestsare the cheapest, fastest, most reliable form of carbon storage.

So-called proforestation is the leading edge of new science that finds intentionally leaving forests to grow bigger helps blunt the worst effects of the climate catastrophe. Of course, fossil fuel emissions must also be drastically reduced.

Franz said she opposes her predecessors' proposal. She is concerned about preserving local timber supplies, mills, jobs and payments made from timber revenue to state trust beneficiaries for school construction and local government needs. State trust lands contributed more than $155 million in net revenue to those beneficiaries in 2018, most of it from timber harvests.

But she does want to take a new look at older trees. Not the old growth the state already protects, sprouted before 1850, among other characteristics. The older trees that are the giants of tomorrow.

Franz sees an opportunity to take a broader, more holistic view and create meaningful change that extends beyond the Capitol State Forest, she said in an interview.

Public comment will be heard at the regularly scheduled meetings of the state Board of Natural Resources, which meets the first Tuesday of every month. Meanwhile, DNR does not anticipate bringing forward any sales with older forests.

"This offers an opportunity for us to have that larger conversation, to balance two admirable objectives to protect working forest lands and ensuring older growth trees are conserved for their ecological values," Franz said.

Century-old trees

The 91,650 acre Capitol State Forest south and west of Olympia in Thurston and Grays Harbor counties is a place that's always worked hard for Washington. It is patched with clear cuts old and new.

So to walk Unit 1 of the Smuggler sale is to enter another world.

There is western hemlock and Douglas fir. Red cedar and alder. Sunlight streams through canopy gaps where giants fell. Old logs are easing back into the fragrant soil as brown as rich chocolate. Devil's club stands shoulder high, and the sword ferns are as wide and thick as a mattress.

Railroads were built through the forest to take out the timber in the 1900s. There are stumps here and there in some areas, hand-cut, with the scars still visible in the trunks where loggers stood on springboards to saw down giant firs by hand.

Yet this grove was left. Some of the stand regenerated naturally from a "sloppy" cut from the 1900s and there are patches never logged.

Stephen Kropp, director of the Center for Responsible Forestry, a small environmental organization, said he was amazed when he saw some of the trees at Smuggler especially in Unit 1. "It was the kind of thing I would expect to see in Mount Rainier National Park," Kropp said.

He contacted staff at DNR to tell them he thought he had found old growth in the sale.

After a lot of back and forth, DNR staff resurveyed the land and concluded Kropp was correct. The department pulled two acres of old growth out of the sale, and reached across the boundary of the sale to capture some 400-year old trees, to meet the state's minimum requirement of five acres to protect qualifying trees under the state's old growth policy.

That still left a lot of trees in Unit 1 that didn't quite fit the department's definition of old growth, but included older, naturally regenerated forest not typically seen in production stands.

"I've been thinking about this since day one," said Daniel Donato, who manages old growth for DNR. Many of the trees here were so big, Donato had to get new equipment to take test cores to double-check their ages.

Many he cored turned out to be more than a century old. It was a borderline situation. Not old enough to be protected as old growth. But clearly special.

The sale went forward.

Until it didn't. In this stand, in these times, Franz decided to pull nearly 40 acres out of the sale and push pause on similar stands in Western Washington for a rethink.

"You don't pick a specific age, you stand back and look at the ecological function of an older forest provides, and we especially need to be doing this in the context of climate change," Franz said. "So we will be taking a step back, and looking at this at the watershed level, at the functions these older forests have, and doing this not only at the Capitol Forest."

Kropp, who advocates for protecting older forest ecosystems in the Puget Sound region and Southwest Washington, was unimpressed. He would like the department to consider protecting diverse, natural stands 80 years and older, while focusing harvest on younger, plantation lands.

But Belcher and Goldmark out-greened them all.

'A higher purpose'

Jennifer Belcher launched some of the department's most important conservation practices, working with tribes and state lawmakers to create a habitat conservation plan that made Washington's harvest policies the most restrictive in the Northwest. But today, she and Goldmark agree that's not good enough.

Goldmark and Belcher are calling for the creation of a new class of state forest trust lands: the Washington State Ecological Reserve, implemented by retiring 5% per year of westside forest lands from commercial harvest over 20 years.

They would keep whole the trusts that now depend on timber revenue, with payments from the purchase of carbon credits by businesses and others that want to invest in state forests as a defense in the fight against climate warming.

They acknowledge it's a big changebut say that is what is needed in a time of climate crisis. "Now is the opportunity time," Belcher said. Goldmark agreed.

"I just see everything differently, now in light of the greater crisis of climate change and the importance of doing something transformative," said Goldmark.

"This is something that needs to happen. We are calling out to have these forests used for a higher purpose."

The call for a new look at state forests is coming from other directions, too.

The state Supreme Court has agreed to review a case at the request of Conservation Northwest, and other environmental groups, to reconsider the interpretation of the state constitution as it relates to management by DNR of state trust lands.

DNR puts proceeds from state trust lands toward construction for K-12 schools and local government needs, including fire, hospital and library districts.

Local taxing districts, especially in rural timber communities, rely on DNR payments for everything from a new stadium in Clallam County to police cars in Mason County.

The suit argues DNR lands are to be managed to benefit all people, not just to maximize economic return for trust beneficiaries.

"We don't think these lands need to be managed so hard for extraction," said Paula Swedeen, policy director for Conservation Northwest.

Meanwhile the DNR has been sued by a timber industry trade group and local school districts for not cutting hard enough.

But sales especially of bigger older trees also are becoming more controversial.

The DNR saw its first known tree sit last fall, in a peaceful protest of the Chameleon timber sale, also in the Capitol State Forest.

The tree sitter eventually came down and the trees were cut. But DNR noticed. After the sale, the department put up "no trespassing" signs on the access to the Smuggler site, in part to prevent another Chameleon, said Angus Brodie, a DNR forest policy manager.

Logging's legacy

Net timber revenue from state forestlands totaled about $124 million 2018, according to a DNR review underway of the performance of its trust lands. That review also found that timber revenue is in steep decline (down 45% since 1995) in part because of increasing restrictions that reduce harvest.

The department already conserves a lot of forestland: About 40% of all DNR forestlands, and more than 50% of DNR forests west of the Cascades, are in conservation areas to protect everything from salmon streams to unstable slopes.

That doesn't mean they haven't been cut in the past, but over time these areas are intended to become older stands.

Jerry Franklin, 84, spent his career as a scientist at Oregon State University, the University of Washington and the U.S. Forest Service, becoming a national expert on forest ecosystems, and old trees in particular. He praised Franz's "responsible" decision to look at the state's older trees not now in conservation.

But he doesn't agree with her predecessors' pitch to stop westside commercial harvest on state lands. Those forests serve social needs, in addition to ecological purposes, Franklin said: State forests provide jobs, sustain a timber industry infrastructure and are managed more responsibly than other suppliers, including B.C., which is still cutting the last of its old growth.

Forests that have been transformed by repeated clear-cuts, pesticide treatments, and regrown as plantations also will need continued management, Franklin said. "These are grossly-changed forests, they are very unnatural ... We can't just walk away."

He would rather see a proposal to grow trees longer on private industrial forest lands, which are cut on much shorter rotations than DNR lands.

"They aren't being radical enough," he said of Belcher and Goldmark. "If you want to look at where the huge opportunities lie for carbon sequestration, it is in the industrial forestlands.

"What we have (are) forestlands I would describe as socially underperforming land from every point of view, including wood production and carbon sequestration."

No matter what DNR does, there will still be plenty of logging in Washington. Private timber companies own about a third of the forests in Washington, and generate 70% of the timber harvested, according to the Washington Forest Protection Association, a trade group. Raw logs can't be exported from public lands, but logs from private land go anywhere there's a market, including overseas.

While not what it used to be, the timber industry in Washington still supports about 100,000 jobs. About 12% of all forestlands in Washington are owned by DNR, compared with 20% in industrial, privately owned forest landsincluding much of the most productive low-elevation ground. More than 65% of the timber harvest in Washington in 2020 came from private lands.

Logging rotations on industrial lands are as short as 30 years. DNR cuts its trees more typically at 60 to 80 years.

Both harvests cut short a Douglas fir just beginning its mature stage at the end of its first century. "They are not just growing a little bit. They are growing immensely," Franklin said. "Douglas fir is so incredible. We don't even know how incredible it is."

'We've done our part'

Creation of a state forest ecological reserve would put Washington at the forefront of a national movement to use natural solutions to blunt climate threat.

Beverly Law, an expert in carbon sequestration dynamics and professor emeritus at Oregon State University, signed on to a letter to the Biden transition team from scientists around the country advising creation of a Strategic Carbon Reserve from the nation's forests. Modeled on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the carbon reserve would be paid for by directing public subsidies for oil and gas to buying up forests, to just let them grow.

But rural communities hungry for timber revenue from state lands don't want to see more state forest put into conservation.

Conserving all westside DNR forest landsespecially in areas already home to national parks, where logging is bannedwas a non-starter for Rep. Mike Chapman, a Democrat who represents the sprawling 24th Legislative District, covering most of the western Olympic Peninsula.

"We've done our part," Chapman said. "You can't have it all. ... I am not a slash-and-burn politician but I can tell you, that would be a bridge too far."

But Rep. Steve Tharinger, another Democrat representing the 24th District, acknowledged that the role of forestry in a changing world is being reassessed, just as dams are.

"Thomas Aldwell was not wrong to build the Elwha Dam ... and we were not wrong to take it out," said Tharinger, referring to the century-old dam that was removed in 2012. But he also thinks the Belcher-Goldmark proposal is "on the extreme end."

However, even the chief of the state public school system agrees it's time for a new look at the state's forests. With growing school needs and flat or declining revenue, timber trust dollars have come to play a diminishing role in financing common school construction.

In the current biennium, DNR timber revenue funded 5% of the total cost of projects funded under the School Construction Assistance Program for K-12 schools, said Randy Newman, director of school facilities for the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

"It's an almost invisible share of the money we spend every year on school construction," said Chris Reykdal, superintendent of OSPI. "This is not the future of school construction. It just isn't."

Money going to the school trusts today from logging would be better spent to protect species and habitat, and to take care of industries and the counties in communities where logging is reduced, Reykdal said.

He does see a role for some logging on state lands.

"But as a citizen of the state and the planet it is the right question," Reykdal said of the Goldmark-Belcher proposal.

"We just have to think like we are in the 21st century in a climate crisis and not like we are in the 19th century funding schools."

2021 The Seattle Times

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
document

We, the undersigned civil society organisations spearheading the People's Vaccine Campaign ZW, commend the Government of Zimbabwe (GoZ) for procuring some initial batches of vaccines for its citizens in the face of 'vaccine apartheid' which is presently threatening the global order. We recognize the challenges faced by governments in the global south to not only access vaccines but also making any inroads in starting to manufacture vaccines. We express our solidarity to all Global South governments who are leading on this front to ensure that a global resolution is implemented that leaves no country behind.

At the same time, we note with concern the trend of slow uptake of the Covid-19 vaccine and the delay this has on achieving population immunity for the protection of Zimbabweans. In light of this, we reiterate our call for a clear distribution plan with timelines for each stage and clear benchmarks for moving onto each successive stage in the most efficient way possible. We remind relevant stakeholders that the success of the vaccination program in Zimbabwe relies heavily on the trust which citizens place in the plan.

A vaccine for Covid-19 should be viewed as a public good and all Zimbabweans should be advised of when they will be able to access the vaccine. The People's Vaccine Campaign ZW also draws attention to the need for this clear distribution plan to mitigate any perception or possibility of diversion of funds and resources. We caution against the temptation to divert vaccines or make vaccines available to only a few as the demand for vaccines increases by the majority of Zimbabweans. The People's Vaccine Campaign ZW calls for reliable oversight measures, including at health facilities where vaccination is going to take place.

It is concerning to note that the currently limited vaccine supplies could result in those with financial resources or those who are politically connected offering bribes for inoculation without following the phases and stages as highlighted in the government rollout plan. Vaccines are a right for all Zimbabweans, not just the elite.

To mitigate the risks associated with the supply and distribution of the vaccines, The People's Vaccine Campaign ZW calls upon the Government of Zimbabwe to:

Publicize a clear vaccine distribution matrix showing the number of vaccines sent to institutions with frontline workers and the number of workers who are slated to receive/who receive the vaccine at those sites.

Publicize data from each vaccination site (both static and mobile) showing the number of vaccines that have been used per week.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Coronavirus Zimbabwe By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Publicize the acceptable documentation required to demonstrate eligibility for the vaccine at each stage.

Publicize the stated plan with timelines and locations for all citizens to know when successive categories become eligible for their vaccinations and where they should go when it is their turn.

Ensure that health workers responsible for the vaccinations only vaccinate according to the categories and stages in the rollout plan.

Ensure that all the information is available in all official languages which include sign language.

We, the undersigned, express our commitment to the public health program in Zimbabwe to minimize the toll of Covid-19 on our society and call on the leadership of the vaccination program to clearly and consistently communicate with citizens through the Ministry of Health.

Source: People's Vaccine Campaign ZW (Magamba, Citizens Manifesto, ZimRights, ZIMCODD and Kubatana)
Vice President Kamala Harris has been tasked with overseeing the White House response to the border between the United States and Mexico. On the other hand, Harris has spoken widely on the topic of immigration in the past, even before her Wednesday appointment.

Harris said her stance on border issues before she was appointed

After being appointed head of the Biden administration's border response, Kamala Harris said, "There's no denying that this is a difficult situation... While we are clear that people can not come to the border right now, we also recognize that we can uphold the law and that, since we can chew gum and walk at the same time, we must solve the root factors that lead people to make the journey mentioned by the president."

"An undocumented immigrant is not a criminal," Harris told KCBS-TV in Los Angeles in 2015 while acting as California's Attorney General. When working as a Senator in California, Harris voted against an immigration bill in 2018, claiming that while it would include a road to citizenship for many young immigrants, it offered too much funding for former President Donald Trump's border wall.

In her 2019 book, "The Truths We Hold," Harris also discussed her immigration and border views. In her book, Harris wrote about the border wall, saying, "A border wall with Mexico was a complete waste of public funds. While I am a firm believer in border security, experts accept that a wall would not protect our borders." According to Newsweek via MSN, Harris also lambasted former Attorney General Jeff Sessions. He was in charge of the zero-tolerance border program that split immigrant children from their families in her book.

During a Democratic primary debate in June 2019, Harris expressed her views once more, saying that one of her first steps will be to reinstate DACA if elected president. "I would have put in place an effective mechanism for assessing asylum cases right away. I'm going to free the kids from their cages. I'm going to abolish private detention centers," at the debate, Harris said.

In a Democratic presidential debate in 2019, Harris was asked whether an immigrant should be deported if their only offense is being illegal, and she said, "No, they should not be deported." Harris was also asked whether the government could try to prosecute those who cross the border unlawfully. Harris responded by recounting a visit she made to a private migrant detention center.

Donald Trump Says He Wrote a Letter to Joe Biden 'From the Heart'

Biden tasks VP Kamala Harris in tackling the migrant influx

President Joe Biden said while announcing Harris' appointment as his immigration czar to reporters and White House officials that she is the most capable person to do so, to lead efforts with Mexico and the Northern Triangle, and the countries that are going to need support in stopping the influx of so many people - stemming the flow to our southern border. Biden said of Harris' previous job as California's attorney general, saying, "As she speaks, she speaks for me." Many of those crossing the border are fleeing Central America's poverty and violence.

As photos show children being born in overcrowded conditions in temporary shelters, the administration continues to call the situation a "crisis." Biden mentioned 'serious spikes' in people traveling to the southern border, blaming the Trump administration, BBC News reported.

Meanwhile, in the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, Harris stressed the urgency of tackling the causes that drove migration, such as the pervasive scourge of gang violence. Biden is attempting to replicate his experience as Barack Obama's vice president by entrusting the matter to Harris. Obama appointed Biden early in his first term to address one of the administration's most pressing issues: the White House initiative to reduce U.S. troop levels in the intractable Iraq war.

A surge in border crossings has resulted in the detention of over 16,000 migrant children in the United States. To deal with the surge, the government plans to open six additional emergency shelters, as per Daily Mail.

Joe Biden May Regret Passing the $1.9 Trillion Stimulus Bill, Realizes It Could Be Useful for Other Priorities

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Pakistani national Ayaz Younas (pictured) was on his first day of a new contracting job when his Toyota Camry became trapped in floodwaters

A dashcam could unlock the mystery of how an engineering student died while trying to flee his car after becoming trapped in floodwaters.

Pakistani national Ayaz Younas was on his way to start a new job driving concrete trucks on Wednesday when his rented Toyota Camry was engulfed in water in Glenorie on Sydney's northern outskirts.

Mr Younas had grabbed a dashcam from a flatmate just moments before leaving his home in Whalan at 6am and setting off on his ill-fated journey, with the camera potentially holding vital clues into his baffling death on Cattai Ridge Road, The Australian reported.

The road was supposed to be closed but padlocked flood gates were already submerged and Mr Younas may not have noticed the water because it was still dark at the time.

Mr Younas frantically called triple-zero at 6:25am and remained on the line with the operator until 7am when contact was lost - leaving investigators baffled as to how the student was unable to leave the car.

A search and rescue operation was undertaken and a helicopter was dispatched to the area but police initially could not find any sign of the 25-year-old.

His body was not found until six hours later - under six metres of water - with friends demanding to know why it took so long for police to locate Mr Younas' car.

'Police said that he was in communication with triple-zero for about 35 minutes when he was stuck. As we are first world country, I don't know why his location was not traced and nobody reach there in time,' a friend told Daily Mail Australia.

The inside of Mr Younas' car was badly damaged, indicating to police that he frantically battled to save his life and escape as waters rose around him.

Mr Younas' trapped Toyota Camry became trapped in floodwaters on Cattai Ridge Road in Glenorie on Sydney's northern outskirts. The vehicle is pictured after being recovered by police

Mr Younas (pictured) came to Australia two years ago from Karachi, Pakistan, with friends saying he was 'excited' to start a new life Down Under

A friend of Mr Younas' said he was not one to take risks and revealed how he was a strong swimmer as his father was a trained naval diver in the Pakistan Navy, before his retirement.

'He wasn't the type of guy who takes risks for no reason, so being dark that early in the morning and the water being around the bend, you know, maybe he just didn't see it,' Imran Ahmad said.

'And his work just being around the corner from there, where he was trying to get to, the excitement of the first-day job. I don't know, there's so many things that we can't just assume.'

Burhan Mirza, who went to Charles Sturt University with Mr Younas, told Daily Mail Australia the young student was 'excited' to start a new life Down Under.

'He always told me he move to Australia for a better life with dreams of becoming a permanent resident with a good job and a healthy life,' Mr Mirza said.

'But nobody knew it would end like this. Ayaz was very kind, always ready to help. He was fond of making friends and (was) great guy.'

Mr Mirza said his friend, who came to Australia two years ago from Karachi, worked at Domino's Pizza while juggling several other jobs to fund his study of software engineering.

NSW Police Detective Inspector Chris Laird said: 'Had he not rung us, we never would have found him. Not until the water receded anyway'.

Mr Younas (pictured) called triple-zero at 6.25am on Wednesday and remained on the line with the operator until about 7am, when contact was lost

Emergency crews were called to Cattai Ridge Road, near Hidden Valley Lane in Glenorie at about 6.30am on Wednesday, following reports a car was submerged in floodwaters

'But we can only speculate that given what I have seen and the damage to the vehicle that it could very well be that the electrics totally failed, and he was simply unable to escape from the car which is an absolute tragedy.

'You can only just imagine somebody fighting for their life to get out of the car - that's what the inside damage of the vehicle looked like.'

Det Insp Laird said Mr Younas 'clearly couldn't get out' of the car as there were no broken windows.

He said the roads had multiple signs and closure warnings but the car was located 30 metres into floodwaters and six metres under water. Emergency crews recovered Mr Younas' body at 1pm after finding his submerged car.

Det Insp Laird suggested there would be investigations into why Mr Younas was in the area.

'The remote location of the area, (we'll ask) questions about what he was doing up there. He may not have known the area as locals would,' he said.

The Pakistani Community of Australia said it had spoken to Mr Younas' father.

The car with the student's body inside was found in Cattai Creek (pictured) at about 1pm following a NSW Police and SES Flood Rescue search

Community leader Farhat Jaffri said Mr Younas' heartbroken family requested that his body be sent back to Karachi in southern Pakistan.

Mr Younas, who has two elder brothers and one younger sister, was from Malir Cantt in Karachi and studied software engineering.

Shazbaz Muhammad said Mr Younas was a 'dear friend'.

'Please pray for the departed soul,' Mr Muhammad said.

Det Insp Laird said Mr Younas had strong roots in western Sydney, and that his friends in Australia were devastated by the news.

'From the police force, all emergency services, here is the very reason why you should not make any attempt to drive through swollen rivers,' he said.

Emergency Services Minister David Elliott offered his condolences, saying it would send ripples through the northwest Sydney community.

Police divers are seen searching Cattai Creek on Wednesday, following reports the car was submerged in floodwaters

A police officer is seen in Glenorie after the student's body was discovered in a car in Sydney's north-west

'The human cost of these floods has been brought into sharp focus in the most tragic of circumstances and I urge communities to continue to be cautious in the face of continued and imminent threats to life,' Mr Elliott said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese also made statements in federal parliament about the tragedy.

Mr Morrison labelled Wednesday a 'terribly sad day', saying he knew the area well from childhood camping trips and felt for the man's family.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said there was still extreme danger in flood-hit areas despite the clear weather in Sydney on Wednesday.

'Whilst the sun is out conditions remain extremely dangerous, rivers are still rising,' she said.

In Queensland a desperate search for David Hornman, 38, ended when his body was found inside his ute in the Gold Coast Hinterland on Wednesday afternoon

A police car and tape blocks the crime scene off to the community in Glenorie on Wednesday

'We ask everybody, especially if they are in vehicles to be extra cautious.

'Some would suggest it is even more dangerous now as rivers continue to rise and catchments fill up with water.'

In Queensland, a desperate search for David Hornman, 38, ended when his body was found inside his ute in the Gold Coast hinterland on Wednesday afternoon.

The 38-year-old father was last seen on Monday and had not contacted his family since heading to a job in the Tamborine area, where torrential rain caused flash flooding this week.

His ute was spotted earlier in the day in the flooded Canungra Creek.
LOS ANGELESJustFor.fans (JFF) founder/CEO Dominic Ford will be hosting an informative virtual Q&A webinar on the popular adult fan site and social platform. That webinar, "Recommendations, Exclusive Model Program & Digital Fingerprinting," will take place on Thursday, March 25 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

The free digital event, designed to help models maximize their monetary rewards and optimize the sites security features, will introduce JFFs new "Recommendations" page and its role in increasing online traffic, ranking and visibility in order to help creators stand out from the competition.

Other topics will include the history and benefits of JFFs model program and how its unique fingerprinting technology works. Ford will then open the floor in an effort to engage webinar attendees in a deeper discussion that addresses their questions, comments and concerns.

As more and more people join adult social platforms to make money as content providers, it becomes necessary to stay ahead of the curve by gaining valuable insight into what online platforms have to offer, said Ford. With these supportive webinars, our goal is to offer JFF models an extra added advantage in an industry that is more competitive than ever.

The "Recommendations, Exclusive Model Program & Digital Fingerprinting" webinar will be held as a service to JFFs verified creators only, exclusively at JustFor.fans/PerformerSupport.

To learn more about JustFor.fans membership, visit JustFor.fans and follow on Twitter at @JustForFansSite.
[March 25, 2021] Hansen Enables Retail Energy and Community Solar Market Expansion for Hampshire Power

Hansen Technologies (ASX:HSN) is pleased to announce today that it has signed a new agreement with Massachusetts-based Hampshire Power Corporation. Under the terms of this agreement, Hansen will provide the Hansen CIS software platform and managed services to support Hampshire Power's retail energy and community solar business lines, initially covering Massachusetts, Maine, New York and Rhode Island. At a time when Commercial and Industrial (C&I) business owners face a rising level of complexity in a fragmented energy sector, Hampshire Power, a vertically integrated retail electricity provider, aims to simplify the value proposition, and to maximize and monetize energy systems for renewable energy asset owners. Hampshire Power provides a fully integrated and managed Energy-as-a-Service solution that leverages revenue and savings into a single financial statement and energy experience for the C&I customer. Todd Ford (News - Alert) , President and CEO, Hampshire Power, commented: "With their unique expertise in the North American retail and community solar power market, we at Hampshire Power are confident that Hansen Technologies is well-placed to enable the integrated Energy-as-a-Service offering that we envision for our customers. We look forward to the support of invaluable partners such as Hansen, as we look to chart even more expansion in the United States in the years to come." John May, CEO Americas, Hansen Technologies, commented: "At a time of industry-wide change and complexity, the integrated Enegy-as-a-Service solution from Hampshire Power will serve to function as a major market differentiator. We could not be more pleased to support them in their journey to unlock value for their customers in the C&I segment. With the proven capabilities afforded by Hansen CIS, we have no doubt that they will."



Hansen CIS is a purpose-built customer information software solution for the energy and utilities sector, including emerging community solar operators. The software is designed to handle every aspect of the customer life cycle using open architecture, an understanding of local regulations and technology standards to speed integration with business and operational systems. Hansen CIS architecture is based on standardized technology enhanced by a modular approach and an open-API library. The product is offered in various global markets and caters to energy and utilities companies operating in competitive and regulated markets. For further information about Hansen Technologies, please visit www.hansencx.com.

About Hansen Technologies Hansen Technologies (ASX: HSN) is a leading global provider of software and services to the energy, water and communications industries. With its award-winning software portfolio, Hansen serves 550+ customers in over 80 countries, helping them to create, sell, and deliver new products and services, manage and analyze customer data, and control critical revenue management and customer support processes. For more information, visit www.hansencx.com About Hampshire Power Corporation Hampshire Power ("Hampshire") is an innovative and integrated Energy-as-a-Service solutions provider creating savings and income for commercial and industrial businesses. Using our revenue + lease model, coupled with advanced, analytic-focused energy optimization, and a curated marketplace of best-in-class products and services, we are able to provide solutions that simplify and coordinate your energy needs with no upfront costs. Join Hampshire on LinkedIn (News - Alert) and Twitter and/or visit www.hampshirepower.com for more information. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005127/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 25, 2021] Hagens Berman: Booksellers Sue Amazon and Big Five Publishers for Alleged Monopoly Price-Fixing the U.S. Print Book Market

Retail booksellers today hit Amazon.com and publishing companies with a class-action lawsuit alleging a massive price-fixing scheme to intentionally constrain the bookselling market and inflate the wholesale price of print books, according to Hagens Berman and its co-counsel Sperling & Slater P.C. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Mar. 25, 2021, and states that Amazon colluded with the Big Five U.S. book publishers - Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster - to restrain competition in the sale of print trade books, or non-academic texts such as fiction and non-fiction material. If you are a retail bookseller, find out more about the lawsuit and your rights. The Big Five publishers control 80% of the trade book market, and Amazon accounts for about half of all books sold, including 90% of all print books sold online. Attorneys say these factors and more make this market ripe for price-fixing through the highly restrictive most-favored-nation clauses (MFNs) in their distribution agreements. The lawsuit states these anticompetitive provisions fix the wholesale price of books and prevent Amazon's competitors from competing on price or product availability. "We believe we have uncovered a classic antitrust price-fixing scheme akin to exactly what Amazon and the Big Five book publishers have been accused of in the past," said Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman and attorney representing the proposed class of booksellers. "The Big Five and Amazon have sought to squeeze every penny they can from online and retail booksellers through a complex and restrictive set of agreements, and we intend to put an end to this anticompetitive behavior." Amazon and its co-conspirators have been involved in similar litigation before. In 2011, Hagens Berman filed a lawsuit against Apple and the Big Five, accusing them of fixing e-book prices at artificially high levels. In that matter, Hagens Berman's successful class action resulted in Apple (News - Alert) settling for $400 million after the case went to the Supreme Court, and the publishers settling for millions more, with hundreds of millions of dollars going back into the pockets of e-bok consumers. Amazon and the Big Five publishers were also sued in 2021 for allegedly inflating the price of e-books.



Throwing the Book at Amazon & the Big Five The lawsuit is brought by a Chicago-area bookstore that maintains both an online and brick-and-mortal competition to Amazon, purchasing books directly via wholesale from each of the Big Five publishers.

"Most independent bookstores are deeply embedded in the communities they serve. They match readers with books that enrich their lives," said Nina Barrett owner of the lawsuit's named plaintiff, Bookends & Beginnings LLC. "They help teach kids to love reading. They build communities around talking about books and ideas. They give gift cards to local fundraisers and reach out to populations where just owning a book might be a luxury. And they do it because they care, not because they're trying to sell you a commodity." "I've been involved in bookselling since the early 1990s, and I've watched Amazon grow into the juggernaut it's become," Barrett added. "I've experienced first-hand the devastation to publishing, bookselling, and to local brick-and-mortar shopping that's resulted. Indie bookstores like mine battle every day to survive on a commercial playing field that is anything but level, and I'm proud to do whatever I can to help remedy that." Bookends & Beginnings LLC operates a bookstore in Evanston, Illinois, and also sells books online through its website. MFNs were previously put in the spotlight when Hagens Berman's eBooks case led to concurrent investigations by federal and state prosecutors in the United States and by the European Commission's Directorate General for Competition. This resulted in orders prohibiting the publishers from entering into MFNs in connection with the sale of eBooks on either continent for a period of five years. As outlined in the lawsuit, MFNs entitle the buyer to the lowest price or best terms that the supplier offers to any other buyer. When combined with Amazon's market dominance, they serve an anticompetitive purpose that controls the wholesale price of print trade books, destroys Amazon's retail competition, reduces consumer choices and creates a disincentive among booksellers to compete on price or non-price promotions in the sale of print trade books, attorneys say. If not for these MFN agreements stifling competition, it would benefit the Big Five's book distribution and economic self-interest to let Amazon's rivals gain more market share by offering them lower wholesale prices or exclusive early releases. "But Amazon's contracts with publishers cover practically all the potential avenues a competing bookseller may attempt to use in order to differentiate itself against Amazon," the suit states. "To control wholesale prices, the Big Five agree to anticompetitive restraints that prevent Plaintiff and other booksellers from competing with Amazon." End of the Monopoly The lawsuit details the MFNs set to ensure no rival bookseller can differentiate itself from, or otherwise compete with, Amazon on price or product availability in the sale of print trade books. Attorneys say that this classic antitrust tactic is exactly what the Sherman Act is designed to stop. "Our firm has a long track record of breaking up anticompetitive behavior under laws like the Sherman Act, designed to break up illegal monopolies that stifle the free market," said Berman. "We intend to hold Amazon and these publishers to the law, just as we have done in previous cases of this very kind." The plaintiff and proposed class is also represented by a team from Sperling & Slater P.C. a Chicago-based firm that routinely represents clients in high profile antitrust matters, led by Eamon Kelly and Joseph Vanek. The proposed classes of online and brick-and-mortar retail booksellers seek monetary damages under the Sherman Act, as well as an order from the court that terminates the ongoing monopoly and price-fixing. Find out more about the class-action lawsuit against Amazon on behalf of booksellers. About Hagens Berman Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP is a consumer-rights class-action law firm with 10 offices worldwide. The firm's tenacious drive for plaintiffs' rights has earned it numerous national accolades, awards and titles of "Most Feared Plaintiff's Firm," MVPs and Trailblazers of class-action law. More about the law firm and its successes can be found at www.hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005940/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
ADVERTISEMENT

The Chief of Defence Intelligence (CDI), Samuel Adebayo, has called for collaboration with the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) on Intelligence sharing in view of the services robust data command and control centre.

Mr Adebayo stated this known when he led a delegation of principal officers on a working visit to the NISs headquarters, in Abuja, on Wednesday, according to a statement by the NIS spokesperson, James Sunday, issued to journalists on Thursday.

Mr Adebayo appreciated President Muhammadu Buhari for making NIS a leading Immigration Service that is evolving world-class service delivery, with a record of uploading over 150,000 Stolen and Lost Travel Documents (STLD).

According to him, this called for applause as it makes Nigeria the first African country and the 54th in the world to achieve the feat.

The Comptroller-General of the agency, Muhammad Babandede, said that security services must endeavour to share Intelligence in real-time and work together to bring an end to the security challenges facing the country.

He said the security agencies could overcome with the deployment of an integrated Intelligence machinery to decimate the bandits, kidnappers and insurgents in the country.

Mr Babandede also said that all the criminal elements transforming into various organised criminal groups, attacking innocent and defenceless citizens could be dealt with through joint collaboration.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the NIS centre, which was recently launched by Mr Buhari, and tagged Technology Building, would serve as a platform for synergy between the NIS and relevant agencies, both local and international, to enhance national security.

The centre has the capacity to share, query, analyse and provide intelligence on the biodata of Nigerians and non-Nigerians, holders of passports, either as residents or on transit.

(NAN)
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 COVID-19 Pandemic, life has changed for literally everyone in many ways. Worship services at St. Lukes Episcopal Church, located at the corner of Myrtle and Berry Street, is fortunate to have a parishioner, Nate Schwab, that has the technical wherewithal to convert the altar area of the sanctuary to a live recording studio.

As of last fall, Father William (Mac) McIlmoyl was able to move his weekly 10 a.m. Sunday Zoom service from his home office to the church. The familiar surroundings were a welcome addition to his sermons. For further information on attending Father Macs Zoom sermons visit the churchs website: www.stlukescalistoga.org

In January St. Lukes Junior Warden, Alex Schellenger, contacted Father Mac with a special request. His mother, Peggy Schellenger 85, passed away in southern California from COVID-19 complications on Dec. 28. Alex was hoping Father Mac could perform a memorial service on behalf of his family. His siblings, Sam Jr., Mathew, Elizabeth and Ralph, lived in Washington, Pennsylvania and Los Angeles. With the pandemic it was impossible for them to get together in the same location let alone with their families in tow.

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.
Thomas Jefferson wrote once that government is the strongest of which every man feels himself a part.

Its a noble idea, calling back to the Constitutions dedication to we, the people. Few Americans today are constitutional scholars, but most know at least those words. They sum up the democratic sentiments that many of us cherish.

But the truth is, few today would find anything democratic about the government the Constitution gave us. Slavery was widely practiced. Women couldnt vote, nor could men who didnt own property. By one estimate, just 6 percent of the population could vote in 1789.

If we cherish the Constitution as a democratic document today, its because of its hard-won amendments  protecting freedom of speech and press, ending slavery and enfranchising African-Americans after the Civil War, allowing women to vote barely a century ago  along with expansions of voting rights, like during the civil rights era of the 1960s.

Ours is a long history of movements struggling to make government actually resemble the democracy proclaimed in our Founding documents. Weve achieved so much, but these shortcomings also produced unspeakable suffering  from slavery to the Civil War to long years of violence and segregation.

To that list we might also add much of the suffering in more recent years.

The Electoral College system, which elects presidents by a convoluted process favoring smaller, more conservative states, allowed both Donald Trump and George W. Bush to win the White House despite losing the popular vote. The consequences include everything from the Iraq War under Bush to the disastrous U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic under Trump.

Its increasingly difficult for voters to repudiate leaders for failures like these. Despite losing the popular vote by nearly 7 million in 2020  more than twice his popular vote defeat in 2016  President Trump came within just 40,000 votes in three states of being re-elected by the Electoral College.

The same system badly warps the Senate. Republican senators havent represented more Americans or won more votes than Democrats in well over two decades, yet theyve controlled the body for most of that time.

During the worst of the pandemic, the GOP-led Senate repeatedly refused more generous relief measures that might have eased pandemic suffering. Over the years they also shot down immensely popular legislation on gun control, immigration reform and environmental protection.

Even now, in a 50-50 Senate, Democrats are extremely constrained by the fact that Republicans representing 40 million fewer Americans can outvote them.

Ominously, these same systems are enabling the worst attacks on voting rights since Jim Crow. According to the Brennan Center, as of March, Republicans had introduced an astounding 253 bills in 43 states to restrict voting rights and limit democracy.

These bills do everything from eliminating mail-in voting to letting lawmakers override popular vote decisions  interventions that could be decisive in the Electoral College and Senate, which already require Democrats to win overwhelming majorities just to eke out victories.

Combined with a fresh round of Republican gerrymandering in the House  drawing voting districts designed to minimize representation from the opposite party  Republicans could easily block the Biden administrations agenda and then win the House, Senate and White House with a minority of votes.

And it could become nearly impossible to dislodge them from power.

This is not a government of we, the people. So its time to amend the Constitution again  to replace the Electoral College with a national popular vote, make our Senate more small d democratic, end the use of partisan gerrymandering, and protect the right to vote.

But amendments are unlikely, since theyd require votes from the same politicians now gaming the system.

Another option for Democrats would be to simply end the Senate filibuster, pass the For the People Act to protect voting rights and end gerrymandering, and admit new states to the union  like the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico  which could partly rebalance the Senate and Electoral College while enfranchising millions of American citizens.

Whatever the approach, if we dont expand our democracy now, we might lose it for generations to come.

James Madison, the lead drafter of the Constitution, once warned that silent encroachments by those in power were the biggest threat to freedom. If we want to protect our democracy, we cant be silent about those threats  including those buried in that very Constitution.

Peter Certo is the senior editorial manager of the Institute for Policy Studies. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.
 Flash

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Wednesday rebuked certain European countries for their unreasonable actions in summoning Chinese ambassadors after China announced sanctions against 10 individuals and four entities within the European Union (EU).

Prior to the Chinese sanctions, the EU had unilaterally sanctioned Chinese individuals and entities under the pretext of so-called human rights issues in Xinjiang, which was based on nothing but lies and false information, spokesperson Hua Chunying told a press briefing.

The EU acted first with an unreasonable provocation, and China simply responded in a legitimate and just manner, she said.

"The EU only allows itself to wantonly smear and attack others and impose sanctions based on false information, but it does not allow China to talk back or fight back," Hua said. "This is, in itself, a manifestation of double standards, bullying and hypocrisy."

Noting that China does not provoke trouble but will never flinch when trouble comes its way, Hua said the country does not accept the unreasonable move of some European countries in summoning Chinese ambassadors.

"The Chinese envoys have all expressed China's solemn position and made solemn representations to the European side," she added.
A state grand jury indicted a New Jersey State Trooper who was accused last year of stalking a woman he had pulled over on the New Jersey Turnpike, officials said Thursday.

Michael Patterson, 29, of Bayonne, was charged with official misconduct, stalking and tampering with public records, according to a statement from the New Jersey Attorney Generals Office. Patterson was initially charged in June with stalking and tampering with public records, as well as deprivation of civil rights.

The New Jersey State Police maintain the highest standards of conduct for their state troopers, standards which the vast majority uphold as faithful and honorable guardians of the public, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said in the statement. Trooper Patterson allegedly violated those standards and the law, using his authority not to act as a guardian, but to put a female motorist in fear. This indictment reflects our resolve to hold officers accountable if they betray the publics trust with this type of conduct.

An investigation by state Office of Public Integrity and Accountability alleged that on Jan. 28, 2020, Patterson stopped a woman on the Turnpike around 9:30 p.m. and let her go with a warning, the office said. However, he then stopped her again a few minutes later after she exited the highway at Exit 11, authorities said.

Patterson allegedly stopped the woman the second time to make advances toward her and disabled the Digital In-Vehicle Recorder (DIVR) in his cruiser to prevent his actions from being recorded, authorities said.

He then followed the woman home in his patrol car and put the woman in fear by doing so, the office said.

The New Jersey State Police holds its troopers to the highest level of professional standards of any law enforcement agency in the country through a robust system of checks and balances that is designed to not only hold its members accountable, but to serve as a tool to provide training and counseling through early intervention, Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, said in the statement.

The alleged conduct revealed in this investigation stands in stark contrast to the core values of the New Jersey State Police and is a betrayal to the public and to the entire law enforcement community.

Pattersons attorney could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.

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.
CHESHAM, England and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Lightpoint Medical, a medical device company developing miniaturized cancer detection tools for robot-assisted surgery, announced today that it has completed an $8 million financing round. The funding includes follow-on investment from private investors, Oxford Technology, Venture Founders, Coutts Bank, and new funding from the British Business Bank Future Fund, bringing the total raised by the company to $18 million.

The new capital will be used to finance expanded clinical trials and early commercialization of Lightpoint's robotic probe, SENSEI, which has the potential to assist in over 2 million applicable surgical procedures every year in the EU, US, China and Japan.

SENSEI received CE Mark approval at the beginning of the year, has been registered successfully with the FDA, and has received approval for sale in Australia.

Lightpoint has secured commercial distribution deals for SENSEI in Spain, Portugal, and Australia. With more contracts to be announced in the forthcoming months, Lightpoint intends to establish a global distribution network by the end of 2021.

Clinical trials of SENSEI in robotic surgery are ongoing in prostate and cervical cancer with new studies in lung cancer planned for the second half of the year.

Dr. David Tuch, CEO of Lightpoint Medical commented: "We're grateful to the British Business Bank and many of our previous shareholders for investing in the round and reaffirming their commitment to Lightpoint. This fundraising follows the US and European market clearance for our SENSEI robotic probe and will enable us to further expand our clinical program and prepare for early commercial development of the technology. Our growing network of commercial distributors will help Lightpoint reach surgeons and nuclear physicians worldwide seeking a better way to perform targeted robotic cancer surgery."

About Lightpoint Medical

Lightpoint Medical is developing miniaturized imaging and sensing tools for intra-operative cancer detection. The company is addressing the urgent medical challenge that despite technological advances in robotic platforms, surgeons lack the tools to accurately detect cancer intra-operatively. As a result, cancer is often left behind or more healthy tissue than needed is removed, increasing the need for adjuvant therapies, causing post-surgical complications, and escalating healthcare costs.

By exploiting advances in miniaturized sensor technologies and the development of cancer-targeted diagnostic imaging agents, Lightpoint is developing miniature tools appropriate in scale for minimally-invasive and robot-assisted surgery to accurately detect cancer in real-time intra-operatively. The aims of the tools are to aid surgical decision making, improve patient outcomes and save costs for healthcare systems.

Lightpoint has a pipeline of miniaturized surgical tools in development with the first, SENSEI, recently approved for sale by regulators in the US, EU and Australia. The first commercial focus is prostate cancer surgery with a planned expansion into other solid tumor types.

For more information about the company visit: www.lightpointmedical.com; www.senseisurgical.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Media Contacts:

Jo O'Shea

Lightpoint Medical

joanne.oshea@lightpointmedical.com

Helen Shik

Shik Communications LLC

Shik.helen10@gmail.com

1- 617-510-4373

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1473201/Lightpoint_Funding.jpg
Unaccompanied minors sleep side by side on the floor at a temporary processing facility in Donna, Texas, on March 23, 2021. (CBP)

Twitter Says It Incorrectly Applied Warning to Photos of Crowded Migrant Facilities

Twitter acknowledged that it had incorrectly applied a warning on a post that showed photos of unaccompanied children huddled under emergency blankets in crowded cells at a Texas detention center.

This warning was incorrectly applied by one of our automated tools and it has since been removed, a Twitter spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email statement. The post that is the subject of this dispute was authored by Project Veritas, an undercover journalism nonprofit.

Project Veritas founder James OKeefe had posted a video that contained a compilation of photos that shed some light on the burgeoning crisis at the U.S. southern border. The photos, which OKeefe said were obtained from a Donna immigration detention center in Texas, show children sleeping on what appears to be four-inch-thick mattresses, although some children appear to be sleeping on the floor.

Following its release, Twitter had placed the video behind a filter and claimed that the content was potentially sensitive.

In response to Twitters statement, OKeefe questioned the efficacy of the automated tool that the platform employs.

What AUTOMATED TOOL could that be? @jack Is that the Censor the truth tool? he wrote.

This is the latest in the ongoing public feud between big tech companies and conservatives. Multiple Silicon Valley companies such as Twitter and Facebook have drawn intense scrutiny over their increased policing of user speech, in particular, during the lead up to the Nov. 3 election and after the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol. The social media companies moderation saw former President Donald Trumps account permanently suspended on Twitter and indefinitely banned on Facebook and Instagram.

The companies are accused of unbalanced moderation of content that conservatives say largely targets them and supporters of Trump.

This is not the first time Twitter has taken action against Project Veritas. In February, the company suspended the accounts of Project Veritas and OKeefe after the group posted a video of one of its reporters asking Facebooks Vice President of Integrity, Guy Rosen, for a comment in front of his residence.

The account, @Project_Veritas, was permanently suspended for repeated violations of Twitters private information policy, Twitter spokesperson told The Epoch Times via email. The account, @JamesOKeefeIII, was temporarily locked for violating our private information policy. The account owner is required to delete the violative Tweet to regain access to their account.

OKeefe in a statement to The Epoch Times at the time denied the allegations, saying that his group had not violated Twitters private information policy.

Twitter invited Project Veritas to, and we did, appeal that decision with Twitter. In an apparent act of retaliation for daring to question their authority, Twitter responded to our appeal by suspending our account, continuing to tell us that Project Veritas could delete the tweet and have our account reinstated, he said.

The company had previously come into the spotlight for suppressing a series of exposes by the New York Post about the alleged business dealings of Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, in China. The Trump administration took issue with the conduct and escalated its push on Congress to amend Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

The events of recent days have made reform even more urgent, then-Assistant Attorney General Stephen E. Boyd wrote in the letter (pdf) at the time. Todays large online platforms hold tremendous power over the information and views available to the American people. It is therefore critical that they be honest and transparent with users about how they use that power. And when they are not, it is critical that they can be held accountable.
Three witnesses appearing in the ongoing war crimes trial former Revolutionary United Front commander, Gibril Massaquoi, told the court harrowing stories on Tuesday.

The first witness, a 45-year old man, from the Lofa County village of Karmatahun, said Angel Gabriel as Massaquoi during the war, ordered his men to burn about 25 small children alive in a cook shop and burned others in a nearby house.

I was standing right there and saw it with my two eyes, when Angel Gabriel ordered his men to lock the children inside the cook shop near the house and burn them alive. Just before his soldiers could burn the people in the house, I heard him say, I am Angel Gabriel, and I am next to God, burn all the people,. He told his men to stand around the house so that nobody could escape the fire, the witness said.

The witness repeated stories told by three witnesses on Monday who testified that in 2001 Massaquoi had ordered seven women burned alive.

He said Angel Gabriel ordered his men to strip the women and take them behind the blacksmith kitchen and he saw Angel Gabriel following the soldiers who were carrying the women.

I heard the women crying that night because they were raping and killing the women and the next morning we saw the seven naked women dead, he said. Some were killed with knives because I saw the knife marks on them, and some of the womens bones were broken from the sticks they beat them with until they died. I was among the men who buried those women a few days after their death, because everybody in the town was scared to remove the bodies right after they were killed, so after some days we went to bury them because they were already getting rotten.

The witness said he knew the events took place in 2001.

I did not go to school, so I do not know book, but just how people used to talk about the 1990 war, this was the same way people in Karmatahun used to talk about 2001 war and I used to hear it, he told the four-judge panel from Tampere in the European country of Finland, which is conducting the trial.

Massaquoi, is being prosecuted in Finland for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Liberia.

Massaquoi was a lieutenant-colonel of the RUF and an assistant to the rebel groups founder, Foday Sankoh, during the Sierra Leonean Civil War.

In 2005, Massaquoi was granted immunity from prosecution for crimes in Sierra Leone in return for his testimony in the war crimes trials in Sierra Leone.

Epertsx said he was instrumental in the convictions of several rebel leaders including former Liberian president, Charles Taylor, with whom he was close during the civil conflicts in both countries.

Finland granted Massaquoi residency for his role in the Sierra Leone Special Court. But when Civitas Maxima, of Switzerland and Liberia-based Global Justice Research Project presented Finnish investigators with evidence of Massaquois war crimes in Liberia, they arrested him in March 2020 for his role in that war.

Massaquois trial began on February 1 in the city of Tampere, where he had been living.

Rather than transport more than 50 witnesses set to testify to Finland in the midst of a pandemic, the Finnish court traveled to the witnesses. The trial is expected to run for six weeks in Liberia and then move to Sierra Leone before returning to Finland in May.

The second witness on Tuesday, who was a 10-year-old child at the time of the killings, echoed the first witnesss testimony about the burning of the civilians in the house and the killing and raping of the seven women.

But he added that he had seen Massaquoi order the eating of a victims heart.

I saw a Sierra Leonean man who called himself Angel Gabriel and he ordered his men to kill a man and take out his heart and said he was going to eat it, he said.

ADVERTISEMENT

Massaquois defence team scored a win when lawyer Kaarle Gunmerus seized on the testimony during cross-examination saying it was different from a prior statement the witness made to Finnish police about Massaquois alleged eating of the heart of a LURD soldier.

During his testimony in open court on Tuesday, the witness denied making the statement, prompting Gunmerus to play an audio recording of his statement to the police.

The witness claimed the voice on the recording was not his but his brothers. Gunmerus then asked for a video of the interview to be played to prove it was indeed the witness making a different statement.

When the video was played, this time, he admitted that he was the one on the video.

He then said the reason he said it was a LURD soldier, because whenever the government forces captured a person, be it civilian or soldier, they would call that person a LURD soldier.

A final witness for the day testified behind closed doors without journalists present. It is accepted practice in Finland to allow rape victims to testify without outside observers.

The trial continues on Friday.

This story was a collaboration with New Narratives as part of the West Africa Justice Reporting Project.
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
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.
Cruz, 17 Senators to Visit Donna Overflow Facility on Friday Amid Surge in Illegal Immigration

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said that he and a delegation of 17 Republican senators will visit the temporary migrant overflow facility in Donna, Texas, as part of their upcoming tour of the U.S. southern border on Friday.

Cruz had previously announced that he would lead the delegation of lawmakers to visit the U.S.-Mexico border amid an influx of illegal border crossing, particularly by unaccompanied minors. The overflow facility in Donna made headlines this week after photos of children at the facility sleeping in crowded conditions, either on floor mats or on the floor, were released to the media.

Tomorrow night, 18 senators are going to be traveling down to the Southern border, traveling down to Texas, to see first-hand the crisis that is unfolding, to see firsthand the over 100,000 illegal immigrants who were detained last month, to see the over 15,000 children that are in [the] custody of the Biden administration right now, Cruz told reporters at a news conference on Wednesday.

He continued to lament over the Biden administrations decision to continue barring reporters from going to the border to observe the conditions and operation of the migrant processing facilities.

There is a reason they dont want the press there. And I ask all of you to think for a moment how you would react, how your network would react, how MSNBC would react if the Trump administration said, No press at the border,' Cruz said. You would have lost your mind. You would have lit your hair on fire and been screaming air all day long. Thats what Joe Biden is doing to you right now, and hes doing it because hes terrified of people seeing the inhumane conditions, seeing the human tragedies.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington on Aug. 4, 2020. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The White House has said that they remain committed to providing transparency about the situation at the border but have not yet finalized the details on when greater media access would be granted. Only one television crew on Wednesday was allowed to join a congressional delegation into a facility in Carrizo Springs, Texas, which is housing about 700 unaccompanied teenagers.

A group of Democratic lawmakers will also be touring migrant processing facilities on Friday. The group, which will be led by Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), will visit the Carrizo Springs facility.

On Friday, Ill lead a delegation to the Carrizo Springs facility for unaccompanied children at the borderoversight to ensure humane treatment and orderly process to unite kids with families, Castro said earlier this week.

Democratic presidential candidate, former HUD Secretary Julian Castro speaks at the Liberty and Justice Celebration at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa., on Nov. 1, 2019. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The administration is racing against time to address the burgeoning crisis as illegal border crossings continue to rise. Mayorkas acknowledged last week that the United States is on pace to encounter more individuals on the southwest border than we have in the last 20 years.

President Joe Biden, who vowed to reverse his predecessors immigration policies during his campaign, recently pleaded to Central American migrants to stay put in their town or city or community instead of making the dangerous trip to illegally cross into the United States.

Upon taking office, Biden reversed several Trump-era immigration policies, including his predecessors key Migrant Protection Protocol, which sought to end the problematic catch and release policy and is credited for significantly stemming the flow of illegal immigrants in 2019. In a return to the Obama-era policies that facilitate catch-and-release, unaccompanied minors are being released into the country.

Biden on Wednesday delegated the main responsibility of attempting to address the border crisis to Vice President Kamala Harris, saying that she is the most qualified person to handle the situation.

This increase has been consequential but the vice president has agreed  to lead our diplomatic effort and to work with those nations to accept the returnees and enhance migration enforcement at their borders, Biden said.

Its not her full responsibility job, but she is leading the effort because I think the best thing to do is to put someone who  speaks for me, doesnt have to check with me. She knows what shes doing, and I hope we can move this along, he added, according to pool reports.

As of March 23, over 16,500 unaccompanied migrant children were in the custody of either Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), according to the HHS Administration for Children and Families.

Cruz said that hes been down to the border many times and has observed the human tragedies occurring amid the crisis, including assault and cramped conditions.

The purpose of this trip is to help the American people understand the tragedy thats unfolding, he said.
NEW YORK, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Loyalty Programs market will register an incremental spend of about USD 291.03 Billion, growing at a CAGR of 13.95% during the five-year forecast period. A targeted strategic approach to Loyalty Programs 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:

Loyalty Programs Market Procurement Research 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 Loyalty Programs market. The report also aids buyers with relevant Loyalty Programs 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 3.00%-5.00%.

Identify favorable opportunities in Loyalty Programs 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 Loyalty Programs suppliers listed in this report:

This Loyalty Programs procurement intelligence report has enlisted the top suppliers and their cost structures, SLA terms, best selection criteria, and negotiation strategies.

Aimia Inc.

ADS Alliance Data Systems Inc.

Edenred SA

cxLoyalty

Kobie Marketing

Maritz Holdings Inc.

Brierley & Partners Inc.

Loyalty Research Center

Clutch Holdings LLC

BI WORLDWIDE

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

http://www.spendedge.com


The U.S.' nominee for Indo-Pacific commander has called for engaging North Korea "from a position of strength."

Adm. John Aquilino made the call in written answers to questions for a confirmation hearing at the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday. "I believe that a robust force posture throughout the region to ensure the [U.S.] engages North Korea from a position of strength would be essential," he urged.

"Economic sanctions, combined with diplomacy and [UN Security Council Resolutions] enforcement, should continue to be applied to convince the regime to return to meaningful negotiations," he wrote.

But he added, "I do not believe sanctions alone will lead to the denuclearization of North Korea." He pointed out that so far North Korea has taken no meaningful steps toward denuclearization. "There are both enormous strategic and military risks, and enormous costs associated with a potential conflict on the Korean Peninsula, despite efforts to lower tensions," he added.

He called for combat-ready reinforcements that could be mobilized quickly in addition to modern and well-trained troops stationed on the Korean Peninsula.

Meanwhile a White House National Security Council official suggested that ex-President Donald Trump's decision to cancel large-scale joint exercises with South Korea was a bad idea.

In a press briefing Tuesday, the officials expressed opposition to cancelling the joint drills to facilitate diplomacy with Pyongyang. "The hope of diplomacy really rests on the reality of deterrence and our forward-deployed capabilities," he said. "Some of the efforts that were taken previously to turn off necessary exercises and the like were actually antithetical to our position as the keeper and the maintenance of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia."


West Virginia church opens addiction recovery house in response to drug crisis

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

A West Virginia church recently transitioned a vacant home on its property into a transitional recovery house to help men overcome addiction after the pastor realized the severity of the drug crisis in his area.

David Stauffer, lead pastor of the nondenominational Gateway Christian Church in Saint Albans, was called to serve on a grand jury a few years ago and recalled that around 48 of the 50 cases presented in just a few days were drug related.

At that moment, he knew his church had to address the drug crisis that is widespread across the state and Appalachia.

I was convicted in that courtroom, Stauffer told The Christian Post in a Tuesday interview.

Stauffer has pastored the church with multiple locations for nearly 25 years. And though he was aware of the drug problem in his area, his church had failed to act on it.

In all that time, we had never really done anything in this area of ministry. Although the [drug] problem was growing bigger and bigger, we just werent engaging in it, he said. So that was weighing on me as a pastor.

The recovery house welcomed its first residents in August 2020 to participate in the six- to 12-month recovery program. The home currently hosts three residents and hopes to add more after it is remodeled.

Dennis Mosley, the churchs facilities manager, leads the recovery house ministry. Mosley has been through the recovery process from drug addiction and is pursuing a masters degree in counseling.

It was almost like God sent us someone, Stauffer said. He has a heart and passion to help people.

The church announced its decision to convert a vacant house to become a transitional recovery home for men in fall 2019. Initially, the decision received some pushback to use a home on church property since the church also has a daycare center on site.

In a letter addressed to the members, parents and friends of Gateway, the churchs elders answered questions regarding the transitional recovery home, addressed the congregation's concerns and ensured it would be safe.

In light of the ever-growing addiction problem in our area, it not only seems like a good idea for our church to be a part of the solution, but we feel it also is a mandate from God," the letter read. "To be here in the middle of it and not do anything to be a part of the solution, we believe, is wrong."

The letter explained how it was essential that the recovery house be located on church property to ensure the church could have an active part in the recovery process.

We can't ignore this problem any longer. We can't expect others to get involved and our church to sit it out, the letter stressed.

The recovery house operates under the therapeutic community model, which focuses on the resocialization of the individual through the social context or church family. This model helps develop personal accountability and responsibility.

The faith-based program uses the Alcoholics Anonymous 12-step program approach, which requires residents to go to church regularly and attend four to five meetings each week.

As a church, we believe that faith-based recovery programs work best. We believe that with God in the recovery process, hope is present, and true and full recovery is possible, the letter explained.

Residents must also have a job in the community to help cover expenses and are required to have weekly random drug tests, along with other conditions required to remain in the program.

All residents entering the program are vetted and must have a strong desire to become contributing members of society again. To enter the program, residents must have already completed a 28-day program and have a minimum of 30 days of sobriety.

As the church, we need to reach people with the Gospel, and its hard to reach them with the Gospel when they are strung out on drugs or addicted. So somehow, we have to help them, Stauffer said.

Stauffer said that even though one church cannot do everything, each church can do something to address the drug crisis. But congregations must first be made aware of the problems extent.

I think awareness is so important. , Stauffer said. Weve got to start talking about this more from the pulpit. Pastors need to make the congregation aware [of the drug problem].

He said the ministry opportunities to help those suffering from addiction are endless, even if it is partnering with a recovery organization.

Theres tons and tons of things churches can do if they will be aware of the problem and I guarantee you every church in America has someone  with an addiction problem, he said. Once you turn people on to the addiction problem, theres no end to how we can help them.

Substance use is rampant in West Virginia as it is one of the leading states for drug use, addiction and overdose deaths.

In 2016, West Virginia led the nation in overdose death rates and is referred to as the ground zero of the American opioid epidemic, according to Vertava Health.

Drug overdose rates skyrocketed in the 12 months leading up to May 2020, with 81,000 overdose deaths, according to the CDC. This is the highest number of overdose deaths reported in a years period, according to provisional data.

The acceleration of deaths is largely attributed to the pandemic and widespread lockdowns. Final numbers have not yet been released by the CDC for overdose deaths for all of 2020.

Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, has announced the Top 45 Master's in Industrial Engineering Degree Programs for 2021. The comprehensive research guide is based on an assessment of 192 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 192 schools, on a scale of 0 to 100, with only 45 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 Master's in Industrial Engineering Degree Programs. To access the complete ranking, please visit: https://www.intelligent.com/best-masters-in-industrial-engineering-degree-programs/

2021 Master's in Industrial Engineering Degree Programs featured on Intelligent.com (in alphabetical order):

Arizona State University

Auburn University

Binghamton University

Clemson University

Colorado State University

Columbia University

Florida A&M University

George Mason University

Georgia Institute of Technology

Illinois Institute of Technology

Iowa State University

Kansas State University

Lamar University

Lawrence Technological University

Lehigh University

Louisiana Tech University

Montana State University

New Jersey Institute of Technology

New Mexico State University

New York University

North Carolina State University

North Dakota State University

Northeastern University

Northern Illinois University

Oakland University

Oklahoma State University

Oregon State University

Pennsylvania State University

Purdue University

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Texas A & M University, College Station

Texas A&M University, Kingsville

Texas Tech University

University of Alabama, Huntsville

University of Arizona

University of Central Florida

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

University of Michigan, Dearborn

University of Michigan, Dearborn

University of Missouri

University of Southern California

University of Tennessee, Knoxville

University of Texas, Arlington

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Western New England 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/.
The NIA added Section 16 (punishment for terrorist act) and 18 (punishment for conspiracy) of the UAPA Act against Mumbai police officer Sachin Waze.  ANI

Mumbai: The National Investigation Agency on Wednesday invoked the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against suspended Mumbai police officer Sachin Waze. The Maharashtra ATS also handed over the two accused and the case papers in the Mansukh Hiren murder case to the NIA after a court order.

The NIA had approached the court saying despite the Centre transferring the Hiren murder case to the NIA, the ATS was not handing over the case documents to them.

Under the stringent UAPA law, the investigating agency can get police custody of an accused up to 30 days and can also get an extension of 90 days to file a chargesheet (over the usual 90 days). Securing bail will also be much tougher in comparison with other sections.



The NIA added Section 16 (punishment for terrorist act) and 18 (punishment for conspiracy) of the UAPA Act against Waze. Chief judicial magistrate P.P. Ingale on Wednesday directed the ATS to hand over all relevant documents, case records, material, etc related to the Hiren case to the NIA.

The court passed this order on an application by the NIA complaining that the ATS was not handing over the Hiren murder case papers despite the Central government transferring the case to the NIA.

Additional solicitor-general Anil Singh, on behalf the of NIA, contended that the Central government had directed the NIA to take up this murder case because it was linked to the bomb scare near industrialist Mukesh Ambanis Antilia residence, which the NIA is investigating.

The ATS contended that the plea of NIA was not maintainable because it had not received any directions from the state government for handing over the case.

After hearing the arguments, the magistrate, Ms Ingale, observed: It appears the investigation of this ATS Crime no 12/2021 is transferred to the NIA by the Central government as per order dated 20/03/2021 as per Section 8 of the NIA Act.

She also said that the fact was communicated to the director-general of police, Mumbai, and a copy of this letter was also received by the ATS office. All these facts are admitted by the investigating officer of the ATS.

With these observations, the magistrate directed the ATS not to proceed with the investigation and to forthwith transmit all relevant documents and the case records to the NIA.
WOOD RIVER  The Madison County Health Department is now scheduling first doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines Sunday through Tuesday, March 28-30, and Thursday, April 1, at the Gateway Convention Center at 1 Gateway Drive in Collinsville.

U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, toured the facility Monday and praised its efficiency.
It all sounds positively rosy, particularly when you consider Oswald has spent the past two years dabbling in death for her new book, The Family Doctor, in which a normally sensible GP is driven to extreme measures after the murder of a close friend. Its very much in the Oswald vein, in that its a tight portrait of female friendship and reads like its made for the screen. Which it is. Oswald has already written a TV pilot. Debra Oswalds karaage chicken rice bowl. Credit:Edwina Pickles Its also very timely, with the safety of women being front-page news. Again. Oswald was inspired to write the book after hearing and reading about case after case of women being killed by their ex-partners. It would just burn in my guts, she says. And lots of people want to talk about it, about how helpless we feel and how angry we feel. And then the story came to me about a woman who has the chance, suddenly, and the means. Will she do it? What will happen if she does do it? What would you do? So its kind of a subversive daydream. I think its satisfying to imagine yourself going through that with Paula. To think, what if we did it? What will happen? And would it be satisfying? And it would, in a way. To be clear, she adds, leaning into the microphone: Im not advocating murder.

The details of the cases in The Family Doctor would ring true for any keen news consumer: a woman thrown from a bridge; a new partner then paraded outside of court for the benefit of TV cameras; and the accuseds he couldnt possibly be a killer, hes got a girlfriend defence. The shoyu ramen. Credit:Edwina Pickles Oswald spent time watching court cases, reading judges reports, talking to lawyer friends, as well as a former coroner. She also Googled. A lot. You know, How much hydromorphone does it take to kill a person? Whats the best way to strangle someone? The police probably have a file on me. Its quite the grim load, especially for someone who seems so innately cheerful. I had a fictional world to pull my feelings into, she says. You know, I got to play it out in the story of the character. So that was satisfying, actually. She pauses, then cackles: Youre looking at me like youre a little bit frightened. Only a little bit. To be fair, Oswald has form. Not only did she kill her leading man Patrick in Offspring, she knocked off Rocket the dog, too.

Theres something very satisfying about putting characters through things, and imagining the emotional response youre going to elicit from a reader or a viewer, she says. Its what we enjoy. I mean, when we killed the dog on Offspring, we wept because we all love dogs. But then we thought, Oh, this is story gold.  Oswald wrote for Offsprings first five seasons, winning an AACTA and a NSW Premiers Award for scriptwriting in the process, until it was dumped by Network Ten in 2014 for cost-cutting reasons. The show was resurrected  sans Oswald and co-writer Michael Lucas  in 2016 for another two seasons and then quietly shelved again, having never really clicked with viewers or critics. Has she watched the final two seasons? Look, people I know, people I love and respect, worked on it, she says. So I thought theres no way I can watch this. I dont want to do anything thats going to be disrespectful, because people worked hard on it. And I thought Ill cave in and watch it, but I never did. Really? Not even tempted a little?

I just thought itd make me sad. Oh. The main thing about Offspring, she continues, after stabbing at a large piece of chicken, Is that it was this huge blessing in my life. I was 50 by the time Offspring happened and working in TV and theatre, film and books for a long time. So I know how rare it is for something to come together with all that good fortune. And I dont take it for granted at all. You just count yourself lucky, thats the main thing. Patrick (Matthew Le Nevez) and Nina (Asher Keddie) moments before his death in Offspring. Oswald has been in television since 1984, writing for Sweet and Sour, Palace of Dreams and Police Rescue, where she sent Gary Sweet scurrying off a cliff (readers, he lived) and The Secret Life of Us. At home her TV tastes are almost the opposite of whats she written: the sex, death and longships of Vikings and the sex, death and dragons of Game of Thrones. Its Glover who prefers the rom-coms, which is why she persevered through the sex, baguettes and high-heels of Emily in Paris.

What does she think TV is missing these days? Loading This is a weird thing to say when Ive just written a book with murders in it but theres this idea at the moment that if something doesnt have a murder in it, its not going to grab people, she says. And theres that thing that youve got to grab people in the first 10 minutes. So theres a lot of television thats terrific, where the producers are required to kind of goose it up or make a murder central to it. Youve got to trust audiences to be interested in human beings relating to each other. Rather than it all having to be, Something happened; now were gonna go back and tell you how they got there. All those playing-with-chronology genres are great; its just that now its that, plus murders, is the only way youre allowed to tell a story about human beings and it strikes me as kind of narrow.

For all of her writing  including three adult books, nine childrens books and 11 plays  Oswald has been the subject of much writing herself. Glover has been featuring her under the alias of Jocasta in his Sydney Morning Herald column since he started writing it in 1985. Receipt for lunch with Debra Oswald at Osaka Trading Co. Its been so long I cant remember life before it happened, she says. And Jocasta is not me. Im nicer than her, as you have experienced for yourself [reader, its true!]. But I admire her; she is so tough, so uncompromising and sharp. She has never asked Glover to remove her from the column, apart from checking when he wrote about their two sons  Batboy and Space Cadet  to make sure there was nothing in there that would embarrass them. The nicest thing about it, is there are all these little moments in our lives that have been recorded that Im glad of, that I otherwise maybe would have forgotten. Its delightful. These days Jocasta has been slightly usurped in the columns by Clancy, the familys kelpie. Sometimes Im Richard Glovers partner; in the music world Im Joe Glovers mother; and now, in the dog park, Im Clancys owner. And thats fine. Im just quietly in the background, writing books where I kill men.
As the crisis continues at the U.S.-Mexico border, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador pointed his fingers towards President Joe Biden as the reason behind the border's turmoil even after Biden promised better treatment.

At a news conference on Tuesday, the Mexican president said the expectations that Biden has set to migrants encouraged people from his country and migrants from Central America who wanted to cross the border, thinking that it is easier to do under the Biden administration.

Lopez Obrador added that the reason behind the migration was not because of a vacation but due to necessity. The Mexican President's comments came after the meetings between officials sent by Biden and their counterparts in Mexico on Tuesday.

The officials tackled immigration, regional development, and their humane response to the immigrants as Biden directed them before leaving the country, The New York Post reported.

The newly appointed Special Envoy for the Northern Triangle, Ricardo Zuniga, accompanied the White House's lead adviser on the border, Former U.S. ambassador Roberta Jacobson, and Juan Gonzalez, who is the National Security Council's senior director for the Western Hemisphere, in their trip to Mexico.

According to Daily Mail, the Mexican government released a statement sharing that the meeting of the U.S. delegation with Marcelo Ebrard, who is the Foreign Affairs Secretary of Mexico, had tackled humanitarian actions to spur an inclusive economic development in the northern portion of Central America.

Ebrard mentioned that Mexico shares the same goal with the U.S. in developing the region by addressing migration. He also emphasized that if they persevere and act together, they can achieve a future with more possibilities with other countries.

In recent years, the Northern Triangle was the largest source of migrants arriving at the southern border of the U.S.

The Northern Triangle, which is composed of Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, has been hit by two major hurricanes late last year and continuously plagued by the corruption and violence from the countries' roots.

RELATED ARTICLE: Biden Under Investigation by GAO for Border Wall Funds Freeze

Biden's Promise

The Biden administration has recently spoken about sending a $4 billion developmental aid for Central America. U.S. and Mexican officials both want to protect the human rights of migrants while ensuring their safety and orderly migration.

Also, they want to reduce the push factors driving migrants out of their countries and focus on the economic side of the issue addressing corruption, Fox News reported.

An associate professor in history at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Gladys McCormick, shared that while top officials of the Biden administration were employing a more diplomatic approach compare to Trump's, the delegation sent out by the U.S. wants to have some Mexican muscle in doing the dirty work, as they want immigrants to be apprehended before reaching the southern border.

Biden's seemingly more humane approach in handling immigrants and asylum seekers is creating confusion and misinformation to those who want to cross the border.

READ MORE: Biden to Hold First Presidential Press Conference, May Tackle COVID-19, Border Dispute

WATCH: Mexican President Blames Biden for Border Crisis - Fox News
New Delhi: Bollywood actress Vaani Kapoor has her kitty full with big-budget releases namely - BellBottom, Shamshera, and Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui. The actress credits these films for the spike in her brand endorsement deals.

Vaani has recently become the brand ambassador of an international fashion brand, the face of a premium hair colour brand, and has three to four more plum endorsements that are set to be announced soon.

Talking about it, the leggy lass said, "When you do big films, while you are bound to get more eyeballs, along with it comes a lot of scrutiny. I have always been clear in my head that I want to be part of films that allow me to showcase my skills as an actor. My next films BellBottom, Shamshera, and Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui are films that will hopefully entertain all of India and I have given it my all."

In BellBottom, Vaani has been paired opposite superstar Akshay Kumar, in Shamshera she is opposite superstar Ranbir Kapoor and Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui will see her opposite Ayushmann Khurrana.

"Signing big films has definitely helped me to get the required attention in the brand endorsement space as you are currently seeing. Im in a happy space and I want to do good work and also sign brands that resonate with my beliefs and values. I cant wait to see what 2021 has to offer," she said.
Bengaluru, March 26 : Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday said that the state police was ready to record the woman's statement in the 'sleaze CD case' anywhere she wants and feels safe.

Reacting to second video clip released by the woman who has been accusing the former minister Ramesh Jarkiholi of sexual harassment, Bommai said that the police will take all precautions and record her statement wherever she feels safe.

Noting that the police have been seeking to track her movement ever since the case was booked, he said: "We have not been able to track her so far. Having said this, I have assured on the floor of the house that she, as well as her family, will be given protection and we will fulfill it at any cost." He said that she had been served summons to appear before the police on multiple number of times but she has not appeared.

"The police are ready to record her statement wherever she feels safe. If she is safe in a particular place, let her tell us, and the police will go secure her statement," he said in response to a question.
A certification team from Nigeria's aviation regulatory authorities is expected to visit the airport soon.

Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State has said that the state-owned airport is ready for commercial flight operations.

Mr Diri stated this on Wednesday when he made an unscheduled visit to the facility ahead of a final certification visitation by the country's aviation regulatory authorities on March 30, 2021.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported Mr Diri as saying that the state government had provided the required facilities for the smooth take-off of operations at the airport.

"I have spent over one year on this project after taking over from my predecessor in office, Senator Seriake Dickson, who initiated it," he said. "What we are doing now is dotting the i's and crossing the t's. So far, I think every requirement is on the ground."

"I believe when the inspection teams from the aviation authorities come, they would be satisfied with what we have done and grant us the licence for commercial use of the airport," Mr Diri said.

The governor expressed the hope that after the inspection and final submission of the reports, commercial activities would commence at the airport.

He was accompanied on the visit by the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Moses Teibowei, his information counterpart, Ayibaina Duba, Managing Director of the Bayelsa Airport, Bunmi Williams and other top government officials.

Governor Diri disclosed that Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom had reached a tentative agreement for Ibom Air, owned by the Akwa Ibom Government, to ply the Bayelsa airport route when the airport commences commercial operations.

Governor Diri also inspected the ongoing construction of the 4.5km Igbedi-Opokuma Road project, where he expressed satisfaction with the work done so far.

"The contractors are doing their best. I expect that they would keep to the completion timeline. I urge them to sustain the momentum that we have seen," the governor said.
PRESIDENT Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday mourned late Tanzanian President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli as the man who showed that Africa can succeed without having to depending on foreign aid, a distinguishingly pan-African approach adopted by the departed leader.

In his tribute, Mr Kenyatta, who is also the current East African Community (EAC) chairman, said Dr Magufuli had shown that the continent can keep its head held high and finance most of its projects from revenues collected from within without depending on foreigners, whose aid often comes with many conditions.

"In a very short span of time, President Magufuli has shown that we as Africans are able to disentangle ourselves from the dependence of foreigners and that we have the ability to manage our own economy and ensure that our people get what is rightful to them," President Kenyatta said in Dodoma during Dr Magufuli's requiem mass.

The late president often criticised foreign aid, arguing that Tanzania, and indeed the African continent, had the power to fund its own projects domestically. Under Dr Magufuli, the IMF listed Tanzania among the fastest growing sub-Sahara economies, averaging 6 per cent.

Last year, the World Bank admitted the country into the list of Lower Middle Income Economies, although the final process is due to be finalised by end of 2023. Dr Magufuli initiated various infrastructure projects such as the Bagamoyo port construction, the planned oil pipeline from Uganda, the Standard Gauge Railway and capital injection into Air Tanzania.

Besides Mr Kenyatta, the mass was also attended by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Malawi's Lazarus Chakwera, Zimbabwe's Emmerson Mnangagwa, Botswana's Mokgweetsi Masisi, Zambia's Edgar Lungu, Filipe Nyusi of Mozambique, Hage Geingob of Namibia, Azali Assoumani of Comoros, and Democratic Republic of Congo's Felix Tshisekedi.

In his speech, President Kenyatta praised Magufuli's record in putting up hospital buildings, road construction, electricity distribution, all of which he said saw tremendous improvements within a short span of time. He termed Dr Magufuli as a friend with whom he consulted regularly on the EAC, the region, and the economy.

"We spoke every now and then, day and night. We would exchange ideas on our respective countries. His death hit hard...he was respectful," Mr Kenyatta said during his speech today. "I had to personally come and pay my respects to him," he added. He also vowed to ensure that the East African integration dream comes to fruition.

To new Tanzanian president Samia Suluhu Hassan, President Kenyatta asked her to follow the path as he promised to hold her hand as she takes over the reigns in the neighbouring country.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Tanzania Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"We will keep doing what we have been doing to keep the East African spirit alive and to bring our people together. I assure you that we will walk this journey together to bring the region together and the continent as one," President Kenyatta said.

He went on: "I have no doubt that my sister [President] Suluhu, you have been shown the road, it has been opened, go ahead." In his speech, President Ramaphosa, who is the current African Union chairperson, celebrated Dr Magufuli as a true pan-African whose vision to have Swahili as a language of the continent lives on.

"He was a true pan-Africanist who believed the culture of forefathers should be remembered. He wanted us as a nation to embrace Swahili which we have already introduced in our curriculum. In his honor, this will continue across our schools," President Ramaphosa said. Dr Magufuli, who died on March 17, will be buried on March 26 at his native home in Chato.
Share



GCHQ has created its toughest puzzle ever in honour of Alan Turing appearing on the new 50 note. The Bank of England revealed the notes design featuring the scientist and mathematician on Thursday, as GCHQ officials said their new treasure hunt involving 12 puzzles might even have left him scratching his head. Mr Turing was a pioneer of modern computing and hugely instrumental in breaking the German Naval Enigma cipher in 1942, at Bletchley Park  GCHQs wartime home. For more information go to GCHQs Turing Challenge.

OneWeb, the satellite firm which was rescued by the UK Government last year, has today confirmed the successful launch of 36 new satellites to grow its total constellation to 146. The satellites are expected to be part of a low-earth orbit fleet of 648 satellites which will help deliver high-speed internet across the world. OneWeb is planning for its services to cover all regions above 50 degrees latitude by the middle of this year, which includes countries such as the UK, Canada and Alaska. It is expecting to have a global reach by 2022. The Government has a 20pc stake in OneWeb. Telegraph

Facebook Inc said on Wednesday it had blocked a group of hackers in China who used the platform to target Uighurs living abroad with links to malware that would infect their devices and enable surveillance. The social media company said the hackers, known as Earth Empusa or Evil Eye in the security industry, targeted activists, journalists and dissidents who were predominantly Uighurs, a largely Muslim ethnic group facing persecution in China. Facebook said there were less than 500 targets, who were largely from the Xinjiang region but were primarily living abroad in countries including Turkey, Kazakhstan, the United States, Syria, Australia and Canada. France 24

Penises are shrinking and genitals becoming malformed because of pollution, an environmental scientist has warned in a new book detailing the challenges facing human reproduction. Dr Shanna Swan writes that humanity is facing an existential crisis in fertility rates as a result of phthalates, a chemical used when manufacturing plastics that impacts the hormone-producing endocrine system. As a result of this pollution, a growing number of babies are being born with small penises, Dr Swan writes. Sky News



An image that captures streaks of polarised light swirling around a supermassive black hole is providing new insight into how galaxies can project streams of energy thousands of light-years outward from their core. Black holes are places where the pull of gravity is so strong that even light cannot escape. Most surrounding matter gets sucked in, but some particles escape just moments before they are captured and are blown far out into space. These bright jets of energy and matter are one of the galaxys most mysterious features. Researchers suspect the jets are launched and shaped by magnetic fields, but the evidence for this is limited. Guardian

Labours shadow business minister Ed Miliband has called for interest-free loans to help low and middle-income families purchase a new electric vehicle (EV). The Minister has also suggested that a new national scrappage scheme should be introduced as part of efforts to deliver on the UKs ambitious Road to Zero plan to reduce CO2 emissions, claiming that Government was currently asleep at the wheel in its facilitation of the shift to EVs. Parliaments opposition party is taking the opportunity to highlight the importance of support for EV sales just a week after the Conservative Government cut the plug-in car grant (PiCG) from 3,000 to 2,500  the second cut to the incentive in a year  while also lowering the cap for eligible vehicles from 50,000 to 35,000. Automotive Management

For latest tech stories go to TechDigest.tv

Share this: Email

Facebook

Pinterest

LinkedIn

Print

Reddit

Twitter

Tumblr

Pocket



Like this: Like Loading...
North Augusta, SC (29841)

Today

Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms mainly during the evening. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 69F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms mainly during the evening. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 69F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Support for children living with disabilities and their families is underfunded by the province, with some being forced into the child welfare system just to receive services, even though no child protection issues exist.

Support for children living with disabilities and their families is underfunded by the province, with some being forced into the child welfare system just to receive services, even though no child protection issues exist.

These are some of the findings  resulting in nine recommendations for improvement by the provincial government  announced Thursday in the first report into disabilities by the Manitoba advocate for children and youth.

The office had launched a survey last year as part of an investigation into the death of a child who was receiving disability services and was involved with Child and Family Services.

"Manitoba families are struggling," acting advocate Ainsley Krone says in the 98-page report entitled: Building the Gaps: Achieving Substantive Equality for Children with Disabilities in Manitoba.

"Manitoba's services for children with disabilities are underfunded and under-resourced. This is not just the case for children with complex medical and behavioural needs... gaps in service exist for many children with disabilities and their families. Families, who can, pay out of pocket for supports. Yet, families that experience multiple layers of disadvantage struggle more, including Indigenous caregivers and single-parent households."

The review looked into case management, respite services, alternative care, and child-welfare system improvement.

The nine recommendations made by the advocate include: improving co-ordination between Children's Disability Services and CFS; reducing wait times to less than six months for children suspected of having disabilities to be assessed and diagnosed; creating a culturally safe self-disclosure process with First Nations, Inuit, and Metis communities; creating a process for regular feedback from children and families for system improvements; and publishing a program manual made available to the public.

The report notes while the number of children with disabilities has increased 15.5 per cent between 2015 and 2019, the province's budget for Children's Disability Services has gone up only four per cent during those years.

Krone also noted some families are forced to put their children into the care of child welfare just to receive services, even though there are no existing child protection concerns. She said a review found, over a five-year period, 47 per cent of children with disabilities had contact with the child-welfare system, while one in four formally entered care.

"This finding runs contrary to the right of children with disabilities not to be separated from parents because of their disability," she said. "Entry into child-welfare care can be prevented with the right supports."

About 400 children, youth, caregivers and service providers participated in the report.

No one knows exactly how many children living with disabilities reside in the province.

The advocate report says there were about 6,000 children and youth under 18 years of age enrolled in Children's Disability Services in the 2019-20 fiscal year. There are estimated to be about 93 million children around the world living with disabilities; in Canada, there are 200,000, age 14 and under.

"Children with disabilities and their families in Manitoba are entitled to services that ensure substantive equality in their lives," the report concludes.

"The recommendations in this report describe a pathway that would transform the children's disability system towards a cohesive continuum of services... Importantly, recommendations seek to enhance quality of life, improve outcomes, and prevent children with disabilities from entering the child-welfare system in the absence of protection concerns.

"Working together, it's our collective responsibility to uphold the rights of all children with disabilities and ensure substantive equality."

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
A Bergen County woman who erected a small, free library in front of her home last year says zoning officials told her to take it down.

Unfortunately, due to a complaint, we are required to remove our little free library as it violates zoning laws in our town, Tina Musich said in a Change.org petition.

The little library went up in October 2020 at Musichs home on Lotus Avenue in Oradell. She said adults and children have been thrilled to pick out books and donate back.

At least once a week we get compliments for installing our book drop and it has created a sense of community lacking in the pandemic, Musich said.

Musich said she created the small library with its red roof and door to promote literacy, general neighborliness and to cultivate a spirit of generosity.

With the library closed for browsing for over a year, the experience of picking out a book has been lost, she said.

At a borough council meeting on Tuesday, Musich was told she can put the library back if she reduces its height to under 4 feet or speaks to the board of adjustment to apply for a variance, according to a NorthJersey.com report. But Musich said shed rather see the boroughs laws changed to allow for mini-libraries, the report said.

As of midday on Thursday, Musichs online petition had snagged just shy of 2,000 signatures. She urged anyone with a fondness for small, free libraries to sign.

Your signature will help influence the mayor and council to change the laws and allow residents to install book drops in their front yards, she said.

Oradells business administrator, Laura Lyons, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Thousands of protesters demand monarchy reform, release of jailed leaders

BANGKOK: Thousands of demonstrators occupied Ratchaprasong intersection in Bangkok on Wednesday demanding reform of the monarchy and the release of detained leaders.



By Chiang Mai Post

Thursday 25 March 2021, 08:43AM

Protesters occupy Ratchaprasong intersection in Bangkok during a rally pressing for the release of their detained leaders. Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill / Bangkok Post

Earlier, the United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration posted a Facebook message urging a peaceful rally, days after one of the most violent demonstrations since they began last year, reports the Bangkok Post.

More than 30 civilians and police were injured in a clash at a protest near the palace on Saturday, after police used water cannon, teargas and rubber bullets to disperse the rally.

The protesters have also demanded curbs to the power of His Majesty the King and the abolition of a strict lese majeste law that mandates up to 15 years in prison for insulting the monarchy.

Protesters on Wednesday peacefully occupied Ratchaprasong, one of Bangkoks busiest street intersections, and cheered as some leaders demanded monarchy reforms and called for their "friends" to be freed from jail.

"Ploy pheuan rao" (free our friends)," they shouted.

"This is a long and tiring fight. We must fight together along this path to democracy," Attapon Buapat, who was indicted for lese majeste earlier this month but later released on bail, told the crowd.

"Change has begun. They could only slow it down but never stop it."

Criminal cases have been mounting against protest leaders. The most prominent ones have already been jailed pending trial for insulting the royalty.

More activists, including Mr Attapon again, could be indicted on Thursday when they were due to meet with prosecutors over their roles in the protests.

Prosecutors have called a total of 13 pro-democracy protesters, including Patsaravalee Mind Tanakitvibulpon, to appear at the South Bangkok Criminal Court in a case based on a rally outside the German embassy on Oct 26.

The leaders could face lese majeste and sedition charges.

The indictment planned for Thursday may be delayed if the compilation of evidence against the protesters has not been completed.

Thailands youth protest movement emerged last year and has posed the biggest challenge to the government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, the former army chief who seized power in 2014 from an elected government.

The Royal Palace has not commented directly on the protests. The government has said criticism of the king is unlawful and inappropriate.
(Natural News) The highest court in the Canadian province of British Columbia (BC) has struck down an order banning outdoor protests. The Supreme Court of British Columbia ruled on March 19 that the public health mandate put in place by the provinces chief medical officer infringed on constitutional rights.

In his decision, Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson remarked that the orders infringing constitutional rights cannot be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.

Back in January, the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) filed a legal challenge against health orders mandated by Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry. Representing three churches and four individuals, the JCCF opposed Henrys order banning worship services and public protests amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Shortly after the JCCFs filing, the provincial government sought an injunction to order the plaintiff churches be closed before the high court tackles the legal challenge. The court subsequently denied this request on February 17.

Hinksons March 19 decision said that the gatherings and events orders issued by Henry encroached on the plaintiffs constitutional rights. The chief justice pointed out one mandate in particular that banned public protests, saying that a rule banning this right cannot be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. Thus, Hinkson ordered the rule be struck down in his decision.

On the issue of in-person religious gatherings, the chief justice ruled that Henrys orders prohibiting them were justified. While Hickson acknowledged that the provincial health officers mandates did infringe on fundamental freedoms, he argued that the benefits to the objectives of the orders are even more [significant]. BCs top magistrate added: In my view, the orders represent a reasonable and proportionate balance.

The plaintiffs challenge against the ban on religious gatherings was subsequently dismissed.

Richmond News reported on March 19 that Henry was thankful for the chief justices decisions. In a statement, she lauded Hinkson for his thoughtful decision upholding public health orders in [regard] to religious gatherings.

Hinksons decision appears to be a win for freedom, but not entirely

JCCF lawyer Marty Moore said his group was disappointed over the dismissal of their challenge against the religious gatherings ban. We are obviously disappointed with the lack of scrutiny applied to the orders of Dr. Bonnie Henry banning in-person worship services, despite the acknowledgment that these orders violated the fundamental freedoms of our clients, he remarked.

Moore added that JCCF is reviewing [the] decision carefully and said they will very much likely lodge an appeal. (Related: Reporters are now stalking churchgoers to enforce COVID-19 mandates.)

On the other hand, the lawyer also lauded Hinksons decision to strike down the public protest ban. We represent many clients across the province who were [fined 2,300 Canadian dollars] for peacefully exercising their freedom to gather and protest government lockdowns. This decision is very welcome news for them, and for all others, who engage in this fundamental democratic right, Moore said.

Hinksons ruling also vindicated Alain Beaudoin, one of the four individual petitioners in the JCCF legal filing. The Dawson Creek resident received a CA$2,300 (US$1,827) violation ticket after he helped organize a protest in December 2020. Beaudoin and others spoke out against the purported abuse of power by the government through COVID-19 mandates. However, the chief justice denied his petition to quash the violation ticket.

According to Moore, the Supreme Court of British Columbias decision could influence other cases filed by the JCCF in other Canadian provinces such as Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario.

The decision is not [a] binding precedent on other provinces, though it could be used to influence other courts if it is not successfully appealed, he commented.

Similar lawsuits have been filed in the U.S. against mandates banning religious gatherings. Back in October 2020, two religious organizations sued New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for his order limiting the number of people that can attend gatherings inside churches and synagogues. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and Orthodox Jewish group Agudath Israel of America challenged the constitutionality of the governors order in their lawsuits.

According to the dioceses lawsuit, the restrictions ordered by Cuomo targeted religious practice and violated First Amendment rights. Meanwhile, Agudath Israel slammed the governors mandate as they deprived tens of thousands of people a chance to worship and observe Jewish religious traditions. The restrictions fell on Oct. 9 to 11  which happen to be three Jewish holidays. (Related: Three Minnesota churches suing state government over executive orders dictating mandatory masks and social distancing in places of worship.)

Visit MedicalTyranny.com to read more about draconian COVID-19 public health mandates infringing on First Amendment rights.

Sources include:

LifeSiteNews.com

Richmond-News.com

WSJ.com
THERE is new hope for the $400-million proposal to redevelop the Portage Place mall.

THERE is new hope for the $400-million proposal to redevelop the Portage Place mall.

Developer Starlight Investments said it has asked for a four-month extension to the due diligence period.

"In order to execute on this and to have this succeed, were going to require the support from all levels of government and I feel that were at a stage now where those discussions are progressing well, theyre moving in the right direction and Im optimistic," said chief operating officer Glen Hirsh.

Weeks ago, the project appeared in jeopardy because the company wasnt able to secure federal funding by the March 1 due diligence deadline. On that date, the company said it had not received any timeline on when a federal decision on its funding request would be made.

Hirsh said Wednesday the company expects to hear a response soon on whether the extension request will be granted. The Forks-North Portage (which owns land at the site) could not be reached for comment.

If approved, the proposal would create two 20-storey residential towers and almost 500,000 square feet of office and retail space in downtown Winnipeg.

Hirsh said the company has increased the projects affordable housing component from 10 per cent to 30 per cent of the residential units, which the company says is just one of several public benefits of the project.

"When we look at the extensive public and community space that were incorporating into the model those are really strong commitments," he said.

The proposal includes a grocery store, a 10,000-square-foot community space with public washrooms and a residential path along Edmonton Street.

Starlight originally hoped to complete due diligence last August but postponed the deadline twice while discussions with the federal government continued.

Winnipeg city council approved a $20-million incentive package, while the province has promised a $28.7-million education tax rebate.

Starlight initially said it wont proceed unless all three governments provide $20 million each. On March 2, the federal government told media the company substantially increased its Ottawa funding request to $50 million in cash, plus a $243-million loan.

Hirsh said a greater investment is required because the scope of the project changed, including the increased amount of affordable housing.

"That (housing is) really essential to having a successful complete community (and), to make all this work, we need that support," he said.

Coun. Cindy Gilroy, councils property and development chairwoman, said she hopes the project can proceed in a way that leaves some federal funding available for other affordable housing projects in Winnipeg.

"I do think at Portage Place we need some reinvestment... I think it would be good for the downtown," said Gilroy.

She said she hopes the federal government can ensure the developments affordable rents stay in place permanently, instead of expiring after a set period, if the project is finalized.

In an email, a federal spokeswoman said Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. is "open to considering" the housing component of the project.

"Our lines of communication with the company remain open," said Mikaela Harrison, the press secretary for federal Social Development Minister Ahmed Hussen.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga
MacDonald boasts an impressive track record as an insightful coach with high levels of energy, enthusiasm, and integrity that brings out the best in teams to produce exceptional results. His approach to work is practically solving problems and openly communicating the state of affairs to build trust and mutual respect.

The Wound Pros completed a remarkable year of growth in 2020, having grown its operations into 16 states across the US and strengthened its advanced wound dressing supplies fulfilment business. The company is also leveraging artificial intelligence to address inequities in healthcare access for the socio-economically disadvantaged. As Vice President of Sales and Marketing for The Wound Pros eastern operations, Michael will bring a wealth of experience in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, veterinary wound care, pharmacy operations and hospice care.

About The Wound Pros

The Wound Pros is a physician-owned and managed company. It is an accredited supplier of Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) and a Medicare Part B provider in the United States. The company provides advanced wound care services to long-term facilities across the country, including digital wound management, mobile vascular assessment, digital supply tracking, advanced EHR systems, and advanced wound care dressings. The Wound Pros uses a "high tech" approach incorporating AI to improve standardization and wound healing outcomes and a "high touch" approach providing human-to-human interactions for customer service and quality service delivery to its clients. All in all, the company lives its "3D" mantra that, "Better Data, Better Documentation, Leads to Better Decision."

The Wound Pros is a privately held company.

Media Contact:

Daniel Yeager

(323) 794-7543

[email protected]

SOURCE The Wound Pros, LLC
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.
Ghaziabad: In a major crackdown on the circulation of fake news and undesirable messages on social media platforms, Ghaziabad police has issued a notice warning people to refrain from forwarding objectionable content on WhatsApp and Facebook.

The police have said that any person found sharing texts, pictures or videos which are objectionable in nature will be booked under Indian Penal Code section 505/153A/295A/298.

"This is to inform that if any person shares objectionable content (such as articles, photos, videos etc.) on Whatsapp or Facebook or forwards it to individuals or groups, then a case will be filed against them under IPC section 505/153A/295A/298," read the statement.

"The violators may even be booked under National Security Act (NSA)," it added.

The notice further said, "Sharing any misleading content from other district, state or country will also be considered a violation. So kindly ignore such posts."

The police have also asked the group admins to remove any person who violates these guidelines and inform the police at the earliest.

The police have also issued mobile numbers of officials who need to be contacted in case of any violation.
Paid press release content from The Financial Capital. The StreetInsider.com news staff was not involved in its creation.

Western Australias Mandurah Property Management has launched their new specialised property management services and is now assisting both tenants and landlords in the Halls Head region.



Mandurah Property Management, a full-service property management firm based in Halls Head in Western Australia, has now launched their specialist property services tailored to the needs of both owners and tenants.

More information can be found at https://www.mandurahpm.com.au

The announcement is in response to the changes which occurred to rental legislation in Western Australia following the onset of the global pandemic, including moratoriums on evictions during designated emergency periods.

With the rights of both landlords and tenants shifting quickly in these complicated times, Mandurah Property Management believes it has never been more important to have good property representation.

For owners throughout the Mandurah and Peel regions, Mandurah Property Management is now assisting with the management of property portfolios, organising open homes and applications with a view to maintaining good tenancies in order to minimise vacancy intervals.

Moreover, in the case of delinquent tenants or overdue rent, Mandurah Property Management has also developed a number of quick response property intervention plans.

For tenants in the Halls Head region, the agency can assist with property searches, applications and the bond process. In case of any problems within the property, they likewise have a clear and simple maintenance request process.

Their growing list of rental properties is available on their website and there is an easy-to-use inspection booking function.

Mandurah Property Management features all properties for rent on their website and popular real estate sites such as www.realestate.com.au and www.domain.com.au.

Mandurah Property Management was founded by a passionate realtor Belinda McArthur. She formed Mandurah Property Management based upon a shared passion for their community and for providing people with the perfect home.

Belinda said of her commitment to her clients, I look after my owners best interest beyond ridiculous levels. I once sold this house and personally chainsawed down a tree as it was in the offer and acceptance to do so and my poor sellers did not have time! Needless to say I acquired clients for life, which is generally how it goes with me.

More information on their property services is accessible at https://www.mandurahpm.com.au

Contact Info:

Name: Belinda Chandler

Email: Send Email

Organization: Mandurah Property Management

Address: PO BOX 5829, Queen Parade, Wannanup, WA 6210, Australia

Phone: +61-401-431-539

Website: https://www.mandurahpm.com.au

Release ID: 89002425
New Delhi, March 25 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday conducted searches at more than 100 places across India in connection with more than 30 cases of bank fraud amounting to over Rs 3,700 crore, officials said.

A CBI spokesperson here said that the searches are part of a special drive to book the fraudusters on the complaints received from different public sector banks in India.

He said that the complainant banks include the Indian Oversea Bank, the Union Bank of India, the Bank of Baroda, the Punjab National Bank, the State Bank of India, the IDBI, Canara Bank, the Indian Bank and the Central Bank of India.

The official said that the the agency carried out searches at Kanpur, Delhi, Ghaziabad, Mathura, Noida, Gurugram, Chennai, Thiruvarur, Vellore, Tiruppur, Bengaluru, Guntur, Hyderbad, Bellary, Vadodara, Kolkata, West Godavari, Surat, Mumbai, Bhopal, Nimadi, Tirupati, Visakhapatnam, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Karnal, Jaipur, and Sriganganagar.

During the searches, various incriminating documents and other material/digital evidences have been recovered, the official said.

The official said that the agency has been receiving a number of complaints from various banks alleging cheating, diversion of funds, submission of fake or forged documents by different defaulting firms while obtaining loans or credit facilities etc.

He said that there have been allegations that such firms have been turning defaulters resulting into the loans becoming Non-Performing Assets (NPAs), thus causing heavy loss to the public sector banks.

The official said that after scrutiny, the cases are registered by the CBI and a thorough investigation is carried out in order to book the culprits, take them to face the law and endeavour to salvage public money.
Harrisburg mayoral candidate Otto Banks has already moved enough of his life - in the form of shoes, suits, a laptop. a television, and lamps, chairs and a mattress - to 1204 S. 19th St. to prove his intention to be a resident of the city of Harrisburg, a Dauphin County judge ruled Thursday.

And as a result, Harrisburg voters will still get to decide if they want Banks to become their next mayor.

With Judge Andrew Dowlings decision, Banks remains on the Democratic Party ballot for the May 18 primary, completing a five-person field.

Banks, in a statement issued late Thursday afternoon, thanked Dowling for hearing him out and said that while this distraction attempted to serve as a means to end my mayoral candidacy, it (the decision) re-energizes me in a way that is indescribable. I am more focused, excited and determined than ever.

He added:

We are no stranger to challenge and adversity in this city. We have often suffered against systems and been challenged for pushing against those that seek to keep us bound. Today, our team and community have come out on top. The best of this campaign is yet to come.

Our residents deserve to see someone willing to face adversity ridicule and shaming in order to change the trajectory of our entire community. They deserve to see resilience personified. We intend to deliver just that in the days, weeks and months to come. We will show everyone what fighting for change looks like.

There is, however, still a 10-day window for an appeal of Dowlings ruling to Commonwealth Court, and Karen Balaban, the attorney for objector Joseph Wright, said Thursday that she was still going through Dowlings ruling to determine if an appeal is viable or not.

We will review the transcript and the decision to see if we have a reasonable basis for appeal, Balaban said. I will say it concerns me that subjective testimony that was rebutted by substantive evidence such as zero water consumption and a request by the landowner not turn gas on until December 31... the judge doesnt discuss that.

In the meantime, she said, her client is satisfied that the issue of Banks residency has at least been raised for the voters consideration.

Testimony at Tuesdays hearing showed Banks, who has lived in Swatara Township since 2007, has actually lived at his South 19th Street home only intermittently since he purchased it in late August.

But Dowling found enough in Banks actions with regard to the new property - from moving in clothes, lamps and a television set, to beginning extensive renovations, to taking across-the-board steps to change his address for everything from bank statements to voter registration - to show his intent to make it his permanent residence could trump day-to-day reality.

In his ruling on the case, Judge Dowling noted the burden of proof in these cases is on the challenger, and it is steep. Pennsylvania courts longstanding preference, he noted, is to protect a candidates right to run for office and the voters right to elect the candidate of their choice.

And in this case, the judge wrote, he found enough to lean in that direction, too.

Dowling noted the main evidence in Wrights case was a pattern of low-to-no utility usage at the 19th Street home from September until January.

But the judge found that fit with Banks explanations that he spent much of his time at other locations, including his former home in Swatara which has video production spaces that he uses for work and his campaign, and which also happens, Banks testified, to have his only working water heater at the moment.

Dowling also cited Banks testimony of frequent trips through the fall - backed by passport stamps - to Colombia, where his wife and their child still lives.

As such, we do not find the purportedly low utility bills to be persuasive or sufficient to overcome the presumption that the candidate lives where he said he lived in his affidavit, the judge wrote.Rather, we find the candidates testimony to be credible that he moved into the city property in the beginning of September 2020 with the intent to make the city property his permanent home.

Otto Banks' mayoral candidacy hinges on whether this house is truly his home. A judge ruled Thursday that it is.

Banks would have had to establish residency by November 2, 2020, one year before this years general election, to meet the residency qualification.

Banks testified that he moved into the home shortly after taking ownership in late summer, but has spent large chunks off time since then in Colombia or at his Swatara Township home after a conversion to natural gas at the 19th Street home and other renovations made it temporarily inhabitable.

Evidence presented at Tuesdays hearing showed Banks had the gas turned on at the 19th Street home on Dc. 31, and in January and February gas and electric usage at the home has trended up.

Dowling, in his ruling, noted case law in Pennsylvania allows for candidates to be absent from their residences for periods of time, as long as their intent is to return there. On intent, the judge ruled, Banks testimony is that his plans are to renovate the 19th Street residence and to sell the Swatara Township home.

Banks is one of five Democrats who has filed for the Democratic nomination in the mayors race, along with incumbent Mayor Eric Papenfuse, City Council President Wanda Williams, retired businessman David Schankweiler and Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center general manager Kevyn Knox.

Banks is considered one of the top contenders in the race.

A City Council member from 2001 through 2005, Banks lost his bid for re-election to council after switching his party registration to Republican. After going off the council, he received a high-ranking appointment in former President George W. Bushs administration, serving as assistant deputy secretary for economic development in the Department of Housing & Urban Development.

Banks switched his party registration back to Democrat last year, after realizing, he said, that he could no longer be part of a party that was in the sway of former President Donald J. Trump, and he bought the home at 1204 S. 19th St. on Aug. 28.

Reaction to Dowlings decision from other candidates was varied.

Williams, whose friend and political ally James Pianka was assisting Balaban on the Banks case, declined comment.

Papenfuse, the two-term incumbent mayor, sought to tie Williams campaign to the challenge through Pianka, and said the case is further evidence of her being controlled by shadowy political forces that would take the city backwards toward litigation and dysfunction.

Williams, for her part, has denied having any involvement in the Banks residency challenge.

Schankweiler, meanwhile, tried to stay above the instant fray, saying elections should be won or lost at the ballot box. I think candidates and their campaigns should stay focused on talking to voters, not trying to take out each other when they have an opportunity.
The United States is administering more than 2 million COVID-19 vaccine shots per day, and were on track to deliver 4 million per day by June.

If that trajectory holds, experts believe we could achieve herd immunity  and the fastest way back to spending time with all of the people we love  by the summer.

As a pastor, I know how important spending time with our families is and how critical that is to filling our emotional and spiritual tanks. As a state senator, I focus on representing the people in my district to ensure that they feel confident in the public health and safety information they need on a daily basis.

That is why, no matter what hat Im wearing, I have remained committed to sharing accurate and trustworthy information with our church family and larger community about the importance of getting vaccinated.

Ive heard from and spoken with members of our congregation and community, and I know there is some concern around the COVID-19 vaccine, including whether these new variants may render the vaccines ineffective. I spread the same message: There is no need to worry.

Getting vaccinated as soon as possible is, by far, the best protection against every known COVID-19 variant. Every South Carolinian should feel comfortable scheduling and keeping a vaccine appointment, and getting inoculated when its their turn.

Clinical trial data for the three vaccines granted emergency use authorization by the FDA  from Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson  were extremely positive. Out of 55,000 clinical trial participants who received these vaccines, not a single person has died or has even been hospitalized. That is a 100% effective rate at preventing hospitalizations and deaths, even among people who later get infected with the virus, including variants. That is the message we must reinforce over and over.

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!

Once enough Americans get a COVID-19 vaccine, the disease will become far less deadly than the flu. And the flu circulates every year without upending South Carolinians daily lives.

Thats not to say that questions are not valid and the new variants arent concerning. My intention is not to discount individual feelings. Rather, it is my goal to educate and spread information so that we can all feel more empowered with information about the vaccines.

It is also important that South Carolinians keep social distancing, wearing masks and following safety guidelines until we reach the herd immunity benchmark. The only thing we want to spread right now is vaccine confidence.

Theres no reason we cant get back to doing all of the things we love  gathering as family and community  sooner rather than later. Yes, some folks may still catch the virus. But the vaccines  coupled with good public health practices such as masking, hand washing and social distancing  will do their job and prevent serious illness and death, even from variants.

I truly believe the power of possibility is within every individual to effect positive change. Now its time to do your part and get vaccinated. Together, we can beat this pandemic.

Darrell Jackson is senior pastor of Bible Way Church in Columbia and has represented Richland County in the S.C. Senate since 1993.
Burma Myanmars Military Regime Arrests Four Media Staff in Shan State

Security forces are seen during the crackdown against anti-regime protests in the Shan State capital Taunggyi on Thursday. / CJ.

Four staff from the Shan State-based ethnic media Kanbawza Tai News have been detained by the security forces after a night raid on Wednesday. The detainees include two journalists, the publisher and a security guard.

Regime forces raided the sub-office of the media outlet in the Shan State capital Taunggyis Hopong Township on March 24, as well as two other houses where Kanbawza Tai News staff live. They detained the female editor-in-charge Nann Nann Tai, 28, female news reporter Nann Win Yi, 21, publisher U Tin Aung Kyaw and security guard Ko Sai Sithu, who was released on Thursday evening.

Media outlets covering the security forces lethal crackdowns on anti-regime protests have been accused by the junta of inciting people to continue their demonstrations against the militarys Feb.1 coup.

Ko Zay Tai, editor-in-chief of Kanbawza Tai News, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that their outlet has been targeted despite the military regime not issuing any warnings or bringing lawsuits against them.

He said that he did not know the whereabouts of the detained staff.

The security forces had previously attempted to arrest Ko Zay Tai in a failed mid-March house raid. I believe that the raids are aimed at destroying the media Ko Zay Tai said.

All journalists are just performing their duties, not committing crimes. I believe that those who are thinking of journalists as criminals are the real criminals, he added.

Several journalists from other ethnic media outlets in Shan State and Kachin State are in hiding because the police are searching for them.

As of Thursday, 23 out of a total of 48 journalists arrested for reporting on anti-coup protests and the security forces use of deadly force in crackdowns remain in detention.

In addition, 11 journalists have been charged under Article 505(a) of the Penal Code, which carries a potential prison sentence of up to three years.

The junta has also revoked the publishing licenses of five media outlets  7Day News, Myanmar Now, Mizzima, DVB and Khit Thit Media  without giving a reason. But, apart from 7Day News, all are defying the military regime by continuing to publish news daily.

The Irrawaddy has also been sued under Article 505(a) of the penal code.

As of Wednesday, around 2,906 people including elected leaders, election commissioners, National League for Democracy members, anti-regime protesters, activists, writers, journalists, artists and civilians have been arrested by the junta.

You may also like these stories:

Myanmar Junta Accused of Using Deepfake Technology to Prove Graft Case Against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

63 Striking Myanmar Investment Staff Suspended by Junta

NLD Lawyers to Defend Suu Kyi Against Myanmar Military Charges
Amazon Web Services and Red Hat, the worlds leading provider of enterprise open source solutions, announced the general availability of Red Hat OpenShift Service on AWS (ROSA), a new managed service available via the AWS Console that makes it easier for Red Hat OpenShift customers to build, scale, and manage containerized applications on AWS. With ROSA, customers can enjoy more simplified Kubernetes cluster creation using the familiar Red Hat OpenShift console, features, and tooling without the burden of manually scaling and managing the underlying infrastructure. ROSA streamlines moving on-premises Red Hat OpenShift workloads to AWS, and offers a tighter integration with other AWS services. ROSA also enables customers to access Red Hat OpenShift with billing and support directly through AWS, delivering the simplicity of a single-vendor experience to customers running Red Hat OpenShift on AWS. There are no up-front investments required to use ROSA, and customers pay only for the container clusters and nodes used.

Containers have proven popular with AWS and Red Hat customers because they increase developer velocity and improve application portability. Currently, AWS offers the broadest range of containers technology in the cloud, including Amazon Elastic Containers Service (ECS) for customers that want the deepest integration with AWS services and Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) for customers that prioritize running Kubernetes. AWS customers that value a fully serverless containers experience can also use AWS Fargate to run containers without having to manage the underlying servers or clusters.

Global Fortune 500 businesses, government agencies, and many more organizations use Red Hat OpenShift, Red Hats enterprise-ready Kubernetes platform that extends the capabilities of base Kubernetes built for the cloud production stack, to run containerized applications with the same common foundation and tooling in any environment. Many customers have chosen to self-manage Red Hat OpenShift clusters on top of AWS. While the elasticity, scalability, and security of AWS have proven very popular with Red Hat OpenShift customers, self-managing clusters requires added effort and expense, and customers also have to manage two provider relationships for support and billing. These customers have asked for an AWS managed service for Red Hat OpenShift that works seamlessly with other AWS services at scale, and integrates support and billing into the AWS user experience.

With ROSA, customers can quickly and easily create Kubernetes clusters using familiar Red Hat OpenShift Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and tooling, and seamlessly access the full breadth and depth of AWS services  all from within the AWS console. ROSA brings elasticity and pay-as-you-go pricing to Red Hat OpenShift via a new Red Hat subscription that eliminates the need for complex, multi-year contracts and allows customers to align their Red Hat OpenShift consumption in AWS with their business needs. With ROSA, customers can now access Red Hat OpenShift subscription with billing and support directly through AWS, delivering the simplicity of a single-provider experience and freeing customers from the procurement and operational complexities of managing two separate provider relationships. Additionally, ROSA maintains key compliance validations, including SOC-2, ISO-27001, and PCI.

Increasingly, customers are turning to containers to improve application velocity and portability, and theyre growing to rely on technologies like Red Hat OpenShift and AWS that make it easier to deploy containerized applications, said Bob Wise, GM Kubernetes, AWS. ROSA gives these customers the ability to seamlessly run containers on AWS using familiar Red Hat OpenShift APIs and tooling, and integrates the full breadth and depth of AWS services to build, scale, and manage their workloads.

Red Hat OpenShift provides a common, open and enterprise-grade Kubernetes platform to span hybrid infrastructure, from a customers physical datacenter to their operations in AWS, said Sathish Balakrishnan, vice president, Hosted Platforms, Red Hat. ROSA provides a streamlined process for organizations that want to extend the power of Red Hat OpenShift in AWS without having to manage separate technology streams, enabling IT teams to focus on delivering value and not managing underlying infrastructure.

Accenture Cloud First, including the Accenture AWS Business Group (AABG) and its IBM Red Hat team, has an extensive background in the strategy, design and implementation of holistic container solutions. Our deep skills and broad experience in building and running large-scale and mission-critical Red Hat OpenShift clusters, both on-premises and deployed to the cloud, uniquely position Accenture for effective collaboration with AWS and Red Hat, said Andy Tay, Global lead of the Accenture AWS Business Group, Accenture. The launch of ROSA as a fully managed service is the next step in the evolution of OpenShift. It means that Accenture can focus on delivering the benefits of modern applications for our clients, leveraging the cloud managed services provided by AWS and Red Hat.

Cognizant is a multinational technology company that provides business consulting, information technology, and outsourcing services. With ROSA, Cognizant customers can now enjoy an integrated experience with their workloads running on the OpenShift platform on AWS, said Raghuraman Chandrasekharan, AVP, Service Delivery and AWS Business Group lead, Cognizant. Cognizants OpenShift on AWS offering now includes ROSA as a landing zone for customers who would like to delegate the responsibility of the infrastructure and platform services while they focus on their core business needs.

Persistent Systems is a trusted global solutions company, delivering digital business acceleration, enterprise modernization and next generation product engineering services. As a Red Hat and AWS partner, many of our clients already leverage OpenShift on AWS for critical software modernization, said Jiani Zhang, President, Alliance and Industrial Solutions Unit, Persistent Systems. ROSA speeds deployments and frees up teams to more easily manage deployments directly from the AWS Console.

Energie Data Services Nederland (EDSN) develops and operates the Dutch energy data hub on behalf of Dutch transmission and distribution system operators. Adapting to evolving customer needs is a daily requirement for us, a dynamic that requires modernized applications and a DevOps methodology that can be delivered at scale, said Arwin Scholten, Chief Technology Officer, EDSN. With Red Hat OpenShift Service on AWS, we have a service that is ready for the future. We dont have to worry about continuously improving the platform or managing the underlying infrastructure or operations, freeing our team to fully focus on providing greater innovation and value to our customers.
In essence, private companies have higher productivity rate than state-owned companies, yet in Vietnam, private companies have the lowest productivity rate than even state-owned or Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) companies.

Low productivity

Most large-scale private companies in Vietnam have only recently emerged on the top, mainly by focusing on real estate activities, and accumulating wealth from land ownership by exploiting close relationships with government officials and related agencies who reserve the right to distribute pieces of public land managed by the government. During the last few years, some large-scale companies diversified some of their business activities to lucrative areas such as manufacturing, energy, banking, trade, transport, healthcare, education and even some hi-tech fields.

The Vietnam White Book on Information and Communication Technology 2019, released in 2020, shows that the return on equity (ROE) ratio of private businesses in 2016 and 2017 were 4.4% and 6%, respectively. Their return on assets (ROA) ratios were 1.4% and 1.8%, respectively; and capital turnover or return on invested capital reached just 0.71 and 0.73, respectively. Although the average profit margin increased, the percentage of companies operating at a loss was between 40% and 50% during the years from 2011 until 2017.

Risks from loans have also been a big problem for private businesses, with their debt-to-capital ratios reaching 2.3 times in 2016 and 2017. The quality and performance of companies in terms of added value and labor productivity have been low and falling far below other neighboring countries. The manufacturing value added (MVA), and MVA per capita in Vietnam have been low in production and processing industries, and even in the export sector. Vietnam's MVA in 2016 reached USD 29.28 bn and per capita income was USD 310, which were much lower than China and ASEAN-6 countries.

The figures released by the General Statistics Office in 2018 indicate that workers in the private sector made VND 58 mn per person annually, compared with VND 248 mn earned by workers in FDI companies and VND 339 mn in state-owned enterprises (SOEs). This was primarily because private companies operate on a very small scale, and especially household businesses, which make up 90% of the private sector, participate mostly in simple activities like making traditional items, or providing commercial services for local consumers. They are small scale, lack resources and support, and are severely hampered by private businesses from increasing their productivity.

Vietnam's labor productivity is extremely low, compared with other countries in the region. Based on the buying power in 2011, Vietnam's labor productivity in 2017 was USD 10,232, just 7.2% of that in Singapore, 18.5% in Malaysia, 36.2% in Thailand, 43% in Indonesia and 55% in the Philippines. The difference in labor productivity between Vietnam and these countries is still increasing.

Unfair competition

The differences in several aspects between private companies and state-owned and FDI businesses have their roots in the business environment with unfair competition among economic sectors. Though the Constitution, laws and resolutions introduced by the Party Committees have repeatedly stressed fairness for all economic sectors, the problem of discrimination and unfairness between most private companies and state-owned and FDI businesses has been static for the last 30 years, and still commonplace and serious.

SOEs belong to the economic sector with a pivotal role, that bonds them tightly to the state, which reserves the ultimate power in designing and enforcing laws, polices and plans for socio-economic development, and in holding and distributing the most important resources of the country. Though controlled and managed directly by several state agencies, SOEs are generally protected from competition with domestic and international private companies and have different privileges, access to various resources, and trading rights in highly profitable areas and projects.

This is also a reason why a few SOEs have become a huge burden to the entire economy because they have made losses and been in debt for ages, causing ineffective use of resources, increasing costs and prices of products they provide, and continue to take opportunities and valuable resources away from other businesses.

Additionally, the problem of group interests and crony businesses have become common in recent years, resulting in unfair competition between crony businesses and those without any close relationships with government officials. According to a report on the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) jointly made and released by Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in 2018, upto 70% of companies believe that business resources like contracts and land have fallen into the hands of companies that have close ties with government officials or agencies. Access to information is also unfair, with 69% of companies saying that only special bonds can ensure access to reliable sources of information or documents from competent provincial agencies.

Under such unfair competition in a business environment, private enterprises face a different kind of pressure which severely hampers their growth. Their access to resources, trading rights and business opportunities are all seriously restricted or even taken away unfairly by preferred companies. They have to pay a higher price for different resources and products because the interest groups control the market, especially with regards to land, premises for production, and business activities and transport, which then raises market prices and reduces their profits. Their profit margins are too small and unstable, making it more and more difficult for private companies to make further investments and hindering them from thinking big or making long-term plans for their sustainable development.

Such an oppressive environment has not encouraged cooperations to grow, but rather, it has caused separation and suspicion among different business sectors, and distrust among favored companies and ones discriminated against. An unfair business environment is also a favorable ground for corruption to grow, causing irreparable losses of resources and opportunities for any hope of the sustainable development of the country.

Pham Chi Lan, Financial Expert
ADVERTISEMENT

A High Court in Akwa-Ibom State, on Thursday, sentenced a Nigerian professor, Peter Ogban, to three years in prison, for election fraud.

The court, which found Mr Ogban guilty of fraudulent manipulation of election results, publishing and announcing of false results, also asked the professor to pay N100,000 fine.

Mr Ogban, a professor of soil science, University of Calabar, and a returning officer in the 2019 general elections in Akwa Ibom North-West District, was charged for manipulating the election results of two local government areas  Oruk Anam and Etim Ekpo.

In a previous court session, Mr Ogban had told the court how the results of the election were falsified to give the All Progressives Congress (APC) an unfair advantage over its main rival, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

For instance, some 5,000 fake votes were added to the APCs score in Oruk Anam, in the election.

Godswill Akpabio, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, was the APC candidate in the election. He was seeking a return to the Senate, after he defected from the PDP.

The PDP candidate, Chris Ekpenyong, a former deputy governor in Akwa Ibom State, defeated Mr Akpabio in the election, which was gripped by pockets of violence.

Mr Ogban was prosecuted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the landmark case.

The university lecturer, before his sentencing, pleaded for mercy from the judge, Augustine Odokwo.

Justice Odokwo, who described the case as a novel one, told the lecturer that there was not much he could do other than to let the law take its course.

He said the prosecution was able to prove its case against Mr Ogban, beyond any reasonable doubt.

Another professor also faces trial for election fraud

Ignatius Uduk, a professor of Human Kinetics in the Department of Physical and Health Education, University of Uyo, has also been charged for election fraud in Akwa Ibom State.

He is accused of unlawful generation of election results in favour of PDP in Essien Udim State Constituency election in 2019 and lying under oath.

Mr Uduk was remanded in custody in December after the court issued a warrant of arrest on him.

This is the first time INEC is prosecuting professors for electoral fraud.
FCW Insider: March 25, 2021

The Office of Personnel Management wants to use upcoming guidance on telework to offer a new vision for federal work, an agency official said Wednesday.

The groups' call for changes to how the government operates the modernization fund echoes concerns that multiple former CIOs voiced to FCW this month in interviews.

The Biden administration has several Defense Department vacancies to fill in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and military departments. But what does that mean for personnel and the 2022 budget?

Quick Hits

*** Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), the chairwoman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, named five lawmakers to serve as vice-chairs on the panel's subcommittees. Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) will be vice-chair of the critical Government Operations subcommittee. Additionally, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) will be vice-chair of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties; Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) will vice chair of the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) will be vice chair of the Subcommittee on Environment and Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.) will be vice chair of the Subcommittee on National Security.

*** Charlotte Dye was named general counsel of the Federal Labor Relations Authority by President Joe Biden. Dye is a longtime agency hand with almost 30 years of service.

"This appointment is critical to addressing the current a backlog of nearly 450 labor-management disputes," American Federation of Government Employees National President Everett Kelley said in a statement. "For more than three years, the FLRA has not been able to issue complaints due to the vacant general counsel position. This has left disputes between workers and management unresolved and allowed the unfair actions to continue."

*** In a March 24 letter, Rep. Carolyn Maloney urged President Biden to use his authority under the 2021 defense bill to appoint a National Cyber Director.

"The lack of centralized and coordinated cybersecurity leadership at the White House has had devastating consequences, as recently demonstrated by the SolarWinds breach in which a suspected Russian state actor infiltrated the networks of at least nine federal agencies and over a hundred private-sector companies," Maloney wrote.
A former Bank of America employee in Texas is facing charges after police say he stole nude photos from female customers phones, court documents show.

Juan Esteban Ramirez, 27, is charged with two counts of unlawful disclosure of intimate visual material, the latest filed on Monday.

Police said Ramirez used his role as a relationship manager at a Houston Bank of America to encourage at least two women he assisted in September to hand over their phones so he could steal nude photos and video.

Bank of America said he was fired in October after the company was made aware of the allegations, KPRC reported. The bank added that it has cooperated fully with the investigation.

On Sept. 12, a woman went into the bank for help setting up an account and handed Ramirez her unlocked phone, police said. Hes accused of keeping the phone for an extended period of time.

Two days later, the woman started receiving nude photos and video of herself from a phone number she didnt recognize along with text messages threatening to send the images to her parents, according to police. She changed her phone number after receiving 28 messages.

Investigators traced the messages to Ramirez, who they learned had been charged in January for a similar incident involving another bank customer.

In that incident, a customer had gone into the bank on Sept. 14 to get a new debit card. Ramirez took her to a desk and asked her to pull up her account information on her phone, police said.

The customer wasnt sure how to locate her information, so she unlocked her phone and handed it to Ramirez. Police said Ramirez kept her phone for roughly 10 minutes before returning it and telling the woman shed receive a temporary debit card in the mail.

Later, the woman noticed text message delivery notifications on her Apple watch to a phone number she didnt recognize, police said. She checked her phone, but it showed no sent messages.

According to her Apple watch, the messages were sent while the woman was at the bank and included more than a dozen photos of her, some of them nude, according to police.

Story continues

Investigators traced the number to Ramirez and analyzed surveillance video during the time the woman was in the bank, police said.

He was arrested in connection with that incident in January and charged with unlawful disclosure of intimate visual material, court records show. He received the same charge on Monday for the Sept. 12 incident.

Ramirez is due back in court on April 19.
Who doesnt like a compliment? An expression of praise, congratulations, encouragement or respect. As long as such comments are sincere, compliments can lift spirits and make someones day.

Did you miss World Compliment Day this year? Me, too. Evidently, World Compliment Day is celebrated every year on March 1 to create the most positive day in the world through simple verbal affirmations.

After many successful celebrations of National Compliment Day, founder Hans Poortvliet from the Netherlands decided to turn it into World Compliment Day, dedicating a world-wide holiday to radiating positivity.

According to the World Compliment Day website: If on March 1st every person pays at least three people in his/her environment or (social) network a genuine and sincere compliment, we will definitely create the Most Positive Day in the World!

But more than that, we should all remember the importance of making people feel appreciated every day. Sadly, we tend to assume that adults dont need to be rewarded with even simple verbal praise if they are doing whats expected of them. So, too often we are left underappreciated and overworked in pursuit of that validation. Lets end that discouraging tradition.

World Compliment Day can apply to every day. Try complimenting at least three people. You can get creative with a note or email. Even just smiling and saying thank you for little things can uplift others moods and your own outlook.

And if you think that such actions are too trivial or time-consuming, consider this story. In 1934, the infamous criminal couple Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow (of Bonnie and Clyde fame) took the time between heists to write a letter to the Ford Motor Co., expressing their gratitude for their vehicles, the couples preferred getaway cars. Now I dont know if this story is true or not, but if it is, surely we can all do the same or better. And face-to-face compliments, emails and positive posts on social media take very little time at all.

If you are over age 55 and looking for ways to spread positivity in your community and your own life, consider the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, a community of like-minded and similarly aged volunteers. For more information, call Darla Troutman, RSVP coordinator, at 570-622-3103.

RSVP is part of AmeriCorps Seniors, a component of the federal Corporation for National and Community Service, and is under the local sponsorship of Schuylkill County Office of Senior Services. RSVP is part of the Schuylkill County Volunteer Program which also includes Community Volunteers in Action. Check out the Facebook pages for CVIA and for Schuylkill County Human Services Programs.
Mikhail Shvydkoy, special representative for the Presidential Council for International Cultural Cooperation in Russia, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times ahead of the opening ceremony for the 2020-2021 Korea-Russia Year of Cultural Exchanges at Westin Josun Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of Seoul Cyber University



By Kwon Mee-yoo



Russian cultural expert Mikhail Shvydkoy emphasized the importance of exchanging contemporary culture as Korea and Russia celebrate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties through cultural exchanges this year.



Shvydkoy, special representative for the Presidential Council for International Cultural Cooperation in Russia, visited Korea to attend the opening ceremony of the 2020-2021 Korea-Russia Year of Cultural Exchanges in Seoul.



He is a high-profile and influential figure in Russia's cultural circles. Shvydkoy studied theater at the Russian University of Theatre Arts and worked at Theatre magazine and founded the Kultura television channel. Shvydkoy served as the Minister of Culture from 2000 to 2004.



In 2017, Shvydkoy visited Korea to attend an international conference commemorating the 30th anniversary of cultural exchanges between Korea and Russia, co-hosted by the Korea Russia Arts and Culture Society (KORACS) and the Russian Embassy in Seoul.



During his short stay, Shvydkoy kept himself busy promoting cultural exchanges between the two countries through meetings with officials from KORACS, the National Museum of Korea and the National Library of Korea.



"This is not my first time in Korea. Again and again I understand more Korean cultural area and people who are very open for contact with Russia," Shvydkoy said in an interview with The Korea Times at a hotel in Seoul, Wednesday.



"Korea has something for all of us. When I was young, it was a fairytale. When I grew up, there were movies, literature, music and fine arts. My first encounter with Korean culture was in 1958. I was a 10-year-old boy and I read books of Korean fairytales. It was translated by our great poet Anna Akhmatova. She was one of the superstars of poetry in the 20th century," Shvydkoy recalled.









"When I first read about Korea for the first time, Korea was the country of morning fresh. I was very astonished and tried to understand the smell and feeling of this morning fresh. I couldn't catch this when I was young."





The opening ceremony for the 2020-2021 Korea-Russia Year of Cultural Exchanges is held at Westin Chosun Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap
VICTORIA - Another record death toll for overdoses in British Columbia shows this isn't just a big-city problem and it must be addressed in every community in the province, Premier John Horgan said Wednesday.

Paramedics perform chest compressions on an individual in Vancouvers Downtown Eastside on Sept. 10, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

VICTORIA - Another record death toll for overdoses in British Columbia shows this isn't just a big-city problem and it must be addressed in every community in the province, Premier John Horgan said Wednesday.

The BC Coroners Service reported the province's deadliest February yet for illicit drug overdoses with 155 lives lost last month.

It's the 11th consecutive month in which B.C. has recorded more than 100 fatalities, says chief coroner Lisa Lapointe in a news release.

She says the number of deaths highlights the ongoing critical risk to public health and safety from the illicit drug market.

The latest overdose statistics sparked debate in the legislature, with the Opposition Liberals demanding the government take vigorous action in next month's budget to address mental health and addiction services.

"The loss of 155 lives in February represents a 107 per cent increase over the same month in 2020," said interim Liberal Leader Shirley Bond. "This is a situation that continues to get worse. It's taking people from all age groups and economic situations."

She called on Horgan to take measures to prevent the deaths.

"Perhaps the premier can step up and tell us what specific steps he is taking to ensure that next month and the month after that and the month after that, we are not having the same conversation."

B.C. was making progress reducing the number of overdose deaths in 2019, but the arrival of the pandemic has seen deaths increase as the illicit supply grows more toxic and many people are using alone, Horgan said.

"This is not a downtown Vancouver issue, it's a B.C. issue," he said. "It's our problem. It's our brothers, our sisters, our moms and dads."

The coroners service says the February statistics make last month the second consecutive month in which the average number of daily deaths was above five.

It says 15 per cent of people who died so far this year were over the age of 60, while 40 per cent were over 50, continuing a trend that has been seen in older age groups in recent years.

The service says increased variability and toxicity in the drug supply continues to significantly contribute to the overall number of suspected deaths.

Carfentanil, a more lethal analogue of fentanyl, was detected in 18 of the 155 deaths, an increase from the January total and the largest monthly figure recorded since April 2019.

"This data emphasizes the alarming increase in the toxicity of the illicit drug supply throughout B.C.," Lapointe says.

"Across the province, the risk of serious harm or death is very real for anyone using a substance purchased from the illicit market. Decisive action is urgently needed to ensure an accessible, regulated safe supply and to provide people with the supervised consumption, treatment and recovery services they need."

Sheila Malcolmson, minister of mental health and addictions, said in a statement the 155 deaths in February are a "heartbreaking loss."

"We know people are hurting now, and we must do more to stop this terrible surge in overdose deaths. Stigma and criminalization are driving people to use alone, and the pandemic is pushing people further into isolation."

The province has added more supervised consumption services, increased access to naloxone and improved treatment options, she said, and that has saved lives.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 24, 2021.
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 RxLightning Founded in New Albany, Indiana in 2020, RxLightning digitizes, automates and streamlines the historically complicated manual enrollment process of starting a patient on specialty medications. Specialty medications are expected to account for 70% of new medication launches through 2023. With RxLightning, healthcare providers can quickly and easily complete the enrollment process for every specialty medication in every therapeutic area, helping reduce paperwork, streamline communication, and accelerate the speed of therapy for patients. Providers can register and enroll for free by visiting www.rxlightning.com.

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.
During 2020, Grandview doubled its fleet and is executing on its high-growth plan of national on-demand Phenom 300 charter services. GrandView not only provides private charter to high-net-worth individuals and companies but is also the nation's leading provider of organ transplant team transportation. Since COVID, more travelers are flocking to private travel, and the privacy and security it offers. GrandView is meeting this demand with a modern fleet of aircraft equipped with equally modern safety technology onboard, plus creature comforts like Wifi for passengers.

"We believe California will be well served by our fleet as there is a lack of new, light jet aircraft than can handle longer-range missions like the Phenom 300 can." Said Jessie Naor, Chief Operating Officer of GrandView Aviation. "Our aircraft can fly nonstop from Los Angles to Chicago, and in very good wind conditions, to Miami. This kind of range is incredible in a light jet; most fliers would need to upgrade to a midsize jet for these destinations."

This new location continues to bring value to clients enrolled in its popular Altitude Miles Program. Similar to traditional airline loyalty programs, members earn miles on charter flights, which are redeemable for catering, flight credits, and other amenities. The program also offers utilization of GrandView's flexible cancelation policy and empty leg specials. Initial membership tiers are complimentary, while the company does offer premium memberships that include hourly discounts on flights.

GrandView Aviation

GrandView Aviation operates a fleet of Phenom 300 private charter jets and helicopters giving access to departure points across the United States from the company's bases in Boston, Baltimore, Chicago, Atlanta, Austin, Phoenix, and Denver. GrandView Aviation is a FAA Part 135 certificated aircraft operator & carries the elite Wyvern Wingman safety rating. For more information about GrandView Aviation, please visit www.flygv.com.

SOURCE GrandView Aviation

Related Links

flygv.com


Syracuse, NY  A U.S. Social Security claims specialist based in Syracuse has been accused of stealing public money set aside for poor disabled citizens to pay for a fancy suit, jewelry and a Caribbean honeymoon last fall.

Sean Okrzesik, 34, was charged with Social Security fraud and theft of government services, the U.S. Attorneys Office in Syracuse said in a news release Thursday.

Social Security fraud investigators flagged suspicious activity in Okrzesiks transactions last year, leading to an investigation that uncovered more than $12,400 siphoned from federal taxpayer money into a private bank account, according to court papers.

Okrzesik, who was assigned to work out of Syracuses federal building, had been working remotely during the pandemic. But his digital fingerprint was tied to the diverted money, which was supposed to go to a family with two children, according to a fraud investigator.

Instead, the money went to a Bancorp account controlled by Okrzesik, who had impersonated the adult in control of the childrens payouts, the investigator found. Okrzesik used the proper adults date of birth and social security number but his own phone number, the investigator added.

But the investigation didnt end there. Special Agent Thomas Martin tracked down where the stolen money was spent, according to court documents:

Two roundtrip airline tickets from Phoenix, Arizona to the Turks and Caicos Islands, known as a Caribbean getaway, in October 2020. (Okrzesik had gotten married on Oct. 11, 2020 in Paradise Valley, Arizona, the agent found.) Border Patrol and airlines records confirmed that Okrzesik left the U.S on Oct. 16 and returned on Oct. 23.

A $1,260 purchase from a company called The True Gem, in Dallas, Texas, on July 23, 2020. That transaction was confirmed to be jewelry by The True Gem, the agent added.

A unlisted amount as a payment for a custom suit, dress shirt and tie from Mr. Shop in Armory Square in Syracuse.

When confronted, Okrzesik admitted to diverting taxpayer money into a bank account hed set up in the names of the rightful social security claimants, the agent concluded.

Okrzesik remains free as the case is prosecuted in U.S. District Court in Syracuse. If convicted, he faces a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office.

Staff writer Douglass Dowty can be reached at ddowty@syracuse.com or 315-470-6070.
Senegal's traditional wrestlers, who are revered by millions of adoring fans, have reacted in anger to rumours that they were behind the violence that recently shook the West African nation.

Usually seen as a haven of stability in a volatile region, Senegal was rocked by a week of deadly clashes between opposition supporters and police in early March.

At least five people were killed in the unrest, sparked by the arrest of the country's opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, a government critic popular with Senegalese youth.

Thousands of young protesters also looted shops, hurled stones at police and torched cars during demonstrations across the country.

In the confusion, rumours swirled that practitioners of Senegal's centuries-old wrestling tradition -- mostly heavy-set, muscled men -- were behind some of the mayhem.

Senegal wrestlers are well known in Francophone Africa /  AFP

Some on social media suggested that the government had hired wrestlers to quell demonstrations. And the government itself suggested that wrestlers were among the protesters.

Senegal's Justice Minister Malick Sall, for example, said in an interview this month that coronavirus restrictions explained the unrest and pointed to wrestlers as an example.

"The young people, many of them were in the wrestling stables," he said, explaining that young wrestlers had spent their days training and fighting.

"This allowed them not only to let off steam but to earn a living. And that is something they have been deprived of for almost a year," he added.

But the minister touched a nerve, appearing to cast doubt on fighters who are lionised throughout the country, where wrestling is a major spectator sport.

Senegal's wrestling world has rejected suggestions that fighters were drawn into the violent politics of recent weeks.

"Not a single licensed wrestler took part in the rallies," said Khadim Gadiaga, the head of a respected wrestling stable in the capital Dakar.

He also denied that any fighters had worked as state-sponsored thugs, saying that wrestlers had never marched "in the history of this country".

- 'Not a penny' -

Like many other sports, wrestling has suffered since the onset of the pandemic, according to some fighters.

Group training has been banned to curb infections, alongside traditional bouts -- where hulking fighters dressed in loincloths face off in packed stadiums, performing mystic rituals in the sand before going toe-to-toe.

Thousands of young protesters also looted shops, hurled stones at police and torched cars during demonstrations /  AFP

The restrictions have put some 8,000 professional wrestlers out of a job.

Ibrahima Dione, the president of Senegal's national wrestling association, told AFP that "for a year now, the fighters have had nothing, not even a penny".

"Many of them have lost hope and are taking canoes to Spain," he said, referring to the Atlantic Ocean migration route from Senegal to Europe.

But to Dione, the ministers' words stung, since so many young wrestlers have seen their livelihoods disappear.

"It's dangerous for the youth who have lost hope," he said. "The state has an obligation to help us. All wrestlers are really angry".

- 'People need it' -

For his part, Aliou Sane, a spokesman for Senegal's protest group 'Y'en a marre' -- meaning 'we've had enough' -- said at a recent news conference that wrestlers had taken to the streets.

Group training has been banned to curb infections, alongside traditional bouts -- where hulking fighters face off in packed stadiums /  AFP

Demonstrators were "citizens who are thirsty for democracy, for the rule of law, for freedom," he said. "And among these citizens, yes, there are wrestlers".

But Gaston Mbengue, a celebrated fight promoter, thinks the debate about wrestlers' involvement in the unrest is misplaced.

"It's all politics," he said.

The solution, according to Mbengue, is to bring back wrestling. "The people have been locked up for a year. The people need it," he said.
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP)  Wyoming lawmakers rejected a measure that would have required candidates to win a majority of votes in primary elections to avoid runoffs  a change endorsed by Donald Trump Jr. in his campaign to undermine Republican U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney.

The state Senate defeated the proposal with a 15-14 vote Wednesday after lawmakers raised concerns over the cost of adding more elections and the burden that doing so would put on voters and local officials.

Trump Jr. called for Cheneys defeat after she voted to impeach President Donald Trump over the storming of the U.S. Capitol by a mob of his supporters.

A primary runoff for Cheney could have consolidated Republican opposition to her re-election. She didnt take a position on the proposed election law changes.

Related: Trump's hold on Republican party on display at CPAC

The state GOP central committee censured Cheney in February for her impeachment vote. But for the most part, Wyomings Republican elected officials have continued to support her.

Two Republican state legislators - Sen. Anthony Bouchard, of Cheyenne, and Rep. Chuck Gray, of Casper  already have announced they are running against Cheney, Wyomings lone congresswoman. Bouchard voted for changing the primary.

In her first run for U.S. House in 2016, Cheney won a nine-way Republican primary with just short of 40% of the vote while the runner-up got 22%.

Thats not exactly what you would call a mandate, said Sen. Bo Biteman, a Republican and sponsor of the election bill. Biteman on the Senate floor listed Cheney's race and others in which Republican victors got less than half the vote, the Wyoming Tribune Eagle reported.

Theres a lot of people out there that dont think that thats right. They want to send our nominee off to the general election with a mandate of the majority of the partys support.

But the cost of the measure was a turnoff for lawmakers confronting declining state revenue from Wyoming's key coal, oil and gas sectors, which have led to steep state and local budget cuts.

Story continues

One lawmaker said his constituents were "appalled" that could be subjected to more elections.

I havent really heard a great reason for changing 130 years of history yet, said Sen. Ed Cooper, R-Ten Sleep. I think there may be merit to it, but there may not be.

Lets do it right, lets do an interim study, he added.
The situation of Angolan migrants in the region is unsustainable as the region can only provide enough food to sustain itself, the Omusati governor has said.

Erginus Endjala told New Era yesterday there is not enough food for all in the region.

The migrants claim that there is no food in Angola and pin their hopes on being recruited for odd jobs such as looking after livestock in Namibia in order to sustain their families back home.

Endjala said the number recorded so far in his region stands at 740.

More Angolans are arriving daily at Okalongo in the region in search of food and jobs.

Other groups of Angolan nationals are at Etunda, Oshifo and Oshikango.

Endjala said migrants are moving inland and are being absorbed into the villages.

A significant number of Angolans have been observed in Oshikango in search of jobs.

Some have been taken in at government's Etunda irrigation project and are given food in exchange for their labour.

Angolan Ambassador to Namibia Jovelina Costa during a visit to Etunda recently promised to provide the migrants with shelter, food and transportation back to Angola.

"But since the delegation left nothing has been done up to now," said Endjala.

He said talks between Angola and the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation are also underway to negotiate their repatriation.

The governor said humanitarian organisations have also met to discuss how best to address the situation.

The migrants were provided with food by the Office of the Prime Minister over the weekend.

"When they arrived, they looked very exhausted and tired but they now look better," Endjala said.

Help also said some food donations streamed in from good Samaritans in the region.
Covid-19 pandemic has illuminated the urgency of having women in leadership, UN Women Executive Director Ms Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka has said.

Ms Ngcuka argued that disproportionate gendered impacts of the pandemic have laid bare the inevitable need of women to lead in ending discrimination against them across the world.

"The pandemic has shown how much inequalities affect women," she said during a Generation Equality Forum side event in the ongoing virtual 65th session of the Commission on the Status of Women last Friday. The two-week long conference started on March 16.

"It has shown us through increase in violence against women, the girls falling out of school the digital divide, the increase in burden of care shouldered by women... it is, therefore, not acceptable that 80 per cent of taskforces addressing Covid-19 challenges are predominantly male dominated."

She said the world cannot afford to ignore the role of women in building a better world in the era of Covid-19.

Beijing Declaration

"We have to reset and build back better by ensuring that women have got a strategic and meaningful place on the table because if we lose the time to reset right now, it is going to take a long time before we get an entry point again," she emphasised.

Equality Now Global Executive Director, Ms Yasmeen Hassan decried slow implementation of the pro-women and girls laws and policies formulated after the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Coronavirus Women By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

She said women's rights organisations "must focus now" on pushing for accelerated implementation of the gender responsive legislative framework "to benefit women on the ground."

The declaration crucially commits governments, international community and civil society, including non-governmental organisations and the private sector to act on women's poverty, armed conflict, education, and health and end violence against them.

But not a single country has fulfilled the commitments according to UN Women 'analysis on progress made this far, with indigenous women being left far behind. This is because country-level laws still does not recognise them, hence eliminating possibilities of responding to their needs.

Political will

Permanent Representative of South Africa (SA) to the United Nations, Ms Mathu Joyini said without political will, the wheel for gender equality cannot move.

She exemplified the role of SA President Cyril Ramaphosa in driving generation equality campaign noting that he rallies his ministers to act on ending discrimination against women and girls.

This year's annual gathering brings together UN member States, civil society organisations, gender experts, and other international actors to build consensus and agree on a roadmap to advance gender equality in the wake of push back by Covid-19. The conference ends tomorrow.

mobiria@ke.nationmedia.com
Lack of adequate customs and border control offices along the Ethiopia-Kenya borders has continued to pose key challenges in preventing illicit trade and disrupting transnational smuggling operations.

Marsabit Border Patrol Unit Commander John Mathiu told nation.africa during an interview that they face a formidable challenge in disrupting illicit trade flows and dismantling organisations involved in smuggling operations and at the same time securing the borders.

"We face a huge task in combating illicit trade activities along the Ethiopia-Kenya border due to inadequate custom and border control offices,"Mr Mathiu.

He held that maintaining the delicate balance between facilitating legitimate trade flows while concurrently deterring those that are illicit is a complex operational task.

Kenya and Ethiopia share a long porous border, straddling a length of 861km that traverses Marsabit, Turkana, Wajir and Mandera Counties on the Kenyan side, and Borana and Dawa zones on the Ethiopian side.

Sessi, Laga, Dukana, Forole, Sololo are among some of the areas marked for the notoriety of the illegal trades.

Mr Mathiu said that there was a need for an urgent bilateral agreement between the Ethiopia and Kenyan authorities to set up other two customs and border control offices in Illeret and Dukana.

He added that the citizens of the two nations living along the border had their hands tied as they could not trade freely because they were far away from the Moyale custom and border point.

Parallel mandate

National customs and border control agencies typically have a parallel mandate in which to facilitate the flows of licit and legal trade while concurrently deterring illicit and illegal trade.

He maintained that the application of the appropriate customs regime such as the disposal for local sales, customs warehousing, temporary importation and customs transit was required.

He explained that customs and border control agencies conduct own operations to stop and deter illicit trade to minimise transnational smuggling operations, reduce the supply of contraband goods and disrupt criminal networks that have been thriving along the porous border points.

Dukana Sub-county Commissioner Solomon Mwapaple explained that illicit trade encompassed a diverse range of commodities and services that creates the formation of black markets along the Ethiopia-Kenya borders.

"Many cartels have been carrying out their activities through the porous border points thus evading tax and thorough scrutiny," Mr Mwapapale.

Due to the secretive nature and lack of verifiable data on illicit trade, it is difficult to calculate with absolute precision the market size of trade carried out along the porous border points.

Not only is it easy to walk across undetected but at times small vehicles with contraband cargo also cross illegally via the undesignated routes.

He held that these illicit trade results in major financial and social costs to the two countries.

Cross-border smuggling is a logistics-intensive process that can be viewed as a core competency for transnational criminal organisations involved in illicit trade activities.

Clandestine transportation

Transnational smuggling involves the clandestine transportation and conveyance of illicit goods or people and illegal firearms across the borders.

Most of the smugglers along the Ethiopia-Kenya border use novel, flexible, stealthy logistics methods, assets, and systems to smuggle illegal goods across borders to avoid the risk of detection and apprehension.

The trafficking of narcotics such as bhang, shisha, and other psychoactive chemicals is a major business for transnational criminal organisations along the porous Ethiopia-Kenya borders.

The illicit narcotics trade had in the recent past imposed heavy health, social, and enforcement costs on society to Kenya.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Legal Affairs Ethiopia By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

The smuggling of migrants from Ethiopia and Eritrea has become a lucrative business for the criminal organisations operating along the border.

Additionally, to some extent, the environmental illicit trade involves the market exchange of endangered wildlife.

The endangered wildlife trade is diverse, ranging from live animals and plants to a vast array of wildlife products derived from them such as elephant tusks and animals body parts used for rituals by some communities, exotic leather goods, timber and medicines

The process by which the customs and border agencies achieve their objectives is through border interdiction, collection of information and intelligence, investigations into criminal networks and deployment of anti-smuggling technologies.

They also prosecute individuals associated with professional smuggling rings, facilitation of training and education, and the fostering of cooperation between international customs agencies.
Getty Images

En espanol | As family caregivers, we have a tendency to forget about ourselves and our financial resources while caring for others. Managing the financial challenges of caregiving is an aspect of self-care that is all too often invisible or ignored, but dealing with it is vital. I can attest that caring for loved ones can be financially devastating, as I cared for Mom and Dad (who was a veteran) for more than a decade. Family caregivers, on average, spend approximately $7,400 a year of their personal income on the out-of-pocket costs of caregiving. Additionally, military and veteran family caregivers face more frequent financial hurdles, which have been further magnified by the financial fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A sneak peek at the 2020 Blue Star Families annual Military Family Lifestyle Survey, fielded from Sept. 8 to Oct. 16, 2020 (it will be fully released later this month), reveals the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the lives of active-duty service members or their spouses/domestic partners. Survey respondents report significant changes in the financial and caregiving aspects of their lives during the pandemic, including:

45 percent report their caregiving situation is worse or much worse

10 percent could not provide care at all

32 percent report their financial situation is worse or much worse

60 percent experience stress due to their financial situation

For caregivers of active-duty military, it may be particularly difficult to help loved ones during military deployment and repeated station changes. We know that long-distance caregivers tend to spend more money than those caring for someone nearby (as do those caring for someone living with dementia). Sixty percent of military and veteran caregivers do not live with the loved one they care for, according to Caregiving in the U.S. 2020.

Military and veteran caregivers also tend to take on their roles for longer periods of time, sometimes due to service-related injuries to young soldiers that follow them for the rest of their lives. Nearly 7 in 10 (68 percent) military and veteran caregivers care for someone with a long-term condition, and 67 percent help with medical/nursing tasks. The intensity and the expenses add up over time. Forty-four percent of military and veteran caregivers experience at least one financial impact.
In 2014, two New Mexico police officers fired 13 shots at Roxanne Torres as she tried to drive away from them. Two bullets hit her in the back, though they didnt stop her; Torres kept driving, eventually reaching a hospital. The Supreme Court has long held shooting a fleeing suspect counts as a seizure of the person under the Fourth Amendment. So Torres suedbut a federal appeals court threw out her case, holding that the officers couldnt have seized her because she still fled the scene. She appealed, asking the Supreme Court: Does the victim of a police shooting really lack constitutional recourse if she happens to be lucky enough to escape?

Advertisement

On Thursday, the Supreme Court answered this question with a resounding no. Chief Justice John Roberts majority opinion in Torres v. Madrid closes an alarming loophole that lower courts had carved into the Constitution, clarifying that the Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable police shootings even if a wounded suspect still flees the scene. The 53 decision wont stop the epidemic of police shootings in the United States, where law enforcement kills civilians at exponentially higher rates than in peer nations. But it will give victims and their families a better shot at winning some semblance of justice in the federal courts.

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.

Torres case illustrates how trigger-happy officers can transform police-civilian encounters into catastrophes. She had just dropped off a friend at her apartment complex when two officers approached her car. They had a warrant for a resident of the complex, and though they recognized that Torres wasnt the suspect, they decided to approach her anyway. The officers tried and failed to open her locked car door. Torres, who was experiencing severe methamphetamine withdrawal, saw the officers guns and, she claimed, thought the officers were carjackers. So, she sped off, prompting the officers to spray her vehicle with bullets, temporarily paralyzing Torres arm.

Advertisement

The Fourth Amendment prohibits the seizure of persons, and in 1991, the Supreme Court ruled that police seize an individual under the Fourth Amendment when they shootand successfully halta fleeing suspect. But is it still a seizure if the suspect evades capture? The answer is yes, Roberts wrote on Thursday. The application of physical force to the body of a person with intent to restrain is a seizure, even if the force does not succeed in subduing the person.

To reach that conclusion, Roberts canvassed both precedent and history, though he noted that the Supreme Court largely covered this ground (and answered this question) in a 1991 decision. In that case, the court looked to the common lawlegal practice in England and the American colonies before the foundingto see what qualified as an arrest, the quintessential seizure. The court held that the common law treated the mere grasping or application of physical force with lawful authority as an arrest even when the suspect escapes. As Roberts put it, an officers application of physical force to the body of a person for the purpose of an arrest constitutes a Fourth Amendment seizure. Thus, in this case, the officers seized Torres for the instant that the bullets struck her. She can therefore sue them in federal court for violating her constitutional rights.

Advertisement

Roberts and Gorsuch dueled over the meaning of obscure cases reaching back to the early 1600s.

This holding infuriated Justice Neil Gorsuch, who penned an irritable dissent joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. (Roberts majority opinion was joined by Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Brett Kavanaugh; Amy Coney Barrett did not participate because she hadnt joined the court when it heard arguments in October.) Gorsuch accused Roberts of distorting history to locate his desired result. We have no business wandering about and randomly grabbing volumes off the shelf, plucking out passages we like, scratching out bits we dont, all before pasting our own new pastiche into the U. S. Reports, he huffed. (This activity is actually Gorsuchs favorite pastime.)

Gorsuchs dissent is a slog, especially in comparison to Roberts concise, witty majority opinion. Both justices dueled over the meaning of obscure cases reaching back to the early 1600s. The highlight is a royal scandal that obviously delighted Roberts in which the serjeants-at-mace arrested Isabel Holcroft, Countess of Rutland, by touching her body with his mace. (An Isabel Holcroft Netflix series seems all but inevitable.)

Advertisement

To the chief justice, these cases illustrate a mere-touch rule: When officers touch a suspectwith their hands, a mace, or a bulletthey have committed an arrest, and, by extension, a Fourth Amendment seizure. To Gorsuch, the cases prove nothing, because they do not involve touchings by weapon (though, as Roberts points out, police did not regularly carry guns until the latter half of the 19th century.) Gorsuch also complained that many of the chief justices cases involved bailiffs hauling debtors off to debtors prison (though he does not explain why this context should make any difference).

Advertisement

It is surprising to see Gorsuch interpret an arguably ambiguous historical record against Fourth Amendment protection. The justice has a libertarian streak with regard to criminal justice, yet here, he took an uncompromising stance in favor of police power. On the other hand, Roberts vote is not surprising given his tendency to safeguard personal security, as he put it in Torres, against government invasion. Whats unexpected is that Kavanaugh, who often takes a law-and-order view, cast the decisive vote in favor of greater Fourth Amendment rights. Gorsuch accused the justices in the majority of relying on penumbras like privacy to devise whatever rules serve the essence of the amendment. (This allusion to SCOTUSs famous contraception decision is the favored insult of conservative judges who accuse their colleagues of judicial activism.) But the simpler explanation is that Kavanaugh, like Roberts, viewed the historical record in a less jaundiced light than Gorsuch, and concluded that it required a ruling in Torres favor.

Advertisement

That doesnt mean, however, that Torres will actually win in the end. The majority didnt hold that this particular seizure was unreasonable (and thus unconstitutional); thats now a question for the lower courts. And even if the officer acted unreasonably, the lower courts will likely grant them qualified immunity, which shields officers from liability unless they violate rights that were clearly established.

Advertisement

Torres probably wont have a huge effect on American policing given the relatively small number of cases with similar facts. Cardozo Law professor Alexander A. Reinert told me on Thursday that the case was, in short, a bullet dodged: A decision against Torres wouldve had more significant impact by diminishing litigants ability to seek accountability for excessive uses of force. Still, from this Supreme Court, any decision that averts catastrophe is worth celebrating. And while Roberts opinion wont end unjustified police shootings, it is the rare ruling that gives courts more power to hold reckless cops accountable.
CHICAGO, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report "Automotive Hypervisor Market by Type (Type 1 & Type 2), Vehicle Type (PC, LCV & HCV), End User (Economy, Mid-Priced & Luxury), Level of Autonomous Driving (Autonomous & Semi-Autonomous (Level 1, 2 & 3)), Bus System, and Region - Global Forecast to 2026", published by MarketsandMarkets, the Automotive Hypervisor Market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 39.3% during the forecast period to reach USD 704 million by 2026 from an estimated USD 134 million in 2021.

The major factors driving this growth is increasing complexity of electrical-electronic architecture in modern vehicles thereby, driving the Automotive Hypervisor Market. Also, with increase in adoption of advance features in mid-priced and economy vehicles would drive market for hypervisor technology.

Browse in-depth TOC on "Automotive Hypervisor Market"

108  Tables

70  Figures

240  Pages

The growth of the Automotive Hypervisor Market is majorly driven by the sales of high- end premium cars globally, as the hypervisor technology is majorly equipped in luxury passenger cars. The typical features integrated in embedded hypervisor technology include cockpit electronic functions such as infotainment, instrument cluster, and HMI. Thus, the hypervisor technology market is expected to witness significant growth in the future.

Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=124958216

Asia Pacific is expected to lead the global market during the forecast period

The Automotive Hypervisor Market in Asia Pacific is estimated to be the largest during the forecast period. High production of passenger cars in the region to cater to the consistently increasing demand for vehicles is highly responsible for the growth of Automotive Hypervisor Market. China is the largest producer of automobiles in the world. Furthermore, nearly all major OEMs have invested in the Chinese market, which is inclined toward small and affordable passenger vehicles. There has been an increase in the demand for luxury and mid-priced vehicles over the past decade in the countries like India, Japan, South Korea, and Thailand. Since the automotive market is highly driven by cost, most of the advanced automotive electronics are found in high-end vehicles.

The luxury car segment is expected to drive the Automotive Hypervisor Market.

Adoption of advance features and electronically controlled features such as infotainment, digital cluster, ADAS features and others would support growth of hypervisor technology market. The software, as well as hardware content and onboard computer systems in luxury vehicles, are more compared to mid-priced and economy vehicles. The connected luxury cars are expected to be the ultimate Internet of Things (IoT) in the coming years. These factors are majorly responsible for the anticipated growth of the luxury car segment in Automotive Hypervisor Market.

Request FREE Sample Report: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=124958216

Asia Pacific: China is expected to lead the market

The Asia Pacific region is projected to be the fastest-growing market during the forecast period. Asia Pacific is a key region for innovations; significant R&D; and technological advancements in types of hypervisor technology.

The major players in Automotive Hypervisor Market are Siemens (Mentor Graphics) (Germany), Green Hills Software (US), Wind River System (US), Blackberry (Canada), Renesas (Japan), Sasken (India), Continental (Germany), and NXP (The Netherlands).

Browse Related Reports:

Autonomous Vehicles Market by Level of Automation (Level 1, Level 2&3 & Autonomous Vehicles), ADAS Features, Components (AI, Radar, LIDAR, Camera and Ultrasonic Sensor), Fuel Type (ICE, EV), and Region - Global Forecast to 2030

Automotive Digital Cockpit Market by Equipment (Digital Instrument Cluster, Advanced Head Unit, HUD, Camera Based Driver Monitoring System), Vehicle Type (Passenger & Commercial Vehicle), EV Type (BEV, HEV, & PHEV), and Region - Global Forecast to 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: [email protected]

Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/automotive-hypervisor-market.asp

Visit Our Web Site: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com

Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/automotive-hypervisor.asp

SOURCE MarketsandMarkets
President Joe Biden announced that Vice President Kamala Harris will lead the White House in addressing the influx of migrant children on the U.S. border. The Biden administration has received criticism regarding the surge of migrants in the U.S.-Mexico border in recent weeks.

Harris is expected to establish and work with Mexico and the northern triangle countries composed of Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala, according to a USA Today report. It can be remembered that Harris received backlash from people online after laughing at a question. However, she answered the question and noted that she "would probably go back," noting that she has visited the area once.

ALSO READ: Biden Administration Eyes Army Base to House Migrant Children

VP Kamala Harris in leading border issues

The increasing numbers of unaccompanied migrant children are being detained in jail-like border stations. The children are placed in the facility for days while they are waiting for their placement in overwhelmed government-run shelters. This issue alarms immigration advocates, according to an Al Jazeera report. The jail-like facilities are run by Customs and Border Protection.

The Biden administration is struggling to transfer the migrant children out of the jail-like camps to the facilities which are monitored by the Health and Human Services. The law enforces that the children should be moved out of the Customs and Border Protection within 72 hours.

"It's a huge problem, I'm not going to pretend it's not," said Vice President Kamala Harris as she acknowledges the situation regarding the migrant children on the border. Harris added that they are looking at the problem, specifically the children on the border, furthering that the processing of the cases should be even faster. "This is, however, not going to be solved overnight," she said.

The role Harris will embody the first important item in her portfolio as the Vice President. Her involvement in the issue can also eradicate the issue within the White House and broader administration, according to an ABC News report.

Biden noted that he "can think of nobody who is better qualified" to take on the role Harris will play. "She knows what she's doing, and I hope we can move this along," said Biden adding that the Vice President speaks for him when she speaks with the public.

Migrant Children in the borders

As of Tuesday, the Health and Human Services (HHS) has 11,350 unaccompanied migrant children under their custody. Meanwhile, approximately 1,000 - 1,500 people are in a makeshift camp while waiting for permission to enter the U.S. borders. The makeshift camp is located outside the EL Chapparal border crossing.

Republicans and Democrats also criticized the Biden administration on their response to the border situation. "It is a crisis that was created by the Biden administration," said Senator Ted Cruz reiterating that the problem in the border is rooted in the policy the Biden administration has enforced.

"There no question that this is a challenging situation," said Kamala Harris about the migrant children surge in the borders. "I also look forward to working with members of Congress who I think share our perspective on the need to access the root causes for the migration," said Harris.

RELATED ARTICLE: Pelosi Says Surge of Migrant Children At U.S.-Mexico Border Is a 'Humanitarian Crisis'

WATCH: President Biden announces VP Harris will lead response at southern border - from WPRI
They Should Have Walked Him: Kale Stevenson's clutch homers spark Post 17 to doubleheader sweep
Bobi Wine in a police van after his arrest in Luuka District on November 18, 2020.

analysis

In Uganda, there have been widespread allegations of arbitrary detention and torture of members of the opposition. Moina Spooner, from The Conversation Africa, asked Jamil Ddamulira Mujuzi, a human rights expert who has been monitoring the situation in Uganda, to provide insights into domestic laws and what they say in relation to detention of civilians by security forces.

What is arbitrary detention and what does Uganda's law say in relation to it?

Arbitrary detention is when a person is arrested and detained by a government without due process and without the legal protections of a fair trial. It can also refer to when a person is detained without any legal basis.

Arbitrary detention is prohibited in international human rights law - the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) provides that "no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile."

In addition, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (1981) prohibit arbitrary detention. Both these treaties have been ratified by Uganda.

Uganda also has local legislation which protects the right to liberty and prohibits arbitrary detention, including article 23 of the Ugandan constitution.

There are however grey areas that may embolden the state in carrying out arbitrary arrest. The Police Act (1994) provides for circumstances in which a police officer may arrest and detain a person who is suspected of committing an offence. In addition, section 161 of the Uganda Peoples' Defence Forces Act provides that a soldier can arrest any person who is reasonably suspected of being in possession of military store, such as clothing and equipment.

Nevertheless, in all circumstances, the constitution states that the arrestee has to be brought before court no later than 48 hours from the time of their arrest.

Despite this, there are innumerable cases of arbitrary detentions in Uganda.

For example, in its 21st Annual Report, published in 2018, the Uganda Human Rights Commission noted with concern:

the continued long and arbitrary detention of suspects in police custody which negatively affected their right to fair and speedy trial. Some suspects were found to have been detained for weeks and even months in police custody without being produced before court.

Things haven't improved. Since late last year, there have been reports that hundreds of supporters or members of the National Unity Platform, the leading opposition party headed by Robert Kyagulanyi (popularly known as Bobi Wine), have been arbitrarily detained. Internal Affairs Minister Jeje Odongo even presented a list to parliament of 177 people who were in military detention.

The Ugandan president confirmed that these detentions have been carried out by the Ugandan military.

Although these people have been ostensibly detained for allegedly committing offences, most of them have not been brought before court for prosecution. Just a few were arraigned before the court martial. This creates room for the argument that the detentions are meant to intimidate, persecute and ultimately weaken the opposition.

What do laws say in relation to torture and have any government forces ever been convicted of torture?

Torture is prohibited under international law.

Ugandan law also protects the right to freedom from torture. Article 24 of the constitution states that:

No person shall be subjected to any form of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Torture is also criminalised by the Prevention and Prohibition of Torture Act (2012). A court which convicts a person of torture can impose a sentence of not more than 15 years imprisonment or a fine or both.

Despite these laws, torture appears to be rising in Uganda. The Uganda Human Rights Commission reported 346 complaints of torture in 2018. This was a 13% increase from the 306 complaints that were registered in 2017. The torture was allegedly mostly carried out by the police, the army and prison authorities.

It is against that background that the Uganda Human Rights Commission recommended that the Director of Public Prosecutions prosecute alleged perpetrators. However, there is no reported incident in which any of the perpetrators has been prosecuted.

Any person can institute a private prosecution against an alleged perpetrator of torture. However, attempts by victims of torture to institute private prosecutions against the perpetrators have also been unsuccessful. This is so because the Director of Public Prosecutions has taken over these private prosecutions and has not continued with them.

It would appear that the Director of Public Prosecutions' office is not interested in prosecuting law enforcement officers who are alleged to have committed torture.

For those that are held without charge, how is the situation resolved?

Some people who are held without charge are released after spending a few days, weeks or months in detention. However, others are not released and their lawyers have to approach the High Court to order their production in court. This is on the basis of the constitution, which provides for the right of habeas corpus - when a person is wrongfully detained and a request is made for a court order to produce the prisoner.

However, there are cases whereby some of those who have not been released, in particular those who were arrested by the army, have been prosecuted before courts, especially military courts, on trumped-up charges.

What must be done to ensure that the rights of civilians are protected?

There are many interventions which could be put in place to protect the rights of civilians.

Firstly, the army should stop being involved in law enforcement. This is so because army officers are not equipped with the necessary training and experience to do so. They should leave law enforcement to the police.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Uganda Governance Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

The Ugandan police are slowly being militarised. This is evidenced by, amongst other things, the deployment of senior military officers in key leadership positions in the police and the active participation of the military in policing operations. Many serious human rights violations, for example, the killing of over 40 protesters last year, have happened during joint police and military operations.

Secondly, the culture of impunity should stop. Police and military officers who violate human rights should be held accountable. The army is also increasingly becoming partisan. The one-sided purported enforcement of COVID-19 regulations during the recently concluded presidential and parliamentary elections showed that the security agencies were bent on crushing the opposition.

I strongly believe that - in terms of Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court - the abduction, torture and enforced disappearance of National Unity Platform members are crimes against humanity. This treaty was domesticated in Uganda through the International Criminal Court Act (2010).

Since there is no indication that the Director of Public Prosecutions is willing - or able - to prosecute those who are involved in these heinous crimes, the International Criminal Court may have to intervene and, on the basis of command or superior responsibility, hold the senior military officers accountable. Otherwise other countries should be prepared to invoke their laws on universal jurisdiction to hold these officers accountable. This is because the crimes of torture and enforced disappearances are crimes under international law.

Jamil Mujuzi, Professor, University of the Western Cape
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 23:15:15|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

A protester holds a sign near the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, on June 8, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

"Human rights are not slogans, let alone tools to exert pressure on other countries. They should reflect in concrete actions," Hua said.

She said some U.S. politicians focuses on the interests of political parties and do not care about the lives of ordinary people.

BEIJING, March 25 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday expressed hope that the United States and some of its Western allies can abandon double standards, face up to their own human rights problems, and take concrete actions to improve and protect human rights.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying made the remarks at a daily news briefing when responding to the U.S. State Department's comments on a China-sponsored resolution, titled "Promoting Mutually Beneficial Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights", which was adopted on Tuesday by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

"Human rights are not slogans, let alone tools to exert pressure on other countries. They should reflect in concrete actions," Hua said.

She said some U.S. politicians focuses on the interests of political parties and do not care about the lives of ordinary people.

She said that the United States keeps saying that it attaches importance to individual human rights and freedom. Hua asked, however, when the United States launched wars against sovereign countries for no reason, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths, countless people separated and displaced, did they care about the individual human rights and freedom of the people of these countries?

Hua asked, when the United States, the most developed, richest, and most advanced country in medical conditions in the world, puts politics above science, which left more than 500,000 Americans dead, tens of millions of people losing their medical insurance, and one-sixth of Americans and one-quarter of American children faced with the threat of hunger, did they care about the individual human rights and freedom of the American people?

Hua asked, when the United States connived to spread racist speech, indulged police violence against people of color, watched people like George Floyd unable to breathe, and watched Asian Americans be discriminated against, attacked, or even killed, did they care about the individual human rights and freedom of these people who suffered from systemic racism and hate crimes?

She asked, when the flood of guns in the United States dragged on for a long time, and more than 41,500 people died from shootings last year, did they care about the individual human rights and freedom of these victims?

The China-sponsored resolution adopted by the UNHRC on Tuesday, titled "Promoting Mutually Beneficial Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights," calls upon all states to uphold multilateralism, conduct constructive dialogue and cooperation in the field of human rights, and promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity. "This fully demonstrates the universal aspirations and calls for justice of the international community and the people of the world," she said.

She added that China is willing to conduct dialogues, communications and exchanges with other countries on human rights issues in the spirit of equality and mutual respect, and make common progress.

Hua noted that this year, when the UNHRC reviewed the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices released by the United States, more than 110 countries criticized the United States for its human rights issues. Dozens of special rapporteurs of the UNHRC repeatedly criticized the United States on many occasions for issues such as poverty and discrimination against minorities in the country.

"We hope that the United States and some of its Western allies can abandon hypocrisy, arrogance and double standards, face up to their own human rights problems, and take concrete actions to improve and protect human rights," Hua said.

Foreign media recently published photographs of a temporary detention center at the U.S.-Mexico border, showing children sleeping crammed together on thin blankets and lacking food and clothing. Critics say the U.S. government is treating immigrants inhumanely, separating children from their parents, and accusing the U.S. government of not allowing media access to the detention centers.

"Will the United States do a thorough investigation and hold those involved accountable? Does the European side want to impose sanctions on the United States for human rights violations?" 
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.
Armenian acting minister: EU allocated EUR 68,700,000 to Armenia for budget support in 2020

Armenia Finance Ministry: MFA's budget grew by AMD 1,600,000,000 in 2020

Bodies and remains of Armenian soldiers are kept in morgue in Armenia's Martuni

White House confirms Biden-Erdogan meeting in Brussels

Armenia acting MOD touches upon priority directions for development of Armed Forces

Diaspora Armenian writer, publicist Toros Toranian dies

2 Armenian soldiers injured in scuffle with Azerbaijan, Armenian POW is hospitalized, Jun. 3 digest

Wedding held in Armenia's Shurnukh for first time since the war ended

EEU member states to finish preparing for negotiations over free trade zone in Iran in late June

Armenia Central Bank: Economic downfall in 2020 was due to decline in service and construction sectors

Armenia legislature adopts several bills in first reading

Armenia President meets with Nursultan Nazarbayev

Dejavu: Armenia ruling party distributes money for votes at Yerevan district election office

Chief Advisor to Karabakh President sacked

Russian MFA: Works are carried out to settle situation around Karabakh every day

Armenia opposition MP sounds alarm about Baku fabricating criminal cases against Armenian prisoners

Armenia acting health minister: I have apologized, I am not going to resign

Helga Schmid meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Armenia's deputy foreign ministers resigned or have heavy workload?

Dollar goes down in Armenia

Armenia Elections Oversight Committee reports Iranian citizenship of ruling party's MP candidate

Acting deputy minister: Only 17 of 711 Iran-Armenia power transmission line towers were installed by 2017

Armenia Parliament Council holding session

Armenia to host CSTO "Thunder-2021" military exercises

NYT: Chinese hackers launch cyberattack on New York city transportation authority

Armenia President to Kazakhstan counterpart: I would like to see much deeper cooperation between our countries

Armenia citizens shut down Etchmiadzin-Ashtarak road, complaining about lack of irrigation water

Armenia independent MP: Foreign minister and his deputies don't want to take part in treacherous acts

Armenia to get $11mn loan, 350,000 grant for agriculture

WHO worries about worsening mental health worldwide amid pandemic

Armenia health ministry on improper handling of Artsakh war victims bodies: There is no justification

Armenia bloc election foundation already in operation

Russia ambassador to Armenia paying working visit to Syunik Province (PHOTOS)

China pledges to step up resistance to foreign interference in Hong Kong

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: There can be no talk of corridor for Azerbaijan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on incumbent authorities: Wherever they flee, we will bring them by the feet

President: Impossible to ensure peace in region or stay in Artsakh without Russia army joint efforts

China Daily: Dispatch from Makit: Thriving in the desert

Karabakh President: We will never put up with being part of Azerbaijan, it is ruled out

Armenia MFA information department chief: All deputy FMs carrying out their duties

Ardshinbank invited children to the cinema on International Childrens Day

Armenia judiciary to have 10 more judges

Armenia acting premier: We had recorded 40% increase in tax revenues according to 2019 results

Armenia acting PM on Artsakh war casualties bodies: We have 50 remains in which case DNA was not separated

Azerbaijan authorities plan to "squeeze" everything from "terrorist show" related to Armenian captives

Ameriabank announces a contest for bank card design

108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia parliament convenes special session

Armenia interim government holding Cabinet meeting

Catholicos of All Armenians heads for Syunik Province, Artsakh

World oil prices going up

Iran loses right to vote in UN General Assembly

Newspaper: Armenia authorities come up with new way of punishing unwanted characters

Newspaper: Russia army Southern Military District deputy commander to arrive in Yerevan Thursday

Lebanese Armenian man taken prisoner by Azerbaijan is hospitalized

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Are we getting under the burden? Then lets get under to the end

Armenia acting health minister on keeping fallen soldiers bodies in bags: What else should they be kept in?

Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation

Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow

2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik

Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center

"Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans

Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel

Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna

Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations

US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies

Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week

Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection

Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential

Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement

Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues

Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo

Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation

NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident

Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices

Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over

Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest

Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia

Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia

Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels

Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters

Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021

Dollar is stable in Armenia

Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector

Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out

Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe

Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia

Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border

Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor

Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue

Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia

Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this

Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia
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.
( ) has ordered the key alloy material to be used in the manufacture for the DMG advanced thermal conversion technology process.

The alloy is to be installed at the first plastic-to-hydrogen facility, which will be located at Peel NREs strategic energy and resource hub Protos in Ellesmere Port.

The alloy material has the necessary high-temperature corrosion resistance while providing the strength and lifetime durability necessary for application in the Thermal Conversion Chamber (TCC). The material was selected after four years of research by the Powerhouse team, suppliers and material specialist consultants.

The procurement was funded from the recent loan agreement announced last month.
Editors note: This story was updated at 4 a.m., May 31, 2021, to include information about the unanimous approval of the Max Lenail Memorial Bridge by Mission Trails Regional Park Task Force.

On the last day of his life, Max Lenail jogged towards the San Diego River in Mission Trails Regional Park. The Jan. 29 run was part of the 21-year-olds training for an ultra-marathon with his brother, according to family members, and he had plans with friends to leave for a climbing trip in Joshua Tree National Park that evening. A serious athlete who once climbed with Alex Honnold, Lenail knew the outdoors well and was in excellent physical condition.

The night before Lenails run, an atmospheric river had dumped more than an inch of rain over the region, and a flash flood watch was in place on Friday for the San Diego Countys inland valleys, mountains and coastal areas. So when Lenail approached the San Diego River at around 2 p.m. that day, the water level was likely very high.

Plans for a bridge over the river had been in a holding pattern for over a decade, so Lenail had only two choices: cross the dangerous river and jog another 10 minutes to complete his planned loop  or  backtrack upwards of 5 miles to get back to his car. Hed avoid the river, but endure another 2,000 feet of elevation gain in a hailstorm.

Lenail chose the river crossing, but he never made it back to his car.

Courtesy of the Lenail family

Lenail had wanted to become a doctor, according to his parents, and to spend his life helping people. He had expected to graduate from Brown University this semester with a degree in neurobiology. He was into sustainable farming and plant-based cooking. He loved photography. He was an accomplished glass blower.

The weather had been clear and cooperative when Lenail parked at the Mission Trails Visitor Center and started his run that morning. But as he neared the last stretch of the 6-mile loop tracked by his cellphone, a hailstorm set in. Its a moody day, Lenail narrated in a cellphone video he created as the storm approached.

5 1 of 5 Courtesy of the Lenail family Show More Show Less 2 of 5 Courtesy of the Lenail family Show More Show Less 3 of 5 4 of 5 Courtesy of the Lenail family Show More Show Less 5 of 5









Soon after, Lenail came to an area of the trail known as Jackson Crossing, a series of stones in the San Diego River. Park maps label it as seasonal and signage says hikers and bikers are permitted (but not horses). Local guidebook author Scott Turner says that this section of the trail has become an increasingly popular river crossing.

Fortunately, the river is almost always flowing near the low end of the range, and you can cross by skipping across boulders or stepping across a concrete slab just downstream, Turner wrote in Afoot and Afield: San Diego County: A Comprehensive Hiking Guide. After substantial winter rains, though, forget it!

Courtesy of the Lenail family

When Max didnt return home that evening, his three roommates sent him a flurry of worried text messages. As midnight approached, Max still hadnt responded. His friends contacted his parents, Ben Lenail and Laurie Yoler. The couple lives in Palo Alto, where they raised their two boys to love the outdoors, taking them hiking and camping every summer and encouraging Lenail to build a climbing wall in the family backyard.

The morning after Yoler learned Lenail was missing, she made an early departure for San Diego. By the time she arrived, a search and rescue effort involving around 1,500 people was underway in the 8,000-acre park.

At about 2 p.m. that day, in what Yoler describes as every parents worst nightmare, Lenails body was discovered by hikers near a waterfall in the park. Family members and friends were devastated. With unspeakable grief, I have to report that our beloved Max is dead, Ben Lenail posted on Facebook. As immensely cruel as his death is, we are grateful to God for loaning him to us for 21 years.

On a Facebook page entitled Remembering Max Lenail, friends and family posted memories and tributes.

He had so much to give this world and was bound to do it so beautifully, one friend wrote. I will miss his energy, his light, his giggle, his tough questions, his hiking suggestions, and his endless love for the rest of my life.

On the rock, your joy was infectious and your strength was impressive, a climbing buddy wrote. I had never seen someone climb so gleefully and calmly, while simultaneously with so much passion and skill. I hope to one day find an activity that gives me 1% as much stoke as climbing brings you.

Emma Kowal

Following the incident, some of Lenails closest friends and family gathered at the place where he died to conduct a memorial service, and Yoler was shocked by the number of people she observed making the perilous crossing.

I watched dozens of near accidents, she says. I saw a family carrying a newborn baby in their arms and another with a baby in a backpack. And I wanted to scream.

There was no signage offering warnings, Yoler says, and the rocks were covered in green algae and therefore very slippery. For several months in the winter, the crossing is tricky, she says. And then a few days a year it becomes downright treacherous.

In doing some research on the history and design of the park, Lenails parents learned that a bridge over this stretch of river is actually written into the Mission Trail Regional Parks Master Plan. Reportedly, discussions about a bridge in city committee meetings and less formal settings date back to 2010.

Courtesy of the Lenail family

Over the past decade, the project failed to move forward due to a lack of funding, disagreements over whether the bridge should be for pedestrians or vehicles (or both) and potential environmental impacts, according to a statement by the city of San Diego. Theres no set timeline for the construction of a bridge, according to city officials. Meanwhile, a new ranger station that cost more than $6 million opened in the park last February.

In a separate statement, the city offered condolences to Lenails family and urged hikers to avoid unmarked, alternative paths to cross the river in the event that the trail is flooded and impassable.

While the City is still learning details about the circumstances surrounding Max Lenail's tragic death, we continue to urge the public to hike only on City-marked trails when visiting the park, reads the statement, which city spokesman Tim Graham emailed to SFGATE. The area where the incident took place does not have a bridge or maintained trail to allow for safe access to cross the river.

Lenail's parents were determined to change the situation and spare other families the pain of losing a loved one at the crossing. To expedite the stalled project, they hired KPFF Consulting Engineers to prepare designs and cost estimates for three options.

The options were presented March 18 during a Mission Trails Task Force Meeting, and, according to Yoler, they received a mostly favorable response. Numerous friends of Lenail voiced support for a bridge, as did a Sierra Club representative, an executive director of a local mountain biking association and Turner, the guidebook author.

As evidenced by Max LeNail's passing, even experienced hikers are not immune to potential accidents at this location, and I am afraid that with the increasing popularity of hiking and influx of new, inexperienced hikers, it may only be a matter of time before the same tragedy repeats itself, Turner wrote in a letter to the city. Unless, of course we expedite construction of the pedestrian bridge at the location.

Courtesy of the Lenail family

Three San Diego city councilmembers, including Raul Campillo, who chairs the Mission Trails Regional Park Task Force, also spoke in favor of the project.

My support for Max's family remains the same as it has been from the beginning and will continue until we have constructed a bridge in his memory," Campillo told ABC 10News.

Campillo worked with the Mission Trails Regional Park Citizens Advisory Committee, calling a special meeting in April to take further action in support of the bridge construction. The committee pushed back on the idea of a pedestrian bridge, according to Lenails parents, instead throwing its support behind a vehicular bridge for service trucks.

That complex and controversial project was not what Lenails parents had in mind. Instead, they leaned toward something less costly and time-consuming  a simple, natural-looking footbridge serving visitors by keeping them safe. They partnered with the San Diego Foundation to raise money for the bridges construction, and according to Ben Lenail around $700,000 has been raised thus far.

On Thursday, May 20, the Max Lenail Memorial Bridge was approved unanimously by the Mission Trails Regional Park Task Force, and his parents tell SFGATE they are "ecstatic that it got approved." The goals now are to keep the project below $2 million and to open to the public by March 26, 2023, the day that would have been their son's 26th birthday, Ben Lenail says.

Courtesy of the Lenail family

We're trying to make something beautiful out of this tragedy and benefit others, Yoler said.

We want to make sure no one comes to harm here ever again, Ben Lenail added. This would be the best way to honor Max.
Armenian acting minister: EU allocated EUR 68,700,000 to Armenia for budget support in 2020

Armenia Finance Ministry: MFA's budget grew by AMD 1,600,000,000 in 2020

Bodies and remains of Armenian soldiers are kept in morgue in Armenia's Martuni

White House confirms Biden-Erdogan meeting in Brussels

Armenia acting MOD touches upon priority directions for development of Armed Forces

Diaspora Armenian writer, publicist Toros Toranian dies

2 Armenian soldiers injured in scuffle with Azerbaijan, Armenian POW is hospitalized, Jun. 3 digest

Wedding held in Armenia's Shurnukh for first time since the war ended

EEU member states to finish preparing for negotiations over free trade zone in Iran in late June

Armenia Central Bank: Economic downfall in 2020 was due to decline in service and construction sectors

Armenia legislature adopts several bills in first reading

Armenia President meets with Nursultan Nazarbayev

Dejavu: Armenia ruling party distributes money for votes at Yerevan district election office

Chief Advisor to Karabakh President sacked

Russian MFA: Works are carried out to settle situation around Karabakh every day

Armenia opposition MP sounds alarm about Baku fabricating criminal cases against Armenian prisoners

Armenia acting health minister: I have apologized, I am not going to resign

Helga Schmid meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Armenia's deputy foreign ministers resigned or have heavy workload?

Dollar goes down in Armenia

Armenia Elections Oversight Committee reports Iranian citizenship of ruling party's MP candidate

Acting deputy minister: Only 17 of 711 Iran-Armenia power transmission line towers were installed by 2017

Armenia Parliament Council holding session

Armenia to host CSTO "Thunder-2021" military exercises

NYT: Chinese hackers launch cyberattack on New York city transportation authority

Armenia President to Kazakhstan counterpart: I would like to see much deeper cooperation between our countries

Armenia citizens shut down Etchmiadzin-Ashtarak road, complaining about lack of irrigation water

Armenia independent MP: Foreign minister and his deputies don't want to take part in treacherous acts

Armenia to get $11mn loan, 350,000 grant for agriculture

WHO worries about worsening mental health worldwide amid pandemic

Armenia health ministry on improper handling of Artsakh war victims bodies: There is no justification

Armenia bloc election foundation already in operation

Russia ambassador to Armenia paying working visit to Syunik Province (PHOTOS)

China pledges to step up resistance to foreign interference in Hong Kong

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: There can be no talk of corridor for Azerbaijan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on incumbent authorities: Wherever they flee, we will bring them by the feet

President: Impossible to ensure peace in region or stay in Artsakh without Russia army joint efforts

China Daily: Dispatch from Makit: Thriving in the desert

Karabakh President: We will never put up with being part of Azerbaijan, it is ruled out

Armenia MFA information department chief: All deputy FMs carrying out their duties

Ardshinbank invited children to the cinema on International Childrens Day

Armenia judiciary to have 10 more judges

Armenia acting premier: We had recorded 40% increase in tax revenues according to 2019 results

Armenia acting PM on Artsakh war casualties bodies: We have 50 remains in which case DNA was not separated

Azerbaijan authorities plan to "squeeze" everything from "terrorist show" related to Armenian captives

Ameriabank announces a contest for bank card design

108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia parliament convenes special session

Armenia interim government holding Cabinet meeting

Catholicos of All Armenians heads for Syunik Province, Artsakh

World oil prices going up

Iran loses right to vote in UN General Assembly

Newspaper: Armenia authorities come up with new way of punishing unwanted characters

Newspaper: Russia army Southern Military District deputy commander to arrive in Yerevan Thursday

Lebanese Armenian man taken prisoner by Azerbaijan is hospitalized

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Are we getting under the burden? Then lets get under to the end

Armenia acting health minister on keeping fallen soldiers bodies in bags: What else should they be kept in?

Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation

Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow

2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik

Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center

"Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans

Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel

Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna

Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations

US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies

Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week

Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection

Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential

Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement

Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues

Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo

Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation

NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident

Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices

Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over

Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest

Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia

Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia

Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels

Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters

Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021

Dollar is stable in Armenia

Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector

Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out

Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe

Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia

Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border

Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor

Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue

Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia

Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this

Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia
Madam Ozlem Ergun Uluesen, the Turkish Ambassador to Ghana, said her government will collaborate with Ghana, through the Tourism Ministry, to explore tourism related opportunities for socio cultural and economic benefits of both countries.



Ghana has immense opportunities in the area of tourism, arts and culture, and there is the need to explore these potentials to grow the sector, she said.



Madam Uluesen said this when she paid a working visit to Dr Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, in Accra.



The visit forms part of an already existing bilateral relations between the Turkish Government and Ghana to explore opportunities of mutual benefit in the tourism sphere.



She said globally countries were diversifying their economies and the tourism sector had been widely viewed as an alternative game changer.



She wished the Minister well on his new portfolio and pledged her support to ensure he succeeded in his efforts to grow the tourism sector.



Dr Awal, on his part, expressed the commitment of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addos Administration to collaborate with the Turkish Government to explore areas of mutual benefit in the tourism and culture landscape of Ghana for the wellbeing of all.



He said the initiative, undoubtedly, had the tendency to turn the economic fortunes of Ghana and Turkey and create employment opportunities for the youth.



The Turkish Ambassador was accompanied by her Executive Secretary, Mrs Seyda Nur Ergun.





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
Maternal and perinatal death rates remain a major challenge for healthcare in Namibia, a local health official has said.

However, according to Esperanca van der Merwe, this can be prevented. Van der Merwe is responsible for the Safe Motherhood, Newborn Care and Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) programme at the health ministry.

"Quality and effective care reduces complications from pregnancy, labour and delivery, reduces stillbirths and perinatal deaths, and offers an opportunity for integrated care. The ministry has developed guidelines to facilitate the response within health facilities to reduce maternal, stillbirth and neonatal mortality in the country," she said during a workshop, titled Respectful Maternity Care (RMC), held in the capital recently.

Van der Merwe said highly medicalised and impersonal care is not just disrespectful but increasingly unsafe for women and their infants.

She added that recommendations from the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2018 emphasised the quality of interaction between women and their health care providers and considered good interactions as a prerequisite for positive outcomes of childbirth.

Van der Merwe stated RMC can lead to successful breastfeeding, which will be a win for mother and baby respectful care, described as one element of quality, woman-centred maternal health care.

"Mistreatment of women during labour and childbirth is against women's basic human rights, choices and preferences - and it is a type of poor quality care," she opined.

A midwife by profession, Tekla Mbidi organised the workshop with the assistance from Johnson and Johnson company through the International Confederation of Midwives.

It was attended by 28 midwives, comprising of senior midwives, educators from institutions of high learning and student midwives.

Mbidi said published evidence about violations of women's human rights during childbirth, which extends to physical and verbal abuse, shaming women, breaching their privacy and abandoning them in labour exists.

"This evidence has documented that the quality of care is related to the quality of maternal and newborn health outcomes, including mortality. We have a professional problem; it is a global concern and Namibia is no exception," shared Mbidi.

She was accepted in the Young Midwifery Leadership Programme alongside nine other young midwives from Uganda, South Africa, Zambia, Malawi, Nigeria, Pakistan and Canada.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Namibia Health Pregnancy and Childbirth By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Established in 2019, the Young Midwifery Leadership programme is about advocating for respectful maternity care knowledge and practices among Namibian midwives to have an enabling midwifery practice environment in which midwives and expectant mothers are treated in a dignified manner and where the rights of women and their babies are defended.

"We (midwives) need to commit to the daily deeds of kindness, radiate compassion, starting with self-compassion, to bring out the best in others and ourselves, to sustain love, even in our most challenging relationships and to celebrate and exercise the power of our mental freedom," added Mbidi.

She stated that this is the time to focus on the art of midwifery rather than the hard clinical science - the part about caring, healing and partnering with women through the peak life moments of birth.

"This is the part that resonates with every human being - no matter where they are from, what religion they belong to or the social context in which they work. When we peel back the layers of those things, we find all human beings are pre-wired for love and caring," she explained.

A participant told New Era that after the workshop, she was able to reflect on how midwives just own the space and prevent women to have a voice in their care, which is a violation of their rights.

"I think this is the time that we go back and change this type of practice and allow women to be informed and make autonomous decisions," she noted.
Beginning early Friday and lasting until about 4 a.m., a brief period of gusts of 55-60 mph are possible near Lake Michigan, at the south end of the lake, most likely in Indiana but also possible along the lakefront in Cook County, according to the weather service. Experts warned area residents to secure outdoor objects, such as tents, umbrellas and lawn furniture well ahead of the storms late-night arrival.
On Deck, a San Francisco-based company best known for its tech entrepreneur programs, has raised $20 million in Series A funding, led by Founders Fund at a $250 million post-money valuation, sources told Axios.

Why it matters: Since its start in 2016 as a way for tech employees and startup founders to meet peers, On Deck has expanded to several other similar programs designed around a specific industry or skill, such as writing, venture capital, podcasts and fintech.

Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.

Between the lines: On Deck's new funding comes just as startup accelerator program Y Combinator held a demo day event for its latest group of graduating companies on Tuesday.

At least two existing On Deck investors told Axios that they see the company's programs as potentially the next fertile ground for finding budding startups they can back early.

Y Combinator, for its part, has greatly expanded the number of startups in each program since shifting entirely online because of the pandemic. Meanwhile, seed investors still complain that its startup valuations are too high and that the top companies have already closed their financing rounds.

For the record: Other investors in the round include Learn Capital, NFX, Slack Fund, and a number of angel investors.

Founders Fund declined to comment and On Deck did not respond to a request for comment.

More from Axios: Sign up to get the latest market trends with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free
ROCHESTER, Minn - Studying and training during a global pandemic isn't exactly what Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine students had in mind when they enrolled. While the past year has had its challenges, it's also brought new opportunities.

When the pandemic struck roughly a year ago, Mayo medical students had no idea how it would impact their medical training, but they soon learned that with some planning and innovation, they could still meet the strenuous requirements.

"Everything was available, it just required a significant amount of planning," says student Nicolas Rubel.

While the students agree their learning was altered by the pandemic, they don't believe it hindered their education.

"While it was different, it was not deficient in any way. I feel like, at the end of the day, we're still coming out very well trained and very ready," adds Rubel.

Incoming fourth-year students were also concerned about how the pandemic would impact their applications for residency.

"While we're all very happy now, it was a very overwhelming process at baseline for anyone entering into this thing. But compounding that with new rules that were being brought out by the entities that do manage the application cycle, those were also moving targets as well," explains student Tomilona Ifelayo.

Less than a week ago, fourth-year students at the Minnesota, Florida, and Arizona campuses participated in Match Day, learning where they'll train for the next three to seven 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.
A chance encounter between two very different scientists has solved the mystery of why three million dead birds washed up on the Australian east coast eight years ago.

There was a mass fatality of short-tailed shearwater birds in 2013, which researchers have now discovered was caused by starving birds eating volcanic rock and plastic out of desperation.

CSIRO scientist Lauren Roman, a researcher on plastic congestion in seabirds, said it was an odd coincidence the hundreds of ocean birds that washed up on a beach right next to her research station were full of pumice.

'Very close to the research station where I was working at the time, there was more than 100 birds dead and dying ... along every kilometre of this very, very long beach,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

Working at Moreton Bay Research centre at the time on North Stradbroke Island, Ms Roman recruited science students to collect the birds and put them in a freezer to look at later.

Researchers found dead birds washed up on the Australian east coast eight years ago

After a few weeks, she realised the dramatic mass death wasn't just happening in her backyard, but across thousands of kilometres on Australia's the east coast, from Fraser Island up north to Tasmania down south.

Even more unusual was what researchers found inside the birds when they conducted auto-necropsies - four or five pumice stones, which are floating aerated volcanic rocks.

'Occasionally you do find a pumice stone or two in a seabird, but you don't often find many of them. And they don't find them in the stomachs of just about every single bird,' said Ms Roman.

There mass fatality of 3 million short-tailed shearwater birds in 2013 (pictured)

The shocking discovery raised more questions than answers, especially because veterinary autopsies showed the birds were in bad condition and possibly starved to death.

There was no way Ms Roman could solve the riddle on her own, but another coincidence connected her with just the expert she needed.

One of the students enlisted to collect the birds with Ms Roman had Scott Bryan as her supervisor - who just happened to be an expert in pumice rafts, which are mass floating rocks on the ocean after volcanic eruptions.

The birds were found to be full of pumice, a volcanic rock (pictured), stunning researchers

'Scott and I were each from very different disciplines ... you wouldn't find us in the same building together or talking to each other,' said Ms Roman.

'But neither of us would have been able to solve this mystery without the expertise of the other.'

In a team that included Dr Kathy Townsend, Dr Natalie Bool and the then-third year student who connected the two researchers, Leah Gustafson, a question was formulated.

Did the birds die because they ate the volcanic rock, or did they eat it because they were starving?

An eight year investigation into the mystery uncovered where the rock came from

First the group would have to work out where these birds had been - luckily for Ms Roman, a woman she sat next to as a student had spent years tracking the migrating patterns of this particular bird species, which was consistent each year.

Next, Mr Bryan and Ms Gustafson had to identify the rocks origins, and they used satellite systems to discover it was from the 2012 Havre eruption in the Kermadec arc north of New Zealand.

Usually the ocean birds would feast in the Artic circle before migrating for ten days to the southern hemisphere, where they would breed in Victoria or Tasmania, and occasionally even as far down as Antarctica.

'We realised that the birds could have only interacted with that pumice in the few days before that they died,' said Ms Roman.

'So they must have been already in very bad condition and already very, very hungry at the time that they interacted with the with the pumice raft.

'If they were in fat condition, they just would have flown straight past that. They wouldn't have stopped to try and sort of feed in desperation because they would otherwise have no reason to stop.'

Researchers concluded the birds ate the pumice (pictured) because they were starving

The next step for the researchers is to determine why the birds were starving.

They believe it is likely they became famished in the northern hemisphere.

One possible explanation is that a marine heat wave up north from 2013 to 2016 - called the Blob - decimated the species the shearwater feeds on.

Another is that because the bird species and pink salmon - which is artificially reared and released - feast on the same food, the fish could have stolen all the shearwater's usual prey.

The next step for scientists is to work out why the birds were starving

Ms Roman is hoping to receive grant money to continue the quest to solve the puzzle, and she predicts climate change might be affecting the birds.

'Climate change is a serious threat to many different see bird species,' she said.

'But it's something that's quite hard to research because you're looking at changes to a bird that's very, very hard to find.

'They're out. They live out in the middle of the sea. It's very hard to know what's killing them when they start disappearing again because they live out in the middle of the ocean.'
Hundreds of companies, including major emitters like United Airlines, BP and Shell, have pledged to reduce their impact on climate change and reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. These plans sound ambitious, but what does it actually take to reach net-zero and, more importantly, will it be enough to slow climate change?

As environmental policy and economics researchers, we study how companies make these net-zero pledges. Though the pledges make great press releases, net-zero is more complicated and potentially problematic than it may seem.

What is net-zero emissions?

The gold standard for reaching net-zero emissions looks like this: A company identifies and reports all emissions it is responsible for creating, it reduces them as much as possible, and then  if it still has emissions it cannot reduce  it invests in projects that either prevent emissions elsewhere or pull carbon out of the air to reach a net-zero balance on paper.

The process is complex and still largely unregulated and ill-defined. As a result, companies have a lot of discretion over how they report their emissions. For example, a multinational mining company might count emissions from extracting and processing ore but not the emissions produced by transporting it.

Companies also have discretion over how much they rely on what are known as offsets  the projects they can fund to reduce emissions. The oil giant Shell, for example, projects that it will both achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and continue to produce high levels of fossil fuel through that year and beyond. How? It proposes to offset the bulk of its fossil-fuel-related emissions through massive nature-based projects that capture and store carbon, such as forest and ocean restoration. In fact, Shell alone plans to deploy more of these offsets by 2030 than were available globally in 2019.

Environmentalists may welcome Shells newfound conservationist agenda, but what if other oil companies, the airline industries, the shipping sectors and the U.S. government all propose a similar solution? Is there enough land and ocean realistically available for offsets, and is simply restoring environments without fundamentally changing the business-as-usual paradigm really a solution to climate change?

Story continues

Concerns about voluntary carbon markets

Outside of compliance emissions markets, which primarily focus on government regulation in the energy sector, voluntary markets create most of the offsets that are used to reach net-zero.

Voluntary markets are organized and operated by a diverse range of groups where anyone can participate. Have you ever seen the option to offset your flight? That offset probably happens through a voluntary carbon market. The activities that produce the offsets include projects like forestry and ocean management, waste management, agricultural practices, fuel switching and renewable energy. As the name implies, they are voluntary and therefore largely unregulated.

Because of the wave of net-zero pledges and subsequent demand for offsets, voluntary carbon markets are under pressure to expand quickly. A task force launched by United Nations Special Envoy on Climate Action Mark Carney and involving several major companies released a sweeping blueprint at Davos 2021 that predicts voluntary carbon markets need to grow fifteenfold over the next decade. It suggests that the net-zero surge represents one of the largest commercial opportunities of our time  prompting keen interest from investors and big business. It also identifies and proposes solutions to some persistent challenges and critiques of voluntary carbon offset markets.

Some critics of the blueprint argue that it overlooks deeper problems rooted in the overall reliance on and effectiveness of voluntary carbon markets as a solution.

Though there is historical evidence of misuse and plenty of criticism, voluntary carbon markets are not inherently bad or useless in the pursuit of climate targets. In fact, quite the opposite. Some voluntary carbon market projects, in addition to mitigating climate change, provide other benefits, such as improvements to biodiversity habitats, water quality, soil health and socioeconomic opportunities.

However, there are real concerns about the ability of voluntary markets to legitimately deliver what they promise. Common concerns include questions about the permanence of the projects for storing carbon long term, verifying that offsets actually reduce emissions beyond a business-as-usual scenario and confirming that credits are not being used more than once. These and other challenges expose voluntary carbon markets to potential manipulation, greenwashing, unintended consequences and, regrettably, failure to achieve their purpose.

Its getting better, but over-reliance on this method for counterbalancing emissions does risk some entities using offsets as a right to pollute.

Can global ecology meet the demand?

Voluntary carbon markets can improve landscapes and help make up for unavoidable emissions. However, they cannot accommodate all of the developed worlds net-zero targets.

Most of these initiatives have not yet started, yet emitters from developed countries are already seeking offsets outside their borders. This is raising concerns that wealthier companies may be placing the burden of their emissions onto poorer countries that can produce offsets cheaply, begging the notion of a newfound climate colonialism. Local communities may benefit from some environmental improvements or socioeconomic opportunities, but should economically developed polluters be forcing that decision?

Beyond ethics, in statistical terms, there is simply not enough ecological capacity to offset the worlds emissions.

Take the interest in using forests as offset solutions. There are around 3 trillion trees on Earth today with room for about 1 to 2.5 trillion more. The Trillion Tree Initiative, 1T program, Trillion Trees, and the CEO of Reddit, among others, aim to plant a trillion trees each. From just a few examples, there is already a paradoxical impasse.

Offsets can realistically do only so much for reaching climate targets. That is why the focus must turn toward reducing rather than offsetting global emissions. Voluntary carbon markets serve a critical role as innovation sandboxes for creative offset solutions, and they are mobilizing the private sector to act; however, they must be limited.

While some prominent organizations are pursuing net-zero, most businesses and governments have not yet pledged, let alone developed, clear and plausible road maps to meet targets in line with a 2050 net-zero global economy.

The needed goal: A negative net

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change suggests that the world can keep global warming in check if emissions are cut in half by 2030, compared to 2010 levels, and reach net-zero by midcentury. However, it also states a need for greenhouse gas removal beyond net-zero emissions targets.

The real act of climate cleanup begins at net-negative emissions for all greenhouse gases. Only then will their atmospheric concentrations finally begin shrinking. That feat will require more renewable energy, widespread infrastructure and transportation developments, improved land management and investments in carbon capturing activities and technologies.

While net-zero is a critical step toward addressing climate change, it must be achieved smartly. And, importantly, it cant be the end goal.

[Deep knowledge, daily. Sign up for The Conversations newsletter.]

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Oliver Miltenberger, The University of Melbourne and Matthew D. Potts, University of California, Berkeley.

Read more:



Matthew Potts is also a scientific advisor for Carbon Direct.

Oliver Miltenberger does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
NEW DELHI: 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 legislation at the borders of Delhi, which started on November 26.

According to news agency PTI, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of farmer unions, has called for a Bharat Bandh on March 26, from 6 AM to 6 PM.

During this time all road and rail transport, markets and other public places will be closed across the country. "We appeal to the people of the country to make this Bharat Bandh a success and honour their 'Annadata'," farmer leader Darshan Pal said.

Earlier, farmer leader Buta Singh Burjgill had 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."

Farmer leaders also said that copies of the new farm laws will be burnt during Holika Dahan on March 28. Ahead of the Bharat Bandh, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) president Rakesh Tikait had on Tuesday said that farmers agitating against the Central farm laws would not be divided and they may have to go to the national capital and breach barricades again.

"They (Centre) has tried to divide us on the lines of caste and religion but they were unsuccessful. You would need to go to Delhi when asked and have to breach barricades again," Tikait said while addressing a gathering in Jaipur.

Hitting out at the Central government, he said, "PM Modi said farmers can sell crops anywhere. We will prove it by selling at State Assemblies, Collectors` offices and the Parliament. No mandi can be better than Parliament."

Earlier on Sunday, during the protest at Delhi`s borders, Tikait had suggested that farmers in Karnataka should organise a protest in the state similar to that of Delhi and `gherao` (surround) Bengaluru from all sides.

"This fight will go on for a long. We need to start such protests in every city until these three black laws are taken back and the law on MSP is not brought. You need to run a protest in Karnataka," the BKU leader had said while addressing a farmers` meeting in Shivamogga.

Farmers have been protesting at the different border of Delhi since November last year against the three newly enacted farm laws -- Farmers` Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

Live TV
New Delhi, March 25 : One late evening, six months back, Haryana Police thrashed two couples in Sonipat. In the fight that ensued, one of the youngsters killed a policeman. The boys were later killed in a 'fake encounter and the girls allegedly gang raped in police custody.

One late evening, two years back, a young lady in Chandigarh while driving home late evening lodged a complaint that two drunk youngsters stalked and tried to kidnap her. One of them being the son of a politician. The case is ongoing.

The common thread in both the cases is how 'Bekhauf Azadi', a Chandigarh-based group comprising a core team of a lawyer, a research scholar and a nursing officer -- all women, active across Punjab and Haryana stepped in to ensure that the victims' voices were heard.

From going on a fact finding mission to Sonipat, filing a litigation in Punjab and Haryana High Court post which an inquiry was marked and the two girls in custody subjected to medical examination, to organising midnight protests in Chandigarh in the stalking case, 'Bekhauf Azadi' has emerged not just as a women empowerment group but also a force that takes up social and political issues.

"In some cases, especially those involving Dalit and labourer women, we help them on legal issues pro bono considering their chronic backwardness," says Arti, the founder member and an advocate in the Punjab Haryana High Court.

With members from diverse professions -- teachers, doctors, lawyers and journalists, the group now has more than 20 members across multiple states. Arti recalls how 'reclaiming the nights' movement after the stalking case in the region became a huge success. "We witnessed participation of hundreds of people, including families. Let's not forget that though Chandigarh may claim to be a very modern city with a high literacy rate, it remains a very unsafe place for women. People may claim to understand gender issues and equality but they cannot decipher that a woman has as much right to feel safe on the streets after dark as men do. The huge participation from women, men and families was very encouraging for us, and we thought there was a need to form a group which would raise its voice against injustice towards women and other issues." Interestingly, participation by men in the issues they raise have been almost equal to that of women. "While patriarchal positions may be deep-rooted, but consciousness of the urban male when it comes to democratic rights vis a vis women has developed. Also, would they not want the women in their own families to be safe. The post liberalization era has witnessed more women in the workforce. You may still not give property rights to the daughters but there does exist a democratic space at home, right?" Arti says that the group actively coordinates with other democratic activists taking up social and political issues as working in silos makes little sense. "Precisely why we make it a point to invite activists from other organisations to be part of our protests and vice-versa." Considering the fact that they are getting a lot of membership requests from women in Haryana and Punjab, the founder-member, whose group also intervened on behalf of girls in a private university in Punjab when all the girls in the hostel were 'checked' after a sanitary napkin was found not properly disposed off in a washroom, says that they plan to hold a meeting soon to chalk out future strategy. "Maybe we will help build up independent teams there and let them run. Let's see." Stressing that in the past two years, they have realised that although the democratic consciousness of middle-class women has increased manifold, nothing has changed for the Dalit women, she talks about the ongoing farmers' movement, "Many from our group and others who went there initially were asked by the farmers -- 'What do girls have to do with land?'. They refuse to acknowledge that we have a 50 per cent right over property. It took a lot of time for us to make our space in the agitation -- there were comments -- 'these girls are from the state', 'they want to disturb the movement'. Women at protest sites have struggled a lot to stay there. Since 2005, women have a legal right when it comes to property but assertion 0.1 per cent, because if you ask for your right, your maternal support will go. Now, in this society, it's tough to give that up." Adding that when it comes to Dalits, landowners seldom give them the common land that is entitled to them, she says, "During the lockdown, Dalits and landless were boycotted. Precisely why one did not see their participation during initial months. Just notice how despite multiple CPI(ML) forces in the movement, almost everyone is raising Sikh religious slogans. What happened to the left ones (slogans)? Of course, right now, we want to have a united front and fight the farm laws."
Federal officials announced Tuesday that the San Diego Convention Center in downtown San Diego, California, will be used to hold up to 1,400 unaccompanied migrant children. The Biden administration is currently detaining over 14,000 children in federal custody. Over 9,500 children are held by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), while the remaining 4,500 are in the custody of Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

The move to place 1,400 children in the convention center comes as photos have surfaced showing children sleeping on thin mats on hard floors in dire and overcrowded Customs and Border Protection holding cells. Earlier this week Representative Henry Cuellar (Democrat, Texas) shared photos of the facility in Donna, Texas, which is comprised of eight plastic sided pods, each with a 260-person occupancy, noting that one overcrowded pod held over 400 male minors.

San Diego Convention Center in 2014 (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), part of the US Department of Health and Human Services, is responsible for the unaccompanied minors and normally runs 13,500 beds in official state-licensed immigration prisons for children.

Responding to the recent surge in unaccompanied minors, the ORR has turned to other facilities and has added 7,852 beds, including the San Diego Convention Center, which could begin to hold children as soon as this weekend. A second facility for holding up to 500 children is being opened in Carrizo Springs, Texas, and HHS officials are seeking approval from the Pentagon to use an empty dormitory at Joint Base San Antonio and open land at Fort Bliss in El Paso for additional detention centers.

Posing as a humanitarian, San Diegos Democratic mayor Todd Gloria explained to reporters on Tuesday, What we have are young people who are in unacceptable conditions and this condition [the convention center] can be better for them. HHS plans to operate the site for three months with children held for up to 35 days in the convention center before being transferred to the custody of family or a guardian in the US.

Gloria and San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chair Nathan Fletcher released a statement on Monday stating that the children will be provided with food, medical care, a place to sleep and showers. A safe and secure recreation area will also be created on the exterior of the facility. The children are not permitted to leave the convention center until reunification occurs.

While the center is being hailed as a more humane place to hold children, the reality is that it remains a prison, one in full violation of the immigration laws to protect children from being detained for longer than 72 hours before being placed with a sponsor or family member.

Before the convention center can begin intaking children, the city must disperse 500 homeless individuals currently housed there during the COVID-19 pandemic. San Diego has the fourth largest homeless population in the country and the convention center was made available to a tiny percentage last year to give the appearance the homeless were being assisted and provided sanitation. Mayor Gloria made a statement that the homeless would be properly housed, but it is not clear how housing facilities for these 500 have suddenly become available.

Meanwhile just across the border from San Diego, some 1,500 migrants, predominantly from the Northern Triangle, remain camped out and stationed along the US-Mexico border in Tijuana, Mexico. Hundreds protested Tuesday with hand written signs pleading for their right to asylum.

They stood at the San Ysidro Port of Entry with signs that pleaded Please let us in, ayudenos (help us) and urging President Joe Biden to si al asilo (yes to asylum).

The response by Mexican and US officials has been to heighten border security and increase brutality. Last week CBP officers dressed in riot gear shut down the San Ysidro Port of Entry in an exercise launched to train border agents how to fight back a large crowd that might rush the lanes. CBP referred to the training as an Operational Readiness Exercise that would assess the capabilities of our facilities, and claimed it had nothing to do with the growing encampment of migrants who are increasingly desperate to set foot on US soil and apply for asylum.

Additionally, officials in Tijuana, Mexico, announced this week that they intend to construct a fence to contain the 1500 migrants waiting at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. The migrants are living in squalor, many having been squeezed dry of every last cent, paying for travel and passage to the border from their home countries of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. They are also joined by a number of Haitian immigrants who have remained at the border in tent camps for years now.

Many of those who voted for Biden in last years presidential elections believed he would put an end to the deadly spread of the pandemic and adopt a more humane policy towards immigrants in opposition to Trumps xenophobia and cruel child separation policies. The response by the Biden administration has been to keep together families as they are deported and to detain unaccompanied children, but the ability to actually obtain asylum has remained as out of reach as it was under the Trump administration.

There has been no halt to the arrests, detentions, and deportations of migrants. In the month of February alone, 9,460 unaccompanied minors were detained, a 60 percent increase from January, and children represent nearly a tenth of the nearly 100,000 total immigrants detained.

Hoping to make clear to the ruling class that he is as ruthless as Trump in his deportations and anti-immigrant policy, Biden continues to emphasize that his administration does not run an open border and has actively discouraged immigrants, telling them not to come to the US.

Emphasizing this, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Monday the Biden administration had paid for 17,118 radio ads in Spanish, Portuguese and six indigenous languages to discourage migrants from Central America and Brazil. She said 589 digital ads have also been placed. Psaki insisted that the vast, vast majority [of families] are being turned away.

On this Psaki is correct, in the month of February alone 72,413 migrants were expelled from the US under Title 42, a provision of federal law first used in March 2020 under the Trump administration with the assistance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which allows for the rapid expulsion of immigrants citing COVID-19 concerns.

Significantly these are expulsions rather than deportations as migrants cannot make a case before an immigration judge. The vast majority of migrants who have been expelled under Title 42 measures are returned to Mexico within hours.

For the ruling class the COVID-19 pandemic has been used as a justification to speed up deportations and wage an open assault on the fundamental right to asylum. Trump and Stephen Miller attempted as well to invoke the 1944 Public Health Service Act to turn away asylum seekers and children on public health grounds. The special protections offered to minors have long been viewed as a major hurdle to carrying out widespread deportations, but what is clear is that children are continuing to be punished and held for weeks on end, and their asylum protections further eroded.

Biden has returned to the familiar mass deportations which were carried out when he was vice president in the Obama administration. Both parties fundamentally and actively support the inhumane immigration policies of the United States and are directly responsible for the present crisis.

On Wednesday, Biden announced that Vice President Kamala Harris, the former top cop of California, who served as the states attorney general from 2011 through 2017, will take the lead on negotiations with Mexico and Central American countries to block the flow of immigrants to the US border. She doesnt have to check with me. She knows what shes doing, Biden said.

The American working class must organize their political strength and come to the defense of these children and the ten of thousands being shipped off to deadly home countries that have been ravaged by US imperialism.
Santander has announced it will close 111 branches up and down the country by the end of August this year.

The Spanish-owned lender said the 'majority' of branches being axed were under three miles from another Santander branch, with the furthest being five miles away.

It said that all of the 111 closing branches were within half a mile of at least two free-to-use cash machines.

Branches in New Malden, Marlow, Leatherhead, Sale, Surbiton, Twickenham and Wickford are just some of the swathes being axed.

SROLL DOWN TO SEE IF YOUR LOCAL SANTANDER IS CLOSING

Closures: Santander has announced plans to close 111 branches for good this year

Around 840 jobs will be affected by the branch closures.

The lender said: 'Santander has consulted its trade unions on the closure proposals and expects to be able to find alternative roles for a significant number of those colleagues wishing to stay with the bank.'

A customer affected by the closure of the Oxford Headington branch closure told This is Money: 'We do not do online banking and actually have not been visiting the branch because of this little thing called lockdown and national pandemic.

'They are using this lockdown as an excuse to cut branches and access to OUR money becomes even more difficult!'

Another reader told This is Money that her 99-year-old father affected by the closures lives alone and has no internet access. He is independent and likes to travel by bus to his local branch and can't stand the thought of having to linger on the phone trying to speak to someone from the bank.

Adam Bishop, head of branches at Santander, said: 'Branch usage by customers has fallen considerably over recent years so we have made the difficult decision to consolidate our presence in areas where we have multiple branches relatively close together.

'The majority of the closing branches are within three miles of another branch and the furthest is five miles away.

'We will provide every support to customers of closing branches to find alternative ways to bank with us that best suit their individual needs.

Phone number for affected customers If you're Santander branch is one of the 111 closing you can phone 0800 085 0879 to get more information.

'We are also working alongside our unions to support colleagues through these changes and to find alternative roles for those impacted wherever possible.

'We continue to believe that branches have an important role to play and we expect the size of our network to remain stable for the foreseeable future.'

The lender said branch transactions fell by 33 per cent over the two years before the pandemic and declined by a further 50 per cent last year.

It added: 'Mobile and online transactions have meanwhile been growing by 20 per cent each year, with almost two thirds of overall transactions now digital.'

Santander said it would carry out a 'programme of activities' to support customers of closing branches to find other ways to bank that best suit their needs, including help to find alternative branches and access digital, telephone and Post Office banking services.

Machines: Santander said branches closing have free-to-use cash machines nearby

The bank will also be contacting vulnerable customers by telephone in order to provide them with 'individual support.'

Poll Are banks right to be shutting so many branches? Yes - the future is online No - we need our branches Are banks right to be shutting so many branches? Yes - the future is online 117 votes

No - we need our branches 486 votes Now share your opinion





The bank will also hold a series of online events over the coming months where a member of Santanders branch team will explain alternative ways to bank.

According to consumer group Which?, banks and building societies in Britain have closed 4,188 branches since January 2015, at a rate of around 50 each month.

The NatWest Group, which comprises of NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank, closed 1,086 branches during this period, Which? said.

Lloyds Banking Group, made up of Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, shut down 680 sites. Barclays is the individual bank that has reduced its network the most, with 650 branches have closed - or scheduled to - by the end of 2021, according to Which?

Critics fear that branch closures are a simple way for lenders to cut costs and axe staff, while leaving some disabled, elderly or otherwise vulnerable customers with sparse and often impersonal banking options.

Major shake-up for Santander's office staff too

As well as cutting branches, Santander also unveiled a big shift to its office network today which will affect thousands of its workforce.

Santander will close its Bootle, Newcastle, London Portman House and Manchester Deansgate offices by the end of this year.

It will also reduce its volume of office space at its London Triton Square, London Ludgate Hill, Leicester Carlton Park and Teesside sites. The bank's main head office will be in Milton Keynes.

All change: Santander UK chief executive Nathan Bostock with current prime minister Boris Johnson

Around 5,000 staff based at closing or 'consolidating' sites will be offered new 'dual location' working arrangements, combining working from home with access to local spaces designed 'to enable team collaboration.'

Nathan Bostock, Santander UK chief executive, said: 'The pandemic has accelerated the existing trend towards greater flexible working, and our colleagues have told us this has brought significant benefits for many of them.

'At the same time, physical spaces remain very important and our sites around the UK will provide our colleagues with first-class facilities fit for the future.

'We are investing 150m in our state-of-the-art new campus in Milton Keynes, which will become our new headquarters.'
The government has warned health facilities against demanding huge payments before admitting patients.

Health Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) Rashid Aman speaking on Tuesday termed this move 'unethical'.

He observed the number of Covid-19 related admissions at private and public health facilities had shot up, but asked hospitals not to take advantage of that by demanding huge upfront payments before admitting patients to the Intensive Care Unite (ICU) and High Dependency Unit (HDU).

"We want to remind our healthcare providers, both private and public that we are in a pandemic, and this being the case, it is not the time to punish our people through some self-seeking money-minting opportunistic escapades," said Aman

"It is unethical and not acceptable and I want to make a passionate appeal to our health facilities to soul search on this issue and know that history will judge them harshly for the wrong choices they make during this pandemic."

"The responsibility of medical facilities and health care workers is to save lives. It is not to profiteer from ailing and poor Kenyans. This mentality of putting money ahead of our people's lives must stop. That is where other countries like India beat us," he said.

Aman also warned hospitals from holding or hoarding oxygen cylinders and further noted the rising numbers of Covid-19 cases have necessitated the high demand for oxygen by patients in government facilities.

"Those facilities that are holding or maybe even hoarding gas cylinders are strongly advised to surrender them immediately to points of refill and redistribution," he said.

Kenya recorded 1,127 new Covid-19 cases from a sample size of 5,393 on Tuesday representing a positivity rate of 20.8 percent.
YEREVAN -- The separatist parliament of Nagorno-Karabakh has approved a proposal to make Russian the ethnic Armenian-populated region's second official language, along with Armenian.

The amendments to the region's language laws were passed 27-0 on March 25, with two abstentions.

The bill, which will become law upon being signed by the region's ethnic Armenian leader, Arayik Harutiunian, says that giving the Russian language an official status would deepen Nagorno-Karabakh's history of "cultural, military, and economic links" with Russia.

Three of the five political parties represented in the region's legislature proposed the measure last month, arguing that it would facilitate communication with Russian soldiers and aid workers deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh after last year's Armenian-Azerbaijani war over the separatist region.

Russia's presence in Nagorno-Karabakh increased dramatically after six weeks of fighting in and around the region ended in November 2020 with a Moscow-brokered cease-fire. More than 6,000 people were killed during the conflict.

Under the truce agreement, a chunk of Nagorno-Karabakh and all seven districts around it were placed under Azerbaijani administration after almost 30 years of control by ethnic Armenian forces.

The agreement also led to the deployment of around 2,000 Russian peacekeepers along frontline areas and a land corridor connecting the disputed territory with Armenia.

Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, which has condemned the region's plans to grant official status to the Russian language.

President Ilham Aliyev said on February 26 that "there can only be one official language in Azerbaijan" -- the Azerbaijani language.

The Kremlin earlier described the matter as "an internal affair" of both Azerbaijan and Armenia, according to TASS.

The ethnic Armenians who make up most of Nagorno-Karabakh's population reject Azerbaijani rule and had been governing their own affairs, with support from Armenia, since Azerbaijan's troops and Azeri civilians were pushed out of the region and seven adjacent districts in a war that ended in a cease-fire in 1994.
Logo The team at Green Bay Remodeling is so thrilled to be back on the Inc. 5000 list of rapidly growing California-based private companies.

Inc. magazine today revealed that Green Bay Remodeling, Inc. is No. 108 on its second annual Inc. 5000 Regionals: California list, the most prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing California-based private companies. Born of the annual Inc. 5000 franchise, this regional list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the California economys most dynamic segmentits independent small businesses.

"We are so thrilled to be back on the Inc. 5000 list of rapidly growing California-based private companies," said Avichai Hazan, CEO at Green Bay Remodeling. "I could not be more proud of the astounding team at Green Bay Remodeling who have really made this success possible! It is gratifying to see how our culture and mission to serve our clients have continued to drive our growth, transition the business to meet the 2020 requirements, and quickly embrace the change using the right tools, technologies, and processes. We're all very excited to continue empowering our clients with our streamlined home renovation and development solutions, digitized processes, and stress-free experiences across the entire San Francisco Bay Area."

The companies on this list show stunning rates of growth across all industries in California. Between 2017 and 2019, these 250 private companies had an average growth rate of 535 percent, and, in 2019 alone, they employed more than 40,000 people and added nearly $7 billion to the California economy. Companies based in major metro areasLos Angeles, the Bay Area, and San Diegobrought in the highest revenue overall.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000 Regionals: California, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, metro area, and other criteria, can be found at https://www.inc.com/inc5000/regionals/california starting March 16, 2021.

This list proves the power of companies in California no matter the industry, says Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. The impressive revenues and growth rates prove the insight and diligence of CEOs and that these businesses are here to stay.

Green Bay Remodeling is an award-winning home remodeling and renovating company with an outstanding design-build portfolio in the San Francisco Bay Area. We have delivered remarkable designs and successful builds for 1000+ homeowners across the Bay Area with our unique processes that result in a noteworthy client satisfaction rating. The company holds expertise in offering tailored and top-notch solutions by utilizing customer's assets and the latest technologies. Our experts develop premium concepts for new home development, full house remodeling, additions, kitchens, and bathrooms. We take unique client-centric approaches for homeowners facing various challenges of getting their homes redone. Constantly counted as one of the leading contractors, our company's primary goal is to transform the $425 Billion home renovation industry. What makes us a leader in the industry is operational brilliance and the outstanding quality we offer with every project. We design and implement the project keeping in mind environmental factors, budget, and tailored needs of clients. For more information, visit http://www.greenbayremodeling.com.

CONTACT:

Amrita Hemdev

amrita@greenbayremodelinginc.com

8558899963-406

More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000 Regionals

Methodology

The 2021 Inc. 5000 Regional are ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2017 and 2019. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2017. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2017 is $100,000; the minimum for 2019 is $1 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons.

About Inc. Media

The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit http://www.inc.com.
The fast-fashion retailer has made an effort to boost transparency following reports of poor working practices in Leicester factories last summer

boohoo Group PLC ( ) is not about to become the poster child for sustainability efforts after publishing its list of UK suppliers.

While the changes are welcome, many of its rivals have been doing the same for years, experts note.

The fast-fashion clothier has made an effort to boost transparency following reports of poor working practices in its Leicester supply chain last July and a subsequent investigation.

It has been working with independent auditors Verisio and Bureau Veritas to carry out unannounced visits to suppliers and over the last eight months, with most suppliers being audited twice.

Former High Court judge Sir Brian Leveson, who was appointed to provide independent oversight, said it is clear that few, if any, companies undertaking due diligence of their supply chains have gone to the lengths undertaken by Boohoo and for which it deserves credit.

But according to Thulsi Narayanasamy, senior labour rights lead at the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, this is just the bare minimum.

[What] they have done needs to be looked at in that context, which is that it's good, but it's coming very, very late, she told Proactive.

The critical point here is that has always been miles behind their competitors when it comes to any human rights due diligence in their supply chain. They have been so far behind for so long and that distance still remains. Youd have their rivals who have been undertaking due diligence, and learning from that due diligence, for years and years.

In fact, ( ), ( ) and Zalando had dropped boohoo from their roster of clothes stockists as soon as the scandal emerged last summer, because they werent compatible with their own standards.

Patrick O'Brien, UK retail research director at GlobalData, noted that ASOSs chief executive Nick Beighton had for many years complained about working conditions in Leicester factories, saying it had put him off keeping more manufacturing in the UK.

That said, all boohoo's rivals will have noticed the share price impact that the boohoo story has had, and that ensuring ESG reputation is maintained is not just about the relationship with customers, but with investors too, he told Proactive.

The price question

As a result, its likely that the fast-fashion clothiers prices will rise, OBrien commented, after ensuring that all workers will be paid fairly.

In a competitive retail market, it may struggle to pass increased costs up to its customers, who tend to be in the younger population segment  the one most hit by the COVID-19 crisis, with under 25s accounting for two-thirds of job losses in the UK.

However, the firms test-and-repeat manufacturing system could help to keep the price tags low, since it can figure out which items are doing well and ramp up their production.

Nonetheless, gross margin shed 0.5% to 53% in the four months to December 31.

It takes time

Going forward, boohoo has called in Bureau Veritas to audit the supplier base, with a report scheduled for next September.

It will apply the same standards that have been used to approach audit in the UK, though they will be tailored to local laws and regulations.

In December, boohoo dropped two Pakistani suppliers after a Guardian investigation uncovered poor working conditions, with employees being paid 29p per hour and occasionally working 24-hour shifts.

But it will take a while to see if the AIM-listed giant is walking the walk.

The main thing to remember is that these are steps in the right direction, but the work isnt done yet. Until new practices and attitudes are fully embedded into the way boohoo does business, it will be hard to know if these changes are truly effective, Sophie Lund-Yates, analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, told Proactive.

Having cut so many suppliers, Narayanasamy questioned whether factories will be able to keep up with production volumes without resorting to unauthorised subcontractors, and what system boohoo will have in place to ensure that it wont happen.

As far as we're concerned, nothing has changed, unless we're able to see that something has changed It's very hard to take them at face value when it's clear that they haven't even published their entire supply chain list, she concluded.

The level of contravention of a range of different things is enormous when it comes to boohoo. They're not a leader, they're still a laggard, and they've got a long way to go before they are even on par, let alone before they're exceeding their rivals on human rights due diligence.

Shares dipped 1% to 328.1p on March 25 after publishing the suppliers' list, having recovered 58% from last summer.
Liberia's Supreme Court has mandated the National Elections Commission (NEC) to announce the results of the special senatorial election held in Gbarpolu County, over two months after court cases prevented announcement of final results in which female independent candidate Gbotoe Kanneh is presumed to lead unofficial results.

The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday, 24 March reversing a ruling of NEC's Board of Commissioners in which the electoral house sought to conduct a full scale investigation in complaint of election violence.

The ruling is a slap in the face of ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) senatorial candidate and sitting Gbarpolu County Representative Alfred Koiwood whose lawyers had called for a rerun in 13 voting precincts in addition to the disputed area where rerun was held on 7 January this year.

Who becomes the Senator of Gbarpolu County will only be known when the NEC announces its final results from the election held in Gbarpolu. Following the 8 December 2020 polls, Madam Kanneh was said to be in the lead, but a electoral dispute in Nomodatahum bordering neighboring Sierra Leone prompted a rerun in that town.

Without the official results her supporters again claimed she had topped the votes after the 7 January 2021 rerun, but the NEC could not announce official results pending conclusion of election cases filed by the ruling CDC candidate Koiwood.

However the Supreme Court says where a complaint alleges election violence which has [a nature of] criminality as in the instant case, it is the Ministry of Justice that has the sole authority to investigate.

The Supreme Court orders the NEC Board of Commissioners to proceed forthwith to announce the results of the Special Senatorial Election held in Gbarpolu County in keeping with Section 2.9 of the Elections Law.

The Court also orders its Clerk to send a mandate to the NEC to resume jurisdiction over this case.

The court's decision Wednesday followed an intense legal battle that on 16 March when it began querying lawyers over Gbarpolu County's stalled senatorial election, amidst a series of legal actions that had disrupted pronouncement of final results by the NEC since conducting a rerun on 7 January 2021 in a disputed area.

A nationwide election was held on 8 December 2020 for 15 senatorial seats, but electoral violence in Nomodatahum, Gbarpolu County, bordering Sierra Leone, prompted a rerun to be held on 7 January in the affected area. But final results for 7 January 2021 polls are yet to come out due to legal challenges that have emerged since.

The ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) on behalf of its senatorial candidate Rep. Alfred Koiwood filed the petition before the Supreme Court for the writ of prohibition against the NEC.

Representing Madam Gbotoe Kanneh earlier on 16 March, a team of lawyers which includes Liberia's former Chief Justice Gloria Musu Scott, said "the final result was never announced by NEC."

Madam Gbotoe's team of lawyers contended that there is no way that the 8 December alleged election violence can affect the overall result of the election on grounds that the rerun in Nomodatahum was conducted on 7 January following negotiations and mediations to which both sides had allegedly agreed.

But the team stated that it was before the Supreme Court because the NEC went beyond its preliminary findings and announced that it was due to conduct a full scale thorough investigation which the team fears, "may affect the announcement of the results."

Cllr. Arthur T. Johnson, representing sitting Gbarpolu County Representative and senatorial candidate, Alfred Koiwood, said the investigation conducted by the NEC on the election violence in Gbarpolu County will affect the result because there was also complaint from citizens of Gbarpolu in addition to complaint filed by his client.

He claimed that there was a complaint that Madam Kanneh brought in Sierra Leoneans to vote into the elections, adding that when they saw the town filled with strangers when they woke in the morning.

But in a query, Associate Justice Yussif D. Kaba asked Cllr. Johnson as to why he had to bring about complaints from the nine other precincts when he limited his complaint to what transpired in Nomodatahum without mentioning the case from the nine precincts.

In responding, Cllr. Johnson said they called for a rerun for the 13 voting precincts. But Justice Kaba noted that such a call was made without the counsel making any reference to the other places, even though he is praying for the court to order rerun in places he did not reference.Justice Kaba noted that Cllr. Johnson wanted to further complicate the matter by adding the other nine areas.

However Cllr. Johnson said it is not to complicate the matter, arguing that it was illegal that the NEC had allowed a rerun when there was already a complaint filed before the same commission asking it not to go ahead with the election because there was violence.

According to Cllr. Johnson, the NEC went ahead and summarily dismissed the complaint, which led him to go to the Supreme Court. Cllr. Johnson insisted that no one participated in the preparation for the conduct of the rerun.

In a communication dated 8 January 2021, Associate Justice presiding in Chambers of the Supreme Court of Liberia Madam Sie-A-Nyene G. Yuoh ordered the NEC to halt all actions, pronouncement or announcement on election from affected area (s) of Gbarpolu County, pending the hearing and decision of the complaint filed before the county's Elections Magistrate.

"By directive of Her Honor Sie-A-Nyene G. Yuoh, Associate Justice presiding in Chambers, you are hereby informed to stay all actions/or pronouncement or announcement on the election of the affected area (s) of Gbarpolu County, pending the hearing and decision of the complaint filed before the Elections Magistrate of Gbarpolu County, up to and including the hearing and disposition of appeal by any party even up to the Supreme Court," the order dated 8 January read.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Liberia Governance Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Prior to the court's order, the rerun had already been conducted on 7 January, pending pronouncement of official results when the process was then halted by the Chamber Justice. However unofficial reports appeared to project Madam Kanneh to have maintained her lead over her rival Rep. Alfred Koiwood, though official results are pending the outcome of the election case.

The election violence emerged in Gbarpolu after angry youth acting on the instructions of the Clan Chief stormed voting centers on Election Day, 8 December and took away the boxes containing ballot papers and other voting materials.

Reports of voters' intimidation flared with many locals reporting the presence of a traditional (country) devil ordered in town by the Clan Chief, a diehard CDC supporter, which prevented many people from accessing the town.

In December, delegates of the main opposition Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) including the party's head of secretariat Cllr. Aloysious Toe were arrested by state security officers in Gbarpolu County, amid continuing electoral violence that had stalled the senatorial election led by female independent candidate Gbotoe Kanneh.

The CPP said its delegation got arrested and detained beyond statutory period when it traveled to the county on a fact - finding mission to possibly lend technical support to Madam Kanneh.
Jeremy Donnenfeld, a Massachusetts native, married father of four boys, and proud stay-at-home-dad who moved to Loveland, Colorado, in 2005, has completed his new book Oliver Turtle: a loving homage to family inspired by the birth of his own son in 2016.

Oliver Turtle is about a new baby being welcomed into the world. His first day is a busy one, as he has so much to do and so many other turtles to meet. Daddy Turtle then takes Oliver around the room, and he gets to meet his family for the first time. After hearing Daddys voice, Oliver starts to remember all of the wonderful stories that Daddy would tell him and Mommy Turtle before he was born.

Published by Page Publishing, Jeremy Donnenfelds gentle story is a delightful addition to any childrens library.

Readers who wish to experience this engaging work can purchase Oliver Turtle at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708.

About Page Publishing:

Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com.
ADVERTISEMENT

Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State has said that the state-owned airport is ready for commercial flight operations.

Mr Diri stated this on Wednesday when he made an unscheduled visit to the facility ahead of a final certification visitation by the countrys aviation regulatory authorities on March 30, 2021.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported Mr Diri as saying that the state government had provided the required facilities for the smooth take-off of operations at the airport.

I have spent over one year on this project after taking over from my predecessor in office, Senator Seriake Dickson, who initiated it, he said. What we are doing now is dotting the is and crossing the ts. So far, I think every requirement is on the ground.

I believe when the inspection teams from the aviation authorities come, they would be satisfied with what we have done and grant us the licence for commercial use of the airport, Mr Diri said.

The governor expressed the hope that after the inspection and final submission of the reports, commercial activities would commence at the airport.

He was accompanied on the visit by the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Moses Teibowei, his information counterpart, Ayibaina Duba, Managing Director of the Bayelsa Airport, Bunmi Williams and other top government officials.

Governor Diri disclosed that Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom had reached a tentative agreement for Ibom Air, owned by the Akwa Ibom Government, to ply the Bayelsa airport route when the airport commences commercial operations.

Governor Diri also inspected the ongoing construction of the 4.5km Igbedi-Opokuma Road project, where he expressed satisfaction with the work done so far.

The contractors are doing their best. I expect that they would keep to the completion timeline. I urge them to sustain the momentum that we have seen, the governor said.

(NAN)
Armenian acting minister: EU allocated EUR 68,700,000 to Armenia for budget support in 2020

Armenia Finance Ministry: MFA's budget grew by AMD 1,600,000,000 in 2020

Bodies and remains of Armenian soldiers are kept in morgue in Armenia's Martuni

White House confirms Biden-Erdogan meeting in Brussels

Armenia acting MOD touches upon priority directions for development of Armed Forces

Diaspora Armenian writer, publicist Toros Toranian dies

2 Armenian soldiers injured in scuffle with Azerbaijan, Armenian POW is hospitalized, Jun. 3 digest

Wedding held in Armenia's Shurnukh for first time since the war ended

EEU member states to finish preparing for negotiations over free trade zone in Iran in late June

Armenia Central Bank: Economic downfall in 2020 was due to decline in service and construction sectors

Armenia legislature adopts several bills in first reading

Armenia President meets with Nursultan Nazarbayev

Dejavu: Armenia ruling party distributes money for votes at Yerevan district election office

Chief Advisor to Karabakh President sacked

Russian MFA: Works are carried out to settle situation around Karabakh every day

Armenia opposition MP sounds alarm about Baku fabricating criminal cases against Armenian prisoners

Armenia acting health minister: I have apologized, I am not going to resign

Helga Schmid meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Armenia's deputy foreign ministers resigned or have heavy workload?

Dollar goes down in Armenia

Armenia Elections Oversight Committee reports Iranian citizenship of ruling party's MP candidate

Acting deputy minister: Only 17 of 711 Iran-Armenia power transmission line towers were installed by 2017

Armenia Parliament Council holding session

Armenia to host CSTO "Thunder-2021" military exercises

NYT: Chinese hackers launch cyberattack on New York city transportation authority

Armenia President to Kazakhstan counterpart: I would like to see much deeper cooperation between our countries

Armenia citizens shut down Etchmiadzin-Ashtarak road, complaining about lack of irrigation water

Armenia independent MP: Foreign minister and his deputies don't want to take part in treacherous acts

Armenia to get $11mn loan, 350,000 grant for agriculture

WHO worries about worsening mental health worldwide amid pandemic

Armenia health ministry on improper handling of Artsakh war victims bodies: There is no justification

Armenia bloc election foundation already in operation

Russia ambassador to Armenia paying working visit to Syunik Province (PHOTOS)

China pledges to step up resistance to foreign interference in Hong Kong

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: There can be no talk of corridor for Azerbaijan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on incumbent authorities: Wherever they flee, we will bring them by the feet

President: Impossible to ensure peace in region or stay in Artsakh without Russia army joint efforts

China Daily: Dispatch from Makit: Thriving in the desert

Karabakh President: We will never put up with being part of Azerbaijan, it is ruled out

Armenia MFA information department chief: All deputy FMs carrying out their duties

Ardshinbank invited children to the cinema on International Childrens Day

Armenia judiciary to have 10 more judges

Armenia acting premier: We had recorded 40% increase in tax revenues according to 2019 results

Armenia acting PM on Artsakh war casualties bodies: We have 50 remains in which case DNA was not separated

Azerbaijan authorities plan to "squeeze" everything from "terrorist show" related to Armenian captives

Ameriabank announces a contest for bank card design

108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia parliament convenes special session

Armenia interim government holding Cabinet meeting

Catholicos of All Armenians heads for Syunik Province, Artsakh

World oil prices going up

Iran loses right to vote in UN General Assembly

Newspaper: Armenia authorities come up with new way of punishing unwanted characters

Newspaper: Russia army Southern Military District deputy commander to arrive in Yerevan Thursday

Lebanese Armenian man taken prisoner by Azerbaijan is hospitalized

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Are we getting under the burden? Then lets get under to the end

Armenia acting health minister on keeping fallen soldiers bodies in bags: What else should they be kept in?

Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation

Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow

2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik

Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center

"Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans

Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel

Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna

Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations

US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies

Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week

Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection

Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential

Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement

Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues

Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo

Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation

NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident

Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices

Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over

Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest

Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia

Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia

Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels

Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters

Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021

Dollar is stable in Armenia

Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector

Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out

Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe

Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia

Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border

Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor

Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue

Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia

Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this

Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange wiped off early losses and were trading 0.16 per cent higher at 14,584 around 8.30 am, indicating a firm start for the benchmark indices on Thursday.

Here are the top stocks that are likely to be in focus today:

New Listings: Shares of Laxmi Organic and Craftsman Automation will list on the bourses today. The IPO of Laxmi Organic was subscribed 107 times while that of Craftsman Automation had received 4 times bids.

TVS Motor Company: Venu Srinivasan, who built TVS Motor Company, since 1980, into one among the top five global manufacturers of two- and three-wheelers, has decided to step down as chairman in January 2023. He will be replaced by Ralf Speth, former chief executive officer of Jaguar Land Rover. Speth joined the companys board on Thursday. That apart, the board has declared a 2nd interim dividend for FY21 of Rs 1.40 per share.

Jubilant FoodWorks: The company on Wednesday announced to introduce American multinational chain of fried chicken fast-food restaurants 'Popeyes', to India. The company announced to enter into an exclusive master franchise and development agreement with PLK APAC, a subsidiary of Restaurant Brands International Inc (RBI), said a joint statement.

Bank of India: The bank said it will raise up to Rs 750 crore by issuing Basel III compliant bonds. The bidding for the Basel III compliant additional tier I bonds will start on March 26 and end on March 30 (settlement date), the bank said in a regulatory filing.

RVNL: The government will exercise the greenshoe option to the extent of 1.10 crore equity shares or 0.53 per cent of the total issued and paid-up equity capital of the company in addition to the base offer size of 20.85 crore shares. The OFS will open for retail investors today.

Bharti Airtel: The NCLT has sanctioned the Composite Scheme of arrangement between Bharti Airtel Limited, Bharti Airtel Services Limited, Hughes Communications India Private Limited and HCIL Comtel Private Limited and their respective shareholders and creditors.

IndiGrid: Infrastructure investment trust IndiGrid said IndiGrid Investment Managers' board has approved a proposal to raise up to Rs 1,283.65 crore through a rights issue. The size of the issue will be subject to the finalisation of allotment in the issue, according to the filing.

Voltas: The company has executed the Business Transfer Agreement with its wholly-owned subsidiary, Universal MEP Projects & Engineering Services for transfer of its domestic projects business. The transaction is expected to be completed by end of September 2021.

Tata Steel: The company board has approved the conversion of 7.02 crore partly paid-up equity shares of face value Rs 10 each into fully paid-up equity shares of face value Rs 10 each, against which the first and final call money of Rs 461 per share has been received.

Pokarna: Pokarna Engineered Stone, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pokarna, has started commercial production at its second quartz surface manufacturing facility, with effect from March 24.

Vakrangee: The company has entered into a partnership agreement with TransUnion CIBIL (TUCIBIL), one of the India's largest credit information company regulated by Reserve The agreement will help the company drive financial inclusion by providing easy access to CIBIL score and report to consumers through Nextgen Vakrangee Kendra network.

Wabco India: Promoter ZF International UK will sell 9.05 percent stake in Wabco India through the offer for sale on March 25-26. The promoter will also have a greenshoe option to sell an additional 9.05 per cent of total the equity. The floor price for the sale is fixed at Rs 5,450 per share.

Infosys: IT services major Infosys announced the appointment of former Salesforce executive Chitra Nayak as an independent director. The appointment is for a period of three years, subject to the approval of shareholders.

JSW Energy: Sajjan Jindal-controlled JSW Energy is planning to raise up to $1 billion in a maiden dollar bond sale, seeking to catch up with rivals such as Adaniand the Tatas in expanding its footprint in clean energy projects, a media report said.

Oil India: Indian state-owned energy firms ONGC Videsh and Oil India, together with their foreign partners, have met conditions precedent for the first debt drawdown from the $14.9 billion facility they had tied up to part-finance their $24.1-billion LNG project in Mozambique.
A team of the "Social Vaccine" campaign spearheaded by First Lady, Chantal Biya, was at the locality in the Mintom Subdivision on March 5, 2021.

Medical experts from the "Chantal Biya" International Reference Centre for Research on the Prevention and Management of HIV/AIDS (CIRCB) have edified the population of Mekoto, in the Mintom Subdivision of the Dja and Lobo Division, South Region, on strategies and methods to prevent Sexually Transmissible Infectious (STIs), HIV/AIDS, and the Coronavirus. This was within the prevention education campaign on STIs-HIV/AIDS "Social Vaccine", a joint initiative of CIRCB and international partners. Campaign messages were addressed to young people particularly those from Government Primary Schools Mekoto and Koungoulou (neighbouring village) as well as students from Government Technical School and Government Secondary School Mintom. Teachers and other actors in the community were also part. The over three-hour educative talk on Friday March 5, 2021 was presided at by the Divisional Officer of Mintom, Ebenezer Besseme Ematy.

The General Manager of CIRCB, Professor Alexis Ndjolo, led discussions, and from the questions asked by young people, it was revealed that they were not naive when it comes to topics like sex. From all indications, the kids mastered their sexual life and could take decisions without the knowledge of their parents. The social vaccine campaign programme was coming to Mekoto for the second time within three years because of the challenging health situation in the locality. In 2018, while the nationwide statistics of HIV stood at 3.34 per cent, the ratio in the South Region was 6.9 per cent. According to Prof. Ndjolo, in 2020 HIV statistics for the country were 2.7 per cent and the South Region alone had 5.9 per cent. The General Manager of CIRCB said they had come back with the same message. "It is not a vaccine. It is about disseminating awareness messages pending the advent of a conventional biological vaccine against HIV", Prof. Ndjolo underscored. Special about the event, was the free screening of the population not only against HIV, but also against the Coronavirus. According to him, the results of the screening tests were encouraging. Out of 108 screened of the HIV, five were positive, giving a percentage of 4.6 per cent as compared to 13.6 per cent four years back. From the 50 people screened of the Coronavirus, just one was positive.

Dr Nelly Kamgaing from the CIRCB schooled the population on HIV/AIDS and STIs amongst which Chlamydia, syphilis and herpes. She revealed that girls from 15 to 25 years are greatly affected than boys. The reason girls had to be more careful with their sexual health. Pupils were told to be careful against exposed items such as scissors, knives, syringes and blood. While students were told to carry out primary prevention against HIV such as sexual abstinence, Dr Kamgaing urged them to also report any case of unprotected sex to a health worker if they are afraid to tell their parents.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines AIDS Coronavirus Cameroon By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Another expert from CIRCB, Dr Sylvia Moudourou educated the population on Covid-19. She said everybody can be affected by the virus which is deadly. She called on the population to effectively observe all barrier measures which are structured around the washing of hands with clean running water and soap, sneezing or using a bent elbow; maintaining social distancing of at least 1.5 metres and above all, staying at home as much as possible. Discussions took place in the presence of elite such as the General Manager of the Telecommunications Regulatory Board, who mobilized the population for a successful campaign.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) announce the Green New Deal resolution at a press conference outside the Capitol in Washington on Feb. 7, 2019. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

The Green New Deal Is About Government Control, Not the Environment: Expert

Marc Morano, author of the book Green Fraud: Why the Green New Deal is Even Worse Than You Think, told The Epoch Times Crossroads program that climate change-fighting policies proposed under the Green New Deal framework are part of a broader thrust to push the economy off its free market foundations and control every aspect of your life. He also predicted that, while the Biden administration has distanced itself from the Green New Deal, it is already looking to adopt related policies.

Morano argued that the Green New Deal framework, which took the form of a House resolution sponsored by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) in 2019, is essentially a domestic copy of the United Nations Agenda 21 initiative, which has been superseded by Agenda 2030 (pdf).

This is the idea that the United Nations came up withand the progressive leftthat the earth cant be left with capitalism. Essentially, that capitalism and climate and environment are incompatible, Morano said.

Therefore, you need a host of centrally-planned bureaucrats empowered not just in environmental and climate decisions, but in every aspect of your life, to the size of your home to what appliances you use, to what cars you drive, he said.

Morano said there have been talks among proponents of the Green New Deal that range from abolishing private car ownership and the internal combustion engine, to shifting away from eating natural meat in favor of plant-based and lab-grown substitutes, as some environmentalists and scientists have proposed.

Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates, who has emerged as a champion of climate change fighting initiatives like carbon-removal technologies, said in a recent interview with Technology Review that all rich countries should move to 100 percent synthetic beef.

Theyre pushing insect eating, Morano said, referring to arguments, such as that made by the Environment Journal, that feeding the worlds growing population will require a radical re-balancing of the global food supply chain and foods made from insects, worms, and grubs may be rising up the menu.

And, as The Scientist magazine put it in an article: Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, and reducing child mortality rates, can be directly addressed by expanding consumption of edible insects.

It affects how you travel, Morano said, adding, were now being told that under a climate emergency, you cant travel unless its morally justifiable.

Its going to affect your thermostat, economics, socialization, Morano said, adding that he believes that under the policies proposed under the Green New Deal, every aspect of your life is going to be managed in order to benefit planet earth.

During his presidential campaign, President Joe Biden denied backing the Green New Deal, saying instead that he has his own plan, which he said was different from the radical Green New Deal. Still, the Biden Plan for a Clean Energy Revolution and Environmental Justice references the controversial legislative proposal as its underpinnings.

Biden believes the Green New Deal is a crucial framework for meeting the climate challenges we face. It powerfully captures two basic truths, which are at the core of his plan: (1) the United States urgently needs to embrace greater ambition on an epic scale to meet the scope of this challenge, and (2) our environment and our economy are completely and totally connected, says a description on Bidens campaign website.

Moreno said that, while the Biden administration distanced itself from the Green New Deal, he believes there will be a push to implement key parts of it. He predicts this will follow two tracksone overt, in the form of legislation that will incorporate parts of the Green New Deal, and another behind the scenes, which is already visible in the bevy of executive orders and actions, such as axing the Keystone XL Pipeline project and a moratorium on new oil and gas drilling leases on federal lands.

Theres still going to be a coming Green New Deal thats going to be introduced in both houses, Moreno said. And of course, Democrats control both houses, and its gonna be a huge legislative battle.

The less overt form of implementation has to do with what Moreno described as mandating all federal agencies to treat climate change as a key focus of operations.

Every agency of the Biden administrationfrom Interior to State Department to Defenseis going to be a climate agency,' he said. In other words, every agency is first and foremost  theyre going to be thinking about climate change.

Biden, in a Jan. 27 executive order, appeared to say as much: It is the policy of my Administration that climate considerations shall be an essential element of United States foreign policy and national security.

The president has promised an all-of-government approach to fight climate change that would require federal agencies from the Defense Department to the Treasury to help the administration achieve its goal of sharply slashing nationwide greenhouse gas emissions.

Such an interagency approach could help Biden make headway on global warming priorities without having to rely on sweeping climate legislation that would be hard to pass in a divided Congress.

Every agency is a climate agency now, said Sam Ricketts, co-founder of Evergreen Action, an advocacy group that advised Bidens transition team on climate change.

Moreno argued that the best way to address greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental issues is not through a top-down, regulatory approach, but by unleashing the private sector to adopt innovative technologies.

He argued against a heavy-handed regulatory approach to combat climate change, warning that if progressives get their way, there would be climate lockdowns of the kind that have been seen under the COVID-19 pandemic.
Asked if President Donald Trump may have endorsed Asian hate by calling COVID-19 the Wuhan virus and if there was any connection between that and a Georgia man who gunned down six Asian women last week, U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville on Wednesday said he saw no connection.

I dont see any correlation to that at all, said Tuberville, who won an Alabama senate seat Nov. 3 after Trump endorsed him.

You listen to the shooter and it was more of a sex crime than a hate crime, he said. For some reason, the left right now has got this passion of making sure that everythings turned toward hate and race. Its unfortunate that happens. It creates other bad things that happen. That needs to be put aside.

Tuberville said he does not support stricter gun control as part of the solution to mass killings such as the March 16 shootings in Georgia and the March 22 shootings in Boulder, Colorado.

Talk about what it really is, Tuberville said. This was a tragic mass killing. This person needs to be punished. I look at this thats somebody whos mentally deranged, trying to create havoc.

Law enforcement in Georgia said that Robert Aaron Long, 21, charged with eight counts of murder, emphatically denied race was a motivating factor and that he targeted the spas to eliminate temptation.

Four Korean women and two Chinese women were killed in the Georgia shootings at three spas; a white woman and a white man were also killed. A Hispanic man was shot and injured.

On March 22 in Boulder, Colorado, another mass shooter killed 10 people. Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 21, was charged with 10 counts of murder.

The recent mass shootings in Atlanta, Georgia, and Boulder, Colorado, were tragic, Tuberville said in a media briefing by telephone with Alabama reporters on Wednesday. We all mourn the loss of life. On Capitol Hill, there are discussions about gun control after these shootings, as there always are. We should not rush to pass legislation that might not solve or address the problem were seeing. We should take a look at what happened in both cases and discuss solutions that would actually make a difference. The House-passed bills wont pass the senate. What we should spend our time talking about is the mental illness problem and rally behind that.

Tuberville repeatedly cited an increased emphasis on mental health as a possible solution.

We need to de-stigmatize the mental health issue, so people can speak up when they see their loved ones in trouble, Tuberville said. We should also look at programs already in place, around the country, that identify who needs help, and connect them with the help they need. This is a mental health problem as much as anything else. "

More background checks for gun buyers wont be the answer, he said.

We already have background checks, he said. Again, its a people problem. It is not a gun problem.

Tuberville acknowledged the shootings have contributed to a strong push among Democrats, who control Congress, to pass gun control legislation.

Well, its hot and heavy right now, Tuberville said. Obviously on the Democratic side, theyve always been pushing for gun control. You hear President Biden out of the White House wanting to come out and do executive orders.

Stricter gun control laws are not the answer, he said.

The main thing is we keep a level head; we understand number one why these shootings happened, he said. Its tragic. It should never happen. Ive said this all my life, that its more of a people problem. Weve got to get a handle on this, our mental health problem.

Tuberville said he remains a staunch supporter of the right to bear arms.

We need to stick with our Second Amendment, he said. Im a full believer in that. I believe in our Constitution.

Republicans are bracing for the Democrats to push stricter gun laws, he said.

Its going to be a battle up here, Tuberville said. We see it coming. We need to just sit down as Republicans, get our game plan, and then go from there.

Tuberville also said he was traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border on Thursday to talk with U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials about U.S.-Mexico border security and visit processing facilities.
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 Kenyan public will soon be able to access the Sputnik V jab after the Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB) gave Emergency Use Approval for the Russian-made COVID-19 vaccine.

In a statement Wednesday, the Poisons board said it has also given emergency use authorization for the AstraZeneca vaccine to a private pharmacy.

PBB Kenya has given Emergency Use Authorization to AstraZeneca vaccine and the Sputnik V vaccine after a successful evaluation process. This is not a registration.

The application for Emergency Use Authorization of Russias Sputnik V vaccine has been approved after it met all requirements, the board said.

PBB assured that in reviewing the Sputnik V vaccine, it had considered all aspects of quality, safety, and efficacy and arrived at the conclusion that it is wholesomely safe.

The Board continues to review the safety of all authorized products in the market, it said.

According to sources at PBB, several other vaccine manufacturers have expressed interest but are yet to make formal application for consideration.

Chinese vaccines and Johnson & Johnson have indicated interest but we are yet to receive their applications, we will only deal with applications we receive, the source told the Standard.

The Pharmacy and Poisons Board is currently evaluating the Pfizer and Sinovac vaccines in an effort to give Emergency Use Authorisation.

Sputnik V vaccine, which has an efficacy level of about 92 percent, will reportedly be sold at Sh5, 500 a dose hence Sh11, 000 for the two jabs which will be administered 21 days apart.

Sputnik V is developed by Russias Gamaleya National Centre of Epidemiology and Microbiology.

Russia has developed three vaccines  Sputnik V, EpiVacCorona and CoviVac. Russian President Vladimir Putin received a coronavirus shot on Tuesday but the Kremlin declined to disclose which one, saying it is one of three Russian-made.

Currently, Kenya is administering the AstraZeneca vaccine which has an efficacy of 62 percent.

UPDATE: The Ministry of Health(MoH) on Wednesday said the Sputnik V vaccine has not yet been approved for use in Kenya.

Ministrys Chief Administrative Secretary Mercy Mwangangi said even though the Russian vaccine shipment is already in the country, it has not been cleared for use in inoculating Kenyans.

The vaccine (Sputnik V) has not received all the necessary regulatory approval for use in the country, Mwangangi said.

Such a vaccine must be registered for emergency use locally by our own Pharmacy and Poisons Board. There is no current pharmacy or hospital in the country that has the Sputnik V vaccine. It is actually illegal for a facility to advertise and to say that it has that commodity, she added.
LAS VEGAS, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- As the first Black REALTOR, LEGACY Home Loans' Founder & CEO Ben Slayton is all too familiar with the challenges Blacks face while working in mortgage and real estate. Benalong with the leadership at LEGACY is determined to open the door for future generations by equipping them with the tools needed to succeed. As such, LEGACY Home Loans, which is the nation's largest Black mortgage lender, has partnered with the HBCU Career Development Marketplace to increase the representation of Blacks in mortgage.

Currently, only 3% of the mortgage industry's loan originators are Black. Loan originators play a vital role in educating the public about available lending options and the path to homeownership. By increasing the number of Black loan originators, the companywhich is on a mission to fund $1 Billion to new Black homebuyers by year-end 2023will be able to service more Black communities and help close the 30% homeownership gap.

As a part of its partnership with the HBCU Career Marketplace, LEGACY has selected 14 students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU's) to be trained and employed as mortgage loan originators upon the program's completion.

LEGACY's partnership with HBCU Marketplace went into effect on December 15, 2020. This month, Selena Washington of the University of Maryland, became the first HBCU graduate to complete the training and sign her employment agreement with LEGACY Home Loans.

"I am thrilled to begin my new career with LEGACY Home Loans," said Selena Washington, who has already obtained her mortgage originators licenses to service Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. "I am looking forward to giving back to the African American community through education initiatives and by helping young adults achieve the American dream of homeownership for themselves."

"We are profoundly pleased with our relationship with the HBCU Marketplace to help HBCU students begin a career in mortgage banking," explained Ben Slayton, LEGACY's founder, and CEO. "We are so proud of Selena and her accomplishment of becoming the very first of our candidates to complete our training program and pass her state's licensing examinations. We are ecstatic to welcome her to the LEGACY family and look forward to seeing her develop into one of the industry's top mortgage loan originators."

ABOUT LEGACY HOME LOANS

The nation's largest Black mortgage company, LEGACY Home Loans is on a mission to help the Black community build sustainable wealth through homeownership. Led by President & CEO Ben Slayton, a 55-year mortgage industry veteran who was also the first Black REALTOR in America. LEGACY's goal is to fund $1 Billion to new Black homebuyers by year end 2023. For more information about LEGACY Home Loans, please visit https://myhomelegacy.com or call (310) 650-1086.

SOURCE LEGACY Home Loans

Related Links

https://myhomelegacy.com


Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.
The Special Task Force, Operation Safe Haven (OPSH), maintaining peace in Plateau and parts of Kaduna and Bauchi states, has denied killing a woman at Gon Gora, Zango Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

The Media Officer of the task force, Ibrahim Shittu, made the denial in a statement on Thursday in Jos.

According to Mr Shittu, the allegation making rounds that its personnel killed a certain woman during a protest, was malicious and false.

He said that the deceased was hit by a stray bullet during another violent protest staged by a group of women in the community.

He explained that personnel of the task force are well trained and have been deployed to the area to maintain peace, and have been operating within the rules of engagement, code of conduct and respect for fundamental human rights.

To set the record straight, on March 5, following a reported case of the destruction of a farmland belonging to one Mr Ibrahim Amako by a group of herders numbering five, the Secretary to the District Head of Gon Gora, Mr Ayuba Bungon, intervened in the case where he facilitated the payment of the N300,000 compensation to appease the victim.

On March 6, at about 6:55 p.m. while on routine patrol, our troops were informed that the Secretary and five herders were kidnapped by unknown persons suspected to be youths of Gora Village at Ungwan Masat along Gora  Zonkwa road while returning home.

Troops in conjunction with other security agencies swiftly mobilised to the scene and successfully rescued the secretary unhurt, while two out of the five victims later escaped from their abductors. Efforts are ongoing to rescue other missing persons.

Troops while searching the general area recovered one locally fabricated assault rifle, four rounds of 7.62mm special and a bag containing rings and charms, he said.

Giving further details of what transpired, Mr Shittu said women of community staged a protest on March 22 and another on March 23, and expressed their displeasure with the spate of killings in the area.

In the same vein, March 22, a group of women staged a peaceful protest at troops location in Gora village. The protesters expressed their displeasure over the constant killing of their people by suspected militias which led to people deserting the village over fear of a possible reprisal attack.

The protesters were addressed by Col. David Nwakonobi, the Commander of our Sector 6, to sheath their swords and embrace peace. They later dispersed peacefully.

On March 23, at about 5: 45 p.m., troops received a distress call of a violent protests by women and youths of Gon Gora, Bafai Gora and Sagwaza villages. The violent protest was believed to be sponsored by some aggrieved elites of Zagon Kataf.

Troops swiftly mobilised to the scene in order to restore normalcy to the area. Troops on arrival at the scene of the incident were however encountered by some youths in the midst of the female protesters firing and pelting dangerous object at the troops.

In the pandemonium, one of the female protesters in close contact with troops was hit by a stray bullet from the youths, while an elderly man sustained a gunshot injury on his right hand, he explained.

Mr Shittu further explained that some youth later barricaded the exit and entry routes of the community and demanded the withdrawal of troops from the area.

He said troops later apprehended eight suspects involved in the violent protest and recovered one locally fabricated assault rifle and three cartridges from the suspects.

The arrested suspects are currently in our custody undergoing preliminary investigation.

ADVERTISEMENT

The injured person is currently receiving treatment at Saint Louis Hospital Zonkwa, while the corpse of the deceased has been deposited at the morgue of General Hospital Zonkwa.

Normalcy has since returned to the general area while troops are maintaining vigilance to forestall any further breakdown of law and order, Mr Shittu said.

The media officer warned mischief makers to desist from fomenting troubles and violence in the Southern Kaduna and across its joint operational areas, adding that anyone caught would be made to face the full wrath of the law.

He, however, solicited public support to the task force to enable it achieve its mandate of promoting peace and tranquillity in the society.

(NAN)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 25)  China appears to be laying the groundwork for massive construction on Subi Reef, a Beijing-occupied feature in the West Philippine Sea, according to satellite images released by US-based tech firm Simularity.

Photos taken between November 6, 2020 and March 7, 2021 showed changes on Subi Reef, locally known as Zamora Reef, located just 13 nautical miles away from Philippine-occupied Pag-asa Island, seat of the municipal government of Kalayaan under Palawan province.

"The volume of changes is significant, and may indicate the early phases of major construction on Subi Reef," Simularity said in a 15-page report sent to CNN Philippines on Thursday.

The company has been monitoring developments in the disputed South China Sea, which includes areas Manila claims as part of the West Philippine Sea, through its artificial intelligence software and own group of analysts.

The company flagged "possible construction preparation" in at least three sites, while photos from five other areas point to agriculture preparation, island repair, or land reinforcement.

"Changes in the areas noted are mostly land-related reshaping or reconfiguration. The areas of loose, white, bulk material are probably sand," the report noted.

Within the four-month monitoring period, some 2,244 shipping containers were also removed from Subi Reef, indicating "significant movement of materials and supplies," the report added.

Aside from the Philippines and China, Taiwan and Vietnam are also claiming Subi Reef. In 2016, the arbitral tribunal in The Hague ruled that Subi Reef falls within the territorial sea of Pag-asa Island, but did not address the question on which country has sovereignty over these areas.

It stressed, however, that China's island-building activities on Subi Reef and six other reefs constitute violations to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea or UNCLOS.

This landmark decision invalidates China's sweeping claim over the South China Sea. It is considered a victory for the Philippines as the tribunal also recognized areas within its exclusive economic zone that China contests. But Beijing rejects the ruling.

Malacanang on Thursday said President Rodrigo Duterte raised the arbitral win in a recent meeting with Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian, along with the presence of over 200 Chinese fishing and maritime vessels at the Julian Felipe Reef, also known as Whitsun Reef, in the West Philippine Sea.

The Department of Foreign Affairs sent a diplomatic protest and demanded China to "promptly withdraw" its vessels from the country's EEZ, while the Armed Forces of the Philippines deployed more naval units to the area.

CNN Philippines' David Santos contributed to this report.
Credit: www.shutterstock.com

As federal parliament has been rocked by allegations of sexual violence, one of the frequent questions has been "why don't victims go to police?"

But this is not a straightforward or easy solution. And victims can easily end up being re-traumatized by going through the criminal justice system.

How can we make going to court better for those seeking justice? One critical way is to provide victims with their own lawyers.

What many people may not realize, is that throughout the legal process, victims are simply assigned a lawyer through the Director of Public Prosecutions. This means they do not have access to their own lawyers to protect their privacy and individual interests at trial.

Women's fears and community mistrust

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, almost 90% of women do not report their sexual assault to police.

One of the reasons victims do not report sexual violenceor delay reportingis fear they will not be believed. This does not come out of nowhere.

According to a 2017 national survey, there is a widespread mistrust of women's reports of violence by the community, even though evidence shows false reports are rare.

The DPP has significant powers

Even for those who do report, the ability for victims to get justice is out of their hands.

The Director of Public Prosecutions has significant discretionary powers, including the ability to decide whether a criminal case should proceed and how it will be prosecuted. The reality is victims have no control or ability to challenge prosecutors' decision-making.

For cases that proceed to prosecution, victims' experiences are generally negative. This is due to insensitive treatment by criminal justice personnel, including defense lawyers.

Compounding this are the myths and stereotypes that underpin [intrusive defense questioning] at trial. These include questions about victims' sexual history, used to create a false perception the victim consented to sexual activity or is the "type" of person who is more likely to consent.

This is also a reason why so few convictions are reached.

Women are re-traumatized

Given victims are disclosing highly personal and distressing details about their assaults, and potentially being subjected to fierce cross-examination at trial, they are often re-traumatisated by going to court.

This intensifies the barriers women face reporting and having their stories heard, which further denies them validation and control.

As U.S. psychiatrist Judith Herman has noted, "if one set out intentionally to design a system for provoking symptoms of traumatic stress, it would look very much like a court of law. "

The adversarial system

The adversarial nature of Australia's criminal justice systems means crime is contested between two parties: the state who prosecute in the public interest and the accused person.

This means the victim is not considered a party to proceedings, despite being directly impacted by the offense, and therefore does not have an active role or voice.

Courts have a duty to protect victims from certain misleading, intimidating and humiliating questioning, such as in relation to victims' sexual history and character.

However, research shows defense counsel continue to ask such questions to undermine victims' character and testimony.

Calls for victim lawyers

Scholars and victim advocates, including women's specialist and legal services, have raised concerns over the lack of judicial intervention.

This has led to calls for government-funded legal representation to enhance victims' treatment in the legal process and reduce the likelihoodor extent of re-traumatisation.

If victims can be assured their privacy and interests will be protected, they might be more inclined to report and/or stay engaged in the criminal justice system. Having a lawyer present at trial may also decrease victims' feelings of stress and anxiety and improve their confidence when testifying.

As former South Australian Commissioner for Victims' Rights, Michael O'Connell, has argued, legal representation can allow victims to feel like "integral players [] rather than mere bystanders in the criminal justice system."

Victim lawyers around the world

There are several different models of legal representation for victims around the world.

In the German system, victims of sexual offenses can engage lawyers who have rights to represent them, including the ability to elicit evidence and ask questions of the accused person at trial. In Denmark and Sweden, victims of sexual offenses also have the right to engage a lawyer from as early as the police reporting stage, to receive advice about the legal process and compensation claims, as well as moral support.

The right to victim lawyers in adversarial systemslike Australia'sis less common. Victim lawyers are available in Ireland to prevent the disclosure of victims' sexual history evidence in court. England and Wales also recently piloted provision for victim lawyers, as has Northern Ireland.

In Queensland and New South Wales, sexual assault victims can be legally represented when challenging defense applications for the disclosure of their counseling notes and other confidential therapeutic records. However, this representation does not extend to the actual criminal trial.

Resistance to the idea

Despite the benefits of lawyers for victims, concerns about practical implications remain.

This is due to the perceived threat a third partya victim's lawyermight pose to the two-sided contest between the state prosecutor and the accused person. There are concerns the system would become unbalanced.

In 2016, the Victorian Law Reform Commission opposed the idea on the basis police and prosecutors are already obliged to keep victims informed about the legal process and victim lawyers might lead to "dual representation".

However, this fails to recognize victims have legitimate interests that might compete with the interests of the prosecution, who represent the public interest. These include rights to privacy about their personal records and prior sexual history, and to be free from character attacks during cross-examination at trial.

While it may not be viable, at present, to introduce victim lawyers throughout the entire prosecution process, there is certainly scope to introduce them at specific stages.

Change that is positive and possible

In the first instance, we need social and cultural change to quash the myths and stereotypes about sexual violence. They prevent victims from reporting and undermine investigations, prosecutions and victim experiences.

In the meantime, introducing victim lawyers is a practical, possible change we can make to enhance victims' well-being, safety and access to justice.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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.
Former MasterChef Australia star Ben Ungermann has confirmed that he is single.

The 36-year-old, who was dumped from the cooking show amid child sex charges, confirmed his single status in an Instagram Q&A with fans on Wednesday.

The chef said he was 'not interested' in dating any longer, before adding: 'I want to live for myself for a while.'

Over it: Former MasterChef Australia star Ben Ungermann has confirmed that he's single after being charged with sexual assault

He was last romantically linked to South African radio host Leigh-Anne Williams, and the pair were even rumoured to be engaged.

The former couple had met in 2017, the year Ungermann placed second on MasterChef Australia's ninth season.

He had travelled to Cape Town to give cooking demonstrations and was interviewed on Williams' radio show, where the pair hit it off.

At the time, Williams apparently described Ungermann as 'very easy on the eyes'.

The chef told fans on Instagram that he was 'not interested' in dating any longer, before adding: 'I want to live for myself for a while'

Back in January, Ungermann published a blistering post slamming abuse from 'sheep who follow headlines' and revealing he had lost friends after being dumped from the 2020 'Back to Win' season of the high-rating cooking show.

The Queensland-raised chef, who is fighting three charges of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl, broke his silence to lash out at trolls and reflect on last year as the 'toughest' of his life, when he was exposed to the 'ugly side' of society.

'I have kept quiet for a long time and weathered the abuse of the sheep who follow the headlines and know nothing about me,' he wrote recently.

'I've yet to have my chance to speak but my time will come'.

The Dutch-Indonesian chef said the year had taught him he had a small circle, and he made cryptic references to the apparent end of friendships.

'My circle is small. Actually the smallest it's ever been and I'm OK with that. Not all friendships end with a bang.

Better days: He was last romantically linked to South African radio host Leigh-Anne Williams (pictured), and the pair were even rumoured to be engaged

'Not all friendships end with a door being slammed in your face. Sometimes that door just imperceptibly swings shut, without so much a squeak or a creak.'

The chef said he'd learned that blood 'is thicker than water' and that he was lucky to have his family around him.

He described 2020 as involving 'heartbreaks and hardship'.

When the show kicked off last year, vague reports surfaced that Ungermann had been arrested and wasn't going to continue on MasterChef.

Celebrity chef Jock Zonfrillo addressed the matter briefly for viewers, saying simply that Ungermann had left the show due to a 'personal matter'.

Last May, Daily Mail Australia revealed the nature of that matter: Ungermann had been charged with three sexual assault offences.

Fallout: Back in January, Ben published a blistering post slamming abuse from 'sheep who follow headlines' and revealing he had lost friends

The beginning of Ungermann's blistering post, published on December 30

In court documents, Victoria Police accuse Ungermann of intentionally touching his alleged teenage victim without her consent at least three times.

One of the charges includes graphic detail of one of the alleged attacks against the young girl.

Police alleged that the girl claimed on Sunday, February 23, Ungermann 'sexually touched her right breast skin-to-skin' against her wishes.

Prosecutor Stephen Payne said police intended to call four child witnesses to give evidence against Ungermann - each of them from interstate - at a hearing.

Magistrate Andrew Capell heard 13 witnesses would be called in total, including five other interstate witnesses, one from Melbourne, and three police officers.

At the time, Mr Payne told the court there was now no hope of the matter resolving and it would need to be contested at court.

'That won't change,' he said.

The preliminary hearing, which will determine if Ungermann goes to a jury trial at the County Court of Victoria, is expected to take seven days.

The case returns to court on May 21.
A Gofundme.com appeal set up in memory of Stacey Knell, who was murdered by her partner on Friday, has surpassed its 1,500 (1,714) target.

The page was set up by the murdered mums friend, Melissa Morrison, to help with the funeral arrangements for the 30-year-old,.

Stacey, originally from the Sydenham area of Belfast, was murdered by her partner Ken Flanagan after he murdered his mother Karen McClean (50) in a separate attack on the same day.

The Sunday World reported at the weekend how Stacey's former partner had gone to the police earlier on Friday to report his concerns surrounding Ken Flanagan, and his fears that Flanagan was a danger to the child the worried father and Stacey had together.

On the Go Fund Me page, Melissa wrote that the appeal had been set up in memory of her friend "who was taken from us all and who we loved so dearly.

Expand Close Ken Flanagan murdered his mother, Karen (pictured) before going on to murder his girlfriend and take his own life / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Ken Flanagan murdered his mother, Karen (pictured) before going on to murder his girlfriend and take his own life

She added: "Rest in peace, our beautiful."

The fundraiser has now raised over 1,800, with the remainder of the money to be donated to Ms Knells daughter who will grow up without a mother.

On Friday evening Ken Flanagan (26) murdered his mother, Ms McClean, at a property in Rathcoole.

He then went to nearby Glenville Road, where he murdered Ms Knell before taking his own life.

Expand Close Police believe Ken McClean -Flanagan man stabbed his mother and girlfriend Stacey Knell, at separate properties before killing himself / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Police believe Ken McClean -Flanagan man stabbed his mother and girlfriend Stacey Knell, at separate properties before killing himself

Ms Knells funeral will take place from her mother's home in the Sydenham area on Friday and will be restricted to 25 people due to coronavirus regulations.

Her funeral notice reads: Died 19th March 2021 (suddenly) much loved mother of Sophia, devoted daughter of Roberta and Paul, a loving sister, aunt, cousin and friend to many.

Read More

Stacey will be very sadly missed by her loving family and many friends.

Meanwhile, family members have posted tributes to Ms Knell on social media.

One read: Firstly theres no words that can even begin to express how grateful we all are for the sheer amount of messages, texts, calls and help from everyone connected with our family circle and beyond.

Its been overwhelming how many people wanted to let the family know they where thinking of us all at a time that can only be classed as an absolute surreal nightmare that nobody should have to go through and you wouldnt wish on your worst enemy.

Its impossible for us all to reply to everyones good wishes but were hoping this message may go some way to show how much we appreciate it all.

Stacey was a beautiful soul and incredible mum who seen the best in everyone even unfortunately sometimes when there was nothing good to be seen at all.

"When trying to take in the gravity of the loss you have to realise you arent just losing essentially one person, but youve been robbed of a daughter, a sister, a grand daughter, an aunt, a cousin, a friend and most importantly of all a mother.

The writer also used to opportunity to voice the familys frustration at what they perceive to be groups using their loved ones death to push their agendas.

They added: Violence against women and mental health issues are two incredibly important topics which need every bit of support that can come their way, however, in the media over the last few days we have seen so many people in power use this tragedy as a statistic to push their agendas on these subjects to the frustration of the family.

Speaking of Ken Flanagan, they added: His cowardly acts of that night will never be forgiven.

In another post a family member thanked Ms Knells friends for starting the funding campaign.

They said: Just like to thank Stacey Knells friends for setting this up, the generosity of everyone has been overwhelming.

"As a family weve clubbed together to cover most of her funeral but this will go some way to getting her a really nice headstone and anything that is left over will be going into a fund for her daughter Sophia so for everyone who has made a donation.

"Theres no words to thank everyone enough so from the family thank you.
Do you want to take stunning photos and videos for your social media accounts? Nothing to it, according MLives award-winning photojournalists.

Its all about physical distance and beautiful color palettes, and the idea of just, time of day, emotional ambience and the purpose of humans, you know? said Jake May, photographer at The Flint Journal. I think, ultimately, the heart of the work should show through, what you do and how you see the world, and how the world is reflected back through the lens.

Good so far? Next, take video footage and edit it into a compelling narrative.

How are you going to lay out the story, how are you going to share what youre seeing (to viewers)?, said Kaytie Boomer, who shoots for The Saginaw News and The Bay City Times. So, basically I just take all the images I would imagine, and then I turn that into video form, lay out a story with some interviews, and get some B roll.

Check. Oh, one more thing: You might need more than a camera.

A house fell into Lake Michigan because of the high water levels last year, and just being able to fly a drone over and just get a different kind of angle  in the past we would have had to take a plane, said Cory Morse, photographer at The Grand Rapids Press. So, the tools that we have to show the stories of our community have evolved.

Im sure you get my point: Photography is still a staple of journalism, but its more than photos, and it takes special talents and dedication to do it well on behalf of our readers. Im proud to say MLive has some of the best in the business.

In the past two weeks, May was named the Photographer of the Year for small markets by the National Press Photographers Association, AND the Photographer of the Year by the Michigan Press Photographers Association. Hes won the former three of the last four years, and the latter four times overall, in his eight years working for MLive. In 2017, he was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for feature photography.

MLive photographers from all over the state are finalists for 17 awards in the Michigan Associated Press journalism awards this spring. Morse is guaranteed to sweep the Best Photo Story category, Boomer is a finalist for two of three Best Video awards.

And Boomer and Morse are finalists in a category called Best Multimedia Story, Boomer for her coverage of the devastating Midland-area flood last year; and Morse (co-nominated with MLive reporter Garret Ellison) for coverage of the Great Lakes water level story he mentions above.

That last category shows how much storytelling  how we do it, and how you consume it  has changed in the past few decades. Still photography remains vital, but video continues to grow as a way people preferred to be informed, as well as entertained. And so the skill sets of our journalists have had to evolve, too.

In college, wed turn a hotel bathroom into a darkroom and process our film, said Morse, who has worked for MLive for more than 20 years. And here we are in the digital world, and it has changed quite a bit.

An understatement, to be sure. But May points out that the journalists obligation, and commitment, to get to the core of a story doesnt change, even if the platforms have.

Any type of social media, any type of interaction online nowadays  it gets turned into storytelling, you know? I think thats what we really are, were all storytellers, he said. We just picked a visual medium. And its a growing medium in how we all communicate.

# # #

Photographers Boomer, May and Morse joined me on this weeks episode of the MLive podcast Behind the Headlines. To listen, click on the play button below.
Uzbekistan's government is touting an ambitious plan to create at least half a million new jobs this year for unemployed young people through a project called Every Entrepreneur Is Support For Youth.



It's a top-down scheme that requires private businesspeople to do the heavy lifting.



Backed by President Shavkat Mirziyoev in a speech to a youth forum in December, the project obliges every entrepreneur in the country to hire at least one active job-seeker between the ages of 18 and 30.



It comes as many small- and medium-sized businesses are absorbing significant losses from a full year of restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.



But in the tightly controlled Central Asian country of around 34 million people, noncompliance with a presidential order is a risky option.



Still, some entrepreneurs have complained to RFE/RL that they have neither the resources nor the need to take on new employees.



They include the heads of small, family-run businesses that rarely hire outside workers so as to keep costs to a minimum.



Rustam Ruzmetov, who owns a car-repair shop, has reluctantly agreed to hire two new workers under the government project. He says his business, in northwestern Khorezm province, doesn't make enough to pay their wages.



But he fears ending up in the authorities' "bad book" if he refused.



"Local officials told me, 'Take on two young people, at least as apprentices,'" Ruzmetov told RFE/RL.



"My business had already been in the red for some time, and I don't know how I'm going to pay for two additional workers," he said. "But if I refused, officials would [respond] by putting pressure on my business, for instance through the tax office."

'I Had No Choice'



An entrepreneur who runs a family-run confectionery in Bukhara and didn't want his name disclosed said he was ordered to provide jobs for five young people referred to him by local authorities.



He told RFE/RL that officials demanded that entrepreneurs sign "letters of guarantee" formally committing themselves to hiring new workers.



The Bukhara businessman complained that he can't afford to pay five additional employees.



His factory reopened only recently after being shut down for six months by anti-pandemic restrictions.



"With this project, the authorities are putting further strain on people who are already on the verge of [bankruptcy]," he said. "Officials from the Bukhara Public Service Agency promised me various incentives in exchange for hiring the new workers. When I told them I don't have the money to pay [new employees], the officials said, 'Just sign the guarantee letter, then we'll see.' I had no choice but to sign the document."

Several regional officials involved in the implementation of the project acknowledged that they are under pressure to collect as many letters of guarantee as possible.



"It feels like a sham. The most important thing is to report to the governor that a certain number of young people have been provided with employment," an official at the Samarkand regional Public Service Agency said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of possible retribution.



RFE/RL contacted authorities in the capital, Tashkent, and within several provincial public service agencies who declined to comment on the widespread complaints over the youth employment project.



President's Initiatives



The Every Entrepreneur Is Support For Youth project is part of Tashkent's wider initiative to tackle unemployment.



Even senior government officials acknowledge that joblessness is higher than the official 2020 figure of 13 percent.



Before the pandemic, an estimated 6 million Uzbek migrant workers routinely traveled to Russia, Kazakhstan, and other countries in search of income. For the past year, many of them have been trapped at home by border closures and travel restrictions.



In late 2020, the government announced plans to allocate tens of millions of dollars in special business loans and training programs aimed at providing jobs for young people.



Local media report that six-day workshops have opened across the country as part of a training project known as Youth 1+1. Those who complete the training course can apply for special business loans of around $3,000.



Those who set up small businesses can get loans of up to $21,400, local media said.



Mirziyoev instructed regional governors to organize meetings with young people to review the situation every six months.

In January, Mirziyoev also demanded that private farmers devote some of their agricultural land to young people so the latter could generate income by growing crops.



Over the objections of the farmers, the land distribution began in February ahead of the new farming season. But in a few cases, those who received the land have complained that authorities reversed their decision just days later.



They include a group of 14 young people whose land in their native Samarkand Province was taken away again before they could begin cultivating it.



The men, residents of the village of Qiyqim, were each given about 40 acres of land in Samarkand's Qushrabot district in an official ceremony covered extensively by local television stations.



During the February 24 ceremony, Kholbek Kubaev, the head of the Qushrabot Youth Affairs Department, said the event marked "the beginning of the process of land distribution to young unemployed people."

The Qiyqim men said they were excited at the prospect of earning their own money despite the fact that the land was on a steep hill, with no irrigation or other access to water.



They said they planned to drill artesian wells and the district government promised to help with funding.



"We planned to grow a vineyard and also plant peas and other suitable crops there," one of the men told RFE/RL.



"We were happy that we didn't have to go to Russia anymore," he said. "But as soon as we started plans to develop the land, the district government said we couldn't have it."



The group was told they might receive land in another area where some 25 hectares of farmland had been allocated for the president's project.



But they say their names are not on the list of recipients there.



Contacted by RFE/RL, Mukhtor Quvondiqov, the deputy head of Qushrabot Agricultural Affairs Department, insisted that the government hadn't taken back any land from anyone.



Kubaev from the Qushrabot Youth Affairs Department declined to answer questions about the situation.

Written by Farangis Najibullah with reporting by RFE/RL Uzbek Service correspondents Khurmat Babajanov and Sadriddin Ashur
On the nanometric scale (one billionth of a metre), materials can feature new properties.

A French team together with an Austrian one recently took an important step forward by mapping one of these properties for the first time in 3D.

Imagine a cube on which light is projected by a flashlight. The cube reflects the light in a particular way, so simply spinning the cube or moving the flashlight makes it possible to examine each aspect and deduce information regarding its structure. Now, imagine that this cube is just a few atoms high, that the light is detectable only in infrared, and that the flashlight is a beam from a microscope. How to go about examining each of the cube's sides? That is the question recently answered by scientists from the CNRS, l'Universite Paris-Saclay, the University of Graz and Graz University of Technology (Austria) by generating the first 3D image of the structure of the infrared light near the nanocube. Their results will be published on 26 March 2021 in Science.

Electron microscopy uses an electron beam to illuminate a sample and create an enlarged image. It also provides more complete measurements of physical properties, with unrivalled spatial resolution that can even visualize individual atoms. Chromatem, the Equipex Tempos team's dedicated instrument for spectroscopy[1], is one of these new generation microscopes. It probes the optical, mechanical, and magnetic properties of matter with very high resolution, one that is matched by only three other microscopes in the world.

Scientists from the CNRS and l'Universite Paris-Saclay working at the Solid States Physics Laboratory (CNRS/Universite Paris-Saclay), along with their colleagues at the University of Graz and Graz University of Technology (Austria), used Chromatem to study a magnesium oxide nanocrystal. The vibration of its atoms creates an electromagnetic field that can only be detected in the mid-infrared range[2]. When the electrons emitted by the microscope indirectly encounter this electromagnetic field, they lose energy. By measuring this energy loss, it becomes possible to deduce the outlines of the electromagnetic field surrounding the crystal. The problem is that this type of microscopy can only provide images in 2D, raising the question of how to visualize all of the cube's corners, edges, and sides. In order to do so, the scientists developed image reconstruction techniques that have, for the first time, generated 3D images of the field surrounding the crystal. This will eventually enable targeting a specific point on the crystal, and conducting localized heat transfers, for instance.

Many other nano-objects absorb infrared light, such as during heat transfers, and it will now be possible to provide 3D images of these transfers. This is one avenue of exploration for optimizing heat dissipation in the increasingly small components used in nanoelectronics.

###

Notes

1 Tempos is an electron microscopy platform led by l'Universite Paris-Saclay, the CNRS, l'Ecole polytechnique, and the CEA. Chromatem, one of its three microscopes, is a unique spectrometer. Spectrometry can decompose a light beam into its constituent elements, which make up its spectrum. It can analyse a wide range of wavelengths, including infrared.

2 Infrared radiation has a longer wavelength than that of the visible spectrum. Mid-infrared refers to wavelengths between 2 and 20 micrometres. The analysis of infrared radiation is especially used to study heat transfer in materials, as well as for thermal imaging.
One of Australias largest industry funds, Aware Super, "scales at speed" in a hybrid cloud environment to support anticipated business expansion through Equinix.

Equinix. Billed as "the worlds digital infrastructure company", the company announced it has supported Aware Super, one of Australias largest industry superannuation funds with more than $130 billion of funds under management, to "transform its IT infrastructure to enhance employee and member experience, and align to the organisations growth ambitions."

We're told that Aware Super, which rebranded from First State Super in September 2020, and which merged VicSuper and WA Super in 2020, has "migrated two on-premise data centres into Equinixs International Business Exchanges (IBX) data centres in Sydney and Melbourne, linking both sites using Telstras Programmable Network (TPN), with low-latency, on-demand connectivity to support fluctuating bandwidth demand.

"By using Equinix Fabric, Aware Super can also ensure redundancy and quickly interconnect to a hybrid cloud environment and mission critical global financial services, such as trading and investment platforms."

Through this deployment, Aware Super reports having "enefited from a sharp decline in resources spent maintaining its traditional IT environment and reduced data replication time from days to just minutes.

"This means the organisation can scale at speed while integrating two key superannuation funds it merged with in 2020, VIC Super and WA Super, adding thousands to its employee and member base with minimal disruption to its current operations."

With more than 1.1 million members and clients, Aware Super said it has "reduced the incidence of infrastructure component failures by 24%, delivering better employee and member experiences and managing on-demand increases to compute and storage requirements as the need arises, with minimum downtime."

In addition, by leveraging Equinixs digital infrastructure in Sydney and Melbourne with TPN, Aware Super said it has "built a network, data centre and cloud strategy that saves resources and is focused on supporting business growth instead of infrastructure. This robust architecture keeps everyone connected, with many employees continuing to work from home and members checking their fund performance via the web or mobile application."

Dominic Borg, Head of IT Delivery at Aware Super said: We knew that to deliver successfully, we had to strip away all the traditional barriers of the past and build out a network, data centre and cloud strategy that aligns with our ambitious growth strategy.

"Reflecting on the COVID-19 world we live in now feels like we made the right business decisions to work with Equinix and Telstra that will help us to deliver scale benefits to our members.

Sanjay Nayak, the Global Connectivity & Platforms Executive at Telstra said: "We are pleased to collaborate with Equinix to provide our long-time customer, Aware Super, with a secure, flexible and on-demand, scalable network.

"The Telstra Programmable Network will help Aware Super further digitise their infrastructure and leverage the cloud to support their growth ambition and their goal to give their employees and members more enhanced digital experiences.

Guy Danskine, The MD of Equinix Australia said: "Aware Super, as one of Australias largest industry funds, prides itself on driving better outcomes for its members, their families and communities.

"To align to that purpose this digital transformation project reflects the organisations ambitions to invest in digital capability and infrastructure that both enhances employee and member experience and supports future business growth.

An Equinix and Aware Super success story video is below:
A woman was shot Wednesday afternoon in Central City, New Orleans police said.

She was standing at the intersection of Washington Avenue and South Robertson Street, a block from A.L. Davis Park, around 2 p.m. when police say a vehicle approached and the people in the vehicle began shooting at her.

She was hit several times, police said. She went in a private vehicle to a hospital and her condition was not immediately available.

No more details were immediately available, including the woman's age, a possible motive or a description of the shooters.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with more information from authorities.

Staff writer Carlie Kollath Wells contributed to this story.
Plans are in place  and demolition is underway  to turn one of Aiken's most prominent business locations into an oil-change business, with a major focus on fast, first-class customer service.

The former Leverett Shoes building, unoccupied since December 2018, is being demolished this week, to give way to a Take 5 Oil Change  the second such establishment in the Aiken-Augusta area, with the other being in Augusta, at 3131 Washington Road. It opened in December. Hopes are for the new business, at 1796 Whiskey Road, to be up and running early this summer.

The shoe store was a local staple for 57 years. It had its origins in The Alley and reportedly moved to its final location, a few yards from Pine Log Road, in 1975. The owners were the husband-and-wife team of Elva Leverett and the late Kenneth Leverett, and the sale of the business site by the Leverett family reportedly took place in February.

Rose Daugherty, who worked at Leverett for 42 years and now works at South Aiken Physical Therapy and George Funeral Home, said the shoe business went into operation around 1961 on a location that had previously been the site of a car wash and a men's clothing store.

"Mr. and Mrs. Leverett offered one of the finest establishments in Aiken," she said. "They had what they called a sit-and-fit service, and many people in the Aiken area as well as the Augusta area frequented the store for that personalized service. They were great employers and had very high standards and high values."

David Berry, one of Take 5's local owners, said he hopes for the groundbreaking to be "very soon  as soon as next week." The new establishment is likely to have about 10 employees, he added.

Take 5, he said, includes more 500 locations around the country. One of the business' basic ideas is "the stay-in-your-car, 10-minute oil change."

Berry said Take 5 dates back to 1984 in New Orleans and is "really centered around top-notch customer service."

The location is between Virginia Acres Park and an Aiken Express convenience store, and across Whiskey Road from a Wells Fargo and a Regions Bank, near one of Aiken's most famously busy intersections.

Other Take 5 locations in the region are in Lexington, Columbia and West Columbia. The company, now in 18 states, is based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and has most of its locations in the eastern half of the United States. It reaches as far west as Arizona and Colorado. Berry and his business partner, Scott Montgomery, are based in Spartanburg.
After objecting to 'azaan', Uttar Pradesh Minister Anand Swarup Shukla has now said the Muslim women will be 'freed' from the practice of wearing 'burqa', which he described as an evil custom and compared it to the banned triple talaq.

A day earlier, the minister had written to the Ballia district magistrate, complaining that he is facing difficulties in discharging his duties due to loudspeakers at mosques and said the volume should be fixed according to the court orders.

"Muslim women will be freed from 'burqa' like triple talaq. There will come a time when they will get rid of it. There are many Muslim countries where 'burqa' is banned," Shukla told reporters.

Shukla, the Uttar Pradesh Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs minister, said 'burqa' is 'inhuman and evil custom' and added that those with progressive thinking are shunning it and not pressing for its use.

Commenting on his letter to the district magistrate in which he raised objection to the volume of loudspeakers at the mosque near his house, the minister said that those having problems should dial '112' and inform police about it, adding if proper steps are not taken, he will decide further course of action.

"Namaz is offered five times in a day, and throughout the day. As a result of it, I face problems in doing Yoga, meditation, puja (worship) and discharging government duties," Ananad Swaroop Shukla had said in the letter, referring to the Kajipura Madina Masjid in his constituency.
The recent reckless statements by the mayor of New Haven and a Democratic state representative here in Connecticut showed the ugly side of politics. Both public servants brought shame to their offices with baseless, unsubstantiated charges of racism leveled at municipalities they know nothing about, save for what they read on social media and their preconceived notions of those towns.

Lets start with the New Haven mayor. He makes accusations that towns are discriminating against people of color through zoning regulations, and when asked repeatedly for evidence, he could not produce anything. I then called him and received a call back a day later. While he backpedaled, he didnt apologize. I suggested before he speaks and makes accusations, he should know more about the subject.

He replied that he knows Greenwich as he grew up in New Canaan. That non-sequitur aside, he double- and triple-downed on his irresponsible behavior with yet another public rant in the papers a few days later.

State Rep. Michael Winkler (D-Vernon) followed the mayors lead and kept focusing on why towns only had a certain percentage of one minority group. When presented with evidence that showed he was wrong, he made the offensive comment that Asians and other groups never faced discrimination. His timing could not have been worse, coming days after the tragic shooting in Georgia that counted many Asian-Americans as victims. Only when faced with mounting criticism did he apologize the next day.

Lets set the record straight. My hometown of Greenwich has more than 27 percent of its population listed as nonwhite. More than 38 percent of our student population is also nonwhite. Our town has a housing authority dedicated to affordable housing. In fact, Greenwich Communities has spent more than $27 million on affordable units in town in just the past five years. Furthermore, our Planning and Zoning Commission is presenting the Greenwich Board of Selectmen with a public-private partnership proposal that would establish an affordable housing trust fund. This local progress promulgated by these ideas have not, and are not, being compelled by state mandate. They are locally inspired goals and achievements.

The bills being pushed by Desegregate Connecticut and its allies would penalize hardworking Connecticut residents who reside in towns that have not met the 10 percent affordable housing mandate from the state.

They would strip Connecticut citizens of the right to have public hearings on housing applications, maybe the most undemocratic of all concepts to date. They would also prohibit a municipality from requiring off-street parking when four unit building applications are filed. The legislative proposals would also require areas within a half mile of railroad stations to be multi-unit housing stock, thus conflicting with the architectural consistency of those neighborhoods.

Another mind-boggling proposal is the mansion tax, hitting properties valued at more than $300,000 with an additional tax where the revenue would not even go back to the municipality in which the property is situated. In past years, the language said the money would be distributed to distressed municipalities on an as needed basis. This proposal is a money grab and redistribution of money, pure and simple.

One size fits all, Hartford-driven mandates that weaken local control of authority are both not needed and potentially very dangerous. Any legislative proposal that threatens the streetscape and architectural consistency of neighborhoods in every municipality in the State of Connecticut by eliminating the local decision-making process will devalue property, impact tax revenues, clutter streets, and take away from the beauty of the local neighborhoods that we have chosen to call home.

These legislative proposals do not address social equity or promote affordable housing. Those worthy goals are best accomplished through local authorities that are cognizant of their respective community needs and are able to achieve those goals in a community-based collaboration that is most effective for the diverse populations they serve.

Concepts that continue this effort to chip away at the autonomy of municipalities as well as dig deeper into the pockets of homeowners who already face one of the highest tax burdens in the nation are alarming. They also threaten the biggest investment a person will make in his or her lifetime: their home.

I would urge my former colleagues, many of whom I still keep in touch with and respect very much, to focus on what they would like our state to look like in 10 years. If that vision includes job growth, sustainable energy policies, affordable living, and an environmental landscape that includes open space, tree-lined streets free of car clutter, and local autonomy and diversity, then I would ask that you all to reject these backward ideas and focus on a pro-growth agenda.

Connecticut is a beautiful state, replete with shoreline, countryside, an educated citizenry, and strategic proximity to New York and Boston. Lets stop the punitive measures and replace them with forward thinking ideas that utilize these assets. Our tradition and rich history shows that this small state of just more than 3.5 million people can lead the nation in all the right categories. The recent decades of failure can, and should, be corrected. Let us pledge to work together so that the Land of Steady Habits returns to its rightful place as a leader, and as a destination.

Fred Camillo is first selectman of the Town of Greenwich.
NEW DELHI : Tech major Cognizant on Thursday announced the acquisition of Munich, Germany-based ESG Mobility, a digital automotive engineering R&D provider for connected, autonomous and electric vehicles.

On completion of the acquisition, nearly 1,000 engineering R and D specialists will join Cognizant in the automotive innovation hubs of Germany, the US and China, the IT company said in a statement.

Cognizant and ESG Mobility together will provide engineering services to eight of the world's top 10 automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEM).

The acquisition would extend Cognizant's capabilities in digital automotive engineering R&D including in smart, connected mobility, the statement said but did not reveal the financial details of the transaction.

As per available estimates, the globally connected car market which was valued at about USD 63 billion in 2019, is projected to surpass USD 225 billion by 2027.

ESG Mobility is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ESG Elektroniksystem - and Logistik - GmbH, a privately-held technology consultancy for the design, integration and operation of complex, security-related electronics and IT systems. ESG Mobility provides services across the automotive software stack with key strengths in electrical and electronic systems and connected vehicle applications, as well as emerging capabilities for autonomous and electric vehicles.

"Acquiring ESG Mobility will expand Cognizant's automotive engineering expertise, particularly in connected vehicles," Cognizant statement said.

Among the growth, drivers are the European Commission's Third Mobility Package, which requires the development of safe, clean, connected cars and autonomous and electric vehicles, as well as all new vehicles to be connected to the internet by 2022.

Commenting on the acquisition, Malcolm Frank, President of Digital Business and Technology, Cognizant said that the automotive industry is undergoing a fundamental shift, embracing new mobility concepts that rely heavily on software, connectivity and artificial intelligence.

"Our priority is providing clients with the capabilities they need to compete as modern digital businesses, and ESG Mobility is a natural complement to our existing connected mobility offerings and global delivery model," Frank added.

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021, subject to the completion of closing conditions.

On completion, ESG Mobility employees will become part of Cognizant's Internet of Things (IoT) and Engineering Services Practice.

It is pertinent to mention here that ESG Mobility transaction marks Cognizant's fourth acquisition in 2021, and 13th acquisition since January 2020, further expanding its capabilities in key digital focus areas such as cloud, data and artificial intelligence, digital engineering and Internet of Things (IoT).

Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.
MILWAUKEE, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In Milwaukee County, less than 11% of the more than 270,000 administered COVID-19 vaccination doses have gone to Black residents, despite making up nearly 27% of the population. As Northwestern Mutual continues to address racial disparities in its hometown, the company, through its Foundation, has partnered with the City of Milwaukee Health Department to launch mobile vaccination sites in the historically underserved Amani and Metcalfe Park neighborhoods. Since 2013, the company has taken a strategic approach to drive sustainable change in underrepresented Milwaukee neighborhoods.

To assure equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine among Milwaukee's Black residents, the company will fund approximately 7,000 first and second doses of one of the approved vaccines. The company has worked in close liaison with the City of Milwaukee to identify the Amani and Metcalfe Park neighborhoods as high-priority areas where residents have been most affected by the coronavirus and is convening leaders and organizations in the communities to educate, encourage and register residents for the vaccine.

"Since the onset of the pandemic, the Black community has been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus," said Eric Christophersen, President, Northwestern Mutual Foundation. "We are committed to increasing equitable access to the vaccine and removing obstacles for those in underserved communities, moving Milwaukee forward toward growth and recovery."

The vaccination clinics will be held at COA Youth & Family Centers (2320 W. Burleigh St.) and the Wisconsin Black Historical Society (2620 W Center St.). Each location will host five first and second dose clinics, administering vaccinations to residents who meet state eligibility requirements beginning March 27. Information on registering for vaccinations will be communicated directly to residents through the organizations leading resident engagement, Dominican Center and Metcalfe Park Community Bridges.

"As we work to bridge the vaccine disparities in Milwaukee, partnerships are vitally important. The support from the Northwestern Mutual Foundation is a stride forward in advancing vaccine equity here," said Mayor Tom Barrett. "Churches, community groups, healthcare providers, and government agencies all play important roles, and the Northwestern Mutual Foundation is a big part of the work that's underway. I am grateful for the assistance."

Supporting equal access to the COVID-19 vaccine builds on Northwestern Mutual's ongoing neighborhoods-focused support through its Block by Block strategy, including more than eight years of partnerships and $26 million in grants to the Amani, Metcalfe Park and Muskego Way neighborhoods to improve housing, education and safety. Northwestern Mutual, through its Foundation, provides funding and support to create sustainable change in underserved Milwaukee neighborhoods in alignment with dedicated revitalization plans, which include the priority focus areas of health and wellness.

Throughout the past year, Northwestern Mutual has supported its partner organizations and communities nationwide to provide immediate relief in response to COVID-19, including essential services, critical supplies and PPE. To help neighborhood partners meet essential supply needs during the pandemic, the company provided $45,000 to the Dominican Center, Metcalfe Park Community Bridges and Milwaukee Christian Center.

"The Metcalfe Park and Amani communities have continuously experienced systemic inequities in access to healthcare, facing challenges that have only been heightened by the pandemic," said Danell Cross, Executive Director, Metcalfe Park Community Bridges. "Prior to the creation of these sites, there were very few accessible options for our residents to receive the vaccine, or even find information about their options. We're thankful for the collaboration of this group for connecting our residents with access to critical medical care during a time it is needed most."

Beyond addressing disparities in vaccine access, Northwestern Mutual is committed to fighting racism and discrimination in all forms. In 2020, the company launched a dedicated task force, Sustained Action for Racial Equity, led by Chairman, President, and CEO John Schlifske, which takes a holistic look at actions that will have the greatest impact to drive sustainable change, both within the company and the community.

Northwestern Mutual's Block by Block strategy is focused on enhancing the Amani, Metcalfe Park and Muskego Way communities with programs dedicated to safe neighborhoods, healthy and thriving youth, strong families and quality education. The company works closely with residents and community leaders in each of these neighborhoods to achieve concentrated positive outcomes.

About Northwestern Mutual Foundation

The mission of the Northwestern Mutual Foundation is to improve the lives of children and families in need. The Foundation has given more than $400 million since its inception in 1992 and is designed to create lasting impact in the communities where the company's employees and financial representatives live and work. We accomplish this by combining financial support, volunteerism, thought leadership and convening community partners to deliver the best outcomes. Our efforts are focused nationally on curing childhood cancer, and locally on education, neighborhoods and making our hometown of Milwaukee a great destination. Visit Northwestern Mutual Foundation to learn more.

About Northwestern Mutual

Northwestern Mutual has been helping people and businesses achieve financial security for more than 160 years. Through a holistic planning approach, Northwestern Mutual combines the expertise of its financial professionals with a personalized digital experience and industry-leading products to help its clients plan for what's most important. With $308.8 billion in total assets, $31.1 billion in revenues, and $2 trillion worth of life insurance protection in force, Northwestern Mutual delivers financial security to more than 4.75 million people with life, disability income and long-term care insurance, annuities, and brokerage and advisory services. The company manages more than $200 billion of investments owned by its clients and held or managed through its wealth management and investment services businesses. Northwestern Mutual ranks 102 on the 2020 FORTUNE 500 and is recognized by FORTUNE as one of the "World's Most Admired" life insurance companies in 2021.

Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (NM), Milwaukee, WI (life and disability insurance, annuities, and life insurance with long-term care benefits) and its subsidiaries. Subsidiaries include Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC (NMIS) (securities), broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, member FINRA and SIPC; the Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company (NMWMC) (fiduciary and fee-based financial planning services), federal savings bank; and Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company (NLTC) (long-term care insurance).

SOURCE Northwestern Mutual

Related Links

https://www.northwesternmutual.com


Spanish artist Santiago Sierra has attacked the superficial and spectacular treatment of his artwork, Union Flag, saying a wave of reactions triggered its public lynching.

The artist, who planned to exhibit a British flag soaked in the blood of First Nations peoples at Hobarts winter arts festival Dark Mofo, issued a statement early Thursday morning that accused Australian journalists of coverage that stirred up the mood and built up the indignation to suit their own needs.

Sierra said his quotes had been decontextualised and he had been left without a voice, without the capacity to explain and defend the piece.

Spanish artist Santiago Sierra. Credit:Getty Images

We believe it is important to know the project with which we began to work [on] and which was accepted by the organisation before forming a judgment and issuing an opinion, he said in a statement.
The two leaders of Germanys Green Party, Robert Habeck and Analena Baerbock, presented their draft programme for the 2021 federal elections last weekend under the title, Germany. Everything is in there. The 137-page document underscores that a federal government involving or even under the leadership of the Greens would not represent a left alternative to the grand coalition. Instead, it would continue and intensify its right-wing and militarist policies.

Annalena Baerbock and Robert Habeck (gruene.de)

While the programme has nothing in there for workers and young people other than the usual dishonest phrases about more social justice and prosperity that protects the climate, the business and military-police elites would get what they demand: more money for rearmament and war, a stronger domestic repressive state apparatus and economic reforms to strengthen German capitalism against its global rivals.

Revealingly, there was not a single demand or concrete measure in the entire programme to combat the raging coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic does not even have its own section, and words like lockdown, virus restrictions, and vaccine programme are never mentioned.

This is not surprising. Wherever the Greens are in government at the state level, either with the Christian Democrats, Social Democrats, Free Democrats or Left Party, they have implemented the homicidal policy of herd immunity, which has already led to close to 75,000 deaths in Germany, and prioritised profits over human lives.

When the pandemic is raised in the Greens programme, it is from the standpoint of making an argument in favour of the need to restructure the national economy to compete internationally. After the coronavirus pandemic, our country needs a new economic restart, it states in the chapter, We encourage corporate spirit, competition and ideas. Only if public and private investments are directed towards a common goal can Europe maintain its connection to modern technologies of the future and assert itself in competition with the United States and China.

On foreign and domestic policies, the erstwhile pacifists now portray themselves as the most aggressive advocates for German and European imperialism. Although the grand coalition has launched a massive rearmament programme over recent years and initiated several military interventions in Africa and the Middle East, the Greens are demanding an even more confrontational approach by German imperialism.

But for years Germany has at best moderated in Europe and the world, and often hesitated and disappeared. It is time once again to pursue an active foreign policy and to proceed as an agenda-setting power, note the Greens in their chapter on foreign and security policy. This is followed by a full-throated appeal for the comprehensive rearmament of the German army, NATO, and Europes combat forces and a call for more military interventions.

In the section A modern German army, they state, The armys purpose and tasks must be oriented to the real and strategically significant challenges to security and securing peace. We want to equip the army with the personnel and equipment appropriate for its purpose and tasks. It is unacceptable for soldiers to be going into operations with inadequate protective gear. Germany should be able to rely on its alliance partners, and the alliance partners should also be able to depend on Germany, states the programme.

The Greens dreams of rearmament are not restricted to the German military. The European Union must also live up to its responsibility for its own security and defence. To develop the joint security and defence policy, it is necessary to expand cooperation between the EUs armed forces and combine military capacities and close generally-recognised capability gaps. Required are [A]ppropriate equipment, the expansion of EU units and the strengthening and consolidation of joint EU command structures.

With regard to NATO, they demand a new strategic orientation. Despite the diverging security policy interests in the alliance, up to and including mutual military threats, NATO remains from the standpoint of the EU an irreplaceable actor that can guarantee Europes common security. Through stronger military cooperation and coordination within the EU and between European NATO members like Britain and Norway, they aim to ensure that strategic interests () are jointly developed and promoted with more unity and conviction.

The course being pursued is clear. Under conditions of mounting tensions between the major powers and the incessant war drive by the US against nuclear-armed Russia and China, the Greens are appealing for a more independent economic, military and foreign policy to better pursue the interests of German and European imperialism against Russia, China, and the United States.

The German and European economy face considerable pressure and must assert itself in global competition with authoritarian state capitalism and largely unregulated tech giants, states the draft programme.

The Greens are most aggressive towards Russia. The Nord Stream 2 pipeline is geostrategically damagingespecially for the position of Ukraine and must therefore be stopped. At the same time, the sanctions imposed on Russia for its illegal annexation of Crimea and military aggression against Ukraine need to be maintained and intensify them if necessary.

Already in 2014, the Greens played an active role in the coup in Ukraine, including collaboration with right-wing extremist forces under the cover of promoting democracy and human rights to install a pro-Western regime in the former Soviet republic. They are now pursuing the same strategy towards Russia.

In their programme, they announce their intention to support and intensify the exchange with  the courageous civil society groups standing up to the Kremlins increasingly strong repression, and fighting for human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.

The Greens specialise in dressing up brutal wars and regime change operations as struggles for democracy and human, while using cynical references to the historic crimes of German imperialism to justify new ones. Ever since Green Party Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer justified the countrys first post-World War II foreign military engagement in Kosovo in 1999 with the slogan Auschwitz, never again! the Greens have led the way in propagating German human rights imperialism.

They aggressively advocate humanitarian interventions in their election programme. We declare ourselves in favour of international peace missions within the framework of the United Nations, which contribute to security, stability, and peace, states a section entitled Realising the international responsibility to protect. The use of military force as a last resort can be necessary in some situations to prevent genocide and create the conditions for a political solution to the conflict.

In reality, the concept of the international responsibility to protect serves not to prevent crimes against humanity but to enforce naked imperialist interests. Almost exactly 10 years ago on March 19, 2011, NATO began the bombardment of Libya, a resource-rich and geostrategically located country under the pretext of the responsibility to protect. What followed was the brutal murder of the countrys long-time ruler, Muamar al-Gaddafi, and the almost total destruction of the country in a bloody civil war that continues to this day.

The Greens pro-war policy is accompanied by the demand for a major strengthening of the apparatus of domestic state repression. The chapter We strengthen security and citizens rights reads like a blueprint for a police state in Germany and across Europe.

We want to strengthen the police for its tasks, like prevention, reconnaissance and criminal investigation, in the cities and rural areas, and in analogue as well as digitally. At the European level, the Greens demand stronger cross-border cooperation by the police and judiciary through the creation of European police teams and by upgrading Europol to a European police bureau.

It is clear that this massive buildup of the state apparatus is not aimed at combatting right-wing extremist terrorist networks, as the Greens claim at various points in their programme. Alongside the army and the police, their calls to strengthen the domestic intelligence service mean they advocate the buildup of the very state institutions that have emerged as the centre of the far-right conspiracy in the state apparatus.

In reality, the Greens and the privileged sections of the middle class for which they speak fear the growing social opposition among workers and young people and a political settling of accounts with their politics, which are reactionary to the core. This is what lies behind their persistent calls for a stronger and heavily armed police.
Maputo  The Mozambican Defence Ministry on Thursday morning confirmed that the town of Palma, in the northern province of Cabo Delgado came under terrorist attack on Wednesday.

The brief Ministry statement said the terrorists attacked the town from three directions, and obliged residents to seek safety by fleeing into the nearby bush.

The defence and security forces, said the Ministry, "are pursuing the enemy and are working tirelessly to re-establish security and order as quickly as possible". It urged the civilian population "to remain vigilant and calm, while seeking safe spaces".

Members of the public, it continued, "should continue collaborating with the authorities by denouncing the terrorists and armed men, so that they may be neutralised".

The Ministry added that all mobile phone communications with Palma town and district have been cut. The statement admitted that so far the government does not have information on the number of casualties or the scale of the damage.

Before communications were cut, the information reaching Maputo was that the attacks had begun at about 16.00, and that the jihadists targeted banks, shops, at least one hotel and the barracks of the Rapid Intervention Unit (UIR - the Mozambican equivalent of the riot police).

According to the independent newssheet "Carta de Mocambique", the shooting ended in the early hours of Thursday, by which time the defence forces had secured control of the town.

There are no reports of any attacks against the site on the Afungi Peninsula where a consortium headed by the French oil and gas company Total is building natural gas liquefaction plants. But Palma town is well within the Afungi security perimeter, which the Mozambican forces have pledged to defend.

It can hardly be a coincidence that the attacks came within hours of Total announcing that it is about to resume work at Afungi. Total had interrupted construction work and evacuated much of its work force after a terrorist attack on 1 January in the resettlement town of Quitunda (a new town built to house people resettled from the areas of the Afungi Peninsula where the two planned gas liquefaction plants will be built).

Since then the government and Total have worked to draw up a plan of action to strengthen security around the site, and the government has declared the area as a special security zone.
POTTSVILLE  Schuylkill County Clerk of Courts Maria T. Casey said Wednesday that Commissioner George F. Halcovage Jr. acted improperly when he voted to change the working conditions of two of the women who have sued him for alleged sexual harassment.

Rescind it and revote, Casey said of the March 17 decision to restructure the county Tax Assessment Office and Tax Claim Bureau.

Casey, who also unsuccessfully renewed her request to have Halcovage banned from the courthouse, said the commissioners, especially Halcovage, acted improperly.

That is totally illegal. You cannot ... vote to take away salaries, Casey said. At the very least, thats retaliation.

Neither the commissioners nor the salary board acted to reverse their decisions.

On March 17, the salary board voted 3-1 to create the positions of tax claim director and assistant tax claim director in the bureau and chief assessor and deputy chief assessor in the office.

The commissioners voted 2-1 to transfer two of the women to new positions while leaving the other two posts open.

Commissioner Gary J. Hess, saying the change amounted to a demotion, voted against both moves, while acting Controller Sharyn Yackenchick, the only non-commissioner member of the salary board, voted yes to the reorganization. She said her vote was based only on making the offices operate more efficiently without regard to who is holding any particular office.

The employees connection to the alleged sexual harassment was not discussed as part of last weeks vote. The affected women were not at the courthouse Wednesday.

The day before the March 17 vote, four female county employees had filed a federal lawsuit against Halcovage, the county and other county officials, alleging he had sexually harassed them at and outside the courthouse. The case is pending before Scranton-based U.S. District Judge Malachy E. Mannion.

The commissioners also declined Wednesday to consider banning Halcovage from the courthouse.

You owe it to the women of the county, Casey said in urging the commissioners to ban Halcovage.

Commissioners Chairman Barron L. Hetherington saw things differently.

I think a person should have due process. I havent changed my position, Hetherington said after the meeting. I think the allegations are very serious and I do not take them very lightly.

Halcovage declined to comment on Caseys statements.

Hess, who has called on Halcovage to resign, said he stands by his position but declined to add to it.

Id rather not comment on what she had to say at this time, Hess said, also after the meeting.

Casey said the allegations in the lawsuit should be all the reason the commissioners need to ban Halcovage.

These allegations are so detailed and so fact-specific that its hard to imagine that all of these are contrived, said Casey, who has called for the ban for months.

She was particularly pointed in her criticism of Hetherington, and used his family as a reason to try to get him to support her request.

If any of your daughters made these allegations, (Halcovage would) be gone, Casey said.

An internal county investigation found the complaints to have merit but noted that, as an elected official, Halcovage cannot be fired. Attorney General Josh Shapiro decided in February to not charge Halcovage with any crimes, citing that his decision was based, in part, on the statute of limitations. Halcovage has not spoken publicly about the allegations, referring all questions to his attorney, Gerard J. Geiger, Stroudsburg.

Casey also asked the commissioners Wednesday to assure people that no taxpayer money would be used in defending the lawsuit.

The commissioners did not reply during the meeting to any of Caseys requests and, after she spoke, continued with other business.

Solicitor: No authority

According to Assistant County Solicitor Glenn T. Roth Jr., the county has no authority to ban Halcovage from the courthouse.

There is none, as far as Im aware of, Roth said Tuesday.

Halcovages position would be a barrier to any attempt to restrict his access to the courthouse, according to Roth.

George Halcovage is a duly elected official who cannot be removed from his position except by impeachment by the state Legislature, Roth said.

Similar to the federal impeachment process, the state House of Representatives would have to approve articles of impeachment against Halcovage. That vote would have to be a majority, or 102, of the chambers 203 members. Then, the matter would be tried by the state Senate, where two-thirds, or 34, of the chambers 50 members would have to vote yes to convict Halcovage and remove him from office.

Otherwise, state law does not provide any method for banning Halcovage from the courthouse or removing him from office, Roth said.

Im not aware of any method under the (Pennsylvania) County Code for preventing Halcovage from entering the courthouse, he said.

State Sen. David G. Argall, R-29, Rush Township, had said Tuesday he is in the process of speaking with Senate attorneys about the situation.

The County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania declined to take any position on the matter, according to Director of Media and Public Relations Ken Kroski.

We do not comment on internal matters, Kroski said Tuesday.

In the lawsuit, the four employees, identified only as Jane Doe, Jane Doe 2, Jane Doe 3 and Jane Doe 4, alleged Halcovage sexually harassed them and no one did anything to stop it in spite of complaints. They asked for unspecified compensatory and punitive damages from Halcovage, the county and several other county officials.

Geiger referred all comment on the matter to county lawyers.

A call to Catherine W. Smith, Philadelphia, the lawyer for the four employees, on Tuesday has not been returned.

The Schuylkill County Young Democrats have planned a Call for the Resignation of George Halcovage rally at noon Sunday at the courthouse steps.
A new leak surfaced online showing new color palettes for the upcoming 2022 Honda Civic.

The leak also provided details about the car's new features, a better engine from its predecessor, and a new trim design. However, there is still no official news about the automobile's price point, while the release date said to be in the Spring of this year.

2022 Honda Civic Leak Shows Color Variants and Trim Models

According to Carbuzz, the upcoming 2022 Honda Civic color variants will boast Aegean Blue, Rallye Red, Platinum White Pearl, Lunar Silver, Crystal Black Pearl, and Meteorite Gray. These color variants for the 2022 Civic model are present in the latest Honda cars model today, offering drivers classic choices for the upcoming car model.

Four colors are missing from the 2022 Honda Civic model: Polished Metal, Modern Steel, Molten Lava, or Cosmic Blue. Meteorite Gray and Morning Mist are said to be the new color palettes for the car.

For the 2022 Honda model trims, the publication stated that the car would have EX (1.5T), Touring (1.5T), LX 2.0), and Sport (2.0) L5. The Touring model of the 2022 Honda Civic will add Crystal Black and Sonic Gray to its color variants, while the LX model will reportedly swap the base model's shade with Morning Mist for the Crystal Black.

For the Sport trim, all colors will be available, except for the Morning Mist shade. Also, there is some speculation that the new Type R model will have new color variant offerings from the company, but only time will tell if the company decides to go for it.

Also Read: The Long Wait Is Over, 2017 Honda Civic Type R Is On Sale

Autoevolution also reported that the EX-L model for the 2022 Honda Civic has been removed from the list since it did not quite have a positive reaction from fans. On the other hand, the 2.0-liter Type R and 1.5-liter Si will have a six-speed manual transmission, keeping the feature from the previous generation that customers have loved and enjoyed in the car.

Discussing the elephant in the room, fans should not expect that an All-wheel drive or electric All-wheel drive for the Type R will be happening. According to Honda's spokesperson, it will release an FWD Type R model in the foreseen future.

Advanced Compatibility Engineering Body Structure for the 2022 Honda Civic

The 2022 Civic model will also have a 9-inch infotainment system and a digital driver's meter cluster embedded on the car's interior. Moreover, the upcoming Honda car will feature a sunroof, LED daytime running lights, black bezels for the fog lights, plastic grilles from top to bottom, body-color mirror caps and five-spoke alloys.

Besides from the features listed above, the 2022 Honda Civic will improve the feature called "Advanced Compatibility Engineering" body structure that better helps passenger and pedestrian collision protection. This feature will distribute collision energy evenly and redirect it away from the passenger compartment while simultaneously minimizing damage to other impacted vehicles.

Related Article: 2017 Honda Civic Si Review: Bolder, Lighter, Sleeker Than Before
(Natural News) Royal Caribbean International will require all adult passengers and crew members to be vaccinated with the coronavirus jab before entering the vessel when it starts sailing again. Children under the age of 18 with a negative coronavirus (COVID-19) test will also be allowed to board.

The cruise line recently announced that it will start sailing again from Nassau in the Bahamas starting June 12.

With President Joe Biden directing states to make coronavirus vaccines available to all American adults no later than May 1, Royal Caribbean is expected to sail in U.S. waters soon. But there is currently no definite date for that and its not clear whether vaccines will be required on vessels departing from the U.S.

That is still under consideration, said Lyan Sierra-Caro, spokesperson for the cruise line. We will continue to follow the science, and we will evolve alongside the data.

Bahamian PM expects vibrant tourism season in the Bahamas

Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert A. Minnis said in a statement that he expects a vibrant tourism season in the Bahamas.

I am especially pleased that Royal Caribbean, with whom we have had a long and mutually beneficial relationship for more than 50 years, selected The Bahamas as a homeport when sailing resumes, Minnis said. This is truly a new day for tourism. It should inspire many small- to medium-sized businesses, tour operators, taxi drivers, restaurants and retailers to prepare for brighter days ahead.

The Bahamas itineraries feature island hopping with back-to-back days spent at Royal Caribbeans private island Perfect Day at CocoCay, Bahamas, along with time spent in Grand Bahama Island and Cozumel, Mexico.

Cruise passengers must also meet the entry requirements in the Bahamas. These include a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test no more than five days ahead of arrival, a test upon arrival in the Bahamas and filling out entry forms.

Michael Bayley, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International, said in a statement that the company is looking forward to returning to the Caribbean gradually and safely.

The vaccines are clearly a game-changer for all of us, and with the number of vaccinations and their impact growing rapidly, we believe starting with cruises for vaccinated adult guests and crew is the right choice, Bayley said, noting that vaccine requirements and other safety measures are expected to evolve.

Its the first time the cruise line will board cruises for sailings beginning in the Bahamas. We are grateful for the confidence that they have in us and our commitment to a healthy and happy return to sailing, Bayley said.

Royal Caribbean is also set to offer fully vaccinated cruises on its newest ship, Odyssey of the Seas, when she makes her maiden voyage from Israel in May. All crew members and passengers over 16 will be required to show proof of vaccination before getting on board.

Meanwhile, Celebrity Cruises will return to sailing on June 5 when its ship, the Celebrity Millennium, set to sail from St. Maarten for a series of seven-night cruises.

Both the Royal Caribbean International and the Celebrity Cruises are owned by the Royal Caribbean Group.

Celebrity Millennium requires all crew members and adult passengers to be vaccinated while passengers under 18 must have a negative test within 72 hours of departure.

Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, president and CEO of Celebrity Cruises, said in a statement that the return to cruising in the Caribbean is a significant moment for the cruise line.

It marks the measured beginning of the end of what has been a uniquely challenging time for everyone, Lutoff-Perlo said.

Airlines to make coronavirus vaccination mandatory for international travelers

Airlines are also expected to make coronavirus vaccination mandatory for their passengers, at least on international flights.

On Sunday, March 21, Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce told the BBC that governments are going to insist on coronavirus vaccines for international travelers.

Qantas pushed back the date it plans to resume its international flights from July to the end of October. Thats the point the Australian government hopes to have vaccinated all adults and the date for which the airline is now selling international tickets.

Joyce announced his plans as early as November last year for Qantas to make the coronavirus vaccinations mandatory for all passengers traveling internationally. He noted that proof of vaccination would likely be stored in an electronic digital passport which is already under development by airlines and governments around the world. (Related: Here it comes: If you want to board a plane or travel internationally, youre going to have to have a COVID vaccine passport.)

What were looking at is how you can have a vaccination passport, an electronic version of it, that certifies what the vaccine is, is it acceptable to the country you are traveling to, said Joyce at the time. Theres a lot of logistics, a lot of technology that will be needed to put in place to make this happen, but the airlines and the governments are working on this as we speak.

Joyce said he had been talking with his colleagues from the other airlines and noted that most of them indicated they would follow Qantas in requiring the coronavirus vaccination for passengers traveling abroad.

Follow Immunization.news for more news and information related to the coronavirus vaccines.

Sources include:

ZeroHedge.com

USAToday.com

BBC.com
Laura Perry

Its likely that if you use just about any skin care item, youre using something that had its beginnings in a Connecticut forest. Thats because nearly all of the worlds witch hazel comes from American Distilling in East Hampton, which in turn gets most of its witch hazel from Connecticuts state forests. If you look at the ingredients label and if it says witch hazel, chances are it came from here, says Bryan Jackowitz, vice president of American Distilling and president of Dickinsons Brands.

Used in everything from cleansers and body washes to hair care, eye gel and personal hygiene products, witch hazel got its commercial start in Essex in the 1800s when T.N. Dickinson used it to create the first commercially viable astringent. He was inspired by watching the states Native Americans use the plant to treat minor skin irritations and wounds. His company is now part of American Distilling, which comprises three witch hazel brands  Dickinsons, which creates skin care products; Humphreys, an organic skin care brand; and T.N. Dickinsons, which makes first aid products. Clinique, Estee Lauder, and Neutrogena are just a few of the brands using American Distilling witch hazel. Pharmaceutical companies use it as well. Thayers is another company that produces products with witch hazel and sources the plant from a farm in Fairfield County.
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.
Schumer: Senate Will Vote on Background Checks, Voting Rights After Break

The Senate will vote on expanded background checks for gun buyers and a bill that would dramatically change how elections are run, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on Thursday.

During a speech on the Senate floor and in a letter to colleagues, the Democrat said the upper chamber will turn its attention to voting rights, economic recovery and jobs with an emphasis on climate change, and health and gun safety.

We will try to work with our Republican colleagues on a bipartisan basis when and where we can. But if they choose to obstruct, rather than work with us to deliver for American families, we must make progress nonetheless. Failure is not an option, said Schumer, whose party holds a majority in the 5050 Senate by virtue of Vice President Kamala Harriss ability to cast a tie-breaking vote.

That vote wasnt required to pass the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion bill described by proponents as a COVID-19 relief package and as critics as a liberal wishlist come to fruition, because Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) flew to his home state to attend a relatives funeral.

The Democrat-controlled House of Representatives recently passed a number of measures that the Senate plans on taking up, including H.R. 1, a bill that would bolster federal control of elections.

The body also plans to discuss the Equality Act, which bars discrimination on the basis of gender identity of sexual orientation; the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which sponsors say would bolster voters rights; and the COVID Hate Crimes legislation, which would deliver more funding to the Department of Justice and local law enforcement to combat hate crimes, especially in the Asian-American community.

In the wake of several mass shootings, Democrats in Congress also want to enact new gun restrictions, though few if any Republicans have signaled a willingness to do so. Schumer told colleagues that hes committed to putting a ball on expanded background checks to a vote, and that he wants to reform our broken immigration system amid a surge in illegal immigrants.

Schumer told reporters during a press conference in Washington that he supports the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021. The legislation, crafted by President Joe Bidens team and introduced last month by Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), would create a pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) speaks as the Senate Rules Committee holds a hearing on the For the People Act, which would dramatically alter how elections are run, at the Capitol in Washington on March 24, 2021. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on the floor, speaking after Schumer, criticized the administration for allegedly failing to address the border crisis, highlighting how Biden rolled back key Trump era provisions like his Remain in Mexico program.

So what about the Democrats here in Congress? Are the House Democrats rising to the occasion with solutions? Well, not exactly. They prioritized passing another amnesty bill. They doubled down on the wrong direction and the wrong incentives, he said.

The situation is raising eyebrows among Democrats own rank and file. As one Texas Democrat put when you create a system that incentivizes people to come across, that immediately sends a message. Here in the Senate our Democratic colleagues decided together route of obstruction. Yesterday Republicans tried to pass serious proposals to help address parts of the immigration system. Democrats rejected every single one of them.

McConnell also took issue with H.R. 1 and its companion Senate bill, saying it would mandate same-day voter registration with virtually no restrictions and would require big loopholes that would render voter ID almost meaningless, while forcing every state to legalize ballot harvesting, where paid operatives can turn in big piles of ballots with other peoples names on them.

Democrats want to hide behind the mantle of voting rights. What theyre really proposing is less security, less integrity, and a grab bag of changes that are deeply, deeply unpopular, he said.
Seoul: North Korea test-fired its first ballistic missiles since President Joe Biden took office on Thursday, as it expands its military capabilities and increases pressure on Washington while nuclear negotiations remain stalled. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the launches threaten "peace and safety in Japan and the region," and that Tokyo will closely coordinate with Washington and Seoul on the North's testing activities.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles were fired at around 7:06 AM and 7:25 AM from an area on the North's eastern coast and flew 450 kilometers (279 miles) on an apogee of 60 kilometers (37 miles) before landing in the sea.

US Indo-Pacific Command spokesperson Capt. Mike Kafka said the US military was aware of the missiles and was monitoring the situation while closely consulting with allies.

Another senior US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military observations, matched the information from South Korea's military, saying that initial assessments suggest the North fired two short-range ballistic missiles. "This activity highlights the threat that North Korea's illicit weapons program poses to its neighbors and the international community," Kafka said.

The launches came a day after US and South Korean officials said the North fired short-range weapons presumed to be cruise missiles into its western sea over the weekend.

North Korea has a history of testing new US administrations with missile launches and other provocations aimed at forcing the Americans back to the negotiating table. Still, Thursday's launches were a measured provocation compared to the nuclear and intercontinental missile tests in 2017 that inspired war fears before the North shifted toward diplomacy with the Trump administration in 2018.

Analysts say that the North would gradually dial-up its weapons displays to increase its bargaining power as it angles to get back into stalled talks aimed at leveraging nuclear weapons for badly needed economic benefits. It's unclear how the Biden administration would respond before it completes its policy review on North Korea in the coming weeks.

The negotiations over the North's nuclear program faltered after the collapse of Kim Jong Un's second summit with President Donald Trump in February 2019, when the Americans rejected North Korean demands for major sanctions relief in exchange for a partial surrender of their nuclear capabilities.

Since Trump's first meeting with Kim in 2018, the North has not conducted nuclear or long-range missile tests, although analysts believe they have pressed ahead with their programs on both.

The North has continued short- and medium range missile testing during its suspension of nuclear and long-range tests, expanding its ability to strike targets in South Korea and Japan, including US bases there.

North Korea has so far ignored the Biden administration's efforts to reach out, saying it won't engage in meaningful talks unless Washington abandons its "hostile" policies.

Kim's powerful sister last week berated the United States over its latest round of combined military exercises with South Korea that ended earlier this month, describing the drills as an invasion rehearsal and warned Washington to "refrain from causing a stink" if it wants to "sleep in peace" for the next four years.

Just hours after Thursday's launches, South Korea Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong was to meet with visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Seoul for discussions on North Korea and other regional issues. South Korea's presidential office said it will hold an emergency National Security Council meeting to discuss the launches.

South Korea's Defense Ministry said the North's short-range tests on Sunday were its first missile firings since April 2020. President Joe Biden played down those launches, telling reporters, "There's no new wrinkle in what they did."

Live TV

While Kim has vowed to strengthen his nuclear weapons program in recent speeches, he also tried to give the new US administration an opening by saying that the fate of their relations depends on Washington.

During his visit to Seoul last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken sternly criticized North Korea's nuclear ambitions and human rights record and pressed China to use its "tremendous influence" to convince the North to denuclearise.
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 use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.
In order to assess the risk of bats dying at wind turbines, it is common practice to record the acoustic activity of bats within the operating range of the rotor blades. For this purpose, ultrasonic detectors are attached to the nacelles of the mast top. In a recent analysis, a team of scientists led by the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) concludes that the effectiveness of this acoustic monitoring is insufficient to reliably predict mortality risk, especially for bats at large turbines. They therefore recommend installing supplementary ultrasonic detectors at other locations on the wind turbines and developing additional techniques such as radar and thermal imaging cameras for monitoring. The results of their analysis are published in the scientific journal Mammal Review.

Wind is a form of renewable energy source which is widely used for energy generation. One downside of wind energy is that many bats die when colliding with rotor blades of wind turbines. This is an urgent problem for conservation because all bat species are protected by law because of their rarity. To find out when the operation of wind turbines poses a threat to bats and when it does not, the temperature and wind conditions at which bats are particularly active at turbines are determined. For this purpose, the echolocation calls of bats are recorded when they fly into the risk zone near the rotor blades. From this, threshold values for wind speed and temperature can be derived for a bat-safe operation of wind turbines. Wind turbines then only produce electricity when none or only a few bats are active.

"This approach is a good starting point. Its methodological implementation is, however, often insufficient, especially for large wind turbines," summarises bat expert Dr Christian Voigt, Head of the Leibniz-IZW Department of Evolutionary Ecology, together with colleagues from the German Bat Association (Bundesverband fur Fledermauskunde Deutschland), the University of Naples Federico II, the University of Bristol and the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in a joint publication. Automated ultrasonic detectors on the nacelles of wind turbines are usually used for acoustic monitoring. These record the calls of passing bats. "Each bat species produces echolocation sounds at a pitch and volume typical for the species," explains Voigt. He and his colleagues simulated sound propagation using the example of the common noctule, with calls of a low frequency (about 20 kHz) but a high sound pressure level (110 dB), and Nathusius's pipistrelle, with calls at a higher frequency (about 40 kHz) and a lower sound pressure level (104 dB). "Our simulations show that, according to the laws of physics, the calls are attenuated with each metre of distance as they propagate through the air by 0.45 dB per metre for common noctules and by 1.13 dB per metre for Nathusius's pipistrelle" says Voigt. With the widely used detection threshold of 60 dB, ultrasonic detectors record calls of common noctules at a distance of calls up to 40 m away. For Nathusius's pipistrelle, the detection range is on average 17 m. Neither maximum distance is sufficient to completely cover the danger zone of large wind turbines. New turbines in particular have rotor blades of more than 60 m in length, which is well above the detection distance of bats by ultrasonic detectors.

The sonar beam of bats also means that echolocation calls do not spread evenly in all directions, but preferentially towards the front in the direction of flying. If bats do not fly directly towards the microphone, the calculated detection range decreases further. In addition, ultrasonic detectors are usually mounted on the underside of the nacelles and the microphone therefore points downwards. Bat calls above the nacelle are therefore not registered. The focus is on the lower half of the danger zone, although bats can also be found in the upper half.

"At a wind turbine with rotor blades of 60 m length, the detectors only cover a maximum of 23 % of the risk zone for the common noctule and only a maximum of 4 % of the risk zone for Nathusius's pipistrelle, two species with a high risk of colliding with turbines. With modern wind turbines, rotor blade lengths continue to increase, so the relative coverage will be even lower in the future," says Voigt, first author of the article. As a consequence, the existing acoustic monitoring measures do not adequately reflect the collision risk. Therefore, the conditions under which wind turbines are switched off for bat protection are insufficient and many animals therefore continue to die.

In order to improve the cover of the risk zone of the rotor blades, the scientists recommend additional detectors at other locations, e.g. above as well as on the lee side of the nacelle. In order to also detect bats circling up the mast of the turbine, it may also be advisable to install ultrasonic detectors directly on the mast. This would also register animals flying at lower levels above ground or collecting insects from the mast surface. Complementary sensor technology such as radar systems or thermal imaging cameras could provide additional information.

Based on the recordings, consultants and researchers can determine the bat species and assess under which conditions (temperature, time of day, wind strength) they are most active. With this information, conditions can be described that restrict the operation of wind turbines during times of particularly high bat activity, thus reducing the risk of killing. "Through suitable monitoring schemes, the operation of wind turbines can be effectively adjusted to ensure that wind energy production does not come at the expense of biodiversity," Voigt concludes.

###

Publication

Voigt CC, Russo D, Runkel V, Goerlitz HR (2021): Limitations of acoustic monitoring at wind turbines to evaluate fatality risk of bats. Mammal Review. DOI: 10.1111/mam.12248

Contact

Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW)

in the Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V.

Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315 Berlin

PD Dr Christian Voigt

Head of the Department of Evolutionary Ecology

Phone: +49 30 5168 511

Email: voigt@izw-berlin.de

Jan Zwilling

Science communication

Phone: +49 30 5168 121

Email: zwilling@izw-berlin.de
For school dinners it was Jamie Oliver on a crusade to improve the health of young people, for money matters it's Martin Lewis.

The TV regular and founder of MoneySavingExpert said he could no longer sit back and allow pupils to drift out of school and into the financial minefeld of life without doing something. So using his own money he has complied a financial capability textbook which will be delivered to more than 200 schools across Northern Ireland this month to prepare young people for a healthy financial future.

Almost 16,000 copies of the books will arrive in schools, aimed at 14-16-year- olds.

"I've spoken to so many people in later life who tell me 'if only they'd told me that at school' when they get into financial difficulties," said Martin.

"It doesn't have to be that way. You wouldn't jump out of a plane without a parachute. This textbook is to provide a financial parachute for young people ready to leave school and make their way in the world.

"It looks at it like a language. You have to learn how finance works, how borrowing works, the terminology and what it all means. It's about being prepared and it's something schools have never really been in a position to do before.

"Of course it's sad that, in England in 2018, I had to fund this myself, but I had to make a decision. Textbooks shouldn't be funded privately, but I put practicality ahead of principals. If this is what it takes then it's worth it."

Martin has been helped with the Northern Ireland distribution as it's being co-funded by The Money and Pensions Service.

"It feels better this way, more official," said Martin. "The textbook has been successful in England, now I'd love to see it being taken on and used in Northern Ireland.

"Children are professionals at learning. If we start with educating them on financial matters, that can make things a lot easier for them in the future.

"Now it's up to schools to use what they have, use the textbook and make sure our young people have all the knowledge they need before they move on in life."

"And it's up to parents, who might not have had the opportunity to learn about how money works when they were young, to press schools on what they're doing to teach their kids about money matters."

Martin said the timing of the launch of the textbook in Northern Ireland is particularly apt as school pupils return and face an uncertain financial world.

"The pandemic has shown the lack of personal financial resilience and preparedness of the UK as a whole," he said.

"Not all of that can be fixed by improving financial education, but a chunk of it can. Of course, we need to educate people of all ages, but if you want to break the cycle of debt and bad decisions, young people are the best place to start."

The 148-page Your Money Matters textbook has been endorsed by CCEA and is mapped to the Northern Ireland curriculum.

The Northern Ireland distribution builds on the successful 2018 roll-out of the textbook in England where 340,000 copies were delivered into English schools, funded by Martin Lewis with a personal donation of 325,000 to the financial education charity Young Money.
WASHINGTON, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Association of LGBTQ+ Judges celebrates the career of Judge Paul Feinman upon his retirement from the New York Court of Appeal, the state's highest court. First elected to the state Supreme Court in 2007, Judge Feinman served as President of the International Association of LGBTQ+ Judges from 2008 to 2011 and is a beloved and essential member of the Association. Upon elevation to the state's highest court in 2017, Judge Feinman became the Court of Appeal's first openly gay member, opening the door for LGBTQ+ judges in New York and beyond.

The Association is enormously proud of Judge Feinman and his contributions to diversifying the bench. LGBTQ+ Judges' President Judge Tara Flanagan of the Alameda County, California Superior Court stated:

"Judge Feinman's exceptional legal career and judicial accomplishments in

New York and his too-soon retirement remind us of LGBTQ+ Judges' mission

and duty to identify, mentor, and support exceptionally well-qualified LGBTQ+

attorneys to assume the bench. We are holding Judge Feinman, his husband

Robert and his extended family in our thoughts and prayers as he attends to

his health concerns."

Since 1993, the International Association of LGBTQ+ Judges has worked to increase the visibility of LGBTQ+ judicial officers so as to serve as role models for other LGBTQ+ people and to bring to the attention of the general public the prominence of these judicial officers. With members in nearly every state, province, and on five continents, LGBTQ+ Judges work to ensure equal access, fair treatment, and respect for diversity for all those in the justice system.

The National LGBT Bar Association's Executive Director D'Arcy Kemnitz commented, "Judge Feinman has been a trailblazer in the judiciary for decades. As a lawyer and judge who was openly out as a gay man at a time when that was deeply risky for many people to do in everyday life, let alone in a profession as inherently conservative as the law. He inspired generations of lawyers and law students to see what is possible for our careers and for our lives. All of us in the legal profession owe him a debt of gratitude. He will be sorely missed on the bench."

For Comment/Inquiry please contact: 510-690-2959

SOURCE National LGBT Bar Association

Related Links

lgbtbar.org


London, March 25 : Another 5,605 people in Britain have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,312,908, according to official figures released.

The country also reported another 98 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 126,382. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test, Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday.

More than 28.6 million people in Britain have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest official figures.

Earlier Wednesday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said cooperation between Britain and the European Union (EU) is "very important" to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Johnson made the remarks at the House of Commons, lower house of Parliament, as tension between Britain and the EU over vaccines supply remains high.

The Prime Minister said he doesn't believe blockades "are sensible", adding that the long-term damage done by blockades can be "very considerable".

On Wednesday, the European Commission proposed tougher controls on coronavirus vaccine exports.

According to the plan, any shipment would be assessed on the destination country's rate of vaccinations and vaccine exports.

The plans stop short of a ban but could still trigger tensions with Britain. The EU has accused British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca of failing to honour its contract to supply EU countries.

National Health Service (NHS) England has warned that Britain is going to face a "significant reduction" in vaccine supplies from March 29 onwards.

According to British Health Secretary Matt Hancock, a need to retest 1.7 million vaccine doses as well as delays to doses arriving from India are the reasons why Britain is facing a "tighter" supply in Covid jabs next month.

There is concern that a potential EU ban on the exports of vaccines to Britain will make the situation worse, but the British government has insisted that the country is on course to offer all adults a dose by the end of July.

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.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, has announced the Top 32 Master's in Hospitality Management Degree Programs for 2021. The comprehensive research guide is based on an assessment of 79 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 79 schools, on a scale of 0 to 100, with only 32 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 Master's in Hospitality Management Degree Programs. To access the complete ranking, please visit: https://www.intelligent.com/best-masters-in-hospitality-management-degree-programs/

2021 Master's in Hospitality Management Degree Programs featured on Intelligent.com (in alphabetical order):

Auburn University

Boston University

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Colorado State University

Fairleigh Dickinson University

Florida International University

Georgia State University

Iowa State University

Johnson & Wales University

Kansas State University

Kansas State University

Lasell University

Michigan State University

New York University

Oklahoma State University

Pennsylvania State University

Purdue University

Rochester Institute Of Technology

Roosevelt University

Stratford University

Temple University

Texas Tech University

University Of Alabama

University Of Central Florida

University of Delaware

University Of Houston

University Of Kentucky

University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

University Of New Orleans

University Of North Texas

University of South Carolina

University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee

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/.
NEW YORK, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In an interview published by Ambito Financiero on March 23, the Minister of Finance of the Province of Buenos Aires (the "Province"), Pablo Lopez, made a series of false and misleading statements regarding the Province's ongoing default and a recent proposal made by one of the Province's bondholders, GoldenTree Asset Management. These statements continue the pattern of lack of good faith from the Province that has led international bondholders to bring legal action to protect their rights.

Among the false and misleading statements from Minister Lopez are the following:

Falsehood #1:

Regarding the proposal made by the Province to GoldenTree disclosed on March 21, Minister Lopez told Ambito:

"It is a great effort for the Province, and has terms that are considerably better than those of April. However, [the bondholders] continue in a stance that we consider to be quite intransigent where they require us, for example, to commit ourselves to pay $2 billion in the next four years, which is the equivalent of all the public works of the Province over two years."

The Truth:

First, note that Minister Lopez for some reason chooses to compare debt payments over 4 years with capital expenditure over 2 years . This makes no sense and is already misleading. But beyond misleading, it is completely false . According to the Province's actual budget figures, public works investments in 2021-2022 amount to $2.411 billion, or 6.1% of revenues. The recently published GoldenTree proposal requires cumulative debt service of only $465 million in 2021-2022. The truth here is that creditors have proposed debt service that is more than 80% lower than public works expenditures.

From 2015-2019, when Maria Eugenia Vidal was governor, the Province's annual debt service averaged $1.19 billion annually. Not only was this debt serviced without default, but the Province simultaneously engaged in significant public works programs. Understood in this context, the GoldenTree proposal reduces the debt service burden over the next two years by more than 80% compared to amounts routinely serviced by the Province.

Falsehood #2:

Minister Lopez mischaracterized the terms of both the Province's proposal and the GoldenTree proposal:

"We proposed coupons that allowed us to reach an average coupon of approximately 4%, and yet they demand an average coupon of 7.5%, which are clearly very similar to current levels and do not generate the relief that the Province needs."

The Truth:

Minister Lopez should be entitled to his own opinions, but not his own facts and certainly not his own math. The Province's proposal has an average coupon of 3.7%, not 4%. And the GoldenTree proposal has an average coupon of 5.6%, not 7.5%. This discrepancy raises issues of competency and good faith. Either Minister Lopez knew the actual facts but chose to provide a distorted picture, or he and his staff had not done the basic homework of analyzing the GoldenTree proposal. Either explanation demonstrates why bondholders have been left with no option other than to seek justice in court.

Falsehood #3

Minister Lopez made false and misleading statements about the relative size of the Province's debt burden:

"Each province has its own reality, its own fiscal and social situation. In this sense, I can speak of the Province of Buenos Aires, which has a very large level of debt, with maturities that in recent years have come to represent close to 20% of total revenues."

The Truth:

At only 9% of provincial GDP, the Province has one of the lowest debt burdens in Argentina. The only provinces with lower debt burdens, Santa Fe and the City of Buenos Aires, have fully serviced their debts with no defaults. Meanwhile, provinces with higher debt burdens, including Jujuy (40%), Chubut (19%), Neuquen (18%), Entre Rios (13%), Salta (13%), Mendoza (13%), Rio Negro (11%) and Cordoba (11%) have all negotiated with their creditors in good faith and successfully concluded debt restructurings.

Minister Lopez's math regarding historical debt service of the Province is also wrong. Between 2015-2019, total annual debt service for the Province averaged 12% of revenues and never exceeded 14.8%. Further, much of the Province's debt is intra-public sector (particularly, ANSES) and is routinely rolled over. When considering the relevant metric of external indebtedness, the picture becomes even more clear. From 2015-2019 under Governor Vidal, the Province managed average external debt service of 4.8% of revenues. By contrast, under the GoldenTree proposal external debt service from 2021-2024 would average 2.4% of revenues, or 50% below comparable levels that were comfortably serviced in prior years.

The Ad Hoc Group of Buenos Aires Bondholders is comprised of beneficial owners under eleven series of outstanding notes with an aggregate principal amount of more than $7.1 billion issued by the Province of Buenos Aires. The Ad Hoc Group reiterates that good-faith negotiations are the only path by which a consensual resolution of the Province's default can be reached. The misleading statements by Provincial authorities are unproductive and unfortunate and only serve to perpetuate what is ultimately a political decision to remain in default.

The Ad Hoc Group is being advised by White & Case LLP. For media inquiries, please contact [email protected].

SOURCE White & Case LLP
With a Preview release of the open source StrongKey Android Client Library (SACL), StrongKey enables Android developers to build native apps using Android mobiles devices as FIDO Authenticators, enabling frictionless user experiences for medium to high risk business transactions. StrongKey also now supports Apple Attestation, enabling current iPhones to be used as FIDO Authenticators with native iOS apps or browser-enabled applications using Safari.

With these advances, StrongKey dramatically expands the use of FIDO for native apps on the two popular mobile platforms. With the SACL, StrongKey enables e-commerce merchants to comply with the European Union's Payment Services Directive, Revised (PSD2) to deliver Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) while enabling one of the most frictionless user experiences for e-commerce or Open Banking transactions.

"FIDO authentication is a simpler and more secure way to verify the identity of end users," said Marco Conte, co-founder of Payment Universe. "Support of passwordless authentication across PCs and mobile offers a smoother payment customer experience, reducing friction and cart abandonment while complying with PSD2 SCA requirements."

StrongKey's open source software solution, downloadable on GitHub and SourceForge is a cost-effective alternative to FIDO server solutions that come with licensing and per-transaction fees.

The FIDO Alliance, a world-wide consortium, publishes authentication standards with the goal of eliminating passwords and other "shared secret" authentication schemes that cause more than 95% of worldwide data breaches. The standards are designed to preserve privacy and protect against phishing and other attacks perpetrated on shared-secret authentication schemes. FIDO passwordless authentication standards combine human gesture with public-key cryptography to produce a secure, user-friendly authentication mechanism. The FIDO2 standard incorporates two authentication factors with all major platformsAndroid, iOS, OS X, Windows and all browserssupporting FIDO2 across billions of PCs, mobile devices, and web browsers.

StrongKey Tellaro, an open source platform, provides strong authentication, encryption, tokenization, and PKI management in a single appliance backed by a standard FIPS 140-2 certified cryptographic hardware module. StrongKey Tellaro also includes an open source FIDO Certified server that supports both U2F and FIDO2 with the following additional features:

Support for the FIDO2 protocol with native Android (version 9 or later) apps to deliver seamless and frictionless user experiences for authentication or e-commerce transactions through the SACL. The SACL takes advantage of AndroidKeystore, which leverages either a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) or a Secure Element (SE) to protect cryptographic keys on the mobile device

which leverages either a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) or a Secure Element (SE) to protect cryptographic keys on the mobile device Supports the use of FIDO digital signatures to confirm business transactions on Android devices that have advanced security capabilities

FIDO registration, authentication, and transaction authorization using Android biometric prompts to verify users before generating a digital signature to a dynamic link of the transaction

Enable current iPhones to use FIDO strong authenticator with native iOS apps that call WebView to perform the FIDO registration and authentication capabilities

StrongKey Tellaro enables online merchants, banks, and enterprise companies to:

Comply with European PSD2 Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) requirements by delivering the most frictionless user experience for dynamic linking of transactions in accordance with PSD2's Regulatory Technical Specifications (RTS)

Implement a consistent approach to FIDO authentication across PC, Android, and Apple devices

Lower the cost of secure authentication using open source software without licensing, transaction, application, or per-user fees

Migrate away from insecure passwords with FIDO passwordless authentication

Eliminate password phishing attacks

Comply with NIST authentication requirements for hardware-based security

For more information on the StrongKey Tellaro solution, visit www.strongkey.com/fido.

About StrongKey

StrongKey is the leading provider of open-source strong authentication and encryption solutions. Founded in 2001, StrongKey helps fintech, enterprise, manufacturers, and e-commerce companies protect their systems and data. StrongKey Tellaro is a comprehensive platform that provides FIDO-based authentication, tokenization, encryption, PKI, and key management. Unlike other security solutions, StrongKey provides its software with open-source licensing, thereby eliminating transaction, or per-user fees, and making it a cost-effective security solution. StrongKey Tellaro appliances use FIPS 140-2 Level 2 (standard) and Level 3 (optional) validated cryptographic hardware modules to secure the generation, use, and storage of cryptographic keys to comply with US Federal regulations. www.strongkey.com

SOURCE StrongKey

Related Links

strongkey.com


The Nigerian Thoracic Society (NTS) has revealed that over 162,000 persons die of tuberculosis in the country annually.

This was disclosed to journalists yesterday by the president of Nigerian Thoracic Society, NTS, Professor Prince Ele, to mark this year's World TB day.

Professor Ele who explained that close to 430,000 Nigerians fall ill with the disease yearly, said TB remains the world's deadliest infectious killer and global efforts to combat the disease have saved millions of lives.

He said, "The World TB Day is celebrated March 24 every year to raise awareness about the health, social and economic consequences of the disease and to step up efforts to end the TB epidemic.

He said that the theme of World TB Day 2021, "The Clock is Ticking", is quite apt considering the current global health and economic challenges, and lamented that despite strong commitments made by world leaders, efforts to end the disease have been relegated to the background as countries grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic.

He advised Nigerian government and indeed, the entire world to ensure that TB gets necessary attention as the number one infectious killer disease.

"We in the Nigerian Thoracic Society are not oblivious of the current challenges our health authorities are contending with, due to COVID-19.

"We implore the health authorities to do the needful in the adequate and equitable coverage of the COVID-19 vaccination program and want to remind them that TB is still the number one infectious killer disease made worse by the advent and rise in the incidence and prevalence of MDRTB across the world and as such, it should continue to receive all the needed attention and the top priority it deserves.

"While we encourage full participation of our members in all local awareness campaigns, we emphasize the need to constantly observe all COVID-19 preventive protocols", he stated.

Meanwhile, the Kaduna State Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Program, said it recorded 5,878 TB cases in 2020.

The permanent secretary, Ministry of Health, Mohammed Shuaibu disclosed this in Kaduna, yesterday during the 2021 World Tuberculosis Day celebration.

Shuaibu said a total of 74,295 suspected cases were tested across the 23 local government areas in the state, out of which 5, 878 were confirmed.

He said that there had been 106 percent increase in the number of suspected TB cases in the state in 2020, compared to the 2019 figure of 3,606.

Also, the Kano State governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje described Tuberculosis as one of the deadliest diseases and a source of high rate of mortality and morbidity in Nigeria and the world.

He maintained that with the level of destruction of lives of people over the years, the state government would continue to give financial support to both the public and private sectors in an effort to curtail the spread of the disease in the state.

The governor spoke during the flag-off of the World Tuberculosis Day yesterday in Kano, organised by the Kano State Ministry of Health in conjunction with Strategic HIV/Aids Response Programme Task Order 3, held at Tsamiyar Boka Primary Health Care Centre in Nassarawa local government area of the state.

In Benue State, the Centre for Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control also expressed concerned over the alarming cases of TB drugs resistant patients in the State.

This is even as the State programme manager for Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control, Dr Shember Igbagbul, lamented that out of the 4,980 TB cases identified in Benue in 2020, over 200 cases of drugs resistant patients were also identified.

Similarly, the Bauchi State Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Malaria, BACATMA, said it recorded tremendous breakthroughs in terms of control of Tuberculosis across all the 20 local government areas of the state. Dr Aliyu Mohammed Maigoro, commissioner for health, Bauchi State, disclosed this in a press conference organised by the Breakthrough Action in collaboration with BACATMA, as part of activities lined up to mark this year's World TB Day in the state.

We'll end scourge by 2030 - Governors

Meanwhile, governors of the 36 states of the federation have vowed to end the scourge of tuberculosis by 2030, having resolved to work with relevant stakeholders in the sector.

In their statement to mark World Tuberculosis Day, Ekiti State governor and chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, Kayode Fayemi called on the federal government to provide necessary support to the states to be able to domesticate and achieve the targets.

He, however, lamented that the advent of COVID-19 pandemic and its control measures in 2020 further impacted on the health system including TB services, setting back progress made.

He said, "Today, the Nigeria Governors' Forum joins the rest of the world to commemorate the World Tuberculosis Day. This day provides the opportunity for the entire world to intensify public awareness about the devastating health, social and economic impact of tuberculosis, as well as renew our commitment to accelerate efforts at the national, state, local government and community levels to eradicate TB in Nigeria.

"Tuberculosis is an airborne disease that affects millions of people regardless of socio-economic status. Though it is preventable and curable, it has remained the deadliest infectious disease globally.

"Currently, Nigeria is

one of the countries with the highest burden of TB, ranking first in Africa and sixth globally. It is estimated that about 18 Nigerians die of TB everyday which translates to 432 people monthly and 157,000 yearly.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Tuberculosis By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"Over the last decade, government and partners have implemented various interventions to ensure that people with TB are found and treated.

"However, the advent of COVID-19 pandemic and its control measures in 2020 further impacted on the health system including TB services, setting back progress made. "Despite this setback, the government in partnership with other stakeholders are working to address these challenges by: strengthening the capacity of State TB Program to be more effective in its role; support revitalization and upgrading of health facilities to provide appropriate TB services especially diagnosis; mobilize more domestic resources for TB programs and activities in the State and to establish a multi-stakeholder State Stop TB Partnerships.

"Therefore, in accordance with the theme of this year's World TB Day - "The Clock is Ticking", we reaffirm our commitment to work with other stakeholders to end TB in our respective States.

"We also call on the federal government to provide necessary support to the states to be able to domesticate and achieve the targets and commitments made at the United Nations High-level Meeting on Tuberculosis held in 2018.

"These targets and commitments expect that by 2022, we will be back on track in our efforts to ensure we are able to end TB by 2030", he stated.






Yesterday, a video out of Toronto made the rounds on social media. It was scary to watch, as a dump truck pushed a Mini sideways a half-kilometer (third of a mile). But there were no details about why this accident happened or who was involved. Today, we know more:

This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it.

Courtenay Erhardt, 26, is a nurse who was driving her Mini to a coronavirus vaccination site to administer shots to homeless people. She says she was waiting at a stoplight before heading up an onramp. I was in front of him at that stoplight. We were both trying to get onto the Gardiner (Expressway)," she told the Toronto Star, which has a photo of Erhardt and a close-up look at the Mini stuck to the Kenworth's bumper.

"He hit me from behind when we were merging."

"[The dump truck] just sort of bumped my back rear-end and unfortunately I went sideways and the truck just continued to go up the ramp," Erhardt told CTV News Toronto.

"I just remember holding my horn and my steering wheel and just screaming. Just like bawling and screaming. I honestly didn't know if my Mini was going to flip, or veer out into oncoming traffic on the Gardiner," she said.

"I just remember thinking, 'Why isn't he stopping? Why is he still going?'"

A couple in another car behind the truck saw smoke coming off the truck and knew something was wrong, Erhardt said. They pulled up alongside her, saw what was going on, then pulled ahead of the truck and forced it to stop. They called 911 and helped Erhardt escape her car.

The truck driver, Erhardt said, emerged. He said, I didnt see you and asked me not to call the cops. He asked if he could pay for the damages. He was young.

He has been charged with several offenses, Toronto police said.

Police Sgt. Murray Campbell released a statement to CTV saying, "Operators of large vehicles do not have the benefit of such lower/smaller vehicles, in their ability to see out of windows in all directions," implying the truck driver couldn't see the small car beneath his hood. Campbell advised motorists to make sure they can see truck drivers so the truck drivers can see them.

Story continues

Which is good advice. That said, this truck driver surely felt that something was wrong  and heard the sounds that we can hear in the video.

Erhardt, though terrified, was not injured. She credits the couple who helped her, along with the Mini Cooper.

"Honestly, I believe the reason I'm here doing this interview is because of how well-made Mini Coopers are. It's beaten up completely and I think its a write-off, but it saved my life. My airbags didnt even go off," said Erhardt. "It's amazing. I'm so grateful."
STOCKHOLM, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Directors is proposed to consist of six (6) members and no supplemental members. Re-election of John Brehmer, Bertil Larsson, Charlotta Bjornberg-Paul, Sara Mindus and Mari Thjme as well as new election of Michael Lindengren is proposed, all until the next Annual General Meeting. Furthermore, the nomination committee proposes the re- election of John Brehmer as Chairman of the Board until the next Annual General Meeting. It was noted that Tone Bjrnov had declined re-election.

It is the view of the Nomination Committee that the proposed board members have the experience and knowledge deemed necessary to secure the Company's and the owners' interests. The Nomination Committee has also considered an even distribution of gender within the Board.

The proposed composition of the Board of Directors is in line with the rules of the Swedish Corporate Governance Code with regard to the independence requirement. With the exception of John Brehmer, all members of the Board of Directors are independent in relation to the main shareholders. Furthermore, all members of the Board of Directors are independent in relation to the Company and the management.

Further, new election of registered auditing company KPMG AB, with Authorized Public Accountant Dan Beitner as auditor-in-charge, is proposed for the period up to the end of the next Annual General Meeting.

For the upcoming AGM in May, the Nomination Committee has consisted of Paul Kallenius (representing TFB Holding), Erik Selin (representing Erik Selin Fastigheter), Jonas Weil (representing Proventus), and John Brehmer (Chairman of the Board). Paul Kallenius was appointed as Chairman of the Nomination Committee. Tiberon, the third largest shareholder in TF Bank, declined representation in the Nomination Committee.

The other proposals of the Nomination Committee and more details on the proposed Board of Directors will be presented in the Notice to the AGM and published on www.tfbankgroup.com.

The AGM of TF Bank will take place on May 4, 2021.

For further information, please contact:

Mikael Meomuttel, CFO, deputy CEO and Head of Investor Relations +46 (0)70 626 95 33.

The information was provided by the above contact persons for publication on March 25, 2021 at 17:45 CET.

TF Bank in brief

TF Bank was founded 1987 and is an internet-based niche bank offering consumer banking services and e-commerce solutions through a proprietary IT platform with a high degree of automation. Deposit and lending activities are conducted in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany and Austria through branch or cross-border banking. From 2020 the operations are divided into three segments: Consumer Lending, Ecommerce Solutions and Credit Cards.

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/tf-bank-ab--publ-/r/nomination-committee-s-proposal-to-tf-bank-s-annual-general-meeting-2021,c3314557

The following files are available for download:
University of Exeter joins Europes largest astronomy network

The University of Exeter is joining Europes largest, ground-based astronomy collaborative network, it has been announced.

The new OPTICON-RadioNet PILOT (ORP) network is the amalgamation of two major, pan-European collaborative networks - OPTICON which coordinates efforts in ground-based optical astronomy and RadioNet, which specialises in radio-wave astronomy.

The new network, launched with 15 million of funding under the H2020 programme, aims to harmonise observational methods and tools, and provide access to a wider range of astronomy facilities.

As well as providing scientists with access to a wide range of instruments, it will also promote training for young astronomers, and open the way to new discoveries.

As part of the pioneering network, the University of Exeter will run the UKs VLTI Expertise Centre.

The VLTI, or Very Large Telescope Interferometer, offers worldwide unique capabilities in high-angular resolution astronomy, enabling European astronomers to observe the Universe at milliarcsecond scale at near-infrared and mid-infrared wavelengths.

The United Kingdom centre builds on long-standing experience in the astrophysical exploitation of the VLTI instruments GRAVITY, MATISSE, AMBER, MIDI, and PIONIER.

The VLTI Expertise Centre has a number of strategic aims, including promoting collaboration between interferometrists worldwide and the coordination of cross-facility observations with the US interferometers.

Professor Stefan Kraus, Exeters project coordinator and a leading expert in Astrophysics said: The VLTI offer a very innovative way for studying the sky. I am excited that the ORP will allow us to support other scientists in using this technique.

As our knowledge of the Universe advances, astronomers increasingly need a range of complementary techniques in order to analyse and understand astronomical phenomena.

The new ORP network, which brings together some twenty telescopes and telescope arrays, is designed to harmonise observational methods and tools for ground-based optical and radio astronomy instruments.

The ORP will, in particular, foster the development of the booming field of what is known as time-domain astronomy, which aims to learn about the processes in the interior or surrounding of astronomical objects by studying how these astronomical objects change with time.

We often think of the sky as constant and never changing. This is often not true anymore at the extreme resolution of VLTI, where we probe the immediate surroundings around stars, planets, or black holes. On these scales, the Universe in always in motion, which makes this technique particularly interesting for studying variable astronomical objects., says Professor Kraus.

The ORP program will work on removing barriers between communities by harmonising observation protocols and analysis methods in the optical, infrared, and radio domains and enable astronomers to work better together to observe such events.

Astronomers from 15 European countries, Australia and South Africa, as well as from 37 institutions, have already joined the ORP consortium. It will be coordinated by the CNRS, which runs and contributes to several optical and radio telescopes.

This project has received funding from the European Unions Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101004719.
NSW Ombudsman Receives Over 500 Complaints About Hotel Quarantine During 2020

The NSW Ombudsman has released a new report named 2020 Hindsight on Monday, which highlights the impacts on individuals of measures taken by the state government in combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ombudsman received a total of 913 contacts related to the NSW governments response to the pandemic over the past year, among which 513 are about hotel quarantine.

The most often raised issues include conditions of hotel facilities, inadequate food options, access to mental health and medical assistance, a lack of access to fresh air and exercise, the processing of hotel quarantine exemption requests, quarantine fees, and the length of quarantine.

One complainant who has diabetes and chronic kidney disease was not given food that meets their medical needs and failed to get help from the hotel and the medical staff.

Another complainant who is a nurse said that even opening the door to get some fresh air was not allowed, which is not healthy and fails to meet the minimum standards regulated by the United Nations for prisoners.

Our health is being risked to prevent a risk to the community, the complainant said.

In response to the Ombudsmans inquiry, the NSW Police Force said that security was their main criterion when considering which hotels were suitable as designated quarantine facilities. This led to their final choice of high-rise buildings, which are easier to keep secure but usually have no balconies or windows.

The Ombudsman suggests that more consideration be given to this problem as the initial urgency of the pandemic has passed.

The number of agencies involved in hotel quarantine has also made it hard for the Ombudsman to deal with related complaints. While the watchdog has oversight of NSW Health, it does not have the same right with regards to police actions, private security, and other contractors.

The response to COVID-19 involves multiple agencies across multiple layers of government (state and federal), working sometimes in close partnership, sometimes in loose alignment, and sometimes separately, Paul Miller, acting NSW Ombudsman said in the foreword of the report.

In contrast, oversight and complaint channels are highly fragmented, making it extremely difficult for the public to find the right facility which can solve their problems.

Even now, some aspects of the quarantine system remain unclear to the Ombudsman.

The Department of Premier and Cabinet confirmed to Miller last week that agencies related to quarantine services agree to participate in a roundtable with the oversight bodies that deal with complaints about the services.
Direct selling has a long history, going back to the days of traveling salesmen in the mid-1800s. Direct Selling in its current form, as we know it today was made popular by the likes of Avon and Amway over 60 years ago. But this industry is still in its nascent form in many emerging markets, especially in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. According to the Direct Selling News, Africa is pitted as the new frontier for the direct selling industry, while the Asia Pacific is today responsible for around 44 percent of the global revenues of the industry.

Despite direct selling's growing popularity worldwide, a sign that this form of business is looking increasingly attractive to aspiring entrepreneurs, especially in countries with high unemployment rates and limited mainstream income opportunities, the industry suffers from a bad rap. One such direct selling company that has built its business on the back of emerging markets comes from the heart of Asia. Despite its explosive growth over the last two decades, QNet, an e-commerce based direct selling company, headquartered in Hong Kong, continues to battle serious reputation issues and allegations ranging from financial pyramiding to cheating and fraud.

In this article, we explore the story of QNet and try to understand if it is the real deal or just an elaborate scam.

1. Who Is QNET?

QNET according to its website is a "global e-commerce based direct selling company that provides customers around the world with unique high-quality products and services while giving them the opportunity to build a sales business by promoting these products." The company utilizes a multi-level marketing (MLM) model in which independent sales representatives sell their products and receive compensation based on their sales volume.

QNET was founded in 1998 by Vijay Eswaran and Joseph 'Japa' Bismark who at the time were top distributors for an American direct selling company building its presence in the Philippines in the mid-90s before they realized the American company folded up overnight and left them with liabilities running into hundreds of thousands of dollars. They decided to leverage on their experience in the direct selling business and set up a new company to help the approximately 2000 strong team they had built, and who had placed their faith in them.

Originally known as GoldQuest because their initial product portfolio included custom-commission collectible gold coins, and then QuestNet as the company expanded its product portfolio and upgraded its e-commerce platform, the company eventually shortened the name to QNet in 2010 as it prepared to enter the digital age.

Starting as a small operation selling limited products, they continued to evolve the product line expanding into new categories rapidly. In 1998, they started out selling commemorative gold coins and were also appointed one of the official distributors of the 2000 Sydney Olympics Commemorative Coin Set and FIFA's Centennial Commemorative coin set in 2004. By 2002, they were selling travel and vacations via their partnership with QVI Club brand holidays. Then in 2006, they began marketing wellness, health, and nutritional products. Today they sell products related to home care, beauty and personal care, holidays and travel, education, wellness, watches and jewelry, and nutrition and have operations in more than thirty countries and customers in nearly 100 countries.

Unfortunately, as their business began to grow, so did the attention of the world around them. Although they utilize a legitimate and well-recognized business model, some countries found their success suspicious. Over the years, multiple authorities in different countries have accused QNet of operating a Ponzi or Pyramid scheme. However, QNet has never been convicted in any court of law. These are different from various cases registered against errant distributors, known as independent representatives (IRs) who act of their own accord in violation of their contractual agreement with Qnet.

2. What Is a Ponzi Scheme, Anyway?

Ponzi schemes are fraudulent investment scams that generate returns for earlier investors with money taken from later investors. Such schemes have nothing to do with direct selling, or multi-level marketing (MLM), a popular form of building the distributor network in direct selling.

In the 1920s, Charles Ponzi invented a scheme involving international postal reply coupons. If you had an international postal reply coupon, you could send a letter to a foreign country without buying a postage stamp.

Millions of Americans had relatives in foreign countries they sent letters to. Their relatives might not have enough money to buy a stamp for return mail. The USA member would send a letter with an international postal reply coupon, and family members in the old country would present their coupons at their post office to get stamps to write them back.

The postal services in foreign countries also sold international postal reply coupons. Ponzi noticed that foreign post offices sold the coupons for less than the equivalent in US dollars. So, Ponzi bought up massive amounts of international postal reply coupons in Italy and offered them for sale in the United States. He made money on each transaction. He started asking investors to give him money to buy even more coupons, promising a 50 percent return in 45 days.

To this point, Ponzi had an arbitrage scheme. He was taking advantage of a quirk in postal pricing. He was simply getting investors to give him money to make even greater profits. But Ponzi got greedy. Ponzi started offering investors a 100 percent return on their money if they just waited 90 days.

That scheme could only work if the international postal reply coupons he could buy in Italy were free. They weren't. So, Ponzi started paying earlier investors with the money he collected from later investors. Eventually, the whole scheme collapsed, and thousands of investors lost a total of $20 million.

This was in an era when the average wage was only $10 to $20 a week.

3. QNET - Long History of Allegations and the Truth Behind Them

Philippines, 2007

Vijay Eswaran and his partners were arrested as a result of an escalated civil dispute. The case was opened in the Philippines due to a disagreement between its original founders. The matter escalated through unethical means, and the Philippines government issued an Interpol notice for Eswaran and his current partner's arrest. At the time, Vijay and his team were hosting a major convention in Indonesia. It was there that they were all arrested by Interpol. They were detained for three months but were then acquitted by the Indonesian court. The court filed that they did not see merit in the Interpol notice. Shortly after, the Department of Justice in the Philippines also acquitted them of all wrongdoing.

Rwanda, 2009

Rwanda had banned QuestNet from operating within the country, but the ban that was lifted in 2012. According to reports, the company's operations were banned for contravening tax laws. However, it turned out that QNET simply failed to identify its corporate agent's contact address property in paperwork submitted to the government, which triggered the ban. Once cleared, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, John Rwangombw, released a letter that clarified the findings. He stated: "Upon review of your request to lift the ban on your business, and after consultations with different stakeholders, we hereby lift the ban and allow your company to resume operations as long as you abide with the conditions." Conditions included: registering the company in Rwanda, obtaining a physical address, registering as a taxpayer, making monetary transfers in line with the country's laws, declaring members of the QuestNet chain to tax authorities, and storing the items being sold in a warehouse in Rwanda.

In fact, in 2013, QNET launched its first African office in Rwanda, proving that they were in good standing with the Rwanda authorities. At the time, QNET stated it would use the location to manage its proprietary platform, develop a new customer service center, establish an import and distribution hub, and provide marketing support and professional training for Independent Representatives (IRs).

Egypt, 2013

Often, allegations against people affiliated with QNET are falsely linked to the company itself. The simple fact is that QNET representatives are successful. Many of them stand up for the rights of independent entrepreneurs, and sometimes their success generates jealousy. Sometimes freedom is an unpopular aim. As a result, some people associated with QNET, like QNET representative and Egyptian human rights activist Salma Sabahi, have been arrested based on accusations regarding their QNET activities.

In 2013, Egypt was caught up in the Arab Spring. Popular TV personality Salma Sabahi supported human rights in Egypt. And, for the previous two years, she had been very successful with QNET.

Sabahi's father was running for president. She was arrested for "fraud" in her QNET activities, which consisted of showing videos to some friends who were interested in QNET. She was put in jail. When Sabahi's father was no longer running for president, she was found not guilty of all charges.

Tajikistan, 2014

In 2014, charges against QNET were presented in a shariah court in Tajikistan's former Soviet republic. The Islamic court ruled that QNET violated sharia law by combining two transactions into one, allowing independent representatives to buy a sales kit and simultaneously buy a representative product. QNET changed its business practices and continues to operate in Tajikistan.

Moldova, 2016

Reports claim that QNET lured hundreds of poverty-stricken Moldova into buying $2000 worth of merchandise with promises of earning thousands of euros every week. But if you check the source material published in Romanian, you find that it wasn't QNET that made the promises.

India, 2017

In 2013, an investigation into QNET and its franchisee Vihaan Direct Selling Pvt Ltd (Vihaan) was launched. Gurupreet Singh Anand, a self-proclaimed activist, alleged that his wife, Parmeet Kahur, had been cheated by representatives of the company after she had purchased a product. After three years of investigation, the Supreme Court issued a stay on all proceedings against the company. QNET company records proved Kahur had placed an order for an online education product valued at Rs.30,000, but she had canceled the payment before the order was processed. Therefore, no commercial transaction ever took place.

India, 2017

Michael Ferreira and Malckolm Desai, the Indian shareholders of Vihaan (QNET franchisee), were jailed following allegations that QNET utilized a model classified as a money circulation scheme. The Supreme Court, however, ruled that that model adopted by the company was not a money circulation scheme and, in fact, did not fall under the purview of the Prize Chits and Money Circulation (Banning) Act 1978. They classified QNET and its franchisee, Vihaan, as a legitimate direct selling platform.

India, 2019

In 2019, a young IT professional committed suicide after losing millions of rupees on QNET purchases. However, their own-source document discredits this accusation. "This information is patently untrue and baseless. Based on company records, we can confirm that Aravind had been a distributor of QNET's products since 2014. Over the last five years, he had not only purchased a number of products from QNET but had also successfully earned commissions on product sales, consistently."

Liberia, 2020

FrontPageAfrica released an article titled "Alleged Trafficked Victims from Sierra Leona, Guinea, Senegal & Ivory Coast Stranded in Liberia." The report claimed that QNET had been bringing trafficked victims to Liberia under the guide of job offers. However, the company has clarified that these claims are false and condemns any form of human trafficking. Instead, they are working with authorities to bring justice to the perpetrators of this crime. Any QNET independent representative found to be breaking company policy will also be liable to be terminated for policy violations and professional misconduct. The company stated: "We would like to reaffirm our status as a Direct Selling company, with a 22-year history, and a presence in more than 100 countries globally. We are not an employment agency, do not offer job promises, and absolutely deny any allegations of human trafficking levied against us. Thus, we can summarily declare that QNET did not offer any employment to those stranded in Liberia."

India, 2019-2020

Independent representatives of QNET have been facing arrests by the Cyberabad Police with alleged charges of running a Ponzi scheme. The QNET Distributors Welfare Association then filed a petition with the Telangana High Court. They alleged that state authorities were indiscriminately registering criminal cases against QNET independent representatives and claimed that the police were not following the state's notification on the Direct Selling Guidelines. As a result, the Telangana High Court ordered the State of Telangana, the Commissioner of Police of Hyderabad, and the Commissioner of Police of Cyberabad, to refrain from taking any action against the distributors of QNET. Arrests were not immediately halted, resulting in the Supreme Court issuing a notice to the Cyberabad Police in Telangana for violating its orders of "no-coercive action' and arrests of independent representatives of QNET.

The protection order for the IRs of QNET remains. Unfortunately, authorities continue to disregard the high court orders. In 2020, another notice to the Cyberabad police was issued. According to QNET, "The action taken by the police has no civil and criminal law conformance and is in direct contempt of the order granted by the Supreme Court of India that has directed all states including the state of Telangana to not take any coercive action against the company." QNET continues to challenge these unjustified arrests.

Ongoing False Claims

Journalist Donald Frazier, a reporter for Forbes Asia, attempted to get to the truth about the charges against QNET. He obtained 157 comments from 20,000 Forbes readers about their experiences with QNET. He found zero proof of wrongdoing and zero accusations of misconduct from credible sources. As Frazier puts it:

"The charges against QNET, we found, tend to originate in apocryphal, anonymous or debunked sources. They then find their way into Wikipedia or news blogs, which are then cited as fact."

Dozens of accusations appear on Wikipedia's page on QNET. But if you read them, you will see they are not actually accusations against QNET but are almost always related to individuals who have misused the QNET name to misrepresent the business or the product.

4. What's the Truth About QNET?

QNet isn't an investment or a scam. QNet is a support system for connecting people to products they want and need at prices they are willing to pay because they see the value in it.

Like all commercial enterprises, QNet earns a profit. The people who do the work of selling QNET products also earn their profits.

Even more importantly, QNET's independent representatives form the relationships that can propel them to financial success. Representatives who learn the principles of selling can apply them to other products. Representatives who succeed with QNET can branch out into new ventures on their own, understanding business dynamics with reasonable expectations of return in the real world.
GBP/AUD Exchange Rate as UK Markets Await Verdict of EU Vaccine Summit

The Pound Sterling to Australian Dollar exchange rate held steady today with the pairing currently fluctuating around AU$1.80.

Pound Sterling investors were relieved this morning to see EU leaders push back against the blocs plans to ban exports of crucial Covid-19 vaccines to the UK.

German chancellor, Angela Merkel, instead put emphasis on the need of increasing European vaccine production, saying:

The problem at the moment with the vaccine supply isnt so much due to the question how much was ordered, but more about how much can be manufactured on European soil.

British manufacturing plants manufacture for Great Britain, the US arent exporting anything, and therefore we rely on what can be produced in Europe and we have to expect this virus will preoccupy us for a long time.

However, if EU leaders do decide to ban exports of critical vaccines to the UK during todays summit, then we would see the Pound Australian Dollar suffer.

Daily cases of Covid-19 in the UK are down -153 against last week, but generally, cases of the virus have stabilised. Those hospitalised because of the virus, however, have fallen by -1,786 against last weeks figure.

As a result, UK markets remain reasonably confident that the UK will successfully reopen in April and speed up the nations ability to recover from the pandemic.

Australian Dollar (AUD) Exchange Rates Steady as Risk-Off Mood Limits Demand for Aussie

The Australian Dollar (AUD) has been undermined by risk-off mood today as tensions between the US and China have escalated after a ballistic missile test by North Korea.

With China being Australias largest trading partner, this has sparked concerns that US-China trade tensions could remerge, limiting Australias economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Today also saw the news that Australias economy has become more reliant on iron ore than ever before, meaning that the nations economy base has become very narrow.

As a result, AUD investors are becoming more cautious about the outlook for Australias economy, which has been particularly ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic.

John Edwards, an analyst at Financial Review, was more confident about the Australian economy, commenting:

The economic wreckage caused by coronavirus was abrupt, frightening and savage. It was also short and unexpectedly shallow. It was a deliberate recession brought about by government and by peoples fear of infection. All up, and notwithstanding that Australia was often reported to be in lockdown, most of the Australian workforce kept working, either from their usual place of work or from home. Compared with the countries to which it usually compared itself, Australia had a good pandemic.

Australian Dollar (AUD) investors, however, are remaining cautious as US-China trade tensions look like they will be taking a turn for the worse.

GBP/AUD Outlook: Could Deteriorating US-China Relations Further Weaken AUD?

Pound (GBP) traders will be looking ahead to tomorrows release of the latest UK Retail Sales report for February.

Any improvement in retail sales last month could drive up the Pound Australian Dollar exchange rate.

UK markets will, however, continue to monitor UK-EU vaccine developments.

If the EU finally decides to ban exports of the crucial AstraZeneca vaccine to the UK, then Sterling would suffer as the Governments vaccine rollout programme is challenged by a limited supply of vaccines.

The Pound Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) exchange rate could also rise if risk-sentiment continues to sour as relations between the US and China deteriorate.
An executive at a Chicago hospital allegedly gave early COVID-19 vaccines to employees at his jewelry store, steakhouse and at Trump Tower, where he lived.

Late Wednesday night, he resigned.

Loretto Hospitals Board of Trustees unanimously accepted the resignation of Dr. Anosh Ahmed, the chief operating officer and chief financial officer at Loretto Hospital, after weeks of scandal over improperly administered vaccine, the hospital announced.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I want to thank Dr. Ahmed for his contributions to the Loretto Hospital community and we wish him the best in his future endeavors, Edward Hogan, the hospital board chairman, said in a statement.

Despite the resignation, Hogan vowed to continue the investigation into Ahmed, who was hired in 2018.

If our review should uncover anything further that indicates our processes were compromised, there will be additional consequences imposed on those responsible for these actions, Hogan said.

Amid the scandal, first reported by Block Club Chicago, city officials temporarily cut off the vaccine supply to Loretto.

Theyve got work to do to rebuild trust in the community, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday.

More than a dozen Cook County judges were also vaccinated ahead of schedule by Loretto, WBEZ reported last week.

Loretto Chief Executive Officer George Miller also hosted a vaccination event at his church, according to Block Club Chicago.

Earlier this week, State Rep. La Shawn K. Ford (D-Chicago) resigned from his seat on the Loretto board after the hospital reprimanded Ahmed and Miller, but refused to disclose their punishments.

I am very disappointed with the recent developments at The Loretto Hospital regarding its use of coronavirus vaccine entrusted to the hospital, Ford said in a statement, saying he resigned because I strongly disagreed with how the reprimand of the hospital leadership was handled.
Dublin, March 25, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Green Building Materials Market - Forecasts from 2021 to 2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global green building materials market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 11.25% over the forecast period. The market is expected to be driven by the increase in residential housing construction, rising demand for energy-efficient buildings, and favourable government regulations and policies for green building houses and other structures.

Moreover, with the aftershocks of the COVID-19 Pandemic, individuals have been taking effective measures to protect themselves from various diseases. According to the WHO, lung, and respiratory diseases, which had been associated with a poor environment, are major causes of death. Green Buildings provide ample daylight, a better ventilation system, and freshwater availability. Various research studies have shown that natural daylight reduces stress levels and surges productivity by approx. 15% in individuals.

Reducing Carbon Emissions

The reduction or achieving carbon neutrality would be a major factor in the overall market growth, during the forecast period. The United Nations recently stated that green buildings hold a key to achieve net-zero carbon goal. According to the UN report, buildings account for approx. 38% of the planet's C02 emissions from energy. The emission from the building has surged due to the increasing use of fossil fuels for energy or electricity generation. The report also stated that green buildings would be a major factor in combating climate change and reducing carbon emissions from the environment. There has been a surge in spending on energy-efficient buildings in recent years.

Major countries have been planning and taking measures to reduce or achieve carbon neutrality in the coming decades. In 2017, Sweden stated its goal to achieve carbon neutrality by the year 2045, which had made it the first nation to put into law a given and expected timeline, intending to achieve Paris Agreement Target. The country had planned to reduce absolute emissions by approx. 85%, as compared to 1990 levels. The remaining 15% would be completed through investments and spending on projects such as building greenhouses and other environmentally friendly projects. In June 2019, The United Kingdom also stated that it had set a target to reach carbon neutrality by the year 2050. The country's carbon emissions had reduced by 29% over the last ten years. Other countries have also been making major efforts to reduce or become carbon neutral in the coming decades. In June 2019, France announced legislation to achieve net-zero greenhouse emissions by the year 2050.

The country had been taking measures to enhance around 7.2 million poorly insulated households, as its housing sector produces around 25% of the carbon emissions. China, which has been the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, announced its plans to become carbon neutral by the year 2060, in September 2020. The country also has a significant share in the clean energy market, as it is one of the biggest investors in the clean and green energy sectors. In October 2020, Japan, one of the biggest economies in the world, announced its ambitions to achieve net carbon neutrality by the year 2050. In October 2020, South Korea also announced its ambitions and plans to achieve carbon neutrality by the year 2050. The country had been spending major capital on green projects. In July 2020, South Korea launched a novel Korean Deal for USD 135 Billion, which would focus on investments in digital and green technology. This is expected to be a major development in the green building materials market, during the forecast period.

Rising Construction Expenditure and green building initiatives in The United States

The market is expected to be driven by the increase in construction expenditure, worldwide. According to the U.S Department of Commerce's Census Bureau, around 50% of construction spending in the country is generated from the housing sector. The upcoming administration in the United States has stated its plans to spend USD 2.4 trillion on energy and infrastructure to achieve carbon neutrality by the year 2050. According to the Census Bureau, in October 2020, USD 1.48 trillion was spent on construction spending, out of which USD 646 billion was spent in the housing and residential sector. The country has also been making significant developments in the sustainable and green buildings sector. According to the United States Government, the number of LEED-certified projects in the country grew from 296 certifications in the year 2006, to 67,200 in the year 2018. Green Building systems like ICC 700 National Building Standard and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is expected to the market growth in the coming years. The United States government had adopted LEED and other related green building certifications for the development and construction of green buildings

India and China are expected to drive the market

India will also play a major role in market growth, in the coming years. According to the International Finance Operation, approx. 70% of the buildings required by the year 2030, have to be constructed in the country. The market is one of the nascent and initial stages of development in the country, with approx. 5% of buildings have been classified as green in the country. The market is expected to be driven in the country because of the lower energy costs of green buildings as compared to other conventional buildings. Various government schemes are expected to give a major boost to the green buildings market. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, one of the major housing schemes launched by the government of India, aims to provide and give affordable housing to the urban poor by 2022. The scheme was introduced in June 2015.

The government stated that eco-friendly and sustainable technologies would be used for the construction of the houses. This is expected to drive green building materials market growth in the coming years. Other Indian Government schemes such as Eco- Niwas Samhita, a green housing project and scheme, would provide a boost to the green building market. China is also expected to have a major share in the market in the coming years. In 2012, the country's central government announced the implementation of accelerating the development of Green Buildings in China, which provides substantial and specific subsidies for green-rated buildings. The country had also launched the National Urbanisation Plan, intending to increase the proportion of green buildings in novel construction by 50% in 2020.

Current Trends

1. In January 2021, Nexii Building Solutions, one of the major players in the market, announced that it had been on track to open the company's first manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania, United States. The plant would be operated by NEXUS-1 and John Wolfington, through the company's manufacturing program. The company would produce retrofit and green building products using the company's process and material, called Nexiite.

2. In December 2020, HDFC Ltd. India's major finance company, announced that it had signed an MOU with the Indian Green Building Council, intending to promote green buildings in India. Under this MOU, HDFC would work to promote financing and create awareness of green buildings in the country.

Key Topics Covered:



1. Introduction

1.1. Market Definition

1.2. Market Segmentation



2. Research Methodology

2.1. Research Data

2.2. Assumptions



3. Executive Summary

3.1. Research Highlights



4. Market Dynamics

4.1. Market Drivers

4.2. Market Restraints

4.3. Porters Five Forces Analysis

4.3.1. Bargaining Power of Suppliers

4.3.2. Bargaining Power of Buyers

4.3.3. The threat of New Entrants

4.3.4. Threat of Substitutes

4.3.5. Competitive Rivalry in the Industry

4.4. Industry Value Chain Analysis



5. Global Green Building Materials Market Analysis, By Type

5.1. Introduction

5.2. Interior

5.3. Exterior

5.4. Structural

5.5. Others



6. Global Green Building Materials Market Analysis, By Application

6.1. Introduction

6.2. Roofing

6.3. Insulation

6.4. Framing

6.5. Others



7. Global Green Building Materials Market Analysis, By End-User

7.1. Introduction

7.2. Residential

7.3. Non-Residential



8. Global Green Building Materials Market Analysis, by Geography

8.1. Introduction

8.2. North America

8.2.1. North America Green Building Materials Market Analysis, By Type

8.2.2. North America Green Building Materials Market Analysis, By Application

8.2.3.

8.2.4. North America Green Building Materials Market Analysis, By End-User

8.2.5. By Country

8.2.5.1. United States

8.2.5.2. Canada

8.2.5.3. Mexico

8.3. South America

8.3.1. South America Green Building Materials Market Analysis, By Type

8.3.2. South America Green Building Materials Market Analysis, By Application

8.3.3. South America Green Building Materials Market Analysis, By End-User

8.3.4. By Country

8.3.4.1. Brazil

8.3.4.2. Argentina

8.3.4.3. Others

8.4. Europe

8.4.1. Europe Green Building Materials Market Analysis, By Type

8.4.2. Europe Green Building Materials Market Analysis, By Application

8.4.3. Europe Green Building Materials Market Analysis, By End-User

8.4.4. By Country

8.4.4.1. UK

8.4.4.2. Germany

8.4.4.3. France

8.4.4.4. Italy

8.4.4.5. Spain

8.4.4.6. Others

8.5. The Middle East and Africa

8.5.1. Middle East and Africa Green Building Materials Market Analysis, By Type

8.5.2. Middle East and Africa Green Building Materials Market Analysis, By Applica-tion

8.5.3. Middle East and Africa Green Building Materials Market Analysis, By End-User

8.5.4. By Country

8.5.4.1. Saudi Arabia

8.5.4.2. UAE

8.5.4.3. Israel

8.5.4.4. Others

8.6. Asia Pacific

8.6.1. Asia Pacific Green Building Materials Market Analysis, By Type

8.6.2. Asia Pacific Green Building Materials Market Analysis, By Application

8.6.3. Asia Pacific Green Building Materials Market Analysis, By End-User

8.6.4. By Country

8.6.4.1. Japan

8.6.4.2. China

8.6.4.3. India

8.6.4.4. Australia

8.6.4.5. Others



9. Competitive Environment and Analysis

9.1. Major Players and Strategy Analysis

9.2. Emerging Players and Market Lucrativeness

9.3. Mergers, Acquisitions, Agreements, and Collaborations

9.4. Vendor Competitiveness Matrix



10. Company Profiles

10.1. IsoHemp

10.2. Binderholz GmbH

10.3. BASF SE

10.4. Black Mountains Insulation Limited

10.5. Elemental Green

10.6. Kingspan Group

10.7. Interface Inc.

10.8. DuPont

10.9. Sika AG

10.10. Soben International



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/siout3
" " If a number is a ratio of two integers (e.g., 1 over 10, -5 over 23, 1,543 over 10, etc.) then it is a rational number. Otherwise, it is irrational. HowStuffWorks

When you hear the words "rational" and "irrational," it might bring to mind the difference between, say, the cool, relentlessly analytical Mr. Spock and the hardheaded, emotionally volatile Dr. "Bones" McCoy in the "Star Trek" television and movie universe. Unless you're a mathematician, though, you probably don't think of ratios between integers versus square roots, the sort of stuff that makes the non-mathematicians among us feel as confused as we do hearing Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" sung in Klingon.

But in the realm of mathematics, where words sometimes have specific meanings that are very different from everyday usage, the difference between rational and irrational numbers doesn't have anything to do with reasoning and logic versus raw emotional urges.

Advertisement

Remember the Word 'Ratio'

"In remembering the difference between rational and irrational numbers, think one word: ratio," explains Eric D. Kolaczyk. He's a professor in the department of mathematics and statistics at Boston University and the director of the university's Rafik B. Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science & Engineering.

"If you can write a number as a ratio of two integers (e.g., 1 over 10, -5 over 23, 1,543 over 10, etc.) then we put it in the category of rational numbers," Kolaczyk explains in an email. "Otherwise, we say it is irrational."

You can express either a whole number or a fraction  parts of whole numbers  as a ratio, with an integer called a numerator on top of another integer called a denominator. You divide the denominator into the numerator. That can give you a number such as 1/4 or 500/10 (otherwise known as 50).

Irrational numbers, in contrast to rational numbers, are pretty complicated. As Wolfram MathWorld explains, they can't be expressed by fractions, and when you try to write them as a number with a decimal point, the digits just keep going on and on, without ever stopping or repeating a pattern.

So what sort of numbers behave in such a crazy fashion? Basically, ones that describe complicated things. Perhaps the most famous irrational number is pi  sometimes written as , the Greek letter for p  which expresses the ratio of the circumference of a circle to the diameter of that circle. As mathematician Steven Bogart explained in this 1999 Scientific American article that ratio will always equal pi, regardless of the size of the circle. Since the earliest attempts to calculate pi were performed by Babylonian mathematicians nearly 4,000 years ago, successive generations of mathematicians have kept plugging away, and coming up with longer and longer strings of decimals with non-repeating patterns. In 2019, Google researcher Hakura Iwao managed to extend pi to 31,415,926,535,897 digits, as this Cnet article details.

Sometimes, a square root  that is, a factor of a number that, when multiplied by itself, produces the number that you started with  is irrational number, unless it's a perfect square that's a whole number, such as 4, the square root of 16. One of the most conspicuous examples is the square root of 2, which works out to 1.414 plus an endless string of nonrepeating digits. That value corresponds to the length of the diagonal within a square, as first described by the ancient Greeks in the Pythagorean theorem.

Advertisement

Why Do We Use the Words 'Rational' and 'Irrational'?

Why do we call them rational and irrational? That seems to be a little murky. "We do indeed typically use 'rational' to mean something more like based on reason or similar," Kolaczyk says. "Its use in mathematics seems to have cropped up as early as the 1200s in British sources (per the Oxford English Dictionary). If you trace both 'rational' and 'ratio' back to their Latin roots, you find that in both cases the root is about 'reasoning,' broadly speaking."

What's clearer is that both rational and irrational numbers have played important roles in the advance of civilization. While language probably dates back to around the origin of the human species, numbers came along much later, explains Mark Zegarelli, a math tutor and author who has written 10 books in the "For Dummies" series. Hunter-gatherers, he says, probably didn't need much numerical precision, other than the ability to roughly estimate and compare quantities.

"They needed concepts like, 'we have no more apples,'" Zegarelli says. "They didn't need to know, 'we have exactly 152 apples.'"

But as humans began to carve out plots of land to create farms, erect cities and manufacture and trade goods, traveling farther away from their homes, they needed a more complex math.

"Suppose you build a house with a roof for which the rise is the same length as the run from the base at its highest point," Kolaczyk says. "How long is the stretch of roof surface itself from top to outer edge? Always a factor of the square root of 2 of the rise (run). And that's an irrational number as well."

In the technologically advanced 21st century, irrational numbers continue to play a crucial role, according to Carrie Manore. She's a scientist and a mathematician in the Information Systems and Modeling Group at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

"Pi is an obvious first irrational number to talk about," Manore says via email. "We need it to determine area and circumference of circles. It's critical to computing angles, and angles are critical to navigation, building, surveying, engineering and more. Radio frequency communication is dependent on sines and cosines which involve pi." Additionally, irrational numbers play a key role in the complex math that makes possible high-frequency stock trading, modeling, forecasting and most statistical analysis  all activities that keep our society humming.

The list could go on. "In fact, in our modern world, it almost makes sense to instead ask, where are irrational numbers NOT being used?" Manore says.

Now That's Interesting Computationally, "we are almost always actually using approximations of these irrational numbers to solve problems," Manore explains. "Those approximations are rational since computers can only compute to certain precision. While the concept of irrational numbers is ubiquitous in science and engineering, one could argue that we are in fact never actually using a true irrational number in practice."
Armenian acting minister: EU allocated EUR 68,700,000 to Armenia for budget support in 2020

Armenia Finance Ministry: MFA's budget grew by AMD 1,600,000,000 in 2020

Bodies and remains of Armenian soldiers are kept in morgue in Armenia's Martuni

White House confirms Biden-Erdogan meeting in Brussels

Armenia acting MOD touches upon priority directions for development of Armed Forces

Diaspora Armenian writer, publicist Toros Toranian dies

2 Armenian soldiers injured in scuffle with Azerbaijan, Armenian POW is hospitalized, Jun. 3 digest

Wedding held in Armenia's Shurnukh for first time since the war ended

EEU member states to finish preparing for negotiations over free trade zone in Iran in late June

Armenia Central Bank: Economic downfall in 2020 was due to decline in service and construction sectors

Armenia legislature adopts several bills in first reading

Armenia President meets with Nursultan Nazarbayev

Dejavu: Armenia ruling party distributes money for votes at Yerevan district election office

Chief Advisor to Karabakh President sacked

Russian MFA: Works are carried out to settle situation around Karabakh every day

Armenia opposition MP sounds alarm about Baku fabricating criminal cases against Armenian prisoners

Armenia acting health minister: I have apologized, I am not going to resign

Helga Schmid meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Armenia's deputy foreign ministers resigned or have heavy workload?

Dollar goes down in Armenia

Armenia Elections Oversight Committee reports Iranian citizenship of ruling party's MP candidate

Acting deputy minister: Only 17 of 711 Iran-Armenia power transmission line towers were installed by 2017

Armenia Parliament Council holding session

Armenia to host CSTO "Thunder-2021" military exercises

NYT: Chinese hackers launch cyberattack on New York city transportation authority

Armenia President to Kazakhstan counterpart: I would like to see much deeper cooperation between our countries

Armenia citizens shut down Etchmiadzin-Ashtarak road, complaining about lack of irrigation water

Armenia independent MP: Foreign minister and his deputies don't want to take part in treacherous acts

Armenia to get $11mn loan, 350,000 grant for agriculture

WHO worries about worsening mental health worldwide amid pandemic

Armenia health ministry on improper handling of Artsakh war victims bodies: There is no justification

Armenia bloc election foundation already in operation

Russia ambassador to Armenia paying working visit to Syunik Province (PHOTOS)

China pledges to step up resistance to foreign interference in Hong Kong

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: There can be no talk of corridor for Azerbaijan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on incumbent authorities: Wherever they flee, we will bring them by the feet

President: Impossible to ensure peace in region or stay in Artsakh without Russia army joint efforts

China Daily: Dispatch from Makit: Thriving in the desert

Karabakh President: We will never put up with being part of Azerbaijan, it is ruled out

Armenia MFA information department chief: All deputy FMs carrying out their duties

Ardshinbank invited children to the cinema on International Childrens Day

Armenia judiciary to have 10 more judges

Armenia acting premier: We had recorded 40% increase in tax revenues according to 2019 results

Armenia acting PM on Artsakh war casualties bodies: We have 50 remains in which case DNA was not separated

Azerbaijan authorities plan to "squeeze" everything from "terrorist show" related to Armenian captives

Ameriabank announces a contest for bank card design

108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia parliament convenes special session

Armenia interim government holding Cabinet meeting

Catholicos of All Armenians heads for Syunik Province, Artsakh

World oil prices going up

Iran loses right to vote in UN General Assembly

Newspaper: Armenia authorities come up with new way of punishing unwanted characters

Newspaper: Russia army Southern Military District deputy commander to arrive in Yerevan Thursday

Lebanese Armenian man taken prisoner by Azerbaijan is hospitalized

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Are we getting under the burden? Then lets get under to the end

Armenia acting health minister on keeping fallen soldiers bodies in bags: What else should they be kept in?

Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation

Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow

2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik

Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center

"Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans

Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel

Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna

Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations

US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies

Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week

Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection

Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential

Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement

Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues

Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo

Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation

NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident

Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices

Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over

Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest

Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia

Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia

Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels

Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters

Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021

Dollar is stable in Armenia

Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector

Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out

Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe

Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia

Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border

Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor

Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue

Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia

Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this

Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Akkio , a no-code machine learning (ML) platform for modern sales, marketing, and finance teams, announced today it has launched a new feature called Data Stories . Data Stories enable Akkio users to understand the inputs that are most predictive in driving the AI models they create. Data Stories help users overcome the "black box feeling"  the lack of confidence and trust many non-data scientists experience when creating predictive models.

Akkio's no-code ML platform makes it possible for any technically-savvy user  not just data scientists and software engineers  to create and deploy AI predictive models. By making AI easy, Akkio opens up the power of AI to thousands of new applications where AI could be useful today. But these new users need different ways to understand and trust model performance than the highly technical ones data scientists use. That's where Data Stories come in. Data Stories empower users to see, understand, and take action on their business data like never before.

According to a PWC report titled, " AI predictions 2021 ," 52% of companies have accelerated their AI approach in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis and AI is paying off for them in concrete ways. They go on to say, "the future payoff is even greater and could give early adopters an edge that competitors may never be able to overtake." Companies do not have time to solely build AI projects from the ground-up. To keep up, they need to use platforms like Akkio that will get them results faster.

Founded by execs from the wireless home audio company Sonos and the smart additive manufacturing company Markforged , Akkio was built based on a shared frustration: having massive amounts of data but very slow ways of using it to drive the business. And it wasn't for a lack of trying. In their previous positions, Akkio's founders hired hard-to-find and expensive-to-keep data scientists and used custom solutions implemented by consultants  the kind that cost a lot of money and took a long time to complete. But the queue of promising projects left unstaffed only grew. In the end, they wanted a self-serve ML platform that any department with data could use to take matters into their own hands. When they couldn't find that they built it.

The result is fast, powerful, and flexible. Akkio can help enterprise sales teams score incoming leads, help telcos identify signs of customer churn, assist insurance companies in flagging which subscribers are more likely to incur large charges, help customer support teams detect angry customers, and more. All without the multi-million dollar investment that most AI projects take today.

"The amount of data available to marketing, sales, and financial teams is exploding at a furious pace  but making sense of it all is virtually impossible without the assistance of artificial intelligence," said Abe Parangi, co-founder and CEO of Akkio. "We believe our Data Stories functionality is the first to empower non-expert users to identify the myriad of complex factors that drive key business outcomes, so they can replicate what works and avoid what doesn't. In essence, Data Stories helps democratize AI, making its valuable insights available to even those without data science expertise."

Data Stories is available now. For more information on signing up with Akkio, visit https://app.akk.io/signup .

About Akkio

Founded in 2019, Akkio is a technology company whose mission is to make artificial intelligence easy enough for anyone to use. Its no-code machine learning platform helps modern sales, marketing, and finance teams create and deploy AI predictive models. By combining state-of-the-art ML technology with a streamlined, intuitive cloud platform, Akkio empowers businesses to embrace all the benefits of AI without requiring data scientists or complex coding. For more information, please visit akkio.com.

SOURCE Akkio

Related Links

https://www.akkio.com


A former Houston police officer was sentenced to prison on Wednesday after pleading guilty to her role in a cocaine conspiracy, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office Southern District of Texas.

U.S. District Judge Gray Miller ordered Julissa Diaz, 41, to serve 87 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, prosecutors said. Diaz pleaded guilty in January to a charge of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 21:33:55|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

ISLAMABAD, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Thursday invited Hungarian companies to enter into joint ventures with Pakistani companies, especially in the special economic zones (SEZs) under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Qureshi spoke at the joint online inauguration of the Hungary-Pakistan Trade and Economic Window and the first Hungary-Pakistan business forum along with Hungarian Minister of Foreign affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto, the Foreign Ministry of Pakistan said.

The Pakistani foreign minister welcomed Hungarian expertise in the fields of agriculture and food, environment, water resource management, engineering, vocational training and urban planning, the Pakistani foreign ministry said in a statement.

Qureshi appreciated the improving economic cooperation between the Pakistani and Hungarian businesses despite COVID-19, and highlighted the importance of collaboration in the fight against the pandemic.

Szijjarto said Hungary's policy of opening towards the East will provide a good impetus to Hungary-Pakistan relations, the statement said. 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.
Igor Grosu, the head of Moldova's pro-presidential Party of Action and Solidarity, was not appointed as the prime minister due to absence of quorum at a parliamentary session, parliament speaker Zinaida Greceanii said on Thursday

CHISINAU (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th March, 2021) Igor Grosu, the head of Moldova's pro-presidential Party of Action and Solidarity, was not appointed as the prime minister due to absence of quorum at a parliamentary session, parliament speaker Zinaida Greceanii said on Thursday.

Moldovan President Maia Sandu nominated Grosu as a candidate to the post on March 16. The constitutional court left the presidential decree nominating Grosu to the post in force despite objections of the Party of Socialists.

According to a Sputnik correspondent, lawmakers from the Party of Socialists and the Pentru Moldova faction left the parliamentary hall to protest Grosu's nomination.

"Consultations that the Moldovan president was obligated to hold were simulated, we believe that this is just a theatrical performance, I do not think that anyone considered the issue seriously. The Party of Socialists will not take part in the session," deputy parliament speaker Vlad Batrincea said.

"As forty-three lawmakers remain in the hall, I state the absence of quorum, and the first issue on the agenda, the approval of the prime minister, failed," Greceanii said.

The absence of quorum automatically triggers a vote of no-confidence for the candidate for prime minister, and his team.
NEW YORK, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today marks the sixth anniversary of the war in Yemen, and the human toll is considerable: 233,000 people have died, more than half of them from indirect causes such as lack of food or healthcare. The country is now on the brink of famine. Action Against Hunger calls on the international community to fund humanitarian operations to match increasingly urgent needs, to facilitate unimpeded humanitarian access, and to protect civilians from hunger caused by the conflict.

"In Yemen, children are literally starving. Humanitarian aid has declined dramatically, and it is not reaching those who need it most. We are in a drastic situation that gets a little closer to famine each day," says Willow Rook, Deputy Country Director for Action Against Hunger in Yemen, who just returned from Al Hodeidah region, one of the hardest areas hit by this conflict.

More than 16 million Yemenis are hungry, and 400,000 children under age five are at risk of dying from severe acute malnutrition this year if they do not receive urgent treatment. The maritime blockade contributes to the crisis by preventing humanitarian aid, commercial goods, and other basic necessities from entering the country and reaching communities in need quickly.

The war in Yemen intensified in 2020, leaving more than 80% of Yemenis living below the poverty line and at least 20 million people in need of humanitarian assistance to survive. The world's worst humanitarian crisis has denied millions of people access to employment, adequate medical care, food and clean water.

Yemen's economy has experienced a further dramatic slowdown in recent months. The country is 90% dependent on imports of wheat and other basic food items, while the value of Yemeni Rial has fallen by 250% from its pre-conflict value. Even when available in the markets, food, water, and basic necessities are unaffordable for many families, who have to pay prices 140% higher than before the war.

"I owned a small fishing boat and provided for all of my family's needs by fishing and selling fish. But, as a result of the war, I was bombed by naval battleships while working at sea. I lost my boat and suffered a great psychological crisis," said one man living in Al Hodiedah region. After he lost his livelihood, he started to rely on the generosity of his relatives.

The man continued, "All the food prices have risen significantly ... They rose very frighteningly. The cost of a bag of flour was 6,000 YER (approximately $6.95 USD), and now it has become more than 11,000 YER (approximately $12.74 USD).1

International donors have contributed just 10% of the $3.85 billion needed for humanitarian operations in Yemen in 2021. Reductions in international aid due to budgetary cuts will make the humanitarian situation for Yemenis even more dire. To break the vicious cycle of conflict and hunger in Yemen, Action Against Hunger calls for new humanitarian financing from donor nations, facilitated imports of essential goods, and greater respect for international humanitarian law by the parties to the conflict.

About Action Against Hunger

Action Against Hunger, which has operated in Yemen since 2012, implements activities in some of the hardest-hit areas, including Hodeidah, Abyan, Lahj, and Taiz, where more than one in five children suffer from acute malnutrition. In these areas, Action Against Hunger provided lifesaving treatment to 41% more acutely malnourished children in the second half of 2020 compared to earlier in the year, an indication of growing needs.

1 In September, the exchange rate in southern Yemen was 844.09 YER/$1. In February, it stood at 863.72 YER/$1.

SOURCE Action Against Hunger
A new batch of AstraZeneca vaccines - 48,000 shots - will arrive on Thursday in Romania, the National COVID Vaccination Coordination Committee (CNCAV) announces.

According to a press release sent to AGERPRES, the transport is ensured by the manufacturing company, and the vaccine doses will be brought to Bucharest by land.

The doses will be stored at the National Storage Center of the Cantacuzino Institute, and will be distributed in the following period to the existing regional centers nationwide.

Until now, according to CNCAV, there were 840,400 AstraZeneca doses received, and 360,250 people have been vaccinated as of February 15.
While online or digital payments have been on a rise especially after the spread of the COVID19 pandemic in India, it is observed that these frauds are taking place through social engineering techniques like vishing and phishing, says the government. During FY2019-20, banks have reported frauds worth Rs244 crore related with ATM-debit card, credit card and internet banking.

Sanjay Dhotre, minister of state for electronics and information technology, while replying to a question in the Lok Sabha, says, "Government has taken policy level initiatives to ensure appropriate and secure functioning of digital payment transactions, in the country. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has mandated two factor authentication which provides an additional layer of security to the end customers using online modes of payment. Additionally, customer awareness messages and campaigns are available on all prominent bank sites covering caution to be exercised by customers while performing online transactions."

Three members of Parliament (MPs) Rahul Ramesh Shewale, Hemant Sriram Patil and Omprakash Bhupal Sinh Alias Pawan Raje Nimbalkar have asked questions on increased online frauds and steps taken by the government to make digital transactions safe.

The minister says, RBI in its master directions issued on 18 February 2021, had advised banks to implement customer protection controls for their digital payment applications. These controls include, cautioning the customers against commonly known threats in recent times like phishing, vishing, reverse-phishing and remote access of mobile devices and educating the customers to secure and safeguard their account details, credentials, PIN, card details, and devices.

"Banks have been directed to examine the fraud cases and report them to law enforcement agencies, examine staff accountability, complete proceedings against the erring staff expeditiously, take steps to recover the amount involved in the fraud, claim insurance wherever applicable and streamline the system as also the procedures so that frauds do not recur," the minister says.

Vishing is a social engineering attack in which, the fraudster calls the victim and entices them to provide sensitive information, or click a link, or perform an action they otherwise would not perform. Online frauds carried out via email are called phishing and those committed via text or SMS are known as smishing.

Baking customers have zero liability in case of unauthorised transactions occurring due to contributory fraud, negligence, and deficiency on the part of the bank and due to third party breach, provided, they notify the bank regarding the unauthorised transactions within three working days of receiving the communication from the bank regarding this transaction.

As per RBIs circular on 'customer protection  limiting liability of customers in unauthorised electronic banking transactions' dated 6 July 2017, customers entitlement to zero liability arises where the unauthorised transaction occurs in the events contributory fraud, negligence or deficiency on the part of the bank or third party breach where the deficiency lies neither with the bank nor with the customer, but lies elsewhere in the system, and the customer notifies the bank within three working days of receiving the communication from the bank regarding the unauthorised transaction.

The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) is working in coordination with RBI and banks to track and disable phishing websites. "Regarding securing digital payments, 37 advisories have been issued (by CERT-In) for users and institutions," Mr Dhotre says.

As per the reply, all authorised entities and banks issuing prepaid payment instruments (PPIs) in the country have been advised by CERT-In through RBI to carry out special audit by empanelled auditors of CERT-In on a priority basis and to take immediate steps to comply with the findings of the audit report and ensure implementation of security best practices.

Further, RBI has introduced Ombudsman Scheme for Digital Transactions, 2019 in the public interest and in the interest of fair conduct of business relating to payment systems, to provide a mechanism of ombudsman for redressal of complaints against deficiency in services related to digital transactions, the minister added.

Separately, replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha on banking frauds, Anurag Thakur, minister of state for finance says, over the past three years, scheduled commercial banks witnessed increase in frauds related with ATM, debit card, credit card and internet banking. These frauds increased to Rs244.01 crore in FY2019-20 from Rs168.99 crore recorded in FY2017-18, the minister says.

Anil Desai, an MP from Shiv Sena had asked questions about increasing number of cyber criminals committing banking frauds and the mechanism put in place by the government to check cybercrimes.

Mr Thakur says, RBI has asked issuers of PPIs to introduce a system where every successive payment transaction in a wallet is authenticated by explicit customer consent. Banks are asked to ensure that all new PPIs issued in the form of cards are EMV chip and PIN compliant. Banks are also asked to ensure that all reissuance or renewal of PPIs in the form of cards are EMV Chip and PIN compliant, Mr Thakur informed the upper house.
Francisco Corichi Jimenez-Garrido (right) brings non-stop energy and encouragement to his classes, helping double the number of students in English Language Acquisition (ELA).

Attila Nemecz

Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator

Beaufort County Community College

5337 U.S. Highway 264 East

Washington, N.C. 27889

Ph : 252-940-6387

: 252-940-6387 Cell : 252-940-8672

: 252-940-8672 attila.nemecz@beaufortccc.edu

The enthusiasm of a new instructor in English Language Acquisition has doubled enrollment over the last few months. Francisco Corichi Jimenez-Garrido recently started teaching the classes at Beaufort County Community College and his energy, combined with the class being offered on Saturdays for the first time, have brought many new faces to the classes, quickly outgrowing his original classroom.BCCC offers several opportunities for new English speakers, including English Language Acquisition (ELA), offered during the days Monday through Thursday, in the evenings on Tuesday and Thursday and on Saturday. At the Hyde County Davis Center, classes are offered on Tuesday and Wednesday evening. All of these classes are free.Corichi has a relentless spirit, never pausing for a moment in the classroom. He also works for Vidant Medical Center as a medical interpreter and worked previously at Lenoir Community College teaching ELA. He spent 20 years as the English as a Second Language (ESL) coordinator with Lenoir County Schools for the middle and high schools.said Corichi.The new Saturday class has benefitted families who work during the week. Some of the students will volunteer to pick others up who cannot drive. Everyone from the weeknight classes also attends the Saturday class.said Corichi.Learning the language can help people navigate contracts, the school system, hospitals, and legal documents.according to Penelope Radcliffe, director of College & Career Readiness, the program that includes English language acquisition and high school equivalency classes.Students coming into the class take the CASAS, a placement test to help see their level of English proficiency. Students are placed in beginning and intermediate levels based on their existing skills.College & Career Readiness also offers a citizen preparation class on Wednesday during the day for people who are going through the naturalization process. New citizens are required to take rigorous tests on civics, government, history, geography, reading and writing. About half of the students enrolled in ELA will also take the citizenship class.Additionally, some of the students will go on to take GED classes after getting through beginning ELA classes. Currently there are three students who are taking both. The College & Career Readiness program also offers Human Resource Development classes, including interview skills, income maintenance worker training, and computer skills. All of these classes are free to qualifying individuals. The program tries to take students as far as they want to go in their training and education.Students who attend the class for 12 hours are considered enrolled in an educational program, which meets one of the stipulations of the DACA (Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals) program. A December 2020 court ruling returned many of the original stipulations of the program, and that has prompted new interest in DACA and in English proficiency.Students can begin classes at any time. To get started with any of the free College & Career Readiness classes, contact Penelope Radcliffe at 252-940-6298 or Penelope.radcliffe@beaufortccc.edu
By Elizabeth Kamurungi

A section of MPs has accused finance minister Matia Kasiaja of misleading President Museveni in dissuading him from assenting to the NSSF Amendment Bill.

Kasaija is quoted in the media as having written to the president, advising him not to append his signature to the bill.

The Contentious clause seeks to amend clause 24(a) to allow 20% mid-term access to members who are 45 years and above or who have saved for more than 10 years.

The clause was introduced in May 2020 when workers who were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic urged the fund to give them part of their savings.

The MPs argue that this is a justified reason for savers to access part of their money.

However, Kasaija says the money required for these payments is not available in cash, and that the Fund would have to sell its assets to raise Shs2.9trillion to pay about 320,000 eligible beneficiaries.

Now Dr. Sam Lyomoki, a workers MP says he has already written to the President contesting Kasaijas position.

I have written and debunked all those arguments and we hope that in the Presidents wisdom, he will dismiss whatever they are saying with all the contempt it deserves. We expect the President to engage and rule in favour of the workers, Lyomoki said.

Parliament endorsed the Bill and sent it to the President for final approval in February.

If he rejects it, Parliament can approve it and send it back to him for the second time and if he rejects it again, it becomes law on the third approval by parliament.

Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, the Opposition Chief Whip says the Act of Parliament, if returned, will not be changed.
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 government is looking to funding part of its budget deficit this year with proceeds from the planned sale of its 49% stake in MTC, revealed the Ministry of Finance Fiscal Strategy 2021/22.

According to the strategy, "the expected proceeds from the proposed divestment will be used to partly (50%) fund the budget deficit, While 50% will be ring-fenced for productive activities and be utilised in a manner that reaps long-term benefits for the country".

The strategy revealed that MTC is valued between N$6 billion and N$7,2 billion.

"The divestment strategy will inject approximately N$3 billion into government coffers from the 49% proposed for listing," the Fiscal Strategy revealed.

As per the timeline provided by the transaction adviser, the listing is anticipated around October 2021. The government is in the process of divesting its 49% stake in MTC later this year.

The government is facing pressure to fund the N$15,9 billion projected budget deficit for the FY2021/22. This is because government revenue is estimated to decline by 6,1% or N$3,4 billion in 2021/22 compared to the previous financial year.

The decline is mainly due to the reduction in Sacu receipts and company taxes. Sacu revenue declined by about 36% or N$7,5 billion from N$22,2 billion in 2020/21 to N$14,7 billion in 2021/22.

Corporate tax is estimated to decline by around 0,6% compared to FY2020/21 estimates. Domestic revenue is projected to start recovering next year as the Covid-19 impact hopefully diminishes.

If the global economy recovers, and commodity prices pick up "the decline of economic activity in South Africa may prolong recovery in Sacu receipts," the strategy revealed.

The public debt stock is expected to remain high, estimated to increase from about N$100,4 billion in 2019/20 to about N$158,8 billion in 2023/24.

The government also conceded that despite the raising debt, government spending increased drastically.

"This is due to increasing commitments to fight the pandemic and restore macro-economic stability," read the document which also revealed that the projected budget deficit of N$15,9 billion will be largely funded by the local market.

Of this, 70% is to be sourced from the domestic market, while 30% comes from development partners through the Governance and Economic Recovery Support Programme (GERSP) offered by the Africa Development Bank (AfDB), and the IMF's Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI).

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Namibia Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

The government planned sourcing funding from special Covid-19 credit facilities of the AfDB and IMF, which are supporting countries to respond to the pandemic.

The AfDB offered a N$5 billion loan to Namibia under a two-year programme. The IMF intends offering about N$4,13 billion through the RFI. Both lenders were expected to submit the economic appraisal report to their respective boards by end of February 2021 for approval, read the strategy.

Fiscal measures to support the economy come at a cost of deteriorating fiscal indices in all countries, which erodes fiscal space and long-term fiscal sustainability.

The IMF also highlighted in the strategy the need to reprioritise expenditure in the health and education sector and safeguard key public services (transport, energy, and communication) and social protection.

The strategy indicated that despite the anticipated availability of the vaccine in 2021, there is still uncertainty about how long Covid-19 will prevail.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 23:39:05|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

ADDIS ABABA, March 25 (Xinhua) -- The state affiliated Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) disclosed Thursday that it had reached an agreement with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to conduct a joint investigation into alleged human rights abuses committed in Ethiopia's northern Tigray regional state.

In a press statement, EHRC said the two sides will conduct a joint investigation into human rights violations and abuses allegedly committed by all parties in the Tigray conflict.

"The EHRC and the OHCHR have agreed to conduct a joint investigation into human rights violations and abuses allegedly committed by all parties in the context of the Tigray conflict, as part of the much-needed accountability process for the victims," read the statement. "The agreement to collaborate in a joint investigation is the result of an ongoing partnership and engagement between the two organizations."

The joint EHRC-OHCHR deployment will start as soon as possible for an initial period of three months, according to EHRC.

Earlier this month, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet agreed to an Ethiopian government request for a joint investigation into human allegations of atrocities in the country's Tigray region.

Ethiopia's federal government has been undertaking military operations in the country's northernmost Tigray regional state since Nov. 4 against Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which used to rule over the region, following the TPLF's alleged attack on the Northern Command of the Ethiopian Defense Forces.

Months of fighting between the TPLF and the Ethiopian National Defense Forces backed by allied forces have reportedly left thousands of people dead, hundreds of thousands of others displaced, and millions in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

According to the Ethiopian government figures, the conflict has displaced around 2.2 million people, while 4.5 million people are in need of emergency aid. Enditem
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 hunt is on to find the father of a dwarf ram that is believed to be the only one of its kind in Ireland.

Noddy, who was born on a farm in south Sligo last summer, now resides on a farm in Connemara, with his new owner, Paddy Rock who lives in Clonbur.

Measuring 80cm long by 50cm high, Noddy is nine months old and is unlikely to grow any larger.

Paddy, who bought the animal last week, has traced his mother to be a Connemara Ewe, but the paternal side of the family remains sketchy.

Hes a little bit like one of the Queens Corgis, laughs Paddy, who said in 40 years of dealing with sheep he had never come across an animal like Noddy.

Hes a twin, who arrived the day after the farmer in Sligo had bought the mother, not knowing she was in lamb. His brother is perfectly sized but it soon became apparent that Noddy wasnt getting a regular supply of his mothers beastings, which is of vital importance to a lamb in the first 24 hours.

The farmer reared Noddy on a bottle but he failed to keep pace with his brother and despite now having a longer body, his legs are considerably shorter.

We know the mother was a Connemara Ewe so the hope is his father is also of Connemara stock and the fact we have Noddy back in this part of the country we are hoping to reunite them. That is if daddy hasnt ended up on a plate somewhere in Europe by now, added Paddy.

Paddy is hoping that if Noddys father cant be tracked down, he will be adopted by a farmer who can take care of him long term.

What Noddy needs is to go to a good home because its going to get very busy around here in the next few weeks as the hill flocks are starting to lamb, he said.

The fact he has survived, being so small at birth, and he mixes well with other sheep means he deserves a nice home. Were also hoping to donate any adoption fee to the Madra animal rescue shelter to help with the work they do.
The Memorial human rights organization says Russian authorities have rejected an asylum request filed by a Turkmen known for his public criticism of the regime in Ashgabat and deported him to Turkey.

Memorial said on March 24 that 27-year-old Rozgeldy Choliev, who spent three weeks in Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport after he arrived there from Istanbul waiting for a response, was deported to Turkey accompanied by Russian police officers the previous day.

According to the Moscow-based rights group, Choliev faces possible extradition from Turkey to Turkmenistan, where he most likely will be persecuted for his public criticism of the isolated Central Asian state's government.

After complications over the lack of a COVID test, Turkish authorities allowed Choliev to enter the country, Memorial says, adding that there had been no communication with him at this point.

"It is worth noting in this regard that during the three weeks of Choliev's stay at Sheremetyevo, none of the Russian government agencies, including those responsible for working with refugees, took any part in issues related to providing him with food, accommodation, or access to fresh air, " Memorial's statement said.

Choliev was detained by Russian immigration police on his arrival from Istanbul in Moscow on March 2, although he had a valid Russia visa in his passport. He remained at the airport's immigration section until being deported.

Russian authorities were reluctant to accept his request for asylum and did so only after Choliev issued a video statement on March 7 asking Russian President Vladimir Putin to intervene in the situation.

"You are the president of Russia and there is law in Russia that works, while in Turkmenistan it doesn't," Choliev said in his address to Putin.

Choliev studied at a university in the Russian North Caucasus region of Karachai-Cherkessia, where he was admitted in 2018. In 2020, he was expelled after he published articles on the Internet criticizing the Turkmen government.

His relatives in Turkmenistan, which is tightly controlled by President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, also faced pressure at the time.

Government critics and human rights groups say Berdymukhammedov has suppressed dissent and made few changes in the secretive country since he came to power after the death of his authoritarian predecessor, Saparmurat Niyazov, in 2006.

According to Human Rights Watch, Berdymukhammedov, "his relatives, and their associates control all aspects of public life and the authorities encroach on private life."

Choliev, whose wife and child are in Karachai-Cherkessia, tried to come to Russia in November, but Russian airline Aeroflot did not allow him to board the plane.
Dar es Salaam  Tanzania is in mourning but for Chato it is more than that, for this is the last time they will ever get to see their beloved son, former President John Magufuli.

Burial is set for Friday, March 26.

Here is the funeral programme:

March 20: The body will be taken to Lugalo Military Hospital then St Peter's Catholic Church in Dar es Salaam before proceeding to Uhuru Stadium for Tanzanian leaders to pay their last respects.

March 21: Public pays respects at Uhuru Stadium in Dar es Salaam.

March 22: Body flown to Dodoma for paying of last respects by public. Also a public holiday.
Bengaluru, March 26 : The uproar around sleaze CD controversy that rocked the Karnataka Assembly for three days was heard in the Legislative Council too with the Opposition Congress taking up the issue, demanding a discussion on it on Thursday.

As the Congress members demanded debate on the sleaze CD issue even as the JD-S members were absent, the Congress and BJP MLCs continued to shout slogans. Amid the din, Karnataka Legislative Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti adjourned the House sine die.

Amid the din, Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa proposed several Bills and they were passed sans debate after which the House was adjourned for lunch.

The JD-S staged a walkout, alleging that both national parties were wasting time by discussing sleaze CD instead of debating on people's issues before the House was adjourned for 10 minutes.

When the House met again, Congress MLCs, who were holding CDs symbolically, continued their protest. Congress leader C.M. Ibrahim said the party members wanted to know the contents of the CD.

"The Chief Minister said the government had no idea about the CDs. Why did six ministers go to court seeking an injunction? The Chairman should tell us what is there in the CD," he demanded.

Earlier, when the Congress members launched a protest, the ruling BJP passed several crucial bills including finance bills without debate and the House was adjourned sine die.

Soon after the Question Hour and Calling Attention Motion, Horatti called for a discussion on the budget. However, Leader of Opposition S.R. Patil demanded a debate on the sleaze CD issue.

He said that a notice regarding the sleaze CD issue and allow a discussion on it now.

"Despite the notice given two days ago, the Legislative Council was not listing it, but it is an important issue. It is also about the morality of the government. You should drop all other proceedings and allow a discussion on the matter," he said.

Horatti said that the discussion on the budget was already listed in the day's agenda and a debate on the CD row will be allowed only after other listed proceedings are over.

However, floor leader Kota Srinivas Poojari said there is no need to discuss the sleaze CD, but the government is ready to face questions, as it was listed in the day's business.

Rejecting this, the Congress MLCs entered the well of the House shouting slogans against the government.

The BJP members too indulged in sloganeering against the Congress and a commotion ensued.
New Delhi:

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday issued summon notice to Karti Chidambaram, son of former Finance Minister P Chidambaram in Aircel Maxis case. The CBI has asked Karti Chidambaram to appear before it on Thursday.

Earlier on August 28, the CBI grilled Karti Chidambaram for 7 hours in a corruption case of alleged clearance to INX Media Pvt Ltd owned by Peter Mukerjea and his wife Indrani for bringing foreign funds into their Venture.

The agency is examining him in connection with a Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance given to media group INX Media for receiving funds from Mauritius when his father P Chidambaram was the Union finance minister.

The sources said a firm indirectly controlled by Karti received money from INX Media, run by the Mukerjeas, who are currently in jail, charged with the murder of Indranis daughter.

The CBI had also questioned Karti on August 23.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
By Jacqueline Winspear

Harper. 352 pp. $27.99

- - -

An act of unspeakable violence plays out on the cover of "The Consequences of Fear," the 16th installment in Jacqueline Winspear's exceptional series featuring the indomitable P.I. Maisie Dobbs. Seen in silhouette against the backdrop of a full moon, a man is stabbing someone already slumped in his arms. What's not as noticeable: a witness crouching in the doorway of a bombed-out building in wartime London. His name is Freddie Hackett, and it's this traumatized 12-year-old's predicament that spurs Maisie to ferret out the identity of the victim and the killer.

There are many exceptional, long-running crime novel series for devotees of the genre. Michael Connelly, Robert Galbraith, Tana French, Walter Mosley, to name a few, have created brilliant detectives whose personal lives are as intriguing as the cases and social justice issues they pursue. For fans of historical fiction as well as mysteries, the Maisie Dobbs novels offer an honorable heroine whose mettle has been forged by personal tragedies and her country's experience in two world wars.

"The Consequences of Fear" opens in 1941, when Britain has been at war with Germany for two years. It seems outrageous now, but Britain's intelligence services then used fleet-footed children to deliver messages to agents across London. Children like Freddie dodged bombs, running past decimated buildings and dead bodies, as they carried messages in aid of their country. It's on one of his runs that Freddie spots two men fighting to the death. When the killer flees the scene, Freddie runs on to deliver his message only to discover that the man who opens the door at the designated address is the murderer. Fearing for his life, Freddie recalls he once delivered a message to private detective Maisie Dobbs and he seeks her help. When Scotland Yard doubts the boy witnessed a murder, Maisie takes the case knowing that discovering the truth is the only way to keep Freddie safe.

From London to Scotland to her rural manor home in Kent, Maisie is constantly on the move as she works the case and performs the duties of her other job working for Britain's intelligence services. Meanwhile, she grapples with her fears: fear of dying in the bombings, fear of Hitler invading England, fear for her family's safety and fear, as a widow, of moving on to a new marriage with the American diplomat who loves her. When she suspects a French intelligence agent may have been involved in the stabbing death, she fears the consequences to her country and its fight against the Nazis.

As Winspear grimly describes scenarios playing out in London, she reminds us of people's ability to endure and carry on: British citizens watching and praying as a downed Spitfire is pulled from the Thames, its dead RAF pilot just a teenage boy. Maisie dealing with the news that a woman she cared about was tortured and killed by the Nazis for her work with resistance groups in France. The nation reeling from senseless killings such as the discovery of 20 women and children found dead in a bomb shelter. They were killed instantly, their bodies outwardly unmarked, after a nearby detonation knocked the air out of their lungs.

In "This Time Next Year We'll Be Laughing," the wistful title of the memoir Winspear released last year, she writes of childhood fears she developed after hearing her mother speak of life in Britain during World War II. Winspear seems to have channeled those fears and the memories of her mother's stories into an intriguing series that entertains and inspires.

- - -

Carol Memmott is a writer in Austin.
Victoria's hotel quarantine program will resume in two weeks, with stricter protocols in place to ensure COVID-19 doesn't leak into the community.

Acting Premier James Merlino on Thursday announced international passenger flights would be able to touch down in the state again from April 8.

Arrivals will be capped at 800 a week, scaling up to 1120 a week, subject to capacity and the completion of ventilation works.

International passenger flights have not arrived in Melbourne since February 13 after hotel quarantine workers contracted the highly infectious UK strain of the virus from returned travellers at the Holiday Inn near Melbourne Airport.

Victoria will once again start accepting international passenger flights from April 8, almost two months after temporarily stopping them following a Covid outbreak. Pictured, a returned travelling entering a Melbourne quarantine hotel last year

The outbreak, which grew to 24 cases, triggered the state's five-day, circuit-breaker lockdown.

The state's second wave of coronavirus, which last year resulted in more than 18,000 new infections, 800 deaths and an 112-day lockdown, also leaked from hotel quarantine.

The latest outbreak led to the commissioning of reviews into variant strains of COVID-19 and ventilation at the state's quarantine hotels, which were released by the government on Thursday.

'We've listened to the advice of experts and made the necessary changes to ensure we're keeping Victorians safe,' Mr Merlino said in a statement.

The ventilation review by Safer Care Victoria found hotel quarantine staff were well trained in how to use personal protective equipment and were comfortable challenging each other over non-compliance and safety.

But it called for an 'infection prevention and control uplift', including increased use of N95 masks, strengthened end-of-shift procedures and a new online system for easier contact mapping of staff and their households.

International passengers flights were banned after hotel quarantine workers contracted the highly infectious UK Covid strain from returned travellers at the Holiday Inn near Melbourne Airport (hotel pictured)

Independent ventilation assessments have also been ordered at all quarantine hotels, with some requiring building upgrade works. Others will need to reduce room capacity for family groups.

Testing of returned travellers will be boosted from two to four times during their quarantine period, with follow-up tests recommended.

Other measures, including staggered meal times, room buffers and enhanced screening of prohibited devices, were introduced following February's outbreak.

The variants of concern review, led by Deputy Chief Health Officer Allen Cheng, concluded that vaccination of hotel quarantine staff would be the most effective measure in preventing the spread of the virus.

Mr Merlino said more than 4150 frontline quarantine workers had had their first jab, with the rollout of the second dose underway.

The review recommends the government consider three options for future quarantine arrangements: a strengthened hotel model, a hybrid model of hotel and other types of accommodation, or purpose-built facilities such as Howard Springs in the Northern Territory.

Pictured: Hotel quarantine workers in PPE after a Melbourne quarantine hotel was evacuated on February 16 after the facility suffered water damage

It also recommends a permanent system be put in place to ensure 'safe, effective quarantine can be provided into the future, even if the need to quarantine for COVID-19 ceases'.

The government is forging ahead with plans to build a purpose-built quarantine facility outside the city but it will take a minimum of six months before it will be available for use.

The facility is likely to be single-storey, self-contained accommodation for a range of family sizes, with separate ventilation systems, easily cleanable surfaces and separate staff facilities.

It will initially take about 250 people a week.

Premier Daniel Andrews previously flagged the government could use the facility for future pandemics or emergency situations such as bushfires.

It comes as Victoria recorded its 27th consecutive day with no local coronavirus cases after 15,446 tests.
Hyderabad, March 25 : Four members of a family committed suicide in Telangana's Mancherial district.

The tragic incident occurred in the Malkapalli village of Kasipeta mandal of the district on Thursday.

A couple hanged themselves at their house after allegedly poisoning their son and daughter. Police suspect that they took the extreme step in the early hours of the day.

J. Ramesh (40), a farmer, and his wife Padma (35) hanged themselves in their room. The bodies of Akshay Kumar (17) and Soumya (19) were found in another room.

On learning about the incident, police rushed to the village and shifted the bodies to a government-run hospital for autopsy.

The family reportedly took the extreme step due to financial problems. Ramesh, who used to do farming on a leased land, had suffered huge losses due to crop damage.

Police recovered a suicide note from the house. Ramesh wrote that their crop over 30 acres was damaged, causing them huge losses.

Ramesh's daughter was married a few months ago and he had taken loan for the same. Due to crop loss, he could not repay the loan.

Soumya had come to her parents' house a few days ago.
Healthcare workers at a vaccination center in Seongdong District, Seoul, move boxes containing Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine vials, Tuesday. A total of 500,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine  enough for 250,000 people  arrived in Korea, the first batch of vaccines purchased by the government for 13 million people. Yonhap
Officials at a Virginia school where a wallet was found during a remodeling project are returning the item to the woman who lost it as a student nearly 70 years earlier.

ADVERTISEMENT

Poquoson City Public Schools officials said a contractor working on the renovation project at Poquoson Middle School was going through the rubble of the building's demolished gym when he found a wallet in some duct work.

The wallet's contents included 85 cents, some Santa Claus stamps from 1951, a 1951 calendar and a pair of photos.

Information found in the wallet identified the owner as Ester French, 85, who moved to Connecticut in 1957.

School officials were able to contact French through a relative who still lives in the area, and the woman said she remembered losing her wallet during the 1951-52 school year, while she was attending what was then the city's high school.

"There was a ledge [in the gym] that I had placed my wallet on, and when I went to get it, it wasn't there, but there was a hole -- opening behind that ledge -- and so my wallet apparently had fallen down and gone beneath the school, and there was nothing to do about it," French told WTKR-TV.

The school district is now sending the wallet to French in Connecticut. French said she is looking forward to sharing the window into her younger life with her family.

"It was absolutely shocking. It was a surprise and we've had a lot of laughs about it," French told CNN.
Hartford Police / Contributed Photo

HARTFORD  One person is in critical condition after a Wednesday morning shooting that left a second person wounded by shattered glass, according to police.

Lt. Aaron Boisvert said patrol officers responded to the area of Albany Avenue at Sigourney Street around 3:35 a.m. on a ShotSpotter gunfire activation. Arriving officers found evidence of a shooting.

The President of the High Court has asked the Government to nominate up to 20 new judges in anticipation of a tsunami of litigation once the Covid-19 crisis eases.

While requests for additional judges are not unusual, the quantity of appointments sought by Ms Justice Mary Irvine is unprecedented.

There are 40 High Court judges at present and the increase sought would see this figure jump by up to 50pc.

It reflects her belief there will be significant pent-up demand for the court to deal with debt, possession, civil jury and other matters.

The Department of Justice said legislation would be required to implement Ms Justice Irvines request and that it was being examined in consultation with the Department of Public Expenditure.

The judge, who is considered one of the frontrunners for the role of Chief Justice when it becomes available later this year, revealed the rationale behind her request during a Bar of Ireland webinar.

She said that assuming the vaccination programme is successful, courts should be able to return to all categories of work by October. But she added she was worried as a tsunami of litigation is coming down the tracks.

Ms Justice Irvine told attendees at the Bars Justice in Transition webinar last Friday she believed the wave of cases would be so great that somewhere between 15 and 20 additional judges would be needed to meet the demand.

She said there were already pent-up loan arrears cases and she expected summary summons proceedings in debt cases would escalate once Covid moratoriums end.

The judge also said she had no doubt there would be an increase in debt litigation arising from Brexit and the pandemic.

Ms Justice Irvine pointed to the fact the High Courts commercial planning list had grown 10-fold since last October and was now full until next January, while the Commercial Courts diary was full until December.

Civil jury cases are not currently being heard during Level 5 restrictions and there were at least 40 such cases ready for hearing, she said.

Ms Justice Irvine also predicted significant rises in judicial review and disciplinary cases once decision-making and regulatory bodies start making determinations again.

Extradition cases are also set to increase following Irelands connection with the Schengen Information System database, the judge said.

Much of the work of the civil superior courts has had to move online since the pandemic hit, but this is not considered suitable for certain categories of cases. Most courts have opted not to hear actions involving the examination of witnesses, for example.

Separate to Ms Justice Irvines request, the Department of Justice said it was establishing a working group to consider the number and type of judges required to ensure the maintenance of access to justice for citizens.

The move is part of the Programme for Government.

The European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice found Ireland had the second lowest number of judges per capita in Europe in 2018.
Seligson & Co Fund Management Company Plc

STOCK EXCHANGE NOTICE 25 March 2021

SELIGSON & CO OMX HELSINKI 25 EXCHANGE TRADED FUND UCITS ETF: ANNUAL REPORT, BOARD OF THE MANAGEMENT COMPANY AND AUDITOR

The Annual Report of Seligson & Co OMX Helsinki 25 Exchange Traded Fund UCITS ETF, dated 31 December 2020, has been published. The report, which is in Finnish, forms part (pages 24 to 27) of the attached common Annual Report for all the funds managed by Seligson & Co Fund Management Company. The report includes the Auditor's Report, and it is also available at www.seligson.fi/sco/suomi/esitteet/.

The following members were elected to the board of Seligson & Co Fund Management Company Plc at the Annual General Meeting held on 25 March 2021: Samu Anttila, Jarkko Niemi and Mikko Vasko. KPMG Plc was chosen as the auditor and CPA Marcus Totterman as the deputy auditor.

Further information:

Mari Rautanen

email: mari.rautanen@seligson.fi

Phone +358 (0)9 6817 8224

Seligson & Co Fund Management Company Plc

Ari Kaaro

Managing Director

email: ari.kaaro@seligson.fi

Phone +358 (0)9 6817 8217

Attachment




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 African Development Bank and Equity Group Holdings (EGH) have signed a $100 million (Kshs 11 Billion) loan facility to support the commercial bank's expansion across Eastern and Central Africa, enhancing its ability to serve small and medium enterprises as it grows.

The loan, a tier two facility with a seven-year maturity, is expected to promote EGH's ability to offer bespoke products to MSMEs, strengthen its balance sheet and optimize its capital structure across the continent with a special focus on women and youth entrepreneurs.

Dr. James Mwangi, Managing Director and CEO of Equity Group Holdings said, "together with the African Development Bank Group, Equity Group will be strongly positioned to support MSMEs to keep their lights on during the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic that has slowed down the economy impacting on the cashflow of enterprises. We have seen the impact of pumping oxygen to our MSMEs during this period. They have emerged more resilient thereby protecting jobs and creating more job opportunities through venturing into more innovative initiatives such as manufacturing of internationally certified quality PPEs," he said

"Access to finance represents a significant barrier to SMEs in many African markets, one that has sharpened as a result of the ongoing pandemic," said Stefan Nalletamby, the African Development Bank's Director for financial sector development. The timing of the facility could not have been more appropriate especially as businesses seek to remain operational in the midst of a COVID-19 pandemic that is causing financial havoc."

He also noted that the loan is aligned with a number of the Bank's High-5 strategic objectives, including improve the quality of life for the people of Africa, Feed Africa, Light up and Power Africa, and Industrialize Africa.

About Equity Group Holdings, Plc:

Equity Group Holdings (EGH) is a Pan-African financial services holding company listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, Uganda Securities Exchange, and Rwanda Stock Exchange. The Group has banking subsidiaries in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and DRC where it recently acquired BCDC to form Equity BCDC, the country's second-largest financial services company. Also, EGH has a representative office in Ethiopia. Equity Group, with an asset base of over $10 billion and over 14.2 million customers, is one of the region's biggest banks by customer base. Since 2008, the Group's corporate foundation, Equity Group Foundation, has delivered humanitarian programs in Education and Leadership, Food and Agriculture, Social Protection, Health, Clean Energy and the Environment, Enterprise Development and Financial Inclusion to millions of Africans. EGF's networked health care provider, Equity Afia, has been supporting COVID-19 relief efforts.

For more information, please visit: https://equitygroupholdings.com/

Contact:

Olufemi Terry, Communication and External Relations Department, Email: o.terry@afdb.org

Alex Muhia, Equity Group Holdings Plc.T: Office - 0763 026007 : Mobile - 0763 618871, email: CorporateCommunications@equitybank.co.ke E: Alex.Muhia@equitybank.co.ke
CNN has been slammed for its 'lack of ethics' after a report claimed that the network's anchor, Chris Cuomo, abused his position as the brother of New York Gov Andrew Cuomo to get a priority COVID-19 test before thousands of others when the state was the epicenter of the pandemic last year.

According to a report from The Washington Post on Wednesday, Gov Cuomo gave family members, including his brother, Chris, special access to state-administered COVID-19 tests in the early days of the pandemic.

In response to the claims, Matt Dornic, the head of strategic communications for CNN, said in a statement: 'We generally do not get involved in the medical decisions of our employees.'

'However, it is not surprising in the earliest days of a once-in-a-century global pandemic, when Chris was showing symptoms and was concerned about possible spread, he turned to anyone he could for advice and assistance, as any human being would,' Dornic said in the statement shared by Washington Post media critic Erik Wemple.

CNN has been slammed for its 'lack of ethics' after a report claimed that the network's anchor, Chris Cuomo (left), abused his position as the brother of New York Gov Andrew Cuomo (right) to get a priority COVID-19 test before thousands of others

In response to the claims, Matt Dornic, the head of strategic communications for CNN, said in a statement: 'We generally do not get involved in the medical decisions of our employees'

CNN's statement drew ire from several people, including conservative writer A.G. Hamilton (tweet pictured)

The Post, which cited three unnamed people with knowledge of the situation, reported that a top state doctor made house calls to some of the governor's family members or close associates, including his brother, to administer the tests.

Chris tested positive for COVID-19 early in the pandemic.

Following CNN's statement, several people took to Twitter to blast the network.

'The lack of ethics here from CNN is incredible,' conservative writer A.G. Hamilton tweeted.

'It's not just that Andrew Cuomo abused his position to get friends and family (inc Chris) inaccessible and expedited tests, but that CNN then had Andrew Cuomo do weekly joke interviews with his brother knowing that abuse happened,' he added.

Former MSNBC host, Keith Olbermann shared: 'HOO boy who thought THIS would help?'

Several people blasted CNN for not admitting wrongdoing in the incident

'That is a very bad statement,' another tweeted.

Radio host, Derek Hunter, wrote: 'A long-winded version of 'Don't you know who I am?'

The claims add more fuel to the fire as Gov Cuomo is already facing calls to resign over accusations of sexual harassment or misconduct from at least eight women and disclosures that his administration under-reported nursing home deaths from the pandemic.

The 63-year-old third-term governor has denied the allegations and repeatedly said he would not resign from office.

In a statement, Gov Cuomo's spokesman Richard Azzopardi said: 'We should avoid insincere efforts to rewrite the past. In the early days of this pandemic, when there was a heavy emphasis on contact tracing, we were absolutely going above and beyond to get people testing.'

Those efforts included 'in some instances going to people's homes - and door to door in places like New Rochelle - to take samples from those believed to have been exposed to COVID in order to identify cases and prevent additional ones,' the statement added.

Among those assisted, 'were members of the general public, including legislators, reporters, state workers and their families who feared they had contracted the virus and had the capability to further spread it,' Azzopardi said.
Cholinesterase inhibitors are a group of drugs recommended for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, but their effects on cognition have been debated and few studies have investigated their long-term effects. A new study involving researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and published in the journal Neurology shows persisting cognitive benefits and reduced mortality for up to five years after diagnosis.

Alzheimer's disease is a cognitive brain disease that affects millions of patients around the world. Some 100,000 people in Sweden live with the diagnosis, which has a profound impact on the lives of both them and their families. Most of those who receive a diagnosis are over 65, but there are some patients who are diagnosed in their 50s.

The current cost of care and treatment for people with dementia is approximately SEK 60 billion a year in Sweden. This is on a par with the cost of care and treatment of cardiovascular diseases and is twice as high as cancer care.

In Alzheimer's disease changes to several chemical neurotransmitters in the brain are found, and thus to the ability of the neurons to communicate with each other. Acetylcholine is one such substance and plays a key role in cognitive functions such as memory, attention and concentration.

There are three drugs that work as cholinesterase inhibitors and that are used in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease: galantamine, donepezil and rivastigmine.

The effects of cholinesterase inhibitors have, however, been debated, partly because there are relatively few longitudinal clinical studies. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Umea University have now conducted a registry study of patients with Alzheimer's disease over a period of five years from point of diagnosis.

The study is based on data from SveDem (the Swedish Dementia Registry) on 11,652 patients treated with cholinesterase inhibitors and a matched control group of 5,826 untreated patients.

The results showed that treatment with cholinesterase inhibitors was associated with slower cognitive decline over five years, and 27 per cent lower mortality in patients with Alzheimer's disease compared with the controls.

"Of all three drugs, galantamine had the strongest effect on cognition, which may bedue to its effect on nicotine receptors and its inhibiting effect on the enzyme acetylcholinesterase, which breaks down the neurotransmitter acetylcholine," says the study's first author Hong Xu, postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet.

"Our results provide strong support for current recommendations to treat people with Alzheimer's disease with cholinesterase inhibitors, but also shows that the therapeutic effect lasts for a long time," says the study's last author and initiator Maria Eriksdotter, professor at the Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet.

###

The study was supported by grants from the Swedish Research Council, the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (FORTE), the ALF scheme, the Swedish Order of St John, the Swedish Society for Medical Research, and the Strategic Research Area in Neuroscience (StratNeuro), Karolinska Institutet.

Publication: "Long Term Effects of Cholinesterase Inhibitors on Cognitive Decline and Mortality". Hong Xu*, Sara Garcia-Ptacek*, Linus Jonsson, Anders Wimo, Peter Nordstrom, Maria Eriksdotter. Neurology, online 19 March 2021, doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000011832. *Contributed equally
Under the terms of the agreement, Riiid will develop an AI tutor that will be delivered via a mobile test prep app, expected to be launched in the first half of 2021. The app is designed to prepare students for ENEM, the Brazilian college entrance exam with over eight million test takers annually, and SABER 11, the Colombian college entrance exam with over one million annual test takers. Both companies will provide content such as assessment questionnaires and full-length tests as well as anonymized historical student performance data related to the test. In combination, Riiid's proprietary AI technology will analyze student data and content, predict scores and user behavior, and recommend personalized study plans in real-time to help students optimize their learning potential. Riiid and Casa Grande, meanwhile, will also introduce a formative learning solution for Puerto Rico in the near future. That solution will evaluate an individual's performance throughout the entire learning process.

"We are thrilled to enter into the Latin American market with a product that can help nearly ten million students prepare for their college entrance exams," said David Yi, CEO of Riiid Labs. "The hope is that this is the first actualizing step for global education players to rethink the traditional ways of learning."

"This partnership aims at providing students with a one of a kind time saving, focused and customized experience for their individual ENEM preparation journey," said Valdecir Cavalheiro, CEO of Grupo INICIE. "Together, Grupo INICIE and Riiid Labs are creating an entirely new ENEM preparation solution, based on Grupo INICIE's deep knowledge of the Brazilian Education market and boosted by cutting edge AI technology developed by Riiid Labs."

"Our product will provide students, teachers, and tutors with precise razor-sharp knowledge of the academic areas and competencies and a personalized study plan, in which a student must focus before facing a national or college entrance exam," said Soraya M. Sesto-Martinez, President of Casa Grande. "The mobile app, developed with Riiid Labs, alongside our learning solution is revolutionary, a game changer for our youth, our school administrators, our communities, and the region. A very important step forward to improve the future of our youth, a guiding light for progress and a sure path to a post-secondary experience, further improving a country's competitiveness and future productivity."

In 2017, Riiid launched its first AI-enabled mobile application, which was aimed at preparing students for the widely utilized English proficiency exam, Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC). The app has been used by more than two million students in Korea and Japan and reached No.1 in sales among education apps in those markets.

For more detailed information on Riiid, visit https://riiid.co/en/main or https://riiidlabs.ai.

About Riiid

Riiid (www.riiid.co) is a global leader in AI solutions for education, backed by more than $70 million (USD) in funding. The company is driving a paradigm shift in education with technology that personalizes instruction for all students, with the aim of democratizing quality education anywhere in the world. Riiid launched its first AI tutor solution based on deep learning algorithms in 2017, quickly rising to number one in education app sales in Korea and Japan with more than two million users. The app, called Santa, uses AI to help students prepare for the English language competency exam TOEIC. As a leading force in AI technology, Riiid has published research papers at top AI conferences including NeurIPS and CSEDU. The company has applied for more than 94 patents, 26 of which are registered. In 2020, Riiid established Riiid Labs (www.riiidlabs.ai), the company's global arm based in Silicon Valley, California, to expand its business across the U.S., South America, Middle East and beyond. Riiid also offers Santa for SAT, Santa Realtor to prepare real estate agents for certification and provides its proprietary AI tutor module as a B2B solution to enterprises.

About Casa Grande

Casa Grande Interactive Communications Inc (CGIC, www.cginteractive.com) is a U.S.-based organization with more than 25 years of experience in 12 countries, including Colombia, Puerto Rico, the U.S., and Spain in the field of educational resources and strategies, promoting innovation and social transformation through research, creativity and education. The organization has developed teacher and youth ed-tech and performance-based education, motivation, and engagement programs, such as Uno an Uno and Tratamiento Intensivo, and several dot coms, such as Operacion Exito, Nueva Escuela Virtual, and Planificacion Turbo, that uniquely respond to the current and the next generation of educators and learners.

About Grupo INICIE

Founded in 2020, Grupo INICIE (www.inicie.digital) brings together the brands Edutt Streaming, Youtz, Nuvem Mestra and Estratosfera. The group is one of the largest technology solutions providers for K 12 and higher education in Brazil. The group delivers complete and complementary solutions in order to improve the learning processes for over 700 schools and universities in Brazil and Latin America, reaching 3 million users connected in their solutions.

About Born2Global Centre

Born2Global Centre (www.born2global.com) is a full-cycle service platform for global expansion. Since inception in 2013, Born2Global has been setting the standard for successful startup ecosystem as the main Korean government agency under the Ministry of Science and ICT. Born2Global has expanded and transformed startups to be engaged, equipped and be connected with the global market.

Media contact

Riiid: [email protected]

Born2Global: [email protected]

SOURCE Born2Global Centre

Related Links

http://www.born2global.com


Parents hold signs and cell phones at a gathering to protest mandated school closures amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Santa Ana, Calif., on Aug. 4, 2020. (Jamie Joseph/The Epoch Times)

Santa Ana Classrooms Will Remain Closed Until Next School Year

Santa Ana public school students wont be returning to class during the current curricular year.

The Santa Ana Unified School Districts (SAUSD) board voted March 23 to keep schools closed for in-person instruction for the remainder of the school year. Board members opted not to vote on creating a hybrid class schedule, following a presentation that stated it was safer to stick with remote learning.

Considering the options for our students and families, and the instructional and social emotional benefits, we will not be entering into a hybrid approach to instruction and will stay the course with remaining in distance learning which will allow our students to receive instruction from their teachers, and have regular interaction with their peers, five days a week, Lorraine Perez, deputy superintendent of education services, said during the meeting.

Perez said that the district was providing the highest quality learning experiences given our current circumstances.

Board member Valerie Amezcua questioned the decision, asking how they would respond if a survey indicating parents want their children back in school. She also said the district is losing students due to its current policies.

How many kids do we still have in our district? Valerie Amezcua said. Because we have lost a lot of kids to the surrounding districts and I dont blame them. If I was a parent, I would probably go to another district too because I want my child in school.

Santa Ana has made an exception for high-needs students. During its board meeting, members discussed the reopening of learning labs, which allow the district to bring high-need students back onto campuses at a small scale.

Most public commenters urged the board to allow students to return to in-person classes.

Santa Ana is one of the last districts to decide whether to resume in-person instruction or remain completely remote learning, said one commenter, named Lucy. As you delay your response to be aware that our students are watching their counterparts in other school districts return to campus, as they continue to isolate at home.

I ask the board to listen to the parents of the children that you are here to educate, give the parents a choice.
A federal judge has tentatively approved a $6.3 million settlement for current and former homeowners at the former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard who said they were misled about the extent of radioactive contamination at the site and problems with the cleanup.

The March 17 court order paves the way for developers Lennar Corp. and FivePoint Holdings to resolve one thread of a tangled web of litigation around the former shipyard, which was polluted in parts with radioactive substances during the Cold War. The homes are built on a hilltop parcel historically used for Navy housing. Though the hilltop has been declared clean by regulators since 2004, surrounding areas are part of a Superfund site and are still being probed for contamination.

More than 650 people who owned about 370 housing units are members of the class-action lawsuit against the developers. There are 126 people named as plaintiffs; that group is still suing the environmental cleanup firm Tetra Tech Inc. and its subsidiary, Tetra Tech EC.

The homeowners claimed their property values plunged by a collective $46 million following a scandal over faked radiation tests in other parts of the ex-shipyard and wider questions about the accuracy of Tetra Techs work.

Bayview-Hunters Point, in the citys southeast, is a historically Black neighborhood laden with industrial sites that emit pollution. The citys public health department has found that residents suffer from abnormally high rates of asthma and other ailments.

The Southeastern neighborhoods of San Francisco provide a case study in environmental racism, said plaintiffs attorney Joe Cotchett in a news release announcing the settlement. Most San Franciscans have no idea that HPNS was ground zero in the atomic era, or that it was very purposely the dumping ground for nuclear waste, nor do they understand the deep-seated politics that continue to value economic development over human life.

Under the terms of the proposed settlement, current homeowners could receive from $228 to $29,931 per unit, depending on when they purchased and how much they paid. Former homeowners could receive from $716 to $29,746. The average per-unit payout is expected to be $12,000.

FivePoint and Lennar denied any fault or wrongdoing. Representatives for Lennar and Tetra Tech declined to comment. Representatives for FivePoint did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

We are really thrilled to be making progress and seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, said Linda Parker Pennington, one of the lead plaintiffs, who bought a townhome in the hilltop development in 2015.

Developer Fivepoint announced in mid-March that the Navy plans to transfer another area of the shipyard, Parcel G, to the city in 2023, and that the remaining nine parcels would be transferred by 2026.

At the same time, Tetra Tech EC is being sued for fraud by whistle-blowers and the Department of Justice. Federal prosecutors say the firm cut corners and falsified radiation tests, and the Navy decided that its data were suspect and areas of the shipyard should be retested. Tetra Tech EC has denied any wrongdoing, blaming any problems on a handful of rogue employees.

A hearing on final approval of the settlement with Lennar and FivePoint is scheduled for Oct. 14.

There wasn't enough care paid to whether the cleanup was done properly and thoroughly, said attorney Anne Marie Murphy, a partner at Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, the firm representing the homeowners. This whole case is about the toxic stew that we have out at the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard.

Jason Fagone and Cynthia Dizikes are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: jason.fagone@sfchronicle.com, cdizikes@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jfagone, @cdizikes
Julie Mehretu is the most exciting visual artist of our time and an artist who speaks compellingly to our time, not through satire or social realism, as most political artists do, but in abstract images of striking originality. Her paintingsvast canvases, many of them more than a dozen feet longerupt with volcanic swirls, darting lines, swarms of syncopated ink blots, all in crisscrossing layers of labyrinthine detail.

You can get lost in these worlds, and in that sense, Mehretu prompts comparison with Jackson Pollock. But where Pollocks brushstrokes were spontaneous outbursts of expression (hence the term Abstract Expressionism), Mehretu is, as she once put it, trying to understand myself  digging deeper into who I am, in terms of how her own history fits into the history not just of art but of the world.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Given Mehretus life story, this obsession, as shes called it, is the opposite of navel-gazing. She was born in 1970 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and fled that countrys civil wars, along with her family, for the calmer but, in its own way, still turbulent climes of Michigan, when she was 7. (She has lived in New York since graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design.) Viewed in this context, almost all of her works are explorations of war, migration, and rebellion: the clash of civilizations and the oppression or resistance of the masses.

Sign up for the Slate Culture newsletter The best of movies, TV, books, music, and more, delivered to your inbox three times a week. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time.

This would be merely interesting, at best, if Mehretus artworks were symbolic dioramas for studies of imperialism. But she has somehow created a technique, a style, a language to vivify the maelstrom of modernity, its deep layers of underlying time, and the dynamism of the networks and systems that stitch these strands together. The stitching isnt seamless: There is mystery and madness in this tale, just as, in some of her paintings, there are traces of stairways ascending and stairways descending, brash lines leading nowhere, bold arrows striving toward patterns of motion but stricken by waves of disruption. We, the viewers, remain agents, not mere objects, of this epic. A deep dive into these paintings can be at once horrifying and exhilarating.

Advertisement

Advertisement

A midcareer retrospective of Mehretus workswhich opens Thursday at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, after runs at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Atlantas High Museum of Art, with one more stop, at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, this falltraces her artistic and political evolution with thrilling clarity. (The curators are LACMAs Christine Y. Kim and the Whitneys Rujeko Hockley.)

The showsome 40 paintings and 30 works on paper, which take up the entirety of the Whitneys fifth floorbegins with Mehretus art-school projects from 199697: small, meticulous ink drawings of signs, symbols, and interweaving maps. Already, she was seeking a new language, new patterns, new ways of deciphering the world. (It may be significant that her father was an economic geographer.) In retrospect, these otherwise modest sketches formed the genesis of what was to come.

Advertisement

Advertisement

And it came with remarkable speed. By the end of the decade, she was creating her first ink-and-acrylic swirl storms on 6-foot-wide canvases, and just a few years after that, in 2002, she unfurled her first masterpiece, Renegade Delirium, a massive, kaleidoscopic shockwave to the senses, as if every clash, rupture, uprising, and epic ebb and flow in the annals of humanity, across space and time, were somehow compressed and transported, in all their intricacies, to a 7-by-12-foot canvas. Nothing this side of Pollocks One: Number 31, 1950 packs the punch of such an artistic Big Bang.

Advertisement

This phase of Mehretus career climaxed in 2009, with Mural, an astonishing 80-foot-wide canvaspermanently but privately displayed two miles south of the Whitney, in the lobby of Goldman Sachs, which commissioned the workthat conveys, as Calvin Tomkins has summarized, the history of finance capitalismmaps, trade routes, population shifts, financial institutions, the growth of cities.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Even before launching into the yearlong project of Mural, Mehretu was evolving into darker, denser landscapes with darker, more pointedly political themes, often stressing more distinctly the architectural layers beneath the explosive swirls. She started the multilayered Black City (2007) with stock drawings of fortified cities through the agesfrom Japan and Mesopotamia to Hitlers Atlantic Wall bunkersas a comment on repressive trends in American politics. There is a symphonic quality to the work and others from this period. We might not detect the references without the wall plaque, just as it might take a few listens and some program notes to follow all the motifs in a piece of orchestral music, but whether with music or art, the works emotional power should transport you, even without a guideand, looking at Black City, you dont need a curators explication to feel the menace.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

This phase of her work intensified, in 2012, with Mogamma (A Painting in Four Parts), inspired by the revolts in Cairos Tahrir Square. Working with a crew of assistants (a practice she began with the gargantuan Mural), she gathered and digitized drawings, photos, and architectural plans of several public squares where mass protests took place (Tahrir, her native Addis Ababas Meskel Square, New Yorks Zuccotti Park). Her crew projected and traced them onto a canvas, which Mehretu then covered with her trademark swirls, lines, and markings, more furious and fastidious than ever.

Advertisement

A decade had passed since Renegade Delirium, yet in these four paintings, her most enigmatic up to this point, the role of her small markings takes on a new clarity. They emerge the agents of change and resistance, or the objects of control and oppression, in her vast portraits of civilizations engines at full throttlea battle of small marks in this longview of time, as she has put it, adding, The marks are insistent.

Over the next four years, Mehretu created several works in this mode, depicting uprisings and wars in Syria as well. As with all of her works, they demand to be absorbed from a distanceto take in the big picture, in all the meanings of that phraseand scrutinized up close, at length. The fusion of historic sweep and minute human drama is stunning. (The exhibitions catalog, published by the Whitney, allows these dual views, containing not only superbly reproduced images of every work in the show, plus some, but also dozens of life-size full-page highlights from her larger, denser paintings.)

Advertisement

Advertisement

In the past five years, Mehretu has shifted into yet another phase, in some ways her most beautiful and most mystifying. The canvases are still huge (8 to 10 feet wide, or larger), but gone are the architectural underpinnings and the caravans of small marks. Instead, the works begin with photographs, which she digitizes, defocuses, turns at a 90- or 180-degree angle, the results of which she projects and traces onto the canvas, before lavishing them with her acrylic-and-ink slashes and scrawlsnow more hieroglyphic, but also more sensuous than before, infused with more vibrant colors, reminiscent of Kandinsky.

Advertisement

Advertisement

The underlying photographs, often taken from news files, are of race riots, forest fires, and other calamities in the headlines of the day. Most striking in this show is Conjured Parts (eye), Ferguson. (Her most monumental work in this styleHOWL, eon, a pair of canvases, each measuring 27-by-32 feet, flanking the stairwell at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, which commissioned thembegan with photos of riots, urban protests, and copies of 19th-century landscape paintings of the American West.)

Gerhard Richter did something like this, a few years earlier, with his Birkenau series, based on four grainy photos that were secretly taken at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp during the Nazi reign. Richter drew the photos, painted the drawings, then scoured the paint with his customary squeegee. These paintings, which were recently displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the first time all four had been shown together in the U.S.), are truly grim; the original images are obscured, but the dread and horror peer through.

Advertisement

Mehretus works in this vein are, again, gorgeous paintings, but, in a way, thats part of the puzzle. Im not sure if they evoke what she intends to evoke. I doubt that Id guess that Conjured Parts was inspired by the Ferguson protests, or anything like them, just by looking at it. I do see the connection after reading the wall plaques and straining to look in a different way from before. But shouldnt a painting, even one diffused of its figurative roots, have some emotional resonance with those roots? (Her earlier works, though also obscure, usually do.)

I dont know the answer to this question. Mehretu has quoted the remark by Martinican writer and critic Edouard Glissant: We clamor for the right to opacity for everyone. And she is certainly entitled. I look forward to pondering the matter further when I revisit her show two, three, or who knows how many times before it closes Aug. 8. And I look forward, even more, to seeing what she does next. This is a midcareer retrospective, and Mehretu has packed, unpacked, and metamorphosed more ideas and innovations, more magically, than any artist in many years.
Bhopal: Alarmed over rising coronavirus cases, the Madhya Pradesh government has decided to impose Sunday lockdown in four more districts of the state - Betul, Chhindwara, Ratlam and Khargone.

The announcement in this regard was made by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan while briefing his ministerial colleagues on the coronavirus situation after the cabinet meeting.

The lockdown in total seven districts will begin at 10 PM on Saturday and end at 6 am on Monday. It may be noted that the Sunday lockdown is already in force in Indore, Bhopal and Jabalpur cities of the BJP-ruled state.

Restrictions in cities reporting more than 20 daily COVID cases

In the cities where more than 20 cases are being reported daily, and in the districts where the average new cases per week are more than 20, only 50 persons can attend a marriage ceremony and only 20 people can take part in the last rites.

Besides swimming pools, gyms and cinema halls too will remain closed in such districts, the state government officials said. Only take-away service will be allowed at restaurants in such districts. Public halls will be allowed to function with 50 per cent capacity.

So far 26,90,646 persons have been administered vaccines for the prevention of COVID-19 in the state. Madhya Pradesh has 8592 active cases while 2,64,575 people have recovered from COVID-19, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare informed.

On Tuesday, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched the 'Mera Mask Meri Suraksha' campaign aimed at raising awareness about Covid-19 in Bhopal. He also urged the citizens to wear masks and follow all Covid protocols.

Regarding the upcoming festival of Holi, CM Chouhan encouraged people to celebrate at home. Efforts are being made to administer vaccine jabs to three lakh persons per day and in the next three months all targeted groups will be vaccinated, the officials said.

India on Thursday, 25 March, reported 53,476 new coronavirus cases, taking the tally in the country to 1,17,87,534. The death toll increased by 251 to 1,60,692, according to the Health Ministry data. This is the biggest one-day rise in cases since 23 October and the highest in 2021.

According to the Union Health Ministry data, there are currently 3,95,192 active cases, while 1,12,31,650 patients have been discharged, with 26,490 discharges reported in the last 24 hours.

Live TV
Advertisement

His bad boy rock and roll image earned him an army of fans including the world's most famous supermodel, who hung off his arm as they made their way from party to party.

But these days, Pete Doherty enjoys nothing more than a genteel stroll through the French countryside with his dog.

The Babyshambles and Libertines frontman, 42, was pictured with his girlfriend and Puta Madres bandmate Katia De Vidas as they enjoyed a walk through Etretat in Normandy.

The pair looked relaxed and happy and Doherty - dressed in joggers and a t-shirt - was a far cry from his hedonistic heyday, when his debauched behaviour repeatedly landed him in custody for the night.

Pete Doherty and his girlfriend Katia DeVidas were seen strolling in Etretat, France

Indie bad boy Doherty is pictured left at his house in London in 2003, and right on a stroll through the French countryside with his dog more recently

Doherty pictured outside Thames Magistrates' Court in Bow, east London in 2004 where he pleaded not guilty to possession of an offensive weapon

The pair donned face masks as they enjoyed a spot of shopping and walk with the dog

Doherty was a picture of happiness as he put his arm around his girlfriend

The rocker paired a pink face covering with his casual ensemble

The once-troubled and gaunt rocker famously painted a portrait of then-girlfriend Kate Moss in his blood and was thrown out of rehab for 'not trying hard enough' to kick his heroin habit.

But these days Pete enjoys a more relaxed way of life, spending his time 'cooking and dog walking', according to friends.

Doherty donned a casual get-up for the outing - a far cry from the days of designer leather jackets and trilby hats alongside his partner in crime, Carl Barat.

Last week he wished fans a Happy St Patrick's Day on Instagram before sharing the news that he'd be guest hosting a second anniversary listening party of the Puta Madres album on Twitter.

Peter has a teenage son, Astile, from his relationship with Lisa Moorish and a daughter, Aisling, from his romance with model Lindi Hingston.

While his most famous relationship was with Kate Moss, he also had a fling with friend Amy Winehouse and a reported tryst with Big Brother Seven housemate Nikki Grahame.

While on a promo trail in 2019 with his latest musical offering, he was forced to pull out of a radio appearance after his finger got infected from an hedgehog spike.

He'd attempted to rescue the animal from his Siberian Huskies during a dog walk.

The Libertines bought a hotel in Margate which Pete admitted was the 'saving of him' because he had a roof over his head and didn't have to worry about rent.

Doherty donned a casual get-up for the outing - a far cry from the days of designer leather jackets and trilby hats

Pete appeared care free as he walked alongside his partner and their dog

He took a canvas tote bag as he went to do some shopping after taking his dog to the vets

Last year, the frontman was charged with driving while disqualified after he was stopped by police in the early hours while riding an electric motorbike in Margate, Kent.

The former Babyshambles rocker had already been been given a six-month disqualification in October 2019 after he was caught speeding four times in three weeks. On that occasion, at Folkestone Magistrates' Court, he was ordered to pay 9,228 and he was heard to have muttered 'ouch' at the fine.

And in November 2019, Doherty was fined 8,500 and given a three-month suspended jail sentence for 'violence while intoxicated' after being arrested in Paris twice in a week.

He had been detained in the Pigalle district for buying cocaine before getting into an argument with two passers-by that led to his eventual re-arrest.

Doherty is a frequent visitor to Paris, and often spends long periods living and performing in the French capital.

Doherty shot to fame in the mid-2000s, when he dated supermodel Kate Moss, and has been arrested numerous times for drug offences.

But their turbulent relationship came to an end in 2007, months after he revealed he'd proposed to her.

In the past, he has pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine, heroin, cannabis and ketamine.

In 2012, he was thrown out of a luxury rehab clinic in Thailand after claims he was a bad influence on other patients and did not try hard enough to kick his heroin habit.

Doherty dressed down in joggers and Adidas sliders as he walked through the countryside

Babyshambles, pictured here at a gig in Leicester in 2004, won an army of Indie fans

The look was a far cry from the image he once portrayed on stage as the frontman of The Libertines

The couple put their arms around one another as they made their way to the car

A picture Doherty drew himself of him and his former partner Kate Moss using crayons and his own blood from 2005 was recently put on sale for 5,000.

For one of Doherty's previous works, Ladylike, he collaborated with Amy Winehouse, who helped create the self-portrait with her own blood.

The artwork sold for 35,000 in Doherty's exhibition 'On Blood: A Portrait of the Artist' at the Cob Gallery, London, in 2012.
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.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Edo State Government on Wednesday in Benin said it has vaccinated 2,568 persons against COVID-19 within the last 24 hours across the 18 Local Government Areas of the state.

The Executive Secretary of the Edo State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Julie Erhabor, disclosed this during the daily virtual meeting of the State COVID-19 Taskforce.

Ms Erhabor noted that the state had trained and activated 12 more special teams for the vaccine rollout in Edo South Senatorial District, to increase its vaccination coverage and break the chain of transmission of COVID-19.

She said Edo currently had 103 teams for rollout of the vaccine, including 62 fixed centres and 41 temporary fixed posts, adding that each of the 103 teams were expected to vaccinate over 60 persons daily.

She said the state was committed to ensuring that every eligible person was inoculated against the virus.

Ms Erhabor said that the state has so far vaccinated 10,052 persons since the rollout of the vaccine in the state on March 15.

In a similar engagement, the State COVID-19 Incident Manager, Andrew Obi, said Edo was recording remarkable success in the management of the pandemic, as the state continued to witness a decline in case positivity and fatality rates.

He said the state in the last 24 hours had recorded two new cases of COVID-19 reported from the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) and Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital (ISTH) laboratories.

He said the state government was committed to containing the spread of the virus and ensuring the safety of the residents.

(NAN)
STAFF and students were evacuated from a Dublin secondary school today following a bomb threat.

Gardai are investigating reports of a possible suspect device at St Mac Daras Community College in Templeogue.

A device has yet to be found.

In a message to parents advising them of the incident, principal Derek Ward confirmed that school will be reopening tomorrow after being "given the all-clear" by gardai.

Read More

He said: As youll appreciate, the health, safety and wellbeing of our entire school community is always our number one priority.

"We asked pupils to depart the school today after a phone call was received by the emergency services alleging that a suspect device had been placed at the school. We worked with the Gardai who attended the school and carried out a comprehensive search including a trained sniffer dog and they have given the all-clear and our school can now reopen tomorrow. It was not necessary for any other services to attend the school.

"The Gardai are investigating this unfortunate occurrence.

"We are most grateful to all students and staff for the manner in which they observed our safety procedures and we look forward to warmly welcoming everyone back tomorrow as normal."

A garda spokesperson said: Gardai are investigating reports of a possible suspect device at a school in the Templeogue area.

Gardai have carried out extensive searches of the premises and a search operation remains ongoing currently. At this time no device or similar has been located.

Enquiries are continuing.
Refuting slogans of opponents to the proposed Senate Bill 1024, such as home rule and one-size-fits-all, attorney Sara Bronin made a virtual presentation on a controversial bill for New Canaan residents.

The advocate for Desegregate Connecticut said that if the proposed Senate bill was passed, the state-wide zoning changes would help the economy, environment and income diversity, on Thursday, March 18. She touted support that she garnered from over 65 organizations, including environmental organizations, social justice groups, walking supporters and biking advocates.

People who oppose the bill dislike the idea of the state creating the same zoning laws for the 169 in-state municipalities, preferring what they call home rule.

Bronin said home rule is not consistent with existing Connecticut law, since it was is based on Dillions Rule, which says that municipalities can only exercise the powers that the state gives them. The rule was named after an Iowan judge who called for a narrow interpretation of a local government's authority, which is set by the state.

She discussed what many perceive as a link between zoning and either racial or income-based segregation, adding, there is a lot of research about this.

The impulse of much of zoning when it was first developed 100 years ago, was one of lets try to order our town to keep certain people out, Bronin said. Whether we like it or not, a lot of these structures are still in place today.

She noted there was a lot of commentary opposed to the bill that calls it one-size-fits-all zoning across the state.

Instead, she said that the current zoning regulations, which give preference to single-family homes under as of right, is one-size-fits-all zoning. As of right means it is accommodated by the law, and no public hearing is needed on the individualized application.

Economy

The UConn law professor believes the present zoning practices have allowed single-family housing to dominate the state and has really hindered economic growth and housing, since many people cannot afford it.

We are very slow growing she said, explaining that the state ranks 47 in population growth and 49 with Gross Domestic Product.

She argues present zoning laws can make housing expensive and make it difficult and unattractive to younger people who are considering moving to Connecticut.

Economic development organizations report that there is not enough housing to house workers, she said.

Small business owners complain that potential recruits often back down when they learn how expensive housing is here and they dont have that many options rather than one-size-fits-all single family housing, Bronin said.

Her presentation stated that the building of more housing allows for more income for individuals and creates more income for local governments.

Environment

Single-family housing on large lots also has environmental implications because it forces a town to develop outward from our historic core and encourages sprawl, Bronin said.

Single-family homes require more infrastructure of roads and use more energy since they are not insulated by other dwellings and are generally inefficient, according to her research.

A central theme of what we are trying to do is to put development where it already exists, Bronin said.

Accessory apartments

Accessory apartments would be allowed as of right, under the senate proposed bill, allowing it to be 30 percent of the size of the main building.

New Canaan is almost a poster child for what accessory dwelling units should be, Bronin said. New Canaan allows for the size of the accessory dwelling unit to be more than the 30 percent that we are proposing. New Canaan, you actually allow it to be 40 percent.

Transit Oriented Development

The law would include tenets of Transient Oriented Development, which calls for more housing around transit hubs and has been instituted in other counties and states such as neighboring Massachusetts.

The proposed bill would allow any property within a half-mile radius of a train station to be developed with up to four units of housing, as of right.

New Canaan would still be allowed to establish architectural standards, and choose types, Bronin said.

She explained that two-family housing is already allowed in a pretty good chunk of New Canaan.

The new legislation would limit the amount of parking spaces local authorities could require, especially for studio and one-bedroom apartments.

I do think people will figure out parking because if you have a car you are going to figure out where to put it, Bronin argued.

Not in the bill

Moderator Miki Porta read a question from a member of the audience. We have heard that under the proposed bill, other towns would have authority over development within a certain radius of transit hubs, for instance Norwalk would have the authority to develop within New Canaan. Is that true?

Bronin responded.

No. That is definitely not true. Your zoning authority as a town extends to your jurisdiction and nothing else. Nothing in this bill would change that. That would be rather dramatic, Bronin said. I dont even know if it could be changed with a state law the way that municipal powers are developed.
ROME, MAR 25 - President Sergio Mattarella said Dante Alighieri's life and work still teach us lessons today as Italy's celebrates the 700th anniversary of the death of the author of the Divine Comedy on Dantedi - Dante Day. The great poet died in Ravenna after being exiled from Florence due to his political activities. "Dante gave a lesson of coherence for everyone, politicians included, because you must not go against your conscience," Mattarella told Corriere della Sera. "And one of the most important parts of his legacy is the dilemma between justice and compassion". The 'Supreme Poet' will be celebrated across the country with the highest-profile event being a televised reading of Canto XXV of the Paradiso by comic actor, director and Dante buff Roberto Benigni at the presidential Quirinal Palace at 19:10 in the presence of Mattarella and Culture Minister Dario Franceschini. In the famed canto, Dante's muse Beatrice vouches for the poet and pilgrim's possession of hope in redemption. March 25 was chosen as Dante Day as scholars believe it was on this date that Italy's greatest poet descended into Hell for the first part of his epic journey through the Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso. Later on Thursday Benigni will recite on Rai3 the iconic Paolo and Francesca episode from Canto V of the Inferno, a tale of forbidden love and honour killing that has inspired artists including Rodin and Dante Gabriele Rossetti, as well as countless musical interpretations. Dante as a pilgrim was so struck by the story of passionate love that he fainted in Inferno, while Dante the philosopher and religious thinker condemned the lovers for their adultery. (ANSA).
From todays Down in Alabama podcast:

Today there is a potential for severe storms, and possibly tornadoes.

Retiring Sen. Richard Shelby, 86, has announced he wont be making an endorsement in the 2022 race to replace him. Republicans Mo Brooks and Lynda Blanchard have announced they are running and on the Democratic side Rep. Terri Sewell said she wont run.

Iguanas in Florida have become so invasive that they arent only tearing up sidewalks and spreading salmonella but are also hanging out in peoples toilets.

Jennifer Garner will join First Lady Biden on Friday to tour the Jasper Area Service Center and YWCA as part of the Help is Here tour to talk about the details of the White Houses $1.9 trillion stimulus plan.

The Down in Alabama podcast is short and free. Listen to it by clicking on the player above or subscribe by looking for Down in Alabama on the device of your choosing. Get this and other AL.com newsletters here.

Click here for the Spotify podcast page

Click here for the Alexa skill page on Amazon

Click here for the Amazon Music podcast page

Click here for the iTunes podcast page
The back-to-back mass shootings in Atlanta and Boulder have refocused national attention on gun violence. Despite struggling with the worst pandemic in a century that shut down much of the country at times, 2020 turned out to be a record year for gun deaths. Nearly 20,000 Americans were killed by firearms , while another 24,000 died by suicide with a gun. The total figure exceeds any other year for at least two decades.But when firearm mortality is viewed state by state, a strong variation emerges. Using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Massachusetts had the lowest death rate of just 3.4 per 100,000 in 2019, the latest year data is available. Alaska and Mississippi are tied for the highest: 24 deaths per 100,000. The following map and table provide specific numbers for each state.We will update this story as more information becomes available.
Attorneys general from 12 states demanded Facebook and Twitter to do more on COVID-19 misinformation in their respective platforms. The demand comes following the rise of anti-vaxxers who spread false information on the COVID-19 vaccine, amid the vaccine efforts of the federal government.

The said social media platforms have allowed anti-vaccination propaganda to flourish, giving a hard time for the authorities to invalidate those misleading information, according to an Associated Press report.

ALSO READ: Fact Check: Did Social Media Really Prevent Election Misinformation?

The States on Facebook and Twitter

The Democratic attorneys general has sent a letter address to Facebook Chief Executive Marl Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. The letter reads that these social media apps were used by anti-vaxxers to exaggerate the risks of vaccination. The anti-vaxxers are known to lack medical expertise, and usually post for financial purposes, according to a Reuters report.

Up to 65 percent of anti-vaccine propaganda surrounding the major social media networking sites is connected to only 12 individuals or organizations. These accounts utilize the platform to spread propaganda, according to a report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH). CCDH is a group that serves as a watchdog.

"Given anti-vaxxers' reliance on your platforms, you are uniquely positioned to prevent the spread of misinformation," said the letter sent to the developers of the app. The letter continues that the misinformation heightens the threat to the safety of millions of people in the United States.

It can be remembered that there is false information targeting specific groups like Latinos. The said false information is usually passed by family members. Reports have shown that the false information passed by minority groups is originally in the English language. Yet, they are translated to Spanish or the mother tongue of the targeted minority group.

"While they fail to take action, lives are being lost," said Imran Ahmed, the CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate. Ahmed also added that their organization has also found 59 million accounts across social platforms that follow anti-vaxxer accounts. Some of them are popular and great super-spreaders of false information.

Facebook and Twitter Defense

Facebook said, through their spokeswoman, Dani Lever, that the company has already removed millions of pieces of COVID-19 as well as vaccine false information. Lever also noted that they are trying to combat vaccine hesitancy through regularly directing their users to reliable information like the ones from the health authorities. Twitter, on the other hand, noted that their company had removed more than 22,400 tweets that have something to do with their policy on COVID-19.

"This week, the CEOs of Facebook, Twitter, and Google will appear before the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee," said Ahmed. The three major platforms, along with the committee, will discuss social media's role in promulgating misinformation. Ahmed noted that the committee must utilize the opportunity to hold the companies accountable and push them to follow their commitment to eradicating false information and anti-vaxxers within their networks.

RELATED ARTICLE: Facebook Launches New Features to Help Fight COVID-19 Misinformation

WATCH: The Parents Going To War With Anti-Vaxxers On Facebook - from VICE News
BRIDGEPORT  Americares, a Stamford-based nonprofit health organization, has received $2.6 million in federal funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to target those who are hesitant to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., who was present for the announcement at the Fred Weisman Americares Free Clinic of Bridgeport on Tuesday, offered his congratulations, according to a news release from Americares.

Vaccine hesitancy, among other factors, is preventing low-income, immigrant and communities of color from getting vaccinated, even though these communities are most adversely impacted by COVID-19, a statement from Himes said. I am proud to see Americares  a well-respected relief organization based in southwestern Connecticut  encouraging vaccination so that life can get back to normal as quickly as possible.

The organization plans to use the funding to challenge myths and educate volunteers and staff about the importance of vaccination. The organization plans to work with hundreds of clinics, National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics and state associations around the country.

Americares President and CEO Christine Squires noted the role free and charitable clinics play in providing health care for underserved communities.

Provider confidence in the vaccine and the vaccine rollout is critical, she said. Patients will be more likely to get vaccinated if the message comes from a trusted health care provider who is vaccinated.

The organization noted the results of a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Washington Post that found nearly half of front-line health care workers in the U.S. still have not received a first dose of the vaccine.

About 30 percent of those not yet vaccinated have said they either havent decided whether to get the vaccine, or plan not to get it, according to the results of the survey.

There is much work to be done to dispel myths and misinformation even within the medical community, Squires said in a statement. Americares will also equip free and charitable clinics with information about vaccine safety that they can share with patients concerned about side effects or efficacy.

Throughout the pandemic, the organization has been providing primary care services as well as medicine, training and mental health services to health care workers around the world.
LOS ANGELES, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- USC and the 710 women who filed civil cases in Los Angeles Superior Court involving George Tyndall have reached a global agreement that is fair and reasonable. The $852 million settlement will end this litigation in state court. The USC Board of Trustees has ratified the settlement.

This resolution was achieved with the assistance of private mediator and attorney Mr. Jeffrey Krivis, Esq., and Los Angeles Superior Court Judge, the Honorable Daniel J. Buckley.

John C. Manly, Esq., on behalf of Plaintiffs' Liaison Counsel, commented, "Our team is humbled by the courage of George Tyndall's survivors, who endured this process, and hope this settlement brings them healing. Our team also acknowledges USC President Carol Folt and General Counsel Beong-Soo Kim, whose hard work and determination were critical to resolving this case."

USC General Counsel Beong-Soo Kim said, "Reaching a fair agreement with these former students has been a top priority for the Board of Trustees and President Carol Folt. We want to thank the Plaintiff's Liaison Counsel for their willingness to work with us to resolve this litigation responsibly."

Statement from USC President Carol L. Folt

"I am deeply sorry for the pain experienced by these valued members of the USC community. We appreciate the courage of all who came forward and hope this much needed resolution provides some relief to the women abused by George Tyndall."

Statement from USC Board of Trustees Chair Rick J. Caruso

"The behavior that was discovered shocks the conscience of the University to its core.

Our institution fell short by not doing everything it could to protect those who matter to us most  our students, and I am sorry for the pain this caused the very people we were obligated to protect. In the aftermath of these reports, I was asked to be board chair. The board immediately took swift action to restore trust, accountability and faith in our university. Our restructured board installed Dr. Folt as president and a new leadership team with a mandate to drive meaningful reforms, through oversight and full accountability.

We are steadfast in our commitment to assuring that these steps have the intended impact and reflect real change. Today marks the end of a painful and ugly chapter in the history of our university. More importantly, it signals a critical step forward in strengthening and reweaving the fabric of our community."

Contact:

USC Media Relations

[email protected]

213-740-2215

SOURCE University of Southern California
High-net worth households that do financial planning could move to another state before they sell million-dollar assets. They fly under the radar in Cristobal Youngs work because most of them dont earn more than $1 million in the year before they leave. - Andrew Mikula, Pioneer Institute

Past Research Drastically Undercounts Households Subject to Surtax Proposal

Advocates for a state constitutional amendment that would apply a 4 percent surtax to households with annual earnings of more than $1 million rely heavily on the assumption that these proposed taxes will have little impact on the mobility of high earners. They cite analyses by Cornell University Associate Professor Cristobal Young, which exclude the vast majority of millionaires, according to a new study published by Pioneer Institute.

Professor Youngs wealth migration analyses dont capture the full breadth of tax flight by million-dollar earners, said Andrew Mikula, co-author of Missing the Mark on Wealth Migration: Past Studies Drastically Undercounted Millionaires. High-net worth households that do financial planning could move to another state before they sell million-dollar assets. They fly under the radar in Cristobal Youngs work because most of them dont earn more than $1 million in the year before they leave.

The graduated income tax proposal advanced by the Massachusetts Teachers Association, the Service Employees International Union, and other union, advocacy, and religious groups, defines earnings as including salary and capital gains on the sale of assets, which makes net worth a critical component of households subject to the tax.

The methodology of Professor Young, who has made a point of weighing in on the Massachusetts graduated income tax in Commonwealth magazine, suffers from three major flaws.

First, he only counts those who earned $1 million in the year before they moved. This approach ignores those who move in anticipation of earning a seven-figure annual income from selling high-value assets.

Second, he fails to consider the 850,000 U.S. households with net worth more than $10 million that earn less than $1 million annually. Three-fifths of households with more than $10 million in net worth had annual incomes of less than $1 million. Cumulatively, these households have trillions of dollars in unrealized capital gains that, if sold, may be subject to a graduated income tax such as is proposed in Massachusetts.

Third, Professor Young ignores the role of tax policy in attracting migrants to Florida, which does not have income, capital gains, or estate taxes. Instead, he treats Florida as a mere outlier, claiming that when Florida is excluded, there is virtually no tax migration in the United States.

Thats akin to saying that if you exclude Muhammad Ali, Louisville, Kentucky hasnt produced any great boxers, said Greg Sullivan, who co-authored the Pioneer report with Mikula.

According to IRS data, Florida had a migration inflow of 122,341 returns from taxpayers with adjusted gross income (AGI) over $200,000 (the highest income category) from 2012 to 2018, with an average return of $647,305. Net of those who left the state, Floridas inflow returns over the period totaled $62.6 billion in taxable income among the wealthy.

Looking at all returns, Massachusetts is a significant source of wealth migration to the Sunshine State. Massachusetts experienced a net outflow of $20.7 billion in AGI from 1993 to 2018, with nearly half of it going to Florida. Almost three quarters of the AGI outflow went to either Florida or New Hampshire, another no-income tax state.

Finally, Young concludes that 2.4 percent of millionaires move each year. Advocates are wrong -- and policymakers would be irresponsible -- to downplay that finding. Even without correcting for Youngs undercount of millionaire households, the cumulative effect of an annual loss of high-net-worth taxpayers can add up to big numbers over a decade or more, exacerbating the already considerable exodus of Massachusetts residents to Florida and other low-tax states.

During a constitutional convention this or next year, Massachusetts legislators will decide whether or not to advance the graduated income tax amendment to the statewide ballot in November 2022.

About the Authors

Gregory Sullivan is Pioneers Research Director. Prior to joining Pioneer, Sullivan served two five-year terms as Inspector General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and was a 17-year member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Greg is a Certified Fraud Investigator, and holds degrees from Harvard College, The Kennedy School of Public Administration, and the Sloan School at MIT.

Andrew Mikula is Economic Research Analyst at Pioneer Institute. Mr. Mikula was previously a Lovett & Ruth Peters Economic Opportunity Fellow at Pioneer Institute and studied economics at Bates College.

About Pioneer

Pioneers mission is to develop and communicate dynamic ideas that advance prosperity and a vibrant civic life in Massachusetts and beyond.

Pioneers vision of success is a state and nation where our people can prosper and our society thrive because we enjoy world-class options in education, healthcare, transportation, and economic opportunity, and where our government is limited, accountable and transparent.

Pioneer values an America where our citizenry is well-educated and willing to test our beliefs based on facts and the free exchange of ideas, and committed to liberty, personal responsibility, and free enterprise.
Wilkes-Barre, PA (18701)

Today

Thunderstorms likely. A few storms may be severe. High 73F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Cloudy with showers. Low 63F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.
TANZANIA is still mourning the death of the late President John Magufuli, but at the same time it is celebrating the beginning of a new presidency.

With the swearing in of Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan as the sixth Tanzania President, the country created its own history by having the first female president.

As we wait for the country to conclude its 21 days of mourning, we hope that when finally, the new president sits down in her office and officially start her presidency, she will get time to look into several gender issues.

Gender-based violence remains a significant problem in Tanzania, with the government acknowledging that it has the potential to significantly affect the country's economy, health and social welfare systems.

This violence takes many forms, including physical, sexual, psychological and economic violence, mainly perpetrated against women. Promisingly, however, incidences of gender-based violence in the country appear to be on the decline, according to an article published in the Citizen newspaper.

We believe that once firmly in the helm of leadership, President Samia's government will continue pushing for an industrial economy by 2025, while today's generation of girls are preparing to enter a world of work that is being transformed by innovation and automation.

Educated and skilled workers are in great demand, but roughly a quarter of young people - most of them female - are currently neither employed or in education or training.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Tanzania Women By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Of the 1 billion young people - including 600 million adolescent girls - that will enter the workforce in the next decade, more than 90 per cent of those living in developing countries, including Tanzania, will work in the informal sector, where low or no pay, abuse and exploitation are common.

On paper, Tanzania has recognized freedom from violence as a fundamental human right through various acts and international conventions. But gaps in existing legislation as well as the culture of shame and silence around gender violence combine to undermine any progress.

Identifying national estimates of violence is a critical step towards preventing violence in communities and providing protection to children.

In the long-term, there should be an evidence base on how child protection systems can address violence against children and develop a strategy for national scale up, and support the government to develop a social welfare workforce strategy to increase the numbers and capacity of Social Welfare Officers to respond to child abuse and violence.
A MAN with an acquired brain injury who repeatedly punched a garda in the face has received a fully suspended sentence.

Paul Rooney (30) attacked a garda after he was caught dragging a bike still attached to a bike rack down a busy Dublin city centre street.

Rooney, of Railway Street, Dublin, pleaded guilty to one count of assaulting a garda at Beaver Street, Dublin, on January 19, 2019.

He suffered an acquired brain injury in 2003 when he was the victim of a hit-and-run incident.

Mr Rooney has 37 previous convictions including criminal damage, theft and handling stolen property.

Judge Martin Nolan had previously adjourned the matter and ordered that it return to court immediately if Rooney committed any further offences.

Judge Nolan expressed concerns that the accused will injure somebody badly in the future.

Passing sentence today, Judge Nolan said Rooney had behaved well since the previous sentencing hearing.

He said that principally by reason of his medical history he was not going to imprison him.

Judge Nolan sentenced him to two-and-a-half years imprisonment, but suspended the entirety of the sentence on strict conditions.

At a previous sentencing hearing, the court heard that Rooney punched Garda Patrick Barker five to six times in the face after he was apprehended trying to steal a bike.

His brothers and mother appeared on the scene and attempted to placate him, with his mother administering medication in an attempt to calm him down, Gda James Connolly told Garret Baker BL, prosecuting.

Gda Barker suffered a cut to the nose during the assault.

Rooney was arrested and was extremely apologetic to the garda he had injured once his medication had taken effect, the court heard.

Judge Nolan accepted submissions by defence counsel, Gerardine Small BL, that her client has a significant brain injury.

However, he noted Rooney's history of offending had grown more serious in recent years.

The problem I have is that he has this condition and he keeps committing crimes, Judge Nolan said.

What is this court supposed to do?

The judge noted the court had only one tool left in the box.

The next time, will he injure somebody badly? I am sorry for Mr Rooney, Judge Nolan said.

But he is going to have to conform.
Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) Oleksiy Danilov said that dialogue with Russia for Ukraine is an unsafe step that could lead to the loss of state sovereignty.

"There are many in Ukraine who say that let us talk with Russia. They need to be put in their place. Since for our country this is a very unsafe step. Ukraine will cease to exist if it continues to flirt with the Russian Federation. Russia and Putin  the destruction of Ukraine," Danilov said on Thursday, March 25.

The NSDC secretary said "in Ukraine there are several scenarios of how further relations with Russia will develop, Ukraine is ready for any of them."

He also said "Ukraine is not alone, it has partners on the issue with Russia."

"We constantly communicate with them, we keep our finger on the pulse, we have an understanding of what is happening in Europe, who really is our partner, and who pretends [...] There is a clear understanding of the U.S. position [on the issue of relations between Ukraine and Russia], positions of Great Britain, Japan, which are our real partners," Danilov said.

According to Danilov, "it is worth considering the fact that since 2014 there has been a strong strengthening of the Ukrainian army."
BOOK OF THE WEEK

RIVER KINGS: A NEW HISTORY OF THE VIKINGS FROM SCANDINAVIA TO THE SILK ROADS

by Cat Jarman (William Collins 25, 328pp)

Nearly 40 years ago, in 1982, archaeologists excavated a mass grave near Repton, Derbyshire, related to the Viking Great Army which invaded England in the 860s.

Among the jumbled bones they found a small orange bead. Years later, Dr Cat Jarman was analysing the finds and discovered that the bead was carnelian, a semi-precious stone from India or the areas that are now Iran and Iraq. How did it travel to Derbyshire, to be buried among the Viking dead?

So begins a brilliant detective story deep into the past  and across half the world.

Dr Cat Jarman has penned a book about the Vikings, after being inspired when she discovered a small orange bead found in a mass grave in Derbyshire had come from India (file image)

The Vikings have been variously portrayed as bloodthirsty warriors and sensitive types who made lovely jewellery. Both portraits have some truth. But above all, perhaps, they were traders and travellers without equal.

Their crossing of Russia via mighty rivers and terrible rapids, with names like The Boiling Of The Water and Do Not Sleep, is surely one of the great, half-forgotten epics of world history. Sailing east across the Baltic, they navigated the River Lovat, then carried their ships overland to join the River Dnieper  or perhaps transported them on huge sledges travelling easily over the winter ice.

The Dnieper took them down into the Black Sea and the Levant beyond, or else they followed the Volga down to the Caspian and ultimately to the markets of Central Asia.

And that is why we find carnelian amid Viking treasure hoards in England, along with Arabic coins, or dirhams, from as far away as Samarkand, sometimes with the hammer of Thor firmly stamped over the kufic script.

Archaeologists even discovered a small bronze Buddha on a lake island near Stockholm, which in 2015 received pride of place on a stamp released by the Swedish postal service, in an attempt to demonstrate Swedens rich multicultural past.

Well, up to a point, says Jarman. It doesnt mean there were Buddhists in Viking Sweden, indeed its highly unlikely the Vikings had any knowledge of Buddhism.

It was simply an item of value exchanged for Viking trade goods: furs, walrus tusks . . . and slaves, lots of them, from Britain, Ireland and Eastern Europe, who were then sold on to buyers from the Middle East and Asia.

Displaying things like a Buddha statuette or a dirham pendant in your Viking home would have been a marker of the exotic, showing that you had links with those external worlds and an ability to travel. Exactly the same one-upmanship as that of people today displaying some exotic fabric in their sitting rooms. Oh, just a little something I picked up in this lovely old market in Ulan Bator . . .

Viking men would sail off to find both riches and slave-girls, with their quest for mates taking them far across Russia (file image)

Jarman is resistant to pressure to re-cast the Vikings as more diverse than they really were. New DNA evidence shows they were pretty homogeneous, even stereotypical . . . tall, strong, blond-haired and blue-eyed.

Interpreting the presence of Arab coinage in Viking graves as evidence of a multicultural Dark Age Scandinavia, she says, would be like interpreting the large number of IKEA stores that have sprung up across Britain in recent years as evidence that sometime in the late 20th century a significant number of Swedes had colonised Britain.

As for the fantasy of muscly warrior swordswomen, again, its doubtful. Viking Age women have been found buried with swords, but also with bowls and spindles.

Their bones showed no signs of the trauma injuries we find on male skeletons, nor of the muscular development associated with using weapons. Jarman warns against concocting a matriarchal fantasy fuelled by 21st-century desires and sentiments.

On the contrary, Viking men were, frankly, ruthless bride-snatchers. They sailed off to find both riches and slave-girls. Hence the extraordinary fact (DNA analysis again) that among modern Icelanders, 75 per cent of the men have Scandinavian ancestry, while 62 per cent of women have British or Irish ancestry.

RIVER KINGS: A NEW HISTORY OF THE VIKINGS FROM SCANDINAVIA TO THE SILK ROADS by Cat Jarman (William Collins 25, 328pp)

So where were all the Viking girls? Jarman offers a dark explanation: the Vikings esteemed sons over daughters and practised selective female infanticide. Result: a population heavily skewed towards tall, fit, aggressive young males, badly in need of girlfriends.

I find the theory that the Viking Age was essentially driven by youthful male sex drive pretty convincing  and its not a new one. A medieval historian, Dudo of Saint-Quentin, argued as long ago as the 11th century that the Viking raids had started because of an excess of unmarried young men.

Their restless quest for mates took them far across Russia, to besiege Constantinople, inscribe graffiti on the walls of the then church, now mosque and world heritage museum, Hagia Sophia, and find employment in the Byzantine Emperors elite Varangian Guard.

They fought against Daylamite tribesmen in Iran, and set eyes on the wondrous sights of Golden Age Baghdad, greatest of all cities on that trans-Asiatic highway of fabulous wealth called The Silk Road. Silks from China, Japan and Korea, paper and silver from Samarkand, ebony and ivory from East Africa . . .

Warriors and sailors, merchants and slavers, jewellers, craftsmen, world-wanderers . . . River Kings is a rich and revelatory portrayal of this restless and extraordinary people.
Saratoga

When it comes to real estate, views are valuable.

Developer John Witt wants to create a view of Saratoga Lake by building 31 new homes on a ridge above Route 9P.

The neighbors on the ridge and below it have serious concerns with Witt's Cedar Bluff subdivision and have been fighting his plans for months.

The neighbors, as well as the Saratoga Lake Association and the Saratoga Lake Protection and Improvement District, say that clearing the forest would create runoff and flood 9P. They also say the runoff would drain the water table and diminish the quality of their water, which on Hill Road needs to be treated now. There is also a concern about the destruction of animal habitat and the transformation of their rural road into a suburban one.

"The biggest negative impact will be on the lake," said Alan Richer of the Saratoga Lake Association. "To take those trees down will create erosion, make the structures on the ridge unstable and create flooding."

David Wallingford, commissioner-at-large with the Saratoga Lake Protection and Improvement District, echoed the sentiment, adding sediment, soil disturbance and fertilizer to the list of worries.

"SLPID is very concerned about any and all adverse effects of the project on the lake," Wallingford said.

Witt says opponents' concerns are unfounded. The project, he said, would not cause runoff because all storm water would be contained on each property. He said his plan is to create catch basins and a depression area where the storm water will collect and seep back into the ground, which he said would follow state Department of Environmental Conservation regulations. He also said the water quality won't be affected.

"They are all lies," Witt said of his critics' claims. "Put yourself in the position of the homeowner. Wouldn't you want a view of the lake? This is America, isn't it?"

Dr. Tom Yannios doesn't know how the lake below could be left untouched by the development.

"He will be creating impervious surfaces, roofs, roads, driveways that will not absorb the water," Yannios said. "He is completely indifferent to the ecological ramifications."

The neighbors are skeptical of Witt after what happened in Greenfield Center in 2014. His Old Stone Ridge subdivision was clear cut to provide views of the Green Mountains. But the site plans approved by the Greenfield Planning Board did not show clear cutting. By the time the code enforcement got a stop-work order, the trees were gone.

"He agreed to a no-cut zone," said John Cashin who lives on Cedar Bluff Road, just below Witt's property. "At the time, he said there was a filing mistake and that he always intended to create the views. This is a similar situation."

Neighbors said the former owner of the property, Roy Ensley, wanted the land to remain forever wild. Paul Murphy, who lives on Hill Road, said Ensley would "reach for his rifle" every time developers approached him to sell his land.

Upon his death, Ensley bequeathed his property to the Bethesda Episcopal Church in Saratoga Springs. At the time, the Rev. Thomas Parke promised to never sell it to a developer. But when Parke died, so too did the promise. It was sold to Witt in 2014, despite Murphy's own offer on 40 acres of the property on Hill Road for $250,000.

"Actually the neighborhood would come up with the money to buy all the property," Murphy said. "It would be hard, but worth it."

What is keeping the neighbors and the lake associations hopeful is a moratorium on clear-cutting trees in Saratoga. The moratorium is set to expire on May 23, but Supervisor Tom Wood said a public hearing on May 8 will decide if it will be extended or if clear-cutting can be allowed for agricultural purposes only. Either way, clear-cutting, Wood said, would not be allowed for a development or for views.

Witt is unfazed. He believes that the project, approved conceptually already, will get a green light.

"It's not clear-cutting," Witt said. "We are leaving half of the property forever wild. We are only cutting for the footprint for the houses and some for the views."

Town officials, the lake associations and neighbors say they will monitor the project closely. Yannios said he feels they have a friend on the Planning Board in Chair Ian Murray, who has held firm with Witt on tree cutting.

"The developer is relentless," Yannios said. "But so far, the Planning Board have been incorruptible. We want to thank them for that."

wliberatore@timesunion.com  518-454-5445  @wendyliberatore
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya says he crossed the line when he used the word rape to threaten Kevin Holland.

In response to trash talk from Holland, Adesanya said in a now-deleted Instagram story, Bro, Ill f***ing rape you. Those words caught the attention of New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson, as well as the executive director of Rape Prevention Education in the Nigeria-born champs home country.

Thursday, Adesanya issued a statement that acknowledged wrongdoing.

Last weekend fight talk escalated to a point in which I crossed the line, Adesanya said. I understand the gravity of this word and how it can affect and hurt other people apart from my opponent, although that was NEVER my intention. I am still growing under the spotlight, and I take this as a lesson to be more selective with words under pressure.

Adesanyas statement comes one day after Robertson condemned the UFC champs use of the word.

There is never a time to make flippant comments about rape. Its just not something anybody should do, Robertson said, via Radio New Zealand. I am sure Israel understands that. I believe he has deleted (the post) in question. It will be up to the UFC as to what they do. But I would certainly be making clear to him, and to anybody actually, that we have to take rape seriously. It is not an issue that anyone should be making jokes or flippant comments about at all.

Related

Jon Jones: Israel Adesanya 'trying to keep this beef going is hilarious' Israel Adesanya insists future Jon Jones fight isn't dead: 'I'm coming for that ass'

Robertsons assessment came on the heels of Debbi Tohill, the executive director of Rape Prevention Education, explaining how Adesanyas word choice can normalize threats of sexual violence, especially given his following of 4.6 million on Instagram.

People with a large social media following can play a significant role in reducing rates of sexual violence and creating healthy cultures of consent for any sexual activity, Tohill told Stuff. Conversely, these kind of comments where rape is used as a threat create a culture where it is acceptable to make sexualized comments with the potential to cause further harm. Sportspeople and celebrities can really influence young people. We would like to see this happen in a positive way, not misused and normalizing threats of sexual violence.

Adesanya is usually outspoken and colorful with his language when trash-talking opponents, and hes come under fire once before over his choice of words. In February 2020, Adesanya said prior to his fight with Yoel Romero that Romero would crumble like the Twin Towers, a reference to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York on Sept. 11, 2001, that many considered to be insensitive. That prompted an apology from Adesanya, who vowed to be more careful moving forward.
Kuwait Portland Cement records 7% fall in profit

25 March 2021

Kuwait Portland Cement has seen a 7.1 per cent YoY decline in attributable net profit to KWD1.3m (US$4.3m) in the 4Q20, compared with KWD1.4m in the year-ago period.



Total operating revenue fell 46.6 per cent to KWD12.5m from KWD23.4m in the 4Q19.

Published under
* 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.
[March 25, 2021] Ynvisible & SpotSee Announce Launch of New Temperature Indication Solution TempSafe Electrocard

Ynvisible Interactive Inc. (the "Company" or "Ynvisible") (TSX-V: YNV, FSE: 1XNA, OTCQB: YNVYF) announces its first commercial delivery of a new temperature indication solution to market with SpotSee, the global leader in shock, vibration and temperature monitoring through low-cost, connected solutions. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210324005949/en/ More info and pre-order: https://www.ynvisible.com/tempsafe (Photo: Business Wire) Working with SpotSee, Ynvisible tailored a low power, branded, calibrated temperature indication label for cold-chain and temperature-controlled shipment and storage of goods such as blood bags, premium foods, biomaterials, and medicines. Ynvisible manufactures the electrochromic display in high volumes and delivers the display driving protocol, while supporting the integration of the display in the final smart-label. Ynvisible's displays allow users to view the indication with the unaided eye. "With the TempSafe Electrocard, we now expand our solutions offering with a temperature measuring electronic smart-label, a fully customizable time/temperature indicator solution, that can achieve sub-zero temperatures, as well as visually indicate Above and Below thresholds with Ynvisibles electrochromic displays." says Tony Fonk, CEO SpotSee. "Ynvisible's design, prototyping, printed electronics production, and technology transfer services make speed to market easy for our customers," continues Tommy Hoglund, VP of Sales and Marketing Ynvisible. "We are honored to work with the industry experts to design, produce, and market a smart label solution incorporating ynvisible printed electrochromic displays. TempSafe Electrocard are the first temperature indicators in market to incorporate Ynvisible's low-power, printed electrochromic display," says Michael Robinson, CEO Ynvisible. "Ynvisible is now increasingly focused on the smart-label markets. We have proven our ability to produce hundreds of thousands of electrochromic displays in roll-to-roll format. This format makes it easy for scalable integration into smart labels. We can print in several tens of millions of units per year. Our customers' solutions will benefit from our electrochromic display know-how and production capacity." Mr. Robinson continues. More info and pre-order: https://www.ynvisible.com/tempsafe



In addition to launching the TempSafe Electrocard, SpotSee and Ynvisible are also collaborating on next generation capabilities for temperature sensing and indication in smart labels. Both companies are partners in the project CHARISMA funded by European Union's Horizon 2020Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions program. The project co-ordinated by the Institute of Organic Chemistry, Vienna University (Austria), includes also universities Universida de Nova de Lisboa (Portugal), Tampere University (Finland), plus other partner companies Science Made Simple, Packdesign ID Oy, and Trelic Oy. ABOUT SPOTSEE

SpotSee is an internet of things end-to-end solution provider that enables customers to spot damage in their operations and see it in real time. SpotSee's mission is to help customers deter, detect and diagnose changing conditions and deliver that data to customers' fingertips from anywhere in the world. SpotSee devices monitor shock, vibration, temperature and other environmental conditions through its market-leading brands such as ShockWatch, ShockLog, SpotBot, OpsWatch, WarmMark, Thermax, TempSafe, TMC (News - Alert) Hallcrest and LCR Hallcrest. The company has a global network of over 1,800 sales and technical service partners in 62 countries. SpotSee is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with operations in Brazil, Netherlands, United Kingdom, China, Mexico, Illinois, and Texas. For more information, visit www.spotsee.io ABOUT YNVISIBLE INTERACTIVE INC. Ynvisible aims to be a leading company in the emerging printed and flexible electronics sector. Given the cost and power-consumption advantages over conventional electronics, printed electronics are a key enabler of mass adoption of the Internet of Things ("IoT") and smart objects. Ynvisible has the experience, know-how and intellectual property in electrochromic materials, inks, and systems. Ynvisible's interactive printed graphics solutions solve the need for ultra-low power, mass deployable, & easy-to-use electronic displays and indicators for everyday smart objects, IoT devices, and ambient intelligence (intelligent surfaces). Ynvisible offers a mix of services, materials and technology to brand owners developing smart objects and IoT products. Additional information on Ynvisible is available at www.ynvisible.com ON (News - Alert) BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS "Michael Robinson," CEO, Ynvisible Interactive Inc. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, including, without limitation, statements about the Company's forecast of sales, cost of sales, operating expenses and income from other sources; the Company's business strategy, plans and outlooks; the future financial or operating performance of the Company; and future marketing and operating plans are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements and, even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, the Company. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things: the impact of COVID-19; risks and uncertainties related to additional costs being subsequently identified and the allocation of costs between reporting periods; and the possibility that the actual financial results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. Readers are encouraged to refer to the Company's public disclosure documents for a more detailed discussion of factors that may impact expected future results. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, unless required pursuant to applicable laws. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210324005949/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
BOULDER, Colo. (AP)  Three days after he was led away in handcuffs from a Boulder supermarket where 10 people were fatally shot, the suspect appeared in court Thursday for the first time and his defense lawyer asked for a health assessment to address his mental illness.

Kathryn Herold, the lawyer for suspect Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, provided no details about what he might suffer from.

During the brief hearing, Alissa appeared in court wearing a mask. He didnt speak other than to say yes to a question from the judge and was advised of the 10 charges of first-degree murder he faces. He did not enter a plea, which will come later in the judicial process.

Alissa, 21, remains held without bail. A prosecutor said that authorities planned to file more charges.

A law enforcement official briefed on the shooting had previously said the suspects family told investigators they believed Alissa was suffering some type of mental illness, including delusions.

This undated photo provided by the Boulder Police Department shows Colorado shooting suspect Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa. Alissa has been identified as the suspect in Monday, March 22, 2021 shooting rampage at a grocery store in Boulder.Boulder Police Department via AP

Relatives have described times when Alissa told them people were following or chasing him, which they said may have contributed to the violence, the official said. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

It was the first time that Alissa was seen in public since he was arrested inside the King Soopers supermarket in Boulder on Monday and treated at a hospital for a leg wound.

Alissa was last seen handcuffed and being led out of the supermarket by police. He had removed all clothing except his shorts before being taken into custody. A rifle, a green tactical vest and a handgun were recovered inside the grocery store, according to an arrest affidavit.

While most Colorado court proceedings have been conducted with suspects appearing by video during the pandemic, District Judge Thomas Francis Mulvahill ordered Alissa to appear before him in court though the public and the media were not allowed inside.

Dozens of media trucks and reporters stood outside the courthouse on a cold, clear Colorado morning. There was no sign of protesters or victims families.

In addition to Boulder police Officer Eric Talley, 51, the victims are Denny Stong, 20; Neven Stanisic, 23; Rikki Olds, 25; Tralona Bartkowiak, 49; Suzanne Fountain, 59; Teri Leiker, 51; Kevin Mahoney, 61; Lynn Murray, 62; and Jodi Waters, 65. Leiker, Olds and Stong worked at the supermarket.

According to the arrest affidavit, the suspect bought a Ruger AR-556 pistol  which resembles an AR-15 rifle with a slightly shorter stock  on March 16, six days before the attack. Authorities have not disclosed where the gun was purchased.

According to two law enforcement officials, Alissa was born in Syria in 1999, emigrated to the U.S. as a toddler and later became a U.S. citizen. He would need to be a citizen to buy a gun. The officials were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

More than 500 people bundled in winter jackets and wool hats attended a downtown candlelight vigil Wednesday night to mourn the victims and comfort one another. They observed a moment of silence; violins soothed the crowd; a woman sang Ave Maria as candle flames flickered in the crisp air. A star-shaped light usually turned on for the holidays glowed on a mountain overlooking the open square.
A skyscraper-sized container ship wedged in the Suez Canal could take weeks to unblock, wreaking further havoc on global oil markets and trade, the Financial Times reports.

Background: The 220,000-ton and quarter-mile-long Ever Given container ship, one of the largest in the world, has been stuck in the canal since it was caught in poor visibility and high winds from a sandstorm Tuesday as it was headed from China to the Netherlands.

Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.

The more secure the ship is, the longer an operation will take, said Peter Berdowski, CEO of Boskalis, a company involved in the rescue, according to FT. It can take days to weeks. Bringing in all the equipment we need, thats not around the corner.

SMIT Salvage BV, an elite ship dislodging company, and Japan's Nippon Salvage Co. have also been tapped for the rescue effort, according to Bloomberg. The rescuers may have to lighten the ship by removing fuel or water meant to keep it steady while at sea.

Why it matters: The Suez Canal accounts for approximately 30% of container shipping volumes, and blocking it even for a short amount of time will cause oil prices to rise.

About 100 ships are stuck in the canal waiting to pass through, carrying cargo worth almost $10 billion in oil and consumer goods.

More from Axios: Sign up to get the latest market trends with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free
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.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Chinese leader Xi Jinping inspect honor guards, as Kim paid an unofficial visit to Beijing, China, in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang on March 28, 2018. (KCNA/via Reuters)

China, North Korea Reaffirm Alliance Against Hostile Forces as North Korea Fires Missiles

The communist leaders of China and North Korea recently exchanged messages to reaffirm their historical alliance in fighting against hostile forces, according to Chinese and North Korean media. North Korea also fired missiles for a second time since President Joe Biden took office.

North Koreas official media, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), reported on March 23 that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Chinese leader Xi Jinping had exchanged remarks the day before. Kim called for strengthening unity and cooperation with China in order to meet the challenges of hostile forces, the report said.

It is believed that the hostile forces that Kim mentioned pointed to the United States, according to Voice of America (VOA).

State-run media Xinhua reported that Xi and Kim exchanged messages to strengthen the alliance between the two regimes. Song Tao, head of the International Liaison Department of the CCPs central government, was appointed by Xi to meet with North Korean Ambassador to China Lee Yong Nam on March 22 in Beijing, and conveyed a message to Kim.

Xi said in the message, At present, the change of the century is coupled with the pandemic of the century, and the international and regional situations are evolving profoundly. The traditional friendship between China and North Korea is the common treasure of the two [communist] parties, two countries, and two peoples. China is willing to work with North Korea to maintain, consolidate, and develop China-DPRK relations.

In conveying Kims message, Lee said that the relationship between North Korea and China is envied by the world. The North Korean side firmly believes that the friendly relations between the two sides will continue to develop, Xinhua reported.

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted North Koreas economy, while the price of imported food such as sugar and condiments have risen sharply, according to VOA. Despite the drop in trade between North Korea and China at the beginning of 2020 due to border closures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, China is still North Koreas biggest trading partner, making up 90 percent of its trade volume.

The exchange between Xi and Kim occurred at the same time as the Biden administration moves to strengthen U.S. cooperation with the countrys Asian alliesSouth Korea and Japanto contain Chinas ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its ambition for global dominance, and to deal with the North Korean nuclear threat.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (R) speaks while facing Yang Jiechi (L), director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Office, and Wang Yi (2nd L), Chinas foreign minister, at the opening session of U.S.-China talks at the Captain Cook Hotel in Anchorage, Alaska on March 18, 2021. (Frederic J. Brown/Pool via Reuters)

Last week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan held a two-day meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, hosting their Chinese counterparts Foreign Minister Wang Yi and top diplomat Yang Jiechi. Both sides clashed during their first in-person meeting.

Well also discuss our deep concerns with actions by China, including in Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Taiwan, cyber attacks on the United States, and economic coercion toward our allies. Each of these actions threaten the rules-based order that maintains global stability, said Blinken in his opening remark.

Soon after, Yang Jiechi, via an interpreter, condemned the United States and spoke for about 16 minutes.

The heated exchanges caught the attention of international media. Some Western media outlets commented that the United States and China have entered a new era of open confrontation.

US Tensions With North Korea

On March 25, North Korea fired two ground-based ballistic missiles from the Hamju area of South Hamgyong province toward the sea, off North Koreas east coast, according to CNN. Its the second such launch in less than a week.

U.S. Indo-Pacific Command spokesperson Capt. Mike Kafka said in a statement, the launch highlights the threat that North Koreas illicit weapons program poses to its neighbors and the international community.  The U.S. commitment to the defense of the Republic of Korea and Japan remains ironclad.

North Korea launched two short-range missiles on March 21, the first test since President Biden took office in January.

The test firing of an unspecified missile at an undisclosed location in North Korea on Aug. 24, 2019. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) confirmed that two cruise missiles were fired off North Koreas west coast town of Onchon on Sunday morning into the Sea of Japan.

The missile test was conducted just days after Kim Yo Jong, the sister of Kim Jong Un, berated the United States and South Korea for conducting joint military exercises.

North Korea has ignored offers from the Biden administration to resume nuclear talks. Blinken has recently pressed China to use its tremendous influence to convince Pyongyang to denuclearize.

Nuclear talks between the United States and North Korea have stalled since the collapse of Kims second summit with Former President Donald Trump in February 2019, when the Americans refused to grant sanctions relief in exchange for Pyongyangs dismantling of nuclear weapons.

Pyongyang blames Washington for its diplomatic isolation and economic difficulties, VOA reported.

The North Korean nuclear issue has been difficult to resolve over the years because Pyongyang and Beijing are secretly working together, according to an article by U.S.-based China affairs commentator Wang He.

Wangs article, which was published in The Epoch Times, stated: For the CCP, its very natural for them to support North Korea in developing nuclear weapons and missiles and to put on a show while collaborating behind the scenes with the Kim regime. Its the CCPs strategy to contain the United States.
Photo: Vancouver Police Department A screen capture of the suspect

The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) is searching for a suspect after an online video was connected to damaged art at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

The damage to "Delta Trim" allegedly occurred on February 3. The work is a mixed-medium piece and created in 2018 by Maureen Gruben, an Indigenous artist from the Northwest Territories. It includes sections of bubble wrap; it was this section that was damaged after the bubbles were popped.

The VPD was called recently by the gallery after a video was discovered showing the art being damaged by a young male. Police describe the act as "mischief."

The cost to repair the damage is estimated to be between $5,500 and $6,500 - if repair is possible.

It is very upsetting to see the blatant disregard towards the artists time, energy and creative expression that it took to create this piece of art, says Cst. Tania Visintin in a release.

Police say the suspect is "a dark-skinned man and appears to be between 19 and 23 years old." He's described as having a thin build, brown eyes, and black shoulder-length curly hair.

At the time of the incident he was wearing a black face mask, a dark blue jean jacket, and two dark coloured hooded jackets, according to police.

Police ask anyone who recognizes the suspect or has other information, to call the VPD at 604-717-4022.
Mumbai: Maharashtra Congress leader on Thursday (March 25) indirectly attacked Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) while defending the MVA alliance. The BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) supporters have hit out at the ruling Shiv Sena government over the alleged corruption case on Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh.

There will be no problem. Ye Fevicol ka mazboot jod hai. The government will go on for 5 years. They (BJP) may level as many false allegations as they want, it won't affect the government. They're trying to malign Maharashtra, people of the state won't forgive them, said Nana Patole, Maharashtra Congress chief.

There will be no problem. Ye Fevicol ka mazboot jod hai. The govt will go on for 5 yrs. They (BJP) may level as many false allegations as they want, it won't affect the govt. They're trying to malign Maharashtra, people of the state won't forgive them: Maharashtra Congress chief pic.twitter.com/uMGuja8ZAZ  ANI (@ANI) March 25, 2021

Earlier, on Wednesday, the Congress leader attacked the opposition in the state, first give details about appointment of RSS workers in the government during Fadnaviss tenure. The BJP misused the bureaucracy using its power in the Centre for their political gain. There were many BJP-RSS sympathisers in the state government during Fadnavis government. What benefits did the RSS and BJP get from them needs to be investigated, and we have made a demand for the same to the CM.

Additionally, on Wednesday the state Congress leader conducted a meeting with chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and demanded a probe into government officials who were BJP and RSS sympathisers. The leaders urged the CM to open an investigation on those who were employed during the previous Devendra Fadnavis government in the state.

In a bid to derail oppositions attempts to defame the three-party coalition government in the state, Maharashtra Congress chief has also demanded an investigation into the allegations levelled by former top cop Param Bir Singh.
Assam Election: Assam assembly election 2021 is slated to be held in three phases on March 27, April 1, April 6, as announced earlier by the Election Commission of India (ECI). The voting will take place for 126 seats in the state. The last assembly elections were held in Assam in 2016. The polls were carried out in two phases in which BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) and its allies had won 86 out of the 126 seats.

Sarbananda Sonowal led-BJP had overthrown the Indian National Congress under Tarun Gogoi in the Assam Assembly election 2016. This time, Congress, which is in opposition in the state, has announced a "Grand Alliance", wherein five parties will fight against the ruling BJP. The parties in alliance along with Congress are the Communist Party of India, the Communist Party of India (Marxist Leninist) Liberation, All India United Democratic Front, the Anchalik Gana Marcha (AGM), and the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

Also Read: West Bengal Election 2021: Voting dates, poll full schedule, timings, election results, all FAQs

All you need to know about the Assam Assembly election 2021

When is Assam assembly election 2021?

The assembly elections in Assam will be conducted in three phases on March 27, April 1, and April 6. 264 candidates are in the fray in 47 constituencies going to polls in the first phase, according to an official release by the office of Chief Electoral Officer (CEO). For 39 assembly seats in the second phase of Assam election 2021, 345 contestants are fighting, while 337 candidates will try their luck in 40 constituencies during the third phase of polling, it added.

Total number of candidates in Assam Assembly election 2021?

A total of 946 candidates are going to contest the election to the 126-member Assam Legislative Assembly, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said on Wednesday, March 24. Meanwhile, 2,33,74,087 electors will cast their ballots in the Assam assembly election 2021. Of these, 1,18,23,286 voters are males, 1,15,50,403 are females, while 398 are transgenders. There are also 63,074 service voters.

Assam Election 2021 Voting Timings

In the three-phase Assembly polls in Assam, voting is likely to begin at 8 am and end at 6 pm. Meanwhile, the polling will be prolonged for an extra hour in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said on Wednesday, March 24.

Assam Election Results 2021: Date and counting of votes, timings

The final counting of votes for the Assam Assembly election 2021 will be conducted on May 2, however, it will be concluded on Tuesday, May 4.

How many constituencies are there in Assam?

In the 126-member Assam Assembly, eight seats are reserved for candidates from the Scheduled Castes (SC), and 16 for the Scheduled Tribes. There are a total of 33,530 polling booths in the state this year, an increase of 34.71% from the last assembly elections held in 2016 in Assam.

Also Read: Assembly Elections 2021 Dates Highlights: Polls in 4 states, Puducherry from Mar 27-Apr 29, results on May 2

Assam Election 2021 Opinion Poll: Who Will Win Assam Election 2021

Several opinion polls show the BJP coming to power again in the state with a marginal victory. As per some surveys, the BJP-led NDA will log a massive win in the Assam Assembly election 2021. In the 2016 Assembly elections in Assam, the BJP and its allies overthrew Indian National Congress under Tarun Gogoi by winning 86 out of the 126 seats.

Assam Election Schedule: Dates

Below mentioned is the schedule of the three-phase Assam Assembly Elections 2021.

Phase 1

o Number of seats- 47

o Issue of notification- March 2

o Last date of nomination- March 9

o Scrutiny of nomination- March 10

o Last date of withdrawal of nomination- March 12

o Date of the poll- March 27 (Saturday)

o Date of counting: May 2

Phase 2

o Number of seats- 39

o Issue of notification- March 5

o Last date of nomination- March 12

o Scrutiny of nomination- March 15

o Last date of withdrawal of nomination- March 17

o Date of the poll- April 1 (Thursday)

o Date of counting: May 2

Phase 3

o Number of seats- 40

o Issue of notification- March 12

o Last date of nomination- March 19

o Scrutiny of nomination- March 20

o Last date of withdrawal of nomination- March 22

o Date of the poll- April 6 (Tuesday)

o Date of counting: May 2

Assam Election 2021 FAQs

How many assemblies are there in Assam?

The 126-member assembly election in Assam will be held in three phases. A total of 81,09,815 electors will cast their votes in the first phase of the Assembly election 2021 in Assam. Of these 40,77,210 are males, 40,32,481 are females, and 124 are transgenders.

There are 73,44,631 general electors in the second phase of the Assam election, 2021, of which 37,34,537 are males, 36,09,959 are females and 135 are transgenders.

In the third phase of the Assam Assembly election 2021, there are 79,19,641 general electors, of which 40,11,539 are males, 39,07,963 females, and 139 transgenders.

Also Read: Priyanka Gandhi in poll-bound Assam: BJP govt giving assets, black panthers to friend Ambanis

Which parties are popular in Assam?

There are 13 major parties in the fray, comprising two coalitions led by the ruling BJP and Congress. The BJP, which formed its first government in Assam in the 2015 Assembly election, is now looking to secure a second term. Meanwhile, Congress, which was once the strongest player in the state, is trying to reclaim office after being relegated to just 26 seats in the 126-seat assembly.

The main parties pitched against each other in the state of Assam are the ruling BJP and Congress. The BJP has aligned with the United People's Party Liberal (UPPL) and regional Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), while Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is spearheading the election campaign in the state against the ruling party.

The party has formed a coalition, called 'Mahajoth', comprising six other parties. Along with these parties, the Bodoland People's Front (BDF), which fought the 2016 election with the BJP, is now contesting the polls with Congress.

The BJP will be fighting on 92 out of 126 seats, whereas AGP and UPPL will be contesting for 26 and 8 seats. The Congress is fighting from 90 seats, while the rest of the allies will contest for 36 seats.

Although Congress hasn't officially announced its CM candidate as yet, Lok Sabha MP from Kaliabor is being touted as one of the candidates of the Congress if the 'Grand Alliance' forms the government. Meanwhile, there is a third front as well, in the fray, which comprises two parties that were born out of the anti-CAA movement in Assam - The Raijor Dal and the Jatiya Parishad. The two parties have joined forces as the United Regional Front.

Key players in Assam assembly election 2021

Although the ruling BJP hasn't announced its CM candidate yet, there is no clarity if Assam's current CM Sarbananda Sonowal will be second time lucky. However, the position seems open to him as well as the state Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

Sonowal will fight Assam Assembly election 2021 from Majuli, while Sarma will contest from Jalukbari. The other major party Congress in the fray hasn't also announced the name if its CM candidate in the Assam election 2021. However, the key candidates from the party to watch out for are Debabrata Saikia fighting from Nazira, Ripun Bora contesting the Gohpur seat, and Rupjyoti Kurmi for Mariani.

Lurinjyoti Gogoi, President of the third collation, Jatiya Parishad, is fighting from Duliajan. Meanwhile, activist Akhil Gogoi, who has been in prison for over a year over allegations that he incited the violence during the anti-CAA protests in 2019-20, is fighting his maiden election as part of his newly formed Raijor Dal, or "people's party". He will contest from the Sivasagar constituency.

Also Read: PM Modi to address public rallies in poll-bound West Bengal, Assam today

Assam Election 2021 Date: District wise

The first phase of polling will be conducted on March 27 on 47 Assembly constituencies in 12 upper Assam districts.

The second phase of voting will be carried out on April 1 in a total of 39 Assembly constituencies in 13 districts, majorly in the south and lower Assam. The third phase of polling will be conducted on April 6 in 40 Assembly constituencies in 12 lower districts of the state.

How many MP seats are there in Assam?

Assam has a total of 14 Lok Sabha seats, out of which 1 is reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC), and 2 are reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST). BJP had secured nine of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 elections, whereas Congress bagged only three parliamentary constituencies, and the AIUDF and one Independent won one seat each.

Which is the current government is in Assam?

The current government in Assam is led by CM Sarbananda Sonowal and is the first BJP regime in the state since Independence. In the 2016 Assembly elections in Assam, the BJP and its allies overthrew the Indian National Congress under Tarun Gogoi by winning 86 out of 126 seats.

What is NOTA?

NOTA, or "None of the Above", is an option on the ballot which enables the voter to officially reject all candidates who are fighting the election. Introduced in India in 2013, the symbol appears in the last panel on all EVMs (Electronic Voting Machines). The Supreme Court envisaged NOTA as a way to cleanse the political system. The main aim of the 'NOTA' option is to empower the voters who do not want to vote for any of the candidates to exercise their right to reject without the breach of the secrecy of their decision.
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.
J&K: 3 CRPF personnel injured in terror attack in Srinagar on Thursday 25th March, 2021. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News

J&K: 3 CRPF personnel injured in terror attack in Srinagar on Thursday 25th March, 2021. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News

Srinagar, March 25 : Three CRPF personnel were injured on Thursday after terrorists attacked a paramilitary force party at Lawaypora on Srinagar's outskirts, sources said.

Terrorists fired indiscriminately at a road opening party of the CRPF, leaving three injured.

The injured have been moved to the hospital, and additional forces have reached the spot. The area has been cordoned off and an operation launched to nab the attackers.
My Ogbeye says he was dehumanised during for months of his "unlawful detention" at the notorious Awkuzu SARS facility last year.

A petitioner, Timothy Ogbeye, on Wednesday, told an investigative panel probing acts of police brutality in Abuja, how he was allegedly "dehumanised" by police officers attached to the Awkuzu division of the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Anambra State.

Mr Ogbeye, who was continuing his part-heard testimony before the 11-man panel led by a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Suleiman Galadima, said "he was tortured, made to bark like a dog, crawl like a snake, and lick the bare floor of his cell" during his alleged unlawful detention for four months at the detention facility last year.

Trauma

Ending his testimony in an emotion-laden voice, Mr Ogbeye, said in pidgin English, "my lord, I see pepper for that place," adding that his hands had been partially stiff due to the torture he received during his detention.

The Awkuzu facility run by the defunct SARS is notorious for extra-judicial killings and inhumane conducts of its men.

During last year's #EndSARS protest, the police division drew the anger of Nigerians many of whom had heard of or experienced horrible treatments in the hands of police officers manning the detention facility.

Police authorities announced the disbandment of SARS following #EndSARS protests that broke out in many Nigerian major cities in October last year.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) set up the Mr Galadima-led panel in response to the #EndSARS protests to probe complaints about various acts of rights violations committed by the operatives of SARS and other police units in different parts of the country.

'How Ogbeye was arrested'

A statement by the NHRC's press unit stated that Mr Ogbeye, a car dealer, recalled on Wednesday, that he was arrested at his car stand at Mpape, Abuja, on January 22, 2020.

He said Andrew James who had led eight policemen to effect the arrest accused him of buying a stolen Toyota Corolla car from Micheal Obinna.

Mr Ogbeye he was moved to Kwali Police Station, where he met the said Mr Obinna.

The petitioner testified that he pleaded with the investigative police officer, Oriyomi Aregbelo, and Mr James to charge him to court to enable him to defend himself, but they refused.

He added that his family was denied access to him.

According to the petitioner, he was eventually taken to Awkuzu SARS office in Anambra State, where he claimed he was severely tortured by Mr James and others.

He said the torture continued despite his insistence on his innocence.

'My ordeal in Awkuzu SARS custody'

Mr Ogbeye told the panel he was made to mimic the sound of animals and their behaviours at the Awkuzu detention facility.

He said he was detained with other inmates in Cell 4 in Awkuzu with no window, water and toilet.

He said he was at some points hung upside down from the ceiling, with blood dripping from his nose.

He said he was beaten with iron and 'two-by-two' wood, adding that in-between the series of torture, Mr James, allegedly kept demanding N5 million for him to be released.

'Vindicated'

Mr Ogbeye told the panel that his lawyer, Olochukwu Udemezue, later instituted a fundamental rights enforcement suit at the High Court of Anambra State to seek an order for his release.

The petitioner said the court granted his prayers, but the police refused to release him.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

He said his lawyer then wrote the Commissioner of Police, Anambra State Command, whom he said eventually ordered the 'X Squad' to investigate the allegations against him.

He said the investigations proved him to be innocent and he was immediately released after spending four months in "unlawful detention and dehumanised condition".

Cross-examination

While cross-examining the petitioner, police lawyer, Monday Jonathan, suggested to him that he indeed bought a stolen accidented vehicle from Obinna Michael, whom the police alleged to be a notorious armed robber.

But the panel reminded the lawyer that it was not set up to hear theft cases.

The panel adjourned till May 3 for the witnesses of the complainant and police respondents to testify.
Times Insider explains who we are and what we do and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together.

On a brisk January day in Coney Island, Brooklyn, Jo Weldon was dressed for a show. A burlesque performer, Jo wore a tall, red headdress that fit the carnival ambience of the boardwalk, its bright feathers accented with gold. There was no sprawling crowd, though  only a camera lens and a group of four to watch the scene.

Kholood Eid, a photographer and filmmaker who is documenting New Yorks burlesque community, was making portraits of Jo, moving between the inside and the exterior of Sideshows by the Seashore, a performance venue near Coney Islands famous waterfront. Outside, Jo posed in the cold wearing a sleeveless corset. I dont mind suffering for my art, Jo said.
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Go to form
press release

Today, on World Tuberculosis Day, the global community acknowledges the progress made and the challenges that lie ahead in fighting tuberculosis (TB). While COVID-19 has had a devastating global impact over the past year, TB has long been the worlds leading infectious disease killer and continues to kill more people in low-and middle-income countries than any other infectious disease. Despite being preventable and curable, TB sickens 10 million people and takes 1.4 million lives, year after year.

The world is soberly aware of COVID-19s devastating toll and the first-order effects of the pandemic. As a second-order impact, however, the global TB response has been hit particularly hard. Over the past year, COVID-19 and associated measures to control it have severely impacted TB services in the worlds highest TB burden countries. In the 23 countries where USAID focuses TB programming, one million fewer people with TB had access to diagnosis and treatment in 2020, compared to 2019  representing a 23 percent decline. As a result, the pandemics impact on TB is projected to sicken an additional 6.3 million people and cause an additional 1.4 million TB deaths between 2020 and 2025. New data from the World Health Organization estimates that half a million more people may have died from TB in 2020 alone.

The pandemics toll on the global TB response puts the worlds poorest and most vulnerable populations  who are more likely to suffer from malnutrition and live in densely populated areas  at increased risk for both airborne infections. Recent data also shows that people with COVID-19 and TB are about three times more likely to die than those with only TB.

As the largest bilateral donor leading the global TB response, USAID remains committed to addressing the perfect storm created by COVID-19 and TB and ultimately, helping countries get back on track to meeting the United Nations High-Level Meeting on TB target of putting 40 million people on TB treatment by 2022. USAID is working with country governments and partners on urgent TB recovery efforts in the countries most impacted by COVID-19. Key to these efforts are inclusive responses by civil society and communities, who are able to identify and rapidly implement local solutions to simultaneously respond to both diseases. USAIDs 35 local partners working on TB have been critical in maintaining vital TB services throughout the pandemic.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Africa U.S., Canada and Africa Tuberculosis By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

As demonstrated over the past year, USAIDs TB investments build critical platforms to detect and prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other airborne infectious diseases. USAID will continue to build countries capacities to respond to both TB and COVID-19 with support for bi-directional testing for both diseases, joint contact investigation and community screenings, and implementing infection prevention and control measures  providing a vital platform to address both diseases, respond to future airborne pandemics, and ultimately, save lives
Each year, as permanent change of station orders arrive, relocating service members are stumped by a series of questions as old as the modern moving industry: Should I tip the movers? Do I provide drinks and snacks? Serve them lunch?

Tucked away in the Joint Travel Regulations -- the Pentagon's guidance on military moves -- is a statement discouraging personnel from tipping or supplying refreshments to moving company workers.

But until this year, Move.mil, the most common resource utilized by military families planning their PCS, has given conflicting guidance:

"Neither tipping nor supplying meals are required. A moving representative should never request this compensation from you. However, it is also not illegal to tip or feed your movers ... the choice to tip and supply meals is at your discretion," the FAQ section said last year.

Read Next: Biden Predicts Full US Military Withdrawal From Afghanistan By 2022

This year, the FAQs have been updated to reflect the travel regulations.

According to Move.mil, "Tipping and/or supplying meals, snacks, or other refreshments to moving company representatives is discouraged. Providing monetary tips and meals as a 'cost of doing business' sets unrealistic demands on service members and civilian employees least capable of providing this service. Please report any [transportation service provider] requesting or requiring a tip to your Joint Personal Property Shipping Office for possible punitive actions."

DoD made the change because the previous response "was confusing for customers," explained Andre Kok, U.S. Transportation Command public affairs planner.

The policy has not changed, Kok said, but "we listened to our customers and wanted to provide a clear response to this frequently asked question."

Still, the change may not solve this perennial conundrum, family members say.

Megan Harless, a military spouse who sits on U.S. Transportation Command's PCS advisory board, said she wishes the guidance was more succinct.

"The word 'discouraged' -- there's a lot of vagueness, and it leaves things open to interpretation," Harless said. "I would have liked to have seen more specific language, like 'Don't tip,' or 'Do not absolutely do this,' or they should have just left it the same, at your discretion."

Many military families offer meals and drinks to moving personnel as a sign of hospitality, especially during the summer, when temperatures soar and a bottle of cold water or Gatorade offers much-needed hydration.

Military families also believe, however, that if they provide lunch and refreshments, the gesture will entice the packers or movers to be more careful and encourage them to remain on site for the duration of the job, thus getting the work done quicker.

Some also provide tips to their movers as a reward for good service or, in the case of a door-to-door move, to inspire workers to be careful with a family's belongings.

But tipping a large crew can add hundreds to a family's moving budget -- a cost that is not reimbursable from the government. Most companies in the moving industry recommend that customers tip for what essentially is a service. The recommended amount varies, but most companies recommend flat-rate tipping, $20 to $30 per person for smaller moves and $40 for large household moves that take at least an entire day.

Such largesse is often not in the budget of most military families, who face out-of-pocket expenses during moves for household items that need to be replaced or adapted to suit a new home. A 2016 poll conducted by Military.com found that 62% of 5,717 military family members surveyed said they never tip their movers, while 21% said they tip and 18% said it depends on the service and circumstances.

Last year, Transcom facilitated 321,000 household goods shipments. The command anticipates overseeing more than 377,000 shipments in 2021.

"I can understand why DoD wants to discourage it -- in that way you can get equity across the board, and if you think of our younger families ... they don't have a savings account or may not be able to afford tipping or feeding movers," Harless said. "I just think that language still leaves it open for interpretation."

Harless said her family traditionally has fed and provided drinks to those who have packed and unpacked her home. On her most recent move to Texas, workers were treated to individual orders from Chick-fil-A.

"If it means the crew can keep working for another 30 minutes while I go get lunch and then they start working 30 minutes early because they didn't have to leave to go somewhere, that means they're getting out of my house by four or five o'clock," Harless said. "For me, I'm comfortable with the feeding; I've never felt obligated to tip."

The guidance, she adds, is not likely to sway families from what they've done in the past.

"Folks are going to do what they want to do," Harless said. "It's not really the food or the drinks; it's the tips. You certainly don't want people who can't afford it feeling like they are getting the short end of the stick."

Kok said food and drinks never have been required, and DoD specifically discourages monetary tips.

"If a moving company requests either, we want customers to let us know," Kok said.

-- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Monster.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime.

Read Next: Army Leaders to Be Briefed on Findings From Household Goods Study
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.
You have permission to edit this article.

Edit Close
SCRANTON  Former Old Forge School Director Frank J. Scavo celebrated entering the U.S. Capitol illegally during the Jan. 6 riot, chanted with rioters once inside, posed for a picture near a painting and climbed a staircase while recording cellphone video, a federal criminal complaint charges.

One video on Scavos phone records him roaming the Capitol halls, though he is not in the footage, FBI agent Brian R. Austin wrote in the complaint.

Your own personal tour of the freaking Capitol, Scavo can be heard saying, according to the complaint. We  took it back. Took it back.

Federal agents charged Scavo with entering the Capitol illegally during the riot meant to prevent Congress from ratifying President Joe Bidens election.

Scavo, 58, surrendered to the FBI just before 10 a.m. Thursday at the William J. Nealon Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Scranton. The FBI charged him with four misdemeanors: knowingly entering or remaining in the Capitol without lawful authority, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct on Capitol grounds and parading, demonstrating or picketing in the Capitol.

They resemble charges filed against hundreds of others who entered the Capitol the same day, including Annie Howell, 30, of Swoyersville, charged only last week. Five people died in the rioting, including a Capitol Police officer.

Scavo organized a caravan of five buses of about 200 supporters of President Donald Trump to a Washington, D.C., rally Jan. 6. Once there, they protested that the election was stolen from Trump  a false claim  just hours before Congress planned to meet to ratify the election of Biden, a Scranton native, to the presidency.

Before the riot, Trump spoke at a gathering where he encouraged supporters to keep believing the election was stolen from him and to march to the Capitol. Afterward, hundreds stormed the Capitol, breaking windows, attacking guards, roaming through offices and taking over the Senate chamber as members of Congress escaped to safety. Later that night, the Capitol cleared, Congress ratified Bidens election.

During a 15-minute hearing Thursday, Middle District of Pennsylvania Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Karoline Mehalchick allowed Scavo to remain free without bail and set two preliminary hearings  one via Zoom on March 31 at 1 p.m. with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and another April 1 at 9 a.m. before her. The first hearing may eliminate the need for the second, she said.

Scavo faces up to three years in prison, fines of up to $210,000 and special assessments of up to $70.

Sentencing guidelines could produce a lesser penalty, assuming a conviction or guilty plea.

Scavo plans to plead not guilty.

After the hearing, his lawyer, Scranton attorney Ernie Preate Jr., told reporters the mob pushed Scavo into the Capitol, where he remained for eight minutes, six of which he spent trying to get out. He even asked two security guards for directions on leaving, Preate said.

Scavo initially denied entering the Capitol to The Times-Tribune and other media. Photos of him inside the building later emerged.

Preate called his clients claim inaccurate and said he did not know why Scavo told reporters he never entered the building.

He was in awe of where he was and what was happening to him, Preate said. We dont deny he was inside the Capitol. Its a question of how he got in the Capitol. And if you look at the affidavit, youll see that theres a question as to whether he voluntarily went in or he was pushed in by the mob that was there ... The video that we have shows the mob screaming at the door, Heave, heave, heave and him getting caught in this mob going through. Thats our position. We showed that to the government and the government has that, its from his own phone.

Preate said he will seek recordings from Capitol video cameras.

So were pretty confident that he didnt commit any acts of violence, that he didnt do anything unruly, didnt break anything, he said. If youre caught in a mob, and somebody pushes you through a door, I dont know whether thats knowingly entering... (He) never crossed any yellow line, never went through any barrier. No police officer confronted him and told him to stay away. He just was pushed in through the door. And it was a mob of 1,000, maybe more that did that.

Preate said Scavo recording his entry on his cellphone only corroborates his version.

The criminal complaint offers a different take.

It acknowledges Scavo voluntarily met with the FBI on Jan. 15 and told agents the crowd pushed him into the Capitol.

The FBI affidavit says his video does not show the mob pushing him, though the video is not continuous and does not show when he crossed the entrance threshold.

As rioters open the doors from inside, one of Scavos videos records him saying he has to put on his mask and shows him wearing his End the Rain Tax mask.

Then he turns the camera on himself and says, Here we go. The video cuts to Scavo walking up a staircase and roaming inside the Capitol.

He introduces himself to a woman in a hallway. He can also be heard saying, God Bless America and joining chants of treason and defend the Constitution, defend your liberty.

Other video from inside the Capitol shows Scavo crossed the threshold at 2:40 p.m. with a large crowd following closely behind.

Once inside, he held up his cellphone and started recording video or photos. He kept doing that as he climbed a staircase. Scavo told the FBI he wanted to document the event.

This is top-secret  Were in the Capitol. Stormed the  Capitol of the  United States at 58 years old. What the  is wrong with America? he says in one video.

He stopped a random passerby and asked the person to take a photo of him in front of a painting of a boat.

As he stepped out of the federal courthouse Thursday, Scavo talked about none of that. He pulled a pocket-sized copy of the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence out of his coal-black suit jacket, but declined to comment directly on the charges.

Well be giving you more comments as the days progress, Scavo said.

Asked about his earlier denial of being inside the Capitol and Preate acknowledging he entered the building, Scavo said legal discovery will produce unspecified evidence, but todays not the day that we will tell the whole story.

As he walked away from reporters, a woman shouted for him to shut up.

He did.

Mehalchick ordered Scavo to turn over his passport and forbid him from traveling to Washington, D.C., unless a court orders him there. She also said he would need the permission of the court and a federal pretrial services officer to leave Pennsylvanias middle federal court district, a 33-county territory that includes northeastern and central Pennsylvania. She said Scavo must check in with a pretrial officer weekly and forbid him from talking to potential witnesses or keeping firearms or other destructive weapons. She also ordered him to report any contact with law enforcement, even a traffic stop.

Yes, your honor, Scavo said, echoing his answer to most of Mehalchicks questions.

Preate said Scavo owns only a bow and arrow.

Hes been cooperating with the FBI, Preate told the judge. He has no criminal record. Hes been an outstanding citizen of the community for 58 years.
A man has been arrested by PSNI Criminal Investigation Branch detectives following three searches in Newry.

The searches were carried out as part of Operation Venetic which was launched after encrypted messaging service Encrochat, used by organised crime gangs, was breached by authorities across Europe.

Three properties in the city were searched yesterday, with detectives from the Criminal Investigation Branch's Organised Crime Unit seizing cash in excess of 10,000.

They also seized a vehicle and several pallets of wine valued at around 30,000.

Police confirmed HMRC have also launched an investigation into the wine in respect of a potential evasion of excise duty.

A 47-year-old man was arrested for Entering into an Agreement to Acquire Criminal Property and has been released on bail pending further enquiries.

Detective Inspector McCamley said: Detectives from Criminal Investigation Branchs Organised Crime Unit continue to play their part in the UK's biggest law enforcement operation against serious and organised criminality. As part of this, officers carried out a search of three properties in the Newry area today.

He added: This is an example of our ongoing commitment to bring those involved in criminal activity to justice. Working alongside our partner agencies, we will continue to disrupt the movements and activities of Organised Crime Gangs. We recognise the harm caused in our communities as a result of organised crime and we will continue to keep people safe from this activity.

Anyone with information about any criminality should contact police on 101 or anonymously through the Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111.
Tenants in a luxury New York City apartment have been sued by the owner of the building for turning it into a maskless nightclub where they charged $100 a ticket.

The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday in Manhattan Supreme Court against the tenants, and party hosts, Kurt David and Jean Elbaum-David, and seeks an end to the weekly parties and more than $10,000 in damages.

The owner of 81 Hudson St. filed the suit after New York City Sheriff's Office deputies raided David's parties twice recently - finding about 120 unmasked partygoers drinking and smoking weed last Friday, the New York Daily News reported.

The owner of 81 Hudson St filed the suit after New York City Sheriff's Office deputies raided their parties twice recently

Photos from deputies show partygoers inside the illegal nightclub after it was busted last Friday

Kurt David, 30, has been arrested in relation to the parties and was named as a defendant in the suit

The suit and authorities allege David turned his apartment into a maskless nightclub where he charged $100 a ticket

He also faces a a possible $15,000 fine for a charge of failure to protect health and safety, as well as violating emergency orders

Deputies found a 17-year-old boy that was so 'visibly intoxicated' he fell down a flight of stairs and was taken by medics to a local hospital.

Kurt David, 30, was charged with unlawfully dealing with children and selling alcohol to a person under the age of 21, according to the Daily News.

He also faces a a possible $15,000 fine for a charge of failure to protect health and safety, as well as violating emergency orders.

Deputies also arrested two DJs, a bartender and a man working the party were also charged, the outlet reported.

In the suit, the building owner alleges that Kurt David 'has become a chronic and persistent nuisance' and that parties have caused a 'severe disturbance to last into the early hours of the morning' as often as twice a week.

David's parties had an official party promoter and attracted so many people that they have hired bouncers to operate the door and charge more than $100 per ticket, according to the suit.

DailyMail.com has reached out to David for comment.

According to the lawsuit, the party promotor is Shkelzen Dreshaj, one of the men cited and fined during a raid on February 28.

Videos posted to an Instagram account believed to belong to Dreshaj advertised another party at another secret location on Wednesday.

New York City Sheriff's Office posted about the bust on Twitter with photos from the party

Deputies said they recovered 24 individually wrapped 3.5 gram baggies of marijuana at the party

A Google Map view shows 81 Hudson St. where the New York City Sheriff's Office deputies raided David's parties twice recently

The building owner seeks an end to the weekly parties and more than $10,000 in damages

Neighbors have become so annoyed that they have filed numerous complaints to the NYPD while liquor bottles and other trash are routinely left in the street and sidewalk directly in front of the building.

During one party, two guests were seen 'punching each other in the face while carrying knives,' according to an email from a neighbor to the building owner. Other guests allegedly threw firecrackers off the terrace of the apartment into the street.

Kurt David and Jean Elbaum-David signed a lease in January 2020 and the manager of Puffy's Tavern, a bar on the building's ground level, told the New York Post the parties with long lines began in the summer.

Another employee said cases of alcohol were delivered to the apartment on weekdays, according to the outlet.

In the lawsuit, the building owner called the parties 'definitely potential COVID-19 super spreaders.'

'[The] continued behavior during the Pandemic is hazardous disruptive illegal and poses a great threat not only to other tenants, but also to the entire community.'
Sickle cell disease is the most prevalent inherited blood disorder in the world, affecting 70,000 to 100,000 Americans. However, it is considered an orphan disease, meaning it impacts less than 200,000 people nationally, and is therefore underrepresented in therapeutic research.

A team led by Abhishek Jain from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University is working to address this disease.

I'm trying to create these new types of disease models that can impact health care, with the long-term goal of emphasizing on applying these tools and technologies to lower health care costs. We strategically wanted to pick up those disease systems which fall under the radar in orphan disease category." Abhishek Jain, Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Texas A&M University

Jain's research is in organ-on-a-chip, where cells from humans can be grown on USB-sized devices to mimic the way the organ would work inside the body. This sort of system is ideal for testing new drug treatments, as drugs cannot be tested on humans, and animal models have not shown to be a good representation of how a patient and disease would interact with a treatment. For sickle cell disease patients, the organ-on-a-chip would also be beneficial because patients can present with mild to severe cases.

Jain works with Tanmay Mathur, a fourth-year doctoral student who trained as a chemical engineer in his undergraduate years. His research focused on microfabrication techniques and simulations, skills he said merged well into the organ-on-a-chip research he now performs in Jain's lab. The team collaborates closely with the Texas Medical Center in Houston.

The work was recently published in the journal Bioengineering & Translational Medicine. Their paper builds off a 2019 publication in the journal Lab on Chip, where the team demonstrated that endothelial cells (cells that line the blood vessels) could be used to model the disease physiology of a patient without having to stimulate the model to perform differently than a healthy vessel.

"Traditionally these cells were not used for disease modeling, so in that way our approach is very novel," Mathur said. "We are one of first to harness these cells and employed them in disease modeling research."

Mathur and Jain demonstrate that these models can be used to differentiate between patients. The first step: build a blood vessel that mimics a patient's vessel. For that the team would need two components -- patient blood and endothelial cells. Collecting the blood involved a simple blood draw. They faced a challenge with the endothelial cells, however. They would need to take a biopsy of the cells or use stem cells to grow their own, neither of which was ideal.

Then they found the answer was in the blood.

"What we learned is within blood samples are some endothelial cells also circulating," Jain said. "We call them blood outgrowth endothelial cells that we can harness very easily. That's what is new about this work. You can get those cells, grow them so that's there's enough in number and then you can make blood vessels."

Now that they could build the vessels, the next step was to see if these models would show how the disease has various biological impacts in different patients. Again, the goal was to be able to test treatments on these models, so the closer they mimiced their human patient, the better.

"We're able to differentiate a very severe sickle cell patient in terms of their phenotype from very mild patients," Mathur said. "Moving forward, we can take a larger population of any sickle cell disease patients and assess them using our organ-chip technology and then categorize them into different groups based on symptoms."

Their findings indicate that these organs-on-a-chip could lead to patient-centric, personalized treatment, improving how clinicians approach this and other cardiovascular diseases.

"When you take it to the field, now it can become a predictive device," Jain said. "Now you do not have to know whether the patient is mild or severe, you can test for that. You can predict if patient is serious and can dictate their therapeutic needs."

The next step is to continue to expand the patient cohort to collect more results. A long-term goal would be to use the patient information collected to develop a database to better predict disease progression.

"You take a history of a lot of these patients and their cardiovascular health with this device, and you can predict which patient might have better chance of having a stroke and you start treating them early on," Jain said.

Mathur said even with future challenges, he looks forward to continuing their research.

"I think even though it may take 10, 15 years, we will at least push forward some of the research that we're doing and get it out in the clinical field," he said. "We are one of the only groups in the world that have started this field of personalized treatment. I feel that our impact is pretty high, and I'm sure we will be able to expand the same treatment to other cardiovascular diseases and attract more attention and deeper insights into the biology that we are looking at."
Bryce Ward, a San Francisco barber who is Black, was reportedly told to wait outside for an order at a Bay Area Starbucks while other customers were permitted to wait inside.

On the morning of March 15, Ward told KGO, an employee at the Starbucks at the Capitol Square Mall in San Jose went up to him while he was waiting for an order, points to the door and says, I need you outside.

A manager allegedly told him that it was due to COVID-19 restrictions issued by the county. At that point, Santa Clara County was in the state's red tier, which permits restaurants to remain at 25% capacity indoors.

At that moment, man, its embarrassing, he told the news station. Its irritating. Humiliating. Why me?

Ward stayed inside after two other customers left, at first without any issue. But in a clip posted to Instagram, he said he noticed that other, non-Black customers were able to enter despite the capacity limit. He then recalled one woman entering the coffee shop, and the manager approaching him and yelling at him to leave instead of asking the woman who broached the capacity limits.

A representative from Starbucks told SFGATE that an internal investigation found that Ward was not singled out to wait outside, and was part of a group. The spokesperson also added that the branch was a pick-up only site with strict capacity limits.

Other customers were also waiting outside, the representative added.

Due to COVID imposed capacity constraints, Mr. Ward was asked to wait outside the store for his order, just as we were asking all customers waiting for their to-go orders," he told SFGATE. "Starbucks has no tolerance for discrimination of any kind in our stores, and we never want a customer to feel discriminated against."

At this point, Im like, Man, for what? Why are you coming at me? Why do I gotta go outside? You walked right past this lady.

In an impassioned clip posted to Instagram, he asked: Why are you so adamant at me leaving your store? Give me my refund!

Im not saying it was a racial issue, he added. I just so happened to be the only Black person in the store.

Ward pointed out that he has worked in the service industry  including as a manager  and understands the value of non-discrimination and respect in customer service.

Now, this is Starbucks. You guys are supposed to take pride in how you treat your customers, regardless of their look or their persona  Im tired of these big companies doing little st and getting away with it, he added.

The situation recalls one in 2018, when two Black men were arrested by police for waiting at a Philadelphia Starbucks without making a purchase. Following that incident, all Starbucks nationwide were shut down for a day for mandatory anti-bias training. Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson apologized to Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson, the two men arrested. The manager involved left the company.
About 10,000 calls from citizens accepted by Russias Ombudsman over year

 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov

16:56 25/03/2021

MOSCOW, March 25 (RAPSI)  Russias High Commissioner for Human Rights Tatiana Moskalkova has accepted around 10,000 telephone calls from citizens since March 2020.

Mostly, the calls concered the COVID-19 pandemic and coronavirus related restrictions.

She could help over 5,000 applicants in the restoration of their violated rights, according to the Ombudsmans press service.

Currently, 2,204 complaints are under Moskalkovas consideration, the statement reads.
Nanocoatings Market at a CAGR of 20.8% from 2018 to 2026
Photo: The Canadian Press Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., speaks to Special Operations Command Gen. Richard Clarke after a hearing to examine United States Special Operations Command and United States Cyber Command in review of the Defense Authorization Request for fiscal year 2022 and the Future Years Defense Program, on Capitol Hill, Thursday, March 25, 2021, in Washington. (Anna Moneymaker/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

President Joe Biden on Thursday left the door open for U.S. troops to stay in Afghanistan through the end of the year, and one of his top generals told Congress that Afghanistan's military forces need American assistance to successfully counter the Taliban.

Biden, at his first news conference as president, repeated his assessment that it will be hard for the United States to meet the May 1 deadline for a full American troop withdrawal, as outlined in a peace agreement between the Trump administration and the Taliban.

It's not my intention to stay there for a long time, Biden said, We will leave. The question is when we leave." When asked if U.S. troops will still be in Afghanistan next year, he said, I can't picture that being the case."

Earlier in the day, Gen. Richard Clarke, the head of U.S. Special Operations Command, told a Senate hearing that, the capabilities that the U.S. provides for the Afghans to be able to combat the Taliban and other threats that reside in Afghanistan are critical to their success. Clarke echoed the sentiments of other military leaders when he said it was clear that the Taliban have not upheld their commitment to reduce violence in Afghanistan and instead have made a deliberate decision to increase attacks. Those attacks have largely been against Afghans and haven't targeted Americans.

With his comment, which are backed by assessments from military commanders about the precarious security situation in Afghanistan, Biden may be laying the groundwork for a decision to at least temporarily extend America's force presence in the country beyond the May 1 deadline, nearly two decades after the war there began.

Clarke, at the Senate hearing, declined to provide any details of possible options he has outlined to Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on how he could provide needed counterterrorism troops or capabilities if special operations forces are not physically in Afghanistan.

Clarke noted that no decision has been made about the withdrawal, adding that we will always provide options to deter or defeat al-Qaida, the Islamic State group or other terrorism threats.

Similarly, Christopher Maier, the acting assistant defence secretary for special operations, expressed concerns when asked about another troop withdrawal decision by the Trump administration that led to all U.S. forces being pulled from Somalia.

Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., said he was opposed to that decision and questioned whether it was the right move.

Maier said a review of that decision is underway. From my perspective, there is probably significant downsides to the pullout from the perspective of cost and effectiveness, he said.

More broadly, Clarke and Maier said Special Operations Command has taken steps to shift some of its focus to the great power competition against China and Russia.

Clarke said he has also worked to reduce the pace of operations for the commando forces, which he said have been overly focused on deployments and mission accomplishments.

After nearly 20 years of persistent counterterror operations in war zones and around the globe, special operations forces have seen spikes in suicides and bad behaviour. Clarke, who ordered a review last year to address the problems, said they have cut back deployments by about 20% and have shifted leadership out of overseas headquarters so they can more closely supervise and train their forces.
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.
Through much of history, Lipan Apaches were enemies of Coahuiltecans, the Native Americans invited into Mission San Antonio de Valero for the purposes of evangelization.

Lipan Apaches killed some of the Coahuiltecans buried at Valero, now known as the Alamo. Lipan Apaches who fell in battle similarly are buried there.

The Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas and the Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation eventually waged peace and now have become full-fledged allies in an ongoing lawsuit against the Alamo Trust, which manages the Alamo for the Texas General Land Office.

The latter are involved in a beleaguered $450 million public-private renovation project to enhance the landmark as a travel destination.

It has undergone one disastrous episode after another, many of the Alamo Trust and GLOs own making.

In mid-March the Lipan Apaches, represented by Yale Law Schools Free Exercise Clinic, filed an amicus brief in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals challenging the Alamo Trust and GLO on several grounds, including infringing on Tap Pilams religious freedoms.

The Lipan tribe has had an out-sized interest in First Amendment rights. It famously won a case that challenged federal restrictions on possession of eagle feathers only to federally recognized tribes. Such feathers are used by non-federally recognized tribes, too.

Its brief asks the court to reverse a ruling that gives the government carte blanche to prohibit Native Americans from performing religious ceremonies at sacred sites, including the Alamo.

The brief begins with this painstaking truth, The mistreatment of Native Americans is a persistent stain on the fabric of United States history.

It echoes across Indian Country.

The Lipan Apaches agree the Alamo Trust denied Tap Pilam access to the Alamo Chapel for an annual remembrance of their ancestors at the Alamo and have been barred from conducting forgiveness and interment ceremonies for their ancestors at the Alamo because theyre not federally recognized.

Like Lipan Apaches, Tap Pilam has chosen not to seek recognition under what it considers antiquated, subservient and racist federal policies governing tribes.

The Lipan tribe asserts Tap Pilam has also been excluded from Alamo committees serving in advisory capacities on issues such as the handling of human remains.

Tap Pilam isnt alone in other important claims: That the trust and GLO manipulated the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act to their advantage to exclude Tap Pilam for not being federally recognized.

Lipan Apaches and Tap Pilam say the Alamo Trust and the GLO have weaponized NAGPRA, despicably. The laws purpose is to protect graves from destruction and theft, not to punish a tribe with which it disagrees.

When Tap Pilam was excluded from the grounds and from committees, the trust and GLO added representatives of federally recognized tribes  as if Native Americans are interchangeable. Some of those tribes had no ties to the Alamo.

The move was both ignorant and callous.

The federally recognized Mescalero Apaches, for example, have a longstanding aversion to handling human remains, including their own, argued Tap Pilam, which has conducted ceremonies at the Alamo since 1995 and views them as religious obligations.

When human remains are re-interred, for example, Tap Pilam conducts a ceremony in which it asks ancestors for forgiveness for disturbing their after-life journeys and vows to remember them at annual ceremonies.

Tap Pilam held these ceremonies under various Alamo managers, including the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson and initially under current Land Commissioner George P. Bush.

The tribe says a shift occurred after it challenged the trust and GLO on the existence of several cemeteries at the Alamo that the tribe says merit legal protection.

The trust and GLO initially argued no cemeteries existed at the Alamo. Tap Pilam had ample historical documentation about 1,000 graves, or more, on site. The names of those buried are known, and direct descendants continue to live in San Antonio.

This should have been seen as cause for celebration, not exclusion.

Through so many obstacles, the Alamo Trust and the GLO have lacked a command of history no different than that of the state as a whole.

It long failed to acknowledge the role slavery played in the Battle of the Alamo and the fight for independence, until recently; the legitimate agency Mexico had for its own rights; and the role Native Americans played at the Alamo and the four other World Heritage Site missions.

The Alamo and the other San Antonio missions were built for Native Americans and their religious conversion and practices.

For Tap Pilam, the amicus brief is a victory for other reasons. The Lipan Apaches were sworn enemies that made peace by intermarrying.

This offering is another symbol of that peace, and no matter what the court does, its being celebrated by both tribes and the rest of Indian Country.

eayala@express-news.net
Cairo, March 25 : Egypt on Thursday announced the full suspension of shipping in the Suez Canal, where efforts are underway to refloat a giant container ship that has run aground and disrupted traffic on one of the world's busiest trade routes.

The Panama-flagged ship, Ever Given, ran aground in the man-made canal on Tuesday due to a sandstorm, reportedly leaving dozens of other cargo vessels blocked from passing the major waterway, dpa news agency reported.

The 400-metres-long tanker veered off its course while sailing through the waterway on a Rotterdam-bound voyage coming from China.

On Thursday, the head of the state-run Suez Canal Authority (SCA), Admiral Osama Rabae, said that navigation would be temporarily suspended during final ongoing efforts to free Ever Given.

"Efforts to refloat the ship have included pulling and pushing by eight giant tug boats," Rabae said in a statement.

He did not say how long the refloating efforts would take.

Thirteen ships passed through the canal on Wednesday despite the mishap, Rabae added without giving further details.

The Suez Canal provides one of Egypt's main sources of income, alongside tourism and remittances from expatriates.

In 2015, Egypt opened a 35 km extension running parallel to the historical canal, which was inaugurated in 1869.

The expansion allows two-way traffic along the previously one-way canal and is designed to reduce the waiting time for vessels.

The artificial waterway connects the Mediterranean and Red seas, providing the shortest shipping route between Asia and Europe.
An international team of scientists has found evidence that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, infects cells in the mouth.

While it's well known that the upper airways and lungs are primary sites of SARS-CoV-2 infection, there are clues the virus can infect cells in other parts of the body, such as the digestive system, blood vessels, kidneys, and, as this new study shows, the mouth.

The potential of the virus to infect multiple areas of the body might help explain the wide-ranging symptoms experienced by COVID-19 patients, including oral symptoms such as taste loss, dry mouth, and blistering.

Moreover, the findings point to the possibility that the mouth plays a role in transmitting SARS-CoV-2 to the lungs or digestive system via saliva laden with virus from infected oral cells.

A better understanding of the mouth's involvement could inform strategies to reduce viral transmission within and outside the body. The team was led by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

"Due to NIH's all-hands-on-deck response to the pandemic, researchers at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research were able to quickly pivot and apply their expertise in oral biology and medicine to answering key questions about COVID-19," said NIDCR Director Rena D'Souza, D.D.S., M.S., Ph.D. "The power of this approach is exemplified by the efforts of this scientific team, who identified a likely role for the mouth in SARS-CoV-2 infection and transmission, a finding that adds to knowledge critical for combatting this disease."

The study, published online March 25, 2021, in Nature Medicine, was led by Blake M. Warner, D.D.S., Ph.D., M.P.H., assistant clinical investigator and chief of NIDCR's Salivary Disorders Unit, and Kevin M. Byrd, D.D.S., Ph.D., at the time an assistant professor in the Adams School of Dentistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Byrd is now an Anthony R. Volpe Research Scholar at the American Dental Association Science and Research Institute. Ni Huang, Ph.D., of the Wellcome Sanger Institute in Cambridge, U.K., and Paola Perez, Ph.D., of NIDCR, were co-first authors.

Researchers already know that the saliva of people with COVID-19 can contain high levels of SARS-CoV-2, and studies suggest that saliva testing is nearly as reliable as deep nasal swabbing for diagnosing COVID-19.

What scientists don't entirely know, however, is where SARS-CoV-2 in the saliva comes from. In people with COVID-19 who have respiratory symptoms, virus in saliva possibly comes in part from nasal drainage or sputum coughed up from the lungs.

But according to Warner, that may not explain how the virus gets into the saliva of people who lack those respiratory symptoms.

Based on data from our laboratories, we suspected at least some of the virus in saliva could be coming from infected tissues in the mouth itself." Blake M. Warner, DDS, PhD, MPH, Assistant Clinical Investigator and Chief of Salivary Disorders Unit, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research

To explore this possibility, the researchers surveyed oral tissues from healthy people to identify mouth regions susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Vulnerable cells contain RNA instructions for making "entry proteins" that the virus needs to get into cells. RNA for two key entry proteins--known as the ACE2 receptor and the TMPRSS2 enzyme--was found in certain cells of the salivary glands and tissues lining the oral cavity.

In a small portion of salivary gland and gingival (gum) cells, RNA for both ACE2 and TMPRSS2 was expressed in the same cells. This indicated increased vulnerability because the virus is thought to need both entry proteins to gain access to cells.

"The expression levels of the entry factors are similar to those in regions known to be susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection, such as the tissue lining the nasal passages of the upper airway," Warner said.

Once the researchers had confirmed that parts of the mouth are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2, they looked for evidence of infection in oral tissue samples from people with COVID-19. In samples collected at NIH from COVID-19 patients who had died, SARS-CoV-2 RNA was present in just over half of the salivary glands examined.

In salivary gland tissue from one of the people who had died, as well as from a living person with acute COVID-19, the scientists detected specific sequences of viral RNA that indicated cells were actively making new copies of the virus--further bolstering the evidence for infection.

Once the team had found evidence of oral tissue infection, they wondered whether those tissues could be a source of the virus in saliva. This appeared to be the case. In people with mild or asymptomatic COVID-19, cells shed from the mouth into saliva were found to contain SARS-CoV-2 RNA, as well as RNA for the entry proteins.

To determine if the virus in saliva is infectious, the researchers exposed saliva from eight people with asymptomatic COVID-19 to healthy cells grown in a dish. Saliva from two of the volunteers led to the infection of the healthy cells, raising the possibility that even people without symptoms might transmit infectious SARS-CoV-2 to others through saliva.

Finally, to explore the relationship between oral symptoms and virus in saliva, the team collected saliva from a separate group of 35 NIH volunteers with mild or asymptomatic COVID-19. Of the 27 people who experienced symptoms, those with the virus in their saliva were more likely to report loss of taste and smell, suggesting that oral infection might underlie oral symptoms of COVID-19.

Taken together, the researchers said, the study's findings suggest that the mouth, via infected oral cells, plays a bigger role in SARS-CoV-2 infection than previously thought.

"When infected saliva is swallowed or tiny particles of it are inhaled, we think it can potentially transmit SARS-CoV-2 further into our throats, our lungs, or even our guts," said Byrd.

More research will be needed to confirm the findings in a larger group of people and to determine the exact nature of the mouth's involvement in SARS-CoV-2 infection and transmission within and outside the body.

"By revealing a potentially underappreciated role for the oral cavity in SARS-CoV-2 infection, our study could open up new investigative avenues leading to a better understanding of the course of infection and disease. Such information could also inform interventions to combat the virus and alleviate oral symptoms of COVID-19," Warner said.
New Delhi:

BJP-led Uttar Pradesh governments initiatives to protect women in the state seems to be only on papers as in the last 48 hours two incidents have surfaced up in which victims were raped and then brutally murdered.

In the first incident, a class five student was raped on Tuesday evening at Kokhraj, around 170 kilometers from state capital Lucknow. Her perpetrator to hide the evidences burnt the girl alive.

The victims family members told the media that their daughter was rushed to Allahabad for immediate medical attention where she succumbed to her injuries.

The family members also claimed that the local police did not lodge their complaint and were forcing the family to perform last rites of the nine-year-old girl.

However, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Crime Chandra Prakash told the media that the police have arrested the accused.

In the second incident, a 35-year-old rape survivor was attacked with acid by her perpetrators.

In a statement given to the police she said, I was attacked by the three men who had raped me in May.

A senior police official not willing to be quoted told News Nation that the victim told the police that she was returning home after visiting her lawyer. She was forced into a van and taken to an unknown place where she was kept for a day.

The officer further added, She told us that the two of her offenders who raped her were out on bail and the third one declared absconding.

The ADGP crime told the media that raids are being made to nab the criminals.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
DUBLIN, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "MEMS Sensors & Actuators 2019 Patenting Activity" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

A stable IP landscape with new opportunities and increasing competition

MEMS sensors and actuators are key components in numerous applications. Indeed, electronic devices need to be more and more connected to the real world in order to provide better experiences to the customer. Sensing and interacting with the environment is therefore becoming critical, especially in the automotive, consumer and industrial markets. Indeed, autonomous vehicles, AR/VR and industry 4.0 require the use of numerous sensors to realize their dreams.

According to Yole Developpement, the market will exhibit +8.3% growth in value and +11.9% growth in units, with consumer still having the greatest share (over 60%) from 2019 to 2024.

This growth rate is below previous rates, however, and the automotive and consumer markets are levelling off. As growth slows down, competition between the different players is getting tougher and tougher, since the cake is not as big. On the M&A front, MEMS-related acquisitions declined during the last year, reflecting the weaker, general semiconductor-related M&As and a consolidation of the business. Furthermore, there were no significant new entrants, and existing players struggled to compete against one another.



In this context, this MEMS Sensors & Actuators 2019 Patenting Activity report aims to decipher the recent patenting activities and related R&D developments of MEMS players. This report also tracks weak signals in order to find new applications or new R&D directions that are currently being investigated, as well as newcomers entering the landscape.



The patents published in 2019 confirm the slight decrease that we can see at market level. Indeed, even if the number of patents remains quite significant, most of the IP segments have remained stable. This is the case for inertial sensors, micro mirrors or pressure sensors. However, despite this general trend, some recent developments of MEMS for new applications seem promising. For instance, patents in 2019 confirm the strong activity related to piezoelectric MEMS dedicated to automotive (headlamp, head-up display, etc.) or consumer applications (fingerprint sensors, voice machine interface).



2019 is also marked by the strong patenting activity of Chinese players. Indeed, Chinese players filed over 60% of the patents published in 2019 and even led most of the MEMS devices. This strong activity could be a sign of the significant investments that Chinese companies have made to boost their competitiveness and challenge major European and US companies.



Who are the main IP players and what are their 2019 patenting activities?



This report provides a detailed picture of the patents published in 2019 for MEMS sensors and actuators, including inertial sensors (accelero, gyro, IMUs), microphones, microspeakers, ultrasonic sensors, pressure sensors, micromirrors, microbolometers, gas sensors, etc.

We have selected and analyzed over 3,000 inventions specifically related to MEMS transducers, MEMS devices and MEMS packaging. All other patents related to materials, wafer manufacturing, driver circuits and systems have been excluded. The report provides an overview of the most recent patents published in 2019 by MEMS players for each MEMS technology and device. For each player, we highlight and provide information about their recent and future technology developments. A comparison between their 2019 market position and their 2019 patenting activity is also provided.



Analysis of main technology developments



This report provides a detailed analysis of the technologies developed by the main IP players. A detailed description of the most noticeable patents published in 2019 is also provided. The publisher highlights any change in the players' activities as well as an analysis of new applications/technologies and their related challenges, thus giving an understanding of the current main IP drivers and potential future markets.



Report's main assets

Understanding the key players' recent IP and current technology development

There are more than 1,000 patent applicants involved in the MEMS 2019 patent landscape. This report reveals the most active IP players for all types of MEMS devices. A detailed analysis of their 2019 patents and their related challenges and applications is provided.

Identifying the opportunities

This report gives an overview of the current dynamics and technologies. Opportunities and inventions linked to new applications are analyzed. It also provides a detailed analysis of the technology described in the patents. For each segment we identify the new technological approach for the different targeted markets.

Useful Excel patent database

This report also includes an Excel database of the 4,350 patents and patent applications analyzed in this study. This useful patent database allows for multi-criteria searches and includes patent publication numbers, hyperlinks to the original documents, priority date, title, abstract, patent assignees, patent's current legal status, and technological and application segments.

Report's Key Features

PDF with > 80 slides

Excel file > 4,350 patents

Overview of the most recent patents published in 2019 by MEMS players.

Main patent applicants.

Main MEMS technologies and devices analyzed:

Inertial sensors (accelerometers, gyroscopes, IMUs)

Microphones

Microspeakers

Ultrasonic sensors

Gas sensors

Pressure sensors

Micromirrors

MEMS Packaging

IP dynamics and trends of the different MEMS devices.

Comparison of recent IP and market activities.

Noticeable 2019 patents from main players.

Excel database containing all patents analyzed in the report, including technology and application segmentation.

Key Topics Covered:

1. INTRODUCTION

MEMS Industry in 2019

2019 MEMS market players ranking

MEMS sensors included in the report

Scope of the report

Key features of the report

2. METHODOLOGY

Methodology for patent search and selection

Terminology for patent analysis

3. 2019 PATENTING ACTIVITY OVERVIEW

Main patent assignees

Geographic map of patent filings

Main MEMS devices

Main IP players per MEMS devices

IP dynamics and trends

2019 patenting activity vs. Market growth

4. INERTIAL SENSORS

Scope of the segment

Main IP players of 2019

Summary of 2019 patenting activity

2019 patenting activity of main players: Seiko Epson , BPiezoelectric inertial sensors: Murata, Kyocera, TDK

, BPiezoelectric inertial sensors: Murata, Kyocera, TDK Chinese IP players

5. ACOUSTIC SENSORS

Summary of 2019 patenting activity for Microphones, Microspeakers and Ultrasonic transducers

For each acoustic sensors:

Scope of the segment

Main IP players of 2019

2019 patenting activity of main players: Goertek, AAC, Infineon, Usound, STMicroelectronics, Xinwei Acoustics Technology, Aofei Acoustics Technology, OFILM, BOE, LG, InvenSense, etc.

6. GAS SENSORS

Scope of the segment

Main IP players of 2019

2019 patenting activity of main players: Microjet, Infineon, Bosch

7. PRESSURE SENSORS

Scope of the segment

Main IP players of 2019

2019 patenting activity of main players: Bosch, Infineon, Goertek

8. MICROMIRRORS

Scope of the segment

Main IP players of 2019

2019 patenting activity of main players: Hamamatsu Photonics, Bosch Mitsumi, Stanley

9. MEMS PACKAGING

Scope of the segment

Main IP players of 2019

2019 main IP players per MEMS devices

Wafer level package

MEMS and ASIC in a single package

10. CONCLUSION

Companies Mentioned

AAC Technologies

Analog Devices

Aofei Acoustic Technology

Apple

Beijing University of Technology

University of Technology Bosch

Cea

Denso

Goertek

Hamamatsu Photonics

Hewlett Packard Development

Huazhong University of Science & Technology

Infineon Technologies

Invensense

Knowles Electronics

Kyocera

Memsensing Microsystems

Micriojet Technology

Mitsumi Electric

Murata Manufacturing

Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications

University of Posts & Telecommunications Nanjing University of Science & Technology

University of Science & Technology North University of China

Northwestern University

SMIC

STMicroelectronics

Seiko Epson

Senodia Technologies

Shanghai Institute of Microsystem & Information Technology Chinese Academy of Sciences

Silan

Southeast University Nanjing

Stanley Electric

TDK

TSMC

Texas Instruments

Tsinghua University

University of Electronic Science & Technology of China

Wuhan University

University Xi'an Jiaotong University

ZillTek Technology

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/3pl36t

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


An employee of the King Soopers grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, has revealed that she narrowly escaped the gunman's notice as a barista working at the Starbucks in the supermarket described the moment he hid his co-worker behind trash cans to keep her safe from the gunman who shot dead 10 people on Monday.

Emily Giffen, 27, was smoking outside the store Monday during a break when she heard multiple loud pops that she knew were not fireworks. She said she saw a man running across an intersection suddenly fall over and another man approach him in a crouch and fire several rounds at close range.

'I don't know how he didn't see us,' she said of the attacker, who walked right by her before she ran into the King Soopers store and out the back.

Newly fallen snow made people trip and slip as they tried to escape, she said, showing a large bruise on her arm that she said happened when someone stepped on her.

'I just really am having a hard time understanding why me and my friends deserve to die,' she said, wondering why the gunman chose to target the Boulder store specifically. 'It doesn't seem personal, so I don't quite get why we pulled that lottery ticket.'

Logan Ezra Smith, 20, also described a harrowing scene, telling CNN that he was working at the store's Starbucks kiosk when a customer screamed about a shooter in the parking lot.

Scroll down for video

Emily Giffen (pictured), 27, was smoking outside the store Monday during a break when she heard multiple loud pops. She said she saw a man running across an intersection suddenly fall over and another man approach him in a crouch and fire several rounds at close range

Logan Ezra Smith (pictured), 20, also described a harrowing scene, saying that he was working at the store's Starbucks kiosk when a customer screamed about a shooter in the parking lot. Smith said he hid his 69-year-old coworker behind trash cans and helped others escape

King Soopers employees are led away from an active shooter on Monday

Smith said he went outside and tragically witnessed two people get shot.

He then scrambled back inside, called 911 and hid his 69-year-old coworker under a counter before placing trash cans in front of the opening.

'Maybe it's who I am, but as a grocery store employee, customers come first for me. It's customers and my coworkers. I was willing to sacrifice myself and death was something I accepted already,' Smith told CNN.

'My belief is she's older than me, she's my elder, so I must protect her.'

In addition to helping his co-worker, Smith also said he helped other customers escape through the back entrance before going to hide behind a trash can at the Starbucks kiosk.

He recalled the gunman walking within 10-15 feet of their hiding place, saying: ''One of the scariest parts about it all was the silence throughout the store, because I did not hear him say one word.

'Basically, it was silence from the very beginning. All you could hear were gunshots, and then the store music and automated messages.'

More than 500 people bundled in masks and wool hats attended a downtown candlelight vigil Wednesday night to mourn the victims

People gather in during a candlelight vigil at the Boulder Courthouse in Boulder, Colorado on Wednesday to honor the victims killed on Monday

Giffen and Smith shared their stories on Wednesday as families mourned the dead and multiple law enforcement agencies pressed ahead with what they said would be a monthslong investigation.

Officials hadn't released new details on that investigation by late Wednesday.

The 21-year-old suspect, Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, has been jailed and is scheduled to make his first court appearance Thursday morning on 10 counts of murder charges. No lawyer was listed for Alissa in court records.

More than 500 people bundled in masks and wool hats attended a downtown candlelight vigil Wednesday night to mourn the victims.

They observed a moment of silence; violins soothed the crowd; and a woman sang 'Ave Maria' as candle flames flickered in the crisp air.

Other community vigils were planned to honor the victims. The Boulder Police Department invited the public to show support for Officer Eric Talley, who was killed, by witnessing a police procession Wednesday as his body was taken from the coroners office to a funeral home in the Denver suburb of Aurora.

Red and blue lights flashed along a parkway as dozens of officers from Boulder and neighboring departments stood at attention. When the hearse passed, the officers saluted as one shouted, 'Attention!' One person held an American flag.

Talley, 51, was the first officer to arrive at the scene. He had seven children, ages 7 to 20.

A makeshift memorial is seen outside the King Soopers supermarket on Wednesday

Officer Eric Talley, 51, was among the 10 who were killed on Monday. A procession is seen on Wednesday escorting his body to a funeral home

The other victims were Denny Stong, 20; Neven Stanisic, 23; Rikki Olds, 25; Tralona Bartkowiak, 49; Suzanne Fountain, 59; Teri Leiker, 51; Kevin Mahoney, 61; Lynn Murray, 62; and Jodi Waters, 65.

Olds, Leiker and Stong worked at the supermarket.

Kim Cordova, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7, which represents more than 30 store employees, said they did their best to get customers to safety.

'They grabbed everybody they could, and they brought them to the backroom or to other areas of the store to hide, or got them out through the back dock,' Cordova said.

On Facebook posts, Giffen also said her friends deserved better, not to die at work while doing their jobs.

The 21-year-old suspect, Ahmad Alissa (pictured), has been jailed and is scheduled to make his first court appearance Thursday morning on 10 counts of murder charges

'This guy, he went hunting in a barrel full of fish. Nobody was prepared to fight back. No one was even prepared to hide,' she said. 'It's just the fear like, where do you, where do I ever feel safe?'

Giffen, who said she has worked at the King Soopers for three years, described a close-knit community where she chats with customers and remembers their bagel orders from when she worked at a nearby bagel place.

On the neighborhood-based social media app Nextdoor, Giffen watched as people asked about her co-workers by name, listing them one by one to find out if they were all right.

'It was so beautiful to see all of these people who live right here with me actually acknowledge individual peoples names,' she said. 'They dont just know us as their employees. We're a part of their community.'

The attack was the nation's deadliest mass shooting since a 2019 assault on a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, where a gunman killed 22 people.

It was also the seventh mass killing this year in the US, following the March 16 shooting that left eight people dead at three Atlanta-area massage businesses, according to a database compiled by the AP, USA Today and Northeastern University.

It follows a lull in mass killings last year during the pandemic.

The Colorado suspect bought a Ruger AR-556 pistol - which resembles an AR-15 rifle with a slightly shorter stock - on March 16, six days before the attack, according to an arrest affidavit.

Authorities have not disclosed where the gun was purchased.

According to two law enforcement officials, Alissa was born in Syria in 1999, emigrated to the US as a toddler and later became a US citizen. He would need to be a citizen to buy a gun.

The officials were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

An AR-15-style gun was recovered inside the supermarket and was believed to have been used in the attack, said a law enforcement official briefed on the shooting who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

The law enforcement official said the suspect's family told investigators that he had delusions and that they believed he had some type of mental illness.

The relatives described times when Alissa told them people were following or chasing him, which they said may have contributed to the violence, the official said.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers an address after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday, March 24, 2021. (Virginia Mayo, Pool/AP Photo)

New US Sanctions Target Military Conglomerates in Myanmar

The United States on Thursday imposed what it calls its most significant sanctions to date over the military coup in Myanmar, restricting American dealings with two giant Myanmar military holding companies that dominate much of that countrys economy.

The sanctions are the latest that the Biden administration and European governments have laid on Myanmar since Feb. 1, when the countrys generals seized power on the day a newly elected parliament was due to be sworn in. Security forces since then have killed and detained street protesters amid demands for a return to civilian government.

Thursdays sanctions target those who led the coup, the economic interests of the military, and the funding streams supporting the Burmese militarys brutal repression, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

The new measures generally bar any American dealings with the two military holding companies, which have sweeping business involvement in trades ranging from the sale of alcohol and cigarettes to agriculture, banking, and mining. The companies distribute profits to Myanmars military and its members.

The United Kingdom would be taking similar action against one of the holding companies, Blinken said.

After a half-century of authoritarian, isolating military rule, generals in the Southeast Asian nation over the past decade had allowed democratic elections, bowing to intense international pressure and sustained pro-democracy campaigns within the country.

The United States had lifted sanctions in response to the democratic reforms, but reimposed many against the military in 2019 in response to the widespread killing of members of Myanmars Rohingya ethnic Muslim minority.

The Biden administration says it is targeting the military in sanctions and seeking to avoid worsening conditions for the countrys civilians.

By Ellen Knickmeyer
Denton, TX (76205)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 82F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds. Low 62F. Winds SE 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.
By IANS



New Delhi : Former external affairs minister K. Natwar Singh, who was admitted to the Escorts Hospital here three days ago following chest pain, is expected to be discharged soon, senior doctors said Wednesday.

Support TwoCircles



According to hospital sources, Singh complained of some chest pain around noon Monday, following which he was brought to Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre.

"He has undergone a series of tests since Monday. His condition is stable," a senior doctor told IANS, adding that the former minister had a final test Wednesday morning and the reports were awaited.

"We expect to discharge him tonight (Wednesday) as there is nothing serious."
Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has cautioned university students against colluding with unscrupulous secondary school teachers to impersonate candidates in the forthcoming Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams.

The CS, who supervised the distribution of KCPE exam papers in Busia County on the last day of the exam on Wednesday, said his ministry is monitoring schools in Homa Bay, Migori, Kisii and Isebania over impersonation schemes.

He said the government will not lower its guard in ensuring the integrity of the national examinations is not compromised.

Tampered with photos

According to the CS, schools intending to use university students have tampered with photographs of the genuine candidates to distort their appearance.

Prof Magoha said the government is alert and I working with multiagency systems to contain the vice and will tighten its surveillance from Friday when KCSE exams start.

"We are following up with the cheeky centre managers plus their collaborators who intend to steal the exams," he stated, cautioning teachers in Homa Bay, Migori, Isebania and Kisii to stop confusing children.

He was accompanied by Busia County Director of Education in Thaddeus Owuor and County Commissioner John Korir.

KCPE marking

The CS said marking of the ongoing KCPE papers has already started in Nairobi.

"By yesterday, papers delivered on day one in Nairobi had been marked. We expect to complete the marking in the next one or two weeks," he stated.

He praised the smooth running of the KCPE exams over the three days.

The CS further praised centre managers in Kisumu County who allowed candidates who were not registered by private schools to sit their exams.

"Those children have taken their exams and their rights shall be observed as exams are marked while the multiagency team follows up with the crooked teachers," he stated.
document

The recent allegations of corruption levelled against former ZINARA Chief Executive Officer have exposed the unlawful practices by the Roads Authority of contracting companies to repair and maintain roads.

In terms of the Roads Act Section 7 the role and mandate of the Roads Authority is "to fix road user charges and to collect such charges or any other revenue of the Road Fund, allocate and disburse to road authorities."

According to the Herald of 19 March 2021 , the ZINARA ex CEO offered overpriced tenders for road rehabilitation with him getting kickbacks of US$144 000 and awarded Fremus Enterprise a total of US$20 million in contracts for rehabilitation of roads without following proper tender processes.

This comes at a time when the state of roads in Zimbabwe are in a poor state with the government declaring the state of roads a "national disaster" with ZINARA calling local authorities to find alternatives to fund road maintenance.

Harare has a road network of 4000 kilometers and due to lack of financing since the ZINARA takeover of vehicle licensing in 2008 the other 2000 kilometers are no longer trafficable due to lack of funds to rehabilitate them.

On the 8th of March Combined Harare Residents Association wrote a letter to the CEO of ZINARA requesting total amounts of funds which the Roads Authority disbursed to the City of Harare and Chitungwiza Municipality of 2020 period but to no avail.

CHRA condemns the actions of the ZINARA of spending road funds as it is outside its mandate and calls on the government to retain vehicle licensing to local authorities in line with Chapter 14 of the constitution on devolution as this enhances transparency and accountability in the management of funds.

We therefore continue to advocate for road licensing fees to be taken back to Local Authorities for communities to be able to monitor how funds will be used and to get roads fixed with transparency and accountability. Devolution is the only solution to stop the misuse and looting of public funds for betterment and improvement of our road infrastructure.

Source: CHRA
Good morning.

The first segment of a two-part virtual opening of Qaumajuq, the Winnipeg Art Gallerys new Inuit art centre, is happening this evening.

Scrapping a temporary patio fee and authorizing additional funds for the Main Street Projects outreach van are among the items up for final votes at todays city council meeting.

 Adam Treusch, assignment editor
Citizens watch a television news program on North Korea's missile launch, Thursday morning at Suseo Station in Seoul. The North launched two short-range missiles which were assumed to be ballistic missiles at around 7 a.m. Yonhap



By Nam Hyun-woo



North Korea is ratcheting up tension to test U.S. President Joe Biden's policy toward Pyongyang, firing two more projectiles assumed to be ballistic missiles into the East Sea, Thursday, just four days after the regime launched cruise missiles.



Diplomatic observers say the totalitarian state may opt for a more serious provocation such as an intercontinental ballistic missile or even a nuclear test unless the United States ditches its hostile policies. The new U.S. government is in the final stages of deciding on its new North Korea policy and plans to host national security advisers of South Korea and Japan next week to discuss it.



According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the two short-range missiles were fired from South Hamgyong Province in North Korea at 7:06 a.m. and 7:25 a.m., respectively. The missiles flew about 450 kilometers into the East Sea on an apogee of 60 kilometers.



Following the launch, the South Korean government held a National Security Council (NSC) meeting and expressed "deep concerns" on the launch which came amid the U.S.' North Korea policy review, as well as pledging to strengthen consultations with related countries in analyzing the backdrop and the intentions of the launch.



"This activity highlights the threat that North Korea's illicit weapons program poses to its neighbors and the international community," said Capt. Mike Kafka, the spokesman of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.



The NSC said it will analyze the specifications of the projectiles through cooperation between Korean and U.S. defense and intelligence offices, and the JCS will later explain the details of the missiles.



Though South Korean authorities did not specify the type of projectiles, a JCS official said they see a high possibility they were ballistic missiles. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has already said the North Korean weapons were ballistic missiles and the U.S. also believes they are short-range ballistic missiles.









If the projectiles are ballistic missiles, this is the first case of the North firing projectiles of that type since March 2020. North Korea's development and testing of ballistic missile technologies are banned under United Nations Security Council resolutions.



Reportedly, Seoul's National Intelligence Service (NIS) reported to lawmakers that the spy agency is assuming the missile launches could be timed to precede Biden's scheduled press conference on Thursday (local time). Yonhap News Agency said that lawmakers were also told that the NIS also believes other reasons include the recent adoption of the United Nations resolution on North Korea's human rights and the extradition of a North Korean businessman.





This combined photo revealed by North Korea's state-run Rodong Sinmun on Nov. 29, 2017, shows the test-firing of North Korea's Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile. Yonhap
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
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a two-day visit to Bangladesh starting March 26 and 27. This will be his first overseas visit in over a year after the first lockdown restrictions were imposed as COVID-19 hit India. "The visit of the Prime Minister to Bangladesh will be the first visit to a foreign country since the outbreak of the Covid pandemic. This highlights the priority India attaches to Bangladesh," a PMO (Prime Minister's Office) statement said.

The PM is visiting Bangladesh to mark three major events -- Mujib Borsho, the birth centenary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman; 50 years of the establishment of diplomatic ties between India and Bangladesh; and 50 years of Bangladesh's war of liberation. This will be his first visit to Bangladesh since 2015.

During the two-day visit, PM Modi will likely sign pacts in sectors such as health, railways, border infrastructure development and start-ups. PM Modi, apart from holding bilateral consultations with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, will call on Bangladesh President Md Abdul Hamid. He is also scheduled to visit the mausoleum of 'Banglabandhu' Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Tungipara, Gopalganj.

Also read: 'India desires cordial relations with Pakistan': PM Modi writes letter to Imran Khan

"This visit will be of very special significance and will serve to highlight the celebration of our unique and special ties, which reinforce our comprehensive strategic partnership with Bangladesh," Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said.

Shringla said both sides will sign a range of agreements, covering many areas of cooperation. Disaster management, trade and oceanography will be given special focus, he said, adding new areas of cooperation such as culture and preservation of the spirit of 1971 will also be explored.

During the visit, the Prime Minister will attend the National Day programme of Bangladesh on March 26, as a guest of honour. Foreign Minister of Bangladesh Dr AK Abdul Momen will also call on PM Modi.

Also read: India at forefront of initiatives to prevent non-communicable diseases: PM Modi
To the editor:

Driving through rural Michigan, one encounters not just crop farms, but wind farms  farms on top of farms. I think of the graceful giants as industrial sculptures representing hope for our childrens future. But more than elegant sources of carbon-free energy, they represent a significant boost to rural economies. They are mailbox money for farmers who host them, which means they can invest in their farms and make it more likely their kids will be farmers. The turbines significantly increase the tax base for local schools and other community needs. And while that money spreads widely through the community, it does not reach everyone.

A concept called Carbon Fee and Dividend would share the economic benefits of our carbon-free future with everyone. A slowly rising fee on fossil fuels (coal, gas, oil) levied near the source (mine, wellhead, port) where it first enters the U.S. economy would generate hundreds of billions of dollars.

If that money is then distributed to all Americans equally, people on the lower and middle rungs of the economic ladder actually come out ahead. Putting money in the hands of people who will spend it stimulates the economy and adds jobs.

This concept is incorporated in legislation in Congress, HR-763, the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividends Act. It is a simple, transparent, market-based solution that is revenue-neutral and would not add regulation. The clear economic signal would accelerate the move to sustainable energy. By itself, it could get us 80% of the way toward a carbon free future and a livable planet for our children. See CitizensClimateLobby.com for more details than you could ever want. Then talk about it.

JAMES W. CRISSMAN

Midland Group Leader, Citizens Climate Lobby
The cadre merger, the Centre hopes, will allow officers in the AGMUT cadre to be posted in J&K and Ladakh, and vice-versa

The merger of the Jammu and Kashmir cadre into the UT cadre, among other things, is meant to address the old problem of the acute shortage of IAS officers in the Union territory. The erstwhile J&K cadre had a stipulated strength of 137 IAS officers but currently has merely 58, of which nine are on Central deputation. The result is that practically every IAS officer in the UT is handling several portfolios, which is not exactly great news for good governance.

The problem has lingered for several years, with the result that officers of the Kashmir Administrative Service have long been handling posts reserved for IAS officers, without being promoted to the IAS. For instance, the post of district magistrate (DM) can only be filled by an IAS officer, but in Kashmir, nine out of 20 district magistrates are from the state administrative service.

Apparently, no state administrative service officer has been inducted into the IAS since 2012, which has only accentuated the problem. While in other parts of the country there is a 37 per cent reserved quota for state service officers, in Kashmir it has become 50 per cent!

The cadre merger, the Centre hopes, will allow officers in the AGMUT cadre to be posted in J&K and Ladakh, and vice-versa. Until that happens it is the state service babus who will continue to hold most of the administrative positions in the Union territory.

A high-profile exit

P.K. Sinha, senior advisor to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, quietly put in his papers but cannot stop tongues from wagging. It is being said that the former Cabinet secretary is being primed for another role by Mr Modi. Among the theories doing the rounds, it is being speculated that Mr Sinha could be the next lieutenant governor of either Delhi or Puducherry.

This may not be without precedent. Recall 2019 when Nripendra Misra, the then principal secretary to the PMO, similarly resigned for personal reasons but was soon named chairman of the prestigious Ram temple construction

committee.

Babus mixed legacy

Economic affairs secretary Tarun Bajaj has been given an additional charge of revenue secretary after the retirement of A.B.P. Pandey last month. However, Mr Pandeys exit hasnt been as quiet as he may have expected. As soon as he retired, media reports appeared around the lack of progress in filling more than 400 vacancies of income tax commissioners and others, some of which have been hanging fire since 2019. It was somehow hinted that Mr Pandey did not do enough during his stint as revenue secretary to fill these vacancies. Further, sources say, Mr Pandey drew the ire of Odisha-based IT chief commissioner D.P. Kar, who reportedly wrote to the Prime Minister demanding an inquiry against Pandey.

Yet, others point out that the same Mr Pandey was among the few babus who successfully led three crucial institutions of the Modi sarkar  department of revenue, goods and services tax network and the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). As revenue secretary, Mr Pandey led significant tax reforms undertaken by the government. The detractors waited for the man to retire before raising issues that troubled them during his tenure.
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.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 25)  Government agencies backed two Senate bills that recognize all foundlings, or children with unknown parents, as Filipino citizens.

The Department of Justice said this will institutionalize the 2016 ruling of the Supreme Court on the case of then presidential candidate Senator Grace Poe.

The court allowed her to run for the post despite petitions claiming she could not run for office. In 2015, petitioner Rizalito David also filed a case before the Senate Electoral Tribunal alleging that she was not a natural-born Filipino and therefore not qualified to be a sitting senator.

"We are well aware that there was a Supreme Court decision sometime in the past particularly the case of Poe-Llamanzares, wherein the highest court declared that as a matter of law, foundlings are, as a class, natural born citizens," DOJ state counsel Paulito De Jesus told the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality on Thursday.

"Domestic laws on adoption support the principle that foundlings are Filipinos," he added.

Poe was left by her unknown parents in a church in Jaro in 1968. The man who found her had her registered as a foundling in Iloilo City, according to court records. Actor couple Fernando Poe, Jr. and Susan Roces took her in as their child and completed the legal adoption process in 1974.

The measures filed by Senators Lito Lapid and Risa Hontiveros seek to protect abandoned children, saying they are natural-born Filipinos "regardless of the status or circumstances of birth." Meanwhile, people who find and care for these foundlings will be recognized as their legitimate parents.

Officials from the Departments of Health and Social Welfare and Development also supported the proposal, while the United Nations Refugee Agency said the proposed law should carry a retroactive provision so that older foundlings, including those who have turned 18 years old, will no longer be considered at risk of statelessness.

The House of Representatives passed its own version of the bill in October 2020.
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.
DARIEN  As COVID cases forced the high school to again switch to remote learning Thursday, the district is considering coordinating with the town to offer a vaccination clinic for interested students 16 and older when they become eligible next month.

During this weeks Board of Education meeting, Schools Superintendent Alan Addley said he addressed the somewhat inconsistency of quarantine procedures during a statewide health update call for the schools.

Board member Katie Stein asked if the district had considered approaching the towns Department of Heath to coordinate vaccinations for students 16 and older who are interested once they become eligible April 5.

The districts director of nursing, Alicia Casucci, said school systems had been encouraged to pursue vaccinating high school students in towns where those resources were available once that age group becomes eligible.

Casucci said the district plans to work with the towns health department, which has been conducting vaccine clinics. However, Casucci said any arrangements would depend on the availability of vaccine and the demand.

If we can do it, I will see if we can try to set that up with the health department. But there will be a lot of people who want the vaccine and I dont know if they will make that a priority group, Casucci said.

Board member Debra Ritchie asked how getting the vaccine affects the need to quarantine.

Casucci said two weeks after the second dose or the single dose for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine means those who are inoculated no longer needs to quarantine. Teachers are due for their second doses early next month after the town held a clinic for their first shot. Casucci said the district has some students who are emergency responders for Darien EMS Post 53 and do not need to quarantine because they have been vaccinated.

First Selectman Jayme Stevenson and Darien Health Director David Knauf supported the idea of a student vaccination clinic.

Knauf said the town would absolutely support the concept of a clinic for high school students who are 16 and older.

Knauf pointed to Gov. Ned Lamonts office indicating Connecticuts vaccine supply will outpace demand in May as an opportunity to vaccinate older students who are interested.

The problem is the age restriction for vaccine leaves most students not eligible, Knauf said. However, some protection is better than none.

Stevenson said if the school wished us to host a student clinic and we had enough appropriate-for-students vaccine supply, I think this would be a wonderful service to offer on a voluntary basis, with parent support.

On Wednesday, the district was notified about nine people who tested positive for COVID-19, according to an email from Addley.

These included six cases at Darien High, and three at Hindley Elementary School. One of the Darien High cases required additional contact tracing.

The districts COVID-19s dashboard shows 13 total cases, with 165 in quarantine and eight locations impacted.

In the last week, Darien reported an additional 49 cases as of Wednesday. While Stevenson said many were feeling optimistic, at Mondays Board of Selectmen meeting, she urged residents to continue to use caution and preventative measures.

The news is really good, and we feel like spring is here, and we can see the light at the end of the COVID tunnel, but we are not out of the woods yet here in Darien, she said.

She said despite the state relaxing some restrictions, wearing masks and social distancing is still required.

It is really important that we continue to adhere to these rules, especially when in municipal locations, Stevenson said.

She particularly noted the transfer station as a location where some are not following the mask protocol.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo will interview U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday.

Pelosi is the headlining guest at the virtual Harris County Democratic Partys Johnson Rayburn Richards Fundraiser event, where Hidalgo will lead a conversation with the Speaker.

'BUILD THE IKE DIKE': The push for a coastal barrier is heading to Joe Biden's office

Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison will also appear.

"We are thrilled that Speaker Pelosi agreed to join us and are equally excited that DNC Chair Harrison and Judge Hidalgo will also be participating," HCDP Chair Lillie Schechter said in a statement. "Speaker Pelosi has consistently recognized the importance of Harris County in national politics."

Schechter said the event will focus on how the party can "right the wrongs of the last administration" and introduce legislation that will "improve the lives of all Americans."

Hidalgo has served as the county's first woman and first Latina judge since she was elected in 2018. Pelosi, who represents California, was reelected to a fourth term as Speaker of the House in January.

The free virtual event begins at 5 p.m. on March 25. You can register to attend the fundraiser here.
State lawmakers are mulling over a far-reaching bill which would create a public-private partnership with broad abilities to support entrepreneurship and innovation.

House Bill 540, sponsored by Alabama Rep. Bill Poole (R-Tuscaloosa), chair of the Alabama Innovation Commission, would create an Alabama Innovation Corporation. The bill was introduced earlier this month. Sen. Greg Reed (R-Jasper) has also introduced Senate Bill 338.

The bill covers everything from education programs to development in low-income areas. It describes the Alabama Innovation Corp. as a catalyst for transforming Alabama into a technology and innovation center, triggering growth and fostering job skills not just in urban but also rural areas. Modeled on similar legislation from other states, like Ohio, the bill aims at keeping pace with changes in the economy and technology.

Poole said many of the details of how the corporation would work are still to be determined, with a lot of people left to be heard from.

The economy is transitioning quickly, as you look at a post-COVID economy, and the evolution of our economy from a technology standpoint, Poole said. I think we clearly have assets that we can leverage to be competitive in that future economy, and its important that Alabama strategically moves in that direction, so that we are ahead of, or part of, that transition.

The bill, in its current form, lays out an ambitious agenda, though Poole says the legislation lays out what the Innovation Corp. can do, but not what it must do.

For example, the bill talks about the creation of a 21st century transportation system for the state. Poole said this takes into account not only Alabamas status as one of the leading auto manufacturing states, but the future of mobility. Mercedes-Benz, for example, has committed to an aggressive timetable for making all-electric SUVs. Automakers are also continuing to research and develop autonomous vehicles.

Reed, the vice-chair of the Alabama Innovation Commission, said the corporation is another way to drive the state forward.

The establishment of the Alabama Innovation Corporation will assist in our efforts to foster a more inclusive, robust and resilient economy across the state, he said.

The bill also calls for the creation of an Alabama Innovation Fund, which Poole said remains a portion still looking for definition, such as how it would be funded and administered. It appears similar to other, existing innovation funds giving grants to economic development projects, research or other avenues. Poole said there are examples of similar funds in other states.

Alabama Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield said the proposed legislation would advance our economy in meaningful ways, creating more technology-based jobs and growth opportunities in all corners of the state.
[March 25, 2021] UHSM Health Share Teams Up With Faith, Lifestyle and Mental Health Content Creator Brittney Moses to Encourage Holistic Health

UHSM (Unite Health Share Ministries), a faith-based health care nonprofit founded on Christian beliefs and values, today announced its newest community ambassador, Brittney Moses, a Los Angeles-based content creator focused on the intersection of faith, mental health and wellness. Through their partnership, UHSM amplifies its message and mission to help Christians maintain their holistic health and well-being through its health sharing programs. "UHSM believes in restoring faith in all aspects of health care," says UHSM President Christopher Jin. "By partnering with Brittney, together we can shine a brighter light onto the importance of mental health and the resources available to those in need. In hopes of reducing the current stigma surrounding mental health, we are excited to further develop our relationship and strengthen our commitment to holistic wellness through upcoming events and programs." In addition to being a content creator, podcast host and blogger, Brittney is a mother and a student in the study of psyhology at UCLA, with a clinical focus on therapy, prevention, education and treatment for individuals struggling with emotional problems. Assisting in research at UCLA's Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Behavior, she aims to help reduce stigma and provide her youthful audiences with helpful information at the intersection of faith, holistic mental health and wellness. Certified to help facilitate recovery support groups in her city with the National Alliance of Mental Illness, Brittney has been published in The Christian Post, The Huffington Post (News - Alert) , RELEVANT Magazine, Yahoo News, Voyage LA Magazine, New York Weekly and The Chicago Journal.



"Through my blog and podcast, I aim to advocate wholehearted mental wellness for everyday living," says UHSM Community Ambassador Brittney Moses. "I am incredibly excited to be working with the UHSM to provide its community with education and encouragement for grace-based, healthy lifestyles through upcoming plans that will be released soon." In addition to the partnership with Brittney, UHSM established its dedication to mental illness services through its recent collaboration with Abide, the world's most popular Christian meditation app. Through Abide, UHSM provided its members with access to unlimited and uninterrupted meditations, topics and guides.

For more information, visit UHSM. ABOUT UHSM UHSM (Unite Health Share Ministries) is a nonprofit, faith-based health sharing ministry that facilitates member-to-member health sharing among fellow Christians, serving as a connector to administer medical cost sharing. Christian healthcare is chosen by millions each year over traditional insurance plans, and UHSM stands alone as the only health share that offers members access to true prescription coverage through the CVS Caremark network. UHSM members also have access to nearly one million doctors, hospitals and specialists through the First Health PPO Network, a wholly owned subsidiary of Aetna Inc. Headquartered in Norfolk, VA, UHSM offers simple, fair, and friendly healthcare programs to its members. The UHSM mission is to help Christian families fulfill their God-given purpose to care for one another, foster holistic wellbeing, and positively impact our communities. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005242/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
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
(Natural News) Back in 2010, the journal Europe PMC published a study outlining the extensive criminal history of Pfizer, one of the most corrupt pharmaceutical companies in the world.

The relevancy of this study today cannot be overstated, especially as millions of Pfizer-BioNTechs experimental Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccines are being plunged into peoples arms daily. Can this multi-billion-dollar corporate behemoth really be entrusted with carrying the load of public health during a plandemic?

In a word, no. Pfizer is a habitual offender that persistently engag[es] in illegal and corrupt marketing practices, bribing physicians and suppressing adverse trial results.

Since 2002 the company and its subsidiaries have been assessed $3 billion in criminal convictions, civil penalties and jury awards, study author Robert G. Evans outlines.

The $2.3 billion settlement in September 2009  set a new record for both criminal fines and total penalties.

Evans paper goes on to expose multiple Pfizer products that were illegally marketed for off-label use, which resulted in patients being injured or killed. Pfizer illegally paid kickbacks to physicians to prescribe these drugs for unapproved uses. Such drugs include:

 Bextra (valdecoxib), a pain medication that was later pulled from the market

 Geodon (ziprasidone HCl), an atypical antipsychotic

 Zyvox (linezolid), an antibiotic

 Lyrica (pregabalin), a seizure medication

 Viagra (sildenafil), an erectile dysfunction drug

 Lipitor (atorvastatin), a cholesterol drug

Pfizer subsidiaries have committed countless crimes over the years

These are just the drugs for which Pfizer was caught committing crimes, mind you. There were also many more cases prior in which Pfizer pleaded guilty for breaking the law.

In 2007, Pfizer subsidiary Pharmacia & Upjohn (P&U) paid $34 million and pleaded guilty to paying kickbacks for formulary placement of its drugs. P&U entered into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement for off-label distribution of Genotropin, the companys brand name for the human growth hormone (HGH) somatropin.

Three years earlier in 2004, Pfizer subsidiary Warner-Lambert pleaded guilty and paid more than $430 million to resolve criminal charges and civil liability for fraudulently marketing Neurontin (gabapentin). Originally developed for epilepsy, Neurontin was promoted by Warner-Lambert for the off-label treatment of neurological pain, including that associated with migraines.

Two years prior to that, Warner-Lambert and another Pfizer subsidiary known as Parke-Davis paid out $49 million to resolve civil claims alleging that the two companies failed to report best prices for their Lipitor drug as required under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Statute.

Nearly a decade later, Pfizer was once again ordered to pay out a large sum of cash, this time for $142 million, to resolve claims of again illegally marketing gabapentin for off-label use.

Data revealed in a string of U.S. lawsuits indicates the drug was promoted by the drug company as a treatment for pain, migraines and bipolar disorder  even though it wasnt effective in treating these conditions and was actually toxic in certain cases, according to the Therapeutics Initiative, an independent drug research group at the University of British Columbia, reports indicate.

The trials forced the company to release all of its studies on the drug, including the ones it kept hidden.

While these payout sums might sound like a lot of money, they are mere drops in the bucket compared to what Pfizer and its subsidiaries rake in for profit. In Canada alone, Neurontin sales top $300 million per year which, calculated over the course of several decades since the drug was first approved, amounts to many billions of dollars.

With all that said, it is perplexing that members of the public trust Pfizers rushed, liability-free vaccine for the Chinese virus enough to let roadside medical personnel inject them with it while hoping for the best.

More related news about Big Pharma fraud can be found at Corruption.news.

Sources for this article include:

EuropePMC.org

NaturalNews.com
analysis

Supporters of former president Jacob Zuma, the face of which is Carl Niehaus, spokesperson for the uMkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans (MKVA) vowed on Thursday that South Africa will experience instability should Zuma lose the case before the Constitutional Court.

Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, arguing on behalf of the State Capture Commission, called for former president Jacob Zuma to be jailed for two years because his conduct in ignoring a summons and Constitutional Court instruction to appear before the commission threatens South Africa's entire constitutional order.

But on hearing this, Zuma's supporters who had gathered outside the court on Thursday said this would bring instability to the country.

Carl Niehaus addresses members of the media outside the Constitutional Court as he showed up in support of former South African President Jacob Zuma. Photo / Shiraaz Mohamed.

"Such a judgement would lead to outrage and anger amongst us supporters," said Carl Niehaus, spokesperson for the uMkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans (MKVA) and ardent Zuma supporter.

"We do not want to see social instability in SA. But such a judgement will inevitably lead to social instability which will not be good for South Africa or for the ANC, that's why we sincerely hope that this...
ONSCENE

A man charged in the shooting of three off-duty Harris County Sheriffs Office deputies during his Midtown birthday bash has been indicted in the death of his mother, who was gunned down by a stray bullet, court records show.

Joseph Gonzalez was indicted this week on a murder charge in the Jan. 3 death of his 41-year-old mother, Lorri Gonzalez. The woman was among several relatives who joined Gonzalez for his 25th birthday at the Set nightclub at 2900 Travis Street.
Batavia, NY (14020)

Today

Mostly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 60F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 60F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph.

How Cedars-Sinai Builds Community Trust in the Vaccine

Gena Smith-Woods, a registered nurse with Cedars-Sinai, worked as one of the front-line professionals administering the COVID-19 vaccine to healthcare staff and community members. She recalled how honored she was to take part in the Southern California non-profit hospitals first drive-thru clinic at Beverly Grove, supporting the community vulnerable to the Coronavirus.

It was more than just giving a vaccine; some community members arrived at the clinic with questions and fears. Smith-Woods was there along with other medical professionals dispelling confusion and providing a safe and comfortable environment.

I even had a person who was so scared, she literally was crying, Smith-Woods said. We were there with her. We guided her through and after she got her vaccination, she said I feel so much better and I feel protected. And she drove off and she was just in tears of joy.

ADVERTISEMENT

At the heart of Cedars-Sinais efforts by their medical staff to distribute the vaccine is a sense of connection with those who are in their care. They encourage community engagement by partnering with local organizations and entities like churches and the Los Angeles Unified School District. In a time where misinformation and misconceptions about the vaccine are high, they aim to help people make the decision to take the vaccine by meeting people where they are.

According to a nationwide Kaiser Family Foundation survey released in December 2020, 35 percent of Black adults reported they definitely or probably would not get the vaccine. About half of them cited that the main reason they dont want to receive the vaccine is that they dont trust it in general. This distrust derives not only from the composition of the vaccine, but also a general distrust of American Healthcare.

Dr. Stacy Tarradath, the division chief of Urgent Care at Cedars-Sinai Medical Group, recalled hearing people in and outside of work reference the Tuskegee experiments when articulating why the African American community is hesitant to receive the vaccine.

You will continually hear about those experiments and why the Black community will choose not to get a lot of vaccines; to be honest, because of their weariness of being quote-on-quote tested on, Dr. Tarradath said.

Most of the time, all that is needed to alleviate these concerns is to provide information to the questions patients have. Dr. Calvin Cory Johnson, a professor of Anesthesia and member of the COVID ICU Line Team at Cedars-Sinai, explained that the first step is to acknowledge and validate their fears.

And theres some truth as to why they feel that way, Dr. Johnson said. You have to acknowledge; yes, I can understand how you might feel that way. Yes, things like that have happened in the past. However, this is how its different. The focus here is to protect your health; [theres] no other agenda, no other motive.

Both Dr. Tarradath and Smith-Woods hold the same sentiment, ensuring that the patients they interact with feel safe and informed through open dialogue.

ADVERTISEMENT

I think unpacking those conversations in an open dialogue, and being an African American myself  I think it was sharing my narrative, Smith-Woods said. My experience in having those vulnerable conversations really started to unpack the fear, where you were able to move with the facts of the knowledge, and all of the research that went into it.

She explained that the conversations should always come from a place of empathy. As she learns more about each patients concerns, she peels back the layers of questions and fears she witnesses as they feel safer in getting the vaccine.

These connections are particularly important when getting the vaccine to the Black and Latinx communities. According to a study by Health Affairs published in November 2020, Black and Hispanic people are three times more likely to screen positive for COVID-19 and two times more likely to be hospitalized than White people. Even though Black and Latinx families are heavily impacted by the coronavirus, CDC reported that about two-thirds of those that received at least one dose of the vaccine as of March 21 were White.

Dr. Johnson sees these trends heavily impacted by socioeconomic class. He believes that those most affected by COVID-19 are people who dont have fair access to healthcare and those who dont get the vaccine also have logistical obstacles in the way. These obstacles include getting time off of work and finding someone to babysit their children so the parent can get the vaccine.

I think that we have to bring the vaccine to those communities, Dr. Johnson said. Weve got to make it so that we bring the mountain to the people, not the other way around.

For Dr. Johnson, its a group effort between him and the patient.

I want them to feel that Im partnering with them, he said. Were in this together. The same vaccine that theyre going to get is the same one that I got and its okay to be afraid.

Dr. Tarradath believes some of the fear comes from how quickly the pandemic is moving. Within a year, the U.S. has experienced a surge of cases across major cities and the introduction of three vaccines. She noticed that people had concerns about if it was safe, but she reassured people that elements like the mRNA technology in the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines had been studied before the pandemic. FDA granted Emergency Use Authorization to the vaccines and pushed along its research and clinical trials to get it to the public. Part of the emergency use is closely monitoring its performance during its rollout.

I also try to explain to them that there is some unknown; thats a fact, Dr. Tarradath said. And we have to acknowledge it. But, you know, once the vaccines were authorized, they didnt stop monitoring for side effects or any problems that any individual may experience as a result of the vaccine. So, were still studying it.

The monitoring process can be seen in the rollout of the Moderna vaccine. In January, Californias state epidemiologist told healthcare providers to stop using a batch of Moderna after a San Diego vaccine clinic displayed a high number of allergic reactions. However, upon examination of the cases, they found no scientific evidence that it was unsafe and resumed administering the batch a few days later.

Dr. Tarradath tells her patients that although the vaccines developed quickly, there was careful testing done to ensure it is safe with additional monitoring still in place to keep people protected and healthy.

She joined Cedars-Sinai only a few days before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. Since then, shes been part of the medical group

ensuring everyone is protected from the virus.

From its onset, heads blazing, we were ready to go, she said. Even though it was so unknown to many of us, everyone was looking for information wherever they could find it, and make sure it was valid, and then brought it to the group to help us make sure [that] everyone was protected.

Along with the rest of the team, she pushed through the ups and downs of COVID-19 in Los Angeles. The introduction of the vaccines provided optimism in the development of the pandemic.

I think the approval of the Pfizer vaccine by the FDA; the emergency approval was where we started seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, Dr. Tarradath said.

Now the goal is to get people vaccinated, especially those heavily impacted by COVID-19. To reach herd immunity, Dr. Tarradath believes efforts need to be made in community engagement, such as sharing articles like this one. Smith-Woods also reiterated that herd immunity isnt only achieved through vaccinations, but also through continual precautionary measures like washing hands and wearing a mask. Its a community effort to get to a potential end of the pandemic.

I think the biggest thing of the takeaway is that through this pandemic, it has been quite tragic, but in that theres also been beauty that I think weve all banded together as a community and as people around the world to do what is needed for others, Smith-Woods said. I feel very honored to be a part of this time in history that people in the midst of tragedy, there has been joy and hope.

If you have questions regarding the vaccine, feel free to reach out to Dr. Calvin Cory Johnson at the following email address he created to connect to readers and the community: [email protected]
SEXUALLY explicit comments of a threatening nature were made by a drunken man to a garda in relation to his wife and children.

Graham OCallaghan, aged 28, pleaded guilty at Cork District Court to a charge of engaging in threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour on March 3, 2020, but he said he could not remember what he said on the night.

OCallaghan, of 48 Courtown Drive, Knocknaheeny, also pleaded guilty to a second public order charge, namely being intoxicated to such an extent that he was a danger to himself or others.

Sergeant Gearoid Davis said the incident occurred on Washington Street, when gardai were dealing with a disturbance on the night of November 20, 2019.

Sgt Davis said security personnel at a licensed premises had refused OCallaghan entry. Graham OCallaghan got aggressive and refused to move away from the area when he was required to leave.

Sgt Davis said the was extremely intoxicated and turned his aggression on gardai when they arrived.

He called one officer a f***ing bollocks and f***ing gomie.

OCallaghan then turned to another guard and made threatening and insulting comments that were sexual in nature about what he would do to the officers wife and children.

Frank Buttimer, solicitor, said the defendant did not have any recollection of his behaviour on the night.

The solicitor said he had shown the defendant the statements made by gardai about the way he had behaved and what he said.

He is appalled at what he said to the gardai, the solicitor said.

Mr Buttimer asked if he would adjourn the matter for two weeks.

Judge Olann Kelleher refused that application and said the defendant had failed to appear in court twice before.

Judge Kelleher said that: He has not co-operated with anybody.

He has not turned up on December 18 and on January 14. Here he is today looking for time and he is facing jail.

He had to be brought to court by the scruff of the neck, metaphorically speaking, said the judge.

Mr Buttimer said that there were mitigating factors and he wished to consult further with the defendant.

The judge said he would not adjourn the case for two weeks but agreed to put it back for one week.

And if he is not here it will go ahead without him, the judge said.
Eight years have passed since Aliza Sherman was stabbed to death in broad daylight after leaving her attorneys office in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, and her family is calling on state authorities to take over the investigation.

Weve been living this nightmare for eight years now, Alizas daughter, Jennifer Sherman, told Dateline. We just want justice for our mother.

The 53-year-old nurse and mother of four from Beachwood, Ohio was supposed to meet with her divorce attorney Gregory Moore at the Galleria at Erieview in downtown Cleveland, on Sunday, March 24, 2013. But the meeting never happened. As Aliza walked out of 75 Erieview Plaza around 5 p.m., an unknown individual approached her from behind and stabbed her 11 times.

Security video captured her hooded attacker running from the scene, but that person has never been identified and the weapon has not been recovered.

Aliza Sherman (Justice for Aliza Sherman Facebook page)

Jennifer told Dateline that her mother was in the middle of a messy divorce at the time of her murder, and the proceedings were scheduled to begin the next day.

According to previous coverage by NBC affiliate WKYC, the police investigation revealed that on the day Aliza was murdered, her attorney Gregory Moore sent text messages to her cell phone before and after her murder. The messages indicated that he was in his office, but phone records analysis, electronic key card records and witness statements show he was not in the building.

Moore later pleaded guilty to one count of falsification for giving investigators inaccurate information on the day of the murder.

A spokesperson for the Cleveland Police Department told Dateline that the March 24, 2013 murder investigation of Aliza Sherman remains an open and ongoing homicide investigation within the Cleveland Division of Police Homicide Unit.

The statement went on to say that, Investigators continue to ask that any witnesses or anyone with information contact detectives at 216-623-5464. Anonymous information can be provided by calling Crime Stoppers at 216-25-CRIME and a cash reward remains available.

Story continues

Throughout the years, there have been candlelight vigils, balloon releases and money raised for a $100,000 reward - but the loved ones of Aliza Sherman still want to know why more cant be done in her murder investigation.

Justice for Aliza Sherman Facebook page

There hasnt been any movement in my moms case and we just want to know why, Jennifer told Dateline.

Jennifer and her uncle, Alizas brother, Edward Czinn, are among those who are calling on authorities with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation to take over the investigation.

There have been no updates, no movement, in her case, Jennifer said. So why not hand it off to a fresh set of eyes or someone who has more resources to dedicate to the investigation?

Today marks eight years since Alizas murder, which her family believes was a targeted attack, and they hope sharing her story will create movement in the case.

Its been eight years and I just hope someone finds it in their heart to come forward with information, Jennifer said. My mom deserves it.

Every year since Aliza was killed, her loved ones have gathered at the crime scene to mark the anniversary of her death. Last year, the vigil was held via Zoom due to the pandemic. On Wednesday, some friends and family members were once again able to gather in-person at the scene, while others joined via Zoom. Details can be found on the Justice for Aliza Sherman Facebook page.

Anyone with information about Alizas case is asked to call Crime Stoppers of Cuyahoga County at 216-252-7463 or visit 25crimes.com.
Financial institutions opting more into eKYC convenience

Last week, VietinBank became the latest financial institution joining the rush of banks taping into digital identity verifications, known as electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) through its VietinBank iPay Mobile application.

The bank has applied cutting-edge AI technology in eKYC implementation such as image data reading and facial recognition to transform traditional customer onboarding processes into fully digitalised and secured ones that massively reduce overheads and time-consuming efforts.

Earlier this month, Shinhan Bank Vietnam officially launched the online eKYC service on its SOL Mobile Banking platform with various outstanding features that enable customers to save time and simplify conventional bank account opening procedures.

This is a significant step for Shinhan Bank on its digital transformation journey to bring optimal convenience and enhance user experiences.

A representative of Shinhan Bank Vietnam said, With the launch of eKYC on our SOL Mobile Banking platform, we are moving forward in our digital transformation journey to become a fully digitalised bank and enhance the application of advanced technologies to our existing products and services to better serve customers and support them to complete their financial plans effectively.

Meeting demand

Identity verifications can now be carried out thanks to the support of AI, such as face-matching technologies to identify if a customers face is matching their photo on identity documents. Additionally, instant personal information checks and video calls allow bank appraisers to have real interactions with customers, which give greater reliability against traditional facial verification processes.

Customers can now also open an online account and register for e-banking services without going to a branch while ensuring security standards. Such an eKYC system helps corporate customers to automate processes, shorten the verification time, and simplify admission processes, thereby saving costs and bringing satisfaction to customers.

Some major lenders have long prepared for the approval and adoption of eKYC services, including LienVietPostBank, Military Bank, BIDV, Viet Capital Bank, OCB, and MSB.

Nguyen Hung, CEO of TPBank, said that his bank reported nearly 30,000 new registrations since the inception of its eKYC services, equivalent to 85 per cent of its traditional counterpart.

This shows that these technologies have met customers demands for convenience, speed, and safety. More importantly, it demonstrates the new accessibility of our banking services, which could help our bank achieve greater operational efficiency and scalability, increase financial access to remote communities, and enhance convenience without expanding the branch network, Hung told VIR.

On the other hand, eKYC services have been applied to support fintech and other digitally-led banks to offer a continuous multi-channel experience for customers.

OCTO  a digital bank application developed by the Malaysian CIMB Bank, a leading banking group in ASEAN with 13 million customers across 15 countries, has launched eKYC services for customers to open a bank account and apply for a Visa debit card within minutes.

SmartPay has become one of the first e-wallets in Vietnam applying eKYC functionalities for customers registering with the least amount of paperwork and in a short period of time. The fintech solution has joined forces with other lenders, including VPBank, Viet Capital Bank, and CIMB.

TNEX  the digital-only bank of Vietnamese lender MSB enlisted eKYC services as a significant element to bolster its identity verifications without in-person meetings since its very first day of operation.

Following suit

In January, be Group, the developer of the be ride-hailing app, and VPBank officially introduced Cake digital bank, a new solution for e-banking. One of the most notable features on Cake is the eKYC system which helps customers settle contracts digitally with just their digital signatures. An account can be opened in just two minutes without having to visit a teller.

Both local and foreign consumer finance firms also implement eKYC services to strengthen their synergies and lift the unsecured loan market to a next level.

FE Credit, the consumer finance subsidiary of VPBank, has been paying special attention to digital applications on both front-end and back-end services. These efforts have been put in place in a bid to optimise costs and reduce face-to-face interactions during times of social distancing.

Furthermore, the application of eKYC services has been implemented in accordance with loan approval processes, applying conversational AI to customer services. All of these efforts are meant to reach customers more quickly and effectively across all sales processes, loan processing, and other customer-related services, said an FE Credit representative.

Other major finance companies also follow suit, such as Home Credit, Lotte Finance, Mirae Asset Finance, and Shinhan Finance.

At Home Credit, we are taking adequate measures to maintain social distancing. We are closely watching the business environment for improved financial solutions. As part of the same initiative, our company has introduced online KYC services for Home Credit Loan, said a company representative.

Meanwhile, Mirae Asset Finance aims to optimise processes through the deployment of AI and big data applied on its My Finance app. The company also applies e-contracts and e-signing solutions, so that customers can complete online procedures to shorten their processing time. Hence, instead of applying traditional consumer loan procedures that take three to five days, borrowing through My Finance in the future is expected to take only 60 minutes to receive cash immediately.

The deployment of eKYC services is likely to create huge benefits for cashless transactions, increase the user experience, and help banks to reduce paperwork and storage space. Moreover, recent regulations also removed obstacles for traditional banks in the competition with fintech companies, such as MoMo, Grab Moca, or Zalo Pay, noted Phung Anh Tuan, managing partner at VCI Legal Vietnam.

Tanaiste Leo Varadkar requested a hard copy of the pay agreement beween the State and the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) to be waiting for him as he stepped off the government jet after a trip to Brussels in April 2019.

That request came on April 10, 2019, the same day Mr Varadkar asked Dr Maitiu O Tuathail for his home address, according to new documents.

Mr Varadkar leaked a copy of the agreement between the State and the IMO to Dr O Tuathail, then head of a rival GP lobby group.

The matter is currently under investigation by the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation to determine whether this constituted a breach of the Official Secrets Act or corruption legislation.

Mr Varadkar denies any wrongdoing and has repeatedly said he does not believe criminal charges would arise from the Garda investigation when he was asked if he would step aside should that happen.

New documents, released to Sinn Feins Pearse Doherty under the Freedom of Information Act and supplied to the Irish Examiner, show Mr Varadkar also sought clarity as to when the document would be published, thereby confirming it was a private document.

The documents show that at 8am on April 10, Mr Varadkar emailed an official by saying: Do you have a copy of this [the contract]? SH [Simon Harris] gave it to me but I put it into the recycling bin having read it. Want to look at it again.

His official said it could be left on his desk. The then-Taoiseach said: Get it sent out to me in Baldonnel this morning or tonight.

Later that day, the official replied by saying: The agreement will be in the car when you arrive in Baldonnel this evening.

The official said that the Department of Health said some of the language was still being finalised with the IMO.

Mr Varadkar concluded the exchange by asking: Wondering when they are going to publish it and release it to members.

Commenting, Mr Doherty said it is bizarre that the Fine Gael leader had this document sent to him as he stepped off the government jet in Baldonnel.

This shows the extreme lengths that he went to in order to leak a confidential document to his friend. Leo Varadkar told the Dail that he sought this document for his personal use, but these revelations show that he was making arrangements to leak it before he even had it in his possession, he told the Irish Examiner.

A spokesman for Mr Varadkar said there is nothing new in the revelations, saying they are consistent with what he said previously in the Dail.

The emails, as released in the FOI documents, back up his statements on the matter, he said.
The company has been actively engaging with the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission in pre-vetting several documents that must be submitted to comply with its newly implemented rules.

BNL recently presented by video conference to key decision makers within the COGCC

( ) ( ) is very confident of being granted an enterprise drilling permit for a planned drilling program at targeted helium prospects in Las Animas County, Colorado.

The company has been actively engaging with the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) in pre-vetting several documents that must be submitted to comply with the COGCCs newly implemented rules.

Blue Star recently presented by video conference to key decision-makers within the COGCC in connection with its broader drilling program in Las Animas County.

The company's board of directors believes Blue Stars plans were favourably received and the COGCC raised no specific issues.

Submit first permit application in coming weeks

Blue Star managing director Joanne Kendrick said: I am pleased to advise the company has had numerous positive discussions with the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) and I am very confident the enterprise drilling permit will be granted in accordance with the COGCCs newly implemented rules.

It is anticipated the company will submit its first permit application at Enterprise in the coming few weeks."

Constructive discussions with COGCC

She said: Blue Star is also preparing drilling permit applications for Galactica and Pegasus.

I believe these and other future applications will benefit from the current constructive discussions with the COGCC due to their similarities in objective, location and design of the wells.

Galactica and Pegasus

The company recently announced prospective resources over Galactica and Pegasus, which were supported by historic well data showing interpreted gas columns associated with each prospect.

No flow test or gas samples were taken from these historic wells and therefore, helium content is undetermined.

A third historical well, the Government Cynthia True #1 on the same greater structural high as Galactica and Pegasus, was tested at a helium concentration of 8.8%.

The company is preparing permit applications over these prospects and will provide further updates to the market in due course.
Paris, France (PANA) - As the living tissue of the earth, biodiversity is intimately linked to human health the head of the UNs scientific agency told a global forum on Wednesday, noting that we are part of that living tissue
Ongwediva  The Oshakati Town Council has appointed Timoteus Namwandi as its CEO for the next five years, New Era understands.

The town council and its management committee have, however, elected not to speak on the appointment, saying an official briefing would be made in due course.

But New Era is reliably informed that Namwandi was given the nod.

Approached for comment, Namwandi said he was not aware of the appointment and referred all queries to Oshakati Town Council.

The position became vacant following the resignation of its former CEO Werner Iita who at the insistence of the Electoral Act resigned to contest for a parliamentary position during the 2019 elections.

The acting CEO Kornelius Kapolo confirmed that a new CEO has been appointed and is expected to commence duty on 1 May 2021.

Kapolo's temporary arrangement as CEO ends on the last day of April.

Kapolo refused to mention the name of the successful applicant.

"The mayor would be in a better position to comment on the issue," said Kapolo.

The mayor was not reachable at the time of going to print.

Interviews for the position of the CEO were done last year in August and its former CEO Iita also contested for the position.
You are here: World

 Flash

Six people were killed and three others injured when a passenger van collided with a truck in Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province on Wednesday, paramilitary troops in the province of Levies said.

The accident happened in Mastung area of the province when the van carrying about a dozen passengers hit into the truck coming from the opposite direction, a Levies official told media.

The deceased including two women, were members of the same family, whereas the injured were also their close relatives, the reports said.

The injured people were shifted to a nearby hospital where one of them is in critical condition.

Road accidents are frequent in Balochistan mainly due to poorly maintained vehicles and roads.
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.
Batavia, NY (14020)

Today

Mostly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 60F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 60F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph.
There was cohesion on the type of customer-focused solutions we provide. With the exceptional software provided by Phlexglobal, this partnership will allow us to assist our clients in their full life-cycle of regulatory needs. Sara Sorrentino Senior Vice President, Client Services Treximo

Phlexglobal announced today that Treximo, a leading life sciences consulting company and part of The Planet Group, has selected Phlexglobal and its innovative regulatory SaaS software, PhlexSubmission, as the key technology to meet growing customer needs for regulatory submissions. Treximo conducted a comprehensive review of five regulatory software companies, with the review team including some of the most well-known and well-respected industry, academic, and regulatory professionals in the world from The Planet Groups life sciences consulting companies.

PhlexSubmission is an easy-to-use cloud-based publishing engine for electronic submissions such as eCTD, NeeS, and VNeeS, supporting all submission types and regions. Thanks to its innovative automation capabilities, the software will enhance Treximos ability to provide its customers with fast, high-quality regulatory submissions from IND to NDA/MAA.

In addition, Treximo pointed to a different yet equally compelling reason Phlexglobal stood out from other providers.

There was a level of cohesion between our companies and alignment on the type of customer-focused solutions we provide, said Sara Sorrentino, Senior Vice President, Client Services at Treximo. In tandem with the exceptional software provided by Phlexglobal, we knew this partnership would allow us to assist our clients in their full life-cycle of regulatory needs.

Treximos review team determined that the PhlexSubmission software was the best fit to enhance the speed and quality of its customers regulatory submissions across drug, biologic, biosimilar, and medical device products. The expert review team was also impressed with Phlexglobals innovative application of technologies such as machine learning to enhance the speed and accuracy of the submissions process  freeing up Treximo and customer resources.

It also became clear that with Phlexglobal, Treximo could best support its goal of providing complete, responsive, and high-quality regulatory services to its customers, while effectively managing rapid growth.

Were honored that such an exceptional, customer-driven organization as Treximo recognized our shared values and passion to help our industry bring new therapies to market, said John McNeill, Chief Executive Officer of Phlexglobal. We look forward to supporting Treximo and its customers in this important, life-improving mission.

About Phlexglobal

Phlexglobal is the leading technology and services organization for clinical and regulatory matters with a focus on helping clients to master their digital agenda via proven AI solutions. Phlexglobal combines software and leading expert services to offer a unique solutions portfolio with easy to achieve automation via data generation that lifts organizations to a new level of effectiveness.

PhlexTMF is the companys Trial Master File software. Regulatory solutions including PhlexSubmission for eCTD and CTD, PhlexIDMP, PhlexEVMPD, and PhlexRIM are considered highly innovative in the industry for out-of-the-box best practices capabilities, automation technology, and user-focused design. PhlexNeuron, a machine learning platform that reads documents and converts unstructured content into structured data, achieves automation of regulatory and clinical processes and completes the end-to-end solutions offering from Phlexglobal. To learn more about Phlexglobal, please

About Treximo

Treximo, part of The Planet Group, is a global consulting and solutions partner to industry-leading Biotech, Pharmaceutical, Technology, Healthcare, and Medical Device and Diagnostic companies. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Treximo offers the power of a global company with the agility of a boutique consulting firm. Learn more at treximo.com.
Health official proud of residents turning out for vaccine shots

local
The seven candidtates in the March 2021 election : Denis Sassou NGuesso, Joseph Kignoumbi Kia-Mboungou, Anguios-Nganguia Engambe, Mathias Dzon, Guy-Brice Parfait Kolelas, Albert Oniangue, Dave Uphrem Mafoula

Supporters of two candidates in Congo Republic's presidential election say that last Sunday's poll, which handed victory to incumbent Denis Sassou Nguesso, was marred by vote-rigging and that the courts should annul the result.

Provisional results on Tuesday showed that Nguesso was re-elected with more than 88 percent of Sunday's vote, extending his 36-year rule in the Central African country.

Mathias Dzon, who came third with 1.9 percent of the vote, said he will file an appeal with the constitutional court on Thursday asking that the election be annulled because of vote rigging.

The party of candidate Guy Brice Parfait Kolelas, who died hours after the polls closed, is alleging fraud based on vote tally sheets showing more votes for the president than voters at three polling stations, and 100 percent of votes at another.

At a news conference, Dzon described the election as "a disastrous vote, rigged and marred by countless irregularities".

"I laughed heartily, because for me it was a bad-taste joke," Dzon said, referring to the provisional results.

He questioned the validity of the results, published just 48 hours after polling stations closed.

"It's not in one day that you can compile results from all over Congo," he said.

Jean-Jacques Yhombi-Opango, Kolelas' main ally and who arrived in second place with 7.84 percent of the vote, expressed similar doubts.

"I would like to know what kind of equipment they used," he told RFI. "They say we don't have biometric equipment so I'm rather surprised it was done so quickly, it's not normal."

Denis Sassou Nguesso sweeps to victory in Congo's presidential elections

The opposition contests, in particular, votes from the forest regions in the north, more than 900 kilometres from the capital Brazzaville. But a spokesperson for Nguesso's campaign rejected the accusations saying the opposition should have been better organised.

"The State has channels for transmitting information. If [the opposition] was better organised they could have them too," said Anatole Collinet Makosso. "The State must not subordinate the way it operates to the dexterity, diligence or non-diligence of individuals. It's not possible."

Article 70

The opposition also contests article 70 of the Congolese constitution which allows for a vote to be postponed in the event of death or impediment of a candidate ahead of the first round.

Kolelas was hospitalised for Covid-19 on Saturday 20 March, on the eve of the presidential election. He died on polling day itself, as he was being evacuated to France for treatment.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Congo-Brazzaville Governance Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Congo's main opposition candidate dies on the day of voting in presidential polls

Dzon alleges that the government concealed the severity of Kolelas's illness before the vote to avoid the polls being postponed, as required under article 70.

Such an argument has been ruled out by the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI). On Monday, its president Henri Bouka declared that the poll was valid because Kolelas died after the vote was held.

Education minister Makosso was confident, saying it was up to the constitutional jury to decide.

Human rights campaigner Joe Washington Ebina remained deeply sceptical. "There are so many social problems in Congo-Brazzaville that it's impossible for the president to be elected with 88 percent of the vote," he told RFI. "The figures don't correspond to what Congolese people are living through, it's unreal. But we are not fooled."

Civil society groups along with Congo's influential Catholic Church have also expressed "serious reservations" about the transparency of the polls given the internet was shut down on election day.
New Delhi, March 26 : The Supreme Court on Thursday said sustainable development must remain at the heart of any development policy implemented by the state, as it is essential to strike balance between environmental protection and development.

A bench, headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde and comprising Justices A.S. Bopanna and V. Ramasubramanian, set up a seven-member committee to develop a set of scientific and policy guidelines to govern decision-making with respect to cutting of trees for developmental projects. The committee is headed by wildlife expert and former chairman of the Wildlife Trust of India, M.K. Ranjitsinh Jhala.

The top court said it is imperative to make a realistic assessment of the economic value of a tree, which may be permitted to be felled, with reference to its value to environment and its longevity, with regard to factors such as production of oxygen and carbon sequestration, soil conservation, and protection of flora/fauna. Also, its role, in habitat and ecosystem integrity and any other ecologically relevant factor, distinct from timber/wood, must be gauged.

The bench said this issue assumes significance from the perspective of climate change as a growing national and international concern. "The right to clean and healthy environment has been recognised as the fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution... Article 48-A imposes duty upon the state to endeavour to protect and improve the environment and safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country," it noted.

The bench said India is also a party to international treaties, agreements and conferences and has committed itself to sustainable development and growth. "This legal framework indicates that sustainable development must remain at the heart of any development policy implemented by the state," it observed.

The bench further added that conservation and development need not be viewed as binaries, but as complementary strategies that weave into one another. "In other words, conservation of nature must be viewed as part of development and not as a factor stultifying development," it noted.

The bench said under the Paris Agreement, India has committed itself to Nationally Determined Contributions in 2015, wherein one of the stated objectives is to create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030.

The top court said that the committee's guidelines may specify the species of trees in categories based upon their environmental values, considering the age and girth of the trees etc. "The guidelines shall prescribe a mechanism for assessment of both intrinsic and instrumental value of the trees, based not only on the value of timber, but also the ecosystem services rendered by the trees and its special relevance, if any, to the habitat of other living organisms, soil, flowing and underground water," added the bench, asking the committee to submit its recommendations within four weeks of its first meeting.

The court's decision came on a petition against the West Bengal government's decision to fell hundreds of heritage trees, to construct Road Over Bridges (ROBs).
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.
POLICY

Industry groups call for TMF reforms following funding boost

NOTE: This article first appeared on FCW.com.

Ten technology industry groups are urging the federal government to change how it manages a revolving fund slated to receive $1 billion in American Rescue Plan Act funding.

The Technology Modernization Fund was created by the Modernizing Government Technology Act in 2017 and launched with $100 million. The Biden administration initially floated a coronavirus relief bill that would have appropriated $9 billion to TMF. While that plan did not come to fruition, the $1 billion the fund will receive is still a major boost from the $25 million annual additions it has received since its inception.

Industry and former government officials have cheered on the increased funding, but that excitement has also come with anxiety about whether the processes put in place to manage a relatively small amount of money will scale up.

"If you're getting a 40-times plus up in the amount of money that's going into the fund and that money is coming as part of arelief and recovery package then you're going have to make substantial changes to the operating model -- use the repayment flexibilities and increase the staffing both on the front end and on the project delivery," said Matthew Cornelius, executive director for the Alliance for Digital Innovation, one of the signatories of a March 24 letter seeking changes to the way the TMF is managed to support the new influx of cash.

Other organizations that signed the letter include The Alliance for Commercial Technology in Government, Better Identity Coalition, Center for Procurement Advocacy, CompTIA, Cybersecurity Coalition, Digital Services Coalition, Information Technology Industry Council, the Internet Association and the Software and Information Industry Association.

The letter also raises questions about whether the submission process and "restrictive repayment requirements" will discourage agencies from submitting projects.

"If these onerous processes, which were well-intentioned when the TMF was created remain in place, we fear agencies will remain reluctant to fully leverage the TMF to address critical immediate needs as Congress intended," the letter states.

TMF requires federal agencies to repay the funding they receive within a five-year period, but the law allows the director of the Office of Management and Budget to alter that timeline if necessary.

"I understand why at the beginning there was focus on documenting savings and paying it back," Jeremy Grant, executive director of the Better Identity Coalition, told FCW. "The reality is when you put that in place it puts real limitations on how you can move on a project where the benefits are harder to quantify,"

The letter calls on the General Services Administration increases the number of staff working to consider proposals and assist funding recipients with staff to help execute the projects they request.

"It is not enough to have a qualified team that simply accepts and analyzes projects before they are provided to the board for approval," the letter states. "It would be wise to make available to any award recipients, at their discretion, any technical, security, program management, or acquisition professionals that can help improve the likelihood of successful execution all the way through the lifecycle of a TMF investment."

Cornelius added TMF's pipeline for new projects appears to have slowed down more quickly than anticipated -- the program's website says 11 projects have been approved as of March 12 -- and he anticipated agencies may be more apt to submit larger and more complex proposals given the influx of new funding.

Grant also hopes to see TMF make larger awards to projects with more scale and reach than has previously been the case under the program.

"The size of the awards was dictated by how large the TMF was," Grant said. "I think this new funding gives you room to do things that are a little bit bigger and more ambitious and frankly more significant approaches in terms of the difference they can make in government."
Daisy Lowe displayed her edgy sense of style in a pair of skintight leopard print leggings as she headed out for a coffee run in north London on Thursday.

The model, 32, enjoyed a casual outing with her pet dog Monty in an oversized white shirt and black vest along with her form-fitting trousers.

Carrying a tray of drinks in hand, Daisy pulled along her pet pooch on his teal-coloured lead as she headed home.

Stylish: Daisy Lowe displayed her edgy sense of style in a pair of skintight leopard print leggings as she headed out for a coffee run in north London on Thursday

Daisy displayed her rocker chic-inspired look which she finished with her beloved leather jacket and chunky black boots, with her essentials in a chain-strapped bag.

The brunette beauty pulled her glossy tresses into a high bun as she took her beloved dog for a walk.

Daisy is rarely spotted without Monty and frequently takes him for walks close to her London home.

Funky: The model enjoyed a casual outing with her pet dog Monty in an oversized white shirt and black vest along with her form-fitting trousers

Last month, Daisy celebrated her birthday with boyfriend Jordan Saul in London.

Taking to Instagram while at home, Daisy pictured herself posing beneath a pink balloon arch with the accompanying caption: 'So as far as lockdown birthdays go... I feel exceptionally lucky & very loved.

'Thank you my dearest @jordanjaysaul for getting everything organised, this incredible balloon arch @bubblegumballoons my angels @moveyourframe & @charlesames_ for the ultimate virtual dance party & to all my warm, thoughtful and kind family and friends.

Special day: In February, Daisy pictured herself posing beneath a pink balloon arch as she celebrated her 32nd birthday at home

Grateful: She penned on Instagram: 'So as far as lockdown birthdays go... I feel exceptionally lucky & very loved' after praising her boyfriend Jordan Saul for the surprise

'God I miss you all & I can't wait to celebrate life with you all as soon as this madness is over xoxox.'

Daisy and boyfriend Jordan's romance was first revealed when they were spotted putting on a PDA-fest in a north London park in July.

In February, the model shared a loved-up throwback selfie with her boyfriend as she took part in an Instagram challenge after a fan asked for a photo of 'you and your partner'.

An avid traveller, estate agent Jordan documents his various international adventures on social media, including regular stops in South Africa and plenty of ski trips.

A source previously told The Sun: 'They're enjoying spending time together while they have time off.

'She's not in any rush to put a label on anything, they're just taking things easy.'
Nigerian Navy has what it takes to secure the Gulf of Guinea, a French official says.

The French government on Wednesday expressed willingness to offer the Nigerian Navy its full cooperation, to tackle piracy and other forms of insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea.

France Defence Attache to Nigeria, Nicolas Rambaud, made this known when he met with officials of the Nigerian Navy Hydrographic School (NNHS) in Port Harcourt.

Mr Rambaud, a colonel, said the Nigerian Navy ,being the dominant navy in the Gulf of Guinea, had what it takes to secure the region's waters, with support from France.

"France has a very big interest in good bilateral cooperation between our two great nations.

"Going by the fact that both countries have navies, then it is logical that we have a lot to do in common to improve the security in the Gulf of Guinea.

"Nigerian Navy is doing a lot, and we are convinced that thanks to our friendship that we can improve security in the region.

"So, the French Government will welcome more robust bilateral cooperation between both countries," he said.

Mr Rambaud commended the Nigerian Navy for having acquired about 17 warships from French companies in the last few years.

He said the country would in the coming weeks take delivery of a state-of-the-art hydrographic research and survey vessel from France.

"The ship, Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Lana, is a high-tech modern hydrographic vessel and will depart French shores on April 16 to Nigeria, according to plan.

"The NNS Lana on arrival would enable the Nigerian Navy to better chart its waters for greater security.

"So, the reason for our visit to NNHS is to anticipate the ship's arrival; discuss our bilateral cooperation and understand better the direction the Nigerian Navy desires assistance from the French Government," he added.

Speaking, the Commanding Officer of NNHS, Mahmud Fana, said NNHS was the only naval hydrographic school of its kind in the entire West African Sub-region.

Mr Fana, a captain, sought France assistance in the establishment of a mini weather observatory station, to boost training of personnel in the school.

"We also demanded among others the French Government assist us to commence a French (language) training programme in the school by Alliance Francaise.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Legal Affairs Arms and Armies By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"We also discussed the possibility of assisting the NNHS with a small survey launcher boat, which will greatly enhance the practical aspect of our hydrographic training.

"Fourthly, we requested for capacity development especially in the areas of Oceanography and Cartonography.

"We also appealed for training on maritime safety information - which we have already started with the French Naval Hydrographic and Oceanography Service (Shom) in France," Mr Fana said.

The commanding officer said the France attache assured him of the French government's willingness to look into the navy's requests.

According to him, the requests when granted would greatly enhance the Nigerian Navy capacity to produce charts for the nation's maritime environment.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that NNHS was established in 1983 to train naval forces in charting the nation's territorial waters.
Astronomy and photography fans are getting a final reminder to enter the Reach for the Stars competition, organised by the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS).

The competition, seeking the best astro-photographs taken in Ireland over the period 1st January 2020 to 31st March 2021, will close for entries on 2nd April 2021.

Commenting todayon the entries received to date, Professor Peter Gallagher, Head of DIAS Astrophysics, said: The standard of entries to date has been excellent. It is fantastic to see so many people in Ireland interested in astronomy and capturing beautiful images of the night sky.

There are a number of exciting opportunities for people to capture quality images in the coming weeks, before the closing date  Mars is still visible in the evening sky, while Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn occupy the morning sky. There will also be a Supermoon on 28th March  the fourth brightest of the 12 full moons occurring this year.

I would encourage people to get out with their cameras or phones over the next few weeks. Whether you are an amateur or a professional, anyone with an interest in astronomy can enter. Our only stipulations are that entrants must be over 18; they must have taken their photograph on the island of Ireland during the time period specified; and  obviously  their photograph must depict something of astronomical interest.

Prize Package

Entries to the Reach for the Stars competition will be judged by Professor Gallagher, along with Brenda Fitzsimons, Picture Editor of The Irish Times; John Flannery, Vice-President of the Irish Astronomical Society; and Martina Quinn, Managing Director of Alice PR & Events.

Entrants may submit up to three images to the competition, and the deadline for entries is 5pm on Friday, 2nd April 2021.

The winning entrant will receive a prize package that includes:

Publication of their images on the DIAS and Irish Times websites;

A VIP tour of DIAS Dunsink Observatory  with the opportunity to peer through Irelands largest refractor telescope.

A 500 voucher for photographic / telescopic equipment; and

A 12-month Premium Digital subscription to The Irish Times.



DIAS also intends to stage an exhibition of the winning and highly commended images, if circumstances allow.

Commenting on the competition, Dr Eucharia Meehan, CEO and Registrar of DIAS said: We are running the Reach for the Stars competition as part of the DIAS80 programme of events, marking 80 years since DIAS was established, and we are delighted with the response to the competition to date. There have been some really impressive entries, depicting a huge variety of astronomical scenes  from images of the moon and the night sky to nebulae, aurora borealis and sunsets.

This competition is building on DIASs legacy as a leader in space research. DIAS Dunsink Observatory is one of Irelands most important scientific sites and has been recognised by the European Physical Society as a site of historical significance. We are delighted to be including a VIP visit to the observatory as part of the competition prize package, so that we can share some of the behind the scenes with astronomy fans.

DIASs Reach for the Stars competition is being run in partnership with The Irish Times, and is sponsored by Alice PR & Events. The Irish Astronomical Society are initiative supporters.

Further information, including the competition guidelines and entry form, is available at https://dias.ie/ reachforthestars.
Find out what you need to know about IELTS, the immigration process to Canada and its related English test requirements.

Planning on living in Canada? Heres what you need to know about IELTS

Planning on living in Canada? Heres what you need to know about IELTS Find out what you need to know about IELTS, the immigration process to Canada and its related English test requirements.

Planning on living in Canada? Heres what you need to know about IELTS Find out what you need to know about IELTS, the immigration process to Canada and its related English test requirements.

Planning on living in Canada? Heres what you need to know about IELTS Find out what you need to know about IELTS, the immigration process to Canada and its related English test requirements. IELTS Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif

Sans Font Size A

A

Given Canada is one of the worlds most welcoming countries1, it is no surprise it is a popular destination for people looking to progress their global work and study goals.

If you are planning on living in Canada, here is what you need to know about the immigration process and its related English test requirements.

Moving to Canada as an immigrant or student

There are a range of ways to immigrate to Canada as a skilled worker. Most of Canadas skilled worker programs require you to demonstrate your proficiency in English or French.

IELTS General Training is on the list of English Language tests approved by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Canada (IRCC). It assesses your English language proficiency across four skills: listening, reading, writing and speaking.

In addition, IELTS Academic is widely accepted by colleges, universities and several Designated Learning Institutes (DLI) across Canada.

What IELTS should I take?

You can take IELTS General Training and IELTS Academic on paper or on computer. Both options take place in official IELTS centres, located in more than 140 countries around the world.

IELTS General Training is suitable for those applying for skilled worker pathways such as Express Entry, the Provincial Nominee Program, and some studies below degree level. IRCC accepts both IELTS on paper and computer.

IELTS Academic is suitable for those wanting to study at undergraduate or postgraduate level in an English-speaking environment or a DLI (college, university, polytechnic). You can also take IELTS Academic for professional registration purposes.

The test measures whether your level of English language proficient is suitable for an academic setting. It features vocabulary that is familiar within an academic environment.

In fact, IELTS is the only English language test thats accredited by IRCC under Student Direct Stream (SDS). You can read more about both tests here.

Always be sure to visit the relevant government and university and other DLIs websites to confirm which test is required and other entry requirements.

Ask IELTS your questions on the CanadaVisa Forum

Whats the best way to prepare?

Its important you prepare for IELTS before you take it. Get to know the test format, question types and how IELTS examiners assess your test.

The good news is we have various resources to help improve your skills and avoid common test day mistakes. You can access these materials here.

Please take advantage of these free materials and join IELTS social media communities for added support.

By practicing for your test and getting to know your score for each section, youll have confidence in your English language to help you adapt to your new environment. The band score isnt just a number, the higher the number, the more easily youll be able to keep up with everyday life. Practice really does make perfect.

IELTS was created to indicate the level of a persons understanding of the English language however, its become much more than that. It brings with it the confidence to hold conversations, helping you transition into your new life abroad.

Learn how IELTS can open doors to Canada

Why is IELTS so important, is it just another part of your application?

The short answer is no, IELTS is not only a check box you tick. It measures your level of proficiency in English and, when moving to an English-speaking country, it is important you have confidence to be able to hold conversations, read signs and understand essential information needed to get you around.

You can and should be proud of your IELTS score. It is a trusted demonstration of your ability to communicate in English.

How is IELTS marked?

IELTS is comprised of four different sections: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. You receive a score for each section, and an overall band score. All of these scores are equally important. Each section of the test is designed to see how you will cope in everyday situations. Whether you choose to take an IELTS Academic test for study reasons, or an IELTS General Training test to allow you to live and work in Canada, the score is attributed in the same way.

Understanding how IELTS is marked is a key step in your preparation, please take the time to understand the marking criteria.

You can read more on the IELTS marking criteria here.

Join us on the CanadaVisa Forum!

IELTS is a proud partner of the CanadaVisa Forum. We invite you to engage with us so we can help you achieve your Canadian immigration goal, be it study or immigrate!

Ask IELTS your questions on the CanadaVisa Forum

1 The Top 10 Most Welcoming Countries. https://www.internations.org/guide/global/the-top-10-most-welcoming-countries-39411
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.
Plus, Bill's Message of the Day, say goodbye to law and order Joe.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
President Joe Biden claimed on Wednesday that a 'surge' of migrants at the southern border started during the Trump administration.

Biden also blamed Trump for getting rid of a $700 million foreign aid program that would have prevented the migration surge by strengthening the economies of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, the New York Daily News reported.

The president's comments came as he met with Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandra Mayorkas at the White House to discuss the border situation.

President Joe Biden claimed on Wednesday that a 'surge' of migrants at the southern border started during the Trump administration

Temporary processing facilities in Donna, Texas, safely processes family units and unaccompanied migrant children encountered and in the custody of the U.S. Border Patrol

Asylum seeking migrant families from Central America line up to be transported from a make shift U.S. Customs and Border Protection processing center under the Anzalduas International Bridge after crossing the Rio Grande river into the United States from Mexico on Wednesday

'This new surge we are dealing with now started with the last administration, but it's our responsibility to deal with it humanely and to stop what's happening,' Biden said.

He added: 'There was a serious spike in people heading to the southern border even in the midst of that [the Trump administration]. That was because there were serious natural disasters.'

Biden said his administration will work to recommit to the $700 million program in a bid to curb migration, outlets reported.

U.S. border agents conducted 100,441 apprehensions or expulsions of migrants at the border with Mexico in February - the highest monthly total since a border crisis of 2019, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection said last week.

However, the numbers of both unaccompanied minors and families encountered at the border are lower than they were at various points during the Trump administration.

President Donald Trump faced a massive migration surge at the border in May 2019 when more than 130,000 migrants were apprehended at the border, Fox News reported.

Migration slowed drastically during the coronavirus pandemic, with just 16,182 in April 2020.

News reports on the situation have varied. Reuters called it 'the biggest surge of migrants at its southwestern border in 20 years' while a Washington Post analysis 'found no crisis or surge that can be attributed to Biden administration policies.'

'The current increase in apprehensions fits a predictable pattern of seasonal changes in undocumented immigration combined with a backlog of demand because of 2020's border closure,' Washington Post reported.

Unaccompanied migrant children are pictured at a temporary processing facilities in Donna, Texas

Unaccompanied migrant children are seen getting off a bus at a temporary processing facilities in Donna, Texas

Crews construct a section of border wall in San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge in Douglas, Arizona in December

Biden officials have already claimed that Trump officials did not fully cooperate with his transition team, hindering their ability get a realistic view of potential migration.

They have also claimed that Trump deconstructed the immigration and asylum system - which they then inherited.

One official told CNN that Trump prevented Biden's team from getting 'under the hood in the time frame that other administrations would have been able to.'

'Were we prepared? Yes,' the official said.

'Everyone wants to be like 'crisis, crisis, crisis, crisis' - but it's like, you know what, actually, things are going really well. Yes, we brought in FEMA, but you know what? That was the responsible thing to do.'

Julie Chavez Rodriguez, the director of the White House's office of intergovernmental affairs, told CNN that the Biden administration knew it was inheriting 'an absolute mess.'

'As we were coming into the administration, we knew we were inheriting an absolute mess from the previous administration,' she said.

'There were aspects of our legal immigration system that had been gutted and a department that lacked the personnel to administer our laws.'

Another administration official said: 'When we came into office, like, it was a disaster. I mean, really. The staffing wasn't in place, the structures weren't in place.'

Republicans have argued that the border crisis is Biden's own doing after the president issued sweeping executive actions in his first week in office that undid Trump's immigration policies.

The Democrat controlled Congress has also worked to pass legislation to address immigration.

'The gulf between what the Trump administration did in enforced cruelty and where the Biden administration wanted to be was so great that I don't really think there was a clearer example that needed to be made in how the government and the administration was going to change,' one senior administration official said.

The official added: 'The previous administration had so radically changed what we did on migration that, I think, the President felt very strongly that we had to act really quickly and really decisively to demonstrate that it wasn't going to be the same.'

The Biden administration has in recent weeks moved to open more than 10,000 new beds across the Southwest in convention centers and former oilfield camps.

It notified Congress on Wednesday that it will open a new 3,000-person facility in San Antonio and a 1,400-person site at the San Diego convention center.

HHS is also opening a second site in Carrizo Springs and received approval from the Defense Department Wednesday to begin housing teenagers at military bases in San Antonio and El Paso, Texas.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has listed the eight countries which require that it gives a mandatory visa clearance to those intending to travel to their land.

The countries are: Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Brazil, Pakistan, Philipines and Russia.

The NDLEA disclosed the name of the countries to debunk claims that it was introducing a levy on travelers, insisting that the requirement from the eight countries was not new as it had been in existence for 24 years.

A statement on Wednesday by Director, Media & Advocacy, NDLEA, Femi Babafemi said: "The attention of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has been drawn to some misinformation and misconceptions about a 24-year-old visa clearance policy, which requires Nigerians travelling to some countries to meet certain requirements before getting clearance from the NDLEA.

"The anti-drug law enforcement agency wishes to state as follows: that the policy was not newly created to impose levies on Nigerians travelling abroad but has been in existence for over 24 years."

He added that: "The policy does not apply to all Nigerians seeking to travel overseas but only those travelling to eight countries, usually referred to as 'source countries'. The countries include: Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Brazil, Pakistan, Philipines and Russia."

He said the policy was at the behest of the 'source countries', and not that of the NDLEA or Nigeria, and was designed as part of global efforts to fight the menace of drug trafficking.

He noted that the requirements for the visa clearance being mischiveously circulated on social media are just a part of a three-page document, which provides other detailed information on the policy.

He said: "Nigerians can rest assured that NDLEA remains committed to its core goal of ridding Nigeria of illicit drugs and will not deviate from its constitutionally assigned duties."
Architect-turned-sculptor Tim Prentices work is moving into the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield on March 29 for a year-long stint in a two-part exhibition of his kinetic sculptures titled Tim Prentice: After the Mobile.

Fascinated all his life by wind and air currents, Prentice (born in 1930) was a navigator in the U.S. Navy, and also sailed for recreation up and down the Eastern seaboard. This understanding of how wind operates helps him create striking, wind-driven sculptures that are delicately balanced yet intriguingly complex. Each piece is unique and modifies its actual or implied movement, depending on where it is sited. They rotate, shimmer and vibrate right in front of your eyes.

If you made a certain piece and put in such-and-such space, there would be air currents in that space that would establish the final look of the piece, but you could take that same piece and put it in another space and it would behave differently, because the air is different and the air is the boss, Prentice said.

The first part of the exhibition runs inside the museum from March 29 through Oct. 4 and will segue into an outdoor installation from Sept. 19 through April 24, 2022 in the sculpture galleries. In total, there will be 20 indoor works, five outdoor works, and a video portrait of the artist. For Prentice, who lives in West Cornwall, its his first solo museum exhibition since 1999.

The title of the exhibition pays homage to Alexander Calders famous mobiles, which was just one genre among an amazing body of work that also included two-dimensional art and jewelry. While Calders work used the term mobile, the term kinetic sculpture from it, remaining a relatively small field in fine art. Still, kinetic sculpture practitioners like Prentice, George Rickey, Naum Gabo and Victor Vaserly have carved out artistic paths for themselves.

Describing how he turned from a successful career as an architect in New York City to sculpting, Prentice said he admired Calder and others but knew he had something unique to say. I felt in spite of how imaginative and fulfilling their careers were, I suspected that there was still turf out there I could claim so I set out to look for it, he said.

Prentice was intrigued by Calders work in particular because he not only designed art objects but made them with his own hands, whereas as an architect, he spent his days drawing things for others to build. It was also that male midlife crisis ... This thing of kinetic sculpture got the better of me, and I wanted to get my mitts onto something, he said. Thats the challenge for most artists, I guess, to be inspired by some giant, and then spend the rest of your life trying to get out from under his shadow.

Walking into the museum, visitors will immediately be struck by one of Prentices most impressive stainless steel and aluminum pieces, The Vine, which commands the space at roughly 10 feet tall and 7 feet wide. Like his other pieces  typically made of bent, articulated wire and metal or plastic planes  it is highly sensitive to moving air. The work seems to be very fragile but is actually hardy, giving itself over to the air currents yet recovering to its original form. In this process, it reveals the pulsing and dynamic patterns of moving air.

The basic idea is that wind is the ultimate artist and we just make something that allows the wind to be visible, Prentice said, likening his artworks to toys for the wind to play with.

Another of Prentices pieces on view consists of two large circles, each about 7 feet in diameter, with one placed mid-air above the other. Made of reflective elements, the two spheres will wobble and move with the air to change shapes into ellipses or ovals while retaining their original form.

Because there are two of them, the work is not only changing its shape in terms of an absolute circle, but in terms of how each of them behaves in that space, which wont be the same thing, because one is about three feet over the other and its actually different air conditions, Prentice said.

Interestingly, Prentice sculpts objects, but said he focuses more on the movement than the actual object. And like art in general, what one sees is up to the viewer.

Asked what he hopes audiences take away from the exhibition, Prentice chuckled at the question.

It might be a smart-alecky thing to say, but Id like five people to have six different interpretations, he said.

For more information, visit thealdrich.org.

Andrea Valluzzo is a freelance writer.
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.
Mumbai, March 25 : Actor Anil Kapoor on Thursday penned a heart-warming birthday note for his wife Sunita Kapoor.

The actor took to Instagram and posted a series of pictures of them together.

Captioning the images, Anil wrote: "To the love of my life, @kapoor.sunita From travelling in 3rd class train compartments to local buses to rickshaws to kali peeli taxis; from flying economy to business to first class; from roughing it out in small dingy hotels in villages like Karaikudi down South to staying in a tent in Leh Ladakh. We have done it all with a smile on our faces and love in our hearts." "These are just some of the million reasons I love you. You are the reason behind my smile and you are why our journey together has been so happy and fulfilled. I feel blessed to have you as my soul mate and partner for life, today, everyday and forever. Happy Birthday. Love You Always," he added.

Sunita took to the comment section and replied to Anil's birthday message.

"Love you to eternity and beyond," she wrote.

Anil and Sunita tied the knot in 1984. The two have three children -- actors Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, Harshvardhan Kapoor and filmmaker Rhea Kapoor.
 Flash

A Chinese envoy said on Wednesday that China applauds the formation of the new government in Libya.

"China applauds the formation of the new government in Libya, and hopes it will take over all executive functions as soon as possible to end the longstanding fragmentation and achieve national unity and political stability," China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, Dai Bing, told the Security Council videoconference briefing on the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).

"We hope that under the leadership of the new government, all parties will continue to advance the political process in accordance with the road map and address differences by peaceful means such as dialogue and consultations," said the envoy.

He noted that the international community must create good conditions for this. "UNSMIL should, under the leadership of Mr. (Jan) Kubis (Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Libya, and Head of UNSMIL), strengthen coordination and cooperation with all parties and international and regional organizations in providing targeted assistance to the political transition in Libya, especially with regards to the general elections."

Noting that the political process has continued to make progress, the people have ushered in a new dawn, and the country's development has entered a new stage, the Chinee envoy stressed that "we sincerely hope that all parties in Libya will put the interests of the country and people first, maintain the current momentum and continue to redouble their efforts and work together towards lasting peace and development."

In the meantime, Dai underscored the importance to restore economic development in the country at an early date.

"Libya was one of the more developed African countries. Ten years of turmoil has caused collapse of its economy and hardship for its people. COVID-19 has aggravated humanitarian crisis it faces. Without development, peace cannot be sustained and consolidated," he said.

"At present, Libya has a rare opportunity for its post-war reconstruction, and the people of Libya increasingly long for development and a peaceful life. The Libyan Government should scale up its input in economic and social development and restore public services soon in order to effectively improve people's livelihood," said the envoy.

"China calls on the international community to actively support Libya in fighting the pandemic and help the country achieve development at an early date," noted Dai.

The newly-selected Libyan government of National Unity on March 16 officially took office from the UN-backed Government of National Accord.

The new executive authority was selected recently by the UN-backed Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, which agreed to hold general elections in the country on Dec. 24, 2021.
NEW YORK and LONDON, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite its new obligations for financial intermediaries taking effect in September 2020, the European Commission's updated Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD II) is still very much in the early stages of a full and seamless adoption across European regulated markets, according to a new report by global Fintech leader Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: BR).

Today Broadridge launches its latest industry whitepaper on SRD II. The report extracts learnings from over 350 SRD II client implementations, which should serve as a valuable resource for firms that have yet to implement their SRD II solution, as well as those who met the deadline but continue to refine their processes.

"The implementation of SRD II compliance procedures has created a number of challenges on affected intermediaries, especially those providing voting-related services for the first time," said Demi Derem, General Manager, International Bank Broker-Dealer Communication Solutions at Broadridge. "Having worked with clients based within and outside of Europe, including both retail- and institutional-focused firms, spanning multiple tier-one banks, brokers and wealth managers, this report will serve as a useful reference and navigation guide".

SRD II is a key part of the Capital Markets Union agenda and, as such, it remains a high-profile, mandatory requirement subject to deep scrutiny over the coming years, including a formal review of the directive's effectiveness by the European Commission.

"The risks and penalties are wide-ranging and can be severe for firms, which are yet to be fully compliant," Derem added. "Firms seeking external support should consider their options carefully. They should pay particular attention to companies that can offer the requisite knowledge and experience of navigating the shareholder communications landscape, and can provide the necessary economies of scale, digital data security and complete market coverage".

ABOUT BROADRIDGE

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE: BR), a global Fintech leader with over $4.5 billion in revenues, provides the critical infrastructure that powers investing, corporate governance and communications to enable better financial lives. We deliver technology-driven solutions to banks, broker-dealers, asset and wealth managers and public companies. Broadridge's infrastructure serves as a global communications hub enabling corporate governance by linking thousands of public companies and mutual funds to tens of millions of individual and institutional investors around the world. In addition, Broadridge's technology and operations platforms underpin the daily trading of on average more than U.S. $10 trillion of equities, fixed income and other securities globally. A certified Great Place to Work, Broadridge is a part of the S&P 500 Index, employing over 12,000 associates in 17 countries. For more information about us and what we can do for you, please visit www.broadridge.com

Media contact:

Sophie Hamilton

E: [email protected]

M: +44 (0) 7943 050820

SOURCE Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.broadridge.com


Associated Press

The younger generation of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales are on average about three feet (one meter) shorter than whales were 20 years, drone and aircraft data show in a study in Thursdays journal Current Biology. Entanglements with fishing gear, collisions with ships and climate change moving their food supply north are combining to stress and shrink these large whales, the study says. This isnt about short right whales, its about a physical manifestation of a physiological problem, its the chest pain before the heart attack, said Regina Asmutis-Silvia, executive director of Whale and Dolphin Conservation North America, who wasnt part of the study.
The six-week Nagorno-Karabakh war, fought through the Autumn of 2020, may have been principally of local significance politically, but highlights changes in the viability of the use of force as an instrument of statecraft in a new era of great power competition. Extrapolation from the conflict should not be taken too far, but the democratization of precision strike and the constraints imposed on the use of air power pose serious questions for many European medium powers.

BACKGROUND: Nagorno-Karabakh, internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory, has been occupied by Armenian separatists since the 1990s. Long described as a frozen conflict, there has been persistent if intermittent skirmishing between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces, which has usually favored the Armenians. This arguably led to a false lesson being drawn in Armenia that they remained militarily competitive, since in small-scale engagements  including one in July 2020  Azerbaijans superior military equipment did not deliver a decisive advantage.

Following a summer of planning with assistance from Turkey, Azerbaijan launched a full- scale offensive to retake the occupied territories on September 27, 2020. In the opening days of the conflict, Azerbaijani forces successfully took several small villages overlooking critical ground lines of communication. As Armenian troops mobilized, the front stabilized and the Azerbaijanis began to take heavy losses, with Anti-Tank Guided Weapons inflicting significant attrition on their armor.

At the same time, however, the Azerbaijani side launched an extensive campaign of deep strikes using a combination of Turkish TB-2 UAVs to find targets, which were then attacked with Harpy and Harrop loitering munitions. They also fired a LORA Ballistic Missile at a key bridge connecting Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh. These attacks inflicted a withering attrition on Armenian forces long before they approached the frontline. The attacks hit air defense systems and command posts, armored columns, artillery positions and infantry as they debussed at assembly areas far behind the front.

By the third week of the conflict, these deep strikes were taking a severe toll on the Armenian war effort. Ammunition was beginning to run low at the front, reinforcements were not reaching positions, and the Armenians struggled to mass units in their rear to conduct counterattacks against Azerbaijani breakthroughs. While in the mountainous and forested North the Azerbaijanis continued to make little headway, Azerbaijani forces began to make rapid advances in the South. By November, they had wrapped around the south of Nagorno-Karabakh and were pushing north to threaten the Lachin corridor  the primary ground line of communication between Armenia and the city of Stepanakert. On 8 November, Azerbaijani forces seized Shusha, a strategically placed town that opened up the routes to attack the regional capital.

Having suffered heavy casualties during assaults on complex terrain, with growing Russian unease, and the prospect of mounting international pressure in the wake of the U.S. election to limit harm to civilians who would invariably be shelled if an assault on Stepanakert took place, the Azerbaijani side accepted a negotiated ceasefire guaranteed by Russia and Turkey. Armenia  having lost over 190 main battle tanks and a proportionate number of supporting vehicles  recognized that it could not continue to fight and surrendered large parts of the territory, though Azerbaijan stopped short of a complete reclamation of Nagorno-Karabakh. Russian peacekeepers began to deploy from November 13.

IMPLICATIONS: There are many dangers in trying to extrapolate from this conflict to draw conclusions about the future of great power war. Both sides were mostly armed with older equipment, had limited numbers of professional troops, and had air forces that were too small to be utilized. Nevertheless, there are also some lessons that are worth highlighting.

The first is that the conflict demonstrates how it is possible for states to have a limited war within geographically defined limits without triggering runaway escalation. In the absence of a holistic ideological struggle as during the Cold War most of the points of friction between NATO and Russia, and between China and the U.S., are geographically limited. Russia is actively expanding its options for fighting limited conflicts and China has long theorized about local war under informatized conditions. In the wake of Russias annexation of Crimea, the war in Nagorno-Karabakh suggests that military action is viable, which risks changing actors risk calculus in other frozen conflicts. It is also notable that the attention of the international community was largely distracted and courses of action to shape the outcome were barely considered outside of Russia and Turkey.

The second lesson is that long-range precision strike has become democratized. This had already been evident in Yemen where the Houthis have similarly made use of ballistic missiles and loitering munitions, but in Nagorno-Karabakh Azerbaijan managed to employ these capabilities in an integrated manner to deliver a scale of effect that had operationally significant consequences. The precise techniques used by Azerbaijan would not have worked as decisively against a major power with modern air defense and electronic warfare systems. However, being able to deliver such a scale of effect at such a low cost highlights a vulnerability in many armies and demonstrates that range can now be achieved economically by smaller powers.

Appreciating the depth of vulnerability matters because while many great power armies have effective localized countermeasures for these threats, they do not train and are not equipped to employ these throughout their depth. NATO armies, for example, risk suffering disproportionately in their logistics echelons and face a paradox in that while armored forces remain critical for assaulting defended positions, they also have large signatures that risk being attrited long before they reach the direct fire zone. The conflict therefore highlights necessary reviews of tactical doctrine during the approach.

In many respects, the lesson that transfers most concretely to great power conflict is the extent to which modern UAVs and other sensors enabled antiquated capabilities  including second world war vintage artillery  to be employed with a high level of accuracy in tactical exchanges. Being able to utilize unguided and therefore cheap munitions for disproportionate effect because of pervasive surveillance over the front is an example of a force multiplier that maximizes the utility of legacy systems. For armies seeking to modernize, but who face constrained budgets, understanding which legacy systems can retain relevance through their interaction with new capabilities will be critical to remaining competitive.

Finally, the absence of either side employing their air forces was not because they did not have planes, but rather reflected the limitations of very small numbers of aircraft and their vulnerability to air defense systems leading both sides to conclude that the deliverable effects were not worth the cost. In the context of NATO, where many members can generate similarly small numbers of fast jets of a vintage that are highly vulnerable to modern air defense systems, it is worth asking whether many alliance members would similarly withdraw air contributions from an alliance effort. If they would then it begs the question whether the resources spent on very small numbers of aircraft might be better allocated elsewhere.

CONCLUSIONS: The issue of Nagorno-Karabakh  with Russian (and perhaps Turkish) troops between the two sides  has now frozen once again. It is not fully resolved but the war can be described as an incomplete Azerbaijani victory. After three decades of complex international interventions and counterinsurgency campaigns, the decisive outcome should put the world on notice that in a new era of great power competition, states resorting to the military instrument is once again an all too realistic option.

AUTHOR'S BIO:

Dr. Jack Watling is Research Fellow for Land Warfare at the Royal United Services Institute in London.

Image Source: U.S. Army Europe photo by Spc. Stephen Solomon via Flickr
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.
Maura Dolan, Los Angeles Times (TNS)

SAN FRANCISCO  A divided federal appeals court, upholding a Hawaii gun regulation, decided Wednesday that states may restrict the open carrying of guns in public.

In a 7-4 decision, an en banc panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said restrictions on carrying guns in public except for hunting do not violate the Second Amendments guarantee of the right to bear arms.

The government may regulate, and even prohibit, in public places  including government buildings, churches, schools and markets  the open carrying of small arms capable of being concealed, whether they are carried concealed or openly, Judge Jay Bybee, appointed by President George W. Bush, wrote for the majority.

He said a review of more than 700 years of American and English law showed that government has long had the power to regulate arms in public places.

We have never assumed that individuals have an unfettered right to carry weapons in public spaces, Bybee wrote. Indeed, we can find no general right to carry arms into the public square for self defense.

Bybee was joined by another Bush appointee and five Democratic appointees.

The decision upheld a county law in Hawaii that limited permits for openly carrying guns, other than for hunting, to persons with an urgent need for arms and engaged in the protection of life and property.

It was challenged by a man who sought and was denied a permit for open carry for self-protection. Evidence during the legal proceedings revealed that the countys permits had been limited to security guards.

Wednesdays decision overturned a 2-1 ruling in the same case a year ago by a 9th Circuit panel.

Judge Diarmuid F. OScannlain, writing the lead dissent Wednesday, called the majority decision unprecedented and extreme.

At its core, wrote OScannlain, a Reagan appointee who was joined by other Republican appointees, the Second Amendment protects the ordinary, law-abiding citizens right to carry a handgun openly for purposes of self-defense outside the home. Despite an exhaustive historical account, the majority has unearthed nothing to disturb this conclusion.

Federal appeals courts have been divided over the right to carry guns openly in public, creating a conflict in the law that the U.S. Supreme Court may eventually have to clarify.

A gun control group praised the ruling and noted that the Supreme Court would consider this week whether to review a similar case out of New York.

Todays ruling, joined by respected appellate judges across the ideological spectrum, is the latest reminder that arguments against reasonable, life-saving gun laws rarely hold up in the courtroom, said Eric Tirschwell, managing director for Everytown Law, the litigation arm of Everytown for Gun Safety.

As the court recognized, states and localities have extremely broad power to restrict the carrying of firearms in public spaces.

The 9th Circuit decided in 2016 that people do not have a constitutional right to carry concealed guns in public.

___

(c)2021 the Los Angeles Times

Visit the Los Angeles Times at www.latimes.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Top Canadian automotive dealers are recognized for consistent and transparent pricing practices on the autoTRADER.ca marketplace

TORONTO, March 25, 2021 /CNW/ - TRADER Corporation, Canada's leading digital automotive solutions provider, today announced the winners of the 2021 autoTRADER.ca Best Priced Dealer Awards. Now in its second year, the Best Priced Dealer Awards spotlights the top Canadian automotive dealers consistently offering great value for car buyers through competitive pricing.

The Best Priced Dealer Awards spotlights the top Canadian automotive dealers consistently offering great value for car buyers through competitive pricing. (CNW Group/TRADER Corporation)

TRADER is pleased to honour 241 dealers across the country. Winners are determined based on a scientific analysis of the top dealerships on the marketplace with the highest percentage of "Good" and "Great" price badges on their vehicle inventory, according to the autoTRADER.ca iQ Inventory Algorithm. This algorithm analyzes real-time pricing data of over 450,000 cars on the marketplace to offer a statistically backed benchmark for the nation.

"We're excited to bring back the autoTRADER.ca Best Priced Dealer Awards to give dealers this well-deserved recognition for demonstrating industry-leading pricing practices," says Ian MacDonald, Chief Marketing Officer, TRADER Corporation. "We are dedicated to reinforcing consumer trust and confidence through fair and accurate pricing, so it gives us great pleasure to award partners who share this vision."

The autoTRADER.ca Best Priced Dealer Awards marks one of many initiatives by TRADER directed at reinforcing a trusted purchase environment for consumers on the autoTRADER.ca marketplace. The mission is to evoke immediate consumer confidence in dealers who price competitively and support Canadians who identify price guidance as a top consideration in the car purchase journey. Award winners will receive collateral to display proudly in dealership, along with a coveted badge to signify their status as a Best Priced Dealer on their autoTRADER.ca VDPs.

Story continues

"Last year's awards prompted an overwhelming reception from dealers," MacDonald says. "We received several reports from dealers confirming that trophies and digital VDP badges encouraged positive feedback from clients and had a tangible impact on customer perception."

Visit go.trader.ca/DealerAwards to see the full list of award winners, and for more information on the initiative.

About TRADER Corporation

TRADER Corporation is the leading digital marketing partner for Canadian automotive retailers and manufacturers. With over 25 million visits a month and more than 6 million total mobile app downloads, TRADER's largest automotive marketplaces  autoTRADER.ca and autoHEBDO.net  are the #1 source for all things automotive in Canada. The company offers retailers and manufacturers access to a robust audience of new and used car shoppers, best-in-class digital advertising, website and software solutions, and rich data insights. TRADER Corporation is the first to offer a completely integrated digital retail experience for consumers and dealers on a major Canadian automotive marketplace. For more information, visit go.trader.ca. Follow TRADER on LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube.

SOURCE TRADER Corporation

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2021/25/c2094.html
In the last few weeks youve probably read a number of headlines discussing the rise in anti-Asian racism over the last year that escalated terrifyingly into the killing of eight people, six of whom were of Asian descent, at a series of spas in Atlanta, GA last week.

Though the rise in violence and verbal assaults has been attributed to racism driven by former US President Donald Trump and baseless anger over COVID-19s spread, many game developers have been cognizant that its built on a broader base of racism that impacts not just their personal communities, but their professional ones as well.

For the last few months, IGN news editor Matt Kim has been speaking with developers about their experiences, capturing a moment in time shared by a generation of developers. Among the many insights developers offered, Kim captured how developers of many backgrounds have felt stereotyped by their peers for being Asian American.

Producer Jessica Jung told Kim that When we say Asian developers, I think those folks usually tend to get pigeonholed as software engineers, as technical folks.

Serenity Forge founder Zhenghua Yang explained that at events like Game Developers Conference, he had to set a policy to bring a white coworker along to meetings after being mistaken for a programmer, not a businessman. After our first GDC, because I realized [how] little people would take me seriously in a convention setting  in a meeting setting, he said.

We had a new policy that I always had to bring a white person from our team to these meetings. Thats the only way for them to realize that Im an American businessman.

Several women explained to Kim that they experienced additional, sexualized comments too. Asian women have been stereotyped in film, TV, and games for over a half-century as being either sexually aggressive or broadly submissive, and developers speaking to Kim shared comments that covered both categories.

Innersloth community director Victoria Tran described a number of inappropriate comments shed experienced at professional and online events, while Ubisoft community developer Elisa Choi shared a story about how a colleague grew upset that she had been direct in an e-mail.

But when I pointed out that a colleague of mine  who is in the same position, but shes white  when I pointed out that she was just as direct to me in an email she was given that excuse of, Yeah, but shes from Russia so its okay. You should be able to give her that cultural understanding.

You should definitely take the time to read Kims full reporting, which also covers the nuances of representing Asian characters in games (such as Jesse from The Last of Us Part 2), to the reliance of Western studios utilizing iconography from Asian countries sometimes are symbols of conquest over other Asian countries.
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Go to form
The 2021 EARTH FOCUS ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL will host the opening night virtual screening of Playing With Sharks showcasing the life story of pioneering scuba diver Valerie Taylor (pictured).

PBS SoCal and KCET, Southern Californias flagship PBS stations, along with national independent satellite network Link TV, today announced the return of the third annual EARTH FOCUS ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL, the only festival of its kind in Los Angeles, going virtual this year from April 12-23, 2021. The two-week festival features film screenings and Q&A discussions addressing climate change realities with the goal of confronting global issues that impact all living creatures and natural resources. The West Coast premiere of Playing With Sharks, acquired by National Geographic Documentary Films at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, will kick off the lineup as the Opening Night film on Monday, April 12 at 7 p.m. A post-screening panel discussion with writer/director Sally Aitken (The Week The Women Went, The Pacific: In the Wake of Captain Cook), creator/producer Bettina Dalton (Big Red: The Kangaroo King, Borneos Secret Kingdom) and the subject of the film, Australian pioneering marine conservationist, cinematographer and renowned shark expert Valerie Taylor will be moderated by KCET CINEMA SERIES host and Deadline chief film critic Pete Hammond.

General admission tickets for the EARTH FOCUS ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL are available starting today. Ticket options include a $45 all-access pass to attend all nine of the virtual film screenings and post screening discussions taking place on the Eventive platform (the three-part, Earth Day April 22nd PBS special GRETA THUNBERG: A YEAR TO CHANGE THE WORLD is available on-air on PBS SoCal locally as well as streaming live online at pbs.org and on the free PBS App). Alternatively, $10 individual screenings can be purchased on any of the three websites at pbssocal.org/efeff, kcet.org/efeff and linktv.org/efeff.

Notable guests and films featured in this years slate of environmental-themed documentaries include Patagonia Films Public Trust: The Fight for Americas Public Lands on Thurs., April 15, from executive producers Yvon Chouinard and actor-turned-environmental activist Robert Redford, which investigates impending threats on Americas public lands. The film will also air locally as part of EARTH FOCUS PRESENTS on Wed., April 21 at 9 p.m. on Link TV and Sun., April 25 at 5 p.m. on KCET. Director David Garrett Byars and Producer Jeremy Rubingh will join the virtual panel discussion. The Closing Night film on Fri., April 23 is the California Premiere of the 90-minute 2020 Swedish film Citizen Nobel that follows Chemistry Nobel Prize recipient Jacques Dubochet and how he, as a noble citizen, should fulfill his responsibility as a researcher and as a human being. A panel will follow with both Dubochet and director Stephane Goel.

The festival will also host KCETs own 90-minute documentary from EARTH FOCUS The New West and the Politics of the Environment which explores how iconic Nevada Senator Harry Reid set the foundations for a green new deal in the state using power in new ways to settle water wars with respect for Native Americans, protect endangered species and usher in a just transition to renewable energy. The New West and the Politics of the Environment is co-produced by the Laboratory for Environmental Narrative Strategies (LENS) at UCLA.

The EARTH FOCUS ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL encourages better understanding of and dialogue on environmental issues, and motivates audiences to create positive change in their own community. The festival extends public medias mission of strengthening communities through education. The virtual event engages members, viewers of all ages, influencers and media while raising funds to support public medias future environmental programming.

The event complements PBS SoCal, Link TV and KCETs entire slate of Earth Month programming which includes the award-winning series EARTH FOCUS, produced in partnership with the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Since its debut in 2007, EARTH FOCUS has become the longest-running investigative environmental news series on U.S. television, providing audiences with urgent local and global environmental coverage that spotlights in-depth reports on key issues such as endangered species, climate change, environmental health and sustainable practices.

Original content related to Earth Month programming on related topics ranging from environmental justice to climate activism will be available on the PBS SoCal, KCET and Link TV websites. Contributors will include veteran environmental journalists and other experts. Additionally, website visitors will be treated to multimedia features as well as trailers to the films in the EARTH FOCUS ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL.

Festival schedule is as follows (*subject to change):

OPENING NIGHT! Playing With Sharks  Mon., April 12 at 7 p.m. (West Coast Premiere)

The extraordinary life story of pioneering scuba diver Valerie Taylor, a fearless marine maverick whose passion for sharks knows no bounds - even when there should be. Taylor has dedicated her life to exposing the myth surrounding the fear of sharks. Featuring Q&A Guests: Writer/Director Sally Aitken Creator/Producer Bettina Dalton and the subject of the film, Australian pioneering marine conservationist, cinematographer and renowned shark expert Valerie Taylor. Moderated by KCET CINEMA SERIES Host and Deadline chief film critic Pete Hammond.

Gather  Tues., April 13 at 7 p.m.

An intimate portrait of the growing movement amongst Native Americans to reclaim their spiritual, political and cultural identities through food sovereignty, while battling the trauma of centuries of genocide. Featuring Q&A Guests: Director Sanjay Rawal, Producer Tanya Mellier and Founder of the Native American Culinary Association Nephi Craig. Moderated by DeLanna Studi (Artistic Director, Native Voices at the Autry, Autry Museum of the American West).

2040: The Regeneration  Weds., April 14 at 7 p.m.

Embark on a journey to explore what the future could look like by the year 2040 if we simply embraced the best solutions already available to us to improve our planet and shifted them rapidly into the mainstream. Structured as a visual letter to his 4-year-old daughter, the film blends traditional documentary with dramatized sequences and high-end visual effects to create a vision board of how solutions could regenerate the world for future generations. Featuring Q&A Guests: Award-winning Director Damon Gameau (That Sugar Film). Moderated by TBA

Public Trust: The Fight for Americas Public Lands  Thurs., April 15 at 7 p.m.

As Americas system of public lands face unprecedented threats, the film investigates three heated conflicts  national monument in the Utah desert, a mine in the Boundary Waters and oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refugeand makes a case for their continued protection. Featuring Q&A Guests: Director David Garrett Byars, Producer Jeremy Rubingh and investigative journalist and Public Trust narrator Hal Herring. Moderated by Link TVs Senior Programming Executive Kim Spencer.

Okavango  Fri., April 16 at 7 p.m.

F. Murray Abraham (Amadeus, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Homeland) narrates the wild experience of the Okavango Delta, an unlikely oasis and lush paradise in Southern Africa that connects and supports a wide array of creatures. In episode one of this three-part series that premiered as episodes of NOVA, viewers explore the landscape and wildlife of the Upper Okavango River. A lioness severely injured by a buffalo is left for dead by her pride. Now handicapped, she has to survive in the swamp alone, hunting to feed her cubs. Featuring Q&A Guests: Directors Dereck and Beverly Joubert (Eternal Enemies, Eye of the Leopard, Last Lions, Reflections on Elephants). Moderated by TBA

EARTH FOCUS: The New West and the Politics of the Environment  Mon., April 19 at 7 p.m.

Iconic Nevada Senator Harry Reid set the foundations for a green new deal in the state using power in new ways to settle water wars with respect for Native Americans, protect endangered species and usher in a just transition to renewable energy. Reid forged allegiances between unlikely allies and crafted policy to grow the economy of his home state while protecting its wilderness and in the process, redefined the future of the West. The conversation immediately following the screening is courtesy of the Environmental Film Festival in the Nations Capital (DCEFF). Featuring Q&A Guests: U.S. Senator Harry Reid, Author Adam Jentleson (Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy) and Senior Field Director of the Conservation Lands Foundation Jocelyn Torres. Moderated by Executive Producer Jon Christensen.

The Human Element  Tues., April 20 at 7 p.m.

Renowned environmental photographer James Balog explores wildfires, hurricanes, sea level rise, a struggling coal mining community and our changing air supply. The film highlights Americans on the front lines of climate change, inspiring us to re-evaluate our relationship with the natural world. Featuring Q&A Guest: Environmental Photographer James Balog. Moderated by Co-Host/Correspondent of The California Report Saul Gonzalez. The California Report, produced by KQED/NPR is the Golden States daily public news show broadcast on public radio stations across California.

Youth v Gov.  Weds., April 21 at 7 p.m.

Since 2015, twenty-one plaintiffs, now ages 13 to 24, have been suing the U.S. government for violating their constitutional rights to life, liberty, personal safety and property through their willful actions in creating the climate crisis they will inherit. Featuring Q&A Guests: Filmmaker & Scientist Christi Cooper, Co-Lead Counsel Phil Gregory, Alaskan Federal Plaintiff Nathan Baring. Moderated by the Director of Programming for the Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital (DCEFF) Brad Forder.

EARTH DAY 2021! Greta Thunberg: A Year to Change the World 3 Part PBS Special On-Air Event - Thurs., April 22 from 8-11 p.m. on PBS SoCal (Check local listings or stream live on PBS.org and the FREE PBS App) **No Eventive Event**

Travel with Greta Thunberg as she takes her fight to a global stage in this three-part, on-air event. In Part One she sees impacts of climate change at three locations: melting glaciers and dying trees in Canada, and fire devastation in California. And when a UN conference moves to Madrid, she sails across the ocean during life-threatening storms. Part Two follows Gretas journey from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to Poland, where she speaks with miners who have lost their jobs. She also visits the UK, where she meets with one of her inspirations  Sir David Attenborough. Part Three takes Greta to Switzerland and Denmark to investigate potential solutions to limit climate change and looks for lessons from the worlds response to COVID-19.

CLOSING NIGHT! Citizen Nobel  Fri., April 23 at 7 p.m. (California Premiere)

When Jacques Dubochet receives the 2017 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, his life changes. Out of the shadows and into the light, he is suddenly contacted from all sides. What can he do with his voice, which is now heard by everyone? How should he, as a noble citizen, fulfill his responsibility as a researcher and human being? A speech by Greta Thunberg turns everything upside down. Featuring Q&A Guests: Director Stephane Goel and Nobel Prize Winner and subject of the film Jacques Dubochet. Moderated by KCET MUST SEE MOVIES host and Deadline chief film critic Pete Hammond.

Join the conversation on social media using #EarthMonth, #EFEFF, #KCET, #PBS SoCal, and #LinkTV

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

EARTH FOCUS is supported by generous institutional funders. The EARTH FOCUS series was created by Raisa Scriabine.

About PBS SOCAL and KCET

PBS SoCal and KCET are both part of the donor-supported community institution, the Public Media Group of Southern California. PBS SoCal is the flagship PBS station for diverse people across California and delivers content and experiences that inspire, inform and educate. PBS SoCal offers the full slate of beloved PBS programs including MASTERPIECE, NOVA, PBS NewsHour, FRONTLINE, and a broad library of documentary films with works from Ken Burns; as well as educational content including PBS KIDS programs like DANIEL TIGERS NEIGHBORHOOD and CURIOUS GEORGE. KCET is on-air, online and in the community, and plays a vital role in the cultural enrichment of Southern California. KCET offers a wide range of award-winning local programming as well as the finest public television programs from around the world. Throughout its history, KCET has won hundreds of major awards for its local and regional news and public affairs programming, its national drama and documentary productions and its website, kcet.org. For additional information about both KCET and PBS SoCal productions, web-exclusive content, programming schedules and community events, please visit kcet.org and pbssocal.org KCET Originals and PBS programming are available to stream on the FREE PBS App on iOS and Android devices, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, and Chromecast. KCET is also available to watch live on YouTube TV.

About LINK TV

Founded in 1999, Link TV is an independent viewer-supported media organization dedicated to providing programs that engage and inform its audiences with unique perspectives, and empower them to become involved in the world. Reaching more than 21 million U.S. satellite households nationally (DIRECTV channel 375 and DISH Network channel 9410), Link TV connects American viewers with people at the heart of breaking events, organizations at the forefront of social change and the vibrant cultures of an increasingly global community. Select programming from Link TV is also available for streaming on Apple TV, YouTube and Roku platforms. For additional information about Link TV productions, web-exclusive content and program schedules, please visit linktv.org.
MBABANE  Its a mess, chaos and confusion!

Some school committee members have declared that the pronouncement relating to the suspension of payment of last years school fees by parents has caused chaos in schools as some parents had already been engaged and agreed to pay the school fees. Not only that, but many head teachers have been inundated with calls and visits by parents, demanding the money they paid as last years school fees for their children. On Tuesday, Minister of Education and Training Lady Mabuza called a press conference, where she declared that school fees payment for last year was immediately suspended following Parliaments motion of urgent importance that the ministry halts the payment of outstanding fees and issue refunds to parents who had already paid.

Confusion

According to interviewed school committee members, this had caused more confusion in schools as there were more questions than answers. The members of the committees stated that some parents who had already started making payments for the previous years school fees were now demanding their refunds. We are at sixes and sevens, and do not know what to do about the commotion that has been caused between us and parents, said one committee member from a school in the capital city. The member relayed that a majority of parents in his school had made commitments to pay school the fees. He said the ministry did not make any sense in announcing that parents should not pay yet there were some bills to be settled.

Expenses

We are a school situated in town and there are many expenses compared to schools situated in the rural areas that do not have electricity. Now that the ministry has directed the suspension of last years school fees payment, we are failing to convince them (parents) that paying is crucial for the education of their children as they do not want to budge, said the committee member. Another school committee member in the Manzini Region shared that there were no clear answers from the ministry on where the money to cover the expenses would come from. The minister has caused chaos because we were only told to stop accepting school fees, but there is no plan whatsoever on what the way forward is, he said.

As a result, the school committee member said their head teacher had declared that she would sit back and not work with close to no budget provided for school expenses. The school committee member stated that this would further worsen the quality of education in schools, which was already dead. Government has only paid what it can afford, not the cost of education. If you will remember, the funds that government paid came late in the year. So now if we say school fees for last year should not be paid, we basically mean education for this year should be free, said the committee member.
NEW YORK, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- With many mining companies' exploration and development projects ramping up in 2021, the Mining Association of Canada believes that the industry will be able to bounce back from the initial economic downturn caused by the health crisis. For companies such as Graycliff Exploration Ltd. (CSE:GRAY) (OTCQB:GRYCF) and Pure Gold Mining Inc. (CSE:PGM) (OTCPK:LRTNF), commercial production is on track for 2021, while the likes of Yamana Gold (NYSE:AUY) (TSX:YRI), Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM) (TSX:NGT), and Great Bear Resources (TSXV:GBR) (OTCQX:GTBAF) are looking forward to a more consistent year of mining production.

Phase Two Commences for Graycliff's Shakespeare Gold Project

Graycliff Exploration Ltd. announced in early March that the company has resumed drilling production at its Shakespeare Gold Project, located near Sudbury, Ontario. The project is currently in Phase 2 of its 2020/2021 exploration program. At present, Graycliff is awaiting assay results for the final three holes of its initial Phase 1 drill program. This project was extended from the previously identified mineralization, which led to the outcome of a new mineralized zone.

Graycliff's Technical Advisor, Bruce Durham, commented on the progress of the project, stating, "we are extremely motivated by the success of the Phase 1 drilling program, which saw Shakespeare's mineralized area expanded and directed us to earmark more drilling in the vicinity of the Miller Shaft and the Number 3 adit. We are working in the 'shadow of a historic headframe', deemed often to be the best place to find a new gold mine."

Graycliff also shared details of two additional drill holes from the 2020 Phase 1 exploration program for the Shakespeare Gold Project. Key highlights include findings for drill hole J-3-20, which intersected a near surface mineralized interval of 5.37 g/t gold over 5 meters, including 18.50 g/t over 1.0 meter and 4.34 g/t over 0.7 meter. Drill hole J-4-20, meanwhile, confirmed the interpreted zone of mineralization remains open at depth. Together, the drill holes confirm that mineralization also extends along strike.

Core drilling of Graycliff's Phase 2 exploration program will include 1,000 meters averaging a hole length of 150 meters. Additionally, once the Phase 2 assay data has been established on these new holes, Graycliff plans to carry out 3D modeling of the area, a core foundation for digital mining. The company will then proceed with the interpreted structure and gold mineralization.

A Steady Year Ahead For Other Exploration Projects Underway

With mining productions in full swing, Pure Gold Mining (CSE:PGM) (OTC:LRTNF) reports that it is on track to begin commercial production at the company's Red Lake mine. With first gold being poured last December, Pure Gold believes there will be a declaration of commercial production by Q2 2021. The site currently has employed an approximate 260 people for the mining site.

In February 2021, the Canadian Malartic Partnership, which consists of Yamana Gold (NYSE:AUY) (TSX:YRI), Agnico Eagle Mines, and Osisko Gold Royalties, approved the construction of the Odyssey underground project at the Canadian Malartic mine. The partnership plans to invest US$30 million into the drilling and exploration work for this project, which will begin to receive royalty payments from underground production beginning in 2023. In Yamana Gold's Q4 and full-year financial results , the company explained further that this approval will help to extend the mine's life up to at least the year 2039.

Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM) (TSX:NGT) is expanding its world-class portfolio by introducing the Tatogga project , which is located in the highly desired Golden Triangle district in British Columbia. The Tatogga project appears to have a promising future, with the primary Saddle North deposit contributing to a significant amount of gold and copper production on an annual basis. Furthermore, this site projects a long mine life, as the Saddle North site provides further exploration opportunities across the land.

Great Bear Resources (TSXV:GBR) (OTCQX:GTBAF) reported results from its fully funded $45 million 2021 exploration project located in the Red Lake district of Ontario. During the drilling process along the northwestern kilometer of the LP Fault zone, the company came across new high-grade gold mineralization. This was in addition to the expected bulk tonnage intervals, and will now require auxiliary drilling in the area over the next several months.

The industry for mining exploration and commercial production is heating up as companies like Graycliff Exploration begin to focus more on their anticipated projects for 2021 and beyond.

For more information on Graycliff Exploration, click here.

Disclaimer: Microsmallcap.com (MSC) is the source of the Article and content set forth above. MSC owns and operates MiningNewsDaily.com. References to any issuer other than the profiled issuer are intended solely to identify industry participants and do not constitute an endorsement of any issuer and do not constitute a comparison to the profiled issuer. FN Media Group (FNM) is a third-party publisher and news dissemination service provider, which disseminates electronic information through multiple online media channels. FNM is NOT affiliated with MSC or any company mentioned herein. The commentary, views and opinions expressed in this release by MSC are solely those of MSC and are not shared by and do not reflect in any manner the views or opinions of FNM. Readers of this Article and content agree that they cannot and will not seek to hold liable MSC and FNM for any investment decisions by their readers or subscribers. MSC and FNM and their respective affiliated companies are a news dissemination and financial marketing solutions provider and are NOT registered broker-dealers/analysts/investment advisers, hold no investment licenses and may NOT sell, offer to sell or offer to buy any security.

The Article and content related to the profiled company represent the personal and subjective views of the Author (MSC), and are subject to change at any time without notice. The information provided in the Article and the content has been obtained from sources which the Author believes to be reliable. However, the Author (MSC) has not independently verified or otherwise investigated all such information. None of the Author, MSC, FNM, or any of their respective affiliates, guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any such information. This Article and content are not, and should not be regarded as investment advice or as a recommendation regarding any particular security or course of action; readers are strongly urged to speak with their own investment advisor and review all of the profiled issuer's filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission before making any investment decisions and should understand the risks associated with an investment in the profiled issuer's securities, including, but not limited to, the complete loss of your investment. FNM was not compensated by any public company mentioned herein to disseminate this press release but was compensated twenty five hundred dollars by MSC, a non-affiliated third party to distribute this release on behalf of Graycliff Exploration Ltd..

FNM HOLDS NO SHARES OF ANY COMPANY NAMED IN THIS RELEASE.

This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may", "future", "plan" or "planned", "will" or "should", "expected," "anticipates", "draft", "eventually" or "projected". You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a company's annual report on Form 10-K or 10-KSB and other filings made by such company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and MSC and FNM undertake no obligation to update such statements.

Media Contact:

FN Media Group, LLC

[email protected]

+1(561)325-8757

SOURCE Microsmallcap.com
LSU's School of Dentistry backtracked on mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for students, faculty and staff who interact with patients after some argued the requirement violated federal law and compromised religious liberties.

Dentistry Dean Robert Laughlin wrote in an email last week that those "involved in direct patient care will be required to show proof of having received full vaccination for COVID-19," effective Monday, March 22.

But after an outcry among students, Laughlin amended the policy to allow those who forgo a vaccination to instead undergo mandatory, weekly coronavirus testing, with the added requirement that they wear an N-95 mask while in clinic.

"It is not my intention to force any individual to receive a vaccine they wish not to receive," Laughlin wrote in a follow-up email. "The School of Dentistry will comply with all [Americans with Disabilities Act] and religious objections according to the law."

The sudden change in policy comes as health care providers across the country weigh tactics to convince both the public  and their own workforce  of the importance of getting the life-saving jab.

So far, at Louisiana's hospitals, that hasn't included mandates, though vaccine uptake remains a challenge. At Ochsner Health System, which has about 32,000 employees statewide, vaccine acceptance is at 56.3%, according to a hospital representative.

The chancellor of LSU's Health Sciences Center at New Orleans, Larry Hollier, recently dangled the possibility of in-person pre-commencement ceremonies but only for students who choose to get vaccinated. Otherwise, they can attend virtually.

"If you, too, would like to enjoy these celebrations with your classes, please consider getting vaccinated if you haven't already," Hollier wrote in an email last week.

The about face at LSU's School of Dentistry came shortly after the Liberty Counsel, an evangelical Christian nonprofit based in Florida, sent a letter to Laughlin calling the mandate a "violation of fundamental individual, economic and religious liberties." It noted that "some people hold sincere religious beliefs against taking vaccines in general" or taking vaccines derived from stem cell lines obtained during abortions.

More than a dozen state lawmakers also sent a letter to Laughlin criticizing the mandate, and in response to their concerns, Laughlin sent along the revised policy and said that he spoke at length with Attorney General Jeff Landry over the issue.

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

We thought it was a complete overreach of a state university to mandate a vaccine, said Rep. Kathy Edmonston, R-Gonzales, in an interview, who added that some students she spoke with viewed the testing mandate as cumbersome as well.

Religious objections to the vaccine entered the spotlight earlier this month after Catholic leaders locally split on the morality of taking the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The Archdiocese of New Orleans argued that cells used to develop, test and produce the one-dose shot were derived from abortions performed in the 1970s and 1980s and therefore the jab was "morally compromised." Leaders in Baton Rouge and Lafayette, meanwhile, told their flocks that the vaccine was a valid choice if no other options were available.

Legally, businesses and schools can require vaccinations, though there are carve-outs offering certain protections. The Americans with Disabilities Act says employers cant discriminate against people with disabilities. That might include someone with a medical condition who cant receive the vaccine, or someone with an allergy that prohibits it. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 also allows exemptions based on religion.

The Liberty Counsel also pointed out that under federal law, individuals must be given the "option to accept or refuse" products approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration through Emergency Use Authorization  like the three available coronavirus vaccines. That point was reiterated in August by Dr. Amanda Cohn, who sits on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

"I just wanted to add that, just wanted to remind everybody, that under an Emergency Use Authorization, an EUA, vaccines are not allowed to be mandatory. So, early in this vaccination phase, individuals will have to be consented and they won't be able to be mandated, Cohn said.

Dr. Susan Hassig, an associate professor of epidemiology at Tulane University, said that vaccines authorized for emergency use typically arent mandated until they receive full approval given how many questions remain about their long-term effects.

You generally would not mandate something that is not fully vetted and approved in the most complete sense by the FDA, Hassig said. We dont know how long it's going to protect us for, or when we might need a booster shot.

Amid concern from local Catholics, Baton Rouge's OLOL will give Johnson & Johnson vaccine Our Lady of the Lake, the largest hospital network in the Baton Rouge area and part of a Catholic health system, will provide the single-dose 
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.
Father of Slain Boulder Police Officer Says He Would Be Deeply Offended by Gun Control Proposals

The father of the Colorado police officer who was killed in the line of duty during a mass shooting in a Boulder supermarket this week said his late son would be deeply offended by largely Democratic-led proposals to push gun control.

My son would have been deeply offended to know his death would be used to promote gun control. Before he was an officer, he enjoyed shooting, Homer Talley told TMZ about his son, officer Eric Talley. To take away that freedom completely is something I am against and my son was against.

Eric Talley, who worked at the Boulder Police Department for 11 years, was killed on March 22 when a shooter, identified by police as Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, opened fire at a King Soopers market. Nine other people were killed, and Alissa was charged with 10 counts of murder before a judge on March 25 ordered that he be held without bail.

Talley added that just because some wacko goes around shooting people doesnt mean guns need to be taken away. You cant take away enough guns to protect this country.

A GoFundMe has been created to raise money for Talleys family, and more than $600,000 has been donated as of the morning of March 25.

In the aftermath of the Boulder shooting and fatal shootings at Atlanta-area spas, top Democrats, including President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, have proposed more legislation including a ban on assault weapons.

I dont need to wait another minute, let alone an hour, to take commonsense steps that will save lives in the future, Biden said this week.

It should not be a partisan issue. This is an American issue, he said. It will save lives, American lives. We have to act.

Later, White House press secretary Jen Psaki suggested to reporters that Biden could issue an executive order related to gun control, although she didnt specify any details.

Harris, however, told CBS News that the White House likely wont use executive action to enact gun control measures.

We should first expect the U.S. Congress to act, Harris stated.

Some Republicans have pushed back against the proposals.

Every time theres a shooting, we play this ridiculous theater where this committee gets together and proposes a bunch of laws that would do nothing to stop these murders, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said on March 23 during a hearing.

Meanwhile, the House this month passed two bills pertaining to firearms background checks. However, if they reach the Senate, the bills would likely have to clear the 60-vote filibuster hurdle.

The other victims were identified as Denny Stong, 20; Neven Stanisic, 23; Rikki Olds, 25; Tralona Bartkowiak, 49; Suzanne Fountain, 59; Teri Leiker, 51; Kevin Mahoney, 61; Lynn Murray, 62; and Jodi Waters, 65.
Hazleton, PA (18201)

Today

Thunderstorms early, then variable clouds overnight with still a chance of showers. A few storms may be severe. Low near 60F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms early, then variable clouds overnight with still a chance of showers. A few storms may be severe. Low near 60F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%.
New Delhi [India], March 25 (ANI/ThePRTree): Building passive income to gain maximum profit, Ibtehaj Hassan established his e-commerce company, Automated Ventures after he acquired all the required knowledge in the field of digital marketing.

With initial goals to graduate from college and attend medical school, Ibtehaj Hassan had other plans for life. After graduation, he turned to entrepreneurship. He worked in a fast-food restaurant and shortly started his own restaurant via which he arranged suitable capital to start his e-commerce company and with his hard work built the company Automated Ventures. He started his store on Amazon after learning digital marketing strategies and went through a lot of ups and downs before mastering it.

The Automated Ventures team are building multi six-figure businesses for their clients in a short time, allowing a completely passive profit for their connected customers. By the end of the year, the company will become a multimillion-dollar brand. Ibtehaj Hassan and his team are always making extraordinary efforts to achieve that goal and giving customers a seamless experience with service.

Attracting a large number of followers, Ibtehaj also started his comic series under the name 'Lolibtehaj', catering to his talent of the acute sense of humour and love to make others laugh. Hailing from New York City, Ibtehaj was born on July 13, 1994. Stepping in the genre of comedy, he never found the need for using cuss words to make people laugh. During the lockdown, when people were getting depressed every day, Ibtehaj helped his followers forget the reality of the coronavirus and put a smile on their faces through his videos.

After the global epidemic, the entire world shifted to digital marketing. Every business got involved in digital marketing where people expanded and managed their business properly. Ibtehaj too used this tool to expand his business globally.

Ibtehaj Hassan's goal to help others never changed. Life gave him another direction to influence people, in which he started Automated Ventures, a multi-six figure company and inspired others. Their strong belief has made them successful that today he has become a source of inspiration for the youth.

This story is provided by ThePRTree. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/ThePRTree)

DISCLAIMER

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bogdan Aurescu, on Thursday welcomed Eric Stewart, the head of the Romanian-American Business Council (AMRO), on the occasion of the visit that an AMRO delegation is carrying out in Romania, the two discussing regional strategic projects, informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a press release sent to AGERPRES.

Henry Homans, Vice President of AMRO, also attended the meeting.

During the meeting, they discussed concrete ways of promoting the common objective of developing partnerships, investments and trade exchanges between Romania and the USA, and exchanged views on the priority regional strategic projects promoted by Romania for connecting the north and south of the Three Seas region, Rail2Sea and Via Carpathia, including the importance of involving the US private sector and the US Administration in their implementation.Minister Aurescu highlighted "the strategic importance of expanding the US economic presence in Romania and in the region, in order to reach at least the level of excellence achieved in the political and military fields and in security cooperation," the MAE release said. The President of AMRO showed his willingness to present these projects to major US companies operating in infrastructure.The head of the Romanian diplomacy also spoke about such topics important from a transatlantic view, as addressed at the meeting of the NATO foreign ministers and of the Foreign Affairs Council, in which he participated in the recent days in Brussels. He recalled the meeting he had with the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, on which occasion they addressed issues of priority interest regarding the Strategic Partnership between Romania and the USA.According to the MAE, Bogdan Aurescu highlighted the Government's priority in terms of our country's accession to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), an objective constantly supported by AMRO and relevant for foreign investors and external partners of Romanian companies.Eric Stewart conveyed AMRO's appreciation for the dense programme of meetings with the Romanian private sector, ministries and governmental institutions that the delegation had during its visit to Romania, "which is expected to be a success," the same source said. He also confirmed AMRO's intention to support, in dialogue with the US Administration, the need to strengthen cooperation with Romania, including in the economic field, and to support Romania's candidacy to the OECD.
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP)  A party in Slovakias ruling coalition completed its withdrawal from the government on Thursday amid a political crisis triggered by a secret deal to buy Russias coronavirus vaccine.

Two ministers for the Freedom and Solidarity party, Foreign Minister Ivan Korcok and Education Minister Branislav Grohling, joined their leader, Richard Sulik, to hand in their resignations to President Zuzana Caputova. Sulik resigned from his deputy prime minister post on Monday.

Sulik said on Thursday his party is withdrawing from the coalition until Prime Minister Igor Matovic resigns.

The crisis erupted when a secret deal came to light three weeks ago involving Slovakias agreement to acquire 2 million doses of Russias Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine. The populist prime minister orchestrated the deal despite disagreement among his coalition partners.

Matovic has defended the Sputnik V purchase, saying it would speed up the vaccination program in one of the hardest-hit European Union countries.

But two parties in his coalition government, Freedom and Solidarity and For People, which had clashed repeatedly with Matovic Ordinary People party over how to tackle the pandemic, demanded his resignation as a condition for the coalition to survive.

Matovic indicated he was willing to step down on condition he would assume a deputy prime minister post instead. The Freedom and Solidarity rejected that.

Matovic and his party struck a deal a year ago to govern with the pro-business Freedom and Solidarity party, the conservative For People, and We Are Family, a populist right-wing group that was allied with Frances far-right National Rally party.

___

Follow all of APs pandemic coverage at:

https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic

https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine

https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
Brian May appeared in court yesterday to defend his chauffeur of more than 20 years over alleged child sexual abuse.

The Queen guitarist described Phillip Webb, 59, as a 'gentle giant' whose 'whole soul had been torn out' by allegations he had plied a young victim with hallucinogenic drugs during abuse that began when the girl was seven.

May, 73, and his wife, former EastEnders actress Anita Dobson, took to the witness stand at Kingston Crown Court to support their driver yesterday.

The musician, who was made a CBE in 2005, said Webb was his longest-serving employee and he 'loved him'. 'For a man like Phil who's incredibly upright and decent to be accused of terrible sexual misconduct, it's like his whole soul has been torn out,' he said. 'I know Phil incredibly well, because of 20 years of being driven around by him.

May, 73, and his wife, former EastEnders actress Anita Dobson, took to the witness stand at Kingston Crown Court to support their driver yesterday. Pictured arriving at court

'A lot of the time, it's me and him in the car and we share so much. I know what's inside him, his innermost secrets. I will not exaggerate, he's one of the most honest men I have ever met in my life.'

When he was told Webb was convicted in 2003 for assaulting his wife's ex-partner, May replied: 'Was he?' He added: 'That sits fine with me, if you think [he's] violent then you're barking up the wrong tree, he's not a violent man.'

Mrs Dobson, 71, described Webb as her 'knight in shining armour'. She said: 'Without him I think we would grind to a halt. On holiday, he looks after my step-children, without him I don't know what I would do. He has been a protector for me, every week, two or three times a week, sometimes more, sometimes less.

The Queen guitarist described Phillip Webb, 59, (pictured) as a 'gentle giant' whose 'whole soul had been torn out' by allegations he had plied a young victim with drugs during abuse

'He's one of the most kind, generous, and overall honourable men you would ever wish to meet and I'm very proud to call him my friend.'

The court had heard that Webb could work seven days a week up to 18 hours a day for May, but other clients included the Japanese Embassy, the Imperial Royal Family and pop group Madness.

Webb, of Epsom, Surrey, denies two counts of causing a girl to engage in sex, two of causing a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity, four of administering a drug with intent to commit indictable gross indecency with a child under 16 and six counts of indecent assault against a girl under 14.

He is also said to have involved another child in the alleged abuse, which is claimed to have taken place between 1999 and 2006.

Anita Dobson and Brian May pictured in a car, in London, 2013

May (pictured) said: 'I know Phil incredibly well, because of 20 years of being driven around by him.'

Prosecutor Richard Milne said that the alleged victim had complained to police of 'sexual abuse, physical abuse, controlling behaviour' by Webb.

Mr Milne said she was left in a suicidal state and had turned to drugs and self-harm to cope.

Webb had previously told the court: 'It really is disgusting to think that anybody could do that to any child... I have never touched anybody inappropriately.'

The trial continues.
On Thursday evening, March 25, the first batch of the CoronaVac Chinese vaccine against coronavirus (COVID-19) arrived at Boryspil International Airport.

According to the Segodnya (Today) newspaper, the flight with the vaccine arrived in Ukraine at about 19:00.

It is noted that the arrived batch of the vaccine contains 215,000 doses of the medicine.

As reported, the first batch of COVID-19 vaccine CoronaVac manufactured by the Sinovac Biotech Chinese company, purchased at public expense, will be delivered to Ukraine.

In addition, the Health Ministry is awaiting permission from the Indian government to export the CoviShield vaccine.
Two of Britain's biggest investors will refuse to buy shares in Deliveroo when it launches on the stock market next month because of concerns about how they treat staff.

The UK's third most popular takeaway delivery service, behind UberEats and Just Eats, hopes to be valued at up to 8.8billion when it lists its shares in April.

Deliveroo is allowing anyone to apply to buy shares in multiples of 250 in a deal that is expected to make the company's founder Will Shu, 41, who was also its first delivery rider, approaching 500million.

But investment giants Aberdeen Standard and Aviva, who have combined portfolios of more than 800billion combined, say they will not be backing the biggest float on the stock market for a decade.

Yet for all the excitement about Deliveroo, the fact remains that the company has yet to turn a profit  even during lockdown. But that hasn't stopped private money from pouring in, however, with the company raising more than 1billion in recent years.

Andrew Millington, head of UK Equities at Aberdeen Standard, told the BBC's Today programme that the conditions for Deliveroo staff is considered a 'red flag', adding: 'We wouldn't be comfortable that the way in which its workforce is employed is sustainable.'

Graft: Deliveroo founder Will Shu worked as the company's first delivery driver to ensure he knew exactly what people wanted from his company - and is set to make millions from the float

Aviva and Aberdeen Standard, two of the UK's biggest asset managers, said it would not be buying Deliveroo shares because the firm does not pay riders the minimum wage or offer holiday and sick leave

He said they had recently sold off shared in Boohoo after it emerged their suppliers were using sweatshops in Leicester during lockdown.

The banker set to make 500M from getting on his bike: How Deliveroo founder was so fed-up with late-night Tesco meals he launched delivery firm The Deliveroo launch on the London Stock Exchange is set to make its geeky founder Will Shu as much as 430million. His idea was born while he worked for JP Morgan in Canary Wharf. The food obsessed 41-year-old said he wandered around the financial district at night during long shifts wanting restaurant food, but always ended up going to Tesco, the only thing left open. He then started the business with a tech friend, who helped him build the app in 2013, and they set up in a 'death trap' office in Marylebone shared with a company called ISIS and cable channel Gem TV (pictured). The laid back and shy businessman was also known for his scruffy clothes. One colleague said: 'He may have been the only founder who pitched us wearing shorts. 'He wore shorts for the first four years I worked with him, regardless of the weather or the occasion.' Another said: 'I've seen him do every job in the company - from being a rider to doing customer service to signing up restaurants. His job is incredibly intense and he obsesses over it, but hes always down to earth and has a laugh'. Will was the company's first rider - and seven years on the American, born Taiwanese parents, who moved to the UK 16 years ago, is now one of the UK's top tech bosses. Deliveroo will sell around 1bn of new shares next week. Mr Shu, and his family who also backed it at the beginning, could now be worth 550m. Advertisement

David Cumming, chief investment officer at Aviva, told the Today programme that social responsibilities are now taken 'a lot more seriously' by investors.

He said: 'A lot of employers could make a massive difference to workers' lives if they guaranteed working hours or a living wage, and how companies behave is becoming more important.'

The float will bag founder Will Shu a windfall of as much as 430m for his 6.2pc stake, while other staff members with stock options are also expected to become millionaires overnight.

Among them is executive Thea Rogers, the girlfriend of former chancellor George Osborne, whose stake is reported to be worth 40m - although Deliveroo has denied it is that much.

Deliveroo says its business model gives riders 'freedom' to choose their hours, but that also means that they are self-employed and not entitled to the minimum wage from the company, or holiday and sick pay.

The business, one of many using this model, is facing court action from staff, which could change the rights of staff.

Last week Uber announced its UK drivers would become its first globally to be paid both a minimum wage and holiday pay.

Uber will also offer drivers paid holiday time and enrol them into a pension plan as they become classified as workers, not independent contractors. The announcement followed a ruling by the Supreme Court last month that Uber drivers were entitled to the benefits.

The FTSE is poised for its biggest company float in a decade next week, as Deliveroo joins the stock exchange.

Depending on the final share price, the restaurant takeaway delivery giant could be valued at as much as 9billion.

Its debut will be a big moment for the London Stock Exchange, which has been starved of tech talent in recent years.

It will mean a significant windfall, too, for the company's founder, Will Shu, a 41-year-old London-based American former banker.

He worked as Deliveroo's first delivery driver to ensure he knew exactly what people wanted from his company, and now stands to make more than 300 million when it goes public.

Meanwhile, his friends and family who invested in Deliveroo in 2013 could make a 60,000 per cent return.

As one of the best-known takeaway apps in Britain, Deliveroo has thrived throughout the pandemic. It will be hoping our growing appetite for restaurant takeaway will hold up  even when we can finally dine out again.

Even so, some analysts have raised their eyebrows at the sky-high valuation.

'The expected share price is very much towards the upper end of expectations,' says Susannah Streeter, a senior analyst with investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown.

She points out that in January, during the company's most recent fundraising round, its valuation was estimated at 5 billion.

Last month, Deliveroo reported a doubling of sales based on figures from a year ago.

Andrew Millington for Aberdeen Standard and David Cumming from Aviva have confirmed they will not be investing because of 'red flags' over workers' rights

As is often the case for so-called 'growth' stocks, investors are essentially betting that the company's market share will continue to expand. This has certainly been the pattern to date, as Deliveroo has expanded to 11 other countries throughout Europe and Asia.

But the lockdown winner faces stiff competition, both at home and abroad. On home turf, it must hold its own against U.S.-owned Uber Eats and global market-leader Just Eat.

Further afield, its competitors include European offering Delivery Hero, China's Meituan Waimai and even Amazon's rapidly evolving food services.

Meanwhile, Deliveroo's IPO (Initial Public Offering) comes during a period of soul-searching for the gig economy. Like many similar companies, Deliveroo operates an ultra-flexible model through which self-employed workers are paid per drop-off, rather than for the time they are actually available to work. Whatever the merits of this model, there's no doubt that it's coming under increased scrutiny.

How will the Deliveroo share launch work? Under the proposed listing, Deliveroos shares will have two classes. Shu will have so-called Class B shares that carry 20 votes per share versus the one each carried by normal Class A shares. But the company has said that dual structure - used by many tech firms in the US to preserve the control of their founders - will only be in place for three years. The float was announced just days after the Government committed to changing the current rules in the favour of founders. Documents published for the upcoming float reveal that Deliveroo has also set aside more than 112m to cover potential legal costs relating to the employment status of its riders. Deliveroo works with 100,000 delivery riders across the world, who it argues are self-employed contractors rather than employees who would receive benefits such as holiday pay. Earlier this month, the firm posted losses of 223.7m for 2020, despite surging sales amid lockdown restrictions. The company said it saw transactions rocket by 64pc to 4.1bn in 2020 as the pandemic helped to spark increased takeaway demand. It said that more than six million people order through the 115,000 restaurants, cafes and stores on its platform each month. Advertisement

Just last month, the UK Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling that Uber's taxi-drivers should be classed as 'workers', with entitlement to minimum wage and holiday pay.

And although this doesn't affect Deliveroo (or Uber Eats), things may change in the future  and quickly.

'If Deliveroo is forced to change the way it classifies its riders in the future, this is likely to puncture its profits prospects,' says Ms Streeter.

Debates over its value aside, there is at least one area in which Deliveroo represents good news for retail investors.

Unlike with many IPOs, its founder has ensured ordinary investors are given the chance to purchase pre-market shares.

Existing customers have been invited to express their interest in the IPO through the Deliveroo app. They can then look to buy shares worth thousands of pounds at a price likely to be between 3.90 and 4.60 each.

Of course, anyone looking to invest in Deliveroo  either through the IPO or when it joins the markets  needs to do their homework. It's worth bearing in mind that an IPO isn't a guaranteed golden ticket to profit.

Shares in Aston Martin Lagonda have famously fallen 80pc since the firm joined the London Stock Exchange in 2018.

Meanwhile, early investors in Uber, which listed in New York in 2019, had to wait 18 months to make a profit, after the value of its shares dropped 30 pc within months of listing.

Another way retail investors can look to profit from successful companies such as Deliveroo is through investment funds.

Unlike some private companies, Deliveroo hasn't sold shares to mainstream investment companies to raise money  meaning that you won't find it in any retail funds just yet.

The company may make an appearance in UK or globally focused value funds before long, though, particularly if its shares perform well.

Deliveroo's size would ordinarily be enough for the company to join the FTSE 100. However, the company's slightly complex legal structure means that Deliveroo will be excluded from the index.

In demand: Deliveroo said the value of orders it received was up 121% in January and February - but it has never made a profit

Like many technology companies, it is opting for 'dual-class' shares, which means that later investors will have fewer voting rights. This is perfectly above board, but it does prohibit companies from joining the FTSE 100 or 250.

This may well change in future  a Government-backed review has recently called for this. But for now it means that investors holding tracker funds won't benefit from Deliveroo's inclusion.

Even so, the arrival of a true British 'unicorn'  a privately held start-up so successful it's like a mythical beast  bodes well for the FTSE's future, even if not all investors feel the benefit just yet.
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Even small increases in nitrogen dioxide levels in the air may be linked to increases in cardiovascular and respiratory deaths, according to research published by The BMJ today.

The findings suggest a need to revise and tighten the current air quality guidelines, and to consider stricter regulatory limits for nitrogen dioxide concentrations.

Nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) is a common air pollutant formed by burning fuel for things like transport, power and industrial processes.

It is measured in micrograms (one-millionth of a gram) per cubic meter of air or g/m3. World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines currently recommend that nitrogen dioxide levels should not exceed an annual average of 40 g/m3.

Many studies have reported the effects of short term exposure to NO 2 on health, but most have been based on small samples, covered limited geographical areas, or used different study designs, so results are inconsistent.

To address this uncertainty, a team of international researchers set out to investigate the short term associations between NO2 and total, cardiovascular, and respiratory deaths across multiple countries/regions worldwide.

Their findings are based on daily concentrations of nitrogen dioxide from 398 cities in 22 low to high income countries/regions over a 45-year period (1973 to 2018).

Daily weather data, including average temperature and humidity, were also recorded, and death records were obtained from local authorities within each country/region.

A total of 62.8 million deaths were recorded over the 45-year study period, 19.7 million (31.5%) were cardiovascular related deaths and 5.5 million (8.7%) were respiratory deaths.

On average, a 10 g/m3 increase in NO 2 concentration on the previous day was associated with 0.46%, 0.37%, and 0.47% increases in total, cardiovascular, and respiratory deaths, respectively.

These associations did not change after adjusting for levels of other common air pollutants (sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, ozone, and varying sizes of fine particulate matter) obtained from the same fixed site monitoring stations, suggesting that the results withstand scrutiny.

The researchers estimate that the proportion of deaths attributable to NO 2 concentration above the zero level was 1.23% across the 398 cities.

And while they acknowledge that reducing NO 2 to zero is infeasible, they say their analysis "provides insight into the public health benefits of substantial NO 2 reductions."

This is an observational study, so can't establish cause, and the authors point out that because most of the data were obtained from developed areas, such as Europe, North America, and East Asia, any global generalisations should be made with caution.

In addition, there might have been slight changes in air pollution measurements over the decades, and the health data collection might be subject to diagnostic or coding errors.

However, strengths included the study's scale, providing enormous statistical power and ensuring the stability of the findings, and uniform analytical methods, allowing for more reliable comparisons across different regions and populations.

As such, they say their analysis "provides robust evidence for the independent associations of short term exposure to NO 2 with increased risk of total, cardiovascular and respiratory mortality .. suggesting a need to revise and tighten the current air quality guidelines of NO 2 for greater public health benefit, and to consider a regulation limit for daily mean NO 2 concentration."

They add: "These findings contribute to a better understanding of how to optimise public health actions and strategies to mitigate air pollution."

Explore further Long-term exposure to low levels of air pollution increases risk of heart and lung disease

More information: Short term associations of ambient nitrogen dioxide with daily total, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality: multilocation analysis in 398 cities, BMJ (2021). Journal information: British Medical Journal (BMJ) Short term associations of ambient nitrogen dioxide with daily total, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality: multilocation analysis in 398 cities,(2021). DOI: 10.1136/bmj.n534
VIGO/CLAY COUNTIES (WTHI) - We now know the identity of the person killed in a Wednesday night crash on I-70.

It happened near the Indiana and Illinois state line.

Officials say 19-year-old Zachary Reynolds died in the crash. He was riding with 18-year-old Donovan Nardini. Both were from Pennsylvania.

Nardini was taken to an area hospital and cited for improper lane usage.

According to police, Nardini's car left the road, crossed the median, and went into the westbound lanes. That's when police say they hit a semi head-on.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Protesters hold signs after they marched to Chinatown from a DC Rally for Collective Safety-Protect Asian/AAPI Communities, hosted by OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates, at McPherson Square March 21, 2021 in Washington, DC. Activists took part in the rally in response to the Atlanta, Georgia spa shootings that left eight people dead, including six Asian women, and the rising number of attacks against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. Indian American writer Neera Kuckreja Sohoni says politicians and media show unprincipled and unprecedented enthusiasm to grasp the race straw with the clear intent to divide races in order to conquer them. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry stressed on Wednesday 24/3/2021 that the file of the Ethiopian dam is a fateful issue that affects the lives of millions of Egyptians, saying Egypt has always been clear towards this issue and has never sought to achieve its own interest only but rather to achieve the interest of the three Nile Basin countries concerned.

Egypt has always placed itself in the position of its partners and dealt with this file with the flexibility needed to secure a binding deal, he added.

Shoukry, during a phone call with MBC Misr satellite program, said President Abdel Fattah El Sisi is keen to raise this issue with all presidents to clarify the Egyptian stance and Egypt's real desire to reach a fair agreement.

He expressed hope that the Ethiopian side would have sufficient political will to sign the agreement, saying this is not impossible as the three countries; namely Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia, have been engaged in lengthy negotiations and each one of them knows exactly its own interests.

He said all state institutions spare no effort in handling this file and are well aware of how to deal with all possible scenarios, indicating that there is still an opportunity to reach an agreement and find a way out from the crisis to avoid unnecessary tensions and complications in the tripartite relations grouping Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia.

Egypt pins great hopes on the wisdom of President of the Democratic Republic of Congo Felix Tshisekedi to sponsor the dam negotiations within the coming period, he said, stressing that the whole issue revolves around reaching necessary rules that regulate filling and operating the dam and measures to be taken at exceptional circumstances especially during drought.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Ethiopia Construction Egypt By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Ethiopia wants to both secure its water needs and generate electricity but this, Shoukry said, should not come at the expense of the Egyptian and Sudanese peoples.

He said the world powers are now aware that the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) file has reached a very important stage, adding that resorting once again to the Security Council over this file is one of the scenarios on the table.

He said he talked with United Nations and European Union officials and they welcomed taking part in the negotiations.

"We have many scenarios on the table and they all are being well assessed to choose the one that will most benefit us, including going back to the Security Council," he said.

Shoukry said the continued statements by the Ethiopian side that it will fill the dam whether an agreement was reached or not are considered the second violation of the agreement of principles that was agreed upon before.

And if the first breach passed unaddressed then surely this time the huge impact that will fall on Sudan in particular as a result of any filling may take the file beyond the negotiation stage, he pointed out.
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.
Under Biden, the plight of persecuted Christians may worsen

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

President Bidens recently confirmed UN Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield is unlikely to use her diplomatic muscle to defend Christians against persecution.

If recent remarks by Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield are any indication of her position, the prospects are grim. At the U.N. General Assemblys commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, she reprimanded China and Myanmar for committing genocide against their Muslim minorities and then turned to the issue of racism in the US. After a lengthy introduction about the original sin of slavery, she goes on to say, the senseless killing of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and so many other Black Americans sparked . a movement that spread across the world: Black Lives Matter. And because Black Lives Matter, we need to dismantle white supremacy at every turn.[1] The persecution of Christians in the Middle East and their mass slaughter in countries across Africa were noticeably absent from her remarks.

Promoting religious freedom and thereby preventing persecution of minority religious groups abroad became a fundamental part of U.S. foreign policy through the International Religious Freedom Act, enacted into law in 1998. The law sets up an Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom along with an independent, bipartisan U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) that monitors freedom of religion and belief abroad and makes policy recommendations to the President, Secretary of State, and Congress.

Having worked in DC policy circles since the inception of the Commission in 1998, I participated in many roundtable discussions about religious freedom in Muslim majority countries, wrote research reports on the various causes of the problem, and traveled on behalf of the U.S. State Department to discuss these issues with local communities. Ironically, the U.S. policy focus was usually on the rights of radical Islamists to freely practice their religious beliefs rather than on expanding the protections of Christians. Even though I was a Muslim during this time, I was deeply troubled by this because it meant that Islamic extremists would gain prominence, which had the predictable result of increasing terrorism.

As a counter-terrorism expert, I advocated against this approach but was often told the U.S.'s focus on religious freedom as a democratic right meant the U.S. would defend beliefs it did not agree with, regardless of the national security implications. Under the Obama administration, the whole field of religious freedom took a back seat to LGBTQ issues[2] and the Ambassador-at-Large position remained vacant for more than two years. Then Under Secretary for Africa, Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield, even advocated for reduced funding to agencies in Uganda and Nigeria that discriminated against the LGBTQ community.

However, a noticeable shift occurred during the Trump administration. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo elevated the Office of International Religious Freedom to report directly to the Undersecretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights and the Ambassador-at-Large would report directly to the Secretary of State.[3] Commissioners testified repeatedly before Congress about the plight of Christians throughout Africa and the Middle East and advocated for stricter policies towards these nations.[4] Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley often championed the cause of persecuted Christians in the Middle East and India during her visits abroad.[5] Arguably, the improving conditions of Christians in Egypt and Saudi Arabia can be attributed to the increased U.S. diplomatic pressure.

Without the U.S. leading the diplomatic efforts to defend minority Christian communities, the lives of these people are in grave danger. More than 340 million Christians face high levels of persecution and discrimination, while the number of Christians killed for their faith increased by over 60 percent since last year.[6] Moreover, if Thomas-Greenfields first official speech is a bellwether of things to come, Christian persecution may reach our own shores.

[1] https://usun.usmission.gov/remarks-by-ambassador-linda-thomas-greenfield-at-a-un-general-assembly-commemorative-meeting-for-intl-day-for-the-elimination-of-racial-discrimination/

[2] What Biden foreign policy picks mean for religious freedom

[3] International Religious Freedom Act of 1998

[4] Testimony by Nadine Maenza, Vice Chair United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Hearing on Violations of International Right to Freedom of Religion: Christians"

[5] Nikki Haley to leave role as UN ambassador

[6] https://www.newsweek.com/when-will-world-respond-jihadi-violence-africa-opinion-1576237
Maputo  Mozambican Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosario on Thursday pledged that the government "will continue to consolidate and improve the mechanisms which ensure observance of the principles of economy, efficiency, transparency and accountability in the management of public assets".

He was speaking in Maputo at the closing session of a debate in the country's parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, on the General State Account (CGE) of 2019.

The CGE is drawn up by the government after the end of the financial year concerned, and is then submitted to the Administrative Tribunal, the body responsible for overseeing the legality of public expenditure. The Tribunal then sends its report and comments on the CGE to the Assembly.

The debate has become entirely predictable and formulaic. Every year, the Administrative Tribunal criticises the CGE for various shortcomings, and every year the opposition parties say that the Tribunal's report is evidence of government misconduct or corruption, and call for rejection of the CGE.

Equally predictable is the response from the ruling Frelimo Party, which says the CGE proves the government did indeed implement the budget passed by the Assembly. Frelimo deputies argue that the CGE shows the government is carrying out its programme, but accepts that there have been failings. It claims that the CGE is improving, year after year, and that, since the account is in accordance with the law, it should be accepted.

Rosario assured the deputies that the government will implement new measures in the state financial management system, to improve the mechanisms for registering and accounting for state revenue and expenditure.

It will strengthen the capacity to check the procedures used in budgetary execution "through improving the internal control systems in public institutions at all levels", he said.

Each institution, Rosario stressed, should assess its compliance with the targets laid down in the annual economic and social plan and the state budget, and with the norms of financial and administrative management.

Institutions must also look into any illegalities or irregularities in the use of public resources and inform "the relevant bodies" (which would normally be the Public Prosecutor's Office) so that appropriate measures can be taken. Rosario promised "disciplinary measures against those who violate previously established norms".

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Mozambique Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Turning to the mining industry, the Prime Minister said "we shall continue regular audits to confirm the recoverable costs declared by the companies operating in the sector". Such regular audits would determine how much tax the companies should really be paying.

Rosario added that the government is committed to measures that will broaden the taxation base, and one step in that direction is the introduction, as from last Monday, of mobile tax collection posts in all the provincial delegations of the Mozambican Tax Authority (AT).

Projects that exploit the country's natural resources, he said, must bring benefits to local communities in terms of job opportunities, income generation and links with small and medium enterprises. He promised that the government will work to ensure that the percentage owing to local communities from natural resource exploitation is transferred to them in good time.

Rosario declared that the government "is determined to prevent and combat all forms of corruption, which is a damaging phenomenon which blocks all efforts to improve the provision of services to the public, and thus holds back economic and social development".

"We shall continue to promote the culture of integrity in the public administration", he said, "and continue to strengthen and modernise the capacity of public institutions in good practices of managing public assets".

What the government wanted, Rosario stressed, was "to build a public administration guided by respect by the highest ethical values, of morality and legality, centred on providing citizens with a good service".
Health officials in Spain have reminded people that they cannot choose which vaccine they will receive.

Health minister Carolina Darias warned, this Tuesday, that those who reject the AstraZeneca vaccine will not receive any other vaccine "for now".

Fears following the reports of unusual blood clotting cases detected among a small percentage of vaccinated people, caused several European countries, including Spain, to suspend vaccination with the AstraZeneca formula as a precautionary measure.

But now, after a study and reassurances from the European Medicines Agency, Spain has restarted the vaccination of essential workers up to the age of 65 with doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The EMA's latest findings advised, Its benefits far outweigh the possible risks, without it being possible to deduce that the thrombotic episodes were related to the administration of the vaccine."

However, the Spanish government fears that distrust of the vaccine will increase the percentage of people who do not want to be vaccinated. In Andalucia the figure, so far, is well below one per cent, data from the Junta shows.

According to a national poll the percentage of the population willing to be vaccinated in Spain went from 40 to 82 per cent from December to February. But no-one yet knows how the storm unleashed around the AstraZeneca formula will affect that general confidence.
The Latrobe Valleys largest private employer is being asked to reassure workers of its long-term plans amid fears the Victorian governments decision to end native timber logging will leave a major supply shortfall.

The future of almost 850 jobs at the Maryvale paper mill - the largest of its kind in Australia - are at risk following the announcement that EnergyAustralia plans to shut its coal-fired power station at nearby Yallourn four years earlier than scheduled.

A shortfall in timber supply has the potential to threaten the future of the Opal plant near Morwell. Credit:Jason South

The traditionally blue collar region in eastern Victoria has been hard-hit in recent years with almost 1000 jobs lost following the sudden closures of Hazelwood power station and the Carter Holt Harvey timber mill.

The coronavirus pandemic also took a major toll on the wider Gippsland area with Australian Bureau of Statistics workforce data last year recording 6100 job losses, representing more than 40 per cent of the 15,000 jobs lost throughout regional Victoria.
REDDING, Calif.  The Redding Rancherias Tribal Health System is now offering a mobile COVID-19 vaccination unit.

The tribe said they will focus on restaurant employees in Shasta County. Restaurant owners and managers can also register their business on the Tribal Health Centers website.

Redding Rancheria will send a team of medical professionals to vaccinate their employees at their place of business to help make it easier for their staff.

We feel this is a simple step in helping keep the community safe while dining locally, as well as helping a workforce that needs additional protection, Glen Hayward, Executive Director said.

Any employee age 18 and older would be eligible for this free service. Redding Rancheria will be administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccines which allows for one and done immunity.

Click here to register for your COVID-19 vaccine appointment.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 19:44:24|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

HARARE, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe's elderly people have taken heed of the government's call for them to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and are among those trooping to the Wilkins Infectious Diseases Hospital in Harare to get their shots.

According to the government-controlled Herald newspaper, there has been a significant response to the national vaccination program by the elderly since the second stage of the rollout began this week.

The second stage includes people above 60 years of age, those with underlying conditions, teachers, hospitality industry staff as well as other frontline workers who have not been vaccinated.

The elderly have been classified among those who are at high risk of developing severe illness and death if they contract the disease.

Former Primary and Secondary Education permanent secretary Sylvia Utete-Masango, who was also inoculated, said the number of those coming forward was a sign that people were now more knowledgeable about the vaccines and their benefits.

"At first we were apprehensive and doubtful about the vaccines but once you get here (at the vaccination center), it becomes clearer. As you can see the numbers are picking up and people are warming up to the vaccine," she said.

She commended the government for the efforts to enable citizens to get the vaccine free of charge which she said would help reduce the number of people dying from the pandemic.

Retired nurse Rosemary Gwata encouraged fellow citizens to be vaccinated.

"People will ask questions and question the vaccines, but they should know that it is very important to get vaccinated against this COVID-19 pandemic. This is why we made sure that we protected our children when they were young.

"They received immunization from day one up to the time when they were grown up. The same thing is now happening with this virus and we are fortunate that there is a vaccine now. Why not take advantage of the vaccine which is being given for free? I am a nurse and I encourage all people to come and be vaccinated," she said.

Another retired nurse, Winfrieda Jokonya, said there was a need for more education to convince people to be vaccinated.

"My daughter is a doctor and she has been telling us that if there is a vaccine, we should go for it but we were a bit apprehensive. At the end of the day we realized that this is the way to go. If other people are having it and surviving, then why should we not take it?"

As of March 24, just over 49,400 people had received their first dose of either the Sinopharm or Sinovac vaccines from China.

The Sinovac vaccine was rolled out in the resort city of Victoria Falls this week with President Emmerson Mnangagwa taking his first shot there Wednesday.

Zimbabwe has now recorded 1,516 COVID-19 related deaths from 36,749 confirmed cases. Enditem
Doodnath Maharaj was the general secretary of the Oilfields Workers Trade Union for nearly two decades. This is out of a total of 40 years service.

He was a dedicated and loyal comrade who did his best work away from the limelight. Indeed, he shunned it, embodying a self-effacing personality that was deeply mystifying to many who came to know him.
SAN FRANCISCO, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Corelight, provider of the industry's first open network detection and response (NDR) platform, today announced two new executives have joined the leadership team: Bernard Brantley joins as the company's first chief information security officer (CISO) and Lana Knop joins as chief product officer (CPO).

"The addition of Bernard and Lana to the Corelight team comes at a pivotal time for the company as we continue to experience tremendous growth and look toward further market expansion," said Brian Dye, CEO of Corelight. "Bernard joins us not only as someone with expertise in rooting out threats at some very large Fortune 500 companies, but he also comes as a former Corelight and Zeek user. He brings the firsthand knowledge of how our technology can significantly advance the ways in which customer organizations can use rich data to detect and respond to malicious network activity. That front line security experience will be critical in helping to inform our own security practices and we are thrilled to have him on board."

In the newly created CISO role, Brantley will be responsible for carrying out and managing Corelight's information security vision and strategy, as well as deepening its existing culture of security stewardship. He joins Corelight from Amazon where he led a threat hunting and threat intelligence team covering a wide range of threat scenarios. Prior to that he was at Microsoft upleveling security for Microsoft HVA (High Value Assets) environments, including XboxLIVE, and at Alert Logic in both research and analyst roles. He serves as an advisor to a number of innovative technology companies including Broadbridge Networks, an emerging player in the GPU-accelerated analytics domain. Brantley is an active participant in workshops with Toffler Associates focused on strategic adoption and leverage of machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) within the federal government.

"If we look across security as an ecosystem, it all boils down to information advantage. There is a lot of budget allocated to threat intelligence, forensics and research, and generating a knowledge base necessary to design and execute on a holistic security posture; Corelight provides that knowledge base," said Brantley. "My priority is securing Corelight, it just so happens that my go-to network security monitoring solution is what we are building. My ability to use that and to describe the ways that we are achieving compliance, achieving protect, detect and response measures, and in informing other areas of the business, will hopefully provide other enterprises with the blueprint that they need to advance their network security as well. I am very excited to come on board and be part of this team."

Knop has created, managed, positioned and sold cybersecurity and technology products and services for more than two decades, working in many markets across consumer and enterprise, as well as experience leading product, sales, partnerships, OEMs, technology assessments and strategic planning. Knop takes the role of CPO previously held by Dye at the company.

"Lana's expertise will be instrumental as we continue to expand the Corelight platform beyond its network security capabilities and into adjacent product spaces and into other markets," said Dye. "Her experience in both fueling rapid growth and leading very large product portfolios will ultimately make it possible for us to scale our offerings to a broader set of customers worldwide. Having worked with Lana for a short period at Symantec, I know that she will be a strong leader and mentor, and I am pleased to welcome her to the team."

Before Corelight, Knop was responsible for McAfee's platform team spanning SIEM, analytics with insights, ePolicy Orchestrator, Data Exchange Layer, OpenDXL, and Threat Intelligence. Prior to McAfee she created and led Symantec's endpoint detection and response (EDR), targeted attack analytics, managed detection and response service for EDR, and the advanced threat protection platform which included sensors across network, email and endpoint. She also led Symantec's Integrated Cyber Defense Exchange (ICDx), Threat Hunting Center and Norton consumer products. Prior to Symantec, she spent time delivering and planning professional services at Sun Microsystems.

"I think there is a tremendous opportunity to take Corelight with Zeek at its core, which has become the de facto standard for network security monitoring, and broadening its feature set in detections and investigations. I have spent the last several years in this space and I truly enjoy creating products around this experience and making it engaging for our customers," said Knop. "Corelight is in an enviable market position with large enterprises and I am looking forward to building collaborative customer relationships that will lead to long-term success as we expand into new markets."

About Corelight

Corelight gives defenders unparalleled insight into networks to help them protect the world's most critical organizations and companies. Corelight's global customers include Fortune 500 companies, major government agencies, and large research universities. The company has received investment support from Accel, General Catalyst, Insight Partners and Osage University Partners. Based in San Francisco, Corelight is an open-core security company founded by the creators of Zeek, the widely-used network security technology. For more information, visit https://www.corelight.com or follow @corelight_inc.

SOURCE Corelight, Inc.

Related Links

www.corelight.com


An Bord Pleanala has given the green light to Tayto Park for a new 15.5 million Coaster 2021 roller-coaster for the theme park.

The grant of permission by the appeals board clears the way for the construction of the roller coaster which is made up of a 31 metre high and 748 metre long Suspended Thrill Coaster (STC) and a 24.2 metre high 238 metre long Family Boomerang (FB) ride.

The decision brings to an end a two year four month long planning battle by Tayto Park owner, Raymond Coyle to secure planning permission for the new attraction.

Expand Close 6/7/20 Ray Coyle, CEO Tayto Park. Picture: Arthur Carron / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp 6/7/20 Ray Coyle, CEO Tayto Park. Picture: Arthur Carron

A previous roller-coaster proposed for Tayto Park was refused planning permission in July 2019 by the appeals board due, in part, to the noise impact of peoples screams from the roller coaster on residents properties.

Now, the board has over-ruled its own inspector, Dolores McCague who recommended that planning permission be refused for the new project.

Ms McCague recommended that planning be refused due to the the noise impact on nearby residential homes and that it would depreciate the value of properties in the area.

Mr Coyles Ashbourne Visitor Centre Ltds revised plans provides for a planned spend on 1.5 million on 14 separate noise reduction methods.

However, during the course of her 58-page report, Ms McCague stated that the application did not reveal the noise impact from screaming by patrons on the roller-coaster.

Ms McCague stated: A scream is a primitive sound, calling out danger and shouting for help. It is a particularly distinctive sound. Screaming has a much more visceral impact on the listener than any other sound.

Ms McCague also recommended that planning permission be refused as the development would exacerbate the capacity and congestion issues on the N2.

However, the board found that the proposed development would not have an adverse impact on population and human health associated with noise.

The board stated that it was satisfied that the mitigation measures proposed are adequate and acceptable. The board also found that the proposal would not exacerbate the current identified capacity and congestion issues on the N2.

The board decision upholds a decision by Meath County Council to grant planning permission for the project last year.

However, the proposed development came before the appeals board after local residents, Donal Greene & Clare Smith along with Jeremy Butcher appealed the Council decision.

Read More

Plans for the new rollercoaster have been drawn up by Dutch roller-coaster maker, Vekoma which has made roller-coasters across the world such as Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain for Disney.

Mr Coyle has already promised that any screams by passengers will be drowned out.

The designers reoriented the tracks to direct noise back into the park and away from housing in the area and some of the other noise-reducing design features include three tunnels; underground sections; extensive planting of trees, shrubbery and foliage and a 6m high and 100m long sound barrier.

Planning documentation lodged with the plan by Tayto Park stated if the roller-coaster doesnt proceed the longer-term viability of the Park would be brought into question.
A Chicago police officer was shot Thursday afternoon in the South Sides Brighton Park neighborhood, authorities said.

The officer is the fourth Chicago cop to be shot in less than two weeks.

The latest shooting occurred in the 2400 block of West 46th Street, and a suspect was in custody, authorities said.

Theres no condition available for the officer, who was en route to Mount Sinai Hospital for treatment, according to a police spokesman.

Check back for more details.
Countries need to join forces to vaccinate the population against the coronavirus, Chairman of the United Russia partys Supreme Council Boris Gryzlov said, addressing the international cross-party conference dubbed "Russia-Africa: Reviving Traditions" on Thursday.

"There is a need to join forces to vaccinate the population. Russias Sputink V vaccine has proved safe and effective. This is why global demand for it is growing," he pointed out, TASS reports.

Gryzlov emphasized that dozens of counties, including African nations, had approved Sputnik V. "In particular, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Kenya and Namibia support our vaccine," he specified.

According to the United Russia official, Moscow is ready to boost cooperation with other countries in this area. "Not everyone is happy about the rising demand for the Russian vaccine. Attempts are being made to launch a defamation campaign in order to make people biased against the vaccine. I believe that it is unacceptable to politicize the matter. Every country should receive assistance in a timely manner, without facing foreign pressure, including sanctions," Gryzlov concluded.
UK Full Distance learning courses

A new cycle of UK Full Licence Distance learning courses are commencing hosted by the Strangford High Frequency Enthusiasts Group. This service is completely free.

We also have Full License practice questions with answers and Explanations available.

Please contact Robert at email gi0vkp@gmail.com for further information
A man who set fire to his council house in a bid to end his own life has been jailed for three-and-a-half years.

Judge Martin Nolan praised the courage of a garda who followed Joseph O'Connor (41) into the burning building to pull him back to safety.

O'Connor had set fire to his home at Primrose Grove in Darndale in the early hours of March 31 last year before lying down on a sofa in the hopes he would pass out, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard.

Instead, the smoke became too hard for him to handle and he went out to alert his neighbours. When gardai arrived at the scene, he was embroiled in a dispute with them, Garda Colin O'Shea told Garrett Baker BL, prosecuting.

O'Connor told gardai he had set fire to the house before he walked back into the burning property, closed the door and tried to lock himself inside, Mr Baker said.

Garda O'Shea followed him inside and managed to pull O'Connor out of the blazing house, the court heard.

The damage to the Dublin City Council house was 24,660, Gda O'Shea said. O'Connor had taken over the tenancy following the death of his mother three years previously.

O'Connor pleaded guilty to one count of arson. Another count of obstruction was taken into consideration. He has 34 previous convictions and has been in custody since the fire.

John Byrne BL, defending, said O'Connor had lit the fire with no intention of harming anyone but himself. O'Connor had been struggling with drug addiction issues and was previously given a suspended three-year sentence for drug offences, the court heard.

He found himself in a situation where everything got on top of him and he felt the easiest thing to do was end his life, Mr Byrne said.

Since going into custody, O'Connor has made good progress and is now drug-free, he said.

Mr Byrne said O'Connor would be homeless when released from custody as he has burnt his bridges with the council following the fire.

Sentencing O'Connor, Judge Martin Nolan said Garda O'Shea had shown great courage in getting O'Connor out of the burning house.

He said starting a fire was reckless, as one doesn't know where it will spread. The neighbours could have been in danger or their houses could have been in danger, he said.

The judge handed down a five-year sentence but suspended the final 18 months on a number of conditions. He backdated it to when O'Connor first went into custody.
By John Harney, Bloomberg News (TNS)

WASHINGTON  Unaccompanied migrant children will be housed on military bases in Texas as waves of people from Central America continue to arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border.

A Defense Department spokesman, John Kirby, said in a statement released Wednesday night that the children would be taken to a vacant dormitory at Joint Base San Antonio and on an area of land at Fort Bliss, where temporary housing would be constructed. He added that the Department of Health and Human Services would maintain custody and responsibility for the well-being and support for these children at all times on the installation.

The announcement came as lawmakers in both parties and advocates have expressed alarm over the continuing crisis at the border, and President Joe Biden has come under increasing criticism over his handling of it.

On Wednesday, he put Vice President Kamala Harris in charge of resolving the matter. I can think of nobody whos better qualified to do this, Biden said at the White House. When she speaks, she speaks for me.

Earlier this week, he sent two top White House officials to Mexico and Guatemala for talks that seek to stem the flow of illegal migration.

I have an important message for those migrants who wish to enter the United States in an irregular fashion, one of the officials, Roberta Jacobson said in a statement posted on the website of the U.S. Embassy in Mexico on Tuesday evening. Do not come to the border. The border is closed.

Republicans have accused Biden of creating the problem by reversing some of former President Donald Trumps hard-line policies while using more welcoming rhetoric regarding immigration.

They have singled out the administrations decision to scrap the policy that sent migrant asylum-seekers back to Mexico to await their cases and repealing a Trump era-rule that made it more difficult to obtain visas.

Biden, speaking to reporters during a visit to Ohio on Tuesday, said the last administration dismantled all that we had put in place.

Earlier Wednesday, Kirby told reporters that Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado is also being looked at as a possible place to house migrant children.

Kirby said the operation at the two Texas bases will not negatively affect military training, operations, readiness, or other military requirements, including National Guard and Reserve readiness.
New Delhi, March 25 : The students of Ashoka University have ended the strike started after the resignation of Pratap Bhanu Mehta.

"Over the last week, we have observed the power and impact of collective action. We witnessed a strong sense of community that emerged for one of the first times since we went online. We sincerely thank you for your undeterred support and resilience for the past 6 days", they said in the letter.

"We sincerely appreciate your participation in the protest. With the Vice Chancellor's email today morning, we are officially closing the strike", they added.

"However, this is not to say that the movement must end. We must continue coming together, asking questions, making art, and discussing academic freedom and the precarious political situation we find ourselves in. We must continue showing solidarity with our faculty members, workers, each other, and movements against injustice beyond Ashoka", the students said.

"We would like to sincerely thank all the people on-campus for fighting in our stead, for challenging and questioning without fear, and most of all, for holding sit-ins, painting protest art, and working towards making Our Ashoka. For those of us who were online, we needed to find a way to show collective solidarity through a screen. You organised reading circles, club events, plays and so much more in a pandemic. We thank the alums for their continued support as well", they added.

"To the Vice-Chancellor, we thank you for being so receptive to our proposed changes and for your commitment to work with us to the best of your ability in building a more representative Ashoka. To our Professors, TAs and TFs, we have nothing but appreciation. You have supported us by cancelling classes or creating a space to discuss Prof. Mehta and Prof. Subramanian's resignations", the students said.

"We are at a critical juncture -- the university is growing and we must grow with it. The way we proceed going forward will leave an impact on the way Ashoka treats its own stakeholders as well as those outside of it. We were able to meet unprecedented demands after protesting for six days and boycotting classes for two. Public universities across the country strike for weeks and months on end, often to fulfill basic needs, and even then they are not always successful. We must forge deeper solidarities with student unions and collectives fighting against injustice throughout India", they added.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
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.
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.
Scientists make pivotal discovery of method for wireless modulation of neurons with X-rays that could improve the lives of patients with brain disorders. The X-ray source only requires a machine like that found in a dentist's office.

Many people worldwide suffer from movement-related brain disorders. Epilepsy accounts for more than 50 million; essential tremor, 40 million; and Parkinson's disease, 10 million.

Relief for some brain disorder sufferers may one day be on the way in the form of a new treatment invented by researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and four universities. The treatment is based on breakthroughs in both optics and genetics. It would be applicable to not only movement-related brain disorders, but also chronic depression and pain.

Our high precision noninvasive approach could become routine with the use of a small X-ray machine, the kind commonly found in every dental office." Elena Rozhkova, Nanoscientist, Argonne's Center for Nanoscale Materials

This new treatment involves stimulation of neurons deep within the brain by means of injected nanoparticles that light up when exposed to X-rays (nanoscintillators) and would eliminate an invasive brain surgery currently in use.

"Our high-precision noninvasive approach could become routine with the use of a small X-ray machine, the kind commonly found in every dental office," said Elena Rozhkova, a lead author and a nanoscientist in Argonne's Center for Nanoscale Materials (CNM), a DOE Office of Science User Facility.

Traditional deep brain stimulation requires an invasive neurosurgical procedure for disorders when conventional drug therapy is not an option. In the traditional procedure, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, surgeons implant a calibrated pulse generator under the skin (similar to a pacemaker).

They then connect it with an insulated extension cord to electrodes inserted into a specific area of the brain to stimulate the surrounding neurons and regulate abnormal impulses.

"The Spanish-American scientist Jose Manuel Rodriguez Delgado famously demonstrated deep brain stimulation in a bullring in the 1960s," said Vassiliy Tsytsarev, a neurobiologist from the University of Maryland and a co-author of the study. "He brought a raging bull charging at him to a standstill by sending a radio signal to an implanted electrode."

About 15 years ago, scientists introduced a revolutionary neuromodulation technology, "optogenetics," which relies on genetic modification of specific neurons in the brain. These neurons create a light-sensitive ion channel in the brain and, thereby, fire in response to external laser light. This approach, however, requires very thin fiberoptic wires implanted in the brain and suffers from the limited penetration depth of the laser light through biological tissues.

The team's alternative optogenetics approach uses nanoscintillators injected in the brain, bypassing implantable electrodes or fiberoptic wires. Instead of lasers, they substitute X-rays because of their greater ability to pass through biological tissue barriers.

"The injected nanoparticles absorb the X-ray energy and convert it into red light, which has significantly greater penetration depth than blue light," said Zhaowei Chen, former CNM postdoctoral fellow.

"Thus, the nanoparticles serve as an internal light source that makes our method work without a wire or electrode," added Rozhkova. Since the team's approach can both stimulate and quell targeted small areas, Rozhkova noted, it has other applications than brain disorders. For example, it could be applicable to heart problems and other damaged muscles.

One of the team's keys to success was the collaboration between two of the world-class facilities at Argonne: CNM and Argonne's Advanced Photon Source (APS), a DOE Office of Science User Facility. The work at these facilities began with the synthesis and multi-tool characterization of the nanoscintillators.

In particular, the X-ray excited optical luminescence of the nanoparticle samples was determined at an APS beamline (20-BM). The results showed that the particles were extremely stable over months and upon repeated exposure to the high-intensity X-rays.

According to Zou Finfrock, a staff scientist at the APS 20-BM beamline and Canadian Light Source, "They kept glowing a beautiful orange-red light."

Next, Argonne sent CNM-prepared nanoscintillators to the University of Maryland for tests in mice. The team at University of Maryland performed these tests over two months with a small portable X-ray machine. The results proved that the procedure worked as planned. Mice whose brains had been genetically modified to react to red light responded to the X-ray pulses with brain waves recorded on an electroencephalogram.

Finally, the University of Maryland team sent the animal brains for characterization using X-ray fluorescence microscopy performed by Argonne scientists. This analysis was performed by Olga Antipova on the Microprobe beamline (2-ID-E) at APS and by Zhonghou Cai on the Hard X-ray Nanoprobe (26-ID) jointly operated by CNM and APS.

This multi-instrument arrangement made it possible to see tiny particles residing in the complex environment of the brain tissue with a super-resolution of dozens of nanometers.

It also allowed visualizing neurons near and far from the injection site on a microscale. The results proved that the nanoscintillators are chemically and biologically stable. They do not wander from the injection site or degrade.

"Sample preparation is extremely important in these types of biological analysis," said Antipova, a physicist in the X-ray Science Division (XSD) at the APS. Antipova was assisted by Qiaoling Jin and Xueli Liu, who prepared brain sections only a few micrometers thick with jeweler-like accuracy.

"There is an intense level of commercial interest in optogenetics for medical applications," said Rozhkova. "Although still at the proof-of-concept stage, we predict our patent-pending wireless approach with small X-ray machines should have a bright future."
Bengaluru, March 26 : A woman, her paramour and eight members of a 'supari killer' (contract killers) gang were arrested here on Thursday for planning and executing the murder of her 35-year-old businessman husband, police said.

The police said that the woman and her paramour paid Rs 5 lakh to hire the contract killers gang headed by Tabrez Pasha aka Tabbu aka Double.

"Interesting part of this case is that the contract amount of Rs 5 lakh was recovered from deceased Mohammed Shafi, a small-time real estate businessman," a police release said.

The arrested were identified as Tasleem Banu, 29, Afsar Khan, 41, Pasha, 26, Syed Wasim, 26, Venkatesh, 19, Bharat, 18, Chetan, 19, Ibrahim, 19 and a minor.

The police said that realtor Afsar Khan was in love with the married Tasleem Banu, who also reciprocated after they met at a marriage ceremony of a common relative two years ago.

"Tasleem Banu married Shafi a couple of years ago and was happily married until she met Afsar Khan, who is a family acquaintance. She wanted to eliminate her husband, who, she thought, would become a problem in her affair, and hence she roped her lover to eliminate him," Assistant Commissioner of Police Sudhir Hegde told IANS.

Khan persuaded Shafi to invest in a land parcel valued around Rs 70 lakh by offering him immediate commission of Rs 5 lakh. "After investing Rs 70 lakh, Shafi was running around to collect his Rs 5 lakh commission. But Khan kept dodging him for several months, giving one excuse after the other." After some time, the police said that Khan invited Shafi to collect his commission in an isolated timber yard, where the gang members hacked him to death on March 19.

"After Shafi was killed, his father Arif lodged a case and investigations revealed his wife's hand in this case," the police said.
Residents say they are in the dark about the process of seeking help to clean up. There has been talk of army assistance, but no one knows how to request it. If the federal level have said we've got services available in Defence and so forth, where is that? Mrs Sullivan said. How do we register for that? Does it just turn up? Do they knock on our door? Do we lock it in somehow? She emphasised she did not need help because she had a great network that swung into action, but there were thousands of houses requiring urgent assistance. "As a community, the Hawkesbury is overwhelmed with what's ahead of us," she said. A friend helps Lisa Sullivan, right, carry a soggy pile outside. Credit:Louise Kennerley

Mrs Bugeja welcomed the $1000 government disaster payments but said they wouldn't go far and they were difficult to access. Weve tried a few times  weve waited on the phone for over an hour a couple of times and its just were too busy, we cant do that right now, she said. Ive already lost two fridges of food, theres probably $500 [lost]. Phil Coey, the caretaker of St George Caravan Park in Lower Portland, returned to the site for the first time to inspect the devastation. The caravan park has become the dumping ground for debris floating down the river. Among the caravans are tractor wheels, gas bottles, hay bales and trailers that dont belong to him.

Brad McCutcheon, a resident of St George Caravan Park, surveys the scene. Credit:Nick Moir It was just destruction, just heartbreaking, Mr Coey said. People spend all their lives building up and it gets taken away in an instant. On Thursday a small group of residents went to inspect the damage. In his waterlogged home, Mr Coey found his freezer was still working and handed out ice-creams to lighten the mood. He has lived along the river for 40 years and at the park for 25 years. He has experienced floods, but nothing like this. Loading

Mr Coey and his family evacuated their home at the park on Sunday afternoon, taking essentials with them. He returned on Monday morning to collect the last items and waded through chest-high water to get his sons ashes, passports and medications. But the caretaker is determined to rebuild, noting they love the river. We can all rebuild and start again. You just clean up again  thats what you do when floods happen, everyone pitches in and helps, he said. Down at the makeshift Windsor boat ramp, the NSW State Emergency Service has morphed into a ferry and courier service, transporting people and cargo between Windsor and Wilberforce. SES volunteers Megan Thomson and her husband have been pulling 12-hour shifts all week, splitting their time between the call centre and the river.
TRONDHEIM, Norway, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Aker BP has today published the company's Annual Report, Sustainability Report and Annual Statement of Reserves for 2020. The reports are attached, and can also be found on the company's website www.akerbp.com.



Annual Report 2020

Sustainability Report 2020

Statement of Reserves 2020

Contacts:

Kjetil Bakken, VP Investor Relations, tel.: +47 918 89 889

Ole-Johan Faret, Press Spokesperson, tel.: +47 402 24 217

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/aker-bp-asa/r/aker-bp-releases-2020-reports,c3313545

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/1629/3313545/1392428.pdf Release https://mb.cision.com/Public/1629/3313545/ad45edf94335a9ab.pdf Annual Statement of Reserves 2020 https://mb.cision.com/Public/1629/3313545/bdef52ed4fde0572.pdf Sustainability Report 2020 https://mb.cision.com/Public/1629/3313545/bbcbe417a3e6ea5f.pdf Annual Report 2020

SOURCE Aker BP ASA
The daughter of a Jewish American who earned a posthumous Medal of Honor for his actions in World War I will share her fathers story at two upcoming events, including a virtual discussion tonight held by the National WWI Museum and Memorial in Kansas City.

Sgt. William Shemin demonstrated extraordinary heroism and selflessness, above and beyond the call of duty, in combat from Aug. 7 to Aug. 9, 1918, according to his Medal of Honor citation.

Sergeant Shemin, upon three different occasions, left cover and crossed an open space of 150 yards, repeatedly exposing himself to heavy machine-gun and rifle fire, to rescue wounded, the citation notes. After officers and senior noncommissioned officers had become casualties, Sergeant Shemin took command of the platoon and displayed great initiative under fire until wounded on August 9.

In 1919, Shemin received the Distinguished Service Cross  the nations second-highest military honor for heroism in combat  for his actions.

ADVERTISEMENT

In 2015, Shemins daughter, Elsie Shemin-Roth of Webster Groves, told the Jewish Light that the reason her father had been denied the Medal of Honor was because of anti-Semitism.

I remember sitting on the front porch when I was 12-years-old with my dad and his Army buddy, Jim Pritchard, a dear family friend who was in the trenches with my father, Shemin-Roth said. Jim said to me, Elsie, youre old enough to know that your father never got the medal he deserved because he was a Jew. I was horrified. I ran to my dad and said, Can this be true? He said anti-Semitism and discrimination were a way of life back then in the Army. But he never dwelled on it.

William Shemin died in 1973. Three decades later, Shemin-Roth read about a new review process for veterans from World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War who may have been denied the Medal of Honor because of religion or race. Shemin-Roth wondered why the same process would not include WWI veterans.

That led Shemin-Roth, now 91, to work for years to expand the review process and have her fathers case revisited.

Her efforts resulted in the William Shemin Jewish World War I Veterans Act, part of legislation signed by President Barack Obama in 2011.

In June 2015, Shemin-Roth, her sister, Ida Shemin, and other family members traveled to Washington. In a ceremony at the White House, Obama presented Shemin-Roth the posthumous Medal of Honor for her father.

Since then, Sgt. Shemins story has been shared in museum exhibits and a book about Medal of Honor winners. A school was named after Shemin in his hometown of Bayonne, N.J. And Shemin-Roth has shared her fathers story with a variety of groups, including cadets at West Point.

Tonight, Shemin-Roth will be one of three daughters of Medal of Honor winners  two from WWI and another from the Korean War  speaking at 7 p.m. during a virtual discussion held via Zoom by the National WWI Museum and Memorial in Kansas City. The event, taking place on National Medal of Honor Day, is free and open to the public, but RSVPs are required to participate. Click here to register.

On Friday, April 16, Shemins story will be shared during a virtual National WWI Memorials First Colors Ceremony, at 9 a.m. (CST), which will will celebrate the Inaugural Raising of the Flag of the United States of America over the newly constructed National World War I Memorial site in Washington, DC, according to its website. The online live broadcast event is free and open to the public, but registration is required at https://firstcolors.worldwar1centennial.org.
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 government's decision to reopen outdoor terraces from 7 April onwards was welcomed by the Horesca federation, who have appealed to municipalities to authorise "a maximum of terraces".

Horesca believes "we are headed in the right direction" be reopening terraces across Luxembourg. The government's decision was welcomed by the federation, which however noted that many establishments do not have terraces and that the weather "is not always lenient".

The decision to allow restaurants to open outdoor areas is largely a symbolic one, according to Bettel - the industry will continue to receive financial aid from the government, but the reopening represents the sector's plea to become "part of the solution" some weeks ago. Those establishments which cannot or do not want to open their terrace "will obviously not be sanctioned".

For those businesses without a terrace, an "ephemeral terrace" may be another option, where a wooden structure is erected outside the establishment (often seen in Paris, for example). While this term was not used in Horesca's press release, it has launched an appeal to municipalities to allow as much terrace space 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.
A man has appeared in court after a bomb disposal team attended a report of a suspicious item in the grounds of the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

Police Scotland said they were called to the Queens official residence in Edinburgh at about 8.50pm on Tuesday.

The bomb disposal team was called to the scene to examine the item and made it safe.

Police officers were seen conducting a search within the grounds of the Palace of Holyroodhouse (Andrew Milligan/PA)

Julien Dupuis was arrested and charged with breach of the peace in connection with the incident.

The 39-year-old, from Edinburgh, appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Thursday and made no plea.

He was remanded in custody and is expected to reappear within eight days.
Hagerstown Housing Authority closes in on end of McCleary Hill project

After objections from neighbors, the Hagerstown Housing Authority's McCleary Hill project is done its first phase. Officials held an open house.
Associated Press

The younger generation of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales are on average about three feet (one meter) shorter than whales were 20 years, drone and aircraft data show in a study in Thursdays journal Current Biology. Entanglements with fishing gear, collisions with ships and climate change moving their food supply north are combining to stress and shrink these large whales, the study says. This isnt about short right whales, its about a physical manifestation of a physiological problem, its the chest pain before the heart attack, said Regina Asmutis-Silvia, executive director of Whale and Dolphin Conservation North America, who wasnt part of the study.
(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to edge lower at the open on Thursday ahead of an EU vaccine summit.

The FTSE 100 was called to open 10 points lower at 6,703.



CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "Tensions between the EU and UK still remain fairly elevated, despite efforts to cool the narrative, while the recent comments from Thierry Breton, the EU's internal market commissioner accusing the UK of vaccine nationalism still suggest the potential for a misstep, as feelings continue to run high, particularly on the EU side, where the sense of grievance remains especially elevated.



"There is by no means unanimity amongst EU member states about the stance being taken by the EU Commission with the likes of Ireland expressing concern about the damage such actions might do to the EU's reputation, and that's even before the damage it might do to the EU's own attempts to kick start its own faltering vaccination program, at a time when infection rates are rising again sharply.



"Sentiment in Europe continues to remain fragile after German Chancellor Angela Merkel was forced into a sharp U-turn over her decision to announce a full 5 day lockdown over the Easter period, as the German government's response to their rising crisis shows further signs of coming apart at the seams."



In UK corporate news, Compass said profitability improved in the second quarter while volumes stayed subdued because of the Covid-19 crisis. The catering company's organic revenue fell 28% in the three months to the end of March from a year earlier compared with a 33.7% drop the previous quarter. In both the first and the second quarter organic revenue was 71% of 2019 levels.



Compass said revenue fell less sharply in the second quarter as it began to lap the Covid-19 impact on the previous year's income. Operating margin is expected to strengthen to about 4% in the second quarter from 2.7% in the first quarter.



Cineworld swung to a huge loss as the movie house chain felt the full impact of closures during the Covid-19 pandemic and warned any tightening of restrictions would force it to raise extra cash.



The company reported a pre-tax loss of 3bn, compared with a profit of $212m a year earlier as revenue collapsed to $852m from $4.3bn in 2019. Cineworld earlier this week said it planned to re-open US cinemas on April 2.



"There can be no certainty as to the future impact of Covid-19 on the group. Governments strengthening of restrictions on social gathering may lead to closure of cinemas or studios delaying movie releases. This would have a negative impact on the Group's financial performance and likely require the need to raise additional liquidity," Cineworld said.








What has it been like to work on deadbird during the pandemic?

In August I injured myself pretty badly from lifting so many Covid patients. Im one of the only nurses on the unit who didnt get Covid, and we were so short-staffed.

So Ive been out on leave. The gift of that is Ive been able to continue working on this show.

Now my performance work is my nursing work is my healing work. Theyve all kind of collapsed into one in this time, which, I cant believe Im saying it, but has been a gift of Covid. I was pulled in a lot of different directions before.

Can you talk a bit about your dance background?

I grew up dancing in Philly and went to University of the Arts for my B.F.A. At the time, I hated every minute of it. It was Graham and Horton and Taylor and ballet, ballet, ballet, ballet.

I really didnt fit into classical dance. I was a ratty little punk, and I was just resistant or something. Its silly looking back on it, because Im so grateful for all that formal training.

What do you bring from dance into nursing?

When you come from being really sweaty and gross with other people in a rehearsal process, for an incubated amount of time, you create these little bubbles of intimacy. Youre really getting to know each others exact weight and mannerisms and habits.

It creates this heightened understanding of the body that translates quite a bit to nursing for me. I think I have a skill set of really intuiting body language and energetics.
Nigerians from different economic, social, ethnic and religious backgrounds have differed on the propriety or otherwise of organising lavish and elaborate burial ceremonies, following the loss of loved ones.

The outbreak of COVID-19 in Nigeria in February 2020, resulting in restriction of movements, religious and public gatherings as well as use of face masks and observance of other protocols, has shown that conduct of elaborate burials are unnecessary.

In a survey conducted by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in the South-West zone, while some respondents condemned the practice, saying it would lead to committing humongous expenses, others, however, said there was nothing wrong with it.

The latter group further argued that elaborate and lavish burials were unnecessary, especially given the fact that more than 80 per cent of Nigerians were living below poverty line.

In an interview with NAN, Ogun Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Dr Toyin Taiwo, frowned at the practice of organising elaborate burial ceremonies in some Nigerian cultures.

Taiwo described such practice as "frivolous", contending that although it was inherited, it was no longer in tune with the current economic realities in Nigeria.

"If a particular norm is not serving any useful purpose, it should be discontinued, no matter how long it might have been in existence.

"Another reason it has continued is because of the foolish and erroneous belief in some cultures that the dead would be angry and not sleep in peace if not celebrated flamboyantly.

"We should, however, realise that culture is not a destination but a journey of discovery, and when you discover that a particular way of life no longer serves any useful purpose, you stop it, rather than pass it on.

Also contributing, Dr Debo Jegede, a senior lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Covenant University, Ota, identified the Yoruba and Igbo as two cultures that were fond of celebrating the dead flamboyantly in Nigeria.

According to him, most people of Northern extraction do not believe in much ceremony after death.

The don described the practice as "wasteful", adding that "it does not have any positive economic impact on the society".

An Abeokuta-based business woman, Alhaja Oyeronke Adebiyi, wondered why people spend lavishly on burial ceremonies since "such practice does not mean that the deceased will automatically rest in peace.

"Oftentimes in Yoruba land, you see people going the extra mile to bury someone they claim to love; they incur debts just to satisfy guests and be respected for being sociable.

"But you discover that when the deceased was alive, hardly was he cared for by the same people as a way of demonstrating their so-called love for him.

"It is wrong and absurd to spend lavishly on burials of someone you will never see again," she said.

However, Mr Sunday Bamidele, a sociologist, said "celebrating the dead is culturally acceptable".

He explained that the acceptability would depend on the culture which the dead person belonged to while alive.

"It is oftentimes peculiar to each culture and tradition. For example, the Hausa bury their dead almost immediately or on the day of death.

"The Yoruba, on the other hand, usually postpone the burial ceremony in order to prepare for full celebration.

"Concerning the religious aspect, most Muslims bury their dead the same day, while Christians sometimes shift the burial date forward, regardless of their ethnic affiliations.

A clergyman, Rev. Akintunde Idowu, said Christians had strong belief in the afterlife, stressing that much of their lives should be lived with the aim of achieving eternal peace in heaven.

Idowu, however, said that Christians usually held funeral services to pray for repose of the soul of the departed and offer comfort and support to the bereaved.

"As Christians, we follow the Bible which recognises life after death. So when a Christian dies, it is seen as the end of his earthly sojourn. Everyone must, therefore, strive to attain a place in heaven, as believer in Jesus Christ.

"Funerals are held for family members, friends and associates of the deceased to celebrate and give thanks for the life and times of the departed.

"It is also a period used to help the family come to terms with the reality of the loss of their loved ones and bring some form of support," he said.

To Dr Omotunde Olaniyi, a mental health physician, while some people always give attention to funerals rather than medical costs in the event that the deceased was ill, funerals help to provide relief and social support to the bereaved.

According to her, a funeral ceremony is an avenue for social support so that the person doesn't slide into depression after losing a loved one.

"Grief can weaken a bereaved person's physical and mental health, thus holding funeral rites is a symbolic way of bringing relief and comfort to the bereaved.

"Funerals may help to ameliorate grief, assuage guilt and also provide social support for the bereaved.

"Funeral ceremony brings home the reality of death, encourages the expression of grief and offers hope to the living. I don't believe it should be abolished but it should be done in moderation," she said.

Mrs Adesola Olaiya, a 72-year-old woman, said that burying the dead used to be a family affair in the olden days.

"While we were young, anytime a person died, which usually happened at home, it was their family that would wash and prepare him for burial.

"The body would be laid out in a room and people would come and pay their last respects.

"You didn't have to spend money to keep the body in the morgue and pay for expensive coffins.

"All these have, however, changed now, as civilisation now dictates burial practices.

"Burial is no longer a family affair; it's like a competition nowadays and this should be discouraged.

"Young people should be encouraged to take care of their parents while they are still alive, spend that money on arranging for vacations for them and have modest burial when they die," she said.

Also, Prof. Yahya Oyewole-Imam, Research Manager, University of Ilorin, said that incurring huge expenses in the name of giving the dead a befitting burial was alien to Islam.

Oyewole-Imam, a professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the university, described death as permanent termination of life-sustaining processes in an organism.

"This is when all biological systems of a human being cease to operate. Death occurs at any stage in one's life and for whatever cause," he said.

According to him, death is a necessary end of everybody, whether young, old, male, female, rich or poor.

"There are recommended practices that must be done. These include washing the dead, shrouding and burying him/her if the condition of the death allows that.

"While charity and charitable deeds can be made on behalf of the deceased so that he/she can receive the mercy of Allah, all other expenses involving wining and dining are forbidden in Islam," he said.

On his path, Pastor Thomas Babajide of Christ Disciples Church, Offa Garage, Ilorin, said spending fortunes on burial was not a bad idea.

"I don't see anything bad in celebrating our old ones or parents when they are dead.

"It is not a waste to invite friends to bid the departed parents, family members or friends goodbye.

"It is a sign of showing love and there is nothing bad in that. If we have played our role well while they were alive, I don't see where it is stated in the Bible that it is a sin to celebrate them when they are gone.

"If you, as children, have the capacity, you can organise a party to honour your parents and plan their burial big. Let's stop criticising those who spend on burials. It is normal," he said.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Business Nigeria By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

The cleric, however, called on people to always try and take care of their parents and family members, and should not wait till they die before throwing party for them.

Mathew Odudu, an Ado Ekiti-based casket dealer, attributed the huge amount being incurred in burying the dead to the fierce competition among service providers in the undertaking business.

According to him, some even go the extra mile of embarking on massive renovation of their family houses, all in the name of giving the dead a befitting burial and satisfy the tradition.

Odudu said it might be difficult to regulate such practice since no section of the nation's constitution stipulated specific amount to be expended on funerals.

A Public Affairs Analyst, Mr Moses Abayomi, who also spoke on the issue, lamented that most families usually spent huge sums of money on burials, possibly to show off or follow the dictates of tradition.

"A situation where the extended family of the deceased, including those from their maternal homes, slams all manner of bills on the immediate family of the dead cannot be said to be normal.

"Apart from engaging the services of undertakers, caterers and live bands, expensive gift items are equally served attendees. All these help in sky-rocketing the cost of funerals," he said.

Contributing, Pastor Busari Ajiboye of Hopeland Christian Ministry, said the culture of caring for the dead more than the living is a practice capable of impoverishing the bereaved families.

"It is a bad culture that brings colossal loss to the bereaved family and this should be condemned by all and sundry. Sad enough, this is done at the expense of caring for the sick, especially the aged.

Mrs Bose Adebayo, a Consultant Physicist, said spending fortunes to embalm corpses might be unnecessary.

"The truth is embalming isn't required at all. No law requires anybody to be embalmed and, most times, refrigeration is enough to keep a body in good condition, pending burial," she said.

Vanguard News Nigeria
The Federal Government tendered three bags of naira and other different types of foreign currencies as evidence in the money laundering trial of a former top officer of the Nigerian Air Force, Umar Mohammed, at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday.

Mr Mohammed, a retired air commodore, was a member of the defunct presidential investigative committee on procurement of arms and equipment in the Armed Forces, set up by President Muhammadu Buhari shortly after assuming office as President in 2015.

The currency notes tendered against Mr Mohammed on Thursday comprised different denominations of naira, U.S. dollars, CFA francs, Barbados dollars, Caribbean dollars, and Trinidad and Tobago dollars.

Testifying as the first and only prosecution witness in the case, a State Security Service (SSS) official, Stephen Olatubosun, who produced the currencies in court, said the monies were recovered from Mr Mohammeds residence.

Mr Olatunbosun was led in evidence by the lawyer prosecuting the case on behalf of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Magaji Labaran.

Money counted

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the trial judge, Inyang Ekwo, had on Wednesday, ordered that the currencies be counted with a counting machine at the office of the Deputy Chief Registrar (Litigation) in the presence of all the parties to ascertain the total amount before being tendered as exhibits.

At the resumed trial on Thursday, the prosecution counsel, Mr Labaran, told the court that the parties to the case had complied with the court order.

My lord, we have done the needful at the office of the Chief Deputy Registrar (Litigation). The currencies were counted and are in three bags labelled Bag A, Bag B and Bag C, Mr Labaran said.

Also, the defence lawyer, Hassan Liman, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, confirmed that the parties to the case were duly represented during the counting of the money.

Breakdown of currencies

The prosecution witness, Mr Olatubosun, an official of the State Security Service (SSS), identified the three bags of currencies in his evidence-in-chief.

There are three bags  two black and one brown. They are labelled as Bag A, Bag B and Bag C, respectively with the currencies sum attached to them, he said.

Giving a breakdown of the amounts in each of the bags, the witness said Bag A contained 529, 400 dollars and Bag B had 499, 800 dollars.

Mr Olatubosun added that Bag C contained different currencies of dollars including naira notes.

According to him, Bag C contained N1,200,000 in N1000 notes; N100,000 in N500 note; 957 US dollars; 2, 570, 000CFA and another rap of 5, 000CFA.

He also said Bag C also had 46, 500CFA; 20, 000CFA; 4, 000CFA, 50 Barbados dollars; another 70 Barbados dollars containing 10 bundles; five pieces of Caribbean dollars; seven pieces of Trinidad and Tobago dollars, five pieces of Trinidad and Tobago dollars and another 60 Trinidad and Tobago dollars in a wrap.

CBN for safekeeping

Mr Ekwo, after admitting the three bags of currencies in evidence, ordered the Chief Registrar of the court to keep the bags at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) pending further order of the court.

During cross-examination by defence lawyer, the witness said he was not part of the teams that either visited the retired officers residence or took his statement.

ADVERTISEMENT

He, however, said based on the report of the SSS officers who carried out the operation, the source of the currency is from the defendant.

Mr Olatubosun said although he did not personally investigate the defendant, to the best of his knowledge, Mr Mohammed is a businessman.

Prosecutions case closed, defence to file no-case submission

After the cross-examination, the prosecution announced that it would be closing its case with Mr Olatubosun as its only witness.

Mr Liman, the defence lawyer, then informed the court that the defendant would be applying for a no-case submission.

The judge, Mr Ekwo then granted the defences application to enter a no-case submission.

He gave the defence 21 days to file the no-case submission and seven days to the prosecution from the day of being served by the defence to file its counter-submission.

The judge also gave two days to the defence from the day it is served with the prosecutions counter-submission to further respond should it have any need for it.

The judge adjourned the matter April 27 for adoption of the no-case submission addresses.

Charges

The News agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Mohammed and his company, Easy Jet Integrated Service Ltd, are being prosecuted on three counts of money laundering, illegal possession of firearms and possession of classified documents without lawful authority.

He and his company were accused of accepting $1,030,000 in cash from a firm, Worldwide Consortium PTY Ltd as payment for flight services without going through a financial institution as required by the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act.

The government also accused him of having in his possession, at his No: 4 Lungi Close, Mississippi, Maitama, Abuja home, classified/official documents without lawful authority and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(b) of the Official Secret Act and punishable under Section 7(1)(a) of the same law.

Mr Mohammed was also accused of being in illegal possession of two pump action guns (marked: SBSG Magnum 397 and SBGS Interpress 09-1573) between June 1, 2011 and June 19, 2016 without valid licences thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 4 of the Firearms Act 2004 and punishable under Section 27(1)(b)(i) of the Act.

(NAN)
JACKSON, MI  Twisha Shetty isnt like many other past spelling bee winners  she doesnt know which word made her a champion.

The Paragon Charter Academy seventh-grader won the 2021 MLive/Jackson Citizen Patriot Spelling Bee, but the coronavirus pandemic-created event was unlike previous years because it was run through a Scripps computer program that relied on how many words a contestant correctly spelled, instead of rounds with elimination.

When she and second-place finisher Zionah Gardner, a Homer Middle School eighth-grader, tied for first place in the first competition, a tie-breaker of 22 out of 25 correct words made Twisha the top speller in the bee.

Twisha spent several hours a day for more than three weeks studying the list of words given ahead of the competition, she said.

They gave me a set of words and my mom would say the pronunciation. I would try to spell that word without looking at it or seeing it before, she said. If I spelled it wrong, I would practice that word five to 10 times. Then she would give me little quizzes to see if I remembered that.

Twisha bested 23 other students from nine schools in the 2021 competition. The test was a combination of 30 spelling words and vocabulary multiple choice. The site would pronounce a word for students, who then had to type the word in correctly.

Twisha and Zionah each scored 28 out of 30 in the initial bee  forcing an additional tiebreaking test. Twisha wasnt expecting a tie-breaker test, she said, and her motivation struggled but her mother encouraged her to push through.

At first I just wanted to wing it because I was very tired after studying for so many hours, she said. But my mom told me that Id be proud of myself if I win, so I studied after that for another day.

This isnt Twishas first spelling bee. She was a third-place finisher at her previous schools spelling bee two years ago. But this year was different because of the flexibility a written test provides.

When youre writing the words, its kind of easier because when youre speaking you can make a mistake, she said. When youre typing the words in before you enter them you can go over and check that you wrote it right or not.

Were not a very expressive family, but we are elated, Twishas father Santhosh Shetty said. I thought she would probably make it in the top five, so I said OK, lets do all the effort required and see where we go.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee will host its preliminary, quarterfinal and semifinal events virtually this summer. Then, 10 to 12 finalists will travel to Orlando, Florida, for the in-person, broadcasted final rounds on July 8.

2021 MLive/Jackson Citizen Patriot Spelling Bee top contestants

1st place  Twisha Shetty, seventh grade at Paragon Charter Academy

2nd place  Zionah Gardner, eighth grade at Homer Middle School

3rd place  Logan Hardke-Sayers, sixth grade at Springport Middle School

4th place  Ellen Presley, eighth grade at Battle Creek Lakeview Middle School

5th place  Emily Demlow, sixth grade at Battle Creek Lakeview Middle School

5th place  Hansika Rathod, sixth grade at Paragon Charter Academy

6th place  Mejia Chamberlain, eighth grade at Springport Middle School

6th place  Jordan Gibson, sixth grade at Homer Middle School

6th place  Jori Hilton, seventh grade at Battle Creek Lakeview Middle School

7th place  Acelyn Swaney, sixth grade at Townsend Elementary School

7th place  Emma Elmo, sixth grade at East Jackson Elementary School

7th place  Hailey Rocco  seventh grade, Homer Middle School

7th place  Quentin Green, sixth grade, Jonesville Middle School

8th place  Cash Allen, fifth grade at Michigan Centers Keicher Elementary School

8th place  Carter Watkins, fifth grade at Battle Creek Lakeview Middle School

8th place  Ryanne Cunningham, seventh grade at Springport Middle School

MORE JACKSON NEWS:

Jackson-area basketball highlights: Layne Sleights big night pushes Northwest to district finals

Hidden in the cornfields, Michigan has its own little silicon valley

Ella Sharp Museum director departs, citing different future visions
Bengaluru, March 25 : After a gap of almost 20 days, the woman who had claimed to be the victim of sexual harassment by former Karnataka minister Ramesh Jarakiholi, released her second video clip on Thursday seeking help from Congress leaders Siddarmaiah, K.R. Ramesh Kumar and D.K. Shivakumar.

Besides 'seeking justice' from the Congress leaders, the woman also raised aspersions on the Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by ACP Soumendu Mukherjee, which is probing the sleaze CD case involving her and Jarkiholi.

In the 74-second clip, the woman claimed that her parents had lodged a complaint with the (Belagavi) police 'under duress' as they knew that their daughter is an upright woman.

"So when my parents are sure that I am 100 per cent on the right side of the law, why would they book any missing person or kidnapping case naming me," she asked, adding that even if they had done it, it must have been done under pressure.

While casting subtle aspersions on the police and the SIT, the woman said that she had sent a video clip to the city police commissioner and the SIT on March 12, but the same video was released on March 13 after Jarakiholi filed his complaint.

"This video gets leaked in public domain within half-an-hour of him (Ramesh Jarkiholi) lodging a complaint with the police. Therefore, I am not able to know what is happening. I do not know if the SIT/police is taking sides in this case," she alleged.

She also demanded that all she wanted was protection for her parents, who are scared to come out of the house.

"For me, the safety of my parents is of paramount concern, nothing else. Once I am sure that my parents are in safe hands, I will come on my own and respond to the SIT's inquiry. I will answer all their questions," she said.

The woman said that after seeing the developments over the past two days, she is hopeful of "getting justice" from leaders like Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar, Ramesh Kumar and other women's organisations. "I want all of them to stand up to protect my parents," she appealed.

She also alleged in the clip that her parents did not file any complaint voluntarily. "When my parents are 100 percent sure that I have not committed any mistake, why will they file complaints of me going missing or being kidnapped? Surely, my parents might have lodged such a complaint under pressure," she claimed.

"The safety of my parents is of prime importance to me. If I feel confident about the safety of my parents, I will answer all the questions of the SIT," she said.

Meanwhile, the SIT has formed five teams comprising 22 officers to track and trace the woman and her parents, who have gone underground ever since the case came to light on March 2.

On March 2, a social activist named Dinesh Kallahalli had claimed that BJP minister Ramesh Jarakiholi sought sexual favours from a woman on the pretext of getting her a contract to shoot a documentary on water reservoirs across the state. He also alleged that the minister offered a lucrative job in Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL) to the woman.

Within minutes, a clip went viral on social media and news channels, where Jarakiholi could allegedly be seen in a compromising position with the woman.

On March 3, Jarakioli resigned from his post claiming innocence, saying that he was stepping down to safeguard the party's interests.
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Go to form
Press Release

March 25, 2021 De Lima seeks probe into red-tagging, undue investigation of lawyers, teachers Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima has urged Congress to investigate the rampant red-tagging and undue investigation of lawyers, judges and teachers by law enforcement agencies to ensure accountability and ensure their safety. De Lima, a lawyer by profession, filed Senate Resolution (SR) No. 689 seeking to enact measures that would secure the safety and welfare of professionals fighting injustice and serving the country. "There is a clear pattern emerging that the PNP's efforts against communist insurgency is directed towards professionals who are related to activist and progressive groups even without any proof of any crime committed by said professionals, much less of any wrongdoings," she said. "The professionals being targeted, from lawyers, to judges, to teachers are lawfully exercising their professions, many of them serving our country in government posts," she added. Last March 10, just days after the supposed killings of activists in CALABARZON by authorities, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) issued a memorandum circular ordering all its regional directors to list names of government employees who are allegedly proven to be members of progressive groups. In the said memorandum circular, the DILG mentioned the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) and the Confederation for Unity, Recognition, and Advancement of Government Employees (COURAGE), both of which were tagged by DILG as communist-terrorist groups. In filing SR No. 689, De Lima, a staunch social justice and human rights champion, cited several instances where teachers and law professionals were targeted by authorities. De Lima noted that Calbayog City Police Station Intelligence Chief Police Lt. Fernando Calabria Jr. wrote to the Calbayog City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Clerk of Court last March 12 asking for names of lawyers who allegedly represent Communist Terrorist Group personalities, their affiliations, client's name, case filed, case status, and a "mode of neutralization". De Lima also cited, among others, PNP-CARAGA's arrest of Assistant Principal Rosanilla "Lai" Consad of San Vicente National High School in Butuan City on March 19 on charges of attempted homicide shortly after she was red-tagged by PNP-CARAGA in their Facebook post alleging that she is an urban party committee member of the Communist Party of the Philippines - NPA - National Democratic Front Northeastern Committee. The lady Senator from Bicol stressed that these professionals do not deserve the attacks that they have been subjected to because they are merely fulfilling their oaths to serve the country, fight injustice, and help the oppressed. "To target them for their heroism would be to violate the very principles upon which our democratic society is founded," she said. "For PNP to violate the privacy of their records based only on empty assertions that they are members of so-called 'Communist Terrorist Groups' is a clear violation of their right to due process and is ground for administrative and criminal liabilities on the part of the PNP," she added. De Lima said concerned authorities must investigate the matter and exact accountability so teachers, judges and lawyers can do their jobs without threats, harassment, intimidation or retribution, especially by our own law enforcement agencies. "The serious and continuing threats against lawyers and judges, as the sentinels of the rule of law, and teachers, as guardians of learning sanctuaries, who are being victimized in their very offices and schools expose how the State, who is supposed to protect them, disregards the importance of rule of law and democracy," she said. Paragraph 17 of the 1990 United Nations' Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers mandates that "where the security of lawyers is threatened as a result of discharging their functions, they shall be adequately safeguarded by authorities."
OnePlus 9 Pro is one of the most hi-tech camera smartphones released in the market right now. However, it has many large competitors such as Samsung, iPhone, Oppo, and other brands that are popular for producing high-quality camera gadgets.

And now, Ranjit, a popular YouTuber and reliable tech leaker posted a video on Twitter showing an advanced spec-by-spec camera comparison of the latest OnePlus 9 Pro and the popular Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra.

"I don't have the OnePlus 9 Pro yet but was curious about the camera... I just stumbled upon @Mrwhosetheboss video on the same," said Ranjit via his official Twitter account.

"Very nice camera comparison have to say," he added.

The latest YT video comparison disappointed a lot of fans who bought the new OnePlus 9 Pro. If you are curious, here's how Galaxy S21 Ultra destroyed OnePlus 9 Pro when it comes to camera performance.

OnePlus 9 Pro Vs. Galaxy S21 Ultra

Mrwhosetheboss YouTube channel posted an advanced camera comparison of the two smartphones. It based their performances on 12 levels, which included general photography, zoom, video, audio, color correction, and more.

The first one that the YouTuber tackled is the smartphones' macro cameras. He explained that both OnePlus 9 Pro and Galaxy S21 Ultra offer HD macro images. However, the Samsung Galaxy has the upper hand in this area since it can get twice as close as the OnePlus 9 Pro.

Aside from this, he said that the OnePlus 9 Pro still relies on 1080p. On the other hand, Galaxy S21 Ultra offers a whopping 4K video resolution. This means that the Samsung smartphone is the best option for those people who want to start blogging.

On the other hand, the YouTuber also tested both of the devices' audios. The viral video showed that the Samsung and OnePlus brands both offer great quality sounds.

Also Read: Motorola G50 5G Set to Debut This Year-Specs, Price, Release Date of the Cheapest 5G Appears in TENAA Listing

When it comes to general photography, the OnePlus 9 Pro seems to have an advantage since it partnered with the lens manufacturer Hasselblad. But, he showed the captured images of the devices, which really look the same.

The provided images show HD output that makes these two flagships great for mobile photography.

However, the OnePlus 9 Pro has an issue when it comes to dark areas. The captured images of this device are usually too dark, making them look like doodles.

Aside from this, the smartphone also makes everything on the photo sharp, unlike Galaxy S21 Ultra, making the background a little bright and a little blurry, making its images more attractive.

Which one is better?

At the end of the video, the YouTuber revealed that Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra dominated on seven categories, including general photography, color correction, video, and more. On the other hand, both of the devices came out equal on four categories. The only one that the OnePlus 9 Pro has an advantage is the ultra-wide lens since it can remove the distortion issue on panorama shots.

Nevertheless, opinions can still vary from one person to another.

For more news updates about the OnePlus 9 Pro, Galaxy S21 Ultra, and other camera smartphones, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

Related Article: OnePlus 9 Event: Three New Phones to be Introduced, OnePlus Teams Up with Hasselblad

This article is owned by TechTimes.

Written by: Giuliano de Leon.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A hot potato: Facebook is testing an app designed to help convicts who are being released from prison adapt back into society. Called the Re-Entry app, the platform appears to be part of FBs efforts to create more products aimed at marginalized communities.

As reported by Bloomberg, promotions for the social media app appeared at the top of some Instagram feeds yesterday, seemingly by mistake. The notification promised to help with preparing for life after prison with community support. Users were invited to click on the promo for early access to the Re-Entry app and offer feedback.

Weve been exploring different ways to help close gaps faced by those in marginalized communities across our apps, a Facebook spokeswoman said in a statement. This was only intended to be an internal test and we took down the notice as soon as we learned it briefly ran externally.

Many states dont allow inmates to access social media or post information to the platforms. There are some, including Alabama and Iowa, that limit the ability of third parties such as friends and relatives to post on the prisoners behalf.

Last June, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he wanted Facebook to start building products to advance racial justice. FB-owned Instagram, meanwhile, created an Equity team last year with the aim of building new features that respond to the needs of underserved communities.

It's likely that an app for ex-prisoners would bring some controversy, but Facebook does often experiment with new ideas that never make it into the final product stage or end up drastically different from the initial concept.

Masthead image: MemoryMan
When it comes to real estate, the pop star Ariana Grande goes big.

The chart-topping chanteuse recently splashed out $8.9 million for a teardown in the upscale Bird Streets neighborhood of Los Angeles, Variety reported.

But thats just the tip of the real estate iceberg for Grande. The two-time Grammy winner pulled in $72 million in 2020, and she's been buying up real estate. Her engagement to a real estate agent, Dalton Gomez, may only serve to propel her transactions to new heights.



We dug into the stars home history. At the tender age of 27, shes accomplished a lot, not least of which is an impressive property portfolio. Lets take a look.

Ritzy rentals

Grande rose to fame as a teenager, with starring roles on the Nickelodeon shows "Victorious" and Sam & Cat.

She snagged a record deal in 2011, and her debut album, Yours Truly, topped the Billboard Hot 200. The hits didn't stop coming, including the albums Sweetener and Thank U, Next. The hitmaker is a mainstay atop the Billboard 100, and she's collaborated with stars like Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber.

But before she began her pricey property purchases, the Florida native's introduction to L.A. living began as a renter.

For years, the performer had been leasing a posh property above Beverly Hills. Built in 2015, the Mediterranean-style mansion offers five bedrooms and 6,200 square feet of living space. The open floor plan features a living room with a bar, plus a gourmet kitchen that looks out to a family area. French doors open to the patio outside.

A huge master wing with sitting area and fireplace opens out to the backyard. An en suite bath includes a separate tub and two walk-in closets. The back of the home opens out to a deck with pool and spa.

For a time, Grande also lived at another Beverly Hills address, which happened to be next door to a French Country manor that Ellen DeGeneres sold for $35 million.

Beverly Hills rental realtor.com

Over a decade ago, the star reportedly rented a Hancock Park home with her mother, Joan, that had once been owned by Francis Ford Coppola. Although it was just a lease, she must have really felt at home, given that she installed a recording studio in the basement.

The pretty six-bedroom Tudor has since been renovated, but its unclear whether the recording studio made the cut. It's currently on the market for $9 million, and includes a wood-paneled sunroom, new gourmet kitchen, family room, and formal dining room.

Hancock Park home realtor.com

When Grande was just starting out, she rented a Toluca Lake, CA, property with her mother.

Billed as a former celebrity compound, the gated five-bedroom French manor offers a whopping 10,000 square feet of space.

___

Watch: Kelly Clarkson's Massive 'Farmhouse' Gets a Price Cutto $8.9M

___

Built in 2007, the mansion sits next door to the Bob Hope estate, and features a giant chefs kitchen, seven fireplaces, screening room, and gym. The grounds of over a half-acre include rolling lawns, fountains, and an outdoor living room with a fireplace. It last sold in November 2015 for $6.5 million.

Toluca Lake compound realtor.com



Los Angeles land grab

After dabbling in the rental market for nearly a decade, Grande is now amassing real estate in SoCal.

In February, she paid $8.9 million in an off-market deal for a parcel of private land about a half-mile from a swanky spread she bought less than a year ago. The approximately quarter-acre parcel includes an original 748-square-foot cottage from 1953, plus a pool, patio, and drop-dead views.

Located close to her lavish L.A. digs, the extra acreage might be a teardown to build anew. Perhaps a guesthouse for out-of-town visitors? Or perhaps she has an eye on the property to use as a local recording studio or workspace.

Even if she winds up not using it, she could always attempt to flip the property down the line. It last sold for $2.5 million, which means that the seller earned a handsome 256% return for hanging on to the land for a decade or so.

Teardown with killer views realtor.com

Adjacent to her most recent purchase, Grande owns a deluxe contemporary that she picked up last year for a cool $13.7 million.

Although that's a lot of dough, the songstress scored a relative bargain.

Initially offered for $25.5 million, the home had been on and off the market for years, and had never been lived in. It was last on the market for $17.5 million, so Grande managed to cut an even larger discount.

The mod home features disappearing walls of glass and smart-home technology, as well as views of the city and ocean. With four bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms, its highlights include a formal dining area, office, and a chefs kitchen with a black granite island that opens to a family room. Pocket doors extend the living area out to the deck, where an infinity-edge pool looks out on the vistas below.

Upstairs, a massive master suite spans the entire level. The retreat features a walk-in closet, lounges, bathroom with dual vanities, tub, and a separate glass shower.

On the lower level, find a media lounge, bar, 300-bottle wine cellar, fitness studio, cedar wellness center, and guest suites.

Contemporary L.A. mansion realtor.com



Montecito mansion

Like many celebrities, Grande joined the crowed and picked up a place in the elite enclave of Montecito. The tiny town in Santa Barbara County is home to Oprah Winfrey, Katy Perry, and of course, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.

She snapped up the delightful Tudor-style manor known as Porter House for $6.7 million last spring from the serial home flippers and fellow Montecito residents, talk show host Ellen DeGeneres and her wife, the actress Portia de Rossi.

The couple purchased the property for $3.6 million in early 2020, quickly renovated the place, and slapped it back on the market for twice the price a mere four months later.

It includes two English barns from the 1700s that were moved from England to California. Updates were made throughout, including a subdued color palette and modern light fixtures.

An updated layout has a great room with a fireplace and an octagonal study lined with casement windows. The floor plan also boasts a gym, workshop, and a three-car garage with half bathroom. Set on a little over an acre, the grounds include outdoor spaces framed by stone walls, fragrant flowers, and mature trees.

Porter House in Montecito realtor.com



New York City

In 2018, while the star briefly and publicly dated the "SNL" cast member Pete Davidson, the couple was rumored to have moved into a deluxe, $16 million apartment in the high-end architectural marvel over Manhattan's High Line elevated park. It wasn't clear if Grande had bought or rented in the snazzy new building.

Either way, the swanky, 4,000-square-foot, five-bedroom Chelsea condo certainly made a splash.

The layout included a set-back terrace with views of the Empire State Building, a sleek kitchen with high-end appliances, and views of the High Line. It was located in the building designed by Zaha Hadid, and residents enjoy amenities including a fitness center, private spa, and a 75-foot, skylit pool.



Ariana's childhood home

Before Grande became a worldwide phenomenon, she performed in local theater productions in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

She has long since left her childhood home in Boca Raton, which last was on the market in 2015 for $2.4 million.

The updated Mediterranean-style home with 6,000 square feet of living space is located in one of Bocas most sought-after gated enclaves, according to information on the listing, which also notes that the star lived here as a child.

Highlights include a home theater, library, gourmet kitchen, screened-in Florida room, sauna, gym, pool, and a summer kitchen with a bar.

Grande did leave her mark at this home in the Sunshine State: There's also a soundproof music studio.

Grande's childhood home in Boca Raton, FL realtor.com

The post Property Positions: Take a Tour of Ariana Grande's Grand Homes appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com.
McCracken Men Charged in Several Burglaries

By West Kentucky Star Staff

PADUCAH - Two McCracken County men have been arrested in several recent burglaries and thefts.The McCracken County Sheriff's Office says a dealership on Paducah's southside reported a vehicle was stolen during the overnight hours of March 8. The following day, Kentucky State Police Post 1 located the stolen vehicle on a highway in Calloway County. After a short pursuit, 36-year-old Joseph Owen of McCracken County was taken into custody.Owen was charged in Calloway County with Receiving Stolen Property for being in possession of the stolen vehicle.Detectives said Owen later admitted to having stolen the vehicle from the dealership. Detectives said they also learned he had been involved in several other thefts and burglaries.Deputies searched a storage unit rented by 36-year-old Jonathon McGuire of McCracken County. During the search they found several items that had been reported stolen, including items from a stolen cargo trailer from a previous theft were located, along with property that had been stolen during a previous residential burglary.Detectives later found more stolen items at a Bardwell home, including a gun stolen during a residential burglary in Marshall County.Owen had also been a suspect in a burglary of a home on Dixie Avenue, where a stolen credit card had been used. Deputies said Owen admitted to having used the stolen credit card.Owen and McGuire were both booked into the McCracken County Jail. Owen is charged with two counts of theft by unlawful taking over $10,000 and fraudulent use of a credit card over $500. McGuire is charged with two counts of receiving stolen property over $500.
Scarlett Johansson is no stranger to controversy and wryly admitted recently that she's actually 'made a career out of it.'

The 36-year-old superstar addressed her penchant for getting into hot water when it comes to her career choices during an interview with The Gentlewoman, published this week.

Over the years, the Black Widow star has been accused of whitewashing for taking on a role intended for a person of color and has defended the likes of Woody Allen, who has recently been plagued once more by accusations of child molestation from his former adopted daughter.

Mea culpa: Scarlett Johansson addressed her penchant for getting into hot water when it comes to her career choices during an interview with The Gentlewoman, published this week, admitting she's 'made a career out of it.'

'I've made a career out of it,' Scarlett quipped when asked about her controversial past.

'I'm going to have opinions about things, because that's just who I am,' she told the magazine. 'I mean, everyone has a hard time admitting when they're wrong about stuff, and for all of that to come out publicly, it can be embarrassing.'

'To have the experience of, Wow, I was really off mark there, or I wasn't looking at the big picture, or I was inconsiderate,' she continued, shrugging: 'I'm also a person.'

The blonde bombshell admitted that it is 'embarrassing' to find herself being put on blast in the public eye for a role she accepted or comments she made. However, at times, rather than listening and learning, the actress has doubled down and made matters worse.

'I'm going to have opinions about things, because that's just who I am,' she told the magazine. 'I mean, everyone has a hard time admitting when they're wrong about stuff, and for all of that to come out publicly, it can be embarrassing.' (Pictured in Ghost in the Shell)

For her role in 2017's Ghost in the Shell. Scarlett was accused of whitewashing for accepting the gig as Motoko Kusanagi - a character that should have gone to a Japanese actor.

When she was cast as a transgender character in Rub and Tug, Scarlett was called out once more but she defended her choice in a flip statement that only worsened the controversy.

Scarlett dismissed the critiques about being a cis woman cast as a trans character saying the media 'can be directed to Jeffrey Tambor, Jared Leto and Felicity Huffman's reps for comment.' All three of those cis actors listed famously played trans characters.

Many argued that it was a different time and that representation was more important than ever for the trans community. Ultimately, Scarlett back peddled with an apology and didn't do the film.

Issues: The blonde bombshell admitted that it is 'embarrassing' to find herself being put on blast in the public eye for a role she accepted or comments she made; She was famously criticized for her support of Woody Allen

She's also been heavily criticized for her defense of scandal plagued director Woody Allen who is currently facing renewed and repeated accusations from his ex-adopted daughter Dylan that he molested her when she was a child.

'I love Woody. I believe him, and I would work with him anytime,' Johansson said in 2019. 'I see Woody whenever I can, and I have had a lot of conversations with him about it. I have been very direct with him, and he's very direct with me. He maintains his innocence, and I believe him.'

Allen directed Scarlett in several of her most famous roles. He was recently the topic of an explosive HBOMax docuseries, Allen v. Farrow, which looked back at the allegations of sexual assault from Dylan and Mia Farrow's perspective.

'I can be reactive. I can be impatient. That doesn't mix that great with self-awareness,' Scarlett told The Gentlewoman.

Meanwhile, the star is set to expand her role within the Marvel Cinematic Universe with her standalone superhero flick Black Widow which debuts this July.
[March 25, 2021] Webscale Launches CloudEDGE Security for Merchants on Hosted Commerce Platforms

SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 25, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Webscale, the safest cloud hosting for ecommerce, today announced the launch of Webscale CloudEDGE Security, a new service based on its award-winning security platform, designed for deployment at the traffic edge.

Deployed alongside traditional CDNs and WAFs, Webscale CloudEDGE enhances security for any ecommerce platform, including hosted platforms such as Magento Commerce Cloud, Shopify, or Salesforce Commerce Cloud, which typically lack the same breadth of features as specialized solutions, leaving merchants on these platforms exposed to risk. Webscale CloudEDGE Security offers enterprise-grade cloud security to storefronts on any hosted ecommerce platform. This highly customizable and scalable solution, purpose-built for the ecommerce segment, uses automation and analytics to proactively identify and protect web applications from the front end through web traffic, malicious code, or from browsers executing scripts to steal sensitive information. The unprecedented growth in ecommerce is having a significant impact on hosting and infrastructure design decisions, as merchants move quickly to enable seamless, secure omnichannel experiences for their customers, said Sonal Puri, CEO, Webscale. CloudEDGE Security was designed to fit with any deployment model, from fully hosted commerce clouds, to headless or PWA deployments, while delivering all the security features of custom solutions. Ecommerce businesses powered by Webscale CloudEDGE Security can:

Detect and mitigate bad bots in real-time, itigating malicious bots through IP reputation and machine learning with Cloud Bot Manager

Ensure enterprise-grade security, coupled with unmatched visibility with Webscales DIY policy and rules engine, Web Controls

Lock down access to the application infrastructure from any traffic not served by the Webscale data plane with App Shield

Enhance trust between the browser and application with real-time content security policy (CSP) protection

Activate single click protection against a flood of bots with DDoS Shield

Adhere to the latest PCI standards via Webscales PCI-DSS compliance

Automatically protect the storefronts from common OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities





Webscale CloudEDGE Security is available to all merchants today. For more information, visit: https://www.webscale.com/product/webscale-cloudedge-security/ About Webscale

Webscale is the worlds safest cloud automation, management and hosting provider focused on ecommerce. Offering enterprise-grade security, predictive scalability and blazing-fast performance, the Webscale SaaS platform leverages automation and DevOps protocols to simplify the deployment, and management of infrastructure. The platform supports omni-channel use cases across a variety of ecommerce platforms and architectures, including headless, progressive web applications, self-hosted and fully hosted commerce clouds. Webscale powers thousands of B2C, B2B, and B2E ecommerce storefronts in twelve countries and eight of the Fortune 1000 businesses and has offices in Santa Clara, CA, Boulder, CO, San Antonio, TX, Bangalore, India and London, UK. For more information, visit www.webscale.com. Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. Media Contact:

Andrew Humber

Webscale

ah@webscale.com



[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Armenian acting minister: EU allocated EUR 68,700,000 to Armenia for budget support in 2020

Armenia Finance Ministry: MFA's budget grew by AMD 1,600,000,000 in 2020

Bodies and remains of Armenian soldiers are kept in morgue in Armenia's Martuni

White House confirms Biden-Erdogan meeting in Brussels

Armenia acting MOD touches upon priority directions for development of Armed Forces

Diaspora Armenian writer, publicist Toros Toranian dies

2 Armenian soldiers injured in scuffle with Azerbaijan, Armenian POW is hospitalized, Jun. 3 digest

Wedding held in Armenia's Shurnukh for first time since the war ended

EEU member states to finish preparing for negotiations over free trade zone in Iran in late June

Armenia Central Bank: Economic downfall in 2020 was due to decline in service and construction sectors

Armenia legislature adopts several bills in first reading

Armenia President meets with Nursultan Nazarbayev

Dejavu: Armenia ruling party distributes money for votes at Yerevan district election office

Chief Advisor to Karabakh President sacked

Russian MFA: Works are carried out to settle situation around Karabakh every day

Armenia opposition MP sounds alarm about Baku fabricating criminal cases against Armenian prisoners

Armenia acting health minister: I have apologized, I am not going to resign

Helga Schmid meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Armenia's deputy foreign ministers resigned or have heavy workload?

Dollar goes down in Armenia

Armenia Elections Oversight Committee reports Iranian citizenship of ruling party's MP candidate

Acting deputy minister: Only 17 of 711 Iran-Armenia power transmission line towers were installed by 2017

Armenia Parliament Council holding session

Armenia to host CSTO "Thunder-2021" military exercises

NYT: Chinese hackers launch cyberattack on New York city transportation authority

Armenia President to Kazakhstan counterpart: I would like to see much deeper cooperation between our countries

Armenia citizens shut down Etchmiadzin-Ashtarak road, complaining about lack of irrigation water

Armenia independent MP: Foreign minister and his deputies don't want to take part in treacherous acts

Armenia to get $11mn loan, 350,000 grant for agriculture

WHO worries about worsening mental health worldwide amid pandemic

Armenia health ministry on improper handling of Artsakh war victims bodies: There is no justification

Armenia bloc election foundation already in operation

Russia ambassador to Armenia paying working visit to Syunik Province (PHOTOS)

China pledges to step up resistance to foreign interference in Hong Kong

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: There can be no talk of corridor for Azerbaijan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on incumbent authorities: Wherever they flee, we will bring them by the feet

President: Impossible to ensure peace in region or stay in Artsakh without Russia army joint efforts

China Daily: Dispatch from Makit: Thriving in the desert

Karabakh President: We will never put up with being part of Azerbaijan, it is ruled out

Armenia MFA information department chief: All deputy FMs carrying out their duties

Ardshinbank invited children to the cinema on International Childrens Day

Armenia judiciary to have 10 more judges

Armenia acting premier: We had recorded 40% increase in tax revenues according to 2019 results

Armenia acting PM on Artsakh war casualties bodies: We have 50 remains in which case DNA was not separated

Azerbaijan authorities plan to "squeeze" everything from "terrorist show" related to Armenian captives

Ameriabank announces a contest for bank card design

108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia parliament convenes special session

Armenia interim government holding Cabinet meeting

Catholicos of All Armenians heads for Syunik Province, Artsakh

World oil prices going up

Iran loses right to vote in UN General Assembly

Newspaper: Armenia authorities come up with new way of punishing unwanted characters

Newspaper: Russia army Southern Military District deputy commander to arrive in Yerevan Thursday

Lebanese Armenian man taken prisoner by Azerbaijan is hospitalized

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Are we getting under the burden? Then lets get under to the end

Armenia acting health minister on keeping fallen soldiers bodies in bags: What else should they be kept in?

Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation

Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow

2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik

Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center

"Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans

Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel

Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna

Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations

US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies

Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week

Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection

Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential

Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement

Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues

Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo

Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation

NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident

Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices

Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over

Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest

Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia

Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia

Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels

Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters

Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021

Dollar is stable in Armenia

Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector

Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out

Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe

Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia

Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border

Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor

Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue

Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia

Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this

Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia
PHILIPSBURG:--- On Tuesday, March 23rd, during the meeting between the four ministers responsible for public health of the Four Countries in the Kingdom, the Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor (Ministry VSA), Richard Panneflek, decided in consultation with the Netherlands that Sint Maarten will now offer the COVID-19 vaccine to all residents 18+ residing on the Dutch side of the island.

In the five weeks since the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, only medical frontline workers, persons 60+ and the group 18-59 years of age with underlying medical conditions, were eligible to receive the vaccine.

Essential workers and all other persons above the age of 18 years can now also be vaccinated. However, the vulnerable priority groups mentioned above will still get precedence once they register.

The reason for the decision to now include all persons above the age of 18 is that the vaccination campaign needs to be scaled up if the country wants to reach the goal of vaccinating 70% of the population before the start of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season.

The numbers for the registered 60+ population are still low, which is a reason for concern as this group has the highest risk of developing severe COVID-19 infection.

Another concern is the increasing infection rates on Curacao and Bonaire due to the more contagious United Kingdom (UK) variant. This variant has been identified on Sint Maarten, and therefore, there is a need to protect our population against the COVID-19 virus has become even more important.

Pre-registration for the vaccine is strongly recommended. You will receive a date, time, and location for your vaccination. Minister Richard Panneflek and the Vaccine Management Team (VMT) would like to encourage all Dutch side residents 18 years and older to register. There will be sufficient vaccines available to cover 85% of the population.

Members of the community are reminded to register for the COVID-19 vaccine.

Registration can be done via the online registration form which is available in English, Spanish, and Creole, and can be found via this link: https://forms.sintmaartengov.org/form.aspx?v=OGtn05kNmb

Both Cole Bay and Dutch Quarter Community Helpdesks are currently equipped to provide information and can assist with registration on the spot. 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 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.
Videos

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos.
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 York, US (PANA) - The United Nations Secretary-General has reaffirmed the Organizations support and solidarity with Niger, as the second deadly attack against civilians in less than a week rocked the west African nation
Robert Wells, RD Globals new CEO, a high growth entrepreneur, and a trusted chief executive Weve created a strategic roadmap that bolsters our core strengths, focuses on 5-star customer success, and includes key investments in emerging technologies. Our global resourcing model provides a cost-effective, instantly scalable team of experts to support companies' digital transformation.

While many companies have struggled to find their footing amidst COVID-19s aftermath, RD Global has had a busy and productive first quarter in 2021. Hiring a new CEO laid the foundation for the organizations push to further disrupt the Insurtech industry, opening the digital doors for traditional insurance companies to capitalize on a new way of doing business. With that, RD Global sought to launch a rebranded website, highlighting their refreshed value messaging that underlines the core of their connective digital solution services.

COVID-19 accelerated the need to embrace digital in business. In order to better connect RD Globals brand and service offerings to organizations searching for expert consultants, a new website was launched that demonstrates their ability to guide clients on their digital transformation journey. This means driving companies efforts to improve their digital experience (for their customers, employees, and beyond), better utilizing data in order to make decisions scientifically, and creating custom automation processes that take repetitive tasks out of human hands.

On the new website, visitors can also review case studies that tell real-life stories of customers walking through that journey with RD Global. In addition, the new site features the 5-star customer success program that reveals the competitive advantages linked to working with RD Global.

Some of the companys biggest wins in the first 3 months of 2021 include:



Expanding the customer success team and adding tools to support customers

Establishing a strategic alliance program and appointing an experienced industry leader

Investing in additional training and certifications for all development teams

Refreshing the website and improving their brand and industry influence

And, most importantly, welcoming several new customers to the RD Global family!

The course of these successes was paved by Robert Wells, RD Globals new CEO, a high growth entrepreneur, and a trusted chief executive. Most known for his digital transformation, intelligent automation, and growth strategy expertise, he has already steered the company towards one of its most outstanding quarters to date. Robert was recently invited to be a member of the Forbes Technology Council and his experience in digital solutions makes him the perfect match for RD Global.

From Silicon Valley dot-com experience to growth strategy leading software companies to digital transformation practices to successful M&A transactions, Robert fosters an environment that cultivates leaders, innovation, and collaboration, all while maintaining a keen focus on first-class customer experience. Though his speaking engagements and business endeavors have taken him around the world, he is proud to call South Florida, and RD Global, home.

Finally, RD Globals Alliance Program was introduced in order to create a partner ecosystem that provides incentives, enablement, and resources to its partners with the singular goal of driving stronger customer relationships that yield increased revenue growth for all. In collaboration with their strategic partners, RD Global continues to create industry-leading solutions that enable game-changing digital transformation that empowers organizations to thrive today and prepare for a future digital revolution.

The RD Global Innovation Lab ensures their dedication to the continuous exploration of new and emerging technologies that allow them to build best-in-class digital solutions that stand the test of time. For more information about RD Global, please visit https://www.rdglobalinc.com/.
Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad, by Michela Wrong, London, Fourth Estate, 1 April 2021, ISBN-10: 0008238871 20.00 (Hardback) ISBN-13: 978-0008238872

This book has an important tragic, central character but, arguably, no great heroes.

I first encountered Rwandans as refugees in Burundi in 1964 and then again in Rwanda as non-resident British ambassador in 1994. I was one of those who believed the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF)  the insurrectionary force of emigres and refugees who invaded Rwanda from their base in Uganda and then fought a victorious civil war against the genocidal former regime  were heroes in a just cause, up to 1994.

They helped Museveni, their patron, in Uganda to gain control of that ruined country by force and instal himself as President. They walked back in 1990 into Rwanda, the country from which their parents had been driven in waves of persecution since independence by an explicitly ethnic Hutu regime. Once in Rwanda, the RPF claimed a place in the regional peace process which was supposed to lead to the establishment of an inclusive government. In 1994, when their people in Rwanda faced genocide, they fought and defeated the government which had devised and put into effect their plan to kill the minority and their sympathisers.

Their story has the elements of tragedy, struggle and ultimate success to be truly heroic. After 1994, the worlds sympathy and guilty conscience over the genocide ascribed virtue to the victorious RPF. They helped the struggling new regime, buttressed by the return of exiles from the region and beyond, to rebuild Rwanda. But the lustre began to tarnish as events raised questions about their virtue, and the intentions they had proclaimed in their days of struggle. The decision to mention only the Tutsis as victims of the genocide is a travesty. To suggest non-Tutsi were not victims, too, indicated an exclusivist hubris on the part of Rwandas new masters.

Michela Wrong lays out the context of her story with great care. Her central character, Patrick Karegeya, is one of those who joined the RPFs trek home from Uganda, and became its intelligence chief. His job commanded respect, and his character made him popular in the RPF, and internationally well known. He, more than most, must have known where the bodies were buried.

As the RPFs new government settled in after their military victory in 1994, the shadows began to lengthen over its reputation. Those who cut it some slack on the grounds of necessity, came to feel increasingly uneasy about its internal direction, its willingness to ditch the inclusion of Hutus in the government, its ruthlessness internally and its foreign adventurism. Questions arose about its own record of crimes against humanity during and after the civil war of 1990-4.

Michela Wrong has chosen the right moment to train her forensic eye and formidable writers skills on the later, unheroic phase of the RPF under President Kagame. The lapse of time helps her to apply perspective to her observations; and there is enough evidence now, and still sufficient live witnesses, to make this book about the assassination of one man a morality play. It is a judgement on the regime which has commissioned exile and murder as a way of silencing uncomfortable voices within as well as outside its own ranks. Rwandas tragedy is still playing out. Debates between the regimes apologists and critics are toxic.

The story is compelling. Wrong sets Karegeyas career in the context of the Tutsis emigration over decades and the RPFs formation, invasion of Rwanda and ultimate victory. She pre-empts head-on what have become standard lines of attack by regime apologists, both Rwandan and foreign  that those who criticise the regime are somehow genocide-deniers and irredeemably ill-disposed to the post-1994 Rwanda. She covers the invasion and civil war straightforwardly, and its aftermath as dispassionately as possible in a state which discourages inquiries and denies visas to sceptics. Her research is thorough and has taken years.

She does not precis well-trodden ground. There are in her account fascinating insights into some of the mysteries that have remained unexplained for the last 26 years. No spoiler alerts, but these include the circumstances of the death of the RPFs first leader, Fred Rwigyema; and the shooting down of the hired French aircraft conveying the presidents of both Rwanda and Burundi from a meeting in the Arusha Peace Process. Responsibility for the attack remains a mystery which has until now poisoned Rwandas relations with France.

Wrong has equally important insights into the characters of the RPF leaders in their heroic phase, which helps us understand how they behaved in the non-heroic aftermath. Fred Rwigyema was a charismatic leader, whose body received a heros burial when it was finally taken back to Kigali from Uganda over four years after he was killed in Rwanda. He was President Musevenis favourite Rwandan and deputy during the Ugandan Bush War; he led Musevenis own victory parade through Kampala.

Few of us rumbled the difference between those Rwandans whose families had migrated more than a generation before 1994, and were therefore ethnic Rwandan citizens of, and settled in Uganda; and those Rwandan citizens whose parents fled from the persecutions and pogroms unleashed by the Hutu leaders in Rwanda after independence, and took refuge in Uganda, or other neighbouring countries. Karegeya was a Ugandan of Rwandan ethnicity: this split loyalty became most painful for him when, in the DRC, Rwandan and Ugandan troops confronted each other on opposite sides. His Ugandan origin made him vulnerable to charges of disloyalty when it suited his erstwhile colleagues in the RPF.

In the course of her research, Wrong also dug into the character of Paul Kagame. His severe demeanour and spare physical frame are familiar to many outside Rwanda, but Wrong describes his upbringing, his role in Musevenis Bush War in Uganda, and in the RPF, where he emerged from obscurity to leadership and thence to the presidency of Rwanda. From a stern disciplinarian he has become the hammer of his opponents and a remorseless driver of his old friends into exile, where many met their deaths.

Wrong refers to two points which show how differently Museveni viewed national political leadership from Kagame. First, he eschewed political assassination as counter-productive. Second, he advocated at the outset that his own victorious National Resistance Movement should hand over power quickly. Museveni has famously resiled on the second; but on the first his record is better than Kagames.

Karegeya was privy to some of those RPF assassinations. He was the regimes PR man abroad, and the broker for the blood diamonds looted from the DRC. His disillusionment with Kagame might have rehabilitated his reputation, had his assassins not interrupted that process.

Wrong concludes with reminders of why her books title is apt. The heroic days of the RPF have yielded to duplicity, treachery, betrayal and assassination. Why did those who later fell out with the regime serve so long as its defenders, apologists and executives; and why is the obscure Kagame of 1990 still standing tall thirty years on?

Edward Clay was Non-resident Her Majestys Ambassador to Rwanda 1994-6, British High Commissioner in Uganda from 1993-7 and British High Commissioner in Kenya from 2001-2005.
Amid the third wave of the pandemic, social and political tensions in Greece have an increasingly explosive character.

The government is opening up more of the economy despite the pandemic escalating and the seven-day incidence rate rising to over 150 per 100,000. On Monday, hairdressers, nail salons, massage parlours and archaeological sites were opened, soon to be followed by cafes, restaurants, and tourism. The Ministry of Education wants to open all schools as soon as possible.

Ambulances line up in front of the Evangelismos hospital in Athens, which is crowded with Covid patients, March 21, 2021

At the same time, intensive care units are once again in a desperate situation. On Tuesday, 699 patients had to be ventilateda record high. There is not a single intensive care bed left in Attica, the region around Athens. A total of 7,582 people have already died from the virus and the numbers will rise rapidly in the coming weeks. Pictures show ambulances queuing in front of Athens largest hospital Evangelismos on Sunday evening. Over a hundred critically ill patients had to be intubated while still waiting for an intensive care bed.

New infections3,586 on Tuesdayhave never been as high as they are now, even in November when the winter wave overwhelmed the Greek health care system. Despite this, the government has cut spending on the health ministry, hired no new health workers, and has not taken over private clinics. It was not until this Monday that a few private doctors were signed up to work in the public hospitals.

In this toxic situation, a social storm is gathering that fills the ruling class with horror. The government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of Nea Dimokratia (ND, New Democracy) has ordered indiscriminate police violence against any stirrings of resistance and is increasingly resorting to dictatorial means to intimidate and terrorise workers and youth.

Documented reports of beatings, torture and arbitrary police action that flooded social media this month prove once again that basic democratic rights in Greece are no longer worth the paper on which they are written. The EU member increasingly resembles a police state.

The events in the Athens neighbourhood of Nea Smyrni earlier this month were the starting point in the latest orgy of police violence. On Sunday March 7, young families were walking through their neighbourhood square, resting on a park bench, and watching their children play, when suddenly, helmeted riot police from the notorious DIAS motorbike unit arrived.

The officers initially fined the parents, even though, according to the strict coronavirus regulations, they had previously sent the necessary text message with a code allowing them to go outside. Instead of enforcing real measures to control the pandemic, the large fines mostly amount to harassment and unjustified punishment.

When the people concerned in Nea Smyrni refused to accept the on-the-spot fines and were supported by passers-by, the policemen took out their batons and beat a young man without any reason. Reinforcements arrived immediately, witnesses reported 50 helmeted policemen filling the square. The man shouted, I am in pain! (Ponao), which was later echoed in the protests.

Earlier this month Greek police raided the campus of Aristotle University, arresting 33 students (Source: Twitter@id_communism)

The shocking scene sparked anger and horror. The police and pro-government media immediately tried to falsify the events, claiming that a large group of men had attacked the police. Their lies did not last long in the face of the multitude of video evidence circulating on Twitter.

On Sunday evening, hundreds of residents demonstrated, and the police used tear gas and stun grenades. Two days later, on March 9, larger protests against police violence took place in Nea Smyrni, which ended in violent clashes. A young police officer was seriously injured, after which the police launched a savage revenge campaign against demonstrators and residents.

A video (at the 49-second mark) shows a gathering of police officers shouting, Lets go kill them! and advancing into neighbourhoods on their motorbikes. The Star television station falsified the video excerpt afterwards so that the policemens call for murder could no longer be heard.

Police officers stormed homes and arrested protesters and complete bystanders, including seven minors who were held for three days at the Attica General Police Station (GADA). According to their classmates, two of the youths were not even present at the demonstration but were merely standing outside their school in Nea Smyrni.

A mobile phone video shows unrestrained police brutality against an 18-year-old woman named Efi, who rushed to the aid of another person pinned to the ground by police officers on motorbike. Efi was then beaten up herself, arrested and taken to GADA. There, according to her lawyer, she was sexually harassed, threatened with rape several times and beaten up. When she asked for medical help, the police officers punched her in the face and replied, You will spit a lot of blood today.

The case of 21-year-old Aris Papazacharoudakis, exposed by the newspapers Efimerida ton Syntakton, Dokumento and The Press Project, bears all the hallmarks of the arbitrary actions of dictatorial regimes. In an interview, he tells how he was kidnapped in the middle of the street the day after the demonstration and then tortured and humiliated at the police station.

Demonstration against police violence in Nea Smyrni, Athens, on March 14, 2021

Hooded motorcyclists stopped the young anarchist and asked for his name. Then an unmarked car appeared, and Aris explained, They threw me on the bonnet and handcuffed me. Then they threw a hood over my head and forced me into the car. He was not given any details as to who they were or why they had taken him. At GADA, he was beaten up in the dark with a head covering on for hours and subjected to psychological torture. They also tried to extort names from other political activists.

After the allegations came to light, police officers sent a cease-and-desist letter to the newspapers. The editor of Dokumento, Kostas Vaxevanis, was even sued and presented with an arrest warrant for publishing the police letter.

The Mitsotakis government is accompanying the police-state campaign with lies, cover-ups and further attacks on democratic rights. In parliament, the day after the incident in Nea Smyrni, Mitsotakis attacked the youth who had shared photos, videos and comments against police violence on social media. The prime minister said social media was bad for democracy because it increased tensions and unrest. Young people there were in an echo chamber and could not develop critical thinking. Mitsotakis rightly fears that young people will break through the dominant ideology and propaganda of the establishment media and unearth the truth themselves.

In the same week as the Nea Smyrni events, the police also used violence against students in Thessaloniki, clearing the student occupation at Aristotle University in a brutal large-scale operation on March 11. Students had occupied the rectors office for three weeks to protest against the governments new authoritarian higher education law. Although it was known that the students wanted to end the occupation that day, at 6 a.m., masked plainclothes police stormed the building, which was surrounded by riot police with squad cars. More than 30 people were arrested.

Protests against police violence took place in Thessaloniki and Athens the evening after the eviction. Demonstrators also took to the streets in several districts in Athens the following weekend. Last Saturday in Athens, immigrants, refugees and their supporters also protested against the criminal concentration camps, police repression and racism against refugees, demanding asylum, shelter and papers.

The increasingly aggressive police operations are bolstered by the governments smear campaign against the protests, which it blames for the spread of the coronavirus. The ultra-right Development Minister Adonis Georgiadis (ND) claimed that the left was blackmailing the Greek population and using the coronavirus as a weapon to destroy Greece.

The government bears full responsibility for the catastrophic spread of the pandemic. It is protecting the profits of the financial oligarchy and destroying the health system. Georgiadis had already drastically cut the health budget as health minister in 2013-2014 and closed numerous hospitals. In a press conference at the time, he loudly boasted that he was pushing ahead with the dismissals of doctors without any pressure from the Troika (EU Commission, European Central Bank, IMF), because it is the right thing to do.

But the pseudo-left opposition party Syriza (Coalition of the Radical Left) and its leader Alexis Tsipras, who now accuses the government of failure and authoritarianism, shares responsibility for the disastrous coronavirus situation and the massive police violence. From 2015 to 2019, Syriza imposed social austerity in the interests of the banks and corporations, and repeatedly quelled protests by workers, pensioners and youth using the police.

In the pandemic, Syriza has mostly supported the governments steps to open up the economy and despite verbal sham battles, behaved as a loyal opposition. On March 18, in an interview on Open TV, Tsipras again advocated opening up the economy with stricter hygiene measures, such as a paltry two tests a week at schools and workplaces.

Syriza, while verbally supporting the protests against police violence, is fearful of the growing opposition among workers and youth. There was a danger that also affects Syriza, I say this quite openly: that a large anti-political current is emerging, Tsipras told Open TV. He was very concerned about a distorted radicalisation of the young generation.

What concerns Tsipras, Syriza and the entire ruling class is the spectre of socialist revolution. Workers and youth must draw the necessary conclusions from this. They need a clear political programme and their own independent leadership. The struggle against the pandemicjust like the struggle against social inequality and police violencerequires an international socialist strategy and the building of a Greek section of the International Committee of the Fourth International.
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 25, 2021] Venafi Machine Identity Management Fund Doubles the Number of Developer Projects in 2020

Venafi, the inventor and leading provider of machine identity management, today announced that the Machine Identity Management Development Fund added 16 new developer projects in 2020, causing the fund to double in size. New global technology leaders that joined the fund include Akeyless, Anjuna Security, n8n, OpenFaaS, Pulumi, Sidechain Security, Service Rocke and more. "The Machine Identity Management Development Fund couldn't be more important for our cloud-native future, and industry awareness and recognition is attracting developers from around the world to join the Venafi Ecosystem," said Kevin Bocek, vice president of security strategy and threat intelligence at Venafi. "Our Fund is creating a global community to future-proof customer success, and many of the developers are generating significant new revenue streams for their organizations. One especially innovative event occurred when Jetstack, a two-time fund participant, was acquired by Venafi in May. And this is just the beginning. In 2021, we're ready to modernize in entirely new ways to grow the Venafi Ecosystem and create more success for developers." Venafi's Machine Identity Management Development Fund is a global initiative designed to increase the visibility, intelligence and automation required for effective machine identity management across enterprise networks. Key milestones of the Machine Identity Management Development Fund include: The fund has more than doubled the number of developer projects in 2020 . The fund now includes more than 30 developer projects.

. The fund now includes more than 30 developer projects. Three developers have received a second round of funding . Developers have realized the value of the Machine Identity Development Fund. They have dedicated resources to integrations that accelerate the delivery of comprehensive machine identity management across microservices, DevOps and multicloud environments.

. Developers have realized the value of the Machine Identity Development Fund. They have dedicated resources to integrations that accelerate the delivery of comprehensive machine identity management across microservices, DevOps and multicloud environments. Indie Development Fund is launched . The program pays individual developers for innovative, open source machine identity projects. By participating in the Indie Developers program, individual developers receive direct sponsorship from Venafi to work on projects they're passionate about to help the open source and cloud-native communities

. The program pays individual developers for innovative, open source machine identity projects. By participating in the Indie Developers program, individual developers receive direct sponsorship from Venafi to work on projects they're passionate about to help the open source and cloud-native communities Venafi acquired Jetstack, an early Development Fund participant. Jetstack, a global leader in open source machine identity management software for Kubernetes and cloud-native ecosystems, joined the Fund in 2018. This acquisition, conducted in May 2020, is reshaping the way modern applications required by digital transformation are secured.

Jetstack, a global leader in open source machine identity management software for Kubernetes and cloud-native ecosystems, joined the Fund in 2018. This acquisition, conducted in May 2020, is reshaping the way modern applications required by digital transformation are secured. Created new revenue opportunities for developers. Through the Fund, developers can make their products available to license through Venafi. This is a growing opportunity for startups, global technology leaders and individual innovators. "When Venafi approached us about the possibility of sponsoring cert-manager with the to-be-launched Development Fund, I thought it was too good to be true," said Matt Barker, CEO of Jetstack. "As I explored it further, it turned out to be better than we could have imagined, and the sponsorship and support we received on joining played a big part in the project's success. More importantly, the relationship helped us develop customers and commercial strategy, which ultimately culminated in us joining the Venafi business in May 2020. For anyone developing products in and around the machine identity management space, especially in the cloud-native, developer-centered world, I would highly recommend getting in touch to find out how you can play a part." The Machine Identity Management Development Fund encourages recipients to build integrations hat deliver greater visibility, intelligence and automation across any technology that creates or consumes machine identities, including:



Cloud and hybrid-cloud infrastructure

Kubernetes

Service mesh

DevOps

Containerization

Secure Shell (SSH)

Code signing

Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

Artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data analytics

IoT

Blockchain-distributed ledger technology To find out more about the Venafi Machine Identity Management Development Fund and how you can become a funded developer, please visit: https://www.venafi.com/ecosystem/machine-identity-management-fund Quotes from Development Fund participants:

Bruno Couillard, president & CEO at Crypto4A: "From the first moment that we were introduced to Venafi, to participating in the Machine Identity Management Development Fund, to today, we continue to have an amazing journey. Being part of the Development Fund has allowed Crypto4A to focus and align ourselves to solving problems by focusing on the outcomes that customers care about most. It is amazing to be part of the journey with Venafi in getting machine identities recognized as an important category that requires attention. With the upcoming challenges we face due to quantum computing, there is also a great opportunity to solidify our security foundations as an industry-and we can't think of a better company than Venafi to work with in helping our customers navigate these challenges." Jeffry Jacob, cyber risk management advisor at Difenda: "As a result of the progress and success over the last 18 months, what started out as a project has now become a dedicated business unit. Venafi not only provided us the initial financial support through the Development Fund, they have also provided technical recommendations, support and insights into customer expectations to help us build the right product. With their deep knowledge and understanding of their customer base, Venafi has been instrumental in identifying opportunities and driving sales for Difenda's app. Venafi continues to work closely with us in product development, marketing, sales and customer satisfaction, thereby providing assurance over the long-term potential and sustainability of our integration product." Sven Feuchtmuller, managing director at filancore UG: "New ideas for software innovation grow out of the minds of tech entrepreneurs. Venafi helps young startups put those ideas into reality. Venafi's Development Fund works in collaboration with innovators and other experienced individuals to support customer needs." Gerrit Tamboer, managing director at Fullstaq: "Open source software is the foundation of the company we build. Not only is it our default choice when delivering solutions to our customers, but we also love contributing to open source projects on a regular basis. We are very grateful for being a part of the Development Fund and using our knowledge of the open source ecosystem on a much wider scale." Alex Ellis, founder of OpenFaaS Ltd and CNCF ambassador: "Open source is a distribution model, rather than a business model, which makes sourcing funding and sustainability particularly challenging. This is even more of a problem for independent projects and companies that are not externally funded. Venafi's Development Fund is a practical way to help cloud-native teams build out enterprise features and reach Global 5000 companies." Peter John Marquez, general manager at ServiceRocket Apps: "You can't just open a marketplace and declare that you have an ecosystem. Launching a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) is not a simple matter. For the past 10+ years, ServiceRocket has helped software companies like Atlassian (News - Alert) and Salesforce establish and grow world-class ecosystems. We know successful PaaS ecosystems require strategic planning and investment. That is why it has been such a pleasure to work with Venafi and their Development Fund. This team understands how critical it is to create an environment where their products, customers and partners can thrive." About Venafi Venafi is the cybersecurity market leader in machine identity management, securing machine-to-machine connections and communications. Venafi protects machine identity types by orchestrating cryptographic keys and digital certificates for SSL/TLS, SSH, code signing, mobile and IoT. Venafi provides global visibility of machine identities and the risks associated with them for the extended enterprise-on premises, mobile, virtual, cloud and IoT-at machine speed and scale. Venafi puts this intelligence into action with automated remediation that reduces the security and availability risks connected with weak or compromised machine identities while safeguarding the flow of information to trusted machines and preventing communication with machines that are not trusted. With more than 30 patents, Venafi delivers innovative solutions for the world's most demanding, security-conscious Global 5000 organizations and government agencies, including the top five U.S. health insurers; the top five U.S. airlines; the top four credit card issuers; three out of the top four accounting and consulting firms; four of the top five U.S. retailers; and the top four banks in each of the following countries: the U.S., the U.K., Australia and South Africa. Venafi is backed by top-tier investors, including TCV, Foundation Capital, Intel Capital (News - Alert) , QuestMark Partners, Mercato Partners and NextEquity. For more information, visit: www.venafi.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005003/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
BRIDGEPORT  The special probation application hearing for local restaurateur John Vazzano has been continued until May.

Vazzano is accused of offering a bribe to a teenaged girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted in his Bridgeport restaurant in 2019.

During a remote hearing Thursday, Senior Assistant States Attorney Christopher Alexy of the Office of the Chief States Attorney told Superior Court Judge Peter McShane that the investigative material in the case is voluminous and he hasnt had a chance to provide it to the defense.

I had requested the discovery before we proceed and we are not in a position to go forward, Vazzanos lawyer, Edward Gavin, told the judge.

McShane then continued the hearing to May 6.

Vazzano, a former Barnum Festival ringmaster and owner of restaurants in Bridgeport, Fairfield and Monroe, is charged with bribery of a witness, third-degree hindering prosecution and interfering with an officer. Bribery and hindering are C and D felonies while interfering is a misdemeanor charge.

He applied for accelerated rehabilitation, a pretrial program in which a defendant does not plead guilty to the charges but is placed on up to two years of probation. If he completes probation successfully, the charges against him are dismissed.

Vazzanos arrest came after a nine-month investigation initially begun by the Bridgeport Police Departments Detective Bureau into allegations that in November and December 2019, a long-time dish washer at Bridgeports Vazzys Restaurant and another kitchen employee sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl who was working as a hostess in the restaurant.

In February 2020, the dishwasher, Jaime Sena, 56, a Mexican citizen, was charged with third-degree sexual assault and second-degree unlawful restraint. His case is pending in Superior Court. The second suspect, Jose Tsenkush, is still being sought by police.

The affidavit states that in February 2020, during the funeral service of an unrelated person, Vazzano approached the father of the girl and told the father that the arrest of the sexual assault suspect is not a good idea.

He then allegedly offered to give the victim a job at another of his restaurants and a $1,000 gift card to Macys to make her feel better, the affidavit states. The conversation between the father and Vazzano was overheard by an off-duty police officer, the affidavit states.

The affidavit states that Vazzano later lied to members of the U.S. Marshals Violent Crime Fugitive Task Force on the whereabouts of the two sex assault suspects and that Vazzanos cell phone call logs showed he had often texted the two men.
More migrants have arrived on the Kent coast by boat, just one day after Priti Patel announced a new crackdown on the cross-Channel people trafficking trade.

The Home Secretary announced yesterday that illegal migrants 'should and could' make claims in the European countries they pass through on their way to Britain, rather than the UK itself.

Ms Patel warned the current asylum system is 'collapsing' because of the strain placed on it by people smugglers and dangerous Channel crossings as she set out a new plan to slash the privileges of those who come to the UK via an unauthorised route.

However, barely hours after her statement to the Commons - which sparked warnings of a spike in crossings before the new system comes in - dozens of migrants were intercepted near Dover, while another five landed on a beach at Dungeness.

Dozens more migrants have arrived on the Kent coast by boat, just one day after Priti Patel announced a new crackdown on the cross-Channel people trafficking trade

Around 35 people were brought into Dover Marina on the back of the Alert cutter shortly after 11am, which also towed the large grey rigid hulled inflatable boat they had attempted to make the dangerous journey in

Meanwhile, a few short miles up the coast, Kent Police were called to help locate and detain another small group in Lydd

The Home Secretary announced yesterday that illegal migrants 'should and could' make claims in the European countries they pass through on their way to Britain, rather than the UK itself

No right to settle under Priti Patel's asylum blitz Migrants who arrive in the UK illegally will no longer have the right to permanently settle here even if they have a strong asylum claim.

Anyone who arrives illegally having passed through a 'safe country' will be deemed 'inadmissible' to the UK asylum system.

The Government will seek the 'rapid removal' of 'inadmissible cases' back to the country they travelled to the UK from.

Those who cannot be returned to a safe country will be granted 'temporary protection status' for 30 months, with only limited access to benefits and limited family reunion rights.

The Government's asylum estate will be expanded with the creation of new reception centres to provide accommodation while claims are processed.

Action to improve age assessment measures to safeguard against adults claiming to be children.

A new 'one-stop' process for claims which will require people to spell out all protection-related issues in one go to prevent last-minute legal bids to thwart removal of failed asylum seekers.

Maximum sentence for people smugglers raised to life, and to five years for foreign criminals who return to the UK in breach of a deportation order.

New humanitarian routes for the 'vulnerable' in 'immediate danger'. Advertisement

Around 35 people were brought into Dover Marina on the back of the Alert cutter shortly after 11am, which also towed the large grey rigid hulled inflatable boat they had attempted to make the dangerous journey in.

The migrants, who appeared to mainly be Vietnamese, wore orange lifejackets, disposable face masks and beanie hats to keep warm.

One woman was spotted among the group being escorted up the gangway for processing by Immigration Enforcement officers.

Meanwhile, a few short miles up the coast, Kent Police were called to help locate and detain another small group in Lydd.

Ms Patel made her policy announcement yesterday as 67 migrants arrived in three separate incidents, with French authorities also preventing three attempted crossings earlier that night involving an estimated 114 people.

Much of the Home Secretary's crackdown will be contingent on securing agreement with other countries, particularly France, raising questions about how effectively the measures could be introduced while some illegal migrants will still be able to remain in the UK for potentially as long as 30 months.

The proposed changes will mean anyone arriving illegally who has passed through a 'safe country' will be considered 'inadmissible' to the UK's asylum system.

The Government will seek the 'rapid removal of inadmissible cases' to the safe country they travelled from or to another safe third country.

Meanwhile, Border Force will be given new powers to stop and redirect small boats and those on board away from the UK if they are suspected of trying to enter the country illegally. But this proposal will require agreement from the receiving port or country.

In a bid to further deter people smugglers, the maximum sentence for such activity will be raised to life.

The Government will also expand its asylum estate with the creation of new reception centres which will provide basic accommodation while cases are processed.

This means the use of hotels to accommodate new arrivals who entered the UK illegally will end.

A map shows the points along the coast where migrants have landed in the UK over the past year after crossing from France

Ms Patel said the 'most significant overhaul of our asylum system in decades' is necessary to 'protect lives because we cannot carry on as we are with people dying in the hands of gangsters and smugglers'.

She said people who arrive in the UK illegally having travelled through France and Germany are 'not seeking refuge from persecution' but rather 'you are choosing the UK as your preferred destination'.

Ms Patel said her new plan to toughen up the system will mark a 'step change in our approach' to asylum which will 'deter illegal entry and the criminals that endanger life by enabling it'.

However, the unveiling of the plan immediately prompted concerns of a potential spike in the number of attempted Channel crossings before the crackdown is implemented.

The Immigration Services Union (ISU), which represents Border Force staff, said announcing changes to immigration rules 'inevitably' causes a 'surge'.

ISU spokeswoman Lucy Moreton told MailOnline: 'It is equally inevitable that the criminals who drive irregular migration such as the small boat migration will use this as a reason to drive up both demand for and the cost of the crossings.'

Another well-placed source said: 'I don't think the proposed measures will stop people from crossing. In fact, I think even announcing them will cause even more crossings.'

The latest official Home Office figures mean 1,056 migrants have made the 21-mile journey so far this year.

And 525 have made arrived in March on 27 boats - which is almost three times the 187 who arrived in 13 boats in the same month last year.

The busy week has included a record breaking day for 2021 when 183 migrants were intercepted on Monday in six incidents.

But today could be the last day of crossings for a while as poor conditions at sea are expected.

In 2020 a record 8,410 migrants arrived by small boat - dwarfing 2019's total of just 1,850.
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.
(Newser)  "A miscarriage is a strange, secret birth that is also a death," wrote Kathryn van Beek in 2018 after suffering her own. That's why the New Zealand author is celebrating this week after her country's Parliament gave the green light to legislation that will offer three days of paid leave to couples who've experienced a miscarriage or stillbirth, reports the New York Times. The new legislation, set to become law over the next few weeks, expands on current policy in New Zealand that mandates employers offer paid leave for stillbirths that occur after 20 weeks of pregnancy; now a loss at any point in a pregnancy qualifies. Today notes the leave also applies to would-be parents trying to have a child via surrogacy or adoption, though not for abortions. "I felt that it would give women the confidence to be able to request that leave if it was required, as opposed to just being stoic and getting on with life," says Ginny Andersen, the Labour MP who proposed the bill, per the Times.

story continues below

Andersen adds it's important this type of paid leave is available so that people don't have to use sick leave in the event of a pregnancy loss. "Because their grief is not a sickness," she says, per Today. "It is a loss. And loss takes time." The Guardian notes that women in India are entitled to six weeks of paid leave after a miscarriage, while other places, including the UK and Ontario in Canada, have similar provisions for stillbirths. There are a handful of companies in the US that have started to offer paid leave for pregnancy loss: Reddit, for example, gives both mothers and fathers eight and a half weeks off, Today notes. But there's no nationwide mandate here that requires employers to offer this benefit, so many women feel pressured to return to work immediately after they experience a pregnancy loss. "Low-wage women in particular ... are often a complicated pregnancy away from losing their job," a rep for the Better Balance worker advocacy nonprofit says. (Read more New Zealand stories.)
The traffic light had been red for nearly 15 seconds when Susan Lee ran through it and struck a holidaying father and son.

The Melbourne woman was jailed for six months on Thursday after the crash which left the Hong Kong man with life-threatening injuries.

Lee was driving her daughter to work along Springvale Road when the traffic light changed. Reconstruction experts say he was at least 150 metres - and 14.78 seconds - away.

While Lee claimed she hadn't noticed the lights changed, or the group of pedestrians crossing, her daughter did and cried out 'red light'.

The traffic light had been red for nearly 15 seconds when Susan Lee ran through it and struck a holidaying father and son

Lee said there was a car behind her and the road was wet so she didn't want to stop.

'My daughter called out 'Mum there's someone' and it was sort of too late,' she told police after the 2019 collision.

The boy - who turned nine that day - escaped with a fractured arm but his father suffered much more serious injuries including a fractured skull that extended to his spine, complex pelvic fractures and breaks in his shoulder and thigh bones.

He requires emergency surgery to repair an artery in his chest and experienced significant post-operative complications that landed him in intensive care.

The man spent more than two months in hospital in Australia before returning to Hong Kong, where he spent another week in hospital before being released into outpatient rehab.

Unable to work, the man was made redundant and his injuries mean he is now prone to falls and suffers ongoing memory and concentration issues.

County Court Judge Christopher Ryan said the collision had had profound adverse impacts on the man's life - physically, mentally and professionally.

Judge Ryan said Lee was distressed and remorseful after the crash, but he said it was not a result of momentary inattention

He has also faced added health complications. The man had undergone surgery to remove cancerous tumours before the crash and was regarded as having fully recovered.

But the cancer returned after the man travelled back to Hong Kong and further surgeries to treat the cancer were complicated by the injury-related operations he had undergone.

Judge Ryan said Lee was distressed and remorseful after the crash, but he said it was not a result of momentary inattention.

As well as the six-month prison sentence, he ordered she not drive for 18 months.
Multi-year agreement to expand commercial footprint with world-leading genomics platform and develop R&D to unlock the potential of multimodal health data

BOSTON, LAUSANNE, Switzerland and TOKYO, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- SOPHiA GENETICS SA ("SOPHiA GENETICS"), pioneer in Data-Driven Medicine, and Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501, "Hitachi") today announced they have entered into a long-term collaboration agreement to bring clinical, genomic and real-world insights to healthcare providers, pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies and extend the democratization of Data-Driven Precision Medicine globally for the benefit of patients. Under this agreement, the two companies will advance data-driven precision medicine through global commercial expansion and development of Hitachi's digital healthcare solutions and the SOPHiA DDM Platform.

SOPHiA GENETICS and Hitachi have identified multiple areas for potential collaboration including secure personal genomics data management, deployment of data and insights for better healthcare decisions and acceleration of drug development in oncology and other disease areas. Initially, the collaboration will focus on leveraging the genomics, clinical data analytics and AI expertise of both companies to expand the commercialization of the SOPHiA DDM Platform and Hitachi's digital healthcare solutions, like Hitachi's molecular tumor board support service, in key geographies. Over the long term, the two companies will also collaborate on R&D related new product development which is expected to lead to new joint offerings.

"SOPHiA GENETICS is a leader in precision medicine," said Keiji Kojima, Executive Vice President and Executive Officer, and General Manager of Smart Life Business Management Division of Hitachi, Ltd. "Hitachi is excited to start long term partnership with SOPHiA GENETICS to co-create innovative solutions for improving Quality of Life of patients by leveraging both companies' data analytics and AI technologies."

"At SOPHiA GENETICS, we are committed to improving patient outcomes through data driven medicine and we are excited to collaborate with Hitachi, a global leader in real-world evidence and multimodal clinical decision support, who shares these values," said Jurgi Camblong, CEO and Founder of SOPHiA GENETICS. "This partnership will enable us to broaden our commercial reach and support improved health outcomes for more patients."

Hitachi has been offering high value-added services, such as genomics, a medical and care data management platform and new services utilizing AI and analytics. Hitachi will broaden its healthcare business by leveraging its strengths of in-vitro diagnostics systems, particle therapy treatment systems and digital technologies, to contribute to the improvement of people's quality of life and the realization of a sustainable society.

The SOPHiA DDM Platform is a cloud-based software-as-a-service analytics platform that uses AI and machine learning to generate actionable insights for clinicians and researchers from complex multimodal datasets. These insights enable healthcare institutions to benefit from shared knowledge and, ultimately, improve diagnosis, treatment and drug development to drive better clinical and scientific outcomes.

About SOPHiA GENETICS

SOPHiA GENETICS is a health tech company democratizing Data-Driven Medicine to improve health outcomes and economics worldwide. By unlocking the power of new-generation health data for cancer and rare diseases management, the universal SOPHiA DDM Platform allows clinical researchers to act with precision and confidence. The company's innovative approach enables an ever-expanding community of over 1,000 institutions to benefit from knowledge sharing, fostering a new era in healthcare. SOPHiA GENETICS's achievement is recognized by the MIT Technology Review's "50 Smartest Companies."

More info: SOPHiAGENETICS.COM, follow @SOPHiAGENETICS on Twitter.

About Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is focused on its Social Innovation Business that combines information technology (IT), operational technology (OT) and products. The company's consolidated revenues for fiscal year 2019 (ended March 31, 2020) totaled 8,767.2 billion yen ($80.4 billion), and it employed approximately 301,000 people worldwide. Hitachi drives digital innovation across five sectors - Mobility, Smart Life, Industry, Energy and IT - through Lumada, Hitachi's advanced digital solutions, services, and technologies for turning data into insights to drive digital innovation. Its purpose is to deliver solutions that increase social, environmental and economic value for its customers. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at https://www.hitachi.com.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1472932/SOPHiA_GENETICS_Hitachi.jpg
Chinese foreign minister visits Turkey, Uighurs protest Minority denounces Beijing 'genocide' and risks extradition

(ANSAmed) - ROME, 25 MAR - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is visiting Turkey on Thursday as part of a regional diplomatic tour that also has stops in Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Oman.



Wang will meet with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu to discuss "bilateral relations and international and regional issues" and he will also meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.



The visit has been accompanied by strong protests from the Uighur community, the Turkic-speaking Muslim minority from Xinjiang in northwest China, which has historically found refuge in Turkey and now numbers about 50,000.



Minority associations organised protests parallel to the visit by the Chinese minister, including a press conference in the Turkish capital to denounce "the genocide underway in East Turkestan" as they define their region of origin, just days after the US and EU imposed sanctions against Beijing.



In particular, there are fears regarding an extradition accord between Turkey and China, which has already been ratified by Beijing and upon which the Turkish Parliament is expected to give its opinion soon.



Some activists denounce the risk that the Erdogan government could reduce the protection that has thus far been accorded, in light of growing relations with Beijing, exemplified also by the use of the Sinovac vaccine in Turkey's Covid vaccination campaign. (ANSAmed).




DEPUTY minister of disability affairs Alexia Manombe-Ncube fired the National Disability Council's board last week.

The board is, however, consulting its lawyers to advise on the lawfulness of the decision.

The board was fired with immediate effect on Friday via a letter written by the minister of gender equality, poverty eradication and social welfare, Doreen Sioka.

It was signed by Manombe-Ncube.

Board members were surprised to receive the letter, which Sioka authored, but Manombe-Ncube signed.

The government-funded council was formed to improve the conditions of people living with disabilities in the country.

Progress has, however, been hindered by constant conflict between its management, the board and the state.

"We have reason to believe you have failed to address the issue of dysfunctionality within the council as we have witnessed further turmoil and disorder within the company," n the letter, dated 19 March, stated.

The letter said the board failed to provide the ministry with clear clarification why it was unable to fulfil its mandate.

"We have decided to remove you with immediate effect as from today, 19 March 2021," the letter reads.

Martin Tjivera is the board's chairperson, and Merjam Sam is the deputy chairperson.

Other board members include Valentina Mulongeni, Edward Eliphas, Regina Hausiku, Libonina Nawa, Katrina Iiyambo, Utarera Kandjou, Walde Werner, Joseph Paulus, Beverly Somses, Kariiwe Kazonganga and Tuhafeni Shikomba.

The board is disputing the legality of its removal.

Contacted for comment, company secretary and acting director !Jessica Gawachab over the weekend confirmed that the board is looking into the legality of the deputy minister signing off a removal letter despite not having the statutory powers to do so.

"Please note that the board will consult a legal representative on the matter. I cannot comment further," Gawachab said.

Manombe-Ncube yesterday said she could no longer discuss the issue.

"I have already spoken about it, and if people are not happy with what transpired they can continue running to the media like they have been doing," she said.

The board members were replaced by Samuel Ankama, Lidwina Shapwa, Cynthy Haihambo-ya-Otto, Beata Armas, Roster Chali Matengu, Johannes Matsi and Damoline Muruko.

DIVIDED

Documents obtained by The Namibian shows the axed board was divided with Tjivera and Sam, backed by Manombe-Ncube, supporting the reinstatement of former acting director Meliherius Haukambe.

Haukambe was forcefully removed from office last month after being accused of working without a contract since 2016 and being involved in irregular activities allegedly worth N$1,5 million.

Other former board members are adamant that Haukambe should not return to office.

Sam is now being accused of tampering with the minutes of a special board meeting on 15 March.

In the minutes, Sam threw her colleagues under the bus, saying the dysfunctionality of the board is an ongoing issue.

"This is a good sign that the dysfunctionality of the board is not solved. Otherwise, why does this board have three meetings in a row in one week? This is not acceptable. Also, why a meeting over two days?," she said.

Sam believes there were no valid reasons to dismiss Haukambe and replace him with Gawachab.

Gawachab was appointed as acting director for two months.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Namibia By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Sam said the reconciliation process between board members created loopholes.

"It is now clear that this board is unwilling and unable to solve the problems they created for the council," Sam wrote to the minister.

!Gawachab in an email said it is a serious offence to misstate the events of board meetings and discussions.

"Kindly be advised that the entire board meeting was recorded, and as company secretary, I can verify that some of the statements are false," she said.

!Gawachab told Sam her actions may thus be deemed to be in contravention of a board resolution.

"Please note my email as advice on best governance practices and ethical behaviour. As company secretary I am obliged to communicate to the minister that she is being misled in your letter, as it is not an accurate recollection of the meeting. The recording will be submitted as evidence."
MILAN (Reuters) - Thermo Fisher Scientific said on Thursday it would work with Pfizer and BioNtech to produce their COVID-19 vaccine in Italy.

"Thermo Fisher is working as part of Pfizer's global vaccine manufacturing network, and will provide manufacturing services in Italy for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine that will be distributed in several markets," the company said in an emailed statement.

Thermo Fisher added it would provide sterile filling and finished product preparation services at its facility in Monza, outside Milan, during 2021.

(Reporting by Francesca Landini, writing by Agnieszka Flak)
Indian Lok Dal (INLD) has on Wednesday established a 40-bed hospital at Tikri border for the farmers who are protesting against the Centre's three farm laws for several months.

In an official statement, the in-charge of INLD, Arjun Chautala said: "The government wanted to deprive the farmers of health facilities so that the farm movement could be hampered. So our party decided to provide service at the maximum level."

"We decided to establish a medical camp at Tikri border in which a temporary hospital carrying 40 beds has been established to look after the health of the agitating farmers. The hospital has three wards - two general and one ward for woman," Chautala added.

Farmers have been protesting on the different borders of the capital since November 26 against the three newly enacted farm laws: Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

(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 Shafique Khokhar

The Rwadari Tehreek movement held a rally after people die in custody and in fake clashes with police. Anyone responsible for such serious abuse must be brought to justice and tried in line with international standards, said Samson Salamat, the movements chairman.

Lahore (AsiaNews) - The Rwadari Tehreek movement held a protest yesterday in front of the Lahore Press Club to get the chief justice of the Supreme Court, the prime minister, provincial governors and police chiefs of Baluchistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh to take concrete action to stop police torture, extrajudicial killings and custodial deaths.

The protest drew people from different walks of life who chanted slogans referring to some recent events such as the murder of Irfan Jatoi in a fake shootout with police in Sukkur, the custodial death of seventh-class student, Jehanzeb, in Peshawar, and the killing of two people in another fake encounter with police in Kanha Nau, Lahore.

Protesters want a judicial inquiry to investigate all these police operations, along with tough action against those responsible.

We are extremely concerned over the numerous allegations of extrajudicial killings and custodial deaths, said Samson Salamat, chairman of Rwadari Tehreek, speaking at the rally.

Extra-judicial killings are typically the end-point of a string of human rights abuses and are a violation of domestic and international human rights law.

For this reason, we urge the federal and provincial governments and relevant departments to take immediate steps to put a halt to the repeated use of the process of abduction or arbitrary arrest, torture and extra-judicial killings and also ensure that the use of fake encounter killings is halted.

Salamat goes on to say that The most effective way to stop these unlawful acts is to ensure the effective investigation of all allegations of extra-judicial killings through judicial commissions.

What is more, any persons allegedly responsible for such grave human rights abuses must be brought before a civilian court and given a trial in line with international standards and during this process witness protection and adequate reparation must be guaranteed.

Rwadari Tehreeks chairman noted that the Constitution of Pakistan guarantees all citizens the right to a fair trial, through independent and transparent procedures.

At the same time, no individual, institution or department is above the law and everyone is bound to follow the constitution and laws while performing their duties.

Other human rights activists addressed protesters, including Saeeda Diep, Abida Chaudhary of Awami Workers Party, and Muzamil kakar, chairman of the Pashtoon Education Development Movement.
A Washoe County judge in Nevada has ordered Reno to pay $1.1 million to owners of three homes that flooded north of the city four years ago as dozens of others continue to press related battles in federal court over handling of excess stormwater.

More than 60 homes were damaged when the Swan Lake Basin flooded in Lemmon Valley during a stretch of unusually heavy rainfall in February 2017. The flooding occurred about 8 miles north of downtown.

Washoe District Judge Barry Breslow this month ordered the city to pay the owners of the three homes $931,000 for damages plus interest for the time theyve been in court, the Reno Gazette Journal reported.

Reno City Attorney Karl Hall said the city would pursue an appeal in the Nevada Supreme Court, where its already appealing related matters stemming from an earlier class-action lawsuit.

In 2019, a jury in that case found Reno liable for the damages to the residents homes about 10 miles east of the California line, concluding the city knew the area could flood but did nothing to prevent it. The courts also found the city used private property for public use as part of the stormwater diversion efforts.

Breslow, however, later removed class-action status from that suit, which meant plaintiffs would have to file individual claims for damages. In recent weeks, many of the other homeowners have started filing claims in U.S. District Court in Reno.

The plaintiffs lawyer said going to federal court likely will take more than a year but would bind the city to the 2019 verdict.

In the case of the three homeowners who won the judgment in Washoe District Court, the city argued compensation should be limited to the propertys rental value.

Breslow disagreed in his ruling March 15, declaring compensation should include the rental value at the time of the flooding, plus damages, relocation costs and attorneys fees, according to court documents.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Flood Homeowners Nevada
North Korea launched at least two ballistic missiles early on Thursday, said the US and Japan, in the first such tests since US president Joe Biden took office and what Japan called a threat to security and peace in the region.

It marks the second North Korean weapons test in a matter of days, following the launch of two short-range non-ballistic projectiles at the weekend.

Pyongyangs ballistic missiles are banned under United Nations Security Council resolutions, and while Sundays launch was played down by the White House, Mr Biden - who is yet to set out his North Korea policy - will find it harder to ignore such a violation.

Nuclear-armed North Korea has often used weapons tests as provocations to both Washington and Seoul.

South Koreas military confirmed on Thursday that the North fired two short-range missiles from the eastern waters of Hamju town, in South Hamgyong Province, at 7.06am and 7.25am local time. The missiles travelled about 450km at an altitude of 60 km, it said.

Read more

South Korean and US intelligence authorities are analysing the projectiles in detail, weighing the possibility that they could be short-range ballistic missiles, a statement from Seouls Joint Chiefs of Staff read.

Japans prime minister Yoshihide Suga condemned the tests and instructed officials to ensure the safety of aircraft, vessels, and other assets. Mr Suga asked the military to all possible measures for precaution and readiness for contingencies following the missile test, a statement read.

The first launch in just less than a year represents a threat to peace and stability in Japan and the region and violates UN resolutions, Mr Suga said, adding that he would thoroughly discuss North Korea issues with Mr Biden during his expected visit next month.

Japan also lodged a formal protest over the launches through its embassy in China.

US Indo-Pacific Command military spokesman Mike Kafka said in a statement that the US is aware of North Korean missile launches this morning into the East Sea and they will continue to monitor the situation.

This activity highlights the threat that North Korea's illicit weapons program poses to its neighbours and the international community. The US commitment to the defence of the Republic of Korea and Japan remains ironclad," Mr Kafka said.

The reaction came after Mr Biden played down a non-ballistic missile launch that took place over the weekend, describing it as being at the low end of provocations and business as usual, and officials in Washington said they were still open to dialogue with Pyongyang.

Mr Bidens diplomatic overtures to North Korea have gone unanswered, and Pyongyang said it would not engage until Washington drops hostile policies, including carrying out military drills with South Korea.

North Korea last launched short-range ballistic missiles in late March 2020, and has not reported any long-range ballistic missile test since 2017 after former president Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un reached a deal in Singapore that Pyongyang would cease such exercises.

The relationship between the two remained stalled after the second meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Kim collapsed in February 2019 as they failed to reach an agreement over denuclearisation in North Korea.

The missile tests also came just days after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited South Korea and Japan to push China to lead efforts on North Koreas disarmament by using its tremendous influence with Mr Kims regime.

Kim Jong-uns powerful sister last week berated the United States over its latest round of drills, describing them as an invasion rehearsal and warned Washington to refrain from causing a stink.

Additional reporting by agencies
ARCHIVED - Covid incidence rate in Spain rises by 2 per cent in a day: update 24th March 2021



Case numbers rose on Wednesday in 15 of the 17 regions of Spain

It is becoming clearer and clearer that the decline of the third wave of coronavirus infection in Spain has now ended and that the risk of a fourth wave is growing, with the latest daily update published by the Ministry of Health reporting a 2 per cent rise in the nationwide incidence rate over the last 24 hours.

The 14-day accumulated incidence rate now stands at 132.2 cases per 100,000 inhabitants and has been rising gradually for the last week, the data made public on Wednesday evening also showing that the figures rose in 15 of the countrys 17 regions. Only Andalucia (-0.6 per cent) and Aragon (-1.3 per cent) were exempt from the general trend, with the sharpest rises reported in Navarra (11.3 per cent), the Balearics (where a 9.5 per cent rise took the islands out of the low risk zone) and La Rioja (8.9 per cent).

The highest incidence rates among the regions are those reported in Madrid (228), the Basque Country (199.5) and Navarra (185.3), although in the north African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla the data are even more worrying with figures of 254 and 511 respectively.

At the same time, the total of 7,026 cases reported on Wednesday is the highest for a single day so far this month, while the addition of 320 fatalities takes the official Covid death toll in Spain to 74,064 since the first wave of the pandemic early last year.

It goes without saying that the country is hardly prepared for another wave of infection of the magnitude of the surge in January, with hospitals still struggling to cope with the large numbers of coronavirus patients in long-term intensive care. The proportion of all hospital beds occupied by Covid patients has dropped to 6.24 per cent, according to the latest data, but in intensive care units coronavirus still accounts for 18.6 per cent of all patients and in Madrid, La Rioja and Catalunya the figure is well above 30 per cent.

On Wednesday evening the health authorities of the country voted to maintain the current restrictions in place for Semana Santa and intensify the roadblocks attempting to prevent inter-regional travel, hoping that the public understands the high probability of a fourth wave should they fail to respect the restrictions imposed, which aim to give a good deal of freedom and enable businesses to remain open.
A group of attorneys general, including Attorney General Maura Healey, sent a letter to the heads of Facebook and Twitter on Wednesday accusing them of not doing enough to stop the spread of vaccine disinformation on their social media platforms.

The letter was sent a day before Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Google CEO Sundar Pichai are expected to testify before two Congressional House subcommittees about social medias role in promoting extremism and misinformation.

Facebook and Twitter should be doing everything they can to help our nation fight the COVID-19 pandemic that has devastated our communities and claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent people, Healey said in a statement. Instead, they are failing to prevent the spread of deadly lies from anti-vaxxers and undermining our efforts to effectively fight this virus.

The letter was spearheaded by Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, and it was signed by a dozen attorneys general.

The law enforcement leaders said Facebook and Twitter had failed to remove the accounts of prominent anti-vaccine advocates from all their platforms despite violations of the companies terms of service and were not consistently applying misinformation labels on posts.

We call on you to take immediate steps to fully enforce your companies guidelines against vaccine misinformation. By effectively rooting out fraudulent information about coronavirus vaccines, you can prevent needless illness and death and hasten our road to recovery, the attorneys general wrote.
New Delhi: Bandhan Bank has announced the appointment of two new directors to its Board of Directors.

The two directors, Suhail Chander and Subrata Dutta Gupta, joined the Banks board as Additional Directors (Independent), with effect from March 19, 2021, up to the date of the next Annual General Meeting; and as Independent Directors for a period of three years each, with effect from March 19, 2021, subject to the approval of the Banks shareholders.

Suhail Chander was the head of Corporate and Institutional Banking at IndusInd Bank before retiring in March 2020. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant and Honours Graduate in Economics from University of Delhi. He has 37 years of rich experience across Banking Operations, Trade Finance, Retail and Wholesale Banking. He is also currently on the board of Canara Robeco Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Subrata Dutta Gupta has served as the Principal Financial Officer at the World Banks International Finance Corp. (IFC). He has a rich experience of over 35 years in asset-backed financing, including two decades in mortgage finance and over a decade in development finance. He has also served as the Managing Director of BHW Birla Home Finance and worked with SREI International Finance in the past. Dutta Gupta is also on the Board of Joyville Shapporji Housing Finance Pvt. Ltd. as a nominee director of the Asian Development Bank.

Live TV

#mute

Commenting on the appointment of the new directors, Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Bandhan Bank said: We are delighted to welcome Mr. Chander and Mr. Dutta Gupta to the Board of Directors of Bandhan Bank. As the Bank embarks upon its journey towards Vision 2025, I am confident that their guidance will help the Bank further its growth journey.
Photo: The Canadian Press FILE - In this April 24, 2015, file photo, pumpjacks work in a field near Lovington, N.M. President Joe Biden shut down oil and gas lease sales from the nation's vast public lands and waters in his first days in office, citing worries about climate change. Now his administration has to figure out what do with the multi-billion dollar program without crushing a significant sector of the U.S. economy, while fending off sharp criticism from congressional Republicans and the oil industry. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

The oil and gas industry's top lobbying group on Thursday endorsed a federal price on carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming, a reversal of longstanding industry policy that comes as the Biden administration has pledged dramatic steps to address climate change.

The American Petroleum Institute, whose members include ExxonMobil, Chevron and other oil giants, announced the shift ahead of a virtual forum Thursday by the Interior Department as it launches a months-long review of the governments oil and gas sales.

API also called for fast-tracking commercial deployment of long-sought technology to capture and store carbon emissions; advancement of hydrogen technology; and federal regulation of methane emissions from new and existing oil and gas wells. The industry also pledged to reduce flaring at drilling sites that has released vast quantities of harmful methane gas emissions into the air after strongly resisting regulations on methane proposed by the Obama administration.

Confronting the challenge of climate change and building a lower-carbon future will require a combination of government policies, industry initiatives and continuous innovation, API President and CEO Mike Sommers said in a statement.

Sommers emphasized that the industry seeks market based solutions such as a carbon tax or a cap-and-trade policy, rather than "heavy-handed government regulation.'' The oil industry played a key role in the defeat of proposed cap-and-trade legislation in the Senate a decade ago, and its endorsement of a carbon price and other federal action marks a turnaround after years of opposition to federal legislation to address climate change.

The reversal comes as the Biden administration made tackling climate change a top priority, moving in its first days to suspend oil and gas lease sales from federal lands and waters and cancelling the contentious Keystone XL oil sands pipeline from Canada.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland on Thursday kicked off a broad review of the governments oil and gas program that could lead to a long-term ban on leases or other steps to discourage drilling and reduce emissions.

Too often the extraction of resources have been rushed to meet the false urgency of political timetables rather than careful consideration for the impacts of current and future generations, she said.

Industry representatives and Republican lawmakers have sharply criticized the suspension and warn that widespread job losses are likely in energy-producing states should it become permanent.

But Haaland, the nations first Native American cabinet member, said it was time to take a longer view just as her ancestors did as they farmed the same land for centuries.

In order to tackle the climate crisis and strengthen our nations economy, we must manage our lands and waters and resources, not just across fiscal years, but across generations, she said.

Ahead of the forum, the White House hosted a videoconference meeting Monday with executives from 10 of the industrys biggest companies, including ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell. White House climate adviser Gina McCarthy made clear that the administration is not fighting the oil and gas sector."

The meeting came after weeks of friction over moves the administration made to halt new oil leasing on federal lands and to review Trump administration deregulation efforts aimed at helping U.S. oil and gas producers.

Biden during a Thursday press conference pitched an upcoming proposal to upgrade the nations infrastructure as an opportunity to create new jobs without making global warming worse.

We have over 100,000 (oil and gas) wells that are not capped, leaking methane. We can put as many pipefitters and miners to work capping those wells at the same price that they would charge to dig those wells, he said.

The Biden administration has already postponed lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and western states and suspended leasing in Alaskas Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Interior officials say the fossil fuel program has failed to consider climate impacts and that irresponsible leasing practices carve up wildlife habitat, threaten Native American cultural and sacred sites and lock up public lands that could be used for recreation or conservation.

After what they call a fire sale of public energy reserves under former President Donald Trump, Bidens team argues that companies still have plenty of undeveloped leases  almost 14 million non-producing acres in western states and more than 9 million acres offshore. Companies also have about 7,700 unused drilling permits  enough for years.

Despite the moratorium on new leases, the Biden administration has continued to issue permits for existing leases, including more than 200 in March, records show.

Environmentalists want that to stop, but an outright drilling ban would raise thorny legal issues. Companies could claim they have the right to extract oil and gas after spending years and millions of dollars to secure leases.

Thirteen states sued the Biden administration Wednesday to end the leasing suspension. The Republican-leaning states, led by Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, seek a court order ending the moratorium imposed by Biden in a Jan. 27 executive order.
document

The following statement was released by United States Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice President of the European Commission Josep Borrell following today's meeting:

Begin text:

On March 24, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice President of the European Commission Josep Borrell met in Brussels to discuss ways to strengthen the U.S.- EU relationship and coordinate responses to priority foreign policy, security, and economic issues. They also committed to cooperate in the face of global challenges, including addressing the global climate crisis, bringing an end to the COVID-19 pandemic, facilitating a sustainable economic recovery, and defending democratic values and fundamental freedoms including within multilateral structures.

During the meeting, the two sides decided to re-launch the bilateral dialogue on China, as a forum to discuss the full range of related challenges and opportunities. They acknowledged a shared understanding that relations with China are multifaceted, comprising elements of cooperation, competition, and systemic rivalry. They also decided to continue meetings under the framework of the dialogue at senior official and expert levels on topics such as reciprocity, including economic issues; resilience; human rights; security; multilateralism; and areas for constructive engagement with China, such as climate change.

Secretary Blinken and High Representative Borrell confirmed that credible multi-party democracy, the protection of human rights and adherence to international law support the stability and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific. Both aim to cooperate to promote secure, sustainable, free and open maritime supply routes and supply chains and look forward to deepening cooperation with like-minded partners where interests and approaches intersect.

The two principals also discussed U.S.-EU partnership on climate action and working cooperatively to raise global ambition to put the world on a path to net-zero emissions by 2050.

The two sides plan to work together in multilateral fora, such as through the WHO and COVAX initiative to jointly address the global challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, including facilitating global distribution of safe and effective vaccines, addressing humanitarian impacts, and building future pandemic preparedness, including through advancing global health security.

Secretary Blinken and High Representative Borrell acknowledged that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) remained a key achievement of multilateral diplomacy despite existing difficulties. They shared concerns about Iran's continued departure from its nuclear commitments under the JCPOA and underlined their full support for the work of the IAEA to independently monitor Iran's nuclear commitments. Secretary Blinken re-affirmed the U.S. readiness to reengage in meaningful diplomacy to achieve a mutual return to full implementation of the JCPOA by the United States and Iran. The High Representative welcomed the prospect of a U.S. return to the JCPOA. Both sides expressed support for the ongoing diplomatic efforts, and the contacts of the High Representative as JCPOA Coordinator with all relevant partners, to ensure full implementation of the JCPOA nuclear and sanctions lifting commitments. The United States expressed readiness to engage in result-oriented discussions to that end.

Secretary Blinken and High Representative Borrell noted their determination to further address, in a coordinated manner, Russia's challenging behavior, including its ongoing aggression against Ukraine and Georgia; hybrid threats, such as disinformation; interference in electoral processes; malicious cyber activities; and military posturing. Both sides also decided to coordinate their response to the shrinking space in Russia for independent political voices, civil society and media freedom and the dwindling respect for human rights and the rule of law. At the same time, both sides declared that they are ready to engage with Russia on issues of common interest and to encourage Russia to abandon confrontational approaches.

They also decided to continue close cooperation to encourage comprehensive reforms in the EU Eastern neighborhood, including South Caucasus countries.

The two principals underscored that the United States and the EU share a strong interest in a stable and prosperous Western Balkans region. They reaffirmed their commitment to work together to support reconciliation and improve governance, build resilience and push forward key reforms for EU integration across the region. U.S.-EU cooperation on the ground is vital for progress, including on the EU-facilitated dialogue on normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia.

Secretary Blinken and High Representative Borrell affirmed the United States and the EU have a strategic interest in a stable and secure environment in the Eastern Mediterranean and will work hand in hand for sustainable de-escalation. Both the United States and the EU are interested in the development of a cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship with Turkey, underpinned by rule of law and respect for fundamental rights.

The two principals shared their concern about the continuing humanitarian tragedy and human rights violations and abuses in Tigray. They discussed a variety of measures to support unhindered humanitarian access, investigations of human rights violations and abuses, a cessation of hostilities, and the immediate withdrawal of Eritrea from Ethiopian territory.

On the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) negotiations, they called on all parties to show flexibility and move promptly to resume productive negotiations in the coming weeks. They expressed concern over increased tensions between Sudan and Ethiopia and encourage both countries to resolve their difference through peaceful means. They also discussed the situation in Somalia, where they expected a political consensus to deliver an election without delay.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines U.S., Canada and Africa Africa Europe and Africa By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

The United States and the European Union intend to intensify their cooperation on Afghanistan, together with key partners, to advance the peace process and to ensure the long-term stability and prosperity of the country. The European Union and its Member States are the largest civilian assistance donors to Afghanistan, contributing to the common goal of stability in the region.

Secretary Blinken and High Representative Borrell expressed support for continued NATO-EU cooperation. They agreed that NATO and the EU need new ways of working together and a new level of ambition because the multiple and evolving security challenges that NATO Allies and EU Member States face make robust NATO-EU cooperation essential to our shared security. The two principals recalled that capabilities developed through the defense initiatives of the EU and NATO should remain coherent, complementary and interoperable. They also noted that EU defense initiatives should enhance the European contribution to Transatlantic security and can offer concrete opportunities for cooperation between the EU and the United States. With this in mind, the principals supported the fullest possible involvement of the United States in EU defense initiatives and enhanced dialogue on these issues.

End text.
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.
Bengaluru, March 25 : Taking serious note of Karnataka police filing two suo moto cases against farmer leader Rakesh Tikait, Janata Dal (S) strongman H.D. Kumaraswamy on Thursday termed the move as "nothing but an attempt to silence the voice of the farmers".

In a series of tweets, Kumaraswamy said that there was no provocative element in Tikait's statement. "What Tikait said is that farmers need not come to Delhi for the struggle against the three new farm laws. You can launch a struggle here itself like the one in Delhi. This is just a faulty grasping of someone who feels that his statement is provocative," he said.

He asserted that Tikait's statement is well within the rights granted by the Constitution to take up struggles and to give a call for a movement. "He did not call for assaulting or killing. The case against Tikait should be withdrawn at the earliest," he demanded.

Kumaraswamy alleged that the police have booked a case against Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Tikait in Shivamogga and Haveri on charges of delivering provocative speeches. "This is nothing but an attempt to silence the voice of the farmers," he said.

"If they really wanted to book cases against those indulging in provocative speeches, how many cases would have been booked against BJP leaders by now," he asked.

Tikait, who heads the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU), had taken part in three rallies in Shivamogga, Bengaluru and Hubballi where he had stated that the farmers must unite and lay siege to the Vidhana Soudha to teach lessons to the politicians.

After this, the police in Shivamogga and Haveri had separately booked suo moto cases under Section 153 (provocation with intent to cause riot) of the Indian Penal Code.

The police alleged that Tikait's speech had "incited people to cause violence on the lines of Delhi". Despite being aware that the people may indulge in violence, he deliberately spoke in a way that may have incited the people, the police claimed.

Hitting out at the police action, Tikait had also tweeted that he is not scared of such cases and will withdraw the agitation only after the three farm laws are repealed.
An aerial view of the 115-foot monopole that Verizon Wireless erected in a south Pittsfield neighborhood in 2020. The citys health director says her department does not have the expertise to evaluate neighborhood complaints of health impacts from the tower.
Tanzanians line the streets of Dar es Salaam to pay their last respects to President John Magufuli, who died in office.

East African Community leaders were conspicuously missing at the state funeral of Tanzania's late president John Pombe Magufuli, which was held at the Jamhuri Stadium in Dodoma on Monday.

The only EAC leader in attendance was Mr Uhuru Kenyatta, who attended in his capacity as Kenya's president and the current chairman of the EAC Summit.

The Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) was represented by nine presidents, led by the outgoing bloc chairman Mozambican President Filipe-Jacinto Nyusi.

"The entire SADC is here, all of us are here at this big farewell to this great man, a great leader of our generation," said President Nyusi.

"The SADC region and Africa as a whole have lost a great, committed and inspirational leader admired across the African continent and the entire world".

He added that Dr Magufuli will be remembered as a true pan-Africanist who championed the development of Africa, and stood for self-determination and economic independence of the continent.

President Nyusi added that the southern Africa region will remain in solidarity with the people of Tanzania and support the country's new president Samia Suluhu because "the success of Tanzania is the success of SADC."

Other SADC presidents in attendance were South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa, Malawi's Lazarus Chakwera, Botswana's Mokgweetsi Masisi, Comoros' Azali Assoumani, Zambia's Edgar Lungu, Namibia's Hage Geingob and Zimbabwe's Emmerson Mnangagwa.

SADC's strong representation at the ceremony is a pointer to Tanzania's long and strong bond with southern Africa, going back to pre-independence days when it served as a frontline state, and ended up being a member of both SADC and EAC, hosting the latter's secretariat in Arusha.

Magufuli had been Chairman of SADC until end of last year and, for a man who hardly left the country or the continent, he travelled most to SADC countries.

Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo also attended in his capacity as chairman of the African Union.

Apart from President Kenyatta, other EAC presidents sent representatives and also sent condolence messages.

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni was represented by Ambassador Richard Kabonero.

"President Museveni was at the High Commission, where he paid his last respects and made a statement," presidential press secretary Don Wanyama said.

The President and First Lady Janet Museveni visited the Tanzania High Commission in Kampala on Monday, where they signed a book of condolence and paid tribute to Magufuli as a dedicated servant of Tanzania, East Africa and Africa.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines East Africa Southern Africa Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Rwanda's Paul Kagame was represented by Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente while Evariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi was represented by Vice President Prosper Bazombanza.

South Sudan's Salva Kiir sent a message of condolence.

President Kenyatta, representing the EAC, gave a powerful speech in Kiswahili, showing the closeness between Kenya and Tanzania and also his cordial and personal relationship with the late Magufuli.

President Kenyatta was given a rousing round of applause when he revealed that upon receiving the news of Magufuli's death he vowed, "Come what may, I will go to pay my respects."

President Kenyatta also expressed his confidence in President Samia Suluhu Hassan and the future of Tanzania.

In his tribute, Mr Kenyatta said Dr Magufuli had shown that the continent can keep its head held high and finance most of its projects from revenues collected from within without depending on foreigners, whose aid often comes with many conditions.

"In a very short span of time, President Magufuli has shown that we as Africans are able to disentangle ourselves from the dependence of foreigners and that we have the ability to manage our own economy and ensure that our people get what is rightful to them," he said.

Other SADC leaders praised Dr Magufuli for being a great leader.

President Chakwera said Magufuli was a hero who had the knack to fight laziness and corruption. President Masisi said the SADC region has lost a true leader, a real friend and doyen of democracy, unity and development. President Ramaphosa described Dr Magufuli as a true pan-Africanist and tireless champion of the cause of Africa's progress who was unapologetic about being African.
(Natural News) Even though our world is relatively  emphasis on the word relatively  stable compared to what could be happening based on what has been prophesied, there are actually seven plagues currently afflicting the planet that deserve a mention.

Right now in Australia, a plague of rats is being reported with millions upon millions of rodents infesting peoples homes, businesses and neighborhood streets. From Queensland to New South Wales, mice are destroying food, farms and lives.

Some farmers have already lost entire grain harvests to the rampaging mice, reports indicate, adding that hotels have had to close because they cant keep the critters out of the rooms.

There are also many large earthquakes being reported all around the world that exceed the norm in terms of frequency and severity. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) says the world experiences about 15 earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 or greater annually, and yet there have already been seven such earthquakes so far in 2021, with more than nine months left to go.

Volcanic eruptions are likewise seeing a massive uptick, one of the latest being the Fagradals Mountain volcano in southwest Iceland. This particular volcano has been dormant for 6,000 years and only just recently came back to life  seems noteworthy, right?

Then we have the mega drought here in the southwestern United States. Some are calling it a second dust bowl as nearly two-thirds of our nations landmass is right now considered to be abnormally dry or worse. Expect more wildfires, water shortages and other problems (like higher food prices).

Weather service and agriculture officials warned of possible water use cutbacks in California and the Southwest, increased wildfires, low levels in key reservoirs such as Lake Mead and Lake Powell and damage to wheat crops, reports warn.

Throughout Africa and the Middle East, swarms of locusts wiped out crops last year, destroying much-needed food and feed. In a single day, these swarms easily consumed as much food as would have been eaten by 35,000 people  and this went on for several months.

In Russia, a new strain of bird flu known as H5N8 is supposedly circulating. While the alleged virus currently only transfers among animals, authorities say they worry that it might mutate to start infecting and spreading among humans.

The Chinese virus is the plague that keeps on plaguing

Of course, there is also the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) which, despite being long over, is still the subject of media and public health hysteria.

The experts are now talking about a Brazilian variant that could emerge here in the U.S., which is all too convenient in light of Bill Gates Event 201 scheme for expanding government power, creating more vaccines, and pushing more fear-driven tyranny.

There does not seem to be any end in sight to the tyranny of the Wuhan flu as every time another state opens back up or ends a mask mandate, the mainstream media is ready and waiting with a fresh batch of fear to dish up to the gullible.

As long as a critical mass of people continues to believe the lies, America and the world at large will remain under government lock and key, even as other plagues continue to barrage the planet with escalating intensity and frequency.

We live at a time when everything that can be shaken will be shaken, and what we have experienced so far is just the beginning, warns Michael Synder. So buckle up and get ready for a bumpy ride, because things certainly arent going to be getting any easier.

To keep up with the latest news about the ongoing collapse of our country and world as the time of Jacobs trouble rapidly approaches, visit Prophecy.news.

Sources for this article include:

TheWashingtonStandard.com

NaturalNews.com
Minister of Health Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda says government will increase the number of health personnel as well as vaccination sites for Covid 19.

This follows crowding in most centres currently providing the vaccine.

So far private hospitals are not allowed to provide the vaccine.

The second phase of the vaccination exercise started on Monday this week targeting the elderly, people with underlying conditions, journalists and other social workers.

So far 54, 637 people have received the Covid 19 vaccine.

Kandodo Chiponda has however appeal to health personnel to arrive on time in vaccination centers.

She said in some cases, the delays are caused because the vaccines are delivered same day of administration to avert thefts as the jabs are in great demand.
Mary Kay Europe Region published 2020 year-end results about a record-breaking year in the number of awards its markets had garnered for their work in various spheres. The Mary Kay Europe region has taken home more than 80 prestigious awards, which range from business, corporate citizenship, leadership and sustainability categories from various reputable organizations and publications plus many impressive product awards throughout Mary Kay's skin care, color and fragrance categories. The awards highlight Mary Kay's unwavering business values and its dedication to the principles defined by the brand's iconic founder, Mary Kay Ash.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005033/en/

Alla Sokolova General Manager, Mary Kay Russia (Photo: Mary Kay Inc.)

Recently, Alla Sokolova, General Manager of Mary Kay Russia, was honored with the Business Women Award in the Corporate Leaders Category by Ernst Young's Business Women Program. Ernst Young, a global leader in audit, tax, strategy, transactions, and consulting aims to promote women's entrepreneurship and supports advancement of women in business. The selection criteria for the winners were both the personal qualities of the participants and the performance indicators of their companies.

"It is amazing, yet not surprising, how the Mary Kay Europe independent sales force met the challenges of 2020 head on by tirelessly working to continue to serve their customers with the help and support of all of our Europe markets and corporate teams," said Tara Eustace, President of Mary Kay, Europe Region. "And the record-breaking number of awards achieved in our region is a testament to our decades-long commitment to help women from all walks of life to realize their full potential through training, empowerment, and making women feel and look beautiful. There's no bigger joy in life than knowing how our collective work makes a difference in the lives of millions of women across our very diverse markets in the Europe region."

"Mary Kay was a pioneer and a strong advocate for women's empowerment, long before it became a popular catch phrase. When women band together, they reveal their natural skills and qualities, such as support for each other and mutual encouragement. And healthy competition, even among ourselves, pushes us forward, inspiring new ideas and successes," said Alla Sokolova, General Manager of Mary Kay Russia.

Below is a snapshot of the 2020 accolades:

Excellence in Women's Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Empowerment

General Manager of Mary Kay Russia Alla Sokolova was recognized in the "Top 250 of the Best Top Managers in Russia" for 2020 by the Association Managers of Russia and "Kommersant" Publishing House. Alla was also named in the 5 th place in the Trade category.

place in the Trade category. Mary Kay Spain's General Manager, Gema Aznar, for the fifth year in a row was chosen as one of the "500 Most Influential Women in Spain" in YoDona magazine's annual list. YoDona magazine assembles the most powerful women in Spain in its special edition called "Female Power."

magazine's annual list. magazine assembles the most powerful women in Spain in its special edition called "Female Power." General Manager of Mary Kay Moldova Marina Moraru was named "Person of the Year" in Management by VIP Magazine . VIP Magazine is a top publication in Moldova, covering Business, Lifestyle, Culture, Beauty, and Fashion.

. is a top publication in Moldova, covering Business, Lifestyle, Culture, Beauty, and Fashion. General Manager of Mary Kay Ukraine, Viktoriia Zoria-Iatsenko earned the "Top 25 Successful Ukrainian Business Women" award in the Beauty category from the business magazine Vlast Deneg ( Power of Money)

( Mary Kay Ukraine also received an honorary certificate from Vlast Deneg (Power of Money) business magazine and was listed as in the "TOP-50 Best Companies of Ukraine."

business magazine and was listed as in the "TOP-50 Best Companies of Ukraine." In a survey which was voted on by consumers, experts and influencers, Mary Kay Ukraine was awarded first place in the "Favor of Success" in Distributive Cosmetics Brand category.

General Manager of Mary Kay Poland and Lithuania Ewa Kudlinska-Pyrz received a "Pearls of Polish Business" award from the Financial Magazine on the "25 Most Influential Polish Businesswomen" list for her contributions to the Polish business and economy.

on the "25 Most Influential Polish Businesswomen" list for her contributions to the Polish business and economy. Mary Kay Russia received a "Woman Who Matters" award in the Social Engagement category for their Women's Entrepreneurship and Business Opportunity Project titled "Women's Business."

Excellence in Business and Employment

Mary Kay Czech Republic, Poland and Spain, independently of each other, received "Best Employer" designation by the Kincentric Best Employers Program.

Mary Kay Slovakia received the "Superbrands Slovakia 2020" award. The brand was awarded by Slovak consumers and a Brand Council committee highlighting it among the most successful Business To Consumer (B2C) brands in the Slovak Republic.

Mary Kay Moldova received the "TOP Brand 2020" designation in the Beauty category in VIP Magazine's "Top 100 Brands 2020" annual edition. VIP Magazine awards businesses based on their market innovations and high consumer awareness of its brand and products.

Excellence in Corporate Sustainability and Social Responsibility

Mary Kay Germany received the "FOCUS Sustainability Award" in Facial Skin Care and Cosmetics chosen by consumers and published in the German news magazine FOCUS

Mary Kay Ukraine was named in the corporate rating by Vlast Deneg (Power of Money) magazine among the top 25 Ukrainian companies with the best CSR programs for its Pink Changing Lives initiative, including its mission to develop women's entrepreneurship, and for providing Ukrainian women with quality service and products. The list of companies was compiled based on company information, media reports and opinions of industry experts.

magazine among the top 25 Ukrainian companies with the best CSR programs for its Pink Changing Lives initiative, including its mission to develop women's entrepreneurship, and for providing Ukrainian women with quality service and products. The list of companies was compiled based on company information, media reports and opinions of industry experts. Mary Kay Russia received theChampions of Good Deeds" award for the pandemic initiative IHelpwithMaryKay.

Excellence in Direct Selling

Mary Kay Belarus received the "Direct Sales Cosmetic Company Number One Award" from the "Number One" annual national awards, whose task is to promote healthy competition and to determine the best players in the Belarusian market.

Excellence in Digital Education and Printed Tools

Mary Kay Russia's The Look catalog, which is a quarterly publication of Mary Kay products for consumers, took home the "2020 Best Corporate Media" in the "Client Media: Catalogue" category. The event was organized by the Association of Corporate Media and Media Business Publishing House.

catalog, which is a quarterly publication of Mary Kay products for consumers, took home the "2020 Best Corporate Media" in the "Client Media: Catalogue" category. The event was organized by the Association of Corporate Media and Media Business Publishing House. Mary Kay Russia's Applause magazine, which is a Mary Kay educational and motivational monthly publication, won the "2020 Best Corporate Media Award" award in the "Client Media: Magazine" category.

magazine, which is a Mary Kay educational and motivational monthly publication, won the "2020 Best Corporate Media Award" award in the "Client Media: Magazine" category. Mary Kay Russia's Vera Sechnaya, Supervisor of Communications Projects and Editor of the monthly Applause magazine, took home the "2020 Best Corporate Media" award in the "Best Editor: Corporate Media" category.

magazine, took home the "2020 Best Corporate Media" award in the "Best Editor: Corporate Media" category. Mary Kay Russia was awarded the prestigious "Best Russian Social Projects 2020" award for their Link Learn educational program. The Link Learn program is an integrated training platform that teaches users the universal skills for running a business. The Best Russian Social Projects is an annual award aimed at supporting public policy initiatives and contributing to civic engagement and sustainable development in Russia.

educational program. The program is an integrated training platform that teaches users the universal skills for running a business. The Best Russian Social Projects is an annual award aimed at supporting public policy initiatives and contributing to civic engagement and sustainable development in Russia. Mary Kay Russia's official social media accounts won the honorable 3 rd place in the nomination of "Best Corporate Account in Social Networks" at the National Corporate Media Contest "Silver Threads 2020." The Silver Threads Contest is Russia's first national competition for corporate media resources, whose main objectives are to increase the value of corporate resources in the Russian information field, and to create a professional space where all participants from mass media and business communications can interact.

place in the nomination of "Best Corporate Account in Social Networks" at the National Corporate Media Contest "Silver Threads 2020." The Silver Threads Contest is Russia's first national competition for corporate media resources, whose main objectives are to increase the value of corporate resources in the Russian information field, and to create a professional space where all participants from mass media and business communications can interact. Mary Kay Russia's "Royal Blue Sales Director Style 2020" video also became the winner in the nomination of "Best Corporate Video/Film: Image of the Company" at the National Corporate Media Contest "Silver Threads 2020."

Product Excellence:

With more than 1,500 patents and a team of scientists dedicated to producing innovative products backed by proven results, Mary Kay products in Europe garnered 60 awards in 2020. Among the numerous products distinguished by the beauty industry and consumers, these were some of the most awarded:

TimeWise Miracle Set 3D

TimeWise 3D Foundations

3D Foundations Mary Kay Naturally Nourishing Oil

Nourishing Oil Mary Kay Naturally Moisturizing Stick

Moisturizing Stick Skinvigorate Sonic Skin Care System

TimeWise Repair Lifting Bio-Cellulose Mask

Lifting Bio-Cellulose Mask Mary Kay Hydrogel Eye Patches

Hydrogel Eye Patches Mary Kay Illuminea Extrait de Parfum

Global Recognition in 2020

Mary Kay Inc. was listed as one of America's Best Employers For Diversity by Forbes Magazine.

Mary Kay Inc. was named as one of the Top Purpose-Driven Brands on the Purpose Power Index by Reputation Institute and StrawberryFrog.

Mary Kay Inc. was awarded Community Leader of the Year by EarthX.

Mary Kay Inc. was ranked #5 as a Most Loved Brands Online by Top Social Brand Awards in 2020.

Mary Kay Inc. was nominated for the Responsible Business Awards 2020 by Reuters Events.

About Mary Kay

One of the original glass ceiling breakers, Mary Kay Ash founded her beauty company 57 years ago with three goals: develop rewarding opportunities for women, offer irresistible products, and make the world a better place. That dream has blossomed into a multibillion-dollar company with millions of independent sales force members in nearly 40 countries. Mary Kay is dedicated to investing in the science behind beauty and manufacturing cutting-edge skin care, color cosmetics, nutritional supplements, and fragrances. Mary Kay is committed to empowering women and their families by partnering with organizations from around the world, focusing on supporting cancer research, protecting survivors from domestic abuse, beautifying our communities, and encouraging children to follow their dreams. Mary Kay Ash's original vision continues to shine-one lipstick at a time.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005033/en/

Contacts:

Mary Kay Inc. Corporate Communications

marykay.com/newsroom

972.687.5332 or media@mkcorp.com
Abuja  Today, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency announced a grant to Nigerias Sosai Renewable Energies Company for a feasibility study to connect more than 200,000 women, farmers, and rural citizens to new solar-powered minigrids in Kaduna, Kogi and Plateau states.

USTDA is committed to promoting inclusive economic development, and bringing clean energy solutions to rural communities is an important component of our approach, said Enoh T. Ebong, USTDAs Acting Director. Women entrepreneurs like [Sosai CEO] Habiba Ali are setting a vision for Nigerias energy future that USTDA enthusiastically supports.

The USTDA-funded feasibility study will include site surveys, preliminary engineering, economic and financial analyses and an assessment of the projects likely developmental impacts on rural women. USTDAs study also will create business opportunities for U.S. equipment and services suppliers in Nigerias minigrid sector, while supporting up to 20 megawatts of new solar power in rural communities.

This announcement is emblematic of the U.S.-Nigeria relationship as the USTDA grant supports the development of energy for productive use and promotes inclusion for women and rural dwellers. Working together, we can solve todays greatest challenges through projects like this, said Mary Beth Leonard, U.S. Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Sosai CEO Habiba Ali added: This USTDA grant will support a huge step forward for Nigeria in meeting its rural electrification goals as well as kick-start life changing projects for communities, women, economic development and the agricultural sector. For Sosai, the benefit of the USTDA grant to our company is immense, positioning us for greater growth and greater possibilities in the future.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines U.S., Canada and Africa Women Energy By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

This project supports the U.S. governments Power Africa and Prosper Africa Initiatives, President Bidens Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad and the global 2X Challenge  an initiative by development finance institutions to invest in and create inclusive opportunities for women.

In Nigeria, USTDA has supported the successful roll-out of minigrids and microgrids in rural and peri-urban communities using U.S. technology. The Agency has an active portfolio of three other ongoing solar minigrid activities in Nigeria. Collectively, we expect these projects to support energy access for over 66,000 households in Nigeria and help Nigeria meet its goal of universal electrification.

U.S. businesses interested in submitting proposals for the USTDA-funded feasibility study should visit https://ustda.gov/work/bid-on-an-overseas-project/. Proposals are due April 16, 2021 at 11:00 EDT / 17:00 WAT.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  United Airlines is adding new summer-only service from Cleveland Hopkins to Pensacola, Florida; Portland, Maine; Myrtle Beach, Charleston and Hilton Head, South Carolina.

The additions, announced this morning, provide further proof that U.S. airlines are continuing to adjust their schedules in an effort to attract a larger portion of the growing leisure market.

The new flights from Cleveland will start May 27 and will run just three times per week, through Labor Day (Sept. 6). The schedules  seasonal, and less than daily  are more typical of leisure-oriented, low-cost carriers, including Spirit, Frontier and Allegiant.

The coronavirus pandemic was devastating to both leisure and business travel, although experts believe that leisure traffic will rebound much faster. Indeed, Cleveland Hopkins reported this week that last weekend was the airports busiest in more than a year, fueled by spring break traffic.

The new routes were part of a larger announcement today from United, which also is adding seasonal flights in Columbus, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Milwaukee and St. Louis.

The new United flights will use the carriers new Bombardier CRJ-550 aircraft, with 10 first-class seats, 20 Economy Plus seats, and 20 standard Economy seats.

According to airport officials, this is the first time, at least in many years, that Cleveland has had nonstop service to Pensacola, on the Florida panhandle. And Hopkins hasnt had nonstop service to Portland, Maine, in years, since before United gave up its hub in Cleveland in 2014.

There will be competition on the other routes. Spirit Airlines currently flies to Myrtle Beach, and Allegiant Air flies to Myrtle Beach and Charleston. (Frontiers flight to Charleston has been discontinued, at least for now).

Allegiant also flies to Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport from Cleveland.

Uniteds flights, however, will be to the smaller Hilton Head Island Airport, which is located on the north side of the island.

Ankit Gupta, vice president of Uniteds domestic network planning and scheduling, said the new routes represent a continuing effort to tweak the carriers schedule to meet growing demand.

In the past few weeks, we have seen the strongest flight bookings since the start of the pandemic, he said in a statement. As we rebuild our schedule to meet that demand, adding in seasonal point-to-point flying is just one of the ways we are finding opportunities to add new and exciting service. And as we have done throughout the entire pandemic, we will continue being nimble and strategic with our network to add the right service to the destinations our customers want to visit.

Over the past year, United  like all airlines  has added and subtracted routes from Cleveland and other airports, seeking to match supply with demand.

Two important United routes that remain on hiatus: nonstop service from Cleveland to Los Angeles and San Francisco. Both are back in the schedule starting in early May.

As of May, the airline will be flying 52% of its overall schedule compared to May 2019. That includes 58% of its domestic schedule and 46% of its international schedule.

The carrier plans to resume several international routes in May, including Newark to Milan and Rome, and Chicago to Tokyo, Amsterdam, Munich and Tel Aviv.

New CLE flight details:

* Cleveland to Pensacola: Monday, Thursday, Saturday; departing Cleveland at 2:25 p.m., arriving in Pensacola at 3:39 p.m.; departing Pensacola at 4:30 p.m., arriving in Cleveland at 7:41 p.m.

* Cleveland to Portland: Sunday, Wednesday, Friday; departing Cleveland at 9:50 a.m., arriving in Portland at 11:38 a.m.; departing Portland at 12:10 p.m., arriving in Cleveland at 2:02 p.m.

* Cleveland to Myrtle Beach: Sunday, Wednesday, Friday; departing Cleveland at 3:35 p.m., arriving Myrtle Beach at 5:24 p.m.; departing Myrtle Beach at noon, arriving in Cleveland at 1:57 p.m.

* Cleveland to Hilton Head: Sunday, Wednesday, Friday; departing Cleveland at 2:45 p.m., arriving in Hilton Head at 4:40 p.m.; departing Hilton Head at 5:15 p.m., arriving in Cleveland at 7:16 p.m.

* Cleveland to Charleston; Monday, Thursday, Saturday; departing Cleveland at 8:20 a.m., arriving in Charleston at 10:10 a.m.; departing Charleston at 10:40 a.m., arriving in Cleveland at 12:30 p.m.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said Thursday it was a 'total mistake' for The New York Post to be locked out of its Twitter account for tweets sharing the newspaper's report on Hunter Biden's emails.

'We made a total mistake with the New York Post, we corrected that within 24 hours,' Dorsey told House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, who had asked about that example. 'It was not to do with the content, it had to do with a hacked materials policy, we had an incorrect interpretation,' Dorsey added.

Scalise had probed the Twitter boss on The New York Post's treatment, versus that of The Washington Post, which had to run a correction recently on a report of a conversation between former President Donald Trump and a top Georgia election official

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said Thursday before a Congressional hearing that it was a 'total mistake' for the social media company to lock out The New York Post after the newspaper shared stories about Hunter Biden's emails

The New York Post published a number of emails and photos from a laptop that reportedly belonged to Hunter Biden (pictured). The Post was locked out of its Twitter account over tweets promoting the initial story

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise asked Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey why The New York Post was locked out of its Twitter account, while tweets remained up from The Washington Post promoting a story that needed to be corrected

The Washington Post incorrectly quoted the ex-president, though the sentiment expressed was similar.

The Louisiana Republican complained that The Washington Post's tweets about the story remained, after The New York Post had been punished.

Dorsey said that Twitter doesn't write policy 'according to any particular political leaning.'

'If we find any of it, we route it out,' he said of violations.

Dorsey also said that Twitter didn't 'block' The New York Post's account for two weeks, instead the newspaper was locked out because editors refused to delete the tweet in question.

Since then, the process has changed, Dorsey testified.

'We didn't block their account for two weeks, we required them to delete the tweet and then they could tweet it again. They didn't take that action so we corrected it for them,' Dorsey said. 'It was literally just a process error. This was not against them in any particular way.'

'If we remove a violation we require people to correct it,' he continued. 'We changed that based on them not wanting to delete that tweet, which I completely agree with, I see it, it is something we learned.'

Dorsey said Twitter's main concerns are 'manipulated media, public health and civic integrity,' which might explain why The Washington Post's tweets remain.

In mid-October, The New York Post published a blockbuster report based on Hunter Biden's emails that were purportedly found on a hard-drive of a computer left at a Delaware repair shop.

Copies of messages were given to the newspaper by Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani after ex-Trump White House strategist Steve Bannon made reporters aware of them.

The emails seemingly detailed some of Hunter Biden's business dealings in Ukraine, suggesting he and his father, the Democratic nominee, were using their name for profit.

After the release of emails and compromising pictures of Hunter Biden reportedly found on the laptop, the Trump-picked Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe said the laptop 'is not part of some Russian disinformation campaign.'

A day later, the Federal Bureau of Investigations said the agency had 'nothing to add at this time' about the laptop.

A number of Democrats and ex-intelligence officials came forward and said they suspected the leaked emails and photos were part of a Russian disinformation campaign aimed at hurting now President Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

Dorsey testified alongside Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Alphabet's Sundar Pichai before House Energy and Commerce subcommittees on the topic of 'Social Media's Role in Promoting Extremism and Misinformation.'
University of Illinois researchers, including Rikky Rai (pictured) and Sarah Hind, have sequenced the genome for the bacterium that causes bacterial spot disease in pumpkin, an economically devastating disease. Credit: Montgomery Flack

Pumpkin growers dread the tiny tan scabs that form on their fruit, each lesion a telltale sign of bacterial spot disease. The specks don't just mar the fruit's flesh, they provide entry points for rot-inducing fungus and other pathogens that can destroy pumpkins and other cucurbits from the inside out. Either way, farmers pay the price, with marketable yields reduced by as much as 90%.

Despite the disease's severity, scientists don't know much about the genetics of the pathogen that causes it; nearly all the molecular information required for accurate diagnostic testing and targeted treatments is lacking for the disease.

In a new study, University of Illinois scientists, with the help of two undergraduate students, have assembled the first complete genome for the bacteria that causes the disease, Xanthomonas cucurbitae, and identified genes that are activated during infection.

"Assembling a complete circular genome means we now have the resources to better understand what's happening in the field. We can use this information to look at how the pathogen is spreading, whether there are differences in host specificity among sub-populations or strains, or how likely it is to develop resistance to chemical controls," says Sarah Hind, assistant professor in the Department of Crop Sciences at Illinois and senior author on the Phytopathology study.

After sequencing the genome, Hind's group compared it to genomes from 12 other Xanthomonas species that cause diseases in a variety of crop plants like tomato, rice, citrus, and wheat. Surprisingly, given its penchant for creating havoc in the field, Xanthomonas cucurbitae had the smallest genome and had fewer genes known to be important for other Xanthomonas species to cause disease.

"As this pathogen lacks many of the known virulence (i.e., disease-causing) genes, we don't know exactly which genes are needed by the pathogen to infect cucurbit plants," Hind says. "It could be something we've never seen before, such as a new gene or a mechanism that evolved in this species that isn't seen in the rest of the family. That could be very exciting."

To get closer to an answer, the research team grew the bacteria in liquid media that mimicked its host environment and identified more than 400 genes whose expression was altered when the pathogen interacted with its "host." In particular, they observed increased expression of genes for enzymes related to the breakdown of plant tissues, which are key for further development of the disease.

If Hind's team can learn more about these factors and how cucurbits respond to them, there may be a way to prevent the bacteria from penetrating pumpkin fruits in the first place. "That would really save the farmers," she says. "They don't care as much when it gets on the leaves, but if it infects the fruit, they're in trouble."

Hind adds, "This project wouldn't have been possible without the contributions of some really talented undergraduate students. We love having students participate in our research. They bring a sense of enthusiasm and eagernessas well as really creative ideasto the lab that would be hard to generate otherwise."

Although both students graduated, see new Crop Sciences students contributing to Hind's other pumpkin projects in this video. High school and transfer students can learn more about Crop Sciences coursework online.

Explore further Cucurbit downy mildew pathogen has two genetically distinct host-adapted clades

More information: Rikky Rai et al, Genome sequencing and functional characterization of Xanthomonas cucurbitae, the causal agent of bacterial spot disease of cucurbits, Phytopathology (2021). Rikky Rai et al, Genome sequencing and functional characterization of Xanthomonas cucurbitae, the causal agent of bacterial spot disease of cucurbits,(2021). DOI: 10.1094/PHYTO-06-20-0228-R
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.
Galveston, TX (77553)

Today

Variable clouds with scattered thunderstorms. High 83F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low 76F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Secretly recorded audio evidence from a nanny cam hidden in a childs bedroom can be used to prosecute a central Pennsylvania woman accused of assaulting three young children in her case, a sharply divided state Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

The audio recording from that device is admissible in court because the childrens nanny, Beth Ann Mason, had no right to expect her words would remain private as she worked in the home of her Franklin County employer, Justice Max Baer found in the high courts majority opinion.

Nanny cams and other recording devices parents are now using to monitor their children at home are far too prevalent for child-care providers to assume they are not also being observed as they interact with the kids in the childrens own homes, Baer concluded.

The majority decision overturns lower court rulings that barred county prosecutors from using the audio recorded by the nanny cam on grounds that the recording violated the states Wiretap Act. The case went to the Supreme Court on appeal after a split Superior Court panel ruled in 2019 that only the video portion of the nanny cam recording could be used by prosecutors at Masons trial.

In general terms, Pennsylvanias Wiretap Act requires that all parties involved consent to recording of their oral communications unless, as in a criminal investigation, a court allows for secret recordings to be made. An exception to the mutual consent requirement of the act is when someone is in a setting where they cant expect their utterances to remain private.

Beth Ann Mason

According to Baer, a father hired Mason as a nanny in 2017 and told her not to use any corporal punishment on his children. A month after she began caring for them, the fathers 3-year-old son told him Mason had been thumbing his face and hitting his twin 2-year-old sisters. The father noticed the boy had marks on his face and that one of the girls had a busted lip, Baer wrote. He said the father also noticed his children seemed to be afraid of Mason.

The father then placed a nanny cam in the bedroom of the children without telling Mason.

At some point, the camera recorded (Mason) yelling at one child before forcefully placing her into a crib located inside of the bedroom where the camera was recording. Audio portions of the recording also suggest that (Mason) may have struck the child several times, Baer wrote.

The father gave the recording to police and Mason was arrested. Thats when her lawyer invoked the Wiretap Act.

A nanny does not have a justifiable expectation that her oral communications will not be intercepted in the bedroom of a child in her care simply because the nanny is an employee and guest of the homeowner, Baer wrote in clearing the way for prosecutors to use the recording against Mason.

We believe it is objectively reasonable to conclude that persons in (Masons) position do not have a justifiable expectation that their oral communications will not be subject to interception while they are in a childs bedroom, he found. Notably, the use of recording devices in homes as a means for parents to monitor people hired to care for their children have become so commonplace that these devices are often referred to as nanny cams. That is to say that the expectation that a childcare worker is going to be recorded in their employers home is so ubiquitous in our society that we have a name for it.

Justices Christine Donohue and David Wecht filed dissenting opinions contending that Mason did have a justifiable expectation that she would not be recorded. Wecht argued that the majoritys assertion that nannies should expect to be recorded these days is quite dubious.

I strongly disagree that, as a matter of law, anyone accepting employment as a nanny forfeits his or her right of privacy in the childs bedroom, Donohue wrote. There is nothing in the record to support the notion that an expectation of distrust by parents is ubiquitous in our society, that all parents surveil their childs caregiver, or even that most babysitters (of varying ages) are aware of the general utilization of such surveillance devices.

She argued that for recordings from nanny cams and other such surveillance devices to be admissible in court cases a parent utilizing such a device to monitor a nanny must advise the nanny that it has been installed, where it is located, and that it is recording his or her words and actions.
The U.S. Justice Department is extending its antitrust review on Sony's proposed acquisition of Crunchyroll from AT&T's WarnerMedia for $1.2 billion. This review investigates if Sony will be granted full dominance in the anime-streaming U.S. market if it succeeds in its purchase, per The Information.

Sony proposed to buy Crunchyroll from AT&T at $1.175 billion. Reports said these two companies have been attempting to strike a deal since October last year. Crunchyroll has a world-class anime fan base with over 3 million subscribers, 50 million social media followers, and 90 million registered users. It remains one of the biggest streaming anime services outside of Japan.

Sony's Dominance in Anime Streaming Services

Sony reportedly plans to combine Crunchyroll under their Funimation, which already licenses many popular anime such as "One Piece," "Fullmetal Alchemist," and "Attack on Titan." The union between Crunchyroll and Funimation aims to win more anime fans and elevate the anime art and culture for decades to come. In an interview with The Verge, CEO of Funimation Global Group, Colin Decker, said that the merging creates "a shared mission-to help everyone belong to the extraordinary world of anime" and helps the company compete globally.

Up-to-date, Sony is a media company with overwhelming power over anime streaming services in the U.S., with Netflix as its sole contender. Buying Crunchyroll might completely tip the scales of the anime streaming industry in the nation. Not only in anime streaming, because Crunchyroll also holds responsibilities to some manga publishing and anime conventions. All these rights would completely be transferred to Sony should the deal pass.

Read Also: Super Bowl 2021 Movie Trailers That Were Shown During the Live Event

Concerns on Anime Monopoly

The U.S. Justice Department focuses on whether the deal limits Japanese studios' options to air their shows in the U.S. They also express concerns for Sony's monopoly of anime streaming services, being the sole owner of Aniplex, Funimation, and possibly Crunchyroll. The Sting explained that the most pressing matter would be Sony's effective elimination of its competition. Other companies such as Amazon, Netflix, and HBO Max would suffer smaller libraries and remain at Sony's mercy should it remake anime trends.

Another cause for concern is the censorship of anime under the new management. Funimation has some history between licensing and censorship over their media line. Specific instances include making changes in the anime dialogues where the characters could be seen in a different light. Viewers might argue that this brings a whole different interpretation from what had been the anime released by Japan. Unfortunately, Crunchyroll might soon operate in the same management.

Regardless of their adaptations and management, Sony remains in ownership over the majority of distributions of Japanese animations or anime in the U.S. This could bring a large change in the anime industry. Currently, Sony, AT&T, and the DOJ have not made any comments about the issue.



Related Article: 'Dota: Dragon's Blood:' Latest Netflix Anime to Dive into Valve's Most Popular MOBA Game! [Trailer & MORE]
A repeat offender was sentenced to four months in prison at Kilkenny District Court after he was convicted for the fourth time of driving without insurance.

Kevin Roche, 6 Bolton Green, Callan admitted the offence which took place at Green Street, Callan on February 5, 2020.

The court heard that on the date in question the defendant was stopped and was asked to produce his insurance and driving licence and failed to do so. The court also heard that there was no NCT or tax on the vehicle.

The defendant has 15 previous convictions, 14 of which are under The Road Traffic Act, including three for no insurance. He was disqualified from driving at the time of the offence.

Garda John OSullivan said that the defendant was co-operative with the gardai.

Solicitor Chris Hogan said that his client has a history of offending under The Road Traffic Act and has an avid interest in cars.

He works in a garage and is interested in cars. At the time he was buying them and doing them up. He is living with his girlfriend and has two children, said Mr Hogan.

Judge Geraldine Carthy remarked that the defendant has 14 previous convictions under The Road Traffic Act and previously received a suspended sentence for a similiar type offence.

Unfortunately there are no lessons learned. I have no option, she said and imposed a four-month prison sentence. She also imposed an eight-year disqualification order.

There has to be a line drawn in the sand, she said.
NEW YORK, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ATSG, a leading, tech-enabled managed services and solutions company, announced today that CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, will honor ATSG on its 2021 Tech Elite 250 list. This annual list features IT solution providers of all sizes in North America that have earned cutting-edge technical certifications from leading technology suppliers. These companies have separated themselves from the pack as top solution providers, earning multiple, premier IT certifications, specializations, and partner program designations from industry-leading technology providers.

Each year, The Channel Company's research group and CRN editors distinguish the most client-driven technical certifications in the North American IT channel. Solution providers that have earned these high honors  enabling them to deliver exclusive products, services, and customer support  are then selected from a pool of online applicants as well as from The Channel Company's solution provider database.

ATSG's continued growth illustrates its ongoing commitment to offering the highest level of technical enablement and services innovation expertise to its clients. ATSG's targeted acquisition model rapidly integrates exceptional technologists into its unified organizational platform. As clients' digital priorities continue to accelerate, ATSG's primary goal is the rapid design and delivery of the most reliable, scalable, and secure services that take advantage of the best technology stacks available in the marketplace.

"ATSG is proud to be named to this list by CRN for its second consecutive year," said Anthony J. D'Ambrosi, Chief Executive Officer, ATSG. "Our fundamental strategies around client intimacy, delivery excellence, people development, and innovation drive the success of our business as a truly tech-enabled Managed Service Provider. We are honored to be recognized for our proven ability to leverage our global technology proficiencies to deliver outstanding client experiences with tangible benefits."

"CRN's Tech Elite 250 list highlights the top solution providers in the IT channel with the most in-depth technical knowledge, expertise, and certifications for providing the best level of service for their customers," said Blaine Raddon, CEO of The Channel Company. "These solution providers have continued to extend their talents and abilities across various technologies and IT practices, demonstrating their commitment to really conveying the most exceptional business value to their customers."

Coverage of the Tech Elite 250 will be featured in the April issue of CRN Magazine and online at www.CRN.com/techelite250.

About ATSG

ATSG is a global tech-enabled managed services and solutions company focused on innovative solutions to enhance today's digital enterprise and end-user experiences. ATSG provides Intelligent IT through Technology Solutions as a Service (TSaaS) to a variety of customers; leveraging an offerings portfolio of rediTech, rediManage, rediCloud, and rediSecure, which delivers reliable, elastic, dynamic infrastructure, collaboration, applications, as well as world-class IT operations.

Headquartered in Manhattan, New York, ATSG is a portfolio company of RunTide Capital, a private equity firm focused on building tech-enabled growth companies.

ATSG is a privately held company headquartered in Manhattan, New York. For more information on ATSG, please visit us on the web at http://www.atsg.net/, like us on LinkedIn, follow us on Twitter, or become a fan on our Facebook page. #AboutATSG

About The Channel Company

The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers, and end-users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelcompany.com

 2021. CRN is a registered trademark of The Channel Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Press Contact:

Elizabeth Kubycheck

[email protected]

SOURCE ATSG

Related Links

http://www.atsg.net


Omuthiya  A teacher at one of the Oshikoto schools has abruptly resigned from his teaching post after education authorities opened an investigation into alleged sexual assaults on boys.

The teacher, who was based at Uukule Senior Secondary School, reportedly tendered his resignation a few weeks ago after sodomy allegations implicating him surfaced.

The allegations came to the fore when one of the victims - a learner at the same school - confided in his parents on what transpired, New Era understands. The parents reportedly took up the issue with the school, whereby the alleged perpetrator admitted to his actions during a staff meeting and immediately resigned, New Era has been informed.

The Onyaanya circuit inspector, Benita Kayoko, under which Uukule falls, said the parents were not keen on opening a police case against the alleged perpetrator, citing societal beliefs.

"The parents reported but didn't want to pursue the matter further. However, action is being taken very serious by the school, as we are guided by laws; hence, we had to launch an investigation and compile a report," she said.

"So, when the teacher heard the matter was being investigated, he decided to resign before action was taken against him."

Asked what measures are taken against such perpetrators, the inspector said once an investigation is conducted, the report would be forwarded to the human resources department to decide on what possible action would be taken in line with the Public Service Commission policy.

Approached for comment, the school's principal Emily Hangula also confirmed the issue, but declined to comment further, saying the matter was too "sensitive".

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Namibia Legal Affairs Education By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"I will not make any remarks at this point in time because this is a sensitive matter. For now, we have also heard about the allegations and they remain as rumours that need to be verified," she briefly said.

Meanwhile, the Oshikoto education director Aletta Eises said she will need to acquaint herself with the report on the matter that was recently submitted to her office.

"I am informed that the act was not necessarily that of sodomising learners but sexual harassment. Also, I can't say whether the teacher resigned. Perhaps the resignation is still on the way if it is indeed true that he resigned. I will provide more information once I am well versed with the details," she added.

Efforts to get comments from the suspected teacher proved futile, as his mobile phone went unanswered.
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.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- First there was the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. Now theres the Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis, the Sandy Ground and, finally, the Dorothy Day.

On Thursday, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the third new Staten Island Ferry boat being constructed in Florida will be named for Dorothy Day, a Staten Island journalist and social activist who spent decades aiding the hungry and needy on the boroughs South Shore.

Dorothy Day lived a life of tremendous selflessness and service. I can think of no greater way to honor her beloved legacy than by having her name on this new ferryboat connecting Manhattan and Staten Island, de Blasio said.

The mayor announced that the new boat will be launched into the water for the first time on Friday, though much additional work remains to be done before the ferry is expected to arrive in New York sometime in 2022.

The Dorothy Day will be just the third Staten Island Ferry boat ever to be named after a woman, in addition to the now-decommissioned Mary Murray and the Alice Austen, which continues to provide overnight service.

We had so many deserving honorees to choose among in naming the third and final boat in the Ollis class, said DOT Commissioner Hank Gutman. I hope those who petitioned for other names -- and who thus may be feeling somewhat disappointed today -- will take the time to learn more about Dorothy Day, whose history, example and influence are just so inspiring.

Day, who was been bestowed the title of Servant of God and is being considered by the Vatican for sainthood, was baptized at Our Lady Help of Christians Church in Tottenville in 1927.

In 2015, Pope Francis, in his address to a joint session of Congress, invoked the name of Day as a model for social activism and for her treatment of the poor and oppressed.

How providential that the ferry from lower Manhattan to Staten Island should be named after a brave, loving woman who cherished both those areas of our city and the people who live there, said Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York.

How appropriate that a ferry transporting people would honor a believing apostle of peace, justice and charity who devoted her life to moving people from war to peace, from emptiness to fullness, from isolation to belonging, Dolan added.

During the Depression, Day met Peter Maurin, a French peasant-philosopher who would inspire her future work to aid the needy.

Between them, they established the Catholic Worker newspaper and founded the Catholic Worker Movement, which offered food and shelter to the destitute during the Depression.

Day began a cooperative farm on Bloomingdale Road in Pleasant Plains in 1950, operating it for the needy and followers of her philosophy until 1964, when it was sold.

Her outspokenness against U.S. involvement in Vietnam earned her new respect among the youth movement of the 1960s, and in 1973, she was jailed for the last time for picketing on behalf of striking farm workers.

She died in 1980 at age 83 and is buried in Resurrection Cemetery, Pleasant Plains.

My grandmother loved Staten Island and treasured her trips on the Staten Island Ferry, the rare time when she could relax and be free of her many responsibilities, said Kate Hennessy, who recently authored Dorothy Day: The World Will Be Saved by Beauty. While we in her family may find it difficult to line up her selfless work with honors such as this, we nevertheless thank Mayor de Blasio and Staten Islanders for this generous consideration.

The Dorothy Day is the third of three new Staten Island Ferry boats being constructed by Eastern Shipbuilding Group.

The first boat, the Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis, is named after the late Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis, a New Dorp native who died at age 24 while saving a Polish soldier in Afghanistan.

The second boat, the Sandy Ground, is named for the historic community settled by freed slaves in Rossville.

The new storm-resilient vessels, which will replace the Kennedy, Andrew J. Barberi and the Samuel I. Newhouse boats, will be more capable of operating in a wide range of weather conditions and locations -- and can also be used in emergency evacuations.

The ships were modeled after the John F. Kennedy boat, popular for its outdoor promenades and extended foredecks.
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.
Regulatory News:

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005359/en/

TOTAL (Paris:FP) (LSE:TTA) (NYSE:TOT):

Total and MSC Cruises officialised today a supply agreement for approximately 45,000 tons per year of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to MSC Cruises' upcoming LNG-powered cruise ships to make calls in the port of Marseille (France).

This agreement underlines a strong collaborative action across the French maritime industry and the excellence of its value chain, from shipbuilding to the supply of cleaner marine fuels, and the involvement of local port authorities to enable the vessels' safe operatorship.

Pierfrancesco Vago, MSC Cruises' Executive Chairman, said: This agreement represents a further step in our ongoing journey towards continuously reducing our environmental footprint, for which LNG is currently a crucial component. As we prepare to launch our first of three upcoming LNG-powered cruise ships in 2022, through this key agreement Marseille will become our hub in the Mediterranean for the refuelling of our latest-generation and most environmentally advanced ships.

Alexis Vovk, President, Marketing Services at Total, declared: "We are proud to be developing the first LNG bunker supply chain in France, at the port of Marseille-Fos, together with shipping industry leaders such as MSC Cruises with whom we nurture a long-lasting partnership worldwide in the field of bunkering services. Total will continue to step up investments in LNG bunkering to ultimately reach its target of serving more than 10% of the global market. By doing so, we will continue to accompany the energy transition of the shipping industry and the reduction of carbon emissions of our customers, in line with our Climate ambition to get to Net Zero by 2050, together with society

The signature of this agreement has been placed under the high patronage of Annick Girardin, French Minister for Marine Affairs. It benefits from the direct support of the Minister, who has declared: "I welcome this agreement between MSC Cruises and Total. This is a strong commitment to the environment, which demonstrates that when major economic players commit to the ecological transition, they can access new levers for economic development. This is also what maritime France is all about! This agreement also illustrates France's full potential for competitiveness and attractiveness. In line with the Fontenoy maritime forum, I wish that these links between shipowners, energy companies, ports and shipyards will continue to develop, in line with the sustainable development goals."

Used as a marine fuel, LNG sharply reduces emissions from ships, resulting in a significant improvement in air quality, particularly for communities in coastal areas and port cities. This agreement therefore impacts positively not only the city where LNG bunkering will take place, Marseille, but also all the ports where the cruise ships will make their future call around the Mediterranean Sea.

MSC Cruises' LNG powered vessels will be amongst the most technologically advanced cruise ships in the world, bringing a range of environmental innovations to the market. Chief amongst these is a 50-kilowatt, LNG-powered solid oxide fuel cell technology project that offers a potential to further reduce significantly greenhouse gas emissions compared to a conventional LNG engine.

Total will bunker MSC Cruises' LNG-powered cruise ships sailing on Mediterranean routes by ship-to-ship transfer, using its second LNG bunker vessel currently under construction. This vessel will meet the highest technical and environmental standards, using LNG herself as propulsion fuel and integrating a complete re-liquefaction of the boil-off gas.

By 2022, Total will operate two 18,600-m LNG bunkering vessels in Rotterdam and Marseille and share the use of a third bunker vessel in Singapore. In February 2021, the Company also received a license from the Maritime Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) to supply LNG in the Port of Singapore from 2022.

LNG as a marine fuel

LNG as a marine fuel has gained positive momentum as the global shipping industry looks to adapt to stricter emissions standards.

Used as a marine fuel, LNG helps to cut:

Sulfur emissions by 99%,

Fine particle emissions by 99%,

Nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 85%,

Greenhouse gases emissions by around 20%.

LNG represents an available and competitive solution that contributes to the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) long-term strategy of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from ships. Traction in developing LNG bunkering infrastructure has consequently expanded with several leading ports and LNG bunker suppliers alike having established key initiatives and made significant progress in support of these developments. LNG as a marine fuel also lays the foundation for the introduction of greener bioLNG in the future.

Total, Second Largest Private Global LNG Player

Total is the world's second largest privately owned LNG player, with a global portfolio of nearly 50 Mtpa by 2025 and a global market share of around 10%. The Group benefits from strong and diversified positions throughout the LNG value chain: gas production and liquefaction, LNG transportation and trading, and contribution to the development of the LNG industry for maritime transport. Through its interests in liquefaction plants in Qatar, Nigeria, Russia, Norway, Oman, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Australia and Angola, the Company markets LNG on all world markets

About Total

Total is a broad energy group that produces and markets fuels, natural gas and electricity. Our 100,000 employees are committed to better energy that is safer, more affordable, cleaner and accessible to as many people as possible. Active in more than 130 countries, our ambition is to become the responsible energy major.

About MSC Cruises

MSC Cruises is the world's third largest cruise brand as well as the leader in Europe, South America, the Gulf region and Southern Africa with more market share in addition to deployed capacity than any other player. It is also the fastest growing global cruise brand with a strong presence in the Caribbean, North America and the Far East markets.

Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, MSC Cruises one of the two brands that sit within the Cruises Division of MSC Group, the leading privately held Swiss-based shipping and logistics conglomerate with over 300 years of maritime heritage. MSC Cruises the contemporary brand has a modern fleet of 18 vessels combined with a sizeable future global investment portfolio of new vessels. The fleet is projected to grow to 23 cruise ships by 2025 with options for six vessel orders in place through 2030.

The Company's number one priority has always been the health and safety of its guests and crew, as well as the communities at the destinations its ships serve. In August 2020, MSC Cruises implemented a new comprehensive and robust health and safety protocol to become the first major line to return to sea. To learn more about MSC Cruises' health safety protocol please see here.

MSC Cruises has long been committed to environmental stewardship with a long-term goal to achieve zero emissions for its operations. The Company is also a significant investor in next-generation environmental marine technologies, with the objective to support their accelerated development and availability industry-wide. To learn more about the Company's environmental commitment please see here.

Finally, to learn more about the MSC Foundation, MSC Group's own vehicle to lead, focus and advance its conservation, humanitarian and cultural commitments please see here.

Cautionary Note

This press release, from which no legal consequences may be drawn, is for information purposes only. The entities in which TOTAL SE directly or indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. TOTAL SE has no liability for their acts or omissions. In this document, the terms "Total", "Total Group" and Group are sometimes used for convenience. Likewise, the words "we", "us" and "our" may also be used to refer to subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. This document may contain forward-looking information and statements that are based on a number of economic data and assumptions made in a given economic, competitive and regulatory environment. They may prove to be inaccurate in the future and are subject to a number of risk factors. Neither TOTAL SE nor any of its subsidiaries assumes any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking information or statement, objectives or trends contained in this document whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005359/en/

Contacts:

Total

Media Relations: +33 1 47 44 46 99 l presse@total.com l @TotalPress

Investor relations: +44 (0)207 719 7962 l ir@total.com

MSC Cruise

Giles Read: +41 79 797 33 51 l giles.read@msccruises.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.
Search Ramps Up for New Paducah City Manager

By Tim Brockwell

PADUCAH - As Paducah City Manager Jim Arndt prepares to leave his position later this year, he says the search for his replacement is well underway.Arndt says the city initially considered three search firms, and has recently settled on one."We've narrowed that down to GovHR USA to do the search for us," He said. "They've engaged Mark Peterson as the consultant. Mark has met virtually with each of the board members now, and this week he's meeting with each of the leadership team members trying to get their individual take on what an ideal city manager candidate would look like."Arndt said Peterson will meet with commissioners at a called meeting Tuesday night to discuss the job search and what they are looking for in potential candidates. He said the next step will be to put out an advertisement for the position.Arndt says the details are still being worked out as to what the interview process will look like. He says it may include utilizing a public panel comprising members of the community, and candidates may be invited to tour the city."I'm hoping that interviews will be in the month of May, and then the candidate will hopefully take the position in the beginning or middle of July," Arndt said. "We talked about doing some type of tour or dinner with the candidates and members of the business community."The city is paying GovHR a fee of $21,500 for its services. Arndt says the final figure may go a bit higher than that once travel expenditures and additional hourly work are factored in.Arndt says he has offered to stay on past his June 30 contract termination date if the position has not been filled by then. That would have to be approved by commissioners should the need arise.Arndt added that the city is also in the process of hiring a new planning director to replace Tammara Tracy, who resigned from that position in January. He says city leaders met with three outside candidates earlier this week, and are hoping to be able to make an official recommendation at the first commission meeting in April.
Mass shooting accused to face mental health checks

Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty (right) briefs reporters after the initial appearance of shooting suspect Ahmad al Aliwi Alissa on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

A judge in Boulder, Colorado, on Thursday ordered a 21-year-old man accused of fatally shooting 10 people at a supermarket to be held without bail while he undergoes a mental health assessment requested by his lawyers.



Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa faces 10 counts of murder and an attempted murder charge stemming from the rampage on Monday at King Soopers grocery store in Boulder, some 45 kilometres northwest of Denver.



Appearing at a hearing in Boulder County court, Alissa affirmed that he understood his rights under the law and understood that he would be held without bail, as ordered by Judge Thomas Mulvahill.



Prosecutors may file additional charges against Alissa in the coming weeks, District Attorney Michael Dougherty told the judge.



Defense lawyers for Alissa requested that the suspect undergo a full mental health assessment, which would likely push back his preliminary court hearing by a couple of months. Alissa waived his right to a preliminary hearing within 35 days to allow time for that assessment.



"We cannot do anything until we are able to fully assess Mr. Alissa's mental illness," said Kathryn Herold, a defence attorney for Alissa. Herold's previous clients include a Colorado man who pleaded guilty to murdering his pregnant wife and two young daughters in 2018.



Another public defender representing Alissa, Daniel King, defended the gunman who killed 12 people in a movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado, in 2012.



The bloodshed at King Soopers was the nation's second mass shooting in less than a week, after a gunman fatally shot eight people at three Atlanta-area day spas on March 16.



The two attacks have reignited a national debate over gun rights and prompted President Joe Biden to call for new legislation from Congress. A bill intended to impose stricter background checks and ban certain types of semi-automatic rifles has stalled amid Republican opposition.



On Monday afternoon, Alissa arrived at the grocery store carrying a handgun and wearing a tactical vest, according to an affidavit. Six days earlier, he had purchased a Ruger AR-556 pistol, a weapon that resembles a semi-automatic rifle, the affidavit said.



The supermarket, still a closed-off crime scene, has turned into a memorial site, with people leaving flowers, candles and condolence messages outside. Boulder Mayor Sam Weaver told CNN on Thursday that the city was looking into creating a more permanent memorial nearby.



Among the victims were store employees, a grandfather-to-be and a Boulder policeman who was first on the scene. The attacks terrorized the community and felt all too familiar in a state that has experienced some of the most shocking episodes of gun violence in US history.



Darcey Lopez, a King Soopers employee who hid in a cabinet beneath the cheese-wrapping station in the store when the gunman opened fire on Monday, is still reeling from the horror she lived through.



"I still hear the gunshots in the store  it's just something that kept playing over and over in my mind for about the first 24 hours. Now it's at night. It's really bad at night," Lopez said. (Reuters)
The Ukrainian low-cost carrier SkyUp Airlines will launch flights to Cyprus from Kyiv, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia in April, the airlines press service reports.

"Spring Cyprus is just three hours of flying. We return to one of our favorite destinations in April. First, we will fly to the island from Kyiv, and starting from May, also from Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia," reads the report.

On the Kyiv-Larnaca-Kyiv route, the airline will operate 1-2 flights per week from April 17. And from May, it plans to increase the frequency to four flights per week: on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

Moreover, SkyUp will fly on the Zaporizhzhia-Larnaca-Zaporizhzhia route on Mondays from May 31, and on the Kharkiv-Larnaca-Kharkiv route  twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays, from May 1.

Tickets are already available on skyup.aero.

ish
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, on March 24, 2021. (Virginia Mayo/Pool AP/AFP via Getty Images)

Beijings Blatant Economic Coercion of Australia Threatens Security, Shared Values, Blinken Says

The Beijing regimes blatant economic coercion against Australia is one of the three most urgent threats facing the world, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says.

Speaking at NATO headquarters in Belgium on March 24, he noted that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) poses a growing military and non-military threat that can no longer be ignored.

Beijings military ambitions are growing by the year, Blinken said, outlining the first major threat. Coupled with the realities of modern technology, the challenges that once seemed half a world away are no longer remote.

Theres no question that Beijings coercive behavior threatens our collective security and prosperity and that it is actively working to undercut the rules of the international system and the values we and our allies share, he said, outlining the second major threat.

He offered the example of Chinas blatant economic coercion of Australia as an aggressive nonmilitary action that he says threatens not only our individual countries but also our shared values.

Blinken noted that China and Russia are complicit in these kinds of activities, which focus on utilizing technological, economic, and informational tactics, and pointed to actors spreading disinformation and weaponizing corruption to fuel distrust in our democracies.

His comments come after a year of the regime in Beijing retaliating against Australia with economic sanctions, and rhetoric after Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne called for an independent inquiry into the origins of the CCP virus, commonly known as novel coronavirus.

Since then, at least eight Australian export product categories have been banned by Beijing, including coal, barley, lobster, cotton, timber, beef, lamb, and wine.

The global challenge posed by climate change and the CCP virus was the third threat outlined by Blinken. He noted that the global challenges resulting from the CCP virus are an additional threat to security and show the need for nations to work together to resolve similar crises.

As the COVID-19 pandemic has made abundantly clear, our health security is intertwined, and only as strong as our weakest link, Blinken said.

He noted that on the threats posed by the virus, no one country is to blame, although the United States has previously said that Beijing bears responsibility for failing to contain the CCP virus within its borders. Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo specifically criticized the Chinese regime for allowing international flights to leave Wuhan early in the outbreak, including to the United States.

Further, research has shown that the spread of the CCP virus to other countries could have been greatly reduced had the Chinese regime not withheld or suppressed vital information in the early days of the outbreak.

US Alliances Key to Stability

Blinkens policy speech allowed the new U.S. secretary of state to focus on Americas alliances, outlining what allies might expect from the United States and what the BidenHarris administration expects in return.

Blinken noted that although the threat landscape has changed since many alliances were formed, those alliances are needed now more than ever.

The world looks very different than it did decades ago, when we forged many of our alliancesor even than it did four years ago, he said. Threats have multiplied. Competition has stiffened. Power dynamics have shifted. Trust in our alliances has been shakentrust in each other and trust in the strength of our commitments.

Yet none of this changes the fact that we need alliancesnow as much and maybe even more than ever. The challenge we face is to adapt and renew those alliances so that they can meet todays threats, and continue to deliver for our people now, as they have in the past, he said.

Alliances and partnerships have value because the more that countries with complementary strengths and capacities can unite to achieve shared goals, the better, Blinken said.

Thats the idea behind the group of countries we call the QuadAustralia, India, Japan, and the United States, he said. We share a vision of a free, open, inclusive, and healthy Indo-Pacific region, unconstrained by coercion and anchored by democratic values. We make a good team. And our cooperation will strengthen parallel efforts to ensure security in the East and South China seas and to expand safe, affordable, and effective vaccine production and equitable access.

He also noted that the BidenHarris administration would respect differences of opinion on China among allies.

The United States wont force our allies into an us or them choice with China, Blinken said.

We need to navigate these challenges together, he said. That means working with our allies to close the gaps in areas like technology and infrastructure, where Beijing is exploiting to exert coercive pressure. Well rely on innovation, not ultimatums.

Because if we work together to make real our positive vision for the international orderif we stand up for the free and open system that we know provides the best conditions for human ingenuity, dignity, and connectionwere confident that we can outcompete China or anyone else on any playing field.
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 U.S. coronavirus death toll could have stayed under 300,000 if by last May the nation had adopted firm mask, social distancing and testing protocols while waiting for vaccines to vanquish the crisis, a University of California, Los Angeles economics professor estimates.

The report was released Thursday, the same day President Joe Biden set a new target of 200 million vaccine shots in his first 100 days in office, double his initial goal.

The U.S. death toll exceeds 545,000 and continues to rise. UCLA Professor Andrew Atkeson projects a final fatality level of around 672,000. Without a vaccine, 1.27 million would have died, Atkeson estimated in a report released Thursday at the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity conference.

Public efforts at disease control can save a lot of lives over the long run by controlling disease while we wait for a vaccine or a cure, Atkeson told The Brookings Institution. We have a tremendous opportunity to learn from international experience with COVID on how to do that without tanking the economy.

The report comes as America's long stretch of declining daily coronavirus cases appears to be ending  and some states are seeing rapid increases even as one-third of U.S. adults have received at least one vaccination shot.

Also in the news:

Despite warnings from health experts that the U.S. could be headed for a spring surge in coronavirus cases, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey is prohibiting government mask mandates and allowing bars and nightclubs that were closed for months to open their doors without restrictions. Limits on gatherings of 50 or more people also were lifted.

The CDC said 26.3% of the U.S. population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 14% has completed vaccination. The country's seven-day average for daily new cases increased over the last two weeks from 56,315 on March 10 to 57,531 on Wednesday.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday reduced the coronavirus social distancing requirements for K-12 classrooms in the state from 6 feet to 3 feet as more schools begin to open up. New CDC guidelines approve that reduction.

Story continues

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced plans Thursday to set up vaccination sites for Broadway performers and theater workers to ensure shows can make a return to the city this fall. Broadway theaters abruptly closed on March 12, 2020.

AstraZeneca released updated information on its COVID-19 clinical trial late Wednesday, showing an effectiveness rate of 76% instead of the 79% rate it claimed earlier in the week.

 Today's numbers: The U.S. has over 30 million confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 546,300 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The global totals: 125.3 million cases and 2.75 million deaths. More than 169.2 million vaccine doses have been distributed in the U.S. and 133 million have been administered, according to the CDC.

 What we're reading: A growing share of Americans would feel safe resuming activities such as dining out or flying within a few weeks of their second dose of COVID-19 vaccine, but 25% to 30% would wait until the nation reaches herd immunity, according to a Harris Poll survey for USA TODAY. Read the full story.

USA TODAY is tracking COVID-19 news. Keep refreshing this page for the latest updates. Want more? Sign up for our Coronavirus Watch newsletter for updates to your inbox and join our Facebook group.

Joe Biden doubles down, targets 200M shots for first 100 days

President Joe Biden opened his first formal news conference by setting a new goal of administering 200 million COVID vaccine shots in his first 100 days in office. Bidens original goal was to administer 100 million shots in that period. The U.S. passed that goal last week and is already on track to reach 200 million shots by the presidents first 100 days. The U.S. is now averaging about 2.5 million doses per day; 133 million shots have already been given, though some before Biden took office Jan. 20.

I know its ambitious, twice our original goal, Biden said Thursday. But no other country in the world has even come close. Not even close to what we're doing. I believe we can do it.

 Michael Collins

California to open vaccines for all 16 and older April 15

California, the nation's most populous state with 40 million people, will make all residents 16 and above eligible for COVID-19 vaccines starting April 15. In addition, those 50 and older will become eligible April 1.

That doesn't mean vaccine appointments will be available right away, but state officials expect supply to increase substantially in the coming weeks as the Johnson & Johnson vaccine becomes more widely distributed.

According to the Los Angeles Times, California expects to get about 2.5 million doses per week in the first half of April and more than 3 million later in the month. That's a major leap from the 1.8 million expected doses this week.

With California and Florida announcing Thursday they're dropping age requirements in the coming weeks, the country's three largest states by population will make COVID-19 vaccines available to all adults by no later than mid-April. Texas plans to do so Monday.

US to aid world vaccination effort after inoculating Americans first

Wealthy countries that have secured large amounts of COVID-19 vaccine doses, including the U.S., have come under increasing pressure to share their bounty.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, reiterated that point recently, noting that as long as the pandemic rages out of control anywhere, variants can emerge and pose risks to those thought to be immune.

"The inequitable distribution of vaccines is not just a moral outrage,'' he said. "Its also economically and epidemiologically self-defeating."

The Biden administration has vowed to contribute to the global vaccination effort and has pledged $4 billion toward that cause, but wants to take care of Americans first.

"The president has stated his No. 1 priority is to make sure we prioritize vaccination in this country,'' said Andy Slavitt, White House senior adviser for COVID-19 response. "We've suffered over 540,000 deaths, more than anywhere else in the world."

 Karen Weintraub

Rutgers among first universities to require COVID vaccine for fall students

Rutgers University in New Jersey said Thursday that all students who take on-campus classes in the fall term will be required to be vaccinated for COVID-19, while faculty and staff members are "strongly urged" to get one of the available vaccines.

Rutgers is believed to be one of the first, if not the first, universities to impose that mandate, although school officials don't have data to confirm that.

Vaccination availability in New Jersey has been limited to those who are 65 and older or who have a preexisting condition, such as asthma or diabetes, as well as smokers. But state officials have said they expect to get additional supplies and ramp up vaccinations in the next few weeks.

-- Abbott Koloff, Bergen Record

Schools prepare for spring break rule-breakers

Spring breakers are back, but this time schools are more prepared for COVID-19 rule breakers. After a year of pandemic schooling, districts and colleges warned students to avoid travel. Some canceled spring break altogether. Even further, some schools put protocols in place to prevent traveling students from coming back to in-person school. They will be required to quarantine or finish the semester virtually. Schools have punished students who break COVID-19 restrictions on school grounds. Punishment for travel is trickier.

"Most institutions don't have the power to lock down their students," Christopher Marsicano, a professor of higher education practice at Davidson College in North Carolina, told USA TODAY. "They just don't have the money to have adequate testing to make sure everybody returning to campus after spring break doesn't have COVID-19."

 Dustin Barnes

Infection rate again rising: 'I don't think you can declare victory'

The U.S. is reporting a seven-day average of about 55,000 new cases per day, up 3% from the previous week, the CDC reports. The country is also reporting about 4,600 new hospitalizations and nearly 1,000 deaths per day. And the U.S. surpassed 30 million coronavirus cases Wednesday afternoon, once again reaching a dubious milestone much faster than any other country.

"When youre at that level, I dont think you can declare victory," Dr. Anthony Fauci said during a briefing. "We are at the corner. Whether or not were going to be turning that corner remains to be seen."

There are positive signs. About 2.5 million Americans are being vaccinated each day, according to Andy Slavitt, White House senior adviser for COVID-19 response. And the CDC reported that more than 133 million vaccine shots have been administered, and 18% of the U.S. adult population is completely vaccinated.

Florida, North Carolina join list of states allowing all adults to get vaccinated

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday that he will eliminate the age restriction for COVID-19 vaccines as of April 5. And starting Monday, anyone 40 and up can make an appointment for the vaccine. President Joe Biden has instructed states to allow all adults access to vaccines by May 1.

North Carolina also said Thursday that it would open up vaccine eligibility for all residents 16 and older, starting April 7.

Louisiana announced this week it will provide access to anyone 16 and older starting Monday, and Idaho Gov. Brad Little said eligibility will be open to all state residents 16 and up starting April 5.

 Jeffrey Schweers, Florida Capital Bureau

Billions from relief bill heading to states, health centers for vaccines

Community health centers will receive more than $6 billion from the federal government to expand access to COVID-19 vaccines, testing and treatment for vulnerable populations, the administration announced Thursday. An additional $3 billion will be distributed to states, territories and some large cities for initiatives intended to increase vaccine access, acceptance and uptake. Another $330 million will go directly to support community health workers.

The funding comes primarily through the recently passed $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package.

 Maureen Groppe

34% of US adults have had at least one shot; half the others don't want it

In the U.S., 34.1% of adults report having received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and those who aren't vaccinated and would get the shot say they are relatively brand agnostic, according to a new poll by Survey Monkey on vaccine hesitancy.

Meanwhile, 66% of people willing to get the shot would be up for the Moderna vaccine, while 70% are willing to get the Pfizer vaccine and 67% are willing to get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. But just 51% of people still unvaccinated say they would get a vaccine if offered to them.

Reports: Gov. Andrew Cuomo's family got priority testing early in pandemic

In the early months of the pandemic, when COVID-19 tests were scarce, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo vowed to make the testing available to those most in need. Turns out that included his family members and other well-connected people close to his administration, according to reports Wednesday night.

Both The Washington Post and the Times Union in Albany reported that Cuomo's office arranged coronavirus testing for his family, including his CNN anchor brother, Chris Cuomo, and other influential people with close Cuomo ties.

The testing was conducted at times at people's homes and in part by Dr. Eleanor Adams, an epidemiologist who was a special adviser to the state Health Department, the reports said, citing unnamed sources. The Times Union, which first reported the details, said Adams' trips included going to the Long Island home of Chris Cuomo, who announced in late March 2020 that he was positive for COVID-19 and detailed his battle with the virus nightly on his show  on which the governor often appeared last year.

The governor's office did not deny the reports but said the state was trying to test as many people as possible.

 Joseph Spector, Democrat and Chronicle

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: COVID updates: Vaccines for all adults by April 15 in 3 biggest states
FRV has reached financial close with IFC, EBRD, and Ameriabank for the largest Utility Scale Solar Power Plant in Armenia.

55 MW Masrik-1 Solar Farm will produce enough clean energy to supply more than 20,000 homes and avoid the emission of over 40,000 tons of CO annually.

The project signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Electric Networks of Armenia which will distribute the electricity produced by the plant delivering significant benefits to the community.

IFC and EBRD will support the project with senior loans and an investment grant from the European Union, mobilised by EBRD

Ameriabank will support the project with tailored VAT financing loan facility.

This is currently the largest utility-scale solar power plant in Armenia.

Yerevan, Armenia, March 23th, 2021

Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV), part of Abdul Latif Jameel Energy and a leading global developer of renewable energy projects, has closed the financing agreement for the development of the largest utility-scale solar power plant in Armenia. Located in Mets Masrik municipality, Gegharkunik region, the 55 MW solar power plant is the first-of-its-kind in the country, and it will help boost Armenias supply of renewable energy while reducing its dependence on fossil fuels.

In 2018, FRV and the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure signed a Government Support Agreement (GSA) to design, finance, build, own and operate the solar power plant with the support of the Renewable Resources and Energy Efficiency (R2E2) Fund, the implementation agency authorized by the Government of Armenia.

Masrik-1 solar power plant will generate more than 128 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually at a competitive tariff of 41,9 USD/MWh. The electricity will be sold under a power purchase agreement to Electric Networks of Armenia, the utility company responsible for distribution of electricity in the country. The plant will produce enough energy to supply more than 20,000 Armenian households and is projected to avoid the release of over 40,000 tons of carbon emissions annually.

The project is supported by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Union (EU). They will extend up to USD 38.4 million financing structured in different tranches of debt. Ameriabank will provide AMD loan facility to finance companys VAT needs.

Armenia has great potential when it comes to the development of renewable energy, in particular solar energy said Tristan Higuero, Chief Operations Officer of FRV. The financial close of our first solar project in the region is a milestone for FRV as it allows us to expand our reach worldwide. Through this project, we will contribute to the countrys sustainable economic growth through the generation of wealth and employment, helping to build a more sustainable future.

Artak Hanesyan, Ameriabanks Chairman of the Management Board-CEO, highlighted the importance of the project and said that the renewable energy projects are a priority for the Bank: We support international business in Armenia and have prioritized this project for its role in economic development, addressing environmental issues, creation of new job opportunities and improvement of the living standards in our country. We provided a loan to support development of the largest utility-scale solar power plant thus contributing to formation of a more independent and secure power system in Armenia.

According to Artak Hanesyan, Ameriabank has been actively supporting the Energy sector in the country through financing of hydropower plant (HPP) and solar power plant (SPP) projects: Masrik-1 solar power plant is yet another daring and critical project for our country which, I am sure, will be a success due to our joint efforts.

Fady Jameel, Deputy President & Vice Chairman of Abdul Latif Jameel, said Abdul Latif Jameel Energy, through FRV, is providing Armenias largest utility scale solar plant which is a testament to our commitment to developing the renewable energy sector. In finalizing this financial agreement for Masrik Solar Farm, we move closer towards our objectives and take pride in assisting Armenias shift towards a renewable future.
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.
WALTHAM, Mass., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA), the nation's leading provider of kidney care products and services, today applauded the White House for agreeing to directly allocate COVID-19 vaccine to dialysis centers nationwide. In response to this announcement, the company issued the following statements:

Statement of Bill Valle, Chief Executive Officer of FMCNA:

"Today's decision to provide vaccine directly to dialysis centers nationwide will absolutely save many lives by reaching some of the most vulnerable people at highest risk. While some states have already taken the lead in getting vaccine to dialysis patients, we applaud the administration for implementing a national plan to ensure all patients across the country have equal access.

"This is simply a matter of health equity as more than half our patients identify as ethnic minorities and the majority are older patients who face hurdles including digital literacy and transportation that make other vaccine distribution models ineffective for this group. Our company has worked tirelessly to increase access to care for the most vulnerable populations across the U.S and this effort to vaccinate our patients is no different.

"We greatly appreciate the strong support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, national kidney organizations, and those members of Congress who helped us advocate for this national strategy. We pledge to continue to work tirelessly to educate our patients on the importance of vaccination and will work to administer doses quickly and effectively across the country."

Statement of Dr. Rob Kossmann, EVP and Chief Medical Officer of FMCNA:

"People living with kidney failure are typically treated in our dialysis centers three times a week, and the majority manage additional conditions including high blood pressure, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. These conditions put our patients at much higher risk of severe complications, hospitalization, and death if they contract COVID-19. They also often face transportation and other challenges that make accessing a vaccine on their own very difficult. As our nurses routinely provide other vaccinations and medications in our dialysis centers, this national rollout is an essential step forward.

"Our medical office has strong confidence in these vaccines and has been working to help educate all patients about the safety and benefits of receiving the vaccine immediately when it is offered to them. We appreciate the strong support from the many advocates and partners who have been working to make this allocation possible. This direct distribution of vaccine will no doubt have a major impact in protecting our patients from this deadly virus."

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND:

FMCNA has been advocating for state and federal vaccine allocations since last year. In January, the company published an opinion piece in the New York Times that urged federal action. In February, FMCNA signed a letter from the American Society of Nephrology and other stakeholders urging the White House to allocate vaccine directly to dialysis centers.

As part of this allocation, FMCNA has been designated a vaccine administrator and agreed to help support distribution of vaccine to smaller dialysis providers.

At the end of 2018, more than 550,000 Americans were living with kidney failure and relying on regular dialysis treatments to perform the essential function of their kidneys.1 



African Americans are 3.5 times more likely to have kidney failure than the general population, and Native Americans and Hispanics are 1.5 times more likely.1 All of these groups are at least 3.7 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19, while studies suggest people with kidney failure are 11 times more likely be hospitalized.2

To learn more about the company's response to COVID-19, please visit the company's resource center at fmcna.com/company/covid-19-resource-center/.

Educational resources for patients about COVID-19 and the vaccines are also available at freseniuskidneycare.com/coronavirus.

2020 USRDS. https://adr.usrds.org/2020 Oetjens, M. et al. Electronic health record analysis identifies kidney disease as the leading risk factor for hospitalization in confirmed COVID-19 patients. Plus One. Published online Nov. 2020 .

About Fresenius Medical Care North America

Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA) is the premier healthcare company focused on providing the highest quality care to people with renal and other chronic conditions. Through its industry-leading network of dialysis facilities and outpatient cardiac and vascular labs, Fresenius Medical Care North America provides coordinated healthcare services at pivotal care points for hundreds of thousands of chronically ill customers throughout the continent. As the world's largest fully integrated renal company, it offers specialty pharmacy and laboratory services, and manufactures and distributes the most comprehensive line of dialysis equipment, disposable products, and renal pharmaceuticals. For more information, visit the FMCNA website at https://fmcna.com/.

Media Contacts:

Fresenius Medical Care North America

Brad Puffer

Corporate Communications

[email protected]

(781) 699-3331

SOURCE Fresenius Medical Care Holdings, Inc.

Related Links

https://fmcna.com/


[March 25, 2021] AM Best Assigns Credit Ratings to Upland Specialty Insurance Company

AM Best has assigned a Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of "a-" to Upland Specialty Insurance Company (Upland Specialty) (Dallas, TX). The outlook assigned to these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. Upland Specialty is a wholly owned subsidiary of Pursuit Investors, LP (a Delaware corporation), the non-operating holding company of Upland Capital Group, Inc. The ratings reflect Upland Specialty's consolidated balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. The ratings also consider Upland Specialty's excellent projected risk-adjusted capitalization and sound business strategy, which should position the company to take advantage of current favorable market conditions in the excess and surplus (E&S) product lines segment that the company is targeting. The company is a new specialty E&S lines carrier that will seek to build a diversified commercial E&S business portfolio across the casualty, property and specialty business lines. Business will be generated through wholesale insurance brokers on a nationwide basis. Upland Specialty's senior management team possesses significant experience and a solid track record in the E&S market. AM Best believes that this experience, and management's existing relationships with its distribution sources, will be key to the company quickly gaining traction in its targeted markets. The ratings also reflect the execution risk faced by any start-up operation. AM Best recognizes that the company will be challenged to achieve operating profitability until it gains necessary scale. In AM Best's view, gaining sufficient scale may be the biggest challenge to the successful execution of the company's strategy, as growth will be dependent on the E&S market's acceptance of a start-up company that will be focused initially on long tail business lines. However, management's extensive relationships in the wholesale distribution market should help in this regard.



Upland Specialty, which expects to commence operations in the first half of 2021, is backed by an equity investment of up to $200 million from Newlight Partners LP (Newlight) and an additional investment from members of the company's senior management team. Newlight is a growth equity firm with approximately $4 billion in capital commitments and assets under management. The Newlight team has invested approximately $6 billion in over 100 investments since 2005, first as the Strategic Investments Group at Soros Fund Management LLC (Soros), and now as Newlight after the team's spin out from Soros in 2018. 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/20210325005551/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
(ANSA) - ROME, MAR 24 - NAS health police inspected AstraZeneca vaccine batches bound for Belgium at a production plant at Anagni south of Rome at the weekend after the European Commission asked Premier Mario Draghi to do so, sources said Wednesday.

Draghi informed Health Minister Roberto Speranz who instructed the Carabinieri hygiene unit to carry out the inspection.

All outgoing batches are inspected by the NAS, the sources said.

(ANSA).


This article is written in partnership with Yelp to promote Yelp's Women In Business Summit, a free, two-day event which begins today. (Entrepreneur is a media partner.) Answers have been edited and condensed for clarity.

When Ali Kriegsman started Bulletin with co-founder Alana Branston in 2015, the company started as a shoppable newsletter, evolved into pop-up markets around Brooklyn, and eventually put down roots in the form of brick-and-mortar stores. But after six years, a couple of stints with startup accelerator Y Combinator and $10 million raised in venture capital funding, Bulletin has pivoted to the online world.

Now Bulletin aspires to become a leading wholesale platform for retailers to discover and buy products from independent brands. The pandemic has accelerated the company's growth, and Bulletin is now looking to grow beyond its team of 19 people by building upon its product and engineering teams.

We spoke with Kriegsman about her journey in the entrepreneurial space, from starting her business to writing her book How to Build a Goddamn Empire, along with her advice for women interested in entrepreneurship.

Tell us a little bit about your company. What is it and what does your company do for its clients?

Behind the curtain, retailers all around the world, have to source inventory from somewhere. Bulletin is one of those somewheres. Independent retailers use Bulletin to discover new brands, products and inventory for their locations, so that they can sell it to their end customer.

Without Bulletin, brands usually have to pay upwards of $30,000 to showcase at a trade show. We allow brands to increase their distribution with these brick and mortar retailers, or even online retailers, without having to go through those crazy expensive, convoluted and time-consuming traditional channels.

Bulletin started out as a shoppable, ecommerce newsletter spotlighting the coolest emerging designers. We then layered in pop-up markets that we did every weekend in Brooklyn throughout 2016.

Then we decided to go indoors and open our own retail locations around New York. In total we've opened five stores in New York. We don't run our stores anymore, because we have fully invested in the wholesale marketplace. But having that experience as a retailer and feeling like the discovery experience for finding great brands was really disjointed was why we decided to launch the marketplace.

What is your role and what are your day-to-day responsibilities?

I am the COO at Bulletin. What that means in practice is I keep a lot of different trains on the track.

I pretty much oversee growth, marketing communications, positioning, PR for the business. And my day-to-day looks like strategy conversations with my co-founder and our CEO Alana [Branston], one-on-ones with our director of growth or our director of marketing and merchandising, checking in with our growth analyst to see where we're at to goal for signups for the month or what our conversion rate on emails are looking like. Then I work collaboratively with Alana to make a better user experience for our customer.

Related: If Running Your Business Feels Hard, You're Doing it Right. Here's Why

Talk a little bit about your journey into entrepreneurship.

Alana and I met at a Contently, which is a content marketing software startup in New York. I wrote for Contently's book club and I wrote my own personal blog. Alana was interested in launching this e-commerce newsletter, and just kind of approached me and was like "Do you want to be my editor in chief?"

[Bulletin] started out as a way to supplement my sales job. It was never making me crazy money. It was like a bootstrap side hustle. But the more that we worked on it, the more that I kind of asked myself, "Well, why not me?"

Bulletin ended up getting a $20,000 grant at the beginning of 2016. I just decided to kind of close my eyes and jump off the cliff and see what happened. I really wasn't one of these people who always knew I wanted to build or start a business. If anything, I was really against it, but I think actually doing it and getting in the weeds with it, and then having this once-in-a-lifetime offer to get some cash, to build the business full-time, and having a lot of support and belief in my abilities was what converted me and started helping me feel a little more open to the idea.

What kind of challenges did you have along the way, and when did you know when to pivot?

Alana and I wanted to build a big business. We wanted it to serve not just a couple of hundred small businesses. We want it to serve thousands. And when we were running our retail stores, We were only able to work with 120 brands at a given time because we had square footage limitations.

We had like a 3,500 brand waitlist that we just couldn't do anything with, because it would be too expensive to open 30 stores to serve them all. So that was a big challenge, realizing that in 2018 and being like "We want to do more than just run three stores at once."

We don't really have the unit economics or the capital to go open more stores and tap into this waitlist. That was part of why we decided to build our own wholesale marketplace. We launched it in September of 2019, and it just started working right away. We obviously had to make changes to the team, changes to our policies and changes to our value system. We turned into a completely different business within less than a year, so that was a lot to juggle.

I definitely made mistakes. I know Alana feels the same way. Learning how to manage and managing [others] at the same time is very interesting and definitely challenging because you're constantly second-guessing yourself. You're constantly worrying about how your team perceives you. I think that's something very unique to women, especially.

Related: The 5 Greatest Obstacles to Success  and How to Crush Them

You talk a little bit about your struggles in your upcoming book, How to Build a Goddamn Empire. You also talked about how you want it to help founders and especially women redefine the word success with every chapter. When did you first feel like you were successful?

I still don't feel that way. I think that's the problem. I think that a lot of what writing the book was a process of trying to find my sense of success in putting pen to paper. It's not like I got this book deal, felt successful, and felt so accomplished with Bulletin.

Day to day, I don't wake up feeling like I've made it or I'm the best or I'm super successful. So I guess I need to take my own advice. I do really feel like the experience of writing the book was like "Wow. I've had a lot of tough conversations with employees. I've come a long way as a manager. Alana and my relationship has come a long way as co-founders. We raised $10 million in venture financing when only 2% of women even get venture financing  I'm in the 2% of something."

It's not just about hitting a certain revenue number, a certain number of Instagram followers, getting verified on Instagram, working with a certain influencer or getting a certain piece of press. Those things are great, but building something from nothing should be just as much about the journey and the learning experience and the growth that you go through as a person, as it is about the business growing and hitting certain metrics.

How do you build a goddamn empire?

When I say "How to build a goddamn empire," what I really mean is  if you have that itch to launch a side hustle, pursue an interesting project, or just build something for yourself, that's your empire right there.

The ingredients for building an empire, however, big or small, require a lot of grit. Things are gonna go wrong. You're going to make mistakes. You're going to run into roadblocks.

The second ingredient is a really great support system. I personally experienced going from a six figure salary as a sales executive to the following year, drawing no salary and running outdoor pop-up markets on a shoestring budget in Williamsburg with decrepit port-a-potties and tents falling apart.

It was really hard for me to look around and see that a lot of my friends were leveling up in their careers. They were getting new titles. They were starting to save money. And I felt like I was going backwards. But I felt like I was going backwards because I didn't really have a sisterhood of other builders and hustlers and people using that grit to just keep going around me the time.

Those are just a few key ingredients. The most important ones would be grit and resilience, a great support system and product market fit.

For women who do want to get into entrepreneurship, but may be intimidated by the space, what advice would you have?

Take the pressure off. When I think back on my and Alana's journey, the reason I agreed to be her editor in chief for the ecommerce newsletter was not because I was like "Oh my god, how am I going to build like a multi-million dollar business in a few years?" I just thought, "Is this going to be fun for me? Will I learn something? Do I want to work with this person? Will I learn from her?"

If you're thinking about starting a side hustle or becoming an entrepreneur or becoming small business owner, there are things to feel stressed and pressure about. There's a responsible and a resourceful way to do it. But if you're experiencing a psychological block that is intimidating you out of it or telling you that you don't have what it takes, that's where I think women especially need to relieve the pressure.

This doesn't need to be something that gets written on your grave when you die. If you have the hunch and the inclination and the itch to do it, take a few baby steps and see how you feel.

Don't feel like it needs to be this magnum opus, because that pressure is going to prevent you from taking those initial baby steps and just getting started.

Related: Entrepreneurship Is All About Overcoming Obstacles

Copyright 2021 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
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 Braunfels, TX (78130)

Today

Thunderstorms - some locally heavy downpours are possible, especially during the afternoon hours. High 74F. Winds E at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected..

Tonight

Thunderstorms likely. Low 67F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall may reach one inch.
Armenian acting minister: EU allocated EUR 68,700,000 to Armenia for budget support in 2020

Armenia Finance Ministry: MFA's budget grew by AMD 1,600,000,000 in 2020

Bodies and remains of Armenian soldiers are kept in morgue in Armenia's Martuni

White House confirms Biden-Erdogan meeting in Brussels

Armenia acting MOD touches upon priority directions for development of Armed Forces

Diaspora Armenian writer, publicist Toros Toranian dies

2 Armenian soldiers injured in scuffle with Azerbaijan, Armenian POW is hospitalized, Jun. 3 digest

Wedding held in Armenia's Shurnukh for first time since the war ended

EEU member states to finish preparing for negotiations over free trade zone in Iran in late June

Armenia Central Bank: Economic downfall in 2020 was due to decline in service and construction sectors

Armenia legislature adopts several bills in first reading

Armenia President meets with Nursultan Nazarbayev

Dejavu: Armenia ruling party distributes money for votes at Yerevan district election office

Chief Advisor to Karabakh President sacked

Russian MFA: Works are carried out to settle situation around Karabakh every day

Armenia opposition MP sounds alarm about Baku fabricating criminal cases against Armenian prisoners

Armenia acting health minister: I have apologized, I am not going to resign

Helga Schmid meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Armenia's deputy foreign ministers resigned or have heavy workload?

Dollar goes down in Armenia

Armenia Elections Oversight Committee reports Iranian citizenship of ruling party's MP candidate

Acting deputy minister: Only 17 of 711 Iran-Armenia power transmission line towers were installed by 2017

Armenia Parliament Council holding session

Armenia to host CSTO "Thunder-2021" military exercises

NYT: Chinese hackers launch cyberattack on New York city transportation authority

Armenia President to Kazakhstan counterpart: I would like to see much deeper cooperation between our countries

Armenia citizens shut down Etchmiadzin-Ashtarak road, complaining about lack of irrigation water

Armenia independent MP: Foreign minister and his deputies don't want to take part in treacherous acts

Armenia to get $11mn loan, 350,000 grant for agriculture

WHO worries about worsening mental health worldwide amid pandemic

Armenia health ministry on improper handling of Artsakh war victims bodies: There is no justification

Armenia bloc election foundation already in operation

Russia ambassador to Armenia paying working visit to Syunik Province (PHOTOS)

China pledges to step up resistance to foreign interference in Hong Kong

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: There can be no talk of corridor for Azerbaijan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on incumbent authorities: Wherever they flee, we will bring them by the feet

President: Impossible to ensure peace in region or stay in Artsakh without Russia army joint efforts

China Daily: Dispatch from Makit: Thriving in the desert

Karabakh President: We will never put up with being part of Azerbaijan, it is ruled out

Armenia MFA information department chief: All deputy FMs carrying out their duties

Ardshinbank invited children to the cinema on International Childrens Day

Armenia judiciary to have 10 more judges

Armenia acting premier: We had recorded 40% increase in tax revenues according to 2019 results

Armenia acting PM on Artsakh war casualties bodies: We have 50 remains in which case DNA was not separated

Azerbaijan authorities plan to "squeeze" everything from "terrorist show" related to Armenian captives

Ameriabank announces a contest for bank card design

108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia parliament convenes special session

Armenia interim government holding Cabinet meeting

Catholicos of All Armenians heads for Syunik Province, Artsakh

World oil prices going up

Iran loses right to vote in UN General Assembly

Newspaper: Armenia authorities come up with new way of punishing unwanted characters

Newspaper: Russia army Southern Military District deputy commander to arrive in Yerevan Thursday

Lebanese Armenian man taken prisoner by Azerbaijan is hospitalized

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Are we getting under the burden? Then lets get under to the end

Armenia acting health minister on keeping fallen soldiers bodies in bags: What else should they be kept in?

Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation

Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow

2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik

Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center

"Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans

Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel

Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna

Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations

US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies

Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week

Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection

Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential

Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement

Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues

Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo

Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation

NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident

Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices

Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over

Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest

Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia

Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia

Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels

Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters

Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021

Dollar is stable in Armenia

Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector

Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out

Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe

Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia

Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border

Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor

Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue

Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia

Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this

Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 03:49:22|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou (2nd L) and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (2nd R) pose at the renovated National Gallery in Athens, Greece, on March 24, 2021. Greece's renovated National Gallery in Athens reopened on Wednesday in time for the 200th anniversary of the start of the Greek War of Independence against Ottoman rule, which will be celebrated on Thursday. (Tatiana Bolari/Eurokinissi/Pool via Xinhua)

ATHENS, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Greece's renovated National Gallery in Athens reopened on Wednesday in time for the 200th anniversary of the start of the Greek War of Independence against Ottoman rule, which will be celebrated on Thursday.

Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis accompanied the visiting dignitaries -- among them Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Cyprus' President Nicos Anastasiades, the United Kingdom Prince of Wales and his wife the Duchess of Cornwall -- on a tour of the building ahead of Thursday's military parade.

The museum's doors will open to the public later this year.

The museum's renovation and extension began in 2011, and today the edifice has a floor space of 20,760 square meters.

The project cost 59 million euros (70 million U.S. dollars). Of this, 42 million euros were state funds and 17 million euros were given by private donors, according to the Cultural Ministry's press release.

In the new National Gallery around 1,000 works of art can be on display simultaneously, instead of 400 in the past.

The gallery's permanent collection includes some 20,000 works of art.

The National Gallery was officially founded in 1900 with a collection of 258 artworks and initially, it was hosted by the National Technical University of Athens.

The core collection of the gallery dates back to 1829 and was established by Ioannis Kapodistrias, the first governor of the new Greek nation, Mitsotakis recalled in his nationally televised address.

"The founders of the free Greek state realized very early that the arts and sciences are the foundation of a modern European state, in particular when this state has a heritage going back to antiquity," Marina Lambraki-Plaka, director of the National Gallery, said in her speech.

"The new gallery reaffirms its role as the internationally renowned 'ark' of Greek art. At the same time, it highlights the place Greek art holds in European culture," Mitsotakis said. (1 euro = 1.18 U.S. dollars) Enditem
Illegal aliens found to be a convicted sex offender (L) and a felon gang member (R) by border agents assigned to the El Centro sector in California on March 24 and March 23, 2021, respectively. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection)

Sex Offender, Criminal Gang Member Arrested by Border Patrol

Border Patrol agents in California arrested two illegal immigrants who turned out to be a convicted sex offender and a gang member convicted of a felony offense.

Border agents assigned to the El Centro Sector in California arrested an unnamed 28-year-old illegal alien on Wednesday morning around 11 a.m.

The man from Mexico was found to have been previously convicted in May 2012 for sex with a minor out of Santa Maria, California. He was given a one-year prison sentence and five years probation.

The previous night, border agents assigned to Calexico Station of the El Centro Sector arrested a gang member trying to illegally enter the country around 9:25 p.m.

Record checks showed that the unnamed 44-year-old man is a member of the Sureno gang, who was convicted for felony carjacking out of Los Angeles in 1995, for which he was sentenced to four years in prison. He was later charged in 2005 with being a felon in possession of a firearm out of Bakersfield, and was sentenced to 32 months in prison. The same man was ordered to be removed from the United States in 2017.

Both men were moved to the El Centro Sector Rally Point and were processed criminally for 8 USC 1326, Reentry of Removed Aliens. They will be held in federal custody pending their respective hearings.

So far, since the start of the 2021 fiscal year on Oct. 1, 2020, El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents have arrested 13 people who are either convicted or wanted on charges of sexual offense.

Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) Alejandro Mayorkas said on March 21 that migrants should not come through the southern border to the United States.

Now is not the time to come, Mayorkas told ABC News. Do not come. This journey is dangerous. We are building safe, orderly, and humane ways to address the needs of vulnerable children, do not come.

He blamed the influx of illegal immigrants on the Trump administration.

Why is it especially challenging and difficult now, because the entire system under United States law that has been in place throughout administrations of both parties was dismantled in its entirety by the Trump administration, he said. So we are rebuilding the system as we address the needs of vulnerable children who arrive at our borders.

Mayorkass message echoed President Joe Bidens message to the outlet on March 17 when he said dont come overa message intended for people who plan to enter the United States illegally.

Some Republican members of Congress have cast blame on the Biden administration over its actions that they allege sends mixed signals to potential illegal immigrants.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) told Newsmax TV on March 17 that the message from the Biden administration is too little, too late, and said that the border situation is a crisis they [the Biden administration] created by way of Bidens policies.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in a statement on March 17 contended that Bidens calls for a halt in deportations, mass amnesty, and health care benefits for illegal immigrants in his presidential campaign back in September 2020 had served as a signal to potential illegal aliens that the border would be wide open under a Biden presidency.

And as a result, people came, Cruz said, later adding, This crisis is the direct result of President Bidens radical open borders agenda.

The number of illegal crossings at the southern border has been on the rise since October 2020. The number of arrests from October 2020 to January 2021 was 296,259, representing a 79.5 percent increase from the same period last year, according to CBP data.

In February, the CBP arrested 100,441 aliens who crossed the southern border illegally. That number is almost triple the arrests from the same month last year, when CBP caught almost 37,000 people.

Since taking office, Biden has reversed a number of policies from the Trump administration over the border and immigration, including pausing border wall construction and announcing the removal of former President Donald Trumps Remain in Mexico order for arrivals before Jan. 1, which has seen a surge in illegal aliens with children attempting to enter the country, and the Biden administration accepting unaccompanied minors, effectively reinstating the Obama-era catch and release policy. Adults and families are still being expelled from the United States, Mayorkas told NBC News on March 21.

Biden also proposed a plan to Congress on his first day in office, seeking to provide a pathway to U.S. citizenship for an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants, something he had vowed to do during his campaign. Last month, Democrats introduced a reform billthe U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021that closely models Bidens proposal.

Mexicos president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, said on Tuesday that Bidens policies are responsible for the border surge.

Expectations were created that with President Bidens government, there would be a better treatment of migrants. This has caused Central American migrants, and also from our country, to want to cross the border thinking that it is easier to do so, he said.

The Biden administration has sent officials to Mexico and other countries to discuss options to address the increasing number of illegal immigrants traveling to the U.S. border.

Jack Phillips and Bowen Xiao contributed to this report.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Millions of oysters are feared to have perished along the NSW coast as murky freshwater from up to 200 kilometres away sweeps through their homes, bound for the ocean. Deb and her husband Peter OSullivan, from the Hawkesbury River Oyster Shed, are making a last-ditch attempt to salvage their crop of thousands before the floodwaters destroy them. Mr OSullivan and his staff had been in the river since Tuesday grabbing trays of oysters and placing them on a punt to sail them down the river. Each trip takes 30 minutes and there is no certainty that the Sydney rock and Pacific oysters will make it. The past weeks torrential rain and flooding has threatened the oyster industry along the Hawkesbury River. Credit:James Brickwood The floods change the rivers salt concentration, meaning the oysters are unable to feed. The team also has to contend with floating fridges, cows, pumpkins and plastic containers while they move their precious produce. The oysters are probably going to die, they dont last under extreme conditions, Ms OSullivan said. We cant harvest oysters to sell unless the water quality is right. I reckon there is no real chance that the Pacific [oysters] survive.

Advertisement

But they will have to wait three weeks to see if their efforts have paid off, as oysters can stay closed for that long before needing to feed again. If they survive that, then we might have a chance, Ms OSullivan said. The couple sells their oysters in a little shed along with some other seafood from nearby producers. But now their shops doors could be shut for months on end. On Thursday, the couple held a crisis meeting with staff to figure out how they will get through. Some possibilities include diversifying the sheds stock, possibly selling chowder or mussels, and how to keep everyone employed. Peter OSullivan has spent every day since Tuesday trying to move his oysters further downstream Credit:James Brickwood We might have to become the prawn shed or mussel shed instead of the Oyster Shed, Ms OSullivan said.

Advertisement

The community, like the majority of NSW, has survived the 2019-20 bushfires, floods, COVID-19 and the floods again. This flood is the worst, she said. There is an old saying: another day and another dollar, but for now its just another day... and take a deep breath in. It will take years for us to get oysters back. Its not good. Loading Farmer Shane Buckley, of Wapengo Rocks on the far south coast and a NSW Shellfish Committee industry member, said there was an emergency meeting on Wednesday with farmers from the north. Theres large-scale damage, their stock losses will be enormous, their infrastructure losses are huge, he said. Theyre still in a state of flood so its yet to be realised the amount of damage thats up there. He said 80 per cent or more of the crop of millions could have been lost but hopes the state government will come through with funding for clean-up and replacement stock, and expects further information in the coming days.

Advertisement

If you lose multiple crops, you have a shortfall to catch up for mature oysters again, Mr Buckley said. His farm, cropping about 100,000 dozen oysters each year, had 161 millimetres of rain on Monday, bringing foreign material into the lake. He said massive hay bales impacted oyster infrastructure in lakes further south and tore them to pieces. Millions of oysters are feared to have perished in the flood. Credit:James Brickwood Not to the scale of the North Coast ... those guys have definitely had the brunt of it this time, he said. But its pretty typical. We were closed to rainfall for Christmas and now were closed on a big clean-up through Easter - two of our major harvest periods. With the bushfires, floods, COVID-19 and peak periods being washed out, he fears smaller North Coast farms may not survive this flood event. When the oysters are back, please buy some oysters, he said. Thats what is going to help farms survive, the general public kicking in and consuming the product that weve got available.

Advertisement
Image

Behind the Byline  APOORVA MANDAVILLI

Making the Science of Covid Clearer

Behind some of The Timess vital journalism on the coronavirus is a reporter who speaks seven languages, holds a masters degree in biochemistry and, OK, has a weakness for Bridgerton.

March 25, 2021

Times Insider explains who we are and what we do, and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together.

As a science reporter for The New York Times, Apoorva Mandavilli knows the world of research, labs and technical papers. Its helpful that shes trained in science, with a masters degree in biochemistry. She brings that knowledge to her current beat: Covid-19, including the immune response to the coronavirus and the variants that have emerged.

Here, she talks about when she realized she didnt want to be a research scientist, what its like to send her own kids back to school and her favorite lowbrow television.

How did you start working as a science reporter?

I went to graduate school for biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin, at Madison. I was there for four years, and I would have gotten a Ph.D. if Id stayed one more year. But I realized that being a lab scientist was just a little too slow, a little too specific and a little too antisocial for me. I went to journalism school at N.Y.U.s science journalism program, and Ive been a reporter ever since. My mom is a writer. Shes a poet and a short-story writer, and Ive been around literature my whole life. So my job has married two very different parts of my brain  science and writing.
The PSNI are investigating a suspected arson with the "intent to endanger life" that took place in Craigavon on Wednesday evening.

The blaze occurred at a flat in Aldervale just before 11pm on Wednesday. PSNI officers along with the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service attended the scene.

The property was empty at the time of the incident.

In a statement, the PSNI said: "Police received a report of the blaze at a flat in Aldervale at 10.55pm. Officers attended the scene, along with the NIFRS who extinguished the blaze. No one was in the flat at the time, which has been extensively damaged as a result of the fire.

Enquiries are under way to establish the circumstances of this incident, which is being investigated as arson with intent to endanger life, and anyone with information is asked to call police on 101, and quote reference number 2009 of 24/03/21.
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.
This decision will not only remove dissatisfaction among the retired SSC officers, but will serve as a big boost to the young aspirants

The demand for use of military ranks by Short Service Commission (SSC) officers after release from service has been pending since 1983. Representational image/AFP

New Delhi: The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has decided to allow the retired Short Service Commission (SSC) officers of the Indian Army to use military ranks.

The Short Service Commission (SSC) officers, after completion of their mandated terms and conditions of service, were not authorised to use the military ranks. This had been causing dissatisfaction and discontentment among the SSC officers who serve under the same service conditions and face similar hardships as Permanent Commission officers with similar service profile.

This decision of the government will not only remove dissatisfaction and discontentment among the retired SSC officers, but will serve as a big boost to the young aspirants, said defence ministry in a statement on Wednesday. It said that this decision will act as morale booster for the existing SSC officers.

The demand for use of military ranks by Short Service Commission (SSC) officers after release from service has been pending since 1983. The SSC officers form the backbone of the support cadre of the Army. They serve for a period of 10-14 years to make up the deficiency of young officers in units.

There have been several attempts of making the SSC attractive. Permission to allow use of military ranks by these officers has been one of their major demands. Unlike in the past when SSC officers used to serve for a period of five years, now they serve for a tenure of 10 years, further extendable by four years. The SSC officers provide a support cadre to the officers cadre of the Army and has been created primarily to provide young officers to the units.
OSLO, Norway, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Aker Solutions has won a large1 contract from ConocoPhillips to provide a subsea production system for the Eldfisk North development offshore Norway. The field will be developed as a subsea satellite, tied back to the Eldfisk Complex.

The scope covers a complete subsea production system including 13 standardized vertical subsea trees, wellheads, control systems, three six-slot templates with integrated manifolds, and associated services. Work starts immediately and will involve Aker Solutions' facilities in Brazil, Malaysia, Norway and the UK. Final deliveries are scheduled for 2024.

"We look forward to continue our long-standing relationship with ConocoPhillips in Norway and to further develop the Eldfisk field," said Maria Peralta, executive vice president of Aker Solutions' subsea business.

In October 2020, Aker Solutions was awarded a contract by ConocoPhillips to provide the subsea production system for the Tommeliten Alpha development.

Eldfisk is an oilfield discovered in 1970 located south of the Ekofisk field in the Norwegian North Sea. It is the second largest of three producing fields in the Greater Ekofisk Area, and one of the largest on the Norwegian continental shelf. The water depth is 70 meters with the reservoir located at depths of about 2,500-3,000 meters below the seafloor.

The award will be booked as order intake in the first quarter of 2021 in the Subsea segment.

The project development is subject to a final investment decision by the license partners and regulatory approval by Norwegian authorities.

1Aker Solutions defines a large contract as being between NOK 1.2 billion and NOK 2.0 billion.

Media Contact:

Torbjrn Andersen, mob: +47 928 85 542, email: torbjorn.andersen@akersolutions.com

Investor Contact:

Fredrik Berge, mob: +47 450 32 090, email: fredrik.berge@akersolutions.com

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/aker-solutions-asa/r/aker-solutions-to-deliver-subsea-production-system-for-the-eldfisk-north-development,c3313680


Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 06:40:41|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

UNITED NATIONS, March 24 (Xinhua) -- A United Nations envoy on Wednesday hailed the endorsement of a national government in Libya after years of "paralysis and internal divisions," and urged the Security Council to provide fresh support by deploying UN ceasefire monitors.

"The House of Representatives on March 10 overwhelmingly endorsed the Government of National Unity (GNU)," Jan Kubis told the Security Council during his first briefing as the special envoy of the secretary-general for Libya, and head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).

Over 130 members gathered for the session, which "in itself was a historic political milestone," he said, pointing out that the new cabinet reflects different regions and constituencies.

Oil-rich Libya had descended into multiple crises after former ruler Muammar Gaddafi fell in 2011, with the country essentially divided between a UN-recognized Government of National Accord based in the capital Tripoli, and a rival administration, led by self-styled Libyan National Army General Khalifa Haftar.

After more than a decade of conflict and instability, the special envoy said that an emerging political will for unification had come through Libyan dialogue and decision-making, "grounded in the wishes of the people to finally end the divisions and confrontations" to reclaim their country and "reinstate its unity and sovereignty."

He stressed that UNSMIL "embraces" the interim authorities' key priorities, including advancing the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement, delivering basic services to Libyans and fostering human rights-based national reconciliation.

Based on a "legal and constitutional framework," the special envoy outlined guidelines for presidential and parliamentary elections and urged officials to start working on election laws without delay -- a high bar, given current divisions.

The GNU has "a distinct role" to facilitate a secure environment in which to hold elections, and in facilitating the work of the national elections commission, said Kubis.

"The Libyan electoral authorities are exerting commendable efforts to hold municipal council elections despite COVID-19 and a precarious security environment," he said, flagging that UNSMIL will continue its work in strengthening "democratically elected municipal councils to provide services, build social cohesion and improve the lives of vulnerable populations."

Kubis urged the council to provide fresh support, by deploying UN ceasefire monitors.

"While the ceasefire agreement continues to hold, there are reports of ongoing fortifications" and new defensive positions as well as the "continuous presence of foreign assets and elements," he said, naming ISIL terrorist fighters, among others.

"It is important to continue to support the authorities to address this ongoing threat, act against international terrorism and to fight unlawful armed groups and organized crime networks plaguing the country, which is critical for the stability of Libya, for the stabilization of Sahel," he added. Enditem
Embryonic stem cells, in naive state (left) and primed state (right). Credit: CNIO

Scientists at the Proteomics Core Unit of the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), headed by Javier Munoz, have described the mechanisms, unknown to date, involved in maintaining embryonic stem cells in the best possible state for their use in regenerative medicine. Their results, published in Nature Communications, will help to find novel stem-cell therapies for brain stroke, heart disease or neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease.

Naive pluripotent stem cells, ideal for doing research

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are pluripotent cells that can grow into all somatic cell typesa characteristic that is extremely useful for researchers and regenerative medicine. There are two types of pluripotency: naive and primed. The naive state comes before the primed one during embryonic development. Naive ESCs have the potential to differentiate into any cell types. Thus, they are more relevant in research. However, the naive state is unstable, because naive ESCs are constantly receiving signals that regulate the transition to the primed state and their self-renewal. Understanding the mechanisms that regulate the pluripotent states is important because they might help achieve long-term maintenance of stable naive pluripotent stem cells in ESC cultures.

Traditionally, maintenance of naive ESC cultures is based on the inhibition of two of the signaling pathways that regulate cell differentiationaka as the 2i culture method. Recently, naive ESCs have been maintained adopting a totally different approach, namely, the inhibition of Cdk8/19, a protein that regulates the expression of numerous genes, including the genes that help maintain the naive state. "While the two approaches are used to culture naive cells, little is known about the mechanisms involved," says Javier Munoz, who led the study.

Now, using proteomics, the large-scale characterisation of proteins coded in a genome, CNIO scientists have described a large number of the molecular events that help stabilize these valuable ESC. "This is the first time proteomics has been used in this context," says Ana Martinez del Val, from the Proteomics Core Unit at CNIO, first author of the article. "We analyzed the mechanisms at a number of levels. First, we conducted phosphoproteomic analyses, studying phosphorylated proteins. Phosphorylation regulates protein functions (by activating or inhibiting them). Second, we analyzed the expression of these proteins. Finally, we identified changes in metabolites (reaction intermediates or end products). With our integrated approach, we got an accurate picture of the causes of the high degree of plasticity of ESC," Martinez del Val explains.

The results of the study might have implications for research on some types of cancer. We know that "the inhibition of Cdk8 leads to reduced cell proliferation in acute myeloid leukemia by enhancing tumor suppressors", and that "Cdk8 is a colorectal cancer oncogene." "Cdk8 activity is somehow enigmatic, since its functions vary considerably with the cell environment," says Munoz. "We have identified a number of Cdk8 targets that were unknown until now. This can help understand the function this protein regulates in other biological contexts."

Going beyond genomics with proteomics

The study by the CNIO team shows the need for a greater focus on proteomics in cancer research strategies.

Research into and treatment of disease have made huge progress in the past decades, courtesy of the techniques used in molecular biology. Two of the most frequently used techniques are genomics, the analysis of the DNA sequencethe molecule that carries all our genetic informationand transcriptomics, the study of the sets of RNA transcriptsthe molecules that translate into proteins. Proteins are macromolecules that are directly involved in chemical processes essential for life. The proteomic approach was adopted relatively recently by biomedical researchers. Proteomics has gained momentum over the past 15 years, yet it has become essential for genomics and transcriptomics to come full circle. Genomics and proteomics study processes that take place before proteins are produced. "We use proteomics to study a number of properties of proteins that cannot be analyzed by studying DNA or RNA," says Martinez del Val. This is extremely important, since "proteins are responsible for a whole range of basic life functions that take place within cells," Munoz adds.

More information: Ana Martinez-Val et al, Dissection of two routes to naive pluripotency using different kinase inhibitors, Nature Communications (2021). Journal information: Nature Communications Ana Martinez-Val et al, Dissection of two routes to naive pluripotency using different kinase inhibitors,(2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22181-5
A passenger check point at Adolfo Suarez-Madrid Barajas airport. Chema Moya / EFE

With Easter right around the corner and Spaniards increasingly weary of months-long coronavirus restrictions on mobility, the central government has come under fire for its decision to keep national borders open to European tourists.

A paradox, contradictory, senseless and lacking coherence are some of the terms heard in recent days to describe a dual policy that is keeping Spaniards confined to their regions of residence while citizens of other EU countries are allowed to enter the country by land, sea and air for vacation purposes.

According to the tourism minister, most of the people who will enter Spain during the Easter break will be Spaniards returning home

Several leading members of the executive have made public statements defending the open-border policy, including Health Minister Carolina Darias and Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya. And on Wednesday, even Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, of the Socialist Party (PSOE), felt the need to justify the executives position.

Spain has followed the recommendations of the European Union, for instance keeping borders open for intra-EU trips. The important thing is to carry out controls to prevent imported infections, and thats what we are doing, he said in Congress.

Checks are being conducted at airports and seaports, but not at land borders. Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto has stated that most of the people who will enter Spain during the Easter break, representing around 56% of all trips, will be Spaniards returning home.

The reason for the apparent contradiction between the rules for nationals and those applying to foreign visitors lies in the fact that Spanish regions are in charge of deciding and implementing their own coronavirus restrictions, and they have decided to keep their own borders sealed to inbound and outbound land travel, with exceptions made for essential trips involving work or health reasons. But regional governments have no control over national borders, as this falls to the central executive. The regions can seal off their territory to prevent arrivals from other regions, but they cannot stop a European citizen from entering. Only the executive can do that, by announcing the closure of its borders, said a legal source.

Tourists from Germany at El Arenal beach in Palma de Mallorca. ENRIQUE CALVO / Reuters

Nevertheless, the opposition is talking about discrimination against residents of Spain, particularly after the EU Commission on Monday asked Spain for coherence with regard to its domestic and international coronavirus travel restrictions within the 27-country bloc.

The following is a list of commonly asked questions about travel to Spain during the Easter holidays.

Can tourists come to Spain from other parts of Europe?

Yes, although conditions apply. Travelers from Germany and France, two major sources of tourism to Spain, may go to popular destinations such as Mallorca or Benidorm, whereas a resident of Madrid or Cadiz may not. The Schengen space is open because it is controlled by the EU. In any case, very little traffic in tourism is expected in the coming weeks, said sources in the Tourism Ministry.

One of the conditions for entry is showing a negative PCR test taken 72 hours before arrival. But this only applies to sea and air arrivals, as there are no controls at land borders. Many visitors from neighboring France have been driving into Spain in recent months. Data from the Frontur tourism survey shows that in January, 72,513 French nationals came to Spain for leisure purposes, and that three out of every four came in via land borders.

We are recommending against travel, both to Spaniards and to countries that send us travelers. We are telling them not to come, and so are the German and French governments, said Tourism Minister Maroto. But airlines and travel agencies have already noticed a spike in demand for destinations such as the Balearic Islands, and the number of available flights and hotel rooms has been bumped up for the coming weeks.

Once they are in Spain, these international travelers will be bound by the same rules that apply to Spanish nationals: they may not cross regional borders to reach a different destination.

Can non-EU citizens travel to Spain?

In this case, there are greater mobility restrictions as these third-country citizens are not part of the Schengen space. There are restrictions on non-essential travel, and even greater limits on arrivals from countries where new coronavirus variants have been detected, such as Brazil and South Africa. There was a similar ban on travel from the United Kingdom in place, but this week the Spanish government announced that this ban is being lifted.

Although citizens of these third countries can only enter Spain for work or other essential reasons, the rule does not apply to European citizens returning from these areas.

National Police officers checking passenger ID at Atocha railway station in Madrid. Oscar Canas / Europa Press

Can UK residents come to Spain for tourism purposes?

For now, British tourists will not be able to come to their favorite Spanish destinations, but that is not because of any Spanish policy: the government has just announced it is lifting its travel ban on sea and air arrivals from the UK. Instead, the British government has announced fines of 5,000 (around 6,000) for travelers who go abroad for vacationing purposes, starting on Monday.

Can Spaniards spend Easter in a different region than the one they live in?

A group of regional and central health officials known as the Inter-Territorial Council of the National Health System has decided that there will be no cross-regional travel for leisure purposes over the Easter break. Even the Madrid region, where authorities seemed less inclined to adopt this measure, has finally agreed to do so. The executive has concluded that mobility between regions pushes infections up, and during Easter there would have been a lot of movement, said a government source. According to the automobile association RACE, around 14% of Spanish drivers had plans to travel to a different region over Easter, if allowed to do so.

Can Spaniards go abroad during Easter?

Residents of Spain, just like those of most European countries, may travel abroad if the destination allows it. People who come to Spain have to follow the same rules we do, such as not crossing into a different region. And the same will apply to Spaniards going abroad, who will have to adapt to the rules that apply at their destination, said a government source. Even so, there are a few exceptions to the free travel rule: tourism trips are currently not allowed between Spain and Portugal.

English version by Susana Urra.
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 BBC's licence fee is set to remain until at least 2038 because of Government failings in the rollout of broadband, MPs have suggested.

A parliamentary committee said ministers had left themselves with 'no option' of providing Netflix-style alternatives to the TV licence system in the near future.

MPs said the Government had failed to put in place the broadband infrastructure necessary for 'other funding mechanisms' for the BBC.

They found that as a result of Government delays to the rollout of full fibre broadband, a 'wholly online public service broadcasting system' for everyone 'is not yet viable'.

The BBC's licence fee is set to remain until at least 2038 because of Government failings in the rollout of broadband, MPs have suggested (stock image)

The report from the digital, culture, media and sport committee said unless the Government came up with a strong alternative to the licence fee, it should support the current model 'for at least the next charter period' between 2028 and 2038.

In doing so, it should 'actively aid' the corporation in driving down TV licence evasion.

The committee said while future services would likely be delivered via the internet, the 'present reality' was a lack of access to broadband and a lack of digital literacy skills.

The report highlighted that a 'significant number of households' did not have access to a broadband connection that would let them watch online TV services.

The report also ruled out other alternatives to the licence fee, such as a household fee, advertising or subscription (stock image)

The report also ruled out other alternatives to the licence fee, such as a household fee, advertising or subscription.

Committee chairman Julian Knight said that while it was clear the TV licence had a limited shelf life in a digital media landscape, the Government had 'missed the boat to reform it'.

He added: 'Not only that, but the Government is effectively allowing the BBC to haemorrhage funds through non-payment of the licence fee.'

A BBC spokesman said: 'We welcome the conclusion that the licence fee is the best way of funding a universal BBC.'
EDWARDSVILLE  Multiple felony cases involving attacks on police officers, state workers and nurses in separate incidents were filed Wednesday by the Madison County States Attorneys Office.

James L. Janssen, 23, of Wood River, was charged March 24 with two counts of aggravated battery, both Class 2 felonies.

The case was presented by the Wood River Police Department.

According to court documents, on March 17 Janssen allegedly punched on Wood River police officer in the chest, and elbowed another.

Bail was set at $50,000.

In a similar case, Valerii J. Pierson, 20, of Rockford, was charged with aggravated assault/officer, a Class 4 felony.

That case was brought by the Granite City Police Department.

According to court documents, on March 24 Pierson allegedly charged a Granite City police officer.

Bail was set at $20,000.

Rhonda L. Moore, 60, of Alton, was charged with three counts of aggravated battery to state employee, all Class 3 felonies.

The case was presented by the Illinois Secretary of State Police.

According to court documents, on Aug. 3, Dec. 23 and March 18 Moore allegedly sprayed the same Illinois Secretary of State Program Compliance Representative with Microban, an aerosol sanitizing spray. Bail was set at $30,000.

Ole-Haze K. Moore, 23, of Alton, was charged with aggravated battery, a Class 3 felony, and aggravated driving under the influence while license revoked/suspended, a Class 4 felony.

The case was presented by the Alton Police Department.

On Dec. 18 Moore allegedlywas found to be driving a 2008 Cadillac while under the influence of alcohol or an intoxicating compound while having a suspended license. She also struck a nurse with her fist in the upper arm.

Bail was set at $30,000.

Other felony charges filed March 24 include:

 Marcee L. Jackson, 27, of St. Louis, was charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and unlawful possession of a license plate, both Class 4 felonies. The case was presented by the Alton Police Department. On Dec. 16 Jackson allegedly was found to be in possession of a Glock 9 mm handgun without a valid concealed carry license. Bail was set at $15,000.

 LaToya S. Smith, 33, of East St. Louis, was charged with criminal damage to property $500-$100K, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Granite City Police Department. On March 1 Smith allegedly did more than $500 in damage to a 2000 Honda Accord without the consent of the owner. Bail was set at $15,000.
New York, US (PANA) - After years of paralysis and internal divisions, progress towards a lasting peace through stable national government and dialogue, is being made in Libya, the top UN envoy for the country said on Wednesday
One November night in a Missouri prison, Charles Graham woke his cellmate of more than a dozen years, Frank Flanders, saying he couldn't breathe. Flanders pressed the call button. No one answered, so he kicked the door until a guard came.

Flanders, who recalled the incident during a phone interview, said he helped Graham, 61, get into a wheelchair so staff members could take him for a medical exam. Both inmates were then moved into a Covid-19 quarantine unit. In the ensuing days, Flanders noticed the veins in Graham's legs bulging, so he put towels in a crockpot of water and placed hot compresses on his legs. When Graham's oxygen levels dropped dangerously low two days later, prison staff members took him to the hospital.

"That ended up being the last time that I seen him," said Flanders, 45.

Graham died of Covid on Dec. 18, alarming Flanders and other inmates at the Western Missouri Correctional Center in Cameron, about 50 minutes northeast of Kansas City. His death reinforced inmates' concerns about their own safety and the adequacy of medical care at the prison. Such concerns are a major reason Flanders and many other inmates said they are wary of getting vaccinated against Covid-19. Their hesitancy puts them at greater risk of suffering the same fate as Graham.

Inmates pointed to numerous Covid deaths they considered preventable, staffing shortages and guards who don't wear masks. While corrections officials defended their response to Covid, Flanders said he's apprehensive about how the department handles "most everything here recently," which colors how he thinks about the vaccines.

Reluctance to get a Covid vaccine is not unique to Missouri inmates. At a county jail in Massachusetts, nearly 60% of more than 400 people incarcerated said in January they would not agree to be vaccinated. At a federal prison in Connecticut, 212 of the 550 inmates offered the vaccines by early March declined the shots, including some who were medically vulnerable, The Associated Press reported.

The Missouri Department of Corrections said March 12 that more than 4,200 state inmates had received the vaccine out of 8,000 who were eligible because they were at least 65 years old or had certain medical conditions. Officials were still working to vaccinate 1,000 additional eligible inmates who had requested the shots. The department had not begun vaccinating the remaining 15,000 inmates or surveyed them to determine their interest in the vaccines. So far, about 18% of the total prison population has been vaccinated, which roughly tracks with the overall rate in Missouri even though inmates are at higher risk for Covid than Missourians generally and should be easier to vaccinate given they are already in one place together.

Missouri placed the majority of inmates in its lowest vaccine priority group. It is one of 14 states to either do that or not specify when they will offer the vaccines to inmates, according to the Covid Prison Project, which tracks data on the virus in correctional facilities.

Another is Colorado, where Democratic Gov. Jared Polis moved inmates to the back of the vaccine line amid public pressure. The emergence of a more contagious variant of the virus at one prison, however, forced officials to adjust their plans and instead start vaccinating all inmates at that facility.

Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein, prison project co-founder and professor of social medicine at the University of North Carolina, said that disregarding health officials' recommendation to prioritize people living in tight quarters might make inmates less trustful of prison staff "when they come around and say, 'Hey, it's finally your turn. Let me inject you with this.'"

States cannot mandate that inmates take the vaccines. But Missouri officials have tried to encourage them by distributing safety information about it, including a video debunking myths featuring a scientist from Washington University in St. Louis.

But persuasion is proving difficult at Western Missouri, given inmates' longtime distrust of prison management. Flanders, Graham and others were transferred there from neighboring Crossroads Correctional Center following a 2018 riot that caused an estimated $1.3 million in damage and led to its closure. Inmates were angry that staff shortages had reduced time for recreation and other programming.

Officials acknowledge that staff shortages have persisted through the pandemic. "Corrections is not the most popular place to work right now," Missouri corrections director Anne Precythe said at an early March NAACP town hall on Covid and prisons.

Flanders, who is serving a life sentence for first-degree robbery, said the prison didn't have enough nursing staffers to check on him during a bout with mild Covid in November. He said other sick inmates also didn't receive appropriate medical attention. Karen Pojmann, a corrections department spokesperson, said she could not comment on specific offenders' medical issues.

Tim Cutt, executive director of the Missouri Corrections Officers Association, said he's seen no evidence that Western Missouri even had a plan to contain Covid. "They were quarantining for a while," he said, "but it was a haphazard attempt."

Also fueling skepticism of prison health care, inmates said, is the failure of many staff members to follow the corrections department's mask mandate. Byron East, who is serving a life sentence for murder at South Central Correctional Center, two hours southwest of St. Louis, said in a phone interview that he has begged officers  many of whom live in conservative, rural areas where masks are less common  to wear face coverings.

"As an employee, your job is to protect, and we are not able to protect ourselves," said East, 53. "You can catch something and then come in here and spread it to us."

Amy Breihan, co-director of the Missouri office of the Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center, a nonprofit civil rights law firm, said she didn't see a single officer wearing a mask on Feb. 10 when she visited a correctional facility in Bonne Terre, Missouri.

Corrections Department Deputy Director Matt Sturm confirmed Breihan's account at the NAACP town hall and said it has been addressed. He said the department expects staff members in all prisons to wear masks while inside when they can't stay 6 feet apart from others.

"Right from the beginning, the Department of Corrections in Missouri has taken Covid extremely serious," Sturm said. The department deployed "everything we could get our hands on to help either prevent or contain Covid," including equipment for ventilation and disinfection.

Still, Missouri has reported at least 5,500 Covid cases and 48 deaths among inmates at the state's adult correctional institutions during the pandemic. The department doesn't break down Covid deaths by prison, but data from the advocacy group Missouri Prison Reform showed Western Missouri had 21 total deaths from Covid or other causes last year, more than any other state prison even though its population isn't the largest. Statistics on deaths in the previous year were not immediately available.

An automatic email reply from Eve Hutcherson, a former spokesperson for Corizon Health, which manages health care in Missouri prisons, directed a reporter to Steve Tomlin, senior vice president of business development, but he didn't respond to questions. The company, one of the country's largest for-profit correctional health care providers, faced more than 1,300 lawsuits over five years, according to a 2015 report from the financial research firm PrivCo. In Arizona, Corizon paid a $1.4 million fine for failing to comply with a 2014 settlement to improve inadequate health care for inmates.

Despite concerns about prison health care, however, some inmates have agreed to get the shot. East, who is Black, said he initially decided against it because he didn't trust prison health and thought about the legacy of the Tuskegee experiments from 1932 to 1972, when researchers withheld treatment for Black men infected with syphilis. But he changed his mind after reading about how safe the vaccines are.

Flanders, meanwhile, is still weighing whether to get vaccinated as he mourns the death of his longtime cellmate Graham, a convicted murderer whom he considered a friend and father figure.

Flanders' mother, Penny Kopp, said Graham helped Flanders manage his finances and kept him from gambling and getting involved with "inmates who are troublemakers." Kopp, a former corrections officer in Indiana and Colorado, said she understands the challenges of working in a prison but wonders if enough was done to save her son's cellmate.

Flanders said getting the shot would mean putting himself at the mercy of prison staffers, as Graham did  and that's something he's not ready to do.
Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

It is true that our national freedom came at the cost of a bloody war, the Revolutionary War. And it is true that the liberation of American slaves was directly connected to an even bloodier war, the Civil War. But that doesnt mean that there is legitimacy to some recent, Christian talk of another Civil War, this time involving Christians taking up arms against the government. Perish the thought. To the contrary, if we were to be honest, we have seen the enemy, and it is us.

Before I explain what I meant by my last comment, let me make clear that I am not addressing a potential scenario in which the government seeks to seize control of all guns, thereby disarming the populace. That is an important question for another article.

What I am addressing here is the notion that our current government is so corrupt and that our nation is so far gone, with our most essential liberties under daily assault, that an armed conflict with the government is inevitable. It is that notion that I am categorically rejecting, but not because I am unconcerned with the direction in which America is going. To the contrary, I am deeply concerned.

My point is simply that taking up arms is the last thing we should be thinking about since the biggest problem in our nation is the Church. Put another way, if even 10-20 percent of this nations Christians started praying with holy desperation and gave themselves to repentance and evangelism and revival, God Himself would begin to intervene on our behalf. Thats why I say that we have seen the enemy, and it is us.

I would liken this to someone, whom well call Sam, who joined the local fitness club, with benefits including unlimited, live classes, unlimited use of all equipment, and a free, monthly session with a personal trainer.

But after one year, Sam saw absolutely no results, as a result of which he burned his membership contract in front of the fitness club and went on a social media tirade, blasting the local owners.

The problem is that Sam saw no results because he didnt go to the club. He never worked out. He didnt take advantage of what was offered.

And while the analogy is not meant to be precise (if it were, then the fitness club would have to be anti-fitness, much as some of our governments actions are anti-American), the point is the same: we American Christians have hardly availed ourselves of the spiritual weapons God has given us to change the nation. The last thing we should be doing is calling for an up armed uprising.

In the early 1980s, as a result of the publication of Francis Schaeffers watershed book A Christian Manifesto, there was much discussion of the question, At what point is it right for Christians to take up arms?

He wrote, There does come a time when force, even physical force, is appropriate. The Christian is not to take the law into his own hands and become a law unto himself. But when all avenues to flight and protest have closed, force in the defensive posture is appropriate. This was the situation of the American Revolution. The colonists used force in defending themselves. Great Britain, because of its policy toward the colonies, was seen as a foreign power invading America. The colonists defended their homeland. As such, the American Revolution was a conservative counter-revolution. The colonists saw the British as the revolutionaries trying to overthrow the legitimate colonial governments.

He added, A true Christian in Hitlers Germany and in the occupied countries should have defied the false and counterfeit state and hidden his Jewish neighbors from German SS troops. The government had abrogated its authority, and it had no right to make any demands. This brings us to a current issue that is crucial for the future of the church in the United States  the issue of abortion.

Yet Schaeffer was very careful in his language, offering strong cautions. As he explained, we must make definite that we are in no way talking about any kind of a theocracy. Let me say that with great emphasis. As he wisely emphasized, We must not confuse the Kingdom of God with our country. To say it another way: We should not wrap Christianity in our national flag.

He also noted that, we must say that speaking of civil disobedience is frightening because there are so many kooky people around. People are always irresponsible in a fallen world. But we live in a special time of irresponsible people, and such people will in their unbalanced way tend to do the very opposite from considering the appropriate time and place. Anarchy is never appropriate.

All the more should these points be emphasized today, when the age of internet has turned kookiness and lunacy into instant, national sensations. All the more should we be careful with the words we use and the calls we issue.

But that is not my biggest issue with the call to take up arms (or, the call to prepare to take up arms). Rather, as stated by Douglas Wilson in a slightly different context, I am against surrendering in any case, but I am really against surrendering before the battle is really joined.

And that, to me, is the crux of the problem. As the Church of America, we have barely joined the battle.

Really now, how many of us, aside from casting a pro-life vote, do anything on a regular basis to combat abortion? How many of us, while decrying the evils of pornography and sexual promiscuity, are ourselves bound by porn? How many of us, while denouncing the redefining of marriage, have winked at no-fault divorce in our own ranks? Shall I go on with the list? How many of us dont even vote?

And when it comes to earnestly contending for revival, which begins with repentance and intercession in the Church, how many of our congregations have at least one weekly prayer meeting  and I mean a well-attended, focused prayer meeting  devoted to intercession for national revival? How many of our congregations do this daily, let alone several times a day? Yet were talking about taking up arms against the government? Seriously?

Go back and read about the history of awakenings and revivals in America, and look at the profound impact they had. What would happened if God moved again? What would happen if the Church simply started living like the Church?

In the early-to-mid 1990s, as I was working with some strong pro-life Christians, the question about taking up arms came up in conversation. In response to this, while ministering in Finland in October, 1995, I wrote this down. I believe it applies today just as much as it did then.

I wrote: The whole problem with the Christian call to take up arms is that if we were to be honest, we would have to admit that we have seen the enemy, and it is us. America is aborting babies and exporting smut around the world because the light that is within us is darkness. To be consistent, the call to violent activism would have to sound like this: Kill the compromised clergy! Slaughter the sleeping saints! Shoot the sinning shepherds! Nuke the non-committed! Blow up the bankrupt believers! Wipe out the worldly watchmen! Would you like to lead the attack? Who among us can throw the first stone  or shoot the first bullet?

Again, should the government forcefully attempt to disarm Americans, Im sure Second Amendment advocates will have plenty to say.

But that is not where we are today, and that is not where our emphasis needs to be.

God has given us a solution. Lets us avail ourselves of it and of Him.
24/02/21

Carol Ann Mariotti (nee Ashton)

We are deeply saddened to say that our beautiful, unconventional, intelligent, opera loving, (Wagner in particular), "buona forchetta" and rebel mother, always at the forefront in breaking barriers of any kind, passed away a month ago to this day. Good musical deeds in her memory would be appreciated in lieu of flowers. Her loving daughters, Diana and Julia Mariotti, and families.
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.
In August 2019, days after thirty-two people died in the El Paso and Dayton mass shootings, our host Kyle Pope spoke with John Temple. Temple was the editor of Denvers Rocky Mountain News when the Columbine massacre changed Americas perception of safety forever.

Temple told us about the photos he decided not to run that day in 1999, and the one he did, which confirmed a childs death before police spoke with the mother. In the wake of the horror in El Paso and Dayton, Temples thoughts were on the Civil Rights Movement, on the fight for abolitionthe times in our history when journalists have taken a moral stand.

As we take stock of the devastation in Atlanta and Boulder, and of the ways in which the news cycle failed, especially Atlantas victims, here again are John Temple and Kyle Pope.

SHOW NOTES

Sign up for CJR 's daily email

Ive seen the limits of journalism, John Temple, The Atlantic

Covering the Atlanta massacre from inside the Korean community, Shinhee Kang, CJR

Another day, another mass shooting, Jon Allsop, CJR

Hesitant coverage of the hateful Atlanta shootings, Jon Allsop, CJR

The 2000 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Breaking News Photography, Photo Staff of Rocky Mountain News, Denver, CO, The Pulitzer Prizes

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Amanda Darrach is a contributor to CJR and a visiting scholar at the University of St Andrews School of International Relations. Follow her on Twitter @thedarrach.
Africa is set to recover from its worst recession in half a century. Real GDP is projected to grow by 3.4% in 2021 after contracting by an estimated 2.1% in 2020, mainly due to COVID-19 related disruptions, according to the African Development Banks recently released African Economic Outlook (AEO). The pandemic also caused deep scars in the financing and debt landscape of the continent that may linger on if not quickly addressed.



At the launch of the AEO, Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz rightly explained how the COVID-19 pandemic caused both demand- and supply-side shocks in the continent. It affected the demand for exports of African countriesbut it also affected the willingness of people to work in some of the more exposed sectors and its effects were very disparate across different sectors.



Following Stiglitzs train of thought, Africas projected recovery will be subject to an unusually high level of uncertainty and risks, as is also pointed out in the analyses of the AEO.



Recovery prospects and risks

The most obvious risk to the recovery is the disease itself. The emergence of more contagious strains of the COVID-19 virus could derail the recovery process. Furthermore, if progress in deploying safe and effective treatment is slower than expected, governments would have to reinstate restrictions. On the upside, if COVID-19 therapeutics and vaccines become accessible in the continent earlier than anticipated, the growth projection for 2021 could be exceeded, leading to a more robust recovery.



Another risk factor relates to the financial inflows to the continent. Although commodity prices have recovered somewhat from the low levels seen in mid-2020, they remain subdued compared to their pre-pandemic levels. Remittances are estimated to have dropped by nearly 10% in 2020, while tourism, foreign direct investments, and portfolio investments were halted in many countries. If these sources of inflows do not rebound, public finances in many African economies will remain suppressed, jeopardizing the projected recovery.



Social and geopolitical tensions in the region are also a major source of risk. The number of conflict-related events in the continent, including political violence, rose in 43 countries in 2020. If these tensions are not properly defused, they could result in policy uncertainty, dampening investor confidence, and could ultimately derail growth prospects.





Policies to sustain the recovery

In the end, government policies could make or break the recovery. For example, governments containment measures have helped accelerate digitalization in Africa, with more people adopting digital transactions, virtual meetings, e-medicine, e-commerce and other electronic platforms. If digitalization is sustained in the post-pandemic era, it would accelerate productivity and foster rapid and quality growth.



Furthermore, policymakers must not prematurely withdraw the current fiscal and monetary stimulus packages that have supported recovery. Support for the health sector should continue to consolidate gains in the fight against the virus. Effective policies to retool Africas labour force for the future of work must also be aggressively pursued. The African Continental Free Trade Area agreement should be used to strengthen regional and multinational trade and cooperation to stimulate shared prosperity. New public investment projects should focus on pandemic- and climate-proof infrastructure to help build economic resilience.



The impact of school closures on human capital development and the inequalities it creates between the rich and the poor, and between girls and boys, must be mitigated through targeted policies. Whenever in-person learning is possible, schools should open with the appropriate safety protocols in place. Otherwise, learning should continue using traditional media  print, radio, TV  and digital technologies such as smartphones and computers. Social safety nets, including cash transfers and in-kind support, should be expanded to include previously neglected groups in slums and informal businesses, taking advantage of the accelerated digital penetration.





Policies to strengthen good governance and structural reforms should be aggressively implemented as part of efforts to mitigate the COVID-19 crisis and avoid a looming debt crisis. African countries must eradicate all forms of leakages in public finances and pursue an all-out effort to harness digital technologies to propel the continent into the fourth industrial revolution and into a future that is far more resilient to economic shocks.



About the authors: Chuku Chuku is OIC Division Manager for the Macroeconomic Policy, Debt Sustainability and Forecasting Division of the African Development Bank; Adamon Mukasa is a Senior Research Economist with the Macroeconomic Policy, Debt Sustainability and Forecasting Division; and Yaye Betty Camara is a Research Analyst and Environmental Economist with the Macroeconomic Policy, Debt Sustainability and Forecasting Division.







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
Danile Munteanu who was jailed for role in 120,00 ATM theft.

A father-of-two was jailed today for six and half years after he pleaded guilty to stealing more than 120,000 from ATM machines using cloned cards.

Romanian national Danile Munteanu (32) received the sentence at Trim Circuit Court after the evidence against him was outlined at a previous sentencing hearing.

The sophisticated operation saw bank machines being targeted in several counties over a five-month period

Judge Martina Baxter stated that the headline sentence for the criminal was 11 years but she reduced this to seven and gave a further six months off in mitigation for his guilty plea and other matters.

Commending the work of gardai on the case, she outlined the huge geographical spread of the crime which was a well planned and sophisticated enterprise.

He was arrested at the Co Meath address where he lived in March, 2019, after a garda surveillance operation and has been in custody ever since.

Trim Circuit Criminal Court heard that hundreds of transactions, where cloned cards had been used to withdraw money from the accounts of innocent Bank of Ireland customers, were carried out in counties including Monaghan, Louth, Meath, Westmeath, Galway, Kildare, Wicklow and Dublin.

Expand Close A fake ATM front was seized by gardai. / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp A fake ATM front was seized by gardai.

Some customers had their entire accounts cleared out as amounts of up to 700 at a time were withdrawn from them without their knowledge.

The people who were robbed of their money included juveniles and people in their 80s, and one person had more than 7,000 euro stolen from their account.

Bank of Ireland refunded all the money that was stolen from accounts and reported the thefts to gardai.

The court heard that Munteanu has two previous convictions in the UK for similar crimes, namely the possession of a skimming device dating from 2010 and 2015. He received eight months in jail for the latter crime.

Judge Baxter told Munteanu that he fully participated in the extensive planning and detail that led detectives to discover a skimming factory.

The major investigation was led by Detective Superintendent Michael Cryan of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB).

At a previous hearing, Detective Garda Stephen Kelly of the GNECB told Judge Baxter that, courtesy of CCTV recorded at the ATMs and the motorway network, as well as information from garda stops and checkpoints, Munteanu had been identified as a suspect. An address at Tower Mount, Navan, Co Meath was placed under surveillance in December 2018 but appeared to be empty.

After another spate of thefts on February 23 and 24, 2019, at Killester and Dunshaughlin, the house was watched again and a warrant obtained to search it.

Gardai raided the house on March 4, 2019 and arrested Munteanu.

Expand Close Gardai seized cloned cards. / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Gardai seized cloned cards.

During a search of the house and a car at the address, a large number of loyalty cards with magnetic strips were found, more than 50 of which had stolen bank details overwritten onto them.

A second device would be placed around the card entry slot, designed to look like part of the ATM, and skim the details of the card as it was put into the machine.

The criminals would then match the PIN numbers with the skimmed account information and make cloned cards which could be used to withdraw cash from the account at an ATM.

In many cases several transactions were made over a period of days before customers would realise there was something wrong, usually when they went to use their card to pay for something and find there was no money in their account.

Munteanu pleaded guilty to nine charges of theft, each covering multiple transactions, between October 1, 2018 and March 3, 2019.

He also pleaded guilty to nine charges of possession of false instruments, namely cloned bank cards, on the same dates, and of possession of false Romanian ID cards, a false Romanian passport, and a false Romanian driving licence.

He also pleaded guilty to possession of a machine for making cloned cards.
Microswimmers are artificial, self-propelled, microscopic particles. They are capable of directional motion in a solution. The Molecular Nanophotonics Group at Leipzig University has developed special particles that are smaller than one-thirtieth of the diameter of a hair. They can change their direction of motion by heating tiny gold particles on their surface and converting this energy into motion. "However, these miniaturised machines cannot take in and learn information like their living counterparts. To achieve this, we control the microswimmers externally so that they learn to navigate in a virtual environment through what is known as reinforcement learning," said Cichos.

With the help of virtual rewards, the microswimmers find their way through the liquid while repeatedly being thrown off of their path, mainly by Brownian motion. "Our results show that the best swimmer is not the one that is fastest, but rather that there is an optimal speed," said Viktor Holubec, who worked on the project as a fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and has now returned to the university in Prague. According to the scientists, linking artificial intelligence and active systems like in these microswimmers is a first small step towards new intelligent microscopic materials that can autonomously perform tasks while also adapting to their new environment. At the same time, they hope that the combination of artificial microswimmers and machine learning methods will provide new insights into the emergence of collective behaviour in biological systems. "Our goal is to develop artificial, smart building blocks that can perceive their environmental influences and actively react to them," said the physicist. Once this method is fully developed and has been applied to other material systems, including biological ones, it could be used, for example, in the development of smart drugs or microscopic robot swarms.

###

Original title of the publication in Science Robotics:

"Reinforcement Learning with Artificial Microswimmers"
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 University of Aberdeen in Scotland has decided to return Benin bronze, a sculpture that was taken by British soldiers from Nigeria during colonial time. Many of the soldiers and administrators had sold the Benin objects to museums or private collectors. The bronze sculpture depicting an Oba (king) of Benin was acquired by the University in 1957 at an auction and is considered as an example of Benin Late Period Art.

An expert panel of academicians and curators and representatives of the University Court, the Hunterian Museum in the University of Glasgow and Nigerian claimants had recommended its return to Nigeria. The University of Aberdeen has become the first institution that has agreed to full repatriation from a museum of a Benin bronze. Professor George Boyne, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen has welcomed the decision of the University of Aberdeen Court.

It would not have been right to have retained an item of such great cultural importance that was acquired in such reprehensible circumstances. We therefore decided that an unconditional return is the most appropriate action we can take, and are grateful for the close collaboration with our partners in Nigeria, said Boyne.

1/ The University of Aberdeen is to return a Benin bronze, the first-ever fully repatriated to Nigeria by a museum. The University announced it would return the sculpture more than 125 years after it was looted by British forces. pic.twitter.com/ZhZlkM2vXU  University of Aberdeen (@aberdeenuni) March 25, 2021

2/ We look forward to hearing about plans for it to go on display in Nigeria. Find out more athttps://t.co/9ITAfIQjBp  University of Aberdeen (@aberdeenuni) March 25, 2021

The University has now started the arrangements for the return of the Head of an Oba, and have collaborated in organising a celebratory event to mark its return home. The Minister of Information and Culture of Nigeria Alhaji Lai Mohammad has said that the decision of the University in the release of the "priceless antiquity" is a step in the right direction. Nigerian government for the last 40 years have called for the return of such items. Several museums have been discussing the Benin bronze in their collections and have been supporting the creation of the Edo museum of West African Art in Benin City to display the returned items under the agreement by all parties. Neil Curtis, Head of Museums and Special Collections said that the University had previously for the return but the procedure had to be followed.

An ongoing review of the collections identified the Head of an Oba as having been acquired in a way that we now consider to have been extremely immoral, so we took a proactive approach to identify the appropriate people to discuss what to do

Benin City was the centre of a powerful and long-lasting kingdom in West Africa of the Edo people, known for its tradition of high-quality metal in the 17th century. British soldiers in Nigeria had taken the Benin bronze during the 19th-century European colonial expansion. The expansion of British trade and colonial control in the later 19th century brought it into conflict with the Kingdom of Benin. The city was attacked by British forces in 1897 with many people in the kingdom getting killed. The royal palace was burned and looted with the King being exiled.

(Image Credits: Unsplash)
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree on the implementation of the National Security and Defense Council decision on the state of affairs in the subsoil use, dated March 19, 2021.

Relevant decree No. 122/2021 was published on the president's website.

"To put into effect the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine decision on the state of affairs in the subsoil use, dated March 19, 2021," the president said in the document.

It notes that control over the implementation of the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, introduced by the decree, must be entrusted to Secretary of the NSDC Oleksiy Danilov.

According to the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine dated March 19, sanctions are imposed on 19 legal entities indefinitely.

We are talking about Novo-Dykanska area (Geo Connect LLC), Popasniansko-Samarska (Adgein Macro LLC), Pivnichno-Pereschepynska (Global Geo Invest LLC), Vilshanska (Trans Set Geo LLC), Pivdenno-Svystunkovska (Eco Gas Alliance LLC), Pivdenno-Zinkivska (Epival Energy LLC), Birkovsko-Yukhnovska (Geo Post LLC), Flerovsko-Yuvileina (Yunolit Oil LLC), Runovschynska (Profi Naft LLC), Boyarsko-Chapaivska (Geo Target LLC), Druzhyninska (Nadra Pride LLC), Hulakivska (Best Geo Tech LLC), Zuivska (Geo Stance LLC), Butovsko-Myrhorodska (Nadra West Group LLC), Liutensko-Budyschanska (Geo Force Oil LLC), Pivnichno-Fedorivska (Best Oil Company LLC), Mayorovska (Nadraprostir LLC), Davydivsko-Leliukhovska (Geo Vertikal LLC) and Kliushnykivska (Info Geo Trend LLC).

In turn, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, together with the State Security Service of Ukraine and the National Bank of Ukraine, was instructed to ensure the implementation and monitoring of the effectiveness of the sanctions.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine was instructed to inform the competent authorities of the European Union, the United States and other states about the application of the sanctions and to raise before them the issue of introducing similar restrictive measures.

Control over the implementation of the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, put into effect by the presidential decree, is entrusted to the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.

The decree comes into force on the day of its publication.
Armenian acting minister: EU allocated EUR 68,700,000 to Armenia for budget support in 2020

Armenia Finance Ministry: MFA's budget grew by AMD 1,600,000,000 in 2020

Bodies and remains of Armenian soldiers are kept in morgue in Armenia's Martuni

White House confirms Biden-Erdogan meeting in Brussels

Armenia acting MOD touches upon priority directions for development of Armed Forces

Diaspora Armenian writer, publicist Toros Toranian dies

2 Armenian soldiers injured in scuffle with Azerbaijan, Armenian POW is hospitalized, Jun. 3 digest

Wedding held in Armenia's Shurnukh for first time since the war ended

EEU member states to finish preparing for negotiations over free trade zone in Iran in late June

Armenia Central Bank: Economic downfall in 2020 was due to decline in service and construction sectors

Armenia legislature adopts several bills in first reading

Armenia President meets with Nursultan Nazarbayev

Dejavu: Armenia ruling party distributes money for votes at Yerevan district election office

Chief Advisor to Karabakh President sacked

Russian MFA: Works are carried out to settle situation around Karabakh every day

Armenia opposition MP sounds alarm about Baku fabricating criminal cases against Armenian prisoners

Armenia acting health minister: I have apologized, I am not going to resign

Helga Schmid meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Armenia's deputy foreign ministers resigned or have heavy workload?

Dollar goes down in Armenia

Armenia Elections Oversight Committee reports Iranian citizenship of ruling party's MP candidate

Acting deputy minister: Only 17 of 711 Iran-Armenia power transmission line towers were installed by 2017

Armenia Parliament Council holding session

Armenia to host CSTO "Thunder-2021" military exercises

NYT: Chinese hackers launch cyberattack on New York city transportation authority

Armenia President to Kazakhstan counterpart: I would like to see much deeper cooperation between our countries

Armenia citizens shut down Etchmiadzin-Ashtarak road, complaining about lack of irrigation water

Armenia independent MP: Foreign minister and his deputies don't want to take part in treacherous acts

Armenia to get $11mn loan, 350,000 grant for agriculture

WHO worries about worsening mental health worldwide amid pandemic

Armenia health ministry on improper handling of Artsakh war victims bodies: There is no justification

Armenia bloc election foundation already in operation

Russia ambassador to Armenia paying working visit to Syunik Province (PHOTOS)

China pledges to step up resistance to foreign interference in Hong Kong

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: There can be no talk of corridor for Azerbaijan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on incumbent authorities: Wherever they flee, we will bring them by the feet

President: Impossible to ensure peace in region or stay in Artsakh without Russia army joint efforts

China Daily: Dispatch from Makit: Thriving in the desert

Karabakh President: We will never put up with being part of Azerbaijan, it is ruled out

Armenia MFA information department chief: All deputy FMs carrying out their duties

Ardshinbank invited children to the cinema on International Childrens Day

Armenia judiciary to have 10 more judges

Armenia acting premier: We had recorded 40% increase in tax revenues according to 2019 results

Armenia acting PM on Artsakh war casualties bodies: We have 50 remains in which case DNA was not separated

Azerbaijan authorities plan to "squeeze" everything from "terrorist show" related to Armenian captives

Ameriabank announces a contest for bank card design

108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia parliament convenes special session

Armenia interim government holding Cabinet meeting

Catholicos of All Armenians heads for Syunik Province, Artsakh

World oil prices going up

Iran loses right to vote in UN General Assembly

Newspaper: Armenia authorities come up with new way of punishing unwanted characters

Newspaper: Russia army Southern Military District deputy commander to arrive in Yerevan Thursday

Lebanese Armenian man taken prisoner by Azerbaijan is hospitalized

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Are we getting under the burden? Then lets get under to the end

Armenia acting health minister on keeping fallen soldiers bodies in bags: What else should they be kept in?

Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation

Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow

2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik

Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center

"Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans

Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel

Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna

Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations

US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies

Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week

Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection

Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential

Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement

Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues

Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo

Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation

NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident

Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices

Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over

Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest

Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia

Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia

Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels

Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters

Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021

Dollar is stable in Armenia

Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector

Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out

Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe

Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia

Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border

Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor

Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue

Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia

Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this

Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia
Fans of Rammstein have been left disappointed after the industrial metal band axed their Belfast gig.

The German six-piece, renowned for theatrical shows and use of pyrotechnics, postponed their UK and European tour this summer for a second time in response to Covid.

While the band rescheduled the rest of their stadium performances back to summer next year, their debut Belfast gig at Boucher Road Playing Fields will not go ahead.

A statement on the bands website read: "Due to the expected ongoing event bans and restrictions related to Covid-19, Rammstein are unfortunately forced to postpone the planned European stadium tour again.

"The band and everyone involved are very disappointed. Given the lack of planning reliability for holding events of this size, this step is unavoidable.

"The concerts are rescheduled to 2022. Unfortunately, some minor changes had to be made and the show in Belfast will be cancelled entirely. Tickets for Belfast will be refunded. All other tickets remain valid."

Expand Close The German six-piece postponed their UK and European tour this summer for a second time in response to Covid (Image: Twitter/Rammstein) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp The German six-piece postponed their UK and European tour this summer for a second time in response to Covid (Image: Twitter/Rammstein)

Rammstein fan Ben Ritchie, from Moneymore, missed a show the band played in Dublin in 2012, so he was excited about the prospect of a Belfast concert.

"I got into them after their Dublin gig, so I didnt get to see them," he added.

"I couldnt quite believe that they were going to stage a show in Belfast.

"From the footage Ive seen, their gigs are on a different level from other bands. I was really looking forward to seeing them.

"I believe there have been a few venue changes in the new itinerary, but its really disappointing they cant fit Belfast in.

"The only time Ive been this gutted about a concert cancellation was when Prince pulled out of his Croke Park gig.

"Maybe its down to travel restrictions or something to do with Brexit, or perhaps they cancelled because their Belfast show was the only one that didnt sell out. Its hard to know.

"In normal circumstances, Id go for a plan B and head to another country to see them, but thats too much of gamble these days in case the new dates dont get the go-ahead either."

John Mulgrew, a Rammstein fan from Belfast, said it was a shame the gig had been axed.

"I was surprised when I heard they were coming here. That was such big news," he added.

"It would have been so refreshing and convenient to see that kind of show right on your own doorstep, so its a shame that Belfasts off the cards, especially when theyre playing Coventry and Cardiff."

Ciaran Campbell, a music promoter and Rammstein fan from Dungannon, was also due to attend the show.

He said the decision to cancel may have been down to logistical reasons. "Maybe it made sense to them to stick to Cardiff and Coventry, rather than have to travel here as well," he explained.

"Its a lot easier to travel between those two places. Thats the unfortunate side of us living on an island.

"It is disappointing for sure. I was looking forward to a day out with friends. It wouldve been interesting to see them play live."

Paddy Wilson, from Belfast, previously saw Rammstein play in Dublin. After the outbreak of the pandemic, he doubted the Belfast show would go ahead.

"A Rammstein gig is a sight to behold  they put on such a theatrical show," he said.

"Looking at things logically with everything around Covid, I wasnt really expecting the show to go ahead. I didnt have high hopes of seeing them this year.

"I cant see Brexit being a factor in the decision to cancel and not reschedule.

"Given that weve one foot in and one out, and that the rest of the tour is taking place in the EU, it wouldve been easier to organise a gig here than in Coventry or Cardiff.

"Maybe it came down to financial reasons. A larger population like Cardiff is easier to sell out.

"If I do decide to get on an aeroplane to see them, Ill go somewhere in Germany or France, not Coventry or Cardiff."
Fianna Fail Senator Erin McGreehan has welcomed the Governments approval of the Climate Action Bill putting Ireland on the path to net-zero emissions by 2050

The Government approved the final text of legislation to set Ireland on the path to net- Zero emissions no later than 2050, and to a 51% reduction in emissions by the end of this decade.

The Bill will also provide the framework for Ireland to meet its international and EU climate commitments and to become a leader rather than a laggard in addressing climate change.

The Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill, which is a key commitment in the Programme for Government, will now progress through the Houses of the Oireachtas as priority legislation.

Senator McGreehan commented: This is a long-awaited bill and I am very glad to see it getting to this point. However, the most important thing is action and I look forward to seeing the changes that this bill will make to our lives.

One area that does concern me is that we must not leave anyone behind. Costs to a family to become carbon neutral is huge. The lower waged or unwaged must not be disadvantaged by our quest for a sustainable future.

Carbon neutrality and environmental sustainability must not be only for the well-off creating a situation where we impoverish people.

As part of the approval of the Climate Action Plan, the Government has also launched the Climate Action Plan Public Consultation.

This process is being used to develop Irelands next Climate Action Plan and will support the update of the Climate Action Plan 2019 leading to a wide ranging and more in-depth citizen, community and sectoral discussion.

The aim of this dialogue is to give the public an opportunity to engage constructively with the development of the Climate Action Plan 2021.

There are three stages to this process including a broad online conversation, an in-depth citizen conversation and local level conversations that will be facilitated and hosted by Public Participation Networks (PPNs).

These local level conversations will include engagement with community and voluntary representatives to inform the delivery of a Climate Action Fund to support climate related initiatives at a local level.

In highlighting the importance of the PPNs, Senator McGreehan said: This consultation process is very important as Climate Change and our response to it in the form of the Climate Action Plan will affect many aspects of life in Ireland, from how we generate energy, how we move from A to B and how we shop.

I am very glad that the PPNs are involved because they are realising one of their key functions which is bringing valuable on-the-ground, local experience and expertise into national policy-making.
Hagerstown Housing Authority closes in on end of McCleary Hill project

After objections from neighbors, the Hagerstown Housing Authority's McCleary Hill project is done its first phase. Officials held an open house.


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.
Laurence Fox, the actor who is running as the anti-lockdown candidate for London Mayor, is taking legal advice after police warned him his campaigning may be 'breaking Covid rules', MailOnline can reveal.

The star of ITV series Lewis has hit out at Scotland Yard after two Metropolitan Police officers confronted him on his doorstep in Lambeth, south London yesterday and told him to be mindful of current lockdown laws.

In a video of the exchange shared by Mr Fox on Twitter, the police said he had been reported for breaking rules while campaigning. However, they admitted that they had 'no evidence per se' to support the complaint.

Mr Fox, who launched the anti-woke Reclaim party to fight the 'culture wars' slammed the Met's 'mild intimidation' and has revealed he is taking legal advice.

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, the actor accused the force of investigating a 'non-crime' and said he has 'lots of questions' for Scotland Yard.

'I actually felt quite sorry for the police officer I filmed,' Mr Fox told this publication. 'He clearly didn't know why he was there. No one did.

'The police have been put in an impossible position, enforcing these sorts of rules and investigating non-crimes reported by anonymous snitches.

'I am in the process of consulting legal advice on the incident. We have lots of questions for the Met over what happened and why.'

Mr Fox called the incident 'a very worrying thing in a democratic society'. He added: 'We do not live in North Korea or China. We live in Great Britain.'

Laurence Fox is seen attending an anti-lockdown rally in Hyde Park, London on March 20, 2021

Mr Fox captioned the post: 'Bit of mild intimidation to start the day from the boys in blue'

The officer (pictured) said Mr Fox was reported for 'breaking Covid rules' in his campaigning - but said they had no 'evidence of that per se at the moment'

The actor was dropped by his agent after he defended the British Press against charges of racism against Meghan Markle on Question Time last year.

'I'm quite used to being intimidated, but that's not my concern,' he said. 'I don't want anybody in London or the UK to be investigated for non-crimes.'

A spokesperson for the Met said: 'On Wednesday, 24 March a report was made to the Met alleging a breach of Covid regulations by an individual.

'As a result of the information, at about 11:30hrs that same day officers attended an address in Lambeth, SW8. Officers spoke to a man at the location and gave advice about the Covid regulations. No offences were disclosed.'

In a video filmed by Mr Fox and uploaded to Twitter yesterday, police told the former actor that he was reported for 'breaking Covid rules' while campaigning to be Mayor of London - but said they had no 'evidence of that per se'.

The officer explained that while door-to-door leafleting was allowed after the lockdown rules relaxed on March 8, Mr Fox was reportedly 'meeting big groups in London and running your campaign that way'.

But Mr Fox hit back, saying the officer shouldn't have turned up if he didn't have evidence, especially while 'actual crime is off the charts'.

In the clip, one of the officers says: 'We've just had a report basically of someone reporting you to us about breaking Covid rules about your campaigning for the Mayoral election'

Mr Fox is seen attending an anti-lockdown rally in Hyde Park, London on March 20, 2021. The actor is fighting to become the next mayor of London

He captioned the post: 'Bit of mild intimidation to start the day from the boys in blue. ''We have no evidence but...' Stop right there.

'Then why are you knocking on my door? Meanwhile actual crime is off the charts. You're just making me more determined to reclaim our freedom.'

Earlier this month, Mr Fox announced his bid to stand against Sadiq Khan in the mayoral elections on May 6. He will campaign to end lockdown that same month.

Currently, the last remaining lockdown rules in England are set to be lifted by June 21 under Boris Johnson's roadmap out, but this is subject to change.

Mr Fox's views on lifting lockdown come in stark contrast to that of Mr Khan, who previously urged the Prime Minister to ignore 'shouting and hectoring' from Tory backbenchers and reject calls for a swift easing of national curbs.

In the clip, one of the police officers tells Mr Fox: 'We've just had a report basically of somebody reporting you to us about breaking Covid rules about your campaigning for the Mayoral election.

'Apparently, he's saying that the rules were relaxed on March 8 for door-to-door canvassing but you've been apparently meeting big groups in London and running your campaign that way.

'We haven't got any evidence of that per se at the moment but we wanted to sort of let you know to be mindful about what is being reported.

'What you're doing is obviously quite in the headlines at the moment. And yeah sort of just to let you know that it has been reported and just to sort of be mindful that the rules are changing on a fairly regular basis and to sort of keep yourself up to date with what is the current rule before you do anything, go out and meet anybody.'

Announcing his bid for London Mayor this month, Mr Fox told The Telegraph: 'I am standing for London Mayor. With almost all older and vulnerable people having got their jab, I want the lockdown lifted straight away.'

Mr Fox, the actor who is running as the anti-lockdown candidate for London Mayor, is seeking legal advice after police warned him his campaigning may be 'breaking Covid rules'

Mr Fox first shot to prominence in January 2020 thanks to an appearance as a panelist on BBC1's Question Time. During the programme, he disputed the claim that the Duchess of Sussex had been treated in a 'racist' way by the British press

He added that, despite the Government saying vaccines are working with hospitalisations and deaths falling, people are still being told they cannot get back to normal until mid-summer at the earliest.

Mr Fox's campaign will be completely funded by one donation from ex-Tory donor Jeremy Hosking, who ranked number 351 in the Sunday Times' 2019 Rich List.

The financier spent a chunk of his 375million fortune funding the Leave campaign.

Mr Fox - who was, as he says, 'part of a safe, arty, Leftie world earning a s***load of money from Netflix' - voted to Remain.

He claims the Brexiteer Hosking has said to him: 'It's all right, darling, I forgive you.'

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Mr Fox blasted the 'censorious mob' - claiming 'woke' attitudes are a 'burgeoning religion with no repentance and no forgiveness'.

'I am quite Leftie, but Right or Left doesn't matter any more,' he added. 'We're entering a new area of politics. It's authoritarian or anti-authoritarian. That's it.

'You're either with or against this censorious mob who go: 'No, you can't say that, that's wrong. It's chest-feeding not breastfeeding. Tear down all the statues.'

'It's a burgeoning religion with no repentance and no forgiveness. I never understood before how Nazi Germany could happen. Now I do. It makes me want to resist with every single ounce of my being.'

Mr Fox first shot to prominence in January 2020 thanks to an appearance as a panelist on BBC1's Question Time.

During the programme, he disputed the claim that the Duchess of Sussex had been treated in a 'racist' way by the British press.

Mr Fox was also involved in a heated debate with academic and ethnicity lecturer Rachel Boyle after she called him 'a white privileged male'. He replied by accusing Ms Boyle, an academic at Edge Hill University on Merseyside, of 'being racist'.

As the row continued the following day he quoted Martin Luther King's 1963 'I have a dream' speech about living in a nation where children 'will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character'.

The appearance on Question Time ended his 22-year acting career.

He said: 'The funniest thing is, I'll have an actor or director on Twitter going: 'Laurence Fox is despicable. How appalling. How can he? Right-wing fascist...' Then I'll get a private message going: 'Love you mate. I just had to do that.' '
[March 25, 2021] Video Technology Company, OneDay, Named Best Senior Technology by Senior Resource Guide's Readers' Choice Awards

DALLAS, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Texas-based, OneDay , a technology company best-known for video storytelling within senior living communities, was awarded Best Senior Technology (app or device) by the Senior Resource Guide's annual Readers' Choice Awards for the greater Austin area. In its sixth year, Senior Resource Guide's annual Readers' Choice Awards underscored the critical role of exceptional businesses and people in the senior care industr. OneDay was named a leader in technology that is making an impact for seniors, caregivers, and their families by providing them with an easy, meaningful way to connect.



"The pandemic and isolation of so many seniors around the world this past year further highlighted the need for our unique storytelling platform. We're proud to have kept families connected and seniors uplifted in the Austin area and across the country," said Clint Lee, Co-founder and CEO for OneDay. "Being recognized as the best senior living technology in Senior Resource Guide's annual Readers' Choice Award for the Austin area is an incredible honor, and we will continue our work to support the senior living industry in every way possible."





OneDay's mission is to spread the power of stories by building best-in-class video platforms. The senior living storytelling platform features prompted questions about life experiences, while staff at senior living communities easily record the high-quality video to share with family members. OneDay's tools benefit their partner communities by providing authentic, professional-quality videos to share with prospective residents as well as increase occupancy through more meaningful connections and personalized outreach for marketing and sales teams. In 2020 alone, the company increased its customer base by more than 150 percent, partnering with nearly 5,000 senior living communities across the country. "This past year has challenged all technology companies to innovate in ways that provide greater connection points for users," said Edmund Danyal, Chief Technology Officer for OneDay. "We've been intentional in creating OneDay as a technology platform that addresses the evolving needs of seniors and senior living communities and also one that touches lives by connecting people through the resident stories it captures  leaving no story untold." For more information on OneDay, please visit https://www.oneday.com . View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/video-technology-company-oneday-named-best-senior-technology-by-senior-resource-guides-readers-choice-awards-301255705.html SOURCE OneDay

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th March, 2021) Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania imposed travel bans on 118 Belarusian officials over their alleged role in oppression of the pro-democracy movement, Estonian Foreign Minister Eva-Maria Liimets said on Thursday.

"In solidarity with Belarus people ... [Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania] today imposed travel bans on additional 118 persons from regime's law enforcement and justice sectors, responsible for the systematic oppression of the pro-democracy movement," Liimets wrote on Twitter.
Northern Ireland leaders have said they will consult with medical advisers over plans to reopen society in light of the slower vaccine rollout in the Republic.

The vaccination programme in Northern Ireland passed 800,000 doses this week, around 45% of the population.

That compares with around 13.2% who have been vaccinated in the South, where the rollout has been slower and the population is much larger.

This has led to concerns over travel between the two jurisdictions if Northern Ireland begins to lift restrictions before a majority of people in the Republic have been inoculated.

Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster said: "Well this is something we will take advice from our medical advisers on.

Read More

"He has been very clear in the past that if people without the vaccine come into contact with people who have the vaccine and they have Covid-19, then it can actually damage the efficacy of the vaccine.

"So we need to be very clear as to what happens when most of our population is vaccinated, if it is still the case that the Republic of Ireland is further behind.

"We will of course be looking at these issues as they come before us."

Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill said: "Clearly, the 26 counties are further behind in terms of the vaccine but it's not a competition. We need to support each other.

"We need to work together, and we need to share our vaccines where we can, and we need to just continually work together to fight this pandemic across these islands.

"I think the more co-operation we can have, the more successful we'll be and the quicker we'll get to the other side of it."

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland is set to adopt the UK's coronavirus red list of countries, Ms Foster said.

Brazil and South Africa are on the current red list of countries from which entry to the UK is banned.

The Stormont Executive also heard that work is ongoing on hotel quarantine plans for travellers arriving from abroad.

There are currently no flights landing in Northern Ireland from outside the UK.

Mrs Foster welcomed "improvements across all indicators", in terms of Covid-19.

The R-rate for cases of the virus is currently estimated at between 0.75 and 0.95.

"I'm heartened to see our shared efforts are working because that means that more lives are being saved," she said.

Ms O'Neill welcomed a second consecutive day of no further coronavirus deaths as a "welcome sign we are continuing to move in the right direction".

Ms O'Neill said international travel was discussed in some detail by the Executive.

"This is a fundamental concern for us all as we seek to manage the risks that are arising from the new variants and in line with the scientific and medical advice, we have agreed the introduction of managed isolation and hotel accommodation on return from red list countries for a period of 10 days to be pre-booked before arrival here," she said.

"This will be kept under review and our arrangements for managed hotel isolation will be flexible to enable a broader approach on international travel to be put in place should the need arise."

Irelands long-awaited hotel quarantine regime begins on Friday, although only travellers from a list of specified countries, and those without a negative PCR test, have to quarantine in a hotel.
HALIFAX - Nova Scotia Finance Minister Labi Kousoulis tabled the 2021-22 Nova Scotia budget Thursday. Here are some highlights.

Finance Minister Labi Kousoulis heads to the legislature to table the Nova Scotia budget in Halifax on Thursday, March 25, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

HALIFAX - Nova Scotia Finance Minister Labi Kousoulis tabled the 2021-22 Nova Scotia budget Thursday. Here are some highlights.

- A deficit of $584.9 million is projected on a spending program of $12.5 billion, with total debt hitting $17.97 billion and a goal of returning to balance in four years.

- The health budget is growing overall by $510 million to reach $5.3 billion, almost an 11 per cent increase over last year's estimate, with over half of that from added COVID-19 related expenses.

- The mental health budget will be the largest in the province's history at $336.5 million, including a $12.3-million increase for new programming.

- There is almost $350 million for COVID-19 expenses, ranging from added personal protective equipment to costs of setting up vaccination clinics.

- The budget for long-term care and home care has increased to over $1 billion, with $22.6 million added to increase the number of care assistants, expand access to outside health professionals and provide primary care in nursing homes.

- There is $8.6 million to replace and renovate seven nursing homes and to add 230 beds by 2025, and $6 million to support the sector with COVID-19 expenses and almost $4 million to make up for lost revenues during the pandemic.

- The document notes the province's gross domestic product shrank by four per cent last year in nominal GDP, and revenues were $252.6 million lower than originally planned, while expenses soared by close to $550 million.

- The budget includes the capital plan, which invests $1.17 billion in roads, schools, health-care facilities and other public infrastructure.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2021.
Pelosis Capitol Police Bill Gaslights America

Commentary

Democrats have solidified their effort to act as an Orwellian Ministry of Truth with the passage of Speaker Nancy Pelosis H.R. 1085 in the House of Representatives. This bill rewrites the historical facts from Jan. 6 under the guise of honoring the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) who bravely protect Congress.

Pelosis goal, of course, isnt to show respect and admiration to the Capitol Policewhich would be particularly ironic coming from the defund the police partybut to perpetuate a false narrative that 74-plus million Americans are dangerous racists and insurrectionists who have no part in civilized society.

H.R. 1085 states its purpose as to award three congressional gold medals to the United States Capitol Police and those who protected the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

That certainly sounds innocent enough. However, the language in the bill editorializes in its findings Pelosis deliberately politicized view of what happened that day, instead of doing what a bill put before members of Congress for a vote to recognize the USCP presumably would do, which is to recount the many meritorious acts of our brave and devoted officers.

When Pelosis bill speaks of a mob of insurrectionists, she ascribes both a mental state and a crime to many Americans who merely showed up to a rally to protest the blatant corruption theyve witnessed in this nations electoral system.

To illustrate how hyperbolic and outright deceptive Pelosis choice of words is here, the internets own Free Dictionary defines insurrectionist as a person who takes part in an armed rebellion against the constituted authority, which is another way of saying the government.

These are the words that Pelosi has chosen to use to accuse her fellow Americans of the crime of armed insurrection. As any first-year law student can tell you, publicly accusing someone of a crime is actionable as libel or slander in a court of law.

The facts as we know them, including testimony before the U.S. Senate from an FBI counterterrorism official, reveals that not a single individual who entered the building that day was carrying a firearm, and as a result, none were arrested and charged with a firearms offense.

Because of my high regard for the Capitol Police, some of whom I personally know and hold in great esteem, I wanted to recognize their valor without lending credence to these deliberate falsehoods. Had I voted in favor of the Speakers language, I would have affirmed her narrative.

It is for this reason that my colleagues and I removed her divisive language and filed that bill to honor our Capitol Police, so that every member of Congress could vote on a non-politicized bill in good conscience.

As to be expected, the left and the media set out to attack my colleagues and me for voting against Pelosis narrative, which engaged in the ultimate gaslighting of the American people.

For months, our country was under violent siege by radical leftists from Antifa and the Black Lives Matter movement. Cities were burned, businesses were looted, and livelihoods were destroyed.

A disturbing report from the Major Cities Chiefs Association revealed that between May 25 and July 31, 2020, 8,700 protests took place across the country. Of those, 574 of them turned into riots in which mass looting and destruction occurred.

At least 2,000 police officers were injured, multiple police precincts were set on fire, hundreds of police cars were damaged, 2,385 incidents of looting occurred, and 624 arsons were reported.

At least 25 Americans were killed, including a federal law enforcement officer and a retired police chief. The damage to property during the riots has been estimated to cost between $1 billion and $2 billion.

What did Democrats do while this was occurring?

Our now-Vice President Kamala Harris urged her followers on Twitter to bail out the rioters. This same bail fund helped free one rioter twice. Since then, he is facing three new felony counts of fifth-degree possession of a controlled substance while in possession of a firearm for allegedly having marijuana, cocaine, and psilocyn mushrooms.

When mobs were destroying city property, Pelosi casually responded that people will do what they do. Radical leftist lawmakers introduced a bill to defund the police.

Democrats showed no concern for the thousands of innocent lives that were destroyed due to the riots over the summer. We certainly didnt hear them condemn the violence against the thousands of police officers that took place during these mostly peaceful protests.

Unlike what we now see at the Capitol fortress in Washington, there were no calls from the left for the National Guard to deploy to these cities and install fencing to protect its residents. To the contrary, when President Donald Trump sent DHS officers to Portland, Oregon, after weeks of unrest, Pelosi called them stormtroopers and Trumps secret police.

Many Americans, and I suspect many law enforcement officers, see right through the Democrats recent, fraudulent metamorphosis into the party of law and order.

As someone who has spent a majority of my adult life working for justice, law and order with an abiding respect for honorable, self-sacrificing law officers, I call upon Congress to set aside its self-serving agenda in this time of great peril and to bring forth responsible legislation in the future, not continue down this path of divisiveness.

As members of Congress, we owe it to those who elected us to hold sacred our vows and our duties as Americas lawmakers.

Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert represents Texass 1st Congressional District.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Prime Minister Florin Citu on Thursday stated, after discussions with representatives of religious cults, that the solution the authorities have in mind at this point is to adjust the movement restrictions to allow believers to physically participate in the Resurrection Service or the religious services of their respective religious cults, provided that the health safety rules are observed.

"Today we had an extremely useful meeting with the representatives of the religious cults in Romania. We discussed solutions so that, this year, every believer who welcomes in the next period the Easter Holidays or other religious rituals specific to the cult he/she belongs to be able to safely participate to such religious services or rituals. We have listened with all our openness to the proposals of the representatives of each of the cults regarding the establishment of derogations from the current movement restrictions at night, strictly for these holidays, so that the believers can physically participate in the Resurrection Service or in the similar rituals of their respective religious cults, provided that the health safety rules are observed," Citu wrote on Facebook.

The PM said he called on representatives of religious cults to support the information campaign on COVID-19 vaccination among believers.According to him, the discussions also focused on the changes that would be made to the current rules for burying people who died due to SARS-CoV-2 infection.The Prime Minister also said that the Government, at its Thursday's meeting, showed that, through "dialogue and partnership" between the public authorities and the religious cults, the decisions that are being taken to limit the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus meet both public health protection needs as well as the religious ones of the faithful.
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.
Swift Current Christian Taekwondo has six new black belts in their midst, after a rigorous testing process on March 20. From left to right: Ethan Klassen (1st degree), Logan, Steve and Callie Ebner (2nd degree), Carrie Voysey (3rd degree) and Carlos Marquez Peralta (1st degree).
Minister of Defense of Ukraine Andrii Taran thanked the Kingdom of Denmark for the consultative and advisory assistance provided to the ministry and the Ukrainian army in fulfilling the tasks of defense reform.

This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Defense.

"On March 24, Minister of Defense of Ukraine Andrii Taran met with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Denmark to Ukraine Ole Egberg Mikkelsen," the report reads.

The event was also attended by Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine for European Integration Anatoliy Petrenko and Defense Attache at the Embassy of the Kingdom of Denmark in Ukraine, Captain Felix Ebbestad.

Taran informed the representatives of the Danish Embassy about the ambitious reform program of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. In this process, according to the minister, one of the important factors is the establishment of mechanisms for democratic civilian control over the military sector, the implementation of which will make the irreversible transformation of the domestic defense sector in line with the best practices of NATO member states.

The minister stressed that the NATO Enhanced Opportunities Partner status granted to Ukraine in June last year provides for the introduction of new mechanisms for cooperation with both NATO and its member states.

In turn, Ole Egberg Mikkelsen reaffirmed the Kingdom of Denmark's policy of supporting Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and expressed support for Ukraine's efforts to strengthen the country's defense capabilities, adopt Euro-Atlantic approaches and standards, and implement them in the Armed Forces.

The parties discussed the state and prospects for the development of bilateral defense cooperation, in particular, in the military and military-technical spheres, as well as the prospects for its further deepening between the states.

Taran thanked the Danish partners for the consultative and advisory assistance provided to the ministry and the Ukrainian army by the Kingdom of Denmark in carrying out the tasks of defense reform and strengthening the institutional capacity of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. He commended the level of training of servicemen and units by instructors of the Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Denmark as part of the ORBITAL and UNIFIER multinational training missions in Ukraine.

The minister also expressed his readiness to hold a video conference with Minister of Defense of Denmark Trine Bramsen in the near future, during which the parties will be able to discuss in detail areas of mutually beneficial cooperation.

ish
Funan Qumbi and Funan Idha in Marsabit county, about 650 kilometres from Nairobi, have turned into ghost towns.

The desolate landscape on the Turbi and Sololo wards border is where the long-standing animosity between the Gabra and Borana communities is playing out.

Except for the scouts watching out on anyone approaching, homes and classrooms in Funan Qumbi and Funan Idha are deserted.

The trust among neighbours is lost and continues to grow worse, owing to recent killings and ethnic clashes, the latest in the last two months.

Countless lives

Livestock theft has been reported and fierce clashes over pasture and watering points cost countless lives.

A person was killed in a shoot-out as a group attempted to recover more than 100 cattle stolen in Funan Qumbi on January 28.

Another raid had taken place two weeks before that in Funan Idha on January 14. More than 1,000 cattle were stolen and a villager killed.

The next day, another attack occurred at Halakhe Yaya dam in Saku, leading to the death of two herders and theft of more than 500 animals.

The deadly attacks are the reason residents of the two centres have sought refuge elsewhere.

This region of Turbi is the theatre of the worst chapter in the incessant conflicts between the two Oromo sub-tribes.

It was the staging ground for a bloodbath 15 years ago.

On the morning of July 12, 2005, at least 56 people, including 21 children, were killed in an attack believed to have been sparked by competition for water and pasture.

It became known as the Turbi Massacre.

More than a decade and a half and countless peace meetings later, the killings and the hatred continue.

However, the catalyst has changed from competition for grass and water to greed for power and the privileges and money that come with it.

For the Oromo people who occupy southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya, the Gabra and Borana are brothers.

However, the appetite for political power and control of resources has turned these two Oromo sub-communities into sworn enemies.

"The Gabra and Borana speak the same language, but they fight like the worst of enemies," Sololo Deputy County Commissioner Dennis Kyeti said recently.

Historically, the conflict between the two pastoralist communities was over pasture and water. However, the dynamics have shifted to the control of a Sh6 billion annual fund.

Both sides want to run the county government of Marsabit and have the power to direct resources towards their people.

"Devolution was expected to end the fighting. All communities were to unite and decide on how to share the resources and improve livelihoods. Unfortunately, that is not the case here," Mr Kyeti said.

With the historical injustices not addressed and "our man" syndrome taking root, the mistrust between these communities is growing by the day.

With the country promulgating a new Constitution on August 27, 2010 and devolution replacing the old order in 2013, Ukur Yatani -- a Gabra -- was elected first governor of Marsabit county. He lost in the re-election bid to Mr Mohamud Ali -- a Borana -- in 2017.

He was made a Labour Cabinet Secretary before taking over the finance docket from suspended Henry Rotich.

Same accusations

During his five-year tenure as Marsabit governor, the Borana accused Mr Yatani of nepotism and favouritism in the execution of development projects. The tables turned in 2017, with the Gabra trading the same accusations against Mr Ali.

The endless accusations by the two communities against each has left the government at a crossroads.

Multiple efforts to end the violence and killings have borne little or no fruit.

At the same time, administrative boundary disputes and community claims over land abound.

The Gabra and the Borana have claimed and attempted to take, sometimes forcibly, land they insist is historically theirs.

The killing of 11 Gabra elders in Forole two years ago, for instance, is said to have been preceded by a tussle for community land.

The Gabra said the land is sacred, opposing the settlement of the Borana on it.

The elders met their deaths in May 2019 when they were duped into attending a meeting to end the long-standing dispute.

Proliferation of small arms has made the feud even more deadly, with leaders accused of buying guns for militia.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Legal Affairs Conflict By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

The porous Kenya-South Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia and Kenya-Somalia borders has made it impossible to stop firearms from finding their way into the country.

Even more worrying, the warring parties often ask for reinforcements from their kinsmen in Ethiopia, with each building militias.

Local politicians and community leaders are said to be behind the smuggling of arms from neighbouring countries.

As of September last year, there were more than 100,000 illegal firearms in the hands of civilians in the region, according to the National Cohesion and Integration Commission.

Ethnic profiling and the thirst for revenge are emerging to be another serious problem.

Vicious cycle

A community will seek revenge on another over a crime that occurred far away.

"If one person is killed in Sololo today, you are likely to hear of a revenge attack in a village hundreds of kilometres away. This vicious cycle makes it very difficult to tame the violence," the deputy county commissioner 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.
A grave-digger who killed his colleague during a night fight beside a grave they were digging in Ungunja, Siaya County, has been set free by the Court of Appeal following a successful appeal.

Caroly Owino Oluoch was set free after convincing the appellate judges that a high judge who handed him a 10-year jail term for manslaughter erred in law.

Oluoch had argued that Justice James Makau failed to put into consideration various mitigating factors thus meting out an excessive sentence.

The convict also accused the judge of failing to address his mind to emerging jurisprudence on sentencing for the offence of manslaughter exercising his discretion wrongly for an excessive sentence in the circumstances of the case.

The appellate judges even pointed out that the High court colleague failed to put into consideration the probation report and Oluoch's mitigation and set Oluoch free unconditionally.

Oluoch had submitted that Makau ignored various mitigating factors which would have led him to give him a lesser sentence.

These included the fact that the act happened amidst a lot of drinking meaning there was no mens rea; (intention or knowledge) and the deceased was the aggressor.

Oluoch also, through his advocate argued that Makau failed to consider that he was a first offender; and his family subsequently undertook to cater for the deceased's family.

He convinced the appellate judges Patrick Kiange, Fatuma Sichale, and Sankale Ole Kantai to find that the learned Judge misdirected himself in respect of the mitigating factors and arrived at a manifestly excessive sentence.

"Ultimately and inevitably, we find that this appeal has merit. We set aside the 10-year sentence, reducing it to time already served. We order that he be set at liberty forthwith unless he is otherwise lawfully held," they unanimously ruled.

The three said from the record, "it is disturbingly clear that the learned Judge failed to take into account and give due credit to the mitigation by the appellant's counsel and the probation report from the Probation Services".

The judges said the facts of the case show that both parties were drunk and that the deceased was the aggressor, the same is corroborated by the probation report which gave a detailed account of the events which led to the unfortunate attack.

The report described the appellant as a hardworking and honest individual who was considered to be the best mason in the community.

But the predicament of Oluoch who has been incarcerated since April 2015 and the deceased Charles Okumu Odero is an unfortunate tale of two young men who fought under influence of alcohol leading to the death of one and the incarceration of the other.

The two were among young men hired to dig a grave on April 26, 2015, which happens at night in their place and done while the diggers take alcohol, as a custom.

The deceased had accused Oluoch of making noise while drinking alcohol and a fight ensued between them before Oluoch, amazon, took a spade and hit him twice.

He was taken to a hospital before transfer to the Jaramongi Onginga Odinga Referral Hospital where he died on May 6, nine days after the assault. Oluoch turned himself in at Ungunja police station where he was arrested and charged with murder on June 3, 2015 which he denied.

The prosecution reduced the same to manslaughter on July 25 of the same year to which he pleaded guilty.

Oluoch was sentenced to serve 10 years in jail on October 6, 2016.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

But he filed an appeal despite a probation report in which his village-mates described him as a self-dependent, hardworking man who was the best mason in the area and was not a threat to anyone because he had no previous criminal records.

The judges said the trial process does not stop at convicting the accused.

"There is no doubt in our minds that sentencing is a crucial component of a trial. It is during sentencing that the court hears submissions that impact on sentencing. This necessarily means that the principle of fair trial must be accorded to the sentencing stage too.

"From the foregoing, coupled with the fact that the appellant was a first offender, swiftly and voluntarily surrendered himself to the police and pleaded guilty to the offence, we find that the 10-year sentence was excessive and highly disproportionate to his crime and the circumstances of the case," they stated.
Asserting State Control

Gun rights protestors at the Virginia state Capitol. Rob Ostermaier/TNS

Permits and Licenses

Concealed Weapons

Clearing the Path Forward

Mass shootings increased by almost 50 percent in 2020, a year in which gun violence reached its highest level in decades . A toll of 18 lives within the space of days from shootings in Atlanta and Boulder may have been an anomaly, but the mix of guns and death is not.One or more guns are in four out of 10 American households, more guns than people in the country and about 40 percent of all civilian-owned guns in the world. Unsurprisingly, when Harvard researchers analyzed the relationship between gun ownership and homicide rates in 26 high-income nations, they concluded, where guns are more available, there are more homicides.Well over 43,000 Americans died by gun violence in 2020 according to data collected by the Gun Violence Archive , more than half by suicide. A November 2020 Gallup poll found that 57 percent of Americans favor stricter gun control laws, down from 64 percent in 2019. Republican support for tighter controls has dropped steadily since 2000, from 44 percent to 22 percent, while Democratic support has risen from 61 to 85 percent.With so many guns in so many hands, setting rules for them requires considerable legislative attention, no matter what the prevailing attitudes toward possessing them might be. In the last month alone, hundreds of bills have been introduced that have something to do with the sale, ownership and use of guns.A sampling of them makes it clear that while gun violence is being discussed as a national problem, states are not moving arm in arm to restrict or monitor access to firearms.On Feb. 14, a month before the shocks of Atlanta and Boulder, President Biden commemorated the anniversary of a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., a tragedy that took the lives of 14 students and three staff members. He called for Congress to enact common sense reform (a call he repeated after the recent shootings).Following his February remarks, bills were introduced in Wyoming Florida and Georgia to assert state sovereignty over the right to bear arms. Oklahoma legislators proposed that the NRA should be encouraged to relocate to their state. SCR130 in Kentucky announced an intent to withdraw from participation in REAL ID efforts by the Department of Homeland Security, in part because compliance could infringe on Second Amendment rights. HB3047 in West Virginia, the Second Amendment Sanctuary Act, aims to prohibit state agencies and employees from enforcing any federal law or guideline that does not exist under state law. Alabama SB253 would amend the states constitution to establish that firearms, ammunition and accessories that are made and remain in the state are not subject to any federal law, including registration. The Kentucky Firearms Protection Act creates similar prohibitions, making unlawful enforcement a misdemeanor and allowing $5,000 fines, declaring an emergency which demands passage of the bill at the earliest opportunity.In Missouri, SB528 calls for the establishment of the minutemen of the state, to be called into service by the governor in a state of emergency. Any resident who is a lawful firearm owner can volunteer, and the names of those who enroll will not be disclosed. Volunteers are required to secure their own firearms, ammunition, uniforms and other supplies and would have immunity for negligent or criminal acts.Monitoring the acquisition of firearms is a base-level means of addressing public safety concerns. According to the Giffords Law Center , led by Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who was shot during a mass shooting in 2011, only 10 states require gun purchasers to obtain a permit or license before they can buy a firearm. Three require gun owners to maintain a license as long as they own a gun, and six require registration of some or all firearms. HF756 in Iowa, which the Legislature has sent to the governor to sign, would allow residents to purchase and carry guns without a permit. A permit process would exist, but not be mandatory. The Senate floor manager for the bill characterized permits as an un-American system of mistrust.However, some bills tighten gun ownership rules. Illinois HR0163 commits to passing legislation to prevent people filled with hate from acquiring weapons, though it does not outline a strategy that would make this possible. Rhode Island bill repeals portions of existing statutes that specify conditions under which those with good reason to fear an injury to person or property, or persons under 18, may obtain firearm permits. Maine LD999 requires background checks for private sales at gun shows, or private sales from advertising or marketing, with some exceptions.Some see carrying a concealed weapon as a way to stay safe and not scare others with the sight of a gun, but the prospect of hidden firearms is not reassuring to those worried about attacks in places that they expect to be safe. An Ohio bill renames the states concealed handgun license to a concealed weapons license, which encompasses all deadly weapons not otherwise prohibited by law, including firearms, ammunition, attachments and accessories. It would also allow persons age 21 or older to carry a concealed deadly weapon without a license. Iowa SB1756 repeals existing prohibitions for carrying concealed weapons on public transportation systems.In a departure from general rejection of federal oversight, a New Jersey bill urges the passage of a federal statute requiring states to recognize the validity of concealed carry permits issued in another state. Heading in the opposite direction, a Rhode Island bill would strike existing law that allows licensing authorities in cities or towns to issue concealed carry permits for handguns.Permissive rules for concealed carries could face legal challenges from gun control advocates. In 2016, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, ruled that carrying a concealed weapon is not a Constitutional right, an opinion expressed in other cases. This week, the court ruled that states could also restrict open carrying of guns without violating the Second Amendment.The ubiquity of firearms in the lives and homes of Americans would seem to offset the most divisive warnings that the right to bear arms is in danger. With more guns than people already in the country, there should be some space for discussion about policies that balance public safety and personal choice.If all or part of recent legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives manages to make it into law, its evident that many states will not recognize a federal right to oversight. Even so, the disturbing increase in deaths caused by firearms could force a reckoning of some sort. Legislators convinced that guns are not the real problem may need to do more to explain what the real trouble is, and to define a path through it to reduce gun violence.
With Australia enduring wild weather across multiple states in recent days, a survivalist has shared an important video on how to break out of a car if trapped in floodwaters.

Mike Stanek, who has more than 10,000 subscribers on YouTube, outlined how to break free of a vehicle using a headrest as a 'weapon.'

The important advice comes after a Sydney student died in his car stuck in floodwaters, despite desperately trying to break out.

Police said there was evidence 25-year-old Ayaz Younus had fought to get out, but investigators fear the water had broken the car's electrical systems - trapping him inside.

Expert Mr Stanek stressed the need to strike the glass window firmly on its side, and to always look to aim for the corners as they are not as sturdy.

In the video, the glass shatters a few seconds after Mr Stanek gets to work.

American survivalist Mike Stanek revealed how to break out of your car in case it is trapped in floodwater

A partially submerged car abandoned after floodwaters in the NSW suburb Windsor this week

Mr Younas died after electrical systems in his car failed when it became stuck in floodwaters - leaving him trapped inside

Triple zero operators were on the phone to Mr Younus, 25, for half an hour when they lost contact with him after he made several desperate attempts to escape his vehicle on Cattai Ridge Road in Glenorie, on Sydney's northern outskirts, early on Wednesday morning.

The Pakistani national was on his way for a job interview when he drove into rising water and became stuck.

Emergency crews arrived at the scene about 6.30am, and recovered the man's body at 1pm after locating a submerged Toyota Camry.

NSW Police Detective Inspector Chris Laird said the Sydney student called 000 at 6.25am and remained on the line with the operator until about 7am.

He said the roads had multiple signs and road closure warnings, yet the car was located 30 metres into flood waters and six metres under water.

There was also a padlocked gate blocking off the road, but it was submerged.

Detective Inspector Laird suggested the car's electrical system may have failed.

Vehicles travelling over a flooded causeway on the Gold Coast on Monday (pictured) as some drivers braced the floods

Police on the scene where Ayaz Younus, 25, tragically drowned on Thursday at Glenorie, in Sydney's north-west

Pakistani national Ayaz Younus was reportedly on his way to start a new contracting job in a hire car when he drove into rising water and became stuck.

'We can only speculate as to why he couldn't get out of the car and initial examination shows he made all reasonable attempts,' he told reporters.

'Also too, the remote location of the area, (we'll ask) questions about what he was doing up there... he may not have known the area as locals would.'

In Queensland, a desperate search for David Hornman, 38, ended when his body was found inside his ute in the Gold Coast Hinterland on Wednesday afternoon.

The 38-year-old father was last seen on Monday and had not contacted his family since heading to a job in the Tamborine area, where torrential rain caused flash flooding this week.

His ute was spotted earlier in the day in the flooded Canungra Creek.

Mr Hornman's desperate wife was active on social media before confirmation of the tragedy, appealing for help from anyone who saw him.

'He didn't turn up to work and hasn't been able to be reached since. His phone is turned off,' Angela Hornman posted on Facebook on Tuesday.

'I just have to know he's OK. Please tell him no matter what I LOVE HIM.'

The body of David Hornman was found in floodwaters on the Gold Coast hinterland on Wednesday

Mr Hornman's car after it was found floating in the flooded Canungra Creek on the Gold Coast

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese made statements in federal parliament commemorating the 25-year-old.

Mr Morrison labelled Wednesday a 'terribly sad day', saying he knew the area well from childhood camping trips and empathising with the man's family.

He thanked NSW emergency services for their work.

'We have seen so much over the course of the past year and more as this country has battled so many things - floods, fires, viruses, drought and now these floods again,' Morrison said on Wednesday.

'Now this family will get this news and they will grieve.

'Around them, activity will occur as the flood waters recede and the clean up begins, but their house will be dark and their grief will be great.'

Treacherous rivers around flood-stricken NSW will remain swollen into the weekend - but are unlikely to rise further as weather conditions ease.

Some 24,000 people in NSW were evacuated from their homes but the torrential rain that has battered the state for the week has finally settled.

About 60,000 people have nevertheless been told by the State Emergency Service to be ready to evacuate, with major flood warnings still in place for the Macintyre, Gwydir, Clarence and Hawkesbury, Nepean and Colo rivers.

The Bureau of Meteorology now predicts there will be no major rain for at least a week.

The welcome reprieve in the weather paved the way for defence personnel and emergency service workers to get essential supplies to isolated communities, particularly North Richmond in Sydney's north-west, where floodwaters continue to rise.

It will also enable the extensive clean-up process to gradually begin.
Dear Dr John Pombe Joseph Magufuli;

FINALLY, I have come to terms with the sad fact-you are dead. It took me days to believe it until last Tuesday when I had a glimpse of the casket carrying your body being driven on the Zanzibar streets.

Just to remind you, we first met in your office way back in 1999. I was a mere cub reporter with the 'Daily News', the same, highly esteemed newspaper I serve for 22 years later as I pen down this blame note to you. You were then deputy minister for works, with Mama Anna Abadallah heading the portfolio.

We talked briefly over the construction works on the country's roads; I later crafted a story that fortunately appeared on the front page of the most authoritative newspaper. Subsequently, I came to learn that you were highly delighted by the anecdote. Remember, that was an analog age. Mobile phones were the reserve of the few elites. I was none of them.

Yet, we still communicated. Through the landline, you called my office albeit in my absence and left me a message. Initially, I didn't receive it well. It a bit worried me, junior as I was, I thought I had wronged you with my writings. May be I misquoted the honourable, I told myself! Hardly did I know nice words were awaiting me.

"Good job, young boy. How did you manage to write that impressive story with the very few details I gave you...you journalists are sometimes very nifty."

Dear Dr John Pombe Joseph Magufuli;

Please bear with me, the quotation might not be as exactly as per your enunciation because we talked in Kiswahili-your darling language-and the translation version is mine-I have never been among the best translators this country has ever had.

We since then used to work occasionally especially when you became the full works minister in the 2010-2015 period and I nursed interest on the construction sector, with special focus on the Contractors Registration Board, which Engineer Boniface Muhegi serving then as its registrar.

Our last bilateral communication, if my memory serves me well, was sometimes in 2011 when I received your invitation to accompany you to one of your many field tours of road construction projects. I confirmed my attendance but alas I couldn't make it to the trip due to some inescapable reasons.

But, if the truth be told, I had always remained your ardent admirer, greatly excited by your performance-from works to fisheries, housing and back to the works ministries. My approval on you escalated when you declared interest in the 2015 presidential race.

I wished you victory in the race though I initially doubted the possibility of you sailing through in the inter-party process. God wishes, you made it and finally on November 5, 2015 you pronounced "...So, help me God," as the fifth president of the United Republic of Tanzania.

I don't intend to enumerate here your accomplishments in your first five-year term due to space constraint though I also don't see any justification for it-you have done visible things that speak for themselves; Tanzanians and non-Tanzanians have seen them as long as they have eyes.

Dear Dr John Pombe Joseph Magufuli;

All I want to do here today is blame you-truly blame you for plotting your untimely death, leaving behind hapless Tanzanians wailing, weeping and sobbing uncontrollably. At the age of 61, you are still young-nine years before reaching even the biblical age of 70, which God Himself granted human beings on earth.

You could have stayed for at least the remaining four years to finish your second term and accomplish the ambitious projects that you had envisioned for Tanzanians whom you loved most. But, there you are-lying on the casket waiting to be ascended into your lasting home-the grave.

You have gone so early-in human perspective. But, this was an opportune moment for you to quit this planet earth, as per God's plans and wishes. The Almighty God has given us the willpower to plan and strategise for our tomorrow. What He has always hidden from us is His replica plan and strategies on us for our similar tomorrow.

Dear Dr John Pombe Joseph Magufuli;

Your supersonic work speed and perfection have robbed Tanzanians of their hero, leader and mentor. Within your first term, you achieved what the country had failed for over five decades. You managed to transform impossibilities into possibilities-in my native English version-you possibalised the impossible!.

You have proved to Tanzanians that it's possible for over 10 million children in primary and secondary schools to get decent fee-free education; that an African leader can successfully lead the country without setting his/her foot on European, Asian or American land; that, Tanzania is so economically powerful that it can compel powerful multinational mining giants to bow to her demands.

Dear Dr John Pombe Joseph Magufuli;

You have nakedly exposed Tanzania's wealth-that Tanzanians who previously cuddled the poverty syndrome to the level of begging "donors" to even construct toilets for them can actually execute multi-trillion projects like Julius Nyerere Hydro Power Project, Standard Gauge Railway, flyovers and tarmac roads countrywide, concurrently.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Tanzania Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

You have demonstrated how well to wage successful war against drug barons and corruption. You have confirmed to Tanzanians that their nation has well articulated legislation to give justice to all, irrespective of one's social, economic or political status.

Under your one-term presidency, you have proved to Tanzanians and the entire world that nothing is impossible for the resource endowed Tanzania. And, probably that is what God had sent you to do for His lovely country in ten years. Regrettably, you performed the tasks speedily and completed them in five years and 132 days.

No wonder, you were pronounced dead on March 17, 2021. Yes, Tanzania is in inconsolable grief. Tanzanians are mourning your absence. They have to, it's purely humane. But, what they might not know is the fact that your death is God given gift for the exemplary work performance.

Go, the legend, go! And, once there please, my best greetings to Grandfather Julius Nyerere, Father Benjamin Mkapa and all the celebrated icons this country had ever been blessed with. Just assure them that you have left behind a well nurtured, patriotic, hardworking and God-fearing society under safe and highly caring hands of Mama Samia Suluhu Hassan.
Tennessees unemployment rate for February 2021 has reached near pre-pandemic levels, according to data released by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.Februarys statewide, seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 4.9 percent, which is just one percentage point higher than it was in February 2020, one month before the COVID-19 health crisis created an economic slowdown across Tennessee.Overall, unemployment in Tennessee is down 0.2 of a percentage point from Januarys revised rate of 5.1 percent.When compared to Februarys nationwide seasonally adjusted rate of 6.2 percent, unemployment in Tennessee is 1.3 percentage points lower than the national average.Total nonfarm employment in the state increased by 6,300 jobs between January and February.The professional/business services sector saw the most growth, followed by the leisure/hospitality and education/health services sectors.In a year-to-year comparison, the pandemics impact on employment is evident. Between February 2020 and February 2021, Tennessee experienced a decrease of 118,600 jobs across the state.The national unemployment rate for February is down 0.1 of a percentage point from January but still represents a 2.7 percentage point increase when compared to the February 2020 number.TDLWD has compiled a complete analysis of Februarys unemployment and jobs data which is available here.Job seekers across the state will find more than 220,000 job postings on Tennessees workforce development website, Jobs4TN.gov. These jobs span a wide range of skill levels and occupations.The Tennessee Virtual American Job Center website, located at www.TNVirtualAJC.com, allows Tennesseans to research different programs, from different state agencies that can help them remove barriers to employment so they can more easily reenter Tennessees workforce. The VAJC allows job seekers to do this on their schedule, anytime, anywhere.The state of Tennessee will release the February county unemployment rates Thursday, April 1 at 1:30 p.m. CT.
[March 25, 2021] Americaneagle.com Announces Strategic Partnership with AD

CHICAGO, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Americaneagle.com, digital agency and industry leader in professional web design and development, is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with AD, the largest marketing and buying group in North America, whose members are independent distributors in the construction and industrial industries. This partnership will help accelerate AD member distributors into the B2B Commerce digital space through world-class digital services provided by Americaneagle.com. "This partnership will help accelerate AD member distributors into the B2B Commerce digital space..." To support this partnership, Americaneagle.com will provide user experience-focused digital and web design, development, and implementation services to deliver greater value on business outcomes for AD members. Americaneagle.com has a proven track record of B2B success with clients around the world and these services will help members build connections from the AD member PIM on Enterworks to their ecommerce platform. The digital agency is well-positioned to work with AD members to provide implementation support from simple platform implementations to complete redesigns. Caroline Ernst, VP of eCommerce Solutions, said, "Recommended by AD members, we are very pleased to have formed this partnership with Americaneagle.com, which is positioning to elp AD members every step of the way. Their certified implementation team will focus on helping members connect AD eContent with ROC Commerce, BigCommerce, Optimizely, Magento and Shopify."



AD is passionate about bringing growth-oriented independent distributors and best-in-class supplier partners together with the purpose to outperform the market and to stay ahead of the competition. With over 850 independent distributor members, AD actively facilitates relationships between its members and supplier partners to fuel growth, leveraging service provider partners like Americaneagle.com to accomplish this goal. This strategic partnership helps create a cooperative understanding of each organization's unique needs and mutually develop to grow business. Michael Svanascini, Americaneagle.com President, said, "At Americaneagle.com, we seek to partner with organizations that have the same dedication and solution-oriented approach that we do. Our experience helping clients with their B2B needs will help us deliver best-in-class solutions for our mutual clients with AD as a strategic asset."

Americaneagle.com partners with the best industry-leading technologies to deliver transformative digital solutions. About AD AD is the largest contractor and industrial products wholesale buying group in North America. AD provides independent distributors and manufacturers of construction and industrial products with support and resources that accelerate growth. Our 850-plus independent member owners span 13 divisions in the U.S., Mexico and Canada with annual sales exceeding $45 billion. AD's 13 divisions cover industries including electrical, industrial, safety, bearings and power transmission, plumbing, PVF, HVAC, decorative brands and building materials. For more information, visit www.adhq.com. About Americaneagle.com Americaneagle.com is a full-service, global digital agency based in Des Plaines, Illinois that provides best-in-class web design, development, hosting, post-launch support, and digital marketing services. Currently, Americaneagle.com employs 500+ professionals in offices around the world including Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, London, Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, Washington DC, Switzerland, and Bulgaria. Some of their 2,000+ clients include State Electric Supply Co., Kirby Risk, Atkore, Komatsu, and Deublin. For additional information, visit www.americaneagle.com Contact

Michael Svanascini, President

press@americaneagle.com

847-699-0300 View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/americaneaglecom-announces-strategic-partnership-with-ad-301256114.html SOURCE Americaneagle.com

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 24, 2021] Telxius Selects Interxion: A Digital Realty Company To Enhance Connectivity Between The US And Paris with Dunant

PARIS and MADRID, March 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Interxion: A Digital Realty Company (NYSE: DLR) and leading European provider of carrier- and cloud-neutral colocation data centre solutions, has signed an agreement with TELXIUS, the leading neutral telecommunications infrastructure operator, to enable direct interconnection for the Dunant subsea cable at Interxion Paris, France. Dunant is the first new subsea cable connecting France and the US for the last 15 years and is one of a new generation of transatlantic subsea cables being deployed to meet demand for increased capacity and enhanced resilience in global network infrastructure. Telxius' capacity on Dunant will extend the reach and capacity of PlatformDIGITAL, Digital Realty's global data centre platform. The new direct connection between Northern Virginia and Paris gives enterprises greater resiliency, flexibility and performance as they look to interconnect workflows globally and deploy hybrid IT solutions at these key centres of data exchange. Interxion's Paris campus is one of the world's leading digital business hubs comprising seven data centres, and is currently undergoing major expansion with the construction of the Interxion Paris Digital Park. Interxion customers in all existing and planned data centres can interconnect seamlessly to Telxius' network capacity on Dunant. "Ensuring our customers can easily access the services we provide over Dunant is key for us. By extending the Dunant capabilities directly into Interxion in Paris, we make it more efficient and simpler for customers to interconnect onto the system, while at the same time integrating it with the internet highways connecting Paris to Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Madrid and Marseille. Telxius also provides direct Marea backhaul capacity from its Derio Communications Hub in Bilbao to Paris, Madrid and Virginia Beach. It means that, in combination with our existing transatlatic capacity on the Marea subsea cable system, Telxius now supports customers with state-of-the-art, diverse routes across the Atlantic," explains Carlos Casado, Head of EMEA Sales, Telxius, Cable Business. "The next-generation connectivity tat Telxius offers to our customers via Dunant will greatly enhance the ability of PlatformDIGITAL to help enterprises overcome the transatlantic data gravity barriers inhibiting their digital transformation goals. Telxius' ultra-high capacity services, improved communication reliability and faster network performance to the U.S. are now available directly from our Paris digital business hub," says Fabrice Coquio, Managing Director of Interxion France.



About Interxion: A Digital Realty Company

Interxion: A Digital Realty Company, is a leading provider of carrier- and cloud-neutral data centre services across EMEA. With more than 700 connectivity providers in over 100 data centres across 13 European countries, Interxion provides communities of connectivity, cloud and content hubs. As part of Digital Realty, customers now have access to 47 metros across six continents. For more information, please visit interxion.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. About Digital Realty

Digital Realty supports the world's leading enterprises and service providers by delivering the full spectrum of data center, colocation and interconnection solutions. PlatformDIGITAL, the company's global data center platform, provides customers a trusted foundation and proven Pervasive Datacenter Architecture PDx solution methodology for scaling digital business and efficiently managing data gravity challenges. Digital Realty's global data center footprint gives customers access to the connected communities that matter to them with more than 280 facilities in 47 metros across 24 countries on six continents. For more information, please visit digitalrealty.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About Telxius

Telxius is a leading neutral telecommunications infrastructure operator with an extensive tower and submarine cable portfolio. It has more than 34,000 sites, including the German deal announced in June 2020 and the commitment of new deployments in Germany and Brazil. The sites are located in Europe and Latin America: more than 75% in Spain and Germany, and the rest in Brazil, Peru, Chile and Argentina. Moreover, Telxius operates an international high-capacity fiber optic submarine cable network, to reach 90,000 km in 2021, with two of the largest capacity systems in the world, MAREA and BRUSA. Telxius provides flexible solutions, contributes to creating collaboration agreements in the sector and facilitates global communications to businesses. For more information, please visit telxius.com. Media and Industry Analyst Inquiries

Marc Musgrove

Digital Realty

(415) 508-2812

mmusgrove@digitalrealty.com Vanessa Crosnier

Interxion: A Digital Realty Company

+33 6 66 67 54 61

vanessac@interxion.com Telxius

comunicacion@telxius.com Investor Relations

John J. Stewart / Jim Huseby

Digital Realty

(415) 738-6500

InvestorRelations@digitalrealty.com Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements which are based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially, including statements related to the Dunant subsea cable, our Paris campus, the European and French metros, PlatformDIGITAL and the global exchange of data. For a list and description of risks and uncertainties, see the reports and other filings by the company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 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. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/telxius-selects-interxion-a-digital-realty-company-to-enhance-connectivity-between-the-us-and-paris-with-dunant-301255437.html SOURCE Digital Realty

[ 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.
Mar. 25MCALLEN  Federal officials are allowing Central American migrants to enter the United States to seek asylum after waiting two years in Reynosa, human rights groups said Wednesday.

On Tuesday, authorities began allowing the migrants from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador to cross the U.S. border south of here after former President Donald Trump refused them entry in January 2019, Magna Bolland, executive director of La Posada Providencia in San Benito, said, adding she didn't know the number of migrants who have been waiting in Reynosa.

After receiving the first group, Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley tested about 1,000 migrants for the coronavirus, Melissa Gutierrez, office manager for Loaves and Fishes in Harlingen, said, adding she didn't know the test results.

In McAllen, the city's emergency management department has provided Catholic Charities with 6,000 COVID-19 test kits, city spokeswoman Xochitl Mora said.

On Tuesday night, Catholic Charities, which can shelter about 600 migrants a day, made room for 602, Bolland said.

Now, Catholics Charities is waiting to receive 200 migrants a day, she said.

"They did not say for how long," Bolland said, referring to the Reynosa influx. "They were going to need help with transportation."

Shelters ready to make room for overflow

In Harlingen and San Benito, Loaves and Fishes and La Posada are ready to shelter migrants if Catholic Charities can't make room for them.

"If there's an overflow in McAllen or Brownsville, they know they can send them our way," Gutierrez said.

On Monday, Loaves and Fishes sheltered seven Central American migrants including two men, each traveling with a child, and a woman, all of whom had tested negative for COVID-19, she said, adding the shelter could make room for as many as 40 migrants.

As part of an agreement with the city of Harlingen, the agency can move as many as 500 migrants into the city's community center on Madison Avenue, she said,

Story continues

Last month, city commissioners set aside $50,000 to help Loaves and Fishes feed, shelter and transport migrants while giving City Manager Dan Serna authority to give the agency an additional $25,000 through the end of the year.

In San Benito, La Posada sheltered 127 Central American migrants from March 1 to 19, Bolland said, adding all had tested negative for COVID 19.

After their short stays, migrants' family members help them catch buses and planes as they make their way into the United States to await immigration court hearings on their asylum claims.

Migrants' asylum claims

In Harlingen, attorney Jodie Goodwin said Central Americans' asylum claims include fear of persecution.

"There are certainly people fleeing because of gang violence and gang control," Goodwin, who has handled immigration cases for years, said. "There are also people who flee because of different religious persecution, persecution based on gender and social group status and people who flee because of natural disasters."

Border Patrol coordinating migrant releases amid pandemic

Amid the threat of the coronavirus' spread, U.S. Border Patrol officials are working to better coordinate migrants' release with area cities, shelters and attorneys, Goodwin said.

"It's definitely better coordinated," she said. "We meet daily to coordinate. We've been able to coordinate a lot better with the Border Patrol so that these individuals can be tested after they're dropped off."

Border Patrol officials are regularly holding videoconferences to coordinate migrants' releases, Bolland said.

"The pandemic has led to more communication and coordination between agencies," she said. "The Border Patrol approached the (shelters) and the cities to coordinate. They share the numbers of people they're apprehending and how many they need to release on a daily basis."

From the Valley, the Border Patrol is busing migrants to Laredo while flying them to El Paso, Bolland said.

"I think, in part, it's due to COVID because we're all mindful to avoid infections in the community," she said. "They're working very hard to avoid people needing shelters and that means moving them along quickly. Most people who arrive leave the same day."

Migrants leave Matamoros camp

In February, federal officials began allowing Central American migrants to enter the United States after staying in Matamoros camps for two years.

Earlier this month, the last group of migrants left the Matamoros camps.

Since February, officials were allowing 100 migrants to cross the border daily, Felipe Romero, the city of Brownsville's spokesman, said.

In Matamoros, a non-profit group was testing the migrants for COVID-19 before they were allowed to the cross the border, he said.

Meanwhile, the Border Patrol has been releasing Central American migrants arrested after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

During the last week of February and the first week of March, the Border Patrol released about 1,825 Central American migrants at the Brownsville bus station, where the city's emergency management officials found about 141 testing positive for the coronavirus, Romero said, adding the emergency management department was funding the cost of COVID-19 rapid-test kits.

Valley main migrant corridor

Across the U.S.-Mexico border, the Rio Grande Valley remains the main corridor for Central American migrants crossing the border.

Since last year, the numbers of migrants crossing the border have about doubled, Border Patrol statistics show.

From October through February, agents arrested 11,242 migrant children traveling without parents or guardians in the region compared with 5,242 last year, statistics show.

During the same period, Border Patrol agents arrested 16,583 family units in the area compared with 8,129 last year.

Meanwhile, agents arrested 69,283 migrants traveling alone in the area, compared with 25,933 the year before.

While U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has tested migrants for COVID-19 since the coronavirus' outbreak last year, Border Patrol officials have told human rights groups the agency doesn't have "resources" to test arrested migrants before their release, Bolland said.

"They did not have enough time, capacity or resources," she said.

Shelters opening to house migrant children

Meanwhile, the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement is moving migrant children detained while traveling without parents or guardians into shelters in areas such as Pecos, Carrizo Springs, Midland and San Diego, Calif.

On March 17, the department held 9,500 children, officials stated.

In the Raymondville area, a shelter was housing about 300 migrant children, Raymondville Mayor Gilbert Gonzales said Wednesday.

In Cameron County, non-profit groups under federal contracts to house migrant children include Southwest Key, BCFS and Comprehensive Health Services.

fdelvalle@valleystar.com
Starting with just a female buffalo, a man in the Mekong Delta has built a fortune with hundreds of buffalos, earning VND1 billion a year.

Ngu's buffaloes

Nguyen Hong Ngu, 47, in Luong Nghia commune in Long My district in the southern province of Hau Giang, was very busy ahead of the Year of Buffalo, but he was willing to spend time to talk about how he became a billionaire who owns hundreds of buffalos.

The short man with tawny complexion said his childhood was attached to buffalo and when he grew up, he chose to start a business with a buffalo.

Twenty seven years ago, Luong Nghia was an alum infected land, on which farmers could cultivate only one rice crop a year, and harvest 20 bushels for each cong (1 cong is equal to 1/10 hectare), Ngu recalled.

The biggest problem was that he did not have a buffalo. Ngu, who had just married, decided to use the money and gold he received at the wedding to buy one buffalo, at VND5 million.

Actually, I just thought I needed a buffalo which helped me on the rice field, while I did not have any idea of raising buffalo to get rich, he said.

Not only using the buffalo to draw ploughs, Ngu also worked for neighbors. When the crop finished, he got money big enough to buy one tael of gold. Some months later, the female buffalo got pregnant and Ngu began breeding a buffalo.

After several years, the mother buffalo gave birth to buffalo calves, and the buffalo calves also had their own baby buffalos when they grew up, he said. The mother buffalo died 17 years later, after she gave birth to 16 buffalo calves."

Starting with just a female buffalo, a man in the Mekong Delta has built a fortune with hundreds of buffalos, earning VND1 billion a year.

Ngus buffalos are never tended in the same place, but in many areas in Hau Giang, An Giang and Dong Thap, which makes it more comfortable for exchange and trade.

According to Ngu, buffalos like to stay in the fields and soak themselves in water. Therefore, it is necessary to let them out for bathing and drinking water one hour a day. After that, they are led to the barns and fed with grass.

Cutting grass for buffalos is the hardest work in raising buffalos. But instead, you wont have to spend money to buy feed like you raise pigs and fowls, he said.

In order to have grass to feed buffalos, Ngu reserves 20 cong for growing grass. When the grass in his fields runs out, his buffalos will go to other fields where farmers have just harvested rice.

Selling buffalos to build house worth VND3 billion

The special thing in Ngus career is that he buys gaunt buffalos to fatten them for sale. Every year, Ngu provides nearly 500 buffalos for meat, making a profit of VND500 million.

With 40 female buffalos which produce tens of buffalos calves a year, he can earn VND600 million more. He leases strong buffalos to farmers at VND6 million a year.

People hire male buffalos to pull rice and straw. I dont have to spend money and time to take care of the buffaloes, while I can get money from leasing them, he explained, adding that he earns more than VND1 billion a year.

Ngu, who began raising buffalos in his childhood, understands what buffalos want to eat in each season and knows how to take care of them so that they can grow rapidly.

His buffalos can be sold for VND3-5 million more than the buffalos raised by other farmers.

A good, healthy buffalo has small hips but big buttocks. Gentle buffaloes are friendly when they meet people. On the contrary, aggressive buffalos will have fiery eyes, with ears pricked up, he said.

Ngu has so many buffalos that people wonder if they see a large group of buffalos in Mekong Delta, they could be Ngus. He sends buffalos to many places, wherever there are good grass fields.

Ngu has a big fortune. Thanks to buffalos, he now has more than 200 cong of land.

I have just sold buffalos to get VND3 billion to build a house. I have had a better life since the day I began breeding buffalos, he said.

The price of one adult female buffalo is VND50 million.

Chi Thien

HCM City: Calligraphy festival hosted to welcome Year of Buffalo A calligraphy festival is underway at Vietnam Quoc Tu (Vietnam National Pagoda) in District 10, Ho Chi Minh City to welcome the Year of the Buffalo in the lunar calendar and preserve the countrys traditional culture.
North Korea launched at least two ballistic missiles early on Thursday, said the US and Japan, in the first such tests since US president Joe Biden took office and what Japan called a threat to security and peace in the region.

It marks the second North Korean weapons test in a matter of days, following the launch of two short-range non-ballistic projectiles at the weekend.

Pyongyangs ballistic missiles are banned under United Nations Security Council resolutions, and while Sundays launch was played down by the White House, Mr Biden - who is yet to set out his North Korea policy - will find it harder to ignore such a violation.

Nuclear-armed North Korea has often used weapons tests as provocations to both Washington and Seoul.

South Koreas military confirmed on Thursday that the North fired two short-range missiles from the eastern waters of Hamju town, in South Hamgyong Province, at 7.06am and 7.25am local time. The missiles travelled about 450km at an altitude of 60 km, it said.

Read more

South Korean and US intelligence authorities are analysing the projectiles in detail, weighing the possibility that they could be short-range ballistic missiles, a statement from Seouls Joint Chiefs of Staff read.

Japans prime minister Yoshihide Suga condemned the tests and instructed officials to ensure the safety of aircraft, vessels, and other assets. Mr Suga asked the military to all possible measures for precaution and readiness for contingencies following the missile test, a statement read.

The first launch in just less than a year represents a threat to peace and stability in Japan and the region and violates UN resolutions, Mr Suga said, adding that he would thoroughly discuss North Korea issues with Mr Biden during his expected visit next month.

Japan also lodged a formal protest over the launches through its embassy in China.

US Indo-Pacific Command military spokesman Mike Kafka said in a statement that the US is aware of North Korean missile launches this morning into the East Sea and they will continue to monitor the situation.

This activity highlights the threat that North Korea's illicit weapons program poses to its neighbours and the international community. The US commitment to the defence of the Republic of Korea and Japan remains ironclad," Mr Kafka said.

The reaction came after Mr Biden played down a non-ballistic missile launch that took place over the weekend, describing it as being at the low end of provocations and business as usual, and officials in Washington said they were still open to dialogue with Pyongyang.

Mr Bidens diplomatic overtures to North Korea have gone unanswered, and Pyongyang said it would not engage until Washington drops hostile policies, including carrying out military drills with South Korea.

North Korea last launched short-range ballistic missiles in late March 2020, and has not reported any long-range ballistic missile test since 2017 after former president Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un reached a deal in Singapore that Pyongyang would cease such exercises.

The relationship between the two remained stalled after the second meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Kim collapsed in February 2019 as they failed to reach an agreement over denuclearisation in North Korea.

The missile tests also came just days after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited South Korea and Japan to push China to lead efforts on North Koreas disarmament by using its tremendous influence with Mr Kims regime.

Kim Jong-uns powerful sister last week berated the United States over its latest round of drills, describing them as an invasion rehearsal and warned Washington to refrain from causing a stink.

Additional reporting by agencies
President Joe Biden is weighing using executive orders on gun control as doubts rise Congress will pass legislation in the wake of mass shootings in Atlanta and Boulder.

Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday that the administration believes lasting change should come vial the law-making powers in Congress but signaled the White House is open to using the power of Biden's executive pen if needed.

'We want it to be lasting, we need it to be legislation,' she said at her press briefing, adding that Biden 'certainly believes that. But there are also executive actions under consideration that we will continue working through internally. And there's lots of levers you can take.'

Administration officials have spoken to some Senate Democrats about three possible executive actions, The New York Times reported: one would classify as firearms so-called ghost guns  kits that allow a gun to be assembled from pieces; another would fund community violence intervention programs; and the third would strengthen the background checks system.

President Joe Biden is weighing using executive orders on gun control as doubts rise Congress will pass legislation

Pressure has grown on the president to address gun violence after a shooter in Atlanta killed eight people, including six Asian women, and a shooter in Boulder, Colorado, shot up a grocery store, leaving 10 dead, including a police officer who responded to the scene.

But even Biden acknowledged he may not have the political capitol to get legislation passed on Capitol Hill.

'I havent done any counting yet,' he said during a stop in Ohio on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, more than 30 gun control advocacy groups are asking to meet with Biden on the issue.

The groups are calling on the president to issue executive actions on gun control, invest in community action, and appoint a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) director who will ensure needed oversight and accountability for the gun industry, the groups said in a statement.

During the presidential campaign, Biden advocated for background checks on all firearms purchases, ban large-capacity magazines for guns and end civil immunity for gun manufacturers in wrongful death lawsuits.

In Atlanta last week, a gunman traveled to three different Atlanta-area massage parlors where he killed a total of eight people  six of Asian American descent. He said he committed the crime to help prevent temptation.

Not even a week later, a gunman opened fire in a Boulder grocery store, killing 10, including a police officer.

After the shootings, Biden reiterated his call to ban assault weapons and called on Congress to pass legislation.

'We can ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in this country once again,' he said at the White House Tuesday. 'This should not be a partisan issue. It's an American issue. It will save lives. American lives. We have to act.'

On Monday, a gunman opened fire in a Boulder, Colorado, grocery store, killing 10, including a police office

In Atlanta last week, a gunman traveled to three different Atlanta-area massage parlors where he killed a total of eight people  six of Asian American descent

He also told senators that they should pass two gun control bills, which plug up background check loopholes for gun buyers, that passed the House of Representatives earlier this month.

During his brief remarks Tuesday, Biden did talk about what could be done legislatively.

'I don't need to wait another minute, let alone an hour, to take common sense steps that will save the lives in the future,' Biden said. 'I urge my colleagues in the House and Senate to act.'

He then called on them to ban assault weapons yet again - and to target high-capacity magazines.

The Federal Assault Weapons Ban expired in 2004 and attempts to renew it in Congress have been unsuccessful.

'We got that done when I was a senator, it passed, it was the law for the longest time and it brought down these mass killings. We should do it again,' the president continued.

'The Senate should immediately pass - let me say it again - the United States Senate, I hope some are listening, should immediately pass the two House-passed bills that close loopholes in the background check system,' Biden urged. 'These are bills that received votes of both Republicans and Democrats in the House.'

Gun control issues face an uphill battle in the Senate despite the Democratic control of the chamber.

The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on gun violence on Tuesday and, there, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas chewed out Democrats for their gun control proposals.

'It's time to do something,' the Texas Republican said. 'Every time there's a shooting we play this ridiculous theater where this committee gets together and proposes a bunch of laws that would do nothing to stop these murders.'

'What they propose - it makes it worse,' Cruz said, accusing Democrats of 'taking guns away from law abiding citizens.'

He said he plans to reintroduce the Grassley-Cruz measure, which increased resources available to prosecutors to go after people who violate gun laws and prosecute those who fail federal background checks.

Cruz said the bill, which he worked on with Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, is 'targeted at violent criminals, targeted at felons, targeted at fugitives, targeted at those with serious mental disease, to stop them from getting firearms, to put them in prison when they try to illegally buy guns.'

The House, earlier this month, passed legislation requiring universal background checks, but the legislation is not expected to pass in the Senate.
The Executive Board Meeting (EBM) of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Wednesday accorded approval of conducting inquiry against former Chief Minister GB Hafeez-ur-Rehman and others to carry out probe against the accused

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Mar, 2021 ):The Executive Board Meeting (EBM) of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Wednesday accorded approval of conducting inquiry against former Chief Minister GB Hafeez-ur-Rehman and others to carry out probe against the accused.

The meeting of the NAB-EBM chaired by Justice (Retd) Javed Iqbal authorized inquiries against former CM Hafeez ur Rehman and others, Rashid Ali Atro, Syed Masood Hussain Shah, Nasreen Kamran, Sajawal of Sindh Workers Welfare Board government of Sindh, Abdul Hafeez and others, Fazal Amin Shah, Maqbool Ahmed Lehri, former City Nazim Quetta.  The EBM also authorized conducting inquiries against former chairman Quetta Development Authority, and others, Saddam Bazai, Irrigation and Power Department Government of Balochistan, Saleh Muhammad of Plan International (NGO), Saeed Ahmed Proprietor GNS Traders, Abid Solango, Accountant, Population Department and others, Abdul Ghaffar, proprietor Rao and Rana Builders and Developers, Sukkur.

Sharing the details of NAB-EBM, a spokesman of the bureau said the bureau that the details of EBM were being shared with the media does not aim to hurt the feelings of anyone as all inquiries and investigations were being initiated on the basis of allegations which were not final. The decision to go ahead with the case is taken after assessing merits of the cases and assessing the flip side of the coin.

Speaking on the occasion, NAB Chairman Justice (Retd) Javed Iqbal said achieving the target of corruption free Pakistan and eradication of the menace was the priority of bureau. Since inception, the bureau has recovered Rs 714 billion whereas a record Rs 487 billion has been recovered from corrupt elements directly or indirectly during the tenure of current management.

He asked NAB detractors, to utilize their energies to defend their corruption cases instead of criticizing the bureau without any cogent reason.
(Natural News) Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce revealed on Sunday, March 21, that many governments were talking about coronavirus vaccination as a condition of entry.

Joyce told the BBC that governments are going to insist on coronavirus vaccines for international travelers. But even without government intervention, Joyce thought airlines should enforce their own policy. We have a duty of care to our passengers and to our crew, to say that everybody in that aircraft needs to be safe, he said.

According to Joyce, about 90 percent of people that they have surveyed thought that it should be a requirement for people to be vaccinated before they could travel internationally. He also hinted that other airlines would follow Qantas in requiring the coronavirus vaccination for passengers traveling abroad.

Ive been talking with my colleagues at other airlines around the globe, and I think thats going to be a common theme across the board, he said.

Qantas pushed back the date it plans to resume its international flights from July to the end of October. Thats the point the Australian government hopes to have vaccinated all adults and the date for which the airline is now selling international tickets.

The number one flight by a significant amount is Perth to London non-stop, said Joyce.

The demand for ultra-long-haul flights indicates that passengers are trying to avoid changeovers in airports filled with other people, he noted.

Qantas has been planning for months to make coronavirus vaccination mandatory

As early as November last year, Joyce outlined his plans for Qantas to make the coronavirus vaccination mandatory for all passengers traveling internationally. He said that proof of vaccination would likely be stored in an electronic digital passport which is already under development by airlines and governments around the world.

What were looking at is how you can have a vaccination passport, an electronic version of it, that certifies what the vaccine is, is it acceptable to the country you are traveling to, said Joyce at the time. (Related: CBS declares vaccine passports as must-haves for 2021 summer travelers.)

Theres a lot of logistics, a lot of technology that will be needed to put in place to make this happen, but the airlines and the governments are working on this as we speak.

His remarks were in line with the Australian governments National Vaccination Policy, which suggested that visitors from overseas might have to produce a vaccination certificate before boarding their flight to Australia.

There may be circumstances where the Australian government and other governments may introduce border entry or re-entry requirements that are conditional on proof of vaccination, the vaccination policy stated.

But the World Health Organization (WHO) doesnt agree. We dont approve the fact that a vaccinations passport should be a condition for travel, says Bernardo Mariano, the organizations director of digital health and innovation.

According to Mariano, a unified approach from governments would be needed to make such a change work.

Aviation is vital to the global economy. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimated that aviation supports $1.8 trillion in global economic activity. But government restrictions due to the pandemic have led to an unprecedented fall in passenger numbers.

In the last six months of 2020, Qantas lost $800 million. During the same period in 2019, the airline had a profit of $596 million.

Australian government bails out Qantas and Virgin Australia

Australian airlines have been bailed out by the government on a few occasions during the pandemic. The Australian government announced in April last year that it would pay Qantas and Virgin Australia up to AU$165 million ($126.73 million) to maintain key domestic flight routes for two months.

Qantas, which had been considering closing some flights at the time, said in a statement that the funding would allow it, and its budget offshoot Jetstar, to increase the number of passenger flights they operated each week from 105 to 164.

It had also been reported earlier this month that Qantas workers who usually work on international routes will receive a weekly wage payment of AU$500 ($384.28), under the federal governments $1.2 billion ($922.48 million) aviation tourism support scheme. More than 7,000 cabin crew, pilots, engineers and technicians will be receiving the payment until October.

Virgin will also receive direct funding from the federal government but will use it for training and to prepare for more flights.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said it was crucial for Australian airlines to maintain their capacity to fly internationally.

People have got to be in simulators, people have got to continue their training, planes need to be maintained. These are all the things that are needed to be done and you need to maintain a highly skilled workforce, he said.

Some 8,500 Qantas employees had lost their jobs during the pandemic while thousands of others were on furlough, with the Australian government paying their wages.

Follow Immunization.news for more news and information related to coronavirus vaccines.

Sources include:

BBC.com

Breitbart.com

TheGuardian.com

ABC.net.au
Dr Joseph Alpert (pictured), a professor of medicine at the University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center, wrote that, last year, one-third of non-COVID patients were being consulted about hospice care compared to the usual one patient

A doctor is warning that Americans with serious illnesses are dying due to fear of contracting COVID-19.

Dr Joseph Alpert, a professor of medicine at the University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center, says that during the course of the pandemic there are still millions of hospitalized patients suffering from conditions such as heart failure or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

However, by the time they get to the hospital, they are usually very sick because they have delayed seeking the life-saving medical care they need.

In an op-ed in the American Journal of Medicine, Alpert, who is the Editor-in-Chief, writes that 'a massive education effort' is needed to assuage the fears of patients with potentially deadly conditions and to convince them that hospitals are safe.

During the coronavirus wave in Arizona last year, Alpert was not working with COVID-19 patients, instead attending in the Internal Medicine and Cardiac Care units.

He estimated that during that time, about 40 percent of hospitalized patients were ill with the virus while the other 60 percent had common conditions including heart failure, lung failure, liver failure, pneumonia and so on.

'However, the current Internal Medicine inpatient population was distinctly different from what I had seen during past decades,' Alpert wrote.

'The recent patient population was considerably sicker and much closer to dying than in the past. '

He determined that people were not going to the hospital because they feared acquiring COVID-19 on top of their chronic illness. Pictured: Nurse Kyah Paschall checks on 64-year-old-coronavirus patient Patricia Luera connected to a ventilator at Paradise Valley Hospital, National City.

He wrote that, at times, as many as one-third of the Internal Medicine patients were being considered for hospice care, either at the hospital or at home.

Usually, there was no more than one patient at a time being consulted about end-of-life care.

Alpert said he soon realized it was because patients were avoiding hospitals for fear of acquiring COVID-19 on top of their chronic illness.

Last year, a CDC report found that emergency room visits per week fell by 42 percent between late March and late April 2020 compared to the year before.

This included a decline in the number of visits for conditions including nonspecific chest pain and heart attacks.

Patients also believed that hospital staff would be so busy dealing with COVID-19 patients that they would have no time to treat them.

'I repeatedly told patients that they were safer with us on both our inpatient and outpatient services than they would be shopping for groceries, where they would not know the COVID status of those standing near them,' he wrote.

'I listed all the things that the hospital and outpatient clinics were doing to avoid transmitting the COVID virus...Unfortunately, much of this information fell on deaf ears. It seems that fear had overcome rational thinking.'

Another CDC report from May 2020 found that the number of people who died in New York City during the height of the coronavirus pandemic was more than triple what would be expected in a normal year.

Between March 11 and May 2, there were more than 24,000 'excess deaths' compared to about 8,000 deaths that typically occur during that two-month window in a normal year.

According to the CDC, the high number of excess deaths was likely due to people not seeking medical attention due to social distancing measures and the increasing demand place on hospitals.

Alpert says the medical community needs to establish programs for Americans who are afraid to seek care, such as the American Heart of Association putting up billboards to warn about the how the risk of dying from an ill-managed heart attack is greater the risk of catching COVID-19 at a doctor's office.

'If you are sick, do not delay and do not hesitate to call 911 or get someone to bring you to the closest emergency department where you can receive potentially life-saving therapy,' he concludes.
FL Gov. Announces New Eligibility Guidelines For COVID-19 Vaccinations TALLAHASSEE, FL  The office of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has announced new guidelines for COVID-19 vaccine eligibility across the state. The governor's press release reads as follows:

"Today (3/25/21), Governor Ron DeSantis announced new eligibility guidelines for COVID-19 vaccinations in Florida. Beginning Monday, March 29, all individuals age 40 and older will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Beginning the following Monday, April 5, all individuals age 18 and older will be eligible to receive the vaccine. Floridians are encouraged to pre-register at www.myvaccine.fl.gov. Once pre-registered, theyll be contacted when the vaccine is available in their area. Floridians can also call the vaccine preregistration phone number for their county, listed here. Vaccines are also available at 150 CVS locations, 125 Wal-Mart and Sams Club locations, more than 70 Winn Dixie locations, soon-to-be over 600 Walgreens pharmacies, and every single one of the 730 Publix pharmacies across the state. Watch the Governors announcement by clicking the image below or clicking HERE.

Text from Governor DeSantis video message as delivered is provided below: 'Hi, this is Governor Ron DeSantis. Floridas Seniors First vaccine strategy is paying off  more than 3.2 million seniors age 65 and older have received shots. Weve been able to expand eligibility to those age 50 and above and weve seen additional success. Now because of this success, I am pleased to announce additional vaccine eligibility expansions. While the Biden administration set a May 1st target date for vaccine eligibility for all adults, Florida is pleased to announce that all adults in the state age 18 and older will be eligible for the vaccine beginning Monday, April 5th. And this coming Monday, March 29th, the age of eligibility for the vaccine will be reduced from 50 to 40. We have now vaccinated over 70% of the roughly 4.4 million seniors living in the state. We have also made great progress on those age 60 to 64 and those age 50 and older. And we are ready to take this step. If you look at the hospitalization and case rates for senior citizens, they have plummeted since the start of our Seniors First strategy. And we want to keep up that momentum as we expand eligibility to other age groups throughout the state of Florida. Florida continues to rank 41st in senior mortality per capita, with 40 states having higher mortality for COVID on a per capita basis than the state of Florida. Weve stood up more than 100 county sites and state sites. Weve also brought the vaccine directly to underserved communities. Weve partnered with pharmacy retailers to offer the vaccine. There are now 1,600 pharmacies located throughout the state of Florida offering COVID vaccines. 730 Publix pharmacies. More than 150 CVS locations. More than 125 Sams Club and Walmart locations. More than 70 Winn-Dixie locations. And in the coming days, Walgreens will be expanding to more than 400 additional locations, bringing their total to more than 600 Walgreens pharmacy locations statewide. Weve established a program for homebound seniors and have vaccinated more than 5,000 seniors, including holocaust survivors and World War II veterans. Weve held 71 faith-based events in 22 counties and have completed more than 73,000 vaccinations at those events. Weve also held events at 31 senior communities across the state, which account for over 140,000 vaccinations. We have made great progress and I look forward to continuing to work hard to make sure everyone in Florida who wants a shot, can get a shot. No mandate, but access for all. God bless you and thank you very much.'"
The BJP on Sunday accused the previous government under V. Narayanasamy of having cheated the people of on the water and power supply rates, among other promises.

BJP lawmaker and in charge Rajeev Chandrashekhar and state General Secretary Embalam R. Selvam told media persons that the Central government had allocated Rs 15,000 crore for but the state government failed to transfer it to the people of the state.

The BJP, in its charge sheet against the Narayanasamy government, said that while its electoral promise was reduction in power tariffs, the rates were increased. In a similar vein, the water tariff rates were also increased instead of being reduced.

Chandrashekhar also said that the Narayanasamy government had promised 30 kg of rice and 5 kg of wheat for the people of Puduchery but failed to honour it.

The BJP leaders also alleged that the Special Component Funds meant for the SC community were not utilised properly and also accused of the government in not honouring the promise of 50 per cent government quota seats in medical and engineering and committing irregularities in admission.

The BJP, which is expecting to grab power in the UT, riding on its alliance with the AIADMK, the AINRC and the PMK, is on a high decibel campaign against the Congress-DMK combine.

--IANS

aal/vd

(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.)
Each profile is free to view and is packed with high-quality insights, providing businesses with detailed company information. Users can take advantage of these insights to identify, target, and connect with the right petroleum wholesalers. This company information includes employee insights, company competitors, the latest news, and more.

Free Insights Included Within Petroleum Wholesaler Company Profiles:

List of product and service categories and primary operating industries

Risk of doing business score

List of key executives and their roles within the company

Company financials and general organizational information

Global, national, and regional competitors along with insights for these companies

List of key clients

Top trends and challenges within operating industry and expected influence on business impact

Latest company news with the ability to sign up for timely news alerts

Get Started to View Free Company Insights

Related Industry Groups for Petroleum Wholesalers

BizVibe lists petroleum and petroleum products merchant wholesalers as a part of their wholesale trade industry. This industry contains 19 total industry groups which all contain hundreds of company profiles that can be viewed for free. Related industry groups include:

Grocery and Related Product Merchant Wholesalers

Farm Product Raw Material Merchant Wholesalers

Apparel, Piece Goods, and Notions Merchant Wholesalers

View all wholesale trade categories

Company Profiles for Buyers and Sellers

BizVibe's modern B2B platform is designed to help both global buyers and sellers. Powered by the latest best-in-class solutions, BizVibe provides outstanding product features for both category managers and sales professionals.

Features for Buyers:

Quickly discover the right suppliers

Create short lists and custom alerts

Mitigate supplier risk and evaluate suppliers

Send RFIs/RFPs

Learn how BizVibe helps buyers: https://www.bizvibe.com/find-suppliers

Features for Sellers:

Target the right sales prospects

Qualify leads

Analyze buyer potential

API integration and data enrichment

Learn how BizVibe helps sellers: https://www.bizvibe.com/sellers

About BizVibe

BizVibe has been conceptualized and built by a team based out of Toronto, Bangalore, and London. We are a branch of Infiniti Research and have dedicated units in all three locations. BizVibe helps buyers find the most relevant suppliers from around the world and help sellers target prospects who need their products and/or services. For more information, please visit www.bizvibe.com and start for free today.

Contact

BizVibe

Jesse Maida

Email: [email protected]

+1 855-897-5880

Website: https://www.bizvibe.com/

SOURCE BizVibe

Related Links

https://www.bizvibe.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.
Officials in Quincy said a sexual assault awareness campaign will be launched at the citys two high schools following reports last week of students who posted pro-rape hate speech on social media that targeted one of their peers and the school community at large.

Superintendent Kevin W. Mulvey was notified last Friday of an alarming incident involving sexual harassment and hate at the hands of Quincy High School students, the superintendent wrote in a letter to the Quincy Public Schools community Sunday.

This misconduct, which included pro-rape speech on social media, was extremely disturbing to the targeted student and the entire school community, Mulvey wrote in his letter. This is offensive and dangerous behavior that will not be tolerated by the Quincy Public Schools.

The students accused of being involved in harrassment will be held accountable and appropriately disciplined, the superintendent noted.

The sexual assault awareness campaign will be introduced immediately at both Quincy and North Quincy high schools, according to Mulvey. The program will focus on educating students about the importance of healthy relationships, respectful communication and appropriate responses, he said.

In creating the campaign, Quincy Public Schools has reached out to its partners at DOVE, an organization committed to combatting domestic violence, and Walker Therapeutic and Educational Programs, a nonprofit specializing in child welfare, behavioral health and special education. The school district said it will involve all stakeholders in the planning and implementation process of the program.

Quincy Public Schools is committed to working with students to promote healthy relationships, being an ally, and empowerment, the superintendent said. Clearly there is work to be done within the school community to combat the minimization and glorification of sexual assault.

Mulvey urged families in immediate need of information to help speaking with their child to contact their school counselor or visit https://www.dovema.org/ for additional resources. Families can also contact the superintendents office at (617) 984-8701 or kevinmulvey@quincypublicschools.com.
 Flash

"We urge the Government of Kenya to ensure that any decisions allow for suitable and sustainable solutions to be found and that those who continue to need protection are able to receive it," the UN refugee agency said in a statement issued on Wednesday evening.

The move follows a government directive to the UN refugee agency to come up with a way forward on the closure of the camps.

Kenya is citing national security threats posed by some of the refugees, including past terror attacks that have been linked to accomplices of the Somali-based al-Shabab militant group within the camps as the reasons for the planned closure.

Fred Matiang'i, Kenya's Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government gave the UNHCR a 14-day ultimatum to come up with a roadmap on the definite closure.

Matiang'i who had met the UNHCR officials on Tuesday said on Wednesday there was "no room" for further negotiations.

But UNHCR said it was concerned about the impact this decision would have on the protection of refugees in Kenya, including in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

"We will continue our dialogue with the Kenyan authorities on this issue," UNHCR said, adding that it's ready to support the government in continuing and further strengthening the work that is ongoing to find solutions that are orderly, sustainable, and respect refugee rights.

The Kenyan team has scheduled another meeting with diplomats from Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and South Sudan on Friday to regularize the repatriation of their nationals from the camps.

Apart from the terror issue, the government team said Kenya's efforts to have the war-torn areas where al-Shabab operates in Somalia to be labeled as terrorist organizations have been hindered continuously.

The drastic move also comes at a time when there is an ongoing maritime case with Somalia which Kenya has accused the International Court of Justice of failure to honor its request to have the new team of lawyers prepare sufficiently for the case.

Dadaab, the world's largest refugee camp, was set up in 1991 to house people fleeing conflict in Somalia.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - A new long-term health effect of COVID-19 has been reported, while the White House has expressed concern over vaccine supply from one manufacturer.

Meanwhile, New York State lawmakers have a deal to legalize marijuana for recreational use.

The American Dental Association said that pandemic stress has led to people clenching their jaws and grinding their teeth more often, leading to chipped and cracked teeth, as well as increased headaches and jaw pain.

Meanwhile, Politico reported that President Joe Biden is concerned that Johnson & Johnson would not be able to deliver the 20 million vaccine doses it promised by the end of this month. Senior administration officials told Politico that logistical complication and regulatory problems may delay shipments.

In New York, the New York Post reported that state lawmakers had come to an agreement to legalize weed for recreational use. The measure would allow people to possess up to three ounces of marijuana and to grow their own ganja as well.

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 Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill 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.
The Pennsylvania Department of Healths latest numbers on new COVID-19 infections by ZIP code were released on Wednesday. Weve taken a look at the results and found the ZIP codes in our state with the highest number of new cases.

In this weeks numbers, Philadelphia ZIP code 19148 has the most new cases, with 158 since last week. Philadelphia ZIP codes have been among the highest for the past several weeks, as one might expect: many of the pandemics largest outbreaks have been focused on large population centers such as major cities.
Details for land purchase agreement should be ready by next week
TANZANIA Hotels Investment (THI) and four other respondents have lost their appeal against findings of the High Court's Labour Division, which ordered payments of terminal benefits to 418 former employees for unfair termination of their employment during privatization process.

Justices Shaban Lila, Gerald Ndika and Jacobs Mwambegele ruled in favour of Daudi Mapuga and 417 others, the applicants, after allowing their application for striking out the notice of appeal lodged by the respondents in attempt to oppose the High Court's decision.

Other respondents apart from the THI are Consolidated Holding Corporation-Succeeded by Treasury Registrar, Serengeti Safari Lodges, Mafia Island Lodge and Mount Meru Hotel.

They ruled that the respondents failed to take essential steps towards instituting their intended appeal.

"For their default, we grant the application with costs and, in consequence, order that their notice of appeal lodged on November 10, 2015 be and is hereby struck out," the justices declared.

During hearing of the appeal, the counsel for the respondents had submitted, among others, no stapes were taken since the filing of the notice in question because the High Court Registrar had not supplied to them the copies of proceedings and the ruling they requested for appeal process.

In the ruling, however, the justices of the appeals court noted that both in the affidavit in reply and oral argument before the Court, the respondents stated fearlessly and unblushingly that they had no obligation to follow up on their outstanding request for a record of proceedings.

According to them, as a matter of fact, the respondents counsel had no difficulty in confirming to the Court at the time of the hearing, which was roughly sixty-one months (more than five years) after the request was made, that no follow up had been made on their request to the Registrar.

"Should we allow them to keep waiting infinitely without any action on their part? We think the law should not be interpreted and applied in a manner that protects parties whose diligence is seriously in question," the justices said.

They pointed out that the respondents enduring inaction only implies an inexcusable lack of diligence in pursuing the intended appeal warranting the Court to strike out the notice of appeal under Rule 89 (2) of the Rules of the Court of Appeal Rules.

The justices were of the firm view that the law requires the intending appellant to collect copy of proceedings upon being informed by the Registrar and that if he is not so informed, then he must take such steps within 14 days following the expiry of the ninety days after the request was made.

"While we acknowledge that the Registrar is plainly blameworthy for his inaction in supplying the requested documents, we think the respondents' diligence is seriously in question. We are unprepared to let the respondents claim that they were home and dry," they said.

The justices concluded that it would be most illogical and injudicious, we think, to accept the respondents' wait infinitely for a copy of the proceedings while they take no action on their part to follow up on their request to the Registrar.

The applicants were employees of the THI, which owned and operated government-owned hotels countrywide, which included the Serengeti Safari Lodges, Mafia Island Lodge and Mount Meru Hotel.

In the course of privatization of the hotels in 2003 and 2004 conducted on behalf of the government by the Parastatal Sector Reform Commission (PSRC), the applicants had their employment terminated.

Aggrieved that the termination did not comply with the first respondent's Service Regulations and Schemes of Service, the applicants lodged a complaint with the now defunct Industrial Court of Tanzania.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Tanzania Land and Rural Issues Investment By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

The Consolidated Holding Corporation (CHC), being the successor to the PSRC, was included in the proceedings. As it turned out, the complaint was not finalized by the time the new labour dispute resolution regime became effective.

Hence, the matter was inherited by the High Court, Labour Division at Arusha. In its decision, the High Court partly sustained the claims.

The court ordered the CHC, which had taken over the liabilities of the THI as the applicants' employer, to compensate each complainant 12 months wages at the rate of wages which the employees were earning before the termination of their employment.

Having been aggrieved by the decision of the High Court, on December 10, 2015, the respondents lodged their notice of appeal and applied for a copy of the proceedings. Since then, no appeal was filed to oppose the ruling in question of the High Court.
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.
Bill Brock, the former Tennessee senator who as party chairman revived and broadened the Republican Party machinery after Watergate to pave the way for Ronald Reagans election in 1980, died on Thursday at a hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He was 90.

The cause was pneumonia, said Tom Griscom, a spokesman for the family.

Mr. Brock voted against the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 as a representative from Tennessee  a vote he later regretted  but as party leader he became an insistent voice for greater Republican efforts to win over Black voters.

As chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1977 through 1981, he clashed with Reagan over the Panama Canal treaties and the site of the 1980 national convention. (Mr. Brock argued for Detroit, a Black majority city; Reagan preferred Dallas.) But after winning the nomination, Reagan kept him on as party chairman and later chose him to be the United States trade representative and then secretary of labor.

Mr. Brock won the chairmanship of his party at a time when it was demoralized in the wake of the Watergate scandal and the fall of Richard M. Nixon, commanding the allegiance of only 20 percent of Americans, according to New York Times/CBS News polls.
BOSTON, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- SSC Venture Partners, a seed stage fund investing in Boston College alumni, announces its first close of $4M in SSC Fund III. Fund III is made up over 40 LPs that are all BC alumni and active participants in the technology and entrepreneurial ecosystem as investors, operators, lawyers or accountants.

Founded in 2017 by General Partners Tom Coburn, Peter Bell, and Miguel Galvez, SSC Venture Partners was formed to invest in startups founded by Boston College alumni with the goal of creating a broad ecosystem of BC alumni to help fund, mentor, and support the next generation of successful entrepreneurs. To date, SSC has deployed $1.3M in over 20 startups from a wide variety of industries ranging from synthetic biology to real estate. In addition to making seed stage investments, SSC also runs an accelerator program to help turn current BC students into the next generation of venture-backed founders.

"The new capital in Fund III will enable SSC to make larger bets and better support our growing portfolio of successful startups," said Peter Bell. "Our belief has always been that BC alumni are strongly positioned to build big disruptive businesses and we are eager to continue to partner with and invest in our most promising alumni," said Tom Coburn.

In recent years BC alumni have founded and exited category-defining companies such as Drizly, which was recently acquired by Uber for $1.1B, and WePay, which was acquired by JP Morgan Chase for $400M. "The BC ecosystem has been instrumental in our growth at Drizly and I am happy to be an investor in SSC to help the next generation of BC-alumni founders," said Justin Robinson, co-founder of Drizly.

Fund III aims to invest between $100k and $500k in early stage companies that are actively raising pre-seed, seed, or series A investment rounds.

SOURCE SSC Venture Partners

Related Links

https://www.sscventurepartners.com


The Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine has welcomed the signing by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky of the law on the Bureau of Economic Security.

The Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine wrote this on Twitter.

The EU Delegation to Ukraine and EU Advisory Mission Ukraine welcome President Zelenskys signing the Law on the Bureau of Economic Security. Key reform of investigation and law enforcement on economic crime, reads the report.

According to the Delegation of the EU to Ukraine, next steps should be changes in the criminal procedure code, transparent selection of Bureau of Economic Securitys team.

The Delegation of the EU to Ukraine also assured it is ready to provide support to Ukraine.

As reported, the law on the Bureau of Economic Security was approved by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on January 28, 2021.

The document stipulates that the Bureau of Economic Security will be established as a central executive government body to counteract offenses encroaching on the functioning of the state economy. The main function of the Bureau of Economic Security will be analytical work, not enforcement powers.

iy
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 25, 2021] Sencorp Systems Hires Markus Zlotosch as Thermoforming Vice President

HYANNIS, Mass., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Sencorp, a leading manufacturer of thermoforming machines, announced today that Markus Zlotosch has joined the company as the Thermoforming Vice President. Zlotosch will lead the Sales team for its thermoforming group across all industries. "Zlotosch's extensive background in technical sales, service, and thermoforming manufacturing make him perfect for this role and we are thrilled to onboard him to this important position. While focusing on increasing Sencorp's market share in the thermoforming industry, and growing topline sales, he will also manage our team of Account Executives to ensure seamless execution of thermoforming machine sales," says Brian Urban of SencorpWhite's Advisory Board. Zlotosch has over 30 years of experience working with customers, engineering, and product design. This expertise has provided him with ample knowledge of thermoforming equipment and processes and will enable Sencorp to work with packaging manufacturers to design equipment tailored to their unique business model. "Zlotosch's technical experience within the Thermoforming industry will add significant value to our customers as we support them throughout the design and manufacturing of their machines. I have confidence that Zlotosch will bring immediate value to both new and existing customers to provide an unmatched customer experience," says Corey Calla, CEO of SencorpWhite. Zlotosch previously held several positions at Kiefel Packaging, where he advanced from engineering to service management, then sales, and eventually served as Vice President for 13 years. Over the past two decades, Zlotosch has had success leaing team expansion, but among his greatest achievements was constructing a service team and leading the growth of the packaging thermoforming business in the United States and Canada.



"I am truly enthusiastic about joining the Sencorp team," Zlotosch said. "New market segments continue to open in the thermoforming industry, allowing Sencorp to provide customer value. Sencorp has been positioned as the 'workhorse of the industry' for over 75 years and we will continue to bring innovative solutions and value through service to each of our partners." About Sencorp:

Sencorp is a leading Thermoforming machine manufacturer located in Massachusetts. Sencorp Thermoformers are used for manufacturing blister packs, clamshells, trays, and disposable containers. They are engineered to reliably produce high volume, quality parts from most major polymers. Sencorp machines are used for many markets including consumer, medical, pharmaceutical, food, and automotive.

About SencorpWhite:

SencorpWhite is an industry-leading designer and manufacturer of intelligent storage and retrieval solutions, thermoforming, sealing, and inventory management software. We offer customized solutions with in-house engineering, design and manufacturing capabilities, on-site maintenance, and service with field service engineers located throughout the United States. For more information, call (508) 771-9400 or e-mail communications@sencorpwhite.com. Follow Us https://www.linkedin.com/company/sencorpwhite https://twitter.com/sencorpwhite https://www.instagram.com/sencorpwhite/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKITGVQlcBaKCFjX_QkujPg Scott Boyson

Marketing and Sales Operations Manager

(508) 771-9400

communications@sencorpwhite.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sencorp-systems-hires-markus-zlotosch-as-thermoforming-vice-president-301255946.html SOURCE SencorpWhite

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Similarly sized schools with more than 67% opting in would default to the two-day model. Schools with more than 1,000 students and fewer than 67% opting in could use the two- or four- day model, depending on space limitations. If more than 67% of students at large schools opted in, they could use the two-day model if space permitted but would have to use the one-day model if space was limited.
PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Over 15,000 people have died of COVID-19 in nursing homes and adult care facilities in New York in the least year. Because the state granted broad immunity to nursing home corporate executives in an April 2020 bill, few lawsuits have followed, despite innumerable horror stories. Championed by Governor Cuomo, who counts the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA) as one of his biggest backers, the measure was passed a little-noticed item in a budget measure. It prohibited most suits against facilities, administrators and executives. As a result, New Yorkers who lost their loved ones under unacceptable circumstances were left with no legal recourse.

The original measure was broadly criticized, drawing repeal calls from New York Attorney General Letitia James as well as most of the membership of both legislative houses. The New York Legislature has reversed that measure with a series of bills that allow litigation against abusive and neglectful nursing home practices.

The legislation includes three bills:

Emergency or Disaster Treatment Protection Act : S.5177, sponsored by Senator Alessandra Biaggi , repeals the special liability protections granted to nursing homes and other healthcare facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

: S.5177, sponsored by Senator , repeals the special liability protections granted to nursing homes and other healthcare facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mandatory Translation of Rights and Information on Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program : S.4377, sponsored by Senator Rachel May , requires nursing homes to inform residents of the Long-term Care Ombudsman Program, with translation by the Department of Health into New York's six most common languages. Though the program is not new, many residents were unaware of it.

: S.4377, sponsored by Senator , requires nursing homes to inform residents of the Long-term Care Ombudsman Program, with translation by the Department of Health into six most common languages. Though the program is not new, many residents were unaware of it. Improved Certificate of Need Process: S.4893A, sponsored by Senator Gustavo Rivera , requires public disclosure of nursing home assets and ownership information, assuring greater transparency, particularly in proposals for change of ownership or operations.

The measure now goes to the Governor. Supermajorities in both the Senate and Assembly mean they could override a veto.

Jerrold Parker, founding partner of Parker Waichman LLP, explains that these measures were desperately needed: "While we recognize that COVID-19 has stretched some care facilities, we do not accept it as an excuse neglect or abuse. Transparency and accountability are critical parts of care. A family's right to sue is the essential incentive for nursing homes provide quality care for vulnerable loves ones."

Filing a Nursing Home Lawsuit

Parker Waichman has represented thousands of clients injured by nursing homes and other care facilities. If you or someone you know is interested in filing a lawsuit against a nursing home, please call 1-800-YOUR-LAWYER or visit the firm's website at https://www.yourlawyer.com.

SOURCE Parker Waichman LLP

Related Links

http://www.yourlawyer.com


South Korea's military said fired two unidentified projectiles into its eastern waters on Thursday as it revives its testing activity to expand its military capabilities and pressure on the Biden administration amid a stalemate in diplomacy.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the US and South Korean militaries were analysing the launches that were conducted from an area on the North's eastern coast. It didn't immediately say whether they assessed the weapons as ballistic or how far they flew.

The launches came a day after US and South Korean officials said the North fired short-range weapons presumed to be cruise missiles into its western sea over the weekend.

The North's weapons demonstrations come amid stalled nuclear negotiations with the United States. Talks faltered after the collapse of Kim Jong Un's second summit with former president Donald Trump in February 2019 where the Americans rejected North Korean demands for major sanctions relief in exchange for a partial surrender of their nuclear capabilities.

The North has so far ignored the Biden administration's efforts to reach out, saying it won't engage in meaningful talks with the US unless Washington abandons what Pyongyang sees as "hostile" policies, which clearly refers to the US-led sanctions and pressure over its nuclear program.

Kim's powerful sister last week berated the United States over its combined military exercises with South Korea, describing the drills as an invasion rehearsal and warned Washington to "refrain from causing a stink" if it wants to "sleep in peace" for the next four years.

South Korea's Defence Ministry said the North's short-range tests on Sunday were its first missile firings since April 2020. Biden played down those launches, telling reporters, "There's no new wrinkle in what they did."



has a history of testing new US administrations with missile launches and other provocations aimed at forcing the Americans back to the negotiating table.

Since Trump's first meeting with Kim in Singapore in 2018, the North has not conducted nuclear or long-range missile tests, although analysts believe they have pressed ahead with their programs on both.

The North has continued with short and medium-range missile testing during its suspension of nuclear and long-range tests, expanding its ability to strike targets in and Japan, including US bases there.

While Kim has vowed to strengthen his nuclear weapons program in recent political speeches, he also tried to give the new US administration an opening by saying that the fate of their relations depends on whether Washington discards what he calls hostile US policies.

During his visit to Seoul last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken sternly criticised North Korea's nuclear ambitions and human rights record and pressed China to use its "tremendous influence" to convince the North to denuclearise.

(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.)
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.
Haitis president knows he has a problem: Governing a country that at times seems to verge on the ungovernable is hard enough when you have a lot of support.

Jovenel Moise clearly does not.

In a recent interview, the Haitian leader lamented that he has the confidence of only a small sliver of his people.

He won the 2016 elections with just under 600,000 votes in a country of 11 million. And now many are angry over his refusal to leave office in February, amid a dispute over whether his term ended then or should extend for one more year.

Yet Mr. Moise, 52, has chosen this moment to embark on the biggest shake-up Haitis politics has seen in decades, overseeing the drafting of a new Constitution that will restructure government and give the presidency greater powers.

A Libyan warlord, wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), was shot dead on Wednesday 24 March in Benghazi, in the east of the country. He was Mahmoud al-Werfalli, a member of the forces loyal to Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the strongman of eastern Libya and head of the Libyan National Army. Al-Werfalli was the subject of two ICC warrants for his arrest on war crimes charges.

According to security sources, Mahmoud al-Werfalli was shot by unidentified gunmen while in his vehicle in central Benghazi. He was seriously wounded and evacuated to the Benghazi medical center, where he died.

Al-Werfalli was a commander in the Al-Saiqa Brigade, a Special Forces unit affiliated with Marshal Haftars Libyan National Army. Known for his summary executions of political prisoners, he was accused by the ICC of war crimes, torture, cruel treatment, and crimes against humanity for the killings of 33 people between June 2016 and July 2017.

Mahmoud al-Werfalli was notably accused of having shot ten people in front of a mosque in Benghazi, in January 2018. Exactions that did not prevent him from being promoted by Marshal Haftar, had deplored the ICCs chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda.

His murder comes amid growing tensions and rivalries between rival factions in eastern Libya. Two other Libyans are still being prosecuted by the ICC: Seif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of former dictator Muammar Gaddafi, whose fate is unknown, and Al-Tuhamy Mohamed Khaled, the former head of Libyas Internal Security Agency, who allegedly tortured opponents of Gaddafis regime. Both are wanted for crimes against humanity.
Charleston, WV (25301)

Today

Chance of an isolated thunderstorm early, then variable clouds overnight with more showers at times. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 61F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Chance of an isolated thunderstorm early, then variable clouds overnight with more showers at times. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 61F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
A student who searched for and downloaded child sexual abuse material of the most depraved nature has been jailed for 16 months.

Albaraa Turkistani (27) was caught with 272 images and 159 videos of children and babies being molested, raped and sexually assaulted by men, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard.

Sentencing him on Tuesday, Judge Martin Nolan said accessing child abuse material is obviously not a victimless crime.

We don't know who the victims are, but this is real abuse, videoed and put out there, the judge said. He noted Turkistani regularly searched for material of the most depraved nature which included babies being sexually abused.

The judge accepted Turkistani's assertion that he did not view all the material he downloaded, but said he viewed a substantial amount of it.

Turkistani, with an address in Central Park, Leopardstown, Dublin pleaded guilty to one count of possessing the images contrary to the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act at his home on April 19, 2017.

In a letter of apology to the court, Turkistani wrote: I realise I have committed a terrible, hideous and evil act. He said he sought out therapy immediately after he was arrested in order to address longstanding issues from his childhood.

He said being arrested was the most important turning point in my life and that he has spent the last four years trying to change his life and correct his wrong-doing.

Detective Garda Paul Kane told Maddie Grant BL, prosecuting, that gardai were alerted to the material from German Interpol and got a search warrant for Turkistani's home.

They seized a number of devices and the material was found on one of his laptops. Turkistani immediately admitted to downloading the material, the court heard.

Sara Phelan SC, defending, outlined a number of incidents from Turkistani's childhood which the court heard contributed to his getting involved in downloading such material. The court heard Turkistani grew up in Saudi Arabia and moved to Ireland with his mother and sister in 2015.

He is currently studying for a degree in Retail and Services Management and hopes to go on to complete a Masters, Ms Phelan said. He works part-time in a pizza shop to support himself.

He very much wishes to contribute to society, to continue to do well in his studies and obtain employment, Ms Phelan said.

She told the court her client appreciates the grave nature of the images and videos but submitted he has not offended since and has done well in therapy. She urged Judge Nolan to consider handing down a suspended sentence.

Judge Nolan agreed there were a number of mitigating factors in the case, including the fact Turkistani has no previous convictions, but he said the nature of the case was so serious it merited a custodial sentence.

He noted Turkistani took many steps to procure the material, which he searched for specifically. This defendant's behaviour in possessing this material was gravely reprehensible, he said.

He handed down a three-and-a-half year sentence but suspended the final two years and two months on a number of conditions.
"We look forward to further cooperation with Qatar Petroleum in the future. Sinopec has always advocated for the development of green and clean energy and the long-term LNG supply agreement will not only meet the needs of the Chinese market but will also demonstrate Sinopec's commitment to a low-carbon, green, safe, responsible and sustainable development path," remarked Zhang. "We firmly believe that it's the responsibility of the entire industry and every company to reach peak carbon emissions and achieve carbon neutral, which is needed for the industry's transformation and development."

Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Minister of State for Energy Affairs of the State of Qatar, the president and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, expressed that signing the first long-term LNG contract with Sinopec has further consolidated the sound bilateral relations between the two countries, as well as the beginning of establishing a long-term, fruitful cooperative relationship between Qatar Petroleum and Sinopec.

China and Qatar's cooperation in the energy sector started in 2009, and this cooperation will further enhance Qatar's ability to supply the Chinese market to meet growing demand as well as highlighting Qatar Petroleum's leading position in the industry.

China is a key and strategic energy partner for the State of Qatar throughout the entire energy value chain having supplied 62 million tons of LNG to China since 2009. With the government introducing a series of environmental protection measures, China's LNG market will maintain steady growth in the future, bringing broad prospects for cooperation between both parties.

Qatar Petroleum is the national oil corporation of Qatar, established in November 1974. It is responsible for the development of the oil and gas industry in the State of Qatar and its main businesses include oil and gas exploration and development.

About Sinopec

Sinopec Corp. is one of the largest integrated energy and chemical companies in China. Its principal operations include the exploration and production, pipeline transportation and sale of petroleum and natural gas; the sale, storage and transportation of petroleum products, petrochemical products, coal chemical products, synthetic fiber, fertilizer and other chemical products; the import and export, including an import and export agency business, of petroleum, natural gas, petroleum products, petrochemical and chemical products, and other commodities and technologies; and research, development and application of technologies and information.

Sinopec sets 'fueling beautiful life' as its corporate mission, puts 'people, responsibility, integrity, precision, innovation and win-win' as its corporate core values, pursues strategies of value-orientation, innovation-driven development, integrated resource allocation, open cooperation, and green and low-carbon growth, and strives to achieve its corporate vision of building a world leading energy and chemical company.

For more information, please visit http://www.sinopec.com/

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1471770/image1.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/960416/SINOPEC_Logo.jpg

Related Links

http://www.sinopec.com/



SOURCE Sinopec Group
One million PBX shares were personally donated by PowerBand CEO Kelly Jennings

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 25, 2021 / PowerBand Solutions Inc.'s (TSXV:PBX) (OTCQB:PWWBF) (Frankfurt:1ZVA) ("PowerBand", "PBX" or the "Company") wishes to make clear the donation of one million PBX shares to Giving HOPE, the New Orleans-based charity, are a personal gift from Powerband CEO Kelly Jennings.

"My donation has no impact on the treasury of PowerBand nor does it dilute the company in anyway," said Jennings. "We wanted to make that clear to our shareholders."

Giving HOPE was founded by Troy Duhon, a New Orleans businessman, philanthropist, and partner of PowerBand through the Premier Auto Group ("Premier Auto"), which Duhon founded in 1995. The dealership has grown to 24 dealerships in California, Kansas, Louisiana, Texas, and Missouri.

Duhon has also said Giving HOPE has no intention to sell the PBX shares at the present time. "This is a donation we intend to hold onto as an investment for the future, as PowerBand and DRIVRZ grow," said Duhon.

The Company's donation allows Giving HOPE the ability to redirect other funds to build HOPE House orphanages, one of Giving HOPE's several humanitarian undertakings. Inspired by the extreme lack of attention of children abandoned in horrendous conditions, Giving HOPE's goal is to finance and build orphanages on every livable continent.

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 smart phones or any other online digital devices, from any location. PowerBand's transaction platform - being trademarked under DRIVRZ - is being made available across North American and global markets.

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 news release.

For further information, please contact:

Kelly Jennings

Chief Executive Officer

P: 866-768-7653

E: info@powerbandsolutions.com

SOURCE: PowerBand Solutions Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/637432/PowerBand-Donation-of-One-Million-Shares-to-Help-US-Charity-Giving-Hope-Build-Orphanages-Will-Be-Held-Indefinitely-as-an-Investment
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan Signs Bill sending $577 Million to States Historically Black Colleges and Universities

March 24, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (R) signed a legislation that funnels $577 million to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The federal implementation comes after 15 years of litigation involving organizations in favor of HBCUs; proposing that the state assist with the inadequate gaps in funding.

According to the Washington Post, Maryland is still grappling with separate but equal in higher education. PBS news confirmed that in 2013, a federal judge found that the state maintained a dual and segregated education system, which directly violates the U.S. Constitution.

However, the Maryland State Assembly approved the initiative last week; the settlement will be dispersed among recruitment of faculty and development, student support services such as financial aid and online programs, and possibility improving existing academic curriculums.

ADVERTISEMENT

Additionally, these funds are looking to facilitate scholarships and academic programs for Morgan State University, Coppin State University, Bowie State University, and University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

To fully activate the directive, the state will have to finalize the settlement with the Coalition for Equity and Excellence in Maryland Higher Education, the organization that previously sued Maryland for inadequate funding in 2006.

The Maryland House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County) told Washington Post, We finally got to this day, as she was speaking to the crowd when the legislation was being signed at Bowie State.

Jones is the first Black woman to serve as the Maryland House speaker; she confirmed that the settlement is looking to be finalized by spring according to the previously mentioned source.

As Hogan signs the document on Wednesday; it shows a full circle of change, as the Maryland Governor in the past has rejected more than a half-a-billion-dollar settlement that the coalition has brought to claim before.

On Wednesday, Hogan has shown a level of growth, stating the activation of the bill will allow Historically Black Colleges and Universities to take an unprecedented step forward. With this directive, Governor Hogan has displayed awareness of systematic inequalities that has plagued Black secondary academia for generations.

This bill is a direct response to the perseverance found in the coalition, leaders of the universities, and students who invested their time to see this settlement come to this moment. Michael D. Jones is the lead attorney for the Coalition for Equity and Excellence; he mentioned that he was ready to sit with Marylands General Brian E. Frosh (D) and confirm the deal before the deadline in June.

ADVERTISEMENT

There were several rounds of court ordered mediation between the state and the coalition. To bring awareness to the discussion, the coalition rallied a public campaign in 2019 and called for assistance from other lawmakers.

The bill will begin in the 2023 fiscal year; the state will provide $57.7 million annually, to be appropriately distributed between four universities. The funding is heavily weighed by the enrollment of students; Coppin State will receive $9 million, Eastern Shore $9.7 million, Bowie State $16.8 million and Morgan state will receive $24 million.

Coppin State President Anthony L. Jenkins said within a statement obtained by the Washington Post, This is a historic moment and unique opportunity to correct decades of previous untraceable and traceable state-supported inequities.

The Coppin State President continued, We will immediately begin working with all stakeholders to implement provisions that will allow Coppin State tocontinue to provide quality higher education.

During the financial adjustment, Maryland will also look forward to improving the online programs for all four universities and review the process of approving new academic programs. President of Morgan State David Wilson said to the Washington Post, This infusion of money will enable us to put in place new high-demand academic degree programs that are in alignment with the work of the future.

The previously mentioned news source nodded that the groundbreaking investment is due to the overall social response of the death of George Floyd, which ignited a new level of social realization of inequalities found within the Black community.

According to PBS, the request and claim for more funding has been ongoing for more than 15 years; there has been recorded federal lawsuits related to the underfunding at the states four HBCUs.

There has been claims dating back to 2006 reacting to the underfunding of these institutions, in addition to designing attractive programs in White schools that directly competed with HBCUs, draining them of prospective Black students.

Baltimore News, WBAL, stated the House Bill is a 10-year commitment of funding designed for scholarships and support for Bowie, Morgan State, Coppin State, and Maryland Eastern Shore universities.

U.S. Senator Ben Cardin released a statement obtained by the WBAL news source, stating, This landmark legislation to settle the long-standing lawsuit by boosting funding for Marylands four HBCUs is long overdue. 

The U.S. Senator continued, The additional funding will allow Marylands HBCUs to provide greater levels of financial assistance for students, create new niche academic programs exclusively at their institutions, enhance existing programs at the universities and place these programs online to expand the reach of the schools.

Only moments were needed to sign for more functionality into HBCUs. the fight for this step into equity has been going on for over 15 years. However, on March 24, acknowledgment of the injustices that were happening were addressed.

Through the persistence of united lawmakers, the Coalition of Equity and Excellence, students, and benefactors, the HBCUs of Maryland are going to start seeing a new level of equity that is promised to for the next decade, perhaps extending the life of these schools for future generations of Black students.

After 15 years of litigation, the HBCUs of Maryland will see the needed nourishment and plant new seeds of wealth in the collective community, honing into the well-earned respect that Maryland HBCUs known for contributing to the growth of the Black middle class.

Morgan States Wilson told the Baltimore Sun after the ceremony, Morgan and our other HBCUs have been pulling the weight in this state in terms of creating a Black middle class and we have been doing it without due respect. He continued. So, the money is great. We need that, but respect, as well.

updated by author: 3/30/21
A policeman patrols inside a village that was placed under lockdown as the government implements stricter measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus (Aaron Favila/AP)

The Philippine president has ordered at least nine city and town mayors investigated for possible charges after they reportedly jumped ahead of a priority list led by 1.7 million health workers and got injected with Covid-19 vaccine amid a shortage in supply.

President Rodrigo Duterte said in a televised meeting with key Cabinet members that aside from the mayors, the son of an actress also got immunised.

He expressed fears that the Philippines may lose the chance to get more donated vaccines arranged by the World Health Organisation if its conditions would continue to be violated.

We were told by the WHO country representative, If you do not follow the list of priority, you might lose the assistance of the WHO, Mr Duterte said.

Expand Close Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, right, wears a face mask as he talks to members of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Malacanang presidential palace in Manila (King Rodriguez/AP) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, right, wears a face mask as he talks to members of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Malacanang presidential palace in Manila (King Rodriguez/AP)

It wasnt followed because I heard even the son of an actress got it.

Its always the favoured few.

The countrys health secretary Francisco Duque III reported to Mr Duterte that just slightly more than 508,000 of a total 1.7 million doctors, nurses and other health workers have been immunised and added that only 1.5 million vaccine doses, all donated by China and the WHO, have arrived in the country so far.

The government programme to inoculate about 70 million adult Filipinos has faced delays, supply problems, public hesitancy and widespread criticism.

After health workers, the next in line of priority include elderly Filipinos and people with non-Covid-19 illnesses like diabetes and the poor.
NWS Weather Alert NOTE: This information is provided by the National Weather Service. Forecast may differ from local information provided by our own 69News Meteorologists

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 234 IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM EDT THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING AREAS IN DELAWARE THIS WATCH INCLUDES 3 COUNTIES IN CENTRAL DELAWARE KENT IN NORTHERN DELAWARE NEW CASTLE IN SOUTHERN DELAWARE SUSSEX IN MARYLAND THIS WATCH INCLUDES 4 COUNTIES IN NORTHEAST MARYLAND CAROLINE KENT QUEEN ANNE'S TALBOT IN NEW JERSEY THIS WATCH INCLUDES 10 COUNTIES IN CENTRAL NEW JERSEY MERCER IN NORTHERN NEW JERSEY HUNTERDON MORRIS SOMERSET SUSSEX WARREN IN SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY CAMDEN CUMBERLAND GLOUCESTER SALEM IN PENNSYLVANIA THIS WATCH INCLUDES 10 COUNTIES IN EAST CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA BERKS LEHIGH NORTHAMPTON IN NORTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA CARBON MONROE IN SOUTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA BUCKS CHESTER DELAWARE MONTGOMERY PHILADELPHIA THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF ALLENTOWN, BETHLEHEM, BLAIRSTOWN, CAMDEN, CENTREVILLE, CHERRY HILL, CHESTERTOWN, DENTON, DEPTFORD, DOVER, DOYLESTOWN, EASTON, EASTON, FLEMINGTON, GEORGETOWN, GLASSBORO, JIM THORPE, MEDIA, MILLVILLE, MORRISTOWN, NEWTON, NORRISTOWN, PENNSVILLE, PHILADELPHIA, READING, SOMERSET, STROUDSBURG, TRENTON, WEST CHESTER, AND WILMINGTON.
To the Editor:

Another mass killing by someone with an assault weapon. Im so tired of hearing about these events. Im tired of the arguments from those who claim its their right to own such a weapon for self-defense. Im tired of the platitudes and thoughts and prayers from elected officials. And what Im really tired of, and outraged by, is the inaction by Congress to do anything about the incessant stream of murders by perpetrators using these weapons.

What about my right to live in a safe community? What about my right to be able to go shopping, or to a restaurant, a park, a concert, a nightclub, without fear of being murdered by someone with a weapon designed expressly for mass killing?

What about the rights of my children and grandchildren to complete their education, work in a safe place, get married and raise a family, and grow to a ripe old age, without worrying about being gunned down by someone with a grievance that has nothing to do with them? When will our elected leaders take steps to stop this carnage?

Congress must require background checks for all buyers, and assault weapons and large magazines should be permanently banned.
Rwanda is in the process of mobilising funds and designing the second phase of the Economic Recovery Fund.

The fund's second phase is expected to be launched in June this year and follows the Rwf100 billion fund launched in June last year.

Sources with insights on the matter say that the second phase of the fund could increase the fund to about Rwf350 billion.

Richard Tusabe, the Minister of State in charge of the National Treasury in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, said that efforts are underway to prepare rollout mechanisms of the fund to ensure impact and relevance to beneficiaries as well as timely disbursement.

Having experience from the disbursement of the previous fund which is still underway, he said that they expect more uptake in the oncoming fund and possibly shortfalls.

Among the features of the soon to be launched fund, he said, is that it will be more tailor-made to address market concerns and economic turmoil experienced in the local market.

So far, of the Rwf100 billion economic recovery fund, Rwf50 billion was allocated to refinance hotels loans restructuring while Rwf50 billion was allocated for working capital.

Of the hotel refinancing fund, Rwf43 billion has since been disbursed while the balance has been redirected to support transport sector operators.

However, there has been relatively poor uptake of the working capital allocation with about Rwf13 billion so far disbursed.

Tusabe said the relatively poor uptake of the working capital could be out of economic uncertainty and pessimism which was fast changing as economic activity resumed as well as country vaccination progress.

He however noted that in response to the limited uptake, they were customizing interventions to support the sectors worst hit such as transport, Meeting and conference operators, private education players to brace them for recovery. For instance, about Rwf12 billion is going to transport which has been affected as measures to curb the pandemic's spread were implemented including reduced capacity in public buses which saw a drop in revenue for public transporters.

The minister also mentioned that there are efforts to ensure that funds are accessed by Micro enterprises and Small and Medium Enterprises as they were also being disbursed via Saccos. 412 Saccos countrywide are currently involved.

World Bank Rwanda Country Manager, Rolande Pryce said that they are involved in the ongoing preparatory process for the new recovery fund adding that they were using lessons from the current fund on aspects such as eligibility.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Rwanda Business By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

She said that among the bank's expectations from the process is an approach that drives economic recovery sustainably and without adverse effects to the economy in the medium term.

Tusabe also noted that in response to about 500,000 people across the country slipping into poverty as a result of the pandemic and measures to curb it, the government was rolling out social protection programmes as well as implementing projects and programmes that would create jobs across the country.

In November last year, the government reviewed the terms and conditions for local firms eligible to receive the Economic Recovery Fund to increase the number of local businesses eligible for the support.

Economic recovery is top on the agenda as senior government officials and development partners commenced a 2 day meeting on March 24, the 17th Annual Development Partners Retreat (DPR).

At the meeting, the parties are taking stock of the key impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the economy and Rwandan society and mull strategies to pivot the economy to regain momentum.

"The government's health and socio-economic response has been commendable. Together, we can do more to recover stronger. Partners stand ready to continue supporting Rwanda to build a more inclusive, gender-responsive, green and resilient economy, for the benefit of all people," Fode Ndiaye, UN Resident Coordinator said.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) review Defence in a Competitive Age follows the publication last week of the Integrated Review of foreign and defence policy, based on naked warmongering against Russia and China and centred on increasing nuclear warhead capacity by 40 percent.

Trailing the review last Friday, Conservative government Defence Minister Ben Wallace said to be better equipped for a more competitive age requires Britains soft and hard power to be better integrated a Global Britain has no choice but to step up

The Defence in a Competitive Age report

The armed forces had to be on a constant war footing. The notion of war and peace as binary states has given way to a continuum of conflict, requiring us to prepare our forces for more persistent global engagement and constant campaigning, moving seamlessly from operating to war fighting.

Wallace announced that the armed forces will no longer be held as a force of last resort, but become more present and active around the world, operating below the threshold of open conflict to uphold our values and secure our interests, partner our friends and enable our allies, whether they are in the Euro-Atlantic, the Indo-Pacific, or beyond.

Changes in the make-up of the armed forces are conceived of as the basis for securing the global position of British capital having left the European Union. We will ensure Defence is threat-focused, modernised, and financially sustainable, ready to confront future challenges, seize new opportunities for Global Britain, said Wallace.

Vast sums are to be handed over to the military, with Wallace pointing to the Prime Ministers commitment to spending 188-billion on defence over the coming four yearsan increase of 24-billion or fourteen percent

The Defence Review proposes to cut army numbers by 9,500 to a force of 72,500 over the next four years. The size of the current force is already closer to 76,000 as a recruitment target of 82,000 set in the 2015 defence review was not met, meaning that the government is already more than half way to meeting reduction levels.

While confirmation that infantry numbers would be cut took all the headlinescentred on opposition from retired generals and including across the board newspaper editorialsthese reductions are being made in order to utilise technological developments to vastly strengthen the war machine. The review states that warfighting capability remains the cornerstone of deterrence and the bedrock of a world-class British Army.

The fleet of more than 700 Warrior infantry fighting vehicles will be axed and a third of the Challenger II tanks. But nearly 150 Challengers will be retained and upgraded at a cost of 1.3 billion. More than 100 aging aircraft are being phased out. The Royal Navy will lose several frigates, and destroyers will be reduced temporarily later this decade from 19 to 17, after which, however, new warships come into service.

The review includes 3-billion in new Army equipment on top of the more than 20-billion planned. This would fund Investment in new vehicles modernised long-range precision fires (including multiple launched rocket systems and Apache); new air defences; tactical surveillance drones; and new electronic warfare and cyberspace capabilities

A new Ranger regiment modelled on the US armys elite Green Berets as a special operations-capable force will focus on counter-insurgency operations at a cost of 120 million. The first 1,000-strong regiment of four battalions will be established early next year.

The Royal Navy is being significantly strengthened, with Wallace announcing, At sea we will have more ships, submarines, sailors and Future Commando Force deployed on an enduring basis, to contribute to security, protect shipping lanes and uphold freedom of navigation.

The review pledges that the navy will spend 40m more over the next four years to develop our Future Commando Force as part of the transformation of our amphibious forces, as well as more than 50m in converting a Bay class support ship to deliver a more agile and lethal littoral strike capability. Forward deployed to respond rapidly to crises, this special operations-capable force will operate alongside our allies and partners in areas of UK interest, ready to strike from the sea, pre-empt and deter sub-threshold activity, and counter state threats. The Daily Telegraph reported, The Bay-class ship, which carry a standard load of around 400 troops but can take up to 700 in an emergency, will be fitted out with secure communications and converted to operate airborne, surface and underwater drones.

A patrol ship, HMS Trent, will operate permanently for the first time from Gibraltar. This will support, NATO operations in the Mediterranean, work with our North African partners and support multinational counter piracy operations in the Gulf of Guinea off the coast of West Africa.

43 Commando Royal Marines in their Rigid Raider, being winched to sea level during a training exercise at sea. HMS Tamar worked with HMS Echo in order to conduct Royal Marine boarding training. 04/11/2020 (credit: Open Government License)

Defence in a Competitive Age states, Russia continues to pose the greatest nuclear, conventional military and sub-threshold threat to European security. As part of deterring Russian aggression, said Wallace, the Royal Navy is to deploy a spy ship tasked with preventing Russian submarines damaging undersea cables that could potentially sabotage internet connections.

Strengthening the UKs two aircraft carriersfor which 45 US-made F-35 Lightning jets have already been ordereda further 1.2 billion is going on the BAE Systems next-generation Tempest combat jet programme, raising total investment to over 2 billion.

Proposals to cut soldier numbers were decried as undermining the geo-political imperatives of British imperialism. Speaking to the Times Radio, retired general and crossbench peer Lord Richards said, We need to get more into hi-tech, cyber, drone technology and so on, but that could not be at the expense of conventional capabilities and key to that is numbers. He warned the cuts in personnel would mean we would not be able to recapture the Falklands, almost certainly.

Lord Dannatt, a former Chief of the General Staff who led the Army from 2006 to 2009, said Our principal ally the US worries in public about our diminished war fighting capability and our principal foe Russia cannot believe its luck. Pointing to the Gulf wars of 1991 and 2003, he said, The threshold below which our Army must not fall is our ability to field a single division into a new major conventional conflict we cannot today. If this remains the case the US will ignore the UK as a land partner in future.

Richards, who succeeded Dannatt, added, This is not the time to cut the size of our ground forces yet again. To retain clout militarily and politically, numbers matter. Mass matters.

Dannatt and Richards were backed by two other senior military figures, Lieutenant-General Jonathon Riley and Major-General Tim Cross who took to the pages of the Daily Mail in an appeal to Save our army!

Johnson said in his boorish manner that the armed forces would be made match fit, by which he meant that it would be ready to wage war anywhere and be readied to suppress discontent.

Debate in ruling circles centres on an insistence that the Armed Forces must retain a size capable of carrying out major operations globally, while also being able to utilise the latest technology to upgrade its war machine. The opposition Labour Party positioned itself in the same militarist trench as Johnson, while echoing concerns that troop cuts could jeopardize relations with Washington. John Healey, shadow defence secretary, commented, Further army cuts could seriously limit our forces capacity simultaneously to deploy overseas, support allies and maintain strong national defences and resilience.

Party leader Sir Keir Starmer led off Wednesdays Prime Ministers Questions not on the near 150,000 deaths from COVID-19 that Johnsons herd immunity programme is responsible for, but by criticising army number cuts. You just cant trust the Conservatives to protect our armed forces, he said.

The ridiculing of the size of the infantry (that it no longer fills Londons Wembley Stadium and is at its lowest level since 1824) conceals the fact that, including the navy and air force and around 37,000 reservists, the UKs armed forces personnel is still substantial at just short of 200,000. The International Institute for Strategic Studies lists the UKone of the five official nuclear weapon statesas the fourth largest defence budget in the world, only behind China, India and the United States.

The positions of Dannatt, Richards, et al, were bluntly opposed by the MoD and current Chief of the Defence Staff General Nick Carter, who told BBC Radio 4s Today programme, What we propose to do is make this into an army that is much more relevant and an army that will be genuinely lethal.

Backing him was another former Chief of General Staff, Sir Mike Jackson, who pointed to a recent military war games drill in California in which 100 UK Marines defeated a force of 1,500 US troops. The Sun reported that working in eight teams of 12, they outmanoeuvred their rivals and used helicopter drones linked to screens on their chests to pinpoint weak spots.

Jackson responded, This has overturned the principles of war. Mass is no longer the asset it once wasit is all about effect. If you concentrate your force, you are vulnerable.
Credit unions suffer unequal treatment for having made important and welcome calls to members under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), CUNA said in an amicus brief filed Wednesday in Lindenbaum v. Realgy, LLC. CUNA called on the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to affirm the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohios dismissal of the TCPA lawsuit in light of the Supreme Courts decision in Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants, Inc. in July 2020.

In that case the Supreme Court found that a 2015 amendment to the TCPA was unconstitutional and eliminated the addition going forward. However, credit union calls made between the 2015 amendment and the 2020 decision were still subject to unequal treatment under the TCPA during that time.

Credit unions communicate with their members on a wide range of matters such as financial relief during times of emergency, information enabling participation in governance, financial education, status of loan payments, and fraud alerts. Members expect and welcome these informational communications. But under Plaintiffs interpretation of the TCPA, a credit union that makes calls to collect private loans would face potentially crippling liability, whereas a company that calls to collect federally guaranteed loans would be exempta classic case of unequal treatment.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Annual well-woman check-ups are vital to feminine health, no matter the age of the patient. For women in their 20s and 30s gynecologists are concerned about sexually transmitted diseases and fertility, but as women age, other female medical issues become a priority.

Dr. Burt Webb, a Scottsdale-based gynecologist specializing in women's health and intimate wellness, suggests patients of all ages should schedule annual exams, even if they are past child bearing years.

Burt Webb, M.D. graduated from Stanford University and Tulane Medical School. Dr. Webb did his residency at Good Samaritan Medical Center and is board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Webb offers comprehensive women's health care services, including wellness exams, preventive medicine, intimate health, hormone therapy, incontinence and treatments for gynecological conditions.

"Women in their 40s and 50s should have an annual pap smear and breast exam to assure good health and screen for cancer," said Dr. Webb. "But other issues should be addressed at this time too. Low energy, leaking bladder issues and low libido often change a woman's life in this age range. These issues can lead to additional wellness problems  a leaking bladder prevents exercise; lack of exercise leads to weight gain and loss of energy which can impact a healthy libido. It's all connected."

According to Dr. Webb, middle-age women should be aware of these specific body changes.

Women in their 40s, may notice heavier periods or period problems that could be an indication of medical problems like endometriosis. Patients in this age range may also start to notice leaky bladder issues, low libido and pain during intercourse. This can all be addressed at an annual exam.





When women hit their 50s, they often start to encounter peri-menopause and menopause issues including hot flashes, low energy, forgetfulness, decreased libido and loss of vaginal sensation, along with poor sleep, hair loss or weight gain. Doctors may suggest additional testing for hormone issues at this point. Patients should know these symptoms can be addressed with proper therapy.

Women's health treatment options have progressed in the last decade. There are now non-surgical techniques that can be done painlessly in a few minutes to help with vaginal lubrication, improve sensation and increase orgasms, says Dr. Webb.

Finding the right doctor is important too. When looking for the right physician, consider a doctor who specializes in a particular sub-field such as endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome, hormone therapy replacement or pelvic problems and sexual disfunction issues. Dr. Webb is one of Arizona's most recognized doctors in women's health and intimate wellness including hormone replacement and incontinence. He is passionate about helping women of all ages with painful and heavy periods, pelvic problems like endometriosis, ovarian cysts and difficulty becoming pregnant. He is also an expert in the area of bioidentical hormones with more than 30 years of experience and cosmetic gynecology, helping the vagina and labia look and function better.

"It is important for women to seek out a provider that is not only nice to visit, but someone who provides them with information for their specific issues," adds Dr. Webb. "An engaged physician should educate patients about their health and listen to their concerns. As we live longer, and want to enjoy life more in as we age, there are many opportunities to change our behaviors and learn how we can feel better and have more vitality. It's your doctor's job to help you reach these goals."

Burt Webb, M.D. graduated from Stanford University and Tulane Medical School. Dr. Webb did his residency at Good Samaritan Medical Center and is board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Webb offers comprehensive women's health care services, including wellness exams, preventive medicine, intimate health, hormone therapy, incontinence and treatments for gynecological conditions. https://www.vitalitymds.com/

Media Contact

Charlotte Shaff

602-418-8534

[email protected]

SOURCE Burt Webb, M.D.

Related Links

https://www.vitalitymds.com/


(Newser)  A British court on Thursday refused Johnny Depp permission to appeal a judge's ruling that he assaulted ex-wife Amber Heard, saying his attempt to overturn the decision had "no real prospect of success." Two Court of Appeal judges said the 57-year-old Hollywood star can't challenge the High Court's rejection of his libel lawsuit against the publisher of the Sun newspaper for labeling him a "wife beater" in an article, per the AP. High Court Justice Andrew Nicol had ruled in November that allegations against Depp, made in a April 2018 article, were "substantially true." The judge ruled that Depp assaulted Heard, now 34, on a dozen occasions and put her in fear for her life. The appeals court judges say the earlier court hearing was "full and fair" and that the trial judge's conclusions "have not been shown even arguably to be vitiated by any error of approach or mistake of law." Also, "the appeal has no real prospect of success," with "no other compelling reason for it to be heard."

story continues below

Depp and Heard married in February 2015. Heard, a model and actress, filed for divorce the following year and obtained a restraining order against Depp on the grounds of domestic abuse. The divorce was finalized in 2017. The High Court ruling came after a headline-grabbing three-week trial in July, in which Depp and Heard gave conflicting accounts of their brief, tempestuous marriage, with each accusing the other of being controlling, violent, and deceitful. Heard's public relations firm said in a statement that she was "pleased, but by no means surprised" by the Court of Appeal decision. Depp's British lawyer says, "There are clear and objective reasons to seriously question the decision reached in the UK court." Depp is also suing Heard for $50 million in Virginia over a Washington Post op-ed essay that she wrote about domestic violence. The trial in that case was recently delayed until April 2022.

(Read more Johnny Depp stories.)
Dallas, TX, March 24, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Associa, the industrys largest community management company, sets the industry standard for government affairs engagement impacting clients, employees, and the industry.

As a transformative industry leader, Associa has consistently been a trailblazer in providing five-star customer service, implementing the newest technologies for client use, and offering world-class education and training for valued employees. With the leadership of Associas government affairs team, the company is also uniquely committed to pursuing common-sense legislation that encourages effective industry growth balanced by sensible government regulation that still recognizes the self-governance authority of its client associations. As a means to accomplishing that goal, Associa has created a dedicated, full-time government affairs team and a political action committee (PAC), remaining the only community management company in the industry to do so.

Associas government affairs staff works with state legislatures on laws that impact community associations, their residents, and the management industry. As part of that engagement, Associas government affairs team monitors legislation daily in all 50 states that might impact the industry, engages with state legislators, and testifies at legislative committee hearings to provide Associas and the industrys perspective on proposed legislation. In key states, Associa also hires lobbyists to maintain relationships and dialogue on a day-to-day basis. The companys government affairs team collaborates with the Community Associations Institute (CAI) and their public affairs team along with local state legislative action committees (LACs) on state and federal legislative and regulatory initiatives.

In addition to its government affairs team, Associa is the only community management company that utilizes an employee-funded political action committee (PAC). Created in 2005, Associa PAC was designed to support elected officials willing to respond to the industrys concerns. Since its inception, Associa PAC has contributed to nearly 1000 candidates or committees across the nation.

Associas government affairs engagement is an extension of our commitment to providing unmatched services to our clients, states John Krueger, Associas vice president of government affairs. Through our teams hard work and active engagement, coupled with the effectiveness of our PAC, Associa continues to build relationships with legislators, educating them on the operations of the community management industry and the potential impact of countless proposed bills and regulations. We are proud to be our clients biggest advocate and a voice that succeeds in addressing challenges that affect the entire industry.

With more than 200 branch offices across North America, Associa delivers unsurpassed management and lifestyle services to nearly five million residents worldwide. Our 10,000+ team members lead the industry with unrivaled education, expertise and trailblazing innovation. For more than 40 years, Associa has provided solutions designed to help communities achieve their vision. To learn more, visit www.associaonline.com.

Stay Connected:

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/associa

Subscribe to the Blog: https://hub.associaonline.com/

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/associa

Join us on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/associa

Ashley Cantwell Associa 214-272-4107 acantwell@associaonline.com

Source: Associa

PITTSBURGH, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Filterbuy, a family-owned commercial and residential air filter manufacturer, has finalized plans with Gov. Tom Wolf's office to open a brand-new facility in New Kensington. Part of the state's Pennsylvania First Program (PA First), the plant will bring more than 120 full-time jobs to the Alle-Kiski Valley region.

"We're one of the few companies that has been adding jobs throughout the pandemic," said David Heacock, founder and CEO of Filterbuy. "This collaboration with Pennsylvania allows us to further our commitment to community investment and personal service, while also helping us reach a critical customer-base more directly."

Filterbuy will lease and completely renovate a 137,000-square-foot building that was previously owned by Alcoa Corporation. The new plant will serve as Filterbuy's northeastern hub and will have the capacity to produce 30,000 air filtration products each day.

The project was coordinated by the Governor's Action Team, an experienced group of economic development professionals who report directly to the governor and work with businesses that are considering locating or expanding in Pennsylvania.

Over the next three years, Filterbuy will invest more than $2 million into the project.

"We welcome Filterbuy to southwestern Pennsylvania as it increases its regional presence, creates jobs, and provides high-quality, American made products to customers across the country," said Gov. Wolf. "Pennsylvania has a long legacy of innovation and a 'can-do' spirit, qualities that are shared by Filterbuya company that started with the purchase of machine parts and grew to include locations in multiple states with almost 1,000 employeesand we look forward to witnessing its continued prosperity."

The Talladega, Ala.-based company has experienced significant growth since its 2013 founding and remains focused on keeping operations entirely in the U.S. Offering premium products at a competitive price, Filterbuy is one of the only manufacturers that can build an air filter to any size and specification.

The opening of the New Kensington plant has been partially fueled by an increasing demand for air filtration products during the COVID-19 pandemic. In an effort to provide the highest quality product to consumers, Filterbuy is now producing each of its filters to match hospital-grade efficacy standards.

"Our mission has always been to help families, businesses and communities breathe clean air," continued Heacock. "Now, it's more than a sentiment, it's a responsibility."

Construction on the New Kensington plant has begun and will be completed by early summer. The company plans to begin hiring by mid-April.

For information on employment opportunities, please call 1-855-345-8289.

For more information on this news, please visit www.filterbuy.com.

About Filterbuy

Filterbuy is a family-owned and operated commercial and residential air filter manufacturer with facilities in Alabama, Florida, Pennsylvania and Utah. Founded in 2013, Filterbuy's mission is to offer premium products at a competitive price. The company currently offers over 600 different air filter sizes and employs a dedicated group to creating fully customized solutions. All Filterbuy products are proudly made in the USA, produced by a team of nearly 1,000 employees. Filterbuy offers free shipping to the continental United States for every order. For more information, visit Filterbuy.com.

Filterbuy. Live Free, Breathe Freely.

SOURCE Filterbuy
BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungary has been hosting China's defence minister for an official visit, Chinese television reported on Thursday, after Budapest criticised an EU decision to impose sanctions on Chinese officials over human rights.

The Hungarian government has said nothing in public about the visit of Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe, which also comes days after Budapest gave approval to a second Chinese-made COVID-19 vaccine without waiting for European regulators.

China Global Television Network (CGTN) published a report on its website early on Thursday, saying Fenghe met Hungarian President Janos Ader on Wednesday, as well as Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjen and Defence Minister Tibor Benko.

The Hungarian government did not respond to Reuters questions about the visit.

Earlier this week, the EU imposed sanctions on four Chinese officials, including a top security director, for human rights abuses against the Uighur minority in China's western Xinjiang province. Beijing, which denied abusing rights, responded with its own sanctions on Europeans.

All 27 EU governments, including Hungary, agreed to the punitive measures. But Hungary's foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, called them "harmful" and "pointless".

Hungary's government, led by nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, has frequently clashed with Brussels. Most recently, Orban, along with some other European leaders, has accused the EU of being too slow to approve and procure COVID-19 vaccines. Hungary was the first EU country to approve shots made in China and Russia, and backed a second Chinese vaccine, made by CanSino Biologics, on Monday.

Early on Thursday the mayor's office of Budapest's opposition-led first district, near the Hungarian presidential palace, hung a banner over its entrance saying: "Justice for those suffering in Xinjiang!".

A Hungarian expert on China relations, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the purpose Wei's trip was possibly to repay an earlier visit by his Hungarian counterpart.

Story continues

"The new Chinese vaccine is also linked to the military. The timing of the visit is rather unfortunate, but these trips take months to arrange so it is probably not a demonstration against the EU sanctions," the expert said.

"However, it helps put Szijjarto's criticism of the sanctions into perspective."

(Reporting by Budapest bureau; Writing by Gergely Szakacs; Editing by Peter Graff)
The head of the PSNI's specialist domestic abuse unit has said violence against women perpetrated by older children is on the increase as she welcomed new legislation designed to help deal with the growing instances of matricide.

Detective Chief Superintendent Lindsay Fisher was speaking after the brutal murder of Karen McClean (50) by her son Ken Flanagan at the weekend.

Flanagan (26) was known to police and had been red-flagged to them and social services just hours before he stabbed his mother to death at her Rathcoole home before murdering his girlfriend Stacey Knell (30) and then taking his own life.

While unable to comment directly on live cases, as head of the PSNI's Public Protection Branch, Det Ch Supt Fisher added: "One murder is too many. Behind every single victim there is a family that's left behind."

The Domestic Abuse and Civil Proceedings Bill, expected to pass into legislation later this year, will broaden out the definition of domestic violence to cover abuse carried out by an older child.

"One of the good things about our legislation, which is going to be wider than some other parts of the UK, is to recognise those difficult dynamics," she said.

"We are seeing children staying at home into their older years so there is always that opportunity for different dynamics of domestic abuse to be present, up to where it is fatal.

"So again, it is about trying to reassure every victim of domestic abuse - no matter what the relationship - to seek help, to ring 999 in an emergency.

"Tell a friend, tell a family member, let someone know what is going on behind closed doors, because that is the only way that we as police will be able to step in and to do what we can around protecting and reducing the likelihood of them becoming a repeat victim."

During the first lockdown in March last year police noticed an almost instant spike in reports of abuse.

"Our weekly averages did increase from just over 500 to just under 600, so there was on average 16 extra per week, which is significant because we know every time a victim picks up the phone, and has the courage to pick up the phone, they are already likely repeat victims of abuse," she said.

"There's a well-quoted statistic that on average a person is a victim of domestic abuse around 30 times before they have the courage to pick up the phone and tell police.

"That is a staggering statistic. The fact that domestic abuse makes up almost 20% of the PSNI's total crime type... again, a staggering statistic.

"During lockdown we actually implemented the domestic abuse call back team, working to call all victims of domestic abuse back within 24 hours, and to date we have been able to contact over 13,000 people.

"That is in addition to contact from their investigating officer and from their initial call attendance - so an additional reassurance, an additional contact away from all the trauma of the last 24 hours to reach out, ask if there's any additional support they maybe need, or if there is any other information they didn't provide at that time.

"Through that we have seen over 470 additional referrals, so it is something I feel is worthwhile, and if we are able to get extra information from victims of domestic abuse and maybe push that over the criminal justice line even for one person, it is absolutely worth it."

The uptake for the Domestic Violence and Abuse Disclosure scheme, which gives the public the right to know if a person has a record of violent or abusive behaviour, remains low here.

"We do receive a number of applications every month, it's something I keep an eye on," Det Ch Supt Fisher explained.

"We have normally in and around 20 applications monthly, so it isn't that high when you think about the 32,000 incidents reported to police every year."

The new coercive control legislation is expected to be in place before the end of the year.

Northern Ireland is currently the only part of the UK not to have laws for controlling abusive behaviour.

"I really welcome the new Domestic Abuse Bill and everything it brings," she added.

"And we are doing a significant amount of work before it goes live at the end of the year to make sure officers are aware of what coercive control looks like."
 Flash

Mauritania received on Wednesday the Chinese government's donation of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine and medical ventilators.

Mauritanian Health Minister Mohamed Nedhirou Ould Hamed welcomed the donation at Nouakchott Oumtounsy International Airport, along with the Charge d'Affaires ad interim of Chinese Embassy in Mauritania, Wang Jian.

On behalf of the Mauritanian government and people, Hamed thanked the Chinese government and people for the donation and supports during Mauritania's fight against COVID-19 pandemic.

"This gesture of friendship and solidarity illustrates the depth of bilateral relations between the two countries in the field of health in general, and in particular, the bilateral cooperation in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic," the minister said.

For his part, Wang Jian said that China's donation of COVID-19 vaccine to Mauritania implements the important consensus between the presidents of the two countries.

"It also shows the longstanding affection of the Chinese people for the Mauritanian people, and opens a new page for the active cooperation of the two countries in public health," he added.

Wang stressed that the Chinese side is willing to work together with the others in order to push forward international anti-epidemic cooperation and to jointly build a global community of health for all.

According to the latest update of Mauritania's health ministry, the country has recorded a total of 17,690 positive cases for coronavirus, including 447 deaths and 16,947 recoveries.
2020 was a year of dramatic developments for the cybersecurity industry.

Author, industry analyst, and founder of IT-Harvest, Richard Stiennon, announced the publication date of May 25, 2021 for Security Yearbook 2021: A History and Directory of the IT Security Industry. The book is available for pre-order at http://www.it-harvest.com/shop. It was produced and printed in hardcover with the support of sponsors Anitian and Cofense.

2020 was a year of dramatic developments for the cybersecurity industry. There were two notable failures of funded startups added to the chapter on failures. 271 vendors received new funding for a total of $10 billion in new investments. 225 vendors were acquired with private equity claiming the majority of M&A activity. Complete lists of new funding and M&A are published in the new book. The impact of COVID-19 slowed growth for many vendors as they expected demand to drop. But the move to work-from-home increased demand for technology to protect newly distributed organizations. Zero trust networking and SASE solutions saw tremendous growth in 2020.

Security Yearbook is the only published history of the IT security industry. This year the 2021 edition includes 2,615 vendors listed by country and category. The percent change in headcount is provided for each vendor. This is one of the most valuable metrics for determining a vendors health, Stiennon said. Successful companies grow.

The result of over a decade of research, Security Yearbook 2021 starts at the early days of RACF, ACF2, Check Point Software, Symantec, and McAfee, coming right up to the present day.

"Security Yearbook 2021" is not a summary of technologies; this is a book filled with rich histories of the vendors and the people behind the companies  the misfits and pioneers  that have together built todays $300+ billion cybersecurity industry.

Their individual stories are recounted in their own voice alongside the authors market research and analysis, making this a one-of-a-kind read and an indispensable guide to the entire IT security industry.

Security Yearbook has become my lifes work, said Richard Stiennon. It is a full-time job just keeping up with the space. In this book I incorporate everything I have learned in 25 years of being part of an industry that grows over 24% every year.

"Security Yearbook" is already an indispensable reference for industry veterans and CISOs. Industry analysts, Wall Street analysts, professors, and marketing teams use it for product selection, and short listing. The industry is subdivided into 16 different sectors, including Network, Endpoint, Data Security, GRC, and MSSPs. New sectors such as Security Analytics, Threat Intelligence, and Deception will be of particular interest to practitioners who are looking to understand advanced cyber defense tools and practices.

About Stiennon:

Richard Stiennon is Chief Research Analyst for IT-Harvest, the firm he founded in 2005 to cover the 2,615 vendors that make up the IT security industry. He has presented on the topic of cybersecurity in 31 countries on six continents. He was a lecturer at Charles Sturt University in Australia. He is the author of Security Yearbook 2021: A History and Directory of the IT Security Industry. He published Curmudgeon: How to Succeed as an Industry Analyst in 2020. In 2019 he published Secure Cloud Transformation: The CIOs Journey. He also wrote Surviving Cyberwar (Government Institutes, 2010) and Washington Post Best Seller, There Will Be Cyberwar. He writes for Forbes, and The Analyst Syndicate. He is a member of the advisory board at several technology startups and sits on the board of Anitian. Stiennon was Chief Strategy Officer for Blancco Technology Group, the Chief Marketing Officer for Fortinet, Inc. and VP Threat Research at Webroot Software. Prior to that he was a Research VP at Gartner. He has a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering and his MA in War in the Modern World from Kings College, London. Follow @cyberwar on Twitter.

About Anitian

Anitian delivers a fast path to security and compliance in the cloud. Anitians Compliance Automation Platform and SecureCloud DevSecOps Platform help high-growth SaaS companies get applications to market quickly, so they can unlock revenue in weeks, not months or years. Its automated cloud platform and service delivers a full suite of security controls  pre-engineered and pre-configured to security standards such as FedRAMP, PCI, CMMC, GDPR, or ISO27001. Anitians pre-engineered environment and platform use the full power and scale of the cloud to accelerate time-to-market and time-to-revenue. Find out more at http://www.anitian.com.

About Cofense

Cofense is a provider of phishing detection and response solutions. Designed for enterprise organizations, the Cofense Phishing Detection and Response (PDR) platform leverages a global network of over 25 million people actively reporting suspected phish, combined with advanced automation to stop phishing attacks faster and stay ahead of breaches. When deploying the full suite of Cofense solutions, organizations can educate employees on how to identify and report phish, detect phish in their environment and respond quickly to remediate threats. With seamless integration into most major TIPs, SIEMs, and SOARs, Cofense solutions easily align with existing security ecosystems. Find out more at http://www.cofense.com.
(Natural News) Petrochemical plants in Texas are still recovering from the historic winter freeze that struck the Gulf Coast late last month. This has lead to an increase in the price of plastic alongside a decrease in its supply, which is straining the production of a number of products that use plastic, including smartphones, face masks and automobiles.

The freeze left millions of residents in the state without power and clean drinking water for almost a week. The freeze had also damaged infrastructures, claimed lives and forced school closures. But with petrochemical plants still struggling to reopen, the deep freezes impact is now spreading across the nation and the globe.

Petrochemical plants struggling to reopen

Cliff Hoover, general manager of plastic fabrication company Confer Plastics, said facilities didnt have enough time to properly shut down when the storm hit. Due to the winter storm, the plastic polymers froze inside pipes in the plant. So workers need to clean out the entire plant before resuming production.

But reopening petrochemical plants isnt as simple as it sounds. If rushed or done improperly, reopenings may lead to fatal consequences.

People assume its just as simple as flipping a switch, said Hector Rivero, president of the Texas Chemical Council, a trade association of chemical manufacturing facilities.

Major facilities that deal with hazardous materials and extreme temperatures or pressures should be handled with extreme care.

Texas is one of the biggest exporters of petrochemical products and plastic in the United States. But even prior to the freeze, the Gulf Coasts petrochemical industry was already struggling because of an active 2020 hurricane season, which strained production.

As such, last months freeze only worsened the supply chain disruptions that surfaced last year. The Texas freeze caused the production of 75 percent of polyethylene, 62 percent of polypropylene and 57 percent of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) to shut, according to The Wall Street Journal.

In turn, prices for polyethylene and polypropylene saw their biggest and fastest jump in at least a decade. They likely wont ease until later this year, according to industry experts.

Big fight for materials

Polymers are used in many everyday items, such as smartphones, cars, televisions, computers and even homes. They are also essential for many products that have been widely used since the coronavirus pandemic began, such as single-use face masks, face shields, disposable gloves and even containers for needles and vaccines.

With the significant increase in demand for such products amid disruptions in production, hospitals are facing a shortage of certain plastic medical equipment. Kim Anders, a supply-chain executive at the healthcare company Premier, Inc., said that medical and disposable sharps containers are harder to obtain.

The shortage may also extend to the real estate sector. Houses became a hot buy during the pandemic as many people adjusted to their work-from-home arrangements. The sudden demand pushed prices higher in the housing market. But the lack of materials needed to build houses is driving prices even higher.

Its going to get ugly, warned John Schiegg of David Weekley Homes, a large home builder based in Houston. Theres going to be a big fight for materials.

Automobile manufacturers are also anticipating cost increases and delays after chip makers had to lessen their output, setting the stage for a semiconductor shortfall. (Related: Top selling vehicles are being held back, made without computers as semiconductor shortage sweeps the globe.)

Honda Motor Company, the leading Japanese manufacturer of motorcycles and a major producer of cars, even said that it would be halting production next week in most of its car factories in the U.S. and Canada, citing the fallout from the winter storm last month as one of the many supply-chain issues its currently facing.

Meanwhile, Toyota Motor Corporation, said it was expecting the shortage of petrochemicals in Texas to affect production at its factories.

In addition, retailers of plastic storage containers, shelves, bread bags, shipping sacks and other similar plastic products have warned that the petrochemical shortage could impact their store margins.

Follow Collapse.news to learn more about how the Texas winter storm impacted industries.

Sources include:

ZeroHedge.com

WGRZ.com
Edmonton, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - March 25, 2021) - TrustBIX Inc. (TSXV: TBIX) ("TrustBIX" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has become a member of the Cool Farm Alliance ("CFA"), a non-profit membership organization promoting sustainability in the global agriculture industry.

The CFA was created to promote and expand the availability of sustainable agricultural data. TrustBIX joins this growing community of over 100 organizations including global food brands, farmer unions, environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and software businesses who collaborate to encourage sustainable farming practices for both farmers and agri-businesses. Through the CFA's Cool Farm Tool (CFT) software, businesses can utilize farming data to quantify the impact of on-farm management practices through environmental metrics such as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, water efficiency, biodiversity and waste.

"We are delighted to join the prestigious Cool Farm Alliance and work with our industry peers to enhance the value of the sustainability solutions we offer our customers," said TrustBIX CEO, Hubert Lau. "Looking at our capabilities and the unique data collected combined with the industry knowledge and expertise of the team at the CFA, we see an opportunity to integrate our BIX software platform with the Cool Farm Tool."

Daniella Malin, Deputy General Manager of the CFA, noted: "We are delighted to welcome TrustBIX into the Cool Farm Alliance to better enable farmers and agri-businesses to enter high-quality data with greater ease into the Cool Farm Tool and link that with their BIX platform. TrustBIX and the CFA share a mission of making sustainability a driver for the success of producers, brands and the planet, and we look forward to exploring opportunities to expand the range and type of sustainability metrics offered on our platform."

TrustBIX's involvement in the CFA also positions TrustBIX as a strong voice in efforts to create Canada's first agri-food sustainability index, work now underway as part of the National Index for Agri-Food Performance (NIAP). The Company is a member of the NIAP steering committee along with over 30 other influential agri-food industry stakeholders. This group released a report on January 28, 2021 entitled Benchmarking Canada's Agri-Food Sustainability Leadership - a Roadmap, which sets the stage for continuing work across Canada. TrustBIX continues on the steering committee where key goals include advancing the index's governance and operational model and achieving greater global recognition for Canada's initiative. While the National Index's development process is unfolding, the Company's work in integrating the Cool Farm Tool for use with BIX and North American farm management practices could become well-suited to ultimately enable this Index.

About TrustBIX (TSXV: TBIX)

As an innovative leader, TrustBIX provides agri-food traceability. By addressing consumer and agri-food business demands, the Company has a goal to become the most trusted and largest source of third-party food traceability and sustainability information globally - Gate to Plate. TrustBIX Inc.'s focus is to create a world where we trust more, waste less and reward sustainable behaviour. The Company's proprietary platform, BIX (Business infoXchange System), is designed to create trust without compromising privacy through innovative use of data and technology. Extensive R&D has allowed TrustBIX to create a new blockchain-derived technology to complement its mature and proven traceability systems. By leveraging BIX and its unique use of incentive solutions, the Company can deliver independent validation of food provenance and sustainable production practices within the supply chain. ViewTrak Technologies Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary, provides a suite of hardware and software solutions to the livestock industry in Canada, United States, Mexico and China, such as Auction Master Pro, Market Master, Feedlot Solutions and pork grading probes. For more information, visit www.trustbix.com, or follow us on Twitter twitter.com/@TrustBIX_Inc, Facebook at www.facebook.com/BIXSco, or LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bixsco-inc-/.

About the Cool Farm Alliance:

The Cool Farm Alliance is a membership, science-led, not-for-profit UK-registered community interest company (No. 9075620) with a mission to enable millions of growers to make more informed on-farm decisions that reduce their environmental impact. With a focus on greenhouse gases, biodiversity, food loss and waste and water quantity, the Alliance provides the Cool Farm Tool as a quantified decision support tool that is credible and standardized. In order to maintain the effectiveness of the CFT and maximize the value to its users, the CFA maintains strong collaboration with research institutions to ensure a credible methodology and user experience. Through our membership, the CFA enables the assessment of research impact with real agricultural supply chains

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This press release contains certain forward-looking information and reflects the Company's present assumptions regarding future events. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause the Company's actual results, levels of activity, performance, and/or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.

Certain statements contained in this document constitute "forward-looking statements" and information within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. When used in this document, the words "may", "would", "could", "should", "will", "intend", "plan", "propose", "anticipate", "believe", "forecast", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions used by any of the Company's management, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the Company's internal projections, expectations, future growth, performance and business prospects and opportunities and are based on information currently available to the Company. Since they relate to the Company's current views with respect to future events, they are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update any such factors or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect future results, events or developments except as required by applicable securities legislation, regulations or policies.

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.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. Hubert Lau

President and CEO

Telephone: (780) 456-2207

Email: info@trustbix.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/78616
Supporters rally outside court as Pastor James Coates, of GraceLife Church, is in court to appeal the bail conditions, after he was arrested for holding day services in violation of COVID-19 rules in Edmonton, Alta., on March 4, 2021. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press)

GoFundMe for Pastor Charged for Breaking COVID-19 Lockdown Orders Surpasses $41,000

A fundraising campaign to support the legal fees of Pastor James Coates, who was jailed and charged for allegedly violating Albertas COVID-19 rules, has exceeded $41,000 since its launch in February.

The campaign, according to organizer John Klassen, was simply hoping to in some small way be an encouragement to a brother who seemed to be a lone voice.

Pastor James Coates has been a rare and refreshing voice of courage in these unprecedent[ed] times. He has stood on the word of God faithfully, courageously and uncompromisingly as a man of God when all around him men falter and fail, wrote Klassen on the GoFundMe page.

Pastor James is facing what not too long ago would have been unheard of, he said, adding that he has no affiliation with Coates and his churchGraceLife churchin Edmonton..

In December 2020, the Alberta Health Services (AHS) fined GraceLife church $1,200 when it hosted more people than the 15 percent limit mandated for faith-based services in the province. In January, the AHS issued a closure order, but Coates continued holding services, and on Feb. 7, the RCMP told him he would be under arrest in two days. Coates turned himself in on Feb. 16.

Coates was charged with multiple Public Health Act offences and a criminal offence related to the bail condition imposed on Feb. 7 by the RCMP at the time. He remained in custody in the Edmonton Remand Centre when he refused to comply with his conditions of release not to hold services.

On March 17, the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedom (JCCF), who is representing Coates, announced in a statement that crown prosecutors have agreed to withdraw all but one charge against the pastor. Coates is set to go to trial in May on a count under Albertas Public Health Act for holding services that allegedly broke a restriction on the size of gatherings.

Supporters rally outside court as James Coates, pastor of GraceLife Church, attends a bail hearing, in a file photo. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press)

On March 22, Coates was released without condition but was charged $1,500 by the provincial court for breaching bail, which the pastor has agreed to pay.

Crown prosecutor Peter Mackenzie and defence lawyer Leighton Grey with the JCCF, had suggested Coates be fined $100 instead, but the judge disagreed.

I question whether $100 is a proper denunciation of the conduct of Mr. Coates as well as proper deterrence for others that might feel that I can violate the directions of the chief medical officer of health and get $100 fine, Provincial Judge Jeffrey Champion said. It is an issue when someone makes a decision that can affect the health and the lives of thousands of people.

Champion added that the services held at GraceLife church could have been super-spreaders of COVID-19, the disease the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus causes.

Members of that [church] were going out into the community in general, said Champion, who noted that Coates has referred to himself as a shepherd.

The shepherd ought to protect his flock, the judge said. Mr. CoatesYou dont get to make that decision for everyone else, and your decisions could have affected the health and safety of so many of your fellow citizens.

Supporters gather outside court as Pastor James Coates of GraceLife Church is in court after he was arrested last week for holding Sunday services in violation of COVID-19 rules, in Stony Plain, Canada, on Feb. 24, 2021. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press)

Coates, in a video conference, told Champion that he wasnt attempting to make a statement by not complying with the bail conditions.

I realized thats the way society is going to perceive whats happening here. [But] Im simply here in obedience to Jesus Christ, and its my obedience to Christ that has put me at odds with the law, Coates said.

The court is aware that Im contesting the legitimacy of that law but please, make no mistake  Im not trying to make a point. Im not a political revolutionary.

GraceLife has continued to hold weekend services while Coates has been in jail, including one this past weekend. AHS said officials did not monitor the latest gathering.

Two weeks ago, the church itself was charged with violating health measures.

JCCF said in its statement that none of the congregants who attended the services at GraceLife since July 2020 have died of or gotten COVID-19.

JCCF President John Carpay said the centre is ready to defend Coates in May.

We look forward appearing in court in May and demanding the government provide evidence that public health restrictions that violate the freedoms of religion, peaceful assembly, expression and association are scientific and are justifiable in a free and democratic country, Carpay said in a statement on March 17.

Meanwhile, Klassen said the funds will not only go to covering Coatess legal fees, but also to support the pastor, his family, and church. He also urged the supporters to express their voices publicly.

With files from The Canadian Press
Professor Philip Nolan during a briefing at the Department of Health in Dublin (Brian Lawless/PA)

The rate of new cases of Covid-19 could be increasing, public health officials have warned.

The R0 number, the rate at which the virus reproduces, now stands at between 1 and 1.3, compared with between 0.4 and 0.7 at the end of January.

With the number of daily cases consistently rising and falling over the last week, the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) said incidence of the disease is either static or increasing.

Professor Philip Nolan told a briefing on Thursday: Were either at a very static position, or one thats increasing slowly.

The summary is that incidence has plateaued. It remains very high, and unfortunately may be starting to increase Professor Philip Nolan

He said there is not a definitive trend upwards but that it is either stable or increasing.

Prof Nolan added: When we come to the estimate of reproduction number, its still uncertain. That uncertainty relates to the variability in case counts that were seeing day on day.

But nonetheless the formula estimate is essentially somewhere between 1, the epidemic being constant, and 1.3.

Its quite a wide band for that last estimate, which would indicate that the epidemic is growing.

The summary is that incidence has plateaued. It remains very high, and unfortunately may be starting to increase.

But the full set of indicators leads me to be more on the optimistic side, that its static, rather than the pessimistic side that its increasing.

He said the growth rate currently stands at 2% per day and if it continues at that pace, we will see cases double in around 35 days.

On the root causes of rising case numbers, Prof Nolan cited an increase in workplace attendance from February, the St Patricks Day bank holiday and the increased mobility surrounding the return of schools.

The challenge equally is to keep it at 500 or 600 cases a day, and it will be difficult to do that Dr Ronan Glynn, deputy chief medical officer

It came as Leo Varadkar said it will be very hard to see the number of daily cases of coronavirus drop to under 500 a day due to the UK variant of the disease.

The Tanaiste said cases were stuck at about 500 to 600 a day despite the enormous efforts of the Irish people, and reducing it to lower levels is not a prospect in the way that it had been before the mutation of the virus.

Responding to those comments, deputy chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn said it is vital that efforts to supress the virus continue.

Asked if numbers could be brought below the 500 mark again, he said: Im not naive, Im not saying that we will, or even that its likely that we will.

But we have to continue to try, because it is a difficult thing to keep a disease like this at any number without rising. Weve seen that throughout.

So some of the challenges, not alone to get it down, but the challenge equally is to keep it at 500 or 600 cases a day, and it will be difficult to do that.

Statement from the National Public Health Emergency Team



The Health Protection Surveillance Centre @hpscireland has today been notified of 3 additional deaths related to #COVID19.



Of the deaths reported today, 2 occurred in March and 1 in February.  Department of Health (@roinnslainte) March 25, 2021

Thursday saw three further deaths linked to Covid-19 and an additional 606 cases, according to figures from Nphet.

Mr Varadkar told the Dail almost 4,700 people had died of the virus so far this year, more people than had died of Covid-19 in all of last year.

I think that demonstrates how serious the B117 variant is and how different it is to the Wuhan strain or the wild strain that we dealt with last year, and how perhaps getting down to very low figures like 10 or 50 or even 100 a day is not a prospect in the way that it was last year because this virus has mutated, he said.

It is now much more transmissible, and it is now more deadly than the original wild strain and despite the enormous efforts of the Irish people doing all of the right things, weve still got stuck around 500 or 600 cases a day.

And its very hard to see how were going to get down much lower than that.

Mr Varadkar made the comments in response to Social Democrats co-leader Roisin Shortall, who said the daily Covid-19 case numbers remained stubbornly high.

During Leaders' Questions, @RoisinShortall asks TAnaiste:

what steps Govt will take to drive down virus?

why under-resourcing of public health doctors not addressed?

why no retrospective tracing?

why are international travellers not asked if journeys are essential? pic.twitter.com/vioNa9WpoH  Social Democrats (@SocDems) March 25, 2021

She asked what steps the Government was taking to drive down numbers and allow for some level of opening up of society and the economy.

I think the vast majority of people have severely restricted their movements and their lives in what can only be described as a huge national effort to limit the spread of the virus, Ms Shortall said.

However, increasingly there is a sense that Government has not played its part, and has not done what it promised to do.

She added that it beggars belief that retrospective contact tracing was not being carried out when it came to travel and that people arriving in the country were not being asked their reason for travel.

Mr Varadkar said the Government had increased border security with the introduction of mandatory hotel quarantine, which gets under way on Friday for people arriving from 33 countries, making it one of the strictest in all of the European Union.

He added that more countries would be added to the list in the coming weeks once the system was up and running.
analysis

One of the sectors that the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted massively is education.

The COVID-19 pandemic has widened gaps between countries, systems, institutions and learners. The divide has become more pronounced when it comes to wealthy vs poor; private vs state; technology proficient vs technology deficient; academically inclined and predisposed vs academically fragile and in need of support.

In a recent paper, we argue that, as is often the case with major societal disruptions, the pandemic has forced educators to firefight immediate challenges. Around the world, schools and universities are concentrating on the bare minimum: keep learning going and keep students in class. They also have to ensure basic assessment and course continuation. Just "getting through" has been difficult enough without entertaining the deeper philosophical aims of learning.

But the widening gaps between students carry ominous warning signs. Studies show that access to education is the cornerstone of socioeconomic and social growth. When education suffers, many other dimensions of society suffer.

It has become more important than ever to recalibrate and refocus on the big picture of asking: what is an education for?

This is the big question that keeps coming back to those involved in curriculum design, teaching and learning. On the ground - across contexts and systems - education is typically focused on knowledge regurgitation and the practice of academic skills. This is based on grade averages and examination scores, which eventually lead to higher education.

While we recognise the value of standardised testing and quantifiable learning outcomes, this is a narrow conception of learning. It does not allow all learners to realise their full potential.

In an age of rapid change and the need to nurture competences, it is necessary to design systems that allow students to flourish and not just focus on graded academic subjects.

We argue that learning is a social, intellectual and physical enterprise. It comprises many different facets of human growth. Students learn much outside of school and outside the narrow confines of an academic curriculum. Curricula and certification need to reflect this broader, more inclusive worldview. This needs to be done by building competence-based programmes and reforming high school transcripts.

Rethinking the purpose of education

The fundamental purpose of education is to improve the human condition. The idea is that education should lead to a longer and better life, a higher income, and a better society. In the 21st century, these goals need to include questions of planetary sustainability and social justice.

Learning objectives should not only be focused on knowledge or the dry technicality of skills, but a combination of knowledge, skill and disposition (meaning attitude): what we call a competence.

For UNESCO's International Bureau of Education, a global competence is:

the developmental capacity to interactively mobilise and ethically use information, data, knowledge, skills, values, attitudes, and technology to engage effectively and act across diverse 21st century contexts to attain individual, collective, and global good.

Seven core areas UNESCO's International Bureau of Education suggests educators develop in every student are:

Lifelong learning (persistence, curiosity and the ongoing desire to learn)

Self Agency (autonomy, independent thinking and accountability)

Interaction with others

Interaction with the world

Interaction with diverse tools and resources

Transdisciplinarity (making connections across disciplines)

Literacy across many different areas and subjects

UNESCO's competences framework, and other initiatives, attempt to break curriculum conservatism to bring about more dynamic approaches. The focus is on the skills, knowledge and attitudes that are needed for global citizenry in a complex world.

Competences for global citizenship should emphasise life-worthiness. This means skills that can be used in everyday life. They should also emphasise wellness and the development of a moral conscience and the courage to act for engaged citizenry. An example of a programme that does this is the International School of Geneva's Universal Learning Programme.

More and more higher education systems are embracing competence-based models. Many of which are similar to the Universal Learning Programme and the UNESCO International Bureau of Education's approach.

A competence-based approach will allow children in under-resourced environments to show their worth in different ways to academic testing, which, as much research has shown, gives a clear advantage to wealthier children.

However, across education systems, there is still a long way to go to have a curriculum that is truly life-worthy, relevant and that allows students to connect what they do at school with local and global issues.

COVID-19 has highlighted the weaknesses of education systems to resist major disruption. The pandemic has shown how large-scale assessment design falls apart. It becomes difficult to piece together a student's profile for university admissions without resorting to non-optimal proxies, such as predicted grades.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Education Coronavirus Africa By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

End of school certification needs musn't solely focus on grades or single instances of data capture, like high-stakes timed examinations. It needs to be a more sustainable and reliable narrative.

A new transcript

Perhaps the most essential element of the educational pathway to reform is the end of school transcript. Schools, universities and industry need to work together to reform this narrow, grade-centered approach into something more inclusive. This, in turn will not only open more access to a broader base of students but will align more coherently forward-looking curriculum reform with pre-tertiary entrance criteria.

We hope and expect to see a coalition of schools and universities produce this reform in the very near future.

Conrad Hughes, Research Associate at the University of Geneva's department of Education and Psychology; Campus and Secondary Principal at the International School of Geneva's La Grande Boissiere, Universite de Geneve and Abdeljalil Akkari, Professor, Universite de Geneve
Thiruvananthapuram, March 25 : Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday expressed his displeasure in the manner in which the Election Commission kept in abeyance the schedule of elections to fill three Rajya Sabha seats after the Law Ministry flagged some issues.

It was early this month that the Commission decided to hold the biennial election to the council of states from Kerala to fill three seats falling vacant on account of the retirement of three members in April and planned to complete the election process by April 16.

And the Commission had also issued a schedule for the polls.

But on Wednesday, the notification failed to come out and instead came the news that the election process was going to be put on hold.

"The Election Commission without giving any reason decided to freeze the elections. They have to give a reason on why this was done," said Vijayan, expressing his displeasure while interacting with the media at Kollam.

Had the elections been held as per the schedule, the ruling Left would have been able to send two of their members and the Congress-led opposition would have got one seat.

One reason why Vijayan is peeved is because the Assembly polls in Kerala are being held on April 6 and the votes would be counted on May 2, and should the Left fail to retain power, which they aim and claim, the UDF will be able to send two members to the Upper House.
Loading In actual fact, we are still not giving women a proper safety net to make an informed choice to leave. There is also criticism from sector leaders that children are not yet consistently treated as independent clients of the system to enable their safety, schooling and other needs to be considered. When he announced the royal commission in 2015, Premier Daniel Andrews said family violence was the most urgent law and order emergency occurring in our state and the most unspeakable crime unfolding across our nation. Victoria has invested more money and resources in the sector than any other state. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video

Five years on, key observers say it is too soon to say what impact the commissions 227 recommendations have had on womens and childrens safety. Statistically, little has changed. Family violence crime statistics released by Victoria Police in the run-up to the royal commissions fifth anniversary, next Monday, showed incidents have increased to an all-time high, although this could be a result of greater awareness and willingness to report. In the year to December 31, 2020, incidents rose by 9.4 per cent from 84,543 to 92,521. Police are called to family incidents every six minutes and an average of 253 incidents are attended each day. So far, 167 of the recommendations intended to dramatically improve Victorias family violence prevention, response and perpetrator accountability are marked as implemented. But researchers and sector leaders say lack of systems to evaluate and analyse the impact makes it impossible to judge if the reforms are working.

We dont know what the individual impact of the royal commission is on the individual lives of women and children experiencing family violence, said Kate Fitz-Gibbon, director of the Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre. The fact we cant easily answer the question Are women safer? shows us how much more work there is to do. Thats not at all a failure of the government or the royal commission, its just the immensity of the problem were trying to tackle. Victorian women are still being hospitalised and arriving at emergency departments as a consequence of family violence at the same rate as they were before the commission, and family violence is still the leading cause of homelessness of women and children. Women and children will go into refuge or a crisis hotel and are then very much at risk of returning to the violent situation. Jenny Smith, Council for Homeless Persons We cannot have a state where women experiencing family violence are being driven into homelessness or remain with the perpetrator, said Associate Professor Fitz-Gibbon, who is also on the board of the governments new prevention agency, Respect Victoria.

Jenny Smith, chief executive of the Council To Homeless Persons, said while the governments commitment to creating housing for women and children escaping violence has been genuine and real, is vital and will make a difference (including in its recently announced social housing Big Build), housing services were still turning away 26,000 women and children a year who need accommodation, most of them as a result of family violence. SafeSteps [Victorias 24/7 family violence response centre] accommodates an average of 60 women and 55 children in motels and other crisis accommodation every night, said Ms Smith. Without a destination, women and children will go into refuge or a crisis hotel and are then very much at risk of returning to the violent situation. Of 10 recommendations by the royal commission relating to accommodation, seven are still works in progress. Gabrielle Williams, Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence, says tensions between agencies had an impact on the Orange Door safety hubs. Credit:Getty The Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence, Gabrielle Williams, said five years into the governments 10-year plan it was heartening to see the issue had been elevated to the mainstream, but we are still very aware there is lots of work to do and still plenty of movement that needs to be made in various ways.

Seeing it linked to discussions around gender equality, which goes to cultural change, will be the heart of long-term success, Ms Williams said. Increased family violence reporting rates showed growing confidence in the system. Issues such as the difficult rollout of the Orange Door hubs, which was criticised as rushed and poorly implemented in a 2020 Auditor-Generals report, were to do with sectors previously hostile to each other working side by side. We always knew that was going to be tough getting specialist family violence, children and family services working together when theyve always seen each other as competitors ... workers acknowledge that was a tension ... that will dissipate over time as the model settles in, Ms Williams said. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video The royal commission gave us 227 recommendations, it didnt give us a system. Our job is to turn that into a system; being halfway through the 10 years of standing up the reform, we come to that conscious our efforts need to be poured into making this a system.

Eleri Butler, the new chief executive of Family Safety Victoria, said that since May 2018 more than 100,000 people including 40,000 children and young people, had sought help from the Orange Door network. Seven more Orange Door hubs will open this year and three next year. Associate Professor Fitz-Gibbon said we need to celebrate everything Victoria has achieved, really transformative reform. This included: Breaking down of silos in which those responding to family violence operate.

Greater information sharing due to legislative change to which the government has shown phenomenal commitment.

The introduction of the Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management Framework. However, she was one of many experts who said the pace of change was frustratingly slow. We have had transformative systems change [and] the program of reform the government has implemented and overseen is world first and absolute best practice. They are having a genuine go at creating a whole-of-systems response to family violence and the impact of that in practice will take time. We have to say we are not satisfied ... if we want to see faster change we have to ensure we do not see women and children being turned away from housing services and people sitting on long wait lists for various programs. We need to up our efforts because the pandemic has upped the ante on family violence.

The fact the implementation monitor was not ongoing was extremely disappointing. It absolutely should be to ensure ongoing accountability and independent oversight of this critical reform agenda. Professor Kelsey Hegarty, joint chair in family violence prevention at the University of Melbourne, said it was of concern that training in risk assessment and information sharing via the Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management Framework had yet to be rolled out fully in Victorian hospitals, despite specific hospital funding for family violence being likely to lapse in June this year. Tania Farha, chief executive of the family violence peak body Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria, said the state had 105 refuge beds before the royal commission and the eventual number after it will be 165. Some will be in modern, core and cluster models where women and children can also access support services. Tania Farha, chief executive of the peak family violence body DVRCV has raised the alarm on lack of shelter for violence victim-survivors. Credit:Justin Mc Manus There are 19 core and cluster refuges planned, two of them for Aboriginal communities. Ms Farha said nine would be up and running by early May. The rest are in stages of development.

The royal commission did not say how many more refuge beds were needed, but Ms Farha said there is still not enough refuge capacity and there wont be even when all the core and cluster ones come in. Successful implementation of measures to raise awareness of and engagement with the issue of family violence could be driving up reporting numbers. More people are recognising their own experience ... and seeking support  this is a major achievement and its why weve seen this reporting increase. Thats a good thing. The royal commission and subsequent reforms completely shifted the public conversation about family violence and awareness, thats at an all-time high, said Ms Farha. Everyone knows it exists and its bad, weve spent billions of dollars ... so women are wondering When I say I need help, why cant I get it? Jocelyn Bignold, chief executive, McAuley Community Services for Women She agreed with the Council to Homeless Persons Jenny Smith that the introduction of Family Violence Flexible Support Packages had been effective. These allow workers to support families with whatever it takes to keep them safe  whether that be extra security measures to keep them in their homes or help leaving. These had been evaluated and shown to be useful but more were needed.

Rita Butera, chief executive of the states 24/7 crisis response service Safe Steps, said her organisation was still receiving 250 calls for help a day and 45 to 55 web chats a week. The service has experienced a 20 per cent increase in call volume in the past two years and is accommodating an average of 100 women and children a night. Thirty per cent of [those women and children] go straight into the homelessness sector after the crisis period, Ms Butera said. Motel accommodation is not necessarily safe. With regard to the [commissions] recommendations, the redevelopment of refuges is a fantastic achievement and still happening ... but five years on there arent enough and there is no commitment for more. Marcia Neave, oversaw the 13-month Royal Commission into Family Violence which made 227 recommendations five years ago, 167 of which have been implemented. Credit:Eddie Jim There was a real need to have some timelines around the delivery of promised accommodation for women and children escaping family violence.

We have timelines against other commitments governments make. When they say they are going to do something in the world of infrastructure, theyll achieve a goal in a certain time. Why not do that in this space as well? Loading The speed with which alternatives to motel accommodation were coming on stream was not satisfactory, she said. [Clients] should be in a refuge. The risks are high [for women and children in motels] and the risks of them returning to perpetrators is really high, said Ms Butera. Ms Butera said she was pleased with the more integrated way services were working together and that information sharing between agencies had improved. But there was frustration on the front line about issues, including the lack of safe accommodation.

Long-term family violence research leader Professor Cathy Humphreys, co-chair of the Melbourne Research Alliance for the Prevention of Violence Against Women and Their Children, said reforms to improve support and response to family violence were performing more strongly than prevention efforts. One of the sweet spots people are talking about is information sharing: if youve got an offender you are really concerned about you send a report to the Central Information Point (CIP) and that gives you data from the police, child protection and courts, Professor Humphreys said. More work was also necessary, and research was being done, on how to keep more victim-survivors of family violence in their own homes with the perpetrator excluded, rather than women and children routinely being uprooted from their jobs, communities and schools. We are aware we could be doing better here. Lots of elements are in place, but the whole is less than the sum of the parts, she said. Wide-ranging reforms to police education and training, including placing specialist family violence trainers across the state, had shown good results, and cultural change in Victoria Police in the way family violence was approached had been strong.
Holberton, the education startup that started out as a coding school in San Francisco and today works with partners to run schools in the U.S., Europe, LatAm and Europe, today announced that it has raised a $20 million Series B funding round led by Redpoint eventures. Existing investors Daphni, Imaginable Futures, Pearson Ventures, Reach Capital and Trinity Ventures also participated in this round, which brings Holberton's total funding to $33 million.

Today's announcement comes after a messy 2020 for Holberton, and not only because the pandemic put a stop to in-person learning.

The original promise of Holberton was that it provided students -- which it selects through a blind admissions process -- with a well-rounded software development education akin to a college education for free. In return, students provide a set amount of their salary for the next few years to the school as part of a deferred tuition agreement, up to a maximum of $85,000.

But early last year, California's Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE) directed the school to immediately cease operation, in part because the agency found that Holberton had started offering a new, unapproved program. This program, a nine-month training program augmented by six months of employment, required students to pay the full $85,000 cost of its approved programs. After a hearing, the BPPE allowed Holberton to continue to operate its other programs. A number of students also accused the school of not giving them the education it had promised.

Throughout this period, Holberton continued expanding, though. It opened campuses in Mexico and Peru, for example. Indeed, it doubled the number of schools in its system from nine to 18 in 2020.

But on December 17, 2020, Holberton voluntarily surrendered its operating license in California. The day before, Holberton announced that it would not re-open its campus in San Francisco, which had been shut down since March because of the pandemic. Holberton co-founder Sylvain Kalache argued that the school would be best positioned to achieve its mission by "working with amazing local partners who operate the campuses and deeply understand their markets unique needs" and not by operating its own campuses.

Story continues

It now thinks of itself more as an "OS of Education" that offers franchised campuses and education tools.

In January, California's attorney general struck down the fraud allegations against the school. "California was the only market in which Holberton faced any regulatory challenges," Kalache wrote in the company's first public acknowledgment of the lawsuits. "With this now behind us, we are excited to move forward with our original mission of providing affordable and accessible education to prospective software engineers around the world."

Clearly, that's how Holberton's funders feel about this, too.

"Theyve proven successful in breaking down barriers of cost and access while delivering a world-class curriculum," said Manoel Lemos, managing partner at Redpoint eventures. "With the concept of OS of Education as a service, they provide customers with all the tools they need for success. Customers can be nonprofit impact investors who want to improve local economies, education institutions who want to fill gaps in how they teach in a post-COVID learning environment, or corporations who want to provide the best training possible as education providers themselves or as employee development programs."

Holberton founder and CEO Julien Barbier tells me that, today, "for the first time since our creation, we have started working with universities to help them create a better experience and add hands-on education on top of their traditional methodology. Everyones happy: the school, the students, and the teachers -- because they prefer to focus on teaching and not spend huge amounts of time correcting projects."

He expects to see 5,000 students join this year, up from 500 in 2019, and see the network expand with new schools in the U.S., Europe, LatAm and Africa. He also noted that the company already has customers for its "OS of Education" tools for auto-grading projects and its online programs. Just this week, Holberton Tulsa announced plans to more than double its physical campus in the city.

"Raising funds is helping us support and accelerate our vision of creating this 'OS of education.' Many educational entities need help and tools to better support their students and their staff. It is now that they need our help. Again, COVID has accelerated the digital transformation, and clearly, there are a lot of gaps that need to be filled," he said. "[...] We are now a SaaS company which charges other businesses, universities or non-profits to use our tools and/or contents so that they can run their education/training programs at scale, with a better experience, while increasing the quality of education."
Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex dropped over 400 points in early trade on Thursday, dragged by losses in index majors Reliance Industries, Infosys and HDFC Bank amid foreign fund outflow and a weak trend in global markets.

The 30-share BSE index was trading 404.94 points or 0.82 per cent lower at 48,775.37, and the broader NSE Nifty declined 113.50 points or 0.78 per cent to 14,435.90.

IndusInd Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding around 2 per cent, followed by Maruti, SBI, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, Reliance Industries, Infosys and HDFC Bank.

On the other hand, ONGC, Titan, L&T and Dr Reddy's were among the gainers.

In the previous session, the Sensex ended 871.13 points or 1.74 per cent lower at 49,180.31, and the Nifty declined 265.35 points or 1.79 per cent to 14,549.40.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market on Wednesday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,951.90 crore, as per exchange data.

"The uncertainty in the market continues with increasing risk arising from the second wave of COVID-19 attack in India in the context of a third wave in parts of Europe," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

Volatility is here to stay for some time before stability emerges, he said, adding that a major trend in the market now is the comeback of pharma stocks in recent days and the weakness in banking stocks.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai and Hong Kong were in the red in mid-session deals, while Tokyo and Seoul were trading on a positive note.

Top bourses on Wall Street ended with significant losses in overnight trade.

Live TV

#mute

Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 1.41 per cent lower at USD 63.50 per barrel.
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.
Saudi Arabias infrastructure and transportation industries have set an ambitious target to attract foreign investments to the tune of $420 billion over the next 10 years, reported Saudi Gazette , citing the Investment Minister Khalid Al Falih.

As part of Vision 2030, foreign investments in the kingdom are projected to reach $3 trillion, stated Al Falih while speaking at the US-Saudi Arabia Business Leaders 2021 Virtual Forum.

Calling upon US firms to invest big in the kingdom, Al Falih said: "Saudi Arabia is opening up multiple new industries as an integral part of the Vision 2030 transformation, including clean energy, mining, mobility and logistics, tourism and quality of life, ICT, healthcare and life sciences and biotech."

The Saudi minister also pointed out that the kingdom was looking at establishing and developing partnerships with green energy companies from the US.
FILE PHOTO: Huawei Technologies Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou leaves her home to attend a court hearing in Vancouver

By Sarah Berman and Moira Warburton

VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Canadian Border agents had legitimate reasons to question Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou for three hours before her arrest by federal police, a prosecutor said in court on Wednesday, pushing back at defense arguments.

Meng's lawyers contend that abuses of process took place in the lead-up to her arrest in December 2018 that should invalidate the U.S. extradition request.

Meng, 49, was arrested by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on a U.S warrant at Vancouver International Airport. She has denied any wrongdoing and is fighting her extradition.

She is accused by the United States of misleading HSBC about her company's business dealings in Iran, causing the bank to violate U.S. sanctions.

Diba Majzub, a prosecutor for the Canadian government, responded to accusations by Meng's lawyers that Canadian police and border agents carried out a covert criminal investigation on behalf of the FBI under the guise of a border examination before her arrest.

Majzub said there was "no evidence" of such a plan and the border agents had their own grounds for investigating Meng's eligibility to enter Canada. He said Canadian Border Services Agency officers (CBSA) noted criminality and national security concerns in reports created on the day of her arrest.

"You have officials from two agencies investigating the same conduct but for different reasons - both of which are legitimate," Majzub told the judge.

Majzub said the RCMP "gained no advantage" by allowing CBSA to go first, and that police did not suggest any particular line of questioning or request that electronic devices be searched, making it "impossible to ascribe a nefarious motive" to police.

Shortly after Meng was detained, China arrested two Canadians on espionage charges. The pair faced trials in the past week, although it is not known when their verdicts will be announced.

Meng's case is set to wrap up in May.

(Reporting by Sarah Berman and Moira Warburton in Vancouver; Editing by Peter Cooney)
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.
Islamabad, March 25 : In yet another heart wrenching incident, a differently-abled girl has been allegedly sexually assaulted and filmed in a rural area of Pakistan's Punjab province.

As per details, the victim was repeatedly raped by at least five suspects during a span of three months. Further details revealed that the suspects not only raped the victim, but also filmed the incidents and used it to blackmail her father, a security guard, into giving them money.

The 16-year-old deaf and mute girl was raped and filmed for months, videos of which were also made viral on certain social media platforms.

The local authorities have taken notice of the incident and at least two alleged rapists have been taken into custody.

"The 16-year-old daughter of Muhammad Hassan, a resident of suburb village Kundi, who works as a security guard for a private company, was deaf and mute by birth," said Raees Ali, Station House Officer (SHO), Lodhran City.

The two arrested suspects have been identified as Hassan and Ijaz, are also in their youth and have been accused of raping and filming the victims for months and making the incidents viral on social media.

On the other hand, the medical report of the victim proved that she was repeatedly raped.

Samples of her DNA have been send to Lahore for further tests, while a case has been registered against five persons at the local police station on the complaint of the victim's father.

As per the details of the case, the father of the victim has alleged that the rapists blackmailed him and demanded money while making threats.

He has five children, out of which the eldest daughter (victim) and his five-year-old son were deaf and mute since birth.

Further details revealed by the father, stated that the victim entered the house in a deteriorated condition and told her parents about the assault through sign language.

"The victim told her parents that there were five men involved in the sexual assault, some of who raped her repeatedly over the past three months," maintained her father.

The victim's father said he remained silent out of fear. But later approached the police after his daughter was filmed and blackmailed.

The incident has come as a shock to the masses as the abnormal desperation of the rapists and the brutal assault on a differently-abled girl for months, has not only shaken up emotions, but also has raised serious reservations on the state of safety, security, reliability and trust among the poor people on the authorities.
In another example of entitled Indian men speaking on womens bodies, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) candidate, Anchor Dindigul Leoni made sexist and fatphobic comments during a campaign meeting, comparing women to cows and saying that drinking the milk of foreign cows has made them fat and like a barrel instead of the figure 8.

.@KanimozhiDMK Madame please get rid of womanizers like Dindigul Leoni, Vairamuthu etc in your party before you talk about women's safety.. pic.twitter.com/cVkGCQ8eGi  Vishwatma  (@HLKodo) March 24, 2021

You know, there are many types of cows. On farms, you would have seen foreign cows. People use a milking machine for foreign cows. A person will switch on the machine and 40 litres of milk will come out in an hour. By drinking that milk, all our women have become fat like a balloon, Dindigul Leoni said in the video, as reported by the Indian Express.



Earlier, a womans figure looked like the number 8. They could carry children on their hips. But now, if they hold a child, it slips away because they have become like a barrel. All our children have also become fat.

This is only days after Uttarakhand CM made his comments questioning the values of women who wear ripped jeans, but this new development definitely takes the cake if making sexist remarks against women was a competition.

Of course, the internet was furious at what he said.

Utterly distasteful. It is not just the words uttered in a campaign speech but the mind that harbours the thoughts and forms these words that are distressing.



Womens hips becoming like barrels': Dindigul Leoni's sexist remark at DMK campaign https://t.co/oi3bOKk6Lv  K S Narendran (@NarendranKs) March 25, 2021

So Dindigul Leoni made that sexist jibe while campaigning for DMK's environment wing Secretary Karthikeya Sivasenathipathi. Nalla combination.  Narayanan (@visaraj) March 25, 2021

Dude: women no longer have figure 8, they look like barrels

Meanwhile, dude looks like this: pic.twitter.com/j5vdDeMYis  Mr. Beef (@Sachin_Nishil) March 25, 2021

DMK's Dindigul Leoni made ultra sexist remarks during rally,

Says

"Women have lost their figures, putting on weight after consuming milk from foreign cows".

You know its kalyug when Women Hips are being call out Election Rallies.#TamilNaduElections2021 #dmk #leoni  BarelyHuman (@HarshitGulati17) March 25, 2021

'Women No Longer Have Figure 8, Look Like Barrels': DMK Candidate Dindigul Leoni At Campaign Meeting



It seems sexism and misogynist remarks are indian politicians new benchmark, these kinds of political leaders are very harmful to a healthy social ecosystem. https://t.co/1AACACnfNw  The Warrior Pro (@optimusprime689) March 24, 2021

And this isnt all. While BJP leaders such as Gayathri Raguram were quick to slam him on his comments

What a shame.. what milk does he drink? Does he know what happens to womens body post pregnancy or during hormonal changes? @KanimozhiDMK what do you like to say to this kind of male chauvinist? Is this the respect your party people have on women. https://t.co/7yMf5esqX0  Gayathri Raguramm (@BJP_Gayathri_R) March 24, 2021

...on the same day as this video hit the Internet, another video was doing rounds on Twitter where Bengal BJP President Dilip Ghosh made remarks on how Mamata Banerjee wore her sari.

@BJP WB Pres asks in public meeting why Mamatadi is wearing a saree, she should be wearing Bermuda shorts to display her leg better



And these perverted depraved monkeys think they are going to win Bengal?  Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) March 24, 2021

One has to wonder what obsession politicians have with what women do with their bodies, and why such misogynistic remarks are being used to fuel election campaigning.
Deployment of CubeSats developed by Japan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka for the BIRDS-3 project. The International Space Station is orbiting 256 miles above the Amazon River in Brazil in this photograph. Credit: NASA

On March 14, the Paraguayan Space Agency (AEP) deployed a satellite from the International Space Station to help track a tiny parasite that causes Chagas disease. The satellite, Guaranisat-1, is the first developed and put into orbit by Paraguay. An estimated 8 million people in Mexico, Central America, and South America have Chagas disease, which if untreated can be life-threatening. Large-scale population movements from rural to urban areas of Latin America and other parts of the world have increased the geographic distribution of the disease.

Guaranisat-1 is part of the Joint Global Multi-Nation Birds Satellite project, or BIRDS, supported by the nation of Japan and the Kyushu Institute of Technology or Kyutech. Guaranisat-1 launched as a component of BIRDS-4, which also includes satellites from Japan and the Philippines. Previous BIRDS launches included first satellites from Ghana, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Bhutan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

"Our country's first satellite marks an historical moment," says Alejandro Roman, AEP's "Paraguay to Space" project manager. "It is the first step in a long path to bring the benefits of space to Paraguay in areas like disaster risk reduction, agriculture, natural resources management, land management, and climate." A three-hour television program about the project drew 2.9 million viewers in a country with 7 million inhabitants, demonstrating its power as a tool for outreach about space benefits and careers in science, technology, and engineering.

One of the missions of BIRDS-4 satellites is to demonstrate collection of data through ground stations in regions that are difficult to access. In Paraguay, scientists installed sensors to detect the presence of the triatomine, or kissing bug, which carries the parasite that causes Chagas disease. Data from those sensors will be automatically transmitted via a central hub to the satellite and downloaded by a ground station to create a map of disease risk. Health authorities can use this map to help determine prevention actions.

Through this type of project, BIRDS supports space engineers in non-space-faring nations. "Any emerging nation can afford the cost of the program," says George Maeda, an assistant professor at Kyutech who handles international interactions. The principal investigator for the program is Kyutech professor Mengu Cho.

The satellites provide a means to a larger end: teaching skills to engineering students and sending them home to teach others, creating a foundation for a sustainable space program in their country. Students from a participating country go to Japan to learn the entire process from mission planning to hardware design, testing, launching, and in-orbit operation.

The students do all the work, Maeda says, with only light supervision from Kyutech. "They have never designed and built a satellite, so they make a lot of mistakes, but that is an important part of the learning process. You cannot learn how to build a satellite by reading books. They learn by spending a lot of time in the labs experimenting and making mistakes." All project work must be completed in 24 months, the time it takes to complete a master's degree in Japan.

The students from Paraguay are Adolfo Jara and Anibal Mendoza. Jara is working on a Ph.D. and Mendoza on a master's in electrical and space engineering.

"Chagas disease affects especially vulnerable populations, including indigenous communities in the region, representing a public health problem," says Jara. While the satellite mission is a technology demonstration, if it achieves the results expected, risk mapping could be replicated on a broader scale, benefitting more communities.

The satellite also has a camera to take images from space. An onboard Image Classification Unit uses artificial intelligence to sort images into predefined categories and choose those suitable to download, making the project more cost-efficient. Guaranisat-1 will orbit for up to two years, transmitting every 90 seconds to a network of stations in each of the participating countries.

AEP plans to develop additional satellite missions, focusing on capacity building. "There is an advantage to starting late in space development," says Roman. "There are many lessons already learned that we can apply to improve and accelerate our country's development."

A team of AEP engineers and engineering students are working on a program called CApacity Building, REsearch and Innovation4 Space (CABURE'I-4S) as a next step, says Jorge Kurita, AEP director of planning and management. "Cabure'I" means "owl" in the indigenous Guarani language.

"Local capacity-building is an essential component of our space activities," Kurita says. "College students all over Paraguay are actively participating in this exciting journey."

Participating countries pay for student training, satellite hardware, and launch. The space station provides a low-cost option for launching satellites, helping to keep the program affordable. BIRDS-4 uses CubeSats, which are deployed by the Japanese Experiment Module Small Satellite Orbital Deployer-16 (J-SSOD) aboard the space station. The satellites verify the use of commercial off-the-shelf components in space and demonstrate a new type of solar cell, the Perovskite solar cell. Data on its performance in space will help evaluate the technology for use on future space missions.

"For the students, building their nation's first satellite is thrilling beyond words," says Maeda. "I see this on a daily basis. It's magic."

Explore further NTU successfully launches its 7th satellite into space
The hospital has been here for 90 years, Ahmed said. It has seen great financial times and some really bad ones, but the community has always needed us. The hospital has to be here  and as long as we get the proper support from the government and the insurance companies, we will survive.
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're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Go to form
The EU retains the right to use export controls as a means to 'leverage' vaccine firms to fulfil their Covid-19 supply contracts, the Taoiseach has said.

Mr Martin was speaking during a break from a fractious EU leaders summit held against fury at slow vaccine rollouts and evidence of a new upsurge in Covid-19 cases across Europe.

The meeting heard an encouraging message from US President Joe Biden, who joined the summit video link, and pledged more cooperation with the EU on Covid-19 generally and vaccine supplies in particular.

But EU leaders were divided about proposed get-tough measures which clearly target the UK and the British-Swedish vaccine maker, AstraZeneca.

Read More

AstraZeneca cannot export any more COVID-19 vaccines from Europe until is makes good on its contracts with the European Union, EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said after a meeting of the leaders of the 27-nation bloc.

We have to and want to explain to our European citizens that they get their fair share," she told a news conference late on Thursday, adding that companies had to honour their contracts with the EU before exporting to other regions.

"And this is of course the case with AstraZeneca," von der Leyen said. "I think it is clear for the company that, first of all the company has to catch up, has to honour the contract it has with the European member states, before it can engage again in exporting vaccines."

The firms EU-made vaccines are helping the UK vaccinate 3.6 times more people than the European Union. But no vaccines made at AstraZenecas British plants are making their way back to Europe.

Tough EU export controls proposed by von der Leyen were backed by France, Italy and Germany. But Ireland, joined by Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden questioned the wisdom and effectiveness of these moves.

But the Taoiseach last night signalled that the leaders attending the video-link summit agreed that something had to be done about improving vaccine supplies.

He said the EUs own mechanisms had established without doubt that the bloc is the biggest supplier of Covid vaccines to the entire world.

Mr Martin welcomed new signals of cooperation between the EU and the UK in a joint Brussels-London statement issued on Wednesday and hoped this could reduce the risk of conflict. But he insisted the EU reserved the right to use leverage to ensure vaccine companies fulfilled their contractual obligations.

In the context of companies that fail to fulfil their contracts with the European Union, the leverage is there to ensure that contracts are fulfilled and also that the European Union has certain safety nets to ensure that they can be assured of supplies, Mr Martin said.

Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, updated the 27 leaders in efforts to justify EU vaccine export controls. This year the EU has exported 77 million doses to 44 countries  that compares with 88 million doses used within the bloc  and 21 million EU-made doses went to the UK who have sent none back.

But the EU-wide vaccine rollout is poor with an average 14pc of EU citizens jabbed to the UKs 46pc. Much of the problem is down to supply  and a distinct view that the UK and the British-Swedish firm AstroZeneca are not playing fairly.

The leaders summit, which continues on Friday, also saw a fierce clash between some leaders and Austrian Chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, who demanded a fairer share of 10 million spare doses of the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccines which had not been taken up as part of all member states allocations.
In context: The controversial Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act has been a hotly debated subject as of late, especially in the context of huge misinformation campaigns surrounding the 2020 election and the ongoing pandemic. This is why tech CEOs are about to get grilled again in a new hearing where lawmakers are looking to address the role of social media in promoting extremism and misinformation.

This week, the CEOs of Facebook, Twitter, and Google will testify before Congress through a virtual hearing that can be watched live. The main topics of the hearing are the war on misinformation and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. At least two of the executives are preparing to defend the liability protections afforded by Section 230 with testimonies that focus on the role of social media in the January 6 Capitol attack.

Section 230 is a piece of legislation that was passed in 1996 which says that an "interactive computer service" can't be held liable for third-party content as it isn't the publisher of that material. This was a bipartisan effort that sought to protect website owners from being sued for user-generated content, with a few notable exceptions such as pirated works. It is, however, open to misinterpretation and often used as an excuse to ignore platform-wide issues.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will talk about the company's efforts to combat hateful content and misinformation regarding the 2020 election and Covid-19, such as disrupting economic incentives, applying machine learning to detect fraud and spam, and building partnerships with reputable organizations such as Reuters for manual fact-checking.

However, a recent analysis shows Facebook could have done a much better job, as the prime movers for most misinformation on the platform were relatively easy to identify with a more aggressive algorithm.

President Joe Biden suggested during his campaign that he would revoke or rewrite Section 230. Zuckerberg believes the latter option is a better approach, and his written testimony shows he will try to convince lawmakers to make Section 230 protections available only to platforms that "have systems in place for identifying unlawful content and removing it." He also notes that a third party should determine the criteria for evaluating those systems, except when it comes to issues like privacy and encryption, which "deserve a full debate in their own right."

In Zuckerberg's view, giant platforms shouldn't be held liable for whatever pieces of content fall through the cracks of their algorithms, as there's no practical way to guarantee that they won't. On the other hand, his proposal throws smaller platforms under the bus, as most wouldn't have the resources to build the same filtering and moderation tools. And even if they did manage to do it, they'd impact their user growth in ways that platforms like Facebook never had to until the recent past.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey don't have any proposals for how lawmakers should reform Section 230. Pichai says he's concerned that changes to the legislation could have unintended consequences for platforms and their users, and instead would like the focus to be on "ensuring transparent, fair, and effective processes for addressing harmful content and behavior."

Dorsey doesn't mention Section 230 in his written remarks, but will talk about innovations that Twitter is bringing to the table with experiments like Birdwatch and Bluesky. And just like Zuckerberg, he doesn't believe it's possible to moderate every single interaction on Twitter, which is why the company's efforts are focused towards increasing trust and transparency.

The last time tech CEOs were grilled by Congress was on antitrust issues, and it quickly devolved into a political spectacle. Chances are this time will be no different, with Republican lawmakers accusing executives of censoring conservative content on their platforms, while Democratic lawmakers will no doubt criticize them for not doing enough to curb the spread of harmful content.
Abuja  Nigeria and other African nations could play a central role in efforts by India to diversify its sources of oil and gas, India's Oil Minister, Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan, said yesterday, as the nation strives to reduce its energy reliance on the Middle East.

India, the world's third-biggest oil importer, has asked state refiners to speed up the diversification of oil imports to gradually cut their dependence on the Middle East after the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided earlier this month to continue production cuts in April.

"As India seeks to further diversify sourcing of crude oil and LNG, Africa has a central role - largely due to its proximity and absence of any choke points in trans-shipments," Pradhan told an industry summit.

Reuters reported that India imports over 80 per cent of its oil and has a huge oil import bill.

Africa's share of India's oil imports are about 15 per cent or about 34 million tonnes of oil last year, Pradhan said, with the country's imports of gas from Africa also gradually increasing.

India traditionally buys oil from Nigeria, Angola, Algeria, Egypt and Equatorial Guinea, but in recent years, it has bought the commodity from Cameroon, Chad, Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire.

"Therefore, we would naturally be seeking commercial partners in Africa to meet India's growing energy needs through imports of crude oil, LNG and other petroleum and energy products," he stated.

State-run Indian companies have invested $8 billion in oil and gas assets in various African nations and India the third-largest refiner in the world is a major exporter of refined fuels.

Africa is the second-largest destination for Indian refined fuels, Pradhan said, adding that rising demand for technology, fuels, skills and investment in some African nations offer India opportunities for equity investment and two-way tie-ups.

Nigeria is India's 13th largest country of import behind other crude oil exporters such as the US, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and UAE and in contrast India is Nigeria's largest export destination.

In the first quarter of 2020, Nigeria's export to India was N637.5 billion or 15.6 per cent of total exports, with crude oil representing N526.8 billion of the total export amount.

India replaced the US as Nigeria's largest export destination for crude as demand for crude increased in the second-most populous country in the world.

Meanwhile oil prices have continued to be weighed down by concerns about immediate demand amid a fresh rash of lockdowns in some countries, especially in Europe.

From a high of $71.38 earlier in the month, Brent Crude fell by 4.18 per cent to $61.92 before rising to about $63 yesterday.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Energy Asia, Australia, and Africa By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

The US crude prices traded below the $60 a barrel mark, at $59.02, down by 4.13 per cent on the day, but later picked up and sold for $60.66 as analysts point to an oversupply on the market.

Recovery remains fragile as new or extended lockdowns in Europe, including in Italy, France, and Germany, prompted concerns about mobility and oil demand in the next few weeks, while the vaccination programmes in many European countries are lagging behind the United States and the UK, for example, in terms of vaccination rates.

Europe's biggest economy, Germany, is extending its lockdown through April 18, with a stricter lockdown for Easter to "break the exponential growth of the third wave," according to Chancellor Angela Merkel.

In December last year, President Muhammadu Buhari signed the 2021 budget based on a crude oil benchmark price of $40 per barrel, with production for this year estimated at 1.86 million barrels per day, although the country has been producing less due to the OPEC quota cuts.
The last 72 hours highlighted hurdles and opportunities for U.S.-China cooperation on climate at a time of very deep divisions over human rights, cybersecurity and more.

Driving the news: Chinese state media, in a weekend readout of high-level U.S.-China talks in Alaska on Thursday and Friday, said one outcome of the multitopic meeting will be a "joint working group" on climate.

But yesterday a State Department spokesman told Axios' Fadel Allassan: "The two sides discussed the climate crisis but did not form a formal working group."

Why it matters: China is by far the world's largest carbon emitter and the U.S. is the second-largest.

The planet's fate doesn't rest on whether there's indeed a "formal" new working group. But the wider trajectory of U.S.-China cooperation  or division  is very important for reining in emissions.

The big picture: Right now, that relationship is very strained, as revealed by the tense talks in Alaska last week.

"We certainly know and knew going in that there are a number of areas where we are fundamentally at odds," Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters afterward, citing areas like China's abuses of Muslims in Xinjiang.

But he also cited areas where "interests intersect"  including climate. And more broadly, there are other modest signs of collaboration thus far. The U.S. and China are co-chairing a reconstituted G20 Sustainable Finance Study Group.

And John Kerry, President Biden's special climate envoy, has long known Xie Zhenhua, who is back for another stint as China's top climate diplomat.

What's next: A Wall Street Journal piece this morning looks at a multination meeting on climate tomorrow that China will lead and will include Kerry and Xie.

"Given the tensions, the Kerry-Xie interaction marks a test of the Biden administrations China strategy, which looks to carve out cooperation on issues like climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic while the two powers compete for global influence and the control of critical technologies," it reports.

A little further out, President Biden is hosting a high-level global climate summit on April 22. It will offer another moment to take the pulse of the U.S.-China rapport.

Li Shuo, a Greenpeace expert on China, said via Twitter that while climate was among the few areas of "convergence" in Alaska, the talks "certainly made an early breakthrough more difficult."

"Beijing needs to make tough decisions now on what to bring to the April 22nd climate summit," he said.

The intrigue: One question is when China will fill in policy blanks on its 2020 vow to become carbon neutral by 2060  and whether it will pledge tougher near-term efforts beyond what's already been announced.
Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan today received the delegation led by Minister of Defense of Iraq Juma Anad Saadoun Khattab, as reported the Office of the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister welcomed the Iraqi defense ministers visit to Armenia and mentioned that Armenia views Iraq as a reliable partner. Pashinyan also highly appreciated the Iraqi governments great attention towards the Armenians of Iraq.

Juma Anad Saadoun Khatab said the Iraqi government is interested in further expansion of relations with Armenia and attached importance to the development of cooperation and exchange of experience in the Armed Forces. In this context, the interlocutors discussed several issues related to the strengthening of military-technical and military-medical cooperation and attached importance to the signing of a relevant memorandum between the defense ministries of both countries in Yerevan.

Prime Minister Pashinyan stated that the Armenian government highly appreciates the Iraqi governments balanced position on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. He attached importance to the development of economic relations with Iraq and voiced hope that it will be possible to give a new impetus to the trade and economic relations based on the results of the session of the Armenian-Iraqi intergovernmental commission to be held this year," the press release reads.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House is withdrawing its planned nomination of Elizabeth Klein to become deputy secretary at the Interior Department amid opposition from Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski.

Klein, who worked at Interior during the Obama administration, was among five women named by then-President-elect Joe Biden to serve as deputy Interior secretaries. But she was never formally nominated by the president and now wont be, a White House spokesman said Tuesday.

Kleins withdrawal was first reported by Politico.

Instead, Biden is expected to name Tommy Beaudreau, another former Obama-...
I've been a reporter and editor at Missouri community newspapers for 35 years and joined the Columbia Missourian in 2003. My emphasis at the Missourian is on local government and elections. You can reach me at swaffords@missouri.edu or at 573-884-5366.

Follow this search Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today
Kasane  Pandamatenga residents have been apprised of the Chobe Land Board's plans to address land shortage challenges in the village.

Addressing a kgotla meeting on Tuesday, land board chairperson, Mr Johane Chenjekwa said the board intended to demarcate and allocate the unoccupied space near Pandamatenga Botswana Housing Corporation (BHC) houses.

He said the planned move was meant to reduce the waiting list for residential plots currently standing at 2 000.

Mr Chenjekwa explained that land confiscated from squatters was not adequate to address the waiting list, hence the plan to demarcate the land close to the BHC houses.

He said as a way of promoting food security, the Chobe Land board had resolved to delimit some 1 200 hectares into small commercial farms of 50-150 hectares each.

The farms would then be advertised for people to compete for them while spaces between existing subsistence farms would be allocated to applicants, he said.

Mr Chenjekwa said while demand for land kept increasing, the resource did not grow, hence the need for those responsible for its management to be diligent.

He urged residents to take advantage of Pandamatenga's fertile soils to produce food for the nation and in the process create employment opportunities for others.

On other issues, the chairperson explained that land boards did not apportion inherited land saying they only issued certificates for such plots after the deceased's family had agreed on the rightful heir.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Botswana Land and Rural Issues By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

For the land board to issue such a certificate, it required a record of the family's decision regarding the heir and a letter from the chief certifying the resolution.

Commenting, one resident, Mr Pumani Kataba said some Pandamatenga residents were unable to develop their plots because of cotton soil.

Another resident, Mr Morphia Moyo, complained that government seemed to be concentrating on developing road infrastructure for commercial farms and neglecting subsistence ones.

He said it was a challenge for tractors to access subsistence farms due to poor roads.

A third resident, Mr Baithamaki Shango applauded the land board for the decision to demarcate and allocate land near BHC houses and for considering allocating village committees land.

He however decried the sluggish processes of the council planning committee.

Mr Shango appealed to community members to register old plots to enable the land board to know which spaces were unoccupied.

Responding, land board secretary, Mr Kealeboga Kemoreile explained that prior to demarcation, a survey was conducted to avoid allocating plots in cotton soil areas.

Mr Kemoreile regretted the previous system whereby subsistence farms were not allocated in linear pattern which was proving to be a challenge for development to be carried out.

He expressed optimism that re-alignment of the farms would make it easy for projects such as roads and cluster fencing to be undertaken.

Source : BOPA
Panaji, March 25 : The BJP led-coalition government in Goa is "studying the possibility" of outsourcing the state's only legal abattoir used for beef slaughter to private companies to ensure regular supply of beef in the coastal state.

"The government of Goa is studying the possibility of outsourcing the modern abattoir of Goa Meat Complex to private companies for the period of ten years," Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Animal Husbandry Minister Mauvin Godinho told the state legislative Assembly in a written reply on Thursday.

The written reply, which was tabled in response to an unstarred question by Congress MLA Aleixo Reginaldo, also sought to know when the state's only abattoir would be operational in order to meet the demand for beef in Goa.

"As there is a ban on slaughter and transport of animals in both the neighbouring states, we are not able to give a definite time frame for the meat complex to become operational," Sawant said. The reply also stated that there was no shortage of beef in Goa.

Goa consumes nearly 25 tons of beef everyday, most of which was traditionally sourced from traders in Karnataka. In wake of a new Karnataka legislation, which severely restricts transportation of beef, the state has witnessed a shortage of red meat in recent 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.
ISMAILIA, Egypt - Dredgers, tugboats and even a backhoe failed to free a giant cargo ship wedged in Egypts Suez Canal on Thursday. More than 150 vessels are now backed up, with hundreds more headed to the vital waterway, and losses to global shipping are mounting.

ISMAILIA, Egypt - Dredgers, tugboats and even a backhoe failed to free a giant cargo ship wedged in Egypts Suez Canal on Thursday. More than 150 vessels are now backed up, with hundreds more headed to the vital waterway, and losses to global shipping are mounting.

The skyscraper-sized Ever Given, carrying cargo between Asia and Europe, ran aground Tuesday in the narrow, man-made canal dividing continental Africa from the Sinai Peninsula. Even helped by high tides, authorities have been unable to push the Panama-flagged container vessel aside, and they are looking for new ideas to free it.

This satellite image from Planet Labs Inc. shows the cargo ship MV Ever Given stuck in the Suez Canal near Suez, Egypt, Tuesday, March 23, 2021. A cargo container ship that's among the largest in the world has turned sideways and blocked all traffic in Egypt's Suez Canal, officials said Wednesday, March 24, 2021, threatening to disrupt a global shipping system already strained by the coronavirus pandemic. (Planet Labs Inc. via AP)

In a sign of the turmoil the blockage has caused, the ship's Japanese owner even offered a written apology.

We are determined to keep on working hard to resolve this situation as soon as possible, Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd. said. We would like to apologize to all parties affected by this incident, including the ships travelling and planning to travel through Suez Canal.

As efforts to free it resumed at daylight Thursday, an Egyptian canal authority official said workers hoped to avoid offloading containers from the vessel as it would take days to do so and extend the closure. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as he wasn't authorized to talk to journalists.

This photo released by the Suez Canal Authority on Thursday, March 25, 2021, shows two tugboats next to the Ever Given, a Panama-flagged cargo ship, after it become wedged across the Suez Canal and blocking traffic in the vital waterway from another vessel. An operation is underway to try to work free the ship, which further imperiled global shipping Thursday as at least 150 other vessels needing to pass through the crucial waterway idled waiting for the obstruction to clear. (Suez Canal Authority via AP)

So far, dredgers have tried to clear silt around the massive ship. Tug boats nudged the vessel alongside it, trying to gain momentum. From the shore, at least one backhoe dug into the canal's sandy banks, suggesting the bow of the ship had plowed into it. However, satellite photos taken Thursday and analyzed by The Associated Press showed the vessel still stuck in the same location.

The vessel remained stuck as of Thursday night despite "continuous efforts to refloat it, according to canal service provider Leth Agencies.

Lt. Gen. Osama Rabei, the head of the canal authority, said navigation through the waterway would remain halted until the Ever Given is refloated. A team from Boskalis, a Dutch firm specialized in salvaging, arrived at the canal Thursday, although one of its top officials warned removing the vessel could take days to weeks."

A team from the Boskalis subsidiary SMIT "spent the day doing inspections and doing calculations to assess the state of the vessel and a plan on how to refloat the vessel, spokesman Martijn Schuttevaer told the AP. He did not offer a time frame.

The Suez Canal Authority said one idea the team discussed was scraping the bottom of the canal around the ship.

Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, the company that manages the Ever Given, said they were focusing on dredging to remove sand and mud from around the port side of the vessels bow. It said a specialized suction dredger would join other dredgers on the site. That dredger is able to shift 2,000 cubic meters of material every hour, it said.

This photo released by the Suez Canal Authority on Thursday, March 25, 2021, shows a backhoe trying to dig out the keel of the Ever Given, a Panama-flagged cargo ship, that is wedged across the Suez Canal and blocking traffic in the vital waterway. An operation is underway to try to work free the ship, which further imperiled global shipping Thursday as at least 150 other vessels needing to pass through the crucial waterway idled waiting for the obstruction to clear. (Suez Canal Authority via AP)

BSMs continuing priorities are to safely re-float the vessel and for marine traffic in the Suez Canal to resume, it said without providing timeframe.

Boskalis chairman Peter Berdowski on Wednesday described the ship as a very heavy whale on the beach.

The ship, with the weight it now has, cant really be pulled free. You can forget it, he told the Dutch current affairs program Nieuwsuur.

Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement said its 25-member crew was safe and accounted for. Shoei Kisen Kaisha said all the crew came from India.

The ship had two pilots from Egypt's canal authority aboard the vessel to guide it when the grounding happened around 7:45 a.m. Tuesday, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement said.

Canal service provider Leth Agencies said at least 150 ships were waiting for the Ever Given to be cleared, including vessels near Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea, Port Suez on the Red Sea and those already stuck in the canal system on Egypt's Great Bitter Lake.

This satellite image from Cnes2021, Distribution Airbus DS, shows the cargo ship MV Ever Given stuck in the Suez Canal near Suez, Egypt, Thursday, March 25, 2021. The skyscraper-sized cargo ship wedged across Egypt's Suez Canal further imperiled global shipping Thursday as at least 150 other vessels needing to pass through the crucial waterway idled waiting for the obstruction to clear, authorities said. (Cnes2021, Distribution Airbus DS via AP)

Cargo ships already behind the Ever Given in the canal will be reversed south back to Port Suez to free the channel, Leth Agencies said. Authorities hope to do the same to the Ever Given when they can free it.

But many more ships already are en route to the canal.

Using data from Automatic Identification System trackers on ships at sea, data firm Refinitiv shared an analysis with the AP showing over 300 ships remained on the way to the waterway over the next two weeks. Some vessels could still change course, but the crush of ships listing the Suez Canal as their destination shows an even-greater backlog looms for shippers already under pressure amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Blocking something like the Suez Canal really sets in motion a number of dominos toppling each other over, said Lars Jensen, chief executive of Denmark-based SeaIntelligence Consulting. The effect is not only going to be the simple, immediate one with cargo being delayed over the next few weeks, but will actually have repercussions several months down the line for the supply chain.

Evergreen Marine Corp., a major Taiwan-based shipping company that operates the ship, said the Ever Given had been overcome by strong winds as it entered the canal, something Egyptian officials earlier said as well. High winds and a sandstorm plagued the area Tuesday, with winds gusting to 50 kph (30 mph).

An initial report suggested the ship suffered a power blackout before the incident, something Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement denied.

Initial investigations rule out any mechanical or engine failure as a cause of the grounding, the company said.

In Japan, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told reporters the Suez Canal is part of a crucial international sea lane, and that the Japanese government was gathering information and working with local authorities.

The closure could affect oil and gas shipments to Europe from the Mideast, which rely on the canal to avoid sailing around Africa. The price of international benchmark Brent crude stood at over $61 a barrel Thursday.

Overall, famed shipping journal Lloyd's List estimates each day the Suez Canal is closed disrupts over $9 billion worth of goods that should be passing through the waterway. A quarter of all Suez Canal traffic a day comes from container ships like the Ever Given, the journal said.

The Ever Given, built in 2018 with a length of nearly 400 metres (a quarter mile) and a width of 59 metres (193 feet), is among the largest cargo ships in the world. It can carry some 20,000 containers at a time. It previously had been at ports in China before heading toward Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

Opened in 1869, the Suez Canal is a crucial link for oil, natural gas and cargo. It also remains one of Egypts top foreign currency earners. In 2015, the government of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi completed a major expansion of the canal, allowing it to accommodate the worlds largest vessels. However, the Ever Given ran aground south of that new portion of the canal.

Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo, Isabel DeBre in Dubai and Mike Corder at The Hague, Netherlands, contributed.
IRVINE, Calif., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ATTOM Data Solutions, curator of the nation's premier property database, today released its Q1 2021 Single Family Rental Market report, which ranks the best U.S. markets for buying single-family rental properties in 2021.

The report analyzed single family rental returns in 495 U.S. counties, each with a population of at least 100,000 and sufficient rental and home price data. Rental data came from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and home price data from publicly recorded sales deed data collected and licensed by ATTOM Data Solutions (see full methodology below).

View interactive map displaying SFR returns in all 495 counties analyzed

The average annual gross rental yield (annualized gross rent income divided by median purchase price of single-family homes) among the 495 counties is 7.7 percent for 2021, down from an average of 8.4 percent in 2020. Within that group of counties, the yield declined from 2020 to 2021 in 87 percent of counties. However, it's not all bad news for rental property investors.

"Offsetting the declining yields are improved financing terms for such rental properties and portfolios", said Maksim Stavinsky, co-founder of Roc360, a FinTech platform that is parent to Roc Capital and Haus Lending, both companies specializing in loans to real-estate investors nationwide. "Across our platform, rates that we are quoting to borrowers have more than offset the waning cap rates on a YoY basis, with the highest-tier rental loan borrowers seeing terms in the low 4% range. This is happening despite a yield curve that has been steepening of late."

At the same time, home prices are rising faster than rents in most of the country, which could start making home ownership less affordable and put upward pressure on rents.

"The single-family home rental business is less profitable this year compared to last year across most of country, with yields on the average deals decreasing. That's happening as home prices on properties that investors are paying for, in most areas, are rising considerably faster than rents, which is cutting into their profit margins," said Todd Teta, chief product officer at ATTOM Data Solutions. "Nevertheless, returns on single-family rentals still generally remain strong and there are pockets, especially in the Midwest, where yields top 10 percent. There also are some signs that things could improve this year given that home prices are increasing faster than rents."

Top rental returns in Pottsville, Macon, Baltimore, Ottawa and Jamestown areas, as well as Midwest region

Counties with the highest potential annual gross rental yields for 2021 are Schuylkill County, PA, in the Pottsville metro area (26.1 percent); Bibb County, GA, in the Macon metro area (18.1 percent); Baltimore City/County, MD (16.2 percent); La Salle County, IL, in the Ottawa metro area (14.1 percent) and Chautauqua County, NY, in the Jamestown metro area (13.7 percent).

The highest potential annual gross rental yields in 2021 among counties with a population of at least 1 million are Cuyahoga County (Cleveland), OH (9.9 percent); Dallas County, TX (8 percent); Tarrant County (Fort Worth), TX, (8 percent); Franklin County (Columbus), OH (7.9 percent) and Bexar County (San Antonio), TX (7.9 percent).

Among the top 50 rental returns for counties analyzed in 2021, 25 are in the Midwest, 15 in the South and 10 in the Northeast.

Rental returns decrease from a year ago in almost 90 percent of counties analyzed

Potential annual gross rental yields for 2021 decreased compared to 2020 in 430 of the 495 counties analyzed in the report (86.9 percent), led by Baltimore City/County, MD (yield down 43.9 percent); St. Louis City/County, MO (down 35.5 percent); St. Louis County, MO (down 29.3 percent); Bonneville County (Idaho Falls), ID (down 26.7 percent) and Fairfield County (Stamford), CT (down 24 percent).

Among counties with a population of at least 1 million, those with the biggest decreases in potential annual gross rental yields from 2020 to 2021include Miami-Date County, FL (down 19.9 percent); Oakland County, MI, in the Detroit metro area (down 18.6 percent); King County (Seattle), WA (down 17.4 percent); Palm Beach County, FL, in the Miami metro area (down 14.2 percent) and Fulton County (Atlanta), GA (down 13.3 percent).

Counties in San Francisco, San Jose, Nashville and Maui metros and others in the West post lowest rental returns

Counties with the lowest potential annual gross rental yields for 2021 are Williamson County, TN, in the Nashville metro area (3.7 percent); Santa Clara County, CA, in the San Jose metro area (3.8 percent); San Mateo County, CA, in the San Francisco metro area (3.8 percent); San Francisco County, CA (3.9 percent) and Maui County, HI (3.9 percent).

Among counties with a population of at least 1 mission, along with Santa Clara County, those with the lowest potential annual gross rental yields in 2021include Kings County (Brooklyn), NY, (4.3 percent); Orange County, CA, in the Los Angeles metro area (4.6 percent); Los Angeles County, CA (4.7 percent) and King County (Seattle), WA (4.8 percent).

In the bottom 50 rental returns, among counties analyzed for 2021, 30 are in the West, 10 are in the South, seven are in the Northeast, and three are in the Midwest.

Wages rising faster than rents in 77 percent of markets

Wages are rising faster than rents in 379 of the 495 counties analyzed (76.6 percent), including Los Angeles County, CA; Cook County (Chicago), IL; Maricopa County (Phoenix), AZ; San Diego County, CA; and Orange County, CA, in the Los Angeles metro area.

Rents rose faster than wages in 116 of the 495 counties analyzed (23.4 percent), including Harris County (Houston), TX; Tarrant County (Fort Worth), TX; Sacramento County, CA; Bronx County, NY and Mecklenburg County (Charlotte), NC.

Home prices rising faster than rents in 87 percent of markets

Single-family home prices are rising faster than rents in 430 of the 495 counties analyzed (86.9 percent), including Los Angeles County, CA; Cook County (Chicago), IL; Harris County (Houston), TX; Maricopa County (Phoenix), AZ and San Diego County, CA.

Rents rose faster than single-family home prices in 65 of the counties analyzed (13.1 percent), including Duval County (Jacksonville), FL; San Francisco County, CA; San Mateo County, CA, in the San Francisco metro area; Fort Bend County, TX, in the Houston metro area and Kane County, IL, in the Chicago metro area.

Prices rising faster than wages in 79 percent of markets

Prices are rising faster than wages in 391 of the 495 counties analyzed (79 percent), including Los Angeles County, CA; Cook County (Chicago), IL; Harris County (Houston), TX; Maricopa County (Phoenix), AZ and San Diego County, CA.

Wages rose faster than prices in 104 of the counties analyzed (21 percent), including Orange County, CA, in the Los Angeles metro area; King County (Seattle), WA; Santa Clara County, CA, in the San Jose metro area; Middlesex County, MA, in the Boston metro area and Hennepin County (Minneapolis), MN.

Best SFR growth markets include Milwaukee, Memphis, Rochester and Birmingham

The report identified 61 "SFR Growth" counties where average wages grew over the past year and the potential 2021 annual gross rental yields are 10 percent or higher.

The 61 SFR Growth markets include Milwaukee County, WI; Shelby County (Memphis), TN; Monroe County (Rochester), NY; Jefferson County (Birmingham), AL; and Baltimore City/County, MD.

Methodology

For this report, ATTOM Data Solutions looked at all U.S. counties with a population of 100,000 or more and with sufficient home price and rental rate data. Rental returns were calculated using annual gross rental yields: the 2021 50th percentile rent estimates for three-bedroom homes in each county from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), annualized, and divided by the median sales price of residential properties in each county.

ATTOM Data Solutions also incorporated weekly wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and demographic data from the U.S. Census into the report.

About ATTOM Data Solutions

ATTOM Data Solutions provides premium property data to power products that improve transparency, innovation, efficiency and disruption in a data-driven economy. ATTOM multi-sources property tax, deed, mortgage, foreclosure, 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. A rigorous data management process involving more than 20 steps validates, standardizes and enhances the data collected by ATTOM, assigning each property record with a persistent, unique ID  the ATTOM ID. The 20TB ATTOM Data Warehouse fuels innovation in many industries including mortgage, real estate, insurance, marketing, government and more through flexible data delivery solutions that include bulk file licenses, property data APIs, real estate market trends, marketing lists, match & append and introducing the first property data delivery solution, a cloud-based data platform that streamlines data management  Data-as-a-Service (DaaS).

Media Contact:

Christine Stricker

949.748.8428

[email protected]

Data and Report Licensing:

949.502.8313

[email protected]



SOURCE ATTOM Data Solutions

Related Links

http://www.realtytrac.com/


Associated Press

The younger generation of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales are on average about three feet (one meter) shorter than whales were 20 years, drone and aircraft data show in a study in Thursdays journal Current Biology. Entanglements with fishing gear, collisions with ships and climate change moving their food supply north are combining to stress and shrink these large whales, the study says. This isnt about short right whales, its about a physical manifestation of a physiological problem, its the chest pain before the heart attack, said Regina Asmutis-Silvia, executive director of Whale and Dolphin Conservation North America, who wasnt part of the study.
Laval_news

Flood season: Situation is normal but can change quickly

Joel Ceausu / photo Vincent Girard Laval-ouest linear dike is one of the citys temporary measures that can be rapidly deployed as water levels rise.

Spring is here, and that means flood watch. The city of Laval says its ready with its response plan any spring flooding of the riviere des Prairies et riviere des Mille Iles.

The deployment of temporary protection measures like dikes, pumps, and footbridges will be done gradually and according to forecasts in the operational planning zones (ZPO) around Ile Jesus. The temporary protection measures aim to maintain the accessibility of citizens and emergency vehicles to the road network and the protection of essential infrastructure.

Although the current situation is normal, we know it can quickly change as evidenced by the events of 2017 and 2019, says executive committee member responsible for public safety Sandra Desmeules. We have a sequenced deployment plan of diverse measures that can be quickly put in place in some hot spots depending on the forecast.

Laval has defined ZPOs during flooding near the rivers for the last three years, allowing it to better plan and coordinate actions to be implemented based on rising water forecasts. In the event of a flood forecast in a ZPO, automatic telephone call alerts will be sent to citizens concerned and a notice will be published on the citys website followed by immediate distribution of sandbags to area residents.

Since 2006, the city has installed 14 telemetry stations at strategic locations on the islands periphery calibrated with historical flood thresholds and allowing three alert levels. The city also has access to government probes to improve its network. Flow forecasts are produced by the Ministry of the Environment as well as by the firm Hydro Meteo, which has served the city since 2005 for monitoring upstream rivers and basins. When the situation becomes more concerning, the city can deploy a field watch team in more sensitive areas and is working on permanent protection and mitigation measures with the new provincial flood management project bureau.

The city, however, is reminding residents that they are responsible for their security and the protection of their property. It is therefore essential that those who live in a flood zone prepare themselves. The current situation as well as the instructions for preparing for the eventuality of a flood are available at inondations.laval.ca

Laval residents should subscribe to the citys various electronic communication tools so that they are quickly informed of important notices sent in the event of an emergency. Registration is done online via abonnement.laval.ca.
Limits on the use of force by police and investigations of officers who have a pattern of misconduct continue to make their way through the Legislature, with some bills winning broad approval and with some passing only on party line votes.

While all agree on the need to review police procedures, some, mainly Republicans, worry the state is going too far in trying to rein in police tactics.

Use of force

A ban on military-grade equipment and neck restraints by police officers continues to gain momentum in the Legislature after HB 1054 passed the House in a 54-43 vote Feb. 27.

Those opposed said the bill would remove less-lethal options for officers, increasing chances of police custody deaths.

We are pressing more toward the use of lethal force, and that is a matter of great concern, Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, said during the House discussion.

Laws on excessive force would also come in the form of SB 5066, which requires officers to intervene and report if they see a colleague using unnecessary force on a suspect.

"This bill is a step in the right direction but will not fully address the institutional racism that exists in law enforcement agencies," said Sakara Remmu of the Washington Black Lives Matter Alliance.

Law enforcement would also have stricter guidelines on permissible use of force under HB 1310, which passed the House in a 55-42 vote.

Dissenters, mostly Republican, agreed with the intent of the bill, but said it would ignore events during which force was necessary to arrest someone.

This bill presents unreasonable expectations of law enforcement, Rep. Gina Mosbrucker, R-Goldendale, said during the House vote.

Another law would establish a mandate for an in-state university to collect information about how and when officers used force against someone, as well as demographics on those involved in the incident.

SB 5259 saw bipartisan support when it passed out of the Senate, and heard public testimony in the House Public Safety Committee March 16.

Community oversight

Bills to address the training and certification processes of law enforcement also continue to move through the Legislature. Major reform to the Criminal Justice Training Commission will come in the form of SB 5051, which expands the CJTCs powers to decertify an officer based on a pattern of misconduct.

The commission sets standards for agencies on law enforcement certification. This law would also require a more representative membership, meaning the commission must include more people from underrepresented communities.

We believe impacted communities should have a place at the table, not just to sit there, but to be engaged and do the work and contribute, said Po Leapai, member of the Washington Coalition for Police Accountability, during a March 11 public hearing.

A grant program to encourage outreach between several Washington counties and their respective law enforcement agencies appeared March 19 in the House Public Safety Committee.

SB 5353 received support from both Democrats and Republicans, unanimously passing the Senate on March 9.

HB 1088 passed both the House and Senate in more bipartisan votes and now heads to Gov. Jay Inslees desk for approval. The law requires prosecutors to disclose during litigation if an officer facing discipline is on a Brady list, a record kept by prosecutors on officers with records of untruthfullness, or other issues affecting their credibility.

A law allowing the State Auditor to ensure agencies are following correct procedures in their investigations also passed the House and is likely to make it to the Senate for a floor vote after lawmakers vote on the bill in the Senate Ways & Means Committee.

Also likely to make it to the governors desk is HB 1001, which garnered bipartisan support for its initiative to hire more officers from underrepresented communities. Public testimony was mostly in support of the measure.

Despite sweeping changes coming to law enforcement oversight, a bill to increase the qualified age of a law enforcement applicant to 23 died while still in committee. SB 5089 lost support from lawmakers who said they were concerned that it would reduce the number of candidates who apply for law enforcement jobs.

Recruitment today for new applicants in law enforcement is already behind, said Sen. Jim McCune, R-Graham, during the executive session Jan. 28.

Investigating law enforcement

An independent office of law enforcement investigations is likely to make its way to the governors desk, though it passed the House with a Democrat-led 57-39 vote.

HB 1267 would establish an independent panel to evaluate incidents of alleged misconduct, though it would not hold prosecutorial power.

Those opposed to the bill, like Rep. Brad Klippert, R-Kennewick, said it would not accomplish accountability because it would focus too much on equity, not what he called equality.

This bill seems to suggest that now, when I go to work each day, I need to keep a numbers count  based on the color of their skin, Klippert said.

The panel would not include law enforcement and would have to include representatives from impacted families, researchers and communities of color.

Theres a lack of trust in the process when law enforcement personnel are in charge of investigating their own behavior, Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards said in support of the bill.

A state requirement to establish a rotating panel of arbitrators and a roster for data during disciplinary procedures would also happen if SB 5055 passes the House Labor & Workplace Standards Committee.

It increases transparency of arbitration decisions by posting it, Sen. Joe Nguyen, D-West Seattle, said. It also allows us to collect the data we need to make informed decisions.

The bill saw widespread support from both law enforcement and citizens.

Despite lawmakers backing 5055, another bill limiting bargaining between law enforcement ombuds died while still in committee. SB 5436 specifically limited bargaining over disciplinary reports within agencies.

Other bills that died in committee included: HB 1202, which called for an automatic civil action against anyone injured by police use-of-force; and HB 1262 which added requirements for hiring peace officers.

Thank you for reading!

Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
NEW CANAAN  Though mental health-related calls to New Canaan police spiked up 47 percent in 2020, Chief Leon Krolikowski does not recommend hiring a social worker for the department.

There were 50 such calls last year, compared to 34 total calls in 2019. The trend appears to be continuing in 2021, with 12 calls so far, the chief said.

If the number of calls stays at this pace, we should end up with about the same number of calls as last calendar year 2020, Krolikowski said.

The recently passed Police Accountability Bill requires each municipal police department in Connecticut to evaluate the feasibility and potential impact on the department, if it were to use social workers to respond to calls for assistance.

But the chief believes he has other resources that can help the department with these challenges, without the need for a social worker.

Our partnership with Silver Hill and how well trained our officers are ensures that we handle psychiatric incidents well. In addition, the town has social workers on staff who often help us with more complex, re-occurring incidents, the chief said, answered a series of emailed questions.

These calls are handled with empathy, the chief said.

In the report to the state, Krolikowski explained how the patrol division officers have handled the calls.

Many of these calls included a response by officers trained in crisis intervention and some were put on wellness checklist followup or are referred to our towns human services, he reported.

Also in the report, Krolikowski described the way the town approached the 50 psychiatric calls.

He noted they engaged with Dr. Mia Handler from Silver Hill as the towns director of behavioral health, a volunteer psychiatrist who oversees all New Canaan behavioral health issues.

This work includes consultation regarding reoccurring complex behavioral health issues and could include responding to a crisis scene, the report states.

Out of the 50 psychiatric calls in 2020, 17  or 34 percent of them  were juvenile patients, the chief said. New Canaans nearly 4,000 school-aged children make up close to 20 percent of the population.

Even though COVID-19 brought about special challenges on children, the percentage of calls regarding youth was up only slightly from 2019s 34 psychiatric calls, of which 10, 0r 29 percent, were juvenile patients, the chief said.

The majority of calls for psychiatric help are from people regarding their family members regardless of age, Krolikowski explained.

The police get a mix of calls from both individuals who live alone and those living with families,However, its not uncommon for folks who live alone to require more services, the chief said.

The reason for the calls ranged from relationship issues to improper use of prescription medication to treat behavioral health issues, Krolikowski said. The good news is many times intervention prevents suicides and the person is transported to the hospital for care.

In 2020, the officers handled three suicides or attempted suicides, as compared to 2019, in which there were two such cases, he said.

Its common that psychiatric calls respond to individuals who are contemplating suicide, but these incidents are not specifically identified as suicide or attempted suicide, Krolikowski said.

The officers are also trained to handle psychiatric calls.

Officers follow best practices for handling crisis situations and recognizing the signs or symptoms of common behavioral health conditions, the chief said.

The training for police officers teaches them safe de-escalation skills. Police then refer behavioral health challenges to a variety of community resources.

Officers handling psychiatric calls often conduct wellness checks periodically to ensure the person has received the help and resources that they need for the future, the chief says.

All officers are trained in crisis scenarios, but the department has a team of 10 officers that have received more in-depth crisis intervention training. These officers carry the Bola Wrap, which is a non-lethal restraint device that can be used in a crisis scenario.

Bola Wraps prevent a suspect from fleeing or attacking an officer with a means of wrapping a tether around a suspect's legs or torso.

I am proud of how our department has recognized how important this training is for 21st century policing, the police chief said.
The former CEO of a Bronx non-profit that has received $274 in public funds to help the homeless has been arrested after he allegedly schemed to 'enrich himself through bribes and kickbacks from contractors.'

Victor Rivera, 61, was detained just weeks after an explosive New York Times piece detailed decade-long sexual abuse allegations against the former head of the Bronx Parent Housing Network (BPHN), who was fired soon after the report was released.

The Stony Point, New York, native has been charged with one count of honest services wire fraud conspiracy, one count of honest services wire fraud and one count of money laundering.

'Many of the over 8.4 million residents of New York City rely on government-assisted non-profits to provide food, affordable housing, and other essential services for their well-being,' Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said in the press release.

'As alleged in today's charges, by accepting bribes and kickbacks, Victor Rivera sought to leverage his position as the CEO of a non-profit into a very much for-profit situation for himself.

Victor Rivera, 61, was detained just weeks after an explosive New York Times piece detailed decade-long sexual abuse allegations against him. 10 women - five who lives in his facilities - have accused him of sexual harassment or assault

'The vast majority of organizations in New York City's non-profit networks honorably provide assistance to those in need, but when any individual selfishly exploits one of those organizations for their own personal gain, they will find themselves facing criminal charges for corruption.'

Rivera co-launched the Bronx Parent Housing Network in 2000, helping it become a leading city contractor. Since 2017 his organization has secured $274million in city funding to help run almost 70 homeless housing facilities.

According to the release, Rivera was the President and Chief Executive Officer of BPHN. The nonprofit would spend millions in public every year to fund real estate, security, cleaning, construction, and food expenses related to housing and social services provided by the organization.

The release states from at least 2013 until about 2020, Rivera allegedly engaged in a scheme to enrich himself and his relatives by 'soliciting and accepting bribes and kickbacks from contractors doing work related to or for' BPHN.

Rivera raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars in illicit gains, many of which were laundered through intermediary entities the former CEO controlled. These included a consulting company nominally owned by one of Rivera's relatives, according to the release.

Rivera co-launched the Bronx Parent Housing Network in 2000, helping it become a leading city contractor. Since 2017 his organization has secured $274million in city funding to help run almost 70 homeless housing facilities. He has since been fired from his role

Charging documents add that Rivera used the consulting company funds 'for his own benefit, including by writing or causing others to write official checks ' from the the consulting company's bank account 'to pay down the mortgage on his personal residence.'

Rivera has pleaded not guilty to the charges. If convicted for all three charges, Rivera could face up to 60 years behind bar for these crimes.

The Times reports that Rivera is also under investigation by the Bronx district attorney's office after 10 women - including homeless women who had been staying at some of the non-profit's shelters - accused the former CEO of sexual assault and/or harassment. Two of the women accused him of forcing them to perform oral sex on him.

While the group of women reported the incident to a state agency, a city hotline, and even to police, Rivera remained at the head of the organization.

One woman working for BPHN - Danielle Dawson - said that Rivera forced her to give him oral sex in 2016 and then fired her, according to police records, interviews and other documents, the New York Times reported last month.

Dawson, who was romantically involved with Rivera until she broke it off, had initially turned down advances from the former CEO to have sex. When she refused, he reportedly told her: 'Nobody tells Daddy no.'

From at least 2013 until about 2020, Rivera allegedly engaged in a scheme to enrich himself and his relatives by 'soliciting and accepting bribes and kickbacks from contractors doing work related to or for' BPHN

Another employee accused Rivera of groping her and whispering sexual comments in her ear in 2018. When both women went to complain to a state human rights agency, the Bronx Parent Housing Network paid them $175,000 total in settlements that prohibited them from speaking publicly about their allegations.

Five of the women who accused Rivera had been living in his homeless shelters, or had recently left, when they were approached for sex.

'He's got a lot of power over a lot of vulnerable girls,' said Erica Sklar, 49.

Sklar had been living in the homeless shelter in 2012 when Rivera offered to move her into an empty apartment in a building he owned in the Bronx. The building was also where he and his wife also lived.

Sklar moved in early 2013 and immediately noticed a shift in Rivera's tone as he began flirting with her and attempted to grab her waist or lift her skirt, she told the New York Times.

In Dec. 2016, Rivera came by to Sklar's place to help her after her microwave began smoking. After asking to inspect a leak in Erica's bedroom, he shoved the woman against a wall and began touching her. Sklar said that as Rivera demanded oral sex from her, he asked if she liked living there.

Rivera has maintained his innocence as it pertains to the sexual assault and harassment allegations. Two of the women have accused him of forcing them to perform oral sex on him

'I felt like if I could just do it, I could keep my home,' she said. 'I never felt so dirty or so disgusted in all my life.'

While Sklar kept a shirt with Rivera's semen on it, she never did report the incident to police.

Rivera has maintained his innocence as it pertains to the sexual assault and harassment allegations.

'I have always treated the women I work with at B.P.H.N. with dignity and respect. These allegations are unfair, baseless and without merit,' Rivera said in a statement.

Staff openly discussed Rivera's sexual aggression, along with the nepotism running rampant at the company. Rivera's wife, brother and son-in-law all were hired by the company, according to internal staff rosters and tax filings. Rivera's wife was promoted to a senior executive position at BPHN while simultaneously working at a for-profit housing company owned by her husband, according to a deposition she gave in an unrelated lawsuit.

Rivera's nature was so notorious at the non-profit that it even prompted one employee to resign in disgust.

'I can no longer continue to represent or be a part of this culture that has taken over our company,' said Bernard Rodriguez, former head of maintenance at one of the shelters, in an email announcing his 2018 departure from the non-profit. 'I am a father of a young girl & would be devastated to know that she would be preyed upon by a predator that has leverage over her.'
Chinese net users have called for a boycott of Hennes & Mauritz AB because it wont use cotton from Xinjiang, thrusting the worlds second-largest clothing retailer into the Asian nations human rights controversy.

Users of Chinas Twitter-like Weibo platform singled out the Swedish multinational after finding a statement on its website saying it has stopped sourcing cotton from the far western region. In the undated statement, H&M said its deeply concerned by reports from civil society organizations and media that include accusations of forced labor and discrimination of ethnoreligious minorities.

H&M China said on Wednesday that its global supply chain is managed to comply with sustainability commitments, not to reflect any political position. The company also said it doesnt purchase cotton directly from suppliers, but uses third parties.

As of Wednesday evening Beijing time, H&M appeared no longer to be available on Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.s e-commerce platform Taobao, where the retailer had previously had a presence. The internet firm didnt immediately respond to a request for comment.

H&M shares fell as much as 2.8% in afternoon trading in Stockholm. China accounted for 5.2% of the companys total sales in 2020.

The Communist Youth League, the ruling Communist Partys organization for young people, took to Weibo to criticize H&M for finding faults with Xinjiang cotton.

Want to make money in China while spreading false rumors and boycotting Xinjiang cotton? Wishful thinking! it said in a post.

One of the Peoples Liberation Armys Weibo accounts called H&Ms statement ignorant and arrogant. And two Chinese celebrities who previously represented H&M issued statements saying they no longer have any ties with it, adding they oppose attempts to smear China.

The U.S. and some other Western governments accuse China of sending as many as 1 million Muslim Uyghurs to internment camps and forcing them to work. The U.S., U.K., Canada and the European Union imposed sanctions on China over alleged human rights abuses this week, prompting Beijing to retaliate with sanctions of its own.

China categorically denies all allegations regarding Xinjiang Uyghurs as lies. Beijing says it is lifting the region out of poverty, building infrastructure to improve the economy and ensuring children receive educations. The government says these efforts help it counter extremism in the region.

Foreign companies operating in China are often compelled to strike a balance as they try to maintain access to its huge market without ignoring concerns in their home nations.

Last week Apple Inc. cut ties with Chinese supplier Ofilm Group Co. over allegations its involved in a government program that transfers minorities from Xinjiang to other parts of the country for work, a person familiar with the matter said.
Johnny Depp was denied permission to appeal a judges ruling in his libel case against British tabloid The Sun, which concluded that the actor had assaulted his ex-wife Amber Heard.

ADVERTISEMENT

Depp sued The Sun's publisher, News Group Newspapers, and its executive editor Dan Wootoon over a story published in 2018 that called the Hollywood star a "wife beater."

U.K. judge Andrew Nicol ruled in November that the publication's use of the phrase was justified and that the paper's allegations were "substantially true."

Depp asked the court of appeal to give him permission to challenge the ruling. A British court, following a hearing last week, refused Depp on Thursday.

Depp's lawyers argued during the hearing that he had not received a fair trial and accused Heard of being an unreliable witness due to not donating her $7 million divorce settlement to charity, after saying she would.

"We refuse Mr. Depp's application to admit further evidence in support of his proposed appeal and we conclude that the appeal has no real prospect of success and that there is no other compelling reason for it to be heard. We accordingly refuse permission to appeal," Lord Justice Underhill said in his ruling on Thursday.

The 57-year-old is also suing Heard in Virginia for $50 million. Depp is accusing the actress of defamation after Heard published an article in the Washington Post about domestic abuse. The trial was delayed to April 2022.

"Mr. Depp looks forward to presenting the complete, irrefutable evidence of the truth in the U.S. libel case against Ms. Heard where she will have to provide full disclosure," Depp's U.K. lawyer Joelle Rich of Schillings Partners said in a statement after Thursday's decision.

FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS!

Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source!

A spokesperson for Heard said, "We are pleased - but by no means surprised - by the court's denial of Mr. Depp's application for an appeal. The evidence presented in the U.K. case was overwhelming and undeniable. To reiterate, the original verdict was that Mr. Depp committed domestic violence against Amber on no fewer than 12 occasions and she was left in fear of her life."
Mar. 25OXFORD  Improving what was statistically the worst defense in the SEC last season will be no easy task for Ole Miss.

It will also be a multi-layered process.

Four-star defensive tackle Tywone Malone and junior college transfer linemen Jamond Gordon and Isaiah Iton fuel excitement from the recruits for a quick fix, but improvement won't come only from recruits.

Gordon and Iton are on campus for spring drills, Malone is not.

Transfers could make the Rebels' defense look different, some already in the program and others on the way.

The Rebels got a glimpse of what Otis Reese, once a Georgia defensive back, could do late last season.

Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin called Reese one of the best players on last year's defense while he sat out waiting on clearance from the NCAA.

Finally that came, and Reese  in three games  had 24 tackles, a pass break-up and an interception. Multiply that production over the course of a season, and Reese would be contending for All-SEC recognition.

"He has the frame that can play where outside linebackers play, but he's a natural safety," Kiffin said.

Navy transfer Jake Springer was not eligible in 2020 and spent the season on the Rebels' scout team.

He made a major impact for the Midshipmen in 2019 with 16 tackles for loss, eight sacks and second-team All-AAC honors.

"We got a close look at Jake on the scout team last year. He's a really good player with a nose for the ball," Kiffin said.

Springer, a safety with versatility like Reese, played multiple spots on the scout team.

Kiffin also added a graduate transfer middle linebacker in the offseason in Maryland standout Chance Campbell, who was second in the Big Ten with 11.0 tackles per game in 2020.

Maryland got in only five games, but Campbell (6-3, 225) was named honorable mention All-Big Ten.

Campbell will arrive in the summer and should create an interesting push for playing time at a spot where Ole Miss returns experienced players like Mohamed Sanogo and Jacquez Jones.

"A lot of the first-year defenses last year when staffs were new ... a lot of teams didn't play to their production standpoint that I'm sure they wanted to," Kiffin said. "Spring alone should help, plus the influence of new players that are eligible now."

parrish.alford@djournal.com
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa has implored the Zanu PF leadership to lead from the front in mobilising the people to get vaccinated against Covid-19 under Phase Two and Three of the inoculation exercise which is targeting the grassroots population across the country.

The President received his first Covid-19 jab at a momentous occasion attended by different religious and political leaders in Victoria Falls on Wednesday, where he called on the nation to shun conspiracy theories and get vaccinated for the country to return to normalcy.

Leading by example, President Mnangagwa got vaccinated in full view of the public.

The second phase, which is targeting teachers, security personnel and the elderly among other groups got off to a flying start in the resort city of Victoria Falls where residents of the world-famous town also received the vaccines, as part of Government plans to reopen the economy and reset the country on its development trajectory of being an upper middle economy by 2030.

Addressing the 350th Ordinary Session of the Politburo at the party headquarters in Harare yesterday, President Mnangagwa called on the party structures to develop programmes to sensitise communities about the importance of Covid-19 vaccination.

Riding on this momentum, I call upon the party to lead from the front as we continue to mobilise our people to vaccinate under Phase Two and ultimately Phase Three, which will target our grassroots population across the country until we realise herd immunity.

Our party leadership at provincial, district, branch and village/cell levels are encouraged to develop programmes to sensitise communities about the importance and efficacy of Covidd-19 vaccination. Let us all be mindful that no-one is safe from Covid-19, until everyone is safe.

The Politburo will recall that we received the first batch of Covid-19 vaccines in February marking the beginning of Phase One of the national Covid-19 vaccination programme targeting frontline health workers and security personnel.

On March 16, 2021, we received an additional second batch of vaccine doses. These will go a long way towards ensuring that we attain the ideal herd immunity of 60 percent of the population, said the President.

The national Covid-19 vaccination programme is in full swing. The roll out of the first phase was a success with over 68 percent of the targeted group being vaccinated to date.

I want to commend frontline workers and other groups who have positively responded to the vaccination programme.

President Mnangagwa said under the second phase, the target group had been expanded to include teachers, security services and members of the judicial system, clergy, the elderly and people with chronic conditions.

He said the vaccination programme had been overwhelmingly received by stakeholders from across the socio economic and political divide, demonstrating that Zimbabwe was evolving into a mature democracy where all people act in the national interest and with unity of purpose.

As we approach the Easter Holidays, I exhort all of us to avoid unnecessary travel and gatherings. Covid-19 is still a reality and let us therefore remain alert and keep adhering to the World Health Organisation guidelines of wearing masks, handwashing under running water or sanitisation, and also social distancing, said the President.

Turning to a number of former MDC senior officials who are defecting to Zanu PF, President Mnangagwa said more senior opposition members joined the ruling party.

Some of the senior members who recently joined the party are former MDC-T spokesperson Cde Obert Gutu and senator James Makore. He confirmed that others are re-joining Zanu PF through the provincial levels and wings of the party.

President Mnangagwa also commended the Zanu PF Youth League, describing it as the vanguard of the party. I urge the league to intensify and diversify its mobilisation drive towards a resounding victory in the 2023 harmonised general elections.

He also applauded the party structures for warmly welcoming the new members saying Zanu PF was a mass party and a revolutionary party standing ready to accommodate all Zimbabweans who wished to join it.

He, however, warned party members going against the ethos of the partys constitution and ideology saying the few pockets of indiscipline displayed by some cadres should be nipped in the bud.

Emboldened by our constitution and revolutionary ideology, let us continue entrenching intra-party democracy, unity, peace and harmony as the bedrock upon which we grow and strengthen our party, said the President.

We cannot afford to be pre-occupied by meetings which merely focus on gossip, rumour-mongering, petty jealousies and unfounded accusations.

The party is far much bigger than individuals. Tisazvinyepera kuisa Zanu PF muhomwe, unozokaruka wava muhomwe ye Zanu PF, said President Mnangagwa.

He called for the need to safeguard the party constitution and seek to achieve the promises made in the 2018 party manifesto.

It is equally important for us as the party to play our role in the implementation and success of the National Development Strategy 1 towards guaranteeing the development, growth and prosperity of our country.

On agriculture production, President Mnangagwa said the country was expecting a bumper harvest following the normal to above normal rainfall received during this summer cropping season.

He also commended the party leadership and stakeholders in the agriculture sector for their concerted efforts in promoting the implementation of Government programmes at grassroots level towards increased productivity.

Preparations must begin in earnest for the equally successful winter cropping season. In tandem with the primary agriculture productivity, let us also value addition projects across all provinces and districts.

He challenged the Information Communication Technology department to move with greater speed to realise the electronic membership registration process saying ICT was a new frontier and expression of any countrys development level.

Zimbabwe was continuing with deepening of bilateral relations due to a robust engagement and re-engagement policy.

My administration continues to witness the deepening of bilateral relations owning to our robust engagement and re-engagement policy. Recently the inaugural session of the Zimbabwe-Rwanda Joint Permanent Commission on Cooperation was held and resulted in concrete plans of strengthening cooperation in areas such as aviation, mining, energy and education among others.

On the transport sector, President Mnangagwa said another batch of 100 buses for public transport, was already at the port of entry.

The Politburo meeting observed a minute of silence in honour of Tanzanian President Dr John Magufuli who died March 17 and will be interred today in his home town of Chato in the Geita region of Tanzania.

On behalf of our party, Zanu PF we once again convey our heartfelt condolences to our sister party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi for their sad loss. Their loss is ours together, said the President.

For us in Zimbabwe and Zanu PF, we shall forever remember his principled position which led SADC, under his chairmanship, to set aside October 25 as the day when the whole region collectively denounces the illegal economic sanctions imposed on our country. Chronicle
The decision of the Union government to open up the vaccination programme against pandemic Covid-19 further and include all those who are aged 45 years and above is a welcome move as it comes in the nick of time.

India is on the verge of a second wave of the pandemic with more than 47,000 people contracting the virus on Tuesday alone. The daily caseload has been hovering above 40,000 for the last couple of weeks. Several states have already gone back to or are contemplating re-introducing lockdown in varying intensities to check the spread of the virus.

The government decision comes amid demands made by several state governments to include more categories of the population under it. The Delhi government has demanded that everyone above 18 years be given the jab while Punjab wanted the norms for the second phase where only those above 60 years were eligible for the vaccine be done away with. Its chief minister is particularly worried as 81 per cent samples that underwent genome sequencing from the state showed B117 virus, the UK strain of Covid-19.

The government has of late ratcheted up the daily numbers in the inoculation programme, and the number of people who got a dose of the vaccine touched 33 lakhs on Tuesday. This is a commendable achievement compared with the slow progress the programme made in the initial phase.

The total number of people who have got at least one dose of the vaccine has become 4.5 crores now but only less than 80 lakhs have got both their doses. The percentage of people who have got the vaccine is far too low compared with that in the US and Britain: the US has vaccinated 37.83 of every hundred people while Chinas number stands at 5.21 against Indias 3.54. At this rate, India will take months on end to get a sizeable share of the population inoculated. This would mean some region or the other being under lockdown or debilitating restrictions. But the nation cannot afford to keep its economic activity in chains for long.

It has been one year since Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared a national lockdown to tame the virus and flatten the curve. One year on, India has suffered immensely at the hand of the microorganism. Crores of people found it difficult to make ends meet but the governments at the Centre and in most states offered very little in the form of immediate relief. Lakhs of people were made to flee their temporary abodes in the towns and trek thousands of miles on their way back home, creating one of the most heartrending and shameful episodes of Independent India. One year down the line, India is still the country with the third-largest number of Covid cases and deaths after the United States and Brazil.

There cannot be a repeat of the same this year. The government must further strengthen the inoculation programme and at the same time strictly impose Covid-appropriate protocol across the country. Any laxity on these counts will cost the nation heavily.
You have permission to edit this article.

Edit Close
How is it the U.S. does not claim Taiwan as a strategic ally nor consider Taiwan an adversary? Taiwan is what we want in a trustworthy ally: a rule-based, thriving democracy that upholds human rights. Unfortunately, we do not recognize Taiwan as a sovereign nation though it has its own government and its own defense and monetary systems. In fact, Taiwan, the keystone island strategically positioned between U.S. allies Japan and the Philippines, has the worlds 20th largest economy, is Americas 10th largest trade partner and produces 60% of the worlds semiconductor chips.

If defending Taiwan is one of our most vital strategic interests, the U.S. should immediately stop worrying about offending the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), act as the global leader that we are, shed the outdated strategic ambiguity on Taiwan, and acknowledge the reality that Taiwan is a nation.

History shows strategic ambiguity has led to conflicts

Strategic ambiguity, peppered with opaqueness in the mistaken and forlorn hope that it can deter adversaries, has invited miscalculations and unintended armed conflicts. In 1950, U.S. Secretary of State Dean Achesons speech to the National Press Club on January 12, 1950 made no mention of the Korean peninsula being part of the U.S. defensive perimeter. Six months later North Korea, encouraged by China, invaded South Korea. The resultant Korean War yielded three million deaths, including 35,000 U.S. servicemen

On July 25, 1990, U.S. ambassador April Glaspie told Iraqs Saddam Hussein that we (the U.S.) have no opinion on Arab-Arab conflicts, like your border disagreement with Kuwait, A week later Iraqs invasion of Kuwait drew the U.S. into a conflict that heads into its third decade and at a cost of thousands of U.S. lives and untold billions of dollars.

In February 2014, Russia militarily annexed Crimea, Ukraines southernmost peninsula, in defiance of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances guaranteeing Ukrainian security. Apart from $1 billion in aid to Ukraine by the U.S. and words volleyed across the Atlantic calling for a Russian withdrawal, there was no U.S. or UK show of force nor any UN assistance; the Russians stayed put. Over the next months, Russia, with renewed bravado, subsequently occupied eastern Ukraine, where it remains to this day.

Strategic clarity and clear intentions, like the Monroe Doctrine, might have been more likely to preserve peace.

Will Biden-Blinken Choose the Harder Right Instead of the Easier Wrong?

Washington needs to divorce itself from its decades-long One China policy and its strategic ambiguity mantra to deter Chinese aggression towards Taiwan.

To avert potential conflicts, a new U.S. Taiwan policy should be that in addition to complying with the Taiwan Relations Act, the U.S. will defend Taiwan if Taiwan is attacked, militarily or otherwise, without provocation. In the event of such aggression, the U.S. will recognize that there is the government of the Republic of China on Taiwan and the government of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) on China.

The 1979 Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) and the One China Policy emerged when Jimmy Carter recognized the PRC. Ronald Reagan later added the Six Assurances in 1982 to further compliment the TRA. Unfortunately, the declarations are not legally binding: 1) the TRA does not lawfully require the U.S. to defend Taiwan; it merely states the U.S. will provide necessary defensive articles for Taiwan to protect itself; 2) the Six Assurances guide U.S.-Taiwan relations but is a non-binding, unenforceable resolution.

The U.S. has never formally stated if it will aid Taiwan if China invades and its continued adherence to this strategic ambiguity will encourage China to inadvertently pull the U.S. into war. Bidens 2020 Interim National Security Guidance augmented this vagueness: We (the U.S.) will support Taiwan, a leading democracy and a critical economic and security partner, in line with longstanding American commitments.

The premise of the strategic ambiguity and the One China policy are obsolete

They were effective when:

1) The U.S. was the dominant global superpower;

2) China was economically depressed and militarily weak and awakening from a nightmarish Cultural Revolution; and

3) Taiwan was a developing country under martial law and barely taxiing to the ramp to become one of Asias Four (economic) Dragons.

Strategic ambiguity has lost its effectiveness today because:

1) U.S. swagger has dimmed globally as domestic issues (i.e., gender and racial politics) vie for influence and resources;

2) Chinas might, militarily and economically, has increased exponentially as it

a) spreads its brand of ideology via the Belt and Road Initiative,

b) suppresses basic human rights against ethnic and religious minorities,

c) disavows civil liberties and universal suffrage they legally agreed upon for Hong Kong,

d) has refused to denounce the use of force to overtake Taiwan (see 2005 Anti-Secession Law); and

3) Taiwan has

a) matured into a rule-based, thriving democracy,

b) successfully managed the coronavirus pandemic to become a model for the world, and

c) created a nurturing and paternalistic platform for world-class semiconductor manufacturers to flourish.

Taiwan is of a Vital Strategic Interest to the United States

Biden needs to acknowledge Taiwans geostrategic position, its vibrant democracy and world-class semiconductor industry are economic and security benefits the U.S. and the free world need to defend, but would lead to catastrophe if not protected. Foreign Policy defines vital strategic interests as conditions strictly necessary to safeguard and enhance a countrys survival as a free and secure nation.

If China invades and occupies Taiwan, the CCP will control the ingress/egress of the South China Sea, one of the worlds most vital sea lanes, where one-third of all global shipping transits. Taiwan, Douglas MacArthurs unsinkable aircraft carrier at the north end of the South China Sea, sits in a commanding, over-watch position to monitor and control all shipping flow. Other strategic advantages for China:

Chinas blue water navy will have unimpeded paths directly to Hawaii, North America, and South America.

China will control the sea lanes where 40% of its total trade transit through.

China will have unencumbered sea lines of communication and control of the Taiwan Straits.

China will gain access to 60% of the worlds $85 billion semiconductor chip manufacturing industry. Without these chips, computers cannot compute, smart phones cannot be smart, F-35s cannot fly nor fight.

A China-occupied Taiwan gives China the ability to disrupt trade that may lead to or precipitate a global economic crisis. When that happens, will Biden-Blinken still debate whether Taiwan is of vital strategic interest to the U.S.?

A Path to Conflict

The 1989 Tiananmen Massacre started the slow death spiral of the Wests dream of a politically open China. Chinas ethnic/religious genocide against the Uighurs and the Tibetans cast doubts on the CCPs respect of human rights. Chinas unilateral abolishment of legal commitments to Hong Kongs autonomy and the passage of the 2020 Hong Kong National Security Law nailed shut the coffin on universal suffrage for Hong Kong. Combined with the 2005 Anti-Secession Law, its unabashed declaration of intent to occupy Taiwan and not renounce the use of force against Taiwan, Chinas actions foretell its reunification intentions with Taiwan.

Chinas actions and its intent with Taiwan, combined with the past strategic ambiguity the U.S. leading to unintended conflicts do not bode well for Taiwan to remain free and democratic. To extricate the U.S. from being unintentionally led into a conflict with China or avoid losing Taiwan to China, Biden-Blinken need to explicitly state U.S. intentions to defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack. Ambiguity leads to miscalculations; clarity begets maximum deterrence.

Dean Chang retired from the U.S. Army as a colonel and from the State Department as a foreign service officer with combined service in the continental U.S., Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

Image: Luo Shaoyang
The issue of joining efforts to improve the infrastructure of Uman, as an international pilgrimage center of the Hasidim, was the subject of a meeting between the H.E. Mr. Yevhen Korniychuk, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the State of Israel and the President of the ICF. Rabbi Nachman by Nathan Ben-Nun and representatives of the Bratslav Hasids in Jerusalem. The Embassy reported this at Facebook.

During the meeting, issues related to the annual pilgrimage to the tomb of Tzaddik Nachman during the celebration of Rosh Hashanah were discussed. The parties stressed the need to join efforts to improve the city's infrastructure and the development of Uman as an international center of Hasidic pilgrimage, - the statement said.

The ambassador informed his interlocutors about the talks between Ukraine and Israel on the mutual recognition of COVID-19 vaccination passports, which will open the border between the two countries and resume tourist trips.

An agreement was reached on full cooperation in ensuring the visit of representatives of the Hasidic community to the city of Uman with maximum compliance with Ukrainian law during the celebration of Rosh Hashanah in September this year, - the Embassy noted.


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.
.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........

U.S. wildlife officials are asking a federal judge for more time to rewrite rules that guide management of North Americas rarest subspecies of gray wolf, saying they will miss a court-ordered deadline to have plans for the Mexican gray wolf formalized by May.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in a recent motion filed in U.S. District Court pointed to population gains that Mexican wolves have made in the last five years but noted that further environmental and economic analysis needs to be done. The agency also cited the need to compile more data and hold public meetings if it is to meet the requirements of federal environmental laws in revamping the rules.

Lawyers for the agency also listed the pandemic and limited staff as impediments to meeting the deadline.

The Service has fewer staff who are investing most of their time and resources into managing a larger wild population that has nearly doubled since 2014 and trying to reduce livestock conflicts and address illegal killings, the motion says. Therefore, the fewer staff are having to spend the majority of their time being responsible for on-the-ground field work, which has not allowed for their substantive participation revising the rule.

ADVERTISEMENTSkip



................................................................

Environmentalists are opposed to more delays, saying the agency has had nearly three years to draft a final rule.

Bryan Bird with Defenders of Wildlife said he believes the Fish and Wildlife Service wants to get recovery right, but a 14-month extension isnt necessary.

The science is clear. The wolves require a better management approach now; they cannot wait a moment longer, said Bird, who has stressed over the years that finding a way for wolves to coexist with rural communities in New Mexico and Arizona will be key.

He said the approach needs to focus on reducing livestock losses, releasing bonded wolf pairs from captivity and expanding the recovery area to include more northern reaches of the Southwest.

But ranchers are worried their concerns are being ignored as the legal maneuvering continues.

Livestock deaths spiked in 2018 and 2019 and more than 150 cattle kills were confirmed last year. They said thats despite changes to grazing rotations, moving cattle to other pastures when wolves are around and using riders on horseback, flagging and firecrackers to scare away the animals.

Catron County Commissioner Anita Hand said the county signed a memorandum of understanding with the federal government two years ago to have a seat at the table.

Theyre not holding up their end of the bargain, she said. They just give us the runaround. Its really hard to be heard.

Just last week, she learned that an injured wolf was near her familys ranch, but federal wildlife managers had not notified her. The animal apparently wandered dozens of miles from its pack and got caught in a trap somewhere along the way. She said it was days before wildlife officers returned to capture the animal so it could be treated.

Hand said it would be helpful if the Fish and Wildlife Service was more transparent about the program. She said ranchers have been proactive in moving their cattle once they know theres a wolf there, but that notification sometimes never comes.

We can keep reaching out to them and reaching out to them and hope that theyll eventually try to work with us, she said. Its just getting harder and harder to work with them.

Aside from being short-staffed, the agency said in the court filings that it continues to work with ranchers to expand techniques for mitigating conflicts between wolves and livestock. Other options have included food caches to divert wolves and purchasing hay and supplements for livestock.
The United States crossed 30 million coronavirus cases on Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally, as states accelerate the vaccination process by lowering age limits. Health authorities are racing to vaccinate in the face of the first uptick in new cases on a weekly basis since January. Against the advice of health experts, several states have lifted mask mandates and more infectious variants have also spread across the nation.

Although cases are trending higher in 30 out of 50 states compared with the previous week, health officials hope the vaccinations will prevent a rise in deaths. The United States has lost a total of 544,000 lives to the virus. New York on Monday joined Florida and a handful of other states that have made vaccines available to people who are at least 50 years old.

In the past two weeks, many states including Alaska, Arizona and Texas have lowered down their eligibility age for coronavirus vaccines. Arizona lowered the eligibility age to 16 at state-run vaccination sites in three populous southern counties, effective Wednesday. Three other counties already have eligibility at 16, but most are at 55.

Earlier this month, Alaska became the first US state to make vaccine available to everyone 16 and older and currently has one of the highest vaccination rates in the country, with 31.5% of its residents having received at least one dose, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Nearly one-fourth of Americans have received at least one dose while about 13% of the population is fully vaccinated.

Also read: Biden administration eyes $3 trillion for infrastructure, domestic needs

Also read: COVID-19 vaccine: AstraZeneca's shot 76% effective in updated US trial data

Also read: US Senate confirms Indian-American Dr Vivek Murthy as Surgeon General
LONDON, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A coalition of MPs has today urged the Government to outlaw UK factory farming in a bid to end the suffering of billions of animals every year.

An Early Day Motion, signed by 16 cross-party MPs from Labour, the SNP, the Green Party, and the Liberal Democrats, calls for an end to intensive factory farming methods.

The motion is inspired by vegan charity Viva!.

Factory farming is responsible for mass animal suffering, the rise of antimicrobial resistance, and the spread of potentially lethal diseases, the MPs warned.

In the UK, there are 1,674 operational factory farms, with almost 800 of those classed as megafarms.

As a result some one billion animals in the UK are exposed to factory farming methods each year.

Tabled by the SNP's Dr Lisa Cameron, the motion raises concerns about the extreme overcrowding of animals including poultry and pigs, and the confinement of pregnant sows in farrowing crates.

Routine mutilation of egg-laying hens and piglets, and the zero grazing of dairy cows are also methods associated with factory farming.

The MPs warned that three in four of the world's new or emerging diseases reportedly come from animals, with factory farms providing an ideal environment for these diseases to thrive.

They urged the Government to listen to the British public, with polling in January finding some 9 in 10 Britons want a ban due to concerns of the spread of lethal viruses.

In a typical year preceding Covid-19, over 200 zoonotic diseases caused 2.5 billion cases of human illness and 2.7 million deaths a year.

Campaigners backed the motion, calling for the Government to listen to both MPs and the will of the people.

A roundtable discussion, hosted by animal welfare and vegan campaign group Viva!, is set to take place on April 15 2021, where MPs and experts will explore how the UK can introduce a ban.

Viva! Director Juliet Gellatley said: "No country can claim to be a world leader in animal welfare and continue to allow the practice of intensive factory farming.

"Aside from the issues of animal welfare, it holds a very real and inherent risk of the spread and mutation of potentially lethal viruses.

"We strongly urge the Government to listen to Parliament and the will of the people, and outlaw the abhorrent practice of factory farming in the UK for good."
Croatian electric vehicle developer and producer Rimac Automobili said it was opening a new research and development office in the UK.

Based in Warwick Enterprise Park, the R&D office is planned to employ 30 people by the end of 2021, Rimac said in a statement cited by SeeNews.com.

While we are starting with a small office, we might expand significantly in the years to come, working on Rimacs future projects, while closely collaborating with our team of engineers, designers and technicians back in Croatia, Mate Rimac, founder and chief executive officer, said.

Rimac has already provided electrified technology to a number of British automotive brands such as Aston Martin and Jaguar Land Rover, the company said. It is also a supplier to global car makers, including Hyundai, Porsche, Automobili Pininfarina and Koenigsegg.

Headquartered in Sveta Nedelja, near Zagreb, Rimac manufactures electric hypercars and provides technology to automotive manufacturers. The company employs nearly 1,000 people.



Quickly and easily push and pull from your existing Salesforce and Marketing Cloud CRMs with Alchemer Please take my survey now

The carmaker plans to present its latest C Two all-electric hypercar model later this year.

Porsche, part of Volkswagen Group, is in discussions with Rimac to form a joint venture that will manage the luxury car brand Bugatti, Volkswagen Group management board chairman Herbert Diess said last week.

Earlier in March, Porsche increased its stake in Rimac to 24% from 15.5% after investing an additional EUR70m (US$82.8m) SeeNews.com noted.
The Court of Appeal has set free a gravedigger who had been jailed for killing his colleague during a night fight in Ugunja, Siaya County.

The man was set free by after judges ruled that the murder was committed while both were drunk.

Caroly Owino Oluoch was set free after convincing the appellate judges that a High Court judge who handed him a 10-year jail term for manslaughter erred in law.

In his appeal, Mr Oluoch argued that the High Court failed to put into consideration the circumstances of the murder, including the fact that he was not in his right frame of mind when he killed his friend.

Freed unconditionally

In their ruling, the appellate judges pointed out that the High Court judge failed to put into consideration a probation report that accompanied the suspect's mitigation and thus set Mr Oluoch free unconditionally.

While arguing out his case, Mr Oluoch said that the lower court had failed to consider that he was a first offender, and that his family subsequently undertook to take care of the dead man's family.

He convinced the appellate judges Patrick Kiange, Fatuma Sichale and Sankale ole Kantai to find that the High Court Judge misdirected himself in respect of the mitigating factors and arrived at a manifestly excessive sentence.

"Ultimately and inevitably, we find that this appeal has merit. We set aside the 10 year sentence, reducing it to time already served. We order that he be set at liberty forthwith, unless he be otherwise lawfully held," they judges ruled.

The three said that from the record, "it is disturbingly clear that the learned judge failed to take into account and give due credit to the mitigation by the appellant's counsel and the probation report from the Probation Services".

Aggressor

The judges said the facts of the case showed that both parties were drunk and that the deceased was the aggressor, the same having been corroborated by the probation report which gave a detailed account of the events which led to the unfortunate attack.

The report described the appellant as a hardworking and honest individual who was considered to be the best mason in his community.

Mr Oluoch had been incarcerated since April 2015.

His predicament and that of the dead man, Charles Okumu Odero, is an unfortunate tale of two young men who fought under the influence of alcohol, leading to the death of one and the incarceration of the other.

The two were among young men hired to dig a grave on April 26, 2015, which is done at night as a custom. Gravediggers also take alcohol while preparing a grave.

The late Odero had accused Mr Oluoch of making noise while drinking alcohol and a fight ensued. It is during the scuffle that Mr Oluoch picked a spade and hit Mr Odero twice.

Died in hospital

The victim was taken to a local hospital before being transferred to the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Referral Hospital where he died on May 6, 2015, nine days after the assault.

Mr Oluoch turned himself in at Ugunja Police Station where he was arrested and charged with murder on June 3, 2015. He denied the charge.

The prosecution reduced the charge to a manslaughter one on July 25, 2015 for which he pleaded guilty.

Mr Oluoch was sentenced to serve 10 years in jail on October 6, 2016 despite a probation report showing that his village mates described him as a self-dependent, hardworking man who was the best mason in the area and was not a threat to anyone because he had no previous criminal record.

In the ruling, the Court of Appeal judges said the trial process does not stop at convicting the accused.

"There is no doubt in our minds that sentencing is a crucial component of a trial. It is during sentencing that the court hears submissions that impact on sentencing. This necessarily means that the principle of fair trial must be accorded to the sentencing stage too.

First offender

"From the foregoing, coupled with the fact that the appellant was a first offender [who] swiftly and voluntarily surrendered himself to the police and pleaded guilty to the offence, we find that the 10-year sentence was excessive and highly disproportionate to his crime and the circumstances of the case," the appeals court judges stated.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"Not every offender is deserving of jail, and courts need to send to jail only those deserving of it. To make this a present reality, we as Judges ought to soften the harshness of the law in deserving cases by infusing it with liberal doses of mercy. Thus will justice flow like a river, a terror to the worst of men, and a refuge to those who, though erring, seek its protection," said the judges.

The judges said that quality of mercy should also reside and flow forth in appropriate cases -- such as that of Mr Oluoch -- in the hearts of Judges, upon who falls the fearful duty of enforcing the law and administering justice and they should do so with a balanced emphatic view to the weaknesses and flaws of the human condition.

"This is an unfortunate tale of two young men who fought while under the influence of alcohol," the judges said.

"All things considered, the appellant was given an excessive sentence, a fact which (prosecution counsel) Mr Kakoi, properly concedes. The sentence was heavy on vengeance or retribution with scant consideration for the rehabilitative or restorative aims, which may in fact be redemptive of punishment," said the appeal judges.
Regional coordinators in tea growing regions have vowed that there's no room for failure in implementing a Presidential decree on reforming the sector.

Battle lines have been drawn between the government and the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) as implementation of the Tea Act pits the two against each other, with the Judiciary getting caught in the crossfire.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i and his Agriculture counterpart Peter Munya are implementing President Uhuru Kenyatta's directive to reform the tea sector and have tasked Central, Eastern, Rift Valley and Nyanza regional coordinators to ensure compliance.

On the KTDA side is its board chaired by Peter Kanyago and backed by disgruntled tea activists who thought they would be favoured to take over factory leadership.

Central's regional coordinator Wilfred Nyagwanga, Rift Valley's George Natembeya, Eastern's Isaiah Nakoru and Nyanza's Magu Mutindika told the Nation yesterday that they have an express brief from their seniors to ensure the reforms carry the day.

Zero chance

"We are entertaining zero chance that the tea reforms will flop. We have a duty to restore hopes of 600, 000 farmers...," said Mr Nyagwanga.

Mr Natembeya said the plan is to have farmers take over the affairs of the KTDA latest by Tuesday "since elections in all affiliated factories will be over."

The tea agency has moved to court to block the Executive Order No 3 of 2021 in which the President ordered that the agency be realigned in favour of small scale farmers.

The order further directed the Attorney General to conduct an inquiry into financial mess at the agency, raising fears of arrests, freezing of assets and arraignment of suspects.

Mr Natembeya termed the process as a liberation war for tea farmers.

The administrators said they are yet to be served with any court injunction that challenges the ongoing factory elections and their outcomes, and thus the exercise is legal.

Last week while on a tour to inspect government projects, Dr Matiang'i promised that the government will stop the monkey business going on at KTDA.

But those opposed to the elections led by Murang'a County tea activist Njunu Mugwe yesterday insisted that "we are now faced with a rogue process that seeks to seize KTDA's leadership in a very unconventional way where in essence it is the government taking over the farmers' voice."

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Agribusiness By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Contravention of all laws

He added: "It is a very sad turn of events where the government is helping farmers to hang themselves by facilitating blatant contravention of all laws guiding tea sector elections."

He said annual general meetings held before the elections have been taken over by the government.

Dr Matiang'i had directed all county security sub-committees in tea growing zones to "move in and take charge of the elections and facilitate actualisation of the most genuine leadership the farmers want installed".

Although the farmers who the Nation spoke to were unanimous that the government's onslaught is the way to go, Mr Mugwe said in some cases, the AGMs were called by people not captured in the share register.

The President had ordered that all KTDA affiliated factories hold elections by early April. Investigative agencies were mandated to start probing any acts of financial impropriety against former and outgoing managers.

Yesterday, CS Munya reiterated that "the government will not relent in effecting changes in KTDA that are aimed at easing off pressure from tea farmers.'

He said the government will walk the whole journey of ensuring that the sector is redeemed from the grip of cartel-like management, where manipulative deals are cut at the auction, some KTDA managers doing business with their offices in conflict of interest and computations of gross and net returns corrupted to hurt the farmer.
Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.
As COVID-19 cases and variants spread across Europe, NATO foreign ministers met in two days of talks in Brussels that ended yesterday. The summit again exposed the NATO governments utter contempt for human life.

NATO, the alliance between the United States, Canada and Europe that includes most of the worlds wealthy countries, has seen over 1.3 million of its citizens die of COVID-19. Its collective military spending in 2020, of $1.03 trillion, dwarfs the projected cost of vaccinating the worlds population, projected at roughly $100 billion. Yet the summit announced no new measures on the pandemic, launching instead a NATO 2030 initiative to prepare for nuclear war with Russia and China.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers an address after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday, March 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, Pool)

The first major NATO summit since Joe Bidens inauguration as US president, it was billed as an attempt to reaffirm US commitment to NATO after the public breakdown of relations between the European powers and Bidens predecessor, Donald Trump. Trump not only mocked NATO as obsolete but threatened European powers with hundreds of billions of dollars in trade war tariffs and speculated about using nuclear weapons in Europe.

The summit opened on Tuesday with a joint press conference between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

Blinken began by stressing both the current pivotal moment for the NATO alliance and the United States steadfast commitment to that alliance.  Ive come to Brussels because the United States wants to rebuild our partnerships, first and foremost, with our NATO allies. We want to revitalize the alliance to make sure its as strong and effective against the threats of today as it has been in the past.

The conference showed that NATO is trying to band together on a program of herd immunity against their populations at home and military threats abroad. They are plunging trillions into their militariesmade available by maintaining nonessential production and thus ensuring continued mass infections among workersin order to further threaten Russia and China.

Stoltenberg set out the summit agenda. I strongly welcome the Biden administrations message on rebuilding alliances and strengthening NATO. This is what our NATO 2030 initiative is all about. Because we face great global challenges: Russias destabilizing activities, the threat of terrorism, cyber attacks and nuclear proliferation, disruptive technologies, and the rise of China, and the security impact of global warming and climate change.

He gave a second press conference that day, reporting, I have proposed a substantial increase in common funding to support deterrence and defense, in our Alliance.

The claim that the NATO alliance supports deterrencethat is, policies to discourage the use of nuclear weaponsis a fraud. Its members, led by the United States, have scrapped multiple arms control treaties, including the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty in 2001 and the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty in 2018, in order to escalate pressure on Russia and China. Stoltenberg dishonestly blamed the resulting nuclear arms race not on NATO, which canceled the arms control treaties, but on its targets.

He said that the challenge is that we see that both Russia, but also China, they are implementing substantial modernization of their nuclear arsenals, the nuclear weapon systems. He attacked, in particular, Russias decision to build mobile nuclear missile launchers to make it more difficult for NATO to destroy them in a first strike. They reduce warning time [after launch], they are dual-capable, they are hard to track also because they are mobile.

While calling for the adoption of a New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty), Stoltenberg also made extraordinary nuclear threats against Russia and China. Russias policy of building mobile missile launchers, he said, has also reduced the threshold for any use of nuclear weapons in a potential conflict. That is to say, since it is harder for NATO to find and destroy Russian and Chinese forces, it may turn more rapidly to using nuclear weapons to try to destroy any weapons located in large areas of Russia or China.

To drive the point home, Stoltenberg shamelessly hailed London, which recently announced plans for a 40 percent increase in its nuclear weapons stockpile, as a model. The United Kingdom is also of course a strong supporter of strengthening international arms control, and a strong supporter of NATO being a key platform for addressing how we can make progress on arms control.

Stoltenberg also reported that NATO discussed its current deployments of troops to occupy Afghanistan and Iraq.

Yesterday, in the final press conference, Stoltenberg denounced new and destabilizing nuclear weapons, which he attributed only to Russia and China. He said, NATO has implemented the biggest reinforcement of our collective defence in a generation. We have stepped up our hybrid and cyber defences.  Allies agree we should continue to review and adapt our deterrence and defence, including when it comes to the growing Russian missile threat.

Asked about international solidarity on distributing COVID-19 vaccines, Stoltenberg made clear this did not concern him. Our armed forces are helping the civilian efforts in fighting the pandemic. But when it comes to the export and import of vaccines, thats not an issue that has been discussed within the NATO framework.

The summit exposes the barbaric conduct of the NATO powers. Facing the debacle of the endless wars they waged in Iraq and across the Middle East since the 1991 Gulf War, as well as the erosion of their economic weight compared to Asia, they reacted brutally to the pandemic. Treating it as a purely financial-military issue, NATO used herd immunity policies to ensure that profits would continue to flow to its banks and military hardware to its armies.

Against the risk of China-centric globalization, as the French daily Le Monde wrote approvingly in one article last year, Trumps herd immunity policy was the business first option, sacrificing part of [Americas] population to not leave Chinese power with an open field.

Now that millions have been thus sacrificed to imperialist financial and strategic interests, the NATO powers are stepping up efforts to bully their great power rivals. After Biden called Putin a killer last week, the European Union (EU) adopted sanctions targeting China based on bogus allegations of Chinese genocide against the Uighur ethnic minority in the region of Xinjiang.

For all the comments of Blinken and Stoltenberg rejoicing about NATOs supposed unity now that Trump has left office, explosive divisions in the NATO alliance were also on full display in the vaccine debacle in Europe. Yesterday, after Italy blocked exports of AstraZeneca vaccines to Australia, police inspected an AstraZeneca plant in Italy at the EU Commissions request. It has repeatedly charged AstraZeneca with improperly sending vaccines to Britain instead of the EU.

A ferocious nationalist conflict is emerging inside NATO over access to vaccines, even as trillions of dollars that could be spent on vaccines, health care and social distancing are being wasted on wars and nuclear weapons that could destroy all of humanity.

This week World Health Organization Director General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus condemned those, like the NATO states, that block vaccine exports at the cost of the lives of health workers, older people and other at-risk groups in other countries. It not only leads to mass deaths but encourages the emergence of vaccine-resistant variants that then spread internationally, he noted.

He explained, The worlds poorest countries wonder whether rich countries really mean what they say when they talk about solidarity. The inequitable distribution of vaccines is not just a moral outrage. Its also economically and epidemiologically self-defeating. Some countries are racing to vaccinate their entire populations while other countries have nothing. This may buy short-term security, but it is a false sense of security.

The criminality of NATO policy is the product of the bankruptcy of an entire social order. Pointing in its perspective yesterday to the NATO powers ongoing nuclear buildup, the WSWS wrote, This barbarism, accompanied by the promotion of nationalism and chauvinism, is the product of the same capitalist social order that has condemned millions to die from a pandemic that could have been prevented in the first place and contained once it erupted.

The central question it raises is the building of a socialist movement against war and for a scientific treatment of the pandemic in the international working class.
A State-appointed child law expert has condemned the covert gathering by the Department of Health of confidential information about children with special needs who took legal actions to get appropriate educational supports.

According to a whistleblower within the department, sensitive medical and educational information about such children, their siblings and their parents was gathered as part of a strategy to defend lawsuits.

This was said to have been done without the knowledge or consent of parents and continued even where lawsuits were long considered dormant.

Professor Conor OMahony, the State rapporteur on child protection, said the practice, revealed in an RTE Investigates programme being broadcast on Thursday night, raised significant ethical concerns and spoke to a broader issue of a deeply embedded culture of denying people their legal and constitutional rights.

Speaking in the Dail, Sinn Fein TD Pearse Doherty said the department's actions were "at the very least invasive and disproportionate" but in reality "dishonest, totally unethical and possibly illegal". He called for an independent investigation into the matter to be carried out "urgently".

Inclusion Ireland, the national association for people with an intellectual disability, described the revelations as a gross breach of trust.

It called for the families affected to be notified and for an investigation to be launched by the Data Protection Commissioner.

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has yet to respond to the controversy or to say whether he was aware of the practice.

Tanaiste Leo Varadkar said he had "no recollection" of the practice from his time as health minister.

Over 40 cases involving children with autism are said to have been involved.

Department of Health official Shane Corr told the RTE programme detailed files were collated drawing on information provided by doctors and schools.

He said the level of information gathered was mind boggling and that it was easily accessible and searchable by anyone working in the departments division dealing with older people, social care and disability policies.

I saw several notes relating to alcoholism within the family structure. I saw notes relating to siblings of the children that werent relevant. Every type of family information, he told the programme.

Whether the child was prone to violent acts towards its parents, its siblings, its teacher, its doctor. Everything that you would not want to know about the family living beside you was there.

It was drawn from speaking to doctors, it was transcribed and put into Excel sheets and shared with the Department of Education and Science and the HSE.

Mr Corr highlighted the issue to his superiors in a protected disclosure last year.

However, according to the department an external review by a senior counsel found the practice to be entirely lawful, proper and appropriate.

In a statement, the Department of Health said it had never unlawfully held sensitive medical and educational information of children involved in dormant court cases.

It is normal practice for defendants to litigation to gather and maintain appropriate information in order to obtain legal advice and/or defend the proceedings. This is necessary to protect the public interest and is a normal practice for the management of litigation, it said.

According to the programme, a template letter set out the information sought by the department in special education needs (SENS) cases.

The letter indicates the department looked for service updates from doctors, psychiatrists and social workers on children with special needs and their families who were taking cases.

It is said to have explicitly stated that neither the plaintiffs nor their solicitors were to be contacted about the request.

At least one doctor is said to have questioned the legality of the practice when they were asked for information about a patient who was involved in litigation against the department.

According to Mr Corr, the department was worried it would be stuck paying the legal costs of families in cases which had fallen dormant.

They wanted an end to them, but they didnt want to go through the process of going to a representative of the child and saying: Look are we all good here, he said.

According to the programme, the Department of Education was a co-defendant in many of the cases and shared school reports with the Department of Health over many years.

The Department of Education said it was normal practice for co-defendants in litigation to cooperate and share information between themselves where there is a common interest and such sharing is required for defending such litigation.

It said it was not aware of any instance of inappropriate sharing of information.

Prof OMahony said the whistleblowers revelations raised significant concerns regarding compliance with data protection law, as well as ethical concerns regarding the manner in which information was obtained, stored and used.

He said issues needed to be explored further and that even if it were ultimately determined that no laws were broken, that did not make the actions right.

The actions of the Departments of Health and Education are doing harm to children and families by delaying the provision of services for children, in circumstances where early intervention is paramount, and burdening parents with both the stress and costs of protracted litigation against the State.

He said the revelations spoke to deeply embedded culture where litigation from those seeking to vindicate their rights was vigorously contesting in a manner aimed at deterring others with legitimate claims from pursuing them.

Prof OMahony said this was a pattern also been seen in other areas, including medical negligence and cases involving survivors of historical abuses.

He said the Department of Education had described their approach to this issue as best practice aimed at securing the efficient use of public resources.

A far more efficient way of reducing the costs of litigation would be to provide children with suitable education when they need it, he said.

Children with special educational needs have a constitutional right to be provided with education suitable to meet those needs.

There is an abundance of evidence that children with special needs are often left waiting for years before being provided with the services they need, and that families have to fight every step of the way to access those services.

If the strategy for providing services to children to meet their constitutional entitlements was as sophisticated and well-resourced as the strategy for contesting litigation, much of that litigation would not arise in the first place.

Meanwhile Mr Doherty described the whistleblower revelations as absolutely shocking".

"The Department of Health had been gathering information on parents and on their children, for many, many years, specifically in order to defend legal cases which these families considered bringing in order to vindicate the rights of their children's access to services, he said.

"This is truly shocking, absolutely shocking, and it highlights an attitude of suspicion and contempt towards the families that is simply not justifiable."

The Donegal TD said the information on file in the department's database included medical and personal information, which "any right-thinking person would believe that this was covered by doctor-patient confidentiality".

"Instead of assisting families in accessing proper services for children with a disability or a learning difficulty, what we had instead was the Department of Health playing private investigators, trying to dig up dirt on parents who've already been through the mill," Mr Doherty claimed.

"It is at the very least invasive and disproportionate. In reality, it is dishonest, it is totally unethical and possibly illegal, and it represents a monumental breach of trust."

He added that it had clearly been a practice that had been going on for years.

Independent.ie has asked Health Minister Stephen Donnellys spokesman for comment but has yet to receive a response.

YEREVAN, MARCH 25, ARMENPRESS. Prime MInister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan received the delegation led by Defense Minister of Iraq Juma Inad Saadoun Khattab on March 25.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister, the PM welcomed the visit of the Iraqi Defense Minister to Armenia, noting that Armenia views Iraq as a reliable partner based on firm historical-cultural ties. Nikol Pashinyan highly appreciated the great attention paid by the Iraqi Government to the local Armenian community.

According to Juma Inad Saadoun Khattab, the Government of Iraq is interested in further expansion of relations with Armenia. He highlighted the development of partnership and exchange of experience in the sphere of armed forces. In this context the sides discussed a number of issues related to the deepening of cooperation in military-technical and military-medical spheres, highlighting the signing of a relevant memorandum between the two defense ministries in Armenia.

PM Pashinyan noted that the Armenian Government highly assesses the balanced position of Iraqi leadership on Nagorno Karabakh issue.

PM Pashinyan referred to the development of economic ties with Iraq, hoping that it will be possible to give a new impetus to the trade and economic relations based on the results of the session of the intergovernmental commission to take place this year.

Nikol Pashinyan and Juma Inad Saadoun Khattab also exchanged views on other issues of regional importance.
PLEASANT HILL  Two people remained jailed Thursday on drug-related charges after a search of a Pleasant Hill residence.

Pike County sheriffs deputies and members of the West Central Illinois Drug Task force and Pleasant Hill Police searched the house at 309 E. Mosier St. on Wednesday.

Adam L. Crowder, 32, and Heather L. Crowder, 29, both of Pleasant Hill, were arrested on charges of possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia. Heather Crowder was also arrested on an outstanding Pike County warrant, according to Sheriff David Greenwood.

Both were being held in the Pike County Jail.
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.

news

Ouachita Baptist Universitys Patterson School of Natural Sciences hosted the inaugural Arkansas Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Conference on Saturday, March 20, for college students across the state. The virtual event was conducted entirely over Zoom and featured a keynote address by chemist Dr. E. Ann Nalley, seven concurrent panel discussions with 31 professional women in STEM fields and two sessions of poster presentations highlighting woman-led research and honoring notable womens contributions to STEM. Ouachita Baptist Universitys Patterson School of Natural Sciences hosted the inaugural Arkansas Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Conference on Saturday, March 20, for college students across the state. The virtual event was conducted entirely over Zoom and featured a keynote address by chemist Dr. E. Ann Nalley, seven concurrent panel discussions with 31 professional women in STEM fields and two sessions of poster presentations highlighting woman-led research and honoring notable womens contributions to STEM.

According to the conferences website, the goal of the event was to recognize the significant contributions by women in STEM fields while educating young women about the potential of their STEM degrees. More than 40 Arkansas undergraduate or graduate students and faculty members representing five universities from around the state were in attendance; several out-of-state participants also joined the conference.

To our knowledge, there has never been a Women in STEM conference held in Arkansas, said Dr. Sharon Hamilton, director of the event and assistant professor of chemistry at Ouachita, and we decided to take advantage of Zoom to encourage attendance across the state. This also allowed us to bring in a variety of professionals for our panel and keynote speakers from across the U.S.

Dr. Nalley, the keynote speaker for the conference, became the first female faculty member of Cameron University in 1978 and served on the board of directors as well as president of Phi Kappa Phi national honor society and also as president of the American Chemical Society (ACS). In 2015, Nalley was recognized with the ACS Award for Encouraging Women into Careers in the Chemical Sciences. She also holds a Ph.D. in radiation chemistry from Texas Womans University.







The Women in STEM Conference offered seven concurrent panel discussions with 31 professional women in STEM fields.

Ouachita hosting an event with a prominent and nationally recognized keynote speaker like Dr. Ann Nalley is truly a treat for all of the attendees and speaks to the size of the professional network that Ouachita faculty maintain, Hamilton said. When I think about all the panelists, our keynote speaker and volunteers we had for the conference, I am humbled that they chose to walk beside us in creating a Women in STEM conference that not only benefited students in Arkansas but across the region thanks to technology.

In addition to Hamilton, Ouachitas Dr. Sara Hubbard, associate professor of chemistry and holder of the Nell I. Mondy Chair of Chemistry, helped spearhead the conference with assistance from other faculty members in the Patterson School of Natural Sciences.

While so much progress has been made toward workplace equity for women and men, there is still work to be done, Hubbard said. Showing our students that there are other women out there who have dealt with the same struggles, questions and challenges is important  especially to see that these women have emerged from their experiences as talented women at the tops of their fields.

Our faculty really want to encourage young women to major in and work in a science field, said Dr. Tim Knight, dean of Ouachitas School of Natural Sciences and professor of biology. We currently have more young ladies than young men majoring in the sciences at Ouachita!

Students in Ouachitas School of Natural Sciences, particularly students in the ACS and Gamma Sigma Epsilon chemistry honor society chapters, also were heavily involved with planning the conference, from contacting panelists to applying for grants.

Kayla Churchwell, president of Ouachitas chapter of ACS and a senior chemistry, biology and Spanish triple major from Searcy, Ark., coordinated much of the ACS chapters efforts. To provide monetary winnings for poster awards, Taylor Barnhart and Caroline Cole co-wrote a 2020 ACS virtual programming grant, and Jasmine Baughman wrote a special project grant; both were selected for funding. Barnhart is a sophomore biology major from North Little Rock, Ark.; Cole is a freshman biology major from Benton, Ark.; and Baughman is a senior biology major from Pangburn, Ark.

Our students and faculty taking the initiative to create an event with the goal of connecting and inspiring college-aged women in STEM sends a message to others that Ouachita continues to push forward and meet the needs of students locally and statewide, Hamilton said.

Aiiryel McCoy, a junior chemistry major from Shannon Hills, Ark., and member of Ouachitas ACS student chapter, moderated the morning session of the chemistry panel as well as the afternoon session of the allied health panel. McCoy plans to attend medical school upon graduation with hopes of becoming a dermatologist and one day to pursue her Ph.D. and conduct her own research.

This event is what girls and women in Arkansas need, McCoy said. I was able to walk away with resources  people, places and potent truths  that I can use in the future.
Moscow, March 25 : The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) should deal with urgent problems that its member countries are facing, the Russian Foreign Ministry said, after the bloc accused Moscow of "aggressive actions".

"They (these problems) require urgent attention: vaccination, the crisis, human rights issues in NATO countries. Once you manage to solve these issues, we will consider your experience," the ministry's spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, told reporters on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

NATO foreign ministers issued a statement on Tuesday following their meeting in Brussels, saying that "Russia's aggressive actions constitute a threat to Euro-Atlantic security." Ahead of the meeting, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said "we have seen a pattern of more assertive behaviour by Russia over the last years, including aggressive actions against nations."
Passover celebrates the ancient Exodus of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. Here are nine things you might not have known about the major Jewish festival.

1. In Gibraltar, theres dust in the charoset.

The traditional charoset is a sweet Passover paste whose texture is meant as a reminder of the mortar the enslaved Jews used to build in ancient Egypt. The name itself is related to the Hebrew word for clay. In Ashkenazi tradition, it is made from crushed nuts, apples and sweet red wine, while Sephardi Jews use figs or dates. But the tiny Jewish community of this small British territory at the tip of the Iberian Peninsula takes the brick symbolism to another level, using the dust of actual bricks in their recipe.

2. Abraham Lincoln died during Passover.

The 16th American president was shot at Fords Theatre on a Friday, April 14, 1865, which coincided with the fourth night of Passover. The next morning, Jews who wouldnt normally have attended services on the holiday were so moved by Lincolns passing they made their way to synagogues, where the normally celebratory Passover services were instead marked by acts of mourning and the singing of Yom Kippur hymns. American Jews were so affected by the presidents death that Congregation Shearith Israel in New York recited the prayer for the dead  usually said only for Jews  on Lincolns behalf.

3. Arizona Is a hub for matzah wheat.

Hasidic Jews from Brooklyn have been increasingly sourcing wheat for their Passover matzah from farmers in Arizona. Excessive moisture in wheat kernels can result in fermentation, rendering the harvest unsuitable for Passover use. But rain is scarce in Arizona, which allows for a stricter standard of matzah production. Rabbis from New York travel to Arizona in the days leading up to the harvest, where they inspect the grains meticulously to ensure they are cut at the precise moisture levels.

4. At the Seder, Persian Jews whip each other with scallions.

Many of the Passover Seder rituals are intended to re-create the sensory experience of Egyptian slavery, from the eating of bitter herbs and matzah to the dipping of greenery in saltwater, which symbolizes the tears shed by the oppressed Israelites. Some Jews from Iran and Afghanistan have the tradition of whipping each other with green onions before the singing of Dayenu.

5. Karaite Jews skip the wine.

Karaite Jews reject rabbinic Judaism, observing only laws detailed in the Torah. Thats why they dont drink the traditional four cups of wine at the Seder. Wine is fermented, and fermented foods are prohibited on Passover, so they drink fruit juice instead. (Mainstream Jews hold that only fermented grains are prohibited.) The Karaites also eschew other staples of the traditional Seder, including the Seder plate, the afikomen and charoset. Their maror (bitter herbs) are a mixture of lemon peel, bitter lettuce and an assortment of other herbs.

6. Israeli Jews have only one seder.

Thats unlike everywhere else, where traditionally a Seder is held on each of the first two nights of the holiday. Known as yom tov sheni shel galuyot  literally the second festival day of the Diaspora  the practice was begun 2,000 years ago when Jews were informed of the start of a new lunar month only after it had been confirmed by witnesses in Jerusalem. Because Jewish communities outside of Israel were often delayed in learning the news, they consequently couldnt be sure precisely which day festivals were meant to be observed. As a result, the practice of observing two Seder days was instituted just to be sure.

7. Youre wrong about the orange on the Seder plate.

Some progressive Jews have adopted the practice of including an orange on the Seder plate as a symbol of inclusion of gays, lesbians and other groups marginalized in the Jewish community. The story goes that the practice was instituted by the feminist scholar Susannah Heschel after she was told that a woman belongs on the synagogue bimah, or prayer podium, like an orange belongs on a Seder plate. But according to Heschel, that story is false. In that apocryphal version, she said, a womans words are attributed to a man, and the affirmation of lesbians and gay men is erased. Isnt that precisely whats happened over the centuries to womens ideas?

8. Afikomen isnt Hebrew.

For many Seder attendees, the highlight of the meal is the afikomen  a broken piece of matzah that the Seder leader hides and the children seek; the person who finds the afikomen usually gets a small reward. Most scholars believe the word afikomen derives from the Greek word for dessert. Others say it refers to a kind of post-meal revelry common among the Greeks. Either theory would explain why the afikomen is traditionally the last thing eaten at the Seder.

9. For North African Jews, after Passover comes Mimouna.

Most people are eager for a break from holiday meals when the eight-day Passover holiday concludes. But for the Jews of North Africa, the holidays end is the perfect time for another feast, Mimouna, marking the beginning of spring. Celebrated after nightfall on the last day of Passover, Mimouna is marked by a large spread of foods and the opening of homes to guests. The celebration is often laden with symbolism, including fish for fertility and golden rings for wealth.
YEREVAN, MARCH 25, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian has sent a congratulatory message to President of Greece Katerina Sakellaropoulou on the national day  the Independence Day and the 200th anniversary of the Greek War of Independence, the Armenian Presidents Office told Armenpress.

The Greek people gained their independence through heroic struggle, long fight and sacrifice. Along that way there have been many manifestations of cooperation and joint fight of Armenian and Greek Christian nations under the Ottoman rule, based on millennia-old historical-cultural connections, common spiritual values and mutual sympathy.

Over the past decades Armenia and Greece have managed to develop firm inter-state relations and a bilateral sustainable agenda which involves active political dialogue and cooperation in various areas.

The viable Armenian community in Greece and the Greek community in Armenia which enjoys the love and respect of the Armenian people play a significant role in further intensifying the relations between our countries, the Armenian President said in his letter.

He expressed confidence that the warm friendly ties between the two countries, the sincere and productive cooperation will continue to develop and strengthen for the benefit of the Armenian and Greek peoples.

The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution, was a successful war of independence waged by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1830.



Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
New Delhi: Intensifying their protest against the Centres newly enacted farm laws, the agitating farmers have called for a nationwide Bharat Bandh on March 26. Notably, the Bharat Bandh has been called by Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) on completion of four months of farmers protest at Delhi borders.

The SKM has planned several protests over the days, which includes burning of anti-farmer laws during Holika Dehan.

Farmer unions

The SKM on Wednesday appealed to the citizens of the country to make the March 26 Bharat Bandh a complete success.

The SKM has called for a Bharat Bandh on Friday. On March 26, from 6 am to 6 pm, all road and rail transport, markets and other public places will be closed across the country, it said.

However, this is not necessary for the places where elections are going to be held, the statement said.

PhotoOn March 15, the farmers along with trade unions protested the hike in fuel prices and privatisation of railways.

Farmers leaders also said that copies of the new farm laws will be burnt during Holika Dahan on March 28.
SPRINGFIELD  The first endowed chair has been established at Baystate Medical Center thanks to a philanthropic gift to Baystate Health Foundation from retired Baystate physician Dr. Ronald T. Burkman and his wife, Millie.

It is to be known as the Ronald T. Burkman Endowed Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology in honor of Burkman who headed that department from 1995 through 2007.

I have a special place in my heart for Baystate Medical Center where I spent the greater part of my clinical career and where my wife and I established many close friendships at Baystate and throughout the area, Burkman said in a release announcing the couples gift and what the funding of the chair in perpetuity would support.

It was our desire to support the hospitals Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and highlight the quality of care the entire staff provides for area women, while supporting related educational programs, research and clinical care at Baystate.

He added, It is our hope that this gift will also help to raise the prestige of the department and to attract future talented faculty and to retain those already practicing there.

Dr. Heather Z. Sankey, whom Burkman recruited to Baystate, has been named the inaugural holder of the chair. In addition to serving as department chair, Sankey is professor of obstetrics and gynecology at University of Massachusetts Medical School  Baystate.

Burkman called Sankey a team player and problem-solver as well as someone who listens carefully before making decisions.

Sankey called the chairs creation a great honor for Baystate and our department to be the recipient of this gift.

It is special to me because Dr. Burkman has been a role model for me as department chair, she said. He has mentored me through many career opportunities and continues to inspire me to be a better physician.

She added Burkmans generous donation provides the department chair with funds to support the enhancement of education and research in womens health in order to improve the care of our patients in ways that typically fall outside of our day-to-day activities. 

For instance, Sankey said, we currently have an initiative around racial disparities and health equity impacting womens health and we have supported a lending library of relevant books, focus groups with our patients to better inform our care, and training in cultural humility for the entire department.

Scott Berg, Baystate Health vice president of philanthropy, and foundation executive director, said the health care system was honored as well that Burkman and his wife elected to support Baystate Health by endowing our first named chair.

This gift will support womens health care today and in the future, ensuring that we are able to advance the mission of excellence in clinical care and research while supporting patients in our communities, Berg said.

Prior to his retirement in 2018, Burkman served for nearly a decade as an attending physician for Baystate Wesson Womens Group Obstetrics and Gynecology. He also trained future OB/GYN physicians as a professor at Boston-based Tufts University School of Medicine for which Baystate at the time served as its western campus.

Burkman was the C. Paul Hodgkinson Chairman of the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, before coming to Baystate in 1995, and was also professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland.

He has authored more than 290 articles, textbook chapters, and books on various research topics in obstetrics, human reproduction, contraception, and menopause.

He also served as a reviewer for a number of professional medical journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association, American Journal of Public Health, and the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Honored as Community Clinician of the Year in 2013 by the Hampden District Medical Society, Burkman was a longtime member of the Massachusetts Medical Society. He was active at the national level holding several offices in the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and served with distinction as a member of Health New Englands board of directors from 1998 through 2002.

Burkman and his wife moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 2018, to be closer to their children and grandchildren, and where Burkman is now active as a community volunteer.

Related content:

Baystate Health awards $1.2M in Better Together grants to 16 nonprofits, town of Blandford

Baystate, Boston childrens hospitals strengthen Western Massachusetts access to specialized pediatric care

Baystate Childrens Hospital treated 52 pediatric coronavirus cases; no deaths from COVID or related inflammatory disease
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

According to a study by researchers from the University of Leeds, eroded seabed rocks provide essential nutrition for drifting marine organisms at the base of the food chain.

The findings show that iron -- a vital nutrient for microscopic marine algae, like phytoplankton -- is released from sediments on the deep seabed.

Iron Nutrition From Deep Seabed Erosion

Contrary to expectations that oxygen in the seabed prevents dissolved iron from escaping the seafloor, research shows that a combination of organic matter and oxygen may encourage the release of iron from eroded sediments into the ocean.

Published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences entitled "Iron colloids dominate sedimentary supply to the ocean interior" the study could influence future studies on ocean carbon cycles and management of marine environment considering the effects of seafloor processes on overall marine ecology.

Dr. Will Homoky, lead author and a University Academic Fellow at Leeds' School of Earth Environment says that the researcher's findings reveal that the shallow surface of the deep seabed provides a crucial source of iron--a scarce micronutrient, for the marine organisms.

He adds that the study shows how the degradation and erosion of rock minerals alongside organic matter and oxygen acts as a recipe in producing tiny rust particles that are small enough to be dissolved and carried across the seawater.

Homoky explains that the minuscule rust particles and their chemical signatures elaborate how iron found in larger parts of the ocean interior could possibly have come from deep seabed sediments which weren't believed to be possible until today.

ALSO READ: After 900 Years: Icelandic Volcano Erupts, Posing No Threats to Locals





Marine Organisms and Colloids

Colloids are nanometre-sized iron particulates that could provide an essential source of nutrition for marine microorganisms such as phytoplankton, which, in turn, provides the primary food source for a vast range of sea creatures, overall affecting the global food chain.

Phytoplankton isn't just a food source, they are also vital amidst the rising global pollution levels. The microscopic organisms help remove roughly a quarter of CO2 in the ocean emitted to the atmosphere annually.

Homoky and his team, funded by the Natural Environment Research Council, are comprised of scientists from the universities of Liverpool, Oxford, Southampton, South Florida, and South California forming a collaboration through the international GEOTRACES program.

The findings will be of significance in future studies of the processes that regulate iron occurrences in oceans, and the role they play in moderating marine life and atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Homoky says that the findings mark a turning point in viewing iron supply from sediments and its reach on marine life paving a new way of thinking about the seafloor.

He adds that the discovery of iron colloid production is different from other forms of iron supplied to the ocean, will help researchers design new ocean models to re-evaluate marine life and climate connections to the deep seabed.

Researchers believe that the study not only helps unravel how iron contributes to past climatic variations but it also informs approaches on future marine conservation and management efforts.

RELATED ARTICLE: Sperm Whales in the 19th Century Share Information With Each Other to Avoid Whalers





Check out more news and information on Environment & Climate on Science Times.
ADVERTISEMENT

The Lagos State House of Assembly approved Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olus request for N4.42 billion to purchase 355 vehicles for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

The House passed the approval through a voice vote supervised by the Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa, in Lagos on Thursday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the House had on Monday announced that it had received a letter from the Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget.

The ministry was seeking approval to expend from the special expenditure to procure vehicles for official use by officials of the MDAs to aid effective and efficient service.

The speaker subsequently committed the request to the House Committee on Economic Planning and Budget headed by Gbolahan Yishawu (Eti Osa II), and the committee was told to report to the House on Thursday.

Mr Obasa on Thursday during plenary explained that 355 vehicles were approved out of the 916 needed for various officials of the government.

Presenting the report, Mr Yishawu said the committee invited the states Head of Service (HOS), Hakeem Muri-Okunola, in respect of the request.

READ ALSO: Lagos Assembly probes two LG chairmen over unscrupulous activities

The lawmaker added that the Permanent Secretary in the state Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Abiola Liadi, was invited , amongst others, to defend the request.

The committee discovered that state government actually needed about 1,006 for its officials but that the governor approved only 355 due to shortage of fund.

The expenditure was to be financed from the Special Expenditure Votes of the 2021 Appropriation Law.

The committee also advised the officials of the state government to include the purchase of vehicles for government officials in subsequent budgets.

Rather than requesting for purchase of vehicles from special expenditure votes, he said.

(NAN)
Jessica Rowe narrowly avoided disaster on Thursday when she and her daughter Allegra escaped their burning car moments before it exploded on the school run.

And the 'traumatised' TV host has now refused to answer a question about how close they both came to dying, telling The Kyle and Jackie O Show on Friday: 'We're not going down that path.'

When asked what would've happened if a Good Samaritan bus driver hadn't alerted her to the smoke coming out of her $66,000 Volvo XC 60, Jessica couldn't bring herself to say.

Scroll down for video

'We're not going down that path': Jessica Rowe has refused to answer a question about how close she and her daughter Allegra came to dying in a horror car explosion on Thursday

Radio host Kyle Sandilands said: 'If he [Mev the bus driver] didn't get you out of the car, could it have been way worse? How long between you getting dragged out of the car and the thing blowing up? How long?'

Jessica, who was speaking to the radio show via telephone, hesitated for a moment and was then interrupted by Allegra, 14, who told her she needed to go to school.

'Well, I, you know what... I know, I'm coming, Allegra! I know your bus is about to come,' she said.

Ordeal: When radio host Kyle Sandilands (left) asked what would've happened if a Good Samaritan bus driver hadn't alerted her to the smoke coming out of her $66,000 Volvo XC 60, Jessica (centre) couldn't bring herself to say. Pictured with Jackie 'O' Henderson

Kyle interrupted: 'What, the bus driver won't wait now after the rescue yesterday?'

He added: 'So you could have burned to death. End of story!'

'No, we're not going down that path,' Jessica replied. 'The thing is, you know what - yes, I'm coming! - it could have been worse, but it wasn't thanks to Mev.'

Kyle and his co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson then let Jessica end the interview so she could see Allegra off to school.

Scary: The former Studio 10 host was picking up her eldest daughter, Allegra (left), from school in Sydney's eastern suburbs on Thursday afternoon when her black Volvo XC 60 began billowing smoke. Thanks to a quick-thinking bus driver, they escaped before the car exploded

The former Studio 10 host was picking up her eldest daughter from school in Sydney's eastern suburbs on Thursday afternoon when her black Volvo XC 60 began billowing smoke on New South Head Road in Rose Bay.

A passing school bus driver named Mev flagged them down to alert them of the danger and helped the pair escape from the vehicle and flee to safety just as the car burst into flames.

The pair escaped uninjured but were traumatised by the ordeal.

Jessica later assured fans she and Allegra were doing fine at home, and thanked Mev and all the others who helped them.

'We're safe and sound! Thank you for all of your kindness and love,' she posted on Instagram on Thursday night.

Fireball: Jessica and her daughter fled to safety as her black Volvo XC 60 burst into flames

'Thank you to the thoughtful, fast thinking and kind school bus driver Mev who got us out of the car, called the fire brigade, cleared the road and then stayed to drive us home.

'Thank you to the police and paramedics who are angels. And the tow truck driver! And the mums and dads who stopped to help. We love you.'

Jessica's husband of 16 years, Channel Nine newsreader Peter Overton, was preparing to present the nightly bulletin when he got the call from a distressed Allegra and dashed home to be with his family.

Dash: Jessica's husband of 16 years, Nine newsreader Peter Overton, was preparing to present the nightly bulletin when he got the call from a distressed Allegra and raced home

'Everyone at work could see that I was absolutely traumatised when I saw my 14-year-old on FaceTime absolutely inconsolable,' he told 2GB radio on his way home to his family on Thursday night.

'I saw in the background the car ablaze.

'Fire and rescue, ambulance and police were there. They're all OK and they're home now. There was a real fear that the car could've exploded.

'I want to point out, there's a lot of heroes we've been talking about in the floods and I salute them but I salute that bloke this afternoon who got Allegra and Jessica out and alerted them that smoke was coming out and that they had to get out of the car.'

Peter said the cause of the blaze is still unknown.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  A 27-year-old man was nabbed with a loaded gun stashed in a black bag inside the Todt Hill Houses, authorities allege.

Niheem Chavis, who lives on Manor Road in the complex, was arrested on March 19 at about 6:30 a.m. at the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) site, according to the criminal complaint and police.

Police recovered a .357-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver containing six rounds of ammunition from a black bag that was in a hallway of a building on Schmidts Lane, the complaint alleges.

The bag is mine, the criminal complaint quotes Chavis as saying to police. They are going to burn me for this, even though its my first offense. Its been violent on the streets lately. I bought the gun a couple of months ago for my safety.

Chavis does not own a license or permit for a gun and he is not a dealer in rifles or shotguns in New York City, the complaint alleges.

The suspect has been charged with criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of pistol or revolver ammunition.

Chavis has another case still working its way through Criminal Court from 2019 on charges that include aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, according to public records and a source with knowledge of the investigation.

Bond has been set at $10,000/$2,500 cash for the suspect, who is due back in Criminal Court on June 23.

An attorney for the defendant did not immediately respond to a request for comment.



RELATED COVERAGE: Crime news on Staten Island
Cineworld shares bombed after it laid bare the effect of months of closures and delayed blockbuster releases since coronavirus struck.

The cinema chain, which has 9,300 screens at 767 theatres worldwide, swung to a 2.2billion loss in 2020, down from a profit of 155million the year before.

It makes about three-quarters of its sales in the US  with 15 per cent coming from the UK and Ireland.

Lockdown woes: Cineworld, which has 9,300 screens at 767 theatres worldwide, swung to a 2.2bn loss in 2020, down from a profit of 155m the year before

Turnover tumbled by 81 per cent and the number of people visiting its cinemas by 80 per cent, to 54.4million.

Cineworld's sites were forcibly closed for months during strict lockdowns, but it made a shock move in October by voluntarily shutting its sites after the next James Bond film, No Time To Die, was delayed for a second time.

Its numbers were eye-watering, but largely expected. What was more difficult for investors to swallow was a warning that there is 'significant doubt' about the company's ability to survive if the pandemic becomes more severe and cinemas are closed again later this year. It also raised the prospect of more funding.

Stock Watch - Induction Healthcare An NHS trust in London has signed a three-year deal to use a phone directory app developed by Induction Healthcare. The Induction Switch app gives medical staff access to a contacts list that shows them the extension details for other people who work in the same hospital  meaning they don't need to use the main switchboard  and lets them send messages. Shares in the group, which did not say how much the contract was worth, rose 4.6 per cent, or 4.5p, to 102.5p.

Although Cineworld has arranged an emergency 156million loan, it also said it would ask shareholders for permission to raise its debt ceiling next month. And it warned that it might need to ask investors for yet more cash.

Cinemas in the US are expected to open next month and in the UK and the rest of the world in May.

Chief executive Mooky Greidinger struck a bullish tone, saying he wanted to 'leave 2020 behind' and expects a strong summer.

He said: 'Last year the only big release we really had was Tenet and this year, with Bond, the new Top Gun and Matrix films, that will get people fired up again for the cinema experience.'

But this wasn't enough for spooked shareholders and Cineworld fell 7.6 per cent, or 7.8p, to 95p.

UK and Malaysia-focused energy group Enquest also racked up a loss last year after lockdowns lowered demand for oil, sending crude prices plummeting.

It posted a loss of 15million, from a profit of 323million in 2019, with shares tumbling 6.8 per cent, or 1.36p, to 18.74p.

The FTSE 100 fell 0.6 per cent, or 38.06 points, to 6674.83, while the FTSE 250 also finished the session down 0.6 per cent, or 124.7 points, at 21277.84.

Compass, the world's largest catering firm, struggled in 2020  and suffered a hit to its reputation when it bungled a free school meals contract in the UK. But it said its margins have been improving since the start of this year.

This means it stands to make higher profits from its revenues. It warned that first-quarter turnover stands to fall by 31 per cent compared with last year  which included almost three pre-pandemic months  but investors greeted the trading update warmly, with Compass finishing up 1.1 per cent, or 16p, at 1486p.

The market was less impressed with record revenues at semiconductor chip maker IQE (down 15.2 per cent, or 11p, to 61.6p), but snapped up shares in Sir Martin Sorrell's digital advertising agency S4 Capital (up 2.9 per cent, or 14p, to 502p) as turnover and profits surged.

Petra Diamonds shares (up 0.4 per cent, or 0.01p, to 1.42p) shrugged off claims that security guards at its mine in Tanzania had shot at people with metal balls rather than the rubber projectiles they were supposed to use. Petra has been investigating alleged human rights abuses since last year.

The company said it was already examining the latest details.

Online trading platform CMC Markets (up 2.9 per cent, or 13p, to 457p) has managed to retain many of the customers who joined last year to take a punt on stock markets thrown into turmoil by the Covid crisis. It also said that profits for the year to March are set to beat expectations of 400million.
MentorWorks announced today that they have executed an agreement with Venture University, the world's leading investor accelerator for venture capital (VC), private equity (PE), and angel investing, to offer Income Share Agreements (ISAs) to the latest cohort of students enrolled in the Venture University's program.

"Venture University's mission is to disrupt the venture capital and private equity asset class, as well as education itself by offering a program where individuals receive high quality experiential learning and professional development. In the pursuit of continuing to innovate the future of education, we're excited to now offer ISAs as an alternative and innovative payment option, which is aligned with the success of our alumni's careers," J. Skyler Fernandes, Founder and CEO of Venture University.

MentorWorks mission is to open pathways to education and careers for students and candidates who may not have had the financial or social capital to do it on their own. In partnering with Venture University, we now have the opportunity to fund students who will become the next generation of investors, said Ki Akrami, Chief Investment Officer at MentorWorks. "Startup capital is the very lifeblood of change and innovation so we are thrilled to provide a student loan alternative through Venture University to support diversity and inclusion among the future stewards of economic growth."

MentorWorks is a leader in the income share agreement funding space, having successfully originated over 200 ISAs within the past two quarters. MentorWorks has a proven fund and support" model, which is evidenced by the 126% increase in the average income of students funded by MentorWorks. 74% of students funded by MentorWorks represent BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and Persons of Color) populations and over 60% are from low-income families. Funded students include individuals who may also not have had any other education financing options, individuals with limited or no credit histories, parents who took time off to take care of their children and wish to return to the workforce, and community college to 4-year transfer students, among others.

With an ISA, students make monthly payments which are calculated to a fixed percentage of their income, for a set period of time, up to a maximum cap, without accruing interest. Unlike a loan, students do not pay until they find a job that pays at or above a minimum income threshold to ensure affordability. The payments adjust according to the level of the students income  making it an outcome-based model with downside protections in place for the student. The ISA obligation can be ended early by making payments as listed in the early payment schedule. In addition, MentorWorks provides career support to its students through its proprietary Talent Accelerator Platform (TAP), which is designed to enhance employment outcomes of funded students.

About Venture University

Venture University is designed for individuals looking to gain high quality investment experience in order to break into the VC/PE industry, launch their own funds, or advance their careers. Individuals in the Investor Accelerator gain high quality VC/PE investment work experience over ~3-12 months and "build equity in their education" by receiving a Profit Sharing Agreement which has the potential to be worth none, some, all, or more than the cost of the program.

For more information about Venture University go to: https://www.venture.university

About MentorWorks Education Capital

MentorWorks Education Capital provides Income Share Agreement (ISA) programs, which enable college and non-traditional students to complete their education without incurring up-front tuition costs. ISAs are

alternatives to loans with which approved students will have their tuition paid and, once employed, will make payments calculated to a fixed percentage of their income, for a set period of time, up to a maximum cap, without accruing interest. Uniquely, MentorWorks also provides career development support, mentoring and access to employers through their online and asynchronous Talent Accelerator Platform (TAP).

MentorWorks is a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), certified by the US Department of the Treasury. MentorWorks is the only institution offering an ISA program that has the CDFI designation. MentorWorks ISAs for Venture University candidates are issued by Blue Ridge Bank, N.A.

IonTuition, Inc. (ION) is the servicing partner managing student payments for the MentorWorks ISA program. ION is an Education Fintech Services company that helps students and families take control of their education finances. ION is the most experienced, student-centric servicer for ISAs based on over a decade of experience providing services to colleges, universities and employers. To learn more about IONs customized servicing platform visit: http://www.iontuition.com.

To learn more about MentorWorks Education Capital visit: https://mentorworks.com or reach out to Micha Sabovik, COO, at micha@mentorworks.com.

Follow MentorWorks Education Capital on LinkedIn at http://linkedin.com/company/mentorworksisa.
DALLAS, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Jacobs (NYSE:J) was selected to continue supporting the U.S. Air Force's Architecture and Engineering (AE) needs globally through the AE Next Program. This is a Multiple Award Task Order Contract (MATOC) and supports the Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) task order contracts primarily involved in providing professional design and engineering services for sustainment, restoration and modernization projects including demolition.

The Air Force Civil Engineer Center (AFCEC) values the shared program ceiling at $2 billion. The contract has an initial five-year base period with the option to renew for an additional five years. The contract includes projects with Title I, Title II, and other AE Services for facilities and general infrastructure and may be delivered at worldwide locations. Contract projects include global Air Force facilities renovation, modernization of historic airfields, hangers and air traffic control towers, and infrastructure development, including roads, railroads and bridges.

"Our past performance with AFCEC and the Air Force was marked by our innovative Installations of the Future Concept, showcasing smart systems, and building more sustainable, cyber-secure and resilient solutions," said Jacobs Federal & Environmental Solutions Senior Vice President and General Manager and retired USAF Major General, Tim Byers. "As the Air Force plans for the future, we continue to drive leading-edge solutions, mission and quality-of-life facilities and infrastructure while lowering life cycle maintenance costs across the enterprise."

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


FLINT, MI -- Nicole Curtis is in ongoing and very positive discussions about taking on a home rehabilitation project in Flint, the executive director of the Genesee County Land Bank says, and the star of HGTVs Rehab Addict isnt hiding her enthusiasm for what shes calling our latest city partner.

Curtis posted a photo of herself and Land Bank Executive Director Michael Freeman on Twitter Saturday, March 20, and commented, It was refreshing to speak with a land bank director with vision and the good sense to look at the big picture -- we bring a lot of positive vibes & eyes to any city.

MLive-The Flint Journal could not reach Curtis for additional comment on her interest in Flint and the Land Bank, which takes possession of properties obtained by Genesee County through tax foreclosure and works to redevelop, resell or demolish homes and commercial structures.

The Land Bank has roughly 3,900 available residential properties with homes still standing in Flint.

Nothing is set in stone right now, Freeman said this week. There is ongoing communication. Weve taken her on some tours of Flint. She saw the vibrancy and the cool factor. The conversation is ongoing and very positive.

Genesee County Land Bank Center, located in downtown Flint. (Jake May | MLive.com)Jake May

Curtis Rehab Addict has become a hit for HGTV, showcasing the Lake Orion natives interest in preservation by restoring homes across the country and in her hometown of Detroit.

In each episode, the show identifies project homes must-haves: new electrical wiring, updated plumbing and structural repairs.

With any leftover budget, Curtis and the homeowners then tackle the properties beauty projects like reviving original hardwood floors, refreshing kitchens and bathrooms, and enhancing original architectural elements, according to HGTV.

Im so happy that people aspire to save these stately old places, Curtis said in a news release at the time the series premiered just 14 months. I love helping them find a way to turn a nightmare project into the family home theyve always wanted.

Recently, Curtis made headlines for suing the Detroit Land Bank Authority over a home that she rehabilitated after buying it from an individual who didnt have the right to do so.

The scam began in 2017 when Curtis thought she bought the property from the previous owner and began $60,000 in renovations and rehabilitation.

However, the property had already been returned to the Detroit Land Bank after that previous owner failed to renovate it as expected. When Curtis Detroit Land Renovation LLC bought the property, the previous owners executed a quit claim deed despite not having the legal authority to do so.

The Detroit Land Bank listed the property for sale last week for $40,000, leading to Curtis filing her lawsuit.

Freeman said Curtis interest in Flint isnt related to her issues with the Detroit Land Bank.

He said her celebrity and perspective could really bring some positives to Flint.

Shes passionate about what she does and Im passionate about Flint ..., he said. We need to start writing some new narratives about the city.

Fans can watch new episodes of Rehab Addict Rescue at 9 p.m. Thursdays on HGTV as well as on discovery+, Discovery Inc.s new subscription streaming service, and HGTV GO each Thursday.

Read more on MLive:

HGTV star scammed after buying house in Michigan, made $60K in improvements

Flint-areas new Land Bank director says partnerships are key in revitalization

New director will deliver State of the Genesee County Land Bank Thursday
A proposal to build a 30 metre communications tower at Clane GAA is to be considered by its members.

Cellnex, an international company who build and lease tower space to mobile operators, wants to install the mast.

"Clane GAA Club has been presented with an opportunity by Cellnex to facilitate the deployment of a telecommunications tower on an unused part of our new four acres," said the club.

"This will generate a valuable source of revenue for our club over the next 35 years. The tower will be securely fenced off by an 11 meter x 11 meter fence which will be 2.4 meters in height. The overall tower height will be 30 meters. Tower space will be rented by Cellnex to telecoms operators. Cellnex will be responsible for all aspects of the tower maintenance and upkeep."

Cellnex have tower agreements in place with over 30 GAA clubs including Longwood GAA, Timahoe GAA, Gracefield GAA, Markievicz Park, St Oliver Plunketts GAA, Longford Slashers GAA, Athlone GAA, Ballivor GAA and Kinnitty GAA.

The club said it was important to highlight that telecoms towers do not pose any risks to it's members and cited research on mobile phone masts, WiFi and 5G from the Irish Cancer Society "which concludes that there are no cancer issues associated with telecoms masts deployments."

Clane GAA also referred to data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) "which gives more detail about mast deployments and also concludes that there are no associated health risks."

"It is also relevant to note that thousands of such towers are deployed nationwide to support the national mobile phone infrastructure," it said.

"If membership of Clane GAA agree to proceed with the proposal, the legal agreements will be completed, and then Cellnex will apply for planning permission."
A wetland area along Homestake Creek that would be flooded by a potential Whitney Reservoir. The U.S. Forest Service approved a request this week by Colorado Springs Utilities and Aurora to do exploratory drilling in the Homestake Valley to judge the feasibility of possible dam locations.
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.

Bengaluru, March 25 : Amid surging cases, Karnataka on Thursday made a negative Covid test report mandatory for passengers arriving in Bengaluru from any state across the country.

"Passengers arriving in Bengaluru from any state must carry a negative test report through RT-PCR method...," state Health Minister K. Sudhakar told reporters here.

As epicentre of the pandemic in the state, Bengaluru accounted for 1,623 cases on Wednesday, taking its Covid tally to 4,22,859, including 12,472 active cases.

The state Health Department has decided to stamp the hands of infected visitors to isolate and quarantine them to contain the pandemic.

"Covid cases are spiking daily in the city due to an increasing number of infected visitors from other states, especially Maharashtra, Kerala and Punjab where Covid cases have been surging of late," Sudhakar said.

As part of containment measures, the city civic corporation has restricted large gatherings in open spaces to 500 people and 200 people in closed premises.

"Violators of Covid norms will be heavily fined to reduce the cases. Wearing a mask, maintaining social distancing and sanitising hands are mandatory for every citizen and owners of hotels, restaurants, wedding halls and venues," said Sudhakar, a medical doctor by profession.

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has provided an ambulance to each of the 198 civic wards to rush infected persons to the nearest hospital for treatment.

"More ambulances can be arranged in civic wards if cases increase. Protocols will be implemented for care and treatment of Covid patients," he said.

The civic body has also decided to sanitise places with high footfalls and dense population to contain the virus spread.

The Health Department has re-opened three large Covid Care Centres across the city to keep all asymptomatic patients for observation and treatment.

With the Union Health Ministry allowing all people above 45 years of age to be vaccinated from April 1, Sudhakar said inoculation drive would be intensified.

"Mutant virus has been reported in some parts of the country. As a mutant version spreads faster than the original strain, citizens have to be careful over the next 2 months and follow the Covid appropriate behaviour to be safe," he added.

The Health Department has also intensified testing, tracing and treating all cases to reduce active cases across the city, which accounts for over 60 per cent of the state's caseload.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
After 48 hours of proactive efforts to re-float Ever Given, the time chartered vessels grounding situation in the Suez Canal has not been resolved, a Evergreen Line press statement said.

The massive cargo ship has turned sideways in Egypts Suez Canal, blocking traffic in a crucial East-West waterway for global shipping.

The shipowner confirms that the crew, ship and cargo are all safe, and no marine pollution has materialised. There had been no black out resulting in loss of power prior to the ships grounding, the statement said.

The shipowner has appointed two maritime professional rescue teams from the Netherlands (Smit Salvage) and Japan (Nippon Salvage) to attend the ship. These teams will be working with the Captain and the Suez Canal Authority to design a more effective plan for refloating the vessel as soon as possible.

Evergreen Line will continue to coordinate with the shipowner and Suez Canal Authority to deal with the situation with the utmost urgency, ensuring the resumption of the voyage as soon as possible and to mitigate the effects of the incident, it said.

As the vessel is chartered, the responsibility for the expense incurred in the recovery operation; third party liability and the cost of repair (if any) is the owners, it clarified.

Tanya Garcia plans to get her coronavirus vaccine as soon as she is eligible - regardless of what her husband says.

Garcia, a 24-year-old in Buckeye, Ariz., has been hearing firsthand horror stories about the coronavirus since March last year, when her older sister, a nurse, started caring for patients at the hospital. Garcia heard about the patients who died alone and the families who watched them pass away on Zoom. Then the virus came closer: In October, Garcia tested positive, along with her younger sister, her mother and her newborn daughter.

Now most of Garcia's family has been vaccinated. Her husband is the exception, she said: He doesn't plan to get the vaccine.

His reasons are part religious, part political: Raised as a Jehovah's Witness, her husband, who declined a request to be interviewed, was taught by his family to doubt much of modern medicine, Garcia said. And while he doesn't vote in elections, he leans conservative, Garcia added, especially after seven years in the Marines, surrounded by "a bunch of Republican men."

"Usually I can talk to him, make him understand things," said Garcia, who identifies as a Democrat. But on this issue, she said, he will not be moved.

Politically conservative men have been skeptical of the coronavirus from the beginning. Now that the vaccine is becoming more widely available, a striking number are deciding not to get the shot: According to a recent NPR-PBS NewsHour-Marist poll, 49 percent of Republican men do not plan to get vaccinated, a higher percentage than any other demographic group in the United States. Though former president Donald Trump received his coronavirus vaccine before he left office, he did not encourage his supporters to get the vaccine until mid-March.

Long before Trump voiced his support for the vaccine, many women had begun to mount their own campaigns to vaccinate the conservative men in their lives. Wives and girlfriends, daughters and sisters: They plan to get the vaccine themselves - and will do whatever they can to convince the reluctant men in their family to come along. Some are threatening to withhold family visits; others are opting for bribes. They're not sure if any of it will work.

No vaccine has ever been as politicized as this one, said Geeta Swamy, an obstetrician-gynecologist and associate vice president for research at the Duke University School of Medicine, with Republicans far less likely to sign up than Democrats. Many people who identify as Republicans have long resisted the measures designed to contain the virus - masks, social distancing, economic shutdowns - egged on by Trump, who downplayed the health risks of the pandemic. According to the same study, 40 percent of people who voted for Trump in 2020 - both men and women - do not plan to get the vaccine.

Because women are more likely than men to vote Democratic and are generally more comfortable with government intervention, it's not surprising more women plan to get the vaccine, said Melissa Deckman, a politics professor at Washington College who specializes in gender. But the division goes deeper than party. According to the same study, only 34 percent of Republican women do not plan to get vaccinated, a significantly smaller percentage than Republican men.

Regardless of party, women tend to be "decision-makers" on health-related issues, said Swamy, taking the lead on doctor appointments and other medical needs for themselves and their families.

"Women are the ones choosing the doctors, finding out from other friends who is the best pediatrician in town," she said. "They are more familiar and more comfortable with the idea of vaccines than men are."

Conservative men may not see the vaccine as "manly," Deckman said. Many have shirked from wearing masks and social distancing in part because those measures did not fit a narrative of men as "superhuman and invincible," she said. If a man views his masculinity as central to his identity, Deckman said, studies show he will be less likely to wear a mask. It would not be surprising, she added, if future studies show a similar pattern on vaccinations.

"There is this idea among many men, especially Republican men, that they need to be strong," she said. Trump perpetuated this sentiment, she added, appealing to working-class men who were struggling to provide for their families. "They feel like they can take care of themselves, thank you very much."

Montgomery Granger, a veteran and school administrator in Long Island who has written about his time in the military, had no intention of getting the vaccine. The pandemic seems overblown, he said: In his opinion, the death toll included many with pre-existing conditions who would have died of other causes. Granger tested positive for coronavirus earlier this year, he said, but it wasn't serious. It felt like a bad head cold.

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, in particular, seem "untested," he said, relying on new scientific technologies that appear to have been rushed through the approval process. (Both vaccines were subjected to rigorous safety testing by the FDA and are widely supported by medical experts.) Granger, who voted for Trump twice, did not want to be the "guinea pig."

But then his wife started trying to convince him.

If Granger didn't get the vaccine, Granger's wife, who also voted for Trump, worried the family would be limited in where they could go on vacation, Granger said. Granger's family usually travels to Disney World every year, he said, and she thought the park might require proof of vaccination. Granger's wife was also worried about her elderly father, who still hadn't received his vaccine. If Granger wasn't vaccinated, he recalls her saying, he might put her dad at risk.

Ultimately, Granger agreed to get vaccinated. "We've been together since Aug. 10, 1985," he said. "We've built up enough trust. We know each other well enough to be able to tell when something is really important to the other."

Other women have not had the same success. When Staci Salazar's father, a Republican, posted on Facebook, urging people not to get the vaccine, she decided to respond.

"I fully believe in science and medicine," she wrote. "I care about my family and want to protect my granddaughter, your great-granddaughter, from covid." Salazar's granddaughter has been diagnosed with leukemia.

Salazar hasn't seen her father in months, even though they live 10 minutes apart in their neighborhood in Dallas. When she drove by on his birthday to deliver a banana split, his favorite dessert, she stayed outside, knowing he doesn't take mask or social distancing precautions seriously.

Salazar's father, who declined to be interviewed, often posts articles, screenshots or images from far-right websites, Salazar said. It's impossible to combat the steady stream of misinformation, she added, especially anything related to the vaccine.

"I push him every time I can," she said, engaging in long text message conversations with her father. So far, nothing has worked.

"I don't know where my dad has gone."

In the Bay Area, Carrie Sinn has also been trying to coax her dad out of an "echo chamber," she said. When her father refused to get the vaccine, her mother called to ask for help. Both of Sinn's parents are Trump supporters, she said - but her mother has always taken the coronavirus seriously. Sinn's mother, who has several pre-existing conditions, has long recognized that "covid would be very dangerous for her," Sinn said. She signed up for the vaccine as soon as it became available. But her husband, Sinn's father, won't budge.

Usually Sinn's parents agree on everything, Sinn said. "This is the one thing where I'm seeing a divide between him and her."

Sinn has been gearing up for an extended conversation with her dad. She plans to deploy what she sees as her most powerful weapon: If you don't get your vaccine, she will tell him, you won't see your grandchildren. Her two kids, ages 18 and 16, have their own pre-existing conditions.

"I'm thinking I'll go with shameless guilt," she said. "The kids are going to flat out refuse to go anywhere unless everyone is vaccinated."

For conservative men skeptical of the coronavirus, the vaccine will be a tough sell, said Mary-Kate Lizotte, a politics professor at Augusta University in Georgia who studies gender and public opinion. Family members can be convincing on political issues, she said, if the issue is "new," a topic to which they have not given much thought. Coronavirus has dominated headlines for over a year now. The vaccine has been widely covered for many months. People know where they fall, Lizotte said.

In Buckeye, Garcia has decided to stop talking to her husband about the vaccine. It's "like talking to a brick wall," she said.

"He knows where I stand. I know where he stands."

And while she wishes he would change his mind, she said, she recognizes that she can't control him. She can only make health decisions for herself and for their baby.

Garcia should be eligible any day now, she said. She can't wait.

- - -

This story first appeared in The Washington Post's The Lily publication.
For full access, please log in, register your subscription or subscribe.

Try for 99 a month for two months, cancel or pause anytime.
THE boss of University Hospital Limerick has warned a fourth wave of Covid-19 could grind the hospital system to a halt.

Amid fears of another increase in cases, Colette Cowan said staff in Dooradoyle havent the resilience to keep fighting the pandemic  and she has urged people to hold firm.

The recovery plan is key now. Another wave, wave four, which has been discussed now, just grinds the hospital system to a halt. It will just see our waiting lists grow and grow, she told members of Limerick City and County Council this week.

It comes as Limericks case numbers continued to grow, with more than 200 across the city and county over the last fortnight.

Ms Cowan  a critical care nurse by profession  said: The weariness is tangible. What we are seeing with staff is fear. We cannot do another wave. We dont have the resilience to do this again and again. It has a traumatic effect on staff.

Separately, students attending the University of Limerick are being offered free Covid-19 tests as efforts continue to curtail an outbreak.

Mass testing was also offered to Mary Immaculate College students. An outbreak of over 50 cases relates to students living off-campus, its understood.

Elsewhere, it has been confirmed that some administration staff in the University Hospital Limerick have received the Covid-19 vaccine when there have been doses remaining in a vial, rather than wastage.

Meanwhile, as the rollout of the vaccination continues, the hospital CEO has raised the possibility of a second centre opening alongside the Radisson Hotel for Limerick.

She said: That is not off the table. Its just a case of trying to get the staffing and make sure we have the vaccines to keep the centres running.

Ms Cowan added they are looking to ramp up to delivering 6,000 vaccines per day in the region. 

As vaccine supply improves, and more come on the market, we will look to other centres and how we can divide and conquer, she said.

So far, vaccinators at the UL Hospitals Group have delivered a total of 17,167 first doses of the Pfizer vaccine, and 5,248 second shots.

Outside the hospital setting, 6,971 first doses have been administered, with 6,044 second doses.

There has been some confusion among the public about the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine, in terms of who should gain access to the inoculation, and in what order.

The matter was raised at council this week, by Conor Sheehan, Labour.

In response to a query from the Leader, an HSE spokesperson stated: Sequencing is based on the type of work undertaken, as well as the setting and maintaining a safe level of health and social care services; and not where people work, who they work for and category of worker or grade.

A spokesperson for University Hospitals Group said staff considered frontline within the national guidance have been vaccinated so far.

They include clerical staff who are assisting in the broader programme vaccinating healthcare colleagues and residents in nursing homes and other residential care facilities across the Mid-West, they added. They also confirmed that there has been some vaccination of administration staff where there have been doses remaining in a vial rather than wastage. This is as per national direction, the spokesperson added.Nationally, the Department of Health has introduced mandatory hotel quarantine for arrivals into Ireland. Costing 1,875 for a single adult, it will come into effect on Friday at 4am.
Nominee to be Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during her confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, on March 9, 2021. (Joshua Roberts/File/Reuters)

US Senate Panel Approves Deputy Attorney General Nominee Monaco

WASHINGTONThe U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday overwhelmingly approved by a voice vote President Joe Bidens nominee to serve as deputy attorney general, Lisa Monaco, paving the way for her to receive a confirmation vote on the Senate floor.

At the same time, however, Republicans signaled they would not be willing to support Bidens associate attorney general nominee Vanita Gupta.

Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights, testifies during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled Police Use of Force and Community Relations in Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, on June 16, 2020. (Tom Williams/File/Pool via Reuters)

Her public record is too extreme and her testimony hasnt helped me contextualize it in any meaningful way, Ranking Republican Charles Grassley said on Thursday.

Grassley called Monaco a consummate professional.

Debate on Guptas record is expected to continue before the panel proceeds to vote on her nomination.

By Sarah N. Lynch
A white headmaster at a Long Island Catholic school in New York, who instructed an 11-year-old Black student to kneel on the ground and apologise, has been placed on leave and is under investigation.

The childs mother, Trisha Paul, told the New York Daily News that the incident occurred last month. John Patrick Holian, the headmaster of St Martin de Porres Marianist School, told Ms Paul, who is Haitian-American, that hed learned the approach from a Nigerian priest who said it was an African way of apologising.

Once he started mentioning this African family, thats when it just clicked, Ms Paul was quoted as saying. Like, this is not normal procedure. I felt there was no relevance at all. Is he generalising that everyone who is Black is African? Thats when I realised something is not right with this situation.

She further told the publication that her son is reeling from the incident and that the family is grappling with the suspicion of whether her son was subjected to racial discrimination.

Meanwhile, the acting headmaster of the school has released a statement saying that they neither condone nor accept such action.

Read more:

St. Martins neither condones nor accepts the actions of our headmaster. The incident does not reflect our long, established values or the established protocols regarding student related issues. We have launched an internal review of the incident and restated in the clearest terms what is the established and approved practice for student-faculty interaction, acting headmaster James Conway said in a statement on Monday.

The incident was first reported by the New York Daily News, according to which on 25 February, the student had finished working on a reading assignment ahead of time and started working on a separate assignment because he wanted to get a head start.

The teacher overseeing the work allegedly ripped his worksheet and scolded him for not following instructions before taking him to the headmasters office. It was there that he was told to kneel down and apologise, Ms Paul said.

My son was humiliated, hurt, embarrassed, sad and confused, she told the paper. He reads about things happening because of your skin colour. To experience it hes just trying to process it in his 11-year-old brain.

On 1 March when Ms Paul asked the headmaster about the incident on phone, thats when he mentioned that a Nigerian father at the school told him it was the African way of apologising.

He admitted that he asked him to kneel down, Ms Paul was quoted as saying by the Washington Post. He didnt acknowledge what happened was wrong or how I felt.  He wasnt remorseful or apologetic at all.

When he finished telling this story, I was just on the phone baffled, said Ms Paul. My child is not Nigerian. We dont share the same cultures or beliefs. Youre assuming that because my child is Black that he must kneel down as well.

This was a racist act, Ms Paul told the Washington Post. In other schools when they are disciplined, its detention, its extra homework, there are other ways to discipline a child. But degrading a child, humiliating them off the basis of generalising him because hes just a Black boy, makes no sense.

Ms Paul further called for the resignation of the headmaster and demanded that the school implement racial sensitivity training. As much as an apology would be great, I dont think it would erase anything of the impact its had on my child, she said.
Premier Brian Pallister denied Wednesday he or anyone else has deliberately covered up the value of Manitoba Hydro electricity sales to Saskatchewan.

Premier Brian Pallister denied Wednesday he or anyone else has deliberately covered up the value of Manitoba Hydro electricity sales to Saskatchewan.

"I dont understand the accusation that is being made. I think it was a frivolous and false accusation," Pallister said, reacting to a Free Press story that a Hydro review he commissioned had failed to disclose details of two power sales valued at $5 billion to Manitoba's western neighbour.

"Were proud of those sales to Saskatchewan. Thats why we did a press release," the premier told a raucous question period, during which he faced a barrage of questions about the revelation and its potential impact on contract negotiations between Hydro and its striking electrical workers.

NDP Leader Wab Kinew asked how the province could demand members of IBEW Local 2034 be expected to accept wage freezes in light of the value of the long-term sales deals.

He demanded the Public Utilities Board hold a new round of rate-setting hearings given the new information.

The value of the Saskatchewan contracts casts doubts on whether a 2.9 per cent consumer rate hike the Progressive Conservative government ordered in December (bypassing the PUB rate-setting process) was necessary, Kinew said.

"We were at the height of the second (COVID-19 pandemic) wave. Manitobans were losing their lives. Manitobans were losing their livelihoods. What was this (PC) teams response? Raise Hydro rates in the cover of night," the NDP leader said.

Members of IBEW Local 2034 at Manitoba Hydro hit the picket line this week. (John Woods / Winnipeg Free Press files)

While the debate raged in the legislature, IBEW members circled the Manitoba Legislative Building in vehicles, honking horns to draw attention to their contract demands. They have asked their dispute with Hydro be settled through arbitration.

The Free Press reported a scathing review of Manitoba Hydro by former Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall failed to disclose details of the power sales.

A Hydro source also told the newspaper the Crown corporation wanted to trumpet the power sales to Saskatchewan, but that was inconsistent with the PC government's attempts to make the previous NDP administration look bad over the construction of the Keeyask generating station and Bipole III transmission line.

Pallister disputed that either Wall or the government sought to cover up the value of the Saskatchewan deals.

Government officials handed out copies of two provincial news releases to reporters as proof, but neither document attached a dollar value to the sales. One of the releases centred on an $18.7-million federal investment in a transmission line  now completed  that is crucial to the western power sales.

Manitoba Hydro is just starting to recover "from a significant overbuild" of infrastructure under the former NDP government, Pallister said.

"Lets put it into perspective, wed need eight or nine more (contracts) just like the Saskatchewan deal to cover the interest on (the cost of Keeyask and Bipole III)," he told reporters after question period.

Meanwhile, Crown Services Minister Jeff Wharton wouldn't say Wednesday whether the government would back off its demand public-sector negotiators restrict wage increase offers to zero, zero, 0.75 per cent and one per cent over four years, respectively.

IBEW workers overwhelmingly rejected such an offer this week, setting the stage for the general strike.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
During the Combined Commanders Conference this month, the Indian Navy has informed the Narendra Modi government that the induction of six nuclear-powered submarines. The governments emphasis on upgrading naval assets must be perceived as an attempt to counter China.

During the Combined Commanders Conference this month, the Indian Navy has informed the Narendra Modi government that the induction of six nuclear-powered submarines would take priority over the the indigenous aircraft carrier 2 which has been in the pipeline for years. The governments emphasis on upgrading naval assets must be perceived as an attempt to counter Chinas navy in the Indian Ocean and beyond.

The Indian Navy has been thinking of reviving its heavy-destroyer project to counter the destroyer being built by China in just five years. The first of Indias 7,500 tonne INS Visakhapatnam class of guided-missile destroyers is expected to be commissioned within a year. The PLAs navy is much larger than the US navy in terms of the number of ships, but the US is still ahead in terms of tonnage and capability.

The Navy, thereafter will be seeking an acceptance of necessity or AON approval from the government on the submarine project. The necessity of nuclear-powered submarines lies in its ability to patrol the entire Indo-Pacific without even surfacing once and remain detected on high seas and equatorial waters.

Also Read: PM Modis Bangladesh visit; First Foreign Trip since Covid; Delhi-Dhaka to ink pacts bolstering ties

Also Read: One year since lockdown: How the country came to a pause due to covid-19

Paris and India have been jointly developing a nuclear attack submarine (named Alvaro Alberto) for Brazil under a strategic partnership. France has been the closest of the allies in defense technology. The joint development of submarines with France is permissible bacause it is free from any regulatory regimes such as the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR) with the US .It will also not come under the radar for future sanctions in case of Russia. India already operates one Akula class SSN from Russia on lease with an agreement to get another one when the lease on the first expires.

It is no doubt that China has nearly a dozen such submarines in operation. The Type 095 attack submarine has a reduced acoustic signature as compared to the Han class of submarines. In this operation, Indias preferred partner for this exercise appears to be Paris because it has already designed Kalvari class of diesel attack submarines for Indian Navy.

Also Read: We are not going to do dual politics like Congress and Akalis: Bhagwant Mann
Jeremiah Fraites doesnt remember his first moments around the piano in his New Jersey childhood home. Theres where his mom comes in.

She says little Jeremiah would go up to the piano, which was donated to the family from a church, and curiously touch it. To her, his methodical moves stood out from other youngsters who might smash or slam the keys.

Thats a classic mom story, Fraites, 35, said during a phone interview with The Gazette.

Before Fraites co-founded The Lumineers and before The Lumineers became known as the biggest band to come out of Denver, it seemed he was born to do music.

Hed use coffee tins and chopsticks as a drum set. Hed get scolded at school for tapping on his desk, though his taps were almost subconscious.

It was a slow process, Fraites said. But everything was always leading to music.

In some ways, things were always leading to his debut solo album, called Piano Piano.

On the mid-January day the album was released, Fraites thought of another classic mom story, which he labeled as his first memory of music: when she gifted each of her young sons a cassette tape.

Fraites got one by Beethoven and his brother got Mozart. Sometimes theyd argue about which composer was better. Fraites defended Beethoven as if he were a superhero. For years, he fell asleep listening to that cassette tape until eventually it was worn down.

He wanted to pass on that feeling.

I hope you can find something in my album like I did with that cassette tape, Fraites wrote to this followers on social media.

Some of the 11 instrumental tracks on Piano Piano  which means little by little or step by step in Italian  have been in the works for 15 years, while others came to Fraites this past summer during time at home in Denver. Fraites wants to be clear that this isnt a COVID record.

I was going to do this anyway, he said. Its more like the pandemic afforded me all this time to make the record.

Fraites first wrote one of the albums tracks, Nearsighted, when he was 21 and studying abroad in London. Others songs come from fragments that didnt fit into songs for The Lumineers.

When Fraites decided to put out a solo album, he worried about how fans of the folk/rock band might receive his own stuff.

Im self-aware enough to know that anything I do will pale in comparison to the strength of what The Lumineers are doing, he said. People are going to inevitably compare your solo stuff to the band youre in.

It helped that Fraites long ago decided his album wouldnt have any lyrics or words.

For me, I feel like that type of music can hit me harder, he said. You can make it personal and make it specific to you.

One example comes from the newest song on Piano Piano. Fraites completed Possessed over two days while at home. The notes came to him one night while his 2-year-old son and wife were sleeping.

I named it that because I felt like I was possessed by this idea enough to finish the song in 48 hours, he said. And it never happens like that.

Listening back to the song, Fraites has found meaning in the melody that seemingly came to him out of nowhere.

As a metaphor, if you go out and youre digging for gold, most of the time you come back with nothing, he said. If you keep going back to that well, sooner or later, youre going to find something. Thats kind of what it means to me.  To not get discouraged and to keep going back.

Piano Piano serves as a testament to how much Fraites has gone to that well  and honed his craft  over the years. When The Lumineers started out and were covering Tom Petty songs at bars, Fraites could barely play some of the piano chords.

It was very difficult for me, he said. I was basically forcing myself to learn.

Now, he considers piano his favorite instrument.

To me, Fraites said, sitting at the piano is the greatest thing on Earth.
Derry City and Strabane District Council today agreed to ask two human rights organisations to investigate recent PSNI operations in the Creggan area of Derry.

Police have been accused of using 'heavy-handed' tactics during a major search operation in the Ballymagowan area of Creggan last week.

Three men were arrested during the operation and have subsequently appeared in court.

However, local politicians and community workers have criticised the behaviour of police officers during last week's operation.

Footage posted on social media showed officers restraining a woman on the ground.

There were also allegations that other members of the public were attacked by police officers.

The PSNI claimed that 'sinister' elements linked to dissident republicans had 'manipulated' local youths into attacking police and disrupting the search activity.

The matter was today discussed at the local council's monthly meeting.

Independent councillor Sean Carr proposed that the council write to the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the Committee on the Administration of Justice asking them to investigate complaints made in relation to the Creggan operation about 'inappropriate police tactics against women and vulnerable children'.

Cllr Carr's motion was passed with the support of 31 councillors.

Six DUP councillors voted against the motion, while the two Ulster Unionist councillors on the council abstained from the vote.

Earlier in the meeting, Aontu councillor Emmet Doyle had put forward a separate motion in connection with the recent events in Creggan.

His proposal stated that the council condemns the 'aggressive and militaristic' policing tactics and 'demands an end to their use'.

Cllr Doyle's proposal also asked that the PSNI District Commander be asked to come to the council and 'be held accountable for the actions of those under his command'.

His proposal was passed after 24 of the 39 councillors at the meeting voted in support of it.

Fifteen councillors, including DUP, UUP, People Before Profit representatives and five independent councillors, voted against Cllr Doyle's proposal.
The Prince William 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.
BT has offered a 1,500 bonus to thousands of staff as it battles to prevent the first national strikes at the telecoms giant in 37 years.

Chief executive Philip Jansen has announced 60,000 'heroes' in frontline roles will get 1,000 in cash and 500 worth of shares as a reward for their service during the pandemic.

Engineers and customer call handlers are among those in line for the payout.

BT boss Philip Jansen (pictured) announced 60,000 'heroes' in frontline roles will get 1,000 in cash and 500 worth of shares each as a reward for their service during the pandemic

But its move was blasted by union chiefs, who are threatening industrial action over plans to slash jobs and close offices.

Strikes could disrupt the maintenance and repairs of BT's creaking broadband network, risking outages when millions of Britons are relying on its internet services to work or study from home.

It could also spell further misery for its retail shareholders, as the stock has lost a third of its value in two years.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) accused Jansen (pictured) of trying to divide staff before members are sent strike ballots.

Dave Ward, CWU general secretary, said: 'This is a desperate move to buy off our members.

What will amount to a few hundred quid after tax is no exchange for a programme of vicious compulsory redundancies, site closures and no real pay deal. Members will see through this.'

The row between BT and the CWU, which represents around 90 per cent of staff, centres on a modernisation plan.

Union chiefs accuse Jansen of trying to ram through redundancies, office closures and changes to working conditions, while dismissing proposals to make job losses more gradual.

Jansen says the changes are needed to stay competitive. No agreement could mean the first company-wide strikes since 1987.

Chairman Jan du Plessis has said he would stand down amid reports of a clash with Jansen, something BT denies.

If CWU members back strikes, they could carry out 48-hour walkouts in late May. A source said relations with BT were still 'salvageable' but warned that Jansen had been 'dismissive' in talks so far.

'He and his team seem to think the strikes won't happen,' the source added. 'But we are very effective at organising and winning ballots.'

BT said: 'We're disappointed that CWU is contemplating industrial action. We remain committed to discussing concerns.'
Hudson, NY (12534)

Today

Thunderstorms. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High near 75F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms this evening followed by occasional showers overnight. Low 61F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Charleston, WV (25301)

Today

Chance of an isolated thunderstorm early, then variable clouds overnight with more showers at times. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 61F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Chance of an isolated thunderstorm early, then variable clouds overnight with more showers at times. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 61F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
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.
Troubled TV contestant and former Penthouse pet Suzi Taylor is back behind bars after being arrested in Queensland

Troubled TV contestant and former Penthouse pet Suzi Taylor is back behind bars after being arrested in Queensland.

The former reality television star was accused in the Brisbane arrest court on Thursday of breaching her bail conditions and failing to appear for mandated court appearances.

Taylor has notched up a long list of legal troubles since surging to fame on renovations program The Block in 2015.

The ex-model, whose real name is Suellen Jan Taylor, faces 103 charges, including extortion and deprivation of liberty over an alleged "honey trap" incident.

Taylor was granted bail by the Supreme Court in November with strict conditions, including wearing an electronic tracking device and a 24-hour curfew.

The 50-year-old had been ordered to live with her mother, with whom she had recently reconciled, surrendered her passport and undertook mental health treatment.

But in less than a month, her excessive drinking and alleged refusal to stick to her court-ordered curfew saw her booted from the family home.

Taylor was then ordered to reside at a Brisbane mental health facility before again being evicted for intoxication.

Police arrested Taylor in Brisbane on Wednesday as she sought medical treatment.

Defence solicitor Michael Gatenby said Taylor was unable to show cause and would plead guilty to failing to appear and beaches of bail on April 13.

She is also due to face trial on the outstanding matters in a separate court.

The former reality television star was accused in the Brisbane arrest court on Thursday of breaching her bail conditions and failing to appear for mandated court appearances
Denton, TX (76205)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 82F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds. Low 62F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph.
WABASH VALLEY (WTHI) - Can you imagine having to flee your home because of a natural disaster?

The American Red Cross says moments like these happen every eight minutes to families across the United States.

You can offer support right now for Giving Day. It's part of a fundraising effort by the Red Cross.

The Red Cross says an average of 90 cents of every dollar it spends is invested in delivering care and comfort to those in need.

The group hopes to get 30,000 supporters.

Learn how to give right here.
WASHINGTON, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, John W. Boyd, Jr., founder and president of the National Black Farmers Association (NBFA), testifies before Congress after providing over 3,300 pages of supporting documents.

"The NBFA continues to call on Congress to assure accountability and transparency from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack" Tweet this Huge Victory: Black Farmers Hail $5B in New COVID Relief Law to Redress Generations of Racism" John Boyd, NBFA-President Testimony to Financial Services Committee on June 19, 2019 John Boyd National Black Farmers Association President Calls For Boycott Against John Deere

"Today is an important day for the nation's Black farmers and for all of those who continue to work tirelessly to end racial discrimination and differential treatment at the U.S. Department of Agriculture," said John Boyd. "We are supportive of the steps taken by Congress and the White House to provide Emergency Debt Relief for Black and other Farmers of Color. I have been fighting for this kind of relief for Black Farmers for over thirty years. This is long overdue Relief for Black Farmers."

The NBFA and the team that has supported the organization's efforts on behalf of the nation's Black farmers are one major step closer to achieving economic relief for the thousands of Black and other farmers of color who have historically been underserved.

Abraham Lincoln, who is probably best remembered as the President who freed slaves, also founded the Department of Agriculture. In 1862, when President Lincoln founded the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), he referred to it as the People's Department.

Black Farmers named it The Last Plantation and rightfully so based upon its proven discriminatory history. Timeline: Black Farmers and USDA, 1920 to Present

"The NBFA continues to call on Congress to assure accountability and transparency from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and USDA. While Black farmers had legislative successes during the Obama Administration, far too little was done during his tenure to address the long legacy of discrimination against Black farmers. Doors continue to be closed to many Black farmers and today our members face enormous challenges - including a system that disproportionately leaves them behind. To level the playing field and right these historic wrongs, Mr. Vilsack as Secretary must expand Black farmer access to land and credit and reform USDA's income support and insurance programs to end systemic discrimination. He must create outreach programs to help Black farmers participate in these programs and lift the veil of secrecy that hides the true extent of racial discrimination at USDA. I stand ready to work with Secretary Vilsack to meet these challenges - and to hold him accountable."

Now is the time to ensure Black, Native American and other socially disadvantaged farmers who have proven discrimination at the USDA as evidenced in the Glickman Report, Love vs Vilsack and Garcia vs Vilsack lawsuits receive debt relief, technical assistance and those farmers facing foreclosures are resolved.

We appreciate and applaud House Agriculture Committee Chairman David Scott, Vice Chair Alma Adams and Ranking Member Glenn GT Thompson for chairing A Hearing to Review the State of Black Farmers in the U.S. with participation from the full Agriculture Committee membership, which includes 8 members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

The hearing, which is virtual, will begin Thursday, March 25th at 12:00pm ET and will be available on the House Agriculture Committee's YouTube channel.

Witnesses Include: Secretary Tom Vilsack, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.

This hearing will discuss the detrimental impact of longstanding, systemic discrimination by private and government institutions on Black farmers over the past century, including discriminatory practices from the USDA, private lenders, and others.

Black farmers in the United States have seen reductions in number of farmers and total acres in the past century. Between 1900 and 1974, the number of farmers declined by approximately 60%, while the number of Black farmers declined by 94% during the same period (USDA, Census of Agriculture, 1974). Additionally, in 1920 Black farms operated 45 million acres, primarily in the South. By 2017, that shrunk to just 1.1 million acres.

All additional information on this hearing can be found here.

For interviews, please contact John Boyd at [email protected] or at 804-691-8528.

http://BlackFarmers.org/

http://NativeAmericanFarmers.org

http://WomenFarmers.net

http://JohnBoydJr.com

https://www.msnbc.com/cross-connection/watch/covid-relief-bill-aid-to-black-farmers-decried-by-lindsey-graham-who-gets-needed-history-lesson-105846341621

https://docs.house.gov/meetings/BA/BA10/20190619/109679/HHRG-116-BA10-Wstate-BoydJ-20190619-U1.pdf

- MANAGEMENT OF CIVIL RIGHTS AT THE USDA (govinfo.gov)

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/national-black-farmers-association-calls-155600369.html

https://thecounter.org/black-farmers-sue-bayer-monsanto-stop-sales-roundup/

SOURCE National Black Farmers Association

Related Links

www.blackfarmers.org


This is an opinion column.

You know Lindale Evans. Or someone like her. We all do.

Shes 26 years old, lives in Bessemer, and is the mother of two young boys. The oldest, Levin, is in kindergarten; Kannon was born almost exactly a year agoApril 3, 2020, on the crest of the global pandemic that would affect us all.

Few more so than Evans. And so many like her.

So many who lived on the precipicewho worked steadily and diligently yet still stood on the precarious edge of financial disaster. So many who embodied the proverbial one paycheck away cliche that wasnt a cliche at all for them. Before Covid-19.

Not for people like Evans. People who fell through, lets call it the Covid Crack, the economic chasm created by the shutdown enacted to slow the spread of the new deadly virus.

It didnt work out too good, she tells me.

At the time Kannon was born, Evans worked full-time with a private security service escorting incarcerated individuals as they are transported among facilities. She took maternity leave, but her job nonetheless disappeared. They said they were going to give my position up, she recalled.

She became one of the 66,003 Jefferson County residents who filed for unemployment in 2020, according to the Alabama Department of Labor. It was just the beginning.

With a new baby brother, Levin was looking forward to summer camp, but, of course, they closed. As did daycare centers. Being so young, the boy was confused that his routine was disrupted for something he did not yet comprehend.

He was even more so in the fall when he was supposed to start kindergarten yet found himself sitting in front of a computer screen.

He was excited about going, Evans says. He kept asking, Why are you at home? When am I going to school? On the other end, I had a new baby. It was very frustrating. I had my moment.

By November, Evans fell behind on her rent and utilities. She caught up in December but fell behind again in January, two months behind. It was a difficult time, she says.

For too many like her.

Too many who not only fell through the chasm but didnt know where to turn for help.

Delandus ONeal is a financial planner with Birmingham-based IMC Financial. The firms typical clients include professional athletes and others among the well-to-do. Through a partnership with the City of Birmingham supported by the Cities for Financial Empowerment (SFE) Fund, Birmingham residents who would likely have no need or access to a financial planner are being connectedbeing helpedby ONeal and other planners at the firm.

People like Evans. At no cost.

Call them financial navigatorsconnectors to local, state, and federal resources and programs created to help people navigate the financial impact of COVID-19.

The pandemic touched every tax bracket, but who speaks to those in the lower brackets or people experiencing financial hardships? ONeal says. I was excited to be able to speak with those more difficult times than the average person and offer guidance.

CFE launched the program last fall in 10 cities, including Birmingham, with funds to support up to 1,200 residents in each city. Thus far, 296 residents have filled out the initial form required requesting help, 149 have been aided, ONeal says. (Others didnt respond after three efforts to reach them.)

Almost three in four (73%) needed help after falling behind on utility payments; more than half (55%) needed assistance with rent or mortgage payments.

Now, lest you think callers are somehow trying to game various tubs of money being dumped into the system to bolster an economic recovery, consider: There but for the grace

People are not calling looking for a handout, theyre in pain, ONeal says. They want their job back. They want the income they used to receive and want to work for it.

Evans has a brother at Alabama A&M and when she recently was able to secure affordable child-carethrough a resource provide by ONeal, her grandmother helped by occasionally picking up Levin. (This fall, he did remote kindergarten from 7a-1p) But she was reluctant to reach out to her family for help.

I dont want to put a lot on people, she says.

Evans was not familiar with the Jefferson County Committee for Economic Opportunity (JCCEO), a long-standing agency offering aid to low- and middle-income residents in various areas. Heres the problem: Many who may need it most are still not aware it exists.

Working with ONeal, she was able to get help with rent and utility assistance through JCCEO, as well as support for child care and part-time work through a jobs program. Shes caught up on all her bills but is still seeking full-time employment.

Next, the CFE Fundwhich is supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Citi Foundation, JPMorgan Chase & Co., and the Wells Fargo Foundationwill launch the Financial Navigators initiative, which will expand one-on-one remote services to 31 city and counties.

This has been one of the most rewarding yet heart-breaking programs Ive ever been part of, ONeal says. Ive heard stories that made me look at my situation and realize how blessed I was. Most people have not been prepared to go one or two weeks without payeven before the pandemic.

We all know someone like thatmaybe even in the mirror.

NOTE: To access the Financial Navigators, click HERE (URL: www.Birminghamal.gov/financialnavigators) or call 205-259-7836

NOTE: Fallen behind on utility payments, check out these Payment Assistance Programs

A voice for whats right and wrong in Birmingham, Alabama (and beyond), Roys column appears in The Birmingham News and AL.com, as well as in the Huntsville Times, the Mobile Register. Reach him at rjohnson@al.com and follow him at twitter.com/roysj
As the military faces a reckoning on extremism within the ranks following the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill riot, the issue is turning rapidly into a partisan stalemate in Congress.

"In many instances, you have members of the military be a part of these groups," Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said on "Morning Joe" on Thursday. "The Republicans ... part of the problem with their response is acting as defense attorneys asking why, if the problem can't be proved beyond a reasonable doubt, why are we talking about it?"

Read Next: Pentagon's Sexual Assault Commission Wants to Hear Junior Troops' Stories

Extremism in the military is a complex issue for which Congress seemingly doesn't see a straightforward legislative solution. There's a critical balance to strike: Service members don't give up all freedoms of speech and expression when they join the military, and lawmakers and brass are cautious about making policy that infringes on the rights they do have. Then there's the issue of how to define extremist activity, which can turn quickly into rhetorical jiu-jitsu.

"Something I've wrestled with is, it's going to be in the eye of the beholder. There are certain worldviews we are not going to accept. If you're in line with the Nazi Party or the Ku Klux Klan or Hamas, we're not going to accept you," Smith said. "It's not simply free speech; we have to make a choice as a society of what we tolerate. It's where the debate gets lost."

Armed Services Committee Republicans on Wednesday argued during a hearing on extremism in the military that the insurrection doesn't represent an overall problem in the force.

"We lack any concrete evidence that violent extremism is as rife in the military as some commentators claim," Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama, the top Republican on the committee, said during the hearing. "While I agree with my colleagues that these numbers should be zero, this is far from the largest military justice issue facing our armed services."

As of late February, veterans made up about 13% of total arrests in the Capitol riot. However, more veterans have been detained since then. Veterans made up about 7% of the U.S. population in 2018, according to Census Bureau data.

When 27,000 National Guard troops deployed to D.C. to secure the Capitol, at least 12 service members were taken off the mission as a cautionary measure. However, none of those soldiers were a part of the mob. Law enforcement and military officials have yet to detail what led to the soldiers being sent home.

But Jacob Fracker, an infantryman in the Virginia National Guard, was arrested after photos surfaced of him taking part in the mob. In a deleted Facebook post, he published a photo of himself in the Capitol during the siege and wrote, "Lol to anyone who's possibly concerned about the picture of me going around ... Sorry I hate freedom?"

Republicans at the hearing were mostly dismissive of the idea of extremism in the military and focused most of their attention on blasting a witness representing the Southern Poverty Law Center, attacking the organization for perceived credibility issues instead of discussing the issue at hand.

Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, grilled Lecia Brooks, the chief of staff for SPLC, on the organization adding two major veterans groups -- the VFW and American Legion -- to its annual list of hate groups that includes the Ku Klux Klan. The SPLC never did that; Fallon seemingly was citing a post from the military satire website Duffel Blog.

Some GOP lawmakers on the panel suggested extremism was being conflated with views that might be offensive to some, expressing concern that efforts to police ideologies could be weaponized against those with mainstream conservative views or people who make an off-color comment on social media.

"I'm very concerned that we're seeing people through all walks of society lose their jobs and other things simply because of some post when somebody was mad," Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., said.

But Democrats said Republicans were getting bogged in hypotheticals instead of addressing the real issues.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin directed all commanding officers to conduct a one-day stand-down to discuss extremism with their formations by early April, making rooting out racist and other radical views in the military one of the earliest top priorities during his time running the Pentagon.

While there's no evidence the military itself radicalizes service members, some argue the background checks for getting into the military can be thin and not as extensive as those for civilian jobs, which often include reviews of social media accounts and other online activity.

"The Department of Defense is less willing to look at open-source material than many employers when vetting interns or students at a university. The Department of Defense is falling behind in many ways," Audrey Cronin, a professor of international security at American University, said at the hearing.

-- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon

Related: Why So Many Veterans Find the Path to Extremism
By Charlie Lankston for Dailymail.com

Meghan and Harry unleashed bombshell after bombshell in their Oprah interview that was sure to send shockwaves pulsing through the heart of the monarchy.

They made jaw-dropping claims of brazen racism and delved into difficult conversations of family rifts.

Although much of the interview was an outpouring of emotion, many of the claims can be stood up - or knocked down - with facts.

Here, MailOnline drills down into some of the central claims of the interview.

Meghan never researched the Royal Family prior to joining

Meghan said: 'I didn't do any research about what that would mean,' she said. 'I never looked up my husband online.'

Fact check: Unlikely

Meghan's claim that she never researched Harry, nor the Royal Family, before entering into the relationship is at odds with claims made in the couple's biography.

Although the Sussexes maintain they did not contribute to Finding Freedom, it was written by friendly journalists Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, who say the book was impeccably well-sourced by those closest to the couple.

Prior to their first date at Dean Street Townhouse in 2016, the authors write: 'Naturally both participants in this blind date did their homework with a thorough Google search. Harry, who scoped out Meghan on social media, was interested.'

A friend is also claimed to have impressed on Meghan the attention she would command for dating Harry, saying: 'This could be crazy...you will be the most wanted woman'.

Harry and Meghan were actually secretly wed three days before the Windsor ceremony by the Archbishop of Canterbury

Meghan said: 'You know, three days before our wedding, we got married. No one knows that... We called the Archbishop and we just said, 'Look, this thing, this spectacle is for the world but we want our union between us.'

Fact check: False

The couple recently confessed the ceremony with the Archbishop of Canterbury in Kensington Palace saw them just 'privately exchange personal vows' after an official certificate blew their claim apart.

Archie has a birthright to be a prince

Meghan said: Idea of the first member of colour in this family, not being titled in the same way that other grandchildren would be... It's not their right to take it away'

Fact check: False

Archie did not have a birthright to be a prince, but could potentially become one when Charles accedes to the throne.

That William and Kate's children have the HRH title and are styled as prince and princesses - and Archie is not - stems from a ruling more than 100 years ago.

In 1917, King George V issued a written order that only royal offspring who are in the direct line of succession could be made a prince and receive HRH titles.

The Letters Patent read: '...the grandchildren of the sons of any such sovereign in the direct male line (save only the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales) shall have and enjoy in all occasions the style and title enjoyed by the children of dukes of these our realms.'

Under the rules, only Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge's eldest son Prince George - as a great-grandson of the monarch down the direct line of succession to the throne - was originally entitled to be a prince.

The Queen stepped in ahead of George's birth in 2013 to issue a Letters Patent to ensure all George's siblings - as the children of future monarch William - would have fitting titles, meaning they were extended to Charles and Louis.

Under the George V rules, Archie would be entitled to be an HRH or a prince when his grandfather Charles, the Prince of Wales, accedes to the throne.

Archie wouldn't get 24/7 security because he wasn't a prince

Meghan said: In those months when I was pregnant, all around this same time, so we (had) the conversation of he won't be given security, he's not going to be given a title.

Fact check: False

Being a prince or princess does not automatically mean royals have police protection.

Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie's security is no longer paid for by the taxpayer.

Harry and Meghan no longer receive British police protection, and are understood to be paying for private security.

Kate made Meghan cry before her wedding to Harry

Responding to claims that she reduced Kate to tears, Meghan said: 'No, no. The reverse happened.'

Fact check: Contested

Reports of a pre-wedding clash between the duchesses first emerged in November 2018, when sources claimed Meghan had been left displeased with a 'stressful' dress fitting for the flower girls.

Accounts differed as to the source of the row. Some said it was a disagreement on whether the bridesmaids should wear tights - Meghan reportedly believed they should not.

Other reports said it stemmed from Princess Charlotte's dress not fitting, meaning another had to be scheduled.

A source said at the time: 'Kate had only just given birth to her third child, Prince Louis, and was feeling quite emotional.'

But during the Oprah interview Meghan flatly denied the reports and claimed it was Kate that left her upset.

Couple witnessed racism inside the monarchy

Meghan said: [There were] concerns and conversations about how dark his [Archie's] skin might be when he's born'

Fact check: Almost impossible to verify

Harry and Meghan said they will never reveal the person who made these comments.

However Oprah revealed that Harry confirmed it was not the Queen nor Prince Philip.

While currently not commenting on the contents interview, Buckingham Palace are almost certain to push back on suggestions of institutional racism.

They could launch an investigation - as they have done with claims of bullying.

Harry was financially cut off by the royals

Harry said: 'My family literally cut me off financially, and I had to afford security for us'

Fact check: They wanted to be financially independent

When Harry and Meghan announced their intention to step back from being senior royals, they said they wanted to be 'financially independent'.

Before cutting ties, 95 per cent of their money came from Prince Charles's income from the Duchy of Cornwall, and 5 per cent from the taxpayer-funded Sovereign Grant.

Princes William and Harry received most of a 13million fortune left by their mother Princess Diana. Harry is also thought to have had millions left to him by the Queen mother.

Meghan has not seen Samantha Markle in almost 20 years

Meghan said: 'The last time I saw her must have been at least 18, 19 years.'

Fact check: False

During the interview Meghan distanced herself from her half-sister Samantha, who she said she hardly knows and she grew up 'an only child'.

A photograph from 2008 - 13 years ago - shows Meghan with Samantha at her graduation.

Samantha only changed her surname to Markle after Meghan started dating Harry

Meghan said: 'She changed her last name back to Markle. And I think she was in her early 50s at that time, only when I started dating Harry.'

Fact check: False

Samantha showed Inside Edition her petition to change her name that was dated back to December 1997 and her college diploma, which says Samantha M. Markle.

Meghan had to turn over her passport, keys and driving licence to royal aides

Meghan said: '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.'

Fact check: Difficult to verify

Senior royals are often pictured driving themselves and it is believed there have never been prior claims of a royal having keys and passports held.

Harry and Meghan received police protection, meaning their travel was meticulously planned by officers.

Meghan's press team didn't defend her when 'things weren't true'

Oprah asked Meghan about stories that she made Kate cry, saying: 'So, all the time the stories were out that you had made Kate cry, you knew all along, and people around you knew that that wasn't true.' Meghan replied: 'Everyone in the institution knew it wasn't true.' And Oprah then said: 'So, why didn't somebody just say that?' Meghan said: 'That's a good question.'

Fact check: Contested

Making a wider point, Mail on Sunday royal correspondent Emily Andrews has said that Meghan's press team did in fact defend untrue stories, saying this was 'just not right'.

Ms Andrews said that she interacted with a press team who defended the Sussexes 'again and again and again, told me things were wrong - so didn't publish - and indeed tried to stop me when true.'
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 number of Manor Rangers players have recently joined the ranks of Sligo Rovers while in the recent past some other Rangers players have signed on with League of Ireland clubs, Athlone Town, and Longford Town.

A statement on the League of Ireland Clubs signing of Manor Rangers players from Rangers says it continue(s) what can only be described as a remarkable record for a small rural club in continuing as a feeder club for the League of Ireland.

Todays (Friday) transfer deadline day again saw Manorhamilton Rangers players making the step up to the League of Ireland with three players having been signed by Sligo Rovers.

Erin Sommers and Brigid OReilly make the move to Sligo Rovers U17 Ladies having excelled at both club and Sligo/Leitrim representative teams. Bailey McBride and Luke Farrell have both been snapped up by Sligo Rovers U14 team.

Both young players have been through the underage system and blossomed as they progressed. Both have also featured on Sligo/Leitrim squads. Another ex-Manorhamilton Rangers player in Jack Kelly who has gone from strength since joining Rovers last year and has re-signed for Rovers.





Peter Maguire has again re-signed for Rovers U19 team and recently made his senior debut against Shelbourne FC in a preseason friendly. Eanna Clancy also has re-signed for Sligo Rovers and featured heavily during last years campaign.

Patrick Montgomery has signed for Longford Town having recently broke into our Clubs junior team and will be one to be watched in Longford Towns forthcoming campaign.

Muireann Devaney has signed for Athlone Towns Ladies team and we look forward to monitoring her progress there and with the Irish national team.
Laois has had a steadier day on the Covid-19 front but it is located between two continues that have the worst levels of the virus in Ireland, according to the latest figures from the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET).

There were six new Laois cases reported to NPHET on March 24 as reported in its daily statement on March 25.

The five-day daily incidence is now 10 a day having fallen at one point to three a day in the middle of March. The incidence continues to rise and is now 116.9 per 100,000 population on the back of 99 new cases in two weeks. The national incidence is now 159.5 per 100 k over 14 days.

Laois is sandwiched between two counties which are in the worst three counties for Covid-19 incidence. Offaly continues to have the highest level of the disease while Kildare is ranked third. They are separated by Donegal which has had high rates since last October.

Outbreaks in Kildare and Offaly spread to Laois last summer causing a tightening in restrictions across all three counties.

MORE ON THE COUNTIES IN TABLE AT THE END OF STORY.

Nationally, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) has today been notified of three additional deaths related to COVID-19. Of the deaths reported today, two occurred in March and one in February.

There has been a total of 4,631 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland.

As of midnight, Wednesday 24th March, the HPSC has been notified of 606 confirmed cases of COVID-19. There is now a total of 232,758 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.

Of the cases notified today:

298 are men / 305 are women

75% are under 45 years of age

The median age is 33 years old

NPHET reports that 249 in Dublin, 57 in Donegal, 39 in Kildare, 32 in Meath, 31 in Louth and the remaining 198 cases are spread across all other counties.

As of 8am Thursday there were 312 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 75 are in ICU. 24 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.

As of March 22, 690,449 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Ireland:

503,796 people have received their first dose

186,653 people have received their second dose

The 7-day average incidence per 100 k is now 83.4 while the 5-day moving average 589 a day nationally.

The COVID-19 Dashboard provides up-to-date information on the key indicators of COVID-19 in the community including daily data on Irelands COVID-19 Vaccination Programme.
New Delhi, March 25 : The Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday raised the issue of alleged harassment of nuns during a special mention in the House.

According to reports, the incident took place on March 19 when the nuns were travelling on the Haridwar-Puri Utkal Express. Members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) allegedly heckled and forced two nuns and two novices to get off a train in Uttar Pardesh's Jhansi district. A 25-second video from the train compartment shows the women surrounded by some men, some of whom appear to be policemen.

The ABVP members had accused them of carrying out religious conversions.

The four were allowed to proceed only after it was established at the Jhansi railway station that no conversion was involved.

The ABVP is the student's wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological mentor of the BJP.

Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi attacked the RSS on the issue, "The attack in UP on nuns from Kerala is a result of the vicious propaganda run by the Sangh Parivar to pitch one community against another and trample the minorities. Time for us as a nation to introspect and take corrective steps to defeat such divisive forces." The Kerala unit of the BJP too gave a memorandum on the harassment suffered by the nuns to Shah when he arrived in the state last night for Wednesday's day-long election campaign.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday assured that strict action would be taken against all those involved. "Those involved in the Jhansi nuns' harassment incident will be brought before the law," Amit Shah told reporters in Delhi on Wednesday.
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.
When Kajal and Samantha were ruling Tollywood with back-to-back hits, they couldn't shine big in Tamil and many of their films bombed here at the box office. Much later, Samantha delivered her first Tamil hit with Vijay's Kaththi , and later, her next big hit Theri was also with him.

Kajal had also delivered her first blockbuster with Vijay's Thuppakki and it was a comeback film for her in Tamil.

Now, Pooja Hegde, one of the most wanted heroines in Telugu has officially signed the dotted line for Vijay's upcoming biggie with Nelson Dhilipkumar and Sun Pictures.

Pooja had made her debut in Tamil with Mugamoodi which was a box-office dud and then the actress has been continuously delivering blockbusters in Tollywood.

"SUPER DUPER EXCITED to be onboard this grand film with the fantastic @actorvijay Cant wait to start shooting @Nelsondilpkumar @sunpictures @anirudhofficial Tamil cinema....here I come.... #Thalapathy65 #PoojaHegdeInThalapathy65", tweeted Pooja Hegde.

So, will Vijay be the lucky charm for Pooja?
Facing the future of amateur radio IARU Region 1 has started preparations for a workshop to look at the future of amateur radio



The IARU Region 1 site says:



- What is amateur radio today?

- How is it changing?

- Where are tomorrow's amateurs?

- How do others see Amateur Radio?

- What do we need to do for the future?



Tonight [Wednesday, March 24] IARU Region 1 started preparing together with its Member Societies a Workshop with focus on the future of amateur radio. The message being shared in this session is clear. IARU societies are losing members; loss in members in some societies is remarkable in the last ten years, even with good examination throughput. Next to this, persons in leadership roles in these societies are getting older. Not all Member Societies have top team members under the age of 35 years.



The IARU Region 1 Executive Committee shares that its time for change and we need to start moving forward. Working together and changing the current trends. We need to refocus our thinking and way of operating.



Main questions and topics which will be covered in the Workshop are:

What is amateur radio today? How is it changing? Where are tomorrows radio amateurs? How do others see amateur radio? What do we need to do for the future?



Member societies are called upon to take actively part by nominating people with future oriented mind-set and prepare for this Workshop. Key will be to include new people into the discussion, hoping to reach new ideas and new ways of thinking.



The Workshop Facing the future is scheduled to be held in October 2021 hopefully in Novi-Sad Serbia, hosted by SRS, the Serbian Amateur Radio Society. A virtual alternative Workshop will be prepared as well.



Source IARU Region 1 https://iaru-r1.org/
North Korea test-fires ballistic missiles in message to US View Photo

SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  North Korea on Thursday test-fired its first ballistic missiles since President Joe Biden took office as it expands its military capabilities and increases pressure on Washington while nuclear negotiations remain stalled.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said North Koreas resumption of ballistic testing threatens peace and safety in Japan and the region, and that Tokyo will closely coordinate with Washington and Seoul on the Norths military activities.

South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, after meeting his Russian counterpart in Seoul, expressed deep concern and urged the North to uphold its commitments for peace. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called for a swift resumption of dialogue to resolve the standoff with North Korea.

South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff said the two short-range missiles were fired at 7:06 a.m. and 7:25 a.m. on the Norths eastern coast and flew 450 kilometers (279 miles) on an apogee of 60 kilometers (37 miles) before landing in the sea.

A senior U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military observations, matched the information from Tokyo and Seoul, saying that initial assessments suggest the North fired two short-range ballistic missiles.

This activity highlights the threat that North Koreas illicit weapons program poses to its neighbors and the international community, said U.S. Indo-Pacific Command spokesperson Capt. Mike Kafka.

The launches came a day after U.S. and South Korean officials said the North fired short-range weapons presumed to be cruise missiles into its western sea over the weekend.

North Korea has a history of testing new U.S. administrations with missile launches and other provocations aimed at forcing the Americans back to the negotiating table.

Still, Thursdays launches were a measured provocation compared to the nuclear and intercontinental missile tests in 2017 that inspired war fears before the North shifted toward diplomacy with the Trump administration in 2018.

Analysts expect the North to gradually dial up its weapons displays to gain bargaining power as it angles to get back into stalled talks aimed at leveraging nuclear weapons for badly needed economic benefits.

North Korea has so far ignored the Biden administrations efforts to reach out, saying it wont engage in meaningful talks unless Washington abandons its hostile policies.

Its unclear how the Biden administration will respond before it completes its policy review on North Korea in coming weeks.

The missile launches followed a trip by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to Japan and South Korea last week as Washington pushes to restore its alliances in Asia.

During the trip, Blinken sternly criticized North Koreas nuclear program and human rights record and pressed China to use its tremendous influence to convince the North to denuclearize.

North Korean state media had said Tuesday that leader Kim Jong Un reaffirmed his countrys traditional alliance with China while exchanging messages with Chinese President Xi Jinping in an apparent response to Bidens efforts to coordinate action on North Korea with his allies.

The negotiations over the Norths nuclear program faltered after the collapse of Kims second summit with President Donald Trump in February 2019, when the Americans rejected North Korean demands for major sanctions relief in exchange for a partial surrender of its nuclear capabilities.

Since Trumps first meeting with Kim in 2018, the North has not conducted nuclear or long-range missile tests, although analysts believe it has pressed ahead with both programs.

The North has continued short- and medium-range missile testing during its suspension of nuclear and long-range tests, expanding its ability to strike targets in South Korea and Japan, including U.S. bases there.

Kim Dong-yub, an analyst from South Koreas Institute for Far Eastern Studies, said the flight data suggests the North possibly tested a new solid-fuel system modeled after Russias 9K720 Iskander mobile ballistic missiles.

The low-flying missiles, which analysts see as potentially nuclear capable, are designed to be maneuverable so they have a better chance at evading missile defense systems.

The North had conducted at least 16 launches of these missiles and other new short-range systems from 2019 to 2020.

Trump had been accused of giving North Korea room to advance its weaponry by repeatedly dismissing its short-range missile tests despite the threat they posed to South Korea and Japan.

If Biden takes a different approach by imposing additional sanctions over short-range ballistic launches, the North may use it as an excuse for more provocative tests, including those involving submarine-launched missile systems, said Cheong Seong-Chang, an analyst at South Koreas Sejong Institute.

Kim Jong Uns powerful sister last week berated the United States over its latest round of combined military exercises with South Korea this month, warning Washington to refrain from causing a stink if it wants to sleep in peace for the next four years.

The Norths short-range tests on Sunday were its first known missile firings since April 2020. Biden played down those launches, telling reporters, Theres no new wrinkle in what they did.

__

AP journalists Yuri Kageyama and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo and Aamer Madhani and Lolita Baldor in Washington contributed to this report.

By KIM TONG-HYUNG

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.
Sophie Rundle and her husband Matt Stokoe held hands during a cosy stroll in London last Friday, ahead of their first child's arrival.

The pregnant Gentleman Jack star, 32, displayed her baby bump in denim dungarees as she joined the fellow actor, also 32, who she is rumoured to have tied the knot to earlier this year.

Ann Walker actress Sophie is believed to currently be on maternity leave as filming for the historical BBC drama's second series takes place in Yorkshire.

Parents-to-be: Sophie Rundle and her husband Matt Stokoe held hands during a cosy stroll in London last Friday, ahead of their first child's arrival

The Episodes star looked typically radiant as she styled her overalls with a longline jacket, a purple scarf and a pinstripe sweatshirt.

Adding a touch of edge to her look, the TV, film and stage performer rounded things off with chunky brown boots and circular-framed shades.

Her long-term partner Matt, meanwhile, cut an equally casual figure in a brown vest, a navy cardigan and joggers, which he tied in with a baseball cap and suede footwear.

The parents-to-be appeared in great spirits as they held onto warm beverages while walking their retriever, Buddy.

Relaxing walk: The Gentleman Jack star, 32, displayed her baby bump in denim dungarees as she joined the fellow actor, also 32, who she is rumoured to have tied the knot to

In demand: The Ann Walker actress (pictured with Suranne Jones in series one) is believed to be on maternity leave as filming for the historical drama's second series continues

How adorable: The Misfits star affectionately cradled his spouse's stomach during their appearance

Sweet: The parents-to-be appeared in great spirits as they walked their retriever, Buddy

Effortlessly cool: The Episodes star looked typically radiant as she styled her overalls with a longline jacket, a purple scarf and a pinstripe sweatshirt

All in the details: Adding a touch of edge to her look, the TV, film and stage performer rounded things off with chunky brown boots and circular-framed shades

The thespian confirmed the happy news last month with images of herself holding her bump, shared to Instagram.

The couple were rumoured to have taken their relationship to the next level after they were seen wearing wedding bands in January.

Soon after their engagement in 2019, Sophie said: 'The whole wedding thing is weird. Everyone expects you to be desperate to be a princess for the day  that's not really my scene.'

The outing came after the blonde had been seriously ill with Covid over the Christmas period.

Off they go: The duo stopped to engage in more conversation before heading home

Where are you, Buddy? At one point, they appeared to call out for their pooch as they headed to their next destination

Playing rough: Sophie and Matt sat on a bench as they watched their pet run around with another dog

Dressed down: Her long-term partner Matt, meanwhile, cut an equally casual figure in a brown vest, a navy cardigan and joggers, which he tied in with a baseball cap and suede footwear

Keeping warm: They treated themselves to warm beverages during the outing

What's the status? The lovebirds were rumoured to have taken their relationship to the next level after they were seen wearing wedding bands in January

Recovered: The blonde had been seriously ill with Covid over the Christmas period

The screen star penned on social media: 'Greetings from my sick bed. So for Christmas this year I got myself a juicy bout of Covid-19.

'I also have a very festive bloodshot eye from all of the hardcore vomiting I was doing in hospital. I can taste nothing, I have a cough to rival a Dickensian workhouse orphan boy.

The Peaky Blinders star also told how she was suffering from a pain from a gnarly wisdom tooth, saying it all added up to quite the feast of festive ailments.

'New friend on the way': The thespian confirmed the happy news last month with images of herself holding her bump, shared to Instagram

Sophie and Matt, star of BBC period drama The Musketeers and Netflix series Cursed, have been together since 2016 after meeting on the set of Sky One drama Jamestown.

Since then, the High Wycombe native has barely been off our screens, with appearances in Bodyguard, Peaky Blinders and Skys Urban Myths, in which she played Princess Diana and Line Of Duty.

The expectant star most recently starred alongside Matt in the claustrophobic horror film Rose: A Love Story, in which they play a couple living in a remote woodland cabin - available on all UK digital platforms from April 5.
President Joe Biden said Thursday he will be taking executive actions to tighten gun laws while also promising to make good on a pledge to come up with legislation that would strip away liability protections for gun manufacturers.

Biden was asked about the policy proposals at his first presidential press conference, which occurred 65 days into his term in office, following two horrific mass shootings.

Biden was asked whether he had decided to produce legislation on gun manufacturer liability, as well as executive actions that were floated, including one dealing with kits known as 'ghost guns,' as well as aiding states and cities in their own gun control efforts.

'Its a matter of timing,' President Joe Biden said when asked about executive actions and gun control legislation he would put out

'All the above,' said Biden, when asked about the ideas.

'Its a matter of timing,' he said.

Biden then went on to observe that, 'Successful presidents, better than me, have been successful in large part because they know how to time what theyre doing. Order it, decide and priorities  what needs to be done.'

He then touted his next major initiative  a $3 trillion infrastructure bill. 'Ill be announcing it Friday in Pittsburgh in detail,' he said  although Biden in fact plans to travel to Pittsburgh on Wednesday.

But Biden also cast gun control as among a host of issues he would be able to tend to after acting on his top priority: getting control of the coronavirus, a topic that reporters did not ask him about during the hour-long press conference.

'And the other problems were talking about from immigration to guns and the other things you mentioned are longterm problems. Theyve been around a long time, and what were going to be able to do, God willing, is now began one at a time to focus on those as well, and whether its immigration or guns or a number of other problems that face the country,' Biden said.

Biden used the gun liability issue during the 2020 campaign, noting that then-rival Sen. Bernie Sanders, who hailed from relatively pro-gun Vermont, had voted for the protections.

'It is so long past time that we correct one of the most egregious special interest giveaways the United States Congress has ever engaged in  the civil liability protections granted to gun manufacturers against being sued by the victims of gun violence,' Biden said last year.

Biden is weighing using executive orders on gun control as doubts rise Congress will pass legislation in the wake of mass shootings in Atlanta and Boulder.

Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday that the administration believes lasting change should come vial the law-making powers in Congress but signaled the White House is open to using the power of Biden's executive pen if needed.

'We want it to be lasting, we need it to be legislation,' she said at her press briefing, adding that Biden 'certainly believes that. But there are also executive actions under consideration that we will continue working through internally. And there's lots of levers you can take.'

Administration officials have spoken to some Senate Democrats about three possible executive actions, The New York Times reported: one would classify as firearms so-called ghost guns  kits that allow a gun to be assembled from pieces; another would fund community violence intervention programs; and the third would strengthen the background checks system.

President Joe Biden is weighing using executive orders on gun control as doubts rise Congress will pass legislation

Pressure has grown on the president to address gun violence after a shooter in Atlanta killed eight people, including six Asian women, and a shooter in Boulder, Colorado, shot up a grocery store, leaving 10 dead, including a police officer who responded to the scene.

But even Biden acknowledged he may not have the political capitol to get legislation passed on Capitol Hill.

'I havent done any counting yet,' he said during a stop in Ohio on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, more than 30 gun control advocacy groups are asking to meet with Biden on the issue.

The groups are calling on the president to issue executive actions on gun control, invest in community action, and appoint a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) director who will ensure needed oversight and accountability for the gun industry, the groups said in a statement.

During the presidential campaign, Biden advocated for background checks on all firearms purchases, ban large-capacity magazines for guns and end civil immunity for gun manufacturers in wrongful death lawsuits.

In Atlanta last week, a gunman traveled to three different Atlanta-area massage parlors where he killed a total of eight people  six of Asian American descent. He said he committed the crime to help prevent temptation.

Not even a week later, a gunman opened fire in a Boulder grocery store, killing 10, including a police officer.

After the shootings, Biden reiterated his call to ban assault weapons and called on Congress to pass legislation.

'We can ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in this country once again,' he said at the White House Tuesday. 'This should not be a partisan issue. It's an American issue. It will save lives. American lives. We have to act.'

On Monday, a gunman opened fire in a Boulder, Colorado, grocery store, killing 10, including a police office

In Atlanta last week, a gunman traveled to three different Atlanta-area massage parlors where he killed a total of eight people  six of Asian American descent

He also told senators that they should pass two gun control bills, which plug up background check loopholes for gun buyers, that passed the House of Representatives earlier this month.

During his brief remarks Tuesday, Biden did talk about what could be done legislatively.

'I don't need to wait another minute, let alone an hour, to take common sense steps that will save the lives in the future,' Biden said. 'I urge my colleagues in the House and Senate to act.'

He then called on them to ban assault weapons yet again - and to target high-capacity magazines.

The Federal Assault Weapons Ban expired in 2004 and attempts to renew it in Congress have been unsuccessful.

'We got that done when I was a senator, it passed, it was the law for the longest time and it brought down these mass killings. We should do it again,' the president continued.

'The Senate should immediately pass - let me say it again - the United States Senate, I hope some are listening, should immediately pass the two House-passed bills that close loopholes in the background check system,' Biden urged. 'These are bills that received votes of both Republicans and Democrats in the House.'

Gun control issues face an uphill battle in the Senate despite the Democratic control of the chamber.

The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on gun violence on Tuesday and, there, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas chewed out Democrats for their gun control proposals.

'It's time to do something,' the Texas Republican said. 'Every time there's a shooting we play this ridiculous theater where this committee gets together and proposes a bunch of laws that would do nothing to stop these murders.'

'What they propose - it makes it worse,' Cruz said, accusing Democrats of 'taking guns away from law abiding citizens.'

He said he plans to reintroduce the Grassley-Cruz measure, which increased resources available to prosecutors to go after people who violate gun laws and prosecute those who fail federal background checks.

Cruz said the bill, which he worked on with Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, is 'targeted at violent criminals, targeted at felons, targeted at fugitives, targeted at those with serious mental disease, to stop them from getting firearms, to put them in prison when they try to illegally buy guns.'

The House, earlier this month, passed legislation requiring universal background checks, but the legislation is not expected to pass in the Senate.
First Lady Clar Marie Weah on Wednesda March 24 held an interactive forum to educate adolescent girls on sexual and reproductive health issues in Tubmanburg, Bomi County as part of activities marking the President George Weah's second leg of county tour.

Mrs. Weah stressed that it was important for them know their body well by understanding the various changes, including their menstrual cycle, that will occur as they grow, and how to respond appropriately.

She disclosed that the lack of such awareness makes adolescent girls and young ladies afraid and confused about what to do as soon as they begin to see their period.

Mrs. Weah recalled experiencing similar situation as a teen because she never had anyone to adequately educate her, and as such she feels obliged to provide them with the requisite information.

Menstruation and the lack of knowledge and hygienic resources to manage it pose some serious negative consequences on girls' education and

Studies show that menstruation is a major cause for girls' early dropout from school, as many of them, being ashamed and sometimes not being unable to access sanitary resources, stay home.

According to UNESCO worldwide, 131 million girls are out of school -- and 100 million of those are girls of high school age, making girls less likely than boys to graduate from secondary school.

While providing essential health tips and demonstrating how to use sanitary pads, Mrs. Weah told a huge gathering of girls that no one is well placed to educate them other than the First Lady and Mother of the Nation.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Liberia Health Pregnancy and Childbirth By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Meanwhile, the Mrs. Weah, accompanied by the PresidentGeorge Manneh Weah, distributed a huge consignment of health packs, each of which contains, sanitary pads, toothpaste, deodorant, hand sanitizer and bath soap.

The Liberian First Lady urged the girls to use the materials to maintain a good personal hygiene. She also assured them of her commitment to continue to work with them, providing the needed support in various ways possible.

The engagement which took place at the multipurpose building in Nyela, on the outskirts of Tubmanburg, is part of the First Lady's flagship program, She's You Movement, which seeks to improve the lives of women and girls through empowerment and advocacy for a better and prosperous Liberia.

The forum brought together hundreds of girls from all walks of life, including students, between ages 9 and 19 years.
Subscriber content preview

HONOLULU (AP)  Tourists are traveling to Hawaii in larger numbers than officials anticipated, and many are wandering around Waikiki without masks, despite a statewide mandate to wear them in public.

Hawaii's Safe Travels program reported that about 28,000 people flew into and throughout the islands on Saturday, the highest number of travelers in a single day since the pandemic began, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Monday.





. . .
More than 200 police unionists in Bucharest gathered on Thursday morning to protest against cutbacks and poor working conditions.

The unionists from Europol Union gathered outside the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the capital where they honked horns, blew whistles, and some let off smoke-bombs in the colours of the Romanian flag, as they expressed anger over salary and pension cuts, and poor working conditions.

The demonstration was held on Romanian Police Day, which today marks 199 years since its establishment in 1802.

Just days ago, the Europol Union group posted a photograph online that showed a pile of plaster debris that had fallen from a police station ceiling in Botosani, a town in Suceava County in the north of the country.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
Patna, March 25 : Two ASI-rank police officers in Bihar's Saran district have been suspended after a video of a liquor party went viral, an official said on Thursday.

The accused police personnel have been identified as Sunil Kumar Thakur, deployed at Kopa police station, and Bechan Singh, posted at Dighwara police station in the district.

Saran SP Santosh Kumar said that though the viral video is old, the police personnel have been identified.

"Our technical experts immediately checked the viral video and found it to be true. We have suspended the two officers with immediate effect," Kumar said.

"The district police cannot tolerate errent officers or their unlawful activities," the officer added.

As per the preliminary investigation, an organiser of an orchestra event threw a liquor party in Chapra where Thakur and Singh were invited. In the video, they could be allegedly seen dancing with a bar girl and consuming liquor.

"Efforts are on to nab the organisers and the other persons present in that party," Kumar said.

In 2016, sale and consumption of alcohol was banned in Bihar, making it a dry state.
2020

5-9 October 2020

On 5-9 October 2020, Mr. Daniel Kiesow, a judge of the Bremen Administrative Court (first instance court, Germany) and Mr. Sergio Matos, a judge of the Lisbon Tax Court (first instance court, Portugal), were on a general internship at the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) and the Voivodship Administrative Court in Cracow. The internship was organized in cooperation between the SAC and the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN).

The judges had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the practical aspects of the functioning of the SAC's Judicial Decisions Bureau (where they were received by SAC judge Marian Wolanin - Head of Division I) and the SAC's Judicial Information Division (where they were received by the President of the Division and SAC Spokesman, judge Sylwester Marciniak).

During the internship, the judges also paid a visit to the Voivodship Administrative Court in Warsaw, where they held a meeting with the President of this court - judge Wojciech Mazur and Vice-Presidents - judges of the VAC: Pawe Gronski and Alojzy Skrodzki. The guests also took part, as an audience, in the hearings before the VAC in Warsaw and before the VAC in Cracow, and held working meetings with the judges of the SAC and the VAC in Cracow, including their tutor, judge Urszula Zieba.

21 September - 4 October 2020

On 21-5 July 2019 Dr. Markus Kenntner  judge of the 3rd Senate of the German Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig, specialised inter alia in health law, transport and railway law visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC). The visit was organised within bilateral partnership between the Polish SAC and the Federal Administrative Court of Germany.

During the stay judge Kenntner was hosted by the Vice-President of the SAC, prof. U dr hab. Jacek Chlebny  the President of the General Administrative Chamber. He had occasion to familiarise himself with practical aspects of functioning of that Chamber and its divisions. Moreover he visited the Voivodship Administrative Court in Warsaw (VAC) where he met President of SAC judge Wojciech Mazur and VAC judges Alojzy Skrodzki , Vice-president, Sawomir Antoniuk  Deputy President of the 2nd Division, as well as dr hab. Joanna Wegner.

In connection with his judicial and scientific interests, the visiting judge had also working meetings with et the Deputy Disciplinary Commissioner of the SAC  SAC judge Hieronim Sek, who presented the scope of the disciplinary liability of administrative judges and recent case-law in disciplinary matters and SAC judge Andrzej Kuba from the 2nd Divison of the Commercial Chamber. He also familiarised himself with practical aspects of functioning of the Judicial Decisions Bureau of the SAC (where he was hosted by the SAC judge Joanna Kabat-Rembelska  Head of the 5th Division and legal specialist prof. UAM dr hab. Wojciech Piatek) and of the Court Information Division of the SAC, where he was hosted by the President of that Division - SAC judge Sylwester Marciniak. The guest observed also court hearings in the 2nd Division of the General Administrative Chamber.

During another part of the exchange programme in VAC in Gdansk German judge was hosted by the President of that Court SAC judge Zbigniew Romaa and SAC judge Joanna Zdzienicka-Wisniewska  President of the Court Information Division.

The judge also had the opportunity to pay a visit to the Provincial Administrative Court in Krakow, where he held meetings with the Vice President of the Court, judge Bogusaw Wolas, and judges Urszula Zieba and dr Waldemar Michaldo.

Within the programme of his exchange German judge paid furthermore working visits in the Constitutional Tribunal, in the Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs Chamber of the Supreme Court, in the German Embassy in Warsaw and in the Consulate General of Germany in Gdansk. He also met the Deputy Human Rights Commissioner, the members of the Board of the Polsih National Association of the Judges of Administrative Courts, the Dean of the Warsaw Bar Association and the representatives of the Free Courts initiative, as well as representatives of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights.

2019

25  29 November 2019 (2  6 December 2019)

On 25-29 November 2019 Ms. Manuela Sinigoi - judge of the Regional Administrative Court of Friuli-Venezia in Triest (Italy) and Ms. Agnes Sowa - judge of the Administrative Court in Dusseldorf (Germany) visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC) within the framework of the general exchange programme, in cooperation between the SAC and the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN).

During the stay guests were welcomed by the Vice-President of the SAC, dr hab. prof. U Jacek Chlebny  the President of the General Administrative Chamber. They also paid a visit to the Voivodship Administrative Court (VAC) in Warsaw, where they held a meeting with the President of the Court, SAC judge Wojciech Mazur, and Vice-Presidents, VAC judges: Pawe Gronski, Magorzata Jarecka and Alojzy Skrodzki. Guests observed court hearings before SAC and VAC in Warsaw and attended working meetings with judges of VAC in Warsaw - their tutors Prof. Tomasz Stawecki and Prof. Agnieszka Krawczyk as well as with SAC judge Andrzej Kuba and judge Urszula Zieba from VAC in Krakow.

In addition, judges had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the practical aspects of the functioning of the Judicial Decisions Bureau (where they were received by the SAC judges Arkadiusz Despot-Madanowicz and Joanna Kabat-Rembelska - Heads of the II and IV Divisions of this Bureau and Professor Wojciech Piatek) and the Court Information Division (where they were hosted by the President of the Division and the SAC Press Spokesman, judge Sylwester Marciniak).

As part of their exchange programme the visiting judges paid furthermore working visits in the Ombudsman Office, in the Association for Legal Intervention (NGO), in the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Representation in Poland (UNHCR), in the Refugee Board and in the Centre for Foreigners (Mothers and Children) of the Office for Foreigners in Warszawa-Targowek, as well as they were received by the representatives of the Office for Foreigners, the Client Earth Lawyers for the Earth Foundation, the Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court and Liaison Officer of the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees in Poland.

On 2-6 December this year judge Agnes Sowa also completed an internship in the Voivodship Administrative Court in Gliwice, where she was received by the President of the Court SAC judge Leszek Kiermaszek and Vice-President Anna Apollo. During the internship she got acquainted with the jurisdiction and activities of the judicial divisions and Court Information Division as well as with the rules of case allocation and designation of court sessions, organization of workflow of secretariats and computerisation of administrative court proceedings. She also held a number of working meetings with the judges and took part in the preliminary deliberation, in public court hearings and hearings in chambers.

An important event of the visit was a lecture on courts system in Germany including administrative judiciary and administrative court proceedings given by the guest to judges, court referendaries and judge assistants of VAC in Gliwice that was followed by a discussion on the differences between the courts system and the procedure before administrative courts in Poland and Germany.

2-8 November 2019

On 2-8 November, at the invitation of the President of the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC), Prof. dr hab. Marek Zirk-Sadowski, Prof. Mitsuaki Usui, retired professor at Tokyo University of Science, lecturer at Meiji University Graduale School of Law in Tokyo and Prof. Toshiyoshi Kashiwazaki, professor at Graduale School of Innovation Studies Tokyo University of Science, president of the Japan Association of Public Finance Law, visited Warsaw.

During their stay, the professors gave lectures for judges, assistants to judges and invited guests on financial law in the Constitution of Japan and on judicial appeal proceedings in administrative and tax cases in the Japanese legal system. The participatns were welcomed and introduced into the subject matter of lectures by the Vice-President of the SAC, President of the Financial Chamber, Judge Jan Rudowski.

The guests were received at the meeting by the President of the SAC, Prof. dr hab. Marek Zirk-Sadowski, and also took part in the meeting led by the Deputy Director of the Judicial Decisions Bureau of the SAC, Judge Jerzy Siegien. During the visit, the professors held a series of working meetings with the SAC Judge, Prof. dr hab. Antoni Hanusz, adjudicating in the Financial Chamber of the SAC, who was the tutor of the delegation. In addition, they took part in a hearing before the Supreme Administrative Court (in Division I of the Financial Chamber) as an audience.

The guests also paid a visit to the Supreme Court, where they were received by the First President of the Supreme Court, Prof. dr hab. Magorzata Gersdorf, President of the Civil Chamber, Judge Dariusz Zawistowski, President of the Criminal Chamber, Judge Stanisaw Zabocki, and the President of the Department in the Chamber of Labour and Social Security, Judge Katarzyna Gonera.

17 October 2019

On 17 October 2019 a group of judges and prosecutors from Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, Romania and Spain visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC). The visit has been organized within Exchange Programme of the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN) in cooperation with Polish member  National School of Judiciary and Public Prosecution.

The group was received by the representatives of the SAC: judge Andrzej Kuba and Przemysaw Florjanowicz-Bachut  chief specialist in the Presidents Office Team. Judge Andrzej Kuba welcomed guests and answered questions concerning administrative and administartive court proceedings, everyday work of judges of the SAC and judicial system's reform in Poland. Przemysaw Florjanowicz-Bachut presented the outline of history, structure, position, functions and competences of administrative judiciary in Poland, with special reference to Supreme Administrative Court, including the relations of the Court with supreme administrative jurisdictions of other European countries.

The group of foreign judges and prosecutors was accompanied by Ms. Katarzyna Krysiak  prosecutor and senior expert at the International Cooperation Division of the National School of Judiciary and Public Prosecution.

14-18 October 2019

On 14-18 October 2019 a group of judges from Spain: Ms. Maria Elisa Gomez Alvarez (judge of the Administrative Court in Madrid), Mr. Jorge Juan Punset Fernandez (judge of the Administrative Court in Oviedo) and Mr. Luis Carlos Martin Osante (judge of the Administrative Court in Zaragoza) visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC) within the framework of the general exchange programme, in cooperation between the SAC and the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN).

During the first day of the stay guests were welcomed by the Vice-President of the SAC, dr hab. prof. U Jacek Chlebny  the President of the General Administrative Chamber. They also took part in a meeting hosted by the Deputy Director of the Judicial Decisions Bureau of the SAC, judge of SAC Jerzy Siegien and judge of SAC, dr. hab. Artur Mudrecki - Head of the 3rd Division in the Bureau, who presented the tasks and competences of this unit. The judges attended working meetings with the tutor of the trainee - judge of SAC Mirosaw Wincenciak, adjudicating in the General Administrative Chamber. Guests paid a visit at the Voivodship Administrative Court in Warsaw where they met with the management of this Court. Moreover they observed court hearings before the SAC (1st Division of the General Administrative Chamber). During the meeting with representatives of the Court Information Division of the SAC they had occasion to familiarize themselves with the role and practical aspects of functioning of this unit.

29-30 September 2019

On 29-30 September 2019, at the invitation of the President of the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC), Prof. dr hab. Marek Zirk-Sadowski, a delegation of the Council of State of France, chaired by the Councilor of State Ms Martine de Boisdeffre, President of the Studies and Analyses Section, visited Warsaw.

As part of the visit in the seat of the SAC a seminar was held on how to ensure uniformity of jurisprudence of administrative courts in Poland and France; the process of appointing and status of administrative judges and the adjudicating by an administrative judge on the basis of classified documents. The speeches were delivered by the members of the Council of State: Ms Sophie Caroline de Margerie, Ms Beatrice Bourgeois and Mr Yves Gounin, as well as by the judges of the SAC: Prof. U dr hab. Jacek Chlebny, Vice-President of the SAC, President of the General Administrative Chamber, Judge Janusz Drachal, Vice-President of the SAC, President of the Commercial Chamber and Dr. Anna Dumas, Vice-President of the Voivodship Administrative Court in Cracow.

The heads of both delegations stressed the importance of bilateral contacts between the Supreme Administrative Court and the Council of State of France and agreed on forms of continuing cooperation between Polish and French judges within the framework of mutual internships and subsequent seminars and working meetings organised regularly and alternately in Poland and France.

27 September 2019

On 27 September 2019, the Supreme Administrative Court was visited by a four-person delegation from the Higher Regional Court in Koblenz (Germany), staying in Poland at the invitation of the President of the Supreme Court, the chairman of the Civil Chamber.

The German delegation was led by Marliese Dicke, President of the Higher Regional Court. On behalf of the President of the SAC the visit was received by Janusz Drachal  the Vice-President of the SAC and the President of the Commercial Chamber.

During the meeting, the constitutional position, structure and principles of functioning of administrative courts in Poland were presented. The guests were acquainted with the organizational structure of the SAC, the jurisdiction, functions and tasks of its Chambers, with particular emphasis on the Commercial Chamber and the role of the Chancellery of the President of the Supreme Administrative Court. The international contacts of the SAC were also discussed, including the relations of the Court with administrative jurisdictions of other countries.

24 September 2019

On 24th of September 2019 Ms. Simona Camelia Marcu, the President of the Highest Council of Judiciary of the Romania, staying in Poland at the invitation of the National Council of the Judiciary, visited the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC). On behalf of the President of the SAC the visit was received by Janusz Drachal  the Vice-President of the SAC and the President of the Commercial Chamber. The meeting was also attended by SAC judge Barbara Stukan-Pytlowany, Head of the 1st Department of Commercial Chamber and SAC judge Magorzata Korycinska, Head of the 2nd Department of Commercial Chamber.

During the meeting the structure and functioning of administrative courts in Poland and Romania were presented. The organizational structure of the Supreme Administrative Court was also discussed, including the competence, functions and tasks of individual Chambers of the Supreme Administrative Court, with special reference to the Commercial Chamber.

17 September 2019

On 17 September 2019 Ms. Magda Melikishvili from the University of Tbilisi (Georgia), visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC) within the framework of an internship at the Office of the National Council of the Judiciary in Poland. The guest was received by the representatives of the SAC: Robert Borek, chief specialist in the Economic & Administration Division of the SAC and dr. Marta Sarnowiec-Cisak  chief specialist in the Presidents Office Team. Ms. Magda Melikishvili visited the building, including the library, reading room and General Assembly hall, learning the basic principles of functioning of the administrative judiciary in Poland. She also observed a court hearing before the Supreme Administrative Court.

5 September 2019

On 5 September 2019 a group of judges and prosecutors from Austria, Bulgaria, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Spain visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC). The visit has been organized within Exchange Programme of the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN) in cooperation with Polish member  National School of Judiciary and Public Prosecution.

The group was received by the representatives of the SAC: judge Andrzej Kuba; Robert Borek, chief specialist in the Economic & Administration Division of the SAC and dr. Marta Sarnowiec-Cisak  chief specialist in the Presidents Office Team. Judge Andrzej Kuba welcomed guests and answered questions concerning judicial procedure in administrative courts and everyday work of judges of the SAC, dr Marta Sarnowiec-Cisak presented the structure, position, functions and competences of administrative judiciary in Poland, with special reference to Supreme Administrative Court. The history of the current buildings of the Court was presented by Robert Borek.

The group of foreign judges and prosecutors was accompanied by Ms. Katarzyna Krysiak  prosecutor and chief specialist at the International Cooperation Division of the National School of Judiciary and Public Prosecution.

The visit also included visiting the courts building.

2-6 September 2019

On 2-6 September 2019 Ms. Nelia de Brito - judge of the Administrative and Financial Court in Sintra (Portugal), Mr. Carlo Buonauro - judge of the Regional Administrative Court of Campania - Naples (Italy) and Mr. Giovanni Tulumello - judge of the Regional Administrative Court of Sicilia  Palermo (Italy) visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC) within the framework of the general exchange programme, in cooperation between the SAC and the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN).

During the stay guests were welcomed by judge of SAC Aleksandra Wrzesinska-Nowacka  President of the 2nd Division of the Financial Chamber in the SAC and judge of SAC Krzysztof Winiarski. They had occasion to familiarise themselves with the practical aspects of functioning of this Chamber and its divisions. They also attended meetings with representatives of the Court Information Division: judge of SAC Sylwester Marciniak  Head of this Division and the Spokesman of the Court and dr. hab. Micha Kowalski, as well as Heads of the 4th and 1st Division of the Judicial Decisions Bureau  judge of SAC Joanna Kabat-Rembelska and judge of SAC Marian Wolanin. Guests observed court hearings before the 2nd Division of the Financial Chamber of the SAC. Moreover they visited the Voivodship Administrative Court in Cracow, where they met with the Vice-President of this Court  judge of SAC Anna Dumas.

Within the programme of the exchange judges Nelia de Brito, Carlo Buonauro and Giovanni Tulumello paid working visits to the Ombudsman Office and to the Supreme Court.

4 September 2019

On 4 September 2019 the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) visited three-member delegation of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Latvia, staying in Poland at the invitation of the First President of the Polish Supreme Court. The delegation was chaired by the President of the Court  Mr. Ivar Bickovics. On behalf of the President of the SAC the visit was received by dr hab prof. U Jacek Chlebny  the Vice-President of the SAC and the President of the General Administrative Chamber.

During the meeting the structure and functioning of administrative courts in Latvia and Poland were presented. The organizational structure of the Supreme Administrative Court was also discussed, in particular the competence, functions and tasks of the Chambers of the SAC, of the Judicial Information Division of the SAC, as well as the Judicial Decisions Bureau and the Chancellery of the President of the Supreme Administrative Court.

The discussion also focused on tools for ensuring the uniformity of jurisprudence, with particular emphasis on the procedure for adopting resolutions in the Supreme Administrative Court and the Supreme Court of Latvia, as well as on competence disputes between administrative and civil courts in both countries.

8-16 July 2019

From 8 to 16 July 2019, judge Cecile Renault from the Council of State of France was staying at the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) and the Voivodship Administrative Court in Cracow, within the framework of the Exchange Programme for judges organized by the Association of Councils of State and Supreme Administrative Jurisdictions of the EU (ACA-Europe).

During her stay, judge Renault met the Vice-President of the SAC  President of the General Administrative Chamber, dr hab. prof. U Jacek Chlebny, Director of the Judicial Decisions Bureau, prof. dr hab. Roman Hauser, Head of the 4th Division of this Bureau, SAC judge Joanna Kabat-Rembelska as well as the Deputy President of the Court Information Division, SAC judge dr Wojciech Jakimowicz. As part of her exchange programme, she visited the Constitutional Tribunal, the Supreme Court and the Office of the Ombudsman. She also visited the Voivodship Administrative Court (VAC) in Warsaw, where she was received by Vice-Presidents of this Court, VAC judges: Magorzata Jarecka and Alojzy Skrodzki.

During her stay at the VAC in Cracow, judge Renault was received by the President of this Court, SAC judge Andrzej Irla and Vice-president of this Court, SAC judge dr Anna Dumas. Judge Renault also took part, as an audience, in hearings before the SAC and the VAC in Cracow, and held a series of working meetings with the judges of these courts. During her stay at the VAC in Cracow, judge Renault gave a lecture on the role, function and organization of the French Council of State for judges, referendaries and judges assistants of this Court

1-12 July 2019

From 1 to 12 July 2019, judge Dario Simeoli from the Council of State of Italy was visiting the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) and the Voivodship Administrative Court in Cracow, within the framework of the Exchange Programme for judges organized by the International Association of Supreme Administrative Jurisdictions (IASAJ).

During his stay, judge Simeoli met the Vice-President of the SAC  President of the General Administrative Chamber, dr hab prof. U Jacek Chlebny, Presidents of the Divisions of the Commercial Chamber of the SAC: SAC judge Barbara Stukan-Pytlowany and SAC judge Magorzata Korycinska, President of the Court Information Division, SAC judge Sylwester Marciniak, SAC judge Andrzej Kuba as well as Head of the 2nd Division in the Judicial Decisions Bureau, SAC judge Arkadiusz Despot-Madanowicz. He also visited the Voivodship Administrative Court (VAC) in Warsaw, where he was received by Vice-Presidents of the Court, VAC judge Magorzata Jarecka and VAC judge Alojzy Skrodzki. During his stay in the VAC in Cracow, judge Simeoli was received by the President of this Court, SAC judge Andrzej Irla and VAC judge Urszula Zieba, who was the guest's tutor in Cracow. Judge Simeoli also took part, as an audience, in hearings before the SAC, the VACs in Warsaw and Cracow, and held a series of working meetings with the judges of these courts.

As part of his exchange programme, he also visited the Constitutional Tribunal, the Supreme Court and the Office of the Ombudsman. He also held meetings with representatives of the Institute for Urban and Regional Development at the Ministry of Investment and Development and representatives of the ClientEarth Foundation Lawyers for Earth.

1-5 July 2019

On 1-5 July 2019 Prof. Dr. Christoph Kulpmann  judge of the 4th Senate of the German Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig and Honorary Professor at the University of Bremen visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC). The visit was organised within bilateral partnership between the Polish SAC and the Federal Administrative Court of Germany.

During the stay judge Kulpmann was hosted by the Vice-President of the SAC, prof. U dr hab. Jacek Chlebny  the President of the General Administrative Chamber. He had occasion to familiarise himself with practical aspects of functioning of that Chamber and its divisions. Moreover he visited the Voivodship Administrative Court in Warsaw (VAC) where he met the Vice-Presidents of that Court - VAC judges Magorzata Jarecka and Alojzy Skrodzki. In connection with his judicial interests, the visiting judge had also working meetings with the VAC judges: President of the 7th Division and Deputy President of the 4th Division, who presented organisation and everyday work of those divisions as well as the jurisdiction and current jurisprudence in construction, environmental and spatial planning law. Mr. Kulpmann observed further court hearings before the SAC and the VAC in Warsaw. In the SAC he had the opportunity to familiarise himself with practical aspects of functioning of the Judicial Decisions Bureau of the SAC, where he was hosted by the SAC judge Arkadiusz Despot-Madanowicz  Head of the 1st Division and of the Court Information Division of the SAC, where he was hosted by the President of that Division - SAC judge Sylwester Marciniak.

As part of his exchange programme, German judge paid furthermore working visits in the Constitutional Tribunal, in the in the Ombudsman Office, in the Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs Chamber of the Supreme Court. He also met the representatives of the Institute of Urban and Regional Development and the representatives of the WWF Foundation Poland and Client Earth Lawyers for the Earth Foundation.

Prof. Kulpmann participated in some of the meetings together with Dr. Dario Simeoli - the judge of the Italian Council of State, who visited SAC and VAC in Krakow from 2 to 12 July 2019 within the exchange programme for judges of the International Association of Supreme Administrative Jurisdictions (IASAJ).

10-14 June 2019

On 10-14 June 2019 Ms Astrid Behler  judge of the Administrative Court of Dresden (court of 1st instance) in Saxony (Germany) and Ms Myriam Carvalho  judge of the 1st instance court  Administrative Court of Toulouse (France) visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC) within the framework of the specialized exchange programme on asylum law, organized by the SAC in cooperation with the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN). During the stay the judges were hosted by the Vice-President of the SAC, prof. U dr hab. Jacek Chlebny  the President of the General Administrative Chamber. They had occasion to familiarise themselves with the practical aspects of functioning of that Chamber, its divisions, especially of its 2nd Division competent to decide on foreigners and asylum cases. Moreover they visited the Voivodship Administrative Court in Warsaw (VAC) where they met the President of that Court SAC judge Wojciech Mazur and VAC judges Vice-President Pawe Gronski and Anna Szymanska - President of the 4th Division.

The guests observed also court hearings in the 4th Division of the VAC in Warsaw and in the 2nd Division of the General Administrative Chamber. In connection with their judicial interests, the visiting judges had additional working meeting with VAC judge Anna Szymanska, who presented the practical aspects of functioning of the department as well as the jurisdiction and current jurisprudence in refugee cases. The guests were also received by SAC judges: Marian Wolanin and Arkadiusz Despot-Madanowicz  the Heads of the 1st and 2nd Division of the Judicial Decisions Bureau, who presented the role, tasks and competences of the Bureau and also by Sylwester Marciniak  the President of the Court Information Division of the SAC. Within the programme of the exchange visiting judges paid furthermore working visits in the Ombudsman Office, in the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, in the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Representation in Poland, in the Office for Foreigners, in the Refugee Board and in the Centre for Foreigners (Mothers and Children) of the Office for Foreigners in Warszawa-Targowek.





6-7 June 2019

On 6-7 June 2019, the President of the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania Gintaras Kryzevicius together with a delegation of Lithuanian judges from administrative courts and scientific researchers visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC). Guests participated in the Polish-Lithuanian seminar on "Constitutional argumentation in the jurisprudence of administrative courts" organized by the SAC in cooperation with the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of odz. The meeting was also attended by representatives of the SAC, the University of odz, the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun and the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan.

The seminar was opened and the guests were welcomed by judge of the SAC dr hab. prof. U Bartosz Wojciechowski - Director of the Center for the Theory and Philosophy of Human Rights and Head of the European Law Division of the SAC Judicial Decisions Bureau. During the seminar the interpretative change of the constitution, internal dimension of EUs Constitutionalization  increasing European consciousness, as well as interactions between constitutional courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union were discussed.

5-7 June 2019

On 5-7 June 2019, a workshop for judges "National Judges and the EU Aarhus Acquis. Focus on Access to Justice" organized by the European Law Academy in Trier (ERA) within the support of the Cooperation with National Judges in the field of Environmental Law programme of the European Union, took place at the seat of the Supreme Administrative Court.

The seminar was opened by Vice-President of SAC, judge prof. U dr hab. Jacek Chlebny - President of the General Administrative Chamber and Dr. Kleoniki Pouikli  Course Director in European Public Law Unit of ERA.

The workshop was designed to provide the participants with an introduction to Aarhus Convention, overview of the three pillars of the Aarhus Convention (access to information, public participation in environmental decision-making, right to bring a legal challenge - legal standing, scope and standard of judicial review, effective remedies, litigation costs and time limits of the procedures) as well as the preliminary reference procedure on interpretation and validity of EU law in the context of EU judicial protection in environmental matters.

In the Warsaw workshop participated speakers and judges from Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Portugal, Romania, Scotland and Spain.

4 June 2019

On 4 June 2019 a group of judges and prosecutors from Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Italy, Romania, Slovenia and Spain visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC). The visit has been organized within Exchange Programme of the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN) in collaboration with Polish member  National School of Judiciary and Public Prosecution.

The group was received by the representatives of the SAC: judge Sylwester Marciniak, President of the Court Information Division and the Spokesman of the Court; Robert Borek, chef specialist in the Economic & Administration Division of the SAC and dr. Marta Sarnowiec-Cisak  chef specialist in the Domestic & Foreign Relations team of the SAC. Judge Sylwester Marciniak welcomed guests and answered questions concerning judicial procedure in administrative courts and everyday work of judges of the SAC, dr Marta Sarnowiec-Cisak presented the structure, position, functions and competences of administrative judiciary in Poland, with special reference to Supreme Administrative Court. The history of the current buildings of the Court was presented by Robert Borek.

The group of foreign judges and prosecutors was accompanied by Ms. Katarzyna Krysiak  prosecutor and chief specialist at the International Cooperation Division of the National School of Judiciary and Public Prosecution.

The visit also included visiting the courts building.

27-31 May 2019

On 27-31 October 2018 Mr. Reinhard Wilke  deputy presiding judge of the 1. Senate of the Higher Administrative Court of the Land Schleswig-Holstein (Germany) visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC) within the framework of the Specialized Exchange Programme on Environmental law, organized by the SAC in cooperation with the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN).

During the stay judge Wilke was accompanied by the tutor  dr Mirosaw Gdesz- judge of the Voivodship Administrative Court in Warsaw (VAC) delegated to adjudicating at the General Administrative Chamber of the SAC. Judge Wilke had occasion to familiarise himself with the practical aspects of functioning of that Chamber, its divisions, especially of its 2 Division competent to decide on environment protection and spatial planning. Moreover he visited the Voivodship Administrative Court in Warsaw (VAC) where he held the meeting with the President of that Court SAC judge Wojciech Mazur and VAC judge Anna Szymanska  President of the 4th Division, which focused on the procedure of appointment of judges in Poland and issues related to environmental protection requirements in case of the location of public purpose investments of considerable size. He observed further court hearings in the 4th Division of the VAC in Warsaw and in the 2 Division of the General Administrative Chamber. In connection with his judicial interests, the visiting judge had additional working meeting with VAC judge Anna Szymanska, who presented the practical aspects of the functioning of the department as well as the jurisdiction and current jurisprudence in the field of environmental protection and spatial development as well as in refugee cases. Judge Wilke was also received by SAC judges: Arkadiusz Despot-Madanowicz and Teresa Bogucka  the heads of the 1st Division and 4th Division of the Judicial Decisions Bureau, who presented the role, tasks and competences of the Bureau as well as issues related to environmental protection requirements for large construction projects.

Within the programme of the exchange judge Wilke paid furthermore working visits in the Ombudsman Office, in the Bureau of Architecture and Spatial Planning of the Municipal Office of the Capital City of Warsaw, as well as he met the representatives of the WWF Foundation Poland and Client Earth Lawyers for the Earth Foundation.

20-24 May 2019

On 20-24 May 2019 the group of members of Serbian Asylum Commission visited Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC) and Voivodship Administrative Court (VAC) in Warszawa (VAC), within the framework of the Programme of study visits for asylum law national second instance officers organised by the European Asylum Support Office (EASO). The EASO Office was represented during the study visit by Ms Barbara Opalska, Senior Officer in the Courts and Tribunals Sector of the EASO Department of Asylum Support. During their stay Serbian guests met with Vice-President of the SAC, dr hab. prof. U Jacek Chlebny  President of the General Administrative Chamber of the SAC and EASO National Contact Point and VAC judge Anna Szymanska, President of the 4th Division of the VAC Warsaw, competent to decide on foreigners and asylum cases. During the meetings the questions of Polish national asylum system, asylum case-law of Polish administrative courts, jurisdiction and proceedings before the SAC and the VAC and activities of EASO Network of Courts and Tribunals were presented and discussed. Also the national legal framework and practice in the field of asylum in Serbia were presented to representatives of Polish administrative judiciary. The visiting guests from Serbia observed the court hearings before VAC. The Serbian officers also paid a visit to the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights, to the Office for Foreigners and they have also occasion to meet the Chairman and other members of the Refugee Board. Moreover the study visit included meetings at the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Representation in Poland (UNHCR) and Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights.

13-17 May 2019

On 13-17 May 2019 Ms Maria Stella Boscarino  judge of the Regional Administrative Court of Sicily (Italy) and Ms Britta Schwemmer  judge of the Financial Court of Nuremberg (Germany) visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC) within the framework of the specialized exchange programme, in cooperation between the SAC and the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN).

During the stay guests were welcomed by judge of SAC Aleksandra Wrzesinska-Nowacka  President of the 2nd Division of the Financial Chamber in the SAC. They had occasion to familiarise themselves with the practical aspects of functioning of this Chamber and its divisions. Moreover they took part in working meetings with judge of SAC Roman Wiatrowski from the Financial Chamber, who carried out the function of a tutor during the exchange and with judge of the Voivodship Administrative Court in Cracow, Ms Urszula Zieba. Judges Boscarino and Schwemmer also attended a meeting conducted by the Deputy Director of the Judicial Decisions Bureau of the SAC, judge of SAC Jerzy Siegien, who presented the role, tasks and competences of this unit together with other representatives of the Bureau.

Judges also visited the Voivodship Administrative Court in Warsaw (VAC) where they met the President of the Court  judge of SAC Wojciech Mazur, the Vice-President of the Court  judge of VAC Pawe Gronski and judge of VAC Marta Waksmundzka-Karasinska  President of the 3rd Division of the VAC in Warsaw, competent to decide on tax cases.

Guests observed court hearings before the 1st Division of the Financial Chamber of the SAC and the 3rd Division of the VAC in Warsaw. Within the programme of the exchange judges Boscarino and Schwemmer paid working visit in the Ombudsman Office and visited the building of the Supreme Court.

12 April 2019

On 12 April 2019 at the seat of the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) a meeting was held on the online case law database in the field of refugee cases (EASO Information and Documentation System on Case Law) created by the European Asylum Support Office (EASO). The representative of EASO Ms. Maria Papaioannou presented the content of this database and using principles. The meeting was attended by judges and judges assistants from the General Administrative Chamber of the SAC and the 4. Division of the Voivodship Administrative Court in Warsaw.

20 March 2019

On 20 March 2018 the group of students from Faculty of Law of Francois Rabelais University of Tours visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC). The group was received by the representatives of the SAC: judge Andrzej Kuba, Robert Borek from the Administrative & Economic Department and Magorzata Szyszkowska and Dr. Marta Sarnowiec-Cisak from the Domestic & Foreign Relations, team in the Chancellery of the President of the SAC. During the meeting practical aspects of judges activity and activities of the SAC, as well as outline of constitutional and legal position of administrative courts in Poland and the history of the current building of the Court were presented. The group of French students was accompanied by Prof. Patrick Baleynaud (Universite Francois-Rabelais de Tours)  Honorary Consul of Poland in Tours and Co-director of French Law School of University of odz. The visit also included visiting the courts building.

1 March 2019

On 1 March 2019 a group of students from the European Law Students Association (ELSA) from Toulouse visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC). The group was received by the representatives of the SAC: judge Andrzej, Hieronim Kulczycki  Head of the Administrative & Economic Department, Dorota Pawlicka  chief specialist in European Law Department of the Judicial Decisions Bureau and Magorzata Szyszkowska  specialist at Domestic and Foreign Relations, team in the Chancellery of the President of the SAC.

Mr. Hieronim Kulczycki presented the history of administrative courts in Poland and the history of the current building of the Court, and then Ms. Dorota Pawlicka presented the court system in Poland, as well as the organization and jurisdiction of Polish administrative courts, with particular reference to the tasks of the Supreme Administrative Court. Judge Andrzej Kuba answered questions concerning judicial procedure in administrative courts, the daily work of judges of the SAC and judicial system's reform in Poland. The group visited the seat of the court, including the SAC Library, reading room and court rooms.

20 February 2019

On 20 February 2019 the group of German legal trainees, attending a traineeship at the District Court of Heidelberg in Baden-Wurttemberg (Germany) visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC). The group was received by the representatives of the SAC: judge Andrzej Kuba from Commercial Chamber of the SAC and Mr Przemysaw Florjanowicz-Bachut, chief specialist at Domestic and Foreign Relations, team in the Chancellery of the President of the SAC.

Judge Andrzej Kuba welcomed guests and answered questions concerning judicial procedure in administrative courts, everyday work of judges of the SAC and judicial system's reform in Poland. Przemysaw Florjanowicz-Bachut presented the history, structure, position, functions and competences of Polish administrative judiciary, with special reference to Supreme Administrative Court. The visit also included visiting the premises of the SAC, including the Courts Library and court rooms.

11-12 February 2019

On 11-12 February 2019 a delegation from the Curia of Hungary composed of: dr Peter Darak (President of the Curia of Hungary), dr Tibor Kalas (Head of the Administrative Department of the Curia of Hungary) and Professor Andras Patyi (Head of judicial panel of the Administrative Department of the Curia of Hungary) visited the Polish Supreme Administrative Court (SAC).

The delegation had meetings with representatives of the SAC Management and judges, during which the organisational structure, competences and functioning of administrative courts in Poland were presented. Also the length of administrative court proceedings and application of European law by Polish administrative courts were discussed. The organisation of the judiciary in Hungary was also presented, with particular emphasis on the planned reform, aimed at establishing a separate branch of the administrative judiciary.

The delegation also paid a visit to the Voivodship Administrative Court in Warsaw, where it met the Management of this Court and was acquainted with the structure and organisation of work of this largest administrative court in Poland, the rules and procedure of recruitment for the post of assessor and administrative judge, as well as current problems in this court's case-law.

2018

3-7 December 2018

On 3-7 December 2018 Mr. Luca Lamberti  judge of the Italian Council of State visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC) within the framework of the general exchange programme, organised by the SAC in cooperation with the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN).

During the stay judge Lamberti was hosted by the President of the 2 Division of the Financial Chamber in the SAC  judge of SAC Aleksandra Wrzesinska-Nowacka, the President of the 1st Division of the Financial Chamber in the SAC  judge of SAC Adam Bacal and judge of SAC Roman Wiatrowski adjudicating in that Chamber (tutor of the trainee). He also had occasion to familiarise himself with the practical aspects of functioning of the Financial Chamber and its divisions. Moreover Mr. Lamberti visited the Voivodship Administrative Court in Warsaw (VAC) where he met the President of the Court SAC judge Wojciech Mazur and the Vice-President of that Court VAC judge Pawe Gronski. He observed court hearings in the SAC and in the VAC in Warsaw. He took part in working meetings with judges adjudicating in the SAC.

Judge Lamberti was also hosted by the Vice-president of the Court Information Division of the SAC, judge of SAC Sylwester Marciniak and the Deputy Director of the Judicial Decisions Bureau of the SAC, judge of SAC Jerzy Siegien, who presented the role, tasks and competences of those units.

Within the programme of the exchange judge Lamberti paid working visits in the Regional Public Prosecutors Office in Warsaw and in the Ombudsman Office. He also met the representative of the National School of Judiciary and Public Prosecution and visited the building of the Supreme Court.

19-23 November 2018

On 19-23 November 2018 Ms. Ilse Bouter  administrative judge of the District Court in Rotterdam (the Netherlands) visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC) within the framework of the general exchange programme, organised by the SAC in cooperation with the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN).

During the stay judge Bouter was hosted by the Vice-President of the SAC, prof. U dr hab. Jacek Chlebny  President of the General Administrative Chamber. She also had occasion to familiarise herself with the practical aspects of functioning of the Financial Chamber of the SAC and its divisions. Moreover Ms. Bouter visited the Voivodship Administrative Court in Warsaw (VAC) where she met the Vice-President of that Court - judge of VAC Pawe Gronski. She observed court hearings in the SAC and in the VAC in Warsaw. Judge Bouter was also received in the Judicial Decisions Bureau, where the role, tasks and competences of the Bureau were presented.

Within the programme of the exchange judge Bouter paid working visits in the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Representation in Poland, in the Office for Foreigners, in the Refugee Board, in the Ombudsman Office and in the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights. She also visited the building of the Supreme Court.

15-26 October 2018

On 15-26 October 2018 Mr. Luis Miguel Blanco Dominguez  judge of the Administrative High Court of Castilla y Leon in Spain (court of appeal) visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC) and the Voivodship Administrative Court in Gdansk (VAC) within the framework of the general exchange programme, organized in cooperation between the SAC and the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN).

During the first week of his stay judge Blanco was welcomed by the Vice-President of the SAC, judge Janusz Drachal  President of the Commercial Chamber of the SAC. He had occasion to familiarise himself with the practical aspects of functioning of that Chamber and its divisions, as well as to meet judges adjudicating in the SAC. He visited the Voivodship Administrative Court in Warsaw where he had a meeting with the management of this Court headed by the Vice-President - judge of VAC Magorzata Jarecka. He observed court hearings before the SAC (1st Division of the Commercial Chamber) and the VAC in Warsaw (5th Division). Judge Blanco became acquainted with tasks and organisation of the Judicial Decisions Bureau of the SAC, where he was received by the Deputy Director of this Bureau - judge of the SAC Jerzy Siegien. Moreover he took part in a discussion on mediation with a representative of the European Law Division in the Bureau. Within the programme of the exchange judge Blanco also visited the Supreme Court, Bureau of the Commissioner for Human Rights, the Public Procurement Office and National Appeals Chamber, Office of Competition and Consumer Protection and the Supreme Audit Office.

During the second week of the stay in Poland judge Blanco was hosted by the President of the VAC in Gdansk  judge of the SAC Zbigniew Romaa and the Spokesperson and President of the Court Information Division - judge of the SAC Joanna Zdzienicka-Wisniewska, who was a tutor of the trainee. While visiting the VAC in Gdansk judge Blanco took part in working meetings in this Court and participated in hearings before the VAC. He also visited the Court of Appeal and Regional Court in Gdansk. During his visit at the VAC in Gdansk judge Blanco gave a lecture concerning administrative judiciary in Spain to judges, court referendaries and judge assistants of the VAC.

19 October 2018

On 19 October 2018 the delegation of judges from the Shanghai High People's Court and Shanghai Intermediate People's Courts paid a visit to the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC). The delegation was headed by senior judge Huang Xiangqing  the President of Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People's Court. The group was received by the representatives of the SAC: judge Andrzej Kuba, Mr. Hieronim Kulczycki  Head of the Administrative & Economic Department of the SAC, Mr. Robert Borek  chef specialist in this Department and dr. Marta Sarnowiec-Cisak  chef specialist in the Domestic & Foreign Relations team of the SAC. Subinspector Bogusaw Gawrya from the Convocation Department of the Warsaw Metropolitan Police Headquarters also took part in the meeting.

During the visit practical aspects of judges activity and activities of the SAC including the educational activity of the Court were presented. The discussion also covered an outline of constitutional and legal position of administrative courts in Poland, the history of the building of the Court as well as principles of functioning of the judicial police. Moreover the visit included a tour of the court's building.

15-18 October 2018

On 15-18 October 2018 the group of judges from Bugarian courts  Supreme Administrative Court and Administrative Court of Haskovo visited Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC) and Voivodship Administrative Court in Warszawa (VAC), within the framework of the Programme of study visits for asylum law judges organised by the European Asylum Support Office (EASO). The co-organizers of the study visit were SAC and VAC Warsaw.

During their stay Bulgarian judges met with Vice-President of the SAC, dr hab. prof. U Jacek Chlebny  President of the General Administrative Chamber of the SAC and EASO National Contact Point and VAC judge Teresa Zyglewska  President of the 4th Division of the VAC Warsaw, competent to decide on foreigners and asylum cases. The EASO Office was represented during the study visit by Ms Barbara Opalska - Senior Officer in the Courts and Tribunals Sector of the EASO Department of Asylum Support.

During the meetings the questions of Polish national asylum system, asylum case-law of Polish administrative courts, jurisdiction and proceedings before SAC and VAC and activities of EASO Network of Courts and Tribunals were presented and discussed. Also the national legal framework and case law in the field of asylum in Bulgaria were presented to representatives of Polish administrative judiciary.

The visiting judges observed the court hearings before SAC and VAC. The judges also paid a visit to the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights, to the Office for Foreigners and they have also occasion to meet a members of the Refugee Board. Moreover the study visit included meetings at the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX).

8-12 October 2018

On 8-12 October 2018 Ms. Jutta Schild  presiding judge of the Chamber Administrative Court in Darmstadt (first instance court) in Hessen (Germany) visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC) within the framework of the Specialized Exchange Programme on Asylum/Refugee law, organised by the SAC in cooperation with the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN).

During the stay judge Schild was hosted by the Vice-President of the SAC, prof. U dr hab. Jacek Chlebny  the President of the General Administrative Chamber. She had occasion to familiarise herself with the practical aspects of functioning of that Chamber, its divisions, especially of its 2 Division competent to decide on foreigners and asylum cases. Moreover Ms. Schild visited the Voivodship Administrative Court in Warsaw (VAC) where she met the President of that Court SAC judge Wojciech Mazur and VAC judges  Vice-President Pawe Gronski and dr hab. Prof. U Agnieszka Krawczyk. She observed further court hearings in the 4th Division of the VAC in Warsaw. In connection with her judicial interests and secondary activity in the capacity of disciplinary judge, the visiting judge also met the Disciplinary Commissioner of the SAC  retired SAC judge Jerzy Chromicki, who presented the scope of the disciplinary liability of administrative judges and recent case-law in disciplinary matters. Judge Schild was also received by SAC judge Marian Wolanin  The Head of the Division I of the Judicial Decisions Bureau, who presented the role, tasks and competences of the Bureau.

Within the programme of the exchange German judge paid furthermore working visits in the Ombudsman Office, in the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, in the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Representation in Poland, in the Office for Foreigners, in the Refugee Board and in the Centre for Foreigners (Mothers and Children) of the Office for Foreigners in Warszawa-Targowek, as well as she met the representative of the National School of Judiciary and Public Prosecution.

4 October 2018

On 4 October 2018 a group of judges and prosecutors from Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Spain visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC). The visit has been organized within Exchange Programme of the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN) in collaboration with Polish member of the EJTN  National School of Judiciary and Public Prosecution.

The group of foreign judges and prosecutors was accompanied by the representative of the National School of Judiciary and Public Prosecution Ms. Anna Natorska-Michrowska  chief specialist at the International Cooperation Division.

The group was received by the representatives of the SAC: judge Andrzej Kuba and dr Marta Sarnowiec-Cisak, chief specialist at Domestic and Foreign Relations, team in the Chancellery of the President of the SAC.

Judge Andrzej Kuba welcomed guests and answered questions concerning judicial procedure in administrative courts, everyday work of judges of the SAC and judicial system's reform in Poland. Marta Sarnowiec-Cisak presented the structure, position, functions and competences of Polish administrative judiciary, with special reference to Supreme Administrative Court.

The visit also included visiting the courts building.

24-28 September 2018

On 24-28 September 2018 Ms. Eva Wiglinski  judge of the first instance court  Administrative Court in Minden in North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany) visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC) within the framework of the Specialized Exchange Programme on Asylum/Refugee law, organised by the SAC in cooperation with the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN).

During the stay judge Wiglinski was hosted by the Vice-President of the SAC, prof. U dr hab. Jacek Chlebny  the President of the General Administrative Chamber. She had occasion to familiarise herself with the practical aspects of functioning of that Chamber, its divisions, especially of its 2nd Division competent to decide on foreigners and asylum cases.

Moreover Ms.Wiglinski visited the Voivodship Administrative Court in Warsaw (the VAC) where she met the President of that Court SAC judge Wojciech Mazur and VAC judges  Vice-President Pawe Gronski and Anna Szymanska, the deputy President of the 4th Division, competent to decide on asylum cases. She observed further court hearings in the 2nd Division of the General Administrative Chamber of SAC and in the 7th Division of VAC in Warsaw.

Judge Wiglinski was also received by the Deputy Director of the Judicial Decisions Bureau, SAC judge Jerzy Siegien, who presented the role, tasks and competences of the Bureau.

Within the programme of the exchange German judge paid furthermore working visits in the Ombudsman Office, in the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, in the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Representation in Poland, in the Office for Foreigners, in the Refugee Board and in the Centre for Foreigners (Mothers and Children) of the Office for Foreigners in Warszawa-Targowek, as well as she met the representative of the National School of Judiciary and Public Prosecution. She had also occasion to visit the premises of the Supreme Court of Poland.

17-28 September 2018

On 17-28 September 2018 Ms. Hristina Yurukova  judge of the administrative court of first instance in Pazardzhik (Bulgaria) visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC) and the Voivodship Administrative Court in Cracow (VAC) within the framework of the general exchange programme, in cooperation between the SAC and the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN).

During the first week of her stay judge Yurukova was welcomed by judge of the SAC Aleksandra Wrzesinska-Nowacka  President of the 2nd Division of the Financial Chamber in the SAC as well as other judges adjudicating in the Financial Chamber. She visited the Voivodship Administrative Court in Warsaw (VAC) where she met the President of the Court  judge of the SAC Wojciech Mazur and Vice-Presidents of the Court  judges of VAC: Pawe Gronski and Alojzy Skrodzki. She also observed court hearings before the 2nd Division of the Financial Chamber of the SAC and in the 3rd Division of the VAC in Warsaw (dealing with tax cases). Judge Yurukova also familiarized herself with practical aspects of functioning of the Judicial Decisions Bureau of the SAC, where she was received by the SAC judges  heads of the 3rd and 4th Division: dr hab. Artur Mudrecki and dr Iwona Bogucka. Within the programme of the exchange judge Yurukova also visited the Supreme Court, Bureau of the Commissioner for Human Rights and Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights. Moreover she met with the representative of the National School of Judiciary and Public Prosecution.

During the second week of the stay in Poland judge Yurukova was hosted by the President of the VAC in Cracow  judge of the SAC Andrzej Irla and judge of the VAC Urszula Zieba, who was a tutor of the trainee. While visiting the VAC in Cracow judge Yurukova took part in working meetings in this Court and participated in hearings before the 1st Division of the Court. She also visited the Court of Appeal and Regional Court in Cracow, District Court in Zakopane, as well as National School of Judiciary and Public Prosecution located in Cracow.

17-21 September 2018

On 17-21 September 2018 Dr. Stefan Langer  judge of the 1st Senate of the German Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig, specialised in disciplinary matters of the armed forces, visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC). The visit was organised within bilateral partnership between the Polish SAC and the Federal Administrative Court of Germany.

During the stay judge Langer was hosted by judge of the SAC Magorzata Borowiec  judge of the 1st Division of the General Administrative Chamber, competent to decide i.a. on the cases regarding officers of the armed forces and other uniformed services. He had also occasion to familiarize himself with the practical aspects of functioning of that Chamber.

Moreover he visited the Voivodship Administrative Court in Warsaw (VAC) where he met the SAC judge  President of the Court Wojciech Mazur and the VAC judges  Vice-Presidents: Pawe Gronski and Alojzy Skrodzki. He attended also working meeting with the VAC judges: Andrzej Koodziej  President of the 2 Division (competent in cases armed forces and uniformed services cases) and dr hab. Przemysaw Szustakiewicz, judge in that Division.

Mr. Langer observed further court hearings before in the 1st Division of the General Administrative Chamber of the SAC and in the 2nd Division of the VAC in Warsaw.

He also familiarized himself with the practical aspects of functioning of the Judicial Decisions Bureau of the SAC, where he was hosted by the SAC judges  heads of the 3rd and 4th: dr hab. Artur Mudrecki and dr Iwona Bogucka.

German guest was also hosted by the Deputy Commissioner for Human Rights dr Hanna Machinska and Mr. Tomasz Oklejak  Head of the Division for Soldiers and Officers of the Uniformed Services. During the meeting the activities of the Ombudsman Bureau were presented and issues regarding uniformed services officers were discussed (for example, the latest provisions changing pensions for uniformed services, as well as media reports about violent police behavior towards citizens).

Within the programme of his exchange German judge paid furthermore working visits in the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court, Department of National Defence of the Supreme Chamber of Control and Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, as well as he met the representatives of the National School of Judiciary and Public Prosecution.

13 September 2018

On 13 September 2018 the conference Challenges of Law in the Context of Sustainable Development and Global Change. Public Law Perspective was held at the seat of the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC). The conference was organized by the Supreme Administrative Court and the Faculty of Law and Administration University of odz. The meeting was was attended by representatives of the scientific community, practitioners and law theorists, as well as foreign guests, i.a.: Ms. Renee Gift from UNESCO and Ms. Saori Ogura from the University of British Columbia.

On behalf of the President of the SAC, dr hab. prof. UAM Wojciech Sawczyn opened the conference with a speech concerning the boundaries of administrative law. The inaugural lecture titled UNESCO Conventions and Sustainable Development was delivered by prof. dr hab. Sawomir Ratajski, Secretary General of the Polish National Commission for UNESCO.

Participants discussed within three panels over issues concerning the relationship between the principle of sustainable development and environmental law. The presentations included, in particular, the role of UNESCO and the International Hydrological Programme in promoting peace through water cooperation, as well as social involvement in devising strategies for climate resilient communities. The scope of implementation of sustainable development and legal mechanisms for sustainable development from the perspective of the Regional Inspection for Environmental Protection were also considered. John Rawls' theory of justice as a new approach to environmental law was also presented.

6 September 2018

On 6 September 2018 the group of judges and prosecutors from France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Spain visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC). The visit has been organized within Exchange Programme of the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN) in collaboration with Polish member of the EJTN  National School of Judiciary and Public Prosecution.

The group was received by the representatives of the SAC: judge Andrzej Kuba and Mr Przemysaw Florjanowicz-Bachut, chief specialist at Domestic and Foreign Relations, team in the Chancellery of the President of the SAC.

Judge Andrzej Kuba welcomed guests and answered questions concerning judicial procedure in administrative courts, everyday work of judges of the SAC and judicial system's reform in Poland. Przemysaw Florjanowicz-Bachut presented the structure, position, functions and competences of Polish administrative judiciary, with special reference to Supreme Administrative Court.

The group of foreign judges and prosecutors was accompanied by the representative of the National School of Judiciary and Public Prosecution Katarzyna Krysiak  prosecutor and chief specialist at the International Cooperation Division.

The visit also included visiting the courtrooms.

22 August 2018

On 22 August 2018 representatives of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences - Prof. Dr. Nguyen Duc Minh (Director of the Institute of State and Law of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences) and Mr. Nguyen Tien Duc accompanied by representatives of the Institute of Law Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC).

Guests were received by representatives of the SAC: the Vice-President of the Court, dr hab. prof. U Jacek Chlebny  President of the General Administrative Chamber, Mr. Robert Borek from the Administrative & Economic Department and dr Marta Sarnowiec-Cisak from the Domestic & Foreign Relations, team in the Chancellery of the President of the SAC. During the meeting the general aspects of administrative judiciary in Poland were presented by the President Chlebny. The visit also included visiting the courts building.

2-6 July 2018

On 2-6 July 2018 Dr. Eva Wendler  judge of the Federal Administrative Court in Vienna - branch office in Graz (Austria) visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC) within the framework of the Specialized Exchange Programme on Asylum/Refugee law, organised by the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN).

During the stay judge Wendler was hosted by the Vice-President of the SAC, prof. U dr hab. Jacek Chlebny  the President of the General Administrative Chamber. She had occasion to familiarise himself with the practical aspects of functioning of that Chamber, its divisions, especially of its 2nd Divison competent to decide on foreigners and asylum cases.

Moreover Dr. Wendler visited the Voivodship Administrative Court in Warsaw (the VAC) where he met VAC judges  Vice-President of that Court Pawe Gronski and Teresa Zyglewska, the President of the 4th Division, directing the division competent to decide on asylum/refugee cases. She observed also court hearings in foreigners and asylum cases in the VAC in Warsaw and held working meeting with the VAC judge prof. UW dr hab. Tomasz Stawecki from the 7th Division of that Court. Dr. Eva Wendler was also hosted by the Deputy Commissioner for Human Rights Dr. Hanna Machinska and her collaborators.

Within the programme of his exchange Austrian judge paid furthermore working visits in Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, in United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Representation in Poland, in the Office for Foreigners, in the Refugee Board, in the Centre for Foreigners (Mothers and Children) of the Office for Foreigners in Warszawa-Targowek and also in the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX).

18  22 June 2018

On 18  22 June 2018 Mr Hubert Delesalle  judge of the Nantes Administrative Court of Appeal and the National Court of Asylum in Paris (France) visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC) within the framework of the Specialized Exchange Programme on Asylum/Refugee law, organised by the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN).

During the stay judge Delesalle was hosted by judge of the SAC Magorzata Miron  Deputy President of the 2nd Division of the General Administrative Chamber. He had occasion to familiarise himself with the practical aspects of functioning of that Chamber and of its 2nd Divison competent to decide on foreigners and asylum cases. He held also working meeting with the SAC judge Roman Wiatrowski from Financial Chamber.

Moreover he visited the Voivodship Administrative Court in Warsaw (the VAC) where he met VAC judges  Vice-Presidents of that Court: Pawe Gronski and Alojzy Skrodzki. Judge Delesalle met also judge Teresa Zyglewska, the President of the 4th Division, directing the division competent to decide on asylum/refugee cases. He observed also court hearings in foreigners and asylum cases in the SAC and in the VAC in Warsaw.

Within the programme of his exchange judge Delesalle paid also visits in the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX), in the Office of the Commissioner for Citizens' Rights, in United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Representation in Poland, in the Office for Foreigners, in the Refugee Board, in the Centre for Foreigners (Mothers and Children) of the Office for Foreigners in Warszawa-Targowek and also in NGO - Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights.

15 June 2018

On 15 June 2018 the group of judges and prosecutors from Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Romania and Spain visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC). The visit has been organized within Exchange Programme of the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN) in collaboration with Polish member  National School of Judiciary and Public Prosecution.

The group was received by the representatives of the SAC: Mr Andrzej Kuba - judge of the Commercial Chamber of the SAC and Mr Przemysaw Florjanowicz-Bachut, chief specialist at Domestic and Foreign Relations, team in the Chancellery of the President of the SAC. Judge Andrzej Kuba welcomed guests and answered questions concerning judicial procedure in administrative courts and everyday work of judges of the SAC, Przemysaw Florjanowicz-Bachut presented the structure, position, functions and competences of administrative judiciary in Poland, with special reference to Supreme Administrative Court.

The group of foreign judges and prosecutors was accompanied by the representatives of the National School of Judiciary and Public Prosecution: Katarzyna Krysiak  prosecutor and chief specialist at the International Cooperation Division and Dariusz Szawurski-Radetz  judges assistant.

The visit included also the participation in courts hearing before the 1st Division of the General Administrative Chamber of SAC.

11-13 June 2018

On 11 -13 June 2018, a seminar "How to Handle Court Proceedings Invoking Non-Compliance with EU Environmental Assessment Law  Focus on EIA and SEA Dircectives" organized by the European Law Academy in Trier (ERA) within the support of the Cooperation with National Judges in the field of Environmental Law programme of the European Union, took place at the seat of the Supreme Administrative Court.

The seminar was opened by Vice-President of SAC, judge prof. U dr hab. Jacek Chlebny - President of the General Administrative Chamber and Dr. Kleoniki Pouikli  Courrse Director in European Public Law Unit of ERA. The seminar was designed to provide the participants with an overview of both the EU legislation  EIA and SEA Directives and the most recent related CJEU case law on EU environmental assessment law. In the Warsaw workshop participated, among others speakers and judges from Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom.

3-7 June 2018

On 3-7 June 2018 in the Supreme Administrative Court a delegation from the Lithuanian administrative courts, composed of: Gintaras Kryzevicius (President of the Supreme Administrative Court), Ramunas Gadliauskas (Judge of the Supreme Administrative Court and President of the Lithuanian Judges Association), Veslava Ruskan (Judge of the Supreme Administrative Court) and Jolanta Malijauskiene (President of the Vilnius District Administrative Court) visited the Polish Supreme Administrative Court (SAC).

The delegation had a meeting with the representatives of the SAC Management and the judges of the SAC, during which the competences and functioning of administrative courts in Poland and Lithuania were discussed. Subsequently, the delegation went to a meeting with representatives of the Management of the Voivodship Administrative Court in Warsaw, where it was acquainted with the organisation of the largest administrative court in Poland as well as with current problems in this court's case-law. During the visit in Poland, the delegation was hosted also by the Management and Judges of the Voivodship Administrative Court in Kielce. In Kielce, the guests listened to a lecture given by the judge Mirosaw Surma on the history and specifics of the proceedings before administrative courts in Poland. Also the efficiency of proceedings before administrative courts, recent reforms of administrative and administrative court proceedings as well as organisation of work and practical aspects of the work of an judge were discussed.

20-22 May 2018

On 20-22 May 2018 the Supreme Administrative Court visited three-member delegation of the Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic, chaired by the President of the Supreme Court Ms. Daniela Svecova. The visit was received by Prof. dr hab. Marek Zirk-Sadowski - President of the Supreme Administrative Court, Vice-President of the SAC: Janusz Drachal - President of the Commercial Chamber and Maria Wisniewska  Director of the Judicial Decisons Bureau as well as by SAC Judge Magorzata Niezgodka-Medek  representative of the Polish-Czech working group of administrative judges.

Within the programme of the visit it took place the seminar on constitutional position, competences, organizational structure and functioning of administrative judiciary in Poland and in Slovakia, with participation of President of the SAC Prof. Marek Zirk-Sadowski, SAC judges, members of the Judicial Decisions Bureau and legal specialists from the Judicial Decisions Bureau, the Court Information Division and the Chancellery of the President of the SAC.

The President of the SAC Prof. Marek Zirk-Sadowski welcomed all guests and opened the seminar. The Polish speakers presented the systemic changes in the administration of justice in Poland, with a particular focus on administrative judiciary, the issue of the interpretation of law in conformity with the Constitution in case-law of administrative courts and the reforms of administrative and administrative court proceedings.

In turn, the members of the Slovak delegation presented the constitutional position, structure, organization and competences of the Slovak Supreme Court, in particular the Administrative Chamber of this Court, as well as legal issues arising from current case-law. Also the legal instruments safeguarding the unity of administrative court jurisprudence used in both national jurisdictions have been discussed.

The Presidents of both Supreme Courts highlighted the importance and significance of the independence of the judiciary for the bilateral contacts, based on mutual trust. They declared also willingness to continue the cooperation between Polish and Slovak judges within working group of administrative judges.

18 May 2018

At the seat of the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) a meeting with a delegation of the Ministry of Justice of Hungary, under the chairmanship of dr. Barnabas Hajas - director of the Department of Special Affairs, was held.

The SAC was represented by the Vice-President of the Court, Director of the Judicial Decision Bureau  SAC judge Maria Wisniewska, Deputy Director of the Judicial Decision Bureau, SAC judge Jerzy Siegien, SAC judge Marian Wolanin - Head of 1st Division of the Judicial Decision Bureau and Marta Kulikowska - Head of the Domestic and Foreign Relations in The Chancellery of the President of the SAC.

Due to the administrative courts reform planned in Hungary, the main topic of the meeting was the constitutional position, competences, organizational structure and functioning of administrative judiciary in Poland, with particular emphasis on the supervision of the President of the SAC over administrative courts. During the discussion the appointment of candidates for the position of a judge, the election of presidents and vice-presidents of administrative courts, as well as the methods of training of administrative judges were also presented. The jurisdiction of administrative courts, the division of cognitions between administrative courts and common courts as well as matters that are the exclusive competence of the Supreme Administrative Court were discussed.

10-11 May 2018

On 10-11 May 2018 the 2nd Luso-Polish scientific conference Democratic Legitimization of the Judicial Rulings Influence on a System of Law Making was held in the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC). The conference was organized by the Supreme Administrative Court and the Center for the Theory and Philosophy of Human Rights of the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of odz in cooperation with the University of Coimbra.

The academics from University of Coimbra, University of odz, Adam-Mickiewicz-University in Poznan, Jan-Dugosz Academy in Czestochowa, judges and legal specialists from Supreme Administrative Court took part in the conference.

The president of the SAC prof. dr hab. Marek Zirk-Sadowski and SAC judge dr hab. prof. U Bartosz Wojciechowski  Director of the Center for the Theory and Philosophy of Human Rights and Head of the European Law Division of the SAC Judicial Decisions Bureau welcomed all participants.

Within first session regarding discursive role of the case-law in relation to law making and role of the legal interpretation as a mediation between the text of law and its judicial application the papers were presented by prof. Jose Manuel Aroso Linhares from Coimbra University and by prof. dr hab. Marek Zirk-Sadowski. The second session was devoted to the concept of law and jurispruidence as economic analyzed phenomenon and as a communication medium. The papers within that session were presented by dr hab. prof. U Mariusz J. Golecki, dr Ana Margarida Gaudencio and dr Ines Godinho. Within the last panel of the conference concerning the law as a expression of culture and judicial dialogue between national courts and ECtHR and the influence of its case-law on national law the following participants took the floor: dr hab. prof. AJD Anna Kalisz, Ms Brisa Paim Duarte, dr Anna Chmielarz-Grochal and Ms Dorota Pawlicka, as well as dr hab. prof. U Bartosz Wojciechowski and dr hab. prof. UAM Karolina Cern.

7-11 May 2018

On 7-11 May 2018 Mr. Ciaran White  member of the International Protection Appeals Tribunal in Dublin visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (the SAC) within the framework of the Specialized Exchange Programme on Asylum/Refugee law, organised by the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN).

During his stay Mr. Ciaran White met with the Vice-President of the SAC, prof. U dr hab. Jacek Chlebny  the President of the General Administrative Chamber, judge Jolanta Rudnicka - the Deputy of the President of the 1st Division of the General Administrative Chamber and other judges adjudicating in the SAC. He also had occasion to familiarise himself with practical aspects of functioning of the General Administrative Chamber and the Judicial Decisions Bureau.

Moreover he visited the Voivodship Administrative Court in Warsaw (the VAC) where he was hosted by judge Pawe Gronski - the Vice-President of the VAC and judge Teresa Zyglewska - the President of the 4th Division competent to decide on asylum/refugee cases. He also observed court hearings in the SAC and in the VAC in Warsaw.

Within the programme of his exhange Mr. Ciaran White also paid visits in the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Representation in Poland, in the Office for Foreigners, in the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX), in NGO - Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, in the Refugee Board and also in the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights.

24 April 2018

On 24 April 2018 a group of students from the Law School of China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing accompanied by scientific supervisors and Polish students from the Warsaw University visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC). The visit has been organised within the cooperation between the Law School of China University of Political Science and Law and the Warsaw University. The group was received by the representatives of the SAC: Judge Andrzej Kuba, Robert Borek - from the Administrative & Economic Department of the SAC and dr Marta Sarnowiec-Cisak from the Domestic & Foreign Relations, team in the Chancellery of the President of the SAC. During the meeting practical aspects of judges activity and activities of the SAC, as well as an outline of constitutional and legal position of administrative courts in Poland and the history of the current building of the Court were presented. The visit also included visiting the courts building.

28 March 2018

On 28 March 2018 the group of students from Faculty of Law of Francois Rabelais University of Tours visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC). The visit has been organised within the cooperation between the French university and Polish partners  Faculty of Law and Administration of University of odz and Warsaw University Centre for Studies in Local Government and Development. The group was received by the representatives of the SAC: Judge Sylwester Marciniak - Deputy President of the Court Information Division, Robert Borek - from the Administrative & Economic Department and Magorzata Szyszkowska and Dr. Marta Sarnowiec-Cisak from the Domestic & Foreign Relations, team in the Chancellery of the President of the SAC. During the meeting practical aspects of judges activity and activities of the SAC, as well as outline of constitutional and legal position of administrative courts in Poland and the history of the current building of the Court were presented. The group of French students was accompanied by Prof. Patrick Baleynaud (Universite Francois-Rabelais de Tours)  Honorary Consul of Poland in Tours and Co-director of French Law School of University of odz and Dr. Beata Marczeska  researcher from Warsaw University Centre for Studies in Local Government and Development. The visit also included visiting the courts building.

2017

14-21 December 2017

On 14-21 December 2017 the group of judges from Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and Serbia visited Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC) and Voivodship Administrative Court in Warszawa (VAC), within the framework of the Programme of study visits for asylum law judges organised by the European Asylum Support Office (EASO).

The co-organizers of the study visit were SAC and VAC Warsaw.

During their stay judges met with Vice-President of the Court, Prof. U dr hab. Jacek Chlebny  President of the General Administrative Chamber and EASO National Contact Point, judge Zofia Flasinska  President of the 2nd Division of the General Administrative Chamber, judge Teresa Zyglewska  President of the 4th Division of the VAC Warsaw and Maria Antonia Gonzalez  legal officer of the EASO Asylum Support Unit.

During the meetings the questions of Polish national asylum system, asylum case-law of Polish administrative courts, jurisdiction and proceedings before SAC and VAC and activities of EASO Courts and Tribunals Network were presented and discussed.

The visiting judges observed the court hearings before SAC and VAC. The judges also paid a visit to the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights, to the Office for Foreigners and they have also occasion to meet a member of the Refugee Board. Moreover the study visit included meetings at the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX).

4-8 December 2017

On 4  8 December 2017 Mr Pierre Sanson  judge of the Administrative Court of Lille (France) visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (the SAC) within the framework of the Specialized Exchange Programme on Asylum/Refugee law, organised by the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN).

During the stay judge Sanson met with the Vice-President of the SAC, prof. U dr hab. Jacek Chlebny  President of the General Administrative Chamber. He also had occasion to familiarise himself with the practical aspects of functioning of the General Administrative Chamber.

Moreover he visited the Voivodship Administrative Court in Warsaw (the VAC) where he was hosted by the President of the 4th Division judge Teresa Zyglewska, directing the division competent to decide on asylum/refugee cases. He observed also court hearings in the SAC and in the VAC in Warsaw.

Within the programme of his exhange judge Sanson paid also visits in the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX), in the Office of the Commissioner for Citizens' Rights, in United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Representation in Poland, in the Office for Foreigners, in the Refugee Board and also in NGO - Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights.

28 November 2017

On 28 November 2017 the group of academics and students from Kazan, Kazakhstan and Georgia, interning at the Faculty of Law and Administration at the University of Warsaw (FLA UW), visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC).

The group was received by the representatives of the SAC: judge Andrzej Kuba, Robert Borek, chef specialist in the Administrative & Economic Department of the SAC and dr Marta Sarnowiec-Cisak, legal specialist at the Domestic & Foreign Relations, team in the Chancellery of the President of SAC. Judge Andrzej Kuba welcomed guests and answered questions concerning judicial procedure in administrative courts and everyday work of judges of the SAC, Marta Sarnowiec-Cisak presented the structure, position, functions and competences of administrative judiciary in Poland, with special reference to Supreme Administrative Court. The history of the current buildings of the Court was presented by Robert Borek.

The group was accompanied by dr Jarosaw Turukowski  the representative of the Dean of the FLA UW for Eastern Cooperation.

The visit also included visiting the courts building.

15-17 November 2017

On 15  17 November the delegation of Ukrainian supreme courts judges and academics from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv paid the study visit in the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland. The Ukrainian delegation comprised: Prof. Oleksandr Paseniuk  President of the All-Ukrainian Association of Administrative Judges, retired judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine; Professor Oleh Tkachuk  judge prof. Oleh Tkachuk  judge of the Supreme Court of Ukraine, Professor Danil Getmantsev (Professor of Financial Law Department at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv), Natalia Shaptala  judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, dr Natalia Blazhivska  judge of the High Administrative Court of Ukraine, Vice-President of the All-Ukrainian Association of Administrative Judges and Angelika Tkachuk  lawyer, PhD student and lecturer of Taras Shevchenko National University. The meeting was also attended by dr Edith Zeller  judge of the Administrative Court of Vienna, President of the Association of the European Administrative Judges (AEAJ).

On behalf of the President of the SAC the delegation was received by Maria Wisniewska  the Vice-President of the SAC and the Director of the Judicial Decisions Bureau within the meeting attended by the representatives of the Judicial Decisions Bureau, judges of the SAC and the Chancellery of the President of the SAC.

Within the programme of the visit it took place also the Polish-Ukrainian seminar The Reforms of Supreme Judiciary in Poland and in Ukraine, with participation of Vice-President  Director of the Judicial Decisions Bureau, judges - heads of divisions of the Judicial Decisions Bureau, judges and officials of the SAC. Professor dr hab. Bartosz Wojciechowski  Head of the European Law Division of the Judicial Decisions Bureau welcomed all guests and opened the seminar. During the first part of the seminar there were delivered lectures on: historical aspects of the establishment of the administrative courts in Ukraine, constitutional status of administrative justice in Ukraine, the evolution of the cassation proceedings before Ukrainian supreme courts, the main features of judicial system's reform in Poland, European models of the supreme courts: their role in unifying (harmonization) of case-law and their constitutional position. The second part of the seminar was devoted to: new procedural instruments under the Ukrainian Code of Administrative Justice 2017, advantages and disadvantages of Ukrainian administrative justice innovations in resolving tax disputes, reform of 2015 of the procedural instruments in Polish administrative court proceedings and the status of the supreme court judge from universalistic and legal-philosophical perspective.

The Ukrainian guests paid also visits the Law Clinic of the Faculty of Law and Administration of University of Lodz and the Voivodship Administrative Court in Lodz.

23 October 2017

On 23 October 2017 the President of the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland Prof. Marek Zirk-Sadowski received at the seat of SAC Mr Garcia-Sayan  United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers  former minister of justice and minister of foreign affairs of Peru, as well as former judge of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

During the meeting the constitutional crisis around the Polish Constitutional Tribunal, current state of Polish legislation concerning Constitutional Tribunal and Polish courts and its compatibility with international law standards were discussed.

The meeting was also attended by Vice-President of the SAC, dr hab. prof. U Jacek Chlebny  President of the General Administrative Chamber and Mr Stefano Sensi  Human Rights Officer from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

25 September  6 October 2017 (Warsaw / Gdansk)

On 25 September  6 October 2017 Mrs. Renate Trenz  judge of the Administrative Court of Saarland (Germany) - liaison officer of the European Asylum Support Office at that Court - visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC) and the Voivodship Administrative Court in Gdansk, within the framework of the Exchange Programme organised by the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN).

During her stay judge Trenz met with the Vice-President of the SAC, prof. U dr hab. Jacek Chlebny  President of the General Administrative Chamber and with judge Jerzy Siegien  Deputy Head of the Judicial Decisions Bureau of the SAC. Moreover she visited the Voivodship Administrative Court (VAC) in Warsaw. During second part of the exchange programme in VAC in Gdansk German judge was hosted by the President of that Court SAC judge Zbigniew Romaa and SAC judge Joanna Zdzienicka-Wisniewska  President of the Court Information Division.

She also observed mock court trial at SAC, court hearings in the VACs in Warsaw and Gdansk and also in the District Court in Gdansk. She held a number of working meetings with the judges of these Courts.

Judge Trenz within the programme of her stay in Poland paid also visit in the Office of the Commissioner for Citizens' Rights, in the National Council of Judiciary, in the Refugee Board, in the Office for Foreigners and in the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX).

An important event of the visit was a lecture on administrative justice in Germany given by the guest to judges, court referendaries and judge assistants of VAC in Gdansk. During the lecture judge Trenz shared some comparative remarks concerning both (Polish and German) judiciary systems and proceedings.

2 October 2017

On 2 October 2017 the group of judges and prosecutors from Bulgaria, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Romania visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC). The visit has been organized within Exchange Programme of the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN) in collaboration with Polish member  National School of Judiciary and Public Prosecution.

The group was received by the representatives of the SAC: judge Sylwester Marciniak, Deputy President of the Court Information Division; Robert Borek, chef specialist in the Economic & Administration Division of the SAC; Marta Kulikowska, Head of Domestic and Foreign Relations, team in the Chancellery of the President of the SAC and Marta Sarnowiec-Cisak, legal specialist at this team. Judge Sylwester Marciniak welcomed guests and answered questions concerning judicial procedure in administrative courts and everyday work of judges of the SAC, Marta Sarnowiec-Cisak presented the structure, position, functions and competences of administrative judiciary in Poland, with special reference to Supreme Administrative Court. The history of the current buildings of the Court was presented by Robert Borek.

The group of foreign judges and prosecutors was accompanied by Ms Katarzyna Krysiak  prosecutor and chief specialist at the International Cooperation Division of the National School of Judiciary and Public Prosecution.

The visit also included visiting the courts building.

4 September 2017

On 4 September 2017 the group of judges and prosecutors from Bulgaria, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Lithuania, Italy, Romania, Portugal, Sweden and Hungary visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC). The visit has been organized within Exchange Programme of the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN) in collaboration with Polish member  National School of Judiciary and Public Prosecution.

The group was received by the representatives of SAC: judge Andrzej Kuba, Hieronim Kulczycki - Head of Economic & Administration Division of the Chancellery of the President of SAC and Przemysaw Florjanowicz-Bachut, legal specialist at the Domestic & Foreign Relations, team in the Chancellery of the President of SAC. During the meeting practical aspects of judges activity and activities of SAC, as well as outline of constitutional and legal position of administrative courts in Poland and the history of the current building of the Court were presented.

The group of foreign judges and prosecutors was accompanied by Ms Katarzyna Krysiak  prosecutor and chief specialist at the International Cooperation Division of the National School of Judiciary and Public Prosecution.

The visit also included visiting the courts building.

17 June  1 July 2017

On 17 June  1 July 2017 Mrs. Adriana Andonie from the Court of Appeal in Targu Mures visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC) in the framework of the Exchange Programme oganised by the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN). During her stay Mrs. Andonie met with Vice-President of the Court, judge Maria Wisniewska  Director of the Judicial Decisions Bureau and the Vice-President of the Court, judge Janusz Drachal  President of the Commercial Chamber. Moreover, she visited the Voivodship Administrative Court (WSA) in Warsaw and observed court hearings in the SAC and WSA in Warsaw.

As part of the exchange programme, judge Adriana Andonie held a number of working meetings with the judges of the SAC and WSA in Warsaw. She paid also visits in the Supreme Court of Poland, the National Council of the Judiciary of Poland, the Office of the Commissioner for Citizens' Rights and in the Office for Foreigners in Poland and European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX).

During the visit, judge Adriana Andonie gave a lecture on administrative justice in Romania to the judges and staff of the SAC.

21 June 2017

On 21 June 2017 the group of judges and prosecutors from Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, Romania, Portugal and Spain visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC). The visit has been organized within Exchange Programme of the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN) in collaboration with Polish member  National School of Judiciary and Public Prosecution.

The group was received by the representatives of SAC: judge Prof. U dr hab. Bartosz Wojciechowski - Head of the European Law Division of the Judicial Decisions Bureau, Hieronim Kulczycki - Head of Economic & Administration Division of the Chancellery of the President of SAC, Marta Kulikowska  Head of the Domestic & Foreign Relations, team in the Chancellery of the President of SAC and Dr. Anna Chmielarz-Grochal  assistant-specialist at the European Law Division.

Judge of SAC Prof. Bartosz Wojciechowski presented lecture [Judicial] Justification as the Limitation of the Discretionary Power of the Administrative Judge. Dr. Anna Chmielarz-Grochal presented the structure, position, functions and competences of administrative judiciary in Poland, with special reference to Supreme Administrative Court. Ms. Marta Kulikowska introduced the participants of the meeting with competences of the President of the Supreme Administrative Court, including supervisory competences relating to effectiveness of court proceedings and jurisprudence of administrative courts. The history of the current buildings of the Court was presented by Mr. Hieronim Kulczycki.

The group of foreign judges and prosecutors was accompanied by Ms. Katarzyna Krysiak  prosecutor and chief specialist at the International Cooperation Division of the National School of Judiciary and Public Prosecution.

The visit also included visiting the courts building.

30 May 2017

On 30th of May 2017 the Supreme Administrative Court visited four-member delegation of the Council of Judiciary of the Republic of Armenia, staying in Poland at the invitation of the National Council of the Judiciary. The delegation was chaired by the President of the Court of Cassation Arman Mkrtumyan - Chairman of the Council. On behalf of the President of the SAC the visit was received by Jan Rudowski  the Vice-President of the SAC and the President of the Financial Chamber. During the meeting the history and the organization of the administrative judiciary in Poland, including the solutions resulting from reforms of 2004 were presented. Also the issue of legal institution of pre-trial proceedings (leave to appeal) was discussed.

The participants discussed the similarities and differences between Armenian and Polish administrative court system. The Armenian guests were interested in particular in issues regarding: the settlement of the ratione materiae questions between ordinary courts and administrative courts (including Supreme Court and Supreme Administrative Court); resolutions of the SAC adopted in order to explain legal issues raising considerable doubts and differences in case-law of administrative courts; the role of Ombudsman and the Public Prosecution Office in administrative courts proceedings, as well as courts statistics, including cases filed in the administrative courts of first instance and SAC.

17 May 2017

On 17th of May 2017 the Supreme Administrative Court visited five-member delegation of the Council of Judiciary of the Slovak Republic, staying in Poland at the invitation of the National Council of the Judiciary. The delegation was chaired by Jana Bajankova - Chairman of the Council, Judge of the Supreme Court. On the behalf of the President of the SAC the visit was received by Janusz Drachal  the Vice-President of the SAC and the President of the Commercial Chamber. During the meeting the structure of the administrative judiciary in Poland, with particular regard to the Supreme Administrative Court, the jurisdiction of individual chambers of the Court, and also the competences of the President of the Supreme Administrative Court and the Office of Jurisprudence were discussed. The others topics of the discussion were the budgetary issues related to the administrative judiciary, as well as the functioning of the judicial system in Poland and Slovakia.

Moreover, during the meeting, Vice-President Janusz Dracha
US president Joe Biden has said his great-grandfather was forced to leave Ireland on a coffin ship during his first formal press conference since becoming president.

Mr Biden, whose has family connections in Louth and Mayo, made the remark when he was asked about issues with US immigration policy and the plight of migrants at the US-Mexico border.

When my great grandfather got on a coffin ship in the Irish sea, the expectation was was he going to live long enough to get to the United States of America, he said. They left because of what the Brits had been doing.

Read More

They were in real, real trouble - they didnt want to leave but they had no choice.

I cant guarantee were going to solve everything, but I can guarantee we can make it everything better.

Mr Biden also confirmed his intention to run for a second term as president with current Vice-President Kamala Harris as his running mate.

He also revealed that the US has a new vaccination target. Back in December of last year, Mr Biden wanted to provide 100 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine in the first 100 days of his presidency.

After recently reaching that goal before even hitting day 60, hes now said theyve set a new target of 200 million doses within the first 100 days.

I know its ambitious, twice our original goal, but no other country in the world has even come close, he said.
Married At First Sight's Alana Lister has shut down rumours her on-screen husband Jason Engler had a fling with fellow bride Coco Stedman.

Speaking to Hit Hobart's Jimmy & Nath on Thursday, the 30-year-old school teacher confirmed the pair were just friends.

'No, Coco's not a bad person... Jason and Coco are good friends, they wouldn't [hook up],' she said when asked about the gossip.

Setting the record straight: Married At First Sight's Alana Lister (pictured) has shut down rumours her on-screen husband Jason Engler had a fling with fellow bride Coco Stedman

'They grew close during the experiment. I definitely have a soft spot for Coco,' she added.

Alana was then pressed about photos of Coco and Jason getting cosy while filming the cast reunion in Sydney last month.

But she maintained: 'They are good friends and Jason is not the cheating type. He's never done anything to make me think he was the cheating type.'

Not a cheater! Speaking to Hit Hobart's Jimmy & Nath on Thursday, the 30-year-old school teacher confirmed the pair were just friends. Pictured: Jason Engler

Coco's charm: 'I definitely have a soft spot for Coco,' Alana added. Pictured: Coco Stedman

The rumours come after Jason, 35, shared an intimate conversation with Coco, 30, at their own private table at the MAFS reunion on February 11.

The unlikely pals appeared to be very comfortable with each other, laughing and chatting as they waited for the shoot to begin.

The co-stars chatted about their love of music festivals, according to an onlooker.

Who knew they were friends? The rumours come after Jason, 35, shared an intimate conversation with Coco, 30, at their own private table at the MAFS reunion on February 11

Close bond: The unlikely pals appeared to be very comfortable with each other, laughing and chatting as they waited for the shoot to begin

At one point, Coco was caught peeking at Jason's ripped physique as he lifted up his shirt so a crew member could attach a microphone.

'They were very red-faced afterwards and it was quite cute,' said the eyewitness.

While it's unclear if their flirtation will be highlighted on the show, a production insider said the pair were seated together 'at their own request'.

Overheard: The co-stars chatted about their love of music festivals, according to an onlooker

Eyes up here! At one point, Coco was caught peeking at Jason's ripped physique as he lifted up his shirt so a crew member could attach a microphone

Busted: 'They were very red-faced afterwards and it was quite cute,' said the eyewitness

Coco was paired with fashion designer Sam Carraro on Married At First Sight, but they broke up after a couple of weeks.

Jason is still in the experiment with 'hot teacher' Alana.

Married At First Sight continues Sunday at 7pm on Channel Nine

Case of the ex: Coco was paired with fashion designer Sam Carraro (left) on Married At First Sight, but they broke up after a couple of weeks
Ambassador of Belarus S.Chepurnoy meets the Foreign Minister of Mongolia

On March 25th, 2021, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus to Mongolia Stanislav Chepurnoy met with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia Batmunkh Battsetseg.

The Sides discussed a wide range of issues related to the development of Belarusian-Mongolian cooperation, including the exchange of visits at the highest and high levels, as well as the implementation of projects under the General Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Belarus and the Government of Mongolia on extending export loan.

Within the framework of the meeting, the interlocutors exchanged views on preparations for holding joint events in 2022 on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Belarus and Mongolia.

print version
Wendy Yost, of Syracuse, writes on behalf of the Nuclear Free World Committee of the Syracuse Peace Council.

Depending on how old you are, you may remember the 1950s and 60s duck and cover drills in elementary school and signs leading to the atomic bomb shelters in public buildings. Or you may remember the Cuban Missile crisis when the world came dangerously close to nuclear war. Then, and now, most of us probably had or have no true idea of the devastation that such a war would bring.

During Womens History month, we should thank women for bringing some sanity to the insanity of the Cold War. In 1961 Bella Abzug and Dagmar Wilson founded Women Strike for Peace. Their goal was to stop nations from nuclear testing. The movement brought 50,000 women in 60 different cities together in protest. Coretta Scott King served as the organizations delegate to an international disarmament conference in 1962. The public pressure brought by these women and the near-disaster of the Cuban Missile crisis helped bring the Soviet Union, United Kingdom and U.S. together to sign the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, prohibiting nuclear testing underwater, in outer space and in the atmosphere in 1963. This marked the beginning of a series of hard-won international agreements that have helped prevent nuclear war since the 1960s.

Bella Abzug framed the nuclear issue as a womens issue in saying  We are entitled to our shared economic resources of the country. We are entitled to equal pay for comparable work  We are entitled to have some hope for our family with a decent environment. We are permanently entitled to world peace, which is the only way in which we can rebuild and restructure this society to make it for all people.

These words ring true for our time. In 2021, women are disproportionately impacted by the pandemic in lost wages and increased responsibilities for childcare, education, and emotional support for stressed kids. While our predominantly male Congress has debated the countrys ability to afford childcare subsidies, extended unemployment benefits, child tax credits and support to reopen schools safely, our government spends approximately $67.5 billion per year on nuclear weapons. At the same time, the world has become less safe from nuclear weapons as international agreements have ended and diplomacy has been hollowed out and denigrated by the Trump administration.

There are hopeful signs as the Biden administration has recommitted efforts to end the nuclear threat by already negotiating an extension of the New START Treaty with Russia, reviving efforts to negotiate with Iran over nuclear weapons, and committing to reduced U.S. expenditures on nuclear weapons of annihilation. Notably, Biden has nominated several women to senior positions that involve nuclear non-proliferation including Bonnie Jenkins as Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and Mallory Stewart as Senior Director for Arms Control and National Non-Proliferation for the National Security Council. These appointments are historic in nature for appointing women to top positions who have spent their careers working for peace, security and nuclear non-proliferation.

Lets have Womens History Month in 2021 be a time for women (and men) commit to making history by working for a world that is safe from nuclear weapons and a world where resources are committed to life-affirming programs and policies. This means supporting, expecting and demanding that the new administration meet and exceed its commitments to quell the threat of nuclear war. Visit preventnuclearwar.org and or peacecouncil.net/programs/nuclear-free-world-committee to learn more and take action.
A demonstrator wearing a mask painted with the colors of the flag of East Turkestanhow some separatist Uyghurs refer to the region of Xinjiangand a hand bearing the colors of the Chinese Communist Party flag, attends a protest denouncing China's treatment of ethnic Uyghur Muslims, in front of the Chinese consulate in Istanbul, on July 5, 2018. (OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images)

Chinese Hackers Use Facebook to Target Uyghurs in Australia, US, and Canada

Facebook revealed on March 25 that it had blocked Chinese hackers from using the social media platform to track Uyghur activists living abroad.

The tech giant said two hacking syndicates in China, Earth Empusa and Evil Eye, were responsible for the attacks and exploited various means to distribute malware onto the activists computers and smartphones, and carry out surveillance.

Facebook said Uyghur journalists, activists, and dissidents living across the United States, Australia, Canada, Syria, Turkey, and Kazakhstan were targeted.

This activity had the hallmarks of a well-resourced and persistent operation while obfuscating whos behind it, Mike Dvilyanski, Facebooks head of cyber espionage investigations, and Nathaniel Gleicher, head of security policy, wrote in a statement.

On our platform, this cyber-espionage campaign manifested primarily in sending links to malicious websites rather than direct sharing of the malware itself.

This illustration photo shows a Facebook App logo displayed on a smartphone in Los Angeles on March 1, 2021. (Chris Delmas/AFP via Getty Images)

We shared our findings and threat indicators with industry peers so they too can detect and stop this activity.

One example of malicious activities included impersonating news websites visited by Uyghur activists, or infecting popular websites, and then compromising the users devices. These are known as watering hole attacks.

In another instance, the hackers created fake Facebook accounts posing as Uyghurs, journalists, students, and human rights advocates. They would then befriend the target and trick them into clicking on a malicious link.

Fake app stores were also developed and let users download apps, including a keyboard app, prayer, and dictionary app. The apps were trojanized and contained malware.

The malware used to infect the devices was developed by two Chinese companies, Beijing Best United Technology Co. and Dalian 9Rush Technology Co.

Matt Warren, professor of cybersecurity at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, said the activities fit into Beijings global operational approach, which was to track the activities of overseas dissident groups.

A man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. (Kacper Pempel/Reuters)

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) wants to track the activities of anti-Chinese groups, harvest their information, and develop insight into an individuals personal and professional network, he told The Epoch Times.

The CCP hacking network is global, he said.

Its a mixture of directly government-supported groups, for example, PLA Unit 61398. Or hacking groups associated with the government, including Comment Crew, which focuses on corporate espionage, and Deep Panda, which attacks the U.S. government in the name of patriotically defending Chinas interest.

The CCP has a multi-faceted cyber warfare strategy underpinned by its unrestricted warfare doctrine. The doctrine mandates the CCP to engage its geopolitical rivals (namely the United States and democratic allies) through a variety of means outside of traditional warfare.

In June, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Defence Minister Linda Reynolds warned that government and private institutions were under sustained attack from a sophisticated state-based cyber actor.

While the prime minister refused to reveal which country was the culprit, experts believe the most likely suspect was the CCP.

When you look at the culmination of capability and intent, the list narrows to the most likely suspect being the Chinese state, Michael Shoebridge of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute previously told The Epoch Times.
President Joe Biden will tout his emerging massive $3 trillion infrastructure plan in Pittsburgh Wednesday, using the rust belt former steel manufacturing hub to tout his plans to shore up bridges and invest in 'human infrastructure' plans like free community college.

The trip will place Biden in a swing state that was key to his 2000 victory. He will use the venue to showcase the city's transition to an economy now features health care and university jobs following dwindling manufacturing.

The White House says aides are still finalizing details of the plan, but it is set to include many of Biden's campaign pledges, including big spending boosts on infrastructure programs for roads and bridges.

Advisors are also planning to roll out spending for expanded broadband services, along with green technology like electric vehicle charging stations.

President Joe Biden will tout his emerging massive $3 trillion infrastructure plan in Pittsburgh Wednesday  with a third of the spending focused on 'social infrastructure' programs like free community college

The portion focusing on social programs is expected to account for roughly one-third of the $3 trillion package, Punchbowl reported.

Those programs have had debuts in many states in localities, including those under Democratic control such as New York City. The programs include universal Pre-K, paid leave, and child care programs.

Coronavirus relief packages have already included temporary sick leave programs.

Biden plans to tout billions in spending on rail and bridges as part of the $3 trillion plan

Biden called for free tuition at community colleges like the Community College of Allegheny County

Democrats are also calling for universal Pre-K education

Also included will be a proposal, details of which leaked Monday in the New York Times, will be for free community college, a policy Biden spoke in favor of during the campaign.

Officials are looking at using corporate tax rates as a pay-for, boosting them above current 21 per cent levels.

The White House has offered only sketchy outlines about Biden's upcoming trip. He will travel to Pittsburgh 'to deliver remarks on his economic vision for the future and the Biden-Harris Administrations plan to Build Back Better for the American people,' is all it included in an initial announcement.

White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain has briefed Democratic leaders on the general contents.

It includes a focus on renewable energy that is a priority of progressives who hold sway in the House Democratic caucus.

The White House anticipates breaking the package into pieces  which could run the plans into a wall of GOP opposition in the 50-50 Senate. Trying to shoehorn programs into budget reconciliation legislation would be a way to get some of the program through on a simple majority vote, amid reluctance by some Democrats to nuke the rules requiring 60 votes to break a legislative filibuster.

In addition to the corporate tax hike (President Trump signed a law bringing it down to 21 per cent), the White House is considering moving to hike the top marginal income tax bracket, the Wall Street Journal reported. Those hikes would fund the social component of the package.
Two crude devices "capable of causing serious harm" have been found in the Co Armagh villages of Camlough and Maghery, as the PSNI confirm the devices have been removed and the alert has ended.

An operation into the devices began following their discovery on Monday.

Read More

SDLP Assembly member Justin McNulty had previously condemned the incident, saying the reckless act had "no support in the local community, and, it could have claimed lives".

The security alert in Maghery now cleared. Disgusting that such incidents are continuing, no explanation nor apology given by those responsible for the anxiety & disruption caused. Thanks to officers @PSNIABC @ChiefConPSNI involved in clearance & to community for their patience.  Dolores Kelly (@doloreskelly) March 24, 2021

In a statement, Chief Superintendent Andy Freeburn, South Area Commander said: I can confirm that both areas have now been made safe and we have removed two devices for forensic examination.

"These devices were of crude construction, but could have caused serious harm. We are at the very early stages of an investigation and are keeping an open mind as to the motivation.

"I would like to thank local communities for their support and patience as we worked to keep people safe.

"We are keen to hear from anyone who may have noticed any unusual activity or anything out of the ordinary in either the Newtown Road area of Camlough or in the vicinity of Milltown, Maghery prior to 22 March. Please call us on 101 or you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111."
Dawn raid: A PSNI officer takes part in a National Crime Agency operation in the Carrickfergus area on Tuesday.

Four men have been charged with conspiring to supply class A drugs as part of a Paramilitary Crime Task Force investigation into the organised crime activities of the South East Antrim UDA.

The men will appear before Belfast Laganside Magistrates Court on Thursday.

They were among five men arrested on Tuesday by National Crime Agency and PSNI officers during a series of raids in the Carrickfergus area.

The arrests are linked to the seizure of more than one kilogram of cocaine found in two parked cars and nearby land in the Greenisland area of Co Antrim in November 2020.

The fifth man has been released pending a report to the PPS.
opinion

Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Learning to value water will unlock its potential to bring about better health, less migration, more food security and stronger climate action

The past 12 months have shocked many of us into re-examining our stewardship of the planet. From the origins of the pandemic to deadly floods, fires and hurricanes, it is now clear that humanity needs to raise its game, and work with nature rather than against it.

One of the ways we can do this is by putting a true value on water. Changing the way we perceive and value water offers an opportunity to bring about real change and build a better, more inclusive future.

In 2021, 2.2 billion people still lack access to safe drinking water. This is important because the water vulnerable suffer not once, but many times: women and children walk hours daily to fetch water from wells many kilometers away. In Nigeria, over 60 percent of the rural population lives more than 30 minutes from a working water source. Girls in particular end up dropping out of school.

Moreover, an estimated 4.2 billion people lack access to safe sanitation. For them, the simple act of handwashing that offers basic protection against disease is beyond their reach. Climate change, meanwhile, is playing havoc with our water cycle, disrupting agriculture and increasing desertification.

This situation is both unacceptable and completely within our power to change. The challenge is not just about money - which, of course, is vital and at present woefully inadequate.

Valuing water means, more than anything, understanding water's potential. It means fully grasping that with adequate water, we have better health, less migration, more food security, and more effective climate mitigation and adaptation.

Water, when it is available, can lift the most vulnerable out of distress and into shared prosperity. Investing in water is investing in a better future for all.

But to achieve this we need a radical change in our approach to the water challenge. We must become much more inclusive in the way we develop and manage this resource.

WATER'S WORTH

That is the aim of the Valuing Water Initiative (VWI), launched by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte at the World Economic Forum in 2019. Since then, the initiative has sought to put the UN Valuing Water Principles into practice - and to inspire others to do the same.

One of the five principles that guides our work is that valuing water lies not just in a raw economic value, but in recognizing that water's value means different things to different groups and interests, spanning the economic, cultural, spiritual, and environmental spheres.

This means it's necessary to engage stakeholders broadly, to identify water's worth in all its numerous, competing uses, and to reflect this multiplicity of views in decision-making.

This may sound more like an art than a science, and in many ways it is. The good news is that it works. VWI has been using this approach in a series of projects to identify the most effective levers for crystallizing water's intrinsic value, and ensuring that all stakeholders agree.

In the Colombian Andes mountains, for example, coffee farmers have been trained in the importance of water management and biodiversity preservation to improve their coffee crop. This intervention has resulted in higher incomes, improved soil fertility, and better water quality.

In Chennai in India, meanwhile, the City of 1,000 Tanks initiative will tackle the inter-relationships between flooding, water scarcity, and pollution through a range of measures including rainwater collection and wastewater treatment. Together, these are designed to help prevent climate-change-induced droughts and saline intrusion through sea-level rise, as well as mitigate risks from high-frequency floods and sewage pollution.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Africa Sustainable Development Climate By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Improving water stewardship has many different faces, but dependence on water is a common thread linking humanity. It underpins every single one of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Solving our water challenges will help solve other global problems, too.

This is why the Netherlands is committed to raising awareness about the importance of harnessing the power of water for a secure and sustainable future for all in the run-up to the UN Water Summit in 2023, which it is co-hosting with Tajikistan.

Amid all the calls to 'build back better' with the trillions of dollars of stimulus money, we need to appreciate that there can be no better building block than water. The response to COVID has shown us the power of collective action. What could unite humanity more than building back 'bluer' and learning to fully appreciate the true, shared value of this most critical of resources?

Henk Ovink is Special Envoy for International Water Affairs for the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer speak during the Bill Enrollment for the American Rescue Plan Act ceremony after the House Chamber voted on the final revised legislation of the $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief plan, at the US Capitol in Washington, on March 10, 2021. (OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)

Businesses Hurt by Labor Shortage Due to Rich Federal Benefits

WASHINGTONU.S. small businesses have faced an unprecedented economic disruption due to the pandemic and the subsequent government shutdowns. With the economy reopening, many business owners are now hit by another crisis, as they have trouble filling jobs.

Many entrepreneurs cant compete with the unemployment benefits offered by the federal government. Mark Owens, owner of USA Insulation and a trucking company in Indiana, is one of them.

The inability to hire people has put a burden on our business, Owens said during a virtual roundtable hosted by Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) on March 24. Because nobody wants to come and work.

His business ran 150 job advertisements from December 2020 through Feb. 15 but only three people showed up for an interview during that time. And their objective, he said, was to provide proof of a job search needed to receive benefits rather than to actually get the job.

Candidates say they want the job but they never show up, Owens said, because we couldnt compete with the unemployment [benefits.]

According to him, the inability to hire people has been an emotional rollercoaster for many small-business owners.

Recent business surveys show that the majority of small-business owners who are hiring have difficulties finding qualified workers. According to a monthly survey by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), job openings in February reached an all-time record high, with 40 percent of companies saying that they cant fill job openings.

This is a huge departure from what we saw in the last recession in 2009, where it was roughly 7 percent, Holly Wade, executive director at the NFIB Research Center, said at the roundtable meeting.

The CARES Act enacted in March 2020 provided a $600 weekly benefit on top of regular unemployment insurance benefits. Following the expiration of the supplemental benefit in July 2020, the Trump administration via executive order authorized an extra $300 per week federal payment.

The Biden administrations new $1.9 trillion stimulus plan extended the weekly unemployment benefit at $300 through Sept. 6. In addition, the bill included a provision that made the first $10,200 in unemployment benefits received in 2020 nontaxable for households earning $150,000 or less.

Some economists have argued that the supplemental benefit has discouraged workers from returning to work. According to American Action Forum, a center-right policy institute, 37 percent of workers could make more on unemployment at the $300 level than they would earn by returning to work.

Advocates of the supplemental benefit, however, argue that continued relief is critical, especially for Americans experiencing long-term job losses in the hardest-hit service industries, such as restaurants.

Work Ethic Has Been Destroyed

Walorski and her several Republican colleagues said at the virtual roundtable that mainstream businesses shouldnt have to compete with the federal unemployment benefits for workers.

I cant even imagine how were ever going to tally the cost of how much of Americas work ethic has been destroyed during the COVID; and that the additional amount of federal money thats flowing out there is just adding to this destruction, Walorski said.

Chris Roth, president of Reinke Manufacturing in Deshler, Nebraska, has seen a surge in his business over the past few months but had a difficult time getting the positions filled.

We ended up bringing employees in from out of state, Roth said at the roundtable. We actually bussed them here. We put them up in the local motels and paid for the motels.

Roths company later bought a motel and is now in the process of renovating it to turn it into employee housing for out-of-state workers.

A group of Republican lawmakers led by Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) announced that they would introduce legislation to help local businesses that face difficulties in hiring. The bill would encourage work by allowing states to turn enhanced unemployment benefits into a one-time hiring bonus. The proposal also provides support for reemployment services for jobless workers.

Speaking at the roundtable, Alex Adams, budget director for the state of Idaho, said that his state implemented return to work incentives to offset the negative impact of the $600-per-week supplement last year.

To incentivize work and help local businesses, the state paid a $1,500 bonus to each person who went back to work. The state distributed 27,192 bonuses totaling $36 million, which was paid for out of the states discretionary portion of the CARES Act resources, Adams said.

Because of this effort and other actions, the unemployment rate in Idaho declined to 3.4 percent in January from 11.6 percent in April 2020. Idahos unemployment rate is among the lowest in the country.

Phillip Hayes, vice president of The Arnold Group, a Kansas-based human resources company, said that recruiting for his clients is more difficult today than it was pre-pandemic.

Our company and hundreds of businesses that we serve have encountered more recruiting hurdles and struggles than ever before, largely due to the consequential additional federal unemployment weekly boost dollars that were put in place, he said at the virtual roundtable.

There are currently more than 50,000 job openings in Kansas, Hayes said, on just a single recruiting platform.

Its absolutely discouraging that unemployment insurance claimants are incentivized so richly that businesses are forced to consolidate shifts or close production lines altogether, he said.
Expands Kroll Responder MDR and XDR services and launches next-generation managed SOC

Kroll, the world's premier provider of services and digital products related to governance, risk and transparency, today announced that it has acquired Redscan, an award-winning cyber security services provider based in the United Kingdom. With the addition of Redscan and its extended detection and response (XDR) enabled security operations center (SOC) platform, Kroll expands its Kroll Responder capabilities to support a wider array of cloud and on-premise telemetry sources.

Redscan will join Kroll under the leadership of Andrew Beckett, Managing Director and Head of the EMEA Cyber Risk practice, and Marc Brawner, Managing Director and Global Head of Managed Services. Redscan's CEO Mike Fenton, COO Gubi Singh and CTO Mark Nicholls will stay with the firm, playing key roles to drive growth for the combined Cyber Risk team globally.

Redscan has been recognized for its high-quality services, including its proprietary cloud native MDR solution which correlates events and intelligence from an array of leading telemetry sources including those from VMWare Carbon Black, Crowdstrike, AlienVault and LogRhythm, plus cloud providers such as AWS, Google Cloud and Microsoft. Additionally, the company provides bespoke assessment services including CREST-accredited penetration testing, red teaming and vulnerability scanning.

Jason Smolanoff, Managing Director and Global Leader of Cyber Risk at Kroll, said, "Detecting and responding to cyber threats can be an overwhelming challenge for any size company-most lack adequate tools, skills and staff to quickly triage and confidently respond. We've built Kroll Responder to instantly augment their capability with elite investigators and threat intelligence, and the Redscan acquisition will enable us to become even more efficient and ingest a wider variety of data sources to deliver even greater visibility and assurance."

Redscan's UK-based team and SOC further enhance Kroll's existing managed security offerings in the EU, providing opportunities for expanded compliance with GDPR. With Redscan, Kroll will enhance its ability to incorporate frontline threat intelligence from handling over 2,700 cyber security incidents per year to monitor, hunt and remediate incidents on behalf of Kroll Responder clients. As part of Kroll, the Redscan team will receive robust support to accelerate their technology roadmap and refine their detection engine with Kroll's frontline threat intelligence.

Mike Fenton added, "Merging Redscan's innovative culture and leading managed security services with Kroll's unparalleled incident response experience and end-to-end cyber risk management capabilities allows us to provide a unique global offering. This combination will build fantastic value for our clients, who will benefit from a global team of world-class seasoned experts monitoring their environments and an expanded platform to grow our proprietary technology capabilities."

Jacob Silverman, CEO of Kroll, said, "The acquisition of Redscan perfectly complements the new chapter we have entered under our Kroll brand, reinforcing our commitment to supporting our clients' most complex challenges. Together, our professionals will harness the power of technology and their deep expertise to provide clarity and cyber resilience for clients, solidifying our position at the forefront of cyber security solutions. I look forward to building on this mandate with our expanded, global Cyber Risk team."

In addition to the acquisition, Cyber Risk will now become its own business unit, with Jason Smolanoff, Global Head of Cyber Risk, reporting directly to Silverman.

With the acquisition of Redscan, Kroll's Cyber Risk team includes over 450 professionals in 17 countries worldwide. For more information on Kroll's Cyber Risk capabilities and Kroll Responder, click here.

About Kroll

Kroll is the world's premier provider of services and digital products related to governance, risk and transparency. We work with clients across diverse sectors in the areas of valuation, expert services, investigations, cyber security, corporate finance, restructuring, legal and business solutions, data analytics and regulatory compliance. Our firm has nearly 5,000 professionals in 30 countries and territories around the world. For more information, visit www.kroll.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005118/en/

Contacts:

Kroll

Alex Hinson

+1 212 450 2842

alex.hinson@kroll.com
Kenyas leading operator Safaricom has announced plans to launch a 5G network this Friday in Nairobi and western Kenya.

According to Kenyas Business Daily newspaper, Safaricom will be launching what will be Kenyas first fifth-generation mobile internet services targeting major urban centres. The firm last year completed testing and trials for the upgraded network, whose 5G technology will be supplied by Nokia and Huawei.

The service will be available in Nairobi and greater western Kenya, including Kisumu, Kisii and Bungoma, areas that have seen increased data traffic.

Kenya had 58.9 million mobile subscribers in the quarter ended September. Of those users, around 42.8 million had mobile data subscriptions, with Safaricom a leading player in the market.

The 5G service is a central part of Safaricoms attempts to further expand its data business and to capitalise on rising mobile internet use in the country. However, Safaricom subscribers who want to use the service will need to acquire new handsets.

According to Business Daily Safaricom has seen web data revenue grow more than three times over the past five years to Sh49.6 billon (about $451.8 million).

In fact across the market growth in data sales is increasing faster than revenues from voice, and with it competition  as shown by the recent launch of 4G by operator Jamii at highly competitive prices.

Data from the Communications Authority of Kenya shows that Safaricom grew its mobile subscriptions 4.2 percent to 38.144 million in the three months ending in September 2020. Safaricom has said it is targeting about 80 percent of the Kenyan population with its 4G network coverage.
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Ford Motor Co. can be sued in the state courts by people who were killed or seriously injured in accidents involving Ford vehicles.

FILE - This Nov. 4, 2020 file photo shows the Supreme Court in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Ford Motor Co. can be sued in the state courts by people who were killed or seriously injured in accidents involving Ford vehicles.

The justices unanimously rejected the Michigan-based company's argument that its ties to Minnesota and Montana were too tenuous to allow it to be sued in those states by accident victims.

The ruling could make it easier to bring state court lawsuits against other car makers and companies that do business nationwide.

Ford argued that because the cars were originally sold elsewhere and were resold as used cars to people in Minnesota and Montana, the company shouldnt have to face civil lawsuits in either state.

Justice Elena Kagan wrote the court's majority opinion holding that the connection between the plaintiffs claims and Fords activities in those States ... is close enough to allow the lawsuits to proceed.

By every means imaginable  among them, billboards, TV and radio spots, print ads, and direct mail  Ford urges Montanans and Minnesotans to buy its vehicles," Kagan wrote. Ford cars ... are available for sale, whether new or used, throughout the States, at 36 dealerships in Montana and 84 in Minnesota. And apart from sales, Ford works hard to foster ongoing connections to its cars owners.

Both accidents occurred in 2015. In one, Markkaya Gullett was killed when the tread separated from a rear tire on the 1996 Ford Explorer she was driving in Montana. The vehicle spun out, rolled into a ditch, and came to rest upside down. Gullett died at the scene of the crash, Kagan wrote. Gullett was married and had two children.

The other accident, in Minnesota, resulted in serious brain injuries to Adam Bandemer, who was a passenger in his friend's 1994 Crown Victoria when it rear-ended a snow plow on the way to an ice-fishing spot. Bandemer's airbag failed to deploy, Kagan wrote.

Ford, which is based in Dearborn, Michigan, tried to dismiss the lawsuits, and when the Montana and Minnesota high courts ruled against it, the company appealed to the Supreme Court.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett did not take part in the case because it was argued in early October, before she joined the court.
FLUSHING, MI -- A lawsuit filed by a now-former Flushing city manager alleges he was wrongfully terminated from the position nearly one year ago.

The lawsuit filed in Genesee County Circuit Court alleges former City Manager Brad Barrett is owed more than $100,000 in damages following his termination due to alleged violations of the Whistleblower Protection Act and Open Meetings Act, along with claims of breach of contract and interference with Barretts contract.

The Flushing City Council was angry with Barrett and didnt like him-- a lot, Barretts attorney, Tom Pabst, told MLive-The Flint Journal.

I think they felt that he showed them up, you know, just because he insisted on living in accordance with the City Charter, which is the law for the city of Flushing, Barrett said. The charter is the law. Its like our United States Constitution is to us as Americans. Thats the rule of law. We have to live by it.

Along with the city of Flushing, other defendants named in the lawsuit include Mayor Joseph Karlichek and council members Brooke Good and Edward Sullivan. The three were elected to the council in 2019, so Pabst said they were coming in new prior to firing Barrett.

The city declined to comment on ongoing litigation.

The Flushing City Council voted 3-1 to terminate Barretts city manager contract and replace him with Clarence Goodlein in April 2020. Councilman John Olson was the lone dissenting vote.

Barrett had been city manager for five years and was very meticulous, Pabst said.

They didnt like that, he said. They felt that him making them abide by the city charter was showing them up.

In the months leading to the decision to terminate Barretts contract, there were many other changes in Flushing leadership.

Olson was appointed to council by the Genesee County Elections Commission in March, after the council lost quorum when squabbles between council members led to the resignation of Richard Bade, Patrick Scanlon and Lynn Black.

Related: Flushing council member appointed to ensure quorum

Additionally, former councilwoman Karianne Martus resigned in January and council was unable to come to a decision on who should fill the seat.

During the election commission meeting where Olson was appointed, Barrett spoke during public comment.

He states that, while the city council cannot vote without a majority present, the city manager could act on day-to-day operations in accordance with the citys charter. However, Barrett also said previously the city would need to figure out how to pass a budget in May.

The lawsuit alleges that Barrett was fired in part because he spoke out at that meeting.

The Whistleblower Protection Act states in part: An employer shall not discharge, threaten, or otherwise discriminate against an employee regarding the employees compensation terms, conditions, location, or privileges of employment because the employee, or a person acting on behalf of the employee, reports or is about to report, verbally or in writing, a violation or a suspected violation of a law or regulation or rule...

The lawsuit also alleges Barrett reported that the city had underfunded pension obligations by approximately $18 million, ultimately preventing the city from reaching a collective bargaining agreement with its police department. The lawsuit states Barrett also objected to the City Charter being violated by having department heads report directly to the City Council.

Barrett is still owed $40,000 in severance pay, which is a breach of contract allegation, according to the lawsuit.

Under the count of Tortuous Interference with Contractual Relations, the lawsuit states that the board cannot hide behind the affirmative defense of governmental immunity, when they acted intentionally to harm to Brad Barrett.

In addition, the lawsuit alleges a violation of the Open Meetings Act, while conspiring to fire Barrett.

Barretts investigation into a possible OMA violation prompted a Michigan State Police investigation into the issue. The investigation was turned into Genesee County Prosecutors Office, which declined to file a claim on behalf of Barrett.

However, the office did state other remedies would still be available to address Barretts dismissal.

Read more on MLive:

Resigned Flushing council members explain resignations, special election set

3 Flushing council members didnt participate in coronavirus planning, later resign, mayor says

Flushing city council looking to fill vacant seat after councilwomans resignation

Flushing closes city offices amid coronavirus pandemic

Mott Community College addresses data security breach

Man sentenced in death of 5-month-old boy at Mt. Morris area home

Former Genesee Township police chief sues township claiming discrimination, forced resignation
Ant Middleton was abruptly fired from the British version of SAS Australia earlier this month over his 'personal conduct'.

And on Wednesday, the former soldier told The Kyle and Jackie O Show he was dropped from the military-style reality show for being too strong-willed.

'I'm too hot to handle for the UK,' the 40-year-old said when asked about being let go from Channel 4's SAS: Who Dares Wins.

'We parted ways a bit sourly... it's all good': Ant Middleton told The Kyle and Jackie O Show he was dropped from Channel 4's SAS: Who Dares Wins for being too strong-willed

He explained: 'With the UK version, once that final string pinged from my grasp and it was being controlled by health and safety, and it's being controlled by the production, then yeah we butted heads a bit and we parted ways a bit sourly.'

'But listen, it's all good. It is what it is,' he added.

'The moment my work starts to get diluted, and I don't stay true to who I am and true to what the course is about, then it's time for me to move on.'

Out of his control: 'With the UK version, once that final string pinged from my grasp and it was being controlled by health and safety, and it's being controlled by the production, then yeah we butted heads a bit and we parted ways a bit sourly,' Ant said

Jackie and her co-host Kyle Sandilands both said they hoped the Australian version would not be 'diluted' either.

Ant then praised Channel Seven for allowing him to return for season two of SAS Australia, despite his unceremonious exit from the British show.

'Channel Seven straight away were like, "We really hope you're coming back to Australia," and I said, "Of course I am. Listen, I built this show,"' he said.

True grit: Ant praised Channel Seven for allowing him to return for season two of SAS Australia, despite his unceremonious exit from the British version of the show

'I wrote it on the back of a cigarette packet six, seven years ago. So I am coming back. I am still the chief instructor.'

'I do my part, I let the production do their part, I let the channel do their part. Everyone sings from the same song sheet and we get the job done,' he added.

Earlier this month, Ant was axed from the British version of the show, SAS: Who Dares Wins, over his 'personal conduct'.

Not going anywhere: 'Channel Seven straight away were like, "We really hope you're coming back to Australia," and I said, "Of course I am,"' he said. Pictured with Sabrina Frederick

He previously claimed he was dropped for 'butting heads' with the show's team.

A spokesperson for Ant told MailOnline: 'Ant has worked on TV sets around the world for many years and has never at any point been accused of speaking inappropriately by anyone.

'He has only ever been informed of these allegations, which he wholeheartedly and emphatically rejects, via the media.

Controversy: Earlier this month, Ant was axed from the British version of the show, SAS: Who Dares Wins, over his 'personal conduct'. Pictured with Jackson Warne on SAS Australia

'If anyone felt that he did say anything verbally offensive we would have expected a formal process of review but no such discussion has ever taken place either via any of the networks he works for or via bodies such as Bectu.'

Ant and the other directing staff on SAS Australia - Jason Fox, Matthew Ollerton and Mark Billingham - flew Down Under this week ahead of filming season two.

Production will commence next month after the British drill sergeants have all completed their mandatory 14-day quarantine, TV Tonight reports.
She has a sensational summer body.

And by March in Los Angeles it was sunny enough for Whitney Port to show her figure off to full advantage on Instagram.

The 36-year-old The Hills star put her washboard abs on display in a barely-there Lemlem bikini as she basked in the sun at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

Looking fab: Whitney Port put her washboard abs on display in a barely-there Lemlem bikini as she basked in the sun at the Beverly Hills Hotel

She snapped a selfie in which she modeled a large pair of Bottega Veneta tortoiseshell sunglasses and gleaming Jackie Mack earrings.

'This is "Saturday Whitney". Could it be any more gorgeous in LA right now?! Soak. It. Up,' she gushed in her caption for her 1.4 million followers.

Whitney had gone to the Beverly Hills Hotel recently as part of a recent getaway with her husband Tim Rosenman and their son Sonny, four.

She revealed as much on her Instagram page this Monday while posting a selfie with her little pride and joy at the swank establishment.

Quality time: Whitney had gone to the Beverly Hills Hotel recently as part of a recent getaway with her husband Tim Rosenman and their son Sonny, four

'Can we come up with a new word for "STAYCATION"? I was about to tell you all about ours at @bevhillshotel last weekend but I couldn't even get past that word. Why does it bug me so much?' she wondered.

'Anywhoooo, we had THE BEST time celebrating my birthday as a family,' wrote Whitney who turned 36 on March 4.

'We ate too much ( their grilled cheese on sourdough bread was my culinary highlight ), drank too much, jaccuzi'ed our little tooshies off, and soaked up everything the "pink hotel" ( as Sonny likes to call it) has to offer,' she spilled.

Family photo: Whitney is pictured with her husband and son in an Instagram album she posted of their recent trip to Sedona, Arizona

'I must have been an angel in my past life to deserve this. Til' next time BHH. Heart you,' wrote the reality TV bombshell.

Whitney shot to fame on The Hills during the original run of the series which ran from 2006 to 2010 and was itself a spin-off of Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County.

She has also returned for the revival called The Hills: New Beginnings which aired its first season over the summer of 2019.

She rose to fame on The Hills: And she has also returned for the revival called The Hills: New Beginnings (pictured) which aired its first season over the summer of 2019

Although season two had begun filming early last year the production was shutdown that March on account of the coronavirus lockdowns.

However the shoot has apparently resumed as Kristin Cavallari and sizzling heartthrob Brody Jenner were seen filming the show last month, People reported.

Although Kristin did not sign up for New Beginnings as a regular cast member she will reportedly be a guest star on the second season.
Armin Rezaei Wins partypoker WPT500 Knockout ($139,971)

March 25 2021 Jason Glatzer

Austria's Armin Rezaei finished on top of a field of 2,601 entrants to win the WPT #13 WPT500 Knockout at partypoker for $139,971 ($76,275 + $63,696 in bounties).

The event was yet another success story for partypoker as the $1 million guarantee was smashed with entries generating a huge $1,300,500 prize pool. As this was a progressive knockout tournament, half of the buy-ins went towards the prize pool while the other half were place as progressive bounties on each player.

Razaei, who waves a Maltese flag at partypoker, had to navigate through a tough final table which included the likes of Gustavo Mastelotto, 2019 MILLIONS Online champion Benjamin Chalot, Aliaksei Boika, and Gediminas Uselis before defeating David Lopez Llacer heads-up for the title.

Read on to learn more about the final table action in the WPT #01 WPT500 at partypoker.

WPT500 Knockout Final Table Payouts

Place Player Country Prize Bounties Total Prize 1 Armin Rezaei Malta $76,275 $63,696 $139,971 2 David Lopez Llacer United Kingdom $76,143 $25,380 $101,524 3 Gustavo Mastelotto Brazil $48,993 $5,398 $54,392 4 Duff Charette Canada $32,193 $5,113 $37,307 5 Benjamin Chalot Hungary $21,762 $6,691 $28,454 6 Aliaksei Boika Belarus $16,518 $8,742 $25,261 7 Jeroen Van Dijck Netherlands $11,929 $5,297 $17,226 8 Robert Svedin Sweden $9,446 $7,361 $16,807 9 Gediminas Uselis Lithuania $7,352 $7,898 $15,251

WPT500 Knockout Final Table Recap

The WPT500 Knockout attracted a huge field of 2,601 entrants during the eight opening flights on March 15-22 with 390 players advancing to Day 2 on March 22 with the knowledge they have banked at least a min-cash of of $541 in addition to any bounties collected.

The field trimmed down to just nine final table hopefuls to start yesterday's action with the eventual winner Rezaei and the runner up Llacer kicking off the action in the top two spots.

Jeff Gross and James Dempsey

James Dempsey and partypoker Ambassador Jeff Gross announced the action on the partypokerTV YouTube and Twitch channels with a small delay with hole cards exposed.

The first elimination at the final table happened so quickly that it wasn't picked up by Dempsey and Gross on the stream. Uselis came into the final table as the short stack and collected $15,251 for ninth place after being unable to spin it up.

Robert Svedin (eighth - $16,807) then suffered a bad beat that no player wishes for at a final table with so much equity involved. Llacer jammed with nine-six offsuit from the small blind and got there after Svedin called off with pocket rockets. Llacer held the chip lead after the hand but this didn't last long.

The first orbit wasn't even completed yet before more fireworks went off. Rezaei jammed the button with nine-eight suited and was called by Jeroen Van Dijck in the small blind with ace-queen. Van Dijck flopped top pair and improved to trips on the river. This wasn't good enough and he was eliminated in seventh place for $17,226 with Rezaei nailing a straight flush on the turn.

Llacer took the lead once again during the very next hand while also sending Boika packing in sixth place for $25,261 after his nines won a flip against big slick.

The action then cooled off for a little while during which time the lead change swang back and forth between Rezaei and Llacer before Rezaei took control of the captain's chair one final time and never looked back.

Rezaei eliminated his final four opponent single-handed. Chalot (fifth - $28,454) when his queens didn't hold against ace-jack suited. Duff Charette (fifth - $37,307) quickly joined Chalot on the rail when Rezaei's ace-four suited held against ten-nine suited.

Mastelotto (third - $54,392) was Rezaei's next victim when his king-jack whiffed the board against Rezaei's ace-nine suited.

Rezaei entered heads-up action with nearly double the chips of Llacer. It was anyone game until Llacer was coolered. Llacer had top two pair with king-queen and lost most of his stack with Rezaei holding cowboys for a set.

Llacer then jammed his short stack with ten-four suited and was eliminated in second place for $101,524 after not improving against Rezaei's ace-jack suited.

Join partypoker and Grab Up 40 Worth of Tickets

Now is the time to download partypoker via PokerNews because new depositing players can get their hands on 40 worth of SPINS and tournament tickets.

Deposit 10 or more to receive 40 worth of free tickets over the course of a week:
NEW YORK, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Companies are facing ever-greater scrutiny of their political activities, with some of America's biggest businesses still grappling with a response to January's Capitol riot. As companies reevaluate their role in the political sphere, a new report by The Conference Board highlights considerations and best practices regarding corporate political activity.

While companies have long engaged in politics, a new era of stakeholder scrutiny, social media, and political polarization has propelled corporate political activityand the risks that come with itinto the spotlight. Political activity can pose increasingly significant risks for companies, including the perception that political contributionsand other forms of activityare at odds with core company values. In this new era, careful preparation, close coordination, and effective communication both internally and externally are key.

The report's insights stem primarily from a roundtable discussion featuring executives from more than 30 major US companies, hosted by The Conference Board ESG Center in the wake of the 2020 US election. Insights are also from the Center's recent survey of 84 large public and private firms on how companies and their employee-funded PACs responded to the Capitol riot and objections to the election certification.

Recommendations and insights for what's ahead on corporate political activity include:

Prepare for backlash.

When it comes to taking a stand on political and social issues, a small number of companies are opting out entirely. That is not realistic, however, for many companies.

Have a clear set of standards and guidelines that you can use in making and defending any positions you take.

Align political activity with corporate values.

Companies should consider how lobbying and political activities align with their stated values.

Simplify political activity. The more complex it is, the more difficult it can be to manage reputational and other risks.

Thoroughly vet third-party organizations to which you donate money.

Consider involving the corporate social responsibility function in reviewing political activity, to ensure that public policy positions align with broader corporate citizenship positions.

Engage and educate stakeholders.

Educate employees and the public about your company's activity, as well as the distinction between this activity and that of an affiliated Political Action Committee (PAC), which is separately governed and funded by employee contributions, not corporate funds.

Consider engaging employees in meetings with policymakers, which can improve the effectiveness of those discussions and help educate employees about the process.

Increase coordination internally and with third parties.

Ensure the ways your company engages in political activity are coordinatedand consistentthroughout all levels of the organization.

Coordination with respect to lobbying is particularly important as new state and local regulations are forcing more and faster disclosures about lobbying activities.

"The events of January 6th are prompting companies to reexamine their political activity, with many still addressing the fallout from that day," said Paul Washington, report co-author and Executive Director of The Conference Board ESG Center. "As our new report explains, it's critical for boards to ensure that they have a full picture of their company's political activity and that their efforts are broadly consistent, not only with each other, but also with the firm's key business objectives and values."

Enhance governance and reassess the company's role in the political arena.

Provide your board with a comprehensive overview of the firm's and PAC's political activity and consider the role the board should play, including expanding oversight from financial contributions to include lobbying.

Update the criteria and processes for PAC giving, including addressing the issues arising from the 2020 election and the January 6 th attack on the US Capitol.

"The environment for corporate political activity is becoming exponentially more complex," Washington added. "Companies are being asked to engage on more issues, through more mechanisms, and at more levels of government than ever before. Every action is being scrutinized in a polarized environment. This may be a time for companies to streamline their political activity as much as possible, focusing on what truly matters and reducing their risk profile."

About The Conference Board

The Conference Board is the member-driven think tank that delivers trusted insights for what's ahead. Founded in 1916, we are a non-partisan, not-for-profit entity holding 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status in the United States. www.conference-board.org



SOURCE The Conference Board

Related Links

http://www.conference-board.org




The French government has declared openly the emergence of a recent variant of serious acute respiratory syndrome SARS-CoV-2 in the northwestern district of Brittany that has avoided observation by standard polymerase chain reaction (PCR) examinations.

Death of Over 2.67 million

The SARS-CoV-2 virus is the envoy responsible for the COVID-19 disease pandemic that's still ravaging the world and has currently lead to the death of over 2.67 million lives.

A further inquiry is presently underway in Brittany after genomic sequencing spotted eight carriers of the variant among a group of 79 cases on the 13th of March in the city of Lannion in the Cotes d'Armor.



The health ministry on Monday revealed in an announcement that first examinations of the variant do not indicate that this recent distress is more contagious or results in severe disease than the previous viral concerns.

Also Read: Spain and Netherlands Cull Over One Million Mink Due to COVID-19 Infection

SARS-CoV-2 Cases

Still, on Tuesday in a press conference, health officials explained that the failure of PCR trials to spot the virus is raising concerns. Interfederal COVID-19 spokesperson and Belgian virologist explained that around eight individuals related with the usual coronavirus symptoms, "though the tests stayed negative."

The statement came as France saw the reappearace in SARS-CoV-2 cases, with President Emmanuel Macron indicating that new lockdown regulations could be enforced in coming days.

The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies recent strain as a "variant under investigation" instead of a "variant of concern" like the one currently noticed in South Africa, Braz, and the United Kingdom.

Variant Under Investigation

The variant under investigation class involves thousands of ordinarily occurring variants, of which just a little fraction is possible to pose as a threat to public health. Examinations are presently underway to better know the variant and its reaction to the protective antibodies created following earlier SARS-CoV-2 infection or vaccination against the disease.

Though, as Gucht on Tuesday reminded people, it is foreseen that recent variants will appear as viruses continually evolve mutations in their genome. Several different tests are used by various laboratories, and a specific test might encounter issues spotting a particular variant. That does not inevitably imply that this is the issue for all other tests - quite the opposite, explained Gucht.

Laboratory Tests

Each test spots three to one unique part of the virus and different tests can show different parts. Gucht explained that: "Generally, a quality test does not rely on spotting one particular part. So, if there is a transformation in one fraction of the virus, that indication might be lost, though there is normally a second or third indication that will be found."

Governments are carrying out the essential support and monitoring. Quite recently, French health authorities are executing vital supporting and monitoring measures. Public Health France and the National Reference Centers have set up a system for inspecting and regulating possible carriers or cases of the recent variant under examination across some places including Morlaix, Saint-Brieuc, Lannion, and Guingamp.

Related Article: Military-Grade Infrared Camera Illustrates the Risks of Airborne COVID-19 Virus Spread

For more news, updates about COVID-19 and similar topics don't forget to follow Nature World News!
Marra Forni strengthens its sales force in MAFSI Regions 7 and 25. They are a regional powerhouse and uniquely equipped with incredible talent and support resources in the markets that they serve, says Todd Griffith, VP of Sales & Marketing for Marra Forni

Marra Forni, a global manufacturer of commercial brick oven solutions based in Beltsville, MD, has announced representation changes in two MAFSI Regions. Indianapolis based Phoenix Marketing Group will assume the sales, marketing, and support roles for MAFSI region #7 (OH, W. PA, KY, and W. VA), while RHI Solutions based in Seattle will represent the manufacturer in the Pacific Northwest (MAFSI Region #25, including AK, HI, WA, OR, ID, MT). Francesco Marra, Marra Fornis President, and CEO commented that these changes will elevate our domestic sales network and help us to achieve our corporate growth objectives and achieve stronger market positioning.

Phoenix Marketing Group is the premier rep firm in the lower Midwest and Ohio Valley. Their resources include a roster of seasoned industry sales professionals, 5-Corporate Chefs, and multiple test kitchens located strategically throughout the region. Im excited to work again with Dave Smith and his team at the Phoenix Marketing Group stated Todd Griffith, VP of Sales & Marketing for Marra Forni. They are a regional powerhouse and uniquely equipped with incredible talent and support resources in the markets that they serve.

RHI is an innovative multi-faceted rep group having more than four decades of industry expertise to help customers meet and exceed their foodservice operational goals. Danny Sizemore, President of RHI Solutions noted we are very excited to partner with Marra Forni. Their culinary-focused approach along with uniting traditional techniques and innovative technology fit with RHI Solutions approaches to the market.

Marra Forni, based in Beltsville, MD, is a leading domestic manufacturer and global supplier to the commercial foodservice Industry. The product line includes a full line of brick-oven cooking solutions, refrigerated prep tables, mixers, slicers, and direct venting. Marra Forni currently sells and supports its products in 5 continents and 23 countries worldwide.

marraforni.com | 888.239.0575

FOLLOW US

LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram
Stated as an online-only brand over six years ago, Xiaomi India is aggressively expanding its footprint in offline retail in the country. With over 15,000 retail touchpoints, Xiaomi aims to double the total number of touchpoints to over 30,000 in the next year. The company also plans to double the number of exclusive Mi Stores from over 3,000 to over 6,000 in the next two years.

"We are extremely delighted to announce the Grow With Mi today. It is a comprehensive retail exercise that will not only foster entrepreneurship but will co-lead an evolution that democratises access to tech for Mi Fans and consumers across the country. With this new initiative, we are determined to expand our presence and reach out to our customers in the convenience of their hometowns. We are confident that the new initiative will significantly contribute to our offline retail presence and also will help prospective entrepreneurs from small towns and villages to embark on their journey of success," Manu Jain, MD at Mi India.

Xiaomi India has also launched Grow with Mi (GWM) to foster retail entrepreneurship in the country especially in rural markets and will create employment opportunities for over 10,000 Indians. GWM will also introduce Mi Retail Academy wherein entrepreneurs from different backgrounds will be nurtured and trained to start from product training to sales training, customer management to polishing other soft skills such as marketing, in-store designing, customer service, retail excellence, etc.

Xiaomi commenced its offline journey in 2016 and has so far managed to create 15,000+ retail touchpoints that include 75+ Mi Homes and 3000+ Mi Stores. "We also intend to extend the Mi Store on Wheels format to cover other far corners in the country and bring the best in class Mi Store showroom experience in areas that have limited access," says Muralikrishnan B, COO, Mi India.

The company is also planned a support package of Rs 100 crore to help the retail partners set up and run these stores over the next two years.

During last year's pandemic led lockdown, Mi India also launched its first omni-channel solution - Mi Commerce as a special initiative with the intent to blur online and offline boundaries. Designed as a hyper-local product discovery solution, Mi Commerce offers a rich shopping experience while regulating crowds, maintaining social distancing and ensuring the safety of the consumer and the retailer at Mi Stores.

Also read: Xiaomi India to give hardship bonus, cover COVID-19 vaccination costs of employees, kin

Also read: China's Xiaomi expands manufacturing in India, adds 3 new partners for smartphones, smart TVs
ULSTER Bank is set to become the fourth lender to be fined for its role in the tracker mortgage scandal.

The Irish Independent understands that the Central Bank is set to announce a fine of north of 20m today.

It comes weeks after the bank confirmed the bombshell decision of its London parent to close Ulster Bank in the Republic.

It will be the fourth fine imposed by regulators here for the industry-wide tracker scandal which has so far costs lenders a combined 1.5bn.

Ulster Bank has owned up to 5,500 tracker cases, with at least 15 tracker customers having lost their homes as a result of being overcharged by being denied good-value tracker rates.

Customers of the bank were denied their right to a loan linked to the European Central Banks (ECB) main rate.

Others were put on the wrong rate.

The bank, which is headed up by Jane Howard, has been persistently criticised when it appeared before the Oireachtas Finance Committee for the slow pace of the tracker redress process for its customers.

It has blamed its IT system for its tardiness in putting customers back on tracker rates, refunding them overpaid interest and paying compensation.

The scandal that dates back more than a decade.

Ulster Bank told an Oireachtas Committee recently that it had set aside 297m to deal with the tracker mortgage debacle.

A number of disputed Ulster Bank tracker cases are due to be adjudicated on by Financial Services Ombudsman Ger Deering.

The tracker scandal was first exposed by this newspaper in 2009.

Permanent TSB was fined 21m in 2019. This was a record penalty for a financial institution in this country.

In 2016 PTSBs former subprime lending unit Springboard was hit with a 4.5m fine.

Last year KBC Bank was fined 18.3m in relation to the tracker mortgage scandal.

The Central Bank said at the time the lender devised a strategy to move borrowers off cheap loans and persistently resisted as regulators pushed it to admit its failings.

The regulator is continuing to carry out enforcement investigations against AIB, EBS and Bank of Ireland.

More than 40,500 borrowers have been affected by the issue, which has resulted in more than 700m being paid in refunds and compensation to date.

The same amount again has been spent by lenders dealing with the refunds, with heavy use of consultants by most lenders to deal with the massive tracker redress process.
Hazleton, PA (18201)

Today

Thunderstorms early, then variable clouds overnight with still a chance of showers. A few storms may be severe. Low near 60F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms early, then variable clouds overnight with still a chance of showers. A few storms may be severe. Low near 60F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 15:50:29|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

FUZHOU, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed more efforts to serve and integrate into the new development paradigm in fully building a modern socialist country.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks during his inspection trip to east China's Fujian Province from Monday to Thursday. Enditem
The Gamasutra Job Board is the most diverse, active and established board of its kind for the video game industry!



Here is just one of the many, many positions being advertised right now.

Location: Champaigne, IL

Volition is searching for a Senior Technical Designer with expertise in creating tools, improving pipelines and workflows, visual scripting, and prototyping. The ideal candidate values improving the developer experience and actively seeks ways to enhance the designer toolset.

About Volition:

Deep Silver Volition has created original, smash hit games for over 20 years, including the Saints Row series. The studio has prospered by making games no one else can make, focusing on work-life balance, and developing a culture of collaboration, continuous growth, and learning. Volition is located in the heart of Champaign, Illinois  the best kept secret in the Midwest. Champaign has all the activities, amenities, and diversity of much larger cities, but without the traffic and high cost of housing.

Responsibilities:

Work with design team to advocate for design tools.

Help designers troubleshoot and resolve technical issues.

Define, implement and document tools, pipelines, workflows, and other design processes.

Identify and communicate design needs to other disciplines.

Create and maintain detailed, up-to-date documentation for tools and other design processes.

May be tasked with other duties and responsibilities in support of the project design team.

Qualifications:

At least five years of industry experience in game design and/or programming. Proven track record with AAA console products and/or online development preferred.

Familiarity with 3D editors such as UE4, Unity, or Lumberyard.

Experience with object-oriented programming languages, such as Blueprint, Python, or C#

Experience building complex game objects with self-contained behavior.

Positive, professional attitude. Disciplined and self-motivated with a strong work ethic.

Ability to think creatively and analytically. An in-depth understanding of how gameplay works and how to create fun, meaningful experiences for the player.

Excellent communication and organizational skills. Ability to multitask and be flexible about changing role requirements.

Passion for games and ability to articulate that passion clearly and analytically. A broad knowledge base of console games.

At Deep Silver Volition we believe in fostering an open, collaborative and diverse environment, and we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We will consider all qualified applicants without attention to race, color, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, disability, age, veteran status, or military status.

Interested? Apply now.

About the Gamasutra Job Board

Whether you're just starting out, looking for something new, or just seeing what's out there, the Gamasutra Job Board is the place where game developers move ahead in their careers.



Gamasutra's Job Board is the most diverse, most active, and most established board of its kind in the video game industry, serving companies of all sizes, from indie to triple-A.



Looking for a new job? Get started here. Are you a recruiter looking for talent? Post jobs here.
Lucknow, March 25 : Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has lashed out at the Yogi Adityanath government on the cancellation of the recruitment process of village development officers (VDO).

She tweeted that the youth who had appeared for the examination in 2018 and were waiting for the appointment, now face a bleak future.

"They have been getting date after date but no appointment letter. Every new date has been dashing their hopes," she said.

Priyanka further taunted that while the candidates were looking to a dark future, chief minister (Yogi Adityanath) was away from the state on an election campaign.

It is noteworthy that the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission has cancelled the examinations held for VDO, village panchayat officers and social welfare officers.
New Delhi, March 25 : A festival celebrated joyously all over India Holi is a day of colours, where people of all ages and ethnicities have fun dousing each other in dyes and coloured water. Holi festival is based on one of the famous legends of killing evil demoness Holika. Another one of the famous legends is the one Lord Krishna complaining to mother Yashodha about Radha being fairer as compared to him. Mother Yashodha suggests that Krishna should colour Radha, in the colour of his choice. The mischievous Krishna is said to have coloured his beloved in a hue of colours thereafter. A tradition that is thereby we have been following.

Associated with the colour white, Holi symbolizes the end of one phase and the beginning of a new tomorrow. As Holi nears us, we celebrate the return of colours on the trees, in the sunsets, the arrival of spring, the end of winter. Holi stresses the need to get rid of the impassive winters, long nights and dry skin and lackluster hair. Interestingly, traditional Holi ritual and customs step in as the perfect body-rejuvenation therapy.

Colours and the mind

Colours, as we all know, are vital for a healthy body. While immersed in the vibrant colours of Holi, our mind and body experience myriads of benefits. Bright colours like red tend to stimulate the heartbeat & breathing. Colours like Yellow and Blue don't just bring in a calming effect on our senses but also surround us with a sense of joy and happiness.

Advantages of Holika Dhahan

Holi, like many other festivals, falls on the cusp of winters and spring. This season also exposes us to a number of bacteria and pollution in the air around us. The mutation period of winter and spring induces the growth of bacteria in the atmosphere as well as in the body Hence, the burning of Holika, the day before Holi, where many lights a bonfire that symbolizes the burning of evil, follows the tradition of walking around the fire deodorizing our environment and cleansing the body from the bacteria.

Natural and organic colours

Traditionally the Holi colours were created with naturally helpful ingredients like hibiscus flowers, henna leaves, Kesar, sandalwood and more. These natural colours are not just good for your skin, hair and eyes but even cleanse and clear the dead skin. Ingredients such as these are used in Ayurveda for rejuvenating the body and giving it a healthy glow. Red colour is energizing and stimulate heart functions and breathing. Yellow has a soothing effect on organs especially the intestines and blue has a calming and tranquilizing effect on our body and senses.

Cool, energizing drinks

Wake up from our chilling winter slumber, our body needs more than just a cold shower. Renowned Holi drinks like Thandai and Kaanji act as great coolants and are an excellent source of anti-oxidants. Thandai, comprising of delicious milk flavour, has the goodness of almonds, watermelon seeds, fennel seeds and rose petals. While Kaanji, a traditional North Indian drink is fermented and packed with rich nutrients and fibre.

The festival of Holi also promotes good health in the southern regions of India. The morning after the burning of Holika, people put ash (Vibhuti) on their forehead. Along with that, they also mix Chandan (sandalwood paste) with the leaves and flowers from the Mango tree and consume it.

(N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe can be contacted at lothungbeni.h@ians.in)

Latest updates on Holi Festival 2021

-- Syndicated from IANS
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) spoke before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the shooting in Boulder, Colorado and the need to pass legislation that would renew the Assault Weapons Ban.

Feinstein was Thursdays KVML Newsmaker of the Day. Here are her words:

I feel really compelled  and as I finish my remarks I think youll see why  to say something.

[On Monday], our country was forced to endure yet another mass shooting. Ten people dead, including a police officer.

All our hearts go out to all of the families who lost a loved one and to law enforcement who risked their lives in the line of duty. But that doesnt cure the problem.

There are reports that the shooter used an AR-15 style rifle. Sadly, Ive watched as assault weapons have become the weapon of choice in mass shootings. We have seen them used in Las Vegas, in Dayton, in Orlando, in San Bernadino, in Parkland and in Sandy Hook.

Boulder, Colorado banned assault weapons in 2018, but 10 days ago a court blocked the ban.

In 1994, I introduced a federal Assault Weapons Ban, which President Clinton signed into law. A 2016 study showed that compared with the 10-year period before the ban was enacted, the number of gun massacres between 1994 and 2004 fell by 37 percent, and the number of people dying from gun massacres fell by 43 percent. Unfortunately, the ban expired in 2004, and in the 10 years after, there was a 183 percent increase in massacres and a 239 percent increase in massacre deaths.

During the campaign, President Biden pledged his support for legislation to ban the manufacture and sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

There has been a spike in gun sales during the pandemic. The New York Times reports that approximately 2 million guns  2 million  were purchased in March 2020, the second-highest month ever.

Similarly, Politico has reported that: In March 2019 and February 2020, the NICS system blocked about 9,500 and 9,700, respectively. But in March 2020, it blocked more than double that amount: a whopping 23,692 gun sales.

I am so concerned [about] the rise in gun sales and the increased pressure being put on the background check system. I am also concerned about the number of people who have guns but would not have passed a complete FBI investigation.

So the question is: What are we going to do about it? These things are not going to stop, members. Theyre just not.

I sat here for a quarter of a century listening. They dont stop. And if you give people the ability to easily purchase a weapon that can be devastating to large numbers of people, some of them will use that under stress or for whatever reason, I dont know.

This doesnt make sense. Mr. Chairman, I really hope we can do something about it. I have 35 cosponsors on a renewed Assault Weapons Ban that is in this committee. And I would hope we can hold a hearing and perhaps consider that legislation.

The Newsmaker of the Day is heard every weekday morning at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45 on AM 1450 and FM 102.7 KVML.
ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A national poll released today reveals parents' perspectives on learning during the COVID-19 pandemic and their greatest concerns for their children. The pollA Year Into the Pandemic: Parents' Perspectives on Academics, Assessments and Educationsurveyed parents and guardians with children in grades K-12 in public schools. It was conducted by Edge Research and commissioned by National PTA and Learning Heroes. The findings build on results released in February on parents' views on end-of-year state assessments during the pandemic.

The poll results highlight that parents' confidence in their children's academic achievement is declining. While two-thirds (67%) indicate they are more involved in their child's education than ever before, only 52% believe their child will be well prepared for the next grade and 63% believe their child is behind where they would be in a normal school year. There is also a marked decline from previous years in parents reporting their child is above grade level. And while academic achievement is high on the list of parent concerns, perhaps unsurprisingly, children missing out on social interactions tops the list.

"The poll demonstrates how essential it is for parents to have the best, most accurate information on their children's achievement. Otherwise, they're not able to help support their children's learning at home or partner effectively with their children's teachers to support their success," said Leslie Boggs, president of National PTA. "The poll also underscored that social and emotional well-being is among the most pressing issues to address as a result of the pandemic. Parents, teachers and school leaders must work together to address learning gaps and ensure every child has the supports they need to reach their full potential."

Key findings of the poll show:

Children's loss of social interactions tops the list of parent worries, followed by someone in the family getting COVID-19 and children's academic progress. More than 7 in 10 parents (72%) indicated they worried "a lot" or "some" about their child missing out on important social interactions at school or with friends, more than any other issue/topic. Another top-tier worry for parents (69%) was someone in their family getting COVID-19. Meanwhile, 61% of parents reported being worried their child is not making as much academic progress as they would in a typical year.

More than 7 in 10 parents (72%) indicated they worried "a lot" or "some" about their child missing out on important social interactions at school or with friends, more than any other issue/topic. Another top-tier worry for parents (69%) was someone in their family getting COVID-19. Meanwhile, 61% of parents reported being worried their child is not making as much academic progress as they would in a typical year. Parents question their children's academic achievement and preparedness for the next grade and are more concerned about them falling behind. Only 52% of parents believe their children will be well prepared for the next grade. The data also revealed a marked decline from previous Learning Heroes research in the percentage of parents who believe their child is above grade level: a 12-point drop in math and a 6-point drop in reading. Additionally, 63% of parents believe their child is behind where they would be in a normal school year.

Only 52% of parents believe their children will be well prepared for the next grade. The data also revealed a marked decline from previous Learning Heroes research in the percentage of parents who believe their child is above grade level: a 12-point drop in math and a 6-point drop in reading. Additionally, 63% of parents believe their child is behind where they would be in a normal school year. Increased engagement in their children's learning does not equate to increased confidence in their understanding of how well their children are doing academically. While 67% of parents indicated they are more involved in their child's education than ever before, confidence that parents have a clear understanding of their child's achievement is at an all-time low, with 43% of parents reporting feeling less confident than in previous years that they understand how well their child is achieving academically.

While 67% of parents indicated they are more involved in their child's education than ever before, confidence that parents have a clear understanding of their child's achievement is at an all-time low, with 43% of parents reporting feeling less confident than in previous years that they understand how well their child is achieving academically. Parents offer muted levels of support for in-person summer learning. 60% of parents reported being extremely or very likely to use free resources at home to help their child continue or review learning over the summer. 55% of parents reported being likely to use free recreational activities for their child to spend time with peers and have fun. 51% of parents reported being likely to use in-person review sessions in math and reading provided by school to help in areas where their child needs more support.

"For the past six years, 9 in 10 parentsregardless of race, income or education levelhave reported that their child is at or above grade level in reading and math. Today, with a front row seat into their child's education, we are seeing some concern among parents that their child may not be prepared for grade level work," said Bibb Hubbard, Founder and President of Learning Heroes. "This is a prime opportunity for teachers and parents to engage in open, honest, two-way conversations to plan for how to best meet our children's needs this summer, setting them up for success next fall."

"Strong partnerships between families, teachers and administrators are more important than ever as we navigate the ongoing pandemic and address its impacts," added Nathan R. Monell, CAE, National PTA executive director. "It is important that parents and educators keep in touch often and work together to support their child academically, socially and emotionally. It is also vital for parents to have a seat at the table whenever decisions are made that impact their child."

About the Poll

The online poll was conducted by Edge Research among a nationwide sample of 1,550 parents and guardians with children in grades K-12 in public school. The survey, fielded in English and Spanish, included oversamples of Hispanic parents representing a mix of acculturation levels and Black parents. Data were weighted to be representative of public-school parents in the U.S.

About National PTA

National PTA comprises millions of families, students, teachers, administrators, and business and community leaders devoted to the educational success of children and the promotion of family engagement in schools. PTA is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit association that prides itself on being a powerful voice for all children, a relevant resource for families and communities, and a strong advocate for public education. Membership in PTA is open to anyone who wants to be involved and make a difference for the education, health, and welfare of children and youth. For more information, visit PTA.org.

About Learning Heroes

Learning Heroes supports parents and guardians as their child's most effective education advocate. Using key insights from six years of qualitative and quantitative parent research, we work with state education agencies (SEAs), local education agencies (LEAs), education nonprofits, parent organizations, civil rights groups, faith based organizations, businesses, and many others, to reach and engage parents with free, research based tools, resources and communications in English and Spanish. Through these organizations, in 2020, Learning Heroes reached more than 22 million parents, and engaged more than 3 million with content. Learning Heroes is a project of the New Venture Fund. For more information, visit BeALearningHero.org.

SOURCE National PTA

Related Links

http://www.pta.org


Dutton took legal action against Waters, and she has now issued a public retraction of her comments and an apology.

Apology to Peter Dutton On 25 February 2021 I published a media release on my website, posted on my Twitter account, and made in the course of a press conference false and defamatory statements that Peter Dutton is a rape apologist, that he has sought to conceal and dismiss 1/2  Larissa Waters (@larissawaters) March 24, 2021

I accept that there was no basis for those allegations and that they were false. I unreservedly apologise to Minister Dutton for the hurt, distress and damage to his reputation I have caused him, Waters wrote on March 24.

Dutton, who once lambasted Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg saying the tech giant facilitated child sexual abuse on its platform, told 2GB radio that he sued Waters because her comments had crossed a line.

Ive dedicated a lot of my public life to protecting women and children, and Im very serious about it and her comments against me, I just thought, completely crossed the line, he said.

Australian Liberal MP Peter Dutton in the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on Nov. 25, 2019. (Tracey Nearmy/Getty Images)

He went on to say that Waters comments fell outside the realm of responsible public debate.

Criticise me and disagree with my point of view. I dont have any problem with that. Thats a part of our democracy, he said. But Im not going to be defamed in that way, and people should know that if they wanna do that, theres a price to pay for it, and I think thats appropriate.

Dutton said the rulesand consequencesof the real world need to apply to anonymous social media users who promote false and damaging stories.

He noted that as a public figure, theres a lot of crap that I cop, which he usually accepts. But he said there needed to be a red line.
Kwamena Duncan, former Central Regional Minister, says the Ghana Education Service should hold a meeting with parents of the two Rasta students and management of Achimota school to resolve their issue.



The management of Achimota school has disallowed enrolment of the two students unless they cut their dreadlocks.



Till the dreadlocks are shaved, Headmistress of the school has refused to accept the students stressing it's against the school rules.



The GES has also upheld the Achimota school policy to deny the students entry into the school.



Speaking on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" programme, Kwamena Duncan appealed to the GES to direct the school management to accept the students but added the education authority must proceed to court to get a ruling on whether or not it is lawful for the students to wear their dreadlocks to school.



He noted that the court should be the final arbiter on this matter.



"GES should sit with school management with the father and his Counsel. My emphasis is on the innocent Ghanaian child and come up with a certain memorandum of understanding that, look, we won't lay aside the Achimota school rules today or tomorrow . . . Let us not let the child suffer in the interim. Do a memorandum of understanding, let the child be admitted but we will then run to the court . . . The matter has now been settled. Then, by the memorandum of understanding, it's captured in there. The man will append; the Counsel will append," 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
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Stormy and windy condition are expected to continue throughout the morning on Friday before things start to settle down later in the day.

The National Weather Services forecast calls for highs around 50 with moderate winds continuing in the afternoon once rain chances subside. Friday night will see some clearing with lows dropping back into the upper 30s.

Saturday will be mostly calm and sunny during the day with highs back in the 60s, but shower chances return later in the day with lows dropping into the 40s. On Sunday, a moderate chance of more showers exists as things turn cooler once more. Highs for the end of the weekend will only be in the 50s.

Hazardous weather outlook

The NWS has issued a High Wind Warning for Cuyahoga, Lorain, Medina and Ashland counties beginning at 11 p.m. today. A high wind watch goes into effect at 2 a.m. Friday for Ashtabula, Geauga, Holmes, Lake, Mahoning, Portage, Stark, Summit, Trumbull and Wayne counties. Sustained winds overnight will be around 25-35 mph, with stronger gusts around 60 mph. Conditions could lead to downed trees and power lines.

Lake Erie marine forecast

A Gale Warning Friday could push wave heights to eight feet or higher before things settle down late in the day. The lake looks mostly calm Saturday with waves of one foot or less. 3-4 foot waves are expected Sunday. Weekend highs will climb from the 40s on Friday to the 50s for Saturday and Sunday. Friday and Saturday will see overnight lows in the 40s while Sundays lows could drop to near freezing.

Work week forecast

Expect things to get even cooler on Monday with highs only in the middle 40s. On the plus side, sunshine returns for the day. Tuesday will again have highs in the 40s with a slight chance of showers.

Ohio regional radar
(Newser)  The fired chief executive of Parler has counterpunched. John Matze has sued the right-wing social media platform he co-founded, accusing the company of an "arrogant theft" in seizing his share and bullying him to drive him out. Rebekah Mercer, the wealthy Republican donor who backed the site, is named in the suit along with company officials, NPR reports. Matze says in the filing that Parler was "being hijacked to advance the personal political interests and personal advantages of the Defendants rather than serve as the free expression platform as originally conceived." Matze and Mercer broke after the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol; the rioters had used Parler to communicate about the insurrection. In the aftermath, the suit says, Mercer "sought to co-opt [Parler] as a symbol or as the 'tip of the spear' for her brand of conservatism, and plotted to force Matze out."

story continues below

Parler's board fired Matze, who started the site with a college friend, at the end of January. The site went down after the riot, when Amazon Web Services decided to no longer host it. Parler is up now but with limited functionality, and old posts are no longer visible. Matze says he and Mercer disagreed about making changes, with Mercer not wanting to take steps against QAnon, neo-Nazism, or domestic terrorism. He says she brought new people in to "strong-arm him out of the company." Matze owned 40% of Parler, the suits says, while Mercer had 60%, though her ownership was kept under wraps. The filing says Parler valued itself at $1 billion in documents. But when he was fired, Matze says, he was told the fair market value of his holdings came to $3. (Read more Parler 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.
BELLEVUE, Wash., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Savers (the "Company") announced today that it has entered into a definitive purchase and sale agreement with funds managed by the Private Equity Group of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) ("Ares"). Ares, which is currently a minority owner of the Company, will acquire full ownership interest of the global thrift retailer from funds managed by Crescent Capital Group, LP, which will sell their majority position in the Company as part of the transaction. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The closing of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.

Since its founding in 1954, Savers has paved the way for today's thrift movement, offering a wide selection of pre-owned clothing, accessories and household goods that are affordable, sustainable and stylish. With more than 21,000 team members and nearly 300 stores throughout North America and Australia, the Company is one of the largest for-profit thrift retailers in the world. Savers is leading one of the fastest-growing retail categories, delivering strong operating performance and consistent sales growth averaging $1.2 billion in annual revenue.

"Ares is excited to support Savers as we transition to its next phase of growth," said Scott Graves, Partner and Co-Head of the Ares Private Equity Group. "The Company's value proposition to customers, strength of charitable partner relationships, and positive impact on the environment make it well-positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for pre-owned goods."

"We believe Savers will continue to be at the forefront of promoting sustainability in retail," added Aaron Rosen, Partner in the Ares Private Equity Group. "We are proud to support the Company's CEO Mark Walsh and all members of the Savers team as they continue to lead in this regard."

"We look forward to continuing our partnership with Ares and leveraging our sponsor's resources to build on our momentum as a brand, grow our loyal customer base, and accelerate strategic initiatives that are expected to revolutionize the thrift industry," said Mark Walsh. "Ares' further investment and belief in the strength of our differentiated business model will help advance our mission to provide sustainable style at a savings, and make a lasting impact on communities and the planet."

"We have enjoyed working with Mark Walsh and the Savers executive team to build and further strengthen the Company's positioning as the market leader in thrift retailing over the course of our ownership as it continues on its growth objectives," said Chris Wright, Managing Director and Head of Private Markets at Crescent Capital. "We have been proud to work alongside a team so committed to the promotion of reuse and sustainability."

For decades, Savers has advocated for a more circular and sustainable future by extending the life cycle of pre-owned goods. On average, the Company diverts more than 700 million pounds of reusable clothing and textiles from landfills each year. Currently, less than 1 percent of used clothing can be "recycled" into new garments, making reuse even more important as the fashion industry is the leading contributor to pollution and the second-largest consumer of water worldwide. As shoppers consider the impact of their own clothing footprint, they are more likely than ever to shop thrift.

Ares Management Corporation

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) is a leading global alternative investment manager operating integrated groups across Credit, Private Equity, Real Estate and Strategic Initiatives. Ares Management's investment groups collaborate to deliver innovative investment solutions and consistent, attractive investment returns for fund investors throughout market cycles. As of December 31, 2020, Ares Management's global platform had approximately $197 billion of assets under management with more than 1,450 employees operating across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. For more information, please visit www.aresmgmt.com

Ares Private Equity Group

The Ares Private Equity Group had approximately $27.4 billion of assets under management and more than 110 investment professionals, as of December 31, 2020. The private equity professionals have a demonstrated ability to deploy flexible capital, which allows them to stay both active and disciplined in various market environments.

Crescent Capital Group LP

Crescent Capital Group is headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in Boston, London, and New York. With more than 85 investment professionals and approximately 180 employees, the firm invests at all levels of the capital structure, with a significant focus on below investment grade credit through strategies that invest in senior bank loans, unitranche loans, high yield debt, mezzanine debt, and other private debt securities. As of December 31, 2020, Crescent Capital Group managed approximately $30 billion, with a relatively equal split between marketable securities and privately originated debt investments. For more information about Crescent Capital Group, visit www.crescentcap.com.

Savers

As one of the world's largest thrift retailers for bargain priced pre-owned clothing, accessories and household goods, our mission is to champion reuse and inspire a future where shopping secondhand is second nature. Learn more about the Savers family of thrift stores, our impact and the #ThriftProud movement at www.savers.com/thrift-proud/impact.

We are a for-profit company that champions reuse. Shopping in our stores does not support any nonprofit, but donating reusable goods to a nonprofit we partner with does. We pay nonprofits for clothing and household items, helping them fund programs in local communities. TVI, Inc. is a registered professional fundraiser where required. Learn more

SOURCE Savers, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.savers.com




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.
If there is a story that is getting the least response on social media but might be one of the most important stories of the year, it is that water appears headed to residents in the county.

While there are a couple hurdles left, those involved in the discussions appear confident that a reliable water source is in the works for as many as 40,000 residents outside of the city of Midland. This is monumental for many reasons. First and foremost, there are too many county residents in need of an unpolluted and reliable water source. There is no need  certainly not in 2021  that any residents should have questions about what  if anything  will come out of the faucet.

Second, there is now greater potential for areas of the county. Water provides an opportunity for residential and commercial purposes.

Third, if the deal comes to fruition, this will be a product of entities working together like few times we have seen in the communitys history. Midland County, the city of Midland, the Midland County Utility District and the Midland County Freshwater District will have come together, worked through differences and made the unlikely a reality. Cooperation is necessary when transformational projects are required in our community. Public-private partnerships, interlocal agreements and work with our communitys foundations and businesses are often required, and our community has proven again and again that working together, we can make things happen. We see this with the city-Pioneer Natural Resources wastewater agreement, the Centennial Park project downtown and the expansion of the Texas Tech Health Sciences Centers Physician Assistant Program (which was celebrated this week), to name a few.

We know this project was not the easiest to pull off. In particular, this community is protective (as it should be) about the time, efforts and hundreds of millions of dollars spent to tap into city water sources in Winkler County. But again, it appears we have seen four entities also be proactive, tapping into infrastructure already in place and dedicating tens of millions of dollars into this new project to deliver water to county residents.

This project is fair as it will not force county residents to take Utility District water if they choose not to and it allows residents and businesses outside the city to help pay off the debt created by the building of the pipeline from Winkler County to Midland. The Texas Bond Review Board estimates showed Midland County Water District No. 1 with $419.316 million in total payments as of last fall.

This week, Jay Edwards told county leaders that a project to tie into the citys distribution system could be completed within a year. He was correct when he said, Its been a long time coming and theres a lot of desperate need out there.

But now it appears help might be on the way. It would be one of the great stories told in a long time inside Midland County.
NEW YORK CITY (dpa-AFX) - Pfizer Inc. (PFE) said Thursday that real-world evidence supports effectiveness of first-line ibrance or palbociclib combination therapy in hormone receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor 2-negative - metastatic breast cancer. The first-line therapy with ibrance in combination with letrozole was associated with improved real-world progression-free survival or rwPFS and overall survival or OS in women with hormone receptor-positive or HR+, human epidermal growth factor 2-negative or HER2- metastatic breast cancer or mBC compared with letrozole alone. The analysis also showed the two-year overall survival rate was 78.3% in the ibrance group and 68.0% with letrozole. The rwPFS and OS benefits were generally consistent across all subgroups, including younger patients (18-50 years of age) and site or extent of metastases. Median overall survival was not reached among patients in the IBRANCE group and was 43.1 months among patients in the letrozole group. These findings represent a 42% reduction in the risk of progression and a 34% reduction in the risk of death. 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.
Some customers of Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JEDC) are lamenting over what they described as fast consumption of units by the meters recently installed for them by the Jos DisCo.

Daily Trust had reported how Jos DisCo recently commenced mass metering in Jos to ensure that all customers are metered.

But soon after the installation in some areas, some communities have begun to complain about the development, saying the tariff was high and whenever they vend light, the units finish within a short period.

Musa Jabir Abunaka, a resident of Unguwan Rogo, complained that he bought N4,000 units which did not last for 17 days, adding that, "Despite sticking to all conditions given to us, the units did not last for reasonable number of days. We have stopped using electric cooking appliances and irons. We have also stopped using the power for many other things but it did not yield any positive results."

Aliyu Keti, another resident of the area, said "We prefer to go back to the estimated billing because we cannot continue to afford the units. I bought the N5,000 units but it did not last for two weeks. We thought the meters would be better but that hasn't been the case."

Reacting to the complaints, the Head, Corporate Communication, Dr. Friday Adakonle Elijah, said there was nothing to complain about the meters because they were fully certified by the appropriate bodies before distributing them to customers.

He said, "There is nothing wrong with the metres. The metres comply with the required specifications and standards. Any customer with a complaint should report to the nearest office to him/her for quick resolution of the problem.

"Customers should also ensure that their premises are properly earthed by qualified engineers to avoid energy leakages," he added.
Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, has announced the Top 50 Master's in Law Enforcement Administration Degree Programs for 2021. The comprehensive research guide is based on an assessment of 173 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 173 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 Master's in Law Enforcement Administration Degree Programs. To access the complete ranking, please visit: https://www.intelligent.com/best-masters-in-law-enforcement-administration-degree-programs/

2021 Master's in Law Enforcement Administration Degree Programs featured on Intelligent.com (in alphabetical order):

Angelo State University

Arizona State University

Bellevue University

Boston University

Bowling Green State University

California State University, San Bernardino

Chaminade University, Honolulu

Colorado State University, Global Campus

Delta State University

East Carolina University

Faulkner University

Florida Atlantic University

Florida International University

Florida State University

Georgetown University

Indiana State University

Kent State University

Lamar University

Lewis University

Liberty University

Michigan State University

Missouri Southern State University

Missouri State University

Monroe College

National University

New Mexico State University

Northeastern University

Nova Southeastern University

Regis University

Rowan University

Saint Joseph's University

Saint Leo University

Sam Houston State University

Slippery Rock University

Texas A&M International University

Tiffin University

University of Alaska, Fairbanks

University of Central Florida

University of Central Missouri

University of Cincinnati

University Of Colorado, Denver

University of Louisville

University of Massachusetts, Lowell

University of Memphis

University of New Haven

University of North Texas

University of Oklahoma

University of San Diego

University of the Cumberlands

University of Wisconsin, Platteville

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/.
CHISINAU -- Moldova's Socialist-dominated parliament has failed for a second time to approve the candidate nominated by pro-Western President Maia Sandu to serve as prime minister, moving the country closer to snap elections.

Igor Grosu on March 25 failed to receive the votes needed due to a lack of a quorum in parliament after the Socialists and the parliamentary bloc For Moldova left the chamber.

Under the constitution, the president has the right to ask for the dissolution of parliament and organize snap elections after a second failure to approve a new prime minister within 45 days.

Lawmakers on February 11 rejected Sandu's previous choice for the post of prime minister, Natalia Gavrilita.

Last week, Sandu nominated Grosu, leader of the pro-European Action and Solidarity Party (PAS), to form a new cabinet, but the Moscow-leaning Socialist Party later proposed its own candidate, Vladimir Golovatiuc, Moldova's ambassador to Russia.

The Constitutional Court on March 21 ruled that Grosu's nomination was lawful.

A U.S.-educated former adviser with the World Bank, Sandu defeated Moscow-backed incumbent Igor Dodon in November 2020 on a pledge to fight entrenched corruption and improve relations with the European Union.

She has repeatedly said she wants to push for snap elections in order to acquire a working majority in the 101-seat legislature.

Moldova, with a population of about 3.5 million, is one of Europes poorest countries and is sharply divided between those who support closer ties with Russia and those who advocate stronger links to Brussels and neighboring EU member Romania.
Colorado Politics is published both in print and online. Our website features subscriber-only news stories daily, designed for public policy arena professionals. Member subscribers also receive the weekly print edition of our award-winning newspaper, containing outstanding features and news stories, in their mailboxes every Saturday.
Photo: (Photo : Photo by Emily Chrislip from Facebook)

Due to lockdown restrictions, a surrogate mom in Idaho who made headlines last year still carries the baby after ten months from giving birth to the baby she bore for a couple in China.

Owing to travel restrictions imposed as a result of COVID-19, the biological parents have been unable to visit the United States. The limits are the primary source of concern. Emily Chrislip, the surrogate mom, doesn't think the couple in China have trouble getting into the United States, but they may have difficulty returning to Asia.

Only FaceTime calls and pictures have allowed the biological parents to see their 10-month-old daughter.

The surrogate mom was scheduled to give birth and hand the baby over to her biological parents on the same day, but COVID-19 was declared a pandemic two months before she was supposed to give birth. The couple has been unable to pick up their daughter due to strict travel restrictions.

READ: Mom Offered Body as Surrogate to Carry Grandchild After Daughter's Many Failed Pregnancies





"I can't believe how quickly time has flown by. I know it was supposed to be four weeks, and we'd take care of her and send her home, but it's now been nine months. We're hoping they'll be able to get here before May, when she turns one," Chrislip remarked.

One of the factors they haven't been able to come to the United States is that the whole procedure of the parents moving to the US to pick up the baby could take up to three months.

"My husband and I have talked about it, and our job is our livelihood, and that's how we pay for things, so we have to work around that for ourselves too," Emily stated.

One of the couple's challenges is China's stringent regulations and the need to take proper safety precautions. They don't want to expose the baby to COVID-19 because they'll be on several flights.

ALSO READ: Woman Serves as Surrogate for High School Friend Whose Chemo Treatment Could Affect Baby







Their surrogacy story

After giving birth to her son in 2018, Emily Chrislip, a Nampa native, agreed to become a surrogate. She decided to give the gift of motherhood to someone else and began the process in February 2019 after consulting with her husband.

Emily was chosen as a surrogate for a couple in China by September of that year. Up until two months before giving birth, when COVID-19 was declared a pandemic and travel restrictions were imposed, everything was going as planned.

The biological parents had the choice of hiring a nanny agency to care for the baby before they could return to the United States to pick her up, but instead requested Emily and her husband to help.

Emily claims she put herself in the parents' shoes and realized she had to care for the child.

But things didn't go as planned, and Emily is still caring for the baby more than four months later, although the initial intention was for her to hand the baby over as soon as she gave birth.

READ MORE: Surrogate Idaho Woman Cares for Newborn Baby for over 4 Months Due to Lockdown
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.
Navies of India and Bangladesh held the seventh round of Staff Talks here from Tuesday to Thursday on various topics, including coordinated patrol along the international maritime boundary line and bilateral exercise Bongosagar, said an official statement.

The Bangladesh Navy delegation was led by Rear Admiral Mohammad Mozammel Haque, the Commander Chattogram Naval Area, and the Indian Navy delegation was led by Rear Admiral J Singh, the Assistant Chief of Naval Staff, the Defence Ministry's statement said.

These Staff Talks were the first bilateral dialogue conducted after the relaxation of Covid-19 travel restrictions, the statement mentioned.

"During the Staff Talks, issues relating to joint cooperative efforts like coordinated patrol along the international maritime boundary line, bilateral exercise Bongosagar, the conduct of naval training and hydrography were discussed," it added.

The Bangladesh Navy delegation also held a fruitful interaction with Vice Admiral M S Pawar, the Deputy Chief of Naval Staff of Indian Navy, on Wednesday.

India and Bangladesh are currently having the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the 1971 war victory that led to the creation of the neighbouring country.

As a part of the celebrations, a host of joint activities have been conducted which include reciprocal ship visits by both the navies, participation in the Republic Day parade this year by Bangladesh armed forces contingent.
In an action packed board meeting, market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India on Thursday approved several amendments to (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015.

Requirement for formulation of dividend distribution policy by the existing top 500 listed companies has been extended to the top 1,000 listed companies on the basis of market capitalisation.

In case of board meetings held for more than one day, the financial results must be disclosed by the listed entities within 30 minutes of end of the board meeting for the day on which the financial results are considered.

The market regulator also made it mandatory for companies to release audio recording of all analyst meetings in 24 hours.

The timelines for submission of periodic corporate reports have been harmonised to 21 days from the end of each quarter.

The board also approved amendments to delisting regulations with an objective to make the delisting process more transparent and efficient.

Under the new regulations, promoter or acquirer will be required to disclose their intention to delist the company by making an initial public announcement. The Committee of Independent Directors will be required to provide their reasoned recommendations on the proposal for delisting.

Further, timelines for completion of various activities forming part of delisting process have been introduced or revised to make the process more efficient.

Promoters will be permitted to specify an indicative price for delisting which shall not be less than the floor price and they will be bound to accept the price discovered through reverse book building if the same is equal to the floor price.

The board has also decided to introduce new requirements for sustainability reporting by listed entities.

This new report will be called the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR) and will replace the existing Business Responsibility Report (BRR).

It will be applicable to the top 1000 listed entities (by market capitalisation), for reporting on a voluntary basis for FY 202122 and on a mandatory basis from FY 202223.

also rationalised the existing framework for reclassification of promoter companies.

Exemptions will be given to existing requirements, in cases of reclassification in line with existing exemption already available to cases of resolution plan approved under section 31 of the Insolvency code and also the requirement of seeking approval of shareholders in cases where the promoter seeking reclassification holds shareholding of less than 1 per cent, subject to the promoter not being in control.

The market regulator has also approved amendments to make Innovator Growth Platform more accessible to companies in view of the evolving start-up ecosystem.

Present eligibility requirement under IGP, for issuer to have 25 per cent of pre-issue capital held by eligible investors for two years period, is reduced to one year.

At present, pre-issue shareholding of such investors for meeting eligibility, is considered for only 10 per cent, which is now increased and will be considered for the entire 25 per cent required for meeting eligibility norms
For full access, please log in, register your subscription or subscribe.

Try for 99 a month for two months, cancel or pause anytime.
On Wednesday, nine-time Grammy winner Rihanna teased her 'Navy' legion of fans that she'll 'soon' release a new song.

The 33-year-old Bajan pop diva was celebrating the milestone of being the 'first black female artist to have an album spend five straight years on the Billboard 200.'

'Grateful to the most High for putting die hard supporters in my circle,' Riri - who boasts 330.1M social media followers - wrote of her eighth studio album Anti.

Trolling or truth? On Wednesday, nine-time Grammy winner Rihanna teased her 'Navy' legion of fans that she'll 'soon' release a new song

'Congrats to everyone that contributed to this era, thank you team.'

When Instagram user @scxwithari urged her to 'celebrate by releasing a song,' Rihanna replied: 'I think I should soon. Just one though, LOL!'

It was the first update the Fenty Beauty CEO has given about her long-delayed ninth studio album, R9, in months.

'I am always working on music and when I am ready to put it out in the way that I feel fit, it's gonna come out,' Riri (born Robyn Fenty) told ET last July.

Congrats! The 33-year-old Bajan pop diva was celebrating the milestone of being the 'first black female artist to have an album spend five straight years on the Billboard 200'

Riri wrote of her eighth studio album Anti: 'Grateful to the most High for putting die hard supporters in my circle. Congrats to everyone that contributed to this era, thank you team'

When Instagram user @scxwithari urged her to 'celebrate by releasing a song,' Rihanna replied: 'I think I should soon. Just one though, LOL!'

'I'm gonna make it worth it': It was the first update the Fenty Beauty CEO has given about her long-delayed ninth studio album, R9, since July (pictured)

'You're not going to be disappointed when it happens. It's going to be worth it. I'm not just gonna put it out just because people are waiting. It's taken this long, I'm gonna make it worth it.'

R9 is rumored to feature her boyfriend A$AP Rocky, Savage X Fenty model Normani, Pharrell, Diplo, and a dancehall track called Private Loving with reggae artist Demarco.

On March 7, Rihanna's cousin Teejay Alleyne posted a video of her using her mezzo-soprano pipes to sing a bar from Jamaican artist Popcaan's 2018 track Silence.

And one year ago, the Black Lives Matter activist provided guest vocals on two-time Grammy-nominated rapper PartyNextDoor's track Believe It.

Possible contenders: R9 is rumored to feature her boyfriend A$AP Rocky (R, pictured in 2020), Savage X Fenty model Normani, Pharrell, Diplo, and a dancehall track called Private Loving with reggae artist Demarco

'Mi love mi family but mi no trust the whole a dem': On March 7, Rihanna's cousin Teejay Alleyne (R) posted a video of her using her mezzo-soprano pipes to sing a bar from Jamaican artist Popcaan's 2018 track Silence

Not exactly silent: And one year ago, the Black Lives Matter activist provided guest vocals on two-time Grammy-nominated rapper PartyNextDoor's (L, pictured April 2) track Believe It

Instead, Rihanna has been focusing on her cosmetics company, coffee table book, and three-year-old lingerie line worth a reported $1B.

Riri's update came as producer Benny Blanco revealed his 2012 track Diamonds with StarGate and Sia was originally intended for either Kanye West or Eminem.

'When it happened, Paul [Rosenberg] was like, "Man, Em had that beat on hold." I was like, "What? I didn't even know,"' the 33-year-old hitmaker recalled to Zane Lowe on Apple Music.

'I'm sitting there, and then I finally am like, "You know what, StarGate?" I let go. I said, "You guys know better. Let's do it." [Rihanna] cut the song. First of all, the second she cut the song, they were completely right. I was like, "This is the best song I've ever done." And then, this is how life works, full circle - Kanye West does a remix to the song.'
The White Tiger, the latest film from Iranian-American director Rahmin Bahrani, is an important treatment of contemporary Indian reality and the massive class gulf between the rich and the poor.

Adarsh Gourav, Priyanka Chopra and Rajkummar Rao in The White Tiger

Bahranis work, streaming on Netflix, is an adaptation of Indian-Australian writer Arvind Adigas debut novel of the same title, which won the Man Booker Prize in 2008. Bahrani has done some remarkable work, including 99 Homes (2015), Chop Shop (2007) and Man Push Cart (2005). He is a talented filmmaker, sensitive to the problems of contemporary life across the globe.

The White Tiger is a coming of age story about a poor rural Indian boy named Balram Halwai (Adarsh Gourav), who escapes the crushing poverty of his village of Laxmangarh. The film begins with Balram in the present writing an email to the visiting Chinese premier Wen Jinbao. Balram recounts his own story and likens the brutality of life for the poor in modern-day India to chickens trapped in a coop.

A gifted youth, Balram is offered a scholarship to go to a school in the Indian capital of Delhi. A school inspector who promotes a Great Socialist politician recognizes him as a rare white tiger. Balrams frail father, meanwhile, is preyed upon by the local village landlord, The Stork. Balrams family ends up owing money to the gangster-landlord that they cannot pay. The youths dreams of Delhi are dashed by his grandmother and he is condemned to a childhood of grueling toil. Balrams father subsequently dies of tuberculosis.

Balram eventually becomes a chauffeur for the landlords son, Ashok (Rajkummar Rao). He usurps the post by exposing his predecessor as a Muslim who hid his faith to keep his job. Balrams opportunist, instrumental attitude toward such issues is clearly intended by the filmmakers to suggest the manner in which religion is viewed and used by the Indian ruling elite and its parties.

The White Tiger

Ashok has spent time in the United States and comes back to India to pursue entrepreneurship with his Indian-American fiancee, Pinky (Priyanka Chopra). Ashok is eventually tasked by his father to bribe the so-called Great Socialist politician in Delhi so the family can avoid paying taxes.

Ashok and Pinky begin to act toward Balram with a mixture of condescension and pity. On Pinkys birthday, Balram drives the two to a bar where they get very drunk. When they return, the heavily intoxicated Pinky insists on taking the wheel. As they drive back and pass homeless families encamped along the way, Pinky runs over and kills a child. Ashok and Pinky, along with a horrified Balram, flee the scene.

A series of indignities follow. Balrams employers coerce him into signing a false confession. They then conspire to get rid of him. Balram is left to fend for himself and plots a desperate action. Eventually, he flees with a large sum of money to the city of Bangalore (the Silicon Valley of India as he puts it), where he goes into business after bribing the local police and becomes a wealthy underground entrepreneur himself.

The White Tiger has many strengths, chief of which is its relatively unvarnished look at the brutality of the vast class divide in India. The depiction of Indias newly rich entrepreneurs as predatory and gangster-like rings true. These are great fortunes made through great social crimes.

The Indian entrepreneur, Balram states early on, has to be straight and crooked, mocking and believing, sly and sincere, all at the same time ... India is two countries in one.

The film is tightly constructed for the most part and the cinematography of life in Indian villages and the big cities of Delhi and Bangalore is evocative and authentic. The portrait of village life is moving, but also severe and unsentimental. It is a haunting moment when Balram sings to a drunk Ashok in the basement where the rough drivers live in the garish lower depths. In another striking sequence, Balram wanders the streets of Delhi in shock and despair and loses his temper at an old beggar. Moreover, the carelessness and cruelty of the landlords family to their lessers, the reality of masters and servants, is also convincing. On the whole, it is a devastating picture of Indian society.

Many of the actors, including the non-professional performers help convey the harshness of life. Gourav is quite exceptional in his role as Balram and Chopra is also quite strong as Pinky.

Some of the weaknesses of the novel are less pronounced in the film, but nonetheless they exist. As we previously observed about the novel, The White Tiger aims at humor, but the tone is flippant by and large, not satirical. Adigas attitude toward the limited and selfish aims of his protagonist [Balram] seems ambiguous.

There is less flippancy in Bahranis film than in Adigas novel, but the resolution of Balrams fate by his becoming something of a Nietzschean superman unwilling to accept a slave morality still indicates some of the problems of perspective in contemporary filmmaking and art. Balram quotes Iqbal, the great Muslim poet, The moment you recognize what is beautiful in this world, you stop being a slave. In fact, it takes more than that.

Balrams rebellion against servitude is an individualistic one. He opposes Indias social inequality by becoming a master himself, if a bit more enlightened. Cynicism clings to such an outlook even as Bahrani rightly brings out the deep gulf between the classes.

Adiga, a close friend of Bahrani (they went to Columbia University together as undergraduates), reveals some of these contradictory views in an interview with Vulture: I loved the new entrepreneurial view that the Indians were showing, which was unimaginable in my time. But also it left me slightly anxious Theres much less optimism today in India than at the time when the book was written.

The White Tiger (2021)

Indian society is deeply polarized today and poised for great upheavals of the working class and the oppressed masses. There are 177 billionaires in India while tens of millions suffer from crushing poverty and hunger. The policies of the Indian ruling class in regard to the COVID-19 pandemic have devastated vast numbers of the poor and oppressed. Over 160,000 people have died, according to the official count, which is likely a severe underestimate.

The far-right government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his fascistic Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) preside over an economy in near ruins as they use police repression and violence against all opposition. The rise of the far right has been facilitated by various strata of the ruling class and its appendages for over half a century, including the Congress Party and its supporters in the Stalinist parties. And some of the phony socialism of the Stalinists and their corruption is conveyed in Bahranis film, if only cursorily.

But vast social anger is coming to the fore. Earlier this year, farmers began mass protests against the Modi governments policies that will benefit investors and agribusiness at their expense. Over one million Indian bank workers carried out a two-day strike recently against further privatization efforts. Such opposition emerges from the sharp class conflicts that have long been suppressed by the Stalinists, the trade unions and the ruling class parties. That period is coming to an end.

The White Tiger is a perceptive and pointed film, despite certain shortcomings, that exposes the lie of the Indian ruling elite that it is the worlds biggest democracy. It is a scathing, unavoidable portrait of a society that demands even further artistic scrutiny while official Indian cinema remains largely divorced from reality.
Indonesian foreign minister Retno Marsudi (right) and Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan walk past flags of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) during their meeting in Jakarta, March 25, 2021.

Singapore on Thursday joined Malaysia and Indonesia in calling for an urgent summit of Southeast Asian leaders to discuss the post-coup crisis in Myanmar, as its top diplomat wrapped up a three-nation tour with Myanmar on the agenda at each stop.

Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan met with Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi in Jakarta  his last stop on the regional trip  where they discussed the Feb. 1 military coup in Myanmar and the killing of more than 250 pro-democracy protesters there since then.

Balakrishnan said that his country and Indonesia, both members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, were very distressed by the situation in fellow member-state Myanmar and supported an ASEAN leaders meeting to arrive at a common position on Myanmar.

Both Indonesia and Singapore believe there should be no foreign interference. But ASEAN stands ready to help in any way that we can help, Balakrishnan told a news conference after his meeting with Retno, which was on the agenda of his two-day visit to Indonesia.

Therefore, we also support our leaders getting together to generate a common position in which ASEAN can express its support for Myanmar, said the city-states top diplomat, who conveyed similar messages during his stops in Brunei and Malaysia before arriving in Indonesia.

Last week, Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and Indonesian President Joko Jokowi Widodo called for an urgent summit of ASEAN leaders to discuss the turmoil in Myanmar. Jokowi said he would talk with Brunei, this years ASEAN chair, about the summit.

The 10-member regional bloc has been roundly criticized as ineffective, both by regional politicians as well as civil rights groups, for not being able to achieve a common stance on the rapidly devolving situation in Myanmar.

Non-interference in members domestic affairs is ASEANs foundational principle and a major obstacle, critics said.

It came as no surprise to many that a special meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers in early March had failed to agree on demanding the immediate release of Myanmars civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and others held by the military.

On Thursday, Indonesias Retno pointedly said that the regional groups goal to achieve an ASEAN Community can only be achieved with the contribution of all ASEAN Members.

UN Urges Regional Summit

Meanwhile, a United Nations expert on Thursday also said that Myanmars neighbors  and indeed all other nations  needed to step up because the international response to the situation there was flagging.

An urgent meeting of Southeast Asian nations and other influential countries was imperative to prevent things in Myanmar from deteriorating more, said Thomas Andrews, U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar.

Without a focused, diplomatic solution, including the hosting of an emergency summit that brings together Myanmars neighbors and those countries with great influence in the region, I fear the situation of human rights in Myanmar will further deteriorate as the junta increases the rate of murders, enforced disappearances and torture, Andrews said in a statement issued by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR).

Andrews called on those in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the European Union, the United States and China, to hold an emergency summit of all stakeholders, including the duly elected illegally deposed parliamentarians who make up the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw.

Andrews was referring to a shadow parliament formed by Burmese lawmakers elected in the November 2020 vote in Myanmar, which the junta claims was marred by fraud.

In fact, a group comprising Southeast Asian lawmakers said this week that ASEAN should consider sending a joint delegation to Naypyidaw with Christine Schraner Burgener, the U.N. Special Envoy to Myanmar, to monitor the situation and help negotiate a democratic and human rights-based solution.

The Myanmar army is killing people every day. Statements are welcome but are useless against the militarys bullets, Charles Santiago, a Malaysian MP who chairs the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights, said in a statement.

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners put the death toll from the Myanmar militarys crackdown on anti-coup protesters at 275.

One Indonesian analyst believed that pressure from ASEAN member-nations like Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore would convince Brunei to call a summit of the groups leaders.

These three countries are founding members of ASEAN. Combined, they hold the largest economic power and population, nearly half of the entire region, Teuku Rezasyah, a lecturer in international relations at Padjajaran University in Bandung, told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.

Rezasyah said Indonesia could also initiate a meeting between the Myanmar military and veteran political and military figures in the region, including former Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri, former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, and former Singapore premier Goh Chok Tong.

US extends Myanmar sanctions

On the other side of the globe, meanwhile, the United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on two entities in Myanmar, in what it called its most significant action to date to impose costs on the military regime.

It sanctioned two of Myanmars largest military holding companies linked to leaders of the coup.

All shares in them are held and managed by current or former Burmese military officers, regiments, and units, and organizations led by former service members, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in a statement.

These actions will specifically target those who led the coup, the economic interests of the military, and the funding streams supporting the Burmese militarys brutal repression. They are not directed at the people of Burma, he said.

Washington also condemned as abhorrent and brutal the killings by Myanmar government forces of children as young as 7 years old.

Such acts further demonstrate the horrific nature of the Burmese military regimes assault on its own people, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said.

Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.
State lawmakers finalized a deal on Thursday to legalize recreational marijuana in New York, paving the way for a potential $4.2 billion industry that could create tens of thousands of jobs and become one of the largest markets in the country.

Following several failed attempts, lawmakers in Albany struck an agreement with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to legalize cannabis for adults 21 and older, a move that officials hope will help end years of racially disproportionate policing that saw Black and Hispanic people arrested on low-level marijuana charges far more frequently than white people.

The deal would allow delivery of the drug and permit club-like lounges or consumption sites where marijuana, but not alcohol, could be consumed, according to details obtained by The New York Times. It would also allow a person to cultivate up to six marijuana plants at home, indoors or outdoors, for personal use.

If approved, the first sales of legal marijuana are likely more than a year away: Officials must first face the daunting task of writing the complex rules that will control a highly regulated market, from the regulation of wholesalers and dispensaries, to the allocation of cultivating and retail licenses, to the creation of new taxes and a five-member control board that would oversee the industry.
Equa rendering Through this partnership, we are addressing this issue [lack of affordable housing] head-on and ensuring our most vulnerable families and community members are housed. - Supervisor Hilda L. Solis.

Linc Housing, a nonprofit developer and owner of affordable and supportive housing throughout California, started construction on Equa, an 81-unit apartment community in Los Angeles Countys Avocado Heights neighborhood. Thirty-four of the new homes are for people who have experienced homelessness, while the remainder are for low-income households earning 30-70% of the area median income.

Named as a tribute the areas equestrian heritage and Lincs commitment to helping build a more equitable society, Equa will provide much needed housing for this neighborhood in unincorporated Los Angeles County. The six-story building, located at 162 S. 3rd Avenue near La Puente, Calif., will have 40 one-bedroom, 20 two-bedroom, and 20 three-bedroom apartments, as well as one three-bedroom managers unit.

Los Angeles County is proud to partner with Linc Housing to bring much needed affordable and supportive housing to the community near La Puente, shared Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Hilda L. Solis, Supervisor to the First District. Prior to the pandemic, the County was facing a homelessness crisis that has been marked by systemic inequities and a lack of affordable housing that has only been exacerbated by the pandemic. Through this partnership, we are addressing this issue head-on and ensuring our most vulnerable families and community members are housed.

The complex, which will seek LEED certification, will feature ample community space, including two courtyards, a tot lot, and open space for children of all ages to play. The central community room located on the ground floor will include space for the residents to gather, a reading area, and a game room. Where the residential spaces begin on the second floor, landscaping and seating areas provide a welcoming gathering area, promoting social interaction. Thirteen apartments will be accessible for individuals with mobility or sensory impairments.

We know the solution to the affordable housing and homelessness issue in Los Angeles is to build more housing, said Suny Lay Chang, president and COO, Linc Housing. Equa represents another excellent collaboration with Los Angeles County, whose support helped make this new community a reality. Were working side-by-side with the County to get as much housing built as quickly as possible. Our vision for Equa is to provide a beautiful and safe environment for individuals and families to thrive. Linc is invested for the long run, and well make sure residents have the support they need to pursue their goals.

With funding support from Los Angeles County, the 34 households that have experienced homelessness will receive intensive case management. Supportive services will include mental health and physical health services, employment counseling and job placement, education, substance abuse counseling, money management, assistance in obtaining and maintaining benefits, and referrals to community-based services and resources. In addition, Linc will offer its signature resident services programs, focused on nutrition, exercise, after-school program, adult education, and community engagement.

Funding for the development comes from a variety of sources including construction and permanent loans from Union Bank, $5 million from the Los Angeles County Development Authority (No Place Like Home funds), and tax credit equity from Raymond James Tax Credit Funds Inc. In a unique partnership with Raymond James, CVS Health has provided funding as part of their commitment to address housing insecurities and promote community health improvement in vulnerable populations. The County of Los Angeles provided a permit fee waiver as well as rental assistance vouchers for 45 units. The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services will provide funding for the intensive case management.

D33 Design and Planning designed Equa, and National Community Renaissance (CORE) is the general contractor. Construction of affordable housing has been designated an essential activity during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the construction team will follow recommended safety protocols to keep the job site safe. The development is due to be completed in late 2022. The 34 supportive housing apartments will be filled through referrals from the County of Los Angeles Coordinated Entry System (CES). Rental information for the remaining homes will be available closer to the completion date.

About Linc Housing Corporation

Linc Housing, one of California's most productive nonprofit developers of affordable housing, is committed to building communities and strengthening neighborhoods for people underserved by the marketplace. Linc has helped create nearly 8,800 homes in 88 communities throughout the state. The organization's properties are known for excellent design, outstanding management and life-enhancing services for its residents. Linc has 37 years of service to families, seniors, people with special needs, and local governments - helping to create sustainable communities via new construction, acquisition and rehabilitation, and historic preservation. Visit http://www.Linchousing.org for more information.


A heavy rainstorm that hit some communities in the Akatsi North District of the Volta region in the late hours of Monday led to the death of a JHS 2 pupil.



Tsakawo Moses, a 21 year pupil of Agbondo Basic School was allegedly electrocuted around Ave- Adidotinu area when he went to seek refuge as a result of the rainstorm that had ripped-off their house.



Mr Julius Alex Dzamesi, the Assembly-member for the area disclosed to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that the deceased was among other three boys attempting to seek refuge when the incident occurred.



"The boys, numbering four, were seeking refuge after their building got ripped off by the rainstorm and during the process, Moses got electrocuted by a loose Low Voltage (LV) electric wire resulting in his instant death," he said.



The rainstorm ripped-off many roofs in areas such as Amule, Agbondo and Atanve.



The impact of the floods have rendered some residents, many of whom are farmers including school pupils homeless.



Mr Godfred Root Kudalor, the Akatsi North District Director of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), said to the GNA the rainstorm has caused serious damage to lives and properties.



He said a total of 41 houses were affected comprising of 88 adults with a breakdown of 48 women and 40 men.



Mr Kudalor said it has been revealed also that about 54 children were also affected.



"Currently, we have made available some church buildings to serve as safe haven for those without any place of abode while some others are also residing with their relations," he said.



Many of the residents in the affected areas per intelligence by the GNA, spent hours sweeping flood waters from their homes while rescuing their personal belongings.



The rainstorm also ripped off the roof of a three unit classroom block which was constructed by Pencils of Promise, a non-governmental organisation.



Residents in the affected areas, are therefore, appealing to the District Chief Executive for the area and other donors for their support.

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
Lies never able to cover truths

14:18, March 25, 2021 By Zhong Sheng ( People's Daily Online

A few countries in the west have been fabricating lies and spreading rumors about Xinjiang affairs to attack China's Xinjiang policy. However, most of the countries in the world believe that it is just a vicious tactic under the name of the so-called human rights to contain China's development and undermine the country's security and stability.

Xinjiang-related issues are not human rights issues at all. They are in essence about countering violent terrorism, radicalization and separatism. There have never been such things as "genocide", "forced labor" or "religious oppression" in the autonomous region.

Photo taken on July 13, 2019 shows a morning view of Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Zhao Ge)

Out of prejudices, ignorance, and even hostility, some so-called scholars and institutions with ulterior motives did everything to fabricate the biggest lie of the century. They are, in a blatant manner, standing on the opposite side of justice and conscience. A few western countries, fanning the flames and aiding the evil, also tried their best to smear China.

However, lies are always lies, and they can never cover the truths. Uygur female representatives from Xinjiang recently made solemn statements at the 46th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), warning those with a vicious mind to stay away from the beautiful place and stop harming the friendship among the Chinese people of all ethnic groups.

No one is in a better position to judge China's performance on human rights protection than the Chinese people. Over the past 40 some years, the Uygur population in Xinjiang has doubled from 5.55 million to over 12 million. The autonomous region's GDP also surged by more than 200 times in the past six decades, and the average life expectancy of Xinjiang residents rose from 30 years to 72 years. The region is experiencing its most auspicious period of development ever in history, with sustained social stability, people living in peace and contentment, as well as unity among all ethnic groups. Basic rights of the residents, including the rights to life, health and development are guaranteed. These are undeniable facts.

Any one that respects facts would give China a fair comment on the country's obvious progress in human rights protection.

In recent years, a total of more than 1,200 diplomats, officials of international organizations, journalists and religious personnel from over 100 countries have visited Xinjiang and seen the region with their eyes. What they witnessed was entirely different from some Western media reports.

Renowned French author Maxime Vivas recently published a book about his two trips to the autonomous region, in which he, through his own experiences, reveals the reality of Xinjiang. "Countless lies are being spread by people who have never been to Xinjiang," he says in the book titled "Uygurs, to put an end to fake news."

Adama Compaore, ambassador of Burkina Faso to China said recently that the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the World Bank, and countries including Egypt, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Thailand have all sent delegations to visit Xinjiang, and they appreciated China's anti-terrorism and de-radicalization efforts. He believes that some western forces hyping up the so-called Xinjiang-related issues are actually launching unprovoked attacks on China to serve their own ulterior motives.

Justice will always prevail. Friendly and developing countries have always had a fair and objective stance and supported China on a number of multilateral occasions. They backed China's position and measures on Xinjiang affairs with overwhelming voices, and strongly condemned certain countries distorting facts and aiding the evil.

Cuba, on behalf of 64 countries, made a joint statement at the 46th session of the UNHRC, urging relevant countries to stop using Xinjiang-related matters to interfere in China's internal affairs, stop making unjustified and politically-motivated accusations against China, and stop seeking to contain developing countries under the pretext of human rights issues. Besides the joint statement, representatives from many other countries have spoken out separately to support China's legitimate stance on Xinjiang-related matters.

All lies will be shattered by facts, and rumors can only be torn apart by justice. These western countries had better abandon their ideological prejudices, stop double standard and political manipulation on human rights issues, and stop using Xinjiang-related matters to interfere in China's internal affairs and harm China's interests.

(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People's Daily to express its views on foreign policy.)

(Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji)
Penny Wong was asked whether she 'got out of bed on the wrong side' in the morning after a fiery exchange during Senate estimates.

The senator went head-to-head with Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Women, Marise Payne, on Thursday as they discussed the 36,000 Australians still stranded overseas due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Ms Payne was explaining that the number of Australians who have returned home since the borders were shut could be provided to estimates when Senator Wong interjected.

'That's not what I asked minister,' she said, before Ms Payne asked if she could finish her statement.

Senator Wong went head-to-head with Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Women Marise Payne on Thursday as they discussed the 36,000 Australians still stranded overseas due to the coronavirus pandemic

Senator Wong continued: 'I didn't ask that actually. I ask the questions.

'It's a non-responsive answer. I have asked her.'

Ms Payne then cut in: 'Well you wouldn't know if it's a non-responsive answer senator because I actually didn't even finish the sentence.'

Senator Wong then said the minister could 'spruik' what she wants through a press conference or media release.

'I'm asking her a question, can she please answer it?' Senator Wong said.

Senator Wong was then asked about her mood by Liberal Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells.

'What happened senator? Did you get up on the wrong side of the bed or something?' she mocked.

Senator Wong replied bluntly.

'I'm just tired of this government's obfuscation, I'm tired of the spin and I'm tired of people not telling the truth,' she said.

Senator Wong was then asked about her mood by Liberal Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells: 'What happened senator? Did you get up on the wrong side of the bed or something?'

The squabble was shared to Twitter, where other angry Australians threw their support behind Senator Wong.

'Penny Wong is most women in Australia right now, tired, fed up and very cranky cause of the absolute bollocks we are being fed,' one person tweeted.

'We are all tired of the spin/deflection and lies. Senator Wong could not have made it clearer how she and Australians feel,' another said.

A third wrote: 'Penny Wong in senate estimates could be pay-per-view and I'd subscribe.'

On Thursday morning, Senator Wong suggested she would press for answers to get Australians home.

'First up this morning in #Estimates, Foreign Minister Marise Payne and DFAT - will they have more to offer #strandedAussies than last time?' she wrote on Twitter.

More than 36,000 Australians remain stranded overseas with around 4860 considered to be vulnerable as coronavirus travel restrictions continue.

India and the UK have the most Australians registered to return home, followed by the US, the Philippines and Thailand.

On Thursday morning, Senator Wong suggested she would press for answers to get Australians home. 'First up this morning in #Estimates, Foreign Minister Marise Payne and DFAT - will they have more to offer #strandedAussies than last time?' she wrote on Twitter

In September, Prime Minister Scott Morrison promised to get as many people as possible on the list home by Christmas.

'Since that commitment was made, there are more people who are vulnerable who are stranded,' Senator Wong said.

Ms Payne defended the numbers, saying the Government had facilitated more than 100 commercial repatriation flights since the start of the pandemic.

Between Mr Morrison's September announcement and Christmas, 24,000 registered Australians returned home with more than 5000 classified as vulnerable.

Senator Wong urged DFAT or the minister to provide a target date for citizens and permanent residents to be returned.

Senior official Lynette Wood said it was hard to give an indication with new people constantly joining the list.

'The cup keeps refilling,' she told the hearing.

'It's not as if it's a finite number and the door has closed. More and more people keep registering.'

Ms Wood believes the northern hemisphere winter triggered a spike with a new coronavirus wave sweeping large parts of the world.
A transgender student has won a $300,000 discrimination lawsuit after he was stopped from using the boys' changing room. Minnesota's largest school district will pay out the sum after the years-long lawsuit was settled this week.

The student, Nick H, was a freshman and a member of the swim team at Coon Rapids High School in the Anoka-Hennepin school district during the 2015-2016 academic year. He used the boys' changing room for gym classes and swim practices until the school board decided that he was to use a separate changing room on his own, Pioneer Press reported.

Nick H told reporters on Tuesday: All of [a] sudden it was like I was going to be in trouble if I used the boys' locker room. I did rebel and I did use the regular boys' locker room and then I was sent to the principals office the next day."

He was taken to hospital three times during 2016 and 2017 because of mental health concerns, court documents say, as the school board decided what action to take, and he ultimately changed schools and left the district before filing the lawsuit in 2019.

Prior to the school boards discriminatory actions, Nick had been doing well academically and socially at school. Then he started getting bullied and getting threats, causing him severe emotional distress, ACLU attorney David McKinney said according to Pioneer Press.

Read more:

The school district moved to settle the suit after two court rulings, one in which a district judge denied their request to dismiss the lawsuit in 2019. The second and final blow came when the Minnesota Court of Appeals backed that decision, ruling that the district had discriminated against Nick H by forcing him to use a separate changing room.

According to the lawsuit, the single-occupancy changing room was built during the summer of his freshman year and no other facility like it was created anywhere else in the district. No other students were required to use the changing room with extra privacy, the lawsuit said.

"I'll be honest. This was hard. This was a hard experience  I really put myself out there, but I know that just by being here, by standing up and being visible, I can make a difference. We all can," Nick H said according to the Star Tribune.

According to the settlement agreement, the school district will pay Nick's lawyers $110,000 and $190,000 to Nick, who will receive $1,000 a month for 18 years.

The agreement also requires the school district to adopt new policies that allow transgender and gender non-conforming students to use the school facilities that match their gender identity. They must also train staff, students, and board members on the policy every year for the next three years.

The school district put out a statement which said: The district is committed to providing a safe and respectful learning environment for all students and families including transgender and gender-nonconforming students."

Mr McKinney said: If [students] are treated differently, if they are discriminated against because they are transgender, it will not be tolerated, and school districts will be held accountable."

The now 20-year-old Nick H said that he hoped that the lawsuit would make things better for the next generation of students," according to Pioneer Press.

St Paul nonprofit Gender Justice backed Nick in the lawsuit. The organisation's executive director Megan Peterson told the Star Tribune: "Discrimination against transgender students is not only hurtful and wrong, it is also expensive."

The agreement also requires that there's a process through which students can complain if their rights are violated.

"Say something, speak up ... Help is out there." Nick H said according to the Star Tribune.

Advocates say that conservative groups are organising a coordinated assault on the rights of transgender Americans with bills on the state level. NBC News reported last month that bills in at least 20 states are targeting the rights of the transgender community.
External Article

25 March 2021

"We see all of this pent-up demand coming back. It's going to be a frenzy this summer," Starwood Capital's Barry Sternlicht told CNBC on Wednesday.

The billionaire investor said that signs of the post-coronavirus recovery are already evident in Miami.

He said one of his company's hotels in the area, 1 Hotel South Beach, is "ahead in February of this year, ahead of 2019."

Billionaire investor Barry Sternlicht told CNBC on Wednesday the U.S. travel recovery is well on its way  at least in parts of the country like Florida  after a Covid-induced slowdown.

"We see all of this pent-up demand coming back. It's going to be a frenzy this summer," the chairman and CEO of Miami-based Starwood Capital Group said on "Squawk Box."

For example, Miami restaurant attendance data from OpenTable shows many days in March have been higher than pre-pandemic levels from 2019
For many years, teachers from the delta area of Binh Dinh Province in Vietnam have called Canh Tien, a small village in Van Canh District, home.

Isolated in a forest, the village is only accessible via a 10-km road running through Nui Mot Lake.

Canh Tien Village has two schools  a kindergarten with 40 children and an elementary school with 51 students. All of them are Ba Na and Cham ethnicities.

Every Monday, teachers carry rice, salt, and other foods from home to Nui Mot Lake before rowing a boat to the village and staying there till Friday.

Le Thi Na Uy from Tuy Phuoc District started her teaching career in 2018.

At the time, there was no electricity, water or market. The cellular network was unstable," she recalled.

"Now we have solar energy but there are still dangers to travel during the rainy season.

"It is hard to navigate while rowing a boat. Extremely scary!

During the rainy season, teachers have to walk a long road before getting on a boat to access Canh Tien Village in Van Canh District, Binh Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Lam Thien / Tuoi Tre

Canh Tien Elementary School is located right in the middle of the namesake village in Van Canh District, Binh Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Lam Thien / Tuoi Tre

Despite all the difficulties, teachers take pride in their students.

They compliment whenever we wear new clothes," Uy said, recalling the kind acts of her students.

"Sometimes, they give us maize or veggies they garner from the forest.

Tran Van Tho, principal of Canh Lien Elementary School, said they were happy when the village got solar energy in late 2020.

The school expects to build a dorm for teachers and school grounds in the near future.

Dinh Van Phuoc (R), a student of Canh Tien Elementary School in Van Canh District, Binh Dinh Province, Vietnam gives his teachers some home-cooked corncobs. Photo: Lam Thien / Tuoi Tre

In the evening, teachers go to a students house in Canh Tien Village in Van Canh District, Binh Dinh Province, Vietnam to discuss his progress with his parents. Photo: Lam Thien / Tuoi Tre

A teacher arranges her food boxes. The food is mostly braised for longer preservation. Photo: Lam Thien / Tuoi Tre

Teacher Le Thi Na Uy checks the homework of her 4th and 5th graders at Canh Tien Elementary School in Van Canh District, Binh Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Lam Thien / Tuoi Tre

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Residents fled New York City and San Francisco after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but cell phone data indicates that they didnt go too far.

A new study shows that many of the residents who relocated from Manhattan and the City by the Bay changed addresses to those in the outer boroughs or neighboring suburban counties that lie within a radius of just 100 miles.

Nearly two in five - or 37 per cent - of those who moved out of Manhattan settled in either Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, Long Island, and Westchester.

Just 2 per cent of Manhattanites migrated to Miami-Dade County in Florida while about the same percentage moved to Palm Beach County, according to the study conducted by the analytics firm Placer.ai.

The study analyzed mobile phone data from the 12 months that preceded January 2021.

The largest percentage - 14 per cent - of former Manhattan residents decamped for Suffolk County, where many presumably own second homes in the Hamptons and nearby hamlets along the southern shore of eastern Long Island.

A new study shows that many of the residents who relocated from Manhattan changed addresses to those in the outer boroughs or neighboring suburban counties

Similar trends were observed in San Francisco. According to the study, many who left the city stayed in the Bay Area. One of ten San Franciscans moved across the bay to San Mateo County while slightly less than that - 9. 2 per cent - relocated to Alameda County

A U-Haul moving truck is seen above in San Francisco in this 2016 file photo. New York and San Francisco were two of several large cities that saw a negative net migration between January 2020 and January 2021

Another 15 per cent combined relocated to Nassau County, Queens, Brooklyn, and The Bronx.

Fairfield, Connecticut; Westchester County, New York; and Monmouth County, New Jersey accounted for a total of 7.4 per cent of transplanted Manhattanites.

Similar trends were observed in San Francisco.

According to the study, many who left the city stayed in the Bay Area. One of ten San Franciscans moved across the bay to San Mateo County while slightly less than that - 9. 2 per cent - relocated to Alameda County.

The third most popular destination for those leaving San Francisco was Contra Costa County, home of Berkeley.

The study also found that New York, California, and Massachusetts were among the states that saw the highest level of negative migration between January 2020 and January 2021. Meanwhile, low-population states like Montana, Idaho, Delaware, and Hawaii experienced population growth during that same time period

Some 6.3 per cent of San Francisco residents moved south to Los Angeles while 5.2 per cent stayed a bit closer to home and settled in Santa Clara county.

About 15 per cent total moved to various locales including Sacramento, Orange County, San Diego, Sonoma County, and Marin County.

The clear takeaway is that even large municipalities with high out-of-state migration rates lost a large percentage of their residents to nearby in-state and neighboring out-of-state counties, the Placer.ai studys authors concluded.

So while cities may be losing residents in the short term, they arent necessarily losing their center of gravity.

This information can have a considerable impact on local office and retail distribution decisions.

The study also found that New York, California, and Massachusetts were among the states that saw the highest level of negative migration between January 2020 and January 2021.

New York State saw a negative net migration of 1.8 per cent while Californias negative net migration stood at 1.1 per cent.

The negative net migration of Massachusetts was 1.4 per cent.

As for cities, San Francisco saw the largest negative net migration (2.4 per cent) followed by Los Angeles (1.9 per cent), Boston (1.7 per cent), New York (1.2 per cent), and Chicago (0.7 per cent)

Meanwhile, low-population states like Montana, Idaho, Delaware, and Hawaii experienced population growth during that same time period.

Idahos population grew by nearly 4 per cent while Montana saw a positive net migration of 3.7 per cent.

As for cities, San Francisco saw the largest negative net migration (2.4 per cent) followed by Los Angeles (1.9 per cent), Boston (1.7 per cent), New York (1.2 per cent), and Chicago (0.7 per cent).

The cities that saw the highest positive net migration during 2020 include Tampa (1.5 per cent), Charleston (1.5 per cent), Austin (1.3 per cent), Phoenix (1.3 per cent), and Las Vegas (0.8 per cent).

Despite the grim news, recent developments like the introduction of a COVID-19 vaccine as well as declining infection rates offer some hope.

In recent days, New York City has been showing signs of returning to life one year in to the coronavirus pandemic, with tourism slowly increasing and more pedestrians visiting Times Square.

Though activity in the city still remains well below pre-pandemic levels, tourism officials say the trickle of visitors is increasing in another sign that New York is bouncing back.

The Times Square Alliance, a nonprofit group that oversees the area, told the Wall Street Journal last week that 115,000 people per day have passed through the iconic area recently.

People gather for a performance in Times Square on March 12. Some 115,000 people per day have passed through the iconic area recently, a 15% increase from winter numbers

People wear face masks while walking at The Mall in Central Park amid the coronavirus pandemic on March 11, 2021 in New York City

Mobility data from Apple shows that pedestrian activity in New York City is 35 percent below the pre-pandemic baseline

That's an increase of 15 percent over the daily traffic that Times Square has seen since September - but less than a third of the 365,000 daily visitors the tourist mecca saw before the pandemic.

As well, the city's hotel occupancy reached 47 percent for the week that ended March 13, the highest weekly figure since last June, according to STR, a data firm that tracks the hospitality industry.

That's up from 38 percent in January but well below the 87 percent occupancy rate the city's hotels had from the same week in 2019.

Tourism is a vital driver of New York's economy, and in 2019 the city welcomed a record 66.6 million visitors, according to NYC & Company, the city's tourism bureau.

Last year the number fell to 22.3 million, but the agency projects that this year it will increase to 36.4 million.

Mobility data from Apple shows that pedestrian activity in New York City is 35 percent below the pre-pandemic baseline, up from 80 percent below baseline a year ago.

The data shows that driving activity is roughly even with the baseline, while transit activity remains 48 percent below baseline.

Transit data from the MTA shows that daily subway ridership in NYC still remains more than 60 percent below last year's levels, as New Yorkers eschew public transit in favor of other means of transportation or work from home.

It comes as restrictions in the Big Apple ease, with New York state planning to end a two-week quarantine mandate on out-of-state domestic visitors on April 1.
UNHCR Kenya

This statement is in response to a number of inquiries we have received on the overall situation of LGBTIQ+ refugees in Kakuma refugee camp and a security incident that took place on 15 March 2021.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, remains deeply committed to the protection of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer (LGBTIQ+) refugees and asylum-seekers across the world, including in Kenya.

In recent years, UNHCR has invested heavily in building capacity and ensuring more attention is paid to the specific and profound challenges that LGBTIQ+ people face. We have also closely followed up the situation in Kakuma refugee camp, which hosts about 300 refugees and asylum-seekers with an LGBTIQ+ profile and stepped up our services on the ground.

Despite the challenges of life in a refugee camp, the overwhelming majority report to us that they have been able to live peacefully within the Kakuma community. This comes in stark contrast with reports of security incidents, including on social media, by a small group of refugees with an LGBTIQ+ profile residing in Kakuma 3, who are requesting urgent resettlement out of Kenya.

We are concerned by these incidents as well as by the increasing tensions between this group and other refugees, including some with an LGBTIQ+ profile. Several have reported being threatened or attacked by members of this particular group for refusing to join protests or lend their voice to the call for urgent resettlement on security grounds.

UNHCRs sole objective is to ensure the protection of all refugees. We have undertaken, together with Kenyas Refugee Affairs Secretariat (RAS) and partner organizations, a number of initiatives in an attempt to address this complex and tense situation.

In addition to increased police patrols in Kakuma 3, medical, legal and psycho-social assistance has been strengthened in the camp. RAS, UNHCR and partners have also held meetings with community leaders in Kakuma 3 to identify solutions and reduce tensions, although the smaller group of LGBTIQ+ persons has declined to engage in these dialogues. We hope that they will change views and agree to engage.

Furthermore, over the past several months over 30 individuals with an LGBTIQ+ profile have been relocated from Kakuma 3 to other parts of the camp based on the protection concerns raised by them and following careful assessment by our teams on the ground.

UNHCR does not tolerate discrimination or any form of violence against refugees, including violence committed by other refugees, and works with law enforcement and other branches of government in Kenya to ensure that refugees are protected and safe.

Despite these efforts, on 15 March 2021, two refugees suffered burn injuries in a fire following an alleged arson attack in Kakuma 3 where they resided. UNHCR organized their transfer to a regional hospital in Lodwar and, following expert advice from burn specialists, to a Nairobi hospital. Both are receiving specialized treatment for their burns and progress in their recovery is being closely monitored by the local medical team and a UNHCR doctor.

We strongly condemn this senseless violence. We have been advised that the ongoing investigation by Kenyan police is progressing and we hope that it will bring full clarity in respect of this incident and that those responsible will be held to account in accordance with Kenyan law.

Resettlement departures, which slowed down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, are progressively picking up. Despite the generosity of some states, resettlement needs globally remain far greater than the actual number of spaces available. This means that priority will continue to be given to those who need it most, including survivors of torture or sexual and gender-based violence, and unaccompanied minors. Many refugees with an LGBTIQ+ profile have, based on their individual circumstances, been resettled from Kenya over the years. Since 2019, some 235 refugees with this profile have been submitted for resettlement, of whom 48 per cent have departed.

UNHCR will continue to work closely with all partners to ensure that those who need it most are put forward for resettlement, while also advocating for more resources and resettlement places for vulnerable refugees. In addition, we welcome and encourage private sponsorship programmes and related initiatives from civil society groups based outside of Kenya.

Kenya currently hosts more than 512,000 refugees and asylum-seekers, including an estimated 1,000 LGBTIQ+ refugees. It remains the only country in the region to provide asylum to those fleeing persecution based on sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.

ENDS

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter
Lucknow, March 25 : After objecting to 'azaan', Uttar Pradesh Minister Anand Swarup Shukla has now said the Muslim women will be 'freed' from the practice of wearing 'burqa', which he described as an evil custom and compared it to the banned triple talaq.

A day earlier, the minister had written to the Ballia district magistrate, complaining that he is facing difficulties in discharging his duties due to loudspeakers at mosques and said the volume should be fixed according to the court orders.

"Muslim women will be freed from 'burqa' like triple talaq. There will come a time when they will get rid of it. There are many Muslim countries where 'burqa' is banned," Shukla told reporters.

Shukla, the Uttar Pradesh Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs minister, said 'burqa' is 'inhuman and evil custom' and added that those with progressive thinking are shunning it and not pressing for its use.

Commenting on his letter to the district magistrate in which he raised objection to the volume of loudspeakers at the mosque near his house, the minister said that those having problems should dial '112' and inform police about it, adding if proper steps are not taken, he will decide further course of action.

"Namaz is offered five times in a day, and throughout the day. As a result of it, I face problems in doing Yoga, meditation, puja (worship) and discharging government duties," Shukla had said in the letter, referring to the Kajipura Madina Masjid in his constituency.
DUBLIN, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Ultra-low Temperature Freezers Global Market Report 2021: COVID-19 Implications and Growth" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global ultra-low temperature freezers market is expected to decline from $633.94 million in 2020 to $805.47 million in 2021 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27.06%.

The change in growth trend is mainly due to the companies stabilizing their output after catering to the demand that grew exponentially during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The market is expected to reach $1 billion in 2025 at a CAGR of 5.7%.



This report focuses on ultra-low temperature freezers market which is experiencing strong growth. The report gives a guide to the ultra-low temperature freezers market which will be shaping and changing our lives over the next ten years and beyond, including the markets response to the challenge of the global pandemic.



Major players in the ultra-low temperature freezers market are Arctiko, Eppendorf, Esco Micro Pte Ltd, Haier, Helmer Scientific, Bionics Scientific Technologies (P). Ltd, PHC Holdings Corporation, Labcold Ltd, Remi Group, and Stirling Ultracold.



The ultra-low temperature freezers market consists of sales of ultra-low temperature freezers by entities (organizations, sole traders, and partnerships) that manufacture ultra-low temperature freezers. Ultra-low temperature freezers are a form of a freezer that can keep temperatures between-80 and-86 degrees Celsius. An ultra-low temperature freezer is also known as a minus 80 freezer or a negative 80 freezer. Only goods and services traded between entities or sold to end consumers are included.



The ultra-low temperature freezers market covered in this report is segmented by type into chest freezers, upright freezers; by application into blood & blood products, organs, pharmaceuticals, forensic, genomic research; by end-user into bio-banks, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academic and research laboratories, others.



North America was the largest region in the ultra-low temperature freezers market in 2020. The regions covered in this report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East and Africa.



The high costs associated with ultra-low temperature (ULT) freezers are expected to hinder the growth of the ultra-low temperature freezers market in the coming years. Ultra-low temperature (ULT) sample storage freezers are a central component of a majority of labs, biobanks, and pharmacies around the world.

These units allow the medium to the long-term preservation of numerous biological samples, such as cell extracts, proteins, RNA, or DNA.



The COVID-19 outbreak is propelling the growth of the ultra-low temperature freezer market in the coming years. Scientists are trying hard to create a vaccine and depending on ultra-low temperature freezers and incubators to retain novel coronavirus samples so that they can be recovered whenever appropriate and examined to gain insight into this emerging respiratory illness.

For example, the BINDER CO2 freezer is helping researchers and scientists to retain coronavirus samples. These freezers are important because they provide protection and anti-contamination features. Therefore, the COVID-19 outbreak contributed to the growth of the ultra-low temperature freezer market.



Major companies operating in the ultra-low temperature freezers sector are focusing on developing technology advanced solutions for ultra-low temperature freezers.

For example, in May 2020, Thermo Fisher Scientific, a US-based biotechnology company, launched a new service that gathers and tracks key performance data from the attached TSX Series ULT freezers to provide an optimum sample and product safety. The Thermo Scientific smart connected systems function tracks 37 types of alarms and 26 operational parameters for the user to provide a detailed analysis of the linked TSX Series ULT freezers.



The countries covered in the market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA.



Key Topics Covered:



1. Executive Summary



2. Ultra-Low Temperature Freezers Market Characteristics



3. Ultra-Low Temperature Freezers Market Trends and Strategies



4. Impact of COVID-19 on Ultra-Low Temperature Freezers



5. Ultra-Low Temperature Freezers Market Size and Growth

5.1. Global Ultra-Low Temperature Freezers Historic Market, 2015-2020, $ Billion

5.1.1. Drivers of the Market

5.1.2. Restraints on the Market

5.2. Global Ultra-Low Temperature Freezers Forecast Market, 2020-2025F, 2030F, $ Billion

5.2.1. Drivers of the Market

5.2.2. Restraints on the Market



6. Ultra-Low Temperature Freezers Market Segmentation

6.1. Global Ultra-Low Temperature Freezers Market, Segmentation by Type, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, $ Billion

Chest Freezers

Upright Freezers

6.2. Global Ultra-Low Temperature Freezers Market, Segmentation by Application, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, $ Billion

Blood & Blood Products

Organs

Pharmaceuticals

Forensic

Genomic Research

6.3. Global Ultra-Low Temperature Freezers Market, Segmentation by End User, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, $ Billion

Bio-Banks

Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Companies

Academic and Research Laboratories

Others

7. Ultra-Low Temperature Freezers Market Regional and Country Analysis

7.1. Global Ultra-Low Temperature Freezers Market, Split by Region, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, $ Billion

7.2. Global Ultra-Low Temperature Freezers Market, Split by Country, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, $ Billion



Companies Mentioned

Arctiko

Eppendorf

Esco Micro Pte Ltd

Haier

Helmer Scientific

Bionics Scientific Technologies (P). Ltd

PHC Holdings Corporation

Labcold Ltd

Remi Group

Stirling Ultracold

Binder

VWR International

Global Coolin Inc

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/49riha

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 has installed closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras at 686 stations across the country, Union minister Piyush Goyal informed Parliament on Wednesday, indicating that it has such coverage in less than 10 per cent of the 7,349 railway stations in India.

Replying to a query in the Lok Sabha, Goyal said that online monitoring through CCTV cameras is done at passenger reservation centre as well as other areas of major railway stations.

"Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras have been provided at 686 stations.

"If any unlawful/suspicious activity is observed, immediate action is taken. Presently, prevention of entry of persons is not done by using CCTV monitoring. However, surveillance on persons indulging in suspicious/objectionable activities is maintained and intervention is made as and when the need arises," he said.

Of the 686 stations, 156 are in Maharashtra, followed by Uttar Pradesh with 69 stations, West Bengal with 67 stations and Bihar 47 stations.

While Rajasthan has CCTV cameras at 31 stations, Tamil Nadu has the facility at 35 stations. The states in the northeast, except Tripura and Nagaland which have one station each with cameras, and Puducherry have no stations with CCTV cameras, he said.

While Karnataka has CCTV cameras at 30 stations, 21 stations in Kerala have that facility and 29 stations in Madhya Pradesh have such cameras. Jammu and Kashmir has such cameras at 19 stations, Odisha 16, Haryana 13 and Jharkhand 11. Delhi has such cameras at 13 stations, Chhattisgarh 13 and Gujarat at 30 stations.

(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 25, 2021] GLOBAL TECH INDUSTRIES GROUP, INC. AND BRONX FAMILY EYE CARE, INC. EXECUTE BINDING AGREEMENT

New York, New York, March 25, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ( GTII : OTCQB) Global Tech Industries Group, Inc. ( GTII  or The Company), www.gtii-us.com, a Nevada Corporation, signed a binding Letter of Intent (LOI) with Bronx Family Eye Care, Inc., a New York corporation engaged in the business of full scope optometry. Through their four locations, three of which are in the Bronx, and one of which is in Manhattan, New York, Bronx Family Eye Care, Inc.s certified optometrists use cutting-edge equipment to provide diagnosis and treatment for diseases of the eye, as well as corrective eyewear, to residents of the Bronx and Upper Manhattan. Bronx Family Eye Care, Inc. performs edging of lenses in-house, which allows for turnaround times of as little as 24 hours. A definitive stock purchase agreement and formal closing are expected within the next thirty (30) days.

GTIIs Chief Executive Officer, Mr. David Reichman stated, We made the decision very quickly that Bronx Family Eye Care, Inc. would be a great fit for our company, as part of our mission is to acquire companies that have interesting and diverse businesses as well as to serve the public interest. The fact that the company is already generating revenue is another tremendous positive for our balance sheet and our plans movingforward.



Bronx Family Eye Care, Inc. Chief Executive Officer, Nikolay Bitsenko, added, since its inception in 2014, Bronx Family Eye Care, Inc. has pursued the simple, yet complex, goal of treating diseases of the eye, as well as providing corrective eyewear to our community, whether to residents of the Bronx, or to our work with non-profit organizations. Joining the GTII team should allow us to expand our reach into new markets and new technologies. About Global Tech Industries Group, Inc.: GTII is a publicly traded company incorporated in the state of Nevada, specializing in the pursuit of acquiring new and innovative technologies.

Please follow our company at: www.otcmarkets.com/stock/GTII Safe Harbor Forward-Looking Statements:

This press release may contain forward looking statements that 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 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 the risk that we will not be able to find and acquire businesses and assets that will enable us to become profitable. 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 development stage, noting that there is no assurance that we will generate enough revenues to offset those costs in both the near and long term. New lines of business may expose us to additional legal and regulatory costs and unknown exposure(s), the impact of which cannot be predicted at this time. Blaine Riley  br@intlmonetary.com

International Monetary

620 Newport Center Drive, #1100

Newport Beach, CA 92660

949.200.4601 www.gtii-us.com

www.otcmarkets.com/stock/GTII



[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Seventeen makeshift immigration detention centres  including suburban hotels and aged care homes  are being used by the Department of Home Affairs in a system refugee advocates say is mired in secrecy.

The makeshift detention centres include hotel and apartment-style accommodation  such as the Park Hotel in Melbourne and Brisbanes Kangaroo Point Central Hotel and Apartments  as well as hospitals and mental health inpatient facilities.

A Bangladeshi refugee at the Park Hotel in Carlton. Credit:Chris Hopkins

The number of alternative places of detention in use has been revealed following a freedom-of-information request by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.

Australian Human Rights Commissioner Edward Santow said on Wednesday the federal government had increasingly used hotels to detain refugees for prolonged periods.
Tom Spengler Named Rock Solid Technology CEO

Rock Solid Technology, a leading SaaS software company providing citizen engagement solutions that help local government and their communities work as one, today announced the acquisition of PrimeGov, a leading provider of virtual public meeting participation and agenda management solutions for local government. The combined company delivers solutions to over 180 local government agencies including Los Angeles, Fremont, Las Vegas, San Antonio, Columbus, and Baltimore County. Tom Spengler, PrimeGovs Executive Chairman will become the CEO of the combined organization.

PrimeGov delivers a powerful suite of legislative management solutions designed to unlock the potential of municipal governments and deliver both operational efficiency and transparency while fostering civic engagement. The acquisition brings together two companies with decades of dedicated local government experience, and provides exciting new capabilities designed to facilitate every step of the legislative management process including agenda management, committee management, and virtual council meetings through video streaming. These capabilities will allow customers to leverage a purpose-built citizen engagement platform that integrates seamlessly into agency operations to engage with their constituents.

PrimeGov has played an important role in helping local governments with their public decision-making processes, said Rick Brown, Chairman of Rock Solid. The natural combination of our two companies creates a solution the market is demanding - a deeply integrated citizen engagement platform that unifies the power of public meeting participation and agenda management with transparent, and actionable data from cross city departments.

Tom Spengler brings over 20 years of dedicated local government technology experience to Rock Solid. As the former CEO and co-founder of Granicus, Tom helped create the market leading legislative management solution used by more than 4,500 government agencies and 250 million citizens. Tom is passionate about improving government and their communities through technology and sits on the board of several technology companies including Propylon and Ascendify.

Were excited to be joining together with Rock Solid today. We believe public meetings are core to a functioning democracy, and local staff and elected officials need better tools to maximize outcomes for the communities they serve, said Tom Spengler, Executive Chairman of PrimeGov. The combination of Rock Solid and PrimeGov will be uniquely positioned to integrate resident sentiment and real operational data into the public meeting decision-making process.

About Rock Solid Technologies, Inc.

Founded in 1994, with offices in San Juan, Puerto Rico and Austin, TX, Rock Solid is a SaaS service provider that helps local governments and their citizens work as one. As a trusted government partner for 25+ years, Rock Solid uses technology to create products that streamline workflows and resource allocation for diverse civic and municipal entities worldwide. From all-in-one platforms to custom software solutions, Rock Solids tools help local governments operate more efficiently and improve civic engagement.

Rock Solids OneView CRM was recently selected as the civic engagement platform of choice in Columbus, OH, San Antonio, TX, Knoxville, TN, and Gainesville, FL. Additionally, the municipalities of Ciales, Santa Isabel and Adjuntas join the list of more than forty cities in Puerto Rico that use Rock Solids OneView as their principal platform to engage residents and unify their systems.

To learn more, visit http://www.rocksolid.com.

About PrimeGov

PrimeGov empowers local governments to optimize and digitize their agenda, meeting, and committee management processes with a single, end-to-end, cloud-based solution. With PrimeGov, local governments can seamlessly host hybrid meetings with remote voting capabilities--saving time, increasing efficiency, and promoting transparency to their constituents.

PrimeGov was recently recognized in GovTech 100 annual list for 2021 by Government Technology as a company making a difference for local governments. PrimeGov is proud to partner with top cities and counties such as Los Angeles, Las Vegas, LADWP, San Antonio, and Oklahoma City on their agenda, meeting, and committee management processes.

To learn more, visit http://www.primegov.com.
In Ohatchee, utility crews worked on Friday to clear downed power lines where the path of the tornado felled the roof of a large commercial building at the Ohatchee Industrial Park. Heavy equipment and men with chain saws worked to clear fallen trees. Nearby, a small mobile home lay on its roof.

The Calhoun County Sheriffs Office and Alabama State Troopers set up a makeshift outpost in a portable trailer at Oak Bowery Baptist Church in Ohatchee, where volunteers handed out food and water to those coming and going.

In Florence, Ala., a police officer was struck by lightning at the height of the afternoon storm, said Chief Mike Holt of the citys police force. The officer suffered burns but survived. Hes doing really well for someone who got struck by lightning, Chief Holt said.

In and around Birmingham, many were grappling with damage to homes and businesses, some of it devastating, while officials worked to clear debris and help people stuck in their homes.

Our priority at the moment is identifying those citizens in need of emergency medical attention, John Samaniego, the sheriff in Shelby County, said in a statement. This search-and-outreach effort will continue throughout the night and into the early morning hours.
Nationals MP Michael Johnsen, who outed himself as the politician accused of raping a sex worker, was caught 'liking' very graphic Facebook pages about oral sex before that alleged incident

An MP who outed himself as the politician accused of raping a sex worker was caught 'liking' very graphic Facebook pages about oral sex months before that alleged incident.

Michael Johnsen, a New South Wales Nationals member, released a statement late on Wednesday night acknowledging he was the politician referred to by state Labor MP Trish Doyle under parliamentary privilege as having forced a woman into penetrative sex.

'I am devastated by these allegations,' he said.

'I have voluntarily spoken with NSW Police and I have and will continue to fully cooperate with their inquiries.

'I am confident any investigation will conclude that I am an innocent party.'

Ms Doyle claimed a male MP had met the sex worker at a Blue Mountains lookout after meeting her through the adult website Locanto and paid her $200 for oral sex in September 2019.

Scroll down for video

He released a statement late on Wednesday night after Labor MP Trish Doyle (pictured) used parliamentary privilege to allege an unnamed politician had forced a woman into penetrative sex at a secluded Blue Mountains lookout, west of Sydney

Six months before that alleged incident Mr Johnsen, a former parliamentary secretary for agriculture, admitted to liking a series of sexist and very suggestive Facebook pages, including ones about oral sex.

His 'Michael Johnsen MP' Facebook page had liked a series of memes including one from the Kinky Humour site which include graphic descriptions of a certain kind of mutual oral sex known as a 69.

The meme suggested a man would not enjoy the experience if the woman was having a good time.

'69 is garbage because a woman can't focus,' it said.

Another meme, from the Uncensored Adults Facebook page, which he also 'liked', featured the Cookie Monster from children's program Sesame Street doing a sex act with a woman by looking up at her legs.

'Cookies ain't got s*** on this,' it said.

Then there was a meme suggesting a woman's role was to be available for sex and domestic duties.

'A real woman is a freak in bed. A chef in the kitchen,' it said.

His 'Michael Johnsen MP' Facebook page had liked a series of memes including one from the Kinky Humour site which include graphic descriptions of a certain kind of mutual oral sex known as a 69

Ms Doyle claimed a male MP had met the sex worker in her Blue Mountains electorate after meeting her through the adult website Locanto and paying her $200 for oral sex in September 2019.

A meme from the Kinky Humour Facebook page asked followers: 'What makes a woman instantly unattractive?'

An Uncensored Adults social media page contained the meme: 'Touch my butt and buy me pizza' over an image of a denim-wearing woman's bottom.

At the time Mr Johnsen said 'liking' social media pages did not imply endorsing them, before he 'unliked' the Facebook pages.

'Liking or following a page does not mean I endorse its content,' he told Daily Mail Australia in March 2019 ahead of the state election.

'I did not click on or "like" any of those memes sent in your email, but given those examples you provided however, and which I did not see they had posted, I have disliked those pages.

'Thank you for bringing it to my attention.'

Six months before that alleged incident, Mr Johnsen admitted to liking a series of sexist and very graphically suggestive Facebook pages as he faced a tough re-election campaign in his marginal rural seat of Upper Hunter, north-west of Newcastle

His Facebook page had also liked a meme on the Kinky Humour Facebook page, which asked followers: 'What makes a woman instantly unattractive?'

His 'Michael Johnsen MP' Facebook page was separate to his official political social media account.

Mr Johnsen, who was re-elected to his marginal rural seat of Upper Hunter for a second term in March 2019, on Wednesday night announced he would stay out of meetings of both the National Party and the joint Coalition party room.

'Without admission, I have chosen to step aside from my Parliamentary Secretary role, and will not sit in the Nationals Party Room nor the Joint Party Room,' he said.

'I will be taking leave effective immediately for a short duration.

'As the matter is with the NSW Police I will make no further public comment.'

Ms Doyle, the Labor member for Blue Mountains, had used parliamentary privilege to make the explosive claims against a male MP in Premier Glady Berejiklian's Coalition government about 5.30pm.

Another meme featured the Cookie Monster from children's program Sesame Street doing a sex act with a woman

NSW Parliament cut the footage from its webcast of private member statements, despite it being made in open session that the public has a right to view.

Ms Doyle claimed the woman was 'assaulted in my electorate... [by a] government member of this chamber'.

'It was an assault, and it was against her explicit instructions. She did not consent. It was rape, she told her parliamentary colleagues.

'This assault has had terrible consequences for the woman's mental health and wellbeing.

'This fear of hurt and anger is not something any woman should be made to feel, but it is all the worse that this man who raped her was a government member of this chamber.

'His power and his privileged position as a civic leader make that fear, anger and hurt all the worse the abuse of power and privilege to harass, coerce and assault women in the home in the street in their workplace must stop perpetrators must be held accountable.'

The woman a year later reported the alleged rape to police, which confirmed on Wednesday night it was investigating her complaint.

Ms Doyle claimed the woman was initially reluctant to go to police as 'she did not trust the processes available' but decided to come forward 12 months later after getting advice from the Sex Workers Outreach Project.

The six-year parliament veteran claimed the woman had responded to an advertisement on a personals classifieds site seeking a specific sex service.

At the time Mr Johnsen said liking social media pages did not imply endorsing them. 'Liking or following a page does not mean I endorse its content,' he told Daily Mail Australia in March 2019 ahead of the state election

'She had been clear with her client from the outset about what she was willing to do with him, and what she was unwilling to do,' Ms Doyle said.

'She tells me she made herself clear that she was not willing to have penetrative sex with him, however towards the end the man moved around behind her and assaulted her in a way she had not consented to.

'In her emails to me she said that once the assault began she just wanted it to finish. It was an assault, and it was against her explicit instructions, she did not consent, it was rape.'

Ms Doyle said the woman is 'hurt and angry this powerful man felt entitled to assault her'.

'She remains fearful that this powerful man will seek reprisals against her for reporting this rape,' she said.

Mr Johnsen's 30-year marriage ended in 2015 after he was first elected to Parliament.
FALLS CHURCH, Va., March 23, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has been awarded a contract by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) for the Next Generation Interceptor (NGI) program. The contract is for the rapid development and flight test of an interceptor designed to defend the nation against the most complex long-range threats. Northrop Grumman has strategically teamed with Raytheon Missiles & Defense, a business of Raytheon Technologies (NYSE: RTX), to bring together the vast experience of the two companies on one team, to deliver an effective solution for MDA on an accelerated schedule.

The NGI program is an element of the MDAs Ground-based Midcourse Defense System (GMD) which is the primary U.S. missile defense system used to defend the country from long-range ballistic missile attacks. Northrop Grumman and Raytheon Missiles & Defense currently provide the interceptor booster, kill vehicle, ground systems, fire control and engagement coordination for the countrys GMD system. We are honored to be selected by the MDA as prime contractor to develop the NGI system to protect our nation from advanced missile attacks, said Scott Lehr, vice president and general manager, launch and missile defense, Northrop Grumman. There is a critical timeline for fielding this capability and our team brings together the industrys top missile defense talent, agile design and manufacturing practices, and state-of-the-art operational factories to support the MDA and our nations defense against these evolving threats.

The Northrop Grumman and Raytheon Missiles & Defense team brings decades of experience in all aspects of missile defense, along with the latest in Agile processes, artificial intelligence and model-based systems engineering to offer an affordable, low-risk solution to help ensure mission success.

We are bringing together next-generation technologiesdigital engineering and game-changing discriminationfor an extremely advanced capability, said Bryan Rosselli, vice president of Strategic Missile Defense at Raytheon Missiles & Defense. This team is building on unmatched experience, accounting for all 47 prior U.S. exo-atmospheric intercepts. With that knowledge, we are also embracing innovative ways to accelerate operational deployment while reducing risk.

The contract, including flight test options, has a period of performance through 2029.

The companies NGI program team will be headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama, with major operations in Chandler and Tucson, Arizona; and Magna, Utah, with an industry team located across the nation.

For more information on the teams Next Generation Interceptor please visit: https://www.northropgrumman.com/space/next-generation-interceptor/

About Northrop GrummanNorthrop Grumman solves the toughest problems in space, aeronautics, defense and cyberspace to meet the ever evolving needs of our customers worldwide. Our 97,000 employees define possible every day using science, technology and engineering to create and deliver advanced systems, products and services.

About Raytheon TechnologiesRaytheon Technologies Corporation is an aerospace and defense company that provides advanced systems and services for commercial, military and government customers worldwide. It comprises four industry-leading businesses  Collins Aerospace Systems, Pratt & Whitney, Raytheon Intelligence & Space and Raytheon Missiles & Defense. Its 195,000 employees deliver solutions that push the boundaries in quantum physics, electric propulsion, directed energy, hypersonics, avionics and cybersecurity. The company, formed in 2020 through the combination of Raytheon Company and the United Technologies Corporation aerospace businesses, is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.

The views expressed are those of Northrop Grumman and do not constitute an endorsement by the Missile Defense Agency.

Contact: Scott Day (480) 935-4670 (office) (480) 352-3798 (mobile) Scott.Day@ngc.com

Source: Northrop Grumman Corporation
STOCKHOLM, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Veeva Systems (NYSE: VEEV) today announced that TFS HealthScience will be the first CRO to have selected Veeva Vault Clinical Operations Suite for end-to-end study management on a single cloud platform. The European-headquartered global CRO is taking action to further modernize the study operations, adopting the entire suite to drive greater efficiency and speed in trials. TFS HealthScience will now be offering its biopharma customers industry-leading technologies to improve patient safety whilst reducing financial burden and increasing compliance.

"Veeva Vault Clinical Operations Suite gives us a foundation for further growth as we expand our service offering globally," said Dr. Bassem Saleh, CEO, TFS HealthScience. "Bringing together study operations streamlines the processes, enabling us to maximize value for sponsors and accelerate the delivery of treatments to patients."

TFS HealthScience provides strategic tailored solutions to its customers with focus on driving excellence and innovation to reduce the complexity across study processes. Building on its success with Veeva Vault eTMF to maintain inspection readiness, the company will use Veeva Vault Study Startup to get studies up and running quickly, Veeva Vault CTMS to keep studies on track, and Veeva Vault Payments to simplify payments to global partner sites. With a connected, agile clinical landscape, TFS HealthScience will centralize governance and study oversight to share insights with sponsors easily.

"With Veeva Vault, we now have complete visibility into study progress and deviations to make better informed decisions and ensure studies meet their objectives," said Young Shon, CIO, TFS HealthScience. "Our partnership with Veeva is instrumental to TFS's digital transformation program and our strategic push towards paperless and patient-centric approaches."

"TFS HealthScience is transforming clinical operations to work more efficiently and better serve sponsors," said Pinar Benet, senior director strategy, Vault Clinical Operations at Veeva Systems. "We're excited to continue this journey together towards unified and connected trials to accelerate clinical research."

Veeva Vault Clinical Operations Suite enables sponsors and CROs to seamlessly share information and documents across CTMS, eTMF, study start-up, and payments for better collaboration and increased efficiency throughout the study lifecycle.

The Veeva Unified Clinical Operations Survey: Annual CRO Report shows that CROs like TFS HealthScience are moving to streamline trial execution by embracing new digital strategies and technologies that eliminate data silos and manual processes. Learn how CROs are modernizing clinical operations to speed trials in the full report, available online at veeva.com/CROReport.

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/tfs/r/tfs-healthscience-standardizes-on-veeva-vault-clinical-operations-suite-to-accelerate-clinical-devel,c3314021

The following files are available for download:

https://news.cision.com/tfs/i/tfs-and-veeva-press-release,c2893134 TFS and Veeva press release

SOURCE TFS
Not for distribution in the United States of America, Canada, Australia and Japan.

Regulatory News:

GenSight Biologics (Paris:SIGHT) (Euronext: SIGHT, ISIN: FR0013183985, PEA-PME eligible) (the "Company"), a biopharma company focused on developing and commercializing innovative gene therapies for retinal neurodegenerative diseases and central nervous system disorders, today announced that it has launched a capital increase to issue new ordinary shares of a nominal value of 0.025 (the "New Shares") for a total capital increase of c. 25 million, by means of an accelerated bookbuilding process through an offering to the benefit of categories of persons (the "Reserved Offering

Key characteristics of the Reserved Offering

The New Shares will be issued through a share capital increase without shareholders' preferential subscription rights pursuant to the 19th and 25th resolutions of the combined annual general meeting of shareholders of the Company held on April 29, 2020 and in accordance with Article L. 225-138 of the French Code de commerce, as decided today by the Company's Board of Directors.

The Reserved Offering will be open only to two categories of beneficiaries defined by the combined annual shareholders' meeting as follows ("Eligible Investors

(i) natural or legal persons (including companies), investment companies, trusts, investment funds or other investment vehicles in whatever form, whether under French or foreign law, habitually investing in the pharmaceutical, bio-technological, ophthalmological, neurodegenerative diseases or medical technologies sectors; and/or

(ii) companies, institutions or entities whatever their form, whether French or foreign, exercising a significant part of their activities in these sectors.

Among Eligible Investors, the Reserved Offering is reserved, in Europe (including in France), to "qualified investors", as that term is defined in Article 2(e) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 of the European Parliament and of the Council of June 14, 2017, and, in the United States, on a private placement basis to a limited number of investors in reliance on an exemption from registration.

The offering price per ordinary share will be determined following an accelerated bookbuilding process commencing immediately and expected to end before opening of the regulated market of Euronext in Paris ("Euronext Paris") on March 26, 2021 and will not be less than the volume weighted average of the share prices on Euronext Paris for the last five trading sessions preceding the date on which the issuance price is set, reduced by a maximum discount of 15%, if applicable. The Company will announce the results of the Reserved Offering and the final number of ordinary shares sold in the Reserved Offering as soon as feasible thereafter in a subsequent press release.

The existing shareholders, Sofinnova Partners and Arix Bioscience plc (LON: ARIX) have undertaken to subscribe to the Reserved Offering up to an aggregate amount of 5 million euros. Cedric Moreau, permanent representative of Sofinnova Partners, also member of the Board of Directors, abstained from voting on today's Board decision.

Use of proceeds

The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Reserved Offering to (i) prepare the Biologics License Application ("BLA") submission in the United States for LUMEVOQ; (ii) prepare the commercial launch of LUMEVOQ in the United States and other territories and (iii) accelerate the advancement of GS030 with the preparation of a Phase III trial for the treatment of Retinitis Pigmentosa and a Phase I/II trial for the treatment of Dry AMD.

Lock-up

Bryan, Garnier Co, Kempen Co and ODDO BHF are acting as placing agents (the "Managers") pursuant to a placement agreement to be entered with the Company in connection with the Reserved Offering.

In connection with the Reserved Offering, the Company has entered into a lock-up agreement restricting the issuance of additional ordinary shares for a period ending 90 days after the settlement and delivery of the New Shares, subject to customary exceptions.

Bernard Gilly, Chief Executive Officer and Thomas Gidoin, Chief Financial Officer, are also subject to a lock-up for a period of 90 days after the settlement and delivery of the New Shares, subject to customary exceptions.

Admission of the New Shares

Settlement of the Reserved Offering and admission of the New Shares to trading on Euronext Paris, on the same trading line as the existing shares under the same ISIN code FR0013183985, are scheduled for March 30, 2021.

The Reserved Offering will not be subject to a prospectus to be approved by the French financial markets authority (Autorite des marches financiers the "AMF

Risk Factors

The Company draws the public's attention to the risk factors related to the Company and its activities presented in section 3 of the 2019 universal registration document of the Company filed with the AMF on April, 8, 2020 under number 20-0271, as amended by section 2 of an amendment filed with the AMF on October 22, 2020, which are available free of charge on the website of the Company (https://www.gensight-biologics.com) and of the AMF (https://www.amf-france.org).

In addition, investors are invited to consider the following risks: (i) the market price for the Company's shares may fluctuate and fall below the subscription price of the shares issued pursuant to the Reserved Offering, (ii) the volatility and liquidity of the Company's shares may fluctuate significantly, (iii) sales of Company's shares may occur on the market and have a negative impact on the market price of the shares, and (iv) the Company's shareholders could undergo a potentially material dilution resulting from any future capital increases that are needed to finance the Company.

About GenSight Biologics

GenSight Biologics S.A. is a clinical-stage biopharma company focused on developing and commercializing innovative gene therapies for retinal neurodegenerative diseases and central nervous system disorders. GenSight Biologics' pipeline leverages two core technology platforms, the Mitochondrial Targeting Sequence (MTS) and optogenetics, to help preserve or restore vision in patients suffering from blinding retinal diseases. Using its gene therapy-based approach, GenSight Biologics' product candidates are designed to be administered in a single treatment to each eye by intravitreal injection to offer patients a sustainable functional visual recovery. Developed as a treatment for Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON), GenSight Biologics' lead product candidate, LUMEVOQ (GS010; lenadogene nolparvovec), is currently in the review phase of its registration process in Europe, and in Phase III to move forward to a BLA filing in the U.S.

Disclaimer

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy ordinary shares of the company, and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale 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.

This announcement is an advertisement and not a prospectus within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2017, as amended (the "Prospectus Regulation

In France, the Reserved Offering described above will take place solely as a placement to the benefit of categories of persons, in accordance with Article L. 225-138 of the "Code de commerce" and applicable regulations. The Reserved Offering is reserved, in Europe (including in France), to "qualified investors", as that term is defined in Article 2(e) of the Prospectus Regulation.

In relation to each member state of the European Economic Area other than France (each, a "Relevant Member State"), an offer of the New Shares is not being made and will not be made to the public in that Relevant Member State, other than: (i) to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined in the Prospectus Regulation; (ii) to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons per relevant member state; or (iii) in any other circumstances falling within Article 1(4) of the Prospectus Regulation; provided that no such offer of the New Shares shall require the Company to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Regulation. For the purposes of the above, the expression an "offer to the public" in any Relevant Member State shall have the meaning ascribed to it in article 2(d) of the Prospectus Regulation.

This press release may not be distributed, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States. This press release does not constitute an offer of securities for sale nor the solicitation of an offer to purchase securities in the United States or any other jurisdiction where such offer may be restricted. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements thereof. The securities of the Company have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act, and the Company does not intend to make a public offer of its securities in the United States.

This communication is being distributed only to, and is directed only at (a) persons outside the United Kingdom, (b) persons who have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Order"), and (c) high net worth entities, and other persons to whom it may otherwise lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(2) of the Order (all such persons together being referred to as "relevant persons"). Any investment or investment activity to which this communication relates is available only to relevant persons and will be engaged in only with relevant persons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this communication or any of its contents.

Solely for the purposes of each manufacturer's product approval process, the target market assessment in respect of the New Shares has led to the conclusion in relation to the type of clients criteria only that: (i) the type of clients to whom the New Shares are targeted is eligible counterparties, professional clients and retail clients, each as defined in Directive 2014/65/EU, as amended ("MiFID II"); and (ii) all channels for distribution of the New Shares to eligible counterparties, professional clients and retail clients are appropriate. Any person subsequently offering, selling or recommending the New Shares (a "distributor") should take into consideration the manufacturers' type of clients assessment; however, a distributor subject to MiFID II is responsible for undertaking its own target market assessment in respect of the New Shares (by either adopting or refining the manufacturers' type of clients assessment) and determining appropriate distribution channels. For the avoidance of doubt, even if the target market includes retail clients, the Managers have decided they will only procure investors for the New Shares who meet the criteria of eligible counterparties and professional clients. Solely for the purposes of each manufacturer's product approval process, the target market assessment in respect of the New Shares, taking into account the five categories referred to in item 18 of the Guidelines published by ESMA on 5 February 2018 (in accordance with the FCA's policy statement entitled "Brexit our approach to EU non-legislative materials"), has led to the conclusion that: (i) the target market for the New Shares is only eligible counterparties, as defined in the FCA Handbook Conduct of Business Sourcebook ("COBS"), and professional clients, as defined in Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("UK MiFIR"); and (ii) all channels for distribution of the New Shares to eligible counterparties and professional clients are appropriate. Any subsequent distributor should take into consideration the manufacturers' target market assessment; however, a distributor subject to the FCA Handbook Product Intervention and Product Governance Sourcebook (the "UK MiFIR Product Governance Rules") is responsible for undertaking its own target market assessment in respect of the New Shares (by either adopting or refining the manufacturers' target market assessment) and determining appropriate distribution channels.

This distribution of this press release may be subject to legal or regulatory restrictions in certain jurisdictions. Any person who comes into possession of this press release must inform him or herself of and comply with any such restrictions.

This press release has not been independently verified and no representation or warranty, express or implied, is made or given by or on behalf of any of the Managers or any of their parent or subsidiary undertakings, or the subsidiary undertakings of any such parent undertakings, or any of such person's respective directors, officers, employees, agents, affiliates or advisers, as to, and no reliance should be placed on, the accuracy, completeness or fairness of the information or opinions contained in this press release and no responsibility or liability is assumed by any such persons for any such information or opinions or for any errors or omissions. All information presented or contained in this press release is subject to verification, correction, completion and change without notice.

The Managers are acting exclusively for the Company and no one else in connection with the Reserved Offering and will not regard any other person (whether or not a recipient of this press release) as their client in relation to the Reserved Offering and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to their client nor for providing advice in relation to the proposed Reserved Offering.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005804/en/

Contacts:

GenSight Biologics

Chief Financial Officer

Thomas Gidoin

tgidoin@gensight-biologics.com

+33 (0)1 76 21 72 20

LifeSci Advisors

Investor Relations

Guillaume van Renterghem

gvanrenterghem@lifesciadvisors.com

+41 76 735 01 31

RooneyPartners

Media Relations

Marion Janic

mjanic@rooneyco.com

+1 646-537-5649

Orpheon Finance

Retail Investors

James Palmer

j.palmer@orpheonfinance.com

+33 (0)7 60 92 77 74
Irelands rising Covid-19 case numbers are a definite cause for concern, Leo Varadkar has told his party.

A meeting of the Fine Gael parliamentary party on Wednesday night heard that the Government will have to take this into account before any decision on easing restrictions, due on April 5.

Case numbers, hospital admissions, intensive care unit numbers and the progress of the vaccination programme will all be considered before any decision is made, TDs and Senators heard.

The Fine Gael leader said more than 700,000 vaccines have been administered nationwide and more than 10% of the population have received one vaccine.

Statement from the National Public Health Emergency Team



The Health Protection Surveillance Centre @hpscireland has today been notified of 18 additional deaths related to #COVID19.  Department of Health (@roinnslainte) March 24, 2021

On plans for lifting restrictions, Mr Varadkar said schools staying open and peoples mental health with some extra freedoms were the current focus, according to sources present at the meeting.

Mr Varadkar said the introduction of mandatory hotel quarantine, beginning this week, will mean Ireland has the strictest travel rules in the European Union.

The Fine Gael leader also said he was concerned about any potential international vaccine export ban.

He warned such a move could leave everyone worse off and he will be discussing this at Thursdays online EPP summit with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.

The party meeting also passed a motion calling Housing Minister Darragh OBrien to provide them with an update on his Affordable Housing Scheme.

The scheme has faced criticism from the ESRI and Central Bank among others.

A motion brought to the meeting by TD Charles Flanagan, which read That this PP receive an oral update & detailed briefing from the Minister for Housing on plans by the government to develop & increase availability of affordable housing across the State, was agreed unanimously.
Page Content

Where over the world say where? Youll find an island there so lovely small. With nations Freewith People French and Dutch, they say, though talkin English much, as my St. Martin, as your St. Martin, Our sweet St. Maarten in the Sea.





Honorable and distinguished guests, people of St. Martin, good morning.





Today March 23, 2021, though having special significance for me, as the day I became a mother for the first time, it is the day that we celebrate Treaty of Concordia Day. As Madam VP Valerie Damaseau said, Since 2018, we have been working to make it more than about nice speeches. As Melissa just said as well and as the youth said on Saturday, Time for talk has finished. Let today be the last day we only just talk about it.





Today, standing on Concordia Hill, at the edge of Marigot Hill road, where, if you look to my left, you see the range of hills, and the right that partitions this island, but as we also know, Melissa talked about 1863 and we could go back to 1848. They could not say that one side was free while the other was still enslaved.





Recognizing 373 years of actions of two countries; two representatives who determined that in the interest of peaceful coexistence of their citizens during a colonial era plagued by the constant changing of hands by European powers, all during a time, as the youth represented to us on Saturday, far removed from the realities of today.





Over these centuries, the passage of time has brought many changes in the development throughout both communities. Changes in our customs, our nationalities and in the ways that we live. However, the treaty and that spirit of that Treaty of Concordia lives on. The treaty, though outdated in its language and even limited in its statements is the basis and root of the foundation of the cooperation still evident today.





Though you may not know and though the general-public may not know, cooperation does happen on a daily basis- cooperation that sustains us and sometimes the challenges with cooperation that bring us pain and continue to force us to seek ways to resolve them.





One outstanding young St. Martiner, Jennique Gibbs, stated these wise words during the youth dialogue. Thats what I call it- when people speak to each other, hear, listen and then decide to act, I call that dialogue, not just discussion. This dialogue on the treaty last Saturday, touched my heart which I immediately shared on my social media page, and will share with you this morning. I also took





the time to speak to the young lady as with many others and she stated Sint Maarten and St. Martin complement each other, no side can do without the other.  none of us know this better than I, with the experience of the past year.





With the rapid changes in our constitutional statuses on both sides over the years, the need to evaluate, amend and improve this treaty is long overdue, and has never been more timely. While cooperation pertaining to law enforcement, health, culture, education, youth, sports, environment and so much more continue on a technical level, what is lacking is the concerted effort by a unified body of elected representatives to take the necessary step to really unify our actions in this regard. These challenges were evermore highlighted during this pandemic and cannot ever go ignored.





Seeing the complexities of today, the realities we face and responsibilities, if you look at these four flags that sometimes lie with the Dutch Kingdom, with the French State, or with each of our elected officials, whether they be the Parliament or the Governments  we are making strides. We are making strides in the improvement of our communication and collaboration as separate entities.





In the end, it will all boil down to the willingness of each party to hear the words, but listen, and take them to heart, understand what the other is trying to say and validate what we can agree with, find common ground based on mutual respect and make decisions that are conducive to our cooperation, collaboration and unity in the best interest of ALL OUR PEOPLE, OUR SHARED ECONOMY AND OUR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT in an ever changing world where you see by the blue flag with all those gold stars that unity across the Atlantic came way after this treaty and can exist, can work. But again, mutual respect is the basis of that.





Together with my government I have committed to monthly meetings with Prefet delegue Serge Gouteyron representing the French State and many of the responsibilities that we hold and that we must discuss. Monthly meetings  this was never done before. I also, commit together with my Council to meeting on a regular basis with the Collectivite. In fact, in our next meeting, I have asked that the Collectivite always be present as well, because it is only truly unified that we can execute the much-needed change that St. Martin needs.





As locally elected and appointed representatives, North and South, the Collectivite of Saint-Martin and the Council of Ministers have pledged to find a structural way to meet together and discuss moving forward realizing a United Governing entity for St. Martin  termed The St. Martin United Congress by President Gibbs. I am seeing your vision and it is at a time like this that I say it is timely. The time for action is now. This congress would function like the EU on 37 square miles and would form the platform for us to amend agreements and treaties, update them and take into consideration our local context and our current situation.





As Sint Maarten and St. Martin, we can both agree that much groundwork by technical experts on both sides will be needed before this vision is realized. Steps have started in the 2014-2020 agreements made and funded by the 11th EDF, that a platform such as this can be started. And so today, we pledge to appoint a taskforce of technical experts across sectors in a platform on both sides to come with a plan of action that tackles the best legal construct to execute decisions jointly in the best interest of sustainable development of our island. 37 square miles of magic located in the Northeastern Caribbean, the tiniest geographical area to be surrounded by water, and shared amicably between two separate governments for more than 373 years. We are a unique and special nation and it is in preservation of our family bonds, friendships and shared social and economic realities, that we must move towards an





updated treaty rooted in the needs of our community today but with the vision of the community we want for the future.





In the youth dialogue on Saturday, in their proposal which was handed to President Gibbs and myself called Relaunching Cooperation  The way Forward, they highlighted some key areas which I would like to highlight here.





1. Reopen negotiation with our partners on a new basis for cooperation





2. Write a new draft agreement or treaty of cooperation based on friendship and cooperation





3. The population and local authorities validate the project in public debates and referenda





4. Signing of a new and updated treaty or an installation of the piloting authorities





5. Setting up a Cooperation Council





6. Decide on Cooperation Programmes of common interest annually





When I read this document presented to me from the CTJsm Council and the St. Maarten Youth Parliament, I got chills because what we conceive and think about today, if it lives by them it will survive  it has a future and there will be continuity. And so, key areas that the youth have defined in their talk were Education, History and Cultural awareness, Tourism, Health, Economic development, Environment, Waste Management, Energy, water and more. These are all the same that exist in what we have put forth as well.





With the right persons in place with the same vision we can all get in formation and ensure that the necessary updates to this treaty happens in our lifetime. Let not another day that we commemorate Treaty of Concordia or even St. Martin Day come without us seeing progress that is further than we are today.





Id like to repeat, Sint Maarten and St. Martin complement each other, no side can do without the other.  Jennique Gibbs. Look out for her, I see leadership in her. And as Lino Hughes said, We are One Island, One People, One Destiny, and for me and the people of St. Martin and for you President Gibbs and our Councils, the Governor and Prefet, the time for talk is done. Let us take action and I promise that we will get the result.





Happy Treaty of Concordia Day! Long live the treaty and may we also live to bring the necessary amendments.




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
North Korea fired off multiple short-range missiles this past weekend after denouncing Washington for going forward with joint military exercises with South Korea, according to people familiar with the situation.

The missile tests, which had not previously been reported, represent North Korean leader Kim Jong Uns first direct challenge to US President Joe Biden, whose aides have not yet outlined their approach to the regimes nuclear threat amid an ongoing review of US-North Korea policy.

For weeks, US defence officials warned that intelligence indicated North Korea might carry out missile tests. The regime elevated its complaints about US military exercises last week, with Kim Jong Uns sister, Kim Yo Jong, warning that if the Biden administration wants to sleep in peace for the coming four years, it had better refrain from causing a stink.

The tests put renewed pressure on the United States to develop a strategy to address a nuclear threat that has bedeviled successive Republican and Democratic administrations for decades.

State Department spokesman Ned Price has said the Biden administration wants to develop a new approach to North Korea. US diplomats have informed allies in Asia that the strategy will differ from President Donald Trumps top-down approach of meeting directly with Kim Jong Un and President Barack Obamas bottom-up formulation, which swore off engagement until Pyongyang changed its behaviour.

Both policies failed to stop North Korea from advancing its weapons systems and repressing its citizens through a combination of mass surveillance, torture and political-prisoner camps condemned by human rights groups around the world.

The remaining benefit of Mr Trumps summit diplomacy is that the regime has refrained from detonating a nuclear device or launching a long-range missile since Mr Trump met with Mr Kim in Singapore in 2018.

The Biden administration was mindful that it could be criticised as dithering in the event that North Korea were to restart its nuclear provocations. Those concerns became more urgent this month when US intelligence detected signals that North Korea may resume its testing. Satellite imagery suggesting an uptick in activity at North Koreas Yongbyon nuclear research centre also worried US officials.

Biden administration officials disclosed to reporters that US officials attempted to contact North Korea through several channels starting in mid-February but did not receive a response. US officials did not say whether they made any substantive proposals to North Korea. North Koreas first vice foreign minister, Choe Son Hui, made clear that the regime was not satisfied with what was communicated.

We dont think there is a need to respond to the US delaying-time trick again, Mr Choe said in a statement. We will disregard such an attempt of the US in the future, too.

The US State Department did not respond to a request for comment about the tests, which were discovered by US officials through intelligence collection efforts outside the country.

Read More

 Washington Post
Sinn Fein spokesperson on Justice, Martin Kenny TD, has urged the government to act on his legislation to reform how sexual violence trials are conducted, to treat victims with greater sensitivity, respect and fairness.

Deputy Kenny is a co-sponsor of the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill 2019, which Sinn Fein published in December 2019. The legislation would protect complainants from having their personal sexual history being unfairly used against them in court.

Deputy Kenny said: In yesterdays Justice Committee hearing, we heard very serious and troubling accounts from charities working to support survivors of sexual violence about how our criminal justice system is operating.

Several spoke of how victims personal sexual history continues to be used against them in trials, which can cause huge distress and retraumatisation for victims. Many spoke of how this can act as a deterrent against reporting a crime, as victims fear this will be used unfairly against them in a gross violation of their privacy.

Groups also raised the serious issue of how female abusers and perpetrators are not treated seriously enough within our criminal justice system. Currently, the crime of rape can only be perpetrated by men, which means victims of female abusers do not have the same protections and access to justice.

As I said in yesterdays committee, it is clear that there is a need for reform in how complainants are cross-examined due to the potential for retraumatisation.

In December 2019, I and my colleague Donnchadh O Laoghaire TD published the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill 2019, which contained provisions to address many of these issues. Our legislation also protects against complainants clothing at the time of an alleged attack being used as evidence in court too.

This Bill has not been enacted two and a half years later. This is unacceptable. Our system is clearly in need of major reform. Victims cannot continue to be subjected to this unfair system. The Government must act.

I am urging the Government to act on my legislation to put in place these much needed reforms. If the Government wishes to bring forward its own legislation to the same effect, I will also work constructively to ensure it is effective and delivers the change necessary.

As I also outlined in the Committee yesterday, I believe other measures need to be introduced including the possibility of a companion attending court to provide emotional support to complainants, as well as increased use of video technology for giving evidence where preferred.

Victims who bravely come forward to report a sexual crime deserve compassion, support and a fair trial. I am committed to working to ensuring that our current system is reformed.
With his father and grandfather working in the field, you can say welding was in Bryce Crowders blood.

Crowder spent his junior and senior years of high school training at the Greater Michigan Construction Academy (GMCA). Today, he is fulfilling his dream of becoming a commercial underwater welder.

My time at GMCA really opened my eyes and opened a lot more doors than I figured it would, Crowder said.

He had an idea of what a career in welding might look like, but his training at GMCA showed him the multiple career paths he could have in welding, including furniture making, working on skyscrapers, ship building and more.

After graduating from Meridian High School in 2019, Bryce attended Delta College for a year and then his training ended when COVID hit. He didnt want to stop his momentum and started looking for schools that offered commercial diving.

Today, he is attending CDA Technical Institute in Jacksonville, Florida, and is working as a commercial diver.

I am really enjoying it. I will stick with this for the rest of my life, Crowder said. The coolest thing (about this career) would probably be putting on the equipment and breathing underwater for hours. Its peaceful and thats really cool.

An individual that influenced Crowder to pursue this career was his welding instructor at GMCA, Mike Williams.

Mike was probably my best instructor. He helped me through a lot, showed me a lot of techniques, and how to do different welds. He was always there to help me, never denied me help, always got me what I needed when it came down to it. He really pushed me in this career more than anyone has. I was really happy to be his student, Crowder said.

And the feelings are mutual.

If I was going to have a son, he would be what I want my son to be. Hes a nice young man. They are all kind of my surrogate kids. I get attached to them all. With Bryce, I gravitated toward his work ethic and eagerness to learn, said Williams, who has been an instructor at GMCA for three years.

Like Crowder, Williams' father was also a welder. When Williams was younger, pursuing underwater welding was something he wanted to pursue. However, because of the radiation treatments he underwent, it affected his saliva gland which caused him to have a dry throat when using the scuba equipment.

It was always a dream for me, so to see him going for it is pretty spectacular. Whatever influence I have, I show all the students all scenarios and what they can go into, he said. He had the perseverance and diligence to see it through. I was very proud of him. He had his goals set and that was admirable to see for a young guy that age.

Williams started his training in high school, went to Delta College and then started working at Dow and Dow Corning, completed a millwright apprenticeship and then went on to complete a pipe fitter welder apprenticeship. Williams said a career in welding is limitless.

Getting your CWI, then going to school to be an inspectorlearning all the legalities and codes. They can travel the world, there is a shortage of them. Its fine if you want to weld all day, but as a young guy I would get a CWI or engineering degree to go with it. Its a huge field. Fewer and fewer young folks want to go into welding, he said

Williams says what makes GMCA different is the team and the instructors. All instructors are experienced, care about students, and are there to help students excel.

Becoming an instructor at GMCA turned out to be a great opportunity. The team is outstanding, and it has been a great experience to be instrumental in these guys lives to help and encourage them, Williams said. Steven Hilliker, (a welding instructor at GMCA) is paramount, unsurpassed by anyone I know. Inspection, writing code, teachinghe is it. I worked under Steven at Corning and he had to inspect my work. Hes very knowledgeable.

Crowders long-term goal is to dive the deepest and be the best. He urges others pursuing this career to put in their all and ask questions while training.

Be 100% about it. You have to be in it to win it. Prove yourself, thats what I had to do. I never welded until GMCA. Now Im passing tests at top colleges. Ive really put in the time and effort to do that, Crowder added.

GMCAs welding program provides training and AWS certification in the most common welding processes such as MIG (GMAW), TIC (GTAW), Flux-Core (FCAW), Stick (SMAW), Fillet Welds, and Open Butt Plate Welds. Participants who complete the program are certified as AWS Level-1 Welders. If you are interested in learning more, contact GMCA at 855-832-8879 or visit www.gmcami.org.

GMCAs mission is to train and develop a highly skilled, safe workforce and promote construction trades as a career choice. GMCA has training facilities in Midland, Saginaw and Lansing.
RSS affiliated farmers' union Bhartiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) has dashed the hopes of the seed industry to get central government approval for the field trials of genetically modified (GM) crops in the country.

Responding to requests from BKS to not permit such trials, the ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has decided not to consider any such requests without a recommendation from the concerned state government or Union Territory where the trials are proposed to be undertaken. The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) under the environment ministry is the approving authority for conduct of such field trials. The Federation of Seed Industry of India (FSII) has expressed disappointment over the government decision.

"We are disappointed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change's regressive decision to not go ahead with the Bt Brinjal field trials or any other GM crop trials without considering the recommendations from States and UTs. This further complicates the already cumbersome process of conducting field trials of transgenic crops in India. As per the regulatory process, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) reviews the data submitted along with the application to conduct field trials and is the only body by law to review the safety of the submitted data and grant final approval of field trials. It is not possible for the states to review the data and make decision. GM crops undergo rigorous safety assessment and conducting scientific research trials is a crucial part of this safety assessment. The proposed process further puts a question mark for science to progress in agricultural biotechnology let alone commercialisation and will lead to complete stoppage of GM research in India," Dr Shivendra Bajaj, Executive Director, FSII said.

Also read: 38 private players invested Rs 301 crore in farm markets: Agri Minister to Lok Sabha

BKS had in the last one year written to the central government and state governments of Chhatisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, to not give 'No Objection Certificate' for biosafety field trials of Bt Brinjal. Separately, some nongovernmental organistions had also approached Tamil Nadu with a similar request. In a response to a question in the Rajya Sabha, environment minister Prakash Javadekar stated that the government has " decided that proposals for field trials of GM crops, including Bt brinjal, will not be taken up for consideration in the GEAC without the recommendation of the concerned State/UT Government".

Ram Kaundinya, Director General, FSII and Alliance for Agri Innovation said that this will "jeopardise the huge investments made by the Indian private sector companies in this space as well as the investments being made by the government through public institutions."

Also read: Rabi output in 2020-21 to surpass last year's record: Narendra Singh Tomar

According to him, careers of thousands of students studying biotechnology will be impacted. "If we do not use GM technology, we will lose opportunities to save water and reduce fertiliser and pesticide consumption. This is a huge setback for science and technology in agriculture. Most importantly it puts the Indian farmer at the grave risk of becoming uncompetitive in the international markets," Kaundinya said. He wanted the government to develop a science-based biotechnology policy to enable India to regain the leadership in biotechnology that it once enjoyed. "We need to ensure that farmers in India get access to the same technology that farmers in many other countries enjoy. Our Honourable Prime Minister has committed to the doubling of Farmers income and adoption of new innovations is a major component of the strategy to achieving this goal. Therefore, we urge that the science based regulatory process in the country be restored and all applications are assessed in purely scientific and time-based manner," he added.

The development comes in the backdrop of India's earlier plans to allow bio-safety research field trials of two new transgenic varieties of indigenously developed Bt Brinjal in eight States during 2020-21.
Vietnam Thursday requested Indonesia to release 43 fishermen and two fishing vessels captured near the border area of both countries earlier this month.

Foreign Affairs Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said at a press meet Thursday the ministry has received information regarding the two fishing vessels along with the fishermen who were captured by Indonesian authorities on March 18 while fishing in the delimitated continental shelf boundary area between Vietnam and Indonesia.

"Vietnamese maritime authorities have called on Indonesia to release the fishermen and the fishing vessels," Hang said.

The ministry has instructed the Vietnamese Embassy in Indonesia to contact local authorities and verify the incident, while preparing for any necessary citizen protection measures that might need to be taken, she said.

Indonesian news outlets had earlier this month reported the capture of two Vietnamese fishing vessels, along with around 500 tons of fish and other fishing equipment. Vietnamese fishermen on the vessels may be charged with violating Indonesian laws on fisheries, the reports said.

Indonesia has on multiple occassions sunk fishing vessels from other countries for alleged illegal fishing. Vietnam has repeatedly requested that Indonesia deals with such issues with a humanitarian spirit, giving consideration to cordial bilateral relations and common rules.
March 25, 1911

146 die in NYC garment factory fire

Tragedy struck when a fire broke out at a garment factory near Washington Square Park in New York City the afternoon of March 25.

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, located on the upper three floors of a building at Washington Place and Greene Street, employed close to 1,000 people. As workers began their escape of the burning building, they found some doors were locked, some doors opened inward and the fire escapes were narrow, making their exit even harder.

Out of desperation, some employees jumped from the windows to escape only to die when they hit the ground.

In the end, 123 women and 23 men died due to the fire.

The following day, a fire marshal investigating the cause of the deadly fire placed the blame on a discarded light match or cigarette. One of the owners of the business said he believed it was an overheated pulley. Survivors told investigators they heard an explosion prior to noticing the flames.

Young couple married at city police court

Rosie Montalfano and Joseph Cottone, both from Old Forge, were married March 24 in police court in Scranton City Hall.

After getting their license at Lackawanna County Courthouse, they went to the mayors office in City Hall and asked if someone could marry them. The mayors clerk directed them to the police court and said the magistrate may have been able to.

Jim Henshaw saw them loitering by the courtroom door. He called to them, Come right in. Come in, this is the place.

The problem was there was no magistrate. A police officer said, we can get one. We can get John Howe by phone.

Howe rushed to the courtroom thinking there was trouble, but once the situation was explained he said, Sure thing, well marry you. Step right up, dont be bashful.

As news of the nuptials spread, 25 Scranton police officers, 10 Scranton firemen, six loungers and two reporters filled the courtroom.

One of the officers said, There ought to be some kind of music at a marriage, if we only had a quartet to sing a wedding march. Another officer suggested that officer Sylvanus Savitts should sing.

Savitts led the makeshift police chorus in Hearts and Flowers and O, Promise Muh.

The couple was wed. The police and firefighters in attendance formed an honor guard as the young couple walked out of the courtroom.
We saw the pandemic accelerate the digital transition process of businesses last year. A year later, the implications of this transition have been significant and wide-ranging  from creating consumer experiences & engagements, to e-commerce, online education, e-payments, online medical consultations  almost all off-line activity is now done in the digital space.

Digital spends have gone up manifold, and brand strategies now incorporate reaching out to consumers in the online space. With this, there has also been the need for upskilling the workforce to tackle the business operational requirements in the new normal.

In the run-up to DIGIXX MEDIA SUMMIT 2021, Adgully will be bringing a series of interactions with Indias leading Digital evangelists as part of our series on DIGITAL DIALOGUE.

Keeping a sharp eye on all the Digital developments and disruptions is Adgullys industry leading premier property  DIGIXX. Like in the previous years, DIGIXX MEDIA SUMMIT 2021 is all geared to discuss, analyse, crystal-gaze and explore the world of Digital trends in a day-long event comprising Panel Discussions, Master Classes, Keynote Addresses and Fireside Chats.

In conversation with Adgully, Boby Paul, General Manager  Marketing, Manoramaonline, speaks about how Digital has helped in scaling up business operations; how brands are evaluating and measuring their performance on digital as a medium and much more.

With the accelerated transition to digital due to the pandemic crisis, how has this helped businesses scale up their operations? How do you see this shift to digital panning out over the next 5 years?

Digital acceleration was already underway even before pandemic, but with pandemic induced social distancing and safety concern, it got accelerated to a great extent.

Once the proximity concern kicked in, it became imperative that businesses have to reach and engage with their audience, digitally. Organic digital touch points have their own limitations to attract huge audience. So, the paid digital promotions will be much in demand to do targeted segmentation, engagement, conversion & retention.

This is very evident from the fact that Digital has already catapulted itself to be the 2nd largest medium in India after TV as per the latest AdEx.

Digital and performance go hand in hand. How are brands evaluating and measuring their performance on digital as a medium?

Digital and performance go hand in hand because digital is a highly measurable medium.

Each brand, depending on the nature of their business, can set up their customer/ prospect journey which makes sense to them so that they are aware of where their TG is coming from, what they are evaluating, what they are consuming and what they are talking about their experience.



Right from brands owned media data to host of marketing automation tools, DMP, CDP, CRM, Social Listening and Web & App Analytic suites are used in combination to gather and understand every aspect of their business.

Talent has always been a challenge when something new disrupts the media world. How are digital companies scaling their knowledge and imparting training to people?

Talent is the single most important component in the success of every digital company. Forward looking companies do need-gap analysis at regular intervals to access what are the skill sets that their employees should possess in the coming years to do their work well.

Depending on this exercise, they can engage the employees to do the required certifications and up-skilling, either individually or as groups.

What kind of investments digital companies need to plan to face the future challenges both in terms of skill and technology?

Digital companies need to invest smartly in their people and technology. As far as people go, they need to invest in people who have the basic tech acumen and can be trained to suit their specific needs. As far as technology goes, open source platforms, robust cloud infra and SAAS services depending on their business bandwidth will help them keep themselves nimble-footed and keep their working capital need to the optimal levels.
THE police in the Erongo region are investigating a case of rape after a 12-year-old boy was allegedly sodomised by his uncle at Otjohorongo village in the Omatjete area.

According to regional crime investigations coordinator Erastus Iikuyu, the two shared a room last weekend.

"The 68-year-old man had come for a funeral and was accommodated in the victim's room for the night.

The victim informed his other uncle (of the alleged rape) when he was told to go and sleep with the suspect for the second night" says Iikuyu.

The suspect was arrested and was expected to appear at Omaruru Magistrate's Court yesterday.
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Hungary had the world's highest COVID-19 death rate compared to population over the last week, according to AFP data on Thursday, as hospitals face unprecedented pressure from surging cases of a virus variant.

The death toll in the EU member state with a population of just under 10 million has risen more than 41 percent during the past week and set a new daily record of 272 on Thursday.

The latest figures push the country's seven-day average death rate per 100,000 inhabitants to a world-high 15.7, well ahead of the Czech Republic (12.7), Bosnia (12), Slovakia (10.5), and Bulgaria (10.5).

Infections have been surging since February, when a more infectious variant of COVID-19 that was first found in England began to spread.

A total of 9,637 new cases were reported Thursday, according to official data.

Almost 12,000 coronavirus patients are currently being treated in hospitals, including nearly 1,500 on ventilators.

Experts said the British variant now accounts for 80-90 percent of new infections and that virus-related hospital admissions are expected to peak in April.

"The situation is serious but the system has sufficient capacity to handle the higher numbers," Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff Gergely Gulyas said Thursday.

"There are enough spare beds and ventilators, and also personnel," Gulyas told a briefing, refuting a warning by the Hungarian Chamber of Doctors (MOK) earlier this week that hospitals are becoming overloaded and lack medical personnel to treat the surge in patients.

A MOK official said that hospital conditions could soon resemble those reported a year ago in the Italian province of Bergamo, Europe's first major virus flashpoint.

"Operating rooms have shut down, their ventilators are occupied by COVID patients fighting for their lives," said a MOK statement.

Some 500 medical students have been authorised to help while some hospitals have also sought volunteers to assist in COVID-19 wards.

While media are not permitted to enter hospitals, healthcare workers have described overwhelmed conditions to local media.

The surge comes as Hungary has the second-highest vaccination rate in the EU, thanks to its use of Chinese-made Sinopharm and Russian Sputnik V vaccines, as well as western-developed jabs delivered by Brussels.

This week Budapest approved another two vaccines produced outside the bloc: a second Chinese jab made by CanSino, and "Covishield" the Indian-made version of the Anglo-Swedish AstraZeneca vaccine.

Around 1.7 million peoplemore than 18 percent of the 9.8 million populationhave been vaccinated, including over half a million who have received a second jab, Gulyas said Thursday.

Once the vaccination rate reaches 2.5 million, or roughly a quarter of the population, schools can reopen, at the earliest April 12 or 19, he added.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2021 AFP
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Sierra Leone, Professor Foday Sahr, has told members of the Parliamentary Committee on Public Accounts that the Government of Sierra Leone owes them 32billion Leones as arrears for the Sierra Leone-grant-in-aid.

The Vice Chancellor was summoned by the committee to answer to queries raised in the Auditor General's report, which had indicated that the university was unable to pay National Social Security and Insurance Trust (NASSIT) contributions and withholding taxes to the National Revenue Authority (NRA), among others.

He said part of the reason they could not pay NASSIT for their employees was that they didn't have enough funds and that the 20 percent fees paid by students was not enough for them to deduct taxes and pay NASSIT contributions.

He disclosed that from 2014 to date the government was yet to make payment to them for granting-in-aid, adding that several undertakings have been made by the government with nothing been done about that.

He said last year they met with the Finance Committee in Parliament and explained the issue, but that things remains unresolved.

He said even though they have development partners, but that they do not contribute to salaries of employees.

According to the Finance Director, Madam Maltina Mackay, they paid salaries in 2018, but couldn't continue due to some challenges faced by the university, especially with regards payment of fees, coupled with the delay to provide them with their subvention.

"We don't even have enough to pay salaries because the subvention is not forth coming. We even have not made payment since January and that there are also other staff that the government has not taken on board. As we speak, we are paying salaries every month at least Le 1.8billiion and the students are not paying," she said.

She stated that 80% of the students are on SLG and that their fees are not paid on time, stating that most of the times they try to salvage the issue through strike actions.

Chairman of the Public Account Committee, Hon. Segepor S. Thomas, urged the Vice Chancellor ensures to always make payments of NASSIT contributions for his employees,as most times when retirees go for their monies, lot of issues are raised.

He said the auditors always give opportunities to MDAs before publishing reports and that they should make sure to always correlate their documents.
New Delhi, March 25 : In a move that ensures transparency in the system and serves the farmers' needs, almost all the states have implemented direct MSP payment to the farmers for the crops procured from them, but Punjab is still not ready to introduce direct e-payment to the farmers bypassing the commission agents (Arhtiyas).

The Punjab government has sought additional time to implement online payment of MSP directly to the farmers, as submission of land records remains a major hurdle for a large part of them who have have given their land to some cultivators on rent or contracts.

However, Haryana, who had been facing similar issues is all set to make direct e-payment fully to the farmers from the upcoming Rabi Marketing Season (RMS) 2021-22, although commission agents said that land records is not a major issue but relationship with farmers matters the most.

Sunil Bansal, a commission agent from Haryana's Samalkha, said: "If the cultivator is not the land owner and he has taken the land on lease or contract, he can produce his agreement paper." A senior government officer, however, said that records of land is not the major issue in Punjab as digital record of the plot is available with the state government and whenever the crops are being damaged due to floods, droughts and other reasons, an assessment is carried out and the farmers are given their compensations.

Land records are available but have not been integrated with the procurement portal for ensuing Rabi season, leaving the farmers at the mercy of Arhtiyas, said the officer.

Despite Centre's several efforts, Punjab continues to evade the complete implementation of direct online payment to farmers, he added.

However, Punjab BKU leader, Harinder Singh said it will create an unnecessary burden for the farmers as they will have to moving around the Patwari for the records of the land.

He also said that usually farmers take loan from the commission agents and pay after selling the crops, therefore, it is easy for the agents to recover their loan from the farmers if the price of the crop directly goes in the account of the commission agents.

Union Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey said that land record is mandatory for procurement as it ensures transparency and genuine farmers get the benefit of MSP.

He said that some of the states like Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar and Rajasthan have introduced biometric identification of the farmers for procurement of grains on MSP to ensure transparency in the system.

Sans Punjab, direct online payment of MSP to the farmers will be implemented across the country this rabi season, he added.

The central government has introduced proper registration of farmers and monitoring of procurement to ensure transparency. An MoU has been signed between state government and the Centre whereby the state agencies have to ensure the use of EAT (Expenditure Advance Transfer) module of PFMS (Public Financial Management Systen) while making the payment.

State government's online payment system has to be integrated with PFMS & they are duty bound to share data relating to procurement operations on the National Procurement Portal for foodgrains. This ensures end to end tracking of fund till the last mile beneficiary.

Despite repeated reminders and requests from the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance in 2018 and 2019, Punjab government gave the standard response of not being able to implement the system due to resistance from Arhtiya and APMC Act provision for making payment through Arhtiya, said a senior official.

The official said, "Central government responded to these concerns by clarifying that the state will have to bring its processes and laws in line with the directions of the GoI However, once again, no progress was made by Punjab. Resultantly, from December 18, 2018 onwards, release of administration and arhtiya charges to it were withheld." In the month of January & February of 2021, three meetings were held by DFPD (Department of Food and Public Distribution) with the officers from Punjab. Punjab reported that integration of AnaajKharid portal is under progress.

On March 4, 2021, DFPD once again wrote to the officers of Punjab government and requested to comply with the PFMS and implement the online system for RMS 2021-22, said the official. The top official of FCI recently visited Punjab to personally interact with the state government officers and ask for their cooperation in furthering the interest of farmers.

On March 18, 2021, the state government was once again requested to comply with the PFMS guidelines and implement the online system completely, as per the Food Ministry sounces.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister of Punjab, Amarinder Singh has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to ask the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution to postpone the implementation of the scheme for at least a year.
Bioengineering redevelopment of the production of bio-HDL, CER-001

Relocation of the bioproduction to France

Regulatory News:

ABIONYX Pharma (FR0012616852 ABNX PEA PME eligible), a new generation biotech company dedicated to the discovery and development of innovative therapies for patients, today announces the conclusion of a strategic partnership with GTP Biologics (Fareva Group) and V-Nano (VBI Therapeutics Group), specialized in the production and formulation of biological nanomedicines.

CER-001 showed positive results in the treatment of an ultrarare kidney disease in a French patient, delaying the need for dialysis and diminishing corneal lipid deposits resulting in improved vision, as reported in a case study recently published in a world-renowned medical journal. Clinical development of CER-001 in renal disease continues in a phase 2a study to prevent acute kidney injury in septic patients, currently underway in Italy. In view of these advances, ABIONYX Pharma has decided to relaunch and reengineer the biomanufacturing of its recombinant bio-HDL mimetic.

GTP Biologics, based in Saint-Julien-en-Genevois, and V-Nano, based in Toulouse, are French companies specializing in bioproduction and nanoformulation. They have the necessary infrastructure and expertise to bioengineer and re-launch the biomanufacture of CER-001. Indeed, CER-001, which is a cutting-edge biomedicine, requires an innovative technological approach to ensure its successful complex bioproduction with high added value in France. GTP Biologics is a major site for biomanufacturing in Saint-Julien-en-Genevois. V-Nano is also a partner of CEA Tech Occitanie in the framework of a technology transfer in nano-characterisation for the opening of a joint laboratory which works in particular on the development of nano-formulations and will have a pilot unit upstream of the production site.

Alain Sainsot, Chief Executive Officer at GTP Biologics/Group Fareva and President of V-Nano/Group VBI Therapeutics, member of CSF-Sante and contributor to the latest report in the National Bio-Production Strategy in France, declares: "We are very pleased to make a strategic contribution to the development of ABIONYX Pharma's CER-001 biomedical product, alongside Fareva. It is a major challenge for our industry to be able to produce the most advanced biomedicines in France, in addition to more mature products such as vaccines and monoclonal antibodies. In the case of ABIONYX, the aim is to produce this new biomedicine as quickly as possible to meet the needs of patients without existing treatment and to extend the field of medical innovations that can be carried by this bio-HDL, both in the kidney and in ophthalmology."

CER-001 is a complex engineered cell biology-based biomolecule with a diverse mechanism of action similar to natural HDL and therefore has considerable potential. CER-001 as a recombinant bio-HDL mimetic has considerable value in that it has proven to be safe and very well tolerated at high doses of 10-30 mg/kg/week in various indicated studies to date.

Cyrille Tupin, Managing Director of ABIONYX Pharma concludes: We would like to thank Alain Sainsot, his team and shareholders for their strategic interest and support for the re-launch of the bioproduction of CER-001 in this next generation biomanufacturing facility in France. We are also delighted with the support of Fareva, through its strategic partnership with VBI Therapeutics in the context of the Saint-Julien-en-Genevois activities. The availability of new batches of bio-HDL is highly anticipated in the context of new ATUs in ultra-rare renal diseases or new indications in nephrology and ophthalmology, in order to improve the prognosis of rare and orphan diseases or other diseases for which there are currently no treatments.

About Fareva GTP Biologics

Fareva is a family-owned company with a strategy based on financial independence and is one of the world's leading suppliers of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, make-up and industrial household products. Fareva is located in 12 countries with 42 manufacturing plants, more than 12,500 employees and a turnover of EUR 1.8 billion. The subsidiary GTP Biologics, which came from the Pierre-Fabre group, was integrated into the Fareva group in December 2020.

About V-Nano

Founded in May 2018 by Alain Sainsot, former industrial director of the pharmaceutical group Pierre Fabre and ex-president of Amatsigroup, V-Nano specialises in the market for the development of biomedicines, in particular injectable nano-emulsions, with the construction, in Toulouse (Haute-Garonne), of a unit specialising in the production of clinical batches for third parties.

About ABIONYX Pharma

ABIONYX Pharma is a new generation biotech company dedicated to the discovery and development of innovative therapies for patients. The biotech assets inherited from CERENIS Therapeutics constitute a rich portfolio of valuable programs for the treatment of metabolic diseases as well as with a HDL targeted drug delivery platform.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005225/en/

Contacts:

NewCap

Investor relations

Louis-Victor Delouvrier

abionyx@newcap.eu

+33 (0)1 44 71 98 53

NewCap

Media relations

Nicolas Merigeau

abionyx@newcap.eu

+33 (0)1 44 71 94 98
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.
One of the Haggadot in Durchslags collection was created by Jewish refugees in Holland in 1940, who were learning to farm in the hope of immigrating to Palestine and starting a new life. Their Haggada contains illustrations of Jews being forced out of their nations by the Nazis, as well as drawings of the farmland in Palestine, where the refugees hoped to find safety.
ADVERTISEMENT

A bill to move quarantine powers from the exclusive legislative list to the concurrent legislative list has passed second reading in the House of Representatives.

The constitution alteration bill sponsored by Tajudeen Abbas (APC) from Zaria Federal Constituency of Kaduna State was debated on Thursday and referred to the House Committee on Constitutional Amendment chaired by the Deputy Speaker, Idris Wase, (APC) from Wase Federal Constituency of Plateau State.

Leading the debate on the bill, Mr Abbas explained that it seeks to remove item 54 (Quarantine) from the exclusive legislative list and move it to the concurrent list.

According to the lawmaker, the bill seeks to reconcile the Quarantine Act with the 1999 Constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria.

He explained that the 1954 amendment to the Quarantine Act also gives powers to declare quarantine to the governors, he, however, noted that the act is inconsistent with the constitution.

The President may, by notice, declare any place whether within or without Nigeria to be an infected area, and there upon such place shall be an infected local area within the limit of this act, section 2 of the act reads.

Section 8 of the Quaratine Act of 1954 also gives the state governor the powers to declare quarantine in their states if the President fails to do so.

If and to the extent that any declaration made under section 2 and 3 of Act has not been made, and to the extent that regulations under section 4 of this Act have not been made by the president, power to make any such declaration and make such regulations may be exercised in respect of state, by the governor thereof as fully as such power maybe exercised by the president, and subject to the same conditions and limitations,it reads.

Mr Abbas argued that actions taken by governors under the Act are null and void as long as quarantine is under the exclusive legislative list.

Speaking on the bill, the Deputy Minority Leader, Toby Okechukwu (PDP) Aninri/Awgu/Oji Federal constituency of Enugu State, said the bill was consistent with the call for devolution of power to the sub states.

Following the debate on the bill, the Presiding officer, Femi Gbajabiamila, put the motion to vote and the ayes had it.

COVID-19 and Quarantine Act

Following the outbreak of COVID-19 in March 2020, the federal government used the Quarantine Act to impose a lockdown on Lagos and Ogun States as well as the Federal Capital Territory.

However, other states like Kaduna, Ekiti and Rivers States also used the quarantine act to enforce lockdown.
President George Manneh Weah on Wednesday told the people of Tubmanburg that he will construct 20 housing units for nurse at the government-run hospital.

President Weah made the statement after he visited the hospital and was greeted with a number of complains and requests ranging from lack of electricity, water, vehicles among others.

Earlier, he was briefed by a senior head of the hospital as dozens of nurses and patients stood in anticipation to hear words of happiness from him.

"I listened to all that you have said. I will construct twenty (20) housing units for nurses to live in," he said as dozens of them cheered for the president.

"This will start now. When I say now, I mean now," he said.

Later, the president instructed the head of Liberia Community and Empowerment for communities-LACE to instruct him.

Mr. Pepsi Yekeah, head of LACE told this paper that his team will carry out assessment of the area very soon so that they will start with the construction.

After the announcement, a number of patients spoke to The New Republic. "We are happy about what the president said. Many people have not been able to address our plight, but president Weah has been able to do it, "Miata Johnson who has gone for treatment said.

Another one, David Hills said, "for me, I know that this president is a man of development. When he said he will do it, he will do it. So, we are happy about the announcement he made."

Earlier in the day, president Weah appeared on the local radio, Radio Bomi in which he praised the people of Bomi for their resilience.

He said, "the people of Bomi are resilience. They should continue to keep the peace and remain hopeful."

"We are happy to be here. COVID tried to stop us, but with the help of God, it did not happen," president Weah said.
analysis

The history of Eritrea is a history of struggle against colonial subjugation and following independence, safeguarding the hard-won sovereignty. The month of March takes a center stage in this course of history because it is marked by significant events.

The symbol of perseverance and resilience of the Eritrean people, the town of Nakfa, was liberated on Mar 22nd, 1977. Nakfa was the only town, once liberated by the Eritrean liberation fighters, the Ethiopian army couldn't recapture. In the hard times of our struggle, Nakfa proved to be the reliable sanctuary of Eritrean fighters. The Ethiopian army tried many deadly battles to regain Nakfa saying "Nakfa or death" to no victory. Nakfa saved the symbolic and material aspect of the Eritrean struggle for independence. The liberation of Nakfa lifted the morale of the Eritrean people and gave hope that independence could one day be achieved. In recognition of its paramount importance during the struggle for independence, Eritrea named its currency Nakfa. This operation paved the way for the subsequent libation of other decisive places between 1977 and 1988.

On March 26, 1983, the seventh, also called the stealth offensive of Dergue was met with fierce resistance and failed after weeks of heavy fighting. It took this name since it was done stealthily. Dergue initiated this military initiative because it thought that EPLF had been weakened in the sixth offensive. The Dergue also anticipated regaining from the frustration and humiliation it had received during the sixth offensive. The seventh offensive was launched seven months after the end of the sixth offensive on March 26, 1983. This offensive proved to be as challenging as the sixth offensive for the EPLF. The numerical disadvantage of EPLF was compensated by perseverance, dedication and creativity of the fighters.

In March 1984, our gallant freedom fighters, after positioning in the trenches of Nakfa, North Eastern fronts of Sahel and Barka for five years, destroyed the so-called "Wuqaw Command" (Hit Hard in Amharic) in a matter of two days. This command stretched in a 100 km long front. This operation enabled the EPLF to change its tactics from a defense to an attacking capability. In the four years of standoff that followed the demise of the Wuqaw Command, the EPLF was engaged in weakening the Ethiopian army at the fronts and finally shifted to an attacking position.

In the days between 17 and 19 March 1988, one of the strongest commands of the Dergue regime was destroyed and the town of Af'abet was liberated. The victory was so significant it shifted the balance of power in favor of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) and the Dergue regime was shaken.

Following the strategic withdrawal, the Dergue launched eight massive offensives against the struggle for Eritrea's independence and all were foiled. In its attempt to defeat the EPLF, the Dergue regime formed army bases and trenches around Sahel. One of its strongest commands was the Nadew command, stationed in and around Af'abet.

Against all odds, exactly 33 years ago, the struggle for independence reached its turning point by decisively winning the battle of Af'abet. The command, with around 20,000 troops, had the strongest army in the history of Ethiopia, the best mechanized unit (consisting of 10 infantry battalions, 60 BM 21 rocket launchers and 130 mm and 122 mm mortar launchers) that stretched along a trench that was 90 Km long and 13 foreign military advisers. At that time, Af'abet was the headquarters of the biggest Ethiopian army in northeastern Eritrea.

The brilliantly planned and efficiently executed operation by the EPLF began on 17th March with an attack against the 14th Division. EPLF fighters launched a massive and well-coordinated offensive on three flanks, instantly destroying the command post of the front lines.

EPLF fighters took the enemy by surprise and smashed the first line of trenches, extended for over 90 km cornering the Ethiopian army back toward the second and third lines of defense. The army stationed in this area and engaged in a war of attrition with the EPLF for nine years didn't expect that they would be destroyed in such a stunning speed under heavy pressure with enormous human and material loss.

While the operation was going as planned, commanders of the Ethiopian army made a fateful decision to pull their 29th mechanized unit back and make a strategic withdrawal to their garrison in Af'abet, hoping that fresh supplies, reinforcements, and their big guns would be waiting there for them. In their estimation, all they needed to do was make it past Adi Shirum, a narrow passage and only gateway to Afabet.

According to historians and authors who have written about the Battle of Af'abet, a convoy of some 70 plus Ethiopian tanks, armored divisions including mechanized brigades and ammunition raced with the EPLF's mechanized division to Adi Shirum. There was no way for the Ethiopian military convoy to pass once the first truck was hit. Victory became inevitable for the EPLF.

Unfortunately, once news reached the Ethiopian Army Headquarters that the EPLF was about to claim a huge victory, Ethiopian generals decided to destroy what was left of their armaments, including their troops, so that they don't fall into the hands of the EPLF. The Ethiopian Air force bombed its own men for hours because it couldn't separate them from their equipment. The flames were rising high and in the trucks, the ammunition and missiles kept exploding. Black smoke was everywhere. Many described the March 1988 battlefield in Af'abet as an "inferno" from a biblical scene.

Having been the base for Ethiopian strongest army since 1979, Afabet was liberated on 19th March 1988. The Dergue lost one of its experienced and war-hardened army. In this Operation, 50 tanks, 100 trucks and a large number of light and heavy weaponry was captured. The EPLF acquired 130 mm mortars and BM-21 rocket launchers.

After the victory of the battle of Af'abet and the demise of the Nadew command, the Eritrean struggle attracted international attention. Big media outlets acknowledged and broadcasted the victory of the EPLF.

The victory at the battle of Af'abet was a game-changer and opened a new chapter in the armed struggle and independence was on the horizon. Although it took another three years until they were totally wiped out of Eritrea, it became clear for the Ethiopian regime that their stay in Eritrea would be short. The armaments that were seized at the battle of Af'abet would later enable the EPLF to stage an attack on the port city of Massawa. Two years later, the EPLF launched the famous operation Fenkil to liberate the port city of Massawa in the biggest tank battle Africa has ever seen.

After independence, the month of March witnessed other historic events during the TPLF led Ethiopia's invasion of Eritrean sovereign territory in 1999. The Eritrean youth that succeeded the freedom fighters once more gained command of Egri Mekel with unmatched heroic acts in the battle waged on March 14 through 16, 1999, in a bid to safeguarding Eritrea's sovereignty. The Battle of Egri Mekel, where more than ten infantry divisions and hundreds of tanks took part, demonstrated TPLF's World War I-like uncivilized military tactic in which enemy troops were driven into the narrow combat zone as cannon fodder. Appalling to the entire world, the end result that came to light when all divisions were crushed and the heavy firepower came to a halt was the calamity of the TPLF's human wave and combat arms.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Eritrea Governance Conflict By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

In all of these mentioned battles and the long war fought in Eritrea in general, the people of Eritrea and Ethiopia lost an enormous amount of human and capital resources and missed unimaginable opportunities. The people of Eritrea and Ethiopia do not have a reason to fight such bloody wars. They possess values that enable them to live peacefully. The main causes for all these conflicts emanates from externally induced policies of the long held belief that "Eritrea doesn't serve the West's interests" which was tried time and again with successive Ethiopian regimes. This strategy cost a lot to the Eritrean peoples and has failed.

Even after Eritrea and Ethiopia formally ended the state of war in 2018 after these difficult experiences, those who saw peace and stability in this region as a threat to their interests have been trying to thwart the hard won peace of these brotherly peoples. This was proven by the attempts to resurrect the now defunct TPLF regime by different actors under different guises and through overt actions.

To conclude, when we remember such heroic events, it is not for the sake of glorification, but to remind the people of these two countries to learn from past mistakes and by leaving behind the last 80 years of zero-sum game, work for development based on cooperation and peaceful co-existence for mutual benefit.
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.
Former NATO commander James Stavridis and novelist Elliot Ackerman have published a book depicting how the deepening conflict between the United States and China could escalate into a nuclear world war costing tens of millions of lives.

The book, entitled 2034: A Novel of the Next World War, should serve as a warning to millions of people of what is threatened by the massive new nuclear arms race initiated by the United States and its allies targeting China.

2034 is co-written by a man who would be a leading architect of such a war. Stavridis was one of the Pentagons most prominent political commanders, having been vetted as a potential running mate by the Clinton campaign and a possible secretary of state by President-elect Donald Trump in the fall of 2016.

The mushroom cloud from the worlds first test of a thermonuclear device, dubbed Ivy Mike, over Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands on November 1, 1952. (AP Photo/Los Alamos National Laboratory)

A retired four-star Navy admiral, he served as NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe from 2009 to 2013, after serving as the head of U.S. Southern Command and U.S. European Command.

Stavridis has decades of experience related to US weapons of mass destruction, beginning with my first job as a division officer on a destroyer, where I crafted a long-range plan for the maintenance and inspection of our onboard nuclear weapons, he writes in his memoirs.

Like many generals, Stavridis believes it is better for the United States to achieve its geopolitical aims without resorting to mass murder. But if war cannot be avoided and the bloodletting is to commence, we must be prepared to fight and win, as he writes in a recent op-ed in the Washington Post.

2034 is the fusion of two genres: the Pentagon tabletop exercise and the airport thriller. Its cookie-cutter characters and worn-out plot tropes do not merit paraphrase or examination.

The tabletop military exercise proceeds as follows. During a freedom of navigation exercise in the South China Sea taking place in the year 2034, a group of US frigates board a Chinese civilian vessel in distress. The Americans learn the vessel houses sensitive technology and seize it. While the operation is underway, the US vessels are attacked by a Chinese fleet, which totally paralyzes them using advanced cyberweapons.

When the US dispatches two aircraft carrier battle groups to the Pacific in a show of force, a total of 40 American ships are sunk with negligible Chinese losses. The numbers are not quantified, but some tens of thousands of American sailors, airmen, and marines must have lost their lives.

In response, Washington launches a nuclear weapon at a Chinese coastal city, against which Beijing retaliates by launching a nuclear attack on San Diego, California and Galveston, Texas. The US retaliates by obliterating Shanghai, one of the worlds largest and most important cities.

Stavridis writes that after an American nuclear attack on Shanghai, These many months later the city remained a charred, radioactive wasteland. The death toll had exceeded thirty million. After each of the nuclear attacks international markets plummeted. Crops failed. Infectious diseases spread. Radiation poisoning promised to contaminate generations. The devastation exceeded capacity for comprehension.

The American survivors of a Chinese nuclear attack on San Diego are left to live in wretched camps, where cyclical outbreaks of typhus, measles, and even smallpox often sprouted from the unbilged latrines and rows of plastic tenting.

This appears to be a vision of hell. But it must be stated bluntly that even this depiction falls far, far short of the actual effects of a nuclear world war.

By training and temperament, Stavridis is largely incapable of viewing the world through the eyes of anyone besides a military officer or national security bureaucrat. Ordinary people are not described. The various protagonists take the lives of millions, and it is very hard on them, and the reader is supposed to sympathize.

In Stavridis account, the decisions governing the conflict are made by largely rational and analytical military technocrats. Elected leaders notionally exist, and they sometimes take actions that impinge upon the narrative, but it is the military officials that largely guide the action. Just as politicians have little impact on the plot, social dynamics and popular opinion are largely ignored.

The United States carries out a nuclear attack on a Chinese port city, and it appears to have no domestic social effect, except to lead the public to bray for blood.

Millions are killed, tens of millions are displaced domestically in the United States. In one single incidentthe nuclear bombing of Shanghaithe United States carries out an act of mass murder surpassing in scale the vernichtungskrieg (war of extermination) waged by Nazi Germany in the Eastern front over four years.

Amid all of this, there is no domestic social response. The end of World War I toppled the Russian, Austrian, Ottoman, and German empires in a massive revolutionary upheaval. The end of the Second World War completely redrew the map of Europe. But in Stavridis account, the population somehow remains complacent throughout a third world war while millions are slaughtered.

This has nothing to do with the real world, dominated by class polarization and conflict. War will be accompanied by massive state repression. The pretext for a domestic crackdown and the need to divert intense internal social conflicts outward are, in fact, among the major unstated reasons why ruling classes are embarking upon military confrontations that can end in the acts of mass murder depicted in 2034.

Finally, the military dynamics are themselves totally unrealistic. The central assumption of the book is that there exists such a thing as a tactical nuclear war. Military actions are calmly and rationally discussed and deliberated.

Even so, it is only through an absurd and unbelievable plot twist that a strategic nuclear exchange is avoided. In a ridiculous deus ex machina, India attacks both Chinese and US vessels, bringing about an end to the war.

There is no such thing as a tactical nuclear world war. There has never been a full-scale war between two countries armed with nuclear weapons. More importantly, there has never been a full-scale war between great powers armed with 21st century technology.

The range, cheapness, and speed of offensive weapons, including drones and high-speed missiles, will mean that a third world war will be conducted everywhere at once, at dizzying speed and complexity. The logic of these phenomenathe complexity of global relations and domestic opposition, the expansion of the battlefield to the entire globe, the delegation of warfare to artificial intelligencemakes nuclear war impossible to control and limit to the tit-for-tat military exchanges depicted in the book.

A normal person, that is, one for whom moral derangement is not a professional requirement, would read Stavridis book with horror and do everything to avoid the massive level of death it depicts. But the fact is that, for its intended audience within the Beltway and the Pentagon, the tactical nuclear exchanges depicted in the book, constitute, in the words of Dr. Strangeloves Gen. Buck Turgidson, getting our hair mussedan entirely acceptable consequence of the use of nuclear weapons.

Stanley Kubricks masterful Dr. Strangelove, Sidney Lumets Fail Safe, and, more obliquely, John Frankenheimers Seven Days in May (all released in 1964) were scathing critiques of the military and of nuclear war. No such critical works are being written and produced today, and ground has been ceded to Stavridis sanitized depiction of nuclear war from the standpoint of a practitioner.

2034 is a wake-up call. The US military is actively planning and discussing a nuclear war, based on the false claim that such wars can be managed and contained. No, they cannot. Nuclear war threatens the annihilation of humanity. These well-advanced war plans must be opposed and stopped before it is too late.
WEST SPRINGFIELD  Although the states April 5 deadline for returning to full-week, in-person schooling applies only to fifth grade and younger, schools in town will try to bring in middle and high schoolers as soon as they can, Superintendent Timothy Connor said this week.

Our goal is to accelerate that re-entry, Connor told the School Committee on Tuesday. It wont be the 5th, but Im hoping (it will be) sooner than the 28th at both schools.

At the same time that he set the deadline for elementary schools, state Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley mandated full-in schooling for Grades 6-8, which would affect West Springfield Middle School, by April 28. He said he would announce a later deadline for full-in high school sometime in April.

Connor said hed like to move faster than that, but the sticking point for the upper grades is projected enrollment and how to handle COVID-19 social distancing at lunchtime.

While the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Educations social distancing guidelines allow masked students to sit as closely as 3 feet apart, they still require 6 feet of separation at other times. Traditional cafeterias dont have enough space or furniture, Connor said, to handle all the students who will be in the building. The 6-foot rule means a table designed for 10 students can only handle two.

On days with good weather, students will be able to eat outside, at picnic tables under rented tents. Connor said hes also encouraged principals to consider other locations as temporary cafeterias, such as auditoriums and gymnasium bleachers.

Connor encouraged parents to fill out a survey sent to all middle and high school families, asking whether their students will learn in person or remotely. Once the principals have a firm idea of how many students will be in the building, they will know how much space they need.

Elementary schools have already solved some of these problems. Kathleen Morneau, the principal at Tatham School, said half of the students will eat lunch at their classroom desks, with the other half socially distanced in the cafeteria. Her biggest hurdle is finding enough faculty and staff to supervise all the different lunch locations.

Mid-morning snacks present another challenge, Morneau said.

Were going to have to do some sort of staggered snack ritual, she said. We might have a couple desks in the back of the room, distanced 6 feet apart, and maybe only three kids at a time are able to have a snack.

Connor said elementary schools will also set up outdoor tents to alleviate lunchtime and snack-time crowding on days with good weather.

State guidelines on social distancing in buses have changed, Connor said. The state is allowing elementary pupils to sit two per seat. School Committee member Colleen Marcus encouraged parents of in-person pupils to let their children ride the bus. Parents had been asked to provide their own transportation, if possible, up to now, leading to massive traffic jams at some schools.

Its crazy, and to think about doubling that is a challenge, for sure, said Marcus.

All schools in West Springfield began the year with all classes held remotely. Since February, students who wish to attend class in person have been able to use a hybrid model in which half the class, cohort A, has in-person lessons Monday and Tuesday, with the other half, cohort B, in school Thursday and Friday. On days without in-person learning, including Wednesdays for all students, students continue to learn remotely. Families can also opt to place their children in cohort C, continuing the all-remote model.

Elementary pupils in cohorts A and B will have five days a week of in-person learning starting April 5. Middle and high schoolers will also see a change to their schedule that week, with the all-remote Wednesdays replaced by another hybrid day. Some weeks, cohort A will attend Monday through Wednesday, with only two days remote. Other weeks, cohort B will attend Wednesday through Friday, with only two days remote.

At all grade levels, children can continue to learn remotely as part of cohort C, although in some cases, particularly at the elementary schools, this will mean changing teachers. Connor said because remote learning is an imperfect system, he expects the in-person classes will cover their lessons more quickly than remote classrooms.

Also at Tuesdays meeting, the School Committee approved a $48,426,670 budget request for next year. This figure is slightly less than the budget adopted at the start of the current fiscal year, though it represents an increase of more than $3 million from the current budget, which was cut in response to COVID-19 restrictions. The budget will become part of the overall town budget, which must be approved by the mayor and Town Council.

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
An insurance carrier has refused to pay RWJBarnabas Health up to $2.5 billion in claims, even though nine staff members have died and more than 1,000 have been infected with COVID-19, according to a lawsuit.

The hospital system claims it lost huge amounts of revenue during the pandemic when surgeries were canceled and its properties were damaged, lost, uninhabitable, unusable and unfit due to the rapidly spreading virus.

RWJBarnabas, which is New Jerseys second-largest private employer, is suing Zurich American Insurance Company for breach of contract, alleging the carrier refused to cover the health systems pandemic-related losses. The suit was filed Friday in Superior Court of Essex County.

The lawsuit, which was first reported by NorthJersey.com, claims the hospital system suffered substantial financial losses as a result of the pandemic, that more than 1,000 patients and staff contracted the virus and that nine staffers have died.

In court filings, RWJBarnabas states the virus attaches itself to physical surfaces and alters the air in buildings  thereby causing physical damage to property.

RWJBarnabas owns 11 acute care hospitals in the state, including Jersey City Medical Center in Jersey City, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, Clara Maass Medical Center in Belleville, and Monmouth Medical Center hospitals in Lakewood and Long Branch.

The hospital system employs 32,000 people, including 9,000 doctors and 1,000 residents and interns, according to the suit.

Zurich sold RWJBarnabas its Zurich EDGE Healthcare Policy, which promised policy limits of $2.5 billion per occurrence and should have paid damages caused by illnesses like the coronavirus, the lawsuit states.

The coverage was valid from Oct. 1, 2019 to Oct. 1, 2020 and did not exclude claims from viruses in the final contract provided to the hospital system, the lawsuit states.

Zurich deleted the words virus, disease causing or illness causing agent, the lawsuit alleges, claiming the carrier included contaminants, but limited those to irritants caused by smoke, vapors, soot, acids or other chemicals, the suit states.

Thus, Zurich has known, or should have known, for decades that its policy could be called upon to pay up to its full limits  here $2.5 billion dollars  to RWJBarnabas for losses associated with viruses and pandemics, the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit did not identify which of the hospitals where the infections or deaths had occurred and a spokeswoman for RWJBarnabas said she was unable to provide further details.

The lawsuit was filed in context of protecting our rights for future discussion with the insurance carrier, Ellen Greene, a spokeswoman, said in a statement. We cannot comment further on ongoing litigation.

Robyn Ziegler, a spokeswoman for Zurich, declined to comment on the suit, saying its not Zurichs practice to comment on litigation.

Since the start of the pandemic, the New Jersey Department of Health has investigated 28 outbreaks in acute care hospitals.

The state defines an outbreak as two or more epidemiologically-linked patients occurring seven days or more after admission for a non-COVID condition, which would be an indication of in-hospital transmission.

There is greater risk that staff working at a hospital, similar to other members of the public, may be exposed to COVID-19, Dawn Thomas, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health, said in a statement.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Welcome Guest! You Are Here:
(Newser)  For the second time in less than a week, North Korea launched missiles, according to South Korea's joint chiefs of staff. The short-range, ground-based ballistic missiles were launched Thursday morning off North Korea's east coast, toward the sea, CNN reports. They reached an altitude of 37 miles and traveled 280 miles into the Sea of Japan. North Korea's first weapons test since President Biden took office was held over the weekend, shortly after Pyongyang issued a warning to Biden and rebuffed American attempts at diplomacy. But unlike that test, these were ballistic missiles, which North Korea is banned from launching under UN security council resolutions, the BBC reports.

story continues below

South Korea's security council expressed "deep concern," and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the launch was a "threat to the peace and security" of his country. "Japan lodges its serious protest and strongly condemns," he said. The missiles did not reach Japan's territorial waters, the country says. The short-range projectiles launched Sunday were thought to be cruise or artillery missiles, and one expert says the Biden administration was able to downplay that launch as not a serious threat to diplomatic efforts, seeing as it was around a "two" on a scale from one to 10. Thursday's would be "more than a two," and "that's going to make it a little harder for the Biden people," he says. The US military's Indo-Pacific Command says it is monitoring the situation and consulting allies, Reuters reports. (Read more North Korea stories.)
YEREVAN, MARCH 25, ARMENPRESS. The demolishment of the Zoravor Surp Astvatsatsin Armenian Church in Artsakh's Mekhakavan village by Azerbaijanis following the war is another evidence that what happened with Armenians in Artsakh was ethnic cleansings and genocidal policy, Human Rights Defender of Armenia Arman Tatoyan said in a statement.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the office of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia, Tatoyan reminded that Zoravor Surp Astvatsatsin Armenian Church in Mekhakavan wasfully demolished following the September-November war, emphasizing that the demolishment of the church is confirmed by the publication of BBC World News (Nagorno-Karabakh: The mystery of the missing church).

''Back during the war the Azerbaijani servicemen had published a footage showing them cynically vandalizing the Armenian church.

The staff of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia has translated and analyzed the footage, which overtly demonstrates religious hatred and their intention to demolish the Armenian church, reads the statement.

Arman Tatoyan said its obvious that the church has been demolished not during the war, but after it.

The incident is another result of the policy of Armenophobia and religious hatred in Azerbaijan, a gross violation of internationally guaranteed religious freedom.

This is another evidence that what happened in Artsakh with Armenians was ethnic cleansing and genocidal policy'', the Human Rights Defender of Armenia emphasized.
The Apostolic Journey constitutes a legacy of exchanges and experiences that can bring the country back to the international arena. Card Sako suggests ways to revive tourism, dialogue, unity and interfaith dialogue. Tourism can play a role in the economic recovery while highlighting the countrys Christian, Muslim, Yazidi, Sabaean and Jewish heritage.

Baghdad (AsiaNews)  Chaldean Patriarch Louis Cardinal Raphael Sako addressed a letter to the people of Iraq (Christians and Muslims) and the peoples of the Middle East, encouraging to keep alive the legacy of Pope Francis' historic and fundamental apostolic journey to Iraq.

In it, the prelate notes that the visit can help revitalise tourism, boost dialogue, consolidate national unity and promote interfaith dialogue among the countrys various groups.

The legacy of exchanges and experiences, he told AsiaNews , can bring the country back to its natural state and to the international arena. To this end, there will be a book with photos, documents and testimonies, Card Sako said.

From the meeting with Shia leader al-Sistani in Najaf and politicians and Catholic clergy in Baghdad to the visit to Mosul and Nineveh and the interfaith meeting in Ur of the Chaldeans, the Pontiff's Iraqi visit had many significant moments.

For Card Sako, the journey can also provide an opportunity to turn the page on a painful past and build a culture of peace, brotherhood, solidarity and respect that rejects once and for all sectarian hatred, disputes and conflicts.

The Chaldean primates letter offers reflections valid for all Iraqis, regardless of ethnicity or religion, discussed with the President of the Republic, ministers and religious authorities. He urges the peoples and governments of the Middle East to go beyond sectarianism and partisanship which, over the years, have stirred violence and caused destruction and divisions.

As part of this, the Patriarch wants to create an ecclesiastical committee to study the implications of the visit, the places and people encountered, the messages he (the Pope) addressed and, more importantly, what can be done to take action. Such a committee can be open to other Churches and other official and religious entities.

A new phase in Iraq's life calls for a change in people's mindsets. The pontiff stressed this idea in Najaf and Ur that we are brothers and we must treat ourselves as brothers, a view shared by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani We are part of you and you are part of us, he said.

In order to fight the viruses of terrorism and extremism, writes the cardinal. We propose to organise joint training courses and workshops, promote religious knowledge, and correct what causes misinformation, and hinders respect for diversity.

One of the first projects is to publish a study in Arabic and English on religions drafted by the Dialogue Committee (which includes Christians, Sunni and Shia Muslims, one Yazidi and some Sabean-Mandaeans) to consolidate the principle of equality before the law.

The initiative also aims to promote educational curricula in schools per age group, to raise awareness about brotherhood and consolidate national unity.

For the Chaldean primate, the first steps to revive the economy is to revitalise tourism because Iraq is a great museum of Sumerian, Babylonian, Chaldean, Assyrian, Christian and Muslim civilisations.

With this in mind, work must be done to restore and maintain archaeological sites and link them to tourist facilities, expanding the field to include Christian, Islamic, Mandean, Yazidi and Jewish elements.

The Church of Kochi is one of the Christian sites noted by the prelate. Located on the outskirts of Baghdad, it dates back to the 1st century AD. Others are the 5th century al-Aqis Church in Karbala, and the 7th century Green Church in Tikrit.

These monuments should be considered an integral part of Iraq's own heritage, and are much more valuable than oil wells, which will run dry one day.

Finally, the cardinal wants to encourage expatriate Iraqis to invest in their country of origin and establish a national day celebrating the pope's visit to Iraq.

The Iraqi government has announced that 6 March will be a Day of Tolerance, which will be associated with initiatives and activities that contribute to spreading a culture of tolerance and love.
This is the terrifying moment a plane carrying 140 passengers was struck by lightning as it prepared for landing.

The Boeing 737 MAX aircraft was flying at approximately 30,000 ft and was coming in to land at the Tocumen International Airport in Panama City.

Dramatic footage captured from within the cockpit shows a powerful lightning bolt strike the nose of the plane as the pilots navigate a heavy storm.

Flying the aircraft in almost complete darkness, the pilots were stunned by the sudden lightning strike only yards outside their window.

Despite navigating tough circumstances and with 140 nervous passengers onboard, both pilots remained composed and were able to carry out their descent safely, with no passengers or crew harmed.

There was no damage to the Boeing 737 MAX's fuselage.

The person filming, who did not want to be named, said: 'Lightning strikes happen quite often but it's special to capture one on video. I was just recording the flight during the storm.'

This is the terrifying moment lightning struck the nose of the plane as it prepared to land during a heavy storm. The Boeing 737 MAX aircraft was beginning its descent to the Tocumen International Airportin Panama City on March 15

Both pilots remained calm and continued flying despite the lightning bolt suddenly shooting out and striking the plane only metres away from them. All passengers and crew onboard landed safely

No damage was done to the plane following the strike and the pilots carried out a safe landing. Lighting often strikes planes though rarely causes damage or accidents thanks to a special 'protection finish' coating the planes

If an aircraft is struck by lightning while in mid-air it usually hits sharp edges such as antennas, wings, the nose or tail. The electricity then flows through the wiring and out of the plane.

Lighting strikes can happen during heavy storms though are very unlikely to result in an accident. Planes are coated in 'protection finish' to avoid any damage from possible lighting strikes or similar impacts.

The event happened on March 15, as the passenger plane was flying in to Panama City.
Washingtonians 16 and up will be eligible for COVID vaccines by May 1, state says; heres how we get there
Kashmir: Two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed and others injured in an attack by militants in Lawaypora in outskirts of Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir.

IG Kashmir Vijay Kumar said, Militants attacked on E/73 (ROP duty) in Lawaypora in outskirts of Srinagar, as many as four CRPF jawans have been injured in the attack. The injured personnel are being shifted to 92 base hospital."

The deceased officers have been identified as sub-inspector Manga Ram Dev Barma and constable driver Ashok Kumar.

Meanwhile, the entire area has been cordoned off and search operations have been launched to nab the attackers all top officials of security forces rushed the spot.

The officials are calling it a hit and run attack.

(This is a developing story, more details are awaited)
These past 12 months have been far from normal, but my team and I have been working hard to help every Fourth District resident we can.

Whether they were affected by the pandemic, the flooding, or another hardship, we helped more than 4,000 residents when they needed assistance with a federal agency. This included reclaiming more than $5 million owed to residents by the federal government for late income tax refunds, delayed Social Security checks, and missed Economic Impact Payments. We also helped flood-affected residents connect with FEMA and small business owners receive information about the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) they used to pay their employees and keep the lights on.

As always, we were also dedicated to providing the best service possible for veterans in the Fourth District. We assisted hundreds of men and women who served our nation, reclaiming more than $700,000 in VA benefits for them and their families. We also helped them recover honorary medals that were lost or never sent to them by the Defense Department when they left the service. My team and I will always do whatever we can to help whenever someone is having an issue with a federal agency, including Social Security, the IRS, Medicare, and the VA. These agencies directly impact people across the Fourth District, and we will always try to help however we can.

This past year has been very challenging for everyone in Michigan, and we are thankful for the heroic first responders, doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals who have risen to the challenge to take care of the sick. The pandemic has also created new problems, including social isolation, an increase in mental health issues, prescription drug overdoses, and suicides. There has also been economic uncertainty for workers, as well as struggles for parents and students who have had to deal with remote learning.

All of this uncertainty last year is why I supported broad, bipartisan relief packages that provided direct relief for Michigan families, small businesses, and health care providers. I also supported the creation of Operation Warp Speed, the historic vaccine development program that helped the development of life-saving vaccines in less than a year. A year later, there is still $1 trillion left over from the funding Congress approved last year. This funding has not been spent and it should have been used to help Michigan residents who are still struggling,

Recently, I voted for the Crush the Virus Act, which would provide more money for vaccine distribution, along with $7 billion in funding for rural hospitals, and $3 billion to support those suffering from mental health or substance abuse problems reignited by state restrictions.

I also recently voted to extend the deadline for PPP applications, so small businesses can access the funding that is still available from the legislation I supported last year. Unfortunately, Democrats passed a much more expensive bill where only 1% of funding went toward funding the vaccine distribution that will end the pandemic. Democrats also bailed out states for reckless financial decisions made before the pandemic and allowed schools to take billions in taxpayer funding with no requirement they actually use the money to reopen for in-person instruction and help students who have struggled. A staggering 95% of that funding will not even be used this year to re-open schools.

Nationwide, vaccines are increasingly available each day, cases have fallen dramatically, and the number of people who are hospitalized has fallen below where it was last summer. The most vulnerable people in the country are now protected from the virus, and there has been a surge in seniors booking flights to visit family members they have not seen in a long time.

The best thing we can do now to responsibly jumpstart the recovery from the pandemic is continue distributing vaccines for all who want them, re-open schools, and let hardworking Michigan residents safely go back to work. Also, if you need help with a federal agency, please call my office at 989-631-2552, or visit Moolenaar.House.Gov.

U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar represents Michigans Fourth Congressional District, which is all of Clare, Clinton, Gladwin, Gratiot, Isabella, Mecosta, Midland, Missaukee, Ogemaw, Osceola, Roscommon, Shiawassee, and Wexford counties, and parts of Montcalm and Saginaw counties.
WASHINGTON  As a third-time candidate and now president, Joe Biden has seemed determined to undo his decadeslong reputation as one of the most undisciplined motormouths in American politics.

He occasionally takes a handful of questions from reporters but mostly delivers scripted remarks from behind lecterns, leaving little to chance.

Now, however, hes scheduled his first news conference as president for Thursday afternoon  a wide-ranging, often unpredictable format that will test his new restraint and intellectual agility.

Media have been clamoring for the opportunity to interrogate Biden at length. Hell likely face questions about the growing number of migrants at the southern border and the mass shootings in Boulder, Colorado, and Atlanta, even as he seeks to focus on his efforts against the COVID-19 pandemic, perhaps by announcing a new vaccination target after meeting his initial goal ahead of schedule.

Asked how Biden was preparing, White House press secretary Jen Psaki joked to reporters that he was looking at your Twitters and seeing whats on your mind.

Those tuning into the news conference can expect more preparation than that, since Biden rarely speaks off the cuff anymore. Its a return to normal in Washington, where presidents public appearances tended to be carefully stage-managed until his immediate predecessor, Donald Trump, broke that pattern and many others.

Experts on political rhetoric said Biden has played to his strengths so far, projecting folksiness in otherwise formal settings while limiting the opportunity to add to his list of infamous gaffes.

He seems to me more relaxed now than I ever remember him in his career, said Barbara Perry, director of presidential studies at the University of Virginias Miller Center. Hes both genuine and authentic, but hes taken on the mantle of the presidency and the dignity of the presidency.

Trump, as president, would prowl the row of cameras when leaving the White House, fielding questions over the whirring of Marine Ones helicopter blades. He relished the undivided attention and verbal combat during press briefings and public events. While he struggled when reading from prepared remarks, sometimes appearing listless, he drew energy from a crowd and spoke in the hyperbolic language of a salesman.

Washington has a much different soundtrack with Biden in the Oval Office. For starters, he keeps his comments short and tailored to the topic at hand, whether its the coronavirus or relief spending.

This isnt the Biden we saw when he was a senator, said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, a communications professor at the University of Pennsylvania. You would not have forecasted this rhetorical style. But given his predecessor, this makes good sense.

Although the brevity is new, his trademark phrases and style are not.

God love ya, he says when talking to teachers or firefighters. He speaks often and empathetically of death, a topic Trump avoided but Biden is all too familiar with, having lost his first wife and baby daughter in a car crash in 1972 and his older son to cancer in 2015.

Biden frequently starts sentences with My mother would say, and he likes to talk about his family. During a recent meeting with the Irish prime minister, Biden described a trip to his ancestral homeland as if he were about to break out a slideshow.

We went to Mayo, where the Blewitts are from, and Balina, the city, and we went to County Louth, where the Finnegans are from, he said.

Its not the soaring oratory of Bidens political heroes, like President John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert, but more down to earth.

The one thing he has retained from the old style is the working-class Joe aspect of his persona, said Robert Rowland, a communications professor who specializes in political rhetoric at the University of Kansas.

A glimpse of what Biden can be like when unfiltered came during a CNN town hall on Feb. 16, the only such event hes done since taking office.

He showed his familiar empathy during his interactions with voters, including a woman who said her children were worried about dying from COVID-19. Biden addressed his answer to the womans 8-year-old daughter, who was standing at her side.

Dont be scared, honey, dont be scared, he told her. Youre going to be fine, and were going to make sure mommy is fine too.

Biden also seemed to know when he risked stepping on a political land mine. Three times during the town hall, he prefaced a statement with some version of, Im going to say something thats going to get me in trouble.

He was undiplomatically folksy, at one point making a joke about the name of a former Chinese leader  President Hu, which sounds like President Who. It was an echo of the Abbott and Costello comedy skit, Whos on first? initially performed in 1938, four years before Biden was born.

Not a joke, not a joke, Biden said.

He has brushed off concerns about his speaking style. In his book Promise Me, Dad, Biden recalled a meeting with advisers when he was wondering whether to run for president in 2016.

The voting public was tired of careful and carefully packaged candidates, Biden said. My reputation as a gaffe machine was no longer looking like a weakness. The public could see that I spoke from the heart and I meant what I said.

Before that, his penchant for talking too much and saying the wrong thing had turned into a debate question for him during the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination contest.

Words have in the past gotten you in trouble, said NBC broadcaster Brian Williams, the moderator. Can you reassure voters in this country that you would have the discipline you need on the world stage?

Biden answered with a smile and a single word: Yes.

___

Chris Megerian of the Los Angeles Times wrote this story.

2021 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
A man who allegedly claimed over 6,200 in social welfare payments while using another mans identity is due to reappear before Granard District Court in September.

Viktor Mshar, 7 Beechwood Park, Granard, Co Longford, was facing eleven new charges of stealing from the Department of Social Protection when he appeared in court on Friday morning. Those charges are in addition to another charge which appeared before Athlone District Court in February.

The court heard that, in 2005, he allegedly obtained another mans identification and worked under those credentials up until the end of 2020.

On a date unknown between July 17, 2007 and July 24, 2007, it is alleged that Mr Mshar, at an address in Higginstown Wood, Granard, stole 1,207.70 from the Department of Social Protection.

Again, on a date between February 7, 2008, and February 14, 2008, at the same address, Mr Mshar allegedly stole 1,509.30 from the Department of Social Protection.

Nine more times between April 2015 and January 2020, the accused allegedly stole money at Bank of Ireland in Granard. The total amount of money stolen from the Department of Social Welfare between July 2007 and January 2020 was 6,231.10.

Solicitor for the defence, Fiona Baxter, said that her client was trying to regularise his citizenship. Mr Mshar is from Ukraine, she said, and it will take a number of months to regularise matters.

So on the one hand he wants to be an Irish citizen and on the other he has stolen from the state, said Judge Hughes.

He has every intention of trying to repay that, said Ms Baxter.

Mr Mshar was remanded on continuing bail to September 17, 2021, for mention or plea.
Reporter

Mary Schenk is a reporter covering police, courts and breaking news at The News-Gazette. Her email is mschenk@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@schenk).
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!
kW

Now in its fourteenth generation, the 2021 F-150 hasnt gotten off to a great start considering all the shortages and delays, but its currently looking to showcase its assets to respect the heritage. And, officially, Ford says, theres an F-150 for everyone, including truck aficionados that actually considered the acquisition of a 2021 Toyota Tundra.Amid both negative and positive news, the Blue Oval is undeterred in its quest to prepare the smoothest road possible for its legendary F-150. After all, its tougher than before (and) smarter than ever, so the truck is also obviously not afraid of a bit of comparison with the Japanese rival.Of course, since it comes via Ford's official YouTube channel, we can all imagine the Tundra wasnt going to win the skirmish anyway. After all, its not the first time we see one of these head-to-head features, as they also tried to snatch Tacoma buyers in the past. The sales proved them wrong when pitting the Ranger against the Japanese rival, last we heard, but its entirely possible the 2021 F-150 will snatch the win in real life in return.As far as the numbers go, a 2021 F-150 has a base MSRP of $28,940 against the costlier $33,825 figure Toyota asks for the 2021 Tundra. And, as Ford is keen to point out, the F-150 also comes with a few other advantages, such as the higher max towing capacity, the hybrid powertrain option (complete with the lifesaving 7.2mobile generator), as well as certain class-exclusive technologies.Of course, theres one thing Ford doesnt mentionhow about that Toyota reputation for reliability and the well-known Blue Oval appetence for the lack of it?
Timothy Pough claimed he wasnt trying to hurt anyone when he shot up his ex-girlfriends parked car.

His exs 22-year-old brother was in that car, however, and one of Poughs bullets killed him.

On Thursday, despite Poughs claims that homicide wasnt on his mind, a state Superior Court panel upheld his first-degree murder conviction and life prison sentence for the July 4, 2018 slaying in York.

Timothy Pough

Judge Maria McLaughlin wrote in the courts majority opinion that prosecutors proved Pough had an intent to kill is ex, Tyeesha Coleman, when he fired into her car during a drive-by. That murderous intent led to the death of Colemans brother Elijah Shuler, McLaughlin found.

She cited evidence that Pough had brandished a gun during an earlier confrontation with Coleman two days before the shooting and had told her he was going to kill her whenever he found her by herself. Coleman said Pough made that threat while she was in her car with her two daughters.

As McLaughlin noted, one witness testified that she saw Pough firing from and SUV and that Shuler uttered Poughs street name, Reek, right before he collapsed and died. The woman who was driving the SUV a the time of the shooting also testified against Pough, who fled the area after the shooting and was captured in Florida.

At his trial, Pough, now 23, testified that his eyes were shut when he pulled the trigger and pumped four bullets into Colemans car.

There was ample evidence that Pough specifically intended to kill Coleman and that he knew someone was in her parked car. McLaughlin found. The trajectory evidence showed that he aimed for that person in the passenger seat, she wrote.
A high-speed police chase in Tuscaloosa left an officer injured, a teen in custody and a possible second suspect sought.

The southbound lanes of McFarland Boulevard between Midtown Village and University Mall will be closed while officers search for a possible suspect in the chase.

Tuscaloosa police spokeswoman Stephanie Taylor provided this account of what happened:

An officer working in the area of 15th Street and 10th Avenue attempted to stop the driver of a white Nissan Juke at 8:25 p.m. The driver led officers down McFarland Boulevard, west on to James I. Harrison Parkway and through the surrounding neighborhoods before returning to the area of the mall. Speeds reached up to 100 miles per hour.

The officer was injured when the suspects vehicle overturned and caused the multi-vehicle collision. The officer is being treated for minor injuries at DCH Regional Medical Center.

As of 9:30 p.m., officers had taken a 17-year-old into custody and were searching for a possible second suspect in the area of the mall and Midtown Village. Investigators arent yet sure whether the 17-year-old was driving the vehicle, or whether he was the sole occupant.

The Tuscaloosa County Sheriffs Office, Northport Police, University of Alabama Police and Alabama State Troopers all assisted.
The Canadian Armed Forces and military members from CFB Shilo are getting ready to deploy to northern Manitoba First Nations to vaccinate people against COVID-19.

Advertisement Advertise With Us

The Canadian Armed Forces and military members from CFB Shilo are getting ready to deploy to northern Manitoba First Nations to vaccinate people against COVID-19.

Soldiers have arrived at the airport in Thompson to set up equipment for the 100-day effort to get COVID-19 vaccines to the most remote corners of Manitoba.

Work is ongoing to identify where exactly the military will be deployed, Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller said Wednesday, but planning is underway for Nelson House, Mathias Colomb, Island Lake and other communities.

The military will support vaccination programs in up to 23 communities with collaboration from First Nation community leadership, Miller said. The program will continue until at least June 30.

"Military members will support in many ways, from helping to co-ordinate the delivery of supplies to administering vaccines to patients and transporting community members to and from clinics where required," he said.

The plan is to administer two doses of the Moderna vaccine to 50,000 adults in all 63 First Nations reserves in the province, and 21 communities that are near reserves.

Of those 84 communities, federal officials say the military will work in "up to 23" First Nations reserves. Those at risk of being evacuated due to potential wildfires or floods are the priority.

The teams include logistics and medical experts, and theyll start leaving the Thompson staging centre as soon as March 29. The operation should wrap up by June 30.

The deployment will involve one Hercules plane, "a number of logistic vehicles" and up to two Chinook helicopters as well as Twin Otter planes.

"Were going to deploy up to 200 military personnel consisting of medical personnel, command and control and general duties," said Lt.-Gen. Wayne Eyre, the interim head of the military.

The majority of the soldiers deployed north will be from CFB Shilo, base public affairs officer Lori Truscott previously told the Sun.

A reconnaissance team from the Westman base was deployed to Thompson last week and returned on Monday.

A spokesperson for the Department of National Defence said the reconnaissance team was assessing the airfield at the Thompson Municipal Airport and establishing a staging hub there. At this point, reconnaissance teams havent yet been to any communities.

Exact numbers are still being assessed, the spokesperson said, but up to 200 military members could be deployed.

"As plans are finalized, the needs of the communities requiring assistance will emerge and the appropriate CAF resources will be identified to ensure an effective response," an email from the department reads.

More military members are set to deploy to Thompson today to establish the staging hub. Actual operations are set to begin on March 29.

The Shilo soldiers will be assisted by a CC-130 Hercules aircraft, up to two CH-147 Chinook helicopters, up to two CC-138 Twin Otters and logistical vehicles.

"This will enable to surge the integrated inter-agency partner teams and meet the tailored needs of the supported communities," the DND spokesperson said over email.

The deployment of soldiers from Shilo follows their deployment earlier this year and in late 2020 to assist during large COVID-19 outbreaks in northern Manitoba communities.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said Wednesday soldiers hunted, fished, cut firewood and assisted communities with essential tasks on earlier deployments.

Going forward, he said soldiers will help establish vaccine clinics in the communities and transport people to and from getting their vaccine.

"Together, we will make sure residents needs are met and local leaders are well supported in their efforts against COVID-19."

Federal officials said theyd be willing to have the military visit northern communities that arent First Nations if Manitoba requested that, particularly those that have Metis populations.

"That this has been a very heated conversation, particularly with, with the provincial government. We continue to push the prioritization of Indigenous peoples as set forth in the (national advisory) guidelines," Miller said in response to questions from the Winnipeg Free Press.

"Were looking at a situation now where we are going to have a big lift and ensuring that that is done in Metis communities in a culturally respectful way is key."

However, Manitoba Metis Federation president David Chartrand said hes in the dark on how both the military effort and the broader northern vaccine campaign will work.

"It doesnt help when youve got mental anguish and stress and fear in my communities, and they dont know what to do or if theyll be included," he said.

The province has already transported vaccines to all 63 reserves, but they have not been shared with neighbouring communities, including those with large Metis populations.

Yet the province suggested it will switch course under the new 100-day vaccination plan, inviting people in adjacent communities onto First Nations reserves to get shots.

Chartrand said that was news to him.

He said his Metis contacts in these communities have no clue how the rollout will work.

The federation and the province have accused each other of ignoring correspondence, and the MMF has boycotted provincial meetings after being invited to working groups that had nothing to do with vaccine rollout planning.

The Sun requested an interview with a military member about the Shilo deployment on Wednesday but was told they were busy with work on the ground.

 dmay@brandonsun.com, with files from the Winnipeg Free Press

 Twitter: @DrewMay_
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.
COOS COUNTY, Ore.  After two months, Coos County will be spending another two weeks in the extreme risk category.

The county is currently one of two counties in the entire state that still has to operate under tighter restrictions.

Under the extreme risk category, restaurants and bars cannot be open for indoor dining. However, they can be open for outdoor seating if they choose to.

Many Coos County restaurant owners told KEZI 9 News that theyre frustrated with the extension because they said these lockdowns are significantly hurting small businesses.

Different businesses, different owners, Ive seen situations where restaurants are not able to keep going, said Miguel Ferrer, owner of Colleens Restaurant in Coquille.

However, Ferrer said hes trying to make the best of the situation and stay positive.

I come here about seven, eight in the morning, Ferrer said. I go home about eight, nine at night. I need to be the one who works double to keep this going.

Stacy Murray, the owner of Spruce Street Grill in Myrtle Point said he is also trying to have a positive outlook on the situation.

Were winners, not losers, Murray said. Well make it and Im not going to let this get us down.

Murray said hes trying to take advantage of his outdoor patio as much as possible. He said they have about 16 tables out there right now.

Its been full almost every day, said Murray. Im happy for that. Im very grateful for that.

However, he said he knows how much his customers would like to get back to normal.

They dont want to come in and have to sit outside where its cold, said Murray. Yes, I do have some heaters. But its not the same.

Coos Countys risk level will be re-evaluated on April 6 by the Oregon Health Authority.
THE UN flag will fly at half-mast at its headquarters on Friday as a mark of respect for the passing of Dr John Magufuli.

Dr Magufuli, who died in Dar es Salaam on March 17, will be buried tomorrow at the family graveyard in Chato District, Geita Region.

Following UN flag code and regulations, the procedures for the use of the UN flag, Article Seven describes the waving of the flag at half-mast during the first and second mourning ceremonies.

With the permission of the UN Secretary-General, the flag in all its offices, including headquarters, will fly at half-mast for a day after receiving the news of the death of President Magufuli.

"Upon the death of a Head of State or Head of Government of a Member State, the United Nations Flag will be flown at half-mast at United Nations Headquarters, at the United Nations Office at Geneva and at United Nations offices located in that Member State," the regulations read in part.

It further read that on such occasions, at Headquarters and Geneva, the United Nations flag will be flown at half-mast for one day immediately upon learning of the death. If, however, flags, have already been flying on that day they will not normally be lowered, but will instead be flown at half-mast on the day following death.

The United Nations flag may also be flown at half-mast on special instructions of the Secretary-General on the death of a world leader who has had a significant connection with the United Nations.

The UN Protocol Office said yesterday that all UN offices are encouraged to lower flags at half-mast as a sign of respect for Dr Magufuli.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Tanzania Governance International Organisations By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Condoling Magufuli's demise, some African countries have also announced that their flags will be flown at half-mast from March 18 until the burial of the late president.

Kenya President, who also doubles as the Chairman of the East African Community (EAC), Uhuru Kenyatta declared seven days of mourning and flags in Kenya and all Kenyan diplomatic missions abroad will be flown at half-mast in honour of the late President Magufuli.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni also announced 14 days of mourning in the country as well as flowing flags at half-mast as a result of the tragedy. Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) also announced days of mourning over the death of Dr Magufuli.

While Mozambique has declared five days of mourning and the flag lowered at half-mast, the DRC has declared three days of mourning.

According to a statement issued by the President of Mozambique Filipe Nyusi announced the five days of mourning which officially began on March 20 at 6:00 pm.

UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres sent his condolences to the late President's family and the government and people of Tanzania.

African Union Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat eulogized the late Tanzanian president as a 'committed Pan Africanist leader'.

In a Facebook message, Mahamat said the African Union family condoles "the untimely passing of President John Pombe Magafuli", adding: "Africa has lost a champion of regional cooperation in the East African region and a committed Pan Africanist leader."
Armenian acting minister: EU allocated EUR 68,700,000 to Armenia for budget support in 2020

Armenia Finance Ministry: MFA's budget grew by AMD 1,600,000,000 in 2020

Bodies and remains of Armenian soldiers are kept in morgue in Armenia's Martuni

White House confirms Biden-Erdogan meeting in Brussels

Armenia acting MOD touches upon priority directions for development of Armed Forces

Diaspora Armenian writer, publicist Toros Toranian dies

2 Armenian soldiers injured in scuffle with Azerbaijan, Armenian POW is hospitalized, Jun. 3 digest

Wedding held in Armenia's Shurnukh for first time since the war ended

EEU member states to finish preparing for negotiations over free trade zone in Iran in late June

Armenia Central Bank: Economic downfall in 2020 was due to decline in service and construction sectors

Armenia legislature adopts several bills in first reading

Armenia President meets with Nursultan Nazarbayev

Dejavu: Armenia ruling party distributes money for votes at Yerevan district election office

Chief Advisor to Karabakh President sacked

Russian MFA: Works are carried out to settle situation around Karabakh every day

Armenia opposition MP sounds alarm about Baku fabricating criminal cases against Armenian prisoners

Armenia acting health minister: I have apologized, I am not going to resign

Helga Schmid meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Armenia's deputy foreign ministers resigned or have heavy workload?

Dollar goes down in Armenia

Armenia Elections Oversight Committee reports Iranian citizenship of ruling party's MP candidate

Acting deputy minister: Only 17 of 711 Iran-Armenia power transmission line towers were installed by 2017

Armenia Parliament Council holding session

Armenia to host CSTO "Thunder-2021" military exercises

NYT: Chinese hackers launch cyberattack on New York city transportation authority

Armenia President to Kazakhstan counterpart: I would like to see much deeper cooperation between our countries

Armenia citizens shut down Etchmiadzin-Ashtarak road, complaining about lack of irrigation water

Armenia independent MP: Foreign minister and his deputies don't want to take part in treacherous acts

Armenia to get $11mn loan, 350,000 grant for agriculture

WHO worries about worsening mental health worldwide amid pandemic

Armenia health ministry on improper handling of Artsakh war victims bodies: There is no justification

Armenia bloc election foundation already in operation

Russia ambassador to Armenia paying working visit to Syunik Province (PHOTOS)

China pledges to step up resistance to foreign interference in Hong Kong

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: There can be no talk of corridor for Azerbaijan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on incumbent authorities: Wherever they flee, we will bring them by the feet

President: Impossible to ensure peace in region or stay in Artsakh without Russia army joint efforts

China Daily: Dispatch from Makit: Thriving in the desert

Karabakh President: We will never put up with being part of Azerbaijan, it is ruled out

Armenia MFA information department chief: All deputy FMs carrying out their duties

Ardshinbank invited children to the cinema on International Childrens Day

Armenia judiciary to have 10 more judges

Armenia acting premier: We had recorded 40% increase in tax revenues according to 2019 results

Armenia acting PM on Artsakh war casualties bodies: We have 50 remains in which case DNA was not separated

Azerbaijan authorities plan to "squeeze" everything from "terrorist show" related to Armenian captives

Ameriabank announces a contest for bank card design

108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia parliament convenes special session

Armenia interim government holding Cabinet meeting

Catholicos of All Armenians heads for Syunik Province, Artsakh

World oil prices going up

Iran loses right to vote in UN General Assembly

Newspaper: Armenia authorities come up with new way of punishing unwanted characters

Newspaper: Russia army Southern Military District deputy commander to arrive in Yerevan Thursday

Lebanese Armenian man taken prisoner by Azerbaijan is hospitalized

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Are we getting under the burden? Then lets get under to the end

Armenia acting health minister on keeping fallen soldiers bodies in bags: What else should they be kept in?

Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation

Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow

2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik

Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center

"Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans

Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel

Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna

Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations

US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies

Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week

Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection

Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential

Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement

Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues

Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo

Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation

NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident

Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices

Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over

Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest

Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia

Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia

Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels

Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters

Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021

Dollar is stable in Armenia

Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector

Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out

Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe

Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia

Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border

Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor

Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue

Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia

Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this

Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia
Apostolic letter of Francis on the seventh centenary of the death of the Poet which "can help us to advance with serenity and courage in the pilgrimage of life and faith that we are all called to make" towards the ultimate goal.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Dante, a Christian poet, although a man of his time, is a "prophet of hope" and "can help us advance with serenity and courage in the pilgrimage of life and faith that we are all called to make" towards the ultimate goal.

This is the final consideration and, in a certain sense, the reading that Pope Francis makes of the father of the Italian language in the Apostolic Letter "Candor Lucis aeternae" dedicated to the seventh centenary of the Poet's death, published today.

The lengthy document begins with Francis retracing what the popes wrote about Dante in the last century, highlights how everyone emphasized his being "ours", that is Christian. From Benedict XV who in 1921 wrote: " who can deny that our Dante nurtured and fanned the flame of his genius and poetic gifts by drawing inspiration from the Catholic faith", to Paul VI, who in 1966 affirmed ", Dante is ours! Ours, by which we mean to say, of the Catholic faith, for he radiated love for Christ; ours, because he loved the Church deeply and sang her glories; and ours too, because he acknowledged and venerated in the Roman Pontiff the Vicar of Christ", up to Francis, for whom" Dante's work is an integral part of our culture, it refers us to the Christian roots of Europe and the West, represents the patrimony of ideals and values that even today the Church and civil society propose as the basis of human coexistence.

Francis underlines the fact that his Apostolic Letter is published on the day on which the Church celebrates the Incarnation, defined by Benedict XVI as " the novelty of a love that moved God to take on a human face, and even more, to take on flesh and blood, our entire humanity and which is for Francis is the true heart and inspiration of the entire poem.

Outlining Dante's life, Francis notes that "His deep disappointment over the collapse of his political and civil ideals, together with his dreary wanderings from city to city in search of refuge and support are not absent from his literary and poetic work; indeed, they constitute its very source and inspiration ".

And " the poignant melancholy of Dante the pilgrim and exile in his celebrated verses of the eighth canto of the Purgatorio: Twas now the hour that turneth back desire In those who sail the sea, and melts the heart, The day theyve said to their sweet friends farewell (1-3). But he never resigns himself and for this reason he is a "prophet of hope": because he pushes us to free ourselves from the "dark forest" of sin to find "the just path" and thus reach "the fullness of life in history" and "eternal bliss in God ". His is therefore "a prophetic mission" that does not spare the denunciation even for those popes who "transform the Church into an instrument for their own interests".

In the Divine Comedy it is then evidently manifested that Gods mercy and human freedom The journey that Dante presents is not illusory or utopian; it is realistic and within the reach of everyone, for Gods mercy always offers the possibility of change, conversion, new self-awareness and discovery of the path to true happiness. Significant in this regard are several episodes and individuals in the Comedy which show that no one on earth is precluded from this path, such as Traiano and Manfredi.

Francis's document also underlines the importance in the Comedy of three female figures: Mary, mother of God, emblem of charity; Beatrice, symbol of hope, and Lucia, image of faith. These three women who accompany Dante in the different stages of his journey demonstrate that "we cannot save ourselves", but that we need the help of those who "can support and guide us with wisdom and prudence".

And among the figures of the Divine Comedy, the document highlights a profound harmony between Dante and St. Francis. Both addressed the people, the first "going among the people", the second choosing to use not Latin, but "everyone's language"; both, moreover, are open to the "beauty and value" of Creation.

But Dante's work, "an almost infinite mine of knowledge, experiences, considerations in every area of human research" Rather, he asks to be heard and even imitated; he invites us to become his companions on the journey. Today, too, he wants to show us the route to happiness, the right path to live a fully human life, emerging from the dark forest in which we lose our bearings and the sense of our true worth. For this reason, his message must be made be made accessible beyond the halls of schools and universities. I urge Christian communities, especially in cities associated with Dantes life, academic institutions and cultural associations to promote initiatives aimed at making better known his message in all its fullness.

Francis concludes: At this particular moment in history, overclouded by situations of profound inhumanity and a lack of confidence and prospects for the future, the figure of Dante, prophet of hope and witness to the human desire for happiness, can still provide us with words and examples that encourage us on our journey. Dante can help us to advance with serenity and courage on the pilgrimage of life and faith that each of us is called to make, until our hearts find true peace and true joy, until we arrive at the ultimate goal of all humanity: The Love which moves the sun and the other stars (Par. XXXIII, 145). (FP)
Credit: Nanyang Technological University

Scientists have created a new way to monitor subtle drug interactions between bacteria and antibiotics. By using a common office inkjet printer, researchers from NTU Singapore and China developed a disposable living laser on chip by encapsulating living bacteria inside. Strong laser emissions generated from bacteria inside the droplet will be dramatically enhanced during drug interactions. This breakthrough could enable more sensitive and high-throughput testing using micro-nano laser technology in the near future.

Antibiotics have transformed the field of medicine by making it possible to treat many microbial diseases in nowadays. Monitoring the interactions between bacteria and antibiotics (pathogenic drugs) is therefore a critical step for further evaluation of drug efficacies. Different types of technologies have been developed over the past decade in search for a highly sensitive tool to monitor drug-bacteria interactions. Due to many limitations, conventional techniques usually take longer time to see an obvious result of the drug interactions. It is therefore very challenging to identify tiny dynamic interactions.

Recent advances in microlasers have demonstrated its powerful capabilities in terms of signal amplification, strong intensity, and high sensitivity for biomedical sensing. In search for a simpler and more sensitive detection tool, A new study led by Professor Yu-Cheng Chen at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore) have now developed a washable, disposable living laser which can monitor tiny dynamic bacteria-drug interactions on a chip. The tiny lasers serve as a highly sensitive culture-free sensor, where living bacteria were encapsulated in the micro-sized water droplets. Excited about their findings published in Analytical Chemistry, Prof. Yu-Cheng Chen, an Assistant Professor at Nanyang Technological University, NTU Singapore says, "It's amazing that these tiny biological living lasers can be directly printed from an office inkjet printer. With the advantages of inkjet printing, the living lasers can be fabricated into a mass dimension in seconds. The cool thing is, you can then wash off the lasers and print again after detection."

The preparation of these sensors took place in three steps. First, the researchers labeled the bacteria (Escherichia coli) with nuclei acid dyes, which could recognize the DNA and RNA in cells. Then the cells along with its cell medium were injected into the office printer, where antibiotic drugs can be added directly into the pipet tips (or printhead). Hemisphere micro-droplets were then printed in array on mirror chips. Finally, the living laser array were scanned with a laser beam to generate laser emission images from whispering-gallery modes.

As drug interacts with bacteria, the cell membrane would be destroyed and, in turn, more fluorescent DNA (gain molecule) will be released into the droplet through time and contribute to WGMs, resulting in stronger laser emission. Because laser signal is very sensitive to the changes of the dye molecules at the droplet interface, therefore, tiny increase of the released DNA molecules can be captured and result in a significant change in the gain distribution and laser emissions. The results demonstrated that laser emission image analysis is much more sensitive than fluorescence image analysis by two orders of magnitude, where fluorescence images become saturated after a short period of time. Professor Chen Yu-Cheng says, "Our findings show that the amplification that occurs during laser generation enabled us to quantify tiny changes in biological processes in the gain medium."

In collaboration with Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology in China, the team's novel living laser biosensor design not only eliminates the need for time-consuming and laborious cell culture, but also simplifies sensor configuration without the requirement of any complex fabrication. Most importantly, a novel concept for bioanalysis based on laser emission images was proposed to quantify the underlying biochemical and biological processes in vitro or in vivo, paving the way for high-throughput on-chip laser analysis of living organisms.

Regarding the important future applications of their work, Associate Professor Shilun Feng, who is the co-author explains, "This is a fantastic work by merging microfluidic fabrication with living lasers on a chip. The same approach could be applied to a wide range of living species, including living cells, bacteria, viruses, and proteins interactions. This technology can enable timely diagnosis and treatment with high sensitivity. With the rapid needs for drug screening against viruses, this technology could even enable viruses or bacteria to culture inside the microdroplets and monitor the dynamic interactions with drugs. " Indeed, although there is still a long way to fight for many diseases in the future, their device represents a milestone to implement biological living laser towards high-throughput analysis of living organisms.

Explore further Lasing mechanism found in water droplets

More information: Xuerui Gong et al. Imaging-Based Optofluidic Biolaser Array Encapsulated with Dynamic Living Organisms, Analytical Chemistry (2021). Journal information: Analytical Chemistry Xuerui Gong et al. Imaging-Based Optofluidic Biolaser Array Encapsulated with Dynamic Living Organisms,(2021). DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.1c00020
A fugitive Jubbaland minister has surrendered to the Mogadishu government bringing relief to northern Kenyan residents who have in the recent past said he was a security threat to them.

Mr Abdirashid Hassan Abdinur alias Abdirashid Janan has since been fired as the security minister by President Mohamed Madobe of Somalia's Jubbaland State after it emerged that he was secretly talking to Mogadishu.

"If what we are hearing is true then our business will run uninterrupted between Mandera, Kismayu [Jubbaland capital] and other towns neighbouring Kenya," said Mr Hassan Abdinur, a resident of Kenya's Mandera County.

According to Mr Abdinur, the runaway minister has caused more than enough harm in Mandera.

"Having him sacked or even being hosted by Mogadishu is God sent, we have known no peace for the past two years," he claimed.

Mr Janan crossed into Mandera in December 2019 after escaping from a Mogadishu jail where he faced criminal charges.

A section of security officers that had crossed into Mandera with him clashed with the Somalia National Army in March 2020, a fight that affected Mandera town.

A year later, the Federal Government of Somalia sent in more military officers and another fight broke out. It was during the January clash that Mr Janan lost a majority of his soldiers to the army.

Most of the fighters loyal to the fugitive minister were arrested while others surrendered.

"This wanted minister has been weakened at the moment and the only option for him was to surrender," said Mr Ali Hassan, a resident of Bulahawa in Somalia.

According to Mr Hassan, the sacked minister used proxies and his clan elders to strike a deal with President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo.

"It remains unclear if this is a trap but with the elders being involved then it is a sign that the minister could be at peace," he said.

In Mandera, Mr Janan's Kapedo camp was yet to be closed despite the reported developments.

"We are waiting to see what will happen to his soldiers but most definitely they will cross into Bulahawa to join the FGS security camps," said Mr Abdi Abukar.
The top two members of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee on March 24 called for the release of all political prisoners in Belarus, including blogger and RFE/RL consultant Ihar Losik, and pledged their support for the pro-democracy movement in the country.



We will continue to support the Belarusian peoples democratic aspirations until the illegitimate [Alyaksandr] Lukashenka steps down, all political prisoners -- including RFE/RL consultant Ihar Losik -- are released and new free and fair elections are held, Representatives Gregory Meeks (Democrat-New York) and Representative Michael McCaul (Republican-Texas) said in a statement.



The statement said that in the seven months since Lukashenka rigged the presidential election the Belarusian people have courageously continued their struggle for democracy and freedom in the face of violent repression.



It also mentioned Freedom Day in Belarus, celebrated on March 25 to commemorate the anniversary of the Belarusian People's Republic, which existed for less than a year in 1918.



We stand in solidarity with all of those who, like their forebearers who sought to rid Belarus of authoritarianism in 1918, wave the white-and-red flag and demand a democratic future for their country, Meeks and McCaul said in the statement.



Losik, 28, has been jailed in Belarus since June on charges his supporters say are trumped up.

The blogger's wife, Darya Losik, told RFE/RL on March 22 that her husband's pretrial detention had been prolonged until May 25. RFE/RL President Jamie Fly has condemned the extension and called for his release.

Losik works for RFE/RL as a consultant on new-media technologies.



He had been charged initially with allegedly using his popular Telegram channel to "prepare to disrupt public order" ahead of the August 9 presidential election.



On March 11, Losik was informed of additional unspecified charges that have never been made public. After hearing of the charges, he slit his wrists and launched a four-day hunger strike.
As I try to write every day, I hear a pounding coming from the train yard several blocks away in my home town of Bay Head. It comes from a pile-driver preparing the foundation for an addition to the yard, which is used for storage and maintenance of diesel locomotives.

The pilings are needed because the train yard is in a low-lying section of Bay Head. It floods regularly and was under four feet of water in Hurricane Sandy.

If youre a friend of the environment this should raise a question in your mind: Why is NJ Transit still using heavily polluting diesel engines when a clean alternative was invented long ago?

Another question: Why build facilities to service those locomotives in an environmentally sensitive spot that is, as the towns name implies, at the head of the Barnegat Bay?

The environmental alternative is to switch from diesel to electric. The technology to do so was invented long ago.

Make that long, long ago. Electric trains first came into use back in the 19th century. Yet here we are in the 21st century and New Jersey is still running trains that pump out plenty of old-fashioned pollutants - as well as lots of the CO-2 that our governor wants to cut down on.

Last year Gov. Phil Murphy unveiled an Energy Master Plan that calls for maximum electrification of the transportation sector. Yet his administration is using a $24 million federal grant to construct that facility which will service only diesel trains.

Electric trains cant get there. NJ Transit has never electrified the southern 16 miles of the North Jersey Coast Line. (Which can cause passengers to get stranded in Long Branch.)

Most of the major transit authorities dumped their diesels long ago. Pennsylvanias SEPTA did so in 1981.

Yet the Murphy administration is keeping the diesels, both on the coast line and other popular routes like the Raritan Valley Line.

Those diesels have to be serviced somewhere. But the choice of this location has been denounced by every environmental organization that has had a chance to comment on it.

Heres how Janet Tauro, chair of Clean Water Action, put it:

Governor Murphy has made combating the climate emergency a priority. It is baffling as to why a department within the Murphy administration would advance a dirty, filthy carbon-producing project when the times demand the electrification of this station in Bay Head.

Bev Furze, a member of Concerned Citizens of Bay Head, lives in that part of town.

Whenever we have a heavy rain all the streets all become impassable because of the flooding, she told me. With NJ Transit taking away a piece of the wetlands, that will worsen the flooding.

Electrifying the 16 miles of track that runs to Long Branch wouldnt just be good for the environment. It would also be good for the passengers. In summer the line is packed. Yet the passengers have to get out at Long Branch and switch trains, adding 10 minutes to the ride.

The NJ Transit position is that theyre keeping the diesels because electrification would cost $1 billion or more.

Nonsense, said David Peter Alan, a transit advocate who lives in South Orange. Alan, who writes for the industry journal Railway Age, said the cost of running the poles and wires should be about $100 million.

Where would the state get that money? In a Star-Ledger article earlier this week, reporter Larry Higgs described how the state will be handing out $100 million in grants to fund innovative approaches like electric school buses.

But this is brand-new technology and there are questions on such key issues as the range of buses running on batteries.

There are no range constraints for electric trains. That problem was solved back in the 1890s.

Ed Nolan, who also lives near the rail yard, said we should employ that proven technology before we experiment with new ones.

Why arent they replacing the dirty, filthy diesels here, and the endless idling of the trains all night? he asked. Maybe this isnt the best way to spend $24 million.

It certainly isnt  at least not if you take the states master plan seriously. It calls for the state to end fossil-fuel use by 2050.

When I ran that by Jeff Tittel of the Sierra Club, he replied, How do you get to clean energy when youre building facilities for diesels that are going to be around for 30 or 40 years?

I put that question to Murphys people but I didnt hear back.

But I can still hear those pilings being driven.
"Diversifying the leadership pipeline and supporting initiatives that help bolster equity and inclusion are essential to the future of higher education," said ACE President Ted Mitchell. "We greatly appreciate Cengage's commitment to these important goals and generous support of the ACE Fellows Program and Jevon Hunter."

"I am truly grateful and honored that ACE and Cengage selected me for this prestigious scholarship, one that will afford me the opportunity to learn and grow as an educational leader. I am certainly looking forward to cultivating new skills and sharpening old ones that will help me extend and expand my impact," said Dr. Hunter.

Taking a collaborative approach to his work, Dr. Hunter has partnered with numerous school districts and educational organizations across the state of New York to share the benefits of asset-based, justice-oriented pedagogies in the classroom such as Multicultural Education, Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy, and Anti-Racist Pedagogy. He works alongside youth, teachers, teacher educators, administrators, and community educational advocates to transform curriculum and instruction to better meet the learning needs of students through a lens of equity and inclusion. Since his arrival at SUNY Buffalo State, Dr. Hunter has been working side-by-side with African, African descended, and urban youth, designing literacy activities that engage young people in emancipatory, restorative, and liberating literacy practices.

The Cengage-ACE Inclusion Scholarship covers the cost of the Fellowship program to support the professional development of individuals from diverse backgrounds who are bringing positive change to higher education and to further diversify the program's pipeline to higher education leadership. The program combines retreats, interactive learning opportunities, visits to campuses and other higher education-related organizations, and placement at another higher education institution to condense years of on-the-job experience and skills development into a single year.

"We are honored to support Dr. Hunter in the ACE Fellows program," said Fernando Bleichmar, Executive Vice President and General Manager for U.S. Higher Education at Cengage. "His work to create inclusive learning experiences for all students is critical to opening up the power of education, and an important part of Cengage's mission as well."

Dr. Hunter was recognized at ACE2021, ACE's online annual meeting from March 22-24.

For more information about the ACE Fellows program, click here. For more information about Cengage's focus on inclusion and diversity, click here.

About ACE

ACE is a membership organization that mobilizes the higher education community to shape effective public policy and foster innovative, high-quality practice. As the major coordinating body for the nation's colleges and universities, our strength lies in our diverse membership of more than 1,700 colleges and universities, related associations, and other organizations in America and abroad. ACE is the only major higher education association to represent all types of U.S. accredited, degree-granting institutions: two-year and four-year, public and private. For more information, please visit www.acenet.edu or follow ACE on Twitter @ACEducation.

About Cengage

Cengage, an education technology company serving millions of learners in 165 countries, advances the way students learn through quality, digital experiences. We serve the K-12, higher education, professional, library, English language teaching, and workforce training markets worldwide. We believe that through the power and joy of learning, students can enrich their lives and achieve their dreams  no matter their age, experience, abilities, or environment. Our industry-leading products and services make education more accessible and affordable, including Cengage Unlimited, the first-of-its-kind all-access digital subscription service. Visit us at www.cengage.com or find us on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter.

Media Contacts:

Kristina Massari, Cengage

203-965-8694, [email protected]

Carly O'Connell, ACE

202-360-7139, [email protected]

SOURCE Cengage

Related Links

http://www.cengage.com


Bill Gates has predicted that the world will be "completely back to normal" by the end of 2022, overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stressing that the pandemic has been an "incredible tragedy", the Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist has heightened hopes that the virus could be brought to bay across the world in less than two years.

"By the end of 2022 we should be basically completely back to normal," Gates told Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza and television broadcaster TVN24.

He added that the only good news during these stressful times was the access to coronavirus vaccines.

Also Read: 'Bill Gates created coronavirus in secret lab': Why such conspiracy theories are dangerous

Gates' comments came weeks after he noted in an interview on the social media app Clubhouse that he supposed that people could consider changing their behaviour "in a significant way" in the spring or summer of 2021.

Gates, a billionaire who stepped down as chairman of Microsoft Corp. in 2014, has, through his philanthropic Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, committed at least $1.75 billion to the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

That includes support for some makers of vaccines, diagnostics, and potential treatments.

Also Read: 'COVID-19 vaccine didn't implant genius father into my brain,' says Bill Gates' daughter after vaccination

The COVAX facility, backed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), aims to secure 2 billion vaccine doses for lower-income countries by the end of 2021.

Although Gates is one of the leading public figures in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, he has also been a target of many conspiracy theories.

Several theories linking the Microsoft co-founder to coronavirus have flooded social media ever since the pandemic broke, including a bizarre one that states COVID-19 is a cover so he can plant microchips in people to control them.
(TNS) - Michigan's annual Severe Weather Awareness Week is taking place this week; with the statewide tornado drill scheduled for today.This campaign aims to alert and remind Michigan residents about the risks for tornadoes and severe thunderstorms as spring begins. On average, Michigan has 15 tornadoes per year. Monroe County is among the list of counties where tornadoes happen; with over 30 tornadoes noted since record keeping began in 1950.The average lead time for a tornado warning is 10 to 15 minutes and winds can reach over 200 mph, which is why Michigan residents are encouraged to prepare and make a plan before a tornado strikes.The Federal Emergency Management Agency says that the safest place to seek shelter during a tornado is a specially-constructed safe room, basement, storm cellar or a small interior room on the lowest level of a sturdy building. "Stay away from windows, doors, and outside walls," FEMA says.There are outdoor sirens in much of Monroe County; but they were designed to be heard by people who are outdoors. Those sirens will not be sounded this week with the statewide tornado drill; the normal testing schedule is 10 a.m. last Wednesday of the month and county officials keep to that schedule.Area television and radio stations receive and broadcast severe weather emergency messages from local authorities.In addition, the Monroe County Emergency Management Division also runs the Monroe County Alert Notification System, which a text, phone and email service where residents can sign up for alerts. If you are not signed up, you can do so at https://www.co.monroe.mi.us/officials_and_departments/departments/emergency_management/mcans.php.The key phrases to watch for in emergency weather bulletins include:Tornado Watch: Tornadoes are possible. Watch the sky and pay attention to weather alert services such as NOAA Weather Radio and weather mobile apps.Tornado Warning: A tornado has been sighted or indicated by weather radar. Take shelter immediately.Particularly Dangerous Situation Tornado Watch: This is a watch in which the forecast includes strong or violent tornadoes. This phrase has been used only once in Monroe County since it was introduced.Tornado Emergency: This is a tornado warning in which a significant tornado is happening. This phrase has not been used in Monroe County since it was introduced; the tornadoes in recent years have not met the severity level.The National Weather Service's annual Severe Weather Spotter classes are taking place in online format this year. The next one is March 31; classes are scheduled through May 25. The signup links are at National Weather Service-Detroit's website at https://www.weather.gov/dtx.For additional information, go to the State of Michigan's Ready MI website https://www.michigan.gov/miready or the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Ready website at https://www.ready.gov/tornadoes.___(c)2021 Monroe News, Mich.Visit Monroe News, Mich. at http://www.monroenews.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.




By Lee Gyu-lee







Actress Han Ye-ri, who garnered international fame by playing the lead role in the award-winning film "Minari," is set to join OCN's upcoming mystery thriller series "Hometown" as her next project.







The network announced Thursday that "actors Han Ye-ri, Yoo Jae-myung, and Uhm Tae-goo have confirmed roles in the series."







The series will be led by director Park Hyun-suk, whose previous work includes the second season of the hit 2020 tvN series, "Stranger" and the 2016 SBS series "Uncontrollably Fond."







Han will play Cho Jung-hyun who is the sister of convicted terrorist Cho Kyung-ho (Uhm).







After her brother is imprisoned for committing a horrific gas attack in 1999, she has taken care of his daughter, centering her world on the niece. One day, the niece goes missing, leading her to uncover the deep secrets to Kyung-ho's crime.







"As Han has garnered global attention, including the Academy, with her incredibly detailed and nuanced acting, we have high hopes for her performance in this series," the network said. "The thriller series will have an intense storyline."







Yoo took the role of detective Choi Hyung-in who is living in misery after losing his wife to the terrorist attack.







A mysterious murder occurs in the same town the terrorist attack happened. He realizes that there is a connection between the case and the gas attack, and teams up with Jung-hyun to find the truth behind both cases.







"Hometown" will premiere in the latter half of this year.


More than 175 public school teachers from across Western Massachusetts heard from their union leadership during a more than hour-long Zoom meeting Wednesday about an early retirement proposal now before the state Legislature.

The legislation, sponsored by state Sen. John C. Velis, D-Westfield, and state Rep. Carol A. Doherty, D-Taunton, would give select Massachusetts Teachers Retirement System members an option to purchase up to five years of service or up to five years of age, or a combination of the two.

Eligible teachers would be those who are 55 or older with 10 years or more of teaching experience; teachers with 20 years of experience or teachers who are 60 or older with 10 years or more of service in a district if hired on or after April 2, 2012.

There was actually another meeting held last week that had about 2,000 participants from across the state. This meeting was mostly made up of teachers from Western Massachusetts, so we know there is interest in this across school districts, said Westfield Education Association President Lori Lyncosky, who has been working on the proposed legislation for several months.

The proposal was created by the Massachusetts Teachers Association as a way to provide an early retirement opportunity for teachers who have struggled to adapt to the remote teaching model and those who are at high-risk for COVID-19 and do not want to return to or continue teaching in-person while also giving opportunities to younger teachers in need of work.

Lyncosky said the teachers association is trying to provide the most accurate and up-to-date information to teachers who are interested in the outcome of the legislation, but there are still many unanswered questions, particularly about how much time it will take for the bill to go to a vote and what cities and towns and teachers are responsible for financially.

The Public Employee Retirement Association Commission would calculate the cost to teachers after the legislation has been signed into law.

The bill would allow the state or employer the option of contributing to that cost.

There are still tons of questions and every teacher has their own unique circumstances and their own questions. Some we can answer and some cant be answered just yet, Lyncosky said.

A legislative subcommittee hearing would likely take place between this spring and fall, union officials said during Wednesdays virtual meeting.

There are going to be a lot of eyes, a lot of ears, a lot of people that are involved in moving this forward and there are going to be some things that stay in and some that are phased out, Lyncosky said. While we would love to see the bill go forward in its entirety as we have constructed it, we know that the chances of that are slim to none, but it is our sincere belief that the language that will do the most good for the most people will be left in.

A recorded version of the initial meeting held last week will be available on the MTA website on Friday. Lyncosky said there will be more meetings scheduled in the future as new information becomes available.

Related content:
Even small hikes in air pollution lead to more deaths from heart and lung diseases, more research has confirmed.

The study found that when nitrogen dioxide levels jumped by 10 micrograms per cubic meter of air (g/m3), there was a 0.4 per cent increase in deaths the next day.

Researchers described it as 'robust evidence' that echoes similar findings made over the past decades.

A BMJ study found that as nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels increased in 398 cities, so did deaths. One researcher said that an increase in total deaths (top), deaths from heart problems (middle) and lung diseases (bottom) is 'almost linear' with increases in nitrogen dioxide levels

London's average NO2 concentration was 28 g/m3 in 2019, while New York's was around 50 g/m3.

But levels are higher near roads and construction sites and can increase when there is low wind or rain, which can remove or blow away pollution in the air.

Microscopic NO2 particles, produced mainly by diesel vehicles, can penetrate deep into the lungs, scientists say.

From there, they can trigger inflammation within the body that piles pressure on the organs, which may lead to disease.

Daily weather data and 62.8million death records from 398 developed cities across 22 countries around the world were examined from over a period of almost 50 years.

The researchers estimated that 1.23 per cent of all deaths in the cities studied were linked with NO2 levels being above zero.

398 cities around the world saw an increase in deaths from heart and lung problems when NO2 levels rose by 10 g/m3, a study found. One researcher noted that NO2 levels within cities tend to be 'much higher' near roads, because petrol and diesel vehicles release nitrogen dioxide

But they noted that it would be 'infeasible' to eradicate nitrogen dioxide from the air, because the pollutant is made by burning fuel for things like transport, power and industrial processes.

The findings suggest that the World Health Organization, national governments and the European Union should tighten their air quality standards.

Stricter limits for nitrogen dioxide concentration will boost public health and save lives, the scientists said in the British Medical Journal report published yesterday.

The study was led by Dr Haidong Kans research group from Fudan University in Shanghai.

The WHO's current guidelines advise nitrogen dioxide levels should not be higher than 40 g/m3. But levels regularly exceed this limit in cities including London and New York.

The report examined 39 cities in the UK and found an annual average NO2 level of 25.6 g/m3 between 1990 and 2016  the years they had enough data for Britain.

Highest levels were recorded in Oxford and London, where the NO2 concentration was 50 g/m3. By contrast, Eastbourne and Sunderland had the lowest (15 g/m3).

The UK recorded 5.4million deaths over the 26-year period, of which around half were from heart or lung diseases.

Cardiovascular deaths are usually caused by coronary heart disease and stroke, while respiratory deaths include low respiratory infection and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Increases in air pollutant NO2 could lead to more deaths from lung diseases by causing pulmonary function decline and airway inflammation, a researcher said. A UK court ruled that air pollution contributed to nine-year-old Ella Kissi-Debrah's death in 2013

Of the examined cities, the highest nitrogen dioxide levels were found in Sao Paulo, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Seoul, Los Angeles and New York, which had NO2 concentrations between 94 g/m3 and 66 g/m3.

Percentage increase in respiratory and cardiovascular deaths when NO2 levels rise by 10 g/m3 Country Respiratory deaths Cardiovascular deaths Canada 0.45 0.52 China 0.54 0.76 Colombia 0.28 0.05 Czech Republic 0.37 0.42 Finland 0.39 0.50 Greece 0.47 0.84 Japan 0.18 0.70 Portugal 0.22 0.13 South Korea 0.48 0.48 Spain 0.53 0.88 Sweden 0.21 0.41 Switzerland 0.52 0.24 Taiwan 0.37 0.22 Thailand 0.38 0.69 UK 0.10 0.11 US 0.45 0.62 Source: BMJ

The NO2 concentrations in each city reflect the annual average recorded, but levels vary within those locations and can be much higher near roads, the scientists said.

Dr Cong Liu, one of the study authors, told the MailOnline that the findings 'demonstrate a significant link' between exposure to NO2 and deaths.

The relationship between short-term exposure to NO2 levels and respiratory and cardiovascular deaths is 'almost linear', which suggests that air quality guidelines should be revised and tightened, he said.

The scientists noted that their research is observational, so cannot establish a cause between the separate sets of NO2 and deaths data.

But dozens of other studies have found similar links, bolstering the case.

Professor Robert Storey, a cardiologist at the University of Sheffield, said: 'Success in this area will deliver major benefits to people's health and reduce the burden on health services.'

Dr Hubert Lam, an associate professor at the Nuffield Department of Population Health of Oxford University, said other studies also suggested that NO2 exposure is harmful, but there were concerns that this observation may have been driven by other pollutants produced at the same time as NO2.

The report states that the link between NO2 and deaths was independent from other air pollutants, such as sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide.

The nitrogen dioxide limits set by various air quality guidelines are 'likely to be questioned and challenged', but completely eliminating NO2 will be 'extremely difficult if not impossible to achieve', Dr Lam added.

The UKs attempt to tackle NO2 levels includes a plan published in 2017 to tackle roadside nitrogen dioxide levels in by investing in ultra low emission vehicles, public transport and road networks.

Prime minister Boris Johnson announced in November that new vehicles powered by petrol and diesel alone will not be sold in the UK from 2030.

In December, a coroner ruled that air pollution contributed to the death of nine-year-old Ella Kissi-Debrah in February 2013 following an asthma attack.

She lived nearby the South Circular Road in Lewisham and is believed to be the first person in the UK to have air pollution recorded on her death certificate, after Southwark Coroner's Court found that pollution was a 'material contribution' to Ella'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.
M&A

Space infrastructure firm finds partner to take it public

Where Redwire sees the government growth

Redwire, the space infrastructure company backed by AE Industrial Partners, has agreed to a transaction that will take it to the public markets nearly one year after the official unveiling.

Redwire said Thursday it will merge with a special purpose acquisition company Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. in a deal all parties expect to close by the end of the second quarter.

After that, Redwire will become the latest space company to be publicly-traded with the help of a SPAC, or blank check firm, and in this instance list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange. Many other space outfits have done the same in the past six months, including a pair of Northern Virginia-headquartered companies in Blacksky and Spire.

AE Industrial Partners is the private equity firm that created Redwire in the summer of last year and will retain a significant amount of shares in the company after the merger completes.

Jacksonville, Florida-headquartered Redwire has since been one of the space markets busiest buyers since AEI combined two other businesses to form the company as it is today.

The company reported $119 million in revenue last year on $13 million in adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization).

Redwire has gone on to acquire four more businesses with AEIs backing: in-space manufacturing outfit Made In Space, structure makers LoadPath and Roccor, engineering firm Oakman Aerospace, and most recently spacecraft and array developer Deployable Space Systems.

Space is still a fragmented market. Because of our unique approach to consolidating world-class space businesses that require a larger platform to achieve breakout results and larger impact, Redwire CEO Pete Cannito said in a conference call with investors Thursday morning.

Cannito will continue as chief executive, while Andrew Rush is chief operating officer and Bill Read is chief financial officer.

An accompanying investor presentation to explain Redwires SPAC deal lists five key focus areas of its strategy: on-orbit servicing and assembly, low Earth orbit commercialization, digital engineering of spacecraft, space domain awareness and advanced sensors and components.

Within those areas are how commercial and commercial customers are involved in a new space economy where both interest and investment dollars continue to rise.

Take for instance how Redwire sized up todays total space infrastructure market as around $420 billion with $47 billion of that from U.S. government spending alone by defense and civilian agencies.

Growth is coming from commercial sector players who are providing increased data communications and remote sensing applications from large commercial satellite constellations, Cannito said.

Additionally, there is growing demand for more resilient architectures in the national security sector using proliferated small satellites in low earth orbit, and the publics renewed interest in human space exploration is driving tremendous growth in the civil sector.

For this year, Redwire expects to post revenue of $163 million on $20 million in adjusted EBITDA. That sales forecast suggests 86 percent government and 14 percent commercial.

If all goes according to plan, Redwire sees its sales hitting $1.4 billion by 2025 on adjusted EBITDA of $250 million. That envisioned top line would be split 59 percent government and 41 percent commercial.

By merging with GNPK, Redwire is seeking a pro forma enterprise valuation of $615 million and will get approximately $170 million in cash on its balance sheet.

That initial cash infusion will go toward internal investments such as research-and-development and capital expenditures to support organic growth. Further acquisitions are also very much on the table for Redwire.

Genesis Park Acquisition Corp., or GNPK, undertook its own initial public offering in November of last year and has since been looking for another aerospace and aviation services company to merge with and take public.

The deal is supported by a $100 million oversubscribed PIPE investment fund that lets certain early investors buy the publicly-traded stock at a price below the current value per share.

Senvest Management, Crescent Park and a number of other significant long-term investors are involved in the PIPE that will add up to 15 percent of ownership in Redwire. Current shareholders will own 55 percent of Redwire, GNPKs shareholders will own 24 percent and GNPK itself will own 6 percent.

Jefferies is serving as financial adviser and Kirkland and Ellis LLP is serving as legal counsel to Redwire.

Genesis Park has lined up Greenhill and KPMG as financial advisers, Jefferies as the sole placement agent for the PIPE and capital markets adviser, and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP and Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as legal counsel.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A federal judge dismissed Ohio Attorney General Dave Yosts lawsuit that sought to force the U.S. Census Bureau to provide its results, so Ohio can meet deadlines to redraw legislative districts.

Were talking about what that means for gerrymandering on This Week in the CLE.

Listen online here.

Editor Chris Quinn hosts our daily half-hour news podcast, with Leila Atassi, Jane Kahoun 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 a federal judge throw out Ohio Attorney General Dave Yosts lawsuit against the census bureau? Doesnt this judge know Ohio needs to get past its gerrymandering?

How lopsided were the votes to override Gov. Mike DeWines veto of legislation curbing his power to issue health orders, and what happens next?

Cleveland City Councilman Joe Jones told a fascinating tale of a police chase at a committee hearing. What are the details?

With traffic climbing steadily at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, how close are we to the number of passengers we saw before the coronavirus pandemic began?

Is Lordstown Motors, the purported electric truck maker at the former Lordstown auto plan, for real, or is it a sham?

If I dont have a reaction to the coronavirus vaccine, does it mean I have less protection that those who do react?

How did things go on the first day of the mass vaccination center at Kent State University, and whats causing the delay of the drive-through vaccination clinic planned in Summit County?

How much extra time are Ohioans getting to pay their state income taxes this year because of the pandemic?

With so many people getting the coronavirus vaccination, are people returning to doctors and dentists for regular exams? How hard is it to get an appointment?

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.
An updated company analysis of the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford showed that the two-shot regimen was robustly effective - 76% at preventing symptomatic illness - according to a news release from the drugmaker late Wednesday.

The finding, only slightly lower than results announced days earlier, underscores that the vaccine being widely used by many countries appears to be a powerful tool to help end the pandemic. No severe cases of illness were reported in study volunteers who received the vaccine. Among people 65 and older, the vaccine was 85% effective, the company reported.

The new data may not resolve challenges that the vaccine and the company face in the United States, because repeated missteps have sown confusion and distrust that may result in slower and closer scrutiny of the data.

AstraZeneca and Oxford's announcement Monday that their vaccine was 79% effective in a 32,000-person trial in the United States buoyed the company's stock price and impressed government officials.

The fraught story of the vaccine then took a dramatic turn when an independent data-monitoring committee took the highly unusual step of writing late Monday to company and government officials, airing concerns.

The expert physicians, biostatisticians and ethicists on the Data and Safety Monitoring Board that oversee trials have an inside view of the research and are charged with maintaining patient safety and scientific validity. Their communications with companies typically take place in private.

But in the letter, obtained by The Washington Post, the committee revealed that after several meetings and requests for more recent data, the company had chosen to present earlier, now-outdated data to the world that cast its vaccine in the most favorable light. The dispute was about whether the company had selected data to paint the most flattering picture of how effective the vaccine was, not about whether the vaccine worked.

"Decisions like this are what erode public trust in the scientific process," the committee of outside experts wrote in the letter.

The National Institutes of Health issued a statement early Tuesday, urging the company and data committee to work together to "ensure the most accurate, up-to-date efficacy data be made public as quickly as possible."

Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in an interview Tuesday the irony of the situation is that the vaccine probably works well. Many U.S. scientists have watched the drama unfold with disbelief.

The data has not been published or peer-reviewed, but AstraZeneca said Wednesday night in its statement that the new analysis had been presented to an independent data board.

"The primary analysis is consistent with our previously released interim analysis, and confirms that our COVID-19 vaccine is highly effective in adults, including those aged 65 years and over," Mene Pangalos, executive vice president of biopharmaceuticals research and development at AstraZeneca, said in a statement. The company plans to submit an emergency use authorization in the coming weeks, and is prepared to send out 30 million doses upon authorization.

Before this week's drama, AstraZeneca and Oxford had reported confusing results from a U.K. trial last fall. While the initial results were positive, with up to 90% efficacy in one group of participants and 62% in another, more details about how the trial had been conducted leaked out over days, turning a positive result into a hard-to-interpret mess and an ongoing news story.

Supply issues with the European Union have created further friction.

A rare blood clotting syndrome that resulted in some deaths caused the vaccination effort to be paused in some countries as experts explored whether there it may have been caused by the vaccine. Even as vaccination efforts have restarted, some regulators have said they could not rule out a possible link.

The latest twist in the saga, a technical discussion over how effective the vaccine is in the U.S. trial, doesn't threaten the conclusion that the vaccine is effective. But it has become yet another avoidable challenge for the company. The vaccine still looks effective, but the reputational hit from the back and forth with the data committee could trickle down to undermine confidence in the vaccine.

"This represents another hiccup for AstraZeneca in terms of public perception," Yaron Werber, an equity analyst at the firm Cowen wrote in a research note Tuesday. "In our view, AstraZeneca's vaccine [is] unlikely to play a large role in vaccinating the U.S. population given the swift rollout of the three currently authorized vaccines and the controversy around the AstraZeneca data."

Regulatory approval in the United States is a crucial event for the company, although it is increasingly uncertain whether or how the vaccine will fit into the portfolio as supply of other vaccines increases.

But the United States is not only a large market; its regulatory decisions are often a benchmark for the rest of the world.

"In spite of the drama, this is still a big win for global health," David Benkeser, a biostatistician at the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, said in an email.

Although other countries have already authorized the vaccine, a positive U.S. decision could help fuel global uptake. Because AstraZeneca has vowed to sell its vaccine with no profit in low- and middle-income countries, even after the pandemic is over, the U.S. market also represents one of the major opportunities for the company to make a profit.

"We will, at some stage, sell it commercially, at commercially reasonable prices in the wealthy countries and not-for-profit in the poorer countries in the world," Pangalos said in an interview Monday.
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.
has taken action against a group of hackers in who were targeting dissidents, mostly Uyghurs from Xinjiang province, the company's Cyber Espionage team said on Wednesday.

"Today, we are sharing actions we took against a group of hackers in known in the security industry as Earth Empusa or Evil Eye - to disrupt their ability to use their infrastructure to abuse our platform, distribute malware and hack people's accounts across the internet. They targeted activists, journalists and dissidents predominantly among Uyghurs from Xinjiang in primarily living abroad in Turkey, Kazakhstan, the United States, Syria, Australia, Canada and other countries," said the company's head of Cyber Espionage Investigations Mike Dvilyanski and Head of Security Policy Nathaniel Gleicher.

said it found that the Chinese firms Beijing Best United Technology Co., Ltd. (Best Lh) and Dalian 9Rush Technology Co., Ltd. (9Rush), are behind some of the Android malware used by the hackers.

The firm disrupted the Chinese hackers' operation by blocking malicious domains from being shared on its platform, took down the group's accounts and notified the targeted individuals.

The miscreants set up malicious websites that used look-alike domains for popular and Turkish news sites or they compromised legitimate websites frequently visited by their targets, some websites contained malicious javascript code, the statement said.

"This group used fake accounts on to create fictitious personas posing as journalists, students, human rights advocates or members of the community to build trust with people they targeted and trick them into clicking on malicious links," it added.

Facebook security experts work to find and stop a wide range of threats including cyber espionage campaigns, influence operations and hacking of their platform by nation-state actors and other groups.

As part of these efforts, their teams disrupt adversary operations by disabling them.

(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.)

Fans of honeysuckle tea time will soon be able to get their fix of whimsical shakes and cakes year-round with the opening of a brick-and-mortar shop.

Sara Lauren Hinojosa, honeysuckles owner, announced her plans to open a cafe and asked local residents to consider donating to the cause, in a GoFundMe shared earlier this week. The development comes five years after Hinojosa launched the business, which began as a tea party catering company for kids and eventually found its specialty in themed milkshakes and cakes geared toward adults.

Hinojosa said shes made moves to open a physical location in years past, but didnt have much luck until this year. And with the pandemic putting a stop to her business, she was ready to give up on honeysuckle. That is, until a mentor of hers reminded her that the tough times would not last forever. Recently, she said this mentor, who she chose not to name, came across an available property and proposed using the space for a honeysuckle cafe.

Hinojosa was all in.

Im so excited to even be given this opportunity, she said. We not only make special desserts, we create experiences.

As of now, she said she is in the process of signing the official paperwork and contracts to make her dream a reality. The cafe will be located in Alamo Heights, Hinojosa said.

READ MORE: Meet the two Texas women serving up food and culture with their new cooking shows

I dont want to jinx it, but everything looks good to go, she said.

Currently, Hinojosa and her business partners are preparing to renovate the space to make it suitable for the whimsical, yet natural feels that she wants the space to project. Thats where the GoFundMe, which has raised $1,220 of its $5,000 goal, comes in.

Were bootstrapping this thing, she said.

While the concept is already in the works, Hinojosa said the fundraiser is to help alleviate the costs of fixing up the space and making it suitable to operate in the midst of COVID-19. She stated the space will operate under minimum occupancy, use QR menus, prioritize use on the patio, offer coffee and tea to-go, and have plexiglass near the counter. She also said employees will be vaccinated before opening.

It will 100 percent be my vision, from interior design to the menu, Hinojosa said.

The business owner said shell return to honeysuckles roots with the cafe, which will offer a high tea service complete with finger sandwiches and tea. There will also be a full breakfast and lunch menu, in addition to the signature milkshakes, cakes, and various sweets.

Though renovations have not yet begun, Hinojosa predicts that the cafe will open in the late summer or early fall.
The group acquired royalties on Barrick Golds Alturas-Del Carmen project and one covering Agnico Eagles Amalgamated Kirkland property and Kirkland Lake Gold's North AK Property

Metalla also announced that it had closed the acquisition of an existing 1-2% NSR royalty on the CentroGold project in Brazil

(NYSEAMERICAN:MTA) ( ) (FRA:X9C) said Thursday it had acquired another two royalties to add to its growing portfolio.

The group acquired a 0.5% net smelter return (NSR) royalty on a portion of Barrick Golds Alturas-Del Carmen project in Argentina for C$1.6 million in cash from Coin Hodl Inc (CVE:COIN).

In addition, Metalla snagged a 0.45% NSR covering Agnico Eagles Amalgamated Kirkland property and Kirkland Lake Gold's North AK Property in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, for C$0.7 million in cash from private third parties.

CEO Brett Heath said that the two transactions provide extraordinary value for shareholders.

Alturas-Del Carmen is a nearly nine-million-ounce gold project actively being explored and advanced toward development by one of the world's largest gold producers, Heath said in a statement.

The Amalgamated Kirkland development projects reside on one of Canada's most proven geological trends. It also provides an easily accessible mill feed for Agnico Eagle's large Kirkland Lake camp with significant exploration potential."

Vancouver-based Metalla also announced that it had closed the acquisition of an existing 1-2% NSR royalty on the CentroGold project in Brazil owned by Australias Oz Minerals Ltd ( ) (OTCMKTS:OZMLF) (FRA:OXR). The group acquired the royalty from Jaguar Mining Inc ( ) (OTCMKTS:JAGGF) (FRA:32JP) for US$7 million. Metalla said it had also agreed to pay up to an additional US$11 million to Jaguar upon the achievement of certain milestones.

Contact Angela at angela@proactiveinvestors.com

Follow her on Twitter @AHarmantas
Richard D. Wilkins lives in DeWitt.

How dark the picture that SUNY Geneseo Distinguished Professor Michael Leroy Oberg paints of American history, while nastily attacking those who would celebrate it (The Republican War on American history, Feb. 12, 2021). Slavery and Jim Crow unquestionably deeply stained Americas story, but were hardly central to it. The New York Times 1619 Project he promotes has been heavily criticized by leading historians. such as Peter Wood, Ph.D., president of the National Association of Scholars. America didnt begin in 1619, with a handful of indentured servants landing in what is now Virginia, but in the 1620 Mayflower Compact, among a group of religious freedom seekers.

Freedom was the overarching idea inspiring colonists to declare independence, and forge an enduring Constitution. Slavery was then deeply embedded in the agrarian Southern economy. Unanimous passage required reluctant compromise, but abolitionists succeeded in ending slave importation by 1808, and inserted the much misunderstood 3/5th rule, limiting Southern political power.

The continuing struggle forced balanced free and slave state admissions into the Union, characterized by the Compromises of 1820 and 1850. A bloody Civil War brought forth Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation, and Amendments 13, 14, and 15, which promised, though soon thwarted, equal rights for all citizens. That awaited Brown v. Board of Education, 1960s Civil Rights acts, and subsequent reparative measures.

That large, but limited, blemished beginning cant begin to account for how a cluster of competing colonies, thinly spread along the Atlantic littoral, soon traversed the continent, becoming the greatest and most prosperous nation in world history. It ignores the multitudes who, throughout, advocated, fought and died for the achievement of equality for all, It ignores the millions who flocked to these shores, fleeing oppression and persecution, in search of freedom, and who have contributed so much to its development.

Southern wealth from enslavement was soon gone with the wind. Contra Obergs reductive analysis, the nations great wealth was generated in the North, with its massive industrialization, employing free native and immigrant labor, and powered by inventiveness and ingenuity. Even the cotton gin, savior of the Southern economy, was developed there.

The Academy has opened a Pandoras Box of societal ills: political correctness, multiculturalism, Critical Race Theory, antiracism and phantom cancel culture. Not so slowly, but surely, though not yet by Congress, First Amendment freedoms of speech, press, worship and peaceable assembly are being seriously eroded. Having ever said, or done, anything now objectionable, regardless of intent or age, can bar one permanently from the public square. One can publish anything they want , as long as Big Tech approves. Religious conscience must now bend before government edict. In the name of public health, more persons have been allowed at a time into casinos than into congregations. Contributing to a disfavored cause, or supporting a disliked public figure, can get one doxxed, physically confronted or fired.

History as civic education is for K-12, history as a discipline for higher education. Schoolchildren are being ideologically indoctrinated, not americanized. They are being prepared not for the work, but the woke world, groomed for political activism, not for the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. Instead of encouraging individual talent and initiative, all must be tethered to the least common denominator. Equality of opportunity for all, inevitably resulting in disparate outcomes, is being replaced by equity, an impossible demand for equal collective outcomes, among warring racial, sexual, and ethnic clans.

America remains an exceptional nation. Yet, it seems rapidly devolving into the Disunited States. Such social unraveling desperately needs to be arrested. In strikingly similar times, Lincoln wisely warned that a house divided against itself cannot stand.

That was true then; it remains true today.

Related: The Republican war on American history (Commentary)
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.
(@FahadShabbir)

Libya's new unity government called Thursday for the "immediate" withdrawal of all foreign mercenaries from the war-torn country which is headed for elections by year's end

Tripoli, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Mar, 2021 ) :Libya's new unity government called Thursday for the "immediate" withdrawal of all foreign mercenaries from the war-torn country which is headed for elections by year's end.

The North African country descended into chaos after dictator Moamer Kadhafi was toppled and killed in a 2011 NATO-backed uprising, resulting in multiple forces vying for power.

Fighting only came to a halt last summer, and a formal ceasefire in October was followed by the establishment last week of a new unity government led by interim Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah.

The presence of an estimated 20,000 foreign fighters and mercenaries on Libya's territory is seen as a threat to the UN-backed transition leading to December 24 elections.

"We reiterate the need for the departure of all mercenaries from Libya, and immediately," Libyan Foreign Minister Najla al-Mangoush said at a Tripoli news conference joined by her French, German and Italian counterparts.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian echoed her call.

"The departure of the mercenaries is essential for the Libyan state to assert its sovereignty," Le Drian he told the news conference.

The three European diplomats were in Tripoli in a show of support for the newly formed Government of National Unity, or GNU.

"We represent the EU's support for Libya as it moves towards peace," said Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio.

"Italy and Europe are still convinced that there can be no military solution to the Libyan crisis," he said.

"We reiterated the importance of maintaining the ceasefire, the reopening of the coastal road and the departure of mercenaries."Their statements came after UN chief Antonio Guterres said in a report on Wednesday that he "remains deeply concerned" that "foreign elements" continue to operate in the North African country.
Belfast could gain from greater prosperity in Dublin and vice versa, a NIO minister has said as he pledged support for strengthening links between the cities.

Eight local authorities on both sides of the border launched the Dublin Belfast Economic Corridor on Wednesday as a means of boosting economic recovery.

A report by Ulster University and Dublin City University highlighted existing cooperation in tourism and trade, and joint projects between Newry, Mourne and Down District Council and Louth County Council.

A virtual launch was attended by businesspeople and politicians, including Tanaiste Leo Varadkar, NIO Minister of State Robin Walker and Stormont Finance Minister Conor Murphy.

According to hosts Fingal County Council, DUP Economy Minister Diane Dodds was invited but could not attend due to a prior engagement.

The DUP did not reply to a request for comment. Last month the party said it would not be taking part in cross-border cooperation efforts due to its opposition to the Irish Sea border.

Mr Walker said: "The corridor is a huge area of opportunity and I think the two economies need to work with each other as seamlessly and as collaboratively as possible. Greater prosperity in one will benefit the other."

Prof Eoin Magennis of Ulster University, who co-wrote the report, said the project had unionist support.

"It's a network of eight local authorities, which would cover a broad spectrum of all political parties, north and south," he said.

"If you think, on the north side we have Lisburn and Castlereagh; Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon, as well as Newry, Mourne and Down and Belfast City Council, so there's a broad spectrum of political opinion. Indeed, within the corridor, it now has a political insight group with elected councillors on that.

"Whatever may be the case in the short to medium term in resolving some of the issues around the implementation issues around the protocol and the broader political issues around the protocol, there is a commitment there from political unionism to this project and recognition of the benefits that can be gained."

He said in his previous experience of cross-border work "the benefits for cross-border business are often seen to outweigh some of the shorter-term political difficulties". "And that, I suspect, may prove to be the case here," he added.

The report says the region's economic potential lies in its high percentage of young people in its population of 2m, with 15% born off the island. It also has the best educated workforce, with 34% of the population holding third level qualifications.

Mr Varadkar said a faster rail connection between the cities would be beneficial. The current journey time is two hours.

"If you could get from Belfast city centre to Dublin city centre in an hour or so, that would really change things, with people able to do a day's work and travel between the two cities," he said. But he added a rail link to Dublin Airport could be even more of a game-changer.

"It's used as a main gateway on and off the island but I think it's even more important to link that by rail to Dublin city, to Belfast city and all the places in between - not to be accused of stealing business from Belfast City or Aldergrove. That would be of real benefit if we could do that over the next 10 years."

Mr Varadkar said another means of promoting both regions could be joint trade missions involving Invest NI and its counterpart in the Republic, IDA Ireland.

"It's like how Manchester and Liverpool work together. They have strong mayors and they go on joint trade missions together, and basically join their assets to promote investment in their mega-city region," he said.

Prof Magennis said the aspiration to cut journey times on the Enterprise service between Dublin and Belfast in half was "at the ambitious end of the plans".

"But a more regular service and some trimming in the journey time would be an interim step in the right direction," he added.

"Then, on a high-speed rail proposition, I know some work has been done on that and the potential of bringing in Trans-European Networks (Tens) money from Europe and how that might work with NI remaining within the single market with the NI Protocol.

"I suspect if we tie everything to merely a high-speed rail link, I think there's plenty of things which could be done in the interim which would have an impact.

"A high-speed link may well come to fruition in time, but I don't think it's key at the moment."
Please note The Sun Chronicle is providing this story and all of our local coronavirus coverage for free so that all readers have access to this important information about the pandemic. Please visit our dedicated coronavirus coverage page for more stories. If you'd like to support our mission, please subscribe.
When the School Modernization Committee announced several weeks ago that it would be pushing back its original March 1 deadline a full three months to June 1, The Cheshire Herald urged members of that group to look at late spring as a last resort.

In order to fully flesh out these expensive and important proposals, and to give as many people as possible an opportunity to weigh in on the particulars of this first phase of what promises to be a years-long project, the SMC needed to get details in the hands of the Town Council as soon as possible. Presenting findings in early June and expecting everything to be resolved in time to have a proposal before the voters at referendum in November seemed like a daunting proposition.

As it turns out, the SMC agreed.

It was recently announced that the Committee had determined the June 1 date was far too pessimistic and that, instead, something could be approved and presented to the Council by April 1. Now, just last week, the SMC showed why they were so confident in setting an early-April deadline: The group approved two options for Phase 1 of the project, and will now present its recommendations to the Council.

We share some of the concerns expressed by certain members of the SMC, who questioned making a final determination before all the costs are known. The group, according to BOE Chair Tony Perugini, plans to hash all of that out over the next week, so that their presentation to the Council will be more precise.

Yet, as it stands, the cost ranges are now known and both the Council and the public at large can begin to digest what is being recommended, and what it will mean, financially, to move forward.

As this publication has said on a number of occasions, Cheshire faces a difficult decision as it plans its future, one that includes what will undeniably be the most expensive and expansive project ever undertaken by the community. It comes at a time when the nation is just beginning to emerge from a pandemic and assessing the damage done.

There are signs that the financial catastrophe predicted by many midway through last year will turn out to have been overly pessimistic and that, perhaps, the nation will be able to survive this terrible ordeal with its economy still relatively intact. Its also true that Cheshire has fared better than many municipalities in Connecticut when it comes to the business community, and the hope is that the trend will continue throughout 2021 and beyond.

But the future remains cloudy. No one knows for certain what a post-pandemic world will look like. Many in Cheshire may be understandably leery about the prospect of moving forward with this expansive plan at this particular point in time.

Thats why, for those convinced that Cheshire needs to address its school infrastructure now rather than later, these next couple of months will be crucial to lay out the entire proposal, answer all questions, debate those who are opposed, and then, after all of that, let the voters decide.

Not everyone will feel comfortable with the final decision, whatever that may be. However, the more time the community has to consider what the consequences of action or inaction will mean, the better the chance that voters will make an informed decision come November.

If they approve the project, work can begin with the confidence that the community is behind the effort. If the voters strike the project down, local leaders will have to assess what it was that proved to be unpalatable to the general public and address those concerns.

It seems like a long time from now to November, but life moves quickly. Given the importance of the project being considered, its only right that this community spend the bulk of 2021 debating the merits of such a vast undertaking. We are glad the conversation can now begin in earnest.
New Delhi, March 25 : The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Thursday said that all shops, malls, markets and commercial establishments will remain shut on Friday in view of its 'Bharat Bandh' call on completion of four months of farmers' protest at Delhi's borders against the Centre's three new farm laws.

According to the SKM, the 12-hour bandh will be observed between 6am and 6pm. However, ambulances and other essential services will be allowed.

The SKM, which has representation from a number of farmer unions, further said that the Bharat Bandh call will be supported by representatives of various farmer organisations, trade unions, student groups, lawyer associations, political parties and state governments.

Alternative routes to Delhi's borders which were opened after other roads to the national capital were closed in the wake of the farmers' protests, will also remain shut during the Bandh, according to the SKM.

Reiterating their demands, the SKM said: "First the three contentious agricultural laws should be repealed, secondly, a legal guarantee on the minimum support price (MSP) for farmers crops must be given and finally, all the police cases against farmers should be withdrawn. Besides, electricity and pollution bills should be pulled out and the prices of diesel, petrol and gas must be reduced." They also appealed to all the protesting citizens to peacefully make this Bharat Bandh a success.

"Do not get involved in any kind of unnecessary debate. It is the result of the farmers' patience that the movement has gone on for so long." Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at the Delhi's borders --- Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur --- for more than four months, demanding the repeal of farm laws.

They have been protesting against the three laws since November 26.
Armenian acting minister: EU allocated EUR 68,700,000 to Armenia for budget support in 2020

Armenia Finance Ministry: MFA's budget grew by AMD 1,600,000,000 in 2020

Bodies and remains of Armenian soldiers are kept in morgue in Armenia's Martuni

White House confirms Biden-Erdogan meeting in Brussels

Armenia acting MOD touches upon priority directions for development of Armed Forces

Diaspora Armenian writer, publicist Toros Toranian dies

2 Armenian soldiers injured in scuffle with Azerbaijan, Armenian POW is hospitalized, Jun. 3 digest

Wedding held in Armenia's Shurnukh for first time since the war ended

EEU member states to finish preparing for negotiations over free trade zone in Iran in late June

Armenia Central Bank: Economic downfall in 2020 was due to decline in service and construction sectors

Armenia legislature adopts several bills in first reading

Armenia President meets with Nursultan Nazarbayev

Dejavu: Armenia ruling party distributes money for votes at Yerevan district election office

Chief Advisor to Karabakh President sacked

Russian MFA: Works are carried out to settle situation around Karabakh every day

Armenia opposition MP sounds alarm about Baku fabricating criminal cases against Armenian prisoners

Armenia acting health minister: I have apologized, I am not going to resign

Helga Schmid meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Armenia's deputy foreign ministers resigned or have heavy workload?

Dollar goes down in Armenia

Armenia Elections Oversight Committee reports Iranian citizenship of ruling party's MP candidate

Acting deputy minister: Only 17 of 711 Iran-Armenia power transmission line towers were installed by 2017

Armenia Parliament Council holding session

Armenia to host CSTO "Thunder-2021" military exercises

NYT: Chinese hackers launch cyberattack on New York city transportation authority

Armenia President to Kazakhstan counterpart: I would like to see much deeper cooperation between our countries

Armenia citizens shut down Etchmiadzin-Ashtarak road, complaining about lack of irrigation water

Armenia independent MP: Foreign minister and his deputies don't want to take part in treacherous acts

Armenia to get $11mn loan, 350,000 grant for agriculture

WHO worries about worsening mental health worldwide amid pandemic

Armenia health ministry on improper handling of Artsakh war victims bodies: There is no justification

Armenia bloc election foundation already in operation

Russia ambassador to Armenia paying working visit to Syunik Province (PHOTOS)

China pledges to step up resistance to foreign interference in Hong Kong

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: There can be no talk of corridor for Azerbaijan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on incumbent authorities: Wherever they flee, we will bring them by the feet

President: Impossible to ensure peace in region or stay in Artsakh without Russia army joint efforts

China Daily: Dispatch from Makit: Thriving in the desert

Karabakh President: We will never put up with being part of Azerbaijan, it is ruled out

Armenia MFA information department chief: All deputy FMs carrying out their duties

Ardshinbank invited children to the cinema on International Childrens Day

Armenia judiciary to have 10 more judges

Armenia acting premier: We had recorded 40% increase in tax revenues according to 2019 results

Armenia acting PM on Artsakh war casualties bodies: We have 50 remains in which case DNA was not separated

Azerbaijan authorities plan to "squeeze" everything from "terrorist show" related to Armenian captives

Ameriabank announces a contest for bank card design

108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia parliament convenes special session

Armenia interim government holding Cabinet meeting

Catholicos of All Armenians heads for Syunik Province, Artsakh

World oil prices going up

Iran loses right to vote in UN General Assembly

Newspaper: Armenia authorities come up with new way of punishing unwanted characters

Newspaper: Russia army Southern Military District deputy commander to arrive in Yerevan Thursday

Lebanese Armenian man taken prisoner by Azerbaijan is hospitalized

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Are we getting under the burden? Then lets get under to the end

Armenia acting health minister on keeping fallen soldiers bodies in bags: What else should they be kept in?

Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation

Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow

2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik

Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center

"Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans

Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel

Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna

Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations

US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies

Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week

Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection

Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential

Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement

Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues

Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo

Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation

NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident

Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices

Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over

Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest

Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia

Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia

Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels

Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters

Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021

Dollar is stable in Armenia

Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector

Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out

Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe

Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia

Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border

Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor

Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue

Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia

Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this

Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia
Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

As a youth leader or parent it can be difficult to know how to help our teenagers process through something as tragic as a mass shooting, like the one that happened this week in Boulder, Colorado. But when traumatic events happen, it provides an opportunity to speak into young lives in a deep and meaningful way.

This horrific shooting took 10 lives, including the life of one heroic police officer.

Think about it for a moment. People, just like you and me, stopped by the grocery store to pick up some eggs and milk and, within minutes of walking into the store, their lives were taken by a cold-blooded killer. It is unthinkable.

Please pray with me for the families of the victims. The pain and grief they are experiencing now must be excruciating.

This massacre hit way too close to home for me on several levels. For one, the shooting took place in Boulder, Colorado, where my in-laws live. Also, the shooter graduated in 2018 from Arvada West High School, which is within walking distance of my house. Finally, the killer lives in the exact same neighborhood as the president of the ministry I founded, Dare 2 Share.

On April 20, 1999, I was a pastor in the Denver area when the Columbine High School massacre took place. The news hit me hard because, not only did I know a lot of the students who attended Columbine at the time, but my wife was a public school teacher in the same school district.

Ill never forget heading down to Clement Park, right next to Columbine High School, to reach out to the teenagers and parents who had gathered there to pray and to mourn. Amidst the massive amount of reporters, my fellow pastor and I had the privilege of speaking into the lives of terrified and traumatized teenagers.

Hearing their stories and watching their tears impacted me to the point that I eventually resigned from the church to lead Dare 2 Share, a ministry dedicated to reaching teenagers with the hope of Jesus Christ.

In the last 22 years since the Columbine shooting I have connected with students, parents, teachers, youth pastors and school administrators who have been impacted by school shootings and other mass shootings in one way or another.

Of course, empathetic listening is a huge part of ministering to them. But, over the years, I have also discovered a few ways of encouraging them to respond to the sad and scary reality of mass shootings (including my own son who had a shooting take place on his school campus 10 years ago.)

1. Cry for those who cry.

Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn, Romans 12:15

Its a good thing to shed tears over those who have lost their lives or been hurt in an attack. Our hearts should break for those who have been broken. They should also break for those countless others who are having a hard time processing through these tough issues.

Many teenagers live in fear today, fear of failure, fear of rejection and many live in fear of this brand of violence erupting in their schools. Its good for teenagers to learn how to grieve for those who grieve, like the people of Boulder, Colorado, are grieving right now for the loss of so many of their own.

One of the best ways we can help them hurt for those who hurt is by spending time in prayer as a youth group for the victims and the victims families. Maybe this week in youth group you can lead them in a time of prayer for the victims of the King Soopers massacre.

2. Refuse to live in fear.

As believers in Jesus our teenagers do not need to live in fear of death. Hebrews 2:14,15 reminds us that Jesus shares in our  humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of deaththat is, the deviland free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

For us, as believers in Jesus, death is not a tragedy as much as it is a transition into the presence of God. As painful as it is for those of us who are left behind, those who die as believers in Jesus are experiencing the unspeakable joy of a real Heaven.

This is why it is so vital to make sure your teenagers understand the Gospel message and have put their faith in Jesus. We cant prevent mass shootings, but we can make sure that our teenagers are ready to die if that day comes.

3. Take your worries to God in prayer.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus, Philippians 4:6,7

Sadly, we live in a country where violence is all too common. Many teenagers live under the strong and steady weight of impending violence. I wonder how many times a day teenagers look at a closed classroom door asking themselves what if? And now those same thoughts may enter their minds as they enter their local grocery store.

But we can help our teenagers learn how to transform this nervousness into an excuse to turn to God in prayer. We can teach them to bring their worries to God until they experience His peace which transcends all understanding. This peace does not remove the threat but allows teenagers to face any threat with a deep and steady hope in their hearts.

4. Reach out to the bad, broken and bullied.

Oftentimes the shooters in these kinds of tragedies are those who have been bullied, ignored or marginalized in some way. When they finally snap they retaliate with hate and deadly violence, leaving victim after victim in the wake of their unstoppable rage.

Speaking of the shooter the New York Times says, When he was a senior at Arvada West High School, Mr. Alissa was convicted in 2018 of misdemeanor assault against another student in a classroom, and told the police at the time that it was in retaliation for insults and ethnic taunts. Fellow students recall him as having a fierce temper that would flare in response to setbacks or slights.

We can help our teenagers become change agents by equipping them to reach out to their peers with the Good News of Jesus. They can actively look for those at their schools who seem to be hurting, hated or hate-filled and begin to pray, care and share, out loud with words, the Good News of the Gospel.

By the way, Dare 2 Share has developed a free app that will help your teenagers know how to reach out to their peers with the Good News. Its simply called Life in 6 Words and can be found on the iTunes or GooglePlay stores. Have your teenagers download it to their smart phones and go through the short training videos. It will help prepare them to reach out to their peers with the message of hope.

5. Be ready to act when the time comes.

Jesus said we should be As shrewd as serpents and as gentle as doves. We can apply this truth to dealing with violent situations as well.

Challenge your teenagers to take immediate and shrewd action if they see or sense danger. That action may be to run, lock a door, jump out a window, hide in a closet or charge a gunman. It all depends on the situation. But the last thing they should do is nothing. Law enforcement officials have seen this proven true in countless situations.

I pray this blog helps you help your teenagers process through the recent school shooting and gives you some practical truths you can encourage and challenge them with this week.

Originally published at the Greg Stier blog
A court has heard how a man who crashed into a wall after a high speed chase which left a garda in hospital, was thrown onto the front passenger seat alongside 22 empty beer cans.

William Lawrence (35), Cloncovid, Cavan was brought before a sitting of Mullingar District Court this morning following an incident in Longford town on Monday afternoon.

Sgt Jarlath Nohilly gave evidence of having arrested the accused shortly before midnight on Monday before formally charging him during the early hours of this morning.

He said Mr Lawrence, who made his way into court on crutches, made no reply to six counts of dangerous driving, no insurance and being at the wheel without a driver's license.

The accused is also charged with allegedly driving off from a petrol station in nearby Ballinalee shortly before the incident unfolded.

Sgt Nohilly said gardai were notified of a suspected drink driver travelling in the O'Connor Park and Great Water Street area of town.

He told presiding Judge Seamus Hughes how gardai Ronan Duffy and John Hanley attempted unsuccessfully to try and intercept the vehicle as it sped off at high speed along St Mel's Road.

It was at this stage, the accused who was on bail at the time, allegedly drove straight through a junction and onto the Ballinalee Road where gardai managed to pull up alongside the vehicle after getting caught up in traffic.

Sgt Nohilly said Garda Duffy exited the patrol car and spoke to the driver, who it is claimed, mounted a kerb in a bid to flee the scene.

It was alleged at that point Garda Hanley tried to grab the keys from the car's ignition while the car began to move forwards resulting in the garda's hand getting caught in the window.

"It was lucky he (garda) wasn't dragged up the road," said Sgt Nohilly, revealing the garda was hospitalised with a suspected broken wrist.

Sgt Nohilly said both officers returned to the garda patrol car and continued to pursue the accused into the densely populated residential areas of Oakvale, Ardnacassa, Ard Aoibhinn and Grian Ard.

He said it was in the Ard Aoibhinn area where the accused crashed into the garda patrol car just seconds before the getaway car narrowly avoided colliding with another car.

Sgt Nohilly said the chase eventually came to a halt when the accused man's car crashed into a 9ft wall within yards of a creche.

He said when gardai approached the vehicle, they found Mr Lawrence with serious injuries including a dislocated hip and broken ankle.

It was also revealed the accused was found in the front passenger seat after hitting his head off the car's windscreen

"There were also 22 empty cans of Carlsberg found in the car," he said.

During interview at Longford garda station, Sgt Nohilly said Mr Lawrence claimed he had been in Longford with a view to visiting his brother who lives locally.

He said Mr Lawrence alleged he had been feeling "a little bit depressed" and after finding his brother wasn't home, began drinking in the car.

In refusing bail, Judge Hughes described the episode as the "sort of stuff you see on thriller TV".

Mr Lawrence was remanded in custody to appear before a sitting of Cloverhill District Court next Tuesday, March 30.
Scientists studying the beginnings of the virus behind COVID-19 say a growing body of evidence argues for expanding the search beyond China into Southeast Asia.

Such research could give information about how to prevent the next pandemic.

Since the first confirmed outbreak of COVID-19 in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, researchers have been looking for the starting point of the virus in China itself.

The virus closest known relative shares some 96 percent of its genetic material. It is another coronavirus found early last year in the southern area of Yunnan. But some recent studies have found more viruses nearly as similar in Thailand and Cambodia. SARS-CoV-2 is the name of the virus that causes COVID-19 disease.

Looking into bats and pangolins

Scientists have already identified more than 100 SARS-related coronaviruses in bats across China, said Peter Daszak. He is a virus expert who joined the World Health Organization (WHO) trip to search for the origins of the virus in China.

He told VOA, it may be that the origin really was in Yunnan... but my best guess is that we need to look in Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and then even farther south.

China has refused to provide data on some of the earliest cases of COVID-19. Even so, Daszak said, the Chinese scientists and the WHO experts agreed that SARS-CoV-2s most likely way into humans was from bats through some sort of farmed wildlife.

Early last year scientists from China and Australia reported finding viruses matching SARS-CoV-2 by more than 90 percent in Malayan pangolins. The creatures had been illegally brought into southern China from Southeast Asia.

A few months later, scientists found viruses close to SARS-CoV-2 in horseshoe bats that had been collected in Cambodia more than ten years ago.

Then, in February, scientists in Thailand also found viruses closely matching SARS-CoV-2 in bats not far from Bangkok. They also found antibodies effective against SARS-CoV-2 in a pangolin. It was seized by local authorities in the countrys south, near Malaysia.



Search for relatives

Supaporn Wacharapluesadee, a scientist at the Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand, took part in the recent study. She called it an important discovery in the search for the origins of SARS-CoV-2. She said the search for those origins should lead wherever the bats that host its closest known relatives live.

To get closer to the beginning of SARS-CoV-2, virus hunters are looking for matches even closer than the 96 percent of the kind found in Yunnan last year. The viruses found in Thailand and Cambodia were 91 percent to 93 percent similar.

Chee Wah Tan of the Duke-National University of Singapore Medical School was also on the research team. He said the search should look at the regions bats and other virus carriers.

The viruses found in Thailand and Cambodia, could be the ancestor or something close to the ancestor of SARS-CoV-2, he told VOA. Daszak is not expecting any quick answers to exactly where SARS-CoV-2 began and how it jumped to humans. He said the search for the origins of the SARS virus took some five years. He added that scientists still are not sure where the Ebola virus came from more than forty years after finding it in Africa.

By following SARS-CoV-2 back to its origins, scientists hope to find other animal viruses and issues likely to cause the next pandemic and step in before they do.

Daszak compared this process to finding out information about a terrorist attack. You dont wait for the attack, you go out there and you disrupt that network, and you close it down. Thats what we need to do with pandemics.

Im John Russell.

Zsombor Peter reported on this story for VOA News. John Russell adapted it for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor.

_____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

origin  n. the point or place where something begins or is created : the source or cause of something

match  v. to have the same appearance, color, etc.

disrupt  v. to cause (something) to be unable to continue in the normal way : to interrupt the normal progress or activity of (something)

network  n. a group of people or organizations that are closely connected and that work with each other
Advertisement

Johnny Depp was today refused permission to bring an appeal against a damning High Court ruling that he assaulted his ex-wife Amber Heard and left her in 'fear for her life' - as the Hollywood star's lawyers claimed he 'looked forward to presenting the irrefutable truth' to a US libel court.

The actor has already had to pay 628,000 ($861,000) in legal fees after losing the first libel trial, and now faces paying an even larger bill for costs and damages following today's judgment. The actor's 35m ($50m) US libel case against Ms Heard - which will also be extremely costly - was recently delayed until April 2022.

In addition to the millions' worth of spending Depp also lost his role in Disney movie Fantastic Beasts following the High Court judgment, and the damage to his reputation risks him losing out on more roles in the future.

Lawyers for The Pirates of the Caribbean star had asked two Court of Appeal judges to grant permission for him to challenge the ruling, with the aim of having its findings overturned and a second trial ordered.

They claimed the judge in Depp's initial libel trial had not 'factually' considered all the allegations of violence against him and that they had 'fresh evidence' Ms Heard had 'lied' about giving her entire 5.5million ($7m) divorce settlement to charity.

They said that the charity claim influenced how her testimony was viewed, but the Court of Appeal ruled that it did not have an impact on the judge and that he would have reached the same conclusion on Ms Heard being the victim of domestic violence.

Following an explosive three-week trial last July at London's High Court, Mr Justice Nicol dismissed the Hollywood actor's libel claim against the publisher of The Sun, finding that a column it published in April 2018 that the actor was a 'wife beater' was 'substantially true.'

The judge ruled that Mr Depp, 57, assaulted Ms Heard, 34, on a dozen occasions and put her in 'fear of her life' three times often while on drink and drugs binges, which he said turned the actor into a 'monster', in one of the most high-profile libel clashes of this century.

Hollywood star Johnny Depp, pictured, went to the Court of Appeal over his recent High Court defeat over allegations that he had assaulted his ex-wife Amber Heard

The High Court in London was told that Amber Heard, pictured last July, was in fear of her life. Mr Justice Nichol found a story that claimed Depp had assaulted his ex-wife was 'substantially true'

Dismissing Depp's permission to appeal, Lord Justice Underhill and Lord Justice Dingemans insisted that the initial libel hearing was 'full and fair' and that the judge had not made any errors in law and was not influenced by Ms Heard's charity claim.

They concluded: 'We would accordingly dismiss both Mr Depp's application for permission to adduce further evidence and his application for permission to appeal. As we have said, it is not easy to persuade this Court to overturn the findings of a trial judge on purely factual questions. We do not believe that there is a real prospect of it being prepared to do so in this case.'

During last week's hearing before the Court of Appeal, Depp's QC Andrew Caldecott accused Ms Heard of giving away 'a fraction' of the huge sum of her divorce settlement as part of a 'calculated and manipulative lie' to make herself look better.

Mr Caldecott argued that if 'the truth about the charity claim emerged at the trial, it would have materially affected Mr Justice Nicol's consideration of Ms Heard's evidence as a whole'.

But in turning down Depp's application, the Court of Appeal declared that issues relating to how much of the money she had donated were not relevant because 'his [Mr Justice Nicol's] focus was squarely on the evidence relating to the alleged assaults themselves.'

The judges added: 'We do not accept that there is any ground for believing that the Judge may have been influenced by any such general perception as Mr Caldecott relies on.'

Referring to the grounds laid out by Depp's lawyers that Mr Justice Nicol had not fully considered all the allegations of violence against him, the Court of Appeal judges ruled that they had 'no prospect of success.'

In a statement, Mr Depp's solicitor Joelle Rich from the law firm Schillings said: 'The evidence presented at last week's hearing further demonstrates that there are clear and objective reasons to seriously question the decision reached in the UK court.

'Mr Depp looks forward to presenting the complete, irrefutable evidence of the truth in the US libel case against Ms Heard, where she will have to provide full disclosure.'

During the trial Heard showed bruises she claimed were inflicted by Depp as he allegedly smashed her iPhone in her face at her LA home in May 2016 - a month after Depp claimed Heard 'defecated' in their marital bed after her 30th birthday

A spokesman for Ms Herd said: 'We are pleased - but by no means surprised - by the Court's denial of Mr. Depp's application for appeal. The evidence presented in the UK case was overwhelming and undeniable. To reiterate, the original verdict was that Mr. Depp committed domestic violence against Amber on no fewer than 12 occasions and she was left in fear of her life.

'The verdict and lengthy, well-reasoned Judgment, including the Confidential Judgment, have been affirmed. Mr. Depp's claim of new and important evidence was nothing more than a press strategy and has been soundly rejected by the Court.'

The Sun said: 'The Sun had every confidence that this leave to appeal application would not be granted and are pleased with today's decision.

'The case had a full, fair and proper hearing, and today's decision vindicates the courageous evidence that Amber Heard gave to the court about domestic abuse, despite repeated attempts to undermine and silence her by the perpetrator. The Sun will continue to stand up and campaign for victims of domestic abuse.'

At a hearing last week, Mr Depp's lawyers asked the court to consider fresh evidence relating to what they said was Ms Heard's claim that she gave her 5.5m ($7m) divorce settlement to charity.

His barrister Andrew Caldecott QC told the court that claim was a 'calculated and manipulative lie'.

After the couple divorced in 2016, Ms Heard said she would split the money between the Children's Hospital Los Angeles and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

But, Mr Caldecott said, the hospital wrote to Mr Depp's business adviser in 2019 to say Ms Heard had not made 'any payments'.

Last week, the Court of Appeal hearing heard how Mr Depp lashed out in a 2016 text to his nurse after Ms Heard said she was donating the settlement to charity.

Mr Depp wrote at the time: 'No Way she'll give a dime to anyone!!! Thank f*** she's gone!!! Makes me sick to think of how hard I tried to make it work... Now... Honestly, I wouldn't touch that f***ing wh*** with a Hazmat suit on!!! What scum. I f***ing hate her!!!'

After last year's libel trial of the century Mr Justice Nicol said he accepted 12 of Heard's 14 allegations that Depp had beaten her for three years beginning in 2013

The court heard $100,000 (72,000) was donated to the hospital and $450,000 (322,000) to the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union), although Ms Heard claims she made a further $500,000 (358,000) donation to the second charity anonymously.

Mr Caldecott said the claims had given Ms Heard 'a considerable boost to her credibility as a person', and had 'tipped the scales against Mr Depp from the very beginning'.

But Adam Wolanski QC, representing The Sun's publisher News Group Newspapers (NGN), said the new evidence Mr Depp wanted to rely on 'would not have had any impact' on the result of the trial.

He also rejected Mr Depp's contention that Ms Heard had lied about donating her divorce settlement to charity, saying: 'The information does not demonstrate that Ms Heard lied.'

Mr Wolanski added that Ms Heard had paid 'in total, some $950,000 to the ACLU and $850,000 to the Children's Hospital Los Angeles'.

Mr Depp sued NGN in June 2018 over the column by The Sun's executive editor Dan Wootton, which referred to 'overwhelming evidence' he attacked Ms Heard.

In his judgment, Mr Justice Nicol concluded 12 of the 14 alleged incidents of domestic violence relied on by NGN in its defence of the actor's claim did occur.

The judge also found Mr Depp put Ms Heard in 'fear for her life' on three occasions, including one the actress described as a 'three-day hostage situation' in Australia in March 2015.

Days after the ruling in November, Mr Depp announced he had been asked by Warner Brothers to resign from his role in the Harry Potter spin-off franchise Fantastic Beasts - a role that prompted Mr Wootton to ask how JK Rowling could be 'genuinely happy' that Mr Depp was cast in the film.

Mr Depp is embroiled in a separate libel battle in the US, having sued Ms Heard personally over a 2018 Washington Post opinion piece in which she claimed to be a victim of domestic abuse but did not mention the actor by name.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. and HOUSTON, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Redwire (or "the Company"), a leader in mission-critical space solutions and high reliability components for the next generation space economy, and Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: GNPK) ("Genesis Park"), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, announced today that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement that will result in Redwire becoming a publicly traded company. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter of 2021, and at that time, Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. will change its name to Redwire and the company will trade on the NYSE.

Redwire provides critical space infrastructure technology and services and is uniquely positioned to deliver critical solutions to meet the growing needs of national security, civil, and commercial customers for a full spectrum of activity in space. The Company is differentiated from its peers because it offers both rich flight heritage, with more than 50 years of space flight experience and more than 150 missions flown, and unmatched innovations in space infrastructure, including over 100 patents and applications. Its infrastructure and services enable nearly every space mission, and Redwire sees increasing opportunities as decreasing launch costs continue to enable exponential growth in deployed space infrastructure.

Redwire is the leading developer of on-orbit servicing, assembly and manufacturing ("OSAM") capabilities, a transformational technology deploying 3D printing that enables customers to build satellites and other spacecraft in space, solving the size and other limitations posed by launch dynamics. Through the launch of raw materials into orbit, in-space manufacturing of component parts through 3D printing and other methods, and robotic assembly of highly functional objects, Redwire's OSAM technology enables lower cost deployment and higher power capabilities. The advantages of Redwire's in-space manufacturing will allow its customers to efficiently create more advanced products in space with greater performance characteristics than terrestrial based manufacturing methods, driving increased investment in space infrastructure from adjacent markets and the commercialization of space.

"Space-based capabilities and services are improving lives on Earth every day, and Redwire is an invaluable mission partner, providing technology that has been at the forefront of space infrastructure from the beginning. Today, the influx of private capital, new public sector space initiatives and decreased launch costs are driving tremendous growth in the space industry, which is projected to exceed $2 trillion by 2040," said Peter Cannito, Chairman and CEO of Redwire. "With our extensive space flight heritage and deeply innovative capabilities, we are accelerating humanity's expansion into space by delivering reliable, economical and sustainable infrastructure for future generations. As we enter this second golden age of space, Redwire is supplying the picks and shovels that enable nearly every space mission, supporting initiatives to help us better understand our planet, transform our space security infrastructure, and move humanity deeper into our solar system. We are thrilled to enter into this business combination with Genesis Park. With their extensive aerospace, operational and financial expertise and strong industry relationships, we are confident that Genesis Park is the right partner to propel Redwire's growth in the public market."

"We intended to find a profitable partner with strong management, powerful intellectual property and impressive organic growth. Redwire achieves that vision by transforming the future of space infrastructure and services at a time when the space industry is on the brink of exponential growth. Redwire is a proven, solidly profitable player in the space community and the undisputed leader in on-orbit 3D printing, servicing, assembly, and manufacturing. We also believe there is significant opportunity to accelerate growth through strategic combinations in the fragmented space landscape. Redwire has established itself as a first-mover consolidator and an acquirer of choice, and we believe its position will be further improved as a public company," said Paul Hobby, CEO and Director of Genesis Park. "We are very excited about Redwire's growth potential and we look forward to partnering with Peter and his team as they help usher in this new era of space exploration."

"As an innovative space infrastructure leader, Redwire is set to power a new age of space travel, exploration and commerce," said Kirk Konert, Partner at AE Industrial Partners. "With this transaction, Redwire will have even greater opportunities to drive growth and value by delivering tailored, responsive solutions for its growing customer base across the public and private sectors."

Redwire Highlights

Applying proven capabilities and transformative technologies in five key strategic growth areas that will enable space missions of today and tomorrow : The Company has numerous organic growth opportunities without substantial capital needs driven by its proven capabilities and transformative technologies. Its investments are focused in five key strategic growth areas that will expand the utilization of space and promote a sustainable low-earth orbit economy: (i) on-orbit servicing, assembly and manufacturing; (ii) low Earth orbit commercialization; (iii) digitally engineered spacecraft; (iv) space domain awareness; and (v) advanced sensors and components.

: The Company has numerous organic growth opportunities without substantial capital needs driven by its proven capabilities and transformative technologies. Its investments are focused in five key strategic growth areas that will expand the utilization of space and promote a sustainable low-earth orbit economy: (i) on-orbit servicing, assembly and manufacturing; (ii) low Earth orbit commercialization; (iii) digitally engineered spacecraft; (iv) space domain awareness; and (v) advanced sensors and components. Significant opportunity to continue consolidating a fragmented space infrastructure market: The proceeds from the proposed transaction enable Redwire to accelerate and de-risk growth plans and pursue targeted acquisitions. Redwire has a proven track record of successful acquisitions and integrations, and typically leverages company founders' expertise and relationships to bolster leadership ranks and expand the M&A pipeline.

The proceeds from the proposed transaction enable Redwire to accelerate and de-risk growth plans and pursue targeted acquisitions. Redwire has a proven track record of successful acquisitions and integrations, and typically leverages company founders' expertise and relationships to bolster leadership ranks and expand the M&A pipeline. High visibility into near- and long-term revenue streams: Redwire has a diversified revenue base, with products and services demanded by national security, civil and commercial customers and more than $150 million in contracted backlog. The Company is projecting 72% estimated revenue compound annual growth rate, from $163 million in 2021 to $1.4 billion in 2025. Redwire's integration expertise make it a prime candidate for margin improvement as it integrates and scales operations.

Key Transaction TermsThe transaction values Redwire at a $615 million pro forma enterprise value, representing 9.6x estimated 2023 Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $64 million and 2.5x estimated 2025 Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $250 million. Assuming no redemptions by Genesis Park stockholders, the Proposed Transaction is expected to deliver approximately $170 million cash to the Redwire balance sheet. The proposed transaction is further supported by a $100 million fully committed and oversubscribed PIPE of common stock, priced at $10.00 per share, with participation by Senvest Management, LLC and Crescent Park Management, L.P.

Redwire's existing stockholders will hold approximately 55% of the fully diluted shares of common stock immediately following the closing of the business combination, assuming no redemptions by Genesis Park's existing public stockholders. AE Industrial Partners will remain a significant shareholder in Redwire following the completion of the proposed merger.

The transaction, which has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of Redwire and Genesis Park, is subject to approval by Genesis Park's shareholders and other customary closing conditions.

Following the closing of the transaction, Redwire will continue to be led by Chairman and CEO Peter Cannito. The Redwire Board will be comprised of current Redwire Board members Pete Cannito, Dr. Reggie Brothers, Joanne Isham and Kirk Konert, along with Jonathan Baliff President, CFO & Director of Genesis Park; John Bolton, Advisor to Genesis Park and Les Daniels, Operating Partner of AE Industrial Partners.

Additional information about the proposed transaction, including a copy of the merger agreement and investor presentation, will be available in a Current Report on Form 8-K to be filed by Genesis Park with the Securities and Exchange Commission and at www.sec.gov. The investor presentation can also be found on https://www.genesis-park.com/redwire.

Investor Conference Call InformationRedwire and Genesis Park will host a joint investor conference call to discuss the proposed transaction on March 25, 2021 at 7:30 AM ET. To access the conference call, please visit https://www.genesis-park.com/redwire. The live call may also be accessed by dialing 1 877 876-9173 or 1 785 424-1667 providing the Conference ID 3086566. A replay of the call will be available on the Genesis Park website.

AdvisorsJefferies is serving as financial advisor and Kirkland and Ellis LLP is serving as legal counsel to Redwire. Greenhill and KPMG are serving as financial advisors, Jefferies is serving as sole placement agent for the PIPE and capital markets advisor, and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP and Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP are serving as legal counsel to Genesis Park.

About RedwireRedwire is a new leader in mission critical space solutions and high reliability components for the next generation space economy. With decades of flight heritage combined with the agile and innovative culture of a commercial space platform, Redwire is uniquely positioned to assist its customers in solving the complex challenges of future space missions. For more information, please visit www.redwirespace.com.

About Genesis Park Acquisition Corp.Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. ("GNPK") is a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company sponsored by an affiliate of Genesis Park, trading on the NYSE under the ticker symbol NYSE: GNPK.U. GNPK is one of the first aerospace and aviation services special purpose acquisition companies, and may pursue an initial business combination in any industry or geographic region, but specifically seeks to capitalize on the operational and investment experience of the GNPK management team and Board of Directors by focusing on companies that have significant growth prospects in the aerospace and aviation services sectors.

About AE Industrial Partners AE Industrial Partners is a private equity firm specializing in Aerospace, Defense, Space & Government Services, Power Generation, and Specialty Industrial markets. AE Industrial Partners invests in market-leading companies that can benefit from its deep industry knowledge, operating experience, and relationships throughout its target markets. AE Industrial Partners is a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investing. Learn more at www.aeroequity.com.

Redwire ContactsMedia: Austin Jordan321-536-8632Austin.jordan@redwirespace.com OR Investors: investorrelations@redwirespace.com

ReevemarkPaul Caminiti/Delia Cannan/Pam Greene212-433-4600redwire@reevemark.com

Forward Looking StatementsThis document includes "forward looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as "forecast," "intend," "seek," "target," "anticipate," "believe," "expect," "estimate," "plan," "outlook," and "project" and other similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. Such forward looking statements include estimated financial information, including without limitation, forecasted revenue and revenue CAGR. Such forward looking statements with respect to revenues, earnings, performance, strategies, prospects and other aspects of the businesses of Genesis Park Acquisition Corp., Redwire or the combined company after completion of the Business Combination are based on current expectations that are subject to risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those indicated by such forward looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to: (1) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the merger agreement governing the proposed business combination; (2) the inability to complete the transactions contemplated by the merger agreement due to the failure to obtain approval of the shareholders of Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. or other conditions to closing in the merger agreement; (3) the ability to meet NYSE's listing standards following the consummation of the transactions contemplated by the merger agreement; (4) the risk that the proposed transaction disrupts current plans and operations of Redwire as a result of the announcement and consummation of the transactions described herein; (5) the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the proposed business combination, which may be affected by, among other things, competition, the ability of the combined company to grow and manage growth profitably, maintain relationships with customers and suppliers and retain its management and key employees; (6) costs related to the proposed business combination; (7) changes in applicable laws or regulations; (8) the possibility that Redwire may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors; and (9) other risks and uncertainties indicated from time to time in other documents filed or to be filed with the SEC by Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. and Redwire undertake no commitment to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

Additional InformationIn connection with the proposed business combination between Redwire and Genesis Park Acquisition Corp., Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. intends to file with the SEC a preliminary proxy statement / prospectus and will mail a definitive proxy statement / prospectus and other relevant documentation to Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. shareholders. This document does not contain all the information that should be considered concerning the proposed business combination. It is not intended to form the basis of any investment decision or any other decision in respect to the proposed business combination. Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. shareholders and other interested persons are advised to read, when available, the preliminary proxy statement / prospectus and any amendments thereto, and the definitive proxy statement / prospectus in connection with Genesis Park Acquisition Corp.'s solicitation of proxies for the special meeting to be held to approve the transactions contemplated by the proposed business combination because these materials will contain important information about Redwire, Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. and the proposed business combination. The definitive proxy statement / prospectus will be mailed to Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. shareholders as of a record date to be established for voting on the proposed business combination when it becomes available. Shareholders will also be able to obtain a copy of the preliminary proxy statement / prospectus and the definitive proxy statement / prospectus once they are available, without charge, at the SEC's website at http://sec.gov or by directing a request to: investorrelations@redwirespace.com.

This document shall not constitute a solicitation of a proxy, consent or authorization with respect to any securities or in respect of the proposed business combination.

Participants in the SolicitationGenesis Park Acquisition Corp. and its directors and officers may be deemed participants in the solicitation of proxies of Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. shareholders in connection with the proposed business combination. Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. shareholders and other interested persons may obtain, without charge, more detailed information regarding the directors and officers of Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. in Genesis Park Acquisition Corp.'s prospectus relating to its initial public offering filed with the SEC on November 24, 2020. Redwire and its directors and executive officers may also be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the shareholders of Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. in connection with the Business Combination.

Information regarding the persons who may, under SEC rules, be deemed participants in the solicitation of proxies to Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. shareholders in connection with the proposed business combination will be set forth in the proxy statement / prospectus for the transaction when available. Additional information regarding the interests of participants in the solicitation of proxies in connection with the proposed transaction will be included in the proxy statement / prospectus that Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. intends to file with the SEC.

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/redwire-an-innovative-space-infrastructure-company-serving-the-fast-growing-space-industry-to-become-publicly-traded-through-merger-with-genesis-park-acquisition-corp-301255761.html

SOURCE Redwire; Genesis Park Acquisition Corp.
Whats new: Energy major Huaneng Power International Inc. (600011.SS) said it plans to sharply boost the amount of power it gets from renewable sources like solar and wind over the next five years.

Some 9.6% of the companys current installed capacity comes from such sources, but it is aiming to raise that to 34% by 2025, the company said at a news briefing on Wednesday to discuss its latest earnings report.

Background: Huadian and other major state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are all discussing their individual development plans for the next five years following Beijings unveiling of the nations 14th Five Year Plan earlier this month during the annual meeting of Chinas national legislature.

A major focus for the next five years will be reducing greenhouse gases, following Chinas recent pledges to peak in carbon emissions by 2030 and become carbon-neutral by 2060.

As the source of more than 40% of Chinas carbon emissions, power producers like Huadian will have a major role to play in helping the country meet its ambitious targets. China recently committed to bringing its combined installed wind and solar capacities to more than 1.2 terawatts by 2030, greater than its current installed capacity from all sources combined.

Related: Analysis: Chinas Power System Needs More Flexibility to Hit Carbon Goals

Quick Takes are condensed versions of China-related stories for fast news you can use. To read the full Caixin article in Chinese, click here.

Contact reporter Yang Ge (geyang@caixin.com) and editor Joshua Dummer (joshuadummer@caixin.com)

Support quality journalism in China. Subscribe to Caixin Global starting at $0.99.

Follow the Chinese markets in real time with Caixin Globals new stock database.
A teenage soldier has suffered 'life changing' burns, wounds and 'mental trauma' after he was assaulted and allegedly abducted whilst on a tinder date.

Cobhan Mclelland, 18, who is being treated in hospital for his injuries, had arranged a 'Tinder meet up' with a woman at a property in Edinburgh in the early hours of Sunday morning.

On arrival at the address he was allegedly 'abducted' by a man who reportedly assaulted him and refused to let him leave the premises.

Dylan Rigby, 19, has been charged in connection with the alleged incident.

Rigby appeared in court today charged with abduction, assault to severe injury, danger of life and attempted murder, the Daily Record reports. He is due to appear again within the next eight days.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: 'Officers were called to an address in Kidlaw Close, Edinburgh, at around 6.05am on Sunday, 21 March following a disturbance within a property.

Cobhan Mclelland, 18, soldier living at Dreghorn Barracks in Colinton has been left 'scared to close his eyes and sleep at night' after he was allegedly held hostage after meeting Tinder date

'Specialist officers attended and the incident was concluded safely at around 8.05am.

'An 18-year-old man was taken to hospital after being assaulted, and a second man, also aged 19, has been arrested and charged in connection with the incident.

'He was due to appear before Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Monday, 22 March, and a report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.'

The family of Mr Mclelland say they received a 'devastating phone call' on Sunday morning to say that the soldier, who lives at Dreghorn Barracks in Colinton, had been taken to a high dependency unit in Edinburgh.

Mr Mclelland (pictured) is said to have experienced 'life-changing trauma' after the ordeal and is receiving specialist care for both wounds and burns

A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise money to help the teenager through the ordeal, with the family sharing pictures from the alleged attack (pictured)

Mr Mclelland's family wrote on the fundraising page that the teenager would have to live with 'scars to last a lifetime, both mentally and physically'. Pictured: Mr Mclelland's injuries

Mr Mclelland is said to have experienced 'life-changing trauma' after the ordeal and is receiving specialist care for both wounds and burns.

The teenager, who is understood to originally be from Doncaster, joined the military at the age of 16, turning 18 in January. The family say the traumatised squaddie 'had his whole career ahead of him.'

A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise money to help the teenager through the ordeal, with the family sharing pictures from the alleged attack.

An appeal reads: 'Our Son/Grandson/Brother has the kindest soul so we're devastated to see the pain which he is in.

Mr Mclelland (left) who is being treated in hospital for his injuries, with fellow soldiers

'Cobhan will now live with scars to last a lifetime, both mentally and physically. To help Cobhan, he is going to need counselling and lots of therapy.

'Although we are so lucky that Cobhan is still alive and here with us today, we're also in great pain knowing the long road ahead of us.

Mr Mclelland, who is understood to originally be from Doncaster, joined the military at the age of 16

'We're aiming to raise money to help towards any therapy which Cobhan may need as there is a very high chance Cobhan may suffer with PTSD from this horrible event.

'Please help and share in any way you can. Our Family & Cobhan will forever be grateful.'

A source close to Dreghorn Barracks said fellow servicemen and women were told of the attack during a meeting at the army base on Monday.

It is understood the incident triggered emergency protocol with top brass informed.

A spokesperson from the Ministry of Defence confirmed that the teenager was taken to hospital after an incident at an Edinburgh property and that police are investigating.

The spokesperson added: 'We can confirm that there was an incident involving a serviceman and a civilian in the early hours of Sunday morning.'

'The serviceman was taken to hospital and police are investigating the incident.'
President Joe Biden has said it will be "hard" to meet the May 1 deadline to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan as part of a deal signed with the Taliban last year.

In his first press conference since taking office in January, Biden said on March 25 that he does not intend to keep the last 2,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan for a long time.

"It is going to be hard to meet the May 1 deadline in terms of tactical reasons. It's hard to get those troops out," he said.

"We will leave, the question is when we leave.

Asked whether he envisioned U.S. troops still in Afghanistan in 2022, the president responded, "I can't picture that being the case."

Under a U.S.-Taliban deal reached in February 2020 under the administration of former President Donald Trump, all foreign forces are to leave Afghanistan by May 2021 in exchange for security guarantees from the militant group, such as severing ties with Al-Qaeda and refusing to harbor any foreign terrorists.

The Taliban also pledged to negotiate a cease-fire and a power-sharing deal with Kabul, but the intra-Afghan peace talks, launched in Qatar in September 2020, have bogged down.

The U.S.-led NATO mission in Afghanistan currently has 9,600 troops deployed in the war-torn country.

Noting that Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been in Europe this week to meet with U.S. allies that have troops in Afghanistan, Biden said, "If we leave, we are going to do so in a safe and orderly way."

"The question is how and in what circumstances do we meet that agreement that was made by President Trump to leave under a deal that looks like it's not being able to be worked out to begin with," he added.

With reporting by AFP and Reuters
A pair of dolphins spotted swimming in New Yorks East River on Tuesday do not appear to be in any distress, according to a report by ABC7 New York.

ABC7 said the dolphins were seen near WNYC Transmitter Park in Brooklyn around noon.

According to the news outlet, a woman posted a video on Twitter with the caption, Dolphins, in the East River. What.

Dr. Howard Rosenbaum, director of the Wildlife Conservation Society Ocean Giants Program and senior scientist at the New York Aquarium, told ABC 7 that the Common dolphins - the most abundant species in the world - are not normally seen in the river.

In the New York Harbor and surrounding estuary, we actually have detected two other species -bottlenose dolphins and harbor porpoise - from a two acoustic monitoring study we recently completed.

Rosenbaum told ABC 7, Hopefully this is a group of animals that has been able to freely swim into this area and will freely swim out of the area and are not in distress.

The Guardian reported that the East River was once famously polluted and dirty East River has served as a reminder that the body of water is cleaner than it has been in more than a century.

Others have attributed the spotting of sea life in uncommon areas as a result of less water traffic because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

READ MORE
Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler is urging the insurance industry in his state to work with Native Americans on adopting policies of consent on environmental projects that affect Tribal nations.

According to Kreidler, policies that hes endorsing would help strengthen the sovereign rights of tribes over environmentally sensitive projects that threaten their lands and traditional economies. The commissioner expressed support for a resolution the National Congress of American Indians passed in November 2020 that called on the insurance industry to adopt, as part of its underwriting policies, a requirement to obtain and document the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent of impacted Tribal Nations.

This requirement, called FPIC, would allow tribes to give or withhold consent to a project that affects their lands, rights or sacred sites. FPIC enables tribes to negotiate the conditions under which a project will be designed, implemented, monitored and evaluated.

For too long, many Tribal nations have been given little to no consideration when industrial projects threaten native lands, Kreidler said. Native Americans have sovereign rights that all industries  including the insurance industry  should respect. Collaboration and cooperation, not conflict and confrontation, are needed now more than ever to achieve mutual goals.

Fawn Sharp, president of the Quinault Indian Nation in Washington state, welcomed Kreidlers support for FPIC.

Free, prior, and informed consent is the simple but powerful concept that sovereign Tribal nations have a right to say yes or no to projects that impact them. Commissioner Kreidler is being a civil rights pioneer by advocating for insurance companies to comply with that standard, Sharp said.

Sharp is also the nationally elected president of the National Congress of American Indians, the nonprofit organization that represents more than 500 Tribal nations across the United States.

Under state law, Kreidler has no authority to determine what risks an insurer may underwrite. But he said he would support a legislative effort to grant such power.

Kreidler said his support for FPIC aligns with his longtime work on climate concerns and their relationship to the insurance industry and Native Americans.

The announcement comes in the midst of mounting pressure from Indigenous communities on the insurers behind fossil fuel projects that environmental groups not only see as environmentally destructive, but often in opposition to Tribal rights.

Indigenous communities in Canada and Washington have recently took action demanding that insurers to cut ties with the Trans Mountain pipeline when its current insurance policy expires this summer, and the Gwichin Steering Committee has written to major insurers urging them to rule out support for oil and gas drilling the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Topics Carriers Washington
Thirteen presidential and legislative elections are scheduled to take place in Africa during the course of 2021, despite the presence of COVID-19. While fear of contracting COVID-19 has possibly contributed to lower voter turnout, it is not the only reason people are staying home from the polls.

Across the continent, there have been many reports of security crackdowns on public rallies; intimidation of opposition parties  their leaders fleeing into exile if they have not been arrested; and much of the media has been muted with many journalists being harassed, threatened, and imprisoned, as well.

The legitimacy of a country's electoral process is closely tied to its prospects for stability. In a number of countries, such as Uganda, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, and Djibouti, leaders have held their seats for decades, and are holding onto their positions by any means necessary including force; removal of term limits; and giving limited operating space to opposition parties.

Increased internal conflict in many countries as a result of increased corruption, lack of accountability, and lack of reform, is threatening to undermine the economic stability of the entire Horn of Africa region.

Transparency International is Corruption Perceptions Index, for example, ranks Uganda and Djibouti at 142 out of 180 countries; Chad at 160 out of 180; the Republic of Congo at 170 out of 180. In it's CPI 2020: SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Report it reveals that Sub-Saharan Africa  with an average score of 32  is the lowest performing region on the CPI, showing little improvement from previous years and underscoring a need for urgent action. There is a desperate need for reform in every sector of each of these countries, if their economies are to be salvaged, security improved, and youthful populations employed.

Tensions high

In January 2021, Uganda's national electoral commission declared President Yoweri Museveni the winner of a sixth term with 58 percent of the vote, but the results have been widely contested. The main opposition candidate Robert Kyagulanyi was placed under house arrest for 12 days post-election, and opposition parties called for national defiance of Museveni's government. Human rights groups and foreign governments slammed the government for shutting down the internet during the election, and banning outside voting observers.

Elections in Somalia which were scheduled for the 8th of February 2021, are yet to take place due to lack of agreement on how the vote should happen. As protests and tensions grow in the country, the U.N. Security Council has urged Somalia's government on to organize elections "without delay" in a resolution that stressed the pressing threat to the country's security from al-Shabab, and armed opposition groups. The UN resolution, which was adopted unanimously, authorized the African Union to maintain its nearly 20,000-strong force in Somalia until the end of the year, with a mandate to reduce the threat from the extremist groups.

In Niger, accusation of election irregularities has led to mass protests and government repression. On February 23rd, 2021, the country's Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) declared, Bazoum, the ruling party's candidate and a former minister of the interior, the winner with 55.75 percent of the vote. Ousmane, who won 44.25 percent of the vote, carried the opposition strongholds of Tillabery, which includes the capital, Niamey, and Zinder. Despite CENI's announcement, however, Ousmane declared himself the winner.

Republic of Congo's election held on 21st March 2021 was the first time that voters went to the polls in two phases since the first multi-party presidential election in 1992. In power for 36 years, the country's 77-years old incumbent president Dennis Sassou Nguesso is one of the longest serving presidents in Africa. His challengers included Mathias Dzon, the former Minister of Finance between 1997-2002 and Guy-Brice Parfait Kolelas, who came second in the highly contested 2016 presidential election that Sassou Nguesso won, has died on Sunday, a day after the country went to the polls. Kolelas was hospitalised on the eve of the elections and died of COVID-19 as he was being taken to France for treatment.

Up next - elections in Djibouti

Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of democracy, and are one of the major drivers of foreign investment into any country. On the 9th of April 2021, Djiboutians go to the polls, as President Omar Guelleh attempts to extend his tenure to a fifth term in the country's presidential elections. Guelleh has been in power since 1999  a total of 22 years. Term limits  that stated that Presidents could only serve two terms  were lifted in 2010, just prior to his third term. The media is not free in Djibouti. The 2020 World Press Freedom Index ranks the country at 176th place out of 180, down three places since 2019.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) report that there is no privately-owned or independent media outlet operating in the country. Media outlets that are operating are used for propaganda purposes by the President's government. Djibouti journalists live in fear. There is one exile station, La Voix de Djibouti, that broadcasts from Belgium, but the signal is often jammed, and its website blocked. In 2019, a La Voix de Djibouti reporter, based in Djibouti, was badly beaten and was arrested several times.

Members of opposition parties  even those recognized by the electoral commission are harassed, arrested, and prosecuted. In September 2020, several opposition parties joined together under the banner of the USN Coalition aimed at blocking a fifth Guelleh term. They want elections delayed until the Election Commission is reformed, and until that happens, they are calling for a transitional government.

Djibouti is strategically located near the Bab al Mandeb, and its access to maritime traffic through the Indian Ocean and into the Red Sea has resulted in the country hosting naval bases of France, China, Japan, and the United States. This has meant there is little international pressure on the country to reform. The government draws much of its revenue from port and basing fees, and it took on external debt of 103 percent of GDP to support rail, port, and the requisite power projects. Between 2019 and 2021 Djibouti's debt service payments have increased by around 120 percent leaving the country, and its people in high risk of debt distress. There are high levels of inequality and poverty in the country, unemployment sits at 48 percent, and as the youth continue to struggle to find employment, their discontent is rising.

In order to overcome these challenges, the country needs to court foreign investors who are intent on improving infrastructure, facilitating international trade, and creating jobs in a dampened economy. While in theory there are no laws, practices, or mechanisms that discriminate against foreign investors, navigating their bureaucracy can be complicated. According to the US Department of State's 2020 Investment Climate Statements: Djibouti,

"Government policies are sometimes not transparent, and do not foster competition on a non-discriminatory basis. Likewise, the legal, regulatory, and accounting systems are not always transparent nor are they consistent with international norms." This poses a potential threat for foreign investors  like DP World  who are currently pursuing all "legal means" to defend its claim to a Djibouti terminal, after the African nation nationalized the facility.

According to recent reports, the concession agreement between DP World and Djibouti signed in 2006 is governed by English law through the London Court of International Arbitration. The decision by Djibouti to nationalize the Doraleh Container Terminal came after the government scrapped a 50-year concession contract with DP World, triggering a dispute between the two sides.

DP World is believed to have won three rulings from Britain-based courts over the matter, most recently an injunction at the High Court in London on August 31, 2020, however Djibouti's government is failing to accept, and implement the rulings from the British-based courts. When you consider the financial losses DP World faces, since the terminal was nationalised, as well as the legal costs that continue to mount, one must carefully consider whether investing in Djibouti would be a safe bet.

While DP World clearly continues to see value and invest in the Horn of Africa  recently signing an agreement worth USD442 million to expand and operate a regional trade and logistics hub at the Port of Berbera, in partnership with the Somaliland Port Authority and Ethiopia  there are perhaps strong reasons for international investors to hold their breath, and adopt a wait-and-see approach when it comes to the results of presidential elections  not only in Djibouti  but in Benin, Chad, Sao Tome and Principe, Zambia, and other countries who are going to the polls nearer the close of the year.
Nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other congregate care facilities in Massachusetts are now allowed to welcome more visitors and resume group activities for residents given high vaccination rates, the state Executive Office of Health and Human Services said in a statement Wednesday.

These changes align with recent guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

About 86% of residents in the states long-term care facilities have ben fully vaccinated while 98% having received a first dose, the agency said.

Residents can now welcome visitors in their rooms without social distancing when both are fully vaccinated, although masks are still required. Also, activities that require residents to be closer than six feet apart  including card games, dining, and watching movies  can also resume if residents are fully vaccinated.

Visitors who are not vaccinated can still visit, but only in designated spaces where social distancing can be maintained.

The number of newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 increased by more than 1,800 Tuesday, while the number of newly confirmed coronavirus deaths in Massachusetts rose by 54.

The new numbers push the states confirmed COVID-19 death toll to 16,632 since the start of the pandemic, while its confirmed caseload rose to more than 584,000.

The true number of cases is likely higher because studies suggest some people can be infected and not feel sick.

There were more than 600 people reported hospitalized Tuesday because of confirmed cases of COVID-19, with about 150 in intensive care units.

The average age of those hospitalized was 63. There were an estimated 27,000 people with current active cases of COVID-19 in the state.

The number of probable or confirmed COVID-19 deaths reported in long-term care facilities rose to 8,879.

More than 1.1 million people in Massachusetts have been fully immunized.
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 - A food preservative used to prolong the shelf life of Pop-Tarts, Rice Krispies Treats, Cheez-Its and almost 1,250 other popular processed foods may harm the immune system, according to a new peer-reviewed study by Environmental Working Group.

For the study, published this week in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, EWG researchers used data from the Environmental Protection Agency's Toxicity Forecaster, or ToxCast, to assess the health hazards of the most common chemicals added to food, as well as the "forever chemicals" known as PFAS, which can migrate to food from packaging.

EWG's analysis of ToxCast data showed that the preservative tert-butylhydroquinone, or TBHQ, has been found to harm the immune system both in both animal tests and in non-animal tests known as high-throughput in vitro toxicology testing. This finding is of particular concern during the coronavirus pandemic.

"The pandemic has focused public and scientific attention on environmental factors that can impact the immune system," said Olga Naidenko, Ph.D., EWG vice president for science investigations and lead author of the new study. "Before the pandemic, chemicals that may harm the immune system's defense against infection or cancer did not receive sufficient attention from public health agencies. To protect public health, this must change."

TBHQ

TBHQ is a preservative that is pervasive in processed foods. It has been used in foods for many decades and serves no function besides increasing a product's shelf life. Using new non-animal test results from ToxCast, EWG found that TBHQ affected immune cell proteins at doses similar to those that cause harm in traditional studies. Earlier studies have found that TBHQ might influence how well flu vaccines work and may be linked to a rise in food allergies.

PFAS

Using ToxCast, EWG analyzed all publicly available studies that show how PFAS migrate to food from packaging materials or processing equipment. This is the first known compilation of available research on PFAS migration from packaging to food. In 2017, nationwide tests showed that many fast-food chains used food wrappers, bags and boxes coated with highly fluorinated chemicals.

Human epidemiological studies show that PFAS suppresses immune function and decreases vaccine efficacy. Recently published research has also found a link between high levels of PFAS in the blood and the severity of Covid-19.

Surprisingly, for most PFAS, the ToxCast results did not match previous animal and human test data. This illustrates the limitations of this new chemical testing method. More research is needed to understand how PFAS harm the immune system.

Food Chemicals Regulation

The Food and Drug Administration's approach to the regulation of food additives does not consider the latest science on the health harms of additives that may be legally added to processed foods manufactured in the U.S. Last year, EWG published Food Additives State of the Science, which highlighted additives known to increase the risk of cancer, harm the nervous system and disrupt the body's hormonal balance.

Chemicals linked to health harms can be legally added to packaged foods because the FDA frequently allows food manufacturers to determine which chemicals are safe. Additives like TBHQ were approved by the FDA decades ago, and the agency does not consider new science to reassess the safety of food chemicals.

"Food manufacturers have no incentive to change their formulas," said Scott Faber, senior vice president for government affairs at EWG. "Too often, the FDA allows the food and chemical industry to determine which ingredients are safe for consumption. Our research shows how important it is that the FDA take a second look at these ingredients and test all food chemicals for safety."

Less Toxic Food Preservatives

Processed foods can be made without these potentially harmful ingredients, so shoppers should read labels carefully. TBHQ is often, though not always, listed on the ingredient label. It will be listed if it has been added to the product during manufacturing. But it can also be used in food packaging, particularly plastic packaging, in which case it may migrate to food.

EWG's Food Scores database helps consumers find products made with healthier alternatives, and our Healthy Living app allows shoppers to scan products while in stores to choose a better option.

EWG recommends that immunotoxicity testing be prioritized for chemicals in food and food contact materials in order to protect public health from their potential harm to the immune system.

EWG also calls on the FDA to close the regulatory loophole that allows potentially unsafe food additives to remain on the market. The FDA should also promptly review additives like TBHQ to reflect new science.

###
The sexual harassment trial of former Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don was postponed at the request of his lawyer. The request was most likely aimed at minimizing any fallout for the ruling Minjoo Party in the April 7 by-elections. This would be highly irregular, yet Judge Ryu Seung-woo at the Busan District Court granted the continuance. Had he come under pressure from the government? Mysteriously, a trial concerning Cheong Wa Dae's meddling in the Ulsan mayoral election has also been delayed for more than a year.

Oh summoned a female employee and sexually harassed her before the general election in April last year. Voters in Busan had the right to know about the incident before they cast their ballots, but the abuse was kept under wraps until the Minjoo Party had safely won the election and the mayor announced his resignation. Voters had been deceived, but the delays continued. It took prosecutors nine months to file an indictment, and now the trial itself had been postponed. This smells badly of abuse of power.

The law firm representing Oh was -- surprise, surprise -- established by President Moon Jae-in, and its current head also serves as the campaign chief of the MP's Busan mayoral candidate. Did the judge decide to lend them a helping hand? After the postponement was announced, the victim said, "My nightmare has been extended by another three weeks." What kind of a legal system holds a trial on a sexual harassment case a year after the alleged offense and postpones it because of concerns over the election impact on the party of the accused?

Over at the Education Ministry, Minister Yoo Eun-hae, who is also an MP lawmaker, has persistently turned a blind eye to the documents forged by fly-by-night Justice Minister Cho Kuk to help his daughter gain admission into medical school. A court has already ruled that the offense was committed, but Cho's daughter still got her medical license and in now an intern at a government hospital. Only now has the education minister belatedly ordered Pusan National University to investigate the case. Yoo seems to have been jolted into action after surveys showed the party losing support among young voters, who are sensitive about issues of fairness.

The upcoming by-election for the mayors of Seoul and Busan are being held because their former mayors, who were both members of the ruling party, were engulfed in sexual harassment scandals. Rather than eating humble pie, the MP hastily changed regulations that banned contesting a by-election if one of its members forfeited the post through his or her own fault. The taxpayer has to fork out billions of won to organize the by-election, but the ruling party no longer has any shame. More bizarrely still, three female MP lawmakers referred to the victim of the former Seoul mayor only as "a person who claims to have been harmed," and they have been picked as co-heads and spokesperson for the ruling camp's candidate. This blatant disregard for common fairness and decency must be investigated.


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.
Sorry!

This content is not available in your region
John Davenport/San Antonio Express-News

(Bloomberg) -- Ovintiv Inc., the shale oil producer recently pressed by an activist investor to cut its debt load, agreed to sell drilling rights in South Texas to Validus Energy for $880 million.

The price tag is less than one-third of the $3.1 billion Ovintiv paid Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. in 2014 to acquire the assets in the Eagle Ford, one of the two busiest shale fields in the Lone Star State.
By David French and Anirban Sen

(Reuters) - Robinhood Inc is building a platform to "democratize" initial public offerings (IPOs), including its own, that would allow users of its trading app to snap up shares alongside funds, according to people familiar with the matter.

The move could further erode Wall Street's grip on stock market flotations. It would be easier to implement for Robinhood's own IPO, given how companies and their investment bankers tightly control allocations to investors in new listings.

Currently, Robinhood users and other amateur traders cannot buy into stock of a newly listed company until its shares start trading. Since shares often trade higher when they debut, big funds that get allocations in the IPO have an advantage. The average first-day trading pop on U.S. listings of businesses in 2020 was 36%, according to data provider Dealogic.

Robinhood plans to carve out a chunk of its shares on offer in its IPO for its 13 million users, and to use technology it is building to administer this part of the offering, the sources said.

While Robinhood's technology would be new, the concept of reserving shares for users is not. Deliveroo Holdings Plc, the Amazon.com Inc-backed food delivery firm that announced plans this month to list in London, is doing this, although a third-party provider is administering the process.

More novel are Robinhood's ambitions to let users directly buy into IPOs of other companies. It would need to negotiate agreements with companies and their brokerages and get the blessing of U.S. regulators, the sources said. Robinhood could have leverage in these negotiations by arguing it would be acting as a bridge between the IPO and a major pool of investor demand, the sources added.

It was not clear what kind of arrangements Robinhood would seek to put in place, and no certainty its ambition will come to fruition, said the sources, who requested anonymity because the matter is confidential. Robinhood declined comment.

Providing access to IPOs could boost Robinhood's appeal with users, some of whom criticized it over restrictions it placed on trading of heavily shorted "meme stocks" such as GameStop Corp following a Reddit-driven buying frenzy earlier this year. Robinhood said its clearinghouse forced it to place the curbs because it lacked sufficient capital to settle the trades.

The move could also boost Robinhood's valuation in its own IPO, as the offering would price in additional demand for the shares that would normally have come through only after the stock market debut.

On Tuesday, Robinhood announced it had confidentially filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for its IPO. While the company has yet to disclose details, the offering could happen in coming weeks and value Robinhood at up to $50 billion, the sources said.

Robinhood's plans to let amateur traders buy into IPOs represent the latest attempt by Silicon Valley firms to disrupt the traditional IPO. A number of companies, including Slack Technologies and Palantir Technologies Inc, have listed directly without using investment bankers.

The move would antagonize Wall Street, which is accustomed to getting big allocations in IPOs. Fund giants such as BlackRock Inc and State Street Corp have argued they are better owners of companies than day-traders, because they stick with companies for the long run.

The Menlo Park, California-based company was founded in 2013 by Baiju Bhatt and Vladimir Tenev with the aim of "democratizing finance", by giving people access to normally dominated by professional investors.

Backed by investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Ribbit Capital and 9Yards Capital, its platform allows users to make unlimited commission-free trades in stocks, exchange-traded funds, options and cryptocurrencies.

(Reporting by David French in New York and Anirban Sen in Bangalore; Editing by David Gregorio)

(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.)
YEREVAN, MARCH 25, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan received on March 25 Ambassador of Japan to Armenia Jun Yamada on March 25, who is completing his diplomatic mission in Armenia.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister of Armenia, PM Pashinyan highly appreciated the works done by the Ambassador, noting With joint efforts we have been able to further deepen the Armenian-Japanese relations, which we greatly highlight and value. We hope that the existing dynamics will be preserved and further developed''. According to Nikol Pashinyan, there is a productive political dialogue between the two countries and Armenia is thankful to the Government of Armenia for providing technical assistance to Armenia in various spheres. Pashinyan wished success to Japan in organizing the Olympic games this summer.

Jun Yamada assessed his diplomatic mission in Armenia and the experience gained during that period as an honor. According to him, the Armenian and Japanese people have many value, spiritual-cultural similarities. Japan is ready to support the development of Armenia, strengthening of democracy and democratic values. For that goal the Japanese Government plans to provide technical assistance to Armenia for the organization of early parliamentary elections. The Japanese Ambassador said that he leaves Armenia with warm impressions and will continue to foster the strengthening of the Armenian-Japanese friendship during his future activities.

The PM thanked the Government of Japan for the readiness to provide technical assistance to Armenia for the organization of the early elections and said that the cooperation with international partners will contribute to the holding of free, fair and transparent elections.

Nikol Pashinyan referred to the situation in Artsakh following the war unleashed by Azerbaijan and emphasized that the return of the Armenian POWs, preservation of Armenian histor9cal-cultural values in the territories of Artsakh that have passed under Azerbaijani control and the settlement of the conflict based on the right of self-determination continue to remain priorities for the Armenian sides.

The sides also exchanged views on the intensification of economic relations. Jun Yamada told PM Pashinyan that recently the Armenian wine occupied a leading position in a wine contest in Japan.

PM Pashinyan emphasized that the Armenian Government will make efforts for expanding bilateral trade relations and for that the Armenian production continues achieving success in the Japanese market. Nikol Pashinyan wished Jun Yamada all the best, noting that he will continue to remain the friend of Armenia and the Armenian people.
AMSTERDAM, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite the deep recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic last year, the expected spike in global bankruptcies did not occur. Globally the number of bankruptcies fell by an estimated 14% in 2020 with some of the larger European economies: Spain, Germany, France and the United Kingdom, experiencing declines of 14%, 17%, 40% and 27%. In the Netherlands, bankruptcies decreased by 17% in 2020, compared to the already low level in 2019.

Turkey and Ireland were the only two countries examined where bankruptcies increased last year. In Turkey, companies faced tighter financing conditions and limited government support. In Ireland, the increase was only 1%.

Two factors can explain the striking trend of declining bankruptcies. Firstly, many countries made changes to their insolvency regime in order to protect companies from going bankrupt. Secondly, governments across the world have taken fiscal measures to counteract the adverse economic effects of the pandemic and support small businesses, in particular.

Increase in bankruptcies expected in all major regions worldwide

Despite the rollout of vaccines and positive growth figures, we expect a 26% increase in bankruptcies at global level in 2021. An increase is expected in all major regions and countries reviewed, except for Turkey, where bankruptcies were already on the rise in 2020. The largest increases are expected in Australia, France and Singapore.

These forecasts are mainly based on expectations of gradual phasing out of local fiscal support measures and reopening of bankruptcy courts and proceedings. Consequently, many companies that were rescued last year by the above mentioned measures, will likely file for bankruptcy in 2021. It is worth mentioning that the countries with the highest expected increase in insolvencies in percentage terms this year are most likely the ones with unusually low insolvencies in 2020.

Bankruptcy levels expected to remain high at the end of 2021

Bankruptcy levels in almost all countries examined - except for Germany, Greece, New Zealand and Romania  are expected to be higher at the end of 2021 than before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Spain and the Netherlands are among the countries forecast to experience the largest increase in bankruptcies, taking together the forecast of 2020 and 2021. This is due to a relatively strong reaction of bankruptcies to GDP fluctuations traditionally observed in these countries.

Theo Smid, Senior Economist at Atradius, commented on the report: "Three forces are expected to shape global insolvencies development in 2021: The strength and breadth of economic growth this year, the gradual phasing out of government stimulus and other support schemes, and whether temporary changes in bankruptcy legislation reduced or just delayed filings. Their combined impact will greatly influence actual insolvency numbers and trade credit risk in 2021 and 2022."

About Atradius

Atradius is a global provider of credit insurance, surety and collections services, with a strategic presence in over 50 countries. The products offered by Atradius protect companies around the world against the default risks associated with selling goods and services on credit. Atradius is a member of Grupo Catalana Occidente (GCO.MC), one of the largest insurers in Spain and one of the largest credit insurers in the world. You can find more information online at https://group.atradius.com

For further information: Atradius Corporate Communications Christine Gerryn Tel.: +31 20 553 2047 E-mail: [email protected] www.atradius.com Connect with Atradius on Social Media Twitter https://twitter.com/atradius LinkedIn https://linkedin.com/company/atradius YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/atradiusgroup







SOURCE Atradius N.V.
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.
analysis

Earlier this week, the Council of the European Union (EU) announced that it has decided to impose restrictive measures - sanctions - on Eritrean "entities", specifically the National Security Office (NSO). While the EU announced that the decision was because of "serious human rights violations and abuses" in Eritrea, the simple truth is that the move was a cynical, politicized act that was fundamentally driven by ulterior motives.

First off, the entire process provokes a host of significant questions. In justifying the appalling measures it took against Eritrea (as well as several other countries, including Russia, China, Myanmar, Libya, and South Sudan), the EU alludes to a controversial instrument - the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime - that it unilaterally adopted only last December.

If multilateral political, trade, or military blocs can arrogate to themselves such sweeping intrusive powers whose territorial jurisdiction covers the entire globe, what is the legal precedent that will be created? This is a recipe for international disorder and it will induce further polarization in an already divided world. Even in pragmatic terms, the EU will veer into uncharted waters and bite off more than it can chew.

Second, the EU's current posturing begs the significant question of whether it really has the moral authority to pontificate to, and judge, other countries outside the Union. In actuality, the EU is hardly a paragon of virtue itself as it remains confronted by a range of serious human rights issues. These include, but are far from limited to, appalling practices against migrants and refugees, a dramatic rise in far-right ideologies, extremism, racism, xenophobia, and anti-immigrant sentiment, and interventionist foreign policies that have plunged many parts of Africa and the Middle East into chaos and destruction under "idealistic pursuits of human rights and democracy".

Third, if the EU was genuinely concerned and interested in conducting constructive dialogue on human rights issues with Eritrea (and the same applies to Libya and South Sudan), it could have leveraged explicit instruments (Articles 8 and 96) that are enshrined in the Cotonou Agreement and to which Eritrea is a contracting party. Setting aside the inherent asymmetry of the Agreement, which essentially allows the 27 EU Member States to deal collectively against one ACP State without reciprocal provisions for the latter, the Cotonou Agreement nonetheless contains provisions and procedures for addressing human rights violations in any Member State among the contracting parties.

We must also add the Geneva-based UNHRC platform, the Universal Periodic Review Mechanism, and other instruments and fora in the UN system that are available for addressing serious human rights violations perpetrated by a Member State. Eritrea is actively engaged in all these forums and the EU could have utilized these avenues had its intentions been sincere and constructive.

To revert back to Eritrea, context is also critical. Eritrea emerged in 1991 out of a long, difficult struggle for freedom and human rights. It received minimal international support in its struggle; in fact, most of the world conspired against it. Since winning its independence, despite being confronted by an extremely challenging regional political and environmental context, and notwithstanding a number of other serious obstacles it faced, such as a long-term military occupation and illegal international sanctions, the country has made significant strides. Of course, it still faces challenges - which is the case with virtually all other countries - in improving human rights and raising the living standards of its people.

Furthermore, what can not be overlooked is that for decades the large majority of EU governments were silent, if not complicit, as the individual and collective rights of Eritreans were violated and trampled upon by a succession of neighboring rulers. From 1950 to 1991, not once did Eritrea, the scene of Africa's longest war, and victim of some of the grossest violations of human rights, figure on the agenda of the EU and other international institutions where major European states enjoyed pivotal diplomatic clout.

After Eritrea's independence, and the subsequent 1998-2000 war on Eritrea waged by the TPLF, the EU, along with the international community, again overlooked the illegal military occupation of large swathes of sovereign Eritrean territory and the unrelenting aggression that Eritrea was subjected to by the previous TPLF-dominated Ethiopian regime. The historical record is clear in showing just how substantial European states' support - financial, political, and diplomatic - was to the TPLF regime. This was despite the fact that the TPLF regime was flagrantly violating international law and that the EU was one of the principal guarantors of the Algiers Peace Agreement, which ended the 1998-2000 Eritrea-Ethiopia war. Throughout those many years of conflict and suffering for the Eritrean people, the EU and its various bodies did not adopt a single resolution to deter war and promote peace.

To add salt to the wound, many EU states actually supported the nearly decade-long illegal UN sanctions against Eritrea, which unjustly harmed Eritrea and its population. Unfortunately, the EU, through a number of different mechanisms, has also supported and closely worked with a range of subversive individuals and groups whose main goal is destabilization of the country.

To be certain, the simple fact is that the EU's recent move against Eritrea is not about human rights. Instead, it is a blatant attempt by the EU to scapegoat Eritrea for the current crisis in Tigray, Ethiopia.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Eritrea Legal Affairs Conflict By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

As noted earlier, for decades, the EU provided the TPLF with massive economic and military support, as well as shielding it from pressure or censure by the international community for its various crimes. Despite the massive external support, however, the TPLF held minimal legitimacy among the Ethiopian people who effectively swept it from power in 2018.

Following years of sowing violence and chaos, as well as considerable military preparations, the TPLF launched a massive attack on Ethiopia's Northern Command in November 2020. The goal was to regain its lost power and subsequently march on Asmara to carry out its long avowed "regime change" agenda. Its reckless actions caused considerable damage and precipitated the crisis in Tigray, Ethiopia.

By sanctioning Eritrea now, the EU aims to cover up the TPLF's culpability for the current crisis and shift blame to Eritrea. In the process, the EU conveniently also absolves itself for its years of flawed policies. What's more, it is hoped that targeting Eritrea will also lead to a rift or divisions between Eritrea and Ethiopia, thus serving to help whatever remains of the TPLF.

In the end, the EU's cynical, politicized move is regrettable. Not only do the sanctions completely fail to cover the TPLF's culpability in the recent events in Ethiopia, they will ultimately have little positive impact on furthering the cause of human rights, peace, and stability in the region.
The Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) will introduce a digital queuing system and smart cameras in termini as part of an ambitious plan to bring to an end matatu madness in the capital city.

The plan will also see police posts established within the termini to ensure enforcement.

Nairobi termini have gained notoriety for being dens of gangs posing as touts and pickpockets who harass passengers besides preying on unsuspecting commuters.

To streamline the sector, the digital queuing system will control how public service vehicles (PSVs) operate in the termini to ensure controlled picking and dropping of passengers.

The cameras, on the other hand, will help in digitally monitoring whatever goes on at the termini.

Six bus parks

NMS is currently building six out-of-city centre bus termini. They include Green Park, Desai, Park Road, Fig Tree, Muthurwa, and one at the junction of Bunyala and Workshop roads.

Already, NMS is in the process of contracting a firm in a government-to-government contract to roll out the plan.

NMS boss Maj Gen Mohamed Badi said the smart cameras will be linked to operation centres at the police headquarters and NMS offices to monitor every action in the bus termini.

Designated officers will also be put in the operation centres to keep watch.

Queuing system

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya ICT By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"Let's say you are driving from Ngong Road, as the bus comes to the terminus in town, the officers at the operational centre will be able to see that bus coming and will arrange how the matatu will come and drop passengers by automatically putting it in the queuing system," said Mr Badi.

"That helps in ensuring PSVs are disciplined in terms of picking and dropping passengers, leading to law and order in the termini," he added.

Every matatu sacco will further be asked to nominate a representative to sit in the operations room to take ownership when its members misbehave.

To control matatu chaos caused by touting, last week, NMS Director for Transport and Public Works Michael Ochieng said no touting will be allowed in the modern termini as technology will take over where an electronic board will control the movement of the PSVs.

The matatus will be required to queue according to their saccos, and drivers will follow directions from the screens mounted at each terminus.

Mr Badi said the plan will also help in reducing crimes committed within Nairobi as every street and terminus will be under surveillance.

"The police officers in the bus termini police posts will be charged with enforcement to restore law and order across the city," said Mr Badi.

comulo@ke.nationmedia.com
BOSTON, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts ("Blue Cross"), the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers ("the League"), and Lyft will begin offering access to transportation to and from COVID-19 vaccination sites across the state as part of their joint effort to help provide equitable access to vaccinations. Blue Cross and the League last month announced their plans to address barriers to COVID vaccine access, with a focus on low- and middle-income populations served by community health centers ("CHCs"). A $1 million contribution from Blue Cross is expected to fund thousands of free rides to vaccine appointments in underserved communities, including communities of color.

"Community health centers are preparing for an influx of people seeking vaccination appointments as eligibility is expanded in the coming weeks," said Michael Curry, president and CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers and a member of the state's COVID-19 Vaccine Advisory Group. "Transportation is a challenge in many of the communities that have been hardest hit by the pandemic. This program is helping to bridge that gap with safe, free options for getting to and from vaccine appointments."

The initiative is being rolled out in phases and will support patients' transportation needs in a variety of ways including grants to CHCs, a partnership with Lyft, and a Blue Cross-staffed call center for requesting rides by phone. The program is expected to be fully operational before April 19, when all Massachusetts residents are eligible for COVID vaccines.

"We've built a customized program to help meet the unique needs of community health center patients across the state," Andrew Dreyfus, Blue Cross' president and CEO. "In collaboration with Lyft, we're proud to help support critical transportation needs as more people become eligible to receive COVID vaccinations in Massachusetts."

Lyft Pass

Twenty-three of the state's CHCs have expressed interest in offering rideshare vouchers to their patients in need of transportation. As part of this initiative, each of these CHCs can distribute a Lyft Pass to patients to get to and from their COVID-19 vaccination appointments. The ride pass is redeemable through the Lyft rider app.

Lyft Concierge & Blue Cross Call Center

Starting in early April, Blue Cross will also staff an inbound call center to request rides on behalf of CHC patients who do not have access to a smartphone or bank account, through Lyft's Concierge platform. The call center will operate Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and will support patients in multiple languages.

Community Health Center Grants

Blue Cross has also provided initial $2,500 grants to 46 CHCs across the state to support transportation programs currently underway or in development at each organization. Additional funding will be available as the program continues.

CHCs may use the grants to:

Fund rides within an existing transportation platform their organization already leverages, including rideshare or taxi partnerships

Hire additional drivers to expand the scope of in-house programs such as shuttle services

Launch or grow a volunteer-based solution

Support any other transportation related programming that best meet the needs of patients

Since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, Blue Cross and its Foundation have committed nearly $13 million in the community via financial contributions, pro bono, and in-kind contributions. For more information on how Blue Cross is supporting its members during the COVID-19 public health emergency, visit the company's Coronavirus Resource Center .

About Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts ( www.bluecrossma.org ) is a community-focused, tax-paying, not-for-profit health plan headquartered in Boston. We are committed to the relentless pursuit of quality, affordable health care with an unparalleled consumer experience. Consistent with our promise to always put our members first, we are rated among the nation's best health plans for member satisfaction and quality. Connect with us on Facebook , Twitter , YouTube, and LinkedIn .

About the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers

The Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers (the League) is a 501 (c)(3) membership organization supporting and representing the Commonwealth's 52 community health centers, which offer primary and preventive care to more than one million residents. The League serves as an information resource on community-based primary care to policymakers, opinion leaders, and the media. It provides a wide range of technical assistance to its health center members, including advocacy on health policy issues, support for workforce development, clinical care and technology initiatives, and guidance to state leaders and community-based organizations seeking to open health centers.

About Lyft Healthcare

Lyft Healthcare is one of the largest providers of non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) services in the United States, ensuring access to reliable rides for millions of eligible patients who lack transportation. Thousands of healthcare organizations partner with Lyft Healthcare  including nine of the top 10 NEMT managers, nine of the top 10 health systems, the top 10 health plans, large retail pharmacy chains, and key healthcare IT organizations like Epic and Allscripts  to reduce costs, improve the patient experience, and expand access to care. Additionally, Lyft is eligible to provide access to transportation for up to 37 million eligible Medicaid beneficiaries across 14 states and the District of Columbia.

SOURCE Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts

Related Links

http://www.bluecrossma.com


She's taken over from Hollywood star Keira Knightley in the lead role.

So it was no surprise that Claire Danes was in high spirits as she continued filming for The Essex Serpent in the county's town of Maldon on Thursday.

The Homeland star, 41, transformed into a Victorian beauty in an elegant grey dress as she shared a laugh with her co-stars during filming for the Apple+TV series.

Flawless: Claire Danes was every inch the Victoria beauty in a prime grey dress and matching coat as she filmed scenes for The Essex Serpent in the county's town of Maldon on Thursday

As she strolled onto the set, Claire kept with Victoria fashions by sporting a long grey dress and a matching frilled coat, hinting her character would be a woman of some significant wealth.

The Emmy winner was seen chatting to some of her co-stars between scenes, and laughing as she watched a clip shared by a member of the series' crew.

Proving she could perfectly embody the Victorian beauty, Claire still stood out in the simple and sophisticated ensemble as she filmed more scenes for the six-part series which saw her character Cora arriving in Essex on a boat from London.

Back to work: The Homeland star transformed into a Victoria beauty in a prim grey dress as she shared a laugh with her co-stars during filming for the Apple+TV series

Wealthy? As she strolled onto the set, Claire kept with Victoria fashions by sporting a long grey dress along with a matching frilled coat

Rich? Her classy look hinted her character Cora would be a woman of some significant wealth having relocated to Essex after escaping her abusive marriage

Contrast: With her blonde hair pulled into a near curled up-do, Claire wore a hairnet over her look to protect it from the windy beach climes

Happy: The Emmy winner was seen chatting to some of her co-stars between scenes

For the scenes crew transformed the bay of Hythe Quay with the addition of fishing boxes and baskets.

In a post on Facebook, Topsail Charters said: 'Our barges are taking centre stage behind the filming props today. The quayside is being transformed as we speak ready for filming this Thursday.

'Who's excited to see The Essex Serpent? I know we are... be great advertising for Maldon & our barges hopefully.'

Flawless: Proving she could perfectly embody the Victorian beauty, Claire still stood out in the simple and sophisticated ensemble as she filmed more scenes for the six-part series

New role: Claire replaced Keira Knightley in The Essex Serpent back in February, with first-look images of the star in character released last week

Fresh start: The series follows Claire's character as she relocates from Victorian London to a small village in Essex after leaving an abusive marriage

New series: She chooses to move to the town of Aldwinter after becoming intrigued by a local superstition that a creature known as The Essex Serpent lives in the area

Maldon District Council also confirmed that filming would be taking place in the area, telling Essex Live in a statement: 'We are delighted that the production company has chosen the Maldon District as one of their locations for a new six-part drama.

'They have a sizeable base on Promenade Park, and they will minimise any disruption during their filming and ensure safety can be maintained at all times.

'We would remind everyone that while this is clearly exciting, social distancing must still be maintained at all times.'

Co-star: Based on the novel of the same name by Sarah Perry, Claire will also be joined on screen by Tom Hiddleston, 40

New actress: Variety reported in February that Claire would take on the lead role in the show after Keira dropped out of the project last October due to the Covid-19 pandemic

Literary origins: Clio Bernard is set to direct the series while writer Anna Symon is adapting the novel for the screen

Next part: Claire's last big role came in the Showtime series Homeland, which concluded last year after eight seasons

From 2021 to 1893: For filming many of the show's cast were seen sporting their own period costumes as they recorded scenes of Cora arriving in Essex on a boat

Claire replaced Keira Knightley in The Essex Serpent back in February, with first-look images of the star in character released last week.

She wore a high-necked velvet dress and her hair in an elegant up-do as she portrayed the newly widowed protagonist Cora.

The series follows Claire's character as she relocates from Victorian London to a small village in Essex after leaving an abusive marriage.

New look: For the scenes crew transformed the bay of Hythe Quay with the addition of fishing boxes and baskets

Steer clear! Maldon District Council also confirmed that filming would be taking place in the area

Putting Essex on the map! : 'We are delighted that the production company has chosen the Maldon District as one of their locations for a new six-part drama,' they said in a statement

Safety first: 'They have a sizeable base on Promenade Park, and they will minimise any disruption during their filming and ensure safety can be maintained at all times,' they added

But steer clear! The statement concluded: 'We would remind everyone that while this is clearly exciting, social distancing must still be maintained at all times'

She chooses to move to the town of Aldwinter after becoming intrigued by a local superstition that a creature known as The Essex Serpent lives in the area.

Based on the novel of the same name by Sarah Perry, Claire will also be joined on screen by Tom Hiddleston, 40.

The Night Manager actor looked well and truly in character in the newly released images as he donned his reverend costume.

Friendly: Claire was seen chatting to one of the cameraman after donning her period attire for filming

Hard at work: The star was in good spirits as she spoke to crew members between scenes

Tom plays Will Ransome, the trusted leader of the local community and can be seen in an image from the series sporting a brown coat and black jumper.

Variety reported in February that Claire would take on the lead role in the show after Keira dropped out of the project last October due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Clio Bernard is set to direct the series while writer Anna Symon is adapting the novel for the screen.

Tom will next be seen as his Marvel character Loki in an upcoming spin-off series which sees him travel through time and alter human history after stealing the Tesseract during the events of Avengers: Endgame.

Tom's Loki has been one of the longest-running recurring characters in Marvel's connected film universe, starting with Thor in 2011.

Suited and booted: Given the setting of an Essex fishing town, many of the male actors also sported their own period ensembles
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The COVID-19 pandemic has forever changed consumer shopping behaviors and preferences. For the past year, brick-and-mortar stores have been seen as "higher risk" locations. To limit opportunities for exposure, consumers sought out alternatives to stepping into grocery stores and their favorite retailers. But, in the process of changing their shopping habits, customers needed new options to personally connect with retailers without face-to-face interaction.

First Orion , a leading provider of communication transparency solutions, conducted a blind survey of mobile phone users in the United States to identify how consumers currently interact with retailers, including customer service preferences and pain points. The results reveal that outside of visiting a physical store, 59% of consumers said that they consider a phone call the most personal form of interaction - over four times that of any other form of communication.

The retail industry was pushed to innovate and identify alternatives to in-store shopping. This resulted in retailers providing more opportunities to enable consumers to shop safely utilizing online shopping, outdoor markets, and curbside pickup. These models create a number of consumer questions and concerns about placing orders, delivery information, order confirmation and more. When it comes to urgent or complex issues such as these, 76% of respondents stated that personal interaction is important. Without that traditional face-to-face conversation, consumers are looking for other ways to keep that personal interaction - overwhelmingly, they prefer a phone call from a retail store in place of that connection. While consumers prefer a phone call when discussing any order with a retail business, they are more than twice as likely to insist on a phone call for an order that is $500 or above. For a consumer to perceive a brand as premium, a phone call isn't enough - it must be an identified phone call. Retail brands that clearly identify their calls are considered to be more premium than those that do not identify themselves when calling, according to just over three-fourths of respondents.

"The shift in consumers' shopping preferences presents an opportunity for retailers to enhance their customer experience and brand loyalty," said Viki Zabala, chief marketing officer at First Orion. "Brands need to consider how every channel they use to communicate with customers impacts them. Our data shows that by remaining anonymous through a ten-digit phone number, consumers are more likely to perceive a retail company and its brand negatively. By not clearly identifying themselves when calling, retail businesses are missing out on an opportunity to gain trust and connect with consumers before they even answer their phone."

With increased options on how to shop, consumers can purchase goods from anywhere, at any time. When deciding where to spend their money, consumers prioritize convenience and safety due to pandemic-related issues. Curbside pickup, for example, is one of the retail offerings that has become the de-facto purchasing practice. In the past 12 months, two-thirds of respondents (66%) have taken advantage of this service and 58% said that they would utilize the service post-pandemic as their "preferred shopping method."

It's not surprising that consumers are unlikely to continue shopping with a retail business that they consider lacking credibility. Unidentified phone calls can be a red flag to consumers; 82% of respondents stated that when they get a call from a retailer who appears to be "unknown," they perceive that business to be illegitimate. Brand loyalty doesn't stop with an unanswered call - 63% of consumers said that they would take their business elsewhere to a brand that properly identifies themselves when calling.

There has been an increase in the need for retail businesses to contact their consumers through a phone call since the beginning of the pandemic. The survey findings highlight that consumer preferences will not end with the pandemic. The need for retail brands to continue premium services is only rising.

By deploying innovative solutions such as enhanced calling , retail businesses to help keep their perception positive and consumers loyal.

A blog post highlighting the detailed findings of the survey is available here .

About First Orion

First Orion is a global provider of digital call experiences for the world's leading carriers, enterprises, and mobile apps. The First Orion Call Protection Suite provides scam, fraud, and spoof protection solutions to hundreds of millions of consumers. The company's Branded Calling Suite, INFORM and ENGAGE, provides the ability for businesses to brand their calls by name along with a reason for the call, while empowering consumers to connect over a trusted, verified call. Processing over 90 billion calls annually, First Orion powers digital call experiences for T-Mobile, Metro by T-Mobile, Boost Mobile, Sky, Virgin Mobile, and Sprint Prepaid mobile networks along with Fortune 500 brands, PrivacyStar, and other mobile apps. Established in 2008 and led by Charles Morgan (former Founder & CEO of Acxiom), First Orion is headquartered in North Little Rock, Arkansas, has offices in Seattle, London, and Dubai, and employs over 250 people globally. More at www.firstorion.com , @FirstOrionCorp or First Orion Blog .

PrivacyStar, First Orion, ENGAGE, and INFORM are trademarks of First Orion Corp. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Media Contact:

Jackie D'Andrea

Inkhouse for First Orion

[email protected]

SOURCE First Orion

Related Links

https://firstorion.com


By William Hollingworth, KYODO NEWS - Mar 25, 2021 - 14:30 | All, World, Japan

Uncertainty surrounding the United Kingdom's 2020 exit from the European Union has reduced the number of Japanese firms operating in the country, leaving investors and analysts watching what trade promotion steps the London government will take as part of post-Brexit economic policy.

The number of Japanese companies in the kingdom fell 12 percent from 2014 to 2019 to 951, Japanese data show, a period that includes the 2016 referendum that determined the country's departure from what is now the 27-nation bloc.

Of the total, the number of manufacturers dropped 22 percent and that of financial firms decreased by over a third, according to the Foreign Ministry data.

Given the growing Japanese presence in EU member states such as Germany and the Netherlands, a report by Ninjin, a research arm of Rudlin Consulting Ltd., says, "It is hard to avoid the conclusion that this is a reaction to Brexit."

Japanese financial firms have consolidated U.K. operations and established subsidiaries in the European Union, although staffing levels remain static, according to Pernille Rudlin, who authored the report and provides research and consulting on how to approach Japanese companies in Europe.

Rudlin wrote in the report that the decline in the number of employees of Japanese companies in the United Kingdom was less marked -- down fractionally in 2017-2018 and by about 1.5 percent in 2018-2019.

In contrast, the number of Japanese firms in the nonfinancial services sector increased 28 percent from 2015 to 2019, the report says.

Recent seminars on U.K.-Japan collaboration have highlighted potential growth areas such as 5G technology, infrastructure, recruitment, outsourcing, information technology services and fintech.

Despite Brexit, the United Kingdom still has the highest stock of Japanese foreign direct investment in Europe, according to the report.

Rudlin told Kyodo News that Japanese companies still seem happy to either acquire services firms here or base their regional head offices in the country in order to take advantage of professional services such as information technology, design, marketing and education.

But she cautioned, "It remains to be seen how much of this strength was also reliant on being part of the single market, in terms of being able to sell those services to the European Union and benefit from the freedom of movement of the people providing or benefiting from those services."

Similarly, Japanese investors say that they are closely watching what kind of investor-friendly policies the U.K. government can come up with outside the single European market.

Japanese companies are relieved London finally secured a tariff-free agreement on goods with the EU last year. But it has created nontariff barriers in goods and services.

Yoshinori Katayama, president of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the United Kingdom, said Japanese firms are adapting to the new circumstances and continue to value professional services the country can offer.

Katayama said at a recent Asia House webinar that the United Kingdom must now come to a deal with the EU on financial services.

Minako Morita-Jaeger, a fellow at the U.K. Trade Policy Observatory at the University of Sussex, said separately that the EU-U.K. trade agreement was the "second-worst" scenario after a no-deal.

She said the traditional role the United Kingdom played as a "gateway" into the EU is "now completely gone," given issues like customs declarations and rules of origin on exports of goods.

Morita-Jaeger predicted the ending of the automatic free movement of people will make it harder for Japanese investors to recruit skilled workers from EU member states.

U.K. authorities may no longer recognize the professional qualifications of EU job applicants, for example.

Paul Patterson, chairman of the U.K.-Japan Tech Forum and head of Fujitsu Northern & Western Europe, said he is optimistic about Japanese investment in the digital sector following the Jan. 1 enforcement of a free trade agreement between London and Tokyo.

"With one of the most ambitious digital chapters yet seen in a trade deal, tech has the potential to be at the forefront of the opportunities created by the strengthened ties between the U.K. and Japan," Patterson told Kyodo News.

"We have seen the Japanese and U.K. tech sectors speak with one voice about the benefits to trade, investment and significantly increased collaboration on emerging technologies which will be critical to economic growth."
Fighter jet takes off during flight training

China Military Online) 11:05, March 25, 2021

A fighter jet attached to an air force aviation brigade under the PLA Southern Theater Command takes off during a round-the-clock flight training exercise on March 4, 2021. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Wang Guoyun)

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Bianji)
The Hotel Show, a major hospitality trade exhibition, has announced the addition of a free-to-attend F&B Stakeholders Summit as part of the 2021 exhibition programme, running from May 31 to June 2 at the Dubai World Trade Centre.



The F&B Stakeholders Summit has been introduced to address the major issues the industry has faced after a pivotal year for the food and beverage industry. The two-day summit will feature leading professionals sharing their insights, case-studies and market forecasts in panel format, while also providing the community an opportunity to network and reunite face-to-face.



Now celebrating 21 years of connecting people, products and insights live and in-person, The Hotel Show remains a catalyst for change and growth in the industry through its annual gathering and feature experiences. The F&B Stakeholders Summit is timed perfectly at a critical moment for this market, as it moves from a challenging period to the gradual return of normal business conditions with renewed vigour, ideas and invention.



The F&B Summit will take form of a series of highly focused and candid live discussions, with participation from a host of renowned speakers and panellists including Andy Cuthbert, Chairman of the Emirates Culinary Guild and General Manager for Jumeirah Creekside Hotel and Jumeirah Hospitality, Madinat Jumeirah Conferences & Events, Samantha Wood, Founder of Foodiva, Joey Ghazal, Founder & Managing Partner at The Maine New England Brasserie Company, Edward Harvey, Director, Elevate and Antonio Gonzales, CEO of Sunset Hospitality Group.



Naim Maadad, Founder of Gates Hospitality who will be speaking at The Hotel Show F&B Stakeholder Summit said: Trendsetting forums like The F&B Stakeholders Summit will certainly go a long way in the path to recovery of the food and beverage industry. As we arrive at the threshold of a vital year  with the medical authorities encouraging the vaccination drive climax, it will be imperative to pump in new ideas into the industry and jointly commit ourselves to the betterment of all stakeholders. Great initiative.



Mena Research Partners predict that the GCCs F&B market will achieve growth of 7% this year, climbing to an estimated $196 bn. This recognizes forecast for a significant rebound in tourism as countries gradually relax travel restrictions. For the UAE, this is further fuelled by government drive to complete hospitality projects ahead of Expo 2020 in October 2021, expecting to welcome an additional three million tourists during its opening period.



All F&B professionals are welcome to attend to listen, ask questions and take advantage of the opportunity to network face-to-face with their peers and colleagues, safely with the dmg events All Secure Covid-19 Safety Protocols in place. The concentration of knowledge and insight combined with this gathering of experts and networking will in no doubt spark ideas and innovations that will shape the regions restaurant and hospitality culture for years to come.



Samantha Wood, Founder of Foodiva said: On the back of the crisis where the world moved to conduct business online, in-person industry conferences like The F&B Stakeholders Summit at The Hotel Show are now more important than ever. The hospitality and F&B industries are people businesses, so we need this platform to communicate our ideas, to innovate and to network.



Jasmeet Bakshi, Group Event Director of The Hotel Show (dmg events) added: The F&B industry has experienced the most challenging year in living memory and there is an urgent need of collective discourse and problem solving. We are therefore delighted to be able to open our doors to the community, offering a world-class program discussing a breadth of relevant topics.



Under this years theme, Redefining Hospitality, The Hotel Show offers the industry professionals in the Middle East a powerful platform from which to source products, connect and learn about critical topics over the course of three days. The Hotel Show will once again benefit from being part of the Middle East Design and Hospitality Week, which brings the biggest and most important celebration of all things design and hospitality with co-located events: INDEX, Workspace and The Leisure Show.  TradeArabia News Service
Lucknow, March 25 : The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has decided to implement the Police Commissionerate system in Kanpur and Varanasi.

A decision to this effect was taken at a cabinet meeting, held here on Thursday evening.

It is noteworthy that the Police Commissionerate system implemented in Noida and Lucknow in January 2020 and has completed one year. The results are said to have been positive with law and order showing a marked improvement.

With Kanpur and Varanasi now added to the list, UP now has four cities with this system.

Lucknow and Noida have recorded a decrease in all types of crime over the past several years. After this, the blueprint for implementing the Commissionerate was prepared for Kanpur and Varanasi.

In Lucknow, where the incidents of murder have been reduced to almost half of the previous year, the incidents of robbery have also increased to a quarter.

Apart from this, there has also been a huge decrease in incidents of vehicle theft and crime against women.
Veterinary Hospitals Association (VHA), the leading association for veterinary practices in the Midwest, has announced a partnership with U.S. Bank to offer veterinary clinics new business credit card solutions.

As part of this agreement, VHA members will have access to unique business credit card solutions that offer valuable rewards and benefits. These benefits include earning points, cash back, and low annual percentage rates, among others.

U.S. Bank has been a valued partner of VHA for many years, and has provided us with a great level of knowledge and customer service, explained Erin Potts, Director of Finance and Business Solutions at VHA. Our latest experience of completing a review of our credit cards was simple, easy, and eye-opening. With this knowledge, we know our members will appreciate having the same experience and will capture better rewards through U.S. Banks Leverage credit card options.

"Were excited to expand our partnership with VHA by providing unique business credit card offers and custom payments consultations, said Derek Bjoraker, Vice President of the business credit card referral program at U.S. Bank. Through these tools, were able to help members discover ways to improve cash flow, lower operating costs, and earn more rewards.

About Veterinary Hospitals Association

Veterinary Hospitals Association (VHA) was established in 1984 and is a proud not-for-profit association dedicated to supporting veterinary professionals and practices by offering solutions that enable them to grow, learn, and succeed. VHA currently serves over 440 member veterinary practices nationwide. Follow VHA on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
The federal government has fixed a meeting with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) today to consider progress made in the implementation of agreements reached to suspend the nine-month-old strike.

A statement signed by the Deputy Director, Press, Mr. Charles Akpan said the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige will be meeting with the ASUU leadership today.

In the agreement reached with ASUU, the federal government had accepted among others, the union's demand to pay lecturers' salaries withheld during their strike.

It also approved the release of N40 billion as Earned Allowances to university workers, and N30 billion as revitalisation fund to fix dilapidated infrastructure in the institutions.

Other agreements for which timelines for their implementation were contained in the agreement signed include; setting up of new Visitation Panels for universities and embarking on measures to check proliferation of state universities and poor funding by state governments.
Mexico's regulatory health board has opened an investigation into a Honduran company after more than 1,000 of its factory workers in the Gulf of Mexico state of Campeche were injected with a fake version of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine.

Additionally, the bogus vaccine shots also were administered to businessmen and government officials who maintained a close relationship with Grupo Karim's owner, Pakistani businessman Mohamad Yusuf Amdani Bai, according to a story published Wednesday by newspaper Reforma.

The Russian vaccine doses were first given out March 10 at the Ocean View Hotel and a clinic, both which are owned by Bai.

The workers at the Grupo Karim's textile factory received their shots beginning March 15.

Merchants in Mexico City, Yucatan and Merida also were allegedly injected with the bogus vaccine shots.

The Mexico government is investigating Honduran textile company Grupo Karim's, which is owned by Mohamad Yusuf Amdani Bai, for allegedly providing fake Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine shots to more than 1,000 workers at a factory in the Gulf of Mexico state of Campeche this month, according to newspaper Reforma. The company is also under investigation for 1,555 vials that reportedly contained 5,775 fake doses of the Russian immunization shot that were confiscated from a private jet at Campeche International Airport last Wednesday

Mexican newspaper Reforma reported Wednesday that more than 1,000 workers at a textile factory operated by Honduran company Grupo Karim's were injected with fake doses of the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine

Two of the people who were injected with the fake Sputnik V doses acknowledged that they were worried about the possible health risks they could now be facing.

Bai, who also owns textile companies in the United States, Panama, Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Nicaragua, is considered the richest man in Honduras.

The Mexican government is also investigating Bai's company after customs agents and military soldiers discovered 1,155 vials containing more than 5,700 fake doses of the Sputnik V vaccine aboard a private jet at Campeche International Airport last Wednesday.

The fake coronavirus vaccines were mixed together with Coca-Cola cans and bottles inside a cooler.

Authorities placed seven Honduran passengers under the custody of the Attorney General's Office and allowed them to stay at a local hotel in Campeche, but as of Wednesday they were reported missing.

The individuals were identified as pilots David Villalobos and Aldo Romero, and doctors Martha Castro, Leonardo Lopez , Gustavo Raudales, Julio Cesar Martinez and Gustavo Madrid.

Grupo Karim's said in a statement released Tuesday that the Sputnik V vaccine was not intended to be sold in Honduras, but rather to be given free to its employees and their families. The company said its employees had been hit hard by the pandemic and it was looking for a way to help them.

The Mexican government confiscated 1,555 fake vials of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine during the inspection of a private jet that was scheduled to depart for Honduras last Wednesday

Mexican officials stand next to a private jet at Campeche International Airport in Campeche, Mexico, after customs agents and the army confiscated a cooler with 1,555 vials containing fake Sputnik V vaccines

The investigation sparked a finger pointing contest Wednesday on social media between the nation's Attorney General's Office and the Federal Commission for Protection against Health Risks.

The Attorney General's Office accused the governing health body of not having responded to its inquiry on the development of the investigation. The Federal Commission for Protection against Health Risks then followed back with a tweet of its own and refuted the claims made by the top prosecutor's office, indicating that they had been kept up-to-date and that all of their resources were being made available to find the origin of the fake Sputnik V vaccine shots.

While Mexican officials have yet to identify the doses as fake, the Russian Direct Investment Fund said in a statement Thursday that after reviewing photographs of the packaging, they determined the vaccine to be phony.

'Analysis of the photographs of the seized batch, including the design of containers and labels, suggests that it is a fake substance which has nothing to do with the original vaccine,' the fund said in a statement.
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.
A mesmerising photo showing floodwaters meeting the ocean has been captured by a plane passenger flying over Australia's rain-battered coastline.

The photo taken over Flagstaff Beach on the Gold Coast on Wednesday showed a clear separation between the blue ocean water and the dirty brown floodwater spilling out of the Tweed River.

The swollen river had peaked on Tuesday at a height of 1.5m as parts of south-east Queensland received as much as 550mm of rain in the space of two days.

Sydney resident Sam Hennigan was flying over the Queensland border with New South Wales when he snapped the unique phenomenon.

A unique natural phenomenon whereby floodwaters and ocean water clash as they meet off the coast has been captured by a plane passenger

'It was pretty mesmerising,' he told nine.com.au.

The separation occurs when floodwaters meet the ocean because of the difference in density between fresh and salt water.

The salt-heavy sea water falls below the outflowing river water and starts moving upstream.

A similar photo of flood waters clashing with ocean water was taken this week at Moruya on the NSW South Coast which has also seen heavy flooding.

Mr Hennigan's eye-catching image emerged as Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk warned Queenslanders the danger from flooding is not over as water will continue to make its way through flooded areas for several days.

Swift water rescue crews found the body of David Hornman in his ute in the flooded Canungra Creek in the Gold Coast hinterland on Wednesday.

A similar photo of flood waters clashing with ocean water was taken this week at Moruya on the NSW South Coast

A desperate search for David Hornman, 38, ended when his body was found inside his ute in the Gold Coast Hinterland on Wednesday afternoon

The 38-year-old father was last seen on Monday morning.

Police say the Canungra area copped atrocious weather on Monday.

Pakistani national Ayaz Younas was on his first day of a new contracting job when his Toyota Camry became trapped in floodwaters

Forecasters say almost half a metre of rain has fallen in the inland region since Sunday.

Another man was found dead inside a vehicle in Sydney's north-west.

Pakistani national Ayaz Younas was on his first day of a new contracting job when his Toyota Camry became trapped in the flood on Cattai Ridge Road in Glenorie on Sydney's northern outskirts.

The inside of the 25-year-old's car was badly damaged, indicating to police that he frantically battled to save his life and escape as waters rose around him.

NSW Police Detective Inspector Chris Laird said Mr Younas called Triple-Zero at 6.25am on Wednesday and remained on the line with the operator until about 7am.

'Had he not rung us, we never would have found him. Not until the water receded anyway,' Det Insp Laird said.

'But we can only speculate that given what I have seen and the damage to the vehicle that it could very well be that the electrics totally failed, and he was simply unable to escape from the car which is an absolute tragedy.

Mr Younas' Toyota Camry became trapped in the flood on Cattai Ridge Road in Glenorie on Sydney's northern outskirts

Emergency crews were called to Cattai Ridge Road, near Hidden Valley Lane in Glenorie at about 6.30am on Wednesday, following reports a car was submerged in floodwaters

'You can only just imagine somebody fighting for their life to get out of the car  that's what the inside damage of the vehicle looked like.'

Det Insp Laird said Mr Younas 'clearly couldn't get out' of the car as there were no broken windows.

He said the roads had multiple signs and closure warnings, yet the car was located 30m into floodwaters and 6m under water.
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.
Mourners spanning multiple generations gathered Thursday for one last time to honour President John Magufuli, a revolutionary leader who garnered a devoted following of admirers within and outside the country for his firmness, patriotism and devotion to his voters.

Members of the public and Chato residents gathered to honour the iconic leader, viewing his casket as it sat at the centre of the famous Magufuli ground in his hometown Chato, Tanzania's northwestern region, Geita.

Many of the mourners were women, youth and senior citizen. Magufuli died last Wednesday from a heart-related illness in the local hospital in Dar es Salaam. President Samia Suluhu Hassan announced 21 days of mourning. Mourners in Dar es Salaam, Dodoma, Zanzibar and Mwanza have already paid their last respect to the fallen leader.

Magufuli become a role model among thousands new generation leaders, championing social-economic independence, promoting equality throughout his life and giving voice to the majority poor and middle class.

"Thank you President Magufuli for everything," Zanzibar's Second Vice President Hemed Suleiman Abdulla said Thursday before mourners stated paying their last respect.

He said President Magufuli had done the unthinkable and one can be surprised who did he accomplish such achievements in a short period of time. "We will always remember you for such goodness and that is our offering to you," he said at a service also attended by Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa.

Abdulla explained that for the nation to cherish President Magufuli is by continuing to work hard, fighting corruption, embezzlement and make patriotism a fist priority. He thanked the public for sustaining peace and stability, especially during the tragedy.

"The nation has suffered a great loss. I urge fellow Tanzanians to stand firm and ensure that we work together to build Tanzania," he said emphasizing that all mourners have the entire day to ensure they big farewell to their loved president.

He said regardless of the time all the mourners will be allowed to pay last respect. Even if its 11:00 p.m., he said everyone must pay last respect.
The pandemic, the grim economy, and the stress of remote work have made employees' physical, mental, and financial well-being more important than ever. At the same time, bosses are trying to meet their employees' needs on a tighter budget. One solution? Voluntary benefits.

They're not as sexy as onsite gyms and free lunches, and the term is a bit of a misnomer. It typically refers to insurance products (separate from health coverage) that workers can buy at lower group rates via payroll deductions. But it can also apply to benefits that are funded all or in part by employers.

Voluntary benefits cover familiar things, like long-term disability care, and novel ones, like legal services, identity theft protection, financial counseling, and veterinary bills. Keep in mind that voluntary benefits are just one piece of a company's benefits puzzle, and are no substitute for solid health coverage. And offering a new benefit without footing the bill might not come across as particularly generous. But employees appreciate getting insurance cheaper and more conveniently than they could on their own, and these benefits can provide peace of mind by filling coverage gaps and reducing out-of-pocket costs. (One increasingly popular benefit is hospital indemnity insurance, which pays the employee a certain amount for each day of a hospital stay.) Read on for a guide to getting started.

Do your research.

Add only those benefits your team will actually use. "Don't add benefits just to say you're adding benefits," says Nyala Khan, head of talent at Eden Health, a New York City-based health care startup whose employee-paid plans include pet insurance and several kinds of supplemental health coverage.

Most people try not to think about insurance until they need to, so a simple poll might not tell you much. But you can hire a consultant to analyze demographic information and aggregated data on employees' financial health, says Amy Hollis, an Atlanta-based benefits consultant. This can tell you what they might need while protecting privacy. For example, older workers might want critical-illness insurance, while new parents might prefer prepaid legal plans to get help drafting a will. If some of your workers are struggling financially, you could add a program that offers budgeting help or low-interest loans.

Look for gaps in your benefits that supplemental coverage can fill. But don't try to meet everyone's needs at once. Heather Garbers, vice president of voluntary benefits at insurance broker Hub International, recommends adding no more than three benefits a year, so employees can become familiar with them. And don't expand your benefits menu endlessly, says Hollis. Keep an eye on what employees enroll in--and use--and add or drop benefits as needed.

Communicate clearly.

Workers can't use benefits they don't know about, so make sure they do--and not just during open enrollment. Send updates on what's available, and engage employees online; the days of paper packets and conference room Q&As are over.

Above all, provide your employees with clear and accessible information. Khan recommends using case studies to show how a benefit works in real life. If you don't have an HR department to explain, bring in a consultant, Garbers advises. If your broker or carrier offers educational resources, use them. Dani McCauley, a senior vice president at consulting firm Aon, suggests moving your open enrollment to a non-standard time, when carriers are more likely to give you personal attention.

Make enrollment easy.

Your benefits system should be easy to navigate and show employees all their options, says Hollis. Otherwise, "it's like you're in a grocery store, and you don't know what's down the last aisle," she says.

Some voluntary benefits, such as pet insurance, are worth offering year round. But supplemental health benefits should be available alongside basic health insurance during open enrollment. McCauley recommends creating a logical "sequence and flow" that starts with core benefits and proceeds to voluntary plans. This will help employees choose what they need without overspending. "When the employee enrolls in their major medical," she says, "the very next benefit they should enroll in is anything that covers the out-of-pocket gaps associated with the plan they just bought."

EXPLORE MORE Best Workplaces COMPANIES
With 4,667 new cases of COVID-19 reported by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, state case rates continue to climb back up after a month of consistency. Pennsylvania is now up to 996,617 total cases, almost sure to hit the 1 million-case mark before the end of the week.

The states cases have increased dramatically in the last two weeks, with more than 3,000 new cases in seven of the last nine days. Wednesdays increase is the highest since the 4,717 new cases on Feb. 7.

While its concerning that cases are going up, its also encouraging seeing vaccination totals increase across Pennsylvania. To date, the state has distributed over 5 million COVID-19 vaccines, including data from Philadelphia, which is receiving its own allocation of vaccines. Pennsylvania currently has 1,771,290 residents, including Philadelphians, fully vaccinated, whether it be with the two-shot Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines or the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is being prioritized for those in education and child care.

(Cant see the chart? Click here.)

Excluding Philadelphias data, the rest of Pennsylvania currently has 2,918,012 people partially vaccinated. In a statement on Wednesday, Gov. Tom Wolf, pointed towards the February mandate that vaccine providers should distribute 80% of vaccines within seven days of their receipt as a cause for the increase in the states efficiency in distributing the doses. And with more people receiving first vaccinations in a timely manner, second doses are on the way within three to four weeks, therefore speeding up the rate of fully vaccinated Pennsylvanians.

Due to that increased efficiency, Pennsylvania is now ranked 17th in the nation for the percent of people who have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the statement from Wolf said. A month ago, Pennsylvania was 30th.

1 million cases on the horizon with states sharp increase

Pennsylvania spent the latter half of February and the first half of March on a COVID-19 case plateau, registering between 2,400 and 2,700 cases each day, but rarely ever more or less than that range. Then last week, on March 16, the state reported the first of five days in a row with at least 3,000 new cases of COVID-19. In the last nine days, the only two without topping 3,000 were Sunday and Monday, two days that have regularly low increases due to weekend reporting lags.

With 4,667 new cases on Wednesday, the most since Feb. 7, the states seven-day rolling average climbed to 3,271 new cases per day. Its risen every day since March 15 when it was 2,491. The lowest mark Pennsylvanias hit in 2021 is 2,413 on March 8. But since last week, the increasing case rates are raising concerns similar to those from the fall, just at the beginning of the massive swell of cases that the state saw in November and December.

(Cant see the chart? Click here.)

The rise in new cases has slight sped up Pennsylvanias pace to the 1 million-case mark, a mark that seven other states have reached thus far. In all likelihood, Pennsylvania will reach the grim milestone on Thursday, marking 36 days for Pennsylvania to amass the 100,000 cases to get from 900,000 to 1 million. Thats the third-slowest timeframe for the state to report a cluster of 100,000 cases, behind the first 100,000 and second 100,000 cases. However, those took 134 and 102 days, respectively, so these 36 days are much closer to the fourth-slowest time, a 24-day tie between the 200,000 to 300,000 frame and the 800,000 to 900,000 frame.

And as the cases continue to rise, so do the states hospitalizations. Currently, there are 1,652 patients hospitalized around Pennsylvania  351 of them are in the ICU and 184 are on ventilators. While the difference from just a week or so ago is about 200 patients, and less for the ICU and ventilator figures, the scale is obviously much different. And regardless, the states seven-day average for hospitalized patients has been increasing since March 18  before that, the average was dropping every single day since Dec. 21.

(Cant see the chart? Click here.)

COVID in the Lehigh Valley

The Lehigh Valley saw its biggest daily case increase since Feb. 9 on Wednesday, reporting 359 new cases between Lehigh and Northampton Counties. The former reported 168 new cases, while Northampton County reported 191 new cases. The regions total case count jumped to 62,337.

Lehigh Countys individual case count is now at 32,996, while Northampton Countys sits at 29,341.

(Cant see the chart? Click here.)

At Lehigh University, surveillance testing found both California and New York variants among a small group of samples taken from positive COVID-19 specimens at the school. In a statement on its website, the university stated that The sample size is too small to be representative or to indicate this percentage would be indicative of the breakdown for all positive cases; however, it does indicate that variants are present in our area and on campus.

The Lehigh Valley continues to distribute COVID-19 vaccines wherever it can. On Friday, St. Lukes University Health Network is holding a vaccine site at the Hispanic Center Lehigh Valley for residents aged 65 and older in South Bethlehem.

The Lehigh Valley has amassed more than 100,000 fully vaccinated residents, with a total of 102,262 fully vaccinated individuals  56,541 of them are in Lehigh County, and the other 45,721 are in Northampton County.

Lehigh County also has 46,025 partially vaccinated residents, and Northampton County has 42,968 partially vaccinated residents.

(Cant see the chart? Click here.)

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Connor Lagore may be reached at clagore@njadvancemedia.com.
6 Nigerian varsities get N6b for starters

Africa's quest for sustainable growth and development has received a big boost with the setting up of a USD100 million fund by billionaire businessman, Abdul Samad Rabiu.

To be known as the Abdul Samad Rabiu Initiative, the programme will focus yearly on four key areas critical to human development index (HDI) - Education, Health and Social Development sectors. The investment will be in infrastructure and capacity development.

In a statement, Rabiu, who turned 60 last year, said the annual grant will be split in two halves with his native Nigeria benefitting $50m and the rest of Africa sharing $50million.

For starters, six Nigerian universities will each receive N1billion in the first phase. The institutions, drawn from the nation's six geopolitical zones, include Ahmadu Bello University, University of Maiduguri, University of Nigeria, University of Benin, University of Ilorin, and University of Ibadan.

In the release personally signed by him, a somewhat emotional Rabiu said: "It is with the blessings of the Almighty, my family, colleagues, the support of my community and the backing of my conscience, that I announce the launch of the Abdul Samad Rabiu Initiative, with an Africa Fund endowment of USD 100 million every year starting from this year, 2021; USD $50 million to Nigeria and USD $50 million to the rest of our beloved continent.

"Over the years as a corporate, and through the BUA Foundation, we have been actively involved in corporate philanthropy in various sectors  from health, education, community development, water and sanitation, sports, and even more recently, our work on COVID-19.

"However, with the Abdul Samad Rabiu Initiative and its annual USD$100million Africa Fund for Social Development, we are specifically extending this work to the Education, Health and Social Development sectors, starting with infrastructure and capacity development in these areas and supporting the efforts of various governments in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa.

"Our broad focus is equipping facilities, our researchers, healthcare practitioners and community-level service providers, with the aim of providing sustainable solutions for generations to come.

BUA Group Philanthropist and BUA Group founder, Abdul Samad Rabiu

"They say life begins at 50; what they never tell you is that a pandemic can change your life at 60.

"In that year 2020, when I turned 60, at least two million others turned into memories, taken by this deadly virus. I watched millions become numbers in a global death toll and ancestors in the world beyond. The same pandemic that forced us humans to slow down, now forces our humaneness to square up. The plans I once took time to construct, now take up all my time.

"The challenges are manifold in various areas of our lives, from education, on to healthcare, and throughout social development.

"Therefore, based on the results of extensive deliberation over the course of a year, our first cohort for Nigeria will be NGN1billion each in grants to 6 universities in the 6 geopolitical zones in Nigeria, towards the initiation and upgrading of infrastructure, where applicable. The universities in the first phase include Ahmadu Bello University, University of Maiduguri, University of Nigeria, University of Benin, University of Ilorin, and University of Ibadan. These grants will be directed towards projects that will be delivered by the Abdul Samad Rabiu Initiative for the project duration.

"For accountability, we will present annual reports, with all activities overseen by a sterling board of trustees. More importantly, I am counting on you as beneficiaries, end-users and therefore custodians of these projects to hold the Abdul Samad Rabiu Initiative to account; contact, commend, recommend or complain to us on asrafrica.org.

"Over the course of the year, I expect to also announce funding opportunities of USD $50 million for the rest of Africa  we are currently in talks with our stakeholders and other partners and announcements will be duly made.

"As the world tries to claw its way back to business as usual, the Abdul Samad Rabiu Initiative's Africa Fund for Social Development and Renewal aims to be a modest reminder to us all that until our health, education and other development issues are fixed, business as usual in these times, means business as brutal. We pledge to continue to do what we can to support ongoing efforts by various governments to bridge the development divide across Africa."

"This is my promise. This is the goal of ASR AFRICA."

* Johnson, a freelance journalist, sent this from Lagos.
I wonder how much of the random shit I use and never think about was made by Uyghurs in forced labor camps.

Reply

Thread

Link

Same. Lately, I've been wondering a lot if any of the things I use (that were made in China) were originally made by Uyghurs in forced labor camps. I also asked my parents not to buy products that were made in China.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

being proud of your country is cool, but when you end up just parroting whatever the government wants you to think....

Reply

Thread

Link

is it cool tho?

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Cool was maybe not the best word, but I don't think there's something inherently wrong with patriotism in the sense of feeling a sense of belonging with your country and wanting your country to progress, but as soon as you just turn a blind eye to serious allegations about your country that's where patriotism is just brainwashing.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Yeah, there are things that you (general, not just China) should be offended by on behalf of your country but those are usually opinions or fake news or stereotypes, not something the whole damn world knows about...

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

most actors/actresses have to denounce stuff like this if they don't want to get blacklisted by gov tho

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I disagree that any level of nationalism is "cool" tbh

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

I wouldnt be surprised if the Chinese government forced their celebrities to make those kind of statements or else be gone

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Any form of nationalism leads to more extreme forms -- ultimately jingoism and war



Borders are bad

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Being proud of your culture and nationalism are 2 diff things tho. Nationalism is a mental illness lol

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

If we'd get 100 bucks for every time someone "faces Chinese ire" , I'd

Reply

Thread

Link

I don't think US or European Union is doing anything over concerns regarding Uyghur concentration camps unfortunately, neither are Nike or H&M (Nike is well known for using sweat shop labour) but more as a political vendetta against China. But China's position on Uyghurs is indefensible. I just hope something comes out of this increased scrutiny, and the Uyghurs' conditions improve.



Idk much about the others, but Victoria, Lay and Jackson, have been excessively vocal about supporting the CCP, on their own accord, and maybe even beyond the mandated (if its mandated that is). I used to like Victoria a lot, I'm disappointed, but i'd be lying if i said i'm surprised

Reply

Thread

Link

yeah being in this part of the world (i.e. Asia) from what we can see it all looks like quite some showboating and nothing substantive that can actually be done. if there's any change to be made it has to be made internally within the mainland and (I'm not excusing what is happening when saying this) there is a lot of feeling in this part of the world as well that it's glass houses for everyone involved.



to be fair re. celebrities having peculiar takes on things in this part of the world (to put it mildly), there is a lot of extremism on attitudes.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I agree, I see the hypocrisy, but also, i'm tired of whataboutism, because it ultimately leads to maintenance of status quo

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I'm really curious but what is the general population's take on this? Are people calling out hypocrisy on Western countries/brand or are there, like you said, people who completely condemn the government?

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

I really do wonder what their personal views on China are especially with the way Chinese idols are treated in Korea and how they go back to China once that contract is over (I get it though more money, less nonsense). Jackson really seems like a huge nationalist to me though bc he's always emphasizing how he's from Hong Kong !!!CHINA!!! and is always talking about promoting specifically chinese artist. This isn't necessarily bad but seeing as how he's moved to mainland you can't want to succeed that bad and not be down with the CPC.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

I mean...well... I feel like that one Riz Ahmed gif



This was inevitable, I don't see this de-escalating any time soon

Reply

Thread

Link

Now Im curious which gif

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

The one where he looks completely resigned and just shrugs and nods

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

the (mandarin) statements are so very in line with the kind of statements / documents I come across from mainland companies as part of my (totally non-political) job - if it helps anyone's consideration of the matter these are really not necessarily personal at all.



Edited at 2021-03-25 10:33 am (UTC)

Reply

Thread

Link

Well, a lot of the Chinese celebrities who were former Kpop idols continue to disappoint me. Can't believe that I used to stan Victoria at some point.



I'm looking for a new phone and it's almost impossible to buy a phone that wasn't made in China (or some parts were made in China). I really don't want to buy anything knowing that it was possibly made by Uyghurs in forced labor camps.



Edited at 2021-03-25 10:39 am (UTC)

Reply

Thread

Link

The biggest Xinjiang product is cotton and the US is trying to ban Xinjiang sourced cotton. But now CCP is moving Uyghurs around the country to fill positions at state owned or aligned factories thousands of km away to make other goods and the west can't easily track which factories have these forced Uyghur laborers.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Thanks for the information!



The CCP continues to be the scum of the earth. I feel terrible for the forced laborers. First, they are working against their will and now they are forced to leave their home region.



I haven't bought any new clothes since summer 2020. I admit I usually buy my clothes from Zara (which isn't innocent either) but I stopped buying from H&M and Nike a few years ago.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Uhm. Fucking insane.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Crap. I have recently been buying diabetic socks from China thinking it was an innocuous thing. So much for that.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

jfc

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Maybe a second hand or refurbished phone? I can only speak for my experience but I fully admit to being indoctrinated into the iOS platform so Im unlikely to switch off it, but there are some good refurbished options that work as fast as brand new ones and at least its not using up brand new resources?

Ugh I hate myself I sound like a shill

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

it's beyond me how politics aren't intervening AT ALL.

Reply

Thread

Link

I know the celebrities were almost certainly pressured in response to the recent sanctions by the US/Canada/EU but also like, no one's career is more important than oh you know, genocide.

Reply

Thread

Link

i used to always think this way but its clear that at least in victorias case she very firmly believes in everything the ccp puts out and supports them 100%, with or without pressure. shes so vocal about it even when i mostly feel like she doesnt even need to be

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

oh, no, I'm sure some if not all of the people making statements believe in the CCP's propaganda but but also even if they were pressured like - so what? Their careers will never be nearly as important as not denying an active genocide.



But yeah, the timing of the multiple statements more than a year after the statements from the corporation is certainly in response to the sanctions. Probably a coordinated outreach by the CCP combined with Weibo furor.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Honestly, I come from an authoritarian country that's committing genocide too, and if you speak out, you and your whole family can get arrested. It's not right, but, some people are just more inherently selfish than others. They'd rather keep themselves and their families safe rather than help out a group of people that they dont know.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

The thing with the CCP though is that they will intervene if you go AGAINST them. See Jack Ma, or FBB who didn't pay her taxes to the govt. CCP is not going to go after every single influential person who simply did not comment. They had that choice. Going pro China is an active choice to choose money over morals, like your last line says.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

I don't know what it was or where but i remember watching a video where they interviewed regular Chinese people on the streets about Uyghurs or maybe Tibetans and the stuff they said just spoke to the volumes that the CCP lies to their own people and forces them to believe if they don't want to end up under investigation themselves.

Reply

Thread

Link





https://instagram.com/p/CMcgBqyLxKL Garment workers in both Nike and H&M's supply chains haven't been able to afford food throughout the pandemic. Neither of these companies have ever accepted their responsibility to pay garment workers a living wage, and refuse to compensate for loss of income over the last year. They have a lot of fucking nerve to even pretend to have a conscience when it comes to labour rights.

Reply

Thread

Link

I think most everything we wear/use was made under terrible circumstances for workers.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

i am sad as a former fan of vic and as a recent enjoyer of wang yibo and tan songyun dramas/works that they are like this. but honestly im delusional if i think that not all big celebs in china would do this and accept the lies from the ccp even with/without pressure from the public. like i think weve given chinese celebs too much of a pass by saying that if they dont do this then the public would turn against them, when even without the pressure theyd be behind the ccp 100%.



i hate that recently ive been into watching chinese dramas and variety shows because i feel like im consuming content that supports the government in some way, but like at the same time this is the content that has been comforting to me in these times. being able to watch content in your native language that is mostly fluff where it can take my mind off whats happening in life...i used to watch a lot of k-dramas and shows but having to focus to read subtitles all the time gets tiring, whereas i can put these in the background and listen without fully paying attention.



idk anyway im aware of whats happening and im against everything the ccp represents and does (still following everything happening in HK closely) but i dont know how to stop consuming media from china when ive really come to rely on it for enjoyment. idk

Reply

Thread

Link

It's so complicated. I know that that doesn't mean very much when there are very real people who are at the heart of the genocide the CCP is carrying out, but it is complicated.



Sometimes I think to myself, if I stopped consuming this media/product, whatever it is, there are still going to be millions of people consuming it. I'm a drop in the ocean. And then I think, but if everyone who had ethical concerns also thought that way, that's useless. Maybe all of us together would be more than a drop.



And it's impossible to say, usually, if more of us dropping the content we are ethically uncomfortable with would have an impact, but when it comes to content in Mandarin/Cantonese, made for audiences in mainland China, you are absolutely just a drop. There simply aren't enough people who have ethical issues with the content in that targeted audience of hundreds of millions.



At the end of the day, you can't do anything to single handedly stop the genocide, free Tibet/Taiwan/Hong Kong, and whatever other atrocities we want to attribute to the CCP. And you do deserve to feel comfortable, and consume content in your native language. If it stops being comfortable for you, then maybe it's a sign to pull back.



But, like. It's complicated. It's so complicated. That's all I can say with any certainty.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

i appreciate this response so much. it is definitely complicated and youre right for this content specifically i am a drop in the bucket. i dont want to be flippant about it so ill continue to keep this top of mind as i consume the content and when it becomes too much i will stop. thanks!!!

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I think you're also putting too much pressure on yourself bb. Like, it's really commendable that you're/we're trying to be ethical in what we consume but it's not 100% feasible considering that, although every action counts, we are up against huge governments, capitalism, history and a whole bunch of things that go way beyond our reach as individual citizens. Like, i'm not saying we should let these things go but Westerners too would have to stop consuming EVERYTHING because we're no better than China tbh. I think making an effort to the best of your abilities (like how you can control where your money goes or streaming content that doesn't generate revenue, for ex) is more than enough.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

I woke up absurdly early to this and I spent sometime going through comments and, I... theres a few translations from Weibo talking about their family going to pick cotton from this city/town and getting paid a decent amount for it and how a lot of their cotton production is machine driven (at least picking). So is the forced labor not the picking but other processes? Or is that maybe just one truth, but doesnt exclude the Uyghurs? Or are they deluded into thinking? I never know what to think on Chinese peoples positions on government related things? Because speaking out is dangerous there, right?

Reply

Thread

Link

According to a report released in December, while machine harvesting has increased in 83% of the regions, in the highest-production areas (mainly in southern Xinjiang) hand-picking is still required.

The report estimated about 70% of Xinjiangs cotton had to be hand-picked in 2019. More than half a million people were the victims of forced or coerced labour, just in harvesting alone.



This is on top of the internment camps, and the workers in factories where cotton is spun and textile products are manufactured.





Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

ive tried to do research on why uyghur people and not hui people get treated this way in the ccp and unfortunately cant figure out whats propaganda or unduly influenced by the government and whats not. like, i cant really even do research into hui people without coming across it. its wack.



Edited at 2021-03-25 12:53 pm (UTC)

Reply

Thread

Link

It's real. I've met Uyghur refugees in person. Ignore the lies spread by CCP sympathisers and tankies.



Edited at 2021-03-25 12:58 pm (UTC)

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I'm not at all disputing that it is real. Uyghur people are obviously abused and kidnapped to work camps.



The CCP argument is that it's to prevent religious terrorism~*~ but Hui people are also Muslim, so I was curious as to what may have happened or maybe is happening to Hui people. But Hui people I've met don't talk about it at all and I can't find anything academically or colloquially because pro-CCP propaganda or arguments about said propaganda clog up every search engine.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

but also, yes, the way tankies try to paint this as anti-communist propaganda is super fucking gross. i didn't see the "tankies" part of this comment before and just wanted to specifically thank you for mentioning it. i am so sick of people getting into communism and then getting stuck in this phase of, "it's all propaganda!"



every time someone rolls through with, "none of that happened, only actual criminals were imprisoned, this is just propaganda!" i want to talk about some of my dear friends' stories of family members dying during the cultural revolution, but they're not my story to tell and i'm paranoid it could somehow damage their family members who still hold ccp citizenship. it's like 99% of internet maoists have never met chinese elders.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

I just found out yesterday there are a bunch of leftists who think this entire thing is Western propaganda and sinophobia... WHAT? And from the leftists no less... (I identify as socialist/leftist)??? It's mindblowing. They have videos and interviews of the victims. How can you just say they're making it up. It's as disgusting as Holocaust truthers. Makes me sick

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link
New casting has been revealed for Death Drop in the West End.

The "Drag-atha Christie" murder mystery experience will be recommencing its run from 19 May at the Garrick Theatre, with socially distanced audiences.

Making their West End debuts will be Willam as 80s pop sensation Shazza, alongside Latrice Royale as Summer Raines, a glamorous American weather girl living in London and Myra Dubois as The Lady.

LoUis CYfer, Anna Phylactic and Holly Stars  who all performed in the show's original run last year  will return to reprise their co-starring roles.

Willam said: "I'm excited to be in the West End with my breast friend Latrice Royale in Death Drop, a spectacular drag musical murder mystery. No spoilers please (I DID IT)."

Tickets for the show are on sale now, with the piece set for an eight-week run until 11 July.

The show is penned by Stars, based on an idea by Christopher D Clegg, and directed by Jesse Jones.

Tickets are on sale now.

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.
Research carried out by Tech Research Asia for data management specialist Commvault found that 60% of companies surveyed had experienced at least one cyber attack in the last 12 months, and of those, 80% lost data as a result.

Commvault area vice president for ANZ David Rajkovic told iTWire "As Australia and New Zealand organisations continue to evolve into hybrid workplace operations, massive amounts of data is being generated across every business function.

"This data sprawl, is a business-critical problem, especially in the light of the current challenging cybersecurity landscape  robust data management and strict controls on the data environment can help avoid breaches.

"Unfortunately, 60 per cent of the companies we spoke to have experienced some form of a cyberattack over the last 12 months. 80% of those attacked lost data as a result. Firms need to think beyond backup, be proactive and shift to a recovery-ready state so that when an attack occurs, compromised data is 100% recoverable."

Among the other findings:

Data continues to grow rapidly, by an average of 40% in 2020 and a forecast 41% in 2021. However, 80% of that expected growth will be stored in the cloud.

72% of ANZ companies said this additional data is valuable to the business, and that it poses a significantly higher risk if lost, corrupted, or compromised.

Hybrid infrastructure is the default for data storage. 67% of respondents say that the operational benefits comes at a cost in terms of management effort. In particular, 70% of businesses agree that storing data in more places makes it harder to track and manage.

The survey identified five key challenges for businesses.

Data storage optimisation Managing the costs of an ever growing set of data is at the top of the priories list for businesses.

Data classification Incorrectly classified data can be just as difficult to manage as unstructured data.

Data protection Ensuring that only authorised personnel are access any given data set is vital.

eDiscovery Companies around the world need to comply with Freedom of Information acts that can call for specific information about people to be made available on request. Ensuring that systems can provide this data without identifying others is a regulatory necessity.

Compliance The next common data management regulation revolves around the need to keep data within a specific territory.

89% of organisations in Australia and 78% in New Zealand have developed data management plans to take into account these and other issues. But 26% of these plans have not been put into practice, and 41% have not been updated in the last three months.

280 businesses in Australia and New Zealand were surveyed. Among their observations were:

"Our [data] priorities are to ensure we don't suffer from data sprawl. We need to categorise the data, understand where it is, what are the assets, how to best manage them it's more than just a tech focus, it's a business focus as well."  University of Melbourne

"A year after we moved to Microsoft Teams, we saw our Office 365 data grow by 30TB. It didn't exist a year ago."  Mater Group

"Do we get value from our data? We've dramatically improved over the last two years. At that point, it [data] was piling up, and there was some uncertainty about what we had and where it was. We've worked hard to cleanse the data, and about one year ago, we started to see good improvements."  Norwood

Download ANZ Market Analysis: The State of Data Readiness.


Exterior of the packaged 2,000 kVA diesel generator

TOKYO, Mar 25, 2021 - (JCN Newswire) - Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engine & Turbocharger, Ltd. (MHIET), a part of the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group, has developed a 2,000 kVA diesel generator with the highest output level in a Japanese-made packaged generator, used mainly in facilities as such as factories, hospitals, office buildings, and data centers. Sales of the new system will officially begin in April.Packaged generators are systems in which the engine, generator, and cooling system are covered. This provides weatherproofing when the system is installed outdoors, as well as sound insulation to reduce the mechanical noise of the diesel engine. The new generator delivers continuous operation for more than 168 hours (one week) and a quick startup time of 10 seconds from power failure. Revisions to the package design and other quality improvements have reduced its weight by 20% compared to previous models, with improved transportability and maintenance.In addition, the generator was designed to be a cubicle certified product(1) compliant with the Fire Service Act, giving it a more simple approval process during installation. MHIET has applied for five patents in relation to the design and manufacturing of the generator.Going forward, MHIET will offer a broad lineup of generators from 500 kVA to 2,750 kVA to a wide range of industries in order to meet the anticipated increase in demand for distributed power generation(2), as well as to provide support to strengthen BCP(3) and resilience(4) for natural disasters and emergencies. MHIET will pursue ways to offer packaged generators with even greater output while also requiring fewer resources with compact and lightweight generators.(1) A certified product that meets the technical standards of the Nippon Engine Generator Association (NEGA), the accredited certification body of the Fire and Disaster Management Agency (FDMA).(2) A form of power supply in which comparatively small-scale generators are placed in a distributed manner near the areas of consumption.(3) Business Continuity Plan(4) A range of measures including developing infrastructure resilient to natural disasters, bolstering cooperation with business operators for swift recovery, and strengthening communication.Source: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.Copyright 2021 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
It is reported that in recent days, Germany has successively approved the launch of a number of new crown self-test products. The German Federal Ministry of Health hopes to curb the new crown epidemic through a large number of free rapid screenings and self-inspections. The people call on the government to gradually relax the blockade based on the promotion of rapid antigen testing.

In addition to vaccination, rapid testing is also an important part of curbing the new crown epidemic. The German health department supports more COVID-19 tests, believing that popularizing rapid tests and increasing the amount of tests can help people return to normal life as soon as possible. The Ministry of Health plan includes the provision of free rapid antigen testing services, implemented by trained personnel in testing centers, clinics or pharmacies. The specific implementation plan will be discussed in the anti-epidemic consultation between the federation and the states on March 3.

Affected by the Germany launches rapid antigen screening, the sis2 market is changing rapidly. These changes are indicators of market growth. This year-on-year upward trend in the market indicates that the next February 2021-2026 will show an oval but steady growth. If you are looking for sis2 or buy sis2 in bulk, please send an email to: sales 2 @nanotrun.com .

The price of sis2 continues to be affected by factors such as market growth momentum, various opportunities and challenges. However, during the forecast period from 2020 to 2026, the global sis2 sales market is expected to continue to be above average. The growth rate will continue to increase. It is expected that from today to next week, the price of sis2 will increase to a certain extent.

Due to changes in consumer demand, import and export conditions, and various investigations on the development of sis2, the cost of sis2 is constantly changing. Taking into account the current market macroeconomic parameters, value chain analysis, channel partners, demand and supply, the cost of sis2 will also be affected to a certain extent. It is estimated that the cost of sis2 will increase slightly from today to next week.

However, KMPASS provides high purity sis2 with steady price. In order to feedback to old customers, the company is still in full operations to provide sis2 with competitive price. said Aimee, sales manager of KMPASS.

About KMPASS

KMPASS is a trusted global chemical material supplier & manufacturer with over 12 years experience in providing super high-quality chemicals and Nanomaterials. As a leading nanotechnology development and sis2 manufacturer, KMPASS dominates the market. Our professional work team provides perfect solutions to help improve the efficiency of various industries, create value, and easily cope with various challenges. If you are looking for sis2, please send an email to: sales 2 @nanotrun.com

OR go to the following link:

https://www.kmpass.com/chemicals/Tungsten-Disulfide-WS2-Powder-.html

https://www.kmpass.com/chemicals/Molybdenum-Disulfide-MoS2-Lubricating-Material-Powder-.html
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 23, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LeafLabs, an engineering consulting firm, today announced it will relocate its corporate headquarters to 1280 Cambridge St., Cambridge. Mass. The 17,800 square foot building, with a storied history that includes a time as an auto body shop, has been completely renovated to meet the needs of LeafLabs growing employee base and project roster. At a time when the majority of workers, including LeafLabs employees, are remote and the global workforce is feeling more isolated than ever, the company decided to invest in an eclectic space that will physically bring people together once it is safe to do so.

The new facility has been designed with noted architects Simeon Bruner and Daniel Raih from Bruner/Cott in Boston, whose work includes many building restorations and notable structures such as the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) and student centers at Vanderbilt University, University of Chicago, University of Georgia, University of Massachusetts, Boston University, Dartmouth College, Harvard, and MIT. The building is structured to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration and open communication among the staff, as well as allow for appropriate distancing with maximum ventilation to ensure safety while the COVID-19 pandemic lingers. The company plans to move in April.

We were very excited when the opportunity to purchase the building arose, said Andrew Meyer, LeafLabs founder and CEO. The space is a gem, a collection of antiquities and modern amenities and fits the innovative, entrepreneurial spirit of LeafLabs perfectly. We look forward to continued growth, collaboration and problem solving as a team in our new home.

Despite the challenges of the climate created by the global pandemic, LeafLabs has been able to retain all of their employees, fill positions, and generate new business, while maintaining and growing their solid client base. Taking advantage of the government Payroll Protection Program, the company has continued uninterrupted and been able to see many projects, including the purchase and build-out of the new space, to fruition.

LeafLabs is dedicated to helping solve the most complex problems in science and technology. The company provides strategy, engineering and product development to some of the leading organizations in the world including Airbus, Motorola and Google. Its neurosciences team works with DARPA and the NIH on grant funded research. As a group of young innovators, LeafLabs has organically grown into an incubator for new business, and as such, two startups, Pickle Robot Company and Aulera Authentication, have launched and spun off from the company. Both will be housed in the new headquarters.

About LeafLabsLeafLabs is a research and engineering services firm that enables startups, government agencies, academic institutions and global corporations to solve the worlds toughest computing and scientific challenges. Based in Cambridge, Mass., LeafLabs has three lines of business  technology consulting services, neuroscience grant-funded research, and a startup incubator. For more information visit www.leaflabs.com

Media Contact: Traci Massaro for LeafLabs TAMPublicrelations@gmail.com 617-877-1293

Business Contact: Josh Collins Josh@leaflabs.com 610-304-0183

Source: LeafLabs


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.
CALHOUN CITY, Miss. (WTVA) - The Calhoun City Board of Aldermen voted to suspend the city's police chief without pay pending the results of an investigation of allegedly falsifying time cards.

The Board voted Monday night during a special meeting to discuss Latana Williams' employment with the city.

The State Auditor's Office charged Williams with embezzlement for clocking in on-duty while working in another city at a retail store.

Read More - Calhoun City Police Chief arrested on embezzlement charge

Investigators arrested Williams on March 10 on the charges.

During the same meeting, City Clerk Raenell Moore submitted a formal letter to retire on March 31.

Moore told WTVA 9 News she had been talking about leaving the job for several weeks. She intends to spend more time with her family. She said the Board of Aldermen is already interviewing people for the job.

Also, during the Monday night meeting, Mayor Amye Hill announced she was stepping down from the post. Moore says Hill had put her home up for sale last year and is moving to the Mississippi Delta to be closer to her family.
By the fall, Enrique said he was struggling with substance abuse and suicidal thoughts. Hed felt depressed before, when he was coming to terms with his sexuality, but he had never wanted to harm himself. He slept away the hours he was not logged onto Zoom for classes. In retrospect, he attributes his depression to the shame he felt around his parents.
In a rare moment of self-admonition, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey admitted that the influential social media platform he co-founded may have contributed to the Capitol riots.

Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pa., asked during a Thursday hearing whether social media services contributed to the spread of misinformation that led to the Jan. 6 events, and Dorsey was the lone tech executive to say yes. The unrest at the Capitol on Jan. 6 left five dead, including a Capitol police officer.

Dorsey did attach a caveat to his response: But you also have to take into consideration the broader ecosystem, he said, per the New York Times. Its not just about the technological systems that we use.

Hours after the Capitol riots, Twitter was the first big platform to censure former President Donald Trump after he shared a video in which he called the rioters very special and unfairly treated, but wavered on removing the video from the site. YouTube and Facebook removed the video sooner than Twitter.

But those companies respective head honchos, Sundar Pichai and Mark Zuckerberg, did not answer Rep. Doyle, both instead opting to avoid the question, Newsweek reported. Pichai, Googles CEO, said it was a complex question, while Zuckerberg completely deferred responsibility on his platforms role in disseminating misinformation.

All three platforms are known avenues for misinformation, especially among the right.

A New York University study published earlier this month found that far-right misinformation was more engaged on Facebook than credible news, effectively forming a feedback loop in which it spread faster than credible news. A 2018 report from the Guardian also found that YouTubes algorithm makes it easy for viral misinformation to spread through the sites recommended clips.

As for Twitter, the site has taken a slightly less opaque role in curtailing misinformation in recent years  for instance, by repeatedly putting warnings on prominent pieces of misinformation by the likes of Trump and others  but still served as a viable platform for its spread, as evidenced by a Brookings Institution analysis published last year.

A Twitter spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from SFGATE.
(Newser)  The UK's spy agency has released its "hardest puzzle ever" in honor of Alan Turing's appearance on the Bank of England's highest-value banknote, the 50-pound bill. Turing"the first openly gay man to have his face on a banknote," per the Independentwas an English mathematician and computer science pioneer who helped break the German Enigma code during World War II and inspired many to join the Government Communications Headquarters. "So it seemed only fitting to gather a mix of minds from across our missions to devise a seriously tough puzzle to honor his commemoration on the new 50-pound note," says the agency's "chief puzzler," identified only as Colin. The puzzle includes a series of 12 riddles or puzzles, based on clues found on the bank note, which will enter circulation on Turings birthday, June 23, per Reuters.

story continues below

The first puzzle requires answers to a series of questions about the banknote and the Government Code and Cypher School, which became the GCHQ. The answers, to be arranged in a crossword-style puzzle, reveal a 7-letter clue. "Crack the answers to the first 11 puzzles which should give you 11 single words or names which youll need your very own Enigma simulator to decode!" the agency says. It predicts an experienced code breaker will need about seven hours to solve the full puzzle, per the Guardian. "It might even have left [Turing] scratching his head," says Colin, "although we very much doubt it!" GCHQ director Jeremy Fleming says the banknote reflects "a landmark moment" as it confirms Turing "as one of the most iconic LGBT+ figures in the world." He adds "his legacy is a reminder of the value of embracing all aspects of diversity." (Read more Alan Turing stories.)
Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, has announced the Top 50 Master's in Human And Family Development Degree Programs for 2021. The comprehensive research guide is based on an assessment of 193 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 193 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 Master's in Human And Family Development Degree Programs. To access the complete ranking, please visit: https://www.intelligent.com/best-masters-in-human-and-family-development-degree-programs/

2021 Master's in Human And Family Development Degree Programs featured on Intelligent.com (in alphabetical order):

Amberton University

Amridge University

Arizona State University

Auburn University

Boston University

Brigham Young University

Bryan College

California State University, Los Angeles

Capella University

Colorado State University

Concordia University, Saint Paul

Cornell University

East Carolina University

Florida State University

George Washington University

Harvard University

Iowa State University

Kansas State University

Kent State University

Liberty University

Lindsey Wilson College

Michigan State University

Missouri State University

Montana State University

Murray State University

New York University

North Carolina Central University

North Carolina State University

North Dakota State University

Ohio State University

Oklahoma State University

Oregon State University

Pacific Oaks College

Saint Mary's University of Minnesota

South Dakota State University

Syracuse University

Texas Tech University

Texas Woman's University

University of Alabama

University of Florida

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

University of Maryland

University of Missouri

University of Nebraska, Lincoln

University of New Hampshire

University of North Alabama

University of South Florida

University of Southern Mississippi

Vanderbilt University

Wilmington 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/.
Armenian acting minister: EU allocated EUR 68,700,000 to Armenia for budget support in 2020

Armenia Finance Ministry: MFA's budget grew by AMD 1,600,000,000 in 2020

Bodies and remains of Armenian soldiers are kept in morgue in Armenia's Martuni

White House confirms Biden-Erdogan meeting in Brussels

Armenia acting MOD touches upon priority directions for development of Armed Forces

Diaspora Armenian writer, publicist Toros Toranian dies

2 Armenian soldiers injured in scuffle with Azerbaijan, Armenian POW is hospitalized, Jun. 3 digest

Wedding held in Armenia's Shurnukh for first time since the war ended

EEU member states to finish preparing for negotiations over free trade zone in Iran in late June

Armenia Central Bank: Economic downfall in 2020 was due to decline in service and construction sectors

Armenia legislature adopts several bills in first reading

Armenia President meets with Nursultan Nazarbayev

Dejavu: Armenia ruling party distributes money for votes at Yerevan district election office

Chief Advisor to Karabakh President sacked

Russian MFA: Works are carried out to settle situation around Karabakh every day

Armenia opposition MP sounds alarm about Baku fabricating criminal cases against Armenian prisoners

Armenia acting health minister: I have apologized, I am not going to resign

Helga Schmid meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Armenia's deputy foreign ministers resigned or have heavy workload?

Dollar goes down in Armenia

Armenia Elections Oversight Committee reports Iranian citizenship of ruling party's MP candidate

Acting deputy minister: Only 17 of 711 Iran-Armenia power transmission line towers were installed by 2017

Armenia Parliament Council holding session

Armenia to host CSTO "Thunder-2021" military exercises

NYT: Chinese hackers launch cyberattack on New York city transportation authority

Armenia President to Kazakhstan counterpart: I would like to see much deeper cooperation between our countries

Armenia citizens shut down Etchmiadzin-Ashtarak road, complaining about lack of irrigation water

Armenia independent MP: Foreign minister and his deputies don't want to take part in treacherous acts

Armenia to get $11mn loan, 350,000 grant for agriculture

WHO worries about worsening mental health worldwide amid pandemic

Armenia health ministry on improper handling of Artsakh war victims bodies: There is no justification

Armenia bloc election foundation already in operation

Russia ambassador to Armenia paying working visit to Syunik Province (PHOTOS)

China pledges to step up resistance to foreign interference in Hong Kong

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: There can be no talk of corridor for Azerbaijan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on incumbent authorities: Wherever they flee, we will bring them by the feet

President: Impossible to ensure peace in region or stay in Artsakh without Russia army joint efforts

China Daily: Dispatch from Makit: Thriving in the desert

Karabakh President: We will never put up with being part of Azerbaijan, it is ruled out

Armenia MFA information department chief: All deputy FMs carrying out their duties

Ardshinbank invited children to the cinema on International Childrens Day

Armenia judiciary to have 10 more judges

Armenia acting premier: We had recorded 40% increase in tax revenues according to 2019 results

Armenia acting PM on Artsakh war casualties bodies: We have 50 remains in which case DNA was not separated

Azerbaijan authorities plan to "squeeze" everything from "terrorist show" related to Armenian captives

Ameriabank announces a contest for bank card design

108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia parliament convenes special session

Armenia interim government holding Cabinet meeting

Catholicos of All Armenians heads for Syunik Province, Artsakh

World oil prices going up

Iran loses right to vote in UN General Assembly

Newspaper: Armenia authorities come up with new way of punishing unwanted characters

Newspaper: Russia army Southern Military District deputy commander to arrive in Yerevan Thursday

Lebanese Armenian man taken prisoner by Azerbaijan is hospitalized

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Are we getting under the burden? Then lets get under to the end

Armenia acting health minister on keeping fallen soldiers bodies in bags: What else should they be kept in?

Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation

Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow

2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik

Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center

"Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans

Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel

Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna

Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations

US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies

Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week

Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection

Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential

Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement

Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues

Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo

Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation

NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident

Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices

Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over

Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest

Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia

Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia

Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels

Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters

Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021

Dollar is stable in Armenia

Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector

Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out

Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe

Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia

Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border

Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor

Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue

Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia

Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this

Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia
ADVERTISEMENT

Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State on Thursday led his counterparts from Sokoto and Zamfara States to the office of the European Union in Abuja to seek the support of the union for tackling the escalating insecurity in the North-west region of Nigeria.

The spokesperson for the Katsina governor, Abdulhadi Bawa, said in a statement that the governors held a closed door meeting with officials of the Mission in Nigeria led by Ketil Karlsen, an ambassador

According to Mr Bawa, the meeting discussed the various challenges in the North-west region, most importantly,, that of security.

He said the meeting afforded them the opportunity to solicit more support from the EU and other members of the diplomatic community also present at the meeting.

Also commenting, Sokoto State Governor Tambuwal said the meeting provided the Mission first hand information from the governors on the security of the entire region.

The information, the governors said, will enable the EU and the other parties to evaluate and select the areas in which they can offer their support and intervention.

Earlier, the head of the EU Mission in Nigeria, Mr Karlsen, told journalists that the EU and other international communities are eager to assist the North-West zone in creating the enabling environment and support to bring about the desired development, the statement said.

The North-west region is under a siege of violent crimes including kidnapping and killings that have caused mass displacement of residents

In Zamfara, one of the state worst hit, a committee set up by government to find solutions to banditry in the state in its report said over N3 billion had been collected by bandits as ransom in the state.

The report, which covered June 2011 to May 29, 2019, said the money was collected from the relatives of 3,672 victims,

It also said 4,983 women were widowed, 25,050 children orphaned and 190,340 persons displaced by banditry over a period of nine years in the state.

Also, it said Fulani herdsmen lost 2,015 cattle, 141 sheep and goats, 2,600 donkeys and camels to rustlers, while 147,800 vehicles, motorcycles and others were burnt at different times and locations within the period.
South Africa: Attorney arrested in SAPS branding case

Pretoria-based attorney, Reshay Ramsamy Naidoo, has been released on bail for his alleged role in the multi-million rand SAPS branding corruption case.

Ramsamy appeared at the Pretoria Magistrates Court on Wednesday and was granted R5 000 bail. He is facing charges of money laundering, theft, fraud and contravention of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (POCA) and acquiring of proceeds of unlawful activities.

In a statement, the National Prosecuting Authoritys (NPA) Investigating Directorate said Ramsamys charges emanate from laundering R920 000 from his attorney trust account which he transferred to his business account. He disguised it as fees.

In August last year, the suspect allegedly told his client, Prinesh Naidoo, to transfer the R920 000 from his business account - Imbobezi Enterprises - to him for safekeeping. This, said the Directorate, was as he anticipated that the unit and the National Police Commissioner's special task team would be freezing his clients account.

Prinesh, trusting Ramsamy, transferred the money, which Ramsamy later squandered. The funds given to Ramsamy belonged to Kishene Chetty, reads the statement.

It believed the flow of transactions further point to the fact that the companies involved in the R85 million branding case were fronting.

SAPS spokesperson Vishnu Naidoo said the attorney handed himself over to the Task Team on Tuesday.

These investigations began in September 2018 which saw the arrest of 71 accused to date which included very high ranking police officers, business men and women, said Naidoo.

Almost every SAPS employees implicated in the case has since been dismissed for their alleged involvement in the cases.

Ramsamy is the 46th person to be charged in the matter. There are 72 accused in total, including the companies.

All accused will appear today at the Pretoria Magistrates Court. The group is accused of allegedly manipulating procurement processes in favour of specific companies.

The case is expected to be postponed for further investigations, the Directorate said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-03-25. 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.
The battle for Tamil Nadu is intensifying and every candidate in the poll fray is giving it their best shot to win over people. The assembly election slated next month is witnessing some unique campaigning.

While candidates are filing nominations and releasing manifestos, there seems to be lot at stake. The contestants are taking extreme measures to pull ahead of their rivals, but in doing so, some of them are coming up with otherworldly promises in their manifestos.

Also read: Wearing 5 kg Gold Jewellery, Independent Candidate Files Nomination Papers For Tamil Nadu Polls

Representational Image/PTI

An independent candidate, Saravanan from South Madurai, has listed a number of outlandish welfare schemes in his poll promise, which include an iPhone, a car, helicopter, a boat robot and much more.



Talk about making an impression, aye!

Madurai South makkaley... Bonanza awaits you. This guy is promising  1 crore in your account (not jujubi  15 lakh). pic.twitter.com/L4KnEH2lx6  RadhakrishnanRK (@RKRadhakrishn) March 24, 2021

As he campaigns determinedly, Saravanan released his manifesto, stating that if he won, he will deliver on his promises that will see every every household provided with one iPhone, a car, a helicopter, a boat, a robot, a three-storied house with a swimming pool. He also plans on giving Rs 1 crore for youths and a 100-day vacation to the moon. I love vote you to the moon and back?

Also read: NRIs Could Soon Be Able To Vote Via Post: Here's What You Need To Know About It

Twitter

That is not all. Saravanan is a man of the future and has also promised multiple infrastructure development projects that include a space research centre, a rocket launch site and more prominently, an artificial iceberg that will be built to a height of 300ft in his South Madurai constituency to fight the summer heat.



Over the past assembly elections, Tamil Nadu's two big political rivals - AIADMK and DMK, have offered many freebies in their manifestos. From free colour TVs to laptops and mixer grinders, the state is no stranger to election perks.

While to an extent, those promises were delivered on, Saravanan's claims are simply crazy and he will have his work cut out if he goes on to win.

Also read: COVID Patients Don PPE Kits And Go Out To Vote In Kerala Local Body Elections
BRIDGEPORT  He exited the office of police chief last September after being arrested for cheating to get the job.

But Armando Perez still came out on top in 2020, earnings-wise.

For the second year in a row Perez, who could not be reached for comment, made the most money of any other municipal Bridgeport worker, according to a list of the 100 highest paid staffers last calendar year released to Hearst Connecticut Media through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Public Facilities Deputy Director Jose Tiago, who was fired in early 2019 for his alleged involvement in the illicit sale of scrap metal and then returned to work last June after fighting the termination, was fourth with $223,587.37.

Just over half of the roster included members of the police force thanks in part to five- and in some cases six-figure overtime payments.

Perez while running the department did not receive overtime. His $267,449.26 total earnings included $2,775 worth of longevity pay  a $75-per-year bonus given all veteran city staffers for 10 or more years of service  and $152,386.46 for unused time off.

A significant portion of that latter pot of money  $128,873.92 according to the city  was owed Perez from when Mayor Joe Ganim promoted him from acting to permanent department head with a five-year contract in late 2018. At that time Perez was allowed to cash in a careers worth of unused vacation, holiday, sick and compensatory benefits, to be divvied up into a handful of payments that also helped land him at the top of 2019s earnings list.

The balance of Perezs remaining 2020 unused time off reimbursement was accrued during his brief tenure as chief, which was abruptly cut short last September with his arrest following a federal criminal probe for conspiring to rig the 2018 search for a top cop.

Perez subsequently resigned, pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced in April. Although the scandal did not impact his benefits, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong is in the process of trying under state statute to reduce or eliminate Perezs annual $102,072.36 pension as a further penalty for his wrongdoing.

Also on Monday the City Council agreed to accept $299,407 total restitution from Perez and his co-conspirator, former Personnel Director David Dunn. A few council members argued the pair should pay more.

Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media

Dunn was the 63rd highest paid Bridgeport employee last year, earning $155,947.68, including $51,439.74 for unused days off. Tong has also targeted Dunns $80,769.24 pension.

Meanwhile Acting Police Chief Rebeca Garcia, the former assistant top cop under Perez, was 53rd on the 2020 list, making $159,604.93.

Garcia when promoted to assistant chief in late 2019 had pledged to crack down on department overtime, and she only earned $2,895.08 of that last year.

In contrast several other officers earned five-figure overtime payments, and nearly a handful earned six figures: Ilidio Pereira  $127,283.18; Mark Blackwell  $107,467.14; John Gale  $105,437.50; and Daniel Faroni  103,564.31.

Officers can earn inside overtime for extra hours worked on the job, and outside overtime policing, for example, at private construction sites. The latter costs are supposed to be reimbursed by the businesses involved.

According to the citys budget office, when the 2020 fiscal year ended last June 30, the police force had gone $2.2 million over its $4.7 million overtime allotment.

While those four cops and many of their fellow law enforcers received some of the largest total earnings on the 2020 list, three civilians came in second, third and fourth highest paid. Schools Superintendent Michael Testani followed Perez and made $246,234.07. Marlene Siegel, the school districts chief financial officer and a perennial top earner, came in third and brought home $227,671.81.

Tiagos $223,587.37 total earnings put him in fourth place.

Ganim had fired Tiago in early 2019. Tiago fought the termination and an independent arbitrator last April reduced his punishment to a 90-day suspension, with that time having been served. The city did not file an appeal and Tiago returned to work last June.

Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media

Tiagos base salary in 2020 was $132,530. But the arbitrator had also ordered the Ganim administration to pay him restitution for the months he was without a job, giving him a considerable one-time hike in earnings.

Tiagos lawyer, Fred Paoletti, commenting on his clients salary, said an independent arbitrator issued a decision that Tiago be returned to work with back pay, and Bridgeport did not appeal that ruling: The city honored the arbitration ruling and this was what they were obligated to pay and Mr. Tiago was entitled to.

As for Ganim, Bridgeports mayor was 42nd on the list, up one notch from 2019. He earned $165,284.52 in 2020, including $5,821.40 worth of unused time off for the year, and a $1,200 longevity bonus.

The mayor first ran the city from 1991 until he was convicted of corruption in 2003. He waged a political comeback in 2015 and in 2016 made $145,611. Re-elected to another four year term in 2019, Ganim has benefited over the last five years from regular salary increases provided all elected, unionized and non-union supervisors, as well as being allowed to bridge his benefits.

Bridging means that, rather than having to start from scratch benefits-wise after being sworn in in December 2015, he was allowed to pick up where he left off from his previous 12 years on the payroll, making Ganim eligible for more longevity and time off than newer hires.
The custom entity we take a look at today goes by the name of Rubrica, a flawless two-wheeled machine brewed under Tamarit Motorcycles roof. Ever since the companys foundation back in 2015, Spains beloved moto artists released as many as 81 bespoke undertakings, some of which weve featured on our website in the past.Take, for instance, a classy Triumph Bonneville-based showstopper or a reworked Thruxton 1200 R named  Dakota Iglesias . Its quite safe to conclude that Tamarits specialists are your go-to guys when seeking to give one of Triumphs machines a sensational makeover. I just cant seem to get enough of this workshops surreal masterpieces, so lets take a look at another!Before arriving on their doorstep, the bike you see here was an undistinguished Thruxton 900 from the British manufacturers range. Its air-cooled 865cc parallel-twin engine is capable of producing up to 68 untamed ponies at 7,400 rpm, along with 51 pound-feet (69 Nm) of twist at around 5,800 revs. This oomph travels to a chain final drive via a five-speed transmission.As soon as this beast rolled into their garage, Elches aftermarket doctors wasted no time fabricating a pair of tiny fenders and a two-piece leather saddle in-house, and a new loop-style subframe module with integrated LEDs to hold it all in place. Between the engine and rear wheel, you will find K&N pod filters peeking out behind sculpted side panels.At the other end of the combustion cycle, Tamarit installed a custom exhaust system from its own inventory. Up front, the team fitted revised forks and a one-off triple clamp, while dual Hagon shocks handle rear suspension duties. Thruxtons cockpit flaunts a digital Motoscope Mini gauge from Motogadgets catalog and a set of clip-on handlebars wearing bar-end turn signals.After fitting a shiny skid plate below the parallel-twin mill, the experts proceeded to chrome-plate the engine covers, handlebars, and fork legs. Finally, Rubrica s gas tank was enveloped in a sexy midnight blue finish to wrap things up.
Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday virtually launched Central Scrutiny Centre (CSC), an initiative of Corporate Affairs Ministry, to scrutinise the filings by users under straight through processes. The finance minister also launched the mobile app of Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA).

The two initiatives aim to strengthen Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of 'Digitally empowered India', the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) said in a release.

The objective behind the launch of CSC is to ensure that data quality is uncompromised and free from flaws, Sitharaman said. CSC will primarily scrutinise the filings made by users under straight through processes, identify data quality issues and irregularities, and communicate the same to the concerned Registrar of Companies so that corrective steps can be taken to restore authenticity and correctness of data and it can be seamlessly shared with other regulators, if required.

On IEPFA's app, Sitharaman said, "The mobile app aims at achieving the goal of financial literacy, spreading investor awareness, education, and protection among investors. Our prime goal here is to push Ease of Living."

Also read: Regulation should not curb innovation in fintech sector: Shaktikanta Das

The app will have the facility of tracking the status and progress of IEPF claim refund process. It will also provide a mechanism for investors and common citizens to report on suspected fraudulent schemes, the release said. Currently, the app is available on Android based devices and can be downloaded from PlayStore.

Going ahead, the finance minister said, MCA would bring in more tech-enabled services for 'ease of doing business' and ease of living for the people. The ministry, she said, has taken multiple initiatives in the last couple of years to improve 'ease of doing business' in the country.

"Considering the dynamic nature of corporate compliance and regulatory ecosystem, the MCA will continue to upgrade the sampling mechanism, process workflow and technology to address the needs of stakeholders and promote ease of doing business in India," the release quoted finance minister as saying.

The increase in number of companies incorporated in India even during the COVID-19 pandemic is the result of initiatives like introduction of integrated form SPICe+ & Agile Pro for incorporation of companies, which has provided one stop solutions to promoters desirous of setting up a business entity, she said.

"This year till February 2021, about 1.38 lakh companies have been incorporated as compared to about 1.16 lakh companies in the corresponding period of last year by Central Registration Centre, an increase of over 17 per cent," Sitharaman said.

Also read: Don't see rating downgrade for India: FM Nirmala Sitharaman
Shillong/Agartala, March 25 : Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day Bangladesh visit, experts and top officials of the two neighbours felt that India-Bangladesh relations are further improving as the new connectivity projects are being operationalised.

In connection with the three events, Prime Minister Modi would be visiting Bangladesh, second time in six years after 2015, on Friday-Saturday at the invitation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Modi's two-day visit is in connection with the commemoration of 'Mujib Borsho', the birth centenary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, 50-years of the establishment of diplomatic ties between India and Bangladesh and golden jubilee of Bangladesh's liberation war.

India's External Affairs Ministry's Director (Bangladesh-Myanmar) Kartik Pande said that growing connectivity projects facilitate further coming closer of the two neighbours.

Participating in a virtual discussion on Wednesday Pande highlighted the recently inaugurated "Maitre Setu" over the Feni river between Sabroom (Tripura) and Ramgarh (Bangladesh).

"Tripura would be northeast India's gateway to Bangladesh," he added.

On March 9, Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually opened the 1.888 km bridge in southern Tripura's Sabroom, which is 72 km by road from the Chittagong sea port.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also virtually addressed the function organised to inaugurate the double lane Feni bridge named "Maitre Setu" (friendship bridge).

The government owned National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) has constructed the vital bridge at a cost of around Rs 129 crore and the 1,476 metre stretch of approach roads, of which 1,193 metre falls in the Indian territory and the remaining 283 metre is in Bangladesh.

The Feni bridge would enormously facilitate transportation of goods and heavy machinery to and from the Northeastern states from various parts of the country and abroad using the Chittagong sea port, Kolkata port and other ports in India and Bangladesh.

Saying that Bangladesh lies at the intersection of India's "Act-East and Neighbourhood first policies", Pande said that the government's initiatives are on to restore the physical connectivity of pre-partition times and more such steps in this direction.

Participating in the virtual discussion, former Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Mohammad Shahidul Haque said that Bangladesh-India relationship is at the centre of Bangladesh's foreign policy.

Haque, currently Professorial Fellow of Bangladesh's North South University also stressed the need to work for developing a better narrative around shared borders, bringing border killings to zero and suggested innovative projects such as a university located at the border where communities from both countries can be benefitted.

The virtual dialogue titled "50 Years of Bangladesh: India-Bangladesh Relations: New Avenues and the Way Forward" was organised on Wednesday by Shillong-based think-tank and research group Asian Confluence as a run up to Indian Prime Minister Modi's visit to Bangladesh.

Economic Advisor to Bangladesh Prime Minister Mashiur Rahman in his speech highlighted that India-Bangladesh relation has moved towards a much deeper and border aspect of cooperation and suggested that the next step should be deeper cooperation in water sharing and water resource management amongst other areas.

'Asian Confluence's Executive Director Sabyasachi Dutta said that 'the ongoing efforts being made by governments in both countries need to be complimented by more vibrant people to people and institutional exchanges and collaborations to converge physical connectivity with psychological connectivity and bring about the next phase of growth'.

In the online dialogue, the panelists included Prof. Mustafizur Rahman, Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Policy Dialogue, Dhaka, Prof. Prabir De, ASEAN-India Center, RIS, New Delhi, Gautam Lahiri, eminent journalist, Smruti S. Pattanaik, Research Fellow, MP-IDSA, New Delhi.

The dialogue was chaired by Asian Confluence's Governing Council member Ambassador Rajiv Bhatia.

The experts also discussed various developmental issues and the future opportunities for strengthening the India-Bangladesh collaboration.

(Sujit Chakraborty can be contacted at sujit.c@ians.in)
LONDON, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is expanding its climate and sustainability capabilities by transforming its existing Center for Climate Action into a global BCG Center for Climate & Sustainability, bringing together over 550 experts across the firm. It comes as the firm is announced as the Consultancy Partner of the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26).

As part of this push, BCG is establishing Center for Climate & Sustainability teams in BCG offices around the world. These will incorporate expertise across the full range of sustainability topics, including decarbonization, climate innovation, transition financing, biodiversity, waste management, circular economy, sustainable agriculture, water management, and other ESG topics material to all sectors.

Building a New Center for Climate & Sustainability

The expansion builds on the launch of BCG's Center for Climate Action in 2019. Initially focused on energy and industrial goods clients, the Center has broadened its focus and has served over 300 clients on 750 climate-related projects across a wide range of sectors since its founding.

The development follows BCG's announcement last September that it aims to reach net-zero climate impact by 2030 by reducing its carbon footprint and permanently removing any remaining emissions through nature-based and engineered solutions, while also committing to invest $400 million over the next decade in climate and environmental work across governments, industries, NGOs, and coalitions.

Previous BCG research has shown that 70 to 80% of the Paris Agreement goals are achievable with existing technologies, and full decarbonization of the world's major supply chains will only incur a 1 to 4% cost increase for end-consumer products. Fifty percent of our global economy depends directly on nature, and $100-150 trillion of investment is needed in the coming three decades to help protect the planet through financing the decarbonization transition and transforming companies and sectors.

Becoming the Consultancy Partner for COP26

The COP26 summit, hosted by the UK in Glasgow this November, will bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

BCG's role as Consultancy Partner complements its other efforts to help shape the global climate agenda through partnerships with the WEF (World Economic Forum), WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature), TED Countdown, SBTi (Science Based Targets Initiative), and CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project).

"We are at a critical juncture in the fight against climate change, and there is nothing more urgent than finding a path to net zero. In order to avoid irreversible damage, global emissions must be cut in half by 2030 to stay on track with Paris Agreement goals and reach net zero by 2050. This is not easy, but for business it represents both an imperative and opportunity to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. COP26 represents a pivotal moment in the global drive for businesses, governments, and society to take decisive action, and we are honored to be able to play a role in this," said Rich Lesser, CEO of BCG.

COP26 President Alok Sharma said, "I am pleased to welcome Boston Consulting Group as a COP26 Partner. By committing to reach net zero, and setting science-based targets to achieve this goal, they are joining the growing number of businesses committed to reducing their environmental impact and helping to drive decarbonization. I look forward to working with BCG in the months ahead as we continue to make progress ahead of COP26."

For media inquiries, please contact Eric Gregoire at +1 617 850 3783 or [email protected].

About Boston Consulting Group

Boston Consulting Group partners with leaders in business and society to tackle their most important challenges and capture their greatest opportunities. BCG was the pioneer in business strategy when it was founded in 1963. Today, we work closely with clients to embrace a transformational approach aimed at benefiting all stakeholdersempowering organizations to grow, build sustainable competitive advantage, and drive positive societal impact.

Our diverse, global teams bring deep industry and functional expertise and a range of perspectives that question the status quo and spark change. BCG delivers solutions through leading-edge management consulting, technology and design, and corporate and digital ventures. We work in a uniquely collaborative model across the firm and throughout all levels of the client organization, fueled by the goal of helping our clients thrive and enabling them to make the world a better place.

SOURCE Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

Related Links

www.bcg.com


As the coronavirus pandemic swept through New York early last year, Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration arranged for his family members and other well-connected figures to have special access to state-administered coronavirus tests, dispatching a top state doctor and other state health officials to their homes, according to three people with direct knowledge of the effort.

As part of the program, a state lab immediately processed the results of those who were tested, the people said, even as average New Yorkers were struggling to get tested in the early days of the pandemic because of a scarcity of resources. Initially, the lab was only capable of running several hundred tests a day for a state with 19 million residents.

The use of state resources to benefit people close to the governor raises serious ethical questions, experts said. New York law prohibits state officials from using their positions to secure privileges for themselves or others.

Administration officials declined to comment on Cuomo family members receiving testing priority, citing laws protecting health privacy. Officials said that home tests were provided to members of the public in communities that were hard-hit.

"We should avoid insincere efforts to rewrite the past. In the early days of this pandemic, when there was a heavy emphasis on contact tracing, we were absolutely going above and beyond to get people testing - including in some instances going to people's homes - and door to door in places like New Rochelle - to take samples from those believed to have been exposed to COVID in order to identify cases and prevent additional ones," Rich Azzopardi, a Cuomo spokesman, said in a statement.

"Among those we assisted were members of the general public, including legislators, reporters, state workers and their families who feared they had contracted the virus and had the capability to further spread it," he added.

The revelation of the testing program comes as the Cuomo administration is battling controversies on multiple fronts, including an investigation by the state attorney general into allegations of sexual harassment by the governor, which he has denied, and a federal inquiry into the state's reporting of covid-linked deaths in nursing homes.

Among those who benefited from the priority testing program was Cuomo's brother Chris, who was diagnosed with covid-19 in late March of 2020. The CNN anchor was swabbed by a top New York Department of Health doctor, who visited his Hamptons home to collect samples from him and his family, the people with knowledge of the matter said.

Chris Cuomo and CNN spokesman Matt Dornic declined to comment.

The same doctor, Eleanor Adams, now a top adviser to the state health commissioner, was also enlisted to test multiple other Cuomo family members, according to two people familiar with the program.

The coronavirus test specimens were then rushed - at times driven by state police troopers - to the Wadsworth Center, a state public health lab in Albany, where they were processed immediately, the people said. At times, employees in the state health laboratory were kept past their shifts until late into the night to process results of those close to Cuomo, two people said.

The specimens were shrouded in secrecy, marked only by initials or numbers. Results were then provided to the family members, the people with knowledge of the matter said.

The operations troubled some administration officials, who believed that it was an improper use of resources that helped those with influence over average New Yorkers, according to the people. The Albany Times-Union first reported that health officials were told to prioritize testing Cuomo relatives.

During the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, tests were exceedingly rare in New York, a state that soon became the nation's hotspot of covid-19 cases.

In February 2020, the Centers for Disease Control was routing tests to be handled at its central lab in Atlanta, leading to massive delays and frustration over faulty test kits. At the end of that month, the Wadsworth Center, New York's public health lab in Albany, received approval to begin covid-19 testing in state. "That moment would change history," Cuomo wrote in his book "American Crisis," which touts his leadership skills during the pandemic.

The lab could proceed under an FDA emergency use authorization for specimens that met clinical or epidemiological criteria, described at the time as "clinical signs and symptoms associated with COVID-19, contact with a probable or confirmed COVID-19 case, history of travel to a geographic locations where COVID-19 cases were detected, or other epidemiologic links for which COVID-19 testing may be indicated as part of a public health activity."

The Wadsworth lab began with a handful of tests and ramped up, but was still only able to process several hundred tests a day during the first week of March, state officials said at the time. Meanwhile, media reports were full of accounts from New Yorkers desperate to get tested - including some with symptoms and recent travel history who were turned away due to scarcity.

"I knew we were in trouble when four of my family members called asking how they could get tested," Cuomo wrote in his book.

By March 6, there was still "very limited testing capacity," according to Cuomo's account, and members of his social media team "had to work overtime" to try to dispute Trump's promise that "anyone who wants a test can get one."

On March 11, Cuomo held a press briefing in which he assailed the CDC for failing to adequately respond to the testing needs of the country and of New Yorkers. "Too little, too late," he said of their efforts.

At that point, Cuomo said the state lab at Wadsworth was only able to run "several hundred" tests a day.

Around mid-March, the state quietly began the VIP program that benefited Cuomo family members and other high-profile figures, according to the three people with familiar with the operation.

Adams, a public health expert, had to spend a number of days testing the governor's family members, the people with knowledge of the matter said.

Adams did not respond to multiple requests for comment, but officials with knowledge of the effort said it was not her idea and she was simply carrying out orders.

Separately, nurses working for the state were dispatched in two-person swabbing teams to test "dozens" of VIPs, some living in penthouses in Manhattan, according to one person with direct knowledge.

"We referred to them as 'specials,' " the person said.

Those tests were then driven to the Wadsworth lab by state troopers for expedited processing, according to the person with knowledge

The person said names of the patients were closely held by an assistant working for state health commissioner Howard Zucker and obscured throughout the expedited testing process, often through the use of numbers or letter initials or aliases. Such a process also skirted the effort to collect demographic data used to drive public health decisions in response to the deadly pandemic.

"It made it impossible to reconcile the data at the end of the day," the individual said.

When reached by phone on Wednesday, Zucker hung up on a Post reporter. He did not immediately respond to written questions.

Gary Holmes, a spokesman for New York State Department of Health, said in a statement: "You're asking professionals who took an oath to protect a patient's privacy to violate that oath and compromise their integrity. More than 43 million New Yorkers have been tested, and commenting on any of them would be a serious violation of medical ethics."

Beau Duffy, a spokesman for the state police, said that "thousands" of samples were brought to Wadsworth for testing during the early months of the pandemic. He said most of the samples came from state testing sites, nursing homes, drive-in sites and county offices. Duffy said he did not know if there were specific special requests for family members or other VIPs and did not know how many came from private homes. "I'm not sure there were specific records kept," he said.

The priority testing program raises several ethical concerns, experts said.

Lisa Lee, an epidemiologist and bioethicist at Virginia Tech, said the idea of preferred testing during a period of scarcity of resources is the "antithesis" of the concept of collective sacrifice and "morally problematic."

"The special treatment by knowing someone, or by being a well-off person is extremely frustrating, particularly when we've seen over and over again the absolute incredible disparities with covid-19. The people who really needed testing, needed treatment and needed attention early on were the people who were the least well-off and the most exposed," she said, referencing essential workers.

New York law bans state officials from using or attempting use "his or her official position to secure unwarranted privileges or exemptions for himself or herself or others, including but not limited to, the misappropriation to himself, herself or to others of the property, services or other resources of the state for private business or other compensated non- governmental purposes."

A 2019 presentation for state employees prepared by the state ethics commissions cites two examples of violations: one former senior Cuomo administration official who used state employees to clear his yard after a storm, and another who used his position to help secure his son a job. The former administration official was fired by Cuomo in 2012, and the second was forced into early retirement, according to the presentation which states that such violations are "chipping away at our public trust."

In his book, Cuomo describes how he reacted when he learned his daughters and ex-wife may have been exposed to covid-19. "The detective work of contact tracing fell to me," he wrote. "First, we needed to get my ex-wife Kerry, Cara's mother, tested, because she had definitely been in contact with a positive person and that was the protocol. In the meantime, those people in contact with Kerry needed to be quarantined."

Cuomo does not write who administered the tests for his family, but adds that they came back negative.

Later in the book, he writes that the March 14 announcement of the first covid-19 death in New York, an 82-year-old woman in Brooklyn, came "on the heels of the scare with my family."

Then Chris Cuomo, the governor's brother, announced on March 31 that he had tested posted for covid-19. Andrew Cuomo mentioned it during his daily briefing, which earned a regular and large audience during the first few months of the pandemic.

"My brother Chris is positive for coronavirus," the governor said. "Found out this morning."

In his book, Andrew Cuomo wrote that the diagnosis was "frightening" - even though his younger brother was not in at at-risk group.

"He was fortunate to have the best doctors available and all the help he needed," he wrote, adding that Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious-disease expert, spoke with Chris Cuomo to provide him medical advice.

As one of the highest profile media personalities to get sick with the virus, Chris Cuomo and CNN treated his diagnosis as a public service announcement. Throughout his illness, Cuomo broadcast his show from his basement in his Hamptons house and gave viewers regular updates on his progress, including through interviews with his brother and the network's resident medical expert Sanjay Gupta.

The revelation that one of the network's biggest stars received special medical treatment from his brother's administration raises ethical questions for CNN.

The network has already come under criticism for allowing Chris Cuomo to interview his brother repeatedly during the pandemic, giving the governor a major platform to tout the work of his administration. In doing so, CNN temporarily waived a rule it had in place that banned Chris Cuomo from interviewing his brother to avoid the personal conflict of interest. The network told the Associated Press it made an exception because it felt the conversations between the two brothers during the health crisis "was of significant human interest."

In recent weeks, Chris Cuomo has declined to cover various controversies that have engulfed the Cuomo administration, including allegations of sexual harassment against the governor, saying he cannot report on the stories because of they involve his brother.

- - -

The Washington Post's Alice Crites and Robin Givhan contributed to this report.
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.
Tax Time Comes With A Bonus For Mail Thieves This Year

Tuolumne County Mail Thefts View Photo

Calaveras County, CA  Tax time always brings and increase in mail thefts and this year thieves are targeting two cash payouts.

Mail thefts near the 7000 block of Baldwin and on Milton Road in Jenny Lind were recently reported to the Calaveras County Sheriffs Office. Sgt. Greg Stark warns, Tax season returns, and stimulus checks are just some of the added attractions to mail thieves.

And the headaches do not end there. Sgt. Stark added, Once the criminals have your mail it can lead to other crimes such as identity theft. Your mailbox is the most non-technological point for identity theft.

Envelopes from mailboxes are not the only prize, porch pirates are also happy to steal your packages delivered to your home or business. CCSO provides these tips to prevent becoming a victim:

Never send cash or gift cards, as they are next to impossible to reclaim and are particularly sought-after items.

If possible, make arrangements for a neighbor to receive or retrieve packages if you are not home during the day.

Even if you have a locking mailbox, never leave mail overnight. Make a daily routine out of collecting your mail  even if you arent necessarily expecting something. (Keep in mind: even a simple utility bill is valuable to an identity thief.).

Secure your mailbox. A secure mailbox or mail slot (one that locks and is made of metal), well-lit surroundings, and a visible home surveillance system can create a triple threat against any unexpected guests who may be after your mail.

Residents of Calaveras County are encouraged to report all-male thefts. The Sheriffs Office utilizes strategic policing based on crime statistics. This allows patrol deputies to better focus their limited patrol time on areas experiencing an uptick in criminal behavior.

As always report any suspicious vehicles to the Sheriffs office as soon as possible.

Please contact Sgt. Greg Stark if you have any questions 209-754-6500.
Canada's second-largest grocery retailer and an industry group representing food manufacturers agreed on Thursday to a draft grocery code of practice they say takes aim at unfairness in the market.

People enter a FreshCo store in Mission, B.C. on Thursday, April 25, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Canada's second-largest grocery retailer and an industry group representing food manufacturers agreed on Thursday to a draft grocery code of practice they say takes aim at unfairness in the market.

Empire Company Ltd. and Food, Health & Consumer Products of Canada said the proposed code addresses long-standing issues like arbitrary fees, cost increases imposed without notice, and late payments.

Empire CEO Michael Medline said retailers and suppliers made "unprecedented strides" collaborating during the pandemic to protect the food supply chain.

"Let's not go back to the old way of doing things," he said in a statement. "We hope our principled proposal will be a springboard to move our industry forward."

The proposed code of conduct comes after Loblaw Companies Ltd. and Walmart Canada imposed higher fees on suppliers in recent months. In response, United Grocers Inc., a national buying group that represents companies including Metro Inc., issued a letter to suppliers saying it expected the same costs as its competitors.

The moves made the cost of getting goods on store shelves more expensive for food manufacturers.

Walmart Canada spokesman Adam Grachnik said the retailer supports many of the principles outlined in the proposal but disagrees that a "complex, legislated, bureaucratic code is necessary."

"These are routine confidential business discussions and negotiations between retailers and suppliers," he said in an email. "These discussions and negotiations happen every day and they reflect the dynamic competitiveness of the market."

The big-box store "has a great working relationship with our suppliers and we continue working with them to help nurture and support their businesses," Grachnik added, noting that the company will "make business decisions that are in the best interest of delivering value for our customers."

The code was also panned by the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers for its failure to mention small, independent grocery operators.

"We're disappointed to see the association representing the big suppliers get together with a big retail chain to develop a code," said Gary Sands, senior vice-president of public policy for the independent grocers advocacy group.

"It's sort of a reflection of what we see in the industry," he said. "There's no reference to independents."

Empire, which operates numerous grocery chains including Sobeys, Safeway and FreshCo, and the consumer products group are encouraging other grocers, suppliers and industry stakeholders to support the proposed code of practice.

Poor retailer-supplier relations create a negative ripple effect in the market that affects consumers through pricing, product choices and jobs, they said.

The code would enshrine a set of good-faith industry business principles, such as requiring written agreements between large retailers and suppliers and ensuring changes to business terms are not imposed arbitrarily, they added.

"Retailers and suppliers are tough and savvy and our businesses do not always see eye to eye," said Michael Graydon, president and CEO of the industry group.

"However, we believe we can build a supply chain on mutual trust, one that treats businesses of all sizes fairly and delivers for all Canadians who count on us every day."

The code would be a first of its kind in Canada but pulls lessons from similar documents, most notably the U.K. Groceries Supply Code of Practice.

The code was formally submitted Thursday to a federal, provincial and territorial working group examining the issues plaguing the grocery industry, including the imposition of unilateral costs on suppliers, fining suppliers for shortages and offloading operating costs onto suppliers.

Sands, with the independent grocers group, said governments must give equal weight to all submissions it receives on the issue.

He said ignoring independent grocery retailers could put the country's food security at risk.

"Independents are in a lot of rural and remote communities in this country where there's no chain, and there never will be a chain," Sands said. "If we don't start dealing with the issue of fair supply and fair pricing for those stores, they're going to go under."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2021.

Companies in this story: (TSX:EMP.A, TSX:L, TSX:MRU)

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. An earlier version erroneously described interactions between United Grocers Inc. and its suppliers.
AG Dana Nessel Announces Partnership with Center for Cybersecurity and Data Science at Ferris State University

AG Dana Nessel Announces Partnership with Center for Cybersecurity and Data Science at Ferris State University

Kelly Rossman-McKinney 517-512-9342 Attorney General

March 24, 2021

LANSING - The Department of Attorney General has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Center for Cybersecurity and Data Science at Ferris State University, Attorney General Dana Nessel announced today.

The Department of Attorney General regularly conducts investigations that involve issues of cybersecurity and information technology. The Center for Cybersecurity and Data Science (CCDS) at Ferris State University (FSU) is comprised of experts in the field of cybersecurity. The MOU will allow the CCDS to provide volunteer consulting services to the Attorney Generals Office to help combat crime. The CCDS is comprised of faculty from FSUs Information and Security Intelligence program.

This partnership is a unique opportunity for my office to augment our resources to fight crime across all platforms, said Nessel. Sophisticated criminals use technology to perpetrate crimes that range from consumer exploitation to domestic terrorism. I am fully committed to leveraging available resources in the field of cybersecurity to pursue and prosecute those criminals.

The Information and Security Intelligence (ISI) program at FSU is the only accredited cybersecurity program in Michigan. The program is a National Security Agency (NSA) Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense and was the first university program in the United States to be designated a Department of Defense Center of Digital Forensic Academic Excellence.

The program includes one faculty member who is embedded in the Michigan State Police Cyber Crime unit; two who are licensed professional investigators in the field of digital forensics; and a faculty member who is part of the Michigan MIC3, which is the State of Michigans Civilian Cyber Corp organization.

The ISI program is lead by Dr. Greg Gogolin. Gogolin was the initial author of both the ISI undergraduate and graduate degree programs, which are ranked in the top 25 nationally. He is a Distinguished Professor and Fulbright Scholar (Universidad de Chile), and has taught in Latin American, Asia and Europe.

"We appreciate the opportunity to work with the Attorney General's office. I admire the determination that Attorney General Nessel possesses, particularly in the current environment. The challenges in cybercrime are significant, and we want people to feel confident that cybercrime will not continue unabated," said Gogolin.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer approved funding for a new building at FSU to house the Center for Virtual Learning in 2020. The Center will include secured evidence rooms, examination rooms, presentation rooms and Faraday rooms. Faraday rooms are secured from network and radio transmission, which is necessary when performing examination and experiments on things such as cell phones, mobile devices and malware analysis. This will be the only Faraday room in the State of Michigan.
Advertisement

LAPD cops in riot gear descended on a huge homeless encampment at Los Angeles' Echo Park to clear out the area, but were repelled by around 200 protesters defending the community as scuffles broke out.

Over the last few months, the encampment has grown to nearly 200 tents and covers nearly half the park, with residents living in the area concerned about drug use, crime and the increasing amount of trash.

The officers, armed with batons and rifles, carried out the planned sweep on Wednesday night but were met by more than 200 protesters who refused to leave the area, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Around 10.30 p.m. on Wednesday, officers told protesters to disperse and then called it an 'unlawful assembly' when most refused. Officers were seen pushing several protesters as they tried to move them away from the area.

Protesters - a mix of the homeless community living in the park and activists who have joined their cause - chanted 'whose park? our park' as the LAPD ordered them to 'clear the area' over a loudspeaker.

The issue of the homeless encampment at Echo Park has become a 'highly charged test of city leaders' struggle to balance residents' demands for clean streets and public spaces as it battles to contain its growing homeless problem, the Times reported.

A city-wide tactical alert was issued on Wednesday night, as the protesters rallied against plans to permanently disperse those living in the park and close the area for what is being touted as more than $500,000 in repairs.

Scroll down for video

LAPD cops in riot gear descended on a homeless encampment at Los Angeles' Echo Park to clear out the area

The officers, armed with batons and rifles, carried out the planned sweep on Wednesday night but were met by more than 200 protesters who refused to leave the area

Around 10.30pm on Wendesday, officers told protesters to dispersed and then called an 'unlawful assembly' when most wouldn't

A police officer points a pepper balls gun toward activists and supporters of residents of a homeless encampment at Echo Park Lake in Los Angeles late on March 24, 2021

Pictured: A still image taken from a video showing the Echo Park protesters and police lines from above

At around 10 p.m., park rangers were joined by LAPD officers in taping notices of closure onto trees and lampposts on the east side of the park, where a number of homeless people have been camping during the coronavirus pandemic.

The signs warned that Echo Park would close on Thursday, and said that all personal property must be removed from the park by then, 'including, but not limited to, tents, chairs, tables, backpacks, bags, and personal items.'

While being guarded by LAPD officers and in the glare of flood lights, city workers unloaded fence from a truck before unfurling green fabric that was hung along the fencing.

Nearby streets, including Glendale Boulevard and Echo Park Avenue, were closed off by the police, as was the Glendale Boulevard off-ramp on both sides of the 101 Freeway.

Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said the homeless residents staying inside the park would be allowed to stay overnight, but that no one else can enter, and added that the residents must leave within 24 hours.

Some of the protesters who had gathered in an attempt to block the city's attempt to remove the residents saw Moore's statement as a victory, with one organizer shouting 'We won the night,' according to the Times.

One of the residents said: 'I live here and I consider tonight a victory.'

Los Angeles police arrive to evict homeless encampments at Echo Park Lake during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 24, 2021

Cops ordering protesters to 'clear out the area' over loudspeaker were met with chants of 'whose park? our park'

Earlier in the day, signs were posted on trees and light poles saying that the park will close on Thursday, and that all personal property needed to be removed. That included tents, chairs, tables, backpacks, bags and personal items

Los Angeles city contractors install a temporary fence around Echo Park Lake's perimeter in Los Angeles early Thursday, March 25, 2021

Los Angeles Police officers stand on a wagon as demonstrators face-off on the Echo Park Lake's perimeter in Los Angeles late Thursday, March 25, 2021. Protesters criticised the police officers for their equipment. 'Why are you in riot gear? I don't see no riot here!' they chanted at the officers

But just before 10.30 p.m., the LAPD issued a dispersal order to the crowd over a loudspeaker and officially declared the protest an 'unlawful assembly'. Police formed skirmish lines in front of the large group of protesters.

This led to some clashes between protesters and the police force, with officers dressed in riot gear seen shoving people, while some bottles and other objects were thrown at the police.

LAPD officers tried to push the protesters back from the park, but they refused to move.

At one point during the confrontation, a line of police was seen moving slowly along Glendale Boulevard at the edge of the Echo Park Lake, telling protesters to leave. They were met with chants of 'Whose park? Our park!'

Protesters then took up a chant, criticising the police officers for their equipment. 'Why are you in riot gear? I don't see no riot here!' they chanted.

Pictured: Demonstrators lock arms trying to prevent police from advancing into the Echo Park section of Los Angeles to evict its homeless residents in the early hours of Thursday, March 25, 2021

Los Angeles police officers move in to arrest demonstrators in the Echo Park Lake homeless encampment in Los Angeles late Wednesday, March 24, 2021. LAPD officers tried to push the protesters back from the park, but they refused to move

Los Angeles Police officers close traffic around the Echo Park Lake as they move in to remove a homeless encampment in Los Angeles late on Wednesday night, March 24, 2021

Pictured: Police officers stand near the Echo Park Lake, as they prepare for the eviction of the homeless encampments, amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Los Angeles, in the early hours of March 25, 2021

A demonstrator sets up a tent in front of police in the Echo Park section of Los Angeles Thursday, March 25

Activists and supporters of residents of a homeless encampment confront police at Echo Park Lake in Los Angeles late on March 24, 202

But by 12:30 a.m., The Los Angeles Times reported that the number of protesters had dwindled to about 40 people, who were vastly outnumbered by several hundred police officers watching on.

Some residents of the camp said they would refuse to leave, while others decided it was time to go.

One homeless man, Edward Juarez told the LA Times that he had been living in the park since August after he lost his job as a professional photographer due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

'I just want to get out of here, it's getting crazy,' he told the site.

Earlier, at 10:05 p.m., Los Angeles City Councilman Mitch O'Farrell issued a statement saying 'the Los Angeles Police Department was asked to support community safety efforts during installation of the fencing to assist in the rehabilitation of Echo Park,' according to NBS Los Angeles.

'Department personnel are deployed in that area so that those efforts can begin in a safe and unimpeded manner.

'Our homeless service providers will return tomorrow morning to continue their work with the park's unhoused residents to offer shelter and services to anyone who wants and needs the assistance.'

Pictured: Demonstrators block the road next to Echo Park in an attempt to stop the LAPD from clearing the park of the homeless camp that has formed during the coronavirus pandemic. One man holds a sign reading 'stop the sweep'

At one point during the confrontation, a line of police was seen moving slowly along Glendale Boulevard at the edge of the Echo Park Lake, telling protesters to leave. They were met with chants of 'Whose park? Our park!'

Pictured: Activists and supporters of the homeless community in Echo Park stand in front of a line of police officers dressed in riot gear. One woman holds up a sign that reads 'care not cops'

The police department also released a statement, urging 'calm and cooperation as the installation of fencing in support of the Echo Park rehabilitation effort continues. Unfortunately officers have received projectiles and refusals from individuals blocking streets in the area.'

On Twitter, it also denied that officers had used tear gas against the protesters, posted 'There is NO tear gas being used.' Pictures from the scene appeared to corroborate the department's statement.

Also late on Wednesday, the SELAH Neighborhood Homeless Coalition demanded that the park closure and eviction by postponed so that the residents 'have the necessary time to meaningfully connect with service providers who are working tirelessly to serve them.'

By Thursday morning, the crowd had reduced in size, and the protest had largely wound down.

While the city has closed other, larger homeless encampments with less resistance, the future of the camp at Echo Park is proving to be a point of conflict in its on-going struggle with the homelessness epidemic.

Unlike with previous sweeps, which has seen the city temporarily displace residents so workers can clean up the area, the sweep at Echo Park is intended to be permanent.

The city is offering to move people of the encampments to hotel rooms that it is temporarily renting under a state program called Project Roomkey - an approach that has also been taken in New York City.

On Monday and Tuesday, outreach workers from the homeless services agency moved 44 people from the lake into hotel, according to project spokesman Ahmad Chapman. On Wednesday morning, shuttle buses took another 15 to 20 people to a downtown hotel.

Los Angeles city contractors install a temporary fence around Echo Park Lake's perimeter in Los Angeles early Thursday, March 25, 2021 under orders from the City

Pictured: The tents of the homeless encampment in Echo Park along the walkway around the lake. The city plans to clear the park for what it describes as a half-million-dollar repair effort in Los Angeles, 24 March 2021

Echo Park is found north of Downtown Los Angeles, close to Dodger Stadium, and is around a ten minute drive from Hollywood. During the coronavirus pandemic, it has become the site of a camp of homeless people, next to the lake

How L.A. is coping with homelessness during the coronavirus pandemic Since the start of the pandemic, there have been over 7,000 documented coronavirus cases among the estimated 15,000 chronically homeless population, according to the Department of Public Health. The homeless are among the most vulnerable people in Los Angeles with many suffering from underlying health conditions, as well as drink and drug addiction, making them more susceptible to the virus. According to a report released last year by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, heart disease is the third biggest cause of death among the homeless. It is also one of the serious underlying conditions that can produce a worse outcome in those who are infected with COVID-19. With this increased vulnerability in mind, from March 15, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health made the county's entire homeless population eligible for coronavirus vaccines. Public health officials and advocates have been arguing for months that there should be more focus on the community that struggles to gain access to health care and maintain social distancing. Dr. Heidi Behforouz, medical director for L.A. County's Housing for Health program, said during an interview with the LA Times earlier this month that 'the change allows us to vaccinate all people experiencing homelessness, because [the public health guidance] basically says anyone in shelter or potentially needing to go into shelter now qualifies,' 'If you think about the vaccine as a tool to help prevent severe illness and death, then you want to get it to people who are at higher risk of death,' she said. The goal is to vaccinate 30,000 homeless people in the county by September. Los Angeles County's Housing for Health has also been working to provide medically vulnerable people, including homeless people, with accommodation amid the pandemic. LA is home to Skid Row, which is the location of one of the largest stable populations of homeless people in the U.S. with over 5,000 inhabitants, 3,000 of which sleep in tents or on the sidewalk. Between December 11 and December 18 2020, there were an average of 73 coronavirus cases a day recorded among Los Angeles county's homeless population. In comparison, in late October this number was down to just five a day, highlighting the dramatic jump at the end of last year. The rising number of infections on Skid Row prompted Dr. Behforouz to take action to try and move homeless people who test positive for the virus into isolation. Los Angeles County's Housing for Health had been working to provide medically vulnerable people, including homeless people, with accommodation amid the pandemic. The agency opened five new isolation sites in December to accommodate rising cases. Project Roomkey - LA's program to house thousands of homeless people - has so far housed 1,960 people, or 13.1 percent of its target. Advertisement

Some residents of the camp have agreed to vacate the park, but others are vowing to resist the city's eviction attempts, arguing that the park has been improved by its residents and their allies as a place that gives homeless people safety and dignity that can not otherwise be found on sidewalks or under freeways.

The residents and those fighting for their right to stay argue that the encampment is a model example, with a pantry, a garden and coordinated efforts to clean the park.

Ayman Ahmed, a man in his 20s who has become an unofficial spokesperson for the encampment, told Councilman O'Farrel during a Wednesday morning protest 'This park could have easily been MacArthur [Park] or skid row, but it wasn't. It wasn't. That was because of us  not you,' according to the Los Angeles Times.

But as the camp grew last year to nearly 200 tents, it also drew the ire of neighbours, while city leaders argued that they were not pushing people out, but rather offering them better accommodation.

'You define a sweep as moving someone indoors to a safe, clean environment where they will be provided free, healthy meals, receive medical care and a path to wellness, then you can call it what you want,' O'Farrell said later on Wednesday.

'Because this is what we are doing for everyone who has been there over the last several weeks or months.'

Many local residents demanded that O'Farrell do something about the camp, citing an intrusion of trash, drug use and crime in their neighborhood, which he represents. The councillor had said for a long time that he would close the park and repair damage, but resisted requests for a timetable.

However, the councillor has also faced much angry opposition over the park's closure, as well as criticisms over the secrecy surrounding the plans for the sweet that was enacted on Wednesday night.

In an angry phone call into a city council meeting on Wednesday, one protester called from the demonstration.

'Mitch, if you continue down this path, to sweep and displace unhoused residents of Echo Park Lake, there's going to be an escalation that you are not prepared for,' warned Ricci Sergienko of the activist group People's City Council, a group that has staged a number of protests.

At the end of the meeting, O'Farrell complained that there had been 'a concentrated and coordinated effort' to disrupt the relocation efforts, and denounced the idea that the camp 'commune-like'.

'The park has, in fact, devolved into a dangerous, chaotic environment for all users,' also noting there four people had died in Echo Park.

Some residents, however, have supported the encampment.

'Echo Park Lake, situated on Tongva Land, has been a haven of this community since its development and should remain a free and accessible place for members of this community who need it for solace, leisure or survival,' Zarinah Williams, president of the Echo Park Neighborhood Council, said in a statement reported by NBS LA.

'We do not feel that $500,000 in restorative landscaping is a priority endeavor given layered consequences of displacement and criminalization of our residents.'

Job losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic are expected to leave tens of thousands of low-wage workers without homes over the next three years, a report released in January said.

Pictured: A homeless man sits on a bench in front of the lake with signs behind him reading 'People Over Profit' and 'We Need Long Term Solution' next to a banner reading 'Healing Happening Here' in the homeless encampment in Echo Park, March 24

A man rummages through a pile of objects and boxes at a homeless encampment at Echo Park Lake Protest against planned clearing of Echo Park, March 24, 2021

According to data from Economic Roundtable, the Pandemic Recession is projected to cause twice as much homelessness as the 2008 Great Recession. Pictured: A local walks past the homeless encampment in Echo Park

Pictured: A homeless woman packs her belonging in front of her tent in Echo Park as the city plans to clear the park for what it describes as a half-million-dollar repair effort in Los Angeles, 24 March 2021

According to data from Economic Roundtable, the Pandemic Recession is projected to cause twice as much homelessness as the 2008 Great Recession.

'It looks like the impacts could be twice as bad as they were in 2008,' said Dan Flaming, president of the Economic Roundtable. 'This recession is particularly bad because it's hitting vulnerable workers harder than the last recession.'

Homeless people in the United States have been hit particularly hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. While research has shown that homeless people have been surprisingly resilient to infection, research shows that those that do catch the virus are 30 percent more likely to die than those in the general population, according to The Times.

In Los Angeles county - which has roughly 15,000 chronically homeless individuals - homeless coronavirus patients were 50 percent more likely to die.
Gunmen kill 137 people, including 22 children, in raids on Niger villages

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

On the deadliest day in Nigers recent memory, over 130 people and nearly two dozen children were killed in a series of suspected Islamic extremist raids Sunday afternoon in a region of Africa where jihadi attacks have become more prevalent in recent years.

The attacks happened along the Mail border in southwestern Niger as unidentified insurgents on motorcycles raided three villages and other hamlets in the Tahoua region, according to government sources.

The initial estimate of lives lost released Sunday was about 60. But that count has since been updated to 137 by the government.

The attackers remain unidentified. But violence in West Africas Sahel region has increased as Al Qaeda and Islamic State-affiliated militants have carried out countless attacks in recent years, displacing many from their homes.

The latest series of attacks came on the day Nigers Constitutional Court announced Mohamed Bazoum the winner of a runoff presidential election, according to The New York Times. He will take office on April 2.

An escalation of attacks has occurred since the February election, the Associated Press reported.

At least 22 children between the ages of five and 17 years old died during Sundays raids on the villages of Intazayene, Bakorat and Wistane, according to the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund.

It is hard to believe that children in the region should live in permanent fear of such attacks. This doesnt have to be their reality, UNICEF regional manager for West and Central Africa, Marie-Pierre Poirier, said in a statement.

Poirier called for the protection of children to keep them out of danger.

The continuing conflict, repeated attacks, and access restrictions due to insecurity and violence are hampering our ability to reach those most in need, including two million children who require humanitarian assistance, Poirier said. Attacks on children and families must stop, once and for all. Enough is enough.

The civilians were fetching water when the attacks occurred on the eve of World Water Day on March 22, UNICEF reported.

The government promised reinforced security measures in the region and an investigation to find the perpetrators.

In treating civilian populations systematically as targets now, these armed bandits have gone a step further into horror and brutality, government spokesman Zakaria Abdourahamane said in a statement read on television Monday, according to AFP.

Niger ranks last at No. 189 on the U.N.s country development ranking.

Dozens more were killed on March 15 when unidentified attackers killed at least 58 villagers in the nearby Tillabery region, including six children aged 11 to 17 last Monday, UNICEF reported.

In January, as many as 100 people were killed in attacks targeting the villages of Tchombangou and Zaroumbareye, also in the Tillaberi region.

Local reports indicated that gunmen on motorcycles split into two groups and attacked the villages simultaneously, with up to 70 people being killed in Tchombangou and 30 in Zaroumbareye, according to the U.N.

The United Kingdom government issued a travel advisory for Niger that said terrorists are likely to carry out attacks. It warns of instability in the Tillaberi region, near Nigers borders with Mali and Burkina Faso. It cited recent attacks in the region.

Attacks could be indiscriminate, the advisory states.

The increasing violence in the Sahel region also impacts neighboring countries like Mali and Burkina Faso as millions have been displaced.

According to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Nigers Tahoua and Tillaberi regions bordering Burkina Faso and Mali host 204,000 refugees and internally displaced people. The agency warns that civilians are bearing the brunt of increasing attacks in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali in the Sahel are at the epicentre of one of the worlds fastest-growing displacement and protection crises, a statement from the UNHCR reads. The region is already hosting nearly three million refugees and people displaced inside their own country.

Last year, the U.S. State Department created a special envoy position to monitor rising extremism in Africa's Sahel region as Al Qaeda and Islamic State-aligned militants expand their footholds.

The rise in extremism presents a threat to Nigers minority Christian community.

Islamic extremist violence is prevalent, and nearly 99% of Nigers population is Muslim. Though many Christians can worship peacefully, radical Islamists stir up animosity in some regions, according to the global persecution watchdog ministry Open Doors.

The Boko Haram terrorist group, prevalent in Nigeria, is also active in southern Niger and targets the Christian community, according to the charity.

Christians are often discriminated against and have trouble securing employment within the government. They are often denied promotion, Open Doors states.
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.
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.
Armenian acting minister: EU allocated EUR 68,700,000 to Armenia for budget support in 2020

Armenia Finance Ministry: MFA's budget grew by AMD 1,600,000,000 in 2020

Bodies and remains of Armenian soldiers are kept in morgue in Armenia's Martuni

White House confirms Biden-Erdogan meeting in Brussels

Armenia acting MOD touches upon priority directions for development of Armed Forces

Diaspora Armenian writer, publicist Toros Toranian dies

2 Armenian soldiers injured in scuffle with Azerbaijan, Armenian POW is hospitalized, Jun. 3 digest

Wedding held in Armenia's Shurnukh for first time since the war ended

EEU member states to finish preparing for negotiations over free trade zone in Iran in late June

Armenia Central Bank: Economic downfall in 2020 was due to decline in service and construction sectors

Armenia legislature adopts several bills in first reading

Armenia President meets with Nursultan Nazarbayev

Dejavu: Armenia ruling party distributes money for votes at Yerevan district election office

Chief Advisor to Karabakh President sacked

Russian MFA: Works are carried out to settle situation around Karabakh every day

Armenia opposition MP sounds alarm about Baku fabricating criminal cases against Armenian prisoners

Armenia acting health minister: I have apologized, I am not going to resign

Helga Schmid meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Armenia's deputy foreign ministers resigned or have heavy workload?

Dollar goes down in Armenia

Armenia Elections Oversight Committee reports Iranian citizenship of ruling party's MP candidate

Acting deputy minister: Only 17 of 711 Iran-Armenia power transmission line towers were installed by 2017

Armenia Parliament Council holding session

Armenia to host CSTO "Thunder-2021" military exercises

NYT: Chinese hackers launch cyberattack on New York city transportation authority

Armenia President to Kazakhstan counterpart: I would like to see much deeper cooperation between our countries

Armenia citizens shut down Etchmiadzin-Ashtarak road, complaining about lack of irrigation water

Armenia independent MP: Foreign minister and his deputies don't want to take part in treacherous acts

Armenia to get $11mn loan, 350,000 grant for agriculture

WHO worries about worsening mental health worldwide amid pandemic

Armenia health ministry on improper handling of Artsakh war victims bodies: There is no justification

Armenia bloc election foundation already in operation

Russia ambassador to Armenia paying working visit to Syunik Province (PHOTOS)

China pledges to step up resistance to foreign interference in Hong Kong

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: There can be no talk of corridor for Azerbaijan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on incumbent authorities: Wherever they flee, we will bring them by the feet

President: Impossible to ensure peace in region or stay in Artsakh without Russia army joint efforts

China Daily: Dispatch from Makit: Thriving in the desert

Karabakh President: We will never put up with being part of Azerbaijan, it is ruled out

Armenia MFA information department chief: All deputy FMs carrying out their duties

Ardshinbank invited children to the cinema on International Childrens Day

Armenia judiciary to have 10 more judges

Armenia acting premier: We had recorded 40% increase in tax revenues according to 2019 results

Armenia acting PM on Artsakh war casualties bodies: We have 50 remains in which case DNA was not separated

Azerbaijan authorities plan to "squeeze" everything from "terrorist show" related to Armenian captives

Ameriabank announces a contest for bank card design

108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia parliament convenes special session

Armenia interim government holding Cabinet meeting

Catholicos of All Armenians heads for Syunik Province, Artsakh

World oil prices going up

Iran loses right to vote in UN General Assembly

Newspaper: Armenia authorities come up with new way of punishing unwanted characters

Newspaper: Russia army Southern Military District deputy commander to arrive in Yerevan Thursday

Lebanese Armenian man taken prisoner by Azerbaijan is hospitalized

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Are we getting under the burden? Then lets get under to the end

Armenia acting health minister on keeping fallen soldiers bodies in bags: What else should they be kept in?

Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation

Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow

2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik

Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center

"Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans

Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel

Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna

Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations

US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies

Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week

Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection

Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential

Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement

Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues

Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo

Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation

NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident

Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices

Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over

Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest

Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia

Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia

Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels

Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters

Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021

Dollar is stable in Armenia

Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector

Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out

Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe

Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia

Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border

Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor

Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue

Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia

Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this

Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia
Associated Press

The younger generation of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales are on average about three feet (one meter) shorter than whales were 20 years, drone and aircraft data show in a study in Thursdays journal Current Biology. Entanglements with fishing gear, collisions with ships and climate change moving their food supply north are combining to stress and shrink these large whales, the study says. This isnt about short right whales, its about a physical manifestation of a physiological problem, its the chest pain before the heart attack, said Regina Asmutis-Silvia, executive director of Whale and Dolphin Conservation North America, who wasnt part of the study.
New Delhi: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday attacked the BJP over the alleged harassment of nuns belonging to a Kerala-based congregation in Uttar Pradesh and termed Union Home Minister Amit Shah's assurance of action in the incident as "hollow statements".

Two nuns and two postulants were taken off an express train and detained for questioning by railway police in Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh on March 19. According to officials in Jhansi, the nuns were detained after local Bajrang Dal activists complained that two women were allegedly being taken forcibly for religious conversion.

The police said there was no basis in the complaint and all four women later took the next train to their destination in Odisha.

Reacting to the incident, Priyanka Gandhi tweeted, "Which political party runs the government that enables these goons to harass and demand personal details of young women commuting on a train? BJP. Which political party do these goons belong to? BJP. Which party's student wing are some of them members of? BJP."

"And now that there is an election in Kerala HM @AmitShah is busy giving hollow statements about protecting nuns from harassment. Really?" the Congress general secretary said and tagged a purported video of the incident.

Shah on Wednesday assured strong action against those who allegedly harassed nuns during their train journey via Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh.

Live TV

\
Hundreds of military veterans were inoculated against the COVID-19 virus during a mass-vaccination event held Saturday at a makeshift clinic erected in a parking lot outside the VA health clinic in Santa Maria.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka feels that any New Jersey resident who wants to get the coronavirus vaccine should be able to do so as soon as possible.

I think they should make it available to anyone who wants to take it now, actually, Baraka said during a weekly interview series posted Wednesday night on the citys Facebook page. I think they should do that today.

The mayor made the comment after he was asked if the slower rollout of the vaccine was the result of a supply or distribution issue.

I think they both collide, he said. They dont have an unlimited amount of vaccines, so they are almost being rationed off while they have this schedule of people who are able to get vaccinated first.

Governor Phil Murphy addressed comments about the vaccine rollout pace earlier Wednesday during his coronavirus briefing and said the state plans on increasing vaccine eligibility as reasonably as possible.

Were going to open things up as soon as we can reasonably open it up, and I think its going to be somewhat dependent...if not mostly dependent on supplies that we get and the indications we get out of the feds, Murphy said.

Remember, weve got more communities coming online on Monday, Murphy said, referring to the thousands of essential restaurant and grocery workers, as well as employees in a handful of other industries, that will become eligible to receive a vaccine on March 29. Were not making any news today, but I would hope sooner than later we can signal at least probably one other set of communities that will come online at some point, I hope not too long in the distant future.

Murphy added that the state does plan on opening up vaccine eligibility to all adults on May 1, per President Joe Bidens comments earlier this month after he said he expected the country to have enough supply to be able to fully vaccinate adults by the end of that month.

Baraka said Wednesday that while many people have been vaccinated in Newark, not all of them are Newark residents.

So we vaccinate police, we vaccinate fire, were doing school teachers, were doing all those things and those people are not all 100% Newark residents, so were helping to vaccinate people throughout the county but Newark residents are still at a very low level, he said. We have to keep track of how many Newark residents have been vaccinated and thats important.

As of Wednesday, the city has reported 33,612 cases and 905 deaths from the coronavirus, county officials said.

Baraka also said he wants to make it easier for people to register for the vaccine and officials on Tuesday announced a program aimed at helping make that happen -- the Newark Equitable Vaccine Initiative. The program is being led locally by community groups working to increase access to and equity in vaccine distribution in the city.

Its part of a national pilot program by The Rockefeller Foundation that is focused on creating a community-driven model for building equity into vaccine distribution and increasing access to vaccinations in Black and brown communities, according to a release about the initiative from United Way of Greater Newark, the organization that has spearheaded it.

Equitable vaccine distribution is a challenge across the globe, especially in majority Black and brown communities, which, because of historic racial inequities, have less access to technology, primary care providers, and vaccine supply, said Catherine Wilson, President & CEO of United Way of Greater Newark. Newark is no different, with our COVID-19 positivity rates and death rates among the highest in New Jersey and Essex County.

Newark was one of seven cities selected for the pilot program.

Other local officials have called for more vaccine doses for Newark and Essex County.

This week, Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. called upon members of Essex Countys Federal delegation to urge Biden to allocate more COVID-19 vaccine doses to Essex County.

We have proven our vaccination initiatives to be efficient and effective, yet our weekly allotment has remained at 12,000 doses, DiVincenzo wrote in the letter. If we received more doses, we could put shots in even more arms. I believe our sites are grossly underutilized. We have the capacity to be vaccinating between 25,000 and 30,000 people per week - if only we had more doses... if New Jersey received a larger allocation from the Federal government, then more could be earmarked for Essex County.

The governor said Wednesday that he expects the vaccine supply to hopefully begin meeting the demand in the coming weeks and urban communities will be given better access to it.

(State Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli) and I were on the phone with the team this morning talking about in the very near term, supplys hopefully going up from the feds and using things like the mobile vans at our disposal hopefully sooner than later that can go deep into urban communities, especially that have been harder to reach, he said.

He said the states vaccine supply is going up by about 19% to nearly half a million doses next week.

New Jersey on Wednesday reported another 3,227 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 28 additional confirmed deaths as the number of people hospitalized in the state continues to climb above 2,000 patients.

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.
Tom Hallberg covers a little bit of everything, from skiing to long-form feature stories. A Teton Valley, Idaho, transplant by way of Portland and Bend, Oregon, he spends his time outside work writing fiction, splitboarding and climbing.
Update: 9:55 p.m.:

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for multiple counties in Central Texas and the Hill Country including Bexar, Comal, Kendall, Medina, Bandera and Hays, until 4 a.m.

The NWS reports that scattered hail up to tennis ball size, scattered wind gusts up to 80 mph and a "couple of tornadoes" are possible with the thunderstorms associated with this watch.

A tornado watch indicates that current atmospheric conditions present a significant risk for the development of a tornado, according to the NWS.

Original story continues:

The San Antonio area could be in for another round of thunderstorms and severe weather early Thursday morning as a cold front moves in.

There is a chance the region could experience an isolated shower or thunderstorm on Wednesday afternoon, but it is more likely the severe weather will not develop until after midnight Thursday, according to Monte Oaks, a NWS meteorologist.

The risk, however, for severe storms in San Antonio is marginal. The Austin area and the Hill Country are more likely to see thunderstorms, possible hail and damaging winds, the NWS said. There is also a chance an isolated tornado develops like in Canyon Lake early Tuesday morning.

The NWS confirmed Tuesday afternoon the tornado with winds up to 100 mph touched down for two minutes at 1:04 a.m. on the west side of the lake and traveled less than half a mile.

At around 1:10 a.m., the NWS sent out a tweet warning residents in the Canyon Lake area, northwest of New Braunfels, to take shelter because of a strong rotation had developed. A tornado warning was also issued for the area at 12:30 a.m.

The residents there said within 3 to 5 minutes after receiving the warning, they began sustaining damage to their homes, Canyon Lake Fire and EMS Chief Darren Brinkkoeter told the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung. They said they went to their basements or lowest floors  and cant commend them enough to adhere to warnings they mostly received on their mobile phones. The sounds were so loud, they were alerted to something imminent.

There were no reports of major destruction or injuries, but the tornado did snap two power poles, damaged trees and tore off part of homes, according to a survey conducted by the NWS. The storm damaged between 20 and 25 homes, though it is unknown if all of the damage was from the tornado or the strong winds, the chief said.

Strong winds did cause plenty of destruction in the town of Bertram, which is about 80 miles north of Canyon Lake. Among the buildings to be "left in ruins" was the historic A.B. McGill & Co. building after the storms hit the Hill Country town at around 10 p.m. Monday, according to a news release from AccuWeather.

Oaks said the overnight storm Wednesday into Thursday will be comparable to the one that passed earlier this week.

The storm is expected to exit the area by daybreak Thursday, allowing most of the region to warm up to the upper 70s and low 80s. San Antonio's expected high is 79.

Staff writer Chris Quinn contributed to this report.
At various stations, folks checked the QR code I got when the appointment was made (you cant show up without an appointment), took my temperature and kept the lines moving so people didnt get bunched up. At one point there was a thermal imaging scan that again checked body temperature and told me my aura is indigo, indicating Im an imaginative daydreamer with deep inner feelings. (I might have imagined that last part.)
U. S. Rep. Garret Graves said money to help build a new bridge across the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge will be his top priority in any massive federal infrastructure bill taking shape in Congress.

Graves, a member of the U. S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, also asked Gov. John Bel Edward and legislative leaders to use at least $1 billion for the bridge and other work with some of the $5 billion plus state and local governments are getting from the $1.9 trillion federal stimulus bill.

"The extraordinary and likely once-in-a-lifetime availability of flexible federal dollars could be an opportunity for transformational investment in Louisiana; therefore, I urge you to dedicate no less than $1 billion of these funds to transportation investment infrastructure, which could include major bridge crossings in Baton Rouge and Lake Charles," he said in a letter to Edwards, Senate President Page Cortez, R-Lafayette and House Speaker Clay Schexnayder, R-Gonzales.

State government is set to get $3.2 billion from the stimulus bill.

Cortez said Wednesday lawmakers are awaiting guidance from the U. S. Department of the Treasury on exactly how the money can be used.

Cortez and others also said Wednesday one reason they see little chance the Legislature will approve a state gas tax hike this year -- the effort has since been shelved -- is because of expectations that Congress will pass a transportation measure that benefits Louisiana.

Sponsor of Louisiana gas tax hike insists it's feasible in 2021 despite skepticism The sponsor of a bill that would gradually boost Louisiana's gas tax by $660 million per year said Monday he is confident the effort is feasib

An infrastructure bill is also a top priority of President Joe Biden.

Graves, a Baton Rouge Republican, said aid for a new bridge in Baton Rouge is feasible since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic leaders want to resume the controversial practice of earmarks -- specific dollars in legislation for local projects.

The practice was shelved for years amid complaints that it paved the way for wasteful spending by both Democrats and Republicans.

The infrastructure bill is already generating controversy because of its cost -- $3 trillion or more -- and because it may include a wide range of controversial topics, including climate change.

"We are trying to see if we can put something together," Graves said. "I do think we will get an infrastructure bill done."

The scoop on state politics in your inbox Get the Louisiana politics insider details once a week from us. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

A new bridge in Baton Rouge would cost at least $1 billion, and public-private partnerships have long been cited as a way to make it happen.

Push for new Baton Rouge bridge 'a slow process;' tolls could partially finance $1B project Nearing the two-year mark, a state panel trying to find ways to build a new bridge across the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge has little to s

But a panel studying the issue --the Capital Area Road and Bridge District -- is moving at a glacial pace.

Officials of the group said in December that the public will get its first look at 15 possible crossings in the spring of 2022, with that list then trimmed to three by the summer of the same year.

+2 First look at possible crossings for new Mississippi River bridge nearly two years away The public will get its first look at 15 possible crossings for a new bridge across the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge in the spring of 2022

How to pay for a new bridge has long been the key stumbling block.

State Rep. Jack McFarland, R-Jonesboro, said for months he would push legislation during the 2021 legislative session that would boost the gas tax by 10 cents per gallon initially -- $300 million per year -- and 22 cents per gallon eventually -- $660 million per year.

But McFarland said Wednesday night he is dropping those plans, said Erich Ponti, president of the Louisiana Coalition To Fix Our Roads, which was behind the effort.

Cortez said since the Biden administration is crafting transportation legislation "we will watch where it goes and what Louisiana may gain."

Graves said other priorities in any infrastructure bill are aid for a new bridge in Lake Charles and Interstate 49 in the Lafayette area.
On a rainy day in Sydney, it feels completely appropriate to be writing about Clarice Beckett. She was an artist for whom the ideal atmospheric conditions were overcast, a bit misty. Her work is all about the weather. As a subject, it couldnt be more commonplace, but it transports us into a realm of indistinct forms that haunt the imagination. Its not often I feel the urge to visit the same show on three successive days, but Clarice Beckett: The Present Moment at the Art Gallery of South Australia, is one of those rare, inexhaustible exhibitions.

Weve had periodic glimpses of Becketts talent since 1971, shortly after she was rescued for posterity by Rosalind Hollinrake. There was a touring show in 1999, when the venues included Sydneys S. H. Ervin Gallery. The present survey, the largest ever devoted to the artist, will be seen only in South Australia  which is an excellent reason to consider Adelaide if youre itching to get back on a plane soon.

Clarice Beckett, Bathing boxes, Brighton, 1933 Credit:Art Gallery of South Australia

The facts of Becketts life may be told in short order. She was born in 1887 into a well-heeled, middle-class family. She had a passion for art and literature and would go on to study drawing under Fred McCubbin at the National Gallery School, then spend nine months attending the independent art school run by the outspoken Max Meldrum. It was an experience that would help mould her technique and views on art, although not so much as many have presumed. Although Beckett had admirers, she turned down several offers of marriage and would end her life living at home in the bayside suburb of Beaumaris, having spent years looking after her invalid mother.

In 1935, shortly after her mothers death, Beckett caught double pneumonia and passed away at the age of 48. What happened next is just as tragic, as her father burnt paintings that he didnt consider finished or good enough. Her sister, Hilda, would store the remaining 2000 canvases in an open-sided shed in the countryside near Benalla. When Hollinrake tracked them down in 1970, only 369 were salvageable. The weather and the possums had laid waste to the rest.
As COVID-19 vaccine supplies ramp up across the country, most provinces and territories have released details of who can expect to receive a shot in the coming weeks.

As COVID-19 vaccine supplies ramp up across the country, most provinces and territories have released details of who can expect to receive a shot in the coming weeks.

The military commander handling logistics for Canada's vaccine distribution program says there will be enough vaccine delivered to give a first dose before Canada Day to every adult who wants one.

Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin says that's if provinces follow the advice to delay second doses up to four months.

He also cautions that it is dependent on having no production delays again.

Health Canada anticipates a total of 36.5 million doses from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and the AstraZeneca vaccine from the Serum Institute of India by June 30.

There are approximately 31 million Canadians over 16, and no vaccines are approved for anyone younger than 16.

Here's a list of the inoculation plans throughout Canada:

Newfoundland and Labrador

Health officials say vaccinations will begin this week for first responders. They say pre-registration for COVID-19 vaccines has opened for people aged 70 or older and for home-support workers.

Newfoundland and Labrador announced March 3 it was extending the interval between the first and second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to four months.

Public health officials said the change will help them vaccinate 40,000 more people with a single dose by the end of March. Liberal Leader and incumbent Premier Andrew Furey said the decision is a game changer for the province's vaccination prospects.

Nova Scotia

Health officials say people aged 60 to 62 became eligible to receive the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine starting March 18.

Nova Scotia plans to have vaccine available to at least 75 per cent of the population by the end of September 2021.

The province is planning to use mobile van clinics to vaccinate about 900 people who work at or use homeless shelters in the Halifax area.

Public health is partnering with pharmacists and doctors to provide the vaccines at 25 locations.

Nova Scotia, meanwhile, has added front-line police officers to the list of people eligible for vaccination during the second phase of the province's rollout plan, joining groups such as long-haul truck drivers and hospital workers over the age of 60.

Prince Edward Island

Health officials in Prince Edward Island say they will shift their focus to getting a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine to all adults by July 1, even if it means delaying the second shot for some.

The province is offering the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine people ages 18 to 29 who work in gas stations and convenience or grocery stores.

The announcement on March 16 came after the province opened AstraZeneca vaccination appointments a week earlier to young people in the food and beverage sector.

New Brunswick

Health officials announced March 18 that people 80 and older, health-care professionals who have close contact with patients, and people with complex medical conditions are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

People 80 and over, a caregiver or a family member acting on their behalf can make an appointment for a vaccine at a pharmacy.

The province says all residents of long-term care homes have been offered at least one dose of vaccine. On Friday, March 19, all residents of First Nations communities who are aged 16 or older will have access to their first dose of vaccine.

Quebec

Quebec started vaccinating older seniors on March 1 after a first phase that focused largely on health-care workers, remote communities and long-term care. In Montreal, mass vaccine sites, including the Olympic Stadium, opened their doors to the public as the province began inoculating seniors who live in the hard-hit city.

COVID-19 vaccination appointments opened March 10 for residents 70 and older across Quebec. The minimum age is currently set at 65 in Abitibi-Temiscamingue and Cote-Nord. However, Montreal is dropping the age limit to 60.

Premier Francois Legault says his government's goal is for all adult Quebecers who want a COVID-19 vaccine to get at least one dose by the province's Fete nationale on June 24. He also said the province's vaccination campaign will allow all Quebecers aged 65 and over to be vaccinated with one dose by mid-April.

Quebec, meanwhile, is looking to enlist between 20 and 50 companies across the province to operate vaccination hubs to help accelerate its immunization campaign for people under 60.

Health Minister Christian Dube says he's hoping the companies can administer a total of one million vaccines.

To be part of the program, companies must commit to vaccinating between 15,000 and 25,000 people over a 12-week period between May and August.

Quebec will provide the vaccines and necessary equipment and run the online appointment portal. The program will begin when residents under the age of 60 become eligible to be vaccinated, with a goal of fully vaccinating 500,000 Quebecers.

Ontario

Ontario launched its COVID-19 vaccine booking portal and call centre on March 15.

People aged 80 and older were the first eligible to use the system. Starting March 22, people age 75 and older will be able to make appointments through the booking system.

Ontario focused its initial vaccine effort on those in long-term care, high-risk retirement home residents, some health-care workers and people who live in congregate care settings.

It has said the rollout will look different in each of its 34 public health units. Some public health units are ahead of the provinces schedule for vaccinations.

A pilot project at more than 300 pharmacies in Toronto, Kingston and Windsor Oxford-AstraZeneca started offering shots to those aged 60 to 64 in March.

That program is being expanded to offer shots to people aged 60 and older starting on March 22. Some primary care physicians are also offering Oxford-AstraZeneca shots to eligible patients in that age range.

The pharmacy pilot will expand to 700 locations across the province in the coming weeks, then to approximately 1,500 sites as supply becomes available.

Other currently eligible people include front line health-care workers, Indigenous adults and chronic home health-care recipients, and some health units have started vaccinating people experiencing homelessness.

The interval between vaccine doses has been extended to four months in Ontario.

Manitoba

Manitoba is starting to vaccinate people aged 65 and older and First Nation people aged 45 and older. Health officials plan to reduce the age minimum, bit by bit, over the coming months.

Eligibility was recently expanded to include nearly all health-care workers, including those who do not provide direct patient care. All people who work in congregate living facilities are also able to get vaccinated.

Dr. Joss Reimer, medical lead of the province's vaccine task force, has said inoculations could be open to all adults in the province by August if supplies are steady. There are supersites in cities where people can get vaccines and pop-up clinics have begun in rural and northern Manitoba communities for people who are eligible.

Health officials say the province has capacity to deliver 20,000 doses each day, but are currently hindered by limited supply.

Manitoba has already indicated it would opt for a four-month interval between doses.

The military is also being deployed to northern Manitoba to help vaccination efforts in 23 remote First Nations. Up to 200 members will help set up sites, transport people and administer doses. The goal is to vaccinate 100,000 First Nations people in 100 days.

To date, 146,529 doses of vaccine have been administered including 99,091 first doses and 47,438 second doses.

---

Saskatchewan

The Saskatchewan Health Authority is booking vaccinations for residents aged 62 and older. The minimum age drops to 50 for people living in the Far North.

Those deemed to be medically vulnerable and have underlying health conditions can also get a shot, but have to wait to receive a letter first. Priority health-care workers are also on the list.

The province plans to open more drive-thru vaccination clinics once its receives the next shipment of Oxford-AstraZeneca shots. To date, the province has done around 144,000 vaccinations.

Alberta

Health Minister Tyler Shandro has said the province expects to offer all Albertans aged 18 and over a first dose of vaccine by the end of June.

On March 15, residents aged 65 to 74, and First Nations, Inuit and Metis aged 50-plus, were allowed to begin booking. The province had originally not expected to begin this stage of vaccination until April.

In April, the Alberta government aims to start offering the vaccine to people with some chronic health conditions born between 1957 and 2005. That includes people with certain lung, kidney, liver and heart diseases, people treated for cancer in the past year, those with severe mental illness and substance use disorders, and pregnant women.

After that, vaccines will be available to more health-care workers and people with jobs in certain congregate living settings, such as jails and homeless shelters. Meat plant workers will also qualify in this phase.

Alberta has also said it will follow other provinces by extending the time between the first dose and the second to four months.

British Columbia

The B.C. government is accelerating the timeline for the COVID-19 vaccine once again, allowing people who are "extremely clinically vulnerable" and some seniors to book their shots earlier than expected.

The Ministry of Health says that people at higher risk from COVID-19 due to existing medical conditions, including transplant recipients and those with cancer and severe respiratory conditions, will be able to register for their vaccine beginning Monday.

This group of people was originally scheduled to receive their shots in Phase 3 starting in April, but Health Minister Adrian Dix said the province has made tremendous progress on its age-based program and has additional vaccine supply.

The government said the new timeline means that about 200,000 people in B.C. aged 16 years or older who are clinically extremely vulnerable will receive their first dose of vaccine in the coming weeks.

The province has also announced a partnership with 14 businesses in the tourism and hospitality sectors that have been hit hard by the pandemic to use more than 1,400 laid-off workers to provide non-clinical help with the COVID-19 immunization rollout.

Nunavut

Nunavut's priority populations are being vaccinated first. They include residents of shelters, people aged 60 years and up, staff and inmates at correctional facilities, first responders and front-line health-care staff.

After a COVID-19 vaccine is administered, patients will be tracked to ensure they are properly notified to receive their second dose.

Northwest Territories

The Northwest Territories says it expects to finish its vaccine rollout by the end of April. It also expects to receive enough doses of the Moderna vaccine by the end of March to inoculate 75 per cent of the adult population.

Yukon

Yukon says it will receive enough vaccine to immunize 75 per cent of its adult population by the end of March.

Priority for vaccinations has been given to residents and staff in long-term care homes, group homes and shelters, as well as health-care workers and personal support workers. People over the age of 80 who are not living in long-term care, and those living in rural and remote communities, including Indigenous Peoples, are also on the priority list for shots.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2021.
Flagship conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation turned down a pair of six-figure contributions last year from tech giants Google and Facebook, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: CEOs for both companies will be on the Hill on Thursday, where they're expected to endure verbal lashings from both sides of the aisle. Heritage's rejection of their support, which came just days before the 2020 election, is a microcosm of the conservative fury at major tech firms.

Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free

What's new: Outgoing Heritage president Kay Coles James wrote pointed letters to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai in late October turning down their contributions.

The letters, which Heritage provided to Axios, formally rejected a $225,000 contribution from Google and noted that it would be returning a $150,000 donation from Facebook.

"We cannot in good conscience take money from a company that repeatedly, and blatantly, suppresses conservative speech on your platforms," said the letter to Pichai, language closely mirrored in the note to Zuckerberg.

Heritage accused Facebook of blocking referral traffic to the foundation's news and opinion website, and Google of censoring its YouTube videos, including by appending a disclaimer on one pre-election video "meant to cast doubt on the credibility of our well-sourced claims about the risks of voting by mail."

The Zuckerberg letter also noted Facebook's decision to block users from posting links to a New York Post story on the contents of Hunter Biden's laptop just weeks before the election.

Flashback: According to a Heritage spokesperson, Google had previously donated a total of $1.55 million to the group. Facebook had contributed $275,000.

Contributions to Heritage in 2019 alone totaled more than $87 million, according to its financial statements for the year.

Between the lines: Heritage's release of its letters to Zuckerberg and Pichai came on the eve of their testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday.

Both CEOs are expected to face hostile questioning from members on both sides of the aisle. Heritage's complaints last year mirror likely lines of attack from Republicans.

Indeed, one GOP congressman, Colorado Rep. Ken Buck, said on Wednesday that he would not accept future donations from Google, Facebook or Amazon.

Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.
NEW YORK, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Code and Theory today announced their new agency-of-record relationship with Con Edison, the energy company powering areas in and around New York City. Con Edison selected Code and Theory to help reaffirm its Clean Energy Commitment and continues to chart a course towards a clean, renewable energy future on behalf of its customers. Assembly, Code and Theory's sister agency within MDC Partners, will be their partner for media planning and buying.

"We are honored and extremely excited about this partnership with Con Edison, the most reliable energy company in the United States that fuels and enables our day-to-day productivity," said Amy Carvajal, Chief Creative Officer at Code and Theory. "To be able to bring awareness to the efforts of the operators of one of the world's largest energy delivery systems is an incredible opportunity. As a digital-first agency that thinks holistically and is relentlessly focused on the customer journey, Code and Theory is well-suited as lead agency for Con Edison. We can't wait to bring innovative creativity to this iconic leader that, for centuries, has quite literally powered the unique buzz and energy of this city."

Throughout the pandemic, Con Edison has been there supporting the city  with essential workers keeping the lights on during tough times and powering laptops for a new remote work and school life. During this time the company has also worked to help customers adopt digital tools that make it easier for everyone to do business with the company. New technology like smart meters help make customers' homes and businesses energy efficient while maintaining their comfort.

Con Edison has taken aggressive steps to harden its energy systems in recent years with annual billion-dollar-plus energy infrastructure investments to counter the effects of climate change, while also keeping customers alerted to steps they can take to stay safe in the wake of more violent storms. The company is enhancing how it plans and designs its energy delivery systems to make New York City and Westchester County more resilient against the intensifying effects of climate change. In a recent forward looking report, Con Edison detailed how it will incorporate climate change into its planning, design, operations, and emergency response.

Code and Theory, an agency known for its digital-first marketing and transformation work, will support Consolidated Edison Inc. and its two regulated utilities: Con Edison Company of New York and its neighboring energy company, Orange and Rockland Utilities. Efforts will help New Yorkers engage with the companies' customer service tools and technologies as well as their clean energy programs and projects, such as the company's industry-leading efforts in battery storage, electric vehicles and solar energy. Through its Clean Energy Businesses subsidiary, Consolidated Edison Inc. is the second largest solar producer in North America and seventh largest worldwide.

"We look forward to a new partnership with Code and Theory and its sister agency Assembly in serving our customers," said Frances A. Resheske, senior vice president of Corporate Affairs at Con Edison. "As New York continues the transition to a clean energy future, we want to keep our customers updated on the tools and innovations that will make their lives better. Code and Theory and Assembly have impressed us with their holistic creative approach and their unique understanding of the needs of our customers."

John Fredette, Director of Marketing for Con Edison, added "Code and Theory and their partners at Assembly have proven expertise in breakthrough creative and robust digital experiences, and these will be instrumental as we promote our clean energy programs with customers."

"We are thrilled to partner with Code and Theory to support the efforts of such an important, iconic New York brand," said Kim Sivillo, Client President at Assembly. "Bringing Assembly's award-winning media planning and buying approach, which is deeply rooted in a data-first audience approach, together with Code and Theory's unique approach to creative and strategy is a tremendous opportunity to drive effective, integrated results. We are excited to connect Con Edison with their customers 'beyond the bill' and to have an opportunity to help them share all the incredible services and offerings they provide to the New York metro area."

About Code and Theory:

Founded in 2001, Code and Theory is a strategically driven, digital-first creative agency that lives at the intersection of creativity and technology. With over 850 employees across a global network, the agency solves consumer and business problems with end-to-end solutions that flex to meet the needs of today's ever-changing digital landscape. The firm works in a broad range of industries, including publishing, finance, education and healthcare. Client partnerships include adidas, CNN, J&J, JPMorgan Chase, Pfizer, and Xerox.

To learn more, please visit: https://www.codeandtheory.com

About Assembly:

Assembly, part of the MDC Partners network, is a modern media agency born in 2014 to help brands find their audiences and make them move. Named Ad Age's Media Agency of the Year in 2018, Assembly's 700+ employees manage more than $3 billion in media for a wide array of clients across dozens of verticals including financial services, retail, utilities, healthcare, education, politics, travel and leisure, and more. Our driving belief is that all media is performance media. With a focus on data, we bring together insights and marketplace expertise to help our clients move their consumers and grow their businesses.

To learn more, please visit: https://www.media-assembly.com/

SOURCE Code and Theory

Related Links

http://www.codeandtheory.com


The influx of migrants illegally crossing into the United States is a result of single adults - men in particular - searching for work, according to an analysis of Customs and Border Patrol data.

Many migrants crossing the border are trying to take advantage of the easing pandemic restrictions in the country, seeking jobs picking produce, roofing, or even washing dishes, Border Patrol agents told the Wall Street Journal, based on what the migrants are telling them.

The flood of people surging toward the border is creating the largest crisis in the past 20 years, the WSJ says, with single adults accounting for 82 percent of the apprehensions at the border so far this year.

The response to the growing crisis will now be led by Vice President Kamala Harris, taking on her first major policy role since taking office two months ago.

But some Republicans are questioning Harris's commitment to tackling the issue after her past statements, including one that said people trying to cross the border illegally were not 'criminals.'

The current influx of migration isn't from families, but from single adults looking for work

Of those apprehended, 82 percent have been single adults (Pictured: Migrants walking along railway in Tenosique, Tabasco in Mexico)

Of those single adults who have been apprehended, 60 percent have been Mexicans

Still, while Harris more recently has expressed the desire to find a pathway to citizenship for the 12 million undocumented workers already in the US, she has said she would push to discourage people from making their way to the US border.

'I look forward to engaging in diplomacy with government, with the private sector, with civil society and the leaders of each in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras,' Harris said on Wednesday, according to New York Daily News.

Of the apprehensions taking place during the current fiscal year, 82 percent have been single adults and 60 percent of those single adults have been Mexicans, which differs from recent influxes of Central American migrants.

The data comes from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the surge in illegal immigration at the southern border is the biggest in two decades.

Family apprehensions are up slightly in the first five months of the fiscal year from 2020, with 39,000 arrested a year after 37,000 were arrested in the same timeframe.

At the same time in 2019, however, 136,000 families were arrested at the border, over three times greater than the current year, showing the current influx isn't from migrant families.

In data CBP showed to NPR, more than 5,000 unaccompanied migrant children and teens are in CBP custody.

An average of 590 children and teens have crossed the border each day in the last three weeks, with children staying in CBP custody for an average of 131 hours, beyond the 72-hour limit.

The White House has limited media access to the CBP facilities, with a facility in Carrizo Springs, Texas serving as a site for access on Wednesday.

Pictured: U.S. Customs and Border Protection deporting migrants to Mexico

Pictured: Migrants on Tuesday crossing the border into Mission, Texas

That site reportedly houses 766 minors, all teenage boys, with the capacity for almost 200 more.

The White House is facing accusations that the facility shown doesn't paint the whole picture of the problems at the border.

'Well continue to work with agencies on creating avenues for media access to and visibility into these facilities,' White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.

Vice President Kamala Harris was tapped on Wednesday to lead the border response

With Harris set to take over the response on the border, the GOP was quick to attack her for previous stances on illegal immigration.

'She is not going to be able to solve this crisis,' Sen. Ted Cruz said on America's Newsroom on Thursday morning.

'Kamala Harris doesn't have anything to do other than go down there and let everybody go. I mean, that's the only option that is consistent with the political promises she's made.'

Biden, who has placed the blame of the current surge on Donald Trump, has aimed to overturn many of the Trump-era immigration policies at the border, as he's allowing unaccompanied migrant children to stay in the U.S. as they seek asylum.

'This new surge we are dealing with now started with the last administration, but its our responsibility to deal with it humanely and to stop whats happening,' Biden said.

He is still allowing other migrants to be expelled from the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

His administration is planning on restoring a $700 million foreign aid program for El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala in hopes that strengthening the local economies will mitigate migration.

Migrants cross over the Usumacinta River from Guatemala into Mexico

In a statement last week, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas called the situation at the border 'difficult.'

He noted that most of those being apprehended at the border were single adults from Mexico and the three Central American countries, and that they were being expelled to Mexico when applicable.

'There are limited exceptions to our use of the CDCs expulsion authority,' the statement read. 'For example, we do not expel individuals with certain acute vulnerabilities.'

The statement notes poverty, violence, natural disasters, and the COVID-19 pandemic has reasons for the current surge.
BCEN's annual national award honors one top Trauma Certified Registered Nurse (TCRN) for their advocacy for trauma nursing excellence through trauma specialty certification. Julies phenomenal success in supporting nurses to earn their TCRN trauma certification sets a prime example of how specialty certification contributes to better trauma nursing and better trauma patient care, said BCEN CEO Janie Schumaker.

The Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN), the benchmark for board certification across the emergency nursing spectrum, today announced that Julie Donnelly, MSN, RN, TCRN, director of patient care services, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the recipient of BCENs 2021 Distinguished TCRN Award. This annual national award recognizes one top TCRN-certified nurse for their advocacy for trauma care excellence through trauma nursing specialty certification.

Held by nearly 6,200 nurses and introduced just five years ago, the Trauma Certified Registered Nurse (TCRN) is trauma nursings highest professional credential. Nurses who earn the TCRN must demonstrate advanced clinical knowledge and expertise across the continuum of trauma care from injury prevention to acute care to rehabilitation. Trauma is a major public health issue, and trauma nurses play a leading and highly collaborative role in trauma care.

Julies phenomenal success in supporting nurses to earn their TCRN trauma certification sets a prime example of how specialty certification contributes to better trauma nursing and better trauma patient care, said BCEN CEO Janie Schumaker, MBA, BSN, RN, CEN, CENP, CPHQ, FABC. She is a true champion for trauma excellence.

Led and spurred by Julies work, the certification rate of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital emergency department nurses with at least three years of experience has increased from 38% to 100%, and the certification rates in all of the hospitals trauma-designated units consistently exceed the average certification rate across all nursing units. Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (TJUH) is an accredited Level I Regional Resource Trauma Center.

When the TCRN was introduced, we were so excited to have a certification just for trauma that we could offer to nurses in the trauma bay and in our intermediate and ICU trauma-designated units, said Donnelly. I am truly honored to receive this award. I see it as a team award for Jefferson and all of the trauma nurses here, not just me.

Read more about Julie in the Meet the Winner Q&A at https://bcen.org/2021-tcrn-award-winner/.

Julie has demonstrated remarkable leadership and been a fierce advocate to improve trauma patient care and advance nurse education. This recognition by the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing is an honor that both reflects her talent for elevating nurse professionalism in all the TJUH units involved in the care of trauma patients and supporting our system focus on improving lives, said Kate FitzPatrick, DNP, RN, ACNP, FAAN, NEA-BC, System Chief Nurse Executive Officer, Jefferson Health.

Donnelly will also be recognized via a virtual tribute by BCENs Schumaker on Friday, March 26, during TraumaCon 2021, the Society of Trauma Nurses annual conference. The event is being held virtually this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The winner of this years BCEN Distinguished TCRN Award was determined by a selection committee consisting of BCEN board members, staff and volunteer subject matter experts as well as a representative from the Society of Trauma Nurses.

Learn more about BCENs Distinguished Awards and National Certification Champion Awards at bcen.org/awards/.

About BCEN

Founded in 1980, the independent, not-for-profit Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN) offers robust national board certification programs fostering empowered nurses across the emergency spectrum who contribute noticeably to patient care, safety and outcomes. Nearly 57,000 BCEN credentials are currently held by registered nurses (RNs) who specialize in emergency, flight, critical care ground transport, pediatric emergency and trauma nursing. BCEN offers the Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN), Certified Flight Registered Nurse (CFRN), Certified Pediatric Emergency Nurse (CPEN), Certified Transport Registered Nurse (CTRN) and Trauma Certified Registered Nurse (TCRN) certifications. The CEN, CFRN, CPEN, and TCRN certification programs are accredited by the Accreditation Board for Specialty Nursing Certification (ABSNC). Learn more at bcen.org. Follow BCEN on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

NOTE TO EDITORS: Photos available by request.
ALLENTOWN, Pa., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- PPL Electric Utilities is hosting its latest Supplier Diversity Conference  an opportunity for diverse business owners to learn about support available to them and PPL's commitment to diversity  at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, April 23.

The free virtual conference  the fifth of its kind offered by PPL  is open to business owners who are women, minorities, veterans, disabled or LGBT, as well as businesses that are disadvantaged and/or located in Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZones). Business owners who meet that criteria can register for the event here.

Speakers will include PPL Electric Utilities President Greg Dudkin, as well as Bill Pettit, director-Supply Chain; Sandy Schrauger, manager-Supply Diversity; and Kristine Maciolek Small, PPL's director of Diversity, Inclusion and Talent Management. They will discuss the company's supplier opportunities, highlight support from around the region, and explain how the company is expanding upon diversity, equity, and inclusion programs to benefit the people and businesses of the communities it serves.

The conference provides potential opportunities for businesses to supply products and services at a time when they are adjusting to the economic challenges resulting from the pandemic. It will include a panel discussion about the benefits of building relationships with diverse suppliers and will detail the success story of one company that saw its business grow with the help of relationships forged during the 2020 event.

The event also will highlight the benefits of being a certified diverse business and will introduce business owners to partner agencies that certify diverse businesses.

"We have nearly tripled the amount of our spending with diverse businesses since 2016, the year we began the annual supplier diversity event," Schrauger said. "We're looking forward to building on that success by providing resources to the suppliers we work with and meeting other diverse business owners."

To learn more about becoming a PPL supplier, visit the company's website. For a list of items that PPL purchases, click here.

PPL Electric Utilities provides electric delivery service to more than 1.4 million homes and businesses in Pennsylvania and ranks among the best utility companies in the country for customer service and reliability. PPL Electric Utilities is a major employer in the communities it serves. It is a subsidiary of PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL). For more information visit www.pplelectric.com.

Note to Editors: Visit our media website at www.pplnewsroom.com.

Contact: For news media: Patrick Lester, 610-774-5997, [email protected]

PPL Electric Utilities

SOURCE PPL Corporation

Related Links

http://www.pplweb.com


"Cross-less Christianity is a pandemic worse than COVID- 19..."

The President, Association of Missionaries in Nigeria, Oscar Amaechina, has called on ministers of the gospel in Nigeria to shun prosperity theology "which is a pandemic worse than COVID-19".

He made the assertion in a conference organised by Afri-Mission and Evangelism Network for pastors and Evangelists in Abuja at the weekend.

The theme of the conference was 'antichrist mandate and its effect on pastors and the mandate of the Great Commission'.

The cleric observed that the empire building which is fashioned after the Babylonian system of "Let us build and make names for ourselves" has not allowed churches and pastors to realise the mandate of the church which is "go ye".

"Our inability to reach the unreached with the gospel and love of Christ is responsible for insurgency and terrorism in our country."

He warned participants to note that "cross-less Christianity is a pandemic worse than COVID-19" and believers can only survive the pandemic through spiritual sanitisation of their hearts through sound Biblical theology.

"This virus is capable of condemning billions of Christians to second death by facilitating their reception of the mark 666. Unlike COVID-19, no one is taking measure to stop its spread.

"Rather, many African Christians are embracing it because it seems to proffer quasi-solution to the chronic poverty in the land. The only antiretroviral therapy is healthy dosage of sound biblical theology."

The cleric pleaded with the participants to stop collecting money from worshipers of God in the name of seed sowing and reminded them that every pastor will give account of his stewardship on earth.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Coronavirus Nigeria By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Josephine Amaechina, who was represented by Uche Chiedu, Head, Training and Capacity Building of Afri-Mission and Evangelism Network, said that embracing the mandate of the Great Commission will inevitably bring transformations to the body of Christ and the country at large.

"This conference was designed for pastors because we have realised that the gospel has not reached so many people and that we have not obeyed our master's command."

Also, Emmanuel Akpo, a student of Afri-Mission School of Advance Theology, said "The teaching has quite changed my mentality totally, when I go back to my ministry I will change a lot of things".

Another participant, Onyekachi Amaechi, said that he has made a "360 degree turn around."

"I have benefited a lot about changing the narrative of what I believed initially Christianity was, I have come to understand that we are called to concentrate on souls, to win souls for Jesus Christ and expand the kingdom. I have learnt a lot."

Adams Maxwell another participant said "I am very excited to be a partaker of this great meeting and to meet a man that loves the work of God and never hides the truth."
Security vendor WatchGuard Technologies has appointed Anthony Daniel to the role of regional director for Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Islands.

"I am delighted that Anthony Daniel has accepted to join WatchGuard as regional director  Australia and New Zealand," said WatchGuard Technologies APJ vice president for sales Sylvain Lejeune.

"He brings a rare blend of excellence in team leadership, understanding of technology and track record of collaborating with the channel for win-win outcomes. He will work collaboratively with our team, our distributors, channel partners and end-users to deliver our innovative cybersecurity solutions at a time when organisations of all sizes face increasingly sophisticated and advanced threat vectors."

Daniel brings more than 15 years' sales and senior account experience in the IT and telecommunications industry to WatchGuard.

He joins the company from SolarWinds, where he worked as senior regional sales manager for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.

His previous roles include senior sales manager for Victoria and Tasmania at Oracle, business sales manager at Vocus, and senior account manager at Vodafone.

Daniel is studying towards an MBA at University of Technology Sydney.

"The combination of our existing cyber security product offerings and its strong go-to-market strategy is a winning strategy which fits all customers' needs irrespective of industry. This is a true reflection of the company's willingness to continue to adapt and improve to anticipate and exceed market demand," he said.

"I look forward to continuing to drive our business strategy, grow our channel and to supporting business growth Australia and New Zealand and the Pacific islands."

Mark Sinclair, Daniel's predecessor at WatchGuard, is leaving the company to pursue a new independent business outside of the IT industry.

"I am very pleased that Anthony has come on board to continue our local success. I look forward to spending the next few weeks to bring him up to speed with all the plans we have for 2021 as it promises to be an exciting year for our customers and partners," said Sinclair.

Lejeune said "I would like to warmly thank Mark Sinclair for his outstanding contributions to WatchGuard Technologies and for driving our team to success over more than three years. I wish Mark every success in his new entrepreneurial journey."
New Delhi, March 25 : Women Short Service Commission (SSC) officers in the Indian Army have traversed a long and tedious path since 2003, engaged in litigation seeking parity with their male counterparts for grant of permanent commission, and their long-drawn battle for equality was as much about engaging as much with reforming mindsets as with implementing constitutional principles, the Supreme Court said.

The apex court did not disappoint these women officers, as it held that the administrative requirement imposed by Army authorities, while considering their case for the grant of permanent commission, of benchmarking them with the officers lowest in merit in the corresponding male batch is "arbitrary and irrational".

A bench of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and M.R. Shah said: "We must recognise here that the structures of our society have been created by males and for males. As a result, certain structures that may seem to be the 'norm' and may appear to be harmless, are a reflection of the insidious patriarchal system." These women officers have persevered for over a decade to gain the same dignity of an equal opportunity at permanent commission, it said, observing that the pattern of evaluation of women officers resulted in indirect and systemic discrimination, which caused economic and psychological harm and an affront to their dignity.

Justice Chandrachud, who authored the February 17, 2020 verdict allowing permanent commission to women officers, minced no words citing discrimination meted out with women officers while evaluating their ACRs (annual confidential reports).

"In accordance with pre-existing policies of the respondents, the method of evaluation of ACRs and the cut-off must be reviewed for future batches, in order to examine for a disproportionate impact on women SSC officers who became eligible for the grant of permanent commission in the subsequent years of their service," the top court said in a 137-page judgment.

The bench ruled that all women officers who have fulfilled the cut-off grade of 60 per cent in the Special No 5 Selection Board held in September 2020 shall be entitled to the grant of permanent commission, subject to their meeting the medical criteria prescribed by the General Instructions dated August 1, 2020 and receiving disciplinary and vigilance clearance.

More than 80 petitioners have moved the top court aggrieved with the implementation of top court's order by the Centre in granting permanent commission to women officers.

"The petitioners, who have been rejected on medical grounds, shall be reconsidered within a period of one month and orders for the grant of permanent commission shall, in terms of the above directions, be issued within a period of two months," the top court said.

The bench emphasised that equal application of laws to unequal parties is a farce, when the law is structured to cater to a male standpoint.

"It is not enough to proudly state that women officers are allowed to serve the nation in the armed forces, when the true picture of their service conditions tells a different story. A superficial sense of equality is not in the true spirit of the Constitution and attempts to make equality only symbolic," it added.

The bench clarified that the women officers who were in the 5th or 10th year of service and met the medical criterion after the one-year period of stabilisation, would also be eligible for grant of permanent commission.

It did not shy away from expressing its agony that both the Defence Ministry and the Army failed to implement the Delhi High Court's 2010 verdict on permanent commission, though there was no stay on its operation. The bench said this resulted in conundrum on the applicability of the medical criterion to women officers who are 40-50 years old.

"The Army authorities are insistent to apply the medical criteria as of today, while simultaneously attempting to freeze the ACRs of the WSSCOs at the 5th or 10th year of service. Indirect discrimination coupled with an exclusionary approach inheres in this application," it said.

The bench said some of the finest women officers who have served the Army and brought distinction by their performance and achievements have been excluded by refusing to consider their achievements on the specious ground that these were after the 5th/10th year of service.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's presence as guest of honour on the 50th anniversary of the South Asian country's independence is significant both for the optics and the substance of bilateral relations.

In the first place, it is an expression of deep gratitude that Bangladesh seeks to express to its neighbour, without whose military intervention we would not have won our Independence in less than a year after the struggle started. Our bravehearts were fighting, their sacrifices were enormous but Bangladesh would not be free of the Pakistani scourge without the brilliant military offensive planned and executed by Field Marshal Sam Maneckshaw and Generals Arora and Jacob.

Secondly, Modi's presence at Bangladesh's most emotional moment is a reminder of a stark fact which some religious fundamentalists on both sides of the border seek to deny -- that having grown together in the last three decades into economic powerhouses, India and Bangladesh need to be friends and partners to be able to grow together in future.

The release of a World Bank report titled "Connecting to Thrive" just before Modi packs his bags for Dhaka drives home this point. It advocates further strengthening of 'seamless transport connectivity' between the two neighbours, which, it says, can drive up their national incomes by 8 to 10 per cent and boost exports by 180 to 290 per cent in a decade.

No visionary leader like Prime Ministers Sheikh Hasina or Narendra Modi can miss out on such obvious opportunities.

Thirdly, there is a strong security raison d'etre for the two nations to be friends and not foes. If Bangladesh is hostile, it can become the launchpad for rebels from India's northeast -- like in the days of East Pakistan. If India is hostile, it can destabilise the strategic but remote and the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

Bangladesh's successive military rulers incurred India's wrath by backing northeastern rebels and our forces faced the music in Chittagong Hill Tracts for two decades. Modi cannot be chief guest at the Golden Jubilee of our independence if the two neighbours are not rocking. That's good news for both.

When the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) opposed the Kolkata-Dhaka bus service during the first Hasina government (1996-2001) , their leaders had to be reminded that most Bangladeshis don't have the resources to go for medical treatment to Singapore and that Kolkata or other Indian cities were their best bet. Bengali food stalls in Vellore proves the steady flow of our people to hospitals like the CMC. And this makes Bangladeshis the largest segment of tourists to India, 23 per cent, who spend much more in the country than cannabis-smoking Western tourists. So no way we are termites and no way we can ignore India. This is the stark reality.

Prime Minister Hasina has been more than kind in her expression of gratitude to India. An important road in Dhaka is named after Indira Gandhi, widely viewed in our country as 'Liberator', someone described as 'Ma Durga' by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Modi's predecessor as India's first Bharatiya Janata Party Prime Minister. In fact Modi accepted Vajpayee's 'Muktijuddho Padak' (Liberation War Medal).

Scores of Indians who played an important role in 1971 have received this medal. Hasina has delivered on India's crucial security and connectivity concerns and signed the land boundary agreement to settle the prickly enclaves problem.

Both nations are trying to negotiate water sharing agreements on common rivers like the Teesta and moving towards a slew of economic agreements which can hugely boost growth in both countries, specially in their border regions .

The radicals who are threatening to disrupt Modi's visit must be reminded that lakhs of Bangladeshis, including some who spew venom at India, are getting vaccinated by India-made vaccines. Actually, Modi has faced some criticism at home for rushing off vaccines abroad before inoculating his own people. But proving detractors wrong, Indian vaccine supply to Bangladesh has been steady and uninterrupted.

The battle to contain Covid was no less important than other battles. India has stood by us both in 1971 and now.

India-bashing is cottage industry in a section of Bangladesh's elite and radical political fringe. I have three requests for them : (a) please don't take the Indian vaccine and leave it for a poor Bangladeshi because you can afford an expensive Chinese or an American vaccine even by flying to that country; (b) don't go to an Indian hospital next time you suffer an ailment but rush to Singapore or the West for treatment at five to 10 times the cost; (c) please ask Pakistan to tender a formal apology for its massacre and mass rapes in 1971 because they did not kill or rape Indians but massacred your fellow Bengalis (unless you think you are Pakistanis).

I am a victim of sexual harassment at my workplace and, in some ways, the pioneer of the #Metoo movement in Bangladesh. I thank Modi for asking his powerful minister MJ Akbar, once India's top editor, to stand down from his cabinet because of the charges of sexual abuse against him.

Akbar has lost his case against the ladies he tormented.

I want my tormentors at the bank I worked to be similiarly brought to justice and the rapists elsewhere in Bangladesh to be hauled over the coals. Here again, the Indian example should help.

(Monira Sultana Popy, a Dhaka-based columnist and gender-human rights activist, is a former banker)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Three Bitcoin tycoons who founded Blockchain.com are believed to be worth hundreds of millions after their cryptocurrency firm was valued at 3.8billion.

Founders Peter Smith, Nicolas Cary and Ben Reeves are thought to have kept considerable stakes in the company, which is a cryptocurrency marketplace and traces its beginnings to a 'small, crowded' two-bedroom flat in York.

Headquartered in London, the business has secured more than 218million in funding from global investors.

Mr Smith posted on Twitter: 'Im pleased to share that @Blockchain has raised a Series C, securing $300M (218.6mil) in funding at a $5.2B (3.8bn) post-money valuation led by DST Global, @lightspeedvp and VY Capital.'

Chief executive Peter Smith, above. He said: 'Im pleased to share that @Blockchain has raised a Series C, securing $300M (218.6mil) in funding at a $5.2B (3.8bn) post-money valuation'

Founders Nicolas Cary (pictured left) and Ben Reeves (right), who are thought to have kept considerable stakes in the company, which monitors crypto transactions

A spokesman said that inside shareholders own the majority of the business, reports The Telegraph.

Writing on the company's website, CEO Mr Smith said: 'Since 2011, the Blockchain.com team has been heads down, relentlessly focused on building a company at the intersection of cryptocurrency, institutions, and (most importantly) people around the world.

'We continue to be honored by the trust our consumer and institutional clients put in us each day. Over 31M verified users in over 200 countries use our products, and weve seen a 3x increase in active users over the past 12 months alone.

'This round follows our $120M strategic growth round that we announced a month ago, led by a number of the best macro investors in the world.'

The chief executive has previously said the business was founded in a 'small, crowded flat' in York, adding: 'As such, many of our first and longest Wallet users are Brits who were willing to go out on a limb with us, and a network that was more likely to be called insane than investible.'

One of the company's founders, Mr Reeves, attended St Peter's, a private school in Clifton, York, and studied a bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Management and Operations at Newcastle-upon-Tyne University until 2009.

He then went on to achieve a first class Master's degree in Computer Science and became a mobile developer at Engine Room Apps, which builds iPhone apps for businesses, in 2010.

Before founding Blockchain.com, he also worked as the CEO of Qkos Services Ltd, a software development company which was dissolved in 2014.

Mr Smith's post on Twitter, pictured above. Writing on the company's website, he added: 'This round follows our $120M strategic growth round that we announced a month ago'

The chief executive (pictured above) has previously said the business was founded in a 'small, crowded' two-bedroom flat in York

Meanwhile Mr Cary, Blockchain.com co-founder and vice chairman, studied a bachelor's in Business at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington, between 2003 and 2007.

He worked as a partner and manager of customer operations at PipelineDeals until 2013, becoming a co-founder at the digital platform skysthelimit.org one year later.

According to his personal website, Mr Cary taught English and carried out poverty reduction assessments in rural India before developing start-ups.

Mr Smith, from America, gained a degree from the University of London and has been part of the UK Finance board.

He lived, studied and worked across the US, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), East Africa and Asia before co-founding Blockchain.com, writes King's College London business club.

Mr Smith said yesterday: 'With one of the most significant balance sheets in the industry, we plan to aggressively expand the products we offer our customers, grow our global team, and pursue M&A opportunities to bring exciting new products and ideas into the company.

Mr Smith (pictured above), from America, gained a degree from the University of London and has been part of the UK Finance board

'I couldnt be more proud of the team, I couldnt be more optimistic about the future of Blockchain.com, our products, and our brand to meet this moment.'

Bitcoins are traded via a decentralised registry system known as a blockchain, and found by so-called Bitcoin 'miners', who enable new Bitcoins to be created, but also to independently verify and record every transaction made with the currency.

More accurately, Bitcoins are the reward miners get for maintaining the transaction record accurately.

The mining works like a lottery that runs every ten minutes, with processing centres around the world racing to compile and submit this record of transactions in a way that is accepted by the system.

They also guess a random number, with the first to submit and record the correct number the winner of the prize, with this becoming the next block in the blockchain.
New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti, who was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate for more than five hours on Thursday (March 25), lashed out at the BJP-led central government and alleged that ED and National Investigation Agency (NIA) are used against those who speak up.

Whoever speaks up, ED and NIA are used against them. The nation is not running according to the Constitution of India but according to the agenda of a particular party, Mufti said after coming from the ED office at Rajbagh in Srinagar.

Dissent has been criminalised in this country. The ED, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the National Investigation Agency are being misused to silence the opposition tactically," the former J&K CM was quoted as saying by PTI.

She further alleged that this country is not being run by the Constitution but the agenda of a particular political party.

Answering reporters questions about what questions were posed to her by the ED, Mufti said that she was questioned about the sale of her ancestral land in Bijbehara area of Anantnag district and the use of the chief minister's discretionary funds.

"Questions were asked regarding the sale of our ancestral land in Bijbehara and use of the chief minister's discretionary fund. I was asked from where would come the list of widows who were receiving help from the CM's secret funds, she said.

The PDP chief appeared before the ED for questioning in connection to the money laundering case around 11:00 AM.

She said that her party will continue to pursue the agenda for resolution of Jammu and Kashmir's problem and restoration of its special status as it existed before August 5, 2019.

Live TV
Patna, March 25 : Two leaders of the RJD and the LJP were shot at in Bihar's Madhubani and and Bhojpur districts, respectively, in the last 24 hours.

Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Raj Kumar Yadav was shot at on NH 527B under Jai Nagar police station in Madhubani district on Thursday. His condition is stated to be critical. In a statement to the police, Raj Kumar said that he was returning on his bike from Jai Nagar to Kamalwari village when two armed men wearing face masks open fired on him.

"The assailants were waiting near a fuel station. As soon as Raj Kumar came near them, they open fired on him. Due to the sudden attack, Raj Kumar met with an accident and attackers shot at him from close range. The victim has sustained gun shot injuries in stomach and is under close observation of the doctors at a private hospital," said Sanjay Kumar, SHO of Jai Nagar police station.

On Wednesday night, Prem Chand Yadav, the general secretary of Lok Janshakti Party in Bhojpur district, was shot at by two bike-borne assailants in Isadhi Bazar village under the Jagdishpur police station.

Prem Chand was returning home to Kusuma village when the attackers shot at him. His condition is also critical.
Foreign holidays this summer could be back on after the First Minister said it is too early to make an assessment on whether it will be safe - one day after the Health Minister ruled them out.

In the latest mixed message to come from the Northern Ireland Executive, Arlene Foster has said a decision on foreign travel in the summer months will be made after April 12.

Mrs Foster was speaking at the Executives weekly press conference on Thursday afternoon, alongside deputy First Minister Michelle ONeill, and they were asked whether they believe foreign holidays will be possible this summer.

It came after Robin Swann was asked earlier this week if trips abroad should be ruled out and he said flatly: I would very much say so.

The chief medical officer, Dr Michael McBride, followed up by warning that booking a summer trip abroad would be premature due to rising Covid-19 cases in Europe, adding that it was best not to plan too far ahead at this time.

Appearing on the podium together on Thursday, the First and deputy First Ministers were asked whether they agreed with Mr Swanns position and Mrs Foster said: I think its too soon to say whether people are going to be able to go on international travel or not.

As I have indicated, the Global Travel Taskforce is reporting on April 12, our officials are working through that with other officials from Scotland, Wales and England, so we look forward to receiving that report, so my view is its perhaps too soon to be booking your holidays, but its also too soon to be ruling them out as well because we havent had that report yet.

Ms ONeill also said it is too early to make a definitive decision on the matter due to the uncertain nature of the virus and the possibility of new variants emerging.

I think that we dont know what the situation is going to be in a months time, two months time or certainly into the late summer, she said.

So I absolutely accept what the chief medical officer has said in terms of the prediction he has made in terms of the uncertainty, we dont know how things are going to be shaping up across Europe, we have to factor in all these things, so I just think you cant give people the guarantee that they wish in terms of travel at this stage.

The comments from Mrs Foster and Ms ONeill followed criticism from Stormont health committee member Jonathan Buckley on the matter.

The DUP MLA said: I really dont think that Mr Swann should have come out and said that as it seems far too early to me to be making that judgement and, as far as I am aware, it isnt the agreed decision of the Executive.

Brian Ambrose, the CEO at Belfast City Airport, has accused Mr Swann of causing further damage to the air travel industry which is already struggling following a year of restrictions on global travel: Ministers and senior civil servants must carefully consider the severe economic consequences of their public comments. As an airport we would never challenge decisions made by the Health Minister in relation to the running of the health service.

However, we would expect decisions on international air travel to emanate from the Northern Executive, rather than the Health Minister or an advisor. These personal observations have severely dented consumer confidence, at a time when our vaccine programme is being successfully rolled out and should enable responsible summer travel to certain countries.

For many within our society, the thought of an international holiday this year may be a step too far. However, for many who have toiled and endured the last 12 months, a summer holiday, following a vaccination, is a much-needed panacea.

Our sector has been well supported by the Northern Ireland Executive during this pandemic, and we will continue to work with Government to ensure that Northern Ireland travellers are not left in limbo regarding summer travel.

Meawhile, Northern Ireland has recorded no Covid-19 deaths for the second day in a row. A further 183 new cases have been diagnosed and there are 108 Covid-19 inpatients, of which 14 are in intensive care.

It has also emerged that 808,241 vaccines have been administered, of which 703,334 are first doses.
According to a press release published by Damen Shipyards Cape Town on 25 March 2021, the firm launched the first of three Multi Mission Inshore Patrol Vessels (MMIPV) procured by ARMSCOR for the South African Navy (SAN).

According to a press release published by Damen Shipyards Cape Town on 25 March 2021, the firm launched the first of three Multi Mission Inshore Patrol Vessels (MMIPV) procured by ARMSCOR for the South African Navy (SAN).

Follow Navy Recognition on Google News at this link

Multi Mission Inshore Patrol Vessels MMIPV (Picture source: Damen Shipyards Cape Town)

The vessels will augment South Africas maritime security by enhancing the countrys capability to respond effectively, rapidly and cost-effectively to threats such as illegal trafficking and fishing.

The more than 600-ton vessel was transported from the DSCT shipyard on the evening of 23 March 2021 to the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) synchrolift at the Victoria & Alfred (V&A) Waterfront Basin. The move was conducted by Mammoet South Africa, using 48 axle lines of Self Propelled Mobile Transporters (SPMTs) to provide precision movement. Mammoet Project Manager, Uzayr Karimulla, says while moving the vessel at night meant less impact on traffic, the reduction in light came with its own challenges. Through careful planning, close collaboration, and the teamwork between DSCT and Mammoet South Africa, our team made this move a success. We are very happy to have been part of the project, contributing to the advancement of safer waters in Southern Africa.

Once the vessel was raised onto the synchrolift, the team waited for high tide to come in before moving it out of the V&A Basin via TNPA tugs towards the Elliot Bason. The testing of the ship systems will now commence before the vessel will officially be delivered to ARMSCOR/SAN, before the end of the year.

The MMIPVs are built according to the patented Damen Axe Bow design, which ensures low resistance, high sustained speed in waves and superior sea keeping characteristics in the toughest conditions.

As vertical accelerations are reduced significantly and bow slamming almost eliminated, the safety of the vessel and crew increases considerably, reducing operational risks. The multi mission deck is used for supporting diving, search and rescue and anti-piracy operations.

DSCT HR & Transformation Manager, Eva Moloi, says DSCT is particularly proud of the many years it has invested in local South African skills transfer, training, and entrepreneurship development and collaboration, which have resulted in a strong South African pool of scarce trade skills and supplier partnerships.

The engineering of the vessel commenced in 2018 and the keel was laid in February 2019.

The 62 x 11 meter naval vessel will be the first Damen Sea Axe vessel to operate in South Africa. The Sea Axe is a Damen patented design offering exceptional seakeeping behavior. The straight-edged, axe shaped bow cuts through the water, minimising slamming for improved safety and comfort on board and significantly reduced fuel consumption and emissions.
A bill that seeks to establish a support fund for families of fallen servicemen has scaled second reading at the Senate.

The bill titled, Families of fallen servicemen support fund bill, 2020 is sponsored by the senator representing Benue South, Abba Moro.

The second reading of the bill comes about a month after it was introduced to the Senate.

This Bill seeks to, among other things, establish a support fund for families of selected security personnel who died either in or out of combat (this means in the course of an official assignment or not).

It also seeks to enhance the capacity of widows of fallen servicemen to act as role models to their children through guidance and counselling and public enlightenment programmes.

The agencies considered in the bill include the Army, Air Force, Navy, Police and Civil Defence Corps.

Others are Nigerian Customs, Immigration, Drug Law Enforcement Agency and the Nigerian Correctional Service.

Timely

The legislation, which many have described as timely, comes amidst lamentations of neglect from the families of fallen soldiers by security agencies.

It also comes at a time when the country is at, perhaps, the peak of her fight against insecurity and insurgency.

Some families have also decried how difficult and almost impossible it is to get the gratuity of a member who has died in active service, PREMIUM TIMES had reported.

Some provisions of the bill, however, prescribes that families of late servicemen be given financial aid ranging from N2 million to N5 million as well as counselling and mental evaluation.

This reports aims to bring to the fore, some major provisions of the bill.

Details/major provisions of the bill

For starters, a board will be constituted to oversee the fund as well as financial and educational empowerment given to families of the fallen servicemen  which will be exempted from paying income tax on any income accruing to the Fund.

Having established the security agencies and the interpretation of combat and non-combat, the bill states that any security operative whose body is not found after a combat operation or an attack on his contingent in which heavy fatalities were recorded would be presumed dead if his/her whereabouts remains unknown for more than three months after he went missing.

Financial empowerment

** When any member of the named security agencies dies a combat death, the Board shall pay the spouse the sum of N5 million and shall counsel her on such entrepreneurship programmes that will enable her to invest the sum profitably for the welfare of the children left behind by the deceased.

** When any member of the named security agencies dies a non-combat death, the Board shall pay the spouse the sum of N2 million and shall counsel her on such entrepreneurship programmes that will enable her to invest the sum profitably for the welfare of the children left behind by the deceased.

Housing/educational benefits

** When any member of the named security agencies dies, whether in combat or not, the surviving children registered under the National Health Insurance Scheme shall enjoy free education from primary to tertiary institution on the bills of the Fund or on such tuition free education policy as may be declared by the Federal and State Governments for families of fallen servicemen.

** For this purpose, the Board shall verify and maintain an updated database of the surviving children registered under the National Health Insurance Scheme as forwarded from time to time by the named security agencies.

ADVERTISEMENT

** And whenever any such child gains admission into any university or any tertiary institution of learning in the country, the institution concerned shall grant free accommodation and free tuition education status to the child upon the tendering of a Letter of Introduction from the Board.

** The Board shall pay a designated allowance to the child for every academic year until he or she graduates. And as soon as any beneficiary of this policy completes his or her compulsory National Youth Service with nothing less than Second Class Lower Division or Upper Credit for Higher National Diploma, graduates shall be given special consideration above other applicants in any employment or recruitment 17 exercise they may apply.

Objectives of the Board

The Board shall be saddled with the responsibility of receiving into a designated account and managing the monies accruing to the Fund, assisting families of fallen servicemen identify economically viable enterprises for income generation and provide technical and financial support for their implementation.

The Board shall:

** Enhance the capacity of widows of fallen servicemen to act as role models to their children through guidance, counselling and public enlightenment programmes.

** Create, arouse and sustain the interests of the Federal, State and local governments, the Nigerian public, the corporate world and the international community on the need to support families of security operatives who die in the line of duty.

** Exercise control over the management of the Fund with a view to ensuring accountability and proper utilisation of the Fund as well as liaise with Security Agencies, Ministries, Extra-Ministerial Departments, the State and local governments for necessary collaborations towards effective discharge of their duties.

** Enter into contractual agreements for the purpose of building housing and educational facilities in each state for the welfare of the widows and kids of fallen servicemen, and such other contractual agreements as may be necessary; provided that every such agreement shall contain a clause that it is subject to approval by the joint session of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission and the Bureau of Public Procurement.

The Board will also allocate such houses and educational facilities built in the states to families of fallen servicemen, for their welfare and for the advancement of their education free of charge.

The Board will prepare and submit the annual expenditure and income of the Fund as well as quarterly report for approval.

Offences, punishments

** The chairman or any member of the board who violates provisions of the bill, commits an offence and shall upon conviction be liable to life imprisonment.

** The Chairman or any member of the Board who conspires with any authority or person to contravene any provisions of this Bill or any other law in relation to the Fund, commits an offence, and both the chairman or Board member shall along with that other authority or person be liable upon conviction to life imprisonment.

** Where any member of the armed forces or other security operative defects or abandons his duty post to fake his capture or death in a bid to enable his family obtain the benefits provided under this Bill, he commits an offence, and is liable upon conviction:

(i) to life imprisonment if no fatalities were recorded in the operation or combat that led to his defection, provided he was not found to be in contact with any member of his family before he was found.

(ii) to death, if fatalities were recorded in the operation that led to his defection, or if he was subsequently found to be in contact with any member of his family after his defection.

The provisions of section 416(2)(e) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act shall not apply to absolve any offender under this Bill from maximum punishment, whether or not he is a first time offender.

After it was considered and read for the second time, the bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Police Affairs for public hearing and further legislative work.

The committee is to report back in four weeks.
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.
opinion

Now that some credible and informed professionals in the international community, are 'shedding light' on the real cause of the worst outbreak of a lethal virus in history, we, as bona fide members of the First estate are compelled by our adherence to our professional ethics to help carry this very important message to our people.

As we continue to publish this emerging facts on the real cause of this life destroying outbreak among our people, we do hope and sincerely expect that our national leaders in particular will take due note and behave responsibly in the discharge of their solemn duty not only to seek the welfare of their people but that they will also diligently protect the sacred lives of their respective subjects.

Below is the continuation of the expose' of the real culprits behind the outbreak of the lethal Ebola virus in the Republics of Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and the obvious social; economic and national health implications for the rest of mankind. (TPG)

"Because of the widespread loss of life, fear, physiological trauma, and despair among Liberians and other West African citizens, it is incumbent that a concerted contribution to the resolution of this devastating situation, which may continue to recur, if it is not properly and adequately confronted.

"EBOLA IS A GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISM (GMO)"

"EBOLA HAS A TERRIBLE HISTORY, AND TESTING HAS BEEN SECRETLY TAKING PLACE IN AFRICA"

"SITES AROUND AFRICA, AND IN WEST AFRICA, HAVE OVER THE YEARS BEEN SET UP FOR TESTING EMERGING DISEASES, ESPECIALLY EBOLA"

"THE NEED FOR LEGAL ACTION TO OBTAIN REDRESS FOR DAMAGES AND DEATHS INCURRED DUE TO THE PERPETUATION OF INJUSTICE IN THE DEATH, INJURY AND TRAUMA IMPOSED ON LIBERIANS AND OTHER AFRICANS BY THE EBOLA AND OTHER DISEASE AGENTS."

"AFRICAN LEADERS AND AFRICAN COUNTRIES NEED TO TAKE THE LEAD IN DEFENDING BABIES, CHILDREN, AFRICAN WOMEN, AFRICAN MEN, AND THE ELDERLY. THESE CITIZENS DO NOT DESERVE TO BE USED AS GUINEA PIGS!"

"The world must be alarmed. All Africans, Americans, Europeans, Middle Easterners, Asians, and people from every conclave on Earth should be astonished. African people, notably citizens more particularly of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone are victimized and are dying every day. Listen to the people who distrust the hospitals, who cannot shake hands, hug their relatives and friends during the worst crisis to hit the Mano River Union".

"Hundreds of thousands people died tragically needing our help. The countries are poor and could not afford the whole lot of personal protection equipment (PPE) that the situation required. The threat is real, and it is larger than a few African countries".

"The challenge is global, and assistance is needed from everywhere, including China, Japan, Australia, India, Germany, Italy, and even kind-hearted people in the U.S., France, the U.K., Russia, Korea, Saudi Arabia, and anywhere else whose desire is to help. The situation is bleaker than can be imagined from the outside, and we must provide assistance however we can".

"To ensure a future that has less of this kind of drama, it is important that we now demand that our leaders and governments be honest, transparent, fair, and productively engaged. They must answer to the people. Please stand up to stop Ebola testing and the spread of this dastardly disease" commented DR. CYRIL E. BRODERICK, SR. Dr. Broderick is a scientist, who has taught for many years at the Agricultural College of the University of Delaware

The World Health Organization believes there may have been twice as many actual Ebola cases as were reported. The Centers for Disease Control reported that the number could have reached 1.4 million by January 2015 if massive, effective and immediate actions were not taken.

As focus was placed on treating the disease, some questioned its true origin, its spread, what was being or should have been done to curb its spread and its ultimate purpose. Not everyone is convinced Ebola came from infected Central African fruit bats and was transmitted by humans who ate infected meat or infected animals.

There is continuing skepticism about the disease mysteriously making its way from Zaire to Liberia through animal transmission without significant infections in countries along the way. Those who reject the Western view or have questions are not willing to easily stop sounding the alarm--and with valid reasons.

"There is no natural disease called Ebola," according to Dr. Abdul Alim Muhammad, Minister of health and human services for the Nation of Islam. He called Ebola a "weaponized virus" rooted in chemical and biological weapons research by Germany in the 1930s and perfected in the United States.

It is a weapon that can be used to depopulate, weaken and dominate nations, he said.

There are 'stories' of the U.S. Department of Defense funding Ebola trials on humans, trials which started just weeks before the Ebola outbreak in Guinea and Sierra Leone. The reports continue and state that the DOD gave a contract worth $140 million Dollars to Tekmira, a Canadian pharmaceutical company, to conduct Ebola research.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Ebola Liberia By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Where did the EBOLA come from? Why and how did it hit West Africa, particularly the Mano River countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone?

Already, speculations abound as to the origin and most importantly the motive behind the outbreak of deadly EBOLA virus. There are now dozens of websites publishing what they say are, by all accounts, some sinister and or insidious motives behind the Ebola breakout.

The EBOLA outbreak in early 2014 coincided with three separate vaccination campaigns in the Mano River region: a cholera oral vaccine effort by Medicines' Sans Frontiers under the WHO; and UNICEF-funded prevention programs against meningitis and polio:

Since the breakout of this lethal virus in the forest region of the Republic of Guinea, in an area where the French were conducting biomedical research, there continues to be strong suspicions on that country's former colonial master in the ongoing media probe into the motive behind the breakout of the notorious Ebola virus in West Africa.

This report By: Dr. Cyril Broderick, Professor of Plant Pathology,

uncovered the French connection to the African Ebola pandemic.
Pippa Middleton cut a casual figure as she was spotted pushing newborn daughter Grace in a pram as she headed out for a walk in leafy west London with two-year-old son, Arthur in tow.

The mother-of-two, who welcomed her second child Grace Elizabeth Jane with husband James Matthews last week, looked the epitome of 'mummy cool' as she was seen with both children for the first time.

The Duchess of Cambridge's younger sister, 37, opted for a laid-back look in a navy blue jacket, below-the-knee checked dress and a pair of casual white trainers.

Meanwhile, son Arthur clung onto the handle of the pushchair and proved to be the doting big brother - as he gave his mum a helping hand.

Pippa Middleton, 37, cut a casual figure as she was spotted pushing newborn daughter Grace in a pram as she headed out for a walk in leafy west London with two-year-old son, Arthur in tow (pictured)

The mother-of-two (pictured) looked the epitome of 'mummy cool' as she was seen with both children for the first time.

Pippa, who wore her brown hair tied back in a loose ponytail, kept her makeup minimal for the outing - adding just a touch of blusher to her cheeks.

Despite getting caught in the rain, the mother-of-two was all smiles as she enjoyed the fresh air with her children.

Clearly besotted with her newborn, Pippa could be seen gazing down at her little one, who was born in the early hours of March 15, weighing 6lbs 7oz.

The outing comes just two days after Pippa enjoyed a break from mum duties as she was spotted out for a walk with two companions in west London, without new daughter Grace.

Pippa welcomed her second child Grace Elizabeth Jane with husband James Matthews last week. Pictured, with son Arthur

Arthur clung onto the handle of the pushchair and proved to be the doting big brother - as he gave his mum a helping hand (pictured)

The 37-year-old wore her brown hair tied back in a loose ponytail and opted for just a touch of blusher

Clearly besotted with her newborn, Pippa could be seen gazing down at her little one, who was born in the early hours of March 15, weighing 6lbs 7oz (pictured)

She was seen beaming as she chatted to a pair of women clutching coffees, one of whom was walking a dog.

Meeting up with more than one person you don't live with is currently against lockdown rules in England. You're allowed to meet outside with other people if you live with them or they're in your bubble. If you meet someone from another household, you should try to keep two metres away from them.

It isn't clear who the women Pippa was spotted with are, or if they planned to meet up, though the trio were seen laughing and joking. It's possible she bumped into them while on a solo stroll.

Proud parents Pippa and James, 45, also share two-year-old son Arthur.

Grace's middle names - Elizabeth and Jane - are a nod to her grandmothers, Carole Elizabeth Middleton and Jane Matthews, while Elizabeth might also be a subtle acknowledgement of the family's royal ties.

Rumours of Pippa's pregnancy first swirled shortly before Christmas when Page Six reported the couple were expecting another baby.

A source close to the Middleton family told Page Six in December Kate's sister was expecting, saying: 'Pippa and James are thrilled, it's fantastic news amid a difficult year. The entire family is delighted.'

Pippa has never commented on her pregnancy and prefers to keep a low public profile.

Despite getting caught in the rain, the mother-of-two was all smiles as she enjoyed the fresh air with her children (pictured)

Arthur proved himself to be quite the helpful older brother as he clung onto the side of his little sister Grace's pushchair

Pippa, who wore her brown hair tied back in a loose ponytail, kept her makeup minimal for the outing - adding just a touch of blusher to her cheeks. Pictured, with Grace and Arthur

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will no doubt be delighted at the arrival of their baby niece, which comes at an exceedingly difficult time for the Royal Family in the wake of the fallout of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's bombshell Oprah interview.

As well as the Cambridge children, Grace has two cousins on her father's side of the family: Theodore Frederick Michael, two, and Gigi Margaux Matthews, five months, the children of Made In Chelsea's Spencer Matthews and his Irish model wife Vogue Williams.

How the lockdown rules for socialising changed on March 8 You can now spend time in outdoor public spaces for recreation on your own, with your household or support bubble, or with one other person. This means you can sit down for a drink or picnic. You must continue to maintain social distance from those outside your household. This is in addition to outdoor exercise, which is already permitted. Advertisement

Kate and Pippa's brother James Middleton, 33, is engaged to Alizee Thevenet.

Pippa and James enjoy a close relationship with both families. The Middletons enjoy holidays with the Matthews clan at the family's exclusive Eden Rock St Barts resort, proving just how well they all get on.

Pippa and James also raise their children with the support of their parents, with Carole telling Good Housekeeping that she is a hands-on grandmother.

'I want to run down the hills, climb the trees, and go through the tunnel at the playground,' she said. 'As long as I am able to, that's what I'll be doing. I cook with them, I muck around dancing, we go on bike rides.'

She said she would hope to pass down a love of the countryside and hoped she could help them 'really see the value of being able to appreciate nature and be active outdoors.'

Describing herself as 'very family-orientated', Carole said she has always 'tried hard to be a listening grandmother and mother-in-law' to Prince William, 38, and Pippa's husband James Matthews.

Pippa and James tied the knot in 2017 at St Mark's Church in Englefield, the estate of former Conservative MP Richard Benyon.

In 2018, Pippa welcomed baby Arthur in the Lindo Wing of St. Mary's Hospital, the same place where sister Kate gave birth to all three of her children.
Brattleboro, VT (05301)

Today

Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm this evening, then some lingering showers still possible overnight. Low 62F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm this evening, then some lingering showers still possible overnight. Low 62F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Following a successful collaboration with film and digital media students in February, University of North Georgia (UNG) students in design and technology for theater will join forces with their fellow students again on two Gainesville Theatre Alliance (GTA) productions.

GTA is a one-of-a-kind, nationally recognized collaboration between UNG and Brenau University.

"We wanted to produce shows this spring to get our students back on the stage," said Keri McClain, marketing manager of GTA. "Because of the collaboration earlier this year with UNG's film students, they will film our spring shows. GTA will then release them virtually."

The two spring 2021 productions will be "Songs for a New World" and "The Tempest." Both productions will be broadcast on GTA's YouTube channel, though dates have not been finalized. Filming is scheduled to begin in April, followed by editing and post-production.

Dr. Jeff Marker, head of the Department of Communication, Media, and Journalism, said a small crew of film and digital media majors will film the performance. Then two students will complete post-production during the summer.

"We will likely use three cameras and do something akin to a classic television setup," he said. "The plan is to film it like a theatre production, but I hope we can find unique ways to capture the performance. This is part of the fun. We'll see what the GTA crew does, then decide the best ways to film it."

For GTA, "Songs for a New World" and "The Tempest" will feature a full cast of characters  18 for "Songs for a New World" and 16 for "The Tempest"  along with an interchangeable set. Designers for lighting, sound and costumes will be assisted by two students  one for each production.

"We are supplying as many opportunities as possible for GTA students to get on stage, whether they are acting or tech and design," McClain said.

In "Songs for a New World," a group of four students will guide the audience through the production, which is filled with solo performances.

"It's considered a song cycle, with several songs stitched together by a single concept," McClain said. "The concept is the idea of stepping into something new, which is very timely at this moment."

Time is of the essence for GTA students, who saw last spring's productions canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fall shows were relegated to online productions instead of in-person shows. Now, they will face a new challenge: Perform on stage while being filmed.

Marker said his students will learn how to film a theatrical production, which is very different from filming a movie.

"It's a real-time performance, so you can't yell 'cut' and reset the shot," he said, explaining it will require advance planning. "For GTA and for us, the process is more important than the final product. It should be an excellent developmental opportunity. That said, our goal is to produce something that does justice to the quality of GTA's work and makes the entire university proud."
New Delhi: The coronavirus spread has surged all over again and this has resulted in a growing number of covid caseloads. Many state governments and Union Territories have declared a ban on the public celebration of the Holi festival.

Holi will be celebrated on Monday (March 29). The pandemic has affected every single realm of our lives and festivals are no exceptions. The Centre has issued a circular under section 22 of the Disaster Management Act that advises all the states and union territories to impose restrictions prior to the festival season.

India recorded 47,262 cases on Wednesday (March 24). The Health Minister has said on Wednesday (March 24) that the caseload in the country has reached 1,17,34,058.

Following are the states and union territories that have imposed restrictions on the public celebration of the Holi festival:

1. Maharashtra

Maharashtra has the highest number of active coronavirus patients than any other state in the country. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has taken this situation into consideration and stated that Holi celebration on Sunday (March 28) and Monday (March 29) both public and private will not be permitted. BMC has further added that for those who will go against this circular, strict actions will be taken under the Epidemic Disease Act of 1987 and the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

The Pune district and civic authorities followed the same suite and have banned Holi celebration in public and private spaces. Rajesh Deshmukh, Pune district collector in an official order said that in light of the rise in cases of coronavirus, Holi celebration in public spaces such as hotels, resorts and other public spots in rural areas are banned. Housing societies are not permitted to organise Holi celebrations on their premises on March 28, 29.

2. Haryana

The state government of Harayana on Wednesday (March 24) has banned the Holi celebration in public spaces amid the spread of coronavirus. Harayana state has been observing constant growth in the COVID-19 caseloads.

Home Minister Anil Vij tweeted by saying that "The Haryana government has banned public celebrations of Holi in view of corona..." Districts such as Gurugra, Karnal, Ambala and Panchkula has been severely affected by the pandemic.

3. Delhi

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Tuesday (March 23) ordered that festivals such as Holi and Navratri will not be celebrated in the public spaces in the national capital. Delhi Chief Secretary Vijay Dev has given orders to authorities to ensure strict compliance of the same.

Delhi Chief Secretary Vijay Dev in his order said that "All authorities concerned will ensure that public celebrations and gatherings, congregations during upcoming festivals like Holi, Shab-e-Barat, Navaratri, etc. shall not be allowed in public places /public grounds/public parks/markets/religious places etc. in NCT of Delhi."

4. Gujarat

The Gujarat government has also issued orders which prohibits the public celebrations of Holi. However, the religious ritual of 'Holika Dahan' is allowed with a restricted crowd and following all the guidelines. Holika Dahan will take place on March 28.

Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel said that the government will only allow 'Holika Dahan', a pyre lighting ritual with a limited number of people in housing societies and villages. He further said that people will not be allowed to form crowds to play colour among each other.

"No permission is granted for the celebration of Holi. Action will be taken against violators. However, I believe the people of Gujarat will follow rules and will not play Holi." said Nitin Patel.

5. Odisha

The state has observed a sudden spike in caseloads in Cuttak and Khurda districts. The state official said that the Odisha government has banned the Holi celebrations in public spaces this year.

The Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) in an order said that "Holi on March 28 and 29 and related rituals shall not be observed in public places throughout the state." SRC PK Jena said in the order that people may celebrate Holi with their family in private spaces such as houses but not in any public places including the public roads.

The state government has also put restrictions on the "Dola" festival.

6. Uttar Pradesh

The district magistrate Lucknow said that "Holi festivities like rain dance parties and other open dance programmes have been banned in the capital, permissions given to such programmes earlier have been withdrawn."

The state government has ordered testing all the people at railway stations, airports and bus depots arriving for the Holi celebrations from the other states that are facing a rise in COVID-19 cases.

Senior citizens above 60 years of age, children below 10 years and people with co-morbidities issue have been advised not to participate in any public celebration.

7. Madhya Pradesh

Lockdowns have been imposed in severely affected cities such as Indore, Bhopal and Jabalpur. State CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan has appealed to all the citizens to adhere to the COVID-19 guidelines. He also said that "people should avoid crowded places and also stop taking part in the festivities for some time. Even the Holi festival must be celebrated at home only."

8. Chandigarh

The Chandigarh authorities have cancelled all the Holi- related celebrations and have also banned all clubs and restaurants from organising any kind of public gathering. An official statement was announced by the Chandigarh administration which said "The residents must celebrate Holi festival at home while following appropriate COVID-19 protocol."

Live TV
CHICO, Calif.  Today, community members in Chico have a chance to help raise money for a local non-profit and get yourself a slice of pizza.

Story Makers Chico is hosting a fundraiser at Woodstocks Pizza Thursday afternoon. The event kicks off at noon and lasts until 9 p.m. Make sure to mention Story Makers at the cash register and up to 25% of the proceeds will go towards Story Makers fund.

Part of the North Valley Community Foundation, Story Makers, offers free writers workshops for kids and adults in the community.
Black people have been talking about reparations in some form or another since, and every now and then, the idea makes its way to the halls of government. But until Evanston took it up, it never amounted to anything more than an idea.
On Monday and Tuesday, Facebook threatened two groupsIllinois Refuse to Return and Educators Rank and File Safety Committeewith being shut down for sharing information that is opposed to the unsafe reopening of schools amidst the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The Facebook threat was sent to administrators of the two groups in the form of a Group Quality communication. The message contained warnings about a post by a group member that had been removed because it goes against our Community Standards on misinformation that could cause physical harm.

This Oct. 23, 2019, file photo shows Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifying before a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

The warning also stated that the approval of the members post by administrators was considered an Admin violation, and if further instances occur of such violations, we may disable your group.

The group member who posted the comment in the two groups was World Socialist Web Site writer Benjamin Mateus. Mateus was also notified that this post was considered a violation of Facebooks Community Standards and that it had been removed.

Benjamin Mateus is the pseudonym used by a practicing physician in the US with extensive clinical experience. Over the past year, he has written dozens of articles on the coronavirus pandemic for the World Socialist Web Site and exposed, on the basis of science, the manipulation of data about COVID-19 by corporations and the government to justify the premature and deadly reopening of businesses and schools.

Mateus shared his post on Illinois Refuse to Return on Monday and Educators Rank and File Safety Committee on Tuesday. The post exposed the use by the US Congress and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of a study coauthored by Brown University economist Emily Oster that justified the loosening of guidelines and claimed that children are not at high risk for COVID-19.

The full text of the post is as follows:

A person like Emily Oster who has been advocating right wing fashion for schools to open and repeatedly getting it wrong who has no training in public health and infectious diseases should be a red flag for the CDC to use her study. This is no better than the hydroxychloroquine hype promoted by the flawed French researcher to treat COVID-19. Yet, the CDC and congress put on a deadly show for all Americans and teachers. We will manipulate statistics and promote bad data and sell it as sound science to get you back in the classrooms!

On Tuesday, when Mateus posted the message to the Educators Rank and File Safety Committee group, he received a message that the comment was removed, and his account had been suspended for 24 hours for two violations of Facebook Community Standards. Suspension of a Facebook account permits a user to log into the social media platform and view content but removes the ability to post comments, share links, like other posts or engage with the content in any way.

The administrator of the Educators Rank and File Safety Committee then received a message from Facebook regarding Benjamin Mateuss Violation History saying that a 30-day mandatory Post Approval had been turned on for his activity within the group.

A further explanation from Facebook said, An admin or moderator will have to review anything Benjamin posts during this time. The options for the admins or moderators include muting, removing or blocking the user.

The actions against Benjamin Mateus are part of a massive operation by Facebook to censor and control the content on its platforms.

On Monday, Facebook announced that it had identified 1.3 billion accounts as fake and disabled them between October and December 2020. In a Newsroom blog post from Facebook VP of Integrity Guy Rosen titled How Were Tackling Misinformation Across Our Apps, the social media corporation provided details about its response to fake accounts, deceptive behavior, and misleading and harmful content.

In his blog postwhich was published first on the website of the data intelligence company Morning ConsultRosen writes that Facebook is taking a hard line and blocking millions of fake accounts each day. He adds that Facebook also investigates and takes down covert foreign and domestic influence operations that are based on fake accounts, and that over the past three years, weve removed over 100 networks of coordinated inauthentic behavior (CIB) from our platform.

Rosen says that Facebook has built teams and systems to detect and enforce against inauthentic behavior tactics. As part of this infrastructure, Rosen explains that the company has built a global network of more than 80 independent fact-checkers, who review content in more than 60 languages. In total, Rosen writes that Facebook has more than 35,000 people addressing misinformation on its platforms.

As Rosen indicates, the publication of this information by Facebook is timed to coincide with hearings being held by the House Energy and Commerce Committee on March 25 on the subject of social medias role in promoting extremism and disinformation. Even though his blog post was very much issued as a public relations statement, Rosen never gets around to explaining precisely what is meant by misinformation, inauthentic behavior, harmful content or fake accounts. Moreover, he does not elaborate on the nature and activity of the covert domestic influence operations.

In any case, if it is true that 1.3 billion user accounts were shut down by Facebook as fake over a three-month period in 2020, this is an extraordinary admission. It would mean that the number one social media company in the world has disabled a quantity of user accounts that is equal to one half of its reported worldwide monthly total active users (2.7 billion).

Rosens report follows by one week the announcement by Facebook VP of Engineering Tom Alison about ongoing work to keep Groups safe. Facebook Groups are a social media arena for friends and acquaintances to gather virtually and share information and content of common interest. Some groups are public and can be joined by any Facebook user while others are private, and members must be admitted into the space by Group administrators.

Alison says that Facebook has taken action to curb the spread of harmful content and to make it harder for certain groups to operate or be discovered, whether theyre Public or Private. When a group repeatedly breaks our rules, we take it down entirely.

The action taken by Facebook includes throttling content posted by some groups by changing recommendation algorithms and blocking it from spreading or becoming viral. In line with the announcement by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg last January that the company was launching an effort to depoliticize its platforms, Alison says that we recently removed civic and political groups, as well as newly created groups, from recommendations in the US.

Other techniques being used on Groups, Alison explains, are aimed at impeding users from joining groups and limiting the number of member invitations that can be sent. Alison also says that administrators and moderators will be forced to approve all posts when that group has a substantial number of members who have violated our policies or were part of other groups that were removed for breaking our rules.

Additionally, When someone has repeated violations in groups, we will block them from being able to post or comment for a period of time in any group. They also wont be able to invite others to any groups and wont be able to create new groups.

Although Rosen and Alison do not explain it, Facebook has shifted its focus on misinformation and harmful content from the 2020 US elections to combatting false claims about COVID-19. In this, the social media monopoly makes no distinction between right-wing pandemic and vaccine conspiracy theories and the growing opposition within the working class to the push by the financial elite, the corporations and the Democrats and Republicans to reopen schools and force people back into workplaces.
NEW YORK, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- One of the major factors driving the advancement of the U.A.E. HVAC market is the rapid expansion of the travel and tourism sector in the country. According to the U.A.E. government, in 2017, the travel and tourism sector accounted for nearly 7% of all the investments made in the country. Because of this factor, the market valuation is predicted to grow from $1,873.1 million in 2019 to $2,774.7 million by 2030, according to P&S Intelligence. Moreover, the market will progress at a CAGR of 5.2% from 2020 to 2030. The development of luxurious hotels, grand mosques, thrilling amusement parks, and sleek skyscrapers and the existence of a rich culture and history are making the country a popular tourist destination.

Get the sample copy of this report at: https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/uae-hvac-market/report-sample

In order the fuel the growth of the tourism industry, the government is taking several measures aimed at catering to the soaring requirements of both business travelers and vacationers. These measures include the launching of extensive hotel, public transport systems, mall, and various commercial infrastructure development projects in the country. These projects once completed will massively push up the requirement for ventilation and cooling equipment, which will, in turn, propel the growth of the U.A.E. HVAC market.

The COVID-19 pandemic has massively hampered the progress of the market, primarily on account of the fact that the strict lockdowns imposed in the country for mitigating the spread of the virus have resulted in the shutting down of manufacturing plants and warehouses. Moreover, these lockdowns have also caused huge disruptions in the logistics sector. This caused a huge shortage of funds, labor, and product parts and components, which, in turn, slowed down the construction and infrastructural development projects in the country. Because of the economic recession, even individual users are refraining from buying HVAC systems in the country.

Browse detailed report with COVID-19 impact analysis on U.A.E. HVAC Market Research Report: By Offering (Equipment, Service), End-User (Commercial, Industrial, Residential) - Industry Analysis and Growth Forecast to 2030 @ https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/uae-hvac-market

Depending on service, the consulting category is predicted to demonstrate the fastest growth in the U.A.E. HVAC market in the forthcoming years. This is credited to the fact that HVAC users in the country are increasingly hiring technicians and experts for the servicing and maintenance of the HVAC equipment.

The U.A.E. HVAC market is predicted to exhibit the fastest growth in the Abu Dhabi Al Ain region in the coming years. Under the Abu Dhabi 2030 plan, the U.A.E. government is aiming to host as many as 7.9 million tourists in the region every year. To fulfil this objective, the government is predicted to make investments worth $2.1 billion in the tourism sector. These massive infrastructural development projects once completed will propel the demand for HVAC systems and services in the region.

Make Enquiry Before Purchase at: https://www.psmarketresearch.com/send-enquiry?enquiry-url=uae-hvac-market

The prominent players operating in the U.A.E. HVAC market are Daikin Industries Ltd., Johnson Controls International plc, LG Electronics Inc., Danfoss A/S, Trane Technologies plc, Gree Electric Appliances Inc. of Zhuhai, Midea Group Co. Ltd., Carrier Global Corporation, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Zamil Air Conditioners, and S.K.M. Cooling LLC.

Browse More Reports

Saudi Arabia HVAC Market - https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/saudi-arabia-hvac-market

Global HVAC Market - https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/hvac-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: enquiry@psmarketresearch.com

Web: https://www.psmarketresearch.com

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1224988/P_and_S_Intelligence_Logo.jpg
New Delhi, March 25: She is just 19 but carries a sensitive heart reciprocating to all that is happening around her through verses. Meet Mir Areiba, a science student, who has just passed her 12th with flying colours, who launched her first book of poetry 'Nimble Kingdom' at Gurugram on Thursday.

S. Ravi New Delhi, March 25: She is just 19 but carries a sensitive heart reciprocating to all that is happening around her through verses. Meet Mir Areiba, a science student, who has just passed her 12th with flying colours, who launched her first book of poetry 'Nimble Kingdom' at Gurugram on Thursday.

Describing the book -- her labour of love for poetry -- as Kingdom of her emotions, Areiba says "I am inspired by anything and everything, be it a person or situation. It is vital that it should touch my heart, and what strikes the chord, is penned in the form of a poem." Asked as to when she writes, "it can be anytime, anywhere. I jot down whatever flows out spontaneously on my notebook in the mobile," she reveals.

As she was eager to give vent to her emotions and feelings, she decided to write and now publish her poems in order to share them with others. "I want others to know what affects me, and how?" she reveals.

She wrote her first poem when she was all but six. Typically, like any child, it was inspired by her grandmother, who unfortunately passed away last year. "She was very nice and loving. Her affection made me write about her," she says.

Hailing from Jammu and Kashmir, a state in constant turmoil is bound to affect her. "Instead of the violence and unrest, I want to highlight the natural beauty of the place so people see it in a positive light," she says. True to her word, her poem "Kashmir" in the book talks about that. While describing the region's attraction, she laments about people dying there and those mourning the dead.

Reading her favorite poem "Why" to the audience present at the event, she was absolutely confident. The poem questions as to why do we cherish things we don't have, worry about the future while killing the present. "I want every individual to live for himself or herself and not worry about what others do, think or have." Asked about her on-stage confidence, she replied, "I host events at home, so stage fright is out of the question." The reason for "Why" brings to the fore such profound thoughts in such profound words is easy to understand as she loves the 13th Century Persian poet, Rumi. "I love his works. There is no one like him!" Areiba reads writings of varied people. "I make it a point to read everyone, as one can learn something from everyone which makes your life better," she remarks.

Her next book will be a collection of her Urdu poems while she is also busy writing her first novel. With writing and studies taking most of her time, she is able to balance both well. "My parents and my teachers have always been supportive and encouraged me," she said.

Areiba went on to read "Memories will last forever" published in the book to the audience. "I am very fond of this poem as I wrote it for my sister," she says. Nostalgic in flavour, the verses talk in very touching words about the lovely time the two sisters spent together.

Before the formal launch of the book, there was a performance by the popular Sparkplug Beatboxer.

(This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative/
The Texas attorney generals office is attempting to withhold all messages Ken Paxton sent or received while in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 for the pro-Donald Trump rally that preceded the assault on the U.S. Capitol.

Several news organizations in Texas have requested copies of the attorney generals work-related communications. The Texas Public Information Act guarantees the publics right to government records  even if those records are stored on personal devices or online accounts of public officials.

After Paxtons office refused to release copies of his emails and text messages, the Houston Chronicle, the San Antonio Express-News, the Dallas Morning News, the Austin American-Statesman, the Texas Tribune and ProPublica began working together to obtain the documents and review Paxtons open records practices.

The news outlets discovered that Paxtons office, which is responsible for enforcing the states open records laws, has no policy governing the release of work-related messages stored on Paxtons personal devices. It is unclear whether the office reviews Paxtons email accounts and phones to look for requested records, or whether the attorney general himself determines what to turn over  without any outside checks.

Paxton is facing some of the most intense public scrutiny of his career. The Republican attorney general is reportedly under federal investigation for allegedly abusing his office to help a campaign donor.

He also led a failed attempt to overturn the presidential election, leading other GOP attorneys general in a lawsuit that called on the U.S. Supreme Court to invalidate election results in swing states carried by Democrat Joe Biden. The high court declined to hear the case.

A spokesman for Paxtons office said the agency follows the Texas Administrative Code, which specifies how long agencies must retain records but is distinct from the open records law. He did not answer reporters questions about whether Paxton is given free rein to determine which of his communications are public and which are confidential under these rules.

The Washington trip

On Jan. 6, Paxton spoke at the pro-Trump rally in Washington. Appearing with his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, the attorney general touted his unsuccessful legal effort to overturn the presidential election.

What we have in President Trump is a fighter, Paxton told the crowd of Trump supporters. And I think thats why were all here. We will not quit fighting. Were Texans, were Americans and the fight will go on.

Members of the crowd, stirred up by false claims of voter fraud, later stormed the Capitol, fought with riot police and threatened lawmakers.

Five people died in the violence, including a Capitol Police officer.

Paxton later falsely blamed the violence on antifa, a left-wing anti-fascist movement, and claimed Trump supporters werent responsible for the insurrection. Federal prosecutors have charged more than 300 people in connection with the riot and alleged that some have ties to white supremacy groups. FBI Director Christopher Wray said investigators found no evidence that members of antifa attacked the Capitol.

Amid a massive FBI investigation into the Capitol riot, the public has been eager to understand why and how their elected officials attended the rally. Paxton has refused to release his communications about the event, which could illuminate his real-time reaction to the riot; who booked him as a speaker for the rally; and who covered his travel expenses.

As Texas attorney general, Paxton oversees an office of lawyers who determine which records are public or confidential under the law. Any government body in Texas, from police departments to the governors office, must seek the agencys approval to withhold records from the public.

The Houston Chronicle and the Dallas Morning News have requested all of Paxtons messages from Jan. 5 to Jan. 11. Lauren Downey, the attorney generals public information coordinator, said she didnt need to release the records because they are confidential attorney-client communications.

Downey sought confirmation from the agencys open records division, arguing the messages included communications between the attorney generals executive leadership and its criminal prosecution division to discuss litigation, as well as texts between Paxton and a lawyer in the attorney generals office regarding legal services to the state.

James Hemphill, a lawyer and open records expert who serves as a board member of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, said the records described by Downey appear to fall under confidential communications. But its odd, he added, that Paxton would have no other routine emails or texts during that six-day time frame that could be released.

It would seem unusual for every single communication made by any kind of lawyer to be subject to attorney-client privilege, Hemphill said, cautioning he hasnt seen the records himself.

Downey also told the Chronicle that the attorney generals office does not have any written policy or procedures for releasing public documents stored on Paxtons personal devices or accounts.

No responsive records

The Morning News filed several other requests for Paxtons communications regarding his Washington trip, including messages sent over encrypted apps.

The agency said there were no public records that fit that description. When the newspaper asked for Paxtons communications with his senior adviser and an executive assistant who usually plan official travel, Downey said, yet again there were no records to release.

The (attorney generals office) did not coordinate or pay for General Paxtons trip to Washington DC in early January. Thus, our office has no information responsive to your request, Downey said.

Paxton has not answered questions about who paid for his trip.

In a recent legislative hearing, the attorney general did not directly answer questions from state senators about whether he spent any taxpayer money on the travel.

I didnt spend money personally, he said. Paxton added he had official business in Washington the week of the rally, when he met with federal officials about a Medicaid program.

I had a state purpose, Paxton said. The next day I had meetings at the White House.  Thats how I spent most of my time.

Paxtons agency has released other top staffers communications related to the trip.

First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster also traveled to Washington that week in January, according to calendars and travel documents the Morning News obtained through public records requests. The state paid for Websters travel.

The agency released some of Websters emails and texts from that month, including logistical planning for the Washington trip.

The Utah trip and more

In other recent instances, the responses from Paxtons agency have raised questions about the attorney generals own record-keeping practices.

For example, the Morning News requested communications from Utah about the attorney generals trip to that state last month during the winter power outages in Texas.

In response, Utah officials released a screenshot of a few texts exchanged between Paxton, Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes and a third unnamed individual discussing their plans. The messages were taken from the unnamed individuals phone, not Reyes or Paxtons.

When the newspaper made the same request to the Texas attorney generals office, officials turned over a copy of the screenshot that Utah provided  not one of the exchange on Paxtons device.

Downey said Paxton provided the record, but she did not answer questions about how Paxton searched his accounts or whether anyone in the office confirmed the results of the records search.

The Office of the Attorney General is in full compliance with the Public Information Act, Downey said.

A Morning News reporter also texted a work-related question to Paxtons cellphone in February and the newspaper later requested all text messages related to state business sent to that number on that same day.

The Texas attorney generals office said there were no messages. When asked why the reporters text wasnt turned over, a spokesman suggested they did not need to keep it.

Unsolicited and unwelcome text messages to personal phones do not fall under the records retention law, said Alejandro Garcia, the attorney generals communications director.

Sarah Swanson, general counsel for the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, said state agencies are responsible for adopting their own records retention schedules. But if texts are exchanged while conducting state business, Swanson said, those messages are considered government records and might need to be kept for an appropriate amount of time, depending on an agencys policy.

Garcia did not answer follow-up questions about how they determine which text messages are unwelcome or unsolicited.

But the agencys own rules include a clear warning: Dont destroy any records subject to public information requests.

Tedesco and Root are Houston Chronicle staff writers. McGaughy and Morris are Dallas Morning News staff writers.

john.tedesco@chron.com

jay.root@chron.com
SAN ANTONIO (AP)  Jordan Nixon stood perfectly still and gazed upward after capping a career game for Texas A&M with a dramatic play in the women's NCAA Tournament.

Amid the chaos of the comeback victory, Nixon needed a second to remember Dave Edwards, an assistant coach on her high school team who succumbed to the coronavirus a year ago Tuesday at just 48.

There was a little something in me that just wanted to do something for him to dedicate to him, to his memory," an emotional Nixon said.

Nixon banked in a short jump shot at the buzzer in overtime, giving her a career-high 35 points and lifting No. 2 Texas A&M to an 84-82 victory over seventh-seeded Iowa State on Wednesday.

I can hear him in my head, Nixon said of Edwards, who played basketball at Texas A&M in the 1990s. He was one of my biggest fans and this game is for him.

Nixon scored seven of A&Ms nine points in OT, pushing the Aggies (25-2) into the Sweet 16 for the third straight time. She also led the rally in the fourth quarter, scoring the last four points of regulation.

Its always extremely surreal when you set a standard for yourself or you challenge yourself to rise to an occasion and you actually do it," she said.

Added Texas A&M coach Gary Blair: That was a championship performance. ... Jordan Nixon is a winner."

A 3 by Lexi Donarski put the Cyclones up by two with two minutes left in overtime, and Nixon tied it with a layup a few seconds later. Ciera Johnson blocked a layup by Ashley Joens with 3 seconds left before Nixon drove into the lane and threw up the game-winner.

Youre just trying to keep the ball in front of you and shes a really hard kid to keep in front," Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly said. We didnt do a very good job of it obviously all night, and she made a great play, a great play.

The dramatic finish comes after the Aggies narrowly escaped an upset bid by No. 15 seed Troy in the first round. Texas A&M is chasing its second title in the 10th anniversary of its first one. It won its first SEC regular-season title this season and rose to as high as No. 2 in the AP Top 25 for the highest ranking in school history.

Story continues

Next up is No. 3 seed Arizona, which advanced with a 52-46 win over BYU.

Joens had 32 points and a career-high 18 rebounds for the Cyclones (17-11), who went 16 for 30 from 3-point range. Donarski finished with 18 points.

Unfortunately for us, A&M made one more play, wherever that one play was in the game, they made it and we didnt, Fennelly said.

Johnson had 19 points, eight rebounds and three blocks for the Aggies, who are in the tournament for the 15th straight time.

Texas A&M trailed 75-71 with 20 seconds left in regulation, but Nixon made a short jumper and Alexis Morris forced a jump ball with Donarski to get the ball back for A&M with 11.2 seconds remaining. Morris appeared to take an elbow to the jaw and officials reviewed the play, but they did not assess a penalty on Donarski.

Nixon drove into the lane for a tying layup with 6 seconds left. Joens had a chance to win the game in regulation, but her shot was blocked by Ndea Jones. The ball went out of bounds, but the Cyclones weren't able to get another shot up.

Teams can fall apart and we didnt at any point tonight," Nixon said. We didnt want to go home and Im glad were still dancing."

HOPE I DON'T SEE YA SOON

Blair raved about Iowa State's performance and said he's happy that A&M is no longer in the Big 12 and won't have to face this Cyclones team again anytime soon.

Im so impressed with Iowa State," he said. Im glad Im in the SEC and not the Big 12 because I dont want to see Bill for a while. Maybe Ill see him on the golf course."

ODDS & ENDS

Texas A&M outscored Iowa State 44-18 in the paint. ... The Aggies made just 4 of 19 3-pointers. ... Iowa State outrebounded Texas A&M 50-38. ... A&M scored 26 points off 24 turnovers by the Cyclones.

___

More AP womens college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
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.
Moscow, March 25 : The health of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, who is currently imprisoned in a penal camp, has significantly deteriorated, his chief of staff, Leonid Volkov said.

"Since the end of last week he has been suffering from severe back pain," dpa news agency quoted Volkov as saying in a statement on Wednesday.

Navalny also had symptoms of paralysis in one leg and could no longer walk, he added.

Despite the pain, he had been given only two pills in total, according to Volkov.

"Under all the circumstances known to us, the massive deterioration of his condition can only be cause for extreme concern," chief of staff said.

The Kremlin critic was the "personal prisoner, the personal hostage of (Russian President) Vladimir Putin; a dangerous, crazy murderer", Volkov wrote on Twitter.

"Putin bears the personal responsibility for the life and the health of Alexei Navalny in the torture colony of Pokrow," he added.

The 44-year-old opposition figure was sentenced to imprisonment at the penal camp in Pokrow, about 100 km east of Moscow, in February for violating parole requirements from an earlier sentence, while he was recovering from a poisoning attack in Germany.

Germany, the European Union and the US have repeatedly called for Navalny's release.

Volkov and Navalny's wife, Julia Navalnaya, also complained that the penal camp had not admitted Navalny's lawyers for a scheduled meeting with the opposition politician for the first time, citing other measures within the camp.

Volcov suspected that this was an attempt to cover up a possible admission of Navalny to the prison's hospital.
Austin High School, Decatur High School and the basement of Decatur City Hall have been opened as storm shelters on Thursday, according to Decatur police.

WAAY 31 reached out to every county EMA in North Alabama on Wednesday. You can find information about their openings and rules here.

Turn to WAAY 31 for everything you need to know to stay safe during Thursday's severe weather. Chief Meteorologist Kate McKenna and meteorologists Rob Elvington and Carson Meredith will provide you with the most accurate information on storms by using our StormTracker Early Warning Radar Network.

Stationed in Muscle Shoals, Decatur and Guntersville, the radars provide the best data for all of North Alabama by scanning EVERY community in North Alabama.

See all the radars HERE

Access the Muscle Shoals radar HERE

Access the Decatur radar HERE

Access the Guntersville radar HERE

And download our news and weather apps HERE
Over 160,000 tulips in Hefei's Siji Huahai Park are now in full bloom. The beautiful spring scenery has attracted countless visitors here.[Photo by Liu Yucai]

On March 24th, over 160,000 tulips in Siji Huahai Park (literally "flower sea of four seasons") in Shushan Distrcit, Hefei City reached their blooming season. These colorful flowers in full bloom constituted a fascinating view that have attracted a large number of visitors.

This year, the park has planted approximately 6,000 square meters of tulips which are all imported from the Netherlands including some very rare varieties.

According to the director of the park, the tulips are expected to bloom until mid-to-late April. To promote the parks' brand and enhance its reputation, they plan to further expand the planting area of tulips and add more varieties.

Over 160,000 tulips in Hefei's Siji Huahai Park are now in full bloom. The beautiful spring scenery has attracted countless visitors here.[Photo by Liu Yucai]

Over 160,000 tulips in Hefei's Siji Huahai Park are now in full bloom. The beautiful spring scenery has attracted countless visitors here.[Photo by Liu Yucai]

Over 160,000 tulips in Hefei's Siji Huahai Park are now in full bloom. The beautiful spring scenery has attracted countless visitors here.[Photo by Liu Yucai]

Over 160,000 tulips in Hefei's Siji Huahai Park are now in full bloom. The beautiful spring scenery has attracted countless visitors here.[Photo by Liu Yucai]

Over 160,000 tulips in Hefei's Siji Huahai Park are now in full bloom. The beautiful spring scenery has attracted countless visitors here.[Photo by Liu Yucai]

Over 160,000 tulips in Hefei's Siji Huahai Park are now in full bloom. The beautiful spring scenery has attracted countless visitors here.[Photo by Liu Yucai]
COEUR D'ALENE, ID / ACCESSWIRE / March 25, 2021 / Timberline Resources Corporation (OTCQB:TLRS)(TSXV:TBR) ("Timberline" or the "Company") announced today final results from the 2020 drilling program at its 100%-controlled Eureka Project in Nevada. The Company completed the program in December 2020 after a total of approximately 3,800 meters, comprised of 2,438m of reverse circulation (RC) and 1,365m of diamond core drilling (see Company news releases dated December 1, 2020 and January 7, 2021). The three (3) core holes (BHSE-188C, -190C, and 191C) were significant step-outs to the east targeting the down dip expansion of the Lookout Mountain mineralization (see Figure 1).

After careful logging and three-dimensional geological analysis, it is now apparent that the core holes were not drilled sufficiently deep to test the rock units that host the known high-grade ( 3 g/t) gold in the Lookout Deposit. The drilling did not encounter significant gold mineralization (>0.3 g/t), but the drill core does exhibit abundant alteration and thick intercepts of anomalous Carlin-Type gold, plus low-level silver-lead-zinc mineralization.

Key Results:

Confirmed the presence of additional normal faulting through the Graben Zone that may host opportunities for high-grade gold along trend and at depth (Figure 2);

Intercepted significant pyrite that is consistent with a halo above and around the IP chargeability anomaly previously reported (see Company news release dated February 3, 2021);

Intercepted highly anomalous gold (up to 0.223 g/t) and silver (up to 86 g/t) in several intervals; and

Gathered mounting evidence that Lookout Mountain is a close analogue to the multi-million-ounce Archimedes - Ruby Hill 1,2 Mine, located 12 km to the north, including: Brecciated limestone, carbonaceous and pyritic breccias, dolomitized carbonates, silicification, and altered felsic intrusive rocks; Lead (up to 0.34%), zinc (up to 0.57%), and silver mineralization with anomalous gold and a proximal association with Carlin-Type gold mineralization.

Mine, located 12 km to the north, including:

Patrick Highsmith, Timberline's President and CEO commented, "Along with our recently reported geophysical anomalies, these step-out exploration core holes at our Lookout Mountain target provide important evidence that there are large overlapping mineral systems at depth. We are also now aware of more faults cutting through the favorable Carlin-Type host stratigraphy. The interaction of these faults with the right host rocks are excellent targets for high-grade gold such as that we drilled in the main resource area and in the Water Well Zone in 2020. Work is well underway to present numerous attractive drill targets for 2021 at the Lookout Target and other analogous settings."

Figure 1 - Lookout Mountain Target at Eureka Gold Project Showing 2020 Graben Zone Drilling

Drilling and Geological Details

Each of the three diamond core holes discussed in this release were drilled as vertical holes. Their depth and collar coordinates are shown in Table 1.

These core holes were designed to be significant step-outs from known mineralization into a target area called the Graben Zone. In this area, the favorable host rocks from the Lookout Mountain deposit dip east beneath younger sedimentary and volcanic rocks. The mineralized horizons were interpreted to be present, but the Timberline team also inferred faults through the area that may disrupt potential mineralization at depth. These faults may also provide plumbing

for gold bearing fluids and host high-grade gold in the associated breccias, as seen at the Lookout Deposit. The target for the deeper drilling was further bolstered by an historic induced polarization/resistivity (IP) survey on a single line nearby, which suggested the presence of sulfides or organic carbon at depth.

Table 1 - Details for 2020 Core Holes at Eureka Gold Project

Drillhole Inclination

(degrees) Easting

(meters) Northing

(meters) Total Depth*

(meters) Estimated Step-out**

(meters) BHSE - 188C -90 586,794 4,362,886 471.7 435 BHSE - 190C -90 586,652 4,363,031 525.9 350 BHSE - 191C -90 586,603 4,362,880 367.0 230 * Drilling and sampling conducted in feet. Intervals are converted from feet to meters for reporting.

** Approximate distance from collar location to eastern margin of Lookout Mountain Resource.



The three core holes passed through similar geology. The thickness of younger volcanics in the area varied from approximately 35m to 175m. Beneath the volcanics, the drilling encountered limestones that began as well-bedded and oxidized but included increasing shale interbeds at depth. Fracturing and veining also increased with depth, often indicating the presence of faulting. Drill holes BHSE-188C and -190C included significant intervals of black sulfide-matrix breccia and oxidized dolomites before bottoming in fine-grained silicified and pyritic intrusive dikes of variable thickness. Drill hole BHSE-191C was lost in highly fractured rock before reaching its target depth.

The anomalous gold was associated primarily with decalcified limestones and with black matrix breccias. The subtle silver-lead-zinc mineralization is most often associated with veining in dolomite, jasperoid breccias, and silicified and stockwork-veined fine-grained dikes. This style of silver-lead-zinc mineralization may indicate the presence of a carbonate-replacement-deposit (CRD) nearby. The Eureka District is known for CRDs that were deposited much earlier in time than the Carlin-Type gold mineralization.

Using the surface geological mapping, drill logs, and biostratigraphic information from fossils, the Timberline team has prepared a new geological cross section through the Lookout Mountain Area (see Figure 2). The cross section shows that the Dunderberg Shale and other host rocks from the Lookout Resource are down-dropped by east-dipping normal faults cutting through the target area. It is now apparent that this core drilling was not sufficiently deep to test the rocks that host the Lookout mineralization.

The IP geophysics reported in February also indicates that the heart of the chargeability anomaly is below the depth of drilling in the Graben Zone. However, there are lobes of high chargeability that rise closer to the surface, both north and south of the 2020 drilling. These shallower IP anomalies will be among the near-term drill targets at Lookout and in the Graben Zone.

Figure 2 - Geological Cross Section through Lookout Mountain Target with 2020 Core Drilling

The construction of the cross section has also shown that many other favorable targets exist where Carlin-Type host rocks are cut by abundant faults within the Lookout Trend. The team is currently preparing a work program for 2021 that will target potential settings for high-grade Carlin-Type gold mineralization in the Lookout, South Lookout, and Rocky Canyon areas. Additional three-dimensional geologic work is underway to demonstrate the best target analogies to the high-grade setting at Lookout Mountain.

Sampling Methodology, Chain of Custody, Quality Control and Quality Assurance

Collection of diamond drill core was completed under the supervision of a Company representative. Personnel from Timberline or the drilling contractors transported the core samples to Timberline's secure Eureka facility. Senior geologists directed the cutting and sampling of the core and selection of representative samples for assay. Quality control was monitored by the insertion of numerous blind certified standard reference materials, field duplicates, and blanks into each sample shipment. Company representatives completed sample dispatch paperwork and delivered the samples to ALS USA Inc. (ALS) in Elko, Nevada for sample preparation. Drill samples were assayed by ALS in Reno, Nevada for gold by fire assay of a 30-gram charge with an AA or ICP-ES finish (ALS code Au-AA23). The overlimits for gold samples assaying above 10 g/t were determined by a 30-gram fire assay with gravimetric finish. In addition, visibly altered samples were submitted for multi-element analysis (33 elements) by four-acid digestion and ICP-ES determination (code ME-ICP61).

According to Timberline instruction, samples assaying above 0.2 g/t gold were also tested for cyanide-soluble gold with the 30-gram Au-AA13 method. This form of analysis is a preliminary indication of the favorability of the sample for gold recovery by cyanide leach. Since the test is performed on a small aliquot of a pulverized sample, it is not a reliable indication of metallurgical recovery.

Steven Osterberg, Ph.D., P.G., Timberline's Vice President Exploration, is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical contents of this release. Dr. Osterberg is not independent of the Company as he is an officer and a director.

1 - The Archimedes - Ruby Hill Mine was operated historically by Homestake Mining and Barrick Gold. Historical production was approximately 1.4 million ounces and remaining resources are estimated at 3.9 million ounces of gold. The project is currently operated by Ruby Hill Mining Company LLC, a subsidiary of Waterton Precious Metals Fund II. Sources: Waterton Global Resource Management and www.miningdataonline.com

2 - Timberline cautions that proximity or similar geology to an active or past-producing mine does not indicate that mineralization will occur on Timberline's property, and if present, that it will occur in sufficient quantity or grade that would be economic to mine. This information is provided for context and as an element of the prospectivity analysis of the Company's properties.

About Timberline Resources

Timberline Resources Corporation is focused on delivering high-grade Carlin-Type gold discoveries at its district-scale Eureka Project in Nevada. The Eureka Property includes the historic Lookout Mountain and Windfall mines in a total property position of approximately 24 square miles (62 square kilometers). The Lookout Mountain Resource was reported in compliance with Canadian NI 43-101 in an Updated Technical Report on the Lookout Mountain Project by Mine Development Associates, Effective March 1, 2013, filed on SEDAR April 12, 2013.

Resource Category Tonnage

(million short tons) Grade

(oz/ton) Grade

(grams/tonne) Contained Au

(troy oz) Measured 3.04 0.035 1.2 106,000 Indicated 25.90 0.016 0.6 402,000 Inferred 11.71 0.012 0.41 141,000

The Company is also operator of the Paiute Joint Venture Project with Nevada Gold Mines in the Battle Mountain District. These properties lie on the prolific Battle Mountain-Eureka gold trend. Timberline also controls the Seven Troughs Project in northern Nevada, which is one of the state's highest-grade former gold producers. Timberline controls over 43 square miles (111 square kilometers) of mineral rights in Nevada. Detailed maps and mineral resources estimates for the Eureka Project and NI 43-101 technical reports for its projects may be viewed at http://timberlineresources.co/.

Timberline is listed on the OTCQB where it trades under the symbol "TLRS" and on the TSX Venture Exchange where it trades under the symbol "TBR".

Forward-looking Statements: Statements contained herein that are not based upon current or historical fact are forward-looking in nature and constitute 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. Such forward-looking statements reflect the Company's expectations about its future operating results, performance and opportunities that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. These include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the advancement of projects, and exploration potential. When used herein, the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "upcoming," "plan," "target", "intend", "growth opportunity" and "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to Timberline Resources Corporation, its subsidiaries, or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to the Company and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause the Company's actual results, performance, prospects, and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to risks involving forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, changes in the Company's business and other factors, including risk factors discussed in the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2020. Except as required by law, the Company does not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements.

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.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

"Patrick Highsmith"

President and CEO

Tel: 208-664-4859

SOURCE: Timberline Resources Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/637371/Timberline-Reports-Final-2020-Drilling-Results-at-the-Eureka-Gold-Project-Nevada
CHICAGO, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- As the pandemic continues, Americans are ready to hit the road for spring break , reports Cars.comTM (NYSE: CARS), a leading digital automotive marketplace and solutions provider. According to the company's latest research, 57% of Americans plan to take a trip this spring, up from 32% in 2020 and 54% in 2019. Importantly, 70% of spring breakers are opting to drive to their destinations. A persistent trend since the start of the pandemic, Americans are relying on their cars as a safe form of transportation and a much-needed escape from the confines of their home. More than 40% of spring break road trippers say their main reason for travel is they "have to get out of my house."

"Many Americans are ready for a much-needed change of scenery after a year at home. Spring break travel in 2020 fell 22 percentage points versus 2019, and now we clearly see that pent-up demand for travel as this year's numbers outpace pre-pandemic travel levels," said Kelsey Mays, Cars.com assistant managing editor. "It's no surprise that we continue to see Americans prioritize cars as their primary mode of transportation amid ongoing concerns of social distancing during these times. With national vaccination efforts underway, Americans are ready to grasp some sense of normalcy and hit the open road."

However, travelers know the pandemic is not over, as 53% of spring break travelers surveyed expressed concern about COVID-19 exposure while traveling. And of the 26% of people choosing not to travel, 60% state the pandemic as the main reason.

As Americans are driving more often and for longer distances, Cars.com reports an increased desire for additional comfort and safety features in shoppers' vehicle searches. Cars.com searches for "sunroofs" and "moonroofs" increased 8% year-over-year, while tech features like "blind spot monitoring" saw a 12% increase in searches year-over-year. Additionally, "LED headlights" were up almost 20% year-over-year.2

"The CDC is recommending people don't travel this spring break, but if you must travel we recommend you follow CDC guidelines for safely hitting the road," Mays said. "Do your research, be prepared with masks and hand sanitizer, and plan out your stops. Take it a step further and pack meals and snacks to limit road breaks and avoid crowds."

For more information about pandemic travel, visit Cars.com/news/coronavirus/ .

1 Cars.com's survey results Feb. 26, 2021; 1,017 responses

2 Cars.com internal data

About Cars.com

CARS is a leading digital marketplace and solutions provider for the automotive industry that connects car shoppers with sellers. Launched in 1998 with the flagship marketplace site Cars.com and headquartered in Chicago, the Company empowers shoppers with the data, resources and digital tools needed to make informed buying decisions and seamlessly connect with automotive retailers. In a rapidly changing market, CARS enables dealerships and OEMs with innovative technical solutions and data-driven intelligence to better reach and influence ready-to-buy shoppers, increase inventory turn and gain market share.

In addition to Cars.com, CARS brands include Dealer Inspire, a technology provider building solutions that future-proof dealerships with more efficient operations and connected digital experiences; FUEL, which gives dealers and OEMs the opportunity to harness the untapped power of digital video by leveraging Cars.com's pure audience of in-market car shoppers, and DealerRater, a leading car dealer review and reputation management platform.

The full suite of CARS brands include Cars.com , Dealer Inspire , FUEL , DealerRater , Auto.com , PickupTrucks.com and NewCars.com . For more information, visit www.Cars.com .

SOURCE Cars.com Inc.

Related Links

https://www.cars.com/


DETROIT -- Mayor Mike Duggan and HGTV star Nicole Curtis are expected to meet Thursday to discuss the ongoing issues surrounding a property in Detroit that Curtis believed she owned and invested money in, only to later find out the property was not legally hers.

According to the Detroit News, the meeting was requested by Curtis during a citywide community meeting held Tuesday night. A spokesperson for Duggans office confirmed the request and says the mayor wants to work with Curtis to solve the issue.

At the heart of the matter is a house located on East Grand Boulevard that Curtis purchased in 2017 for $17,000. After sinking approximately $60,000 into renovations and other costs associated with the project, Curtis learned in 2018 that the previous owner had no right to sell the property as it was the property of the Detroit Land Bank Authority.

A legal battle ensued and eventually the courts ruled the title for the house belonged to the land bank. Last week, Curtis filed suit against the land bank after the property was listed for sale at a price tag of $40,000. The Detroit News reports there have been 40 showings of the property thus far, but no offers have been made.

Curtis, in an Instagram post sent Monday said she just wants to find a resolution that is fair to everyone.

I only hope that the Mayor and the Land Bank will work with me on a positive resolution to a situation that will be mutually beneficial and where ego and financial gain plays no role, Curtis wrote.

However, she was also very critical of Duggan and the city for how the whole ordeal has played out, claiming Duggan refused to meet with her and said part of the issue stems from the land bank directors inadequacy to get her department in order leading to the three-year battle.

Duggan, while speaking to the press Monday, commented on the situation and said he too hopes to find a resolution that satisfies everyone involved.

I feel bad for Nicole, Duggan said. It appears she was scammed. It appears she paid somebody who didnt own the house and paid them to buy it. But the land bank cant legally just give her the property.

READ MORE:

Talks for HGTV star Nicole Curtis to rehab home in Flint ongoing and very positive

Michigan man to be arraigned on murder charge after shooting in Motor City Casino garage

Driver in stolen car passes trooper on Michigan freeway at 120 mph, crashes into garbage truck

Bank robbery suspect fleeing police crashes on U.S. 23, closing freeway
On March 19, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1445 ratified an agreement with Tenet Healthcare, the owner of St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester, Massachusetts. The deal averts a strike by its 600 members, less than a week after they joined nurses already striking at the hospital in an informational picket.

Like the nurses, who have been on strike since March 8, the workers in the UFCW were protesting unsafe working conditions. In a for-profit system that places a primacy on cost-cutting and profits for shareholders, health care workers, including personal care assistants, housekeepers, pulmonary technicians, operating room aides, and secretaries, are consistently understaffed.

Left to right: Louisa Moraes, Mary Marengo, Joe Stafford (Credit: WSWS)

In one instance, a personal care assistant (PCA) at St. Vincent Hospital was tasked with caring for 23 patients, making adequate care impossible. In a video posted to Facebook by UFCW Local 1445, a PCA who works with postpartum patients described normal conditions as were always by ourselves and having upward of 20 patients at a time. When asked if this was safe, she responded without hesitation: absolutely not.

The struggle by St. Vincent nurses is vitally important for the working class. Hailed as heroes, health care workers have been taken for granted by a capitalist system that squeezes them for profit, risking their lives and the lives of their patients. In their open-ended strike, the nurses of St. Vincent Hospital are articulating the sentiments of countless nurses across the country and the world.

Health care workers represented by the UFCW Local 1445 are overworked and underpaid, but the deal reached does little to address their main grievance. All told, 35 new positions will be created for patients that need one-to-one care. These positions do not resolve the staffing crisis facing technicians who care for the general population. The new contract does not guarantee staffing ratios or pay increases, and it defers the resolution of workers concerns to newly formed corporatist committees composed of hospital administrators and union bureaucrats.

Management has celebrated the agreement, calling it a testament to the collaborative relationship between our hospital and the UFCW. The same statement touts a mutual respect clause in the contract to ensure everyone will treat each other with respect and dignity at all times.

However, it is the collaborative relationship between the UFCW and the profit-motivated health care conglomerate that is responsible for the undignified conditions health care workers and patients of St. Vincent Hospital face on a daily basis.

The union bureaucracy itself has revealed its complacency and resignation to corporate dictates. Gabe Camacho, political director of Local 1445, explained, did we get everything we wanted? No, but thats the nature of these things. The nature of these things is that Tenet Healthcare is only able to accrue hundreds of millions in profit on a yearly basisand St. Vincent Hospital is its most profitable facilitybecause it does not face meaningful opposition.

Throughout the pandemic, the UFCW has played a critical role in enforcing unsafe working conditions that have led directly to workers deaths, particularly in the meatpacking industry. In Waterloo, Iowa, where Tyson Foods managers bet on how many of its employees would contract COVID-19, UFCW Local 431 collaborated with management to implement attendance bonuses of $500 even as workers were contracting the illness.

In Rochelle, Illinois, three days after the Rochelle Foods meatpacking plant shut down due to an outbreak of the novel coronavirus among workers there, UFCW Local 1546 praised measures taken by the company to prevent infections, including a bonus to encourage workers to remain on the job.

Most recently, UFCW Local 401 refused to defend meatpackers at an Olymel plant in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, where at least 515 of 1,850 low-wage workers have been infected since mid-November. Despite occasionally militant-sounding rhetoric, President Thomas Hesse and the UFCW have instead only called for a public inquiry by the Alberta legislature.

For its part, the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA), which covers the approximately 700 striking nurses of St. Vincent Hospital, it is no less oriented to the capitalist for-profit system. When medical-surgical nurses at St. Vincent and across the state began pushing the union for practical measures to combat insufficient and inadequate personal protective equipment and unsafe conditions, union policy was to institute a system of filing safety reports with corporate management.

Submitting such paperwork is an onerous task for nurses already swamped by unsafe assignment levels, duties for which they arent trained, and terribly sick patients. Even so, nurses at St. Vincent filed more than 600 reports. Over this period, several negotiating sessions, in the presence of a federal mediator, failed to result in an agreement that would ensure worker and patient safety. When the vote to authorize the strike was finally put before the membership of the MNA bargaining unit on February 10, it passed by an 89 percent majority.

In spite of having been authorized by an overwhelming majority of its membership, the union is doing everything it can to isolate the strike from the working class in the region. To date, only nurses from one other hospital have joined the nurses on the picket line. The MNA represents 23,000 nurses in Massachusetts and is the largest nurses union in the state.

State Democrats, while feigning support for the strikers, have worked behind the scenes to prevent a strike from breaking out in the first place. Indeed, before the strike was called, a letter signed by Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Edward Markey, and Representative Jim McGovern implored both sides to come to an agreement so that a strike could be averted.

Like the bipartisan support for the unionization of Amazon workers in Bessemer, Alabama, the Democratic politicians support for the MNA nurses in Worcester is aimed at channeling working class anger into bourgeois political channels where it will ultimately be subordinated to the dictates of financial capital.

Good health care must be driven by rational policies based on science. That begins with the scientifically backed struggle for mandated ratios, and it ends with the socialist transformation of society.

The task facing the working class is the formation of politically independent rank-and-file committees to pursue policies based on social need and to counter the murderous for-profit policies of capitalism.

The health care workers of St. Vincent Hospital can carry forward their fight by forming rank-and-file committees to take the conduct of the struggle out of the hands of the MNA and UFCW bureaucracies. To find out more, visit wsws.org/workers.
A rapist has been found guilty of the aggravated sexual assault of a teenager out the back of a southern Sydney pizza shop.

After two hours of deliberation, the jury found Ricardo Audish, 41, guilty of three counts of aggravated sexual assault in company following the assault which allegedly also involved two underage boys in October of 2016.

The woman, who was 18 at the time of the assault, was allegedly drugged before being led by Audish to the back of the pizza eatery where he worked.

He then sexually assaulted her against a stack of chairs.

Ricardo Audish, 41, has been found guilty of three counts of aggravated sexual assault in company following an assault which involved two underage boys in October 2016

The victim was 18 when she was drugged before being led by Audish to the back of the pizza eatery where he worked. He then sexually assaulted her against a stack of chairs

He originally denied working at the time of the assault and later said the pair did not have intercourse, but a co-worker's statement and forensic DNA evidence of his semen 'thwarted' these stories, the Crown said.

Earlier in the evening, the woman had consented to sex with her boyfriend in a toilet cubicle, before he told her 'all the other boys want to have sex with you now', to which she replied 'hell no'.

The Crown said this was not a question but a statement to her and showed the men acted as a joint criminal enterprise and had arranged the sex acts beforehand.

Earlier, the jury heard Audish had taken advantage of a drugged woman out the back of a pizza shop - before making up three different versions of events.

In evidence, Audish, said the teenager he had just met for the first time told her then boyfriend she wanted to have sex with the pizza restaurant worker.

The Crown alleged that Audish, then 38, and two underage boys assaulted the woman while she was drugged, and then worked together to corroborate their stories when she went to police.

Audish's first fabrication that he was not at the restaurant at the time of the assault was 'thwarted' by a co-worker's police statement, also saying Audish asked him to lie about his whereabouts, crown prosecutor Kate Nightingale submitted.

DNA evidence of Audish's semen 'put a stop to the (second) false story' that he did not have sexual intercourse with the woman, Ms Nightingale said.

Defence barrister Eugene Wasilenia earlier told the jury Audish lied about having consensual sexual intercourse because he was married.

'What the accused did was simply opportunistic and had nothing to do with the others,' Mr Wasilenia said.

Gang rapist Ricardo Audish has been found guilty of aggravated sexual assault of a teenager out the back of a southern Sydney pizza shop

Ricardo Audish was accused of taking part in the drugging and gang rape of a woman in a Sydney pizza shop in 2016

The jury also heard as the victim was pulling up her underwear in the toilet another male entered and offered her a bong, a deliberate act the Crown says shows they knew she was not consenting to what they intended to do.

The effect of the cannabis was unlike anything she had ever felt before, her head began spinning, she felt dizzy and was shaking, the court heard.

In his earlier evidence, Audish claimed the pair had a cigarette outside and had a conversation where he asked the woman why she wanted to have sex with him, to which she allegedly responded 'I like you'.

He claimed he asked her three times if she wanted to have sex and each time she said yes, so he led her past the freezer out the back to where the toilets were.

Audish said she started touching his penis and lifted her skirt up for them to have sexual intercourse, afterward saying words to the effect 'it was good'.
Two men cloned a health ministers bank card and attempted to use it to buy designer clothing worth more than 2,000 online, a court has heard.

Nadine Dorries, MP for Mid Bedfordshire made a report to Action Fraud after noticing suspicious transactions on her bank statement in October 2019.

After making a fraudulent copy of Ms Dorries card, the pair ordered a Canada Goose coat worth 958 and a Moncler jacket worth 1,080. However, both transactions were flagged as suspicious by the website and no payment was taken from the health ministers account.

Cory Chin, 24, of Walthamstow, east London was given a 12-month community order at Westminster Magistrates Court.

The trainee engineer, who had pleaded guilty to attempting to buy the Canada Goose coat, was also ordered to complete 120 hours of unpaid work and pay costs of 175.

Read more:

The court heard that Chin had no idea who Ms Dorries was and did not target her as an MP.

Sentencing him, District Judge Vanessa Baraitser acknowledged that no actual financial loss was suffered by the complainant and said that Chin had shown genuine remorse for his actions.

A second man, Korri Mclean, 30, from Epping, will be sentenced at a later date at as he committed the offence whilst serving a suspended sentence.

Both men had previously pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation.

Officers from the City of London Polices fraud team were able to track down the pair using the IP addresses from which the orders were made, as men had made the online purchases from their homes.

Ms Dorries said: This kind of sophisticated technology-enabled theft can affect anyone and I am so grateful to the police for arresting these criminals.

Det Con Warren Joseph, from the City of London Police, said: Through the good work of the banks and the online retail industry to prevent suspicious transactions, the victim in this case is not out of pocket.

Despite this, Ms Dorries, correctly, still made a report to Action Fraud, which meant we were able to track down those responsible for the offence and bring them before the courts.
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.
Armenian acting minister: EU allocated EUR 68,700,000 to Armenia for budget support in 2020

Armenia Finance Ministry: MFA's budget grew by AMD 1,600,000,000 in 2020

Bodies and remains of Armenian soldiers are kept in morgue in Armenia's Martuni

White House confirms Biden-Erdogan meeting in Brussels

Armenia acting MOD touches upon priority directions for development of Armed Forces

Diaspora Armenian writer, publicist Toros Toranian dies

2 Armenian soldiers injured in scuffle with Azerbaijan, Armenian POW is hospitalized, Jun. 3 digest

Wedding held in Armenia's Shurnukh for first time since the war ended

EEU member states to finish preparing for negotiations over free trade zone in Iran in late June

Armenia Central Bank: Economic downfall in 2020 was due to decline in service and construction sectors

Armenia legislature adopts several bills in first reading

Armenia President meets with Nursultan Nazarbayev

Dejavu: Armenia ruling party distributes money for votes at Yerevan district election office

Chief Advisor to Karabakh President sacked

Russian MFA: Works are carried out to settle situation around Karabakh every day

Armenia opposition MP sounds alarm about Baku fabricating criminal cases against Armenian prisoners

Armenia acting health minister: I have apologized, I am not going to resign

Helga Schmid meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Armenia's deputy foreign ministers resigned or have heavy workload?

Dollar goes down in Armenia

Armenia Elections Oversight Committee reports Iranian citizenship of ruling party's MP candidate

Acting deputy minister: Only 17 of 711 Iran-Armenia power transmission line towers were installed by 2017

Armenia Parliament Council holding session

Armenia to host CSTO "Thunder-2021" military exercises

NYT: Chinese hackers launch cyberattack on New York city transportation authority

Armenia President to Kazakhstan counterpart: I would like to see much deeper cooperation between our countries

Armenia citizens shut down Etchmiadzin-Ashtarak road, complaining about lack of irrigation water

Armenia independent MP: Foreign minister and his deputies don't want to take part in treacherous acts

Armenia to get $11mn loan, 350,000 grant for agriculture

WHO worries about worsening mental health worldwide amid pandemic

Armenia health ministry on improper handling of Artsakh war victims bodies: There is no justification

Armenia bloc election foundation already in operation

Russia ambassador to Armenia paying working visit to Syunik Province (PHOTOS)

China pledges to step up resistance to foreign interference in Hong Kong

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: There can be no talk of corridor for Azerbaijan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on incumbent authorities: Wherever they flee, we will bring them by the feet

President: Impossible to ensure peace in region or stay in Artsakh without Russia army joint efforts

China Daily: Dispatch from Makit: Thriving in the desert

Karabakh President: We will never put up with being part of Azerbaijan, it is ruled out

Armenia MFA information department chief: All deputy FMs carrying out their duties

Ardshinbank invited children to the cinema on International Childrens Day

Armenia judiciary to have 10 more judges

Armenia acting premier: We had recorded 40% increase in tax revenues according to 2019 results

Armenia acting PM on Artsakh war casualties bodies: We have 50 remains in which case DNA was not separated

Azerbaijan authorities plan to "squeeze" everything from "terrorist show" related to Armenian captives

Ameriabank announces a contest for bank card design

108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia parliament convenes special session

Armenia interim government holding Cabinet meeting

Catholicos of All Armenians heads for Syunik Province, Artsakh

World oil prices going up

Iran loses right to vote in UN General Assembly

Newspaper: Armenia authorities come up with new way of punishing unwanted characters

Newspaper: Russia army Southern Military District deputy commander to arrive in Yerevan Thursday

Lebanese Armenian man taken prisoner by Azerbaijan is hospitalized

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Are we getting under the burden? Then lets get under to the end

Armenia acting health minister on keeping fallen soldiers bodies in bags: What else should they be kept in?

Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation

Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow

2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik

Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center

"Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans

Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel

Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna

Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations

US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies

Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week

Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection

Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential

Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement

Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues

Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo

Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation

NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident

Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices

Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over

Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest

Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia

Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia

Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels

Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters

Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021

Dollar is stable in Armenia

Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector

Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out

Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe

Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia

Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border

Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor

Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue

Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia

Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this

Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia
Concerns related to fast spreading of Covid-19 virus and possibility of vaccines becoming ineffective cannot be ruled out with genomic sequencing and analysis of circulating viruses in India revealing a total of 771 variants, including presence of a 'double mutant', say experts.

Analysis so far by the Consortium on Genomics (INSACOG), a grouping of 10 National Laboratories under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, revealed 771 variants of concerns (VOCs) have been detected in a total of 10,787 positive samples, including 736 samples positive for viruses of the UK (B.1.1.7) lineage, 34 samples of the South African (B.1.351) lineage and one sample of the Brazilian (P.1) lineage. The N440K variant that is associated with immune escape has been found in 123 samples from 11 districts of Kerala.

Generally, all viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, change over time resulting in the emergence of new variants, most without a direct benefit either to the virus or other public health impacts, note experts.

UK (B.1.1.7) variant

According to World Health Organization (WHO) data, this variant appeared in the United Kingdom since 20 September 2020 and has so far been reported in 125 countries, including seven new countries in the last one week. Generally, it is found to have increased transmissibility by 36%-75% and secondary attack rate by 10% to 13%. However, no significant impact on post vaccine neutralisation was seen on vaccines of Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, Oxford-AstraZeneca, Novavax and Bharat Biotech. The assessment is it may possibly increases risk of hospitalisation, severity and mortality.

South Africa (B.1.351) variant

Detected since August 2020, this has spread to 75 countries, including 11 countries in the last one week. The virus variant was seen to be many times more transmissible than previously circulating variants. It possibly increases risk of in-hospital mortality by 20% and potentially increases risk of reinfection. Post-vaccine neutralisation reductions range from minimal to moderate for Moderna and Pfizer, however there is also some evidence of more substantial reductions have been found for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. In a small study, AstraZeneca did not demonstrate vaccine efficacy against mild-moderate COVID-19 disease, while efficacy against severe disease was not assessed. Results for Novavax and Janssen vaccines are pending.

Japan/Brazil (B.1.1.28.1) variant

This was detected in December 2020 and was found to be more transmissible than previous circulating variants. Severity is still being investigated, but has been found to cause reinfections.Limited to modest reduction in post vaccine neutralisation was seen in vaccines of OxfordAstraZeneca, Moderna and Pfizer. The neutralisation activity was reduced by 2.6 to 10-fold depending on the vaccine and individuals. In particular, among people vaccinated with the Sinovac product (CoronaVac vaccine), the plasma failed to efficiently neutralise variant P.1 suggesting possibility of reinfection.Now this variant is seen in 41 countries, including three new countries in the last one week.

The WHO also suggests countries to monitor and assess some new variants of interest (VOIs). These are B.1.525 (UK and Nigeria), B.1.427/B.1.429 (US) and B.1.1.28.2, alias P.2 (Brazil).

The WHO says these VOCs have commonly demonstrated an increase in transmissibility compared to wild-type (non-VOC) variants, and a veracity to rapidly replace other circulating strains. The potential for virus mutation increases with the frequency of human and animal infections. Therefore, reducing transmission of SARS-CoV-2 by using established disease control methods as well as avoiding introductions to animal populations, are critical aspects to the global strategy to reduce the occurrence of mutations that have negative public health implications.

Also Read: What is 'double mutant' Covid-19 and how harmful is it?

Also Read: India reports new 'double mutant' strain, multiple Covid-19 variants
It wasnt that she didnt try to get the vaccine. Maria Gilberta Reyna had attempted to register through a Dallas hospitals online application, but she never managed to make it work.

I would put my information but the site would throw me back to the initial page, Reyna, who is a Mexican immigrant, said in Spanish.

But on Friday, she got lucky. After parking her car in a Savers Cost Plus in Irving, she saw a group of people with notepads, registering customers for vaccinations outside the store.

RELATED: As Texas expands COVID vaccination eligibility, disparities persist among Black, Hispanic residents

I was just coming to the grocery store to buy food, and I came to see what was happening, said Reyna, who works for a packaging company.

On Monday afternoon, after a two-hour wait in the county-run Fair Park vaccination center, the 58-year-old got her first dose.

The group of people that signed her up included grassroots organizers and county employees who have been working to bridge the vaccination gap among communities of color in Dallas, a problem that Texas is still experiencing statewide months after the vaccination process started. And while the volunteers and professionals are organizing registration events almost daily to get more Hispanic and Black people vaccinated, they are concerned that their efforts wont be enough.

To be honest, I'm still worried because we still have a lot of work to do. This is only a drop in the bucket, said Marisa Gonzales, community outreach program manager

for the Dallas County Health and Human Services. We still have a lot of people that we have not talked to, that we have not reached out to, that have not gotten their vaccines.

In Dallas County, the Hispanic community is the largest ethnic group, making up 40.2% of the total population. But by the start of March, only 28.6% of the people vaccinated countywide were Hispanic. The percentage has since increased, reaching 36% as of March 22. By comparison, white residents make up 29% of the county population and 36.2% of those vaccinated.

Maria Gilberta Reyna poses with her COVID-19 vaccine appointment information at a registration event in Irving. Credit: Carly May for The Texas Tribune

In Dallas County, as in Texas, the Black community remains underrepresented in the vaccination process as well. And although the numbers are better among the Asian community, refugees, recent immigrants and people without English proficiency have been left behind too.

RELATED: White Republicans refuse to get the COVID-19 vaccine more than any other demographic group in Texas

Hispanics in Texas have been hit particularly hard by the pandemic. Not only they are the ethnic group with the largest share of COVID-19 related deaths  they represent just under 40% of the state population yet more than 46% of the deaths linked to the virus  but theyve also been severely impacted by the economic disruptions during the pandemic, particularly in the service industry and other blue collar jobs.

According to a survey by the U.S. Census Bureau, 55% of Hispanics and 59% of Black people in Texas said that themselves or someone in their household has experienced loss of income since March last year. Among white people, its 41%.

But many of the early vaccination sites were located far from Hispanic neighborhoods. The Fair Park site, a large drive-thru center at the venue that hosts the State Fair of Texas every year, opened in late February in part to reach communities of color in lower-income ZIP codes. But from Gonzales perspective, it didnt immediately achieve that goal.

I was working and assisting the operations of the vaccination clinic at Fair Park and I saw these elderly people, because we started with 75 and above, and they were predominantly white, said Gonzales, whose agency manages the site. I did not see very many people of any other color.

Leslie Armijo, a member of the organization Don't Wait to Vaccinate who helped run the registration event at the Dallas grocery store on Friday, said lower income people have bigger hurdles in getting vaccinated.

During the registration event, Armijo heard from several people who said they couldnt find transportation to get to the Fair Park vaccination site. She said others have told her they cant afford the gas to drive across the city or couldnt leave work to wait for possibly more than an hour in the drive-thru line.

Everything is connected. The same people that I was taking water to because their pipes busted during the snowstorm are the same group of people Im trying to get registered. They are the same that dont have internet access. They are the same that dont have transportation, Armijo said. This is a large population that helps fuel how successful Dallas is, being essential workers and working in grocery stores. But we often forget about their struggles.

Marisa Gonzales helps a woman register for a COVID-19 vaccination appointment at an event in Irving on March 19, 2021. Credit: Carly May for The Texas Tribune

Leslie Maria Armijo helps a woman fill out her medical history form at a COVID-19 vaccine registration event in Irving on March 19. Credit: Carly May for The Texas Tribune

The digital barrier

First: Marisa Gonzales helps a woman register for a COVID-19 vaccination appointment at an event in Irving on March 19. Last: Leslie Maria Armijo helps a woman fill out her medical history form at the COVID-19 vaccine registration event.

Money has been tight during the pandemic for Reyna after her husband lost his job in a pallet assembly company last year. But her main obstacle in reaching a vaccination center is that she is afraid of driving on freeways. Armijo set her up with a group of volunteers that are offering ride-shares to the vaccination center.

I had to get the vaccine any way I can, Reyna said.

Other people have no access to computers, bad internet connections or do not know how to troubleshoot problems with online registration forms. Armijo prints paper forms, which she distributes to people who are struggling with this problem, then fills out the online form for them with a group of young volunteers. She said they have registered hundreds of people this way.

But other issues arise: She remembers talking to a man who was more than 90 years old who said he had registered but never heard back. He had a cell phone that was subsidized by Medicaid, a program available for some low-income people, that would not receive text messages without credit in the account.

When you get that text message, that's how you're able to schedule your appointment, said Armijo, who had to set up an email account for the man and monitor his situation. This has been something of trial and error because we had no idea about things like this.

A supply station at a COVID-19 vaccine registration event in Irving. Credit: Carly May for The Texas Tribune

Mistrust scaring migrants away

But one of the biggest problems Armijo and others have seen as they try to help Hispanic and Black Texans get vaccinated is a lack of trust in government. Gonzales said that the rhetoric and immigration policies of former president Donald Trump eroded some peoples trust in government, especially undocumented people. Many remain concerned about giving any personal information to government agencies at any level.

During that administration, it forced people of Mexican descent or any immigrants to hide in the shadows because of the fear of deportation or the fear of going to jail for whatever rhyme or reason, Gonzales said.

Armijo said that this is why she is not surprised that many Hispanics avoid using free transportation provided by cities to go to vaccination sites.

They don't trust getting on an unmarked van and being told that they're being taken downtown someplace, Armijo said. Someone told me that they went to one of those rec centers to get on the bus, but they saw a bunch of police there. ... So they just kept driving because they were scared.

On top of this, Hispanics have been bombarded with misinformation about vaccines on Facebook and Whatsapp.

Laura Montemayor Cantu, a 47-year-old who lives in West Dallas, saw some of these messages. She said at first she wasnt sure about whether she should get vaccinated, and her 20-year-old son, who has asthma, was opposed to the idea. But she said after seeing a priest from her church advocating for the vaccine on Facebook, she started to change her mind.

I told my son that ... if he gets the disease, he would probably die. And that I couldnt live with that, Montemayor said. He then told me, Ok, if I get the vaccine, you have to get it too.

Gonzales, the Dallas County Health and Human Services outreach manager, said the county has been meeting with church leaders and coordinating vaccine registration efforts with the Mexican consulate in Dallas. Both are institutions that remain highly trusted within immigrant communities.

Meanwhile, some advocates are asking the county to open vaccination centers in churches and other religious buildings.

They have to bring the vaccines into churches and other institutions that they trust in, because theres so much fear of the government, said Josephine Lopez Paul, lead organizer with Dallas Area Interfaith. Theyve partnered with us in the past for health fairs, but now the thing that is holding things up is the vaccine supply.

Armijo said that measures like distributing vaccines in churches and creating mobile distribution teams run by local governments, such as those created in Seattle, will be key now that the state is opening the vaccination process to all Texans 16 and older.

We need to transition to more mobile vaccines. It helps get the word out, Armijo said. Part of the reason we are not as successful among the Hispanic and African American community is that they are not aware of how to do it. If we go into the neighborhoods, this is a campaign in itself.

She worries that many older Hispanic and Black people could continue to have trouble getting vaccinated as the system opens up to more people.

We need to still focus and target, Armijo said. [Or] we are going to leave a lot of people behind.

Disclosure: Facebook has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
HONG KONG, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --

The Chairman is the first Hong Kong venue to be named The Best Restaurant in Asia , sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna

The 2021 list includes 11 new restaurants and two re-entries

Hong Kong leads the list with 11 entries, followed by Japan with nine

Labyrinth in Singapore wins the Flor de Cana Sustainable Restaurant Award

Rising 29 places to No.19, L'Effervescence in Tokyo claims the Beronia Highest Climber Award

Debuting on the list at No.5, Gaggan Anand, Bangkok , claims the Highest New Entry Award, sponsored by Aspire Lifestyles

Angela Lai from Tairroir, Taipei , is named Asia's Best Pastry Chef

Vea in Hong Kong is this year's recipient of the Gin Mare Art of Hospitality Award

Legendary Bangkok chef Supinya 'Jay Fai' Junsuta is the recipient of the Icon Award

DeAille Tam of Obscura, Shanghai , is Asia's Best Female Chef, sponsored by Cinco Jotas

Meta in Singapore claims the coveted American Express One To Watch Award

Mingoo Kang from Mingles in South Korea wins the peer-voted Inedit Damm Chefs' Choice Award

The 2021 list of Asia's 50 Best Restaurants can be viewed in the accompanying document or online attheworlds50best.com/asia/en

The Chairman has taken top honours at the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 2021 awards ceremony, becoming the first Hong Kong restaurant to claim the No.1 spot and earning the coveted titles of TheBest Restaurant in Asia, sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna, and The Best Restaurant in China. The 2021 list was announced today in a virtual ceremony streamed to a global audience.

Now in its ninth edition, the 2021 list boasts 11 first-time entries, including a new restaurant in Vietnam, a country last represented in the list in 2013. Hong Kong claims 11 restaurants on the list, followed by Japan with nine and Singapore with eight.

Launched in 2009, The Chairman is renowned for its ingredient-driven Cantonese cuisine and single-minded commitment to authentic flavours. A regular entry on Asia's 50 Best Restaurants list since the inaugural list in 2013, The Chairman first appeared on The World's 50 Best Restaurant list in 2019, landing at No.41.

Aside from The Chairman, Hong Kong is also represented by newcomer Mono (No.44) as well as re-entries Caprice (No.28) and Ta Vie (No.38).

Under the leadership and creative artistry of executive chef Vicky Cheng, Hong Kong's Vea (No.16) is this year's recipient of the Gin Mare Art of Hospitality Award. The remaining Hong Kong restaurants include Neighborhood (No.17), Belon (No.25), 8 Otto e Mezzo Bombana (No.33), Amber (No.37), Lung King Heen (No.47) and Seventh Son (No.48).

Mainland China is represented by Fu He Hui (No.22), which maintains its seven-year run on the list, while Macau'sWing Lei Palace also returns with the No.50 spot on the ranking.

Individual Country Awards

Japan

Retaining its No.3 place, Den wins the title of The Best Restaurant in Japanfor a fourth successive year while Florilege and Narisawa both maintain their respective places within the top 10, at No.7 and No.9. Climbing an impressive 29 places to No.19, Tokyo'sL'Effervescence is the winner of this year's Beronia Highest Climber Award.

Japan's other returning favourites include La Cime (No.8), Sazenka (No.12), Ode (No.27), La Maison de la Nature Goh (No.30) and Nihonryori RyuGin (No.35).

Singapore

After holding the No.1 spot for two consecutive years, Odette moves to No.2 while retaining the title of TheBest Restaurant in Singapore.

Singapore counts three newcomers to the list. Cloudstreet, fronted by Sri Lankan chef Rishi Naleendra, makes its entrance on the list at No.31, while chef Jason Tan's intimate 26-seater Euphoria bows at No.41. Chef LG Han's Labyrinth makes its debut at No.40 and wins the Flor de Cana Sustainable Restaurant Award, selected by 50 Best's sustainability audit partner Food Made Good Global for its sustainable sourcing policies and work to support the community during the recent pandemic.

Other Singapore restaurants to make the ranking are Les Amis (No.13), Burnt Ends (No.14), Zen (No.23) and Jaan by Kirk Westaway (No.42).

Thailand

After closing his award-winning restaurant Gaggan in 2019, popular chef Gaggan Anand makes a dramatic return to the list. His namesake Bangkok restaurant, Gaggan Anand, enters at No.5, securing the Highest New Entry Award,sponsored by Aspire Lifestyles.

Among Thailand's six entries this year, chef Thitid 'Ton' Tassanakajohn has double reason to celebrate. His high-profile Le Du(No.4) is named The Best Restaurant in Thailandfor the first time, edging out last year's title holder Suhring (No.6), while his latest venture, Nusara, debuts at No.20. Sorn (No.11) and Gaa (No.46) round out the Thailand entries.

Taiwan

Perennial favourite Mume rises three places to No.15 to hold the title of The Best Restaurant in Taiwanfor a third year. Raw rises 15 places to No.21, closely followed by Logy, Florilege's sister restaurant in Taipei, making a first-time entry at No.24. JL Studio (No. 26) and Shoun RyuGin (No.45) complete the representation in Taiwan.

Taipei is also home to Asia'sBest Pastry Chef. As patissier at Tairroir, Singapore-born chef Angela Lai is a worthy recipient of the title, having delighted diners with her delicate creations for the last five years.

South Korea

Climbing four places to No.10, Mingles is named The Best Restaurant in Korea for a sixth consecutive year, while Hansikgonggan places at No.43. South Korea counts two new entries to the list, namely 7th Door (No.34) and Born & Bred (No.36).

Other notable regional awards

Ministry of Crab in Colombo (No.29) retains the title of The Best Restaurant in Sri Lanka, while Toyo Eatery (No.49) keeps The Best Restaurant in Philippineshonour for a third year.

Indian Accent (No.18) is awarded The Best Restaurant in India, while Masque in Mumbai, the 2020 recipient of the One To Watch Award, makes its debut on the list at No.32.

Entering the ranking at No.39, Anan Saigon, from award-winning chef Peter Cuong Franklin, secures the title of The Best Restaurant in Vietnam.

Other special award winners

Bangkok chef Supinya 'Jay Fai' Junsuta is this year's deserving recipient of the Icon Award, while DeAille Tam of Obscura in Shanghai earns the title of Asia's Best Female Chef, sponsored by Cinco Jotas.

For its modern interpretations of Korean culinary traditions, Meta in Singapore claims the American Express One To Watch Award. Celebrated Korean chef Mingoo Kang is this year's recipient of the Inedit Damm Chefs' Choice Award, the only award voted for by the chefs of the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 2021 list to recognise a peer making a positive impact on the restaurant scene.

William Drew, Director of Content for Asia's 50 Best Restaurants, says: "In the last year, the restaurant sector has faced extraordinary challenges. At such a time, we are proud to support the restaurants in their recovery by showcasing the region's creative talents, celebrating the industry's pioneers and recognising culinary excellence. In conjunction with this year's list of Asia's 50 Best Restaurants, along with the extended list of restaurants ranked from 51st to 100th, we were also thrilled to launch the Essence of Asia collection, an initiative that allowed us to champion local heroes and turn the spotlight on even more restaurants than ever before."

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. This 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, 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 debuts 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.

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.

Other partners:

Inedit Damm - Official Beer Partner and sponsor of Inedit Damm Chefs' Choice Award

American Express - Official Credit Card & Booking Platform Partner (Resy) and sponsor of the American Express One To Watch Award

Gin Mare - Official Premium Gin Partner and sponsor of Gin Mare Art of Hospitality Award

Beronia - Official Wine Partner and sponsor of 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 Flor de Cana Sustainable Restaurant Award

Aspire Lifestyles - Official Concierge Partner and sponsor of Highest New Entry Award

***

Food Made Good Global - Official Sustainability Audit Partner

Deloitte - Official Independent Adjudicator

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

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 visithttps://www.theworlds50best.com/asia/en/media-centre-registration.html

For press enquiries, please contact:

CatchOn, A Finn Partners Company

Email: asias50best@finnpartners.com

Telephone: +852 2566 8988

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1474122/The_Chairman_in_Hong_Kong.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1441574/Asias50Best_Logo.jpg
As experts and lawmakers examine the prevalence of extremism in the armed forces following the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection by a pro-Trump mob, one thing is clear: Nobody knows just how much they dont know.

Witnesses told the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday that although the Pentagon has publicly acknowledged that the military has a problem with extremists, including white supremacists and those who are radically anti-government, there is little data to help Americans better understand the issue.

The most immediate problem is the absence of good data, said Audrey Cronin, professor of international security at American University. The Pentagon claims the number of extremists is small, but nobody truly knows.

The lack of reliable data has divided lawmakers. Republicans on the committee claimed during the hearing that the issue of extremists in the military is being blown out of proportion, and that increased pressure within the services to root it out could hurt morale.

Its also important to point out that we lack any concrete evidence that violent extremism is rife in the military, as some commenters claim, Mike D. Rogers of Alabama, the committees top Republican, said. This is far from the largest military justice issue facing our armed services  anecdotes and online polls should not be our guide.

But the panels top Democrat, Chairman Adam Smith of Washington, pushed back on that idea, arguing that the purpose of the hearing is to better understand the extent of the problem.

Smith, citing recent reporting on the deadly Jan. 6 riot, said that 20% of those arrested that day had a history of serving in the military.

And just because it doesnt line up with your world view doesnt mean were not going to talk about it. We are, Smith said.

In the wake of the riot, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III ordered a 60-day, militarywide effort to address extremism in the ranks, mostly focused on group conversations among troops and commanders.

Despite disagreements over the scope of the extremism problem, witnesses did suggest some steps the Pentagon could take to mitigate the problem  many of them surrounding the screening of new recruits.

At the moment, the Defense Department is less willing to look at open source material than many employers, even those just vetting interns or students at my university, for example, said Cronin.

Cronin suggested the Pentagon institute a policy of screening the social media profiles of new recruits for various key words or even memes that might indicate involvement with extremist groups.

Cronin stressed that service members and veterans are high-value targets for recruitment by extremist groups.

Lecia Brooks, chief of staff for the Southern Poverty Law Center, agreed. She suggested that the military commanders and high-ranking Pentagon officials must be highly visible when speaking out against extremism, and that there should be better protections for whistleblowers.

Military veterans are targeted by extremists. They bring social capital, legitimacy, weapons training, leadership skills and an increased capacity for violence to these groups, Brooks said.

___

(c)2021 CQ Roll Call

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC
Welcome Guest! You Are Here:
DURHAM, N.C., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Law Offices of James Scott Farrin, one of the largest plaintiffs' firms in North Carolina, continues to grow. The firm recently added two new attorneys to its lineup of over 50 recognized professionals: Molly Brewer and Michael B. Eller. Brewer and Eller join a firm that recovered over $125 million in gross for over 4,500 clients in 2020.1

Brewer, a member of the North Carolina Advocates for Justice, believes that "victims deserve quality representation, an ally against the insurance companies, and the chance to turn things around after an injury." An active law professor, Brewer worked as a litigation paralegal before becoming a personal injury attorney.

Eller, a personal injury and workers' compensation attorney for over 16 years, has experience as both a solo practitioner and a large firm lawyer. An active volunteer in his community, Eller is licensed in multiple states and is a member of the American Association for Justice.

Brewer and Eller join a firm recently honored on the 2020 'Best Places to Work' list from the "Triangle Business Journal." The Law Offices of James Scott Farrin was also named on the 2021 'Best Law Firms' list by "U.S. News  Best Lawyers" for persistently impressive ratings from clients and peers.2

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/

1Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes because each case is unique and must be evaluated separately.

2For information regarding the standards for inclusion for awards listed, visit www.bestlawyers.com and www.usnews.com .

SOURCE Law Offices of James Scott Farrin

Related Links

http://www.farrin.com


Mark Wahlberg is looking to get back into the ring for his next feature film role. Well, for at least part of the story.

As reported by Deadlines Justin Kroll, Wahlberg will play Father Stuart Long in the film titled Stu, which follows the life of a Montana boxer who retired from fighting due to injuries and was later in a serious motorcycle accident. Long eventually decided to become a priest.

Yet before he was ordained, Long was diagnosed with a rare muscular degenerative disease that forced him into a wheelchair. Despite those struggles, he followed through on his ambitions and Longs ministry developed a following among thousands of people.

According to Kroll, Stu (other reports have the title as Father Stu) is being developed as a faith-based film thats been a passion project for Wahlberg. As far back as 2016, Wahlberg was working on the film with director David O. Russell, with whom he worked on previous movies including Three Kings, I Heart Huckabees, and The Fighter. An opening in his schedule this year motivated Wahlberg to finally get this film made.

Wahlberg is going with a first-time director for the project, however. Rosalind Ross will direct the film based on her script, which shes reportedly worked on with Wahlberg for years.

According to The Hollywood Reporters Borys Kit, Ross has become a popular writer among actors including Reese Witherspoon and Mel Gibson based on her unproduced script Barbarian, which tells the story of the British Celtic Iceni Tribe uprising led by warrior queen Boudica against the occupying Roman Empire. Barbarian was named to the 2016 Black List of unproduced screenplays producers and executives like the most.

Ross is also writing Black Sam for Casey Afflecks production company. That script is based on the true story of Samuel Bellamy, considered the Robin Hood of pirates in the 18th century, freeing slaves and stealing from the wealthy to give to the poor.

Production on Stu is expected to begin in April.

[Deadline]
Ukraine and Israel agreed to join efforts to improve the infrastructure of Uman and develop the city as an international center of Hasidic pilgrimage, the Embassy of Ukraine in the State of Israel has reported.

On March 24, Ukraine's Ambassador to Israel Yevhen Korniychuk met with President of the Rabbi Nachman International Charitable Foundation Nathan Ben-Nun and representatives of the Breslov Hasidism in Jerusalem.

During the meeting, issues related to the annual pilgrimage to the tomb of Rabbi Nachman during the celebration of the Jewish New Year were discussed.

The parties stressed the need to unite efforts to improve the city's infrastructure and develop Uman as an international center of Hasidic pilgrimage.

The ambassador informed the interlocutors about the negotiations between Ukraine and Israel regarding the mutual recognition of COVID-19 vaccine passports, which will open the border between the two states and resume tourism trips.

An agreement was reached on comprehensive cooperation in ensuring that representatives of the Hasidic community visit the city of Uman with maximum observance of Ukrainian legislation during the celebration of Rosh Hashanah in September this year.

As Ukrinform reported, on March 18, Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov discussed with his Israeli counterpart Aryeh Deri issues related to the celebration of Rosh Hashanah in Uman and the possible organization of the arrival of pilgrims from Israel. The parties agreed that the key condition for this event will be the normalization of the epidemiological situation in Ukraine and the preliminary vaccination of pilgrims.

ish
Before the next of kin were even notified in the horrific shootings last week at three Atlanta-area massage parlors, the narrative was established: The fact that six of the eight victims were Asian women provides the proof that a surge in hate crimes against Asian Americans has bubbled up in the U.S. in response to the coronavirus pandemic. That fits neatly with the view of some Americans that our society, at its heart, is racist.

For contrast, consider the mass shooting this week in Boulder, Colo., in which the suspect is Syrian American. Even though all the victims were of the same race, no one assumes without proof that he was acting out of racial animosity because, of course, they were white. In Atlanta, the shooter killed two white people and injured a Latino. But the killings must still be motivated by anti-Asian hatred, right?

Racially motivated violence must be called out for exactly what it is -- and we must stop making excuses or rebranding it as economic anxiety or sexual addiction, Rep. Marilyn Strickland (pictured) told members of the House a day after the Atlanta shootings. In a CNN interview, Strickland, whose heritage is both African American and Korean American, called the incident a racially motivated hate crime.

None of the evidence to emerge thus far supports that speculation.

Like Strickland, I am Korean American, and the idea that someone might randomly attack me at the gym or hurl racist invectives at me in the grocery checkout line makes me uneasy. So I looked into the numbers being used to support the so-called surge in attacks. They turn out to be thin, with data points cherry-picked to invoke fear and bolster the wobbly claim that the Atlanta shooter was driven by racism.

A report by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism drew national media attention for identifying a 149% increase in anti-Asian hate crimes in 2020 compared to 2019 in 16 of our largest cities. A startling number -- until you learn the actual number of hate crimes in those cities rose from 49 to 122  in a country of 330 million people.

In my hometown, Houston, there were three last year. The year before, there were none.

And what about the 3,795 incidents of harassment and discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders documented by Stop AAPI Hate? The groups data point is even more useless than the 149% increase figure. Stop AAPI (shorthand for Asian American and Pacific Islander) Hate was formed as the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the U.S. and its data has no baseline for comparison.

But it may be sufficiently frightening to open a line of federal spending directly to Stop AAPI Hates member organizations. The group was on Capitol Hill last week to urge lawmakers to address the kind of incidents it tracks and to fund programs supporting the victims.

There have been incidents of ugliness directed toward Asians, like the woman in Houston caught on videotape last spring yelling, Get out of our country at the owner of a Vietnamese restaurant. But the motivation for most of these incidents proves much harder to tease out. And white supremacy certainly doesnt appear to be the animating motivation.

To wit: the case of an 84-year-old man of Thai descent who died in January after being shoved to the ground by a teenager in San Francisco. The district attorney was roundly criticized on social media after saying he had found no evidence the attack was racially motivated and that the teen, who was African American, had been seen banging on a car and having a temper tantrum at the time of the attack.

Similarly, the evidence so far in Atlanta doesnt point toward race.

The shooter told police he targeted the massage parlors because they fueled his sexual addiction. A roommate from a halfway house backed up his story of struggling with compulsive sexual behavior and described him as having a religious mania. It came out later in the week that he had recently been kicked out of his parents home and had been furloughed from his job.

Police who are actually investigating the crime say they are still looking into his motives. But they are treading a fine line. In America in 2021, if you dont see all events through the lens of race, you risk being called a racist.

The murders at the spas in Atlanta are despicable. But if any criminal act with a victim and perpetrator of different races is a hate crime, the legal distinction becomes farcical. Wielding inflated, misleading numbers and overheated, but meaningless, language for the sake of a hot take media narrative insults the 18 million Americans of Asian, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Island descent  and misleads all Americans.
London, March 25 : Hollywood star Johnny Depp has lost the bid to overturn a British High Court ruling which had dismissed his libel claims against a British tabloid accusing the Pirates of the Caribbean star of being a 'wife beater' over charges of assaulting his (then) wife, actress Amber Heard.

Last year, the actor waged a three-week libel case against the publisher of The Sun newspaper over a 2018 article calling him a "wife beater." According to a report in variety.com, Depp claimed that Heard's allegations of domestic violence were "a choreographed hoax." However, Judge Andrew Nicol had found that Depp had been violent toward Heard on at least 12 occasions, and rejected Depp's case.

On Thursday, the Court of Appeal refused permission to Depp to appeal against Nicol's ruling. The appeal judges, James Dingemans and Richard Arnold, stated: "The hearing before (Nicol) was full and fair, and he gave thorough reasons for his conclusions which have not been shown even arguably to be vitiated by any error of approach or mistake of law." Depp sought permission to appeal the ruling, claiming the judge had failed to assess the evidence properly and calling for a full re-trial. The actor's legal team sought to introduce new evidence, which they claimed undermined Heard's credibility as a witness.

Depp's lawyer, Andrew Caldecott, said Heard told a "calculated and manipulative lie" in a pledge to donate her $7 million divorce settlement to charity, alleging the money has not been paid.

"Had the truth about the charity claim emerged at the trial, it would have materially affected the judge's consideration of Ms. Heard's evidence as a whole," Caldecott said.

Lawyers for News Group Newspapers, publisher of The Sun, said the evidence could have been submitted during the original trial, and would not have had an impact on the outcome of the case.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Associated Press

The younger generation of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales are on average about three feet (one meter) shorter than whales were 20 years, drone and aircraft data show in a study in Thursdays journal Current Biology. Entanglements with fishing gear, collisions with ships and climate change moving their food supply north are combining to stress and shrink these large whales, the study says. This isnt about short right whales, its about a physical manifestation of a physiological problem, its the chest pain before the heart attack, said Regina Asmutis-Silvia, executive director of Whale and Dolphin Conservation North America, who wasnt part of the study.
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.
Apiarist Glenn Lovett said the asps that had set up home a couple of weeks ago

hive discovered on Wednesday after wild weather tore through the state

A Brisbane woman has captured the horrific moment a colony of wasps was found under her backyard table after wild weather tore through the state.

The large hive was discovered on Wednesday on the homeowner's back veranda at Nunda, about 9km north of Brisbane's CBD.

The woman was left stunned by the insects but was unsure whether she had a colony of bees or wasps on her property.

A colony of wasps was found under a backyard table in Brisbane after wild weather tore through the state (pictured)

'We have just discovered these underneath our table on the veranda,' she posted on Facebook.

'Are they bees or wasps and how do we get rid of them?'

Brisbane apiarist Glenn Lovett confirmed the insects were wasps that set up home in the Nunda property a couple of weeks ago.

'I'd imagine there's a nearby food source as well and that's why they have formed there,' he told news.com.au.

To easily identify the insects, Mr Lovett said homeowners need to inspect the hives as bees usually congregate in more secluded areas.

'Bees are looking for a secure spot so they will form inside a wall, although sometimes they will end on the side of a tree because they can't find anything better,' he said.

'They usually like a protected type of space where they can control the temperature and guard the entrance.'

Brisbane apiarist Glenn Lovett recommends the safest time to move a wasp hive is at dusk or after dark as they are usually dormant (pictured: stock of a paper wasp)

Mr Lovett recommends the safest time to move a wasp hive is at dusk or after dark as they have returned to the hive and are usually dormant.

Major flood warnings have been issued for the Logan, Condamine, Bremer and Macintyre rivers, with some major roads south-west of Brisbane still partially submerged.

The Bureau of Meteorology has predicted the next few days to remain dry across the south-east but a severe thunderstorm is forecast for the central coast and northern Queensland.

The flood warnings come as the body of missing man David Hornman was found submerged in floodwaters in the Canungra Creek near the Gold Coast Hinterland region.

Water rescue crews and divers located the 38-year-old's body just before 4.30pm yesterday, four hours after his ute was found in the creek.
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.
When a new enemy challenges the national security of the country a few years after vanquishing an old enemy, it is important to understand the structure and strategies of that enemy.

by Bentota Unnanse

False information spread by politicians and certain groups throughout the society regarding the intelligence services of the country will inevitably cause long term structural damage to the country. There are a number of fateful events that members of the intelligence services have had to face. The great betrayal at the Millennium City in Athurugiriya is just one such incident. Narrow criticism that distorts the truth is always conducive to short-term and long-term national destruction. Therefore, I think it is important to make a brief note on this subject. We urge you to refrain from harassing these unsung heroes who give life to the strength of the backbone of the country.

Unlike other countries, our country has not adequate literature to understand the role of intelligence services. There are no constructive conversations about this evolving subject of safely and wellbeing. There are no patriots to praises the genuine servicemen and servicewomen worked around the clock to make our beds safe for sleeping. We, the laymen and laywomen, are having sound sleep at night when these men and women behind the scene are tirelessly committed to safe our nation.

But some criticize their services and hard work to gain personal and political mileages. This is an extremely unfortunate situation. It is okay if you do not sing praises about them. But, it is the common responsibility to avoid spreading falsehoods about them. Intelligence services of the country are not the panacea to satisfy each other's desires.

In this context, it is unfortunate that state secrets and other values within this scope are being misused for narrow political purposes. The best example of this is the role of the commissions appointed to investigate the Easter attacks. It can be observed that those commissions did a lot of things that should not be done in public domain. True, it is a national responsibility to investigate such mayhem. But their primary purpose should be to ensure the non-recurrence of such attacks and to protect the state and law-abided people from future threats. Sensitive records on investigation should not be misused for unjust retaliation against officials who have performed their duties in the face of various obstacles and for the purpose of damaging their reputation.

The Easter attack was the first major incident for Sri Lanka to experience the cruelty of Islamic extremism. At that time, the two main rulers of the country were at loggerheads politically. The nature of the rule of those rulers was a joke not only to the whole country but to the whole world. In such an environment the basic structure of the country was deteriorating. None of them considered national security to be such a significant issue of concern. They tried their best to cover up their failures using rhetoric. The Easter attack was a tragedy caused by this political negligence. A good example of this is the letter sent to Minister Madduma Bandara when he was the Minister of Law and Order in previous government by then the Director of the State Intelligence Service. The Commission has deliberately ignored such an important document for some surprisingly unknown reason.

When a new enemy challenges the national security of the country a few years after vanquishing an old enemy, it is important to understand the structure and strategies of that enemy. The old enemy who fought with the intention of separating a part of the country was a terrorist organization centred around a single individual. But the new enemy is a group of terrorists based on an ideology. The methodology used to understand the old enemy is not compatible with the new enemy, Islamic extremism. But many make the same mistake. Consequently, various conspiracy theories are used to misunderstand this deep ideological issue and its skill of challenging the social fabric.

Most people who talk about it do not seem to understand this basic structural point. Unfortunately, even the Cardinal, who seems to have a strong concern in this regard, does not seem to speak with a broad understanding of this. Many became gossipers when talking about this novel threat.

Going to investigate the first attack of this new enemy and exposing the human and technological resources of Sri Lankan intelligence services to the society will inevitably cause prejudice and harm to the country. This is something that should not happen. It is unfortunate that there is a tendency to focus only on matters that are detrimental to the country, even though there are many other issues that need to be exposed and discussed at the national level. In such a situation, those who work for the security of the state will inevitably be discouraged. If we dream of moving forward as a country, shouldn't we give up these foolish habits immediately?

The intelligence services, including the state intelligence service, are committed to a wide range of areas in the country. There should be a general appreciation and respect for these institutions, which carry out a great national mission with minimum facilities. Many people in the country are narrow-minded and, unfortunately, do not even dream of the responsibilities they owe to the country as citizens. This attitude must change. Narrow criticism does not benefit the country and the people.
South Carolina State Sen. Kevin Johnson, a Democrat who supports and owns guns, regarding the proposed legislation that would make everyone 18 years and older a member of a militia to ensure that the federal government would never be able to confiscate their firearms. The unorganized militia would allow members, nearly all state residents, to carry any weapons legally. Those who did not want to be a part of the militia group, could resign and resume a civilian status. ( Associated Press  March 23, 2021)
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.
It will take 26 years to close Australias gender wage gap, according to new research that shows women in some industries such as sales and community services may never reach income parity with their male colleagues.

As the Liberal Party debates the possible introduction of quotas to lift the number of women in Parliament, the same research also reveals businesses that target gender inequality are bringing more women into their executive suites and closing their pay gaps faster than those that do not.

Senior team leader with infrastructure consultancy business AECOM, Sarah Caruana says women are less likely to push their accomplishments and skills when it comes to arguing for their pay. Credit:Justin McManus

The research compiled by the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre and the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) shows that over the past seven years the total remuneration pay gap fell to 20.1 per cent from 24.7 per cent.

At that rate of fall, the pay gap on total full-time remuneration wont be closed until 2046.
COVID-19 is on the upswing in Pittsfield.

Tyer: Pittsfield has 'Gone Backwards' With COVID-19, UK Variant Found



Mayor Tyer urges residents to work with the public health nurses on contact tracing and continue pandemic protocols. PITTSFIELD, Mass.  Mayor Linda Tyer is not happy about the emergence of a COVID-19 surge.

"A lot has changed since my last update to you on March 9," she said at Tueaday's City Council meeting. "If you've been following the situation, you know that we have gone backward and our community is now categorized as a yellow community, and the information that I'm sharing with you this evening should really be a call to action for everyone in our community to get back to basics around COVID-19 safety precautions."

Since March 9, there have been 117 new cases in the city that public health nurses are examining for the possibility of five potential clusters. The 14-day average cases per 100,000 people are now 25.51 and the 14-day positivity rate is 3.26 percent. These two elements have put the city back into the yellow incident rate classification.

These cases include both adults and children, Tyer said, however, there has been no in-school transmission.

"The increase in cases is very close to the dip that we saw during the fall surge," she added. "This is not a good sign and it is certainly an indicator of what needs to happen in our community in order for us to reduce transmission."

The mayor described residents' "resistance" to public health nurse recommendations during contract tracing phone calls and warned of the risk that ignoring quarantine protocols poses.

"The information that the public health nurses have to share is important, around your health, the health of your family, and precautions for proceeding forward carefully," she said. "Anyone who is experiencing symptoms is encouraged to contact the BMC link lines to schedule a COVID-19 test, this is an important element in slowing the transmission."

Tyer informed the council that recent Biobot wastewater testing indicated the presence of two of the three UK COVID-19 variants in Pittsfield. The city is in the process of examining what this data means in terms of prevalence in the community and what it means in terms of transmission.

The UK variant has already been identified in Massachusetts, she said, and this is another reason why the city has to get back to prioritizing the proven methods such as social distancing, mask-wearing, and increased sanitation.

"[The tests] certainly say that it is an indicator that the virus mutation that the virus variant is in our community," Commissioner of Public Utilities Ricardo Morales said. "But we don't have any indication as to what the estimated cases are or anything like that."

As of Tuesday, the state has fully vaccinated 1 million residents, 67 percent aged 75 or older have been vaccinated across the state and the Berkshires have achieved 80 percent vaccination of residents in that age group.

About 66,000 vaccinations have been administered to public school employees. There are 1,000 doses set aside for teachers and this Saturday coincides with the state's designated school personnel day.

As of March 17, the Berkshire Community College vaccination site has administered 17,00 vaccines and 22 percent of Pittsfield residents have been vaccinated.

The Berkshires vaccination supply for this week is 2,700: 1,800 Pfizer and 900 Moderna vaccines. Next week, the county is expecting 2,300 first doses but Tyer said that number could change if the commonwealth is "lucky enough to get an additional supply."

Tyer also announced that the Massachusetts Department of Public Health is working with communities to launch a homebound vaccination program for which about 25,00 state residents will qualify. Families and caregivers working for said residents are urged to contact Elder Services for more information and to register.

"As we all know by now this is a constantly fluid situation," Tyer said. "We have been in this position before where we started to see a surge, and we know what our response actions need to be including the role that every member of our community needs to play in order to slow the spread of this particular transmission."
Skoltech scientists and their colleagues have proposed a new human height inheritance model that accounts for the interaction between various factors that influence adult human height. The research was published in the European Journal of Human Genetics.

Human height is a classical quantitative trait that depends on sex, genetics, and the environment.

Scientists from Skoltech, Novosibirsk State University, the Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the Siberian Branch of RAS, and the Institute of Science and Technology in Vienna analyzed the human height distribution across a population and its dependence on sex, genes, and the environment. The team used a huge set of data on over 369,000 U.K. individuals and average male and female heights from various ethnic groups across the world.

The classical human height model assumes the additivity of various factors. The team has shown that the interactions between these diverse factors should be taken into account when studying remote populations or large datasets. For instance, certain genetic variants are assumed to have a greater effect on the height in males than in females. The researchers proposed an alternative model in which the effects of sex, genes, and the environment are multiplied (and not added up) and can be regarded as independent.

"The conventional model would reveal different average heights in centimeters for males and females in each country, while our model straightforwardly shows a difference of 8%. The same goes for the environment and the genes which turned out to have the same relative effect in all the studied populations," explains Ivan Kuznetsov, a PhD student at the Skoltech Center for Life Sciences (CLS).

###
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 United States has called out to the Chinese government to release two Canadians who have been arbitrarily detained since 2018.

According to a report from the Post Millennial, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called on China last Tuesday to immediately release Michael Spavor, a Canadian consultant with extensive work in North Korea, and Michael Kovrig, a former Canadian diplomat who serves as Senior Advisor for North East Asia to the non-governmental organization Crisis Group, since they have been in their custody since December 2018.

The two Canadian prisoners are referred to as the "two Michaels" whose arrest have been viewed as a relation to that of Canada's arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou at the Vancouver International Airport for fraud charges pending "extradition to the United States."

"We join our partners in calling on Beijing to immediately release the two arbitrarily detained Canadians, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig. Human beings are not bargaining chips," Blinken said on Twitter with a link to the statement of the Canadian government on the matter.

We join our partners in calling on Beijing to immediately release the two arbitrarily detained Canadians, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig. Human beings are not bargaining chips. https://t.co/e5WszeKKuS  Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) March 23, 2021

The Post Millennial added that the Michaels were detained for many years and was only put on trial by Chinese authorities last week for espionage. The trial was said to have been criticized for being "secretive and shadowy" since China said it could not be held publicly for "state secrets" may be revealed by the Michaels.

Blinken's call to the Chinese government to release the Michaels is not an isolated case but was also previously made in February. The outlet cited President Joe Biden stating "human beings are not bartering chips" which echoes what Blinken said in reference to the trial.

In the statement of the Canadian government, Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneu expressed their grave concern for the two Michaels and disclosed their efforts in getting them back to their country.

"The thoughts of all Canadians are with Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor and their families during these difficult times. As Minister of Foreign Affairs, securing their safe return to Canada is my top priority. We are deeply troubled by the total lack of transparency surrounding these hearings and we continue to work toward an immediate end to their arbitrary detention," Garneau said.

"Canadian officials are seeking continued consular access to Mr. Kovrig and Mr. Spavor, in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and the China-Canada Consular Agreement, and will continue to support these men and their families during this unacceptable ordeal," he added.

To which he stressed, "The eyes of the world are on these cases and proceedings and I want to thank our international partners for their continued support and solidarity."

The statement also expressed gratitude to many countries who have "joined the call for the release of Canadian citizens Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who have been arbitrarily detained in China for more than two years."

He said the countries who joined have echoed their concerns that what has been done to the two Michaels "are unacceptable," and "their presence outside the courthouses of trials" indicate that calls for the freedom of the two Canadians have massive support, sending "a strong message of solidarity" within the international community.

The statement revealed that requests for access to the hearing of Spavor and to Kovrig were denied to Canadian and foreign diplomats. Specifically, Canada and eight diplomats from the countries of Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United states were denied access to Spavor's hearing. While Canada and 23 other countries including the United states were denied access to the hearing of Kovrig by the Chinese government.
Three groups from the Colorado School of Public Health (ColoradoSPH) have been awarded a $3 million 5-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study the effects of air pollution and climate on the kidney health of sugarcane workers in Guatemala. The award provides funding to identify how air pollutants contribute to chronic kidney disease of unknown origin (CKDu), a growing international epidemic.

This interinstitutional and interdisciplinary team will be led by principal investigators John Adgate, PhD, MSPH, from the Environmental and Occupational Health department at the ColoradoSPH at the University of Colorado; Lee Newman, MD, MA from the Center for Health, Work & Environment (CHWE) at the ColoradoSPH at the University of Colorado; and Joshua Schaeffer, PhD, from the ColoradoSPH at Colorado State University. They will examine an unusual hypothesis that inhaled contaminated air and dust may cause kidney damage among sugarcane workers. In many countries, sugarcane fields are burned prior to harvesting the cane, emitting airborne pollutants that can contribute to adverse health effects.

The research team's preliminary work, and that of other researchers, strongly suggests that throughout the harvest, sugarcane workers are exposed to air particles, soil, and ash containing silica, metals, and the agrochemical glyphosate and that these exposures may impact kidney health. This study will be one of the first to relate kidney dysfunction to not only inhalation exposure, but also to the effects of exposure to hot working conditions and dehydration. Sugarcane cutters who participate in the study will wear air pollution monitors in backpacks while they work. A team from CHWE will be in the fields monitoring the workers' health while simultaneously measuring pollution, heat, and humidity.

Agricultural workers have always had an unacceptably high risk for work-related injuries and illness. Now the stakes are even higher because of rising global temperatures and increasing rates of chronic illness. What we are learning with our collaborators in Guatemala has the potential to help workers back in the U.S. and abroad." Dr. Lee Newman, Center for Health, Work & Environment (CHWE), ColoradoSPH at the University of Colorado

The investigators will be working with Pantaleon, one of Latin America's largest agribusinesses, that CHWE has partnered with to conduct research over the last five years. Thanks to this collaboration, the team has a unique opportunity to disseminate its findings not only through research publications, but also by communicating with other international business organizations. The team will use this public-private partnership to broaden the impact and translation of science into practice.

"When we think about air pollution, scientists usually look for damage to the lungs and heart. But when we breathe in dust, the smallest particles can pass into the bloodstream and also lodge in the kidneys," said Dr. Newman. "If we can show that the dusty work is contributing to kidney damage, there are important, practical steps that agribusinesses can take to prevent this epidemic of kidney failure."
There's growing alarm in Canberra over what's expected to be Australia's inevitable increased dependence on foreign petroleum amid a major influx of cheaper refined oil products from China. It comes as China's crude oil refinery capacity is rapidly expanding and simultaneously Australia is about to see its last four refineries cut down by two, given the recent announced closures of an Exxon Mobil and separately a BP refinery.

It's yet another way that Beijing has the upper hand and leverage amid the ongoing trade war which has seen the two sides slap tariffs and even a few import bans on each other. A recent report out this week in the South China Morning Post runs through the numbers which suggests China is poised to dominate crude exports in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly to "vulnerable" Australia - leaving Aussie government leaders concerned over self-sufficiency and if the country can weather the storm of Beijing's "coercive trade warfare".

"Chinese exports of refined oil products to Australia rose from a few thousand tonnes before 2011 to nearly 300,000 tonnes at the end of last year, according to figures from China customs," the report begins by noting.

Refinery in Melbourne, via Reuters

Following the announced impending closures of BPs Kwinana and ExxonMobils Altona plants, a third - Ampols Lytton plant - is now also said to be mulling a shutdown given its inability to compete with Asian refineries. And the fourth, Viva Energys Geelong refinery, has since last year been kept afloat by a federal government rescue package amid spiraling losses estimated at over $100 million.

Julie Torgersrud, an oil markets analyst at Rystad Energy, was cited in the report as explaining, "The reason we see China as the main potential import source is the countrys rapid increase in refinery capacity combined with a slower growth in domestic oil products demand in the long term." Related: Pandemic Puts Saudi-Kuwaiti Oil Plans On Ice

"New, high-complexity refinery capacity starting up in China puts increased pressure on competing refiners in the APAC region, who are suffering from lower margins and usually have older, less efficient operations," she said.

"We expect a net decrease in refinery capacity of around 1.2 million bpd in this region in the next two years, compared to a net increase in China of 1.5 million bpd in the same period," she added, emphasizing the bleak outlook for Australia in terms of increasing reliance on China.

Australia at mercy of coercive trade warfare as China and US continue rivalry https://t.co/rqfwCErnKJ  Guardian news (@guardiannews) February 15, 2021

More broadly there's also the practical logistical matter of big crude producers favoring export to Asian refineries due to the typically newer facilities (compared to the decades-old Australian refineries) being geographically closer, making them more cost-effective.

Torgersrud said Canberra is taking supply chain steps to mitigate the impact of its closing refineries, however: "When it comes to energy security, increased dependence on imports puts pressure on reliability of shipping and supply chains, but this is the reasoning behind old refineries converting to continue operating as import terminals, as these facilities will become increasingly important."

By Zerohedge.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
In a move to jumpstart Montanas latest digital redesign effort, Gov. Greg Gianforte has appointed Kevin Gilbertson, the former vice president of product strategy and enablement at Helix Business Solutions as the states new chief information officer. Gilbertson , who began his new role yesterday, will focus his efforts on assisting state agencies in improving customer service practices and modernizing technology used within state government.Over the last 20 years, Ive been doing similar work with state and federal government customers, including all branches of the military, as well as Fortune 500 corporate customers, Gilbertson said in a release.Before joining Helix Business Solutions, Gilbertson was the owner and principal consultant at Forstara in Bozeman, Mont., and held various IT roles at RightNow Technologies. He also worked for Socrata in Seattle.Gilbertson replaces former CIO Tim Bottenfield , who retired at the end of last year. Bottenfield came to the role following a 30-year career in state government. He had previously served as CIO at the Montana Department of Revenue.Improving customer service and modernizing technology in state government is critical to better serving the people of Montana, Gov. Greg Gianforte said in a release. Kevin is highly qualified to lead the states digital redesign effort and help us implement the Montana comeback.
Ms Berejiklian said she was absolutely shocked ... and somewhat relieved that its subject to a police investigation. I think all of us want to make sure that justice is served well and properly, and the alleged victim needs to be able to have a process where nothing is prejudiced, she said. The Premier said she believed police should be the first informed in relation to any matters of a criminal nature, because they are the ones that have to carry out those investigations. However, she said it was her expectation she would be informed by any member of government if they knew they were the subject of an investigation. Earlier on Thursday, Mr Barilaro released a statement saying he sought Mr Johnsens resignation from his role as Parliamentary Secretary upon learning of the allegations on Wednesday.

He duly resigned, Mr Barilaro said. Mr Johnsen also agreed to no longer sit in the Nationals party room nor joint party room while the police investigation is under way. Ms Berejiklian refused to be drawn on the fact that Mr Johnsen effectively moving to the crossbench meant she was now facing a minority government. Ive not given that too much thought today, to be honest, she said. The revelations emerged on Wednesday when Ms Doyle used parliamentary privilege to say she had been contacted 18 months ago by a woman who alleged she had been sexually assaulted by an MP in the Berejiklian government. In the unannounced speech Ms Doyle did not name the MP, but described details of the alleged incident including that he had made contact with the woman via the adult classified website Locanto and arranged to meet her on his way home from Sydney.

The man was offering $200 for oral sex only, Ms Doyle told Parliament. She tells me she made herself clear that she was not willing to have penetrative sex with him. However, towards the end, the man moved around behind her and assaulted her in a way she had not consented to, Ms Doyle said. Mr Barilaro said he was alerted by a member of staff to a rumour going around on Wednesday at 7pm, before ringing Mr Johnson to ask him directly about the allegations. I dont think I could have done anything sooner. He accepted that course of action, issued that statement, agreed to that course of action, Mr Barilaro told 2GB, which is owned by Nine, the publisher of this masthead. He has chosen to take some time off; that is the best outcome personally ... none of us want to be involved or giving prejudice in this case. We need justice to run its course.

In his statement on Wednesday night, Mr Johnsen said, without admission, he would take leave from NSW Parliament as police investigate the allegations against him. I am devastated by these allegations. I have voluntarily spoken with NSW Police and I have and will continue to fully cooperate with their enquiries, he said. I am confident any investigation will conclude that I am an innocent party. Nationals MP Trevor Khan said he did not believe there was a culture problem within the NSW Coalition. I dont believe so, Mr Khan said. I dont know if we know that anything has happened in NSW, but as I say whats come out in Canberra causes us all to reflect. Nationals member for Clarence Chris Gulaptis described the allegations as shocking but made no further comment, while several members of the crossbench called for immediate cultural change within NSW Parliament.

Greens MP Abigail Boyd said she was shaken by the allegations, and said a culture existed within Parliament that rewarded power and privilege. Its just disgusting, the idea that there are people in this government who are tasked with making the laws and making the funding decisions to protect womens safety and theyre actually the ones potentially perpetuating these crimes, Ms Boyd said. Shooters, Fishers and Farmers MP Helen Dalton, who once ran for preselection for the NSW Nationals, said the party was in a world of pain on a lot of different levels. I was a genuine candidate, she said. They rejected me because I didnt fall into the National Party mould. One Labor MP said they had been given explicit instructions to make no comment about the allegations.
Navalnys health described as satisfactory  penitentiary authorities

 Screenshot

11:04 25/03/2021

MOSCOW, March 25 (RAPSI)  The standard medical examination has described the health condition of concivted Alexey Navalny as satisfactory, RAPSI has been told in the Vladimir Region Directorate of the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN).

The health checkup was conducted in the regional penitentiary facilities on Wednesday. Doctors also examined the state of Navalny and described it as satisfactory, the statement reads.

Earlier, information on the deterioration of Navalnys health appeared on social media. Allegedly, the convicted blogge suffered back pains and numbness in a leg.

In February, a Moscow court ordered Navalny to be jailed for 3.5 years in the Ives Rocher embezzlement case. In early March, the ruling was upheld. The blogger is to serve about 2.5 years behind bars.




Nearly 30 million retired, disabled and other vulnerable Americans may still face a 10-day wait for COVID-19 stimulus checks after the Internal Revenue Service receives necessary electronic files from the Social Security Administration.

In an email, an SSA spokesperson told MassLive that the agency expects the final electronic files of Social Security and Supplemental Security Income recipients to be delivered to the IRS Thursday following a notification we received just yesterday from (the IRS) that testing was successful.

A Democratic aide told MassLive that it may be at least 10 days before beneficiaries see their payments. Recipients over the last several days have clamored over social media for immediate assistance, with many noting they had not faced such delays in previous stimulus rounds. The IRS has already issued nearly 130 million payments to Americans since March 12.

The sending of the files comes a day after Democratic lawmakers, led by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal of Massachusetts, gave SSA officials 24 hours to get them to IRS. MassLive reported Wednesday that IRS asked SSA to start sending payment files two weeks before President Joe Bidens $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan became law, according to the lawmakers.

As of today, SSA still has not provided the IRS with the payment files that are needed to issue EIPs to these struggling Americans, the lawmakers wrote Wednesday. We demand that you immediately provide the IRS this information by tomorrow, March 25, 2021.

The lawmakers called the hold up inexplicable just a day after they wrote to the IRS and SSA to say there are no excuses for delays of the approved $1,400 stimulus checks to vulnerable Americans who receive income through Social Security, SSI, Veterans Affairs and the Railroad Retirement Board.

The wait came as some Democratic lawmakers have urged Biden to fire SSA Commissioner Andrew Saul and Deputy Commissioner David Black, who were appointed by former President Donald Trump.

Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Bill Pascrell, Jr. of New Jersey, who joined Neal in the letter, recently repeated calls to fire Trump appointees he alleged were trying to dismantle Social Security. Their inability to get out stimulus checks is another reason they need to be shown the exit.

SSA did not respond to a question regarding the calls to oust leadership.

Steve Richardson, SSA communications director for the New England region, said the immediate delivery of the payments is the agencys top priority.

Social Security Disability beneficiaries and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients are frequently among the most vulnerable in society, he said. We owe it to them to move swiftly  and we have done so. Social Security staff is working day and night with Treasury and IRS representatives to ensure that the electronic file of Social Security and SSI recipients is complete, accurate and ready to be used to issue payments.

Richardson said the agency will continue to coordinate with IRS until all payments are made.

In explaining the delay, Richardson noted that unlike last years Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the American Rescue Plan did not directly appropriate funds or establish a reimbursable agreement with IRS to fund us for our work to support their issuance of the payments.

Both before and after Bidens relief bill became law, SSA discussed with Treasury and IRS that the agency is unable by law to use our administrative appropriation to conduct work on any non-mission provision or program, he said.

We have been aggressively working with Treasury and IRS since passage and successfully signed the reimbursable agreement in less than one week after passage (on March 17th), he added. We sent test files to IRS a few days following the execution of this agreement.

In a joint statement, the Democratic lawmakers on Ways and Means said SSA notified them that the payment files were transmitted before 9 a.m. on Thursday.

We are gratified that the SSA leadership finally recognized the urgency of the moment and acted swiftly on our ultimatum, they said. None of this would be possible without the hard work of SSAs dedicated public servants and leadership from the White House.

The lawmakers still pegged Saul for what they painted as unnecessary delays.

The landmark American Rescue Plan was enacted by Congress and signed by President Biden to provide relief to Americans struggling to survive the pandemic, they said. The delays imposed by Commissioner Saul defied congressional intent and imposed needless anxiety and pain on taxpayers. Now the IRS needs to do its job and get these overdue payments out to suffering Americans. Further delays will not be tolerated by this committee.

On Thursday, Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts noted his office had fielded many calls over the wait on checks. He added that he hoped they can all the Trump holdovers, period, and I believe they will.

The direct payments are meant to send $1,400 to adults earning less than $75,000 and couples less than $150,000, as well as $1,400 for dependents. The checks phase out for Americans making more than $75,000, with a hard cut-off at $80,000 for individuals and $160,000 for married couples.

The three major stimulus packages have made clear that those who do not earn enough to file taxes, including many of the beneficiaries the Democratic lawmakers pressed IRS and SSA about, are eligible for payments. The IRS used Social Security information on file to issue payments to recipients of retirement or disability benefits.

The IRS in a news release Wednesday said more information about Social Security-linked payments will be provided on IRS.gov as soon as it becomes available.

Overall, the IRS has disbursed more than $325 billion in nearly 127 million payments across the country.

The first batch of payments came through direct deposit to Americans whose banking information was already on file with the IRS. Another batch including direct deposit, paper checks and debit cards, immediately followed, making up about 37 million payments totaling $83 billion, the IRS said.

Related Content:
The Serpent

Netflix, from April 2



In the crowded true-crime genre on streaming services, The Serpent offers more than your standard podcast-style doco; this BBC-Netflix co-production is a lavishly produced dramatisation following the criminal and those who worked to catch him.

Set largely in the mid-1970s, its the story of a handsome, charming serial killer who drugged and murdered at least a dozen backpackers on the south-east Asian hippie trail.

Tahar Rahim as the real-life hippie trail killer Charles Sobhraj. Credit:Roland Neveu

Vietnamese-Indian conman Charles Sobhraj (chillingly played by French actor Tahar Rahim), born in Saigon and raised in France, remade himself after a life of petty crime as a teenager, into a suave gem dealer, going by the name Alain Gautier. While he did do some dealing in gems, much of his money came from the backpackers he drugged and robbed. Its suggested in the eight-part drama  inspired by real events and with the disclaimer that the dialogue is imagined  that initially he would let his victims get away, but many were not so lucky.
The Gambia's Works Minister, Bai Lamin Jobe, told lawmakers that about 200 kilometers of rural roads are in dire need of urgent intervention to give them maximum impact in terms of connectivity.

Minister Jobe made this remark on Wednesday 24th March 2021, while responding to a question raised by Billay G Tunkara, Member for Kantora, at the National Assembly during the question and answer session.

Billay G Tunkara recommended for the Minister to use the fuel levy fund for the construction of the feeder road between Nyamanari village and Suduwol village, with a view to making them roadworthy during the rainy season.

Minister Jobe said the recommendation would be an option, but maintained that they choose the best available options under the circumstances saying the fuel levy fund is inadequate.

Alagie Darboe, Member for Lower Fulladou West, also asked the Minister about plans his-led Ministry has to address the inaccessibility of feeder roads in his constituency.

Works Minister responded that the National Roads Authority (NRA) is progressively working on identifying, surveying and costing of all the rural roads in the regions. He said the funds raised by the government such as the fuel levy, are earmarked for the construction and maintenance of identified roads.

He said the discussions between the NRA and Darboe has already been done regarding the said roads and it was agreed to visit the said roads, which will be followed by surveys and designs in preparation for construction, once the requisite funding is fully mobilized.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Gambia Construction By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Alfusainey Ceesay, Member for Sami Constituency, asked: "Can the Minister inform the Assembly whether the Ministry has plans to construct a bridge at the Bushtown crossing point?"

Sankung Jammeh, Member for Foni Jarrol, asked the Minister the fate of the staff sanctioned by the Gambia Ports Authority in connection with missing D60 million.

Minister Jobe explained that the issue is about billing irregularities in the tune of D10, 497,137.62, due to inappropriate billing of Bollore Logistics, United Logistics and OB Logistics Companies between 1st of January 2018 to 31st July 2019. He added this is stated in the audit report.

"The affected agencies have paid the amount in full and the matter of the concerned staff member has been forwarded to the IGP for fraud investigations. Lately, a follow up enquiry on the progress on the investigation has been sent to the IGP and GPA and we are waiting for the response," he said.
Samsung Electronics' HKMG tech-based DDR5 memory chips / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics



By Kim Yoo-chul



While the continued global shortage of semiconductor chips has led the top industry players to issue a blunt warning, the Korean tech behemoth Samsung said Thursday it has launched an advanced DRAM-type memory chip.



In a statement, Samsung said it was the industry's first to develop and launch 512GB DDR5 memory chip modules using High-K Metal Gate (HKMG) technology, which uses high dielectric constant dielectrics and metalized gates. This new advanced type of memory chip is mainly designed for server systems that will support DDR5 DRAM.



Such backing is expected, for example, in the new AMD EPYC (Genoa, Zen4) and Intel Xeon (Sapphire Rapids) processors. In terms of specifications, its 521GB DDR5 registered R-DIMM memory module uses 32 16GB stacks based on eight 16GB DRAM devices. The 8-Hi stacks use silicon via interconnects to ensure low power and quality signaling, according to the release.



"Based on technological competitiveness both in memory and logic chips, Samsung Electronics applied the HKMG process in manufacturing memory chips for the first time in the industry. Samsung hopes the new DDR5 memory, highlighted with high energy efficiency, will be used in a lot of applicable areas such as driverless vehicles and smart city projects," Sohn Young-soo, vice president of Samsung's memory business product planning, was quoted as saying in the statement.



Samsung claims that its DDR5-embedded devices probably consume 13 percent less power than predecessors, due to enhancements including the advanced DDR5's reduced voltages and an HKMG insulating layer.



Regarding updates of sample testing on new chips, the firm is saying that Samsung has "already started sampling various DDR5 modules" with "various partners" from the server community. It is hoping that its new DIMMs will be validated and certified by the time servers using DDR5 chips mainly hit the market.



Also, the development of Samsung chips came as forecasts of "server DRAM chips" look strong with market researcher TrendForce expecting server DRAM prices to rise nearly 20 percent quarter-on-quarter because of a cyclical upturn in server shipments.



"In addition to the peak-season effect, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to influence server manufacturers as well. Server manufacturers have intentionally extended their component inventories by several more weeks because of pandemic-induced uncertainties," the research firm said.



Another interesting point is that Thursday's announcement by Samsung came a day after Intel clarified its intention to make a new push into the foundry chip business. Some investors viewed Intel's new aim as a challenging factor for Samsung in the foundry business sector as Samsung is chasing Taiwan's TSMC in the highly profitable and less-volatile foundry world. Thus, Samsung is on alert over Intel's foundry aim.



But Samsung is already a serious business partner with Intel, with the latter's experienced engineering teams collaborating with Samsung to consistently deliver fast, power-efficient DDR5 memory chips for Intel's new processors.



Samsung, the world's largest memory chip manufacturer, hasn't changed its stance toward the market where there is a serious imbalance between supply and demand. The lack of chips is disrupting the global automotive industry and Samsung signaled its next Galaxy Note smartphone could be delayed until 2022.



A report issued Thursday by the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade (KIET) claimed the Biden administration could intervene in the ongoing global memory chip shortage issue by possibly mandating foreign investors, such as Samsung, to invest more in their plants in the United States.


[March 25, 2021] AWE 2021: Dreame Launches New Products Leading with Cordless Vacuum V16 and Dreame Bot L10 Pro

SHANGHAI, March 25, 2021 /CNW/ -- Dreame Technology, a growing innovative company specializing in smart home cleaning appliances, has introduced the V16 Cordless Vacuum equipped with an innovative, top-of-the-range 160K RPM motor, Dreame Bot L10 Pro robotic vacuum cleaner with precise lidar navigation system and more at the Appliance & Electronics World Expo 2021 (AWE 2021) held from March 23-25 in Shanghai. Independently developed by Dreame, the innovative and efficient SPACE 6.0 high-speed brushless motor equipped on the V16 cordless vacuum can reach 160K RPM with 200AW suction power to a deliver super strong cleaning performance. The vacuum and mop all-in-one design can realize deep cleaning while saving both time and labor. The back-projected illuminated floor brush also ensures total cleanliness without any neglected corners. Equipped with a precise lidar navigation system supported by Dual Laser and LDS technologies, Dreame Bot L10 Pro can detect and avoid obstacles while constantly rebuilding the 3D environment in real time. Its advanced mapping system allows for dynamic route planning and can be managed with an app or Alexa. At 4000Pa ultra-strong suction, Dreame Bot L10 Pro can easily remove dirt and large debris. The product is expected to hit the shelves on Amazon and AliExpress in early May.



Winner of the AWE 2021 Award, Dreame's exhibition featured a wide range of interactive activities to introduce the new products and technologies to audiences and attracted leading media Bloomberg Businessweek and Forbes China to interview Dreame's CEO for a possible more in-depth report in the coming weeks.

"Innovation will be a key word for us in the next five-year period. We will expend more energy and time learning customer insights, which will also help us with our innovation and understanding of consumers' needs," said Hao Yu, CEO of Dreame Technology, at a Bloomberg Businessweek interview. Dreame's grand launch also highlighted the Dreame Bot Z10 Pro featuring an auto-empty base to enable automatic dirt disposal, while the Dreame Bot W10 brings a hands-free cleaning experience by integrating robust vacuuming, efficient mopping and mop self-cleaning functions, both of which will be released shortly this year. "We're thrilled to engage with all visitors and media friends at AWE," said Roc Woo, Co-Founder of Dreame. "It's a huge honor winning the AWE award this year. We will remain deeply committed to delivering the most powerful product to create an easier cleaning experience for our global users." About Dreame Technology Established in 2015, Dreame Technology, an innovative consumer product company focuses on smart home cleaning appliances with the vision to improve global users' life quality through technology. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For more information, please visit https://www.dreame-technology.com. Media Contact: Tianshi Yuwen

pr@dreame.tech Lena Liu

Liuyk@dreame.tech

+86-400-875-9511 View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/awe-2021-dreame-launches-new-products-leading-with-cordless-vacuum-v16-and-dreame-bot-l10-pro-301256203.html SOURCE Dreame Technology

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
BOULDER, Colo., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Charlotte's Web, Holdings, Inc. reports that its subsidiary, Charlotte's Web Inc. ("the "Company") (TSX: CWEB) (OTCQX: CWBHF), the market leader in hemp CBD wellness products hemp CBD wellness products and a Certified B Corporation, today secured a successful resolution of its trademark infringement and false advertising claims against AAXLL Supply Co LLC ("AAXLL"), owner of the Balance CBD brand. Charlotte's Web filed a complaint against AAXLL on April 17, 2020 in which it alleged that AAXLL infringed Charlotte's Web's rights in its CHARLOTTE'S WEB trademark and had misrepresented that certain AAXLL products shared a terpene profile with hemp cultivars developed by Charlotte's Web.

Under the stipulated judgment entered by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, AAXLL acknowledged that "(a) the CHARLOTTE'S WEB Mark is a valid and protectable trademark in connection with hemp, CBD products, and any products or services related thereto; (b) the CHARLOTTE'S WEB Mark is not a generic term; (c) Charlotte's Web's State California and Colorado State trademark registrations for the CHARLOTTE'S WEB Mark are valid and enforceable; and (d) Charlotte's Web owns all right, title, and interest in and to the CHARLOTTE'S WEB Mark." AAXLL also agreed to be permanently enjoined from using the CHARLOTTE'S WEB trademark in connection with advertising and promoting CBD products. In addition, the Court dismissed AAXLL's unfair competition counterclaim and AAXLL's challenges to the validity of the CHARLOTTE'S WEB trademark.

"The Charlotte's Web trademark is a cornerstone of our intellectual property portfolio," said Deanie Elsner, CEO of Charlotte's Web Inc. "Today's judgment underscores our ongoing commitment to vigorously protect our intellectual property, and we will continue to enforce our rights where necessary."

About Charlotte's Web Holdings, Inc.

Charlotte's Web Holdings, Inc., a Certified B Corporation headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, is the market leader in the production and distribution of innovative hemp-derived cannabidiol ("CBD") wellness products under a family of brands which includes Charlotte's Web, CBD Medic, CBD Clinic, and Harmony Hemp. The Company's premium quality products start with proprietary hemp genetics that are 100-percent American farm grown and manufactured into whole-plant hemp extracts containing a full spectrum of naturally occurring phytocannabinoids including CBD, CBC, CBG, terpenes, flavonoids and other beneficial hemp compounds. Charlotte's Web product categories include CBD oil tinctures (liquid products), CBD gummies (sleep, stress, inflammation recovery), CBD capsules, CBD topical creams and lotions, as well as CBD pet products for dogs. Charlotte's Web is the number one CBD brand in the USA and is distributed through more than 22,000 retail locations, select distributors and online through the Company's website at www.CharlottesWeb.com

Charlotte's Web was founded by the Stanley Brothers with a mission to unleash the healing powers of botanicals through compassion and science, benefiting the planet and all who live upon it. Charlotte's Web is a socially and environmentally conscious company and is committed to using business as a force for good and a catalyst for innovation. The Company weighs sound business decisions with consideration for how its efforts affect employees, customers, the environment, and diverse communities. The rate the Company pays for agricultural products reflects a fair and sustainable rate driving higher quality yield, encouraging regenerative farming practices, and supporting U.S. farming communities. Management believes that its socially oriented and environmentally responsible actions have a positive impact on its customers, suppliers, employees and stakeholders. Charlotte's Web donates a portion of its pre-tax earnings to charitable organizations.

Subscribe to Charlotte's Web investor news.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking statements and information within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "estimates", "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 or information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Charlotte's Web to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release.

Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including assumptions as to the efficacy and results of research; and the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to the Company's operations. These foregoing lists are not exhaustive. Additional information on these and other factors which could affect the Company's operations or financial results are included in the Company's most recent annual information form and other public documents on file with the Canadian Securities regulatory authorities on www.sedar.com.

SOURCE Charlotte's Web Holdings, Inc.

Related Links

https://www.charlottesweb.com/


press release

Beirut  Vienna Academic Faces Abusive 'Terrorism' Charges

Egyptian authorities should immediately release an anthropology master's degree student at Central European University (CEU), or present evidence of actual criminal wrongdoing, Human Rights Watch said today.

Police arrested the student, Ahmed Samir Santawy, on February 1, 2021, and allegedly beat him. Prosecutors ordered him detained pending an investigation for allegedly "joining a terrorist group" and "spreading false news." Santawy's arrest is part of a pattern of arbitrary detention of Egyptian academics and critics when they return from abroad.

"Ahmed Samir Santawy's arrest and detention appear to be completely arbitrary and part of a pattern of punishing independent voices," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "Unfortunately, he is just one of many academics and critics to be imprisoned and face so-called terrorism charges upon returning from abroad."

Santawy's Belgian partner, Souheila Yildiz, and another relative told Human Rights Watch that police held Santawy incommunicado for five days, until February 6, then took him before the Supreme State Security Prosecution (SSSP), an abusive branch of public prosecution that routinely oversees unjust detentions. Egyptian criminal procedures allow those prosecutors to detain people for up to five months without taking them before a judge.

When Santawy arrived from Vienna at Egypt's Sharm al-Sheikh International Airport on December 15, 2020 on vacation, airport officers interrogated him for two hours about his studies abroad before allowing him to leave, Yildiz said. On January 23, seven armed Interior Ministry and National Security Agency officers and soldiers raided his family home in Cairo, searched it, and confiscated the home's surveillance camera recordings without showing a search or arrest warrant, according to official complaints the family submitted to authorities that Human Rights Watch reviewed.

Santawy was not at home, and the officers left a note ordering him to see the National Security Agency officer at the Cairo's Fifth Settlement police station, Yildiz and the relative said. They said that Santawy went to see the officer on January 30, but officers at the station told him to come back in two days. He went there again on February 1, but did not return home. The family believes he was moved to a National Security Agency building, where he was held incommunicado for five days with no access to family and lawyers.

Santawy appeared before the State Security prosecutors for interrogation on February 6. They added him to the Case 65 of 2021, accusing him of "joining a terrorist organization," and "spreading false news." The case includes the arbitrarily detained journalists Nermin Hussein and Naglaa Fathy Fouad, who were arrested in March and June 2020 respectively and ordered detained in this case despite court orders to release them in previous cases based on the same accusations. The State Security prosecutors routinely rubber stamp security allegations, unsupported by evidence, to detain peaceful activists.

The relative said that the interrogations focused on Santawy's studies, activism, and Facebook posts that he denied writing.

Santawy's lawyer told al-Manassa website that Santway told prosecutors that he was severely beaten during interrogation at the National Security Agency's office inside the police station.

On February 17, the State Security Prosecution renewed Santawy's detention for 15 more days without him or his lawyer present, Yildiz said. On February 23, the prosecution also accused him of "funding a terrorist organization," based on investigations that neither Santawy nor his lawyers were allowed to review.

According to emails Human Rights Watch received from the president of the student union at the Central European University, Santawy's academic work focused on women's reproductive rights.

Santawy is one of a number of Egyptians arbitrarily arrested, and in some cases disappeared, and prosecuted on their return to Egypt. On February 22, the airport authorities arrested Gamal al-Gamal, a well-known political columnist, upon his return from Turkey and took him before the State Security Prosecution after holding him incommunicado for five days. The prosecution added al-Gamal to Case 977 of 2017, which includes dozens of journalists and activists, and ordered his pretrial detention on accusations of spreading false news and misusing social media platforms, apparently based solely on his writings.

On February 7, 2020, the authorities arrested Patrick George Zaki, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) researcher on gender issues, at Cairo Airport upon his return from his studies in Italy. National Security Agency officers allegedly tortured him, including with electric shocks, his lawyers told EIPR. Prosecutors and judges have since kept him in pretrial detention on charges that include spreading false news, calling for unauthorized protests, and incitement to commit violence and terrorist crimes, without presenting any evidence of wrongdoing.

Cairo International Airport security forces interrogated and later arrested Hisham Abdel Aziz, an Al Jazeera journalist, upon his arrival for his annual holiday from Qatar on June 20, 2019. State Security Prosecution ordered Abdel Aziz detained over charges of "belonging to a terrorist group and spreading false news." He has been held without trial in Tora prison ever since. His health has been deteriorating and he needs medical care for his eye that is not available in prison, his wife, Samira el-Taher, said on social media. In January 2019, security arrested Ahmed Gamal Ziada, a photojournalist and reporter, when he arrived at Cairo Airport from a work trip in Tunisia and held him incommunicado for 14 days. Ziada was released on bail on March 9, 2019.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines NGO Human Rights Egypt By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Security forces arrested Walid Salem, a University of Washington Ph.D. student, in March 2018 and detained him for seven months because of his research on the Egyptian judicial system. He was conditionally released in December 2018 but remains subject to a travel ban.

On February 14, 2018, National Security forces raided the house of Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, a former presidential candidate and head of the Strong Egypt Party, a day after his return from London where he gave critical interviews to Al Jazeera and BBC. He has been detained without trial despite exceeding the two-year limit on pretrial detention in Egyptian law.

On November 29, 2015, security officers at Hurghada Airport stopped and interrogated Ismail al-Iskandrani, a freelance journalist and researcher, when he returned from Germany. State Security prosecutors ordered him detained on charges of belonging to an illegal group and spreading false news. He was referred to military prosecution in December 2017, and in May 2018, a military court sentenced him to 10 years in prison.

"The pattern of arresting critical voices upon their return to Egypt is a message to those abroad that they're not welcome in their country and to those inside that they are not safe if they criticize the government," Stork said. "The Egyptian government should end its zero-tolerance and arbitrary arrests of critics."
A federal appeals court based in California decided on Wednesday that Americans have no right to open carry guns in public - ruling that states can restrict them without violating the Second Amendment.

The en banc U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a 7-4 decision that reviewed 700 years of legal history from the United States and England and determined laws have never given people 'an unfettered, general right to openly carry arms in public for individual self-defense.'

The court argued that numerous laws throughout the centuries have upheld the government's responsibility to protect citizens in public and have prohibited certain weapons in public.

The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by George Young in 2012 - in which he sued the state of Hawaii for denying permit applications to carry a concealed or openly visible handgun.

Hawaii state law requires a license to carry a gun in public and a Hawaii County regulation dictates that licenses are only granted by the police chief to those who need it for their jobs or otherwise have a 'reason to fear injury.'

Tactical police units respond to the scene of a King Soopers grocery store after a shooting on in Boulder, Colorado

Judge Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain wrote for the dissent on Wednesday while Judge Jay Bybee wrote the majority decision

U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals judges The en banc U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a 7-4 decision on the ruling. MAJORITY Judge Sidney Thomas - appointed by President Bill Clinton Judge Margaret McKeown - appointed by President Bill Clinton Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw - appointed by President Bill Clinton Judge William Fletcher - appointed by President Bill Clinton Judge Richard Clinton - appointed by President George W Bush Judge Jay Bybee - appointed by President George W Bush Judge Michelle Friedland - appointed by President Barack Obama DISSENT Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain - appointed by President Ronald Reagan Judge Consuelo Callahan - appointed by President George W Bush Judge Sandra Ikuta - appointed by President George W Bush Judge Ryan Nelson - appointed by President Donald Trump Advertisement

In July 2018, a three-judge Ninth Circuit panel ruled 2-1 that carrying a gun in public is a constitutional right - but that decision was reversed on Wednesday after the State Attorney General and Hawaii County petitioned for a full court reconsideration.

'My right is, I can carry a gun openly. That don't mean I gotta carry every day. You know, that's stupid, it's ridiculous. But, I have a right to use a weapon in self-defense,' Young told Hawaii Public Radio in 2019.

'It will probably go to the Supreme Court and, we'll win at the Supreme Court. I wish for my daughter if she was here. She died at 21. When I win, put it in my daughter's name.'

DailyMail.com could not reach Young for additional comment.

'The states do not violate the Second Amendment by asserting their longstanding English and American rights to prohibit certain weapons from entering those public spaces as means of providing 'domestic tranquility' and forestalling 'domestic violence,' Judge Jay Bybee wrote for the majority.

The decision upheld a county law in Hawaii that limited carry permits and ruled that the decision applies 'whether they are carried concealed or openly.'

'The government may regulate, and even prohibit, in public places  including government buildings, churches, schools, and markets  the open carrying of small arms capable of being concealed, whether they are carried concealed or openly,' wrote Bybee, a George W. Bush appointee.

Wednesday's decision affects all states that make up the 9th Circuit, including: Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington - many of which are viewed as gun-friendly states.

The news comes after mass shootings in Colorado and Georgia. NPR reported that Colorado is considering a ban on assault weapons after 10 people were killed Monday at a Boulder grocery store.

Alan A. Beck, who represented Hawaii gun owner Young, told DailyMail.com that he will ask the Supreme Court to review the Hawaii case.

'The Ninth Circuit's opinion, which finds the Second Amendment right does not apply outside the home at all, contradicts the decisions of every federal circuit court in the country that has ruled on this issue. We will be seeking immediate Supreme Court review in order to overturn the Ninth Circuit's erroneous decision,' he said.

Of the Supreme Court's nine justices, six are Republican. Of those six, three were nominated by former President Donald Trump: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. Conservatives typically favor fewer gun restrictions.

Crime tape surrounds a King Soopers grocery store on March 24, 2021 in Boulder, Colorado. Ten people, including a police officer, were killed in the shooting on Monday

Healthcare workers walk out of a King Sooper's Grocery store after a gunman opened fire on March 22, 2021 in Boulder, Colorado

Beck told the Los Angeles Times that the 9th Circuit's decision directly conflicts with those of other circuits, namely the D.C. Circuit and Seventh Circuit, which strengthens the chance SCOTUS will take on the case.

However, Courthouse News Service noted that three other circuit courts that have issued rulings similar to the 9th Circuit's decision. Those courts are the Second, Third and Fourth Circuits.

Senior U.S. Circuit Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain wrote for the dissent that the county regulation destroys 'the core right to carry a gun for self-defense outside the home and are unconstitutional under any level of scrutiny.'

In his dissent, O'Scannlain said that the majority judges undermined the U.S. Constitution and the same millennium of legal history cited in the decision.

'The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees 'the right of the people to keep and bear Arms.' Today, a majority of our court has decided that the Second Amendment does not mean what it says,' O'Scannlain said.

'Instead, the majority holds that while the Second Amendment may guarantee the right to keep a firearm for self-defense within one's home, it provides no right whatsoever to beari.e., to carrythat same firearm for self-defense in any other place.'

He added: 'This holding is as unprecedented as it is extreme.'

U.S. Circuit Judge Ryan Nelson, a Donald Trump appointee, joined in the dissent and wrote that the Hawaii County statute 'is facially unconstitutional.'

The full court decision includes a lengthy history of laws that prohibited weapons in public since the 1328 Statute of Northampton and through colonial and early American history.

Examples of laws after the Constitution was enacted include an 1801 Tennessee law that prevented anyone from carrying a firearm with violators facing fines and potential imprisonment.

In 1813, Louisiana punished 'any person who shall be found with any concealed weapon, such as a dirk, dagger, knife, pistol or any other deadly weapon concealed in his bosom, coat or in any other place about him that do not appear in full open view,' the decision reads.

An 1836 Massachusetts statute permitted public carry but only if the person could demonstrate their need to carry for their protection, the decision noted. Other states and territories followed suit.

In the latter 1800s, Kansas and the Territory of Wyoming prohibited both the concealed and open carrying of weapons.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Muno-Vax's supplement Respistim is designed to support the immune system, especially during the cold, sickness-prone winter months. The supplement uses a variety of ingredients to provide essential nutrients to the body's immune system. By taking the supplement for months at a time, customers can help keep their immune systems strong and their bodies healthy.

The Bulgarian-based health and wellness brand Muno-Vax has made a name for itself through its scientifically-backed immune support supplements. These utilize a one-of-a-kind immuno-modulator that acts as an antigen to help to stimulate the immune system. This keeps that all-important line of bodily defense at the ready and on the lookout for any germs, bacteria, viruses, or other invaders that may show up.

Standing tall amongst Muno-Vax's offerings, Respistim is an immune-supporting complex that is particularly ideal to take during the autumnal and winter periods. The supplement includes the fully recommended daily requirements of vitamins like Vitamin C and Vitamin D as well as minerals and antioxidants  all of which are vital to the proper function of the immune system

The supplement does not have added colors or preservatives, is for adults and children 9 and older, and comes in an easy-to-take tablet form. These should be consumed with a meal and can be split into two half tablets taken in the morning and evening.

Muno-Vax recommends starting to take Respistim at the beginning of the fall and then continuing to do so for at least three months. This allows you to tap into the benefits of supporting your immune system during one of the most dangerous times of the year. While Muno-Vax is still establishing its presence in the North American health and wellness industry, it is worth watching this growing Bulgarian-based company as it continues to build its name as a new player in the industry and a source of well-researched, cutting-edge immunity support supplements.

About Muno-Vax: Muno-Vax is a Bulgarian brand that has made it its mission to fill "a great void in products that promote immune health to prevent respiratory illnesses, gingivitis and men's prostate health." The company works in close association with its parent company Natstim Ltd. as well as the biotech manufacturing arm of The National Center of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases.

For more information about Respstim, in particular, visit https://munovax.com/collections/frontpage/products/respistim.

Please direct inquiries to:

Irena Banta

(954) 754-7583

[email protected]

SOURCE Muno-Vax




AstraZeneca said on Thursday its COVID-19 vaccine was 76% effective at preventing symptomatic illness and completely stopped severe or critical forms of the disease, citing a new analysis of up-to-date results for its major U.S. trial.







U.S. health officials earlier in the week publicly rebuked the drugmaker for using "outdated information" when calculating that the vaccine was 79% effective.







That marked a new setback for the vaccine that was once hailed as a milestone in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, but has been dogged by questions over its effectiveness and possible side-effects.







Confidence in the vaccine took a further hit this month when more than a dozen countries, mostly in Europe, temporarily suspended the shot after reports linked it to a rare blood clotting disorder in a very small number of people.







AstraZeneca had also said on Monday an interim analysis of data showed that the shot, developed with Oxford University, was 100% effective against severe or critical forms of the disease. (Reuters)






* Username

This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely!
New Delhi:

India on Wednesday submitted its written pleadings to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which is hearing the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav, a retired Indian navy officer sentenced to death by a Pakistan military court allegedly for espionage and subversive activities.



The ICJ has suspended the death sentence of Jadhav pending final judgement by it after India moved the court in May, requesting immediate suspension of the sentence.



India has, today, submitted its Memorial (written pleadings) to the ICJ in the Jadhav case involving egregious violation of Vienna Convention on Consular Relations 1963 by Pakistan. This is in furtherance of our application filed before the Court on May 8, 2017, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.



Pakistan claims to have arrested Jadhav from restive Balochistan in March last. However, India maintains that he was kidnapped from Iran where he had legal business interests after retiring from the navy.

Read | Kulbhushan Jadhav case: UN chief informs Security Council of ICJ's order



On May 8, India moved the ICJ for instituting proceedings against Pakistan for violations of the Vienna Convention in the matter of the detention and trial of an Indian National, Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav, sentenced to death in Pakistan and requested immediate suspension of the sentence of death awarded to the accused.



After discussing with both India and Pakistan, President of the ICJ Ronny Abraham, asked India to make its submission by September 13. He also asked Islamabad to make its counter-submission by December 13 before the UN court starts hearing the matter.



... At a meeting held by the President of the Court with the Agents of the Parties on 8 June 2017...the Agent of India requested that each Party be granted a period of four months for the preparation of its pleading; and whereas the Agent of Pakistan indicated that periods of two months would be sufficient, the ICJ said.



Taking into account the views of the parties, the Court fixes the following time-limits for the filing of the written pleadings -13 September 2017 for the Memorial of India; 13 December 2017 for the Counter-Memorial of Pakistan; and Reserves the subsequent procedure for further decision, it added.

Read | No official info on visa to Kulbhushan Jadhav's mother: India

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Republican lawmakers in 43 states have introduced a total of 253 bills aimed at restricting access to the ballot box for tens of millions of people. Republican-controlled states, including Southern states that employed lynch law terror to block African Americans from voting during the decades-long period of Jim Crow segregation, are flooding their legislatures with measures to effectively disenfranchise working class, poor and minority voters.

The laws largely focus on tightening voter ID requirements, purging voter rolls and restricting absentee and mail-in ballots.

Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett speaks during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Monday, Oct. 12, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington [Credit: AP Photo/Patrick Semansky]

In the United States, state governments have the authority to oversee elections and determine election procedures and rules, including for national elections. Within each state, individual counties have a great deal of latitude in the conduct of elections.

Republicans control both the lower and upper legislative houses in 36 of the 50 states, and both the legislatures and governorships in 23 states, making it very possible for far-reaching barriers to the ballot box to be imposed across much of the country.

The attack on voting rights, led primarily by the Republican Party, has been facilitated by the 2013 US Supreme Court ruling in Shelby County vs. Holder. The court ruled 5-4 to effectively gut Section 5, the main enforcement mechanism, of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Section 5 of the landmark civil rights law required states with a history of discriminatory voting practices to clear any changes in election rules and procedures with the US Justice Department.

The states affected in their entirety at the time of Shelby were Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Virginia. States where certain counties fell under the provisions of Section 5 included California, Florida, Michigan, New York, North Carolina and South Dakota. Many of these same states are now seeking to implement far-reaching attacks on voting rights.

Despite opening the door for a return to restrictive and discriminatory voting practices, the 2013 ruling met with little resistance on the part of the Democratic Party. Neither the Obama White House nor the congressional Democrats mounted any serious effort to reverse the evisceration of the Voting Rights Act by enacting new legislation in the years since the reactionary Shelby ruling.

This capitulation to an attack on voting rights by a Republican majority on the Supreme Court followed the theft of the 2000 presidential election by means of a 5-4 high court ruling halting a vote recount in Florida. That partisan ruling handed the White House to George W. Bush, who had lost the popular vote nationally and no doubt would have lost the pivotal Florida vote had the recount been allowed to proceed. The Democratic Party and its candidate, Al Gore, immediately accepted the theft of the election and demanded that their voters recognize Bush as the legitimate president.

Now the Democrats are passing two voting rights bills in the House, knowing that they have virtually no chance of obtaining the 10 Republican votes required to overcome a filibuster in the Senate. They have no intention of appealing to the mass popular opposition that exists to the attack on voting rights, because that would threaten an upsurge of the working class against the capitalist system.

Below is a partial list of states seeking to impose new barriers to voting that target workers and poor people.

Arizona

Arizona, where the GOP (Grand Old Party, the Republican Party) controls both legislative chambers as well as the governorship, is tied with Georgia for the highest number of restrictive bills at 22. One bill would allow for the mailing of absentee ballots to voters but require them to deliver the ballots in person. The same bill would also limit the number of voting stations in each county based on population.

There are also bills to purge voter rolls, eliminate the Permanent Early Voting List, abolish no excuse absentee voting and impose stricter voter ID requirements.

The attack on absentee voting is particularly significant since even before the pandemic nearly 80 percent of Arizonans voted by mail.

Another set of bills would allow the state legislature to decide the allocation of electoral votes in the presidential election, regardless the popular vote in the state. Current law stipulates that whichever candidate receives the most votes will receive all 11 of Arizonas electoral votes. One proposed change would allow the state House of Representatives to revoke the state attorney generals certification of the electoral vote by a simple majority vote and allocate them to whichever candidate it chooses.

Georgia

In Georgia, where, like Arizona, the Republicans control both the legislature and the governorship, bills being introduced closely follow Arizonas example. They would end no-excuse absentee ballots and also require absentee ballots to have a witness signature on the envelope. Additional restrictions would shorten the time period for voters to request an absentee ballot and require the request to include a copy of the voters ID.

Other provisions would shorten the period of early voting, reduce the use of ballot drop boxes, criminalize providing food or water to voters waiting in line, cut mobile voting facilities and end early voting on Sundays. The latter proposal is transparently directed against the widespread practice of black churches encouraging their congregations to go to the polls directly after the Sunday religious service.

Mississippi

Mississippi Republicans also control both legislative chambers and the governorship. They have introduced bills that would restrict the types of voter ID that can be used and require voters to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote. Three Mississippi bills would also require comparison of voter rolls to other databases of citizens, ostensibly to identify noncitizens. Any person unable to provide proof of citizenship within 30 days would be removed from the voter rolls.

South Carolina

South Carolina Republicans, who control the state government, have introduced several bills to strengthen voter ID requirements and attack absentee voting. One bill would require all mail-in ballots to include a witness signature and a drivers license or state voter registration number. Another would impose stricter signature matching requirements for mail-in ballots. A further bill would ban anyone but family members from delivering absentee ballots, ban ballot drop boxes and require mail ballots to be delivered to voting centers. Other bills would drastically reduce the number of polling stations.

Florida

Floridas Senate Bill 90 includes sweeping restrictions on voting rights. Upwards of six million Florida voters who received a mail-in ballot last year would not receive one for the 2022 election cycle. The bill would also effectively require previous absentee voters to request a new ballot every general election. Ballot drop boxes would be banned.

Texas

Texas, which already has some of the most restrictive voting laws, is preparing to enact even further restrictions. Bills introduced in the GOP-controlled state legislature would prohibit drive-through voting, restrict the number of voting machines at voting sites, ban local election officials from sending mail-in ballot applications to all voters and limit early voting.

One proposal would require those with disabilities to provide documentation in order to apply for an absentee ballot. To acquire this documentation, many voters would have to pay for a doctors visit, subjecting them to a form of poll tax.

The restrictions being imposed in these and other states amount to the greatest assault on voting rights since the Jim Crow era. The expansion of voter ID requirements, in particular, has been shown to target minority populations with precision. Nearly 11 percent of voters, 21 million people, do not have access to a valid government ID. The percentage among black voters is 25 percent.

This concentrated attack on mail-in voting is bound up with Trumps bogus claim of election fraud and a stolen election, which was central to his attempt to overthrow the results of the 2020 election. Throughout the 2020 election cycle, Trump attacked mail-in voting as the centerpiece of a supposed Democratic plot to hijack the election.

He used this fabrication to deny the legitimacy of Bidens victory and mobilize his fascistic supporters around the demand to Stop the Steal, culminating in the January 6 attack on Congress.

The Republican Party overwhelmingly supported the stolen election lie and continues to do so. In the name of election security, the GOP is spearheading the drive toward authoritarian rule.

Arizona Republican State Representative John Kavanaugh recently told CNN he was concerned that Not everybody wants to vote, and if somebody is uninterested in voting, that probably means that theyre totally uninformed on the issues. Quantity is important, but we have to look at the quality of votes, as well.

In other words, not everyone should be allowed to vote.

The Democratic Party, for its part, as demonstrated by its failure to defend democratic rights in 2000 and 2013, has no real solution to this assault on democracy.

To the extent that the Democratic Party is opposed to Republican restrictions on voting it is out of purely electoral concerns. The Democrats are aware that the Republicans are targeting Democratic voters, and they are concerned that the Republicans may legislate Democratic candidates out of contention for office.

Yet the Democrats refuse to mount any significant defense of democratic rights. This is because they are afraid that any mass mobilization of the working class would quickly grow outside of its control and begin to challenge the capitalist system, which the Democrats defend.

Additionally, when it comes to third party and socialist candidates, the Democrats are just as vicious than their Republican counterparts. When the presidential candidates for the Socialist Equality Party attempted to earn a place on the ballot for the 2020 election cycle, multiple Democratic-run states refused to allow the candidates on the ballot, informing them that campaigners must risk their lives to collect hundreds of thousands of signatures in the middle of a deadly pandemic.

The Attorney General of California argued that allowing the SEP on the ballot would cause an unmanageable and overcrowded ballot that would create voter confusion and frustration of the democratic process. The Democratic Partys concern is that a socialist candidate may pose a significant challenge to the major parties. Such an occurrence would certainly be a frustration to the Democratic Party but not to the democratic process both parties continue to erode.

The fight to defend and expand democratic rights must be taken up by the working class independently of these two parties as a mass movement in the fight for socialism. Only such a movement can halt the capitalist assault on voting rights and ensure the protection of democratic rights for all people.
You have to hand it to him, Sen. Ted Cruz knows how to commit to the bit.

The Texas senator has immortalized his infamous mullet on a spring break tank that you can cop for the low price of a $30 campaign donation.
Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili.

Thailand, 25 March 2021 In recent times, everyone is locked in their homes and isnt able to visit outside of their home due to this pandemic time. This pandemic time makes everything harder for individuals. Most individuals feel bored within their homes and dont have enough money to fulfill their desired needs. They are unemployed in this pandemic situation and want to obtain an income source. Gambling is considered the best income source for individuals who are feeling bored and dont have enough money. They can earn a huge amount of money by placing some bets in betting games. In bygone days, individuals were able to visit outside of their houses to play betting games in casinos, but now the pandemic time makes it much difficult for individuals to visit any casino. Individuals who are thinking to play betting games and arent able to go to casinos dont need to worry as they have another option named online casino.



Online casinos are the best way to play all betting games by staying in the comfort zone, and one can win a huge amount of money by placing some bets in various casino games, like, poker, blackjack, roulette, baccarat, online slots, and much more. Baccarat is one betting game that is highly popular among bettors as it gives a chance to become a millionaire easily, and it doesnt contain tough rules and regulations like other betting games. In Thailand, thousands of bettors want to try their luck in betting games, so they take huge risks of their money on various betting games to win money quickly. With online casinos, every Thai bettor is able to play all casino games without any hurdle, but bettors should use the best platform to play casino games. In Thailand, gclub is the best platform to play all casino games without any hurdle. If needed, interested individuals can click here or visit our official website to know more about gclub.



The actual meaning of gclub is a brands casino that provides an online casino, and one can conveniently play numerous casino games with the help of gclub online, for example, baccarat, online slots, dragon tiger, and much more. It is the first choice of every Thai bettor to play betting games as it provides secure betting services. There are several advantages of choosing gclub to play betting games. The primary advantage of this platform is that people can play betting games round the clock and can experience fair gameplay. To play betting games, you only have to follow three simple steps, just as register via line, transfer money and send transfer slip to staff members, and bring the code from staff to play casino games efficiently. You also get some rewards on this betting site and can win a huge amount of money. Individuals with expectations to know about gclub and other details can feel free to visit this site.





Website : https://gclub.bet/
Spain's top health official has warned the country is at risk of another spike in infections that has already struck many parts of Europe.

We are facing a decisive moment, Health Minister Carolina Darias said after meeting with Spain's regional health chiefs on Wednesday. We must invert this tendency. We have to intensify our efforts.

Darias says the spread of the more contagious variants is pushing up infections across A nightly curfew and other restrictions on movement had put a cap on infections until two weeks ago, when the figures started to increase.

Darias made her appeal alongside Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, who said police will be extra vigilant to enforce bans on travel between regions and unauthorized social gatherings for next week's Easter holidays.

Our goal is to save lives, says Grande-Marlaska. Also Wednesday, thousands of Spaniards lined up to get AstraZeneca shots again, the latest country to restart the vaccine after its credibility suffered a series of recent setbacks.

reported more than 7,000 infections in the past 24 hours and 320 deaths, increasing the confirmed death toll to more than 74,000.

(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.)
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.
While blenders and independent bottlers dominate the Scotch industry, there has never been anything quite like them in the United States. That is starting to change: Joining Lost Lantern are companies like Barrell Craft Spirits, Four Gate Whiskey, Crowded Barrel Whiskey Company and Pursuit Spirits. In 2018 William Grant and Sons, the company that owns Glenfiddich single-malt Scotch, released Fistful of Bourbon, a blend of whiskey from five different American distilleries.

These companies address a growing problem in American whiskey. A decade ago, there were just a few hundred distilleries in the country; today there are more than 2,000, many of them too small to distribute their spirits nationally. That means that while liquor store shelves are overflowing with choices, they present an uneven cross-section of what is actually being made.

Companies like Lost Lantern, which often have wider distribution, bring order to the chaos by assembling those whiskeys into blends, or by offering single-barrel picks from distilleries that otherwise fly below the radar.

In October, Lost Lantern released its first blend, what Ms. Ganley-Roper and Mr. Polonski call a vatted whiskey composed of single malts from six distilleries, as well as four single-barrel picks from three other distilleries. In March, it released five more single-barrel picks, all bottled at cask strength, without cutting the whiskey with water. Another blend is on the way.
Nearly one in five adults in New Jersey have now been fully vaccinated for the coronavirus as officials on Thursday reported another 3,469 confirmed cases and 38 additional confirmed deaths in the state, while the number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized rose for the fourth straight day.

Gov. Phil Murphy announced the update on social media as officials this week have warned that the states daily cases have been rising, even as vaccinations continue. The states seven-day average for new confirmed cases is now 3,287, up 2% from a week ago and 31% from a month ago.

NEW JERSEY #COVID19 UPDATE:

3,469 new positive PCR tests

777,521 total positive PCR tests

696 new positive antigen tests

104,361 total positive antigen tests

38 new confirmed deaths

21,795 total confirmed deaths

2,535 probable deaths

https://t.co/JW1q8awGh7 pic.twitter.com/LzLh9RcJoS  Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) March 25, 2021

New Jersey health facilities and vaccine centers have now administered about 3.7 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine  including about about 2.47 million people with at least one dose and 1.32 million people considered fully vaccinated, according to state data.

The states goal is to vaccinate 70% of its eligible adults  about 4.7 million people  by the end of May. More than 19% of the adult population is fully vaccinated.

VACCINE UPDATE: 3,716,710 vaccine doses have been administered as of mid-morning today:

2,393,401 first doses of either the Moderna or Pfizer Vaccine

1,322,235 fully vaccinated New Jerseyans



Learn more: https://t.co/JW1q8awGh7  Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) March 25, 2021

As people continue to struggle to get vaccination appointments, Murphy said Wednesday the states vaccine supply is set to increase about 19%, to nearly half a million doses arriving next week.

It isnt quite the quantum leap that I had anticipated, but the sense were getting from the feds that that number is only going up, Murphy said.

On Monday, another round of essential workers, including restaurant employees, will become eligible for the vaccine in New Jersey.

There were 2,164 coronavirus patients across New Jerseys hospitals as of Wednesday night, according to state data. Hospitalizations are down from mid-January, when more than 3,700 patients were being treated, but the number surpassed 2,000 Monday for the first time since Feb. 25.

New Jerseys latest rate of transmission increased to 1.10 after three days at 1.09. Any number over 1 indicates that the outbreak is growing, with each new case leading to at least one other case.

In all, New Jersey has now reported 777,521 confirmed coronavirus cases out of more than 11.8 million PCR tests in the year since the state reported its first case on March 4, 2020. There have also been 104,361 positive antigen tests. Those cases are considered probable, and health officials have warned that positive antigen tests could overlap with the confirmed PCR tests because they are sometimes given in tandem.

The state of 9 million people has reported 24,330 residents have died from complications related to COVID-19  21,795 confirmed deaths and 2,535 fatalities considered probable. The probable deaths, which are revised weekly, increased by 20 on Wednesday.

Officials say part of the reason cases have been rising is because of the spread of coronavirus variants. New Jersey has now confirmed nearly 500 cases from seven different variants, with the vast majority from the more-contagious strain first identified in the United Kingdom, officials said Wednesday.

In samplings of positive tests, the state has found 401 cases of the U.K. variant, 7 cases of two California strains, 6 cases of two Brazilian strains, and 1 case of the South African strain, according to the state Department of Health. There are also 80 cases of the New York variant, which is considered of interest by the CDC.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

COUNTY-BY-COUNTY CASES (sorted by most new)

Essex County: 74,725 confirmed cases (376 new), 2,489 confirmed deaths (284 probable)

Monmouth County: 58,950 confirmed cases (360 new), 1,346 confirmed deaths (133 probable)

Bergen County: 77,563 confirmed cases (335 new), 2,418 confirmed deaths (288 probable)

Middlesex County: 74,827 confirmed cases (319 new), 1,945 confirmed deaths (243 probable)

Hudson County: 70,296 confirmed cases (285 new), 1,899 confirmed deaths (199 probable)

Ocean County: 58,052 confirmed cases (266 new), 1,829 confirmed deaths (152 probable)

Union County: 53,443 confirmed cases (204 new), 1,630 confirmed deaths (213 probable)

Passaic County: 56,690 confirmed cases (196 new), 1,582 confirmed deaths (191 probable)

Morris County: 36,802 confirmed cases (195 new), 928 confirmed deaths (240 probable)

Camden County: 42,369 confirmed cases (160 new), 1,118 confirmed deaths (97 probable)

Burlington County: 33,550 confirmed cases (137 new), 722 confirmed deaths (63 probable)

Gloucester County: 22,860 confirmed cases (100 new), 544 confirmed deaths (30 probable)

Atlantic County: 21,703 confirmed cases (92 new), 571 confirmed deaths (33 probable)

Mercer County: 28,243 confirmed cases (91 new), 864 confirmed deaths (43 probable)

Sussex County: 9,276 confirmed cases (85 new), 216 confirmed deaths (66 probable)

Somerset County: 20,945 confirmed cases (76 new), 699 confirmed deaths (104 probable)

Cumberland County: 12,976 confirmed cases (51 new), 361 confirmed deaths (36 probable)

Warren County: 7,360 confirmed cases (50 new), 199 confirmed deaths (25 probable)

Salem County: 4,620 confirmed cases (35 new), 156 confirmed deaths (12 probable)

Hunterdon County: 7,231 confirmed cases (31 new), 115 confirmed deaths (54 probable)

Cape May County: 4,027 confirmed cases (14 new), 164 confirmed deaths (29 probable)

VACCINATIONS BY COUNTY

ATLANTIC COUNTY - 122,590 doses administered

BERGEN COUNTY - 426,477 doses administered

BURLINGTON COUNTY - 199,824 doses administered

CAMDEN COUNTY - 226,253 doses administered

CAPE MAY COUNTY - 53,947 doses administered

CUMBERLAND COUNTY - 52,623 doses administered

ESSEX COUNTY - 284,026 doses administered

GLOUCESTER COUNTY - 140,223 doses administered

HUDSON COUNTY - 188,791 doses administered

HUNTERDON COUNTY - 51,191 doses administered

MERCER COUNTY - 135,321 doses administered

MIDDLESEX COUNTY - 308,122 doses administered

MONMOUTH COUNTY - 283,650 doses administered

MORRIS COUNTY - 278,027 doses administered

OCEAN COUNTY - 230,767 doses administered

PASSAIC COUNTY - 166,529 doses administered

SALEM COUNTY - 25,411 doses administered

SOMERSET COUNTY - 151,314 doses administered

SUSSEX COUNTY - 58,235 doses administered

UNION COUNTY - 196,148 doses administered

WARREN COUNTY - 36,885 doses administered

OUT OF STATE - 95,235 doses administered

UNKNOWN COUNTY - 5,121 doses administered

HOSPITALIZATIONS

There were 2,164 patients hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases across New Jerseys 71 hospitals as of Wednesday night  28 more than the previous night, according to the states dashboard.

That included 443 in critical or intensive care (13 more than the previous day), with 213 on ventilators (five fewer).

There were also 307 COVID-19 patients discharged Wednesday.

Hospitalizations peaked at more than 8,000 patients during the first wave of the pandemic in April.

SCHOOL CASES

New Jersey has reported 205 in-school coronavirus outbreaks, which have resulted in 947 cases among students, teachers and school staff this academic year, according to the states dashboard.

The state defines school outbreaks as cases where contact tracers determined two or more students or school staff caught or transmitted COVID-19 in the classroom or during academic activities at school. Those numbers do not include students or staff believed to have been infected outside school or cases that cant be confirmed as in-school outbreaks.

There are about 1.4 million public school students and teachers across the state, though teaching methods amid the outbreak have varied, with some schools teaching in-person, some using a hybrid format and others remaining all-remote.

Murphy on Wednesday announced most New Jersey schools can move classroom desks three feet apart, instead of six feet, under new social distancing guidelines.

The governor also said the states schools will return to full in-person classes for the next school year and districts will not be allowed to offer virtual learning, even for parents who want that option due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns.

AGE BREAKDOWN

Broken down by age, those 30 to 49 years old make up the largest percentage of New Jersey residents who have caught the virus (30.9%), followed by those 50-64 (23%), 18-29 (19.7%), 65-79 (10.7%), 5-17 (8.9%), 80 and older (4.8%) and 0-4 (1.8%).

On average, the virus has been more deadly for older residents, especially those with preexisting conditions. Nearly half the states COVID-19 deaths have been among residents 80 and older (47.07%), followed by those 65-79 (32.79%), 50-64 (15.68%), 30-49 (4.05%), 18-29 (0.37%), 5-17 (0%) and 0-4 (0.02%).

At least 7,980 of the states COVID-19 deaths have been among residents and staff members at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.

There are active outbreaks at 233 facilities, resulting in 4,023 active cases among residents and 4,668 among staffers.

GLOBAL NUMBERS

As of early Thursday afternoon, there have been more than 125 million positive COVID-19 tests across the world, according to a running tally by Johns Hopkins University. An estimated 2.74 million people have died from coronavirus-related complications.

The U.S. has reported the most cases, at more than 30 million, and the most deaths, at more than 545,500.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com.
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / March 25, 2021 / 01 Communique Laboratory Inc. (TSXV:ONE)(OTCQB:OONEF) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that its quantum-safe encryption, IronCAP, successfully survived a global Bounty Contest challenge. The Bounty Contest was exclusively sponsored by PwC China. 807 cybersecurity and quantum experts attempted to crack IronCAP's quantum-safe encryption during the one-month CAD$100,000 Bounty Contest. No contestants managed to break the code and IronCAP's encryption has yet again proven its resilience and robustness.

"We believe IronCAP's quantum-safe encryption solution is the best-in-class cryptography solution and it is the only quantum-safe encryption product we are aware of to survive a challenge of this scale and intensity," says Andrew Cheung, 01 Communique's CEO. "We would like to thank all the expert contestants who have participated and helped to verify our technology. My special thanks to PwC, China whose contribution and support was key to the success of this event."

Samuel Sinn, Partner, Cybersecurity & Privacy Services, PwC China stated: "We are pleased to see that no one was able to break the IronCAP product amid the huge number of participants in our bounty contest this time. It objectively demonstrated that IronCAP is a robust product to protect the systems from cyber-attacks. We are also confident that IronCAP will also be able to combat the cyber threats when the Q-Day arrives."

Businesses and Governments are now very much aware of and preparing for the upcoming quantum threat that has the potential to eviscerate present classical encryption. We look forward to working with leaders who have the foresight to champion early adoption of IronCAP. Their effort will no doubt be rewarded by best-in-class protection against the detrimental quantum attack.

For information on how IronCAP can help your company or clients become quantum-safe, please visit our website: www.ironcap.ca or contact the Company at sales@ironcap.ca.

About IronCAP and IronCAP X:

IronCAP is at the forefront of the cyber security market and is designed to protect our customers from cyber-attacks. IronCAP's patent-pending cryptographic system is designed to protect users and enterprises against the ever-evolving illegitimate and malicious means of gaining access to their data today as well as in the future with the introduction of powerful quantum computers. Based on improved Goppa code-based encryption it is designed to be faster and more secure than current standards. It operates on conventional computer systems, so users are protected today while being secure enough to safeguard against future attacks from the world of quantum computers. An IronCAP API is available which allows vendors of a wide variety of vertical applications to easily transform their products to ensure their customers are safe from cyber-attacks today and from quantum computers in the future.

IronCAP X, a cybersecurity product for email/file encryption, incorporating our patent-pending technology for commercial. The new product has two major differentiations from what is in the market today. Firstly, many offerings in today's market store users secured emails on email-servers for recipients to read, making email-servers a central target of cyber-attack. IronCAP X, on the other hand, delivers each encrypted message end-to-end to the recipients such that only the intended recipients can decrypt and read the message. Consumers' individual messages are protected, eliminating the hackers' incentive to attack email servers of email providers. Secondly, powered by our patent-pending IronCAP technology, we believe IronCAP X is the world's first quantum-safe end-to-end email encryption system; secured against cyberattacks from today's systems and from quantum computers in the future. Consumers and businesses using IronCAP X will be protected by tomorrow's cybersecurity today.

About 01 Communique

Established in 1992, 01 Communique (TSX-V: ONE; OTCQB: OONEF) has always been at the forefront of technology. The Company's cyber security business unit focuses on post-quantum cybersecurity with the development of its IronCAP technology. IronCAP's patent-pending cryptographic system is an advanced Goppa code-based post-quantum cryptographic technology that can be implemented on classical computer systems as we know them today while at the same time can also safeguard against attacks in the future post-quantum world of computing. The Company's remote access business unit provides its customers with a suite of secure remote access services and products under its I'm InTouch and I'm OnCall product offerings. The remote access offerings are protected in the U.S.A. by its patents #6,928,479 / #6,938,076 / #8,234,701; in Canada by its patents #2,309,398 / #2,524,039 and in Japan by its patent #4,875,094. For more information, visit the Company's web site at www.ironcap.ca and www.01com.com .

PwC - Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR

PwC Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR work together on a collaborative basis, subject to local applicable laws. Collectively, we have over 800 partners and more than 20,000 people in total.

We provide organisations with the professional service they need, wherever they may be located. Our highly qualified, experienced professionals listen to different points of view to help organisations solve their business issues and identify and maximise the opportunities they seek. Our industry specialisation allows us to help co-create solutions with our clients for their sector of interest.

We are located in these cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Shenyang, Tianjin, Dalian, Jinan, Qingdao, Zhengzhou, Xi'an, Nanjing, Hefei, Suzhou, Wuhan, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Chongqing, Changsha, Kunming, Xiamen, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Macau, Haikou, Zhuhai and Guiyang.

PwC - Globally

At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. We are a network of firms in 155 countries with more than 284,000 people who are committed to delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services. Find out more and tell us what matters to you by visiting us at www.pwc.com.

PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements

Certain statements in this news release may constitute "forward-looking" statements which involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. When used in this news release, such statements use such words as "may", "will", "expect", "believe", "anticipate", "plan", "intend", "are confident" and other similar terminology. Such statements include statements regarding the business prospects of IronCAP and IronCAP X, the future of quantum computers and their impact on the Company's product offering, the functionality of the Company's products and the intended product lines for the Company's technology. These statements reflect current expectations regarding future events and operating performance and speak only as of the date of this news release. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or not such results will be achieved. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the matters discussed in the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, a delay in the anticipated adoption of quantum computers and a corresponding delay in Q day, the ability for the Company to generate sales, and gain adoption of, IronCAP and IronCAP X, the ability of the Company to raise financing to pursue its business plan, competing products that provide a superior product, competitors with greater resources and the factors discussed under "Risk and Uncertainties" in the company's Management's Discussion and Analysis document filed on SEDAR. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes are reasonable assumptions, the company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and the company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange ("TSX-V") 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.

INVESTOR CONTACT:

Brian Stringer

Chief Financial Officer

01 Communique

(905) 795-2888 x204

Brian.stringer@01com.com

SOURCE: 01 Communique Laboratory, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/637424/Bounty-Contest-Results-Re-enforced-IronCAPs-Resilience
Bills that would give judges more discretion in certain cases and could lead to shorter prison sentences for some people convicted of crimes in Alabama are moving through the Legislature.

The bills come, at least in part, in response to conditions in Alabamas overcrowded, understaffed, and violent prisons. None of the bills have gotten final approval but lawmakers still have time before the legislative session ends in May.

Rep. Jim Hill, a Republican from Moody, is sponsoring about 10 bills that would change sentencing and criminal justice policies. Some have passed the House with bipartisan support.

Rep. Chris England, a Democrat from Tuscaloosa, is sponsoring several bills, including one that would repeal Alabamas Habitual Felony Offender Act, which results in long sentences and life sentences on what some say is an unfair and arbitrary basis.

The Department of Justice sued Alabama last year, alleging that dangerous conditions in the states prisons for men violated the U.S. Constitutions prohibition on cruel and unusual punishments. The state has asked the court to dismiss the case.

Hill was a judge in St. Clair County for 19 years and chairs the House Judiciary Committee, which handles the criminal justice bills. England, chairman of the Alabama Democratic Party, is a former prosecutor and is an attorney for the city of Tuscaloosa. Both served on a group appointed by Gov. Kay Ivey that held a series of public meetings and issued recommendations for criminal justice reforms last year.

Some of Hills legislation would give judges more flexibility on decisions that affect how long people serve in prison.

I trust judges, Hill said. At some point in the system, somebody has to make decisions. Theres no way around it. So, you either make decisions at the legislative level that are rigid. Or you set parameters at the legislative level and within those parameters you let judges fashion remedies that they believe are most appropriate. And thats the way I think it ought to work.

Twice in the last decade, the Legislature has made major changes to sentencing laws.

Sentencing guidelines for nonviolent offenses that took effect in 2013 were intended to make sentencing more uniform and help preserve more prison space for violent offenders.

In 2015, the Legislature passed a sweeping reform bill that put more emphasis on probation and supervision outside prison and reduced penalties for some crimes, creating a Class D category for low-level felonies.

The changes helped reduce the inmate population over several years. But the population began going up again because of a dramatic drop in paroles. Restrictions on prison admissions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic reduced the prison population last year. But that will be temporary because thousands of state inmates are waiting for transfer from county jails.

Related: Alabama inmates sleep on floors as jails overcrowded: Its inhumane.

Ivey is negotiating lease agreements with developers for three large, regional mens prisons. But the new prisons wont be ready to use for several years. Even those who support the plan for new prisons say other reforms must be part of a larger solution.

House Bill 24, sponsored by Hill, would allow nonviolent offenders convicted before the sentencing guidelines took effect in 2013 to apply for new sentences. The trial court where they were convicted would consider the requests, and prosecutors could contest them.

It allows that individual who was in prison prior to 2013 and received a sentence that would be a greater sentence than that which he probably would have received today to petition the court to seek a look-back or an opportunity to be resentenced, Hill said.

Hill says inmates would have no guarantee of a shorter sentence, but a chance to ask the court, Will you look back? Will you look at my sentence and see if I can be resentenced?

Almost half the Republicans in the House opposed the bill but it passed 63-33. It awaits action in the Senate. The Senate Judiciary Committee added an amendment that would make it apply to more offenders.

Bennet Wright, executive director of the Alabama Sentencing Commission, estimates that a few hundred inmates would be eligible for consideration for new sentences under House Bill 24 but said its hard to pinpoint a number. Thats partly because some prisoners have multiple sentences and might be eligible under one sentence but not another.

Wright, who advises legislators on criminal justice bills, said Alabamas sentencing laws and policies are complex, making it hard to gauge how many people would be affected by any specific changes.

Related: No easy, free fixes for Alabama prisons, study group told

Hill said hes not necessarily driven by the numbers.

I dont look at this as a matter of whats the numbers, Hill said. A lot of these bills in my mind are fairness things. They are things that we would just do well to do.

House Bill 23 by Hill would give judges more discretion on resentencing people who have been released on probation and committed another crime. It would apply to inmates serving split sentences. An example would be a 15-year sentence, with three years to serve in prison and the rest on probation.

Hill said under current law, if a person serves the three years and then commits another crime that justifies revoking probation, the judges only option is to revoke them for the remainder of the 15-year term. House Bill 23 would give judges the option of splitting the sentence again and sending the person back to prison for a shorter period depending on the severity of the new crime.

It allows the judge to look at the second offense and fashion that sanction or that penalty around the seriousness of that offense, not revoke him for the balance of the first offense, Hill said.

The bill passed the House 84-18 with bipartisan support.

House Bill 107, Englands bill to repeal the Habitual Felony Offender Act, has not received as much support and remains in the Judiciary Committee. The HFOA, passed in 1977, mandates longer sentences for repeat offenders in ways that are sometimes irrational and inhumane, England said. For example, people whose most serious crime was a robbery with no physical injuries remain in prison decades later serving life without parole.

While its classified as a very serious offense, the facts of the case indicate that there was no one hurt in the original commission of the crime, England said. Not suggesting that people should just be automatically released. But they should have the ability to be reviewed.

Smart Justice Alabama, an education campaign funded by the ACLU of Alabama, said about 6,000 inmates, about one-third of the prison population, are serving enhanced sentences under the HFOA. Three-fourths of those sentenced to life without parole under the HFOA were Black, the report said.

House Bill 107 would repeal the law as it applies to new cases as well as allowing inmates serving under it now to apply for resentencing.

England said the long sentences are compounded by the unsafe conditions. At least 23 Alabama prisoners died by homicide in 2019 and in the first six months of 2020, the DOJ said in its lawsuit.

For us as a Legislature, were responsible for governing, which means that not only are we responsible for creating sentencing, the punishment, but were also responsible for marshaling the resources that we have in the system, England said. And right now the way we do our business in the criminal justice system, theres not a very effective or efficient way to use the very limited resources that we have. So, what you see is overcrowding and inhumane conditions within the system.

England said hell continue to push House Bill 107. Hill said the Judiciary Committee will vote on it.

England said the HFOA is just one problem with a criminal justice system that leaves poor people at a disadvantage that can be life-changing.

Its a comprehensive problem that exists within our system from arrests, to prosecution, to sentencing, and then ultimately incarceration, England said. Its a tiered system in the sense that the more money you can pay, the more access to justice that you have. So people who are poor, often serve longer sentences than people who have resources. And that substantially contributes to how people matriculate through our system and end up being incarcerated for very long time.

The House has passed several other bills sponsored by Hill that would change criminal justice policies.

House Bill 110 deals with sanctions for inmates who commit technical violations of parole or probation, such as a positive drug test. Instead of returning to prison for 45-day dunks as current law says, they would serve that time in county jails or a residential transition facility.

It might sound like a small change for prison space but its meaningful because dunks accounted for about 30% of the admissions to the Department of Corrections before the pandemic, about 2,500 a year, Wright said. On average, dunk admissions generally took up about 300 beds in the prison system at a given time, he said.

In addition, many of the parole violators wait weeks in county jails before admission to the Department of Corrections, and that time is not credited toward the 45 days. Thats been a burden on county governments.

House Bill 110 is intended to fix that by eliminating the necessity of being transported and booked back into the state prison system.

They get credit for the time that they serve from the time they begin to serve, Hill said. So if its 45 days, it will be 45 days, it wont be 60.

The Department of Corrections would pay for their housing and medical care.

House Bill 110 has passed the Senate with some changes and could get final approval soon.

House Bill 111 by Hill requires electronic monitoring of inmates on parole.

Alabama law already requires inmates sentenced since 2015 to be released under parole supervision for a minimum time at the end of their sentence. For example, a person serving five years or less must be released under supervision at least three months before the end of the sentence. The idea is that inmates have a better chance to sustain themselves outside prison if they start out with supervision.

House Bill 111 would require the Bureau of Pardons and Paroles to electronically monitor inmates during at last part of the supervised period. The bill doesnt set a specific time for electronic monitoring. That would be determined by the bureau. Hill said electronic monitoring can help balance public safety concerns with the necessity to get inmates ready for life after prison.

Theres always going to be this tension between when do they get out, what conditions are they under when they get out, what do we expect of these inmates when they get out, how do we ensure that they are where theyre supposed to be when theyre released, Hill said. And monitoring is one way to do that and I think that enhances public safety.

House Bill 73 would require every judicial circuit in Alabama to have a community corrections program. Community corrections can include programs like drug courts that are intended to focus on changing behavior as a last option before sending someone to prison. Daily check-ins for the possibility of random drug tests and regular court appearances can help bring about those changes, Hill said.

It gives us touches with that individual, Hill said. Seeing him, looking at him. And its so easy to ask a few questions. Where are you working? Hows it going? Its touches. Its communication.

Hill said the value of community corrections program is well known, partly because of their effectiveness in targeting drug addiction as a main cause of crime. He said grant funding is generally available.

Everybody involved in the criminal justice system recognizes that drugs are a key component or player, Hill said. And we know getting people off drugs is important.

If you dont get them off the drugs youre just sort of rearranging the chairs on the deck of the Titanic, he said.
Sean steps into the role after serving over half a decade as the Sales Manager for Sub-Zero West. Inc. Graffia has a combined 30 years of expertise in the luxury appliance and home building industry. His deep experience and passion for Sub-Zero customers enables him to intimately understand the needs of builders and home buyers alike enabling him to deliver kitchen design and appliance innovations that make cooking at home a joy and unique experience.

Kelly Ciulla, Affiliate President Sub-Zero West, Inc. said, "In his tenure with Sub-Zero, Sean has proven time and time again that he has the creative vision and relationship building skills we need to move the company forward in the highly competitive Southern California luxury home and appliance market. We can't be more excited to have him step into this new leadership role."

Asked what about this new position appeals to him the most, Sean said, "Working with builders gives me the opportunity to be a part of the process of bringing a community to life. It's exciting to watch the transformation happen from the ground up. It's so rewarding to be involved in the project from the specification process to the first loads of dirt being moved, to the culmination of delivering the models and production homes." For Sean, the reward truly comes when he sees the homes completed and the community coming together.

Sean brings the same passion for elegance and excellence that the Sub-Zero, Wolf, and Cove brands are known for to his career. He comments, "Building a premium home with the Sub-Zero, Wolf, and Cove brands elevates the luxury experience for the homebuyer in a way that no other brand or product in the industry can. Sub-Zero products instantly elevate the home's value, giving the builder a competitive edge over neighboring communities. This edge is critical to the builder's success in today's highly competitive market."

Sean is a native Californian, born in Long Beach, CA and has lived in Southern California for his whole life. And he enthusiastically lives the California lifestyle to its fullest. An avid mountain biker and novice surfer, he enjoys all the outdoor living that California offers  crushing the trails on his mountain bike in the snow-capped mountains on Saturday, cruising the bay on his stand-up paddle board on Sunday, then chilling on the sandy beaches watching the sunset as he anticipates the coming excitement of another week of luxury home building.

About Sub-Zero Group, Inc.

Sub-Zero Group, Inc., headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, manufactures best-in-class appliance brands Sub-Zero, Wolf, and Cove. Founded in 1945, Sub-Zero, Inc., is the leading American-based manufacturer of refrigeration, freezer and wine storage products. Sub-Zero, the preservation specialist, pioneered the concept of dual refrigeration, ensuring that food stays fresher longer. With the acquisition of Wolf Range Company in 2000, Sub-Zero Group, Inc., added the industry specialist in residential cooking appliances, with products including ranges, cooktops, wall ovens, warming drawers and ventilation equipment. In 2018, Sub-Zero Group, Inc., launched the Cove brand of dishwashers, the specialist in all things clean. Cove joins Sub-Zero and Wolf, establishing the brands as corporate companions and a complete kitchen family. In its third generation of family ownership, the privately held company also operates manufacturing facilities in Fitchburg, Wisconsin, and Goodyear, Arizona. Sub-Zero Group, Inc., is continually recognized for the highest achievements in appliance innovation and customer satisfaction. For more information about Sub-Zero, Wolf, and Cove, visit subzero-wolf.com or follow us on Facebook.com/subzerowolf or on Instagram @subzeroandwolf. For Sub-Zero, Wolf, and Cove Customer Care, call 800-222-7820.

Copyright  2021, Sub-Zero Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

SOURCE Sub-Zero Group West, Inc.
Del Lago offered to use its indoor ballroom, Sala da Ballo, a 3,721-square-foot venue on the ground floor of the hotel. The ballroom, which can fit up to 250 people, can be divided into separate rooms. That's ideal for vaccination clinics, which need space for the inoculations and an area where vaccinated individuals can be observed for any allergic reactions or other side effects.

"We got together and they came and toured the site," Young said. "We decided our ballroom would work perfectly for that."

Swinehart added, "That never even crossed my mind to ask them to use that. It's worked out perfectly. They're very generous. Anything we ask for they get for us."

Access was also an important factor in selecting the site. The ballroom has its own entrance and it's located off a parking lot that wasn't in use, according to Young. When people arrive at del Lago for their appointments, there are signs directing them to the parking lot and the ballroom.

The health department is administering the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at the clinics. The Moderna vaccine requires two doses, with the second dose given a few weeks after the first.
Armenian acting minister: EU allocated EUR 68,700,000 to Armenia for budget support in 2020

Armenia Finance Ministry: MFA's budget grew by AMD 1,600,000,000 in 2020

Bodies and remains of Armenian soldiers are kept in morgue in Armenia's Martuni

White House confirms Biden-Erdogan meeting in Brussels

Armenia acting MOD touches upon priority directions for development of Armed Forces

Diaspora Armenian writer, publicist Toros Toranian dies

2 Armenian soldiers injured in scuffle with Azerbaijan, Armenian POW is hospitalized, Jun. 3 digest

Wedding held in Armenia's Shurnukh for first time since the war ended

EEU member states to finish preparing for negotiations over free trade zone in Iran in late June

Armenia Central Bank: Economic downfall in 2020 was due to decline in service and construction sectors

Armenia legislature adopts several bills in first reading

Armenia President meets with Nursultan Nazarbayev

Dejavu: Armenia ruling party distributes money for votes at Yerevan district election office

Chief Advisor to Karabakh President sacked

Russian MFA: Works are carried out to settle situation around Karabakh every day

Armenia opposition MP sounds alarm about Baku fabricating criminal cases against Armenian prisoners

Armenia acting health minister: I have apologized, I am not going to resign

Helga Schmid meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Armenia's deputy foreign ministers resigned or have heavy workload?

Dollar goes down in Armenia

Armenia Elections Oversight Committee reports Iranian citizenship of ruling party's MP candidate

Acting deputy minister: Only 17 of 711 Iran-Armenia power transmission line towers were installed by 2017

Armenia Parliament Council holding session

Armenia to host CSTO "Thunder-2021" military exercises

NYT: Chinese hackers launch cyberattack on New York city transportation authority

Armenia President to Kazakhstan counterpart: I would like to see much deeper cooperation between our countries

Armenia citizens shut down Etchmiadzin-Ashtarak road, complaining about lack of irrigation water

Armenia independent MP: Foreign minister and his deputies don't want to take part in treacherous acts

Armenia to get $11mn loan, 350,000 grant for agriculture

WHO worries about worsening mental health worldwide amid pandemic

Armenia health ministry on improper handling of Artsakh war victims bodies: There is no justification

Armenia bloc election foundation already in operation

Russia ambassador to Armenia paying working visit to Syunik Province (PHOTOS)

China pledges to step up resistance to foreign interference in Hong Kong

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: There can be no talk of corridor for Azerbaijan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on incumbent authorities: Wherever they flee, we will bring them by the feet

President: Impossible to ensure peace in region or stay in Artsakh without Russia army joint efforts

China Daily: Dispatch from Makit: Thriving in the desert

Karabakh President: We will never put up with being part of Azerbaijan, it is ruled out

Armenia MFA information department chief: All deputy FMs carrying out their duties

Ardshinbank invited children to the cinema on International Childrens Day

Armenia judiciary to have 10 more judges

Armenia acting premier: We had recorded 40% increase in tax revenues according to 2019 results

Armenia acting PM on Artsakh war casualties bodies: We have 50 remains in which case DNA was not separated

Azerbaijan authorities plan to "squeeze" everything from "terrorist show" related to Armenian captives

Ameriabank announces a contest for bank card design

108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia parliament convenes special session

Armenia interim government holding Cabinet meeting

Catholicos of All Armenians heads for Syunik Province, Artsakh

World oil prices going up

Iran loses right to vote in UN General Assembly

Newspaper: Armenia authorities come up with new way of punishing unwanted characters

Newspaper: Russia army Southern Military District deputy commander to arrive in Yerevan Thursday

Lebanese Armenian man taken prisoner by Azerbaijan is hospitalized

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Are we getting under the burden? Then lets get under to the end

Armenia acting health minister on keeping fallen soldiers bodies in bags: What else should they be kept in?

Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation

Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow

2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik

Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center

"Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans

Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel

Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna

Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations

US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies

Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week

Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection

Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential

Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement

Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues

Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo

Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation

NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident

Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices

Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over

Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest

Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia

Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia

Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels

Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters

Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021

Dollar is stable in Armenia

Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector

Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out

Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe

Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia

Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border

Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor

Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue

Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia

Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this

Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa  On May 26, my husband and I were in Norfolk to pick up a dog. We were to meet the seller at the main entrance to Ta-Ha-Zouka Park. We arrived and I did not think we were at the right entrance. I flagged down a young man and he told me where the right entrance was, and 
A man piles up damaged possessions outside his house in Londonderry, a suburb outside Sydney, as flood-stricken residents along Australia's east coast began a massive clean up effort following days of floods

Thousands of flood-stricken residents along Australia's east coast began a massive clean up effort Thursday, as waters receded revealing damaged homes, piles of debris and mud-caked roads.

The region has been devastated by widespread flooding brought on by a torrential downpour, inundating towns, destroying farmland and leaving two people dead.

On Thursday, David Williams stepped back inside his home in flood-hit Londonderry, to find waters lapping just below his knees and "gut-wrenching" destruction.

"That was pretty heartbreaking," he told AFP. "But we're fortunate that we're able to save a lot of stuff."

Williams said he was now on the "long haul" to recovery from the devastating floods, clearing out over eight trailer loads of once-prized possessionsnow a sodden, twisted mess dumped on the side of the road.

In coastal areas north of Sydney, hundreds of troops and volunteer firefighters bolstered efforts in stretched communities by digging mud from roads and clearing debris from properties.

Ben Shepherd, an inspector from the Rural Fire Service, said the teams wanted "to try and return communities to some sense of normality as soon as possible".

"This is going to be a prolonged event that is potentially going to take weeksif not monthsin some areas," he told AFP.

Residents clear out belongings from a home after floodwaters receded in Londonderry

Farmers were also pitching in, donating hay as emergency feed for livestock and trucking it hundreds of miles across the country to help others who have "lost everything".

Across the vast flood zone, many communities remain cut off by swollen rivers and it was still unsafe for about 20,000 people to return home.

Authorities pleaded with residents to remain vigilant around floodwaters.

"We believe that most river systems have peaked but complacency is a concern for us," state Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

"Unpredictable flows will continue to occur in communities which haven't seen this amount of rainfall for up to 50 or 100 years."

Homes, businesses damaged

Emergency services have responded to over 12,000 calls for help since the disaster struck late last week, rescuing more than 1,000 people from floodwaters.

Cars sit in floodwaters in Londonderry, a suburb outside Sydney

On Wednesday, officers said they had discovered the remains of a 25-year-old Pakistani man trapped in his car in six metres (20 feet) of floodwater in Sydney's northwest.

Just hours later, Queensland police said divers had found a second man dead in a vehicle that was upturned in a river on the Gold Coast.

Flooding has extended to parts of the outback, including Moree where television images showed the inland town split into two by a bursting river Thursday.

Meteorologists have forecast sunshine for most affected areas until the end of the week.

But close to Sydney near the still-overflowing Hawkesbury River, the focus remains on ferrying food, medical supplies and other essentials to isolated areas.

Bianca Tolhurst was able to rescue all her horses and cattle when her 150-acre farm in Richmond went under water but said the prospect of starting to clean up when fields were still inundated was "exhausting".

A flooded residential area in the Windsor suburb of northwestern Sydney on March 24, 2021.

We don't even know what the recovery is until the water subsides. We have no idea what we're dealing with," she told AFP.

"I don't even know where to start."

Thousands of homes and businesses have been damaged in the flooding, with insurers receiving more than 22,000 claims so far.

Some coastal regions received a metre (three feet) of water in a week, the equivalent of two-thirds of normal annual rainfall.

Scientists have warned Australia can expect more frequent and more extreme weather events as a result of climate change.

Members of the State Emergency Service transport relief goods during rescue operations at a flooded residential suburb of Sydney

When the floods hit, many were still reeling from a prolonged drought and unprecedented bushfires just over a year ago.

In Londonderry, Williams said he was lucky compared to an elderly couple who lives next door, after their home was filled to waist height with thick muddy water and debris.

"They've lost everything. They've got nothing left. Got a couple of memories, and that's it."

 2021 AFP
Hagerstown Housing Authority closes in on end of McCleary Hill project

After objections from neighbors, the Hagerstown Housing Authority's McCleary Hill project is done its first phase. Officials held an open house.
Staff members of the Bureau of Water Conservancy of Yingshang County explain the significance of valuing water to local residents in Yingshang county, East Chinas Anhui province, on March 22, 2021. The World Water Day was celebrated around the province on that day. (Photo/Anhui Daily)

An urban management officer puts up a medal on the wall of a model water-saving store in Shushan, a district in Hefei, capital of East Chinas Anhui province, on March 22, 2021. The district launched a campaign to select and commend model water-saving stores, as part of its effort to create an atmosphere of protecting the environment and valuing water resources. The World Water Day was celebrated around the province on that day. (Photo/Hefei Daily)

Students show pictures on the theme of valuing water at a rural school in Feixi county, East Chinas Anhui province, on March 22, 2021. The World Water Day was celebrated around the province on that day. (Photo/Hefei Daily)






Despite an unpredictable year, state college students can take comfort in knowing one thing will stay the same: their tuition.

Tuition and most mandatory fees will remain flat at all Connecticut State Colleges and Universities next school year, the Board of Regents for Higher Education voted on Thursday. Schools impacted include CSCUs 12 community colleges, four state universities and Charter Oak State College.

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit Connecticut students particularly hard, Interim President Jane Gates said in a statement. The Board of Regents, recognizing that we cannot ask our students and their families to shoulder a greater share of the burden during these difficult times, made the wise but difficult decision to freeze tuition and most fees for the upcoming academic year.

The plan also reduces fees charged for online instruction at the schools, drops students UPASS fee for unlimited public transit and reduces meal plan costs at Central Connecticut State University.

The institutions within the Connecticut State College and University system are the most affordable, accessible options to get a great education  and we intend to keep it that way, said Gates.

The chair of the board, Matt Fleury, warned that CSCU continues to face fiscal headwinds that could result in future tuition increases.

CSCU plans to merge its 12 community colleges into a more financially sustainable system with streamlined operations and shared administrative costs. At a Board of Regents meeting Thursday, system officials said half of the schools have negative reserves, and 31 percent have seen a decrease in full-time enrollment since 2014.

If the merger is blocked or reversed, Fleury said the savings it has and can achieve would be lost.

Fleury added that several other unknowns could impact tuition after the 2021-22 school year, including state funding, ongoing labor contract negotiations and effects of the pandemic so far unseen.

Our strong position against a tuition increase depends on these things, said Fleury.
Investigators looking into the nursing home and sexual harassment scandals involving New York Governor Andrew Cuomo could be hindered by the lack of a paper trail since he avoid emails and communicates verbally with aides.

Cuomo faces several investigations from the Justice Department, the New York State Attorney Generals Office, and the State Assembly into whether his administration concealed the number of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes.

The governor is also under investigation after eight women came forward to accuse him of sex crimes ranging from harassment to assault.

But Cuomos propensity to scrupulously avoid communicating in a way that leaves digital fingerprints - either via email or text - will complicate efforts to uncover any incriminating evidence against the governor, according to The Intercept.

The governor operates under a code of behavior he reportedly learned from his predecessor, Eliot Spitzer, who reportedly said: Never write when you can talk. Never talk when you can nod. And never put anything in email.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (pictured in his office in 2015) does not use email and communicates with staff either on the phone or in person in order to avoid leaving a paper trail, it has been reported

During Cuomos political career, the modus operandi appears to have worked as he has managed to evade scandal even as others in his inner circle went to prison for corruption-related crimes.

In September 2018, a former Cuomo aide, Joseph Percoco, who was said to be like a brother to the governor as well as his right hand, was sentenced to six years in prison for fraud and accepting bribes.

Percoco, 49, was convicted in March of that year of accepting more than $300,000 from companies that wanted to gain influence with the Cuomo administration.

Cuomo wasnt accused of wrongdoing, but testimony presented an unflattering picture of the inner workings of his office.

The scandal didnt substantially hurt Cuomo with Democrats during his primary win over Cynthia Nixon that same year.

He won in a landslide.

The feds who investigated Percoco were unable to prove that Cuomo, who has a reputation for obsessive micromanagement, knew what his trusted aide was doing.

Cuomo's penchant for secrecy could hinder efforts by investigators to find incriminating evidence as the governor is coming under scrutiny for alleged sexual harassment as well as claims his administration concealed the number COVID-19 patients who died in nursing homes. Cuomo is seen above in New York on Thursday

In December 2018, a man who the governor referred to as his economic guru - Alain Kaloyeros - was sentenced to more than three years in prison for his role in corrupting the states Buffalo Billion project.

Kaloyeros, the Beirut-born former head of the State University of New Yorks Polytechnic Institute, was convicted of conspiracy and wire fraud in July of that year.

Cuomo was not accused of wrongdoing himself in the Buffalo Billion prosecution, but the corruption allegations have left a cloud over his administration.

The judge, Valerie E. Caproni, said Kaloyeros became the Apple in Cuomos eyes as the governor initiated the biggest development project in upstate New York in recent memory.

She said Kaloyeros did not profit financially but profited politically by helping to rig the bidding process for projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Kaloyeros was the president of New Yorks Polytechnic Institute when Cuomo tapped him to help a quest to create high-tech jobs in upstate New York.

Cuomos penchant for covering his tracks has been well known for years.

In 2012, it was reported that the governor communicated with his staff using the PIN-to-PIN messaging system that was available on Blackberry devices that were popular at the time.

Cuomo used the messaging system, which is designed to bypass any data-saving mechanism that would keep a record of the conversation, whenever an aide was unable to speak to the governor by phone or in person.

Emails and text messages can be recovered even if they are deleted since those messages are sent over a server, but PIN messages on a Blackberry were deleted permanently with no possibility of ever being saved.

Whenever media organizations filed Freedom of Information requests to obtain emails and other communications sent to and from the administration, the official response was there were no such records.

In 2018, two Cuomo aides - Joseph Percoco (left) and Alain Kaloyeros (right) - were sentenced to prison by a federal judge after they were convicted for crimes including bribery and wire fraud. Cuomo was not accused of wrongdoing in either case

After Blackberry devices went out of style, Cuomo obtained an iPhone.

According to the Times Union of Albany, Cuomo asked two of the women who have accused him of sexual harassment to help him with navigating the phone because he claimed not to know how to use it.

Charlotte Bennett, a former aide, was allegedly lured to his office because the governor claimed he was uncertain how to get from his settings app to his notes app.

While Bennett said that nothing inappropriate took place during this encounter, it took place a day after she claims the governor asked her intimate and probing questions about her sex life.

Bennett said she had to stand close to the governor while helping him navigate his iPhone, which made her uncomfortable in light of the previous days alleged discussions.

Cuomo has said he never made advances toward Ms. Bennett, nor did I ever intend to act in any way that was inappropriate.

An unidentified accuser alleged that she was asked to see the governor because Cuomo said he could not operate the notes app on his iPhone and needed her assistance.

Thats when the governor allegedly reached up her skirt and groped her breasts.

Cuomo released a statement in response to the allegations, calling them gut-wrenching though he denied touching any woman inappropriately.

There is still a question of the truth. I did not do what has been alleged, period, Cuomo told reporters on Friday.

Relatives of those who died of COVID-19 in New York nursing homes gathered on Sunday. State and federal authorities are looking into the Cuomo administration's conduct in reporting COVID-19 nursing home deaths

I wont speculate about peoples possible motives, but I can tell you as former attorney general whos gone through this many times, there are often many motivations for making an allegation.

And that is why you need to know the facts before you make a decision.

The flurry of allegations in recent weeks, along with revelations that Cuomo's administration under-reported nursing home deaths from COVID-19, has led to a growing clamor among prominent fellow Democrats in New York for his resignation.

Cuomo issued a directive on March 25 last year ordering nursing homes to readmit COVID-positive patients because of a lack of space in hospitals.

The move has been slammed for costing many lives given the elderly were especially vulnerable and that nursing homes were hotbeds for the virus.

The ruling was reversed on May 10, barring nursing homes from accepting COVID-19 patients without a negative test first.

New York state Attorney General Letitia James has named a team of outside lawyers to lead an investigation into accusations the governor harassed women through unwelcome, sexualized comments and inappropriate physical contact, including unsolicited kissing.

Cuomo has vowed to cooperate with the investigation overseen by the state's attorney general, and has steadfastly refused to step down before the inquiry is concluded.
Page Content

As of March 24th, there were six (6) persons who tested positive for COVID-19; however two (2) persons have recovered; bringing the total active cases to twenty five (25). The total number of confirmed cases is now two thousand one hundred fourteen (2114).





The Collective Prevention Services (CPS) are monitoring twenty four (24) people in home isolation. One (1) patient remains hospitalized at the St. Maarten Medical Center. The total number of deaths due to COVID-19 remains at twenty seven (27).





The number of people recovered since the first case surfaced on St. Maarten has increased to two thousand sixty two (2062). Forty seven (47) people are in quarantine based on contact tracing investigations carried out by CPS.





The Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour (VSA) Airport Health Team in collaboration with Health Care Laboratory Sint Maarten (HCLS) have tested 2607 travelers arriving at the Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA), while CPS tested 22, 989 people throughout the community. As the numbers continue to fluctuate, CPS will continue to actively execute its contact tracing measures.





Minister Panneflek encourages all Dutch side residents 18+ to register for the COVID-19 vaccine via the online registration form which is available in English, Spanish, and Creole, and can be found via this link: https://forms.sintmaartengov.org/form.aspx?v=OGtn05kN





Service Center in Simpson Bay, doctors offices, the Government Administration Building, and select pharmacies.




Trading could be volatile today as traders roll over positions in the F&O segment from the near month March series to April series. The March 2021 F&O contracts will expire today, 25 March 2021.

SGX Nifty:

Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could rise 17 points at the opening bell.

Global markets:

Overseas, Asian stocks are trading mixed on Thursday as tech stocks in the region took a hit following a sell-off in the sector overnight on Wall Street.

US stocks gave up earlier gains and closed in the red Wednesday as tech stocks sold off, continuing a market rotation out of high-flying growth names.

On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen appeared for a second day for virtual Capitol Hill testimony. Talking with members of the Senate Banking Committee, Powell said he expects the economy to experience superior growth in 2021 amid a recovery from the pandemic.

Investors are on edge as many regions of the world are seeing rising Covid-19 cases as highly contagious variants continue to spread. Germany and France are extending or enforcing new lockdown measures.

Domestic markets:

Back home, domestic equity benchmarks ended near the day's low amid significant selloff on Wednesday. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tumbled 871.13 points or 1.74% to 49,180.31. The Nifty 50 index slumped 265.35 points or 1.79% to 14,549.40.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,951.90 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 612.80 crore in the Indian equity market on 24 March, provisional data showed.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Burma Two More Including 16-Year-Old Boy Killed as Myanmar Regime Continues Crackdowns

The security forces who took part in a crackdown on anti-regime protesters in Karen State's Hpa-an on Thursday morning.

Two more people were killed and several injured in four locations on Wednesday night and Thursday morning as Myanmars security forces continued their brutal raids.

The protest-related death toll since the Feb. 1 coup stood at 262 as of Wednesday.

On Wednesday night, police and soldiers opened fire indiscriminately as they raided Aung Pin Lae ward in Mandalays Chanmythazi Township.

During the raid, a 16-year-old boy was reportedly killed and three people were injured when regime forces started shooting.

A Mandalay-based charity group told The Irrawaddy it had been unable to retrieve the body of the slain boy or assist the injured, as police and troops opened fire on ambulances on Wednesday night.

Since a confrontation in the area between the regimes security forces and anti-regime protesters on March 21, police and soldiers have conducted a series of deadly raids targeting not only protesters but also bystanders, pedestrians and residents in Aung Pin Lae, Aung Tharyar and Mya Yi Nandar wards.

The raids have claimed the lives of more than 20 people, including three children aged 6, 15 and 16.

Meanwhile, in Mandalay Regions Kaukpadaung Township, a 23-year-old man was shot dead and three people were injured at 9 p.m. on Wednesday night during a deadly crackdown by security forces against a nighttime anti-regime protest.

On Thursday morning, several people were injured as security forces opened fire on anti-regime protesters in Shan States capital Taunggyi and in the Karen State capital, Hpa-an.

Despite the daily deadly crackdowns, tens of thousands of people across Myanmar continue to take to the streets day and night to show their defiance of military rule.

You may also like these stories:

Thailand Must Be a Friend to the People of Myanmar

French Energy Giant Halts Myanmar Hydropower Project Over Human Rights Concerns

Myanmar Protest Death Toll Climbs As Regimes Troops Keep Shooting
Armenian acting minister: EU allocated EUR 68,700,000 to Armenia for budget support in 2020

Armenia Finance Ministry: MFA's budget grew by AMD 1,600,000,000 in 2020

Bodies and remains of Armenian soldiers are kept in morgue in Armenia's Martuni

White House confirms Biden-Erdogan meeting in Brussels

Armenia acting MOD touches upon priority directions for development of Armed Forces

Diaspora Armenian writer, publicist Toros Toranian dies

2 Armenian soldiers injured in scuffle with Azerbaijan, Armenian POW is hospitalized, Jun. 3 digest

Wedding held in Armenia's Shurnukh for first time since the war ended

EEU member states to finish preparing for negotiations over free trade zone in Iran in late June

Armenia Central Bank: Economic downfall in 2020 was due to decline in service and construction sectors

Armenia legislature adopts several bills in first reading

Armenia President meets with Nursultan Nazarbayev

Dejavu: Armenia ruling party distributes money for votes at Yerevan district election office

Chief Advisor to Karabakh President sacked

Russian MFA: Works are carried out to settle situation around Karabakh every day

Armenia opposition MP sounds alarm about Baku fabricating criminal cases against Armenian prisoners

Armenia acting health minister: I have apologized, I am not going to resign

Helga Schmid meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Armenia's deputy foreign ministers resigned or have heavy workload?

Dollar goes down in Armenia

Armenia Elections Oversight Committee reports Iranian citizenship of ruling party's MP candidate

Acting deputy minister: Only 17 of 711 Iran-Armenia power transmission line towers were installed by 2017

Armenia Parliament Council holding session

Armenia to host CSTO "Thunder-2021" military exercises

NYT: Chinese hackers launch cyberattack on New York city transportation authority

Armenia President to Kazakhstan counterpart: I would like to see much deeper cooperation between our countries

Armenia citizens shut down Etchmiadzin-Ashtarak road, complaining about lack of irrigation water

Armenia independent MP: Foreign minister and his deputies don't want to take part in treacherous acts

Armenia to get $11mn loan, 350,000 grant for agriculture

WHO worries about worsening mental health worldwide amid pandemic

Armenia health ministry on improper handling of Artsakh war victims bodies: There is no justification

Armenia bloc election foundation already in operation

Russia ambassador to Armenia paying working visit to Syunik Province (PHOTOS)

China pledges to step up resistance to foreign interference in Hong Kong

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: There can be no talk of corridor for Azerbaijan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on incumbent authorities: Wherever they flee, we will bring them by the feet

President: Impossible to ensure peace in region or stay in Artsakh without Russia army joint efforts

China Daily: Dispatch from Makit: Thriving in the desert

Karabakh President: We will never put up with being part of Azerbaijan, it is ruled out

Armenia MFA information department chief: All deputy FMs carrying out their duties

Ardshinbank invited children to the cinema on International Childrens Day

Armenia judiciary to have 10 more judges

Armenia acting premier: We had recorded 40% increase in tax revenues according to 2019 results

Armenia acting PM on Artsakh war casualties bodies: We have 50 remains in which case DNA was not separated

Azerbaijan authorities plan to "squeeze" everything from "terrorist show" related to Armenian captives

Ameriabank announces a contest for bank card design

108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia parliament convenes special session

Armenia interim government holding Cabinet meeting

Catholicos of All Armenians heads for Syunik Province, Artsakh

World oil prices going up

Iran loses right to vote in UN General Assembly

Newspaper: Armenia authorities come up with new way of punishing unwanted characters

Newspaper: Russia army Southern Military District deputy commander to arrive in Yerevan Thursday

Lebanese Armenian man taken prisoner by Azerbaijan is hospitalized

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Are we getting under the burden? Then lets get under to the end

Armenia acting health minister on keeping fallen soldiers bodies in bags: What else should they be kept in?

Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation

Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow

2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik

Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center

"Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans

Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel

Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna

Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations

US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies

Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week

Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection

Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential

Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement

Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues

Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo

Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation

NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident

Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices

Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over

Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest

Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia

Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia

Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels

Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters

Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021

Dollar is stable in Armenia

Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector

Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out

Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe

Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia

Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border

Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor

Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue

Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia

Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this

Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia
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.
press release

Washington  Tarig Abdelgadir and his family have been looking forward to this day. They joined members of the local community who gathered at the Jabal Awliya locality building, in the south of Khartoum, all of whom were waiting eagerly to register for the Sudan Family Support Program (SFSP) which promises to provide them with much-needed support in light of the escalating economic crisis. Their beaming smiles outshined even the blazing noon sun and reflected their keen enthusiasm for what they have heard about from the media and the community-based organizations in their neighborhood.

The registration office was buzzing with energy and excitement of potential beneficiaries including those with physical disabilities, and single mothers with small children. Tarig and his wife Nusiba, along with their three children were among the first to enroll in the program.

The family has been struggling to make ends meet. They are expecting to receive $25 and plan to use it to buy basic provisions. The COVID-19 crisis, floods and desert locusts have exacerbated an already complex situation in the country, with families like Tarig's bearing the brunt of the shocks.

According to Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, "the SFSP will renew the social contract between the citizens and the state and restore confidence by developing effective social protection policies and institutions that fulfill the demands and aspiration of the Sudanese people for a decent living."

Supported by the World Bank Group and development partners, SFSP aims to deliver monthly cash transfers to vulnerable families such as Tarig's, and improve safety net systems to cushion them against the adverse effects of the economic reforms and other short-term shocks.

"We are all optimistic about the support we will get because it will help us to meet our basic daily needs," Tarig said.

The first phase of the program was launched on February 24, 2021 and covers Khartoum, Red Sea, South Darfur, and Kassala states. By March 4, nearly 80,000 Sudanese households (nearly 400,000 beneficiaries) had already received their first month payment through cash cards. Now in its second phase, the program will be extended to Blue Nile, White Nile, Sinnar, Central Darfur, East Darfur, North Kordofan, South Kordofan, and West Kordofan states.

The SFSP will also help to establish government systems and build institutional capacity. The first phase of the SFSP was made possible with a grant totaling $400 million.

The amount includes $200 million in World Bank pre-arrears clearance grant and $200 million from the Sudan Transition and Recovery Support Trust Fund (STARS). To scale up activities and reach as many people as possible, the initial investment has been complemented by an additional $420 million ($210 million in International Development Association Pre-arrears Clearance Grant and $210 million in donor contributions), bringing the total amount available for the program to $820 million.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines International Organisations Governance Banking By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

This will enable the government to provide five U.S. dollars to each qualified member of household initially for a period of six months. Subject to funding availability, the transfers will be ramped up to twelve months, with the aim of eventually reaching 80% of the population or nearly 32 million citizens.

The program serves as an exemplary model for the close partnership and synergies between various government institutions and will help establish an effective social safety net system in Sudan. In this regard, Gibril Ibrahim, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning said "Only we, the Sudanese people, will ensure the success of the economic reform and political transformation. Therefore, the Sudan Family Support Program is not only about providing financial support to 80% of the Sudanese people, but also about establishing a nation-wide safety net system capable of providing social protection to anyone in need."

ABOUT STARS

The Sudan Transition and Recovery Support Trust Fund (STARS) is an umbrella coordination platform for World Bank engagement in Sudan, supporting the Government of Sudan's economic and peacebuilding transition. STARS partners include Canada, European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, State and Peacebuilding Fund, and United Kingdom.
IN the space of one month, the families of 326 people were left in shock and heartbreak after losing their loved ones to the Covid-19 virus.

May 2021 was the deadliest month of the pandemic in Trinidad and Tobago and the month with the highest number of Covid-19 cases.
ACA has announced Tracy Grimshaw has a face to face interview with PM Scott Morrison in Canberra tonight.

Tonight in a major A Current Affair exclusive at 7:00pm AEDT on Channel 9, Tracy Grimshaw is one on one with Prime Minister Scott Morrison as the show is hosted from Parliament House.

Amid ongoing sex scandals rocking Parliament and speculation about cabinet shakeups, the Government has been in the news for all the wrong reasons of late.

Tracy Grimshaw questions the Prime Minister over the Governments handling of allegations involving Brittany Higgins, Christian Porter and Lynda Reynolds, and why the Prime Minister did not address the thousands of women who marched on Parliament House.

With a 40-year history of being one of Australias greatest interviewers, Tracy asks the PM the tough questions that are on all Australians minds.

Do you understand why this issue has dogged the government for this past month? Why it has not blown over and gone away, do you understand?

Youre not on an island, maybe youre in a bubble in Canberra, I dont know, but youre not on an island, youve got a wife, youve got daughters who go to school, you know, youve referenced them several times, how did you not know the depth of it? 

7pm tonight on Nine.

#EXCLUSIVE: Tracy Grimshaw face to face with Prime Minister Scott Morrison in Canberra. The full interview tonight 7.00. #9ACA pic.twitter.com/3k72aD8oMY  A Current Affair (@ACurrentAffair9) March 25, 2021

Related
LOS ANGELES (AP)  Demonstrators gathered Wednesday night to protest the planned temporary closure of a Los Angeles park that would displace a large homeless encampment, which has grown throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

About 200 people, including demonstrators and some homeless people, gathered as more than a dozen police cars and some sanitation trucks showed up at Echo Park Lake.

People faced a line of police in helmets on a street near the park, some shouting, Where do you want us to go? Some officers appeared to be carrying batons or projectile weapons.

Shortly after 10 p.m., police began herding demonstrators away from one end of the park and later declared an unlawful assembly, allowing arrests.

Police Chief Michel Moore said homeless people would be allowed to stay in the park overnight, but that no one else can enter and the encampment must be vacated within 24 hours, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Antonia Ramirez, 60, was wrapped in an American flag blanket and vowed to stay.

Ramirez, who has been homeless for 20 years and has lived in parks in LA and neighboring Orange County, said she moved into Echo Park Lake the previous night.

They are now closing the park but there was no notice given  its like a dictatorial, fascist regime, she said. Im not leaving. I will be arrested and I will spend my time in jail.

City Councilmember Mitch OFarrell, whose district includes the neighborhood just north of downtown, said in a statement that police were asked to support community safety efforts while fencing was installed.

Our homeless service providers will return tomorrow morning to continue their work with the parks unhoused residents to offer shelter and services to anyone who wants and needs the assistance, the councilman said.

A few hundred protestors first gathered at the lake just after sunrise Wednesday carrying signs that said dignity not displacement and we need long term solutions. They argued that the encampment with dozens of tents provides a makeshift community for people with nowhere else to go.

Part of the crowd marched to peacefully rally outside the nearby offices of OFarrell.

OFarrells office said in an earlier statement that more than 120 homeless residents have been moved from encampments into transitional housing to prepare for closing the popular park with a large lake as its centerpiece. The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority said at least 44 people were moved into shelters this week alone.

No timeline was provided for how long the park would remain closed. OFarrells statement said was necessary to make extensive repairs to lighting and plumbing and for general public safety improvements.

Homeless residents have slept in the park near downtown for years, but tents have proliferated in recent months. The group Echo Park Tent Community said in a statement that the growing encampment has provided a secure place for homeless people during the public health crisis.

The biggest pandemic in years actually turned out to be a blessing for us, the statement said. Without the constant LAPD and city harassment uprooting our lives weve been able to grow to come together as a community, not just unhoused but housed as well and work together for the mutual aid and benefit of each other.
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.
BOSTON, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Riverside Partners, a Boston-based, middle market private equity firm, announced the closing of a new Continuation Fund, led by funds advised by Neuberger Berman, a private, independent, employee-owned investment manager.

The Continuation Fund and related vehicles are comprised of $532 million in capital commitments. The Continuation Fund was formed to provide fresh capital for add-on acquisitions for the seven portfolio companies of Riverside Fund V, L.P. (Fund V) and more time to support their continued growth, as well as to offer liquidity to existing limited partners. The fund raise was oversubscribed, and it was launched and completed within six months. All existing investors in Riverside Fund V were provided a choice to receive liquidity or continue their investment, including a status quo option.

"We are excited to complete the Continuation Fund for Riverside Fund V, which will provide us with additional capital and time to continue pursuing growth opportunities for the portfolio as we seek to generate additional returns for our investors," said David Belluck, a General Partner of Riverside Partners. "With this transaction, we remain well positioned to support the management teams of the seven portfolio companies of Fund V and to further their growth initiatives, especially after completing several transformative combinations and add-on transactions in 2020."

"In addition to the Fund V Continuation Fund, Riverside Partners is actively investing Fund VI with a continued focus on growth oriented middle market technology and healthcare companies," continued Mr. Belluck. "Fund VI is almost half invested and we look forward to continued growth of the firm."

Mr. Belluck concluded, "We are grateful to Neuberger Berman for leading the Continuation Fund, and we welcome RCP Advisors as an LP with its new investment. We are thrilled to begin partnering with both of them as well as continuing to serve our existing LPs, nearly 50 percent of whom elected to participate in the Continuation Fund. We could not be more enthusiastic to complete this process with support from an exceptional group of new investors and with significant participation by existing partners."

Ben Perl, Managing Director at Neuberger Berman, said, "We are pleased to be able to partner with Riverside Partners. Consistent with their focus, these seven companies are concentrated in the growing technology and healthcare sectors. This transaction was structured to meet the needs of existing investors seeking accelerated liquidity as well as continuing and new investors. We believe that recapitalizing Fund V with additional capital and time will enable Riverside and the underlying management teams to continue to drive growth and create long-term value for all stakeholders."

Lazard's Private Capital Advisory team acted as financial advisor to Riverside Partners and Choate Hall and Stewart LLP served as legal counsel. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP served as legal counsel to Neuberger Berman.

About Riverside Partners

Founded in 1989, Riverside Partners is a middle market private equity firm with total capital commitments of $1.6 billion raised since inception. The firm focuses on growth-oriented companies in the technology and healthcare industries. Riverside Partners is particularly experienced at partnering with founders, owners and management teams and it brings substantial domain and operating experience to its portfolio companies. For more information, visit www.riversidepartners.com.

About Neuberger Berman Neuberger Berman, founded in 1939, is a private, independent, employee-owned investment manager. The firm manages a range of strategiesincluding equity, fixed income, quantitative and multi-asset class, private equity, real estate and hedge fundson behalf of institutions, advisors and individual investors globally. With offices in 24 countries, Neuberger Berman's diverse team has over 2,300 professionals. For six consecutive years, the company has been named first or second in Pensions & Investments Best Places to Work in Money Management survey (among those with 1,000 employees or more). In 2020, the PRI named Neuberger Berman a Leader, a designation awarded to fewer than 1% of investment firms for excellence in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices. The PRI also awarded Neuberger Berman an A+ in every eligible category for its approach to ESG integration across asset classes. The firm manages $405 billion in client assets as of December 31, 2020. For more information, please visit its website at www.nb.com.

Riverside Partners Media Contact:

Andy Merrill or Nick Rust

Prosek Partners

(646) 818-9252

[email protected] / [email protected]

Neuberger Berman Media Contact:

Alex Samuelson

(212) 476-5392

[email protected]

SOURCE Riverside Partners, LLC

Related Links

http://www.nb.com


A woman's body was found Wednesday morning near a section of Highway 1 where the road collapsed in a late-January storm and formed a massive hole in Big Sur.

The Monterey County Sheriffs Office identified the deceased as Nancy Lynn Algert, a 64-year-old resident of Templeton, a small town in San Luis Obispo County.

A preliminary investigation found the woman parked her car near the section of road that washed away at Rat Creek and walked around the construction site, moving past fencing blocking off the area, the sheriff's office said.

A contractor found her body about 200 feet outside the area where they were working, at approximately 10 a.m. Wednesday, Caltrans spokesman Kevin Drabinski told the San Luis Obispo Tribune.

At this time there does not appear to be any foul play and an autopsy is scheduled, officials said.

The incident temporarily stopped repairs on the damaged section of highway. Late Thursday morning, Caltrans announced roadwork had resumed.

The road washed away the last week in January when an atmospheric river swept California, dumping copious amounts of rain along the Central Coast.

The Big Sur coastline is prone to mudslides, and in 2017, a slide closed a stretch of the road for more than a year.

"Anyone familiar with the history of Highway 1 knows that once we get into the rain season, slides of various degrees, slip outs, rock slides is what we face and what we know will happen," Caltrans spokesperson Jim Shivers told SFGATE in January.

Caltrans has said it plans to complete repairs and reopen the section of highway this summer.
In a message to US, North Korea filed 2 ballistic missiles into the sea near Japan on Thursday. Japanese PM has condemned the act and expressed that he will discuss the issue with US President Joe Biden.

In a major geopolitical development in East Asia, North Korea has fired two projectiles into the sea near Japan on Thursday (Mar 25), possibly the first ballistic missile test under US President Joe Bidens administration. According to the US militarys Indo-Pacific Command, the missile launches show the danger North Koreas weapons programme poses to its neighbours and the international community. In addition, it acknowledged that they are currently keeping an eye on the situation and consulting their allies.

Japanese Prime minister Suga confirmed the news and expressed his displeasure with North Koreas activities. As Japan is preparing for the next Olympics, Suga ensured the safety of the Olympics and said that hell discuss the issue with his American counterpart President Biden in his next visit, including the issue of launches of missiles.

Japanese PM stated, We are directing all of our efforts to gather and analyse information and are proactively monitoring the situation to protect peoples people and assets. The warheads had dropped outside of Japans exclusive economic zone, according to the Japanese military.

Read More: PM Modis Bangladesh visit; First Foreign Trip since Covid; Delhi-Dhaka to ink pacts bolstering ties

Japanese PM stated, We are directing all of our efforts to gather and analyse information and are proactively monitoring the situation to protect peoples people and assets. The warheads had dropped outside of Japans exclusive economic zone, according to the Japanese military.

The North is prohibited from developing ballistic missiles by UN Security Council resolutions, and its weapons programmes are subject to multiple international sanctions. However, under Kims leadership, it has made considerable progress in terms of capability, testing missiles are even capable of reaching the United States.

Although former US President Donald Trump held two meetings with North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un, the Biden administration is rethinking its policy toward the nation. The Biden administration hopes to reopen talks on the Norths nuclear arsenal, according to an AFP report, but North Korea has yet to respond.
New Delhi:

A 23-year-old woman from Jharkhand was allegedly raped by a taxi-driver near Red Fort in Delhi on Tuesday early hours.

The incident came to surface on Wednesday the after the girl lodged a complaint with the Delhi Police on Wednesday.

According to the complaint lodged by the rape-survivor she purchased a general ticket of a train for Ludhiana. The train was scheduled at 4:30am on Tuesday, so she was waiting at platform number 8.

She further wrote in the complaint that a youth around 2am at beside him and started a conversation with her.

He introduced himself as a taxi driver and told me that my train has been cancelled, she wrote in the complaint.

Narrating her ordeal she told the police that while she was going to the ticket counter to get the ticket council he informed her that cancellation can only be done after 8am.

He offered me a lift to the bus station, the victim mentioned in the complaint.

She further added in the complaint that the accused stop the taxi at a secluded place near the Red Fort and raped her inside the car.

According to the victim the accused drop her at the railway station and threatened her of dire consequences if she reported the incident to anyone.

she was waiting for train at platform number 8 of New Delhi Railway station wh

We have arrested the accused, said a senior police official not authorised to talk to the media.

The arrested has been identified as Chunnu Kumar.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bogdan Aurescu, will pay an official visit to the Republic of Slovenia on Friday, at the invitation of his counterpart, Anze Logar, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) informed.

According to a press release MAE sent to AGERPRES on Thursday, the head of Romanian diplomacy will be welcomed by the Slovenian President, Borut Pahor, will have a meeting with the president of the National Assembly, Igor Zorcic, and will have a round of political consultations with Minister Anze Logar.

The visit is a good opportunity to review bilateral priorities, as well as an important opportunity for coordination with Slovenia with a view to the country's takeover of the six-month Presidency of the EU Council on July 1, 2021 in order to advance the European agenda and promote topics of common interest, the MAE informed.Minister Aurescu will discuss with his counterpart the concrete ways of deepening the bilateral cooperation between Romania and Slovenia in political, economic and sectoral terms, including for consolidating the upward trend of the bilateral trade relationship.The consultations between the two ministers will also focus on the priorities of the European agenda, with a focus on combating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing EU resilience, future debates at the Conference on the Future of Europe, implementing measures for economic recovery, enlargement policy and the revitalization of the Eastern Partnership. The Eastern Partnership Summit is to be held during the Slovenian Presidency of the EU Council.The discussions will also provide the opportunity for an exchange of views on a number of issues of common interest on the regional and international agenda, with a focus on strengthening the transatlantic relationship, developing the Three Seas Initiative, other aspects of international and multilateral cooperation, the MAE added.
Bolivia's ex-president Jeanine Anez said that she was being abused in prison amid her pre-trial detention.

Anez was arrested on a charge of leading a coup d'etat against her socialist predecessor Evo Morales.

Morales exiled to Argentina after a failed attempt to extend his stay as the country's president by seeking a fourth term. He led Bolivia for about 14 years before leaving office under pressure from the military, according to an NPR report.

He then returned to the country last November, describing the event as one of the most important days of his life.

Meanwhile, Anez's pre-trial detention was extended two months as a prison official announced that the former president will receive medical care at La Paz penitentiary, where she is being jailed.

READ MORE: Bolivia's Ex-Pres. Jeanine Anez Begins Jail Term Over Alleged Coup

Abuse in Prison

Anez alleged the abuse in a seven-page letter that was posted on Twitter. She said that there abusive actions by the police and the state, further claiming that the authorities were refusing to provide her proper medical treatment, according to a DW report.

Anez wrote that she does not trust the government's doctors, adding that she wanted to be treated by independent medics rather than those already serving in prison.

"They're part of the system of abuse and repression and have shown they're prepared to risk my life, injecting me with high-risk medication without precautions or previous studies, with the only aim of keeping me in their cells," Anez was quoted in a report.

Her lawyer, Ariel Coronado, said that the state had approved of having a cardiologist visit the former president in prison. Coronado added that Anez was depressed.

Anez further said that this is a fight for democracy and they will keep on fighting until the end, according to a Reuters report.

A government spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on the former president's abuse allegations; same for police spokesman.

Anez was transferred to the Miraflores Women's Penitentiary from another detention center in the Bolivian capital.

Prisons chief Juan Carlos Limpias said that at Miraflores, they have everything they need to preserve her health, according to an AFP News report.

Coup d'etat Case

Anez rose to power in 2019 after Morales and senior MAS allies resigned after protests over his controversial reelection erupted in the country.

Anez was sworn by Congress as the interim president despite the lack of a quorum.

Prosecutors claimed that Anez and her allies threatened those before her in the line of succession to step down and allow her to become interim president.

During her administration, Morales was alleged of terrorism, and some of his government allies were detained. At least 33 people were killed in the violence after the 2019 presidential election.

Out of that death toll, 30 were killed after Anez took office.

Several days before the coup, right-wing people headed violent rampages against Indigenous Bolivians and MAS members. They also burned the houses of Morales, his sister, and other MAS politicians, according to a CovertAction Magazine report.

RELATED ARTICLE: Bolivia's Interim President Jeanine Anez Chavez Must First Prove Her Legitimacy as a Leader

WATCH: Bolivia's Former Interim President Jeanine anez Arrested For Sedition -from NBC News
Mashonaland West Bureau

Women involved in agriculture are defining the success story of the land reform programme, with many doing well and contributing significantly to food security for the nation.

Land reform corrected colonial imbalances in the ownership of the means of production by giving back land to locals who were pushed out from their fertile land by white settlers.

Mashonaland West province, whose main economic drive is anchored on agriculture and mining, was affected in the initial stages as the new farm owners started learning the ropes of commercial farming.

More than two decades on, the province now boasts many farmers who have quickly learnt commercial farming and have now established themselves, doing extremely well.

Notably, female farmers are rising fast to the levels unmatched by their male counterparts in farming and have continuously contributed to food security.

One such woman is prominent commercial farmer, Ms Nomhle Mliswa, whose farm is located roughly 20km from Mhangura town along Doma Road in Makonde district.

Ms Mliswa, who has entered into a five-year partnership with firms -- MS Farming, PHI Commodities and Tinotenga Mombe Sansaveria Investments (Pvt) Ltd -- which are using 220 hectares of arable land at the 345 hectare farm, has been producing tonnes of potatoes annually, in addition to soyabeans and maize.

The total arable hectarage has been used up this season, with 153ha under maize, 18ha for soyabean and 50 hectares under sugar beans.

Ms Mliswa, together with her partners, also made use of a nearby dam to do winter agriculture, particularly for wheat and maize and, hopes to put a large tract under wheat if the rains continue to be generous to fill up her water reservoir.

"We hope to grow more wheat and potatoes in winter," she said.

"Dams around this area have not yet reached full capacity, but our plan is to do all year round farming."

Ms Mliswa said the partnership she entered into has allowed her to understand commercial farming through cross-pollination of ideas and expertise from her partners, including the availing of new and versatile farming technology.

"Apart from commercial crop farming, I also wish to tap into aquaculture," she said.

"By this I intend also to teach and show women that they are capable of doing anything in farming, only if they have the zeal and dedicate their time."

Ms Mliswa said contrary to the Government's land reform programme critics, women were taking the centre-stage in farming.

"I'm a role model who wishes to see other women being motivated and empowered by what I do," she said.

"My participation and encouragement have seen many women organisations come and learn at my farm."

Ms Mliswa has plans to invest in drones to monitor her farming activities, continue the smart way of agriculture and promote farm tourism.

Ms Zandile Maseko of Carlton Carlou Farm in Treelawney under the Zvimba district is another female farmer who has many success stories under her belt.

The 55-year-old tobacco farmer was nominated for the provincial tobacco farmer the year for consecutive years.

She has entered into a smart agriculture partnership with a tobacco farming expert, Joe Pistorious (77), whom she says has improved her knowledge of golden leaf farming.

"I would like to thank the Government of Zimbabwe for allocating me land," she said.

"I have managed to take care of all my children and all are university degree holders through my farming activities.

"I decided to come back to Zimbabwe from the United States when the land reform programme kicked off. I told myself that although the West had constructed a different notion and understanding of the whole programme, it was us the Zimbabweans who held the power to change the narrative and here we are as women defining the land reform."

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Land and Rural Issues Zimbabwe Agribusiness By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Apart from her 140ha farm, Ms Maseko leases other pieces of land from neighbours.

Of her 50 hectares under tobacco, 30ha were irrigated, while 20ha were rain-fed.

Ms Maseko also has maize and sugar beans, and poultry projects including pigs and chickens.

Ms Maseko, who employs at least 100 workers and is expecting not less than 5 000kg of tobacco, encouraged other women in farming to be aggressive and venture into partnerships. She has also outmatched most men in the male-dominated sector by introducing a smart tobacco curing system at her farm where she uses coal and electricity.

Many tobacco farmers are still using firewood, causing mass land degradation and deforestation.

Women, Ms Maseko said, were living up to their billing, proving the notion that "what men can do, women can do better".
(CNN) -- As vaccine eligibility expands across the United States, more companies are offering incentives to get a jab.

Many US companies are debating whether to mandate vaccines. Over 70% of current or recent CEOs of major companies said they were open to requiring vaccines, a poll by the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute said.

"I think the right thing to do is for United Airlines, and for other companies, to require the vaccines and to make them mandatory," Scott Kirby, the United CEO told investors on an earnings call in January.

But not all CEOs agree. Although some industries, such as the healthcare sector, may require vaccines, others are instead offering various incentives to employees.

Depending on the industry, some employees may receive gift cards, while others are offered free rides to vaccination sites. These are the companies that are paying their employees to get vaccinated.

Aldi

In January, the discount grocery chain announced it will give its hourly workers four hours total of PTO to get vaccinated. Aldi emphasized the vaccine would not get in the way of employees' work or pay.

Only 13 states currently offer vaccines to grocery store workers, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, which represents 1.3 million frontline workers, said.

American Airlines

Employees who get vaccinated will get an extra day off next year and $50 in American's employee recognition program.

"I think from our standpoint we're highly encouraging our team members to go out and get the vaccine," AA Chief Operating Officer David Seymour said.

Amtrak

Amtrak is giving employees a bonus of two hours of pay when they show proof of their vaccination, as well as excusing absences for those who get vaccinated during work hours.

Bolthouse Farms

Bolthouse Farms is offering its employees a $500 bonus if they show proof of vaccination, the Wall Street Journal reported. The company also holds vaccination clinics weekly at its main farm.

Dollar General

The discount store popular in rural areas is giving its employees a stipend worth four hours of work to get vaccinated. Dollar General won't make the vaccine mandatory for its more than 150,000 employees.

"We do not want our employees to have to choose between receiving a vaccine or coming to work," Dollar General said in a press release.

Instacart

In February, Instacart began giving a $25 "vaccine support stipend" to in-store employees and independent contractors. To be eligible, shoppers need to have delivered five times in a month.

Kroger

Kroger employees will get a one-time payment of $100 if they show proof of vaccination. Workers who don't get the vaccine for religious or health reasons can take a health and safety course and receive the payment.

"We are strongly encouraging all customers and associates to receive the vaccine to curb the spread of Covid-19, and we'll do all we can to ensure they have access as soon as it's available," Dr. Marc Watkins, Kroger's chief medical officer, said in a statement.

Lidl

In January, the grocery chain announced it will give $200 of extra pay to its US employees who choose to get the vaccine. Lidl has more than 125 stores across east coast states.

Last March, the company worked with CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield to provide free, comprehensive Covid-19 medical coverage to its employees.

McDonald's

Workers at both corporate headquarters and restaurants will get up to four hours of paid time off to get vaccinated.

Publix

The popular southern grocery chain is giving its employees $125 gift cards when they show proof of vaccination.

Target

Target is giving its workers free rides to vaccination sites. The company announced in February that US employees will be eligible for up to $15 in Lyft rides each way to and from their appointments. Hourly employees will also receive up to four hours of pay.

"As we have for the past year, we'll continue to invest in our team's pay and benefits so they can take care of themselves, each other and our guests," Chief Human Resources Officer Melissa Kremer said in a statement.

Trader Joe's

The California-based grocery store is giving its workers an additional two hours of pay for each dose they receive.

 CNN Business' Nathaniel Meyersohn, Parija Kavilanz, Will Godley and Jazmin Goodwin contributed to this report.

The-CNN-Wire

 &  2021 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.
MUSKEGON, MI  The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians proposed $180 million Muskegon County casino took a major step forward last year when the U.S. Department of Interior granted its approval of the project.

It was a 12-year process working with the federal government. We went through three presidential administrations in dealing with this effort, said Tom Shields, a spokesperson for Little River Band.

Despite federal clearance and local community support, the Little River Band faces two more steps in turning the proposal into a reality: getting approval from Governor Gretchen Whitmer to acquire off-reservation land and amending the state gaming compact to operate a second full casino.

Since 2008, the tribe has been inching towards constructing a 69,000-square-foot casino and 220-room hotel on a 60-acre site at a former horse racetrack in Fruitport Township near the Lakes Mall.

The development is expected to bring $15 million in tax dollars to Muskegon County, a news release from the tribe says, and 3,000 jobshalf in construction and half to operate the casino.

Fate of casino entirely in the governors hands

The Little River Bands eligible tribal land is based in Manistee County. The tribe says it wants to operate a casino 90 miles away in Muskegon County because a large concentration of members live in the region.

To acquire off-reservation land, the Little River Band pursued a two-part determinationa process that requires approval from the federal government and the state governor for property to be put into a trust for gaming purposes.

The U.S. Department of Interior issued its record of decision on the project at the end of December, stating the Muskegon County casino would promote the long-term economic vitality and self-sufficiency, self-determination, and self-governance of the Little River Band tribe.

The final decision on whether the tribe operates an off-reservation gaming facility now rests with Gov. Whitmer.

The ball is really entirely in her hands at this point, said Lance Boldrey, an attorney who represents the Little River Band.

In a response to the tribes two-part determination request, the governors press secretary Bobby Leddy told MLive/Muskegon Chronicle, We are reviewing. Leddy did not provide details on what factors are being considered or a timeline on Whitmers decision.

The land for a proposed 60-acre casino and development site at the former Great Lakes Downs Race Track site in Fruitport Township (Joel Bissell | MLive.com)MLive.com

Boldrey says governors discretion on concurring often boils down to personal policy preferences.

Its really up to the governor to say yea or nay here based on whatever factors she wants to apply, he said.

This is the fourth two-part determination to make it to the governors desk in Michigan, and only the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community successfully cleared both parts to open a casino near Marquette.

Without approval from the governor, the project is dead, Boldrey says.

Little River Band met with Whitmer in February to introduce her to the proposed casino, according to Shields. She has a year to make the decision or extend it another six months.

Were hoping she doesnt take that long because people in Muskegon are itching for the jobs, said Shields.

Construction timeline, amending the gaming compact

If the governor concurs on the two-part determination, the Little River Band plans to start construction on the Muskegon County project within 60 days. The tribe also aims to amend its 1998 state gaming compact to allow for a second Class III casino with 1,700 slot machines and 35 game tables.

The only thing that the legislature will decide is what kind of gaming that we could have, said Shields.

Little River can only operate one Class III casino without approval from the Michigan legislature. Boldrey says without joint support, the fallback would be to open a Class II facilitya casino with slot machines and no table games.

State Rep. Greg Van Woerkom, R-Norton Shores, who represents Fruitport Township, committed to introducing a resolution for the Little River Band to lift the restriction.

Im here to represent the wishes of the community and move this process forward, he said.

The project has broad support from the community, including the Muskegon County board of commissioners, Fruitport Township, the city of Norton Shores, Fruitport Community Schools and Visit Muskegon, the countys convention and visitors bureau.

The U.S. Department of Interior also collected public feedback before issuing the final record of decision and received 437 written comments--only eight of which were negative.

Related: House resolution directly pointed at Muskegon County casino project, state lawmaker says

The Michigan House signaled its disapproval of the Little River Band project with voice vote on a February resolution opposing off-reservation gaming. A similar senate resolution was introduced last week.

Van Woerkom said the resolution was introduced and passed on the same day without much thought and deliberation.

Three tribes that operate casinos within a two-hour drive of Fruitport Township oppose the Muskegon County project. They believe granting approval to the Muskegon County project would set a precedent for future off-reservations casinos.

Number one, it would violate the gaming compacts. Secondly, it would invite all the other tribes to follow the same path and create possibly dozens more Indian casinos around the state, said James Nye, a spokesperson for the Gun Lake Tribe, the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi and the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe.

The Little River Band believes the long federal approval process will stem any possible surge in off-reservation casinos.

Related: 12 years later, Muskegon County officials hopeful proposed casino poised to become reality

Its an effort from these tribes to protect their dominance of the market, said Boldrey.

For now, the Little River Band remains focused on securing concurrence from the governor before working with the legislature.

The tribe held a press conference this month to show the project is shovel-ready, and the tribe is running a campaign urging tribal leaders and members of the public to send letters to Whitmer expressing support of the project.

If we cant get the governors approval, it doesnt do us any good to worry about the kind of games we can have, said Shields.

More on MLive:

I dont know what to do, says business owner after massive fire destroys 40 customer pianos

Michigan coastal wetlands targeted in ambitious new Great Lakes restoration plan

See how many working families in your county arent paid enough to cover basic necessities
Nearly 22 years since Anthony Bourdain's best-selling memoir Kitchen Confidential was published, fans are getting another book from the late travel author and television star.

A concept Bourdain began working on in 2018, World Travel: An Irreverent Guide was completed by his co-author and longtime assistant, Laurie Woolever, and will be released on April 20.

Filled with travel logistics, restaurant recommendations, Bourdain observations, personal essays from loved ones and colleagues, and illustrations throughout from artist Wesley Allsbrook, the book is both a literal guide for seeing the world as well as a source of inspiration as we plan post-pandemic travel.

Swimming in highly quotable mantras to live by, we gathered our favourites from the book to channel when you hit the road again.

- 'Drink some wine, walk around a bit more, eat, and repeat. See? It's easy.'

In the France chapter of World Travel, Bourdain instructs those lucky enough to visit Paris to do as little as possible. Running through back-to-back activities like hitting the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower and the Notre Dame in one day is going to leave you exhausted and overwhelmed.

"The most important thing to do the instant you arrive in Paris is stop," Bourdain said.

Don't pack your itinerary with a destination's highlights unless you want to miss out on its magic. Instead, slow down and savour a new place. Grab a seat at a sidewalk cafe, at the end of a dive bar, on a city park bench, and take it all in.

- 'This is one of those scenes where you get the slackjawed and touristy feeling - in a good way.'

While Bourdain revelled in off-the-beaten-path exploration, he could also appreciate more classic tourist experiences, as seen with this quote recalling his time at the Jaisalmer Desert Festival in the Indian state of Rajasthan.

He celebrated places where tourists flock but that still hold up, from Katz's Delicatessen in New York to Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Throughout the book, he also championed visiting places travel TV hosts and regular people alike would appreciate, such as museums, book stores, UNESCO World Heritage Sites and wildlife conservancies.

- 'Yes, the future is here. But the past, too, is everywhere.'

In the quote above, Bourdain was talking about Cuba. However, it's a sentiment that can be applied anywhere you go. He advises people visiting Havana that "if you can, you should come here with your eyes open and see." Get to know a place for where it's going and where it came from.

Yes, Bourdain would wax poetic on a destination's cuisine and bar culture and unconventional points of interest, but Woolever explained that he also read about a place's history and literature before a visit so he could put things into context.

- 'Once you allow your senses to guide you, you may begin to find pleasure in many things you would ordinarily overlook.'

Also from the Paris section of the book, this piece of Bourdain wisdom captures the idea of enjoying a new place without assumptions, even if you've familiarised yourself with its history and culture. As you travel again, go in with an open mind and see where a place can take you.

And if you're going in with preconceived notions, don't be afraid of having your opinions challenged. In World Travel, Bourdain confesses to changing his mind and benefiting as a result, such as when he went to Los Angeles with a New Yorker's attitude - and ultimately admitted he loved the place.

- 'So many of the good times traveling this world relate directly to finding a human face to associate with your destination, the food you eat, and the memories you'll keep forever.'

The book's South Korea chapter kicks off with this message of gratitude for Nari Kye, a woman who worked with Bourdain and his team when they worked on No Reservations and Parts Unknown in her home country. It's a testament to how important people can be as a part of your travel experience.

In a time of mask-wearing and social distancing, it may feel inconceivable to talk to strangers, but getting to know locals - once coronavirus is no longer a threat to you or them - is an essential part of traveling like Bourdain.

 Washington Post
The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed re-polling in NA-75 Daska constituency that was scheduled to be held on April 10

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Mar, 2021 ) :The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed re-polling in NA-75 Daska constituency that was scheduled to be held on April 10.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) last month voided the by-election held in NA-75 on February 19 and ordered re-election in the entire constituency.

A three-member SC bench comprising Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah and Justice Munib Akhtar heard the petition filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate Asjad Ali Malhi seeking suspension of the ECP decision to hold re-polls in NA-75 Sialkot-IV (Daska).

The petitioner pleaded that the ECP's order was clearly contrary to law and facts as there was no legal justification for declaring the polls null and void,.

During the course of proceedings, Justice Umar Ata Bandial said the court was postponing the April 10 re-polls for now so the arguments of all the respondents could be heard.

He observed that Advocate Salman Akram Raja, counsel for PML-N candidate Syeda Nosheen Iftikhar, had raised important points during the hearing.

Advocate Salman Akram Raja informed the court that there were 76 polling stations in Daska constituency, while complaints were received from 34 of them.

Justice Bandial said the court was previously told that the voting process had remained suspended at 10 polling stations for a long time on the election day, and asked who had created the problems on that day and why.

Salman Raja replied that the family of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was influential as her father had been elected from the constituency five times. She got 46,000 votes while her rival PTI candidate received 11,000 votes, he said, adding the purpose of those behind the problems was to affect the polling process.

Upon this, Justice Bandial remarked that it were the PML-N workers who had started the unrest. If the party held sway in the area they why they needed to do so, he asked.

He said the PML-N seemed to be happy over the election results as it had not raised any objections.

Advocate Salman Raja replied that the party had filed a petition with the ECP in connection with the NA-75 by-polls.

Justice Bandial said the PML-N candidate's counsel would have to prove to the court why re-polling in the entire constituency was necessary on the complaints regarding 23 polling stations.

He also questioned Raja whether the presiding officers had left the polling stations as per procedure. The counsel replied that they had left along with the police officials, however, their return was unusual as they came back together.

Justice Munib Akhtar questioned the process through which the ECP had taken the decision of holding re-elections in the entire constituency.

Salman Raja replied that the ECP had taken the decision after taking complete action according to its code of conduct.

He said the ECP gave everyone the opportunity and no one raised any objections to re-polling in the entire constituency.

The bench observed that Raja's arguments had not yet finished while the other respondents also had to be heard.

Justice Bandial while postponing the re-polling on April 10 said that the ECP decision still stood.

Later, hearing of the case was adjourned till date in office.
A German engineering firm that does work for electric vehicle maker Tesla plans to open its North American headquarters on San Antonios East Side and hire at least 50 workers over the next five years.

Its an early indicator that Teslas planned $1.1 billion plant near Austin could benefit San Antonio, too.

Matthews International Corp.s Saueressig Engineering facility at 4338 Profit Drive will design, assemble and install equipment for automakers and customers in other industries, including energy storage.

Sources with knowledge of the company identified it as a Tesla supplier, and German trade publication Tesla Mag reported in November that Saueressig installed machinery for producing battery cells at Teslas plant in Fremont, Calif. Saueressig also has received orders for Tesla plants in the works in Texas and Germany.

Pittsburgh-based Matthews International and Tesla did not respond to inquiries Thursday about whether the East Side warehouse would support Tesla, which is building its next Gigafactory in southeastern Travis County.

The facility is expected to manufacture Teslas Model 3 and Model Y vehicles, along with its planned Cybertruck pickup and Tesla Semi, a long-haul commercial truck.

Saueressig is arriving in San Antonio as the automotive industry here gains traction.

Toyota operates a 3,000-worker plant on the South Side, and its campus is home to 23 suppliers, which employ an additional 4,000. Japanese car parts-maker Aisin AW  a Toyota supplier  is building a factory in Cibolo, and Navistar International is constructing a plant on the South Side.

Illinois-based Navistar also recently announced it will hire 60 workers to test and validate parts for its electric trucks, in addition to 600 workers it will employ to produce heavy-duty commercial trucks.

Were increasing our investment in San Antonio because local and state leaders have created a business climate that supports manufacturing innovation and has attracted a talented workforce, Navistar President and CEO Persio Lisboa said last month.

San Antonio has a history with Tesla. In 2014, the company considered San Antonio against Reno, Nev., for a plant that would produce batteries for its vehicles. Tesla picked Nevada, which offered a bigger incentive package.

After Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk named the Austin area as the home of the manufacturers next U.S. plant in July, San Antonio officials said the factory could spur an automobile manufacturing corridor between the two cities and bring Tesla suppliers to the region.

The I-35 corridor anchored by San Antonio and Austin presents a unique opportunity for global innovators to accelerate tech and manufacturing operations, said Jenna Saucedo-Herrera, president and CEO of the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation.

Rey Chavez, president and CEO of the San Antonio Manufacturers Association, sees Matthews Internationals facility as a good sign for the area.

I think this will open up some more stuff for our corridor, especially for this region, he said of Teslas Austin-area plant.

In addition to all-electric cars and trucks, Tesla is looking to develop batteries at its Travis County plant, the Austin-American Statesman reported. The facility would be its first to produce both vehicles and batteries.

Pending local officials approval of economic incentives, Matthews International and its landlord plan to spend $9 million on capital improvements at the East Side facility and hire engineers, programmers and technicians.

This is a significant first step for Matthews to invest and grow in the San Antonio region, Greg Babe, the companys chief technology officer, said in the relocation announcement. Working with individuals across the community, we feel that San Antonio offers an environment for our employees to thrive and our business to serve our growing client base.

The company is seeking a 10-year, 75 percent tax abatement worth an estimated $234,963, which City Council members will vote on Wednesday. Bexar County is not offering incentives, spokeswoman Monica Ramos said.

Employees at the facility would earn at least $50,000, with an average salary of $73,500, according to city staff. Matthews International would also spend $11,750, or about 5 percent of the estimated abatement, on local internship programs during the first five years of the abatement.

Matthews Internationals long-term investment in San Antonios East Side demonstrates that our communitys robust workforce provides an ideal pipeline of talent for new expansion and growth, said Councilwoman Jada Andrews-Sullivan, who represents the area.

The facility is expected to open by late 2021.

Matthews Internationals business segments include branding, cemetery and funeral products and industrial automation. The company employs about 11,000 people in more than 25 countries.

Saueressig designs, manufactures and services high-tech tools and machinery for various sectors.

madison.iszler@express-news.net
Dallas, Texas--(Newsfile Corp. - March 25, 2021) - Alternet Systems, Inc. (OTC Pink: ALYI) with its finance partner RevoltTOKEN, today confirmed plans for Revolt Token holders to have the option to redeem Revolt Tokens for ALYI electric motorcycles.

The announcement today follows ALYI's recent release of the first ever video demonstration of ALYI's Retro Revolt Electric Motorcycle.





First Ever Retro Revolt Electric Motorcycle Demo Video from ALYI Design Partner MODUS

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/1184/78588_05f9f0e5a4ef5bba_001full.jpg

Cannot view this video? Visit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvL3Ij3bnGo

The Retro Revolt Electric Motorcycle currently has 200 orders and a growing waitlist for the next edition. The Retro Revolt Electric Motorcycle is the first of more models expected in the future.

ALYI has established a financing partnership with RevoltTOKEN.

RevoltTOKEN is dedicated to funding ALYI's overall electric vehicle ecosystem. RevoltTOKEN is in part funding ALYI's electric vehicle ecosystem through the introduction of a cryptocurrency.

RevoltTOKEN recently launched the sale of Revolt Tokens.

The funds raised through the sale of Revolt Tokens will be dedicated to the funding of the overall Alternet Systems Electric Vehicle Ecosystem Platform and make buyers of Revolt Tokens participants in the Alternet Systems Electric Vehicle Ecosystem Platform.

ALYI and RevoltTOKEN intend to provide holders of Revolt Tokens with the option to redeem Revolt Tokens for ALYI electric motorcycles, among other redemption options.

Learn more about how ALYI and RVLT are working together and how the purchase of Revolt Tokens makes the buyer a participant in the ALYI Electric Vehicle Ecosystem Platform by watching a video on the RevoltTOKEN website (www.revolttoken.com).

The current purchase price is U.S. $1.00 per RVLT, which will be delivered to an ERC20 Compatible Wallet of your choice (e.g. Trust Wallet).

How To Purchase Revolt Token

The Revolt Token purchase process requires 3 simple steps. The first one is to create a User ID and password - follow the link below to get started:

http://www.revolttoken.com/RVLTICO

Next, a link to register and collect Know-Your-Customer (KYC) information will be sent.

Once verified, an email confirmation will be sent, and you can then proceed to complete your purchase of Revolt Tokens. You can buy multiple times with the same ID.

Registration and purchase requests will be processed on a first come, first served basis.

Any questions or issues during any step of the process can be addressed by emailing customer support at support@revolttoken.com.

Anyone interested in Revolt Token (RVLT) should review the information available on the Revolt Token (RVLT) website and continue to monitor the Revolt Token (RVLT) website, for updates regarding the availability of new Revolt Token (RVLT) purchasing functionality, and the listing of Revolt Token (RVLT) on the cryptocurrency exchanges.

The Revolt Token website (www.revolttoken.com) will also include the evolving information regarding the exchangeability of Revolt Token (RVLT) for other Alternet System Electric Vehicle Ecosystem components intended to include Alternet's Revolt Electric Motorcycles, and/or entry into participation in Alternet's annual Electric Vehicle Race (EV Grand Prix) and Electric Vehicle Technology Symposium.

Visit Revolt Token (RVLT)'s website at www.RevoltToken.com.

Please do not hesitate to email any questions to ir@revolttoken.com.

For more information and to stay up to date on ALYI's overall latest developments, please visit www.alternetsystemsinc.com.

Alternet Systems, Inc. Contact:

Randell Torno

info@lithiumip.com

+1-800-713-0297

Disclaimer/Safe Harbor: This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Litigation Reform Act. The statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events that involve risks and uncertainties. Among others, these risks include the expectation that any of the companies mentioned herein will achieve significant sales, the failure to meet schedule or performance requirements of the companies' contracts, the companies' liquidity position, the companies' ability to obtain new contracts, the emergence of competitors with greater financial resources and the impact of competitive pricing. In the light of these uncertainties, the forward-looking events referred to in this release might not occur.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/78588.
LOS ANGELES, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The long and strategic trade partnership between Peru and the United States is strong, successfully surviving the Covid-19 pandemic, with sectors like agriculture, seafood, chemicals growing, and products including gold and silver regaining momentum. As a global trend, textile exports experienced some declines, as did hydrocarbons. For 2021, projections are excellent for sustainable growth between the two nations, with the free trade agreement that Peru maintains with the US always an aid. (LINK "Full article")

Of the $6.3 bn Peru exported to the US during 2020, $2.8 bn were agricultural products, including a variety of fresh fruits such as blueberries, grapes, asparagus and mango, to name a few. Peru is one of the first countries in the southern hemisphere to send its winter supply of food to the US. The importance being when many parts of the US were covered in snow, Peru came to the rescue by providing US supermarkets with offerings of fresh fruits and vegetables for their clients.

Specialty coffees and fine cacao products are notable exports. Native "superfoods Peru" products should be highlighted, particularly quinoa and maca. incredibly flavorful ginger and onions, Amazon or Brazilian nuts, organic bananas and ready-to-eat presentations of artichokes and mouthwatering peppers represent just some of the diversity Peru offers.

Seafood is also an important export category from Peru, with $250 million sent to the US last year, counting mahi-mahi, Peruvian scallops, shrimp, squid, anchovies as a few examples.

The textile sector reached $552 million in exports to the US. Among the globally recognized brands that manufacture in Peru are Vineyard Vines, Lululemon, Lands' End, Bombas, Ralph Lauren, Tory Burch, and Lunya. Peru specializes in quality knitted Pima cotton garments, satisfying the current Covid "stay at home" and comfort fashion, while also well versed in the growing want for performance apparel. And Alpaca del Peru sweaters, capes and ponchos for winter.

Gold and silver exports grew to $1.4 bn and $60 million, respectively, with numerous other metal products contributing to the total. Phosphates accounted for $193 million and chemicals for $140 million.

Trade Commission of Peru / PROMPERU - LA

We promote business between Peru and the Western US.

Contact: (310) 496 7411 or [email protected]

SOURCE Trade Commission of Peru in LA
Bahrain Car Parks Company, a specialist in parking management and property leasing, said it has won shareholder approval for distribution of cash dividends at 5 per cent of paid-up capital, equivalent to BD546,513 ($1.44 million) at 5 fils per share.

The company had reported a net profit of BD658,292 for 2020, down 26% compared to 2019. The drop was predominantly due to the Covid-19 impact on the companys operations. The operating income too fell to BD1.64 million in 2020 compared to BD1.66 million in the previous year; resulting in a net profit ratio of 34%.

The announcement was made at today's (March 24) Annual General Meeting held via video conferencing using Bahrain Clears virtual meeting platform, where the company endorded the 2020 financial results and also discussed its future outlook.

Established in October 1981, Bahrain Car Park Company is a public company that has been listed on the Bahrain Bourse since March 2006. It operates in the commercial and professional services sector and specialises in the construction, development and management of parking lots.

The positive results achieved indicate the companys flexibility and ability to adapt in the face of adversity, said the company in a statement.

In 2020, the board had approved an ambitious five-year strategy to drive the economic growth.

The strategy is focused on transforming the company's services by leveraging its assets and turning its regular parking buildings into mobility hubs through adopting advanced technologies. Providing smart solutions to overcome challenges that the public and private sector are facing is one of the companys goals for the year,. said its top official.

"We were able to maintain profitability in 2020 which allowed us to pay dividends to our shareholders despite the turbulent times," remarked its Chairman Amin Alarrayed.

"Our outlook for 2021 is positive and vigilant as we work diligently to execute our strategy which aims to position the company as the leading and preferred integrated parking solutions and mobility partner in Bahrain and the GCC through providing customer journey solutions to public and private entities using innovative world class technologies," stated Alarrayed.

A number of significant announcements will be made soon, specifically in regard to technological improvements at our facilities, he added.

CEO Tariq Aljowder, said: "Despite the unprecedented global challenges, we managed to achieve positive results which would not have been possible without the companys flexibility and ability to adapt. The executive management received endless support from the board, as it has laid out an ambitious strategic plan, and communicated a clear and precise vision for the future to the companys team members."

"By the end of the first quarter, we are aiming to activate a contactless payment system at one of our strategic locations, and with the collaboration of our financial partners, we are planning to roll this out and introduce additional services across the rest of our owned and managed locations," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
[March 25, 2021] Foretellix Partners with Jingwei HiRain, to Accelerate the Use of its Automated Driving Systems Verification & Validation Platform in China

BEIJING and TEL AVIV, Israel, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Jingwei HiRain, a Tier 1 provider and a leading high-tech automotive technology supplier in China, and Foretellix, a leading Automated Driving Systems Verification solution provider, announced a new partnership to accelerate the distribution and adoption of Foretify, Foretellix's verification & validation platform and enable mass deployment of ADAS and autonomous vehicle systems in China. Foretellix's novel verification platform Foretify, is already in use by leading OEM and Tier 1s such as DENSO Corporation. Foretify uses coverage-driven verification tools and methodologies proven in the semiconductor chip industry to conduct the verification of software and hardware automated driving systems such as ADAS and AV stacks. Foretify allows for a significant reduction in cost by identifying bugs and edge cases early in the development cycle. Foretify reduces unnecessary recalls, as well as lowers the overall cost of testing and time to deployment by providing unparalleled productivity gains through automation. In late 2020, Foretellix released an ADAS and Highway verification & validation solution that provides an out-of-the-box library of scenarios, test suite and a reference verification plan designed to verify the safe deployment of current and future generation automated driving systems and functions. Jingwei HiRain's core operating areas are spread across four business sectors: automotive electronics (including intelligent driving and telematics), mobility solutions consulting services, research and development, tool agency and professional training. Through years of technology accumulation, Jingwei HiRain, as a supplier, has offered products to General Motors, Ford, Jaguar-Land Rover, FAW-Volkswagen Automobile, SAIC, Dongfeng, BAIC, GAC, Geely and Jiangling Motors. "At Jingwei HiRain, we are continuously evolving and developing new solutions to enhance customers' processes and success,"said Yingcun Ji, CEO of Jingwei HiRain. "With Foretellix's verification platform Foretify we found an innovative and unique technology that perfectly complements our growing portfolio in the automated driving systems verification area."



"We're excited to work with Jingwei HiRain, a highly-respected partner that shares our mission to help the automated driving systems industry achieve safe mass-scale deployment," said Ziv Binyamini, CEO and co-founder of Foretellix. "China is a one of the world's most advanced Automated Driving Systems markets and we look forward to building this strategic collaboration with Jingwei HiRain to make vehicles safer." Jingwei HiRain will be representing Foretellix in China.

To learn more about Foretellix please contact Jingwei HiRain via: market_dept@hirain.com About Jingwei HiRain Since its founding in 2003, Jingwei HiRain has grown to become an advanced supplier for automotive electronic products (including intelligent driving, IOV, New Energy, AI), project consulting & engineering, development tools and operational services. The company is headquartered in Beijing with branch companies in Shanghai, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Detroit (US) and Munich (Germany); offices in Changchun, Wuhan, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Nanchang and Xian; factories in Tianjin and Nantong. Jingwei HiRain now owns more than 2700 employees, and 54% of them hold either Doctorate or Masters Degrees in engineering or business. Guiding by the principles of delivering exceptional customer value, high quality products and superior customer service, Jingwei HiRain is serving thousands of clients globally. For more information, visit http://www.hirain.com About Foretellix Foretellix provides a revolutionary development lifecycle Verification & Validation platform for enabling mass deployment of automated driving systems. Foretellix is using proven approaches from the semiconductor chip industry utilizing hyper-automation, big data analytics, and AI. The platform orchestrates and manages the massive scale of testing required to ensure safety, reduce development costs, and shorten the time to market of Automated Driving Systems deployment. Visit http://www.foretellix.com  Copyright 2021, Foretellix Media Contacts: Jingwei HiRain:

China - Beijing, +86 10 6484 0808, market_dept@hirain.com Foretellix: North America- Scott Fosgard, +1 734 272 7440, scott@fosgardpr.com

Europe - Mike Stainton, +44 7739 891040, mike.stainton@pfpr.com

Israel - Moshe Mendelson, +972 508993284, moshe@gopositive.co.il View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/foretellix-partners-with-jingwei-hirain-to-accelerate-the-use-of-its-automated-driving-systems-verification--validation-platform-in-china-301256005.html SOURCE Foretellix

[ 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.
Two Ministry of Health agencies have denied authorising the reported release of Russian-made Covid-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, into some private Kenyan hospitals, raising safety concerns over the planned sale of the jab to the public.

The head of immunisation at the Ministry, Dr Collins Tabu, on Wednesday said he was not aware of the Sputnik V vaccine's existence in the country, even as the Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB) said it had only approved its importation but not distribution.

Private health facilities such as the Nanyuki Cottage Hospital had by on Wednesday already started registering Kenyans for uptake of the jab at a reported cost of Sh8,000. The World Health Organization (WHO) has not yet authorised emergency use of Sputnik V, even though it's already in use in multiple countries across the globe.

Mr Nishant Mishra, a senior official at Dinlas Pharmaceuticals, the distributor, yesterday said that the vaccine has been imported with the full knowledge and clearance of the PPB.

"We used Freight in Time Ltd as our clearing agent. We are using the Freight in Time's cold room to (store it) at the required temperature levels. We have a tracker to monitor the temperature round the clock," Mr Mishra told Nation.

Distribution guidelines

A PPB official who did not wish to be named admitted that the agency had authorised the importation of Sputnik V, but claimed the board was not aware of its distribution across the country.

"It's not in the market because we're still developing the guidelines, which they have to meet before it is finally authorised for usage," the official said.

There are conditions, the official said, which are supposed to ensure users' safety, which private distributors must meet before approval.

The distributor also needs to register users on the government-run Chanjo site, where everyone getting vaccinated has their details filed, to enable the ministry track the number of people taking the vaccine and any side effects.

The distributor also has to sign a technical agreement stipulating the responsibilities of all the parties involved in its administration.

Deal with WHO

The government signed an agreement with WHO waiving the right to sue any pharmaceutical company for any adverse effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is currently the only Ministry of Heath-registered Covid-19 immunisation in the country. The Senate Health Committee has also denied knowledge of the existence of the Russia Sputnik V vaccine in the country.

While inspecting the National Vaccine Depot in Kitengela yesterday, Committee chairperson Sabina Chege, said parliament is only aware of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Different vaccines have different attributes including storage requirements, their efficacy, dosing regimens, and manufacturing platforms.

Little risk of allergies

For Sputnik V, its storage temperature is 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, which means it can be stored in a conventional refrigerator without need for cold-chain infrastructure.

The jab is also said to pose little risk of allergies. The two doses of the Russian vaccine are given 21 days apart unlike the eight weeks apart for the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine.

Nanyuki Cottage Hospital CEO Anup Das told Nation yesterday that the vaccine would be available from today at a cost of Sh8,000 per dose.

"We got the vaccine through the distributors who imported with the right authorisation and the vaccine is being stored by a logistics company in Nairobi under the required temperature," said Dr Das.

Dinlas Pharmaceutical denies that it has made plans to release the jab, even as it insist that all its approvals were procedural.

"We obtained an Emergency Use Authorisation from the Pharmacy and Poisons Board on March 9 and we also have all other documents, licenses and batch releases.

"The vaccine will be distributed through the health facilities' networks. Freight in Time Ltd will help us do the distribution because they have the facilities to transport the vaccine at required temperatures.

"We will also be ensuring that the health facilities that receive the vaccine have the cold storage facilities," said Mr Mishra.

Slow uptake

The AstraZeneca vaccine is already in use in the country after the delivery of the 1.2 million doses under the Covax facility. About 56,000 people have been vaccinated countrywide so far. Speaking to Nation yesterday, Dr Willis Akhwale, the vaccine advisory task force chairman, said he is not privy to any discussions with anyone that arrived at such a decision at the Health ministry.

"The CEO has been directed to publish requirements of the distributors who want to distribute the vaccines," he said.

Sputnik V is in use in Russia, Belarus, Argentina, Bolivia, Serbia, Algeria, Palestine, Venezuela, Paraguay, Turkmenistan, Hungary, UAE, Iran, Republic of Guinea, Tunisia, Armenia, Mexico, Nicaragua and Republika Srpska (entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina).

Other countries where the vaccine is in use are Lebanon, Myanmar, Pakistan, Mongolia, Bahrain, Montenegro, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Gabon, San-Marino, Ghana, Syria, Kyrgyzstan and Guyana.

It's also in Egypt, Honduras, Guatemala, Moldova, Slovakia, Angola, Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Sri Lanka, Laos, Iraq and North Macedonia.

Two weeks ago, the European Medicines Agency cautioned European Union members to delay granting national authorisation for the Russian-developed vaccine until the agency finalises its safety reviews.

"We need documents that we can review. We also don't at the moment have data about vaccinated people," EMA Managing Board chief Christa Wirthumer-Hoche told Austrian broadcaster ORF.

What you need to know about vaccines

With Covid-19 vaccination underway in Kenya, experts from Doctors for Healthy Living will answer all your questions about Covid-19 vaccines. Today, Dr Moses Mwangi, a vaccine expert, responds to your questions.

What is a vaccine?

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Coronavirus By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

A vaccine is a weakened form or a part of a disease-causing agent with the ability to trigger an immune response, but with no ability to cause disease. The response leads to production of antibodies whose job is to fight the invading germ.

How do vaccines work?

When someone gets vaccinated against Covid-19, the body reacts as if it had been infected with the real virus. The vaccine leaves a memory in the body giving it the ability to quickly make the antibodies in case the individual contracts coronavirus.

The Covid-19 vaccines were developed so fast, are they really safe?

Unknown to many, there are several viruses that are closely related to the novel coronavirus that causes Covid-19. The first one, which was identified in 2003 was named, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and almost caused a pandemic but was quickly controlled though it caused several hundred deaths and made thousands of others sick. In 2012, another coronavirus named Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) was identified but did not wreak much havoc. The search for a vaccine against coronaviruses therefore begun in earnest and has been going on for well over 15 years. All the Covid-19 vaccines that have been approved around the world, including Kenya, are very safe.

They have been tested on thousands of people in well designed and controlled clinical trials. The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in use in Kenya has been used on millions of people in the UK with no serious side effects reported.

Compiled by Chrispine Onyango. To send your questions or get more information, e-mail ask@doctors4healthyliving.org or call: 0721494599
THE late president John Magufuli is credited for developing mega infrastructure projects to exploit the potential for growth and make Tanzania a leading regional trade and logistics hub.

The country's strategically positioned maritime industry is one of the area which benefitted from massive investment by government and development partners under his leadership.

The departed hero left indelible impression on ports development particularly on upgrading, expanding and constructing new ports in major water bodies in the country.

It is under his leadership Tanzanians witnessed massive financial investments on all major ports in the country from the principal port of Dar es Salaam to Mtwara and Tanga, including reviving some terminals in Lake Victoria that had ceased operation over 20 years ago.

When delivering his speech during the International Workers' Day on May 1st, 2019 in Mbeya region, President Magufuli informed the public that the expansion of Dar es Salaam, Mtwara and Tanga ports would cost a whopping 2.2 tri/-.

According to President Magufuli, the expansion of the Dar es Salaam port alone would cost 1tri/-, while that of Tanga and Mtwara ports would cost 1.2 tri/-.

The major purpose of investing in the expansion, upgrading and constructing new ports is to exploit the advantage brought about by the country's geographical position and its rich endowment in natural resources, including water bodies.

According to TPA Director General, Engineer Deusdedit Kakoko, TPA targets to transport 25 million tonnes of cargo by 2025. This will mean that Tanzania's ports will be handling 50 per cent of cargo that's destined for member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Currently, the country's ports account for 25 per cent of all goods imported to the 16-member SADC bloc.

Achievements recorded so far

Dar es Salaam Port

The financial investment on Dar es Salaam port has improved its performance and helped to attract more shippers.

Through Dar es Salaam Maritime Gateway Project (DMGP), TPA threw its weight into the construction and improvement of eight berths, including Roll-on Roll-Off (Ro-Ro), which is sometimes known as Berth Zero.

The construction of Ro-Ro terminal and Berths 1, 2, 3 and 4 is complete and the construction of Berths 5, 6 and 7 is ongoing.

Apart from constructing and improving the berths, TPA also dredged the anchorage sites and ship entry channel at the port to accommodate large vessels.

The positive impact of constructing and improving berths, including dredging the docking sites started becoming visible at the end of last year, after Dar es Salaam port received the first ship-MV Grand Duke Panama with 6,000-vehicle carrying capacity.

The completion of Ro-Ro terminal has raised vehicle offloading capacity at the port from 163,000 to 600,000 cars, annually.

Reports also shows cargo volume handled by the principal port are surging.

According to the Consolidated Zonal Economic Performance Report issued at the end of last year by the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) for the quarter that ended March last year, the volume of cargo handled at the Dar es Salaam port grew by 2.3 per cent to 3 .9 million tonnes compared to 3.8 million tonnes registered in the corresponding quarter in 2018.

Tanga Port

It is currently the second largest gateway and one of the longest serving terminals in Tanzania after Dar es Salaam Port, as history shows it was constructed in 1888 during German colonial rule.

Unfortunately, despite its abundant history, Tanga Port's infrastructures have never been developed since the first phase government under Mwalimu Julius Nyerere.

Information available shows Tanga Port's infrastructures were developed for the last time in 1954 and its berth 1 and 2 ship and entrance channel have never allowed mega cargo ships to anchor at the port to offload cargo due to shallow depth.

According to the Tanga Port Manager, Mr Ajuaye Msese the operations at the port, especially in handling cargo ferried by medium and large scale ships, proved to be a bit costly, as vessels were forced to anchor about 1.7 kilometre away from the port (outer anchorage).

From the outer anchorage, cargo was then hauled to the berth by budges and tug boats, a practice that ended up increasing operational cost that was placed on traders and then passed on to consumers.

Cognizant of the problem, TPA came up with an affirmative action to upgrade the port with specific focus on accommodating large cargo vessels, including car carriers. The aim is the gateway into the high competitive terminal, serving customers in the country and East African and great Lakes regions as the plan now was to have a 12-metre depth berth from the current 5 metres.

Mr Msese said major activities involved in upgrading Tanga Port include dredging the depth of the berths and the ship entrance channel.

China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) is implementing the project whose first phase that costs 170bn/- is expected to last for 12 months. Project implementation kicked off on October 04, 2019.

"The fifth phase government deserves compliments for taking an affirmative action to renovate this port," he said. Tanga port, which is the oldest serving terminal in East African region had its first berth built in 1888 during Germany colonial rule, while the second one was built in 1954.

TPA Director General Engineer Kakoko says Tanga port is geographically located at the place where it could offer quality services to customers in several regions in the country's hinterland, northern, central and Lake zones.

Given the connectivity with railway and roads the port could also handle cargo destined for Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, eastern parts of DR Congo, Malawi and Zambia.

He said, upon completion of the upgrading work traders will no doubt, opt to use the terminal as it will be able to offer world-class services. Future plans would also involve construction of a passenger terminal and a modern Single Mooring Point (SPM) for oil cargo.TPA also upgraded the berth at Pangani Port.

Upgrading Mtwara Port

Like Dar es Salaam and Tanga ports, Mtwara terminal has been undergoing major facelift with the construction of the new berth and cargo storage yard.

The project is being implemented through a joint venture of two Chinese firms- M/S China Railway Construction Engineering Group( CRCEG) and China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group ( CRMBEG) -at the tune of 137bn/-.

According to the Mtwara Port Manager, the new berth with a length of 300 metres and 13.5-metre depth (draft) would have the capacity to accommodate mega cargo ships weighing 65,000 tonnes.

Before the expansion work, the port was accommodating cargo ships with 40,000 tonnes (Dead Weight -DWT).

According to Engineer Kijavara, the modern multipurpose cargo terminal will be capable of delivering quality services to the southern regions - Lindi, Mtwara and Ruvuma but with specific focus on serving the neighbouring countries in the southern African region - Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia.

The terminal is now set to increase cargo handling capacity from 400,000 tonnes per annum to 1,000,000 tonnes.

In exploiting Mtwara- Lindi coastline, TPA invested in development of Kilwa Masoko, Lindi and Rushungi ports in Lindi Region and Kisiwa Mgao port in Mtwara Region.

Lake Tanganyika ports

Through its Lake Tanganyika office, TPA until December 2019 had planned to spend 123.34bn/- in upgrading and constructing its terminals in the second deepest Lake in the world.

Kigoma Port Manager who is also in charge of all other ports in Lake Tanganyika, Mr Percival Salama, said for the first time in the country's history, the government through TPA had injected 123.345bn/- between 2016/17 and 2019/20 financial years, to build new ports and upgrade the existing infrastructures of some terminals.

"Due to improvements in railway transport in the country, including the implementation of Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), ongoing revamping of ships by Marine Services Company (MSCL) and an increase in transport demand by traders from DR Congo, Burundi and within the Lake Tanganyika zone, TPA came up with a total of 27 port projects which are either under implementation or have already been completed," he said.

According to Mr Salama, the projects that have been implemented or are still under implementation are found in all the regions in the zone- Kigoma, Katavi and Rukwa.

In implementing the projects TPA focuses on establishing a major port in each region, including formalizing some unofficial terminals (Cluster Ports) as per the TPA's strategic plan.

Outlined strategic projects in Kigoma region include improvement or construction of port infrastructures at Kibirizi area (Kibirizi Port), Ujiji area ( Ujiji Port) and the headquarters of the Port Manager. The projects, whose implementation period is 24 months, are carried out by China Railway Corporation at the cost of 32.525bn/-

At Kibirizi Port, a 250-metre berth in length, three cargo shades, passengers' lounge, an office building and other supporting infrastructures to enable small vessels including engine-powered dhows to dock and undock, will be built.

Likewise, at Ujiji Port, a modern berth of 110 metres in length, canteen, passengers' lounge and cargo shade will be constructed.

Another project carried out in Kigoma region is the construction of Katosho Dry Port, a 2.9bn/-undertaking that is aimed at decongesting ports located in Kigoma.

An already completed Kagunga Port project that took on board three components is another major strategic project in Kigoma rural as the terminal, whose cost is estimated to be 4.09bn/-, involved the construction of a modern international market building, a 700-metre stretch (road) and a berth. According to Mr Salama, Kagunga is the strategic border area that attracted traders from DR Congo and Burundi.

In Uvinza district, TPA built a berth at Lagosa area ( Lagosa Port). A cargo shade, passengers' lounge, office building and other supporting infrastructures.

He said the construction of Lagosa Port would enable MV Liemba to dock at the berth, instead of docking in the outer anchorage, a practice that increased the cost of doing business for traders and caused inconveniences to passengers using the oldest and tourist ship in Tanzania.

Another project carried out by TPA in Kigoma is the construction of a terminal at Kalya area, which is known as Sibwesa Port. According to Mr Salama, Sibwesa Port project is complete.

In Rukwa region, TPA is improving infrastructures at Kasanga, Kipili and Kabwe ports with the Authority looking on how it can invest at another port of Kerando.

Speaking on Kasanga port, which is the second largest port in Lake Tanganyika after Kigoma terminal, Mr Salama said TPA was implementing a 4.764bn/- project that involved lengthening its berth from 20 to 120 metres to enable more than one ship to dock at once and building residential houses for TPA staff.

The terminal would also have its open cargo storage area (wharf) reinforced to keep loose and containerized cargo after offloading from ships.

At Kipili port which is found in Nkasi district, close to 5bn/- has been spent to improve its infrastructure. According to Mr Salama, the terminal is strategically located to serve traders from both DR Congo and Tanzania.

TPA's investment at Kabwe Port in Nkasi district that amounts to 7.498bn/-, according to Mr Salama, would attract ships to ply to the terminal as currently, only engine-powered boats and dhows travel to the area.

In Katavi region, TPA is building a port at Karema ( Karema port) in Tanganyika district at the cost of 47.924bn/. It will be the major regional terminal. The terminal's improvement will involve the construction of berth, cargo shade, warehouse, passengers' lounge and break waters. The terminal which will be reachable by railway from Mpanda, will be completed next year to connect Dar es Salaam and Tanga ports.

Kagunga terminal project was also one of the undertakings implemented by TPA through its Office in Lake Tanganyika zone. It was completed last October.

Lake Victoria ports

In Lake Victoria, TPA is implementing a number of port projects to exploit to the maximum the potential brought about by the Lake, given the fact that historically Tanzania had, before the collapse of the former East African Community (EAC), established transport links with Uganda and Kenya through the defunct firm- East African Railway Corporation.

To exploit Lake Victoria potential, TPA has invested in the rehabilitation of Mwanza South and Mwanza North ports in Mwanza region.

The rehabilitation of Mwanza South Port involved the reviving of the link span to enable containerized cargo to be transported to Kisumu in Kenya, Port Belly in Uganda or even to Musoma port and Kemondo Bay port in Kagera region by ferry wagons.

According to Mwanza Port Manager, Mr Morris Mchindiuza, Musoma port had ceased operations more than ten years and its revamping will restore its lost glory by allowing ferry wagons to play to the terminal. The rehabilitation of the 6.65 hectre Musoma port is expected to be completed next month at the cost of 650m/-.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Tanzania Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Given the length of the coastline of Lake Victoria, TPA through its Mwanza Office resolved to construct new ports and revive the abandoned ones. For instance in Buchosa Council, Sengerema district, TPA built a cluster port (small port) at Kanyala Village, whose operations began last December.

The 1.265bn/- project involved construction of the 60-metre jetty (berth), cargo warehouse, passengers' lounge, toilets and the office for security personnel.

Furthermore, the Authority has revived Nyamirembe port in Chato in Geita region and constructed a new one known as Magarini in Muleba district, Kagera region, simplifying further an access to Rubondo, Burigi Chato tourist destinations.

But, the list of ports in Lake Victoria may not be complete without mentioning Kemondo Bay and Bukoba ports.

Kemondo Bay 's name stands out from the rest in Kagera region as the 47-heactre port is built with infrastructures that support the use of wagon ferries, meaning that cargo can be transported from Dar es Salaam by railway up to Mwanza where the wagons can be transferred into the wagon ferries before being shipped to Bukoba, Musoma, Uganda or Kisumu in Kenya.

The renovation of Kemondo Bay Port goes simultaneously with the improvement of Bukoba Port's infrastructure. Bukoba terminal, which was constructed in 1945, is meant to handle both passenger and loose cargo ships.

Lake Nyasa ports.

Given the fact that TPA also operates all ports in Lake Nyasa, the Authority in 2019/2020 financial year started upgrading infrastructures of some terminals, including constructing some ports for the major objective of improving marine transport in the third largest and second deepest Lake in Africa.

According to Lake Nyasa Ports Manager, Mr Abed Gallus, TPA was upgrading infrastructures of Ndumbi terminal in Nyasa district, Ruvuma region and expanding Kiwira Port in Kyela district, Mbeya region.

The project on Ndumbi Port involves the construction of a permanent berth to enable cargo ships dock and undock comfortably, including facilitating loading and offloading of cargo.

Other infrastructures to be built at Ndumbi Port include a jetty, ramp, open storage area with a hard surface measuring 9,000 square metres for keeping cargo, fence, office block and a staff house.

China Henan International Corporation Group (CHICO) was undertaking the 12.25bn/- project, which is expected to be implemented in 22 months. Ndumbi Port is one of the major terminals in Lake Nyasa as it handles over 90 per cent of all cargo handled by TPA in the zone.

Another project which is divided into two segments, according to Mr Gallus, is the expansion of Kiwira port, a terminal which is strategically upgraded to handle cargo.

To be able to serve Malawi, Mozambique, including the regions such as Ruvuma and Mtwara. TPA last year started conducting a feasibility study on how to rebuild Mbamba Bay Port in Nyasa district, Ruvuma region. The report on the study would be submitted to the Authority this year.

So much has been done by TPA in improving marine transport and transportation in the country. Efforts focusing on reviving small ports are being made, including formalizing unofficial terminals.
Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will make a decision on Diogo Dalot's future at the end of the club's next pre-season, according to a report.

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will reportedly make a decision on Diogo Dalot's future at Old Trafford at the end of the club's preparations for the 2021-22 campaign.

The 22-year-old was allowed to join AC Milan on loan last summer and has been a regular for the Italian club this season, making 25 appearances in all competitions, contributing two goals and two assists.

Milan are thought to be keen to sign the Portuguese on a permanent deal in the upcoming market, but according to Calciomercato, the right-back will head back to Old Trafford this summer.

The report claims that Solskjaer wants Dalot to be a part of the team's 'whole summer training camp' ahead of next season, and the Norwegian will then make a decision on the defender before the campaign begins.

Milan are allegedly aware of Man United's plans and are therefore currently identifying possible alternatives to the former Porto youngster in the event that he remains with the Red Devils.

Dalot has made 35 appearances for the 20-time English champions in all competitions.
(CNN)  Authorities in Hong Kong and Macao have suspended the rollout of BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine citing a packaging defect found in their first batch of doses.

Both governments said in statements Wednesday they had received a letter from BioNTech and its Chinese partner, Fosun Pharma, indicating an issue with the seal on individual vials in batch number 210102.

According to government figures, as of Tuesday, 150,200 people in Hong Kong had received their first dose of the BioNTech vaccine, which outside of China is partnered with US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer.

Although both Fosun and BioNTech "have not found any reason to believe that product safety is at risk," the Hong Kong government said it was suspending vaccinations involving batch 210102, and halting plans to administer a second batch pending an investigation.

"These are preventive measures to continuously ensure the safety of the vaccination program," the statement read.

Prior to halting the BioNTech rollout, Hong Kong offered residents a choice of two vaccines, BioNTech, and Chinese produced Sinovac. Now those who wish to get vaccinated must either wait until the issue with the BioNTech doses is resolved or go with Sinovac.

Hong Kong is expected to receive doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine at a later date.

Slow rollout linked to vaccine hesitancy

The BioNTech suspension will likely blunt Hong Kong's mass vaccination drive, which is already moving at a slower-than-expected pace.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said Tuesday that 6% of the population had taken their first shot, which she described as "not bad," though admitted the city could "do better."

"Hong Kong is actually very fortunate, as far as vaccination is concerned," said Lam. "When many places all over the world are scrambling for vaccines, we have a pretty assured supply of vaccines for the people of Hong Kong."

The government decided last week to expand the program to include all residents over the age of 30, who account for nearly 80% of the population. The renewed vaccine drive followed an uptick in case numbers that saw hundreds of people sent to quarantine camps across the territory.

Authorities began rolling out the Sinovac vaccine first, on February 18, followed by BioNTech in early March.

Though an estimated 252,800 people have so far received their first dose of Sinovac, hesitancy has been an issue, with many citing a lack of public data regarding clinical trials.

In January late-stage trials conducted in Brazil revealed Sinovac to have an efficacy rate of 50.38%, only barely crossing the 50% efficacy threshold as set by the World Health Organization.

There have been reports of local doctors recommending their patients take the BioNTech vaccine, due to the lack of public data for Sinovac.

Lam condemned those medical professionals Monday and accused them of trying to "sabotage" the government's vaccination program by "spreading fake news, misinformation and rumors."

"Especially when these people are health professionals, I am extremely disappointed, because at the end of the day if Hong Kong has a major outbreak again, the people who suffer will be our healthcare professionals, especially those working in the Hospital Authority's facilities," she said.

Reports of a number of deaths among patients over 60 who had recently received the vaccine have also fueled public concern, however, the government said preliminary findings indicated the vaccine was not responsible.

While Hong Kong's vaccine rollout has been not proceeded as quickly as planned, its preventative measures have been among the world's most effective.

As of Wednesday, just 11,410 people in this city of more than 7 million had contracted the virus. Just 204 have died, fewer than the number of people killed in the SARS epidemic in the early 2000s. And there have been no hard lockdowns.
The Community Policing Forum (CPF) in Tsakane, Gauteng, will soon look into allegations that a group in the community has been extorting immigrant shop owners in order to operate in the area.

Residents say their community remains tense as clashes between residents and immigrant shop owners continue.

Several shop owners claim they have lost thousands of rands as a result of being attacked after trying to open their shops.

The community of Tsakane in Gauteng remains tense amid ongoing clashes between residents and immigrant shop owners.

In October last year, a fight apparently broke out at a new Somali-owned shop in Malandela Street, in Extension Six where gunshots went off. After the shooting incident, some residents met and reportedly decided that no additional shops would be allowed.

Residents allege that there is a group in the community extorting immigrant shop owners -- asking them to pay a fee in order to operate. The person willing to pay the highest rate is often the one that is allowed to open, they say.

GroundUp spoke to some immigrant shop owners, or prospective shop owners, who say they were bullied and chased away.

Laban Mohamed Ahmed says he lost over R50,000 after he was prevented from operating in October. Ahmed says that he entered into a lease agreement with a property owner in Extension Six to open a shop. He paid a rental deposit of R3,000, then spent more money on building sleeping quarters and buying material which he intended to use in the store.

But as he started renovating, he was assaulted by a group of people who told him to leave the area. The incident was reported to Tsakane's CPF office.

Ahmed says his attackers accused him of creating competition for other spaza shops and supermarkets in Tsakane. During the attack, his money and personal documents were stolen. Ahmed says he is too scared to return to the area, fearing that his life may be at risk.

"I'm struggling to survive because I lost money trying to open a shop. All l wanted was to operate my own business so l could look after my family back home in Somalia," he says.

Ahmed says he is desperately trying to recover the money he paid to the landlord to help feed his family.

According to a statement by the Tsakane Community Policing Forum, several incidents have been reported to police, including Ahmed's case. The Forum said it will soon meet with all the shop owners in the area to address the problem.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines South Africa Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"Cases reported concern some Bangladesh, Ethiopian and Somali nationals. There have been incidents where the shop owners claim to have paid bribes to individuals in the community to operate shops. In some cases violence is reported to have escalated," the Forum said.

About five kilometres away in Extension 19, Omar Ali and his partner say they signed a similar agreement with their landlord last year. They were asked to pay six months of rent upfront. They started building the shop in June. As renovations were completed, Ali too was approached by a group of people who wanted him to pay them a fee before his store could start operating.

Ali says he lost more money trying to pay various people who all claimed to be in charge. "In total l lost R20,000, including the rental deposit. When l asked the landlord to pay me back, he said he had also lost out in the process."

Bhekizizwe Ngobese, Ali's landlord, said he wanted to honour his agreement with Ali but community members had teamed up with other shop owners to stop him from operating.

"This has become a territorial power issue because immigrant shop owners in our area are from Ethiopia. They paid money to some community members to stop Somalians from opening shops near them."

"The community committee is split over the issue and those stopping my shop have been paid hefty bribes," Ngobese says.

Tsakane Police spokesperson Sergeant Lerato Mngomezulu said that the CPF has been dealing with issues relating to immigrant shop owners in the community. She said no formal charges of extortion or victimisation have been made against community members. Mngomezulu urged the victims to come forward with information.
A strip of land between the surfing meccas of Gracetown and Prevelly in Western Australias South West is set to be renamed Yebble after a Noongar hero who helped rescue passengers and crew from a 19th century shipwreck.

The recognition of the exploits of Samuel Yebble Isaacs, by literally putting his name on the map, is the latest instance of a broader movement in the state to commemorate historical Aboriginal figures and reconsider colonial place names which ignored the existing First Nations names for locations.

Samuel Yebble Isaacs.

The Shire of Augusta Margaret River voted on Wednesday night to request WAs Geographic Names Committee rename parts of the Gracetown and Burnside regions  which do not include townsites and mostly consist of Crown and reserve land, Ellenbrook Homestead, and Meekadarribee Falls  to Yebble.

The proposal was first raised by the Undalup Association after it wrote to the shire and Landgate.
Pakistani national Ayaz Younas was on his first day of a new contracting job when his Toyota Camry became trapped in floodwaters

An engineering student who died trying to flee his car in the NSW floods had moved to Australia just two years ago to chase a better life.

Pakistani national Ayaz Younas was on his way to a final interview for a new job when his Toyota Camry became trapped in floodwaters in Glenorie on Sydney's northern outskirts.

The inside of the 25-year-old's car was badly damaged, indicating to police that he frantically battled to save his life and escape as waters rose around him.

Burhan Mirza, who went to Charles Sturt University with Mr Younas, told Daily Mail Australia the young student was 'excited' to start a new life Down Under.

'He always told me he move to Australia for a better life with dreams of becoming a permanent resident with a good job and a healthy life,' Mr Mirza said.

'But nobody knew it would end like this.

'Ayaz was very kind, always ready to help. He was fond of making friends and [was] great guy.'

Mr Mirza said his friend, who came to Australia two years ago from Karachi, worked at Domino's Pizza while juggling several other jobs to fund his study of software engineering.

NSW Police Detective Inspector Chris Laird said Mr Younas called Triple-Zero at 6.25am on Wednesday and spoken to them for just three minutes and 16 seconds but lost contact.

The operator continued to try to contact him for another 40 minutes until about 7am.

'Had he not rung us, we never would have found him. Not until the water receded anyway,' Det Insp Laird said.

'But we can only speculate that given what I have seen and the damage to the vehicle that it could very well be that the electrics totally failed, and he was simply unable to escape from the car which is an absolute tragedy.

Pakistani national Ayaz Younas' Toyota Camry became trapped in the flood on Cattai Ridge Road in Glenorie on Sydney's northern outskirts

Mr Younas called Triple-Zero and spoke to the operator for three minutes and 16 seconds at 6.25am on Wednesday - and then attempted to speak to him until 7am after losing contact

Emergency crews were called to Cattai Ridge Road, near Hidden Valley Lane in Glenorie at about 6.30am on Wednesday, following reports a car was submerged in floodwaters

'You can only just imagine somebody fighting for their life to get out of the car  that's what the inside damage of the vehicle looked like.'

Det Insp Laird said Mr Younas 'clearly couldn't get out' of the car as there were no broken windows.

He said the roads had multiple signs and closure warnings, but the car was located 30m into floodwaters and 6m under water.

Emergency crews recovered Mr Younas' body at 1pm after finding his submerged car.

Det Insp Laird suggested there would be investigations into why Mr Younas was in the area.

'The remote location of the area, (we'll ask) questions about what he was doing up there. He may not have known the area as locals would,' he said.

There was also a padlocked gate blocking off the road, but it was submerged.

The Pakistani Community of Australia said it had spoken to Mr Younas' father.

Community leader Farhat Jaffri said Mr Younas' heartbroken family requested that his body be sent back to Karachi in southern Pakistan.

Mr Younas, who has two elder brothers and one younger sister, was from Malir Cantt in Karachi and studied software engineering.

Shazbaz Muhammad said Mr Younas was a 'dear friend'.

'Please pray for the departed soul,' Mr Muhammad said.

Det Insp Laird said the 25-year-old had strong roots in western Sydney, and that his friends in Australia were devastated by the news.

'From the police force, all emergency services, here is the very reason why you should not make any attempt to drive through swollen rivers,' he said.

Emergency Services Minister David Elliott offered his condolences, saying it would send ripples through the northwest Sydney community.

The car with the student's body inside was found in Cattai Creek (pictured) at about 1pm following a NSW Police and SES Flood Rescue search

Police divers are seen searching Cattai Creek on Wednesday, following reports a car was submerged in floodwaters

A police officer is seen in Glenorie after the student's body was discovered in a car in Sydney's north-west

In Queensland a desperate search for David Hornman, 38, ended when his body was found inside his ute in the Gold Coast Hinterland on Wednesday afternoon

'The human cost of these floods has been brought into sharp focus in the most tragic of circumstances and I urge communities to continue to be cautious in the face of continued and imminent threats to life,' Mr Elliott said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese also made statements in federal parliament about the tragedy.

Mr Morrison labelled Wednesday a 'terribly sad day', saying he knew the area well from childhood camping trips and felt for the man's family.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said there was still extreme danger in flood-hit areas despite the clear weather in Sydney on Wednesday.

'Whilst the sun is out conditions remain extremely dangerous, rivers are still rising,' she said.

A police car and tape blocks the crime scene off to the community in Glenorie on Wednesday

Police boats head out on to floodwaters to deliver basic supplies donated by Coles to stranded locals in the Windsor region on Wednesday

'We ask everybody, especially if they are in vehicles to be extra cautious.

'Some would suggest it is even more dangerous now as rivers continue to rise and catchments fill up with water.'

In Queensland, a desperate search for David Hornman, 38, ended when his body was found inside his ute in the Gold Coast hinterland on Wednesday afternoon.

The 38-year-old father was last seen on Monday and had not contacted his family since heading to a job in the Tamborine area, where torrential rain caused flash flooding this week.

His ute was spotted earlier in the day in the flooded Canungra Creek.

Mr Hornman's desperate wife had been active on social media, appealing for help from anyone who saw him.

'He didn't turn up to work and hasn't been able to be reached since. His phone is turned off,' Angela Hornman posted on Facebook on Tuesday.

'I just have to know he's ok. Please tell him no matter what I LOVE HIM.'

SES volunteers and NSW Police begin delivering food, medicine and essential items and inspecting properties inundated but floodwaters around Windsor in the north west of Sydney

The Windsor Bridge is seen submerged under rising floodwaters along the Hawkesbury River on Thursday

Meanwhile, residents in one part of the NSW Mid North Coast have been allowed to return home as emergency services warn some of the state's rivers will remain swollen into the weekend and flooding is still a risk.

The areas of continued concern include Moree in the NSW northwest, the Upper Hunter around Singleton, Grafton, parts of the Central Coast and the Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment northwest of Sydney.

Seventeen flood evacuation orders remain in place affecting people living in low-lying areas of Ulmarra, Brushgrove and on Wednesday night another evacuation order was issued for Cowper on the Clarence River in northern NSW.

Major flooding was occurring at Grafton, Ulmarra and Maclean on Thursday morning.

There is still major flooding along the Hawkesbury River and authorities said it was likely to continue at North Richmond and Windsor until the end of the week.

Helicopters are being used to deliver emergency supplies to isolated communities around the Hawkesbury River.

Almost 24,000 people in NSW have been evacuated and despite the clear weather, about 60,000 people have been told by the SES to be ready to evacuate with major flood warnings still in place for the Macintyre, Gwydir, Clarence and Hawkesbury, Nepean and Colo rivers.

There have been 11,000 calls for help to the SES so far, and 950 flood rescues.

Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
As the shift in oil demand from Covid-19 turned the tables of regional levels of fuel production and exports, China succeeded in overtaking the USA as the worlds biggest oil refiner in 2020. As China began to ramp up its refining capacity throughout the pandemic, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) published data showing that China processed more crude oil than the U.S. for much of 2020.

While the USA suffered from a drop in demand throughout 2020, leading to a decrease in all oil-related activities, China benefited from this international shift. In contrast to the U.S., when oil prices fall, the Chinese government pays refiners to increase production levels.

China currently has at least four major new refineries under construction, most of which are expected to produce plastic feedstocks, such as ethylene and propylene.

While the U.S. is likely to once again overtake China as the worlds biggest oil refiner by the end of 2021, long-term demand predictions mean it's probable that this trend will be short-lived, as oil needs across Asia continue to rise.

Oil refineries across the U.S. have been losing momentum in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. At the end of last year, Royal Dutch Shell Plc ground production at its Convent refinery in Louisiana to a halt. This same facility had 35 times the refining capacity of China when it opened in 1967, showing how dramatically the tables have turned over the past couple of decades.

Oil refineries have also been impeded this year by the severe storm that hit the state of Texas in February. During the storm, oil refining fell to its lowest levels since 2008. This was largely due to frozen pipelines which forced producers to halt activities. Refinery crude runs fell by 2.6 million bpd throughout the week to 12.2 million bpd.

Related: How Will We Pay for the Energy Transition?



Meanwhile, in November, China was processing around 1.2 million bpd of crude oil. Much of this new refining work was taking place in the new unit at Rongsheng Petrochemicals giant Zhejiang facility in northeast China.

China is not the only Asian giant to invest in refining over the next decade. Just a few weeks ago, India announced plan to invest $4.5 billion in a Panipat refinery expansion by September 2024. This would increase Panipats capacity by two-thirds to 500,000 bpd.

Only slightly behind China, as the worlds third largest oil importer and consumer, India is striving to increase its oil refining capacity by 60 percent to meet the countrys increasing oil demand. This comes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged to improve Indias manufacturing sector.

The refinery expansion is expected to boost Indias production of petrochemicals and value-added specialty products, such as petrol, diesel, and ATF.

State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has also announced plans to build a new refinery at Nagapattinam in the southern state of Tamil Nadu at a cost of $4.01 billion. The IOC subsidiary Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited is expected to develop the refinery. The project is aimed at meeting the demand of petroleum products across southern India.

While U.S. refining activities are expected to pick up before the end of the year, a dramatically increased oil refining capacity in China, as well as new projects in India, suggest that the face of the industry could change over the next decade. As oil demand wanes in the U.S. and continues to increase across Asia, many Asian countries will be seeking out refined products from closer to home to meet their needs.

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
DPRK fires unidentified projectile into East Sea -- Yonhap

Xinhua) 09:06, March 25, 2021

NEW YORK, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) fired at least one unidentified projectile into the East Sea, Yonhap news agency reported early Thursday Seoul Time, citing South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Other details are not yet available, including how many and what type of projectile was launched, according to the report.

It marked the DPRK's "second missile launch in a week after its firing of cruise missiles off the west coast over the weekend was belatedly made public the previous day," the report said.

(Web editor: Wen Ying, Bianji)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 25)  For the fourth time in a week, the country broke its all-time high record of new COVID-19 infections in a day after 8,773 more people caught the disease, the Department of Health reported on Thursday.

The total has now reached 693,048 with 14.4% or 99,891 active cases, which is also a new all-time high of currently ill patients. At least 95% of the active cases have mild symptoms, 3% have no symptoms, 0.8% are in critical condition, 0.8% are severe cases, and 0.44% are in moderate condition.

The DOH also posted a positivity rate of 16.1% based on data as of noon of March 24. Positivity rate is the percentage of individuals who tested positive out of all patients tested that day. There were 35,480 people recently tested which means around 5,712 were positive. The department did not mention the exact number of positive individuals, unlike in previous bulletins.

It is the first time the country recorded a 16% positivity rate since April last year. The World Health Organization recommends that the number be kept below 5%. Experts from the Johns Hopkins University said a higher percentage suggests more widespread transmission and that there are likely more cases which have not yet been detected. However, the DOH will still update the figure as six laboratories have yet to submit their latest COVID-19 data.

The death toll also climbed to 13,095 or 1.89% of the case count after 56 more people succumbed to the disease. Meanwhile, 574 others got better, raising the recovery count to 580,062, equivalent to 83.7% of the COVID-19 tally.

The DOH said it reclassified seven survivors into fatalities after validation, and removed 36 duplicates, including 23 recoveries.

The department's COVID-19 tracker also updated the March 23 positivity rate to 14.9% which is a few points lower than the 15.6% recorded the previous day. Out of 41,793 tested individuals, 6,208 were found positive.

Among overseas Filipinos, the Department of Foreign Affairs reported 31 new cases. This pushed the total to 16,040 cases in 90 countries with 3,852 infections verified by the DOH, the DFA said. Twenty more Filipinos got better, raising the survivor tally to 9,722 while the death toll remained at 1,047. There are also 5,271 people undergoing treatment, the DFA added.
Moscow, March 25 : Russian authorities on Thursday said jailed opposition figure Alexei Navalny was in "good" health, after reports by his staff that his condition was deteriorating in a prison camp.

The prisons authority said the 44-year-old was examined on Wednesday, dpa news agency quoted Russia's Interfax as saying in a report.

"Alexei Navalny was among those who underwent an examination, which showed that he is in generally good and stable health," it said.

Earlier in the day, Navalny's chief of staff Leonid Volkov said he would interpret this to mean that he was in hospital.

"Something very bad is happening," Volkov wrote on Twitter.

Volkov added that Navalny's lawyers are currently not being let in to see him "without explanation of the reasons".

Earlier, Navalny's lawyers had said he was suffering from back pain and paralysis in one leg.

Volkov has called the IK-2 camp where Navalny is being held in Pokrov, 100 km east of Moscow, a "torture camp" and said the opposition leader was being held as "personal hostage" of President Vladimir Putin.

Navalny was sentenced to imprisonment at the penal camp in February for violating parole requirements from an earlier sentence, while he was recovering from a poisoning attack in Germany.

He has blamed the poisoning on the government and said his imprisonment was a personal act of vengeance for surviving the attack.

Germany, the European Union and the US have repeatedly called for Navalny's release.
"We just want to know who, what, when, where, why," Hutar said. "We want to be reasonable in what we're asking for, and we want clarity and transparency on the process to get us guidelines so we stop losing business."

The groups are seeking guidelines like those that apply to movie theaters, which can open at 50 percent capacity or 200 people in the orange tier of the state's reopening framework. San Mateo County and three other Bay Area counties are currently in the orange tier.

"We don't want to be deaf to health concerns," Hutar said. "But if you can go to a movie and there can be up to 200 people, what's the difference with a meeting?"

He said the groups began a letter writing campaign to the Governor's Office last September to request guidelines and timelines for reopening meetings. The state has not yet issued any guidelines.

Meanwhile, hotel groups have developed their own safety guidelines that outline how meetings could take place with social distancing, sanitization and other health protocols.
By Phil Stewart

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed rejected U.S. calls for a unilateral ceasefire in the northern Tigray region and dismissed allegations of ethnic cleansing, according to a senior U.S. lawmaker sent to Addis Ababa by President Joe Biden.

But Democratic Senator Chris Coons, recounting his talks with Abiy last weekend in the Ethiopian capital, also praised the prime minister for publicly acknowledging for the first time that troops from neighboring Eritrea entered Tigray during the five-month-old conflict, after months of denials.

Abiy also pledged this week following Coons' visit that any soldiers who carry out human rights violations will be punished.

"I'm encouraged by that. But the prime minister has made commitments before and fallen short on delivering. So I think it's critical that we stay engaged," Coons told reporters.

Ethiopia's mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Coons' remarks.

Fighting erupted in Tigray after forces loyal to the then-governing party there - the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) - attacked army bases across the region overnight and in the early hours of Nov. 4.

The attacks initially overwhelmed the federal military, which mounted a counter-offensive alongside Eritrean soldiers and forces from the neighboring region of Amhara.

The TPLF, which dominated Ethiopia's government for nearly three decades until Abiy came to power in 2018, has long been an archenemy of Eritrea.

The violence in Tigray has killed thousands of people and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes in the mountainous region of about 5 million.

Coons said Abiy denied there had been a forced relocation of Tigrayans from west Tigray, saying the prime minister told him there "had been and would be no ethnic cleansing."

"He pushed back really hard on any attempt by me to characterize this as an ethnic conflict and insisted it was a conflict against the TPLF as a political actor and a political party that had engaged in an attack on federal forces," Coons said. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said earlier this month that he wanted to see Eritrean forces and those from the Amhara region replaced in Tigray by security forces that would respect human rights and not "commit acts of ethnic cleansing." Ethiopia rejected Blinken's allegation.

Story continues

Coons said he pressed Abiy during both days of their meetings on March 20 and 21 to declare a ceasefire but Abiy declined, arguing that the fighting had largely stopped and the situation by then amounted to "a law enforcement action where they are pursuing a few TPLF senior leaders."

"So his response was that a ceasefire is not necessary," Coons said, describing it as "a persistent point of disagreement" between them.

In a speech to parliament on Tuesday, Abiy acknowledged for the first time that atrocities including rape had been committed during the fighting, and he said perpetrators would be punished. But he said some of the accounts were overblown.

"There were atrocities that were committed in Tigray region. Taking the exaggerations, the propaganda, and the lies aside, reports indicate that atrocities were being committed by raping women and looting properties," Abiy told lawmakers.

The United Nations said on Thursday more than 500 rape cases have been reported to five clinics in Tigray, including "men being forced to rape their own family members under the threat of violence", and that the actual numbers were likely to be far higher.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols in New York; Editing by Daniel Wallis)

Portland Parks & Recreation faces a nearly half-million dollar fine for failing to build a required stormwater control system to prevent toxic chemicals from running into the Willamette River, according to state regulators.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality imposed the $458,266 penalty last month, claiming that three industrial parcels owned by the city parks bureau near Northwest Yeon Avenue and St. Helens Road may be adversely impacting public health and the environment, documents show.

Soil on the city-owned properties contains polychlorinated biphenyl, a toxic chemical compound commonly known as PCB, according to the environmental agency. The agency asserted that stormwater drained the toxins into the nearby Portland Harbor superfund site, a contaminated 10-mile stretch of the river.

The parks bureau, which purchased the land in 2004 and 2009 with plans to create a new entrance and trailhead into Forest Park, was supposed to install pavement and other stormwater mitigation features on the property by October 2019, state and city officials said.

The bureau never did.

The citys continued delay in completing the permanent stormwater control features at the property may be contributing PCB contamination to the Willamette River, state regulators wrote in a Feb. 11 letter to Adena Long, the parks bureau director.

The environmental agency said it would consider reducing some of the hefty fine if and when the parks bureau completes the stormwater project, which is required under a consent order reached between the state and the city of Portland in 2014.

Tim Collier, a parks spokesman, said in a statement that the bureau had lacked the funding needed to complete the project but is currently in the permitting process.

The bureau, which has appealed the fine, hopes to begin work on the stormwater system as well as a parking lot, trailhead and access road on the property by summer or fall, Collier said.

Portland Parks & Recreation cares deeply about our environment and the bureaus role in protecting our natural world, the spokesman said.

-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh; 503-294-7632

Email at skavanaugh@oregonian.com

Follow on Twitter @shanedkavanaugh

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
I don't think any regional party in the country has objection to Sharad Pawar heading the UPA, said Sanjay Raut. (PTI file photo)

New Delhi/Mumbai: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday said the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is paralysed and a non-Congress leader like Sharad Pawar should head it. His statement drew sharp criticism from the Congress, which reminded him that Shiv Sena is not a part of the UPA and asked Mr Raut to keep his views to himself.

"The UPA is paralysed now. I think NCP chief Sharad Pawar should lead the UPA at the national level, Mr Raut said while speaking to reporters in New Delhi. When asked whether other parties support his demand, he said, "I don't think any regional party in the country has objection to Sharad Pawar heading the UPA. All of us are opposing the BJP at the moment."

The Maharashtra Congress has reacted sharply to Mr Rauts statement with state Congress chief Nana Patole asking if Mr Raut had been appointed as Mr Pawar's spokesperson while reminding him that Shiv Sena isn't part of the UPA.

"Sanjay Raut is a Shiv Sena MP and Shiv Sena is not a part of UPA. Hence he has no right to talk about UPA leadership. Sonia Gandhi is competent enough to lead the UPA. Hence Mr Raut should not worry about the coalition, said Mr Patole.

The Congress leader also said that he has asked chief minister Uddhav Thackeray to intervene in the matter. We have told the CM that such statements are wrong and that he should tell Mr Raut so. The CM has said he will discuss it, he added.

Another Congress leader and former Rajya Sabha member Husain Dalwai said, Shiv Sena got more seats (in the last Maharashtra Assembly election), hence it got the chief ministers post. But the Sena is still not part of the UPA. There is no need to take Mr Rauts statement seriously Mr Raut should not forget that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government could be formed because the Congress extended its support. He should not say something like this and stoke a controversy.

Insiders say that since Sonia Gandhi, the UPA chairperson, is not keeping well, there needs to be change in the top leadership of the UPA to fight the BJP effectively. Mr Pawar is actively steering the alliance in Maharashtra and is also actively campaigning in poll bound states.

The results of the upcoming Assembly elections hold the key for the Congress. If it does not do well, the demand to change the UPA chief will be raised once again.

Mr Patole said the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra would last five years. There will be no problem. Ye Fevicol ka mazboot jod hai (the alliance is very strong). The BJP may level as many false allegations as they want, it wont affect the government. They are trying to malign Maharashtra, but people of the state won't forgive them, he said.

The Congress leader also demanded that the state government should investigate the BJPs Devendra Fadnavis, who is the leader of Opposition in the Vidhan Sabha. Mr Fadnavis is levelling baseless allegations by speaking blatant lies. He is conspiring against Maharashtra by misusing the central investigative agencies, he said.
Chrissy Teigen has been pictured out after quitting Twitter yesterday, and has posted another lengthy explanation for her exit, this time on Instagram.

Chrissy - who spent over 10 years on the popular social media platform - was seen stepping out in Los Angeles on Wednesday amid her dramatic departure from the micro-blogging site.

The 35-year-old wife of John Legend also took to Instagram on Thursday to explain that she did not blame Twitter, trolls or bullying for her leaving, but instead clarified that it was just time for her to move on.

Bye for now! Chrissy Teigen steps out in LA after quitting Twitter as she says the 'bullies and trolls' are NOT the reason behind exit in another lengthy explanation on Instagram

'It's true! The platform no longer serves me as positively as it does negatively, so with that I bid you adieu,' Chrissy told her 34.4m followers on Instagram.

'But I want to say that this is absolutely NOT twitter's fault - I believe they do all they can to combat relentless bullying, any honestly, its not the bullying!!'

'You guys have no idea how much theyve reached out and worked with my team and me personally. Its not the platform. Its not the "bullying". And it's not the trolls.'

Gone: Chrissy - who spent over 10 years on the popular social media platform - was seen stepping out in Los Angeles on Wednesday amid her dramatic departure from the site

Explanation: The 35-year-old wife of John Legend also took to Instagram on Thursday to explain that she did not blame Twitter, trolls or bullying for her leaving

Making it clear: Chrissy posted another lengthy explanation for her exit on Instagram, Thursday

She continued: 'It's just me. I have to come to terms with the fact some people arent gonna like me. I hate letting people down or upsetting people and I feel like I just did it over and over and over.

Referencing the far-right conspiracy theories that she has been the subject of over the past year, Chrissy added: 'And to the Q anon people who think I'm in Guantanamo Bay right now, lol. I saw "Q: into the storm" and saw what I'm working with here. And I, lol, I no longer care. Dont flatter yourselves.'

The model directly addressed her 13.7million followers on Wednesday as she explained the reasons behind her sudden departure.

Silencing herself: Chrissy decided that it was time to end her prolific reign on Twitter

Cosy outing: The model opted for comfort as she was seen in LA amid her Twitter exit

Cutie: On Instagram Chrissy focused on positive things, sharing an adorable snap of Luna with the caption 'STOPPPPPPPPP GROWING?????'

Chrissy's lengthy farewell message comes amid a string of negative comments from trolls, which the model said had left her feeling 'deeply bruised.'

'Hey. For over 10 years, you guys have been my world. I honestly owe so much to this world we have created here. I truly consider so many of you my actual friends,' she began.

'But it's time for me to say goodbye. This no longer serves me as positively as it serves me negatively, and I think thats the right time to call something,' she admitted.

Change of heart: 'Hey. For over 10 years, you guys have been my world. I honestly owe so much to this world we have created here. I truly consider so many of you my actual friends,' she began

Negativity: Teigen noted that, over the span of her nearly 11 years of Twitter, she has 'said f**ked up s**t and killed myself over it as much as you killed me. But one thing I havent learned is how to block out the negativity

'My life goal is to make people happy. The pain I feel when I dont is too much for me. Ive always been portrayed as the strong clap back girl but Im just not,' wrote the star, referring to her frequent fiery Twitter exchanges.

'My desire to be liked and fear of pissing people off has made me somebody you didnt sign up for, and a different human than I started out here as! Live well, tweeters. Please know all I ever cared about was you!!!'

'I encourage you to know and never forget that your words matter. No matter what you see, what that person portrays, or your intention. For years I have taken so many small, 2-follower count punches that at this point, I am honestly deeply bruised.

Off she goes: Chrissy got busy with her shopping after making a dramatic exit from Twitter on Wednesday

'I have made my mistakes, throughout years and in front of hundreds of thousands, and been held accountable for them. Ive learned an incredible amount here.'

The most recent backlash Teigen faced - which she responded to on the platform this week - was for collaborating with Kris Jenner on plant-based cleaning product line, Safely.

Meanwhile, Teigen noted that, over the span of her nearly 11 years of Twitter, she has 'said f**ked up s**t and killed myself over it as much as you killed me. But one thing I havent learned is how to block out the negativity.

'Im just a sensitive s**t, okay!? I dont wanna be this way! I just am! But I love you guys and I cherish our time together, I truly do. I also hate you,' concluded the star, with a heart.

Deactivated: Shortly after posting her 'goodbye' tweets, Chrissy officially deactivated her Twitter account

Shortly after posting her 'goodbye' tweets, Chrissy officially deactivated her Twitter account.

In the days leading up to her account's deletion, Teigen revealed that she and Kris Jenner (and Emma Grede) had teamed up to create a line of cleaning plant-based products,

'Years in the making - excited to finally announce the launch of @GETSAFELY with two absolute bosses, Emma Grede and @KrisJenner,' tweeted Teigen on Monday along with a photo of herself and Jenner.

'Plant based with aromatherapy oils annnnnd it works. Could cry. Cannot wait to see this in your homes. (Really!!!)'

Despite her obvious excitement over the line's launch, the Lip Sync Battle social media pages became flooded with criticism pertaining to her association with the Kardashian clan.

'Love you but dont like you getting involved with that family. Does not fit with your brand,' tweeted one disappointed fan, adding: 'You are better than this. Sad to see this.'

Another firmly stated that they would not be purchasing products from Safely because they refuse to 'put a penny into a Jenner/Kardashian pocket.'

One Twitter user contested Teigen's claim that Safely was 'years in the making' and even speculated that it was a way to profit off the pandemic.

'Highly doubt this was years in the making. More like, lets release a cleaning product just long enough after everyone forgot about hoarding hand sanitizer, so we dont seem like were using the pandemic as a tool to profit from,' their tweet read.

Although many of the tweets were prefaced with how much they 'love' Teigen, they also expressed a similar distaste towards the star coming out with 'MORE products,' on top of her already successful Cravings empire.

'I love you so much, Ms. Teigen... but really? MORE products? More profit?' one tweet began.

'You are a hero to me in SO many ways, so I say this I love! It just seems like the ever-widening chasm between those who have plenty and those who have nothing is exacerbated by this kind of venture.'

According to People, Safely will offer hand creams, soaps and sanitizers, along with more heavy-duty cleaning supplies and glass cleaner products.

The company, which officially launches on Thursday, wrote that it was 'dedicated to clean cleaning with natural aromatherapy scents' in a press release.

Last year, Teigen shared the heartbreak of a miscarriage on the site, posting an anguished picture of her in the hospital. Another image showed her and Legend grieving over a bundle cradled in her arms.

While her candor about the loss of their son won praise, some criticized her for putting such painful moments on social media.

In November, Teigen announced that she was taking a hiatus from social media as she found herself in a 'grief hole' following the tragic loss of her baby son Jack.

'I'm not tweeting much because I'm honestly in a bit of a grief depression hole but do not worry as I have so much help around me to get better and I'll be fixed soon,' wrote the model, 34, via Twitter on Nov. 25.

Heartbreaking: Chrissy and John revealed in September that their son Jack was stillborn

Tragic loss: Chrissy revealed in an emotional Instagram post on September 30th that Jack was born stillborn, after she endured several serious pregnancy complications; Chrissy pictured on September 30

She added: 'they'll call when im better and ready for pickup and u can swing by and grab me ok? thank u and love you!'

Chrissy revealed in an emotional Instagram post on September 30th that Jack was born stillborn, after she endured several serious pregnancy complications.

Chrissy shares the late baby Jack, as well as daughter Luna, four, and son Miles, two, with husband of seven-years John Legend, 41.

Teigen's Instagram account, with more than 34 million followers, remains active as does Legend's Twitter account, with 14 million followers.
Melbourne, March 25 : Australia's Victoria will resume receiving international arrivals from April 8, nearly six weeks after the state banned international flights due to cases detected at quarantine hotel that triggered a five-day lockdown.

The state will start from an arrival cap of 800 people per week and scale up to 1,120 people per week subject to capacity and the completion of ventilation works, according to announcement by the state's Acting Premier James Merlino on Thursday.

The state government said the decision was made after independent expert reviews into the management of new, highly-infectious and rapidly changing variants of concern, and an evaluation into how each hotel ventilation system can respond to this ever-changing virus.

"The challenges of this virus will be with us for some time to come, that's why we've listened to the advice of experts and made the necessary changes to ensure we're keeping Victorians safe," Merlino said in his announcement.

The state also made several improvements to the existing hotel quarantine system, including developing a new Victorian standard for ventilation systems and upgrading hotels where necessary to comply with the standard.

Testing of hotel residents will be boosted from two to four times during their quarantine period, with follow up tests recommended after quarantine, based on medical advice.

Professional hygienist physician and a team of engineers and other specialists will conduct room-by-room assessments on quarantine hotel ventilation.

According to the state government, more than 4,150 frontline quarantine workers already received jab of the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccination, and the rollout of the second dose is underway.

The state has marked 27 days since its last case of local transmission.
OTTAWA  In a decision that marked an important victory for Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus climate change agenda, Canadas Supreme Court ruled that the federal governments imposition of carbon taxes in provinces that oppose them was constitutional.

Citing Parliaments power to legislate on matters related to peace, order and good government, the court said that fighting climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions was a matter of national concern protected under the Constitution.

This matter is critical to our response to an existential threat to human life in Canada and around the world, the court wrote in a 6-to-3 decision. Climate change is real. It is caused by greenhouse gas emissions resulting from human activities and it poses a grave threat to humanitys future.

The concept of carbon pricing has been widely endorsed by economists, and according to the World Bank, some form of it has been carried out or is in development in 64 countries, either through direct taxes on fossil fuels or through cap-and-trade programs.
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) expressed reservations regarding the Twitter prohibition of former President Donald Trump. He stated he does not like the idea of a "handful of high-tech people" imposing too much power.

Sanders made the remarks in an interview with The New York Times. He was asked about Twitter banning Trump permanently from its platform.

Sanders: Not 'Comfortable' With Trump's Twitter Ban

The independent US senator stated he does not feel "particularly comfortable" with the social media giant's permanent ban on the former president. Shortly after the January 6 US Capitol protest, Trump supporters ran wildly through the building, which resulted in five fatalities, including a Capitol police officer. Therefore, social media platforms Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube suspended Trump's accounts or restricted his access, reported DUK News.

According to former presidential candidate Sanders on the "The Ezra Klein Show," Trump was "a racist, a sexist, a homophobe, a xenophobe, a pathological liar, an authoritarian, somebody who doesn't believe in the rule of law." However, Sanders remarked social media websites should not allow "hate speech and conspiracy theories" on their websites. He added the internet should not be used for "authoritarian purposes and insurrection," reported WGN9.

Twitter stated the decision was "due to the risk of further incitement of violence." It added that Trump's most recent posts "violated the company's policy against glorification of violence," reported CNN.

Sanders is a progressive senator and is a frequent critic of large tech and corporations. He remarked he is not sure what the right answer is on how to protect First Amendment Rights without moving the United States into a big lie frame of thinking and conspiracy theories.

Trump Makes Surprise Appearance at Dog Rescue Fundraiser

He posed the question of how to balance such and said he does not know. He also called for giant tech companies including Facebook and Amazon to be broken up.



According to Twitter CEO Jack Dempsey, he does not celebrate or feel pride in having @realDonaldTrump prohibited from their microblogging site Twitter or how they got there. After a clear warning, they had taken action, and they made a decision with the best information they had based on threats to physical safety online or offline from Twitter.

One of the tech world's high profile names leans in the same direction on Trump being placed on a social media blacklist. According to Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in a February interview, he believes companies should eventually allow the former president back.

Trump plans to establish his own social media platform in two to three months. According to Twitter's chief financial officer, Trump will not be permitted back on the platform even if he runs again for office and wins his bid for the presidency.

Sanders also noted that while the former president was prohibited, in the future, it could be somebody else who has a very different mentality. Sanders added He said the devil is obviously in the details, and the issue is something we need to be going to have to analyze.

Trump to Return to Social Media With 'Own Platform' in 2-3 Months

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
By Lacey Pfalz, TravelPulse

One of the many signs of spring -- along the East coast at least -- is the blossoming of the cherry trees in Washington, D.C. The trees are a major attraction for the city, to the point where an annual springtime festival takes place devoted to the blossoms and the arrival of warm weather.

Due to the ongoing pandemic, some of National Cherry Blossom Festivals activities will be held virtually on the official website. March 26s Pink Tie Party, for example, as well as April 9s Celebration Show, will also be held virtually. There is even a Bloom Cam for those whod love to experience the beauty of the blossoms themselves.

The festival began on March 20 and runs through April 11. If you want to see the flowers in their peak bloom, however, the best time to visit is expected to be around April 2-5.

If you are interested in traveling to participate in the festival, please see the list of participating hotels on the festivals website. Some are beautiful historic hotels that are truly a step back in time, while others pay homage to the citys forward-looking culture.

Back in 1912, Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo gifted the city of Washington, D.C., with 3,000 Japanese cherry trees to honor the friendship between Japan and the United States. The first lady, Helen Taft, and Iwa Chinda, the wife of the Japanese ambassador at the time, directed the planting in the Tidal Basin, one of the most photographed parts of the city to this day.

The National Cherry Blossom Festival began in 1927 and is now is almost 100 years old. Hosting performers from Japan and the U.S., it remains a gesture of friendship and international goodwill..

Visit the National Cherry Blossom Festival website for more information.
Thank you for reading!

Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
During the talks, the Holy See and Ukraine expressed hope in gestures for a peaceful resolution in eastern Ukraine.

Vatican News

Pope Francis on Thursday received Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal of Ukraine in a private audience in the Vatican, the Holy See's Press Office said in a brief note. Later, Shmyhal also held talks with Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who was accompanied by Vatican Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher.

At the beginning of the cordial discussions at the Secretariat of State, the Press Office noted, both sides focused on the good relations between the Holy See and Ukraine, with particular attention to some current matters of mutual interest, as well as various themes relating to the life and activity of the Catholic Church in the country. Then they discussed extensively the health crisis and the dramatic situation in eastern Ukraine, with the hope that the recent ceasefire violations would give way to gestures promoting a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
Advertisement

European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen has desperately threatened to block AstraZeneca vaccine exports to Britain until the firm 'catches-up' on its deliveries to the Continent.

EU leaders stopped short of voting for an explicit export ban amid bitter squabbling over their dose allocations at a crunch virtual summit hosted by Brussels on Thursday evening.

But despite alarm at the legal implications from countries including Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, Sweden and Denmark, it was clear that the threat of embargoes would not be taken off the table.

Von der Leyen maintained the tough stance, telling a news conference that AstraZeneca 'has to honour the contract it has with the European member states, before it can engage again in exporting vaccines.'

'We could have been much faster if all pharmaceutical companies had fulfilled their contracts,' she added. 'AstraZenaca has committed to a lower number of doses than was contracted.'

It comes despite an apparent effort to ease tensions on Wednesday night when the EU agreed to put out a joint statement with the UK 'to create a win-win situation and expand vaccine supply for all our citizens.'

US vaccine-maker Pfizer, which ships jabs from Europe to Britain, echoed Boris Johnson's sentiments today as it warned the bloc that export controls risked creating a 'lose-lose' situation for everyone.

But Emmanuel Macron, who has admitted that Europe's vaccine roll-out 'lacked ambition,' struck a defiant tone this evening as he called the blockade threat 'the end of naivety.'

'I support export control mechanisms put in place by the European Commission. I support the fact that we must block all exports for as long as some drug companies don't respect their commitments with Europeans,' the French president said after the meeting.

France, along with Germany, has backed tough measures to resolve the crisis which has seen Brussels blame Britain, blockade Australia and beg the United States for doses of the AstraZeneca jab - which earlier this year leaders like Macron claimed was 'ineffective.'

Macron and Merkel are feeling the heat domestically as they battle soaring infection rates amid a third wave of the virus which has brought yet more scrutiny on their woeful vaccine roll-outs.

Newly-Brexited Britain has managed 46 doses per 100 people in the population, this compares to just 14 doses per 100 in Germany and 13 per 100 in France, which prides itself on its well-endowed public healthcare system.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen maintained the tough stance, telling the news conference that AstraZeneca 'has to honour the contract it has with the European member states, before it can engage again in exporting vaccines'

Emmanuel Macron speaking after the summit and gesturing to a graph which appears to show the shortfall in doses from AstraZeneca (far right bar on his graph). He struck a defiant tone this evening as he called the blockade threat 'the end of naivety'

The UK's vaccine rollout has surged far ahead of the EU's leaving the bloc under huge pressure to explain why

German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives for a statement after video conference of EU leaders at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany

French President Emmanuel Macron attends an EU summit video conference from the Elysee Palace in Paris

Boris Johnson visits the Monkey Puzzle Nursery in Greenford, in the London borough of Ealing on Thursday

Angela Merkel said after the summit: 'We are on the one hand inclined to respect global supply chains and want to fight protectionism, but of course we also want to protect our own people because we know this is the way out of the crisis. In relation to Britain, we want a win-win situation, we want to act sensibly politically.'

Europe's intransigence comes after an extraordinary rebuke from the former Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker who called Europe's vaccine war with Britain 'stupid.'

Now India bans AstraZeneca exports to keep jabs for their own population in fresh blow to Britain's supply chain woes after EU threatened an embargo until deliveries are met India has banned AstraZeneca exports in a fresh blow to Britain's supply chain woes after the EU last night threatened an embargo until deliveries are met. A second wave is gripping the country and there is increased demand for the doses made by the Serum Institute of India (SII), the world's biggest vaccine-maker. The SII has been told to stop all exports until India's needs can be met, sources at the health ministry in Delhi revealed. But India last night sought to reassure its international customers that they would get their shipments of vaccine, including Britain which has a pending order for 5 million doses. Another 53,000 cases were recorded on Wednesday, the highest single-day tally for five months. Fifty-three million Indians have received at least one dose of a vaccine, but Prime Minister Narendra Modhi has set a target of 300 million by June in the country of 1.4 billion. A government source said it had not imposed any ban on vaccine exports 'unlike many other countries,' and that it would continue to supply doses in phases. 'We remain committed to help the world with vaccines, including through the COVAX facility,' the source told Reuters. However, a health ministry source told The Times: 'Other countries will get supplies only if there are vaccines left over after keeping enough for our own population.' The move will also affect supplies to the GAVI/WHO-backed global COVAX vaccine-sharing facility, through which 64 poorer countries are supposed to get doses from the SII, the programme's procurement and distributing partner UNICEF told Reuters. Deliveries will be delayed in March and April 'as the government of India battles a new wave of COVID-19 infections,' GAVI, an alliance of countries, companies and charities that promote vaccination, said in a statement. COVAX was in talks with India to 'ensure some supplies are completed during March and April,' it said, adding that the SII had supplied 28 million doses to COVAX. An additional 40 million doses had been expected in March and up to 50 million doses in April. An Indian government source said it may be necessary to adjust supply schedules given India's vaccination needs. 'All stakeholders would have to work together to adjust the schedules as required,' the source said. India's foreign ministry and the SII did not reply to requests for comment. 'Everything else has taken a backseat (to India's needs), for the time being at least,' said one of the sources. 'No exports, nothing till the time the India situation stabilises. The government won't take such a big chance at the moment when so many need to be vaccinated in India.' India has so far exported more than 60.5 million doses in total, according to the foreign ministry's website, and many countries are relying on the COVAX programme to immunise their citizens. The SII has already delayed shipments of the AstraZeneca drug to Brazil, Britain, Morocco and Saudi Arabia. British authorities are in touch with Delhi to get its second batch of 5 million doses ordered from SII. Advertisement

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz also warned that a failure to resolve grievances between member states over how many doses each would receive risked 'damage to the EU like we haven't seen in a long time.'

Von der Leyen referenced the third wave that is gripping much of Europe and which has caused ratcheting tensions between nations over how many vaccine doses they will be allocated.

Merkel, under pressure in Germany after making a U-turn on plans for an extended Easter holiday to stop the spread, defended the EU's decision to procure vaccines jointly for all member states.

'Now that we see that even small differences in the distribution of vaccines cause big discussions, I would not like to imagine if some member states had vaccines and others did not,' she told German lawmakers ahead of the summit. 'That would shake the internal market to its core.'

Macron said the EU had been late in ramping up vaccine production and inoculations, but was catching up and would become the world's biggest producer of vaccines this summer.

He added that the EU, unlike other countries, had exported a big part of its production instead of keeping it for itself.

'Europe is not a selfish continent. Because when I read what the press on the other side of the Channel writes, we're being accused of being selfish. Wrong! We let our supply chains untouched,' Macron said.

'But we saw that the United States tend to protect their own vaccine production ... that the United Kingdom did not export many doses. Actually, none. So we put in place an export control mechanism.'

The EU's executive unveiled plans on Wednesday to tighten oversight of vaccine exports that would allow greater scope to block shipments to countries with higher inoculation rates.

A draft of the summit conclusions seen by Reuters said on vaccines that leaders would stress 'the importance of ... export authorisations', and reaffirm that vaccine producers must be respect contractual delivery deadlines.

However, diplomats said countries with misgivings about a tougher stand on exports would not put up strong resistance.

'Their message is ... please act very cautiously, in a very balanced way,' said one EU diplomat. 'But there is nobody who says don't do it.'

The two-day summit will conclude on Friday.

It comes after the EU and the UK on Wednesday night issued a joint statement pledging to work together after Boris Johnson warned that businesses could flee the bloc's borders if it imposed 'arbitrary' blockades.

And Health Secretary Matt Hancock delivered another blunt rebuke today, insisting that the UK's contract with AstraZeneca was fundamentally better than the EU's.

'I believe that free trading nations follow the law of contracts,' he told the FT. 'They have a ''best efforts'' contract and we have an exclusivity deal.'

On a visit to a nursery today, Boris Johnson said he was 'on the side of openness' in trade in vaccines.

He said: 'One thing I am firmly libertarian about is free trade and I don't want to see blockades of vaccines or of medicines, I don't think that's the way forward either for us or for any of our friends.'

Ahead of the talks, Mr Kurz took aim at the EU's joint procurement system, which is meant to split up supplies based on the size of population.

'The word solidarity is always being called upon and used so often in the European Union - people are trying to take care of the whole world,' Mr Kurz said.

'And when member states have a lot less vaccines available to them than others, then I think this is a big issue for Europe. I would even go so far as to say that I think that when there is no solution, this could cause damage to the European Union like we haven't seen in a long time.'

Earlier, the French president admitted that the bloc had not gone 'fast enough or strong enough' on on vaccines.

But Mr Macron seemingly could not bring himself to acknowledge the UK's stunning progress, instead heaping praise on the US for 'shooting for the stars'.

Speaking to the Bundestag this morning, Angela Merkel appeared to accept that the EU's contracts were not as strong as the UK's.

'British production sites are manufacturing for Britain and the United States is not exporting, so we are reliant on what we can make in Europe,' she said.

Insisting production within the bloc must be ramped up, she added: 'We have to assume that the virus, with its mutations, may be occupying us for a long time to come so the question goes far beyond this year.'

However, she also tried to defend the EU's decision to procure vaccines jointly - something that has been blamed for making it less nimble than the UK.

The Europeans are angry that UK-based pharma giant AstraZeneca has failed to meet its vaccine delivery promises to them while ensuring smoother supplies to former member Britain, who ordered their doses months earlier.

Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz (pictured attending the summit today) accused other member states of taking more than their fair share of jabs, warning that failure to resolve their grievances risked 'damage to the EU like we haven't seen in a long time'

German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended the EU's joint procurement approach today in a speech to the Bundestag

The EU summit today and tomorrow is taking place via video link after the council admitted that the pandemic prevented them meeting in person

On a visit to a nursery in London today, Mr Johnson said he was 'on the side of openness' in trade in vaccines

It has emerged that Brussels bureaucrats even ordered a raid on an Italian vaccine factory in a bid to grab British jabs  only to find doses destined for the world's poorest nations and the people of Europe.

The looming third wave of coronavirus infections and Europe's struggle to mount a vaccination drive will dominate the video summit, where leaders of the 27 states will also be addressed by US President Joe Biden.

The bloc stepped back from the brink of a vaccine war with Britain last night following a furious backlash by member states.

Merkel 'is definitely a lame duck' after lockdown shambles Angela Merkel is 'definitively a lame duck' after she was forced to make a humiliating U-turn by scrapping plans for a strict Easter lockdown, a former German government spokesman has said. Bela Anda, a press secretary under Merkel's predecessor Gerhard Schroeder, said Merkel had seen her power 'eroded' by the fiasco - with her party's poll ratings in freefall six months before an election which will determine her successor. Merkel asked the German public for 'forgiveness' at an astonishing press conference on Wednesday where she said the widely-criticised plan for a total shutdown over Easter had been 'my mistake, and my mistake alone'. 'The political world in Berlin will draw the conclusion that from today, Angela Merkel is definitively - I'm sorry to say it - a lame duck,' Anda told Bild last night. 'It's certainly clear that a decision which is made and then not implemented means an erosion of power for Merkel from today onwards'. Advertisement

In an apparent climbdown, the European Commission agreed a joint statement with the UK offering to work to find a 'win-win' solution to the row.

The statement came at the end of a day of brinkmanship in which Brussels tabled proposals allowing it to block the export of vaccines to the UK.

Mr Johnson warned that blockading life-saving vaccine supplies would do lasting reputational damage to the EU and deter international firms from wanting to invest there.

Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt branded the proposed export ban 'idiotic' and warned it could wreck the EU's relations with Britain for years.

'Step by step the EU is destroying the possibility of a long-term partnership and friendship with its closest neighbour,' he said.

Other Tory MPs branded the threats 'mind-blowingly stupid'.

Even senior MEPs warned that the EU had pulled out the 'shotgun' but was at risk of 'shooting ourselves in the foot'.

In an interview with Greek television channel ERT, Mr Macron conceded that the EU had lacked ambition.

'Everybody, all the experts said: Never in the history of mankind was a vaccine developed in less than a year,' he said.

'We didn't shoot for the stars. That should be a lesson for all of us.

'We were wrong to lack ambition, to lack the madness, I would say, to say: It's possible, let's do it.'

However, Mr Macron - who has been one of the most hawkish EU leaders against the UK over Brexit - could not bring himself to make a cross-Channel comparison.

Instead he hailed the American effort to develop vaccines.

'We didn't think it would happen that quickly... You can give that to the Americans, as early as the summer of 2020 they said: let's pull out all the stops and do it,' he said.

This chart shows how the AstraZeneca supply chain looks across Europe

'As far as we're concerned, we didn't go fast enough, strong enough on this. We thought the vaccines would take time to take off.'

Mrs Merkel told the Bundestag this morning: 'Despite all the complaints, it was right to rely on the joint procurement and approval of vaccines by the European Union.

'Now that we see even small differences in the distribution of vaccines cause big discussions, I would not like to imagine if some member states had vaccines and others did not. That would shake the internal market to its core.'

Mr Juncker told the BBC: 'I'm not a fan of this idea. This could create major reputational damage to the EU, who used to be the world free trade champion.

'I don't think this is the right way to do it. We have to pull back from a vaccine war.

'Nobody understands why we're witnessing such a stupid vaccine war. This cannot be dealt with in a war atmosphere.

'We are not in war and we are not enemies, we are allies. We have special relations with Britain, there's room for dialogue.'

The former commission chief lashed out at the EU for 'major mistakes' in being 'too cautious' and 'too budget conscious' when approving and procuring vaccines.

The UK-EU joint statement last night acknowledged the third wave of cases in Europe made co-operation more important but said no resolution had yet been reached.

'Given our interdependencies, we are working on specific steps we can take  in the short, medium and long term  to create a win-win situation and expand vaccine supply for all our citizens,' it said. 'In the end, openness and global co-operation of all countries will be key to finally overcome this pandemic and ensure better preparation for meeting future challenges.'

However, ministers are concerned that the commission powers are still in place, and there is not expected to be any formal decision from EU leaders today.

Mr Johnson has refused categorically to rule out retaliatory action  which could see the UK suspend the export of vaccine ingredients  although he made clear he was not in favour of the move at this stage.

Negotiations are thought to centre on an AstraZeneca plant in the Netherlands.

One Whitehall source said: 'They have armed themselves with a bazooka and pointed it at us  it is quite incendiary, not to mention morally and legally outrageous.'

France and Germany have backed a hardline stance as they try to deflect attention from their own sluggish vaccination campaigns.

EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, who is fighting to keep her job over the disastrous vaccine rollout, has toughened her stance towards Britain in recent days

A source close to Mr Macron warned that the EU would no longer continue to be 'the useful idiot' in allowing jabs to be shipped overseas while the bloc struggles for supplies.

But the prospect of a damaging ban has alarmed a string of other EU countries. Ireland has declared the idea a 'very retrograde step', while Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Finland and Sweden are also said to harbour concerns.

Yesterday began with an extraordinary raid by Italian authorities on an AstraZeneca plant wrongly suspected of preparing to export millions of doses to Britain. In fact, the 29million jabs were destined for other EU countries and parts of the Third World.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen then published 'temporary' powers allowing the EU to block the export of jabs to countries such as the UK which have higher vaccination rates.

The plan could threaten millions of doses of the AZ vaccine due to be shipped from the Netherlands. But it could also cut off the UK's entire supply of the Pfizer jab, which comes from Belgium. Such a move could jeopardise the ability of the NHS to administer second doses of the vaccine.

A further threat to the UK rollout emerged last night as India was reported to have blocked all major exports of the AZ vaccine because infections there are soaring.

Two weeks after five million doses for the UK were stopped, sources said Narendra Modi's government has now implemented a complete ban on exports by the Serum Institute of India, the world's biggest vaccine manufacturer.

The move will also affect supplies to the Covax vaccine-sharing facility through which more than 180 poorer countries are expected to get doses, one of the sources said. Covax would also be hit by any EU ban. Its co-chairman Jane Halton said any threats from Brussels to hold vaccine exports hostage would be 'extremely regrettable'.

EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides denied the plans amounted to an export ban, adding: 'We're dealing with a pandemic and this is not seeking to punish any countries.'

One EU diplomat said Britain had 'taken a risk' by leaving itself 'extremely dependent' on the EU for second doses of the Pfizer jab.

Boris Johnson faces 60-strong Tory revolt on crunch vote TODAY on extending Covid powers until SEPTEMBER

Boris Johnson will face the wrath of his own lockdown-sceptic backbenchers today as he pushes through an extension of lockdown laws until the autumn.

A hardcore of as many as 60 Conservative MPs is expected to rebel against Government plans to extend emergency powers to the end of September, despite the lockdown officially ending in June.

Politicians in the Covid Recovery Group (CRG) blasted the 'significant draconian powers' and questioned the need for them to be in place if the UK has returned to relative normal.

However, any Tory rebellion is almost certain to fail to impede the legislation, with Labour planning to back it in this evening's Commons vote.

CRG leader Mark Harper, who believes plans to ease the lockdown 'could safely go more quickly', told Sky News: 'The biggest problem today is the extension of some very significant draconian powers in the Coronavirus Act which the Government doesn't want to extend until June, it actually wants to extend all the way into October.

'And these are quite significant powers; they are powers, for example, for the police to detain people indefinitely and to continue having powers to shutdown events and so forth all the way through to October.

'And I haven't heard a single good answer about why the Government wishes to do that, given that the Prime Minister has said he wants to be out of all of our legal restrictions by June.'

But pn a visit to a school in Greenford, north west London this morning Mr Johnson defended his libertarian instincts.

'The libertarian in me is also trying to protect people's fundamental right to life and their ability to live their lives normally and the only way really to restore that for everybody is for us to beat the disease, and the best path to freedom is down the cautious but irreversible road map that we've set out - that's what the freedom-lover wants,' he said.

CRG leader Mark Harper told Sky News: 'These are quite significant powers; they are powers, for example, for the police to detain people indefinitely and to continue having powers to shutdown events and so forth all the way through to October'

The legislation for restrictions over the coming months, as the Government sets out its road map for coming out of lockdown, will see some restrictions remain in place in England until at least June 21.

There are also question marks over summer holidays taking place after that date, amid a third wave of Covid infections in mainland Europe.

But Conservative MP Steve Baker, deputy chairman of the CRG, said the vote was a 'rare opportunity' for MPs to 'say no to a new way of life in a checkpoint society'.

'I was glad to hear the Prime Minister reassure William Wragg MP at the Liaison Committee today that 'anything that is redundant will go' in relation to Coronavirus Act powers,' the former minister said last night.

'Draconian police powers under Schedule 21, which have a 100 per cent unlawful prosecution record, must be considered 'redundant' to say the very least.

'I am seeking to table an amendment to the motion tomorrow asking ministers to suspend those powers.

'I now hope the Government can support it.'

It comes as Matt Hancock said he could see an 'end' to the pandemic that would involve managing coronavirus 'more like flu' with repeated and updated vaccinations.

The Health Secretary expressed confidence about the UK's ability to manage Covid-19 in the future, telling the Financial Times: 'It depends what you mean by ''end''. I see an end where Covid is managed more like flu: we repeatedly vaccinate, we update the vaccines according to mutations and we manage the challenges, especially around transmissions over winter.

'I'm confident that's where we can get to. I want to get to a position where we can have an updated vaccine in weeks or months, not a year.'

Government data up to March 23 shows 28,653,523 people have received a first vaccine dose, a rise of 325,650 on the previous day.

A further 98 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Wednesday, bringing the total by that measure to 126,382.

As of 9am on Wednesday, there had been a further 5,605 lab-confirmed cases in the UK, bringing the total to 4,312,908.

Sir Jeremy Farrar said he believes it is likely that the ban on international travel will need to continue.

The Wellcome Trust director said: 'I think it will, until we can see progress in Europe with the epidemic coming down and vaccination rates going up in Europe.'

Asked about further testing of people coming in, he said lateral flow tests 'don't pick up every case but they do pick up the cases that are more infectious, and that is a very, very important public health intervention'.

On the issue of vaccine certificates and passports, he said he thinks they could cross the line 'of individual freedoms and public health', adding that 'public health works when there is trust and when people want to do things that are their interests, and in the interests of their community, their families and their society'.

Boris Johnson says vaccine passports WON'T stop beer gardens opening on April 12 but refuses to rule out 'no jab, no drink' plan

Boris Johnson has said vaccine passports will not stop beer gardens opening on April 12 but refused to rule out a 'no jab, no drink' plan for when pubs fully reopen on May 17.

The Prime Minister said the result of the review into coronavirus health certificates can be expected by April 12, although it may not be possible to roll them out until everyone has been offered a jab - which could take months.

He said he thinks there should be a role for them but added it needs to be done carefully because some people have medical reasons they cannot get jabbed and there are 'moral complexities' and 'ethical problems'.

Landlords and brewers today revolted over plans for vaccine passports for pubs after it was revealed hospitality venues could be allowed to bar customers who cannot prove they have had a Covid jab or a negative test.

Mr Johnson had yesterday told MPs landlords might be given powers to impose tough entry requirements on drinkers  and Government sources confirmed this was part of an official review of vaccine passports.

While visiting the the Monkey Puzzle Day Nursery in Greenford, West London, today, Mr Johnson told Sky News: 'Obviously we're looking at the issues that are raised by vaccination certification - what can you do?

'Now, in aviation, clearly there are lots of countries are thinking about using some sort of vaccine passport, and I think that there are three basic components.

'There's the vaccine, there's your immunity that you might have after you've had Covid, and then there's testing. So there are three things that could work together.

'No decisions have been taken at all. One thing I will make clear is none of this is obviously going to apply on April 12, when it will all be outdoors anyway. So whatever happens on April 12 will be unaffected.

How a coronavirus vaccine passport for Britons could look

'All sorts of things are being considered. What we want to do is roll out the vaccine programme and see what that builds in terms of general resistance to the virus. And I do think there is going to be a role for certification.

'What we've said is that we'll be reporting on the work of the certification group in early April, either on April 5 or on April 12.

'I think we need to think carefully about the issues - as I've said before, there are lots of difficult issues because there are some people who for medical reasons can't get a vaccination, pregnant women can't get a vaccination at the moment.

'You've got to be careful about how you do this, you might only be able to implement a thorough-going vaccinate passport scheme, even if you wanted such a thing, in the context of when absolutely everybody had been offered a vaccine.'

Industry bosses across Britain said the idea for pubs was 'absurd' and 'unworkable' and signalled they would not ask customers for proof that they had been inoculated or were clear of coronavirus.

Pubs could even face a choice between being half-full with social distancing measures in place - or using vaccine certificates so they could open at full capacity, a Government source told The Times.

It comes just as the vaccine rollout starts to slow because of supply problems. Younger people now face a longer wait and some inoculation centres are already indicating they will close temporarily next month.

Some 28,327,873 adults have had a first dose of the jab, with a further 2,363,684 fully vaccinated. But a shortfall of five million jabs from India and the need to retest 1.7million doses means the rollout will slow down in April.

Scientists could recommend the rollout of vaccine passports to encourage people to get the jab, but there are also concerns that the certificates could lead to indirect discrimination among ethnic groups where uptake is low.

'Green pass' vaccine passports have already been rolled out in Israel, which has had a world-beating response to the pandemic with more than half of its 9.2million people already having received both doses of a Covid-19 jab.

Now, Britons desperate for a post-lockdown pint at their local beer garden are facing a huge struggle to get a table when outdoor seating areas reopen from April 12 - with some pubs now booked up for months.

However not all chains are operating a booking system, with Wetherspoon opening 394 of its beer gardens or terraces on a first-come-first-served basis.

Meanwhile MailOnline poll found 59 per cent of people would back and 19 per cent would oppose businesses such as pubs using vaccine passports. The survey of 1,500 voters was done by Redfield and Wilton Strategies.

JOHN HUMPHRYS: This has destroyed the faith of an old Remainer like me

By John Humphrys for the Daily Mail

I failed in the eyes of many listeners when I was presenting the Today programme in the long run-up to the EU referendum in 2016

BBC news presenters like to pretend that they are impartial  except when it comes to distinguishing between good and evil. They have no choice. That's the test that the great Lord Reith set a century ago and, by and large, it applies today. But it's not easy.

I failed in the eyes of many listeners when I was presenting the Today programme in the long run-up to the EU referendum in 2016. They accused me of being so biased in favour of Brexit that I never gave the Remainers a fair chance to state their case. They were right about me being biased  but wrong about where my bias lay.

I was so determined not to show my true colours that I might just possibly have given Remainers a slightly rougher ride than they deserved when I interviewed them. In the highly charged atmosphere of the most bitterly fought referendum in this nation's history, that was more than enough to condemn me in the eyes of Remainers.

The fact is, I was one of them: A Remainer through and through.

But this week it's hard for an old Remainer like me, waiting to have his second jab, not to muse on his referendum vote back in 2016 and wonder whether he might have voted differently if he'd known then what he knows now.

It is a loss of faith that would never have occurred to my younger self.

I'd been a pro-European ever since we signed up to the EEC in 1973. How could any idealistic young man, born even as German bombs were falling on his home city, fail to be moved by the grand notion of a united Europe?

I'll admit that my faith was shaken more than once in the decades that followed but never enough to join the ranks of the Brexiteers.

Europe was, by a mile, our biggest trading partner and therefore crucial to our future prosperity. And, yes, I might have had growing misgivings about the Brussels dream of an 'ever closer union' but surely that was a small price to pay for peace on a continent racked by war for centuries.

So it was that I went to bed as the referendum polling stations were closing on June 23, 2016, confident that I'd be downing a glass of bubbly with my Today colleagues after the results came in the following morning. Instead the newsroom resembled a wake after the death of a loved one. The mourning was led by the big bosses.

In the five years since there have been many occasions on which I've been able to say: Told you so! But the fiasco of repeated failures to strike a decent deal pale in to insignificance compared with what is happening as I write. It is not being melodramatic to claim that lives are at stake.

Vaccination against Covid saves lives. Denial of the vaccine kills people. It's one thing for the bureaucrats of Brussels or Whitehall to squabble over the finer details of how the Northern Ireland border might (or might not) operate. It's something else again for the EU  led by the risible figure of Ursula von der Leyen  to threaten a vaccine war with the United Kingdom.

It is a threat that seems to have little justification other than to distract attention from the EU's own pathetic failure to procure the jabs that are needed for the EU's own citizens and deliver them speedily to those most at risk.

It is both shameful and devious to try to blame Britain for having succeeded so magnificently where the EU has failed. Boris Johnson, who looked so careworn when he appeared before the media this week  as well he might  must be thanking his lucky stars for President von der Leyen's performance.

It's like a boxer who's been on the ropes for most of the bout watching his opponent punch himself on the nose.

Brussels must have had high hopes of a morale-boosting performance from the respected politician and MEP Philippe Lamberts when he appeared on the Today programme yesterday. And indeed all went well when he launched an attack on the inability to fulfil promises of the vaccine manufacturer AstraZeneca. They had, he said, 'performed with a track record of dishonesty. Over promising. Under delivering by massive amounts. We have seen that they have also bungled up at least twice their test data so everything points to a company that cannot be relied upon.'

Strong stuff but, as my old friend Justin Webb pointed out, it would sound more cogent coming from the European side if it weren't for the fact that there are millions of AZ doses available in Europe that are not being used. They're just being stored.

Mr Lamberts, doubtless to the dismay of his EU President, agreed. Indeed, he made no attempt to conceal his admiration for what Britain has done. As he said, the track record of member states pales in comparison.

He even agreed with Justin that 'AZ has been the subject of a scurrilous campaign around Europe, a campaign that went right to the top of European politics, that suggested things about the vaccine that weren't true, that have led to all sorts of confusion for Europeans on whether to take it.'

So where do we go from here?

What many European politicians, including Mr Lamberts, wanted is for the British Government, the EU commission and AZ at the highest levels to sit together and try to find a mutually agreeable solution. And last night the UK and the EU did exactly that.

Afterwards they issued a joint statement saying they are working together 'to create a win-win situation and expand vaccine supply for all our citizens', adding: 'In the end, openness and global co-operation of all countries will be key to finally overcome this pandemic and ensure better preparation for meeting future challenges.'

Such emollience came not before time. Earlier in the day, Brussels had upped the ante by publishing proposals widening the criteria for restricting exports to countries with high jab rates. The Italian authorities went so far as to impound unilaterally 29million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Vaccine nationalism is something we should all fear. Some estimates suggest a European ban could delay Britain's vaccine drive by two months and affect supply by 20 per cent.

As Johnson has put it, 'We are all fighting the same pandemic Vaccines are an international operation.' What he does not want is a retaliatory ban on exports: 'We do not believe in blockades of any kind.'

And what does Brussels really want? Hard to say.

The French Europe minister Clement Beaune has said: 'We want to avoid AstraZeneca doses produced in Europe going to Britain when we are not receiving anything.' The German Chancellor Angela Merkel no less has said the EU has 'a problem with AstraZeneca'.

And a ban on exporting drugs is not the only weapon in the Brussels armoury. The European Council President Charles Michel has raised the prospect that the EU could adopt 'urgent measures' by invoking an emergency provision in the EU treaties which ostensibly could be used to force vaccine makers to share their patents or other licenses.

In the formal language of an EU treaty it is known as compulsory licensing. Drug companies might prefer the word 'theft'.

But perhaps all this is unnecessarily alarmist. Perhaps there will be no ban, no vaccine war, no enforced 'sharing' of patents.

Perhaps. But I would need to regain my faith in the Remainer religion to accept that.
YEREVAN, 25 MARCH, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 25 March, USD exchange rate up by 0.36 drams to 528.68 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 0.79 drams to 624.37 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.01 drams to 6.96 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 1.20 drams to 724.24 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price up by 93.07 drams to 29414.1 drams. Silver price down by 6.93 drams to 428.25 drams. Platinum price down by 173.24 drams to 19972.01 drams.
Syracuse, N.Y.  Beginning today, Syracuse University is providing free rides to Onondaga Countys downtown vaccine site for eligible students who sign up for shots to protect against Covid-19.

County and university officials are encouraging students to sign up for vaccines if they are eligible. Students can qualify for the shots if they have certain public-facing jobs or medical conditions, including obesity.

In a letter to students Wednesday, university officials said free shuttles will run continuously from campus to the vaccine site today, Friday, Monday and Tuesday.

Onondaga County has informed us that they expect to make a significant number of COVID-19 vaccine appointments available for eligible Syracuse University students' on those days, the letter said.

County Executive Ryan McMahon today said officials have not reserved a specific number of doses for students.

They can register like anyone else' if they qualify, McMahon said in a text message. There are plenty of appointments available.'

McMahon has complained in recent days that the states age restrictions on vaccine eligibility are too strict. He has advocated making the shots available to all adults and said he would target university students if he could because they are a likely group to spread the virus.

County officials cant change eligibility criteria, which are set by the state, to let students get vaccines. But they are encouraging students to review the criteria to see if they qualify.

The letter from university officials emphasizes one of the eligible comorbidities, obesity, and encourages students to check their body mass index.

Any student with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher is vaccine eligible now. Use this tool to calculate your BMI,' the letter says.

More than 40% of adult Americans meet that standard of obesity, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control. Students are required to affirm that they qualify for a vaccine when they register, but no doctors note is required.

Students can also qualify if they have other medical conditions specified by the state health department. In addition, students can qualify based on employment.

Any student who has a job on campus, whether paid or receiving course credit,' is vaccine eligible, according to the universitys letter.

The county this week created a waiting list for people aged 40-50 who can get shots if there are any available on a given day. Normally, the minimum age is 50.

McMahon said he is glad to see the universitys involvement in advocating for students to get vaccines.

We have thousands of appointments coming online,' he said. I am glad to see they are mobilizing.

To register for a vaccine at the countys Oncenter site, click HERE.

Do you have a news tip or a story idea? Contact reporter Tim Knauss of syracuse.com/The Post-Standard: email | Twitter | | 315-470-3023.
Scientists at the Proteomics Core Unit of the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), headed by Javier Munoz, have described the mechanisms, unknown to date, involved in maintaining embryonic stem cells in the best possible state for their use in regenerative medicine. Their results, published in Nature Communications, will help to find novel stem-cell therapies for brain stroke, heart disease or neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease.

Naive pluripotent stem cells, ideal for doing research

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are pluripotent cells that can grow into all somatic cell types - a characteristic that is extremely useful for researchers and regenerative medicine. There are two types of pluripotency: naive and primed. The naive state comes before the primed one during embryonic development. Naive ESCs have the potential to differentiate into any cell types. Thus, they are more relevant in research. However, the naive state is unstable, because naive ESCs are constantly receiving signals that regulate the transition to the primed state and their self-renewal. Understanding the mechanisms that regulate the pluripotent states is important because they might help achieve long-term maintenance of stable naive pluripotent stem cells in ESC cultures.

Traditionally, maintenance of naive ESC cultures is based on the inhibition of two of the signalling pathways that regulate cell differentiation - aka as the 2i culture method. Recently, naive ESCs have been maintained adopting a totally different approach, namely, the inhibition of Cdk8/19, a protein that regulates the expression of numerous genes, including the genes that help maintain the naive state. "While the two approaches are used to culture naive cells, little is known about the mechanisms involved," says Javier Munoz, who led the study.

Now, using proteomics, the large-scale characterisation of proteins coded in a genome, CNIO scientists have described a large number of the molecular events that help stabilise these valuable ESC. "This is the first time proteomics has been used in this context," says Ana Martinez del Val, from the Proteomics Core Unit at CNIO, first author of the article. "We analysed the mechanisms at a number of levels. First, we conducted phosphoproteomic analyses, studying phosphorylated proteins. Phosphorylation regulates protein functions (by activating or inhibiting them). Second, we analysed the expression of these proteins. Finally, we identified changes in metabolites (reaction intermediates or end products). With our integrated approach, we got an accurate picture of the causes of the high degree of plasticity of ESC," Martinez del Val explains.

The results of the study might have implications for research on some types of cancer. We know that "the inhibition of Cdk8 leads to reduced cell proliferation in acute myeloid leukaemia by enhancing tumour suppressors", and that "Cdk8 is a colorectal cancer oncogene." "Cdk8 activity is somehow enigmatic, since its functions vary considerably with the cell environment," says Munoz. "We have identified a number of Cdk8 targets that were unknown until now. This can help understand the function this protein regulates in other biological contexts."

Going beyond genomics with proteomics

The study by the CNIO team shows the need for a greater focus on proteomics in cancer research strategies.

Research into and treatment of disease have made huge progress in the past decades, courtesy of the techniques used in molecular biology. Two of the most frequently used techniques are genomics, the analysis of the DNA sequence - the molecule that carries all our genetic information - and transcriptomics, the study of the sets of RNA transcripts - the molecules that translate into proteins. Proteins are macromolecules that are directly involved in chemical processes essential for life. The proteomic approach was adopted relatively recently by biomedical researchers. Proteomics has gained momentum over the past 15 years, yet it has become essential for genomics and transcriptomics to come full circle. Genomics and proteomics study processes that take place before proteins are produced. "We use proteomics to study a number of properties of proteins that cannot be analysed by studying DNA or RNA," says Martinez del Val. This is extremely important, since "proteins are responsible for a whole range of basic life functions that take place within cells," Munoz adds.

###

The study was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, the Ramon y Cajal Programme, and the Carlos III Health Institute. Researchers from the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB), Barcelona, were also involved to take part in the study, which got support from the CNIO's Experimental Therapeutics Programme.

Reference article: Dissection of two routes to naive pluripotency using different kinase inhibitors. Ana Martinez-Val, Cian Lynch, Isabel Calvo, Pilar Ximenez-Embun, Fernando Garcia, Eduardo Zarzuela, Manuel Serrano, Javier Munoz (Nature Communications, 2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22181-5
COPA ruled in 2019 that Slechter was justified in shooting McIntosh. It was the second time the city ruled the shooting justified. The Independent Police Review Authority, the citys former disciplinary agency that was shut down after years of failing to hold police accountable, had found the shooting fell within departmental policy in 2015. Disciplinary officials reopened the case in 2017 at the familys request after reviewing the investigation and finding what a spokeswoman described then as insufficiencies.
Three Idaho citizens arrested and charged of breaking COVID-19 rules last fall have also filed a lawsuit over city authorities' violation of their first and fourth amendment rights.

Gabriel Rench, Sean Bohnet, and Rachel Bohnet sued the city government of Moscow, Idaho including its prosecutor, police chief and two more police officers for arresting them for not wearing masks. Their suit was filed by the Thomas More Society. Michael Jacques, the Society's attorney, said that Moscow has violated its own ordinance because of the unlawful arrest and detainment of his clients.

Back in late September, Moscow Report said that Rench and the Bohnets were arrested for "violating the city's recently extended mask mandate" and for refusing "to show their ID to the police when asked." The three were among the 300 people in attendance to the outdoor event organized by Christ Church -a known evangelical congregation in the area, to protest against Moscow Mayor Bill Lambert's extended mask mandate by singing hymns outside the city hall.

Rench explained to The Daily Wire that a police officer first approached his mother during the singing. He was beside his mother, and placing his arm around his friend, told the officer that he's also with him. That's when he was asked for his ID which Rench refused. He and the Bohnets were then handcuffed and led to the police car.

"Violating the face mask and social distancing order" were the cited reasons for their detainment of several hours at the country jail.

Per the Daily Wire, "State Law does not require Idaho residents to identify themselves to law enforcement if they are not driving." Furthermore, both Rench and Sean Bohnet attest the apparent selective enforcement of their cited violations during their jail time.

"We thought a city that would premeditatively break the law in order to detain and jail those lawfully not wearing masks would at least offer one to incarcerated people," Bohnet said. "However, we were in good company. Staff at the jail occasionally had no issue with letting their faces freely shine too."

In his talk on his radio show after his release, Gabriel Rench also noted the lax enforcement of the mask mandate inside the country jail.

"And as they were de-booking me, or whatever they call it, I'm walking out and I go by their office, which is right next to where I'm getting booked out. And there's three deputies in the officer, and two of them aren't wearing masks and sitting right next to each other. And I said, 'hey, should they get arrested?'" said Rench as quoted by Breitbart.

Daily Wire also noted that on matters of public health emergency orders, city's codes allow exemptions including "any and all expressive and associative activity protected by the U.S. and Idaho constitutions, including speech, press, assembly, and/or religious activity."

Thomas More Society counsel Michael Jacques said that the arresting officers "failed to follow the mandatory exemptions listed in the city ordinance" and that they have "demonstrated reckless indifference to the defendants' First Amendment rights."

The counsel added that when city officials recklessly deprive its citizens of their constitutional rights, the same 'ignorance of the law is no defense' - the motto which they have gleefully used to prosecute civilians particularly church people, will not let them off the hook.
Its prediction season and, as you might expect, most of the projections (whether by computers or humans) arent terribly optimistic about the Detroit Tigers.

Thats OK. Its still springtime, which means optimism is not just allowed, its actively encouraged.

But reality will hit soon, and if things go bad for the Tigers, they could go really bad.

Here are three ways the 2021 season could play out.

Part 1: If everything goes wrong.

Prediction: 58-104

You may find this overly harsh, but it actually may be on the optimistic side for a worst-case scenario.

The Tigers finished 47-114 in their last full season in 2019 and although they were on a much-improved 64-win pace in the shortened 2020 season, injuries were already beginning to take their toll.

And the reality is that while this years club is better than the 2019 squad and probably better than the 2020 team, its not that much better.

What has to happen for things to fall apart like they did in 2019?

Lets start with the obvious: Injuries.

All it takes is for a couple of position players or pitchers to get hurt and the depth in Triple-A Toledo will get tested in a hurry. Yes, the Tigers probably have significantly better upper-level minor-league depth than they did two years ago, but if you have wake up one day in July and the starting outfield has Derek Hill, Greg Garcia is the everyday shortstop and Harold Castro is playing first because there are no other options...well, it will be a sign that injuries have taken their toll.

After basically running out of starting pitching in 2019, the Tigers have been diligent about building enough depth the last two seasons. But health could be the difference between someone like, say, Derek Holland logging 60 innings in the bullpen or 150 innings in the rotation.

The Tigers feel good about their free-agent signings, but lets say that none or almost none of them work out. (Dont laugh -- its happened before). Nomar Mazara is a historically below-average hitter who was really bad last year. Julio Teheran is a historically average pitcher who was really bad last year. If catcher Wilson Ramos doesnt hit, how can the Tigers possibly stomach his defense? Theres a lot of room for things to go wrong.

As for returning players, it would be painful to see Jeimer Candelario and Willi Castro crash back to earth after their breakout campaigns in 2020, but its far from impossible. Other young players who had bumpy debuts in 2020 -- Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal, Isaac Paredes, Daz Cameron -- will probably be better in 2021, but theres no guarantee. What if theyre not?

Yes, a lot will have to go wrong for the Tigers to lose 104 (or more) games in 2021. But none of the scenarios above are implausible.

Lets move on to better news.

Part 2: If everything goes right.

Prediction: 81-81.

Yes, a .500 record would be an incredible feat for this club because it would allow them to at least hang around the periphery of the playoff race until late summer. A.J. Hinch might win manager of the year and the expectations would be sky-high going into 2022.

Could it happen? Yes, but a lot would have to go right.

Lets start with Skubal, Mize and (later in the summer) Matt Manning. The trio of young pitchers would have to meet and then exceed performance expectations to have a season like this. Matthew Boyd would have to look like the Matt Boyd of early 2019.

A bad bullpen is often overlooked on a bad team, but on a respectable team it would have to carry its weight. Gregory Soto wouldnt necessarily have to become Aroldis Chapman, but hed have to do his best impersonation every now and then. Hed need help from at least a handful of other high-leverage arms, whether that be Buck Farmer, Jose Cisnero, Bryan Garcia or someone else.

In the lineup, the Tigers wouldnt need Candelario and Castro to hit like they did in 2020 -- thats not realistic -- but they would need close to All-Star-type campaigns.

A nice surprise from a newcomer -- be it Mazara, Ramos, Robbie Grossman or even Renato Nunez -- would be huge.

And a big year from Miguel Cabrera would be the icing on the cake.

Get all that -- and its a very tall order -- and you shouldnt feel embarrassed about picking the Tigers to finish at .500.

Part 3: Reality

Prediction: 70-92

Things rarely go all right or all wrong. Its a good bet that the Tigers will get some good breaks and some bad luck; endure some tough injuries, but not be decimated by them; and have some players overachieve and others struggle.

With that in mind, I think 70 wins is a good baseline prediction.

Candelario and Castro have had really strong spring trainings and could help anchor the lineup. Grossman has turned it on late and seems poised to provide some of the on-base ability the Tigers have lacked in the last few seasons. Any power is just a bonus.

The pitching could be worrisome, although Matthew Boyd will almost certainly be better than he was in 2020 and it will be fun to see what Skubal can do.

There are arguably fewer glaring holes on the roster than there have been in past years, but the rest of the AL Central hasnt exactly been standing pat. If the Tigers can climb out of the division cellar and win 70 games, that will count as a small sign of progress.
Doctors in North Carolina said they used four vials of antivenin to treat a man who was bitten by his unusual pet: a deadly green mamba snake.

ADVERTISEMENT

The University of North Carolina Rex Healthcare in Raleigh contacted the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, S.C., after a man came in Sunday reporting that he was bitten by his pet green mamba, a venomous species native to Africa

Sean Foley, curator of herpetology at Riverbanks Zoo, said green mamba venom can be deadly.

"[If] you get bitten by a green mamba without antivenin, your chances of survival are very low," Foley told WRAL-TV. "It's a neurotoxic venom, so it's going to affect your breathing."

A cooler packed with 10 vials of antivenin was flown via helicopter to UNC Rex, where doctors used four vials to treat the man.

"We wanted to help get it there as quickly as possible to mitigate any symptoms," Foley said. "[With] some of these bites, there is a lot of pain involved, and you can have a lot of tissue destruction if you do not get these products to these people very quickly."

The man is expected to make a full recovery and is back at home with his snake, which is legal to be kept as a pet in North Carolina.

The Raleigh Police Department said its animal control unit is investigating the incident.

FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS!

Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source!

Foley said the incident highlights the dangers of keeping venomous pets.

"They are out there as pets. I don't know how common it is. It's not something I would ever want to have as a pet," he said. "They are not particularly aggressive, but they are really fast, and they can be difficult for an untrained person to work with. It's not something I would personally want to have at home, that's for sure."
An 18-year-old man was shot in the face and lower abdomen and was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said. A 24-year-old man was shot multiple times in the chest, shoulder, hand and leg, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
On March 31, the managers and owners of shopping centers will meet at the Malls Club to build a rental strategy for the near future.

The head of the consulting department at NAI Ukraine Maryna Gurevych will participate in this event and present research on "Trends in shopping habits of Ukrainians". From her presentation, you will learn:

Features of visiting the mall in 2020 compared to 2019;

Modern challenges for shopping malls: loyalty rating to shopping malls in Kyiv; what components of the mall are important today; the most popular product categories and brands;

How to buy in 2020 in the mall: the dynamics of growth in different product categories;

The role of online: purchase frequency, which areas of online are most interesting to buyers, whether it can replace physical stores.

Link on a program and registration: https://lnkd.in/d8fkg4Y

Participation format: offline/online (at the participant's choice)
About 30,000 Rohingya refugees who fled a deadly blaze at camps in Bangladesh returned to their scorched shanties Thursday, seeking to rebuild their makeshift homes as others searched for missing relatives, officials and aid groups said.

The settlements in southeast Bangladesh -- home to nearly a million of the Muslim minority from Myanmar, many of whom escaped a military crackdown in 2017 -- were hit by a major fire on Monday that left at least 15 people dead and nearly 50,000 homeless.

"We have provided them housing materials such as bamboo, tarpaulins, floor mats, ropes and utensils," Bangladesh's refugee commissioner Shah Rezwan Hayat told AFP of the returning Rohingya, who had sought refuge in other camps.

Hayat said government officials and aid workers, including from the United Nations, were helping the refugees remove the destroyed shelters and build temporary ones.

Some Rohingya and their children could be seen scouring the blackened sites for their treasured gold jewellery.

"After the fire my family got scattered. It took hours to know who had gone where," 42-year-old father-of-eight Nur Syed told AFP at one of the fire-hit camps after a shelter for his family was built.

Tyeba Khatun, a woman in her 60s who lived in a camp with her husband, said they lost all their possessions from Myanmar.

"Aid workers came and built this shelter for us. Otherwise we would still be living under open air," she told AFP.

Bangladesh authorities have denied UN claims that about 400 refugees were missing.

But an international aid agency official, who asked to remain anonymous, told AFP on Thursday that "at least 20 families came to us with claims that their children or other family members were still unaccounted for".

"We have already reunited several families with their missing members," the official added.

Hayat had said Wednesday that preliminary findings suggested the fire originated from a stove in a shelter and then quickly spread due to strong wind and cooking gas cylinders.

sam-sa/grk/axn
Police chief inspector general Sebastian Ndeitunga has appointed a joint investigation team to scrutinise the attempted eviction of Omaheke police chief Andreas Haingura from a government property.

The team comprises members of the Namibian Defence Force and the Namibian Police.

Armed soldiers allegedly ordered Haingura to vacate plot 2077, known as Plot Lampe, situated at the Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs in the Omaheke region, in January this year.

The plot is said to have been handed over to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security by the Ministry of Works and Transport to keep horses on.

Soldiers reportedly showed up at the plot at around 04:00 one morning.

Nampol is responsible for the maintenance of the property and for some municipal services.

Haingura is living at the plot while his residence at Gobabis is undergoing renovations.

The defence ministry is said to foot the property's water and electricity bills.

The involved soldiers reportedly disconnected Haingura's water and electricity, without notifying him.

They also allegedly blocked entry to the property with military vehicles and have set up tents at the property.

Ndeitunga in a letter to defence force chief Martin Pinehas, dated 12 March 2021, says he set up the joint investigation team to investigate the matter shortly after this.

"This team had a meeting on Thursday, 4 March 2021, where matters relating to the investigation had been discussed.

"The investigation team concluded that it would be premature to clear brigadier general Aktofel Ndengu Nambahu of any responsibility in this regard, since a follow-up investigation is taking place from 15 to 26 March 2021.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Namibia Legal Affairs Arms and Armies By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"This office is therefore unable to clear brigadier general Nambahu until the investigation is finalised," Ndeitunga wrote.

General Aktofel Nambahu is responsible for commanding the Gobabis, Keetmanshoop and Walvis Bay military bases, and is said to be involved in Haingura's attempted eviction.

Nambahu allegedly ordered Haingura's eviction from the plot.

In a letter dated 11 December 2020 sent to the governor of the Otjozondjupa region, Pijoo Nganate, Nambahu stated: "This matter has a reference as per our conversation and agreement that the Namibian Police regional commander is awaiting his new residence at Gobabis to undergo minor renovations. I hereby waive the seven-day notice.

"In this regard, Omaheke police regional commander's occupation of the said entity is extended to 20 January 2021.

"This information needs therefore to reach the occupant of the said erf for him to ensure that further inconvenience is avoided before the date set unfolds," Nambahu informed Nganate in the correspondence.

Ndeitunga said on Tuesday: "The matter is under investigation, and it's sub judice."

Haingura refused to comment, saying the matter is under investigation.

The executive director of defence and veterans affairs, Trephine Kamati, yesterday did not respond to questions sent to her personal assistant, while minister of defence Peter Vilho could not be reached for comment.

Nambahu said he was not authorised to speak on behalf of the defence ministry.
Washington  President Joe Biden has tapped Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the White House effort to tackle the migration challenge at the U.S. southern border and work with Central American nations to address root causes of the problem.

Biden made the announcement as he and Harris met at the White House on Wednesday with Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandra Mayorkas and other immigration advisers to discuss the increase in migrants, including many unaccompanied minors, arriving at the border in recent weeks.

In delegating the matter to Harris, Biden is seeking to replicate a dynamic that played out when he served as President Barack Obamas vice president. Obama turned to Biden in his first term to lead the White House effort to draw down U.S. troops in Iraq and oversee implementation of stimulus in response to the Great Recession.

When she speaks, she speaks for me, Biden said, noting her past work as Californias attorney general makes her specially equipped to lead the administrations response.

Biden, who has faced stiff criticism from Republicans over the increased flow of migrants, is hoping to show Americans hes taking the situation at the border seriously. He also wants to prevent the growing humanitarian and political challenge from overshadowing his administrations ambitious legislative agenda.

But the high-profile assignment for Harris, who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 and is expected to run for the White House again in the future, could be politically fraught.

Needless to say, the work will not be easy, Harris said. But it is important work.

Harris is tasked with overseeing diplomatic efforts to deal with issues spurring migration in the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, as well as pressing them to strengthen enforcement on their own borders, administration officials said. Shes also tasked with developing and implementing a long-term strategy that gets at the root causes of migration from those countries.

Biden suggested President Donald Trumps decision to cut $450 million funding in 2019 to the region was partly to blame for the situation.

Among the other reasons for the current increase: the thousands of Central American migrants already stuck at the border for months and the persistent scourge of gang violence afflicting the Northern Triangle countries.

Still, the numbers of both unaccompanied minors and families encountered at the border are lower than they were at various points during the Trump administration, including in spring 2019.

For Harris, the assignment gives her the first big opportunity to step to the front of the stage on a matter of enormous consequence for the administration. As the first Black woman elected vice president, Harris arrived on the job as a trailblazer. It has remained opaque how Biden would utilize her.

The move echoes not only Obamas decision to deputize Biden but also Trump naming Vice President Mike Pence to lead his coronavirus task force and President Bill Clinton handing Vice President Al Gore environmental and technology portfolios early in his presidency.

Its been a mixed bag for vice presidents in recent history who have been made the point person on delicate matters, said Joel Goldstein, the author of The White House Vice Presidency: The Path to Significance, Mondale to Biden.

Pences efforts on the coronavirus were stymied by Trumps hijacking of the task forces daily briefings early in the pandemic. Dick Cheney, who had been charged with leading George W. Bushs search for a vice president only to take the spot himself, carved out what was seen by many critics as a shadow presidency in which he had an outsized influence on shaping Bushs national security policies.

And Gore faced headwinds from Republicans in Congress who were reluctant to give him a win ahead of his unsuccessful 2000 run for the White House.

Some of the risk versus reward depends to some extent on the vice presidents relationship with the president, Goldstein said. Whether or not the president had their back. Whether the presidents going to allow you to be in a position to accomplish things and be perceived to accomplish things.

Biden made the announcement as a delegation of White House officials and members of Congress was traveled to the southern border on Wednesday to tour a facility in Carrizo Springs, Texas, where more than 750 migrant teenagers are being held.

The Biden administration has in recent weeks moved to open more than 10,000 new beds across the Southwest in convention centers and former oilfield camps. It notified Congress on Wednesday that it will open a new 3,000-person facility in San Antonio and a 1,400-person site at the San Diego convention center. HHS is also opening a second site in Carrizo Springs and received approval from the Defense Department Wednesday to begin housing teenagers at military bases in San Antonio and El Paso, Texas.

While acknowledging a big problem with the rising numbers of migrants, Rep. Norma Torres, D-Calif., one of five lawmakers to tour the facility Wednesday, credited the Biden administration with treating young migrants far more humanely than the Trump administration.

In an interview after the tour, Torres described children accommodated four to a room, and said she saw no signs of overcrowding. The young people attend school, have access to health care and are given weekly COVID-19 tests. Lawmakers were told 1 in 10 children are testing positive for the virus, but none at the facility had been hospitalized, she said.

When I look at those kids, I see myself, said Torres, an immigrant from Guatemala who arrived in the U.S. with her family as a child.

The White House faced criticism for limiting media access to Wednesdays tour, keeping it to just one TV crew. It has still not allowed media to enter Border Patrol facilities where large numbers of children are detained or HHS sites that it rapidly opened under pressure. The Carrizo Springs facility was established in 2019 during the Trump administration and re-opened in February.

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who is leading a separate delegation of GOP senators to the border later this week, decried the lack of press access as a muzzling of the media by the Democratic administration.

Joe Biden doesnt want you to see, Cruz told reporters at the Capitol.
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!
The gun purchased by Mr. Alissa was a Ruger AR-556 semiautomatic weapon, essentially a shortened version of an AR-15-style rifle marketed as a pistol. The authorities have not said where Mr. Alissa bought the weapon.

Under federal law, shortened rifles have strict regulations, based on fears that such high-powered weapons can be concealed before the commission of crimes. Under Colorado state law, such rifles are banned.

But the gun purchased by Mr. Alissa, while carrying some of the hallmarks of a longer AR-15, had instead been marketed as a pistol  a gun that can be shot with one hand but which comes with a stabilizer that looks similar to the buttstock of a rifle. As such, it would have been allowed under state law, but it appears to conflict with Boulders assault weapons ban, which prohibits pistols with magazines outside the grip and also devices that allow it to be stabilized with both hands.

Guns purchased from licensed dealers must go through a federal background check, and states have embraced broader background-check rules to prevent sales to troubled people outside of gun stores. States, including Colorado in 2019, have also adopted red-flag laws that allow a judge to temporarily restrict a persons access to firearms if they are found to be a danger to themselves or others.

Mr. Alissa had been convicted of a misdemeanor in the assault of another student in his high school a few years ago. And Mr. Alissas brother told CNN that his brother had shown signs of being paranoid and antisocial. But while federal and state laws can prevent people who are a danger to the community from acquiring or possessing guns, it does not appear that Mr. Alissas past actions ever triggered such restrictions against him.
AstraZeneca: Vaccine Provides Strong Protection

By The Associated Press

CAMBRIDGE, UK - AstraZeneca insisted that its COVID-19 vaccine provides strong protection even after counting additional illnesses in its U.S. study, as the drugmaker responded to concerns raised by American officials in an unusually public rebuke that threatened to further erode confidence in the shot.In a late-night news release Wednesday, AstraZeneca said it had analyzed more data from that study and concluded the vaccine is 76% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19, instead of the 79% it had reported earlier in the week.Some experts called the new analysis reassuring and said the updated details didnt look substantially different from what was announced earlier. A peek at the full data won't come for at least another few weeks, once the Food and Drug Administration begins its own stringent review. For now, it's not clear if the new figures will be sufficient to repair the credibility in a vaccine that, despite being widely used in Britain, Europe and other countries, has had a troubled rollout.Earlier this week, an independent panel that oversees the U.S. trial of the vaccine had accused AstraZeneca of cherry-picking data to tout the protection offered by its shot. The panel, in a harsh letter to the company and to U.S. health leaders, said AstraZeneca had left out some COVID-19 cases that occurred in the study.The drugmaker responded that the results it reported included cases up to mid-February, as agreed in the study rules, and that it was preparing a fuller analysis of cases that had occurred since then  which it released Wednesday.AstraZeneca may have just been too hasty in submitting the earlier, incomplete interim analysis rather than waiting to analyze and submit the full dataset, said Julian Tang, a virologist at the University of Leicester who was not connected to the research. He said the updated details were likely solid enough for U.S. regulators to authorize the vaccine.Before the new results were released, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, told reporters he hoped that when all the data was publicly vetted by the FDA, it would dispel any hesitancy caused by the spat. He predicted it would turn out to be a good vaccine.AstraZeneca had been counting on findings from a predominantly U.S. study of 32,000 people to help rebuild confidence in its shot, which is crucial to global efforts to end the coronavirus pandemic since it is cheap, easy to store and a pillar of the COVAX initiative aimed at bringing vaccines to low- and middle-income countries. Despite evidence from trials and in real-world use that it does protect, previous studies have turned up inconsistent data about the degree of effectiveness.Then last week a scare over blood clots had some countries temporarily pausing inoculations. Most have since restarted after the European Medicines Agency said the vaccine doesnt increase the overall incidence of blood clots, though it did not rule out a connection to some rare clots. On Thursday, Denmark announced it would continue its suspension of the vaccine.AstraZeneca's newest effectiveness calculations were based on 190 COVID-19 cases that occurred during the U.S. study, 49 more than it had included earlier in the week. The vaccine appears especially protective against the worst outcomes, with no severe illnesses or hospitalizations among vaccinated study volunteers compared to eight severe cases among those given dummy shots, the company said. It didn't provide a breakdown of the rest of the cases.Some European authorities have questioned how protective the vaccine is in older adults. In the U.S. study, it was 85% effective in volunteers 65 and older, the company said. The study didn't turn up safety concerns.The updated information confirms that our COVID-19 vaccine is highly effective in adults, including those aged 65 years and over, AstraZeneca research chief Mene Pangalos said in a statement. He said the company looks forward to "the rollout of millions of doses across America.The study hasn't ended, so additional COVID-19 cases could still accrue. AstraZeneca cautioned that 14 additional possible cases already are being examined and that could lead to further changes in the data.The company intends to seek FDA clearance of the vaccine within a few weeks. The agency will publicly debate all the evidence with its outside advisers before making a decision.Stephen Evans, a vaccines expert at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said it was difficult to understand why the dispute between AstraZeneca and U.S. officials spilled into the public. Such rifts during ongoing studies typically remain confidential.Given the details given here, it seems an unnecessary action to have raised concerns in public, he said. Results fluctuate as data accumulate ... what counts will be the FDA assessment and that will be done based on scrutiny of the full data and not press releases. He said any vaccine with an efficacy rate higher than 60% is useful.He said it was unclear why there was a breakdown in relations between AstraZeneca and the independent U.S. data experts monitoring the trial and worried that could undermine confidence in the vaccine.This vaccine is so important for global health, and the disputes do not promote global health, he said. At least in the short term, (this) will undermine confidence both in the U.S. and more importantly in the rest of the world.
TORONTO, Kan. - Ontario would have to significantly cut spending or hike taxes if it wants to eliminate its deficit earlier than planned, but it's unlikely the current Progressive Conservative government will do either, experts examining the province's newly released budget say.

Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy flashes a thumbs up as he is applauded after delivering the Provincial Budget in the Ontario Legislature in Toronto on Wednesday March 24, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

TORONTO, Kan. - Ontario would have to significantly cut spending or hike taxes if it wants to eliminate its deficit earlier than planned, but it's unlikely the current Progressive Conservative government will do either, experts examining the province's newly released budget say.

That means Premier Doug Ford's plan to balance the books by 2029 will likely leave the challenge of placing the province back in the black to another leader, they say.

Thomas Klassen, a York University professor of public policy and administration, said the pandemic placed understandable pressure on the government to spend heavily in their $186-billion budget, which posted a $33.1 billion deficit.

"I think this year it just wouldn't have been possible, when everything is going on, for the government to say 'we're going to cut back spending or decrease any (services),'" he said.

"But in the future, that's going to have to happen,"

Ontario's 2021-2022 spending package laid out an eight-year path to achieve balance, relying on growth in the province's economy without significant spending cuts or tax hikes.

Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy defended the plan to reach balance in 2029, saying the province's economy will rebound post-pandemic and help ease the borrowing burden.

"This level of debt, as I've said, is not sustainable in the long-term," he said Wednesday. "I'm really betting on the people of Ontario that will grow our economy when we get to the other side of this pandemic."

The long path to balance would mean the province is not expected to enter the black until a hypothetical third term under the Progressive Conservatives.

The budget projects Ontario will run a deficit of $33.1 billion this year, $26.2 billion next year and $18.7 billion in 2023-24, with the shortfalls ending in 2029-30 with a $900-million surplus.

Klassen said the long runway to return to the black will mean Ford will likely never achieve his 2018 election promise of balancing the province's books.

"It's very unlikely that the current premier will be the premier in nine years, or even the same party will be in power," he said. "It's going to come back to whoever is in power in the future, they're going to say ... 'Wow, we've got to pay this back'."

Klassen said he anticipates there will be pressure from financial institutions and within the Progressive Conservative government's own base to bring spending under control soon after the pandemic ends.

"It's ironic because the Conservatives came in with, especially for the first 12 months, a very strong priority to cut spending, And they did that," he said. "Then things changed. And it must be hard for the premier and the minister of finance to know they're going to borrow money and spend more."

Drew Fagan, a former deputy minister under a previous Liberal government who is now a public policy professor at the University of Toronto, said he is skeptical of Ontario's lengthy deficit reduction plan.

"The long-term trend is problematic," he said. "There's no immediate path to improving the fiscal balance."

Fagan said there's merit in the government's plan to grow the economy, thereby increasing tax revenues, as way to eliminate the deficit.

But if the Tories want to pursue that plan to balance the books, Fagan said they will need to be much more thoughtful and deliberate about how and where they grow the economy.

"We have a whole bunch of challenges in terms of slowing exports, weak productivity, low business investment, poor innovation, and that may not be the case in Toronto and the GTHA, Waterloo or Ottawa ... but it is particularly the case anywhere else," he said. "

"We've got to do what we can to equalize things and boost growth."

Meanwhile, other critics of the budget said it fails to meet the immediate needs of residents and small businesses struggling through the pandemic.

The budget includes $6.7 billion in pandemic spending, including $1 billion for the provincial vaccination effort and $2.3 billion for contact tracing and testing.

The government will offer a second round of grants to small businesses to help with pandemic expenses, create a new job training tax credit and provide more benefits to families with children.

But opposition critics, unions and other stakeholders said supports for people are too slow, insufficient or nonexistent.

Catherine Fife, the NDP's finance critic, said business grants didn't expand to more sectors and left out a large number of small businesses that employ many Ontarians.

"If there was ever a budget in the history of this province to invest in people, in businesses, this was the one, and this government missed the mark," Fife said.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees said the budget is a missed opportunity that makes more promises to help businesses than struggling workers.

This budget is just classic trickle-down economics and its the last thing communities need, CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn said, also pointing to the lack of paid sick days.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2021.
A certificate of need has been issued for Aiken Regional Medical Centers proposed freestanding emergency room in North Augusta but not before a legal challenge from another local health care provider was filed.

Augusta University Health System originally filed a challenge against Aiken Regionals application for the certificate, according to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, but the two parties settled and the case has been dismissed.

The letter of opposition was sent to DHEC by Platt Health Management Consulting on behalf of Augusta University.

This project will not enhance geographic access to an underserved population, and it will not promote cost containment, the letter, provided by DHEC, states.

Aiken Regional fails to document capacity constraints and other challenges, such as long wait times, for its hospital emergency department.

The matter was pending in the administrative law court, said DHEC, but the parties settled and the contested case was dismissed.

DHEC then issued the certificate of need on May 28, 2020. The certificate is valid for a year.

The freestanding emergency department will be located near Exit 5 in North Augusta near Austin Graybill Road and Town Center Drive.

The total project cost listed on the issued certificate of need is $11,519,191. The facility will be 10,800 square feet.

North Augusta Planning Commission last week approved the major site plan for the project.

Michael Hall, chief operating officer at Aiken Regional, told the Planning Commission that the facility would be a 24/7 emergency room with all the functions of a normal emergency department.

Ty Cole, agent for the project, said hopes are to have the facility open by the end of 2021.

A request for comment from Aiken Regional had not been returned by Thursday afternoon. Augusta University referred to the documents filed for comment.
The coronavirus situation in Moscow is stable but senior citizens are falling ill more often now, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Thursday.

"We have reached a high level of immunization of people, it was gradual and steady, and we had the vaccination campaign on top of that. The situation is indeed stable today. We see that the share of infections has grown higher among seniors," he said in an interview with the Rossiya-1 TV channel.

The mayor pointed out that that more older coronavirus patients now require hospitalization, while the majority of them dont have any contraindications to get inoculated. "It would be their rescue," the mayor concluded.

Earlier, Moscows Deputy Mayor Anastasia Rakova noted that pensioners wishing to get COVID-19 shots will be fully catered for, TASS reported.

The oldest Moscow resident to receive a coronavirus shot is aged 104, 50% of more than 700,000 vaccinated people are residents aged over 60.
STOP GIRL

Belvoir St Theatre, March 24

 Excellence costs. A nine-year-old piano virtuoso might never know the joy of childhood friendships, and many a family has been neglected by a brilliant parent. What of the brilliant foreign correspondent? What might be the cost there? Sally Sara has routinely been that person for the ABC, including spending 2011 intrepidly covering the war in Afghanistan. Suzie (Sheridan Harbridge), right, is visited in Kabul by an old journalist chum, Bec (Amber McMahon). Credit:Brett Boardman That experience cost her a breakdown, which, in 2016, resulted in beginning this play. Its her first, but you wouldnt know it. The narrative shes hewn from raw autobiographical facts and her imagination builds in such an assured way that youd think drama more her natural domain than interviewing Taliban fighters. We first meet her protagonist, Suzie (Sheridan Harbridge), in Kabul, being visited by an old journalist chum, Bec (Amber McMahon), whos penning a profile on her. Their breezy banter is encapsulated when Suzie says of the many single men in the hotel where foreign media are housed, The odds are good, but the goods are odd. Meanwhile their exchange is punctuated by a bomb blast and small-arms fire that are loud enough to have you ducking for cover. Twenty minutes in and Suzie is back in Sydney, although it turns out it takes more than an airline ticket to leave the Afghanistan experience behind.

Harbridge plays Suzie with gathering intensity, winding and unwinding her limbs in spasms of tension that are the thoughts she cant express. She initially inhabits a character who thrives on her own bravado, and whose only rules of engagement are to honour the dead, and not make the situation worse. She believes she has rammed a cork into the bottle of her emotions tightly enough to keep the plight of child amputees, shrapnel victims and the rest at bay. I think Im pretty good at trauma. she says. Loading Wrong. The longer she keeps the cork of cool professionalism in the bottle of being human, the more the pressure builds. When the bottle explodes, all that cost it totalled up, and pours from the bravely committed Harbridge in a climax that is devastatingly affecting. The other actors in Anne Louise-Sarks exceptional production are like the members of a musical ensemble supporting a soloists tour de force. McMahon as Suzies friend and especially Toni Scanlon as her mother both craft characters of almost infinite patience and care, when Suzies tin ear to the trials of those closest to her would test many. They are prepared to be bulwarks between her and the world, if she is prepared to let them in. Completing the support network is Atal, whom Suzie befriended in Kabul, and who seeks refuge in Australia. While Mansoor Noor is investing the character with great warmth, Sara is mildly sniping at Australian immigration policies towards those whom it has ensnared in war. Deborah Galanos completes the cast as the psychologist whom Suzie treats like a mental health terrorist.
               ...
OPINION | A Special FOR the People to the Legislature on Article XII
Luis Alvise Perez, a Spanish social media personality known for his right-wing Twitter posts, was sitting at a sidewalk cafe overlooking Madrids landmark Puerta del Sol square on Tuesday of last week, brainstorming with colleagues.

The group was preparing a strategy for influencing the early election of May 4, when Madrid regional premier Isabel Diaz Ayuso, of the conservative Popular Party (PP), is putting her leadership on the line in a move that has shaken up national politics in more ways than one.

There was talk of orchestrating a news event that would have great dramatic effect during the last week of the campaign  what the Americans call an October Surprise, as their elections are always held in early November.

The biggest mistake the political right can make in the Madrid region is to be complacent Luis Alvise Perez, Spanish social media personality

Fresh in their minds was a viral video titled Hola 2021, in which a young woman from Segovia made a public entreaty for a captain to lead Spain. And there was also Alvises own video in which Spains Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, the leader of the Socialist Party (PSOE), was depicted sunbathing on a beach surrounded by dead bodies representing the victims of the coronavirus pandemic.

Alvise has plenty of experience at shaking things up at the last minute. Three days before the Catalan election on February 14, he tweeted a piece of fake news during an electoral debate, posting a mock document that allegedly showed a positive result from a PCR test taken by the Socialist candidate, former health minister Salvador Illa. The message was that Illa was sick with Covid-19 on the set, putting the other candidates at risk.

Hello @SalvadorIlla. Between the LOPD (Organic Law on Data Protection) or proving that a minister and regional candidate from my country is lying...(I choose) the second, he tweeted.

More information Deputy PM Pablo Iglesias makes surprise move to run in the Madrid regional elections

The Catalan Socialist Party filed a complaint with prosecutors, and the healthcare company Grupo Quiron verified that the document was a forgery. Alvise deleted his tweet. But once again he had achieved his goal: public outrage and applause.

If the May 4 election in Madrid is a war between communism and freedom in the eyes of the political right, Alvise is the closest thing they have to a kamikaze. Always prepared to overstep the mark, the Seville-born 31-year-olds nickname is a frequent trending topic, generating both hatred and admiration. As far as his admirers are concerned, his fearless ability to stir things up is ideal for engaging in cyber-combat on social media, where the new hyper-polarized politics play out and people like Alvise thrive.

Fernando Monzon, manager of digital marketing agency 3Lemon, in Zaragoza. Carlos Gil-Roig

Premier Isabel Diaz Ayuso sounds confident about her chances of victory on May 4, but among certain pockets of the Madrid elite, her rivals are taken seriously. In the circles in which Alvise moves, there was something akin to dread at the unexpected news last week that Pablo Iglesias, leader of the leftist Unidas Podemos, would be stepping down as second deputy prime minister of Spain to run as a candidate in the Madrid election.

The biggest mistake the political right can make in the Madrid region is to be complacent, says Alvise during an interview in the Spanish capital. If we do that, we are going to lose because Iglesias is very smart, and because behind the PSOE there is an inveterate strategist called Ivan Redondo and 300 more people working for him who are dedicated to emotionally manipulating this country.

Fear, rejection, hope

Alvise has studied his rival carefully. He talks about a video of Redondo prior to becoming Sanchezs chief of staff, in which the latter talks about a lesson of modern politics: The three emotions that are exploited in a campaign are fear, rejection and hope.

During the interview, Alvise highlights some of his rivals best moves on social media, such as the time when Sanchez and Illa sent a message via Twitter in December to the popular YouTuber Ibai Llanos, who has been widely applauded for not moving to Andorra to avoid paying high taxes.

It is an example of how the left knows which young opinion leaders to approach to encourage them, says Alvise. There was a previous analysis there. Ibai influences a lot of people. And the left knows how to identify that. The right is less adept at it, but it is learning.

Alvise has more than 224,000 followers on Twitter, many of whom started following him during the pandemic. In December 2019, he left his job in Valencia, working for former Ciudadanos (Citizens) politician and lawmaker Toni Canto, and moved to Madrid to devote himself exclusively to social media.

His detractors see him as one of the worst trolls on Twitter, but his case is somewhat different from the typical online provocateur, as he is funded by unknown sponsors. This makes him one of a new breed, what one might call a premium troll. By his own account, he teams up with video producers and lawyers. The former help him create content; the latter help him defend himself against the consequences. Up to now he has been sued, among others, by Public Works Minister Jose Luis Abalos, TV journalist Ana Pastor and the Economy Ministry. He has sponsors who pay for the whole operation: People like to invest so the information continues to get out there, instead of being sunk by legal challenges, he says.

On his Telegram channel, where he has more than 51,000 subscribers, he asks for contributions via the instant payment service Bizum. One known sponsor is Hazte Oir, an ultraconservative Catholic association whose logo appears at the end of the video of Sanchez on the beach surrounded by corpses. But according to Alvise, the collaboration was a one-off.

He insists that he is not on the payroll of the far-right party Vox or the mainstream conservative PP, but he refuses to reveal who is behind him to avoid causing them problems. What he will say is that in order to get the information, you have to meet a lot of people  judges, military figures, senior public administration officials and politicians. My days consist of meeting a lot of people because there are things you cant talk about over the phone. To anyone who believes that we have the right to privacy in Spain, I would tell them to wake up.

Placido Luis Sanchez creates digital content for politicians and interest groups. Jaime Villanueva

Besides spreading what is often fake news about public figures, Alvise has organized political action during the pandemic that has attracted its share of attention. On a YouTube livestream, he called for the resignation of the government and dubbed it the first online demonstration in history. He was also behind the deployment of giant anti-Sanchez banners on Madrids Paseo de la Castellana and in downtown Seville.

Alvise rejects the label of provocateur. He claims that it is unfair, given that similar behavior by the left is referred to as political marketing. He prefers to see himself as the visible face of a group of idealists who want to dismantle a mafia group.

I like your tweets

The radical polarization of the May 4 race for the Madrid region will add fuel to the digital wrangling online  a space already seen by some as the main stage for election campaigns. Social media networks have eroded some of the political influence wielded by TV, especially when it comes to the young vote. Because of this, Fernando Monzon, an expert in guerrilla marketing, sees Alvise as a valuable asset for the right. The people who pay him are getting all excited because at last they have a young guerrilla fighter who stands up for Spain, says Monzon, who is the director of the digital marketing agency 3Lemon.

Monzon knows Ayuso well, having worked with her in the 2015 general election campaign, when she managed the PPs social networks. He believes that Ayusos subsequent success on the political stage is impossible to understand without being aware of her grasp of the new medium and language, where provocation, victimization and cultural battles triumph.

She knows what works, and thats why she is a constant meme, says Monzon. People joke about her managing the account of Pecas, the dog of [her predecessor] Esperanza Aguirre, but they are wrong. Ayuso is an expert at this who knows what kind of messages work right now.

The torrent of memes and viral videos aimed at influencing voters will become more intense closer to voting day. Last week, a pro-Ayuso video circulated on social media, featuring Madrid in 3-D, inspired by the intro of HBOs Game of Thrones. At the end, the slogan Socialism or Freedom appears. Last Tuesday, Ayuso launched a campaign to attract volunteers with the hashtag #YoConAyuso (or #IAmWithAyuso) which helped recruit nearly 6,000 willing participants in 24 hours, according to PP sources quoted by the news agency Europa Press.

I am against him not because of ideology, but because people like him, who have no respect for the truth, make society worse Gerardo de la Torre, journalist

According to Unidas Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias, in order to unseat Ayuso, the left has to mobilize local Madrid neighborhoods, but experts know that these days, the revolution rests on memes. Is Iglesias going to set up barricades in the streets? asks Placido Luis Sanchez, who creates digital content for political parties and other interest groups as head of the Modelika agency. No. Hes going to mobilize a digital army against Ayuso.

The success of provocation is due to the new media ecosystem. We lack time to process the whirlwind of information that reaches us through an increasing number of channels, so the highest-impact content triumphs, according to political consultant Antonio Gutierrez Rubi. It is very likely that this campaign will be akin to a meme war, he says. The communications team that is able to create the most incisive and timely content will have an extraordinary capacity to get it out there.

Walking in Madrid with Alvise, its not long before he is complimented. I like your tweets, says a tall, bald man who recognizes him. Thank you, he replies with a smile. He says he gets a lot of grateful emails. His admirers see him as the curse of the left, the central government and other members of the media and business establishment.

Meanwhile, his critics believe that his barrage of groundless attacks and fake news endanger peaceful coexistence. I am against him not because of ideology, but because people like him, who have no respect for the truth, make society worse, says Gerardo de la Torre, the journalist whose Twitter account Gerardo Tece has more than 585,000 followers. Sharing his content is like giving bad food to your family when Alvise is an expert cook. De la Torre gained fame during the Indignados anti-austerity movement that kicked off in 2011, and his formula for success is based on irony and humor with a left-wing slant.

Alvise believes that the left has dominated social media for years. But the right is already reacting, he says, and can still win the war. He is already working on a big dramatic disclosure ahead of May 4: Im looking forward to staging a surprise, he says.

English version by Heather Galloway.
WASHINGTON  Joe Biden held his first solo press conference as president Thursday afternoon  his 64th full day in the White House  as new challenges on gun control and an influx of migrants at the southern U.S. border add to an already busy agenda.

Biden took longer than his predecessors, Donald Trump and Barack Obama, to formally address the White House press corps, fueling extra intrigue and turning the outing into a highly anticipated event.

The president made news on several issues, including insights into his legislative priorities, foreign policy and the administrations handling of unaccompanied migrant children at the border. Biden spoke for a little over an hour and fielded a range of issues.

Despite beginning the presser with an update that the administration was increasing its vaccination goal to 200 million doses administered by Bidens 100th day in office, however, the president did not receive any questions about the coronavirus pandemic.

The president was also only asked one question specifically on gun control. While he outlined some potential for executive action or legislation he Congress, Biden quickly pivoted to discus the administrations upcoming immigration package, underscoring the White Houses legislative priorities.

On competition with China, Biden emphasized that the current relationship was emblematic of a larger competition between democracy and autocracy, a dynamic Biden cautioned would define the 21st century. The president also said he will soon invite an alliance of democracies to a summit to discuss the future.

The president was also pressed about the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan by May, something Biden said would be difficult. Biden said he and his aides have been meeting with allies about ways to make the previously negotiated contract feasible, but could not see troops still being in the country by 2022.

Ive not been able to unite Congress, but I have been able to unite the country, Biden said of collaboration with Republicans. Though Biden confirmed he agrees with former President Barack Obamas assessment that the Senate filibuster is a Jim Crow relic, he stopped short of calling for its abolition.

Story continues

"Successful electoral politics is the art of the possible. Let's figure out how to get this done and significantly change the abuse of the filibuster rule, the president said. Biden also cautioned Republicans in Congress against pursuing the politics of division, saying he was willing to work with any lawmakers on further legislation despite widespread criticism from Republicans on Capitol Hill about the White Houses early moves.

 Matthew Brown

Biden: China President Xi 'doesn't have a democratic bone in his body'

President Joe Biden said China President Xi Jinping doesnt have a democratic bone in his body as he talked about holding China accountable to follow the rules.

Hes one of the people, like Putin, who thinks autocracy is the wave of the future, Biden said.

Biden recounted having a two-hour phone conversation with Xi when the Chinese leader called him after he won the election over Donald Trump. Biden said he made clear to Xi that he foresees stiff competition with China but insisted they play by international rules.

He also warned Xi about the repercussion of committing human rights violations, telling him, As long as you violate human rights, were going to call it to the attention to the world.

Biden affirmed that the U.S. will remain the worlds economic leader despite the efforts of the Chinese to replace it.

Thats not going to happen on my watch because the United States is going to continue to grow and expand.

 Joey Garrison

Biden attacks GOP's 'new concern' about federal budget

President Joe Biden went after Republicans for being concerned about federal spending when Congress was passing the $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus package but not bothered by the budget deficit when they were passing tax cuts.

When the spending is saving peoples lives, Republicans dont think its a good idea, Biden said, as he raised his voice. But the GOP has no problem with a lopsided budget when its feathering the nest of the wealthiest Americans, he continued.

Biden said he is trying to change the paradigm to reward work, and not just wealth.

 Maureen Groppe

Biden on GOP voting bills: 'This makes Jim Crow look like Jim Eagle'

President Joe Biden slammed efforts in Republican-led states to pass bills making it more difficult for people to vote, calling it all by design to suppress voters of color.

This makes Jim Crow look like Jim Eagle, he said of the hundreds of bills in GOP-led state legislatures aimed at voter access. This is gigantic what theyre trying to do. And it cannot be sustained.

Biden said even his Republican friends have called out whats happening.

Republican voters I know find this despicable, folks outside this White House. Im not talking about the elected officials. Im talking about voters.

He pointed to passage of the voting rights bill H.R. 1  which passed the Democratic-controlled House but awaits Senate approval  as his top priority to stop the sweeping changes at the state level.

 Joey Garrison

Biden says he will run for reelection

President Joe Biden has been in office just a little over two months, but he said hes already planning to run for a second term in 2024.

Yes, my plan is to run for reelection, he said. That's my expectation.

Biden said he also would fully expect that Vice President Kamala Harris would remain on the ticket as his running mate for a second term.

Shes a great partner, he said.

 Michael Collins

Biden: 'Difficult' to meet May 1 troop withdrawal deadline in Afghanistan

President Joe Biden conceded that the administration is facing challenges in meeting the May 1 deadline for troop withdrawal in the country.

"It's going to be hard to meet the May 1 deadline," the president said of removing American troops from Afghanistan, citing "tactical reasons." Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have both met with regional leaders and allies in recent days to discuss the peace deal.

"We will leave. The question is when we leave," Biden emphasized.

When asked if the U.S. could still have troops in Afghanistan in 2022, Biden said he can't picture that being the case."

Biden also said the deal brokered by the Trump administration that mandated the May 1 troop withdrawal was poorly designed. Former President Donald Trump negotiated a deal between the Taliban and Afghani civilian government in 2019.

Peace talks between the Afghani government and the Taliban have deteriorated over the past year, with Taliban forces regaining control of some segments of the country.

 Matthew Brown

Biden will respond if North Korea escalates actions

President Joe Biden said hes consulting with allies on how to respond to North Koreas recent testing of ballistic missiles, which he said violated a U.N. resolution.

There will be responses if they choose to escalate, Biden said.

He said he would pursue addressing the situation through some form of diplomacy, rather than just a military reaction. But that would be conditioned on North Korea being willing to give up their nuclear weapons, Biden added.

 Maureen Groppe

Biden defends response to increase of migrants at border

President Joe Biden defended his immigration policy in response to a question about whether he may be sending a message to immigrants that they can cross the border.

Biden said he would never tell an unaccompanied child who ends up at the border that were just gonna let him starve to death and stand on the other side.

No previous administrations did that either, except Trump, he said. I'm not going to do it.

Biden said that is why he has asked Vice President Kamala Harris to lead White House efforts to stem migration at the border.

 Michael Collins

Biden pushes return to Senates old filibuster rules

President Joe Biden said he supports a return to the talking filibuster in the U.S. Senate  not getting rid of the filibuster outright  to pass voting rights legislation and other bills that Republicans are resisting.

Its being abused in a gigantic way, Biden said of the current filibuster rules, which require 60 votes in the evenly split Senate to pass most bills.

He pointed to previous Senate rules that existed when he became a senator in Delaware in the 1970s that required a senator to stand and continue speaking to keep a filibuster alive.

Guess what? Biden said. People got tired of talking and tired of collapsing. I strongly support going in that direction.

Were going to get a lot done, Biden predicted.

 Joey Garrison

Biden: Increase in migrants is cyclical

President Joe Biden said he should be flattered that people think theres an increase in immigrants coming to the border because they know Biden is a good guy.

But thats not whats happening, he said.

Instead, Biden said the recent surge is cycle. There was a similar surge between January and March last year because thats when its safer to travel through the desert heat, he said.

Id like to think its because Im a nice guy, but its not, Biden said. It happens every year.

 Maureen Groppe

Biden cautions Republicans against politics of division in first press conference

President Joe Biden answers a question during his first press briefing as president in the East Room of the White House.

President Joe Biden addressed questions of his policy priorities during his presidential press briefing, noting that the administration would soon pivot from the its focus on the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and economic fallout to other aspects of his agenda.

The most urgent problem I stated for the American people was COVID-19 and the economic dislocation, many have experienced during the pandemic, Biden said. The president, however, noted that with its desired stimulus package enacted and being deployed, the administration will now turn to long term problems like immigration reform, gun control and infrastructure.

My Republican colleagues are going to have to determine whether we can work together or whether they will decide to  divide the country and only pursue the politics of division, Biden cautioned about passing legislation in Congress.

The president said that the administration would move on these one at a time and were going to get to as many of these as we can, but did not specify any policy prioritization.

 Matthew Brown

Biden sets new COVID vaccine goal: 200 million shots in 100 days

Biden opened his first formal news conference by setting a new goal of administering 200 million COVID vaccine shots in his first 100 days in office.

I know its ambitious, twice our original goal, he said. But no other country in the world has even come close. Not even close to what we're doing. I believe we can do it.

Bidens original goal was to administer 100 million shots in his first 100 days. The U.S. passed that goal last week and is already on track to reach 200 million shots by the presidents first 100 days.

 Michael Collins

President Joe Biden arrives to speak during his first press conference as president in the East Room of the White House on Thursday.

Biden holds first press conference as president

Over his long political career, Biden has made his fair share of gaffes. But he's stayed largely on script during his young presidency with a focus on leading the nation out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

That discipline will be tested Thursday as reporters, for the first time besides brief interactions with the president, have an open arena to question Biden.

In the wake of two deadly mass shootings in the last week, in Georgia and Colorado, Biden has said "we have to act" to pass gun background checks and ban assault weapons. That agenda is already facing resistance from Republicans.

Biden is also facing increasing heat over the increase of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. Republicans have called the situation a "crisis" of Biden's doing while the White House has resisted that term.

Both issues are likely to come up Thursday.

 Joey Garrison

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Live updates: President Joe Biden holds first press conference
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Dr Shaikha Rania bint Ali Al Khalifa, President of the Bahrain Society for Children with Difficulty in Communication, has announced the launch of an annual awareness campaign under the slogan Be With Me In My World  Unite With Autism on the occasion of the coming World Autism Day.

The event aims to develop the capabilities of individuals and institutions concerned with autism and provide them with experience, skills and modern scientific knowledge in the field of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), as well as raise the creative level in teaching in line with the global changes in this field.

Shaikha Rania said the Society was keen to launch the campaign in conjunction with the International Day of Autism, which falls on the second day of April of each year.
Several young lawmakers in Rhode Island have complained that the state's senate dress code is 'oppressive' and biased towards white people.

The Rhode Island Senate approved a dress code in a 29-7 vote on Tuesday, mandating that elected officials wear 'proper and appropriate attire, such as blouses, dress slacks and collared shirts with an accompanying jacket'.

And while most Democrats voted to pass the measure, seven left-wing senators dissented, including newly elected Sen. Jonathan Acosta, 31.

Speaking on the floor during a debate on the issue, Acosta claimed it was 'super inappropriate' for a white, male senate president to 'bestow a normative judgment' on what people were able to wear.

'These rules make it okay for us to judge people based on the way they dress or how they look, and I just feel that's super problematic,' Acosta stated.

He called the dress code 'oppressive' and added: 'Folks use expressions like "professional", "presentable", and "appropriate". What they mean is white-collar, White western dress.'

Several young lawmakers in Rhode Island have complained that the state senate dress code is 'oppressive' and biased towards white people. Newly elected Sen. Jonathan Acosta, 31, slammed the code in a debate on Tuesday

Acosta claimed that the senate dress code has not been widely enforced, and said that he has been wearing cardigans, joggers and Air Jordan sneakers for weeks

Acosta is pictured casually as he holds up a Green New Deal Pledge

During the debate, Acosta purposefully donned a black guayabera - a traditional Caribbean dress shirt that does not have a collar.

Acosta claimed that the senate dress code has not been widely enforced, and said that he has been wearing cardigans, joggers and Air Jordan sneakers for weeks.

'I assure you that what I wear does not influence the quality of the work I produce,' he stated.

The former teacher went on to state: 'In my first year teaching, I wore a shirt and tie every day and I came to realize that what I was doing was reaffirming to all the black and brown poor kids that in order to be successful, you had to try to look and approximate whiteness as much as possible.'

'That is the message that you would be forcing down the throat of all the residents of Rhode Island [with the dress code],' Acosta added.

He was supported by several other newly elected Democrat senators, among them Sen. Cynthia Mendes.

'I assure you that what I wear does not influence the quality of the work I produce,' Acosta stated

Sen. Cynthia Mendes stated: 'When powerful men dictate decorum and make demands over our bodies and our dress, it translates to ... colonization language'

Newly-elected Sen. Tiara Mack concurred, stating: 'It is not lost on me that respectability politics is often something that is used to control black and brown bodies and female bodies'

'When powerful men dictate decorum and make demands over our bodies and our dress, it translates to ... colonization language,' she stated.

'The need to remind everyone who is in power - it has always started with what you tell them to do with their bodies You know it when you see it.'

Newly elected Sen. Tiara Mack concurred, stating: 'It is not lost on me that respectability politics is often something that is used to control black and brown bodies and female bodies'.

However, some Democrats disagreed.

Sen. Louis DiPalma argued that the dress provision was about showing respect.

'It's not about judging how anyone looks. A dress code and decorum are about respecting an institution that is 200-plus years old,' he staed.

Meanwhile, Republican Sen. Gordon Rogers, who hails from a rural area, said he supported the attire rules even as he admitted it was difficult to trade in his beloved Chippewa boots for dress shoes and secondhand suits to enter the chamber.

'It's not about disenfranchising anybody,' the businessman and farmer said to some applause. 'Sometimes you have to force respect.'
Three people infected with COVID-19 and isolating in a Queensland quarantine hotel are being tested further as a new variant of the virus emerges in India.

Authorities were conducting genomic testing on the people to determine if any were infected with variants of concern, including a potentially troublesome strain that has been detected in India.

Results from genomic testing were expected by the end of the week. Credit:New York Times

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said 65 COVID-19 patients were being treated in hospitals in the state on Thursday, including the three new cases.

One is from India travelling via Dubai, one from Pakistan via Doha and the third from Papua New Guinea, she said.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP)  San Francisco police said Wednesday they have made an arrest in an apparently unprovoked street attack on three Asian victims.

Michael Lopez, 43, was booked at San Francisco County Jail for investigation of assault with a deadly weapon, assault and battery, a hate crime enhancement and possession of suspected methamphetamines and narcotic paraphernalia, a police statement said.

Though the victims reported that no hate speech was uttered, investigators are working to determine if racial bias was a motivating factor in the incident, the statement said.

It wasnt immediately known if Lopez had a lawyer to speak on his behalf.

The incident occurred just before 8 a.m. Monday at Polk and Clay streets where three victims reported to officers they were physically attacked.

Police say one of the victims saw someone following two Asian females and throw something that hit one of them in the back as they ran away.

The person then turned and uttered threats against the witness, who pepper-sprayed him. The asailant then got a broomstick and approached while uttering threats and again was pepper-sprayed, police said.

A homeless man lying on the sidewalk and another person who came to his aid were also attacked, police said.

Two victims were treated at the scene for injuries. The victim who was equipped with pepper spray was not injured.

Police said investigators want to speak to the unknown females who fled at the beginning of the incident and asked for the publics help identifying them.
An appeals court in Vietnams capital Hanoi on Wednesday upheld the 12-year prison sentence handed to dissident writer Tran Duc Thach in December, sending him back to prison to serve his full term without hearing any arguments from his lawyer.

Thach, 69 and a founder of Vietnams online Brotherhood for Democracy, had heard only on Monday that the trial would be held, attorney Ha Huy Son told RFA on Tuesday.

Thachs appeals hearing lasted just under two hours and was held without arguments between Thachs defense attorney Ha Huy Son and government prosecutors, Son told RFAs Vietnamese Service following the trial.

It seems that the court had arranged its verdict ahead of time, as it was clearly made without any consideration being given to what Thach had actually done, he said.

Arrested on April 23, 2020 Thach had been charged with activities aimed at overthrowing the Peoples Government under Article 109 of Vietnams Criminal Code for Facebook postings exposing government corruption and human rights abuses.

The Brotherhood for Democracy is not recognized by the Vietnamese government, and many of its members have been imprisoned since its founding in 2013.

Speaking at Wednesdays trial, a government prosecutor called Thachs actions dangerous to society, saying they had threatened national security and undermined public trust in Vietnams political system.

Thachs first trial had been compromised by serious violations of legal proceedings, Thachs defense team said in a closing statement, noting that Thach had been tried on charges under the 2015 Criminal Code, which came into effect in early January 2018, well after his alleged offenses.

Prosecutors on Wednesday had also enjoyed full access to Thachs case file, while defense lawyers were not allowed to have a copy of it, attorney Ha Huy Son said.

Thach had previously served a three-year jail term after being convicted in October 2009 of conducting propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, and his return to prison now comes amid a new surge of jailings and convictions following a spate of arrests last year in the run-up to a top-level Communist Party conference in January.

'I'm not frightened at all'

Separately, police in Hanoi at the weekend summoned Trinh Ba Khiemthe husband of detained Dong Tam land-rights activist Can Thi Thieu and father of their two sonsordering him to remove live-stream postings on Facebook they said were defaming the Communist Party.

They said that the communist regime would arrest me and punish me harshly if I kept putting videos up on social media, Khiem told RFA, adding that its likely now that he will be jailed following the arrests of his wife and sons.

My wife and children are already in prison, so Im not frightened at all, even if they jail me for 20 years or if I die in prison, he said.

During his meeting with police, Khiem asked to see his son Trinh Ba Phuong, who was transferred from a detention center to a state-run psychiatric hospital in early March for evaluation after refusing to speak to police investigators  the third prisoner of conscience known to have been sent for psychiatric treatment.

A well-known land-rights activist in Hanoi, Phuong was arrested on June 24, 2020 with his younger brother, Trinh Ba Tu, and his mother, Can Thi Theu, on charges of creating, storing, and disseminating information, documents, items and publications opposing the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

The three family members had been outspoken in social media postings about the Jan. 9, 2020 clash in Dong Tam commune in which 3,000 police stormed barricaded protesters homes at a construction site about 25 miles south of the capital, killing a village elder.

'Mentally strong'

Can Thi Theu meanwhile met on Tuesday with a defense lawyer for the first time since her arrest in June, her attorney, Le Luan, wrote on his Facebook page, describing his client as mentally strong.

Speaking to RFA on Wednesday, Theus daughter Trinh Thi Thao confirmed the meeting, adding she had given Le Luan a letter she had written to her mother, along with photographs of her mothers four grandchildren.

The lawyer said that we would meet with Trinh Ba Tu on another day, she said.

Can Thi Theu had earlier served a 20-month prison term after being convicted in 2016 of disturbing public order for joining protests with others over their loss of land which was taken by the government to give to private companies without payment of adequate compensation.

While all land is ultimately held by the state, land confiscations have become a flashpoint as residents accuse the government of pushing small landholders aside in favor of lucrative real estate projects, and of paying too little in compensation to farming families displaced by development.

Reported by RFAs Vietnamese Service. Translated by Anna Vu. Written in English by Richard Finney.
AP Photos: Bangladesh celebrates 50 years of independence View Photo

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP)  It was 50 years ago on the night of March 25, 1971, that Pakistans military launched a violent crackdown on the city of Dhaka, then part of East Pakistan, to quell a rising nationalist movement seeking independence for what is today known as Bangladesh.

Soldiers stormed the dormitories of students and teachers at Dhaka University, dragging them out and blindfolding them before killing them. Elsewhere in the city, soldiers attacked a police barracks and shot civilians on the streets.

Just hours later amid the violence and chaos  early on March 26  the Bengali nationalist politician Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared independence for Bangladesh, sparking a nine-month war.

The fight for independence can be traced back Britains colonial rule of the Indian subcontinent and the new nations that were carved out after its end in 1947. There was India and Pakistan, the latter split into West Pakistan and East Pakistan.

While most in West Pakistan and East Pakistan shared a common religion  Islam  there were key differences, including language, with Bengali being widely spoken in East Pakistan and Urdu in West Pakistan. That became a point of tension in East Pakistan as the Wests Urdu-speaking elite rose to power.

For years, hostilities and strikes dominated East Pakistan as calls for independence grew louder. A watershed moment occurred in 1970, when Rahmans Awami League swept the polls in a national election. The military rejected the results, leading to a civil disobedience movement and more calls for independence.

The military responded with Operation Searchlight, the crackdown launched that March night in 1971.

The war would rage until December, when India joined on the side of Bangladesh. Finally on Dec. 16, 1971, Pakistan forces surrendered and Bangladesh celebrated its freedom.
Everyone desires a safe future for their loved ones and their aspirations. With this thought, the first insurance company was founded in London in the eighteenth century. As two centuries have passed and the insurance business has expanded with many companies providing various life insurance services today, acquiring life insurance is easier than ever. In this discourse today, we will learn what essentially Life Insurance means and its scientific principles.

Life Insurance - Explained

As mentioned on Insuranks, Life Insurance is basically a contract signed between two parties. The policyholder and the insurance company are the two stakeholders in the agreement. Considering the contract, it entails regular payments or a lump sum of premium by the policyholder to the insurer or the insurance company. Then, the Insurance company becomes liable in return to make a certain payment to a designated beneficiary related to the policyholder on the death or sometimes terminal illness of the policyholder. Life Insurance can be used to cover the personal loans, tuition fees, etc. of the beneficiary related to the policyholder.

What are the Scientific Principles of Life Insurance?

Certain principles have been devised for the proper functioning of the life insurance contract. When drafting the contract of life insurance, these principles must be in place to ensure coordination, cooperation, and goodwill between the insurance company and the insured (policyholder). The principles of insurance, in particular, Life Insurance are:

The principle of utmost good faith necessitates the transfer of correct information between the insured and the insurer. The accuracy and completeness of the provided information must be up to a premium standard. The insurance company and the policyholder must reveal information under the concept of this principle. The terms and conditions set by the insurer must be stated clearly while the policyholder is also obliged to reveal his or her objects of interest correctly. The clarity of aim from both sides should be ensured because misstatement for faulty emission of essential information may lead to an erroneous decision regarding entering the insurance contract.

This principle entails the singling out of the most prominent cause of a loss depending upon the connection of the contracting party to the cause. The most proximate party would have to pay for the loss.

This principle entails that the policyholder must gain some benefit from the insurance contract that he or she enters.

The principle of subrogation says that then legal rights of a property are held by that party that has paid for it. In other words when the insurance company has paid complete compensation for property the insurance company has the right to take a claim on it.

The principle of contribution states that different insurance companies will cover the loss proportionately over the same property which is written on the provision of the policyholder In all the life insurance agreements or contracts.

Whole Life & Term Life Insurances

The life insurance policy is devised on the basis of the personal preferences of the policyholder. There are two types of life insurance which include whole life insurance and term life insurance. The whole life insurance remains in effect for the entire life of the policyholder. It may be costly as compared to the term life insurance but it entails payment of the fixed amount to the policyholder after his or her passing out.

The cumulative costs of whole life insurance depend on certain factors which are age, fitness, life insurance providing entity, features of the plan, etc. So, the prices may vary on the basis of the policyholders' preferences and choices. Considering the term Life Insurance, it is temporary and is costly as compared to whole life insurance. Whole life insurance entails the providing of a premium by the policyholder to the insurance company throughout his life at certain periods of time.

Life insurance is important and beneficial because it imparts a sense of security and certainty.
* Username

This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely!
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 National assembly of Armenia has lifted the martial law by a vote of 118 to 1 and one abstention reports Armenian news agency Arka. The law was declared after Azerbaijan's aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh during last September. The motion was submitted by the two opposite parties- The Bright Armenia and The Prosperous Armenia. Both the parties argued that the law was no longer necessary.

The war in the Nagorno-Karabakh region stopped after Russia brokered a ceasefire on November 10, 2020. The conflict began in September 2020, bringing the issue back into the limelight. More than thousands of people have been displaced since then. Both the former Soviet nations have blamed each other for the fresh round of artillery firings, considered the worst flare-up the region has seen so far.

About the conflict

Around 414 Russian peacekeepers were deployed into the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and the Lachin corridor who had prior experience in performing tasks to support and protect humanitarian operations in Syria. Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Federation, Colonel-General Sergei Rudskoy, in a briefing informed that 16 observation posts were set up to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire and military operations. The deployment of Russian peacekeepers in the region was in accordance with the Moscow-brokered ceasefire agreement signed between the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan a day before.

While internationally, the Nagorno-Karabakh region is recognised as a de jure part of Azerbaijan, Armenians claim that the region was a part of their kingdom from the fourth century BCE. Joseph Stalin decided to make the Nagorno-Karabakh region an autonomous oblast of Azerbaijan. The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region flared up soon after the breakdown of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan have claimed the strategic territory, with occasional flare-ups and fightings.

(Image Credits: AP)
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief on Thursday slammed the following the alleged harassment of Kerala nuns during their train journey via Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh.

"In UP, heinous crimes, especially related to the safety of women, are not stopping which is a matter of grave concern. Incidents of female insecurity in Pilibhit and Gonda, police vandalism in Etah and unloading of Kerala's nuns in Jhansi from the train are shameful and condemnable. The government should pay attention," Mayawati's tweeted in Hindi.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, too, condemned the incident and said that the attack on nuns was a result of the "vicious propaganda" run by the Sangh Parivar.

In a tweet, Gandhi said, "The attack in UP on nuns from Kerala is a result of the vicious propaganda run by the Sangh Parivar to pitch one community against another and trample the minorities."

He added it is time for the nation to "introspect and take corrective steps to defeat such divisive forces".

On Wednesday, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah urging him to take action against Bajrang Dal members and police officers of Jhansi who allegedly harassed four nuns while they were travelling, by train from New Delhi to Rourkela in Odisha.

Vijayan said that the nuns were forcefully removed from the train by the Jhansi Police without the presence of women police officials and despite nuns showing the Aadhar ID cards, police did not accept those cards, stating that they are fake and kept them at the police station till late night.

"Dear Amit Shah, I would like to bring to your kind attention the reported shocking incident of four nuns including two postulants subjected to harassment by Bajrang Dal members and the police at Jhansi, while they were travelling, by train from New Delhi to Rourkela in Odisha," the letter read.

Vijayan said the two postulants who had recently joined the Sacred Hearts Congregation of the Delhi Province were travelling for the first time to their homes accompanied by two nuns were harassed and intimidated by around 150 Bajrang Dal activists.

"It is also reported that the nuns and the postulants were forcefully removed from the train by the Jhansi police without the presence of women police officials and despite nuns showing the Aadhar ID cards police did not accept those cards staring that they are fake," the Chief Minister stated.

"It was only after the matter was taken up with higher officials and after the intervention of Lucknow IG of police, the nuns and Postulants were released from the police station around 11 PM at night," read the letter.

(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.)
Associated Press

The younger generation of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales are on average about three feet (one meter) shorter than whales were 20 years, drone and aircraft data show in a study in Thursdays journal Current Biology. Entanglements with fishing gear, collisions with ships and climate change moving their food supply north are combining to stress and shrink these large whales, the study says. This isnt about short right whales, its about a physical manifestation of a physiological problem, its the chest pain before the heart attack, said Regina Asmutis-Silvia, executive director of Whale and Dolphin Conservation North America, who wasnt part of the study.
COVID-19 vaccine jabs produced by AstraZeneca and distributed to Vietnam via the COVAX Facility are the same as those used in the European Union, the delegation of the EU to Vietnam announced on Tuesday.

COVAX is a facility co-led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the World Health Organization (WHO), and UNICEF, aiming to accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines as well as ensure fair and equitable access for every country.

According to UNICEFs statement released on March 24, Vietnam is due to receive 811,200 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the next three weeks.

This quantity is smaller than previously announced for the first shipment and based on an equitable pro-rata distribution of available doses between all participant countries," the statement reads.

"Based on initial information shared by the manufacturer, the aim remains to deliver a total of 4,176,000 doses to Vietnam by the end of May, pending operational and supply constraints.

Vietnam is the third country in Asia to be receiving the vaccine from the facility after the Philippines and Cambodia.

The number of doses is decided upon the Vietnamese governments demand, the availability of vaccines, and other countries conditions.

According to EU Ambassador to Vietnam Giorgio Aliberti, given the low number of cases in Vietnam, the country is not in urgent need of jabs.

Responding to concerns over blood clotting cases reported after receiving AstraZeneca COVID-19 jabs in Europe, Ambassador Aliberti underlined that people's safety and the transparency of the investigation process are their highest priorities.

We all know that all medicines have some negative effects," he said.

"Commonly, the development of a vaccine takes ten years, in this case, only ten months.

Seven cases of blood clots in people administered AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine were reported.

"These are rare cases and we are having research teams deal with these complications."

Workers offload AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses distributed through COVAX at Abidjan, Ivory Coast on February 26. Photo: AFP

According to German Ambassador to Vietnam Guido Hildner, Germany has resumed its COVID-19 vaccination using AstraZeneca shots after a brief halt over the bood clotting concern.

He said it was crucial for people to be monitored post-inoculation.

Vaccines distributed to Vietnam under the COVAX scheme are the same type as those being used in EU states.

Regarding the EU's warning on the export ban against AstraZeneca vaccines for the firms delay in supply, Ambassador Aliberti said it would not affect the delivery of COVAX doses to Vietnam.

German Ambassador Hildner said AstraZeneca is still the only choice for now, as it was the first certificated vaccine and due to its advantages in storage and handling.

COVAX will consider using vaccines from other manufacturers including Moderna or Pfizer in the time to come.

The EU and its member states are the first donors to COVAX, contributing US$2.62 billion, equivalent to 41.5 percent of the facilitys total budget.

We consider vaccines as public goods in response to the pandemic and possible virus variants," said Ambassador Aliberti.

"Vaccination is not a race between countries but a race against time.

No specific roadmap for 'vaccine visa' The EU Commission has just proposed the Digital Green Certificate showing a carrier has been vaccinated, tested negative or recovered from COVID-19, according to Spanish Ambassador to Vietnam Maria Jimenez. It is expected to allow safer and quicker movement and restart tourism within the bloc. However, it is still a proposal, said Ambassador Jimenez. On Vietnams plan to develop what it calls 'the vaccine visa,' the ambassador said EU member states might consider the mechanisms to see whether it is aligned with their policies to decide the possibility to resume travel.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Videos

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos.
New Delhi:

Bharatiya Janata Dal (BJP) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) rubbished the Shiv Sena leaders statement stating that the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered cabinet berth to NCP chief Sharad Pawars lawmaker daughter Supriya Sule on Monday.

Senas mouthpiece Saamana editor Sanjay Raut had claimed that Pawar once told him that his daughter was offered a Cabinet berth by Modi.

Raut, a Rajya Sabha MP wrote, Modi once told me that he wanted Supriya in his Cabinet. Supriya who was present in the meeting told Modi that she would be the last person to join the BJP.

The Sena MP had also said that Pawar had told him that NCPs stand on not joining the BJP government, yet rumours were being spread to create confusion.

Raut further added that Pawar said that there are senior NCP leaders who are in touch with CM Devendra Fadnavis. The chief minister is holding secret meetings with NCP leaders.

A BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari said, Pawar and Raut have no political credibility left.

NCP leaders said that their party would never join the BJP, considering the ideological difference.

NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said, There is no question of his party joining the BJP in future as well, considering the ideological differences between the two parties.

He added Supriya Sule and Praful Patel have also clarified on the report.

(With PTI inputs)

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
AUSTIN, Texas, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- OneAffiniti , a leader in through-channel marketing solutions for global IT partners and brands, announced the launch of its Insights Hub with the Account Profiling dashboard, an addition to the company's through-channel marketing platform. Account Profiling gives partner companies data and insights to quickly identify their customers and prospects that are in-market in order to prioritize buyers that are exhibiting intent signals.

"With Account Profiling, we're putting critical marketing data at the fingertips of channel partners in a simple, straightforward way and eliminating the need to buy expensive intent data from third-parties and then feeding that data into their CRMs," said OneAffiniti CEO, Joel Montgomery. "While the intent data is valuable as a stand-alone, the fact that it is combined with their own campaign performance insights takes the key value to the next level, especially for smaller partners that might lack the resources available to utilize the data on its own."

The OneAffiniti Account Profiling feature is part of OneAffiniti's through-channel marketing (TCM) platform which is part of their TCM program that provides unique and tailored always-on marketing campaigns for partners that includes email marketing, social media content driving traffic to landing pages, as well as other demand and lead gen activities.

Account Profiling includes the following features:

- Lead scoring per account based on buying behaviors and activities

- Profiling data with signals that include intent score, buying stage, location(s), keyword category(s) and top site visited

- Insights into accounts that are ready to buy (and their search topics)

- Actual activities logged against each account

- Recommended "next step" actions based on scores and predicted readiness

Montgomery continued, "We know from our own research that brands need to do more to help partners  particularly SMBs  leverage their technology platforms because of time constraints and lack of resources, so offering partners the ability to leverage next-generation intent data tools to connect with customers represents a significant win-win."

Account Profiling is included with OneAffiniti's premium program level. For more information about how to access, click here .

About OneAffiniti

OneAffiniti was founded in 2008 in Sydney, Australia and has offices in Austin, TX, London, UK, and Manila, PH. The company serves more than 3,500 channel partners, reaching four million buyers each month. OneAffiniti's platform-enabled marketing solution drives more than 80 percent monthly partner participation and 22:1 ROI on attributable sales through a mix of high-quality digital marketing, innovative content, promotions and insights. Simple and easy to use, partners can approve and send their campaigns in as little as 5 minutes per month, becoming lead generation engines with limited effort. For more information about OneAffiniti, please visit: https://www.oneaffiniti.com

Contact:

Richard Weber

Wildfire Public Relations

[email protected]

512-971-0453

Simon Hjorth

[email protected]

512-982-0928

SOURCE OneAffiniti

Related Links

https://www.oneaffiniti.com


Five weeks after winter storm Uri, many Houstonians are still trying to pick up the pieces from damages left by the freeze.

Residents in Houston's Third Ward were particularly affected by the storm, and some are still without water and struggling with damaged pipes or low water pressure in their homes.

GENTRIFICATION IN TEXAS: Austin residents want to dismantle slab culture. Gentrification is the cause.

Rose-Ann Aragon at KPRC reports that "on Francis Street, in the heart of Houstons historic Third Ward, several residents said they are still suffering from storm damages."

Steve Gonzales/Staff photographer

Third Ward resident Freddie Alexander has 16 busted pipes in his home, and told KPRC how difficult its been weeks after the freeze.

"Its very frustrating as tenants to go through what were going through after the freeze," Alexander told KPRC.

What started off as a water deficiency as a result of the winter storm has turned into a much bigger problem. Since the freeze, Alexander and other residents have struggled to get repairs done on their pipes and also deal with low water pressure. Most of the community now relies on bottled water for drinking and cleaning on a day-to-day basis.

Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

PROTEST THROUGH ART: An East End mural to fight gentrification

Landlords have been slow with repairs, many owning multiple damaged properties, and a scarcity of supplies has exacerbated efforts to fix plumbing issues.

More than anything, Third Ward natives are looking for solutions on a larger scale. Residents have been working with the non-profit Black United Fund of Texas to get assistance, as well as Mayor Turner and Councilwoman Shabazz to see what options are available.

The seemingly inevitable prospect of gentrification, however, presents a daunting problem for Black residents in Houston's historically Black neighborhoods. What do you do when the only people who can help you out would rather push you out?
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.
Mexican researchers have launched a nose-only COVID-19 mask, which could be worn while eating or drinking. They claimed that the said mask, which only covers the nose, could reduce the infection spread of COVID-19.

The creator of the design said that removing a mask to eat or drink increases the risk of exposure to the virus, according to a Washington Examiner report.

However, it is not yet clear if the nose-only COVID-19 mask would be up for mass production. The Mexican researchers claimed that the nose-only COVID-19 mask does not eliminate all risks of spreading infection.

The new design of the said COVID-19 mask earned mixed reactions. Others said that it would reduce transmission, while others turned to its unusual look.

One Twitter user said that the masks were hardly a new invention as clowns have been wearing those for years, New York Post reported.

READ NEXT: Fauci Warns Against Loosening COVID-19 Restrictions, Mask Mandates

Mask Wearing

According to The Hill report, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noted that more mask coverage and not less is the best-case scenario.

In one CDC study released last month, the agency said double masking can significantly decrease the spread of COVID-19 infection. Double masking is the practice of wearing a cloth mask over a medical grade one.

The World Health Organization (WHO) also recommends wearing a mask that provides coverage over the nose, mouth, and chin. The same recommendation was stated under the CDC's guidelines for wearing a protective mask. According to CDC, it should fit snugly against the sides of the face without any gaps.

A medical procedure mask alone can block 56.1 percent of the particles from a simulated cough, while a cloth mask alone blocked 51.4 percent, a CDC study noted.

The combination of cloth masks over the medical procedure mask also blocked 85.4 percent of the cough particles.

People of two years of age and older should wear a mask and anyone who is traveling in a public setting or when traveling in any public transport.

Recently, several states have lifted their mask mandates, including Texas. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott lifted the statewide mask mandate under a new executive order implemented on Mar. 10.

However, businesses are allowed to retain the COVID-19 safety protocols, including a mask requirement that could be imposed at their own discretion.

U.S. health authorities said Wednesday that there is a falling emergency hospitalization among the elderly and a decline in cases among health workers becoming infected.

"We now see significant declines in emergency department visits among people over 65 as that age group has gotten vaccinated," Rochelle Walensky, director of CDC, said as AFP News reported.

The U.S. is currently administering around 2.5 million vaccine shots per day. Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden's chief advisor on the pandemic, advised everyone to remain cautious, saying that whether or not the U.S. is turning the corner, it remains to be seen.

Most of the cases reported in the U.S. involve younger people who are not yet vaccinated.

READ MORE: Fauci Says Normality is Impossible in 2021 Without a COVID-19 Vaccine

WATCH: Mexican Researchers Produce Nose-Only COVID-19 Masks to Wear While Eating or Drinking in Mexico - Discover News
South Africa: MEC condemns Joburg mall for ejecting Ndebele activist

Gauteng Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation MEC, Mbali Hlophe, has expressed dismay at the viral video of a man being turned away at Johannesburg mall for donning Ndebele traditional attire.

The incident took place at a Clicks store in Boulders Mall, Midrand.

According to Thando Mahlangu, who posted the video on Twitter on Wednesday, the centre manager told him he was dressed inappropriately before he asked him to leave the premises.

Mahlangu, an isiNdebele activist and author, described the incident as a saddest reality in Africa.

The MEC condemned the incident, which happened as the country celebrates Human Rights Month and on the back of the commemoration of the lives of people who died standing up for the recognition of rights for all.

"It remains shameful that an African man would discriminate against another for merely wearing traditional wear. It shows we have a long way to go in decolonising the minds of some amongst us.

At the heart of the discrimination is a display of a man not comfortable in his own skin, as he projects his self-hate on another, Hlophe said.

In a statement released on Thursday morning, the MEC said Gauteng was a home for all, "the fabric of which is the melting of cultures, languages and orientations -- all of which give this great province its unique character, and diversity.

Hlophe believes that this incident should serve as a teaching and learning moment for everyone.

"Our Constitution enshrines the rights of all people in the country and affirms the democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom.

"Accordingly, everyone is equal before the law and has the right to equal protection without any discrimination, including across culture, language, race, sexual orientation and age, she said.

The MEC said she will engage with the management of the affected store.

Clicks has since distanced itself from the incident.

In a statement, the pharmacy chain said it did not ask a customer dressed in Ndebele attire to leave the store.

The centre manager of Boulders, accompanied by the Boulders Centre security, entered the Clicks store and demanded that the customer leaves.

Moreover, the Clicks store manager intervened and asked the centre manager to leave.

The customer was allowed to continue shopping. Were extremely embarrassed by the centre managers behaviour and will be putting in a formal complaint, said Clicks.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-03-25. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Go to form
Monrovia  Yeyeh Initiative, a not-for-profit NGO run by former Miss African Methodist Episcopal University, Amb. Yayesorie Jalloh has formally launched its 2021 spelling bee competition for high schools across Montserrado.

The group, which is a non-profit NGO aiming at elevating women and children, making sure they have equal rights to education, health care, social-economic status in society, is co-operating with the Ministry of Education and other partners to kickoff this academic challenge, which begins on Thursday, March 26 and expected to end on Friday, March 27.

Speaking at the launch of the competition at the start of the week, Amb. Jalloh noted that the spelling bee competition is designed to develop children's confidence, presentation and cognitive skills positively sharing their attitudes for life as enabling them to attain Education.

"Education is the great engine for personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine, the child of a farm worker can become the president of a great Nation. It is what we make out of what we have not what we are giving that separates one person from another," Amb. Jalloh quotes former South African President Nelson Mandela.

According to her, this year's target is to work with 100 high schools, to include two(2) representatives per school, making it 200 students in total to contest at the preliminary rounds.

"Out of the 200 students 150 will drop and 50 will contest at the Grand Final where our team will confirm the best three winners of the YayehInitiative In collaboration with the ministry of Education and Monrovia City Corporation Youth Affires Unit 2nd Edition 2021," Yeyeh further stated.

The competition will be accordingly held under the theme "Spell to secure a future life."
A disturbing photo of a dead horse lying in the middle of a busy Melbourne street has prompted animal welfare charities to call for a ban on controversial carriage rides.

The animal died at 10.30am on Sunday on Arden Street in North Melbourne, where a shocked onlooker captured a photo of its dead body draped in blankets while still attached to the cart.

Melbourne Against Horse-Drawn Carriages campaign director Kristin Leigh said it was 'always going to be a matter of time' before a horse died while giving tourists carriage rides around the city.

'We are devastated for the poor horse who seemingly died at the hands of these operators,' she told news.com.au.

The animal died at about 10.30am on Sunday on Arden Street in North Melbourne, where an onlooker captured a photo of its dead body draped in blankets while still attached to the cart

Poll Should horse-drawn carriage rides be banned in Australia? Yes No Should horse-drawn carriage rides be banned in Australia? Yes 85 votes

No 55 votes Now share your opinion





The animal welfare group is demanding the Road Safety Minister ban horse-drawn carriages from Victorian roads as animals 'are not vehicles'.

But under the 1986 Victorian Road Safety Act, horses are considered to be a mode of transport.

Victorian Animal Justice Party MP Andy Merrick said the latest death is 'truly heartbreaking' and 'totally preventable'.

'Horses and cars on busy city streets don't mix. It's that simple. It isn't just an animal welfare issue, it's a road safety issue too,' he said.

Melbourne Against Horse-Drawn Carriages has previously blasted the enterprise for forcing horses to work in temperatures of up to 37C and down to as low as 5C, sometimes for 12 hours at a time.

'When not working, the horses are predominantly kept in inadequately sized yards in the inner city, in unacceptable conditions,' the group said.

'The horse-drawn carriages are often defended as a tourist attraction, however, they are not mentioned once in the City of Melbourne Tourism Plan, nor do they appear on Tourism Victorias website.

'The fact is, these horses earn money for their owners but the trade is of no consequence for the tourism industry and does not enhance Melbourne as a visitor destination.'

In 2019, a carriage driver was filmed kicking and screaming at a horse which had collapsed in the middle of a road in Melbourne

RSPCA Victoria confirmed it is investigating the incident after receiving a report regarding the horse that died over the weekend.

In 2019, a carriage driver was filmed kicking and screaming at a horse which had collapsed in the middle of a road in Melbourne.

Shocked onlookers filmed the confronting moment the driver screamed at the horse, before he shouted at witnesses who pleaded for him to stop.

'Get up, f**king lazy b***h,' the driver could be heard saying to the horse in footage filmed by veterinary nurse Krista Knight.

During the incident Ms Knight was heard begging for the man to stop kicking the horse.
Officials Find 29 Million Doses of AstraZeneca Vaccine in Italian Facility

Firm says they are destined for EU, donations to poor countries

Officials in Italy claimed to have found approximately 29 million AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses at a facility, while the company appeared to confirm the finding and said they were destined for the European Union and for donations to other countries.

Italian security forces inspected a Catalent factory near Rome at the behest of the European Commission, discovering the millions of doses over the past weekend, Italian paper La Stampa reported. Italys Prime Minister Mario Draghi confirmed the report, according to Reuters, said that some of the doses were seized while some were sent to Belgium.

French officials also confirmed the finding of the CCP virus vaccines.

A stock of almost 30 million doses has been identified near Rome during an inspection we put in place. It has now been seized, French government spokesman Gabriel Attal said this week, according to Reuters. The EU wont be the fall guy of vaccinations.

In a statement, AstraZeneca said that 16 million doses that were found were for the European Union and 13 million doses were for countries who signed up for the COVAX program.

There are 13m doses of vaccine waiting for quality control release to be dispatched to COVAX as part of our commitment to supply millions of doses to low income countries, the vaccine was made outside the EU and brought to the Agnani plant to be filled into vials, the pharmaceutical giant said. The EU fully supports supplying low and middle income countries through the COVAX facility.

AstraZeneca further said it is inaccurate to describe the finding as a stockpile, adding that the process of manufacturing vaccines is very complex and time-consuming. In particular, vaccine doses must wait for quality control clearance after the filling of vials is completed.

The company has been forced to deal with controversy this month after Germany, Italy, Sweden, France, Denmark, Spain, and other EU countries suspended usage of the firms vaccines after reports of recipients developing blood clots or even deaths.

Last week, the EUs European Medicines Agency said that the AstraZeneca vaccine is effective and noted that its benefits outweigh its potential side-effects. The vaccine has not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for usage, but the firm has said it wants to roll out the shot in the United States.

A causal link with the vaccine is not proven, but is possible and deserves further analysis, the agency said of the vaccine and blood clots.

The Epoch Times has contacted AstraZeneca for comment.


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.
First vaccines arrive in Covid-hit Papua New Guinea An initial shipment of 8,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine was flown in from neighbouring Australia

Papua New Guinea received its first batch of coronavirus vaccines Tuesday as the country raced to quell a Covid-19 surge overwhelming its fragile health system.

An initial shipment of 8,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine was flown in from neighbouring Australia, earmarked to protect badly hit frontline hospital staff.

Prime Minister James Marape greeted the grey air force C-17 bearing the vaccine, three mobile storage facilities and a small team of Australian public health specialists at Jacksons International Airport in Port Moresby.

Papua New Guinea survived a year without widespread community transmission, but the impoverished Melanesian nation is now detecting hundreds of cases each day.

Some hospitals have been forced to turn away new patients due to a lack of medical staff, who are testing positive in large numbers.

With the total number of cases nationwide tripling in the past month alone, authorities at the weekend approved a series of measures, including shutting schools and bars and barring non-essential movement.

Concerned that widespread transmission could destabilise its neighbour, Australia has urged AstraZeneca to divert one million more doses bought by Canberra to Papua New Guinea as soon as possible.

But there is no indication yet of when they may arrive.

str-arb/dm/leg
Capricorn Group's Business Risk Officer, Horst Simon, facilitated risk management training for Namibian Standards Institution (NSI) employees on 17 March 2021.

This latest training session was the second session since July 2020.

In January 2020, the NAMS/ISO 31000:2019 Risk Management Standard was officially gazetted as a Namibian Standard, followed by an announcement that Namibia accepted ISO31000 as the Risk Management Standard.

Capricorn Group supported the Namibian Standards Institution to carry out Risk Management Training for its employees in response to this announcement. It delivered the one-day training session, with the commitment to do another one. Due to various challenges, the second part of the training could only be delivered this year.

The NAMS/ISO 31000:2019 Risk Management Standard provides principles and generic guidelines on how companies can integrate risk-based decision making into an organisation's governance, planning, management, reporting, policies, values, and culture.

NSI Manager for Corporate Communications and Marketing, Mutonga Matali, was once again pleased and grateful for the opportunity to engage with Capricorn Group's Simon and the benefits that the training brings to NSI employees.

Capricorn Group has, over the years, created an influential risk culture, and through it, earned the trust of its customers and shareholders.

"Capricorn Group considers it an honour to be able to work with institutions like NSI and share knowledge and practices of identifying potential risks in advance, analysing them and taking precautionary steps to optimise the management of risk. We will continue to collaborate with external stakeholders to improve the management of risk where possible, to create sustainable opportunities for communities and build towards better societies where we operate," said Simon.
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 at around 3 p.m.

On Thursday, the Advance/SILive.com visited Belli Baci Bakery at 7358 Amboy Road, which is open for pickup and delivery through DoorDash from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

To place an order, call 718-984-5233 or visit bellibacibakeryandcafe.com.

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.

WANT MORE YES, THEYRE OPEN?

Check out the listings below or check out all of our previous coverage here.

ONeills Irish Pub, 1614 Forest Ave.

Lorenzos Pizzeria, 1910 Hylan Blvd.

Saladworks, 3010 Veterans Road W.

Lebanese Eatery, 1686 Forest Ave.

Cantina Mexicana, 140 New Dorp Lane

Nurnberger Bierhaus, 817 Castleton Ave.

HoBrah, 31 New Dorp Plaza
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.
Chinese vice premier stresses importance of solid fiscal, tax work

Xinhua) 14:28, March 25, 2021

Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, attends a fiscal and tax work conference at the Chinese Academy of Fiscal Sciences in Beijing, capital of China, March 23, 2021. (Xinhua/Ding Haitao)

BEIJING, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng has called for solid work on fiscal and tax priorities, urging efforts to actively carry out policy research to ensure a good start to the country's 14th five-year plan.

At a work conference held at the Chinese Academy of Fiscal Sciences on Tuesday, Han, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, stressed the importance of implementing proactive fiscal policies to effectively and orderly accomplish various tasks in the sector.

The working mechanism and policies should be improved to ensure sound operations at the grassroots level, while technological innovation should be further supported with increasing input into science and technology, Han noted.

Efforts should be made to improve the modern tax system, stabilize the macro tax burden, optimize the structure of taxation, and deepen the reform of the tax collection and management system.

Han also urged efforts to push for improvements of major social policies, including gradually raising the retirement age, advancing capacity reductions in key industries, and resolving local government debt risks.

The vice premier called for research on macro policies, especially fiscal policies, to be strengthened to better serve the country's current priorities, which include achieving a carbon peak and carbon neutrality, improving property market regulation, and promoting the healthy growth of the platform economy.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Bianji)
Associated Press

The younger generation of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales are on average about three feet (one meter) shorter than whales were 20 years, drone and aircraft data show in a study in Thursdays journal Current Biology. Entanglements with fishing gear, collisions with ships and climate change moving their food supply north are combining to stress and shrink these large whales, the study says. This isnt about short right whales, its about a physical manifestation of a physiological problem, its the chest pain before the heart attack, said Regina Asmutis-Silvia, executive director of Whale and Dolphin Conservation North America, who wasnt part of the study.
Severe weather is approaching North Alabama, and you might need to go to a storm shelter, but that means potentially exposing yourself to coronavirus.

The CEO of Crestwood Medical Center in Huntsville Dr. Pam Hudson said on Wednesday that her advice to people who have to go to storm shelters is the same, mask up! She said everyone should also try to keep their distance as best they can in the storm shelters.

People should also bring hand sanitizer with them.

Hudson said she's pretty certain that most storm shelters have taken the coronavirus pandemic into account.

"Since most of our shelters are run by volunteer agencies and public organizations, they have already taken this into account. Notable exception might be a family who has a tornado shelter, but again, if it's in your same family group, that would be of limited risk," said Dr. Hudson.

That potential threat of severe weather across North Alabama Thursday could delay coronavirus vaccine appointments for some people.

Hudson said Wednesday it is not concerning if you miss your second dose vaccine appointment because of severe weather. She said the vaccine is not to the minute or to the day sensitive, so waiting a day or even several because of severe weather is not concerning.

She said the CDC has come out with recommendations for getting your second dose past the scheduled date.

"Just rest assured that those vaccine doses will either be, you'll either be added on to a clinic. You're not going to be put off for a month. You'll be put off a day maybe, or two or three days at the most," said Dr. Hudson.

She says the vaccine agencies will put out some information if it is not safe enough to travel to come get your vaccine.
Advertisement

It is an enigma worthy of our greatest code breaker.

Britain's spy centre has devised its 'toughest ever' quiz to celebrate Alan Turing becoming the new face of the 50 note by the Bank of England.

If that was not enough for keen cryptographers, the note itself also contains a number of coded references to the celebrated mathematician and his life.

The Turing Challenge has been compiled by intelligence staff at GCHQ based on the design of the new banknote and Turing's work breaking the German navy's Enigma codes in the Second World War.

The quiz features 12 problem-solving puzzles leading to one ultimate answer. Some require general knowledge, while others need logic to solve.

But all are fiendishly difficult, with experts saying the challenge should take even the most experienced puzzlers seven hours.

And on the note itself, eagle-eyed sleuths will also spot a line of ticker tape showing a binary code made up of ones and zeros.

Alan Turing 'would have wanted to dedicate his legacy to tackling inequalities' Alan Turing's nephew has said the computer pioneer and codebreaker would have wanted to dedicate his legacy to tackling inequalities in the industry. Sir Dermot Turing, nephew of Alan Turing, on BBC Breakfast Sir Dermot Turing told BBC Breakfast today: 'I think Alan Turing would have wanted us to think about under-representation of women in science subjects, under-representation of black, ethnic minority kids in Stem subjects at school, and why they're not being given the opportunities they should have, and why that's bad for all of us. 'These were things that I think he was quite keen on during his lifetime, and I'm very delighted by the Bank of England and their choice of imagery on the banknote decided not to major up on codebreaking and to focus on Alan Turing as a figure in computer science.' Advertisement

Once cracked and converted into decimal figures, the numbers will reveal a significant date in modern cyber espionage.

The puzzles in the quiz are all based on the new note, which features the technical drawings for the code-breaking machine, the British Bombe.

Another puzzle is inspired by the sunflowers that grew outside Hut 8 at Bletchley Park where Turing was based during the War.

GCHQ's chief puzzler, known only as 'Colin', said: 'Alan Turing has inspired many to join GCHQ, eager to use their own problem-solving skills to help to keep the country safe.

'So it seemed only fitting to gather a mix of minds from across our missions to devise a seriously tough puzzle. It might even have left him scratching his head, although we very much doubt it!'

Turing joined the forerunner of GCHQ in 1938 and led the team in the famous Hut 8 at Bletchley Park, helping develop the machine which deciphered the Nazis' codes and revealed the movements of U-boats.

Historians believe his work helped shorten the war by as much as two years, saving hundreds of thousands of lives.

After the war he went on to lay the groundwork for the modern computer.

But his achievements were overshadowed by his private life when he was prosecuted in 1952 over his homosexuality.

Two years later he took his own life. GCHQ director Jeremy Fleming said: 'Alan Turing's appearance on the 50 note is a landmark moment in our history.

'Not only is it a celebration of his scientific genius which helped to shorten the war and influence the technology we still use today, it also confirms his status as one of the most iconic LGBT+ figures in the world.

'Turing was embraced for his brilliance and persecuted for being gay.

'His legacy is a reminder of the value of embracing all aspects of diversity, but also the work we still need to do to become truly inclusive.'

Stephen Fry welcomes 'long overdue recognition' of Alan Turing as he praises 'this very great man' Stephen Fry has said the choice of Alan Turing to appear on the 50 banknote marks another step in the nation's long overdue recognition of 'this very great man' The choice of Alan Turing to appear on the 50 banknote marks another step in the nation's long overdue recognition of 'this very great man', Stephen Fry has said. The actor welcomed the decision, which was made after the Bank of England invited nominations from the public for someone from the field of science, but said much progress is still needed to achieve an equal society. In a YouTube video posted by the Bank of England, Fry said: 'Featuring him on a banknote is something I've called for for a number of years. The choice of Alan Turing and the manner at which it was arrived at, by public nomination, marks another step in our nation's long overdue recognition of this very great man. And there is much to recognise in his life, his interests and talents ranged far and wide. 'We could talk about Alan Turing the prodigious mathematician whose early work changed the course of academic higher mathematics. Or, Alan Turing the mathematician who turned his hand to cryptography and codebreaking, that helped change the course of the Second World War. Alan Turing, the cryptographer, who then conceived of and designed one of the world's first programmable computers. Alan Turing, the computer scientist, who loved nature and became a pioneer in the field of developmental biology. And Alan Turing, the man who chose to be openly gay, at a time when this natural choice could attract the most barbaric punishments. 'For many minorities, the 1950s were a particularly oppressive time in this country's history. This was especially true for the LGBTQ community. Alan Turing was among the thousands of men who were harried and harangued by the authorities. Not just down to the hostile attitude to their sexuality alone, but also under the bigoted belief that there was a link between homosexuality and communism. 'That both had to be rooted out of British society, as part of the Cold War effort. Alan was arrested in 1952 after the police learned that he had had a sexual relationship with another man. He was tried and sentenced under the gross indecency laws of the time. Given the awful choice of a prison term or hormone therapy, what transpired to be chemical castration though this wasn't revealed to him at the trial, Alan Turing chose the hormone therapy. 'Although friends and colleagues from his work at GCHQ and Manchester University spoke up for him at his trial, attesting to his enormous contribution to the war effort and British academic prestige, it wasn't enough to save him from this cruel punishment. Shortly after undergoing his 'hormone therapy' Alan Turing committed suicide. Sixteen days shy of his 42nd birthday. 'Over the past decade, Alan's life story, with its soaring highs and tragic lows, has become known to a much wider audience. Today he is the overwhelming choice to be the figurehead of the new 50 banknote. This follows other significant steps taken in Britain to right this historic wrong. In 2009, prime minister Gordon Brown made an official public apology on behalf of the British government for the appalling way Alan Turing was treated. In 2013, Queen Elizabeth II granted Turing a posthumous pardon. In 2017, the Turing law was passed, pardoning the tens of thousands of people convicted under historic laws outlawing homosexual acts. 'Although belated, this recognition of Alan Turing's achievements goes some way to address the shameful treatment he was subjected to in the final years of his life. And whilst the injustice perpetrated on the tens of thousands of LGBTQ people who were persecuted by the legal system can't be undone by pardoning Alan or by passing the law that bears his name, using his name as a vehicle to apologise to a community for what was done to them was an important step. 'By figuring him on this new banknote, we have chosen to celebrate Alan Turing's many remarkable achievements. Much progress is still needed before we achieve the equal society we strive for, but by choosing this man as the figurehead, we are attesting to our belief that people should be judged by what they can contribute to the world and the ideas they bring. And not anything else.' Advertisement

The following is taken from the GCHQ website. You can also do the puzzle on the website by clicking here.

The Turing Challenge: Try our toughest puzzle to celebrate Alan Turing featuring on the 50 banknote

To celebrate Alan Turing featuring on the new 50 banknote, we've created our hardest puzzle ever in his honour.

The #TuringChallenge requires you to solve a string of puzzles which get increasingly difficult. Crack the answers to the first 11 puzzles which should give you 11 single words or names which you'll need your very own Enigma simulator to decode!

Keep an eye on our Twitter and Instagram channels throughout the day for tips and hints.

As Turing himself once said:

'We can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty there that needs to be done.'

Puzzle 1 - Hut 8

The stylistic 8s in the pattern above the bank building on the front of the note refer to Hut 8, one of the sections of GC&CS.

Hence the importance of the 8th column below!

Puzzle 2 - Portrait

The portrait is by Elliott & Fry; a bromide print taken on 29 March 1951, one of three from the National Portrait Gallery collection

Puzzle 3 - Bits of Note

Can you shed some light on these sequences?

Puzzle 4 - Window

The transparent window on the 50 note is based on a pattern detailing one of the huts at Bletchley Park.

We found an encoded message scribbled under one of them.

Give it sum thought, and see if you can make it add up.

If you look at it from a different angle you should see a Welsh town through the window, which would be a real plus!

Puzzle 5 - Foil

Alan Turing provided the theoretical underpinnings for the modern computer. The image of the microchip on the foil is a recognition of that achievement.

Complete the two sunflowers with four letter words spelt outwards from the central 50s, so that adjacent words differ by exactly one letter.

The example on the left shows how BANK can be changed to NOTE in four steps.

Once you have completed the sunflowers, find the central four letter word which differs by exactly one letter from each of the two words it's connected to through the microchips, to solve the puzzle!

Puzzle 6 - Sunflower

The flower-shaped red foil patch on the back of the note is based on the image of a sunflower head linked to Alan Turing's morphogenetic (study of patterns in nature) work in later life.

Puzzle 7 - Quotation

A close up of the article 'Calculus to Sonnet' in The Times in 1949 -  Times Copyright 2021

The quotation used:

'This is only a foretaste of what is to come and only the shadow of what is going to be'

is from an interview with Alan Turing as part of an article in the Times on 11 June 1949.

The subheading in the newspaper is Calculus to Sonnet.

That is the title of the sonnet below, as indicated acrostically.

The second verse is also a clue to a 10 letter word.

Puzzle 8 - Entscheidungsproblem

The table on the 50 note is from Alan Turing's paper 'On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem', in which he showed that some purely mathematical problems can never be answered by computation.

Hopefully you'll find that the puzzle below is not such a problem!

An hypothetical conversation between the shades of Hugh Alexander and Alan Turing:

What was the result of Alan's application?

Puzzle 9 - Signature

The signature used comes from Max Newman's visitor book, as displayed below:

Max Newman's visitor book including Alan Turing's signature -  Bletchley Park Trust

Puzzle 10 - Crown

The crown appears on all banknotes, of course. Alan Turing was the co-creator of Turochamp, possibly the first chess computer program - although computers at the time were not powerful enough to run it!

Place each of the remaining seven pieces in a square of their associated colour so that no piece can capture any other.

Can you identify the holder of the crown?

Puzzle 11 - Binary

The binary code displayed alongside Turing on the back of the note is based on Turing's date of birth, 23rd June 1912, given as a binary representation of the number 19120623.

Which villain can be spotted hiding in the following days from history?

Puzzle 12 - Enigma

Congratulations! You have reached the final stage of the #TuringChallenge. Now it's time to count your change...

Now click here to complete the final stage and see how you did
Orange County Sheriff Reveals New Strategy to Tackle Homelessness

The Orange County Sheriffs Department (OCSD) is shifting the way it interacts with the homeless through dozens of liaison officers trained to work with the demographic.

This is necessary because when were dealing with the homeless, weve realized that many of these people are experiencing mental illness, and also substance use disorder, Sheriff Don Barnes said during a wide-ranging community briefing March 24.

Transitioning away from homeless outreach specifically allows us to intervene with people before theyre homeless, or people who are experiencing crisis by bringing the appropriate key stakeholders and interventionists, social workers, and clinicians to deal with those issues in lieu of a law enforcement response.

So far, 50 OCSD homeless liaison officers are transitioning to the new model through its newly launched Behavioral Health Bureau.

Barnes also discussed how the bureau could benefit the public at large.

Law enforcement should not be the first face of government that those experiencing crisis should know, Barnes said. They should not be interacting for the first time with somebody wearing a uniform and a gun. We need to increase our services with the right intervention strategies, social service strategies that replace a law enforcement response.

Inmate Update

Barnes also discussed the departments ongoing lawsuit with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which last year called on Barnes to release half Orange Countys inmates to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the facilities.

Barnes refused to do so, and the case continues to play out in court.

Since the outset of the pandemic, the ACLU has pursued litigation to release inmates entrusted to our care, he said. Orange County Superior Court issued an order in December of 2020  that if implemented would result in the release of 1,000 inmates entrusted to my care.

Ive opposed all efforts to release these inmates, and I will continue to oppose those efforts to legal processes to help prevent the release of these inmates back in the community, because I believe they present a significant risk if released.

To date, the county has had 2,314 total cases of COVID within its jails, with two inmates currently COVID-19 positive, Barnes said.

Public visiting inside jails, which has been forbidden for the past year, will reopen May 26.

All that said, we are turning a corner in COVID-19 within the community and also within our jails, and as a nation, Barnes said. This is by design, and deliberate actions of those who were acting responsibly.
Dr. Howard Njoo, Deputy Chief Public Health Officer at Public Health Agency of Canada, speaks during a COVID-19 press conference at the Sir John A. Macdonald Building in Ottawa on Dec. 23, 2020. (David Kawai/The Canadian Press)

Vaccine Distribution Ramping up as 11 Percent of Canadians Get First Shots: Ottawa

The federal government says COVID-19 vaccine distribution will steadily increase in the coming weeks as Canada hit an important milestone in giving out shots.

Dr. Howard Njoo, Canadas deputy chief public health officer, said during a news conference Thursday that the country has surpassed the 10 percent mark of residents over 18 who have received at least one shot.

To date, over 4.3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in Canada, he said in Ottawa. This marks an important milestone, with more than 11 percent of eligible adult Canadians  having received at least one dose.

Njoo said that includes 60 percent of people older than 80 and 19 percent between 70 and 79. More than 60 percent of adults in the three territories have received their first shot, he said.

But he warned the milestone is not enough to stop the spread as more transmissible variants continue to pose a significant threat until more people are vaccinated.

Federal officials said a total of six million vaccine doses have been delivered to the provinces and territories.

With nearly two million vaccine doses to be distributed next week, we are clearly on track to receive eight million vaccine doses, reaching our objective for this quarter, said Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, the military commander who is overseeing the countrys vaccine program logistics.

Fortin said he doesnt expect any disruption to shipments of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine from Europe, despite concerns about potential export reductions by the European Union.

He expected 1.2 million Pfizer doses to arrive next weekthe same as this week, which was the largest shipment so far. Another 846,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine were also to be delivered by next week.

Fortin added that theres no indication that shipments of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to Canada will be delayed, but added those discussions are ongoing.

Media reports Wednesday said India has halted exports of Covishield, the version of AstraZeneca produced at that countrys Serum Institute.

India has already supplied 500,000 of a planned two million doses to Canada, with another one million still slated for arrival in mid-April followed by a final shipment a month or so later.

Fortins remarks echoed those of International Trade Minister Mary Ng, who said Wednesday there is nothing to indicate Canadas supply chains will be disrupted.

Health Canada noted Thursday they have updated the product label for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to warn about blood clotting, but noted reports of those events are very rare and nonexistent in Canada.

Dr. Supriya Sharma, chief medical adviser for the federal department, said three cases of blood clotting have been reported out of 300,000 Canadians who have received at least one dose of the vaccine, but none appeared to be linked to the vaccine.

Sharma said she agrees with European health authorities that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh any potential risks, and that all four vaccines approved for use in Canada are considered safe.

Canadas overall infection rate since the pandemic began a year ago is nearing the one-million mark. To date, the virus has killed 22,759 people across the country.

Health officials in New Brunswick are imposing circuit breaker measures in an effort to contain an outbreak of the disease in the northwestern part of the province.

Were quite concerned because it is the variant, said Dr. Jennifer Russell. We have to pull out all the stops to get things under control.

Officials there reported 30 new cases of COVID-19 for a total of 89 active cases across the province.

Nova Scotia reported four additional cases, including two that were travel-related, for a total of 25.

Ontario reported another 2,380 cases and 17 deaths on Thursday, but officials noted that number is inflated because of a data processing issue that required a catch up.

Quebec reported 945 cases and four more deaths, while Manitoba reported 111 cases and one death.

By Colette Derworiz and Christopher Reynolds

With files from Kevin Bissett in Fredericton.
Under these plans, students borrow money for tuition and other expenses and repay it by handing over a portion of their paychecks  typically 5 percent to 10 percent  for a set number of years after graduation. For both borrowers and lenders, the contract is a gamble. If the borrower goes on to a lucrative job, the lender stands to make more than it would on a traditional loan, subject to the cap and time frame  and the borrower risks paying more. But if the borrower earns very little and pays back less than he or she received, the lender absorbs the loss.

The approach has caught the attention of Silicon Valley investors who are funding start-ups, as well as some policymakers. A growing number of colleges and vocational training programs are letting students finance some or all of their studies with such contracts. Purdue University was the first to offer them widely, starting in 2016. Private schools including Lackawanna College and Clarkson University have followed suit. Vemo Education, a venture that manages I.S.A. programs, said it had worked with 70 schools and training courses.

But the market is opaque and lightly regulated, making it challenging for borrowers to find the kind of consumer-protection disclosures that typically accompany financial products. Financiers are generally not required to reveal any information on how much money they have lent and how those deals have worked out for borrowers.

Student Borrower Protection Center researchers obtained data from the website of one private financier, Stride Funding in Dallas, and studied its agreements to illustrate how they can contain buried inequities. (Other companies that market the agreements directly to students include Align, Defynance and Lumni.)

Like most lenders in this market, Stride varies its repayment terms depending on the borrowers earning potential. An English major typically will need to fork over a higher percentage of salary than an engineering student. (Stride caps its maximum repayment amount at two times the amount that was borrowed. Its contracts typically require recipients to make payments for five to seven years.)
Visiting Malawi Minister of Agriculture Lobin Clarke Lowe has applauded Zimbabwe's agriculture sector saying his country has a lot to learn.

Speaking after touring several demonstration plots of varieties of crops that being bred by SeedCo owned Rattray Arnold Research station in Mashonaland Central, Minister Lowe said his country will send a delegation to Zimbabwe.

"After going through the research station, we appreciate and have learnt a lot. Soon we will send a delegation to visit the Ministry of Agriculture and Seed Co. There is a lot to learn from transformative agriculture in Zimbabwe.

"My Government is going towards transformative agriculture and for that to happen we need to be oriented and Zimbabwe is the best country to get that orientation. I wish we had stakeholders or partners like Seed Co. If we have similar investment in research it would help the country and the region. I like the way you collaborate with your Government," Lowe said.

He also commended SeedCo for their efforts in the area of research saying it is advancing the region.

"For SeedCo you are doing a wonderful job and I like the way you coordinate as a company and the Government. Your efforts are benefitting the region." he said

Minister Lowe was accompanied by Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, water and Rural Resettlement Minister Anxious Masuka who said there was need to transform agricultural colleges and universities' curriculum so they do not produce extensionists, but entrepreneurs.

"Those already in Agritex should transform their minds to become business advisers. We have motorised them and given them gadgets. They should be prepared for paradigm shifts so they can help households to transform from farming for subsistence to business." said Minister Masuku

Varieties of crops that include rice, soyabeans, sorghum, onions and cabbages are being bred at the station.
Armenian acting minister: EU allocated EUR 68,700,000 to Armenia for budget support in 2020

Armenia Finance Ministry: MFA's budget grew by AMD 1,600,000,000 in 2020

Bodies and remains of Armenian soldiers are kept in morgue in Armenia's Martuni

White House confirms Biden-Erdogan meeting in Brussels

Armenia acting MOD touches upon priority directions for development of Armed Forces

Diaspora Armenian writer, publicist Toros Toranian dies

2 Armenian soldiers injured in scuffle with Azerbaijan, Armenian POW is hospitalized, Jun. 3 digest

Wedding held in Armenia's Shurnukh for first time since the war ended

EEU member states to finish preparing for negotiations over free trade zone in Iran in late June

Armenia Central Bank: Economic downfall in 2020 was due to decline in service and construction sectors

Armenia legislature adopts several bills in first reading

Armenia President meets with Nursultan Nazarbayev

Dejavu: Armenia ruling party distributes money for votes at Yerevan district election office

Chief Advisor to Karabakh President sacked

Russian MFA: Works are carried out to settle situation around Karabakh every day

Armenia opposition MP sounds alarm about Baku fabricating criminal cases against Armenian prisoners

Armenia acting health minister: I have apologized, I am not going to resign

Helga Schmid meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Armenia's deputy foreign ministers resigned or have heavy workload?

Dollar goes down in Armenia

Armenia Elections Oversight Committee reports Iranian citizenship of ruling party's MP candidate

Acting deputy minister: Only 17 of 711 Iran-Armenia power transmission line towers were installed by 2017

Armenia Parliament Council holding session

Armenia to host CSTO "Thunder-2021" military exercises

NYT: Chinese hackers launch cyberattack on New York city transportation authority

Armenia President to Kazakhstan counterpart: I would like to see much deeper cooperation between our countries

Armenia citizens shut down Etchmiadzin-Ashtarak road, complaining about lack of irrigation water

Armenia independent MP: Foreign minister and his deputies don't want to take part in treacherous acts

Armenia to get $11mn loan, 350,000 grant for agriculture

WHO worries about worsening mental health worldwide amid pandemic

Armenia health ministry on improper handling of Artsakh war victims bodies: There is no justification

Armenia bloc election foundation already in operation

Russia ambassador to Armenia paying working visit to Syunik Province (PHOTOS)

China pledges to step up resistance to foreign interference in Hong Kong

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: There can be no talk of corridor for Azerbaijan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on incumbent authorities: Wherever they flee, we will bring them by the feet

President: Impossible to ensure peace in region or stay in Artsakh without Russia army joint efforts

China Daily: Dispatch from Makit: Thriving in the desert

Karabakh President: We will never put up with being part of Azerbaijan, it is ruled out

Armenia MFA information department chief: All deputy FMs carrying out their duties

Ardshinbank invited children to the cinema on International Childrens Day

Armenia judiciary to have 10 more judges

Armenia acting premier: We had recorded 40% increase in tax revenues according to 2019 results

Armenia acting PM on Artsakh war casualties bodies: We have 50 remains in which case DNA was not separated

Azerbaijan authorities plan to "squeeze" everything from "terrorist show" related to Armenian captives

Ameriabank announces a contest for bank card design

108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia parliament convenes special session

Armenia interim government holding Cabinet meeting

Catholicos of All Armenians heads for Syunik Province, Artsakh

World oil prices going up

Iran loses right to vote in UN General Assembly

Newspaper: Armenia authorities come up with new way of punishing unwanted characters

Newspaper: Russia army Southern Military District deputy commander to arrive in Yerevan Thursday

Lebanese Armenian man taken prisoner by Azerbaijan is hospitalized

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Are we getting under the burden? Then lets get under to the end

Armenia acting health minister on keeping fallen soldiers bodies in bags: What else should they be kept in?

Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation

Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow

2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik

Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center

"Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans

Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel

Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna

Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations

US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies

Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week

Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection

Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential

Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement

Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues

Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo

Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation

NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident

Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices

Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over

Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest

Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia

Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia

Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels

Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters

Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021

Dollar is stable in Armenia

Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector

Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out

Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe

Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia

Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border

Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor

Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue

Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia

Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this

Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia
In response to rising complaints about owners not picking up after their pets, Seaside Heights has banned most dogs from its beach and boardwalk, officials said.

Only service dogs are allowed, the borough said in a statement. Violators face fines, as the new rules went into effect Monday.

Very few dogs are bona fide service animals, Seaside Heights said in a statement. All claims that a dog is a service animal will be challenged by trained code enforcement officers as permitted by the Americans With Disabilities Act. Comfort dogs and therapy dogs are not bona fide service animals. In New Jersey, you can be fined from $100 to $500 for putting your dog in a guide dog harness to falsely pass it off as a guide dog.

The boroughs statement added: By falsely claiming that your pet is a service animal in order to, for example, bring it into a restaurant with you or take it on the bus, you are not only inconveniencing others who have to put up with your animal. You are poisoning attitudes towards true service animals, and leading bystanders and proprietors to believe others may be faking it. 

Dog were previously allowed on the Seaside Heights beach during the off-season.

The new ordinance matches one in neighboring Seaside Park, where only registered service animals such as seeing-eye dogs and on-duty police dogs are allowed.

All dogs except service dogs banned from the beach and ocean in the Ortley Beach section of Toms River, one town to the north of Seaside Heights.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com.
Dulwich College has reported its own pupils to the police after receiving allegations of criminal sexual harassment following the publication of an open letter that branded the school 'a breeding ground for sexual predators'.

Headmaster Joe Spence announced the move in a message to parents explaining how the 21,246-a-year institution was responding to accusations from victims of assault and revenge porn revealed in an open letter on Sunday.

Dulwich is the latest top London public school to be caught up in the 'rape culture' row, with similar claims levelled at Westminster, Latymer Upper, Kings College, London Oratory and Highgate.

Mr Spence wrote: 'Since the publication of the Open Letter a small number of individuals have come forward naming their abusers and in these cases Dulwich College has either disciplined those pupils or, where there has been an allegation of criminal behaviour, passed the case on to the police.'

Headmaster Joe Spence announced the move in a message to parents explaining how the 21,000-a-year institution was responding to accusations from victims of assault and revenge porn revealed in an open letter on Sunda

Headmaster's full letter Dear Parents When I first wrote to you about the Open Letter from Samuel Schulenberg OA I assured you of regular updates outlining how the College would respond to the allegations made and the accompanying reports from individuals who testified to experiencing abuse or harassment. I reiterate that Dulwich College as a community condemns unreservedly the behaviour and attitudes reported in the Open Letter and is united in its determination to challenge them and to ensure that such a report could not be compiled in the months and years ahead. Our pupils have made clear that they will work hard with College leadership to live up to this assurance; their contribution to our plans for the future will be integral to all we will do. We apologise to anyone who has experienced abuse or harassment perpetrated by a pupil of Dulwich College. We will act on any case where an individual pupil is named. Since the publication of the Open Letter a small number of individuals have come forward naming their abusers and in these cases Dulwich College has either disciplined those pupils or, where there has been an allegation of criminal behaviour, passed the case on to the police. We understand why victims of harassment or abuse may not wish to be named or to name perpetrators, but we welcome the opportunity to deal with specific cases, both so that wrongdoing can be punished and so that individual pupils against whom allegations have been made have an opportunity to defend themselves. In the film accompanying this letter I outline, in broad terms, the actions the College is taking in response to the Open Letter. For ease of reference, an accompanying PowerPoint contains slides with brief notes on each of the actions. This Dulwich Post, film and PowerPoint will be followed up in the Easter holidays with a formal letter with more granular detail on many of the actions, as confirmed by our Governors, but I am conscious that the community wants to know what is being planned and that any vacuum can be filled with fear, doubt and misinformation. Thank you for the many letters and e-mails you have written over recent days, expressing confidence that we can be part of the answer to a societal problem in our response to the Open Letter, offering advice or contacts and helpfully seeking clarification on particular issues. The common thread in all you have written is an appreciation of the fact that we will only affect change if we work together and take a shared responsibility for the actions of our children; thank you for that earnest of your engagement and support. As ever Joe Spence Advertisement

Mr Spence added: 'We understand why victims of harassment or abuse may not wish to be named or to name perpetrators, but we welcome the opportunity to deal with specific cases, both so that wrongdoing can be punished and so that individual pupils against whom allegations have been made have an opportunity to defend themselves.'

The headmaster wrote that he 'condemns unreservedly the behaviours and attitudes reported in the open letter' and vowed to 'challenge' any instances of poor or illegal behaviour.

The original letter, published by the Sunday Times on March 21, was written by 19-year-old Samuel Schulenburg and includes about 250 anonymous stories from girls who went to schools nearby such as James Allens Girls School ( Jags).

The alleged accusations include assault, revenge porn, sexual violence, 'slut shaming' and claims the school has an 'established rape culture.'

Mr Schulenburg, who now goes to Oxford University, said: 'The behaviour of...students is a testament to their entitlement, to their experience of an institution which has enabled their sexism.

'The submitted testimonials do not present a divide between the many and the few. They describe a community of abusers and their enablers, violently sexist boys whose behaviour is underpinned by a collective understanding that their comfort and status is worth more than the lives of those who fall prey to their abuse.

'In almost every story, experiences of assault, revenge pornography and slut shaming were exacerbated by the aggressor's friends, young men who laughed at stories of sexual violence, who shared illicit photos of teenage girls without consent, who stood by as their mates ruined lives. These accounts are heartbreaking as they are outraging.

'They describe a plethora of victims, female students at nearby schools, fellow Alleynians, female teachers. Their purpose is not to highlight the tragedy of individual cases, but to expose the overarching nature of this problem.

'I believe that the College and its culture can be so much more than this.

'There has to be accountability. There has to be justice. It is long overdue.'

Former pupils from the school include Sir Ernest Shackleton, Bob Monkhouse, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Nigel Farage.

Several testimonies about males from Dulwich College were made by female pupils from other schools.

One wrote: 'I was filmed in a vulnerable position at a party by a DC boy without my consent and he then posted those videos on social media and shared them with friends. Since then, I have been incredibly paranoid in any kind of intimate situation or party, I feel as though I can't enjoy myself without the fear of being watched and ridiculed.

'The DC lad culture is truly one of the most toxic and harmful environments I have ever been exposed to, I can only imagine what others have been through because of the shared mentality of arrogance and thoughtlessness that pervades Dulwich College.'

Former Dulwich College pupil Samuel Schulenberg wrote an open letter including the acusations

The letter, addressed to Dulwich master Dr Joe Spence, was posted to the former pupils' Instagram page which included as link to the testimonies

The open letter includes the harrowing testimonies from former and current pupils at Dulwich College

Another said: 'I was held down and had my top and bra taken off by a group of Dulwich College boys who only gave my clothes back ten minutes later as I cried and screamed.'

Dulwich students are also said to use polling app Waggle It to rate the attractiveness of girls and sex acts they would like to perform.

MailOnline has contacted Dulwich and the Met Police.

Pupils stage walk out at 22,000-a-year Highgate School in London in protest over 'toxic rape culture' - after head apologised for 'not doing enough to tackle sexual violence against girls'

By James Gant

Pupils have staged a walk out at one of the best private schools in the country in protest against an alleged 'toxic rape culture'.

Boys and girls hugged each other outside the 22,000-a-year Highgate School in north London after claims emerged from current and former students.

They were also understood to have stood in front of headmaster Adam Pettitt's office as a show of strength.

One female demonstrator held up a placard which read: 'We stand strong, we stand tall and most importantly we stand together.'

Another raised one which said: 'Sexual violence is not bullying. It is a violation of human rights.

The protest comes after a dossier was sent from former and current pupils to the governors listing abuse and harassment at the 456-year-old school which was ranked the best independent School of the Year in 2020 by TES.

The London day school, whose alumni include poet Sir John Betjeman, composer John Rutter, the late F1 commentator Murray Walker and cricketer Phil Tufnell, regularly ranks among the top-performing schools in exams in the country.

Last year, it sent 25 pupils to Oxbridge after 86 per cent of A Levels taken by pupils were awarded an A* or A.

The allegations come amid similar claims from former pupils from a number of elite private schools of a culture of sexual abuse.

Boys and girls hugged each other outside the 22,000-a-year Highgate School in north London after claims emerged from current and former students

They were also understood to have stood in front of headmaster Adam Pettitt's office as a show of strength

One female demonstrator held up a placard which read: 'We stand strong, we stand tall and most importantly we stand together'

Another raised one which said: 'Sexual violence is not bullying. It is a violation of human rights

One told the Times a boy had hounded Year 8 girls into send him naked pictures of themselves.

On a different occasion male students were said to have chanted encouragement after another was suspended for abusing a girl who later left.

The ex-pupil said: 'The boys banded together and would chant his name at parties as if he was the one being treated unjustly.

'Anyone who spoke against him was talked down they were silenced by this culture of protecting abusers. The boys were allowed to run wild.

'The culture was so toxic that my friends and I didn't realise it was so bad until we left to go to university and had normal friendships with men.'

Headteacher Mr Pettitt told MailOnline: 'Sexual harassment, abuse, intimidation and violence against girls and women are abhorrent, and we condemn them utterly.

'The testimonies are devastating and it is clear from the passionate voices of our young people that, despite all we do to safeguard pupils, we haven't done enough to tackle the issue of peer on peer sexual violence and harassment against girls.

'I want to apologise to the girls and women at Highgate for the ways you have been made to suffer. I am truly sorry.

'Safeguarding every child in our care continues to be at the heart of what we do as a school.

'Our commitment to action has to be real and deep. We will be commissioning an independent review of the issues raised in the testimonies following a listening exercise with our pupils, alumni, staff and parents; we will be working with external partners to enhance our PSHE and to improve staff training to challenge and eradicate sexism and sexual harassment.

'We recognise the urgent need for systemic change and we at Highgate are fully committed to playing our part.'

The protest comes after a dossier was sent from former and current pupils to the governors listing abuse and harassment at the 456-year-old school

One told the Times a boy had hounded Year 8 girls into send him naked pictures of themselves

In a statement, Highgate School Governing Body added: 'We are deeply shocked and horrified by the allegations that have recently come to light through the ''Everyone's Invited'' website.

'The Highgate they describe runs entirely contrary to the values of our whole community and we echo what our Head, Adam Pettitt, has already said in apologising to any victim of sexual harassment or abuse who was not properly supported during their time at Highgate. We are truly sorry.

'The Governing Body has commissioned an immediate external review of the allegations led by a team of professionals with expertise in this field.

'The review will transparently scrutinise exactly what took place. We will make public its findings when they are available, and we are committed to taking whatever action is required to achieve the necessary culture change at Highgate.

'We have reassured our parents and carers that safeguarding every child in our care continues to be at the heart of what we do as a school. We are encouraging all of our pupils, past and present, who wish to share their experiences, or to give feedback anonymously, to contribute to the review.

'Their voices will be heard. We also fully support and commend the actions of our pupils today, standing in solidarity with all victims of sexual harassment or abuse.'

It follows a series of 'rape culture' allegations made against other top schools by pupils who claim they were sexually assaulted by their peers.

Sixth Form students at the London Oratory - where Nick Clegg and Tony Blair's children are among the alumni - were the latest to raise concerns on Instagram.

One post saw the state-funded Roman Catholic school in Fulham, west London, blasted for having 'the worst rape culture of any school I know'.

Sixth Form students at the London Oratory (pictured) made allegations of rape and sexual assault on an Instagram account

Dulwich College reports students to the police after sexual abuse claims Dulwich College has reported its own pupils to the police after receiving allegations of criminal sexual harassment following the publication of an open letter that branded the school 'a breeding ground for sexual predators'. Headmaster Joe Spence announced the move in a message to parents explaining how the 21,246-a-year institution was responding to accusations from victims of assault and revenge porn revealed in an open letter on Sunday. He wrote: 'Since the publication of the Open Letter a small number of individuals have come forward naming their abusers and in these cases Dulwich College has either disciplined those pupils or, where there has been an allegation of criminal behaviour, passed the case on to the police.' Mr Spence added: 'We understand why victims of harassment or abuse may not wish to be named or to name perpetrators, but we welcome the opportunity to deal with specific cases, both so that wrongdoing can be punished and so that individual pupils against whom allegations have been made have an opportunity to defend themselves.' The headmaster wrote that he 'condemns unreservedly the behaviours and attitudes reported in the open letter' and vowed to 'challenge' any instances of poor or illegal behaviour. The original letter, published by the Sunday Times on March 21, was written by 19-year-old Samuel Schulenburg and includes about 250 anonymous stories from girls who went to schools nearby such as James Allens Girls School ( Jags). The alleged accusations include assault, revenge porn, sexual violence, 'slut shaming' and claims the school has an 'established rape culture.' Mr Schulenburg, who now goes to Oxford University, said: 'The behaviour of...students is a testament to their entitlement, to their experience of an institution which has enabled their sexism. 'The submitted testimonials do not present a divide between the many and the few. They describe a community of abusers and their enablers, violently sexist boys whose behaviour is underpinned by a collective understanding that their comfort and status is worth more than the lives of those who fall prey to their abuse. 'In almost every story, experiences of assault, revenge pornography and slut shaming were exacerbated by the aggressor's friends, young men who laughed at stories of sexual violence, who shared illicit photos of teenage girls without consent, who stood by as their mates ruined lives. These accounts are heartbreaking as they are outraging. 'They describe a plethora of victims, female students at nearby schools, fellow Alleynians, female teachers. Their purpose is not to highlight the tragedy of individual cases, but to expose the overarching nature of this problem. 'I believe that the College and its culture can be so much more than this. 'There has to be accountability. There has to be justice. It is long overdue.' Advertisement

Its headteacher wrote to parents, staff and pupils saying he had spoken to students who shared their 'alternative experiences of life at the school'.

But he said parents should take charge on handling the issue as they are the 'most influential educators on such matters', the Times reported.

One account by a London Oratory pupil on the Instagram page read: 'My boyfriend at the time who went to [London] Oratory raped me.

'He then went on to lie to all of his friends about what happened.'

Another claimed staff left her alone in a room with a boy who she accused of sexually assaulting her.

A third commented: 'It's not just the private schools with issues. There is no sex education whatsoever at this school, never mind any talk about consent.

'There is too much focus on the religion of the school, with little understanding that everyone is still just a teenager that really, really needs to be taught about consent, respecting boundaries. It is appalling and shows in so many things people do and say.'

Its headmaster said in a letter: 'I would also like to take this opportunity to thank those many pupils, both male and female, past and present, who have approached me to alert me to their alternative experiences of life at the school.'

He then took a quote from another letter collectively signed by the group, with read: 'If anything good comes of this, let it be a clearer understanding amongst all the pupils of the physical and spiritual dangers of present day cultural norms [...] and the necessity of chastity and sacraments, in particular regular confession, holy communion and the sacrament of marriage.'

Former Lib Dem leader Mr Clegg's eldest son Antonio is understood to have attended the school.

Former PM Mr Blair also sent his two eldest sons, Nicky and Euan, to London Oratory with daughter Kathryn believed to have joined in sixth form.

A spokesman for London Oratory said: 'The school was made aware of a number of concerning but unspecified allegations of sexual harassment and assault amongst its pupils, via a social media platform.

'We have encouraged affected pupils to refer any matters to the police as these are criminal matters.

'On hearing the news, we aligned our established and extensive counselling team. Last week we swiftly opened a solution focused dialogue to address the full spectrum of pupil concerns.

'To support and extend the work parents do in their role as first educators, we have also brought forward the delivery of our (recently consulted on) RSHE programme.

'This emphasises developing caring and respectful dispositions.

'This is one element in the School's strategy to continue to address contemporary issues pre-emptively, creatively and faithfully, in partnership with parents and parishes.'

The claims were just days after pupils at Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, west London said their school has a 'rape culture'.

It contacted pupils and alumni to offer support after youngsters reported a 'toxic environment' within the 20,000-a-year co-educational school.

Headteacher David Goodhew said he was 'troubled' by the anonymous allegations made online.

They included claims female students had been assaulted by their male counterparts and coerced into sex acts.

Social media campaign Everyone's Invited has received hundreds of anonymous claims of sexual abuse.

They involve pupils from some of Britain's leading private schools including Eton and St Paul's Boys School in Barnes, south-west London.

Pupils at Latymer said it had a 'serious and ongoing problem'. A second website has since been set up to demand the school tackles its alleged 'rape culture'.

Meanwhile, former-prime minister Tony Blair sent his two eldest sons, Nicky (far left) and Euan (second left), to London Oratory with daughter Kathryn (far right) believed to have joined in sixth form

Nick Clegg's eldest son Antonio is understood to have attended London Oratory. Pictured: The former deputy PM

The school, where alumni include actor Hugh Grant and model Lily Cole, said it had alerted parents and the local council's child safeguarding officer to the allegations.

One shocking account claimed some 'rich, white, privileged boys' at the school were 'predators' who forced girls into performing sex acts.

Girls alleged boys made 'sexual comments' to them in the classroom, compared nude photographs of them and ranked them based on their faces and bodies.

Pupils said they were bullied and sexually harassed during lessons and that teachers had ignored the behaviour.

Parents who complained to the school were also ignored, according to some of the accounts on the Everyone's Invited website.

One anonymous writer said they had been repeatedly sexually harassed in a classroom by a boy.

They said: 'The teacher could also see this happening every lesson and the other boys laughing and chose to ignore it.'

Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, London, contacted pupils and alumni to offer support after youngsters reported a 'toxic environment' at the 20,000-a-year school (file photo)

Latymer said: 'It was deeply disturbing reading the accounts by young women, and men, of alleged incidents that have occurred, both on-site and outside of schools or university campuses across the UK.

'We are full of respect and compassion for all of those who shared their harrowing stories.

'We were troubled to see a number of the stories and experiences attributed to Latymerians.

'The welfare of our students and alumni is of the utmost importance to us and we take any report or allegation made by a member of our community extremely seriously.

'Sexual harassment and abuse have no place at Latymer or in the wider world. Such behaviours are completely incompatible with Latymer's values and contrary to our ethos of respect for others.

'Our policies around safeguarding and anti-bullying stress a zero tolerance approach to behaviours that foster the prevalence of misogyny, sexism, harassment, abuse and assault.

'All staff at the school undergo regular safeguarding training, including a unit on Sexual Violence and Harassment between Children and Young People.

'When an allegation is reported to us, we follow the appropriate processes, including referral to and involvement with outside agencies and the police if appropriate, and work with our young people to ensure they feel empowered and supported.

'If an allegation were to involve a member of staff, we would always follow our safeguarding procedure which requires us to take any disclosure extremely seriously, notify the LADO and carry out a thorough investigation.

'We take all such issues very seriously and have encouraged anyone affected to come and talk to us directly.

'The welfare of our students and alumni is of the utmost importance to us and we will be listening carefully to our students and alumni and reflecting on what further steps we should take.'

Condemning the actions described, St Paul's Boys School said it had also reported the website allegations to its local council's safeguarding team.

Eton said it took any allegations 'extremely seriously', would investigate thoroughly and take appropriate disciplinary action.
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 Brazilian man allegedly beat his girlfriend to death over a wardrobe malfunction that exposed her breasts at a pool party.

Suspect Nikolas Iori Maichon, who is currently on the run, allegedly killed Ana Paula Coutinho after the victim accidentally flashed her breasts at a pool party last Mar. 18.

Reports said the 24-year-old victim's bikini came loose when she jumped into the water, exposing herself to other partygoers at the event in Itapecerica da Serra.

According to a Daily Mail report, the suspect accused Coutinho of deliberately revealing herself to other guests when he saw that her bikini had come loose and started to violently beat her.

The Brazilian man then told their friends that his girlfriend had drowned and that he had to take her to a hospital.

He allegedly bundled Countinho into his car and drove her to her house, later taking the victim's dead body to a local hospital before fleeing the scene, News.com reported.

In a phone call, Maichon told Countinho's family that she drowned in the pool after drinking alcohol. The Brazilian man also claimed that he rescued her and tried to revive her by performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

The suspect had called his mother when Coutinho vomited blood, and his mother helped him rushed his girlfriend to the hospital.

However, when the victim's relatives arrived at the hospital, only the suspect's mother was there, and Maichon had already fled the scene.

Coutinho's relatives became suspicious when they realized that the suspect had left, and the doctors told them that the cause of the victim's death might have been a head injury.

The couple's friends reportedly told the victim's family that the Brazilian man had violently attacked Coutinho after a wardrobe malfunction at the party.

Coutinho's relatives said Maichon had been aggressive with the victim on several occasions, but she always defended him.

Maichon was already wanted for running internet scams back in December. Authorities continue to search for the suspect.

READ NEXT: Brazilian Drug Dealer Accused of Killing, Dismembering Ex Due to Jealousy

Femicide Rates in Brazil

In a 2019 report, crime statistics for Brazil have shown a decline in murder rates. However, femicide cases increased four percent in the same period.

According to The Guardian, four women were killed every day in Brazil in 2019. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) described the numbers as alarming.

"The commission calls on the Brazilian state to implement comprehensive strategies to prevent these acts, fulfill its obligation to investigate, prosecute and punish those responsible, as well as to offer protection and comprehensive reparation to all victims," the Washington-based IACHR said in the report.

In 2015, Brazil passed a law to stem femicide, which gives a legal definition of the crime, with prison sentences of up to 30 years for convicted offenders.

Commissioner Margarette May, IACHR president and rapporteur for women's rights, said that Brazil's law on femicide was a significant step in making murders on women more visible. May added that it is now important to strengthen the prevention and protection measures.

According to Human Rights Watch, Brazil has only 74 shelters for victims of domestic violence despite having a population of more than 200 million.

READ MORE: Miss Mexico Aspirant Found Dead in Her Home After Leaving Heartbreaking Message Online

WATCH: New 'Femicide' Rules Signed Into Law in Brazil - From CGTN America




25 March 2021 LSE: PDL

Petra Diamonds Limited

("Petra", "the Company" or "the Group")

Response to report published by RAID

Petra Diamonds Limited acknowledges the report published by RAID on 25 March 2021.

As previously stated, Petra takes the allegations of human rights abuses at the Williamson mine extremely seriously. Petra has committed to provide feedback on the investigation being carried out by an external advisor, in conjunction with our legal advisors; the scope of this investigation already includes the allegations mentioned by RAID in their report.

As detailed in our recent announcements, the Company has taken a number of actions to address the situation at the Williamson Mine, including the replacement of the third party security contractor at the mine, as noted in our announcement on 9 February 2021.

All of the Company's announcements regarding this issue, including its responses to RAID, are available on the Company's website: https://www.petradiamonds.com/our-operations/our-mines/williamson/allegations-of-human-rights-abuses-at-the-williamson-mine/.

For further information, please contact:

Petra Diamonds, London Telephone: +44 20 7494 8203

Marianna Bowes investorrelations@petradiamonds.com

About Petra Diamonds Limited

Petra Diamonds is a leading independent diamond mining group and a consistent supplier of gem quality rough diamonds to the international market. The Company has a diversified portfolio incorporating interests in three underground producing mines in South Africa (Finsch, Cullinan and Koffiefontein) and one open pit mine in Tanzania (Williamson).

Petra's strategy is to focus on value rather than volume production by optimising recoveries from its high-quality asset base in order to maximise their efficiency and profitability. The Group has a significant resource base of ca. 243 million carats, which supports the potential for long-life operations.

Petra conducts all operations according to the highest ethical standards and will only operate in countries which are members of the Kimberley Process. The Company aims to generate tangible value for each of its stakeholders, thereby contributing to the socio-economic development of its host countries and supporting long-term sustainable operations to the benefit of its employees, partners and communities.

Petra is quoted with a premium listing on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange under the ticker 'PDL'. The Company's US$337 million loan notes due in 2026 will be listed on the Global Exchange market of the Irish Stock Exchange. For more information, visit www.petradiamonds.com.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 10:45:16|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

Workers at a construction site in Cikampek, West Java Province, Indonesia, March 24, 2021. (Photo by Zulkarnain/Xinhua)



Chinese company completed the precasting work of 15,390 reinforced concrete rail track slabs for the Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Railway.

JAKARTA, March 25 (Xinhua) -- China's Sinohydro Bureau 7 Co., Ltd. on Wednesday completed the precasting work of 15,390 reinforced concrete rail track slabs for the Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Railway (HSR), the railway's operator said.

A statement released by KCIC, a joint venture consortium between Chinese and Indonesian state-owned firms that runs the 142.3-km HSR, said the completion of the precasting work created a solid foundation for the laying of track slabs on the entire line of the railway.

KCIC said the precasting of rail track slabs undertaken by Sinohydro Bureau 7 Co., Ltd., accounting for 51 percent of the total slab precasting works, will be handed over to Indonesian state-owned company PT Wijaya Karya, a member of the venture consortium.

Workers at a construction site in Cikampek, West Java Province, Indonesia, March 24, 2021. (Photo by Zulkarnain/Xinhua)

KCIC said that the first track slab was produced in January last year in Sinohydro's slab yard before the launching of mass production, adding that all the slab transported out reached a qualified rate of 100 percent.

With a speed of 350 km per hour, the high-speed railway built with the Chinese technology will cut the journey between Jakarta and Bandung, the capital of West Java province, from more than three hours to around 40 minutes.
TANZANIA's envoys overseas have vowed to uphold the late President John Magufuli's legacy through strengthening partnerships in promoting the country's economic diplomacy.

The country's Ambassador to Sweden, Dr Willibrod Slaa, said on Wednesday in Mwanza after paying his last respects to the body of the fallen president that Tanzania's representatives abroad owed the departed leader outstanding performance.

Dr Slaa paid tribute to former President Magufuli, noting that he was an outstanding leader who desired to boost the social-economic status of the Tanzanians.

He described ways envisioned by the former president to arrive at such development heights, including industrialisation and investment.

"I still remember when I was sworn in as ambassador among directives given were related to building up an economic diplomacy.

"As his representatives, he wanted us to look for prospective major investors who can trade with the Tanzanians," said Dr Slaa.

According to the ambassador, the former leader was a visionary and strategic person; this can be witnessed on major improvements in the country's infrastructure and the revamping of the aviation sector.

He pointed out that the initiatives were focused on creating good investment environment to attract more investors, hence, building the country's economy.

Tanzani's Ambassador to France Samwel Shelukindo said the six-year period the late Magufuli served, inspired them. He showed that he was serious in taking the country to the next level of development as he was serious, committed and no-nonsense leader.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Tanzania Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"He showed us that no challenge is too great when purpose and commitment come together. He embodied integrity and showed us that the most important thing we could ever build is an enduring legacy of self-reliance and confidence," said Ambassador Shelukindo over a telephone interview.

"During his leadership, he created an enabling environment that attracted investors, this includes fighting corruption and removing some bottlenecks," he added.

"We have seen an increased number of tourists visiting our country. For instance French tourists visiting Tanzania have increased from 24,000 in 2016 to 56,000 in 2019."

On his part, Mr Mbelwa Kairuki, the country's Ambassador to China, said through a twitter post that "We have lost a formidable pillar in the struggle for our total independence.

"We will forever remember his great efforts and contribution to the social-economic development of our nation. What the late President Magufuli sought to do for us will not be buried with his mortal remains."

He pointed out that the country shall honour him by continuing with the struggle for the real economic emancipation of the people.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the First Lady Mama Janet Magufuli and the entire family. RIP Dr John Pombe Magufuli," noted Ambassador Kairuki.
 Flash

Beijing's air quality has improved dramatically in the last few years owing to the emission reductions following the implementation of clean air actions, according to a latest report released by a group of leading British and Chinese scientists.

A team of more than 150 scientists have spent five years conducting one of the largest air pollution field campaigns in Beijing -- generating new insight into air pollution and human health using novel observational and modelling tools, said a press statement published Tuesday on the website of the University of Birmingham.

The scientists have found that sources of key air pollutants in the city center, including fine particles, volatile organic compounds (VOC), and black carbon are much lower than predicted, but concentrations were still relatively high in 2016 and 2017, indicating they were created outside the city center.

Atmospheric Pollution and Human Health (APHH) in a Chinese Megacity (APHH-Beijing) is jointly funded by Britain's Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and Medical Research Council (MRC) as part of the UK-China Research and Innovation Partnership Fund, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC).

"High levels of air pollution pose a serious health risk to inhabitants of many Chinese cities. We confirmed that Beijing's air quality has improved significantly in recent years," said Professor Roy Harrison, lead UK principal investigator of the largest project within APHH-Beijing (AIRPOLL), from the University of Birmingham.

"Our measurement work in Beijing has given us a much greater understanding of air pollutants in Beijing -- where the pollution is coming from and how much there is. This, in turn, allows us to make recommendations to policy makers and help them make the decisions that will reduce air pollution levels in Beijing and other cities across China," Harrison said.

Within the wider project, researchers also discovered that cooking oil emissions are a potential source of potentially hazardous fine particles in Beijing -- suggesting that a more stringent control of this local source may be needed within the city.

Furthermore, they showed that road traffic is not a major source of primary PM2.5, but remains a significant source of NOx (Nitrogen oxide).

Professor Zongbo Shi from the University of Birmingham, the science coordinator of APHH-Beijing, said: "The program has enhanced UK-China collaboration, trained the next generation of scientists, and created a legacy of enhanced scientific understanding for the future that will help citizens to take individual actions to improve their day-to-day lives."

Dr Caroline Culshaw, head of Healthy Environment at NERC, said: "APHH-Beijing has been a hugely successful program, showcasing large scale collaborative working across both national borders and the environmental and medical sciences to tackle global challenges."

The APHH-Beijing project uses multiple atmospheric measurement and analysis strategies to determine where the pollution is coming from and how much there is; develop novel ways of recording emissions, and integrating these to produce new modelling tools for use in policy development, according to the university.
ADVERTISEMENT

The police in Niger State have arrested a housewife over the alleged gruesome murder of her husbands new wife.

The police said the housewife killed her new co-wife, Fatima Ibrahim, with a pestle and set the body ablaze to fake a fatal fire accident.

The deceased reportedly met her grim end in Minna, the state capital, 54 days after her wedding.

The commissioner of police in the state, Muhammad Adamu, disclosed the incident on BBC Hausa on Wednesday.

He said their husband, Aliyu Abdullahi, reported the incident to the police, leading to the arrest of the co-wife and three other persons.

The police boss said preliminary investigation revealed that the co-wife (name withheld by the police) killed the deceased with a pestle and set her body ablaze to indicate she had died in a domestic fire accident.

The incident occurred two days after their husband took the junior wifes passport photographs to process her visa for the lesser hajj in Saudi Arabia, the police boss said.

We strongly suspect that the jealous co-wife resorted to this criminal act after the husband announced his plan to send the bride to Saudi Arabia, the commissioner added.

The father of the deceased, Ibrahim Yahaya, who lives in Katsina State, said she was killed only 54 days into her marriage.

She was wedded here at Sabuwar Unguwa in Katsina metropolis before she moved to Minna in Niger. Her co-wife and her accomplices killed her after they sent the house help out on an errand.

Fatima called her sister and told her something dangerous was about to happen. Unfortunately, the sister met her dead body in the house, the father said.

Mr Ibrahim said the corpse was brought to Katsina and has been buried according to Islamic rites.
[March 25, 2021] Alorica to Create Thousands of Jobs with Latin America Expansion to Cali, Colombia Alorica Inc., a global leader in customer experience solutions, today announced its continued growth in Latin America (LATAM) by establishing a new contact center in Cali, Colombia. As Alorica scales and diversifies its world-class talent, Cali serves as the latest investment to provide clients across a variety of industries with next-generation solutions to exceed their CX needs. In the second quarter, Alorica plans to hire locals for both onsite and work-at-home positions. "As we continue extending our global footprint, our growth in the LATAM market has never looked stronger," said Brian Delaney, President of LATAM & Caribbean Operations at Alorica. "Expanding our presence to Colombia enables us to offer more premier CX services in both English and Spanish. Laying roots in the vibrant city of Cali bolsters our talent pool, allows more optionality to our clients, and enhances the impactful customer interactions we've been known to deliver for over 20 years." Alorica has more than 17 years of experience in LATAM and the Caribbean, already operating in seven countries including the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama and Uruguay. As an ideal growth engine, the region delivers bilingual talent, with physical proximity and cultural similarity to the U.S. and continues to attract clients focused on business continuity and resiliency, while remaining cost-efficient. The new presence in Colombia will expand Alorica's in-demand nearshore operations and further its reputation as one of the largest customer service providers in the world. As a recognized customer service BPO leader, Alorica demonstrates its commitment to investing in its people by focusing on employee engagement and performance. Through constant evaluation of the employee Net Promotor Score (eNPS), coupled with award-winning training programs and culture initiatives, Alorica strives to remain the "best place to work." The results are increased employee satisfaction, lower attrition rates and leaders being promoted from within the company year over year. Leveraging its work-at-home solution-Alorica Anywhere-not only allows the company to provide further flexibility to clients, but also to employees. Through a versatile operating model, Alorica offers gamified digital tools including a mobile app to help agents hone their skills, improve KPIs and build confidence, while sharing real-time feedback at every stage of the employee lifecycle to ensure high-quality service delivery.

"As a family-founded and led, minority-owned business, our people are everything," added Delaney. "Our dynamic company culture is made possible because we hire and develop talented Aloricans from diverse backgrounds and geographies. And as part of our corporate social responsibility, impact sourcing remains among our highest priorities so we may also benefit the communities where our employees live and work. We're looking forward to creating many jobs in Colombia." Alorica's new call center is strategically located in the Palmetto Plaza Shopping Mall alongside the top universities in Cali. The location offers employees numerous onsite amenities including accessible transportation, public services, retail stores, and more, while providing maximum efficiency for both brick-and-mortar and work-at-home operations. About Alorica Alorica is a global leader in customer experience solutions. We are made up of 100,000 passionate problem solvers who make lives better through positive customer interactions-at every touchpoint-across voice, chat and social. Leveraging innovative technologies-including intelligent automation and a comprehensive analytics suite-we support the world's most respected brands with the best talent and resources necessary to create insanely great experiences. Alorica provides a host of world-class services-from customer care to financial solutions and digital services-to clients across industries of all kinds, many of whom are on the Fortune 500. Alorica contact centers and operation hubs span the globe with locations in 15 countries. To learn more, visit www.alorica.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005262/en/

[ Back To SIP Trunking Home's Homepage ]
Due to the dissemination of information by a number of Ukrainian media about the possible opening of the Cyprus border for tourists from Ukraine from April 1, 2021, the Ukrainian Embassy said that since March 1, 2021, Cyprus has introduced the division of world's countries into separate categories (zones) in terms of compliance with the prerequisites for entering the country.

"The belonging of countries to the relevant categories (zones) is reviewed weekly based on the data of the report of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, taking into account the epidemiological situation in a particular country. As of March 25, Ukraine is classified as 'gray' zone, which provides for a number of restrictions on entry from Ukraine," the embassy said in the statement on Thursday.

It is noted the official confirmation of the Cypriot side about the transfer of Ukraine from April 1, 2021 to another category of countries has not been made public.

"We recommend that potential tourists and visitors to Cyprus wait for confirmation of the information that should be released on official Cypriot resources, such as the Press and information office, Cyprus Flight Pass or the website of the Ukrainian Embassy," the embassy said.

The embassy also said that in case of transfer of Ukraine to the so-called "red" zone, such requirements as registration on the Cyprus Flight Pass platform, double testing, namely the PCR test done in the country of departure no later than 72 hours will apply and PCR test upon arrival in Cyprus (self-isolation until the test result is obtained), as well as the availability of documents confirming the purpose of the trip.
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.
Candidates for Olyphant mayor and the Scranton and Valley View school boards withdrew by the Wednesday deadline, reducing the number of contested primary election races.

In Olyphant, Rebecca L. Sheroshik withdrew from the Democratic contest for mayor, Lackawanna County Director of Elections Elizabeth Hopkins said. That leaves incumbent John Sedlak Jr. without an opponent in the May 18 primary election. No Republican is seeking the seat.

In Scranton, incumbent School Director Sean McAndrew withdrew from the Republican and Democratic contests for a single, two-year board term. That leaves four candidates still running for the two-year seat  school board President Katie Gilmartin, former school director Greg Popil, both on the Republican and Democratic ballots, and Tucker J. Hottes and Chris Gaidos, both only on the Democratic ballot.

McAndrew remains on the Republican and Democratic ballots for one of four four-year seats as do Gilmartin, Tom Borthwick, Danielle Chesek and Tyrone Holmes. Hottes and Gaidos only seek Democratic nominations for the four-year seats.

In Valley View, Alicia A. Kurtzman withdrew from the Republican race for a single open seat representing Blakely. That means incumbent Joseph Mondak, the school board president, will run unopposed on the ballot for the Democratic and Republican nominations.

Only 11 of the countys 40 municipalities and three of 11 school districts have at least one contested election on the primary ballot.

Countywide, only races for Democratic and Republican nominations for judge, the Democratic nomination for register of wills and the Republican nomination for sheriff are contested.
London, United Kingdom--(Newsfile Corp. - March 25, 2021) - China Food and Beverage Company (OTC Pink: CHIF), an Esports and Digital Asset technology company, today announced that the Company has appointed Jeff Au as its new Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors. Mr. Au currently serves as an independent non-executive director of IAG Holdings Limited, a Singapore-based, Hong Kong listed investment company. Mr. Au is a turnaround specialist and will lead the restructuring of CHIF, as the Company embarks on its new direction into the massive Esports arena. The global Esports market revenue was valued at just over $1 billion in 2021 and is being projected to grow 400% in the next seven years to an estimated $4.28 billion by 2027. Mr. Au will lead the negotiations for CHIF's pending acquisitions.

Mr. Jeff Au obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Arizona in the United States in August 2007 and a Master's Degree in Business Administration from the world renowned Kelley School of Business, Indiana University in the United States in May 2015.

James Tilton, president of CHIF stated, "I am delighted to welcome Mr. Jeff Au as the Company's new CEO and my fellow Board of Director. I am certain that all of our loyal shareholders are equally excited. Mr. Au is a true restructuring expert."

CHIF's vision is the establishment of a fully integrated technology company that provides turnkey technological solutions to the Esports, Cryptocurrency, Blockchain and Digital Asset industries. Over time, the Company plans to provide a wide range of services such as software solutions, e-commerce, advisory services, financial services and information technology.

For further information please contact CHIF at info@chiftech.com

The CHIF Twitter account can be accessed at https://twitter.com/chif_tech

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created thereby. Investors are cautioned that, all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including without limitation, the ability of China Food and Beverage Company to accomplish its stated plan of business. China Food and Beverage Company believes that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements contained herein are reasonable, any of the assumptions could be inaccurate, and therefore, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements included in this press release will prove to be accurate. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward- looking statements included herein, the inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by China Food and Beverage Company or any other person.

Contact

China Food and Beverage Company

info@chiftech.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/78590
They've been busy filming scenes for the hit ITV2 series after they were announced as the new team captains last year.

And Laura Whitmore and her co-host Emily Atack oozed 70s glamour as they shot an upcoming episode of Celebrity Juice on Wednesday night.

Laura, 35, who is expecting her first child, a girl, with her husband Iain Stirling, looked sensational as she displayed her growing baby bump in an orange midi dress with feathered sleeves.

Wow: Laura Whitmore, pictured, and her co-host Emily Atack oozed 70s glamour as they shot an upcoming episode of Celebrity Juice on Wednesday night

The Irish presenter teamed the item of clothing, which had a keyhole neckline and was adorned in jewels, with gold platforms heels.

Laura styled her blonde locks into a glamorous blow-dried hairdo, she added a slick of glamorous make-up.

Elsewhere, her co-host, Emily, 31, looked incredible in a denim co-ord after the star credited her recent one stone weight loss to 'eating out less'.

The actress opted for a denim crop top which she teamed with a pair of matching wide-leg trousers and pink platform heels.

Busy bee: They've been busy filming scenes for the hit ITV2 series after they were announced as the new team captains last year (Emily pictured)

Amazing: Laura, 35, who is expecting her first child, a girl, with her husband Iain Stirling, looked sensational as she displayed her growing baby bump in an orange midi dress with feathered sleeves

Emily styled her blonde locks into a sleek blow-dried hairdo, she added a slick of glamorous make-up.

Laura took to her Instagram Stories to document the 'groovy' night as she revealed that they were joined by Ella Henderson, Maya Jama and Jimmy Carr in the studio.

Celebrity Juice host Keith Lemon, real name Leigh Francis, also rocked a 70s-style look in a silver co-ord as he wore a long-haired brown wig.

Laura and comedian husband Iain are expecting their first child together after tying the knot in a secret ceremony last November.

Gorgeous: Elsewhere, her co-host, Emily, 31, looked incredible in a denim co-ord after the star credited her recent one stone weight loss to 'eating out less'

70s: Celebrity Juice host Keith Lemon, real name Leigh Francis, also rocked a 70s-style look in a silver co-ord as he wore a long-haired brown wig

The social media posts come after ITV's Lorraine Kelly accidentally revealed the gender of their baby to the nation during a recent live interview.

The broadcaster, 61, let slip that the blonde is 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 Iain had been yet to confirm the gender of their unborn child.

However, the presenter confirmed her baby's gender in an excerpt from her new self-help book, No One Can Change Your Life Except for You.

Family: Laura and comedian husband Iain are expecting their first child together after tying the knot in a secret ceremony last November

She said: 'As I finish this book, it doesn't end at chapter nine, there's a new chapter coming into my life - in the form of a baby girl currently growing inside me and that scares the s**t out of me.'

The media personality has documented her pregnancy on social media and previously said she is due in 'early 2021'.

Elsewhere Emily recently credited her 'inadvertent' one stone weight loss to intermittent fasting, skipping breakfast and 'eating out less'.

Earlier this month, the TV star explained after previously battling body positivity issues, her 'confidence doesn't hinge on a number on the scales' as she discussed her healthier lifestyle in an interview with Women's Health UK.

The media personality said she skips breakfast and enjoys two healthy meals a day, but won't deny herself chocolate or her favourite takeaway if she feels like it.

Emily said: 'I do intermittent fasting. I don't have breakfast  I'm not a morning person  and I'll eat my first meal, usually a chicken salad, around midday.

'Mid-afternoon, I'll have a snack, and then another meal early evening, which is normally a pasta-based dish or a HelloFresh delivery if I'm busy. And if I want dark chocolate, popcorn or my favourite pad thai takeaway, I won't deny myself.'

She added: 'Eating out less over the past year, I've inadvertently lost a stone  but my confidence doesn't hinge on a number on the scales.'
Pathan Makes Shah Rukh Khan The Highest Paid Actor In Bollywood? Seeing His Pay Cheque Will Make You Believe So

Pathan, the much awaited Shah Rukh Khan film in the making is special for the actor for more reasons than one. Not only is movie the movie helmed by Siddharth Anand bringing back the superstar to the big screen after a gap of almost three years, but according to latest reports also makes the actor the highest paid actor in Bollywood.

Shah Rukh Khan charges a pretty penny for films he stars in is no news. The actor has however come out on top becoming the highest-paid actor with this YRF film as he is reportedly taking home Rs. 100 crores as a paycheque for the project.

The star is presently in Dubai shooting for the film. Pathan packs many big surprises together, marking the reunion of Deepika Padukone and Shah Rukh on screen while the actor has a face-off with John Abraham in the film. The movie will also have a cameo by Salman Khan in his Tiger avatar.

The action adventure film began rolling last year and Shah Rukh Khan will have some high octane action sequences in the movie. Yash Raj Films is yet to announce the project officially but we are sure it would be equally larger than life like everything else about the movie.
Its around 11 am on a Wednesday. A health worker is busy handing out tokens to villagers who have gathered around him at the Padgha primary health centre (PHC) off the Nashik highway in Maharashtra. Some 30-35 people are waiting in the central hallway. They are all here for a Covid vaccine shot.

Among them is 65-year old Lekhabai, who stays at Arjunali, a few kilometres away. She has come with her daughter-in-law and grandson. Several people in my village got infected, she says. I was waiting for the vaccination drive to start closer to our home. I am a bit sceptical about getting the vaccine, but an ASHA worker told me that if I got vaccinated, at least I would not have to be hospitalised if I fell sick with Covid-19.

Her turn comes and she is directed to the first floor.

The relatively large, squeaky clean PHC at Padgha has reserved three rooms for the vaccination  in one, a doctor checks the medical documents, blood pressure etcetera; in another, the shots are given; and the third one is where people have to mandatorily wait for 30 minutes after the jab. The process is smooth and is working like clockwork.

The PHC started the vaccination drive along with others in the state on March 8. Every day, 60-70 people are vaccinated here.

S G Pawra, the officer in-charge, says significant manpower has been allocated for the Covid-19 vaccination  from registering the villagers on the Co-WIN app to administering the vaccine, record keeping and so on. We are doing the drive three days a week and so far, we have not crossed the 100-mark in a single day, Pawra says.

In his room are two giant refrigerators with the UNICEF mark on them. In these are stored the vaccine doses. The PHC orders vaccines every week, according to its schedule, and does not stock beyond that.

The crowd has swelled since last Monday after fears of a second wave gripped the nearby villages.

In the rural and semi-urban areas of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, too, the sentiment towards vaccination has turned in just two weeks. Not long ago, healthcare workers were going from door to door in the Madurantakam municipality, around 100 km from Chennai, urging people to turn up for vaccination.

With cases rising, the walk-ins have now grown manifold at Madurantakam. In a day, the PHC here was getting not more than two or three vaccine-seekers. Now, at least 50-60 people turn up daily.

M K Varadan, a 50-year-old local businessman, was impressed by the process. It was quite streamlined, he says. It took me only 45 minutes to get vaccinated and leave.





The eagerness to get vaccinated increased after villagers saw that there werent many adverse events among their acquaintances who had taken the shot. Dhamu, a real estate agent in Madurankatam who has come to the PHC with his entire family, says, We wanted to wait for a few more months to see if there were any side-effects to the vaccine. But now because the numbers are surging again, we have decided to take the jab.

Some, however, remains sceptical.

Sobhan Singh, a 65-year-old retired state government employee from Bakshi Ka Talab in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, is yet to make up his mind about the vaccine. Singhs 36-year-old son, who worked with a leading retail brand in Lucknow, lost his job during the lockdown. The family, which now subsists on Singhs meagre pension, is wary of any side-effects of the vaccine. The fear of a potential health risk from the vaccine complicating their lives further is keeping them away.



Bakshi Ka Talab, some 15 km from Lucknow city, off the busy Lucknow-Sitapur highway, serves a rural population of 200,000, of which around 15 per cent are above 60. The community health centre here has vaccinated 4,000 people until now.

Manpower crunch

A few weeks into the inoculation drive, the PHCs seem to be managing well. Vaccine wastage at Khadavli PHC, around 10 km from Padgha in Thane district, has been almost nil.

P Khankar, facility in-charge of Khadavli, says they turn back two-three people if they feel they need to open a new pack of vaccines at the end of the day. Or we vaccinate some of our workers with the second dose. We have never wasted more than one or two doses in a day.

The drive is expected to soon expand to grassroots level. Each PHC typically covers 6-7 sub-centres. Once the drive reaches the sub-centre level, the doses will travel in vaccine carriers (ice-boxes) to the sub-centre or the local school where vaccinators will administer the doses. At the end of each day, the left-over doses will be brought back to the PHC to be refrigerated.

This would require more manpower. Khadavli PHC has already hired a new auxiliary nurse midwife (ANM) for Rs 700 per day to help with the Covid-19 vaccination. The PHC has been inoculating 40-50 people daily and running the drive thrice a week. Moreover, as vaccination opens up for all above 45 years, the rush is expected to increase manifold.

Several residents of the city suburbs prefer to come to PHCs to get the shot as it is less crowded here, Khankar says.

Manpower might be a concern, but in terms of infrastructure these PHCs seem to be ready. For instance, the Padgha PHC, which caters to 46 villages and a population of 62,000, is paying an electricity bill of Rs 35,000 or so (for two months) since it now has a full-fledged RT-PCR laboratory with minus 80 and minus 20 degree Celsius deep freezers. These could come in handy if a vaccine requiring sub-zero temperature is allocated to the centre.

So far, the PHCs have been vaccinating people with Covishield (the AstraZeneca vaccine made by Serum Institute of India). But come April 1, they expect the first batches of the indigenous vaccine, Covaxin, to reach them.
March 2021: Unbelievable: Perth Childrens Hospital offers mattress on the floor to boy, 10, tormented by psychosis

A mother of a 10-year-old boy who suffers epilepsy and has had risky delusional episodes requiring hospital admission was offered a mattress on the floor of Perth Childrens Hospital in lieu of a bed on Monday night.

March 2021: Perth woman sat 13 hours risking suffocating from inside as nurses scrambled to find her a bed

A breastfeeding mother was forced to spend an excruciating 13 hours in a wheelchair in a Perth emergency department, with a 25-centimetre blood clot in her thigh. She was so shocked by how busy the staff were she used a zimmerframe to go to a woman calling for help from her hospital bed.

March 2021: Survival mode: Perth nurse-to-patient ratios reach outrageous levels

Nurses at Perths major hospitals said they were working in survival mode, operating with shortfalls of 30 to 50 fewer staff than required. Emergency department doctors backed the claims, saying staffing ratios accepted in major emergency departments were outrageous and would never be accepted in hospital wards.

February 2021: Another Perth hospital needed as our sick and vulnerable are now at grave risk

Perth-based emergency physician and the Western Australia Faculty Chair of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine pens an emphatic opinion piece, saying quite simply, there are not enough beds in our WA hospitals and EDs to accommodate all the sick and injured people who come to us for help every day. And this is very dangerous.

If you, or a friend or family member have an accident, or become very ill, and seek help at a hospital that is access blocked then you, or they, are 10 per cent more likely to die.

February 2021: AMA doctors say WA cant cope with COVID outbreak, Health Minister dismisses report

Health Minister Roger Cook dismissed a survey which found 63 per cent of Western Australian AMA doctors believed the states health system could not cope with a significant COVID-19 outbreak.

February 2021: Clear and present danger: the non-COVID crisis crippling WAs health system

In an opinion piece WAtoday columnist Gareth parker wrote: In October 2014, when 1500 hours of ambulance ramping were recorded, then-shadow health minister Roger Cook said: If thats not a crisis, I dont know what is.

Yet last month, patients spent 4111 hours ramped outside hospital EDs, following 3845 in December, 3698 in November, 3295 in October and 3083 in September.

December 2020: WAs health system crisis continues to spiral leaving patients waiting for ambulances

Patients having seizures and showing signs of a stroke were being left stuck at home waiting for ambulances as Western Australias health care system crisis continued to spiral.

December 2020: Crisis point: COVID-19 blamed as WA hospital ramping hours reach new record

The unprecedented ambulance ramping crisis afflicting Western Australias public hospitals was getting worse as the hours spent treating patients parked up outside of emergency departments reached another record high in November.

Mental health beds are also in short supply with an increase in patients presenting at emergency departments.

December 2020: WA doctors call for urgent support as hospitals clogged with bed block

The states peak doctors body has sounded the alarm over Western Australias struggling healthcare system, claiming emergency departments were over-capacity and hospitals were riddled with bed block preventing the quick treatment of patients seeking care.

December 2020: Parents demand urgent action to fix WAs youth mental health system

WA Chief Psychiatrist Nathan Gibsons review into the states mental health system for young people and children revealed a range of urgent actions required.

August 2020: COVID prepared? WAs health department wont bow to concerns over ambulance ramping

Western Australias Health Department has dismissed concerns that hospitals would be unable to cope with a second wave of coronavirus, saying emergency departments were equipped with trained staff and patients were being triaged from ambulances quicker than previous years.

August 2020: Students may be fast-tracked to fill WA doctor shortage as warnings sound over threat of second wave

Junior doctor shortages, insufficient personal protective equipment and ambulance ramping all pointed to an impending crisis for Perth hospitals if a second wave of coronavirus hits, according to the Australian Medical Association of WA.

AMA WA president Andrew Miller said the state was no better prepared than Victoria for an inevitable outbreak via freight or airline services.
Following the shootings in massage parlors that took a number of lives in Georgia last week, the local church of the shooter issued a statement, removing his membership.

Robert Aaron Long killed eight individuals and injured one, in three massage parlors in Acworth on March 16. Six of those who died are Asians, the other two are Caucasians while the one injured is Hispanic. Long was charged with eight counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault.

In a statement through its website, Crabapple First Baptist Church (CFBC) explained its reaction over the killings, as well as communicating the removal of Long as a member of its congregation.

"On Tuesday evening, March 16, 2021, we heard the tragic news of the brutal murders of 8 individuals, six of whom were of Asian descent, and of the aggravated assault of one victim who survived. We were absolutely devastated at this senseless loss of life and callous disregard for human beings created in the image of God. We grieve for the victims and their families, and we continue to pray for all of those affected by this heinous crime as they deal with unimaginable pain and sorrow," the statement began.

It continued by expressing its disappointment that the gunman was a member of their congregation, along with his family. The church stated that the murders contradict Long's "confession of faith in Jesus and the gospel."

CFBC clarified that the killings was an act of rebellion against "our Holy God and His Word" and "antithetical" to what the church believes, condemning Long's actions and his reasons for committing such. The church added that the shootings were "repudiation" of its faith and practice, as well as "unacceptable and contrary to the gospel."

The statement further stated that Long is responsible for his desires and actions, dismissing blame on the victims. The gunman's actions, it said, is caused by a "sinful heart and a depraved mind."

The church also said that they are cooperating with the authorities and praying for justice, both for earthly and divine justice.

They urged other Christians to join them in praying for the victims' families, affected communities, shooter's family and their church as well.

"We believe in a Holy and Righteous God who abhors evil and will judge all sin in perfect justice. We also believe that this Holy God so loved the world that He sent His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life," CFBC further stated.

Moreover, the church said that it is grateful to the Lord Jesus Christ for His gift of salvation, as well as giving them strength to endure the hardship. They are also thankful for their friends, pastors and ministry partners who prayed and supported them.

The statement concluded by conveying their grief over the victims, as well as regret for the fear and pain that the Asian-Americans are currently experiencing in the country due to the killings.

CFBC also provided explanations to the questions being raised following the tragedy, including their decision to remove Long from church membership, as a form of discipline.
(TNS)  You're scrolling through your Gmail inbox and see an email with a strange subject line: A string of numbers followed by "Notification from Google."It may seem like a phishing scam or an update to Gmail's terms of service. But it could be the only chance you'll have to stop Google from sharing your personal information with authorities. Tech companies, which have treasure troves of personal information, have become natural targets for law enforcement and government requests. The industry's biggest names, such as Google, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, receive data requests  from subpoenas to National Security Letters  to assist in, among other efforts, criminal and non-criminal investigations as well as lawsuits.An email like this one is a rare chance for users to discover when government agencies are seeking their data.In Google's case, the company typically lets users know which agency is seeking their information.In one emailreviewed, Google notified the recipient that the company received a request from the Department of Homeland Security to turn over information related to their Google account. (The recipient shared the email on the condition of anonymity due to concern about immigration enforcement). That account may be attached to Gmail, YouTube, Google Photos, Google Pay, Google Calendar and other services and apps.The email, sent from Google's Legal Investigations Support team, notified the recipient that Google may hand over personal information to DHS unless it receives within seven days a copy of a court-stamped motion to quash the request. That's a high bar to clear in a short amount of time, said Paromita Shah, co-founder and executive director of immigration rights law firm Just Futures."What Google expects you to do is to quash the subpoena and that would require you to go to federal court," Shah said. "I'd like to know how many people are gonna have the resources and the understanding that they have only seven days to hire an attorney to quash an ICE subpoena in federal court."The email from Google did not include a copy of the legal request. Upon requesting it, the recipient learned it was an administrative subpoena from the U.S. Immigrations and Customers Enforcement agency. ICE was looking for the names, email addresses, phone numbers, IP addresses, street addresses, length of service such as start date, and means of sources of payment linked in any way to the Google account.Such requests are not uncommon for Google. From January 2020 to June 2020, Google received nearly 40,000 requests for user information from law enforcement agencies  more than 15,500 were subpoenas, according to an annual transparency report. Of the subpoenas, Google provided "some data" in 83% of cases. For that same period, Facebook received more than 60,000 requests, producing some data in 88% of cases. Twitter received a little more than 3,000 requests and said it had a 59% compliance rate.Although companies may feel limited in their ability to fight off warrants and court-ordered subpoenas, Shah and immigration advocates argue the tech industry has much more leeway to withhold user information in response to legal requests that did not receive judicial authorization.In a statement, Google spokesperson Alex Krasov said the company "vigorously" protects users' privacy "while supporting the important work of law enforcement.""We have a well-established process for managing requests from law enforcement for data about our users: when we receive a request, we notify users that their information has been requested, push back on overly broad requests to protect users' privacy, and provide transparency around such requests in our transparency report," the statement read.Subpoenas are one of a handful of legal processes law enforcement agencies deploy to obtain user information, at times in connection with an ongoing criminal or other investigation. Many of these requests come with gag orders, leaving users in the dark until at least a year after the request was issued. Others give users little time or information with which to protect their data.Law enforcement agencies can gain user information in other ways. Some companies sell user information to data brokers, which in turn sell information to law enforcement agencies, for instance. They're all part of a system that has become available to law enforcement as a byproduct of tech companies' reliance on a business model of collecting, storing and selling personal information, as well as users' often unconditional willingness to hand over their data.Administrative subpoenas, such as the one received by the Google user, differ from warrants or court-ordered subpoenas in the type of information they seek and in their enforcement. An administrative subpoena is not self-enforcing  meaning it is simply a legal request and can typically only be enforced by ICE or another issuing agency by going to court if the recipient does not comply. It also has not been signed by a judge and the agency was not required to show probable cause. Unlike a warrant, an administrative subpoena only allows authorities to seek basic subscriber information such as the IP address and how long an account has been active.Some civil rights and legal groups worry that federal agencies such as ICE could use legal processes such as administrative subpoenas to gain access to user info to expand surveillance on U.S. residents. In a freedom of information request, a coalition of groups are asking ICE how many of these requests it has sent to Google, Facebook, and Twitter, pointing out these platforms "contain large amounts of personal data about their users including real-time location, address, and communication data.""ICE administrative subpoena requests to technology companies for such information would invade the most intimate and personal information about our daily lives, such as location, address and communication," the request, filed by Boston University School of Law Immigrants' Rights and Human Trafficking Program, Just Futures Law, and the Mijente Support Committee, says. An ICE official said the agency does not routinely send administrative subpoenas to tech companies for noncriminal, civil immigration purposes. The agency also pointed to previous uses of administrative subpoenas to compel the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision  in a city whose sanctuary laws prohibit agencies from assisting in federal deportation efforts to provide ICE with information on several people. In a press release about the use of administrative subpoenas, ICE said it uses "statutorily-authorized immigration subpoenas to obtain information as part of investigations regarding potential removable aliens."Critics say they are concerned about how hard it is for users whose information is the subject of administrative subpoenas to stop companies such as Google from sharing it, Shah says."Google is making it harder to opt out because they put the burden on the person to file a motion to quash," she said. "And that's very typical of corporations. It's really hard for users to opt out of anything, unless you take extra steps or go to special portals to opt out."In a letter to Google's Chief Legal Officer Kent Walker, a coalition of immigrant rights groups argued the company should not turn over any information unless the ICE request is accompanied by a judicial order and to reconsider its policy so that "the subscriber has an opportunity to be heard." Google did not respond to specific questions about whether the company will reconsider its policy."Providing location data to ICE can cause irreparable harm because ICE uses such information to conduct home raids, incarcerate noncitizens, deport individuals and their families, and tear apart communities," the letter from Immigrant Legal Rights, Mijente, Just Futures Law, and several university immigrant rights clinics says.While ICE's use of this nonjudicial process has become a concern for those who believe it's been used to "install confusion" about the legal weight it carries, administrative subpoenas are actually one of the more transparent ways law enforcement can request user information from tech companies. That's partly because such requests don't unilaterally come with gag orders.The agency would have to go to court to get a gag order, a move that could expose the administrative subpoena  which is a low-cost tool because it doesn't require going to court  to challenges, said Electronic Frontier Foundation staff attorney Andrew Crocker. (Authorities can request in their administrative subpoenas  as ICE did in this case  that a company not share the information with the user, but it's simply a request.)Other law enforcement requests, including warrants and National Security Letters, on the other hand, often come with gag orders because notifying the user could interfere with investigations.In those cases, a user would not be notified. National Security Letters  a type of administrative subpoena issued primarily by the FBI  come with a default gag order that is required to be revisited twice in the course of an investigation, Crocker said. Examples published by Google show one National Security Letter sent to the company in July 2016 that was only disclosed last month, and another that was issued in March 2020 and released in February. In both cases, the subscriber whose information would be requested would have no idea it was handed over until it was disclosed.Because of this, it's important for providers such as Google to act as a check on law enforcement, Crocker said."Otherwise you just don't know what the process is that's been used to get a hold of private stuff," he said. "When you compare that to the way it happens in the real world, if the police want to search your house, they have to get a warrant to do that and then they break your door down or knock. But you know that they're in your house and then they're actually required to give you a list of everything they take."
MOSCOW  Aleksei A. Navalny, the imprisoned opposition leader who returned to Russia this year despite an earlier attempt on his life, is in deteriorating health with unexplained ailments and has received substandard medical care, his lawyers said on Thursday.

Prison doctors moved Mr. Navalny, 44, to a hospital for tests on Wednesday but offered no explanation for his complaints of severe back pain and numbness in one leg, and then returned him to the penal colony east of Moscow, said his lawyer, Olga Mikhailova.

His health is extremely unfavorable, and every day gets worse, she said in an interview after meeting Mr. Navalny in prison on Thursday. His right leg has numbed to the point that he cannot put weight on it, she said. We are afraid for his life and his health.

Mr. Navalny collapsed into a coma on an airplane flight last August and was medically evacuated from Russia to Berlin. After extensive tests there, both the German and French governments, and international chemical weapons specialists, confirmed that he had been poisoned with a Soviet-designed military nerve agent, Novichok.
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 (dpa-AFX) - ITV plc (ITV.L) announced its first investment in what3words Ltd. under its new Media for Equity programme. Further, ITV is acquiring a minority stake valued at 2 million in return for advertising inventory, with an option to invest a further 2 million. what3words is a uniquely accessible location service, which has divided the world into a grid of 3m squares, giving each its own three word identifier: a what3words address. With the Media for Equity programme, the company takes minority stakes in early stage digital and direct-to-consumer businesses, alongside venture capital investment, in return for advertising inventory across ITV's range of market-leading channels and the ITV Hub. The company noted that it has appointed Niko Waesche, a seasoned media investor and venture capitalist, to lead the Media for Equity initiative. In addition to Media for Equity, the company runs a matching scheme for entrepreneurial companies new to TV called AdVentures Ignite. ITV Commercial has also recently launched ITV Backing Business, an initiative with a wider remit designed to support UK's businesses and their personnel as they return to growth. Giles Rhys Jones, CMO of what3words said, 'what3words has seen a dramatic increase in the number of people using the system... ITV can take our message of helping people to 'know exactly where' to millions of homes. It's fantastic to have such a great partner on our mission to make the world a safer, less frustrating and more efficient place.' 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.
Reporter

Mary Schenk is a reporter covering police, courts and breaking news at The News-Gazette. Her email is mschenk@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@schenk).
Andrew Lloyd Webber last night said he could take ministers to court if they do not allow theatres to operate at full capacity from June 21. The impresario said it would be 'the final death blow' if the relaxation of restrictions does not go ahead as planned later this month. Indoor entertainment venues were able to reopen on May 17 at half capacity, but many theatres have remained shut because it is not profitable to play to smaller audiences. Lord Lloyd-Webber said if theatres cannot reopen '100 per cent' after June 21, the issue becomes 'what is the legality of the whole thing?'. 'If the Government's own science has told them that buildings are safe... I'm advised that at that point things could get quite difficult,' he said. 'This is the very last thing that anybody wants to do, but there would become a legal case at that point because it's their science - not ours. I would passionately hope that we don't have to, but I think we would have to consider it.' Lord Lloyd-Webber, who hopes to open his new musical Cinderella starring Carrie Hope Fletcher (left with Lloyd Webber) at the Gillian Lynne theatre in the West End next month, said he would be happy to ask theatre-goers to wear face coverings.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel last night dropped plans for a five-day shutdown in Germany over Easter, which had prompted confusion and criticism.

She called the idea a mistake and apologised to Germans.

Ms Merkel announced the decision after a hastily arranged video conference with Germanys 16 state governors, who are responsible for imposing and lifting restrictions.

The same group, faced with rising coronavirus infections, had on Tuesday come up with the unexpected plan for tighter restrictions over Easter.

The plan had been to make Holy Thursday a rest day with all shops closed, and allow only supermarkets to open on Easter Saturday.

Since Good Friday and Easter Monday are already national holidays, that would have created a five-day shutdown of public life  on top of existing lockdown restrictions, which have been extended to April 18.

The plan raised many logistical and legal questions, and also was criticised because there was no public discussion of it before it emerged on Tuesday night.

The idea of an Easter shutdown was drawn up with the best intentions, because we must urgently manage to slow and reverse the third wave of the pandemic, Ms Merkel said. However, the idea... was a mistake. There were good reasons for it, but it could not be implemented well enough in this short time.

This mistake is my mistake alone, because in the end I bear ultimate responsibility for everything, she told reporters.

A mistake must be called a mistake, and above all it must be corrected  and if possible, that has to happen in time.

At the same time, of course I know that this whole matter triggers more uncertainty  I regret that deeply and I apologise to all citizens, she said.



Infection numbers in Germany have been rising again as the more contagious British variant of the virus has become dominant throughout the country.

Germany has registered more than 75,000 deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic a year ago.

The Robert Koch Institute, the countrys disease control centre, also reported 15,815 new confirmed daily cases yesterday, up from 13,435 new daily cases a week ago.



Restaurants, bars and many leisure facilities remain closed in Germany.

A plan drawn up earlier this month to allow limited reopenings  of shops, for example  features an emergency brake under which regions are supposed to reimpose restrictions when the number of weekly infections exceeds 100 per 100,000 residents on three consecutive days.

Germany as a whole is currently recording 108 weekly new cases per 100,000 residents nationwide, with wide regional variations.

Ms Merkels about-turn came as polls show declining support for her centre-right Union bloc, which benefited from her perceived good management of the pandemic last year.

It has been weighed down of late by a scandal over alleged profiteering from mask-procurement deals by a few lawmakers.

And Germanys vaccination campaign has made a slow start, with 9.5pc of the population receiving at least a first shot and 4.2pc receiving both doses by Tuesday.

German authorities have vowed to speed up the inoculation campaign, and also to expand testing.
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Despite potentially longer hours, most Americans enjoy working remotely and want the option to keep doing so post-pandemic, according to a new Harvard Business School Online survey.

As COVID-19 forced countless companies to let employees work remotely and presented new challenges such as readjusting their home life and fighting Zoom fatigue from numerous virtual meetings, most of the 1,500 people surveyed say they excelled and even grew in their professions.

"I think it's a combination of factors, like a Jekyll and Hyde, so to speak," said Patrick Mullane, the school's executive director. "We love working remotely in some ways; it gives us more time to focus, spend time with our families, and no long commutes back and forth to work.

"We found out that we can do a lot without having to be face-to-face as COVID really forced that issue," Mullane said.

The survey, released on Thursday, comes as many Americans continue to work remotely more than a year after the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic and as more Americans are getting the highly-sought COVID vaccinations.

However, the survey also showed that while most employees miss their colleagues and other aspects of office life, they don't want to go back to "business as usual," as they want more flexibility doing their jobs, Mullane said.

About 81% surveyed say they either don't want to go back to the office or would prefer a hybrid schedule from now on. Mullane said 27% of employees hope to work remotely full-time, and another 61% would like to work two or three days a week from home.

This mindset is going to be tricky for employers, Mullane said.

"It's hard to know how it plays out," Mullane said. "So while everyone is jazzed about remote work, there will be some challenges to work through."

Mullane also believes that most employers who adapt to a more flexible work environment may get an advantage over their competition in attracting talent.

"It could make some (companies) more successful and profitable in the long run," he said.

However, about 18% of employees say they want to go back to the office full-time. Those include workers who have kids at home, and those married, compared to those without children and single, respectively, said Michele Reynolds, who helped direct Harvard's remote worker survey.

Reynolds said while 70% of those surveyed have enjoyed spending more time with their loved ones, she added that "some may think there's too much family togetherness," as they would welcome being alongside their co-workers.

What should the return to the office include?

But those surveyed also said there should be some new workplace conditions. About 51% of employees say they are uncomfortable going back to the office until they're fully vaccinated, and 71% are hesitant to go back until everyone is fully vaccinated.

Also, 54% of employees surveyed expect some form of social distancing in the office, including their colleagues being seated at least six feet apart and being required to wear masks.

"It begs the question about how employers are going to make their employees feel comfortable in office settings," Mullane said. "I'm sure there are going to be plenty of discussions with employers asking, 'How do I bring them back safely?'"

Explore further Most employees want mandatory COVID-19 vaccination at work

(c)2021 U.S. Today

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Two CRPF personnel were killed and two others were injured after terrorists opened fire on a vehicle of the paramilitary forces at Lawaypora, on the outskirts of Srinagar, Kashmir. (IANS photo)
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.
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Go to form
Jingwei HiRain's core operating areas are spread across four business sectors: automotive electronics (including intelligent driving and telematics), mobility solutions consulting services, research and development, tool agency and professional training. Through years of technology accumulation, Jingwei HiRain, as a supplier, has offered products to General Motors, Ford, Jaguar-Land Rover, FAW-Volkswagen Automobile, SAIC, Dongfeng, BAIC, GAC, Geely and Jiangling Motors.

"At Jingwei HiRain, we are continuously evolving and developing new solutions to enhance customers' processes and success," said Yingcun Ji, CEO of Jingwei HiRain. "With Foretellix's verification platform Foretify we found an innovative and unique technology that perfectly complements our growing portfolio in the automated driving systems verification area."

"We're excited to work with Jingwei HiRain, a highly-respected partner that shares our mission to help the automated driving systems industry achieve safe mass-scale deployment," said Ziv Binyamini, CEO and co-founder of Foretellix. "China is a one of the world's most advanced Automated Driving Systems markets and we look forward to building this strategic collaboration with Jingwei HiRain to make vehicles safer."

Jingwei HiRain will be representing Foretellix in China.

To learn more about Foretellix please contact Jingwei HiRain via: [email protected]

About Jingwei HiRain

Since its founding in 2003, Jingwei HiRain has grown to become an advanced supplier for automotive electronic products (including intelligent driving, IOV, New Energy, AI), project consulting & engineering, development tools and operational services. The company is headquartered in Beijing with branch companies in Shanghai, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Detroit (US) and Munich (Germany); offices in Changchun, Wuhan, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Nanchang and Xian; factories in Tianjin and Nantong. Jingwei HiRain now owns more than 2700 employees, and 54% of them hold either Doctorate or Masters Degrees in engineering or business. Guiding by the principles of delivering exceptional customer value, high quality products and superior customer service, Jingwei HiRain is serving thousands of clients globally. For more information, visit http://www.hirain.com

About Foretellix

Foretellix provides a revolutionary development lifecycle Verification & Validation platform for enabling mass deployment of automated driving systems. Foretellix is using proven approaches from the semiconductor chip industry utilizing hyper-automation, big data analytics, and AI. The platform orchestrates and manages the massive scale of testing required to ensure safety, reduce development costs, and shorten the time to market of Automated Driving Systems deployment.

Visit http://www.foretellix.com

 Copyright 2021, Foretellix

Media Contacts:

Jingwei HiRain:

China - Beijing, +86 10 6484 0808, [email protected]

Foretellix:

North America- Scott Fosgard, +1 734 272 7440, [email protected]

Europe - Mike Stainton, +44 7739 891040, [email protected]

Israel - Moshe Mendelson, +972 508993284, [email protected]

SOURCE Foretellix
For help, call Samaritans for free on 116 123 or visit samaritans.org

James Argent stepped out in Essex on Thursday, after revealing he was 27 stone and battling to lose weight for life-saving gastric sleeve surgery.

The TOWIE star, 33, stepped out for a walk as he continues his weight loss campaign following a stark warning from doctors that he could die if he caught COVID-19.

James wore a white t-shirt and jogging bottoms, paired with colourful trainers as he strolled.

The star later changed into a black sweater as he carried a bottle of water on his morning walk.

Reality star: James Argent stepped out in Essex on Thursday, after revealing he was 27 stone and battling to lose weight for life-saving gastric sleeve surgery

The outing comes after James said he will have life-saving gastric surgery in the near future as he described doctors' stark warning as 'very worrying' while appearing on Good Morning Britain this month.

The reality TV personality has now received his first dose of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine after he was placed in the 'high-risk category' because of his weight.

He said: 'They've [doctors] basically been saying, the size I am at the moment, it could be fatal. If I was to catch Covid, I could be a goner.'

Speaking to Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid, James added: 'It has been worrying. It's been difficult putting on so much weight and obviously the fact I've got so big.

Weight battle: Arg will have life-saving gastric surgery in the near future and described doctors' warnings as 'very worrying' (right, in 2015)

'It kind of shows I haven't been in the greatest of places. But I'm sitting here this morning, I'm feeling super positive...

'I've got life-changing surgery, which is going to be taking place in the near future, it's all booked up.

'I really feel like I'm making positive steps and I can't wait to get back to my very best.'

James went on to explain how doctors have warned him he is in danger territory due to his weight and how if he were to catch Covid, it could be fatal.

He also spoke about how being obese has 'serious implications on my heart'- something which is of concern to him because both of his parents suffer from heart problems.

'I've been speaking regularly to the doctors and nurses at Transform Hospital Group. They've been giving me advice,' he said.

Refreshed: Arg carried a bottle of water as he walked along in the sunshine

'They've basically been saying, the size I am at the moment, it could be fatal. If I was to catch Covid, I could be a goner.

'It's not just that, my mum and dad, they've had heart problems themselves, so it's kind of in my family hereditary, in my genes and stuff. I've got to tackle this now before it's too late.'

James has said he is still undecided as to which type of gastric surgery he will have, but says once he has chosen, it will happen in the 'near future'.

'It's a really, really serious operation,' he said.

'At the moment I haven't decided specifically which one it's going to be, there's options of a sleeve, bypass, I need to still do a bit more research, speak to a few more people.

'But the surgery is going to happen, it's going to happen in the near future. I really hope it's going to work for me, it's going to be life changing.'

Outing: The TOWIE star, 33, stepped out for a walk as he continues his weight loss campaign before having a gastric sleeve fitted

James revealed obesity is something he has been struggling with since he was a teenager and has found it 'impossible' to maintain a healthy weight.

He said: 'I'm not saying I can't lose the weight without this type of surgery, but I've never been able to maintain it before.

'So I just believe that going for it this time, I've made a decision, I've spoken to all my friends, family, everyone's had their opinions and you know nine times out of 10, they've said it's not funny anymore, go for it. That's why I've made the decision.

'It's not like I've put weight on in lockdown and I'm doing something drastic to get it off, this is something that I've had this underlying issue in terms of weight and eating disorder since I was a teenager.'

During the interview, James reflected on how he hasn't gone through life 'plain sailing'.

He said: 'I'm inspired by Tyson Fury. He's a heavyweight champion of the world, he's had similar problems and demons to me in terms of drugs, in terms of drink, in terms of weight. He was morbidly obese.

Sighting: James later donned a black sweater as he strolled in Essex

'If he can turn it around and come back and become a world champion and get his life in order.

'I'm not saying I'm going to go on and become a world champion but if I can have 10% of the comeback he has then that would be the dream for me.'

After his interview, the reality star took to Instagram and told fans he 'can't wait to be happy and healthy again' and is feeling 'super positive' as he looks ahead to his surgery.

He wrote: 'A CHANGE IS GONNA COME. I can't wait to be Happy & Healthy again, I'm feeling super positive.

'I'm nervous about the big operation & surgery but I know it's for the best & will be life changing!

On his way: James looked focused as he walked along in the sunshine

'I'm inspired by @gypsyking101 [Tyson Fury's] comeback & can't wait to be back to my very best.' (sic)

He has thanked his rehab team for their support with his ongoing addiction issues and encouraged others who are struggling to get help.

James took to Instagram earlier this month to update fans on his recovery and thanked his followers for their messages during a 'difficult time'.

Arg has battled drink and drug addiction since finding fame on TOWIE and in 2014 he was suspended from the show after he failed a routine drugs test.

Health: James Argent has been warned by doctors that he could die if he caught coronavirus - after his weight crept up to 27 stone in lockdown

Making a change: The reality TV personality received his first dose of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine last month after he was placed in the 'high-risk category' because of his weight

Honest: James recently thanked his rehab team for their support with his ongoing addiction issues and encouraged others who are struggling to get help

Speaking in the video he said: 'Hey guys, I just want to thank each and every single one of you who have shown me nothing but love and support with all your messages over what's been quite a difficult time for me.

'I know you're worried but I can honestly say I feel so much more positive about the future and I feel so much better in myself and that's because I have had day to day help from Dad in Recovery.

'Nick is a leading addiction expert and alongside his team at Verve Health they've really helped me on what's hopefully going to be a really special journey for me.

Hopeful: The former TOWIE star took to Instagram on Sunday to update fans on his recovery and thanked fans for their messages during a 'difficult time'

'If you're indoors at home and seeing this video message, please if you are struggling please do not suffer in silence, please reach out to Nick, Dad in Recovery and the whole team at Verve health and they will help you along your journey just like they've done with me.'

Alongside the post he wrote: 'Thank you to Everyone for your continued support, It means so much.

'A special shout out to Nick @dadinrecovery & his team at @vervehealthrehabs for helping me on this path of my recovery journey.

'Dont forget to ask for help, Its out there. Dont suffer alone!   #dadinrecovery #recoveryjourney #getsupport #help4addiction'.

Recovery: Alongside the post he wrote: 'Thank you to Everyone for your continued support, It means so much'

Journey: The TV star spent three months in a facility in Thailand over the festive season in 2016 in a bid to curb his addiction and revealed he checked himself in to a programme in order to get the 'ongoing support' he needed

Arg has battled drink and drug addiction for much of his adult life.

The TV star spent three months in a facility in Thailand over the festive season in 2016 in a bid to curb his addiction and revealed he checked himself in to a programme in order to get the 'ongoing support' he needed.

In August 2019, Arg returned to rehab following a split from Gemma Collins in a bid to tackle his demons.

For help, call Samaritans for free on 116 123 or visit samaritans.org.
Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/25/2021 -- Spain Pharmaceutical Bottles Market: Snapshot



The market for pharmaceutical bottles in Spain is characterized by its access to multiple regions through its strategic location in the Iberian Peninsula. Thanks to the geographic proximity and long coastline of this country, stretching through the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, it has an easy access to emerging markets in the Middle East and Africa as well as the developed markets in Europe.



The growth of the Spain market for pharmaceutical bottles has been directly influenced by the advancements in the drug delivery formats utilized for pharmaceutical products. In addition to this, the introduction of pharmaceutical bottles made up of plastic, on account of the abundant availability of relatively cheaper polymers, is expected to drive this market significantly over the forthcoming years. However, the emergence of eco-friendly biomaterials-based bottles as a substitute to the pharmaceutical ones and the increasing preference for flexible packaging formats, such as blisters, are anticipated to restrict the growth of this market to some extent in the years to come.



In 2016, the market for pharmaceutical bottles in Spain presented an opportunity worth US$241.4 mn. Progressing at a steady CAGR of 3.80% between 2016 and 2024, the market is estimated to reach US$235 mn by the end of 2024.



Planning to lay down future strategy? Perfect your plan with our report sample here https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=21206



Demand for Pharmaceutical Bottles to Remain High in Oral Care



Pharmaceutical bottles find widespread application in E-liquid, liquids, droppers, oral care, and topical medication in Spain. The demand for these bottles has been higher in the oral care segment than others. In 2016, this application segment held a share of nearly 36% in the overall market and is anticipated to exhibit extensive incremental performance in terms of both, market share and growth rate over the next few years. Topical medication, on the other hand, is likely to surface as the most lucrative application segment in the Spain pharmaceutical bottles market in the near future, thanks to the design capabilities offered by manufacturers concerning the dispensing of lotions and semi-solid contents.



The increasing demand for therapeutic medications related to eyes, ears, and nose, conventionally prescribed in dropper bottles, is likely to drive the dropper segment considerably in the years to come. The liquid segment is expected to gain from the augmenting demand for liquid medications as an efficient alternative to solid medicines from patients having swallowing issues. As E-liquid is in its budding stage, the segment is anticipated to exhibit moderate progress in the forthcoming years.



PET Pharmaceutical Bottles Segment to Retain Leadership



High-density polyethylene (HDPE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and polypropylene (PP) are key types of materials used in the manufacturing of pharmaceutical bottles in Spain. Among these, the PET segment is witnessing a higher growth and is projected to remain so in the years to come, thanks to the increased usage of PET to produce pharmaceutical bottles due to its atmosphere barrier properties. The durability and the rigid and stress-resisting characteristics of PET are also aiding the rise of this segment significantly.



Looking for exclusive market insights from business experts? Request a Custom Report here https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=CR&rep_id=21206



Pharmaceutical enterprises, chemical firms, healthcare centers, compounding pharmacies, and pharmaceutical packaging companies have emerged as the main end users of pharmaceutical bottles in this country.



Some of the leading manufacturers of pharmaceutical bottles in Spain are Pont Europe, Industrias Plasticas Puig SL, Maynard and Harris Plastics Ltd., Alcion Plasticos, Amcor Ltd., and Gerresheimer AG.



About Transparency Market Research

Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMR's experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.



Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector - such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMR's syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.
North Korea launched two ballistic missiles that fell outside Japan's exclusive economic zone on Thursday, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said.

According to him, North Korea launched two ballistic missiles some time ago, they fell outside Japans exclusive economic zone. Suga noted that the missile launches, carried out for the first time in a year, pose a threat to the security of the region and Japan, and also violate UN Security Council resolutions.

Japan is holding an emergency meeting of the National Security Council in connection with North Korean missile tests, Kyodo news agency reported.

The meeting is attended by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, and Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi.

The Japanese Prime Minister ordered to make every effort to collect information about the tests carried out by North Korea, and to confirm the safety of ships and aircraft. The last time North Korea launched ballistic missiles was in March 2020.

The U.S. authorities have also confirmed reports that North Korea launched two ballistic missiles, CNN reported citing a senior source in the US administration.
INDIANAPOLIS (WLFI) -- A bill at the Indiana Statehouse would change a law allowing charter schools to buy underused or vacant buildings from public schools for a dollar.

"It's a bad bill for school corporations, our public schools and it's a bad bill for taxpayers," said Republican State Sen. Ron Alting.

Right now, Indiana law says a public school building can be leased to a charter school for a dollar if it's vacant for 30 days or more, but Alting said Senate Bill 358 would change that.

"The definition is so vague and so unfair, that it's frightful," Alting explained.

If passed, a corporation must report vacant or underutilized buildings by the fall of 2021.

A school is considered underutilized if it doesn't maintain 50% or more of students compared to the building's capacity.

West Lafayette Community School Corporation Superintendent Rocky Killion said, unfortunately, the former Happy Hollow Elementary building qualifies as vacant.

"If you want to pass on an underutilized billing or an unused building, at least allow us to get fair market value for those buildings," Killion.

Alting said it hurts schools and taxpayers who have invested in the property.

"West Lafayette School Corporation could have an $800,000 building that taxpayers could get money for to go into that school corporation for teacher raises or for any purpose that they see fit," said Alting. "Instead, they're going to hand it over to a charter school for one dollar."

As we've reported the West Lafayette School Corporation is challenging the current law, and it joined several other corporations and filed a lawsuit against the state in Lake County.

"If taxpayer dollars are going to an entity, there should be some kind of a public hearing about how those tax dollars are being used. Public schools have to go through multiple hearings," said Killion.

News 18 reached out to one of the bill's authors, Republican State Senator Linda Rogers, for comment.

In a statement to News 18 she said, "Senate Bill 358 was authored to clean up and improve the state's $1 purchase/lease law of school buildings. SB 358 will be heard next week in the House Committee on Education, and I have been working with numerous stakeholders to make improvements to the introduced legislation."

"Local taxpayers paid for this, and they're not even a voice," said Killion.

However, Happy Hollow isn't the only building that would be affected by the legislation.

Lafayette School Corporation Superintendent Les Huddle said he believes the Durgan Elementary and Washington School buildings would be affected.

Washington houses the Lafayette Adult Resource Academy and Oakland High School, and Durgan houses the Greater Lafayette Special Needs Program.

"These are children with disabilities," said Alting. "A very, very important program."

It doesn't meet capacity requirements because it has students from two other school districts.

"Lafayette owns it, but only about 30 percent of the students are from Lafayette."

As for Happy Hollow, Killion said it takes time to redevelop a building into something the taxpayers can benefit from, and he said he doesn't mind if a charter school uses the building, as long as it's a fair exchange of funds.

"I have no problem competing with the world's best education systems or charter school systems or private schools as long as they play by the same rules," said Killion.

A Lake County judge denied Indiana's motion to dismiss the lawsuit involving West Lafayette Community School Corporation last September, Killion believes this case will end up in front of the Indiana Supreme Court.

The bill is waiting to be heard in the Committee on Education.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 25, 2021) - Relay Medical Corp. (CSE: RELA) (OTCQB: RYMDF) (FSE: EIY2) ("Relay" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Bernard O'Brien, Keith Davis, and Donal Smith to the Company's Strategic Advisory Board to ensure effective outreach to potential markets for the application of the Fionet Testing Platform, and other Relay product lines in the CARICOM ("Caribbean Community and Common Market") region.

CARICOM is an organization of 15 states, five associate members and other participants throughout the Caribbean with the primary objectives to promote economic integration and cooperation among its members. Member countries are home to over 18 million residents and see an estimated 30 million international tourists each year.

The Caribbean is a popular, year-round destination for travel. There are 15 international airports in the Caribbean, with more than 36 local airports servicing over 7,000 islands. In 2019, more than 26.3 million international tourists travelled to the Caribbean, making it the highest GDP generating travel and tourism destination worldwide1, and most prominent cruise destination. In addition to travel by plane and cruise lines, there is also extensive travel by other watercraft between the various islands and tourist destinations.

Bernard O'Brien has worked with the Carnival Cruise Line for 12 years as their Information Systems Fleet Manager. He has a range of experience in the cruise industry across 23 cruise ships with three Fleet Supervisors and 80 Managers.

Relay is excited to work with Mr. O'Brien to provide the Fionet Pandemic Platform as a screening solution for cruise ships as he has substantial experience with managing specialized systems on board.

Yoav Raiter, CEO of Relay Medical Corp., states: "Since we are a technology company, it is essential that we integrate our solution with the cruise ship infrastructure, something Bernard is extremely knowledgeable about given he has successfully implemented the first 100% Wi-Fi cruise ship as well as retrofitted systems across five additional cruise ships."

Mr. O'Brien has spearheaded the rollout of five new build cruise ships and can confidently introduce the Fionet pandemic platform to achieve connectivity, oversight, and real-time intelligence for vessels of all sizes.

"The Cruise Ship Industry is suffering with a no sail order and has been for 12 months. The industry needs a solution to begin cruising again. Data is key when it comes to tackling COVID-19 and Relay Medical's Fionet is an obvious choice to provide that intelligence," said Mr. O'Brien. "With its ability to test all passengers and crew prior to boarding, the ship can leave port with the knowledge that everyone onboard tested negative within hours (not days of sailing). I believe rapid testing is the only way to begin cruising safely and I look forward to introducing Fionet to the Cruise Ship Industry."

To complement Mr. O'Brien's technical expertise, Relay is appointing two Advisors familiar with the Caribbean Government.

Donal Smith has served as an Alderman and Deputy Mayor and Keith Davis was a Councillor in the City of Hamilton, Bermuda, for three years. Together they have collaborated for more than 10 years on several organizational ventures. They have individual and combined experiences within the CARICOM region which extend nearly 40 years.

Mr. Smith and Mr. Davis have relied upon their collective CARICOM region experience and relationships in advancing a number of initiatives, including assisting the Nevis Island Government Administration to advance their initiative of developing a public utility-grade Geothermal electricity power plant.

"We are very enthusiastic to be associated with the Fionet mobile Rapid Diagnostic Testing & Tracking platform regarding COVID-19, and other infectious disease response and management," said Mr. Davis.

Mr. Smith added: "We look forward to being a catalyst for elevating the profile of the Fionet technology platform within the CARICOM Community region, and the broader PAHO region (Pan-American Health Organization, the regional agency of the WHO). Introducing this cutting-edge technology will assist the region in returning to much needed social and economic sustainability."

The advisors will work collaboratively with the Company to identify and execute on opportunities in the region, deploying the platform to communities, businesses and public health sectors for managing the COVID-19 virus and variants for the CARICOM Community.

For Media Inquiries, please contact: Destine Lee media@relaymedical.com | 647-872-9982

SUBSCRIBE: For more information on Relay or to subscribe to the Company's mail list visit: https://www.relaymedical.com/news

1https://www.statista.com/statistics/816304/caribbean-number-of-tourist-arrivals/

About Relay Medical Corp.

Relay Medical is a technology innovator headquartered in Toronto, Ontario with a Canadian team of experts focused on the development of novel technologies in the diagnostics, AI data science, and IoT cybersecurity sectors.

Website: www.relaymedical.com

Contact:

W. Clark Kent

President

Relay Medical Corp.

Office: 647-872-9982 ext. 2

TF: 1-844-247-6633 ext. 2

Email: 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 regulatory approvals, including that of the CSE. There are uncertainties inherent in forward-looking information, including factors beyond the Company's control. There are no assurances that the commercialization plans for the technology described in this news release will come into effect on the terms or time frame described herein. 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 Company's filings with Canadian securities regulators, which filings are available at www.sedar.com .

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/78545
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 25)  President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday said it is difficult to say whether some mayors should be held liable for getting inoculated against COVID-19 by skipping the vaccine line.

This was after some mayors defended their move by saying it was done to allay vaccination fears.

"Ang sabi nila, ang rason nila, I think that's a universal excuse, na para 'di matakot 'yung constituents. Ako, medyo gray area 'yan," the President said in his late night address to the nation. "Dapat talaga ang una...whether or not they jump the COVID-19 line of vaccination would require a certain amount of legal study."

[Translation: According to them, and I think that's a universal excuse, they got inoculated in order to lay their constituents' fears to rest. Personally, that's somewhat a gray area. What really should be done first...whether or not they jump the COVID-19 vaccine of vaccination would require a certain amount of legal study.]

Duterte named nine local chief executives who received the shot despite not being healthcare workers:

- Mayor Alfred Romualdez of Tacloban City, Leyte

- Mayor Dibu Tuan of T'boli, South Cotabato

- Mayor Sulpicio Villalobos of Sto Nino, South Cotabato

- Mayor Noel Rosal of Legazpi City, Albay

- Mayor Abraham Ibba of Bataraza, Palawan

- Mayor Elanito Pena of Minglanilla, Cebu

- Mayor Victoriano Torres of Alicia, Bohol

- Mayor Virgilio Mendez of San Miguel, Bohol

- Mayor Arturo Piollo II of Lila, Bohol

The first five were already slapped with a show cause order by the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

READ: Some Visayas mayors not on priority list get vaccinated against COVID-19

Duterte said more people were listed, but he refused to disclose their names. Among them, he said, is a son of an actor who was vaccinated in Paranaque City.

"Ang balita ko naibigay sa mga anak ng mga artista at iba pa. The favored few," he said.

[Translation: I've heard vaccines were also given to children of actors, among others. The favored few.]

The President could be referring to actor Mark Anthony Fernandez, whose parents Rudy Fernandez and Alma Moreno are also actors. Fernandez already got the COVID-19 vaccine, but Paranaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez was quick to clarify he didn't cut the line. The mayor said Fernandez was part of the substitution list and is second in priority since he has a comorbidity.

READ: Paranaque mayor defends actor Mark Anthony Fernandez for getting COVID-19 vaccine, says he didn't cut the line

Duterte stressed the need to follow the priority framework as doing otherwise could jeopardize the country's future vaccine supply. The World Health Organization has warned the country can risk losing millions of doses from COVAX if it fails to comply with the required allocation of the scarce vaccines to medical frontliners.

"Ito 'yung kinakatakutan ko noon [That's what I feared before]," he also said. "I remember well admonishing everybody that the priority sa pagbibigay ng bakuna ay ito ang masusunod [in vaccine distribution should be followed]."

Duterte wants the Department of Health to lead the investigation into the matter, but Health Secretary Francisco Duque III reminded it is also under the jurisdiction of the DILG.

"The ultimate persons responsible for this are the health workers, city health workers, provincial health workers. Empleyado mo ito eh [These are your employees]," Duterte told Duque. "To make the long story short, mag-execute nalang ng [just execute an] affidavit, and why resort to the investigation and then send it to the Ombudsman."

The Health chief also made the appeal to Filipinos to await their turn, noting that only around 30% of the required doses to immunize all 1.7 million healthcare workers in the country have so far arrived.

"Kulang na kulang talaga sa bakuna ngayon. Kailangan masunod ang priority listing para maayos ang ating bakunahan," he said.

[Translation: We're currently really lacking vaccine supply. The priority listing should be followed to ensure a smooth vaccination program.]
Documents analysed as part of the study. Credit: Dave Lee

Medieval and early modern lawyers chose to write on sheepskin parchment because it helped prevent fraud, new analysis suggests.

Experts have identified the species of animals used for British legal documents dating from the 13th to 20th century, and have discovered they were almost always written on sheepskin, rather than goatskin or calfskin vellum.

This may have been because the structure of sheepskin made attempts to remove or modify text obvious.

Sheep deposit fat in-between the various layers of their skin. During parchment manufacture, the skin is submerged in lime, which draws out the fat leaving voids between the layers. Attempts to scrape off the ink would result in these layers detachingknown as delaminationleaving a visible blemish highlighting any attempts to change any writing.

Sheepskin has a very high fat content, accounting for as much as 30 to 50 percent, compared to 3 to 10 percent in goatskin and just 2 to 3 percent in cattle. Consequently, the potential for scraping to detach these layers is considerably greater in sheepskin than those of other animals.

The continuing use of sheepskin over goat or calfskin in later centuries was likely influenced by their greater availability and lower cost.

The work was carried out by academics from the University of Exeter and Universities of York and Cambridge.

Documents analysed as part of the study. Credit: Dave Lee

Dr. Sean Doherty, an archaeologist from the University of Exeter who led the study, said: "Lawyers were very concerned with authenticity and security, as we see through the use of seals. But it now appears as though this concern extended to the choice of animal skin they used too"

Because they are so durable, millions of old legal documents survive in British archives and private collections, but they are often neglected because of their supposed lack of historic value. Many were discarded, burnt, or even repurposed into lamp shades during the 20th century after the Land Registry Act of 1925 meant they didn't need to be kept.

Until now so little was known about these documents, many were incorrectly catalogued as calfskin vellum, when they were actually made of sheepskin parchment.

Dr. Doherty said: "The text written on these documents is often considered to be of limited historic value as the majority is taken up by formulaic rubric. However modern research techniques mean we can now not only read the text, but the biological and chemical information recorded in the skin. As physical objects they are an extraordinarily molecular archive through which centuries of craft, trade and animal husbandry can be explored."

Surviving texts hint at the use of sheepskin as an anti-fraud device. The 12th century text Dialogus de Scaccariowritten by Richard FitzNeal, Lord Treasurer during the reigns of Henry II and Richard Iinstructs the use of sheepskin for royal accounts as "they do not easily yield to erasure without the blemish being apparent".

In the 17th century when paper was common, Chief Justice Sir Edward Coke wrote of the necessity that legal documents were written on parchment "for the writing upon these is least liable to alterations or corruption".

Professor Jonathan Finch from the Department of Archaeology at the University of York said: " What our research reveals is that there was a sophisticated understanding of the properties of different products and that these could be exploited. In the case of sheepskin parchment, its properties were used to prevent fraud by the surreptitious alteration of important legal documents.

"The structure of the skin clearly showed up any attempt to erase or alter the original text. The success of this study opens up new potential in the study of animal products over the historical period."

The research is published in the journal Heritage Science, and is entitled: "Scratching the Surface: the use of sheepskin parchment to deter textual erasure in early modern legal deeds".

More information: Scratching the surface: the use of sheepskin parchment to deter textual erasure in early modern legal deeds, Doherty et al. Heritage Science 2021, Scratching the surface: the use of sheepskin parchment to deter textual erasure in early modern legal deeds, Doherty et al.2021, DOI: 10.1186/s40494-021-00503-6
* Username

This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely!
WAAY-31 spoke with Morgan County's deputy superintendent on what the decision-making process looks like ahead of severe weather.

Deputy Superintendent Lee Willis told us technology has been a saving grace over the last few years.

The school system relies on the National Weather Service and local media outlets to track the storm's pattern and strength ahead of time.

Giving them a chance to have nearly 24-hour advance notice.

"Making weather decisions for schools is one of the hardest decisions to make and it's really good because technology has really afforded us the ability to speak with other school systems about what we're doing ahead of time and preparations," said Willis.

Lee Willis says the priority during severe weather is to always keep students and staff at all schools in the county as safe as possible.

Depending on how bad storms get in the area determines what they do in terms of school.

Schools could either move to virtual learning, early dismissal or late start depending on the timing of storms.

"When they hear severe weather, whether it be at school or anywhere, they're freaking out, they want to be home they want to be with mom," said Heather Cartee.

Heather Cartee was in the 2011 tornadoes in Alabama and mom of two...

"When it comes to my children's safety, especially severe weather, whatever it takes," she said.

If a parent is in an area that is flood-prone, Willis says it won't be counted against the student if they cant get to school

"If parents tell us hey we don't feel very comfortable, the pandemic has helped us be able to transition quickly from traditional learning models to virtual learning or a remote model," he said.

Willis knows it can be frustrating hearing of changed plans the day or morning of, but the tracking of storms is always different, and he says they'll always try their best to get the info out as early as possible.

Cartee has trust in the district's decision-making process.

"The school system does the best they can with the information they're given. It's given at such short notice, and they're doing the best they can. I'm thankful for it," she said.

Deputy Superintendent Willis told us they get input from concerned parents, bus drivers, those on the school board and even other schools when it's a severe weather day to make the best decision possible.
WASHINGTON  President Joe Biden on Thursday went on the offensive, blaming his predecessor for undermining efforts to address an influx of migrants at the border that Republicans have spent weeks calling a crisis of Bidens creation.

What he did  he dismantled all the elements that exist to deal with what had been a problem and has been continuing to be a problem for a long time, Biden said, as he was peppered by questions about the border at his first press conference. He took the opportunity to detail requests his transition team made to the Trump administration that were delayed or denied.

Those included stalling housing facilities for children, leaving behind staffing shortages at agencies responsible for caring for them and failing to create COVID-19 containment protocols  all of which the Biden administration says have led to a severe lack of space in overcrowded Customs and Border Protection facilities.

We're building back up the capacity that should have been maintained and built upon that Trump dismantled, Biden said. It's going to take time."

BACKGROUND: President Biden addresses migrant surge at border as officials head to Texas

Its the latest  and most direct  example of Democrats pushing back against Republican claims that Bidens White House created a crisis at the border by moving away from some of the Trump administrations stricter immigration policies. They also say the migrant surge was fueled by statements Biden made during his presidential campaign pledging a more lenient approach.

A group of at least 18 Senate Republicans are set to travel to the border on Thursday night and Friday to tour facilities and hold press conferences condemning Biden administration for being slow to acknowledge and address the problem.

What they really need is a plan, and so far I havent seen any plan that would actually have an impact on what is happening, said U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican leading the Senate group.

Instead, the administration says Trumps restrictive immigration policies did little more than create a bottleneck at the border as the number of migrants heading there  especially children  was increasing last year.

He in fact shut down the number of beds available, Biden said. He did not fund HHS to get children out of those border patrol facilities where they should not be  theyre not supposed to be more than a few days. He dismantled all of that. So what were doing now is attempting to rebuild  rebuild the system that can accommodate what is happening today.

WHITE HOUSE OPENING SHELTERS: JBSA-Lackland, Freeman Coliseum to temporarily house migrant children

White House officials claimed the outgoing Trump administration refused their requests to begin standing up temporary shelters for migrant children until Jan. 15, just before Trump left office. The officials said it can take weeks to get the facilities online. The Biden administration opened the first, in Carrizo Springs, on Feb. 22, about a month after the president was sworn in.

Since then federal officials have opened several more influx sites, including at the Dallas convention center. White House officials said they are moving forward with plans to house thousands of children at two locations in San Antonio  Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland and the Freeman Coliseum  as well as Fort Bliss in El Paso and the San Diego convention center, among other locations.

The lack of space to house children has in part led to overcrowding at Customs and Border Protection facilities, such as one in Donna, near McAllen, where pictures leaked earlier this week by U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, showed dozens of people, including small children and teens, packed into makeshift rooms with clear plastic walls, lying on padding on stone floors and covered with silver foil blankets.

The facility is one that the GOP senators will visit Friday as U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas has pushed unsuccessfully for the administration to allow them to bring reporters along, accusing the administration of cherry picking sites it has allowed the press to see.

Actual transparency from Biden would be to immediately open the Donna facility to press that is at 1,556 percent capacity, Cruz said.

The administration said there were more than 4,900 children still in Border Patrol custody this week, but claimed it is making progress on more quickly transferring them to sites run by the Department of Health and Human Services. Officials said 465 children were transferred on Tuesday, up from an average of 302 for the 30 days before that.

The officials say the Biden administration has been working around the clock to build a more efficient system.

TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

The coronavirus pandemic has also squeezed space at the facilities, and the Biden White House claims the Trump administration did not leave behind a system to test migrants and quarantine those with COVID-19. The administration says it is testing children as they are transferred to the temporary shelters, which have isolated areas for quarantining, if necessary. It is also working with non-governmental organizations along the border to test and quarantine the families it releases as they await asylum proceedings.

If those organizations dont have space to quarantine, the migrants who test positive are transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The Biden White House says it also inherited an understaffed Office of Refugee Resettlement, which is tasked with finding sponsors to care for those children in the U.S., after Trump had frozen hiring at the agency. White House officials claim that proposals shared with the Trump administration to speed that work were dismissed and not acted upon in a timely way. Officials did not provide staffing figures at the resettlement office, but said they are hiring more staff as quickly as possible.

Biden was asked at his press conference about reports that parents are sending their children to the U.S. because they know his administration wont turn them away. The president responded that he wont turn away children, and that his administration is working to address the problems in the countries theyre fleeing.

The idea that Im going to say, which I would never do, if an unaccompanied child ends up at the border, were just going to let them starve to death and stay on the other side  no previous administration did that either, except Trump, Biden said. Im not going to do it.

Were going to do a lot in our administration, Biden said. That mother did not sit around the kitchen table and say, You know Ive got a great idea, the way Im going to make sure my son gets taken care of  Im going to send him on a thousand mile journey across the desert and up to the United States because I know Joe Bidens a nice guy and hes going to take care of him. What a desperate act to have to take. The circumstances must be horrible. So we can do something about that.

Asked about delays by federal officials in finding relatives of migrant children who live in the U.S., Biden said he is confident the speed will pick up.

Well, they're already getting better, but they're going to get a whole hell of a lot better real quick or we're going to have some people leaving, Biden said. We can get this done. We're going to get it done.

ben.wermund@chron.com
Keeping Up with the Kardashians matriarch Kris Jenner gave updates on her daughters Khloe Kardashian and Kim Kardashian during Thursday's episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

The 65-year-old reality star was 'really happy' about Khloe and her on/off boyfriend Tristan Thompson producing multiple frozen embryos.

'I think that it's so great that they wanna do that again and have a sibling for [their two-year-old daughter] True,' Kris said remotely.

Momager: KUWTK matriarch Kris Jenner (R) gave updates on her daughters Khloe Kardashian and Kim Kardashian during Thursday's episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show

'True (L) will be so excited!' The 65-year-old reality star was 'really happy' about Khloe (M) and her on/off boyfriend Tristan Thompson (R) producing multiple frozen embryos

'There's nothing better than a big family and brothers and sisters. And that's just my heart. So I'm really happy. I just want them to be happy, and True will be so excited.'

At that, the 63-year-old comedian quipped, 'Will the other kid be named "False"?'

Jenner (born Kristen Houghton) replied: 'Ha, that's a good one! Oh my god!'

But when directly asked about her 36-year-old daughter's rumored engagement ring, the twice-divorced grandmother-of-10 remained coy.

Kris said remotely: 'I think that it's so great that they wanna do that again and have a sibling for [their two-year-old daughter] True. There's nothing better than a big family and brothers and sisters. And that's just my heart. So I'm really happy. I just want them to be happy'

'She loves a good ring. You should ask Khloe that': But when directly asked about her 36-year-old daughter's (pictured last Thursday) rumored engagement ring, Jenner remained coy

'That's a good ring. I think she just loves jewelry. She loves a good ring. You should ask Khloe that,' Kris smiled.

Jenner said her daughter Kim was doing 'good' despite filing for divorce from her third husband Kanye West last month after seven years of marriage.

'Kim's good! She's really, really busy working on all of her different projects,' the Calabasas socialite said.

'And I don't know how she does it with all those grandbabies. She's got a lot of energy, that kid.'

'She's really, really busy': The twice-divorced grandmother-of-10 said her daughter Kim (L, pictured in October) was doing 'good' despite filing for divorce from her third husband Kanye West (R) last month after seven years of marriage

Kris said: 'I don't know how she does it with all those grandbabies. She's got a lot of energy, that kid' (pictured Christmas Eve)

Kris' 40-year-old daughter reportedly spends 18 hours a week studying law under the guidance of Jessica Jackson, Van Jones, and Erin Haney so she can pass the California State Bar in 2024 and eventually start her own law firm.

'You know, she's so focused and she's just passionate about the whole thing and everything she stands for and I see her studying,' Jenner marveled.

'It's in her schedule every single day when I get all the schedules for the kids. Her study time is all blocked out so nothing else can get in the way, so I'm so proud of her.'

Kim is following the footsteps of her late father - OJ Simpson defense attorney Robert Kardashian Sr. - who died, age 59, from esophageal cancer in 2003 when she was only 22.

Aspiring attorney: Jenner's 40-year-old daughter reportedly spends 18 hours a week studying law under the guidance of Jessica Jackson, Van Jones, and Erin Haney so she can pass the California State Bar in 2024 and eventually start her own law firm

The Calabasas socialite marveled: 'I see her studying...It's in her schedule every single day when I get all the schedules for the kids. Her study time is all blocked out so nothing else can get in the way, so I'm so proud of her'

'She's always looked up to her dad and that was her idol,' the former American Airlines flight attendant admitted.

'So I think just to have that motivation to try to do something just like her dad did is really special.'

Kris currently executive produces and stars in the 20th (and final) season of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, which airs Thursdays on E!

'I didn't realize I'd be so emotional. It was hard because that crew has been with us since season one, day one,' Jenner said.

Legacy: Kim is following the footsteps of her late father - OJ Simpson (R) defense attorney Robert Kardashian Sr. (M, pictured in 1995) - who died, age 59, from esophageal cancer in 2003 when she was only 22

Kris admitted: 'She's always looked up to her dad and that was her idol. So I think just to have that motivation to try to do something just like her dad did is really special'

On December 10, the SoCal native and her famous family signed a new multi-year global content deal with Hulu/Star, which starts streaming in late 2021.

'I can't say too much. It's going to be different, and we're just really figuring it out right now,' Kris said.

'We're choosing a production company and just figuring out what the actual show is going to be, but it's been such a wonderful experience working with them. And having a whole new chapter to look forward to.'

During a game of 'Never Have My Kids Ever,' Jenner revealed she has matching cross tattoos with Khloe, which is located 'on my booty.'

''I didn't realize I'd be so emotional': Jenner currently executive produces and stars in the 20th (and final) season of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, which airs Thursdays on E!

'It's going to be different': On December 10, the former American Airlines flight attendant and her famous family signed a new multi-year global content deal with Hulu/Star, which starts streaming in late 2021

The former talk show host also admitted that an adult film star once babysat her six children, but she didn't 'remember her name.'

'It was a really long time ago and I didn't hire her, [my ex-husband #2] Bruce did. Caitlyn did. Bruce at the time,' Kris said, correcting herself.

Jenner was promoting her COVID-inspired endeavor Safely, a plant-based home cleaning and self-care products costing $6-$14, with co-founders Chrissy Teigen and Emma Grede.



During a game of 'Never Have My Kids Ever,' Kris revealed she has matching cross tattoos with Khloe, which is located 'on my booty'
BOSTON, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Esprezzo , a no-code blockchain automation and data platform, has announced an oversubscribed $2 million investment round with participation from Mark Cuban, Arrington Capital, Longley Capital, Rarestone Capital, CMS Holdings, LongHash, Youbi, TBD Angels, Zag Capital and other leading investors.

A preview of Esprezzo Dispatch: a no-code automation platform for crypto traders, NFT creators and collectors

Esprezzo is developing a suite of products including Dispatch , a no-code automation platform, and various blockchain intelligence tools to improve the lives of crypto enthusiasts, traders and developers. Dispatch provides a simple solution for creating automated notifications and workflows in response to on-chain data and smart contract events.

Crypto traders, beginners and developers face the same issue: getting data they want in a user-friendly format without needing to manually monitor multiple sources or learn blockchain-specific programming languages. Esprezzo's flexible tools provide users the data they want when and where they need it, through point-and-click interfaces and easy-to-use APIs.

"We are thrilled to support Esprezzo as one of our first blockchain investments," entrepreneur and investor Mark Cuban said. "Esprezzo is tackling some of the biggest problems facing crypto today: getting savvy crypto users the data they need to act quickly, and creating products that are easy and fun to use for everyone who is entering the space. Esprezzo is perfectly positioned to capture the vast potential of DeFi, NFT and the overall blockchain market."

"Esprezzo is creating products that simplify blockchain for everyone," says Michael Arrington, crypto veteran and Founder of TechCrunch. "Whether it's traders looking to quickly respond to market events, or developers looking for high throughput blockchain data, Esprezzo is uniquely positioned to serve those audiences with their thoughtfully-designed products."

"We've seen massive demand for the products we're building. Dispatch is capturing the attention of the fastest growing segment in crypto, the retail market, and it's been great to see developers continuously requesting early access to our caching technology and API," said Esprezzo CEO & co-founder Remy Carpinito. "We're excited that this new round of funding will accelerate the pace of hiring, product development and allow us to onboard more users sooner."

Esprezzo's blockchain intelligence APIs will provide developers direct access to on-chain and smart contract data powering the next generation of crypto products. To date, Esprezzo has delivered over 1 million notifications and is currently growing at 2x month over month through products including UniSpotter , a Telegram bot that delivers notifications about new Uniswap trading pairs. Dispatch is slated to release publicly later this year.

About Esprezzo

Esprezzo's mission is to empower everyone to access and use blockchain data, whether to facilitate crypto trading, track NFTs, get DeFi intel or build next gen applications. Esprezzo's no-code blockchain automation platform and data tools help crypto traders, NFT creators and collectors, DeFi enthusiasts and developers realize the benefits of blockchain technology without needing to know protocol-specific programming languages.

Website: https://esprezzo.io/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Esprezzoapp

Discord: https://discord.gg/uuCT89F

Media Contact:

Remy Carpinito

857.600.2761

[email protected]

SOURCE Esprezzo
From the date of Polands accession to the European Union, Polish administrative courts are at the same time European courts, which pursue the obligations of applying the EU law arising from the said legislation and of providing legal protection to individuals pursuant to the norms provided for in the EU law.

The Union-derived powers of national courts are set forth in the Treaties: Article 267 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) establishes the preliminary ruling procedure as a form of judicial dialogue between the national court and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and indirectly in the second sentence of Article 19(1) of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) which concerns the jurisdiction of the CJEU. The latter provision is the source of the assumption of applying the EU law by the national courts the EU law. Other provisions of the Treaties, including Article 7 TEU, which allows the Council of the European Union to determine that there is a clear risk of a serious breach by a Member State of the Union values, do not affect the execution of the powers of national courts, including administrative courts, in their capacity as EU law courts.

In their jurisprudence, administrative courts apply the EU law, refer to the case law of European courts (both the CJEU and the European Court of Human Rights) as well as assess the legality of administrative decisions issued on the basis of the EU law or of the provisions of the Polish law implementing the EU legislation. The EU law is aplied by administrative courts in the process of interpreting the Polish law. Polish courts also interpret the EU legislation for the purposes of the cases they examine.

In the case law of administrative courts, the issues involving the EU law come up mostly when examining cases in the area of: taxation, customs law, road and air transport, environment protection and spatial planning, agriculture and forestry, sanitary, veterinary and pharmaceutical supervision, personal data protection, access to public information, social security, games and mutual wagering, financial aid from the EU funds within the Common Agricultural Policy and Regional Operational Programmes and in the cases regarding foreigners.

While examining cases with an EU element, the courts refer to both the primary and secondary law of the European Union. They refer to the obligation to interpret the national laws in a pro-European way and to give priority to the EU law. They also use the possibility to direct application of the regulations and directives. Administrative courts also refer to the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union in order to determine the relevance of the given EU law applicable to the case, and to assess the applicability of the EU law to the cases in question.

As regards the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR), administrative courts refer to this act as well as to the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, in particular in cases regarding to the right to a fair trial and to an effective remedy, the protection of the right of property, the Bug river property claims, in cases regarding to foreigners and in cases relating to the freedom of conscience and religion.

The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union is referred to by the Polish administrative courts in order to indicate that the certain rights of an individual are guaranteed not only by the Polish Constitution or the ECHR, but also within the EU legal system. In particular, the above applies to the right to a fair trial, the right to property, the principle of legality and proportionality of administrative penalties, the right to the protection of personal data, the right to respect for private and family life.

Shortly after Poland joined the European Union, administrative courts began to use the possibility to refer to the Court of Justice of the European Union with questions concerning the validity and interpretation of the EU legislation for preliminary ruling. In 2004-2017, Polish administrative courts requested for 67 preliminary rulings to the Court of Justice (47 questions has been referred by the Supreme Administrative Court). The majority of the questions referred for preliminary ruling by the Polish administrative courts concerned matters related to tax law.
AMSTERDAM, NL / ACCESSWIRE / March 25, 2021 / Elsevier, a global leader in research publishing and information analytics, the Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities (Crue Universidades Espanolas), and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) have agreed on a new four-year pilot to support continued reading and open access (OA) publishing for universities and CSIC's researchers in Elsevier's hybrid journals. It is one of the largest transformative agreements Elsevier has reached and compliments the pilot agreements already in place across many European countries.

Elsevier will support the Crue-CSIC's goals by enabling their researchers to publish OA across a broad range of Elsevier journals, making their latest research freely available at the point of publication. This agreement will support 59 participating Spanish institutions and will apply to articles accepted from January 1, 2021 through to the end of 2024.

Elsevier aims to find the right solutions to meet the diverse needs of academic institutions, researchers, and funders around the world, while ensuring published research remains trusted and high quality.

Prof. Francisco Mora, Vice President of Crue, President of Crue's Open Science Working Group and rector of the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, said: "I am satisfied with the substantive step we have taken towards new forms of dissemination of science and above all towards the socialization of knowledge by ensuring its free access. It is important that both researchers and the general public have access to scientific publications without limitation since with their taxes they contribute to the creation of that knowledge."

Jesus Marco, CSIC Vice President for Research, said: "This agreement is part of the CSIC scholarly strategy of progressively moving away from the licensing model based on content subscription and payment for reading. The institution's commitment to Open Access as a lever for the promotion of Open Science means we aim to move our agreements with scientific publishers to a read-and-publish model. We are happy to have achieved this agreement with Elsevier, which is the sixth of its kind in the CSIC and to which we expect to be followed by many others. We are also very pleased to have achieved this in alliance with the Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities."

Gino Ussi, Executive Vice President, Elsevier, said: "Spanish researchers are generating more and more high-quality research. We are delighted to support the open access goals of the Crue-CSIC institutions and ensure that the truly world-class researchers across Spain continue to be able to access high-quality, trusted research in our journals. We thank Crue and CSIC for their collaborative approach, which resulted in this tailored agreement."

This agreement is the 17th transformative agreement Elsevier has reached with customers across Europe, the US, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East. Elsevier is testing and learning from these agreements enabling us to provide our customers with choices that meet their diverse needs.

In 2020 Elsevier published 81,000 open access articles, up 65 percent from 2019, making the company one of the largest open-access publishers in the world. Nearly all of Elsevier's 2,600 journals now enable OA publishing.

Elsevier enables researchers to stay up to date with the latest science, technology, and health findings worldwide via ScienceDirect, Elsevier's leading platform of peer-reviewed scholarly literature. Overall, ScienceDirect gives researchers access to 16 million articles from over 2,600 journals published by Elsevier and our society partners.

Playing our part in open research

Where the need is greatest, and we can make the biggest difference in a sustainable way, Elsevier makes research completely free to access. In addition, all our reading and discovery platforms have extensive free-to-read options. Some examples of this commitment include:

Authors who publish with our journals are immediately able to share their peer-reviewed, accepted manuscript on non-commercial personal homepages or blogs within their institution and with collaborators.

We offer free access to relevant research for health emergencies, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

Patients and caregivers are provided with papers related to medicine and healthcare upon request to help them better understand the latest research on their conditions.

We ensure everyone can access a collection of the work from each year's Nobel Prize winners.

We have also completely opened the archives for 140 journals, including Cell Press research journals, after 12 months.

Through Research4Life, institutions in 120 low- and middle-income countries receive affordable access to nearly 100,400 peer-reviewed resources. As a founding member, Elsevier provides over a quarter of that content, as well as access to the abstract and citation database Scopus and trainings for librarians.

We automatically apply waivers or discounts to articles in fully gold OA journals for which all authors are based in a low-income country.

About Us

About Crue Spanish Universities

Crue Universidades Espanolas is a non-profit association made up of a total of 76 Spanish universities: 50 public and 26 private. As the main interlocutor of Spanish universities with the central government, it plays a key role in all regulatory developments that affect Higher Education in Spain. Likewise, it promotes initiatives of different nature to foster relations with the productive and social fabric, as well as institutional relations, both national and international. In February 2019, Crue approved the document 'University Commitment to Open Science,' which includes concrete measures for the implementation of Open Science.

About CSIC (the Spanish National Research Council)

CSIC is the largest public institution dedicated to research in Spain and the third-largest in Europe. CSIC consists of 120 institutes (67 on its own and 53 joint institutes in collaboration with 43 public universities). Total staff, distributed across institutes and central services, amount to a bit more than 11,000, out of whom around 5,300 are directly devoted to doing research, including permanent, hired researchers, fellows, and in-training researchers. Belonging to the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, CSIC main objective is to develop and promote research that will help bring about scientific and technological progress, and for this purpose, it collaborates with a wide network of Spanish and foreign entities. CSIC researchers contribute to more than 12.000 scientific publications per year, with nearly 70% of then in the top impact factor quartile journals.

About Elsevier

As a global leader in information and analytics, Elsevier helps researchers and healthcare professionals advance science and improve health outcomes for the benefit of society. We do this by facilitating insights and critical decision-making for customers across the global research and health ecosystems.

In everything we publish, we uphold the highest standards of quality and integrity. We bring that same rigor to our information analytics solutions for researchers, health professionals, institutions, and funders.

Elsevier employs 8,100 people worldwide. We have supported the work of our research and health partners for more than 140 years. Growing from our roots in publishing, we offer knowledge and valuable analytics that help our users make breakthroughs and drive societal progress. Digital solutions such as ScienceDirect, Scopus, SciVal, ClinicalKey, and Sherpath support strategic research management, R&D performance, clinical decision support, and health education. Researchers and healthcare professionals rely on our 2,500+ digitized journals, including The Lancet and Cell, our 40,000 eBook titles, and our iconic reference works, such as Gray's Anatomy. With the Elsevier Foundation and our external Inclusion & Diversity Advisory Board, we work in partnership with diverse stakeholders to advance inclusion and diversity in science, research, and healthcare in developing countries and around the world.

Elsevier is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. www.elsevier.com

Contacts

Andrew Davis Vice President, Elsevier Communications UK Mobile: +447393242466 andrew.davis@elsevier.com

Alejandro Carra Crue Universidades Espanolas Mobile: +34913896297 a.carra@crue.org

Marta Garcia CSIC Mobile: +34915681476 marta.garcia@csic.es

SOURCE: Elsevier

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/637469/Crue-Spanish-Universities-CSIC-Alliance-and-Elsevier-Agree-Four-Year-Pilot-for-Reading-and-Open-Access-Publishing
If there was one thing that troubled Anil Basnet, a native of Tulsipur sub-metropolitan city in Dang, since he studied geomatics engineering, it was a huge data gap about disaster risk reduction management in his locality. But, Basnet says what used to upset him more was that the local government had not taken any effective efforts in bridging the gap.

Therefore, he wanted to draw their attention to the need for a better disaster risk reduction plan at the local government, but it was not easy. They did not know anything about it, he laments. Neither did they had any reliable data.

However, in October 2020, he found a solution. He learned about a fellowship programme that would help him not only connect with local officials but also strongly engage in the DRR planning process on his own.

Basnet is one among 14 young people who participated in the Disaster Risk Reduction-Young Leaders Fellowship (DRR-YLF) programme hosted by Youth Innovation Lab (YI-Lab) with the support from USAIDs Tayar Nepal project.

With the fellowship, the fellows say they helped 14 local governments across Nepal localise the centrally-available data management portal, BIPAD, so that they would be able to use the knowledge for better preparedness. In the meantime, the organisers hope for its expansion across the country.

Efforts to collect data

Throughout the fellowship, Basnet says he played an active role in sensitising the officials about the need for data for disaster preparedness and response.

Likewise, Mohammad Aasif Ali, a mechanical engineer who worked with the Biratnagar metropolitan city, says he helped the local government compile and manage data that were scattered and mismanaged.





DRR fellows working at their workplaces to collect data. Photo: Youth Innovation Lab

The data were scattered in different departments and organisations; they were not interlinked about which those entities were not aware, Ali says, As the capital of Province 1, there are many entities and organisations here. They have their own database. Therefore, I collected the data from such organisations and compiled them.

Ali says he collected the dataset about the airport from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, data about health and education from the health and education departments respectively. Likewise, the dataset of the hotels and the industries was taken from their respective associations in the city.

But, many other participants of the fellowship (October 2020-February 2021) had to collect the data on their own, according to Pradip Khatiwada, the executive director of Youth Innovation Lab (YI-Lab) that facilitated the fellowship.

For example, Sawan Chaudhary says he had to struggle a lot to convince the officials of the Jaleshwar municipality about the importance of data.

He says, They wouldnt care about me and my work initially as they had their own works. However, gradually, when I made them understand its significance, they understood and coordinated very well.

While searching for the dataset in the municipality, it was found that there were no data in the record of the municipality although the municipality was very old. Therefore, he says that he collected the data of education from the education department. He also had to collect some firsthand data.

There were many who faced the problem. Shiva Prasad Chaudhari, the mayor of Rajapur municipality in Bardiya, accepts, The status of dataset in our municipality was very weak before this programme. However, it has drastically changed as of now, thanks to the DRR fellow and the programme.

But, whats the need?

Khatiwada says the data collected by the fellows will help local governments in making informed planning for disaster risk reduction and management.

A DRR fellow working in a municipality. Photo: Youth Innovation Lab

The programme was envisioned in order to aid the Government of Nepals plan in localisation of the Building Information Platform Against Disaster (BIPAD) portal, an integrated disaster information management system (DIMS), informs Khatiwada.

All DRR fellows from all the 14 municipalities collected data of 14 different critical infrastructures that include 1,099 educational institutions, 377 health facilities, 537 banking and financial institutions, 524 governance institutions, 398 tourism, 660 culture, 263 industries, 195 communications institutions, 57 transportation facilities, 313 bridge, five energy station, one waterway, three airways, and 308 water supply infrastructures and integrated into the BIPAD portal, Khathiwada informs.

As the BIPAD portal stores all the relevant disaster data that can be used in the preparedness and response plan for disaster management, localisation of this portal is very crucial, opines Milan Hadkhale, a civil engineer, who worked as a DRR fellow at Vyas municipality.

He adds, Data integration and data access are further made easy with its localisation. With the bottom-top approach of data collection, the information collected and stored on BIPAD presents a ground reality of the local bodies in disaster risk, preparedness and capacity and resources mapping.

Corroborating Hadkhales statement, another fellow at Neelakantha municipality, Binita Shahi stresses the importance of localising this portal. Adding to this, Basnet says localisation of the BIPAD portal is very necessary for disaster preparedness and resilience.

Impacts and sustainability

As the fellows completed their work, all the 14 local governments launched their municipal BIPAD portals by creating sub-domains. Likewise, the local units have a standard operating procedure to run and host the very portal.

A DRR fellow giving presentation on BIPAD portal to municipal officials. Photo: Youth Innovation Lab

Of the 14 municipalities, Rajapur (Bardiya), Dullu (Dailekh), Vyas (Tanahun), Damak (Jhapa), and Waling (Syangja) municipalities have already endorsed the procedure, according to Khatiwada.

Khatiwada is confident that these local governments can now utilise the integrated local disaster data to enhance planning, preparedness, risk communication, response, and decision making in the long-run.

Some municipalities have already hired a separate DRR professional to give continuity to this work, shares Khatiwada.

For example, Dilip Pratap Khand, the mayor of Waling municipality in Syangja, informs, The localisation of Bipad portal has been very useful for us.

He says, Using the data of this portal, we are analysing the settlement area, possible areas of hazards, industrial area, and a lot more. As of now, this portal is handled by an IT officer of the municipality and we are in the process of hiring a DRR person soon.

Nonetheless, many impacts on the municipal governments are of long-term nature and not clearly visible as of now, according to him.

At the personal level, the fellows have garnered many opportunities. Roshan Thakur, a fellow in Damak municipality, says he got an opportunity as an IT officer in a different municipality in Jhapa. Likewise, Shahi is also offered a contract by the Changunarayan municipality in order to localise the BIPAD portal. As per Khatiwada, Yl- Lab has also hired two of the fellows to work for the long term.

We will continuously provide technical support to all these 14 local governments for some time. And, we are also planning to expand this project in all the 753 local governments of the country, he says.
West Bengal Chief



Minister on Thursday accused the BJP of backing a new political party to eat into minority votes during the upcoming assembly polls.

Without naming any party or any person, Banerjee also claimed at an election rally in South 24 Parganas district the founder of that outfit receives money from the BJP.

"A new political outfit has been launched in the state at the behest of the BJP to grab a share of the minority votes and help the saffron party. Please don't vote for its candidates," she said.

Banerjee said the CPI(M)and Congress have an understanding with the BJP.

Only the Trinamool Congress can prevent implementation of the CAA and NPR in the state, and ensure amity among different communities, she 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.)
Counties are holding onto billions of shillings in unremitted pension contributions, making it difficult for the schemes to pay staff upon their retirement, a new audit report shows.

In the County Governments Budget Implementation Review Report for the first half of the 2020/21 financial year, the Controller of Budget (CoB) recommends that the devolved units should develop a remedial plan on how to settle the debts.

The major retirement benefit schemes serving county governments are the Local Authorities Provident Fund (Lapfund), Local Authorities Pension Trust (Laptrust) and the County Pension Fund (CPF).

County employees contribute 12 percent of their pensionable salaries, while the county governments contribute 15 percent on their behalf.

Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang'o in her report says unremitted pension contributions to CPF and Laptrust stood at Sh26.02 billion as of December 31, 2020, while outstanding remittances to Lapfund amounted to Sh14.57 billion by November 30, 2020.

Delayed remittance

Delays or failure to remit pension contributions attract penalties, which are borne by the counties.

The 47 counties have almost 180,000 workers, according to the Economic Survey 2019.

"These amounts were known by the county governments at the point of budgeting and should be a first charge on the Budget in line with Regulation 41 (2) and 55 (2)(b) of the Public Finance Management ( County Governments) Regulations, 2015.

"The CoB therefore advises counties to immediately settle this statutory obligation and, thereafter, carry out regular reconciliation with the pension institutions," Dr Nyakang'o said.

Lapfund and CPF are statutory retirement benefit schemes that serve the employees of county governments and affiliated entities.

Unremitted dues

County governments are required to remit contributions from employees alongside employer contributions to these schemes on a monthly basis for investment.

Upon retirement, a member is paid a lump sum comprising the contributions received and the investment income. Counties with the highest unremitted retirement amounts are Nairobi and Mombasa at Sh25,524,654,241 and Sh5,583,466,816 respectively.

Other devolved units with high unremitted dues are Migori (Sh898,228,829), Garissa (Sh773,301,011), Kisii (Sh675,454,865), Wajir (Sh556,865,18) and Trans Nzoia (Sh530,264,908).

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Labour By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Those that owe employees the least pension amounts are Lamu (Sh2,468,750), Elgeyo-Marakwet (Sh3,439,361), Kwale (Sh7,951,521) and Kericho (Sh9,410,855).

"Pension remittances are statutory payments and failure by any county to remit the same has grave implications on budget implementation," warns Dr Nyakang'o.

Retirement funds

A new law meant to streamline county staff pension services has sparked a battle for the control of billions of shillings in workers' retirement funds.

The row involves trade unions, governors, the national government and the existing retirement benefit schemes. President Uhuru Kenyatta assented to the County Government Retirement Scheme Act, 2019, on September 18, 2019 and the new law took effect on October 7, with its key provision being to create a new entity by merging the existing ones.

It provides a five-year transition period into the new scheme. Two weeks ago, Lapfund and Laptrust agreed to iron out their differences in order to pave way for the implementation of the new law.

The key parties in the dispute, the Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA) and the Kenya County Government Workers Union (KCGWU), appeared before the Senate's Labour Committee where they expressed willingness to engage in discussions with a view to ending the standoff. The two, however, maintained they would only participate in talks led by a neutral party and on neutral ground.

KCGWU, which wants the two schemes merged, had moved to court complaining that workers' input and concerns were ignored during the development of the law. The union complained that parallel operation of the two schemes was a waste of workers' money.
Some Bakweri indigene protest sale of ancestral land Archives

Some Bakweri indigenes have taken to the streets to protest the sale of vast portions of land hosting the Mount Cameroon National Park in Buea.

The protesting villagers say at least 300 hectares of ancestral land has been sold by unscrupulous civil administrators in complicity with some indigenes.

Bakweri people have been protesting against the wanton dispossession of their lands by government officials and a network of land sellers especially in the regional chief town of Buea, some of the protesters say. Administrative officials have been identified as spearheads of such criminal undertakings because they defy even the Head of State's restrictions on the arbitrary sale of lands in Fako Division in particular.

Some Bakweri villagers are of the opinion that the entire Buea Subdivision is now for sale by administrative authorities as if to destroy the town once and for all.

The protesting Bakweri indigenes say some local officials have created a layout amounting to hundreds of hectares of land in Upper Farms through the Prime Ministers Lodge to the Government Residential Area and huge portions of the forest reserve managed by the Mount Cameroon National Park.

Esombi Vefonge Joseph, President of the Molongo Mo Wakpwe group urged authorities to help preserve the said land.

The Bakweri Armed Resistance against the Germans took place here from 1891 to 1894. We have been jealously keeping this place since 1995. This place is not for sale. The population should know. Molongo does not need any land to sell. As you can see, we are here peacefully to tell the world that we dont want any encroachment into our ancestral land, he said.

Accompanied by the dreaded Nganya cult, the Bakweri indigenes warned that they are ready to go the extra mile if the government fails to resolve the situation.

The government, our father, the Governor should take note. He has a lot on his hands already. We do not want to escalate matters and bring other problems that will go out of hand, said Esombi Vefonge. This thing has been going on for too long. I want to tell you that two years ago, we met the Regional delegate for forestry and we told her what our plans are. We told her we have been guarding this place and do not want anybody to build there. She sent some of her collaborators and they evaluated the situation. We have seen the Mayor. Before Mayor Ekema died, we met him over this problem. We cannot take laws into our hands. We want everything to be handled peacefully. We are pleading with the mayor to leave this place to fallow. They are cutting down the trees.

This place is the graveyard of our heroes. We cannot wrap our hands and see people coming to build on the tombs of our forefathers. That, we will not accept.
 Flash

The Mission of the People's Republic of China to the African Union (AU) on Wednesday donated a batch of COVID-19 prevention medical supplies to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).

The medical supplies, which among other things include thermometers, oxygen generators, isolation gowns, ventilators, surgical masks and other Personal Protective Equipments (PPEs), were handed over in the presence of senior UNECA officials as well as diplomats from the Chinese mission at the headquarters of the UNECA in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary of the UNECA, said during the handing over ceremony that the latest batch of medical supplies donated by China will play a vital role in protecting the wellbeing of the UN family in Ethiopia from COVID-19.

"The COVID-19 crisis is a crisis that has come not only to hurt our lives but also our livelihoods," the UNECA chief said, as she commended the Chinese mission, in particular, and the Chinese government, in general, for working with the UN family in Ethiopia.

"We are very happy to receive a lot of this gift and ensure that we can continue to protect first of all the UN staff, but also the Ethiopian community at large," Songwe said.

"I thank the government of China for all the support that they have been giving not just to the UN family but also to our host country Ethiopia and to the whole continent," she added.

The donation is said to be a continuation of the ever-growing China-Africa partnership in the public health sector, which was further strengthened in the joint response against COVID-19, as the partnership proved to be successful in enabling Africa with much-needed anti-COVID-19 medical supplies to better respond to the pandemic.

Liu Yuxi, head of the Chinese Mission to the AU, on his part said as the COVID-19 pandemic has been going on for more than one year, China stands as a true friend of African countries and partner with common goals guided by the principles of sincerity, real results and good faith.

China has so far shipped emergency supplies to almost all African countries and the African Union. The China-Africa vaccine cooperation is also progressing in an orderly manner, according to Liu.

"The United Nations system has played an important role in coordinating and mobilizing resources to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, fully demonstrating the precious value of solidarity and multilateralism," Liu said.

He stressed that the latest batch of donation is the outcome of the Chinese Mission's capabilities combined with the needs of the UNECA.

"We hope that these medical supplies can help the UNECA with its COVID-19 prevention so as to better perform its duties," Liu said.
Of the vast diversity of plants on Earth, only a few evolved to become prominent agricultural crops. Scholars now suggest they originally evolved to secure mutualistic relationships with now-extinct megafauna

By clearing forests, burning grasslands, plowing fields and harvesting crops, humans apply strong selective pressures on the plants that survive on the landscapes we use. Plants that evolved traits for long-distance seed-dispersal, including rapid annual growth, a lack of toxins and large seed generations, were more likely to survive on these dynamic anthropogenic landscapes. In the current article, researchers argue that these traits may have evolved as adaptations for megafaunal mutualisms, later allowing those plants to prosper among increasingly sedentary human populations.

The new study hypothesizes that the presence of specific anthropophilic traits explains why a select few plant families came to dominate the crop and weed assemblages around the globe, such as quinoa, some grasses, and knotweeds. These traits, the authors argue, also explain why so many genera appear to have been domesticated repeatedly in different parts of the world at different times. The 'weediness' and adaptability of those plants was the result of exaptation traits, or changes in the function of an evolutionary trait. In this way, rather than an active and engaged human process, certain plants gradually increased in prominence around villages, in cultivated fields, or on grazing land.

Grasses and field crops weren't the only plants to use prior adaptations to prosper in human landscapes; select handfuls of trees also had advantageous traits, such as large fleshy fruits, resulting from past relationships with large browsers. The rapid extinction of megafauna at the end of the Pleistocene left many of these large-fruiting tree species with small, isolated populations, setting the stage for more dramatic changes during later hybridization. When humans began moving these trees they were likely to hybridize with distant relatives, resulting, in some cases, in larger fruits and more robust plants. In this way, the domestication process for many long-generation perennials appears to have been more rapid and tied into population changes due to megafaunal extinctions.

"The key to better understanding plant domestication may lay further in the past than archaeologists have previously thought; we need to think about the domestication process as another step in the evolution of life on Earth, as opposed to an isolated phenomenon," states Dr. Robert Spengler. He is the director of the archaeobotanical laboratories at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Jena, Germany, and the lead investigator on this paper.

This publication is a result of archaeologists, geneticists, botanists, and paleontologists contributing insights from their unique disciplines to reframe the way scholars think about domestication. The goal of the collaboration is to get researchers to consider the deeper ecological legacies of the plants and the pre-cultivation adaptations that they study.

Prof. Nicole Boivin, director of the Department of Archaeology at the Max Planck Institute in Jena, studies the ecological impacts of humans deep in the past. "When we think about the ecology of the origins of agriculture, we need to recognize the dramatic changes in plant and animal dynamics that have unfolded across the Holocene, especially those directly resulting from human action," she adds.

Ultimately, the scholars suggest that, rather than in archaeological excavations, laboratories, or in modern agricultural fields, the next big discoveries in plant domestication research may come from restored megafaunal landscapes. Ongoing research by Dr. Natalie Mueller, one of the authors, on North American restored prairies is investigating potential links between bison and the North American Lost Crops. Similar studies could be conducted on restored megafaunal landscapes in Europe, such as the Bia?owieski National Park in Poland, the Ust'-Buotoma Bizon Park or Pleistocene Park in Sakha Republic, Russia.

Dr. Ashastina, another author on the paper and a paleontologist studying Pleistocene vegetation communities in North Asia, states, "these restored nature preserves provide a novel glimpse deep into the nature of plant and animal interactions and allow ecologists, not only to directly trace vegetation changes occurring under herbivore pressure in various ecosystems, but to disentangle the deeper legacies of these mutualisms."

###
(Newser)  When Byong Choi died of tuberculosis at age 83 last month, the Korean American's family had to put off his funeral in Orange County, Calif., until March 19 because of COVID restrictions, reports the Washington Post. Three days after they finally laid him to rest, a "disturbing and racist" letter arrived at the home of his 82-year-old widow in Leisure World, a gated community in Seal Beach, per ABC7. "Now that Byong is gone makes it one less Asian to put up with in Leisure World," read the letter, postmarked in Los Angeles the day of Byong's funeral. "You fricken Asians are taking over our American community!" The letter then got even more ominous: "Watch out! Pack your bags and go back to your country where you belong!" Byong's daughter, Claudia Choi, was distressed but not surprised about the "cruel" note sent to her mom. "To target a grieving widow, it's disgusting," she tells CBS Los Angeles.

story continues below

Choi, who thinks the letter came from someone within the mostly white Leisure World community, reported it to the police and FBI. Police say they're carrying out handwriting analysis, as well as lifting fingerprints and doing DNA tests. The letter to Byong's family comes shortly after the Atlanta spa shootings in which six Asian women were killed, and amid an uptick in attacks against Asians in the US since the pandemic began. "Hate directed toward any member of our community is disgusting and will not be tolerated," says Philip Gonshak, the city's police chief, per CBS. In a statement, Leisure World calls the letter "malicious" and says "all actions will be taken to locate and prosecute the individual." It has also told Byong's family that if the letter did come from inside the community, that resident will be booted. (Read more Asian-Americans stories.)
ADVERTISEMENT

The national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, will chair the 11th Annual Lecture in honour of the late Premier of Northern Nigeria, Ahmadu Bello, organised by Arewa House.

Shaibu Aliyu, director of Arewa House, a research facility under Ahmadu Bello University, said the lecture will hold on Saturday, March 27 in Kaduna.

Mr Aliyu said at a press briefing in Kaduna on Thursday that the theme of the lecture is, Governance and Youth Inclusion in Nigerias Development, Post COVID-19 Era.

The director said Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau will serve as the Guest Speaker.

According to him, the governor is expected to share his experience of governing Plateau and managing its conflicts.

Mr Aliyu said the annual lecture remains a platform to discuss social and economic issues affecting the country.

One of the major objectives of Arewa House is to promote national harmony and national unity, the lecture will serve as an avenue to reflect and discuss the history and cultures of the country, he said.

According to him, COVID-19 protocols would be strictly observed while issues around the cost of governance will also be discussed.

He said the former governors that established Arewa House will be honoured at the event. They include Abba Kyari, Musa Usman, Usman Faruk, JD Gomwak, and Audu Bako.

(NAN)
Ayodhya, March 25 : A vision document is being prepared by the Ayodhya Development Authority (ADA) and three consultant companies, including a global firm, encapsulating all developmental projects of the holy city and even adjoining districts.

Vishal Singh, vice-chairman of Ayodhya Development Authority (ADA), said that the vision document was expected to be ready by June.

"Grand Ayodhya is the dream project of the Uttar Pradesh government and is top priority for the Centre too. The PMO could also be interested in the vision document," he said.

The development authority along with three consultant firms -- Canada-based multinational firm LEA Associates South Asia Private Ltd and two Indian firms, L&T and Kukreja Architects -- are working relentlessly to prepare the document.

Singh, said, "A macro vision is possible through micro analysis and survey of land to the minutest detail. We are working in coordination with the consultants to chalk out the blueprint soon. The vision document envisages development of not just the temple town, mutts and ancient temples, but also adjacent districts of Ayodhya. Opinions of 500 people, including residents and experts are being included in the document." In February, Ayodhya Development Authority finalized three nodal firms to chalk out the blueprint for developing Ayodhya into a world-class city.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has set a deadline to develop infrastructure projects in Ayodhya before the completion of the Ram temple. He said that all development in the city should be in sync with the religious character of the place.

The ADA vice-chairman said, "Consultant firms are conducting surveys, evaluating demand and gap, identifying stakeholders through consultation, while keeping intact the religious character of the temple town."
Armenian acting minister: EU allocated EUR 68,700,000 to Armenia for budget support in 2020

Armenia Finance Ministry: MFA's budget grew by AMD 1,600,000,000 in 2020

Bodies and remains of Armenian soldiers are kept in morgue in Armenia's Martuni

White House confirms Biden-Erdogan meeting in Brussels

Armenia acting MOD touches upon priority directions for development of Armed Forces

Diaspora Armenian writer, publicist Toros Toranian dies

2 Armenian soldiers injured in scuffle with Azerbaijan, Armenian POW is hospitalized, Jun. 3 digest

Wedding held in Armenia's Shurnukh for first time since the war ended

EEU member states to finish preparing for negotiations over free trade zone in Iran in late June

Armenia Central Bank: Economic downfall in 2020 was due to decline in service and construction sectors

Armenia legislature adopts several bills in first reading

Armenia President meets with Nursultan Nazarbayev

Dejavu: Armenia ruling party distributes money for votes at Yerevan district election office

Chief Advisor to Karabakh President sacked

Russian MFA: Works are carried out to settle situation around Karabakh every day

Armenia opposition MP sounds alarm about Baku fabricating criminal cases against Armenian prisoners

Armenia acting health minister: I have apologized, I am not going to resign

Helga Schmid meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Armenia's deputy foreign ministers resigned or have heavy workload?

Dollar goes down in Armenia

Armenia Elections Oversight Committee reports Iranian citizenship of ruling party's MP candidate

Acting deputy minister: Only 17 of 711 Iran-Armenia power transmission line towers were installed by 2017

Armenia Parliament Council holding session

Armenia to host CSTO "Thunder-2021" military exercises

NYT: Chinese hackers launch cyberattack on New York city transportation authority

Armenia President to Kazakhstan counterpart: I would like to see much deeper cooperation between our countries

Armenia citizens shut down Etchmiadzin-Ashtarak road, complaining about lack of irrigation water

Armenia independent MP: Foreign minister and his deputies don't want to take part in treacherous acts

Armenia to get $11mn loan, 350,000 grant for agriculture

WHO worries about worsening mental health worldwide amid pandemic

Armenia health ministry on improper handling of Artsakh war victims bodies: There is no justification

Armenia bloc election foundation already in operation

Russia ambassador to Armenia paying working visit to Syunik Province (PHOTOS)

China pledges to step up resistance to foreign interference in Hong Kong

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: There can be no talk of corridor for Azerbaijan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on incumbent authorities: Wherever they flee, we will bring them by the feet

President: Impossible to ensure peace in region or stay in Artsakh without Russia army joint efforts

China Daily: Dispatch from Makit: Thriving in the desert

Karabakh President: We will never put up with being part of Azerbaijan, it is ruled out

Armenia MFA information department chief: All deputy FMs carrying out their duties

Ardshinbank invited children to the cinema on International Childrens Day

Armenia judiciary to have 10 more judges

Armenia acting premier: We had recorded 40% increase in tax revenues according to 2019 results

Armenia acting PM on Artsakh war casualties bodies: We have 50 remains in which case DNA was not separated

Azerbaijan authorities plan to "squeeze" everything from "terrorist show" related to Armenian captives

Ameriabank announces a contest for bank card design

108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia parliament convenes special session

Armenia interim government holding Cabinet meeting

Catholicos of All Armenians heads for Syunik Province, Artsakh

World oil prices going up

Iran loses right to vote in UN General Assembly

Newspaper: Armenia authorities come up with new way of punishing unwanted characters

Newspaper: Russia army Southern Military District deputy commander to arrive in Yerevan Thursday

Lebanese Armenian man taken prisoner by Azerbaijan is hospitalized

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Are we getting under the burden? Then lets get under to the end

Armenia acting health minister on keeping fallen soldiers bodies in bags: What else should they be kept in?

Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation

Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow

2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik

Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center

"Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans

Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel

Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna

Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations

US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies

Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week

Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection

Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential

Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement

Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues

Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo

Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation

NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident

Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices

Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over

Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest

Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia

Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia

Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels

Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters

Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021

Dollar is stable in Armenia

Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector

Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out

Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe

Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia

Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border

Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor

Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue

Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia

Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this

Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 16:23:31|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

ULAN BATOR, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia's National Agency for Meteorology and Environmental Monitoring on Thursday issued a warning of strong winds and dust storms.

In the coming three days, strong winds and heavy dust storms are expected to sweep the western, central and Gobi parts of Mongolia.

In addition, heavy dust and snow storms are expected to hit eastern provinces of the country, with wind speed expected to reach 18-28 meters per second in large parts of the country in the coming few days, the agency said, urging citizens, especially nomadic herders, to take extra precautions against possible disasters.

The warning came after 10 people, mostly herders, lost their lives due to heavy dust and snow storms that swept through large parts of Mongolia in mid-March. Enditem
The demand for use of military ranks by Short Service Commission (SSC) officers after release from service has been pending since 1983. (Representational image/PTI)

New Delhi: The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has decided to allow the retired Short Service Commission (SSC) officers of the Indian Army to use military ranks.

The Short Service Commission (SSC) officers, after completion of their mandated terms and conditions of service, were not authorised to use the military ranks. This had been causing dissatisfaction and discontentment among the SSC officers who serve under the same service conditions and face similar hardships as Permanent Commission officers with similar service profile.

This decision of the government will not only remove dissatisfaction and discontentment among the retired SSC officers, but will serve as a big boost to the young aspirants, said defence ministry in a statement on Wednesday. It said that this decision will act as morale booster for the existing SSC officers.

The demand for use of military ranks by Short Service Commission (SSC) officers after release from service has been pending since 1983. The SSC officers form the backbone of the support cadre of the Army. They serve for a period of 10-14 years to make up the deficiency of young officers in units.

There have been several attempts of making the SSC attractive. Permission to allow use of military ranks by these officers has been one of their major demands. Unlike in the past when SSC officers used to serve for a period of five years, now they serve for a tenure of 10 years, further extendable by four years. The SSC officers provide a support cadre to the officers cadre of the Army and has been created primarily to provide young officers to the units.
DETROIT  Michigan Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun joined health care workers and Michigan National Guardsmen to kick off the first day of the mass vaccination clinic at Ford Field in downtown Detroit on Wednesday.

I think I surprised some people that came through, Khaldun said, but it was really just great being able to speak to people and talk about their stories and how they were so excited to get the vaccine today.

COVID-19 vaccinations at the stadium started with a soft opening for eligible walk-ins Tuesday, with the large-scale immunization program officially starting Wednesday with 6,000 doses being administered on site.

There are two clinics at the the stadium, with free parking for both. Parking for the Gate G clinic is open at the Ford Field parking deck on St. Antoine Street. Gate A clinic parking is available at the Gem Theatre parking garage on Brush street.

Both parking sites are accessible from the Madison Street exit on I-375.

The site will be used for eight weeks, with a goal of administering 6,000 vaccines each day  and another 1,000 each day through mobile clinics throughout Detroit. Starting April 5, vaccines will be available for all Michigan residents ages 16 and older. Any Michigan resident eligible for the vaccine can sign up for an appointment at Ford Field.

Residents are asked to register through the Meijer website. Residents are encouraged to also register for vaccinations at Meijer stores and can attend whichever appointment is offered first.

The first six weeks of doses will be the two-dose Pfizer vaccine, while the final two weeks will be the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The Ford Field clinics were arranged in a partnership of the state, FEMA, Wayne County, the city of Detroit, Meijer, Henry Ford Health System and the Detroit Lions.

Read more:

How to find a COVID-19 vaccination appointment in Michigan

5 things you need to know about the Ford Field vaccine clinic

Michigans coronavirus numbers are going up, but will vaccinations blunt the impact?
Vianney Gravereaux, new Sales and Marketing Director for Ornellaia and Masseto Continuing the work carried out by Tim Banks will be an exciting challenge, which I cannot wait to begin. - Vianney Gravereaux, new Sales and Marketing Director for Ornellaia and Masseto

Today, Giovanni Geddes da Filicaja, CEO of both the Ornellaia and Masseto estates, announced a change in the management team for the two wineries. Vianney Gravereaux will join the team as Sales and Marketing Director alongside Axel Heinz, Estate Director, as of April 1, 2021. Tim Banks, who has held the position to date, will return to France, where he will continue to work in the wine world.

After nine years of close collaboration, Tim Banks receives a warm farewell: I thank Tim personally for his professional contribution to the companys success as well as his personal contribution in forming a team and relations, for which he will not be forgotten easily, confirms Giovanni Geddes. At the same time, I am delighted to continue this journey with Vianney. Im certain that we will achieve new goals together.

Vianney Gravereaux, French by birth but multilingual by vocation, has vast international experience in the fine wine world, which he honed while working for globally renowned brands such as Philipponnat, Salon and Peugeot Saveurs. Formerly International Sales Manager for Masseto, Gravereaux was asked to take on the new role, an offer which he has enthusiastically embraced: When I visited Ornellaia a few years ago, I was astounded by the exceptional quality of the wines and the place where they are made. I never thought that I would become part of the impressive Masseto team in 2020 and that, only a year later, I would have been offered the role of Sales and Marketing Director for both estates. Continuing the work carried out by Tim Banks will be an exciting challenge, which I cannot wait to begin.

Ornellaias current team consists of winemaker Olga Fusari and Brand Manager Greta Roscioni; Eleonora Marconi and Susanne Weber hold these positions respectively at Masseto. Elena Oprea is the Communications Manager across both brands.

About Ornellaia - http://www.ornellaia.com

The name ORNELLAIA is synonymous with fine winemaking and an authentic expression of the beauty of Tuscany. The estate consists of 115 hectares under vine along the Tuscan coastline, a short distance from the medieval town of Bolgheri and the iconic cypress-lined avenue. Ornellaia Bolgheri DOC Superiore is the estates top wine, followed by Le Serre Nuove dellOrnellaia and Le Volte dellOrnellaia, and the whites Ornellaia Bianco and Poggio alle Gazze dellOrnellaia. In little over thirty years (the first vintage of Ornellaia was in 1985), the teams dedication accompanied by optimal geological conditions and microclimate has resulted in critical acclaim and public success within Italy and internationally.

About Masseto  http://www.masseto.com

Masseto is the name of a contemporary legend: one wine, one vineyard, one estate. The potential of the acclivity where the Masseto vineyard stands along the Tuscan coast was glimpsed at the beginning of the Eighties, when the first vines were planted, against all predictions, advice and tradition. The insight proved spot on. The blue clay, refreshing coastal breezes and the superlative refraction of the light guaranteed by the Mediterranean Sea all contribute to the intriguing blend of power, elegance and complexity that distinguishes the wine from the estate. Masseto has enjoyed international acclaim since its inception in 1986.

Since the 2017 vintage, Masseto has been accompanied by the second wine Massetino. Both begin their journey on the Masseto hillslope in 11 hectares densely planted under vine and progress from prized grapes to coveted bottles of wine that refine in the estates cellar, designed by architectural firm Zito Mori, which was inaugurated in April 2019. This marks the point of departure for both wines around the world, every autumn, through Place de Bordeaux.
CROFTON, Md., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Katherine Bonincontri is being recognized by Continental Who's Who as a Top Executive in the field of Behavioral and Mental Health Services and for her outstanding contributions as President & Executive Director at Robert A. Pascal Youth & Family Services.

Situated in Odenton, Maryland, Robert A. Pascal Youth & Family Services proudly serves the citizens of Anne Arundel County and throughout the Baltimore-Washington-Annapolis metro area for more than 30 years. Pascal Crisis Services, Inc. provides persons experiencing behavioral health and substance use disorder crises with innovative, comprehensive mental health, and substance use disorder treatment. The highly trained team is offering telehealth services.

Throughout her distinguished career, Mrs. Katherine Bonincontri has made a great impact in her community, fueled by her passion for caring for people and their psychological wellbeing. Prior to working at Robert A. Pascal Youth & Family Services, she served proudly in U.S. Air Force as a medic for many years and was later recruited by the U.S. Department of Defense to work as a translator. She then went on to complete her undergraduate studies and became a teacher. Between 2005 and 2013, she excelled as executive director of the Anne Arundel Crisis Response System.

In her current capacity, Mrs. Bonincontri provides innovative treatments to individuals with behavioral health and substance abuse disorders. Through her leadership, she aims to make the Pascal Crisis Stabilization Center the foremost provider of crisis and outpatient behavioral health services in Maryland. She is proud to have helped thousands of the most underserved citizens in the state through the crisis center. In a career filled with success and highlights, Mrs. Bonincontri attributes her success to psychological resiliency, her mentors, and the wonderful people she had the pleasure of knowing in the United States military.

In light of her academic achievements, Mrs. Bonincontri earned a Master's Degree in Human Relations from the University of Oklahoma and a Master's of Arts in Counseling and Clinical Psychology from Troy University. With a commitment to excellence, she has also been a licensed clinician since 2004.

Mrs. Bonincontri dedicates this honorable recognition with special thanks to my husband of seven years, Phillip Bonincontri.

To learn more, please visit https://pascalcsi.org/.

Contact: Katherine Green, 516-825-5634, [email protected]

SOURCE Continental Who's Who

Related Links

http://www.continentalwhoswho.com


Fairbanks, AK (99707)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun this morning followed by mostly cloudy skies and a few showers this afternoon. High 67F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Considerable cloudiness. Low 48F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.




We're a family of seven living in Georgia where Andrew's working as a professor at GSU. You can read more about us here
Advertisement

Coronavirus laws will remain in place until September after MPs voted overwhelmingly for an extension today, despite a Tory rebellion.

The Commons voted 484 to 76, a majority of 408, in favour of keeping the powers in place into the autumn, despite Matt Hancock admitting he cannot rule out trying to renew them again.

Kicking off the debate in the Commons the Health Secretary was unable to guarantee it was the last time MPs would be asked to roll-over the powers, which are largely unprecedented in peace time.

Boris Johnson suffered a significant revolt on his own backbenches as 35 Conservative MPs voted against the renewal of the Coronavirus Act while a further 20 chose to abstain. Some 21 Labour MPs also voted against.

Those who opted to vote against include former cabinet ministers David Davis and Esther McVey.

The Tory rebels had questioned why the laws needed to be kept in place for so long when lockdown is due to end in June.

The rebellion failed after the vast majority of Labour MPs sided with the Government to support the law - which can only be extended for six months at a time.

Mr Hancock told the restive chamber he 'cannot answer' whether the Coronavirus Act will be retired in six months or rolled on, as he opened the debate this afternoon.

'There are parts of this Act that have allowed us to do good things that everybody would like to see like that, and so when we do come to retire this Act, which we must within one year and preferably within six months, we will need to make sure that we can continue to do that sort of thing and make sure that nurses can be enrolled as easily as possible into the NHS,' he said.

'But I cannot answer whether we will be retiring it in six months. My preference would be yes, but given the last year, I think a prediction would be hasty.'

Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservative MPs, said he voted against the extension of emergency powers, adding: 'A year on we now risk normalising extreme policy responses and an attitude that our fundamental liberties exist for authorities to either grant or withhold.'

Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Conservative MP for Chingford & Woodford Green, said he did not support the extension - but he did not vote against the Government.

He told LBC he thought six months was 'excessive' and said the Government has 'not yet produced a single reason why they need to get to October'.

Conservative MP for New Forest West, Desmond Swayne, criticised the government for seeking 'to retain powers to control aspects of our lives and implement a punishment regime for disobedience'.

The Tory MP for South Thanet, Craig Mackinlay, said he thinks the six month extension went beyond the 'already excessively extended' roadmap to June 21 2021.

John Redwoord tweeted today: 'Parliament can and should relax more of the restrictions and save more livelihoods. The vaccine success gives us the opening to restore more jobs and businesses.'

MP for Stevenage Stephen McPartland called it 'unnecessary and disproportionate'.

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn voted against maintaining the Coronavirus Act. He said: 'The Tories can't be trusted with our civil liberties, and are still not taking the action needed for public health, jobs and livelihoods.'

Zarah Sultana, Labour MP for Coventry South, also voted against the act's renewal, saying: 'We need an approach that protects everyone, leaving no-one behind and safeguarding our liberties.

'None of us are safe until we are all safe.'

Mr Hancock told the restive chamber he 'cannot answer' whether the Coronavirus Act will be retired in six months or rolled on.

Boris Johnson (pictured this morning) will face the wrath of his own lockdown-sceptic backbenchers today as he pushes through an extension of lockdown laws until the autumn.

Sir Charles Walker told the Commons: 'As sure as eggs are eggs, we will be back here in six months at the end of September being asked to renew this legislation again.'

CRG leader Mark Harper, who believes plans to ease the lockdown 'could safely go more quickly', said the provisions in the Coronavirus Act should be expired 'at the earliest possible opportunity'

Boris Johnson suffers Tory revolt on extending Covid powers as 35 Conservative MPs vote against the Government The extension of measures in the Act was approved by 484 to 76, majority 408. The division list showed 305 Conservative MPs and 176 Labour MPs were among those to support it. A total of 10 Liberal Democrats voted against the extension, with former minister Alistair Carmichael also acting as a teller. Seven DUP MPs, Alliance MP Stephen Farry (North Down), Green Party MP Caroline Lucas (Brighton Pavilion) and former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn - currently sitting as an independent - also opposed the measures. These are the 35 Tory MPs who voted against extending the Coronavirus Act: Adam Afriyie, Steve Baker, Harriett Baldwin, Bob Blackman, Peter Bone, Sir Graham Brady, Sir Christopher Chope, Sir Geoffrey Clifton Brown, Philip Davies, David Davis, Jonathan Djanogly, Richard Drax, Mark Francois, Marcus Fysh, Mark Harper, Philip Hollobone, David Jones, Pauline Latham, Jonathan Lord, Tim Loughton, Craig Mackinlay, Karl McCartney, Stephen McPartland, Esther McVey, Anne Marie Morris, John Redwood, Andrew Rosindell, Henry Smith, Julian Sturdy, Sir Desmond Swayne, Sir Robert Syms, Craig Tracey, Sir Charles Walker, David Warburton, William Wragg These are the 20 Tory MPs who abstained on the vote: Sir Peter Bottomley, Andrew Bowie, Andrew Bridgen, Steve Brine, Jackie Doyle Price, David Duguid, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Richard Fuller, Nusrat Ghani, Dame Cheryl Gillan, Chris Grayling, Alister Jack, John Lamont, Julian Lewis, Theresa May, Andrew Mitchell, David Mundell, Sir Robert Neill, Douglas Ross, Bob Seely Advertisement

Labour MP for South Shields, Emma Lewell-Buck, said she had concerns over the 'disproportionate and draconian' extension.

It came as the latest figures showed that Covid cases rose by 1.5 per cent to 6,397, but deaths fell by 33 per cent to 63, week-on-week. NHS England Chief executive Sir Simon Stevens said the health service's Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR) coronavirus alert level should be reduced from four to three due to 'reduced acute pressures on the health service'.

Mr Hancock's admission prompted a furious response from Tory backbenchers. Theatrical Broxbourne MP Sir Charles Walker told the Commons: 'As sure as eggs are eggs, we will be back here in six months at the end of September being asked to renew this legislation again. It is inevitable and anyone who thinks it's not inevitable is deluding themselves.'

The vote came after Mr Johnson had earlier defended the pace of lockdown easing in the face of the rebellion.

On a visit to a school in Greenford, north west London, this morning he said: 'The libertarian in me is also trying to protect people's fundamental right to life and their ability to live their lives normally and the only way really to restore that for everybody is for us to beat the disease, and the best path to freedom is down the cautious but irreversible road map that we've set out - that's what the freedom-lover wants,' he said.

But Covid Recovery Group leader Mark Harper, who believes plans to ease the lockdown 'could safely go more quickly', said the provisions in the Coronavirus Act should be expired 'at the earliest possible opportunity'.

'The controversial parts, the police powers to detain potentially infectious persons which have (been) used unlawfully on a number of occasions ... those are intended to be long-term powers - and he has also just suggested that these provisions might be rolled forward a further six months,' he said.

'That is why so many of us are worried. These are extraordinary provisions, not for normal times, and they should be expired at the earliest possible opportunity.'

Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who opened the debate, replied: 'I actually agree with (Mr Harper) that they should be expired at the earliest opportunity.'

Mr Hancock added that if there are 'new variants that we need to absolutely pin down' then 'having these very targeted interventions for now is important'.

He continued: 'And I know that we disagree on that point, but I would suggest by voting against all of these renewals, there are a whole load of valuable things that he and I would actually agree on that would not be renewed were that to go through.'

As a further 98 deaths and 5,605 cases of Covid were reported:

The UK and European Commission told of working together to improve their relationship over the pandemic;

The joint statement came after Brussels published details of a plan to restrict jab exports to Britain;

Angela Merkel apologised to Germans after reversing an Easter lockdown announced only 24 hours earlier;

England's top doctor called on over-50s to book a jab while they still could access one;

India said it was blocking all major exports of the AstraZeneca vaccine;

Mr Johnson warned that tougher border measures could be introduced 'very soon' for arrivals from France;

MPs prepared to vote on the extension of emergency coronavirus powers for several months;

Seven in ten Covid patients still suffer debilitating symptoms five months after their discharge from hospital.

Opening the debate on the coronavirus regulations, Mr Hancock added: 'Today we debate our road map to recovery and what is legally needed to take the cautious but irreversible path our of this pandemic.

'We propose to remove some of the emergency powers that the House put in place a year ago and set the steps of the road map that the Prime Minister has set out into law, replacing the existing national lockdown.'

He continued: 'The success of this vaccination programme means that we are now able to carefully replace the short-term protection of restrictions we've all endured with the long-term protection provided by the vaccine.'

The legislation for restrictions over the coming months, as the Government sets out its road map for coming out of lockdown, will see some restrictions remain in place in England until at least June 21.

There are also question marks over summer holidays taking place after that date, amid a third wave of Covid infections in mainland Europe.

Boris Johnson earlier defended the pace of the lockdown in the face of the rebellion, during a visit to a school in Greenford, north west London, this morning.

Senior Conservative Sir Graham Brady urged MPs to vote against the renewal of the coronavirus regulations and to 'trust the British people and return their rights to them'.

Sir Graham, chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservative MPs, told the Commons: 'The danger in what is being proposed today is that we risk normalising an extreme policy response.'

MP's 'MILK' PROTEST AFTER COVID LAW EXTENSION Sir Charles Walker has told the House of Commons he will 'walk around London with a pint of milk' in protest of Covid restrictions. Sir Charles, who voted against the extension of the coronavirus laws, said that in the remaining days of lockdown he would allow himself 'an act of defiance'. 'I am going to protest about the price of milk,' he said. 'I'm not sure whether I think the price is too high or the price is too low, I shall come to that decision later. 'But for the next few days I am going to walk around London with a pint of milk on my person because that pint will represent my protest. Reform Party leader Richard Tice was joined by Laurence Fox on Parliament Square, both clutching pints of whole milk 'And there may be others who will choose to walk around London with a pint of milk on their person as well. 'Perhaps as we walk past each other in the street out eyes might meet we might even stop for a chat but I was thinking to myself... what will their pint of milk represent? What will their protest be? 'Perhaps they will be protesting the roaring back of a mental health demon brought on by lockdown. Perhaps they will be protesting a renewed battle with anorexia, with depression, with anxiety, with addiction. 'Perhaps with their pint of milk they will be protesting the lack of agency in their life, not being able to make a meaningful decision, maybe a loss of career or job or business. maybe they will be protesting this country's slide into authoritarianism.' Sir Charles added that 'the act of protest is a freedom, not a right, and unless you cherish freedoms every day, they end being taken away from you.' Reform Party leader Richard Tice was joined by Laurence Fox on Parliament Square, both clutching pints of whole milk. Mr Fox replied to a photo of the pair, posted on Twitter, saying: 'The crowds of thousands are just out of shot!' He added two laughing face emojis. Advertisement

He continued: 'Does the Government have the right to tell people whether they can see their children or their grandchildren, whether they can start a relationship with someone? My answer is an emphatic no.

'But even those who are less certain should reflect on whether this extreme control over people's right to family life, people's intimate relationships, the freedom of association, whether the Government can do these things briefly in an emergency or for over a year.'

Sir Graham added: 'The danger is the Government starts to believe that these fundamental civil liberties belong to ministers to grant to us or withhold.

'They do not, they belong as of right to British citizens. It is this habit of control that leads to coercive rules that have no sense in them.'

Conservative former Cabinet minister Jeremy Wright said step three and step four of the Government's road map should be merged, with 'almost all' restrictions lifted by May.

He told the Commons: 'Now I do not think that we should remove all restrictions in the next 21 days and I will vote accordingly, but I do think that we should combine steps three and four of the Government's road map and remove almost all restrictions in May.

'An entirely precautionary approach is simply not feasible here. We know Covid will be with us for some time, perhaps indefinitely, and we cannot respond to that with indefinite restrictions any more than we would or do in response to the risk of other diseases.

'So although I support much of what the Government has done and is doing in response to the pandemic, I cannot support the continuation of damaging restrictions any longer than I consider they are necessary, which I am afraid is less than the Government propose in these regulations.'

'Draconian police powers under Schedule 21, which have a 100 per cent unlawful prosecution record, must be considered 'redundant' to say the very least.

'I am seeking to table an amendment to the motion tomorrow asking ministers to suspend those powers.

'I now hope the Government can support it.'

Conservative former minister Sir Desmond Swayne warned that the renewal of emergency coronavirus powers could lead to 'total social control'.

The New Forest West MP told the Commons: 'Now those of us who can spot the trajectory will have seen yesterday that after months of denial, now indeed it will be the case that you will have to provide your vaccination bona fides when you go to the pub.

'And those people who are teetotal imagining that they might be spared that intrusion and inconvenience can dream on, because undoubtedly this will be extended to restaurants, theatres, sporting venues and so proceeding to total social control.

'Did it ever occur to ministers that they might actually incentivise vaccinations? Carrot, not stick. Undoubtedly it didn't, because they can't kick the habit, they are wedded to the stick.

'So let there be no wringing of hands by members of Parliament who vote for oppressive legislation and then wail with indignation when the police actually enforce it.

'So when families are fined thousands of pounds for staying over together at Easter we will know that it was because this House willed it so.

'So those people, those honourable members wishing for these measures to pass tonight should reflect clearly on exactly what it is they wish for.'

Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) expressed concerns that the Government is 'moving the goalposts' when it comes to lifting restrictions.

Ms Latham told the Commons: 'There have been some remarkable successes in this pandemic but there have been some errors and my view is that we have been moving the goalposts. I think they started at Wembley and they are now nearly at Derby County - and I am extremely worried that if we are not careful, they'll be up in Scotland.'

Fellow Conservative Chris Green (Bolton West) added: 'I just wonder whether the European Football Championships which will be held later this year, and the Prime Minister's offer to hold it in the United Kingdom, will actually be used in a sense as a showcase of the Covid certification certificates to show how effective they can be.

Coronavirus cases rose in a THIRD of England's 150 councils last week Coronavirus outbreaks grew in a third of local authorities in England last week  but the rise was only driven by a huge testing blitz of schoolchildren because of classrooms being reopened. Fifty-six of 149 council areas saw an uptick in cases over the week to March 21, according to the latest surveillance report from Public Health England. But when the figures were broken down by age, they showed infections only spiked week-on-week among five to nine-year-olds, by more than half, and 10 to 19-year-olds, by a quarter. Cases dropped in all other age groups, and are now at their lowest levels since August in the over-70s  who are most at risk from the virus. Everyone in the group has been offered at least one dose of the Covid vaccine. Under Boris Johnson's ultra-cautious lockdown-easing plan, schools were reopened to all pupils on March 8. But children and teachers have been asked to swab themselves for the virus twice a week, prompting an inevitable uptick in cases. Experts say this doubling in the number of tests done daily - to around 1.1million every 24 hours - is behind the rise in infection rates, adding that had these tests not been carried out many of these infections would have gone unreported. Dr Yvonne Doyle, PHE's medical director, warned cases appeared to have 'plateaued' in most parts of the country, and were rising in younger age groups. She added: 'We must not drop our guard now after so much effort by so many. We need only look to Europe to see how easy it is for things to take a turn for the worse.' Sir Jeremy Farrar, a top SAGE adviser, warned today it appeared 'transmission was just starting to tick up' across England because schools had reopened. But the Wellcome Trust chief said the biggest threat was from abroad, amid a spiralling third wave in Europe and the mounting spread of dangerous variants  including the South African strain  that make vaccines less effective. Advertisement

'And is this the reason that schedule 22 has been maintained - for that control of people in those sort of events? And will it then be restricted just to those events or could it possibly be widened out further - pubs of course, restaurants, but could it be including public transport, places of work or places of education.

'We have to have these concerns, I am not sure this debate has yet been had and I am not sure these concerns have been decisively ruled out.'

Government data up to March 23 shows 28,653,523 people have received a first vaccine dose, a rise of 325,650 on the previous day.

A further 98 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Wednesday, bringing the total by that measure to 126,382.

As of 9am on Wednesday, there had been a further 5,605 lab-confirmed cases in the UK, bringing the total to 4,312,908.

Sir Jeremy Farrar said he believes it is likely that the ban on international travel will need to continue.

The Wellcome Trust director said: 'I think it will, until we can see progress in Europe with the epidemic coming down and vaccination rates going up in Europe.'

Asked about further testing of people coming in, he said lateral flow tests 'don't pick up every case but they do pick up the cases that are more infectious, and that is a very, very important public health intervention'.

On the issue of vaccine certificates and passports, he said he thinks they could cross the line 'of individual freedoms and public health', adding that 'public health works when there is trust and when people want to do things that are their interests, and in the interests of their community, their families and their society'.

Mr Hancock said this afternoon that the Government's goal 'is to be cautious yet irreversible'.

He told the Commons: 'I must tell the House that whilst I am still by nature an optimist, there remain courses for caution.

'Cases are rising in some areas and they are rising among those under 18. There are early signs of cases flattening among the working age population too.

'I am delighted that uptake of the vaccine is now 95 per cent amongst over-60s and that protection against dying from the vaccine is around 85 per cent. Both of these figures, 95 per cent uptake and 85 per cent protection, both of these are higher than we could have hoped for.

'But while we are confident that we have broken the link between the number of cases and the hospitalisations and deaths that previously inevitably followed, no vaccine is perfect and take-up isn't 100 per cent.

'So that link while broken is not yet severed. New variants also remain a risk because we don't yet know with confidence the impact of the vaccine against the new variants.'

Britain could be hit by an 'exit wave' of Covid cases Britain could be hit with an 'exit wave' of Covid when lockdown is lifted but it's unlikely to lead to an uncontrollable spike in hospital admissions or deaths, experts insisted today despite the predictions of a SAGE model released last week. Scientists told MailOnline that while there was 'no doubt infections will rise' when pubs and restaurants reopen and people start mixing again, the vaccines had 'solved the problem of serious disease'. They said that on top of the jab effect, the warm summer months will also curb transmission and stop huge spikes from spilling into the small number of vulnerable people who haven't been jabbed or for whom the vaccines don't work. The comments came after bleak modelling by Government scientists suggested last week there could be a final peak of more than 1,000 deaths a day later in the year even with the immunisation programme steaming ahead. Warwick University researchers, who made the projection, claimed the more infectious Kent variant would continue to spread in high numbers when lockdowns are eased, posing a constant threat to the elderly and ill even with vaccines that cut transmission by 60 per cent, as the Pfizer and AstraZeneca jabs do. Britain has vaccinated around 54 per cent of all adults  almost 28.7million people. But only 5 per cent of people  2.5million  have had both jabs since the mass scheme began last December. That is not far behind Israel's vaccination level when it reopened the economy earlier this month. It had given 52 per cent of the country's 9.3million people their first dose. At the same time, 40 per cent had received their booster shot. The Warwick modelling team, which feeds into the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), has since admitted its estimates were too pessimistic and underestimated how effective the jabs would be at preventing hospitalisation and death. Reacting to their findings, Professor Keith Neal, an epidemiologist at Nottingham University, told MailOnline: 'That model is so wrong and it just shows you what's wrong with models in general.' Advertisement

Boris Johnson admits vaccine passports 'could have a role to play' but not until 'everybody' is offered a jab and WON'T stop beer gardens opening on April 12 - as pubs revolt over 'absurd' idea (despite six in 10 drinkers BACKING it)

Boris Johnson has admitted vaccine passports 'could have a role to play' - but not until 'everybody' is offered a jab.

The PM said the result of the review into coronavirus health certificates can be expected by April 12, although it may not be possible to roll them out until everyone has been offered a dose.

He added it needs to be done carefully because some people have medical reasons they cannot get jabbed and there are 'moral complexities' and 'ethical problems'.

Landlords and brewers today revolted over plans for vaccine passports for pubs after it was revealed hospitality venues could be allowed to bar customers who cannot prove they have had a Covid jab or a negative test.

Mr Johnson had yesterday told MPs landlords might be given powers to impose tough entry requirements on drinkers  and Government sources confirmed this was part of an official review of vaccine passports.

While visiting the the Monkey Puzzle Day Nursery in Greenford, west London, today, Mr Johnson told Sky News: 'Obviously we're looking at the issues that are raised by vaccination certification - what can you do?

'Now, in aviation, clearly there are lots of countries are thinking about using some sort of vaccine passport, and I think that there are three basic components.

'There's the vaccine, there's your immunity that you might have after you've had Covid, and then there's testing. So there are three things that could work together.

'No decisions have been taken at all. One thing I will make clear is none of this is obviously going to apply on April 12, when it will all be outdoors anyway. So whatever happens on April 12 will be unaffected.

'All sorts of things are being considered. What we want to do is roll out the vaccine programme and see what that builds in terms of general resistance to the virus. And I do think there is going to be a role for certification.

'What we've said is that we'll be reporting on the work of the certification group in early April, either on April 5 or on April 12.

'I think we need to think carefully about the issues - as I've said before, there are lots of difficult issues because there are some people who for medical reasons can't get a vaccination, pregnant women can't get a vaccination at the moment.

'You've got to be careful about how you do this, you might only be able to implement a thorough-going vaccinate passport scheme, even if you wanted such a thing, in the context of when absolutely everybody had been offered a vaccine.'

Industry bosses across Britain said the idea for pubs was 'absurd' and 'unworkable' and signalled they would not ask customers for proof that they had been inoculated or were clear of coronavirus.

Pubs could even face a choice between being half-full with social distancing measures in place - or using vaccine certificates so they could open at full capacity, a Government source told the Times.

It comes just as the vaccine rollout starts to slow because of supply problems.

Younger people now face a longer wait and some inoculation centres are already indicating they will close temporarily next month.

Some 28,327,873 adults have had a first dose of the jab, with a further 2,363,684 fully vaccinated.

But a shortfall of five million jabs from India and the need to retest 1.7million doses means the rollout will slow down in April.

Scientists could recommend the rollout of vaccine passports to encourage people to get the jab, but there are also concerns that the certificates could lead to indirect discrimination among ethnic groups where uptake is low.

'Green pass' vaccine passports have already been rolled out in Israel, which has had a world-beating response to the pandemic with more than half of its 9.2million people already having received both doses of a Covid-19 jab.

Britons desperate for a post-lockdown pint at their local beer garden are facing a huge struggle to get a table when outdoor seating areas reopen from April 12 - with some pubs now booked up for months.

However not all chains are operating a booking system, with Wetherspoon opening 394 of its beer gardens or terraces on a first-come-first-served basis.

Meanwhile MailOnline poll - where Redfield and Wilton Strategies asked 1,500 voters - found 59 per cent of people would back and 19 per cent would oppose businesses such as pubs using vaccine passports.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson walks up Downing Street in London earlier this morning with his red box before heading to the school in west London

Faversham-based brewer Shepherd Neame has 320 pubs in the South East, including the Old Neptune in Whitstable, Kent

Deltic Group, which is Britain's largest nightclub operator, owns Pryzm nightclub in Kingston, South West London

Michael Gove said today a system to enter hospitality venues that relied on vaccine status alone 'would not be appropriate'.

Conservative William Wragg MP for Hazel Grove - asked in the Commons: 'Does (Mr Gove) still agree with himself in his opposition to Covid vaccine certification to attend the pub, as he expressed on Sky News recently?'

Mr Gove replied: 'Consistency is often the hobgoblin of small minds. But my view on this issue is consistent - that a system that relied purely on vaccination would not be appropriate.

'But what would be right was a system that ensured that we could open up our economy to the maximum extent that takes account both of vaccine status, but also of recent test status and indeed potentially also antibody status as well.

'But the best thing to do is to be guided by scientific and clinical advice and then to subject that advice to proper, rigorous, ethical questioning rather than taking an instant, off-the-shelf, instinctive approach.'

It follows the troubled rollout of Britain's 22billion Test and Trace scheme, with a cross-party group of MPs saying a fortnight ago that there is 'no clear evidence' it contributed to a reduction in coronavirus infection levels.

More than a decade ago there was a campaign to stop the Tony Blair government introducing ID cards, which were scrapped by the Conservative/Lib Dem coalition in 2010 after being seen as infringing civil liberties.

On Saturday, Ministers announced a move to allow all pubs and restaurants to erect marquees on their property without planning permission to help boost trade - but Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin called it 'entirely barking'.

How a coronavirus vaccine passport for Britons could look

Outdoor service is set to resume for pubs on April 12, and the Government plans to progress this to table-only service indoors on May 17, and a full reopening on June 21 when it is hoped all Covid-19 legal rules will be lifted.

Among them was Jonathan Neame, chief executive of the Kent-based Shepherd Neame pub group, who said he would not make having had a coronavirus vaccine a mandatory condition for people to enter his pubs.

Mr Neame, speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning, said: 'The whole essence of a pub is that they are diverse and inclusive environments, where everybody, and families in particular, are extremely welcome.

'I mean imagine a scene where a family is reconnecting for the first time after this crisis, where grandpa's forgotten his vaccination certificate, mum is pregnant, and the kids are too young to have had it yet. Who's going to make the judgment on the door to turn away who or what on that occasion? I also think... there are some issues with discrimination.

'I think it's absolutely fine to exclude people where there is a situation of bad behaviour or drunkenness, and that's already enshrined in law, but if you're going to exclude people for what they are, or what they have not done, that's a wholly different issue which does touch on discrimination, civil liberties, and in this case data protection issues.'

Mr Neame also said making vaccination a mandatory prerequisite to attend a pub is 'a fairly poorly thought-out idea' which could lead to young staff having to deal with intimidation from customers.

He told BBC Radio 4: 'I'm very concerned about the pressure we put on our young people - 50 per cent of people (working) in pubs are under 25 - you're going to force them to make some very challenging judgments, because they're not qualified or trained as door staff, as they might be in the nightclub sector.

'So those people might therefore be subject to intimidation, if people think they are being unfairly discriminated against, and then there's the question about who's going to enforce this - are police going to do random checks? I don't think so, I don't think that's the society we want.'

He added: 'This is a fraught with difficulty I think, and it is, in my view, a fairly poorly thought-out idea at this stage.'

Patrick Dardis, chief executive of Young's, said: 'We do not support this idea. It is unworkable and the Government should stay clear of it. The Government should focus on encouraging people to enjoy their summer holidays in the UK instead of going abroad.

'This will be a far greater benefit to the economy than opening up the huge risk of bringing Covid variants back to the UK from abroad. It is exactly how the pandemic came to the UK in the first place. We need to ensure mistakes of the past are not repeated.'

The chief executive of Greene King, Nick Mackenzie, said: 'Barring entry to customers who haven't had a vaccine would be totally unworkable, add significant cost and make pubs unviable at a time when the industry is planning to start to rebuild after all restrictions are removed from June 21, as detailed in the Government's road map.

'Such a move would be impractical, could be discriminatory and it's unacceptable for our team members, half of whom are under 25, to have to police these measures and deal with the fallout from the significant number of customers who won't have received a vaccine.

'Our industry needs certainty as we work towards a phased and safe reopening from April 12.

'Floating proposals without consultation and full consideration of the implications is disappointing and has a huge impact on the people who work in pubs and just want to get back to serving customers. It's vital the Government sticks to its timetable with a full, unrestricted reopening from June 21.

'While a vaccine passport system may be workable for international travel and large-scale events, it would be devastating for pubs.'

Boris Johnson spoke about vaccine certificates today while at the Monkey Puzzle Day Nursery in Greenford, West London

Clive Watson, founder of City Pub Group, said that introducing mandatory vaccines to pubs would be 'absolutely chaotic and discriminatory'. He said: 'If you can't require all hauliers coming into the country to have vaccine passports it is mad to suggest someone might need one to go to the pub.

'It's discriminatory and a lot of people, including myself, have had a vaccine but haven't got a way to immediately prove it. The paperwork would be an absolute nightmare.'

Mr Watson added that around 90 per cent of his workforce are under 40 and it would therefore 'not work operationally either'.

Pub landlady Mop Draper, from The Compass Inn in Winsor, Hampshire, said the plan was 'unfair', telling ITV's Good Morning Britain: 'You are excluding probably everybody under the age of 40 because by April 12 not everybody's going to have had their vaccine, so you really minimise how many people will be having to come out to the pub.'

But she added: 'I would later on, when nearly everybody in the country has had their vaccine, it would be a sensible thing to do, because you've got to protect all your staff, and obviously your customers, but you can't possibly at the moment because you're excluding too many people.'

However, Peter Marks, chief executive of the Deltic Group, which is Britain's largest nightclub operator, said young people would 'probably accept' the idea because they already carry ID to get into his venues.

He told BBC Radio 4: 'It could work for us, strangely. I know a lot of publicans wouldn't agree with me because they would hate to have this put on their toes, as it were.

'But for us, our demographic would probably accept it. It's a young customer base for us. They already walk around with ID such as driving licence and passports to get into a lot of our venues, and I don't think they'd have a problem with it.'I'd have one other problem though, and that is that isn't this going to stick another six to eight weeks on before we get chance to open? But I think it's a market forces thing for us, to be honest.'

Yesterday, Mr Johnson told the MPs that vaccine certification should not be 'totally alien to us'  a stance at odds with statements from some of his ministers that Covid passports were 'discriminatory'.

This morning, Labour shadow business secretary Ed Miliband said Ministers should not leave the use of vaccine passports to the 'discretion' of pub landlords if they thought it was the right move for public health.

Put to him on ITV's Good Morning Britain that scientists might recommend the rollout of vaccine passports to encourage people to take up the offer of a jab, Mr Miliband said: 'Maybe. I don't think that's really the thing that is going to persuade people to get the vaccine.

'I think we've done brilliantly in this country at rolling out the vaccine and people taking up the vaccine and the key thing is a campaign of persuasion for people to take up the vaccine.

'That is the biggest priority.

'Now, if the Government has got evidence that this is necessary for people to go to hospitality venues, let's look at that evidence.

'That isn't quite what the Prime Minister said yesterday.

'And indeed if it was necessary, why would you be leaving it up to individual landlords?

'If this was really a public health measure, you wouldn't be saying, 'Well, it is going to be a landlord discretion' - you'd be saying, 'This is the Government's view, this is what's safe'.

'So there are many, many unanswered questions about this.'

Conservative MP David Davis claimed that a vaccine certificate plan could see 'indirect discrimination' among groups where uptake of the jab is low.

He said: 'The impact of this would be discriminatory. Under the law it would be indirectly discriminatory and that is illegal. You may well find that black and ethnic minority communities are less inclined to get vaccinated, well that would be indirect discrimination.'

Earlier this week, the former minister told the i newspaper that the plans for vaccine passports were driven by the commercial interests of football clubs and entertainment businesses rather than for the benefit of the public.

Mr Davis, who was at the forefront of the successful campaign to stop the Tony Blair government introducing ID cards in the 2000s, said he feared vaccine passports would be linked to an NHS medical ID card that could contain sensitive information about medical history that would violate people's civil liberties.

He added: 'There is a lot of commercial interest pushing this - football club owners, theatre owners. We don't want to give up fundamental civil liberties to meet their requirements.'

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said the Government's 'latest wheeze' on Covid certificates is 'the worst of all worlds'. He added: 'As well as burdening struggling pubs with extra cost, the idea that businesses can voluntarily bar certain customers, who may not even have been offered a vaccine, is deeply illiberal.'

Drinkers outside a pub in London's Soho on October 17, 2020, the first day after the capital was put into Tier Two restrictions

Human rights barrister Adam Wagner told his podcast Better Human: 'We have a long legal tradition in this country that we don't coerce competent people to have any kind of medical treatment over their objections. There are some controversial exceptions to that around mental health and so.

'And I think there's no appetite for mandating vaccines. But there's a certain point where if you raise the incentives high enough, incentivising starts to edge over into coercion.

'We have to think about the exact nature of these, the uses of these measures to think about whether we're edging into something that approximates coercion.'

And Gracie Bradley, interim director of Liberty, told ITV's Good Morning Britain today: 'This is a pretty worrying road to be going down, and I think the reality is now the Government has just been flip-flopping.

'We've had yes vaccine passports, no vaccine passports, Ministers contradicting one another. We've got a review underway by Michael Gove, but at the same time the Government's already said oh yes, we'll use it to open up stadiums, maybe we'll use it to open up pubs.

'And I think it's a real failure of responsibility and it really reminds me actually of the start of the pandemic when the Government told people not to go to pubs, but didn't tell pubs to close, pub landlords were left in a really difficult position.

'And the reality is with vaccine passports is that there's really significant human rights and equality issues at play here, and it shouldn't just be left to individual business owners to try to figure those things out.'

And Silkie Carlo, director of Big Brother Watch, told MailOnline: 'The Prime Minister is casually steering us into a society that requires papers just to go to the pub. This is a heinous, coercive and discriminatory vision of segregated life after lockdown that millions of us will reject, whether at pub doors or the ballot box.

'Big Brother Watch will fight Covid passes tooth and nail. To even entertain the idea of a vaccine pass for the pub is Orwellian madness. Boris Johnson has become the most authoritarian Prime Minister in living memory. If he does not draw the line at Covid passports, I shudder to think what's next.'

Tom Stainer, chief executive of the Campaign for Real Ale, said: 'Inviting individual licensees to make a decision on vaccination passports is likely to create confusion among customers and potentially discriminate against those who - at the time pubs are due to reopen - may not have been offered a vaccine.

'Pubs have already shown they are one of the safest places to socialise and unless the government is offering additional support, or earlier and full reopening, in return for requiring vaccination passports, it's difficult to see the advantage for licensees or customers.'

Also today, a Government minister suggested that the possibility of allowing the use of vaccine passports to for pubs and other venues was outlined as part of the Prime Minister's road map for lockdown easing.

Children's minister Vicky Ford was asked today why Boris Johnson appeared to U-turn on vaccine passports during his appearance before the Liaison Committee yesterday.

She told Sky News: 'When we set out the road map way back in February to show us the way out of this lockdown, one of the things we said was that there would be reviews of different situations and there was always in that road map a review of the certifications (of having received a vaccine) and use of testing.

'And that review - which looks at how you would use vaccines, how you would use testing to keep settings safe when we go to that widest reopening - that is due before the fourth stage of the lockdown, so it has always been very clear we would be looking at all the different measures in order to take that really widest step.'

David Davis claims vaccine passports could discriminate against minority communities Conservative MP David Davis A former minister has claimed that vaccine passports would be 'illegal' and could discriminate against minority communities. David Davis suggested that any plan could face a legal challenge because it would not be fair to those who are reluctant to take up the vaccine. The Government is consulting on whether to introduce a certification system which could also include details on Covid-19 test results. Ministers are reviewing whether certificates could play a role in reopening the economy by reducing restrictions on social contact and improving safety. But Mr Davis told MPs: 'The impact of this would be discriminatory. Under the law, it would be indirectly discriminatory and that is illegal. 'You may well find, it has been said, that black and ethnic minority communities are less inclined to get vaccinated; well that would be indirect discrimination.' He said that the Government should be prepared to subject any plans it has for vaccine passports to full parliamentary scrutiny. Younger people were also less likely to have the jab and 'some people have ethical or religious objections', he told the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee on Tuesday. 'There are a variety of good reasons for people not to take a vaccine. I've had a vaccine and I think most of the reasons are not ones I would subscribe to. But people have that freedom. What this proposal does is, in effect, coerce those people.' He said that if the Government decided to introduce the certificates it should be prepared to table a new law which would go through the full scrutiny process of both Houses of Parliament, rather than as a piece of secondary legislation. 'If we do this it should be primary legislation because it is so serious,' he said. The former minister suggested that the move was being pushed by officials in Whitehall who had long backed some form of identity documentation. 'It seems to me that we are creating a permanent solution for a temporary problem,' Mr Davis said. 'We know that Whitehall loves the concept of identity management, loves the concept of having control of this data.' But it would be 'very antagonistic to our national traditions' in Britain, he said. He also played down the reason for introducing the measures, arguing they were aimed at protecting people who declined the offer of a vaccine rather than society as a whole. Advertisement

Mrs Ford said she wanted to wait to see the results of the Government's taskforce review into vaccine passports before expressing an opinion on their use in Britain.

She told LBC radio: 'Obviously I want to get back to the pub with my friends as much as everybody else. I know there has been a lot of focus on this today.'

Pressed on whether she agreed with asking people to show a Covid status certificate, she added: 'I think we need to wait for that review.

'It has lots of ethical questions, etc, but it is being done, it has been promised that that will be there before that final stage of the lockdown in June.

'It will look at testing and whether or not you should prove you have been tested recently, as well as other things.'

Covid Recovery Group chairman Mark Harper said the vaccination programme should signal a return to normality rather than lead to people being required to show proof of vaccination to access hospitality venues.

Speaking to Sky News about vaccine passports, he said: 'I actually agree with the Prime Minister - that is the Prime Minister of February when he said that he didn't think there was a case for expecting people to show papers to go to the pub and said there were very significant problems with ethical, moral questions about this issue. I've heard some heads of pub chains this morning set out some of those significant problems.

'The key way we are going to deal with this issue is by vaccinating people, and we've already almost finished vaccinating, with their first doses, the top nine groups who are most vulnerable, who account for 99 per cent of those who died of Covid and over 80 per cent of the hospitalisations. That's how we get out of this.'

Yesterday, the Prime Minister was asked about the idea of vaccine passports or certificates being required for entry to a pub at a meeting of the Commons liaison committee.

He said: 'That's the kind of thing  it may be up to individual publicans, it may be up to the landlord.

'The basic concept of vaccine certification should not be totally alien to us because when you're entrusted with the care of a patient and, say you're a surgeon, you're expected to have a vaccination against hepatitis B. The principle is there.'

But William Lees-Jones of JW Lees, which has 42 pubs and hotels, said: 'Vaccine passports are un-British  the Europeans might carry identity, but we've never done it, and I think it brings in a whole new level of bureaucracy.

'I wouldn't require my customers to have a vaccine passport. The industry needs to recover, and from June 21 there will be no restrictions in our pubs anyway.

'We're happy to show a passport getting on an airplane, it's reassuring, but the fundamental of a pub is you can walk in, order a drink, and feel at ease. If the Government mandates this, it will be on thin ice.'

Dermot King of Oakman Inns, which has 34 pubs, said his 'gut reaction' was that he would not require a vaccine passport, but said he would consider it if it allowed restrictions to be dropped early.

He added: 'It would be a lot of administration, and undoubtedly we'd have to keep records and send them. If customers felt safer going out and didn't have to put up with the same restrictions once they'd produced a passport, then it could be worth it. Without those it's just another barrier.'

Kate Nicholls of UK Hospitality insisted that visiting a pub, cafe or restaurant should not be subject to vaccination certification.

An woman from Hartlepool receives the AstraZeneca/Oxford University Covid-19 vaccine in Middlesbrough on Monday

She added: 'It is simply unworkable, would cause conflict between staff and customers and almost certainty result in breaches of equality rules.

'Through the success of the vaccine rollout we need to throw off the shackles of coronavirus in line with the Government's roadmap  not impose more checks on our ability to socialise and do business.'

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said: 'Our sector has already gone to extraordinary lengths to prepare for reopening and we do not believe a requirement for pubs to check whether someone has had the vaccine would be appropriate or necessary.

'We will continue to work closely with the Government in developing guidelines for a safe and sustainable reopening in April and May.'

And Greg Mulholland, campaign director for the Campaign for Pubs, warned that the idea of pubs policing whether people have been vaccinated was 'both unfair and also absurd'.

He said: 'Pubs up and down the country have been without income for many months and already have the real challenge of reopening with restrictions like outdoors only opening and table service, things which make it difficult for many pubs to actually make a living.

'So to now even suggest that pubs might take on the role of policing whether people have been vaccinated is both unfair and also absurd.

'Table service already means pubs having to take on more staff, despite less trade, so to have to take on door staff to check people's vaccination history would be simply unviable, as well as alienating customers.

'Pubs and publicans have shown they are keen to help with the fight against Covid-19 and operated test and trace before the UK Government actually got its act together.

'Licensees and staff are ready to open safely and sensibly get back to being vitally important community hubs, but if the Government really want vaccine passports, then they need to organise this and not try to push the responsibility onto hardworking publicans who still have several challenging months ahead until pubs can open normally again'.

James Almond, whose family runs four pubs around Manchester, said: 'I don't think we would be asking people. I'm confident our pubs are safe without the vaccine passport.

'It's too offensive, our industry needs to be hospitable to win back confidence and asking for a passport on arrival is not hospitable. You don't need a vaccine passport to show you haven't got Covid  the rest of us are walking around without it too.'

Steve Baker, deputy chairman of the 70-strong Covid Recovery Group of Tory MPs, urged Mr Johnson to 'not fall into this ghastly trap' of demanding 'papers for the pub'.

He added: 'The Prime Minister began to tread a dangerous path when he opened the door to domestic Covid certificates.

'First they said we'll need them to watch the football, and today that it may be papers for the pub. Whether the state legislates for it, recommends it, or simply allows it the result will be the same: a two-tier Britain.'

Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove is considering what requirements hospitality venues could introduce as part of a review into the potential use of vaccine certificates.

It is due to report back in June but a decision could come before May 17 when pubs and restaurants will be allowed to serve indoors again.
Nkrumah Bonner and Kyle Mayers were batting the West Indies to safety at 181 for two at tea, having been set the daunting target of 375, against Sri Lanka on the fifth and final day of the first Test in Antigua on Thursday.

Having missed out on hundreds in each of his first two Test matches in Bangladesh last month, Bonner was again edging towards the landmark on 84 at the interval, having defied the opposition's bowlers for more than five hours, starting from previous evening.

He had faced 204 deliveries and struck eight fours and one six.

Mayers, who marked his Test debut on that Bangladesh campaign with a sensational, match-winning unbeaten 210 in the first game in Chattogram, curbed his naturally aggressive style admirably in reaching fifty just before the interval after more than three hours in the middle, facing 109 balls and stroking five boundaries.

Their third-wicket partnership was worth 103 since Mayers joined Bonner after Kraigg Brathwaite was the lone success for the Sri Lankans in the first two hours' play of the day.

Having batted with exaggerated care in getting to 23 off 124 balls, the West Indies captain charged down the pitch at left-arm spinner Lasith Embuldeniya to be bowled 20 minutes before the end of the session, terminating a partnership of 66 for the second wicket.

While it appears that the match is heading for a draw, the West Indies will be wary of complacency which could lead to the breakthrough which may open the door still for the visitors to press for victory in the final session.

More unlikely is the prospect of a West Indies victory with 194 runs needed, although the unnecessary caution exercised by Sri Lankan captain Dimuth Karunaratne in the field suggests that he remained wary, at least in the afternoon session, of the home side mounting a serious challenge.

str/jc
Higher education faculty and staff are not included in the groups currently eligible to receive the vaccine. This, combined with the current plan to return to a normal schedule in the fall, concerns UGA employees.
Minnesotas largest school district will pay $300,000 to settle a discrimination lawsuit with a transgender student who was barred from using the boys locker room, school officials and supporters of the student said.

The Anoka-Hennepin School District also agreed to make several policy changes, including a rule that allows every student to use all facilities consistent with their gender identity, along with a complaint procedure and prohibition on reprisals. Training on the policies will be provided for school board members, staff and students.

The student swam for Coon Rapids High School in 2015-16 and had used the boys locker room for much of that season, his attorneys said. That February, the school board stepped in and told the student he would be disciplined if he continued to use the locker room.

The move led to bullying and threats against the student and his family, the lawsuit said. The student attended the high school for two years until he and his family made the decision to switch school districts. The complaint was filed in 2019,

The district said in a statement that the state Court of Appeals provided clarity on the matter when it affirmed a district-court decision that kept the suit alive.

All legal issues have been resolved, the release said.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Minnesota
On April 4 Patently Apple posted a report about Arizona passing a bill against the App Store. The vote was really close at 31 to 29. The bill was a set back for Apple as it would require the app store to allow app makers to use their own payment processing software, avoiding fees charged by Apple. The report noted that the next phase was for the bill to go to the Arizona Senate to be discussed before passing the legislation. Then, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey would have a choice to veto the bill.

It's now being reported by The Verge that the Arizona Senate skipped the vote on this legislation. The State Senate was scheduled to vote on the unprecedented and controversial bill yesterday, but the vote mysteriously never took place.

Basecamp co-founder David Heinemeier Hansson, a notable Apple critic accused the company for stepping in to stop the vote by hiring a a former chief of staff to Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey to broker a deal that prevented the bill from being heard in the Senate and ultimately voted on. "The big show turned out to be a no show. The bill was killed in mid-air while on the agenda with a backroom deal."

Arizona's antitrust proposal is largely the work of the Coalition for App Fairness (CAF). The CAF is an industry group formed last year consisting of Epic, Spotify and other companies that are against the app store for financial reasons.

Meghan DiMuzio, the CAFs executive director, in a statement to The Verge stated that "The legislative session is not over. We will continue to push for solutions that will increase choice, support app developers and small businesses and put a stop to monopolistic practices." For more on this, read the full story on The Verge.
We all might soon get a new social media platform. Dubbed Frank, its been developed by Mike Lindell, the CEO of MyPillow and who also was one of the people promoting voter fraud conspiracy theories on social media.

Frankspeech.com

Reported first by Business Insider, The site isnt ready right now and the URL frankspeech.com just has a static page with the description that claims it is the voice of free speech. The site is expected to go online in 10-14 days, which Lindell revealed in an interview on The Eric Metaxas Radio Show on Tuesday.



The social media platform has been secretly in development for the past four years, according to Lindell. He states that the social media platform will be all about going vocal again and not to be walking on eggshells.

ALSO READ: Donald Trump Is Returning To Social Media In 2-3 Months, On His Own Platform

In a conversation with Insiders Natasha Dailey, he stated that hed become the CEO of the social media platform. The description on the website states, Frank will be the platform for Americans who want to defend life, liberty, and all the freedoms that have marked America as the longest-running Constitutional Republic in the history of the world."

Donald Trump's online return soon?

As per the description, the platform came into existence as an answer against cancel-culture and political correctness. This is something Donald Trump and other right-wing politicians have experienced, especially after them protesting against voter-fraud conspiracy and sharing hate-messages.

The users will be able to post videos, live stream TV, share news and form communities. He calls it an amalgamation of platforms like Twitter and YouTube.

In order to attract influencers, Lindell claims that the site is reverse-engineered that will give influencers followers instantly and wont be required to earn their followers.

Reuters

It looks like former President Donald Trump could consider this platform as one of the options to be vocal again after Trump's account was suspended on Facebook and Twitter earlier this January.

But this is not the only platform in competition that's vying for Donal Trump's attention -- Parler comes a close second and it has an active Trump-leaning, conservative-charged user base, too.


Chinese leader Xi Jinping attends the opening ceremony of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on March 4, 2021. (Leo Ramirez/AFP via Getty Images)

Does Xi Jinping Really Care About the Deterioration of the Diplomatic Situation?

Commentary

Reports on Xi Jinpings inspection in Fujian province have dominated the headlines of the major party media of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since March 22 for three days. Media coverage was filled with photos of Xi smiling while surrounded by crowds of people. I wonder how much anxiety is hidden behind that satisfied smile regarding the rapidly deteriorating international situation.

The U.S.-China talks failed. They did not improve bilateral relations, frustrating Xis desire to meet Biden quickly; China-Japan relations worsened; India moved closer to the United States militarily; South Korea renewed its military agreement with the United States; and the EU and the Five Eyes countries unanimously sanctioned and condemned the CCP. But the CCP insisted on retaliating; the China-EU Comprehensive Agreement on Investment was halted; various countries have summoned CCP envoys; and EU-China relations are in a deadlock.

However, Xi Jinping is still inspecting Fujian in a leisurely manner. Its abnormal.

Its impossible for people around Xi not to know which is more important, U.S.-China relations, European relations, or the Fujian trip. Does Xi Jinping really not care? Or perhaps Xi truly believes that wolf warrior diplomacy is enough to deal with the United States and other Western countries?

In any other country, a leader would halt the inspection and consider countermeasures with cabinet members. However, Xi insisted on his insignificant inspection. Perhaps Xi and his Politburo Standing Committee have met privately through video conference. Perhaps they simply just did not communicate. After all, who could explain the deterioration in diplomacy? Without Xis instructions, how would Yang Jiechi, Wang Yi, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs dare to utter wild words and even retaliate against the EU? Xis seemingly relaxed inspection of locals says much about his helplessness.

The CCP invited the Russian foreign minister to visit China, but it was arranged in Guilin, more than 1,000 miles away from Beijing. Xi wasnt exactly diplomatic to the Russian visitor. There was no courtesy meeting between Xi and the delegates. This bluntly exposed the lies about the so-called close China-Russia strategic partnership. A joint statement said nothing about a potential meeting between Xi Jinping and Putin. I wonder what kind of strategic partnership this is.

The CCP showed its hatred and annoyance by vilifying the United States and Japan for colluding to interfere with Chinas internal affairs. After a video conference between the four leaders of the United States, Japan, India, and Australia, the United States and Japan immediately had their 2+2 talks. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga also plans to visit Biden in April. This is the expression of a true ally. In contrast, the China-Russian alliance is more symbolic, and there is not much substantive cooperation. The high-profile head-to-head diplomacy promoted by the CCP has not gone smoothly between China and Russia, let alone with other countries.

The CCP can be expected to continue its wolf warrior diplomacy before Xis further instructions. On March 24, Xinhua News published an article titled Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Not Accepting Some EU Countries Unjustifiable Moves of Summoning Chinese Ambassadors. The CCPs retaliatory sanctions on relevant EU entities and personnel have caused trouble and triggered diplomatic incidents with EU countries. But the CCP still claimed, China does not provoke trouble, but we will not flinch from provocations or be blackmailed by others.

On the same day, Xinhua published another article, (Authorized to Publish) Report on Human Rights Violations in the United States in 2020. When the CCP continued to attack the United States and the EU, Xi Jinping continued the inspection of Fujian, but Hua Chunying, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Communist Party of China, was obviously having a tough time dealing with the consequences alone.

At the regular press briefing on March 24, the sanctioning of the CCPs violations of human rights became the main theme. Hua Chunying, a typical CCP official, could do nothing but blatantly criticize human rights issues in Western countries. A reporter asked: Theres an apparent contradiction between your comments on the human rights situation in specific countries  and the Chinese governments repeated statements that no other countries have the right to comment or interfere in Chinese domestic affairs. How do you explain that contradiction? Hua was obviously troubled and questioned the reporters nationality.

At the press conference the day before, Hua had been challenged with a similar question. She tried to argue by listing human rights violations in Western countries, but a reporter asked, Does the Chinese government think that because other countries have done terrible things, that its kind of OK for it to act in certain ways? Hua was obviously reluctant to say that they are completely different things. Facing a diplomatic storm created by the CCP, this veteran wolf warrior Hua Chunying couldnt bear it either.

On the surface, Xis inspection of locals only reflects his helplessness. He and his think tanks need to deal with the consequences of his tough diplomatic stance toward the EU, the United States and other countries, and come up with explanations to the inner party about his leadership that has caused the diplomatic stalemate.

Yang Wei has been closely following China affairs for many years. He has been contributing political commentary on China for the Chinese language Epoch Times since 2019.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Ukraine has registered a record number of coronavirus deaths for the third straight day, authorities said on Thursday, as new infections also reached a record high.

The ex-Soviet country's ageing healthcare system is struggling to cope with the contagion and its COVID-19 vaccination drive has made a stuttering start.

Health officials reported 16,669 new infections and 362 deaths, which topped the previous records of 342 set on Wednesday and 333 a day earlier.

Health Minister Maksym Stepanov warned this week that the country was "entering a very difficult period".

Over the weekend the capital Kiev reintroduced restrictions to stem the spread of the virus, shutting cultural venues and large shopping centres as well as limiting restaurants to takeouts.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has come under fire for his handling of the pandemic, with some critics saying systemic corruption is to blame for a poor government response.

Ukraine, one of Europe's poorest countries with a population of 40 million people, has previously received 500,000 doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine produced in India and marketed under the name Covishield.

On Thursday evening, the health ministry said the first batch of 215,000 doses of China's CoronaVac vaccine had arrived in the capital.

Ukraine has agreed to purchase nearly two million doses of the Chinese-developed jab and also expects to receive eight million doses of Western-made vaccines under the UN-backed Covax programme.

The country had expected to receive its first shipment of CoronaVac doses earlier this month, but a Ukrainian intermediary firm in charge of the delivery failed to supply the vaccine in accordance with the contract.

Ukraine's anti-corruption bodies last month launched an investigation into the purchasing of vaccines after critics accused the health ministry of overstating the cost of the Chinese-developed jab.

Stepanov said on Thursday that the delivery of new Covishield supplies was being delayed due to "a problem" with obtaining permission from the Indian government.

Ukraine launched its vaccination campaign last month, later than many of its neighbours. More than 150,000 people have so far received a first dose.

Since the start of the pandemic the country has recorded over 1.5 million coronavirus infections and more than 31,000 deaths.

Last week, Prime Minister Denys Shmygal warned of the possibility of a new national lockdown and urged regional officials to impose stronger restrictions.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2021 AFP
Burma 63 Striking Myanmar Investment Staff Suspended by Junta

Civil servants protest against the military regime in Naypyitaw in February. / The Irrawaddy

Myanmars investment agency, now under military control, has suspended 63 staff, including a deputy director, who are striking against the regime.

Striking civil servants face investigation under civil service rules after refusing to work for the military junta and demanding the return of civilian rule, according to leaked documents from the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration.

The suspension list includes a deputy director, six assistant directors, 10 chief officers and 17 deputy chief officers. The Ministry of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations agency mediates between businesses and the government and aims to boost domestic and foreign investment.

Thousands of civil servants are on strike in opposition to the military regime, despite facing legal action and intimidation from their superiors. The civil disobedience movement has included health care professionals, bankers, lawyers, teachers, engineers and police across the country.

Last week, the military regime dismissed 56 striking Ministry of Foreign Affairs staff. Around 150 striking Electric Power Generation Enterprise staff said they received phone calls threatening suspension and prosecution if they fail to return to work.

Coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing warned on Monday that civil servants will have to sign confessions the first time they fail to go to work. Further violations will incur prosecution under civil service rules.

Under the civil services rules, the maximum action against staff is dismissal. No prison sentences can be applied.

You may also like these stories:

NLD Lawyers to Defend Suu Kyi Against Myanmar Military Charges

Myanmar Military Regime Detains Workers Taking Part in Silent Strike

Two More Including 16-Year-Old Boy Killed as Myanmar Regime Continues Crackdowns
New Delhi, March 25 : Behind many violent sex crimes, there may be excessive pornography consumption, health experts said on Thursday emphasising that certain types of pornographic content may influence aggression and sexual crime.

According to the experts, watching pornography can result in thinking that this is a way of life, which distorts the perception of reality.

"Excessive pornography can create disinhibition, desensitisation and can also result into thinking that this is a way of life, which distorts the perception of reality," Sameer Parikh, Director - Head of Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences Department, Fortis Healthcare, New Delhi, told IANS.

"It can also bring in a lot of aggressive arousals, which does impact the way an individual looks at sexuality," Parikh added.

The expert said that if this viewing happens at a younger age, where there is a lot of vulnerability to forming beliefs, attitudes and behaviour, there is even more response.

According to Nand Kumar, Professor, Department of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), New Delhi, sexual violence is related to certain types of pornography that may influence aggression and sexual crime, depending upon the content of the pornography.

"Aggressive pornography materials are more likely to precipitate sexual violence and crime. The personality of the person along with duration and frequency of the exposure to pornographic contretemps also colours the sexual violence related to pornography," Kumar told IANS.

A meta-analysis published in the Journal of Communication showed that consuming pornography increases the likelihood of physical and verbal sexual aggression.

The study highlighted that the associations were stronger for verbal than physical sexual aggression, although both were significant. The general pattern of results suggested that violent content may be an exacerbating factor.

"Yes, there is some evidence that suggests there is a correlation between the various acts of transgression, molestation, violence and viewing related to pornography," said Parikh.

"To say that all crimes are related to pornography is not a right way to put it. There are a lot of other factors, but like I said, there is some correlation of pornography as well," he added.

The experts mentioned that the time frame where an individual indulges in pornography impacts the day-to-day function, sleep, work, your academic and social life. And, to treat pornography addiction, one must look into self-correction, behaviour correction including digital detox, involving yourself in different things, taking the help of an expert as well.

On being asked if banning pornographic content can be useful for many, Parikh said, if porn is banned, individuals will find one way or the other to navigate it through loopholes.

"We can rather use media literacy that empowers young people to know the right choice. Make them understand the difference between fake and real. Enable them to understand the importance of their safety, creating more awareness," Parikh said.

"If we talk about sex education, various components can be incorporated in educating the masses on how pornography can affect an individual's sexual behaviour," Parikh noted.

(Vivek Singh Chauhan can be contacted at vivek.c@ians.in)
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Go to form
The Bishops and heads of religious orders of New Zealand express their sorrow and shame for abuse committed in the Catholic Church, as a Royal Commission holds a second round of redress hearings in Auckland.

By Lisa Zengarini

The Catholic Bishops and religious men and women in New Zealand are ashamed and saddened by what has happened to victims of abuse, and assure survivors that they have learnt their lessons from past failures.

This was reiterated on Monday as the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care continued its second round of redress hearings in Auckland, with witnesses for the Catholic Church being heard from Tuesday to Friday.

The Commission is investigating the adequacy of redress and what needs to be done to support people who have been abused or neglected in State and faith-based institutions from 1950 to 1999. The inquiry includes cases of sexual, physical, emotional and psychological abuse. Faith-based institutions have been involved in the investigation following a specific request by the Catholic Bishops and Congregational Leaders.

Redress hearings

The first phase of this Redress Hearing was held at the end of 2020, and focused on the experience of survivors in seeking redress (such as compensation, counselling or an apology) for abuse and/or neglect in the care of Catholic, Anglican and Salvation Army institutions. The new hearings, which started on March 15 and will run until March 29, are focused on the processes for resolving historic and current abuse claims.

After hearing evidence from witnesses of the Salvation Army and the Anglican Church last week, on 23 March, the Commission called in representatives of the Catholic Church. These include Br Peter Horide, Professional Standards Delegate for the Marist Brothers, Virginia Noonan, Director of NOPS, the National Office for Professional Standards; Fr Timothy Duckworth SM, Provincial of the NZ Province of the Society of Mary and Cardinal John Dew, Archbishop of Wellington. The hearings are live-streamed from the Commission's website.

Building a better Church

In his opening address to the hearings on Monday, Cardinal Dew reiterated the Catholic Churchs support for the work of the Commission, expressing shame and sadness for what has happened to the victims.

Our hope is that this Commission will lead us and help us to be a better Church, in which this disgrace of abuse will be addressed and will cease, he said. Our hope is that our Church will always be a Church that gives life and hope. This is our mission: it is always to give the life that Christ offers us," he added, admitting that in this we have still much to learn.

Deep regret

An opening statement was also made by Sally McKechnie, the lawyer representing Te Ropu Tautoko, the group coordinating Catholic engagement with the Royal Commission.

On behalf of the Bishops and leaders of religious orders of the Catholic Church, she thanked survivors who have decided to engage in the inquiry for their bravery and courage and reiterated the bishops deep regret that any person has suffered harm while in the care of the Catholic Church when they should have been safe.

The Church recognises that collectively there has been a failure, and there is no question that how and why these failures occurred needs to be examined and remedied, she emphasized.

Ms. McKechnie also assured everyone that the bishops and heads of Orders will continue to work to improve these redress processes, so that all survivors who engage with the Church are heard and supported.

As part of this ongoing process the Church is present in this hearing and the inquiry, with willingness to participate, a desire to improve, and a commitment to change, McKechnie concluded.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Daniel Pantaleo, a former NYPD officer fired for his role in the death of Eric Garner in 2014, lost a bid to get his job back Thursday after three appellate judges unanimously ruled against his petition.

Pantaleo was fired from the department in 2019 for his involvement in the chokehold death after then-Police Commissioner James P. ONeill followed a recommendation from NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Trials Rosemarie Maldonado to remove the Staten Island cop from his position.

Pantaleo sued the NYPD to get his job back in October, 2019  a case that was eventually raised to the Appellate Division, First Department, which sided unanimously with Maldonados ruling.

Substantial evidence supports respondents conclusion that petitioner recklessly caused injury to Eric Garner by maintaining a prohibited chokehold for 9 to 10 seconds after exigent circumstances were no longer present, thereby disregarding the risk of injury, wrote the three judges who made the decision.

Police unions previously called the decision to fire Pantaleo a travesty and accused ONeill and Mayor Bill de Blasio of bending to public scrutiny.

However, the latest ruling backs the decision, stating, Conduct far less serious than petitioners [Pantaleo] has been found by the Court of Appeals to have a destructive impact . . . on the confidence which it is so important for the public to have in its police officers. 

Stuart London, Pantaleos lawyer, said his client is disappointed in the reasoning as well as the decision of the Appellate Court, adding that he will be reviewing the ruling to explore further options.

The Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB), the civilian oversight agency of the NYPD, applauded the judges conclusion Thursday.

Achieving a shred of justice for Eric Garner took entirely too long, and tragically, firing Daniel Pantaleo from the NYPD will never bring Eric back to his family, said CCRB Chair Fred Davie.

The decision to terminate Daniel Pantaleo from the Police Department following the CCRBs prosecution was the correct one, and I commend the First Department for upholding this decision, said Davie. Daniel Pantaleo should never be able to patrol New York City streets again, and now New Yorkers can rest assured that he wont.

Garner died in police custody on July 17, 2014 at Bay Street and Victory Boulevard in Tompkinsville while being arrested for allegedly selling loose cigarettes on the street.

Pantaleo could be seen in video of the incident wrestling Garner to the ground.

Garners final words, I cant breathe, have become a mantra of the Black Lives Matter movement.
New Delhi, March 25 : Bollywood actress Shraddha Kapoor has been signed has the brand ambassador of Jaipur-based home furnishings brand - Bella Casa.

Shraddha will co-create and endorse the label's new collection 'Shades of Shraddha' across all Indian markets. This alliance will also entitle the actor to a part of the company's equity and ensure a deeper involvement in the brand's business strategy.

Elated to associate with a brand, the Bollywood star mentions she is looking forward to being a part of its unfolding story. "To support the growth of the country, we must advance more opportunities towards the development of worthwhile homegrown brands such as Bella Casa. I share the brand's core beliefs and am proud to back an honourable brand that is steeped in such history. The label may have had humble beginnings, but their commitment and hard work has made them one of the best home fashion challenger brands in India." Bollywood Star Shraddha Kapoor roped in by Premium Home Furnishing Brand 'Bella Casa' as Brand Ambassador

She adds: "Their quality and designs wooed me, and I am keen to co-develop a new line with them for Indian and International markets." Having begun its journey as a bootstrapped start-up in the consumer brand space, Bella Casa Fashion & Retail Ltd. (BCFRL) is said to be one of India's largest manufacturers and distributors of chic home textile products.

A gold medalist in Master of Fashion Management from NIFT, New Delhi, its CEO, Saurav Gupta was instrumental in signing Shraddha as investor and brand ambassador.

He says: "Bella Casa envisions becoming one of the most admired and successful fashion companies in India. We are very pleased to associate with Shraddha Kapoor and trust that this investment will catalyze our process of expanding to different parts of the country as well as introduce newer product lines. We look forward to a long-standing alliance with her and strongly believe that it will substantiate the brand philosophy we have." (Puja Gupta can be contacted at puja.g@ians.in)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Fvsa.com.uy scored 40 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 2/5.0 Stars by Social Team

This CoolSocial report was updated on 16 Jan 2013, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want.

The total number of people who shared the fvsa homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the fvsa homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if fvsa has a Facebook fan page). The total number of people who shared the fvsa homepage on StumbleUpon. The total number of people who shared the fvsa homepage on Delicious. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the fvsa homepage on Twitter + the total number of fvsa followers (if fvsa has a Twitter account).

Basic Information

PAGE TITLE FV. Griferi a de alta tecnologi a DESCRIPTION Griferia de alta tecnologia KEYWORDS Griferia, Faucets, fv.com.ar, arquitectura, minimalismo, Spa, construccion OTHER KEYWORDS libby, productos, novedades, diseo, con el sello de buen, el sello de buen diseo, download novedades obras servicios



CoolSocial advanced keyword analysis tool is able to detect and analyze every keyword on each page of a site. The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of the site. The title found in the head section of the homepage. The description meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. The keywords meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage.

Domain and Server

DOCTYPE CHARSET AND LANGUAGE Spanish (Argentina) ISO-8859-1Spanish (Argentina) DETECTED LANGUAGE Spanish Spanish SERVER Apache/2.2.21 (Unix) mod_ssl/2.2.21 OpenSSL/0.9.8e-fips-rhel5 mod_auth_passthrough/2.1 mod_bwlimited/1.4 FrontPage/5.0.2.2635 (PHP/5.2.17) OPERATIVE SYSTEM Linux Linux

The language of fvsa.com.uy as detected by CoolSocial algorithms. Represents HTML declared type (e.g.: XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.0, the new HTML 5.0) Character set and language of the site. Type of server and offered services. Operative System running on the server.

Site Traffic trend during the last year. Only available for sites ranked <= 100000 in the world.

Referring domains for fvsa.com.uy by MajesticSeo. High values are a sign of site importance over the web and on web engines.

Facebook link

FACEBOOK PAGE LINK NOT FOUND

Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. The URL of the found Facebook page. A Facebook page link can be found in the homepage or in the robots.txt file. The total number of people who like website Facebook page. The description of the Facebook page describes website and its services to the social media users. The type of Facebook page. The total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days.

Twitter account link

TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND
Australia is poised to ship tens of thousands of locally produced vaccines to Papua New Guinea from its Melbourne plant as it grows increasingly concerned that jabs from Europe and India wont arrive in time to contain the worsening COVID-19 outbreak in the Pacific nation.

PNG was due to receive 600,000 vaccines under the global initiative known as COVAX by the end of May but rising infections have prompted governments in India and Europe to freeze exports to tackle their own health emergencies.

Australia is lobbying for vaccines to be sent to its northern neighbour within the month, but the blockades around the world give rise to fears that shipments could be delayed for several months.

Staff at Port Morseby General Hospital on March 18. The hospital has been overrun with COVID-19 patients. Credit:World Health Organisation

PNG recorded 560 new cases on Thursday  the largest daily increase to date  bringing the total number to more than 4500 confirmed cases. The actual number is feared to be much worse with testing rates low, cases recorded in 20 of the countrys 22 provinces and Port Moresbys general hospital overflowing with coronavirus patients.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have recorded a personal 'thank you' message to everyone who has 'taken action' through Time to Changes campaign to end mental health stigma.

In the video, which was shared to the Time To Change Twitter and played at a virtual celebratory event today, Prince William, 38, said: 'We wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who has shared their experiences and taken action through Time to Change, helping to challenge the stigma which surrounds mental health.'

Speaking from Anmer Hall, Kate Middleton, 39, who donned a black roll-neck and wore her brown hair down, continued: 'Movements like Time to Change have helped to transform attitudes and encouraged more openness about mental health in schools, communities and the workplace.'

The Duke of Cambridge went on to say how over the past 15 years, Time to Change Champions have 'inspired and supported thousands of people across the country' - adding that mental health has 'at last moved into the mainstream as part of our daily lives.'

While the royal couple expressed a personal thank you to the many people who have inspired a more open culture around mental health, Kate warned that the 'work isn't done yet.'

'We cannot afford to stop here,' the duchess continued, to which William added: 'We need to keep talking, keep taking action and continue to stand up to the stigma.'

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge recorded a message for Time to Change which was played at a virtual celebratory event this afternoon, marking almost 15 years of Time to Change tackling mental health stigma

Kate also went on to highlight the importance of valuing our mental health just as much as we value our physical health - before she and William said a joint 'thank you' to everyone who has been a part of Time to Change.

The message comes ahead of Time to Change's closure in England on 31 March when its funding ends.

Since Time to Change launched, 5.4 million people have improved attitudes towards those of us living with mental health problems.

Not only that, research shows people's willingness to live, work and continue a relationship with someone experiencing a mental health problem has also increased by 11.6%.

The success of the Time to Change campaign is thanks to the thousands of people and organisations who have joined the movement over the last 15 years; over 7,500 champions with experience of mental health problems, 1,500 employers, 3,000 secondary schools and a network of 50 regional Time to Change Hubs.

The virtual event saw a cross section of these supporters reflect on the campaign's defining moments as well as celebrating its achievements.

The royal couple expressed a personal thank you to the many people who, through the mental health anti-stigma campaign Time to Change, have inspired a more open culture around mental health (pictured)

Kate warned that the 'work isn't done yet' - adding that 'we cannot afford to stop here.' Pictured, with Prince William

Jo Loughran, Director of Time to Change, commented: 'As the Time to Change campaign in England comes to a close, we want to thank each and every person who has joined our movement to change the way we think and act about mental health over almost 15 years.

Changes in attitudes and behaviour towards mental health problems over the course of the Time to Change campaign include:  an improvement in public attitudes by 12.7%, equating to 5.4 million people;  an increase in public knowledge around mental health of 10%;  an improvement in intended behaviour towards those of us with mental health problems by 11.6% of the population;  a reduction in discrimination reported by people with lived experience;  and an improvement in the way the print media report mental health problems Advertisement

'No matter how big or small, every contribution has mattered; every conversation on Time to Talk Day, every champion who's spoken about their experiences in their communities, to colleagues or fellow pupils, every post shared on social media, every employer who's signed the pledge.

'Together, we've brought mental health problems out of the shadows. We've stood up for the 1 in 4 of us who experience mental health problems each year and made it more acceptable to speak up, challenge stigma and discrimination, and seek help. And for that we should all be immensely proud.'

Time to Change was set up in 2007 by the charities Mind, Mental Health Media, Rethink Mental Illness and the IOPPN, King's College London in response to people reporting that the attitudes and behaviours of others towards them could be as difficult, if not more difficult, to deal with than the mental health problem itself.

The campaign initially received funding from Comic Relief and the National Lottery Community Fund, with the Department of Health and Social Care also contributing from 2011 onwards.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's recording comes just weeks after Prince Harry and Meghan's tell-all Oprah Winfrey interview, where they said racism drove them out of Britain and claimed their son Archie was denied the title of prince because he is mixed-race.

During the bombshell interview, Meghan Markle also claimed that Kate Middleton left her in tears during a row over bridesmaid dresses and Prince Harry accused his father Prince Charles of refusing to take his calls when the pair emigrated to the US last year.

CBS presenter Gayle King since told how she had spoken to the Sussexes who told her that Harry had talked to the Duke of Cambridge and Prince of Wales after the interview.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's recording comes just weeks after Prince Harry and Meghan's bombshell tell-all interview Oprah Winfrey interview. Pictured, the tell-all interview

But she said the conversations were 'not productive' and the Sussexes were keen for the 'royals to intervene and tell the Press to stop with the unfair, inaccurate, false stories that definitely have a racial slant'.

Ms King, 66, who is also close friends with Oprah, failed to give any examples of the stories she was referring to, but added that Meghan had 'documents to back up everything that she said on Oprah's interview'.

Bombshells from the Oprah interview - Meghan's mental health The Duchess of Sussex revealed she had suicidal thoughts and said: 'I just didn't want to be alive any more.' She said she begged for help, and asked to go somewhere to get help, and approached one of the most senior people in the institution, but was told it would not look good. The duchess said: 'I said that I needed to go somewhere to get help. I said that I've never felt this way before and I need to go somewhere. And I was told that I couldn't, that it wouldn't be good for the institution.' - Baby Sussex is a girl Harry and Meghan revealed they are expecting a baby girl. The duke joined his wife in the second half of the interview, and told the chat show host: 'It's a girl.' He said his first thought was 'amazing' when he discovered 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.' 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'. - Royal family accused of racism Meghan said, when she was pregnant with Archie, an unnamed member of the royal family raised 'concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born'. Asked whether there were concerns that her child would be 'too brown' and that would be a problem, Meghan said: 'If that is the assumption you are making, that is a pretty safe one.' Pushed by Winfrey on who had those conversations, Meghan refused to say, adding: 'I think that would be very damaging to them.' She added: 'That was relayed to me from Harry, those were conversations the family had with him, and I think it was really hard to be able to see those as compartmentalised conversations.' - Archie's title Meghan suggested she and Harry wanted Archie to be a prince so he would have security and be protected. The duchess expressed her shock at 'the idea of our son not being safe', and the idea of the first member of colour in this family, not being titled in the same way as other grandchildren. Archie, who is seventh in line to the throne, is not entitled to be an HRH or a prince due to rules set out more than 100 years ago by King George V. He will be entitled to be an HRH or a prince when the Prince of Wales accedes to the throne. As the first born son of a duke, Archie could have become Earl of Dumbarton - one of Harry's subsidiary titles - or have been Lord Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, instead at the time of his birth, a royal source said Harry and Meghan had decided he should a regular Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor. - The Prince of Wales The Duke of Sussex said his father the Prince of Wales stopped taking his calls while Harry and Meghan were in Canada 'because I took matters into my own hands. I needed to do this for my family'. He said Charles wanted him to put his plans in writing. - The Queen Harry denied that he had 'blindsided' his grandmother Queen with the bombshell statement about stepping down as senior royal. The duke said he believed the report probably could have come from 'within the institution'. - The Duchess of Cambridge Meghan said Kate made her cry ahead of her wedding. Reports circulated ahead of the Sussexes' nuptials that Meghan left Kate in tears at Princess Charlotte's bridesmaid dress fitting. But Meghan told Winfrey the 'reverse happened'. Meghan said she was not sharing the information to be 'disparaging', but added it was 'really important for people to understand the truth'. 'She's a good person,' the duchess added. Advertisement

She told CBS: 'Well I'm not trying to break news, but I did actually call them to see how they were feeling, and it's true, Harry has talked to his brother and he has talked to his father too.

'The word I was given was that those conversations were not productive. But they are glad that they have at least started a conversation.

'And I think what is still upsetting to them is the palace keep saying they want to work it out privately, but yet, they believe these false stories are coming out that are very disparaging against Meghan, still.

'No one in the Royal Family has talked to Meghan yet, at this particular time.

'And I think it's frustrating for them to see that it's a racial conversation about the Royal Family when all they wanted all along was for the royals to intervene and tell the Press to stop with the unfair, inaccurate, false stories that definitely have a racial slant.

'And until you can acknowledge that, I think it's going to be hard to move forward. But they both want to move forward with this and they both want healing in this family. At the end of the day, that is Harry's family.'

The Duke of Cambridge was the first royal to personally respond to the racism allegations days after the interview aired when he spoke about mental health during a visit the School21 in east London.

At the time, he revealed that he had not spoken to his brother since it came out, but added that he 'will do'.

It was also the first engagement for Kate since she was accused by Meghan of making her cry in the bombshell tell-all chat.

Meghan said: 'She (Kate) was upset about something, but she owned it, and she apologised. And she brought me flowers'.

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.'

She added that Kate being called 'waity Katie' in the press couldn't compare to the alleged racism she faced.

Meghan also made allegations that she felt suicidal and turned to the palace for help.

The Duchess of Sussex told Oprah she 'couldn't be left alone' and told her husband she 'didn't want to be alive anymore' before claiming the Buckingham Palace HR department ignored her plea for help because she wasn't a 'paid employee'.

Describing how she considered ending her life believing it 'was better for everyone', Meghan said:

'I knew that if I didn't say it, that I would do it. I just didn't want to be alive anymore.

'And that was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought. I remember how he just cradled me. I said that I needed to go somewhere to get help.

'I said that 'I've never felt this way before, and I need to go somewhere'. And I was told that I couldn't, that it wouldn't be good for the institution'.

She said that after confiding in her husband, she was forced to go to the Royal Albert Hall for a charity event in January 2019, claiming photos from that night 'haunt me'.

She told Oprah she later reached out to one of the best friends of Diana, Princess of Wales, because she felt unsupported by the palace.

She said: '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 said Harry had 'saved my life' by agreeing to move to Los Angeles.

During the broadcast, Prince Harry hinted at the extent of the alleged rift between the two brothers, claiming that their relationship was now 'space,' but added he hoped time would be a healer.

He went on to claim he was 'on different paths' to William and spoke about his brother was 'trapped' in the Royal Family.

Harry also said he felt 'very let down' by his father Prince Charles, accusing him of refusing to take his calls and and then 'cut him off' financially when they emigrated.

He said: 'My father and brother. They're both trapped' and added that his mother Diana would be 'angry and sad' that he felt he had to leave the royal family, but 'she saw it coming'.

Harry said: 'All she'd ever want for us is to be happy', adding that his wife had 'saved me', declaring:

'I myself was trapped, as well. I didn't see a way out'.

The Queen broke her silence on the interview, voicing her 'concern' over the issues raised, 'particularly that of race', although the statement added that 'some recollections may vary'.

There has been much speculation about which member of the royal family they were accusing of racism. But during the interview the couple would not be drawn on who had deeply offended them.

Harry said: 'That conversation, I am never going to share. At the time it was awkward, I was a bit shocked.'
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.
Thank you for reading!

Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
The United States wants Ukraine to succeed through efficient reforms, so the expected phone conversation between the presidents of the United States and Ukraine, while taken as a symbol, has to be backed up by actions.

George Kent, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, said this in an interview with VOAs Ukraine service on March 24.

He recalled that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said two months ago that the United States was ready to support Ukraine in defending against aggression from Russia, as well as in overcoming challenges from within. According to Kent, President Biden's administration prioritizes the fight against corruption and helps democracies thrive.

We believe democracies are best placed to address the challenges of the 21st century, and this issue is something that is shared by Ukrainians and Americans. And so I think the needs are clear. The expectations of Ukrainians and Americans are clear. Reform efforts need to continue and deepen. The justice sector is absolutely essential. How Ukrainian authorities get out of the constitutional crisis created by the constitutional court undermining reversing changes that were made is a real challenge for Ukrainians, Kent said.

He assured that the US was ready to support Ukraine as a partner. But to be very clear, any legislation that rolls back the independence of organizations, whether it's the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, NBU, or the central bank, does not help Ukraine and that will make it very difficult for international partners, whether it's the IMF or the United States, to continue to be as supportive of efforts when they are not leading to reform the change that Ukraine needs, the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State said.

Commenting on the issue of establishing trust between the leaders of the United States and Ukraine and the importance of establishing contact, Kent noted that trust is very important in any relationship both within the country and between the countries.

I think President Biden established an excellent record when he was vice president of reaching out and trying to establish that trust with Ukrainian counterparts. Trust is a two-way street, obviously, and I anticipate that there will be a call between our leaders in the near future. But I believe it's also important to understand that a call, while taken as a symbol, has to be backed up by actions and the issues that we were discussing, the issues that are on the U.S.-Ukraine agenda. We want Ukraine to succeed. That means we want the government and President Zelensky to succeed. But for that success, there need to be the right actions and the right reforms, the diplomat stressed.

As reported, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba had his first telephone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on February 2.

ol
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 attack on the US Capitol in January was a rare unifying political event, at least for a fleeting moment. Republicans and Democrats may have disagreed on the causes and the impact, and continue to do so, but they were united in their condemnation of the assault on American democracy.

The attack was so serious, in fact, that it even provoked a typically neutral and reluctant player to enter the fray: corporate America.

In the aftermath of the storming of the Capitol, more than 60 corporations announced their intention to stop donating to lawmakers who objected to certifying the results of the 2020 election. Those objections, based on falsehoods and lies from then president Donald Trump in his attempt to overturn the results of the election, were seen as a primary cause of the violence on 6 January.
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


Software Engineer (ECDP) Austin , Texas , United States Machine Learning and AI Summary

Posted: Mar 23, 2021 Role Number: 200232607 Imagine what you could do here. At Apple, new ideas have a way of becoming great products, services, and customer experiences very quickly. Bring passion and dedication to your career and there's no telling what you could accomplish! The Information Systems & Technology organization produces key business and technical infrastructure at Apple handling orders from the online store, building applications that improve the retail store experience, providing network bandwidth for our services around the world, processing every transaction in iTunes, and closing the books. We do it all. If you are a born problem solver who enjoys collaborating on the next big thing, we may just have your dream job! From Apple ID to the Apple website to our data centers around the globe, IS&T manages the massive systems and services that so many rely on. They also build the custom tools that empower our employees to solve problems on their own. And that means these engineers are free to do what engineers do best - explore all of technology's possibilities. Key Qualifications - Programming knowledge in at least one of the following areas: Server side development (Java), Web development (JavaScript, HTML, CSS3) or iOS development (Objective- C, Swift)

- Excellent quantitative and interpersonal skills

- Leadership experience

- Related internship or job experience

- Less than 12 months of full-time work experience in the role you are applying for Description EARLY CAREER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM DESCRIPTION The IS&T Early Career Development Program (ECDP) is for people with less than 12 months of relevant experience in their position and provides employees with the opportunity to build community among themselves by attending educational and social events. Within IS&T, there are a variety of positions available across many different teams, ranging from special projects for new business initiatives to operations in a rapidly growing and dynamic setting. Examples of positions: - Software Engineer: iOS, front-end, back-end, full-stack - Engineering Project Manager - DevOps Engineer - Machine Learning Engineer - Quality Engineer - Database Engineer TEAMS THAT ARE HIRING INCLUDE: - Online Store Engineering - Worldwide Developer Relations - Enterprise and Retail Networking - Retail Engineering - Collaboration and Productivity - Global Business Intelligence - SAP Global Systems Education & Experience - Bachelors degree in CS, CE, ECE, EECS, IS, IT and other related fields of study Apple is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer that is committed to inclusion and diversity. We also take affirmative action to offer employment and advancement opportunities to all applicants, including minorities, women, protected veterans, and individuals with disabilities.


Advertisement

Coronavirus outbreaks grew in a third of local authorities in England last week  but the rise was only driven by a huge testing blitz of schoolchildren because of classrooms being reopened.

Fifty-six of 149 council areas saw an uptick in cases over the week to March 21, according to the latest surveillance report from Public Health England.

But when the figures were broken down by age, they showed infections only spiked week-on-week among five to nine-year-olds, by more than half, and 10 to 19-year-olds, by a quarter.

Cases dropped in all other age groups, and are now at their lowest levels since August in the over-70s  who are most at risk from the virus. Everyone in the group has been offered at least one dose of the Covid vaccine.

Under Boris Johnson's ultra-cautious lockdown-easing plan, schools were reopened to all pupils on March 8. But children and teachers have been asked to swab themselves for the virus twice a week, prompting an inevitable uptick in cases.

Experts say this doubling in the number of tests done daily - to around 1.1million every 24 hours - is behind the rise in infection rates, adding that had these tests not been carried out many of these infections would have gone unreported.

Dr Yvonne Doyle, PHE's medical director, warned cases appeared to have 'plateaued' in most parts of the country, and were rising in younger age groups. She added: 'We must not drop our guard now after so much effort by so many. We need only look to Europe to see how easy it is for things to take a turn for the worse.'

Sir Jeremy Farrar, a top SAGE adviser, warned today it appeared 'transmission was just starting to tick up' across England because schools had reopened. But the Wellcome Trust chief said the biggest threat was from abroad, amid a spiralling third wave in Europe and the mounting spread of dangerous variants  including the South African strain  that make vaccines less effective.

It comes as Matt Hancock admitted today he cannot rule out trying to renew controversial Covid laws again in the autumn despite a successful vaccine roll-out.

Furious Tory backbenchers demanded 'draconian' measures are removed 'at the earliest possible opportunity'. MPs will vote this afternoon on plans to extend emergency powers to the end of September, even though the lockdown officially ends in June.

 Slide me  Some 56 of 149 council areas saw an uptick in cases over the week to March 21, according to the latest surveillance report from Public Health England

But when the figures were broken down by age they showed cases were only ticking up among those aged five to 19, but were still falling across all other age groups. They fell fastest in the over-70s who are least at risk from the virus

The positivity rate from cases has stabalised in all regions of England, but experts say this is because of additional testing

Boris Johnson requires every school child in England to test themselves for Covid twice a week, to ensure any outbreaks can be nipped in the bud. This has led to a doubling in the number of swabs carried out each day

WHERE ARE COVID INFECTION RATES RISING FASTEST? Local Authority Dudley Rutland Northumberland Islington East Sussex Barking and Dagenham Windsor and Maidenhead Doncaster Bury Warrington % rise (infection rate) +65% (85.5 per 100,000) +55% (42.6 per 100,000) +54% (74.7 per 100,000) +44% (37.9 per 100,000) +43% (22.1 per 100,000) +43% (50.3 per 100,000) +42% (53.5 per 100,000) +28% (142.7 per 100,000) +27% (94.8 per 100,000) +26% (84.3 per 100,000) Public Health England figures for the week ending March 21, published in the weekly surveillance report. Advertisement

Public Health England data showed infection rates were ticking upwards in central England, in parts of London and across the East and South East.

But they continued to fall across the rest of the nation, and dipped fastest in Devon, the Lake district, and in large parts of Manchester and Liverpool.

The largest spike in infection rates was recorded in Dudley, outside Birmingham, where they rose by 65 per cent (to 85.5 cases per 100,000 residents). Dr Lisa McNally, the public health director for neighbouring Sandwell, has said the rise may be linked to the return of schools and more tests being carried out.

Rutland had the second-highest rise, where they jumped by 55 per cent (42.6 per 100,000). The county has faced Covid outbreaks before driven by the local prison - HMP Stocken - but rates remained low in the community.

Northumberland had the third-highest spike in infections, after they jumped by 54 per cent (74.7 per 100,000). Covid outbreaks have already been reported at two local schools in the county.

On the other hand, the Isle of Wight saw the biggest fall in cases last week after they tumbled by half to 9 per 100,000. The Department of Health's dashboard shows there were only 18 cases on the island by March 19.

It was followed by Middlesbrough (61.7 per 100,000), North Somerset (24.6 per 100,000), Croydon (21.1 per 100,000), and North East Lincolnshire (89.6 per 100,000), where cases dipped by 43 per cent in each respectively.

When the data was broken down by age group, it showed infections were rising fastest among school children while continuing to fall in all other age groups.

In five to nine-year-olds it ticked upwards by 60 per cent (63.5 per 100,000), and in 10 to 19-year-olds it ticked upwards second fastest by 26 per cent (100.7 per 100,000).

The Covid infection rate fell fastest among over-70s, however, where it dipped by 22 per cent (13.3 per 100,000), and 60 to 69-year-olds, where it also dipped by 22 per cent (25.3 per 100,000).

Figures show over-60s have already been offered their first dose of the Covid vaccine, with Britain's successful roll-out now aiming to inoculate everyone over-50 by mid April.

Studies show the jabs protect people from being hospitalised or dying if they catch the disease, and there have also been suggestions that they are less likely to become infected.

Dr Doyle added: 'From Monday people are able to meet outside in private gardens in groups of six from multiple households or an unlimited number from two households.

'We are all looking forward to being able to see loved ones. However, please remember that this virus spreads through contact. So continue to keep your distance, wash your hands more thoroughly and regularly than usual and stay outside.'

Covid cases fell by six per cent to 37,000 as infections dropped for the tenth week in a row, NHS Test and Trace data has shown

Tests surged by 400,000 tests during the week ending March 17  a seven per cent rise on the previous week when children first went back to school

Coronavirus cases are dropping in all age groups other than children and teenagers in the United Kingdom since schools reopened in England on March 8, dismissing fears cases would balloon in the wider population once children returned to classrooms

It came as Test and Trace figures today showed England's Covid cases dropped by six per cent last week to 37,000, which was a slower rate of decline than in previous weeks.

The fall came despite testing ramping up by 400,000 in the week to March 17 - when the figures go up to - which was the first week that schools had reopened.

Separate analysis of Test and Trace data today by MailOnline also revealed that Covid cases are only going up in schoolchildren, despite fears they would balloon.

The absence of a dramatic spike paves the way for Mr Johnson to continue his plan to relax lockdown on April 12 to allow shops and pub gardens to reopen.

England's outbreak has stabilised over the past fortnight, with the nation now recording around 5,500 cases per day. But the test positivity rate  a more accurate way to measure an outbreak when swabbing is ramped up  has continued to fall.

Department of Health figures, presented to the public as a heatmap, show the Covid infection rate has only risen in four age groups since the first lockdown-easing step  all of which are children and teenagers.

Matt Hancock can't guarantee draconian Covid laws won't be extended AGAIN in six months: Furious Tory rebels blast Health Secretary as he warns 'we are not at the finish line yet' - despite deaths falling 50 per cent in a week and hospitalisations plummeting

By David Wilcock, Whitehall correspondent for MailOnline

Matt Hancock admitted today he cannot rule out trying to renew controversial Covid laws again in the autumn - as furious Tory backbenchers demanded 'draconian' measures are removed 'at the earliest possible opportunity'.

MPs will vote this afternoon on plans to extend emergency powers to the end of September, despite the lockdown officially ending in June.

And kicking off the debate in the Commons the Health Secretary was unable to guarantee it was the last time they would be asked roll-over the powers, which are largely unprecedented in peace time.

Up to 60 Conservative lockdown sceptics are planning to vote against the Government, but the rebellion is almost certain to fail with Labour planning to support the law - which can only be extended for six months at a time.

Mr Hancock told the restive chamber he 'cannot answer' whether the Coronavirus Act will be retired in six months or rolled on, as he opened the debate this afternoon.

'There are parts of this Act that have allowed us to do good things that everybody would like to see like that, and so when we do come to retire this Act, which we must within one year and preferably within six months, we will need to make sure that we can continue to do that sort of thing and make sure that nurses can be enrolled as easily as possible into the NHS,' he said.

'But I cannot answer whether we will be retiring it in six months. My preference would be yes, but given the last year, I think a prediction would be hasty.'

It prompted a furious response from Tory backbenchers. Theatrical Broxbourne MP Sir Charles Walker told the Commons: 'As sure as eggs are eggs, we will be back here in six months at the end of September being asked to renew this legislation again. It is inevitable and anyone who thinks it's not inevitable is deluding themselves.'

It came after Boris Johnson earlier defended the pace of the lockdown in the face of the rebellion.

On a visit to a school in Greenford, north west London, this morning he said: 'The libertarian in me is also trying to protect people's fundamental right to life and their ability to live their lives normally and the only way really to restore that for everybody is for us to beat the disease, and the best path to freedom is down the cautious but irreversible road map that we've set out - that's what the freedom-lover wants,' he said.

But Covid Recovery Group leader Mark Harper, who believes plans to ease the lockdown 'could safely go more quickly', said the provisions in the Coronavirus Act should be expired 'at the earliest possible opportunity'.

Mr Hancock told the restive chamber he 'cannot answer' whether the Coronavirus Act will be retired in six months or rolled on.

Sir Charles Walker told the Commons: 'As sure as eggs are eggs, we will be back here in six months at the end of September being asked to renew this legislation again.'

Boris Johnson (pictured this morning) will face the wrath of his own lockdown-sceptic backbenchers today as he pushes through an extension of lockdown laws until the autumn.

CRG leader Mark Harper, who believes plans to ease the lockdown 'could safely go more quickly', said the provisions in the Coronavirus Act should be expired 'at the earliest possible opportunity'

A hardcore of Conservative MPs is expected to rebel against Government plans to extend emergency powers to the end of September, despite the lockdown officially ending in June.

Boris Johnson admits vaccine passports 'could have a role' Boris Johnson has admitted vaccine passports 'could have a role to play' but not until 'everybody' is offered a jab. The PM said the result of the review into coronavirus health certificates can be expected by April 12, although it may not be possible to roll them out until everyone has been offered a dose. He added it needs to be done carefully because some people have medical reasons they cannot get jabbed and there are 'moral complexities' and 'ethical problems'. Landlords and brewers today revolted over plans for vaccine passports for pubs after it was revealed hospitality venues could be allowed to bar customers who cannot prove they have had a Covid jab or a negative test. Mr Johnson had yesterday told MPs landlords might be given powers to impose tough entry requirements on drinkers  and Government sources confirmed this was part of an official review of vaccine passports. While visiting the the Monkey Puzzle Day Nursery in Greenford, west London, today, Mr Johnson told Sky News: 'Obviously we're looking at the issues that are raised by vaccination certification - what can you do? 'Now, in aviation, clearly there are lots of countries are thinking about using some sort of vaccine passport, and I think that there are three basic components. 'There's the vaccine, there's your immunity that you might have after you've had Covid, and then there's testing. So there are three things that could work together. 'No decisions have been taken at all. One thing I will make clear is none of this is obviously going to apply on April 12, when it will all be outdoors anyway. So whatever happens on April 12 will be unaffected. 'All sorts of things are being considered. What we want to do is roll out the vaccine programme and see what that builds in terms of general resistance to the virus. And I do think there is going to be a role for certification. 'What we've said is that we'll be reporting on the work of the certification group in early April, either on April 5 or on April 12. 'I think we need to think carefully about the issues - as I've said before, there are lots of difficult issues because there are some people who for medical reasons can't get a vaccination, pregnant women can't get a vaccination at the moment. 'You've got to be careful about how you do this, you might only be able to implement a thorough-going vaccinate passport scheme, even if you wanted such a thing, in the context of when absolutely everybody had been offered a vaccine.' Industry bosses across Britain said the idea for pubs was 'absurd' and 'unworkable' and signalled they would not ask customers for proof that they had been inoculated or were clear of coronavirus. Advertisement

'The controversial parts, the police powers to detain potentially infectious persons which have (been) used unlawfully on a number of occasions ... those are intended to be long-term powers - and he has also just suggested that these provisions might be rolled forward a further six months,' he said.

'That is why so many of us are worried. These are extraordinary provisions, not for normal times, and they should be expired at the earliest possible opportunity.'

Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who opened the debate, replied: 'I actually agree with (Mr Harper) that they should be expired at the earliest opportunity.'

Mr Hancock added that if there are 'new variants that we need to absolutely pin down' then 'having these very targeted interventions for now is important'.

He continued: 'And I know that we disagree on that point, but I would suggest by voting against all of these renewals, there are a whole load of valuable things that he and I would actually agree on that would not be renewed were that to go through.'

As a further 98 deaths and 5,605 cases of Covid were reported:

The UK and European Commission told of working together to improve their relationship over the pandemic;

The joint statement came after Brussels published details of a plan to restrict jab exports to Britain;

Angela Merkel apologised to Germans after reversing an Easter lockdown announced only 24 hours earlier;

England's top doctor called on over-50s to book a jab while they still could access one;

India said it was blocking all major exports of the AstraZeneca vaccine;

Mr Johnson warned that tougher border measures could be introduced 'very soon' for arrivals from France;

MPs prepared to vote on the extension of emergency coronavirus powers for several months;

Seven in ten Covid patients still suffer debilitating symptoms five months after their discharge from hospital.

Opening the debate on the coronavirus regulations, Mr Hancock added: 'Today we debate our road map to recovery and what is legally needed to take the cautious but irreversible path our of this pandemic.

'We propose to remove some of the emergency powers that the House put in place a year ago and set the steps of the road map that the Prime Minister has set out into law, replacing the existing national lockdown.'

He continued: 'The success of this vaccination programme means that we are now able to carefully replace the short-term protection of restrictions we've all endured with the long-term protection provided by the vaccine.'

The legislation for restrictions over the coming months, as the Government sets out its road map for coming out of lockdown, will see some restrictions remain in place in England until at least June 21.

There are also question marks over summer holidays taking place after that date, amid a third wave of Covid infections in mainland Europe.

Conservative former Cabinet minister Jeremy Wright said step three and step four of the Government's road map should be merged, with 'almost all' restrictions lifted by May.

He told the Commons: 'Now I do not think that we should remove all restrictions in the next 21 days and I will vote accordingly, but I do think that we should combine steps three and four of the Government's road map and remove almost all restrictions in May.

Britons want Covid IDs in place for entering gyms, pubs and cinemas More Britons think vaccine passports should be brought in for people using gyms than those visiting hospitals or GP surgeries, a poll has found. Fifty-six per cent of respondents want the certificates to be in place for those wanting to work out while only 43 per cent say they should be enforced at medical centres, the YouGov survey tweeted today said. Over half - nearly six in ten - said they would support the plans and more than a quarter - 28 per cent - said they would strongly back the idea. But 34 per cent of the country said they were against the plans to use the system as the country edges closer to freedom on June 21. The YouGov poll found a plan to bring in vaccine passports during the rollout was backed by voters - 64 per cent of Tory supporters, 60 per cent of Lib Dems and 55 per cent of Labour fans. But those against the system are mainly among the younger generation who are less likely to have had their Covid jab yet. In the 18 to 24-year-old category, the survey found 45 per cent were in favour, while 42 per cent were against. But this changed when asked if they would support it after everyone was jabbed, with the figures shifting to 60/27. The wider public reacted similarly, with support swelling to seven in ten - just 20 per cent against - a vaccination scheme when everyone has been offered. The figures do not vary much when Britons were asked if they backed the controversial idea of vaccine passports for those coming to the UK - with 65 per cent in favour but 35 per cent saying it could be ignored if they isolate. The survey also broke down which activities people think should require some sort of Covid vaccination certificate once jabs have been offered to everyone. Two thirds of those asked - 72 per cent - said those wanting to see people in care homes should be forced to carry proof of immunisation. But a surprise feature at the top of the list was gyms, which 56 per cent - more than half - said should only be open to people who are jabbed. The figure was the same for pubs and bars. Slightly fewer people think the same for restaurants - 53 per cent - while just 44 per cent think proof of a jab should be required for coffee shops and only 33 per cent for beer gardens. Meanwhile more than two in five asked in the YouGov poll believe a vaccine should be needed to be allowed to use public transport. Advertisement

'An entirely precautionary approach is simply not feasible here. We know Covid will be with us for some time, perhaps indefinitely, and we cannot respond to that with indefinite restrictions any more than we would or do in response to the risk of other diseases.

'So although I support much of what the Government has done and is doing in response to the pandemic, I cannot support the continuation of damaging restrictions any longer than I consider they are necessary, which I am afraid is less than the Government propose in these regulations.'

'Draconian police powers under Schedule 21, which have a 100 per cent unlawful prosecution record, must be considered 'redundant' to say the very least.

'I am seeking to table an amendment to the motion tomorrow asking ministers to suspend those powers.

'I now hope the Government can support it.'

Conservative former minister Sir Desmond Swayne warned that the renewal of emergency coronavirus powers could lead to 'total social control'.

The New Forest West MP told the Commons: 'Now those of us who can spot the trajectory will have seen yesterday that after months of denial, now indeed it will be the case that you will have to provide your vaccination bona fides when you go to the pub.

'And those people who are teetotal imagining that they might be spared that intrusion and inconvenience can dream on, because undoubtedly this will be extended to restaurants, theatres, sporting venues and so proceeding to total social control.

'Did it ever occur to ministers that they might actually incentivise vaccinations? Carrot, not stick. Undoubtedly it didn't, because they can't kick the habit, they are wedded to the stick.

'So let there be no wringing of hands by members of Parliament who vote for oppressive legislation and then wail with indignation when the police actually enforce it.

'So when families are fined thousands of pounds for staying over together at Easter we will know that it was because this House willed it so. So those people, those honourable members wishing for these measures to pass tonight should reflect clearly on exactly what it is they wish for.'

Government data up to March 23 shows 28,653,523 people have received a first vaccine dose, a rise of 325,650 on the previous day.

A further 98 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Wednesday, bringing the total by that measure to 126,382.

As of 9am on Wednesday, there had been a further 5,605 lab-confirmed cases in the UK, bringing the total to 4,312,908.

Sir Jeremy Farrar said he believes it is likely that the ban on international travel will need to continue.

The Wellcome Trust director said: 'I think it will, until we can see progress in Europe with the epidemic coming down and vaccination rates going up in Europe.'

Asked about further testing of people coming in, he said lateral flow tests 'don't pick up every case but they do pick up the cases that are more infectious, and that is a very, very important public health intervention'.

On the issue of vaccine certificates and passports, he said he thinks they could cross the line 'of individual freedoms and public health', adding that 'public health works when there is trust and when people want to do things that are their interests, and in the interests of their community, their families and their society'.

Mr Hancock said this afternoon that the Government's goal 'is to be cautious yet irreversible'.

He told the Commons: 'I must tell the House that whilst I am still by nature an optimist, there remain courses for caution.

'Cases are rising in some areas and they are rising among those under 18. There are early signs of cases flattening among the working age population too.

'I am delighted that uptake of the vaccine is now 95 per cent amongst over-60s and that protection against dying from the vaccine is around 85 per cent. Both of these figures, 95 per cent uptake and 85 per cent protection, both of these are higher than we could have hoped for.

'But while we are confident that we have broken the link between the number of cases and the hospitalisations and deaths that previously inevitably followed, no vaccine is perfect and take-up isn't 100 per cent.

'So that link while broken is not yet severed. New variants also remain a risk because we don't yet know with confidence the impact of the vaccine against the new variants.'
Nicola Sturgeon has condemned the miserly pay deal being offered to NHS workers in England  as she insisted the SNP in Scotland will build a country fit for the heroes of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Scottish Government has announced plans to offer more than 154,000 NHS staff north of the border a pay rise of at least 4%.

The deal, which could benefit workers such as nurses, paramedics and hospital porters, was revealed as the Scottish Parliament went into recess ahead of Mays election.

First Minister Ms Sturgeon, speaking as campaigning began ahead of the poll, said: Politics is about choices, and the SNP chooses to back our NHS.

In this election we can build a country fit for the heroes who have kept us going every day through the pandemic.

We have to do more than clap for the people who look after us  we should give them fair pay for the work they do. That starts with a fair deal for our NHS staff.

The pay offer from the Scottish Government  which has been backdated to December 2020  would see those on salaries below 25,000 receiving increases of more than 1,000.

It comes on top of the 500 thank-you payment to health and care workers in recognition of their efforts during the pandemic.

Ms Sturgeon said: This pandemic has shown us that every member of NHS staff is vital to the delivery of the service  we value our porters and cleaners just as we value our nurses and doctors.

Thats why we believe all Agenda for Change staff should get a fair pay rise to recognise the enormous contribution they have made to keeping us safe in the last year.

To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here to do so.

The Tories miserly 1% pay offer south of the border shows that they have the wrong priorities  people will no doubt wonder how they can find the money to massively increase their stockpile of nuclear weapons or build a bridge to Northern Ireland but refuse to find the money to properly reward those who were at the frontline of the pandemic.

Jackie Mitchell, of the Royal College of Midwives, said: This offer of a 4% pay rise for our hardworking members in Scotland is good news. Midwives and all maternity staff thoroughly deserve a decent pay rise, as do all NHS staff across the UK.

We are pleased that these negotiations have happened before the elections take place is Scotland and shows us that the Government values the hard work and commitment of our members.

Willie Duffy, head of health for the Unison trade union in Scotland, said it would meet on Friday to decide how to consult with members over the offer.

He added: This past year has highlighted the dedication, skill and sacrifices that all NHS staff make. Their contribution must be recognised in their pay packets.

However, the final decision on whether to accept this offer lies with Unison members and we look forward to consulting them in the coming weeks.
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.
New Delhi, March 25 : Amid the ongoing Maharashtra crisis involving state home minister over the SUV case fallout, NCP MP and National Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule met Sonia Gandhi to apprise her of the situation in the state.

Sule tweeted: "Thank you so much Hon. Mrs. Sonia Gandhiji for your valuable guidance. It's always such pleasure interacting with you", following her late Wednesday interaction.

This is first-ever meeting of any leader of the NCP with Sonia Gandhi since the bribery allegation surfaced against Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh.

On Sunday, Sonia Gandhi dispatched Kamal Nath to meet Sharad Pawar.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance will be meeting Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to show an united front in the face of mounting crisis the Uddhav Thackeray government is facing, Congress state President Nana Patole has tweeted.

Patole and NCP national spokesperson Nawab Malik attacked the BJP for displaying its "greed for power", misusing constitutional positions and violating statutory norms to achieve its aims.

"It's the prerogrative of the CM whether to speak. How can the opposition force him to talk? When former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did not speak, he was accused similarly, but now we have a talkative PM (Narendra Modi) and all are witnessing how he has destroyed the country," Patole shot back.

Dismissing former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' contention that the MVA has become weak, Malik said the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government is very strong and despite all attempts, the BJP can't unseat it.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Wednesday and listed 100 points on which the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government has allegedly failed to discharge its Constitutional duties, besides urging him to seek a report from Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
Wilkes-Barre, PA (18701)

Today

Thunderstorms likely. A few storms may be severe. High 73F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Cloudy with showers. Low 63F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.
The project of Professor Genevieve Bordeleau, from the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS), received financial support from the Quebec government under the International Climate Cooperation Program (ICCP), a program of the 2013-2020 Action Plan on Climate Change, which was succeeded by the 2030 Plan for a Green Economy. The research, which will be carried out in Madagascar, has been awarded a grant of $984,563.

The project will assess the risks of well water contamination and propose solutions for access to safe water for rural communities living along the Ikopa River, which runs through Madagascar's capital. Frequent floods in this region contaminate underground and surface drinking water sources, increasing the prevalence of diarrheal diseases, which are a major cause of morbidity and mortality.

"Access to clean drinking water is very limited in some parts of the world," says Genevieve Bordeleau, a researcher in hydrogeology and isotope geochemistry. "Climate change is accentuating these inequalities, so I'm honoured and proud to be able to work with our Malagasy partner to improve the quality of well water in rural Madagascar." ICCP Projects

The ICCP has a total budget of $30.1 million to finance projects that aim to help French-speaking African and Caribbean countries adapt to climate change and limit their greenhouse gas emissions. The projects are led by Quebec businesses, research and educational institutions, and organizations in association with local partners and involve numerous spheres of activity, including renewable energy, energy efficiency, waste management, agriculture, forestry, and water management.

"The INRS project, supported by Ministere de l'Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, holds great promise for our university and its community," says INRS CEO Luc-Alain Giraldeau. "We believe fundamental and applied research drives economic, social, and cultural progress. Having all the partners share their expertise will help us all in ways that go well beyond water management research."

" By declaring itself bound to the Paris Agreement, Quebec has committed itself to greater international climate solidarity. The countries targeted by the International Climate Cooperation Program have many challenges to face in order to improve the quality of life of their citizens while effectively combating climate change. The projects funded will respond concretely to the needs of these communities. The program also gives our organizations and businesses, including those in the Capitale-Nationale region, the opportunity to showcase their know-how and expertise. Everyone wins! " adds Benoit Charette, Minister of the Environment and the Fight Against Climate Change, Minister Responsible for the Fight Against Racism and Minister Responsible for the Laval Region.

In addition to addressing climate change, the projects will contribute to many other sustainable development goals including innovation, economic growth, gender equality, and reducing inequality. About the project

The project, entitled "Rano Madagasikara: Strengthening the resilience of communities in the Ikopa sub-basin in response to contaminated drinking water sources in times of floods," will be carried out in collaboration with professors Rene Lefebvre, Claudio Paniconi, Saeid Homayouni, and Monique Bernier (a retired professor). The group will hire two students in Madagascar to help with research through a co-tutorship with Institut national des sciences et techniques nucleaires (INSTN)--the local partner affiliated with the University of Antananarivo--and INRS. The students will complete their first year of studies in Madagascar before coming to finish the program in Quebec. Emma Mamifarananahary, a project manager from Madagascar who has lived in Quebec for many years, has been hired by INRS to join the group.

###

About INRS

INRS is a university dedicated exclusively to graduate level research and training. Since its creation in 1969, INRS has played an active role in Quebec's economic, social, and cultural development and is ranked first for research intensity in Quebec and in Canada. INRS is made up of four interdisciplinary research and training centres in Quebec City, Montreal, Laval, and Varennes, with expertise in strategic sectors: Eau Terre Environnement, Energie Materiaux Telecommunications, Urbanisation Culture Societe, and Armand-Frappier Sante Biotechnologie. The INRS community includes more than 1,500 students, postdoctoral fellows, faculty members, and staff.

Source :

Audrey-Maude Vezina

Service des communications de l'INRS

418 254-2156

audrey-maude.vezina@inrs.ca
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 18:27:25|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

JERUSALEM, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Israeli defense electronics company Elbit Systems will provide the German Federal Police with night vision systems, the company announced Thursday.

Elbit Systems was selected by the German Federal Ministry of the Interior after a competitive tender procedure to supply its XACT nv33 NVG goggles.

The XACT nv33 is a lightweight binocular image intensifier that can be mounted on a wide variety of helmets and used either head-mounted or hand-held. It also allows driving a vehicle in complete darkness.

"The system's compact dimensions and its lightweight and the capability to use it to drive in darkness will further increase the operational capabilities for (German) federal officers and better align their readiness for future security requirements," Elbit said.

The XACT nv33 NVG system is already in use by the German armed forces in various missions, as well as the Dutch, Australian and Israeli militaries.

Elbit Systems was founded in 1966 and located in the northern city of Haifa. It operates in areas of aerospace, land and naval systems, command, control, communications, intelligence surveillance and more. Enditem
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.
For nearly 30 years, the University of Southern Californias student health clinic had one full-time gynecologist: Dr. George Tyndall. Tall and garrulous, he treated tens of thousands of female students, many of them teenagers seeing a gynecologist for the first time.

Few who lay down on Tyndalls exam table at the Engemann Student Health Center knew that he had been accused repeatedly of misconduct toward young patients.

The complaints began in the 1990s, when co-workers alleged he was improperly photographing students genitals. In the years that followed, patients and nursing staff accused him again and again of creepy behavior, including touching women inappropriately during pelvic exams and making sexually suggestive remarks about their bodies.

UPDATE: Former students recount decades of disturbing behavior by USC gynecologist 

Advertisement

In recent years, some colleagues feared that he was targeting the universitys growing population of Chinese students, who often had a limited understanding of the English language and American medical norms.

Still, Tyndall was allowed to continue practicing. It was not until 2016, when a frustrated nurse went to the campus rape crisis center, that he was suspended.

An internal USC investigation determined that Tyndalls behavior during pelvic exams was outside the scope of current medical practice and amounted to sexual harassment of students. But in a secret deal last summer, top administrators allowed Tyndall to resign quietly with a financial payout.

The university did not inform Tyndalls patients. Nor did USC report him at the time to the Medical Board of California, the agency responsible for protecting the public from problem doctors.

USC told The Times in a statement that it was under no legal obligation to report Tyndall. The statement said that in hindsight, USC should have reported him. The university said it belatedly filed a complaint with the medical board March 9 after a request by Tyndall to be reinstated. It was about a month after Times reporters began questioning university employees about Tyndall.

President C.L. Max Nikias sent a letter to the campus community Tuesday morning in advance of the publication of this story. Nikias noted that he had two daughters who attended USC and called Tyndalls conduct a profound breach of trust.

On behalf of the university, I sincerely apologize to any student who may have visited the student health center and did not receive the respectful care each individual deserves, Nikias wrote.

In interviews with The Times, Tyndall, 71, insisted that he had done nothing wrong. He said he performed exams that were extremely thorough, but always appropriate.

Advertisement

Im there to protect the health of Trojan women, Tyndall said.

This story is based on interviews with more than 20 current and former USC employees. Most spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing patient confidentiality laws and the potential of a negative effect on their careers. The Times also reviewed more than 100 pages of documents related to complaints against Tyndall and his response.

USC hired Tyndall in 1989 after his residency at Kaiser Permanente on Sunset Boulevard. He told people he had selected the job over higher paying opportunities to work with the bright, sophisticated women of what he often called the Stanford of the South. Even the license plate on his Acura declared his dedication to the job: It read COEDDOC, according to DMV records.

Advertisement

In the exam room, he was accompanied by a female nurse or medical assistant known as a chaperone  a practice embraced by many male gynecologists. In the years after he started, some chaperones became alarmed about the frequency with which he used a camera during pelvic exams, according to Tyndall and three colleagues with firsthand knowledge of the concerns.

Gynecologists can have legitimate reasons to take pictures, including research, teaching and soliciting second opinions from colleagues. Tyndalls chaperones in the 1990s questioned his motivations, the sources said. One chaperone recalled him taking multiple pictures of hundreds of patients genitals, while another said she witnessed 50 to 100 patients photographed.

Bernadette Kosterlitzky, a clinic nurse from 1992 to 2013, said that after a chaperone alerted administrators to the camera, then-Executive Director Dr. Lawrence Neinstein ordered it removed.

It was stopped as soon as it came to light, said Kosterlitzky, who ran the clinics oversight committee.

Advertisement

Neinstein died in 2016.

Tyndall said he photographed patients cervixes and external genitals only with their permission and for valid reasons. In some cases, he said, he wanted to allay students fears that they had genital warts. In others, he wanted to document cervical exams in case a patient later filed a lawsuit accusing him of missing a cancer diagnosis.

He said the images were magnified and not sexual, but acknowledged chaperones were suspicious.

It seemed to be causing too much controversy so I sent [the camera] to storage, he said.

Advertisement

Students also spoke up. In the early 2000s, at least three patients submitted letters complaining about inappropriate touching and remarks, according to a member of the clinic oversight committee who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The letters, the source said, were read aloud during monthly committee meetings.

After the third time that an alarming letter about Tyndall was read aloud, the committee member said, he confronted Neinstein.

I said, Larry, this is unusual to get so many of these letters. Something needs to be done, he recalled. The source provided university records that corroborate his account.

Tyndall said he was never told of the complaints. Its unclear what action Neinstein took, if any. USC said last week it had no information about the committee letters and that the deceased executive director had handled patient complaints independently.

Advertisement

An overdose, a young companion, drug-fueled parties: The secret life of a USC med school dean 

USC disclosed Tuesday that a recent review of Neinsteins files found eight complaints against the gynecologist from 2000 to 2014. Some concerned racially insensitive remarks. Tyndall was accused at various times in his tenure of making insulting comments about African Americans and Latinos. Tyndall could not be reached to respond to these allegations.

Other reports in Neinsteins file were about Tyndalls patient care.

Several of the complaints were concerning enough that it is not clear today why the former health center director permitted Tyndall to remain in his position, the university said in a summary of the investigation into the physician.

Advertisement

Engemann Student Health Center opened in 2013. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times )

Five years ago, the clinic moved into a brand-new building, named for a university trustee and her husband. But in the Engemann Student Health Center, the troubling questions about Tyndall only intensified.

Within months of the grand opening, chaperones observed behavior in the exam room that unsettled them, according to interviews with current and former employees as well as internal communications and notes reviewed by The Times.

Advertisement

Chaperones were concerned about what Tyndall described as a full body scan for unusual moles. They said Tyndall frequently had women lie naked on the exam table while he slowly inspected every part of their body, down to the area between their buttocks.

While he worked, he made comments that the nursing staff found unseemly. He described patients skin as flawless, creamy or beautiful, according to multiple people who witnessed the exams or were told about them. They said he remarked on students perky breasts.

They stand right up there, dont they? one recalled him telling a patient.

Multiple witnesses to the exams told The Times that many patients were silent and did not complain.

Advertisement

Some of them had never had a gynecological exam before, said one longtime chaperone. She and other clinic staffers said his behavior was often trained on international students from Asia.

They are so innocent, a lot of them. And they are going to do what you say, the chaperone said.

In a memo to The Times, Tyndall said the body scans were to look for skin cancer and other conditions that warranted referral to a dermatologist. In interviews, he said a patient once asked him if her breasts were perky, and he used the word only in response to her query. Some of the other comments reported by the chaperones were misinterpreted, he said.

Multiple experts said a womans annual gynecological visit could include a discussion of skin problems, but said meticulous inspections of a patients nude body would be highly unusual if not inappropriate. They also said a physician should confine his comments to medical observations.

Advertisement

You are looking for moles, not the individual impressions of the attractiveness of body parts, said Frank W. Ling, the former president of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and co-author of a medical school textbook on the field.

In the spring of 2013, eight chaperones reported concerns about Tyndall to their supervisor, veteran nurse Cindy Gilbert. She went to Neinstein, the clinics executive director, and the head of clinic nursing, Tammie Akiyoshi. Gilbert said Neinstein told her that he had talked to Tyndall about his behavior in the past.

Akiyoshi, now the clinics executive director, did not respond to interview requests.

Neinstein referred the complaints to the universitys Office of Equity and Diversity, which investigates sexual misconduct and racial and gender discrimination. An investigator interviewed seven employees and a patient, according to USC. Tyndall, Gilbert and multiple chaperones who complained said they were never informed of the probe or questioned by the investigator.

Advertisement

USC medical school dean out amid revelations of sexual harassment claim, $135,000 settlement with researcher 

Gretchen Dahlinger Means, the current executive director of OED, said none of those interviewed accused Tyndall of inappropriate touching or mentioned body scans or comments about breasts. She said one patient described him as creepy and a staff member recalled overhearing him tell a patient, You are pretty enough to be a model. Others, she said, had complimentary things to say about him.

The investigation concluded there was no violation of school policy.

There was no there there, Means said.

Advertisement

Neinstein informed Tyndall in the fall of 2013 that Gilbert had complained about him. In an interview, he said he felt blindsided and upset by what he viewed as false allegations. The only action Neinstein took as a result of the investigation was barring the gynecologist from locking the door of his office when with patients, according to Tyndall, Gilbert and others who worked with them.

Rattled by the accusations, Tyndall said he concluded his bosses didnt understand how much students liked him and launched a campaign to collect positive feedback. As some students left their appointments, he handed them a letter.

You indicated that you were very happy with the womens health care that you received today..., read a copy obtained by The Times. Engemanns managers greatly enjoy receiving favorable comments about Engemann and its clinicians.

Advertisement

The letter provided the email addresses of clinic administrators and suggested patients blind copy Tyndall on any messages.

In interviews, Tyndall said he and his supervisors received scores of glowing emails from students. He provided copies of some letters to The Times with the authors names redacted.

A student in USCs public policy program wrote in 2014 that she had seen four gynecologists before Tyndall, and he was the first not to cause her pain.

He explained exactly what he wants to do during the examination and how he does it, she wrote.

Advertisement

A first-year student in 2014 said she was nervous about her appointment  the first made without her parents help. Tyndall, she wrote, made her feel extremely informed and well cared for.

Many patients pleased with their visits were Chinese nationals, Tyndall said. USC has aggressively wooed international students in recent years. The largest contingent is from China with about 5,400 students enrolled in 2017.

During consultations in his office, Tyndall tried to connect with these students, he said. He ordered a map of China and encouraged women to point out their home province. He kept a bamboo plant, the traditional Chinese symbol of longevity and vitality, on a shelf above his desk, and recalled how some patients liked to take pictures of it. He sometimes showed off a photo of his Filipina wife and shared details of their relationship, according to two former patients.

The word got out. A lot of [Chinese] patients would say, My friend recommended you, Tyndall said in an interview.

Advertisement

As he courted these patients, Tyndalls co-workers were becoming increasingly disturbed by his behavior in the exam room. On top of the conduct they had already reported, chaperones began discussing the way Tyndall used his fingers during the pelvic exam for many young women.

In the final stage of the exam, gynecologists often assess the uterus for lumps and other abnormalities by inserting two fingers inside a patient while pressing on her lower abdomen.

What troubled chaperones was Tyndalls use of his fingers at the start of the exam. Before inserting a speculum, the metal duck-billed device that spreads open the walls of the vagina and enables the doctor to view the cervix, he would voice concern that the speculum might not fit.

He would put one finger in and say, Oh, I think it will fit. Lets put two fingers in, said a chaperone who worked with Tyndall for years. Four people familiar with Tyndalls exams said that while he spoke, he was moving his fingers in and out of the patients.

Advertisement

They said he made nearly identical statements to hundreds of women as he probed them: My, what a tight muscle you have. You must be a runner.

The chaperone who worked with Tyndall for years said she witnessed at least 70 such exams and remembered thinking the physician would eventually become embarrassed about repeating the same words to student after student.

He never was, she said.

During some exams, Tyndall made explicit reference to sexual intercourse while his fingers were inside patients, according to five people who heard the remarks or were told about them.

Advertisement

He would tell young ladies their hymens are intact. Dont worry about it, your boyfriends gonna love it, a chaperone recalled.

In interviews, Tyndall defended his routine use of fingers at the start of the pelvic exam, saying it served legitimate medical purposes. He said the method enabled him to identify women with vaginismus, a condition in which vaginal muscles involuntarily spasm, making pelvic exams particularly painful. Tyndall also said he sought to assess the health of pelvic floor muscles.

The medical assistants know patients are smiling and that I never cause pain, he said.

Dr. Sangeeta Mahajan, a national expert in pelvic pain, said she had never heard of a gynecologist moving his fingers in and out of a patient to gauge whether a speculum would fit and called the practice very odd and creepy.

Advertisement

Mahajan, the chief of Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, said inserting fingers before the speculum was not a reliable way of identifying vaginismus.

Dr. Louise King, an assistant professor of gynecology at Harvard Medical School, said she found Tyndalls explanation not standard. She said that pelvic floor muscles do not typically pose problems for young women and are not examined unless a patient reports pain there.

It wouldnt be something a general gynecologist would do by rote, King said.

At Engemanns first-floor walk-in clinic, a nurse said that she spoke to at least five women in 2013 and 2014 who refused to be scheduled with Tyndall despite having gynecological problems that needed immediate attention.

Advertisement

Some said they felt like he was inappropriately touching them, that it didnt feel like a normal exam, the nurse said. They felt like they were violated.

She told her immediate supervisor and later Akiyoshi, the head of nursing, who said they would look into it, she recalled.

A patient who filed a complaint against the gynecologist told The Times, I was weirded out. The former student spoke on the condition of anonymity but agreed to be photographed. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times )

One clinician who recounted unsolicited complaints from at least three students from 2013 to 2016 said, Patients complained they would never see him again.

Advertisement

The clinician gave the students the email address for Neinstein or another administrator and encouraged them to put their complaints in writing. It is unclear if they did.

A Chinese graduate student who saw Tyndall in 2016 told The Times she found it unprofessional when he pointed out a picture of his wife during their initial consultation. The student, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said she decided to go forward with an exam that day after looking at the diplomas on his wall and reminding herself, Hes a real doctor.

He placed his fingers inside her at the start of the exam, saying he was determining if the speculum would fit. She said she tried not to overthink what was happening. Of the visit with Tyndall, she said, I was not comfortable, but that was the only choice I had.

When she returned for test results another day, a nurse told her that Tyndall wanted her to remove all her clothes for an exam, she said. As she waited for him naked, she began to have doubts.

Advertisement

Its not right. Why do I have to take off all my clothes? she recalled thinking. She dressed and told a female clinic employee she wanted to see another doctor.

She said there were a lot of complaints about Tyndall, the student recalled.

Told of the womans account of being asked to disrobe for test results, Tyndall said: No. Impossible. Never happened. He speculated he was being set up by clinic staff.

Another student, an undergraduate from the Middle East, said that when she went to get a prescription for birth control, Tyndall appeared fixated on her heritage and virginity. She told him she wasnt religious, but he was not deterred, said the student, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Advertisement

He offered me a little baggie of blood I could pop on my wedding night so my husband would think I was a virgin, she said. I was weirded out, but I was in a rush to get birth control.

She said Tyndalls pelvic exam was brief and she did not recall if he used his fingers before the speculum. While her friends got yearlong birth control prescriptions from other clinics, Tyndall approved only a two-month supply, she said.

On a return visit to renew the prescription, he posed questions about her first sexual experience in a way she found prurient.

He asked how many times wed tried and if it hurt because I was tight, she said.

Advertisement

He continued providing her short-term prescriptions that required her to revisit the clinic. On one occasion in 2016, she wept when a clinic staffer tried to take her blood pressure.

I told her I was feeling pressured  and just wanted my prescription, she said.

The nurse who took down her complaint said she was not the first, the student said.

Tyndall called the womans account so bizarre and denied making the comments she alleged.

Advertisement

Chaperones gave their supervisor, Gilbert, the names of women who seemed particularly shaken by Tyndalls exams. Gilbert said she contacted patients and explained how to make a written complaint against the doctor. Some did, but others indicated they just wanted to find another gynecologist and forget about the experience, she said.

Gilbert volunteered to assist Tyndall to see his exams firsthand and said she witnessed at least a dozen pelvic exams she felt were inappropriate. In one case, she said, Tyndall removed an intrauterine device from a patient and then asked the young woman if he could keep the used birth-control device, which was covered in blood and tissue.

The girl just looked so confused, Gilbert said.

Multiple experts said they had never heard of such a request and knew of no medical reason a doctor would retain an IUD.

Advertisement

Tyndall did not respond to questions about the IUD.

Chaperones forwarded some complaints about Tyndall to Sandra Villafan, who had replaced Kosterlitzky in 2013 as the clinics head of quality and safety. In response to queries from The Times about Tyndall, Villafan said she had relayed any student and staff concerns to clinic administrators and university leadership.

Interviews and investigations were conducted in a timely manner but I was not privy to the conclusions or details of them, Villafan, now at Stanford Universitys student health center, wrote in an email.

Gilbert said she went to Akiyoshi, Neinstein and other clinic administrators repeatedly from 2014 to 2016. They seemed uninterested, she said.

Advertisement

Tyndall continued seeing patients  as many as 16 a day. The frustration among chaperones was profound. Gilbert recalled one longtime medical assistant at the clinic emerging from Tyndalls exam room in tears.

USC alumna Chelsea Wu was among the patients of gynecologist George Tyndall. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times )

She felt so strongly that it was wrong and that it could easily be any of our daughters, Gilbert said.

Another chaperone said: A chorus of people were saying theres something inappropriate about this guy.

Advertisement

Increasingly, Gilbert said, she struggled with the feeling that she was letting down everyone around her  patients, chaperones and the university itself.

It became clear he wasnt going to stop, Gilbert said. Some things you can ignore. Some things you cant.

In June 2016, Gilbert went to USCs rape crisis center, known as Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention and Services, and spoke to Executive Director Ekta Kumar.

We all feel the same. We cant get anyone to act on it, Gilbert recalled telling Kumar.

Advertisement

She said Kumar, a psychologist, seemed astonished and used the word abuse in response to her description of Tyndalls conduct. She said Kumar promised to take the matter higher at USC.

Kumar, who left the university last year, declined to comment, saying all her work at USC was confidential.

A few days later, Gilbert and other staffers noticed a swarm of tiny flies on the second floor of the clinic, multiple employees said. Eventually they traced the infestation to Room 215  Tyndalls office.

The gynecologist was on vacation so Gilbert and other employees unlocked his door to look for the source of the insects. They eventually located a sack of rotten fruit under Tyndalls desk. While searching, they stumbled upon a box in a cabinet containing images of patients genitals.

Advertisement

The slides and photographs were shot in the old clinic in 1990 and 1991 and some were labeled with identifying patient information, according to Tyndall and others who saw the photos or were told about them. A senior clinic administrator confiscated the box.

In the wake of Gilberts report to the rape crisis center and the discovery of the images, university officials moved rapidly.

A human resources staffer phoned Tyndall on a Sunday and told him not to return to the clinic. He continued to receive his salary, but was banned from campus. In subsequent meetings, USC lawyers told him they had launched two investigations  one into the photos and another into the complaints of students and staff. Lawyers for USC interviewed Tyndall on several occasions and he steadfastly defended his practices. Chaperones were just as adamant in criticizing his medical treatment in their interviews with investigators.

One chaperone was asked how she would react if Tyndall returned to the clinic. The woman said she was prepared to go to the police, according to three people with knowledge of the conversation.

Advertisement

USC said in the summary it released Tuesday that at some point in the investigation school officials consulted a gynecology expert who stated that Tyndalls use of fingers in pelvic exams could be considered an acceptable practice. The school said it did not have consent to disclose the identity of the expert.

Ultimately USC brought in a Colorado-based consulting firm, MDReview, and a gynecologist from Kansas to interview Engemann staff and Tyndall. The firm found that Tyndall had exhibited unprofessional and inappropriate behavior and that his pelvic exams were outside current standards of care, USC said in a statement.

Laura LaCorte, the universitys compliance chief, said in an interview that her review of the photos found no federal or state privacy violations. Most images lacked identifiable patient information, but a small collection were labeled with names that were not possible to accurately trace, the university said. LaCorte said the images were purely clinical and there was nothing sexual about them.

The university consulted with two criminal attorneys about whether Tyndalls pelvic exams constituted a crime, but both lawyers determined there was no criminal activity to report, school officials said.

Advertisement

We did not have a victim to talk to about what had occurred, said Means, the OED director and a former sex crimes prosecutor.

Administrators sent a patient survey to 2,500 students  male and female  treated at Engemann in the spring of 2016. A quarter of the recipients were patients of Tyndall. The university declined to provide a copy of the questions to The Times.

USC said it received less than two dozen responses and of those, only two provided negative feedback about Tyndall and both were unrelated to the conduct of his gynecological exams.

In January 2017, Tyndall was called to a conference room in a building on the edge of campus and presented with a four-page letter informing him that he had violated university policy on sexual harassment.

Advertisement

The letter included MDReviews findings about his pelvic exams.

I was shocked, he recalled. He vowed to appeal and pressed university officials to let him access his office where he had documents.

Then in May, Ainsley Carry, the vice president of student affairs, summoned Tyndall to a meeting, he said. A powerful figure at USC, Carry presided over Greek life, student government, the rape crisis center and student health. He reported directly to Provost Michael Quick.

Carry told Tyndall he was slated for termination. What happened next is in dispute.

Advertisement

Ainsley Carry, USCs vice president of student affairs, told Dr. George Tyndall at a May 2017 meeting that he was slated for termination. Tyndall later resigned quietly with a financial payout. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times )

Tyndall said Carry proposed an alternative to firing. If Tyndall agreed to resign, he would be given a severance and the conclusion of the investigation would be changed to no finding, the physician recalled Carry saying.

Tyndall said he inquired what would happen if he refused the deal.

I asked, Are you going to report that to the medical board? And he said, Probably, Tyndall recalled.

Advertisement

Carry called Tyndalls account of the conversation false in a statement through a USC spokeswoman.

USC would never offer to change OED findings. Those findings stand today and remain in his file, Carry said.

The university said Tyndall threatened to sue USC for age and gender discrimination and rather than engage in protracted litigation they sought a settlement.

Tyndall said he initially refused Carrys settlement offer and remained committed to appealing. But USC continued to urge him to take the deal, he said. The universitys deputy general counsel, Stacy Rummel Bratcher, met with him and Carry twice that spring. At the second meeting, Tyndall said, they handed him a separation agreement and said he had 21 days to sign or face termination.

Advertisement

Tyndall said he had done nothing wrong, but felt like he had no choice. He signed the document minutes before the deadline, he said. The terms prevented him from disclosing the amount USC paid him. It also barred him from returning to the clinic, he said.

Bratcher declined to comment through a USC spokeswoman.

Tyndalls resignation was effective June 30, 2017. Clinic staffers were not told. A few weeks later, they watched as his belongings were removed from his office. A terse email in October informed colleagues only that Tyndall was no longer with the University of Southern California.

State law requires hospitals and many clinics to notify the medical board in a variety of circumstances where they suspend, discipline or terminate the privileges of physicians. These reports automatically trigger state investigations into a doctors license and hospital leaders face steep fines for failing to report.

Advertisement

USC said the law didnt apply in Tyndalls case because the university itself wasnt governed by the rules for hospitals and clinics and the complaints against the gynecologist were made as a human resources matter. The university also said Tyndall had told school officials that he was going to retire from practice.

In hindsight, while not legally obligated, USC now believes it should have filed a consumer complaint with the Medical Board earlier in 2017 when Tyndall resigned, the university said in a statement.

USC said in a statement that it does not believe Tyndall should be allowed to treat patients and said the university is re-evaluating its process on reporting physicians. Last week, after The Times sent administrators detailed questions about Tyndall, school administrators contacted the Los Angeles County district attorneys office and later the Los Angeles Police Department. The outcome of those conversations is not clear.

By the time Tyndall resigned, Gilbert had also left USC. She said she had been promised a promotion and even given business cards with the new title. But she said that in the wake of her report to the rape crisis center, administrators rescinded the promotion. Some clinic managers stopped talking to her, she said. She and many co-workers interpreted it as retaliation for speaking out about Tyndall. She resigned in June 2017.

Advertisement

USC disputed Gilberts account and denied retaliating against her.

In a series of interviews this spring, Tyndall portrayed himself as a victim. At one point, he offered a theory that chaperones reported him because they had trouble reaching orgasm and were jealous of young patients with tighter pelvic muscles.

After speaking for more than 10 hours, Tyndall cut off communication with The Times and said he was mulling over a lawsuit against USC that might force administrators to reinstate him at Engemann.

When I am on my deathbed, he said, I want to think there are thousands and thousands of Trojan women out there whose health I made a difference in.

Advertisement

Tyndall renewed his California medical license in January. He has said he intends to work well into his 80s.

harriet.ryan@latimes.com | Twitter: @latimesharriet

matt.hamilton@latimes.com | Twitter: @MattHjourno

Advertisement

paul.pringle@latimes.com | Twitter: @PringleLATimes
Dallas plastic surgeon Dr. Rod J. Rohrich Patients should always do their research and choose their surgeon carefully. Make sure he or she is board certified by a specialty within the American Board of Medical Specialties, and has the expertise and the experience to deliver a safe and satisfactory outcome." Dr. Rod J. Rohrich

Dallas plastic surgeon and rhinoplasty specialist, Dr. Rod J. Rohrich, has been honored by peers as one of the best plastic surgeons in the US by Castle Connolly's Top Doctor program. Every year, the program, which is designed to help patients find the best healthcare professionals in established medical specialties such as plastic surgery, carefully screens and selects physicians through a rigorous peer review process.

During the nomination process, Castle Connolly contacts tens of thousands licensed healthcare professionals nationwide to obtain nominations and feedback about the best doctors practicing in the United States today. They are asked to identify and nominate the most outstanding doctors in their medical specialty which they consider to be top doctors in their region, or nationwide. In this program, self-nominations are strictly forbidden.

A physician-led team of researchers reviews each nominee and checks the candidate's background, medical education, board certification status, hospital and educational appointments, and professional recognitions and achievements. The group also reviews malpractice and disciplinary history to further screen the candidates. The final award recipients are selected by Castle Connolly editors together with the research team.

"This award is especially significant, in part, because it is primarily driven by peer nomination," says Dr. Rohrich. "The peer review process is an important component of reliable medical information."

A well-known advocate for patient safety, Dr. Rohrich lectures frequently around the world at surgical conferences and educational meetings promoting safe and effective as well as innovative plastic surgery practices. Dr. Rohrich serves as chairman of the Dallas Rhinoplasty Meeting and its partner conference, the Dallas Cosmetic Surgery and Medicine Meeting. He is also Editor-in-Chief of the most highly cited and prestigious peer reviewed plastic surgery journal in the world, the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Journal, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

"I am honored to have been selected as a Top Doctor," says Dr. Rohrich. "These types of awards are valuable tools that can help patients find well qualified physicians within a given medical specialty all around the world. Patients should always do their research and choose their surgeon carefully. Make sure he or she is board certified by a specialty within the American Board of Medical Specialties, and has the expertise and the experience to deliver a safe and satisfactory outcome."

About Rod J. Rohrich, M.D., F.A.C.S.

Dr. Rod J. Rohrich is a board certified plastic surgeon in Dallas, Texas. He is considered one of the most influential surgeons in this century. Dr. Rohrich is a Clinical Professor of Plastic Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine. He was the first Chair of the Department of Plastic Surgery as well as the first plastic surgeon selected as a Distinguished Teaching Professor at UT Southwestern Medical Center. He graduated from Baylor College of Medicine with high honors, and completed his plastic surgery training at the University of Michigan Medical Center and fellowships at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard (hand/microsurgery) and Oxford University (pediatric plastic surgery). He is Chair of the Dallas Rhinoplasty Meeting, Founding Chair of the Dallas Cosmetic Surgery and Medicine Meeting, Founding Member of the Alliance in Reconstructive Surgery, and a Founding Partner of the Dallas Plastic Surgery Institute.

He is the Editor-in-Chief of the most respected global peer reviewed plastic surgery journal  the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Journal. He is Founding Editor-in-Chief/Editor Emeritus of the first open access peer reviewed plastic surgery journal, PRS Global Open. Dr. Rohrich has published nearly 1000 peer reviewed articles and seven textbooks in plastic surgery including a recent best-selling medical book entitled The Facial Danger Zones.

Dr. Rohrich also served as president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), the largest organization of board certified plastic surgeons in the world. He repeatedly has been selected by his peers as one of America's best doctors. He received the ASPS Special Achievement Award and on three occasions has received one of his profession's highest honors, the Plastic Surgery Foundation (PSF) Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes his contributions to education in plastic surgery. In addition, he has also been recognized by the PSF with the Plastic Surgery Foundation Distinguished Career Researcher Award for his contributions to plastic surgery research and innovations.
Mental Health Advocates and Georgia Lawmakers Call for Immediate Steps to Bolster Access to Behavioral Health Services in Georgia

ATLANTA (March 25, 2021)  At a virtual town hall held on March 23, a bipartisan group of Georgia lawmakers and mental health advocates called for immediate action to make behavioral health services more available throughout the state.

Speakers at the public event, convened by The Carter Center and the Georgia Parity Collaborative, were unified in calling for the enforcement of mental health parity in accordance with a recent Behavioral Health Commission report and with the Carter Centers behavioral health recommendations for Georgia, released prior to the event. (Key points from that report are below.)

The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, also known as the Federal Parity Law, requires insurers to cover illnesses of the brain, such as depression or addiction, no more restrictively than illnesses of the body, such as diabetes.

However, studies have shown that mental health parity is not broadly enforced, posing a particular threat today as children and adults are experiencing increased levels of mental illnesses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts also have seen a decline in mental wellness in people who were already living with mental health conditions or addiction prior to the pandemic.

Lack of access to mental health care services is not acceptable, said the Carter Centers CEO, Paige Alexander. Behavioral health parity coverage by both public and private insurance companies should be a priority. I hope we will continue to call on our state leaders to take immediate steps to enforce parity.

The lawmakers discussed related bills proposed for this legislative session and talked about how important mental health is not only to their constituency, but also to members of the Georgia General Assembly. They also discussed the process to create change through policies.

Georgia Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick said, Working in coalitions, getting groups of people together to lend broad support is super important. Sen. Kirkpatrick, a physician, is working on a bill to ensure insurance companies cover telehealth and a bill calling for more transparency in how insurance plans authorize coverage for treatments.

Georgia Rep. Shelly Hutchinson, a social worker, said the expense of mental health services is a barrier to consumers, largely because of an absence of parity. We have so many clients who want to come in more frequently and probably need to come in more frequently. People cant get the treatment they need because their copays are very high.

Georgia Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver said there is an urgent need for lawmakers to focus on mental health, noting the American Rescue Plan Act that allocates $4.9 billion of direct aid to the state. We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Speaking about prioritizing Georgians who have barriers to access, she said, I think there are some real opportunities if we are aggressive and creative and really work at it to extend our mental health treatments throughout rural Georgia.

All of the legislators emphasized the need for a unified approach and what Georgia Rep. Katie Dempsey called the need to make the conversation louder. That conversation is an opportunity for innovation and creativity. Rep. Erick Allen stated, Having the Commission really does give a unified focus as a state.

A list of bipartisan policymakers who spoke during this town hall event is below:

Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, subcommittee chair, Georgias Behavioral Health Innovation and Reform Commission

Rep. Erick Allen, Democrat from Smyrna

Rep. Katie Dempsey, Republican from Rome

Rep. Shelly Hutchinson, Democrat from Snellville

Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick, Republican from Marietta

Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver, Democrat from Decatur

Prior to the event, The Carter Center released a new guide, "How State Leaders Can Improve Access to Behavioral Health Care."

The guides key recommendations to enforce parity include:

Include clear parity provisions in Medicaid managed care contracts.

Require CMOs to submit complete parity compliance analyses and data to demonstrate compliance, analyze the data, set targets for improvement, and enforce parity provisions.

Improve accountability through full transparency and by making this data available to the public.

Undertake public education efforts to ensure that Georgians know how to report a parity violation to the state, so that denials can be tracked and addressed.

Editors note:

Carter Center co-founder Rosalynn Carter has been an advocate for mental health parity and decreasing stigma for 50 years. See a timeline of her mental health advocacy beginning in 1971.

Contact: Rennie Sloan, Rennie.Sloan@cartercenter.org

###



The Carter Center

Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope.

A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, The Carter Center has helped to improve life for people in over 80 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; and improving mental health care. The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide.
MISSOULA COUNTY, Mont.  A mountainous, 2,600-square-mile region with a population of approximately 119,600 does not seem like your prototypical setting for machine politics. Yet a recent audit of mail-in ballots cast there found irregularities characteristic of larger urban centers  on a level that could have easily swung local elections in 2020, and statewide elections in cycles past.

The Biden administration, the Democrat-controlled Congress, and the Democratic National Committee are collectively pressing to both nationalize, and make permanent, many of the extraordinary pandemic-driven voting measures implemented during the 2020 election particularly mass mail-in voting.

Political leaders and prominent media outlets have dismissed concerns raised by critics that such measures invite voter fraud. But could the election in small-county Missoula call all that into question?

The story at hand begins during the pandemic summer of 2020, when the then-governor, Democrat Steve Bullock, issued a directive permitting counties to conduct the general election fully by mail. In the run-up to the election, a court also struck down Montanas law aimed at preventing ballot harvesting.

Missoula, Montanas second most populous county and one of its most heavily Democratic, opted in to the universal vote-by-mail regime.

In response, in October 2020, several county residents with experience targeting election integrity issues formed a group to ensure the legitimacy of the 2020 vote. The members contended that Missoula County had shown anomalies in elections past.

In November, the group approached state Rep. Brad Tschida, a Republican, to formally take up the issue. Tschida hired a lawyer involved in the group, Quentin Rhoades, to represent him in corresponding with Missoula County Elections Administrator Bradley Seaman, a Democratic appointee and a longtime supporter of progressive causes.

Seamans office complied with Tschidas request for access to all of the countys ballot envelopes, and on Jan. 4 a team of volunteers, overseen by Rhoades, conducted an audit with the assistance of the Missoula County Elections Office. The audit consisted of both a count and review of all ballot envelopes and comparing that to the number of officially recorded votes during the Nov. 3, 2020, general election.

Its conclusions were troubling: 4,592 out of the 72,491 mail-in ballots lacked envelopes 6.33% of all votes. Without an officially printed envelope with registration information, a voter's signature, and a postmark indicating whether it was cast on time, election officials cannot verify that a ballot is legitimate. It is against the law to count such votes.

Whats more, according to auditors, county employees claimed that during the post-election audit, some of the envelopes may have been double-counted, possibly indicating an even higher number of missing envelopes.

Auditors also tested a smaller, random sub-sample of 15,455 mail-in envelopes for other defects. Of these, 55 lacked postmark dates, and 53 never had their signatures checked  for a total of 0.7% of all ballots in the sample. No envelope had more than one irregularity.

Extrapolating from the sub-sample, that would make more than 5,000 of Missoula Countys votes  roughly 7%  with unexplained irregularities.

Still another issue arose during the audit that aroused auditors suspicions: Dozens of ballot envelopes bore strikingly similar, distinctive handwriting styles in the signatures, suggesting that one or several persons may have filled out and submitted multiple ballots, an act of fraud.

One auditor asserted that of 28 envelopes reviewed from the same address, a nursing home, all 28 signatures looked exactly the same stylistically.

Another auditor reported that among the envelopes she reviewed, two very unique signatures appeared dozens of times, describing one such signature as starting out flat, moving to a peak, and tapering out, and another as consisting of numerous circles  a bubble signature.

Auditors were unable to conduct a more comprehensive count because, they say, Missoula County elections officials refused to permit them to take pictures of the signatures, and envelopes were not shared across the different tabulation tables at the audit, so reviewers could not cross-compare ballot samples.

Another concern of the auditors: The county elections office did not provide access to video footage it claimed to have recorded of vote-counting activities.

Contacted by RealClearInvestigations for comment on these issues, Seaman cited an agreement by the parties to the audit that no photographs of ballot signatures would be allowed. And he said the county's video of vote-counting "was past the retention schedule when requested although Rhoades' Dec. 22 emailed request for it -- an email examined by RCI -- was within what Rhoades described as the 60-day window during which county records must be retained by law.

Finally, Seaman explained the 4,592 ballots without envelopes found in the audit as a discrepancy due to the lack of a double-check process. The auditors said that during the audit, the only concern raised by the election office staff was the opposite  that envelopes might be double-counted, not undercounted  and they claim that they followed all the procedures laid out by the county. Rhoades told RCI that when he asked Administrator Seaman after the audit about more ballots recorded than the envelope count, Seaman appeared extremely nervous and had no explanation.

The magnitude of defective  and potentially fraudulently cast  ballots identified during the Missoula County ballot audit is particularly troubling given the small margins by which local 2020 elections were decided, and previous statewide elections have been decided.

The 2020 local House District 94 race was determined by 435 votes; that of local House District 96, a mere 190.

In 2012, Bullock won his gubernatorial race by just 7,571 votes. Montanas then-superintendent of public instruction, also a Democrat, won her race by an even smaller margin of 2,231 votes. If Missoula County generated problem ballots on the level of those cast during 2020, they may well have swung these statewide elections.

Concerns over mass mail-in balloting are essentially a Republican issue. The party-line vote in which the Democrat-controlled U.S. House passed HR 1, a bill that would result in universal mail-in voting across America, is a testament to this fact.

The Missoula audit appeared unprecedented in auditing all ballot envelopes. Other counties, including Cobb (Georgia) and Maricopa (Arizona), conducted 2020 audits drawing on relatively small ballot envelope samples.

What comes next for Missoula County, given the discrepancies identified? State authorities say they are concerned about the findings, and may well take them up in a joint hearing of the Montana Senate and House judiciary committees. State representatives are also seeking to reinstate laws that would restrict ballot harvesting, as well as other election reforms.

Lott is the president of the Crime Prevention Research Center. Until January, Lott was the senior adviser for research and statistics at the U.S. Department of Justices Office of Legal Policy, and he worked on vote fraud issues.
Vice President Co-President Kamala Harris is slated to sit down with former commander-in-briefs Bill Clinton for a "one-on-one conversation" at a Clinton Foundation event this week. What will the half-black, half-Indian Harris be discussing with the First Black President, you ask? Why, how best to go about "empowering women and girls," of course.

Christopher Cadelago, a reporter for Politico, recently broke the preposterous news on Twitter. Cadelago noted that a press release touting the remarkable event, held in conjunction with the Clinton Global Initiative University, has on its Friday afternoon schedule "[a] one-on-one conversation with President Clinton and Vice President Kamala Harris on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women, and empowering women and girls in the U.S. and around the world." There are quite a few women who have had one-on-one "meetings" with Clinton over the years, though I doubt most of them would call the encounters "empowering." Harris might beg to differ.

The preposterous has been made routine in recent years. It is now difficult to discern actual news from satire. Legacy media outlets have become nothing more than fake news sites, while The Babylon Bee's posts seem all too real.

We see nations such as Eritrea and Iran sitting on the U.N.'s Human Rights Council and its Commission on the Status of Women. Will the Biden administration soon engage in talks with North Korea and Venezuela on best practices for food production and hunger avoidance?

It is an increasingly bizarre world in which we live. State that there were anomalies and inconsistencies in the 2020 American presidential election? You will almost certainly get tossed off social media. State that the perpetrator of the heinous Boulder, Colorado mass shooting was a "white Christian terrorist" despite the fact that he is a Syrian Muslim who shot and killed ten white people? No problem, doesn't violate Twitter's "misinformation" policy! Just because the statement is a flat lie  on all counts  that doesn't render it "misinformation." Remember, only facts that contradict leftist's agenda can be deemed "misinformation." Only notions that question their narrative can be rightly called "conspiracy theories."

The vital question should not be how we empower women or girls, men or boys, Blacks or whites, gays or straights. The vital question should be how we empower the United States and all of her citizens going forward. At this point, the answer should be obvious.

Trump 2024.

Caricature by Donkey Hotey (cropped). CC BY 2.0 license.
Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko held talks with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Kazakhstan to Belarus Askar Beisenbayev on 25 March.

The Belarus leader noted that Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's visit to Belarus can give a boost for bilateral cooperation.

"It would be great to have the visit of the Kazakhstan president to Belarus which was postpones because of the pandemic. It would give a big impetus for the development of relations, BelTA cited Lukashenko as saying.

"We have achieved a lot in recent years in terms of integration, especially within the framework of the EAEU, and in terms of bilateral relations, trade and cooperation," the head of state stressed. "Of course, we would like to advance this cooperation even further and to expand trade volumes. We are ready to ramp up production, set up assembly facilities and operate those we have at full capacity."
WASHINGTON, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Strikingly personalized targeted ad campaigns have triggered privacy concerns among many, but more than half of consumers (52%) can still name at least one benefit of targeted advertising, according to a new report from Visual Objects , a directory of creative agencies.

Consumers cite the following benefits of targeted advertising:

Consumers appreciate the layer of personalization that targeted advertising adds to their online shopping experience. Despite data that proves targeted advertising effective, only 12% of consumers admit to having a positive outlook on these strategies.

Finding promotional sales and incentives (15%)

Finding new brands (14%)

Getting personalized product or service recommendations (13%)

Finding local businesses (12%)

Offering a more efficient online shopping experience (11%).

Targeted advertising adds a layer of personalization to the online shopping experience.

"It only sucks if you want it to, said Thomas Flutz, owner of home-brewing company Coffeeble . "At least I am seeing the stuff I want to see rather than something that doesn't appeal to me at all."

Small businesses should consider using targeted advertising strategies like search retargeting to reach online shoppers that have already demonstrated interest in their products or services.

Targeted Advertising Helps Businesses Build Brand Awareness

About 6 in 10 consumers (59%) frequently notice digital ads for brands, products, or services they have previously searched for.

According to the rule of seven , prospective buyers should hear or see a brand's message at least seven times before purchasing a product.

Targeted display ads are a quick way for small businesses to build name recognition.

Jacob Fiitzpatrick, owner of creative agency Fitz Designz , believes brand awareness is crucial for online success.

"Digital ads can serve as a visual nudge to increase top-of-mind awareness and recognition for potential customers," Fitzpatrick said.

Targeted advertising strategies like search retargeting can help small businesses establish themselves in their target market.

Using data on consumer search behavior, small businesses can serve targeted ads to online shoppers who have already demonstrated interest in their offerings.

Search Retargeting Drives Tangible Results for Small Businesses

It's true that targeted advertising carries a negative connotation  in fact, only 12% of consumers admit to having a positive outlook on targeted advertising.

The real value, however, is for online businesses. Targeted advertising strategies like search retargeting work, even if consumers consider themselves immune.

Small businesses have used search retargeting strategies to:

Boost conversion rates

Engage new customers

Reach new audience groups

Datis Mohsenipour, director or marketing at post scheduling software company HeyOrca is a strong advocate of search retargeting.

"There is data that shows targeted advertising is an effective and often low-cost method of generating conversions," Mohsenipour said.

Small businesses can use search retargeting strategies to get their name in front of new and existing customers without having to invest the level of time and money required for traditional PPC and SEO strategies.

This Visual Objects 2021 Search Engine Marketing Survey included 500 U.S. consumers.

Read more about the benefits of search retargeting here: https://visualobjects.com/digital-marketing/blog/search-retargeting

For questions, comments, or an introduction to the sources included in the report, contact Shelby Jordan at [email protected] .

About Visual Objects

Visual Objects is your visual field guide to finding and hiring the best B2B service provider. A sister website of Clutch, the leading B2B services review platform, Visual Objects features portfolio items and client reviews of top creative, design, development, and marketing companies from around the world.

Contact

Shelby Jordan

[email protected]

(202) 350-4344

SOURCE Visual Objects
Australian researchers have examined the bones of two huge ancient kangaroos and found they belong to a previously unknown species that spent half its life in trees.

The discovery of the 'Congruus kitcheneri' is down to the efforts of academics Dr Natalie Warburton and Professor Gavin Prideaux - as well as cavers Paul Devine and Eve Taylor, who found the bones in the Thylacoleo caves on the Nullarbor Plain.

The extraordinary find has forced a re-think of the Nullarbor, the vast prehistoric limestone plateau between Western Australia and South Australia, which was previously believed to have been treeless for millions of years.

'We think it was still pretty well wooded about a quarter of a million years ago,' Professor Prideaux told Daily Mail Australia.

Photos of the hands and feet of 'Congruus kitcheneri', the newly identified ancient-tree climbing kangaroo - which has also been dubbed 'Climberoo'

Tree-climbing kangaroos already exist (pictured), but they grow to a maximum 14kg. The newly-named Congruus kitcheneri could have grown as big as 60kg

His colleague Dr Warburton said: 'The specimens we analysed - including several cranial and two near complete skeletons - suggests this kangaroo species would climb and move slowly through trees to browse on plant material not available to animals that are stuck on the ground.'

The animal would have weighed up to 60kg, the researchers said.

'That's a solid bit of beast overhead,' Professor Prideaux said.

'Think about them as a macropod equivalent of a large baboon.'

He said it would have looked different from an Eastern Grey roo, being 'more robust and stocky'.

'And with very solid arms, big mitts with big, long, sharped, curved claws,' he said.

Dr Warburton added the animal would have had unusually long fingers and toes with long, curved-claws, in comparison to other kangaroos and wallabies.

It also had 'powerful arm muscles to raise and hold themselves up in trees, and a longer, more mobile neck than other kangaroos that would be useful for reaching out the head in different directions for browsing on leaves', he said.

Images of fossilized skull bones of the newly named 'Congruus kitcheneri', discovered by researchers from Murdoch and Flinders universities

'This provides a completely new interpretation of the biology of the species.'

The species is believed to have gone extinct about 40,000 years ago.

Dr Warburton said the new findings are significant for what they say about the Nullarbor.

'These specimens come from an area that is now bare of trees, and so tells us that the habitat and environment in the area were really different to what they are now, and perhaps different to what we might have previously interpreted for that time,' he said.

'This is unexpected and exciting and it provides us with new information as we try to understand the changing environments of Australia through time.'
In the early days of this pandemic, when there was a heavy emphasis on contact tracing, we were absolutely going above and beyond to get people testing, he said, adding that the effort included in some instances going to peoples homes  and door-to door-in places like New Rochelle  to take samples from those believed to have been exposed to Covid in order to identify cases and to prevent others from developing the disease.

He added: Among those we assisted were members of the general public, including legislators, reporters, state workers and their families who feared they had contracted the virus and had the capability to further spread it.

As the behind-the-scenes effort to secure tests for those with ties to the governor and the administration unfolded, most New Yorkers who believed they might have been exposed to the virus were confronted with what doctors, hospital administrators and health officials described as a confused and troubled state testing system. The result was widespread frustration and, for many people, concern about an illness that might be going undetected.

With the federal government scrambling to meet the demand for testing and New York becoming the U.S. epicenter of the pandemic, the state-run Wadsworth Center in Albany was for a time the only laboratory in the state that was approved to perform virus tests. Even then, the Wadsworth lab had the capacity to process only a few hundred samples.

Many state residents could not get tested, and those with mild symptoms were often told to quarantine at home rather than attempt to be tested. Many never learned whether their Covid-like symptoms were the result of the novel virus.

Lab capacity in the state increased quickly last March but was still limited as of late in the month, when Chris Cuomo was tested, according to one of the people with direct knowledge of the matter. His test came back positive.

A CNN spokesman said the company did not typically comment on its employees medical decisions.

However, the spokesman, Matt Dornic, added, it is not surprising that in the earliest days of a once-in-a-century global pandemic, when Chris was showing symptoms and was concerned about possible spread, he turned to anyone he could for advice and assistance, as any human being would.
analysis

The sudden death of Tanzania's President John Pombe Magufuli has thrown the East African nation into a period of political uncertainty.

Vice-president, Samia Suluhu Hassan, has been sworn in as his successor, making her Tanzania's first woman president.

The transition is all the more challenging given the major rupture - both political and economic - caused by Magufuli's presidency. Magufuli, who won a second term in October 2020, dramatically centralised power and pursued an interventionist economic policy agenda. He courted controversy on a number of fronts, most recently, by claiming that Tanzania - contrary to mounting evidence - was Covid-free.

Hassan has called for unity and counselled that

now is not the time to look at what has passed but rather to look at what is to come.

Despite the 61-year-old leader's forward-looking stance, questions remain about how Magufuli's legacy will shape her time in office.

The authoritarian turn

Magufuli oversaw the marginalisation of opposition parties and a decline in civil liberties. His first term was defined by heightened intimidation and violence against opposition leaders, including disappearances and physical attacks.

Thanks to five years of repression, the October 2020 general elections saw the opposition all but wiped out of elected office. The ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi now controls all local government councils. It also holds 97% of directly elected legislative seats, up from 73% in 2015.

In addition, media freedom and civil liberties were also restricted. A law passed in 2018 imposed jail terms for questioning the accuracy of official statistics.

But Magufuli's authoritarian tendencies were not unprecedented in Tanzania. For instance, the rule of his predecessor Jakaya Kikwete was also marred by human rights abuses as well civil society and media repression. Kikwete also cancelled Zanzibar's 2015 election due to a likely opposition victory.

It remains to be seen whether Hassan will adopt a more liberal approach, loosening restrictions on opposition parties, the media and civil society. Even if she does, the damage will take time to repair. Opposition parties, for instance, may well struggle to regain their strength. Among other setbacks, they have lost almost all local elected representatives - a core element of their organisational infrastructure built up painstakingly over decades.

Centralising power in the party

Another key pillar to Magufuli's legacy is the centralisation of power within the Chama Cha Mapinduzi.

In the early years under founding president Julius Nyerere, Tanzania's ruling party was dominated by the president and a hierarchy of appointed state and party officials. But, following economic liberalisation in the 1980s and Nyerere's retirement from politics, the party became steeped in factional rivalries. These were spurred by new political alliances and an emerging private sector business elite.

This factionalism reached its height under Kikwete amid accusations of widespread corruption. Magufuli's nomination as party presidential candidate only occurred because the rivalry among these factions left him as the unexpected compromise candidate.

Once in office, though, Magufuli quickly signalled he would be nobody's puppet. He used his position as ruling party chairman to create a "new" Chama Cha Mapinduzi. This involved breaking with party heavyweights, including Kikwete, suppressing factional organising, and consolidating his own support base.

Magufuli's new base was a cohort of freshly appointed party officials as well as civil servants and cabinet ministers. His loyalists likened these changes to a revival of Nyerere's Chama Cha Mapinduzi. But, in our view, the comparison is misleading.

Like Magufuli before her, Hassan will be taking office - and party leadership - without her own political base. She will also have to contend with revived factional manoeuvring as sidelined groups try to regain an upper hand.

Hassan could align with a loyal Magufuli faction, which includes influential figures within the party. But, early indications suggest she intends to follow the advice of "party elders", notably Kikwete. The former president reportedly attended the party's most recent central committee meeting on Hassan's invitation.

Aligning herself with Kikwete will likely lead to the reemergence of the internal factional rivalries that characterised the former president's tenure.

Implications for economic policy

If president Hassan does continue to take a political steer from Kikwete, one likely outcome is that there will be a change in economic policy. In particular, a return to growth that's led by a more business-friendly approach to the private sector.

Calls are already being made for such a course of action..

The danger for Hassan, however, is that under Kikwete this model was associated with high levels of corruption and unproductive rent-seeking.

A careful reassessment of the Magufuli era is needed to guide future policymaking.

Magufuli used his control over the ruling party to pursue an ambitious policy agenda. This was also linked to his political project of centralising power.

Although this trend actually began under Kikwete, Magufuli accelelrated a move towards more state-led investment. Under his leadership, both state-owned and, increasingly, military-owned enterprises were offered strategic contracts.

This ambitious programme initially won him praise. But over time, his authoritarian decision-making, mismanagement, and lack of transparency prompted a more critical response.

Many state enterprises remained cash-starved, relied on government financial support, and registered losses.

When the government's controller and auditor general called for more scrutiny of public finances, his budget was slashed. And he was ultimately forced to retire and replaced by a Magufuli loyalist.

Alongside state investment, the president also sought to discipline private sector actors. Some observerssuggest that this led to more productive investment, notably by domestic investors. But others point to renewed crony capitalist ties.

Magufuli's most high profile corporate battle was against Canadian-owned Barrick Gold and its former subsidiary, Acacia Mining. From the two, he demanded USD$190 billion in tax arrears and a renegotiation of operating terms.

Many saw this resource-nationalist approach as an inspiration and a model for African countries seeking to take greater control of their mineral wealth. But in the end - partly due to externally imposed legal and economic constraints - Magufuli walked back on some of his demands. Instead he opted for cooperation rather than confrontation.

He negotiated a joint venture in which Barrick took a majority stake of 84% and Tanzania the remaining 16%. Key elements of the nationalistic mining legislation passed in 2017 were also reversed.

On the plus side gold overtook tourism as Tanzania's biggest foreign-exchange earner. In addition, some small-scale miners saw their livelihoods improve. Results were more mixed elsewhere, especially for Tanzanite miners in the country's north.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Tanzania Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Ultimately, Magufuli leaves behind a mixed economic legacy. It combines misdirected authoritarian decision-making with positive efforts to pursue an active industrial policy. Reining in unproductive domestic investors and renegotiating adverse contracts with foreign investors were part of this agenda.

There is a risk, given this complex mix, that Tanzania's policymakers may learn the wrong lessons from his presidency, leading back to the flawed model existing before.

Significantly, neither Magufuli nor his predecessors managed to achieve more inclusive growth. For this reason poverty levels have remained stubbornly high.

The pandemic and beyond

One immediate concern is what steps Hassan will take on the pandemic, and whether she will change direction.

Whatever she does, the health emergency and associated economic crisis will likely define her presidency. It could indeed define the economic trajectory of the African region in years to come.

Both Kikwete and Magufuli ruled through an economic boom period. Commodity prices were high and access to international finance was fairly easy. This gave them latitude to choose between various development approaches.

If Tanzania reverts to the status quo of the Kikwete years, the risk is a reemergence of rent-seeking but without the same highly favourable economic growth conditions. Indeed, as external conditions worsen, Hassan may find her options far more limited.

Michaela Collord, Junior Research Fellow in Politics, University of Oxford and Thabit Jacob, Doctoral researcher at the Institute for Society and Globalisation, Roskilde University
The state of Oregon is continuing to bar creditors and debt collectors from seizing federal stimulus payments sent to Oregonians.

A bill introduced by Oregons U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden earlier this month would have shielded stimulus payments that U.S. taxpayers in all jurisdictions received under the latest coronavirus relief bill from being claimed by debt collectors. But his bill was blocked last week.

That means that in many parts of the country, debt collectors have the right to seize some or all of the $1,400 in relief that the federal governments is paying out. That money started being deposited in bank accounts last week.

But most Oregonians wont have to worry about their relief payment being seized.

Liz Merah, a spokesperson for Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, said Wednesday that the Oregon Department of Revenue continues to bar debt collectors from seizing the latest round of stimulus payments for Oregonians.

She said individuals who believe their payments have been garnished in error should reach out to the Oregon Department of Revenue.

This problem of debt collectors seizing stimulus payments has been an issue since last year. Brown issued an order last April preventing creditors and debt collectors from seizing federal CARES Act stimulus money sent to Oregonians. That order was rescinded after Oregon lawmakers passed legislation preventing CARES Act stimulus payments from being seized.

Those orders did not prevent money being seized because of criminal actions requiring restitution or civil judgments based on a criminal conviction. Past-due child support can also be deducted from the payments before they are deposited in bank accounts.

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Gov. Kate Browns April 2020 order prohibiting debt collectors from seizing stimulus payments was still in effect. The order was rescinded last June, but Oregon has continued to bar debt collectors from seizing stimulus payments.

-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com | @jamiebgoldberg
(CNN)  Seven in 10 people hospitalized for COVID-19 have not fully recovered five months after discharge, a new study finds.

The Covid survivors continued to experience concerns with their mental and physical health, with 1 in 5 people developing a new disability, and a similar number either not working or having to change jobs due to their health, according to findings by UK researchers.

The people most likely to have persistent symptoms were middle-age White women who developed severe Covid-19, and who had at least two conditions that put them at greater risk of severe disease, such as diabetes, asthma or heart disease.

"Our results show a large burden of symptoms, mental and physical health problems and evidence of organ damage five months after discharge with COVID-19," Rachael Evans, an associate professor at the University of Leicester and respiratory consultant at Leicester's hospitals, said in a statement.

"It is also clear that those who required mechanical ventilation and were admitted to intensive care take longer to recover," she said, but highlighted that much of the wide variety of persistent problems was not explained by the severity illness, indicating other underlying reasons.

The UK-wide study analyzed 1,077 people who were discharged from hospital between March and November 2020, who developed Covid-19. Among them, 67% where White, 36% were women and 50% had at least two conditions that put them at risk of severe disease.

When the participants were followed up five months later, only 29% of people said they felt fully recovered, while more than 90% of people had at least one persistent symptom, and most experienced an average of nine ongoing symptoms.

The 10 most common symptoms were muscle pain, fatigue, physical slowing down, impaired sleep quality, joint pain or swelling, limb weakness, breathlessness, pain, short-term memory loss, and slowed thinking, according to the study, which has not been peer-reviewed.

Mental health was also affected, with more than 25% of people having clinical symptoms of anxiety or depression and 12% having symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The participants were also divided into four groups based on the severity of their symptoms at follow-up: Very severe, severe, moderate and mild, with 46% of people in this last group.

Based on these groups, the researchers also identified a potential cause for the ongoing effect on health.

Five months after discharge, patients with the most severe symptoms had higher levels of a protein called C-reactive protein, which is associated with inflammation in the body, explained Louise Wain, chair in respiratory research at the University of Leicester and co-investigator on the study.

"From previous studies, it is known that systemic inflammation is associated with poor recovery from illnesses across the disease spectrum," said Wain.

In the groups, persistent inflammation in the body determined by this C-reactive protein was related to the severity of symptoms, but not how severe the participant had been affected by Covid-19 when in hospital.

"We also know that autoimmunity, where the body has an immune response to its own healthy cells and organs, is more common in middle-aged women. This may explain why post-COVID syndrome seems to be more prevalent in this group, but further investigation is needed to fully understand the processes."

The researchers are now calling for more follow-up care to be provided for Covid survivors.

Our findings support the need for a proactive approach to clinical follow-up with a holistic assessment to include symptoms, mental and physical health, but also an objective assessment for cognition," said Chris Brightling, a professor of respiratory medicine at the University of Leicester and the chief investigator for study.

"Continued study of the trajectory of recovery over a longer timeframe, coupled with greater understanding of the biology underpinning post-COVID symptoms, will further inform approaches to the clinical management post-COVID19 infection," he said.

The study participants will be assessed again at 12 months to gather more data on the long-term impact of Covid-19.

Professor Chris Whitty, the UK's chief medical officer and co-lead for the National Institute for Health Research, said in a statement: "It is important that we work out what exactly the various elements of what is currently termed 'Long Covid' are so we can target actions to prevent and treat people suffering with long term effects."

"I know Long COVID can have a lasting and debilitating impact on the lives of those affected and I'm determined to improve the care we can provide," UK Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said in a statement.

"Studies like this help us to rapidly build our understanding of the impact of the condition and we are working to develop new research so we can support and treat people."
Part of my job as deputy opinion editor at The Sydney Morning Herald is working out what Sydneysiders are talking about on any given day, then finding experts who can explain the issues at the heart of that conversation and writers who can offer a different perspective.

More than 30 pieces of opinion are published each week, from hundreds of submissions and commissions. That equates to about 25,000 words of argument. Every Thursday our new Opinion newsletter will direct you to the best of them, to get you up to speed on the debates that matter. To receive it sign up here.

Scott Morrison and Dan Tehan in Question Time on Wednesday. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

This week, after more than a month of furious national conversation about the treatment of Australian women and girls, Prime Minister Scott Morrison belatedly realised this was one debate that really matters, not only to voters but to his future as well.

His emotional press conference on Tuesday came after David Crowe, Peter Hartcher and Parnell Palme McGuinness all warned late last week that the Prime Minister was putting his political fortunes at risk by failing to read the mood of voters on womens rights. McGuinness pointed out that around the world, women have been abandoning right-wing political parties and the governments mishandling of this issue could exacerbate that trend and see it lose key votes to the left.
In terms of raw footage, the Syrian civil war may be the most extensively documented conflict in history. Cellphones capture what TV cameras miss. Satellite imagery compares the state of military and archaeological sites before and after their destruction. Syrian journalists cut their teeth writing, filming, and photographing the conflict, while foreign journalists parachute into Idlib, all filing the same story about the last rebel stronghold. Not a few journalists, Syrian and foreign, have lost their lives.

When discussing Syria with reporters who have covered the country, I come across a common theme, namely a frustration that their work has done little to stop the bloodshed. As Arwa Damon, a CNN correspondent, wrote: There were moments where I wished I could transport the decision-makers to Syria so they could bear witness to the extreme suffering and injustice. We tried to depict it, report it as best we could, as raw as we could, but it seemed not to phase them [sic]. Maybe living it for a brief moment would. Josie Ensor, of the Telegraph, wrote that its a hard thing for a journalist to acknowledge, looking back on a body of work, to realise it has had so little impact. At least, I try to tell myself, we have been on the right side of history. In private conversations, Ive often heard similar sentiments.

This phenomenon isnt new. In 1997, a reporter named Warren Strobel wrote a study of the medias effect on peacekeeping operations, Late-Breaking Foreign Policy. In the book, Strobel analyzes the so-called CNN effect. The theory goes that images of starving children and war victims push policymakers into taking actions that they wouldnt have otherwise pursued. In turn, he writes, many senior Western diplomats complain [that] the print and broadcast media can urge action without being responsible for the consequences. But after a close look at humanitarian interventions just after the end of the Cold War, in Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia, Rwanda, and northern Iraq, Strobel concludes that the CNN effect is not as powerful as it seems.

Strobel acknowledges that images have an impact on both policymakers and public opinion but argues that, by themselves, they are not enough to push either in favor of intervention in a conflict. They can also have the opposite effect: images of starving Somalis helped prompt a response from the White House in 1992, but the bodies of US soldiers being dragged through the streets of Mogadishu, the capital, later helped turn Americans against the intervention. It is not the mere fact of military casualties that shifts public opinion, ultimately, but whether or not the public is persuaded of the national interest at stake. The American public was well aware of the deaths during World War II, for example, but accepted them as a necessary price to pay to defeat Nazism, a threat it saw as existential; during the US mission in Somalia, by contrast, policymakers and the media failed to make as clear and passionate a case for American involvement. Even Keith Richburg, a Washington Post correspondent who covered many of the events described in Strobels book, later concluded, in Out of America: A Black Man Confronts Africa, that in Somalia, there arent any good guys, just varying gradations of evil. If thats the view of a reporter covering events on the ground, its hard to blame the public for losing interest in a war as it became impossible to distinguish the good guys from the bador to know which the US was.

A few years after Strobel reached the conclusion that the press plays a minimal role in prompting peacekeeping operations, he was working for Knight Ridder, as part of a team covering the Iraq War for its newspapers. Ahead of other major media outlets, Knight Ridder understood that the Bush administrations case for war had been built on faulty intelligence. In talking to midlevel analysts at the State Department and the CIA, rather than administration officials, the team was able to poke holes in the official story about weapons of mass destruction. The opening line of an article from October 2002 sums up the findings succinctly: While President Bush marshals congressional and international support for invading Iraq, a growing number of military officers, intelligence professionals and diplomats in his own government privately have deep misgivings about the administrations double-time march toward war.

The Iraq War was not a peacekeeping operation, but Strobels previous analysis is nevertheless useful in considering what went wrong in the lead-up to the invasion. Judith Miller, whose career at the New York Times ended because of misreporting ahead of the war, said in an interview with Jon Stewart that almost everybody got it wrong except for Knight Ridder. The Iraq War is indeed a study in the relationship between media and governmentand also of the media itself. In the same interview, Stewart complained that the press had been manipulated, and Miller replied: All journalists are manipulated, and all politicians lie.

In his book, Strobel attributes much of the manipulation of the media to the ethics of journalism, which create a prison of our own making. Reporters, in theory, are not supposed to insert their own opinions or analyses into stories, so they are instructed to rely on others; if they doubt a story, they need a source who can express that doubt. My colleagues and I perform our adversarial role, of course, challenging official statements during press briefingsand challenging them even more harshly in later conversations among ourselves, Strobel explains. But the actual reports we file usually reflect only in pale form the private doubts of highly knowledgeable and experienced correspondents. He adds, We know when we are being used, and we resent it.

Sign up for CJR 's daily email

That level of introspection is rare. Two administrations ago, Ben Rhodes, a top White House official, made waves in conservative media when he said that the Obama administration had created an echo chamber during the run-up to the Iran nuclear deal. All these newspapers used to have foreign bureaus, he told the Times. Now they dont. They call us to explain to them whats happening in Moscow and Cairo. Most of the outlets are reporting on world events from Washington. The average reporter we talk to is twenty-seven years old, and their only reporting experience consists of being around political campaigns. Thats a sea change. They literally know nothing.

It wasnt just the press that struggled to understand the specifics of the nuclear deal: when it was being debated, I was in my late twenties, working as a Senate staffer, and I felt entirely unable to wrap my mind around the specifics. I imagine many congressional staffers felt the same in the lead-up to the Iraq War. Of course, the daunting task of understanding complex subject matter does not excuse the medias lack of scrutiny when it comes to the Iraq War, the Iran deal, or anything else. And staffers like Rhodes, in trying to advance a certain narrative, are, as expected, doing their job. But journalists have to be clear about doing theirs.

W hen it comes to Syria, the biggest problem with the coverage has been quality, not quantity. Over time, the press has found itself increasingly removed from the complexities of the story. At the beginning, in 2011, when the first protests broke out, journalists were able to write from Damascus and other cities. Many of the correspondents were in the country to learn Arabic, as I used to be. But then those people had to fly home; gradually, reporters only ventured to opposition strongholds like Aleppo and Idlib. Today, though a few journalists still go to the opposition-controlled areas of Aleppo and Idlib, most travel almost exclusively to northeastern Syria, which is run by the Syrian Democratic Forces.

Only a handful of these reporters speak Arabic or another local language; few, in my encounters with them, know the basics of Syrian history, such as how the country was governed before the Assad regime took over, in 1970. In the northeast, they arrange meetings through a translator with the Autonomous Administration or, occasionally, through outspoken opponents of the regime. But rarely does the press get the opinions of hotel managers or shopkeepers or schoolteacherspeople who tend to be less dogmatic about any given side of the conflict. If journalists travel to government-controlled areas, they are likely prevented from speaking to anyone expressing pro-opposition sentiments, yet cautious supporters of the government probably receive the least amount of coveragedespite being perhaps the most decisive demographic in securing the reign of President Bashar Hafez al-Assad.

Journalists who lament that their work has not changed the outcome of the Syrian conflict would do well to recall Strobels analysis. When it comes to humanitarian interventions, he wrote, the rules of wartimewhere Congress, the public, and even the media suspend doubts for the greater national gooddo not apply. Had the US sought to remove Assad from power, images of human suffering alone would not have sufficed to justify military intervention in an ongoing conflict where America had not been attacked. Only when Americans saw the spread of ISIS, a maniacal terrorist group, did the goings-on in Syria seem an obvious threat to their interests; when the Obama administration intervened, the action was met mostly with support.

During the Cold War, when global Soviet influence was seen as detrimental to the US, American ideas about foreign intervention made a dramatic shift; sending out soldiers was portrayed as being a matter of national security. That left open many questionswhere, how, why, whose lives would be lostthat it fell to the press to answer. But as Strobel put it, after the Cold War ended, neither the Clinton administration nor the foreign policy establishment, by their own admission, has come up with a satisfactory replacement for the doctrine of containment as a guiding principle for U.S. foreign policy. New rules for American military intervention are still being fleshed out. Todays press would be wise to look back on this recent pastand accept that the pursuit of truth does not lead to a particular outcome. Acknowledging that is the first step to restoring a healthy relationship both with the public and with policymakers. Building the necessary expertise to challenge official narratives should be journalisms first priority.

ICYMI: What Remains of the Turkish Press

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Sam Sweeney is a writer and translator based in the Middle East. He is a former Capitol Hill staffer and has a Master's degree in Islamic-Christian Relations from lUniversite Saint-Joseph in Beirut. He is also the president of the Mesopotamia Relief Foundation, which works in northeastern Syria.
Two 15-year-old clinging onto a paddle board have been rescued by authorities in Florida after they drifted more than a mile off shore in rough waters.

The boy and girl, who have not been identified, had been using the paddle board off Playalinda Beach, just south of Orlando, when strong winds swept them out to sea last week.

Beach authorities contacted the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) who immediately deployed its patrol vessel to try and retrieve the children.

Rescue personnel were also deployed from NASA's Kennedy Space Center Security Forces helicopter.

Two 15-year-old clinging onto a paddle board have been rescued by authorities in Florida after they drifted more than a mile off shore in rough waters

Footage from the NASA helicopter, which was posted online on Tuesday, showed the two children floating on the paddle board as the FWC rescue vessel approached.

Authorities say the waves were around three to five foot at the time.

The children were already 1.2 miles offshore when they were located and were continuing to drift further out to sea.

The rescuers described the children as being 'distressed' when they were finally located.

They were assessed by first responders before being returned to their families.

The huge rescue operation also involved the US Coast Guard, Brevard County Sheriff and Brevard County Fire Rescue.

The boy and girl, who have not been identified, had been using the paddle board of Playalinda Beach, just south of Orlando, when strong winds swept them out to sea last week

Beach authorities contacted the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) who immediately deployed its patrol vessel to try and retrieve the children
Houston ISD leaders plan to offer online-only classes to families that want them to start the 2021-22 school year  as long as state officials continue to provide funding for children enrolled in virtual instruction.

HISD Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan, speaking Wednesday after her annual State of the Schools speech, said district leaders hope to bring as many students as possible back to classrooms by August while also remaining committed to an online-only option.

About 56 percent of HISDs 197,000 students attended virtual classes as of February, largely due to health and safety concerns amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

While Lathan pushed for choice Wednesday, she also warned that HISD families should expect one big change in 2021-22: educators no longer will be required to teach students in face-to-face and virtual classes at the same time. As a result, families should not expect to retain the same teacher if they switch between formats during the school year.

Our teachers teaching simultaneously has been extremely difficult this year, and we cannot continue to go on in that manner for the next school year, Lathan said. Thats what will look different. The option will be there, but we need to have teachers teaching in one mode.

Lathans plans still remain subject to change, for two reasons.

The first is that HISD will have a new superintendent in the coming months, who could shift the districts direction. Lathan announced earlier this month that she will depart in June to become superintendent of Springfield Public Schools in Missouri after an abnormally long three-year stint as HISDs interim leader. Her decision followed the HISD school boards vote last November to launch a nationwide superintendent search, which trustees hope to complete by late spring.

Well be monitoring these assurances when theres a new superintendent, said Jackie Anderson, president of the Houston Federation of Teachers, whose union supports the end to simultaneous in-person and virtual instruction. We applaud our teachers for doing the very best under the circumstances, but we definitely dont want to see that continue in August.

Second, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath and state legislators have not yet committed to providing full funding to districts that enroll students in online-only classes in 2021-22. State leaders, who made that pledge for the end of the 2019-2020 school year and the entirety of the current school year, have not announced a timeline for a decision on the issue.

In recent months, Morath has pushed for more students to return to classrooms, arguing the benefits of in-person instruction greatly outweigh the health risks for most children.

On-campus instruction is where kids need to be, an overwhelming majority of the time, Morath told The Texas Tribune in February.

Still, Morath has given no indication to date that his convictions about in-person instruction will lead to cutting off funding for students in online classes in August.

Texas Education Agency officials did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday on plans for funding online learning.

In addition, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has made expanding virtual learning options one of his 31 priorities for the state Senate during the current legislative session.

While they await funding guidance from state officials, many Texas districts are developing plans for continuing online instruction.

Some school leaders fear families may leave their district due to safety concerns  taking state funding along with them  if forced to end virtual classes. Others administrators add that a small percentage of children, mostly in high school, are performing better while learning from home.

In Clear Creek ISD, the Houston areas 10th-largest district, administrators said Tuesday that they intend to open the districts first full-time virtual school for students in all grades starting in 2021-22.

We are looking beyond COVID-19 and identifying the successful attributes of an online education, Superintendent Eric Williams said in a statement. Clear Connections Virtual School will be a destination for families who love Clear Creek ISD but also enjoy the flexibility an online platform offers.

Lathan also announced Wednesday that the district plans to form a committee that would guide the district toward its next bond program to help finance major construction projects.

HISDs last bond passed in 2012 and totaled about $1.9 billion, much of which went toward renovating and rebuilding high schools. The states largest school districts typically ask voters to approve new bond packages every four to six years, but leadership upheaval and a spate of negative headlines had hurt the districts chances of passing a proposal.

This district is in desperate need for another bond, Lathan said.

While Lathan said she is eyeing November 2022 for a potential bond vote, she will have little say in the timing. The committee likely will not come together until after her departure, she said.

jacob.carpenter@chron.com
Samsung Electronics Co. announced plans for its next-generation memory chips that will double the speed of existing technology and offer the biggest capacity yet, kicking off a transition that will accelerate the growth of data centers and supercomputing.

The worlds largest memory chipmaker said it developed 512GB DDR5 (Double Data Rate 5) memory modules based on a High-K Metal Gate (HKMG) fabrication process thats traditionally been used in logic chips.

DDR5 memory will be twice as fast as the current DDR4, while reducing leakage and using about 13% less power.

Samsung expects the transition to DDR5 to begin in the second half of this year. The chip industry has been anticipating the adoption of the new memory standard and support for it will arrive with Intel Corp.s upcoming Xeon Scalable processors, codenamed Sapphire Rapids.

In addition to partnering with the two major CPU suppliers, Intel and Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Samsung has sent samples of its new memory out to developers of data center platforms, the company told Bloomberg News.

Analysts estimate DDR5 chips will be about 20% larger than DDR4 parts, leading to increased pressure on semiconductor supply chains. Samsung intends to begin shipments this year and gradually evolve both its fabrication processes  expanding the use of extreme ultraviolet lithography  and pricing, which will include a premium for the early period.

The crossover between DDR4 and DDR5 will happen in the second half of 2023, the Suwon-based company said.

As the penetration rate of DDR5 gradually rises, the shortage of DRAM is expected to persist in 2022, said Avril Wu, Vice President at TrendForce Research. We also expect a 30-40% price hike to take place initially.
He'll make his on-screen debut in series 13 later this year.

And John Bishop cut a pensive figure as he resumed filming for Doctor Who in the middle of Liverpool on Wednesday night.

The actor, who has joined the cast as The Doctor's new companion Dan, filmed a scene which saw his character realise he was conversing with his ex-girlfriend Nadia after being placed in a time loop.

What's going on? John Bishop cut a pensive figure as he resumed filming for Doctor Who in the middle of Liverpool on Wednesday night

John wrapped up in a grey coat as he headed down to the set during filming in the city centre, perching on a step to speak to a mystery woman for the scenes.

In the scenes, the woman asks Dan why he's married, which leads him to admit his bride-to-be called off their wedding 15 years ago, two days before they were due to exchange vows.

Suddenly Dan realises he's moved without realising, and it dawns on him that the woman is actually his girlfriend Nadia, who pleads with him for help.

Where have you been? The actor, who has joined the cast as The Doctor's new companion Dan, filmed a scene which saw his character realise he was conversing with his ex-girlfriend Nadia

Rumours: John headed down to the set during filming in the city centre, perching on a step to speak to a mystery woman for the scenes

The Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) then rushes up to her companion to reveal she placed him a time slip to protecting him from the impending doom of aliens.

The scenes are expecting to air in series 13, which due to the Covid pandemic has been reduced to just eight episodes, and will air on BBC One later this year.

John has joined the cast as one of The Doctor's new companions, following the departure of Ryan (played by Tosin Cole) and Graham (Bradley Walsh) during the New Year's special Revolution of the Daleks.

It comes after rumours emerged that Jodie Whittaker will leave Doctor Who after series 13.

Bizarre: The scenes saw John explain to the mystery woman that his girlfriend dumped him two days before their wedding 15 years ago

Limited: The scenes are expecting to air in series 13, which due to the Covid pandemic has been reduced to just eight episodes, and will air on BBC One later this year

Shocked: Suddenly John's character Dan realises he's moved without realising, and it dawns on him that the woman is actually his girlfriend Nadia, who pleads with him for help

Earlier this month, the BBC refused to comment on speculation, after it was reported that the screen star handed in her notice for the show.

Jodie reportedly told BBC bosses that she won't be returning to the popular series following the conclusion of the upcoming series 13.

That will mark a three-year run for the actress, which is about average for recent actors playing the time-traveling alien.

Matt Smith, David Tennant and Peter Capaldi also appeared on Doctor Who for three series each, while Christopher Eccleston only appeared on one series after the show was revived in 2005.

According to a source for The Mirror, the show is already at work on figuring out how Whittaker will be replaced by the Fourteenth Doctor.

'Its all very hush-hush but it is known on set that Jodie is leaving and they are gearing up for a regeneration,' a source said.

'Her departure is top secret but at some point over the coming months the arrival of the 14th Doctor will need to be filmed. Its very exciting.'

As with previous Doctors, at the end of Whittaker's tenure her character will 'regenerate' into a new form, at which point the next actor will take over the role.

Jodie made history in July 2017 when she was announced as the first-ever female doctor after Peter Capaldi ended his run.
Bono East Regional Minister, Mr Kwasi Adu- Gyan has reiterated his vision of commercialising Agriculture and enhancing trade and industry and boosting tourism.



According to him, as Minister of a primarily Agrarian region, with strong prospects in trade and agri-commerce, it is essential to elevate the age-old methods of subsistence farming and adopt contemporary ways of mechanised, commercially viable agriculture.



The vision I bring to this office is one of commercializing agriculture, improving on trade and industry, developing human capital and harnessing our cultural and tourism potentials. He indicated.



He disclosed this in an inaugural meeting with MMDCEs, Heads of Departments, Agencies and Parastatals of the Bono East Region on Monday, March 20, 2021, at the Regional Coordinating Council in Techiman.



Based on a solemn pledge to build on the foundations already laid towards the rapid development of the region, he emphasised his firm conviction to grow the Region and improve the quality of life of the people.



I assure you that I will run an open-door administration and that all stakeholders with brilliant development ideas are always welcome to my office. I promise to listen to voices great and small, near or far and from friends or persons with opposing views.



Hon. Adu Gyan urged the MMDCEs and Heads of Departments to be innovative, unique and different in the way they do things and assured them to explore and adapt the practical use of ICT as a tool to improve the quality and efficiency of the services delivered to the citizenry.



We must improve the way we do things and bring transparency, accountability and efficiency in the revenue collection efforts of the assemblies in line with the District Performance Assessment Tools minimum condition. He stated.



Touching on a new wave of responsible and inclusive leadership, he urged them to brace up for change and evolution of new work ethics and new attitudes which

identifies ones work and take initiatives at least within permissible bounds.



Present at the occasion were Heads of Departments, the former Regional Minister, Hon. Kofi Amoakohene, former Deputy Regional Minister Hon. Martin Oti Gyarko, Board Chairman of the Ghana Infrastructure and Investment Fund, Prof. Christopher Ameyaw Ekumfi and the Regional Chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party, Mr Thomas Adu- Appiah.

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
Wrexham ice cream man Mr Tee reveals plans for new town centre takeaway

This article is old - Published: Thursday, Mar 25th, 2021

A Wrexham ice cream man has revealed plans to open a new fast food takeaway in the town centre.

The self-proclaimed King of Desserts, Mr Tee, is known for drawing large crowds as he tours the UK selling ice cream trays from his colourful van and has amassed more than 250,000 followers on Facebook.

The businessman, whose real name is Imran Ashiq, is now planning a return to his original line of work as a takeaway owner, having previously run Krazy About Pizza on King Street.

He is seeking permission from Wrexham Council to change the use of a shop on Lord Street, which has stood empty for a long period of time.





If approved, the takeaway would be known as Mr Tees Wrexham and employ up to six full-time staff members, as well as up to eight delivery drivers.

In a statement submitted to the local authority on his behalf, his agent David Price said the proposals would reduce the number of empty units on the street.

He said: The ground floor of 21 Lord Street has been vacant for a considerable time.

Of the seven retail units on 17-33a Lord Street in the town centre complex, three have been empty for a number of years.

There is an abundance of un-let vacant retail units in the town, much more than the market has needed since the onset of the 2007 global financial crisis.

The proposed change of use is A3 food and drink from A1 retail. The unit will be called Mr Tees Wrexham.

The unit will be a cashless delivery service and takeaway, delivering to the whole of the Wrexham county.

The application shows the takeaway would be open from 3pm until 12am, serving food seven days a week.

Up to five delivery cars and bikes would run to and from the fast food joint every evening, with ten parking spaces available at the back of the building.

A cashless service area is proposed for the front of the unit, with a soundproof and odourless extractor fan to be installed in the kitchen area to prevent noise and odour issues.

Mr Price said a separate attempt was made to open a shop at the premises early last year, but the coronavirus pandemic meant the business was found not to be sustainable.

Addressing the potential health impacts, he added: Opening hours will begin at the end of the school and college day.

The menus will offer healthy options such as vegan and vegetarian.

The council will decide on the proposals at a later date.

By Liam Randall  BBC Local Democracy Reporter
A detail of "Fruit and Flowers," circa 1630, by Orsola Maddalena Caccia. Oil on canvas; 30 inches by 39 inches. Bequest of Errol M. Rudman, 2020. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. (Public Domain)

Rarely Seen Outside of Italy: Introducing The Mets Divine Art Collection by a Renaissance Nun

Last year, an Italian nun caused quite a stir at Sothebys, London, when her painting titled Still Life of Birds, Including a Marsh Tit, Chiffchaff, Chaffinch, Blue Tits, Goldcrest, Lapwing and a Great Tit fetched far more than estimated. The Renaissance painting by mannerist painter Orsola Maddalena Caccia sold for 212,500 pounds ($264,350), 14 times more than its estimate of 10,000 to 15,000 pounds.

Caccias bird painting is exceptional for a number of reasons. Even though she was a prolific 17th-century painter, most of her commissioned pieces were religious frescoes and altarpieces, which are still in situ in Italy. Although she painted still-life subjectsCaccia is even credited as the first recorded painter of a floral still life in Italythey number far fewer than her religious paintings.

Most of Caccias work is in Montferrat, an area in the northwest region of Piedmont, Italy. But late last year, New Yorks Metropolitan Museum of Art became the largest repository of Caccias paintings outside of Italy, after hedge fund manager Errol M. Rudman bequeathed the museum three of her paintings.

Faith and Family

Baptized as Theodora Orsola in 1596, Caccia grew up with her five sisters and two brothers in Moncalvo, a village in the Piedmont region, where she lived for most of her life.

Caccias father, the successful fresco painter Guglielmo Caccia, known as il Moncalvo, taught her how to paint. He first taught her how to mix pigments for his paints, and later she began painting some of the minor figures in her fathers frescoes.

Caccia became Orsola Maddalena when she took to the cloth in an Ursuline convent at Bianze, a fortified frontier outpost. A few months before her father died, in 1625, he obtained permission to found a convent at Moncalvo, where he could safely house all six of his daughters.

The Ursulines were founded in 1535, when Angela Merici, now known as St. Angela Merici, had a divine vision to create a convent. The original nuns took their vow of chastity but remained with their families. They didnt have to choose between the family and the cloister.

In the Moncalvo convent, Caccia ran the painting studio where the nuns took on commissioned works to support the convents running costs.

After her father died, Caccia continued to paint as he had done, completing mainly religious commissions such as frescoes and altarpieces. Her overall painting style remained faithful to her fathers teachings, but among her meticulous compositions she planted small, realistic still lifes.

Madonna and Child With the Infant Saint John the Baptist, circa 1625, by Orsola Maddalena Caccia. Oil on canvas; 38 3/8 inches by 38 inches. Bequest of Errol M. Rudman, 2020. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. (Public Domain)

Those still lifes within the paintings had a distinct purpose: to acknowledge the divine. A lily could symbolize the Virgin Mary, and another flower could simply be an appreciation of Gods creations, but each helped the viewers deepen their connection to the divine.

Caccia at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Mets three Caccia paintingstwo still lifes and a religious compositiondiffer greatly from her Sothebys bird painting, but they are just as delightful.

Caccia painted Madonna and Child With the Infant Saint John the Baptist around the time that her father died in 1625, and his influence can be clearly seen in the painting. She painted the same mannerist style of figurative forms as her father did, with their elegant limbs and mannerisms. She also used the sfumato painting technique, as did her father, which delicately softens colors and tones to convey a more realistic image. Birds and flowers also feature in the painting.

Flowers in a Grotesque Vase, circa 1635, by Orsola Maddalena Caccia. Oil on canvas; 40 3/8 inches by 31 7/8 inches. Bequest of Errol M. Rudman, 2020. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. (Public Domain)

Each flower in her paintings Flowers in a Grotesque Vase and Fruit and Flowers is meticulously rendered, a skill Caccia likely learned from studying Northern European botanical prints, according to The Mets website.

In Fruit and Flowers, a striking medley of color, fruit, and flowerstulips, irises, apples, pears, peaches, and moreharmoniously collide in an unusual arrangement. Caccia carefully painted each item, perhaps in praise of Gods fruitful creations, and as a vibrant appreciation of the gifts we all share on His abundant earth.
New Delhi: The Delhi University Teachers' Association (DUTA) on Wednesday led a protest rally from the vice-chancellor's office to the chief minister's residence to raise a number of demands including removal of the 'Pattern of Assistance' document and revoking an order to appoint senior administrative officers at the 12 Delhi government-funded colleges of DU.

As per a statement, DUTA alleged that the Delhi government had not released additional grants and posts promised by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to the principals of the 12 DU Colleges in a meeting on March 16.

"This will again lead to financial crises in these colleges as they will not be paid salaries of February and there will also not be any settlement of long-pending dues. Delhi government needs to give an assurance that such delays will not take place in future and Grants-in-Aid will be released quarterly," the teachers' union said.

It alleged that the 'Pattern of Assistance' document released by the Directorate of Higher Education was a "prelude to a massive restructuring of these colleges that would inevitably lead to the dismemberment of these colleges from Delhi University".

"We remind you once again that such unilateral reworking of Pattern of Assistance without taking into consideration other stakeholders including Delhi University and employees of these colleges is both unethical and illegal. These 12 Delhi University colleges are constituent colleges and will always remain part of Delhi University," it added.

The colleges, which were earlier referred to as "100 per cent funded Delhi government-maintained colleges of DU", are now addressed in the document as "100 per cent funded Delhi government-sponsored college affiliated to the University of Delhi".

"The change in the manner of referencing clearly strengthens the apprehension that the Delhi Govt. "earlier tasked with maintaining these educational institutions, is now redefining itself as the sponsor of edu-business units" to find ways of disaffiliating them from Delhi University," the DUTA said in an earlier statement.

It also reiterated its demand for the removal of senior administrative officers who have been given additional charge of the 12 colleges.

Live TV

"DUTA wants an immediate rescindment of the Order of Finance Department, Human Resource Division, dated 17.02.2021 that assigns to Senior Administrative Officers additional charge of the 12 DU colleges. The introduction of such officers is not tenable under the framework of the University of Delhi. The Office of the Principal is competent enough to look into these matters. We strongly object to such excessive interference in the day-to-day working of these colleges," it said.
Armenian acting minister: EU allocated EUR 68,700,000 to Armenia for budget support in 2020

Armenia Finance Ministry: MFA's budget grew by AMD 1,600,000,000 in 2020

Bodies and remains of Armenian soldiers are kept in morgue in Armenia's Martuni

White House confirms Biden-Erdogan meeting in Brussels

Armenia acting MOD touches upon priority directions for development of Armed Forces

Diaspora Armenian writer, publicist Toros Toranian dies

2 Armenian soldiers injured in scuffle with Azerbaijan, Armenian POW is hospitalized, Jun. 3 digest

Wedding held in Armenia's Shurnukh for first time since the war ended

EEU member states to finish preparing for negotiations over free trade zone in Iran in late June

Armenia Central Bank: Economic downfall in 2020 was due to decline in service and construction sectors

Armenia legislature adopts several bills in first reading

Armenia President meets with Nursultan Nazarbayev

Dejavu: Armenia ruling party distributes money for votes at Yerevan district election office

Chief Advisor to Karabakh President sacked

Russian MFA: Works are carried out to settle situation around Karabakh every day

Armenia opposition MP sounds alarm about Baku fabricating criminal cases against Armenian prisoners

Armenia acting health minister: I have apologized, I am not going to resign

Helga Schmid meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Armenia's deputy foreign ministers resigned or have heavy workload?

Dollar goes down in Armenia

Armenia Elections Oversight Committee reports Iranian citizenship of ruling party's MP candidate

Acting deputy minister: Only 17 of 711 Iran-Armenia power transmission line towers were installed by 2017

Armenia Parliament Council holding session

Armenia to host CSTO "Thunder-2021" military exercises

NYT: Chinese hackers launch cyberattack on New York city transportation authority

Armenia President to Kazakhstan counterpart: I would like to see much deeper cooperation between our countries

Armenia citizens shut down Etchmiadzin-Ashtarak road, complaining about lack of irrigation water

Armenia independent MP: Foreign minister and his deputies don't want to take part in treacherous acts

Armenia to get $11mn loan, 350,000 grant for agriculture

WHO worries about worsening mental health worldwide amid pandemic

Armenia health ministry on improper handling of Artsakh war victims bodies: There is no justification

Armenia bloc election foundation already in operation

Russia ambassador to Armenia paying working visit to Syunik Province (PHOTOS)

China pledges to step up resistance to foreign interference in Hong Kong

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: There can be no talk of corridor for Azerbaijan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on incumbent authorities: Wherever they flee, we will bring them by the feet

President: Impossible to ensure peace in region or stay in Artsakh without Russia army joint efforts

China Daily: Dispatch from Makit: Thriving in the desert

Karabakh President: We will never put up with being part of Azerbaijan, it is ruled out

Armenia MFA information department chief: All deputy FMs carrying out their duties

Ardshinbank invited children to the cinema on International Childrens Day

Armenia judiciary to have 10 more judges

Armenia acting premier: We had recorded 40% increase in tax revenues according to 2019 results

Armenia acting PM on Artsakh war casualties bodies: We have 50 remains in which case DNA was not separated

Azerbaijan authorities plan to "squeeze" everything from "terrorist show" related to Armenian captives

Ameriabank announces a contest for bank card design

108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia parliament convenes special session

Armenia interim government holding Cabinet meeting

Catholicos of All Armenians heads for Syunik Province, Artsakh

World oil prices going up

Iran loses right to vote in UN General Assembly

Newspaper: Armenia authorities come up with new way of punishing unwanted characters

Newspaper: Russia army Southern Military District deputy commander to arrive in Yerevan Thursday

Lebanese Armenian man taken prisoner by Azerbaijan is hospitalized

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Are we getting under the burden? Then lets get under to the end

Armenia acting health minister on keeping fallen soldiers bodies in bags: What else should they be kept in?

Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation

Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow

2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik

Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center

"Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans

Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel

Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna

Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations

US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies

Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week

Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection

Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential

Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement

Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues

Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo

Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation

NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident

Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices

Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over

Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest

Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia

Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia

Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels

Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters

Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021

Dollar is stable in Armenia

Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector

Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out

Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe

Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia

Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border

Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor

Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue

Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia

Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this

Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia
A medic collects swab sample of students for the COVID-19 test following a surge in coronavirus cases, at NMKRV PU College in Bengaluru, (PTI)

Bengaluru: Aimed at ensuring people follow COVID-19 preventive measures amid a spike in cases, the Karnataka government has decided to tighten rules and impose fines.

As per the order issued dated March 24, those who don't wear masks or maintain social distance will have to pay a fine of Rs 250 if caught in a Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) or Municipal Corporation area.

In areas other than Municipal corporations the fine amount is Rs 100.

A fine of Rs 5,000 and 10,000 will be imposed on non- air conditioned and air-conditioned party halls, departmental stores, branded shops and shopping malls respectively if wearing of masks and social distancing norms are violated and if the number of persons present exceeds the permitted limit.

The owners of the premises as well as the organisers of the events shall be responsible, the order said.

As per rules, in the case of marriages, political and religious celebrations, 500 people are permitted in an open space.

While if the marriage is in a closed space, the limit is 200, for birthdays and other celebrations 100 people are allowed in open spaces and 50 in closed areas.

In case of funerals, the permissible limit is 100 in an open space, and 50 in a closed area.

Also for cremations and burials it will be 50 people.

The fine amount for violation of norms at starred hotels, marriage or convention halls with a capacity of 500 persons or any other similar public places, also for organisers of public functions or rallies or gatherings or celebrations has been fixed at Rs 10,000, it added.

BBMP Marshals, police officials not below the rank of head constables, health inspectors and bill collectors of the municipal corporations are authorised to compound the offence in urban area, it said, in areas other than municipal corporations, Panchayat Development officers, secretaries of gram panchayat are also authorised.

For the last two days the state has been reporting over 2,000 fresh cases of COVID.

As of March 24 evening, cumulatively 9,75,955 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 12,461 deaths and 9,46,589 discharges.

Total number of active cases stood at 16,886.
Women accuse Eastern Michigan University regents of failing to adequately respond to sexual assault allegations.

DETROIT  Eleven women sued the Eastern Michigan University Board of Regents and two fraternities, saying they covered up and failed to adequately address sexual assaults by several male students, leaving the female students in harm's way.

The Title IX lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Michigan, claims law enforcement is investigating more than 30 rapes at EMU from 2015 to 2020.

Four former students were charged in the past year and accused of assaults during their time at the university.

Before the lawsuit was filed, five of the women involved spoke to the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, on the condition of anonymity after they testified against Dustyn Durbin, 24, of Frenchtown Township.

The women in the lawsuit accuse:

Former Title IX coordinator Melody Werner of telling one of them her assault was not even worth reporting.

The university of retaliation by holding up one woman's transcript for law school, "pending litigation," until 2099. A second woman had such a designation on her transcript.

EMU Police Chief Bob Heighes of receiving knowledge of an assault from a family member in a fraternity.

An EMU police officer of telling a student nothing would happen as far as prosecution because she reported an assault after two months.

The lawsuit's accusations include the EMU Police Department, Deputy Police Chief Daniel Karrick and the local and national chapters of the Alpha Sigma Phi and Delta Tau Delta fraternities.

The Ypsilanti Police Department, which handled the four arrests, said in a news release Wednesday that it actively investigates violence against women, including sexual assaults dating back to 2014, and asked that any victims reach out. The department said no further information would be given.

EMU President James Smith, in a campus message Wednesday, did not address the lawsuit but discussed an effort to be transparent.

"Let me be clear: No student should suffer a sexual assault while part of our community," he said. "Worse, when one occurs and the survivor does not experience the kind of support they need and deserve, the institution must pay attention and strive tirelessly to fix whatever it was that created such an environment.

Story continues

"Every student should feel comfortable using University services  and particularly our Title IX office  when they have experienced a sexual assault."

EMU spokesman Geoff Larcom said in an email that the university had just received a copy of the complaint, and he directed the Free Press to the president's statements. In a subsequent email, he said allegations of a cover-up are false.

Neither Werner, Heighes, nor Karrick, nor the fraternity representatives could be immediately reached for comment.

University Title IX offices stem from a 1972 federal act of the same name, under which sex discrimination, such as sexual harassment, is banned at schools receiving federal funding. Under Title IX, schools are obligated to investigate reports of sexual assault.

Statements from the university last week show the school and the women are at odds over whether there was actual knowledge of the assaults in several cases. That term and other language in the lawsuit reflect an attempt to meet the standard of the federal 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, which said a student has a case only if a schools deliberate indifference to a harassment report led to more harassment.

Investigation: LSU administrator gave rapists, stalkers and other Title IX violators slaps on the wrist

The university told the Free Press that no complainant wanted a formal investigation, and in one case, a complaint could not be followed up on because it was submitted anonymously.

Werner has denied that she suggested a student not report an assault.

Anonymous reports rarely support a meaningful Title IX investigation, and the university emphatically denies that its Title IX office ever discouraged a student from reporting, EMU Vice President for Communications Walter Kraft said in a series of emailed statements last week in response to several Free Press inquiries.

"It is with the utmost empathy for the experiences of the survivors who have come forward now that we express our deepest wishes that we could have moved forward then and our regret that we could not," he said.

The women, who were not named in the anonymous Jane Doe lawsuit, described sexual assaults involving four male students, three of whom are among those facing criminal charges.

Those men are Durbin, who faces charges involving nine women; Thomas Hernandez, 23, of Lincoln Park; and DAngelo McWilliams, 25, of Canton, a Washtenaw County sheriffs deputy on unpaid leave.

Hernandez's attorney, William Amadeo of the McManus & Amadeo law firm in Ann Arbor, said his client "is not guilty of anything."

"He's willing to take a polygraph to prove his innocence, and in my opinion, this has been a money grab by people making false allegations," he said. "I completely stand behind Thomas' innocence, and I intend to prove that in court."

Douglas Gutscher, attorney for McWilliams, declined to comment, and an attorney for Durbin could not be reached.

Police reports show McWilliams and Durbin told officers the sex was consensual.

The women countered the claims, telling the Free Press they suffered long-term physiological harm from the assaults.

In essence, Defendants effectively provided Durbin, Hernandez, McWilliams and (the uncharged fourth accused man) with a Get Out of Jail Free' card, the lawsuit says.

Women thought of suicide, lost trust in men, withdrew from education and endured other mental health struggles in the aftermath, the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit accuses the institutions of Title IX and civil rights violations, failure to train and supervise, sex discrimination and gross negligence, among other charges.

It seeks a judgment in excess of $75,000.

For survivors of sexual assault

RAINN, the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, has a 24-hour crisis line at 800-656-4673 for support, information and referrals.

Follow Darcie Moran onTwitter: @darciegmoran.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Sexual assault claims: 11 women sue Michigan university, fraternities
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.
In 1964, the New York Times was party to a landmark Supreme Court case that bore its name. New York Times v. Sullivan was an important victory for civil rights and it established broad protections against libel lawsuits that have protected generations of journalists. Today, the Times finds itself fending off libel lawsuits by making legal arguments that undermine the entire concept of factual reporting, and notable judges are now citing politically motivated hostility and eroding journalism standards as justification for rolling back the generous libel protections established over 50 years ago.

A New York state Supreme Court judge rebuked the Times last week for pioneering a novel defense against libel. The paper is now asserting it is entitled to assert opinions in news stories, without labeling or distinguishing the opinion from fact.

Last September, Project Veritas -- a conservative journalism outfit known for doing undercover and hidden-camera investigations -- released video purporting to expose an illegal vote brokering scheme. The story was centered on Minneapolis Somali immigrant community in the congressional district of controversial Democrat Ilhan Omar. In the videos, a Somali man recounts a scheme where men go door to door with absentee ballot paperwork, telling voters, This year, you will vote for Ilhan.  When we sign the voting document and they fill it out is when they give us the money.

In news stories last autumn, the Times called the report by Project Veritas deceptive, disinformation, and false. Project Veritas responded by suing the Times and two of its reporters, Maggie Astor and Tiffany Hsu, for defamation.

The Times initial coverage of the Project Veritas report began with this sentence: A deceptive video released on Sunday by the conservative activist James OKeefe, which claimed through unidentified sources and with no verifiable evidence that Representative Ilhan Omars campaign had collected ballots illegally, was probably part of a coordinated disinformation effort, according to researchers at Stanford University.

The Times published another article in October, noting that conservative publications magnified the reach of a deceptive video released last month by Project Veritas, a group run by the conservative activist James OKeefe. A total of five Times stories are cited in the lawsuit, though that number appears to include differing print and online versions of the same stories.

Astor and Hsu were driven by resentment and journalistic competitiveness after NYTs much-hyped story about President Trumps tax returns was upstaged by Veritas video report, as well as by their own political biases against Veritas perceived right-leanings, so they set out to discredit Veritas reporting, wrote Judge Charles D. Wood, summarizing the complaint.

Project Veritas claim that the Times was upset with it for upstaging the papers report on Trumps taxes isnt mere conjecture. The Times initial story accused OKeefe (pictured) of trying to distract from its report on Trumps taxes in the second paragraph: Mr. OKeefe and his group, Project Veritas, appear to have made an abrupt decision to release the video sooner than planned after The New York Times published a sweeping investigation of President Trumps taxes, the researchers said.

The Times responded to the defamation suit by asking for it to be dismissed on multiple grounds, including the notion that some of the most damning accusations the paper leveled at Project Veritas in its news stories were really matters of opinion. In part, Defendants argue that their statements describing Veritas Video as deceptive, false, and without evidence were mere opinion incapable of being judged true or false, observes Wood in his opinion rejecting the motion for dismissal.

This isnt the first time the paper has defended potentially defamatory reporting by claiming it is opinion ex post facto. The Times employed this defense successfully in federal court last year. In Peter Brimelow v. The New York Times Company, it was sued for calling an editor at VDARE, an immigration website accused of publishing racist material, an open white nationalist before stealth editing the article to merely calling him a white nationalist. Brimelow denies hes a white nationalist.

The judge in that case, Katherine Polk Failla of the Southern District of New York, noted the news outlets defense of its description of Brimelow was that the term constitute[s] nonactionable statements of opinion rather than false statements of fact.

A key assertion of Brimelows was that the article allegedly defaming him appeared in the news section, not the opinion section, which Failla rejected. The Court does not agree that the analysis is this simple, she wrote. By the Courts reading, the overall tone of the January Article indicates that it is meant as commentary rather than straight news. The article clearly conveys a particular perspective about Congressman King and his views; one need not look any further than the headlines reference to racist remarks and divisive actions, the judge added. Thus, a reasonable reader would understand that the January Article provides opinion as well as facts. Failla dismissed Brimelows case in December, noting that other courts have argued for adopting a holistic approach and a close scrutiny of the context in which the assertions were made.

While Judge Wood acknowledged the Brimelow case and the need to evaluate context, he noted that readers of the Times have other reasons to expect they are not reading opinion in the news section. Veritas contends that NYTs own ethical policies  which NYT publishes on its website  prohibit news reporters from injecting their subjective opinions into news stories published by NYT, and thus a reasonable reader would expect a news reporters statements to be assertions of fact and not opinion, he wrote.

Wood proceeded to issue a withering condemnation of the Times argument. If a writer interjects an opinion in a news article (and will seek to claim legal protections as opinion) it stands to reason that the writer should have an obligation to alert the reader, including a court that may need to determine whether it is fact or opinion, that it is opinion, he wrote. The Articles that are the subject of this action called the Video deceptive, but the dictionary definitions of disinformation and deceptive provided by defendants counsel, certainly apply to Astors and Hsus failure to note that they injected their opinions in news articles, as they now claim.

Despite calling Project Veritas report deceptive and disinformation, the Times reporting did not actually disprove any of the specific allegations in the report. Instead, Astor quoted third-party sources saying that the nature and timing of the report made it similar to disinformation campaigns.

Its a great example of what a coordinated disinformation campaign looks like: pre-seeding the ground and then simultaneously hitting from a bunch of different accounts at once, Alex Stamos, Stanford academic who studies disinformation, was quoted as saying in Astors article, headlined Project Veritas Video Was a Coordinated Disinformation Campaign, Researchers Say.

In response, Judge Wood observed that the paper made insufficient distinctions between declaring something disinformation and quoting a subjective expert suggesting the way information was presented merely gave it the appearance of disinformation.

Likewise, Defendants now appear to assert that the promotion of the video was where the deception was, Wood wrote. But there is a difference between viewing a disappointing fight of the century and reporting that it was not worth the Pay per-View fee or did not live up to the hype, and reporting to the public that Pay-per-View knowingly marketed a fight that was fixed. Plaintiff is entitled to try to establish whether NYTs writers were purposely and/or recklessly inaccurate, or whether they were inaccurate, sloppy, or something less.

Wood also was unimpressed by the Times contention that Project Veritas defamation charges amounted to a nuisance lawsuit that should be rejected as a violation of strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) laws. Here, one of the largest newspapers in the world since Abraham Lincoln was engaged in the private practice of law is claiming protections from an upstart competitor armed with a cell phone and a web site, he wrote.

Wood isnt the only judge suggesting the press is getting complacent about defamation and libel. The same week that Wood rebuked the Times, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled a human rights group was not guilty of libeling two Liberian officials accused of taking bribes. The court determined it could not be proven the defendants were guilty of being motivated by actual malice, the libel standard established by the landmark 1964 Supreme Court case New York Times v. Sullivan.

Federal Judge Laurence Silberman issued a blistering dissent in the case and called for reevaluating the malice standard.

The First Amendment guarantees a free press to foster a vibrant trade in ideas. But a biased press can distort the marketplace. And when the media has proven its willingness  if not eagerness  to so distort, it is a profound mistake to stand by unjustified legal rules that serve only to enhance the press power, Silberman wrote. He favorably cited similar remarks made by Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas in 2019 about the need to reassess the libel standards.

The New York Times is also currently dealing with ongoing libel lawsuit from former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Before being corrected, a 2017 editorial in the paper stated that the link to political incitement [from Palin] was clear in the 2011 shooting of congresswoman Gabby Giffords, when in fact theres no proof the shooter, a severely mentally ill man of no known political affiliation, was aware of any of Palins allegedly inciteful rhetoric. A federal judge ordered a jury trial in the Palin case in August.
Consumer electronics giant aims to double its offline retail reach in the next one year. The brand, which dominates the smartphone and market, will be investing Rs 100 crore to grow its reach to 30,000 physical outlets by early-2022, from 15,000 currently, Manu Kumar Jain, managing director at Mi India said.

The Chinese giant began its India journey as an online-only brand in mid-2014, even though rivals like Vivo and Oppo had been widely present in offline channels from the beginning. Since 2017, has expanded its offline presence significantly. The brand also holds the top position in the online channel since the last few years.



ALSO READ: China's Xiaomi fourth-quarter profit rises 36.7% on handset demand

According to Jain, it will also double the count of its branded Mi Store outlets  from 3,000 to 6,000. Additionally, the brand has 75 flagship Mi Home stores in India. During last years pandemic led lockdown, it launched its first omni-channel solution under the Mi Commerce banner.

Xiaomis recent move comes after it initiated a capacity expansion plan with three new original equipment manufacturers on board. It has partnered two Chinese OEMs  BYD Electronic Company and DBG Technology  and Hyderabad-based TV maker Radiant Appliances & Electronics for smartphone and manufacturing here.

As per IDC, in 2020 continued to hold the top spot in the local smartphone market with 27 percent share, while it had some 20 percent share in the television market, industry analysts said.

When the water sloshing around the inside of the 26-ton Marine Corps assault amphibious vehicle carrying 16 troops reached the tops of the men's boots, the rear crewman was alarmed.

"Where's my staff sergeant?" he asked the dozen infantry Marines and a Navy corpsman riding inside as the AAV headed back to a ship off California's coast.

The crewman grabbed one of the grunts' rifles, sticking the buttstock into the oily water to gauge how deep it was. He knew that once it hit their ankles, they needed to prepare to bail.

"Where's my staff sergeant?" the crewman asked again, sounding more worried than before. The vehicle commander was up in the turret as the AAV hit rougher seas on its way back to the amphibious transport dock Somerset, having left a cove on San Clemente Island's west side.

One of the infantry Marines later recalled telling the crewman to calm down.

"We're going to make it back to the ship," he said. "Just do me a favor and take a deep breath."

That the troops inside the vehicle weren't trained to recognize the dire situation they were in is just one of many failures revealed in a months-long investigation into what would be the Marine Corps' deadliest AAV training accident. A mix of mechanical problems, leadership failures and training gaps cost eight Marines and a sailor their lives -- all of whom drowned after the decades-old amphibious vehicle filled with water, tipped and sank 385 feet beneath the ocean's surface.

One of the troops was found inside the vehicle. The other seven who went missing were found in its vicinity.

"Ultimately, this tragic mishap was preventable," Lt. Gen. Steven Rudder, who assumed command of Marine Corps Forces Pacific two weeks before the July 30, 2020 accident off San Diego's coast, wrote in a letter endorsing the investigation's findings. "The actions directed in this document are intended to prevent future incidents of this kind."

Cpls. Wesley Rodd and Cesar Villanueva; Lance Cpls. Marco Barranco, Guillermo Perez and Chase Sweetwood; Pfcs. Bryan Baltierra, Evan Bath and Jack Ryan Ostrovsky; and Navy Hospitalman Christopher Gnem were killed in the accident. They were assigned to Bravo Company, Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines. Their unit was training to deploy with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

No single problem caused the AAV to sink that day, one of two investigations into the accident found. (A second investigation conducted by the Naval Safety Center will not be publicly released.) Rather, "a sequence of mechanical failures" contributed, it states. The vehicle, one of more than 800 like it in the Marine Corps' inventory, was built 17 years before the youngest Marine killed in the tragic mishap was born.

Problems that allowed the most significant amounts of water to seep into the vehicle included faulty seals on a plenum grill at the front of the vehicle, which controls airflow, and a wrongly installed headlight.

There were no safety boats in the water, which goes against Navy and Marine Corps policies. Unit leaders also failed to ensure their Marines completed egress training, which teaches them to get out of a sinking vehicle or aircraft, before their amphibious vehicle left a Navy ship for a morning raid exercise.

Most of the infantry Marines had only ridden in one of the tracked vehicles on land, never in water. Eight of the nine killed in the accident had only been trained to get out of the vehicle in shallow water, the investigation found. The Marines also weren't given a standard safety briefing that's supposed to occur anytime an AAV heads into the water. That briefing would've helped familiarize them with escape hatches and other protocols.

The Marine commanding the AAV also failed to order the troops to evacuate the sinking vehicle early enough, the investigation found. Procedures call for the vehicle commander to evacuate troops riding in their AAV when water reaches ankle level, and for the crew to bail if water reaches the benches inside.

Since there was no safety boat present, and most of the other AAVs nearby were back on the ship or close to it, the vehicle commander faced a tough choice, a Marine leader familiar with the investigation told reporters Thursday. The former Marine Expeditionary Unit, or MEU, commander was one of four experts to weigh in on the findings, though they did so anonymously to speak candidly about the results.

"For a long time, he was by himself as the last vehicle in a column of vehicles, with a ship somewhere between 1,500 and 2,000 yards away and no other vehicle or safety boat anywhere in proximity," the Marine said of the vehicle commander. "He was signaling his distress. He was trying to report his distress on the radio. He had a lot going on, and he was taking the decisions with the information that he had available at the time."

Inside, most of the troops still still wore their heavy protective equipment and helmets, as water continued filling the inside of their vehicle. Two were later found with their M4 service carbines still slung around their bodies.

An emergency evacuation lighting system was found to have been disabled. Chemical lights should've been attached to mark hatch, or door, handles, but weren't. The Marines inside the vehicle resorted to using flashlights on their personal cell phones to find the handles, which they struggled to open since they weren't trained to do so.

Two commanding officers have been removed from their jobs since the accident over a loss of confidence in their abilities to lead.

Lt. Col. Michael J. Regner, commanding officer of Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, was relieved in October. Col. Christopher Bronzi, the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit's commanding officer, was relieved of command this week. Bronzi still led the MEU through its training workup and four months of its deployment to the Middle East before he was relieved over the newly released investigation.

The reliefs mark the second time in a year that senior Marine Corps officers have been punished for fatal accidents investigators determined could have been prevented.

"This is not what right looks like," a Marine safety expert said this week. The Marine Corps has been briefing families of the nine killed in the mishap on their findings.

Lt. Gen. Karsten Heckl, I Marine Expeditionary Force's commanding general who carried out the reliefs of the two commanding officers, called the training problems, safety shortcuts and other conditions that led to the fatal mishap "totally unacceptable."

"This serious failure of leadership contributed to the overall events that led to the loss of life and injury of our Marines and Sailor," Heckl added.

A Changed Mission

Little went as planned as Marines and sailors prepared to launch a mechanized raid on San Clemente Island on the morning of July 30.

Fourteen AAVs were supposed to launch from the Somerset. By about 7:45 a.m., 13 of them had left the ship. One stayed back due to maintenance problems.

When they reached the beach, the Marines carried out a mechanized raid and were scheduled to return to the ship by about noon. That return was delayed when another AAV broke down on the island.

The crew of the AAV that later sank performed some maintenance while ashore, according to the investigation. There appeared to be a fluid leak, and they added six gallons of transmission fluid to the vehicle -- something the former MEU commander said should have signaled a big problem.

"The transmission capacity for oil and AAV is 23 gallons," he said. "So they added six gallons -- nearly a quarter the capacity of the tank.  That's pretty significant and it's not normal."

Still, at about 4:45 p.m., that AAV was one of nine that started heading back to the Somerset. Four AAVs stayed back on San Clemente Island, and two more later had to turn back due to problems, leaving seven in the water.

The AAV platoon's first section leader said he'd collected each of the vehicles' operational checks before the vehicles left the beach, but when the investigating officer requested copies, the Marine could not produce them.

The sea state near San Clemente Island was calm, but things got choppier when the vehicle got past the cove. A safety boat was available to escort the AAVs back to the ship, but remained on the Somerset because no one requested it. Marines can use nearly empty AAVs as safety boats in a pinch, but no one planned for that either.

The AAV platoon commander said he assumed the ship would have safety boats out as the vehicles made their way back to the Somerset, but "this assumption was never confirmed ... [and] was never coordinated," the investigation states.

The AAV that was about to hit trouble was the last of the seven headed back to the Somerset. Since they'd been delayed by the maintenance problems on the beach, the Somerset was now conducting flight operations, leaving it heading away from the AAVs' positions.

The last AAV began to show signs of trouble. First the transmission failed. Other mechanical trouble followed.

"Transmission fails, the water drive fails, the engine RPMs drop," the former MEU commanding officer said. "Water is coming into the engine compartment through the plenums. It's also coming into the engine compartment through a headlight that was leaking."

That eventually led the generator to fail, leaving the vehicle operating on battery power alone.

"When the transmission failed, the hydraulic bilge pumps were degraded," the former MEU commander added. "... The electric bilge pumps were not operating at capacity, nor was the radio. So we've got a series of mechanical failures that are compounding the danger this AAV is in."

As the AAV slowly sank, the vehicle commander was on top of the AAV, waving a blue-and-white checkered November flag. Someone on the ship spotted the maritime distress signal, and the two AAVs that hadn't yet reached the Somerset turned back.

By the time the first of those two vehicles reached the AAV in peril, it was only about 6 inches above water. The water inside was at bench level when the vehicle commander told his rear crewman to open the side cargo hatch, instructing everyone to "drop their stuff" and get out. But the Marines were struggling to operate the handle to open the latch. It was dark. Some held up cell phones for light, since no other light sources were available.

The troops inside started to panic, witnesses recalled. One worried about his swimming skills.

The vehicle that approached to help accidentally bumped into the sinking AAV due to the choppy sea state, and the impact turned it sideways into the waves. When the hatch was opened, a wave quickly swept over the top of the AAV.

"This wave rapidly filled the troop compartment with water and caused AAV ... to assume a nose high pitch angle and rapidly sink," the investigation states with 11 still in the vehicle.

The AAV that pulled up to help was able to recover the vehicle commander, rear crewman and three embarked personnel. The AAV driver then came up to the surface. An officer from a third vehicle that was now at the scene dove into the water to save the driver.

Perez and another Marine also emerged from the water. They attempted lifesaving aid, but Perez could not be saved.

Baltierra, Barranco, Bath, Gnem, Ostrovsky, Rodd, Sweetwood and Villanueva were missing. Rodd, at 23 years old, was the oldest of the nine killed in the accident.

Two rigid-hull inflatable boats were launched from the Somerset to assist with the search at 6:25 p.m. Coast Guard vessels and other ships were tasked with search-and-rescue operations.

The AAV was found on Aug. 3. The Marine Corps announced four days later that Navy salvage teams had recovered the bodies of the missing sailor and seven Marines.

'We Will Get Better'

The Marine Corps is in the process of replacing its fleet of aging AAVs with the new Amphibious Combat Vehicle, but the rollout will take years. Marines in California are currently testing and evaluating the new amphibious vehicles that will carry troops between ships and land.

That means the Marine Corps will continue using AAVs for years to come. For now though, their water operations remain halted pending fleet-wide safety inspections. Commandant Gen. David Berger ordered the pause the day after the AAV sank.

"What we learned about this mishap vehicle is that there were problems with its watertight integrity, and that we may have similar problems elsewhere in the fleet," a Marine leader who previously commanded a division said Thursday. "As it turns out, we did."

Most of the inspections are complete, the Marine added, though they're still checking some AAVs in prepositioned stocks around the globe. The most common problems, an AAV expert said, were problems with cargo hatches and the plenum -- the grill at the front of the vehicle.

"Since this mishap, these detailed depot-level maintenance inspections are now required annually for every vehicle, regardless of where they're located," the AAV expert said. "So every vehicle will go through this watertight integrity inspection annually."

That inspection now involves pouring water onto a vehicle to check for leaks, rather than just the visual checks crews usually completed in the past, he said.

But operating the aging vehicles will require "ruthless adherence to maintenance procedures, use of checklists, and operating policies and procedures," the investigation notes. AAV units must be well led and trained, it adds, and "disciplined in their approach to maintenance and operations."

When the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit began to assemble before its fall deployment, the AAVs selected were far from mission-ready, the investigation found. They came from something Heckl called "the deadline lot," and experts said 12 of the 13 chosen were inoperable.

"They had significant maintenance difficulties," the former MEU commander said.

Once those AAVs were assigned to the MEU though, it was up to Bronzi to make sure they were maintained, Heckl wrote. The MEU's commanding officer did not make the AAV maintenance deficiencies a priority, he added.

That finding needs attention across his Marine expeditionary force, Heckl noted. He called the general operation of training and safety standards for ground vehicles "inadequate."

"There should be a concerted Marine Corps effort to ensure ground vehicle safety procedures and checks are conducted in a manner more akin to the vigorous aviation procedures and checks," he wrote. "In short, there can be no laxity with regard to safety checklists of any kind. This will be a focus of effort within I MEF and its subordinate units, including MEUs."

As the Marine Corps shifts its focus to combat threats from China, ship-based operations are being highly prioritized. Leaders acknowledged shortfalls in some areas after 20 years of land-based missions in the Middle East.

"We will get better," the former division commander said. "... We're aware of [the problems] and we're going to fix it."

-- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins.

Related: General, Colonel Rebuked After Marine Corps Finds Serious Flaws in Fatal Crash Investigation
Armenian acting minister: EU allocated EUR 68,700,000 to Armenia for budget support in 2020

Armenia Finance Ministry: MFA's budget grew by AMD 1,600,000,000 in 2020

Bodies and remains of Armenian soldiers are kept in morgue in Armenia's Martuni

White House confirms Biden-Erdogan meeting in Brussels

Armenia acting MOD touches upon priority directions for development of Armed Forces

Diaspora Armenian writer, publicist Toros Toranian dies

2 Armenian soldiers injured in scuffle with Azerbaijan, Armenian POW is hospitalized, Jun. 3 digest

Wedding held in Armenia's Shurnukh for first time since the war ended

EEU member states to finish preparing for negotiations over free trade zone in Iran in late June

Armenia Central Bank: Economic downfall in 2020 was due to decline in service and construction sectors

Armenia legislature adopts several bills in first reading

Armenia President meets with Nursultan Nazarbayev

Dejavu: Armenia ruling party distributes money for votes at Yerevan district election office

Chief Advisor to Karabakh President sacked

Russian MFA: Works are carried out to settle situation around Karabakh every day

Armenia opposition MP sounds alarm about Baku fabricating criminal cases against Armenian prisoners

Armenia acting health minister: I have apologized, I am not going to resign

Helga Schmid meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Armenia's deputy foreign ministers resigned or have heavy workload?

Dollar goes down in Armenia

Armenia Elections Oversight Committee reports Iranian citizenship of ruling party's MP candidate

Acting deputy minister: Only 17 of 711 Iran-Armenia power transmission line towers were installed by 2017

Armenia Parliament Council holding session

Armenia to host CSTO "Thunder-2021" military exercises

NYT: Chinese hackers launch cyberattack on New York city transportation authority

Armenia President to Kazakhstan counterpart: I would like to see much deeper cooperation between our countries

Armenia citizens shut down Etchmiadzin-Ashtarak road, complaining about lack of irrigation water

Armenia independent MP: Foreign minister and his deputies don't want to take part in treacherous acts

Armenia to get $11mn loan, 350,000 grant for agriculture

WHO worries about worsening mental health worldwide amid pandemic

Armenia health ministry on improper handling of Artsakh war victims bodies: There is no justification

Armenia bloc election foundation already in operation

Russia ambassador to Armenia paying working visit to Syunik Province (PHOTOS)

China pledges to step up resistance to foreign interference in Hong Kong

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: There can be no talk of corridor for Azerbaijan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on incumbent authorities: Wherever they flee, we will bring them by the feet

President: Impossible to ensure peace in region or stay in Artsakh without Russia army joint efforts

China Daily: Dispatch from Makit: Thriving in the desert

Karabakh President: We will never put up with being part of Azerbaijan, it is ruled out

Armenia MFA information department chief: All deputy FMs carrying out their duties

Ardshinbank invited children to the cinema on International Childrens Day

Armenia judiciary to have 10 more judges

Armenia acting premier: We had recorded 40% increase in tax revenues according to 2019 results

Armenia acting PM on Artsakh war casualties bodies: We have 50 remains in which case DNA was not separated

Azerbaijan authorities plan to "squeeze" everything from "terrorist show" related to Armenian captives

Ameriabank announces a contest for bank card design

108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia parliament convenes special session

Armenia interim government holding Cabinet meeting

Catholicos of All Armenians heads for Syunik Province, Artsakh

World oil prices going up

Iran loses right to vote in UN General Assembly

Newspaper: Armenia authorities come up with new way of punishing unwanted characters

Newspaper: Russia army Southern Military District deputy commander to arrive in Yerevan Thursday

Lebanese Armenian man taken prisoner by Azerbaijan is hospitalized

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Are we getting under the burden? Then lets get under to the end

Armenia acting health minister on keeping fallen soldiers bodies in bags: What else should they be kept in?

Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation

Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow

2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik

Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center

"Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans

Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel

Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna

Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations

US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies

Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week

Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection

Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential

Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement

Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues

Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo

Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation

NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident

Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices

Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over

Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest

Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia

Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia

Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels

Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters

Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021

Dollar is stable in Armenia

Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector

Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out

Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe

Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia

Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border

Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor

Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue

Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia

Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this

Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia
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.
Theres a lot of Sturm und Drang in Parliament House at the moment, for obvious reasons. But staffers are glum about something else: COVID-19 restrictions in the pool and fitness centre.

You may well ask: what restrictions? Indeed, you may ask: what COVID? The ACT is one of the safest places in the country.

Staffers are forced to book a day in advance for a workout or to use the pool, which is impossible for most because, well, politics is unpredictable. And while the restrictions havent put the brakes on outdoor social matches between tennis tragics Josh Frydenberg, John Alexander and Anthony Albanese, a strict booking system has been problematic for gym users and swimmers - a group that includes the Prime Minister. And theres nothing scratchier than a politico who hasnt had their 45-minute constitutional.

Its not the only problem on Parliaments sport and rec front. Spare a thought for the Parliament House spa, which was put out to tender last October after 17 years of faithful service. The process to find a refurbishment contractor was a complete bust, with no one applying to work on the project.
The move to remote work represents further digitization of the workplace, and Apple seems increasingly likely to play a bigger part in this paradigm shift. I spoke with Alcyr Araujo, the CEO of Apple MDM solutions provider Mosyle, to get some sense of the changes coming to workplace culture.

Apple and the future workplace

Araujo certainly sees Apple taking a greater slice of the enterprise space and believes the company is in position to grow more in future. Hes staked his company on it.

The biggest transformation in enterprise culture over the last year has been the pivot to working from home. While some employers seemingly insist on forcing people back to the office, that phase is likely to pass  if only because workers will begin voting with their feet.

The hardest point of change will come from a cultural shift in how, and where, we work, said Araujo. As more companies, like Spotify and Salesforce commit to Work From Anywhere (WFA) strategies over the next year, IT teams will need to adapt to provide the necessary access, security and connectivity to remote employees.

The advantage for him and others in the space is that as Apples presence grows, IT teams [will need] to adopt new Apple-specific enterprise solutions to remotely deploy, manage, and protect devices at scale.

We know that employee-choice schemes make sense in multiple ways. In 2019, IBM CIO Fletcher Previn pointed to benefits in employee productivity and retention, and once again reiterated that the TCO of Apples platforms is lower (and tech support burdens smaller) in comparison to others.

We also know  as the BYOD trend showed  that workers like the autonomy of being able to choose the tools they use. Apples ease of use, inherent security, and familiarity are driving growth in the sector. Some argue that choice in IT is becoming an HR factor.

To support remote working, Apple-focused MDM and endpoint security solutions are becoming mandatory, enabling the new era of remote tech support. Founded in 2012, Mosyle began in the education market and later pivoted toward the enterprise. It takes a cloud-based approach to Apple MDM.

As the workplace becomes increasingly digital, what we do at work is also becoming data centric. That data means automation and artificial intelligence are playing a growing part in the workplace, from Industry 4.0 deployments to use of digital twins and RPA.

Theres a huge amount of innovation going on that tech evangelists like Araujo feel will provide employees with more flexibility and improve their lives.

RPA helps streamline boring repetitive tasks, so employees dont have to perform them," he said. "Digital twin technology can help capture real-time data, create digital representations of products in the field and analyze how changes could make the product better. And AI has the potential to uncover insights and help predict answers so humans can work faster and smarter.

I think it comes back to using technology to improve the lives of people. Thats why our solutions are built with automation in mind. By batching and automating tasks, were able to reduce the amount of time and complexity IT professionals experience managing fleets of Apple devices.

Many remain reluctant to embrace increased automation within data centric enterprises, and those new workspaces that do should still focus around people.

Technology has its place, but human "soft skills," such as for critical thinking, problem solving, and communication will remain necessary. We might need to adapt how we did these things when we were all in offices, but they will still be important in a remote world, he said.

Please follow me on Twitter, or join me in the AppleHolics bar & grill and Apple Discussions groups on MeWe.
Mauritian authorities expressed confidence that the national vaccination campaign is on track and that the country will achieve herd immunity within the prescribed delay. This has been set as a precondition for the restart of tourism.

The vaccination campaign started on 26 January. Up to now 117,323 persons have received a first jab representing 17% of the targeted population. A threshold of 700,000 persons vaccinated has been set for the country to achieve herd immunity. Vaccination is free of charge for all Mauritians and visitors who are holders of the Premium Visa.

Government spokesperson, Dr Zouberr Joomaye stated in a press conference today, 23 March 2021, that Mauritius has secured an adequate supply of vaccines for the authorities to maintain the pace of vaccination.

The phased easing of travel restrictions is expected as from the end of June 2021.

Since the outbreak of Covid-19 last year, Mauritius has always upheld the sanitary safety of Mauritian nationals and that of visitors as a topmost priority

Partager et informez vous aussi......

0 shares Share

Tweet

LinkedIn
The deal will provide Plurilock's technology offerings to a variety of North American organizations that require a strong cybersecurity infrastructure in order to provide secure remote work access

Untangl delivers technology solutions designed to simplify customer and agent interactions for businesses that have high-volume contact center organizations

Plurilock Security Inc ( ) (OTCQB:PLCKF) announced that it has reached an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) agreement with Baco Holdings, a contact center technology solutions provider doing business under the name Untangl, to integrate and resell Plurilock's cybersecurity products.

The deal will provide Plurilock's technology offerings to a variety of North American organizations that require a strong cybersecurity infrastructure in order to provide secure remote work access to their large user bases, the company said. Plurilock's identity assurance products will be incorporated into its comprehensive contact center solutions platform, which is currently in development.

"This agreement advances our channel-led strategy in the new normal of remote work where companies permit their employees and staff to work at different locations," Plurilock CEO Ian Paterson said in a statement.

"Remote operations are essential to companies that rely on extensive information exchange between critical stakeholders, he added. Plurilock's cybersecurity products will protect employees from falling victim to security breaches during remote work, ensuring the safe flow of information within these businesses."

Broadly speaking, Untangl delivers technology solutions designed to simplify customer and agent interactions for businesses that have high-volume contact center organizations, including business process outsourcing (BPO) companies.

The idea is to enable more efficient communication between businesses and their customers, with a particular focus on contact center employees.

Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com

Follow him on Twitter @andrew_kessel
Fourteen states filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against U.S. President Joe Biden's administration for his moratorium on new oil and natural gas leases.

On his first day in office, Biden suspended oil and gas lease.

One of the reasons he cited for the action was climate change, according to an Associated Press report.

This earned sharp criticism from the Republican states and the oil industry, despite the leasing postponement being a temporary one.

However, officials did not say how long the moratorium will be implemented.

READ MORE: Biden's Postponement on New Oil, Gas Lease Poses Problem for New Mexico

States Suing Biden

Louisiana was leading the lawsuit along with 12 other states on Wednesday.

Enjoined in Louisiana's lawsuit are Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia. All of the states have Republican attorneys general.

The Louisiana lawsuit claims that the president's moratorium would affect communities leaning on oil and gas drilling, as well as drive up energy prices. The lawsuit also requests that the Bureau of Land Management starts quarterly lease sales.

The lawsuit also states that coastal states earn significant revenue from onshore and offshore oil and gas activity. The lawsuit further argues that the moratorium would affect the revenue that pays for Louisiana efforts to restore coastal wetlands and cause major job loss, according to another AP report.

Landry said that banning oil and gas activity that supports businesses, employees, and workers. These activities also fund their coastal restoration projects.

Meanwhile, Wyoming filed a separate lawsuit regarding the matter.

"This moratorium might make for a nice headline about fighting climate change, but the real consequences of the action are far from certain and far from uniformly environmentally friendly," the Wyoming lawsuit was quoted in a CNBC News report.

Biden Administration's Actions

Emission reductions from a permanent leasing ban would be small, about 100 million tons annually or less than one percent of global fossil emissions.

Environmentalists and others want more aggressive action against climate change, saying a ban would cause an economic shift.

Biden has been eyeing policies that would promote renewable energy on public lands, such as wind and solar power.

Meanwhile, Biden's administration has argued that the companies still have plenty of undeveloped leases with almost 14 million acres in western states and more than nine million acres offshore.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said jobs and production would not be affected immediately.

Meanwhile, Democrat Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards is urging the White House to review the moratorium. He also noted the stockpiled undeveloped leases to suggest that economic threat is far from happening just yet.

Economists say that claims of job loss due to the leasing ban are "greatly exaggerated."

The University of Wyoming projected around 300,000 jobs lost by 2025. However, historical data on energy jobs claim a much smaller impact of around 60,000 jobs, according to Jeremy Weber, a former chief energy economist for Trump's White House Council of Economic Advisers.

Related story: Five Key Points in Joe Biden's Economic Plans After Election

WATCH: Biden pauses oil and gas leases, cuts subsidies in "bold" climate steps - from Global News
Over half of companies listed on the stock market in Britain at a 'heightened risk' of collapse sought Government financial support in December, new findings show.

Once taxpayer-backed Government support comes to an end, the companies in jeopardy could face a 'financial cliff edge', accounting giant EY warned in its latest analysis of profit warnings.

Names of the at-risk companies were not disclosed, but firms in travel, leisure, retail and industrial support services were said to be most affected.

Worrying: Over half of companies listed on the stock market in Britain at a 'heightened risk' of collapse sought Government financial support in December

Forty per cent of FTSE-listed travel and leisure firms issued at least two consecutive profit warnings and claimed furlough in December, with 12 of these companies claiming more than 1million in December to pay their staff.

EY said: 'Five of these claims are from companies within the high-risk bracket for likely insolvency, having issued their third or more profit warning within the last 12 months.'

But, Amanda Blackhall OSullivan, a partner at EY-Parthenon, said pent-up demand for holidays looked set to 'help drive a recovery' for the travel and leisure sector.

Between March 2020 and March this year, 63 UK listed companies issued at least their third profit warning within a 12-month period, which is almost double the 2019 total of 32.

Statistically, up to one in five of these companies is likely to collapse into the hands of administrators within a year of the third warning, EY said.

Of the 63 listed companies which issued at least three profit warnings over 12 months, 35 claimed support in the form of furlough cash from the Government in December.

A third are also claiming at least one other form of Government support, like a 'Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan' or VAT and business rates deferral.

In total, 174 UK listed companies issued at least their second profit warning within last year, with 42 per cent claiming furlough support in December.

Hard hit: Listed firms in retail, travel and leisure have been hit hard by the pandemic

Alan Hudson, EY-Parthenon UK&I Turnaround and Restructuring Strategy Leader, said: 'The extent to which some of the UKs largest firms have had to claim Government support through the pandemic is evidence of the challenging environment in which many businesses have found themselves.

'Firms dedication to securing their future and continuing to provide for their customers, clients and employees is clear but, as government support comes to an end, many firms could be tested to their ultimate limit.

'Even stronger firms could face issues, and so supply chain resilience has never been more important. Disruption to even the smallest supplier could create significant challenges that ripple through the economy.

'The transition away from Government support measures wont be straight forward, and could require a wholesale shake-up of firms strategies, recapitalisation models and operations if they are to avoid hitting a financial cliff edge.'

Troubled times: Uncertainty remains a key problem for businesses up and down the country

The past year has been beset with uncertainty for companies, workers and shareholders and this state of flux looks set to linger.

Forty-two per cent of FTSE 350-listed companies withdrew their earnings forecasts; in the first half, indicating how difficult the pandemic has made it to predict performance.

EY's Mr Hudson said: 'While the persistent market uncertainty makes business decision-making very difficult, the extension of Government support measures through to September 2021 provides critical time for firms to reflate balance sheets, review operations and prepare employees for the restart of their business.

'Within six months, the stabilising effect of Government support will be removed, and we will very quickly see which companies took best advantage of the time to recalibrate and reposition themselves to secure future growth.'

Earlier this month, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that the furlough scheme was being extended to the end of September.

The UK government has borrowed record-breaking amounts to pay for measures designed to limit the impact of coronavirus.

Recent figures showed the Government borrowed 19.1billion in February, which is the highest figure for that month since records began in 1993.
WASHINGTON, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Small businesses are vital to NASA's mission, helping expand humanity's presence in space and improve life on Earth. NASA has selected 365 U.S. small business proposals for initial funding from the agency's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program, a total investment of more than $45 million.

"At NASA, we recognize that small businesses are facing unprecedented challenges due to the pandemic," said Jim Reuter, associate administrator for the agency's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). "This year, to get funds into the hands of small businesses sooner, we accelerated the release of the 2021 SBIR/STTR Phase I solicitation by two months. We hope the expedited funding helps provide a near-term boost for future success."

NASA selected 289 small businesses and 47 research institutions to receive Phase I funding this year. More than 30% of the awards will go to first-time NASA SBIR/STTR recipients. "We are excited to have a large cohort of new small businesses join the NASA family via the SBIR/STTR program," Reuter said.

Through the program, NASA works with U.S. small businesses and research institutions to advance cutting-edge technologies. The agency provides up to $125,000 for companies to establish the merit and feasibility of their innovations. Phase I SBIR contracts are awarded to small businesses and last for six months, while Phase I STTR contracts are awarded to small businesses in partnership with a research institution and last for 13 months. Based on their progress during Phase I, companies may submit proposals to subsequent SBIR/STTR opportunities and receive additional funding.

NASA selected proposals to receive funding based on their technical merit and commercial potential. The selections span the breadth of NASA missions to empower the agency's work in human exploration, space technology, science, and aeronautics. Some examples include:

Syrnatec Inc., a woman-owned small business and first-time NASA SBIR awardee based in Middletown, Connecticut , will develop radiation tolerant, high-voltage, high-power diodes. This power management and distribution technology could enable the next generation of efficient high-power green technology in space and on Earth.

, will develop radiation tolerant, high-voltage, high-power diodes. This power management and distribution technology could enable the next generation of efficient high-power green technology in space and on Earth. Innoveering LLC, a Hispanic American-owned small business and first-time program awardee based in Ronkonkoma, New York , will use its SBIR award to develop a wind sensor to enable a flight path control system for high-altitude scientific balloon operations. Outside of NASA, this technology could aid in providing more accurate weather predictions.

, will use its SBIR award to develop a wind sensor to enable a flight path control system for high-altitude scientific balloon operations. Outside of NASA, this technology could aid in providing more accurate weather predictions. Under an STTR award, Qubitekk of Vista, California , will partner with the University of New Mexico , a Hispanic-Serving Institution. Together, they will develop a cheaper and more compact hardware package that provides a reliable calibration tool for detectors of quantum-sized information. This technology could be applied to secure satellite communication networks, deep-space laser communications, cybersecurity, and computing.

The small businesses and research institutions selected are as varied as the technologies they will develop. Hailing from 38 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, they include women-owned, minority-owned, and veteran-owned small businesses, as well as Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) and other types of research organizations.

The program is enhancing its efforts to further increase STTR participation by MSIs, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities, by launching two pilot initiatives. Under a cooperative agreement, NASA will work directly with MSI STEM Research and Development Consortium to increase its audience's participation in STTR. Additionally, the program will collaborate with NASA's Minority University Research and Education Project to offer research planning grants and incentivize partnerships between MSIs and small businesses. The grants will also let MSIs develop plans for proposing to an STTR solicitation subtopic.

"NASA SBIR/STTR interfaces with entrepreneurs pushing the boundaries of innovation," said Program Executive Jason L. Kessler. "We're proud to partner with a diverse group of innovators and expand the reach of NASA across the country."

NASA's SBIR/STTR program is part of STMD and managed by NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley.

To view the NASA SBIR 2021 Phase I selections, visit:

https://sbir.nasa.gov/prg_selection/node/66868

To view the NASA STTR 2021 Phase I selections, visit:

https://sbir.nasa.gov/prg_selection/node/66869

SOURCE NASA

Related Links

http://www.nasa.gov


What has the impact been?

The ramifications of the blockage in the canal, which is believed to handle about 10 percent of global maritime commercial traffic, have been huge. By the morning of March 29, hours before the Ever Given was freed, 367 vessels were waiting to pass through the canal, according to Leth Agencies, a canal services provider. Maritime industry experts have said that such a large backlog could take weeks to clear.

Shipping analysts estimated that the traffic jam had held up nearly $10 billion in trade every day.

The delays could prove very expensive for the owners of ships waiting to transit the canal. Some shipowners had already decided to cut their losses and reroute vessels around the Cape of Good Hope, at the southern tip of Africa, adding weeks to shipping journeys.

The owner of the Ever Given was already facing millions of dollars in insurance claims and the cost of emergency salvage services. The Egyptian government, which received $5.61 billion in revenue from canal tolls in 2020, also had a vital interest in refloating the Ever Given and reopening the waterway.

Where is the Suez Canal?

The canal connects Port Said, Egypt, on the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean via the Egyptian city of Suez on the Red Sea. The passage enables more direct shipping between Europe and Asia, eliminating the need to circumnavigate Africa and cutting voyage times by days or weeks.

It is the worlds longest canal without locks, which connect bodies of water at differing altitudes. With no locks to interrupt traffic, the transit time from end to end averages about 13 to 15 hours, according to a description of the canal by GlobalSecurity.org.
WASHINGTON, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In response to calls from British fashion designers for the United Kingdom to ban the sale of natural fur, the Natural Fibers Alliance notes that plastic isn't fashionable.

Following the lobbying efforts from a small group of activists, several British designers including Stella McCartney, Vivienne Westwood, and Erdem Moralioglu are asking British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to ban the sale of natural fiber in the UK. This would set the UK back in its efforts to improve environmental sustainability. Moreover, the move could be seen as a cynical attempt by businesses to use the government to harm their competition.

Synthetic clothing is one of the top global polluters of waterways. Researchers estimate that synthetic fabrics alone are responsible for up to 35% of microplastic pollution in our oceans; synthetic clothing "sheds" microparticles when cleaned. Natural fibers, in contrast, are a sustainable and renewable resource.

"Designers should know freedom of expression, freedom of choice, and sustainability are vital in fashion," commented Mike Brown, head of sustainability and communications at the Natural Fibers Alliance. "Their advocacy in favor of plastic clothing is tacky and short-sighted."

These designers should be careful what they wish for. The primary backers of a fur bana small group of fringe activistwant to ban the use of natural animal-derived fibers, including those used by the aforementioned anti-natural fiber designers. Stella McCartney uses wool; Vivienne Westwood uses leather; and Erdem uses silk.

A number of fashion industry leaders have spoken in favor of fur and sustainability. Yves Salomon says: "The biggest issue facing the planet today is plastic, which I think is far more important than the debate over fur." Astrid Andersen remarks: "For me, fur is the most sustainable material you can work with." Silvia Fendi adds: "Fur is durableyou don't even need to wash itand it's totally biodegradable."

The Natural Fibers Alliance is a newly formed environmental justice coalition that represents the interests of wool, leather, fur, and other naturally produced materials. For additional comment or questions, contact Nick Crawford at [email protected].

SOURCE Natural Fibers Alliance
DARIEN  Police say $30,000 in jewelry, a laptop and wallet were stolen from one of 20 vehicles that were burglarized during a seven-day period.

Police said an unlocked 2020 Lexus containing the jewelry and laptop was burglarized while parked at the Ox Ridge Riding and Racquet Club sometime between 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on March 19. One of the bank cards from the stolen wallet was later used at Walgreens in Yonkers, N.Y., police said.

On March 22, an unlocked 2014 Lexus was burglarized sometime between 11:10 a.m. and 12:12 p.m. while parked at the Country Club of Darien. Stolen was a wallet containing $70 in cash, bank cards and ID, police said. The bank cards were used at 12:50 p.m. at Best Buy and 1 p.m. at GameStop, both in Norwalk, police said.

Motor vehicle break-ins nearly doubled in Darien from 2019 to 2020, according to statistics from the police department.

Police said all of the incidents last week involved unlocked vehicles.

Vehicles on Wakemore Street, Echo Drive, Echo Drive North, and Lake Drive were targeted during the overnight hours of March 15. Seven cars on Relihan Road, Sherry Lane, Hillside Avenue and Indian Spring were burglarized during the overnight hours of March 18.

Darien Police said they responded to a Hilton Street address at 3 a.m. March 21 after a neighbor reported seeing two people attempt to enter a vehicle. Though police said they could not locate a suspect, a check of other Hilton residences revealed four vehicles were burglarized.

Another vehicle was burglarized on Edgerton Street on March 22.

In addition, other items stolen from burglarized cars included a purse containing bank cards, 20 gift cards with a total value of $2,000, a wallet containing $400 in cash, cards and ID, and sunglasses, police said.

Police have attributed the increase in burglaries to Dariens reputation for having unlocked cars. Car burglaries nearly doubled in 2020 to 201 from 109 in 2019, the towns data shows.

In January, Capt. Jeremiah Marron said Darien residents have unfortunately become well-known for leaving cars unlocked with the keys or key fobs inside.

There were 48 motor vehicles stolen in 2020 compared with 31 in 2019. Other types of burglaries went down, from 25 in 2019 to 23 in 2020. Dariens motor vehicle burglaries have often occurred during the overnight hours in one neighborhood.

Numerous car burglaries were reported by police in 2020, including nearly 20 in July alone. Ten break-ins were reported in 24 hours, and an unlocked Mercedes with the keys in was stolen on the same night as several other car burglaries in June.

In December, Darien Police Chief Donald Anderson issued a letter to the community, urging residents to lock their cars before a more violent crime occurs.

Marron said car burglary and auto theft crimes are closely related and are being perpetrated almost predominantly by juveniles.

He said changes in legislation regarding crimes committed by juveniles in Connecticut have undoubtedly hamstrung policing efforts.

These juveniles suspects are very aware that they face little to no consequence for committing these crimes and often are repeat offenders, he said.

Marron cited this change as one of the reasons the rate of these crimes has increased over the last year in our area.

He said suspects rummage through unlocked cars looking for valuables, but ultimately seeking the vehicle keys or key fobs.

They will go driveway to driveway until almost inevitably they find a vehicle with the keys in it and theyre off, Marron said. ... As always, we will continue our proactive efforts in approaching this unfortunate but avoidable problem.
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.
press release

The Mauritius Police Force has approved 7,435 applications and Work Access Permits (WAPs) were issued to 187,619 persons as at 22 March 2021 following the detection of new local cases of COVID-19 since 10 March 2021.

The Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, Home Affairs and External Communications, Minister for Rodrigues, Outer Islands and Territorial Integrity, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, made this statement today in the National Assembly in reply to a Parliamentary Question regarding Work Access Permits issued as at date and the list of companies/entities having been granted same.

With regards the details of companies/entities which have been granted WAPs and the sectors of activity, the Prime Minister highlighted that the information is being compiled.

He recalled that following the detection of new local cases in March 2021, the website besafemoris.mu was reactivated where applications for Work Access Permits could be submitted online. He further underlined that the Mauritius Police Force issued two communiques dated 10 and 11 March 2021 respectively to inform the public of the procedures for the application for WAP.

Concerning the issue of WAPs to Chief Executives of local authorities, the Prime Minister informed the House that request for Work Access Permits were needed to ensure business continuity especially for refuse collection and for cemetery services. As far as members of the National Assembly is concerned, he pointed out that a special order was issued to enable them to attend the National Assembly sitting of today as well as the meeting yesterday in the case of a specific situation.

He further underlined that the request of WAPs to registered Non-Governmental Organisations are being looked into if there is a real justification for them to help the needy and vulnerable segment of the society and that planters, breeders and fishermen are allowed to use their registration cards to move from their location to their place of work irrespective of WAPs.
A new study suggests lightning strikes that hit Earth after its formation may have unlocked a necessary chemical element to support the beginning of life.

Researchers say the lightning may have supplied enough phosphorus to Earth during the first billion years after the planet was formed. Scientists believe life started on Earth about 3.5 to 4.5 billion years ago.

Phosphorus is an important element for the formation of life. It helps form cell structures and supports DNA, the material present in nearly all living organisms. But on early Earth, phosphorus is believed to have been locked inside minerals that cannot dissolve in water.

Until now, it was widely believed that meteorites that struck Earth were mainly responsible for the presence of bioavailable phosphorus. Some meteorites contain a phosphorus mineral called schreibersite, a highly reactive mineral that can form organic molecules.

But when lightning strikes the ground, it can create glassy rocks called fulgurites by super-heating and sometimes vaporizing rocks on the surface. This process frees the phosphorus locked inside. As a result, these fulgurites can contain schreibersite, which is soluble in water, where life is thought to have formed.

Researchers in the United States and Britain estimated that early Earth saw 1 to 5 billion lightning strikes hit Earth each year - compared to about 560 million yearly today. That would add up to 1 quintillion strikes after a billion years, forming at least 1 billion fulgurites.

A study describing the research results recently appeared in the publication Nature Communications.

The researchers said phosphorus minerals caused by lightning strikes were found to have been higher by about 3.5 billion years ago. This is about the age of the earliest-known fossils widely accepted to be those of microorganisms, the researchers found.

Lightning strikes, therefore, may have been a significant part of the emergence of life on Earth, said Benjamin Hess, a Yale University graduate student in earth and planetary sciences. He was the lead writer of the study.

Hess told Reuters news agency that unlike meteorite hits that generally decrease over time, lightning strikes can happen continuously over a planets history. He added that this means lightning strikes may also be a very important element for providing the phosphorus needed for the emergence of life on other Earth-like planets.

The researchers also examined an unusually large fulgurite formed when lightning struck near a home outside Chicago, Illinois in 2016. Our research shows that the production of bioavailable phosphorus by lightning strikes may have been underestimated, study co-writer Jason Harvey told Reuters. He is a professor of geochemistry at Britains University of Leeds.

Among the materials considered necessary for life are water, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur and phosphorus, along with an energy source.

Scientists believe the earliest bacteria-like organisms were formed in Earths early waters. But there is a debate over when this happened and whether it happened in warm and shallow waters or in deeper waters.

Hess said that new research does not completely cancel the theory that meteorites could have been another source of life-giving phosphorus.

"Meteor impacts around the time of the emergence of life are far less than thought a decade ago," Hess said. "But I don't see our work as a competition against meteorites as a source of phosphorus. The more sources, the better," he added.

Im Bryan Lynn.

Reuters, Agence France-Presse and Yale News reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

Quiz - Study: Lightning May Have Helped Life Develop on Earth Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

dissolve  v. to turn from a solid into a liquid

meteorite  n. a piece of rock or metal that has fallen to the ground from outer space: a meteor that reaches the surface of the Earth without burning up entirely

quintillion  n. a number equal to 1 followed by 18 zeros

fossil  v. part of an animal or plant from thousands of year ago, preserved in rock

emerge  v. to appear from somewhere

source  n. something that provides what is wanted or needed

shallow  adj. not deep 

impact  n. an act or event in which something strikes another thing

decade  n. a period of 10 years
The original Immersive Van Gogh has risen to blockbuster status, becoming the hottest ticket to hold. Immersive Van Gogh sold out its run in Toronto, has sold out and extended its run in Chicago, and opened in March in San Francisco, where its first month is sold-out. Following the Los Angeles and New York ticket sales announcements, each market sold out rapidly and have since extended their runs with additional tickets now available.

Immersive Van Gogh is the latest creation by the world-renowned master of digital art, Italy's Massimiliano Siccardi, who for 30 years has been pioneering immersive exhibitions in Europe. Over 2 million visitors have seen his magnificent installations.

With the help of 60,600 frames of video, 90,000,000 pixels, and 500,000+ cubic feet of projections, this captivating digital art exhibit merges state-of-the-art technology, theatrical storytelling, and world-class animation. It gives guests the rare opportunity to "step inside" and experience the incredible post-Impressionist works of Van Gogh like never before. Immersive Van Gogh will be making its mark at a secret location to be determined.

The original Immersive Van Gogh is a spectacular, vivid, and breathtaking digital art experience that invites audiences to enter the legendary works of post-Impressionist artist Vincent van Goghevoking his highly emotional and chaotic inner consciousness through art, light, music, movement, and imagination. Featuring stunning towering projections that illuminate the artistic genius's mind, the exhibition showcases a curated selection of images from Van Gogh's 2,000+ lifetime catalog of masterpieces, including Les Mangeurs de pommes de terre (The Potato Eaters, 1885), La Nuit etoilee (Starry Night, 1889), Les tournesols (Sunflowers, 1887), and La Chambre a coucher (The Bedroom, 1888). Paintings will be presented how the artist first saw the scenes, based on an active life and moving landscapes turned into sharp yet sweeping brush strokes.

Creative Director and Italian film producer Massimiliano Siccardi has pioneered the art form with Immersive Van Gogh and taken it to an unmatched and unprecedented level. Van Gogh once said, "I dream my painting, and I paint my dreams." Siccardi and his award-winning creative team have made Van Gogh's dream come alive by creating unprecedented movements in the masterpieces. The exhibition also contains original, mood-setting music by Italian multimedia composer Luca Longobardi and Vittorio Guidotti as the Art Director.

The hour-long, timed-entry, walk-through experience is designed with health and safety as a priority. Capacity will be limited in accordance with the City of Minneapolis's safety protocols. Additional safety precautions include touchless ticket-taking, temperature checks upon arrival, hand sanitizer stations, social distancing markers throughout the venue, and digitally projected social distancing circles on the gallery floors to ensure appropriate spacing. All guests must wear a face covering at all times during their visit.

"We've created a unique and enthralling production that functions safely during this pandemic," says Co-Producer, Svetlana Dvoretsky. "Hundreds of thousands of guests have seen Immersive Van Gogh in small, socially-distanced safe groups. It is an honor to bring the arts back into peoples' lives during these times," adds Co-Producer, Corey Ross.

"Despite being unknown throughout his life, Van Gogh's artwork has created a lasting impact through its emotional richness and simple beauty," said Massimiliano Siccardi, Immersive Van Gogh designer. "Both myself and Luca Longobardi are very excited to visit Minneapolis and once again bring Van Gogh's legacy to life in a way that embraces this city's one-of-a-kind energy."

Immersive Van Gogh has received rave reviews from critics worldwide. The Chicago Tribune wrote, "entire rooms pulse with imagery and emotional resonance. While the Chicago Time Out described the exhibit as, "The future of experiential art." San Francisco Chronicle , "After a year without big, splashy art happenings, this is a huge, indulgent way to dive back in." The Toronto Sun declared, "the mind-blowing imagery, brings van Gogh's best work to life  including Sunflower, Irises, and The Starry Night  for a cathartic and liberating experience. Immersive Van Gogh ups the emotional ante." Debra Yeo of the Toronto Star stated, "I wondered: could projections of paintings on walls and floors be thrilling? The answer is 'yes.'" Called a "completely new way of encountering art" by CTV and a "blockbuster digital experience that has taken the art world by storm" by Artnet News, the exhibit "cleverly embraces creativity," according to Washington Post.

For more information about Immersive Van Gogh, visit https://www.immersivevangogh.com/ . Follow the exhibition on social media on Twitter , Instagram , and Facebook .

SOURCE Lighthouse Immersive
Biden not ruling out chance US stays longer in Afghanistan View Photo

WASHINGTON (AP)  President Joe Biden on Thursday did not rule out the possibility of U.S. troops staying in Afghanistan through the end of the year, and one of his top generals told Congress that Afghanistans military forces need American assistance to successfully counter the Taliban.

Biden, at his first news conference as president, repeated his assessment that it will be hard for the United States to meet the May 1 deadline for a full American troop withdrawal, as outlined in a peace agreement between the Trump administration and the Taliban.

Its not my intention to stay there for a long time, Biden said, We will leave. The question is when we leave. When asked if U.S. troops will still be in Afghanistan next year, he said, I cant picture that being the case.

Earlier in the day, Gen. Richard Clarke, the head of U.S. Special Operations Command, told a Senate hearing that, the capabilities that the U.S. provides for the Afghans to be able to combat the Taliban and other threats that reside in Afghanistan are critical to their success. Clarke echoed the sentiments of other military leaders when he said it was clear that the Taliban have not upheld their commitment to reduce violence in Afghanistan and instead have made a deliberate decision to increase attacks. Those attacks have largely been against Afghans and havent targeted Americans.

With his comment, which are backed by assessments from military commanders about the precarious security situation in Afghanistan, Biden may be laying the groundwork for a decision to at least temporarily extend Americas force presence in the country beyond the May 1 deadline, nearly two decades after the war there began.

Clarke, at the Senate hearing, declined to provide any details of possible options he has outlined to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on how he could provide needed counterterrorism troops or capabilities if special operations forces are not physically in Afghanistan.

Clarke noted that no decision has been made about the withdrawal, adding that we will always provide options to deter or defeat al-Qaida, the Islamic State group or other terrorism threats.

Similarly, Christopher Maier, the acting assistant defense secretary for special operations, expressed concerns when asked about another troop withdrawal decision by the Trump administration that led to all U.S. forces being pulled from Somalia.

Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., said he was opposed to that decision and questioned whether it was the right move.

Maier said a review of that decision is underway. From my perspective, there is probably significant downsides to the pullout from the perspective of cost and effectiveness, he said.

More broadly, Clarke and Maier said Special Operations Command has taken steps to shift some of its focus to the great power competition against China and Russia.

Clarke said he has also worked to reduce the pace of operations for the commando forces, which he said have been overly focused on deployments and mission accomplishments.

After nearly 20 years of persistent counterterror operations in war zones and around the globe, special operations forces have seen spikes in suicides and bad behavior. Clarke, who ordered a review last year to address the problems, said they have cut back deployments by about 20% and have shifted leadership out of overseas headquarters so they can more closely supervise and train their forces.

By LOLITA C. BALDOR

Associated Press
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.
Pakistan: Local fishers slam MDD for registering 12 deep sea trawlers

by Shahid Shah

March 25,2021 | Source: The News

Local fishermen have expressed concerns on issuance of Mercantile Marine Department (MMD) certificates to 12 deep sea fishing trawlers, which await Sindh Fisheries Department permission to operate in provincial territorial waters of up to 12 nautical miles from the coast. One official source said the Sindh Livestock and Fisheries Department received the letter to grant permission in January, but has not followed through so far. The inspection is under way, he added. These trawlers were imported from China under an agreement and letter of intent (LOI) issued by the Fishermens Cooperative Society (FCS) for operating 20 fishing vessels in Pakistan. We have received the Kole Certificates Provisional Registration under Pakistan Flag from the MMD, for our 12 Steel Hull Fishing Boats, said ABC Marine Services (Pvt) Limited in a letter to Sindh minister for livestock and fisheries. Small-scale fishermen aware of the technical details have raised severe reservations about calling these trawlers boats. They oppose operating these large trawlers due to their capability of over exploitation. Since the fishing reserves are low within the waters of Sindh, introduction of large commercial trawlers further threatens those dependent on subsistence fishing. The letter sent to the Sindh minister for livestock and fisheries declared the trawlers boats, which had the same capacity as the local wooden boats. These 12 fishing boats have fish hold capacity of 70 tons each, similar to our local made wooden boats, the letter said. The letter further declared the trawlers employed a sustainable fishing method. However, locals contest the claims. They also held a rally from Arts Council to Karachi Press Club soon after these trawlers were spotted near the coast of Karachi.



Sindh Fisheries Departments permission was mandatory to make these trawlers operational in the territorial waters of the province. Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum Chairperson Muhammad Ali Shah, in a letter to Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said around a dozen trawlers were anchored around the Karachi Port. Trawlers arrival in our area is banned and it's illegal. It further added that the government planned to issue licenses to operate these trawlers, as these deep-sea trawlers could not come without the permission of the federal government. Food and Agricultural Organisations latest fish stock assessment conducted with the support of the federal government had already painted a very dismal picture of the countrys marine fish stock. According to the assessment report, more than 72 percent of the fish stock in coastal areas of Pakistan has declined. Then, why there is a deep-sea fishing policy in the making? asked the letter. If the provincial assemblies have not approved the policy then it is also a violation of the constitution. Expressing distress at the situation, the letter further added, Our grave objection to this action is two-fold: it threatens the livelihoods of small fishers by depriving them of catch today, and in future by ecologically destructive practices of these vessels. It also pointed to the destructive practice of storing premium fish and discarding other varieties adopted by large deep sea vessels, which caused food waste and degradation.
An alleged drug smuggler who described himself as 'The Black Prince' in letters written from jail has denied he 'tricked' an Olympian's brother into helping him collect a huge cocaine shipment.

During testimony to the Supreme Court in Brisbane on Thursday, it was suggested Anthony Draper 'essentially kidnapping' Dru Anthony Baggaley for the caper.

He denied this, insisting they were in the plot together, but admitted to writing letters to Dru Baggaley from jail saying, 'I'm sorry I tricked you'.

'I want to fix this up and tell the cops the truth, you thought it was tobacco,' another of the letters read.

However, he told the court he wrote letters because he was 'under duress' and was 'stood over' while in prison.

Draper drove the small boat allegedly used to collect 650kg of cocaine - valued at between $100 million and $200 million - from a foreign vessel hundreds of kilometres off the NSW coast.

Dru Anthony Baggaley (left) and Anthony Draper (right) are seen on the vessel with navy personnel as they are arrested for alleged drug smuggling

Olympic kayaking silver medallist Nathan Jon Baggaley, 45, and his brother Dru, 39, are on trial accused of trying to import the cocaine.

Draper and Dru Baggaley allegedly threw the drugs overboard as the navy caught up with them. Draper earlier told the court he initially thought they were under attack by pirates.

Dru Baggaley''s barrister Mark McCarthy described letters Draper wrote to Baggaley while he was in custody in which he wrote: 'Don't talk to the police, these guys will kill us.'

'I reckon I'm going to tell the Australian Federal Police whatever I have to, to get out of jail and this mess.'

In part of another letter, Draper wrote to Baggaley: 'I had no choice, the people told me I couldn't tell you it wasn't tobacco.'

McCarthy put it to Draper in court that what he wrote was a true statement.

'I only wrote it because I had to,' Draper replied.

Dru Baggaley, 39, is accused of being involved in a plan to get 650kg of cocaine - valued at between $100 million and $200 million - from a foreign vessel hundreds of kilometres off the NSW coast

Black bags filled with almost 650kg of cocaine worth a whopping $200million was seized

He also denied the suggestion by McCarthy that he 'tricked' Baggaley into the mission because he needed his help to navigate out of the Brunswick River estuary in northern NSW.

The court earlier heard Draper was testifying as part of an undertaking made when he received a reduced sentence during earlier court proceedings.

Also in earlier testimony, Draper, 56, told the court he flew from Sydney to Coolangatta at Dru Baggaley's request on July 30, 2018.

The pair got onto the boat at Brunswick Heads, with Draper thinking they were going a couple of kilometres offshore to pick up 'smoko' which he thought was marijuana, the court heard.

Dru Baggaley was seasick while they sailed out to sea overnight, Draper said.

In the morning they met up with a 'big red boat' on which Draper saw 'South American people', some holding guns.

He and Dru Baggley loaded a 'substantial' number of black packages, thrown from the larger vessel, onto the boat, he told the court on Wednesday.

The view from the navy boat as it gained on Anthony Draper and Dru Baggley

Dru Baggaley seen on the small vessel as the navy gains on him

While Draper yelled 'no more pot' because there might be 'too much' for the small boat, the foreign men referred to 'cacao'.

Asked about the contents of the heavy packages, Dru Baggaley said 'don't worry about it, just keep loading it in the boat,' Draper told the court.

While returning to the mainland, the pair saw a plane, then a boat. At first Dru Baggaley told him to 'just keep going', but when the navy patrol boat was right behind them they threw packages into the sea.

'I was s**ting myself... At first I thought we were going to get robbed, I thought they were pirates,' Draper said.

Olympic silver medallist and world champion kayaker Nathan Jon Baggaley is also accused of being in on the scheme

Inside the bag were packets of cocaine with the Superman logo imprinted on them

The prosecution alleges Nathan Baggaley also had a 'key role' in the importation, saying he bought the small boat for $100,000, got it ready and covered its registration number in heavy-duty black tape before the trip out to sea.

A total of 587kg of cocaine was recovered by the navy, but bundles continued to be recovered on the coast months after the alleged smuggling attempt, prosecutor Ben Power said.

Nathan Baggaley's barrister Anthony Kimmins told the court the prosecution's case against his client was based on circumstantial evidence that did not prove he was involved in the alleged attempted importation of the cocaine.

The men both pleaded not guilty to a single count of attempting to import a commercial quantity of cocaine into Queensland at Coolangatta on the Gold Coast between December 2017 and August 2018.

The jury trial continues before Justice Ann Lyons.
Judge Thomas Mulvahill said that the parties would next meet in court in the next 60 to 90 days to discuss the case.

Mr. Alissa, who was shot in the leg by the police during the attack, was brought in and out of the courtroom in a wheelchair and wore a white surgical mask. He spoke only once during the hearing, saying yes when the judge asked if he understood his rights.

One of the other lawyers representing Mr. Alissa on Thursday was Daniel King, a longtime public defender who represented the gunman who killed 12 people in 2012 in an Aurora, Colo., movie theater during a trial that hinged on the gunmans mental state.

Law enforcement officials have said that Mr. Alissa, 21, was armed with what appeared to be a semiautomatic rifle and a handgun during the shooting on Monday, and was wearing an armored vest. Investigators said he began the rampage in the parking lot of the grocery store and then made his way inside.

Boulder Police said Mr. Alissa bought a Ruger AR-556 pistol, a short-barreled variant of an AR-15 carbine, just six days before the shooting. They have not said whether that was one of the two weapons he was found with and have declined to provide more details on the weapons used in the attack.
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.
Associated Press

The younger generation of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales are on average about three feet (one meter) shorter than whales were 20 years, drone and aircraft data show in a study in Thursdays journal Current Biology. Entanglements with fishing gear, collisions with ships and climate change moving their food supply north are combining to stress and shrink these large whales, the study says. This isnt about short right whales, its about a physical manifestation of a physiological problem, its the chest pain before the heart attack, said Regina Asmutis-Silvia, executive director of Whale and Dolphin Conservation North America, who wasnt part of the study.
ROCHESTER, N.Y., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Premium Mortgage Corporation has announced the addition of Dave Gates in the role of Chief Operating Officer for the upstate NY-based company. The hire looks to further bolster the company's cutting-edge technology and overall presence throughout the northeast.

Gates has been a pillar in Western New York's financial sector for 30-plus years. Since 1997, he held the executive position of Senior Vice President and Head of Business Development at HSBC Bank USA in Buffalo, where he specialized in Residential Lending and was responsible for performance, strategy, management and customer acquisition.

"I'm thrilled to welcome Dave as our Chief Operating Officer and preeminent thought leader within our Sales and Operations departments," said Mike Donoghue, President of Premium Mortgage. "Dave's industry pedigree is second to none, and his addition to the team will unequivocally help bring our organization to the next level."

Along with instituting a larger range of products with higher customization and securitization, Gates, a Rochester Institute of Technology alum, will also focus on improving the company's automation and monitoring performance with investors.

"I wanted to join a mortgage company where I could build on an already successful business model, and that's what I found with Premium Mortgage," said Gates. "It's a robust organization whose sole focus is helping people achieve their dream of homeownership."

About Premium Mortgage

Headquartered in Rochester, New York, Premium Mortgage Corporation serves residential real estate markets across upstate New York, Florida, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Since opening in 1999, the company has grown to over 200 employees and attributes its success to matching mortgage financing to individual clients' needs, while also giving excellent customer service to real estate agents in the community. For ongoing mortgage news, please visit: www.premiummortgage.com and follow Premium on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Contact: Pauline Johnson, [email protected]

SOURCE Premium Mortgage Corporation

Related Links

https://www.premiummortgage.com


ROME, MAR 25 - The spread between Italian and German 10-year bond yields, a mark of market confidence in Italian creditworthiness, dropped "significantly" after former European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi was asked to form Italy's national unity government, the ECB said Thursday. "The differentials of Italian state bonds significantly dropped in the period preceding the formation of the new government by ex-ECB president Mario Draghi and briefly reached a new multi-year low before starting to rise again," said the ECB's economic bulletin. It said the differentials on Italian 10-year bond yields fell by 12 basis points, reaching 0.73%. This was compared to rises of 1.1 points, 1 point and 6 point by German, French and Spanish yields respectively, reaching -0.26% , +0.01% and 0.41% respectively. The bulletin added that the impact of COVID lockdowns in Italy was "comparable" to that of other European countries. Italy suffered a bigger drop in economic activity during the 2020 pandemic shock, it said, but "the direct negative impact of containment measures was broadly comparable to the eurozone average". While lockdowns had a major impact on sectors like toruism and hospitality, the ECB said, the hit taken by manufacturing "was largely due to external factors" such as the contraction in foreign demand. (ANSA).
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Go to form
Less than a month ago, the US bombed Syria, now a Syrian immigrant shoots up a grocery store.

Why is the news ignoring this?
A court has heard how a man who crashed into a wall after a high speed chase which left a garda in hospital was thrown onto the front passenger seat alongside 22 empty beer cans.

William Lawrence (35), Cloncovid, Cavan was brought before a sitting of Mullingar District Court this morning following an incident in Longford town on Monday afternoon.

Sgt Jarlath Nohilly gave evidence of having arrested the accused shortly before midnight on Monday before formally charging him during the early hours of this morning.

He said Mr Lawrence, who made his way into court on crutches, made no reply to six counts of dangerous driving, no insurance and being at the wheel without a driver's license.

The accused is also charged with allegedly driving off from a petrol station in nearby Ballinalee shortly before the incident unfolded.

Sgt Nohilly said gardai were notified of a suspected drink driver travelling in the O'Connor Park and Great Water Street area of town.

He told presiding Judge Seamus Hughes how gardai Ronan Duffy and John Hanley attempted unsuccessfully to try and intercept the vehicle as it sped off at high speed along St Mel's Road.

It was at this stage, the accused who was on bail at the time, allegedly drove straight through a junction and onto the Ballinalee Road where gardai managed to pull up alongside the vehicle after getting caught up in traffic.

Sgt Nohilly said Garda Duffy exited the patrol car and spoke to the driver, who it is claimed, mounted a kerb in a bid to flee the scene.

It was alleged at that point Garda Hanley tried to grab the keys from the car's ignition while the car began to move forwards resulting in the garda's hand getting caught in the window.

"It was lucky he (garda) wasn't dragged up the road," said Sgt Nohilly, revealing the garda was hospitalised with a suspected broken wrist.

Sgt Nohilly said both officers returned to the garda patrol car and continued to pursue the accused into the densely populated residential areas of Oakvale, Ardnacassa, Ard Aoibhinn and Grian Ard.

He said it was in the Ard Aoibhinn area where the accused crashed into the garda patrol car just seconds before the getaway car narrowly avoided colliding with another car.

Sgt Nohilly said the chase eventually came to a halt when the accused man's car crashed into a 9ft wall within yards of a creche.

He said when gardai approached the vehicle, they found Mr Lawrence with serious injuries including a dislocated hip and broken ankle.

It was also revealed the accused was found in the front passenger seat after hitting his head off the car's windscreen.

"There were also 22 empty cans of Carlsberg found in the car," he said.

During interview at Longford garda station, Sgt Nohilly said Mr Lawrence claimed he had been in Longford with a view to visiting his brother who lives locally.

He said Mr Lawrence alleged he had been feeling "a little bit depressed" and after finding his brother wasn't home, began drinking in the car.

In refusing bail, Judge Hughes described the episode as the "sort of stuff you see on thriller TV".

Mr Lawrence was remanded in custody to appear before a sitting of Cloverhill District Court next Tuesday, March 30.
Lord Mayor of Dublin Hazel Chu has admitted she did not seek permission to hold a media event at St Stephens Green as it emerged the Office of Public Works (OPW) does not permit political events in the park.

The Green Party chairperson held a press briefing for journalists at the park yesterday morning to announce her bid for the Seanad. She is running for a seat on the Commercial and Industrial panel as an independent candidate after failing to secure the backing of her party.

The OPW said it does not permit political events or launches on its grounds and confirmed it did not receive a request for an event to take place and was therefore not a ble to approve or refuse it.

Under 1962 by-laws in relation to St Stephens Green, no person is allowed to hold or address a public meeting within the park. It is understood this includes political events. Ms Chu confirmed to the Irish Independent that she did not seek permission to hold the event. She said she did not want to have it in the forecourt of the Mansion House to avoid bringing the role of the Lord Mayor into disrepute. Last night, a motion of no confidence in Ms Chu was deferred to a future parliamentary party meeting. Three senators, Junior Minister Pippa Hackett and Senators Pauline OReilly and Roisin Garvey, tabled three motions, including one expressing no confidence in the chair. It is understood that as Ms Chu is a chairperson of the party, even if a motion of no confidence is passed, it would be up to the executive and membership to decide if she should be removed. The first motion focused on confidence in Ms Chu as chair; the second reasserting that all parliamentary party members will be voting for Government candidates and the third that it is not compatible to run as an independent candidate while remaining as chair of the party. It is understood the three Senators agreed to defer voting on the motions to allow people time to digest and consider which way they will vote. The motions will be considered in a future parliamentary party meeting, although it is understood that no date was agreed. Read More
Pennsylvania on Thursday ordered COVID-19 vaccine providers to work more closely with local organizations to help seniors and other people at high risk get appointments.

According to an order signed by acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam, vaccine providers must collaborate with Area Agencies on Aging and Medicaid managed care organizations to help people get appointments, especially those who are unable to go online to find an appointment.

Under the order, the vaccine providers  health systems, pharmacies and medical clinics  should take steps such as setting aside a certain number of appointments for people seeking them through a local Area Agency on Aging and managed care organizations.

Pennsylvania had previously told the Area Agencies on Aging to be available to take calls from people seeking vaccine, to schedule an appointment for them and, if necessary, help arrange transportation.

The managed care organizations, which provide health insurance for people with lower incomes, will provide similar help, and are well-positioned to help people who face barriers because of things like poverty and race, the state noted. Some of them focus on people who have been diagnosed with mental illness or who qualify to live in a long-term care facility but instead live at home.

The state also noted the Area Agencies on Aging can help identify and vaccinate homebound seniors.

Beam said the purpose of the order is to accomplish things including giving vaccine providers more opportunities to schedule appointments, and to help them comply with Beams March 15 order that everyone in Phase 1A must be given a scheduled appointment by March 31. While the state is requiring everyone in Phase 1A who wants an appointment to be given one by March 31, the actual vaccination can take place after that date.

Phase 1A includes everyone 65 and older, people 16-64 with chronic medical conditions and health care workers.

Pennsylvania has 52 Area Agencies on Aging around the state, with most of the states 67 counties having their own, and some less-populated counties sharing an agency.

Pennsylvania seniors can get help through the PA Link to Aging and Disability Resources by calling its hotline at 1-800-753-8827.
A delegation of senior White House officials and lawmakers visited a migrant housing facility in Texas on Wednesday, amid a surge in migrants crossing the southern U.S. border. President Biden has tapped Vice President Harris to lead efforts to manage migration at the border. CBS News immigration reporter Camilo Montoya-Galvez joins CBSN's Lana Zak with the latest.

Video Transcript

LANA ZAK: A delegation of senior White House officials and lawmakers visited a migrant housing facility in Texas. The facility was opened back in February to house an influx of unaccompanied migrant children crossing the Southern border. The Biden administration allowed one news camera into the facility after receiving criticism for restricting media access.

President Joe Biden also announced Wednesday that he tapped Vice President Kamala Harris to lead efforts in managing the surge of migrants currently coming into the United States. Janet Shamlian reports.

JANET SHAMLIAN: Tonight reporters are getting their first look inside the Carrizo Springs facility in Texas, a shelter to more than 700 teen boys who crossed the border without parents. The image is highly sanitized compared to this footage, showing highly overcrowded centers. President Biden today announcing Vice President Harris will take charge of the growing crisis.

JOE BIDEN: I've asked her, the VP today, because she's the most qualified person to do it.

JANET SHAMLIAN: The number of unaccompanied minors apprehended at the Southern border this month is on track to be the highest ever. The administration is struggling to house them. And Republicans are laying blame.

- It is an emergency. It is a crisis. It is one of their own making.

JANET SHAMLIAN: CBS News has learned as many as 3,000 children will be housed at a San Antonio Coliseum. The administration now on track to open seven emergency centers. The numbers of crossings are surging. CBS News joined Texas troopers watching a steady stream along the Rio Grande.

Story continues

There's little they can do. We met this Guatemalan mom and her son at their shelter, where she told us she paid a smuggler more than $3,000 to get across the border.

- [SPEAKING SPANISH]

JANET SHAMLIAN: She left two young children behind. Ruben Garcia runs Annunciation House, with shelters in both El Paso and Juarez. They've seen 10 times the number of migrants in recent weeks.

RUBEN GARCIA: We are going to see a significant number of Central Americans enter the United States. The question is going to be whether they enter in a disorganized, chaotic, risk-filled manner or whether they enter in an organized, planned manner.

JANET SHAMLIAN: But for now, the issue is space. CBS News has learned that two military bases here in Texas, along with one in Colorado, could become the next spots to house migrants, in a sign of just how desperate this situation has become. Lana?

LANA ZAK: Janet, thank you. For more on this, I want to bring in CBS News Immigration Reporter Camilo Montoyo-Galvez. Camilo, how many states are currently housing migrants? And where have new facilities opened up under the Biden administration?

CAMILO MONTOYA-GALVEZ: Good evening, Lana. The US Refugee Agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, which is responsible for caring for unaccompanied migrant children until they can be placed with family members here in the US, operates more than 170 shelters across 22 states. But the Biden administration is on track to open seven emergency facilities in Texas and California to be able to accommodate the historic number of unaccompanied children entering US border custody.

We're on track in March to see more than 16,000 apprehensions of unaccompanied children in US custody. That is an all-time record high. It's even higher than the previous record high in May of 2019, when more than 11,000 unaccompanied children entered US border custody.

So the Biden administration is converting convention centers in San Antonio, San Diego, and Dallas into makeshift shelters. And it is also repurposing former oil camps to be able to house some of these migrant children. These were camps that were used to house oil workers, so it is taking a lot of new approaches to try to deal with this evolving situation.

LANA ZAK: And Camilo, as we saw, a group of White House officials and lawmakers visited a facility in Texas. Why is this one of the only times a camera has been allowed inside a migrant shelter under the Biden administration?

CAMILO MONTOYA-GALVEZ: That is an excellent question. It is important for our viewers to note, Lana, that this facility in Carrizo Springs, Texas just outside of San Antonio is a makeshift shelter overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services. Children have access to COVID-19 testing here, to vaccination, to medical screenings, and access to lawyers. These are services that they don't have in border patrol stations. And they also do not face overcrowded conditions in these shelters, which are supposed to be child appropriate settings.

And so we still have not been granted access to the border patrol facilities, where we know there has been overcrowding in these facilities, where we know some of the children held there have reported going days without seeing sunlight, showering once in as many as seven days, and taking turns to sleep on the floor because of the overcrowded conditions.

LANA ZAK: Camilo, President Biden announced that Vice President Harris would be tapped to lead the efforts to manage migration at the Southern border. What more can you tell us about her role?

CAMILO MONTOYA-GALVEZ: Yeah, so Vice President Harris will be assuming a similar role to that of President Biden, and then-Vice President Biden during the Obama administration. As you may remember, President Obama tapped Mr. Biden to work with governments in Central America's Northern Triangle-- Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador-- to try to reduce irregular migration to the US and address the root causes of that migration, which include poverty and violence.

And so Vice President Harris will now have similar responsibilities. But to be completely candid, Lana, Mrs. Harris is facing a completely different situation at the US-Mexico border than her predecessors. We are going to see, as I mentioned earlier, record numbers of unaccompanied children entering US border custody. And the administration is scrambling to get them out of these inadequate border patrol facilities and into HHS shelters.

LANA ZAK: All right, Camilo. Thank you for monitoring the situation and joining us.
LONDON  A 200,000-strong Brazilian claimant group said on Wednesday it had failed to resurrect a 5.0 billion pound ($6.9 billion) English lawsuit against Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP over a devastating 2015 dam failure.

The Court of Appeal agreed with a lower court that the vast group action was an abuse of process, that claimants were already able to seek redress in Brazil and that the case would be irredeemably unmanageable if allowed to proceed.

Related: Brazilian Dam Claimants to Take BHP Class Action to English Court of Appeal

Tom Goodhead, the PGMBM lawyer representing the claimants, said it was a sad day for the English justice system after senior judges agreed that the claim, relating to Brazils worst environmental disaster, should be struck out.

The collapse of the Fundao dam, owned by the Samarco venture between BHP and Brazilian iron ore mining giant Vale, killed 19 and sent a flood of mining waste into communities, the Doce river and the Atlantic Ocean, 650 km (400 miles) away.

The landmark case was the latest battle to establish whether multinationals can be held liable for the conduct of subsidiaries abroad.

The UK Supreme Court in 2019 allowed Zambian villagers to sue miner Vedanta in England for alleged pollution in Africa and in February permitted Nigerian farmers and fishermen to pursue Royal Dutch Shell over oil spills in the Niger Delta.

But the English claim against BHP was first struck out in November after a High Court judge ruled that allowing it to proceed here would be like trying to build a house of cards in a wind tunnel.

Goodhead said he was surprised and disappointed by the Court of Appeal decision, which sent a poor message about corporate responsibility and legal consequences for wrongdoing.

We are committed to supporting the victims of this tragedy. We will now take stock and assess our options as to how justice can best be achieved, he said.

BHP welcomed the decision, which it said reinforced its view that the proceedings duplicated existing and ongoing remediation efforts and legal proceedings in Brazil. It said it remained fully committed to doing the right thing for victims.

BHP says it and Vale each poured about $1.7 billion into the Renova Foundation, set up in 2016 by BHPs Brazilian division, Samarco and Vale to manage 42 reparation projects, including providing financial aid to indigenous families, rebuilding villages and establishing new water supply systems.

BHP said Renova has spent nearly 12 billion reais ($2.17 billion) across the projects to date.

A United Nations expert report, published in September, said the disaster decimated the livelihoods of more than three million people, leaving locals exposed to dust and heavy metals in mud, that information about toxicity was inadequate and that all reparation projects were behind schedule.

In October, Brazilian federal prosecutors filed a lawsuit against BHP and Vale, alleging compensation packages were too low and forced victims to waive rights in other legal proceedings.

Renova has insisted that projects such as water quality monitoring and environmental repairs are on track, while the miners reject allegations they are not complying with obligations and of wrongdoing.

($1 = 0.7284 pounds)

($1 = 5.5210 reais) (Reporting by Kirstin Ridley; Editing by Edmund Blair)

Photograph: In this Nov. 24, 2015 photo, the color brown on the churchs white walls indicate the level that water and mud reached during a massive mudslide triggered by the failing of a dam at an iron ore mine in Paracatu, Brazil. After the disaster hit, the hamlet of Paracatu and other nearby hamlets like Bento Rodrigues became ghost towns. Photo credit: AP Photo/Leo Correa.

Topics Lawsuits
The new normal in in Raytown is strikingly familiar to pre-COVID gunfire.



Quick round-up as the inner-suburbs get rougher as the new economy takes shape.



Officers were called to the Valencia Apartments in the 9000 block of East 87th Street about 4:50 a.m. on a shots fired call. When officers arrived, they found a woman outside an apartment suffering from gunshot wounds. They found another woman inside the apartment, also with gunshot wounds.

Check the links . . .

Fox4: Shooting at south Raytown apartment leaves 2 women hospitalized

KCTV5: Shooting injures 2 women in Raytown

KMBC: Two women rushed to hospital after apartment shooting in Raytown

Developing . . .
Update: Rita Hart, the Democrat who lost the close House race in Iowa referenced in this article, announced March 31 she is dropping her challenge, decrying "the toxic campaign of political disinformation to attack this constitutional review of the closest congressional contest in 100 years."

By Eric Felten, RealClearInvestigations

March 24, 2021

This week the House Committee on Administration is taking up the challenge by Rita Hart to have Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks kicked out of Congress. The Democratic candidate for a vacant seat in Iowas 2nd Congressional District, Hart lost by six votes in November to Miller-Meeks, a Republican. The election was properly certified in Iowa, but Harts attorney  the Democratic Partys most powerful power lawyer, Marc Elias  claims to have found extra ballots for Hart. He wants Congress to overrule state elections officials and seat Hart.

Rodney Davis, the ranking Republican member of the administration committee, blasts the effort, calling it an attempt to steal a House seat. Hes not alone is seeing hypocrisy in litigating to overturn an election after Democrats lambasted Donald Trump for doing much the same. But Elias may have something more ambitious in mind than just this one Iowa seat. His political action group, the Democracy Docket, is floating a new strategy to guarantee Democratic majorities in the House and Senate: unseating any Republican they say won unfairly, especially through voter suppression or gerrymandering.

Elias has long represented Democrats in close races. He was Al Frankens attorney in 2008 (and well into 2009) for the comedian-turned-candidate's effort to overcome a 215-vote deficit in his challenge of Sen. Norm Coleman for a U.S. Senate seat from Minnesota. There were months of recounting -- and courtroom arguments over whether to count absentee ballots that had originally been rejected. Enough of those ballots eventually went to Franken that Coleman was sent packing.

Now Elias is representing Rita Hart in her effort to undo the certified Iowa election. Elias needs to come up with only seven yet-to-be-counted ballots for the Democrat and then persuade the congressional majority to overrule Iowas certification of Miller-Meeks as the winner. He claims to have that many uncounted votes and more: 22 ballots remain uncounted, Elias declares at his Democracy Docket website. Elias concedes that a few of those votes would go to Miller-Meeks, but most would add to Harts count --the results of which would put her ahead by 9 votes. He argues that Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution empowers the House and Senate to overrule vote tallies as each body is the "Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members."

RealClearInvestigations reached out twice to Elias through Perkins Coie, the law firm at which he is a partner. He did not respond.

Elias has been described as the most consequential Democrat not holding an office. But that might sell him short. Compared with elected officials, whether a boisterous backbencher such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or President Joe Biden himself, Elias is the Democrat doing the most to shape American political campaigns.

In the 2020 election, he was a key field marshal leading an army of lawyers for the Biden campaigns special litigation unit. In litigatioin across the country, Eliass Perkins Coie team fought restrictions on absentee ballots and litigated for the expansion of mail-in voting. Elias represented the Democratic National Committee, state Democratic parties, congressional Democrats, and activist groups such as Priorities USA, bringing more than 200 pre-election lawsuits.

Elias had tremendous success with litigation designed to change voting rules state by state well into campaign season. His win-loss record was even more impressive after Election Day. Leading more than 100 lawyers, Elias swamped Donald Trumps legal team, who struggled to prove the presidents claims of electoral irregularities.

Elias is also notable for having made possible the creation and dissemination of the salacious Steele dossier that prompted a special prosecutors inquiry over supposed Russian election influence just weeks into Trumps tenure in office. It was Elias and the firm at which he is a partner, Perkins Coie, who hired Fusion GPS, using money from the Clinton campaign and the DNC. Fusion in turn paid former British spy Christopher Steele to compile the never-verified and now discredited collection of memos accusing Donald Trump of conspiring with Russia to sway the 2016 election. His role in secretly delivering campaign cash used to pay foreign nationals to interfere in the election may have made Elias infamous among Republicans, but its been great for business with Democrats. The American Lawyer calls Elias Every Democrats Favorite Lawyer.

Elias calls what he practices political law. And no doubt when playing politics, being a lawyer has its advantages. When interviewed by the House, Elias was able to invoke attorney/client privilege and refuse to answer questions about his conversations with Hillary Clinton and the DNC. That privilege gave him the opportunity to have some fun at the expense of the lawmakers conducting the interview. Asked who his privilege covered at the DNC, he offered to find out the names of the committee vice chairs and officers. Im happy to get that for you, he told Rep. Trey Gowdy. Its, I think, on their website.

At one point Donna Brazile was a client -- she chaired the DNC from July 2016 through February 2017. She told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence that at the time she was unaware of Steeles activities shopping the dossier around to journalists. But in the days before the election, she started getting calls from reporters asking her to confirm that MI-6 was on [the DNC] payroll. Brazile emailed Elias: MI-6 on our payroll? Need to know. Eliass reply was as cynical as it was curt: You dont need to know.

Elias and his team did run into trouble with their relentless tactics. A new rule taking effect for the 2020 election in Texas prohibited straight-ticket voting, the practice of checking one box to cast votes for the entire slate of a given partys candidates. In challenging that rule, Elias and his fellow Perkins Coie lawyers earned a rebuke from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals: Appellees did not notify the court that their latest motion  was nearly identical to the motion to supplement the record filed several months ago by the same attorneys. Elias failed to notify the court that their previous and nearly identical motion was denied. This inexplicable failure to disclose the earlier denial of their motion violated their duty of candor to the court. The panel of judges sanctioned Elias and the five lawyers working with him on the case, encouraging them all to attend ethics training.

Normally such a sanction would be a humiliating embarrassment to a law firm. But a spokesman for Perkins Coie said they strongly disagree with the Appellate Courts ruling and back Elias completely.

Elias seems to enjoy his notoriety. Having heard that Republicans are saying that a dirty trickster is leading the effort to unseat Miller-Meeks, Elias turned to Twitter to mock the GOP: I really am living in their heads rent free, he snarked, and it's really cold, dark and empty in here. The tweet is telling about how he expects his pleadings for Rita Hart to be received: If Elias thought he needed even one Republican vote to unseat Miller-Meeks, would he taunt them so?

Davis, the top House Administration Committee Republican, objected, saying that Iowa had counted and recounted the votes. The state certified Miller-Meeks the winner after a thorough, transparent, and bipartisan process, the Illinoisan said. Every vote valid under Iowa law, Davis said, had been counted.

From the first meeting of the committee, however, committee Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren was already echoing and endorsing the Elias filings: Rita Hart, she said, has raised specific, credible allegations that enough validly cast ballots were wrongly excluded from the certified total to reverse the elections outcome.

Capitol Hill Republicans point to the bitter fight begun in 1984 over who won Indianas 8th Congressional District. It was a bruising battle in which Democrats used their majorities to seat Frank McCloskey even though his GOP opponent, Richard McIntyre, had been certified by Indiana as the winner by more than 400 votes. Republicans were outraged and responded with newly aggressive tactics devised by Newt Gingrich. The fight over Iowas 2nd District seat promises to be far more brutal than even the bloody Eighth in Indiana, in no small part because Elias feels no need to be solicitous of those hes planning to steamroll.

Weve seen Democrats do this before -- steal a House seat by changing the rules, Davis said in a committee meeting this month. Elias tweeted: Republican House members are very brave in lying while hiding behind speech and debate immunity. He then double-dog-dared lawmakers who have been critical of him: How about they agree to waive it and then see how brave they are.

Elias describes himself as a Lawyer fighting for Democrats and voting rights for all. The lawyer himself subordinates voting rights to Democratic victories. Republicans chafe at being lectured on electoral morals by someone they see as gaming elections for partisan, and monetary, gain. It was a year ago that Elias developed a litigation strategy built around what he calls the four pillars. Each eliminates rules Republicans say are necessary to protect against voter fraud. Elias denounces those rules as designed to suppress the votes of the poor and minorities. He says the GOP is committed to disenfranchising voters.

The first of Eliass pillars supposes that a 55-cent stamp is more than many voters can afford in order to exercise their franchise: Postage must be free or prepaid by the government. The second pillar all but guarantees results wont be known for weeks after Election Day in any close contest: Ballots postmarked on or before Election Day must count. And the third pillar is designed to gut state laws that require signatures on mail-in ballots match the signatures voters penned when they registered.

But it is the fourth pillar that worries Republicans most: Community organizations should be permitted to help collect and deliver voted, sealed ballots. The GOP sees this as an obvious invitation to ballot harvesting. The risk is that activists will take advantage of the elderly, for example, filling out their ballots for the activists preferred candidates. A Texas social worker, Kelly Reagan Brunner, was arrested last year and charged with 134 counts of voter fraud, accused, among other things, of registering dementia patients at a nursing home to vote.

Elias rejects the term ballot harvesting and instead insists the practice be referred to as community ballot collection. He accuses Republicans of passing laws against ballot-gathering as an effort to suppress the vote.

The four pillars are no longer just a litigation strategy, they are embedded in HR 1 -- the For the People Act, Democrats flagship legislation rewriting and nationalizing election law along the lines championed by Elias.

The bill is irredeemable, a minority congressional aide tells RealClearInvestigations. The election administration provisions are made up of every Marc Elias policy dream meant to guarantee the outcome of elections for Democrats.

Its hard to think of a good-faith reason that Democrats targeted every law designed to protect elections against fraud, says a Republican attorney who practices election law.

When you spread out Election Day for weeks or more, it can be hard to keep ballots secure, he says. If a vote is cast at a polling place on Election Day, there are observers. But if votes are collected over days or weeks in drop boxes, its unlikely anyone will be keeping a watch on them.

Elias has said that the election laws he supports are part of a democracy agenda, which includes changes to post-election recount and contest provisions to disincentivize frivolous attacks, while allowing those with genuine issues to raise them and have them resolved.

Republican Davis says the issues in Iowas 2nd District have already been resolved  by Iowa election officials. Unfortunately, however, the Democrat majority is not content to let Iowa voters choose their own representative. Instead, it has decided that Democrats in Washington, D.C., representing other states should choose Iowans representative for them. This is not how the Constitution or American democracy should work.

But making the Constitution work that way -- and on a grand scale at that -- is apparently exactly what Elias has in mind.

While gearing up to argue for removing Miller-Meeks, Elias published, at his Democracy Docket website, an article by Harvard law professor Nicholas Stephanopoulos. Elias highlighted the essay, putting it in a Spotlight position and promoting it on Twitter as an exclusive analysis of Congress forgotten electoral power. Stephanopoulos argues Congress should refuse to seat any candidate who benefited from voter suppression or gerrymandering. Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution, he points out, makes each chamber of Congress the Judge of the Elections [and] Returns ... of its own Members. A simple majority of the House or Senate would be enough to undo any election, and neither the courts nor the president would have any grounds to intervene.

Article I, Section 5 is of course the same power Elias is calling on the House of Representatives to use in replacing Rep. Miller-Meeks with Rita Hart.

RealClearInvestigations asked Stephanopoulos whether an election would have to be close for the majority party to refuse to seat a winning minority party candidate. I made no effort to work out the details of how exactly each chamber should exercise this authority, Stephanopoulos replied.

But the practice would hardly be infrequent. Stephanopoulos defines voter suppression as any policy that makes it hard for people to register and vote. For Elias that means, among other things, any state law that shortens early voting, limits the number of ballot drop boxes, or blocks ballots received after Election Day. With a concept of voter suppression so broad, encompassing just about every conservative states election laws, there would be no shortage of Republicans who could find themselves unseated.

To avoid the appearance that refusing to seat ones political opponents was a partisan power-grab, Stephanopoulos recommends creating expert panels to which this power could be delegated. Each panel would be made up of respected election specialists, including administrators, attorneys and academics who would determine well ahead of Election Day which candidates benefited from vote suppression. The House and Senate could each rubber stamp these recommendations and rely on them to welcome  or exclude  members-elect looking to take their seats.

This is a terrible idea, undemocratic, elitist and extremely problematic, says Lonna Atkeson, director of the Center for the Study of Voting, Elections and Democracy at the University of New Mexico. The idea of an expert panel to overturn elections is crazy. Democracy is about voters, not experts.

But as crazy as it may seem, Stephanopoulos is perfectly serious. So is Elias.

The effort to remove Miller-Meeks from Congress and put Rita Hart in her seat is Elias broader strategy in miniature. Under their interpretation of Article I, Section 5, Congress has an unbounded and uncontestable power to control who is and isnt a lawmaker. For now, that theory is being put to use to wrest a single Iowa House seat away from Republicans. But armed with an expansive vision of how Article I, Section 5 can be used, theres little reason to think Marc Elias would restrain his ambitions.
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Go to form
Transfer of GECI International shares to the Euronext Growth market

with effect from March 29, 2021

GECI International, the Digital Transformation and Technology Consulting specialist, is announcing the transfer of the listing of its shares to the Euronext Growth Paris market on March 29, 2021.

Serge Bitboul, GECI International's Chairman and CEO: "This transfer of our listing will help us to benefit from the Euronext Growth market's visibility and dynamics, as well as access to a regulatory framework that is fully adapted to our development strategy. Specifically, this will make it possible to reduce the constraints associated with the Euronext market and the resources deployed to respond to them, combining effectively with our strategy to reduce costs, with a view to returning to a balanced financial position as quickly as possible".

The request for GECI International shares to be admitted to the Euronext Growth market in Paris was approved by the Euronext Listing Board on March 23, 2021.

This transfer, which was approved at the Combined General Shareholders' Meeting on September 19, 2019, will enable GECI International to be listed on a market that is aligned with its development strategy and market capitalization.

This transfer will make it possible to expand the panel of investors interested in the companies listed on Euronext Growth, and particularly the high-growth markets served by GECI International, such as the technology and digital transformation market, with a focus on cybersecurity and smart solutions and products. This transfer, which is in line with the Group's restructuring process, will also contribute to its policy to reduce costs and simplify processes.

GECI International will continue to provide accurate, precise and fair disclosures, by making public all privileged information concerning the company, in accordance with the provisions of European Regulation no.596/2014 of April 16, 2014 on Market Abuse ("MAR"). These provisions will also continue to apply in full to GECI International, particularly in terms of reporting transactions on the company's shares by executives (and people related to them). In addition, GECI International intends to maintain its previous practices and will therefore continue to apply IFRS.

The information document drawn up in connection with this transfer is available online on the company's website www.geci.net, in the "Regulatory notices" section.

The ISIN code identifying GECI International's securities will remain unchanged (FR0000079634) and the ticker will be ALGECP. In addition, GECI International shares will continue to be eligible for share-based savings schemes and SME share-based savings schemes (PEA-PME).

GECI International is being supported by Euroland Corporate as the Listing Sponsor.

The definitive schedule for the transfer of the listing market is as follows:

March 23, 2021 Publication by Euronext of the decision concerning the admission of the securities on Euronext Growth March 25, 2021 Publication of a Euronext notice announcing the delisting of GECI International's ordinary shares from Euronext Paris

Publication of a Euronext notice announcing the admission of GECI International's ordinary shares on Euronext Growth Paris

Publication of a press release by the Company and publication of the information document online March 29, 2021

before start of trading Delisting of GECI International's ordinary shares from Euronext Paris

Admission of GECI International's ordinary shares on Euronext Growth Paris

ABOUT GECI INTERNATIONAL

__________

"Smart Solutions for a Smart World"

Founded in 1980, GECI International is a specialist Digital Transformation and Technology Consulting group. For over 40 years, GECI International has innovated alongside major industrial and service companies to provide smart solutions, products and services. With its network of partner companies and expert capabilities worldwide, the Group offers integrated solutions for Finance, Services and Industry for its clients, from key accounts to SMEs and startups.

GECI International will be listed on the Euronext Growth Paris market from March 29, 2021.

ISIN (shares): FR0000079634 - GECP / ISIN (BSAR A warrants): FR0013266764 - GECBT

CONTACTS

__________

GECI International - Investor Relations

Tel: +33 (0)1 46 12 00 00 / relation.investisseurs@geci.net

CALYPTUS - Cyril Combe

Tel: +33 (0)1 53 65 68 68 / geci@calyptus.net

------------------------

This publication embed "Actusnews SECURITY MASTER ".

- SECURITY MASTER Key:

ymxrYMWZlJfFyptrapZraJVmbGZmlpOamJeeyWqblp+Vap9pnJtnacfHZm9pmGpt

- Check this key: https://www.security-master-key.com.

------------------------



 Copyright Actusnews Wire

Receive by email the next press releases of the company by registering on www.actusnews.com, it's free

Full and original release in PDF format:https://www.actusnews.com/documents_communiques/ACTUS-0-68357-geci_cp-transfert-effectif-eg_mars2021_e.pdf
The Boston Tea Room has been a staple in Metro Detroit for 40 years, but as a business that relies on 90% of its services being in-person, the last year has left it on unstable ground.

The retail portion of the Tea Room includes loose leaf tea, crystals and candles, but the majority of its business comes from astrological readings, tarot card readings and palm readings, owner Heatherleigh Navarre said.

Prior to the pandemic, they added readings by phone, but it didnt take off until COVID-19 shut down any in-person options, Navarre said.

Both staff size and revenue have suffered, she said. Reading services made up 50% of revenue but shrunk to 30% during the pandemic. Her staff of readers declined from 20 to 12.

There was an attempt to move operations online, but technical difficulties ended up costing more in staff time and training than the service itself, Navarre said. In one instance, Navarre spent more than an hour instructing a customer on how to use Skype, she said.

The Ferndale store remained closed despite customers still knocking at the door for crystals or sage bundles, she said.

It was difficult to turn away paying customers, but Navarre ultimately chose to stay closed until June.

Theres no such thing as the Rose Quartz emergency, she said. The demand was always there, so when we did reopen, even though were letting a lot fewer people in our store, the retail really bounced back.

Attempting E-commerce ended up being costly and frustrating, Navarre said. The online sales yielded less than what she paid in staff hours. Ultimately, the business lost tens of thousands of dollars trying to pivot online, she said.

Even with the small number of sales, the store wasnt set up for the quick delivery customers have become accustomed to with online shopping. Navarre would field impatient phone calls asking for tracking numbers on orders that were placed the night before. It was a pace their business wasnt built for, she said.

Peoples expectation of E-commerce is built off of their experiences with very large online retailers, she said. They expect drone delivery within a 24 hour turnaround time.

The store is back open and offering limited services. With the cushion of a payroll loan and a longstanding reputation, Navarre said she expects business to bounce back.

The online experiment was put on hold in March after an E-commerce manager left the company. Navarre said she hopes the pause allows her to catch up and hire someone with expertise in the field.

Related: Pandemic pushes Michigan retailers into online sales, making E-commerce a permanent fixture

Even seasoned online retailers had to make adjustments to stay relevant in an increasingly online market.

For Detroit-based retailer Shinola, the luxury brand already had a firm foundation in E-commerce, CEO Shannon Washburn said, but the pandemic did change shopping trends, with jewelry sales increasing, demand for leather work bags dropping and the companys bicycle line having its best year yet.

To optimize online shopping, the Shinola team expanded product delivery options such as shipping from store and curbside delivery. What the company found, though, was that its customers still wanted the in-store experience, said Brad Schneider, Shinola Head of Retail.

The challenge then became recreating the same hospitality experience after masks replaced smiles and hand sanitizer replaced handshakes, he said. With plexiglass dividers and timed visits, the stores did their best to replicate the pre-pandemic experience, he said.

Shinola stores went from booking a few shopping appointments a month to more than a thousand monthly visits, Schneider said.

To accommodate holiday shoppers, some Shinola locations were able to expand to allow more space for social distancing. In Metro Detroit, the business was able to take over vacant square footage in Somerset Mall and at its Detroit hotel location on Woodward Avenue.

For retailers nationwide, the 2020 November-December holiday season accounted for nearly one-fifth of overall annual sales, according to the National Retail Federation. Despite the pandemic, overall holiday sales grew 8% compared with the year before and online sales increased 22.6%.

While 2020 accelerated the E-commerce trend, the pandemic has proven that brands like Shinola must continue to make retail immersive and to find ways to meet customers where they are, Washburn said.

While we may see huge growth opportunities in E-commerce, we still believe strongly in our own brick and mortar and our wholesale partners, Washburn said.

More on MLive:

Tracking a year of coronavirus in Michigan

COVID-19 one year later: This is our life now

Will the pandemic be the final nail in the coffin for Michigans malls?

West Michigan wedding, banquet centers call on state to ease COVID-19 restrictions

Expanded outdoor dining likely to continue through summer, fall in Grand Rapids
Bald eagle populations soar Indian Country

Get ready for Brood X: The once-every-17-years cicada swarm is coming NBC

Suez Canal remains blocked despite efforts to refloat grounded Ever Given Lloyds List. A poem:

How to Dislodge a 200,000-Ton Ship From a Canal Wall Bloomberg. Youre gonna need a smaller boat.

Stranded Suez ships owner, insurers face millions in claims Reuters

Exclusive: U.S. regulator opens inquiry into Wall Streets blank check IPO frenzy  sources Reuters

Tech Bubble or Rotation? The Big Picture

Global banks $750bn in fossil fuels finance conflicts with green pledges FT. Handy chart:

#COVID19

Bidens school reopening promise faces aging bus drivers, vaccine scarcity Poltico. Were blaming the bus drivers now? GTFO.

All Barnstable Public Schools Going Remote Due to Community COVID Spread NBC Boston

Experts wonder why younger people seem to be getting sicker with COVID Montreal Gazette. Variants in Canada:

The PH director of Bas-Saint-Laurent Dr Leduc explains that the household attack rates theyre seeing with variant cases are now essentially 100%. So letting covid circulate among kids/teens necessarily means letting it circulate among their parents.https://t.co/5ODxdmFAT3  Dr. Lisa Iannattone (@lisa_iannattone) March 24, 2021

Why Uruguays Schoolchildren Are Doing So Well in the Pandemic Der Spiegel (Re Silc).

Ventilation and schools:

Thread is pointing out that, apparently, NYC is planning to end remote work but wont require masks indoors if people can be six feet apart. Its been a year and the key role of aerosols hasnt sunk in. Among the biggest pandemic failures. https://t.co/oxBQmc1te7  zeynep tufekci (@zeynep) March 24, 2021

Rigid rules that are also ever-changing, with seemingly no motivation, but forceful demands for compliance (rather like eligibility requirements, come to think of it). No wonder the public health establishment has a public relations problem.

* * *

SARS-CoV-2 and the role of airborne transmission: a systematic review [version 1; peer review: awaiting peer review] Carl Heneghan, et al., F1000Research. From the Conclusion: SARS-CoV-2 RNA is detected intermittently in the air in various settings. Standardized guidelines for conducting and reporting research on airborne transmission are needed. The lack of recoverable viral culture samples of SARS-CoV-2 prevents firm conclusions over airborne transmission. Heneghan is a heavy hitter, so this review of the literature will surely generate some controversy. However, I remember linking to studies of recoverable viral culture samples in airborne hospital settings not once (for RNA) but twice (for DNA with infectiousness shown). I dont have time to dig the links out, very unfortunately; perhaps later today. But Im not certain how systematic this review really is.

Ventilation procedures to minimize the airborne transmission of viruses at schools (PDF) medRxiv. From the Abstract: [T]here remains significant uncertainty surrounding exactly what ventilation rates 26 are required, and how to best achieve these targets with limited time and resources. This paper uses a mass balance approach to quantify the ability of both mechanical ventilation and ad-hoc airing procedures to mitigate airborne transmission risk in the classroom environment. For naturally ventilated classrooms, we propose a novel feedback control strategy using CO2 concentrations to continuously monitor and adjust the airing procedure. Our case studies show how such procedures can be applied in the real world to support the reopening of schools during the pandemic. Our results also show the inadequacy of relying on absolute CO2 concentration thresholds as the sole indicator of airborne transmission risk.

* * *

AstraZenecas US Vaccine Trial Data Derek Lowe, In the Pipeline, Science

What scientists do and dont know about the OxfordAstraZeneca COVID vaccine Nature

Krispy Kreme Offers Vaccinated Customers Free Ride On Glaze Conveyor Belt The Onion

* * *

1 report, 4 theories: Scientists mull clues on virus origin Associated Press

Weaned on Hollywood endings, Americans now face a messy one AP

Long Covid affects most hospital patients, two UK studies find FAT

Doctor, How Long Should I Isolate? NEJM

Disaggregation for Health Equity: Shedding Light on COVID-19s Impact on the Filipinx Community KCET

Birx Joins Air-Cleaning Industry Amid Land Grab for Billions in Federal Covid Relief Kaiser Health News. But:

[A]ir quality experts say, the best solutions come down to basics: adding more outdoor air, buying portable HEPA filters and installing MERV 13 filters within heating systems. But school boards are often lured by aggressive claims of 99.9% efficiency  based on a test of a filter inside a small cabinet and not a classroom. Every dollar you use for this equipment is a dollar you remove from doing the right solution, Zaatari said.

I sure hope lured doesnt imply lured with a steak dinner.
Staff and students in a south Dublin secondary school were evacuated from the premises today as Gardai investigated a possible bomb threat.

Gardai are investigating reports of a possible suspect device at St Mac Dara's Community College in Templeogue.

They carried out extensive searches of the premises and a search operation remains ongoing, however so far no device has been located.

A Garda spokesperson added that: Enquiries are continuing.

It is believed that a number of phone calls were made indicating that there may have been some sort of explosive device in the school. The legitimacy of these calls will be investigated after the search has finished.

It is also understood that an evacuation was not deemed necessary, but school officials decided to send home the students present today.

The school has said that it can open tomorrow, after being given the all-clear following a comprehensive search which included trained sniffer dogs.
By SA Commercial Prop News

The Hilton group has decided to close down more than a thousand of its hotels globally due to a reported steep decline in revenue.



The Hilton Hotel in Durban, one of the most prestigious hotels in the KwaZulu-Natal province, has become the latest tourism casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic.

One of the most prestigious hotels in the KwaZulu-Natal, the Hilton Durban closes its doors on Monday 11th January, albeit temporarily. This is after the iconic hotel was unable to financially support operations due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.



The Hilton group has decided to close down more than a thousand of its hotels globally due to a reported steep decline in revenue.

The American hotel giant also stopped operating the Hilton Hotel in Cape Town last year.



The Hilton Hotel in Durban has become the latest tourism casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic.



The iconic 5-star hotel has been operating since 1997. The 19-storey high glass building towers over several businesses and can be seen almost anywhere in the Durban Central District.



The Hilton is synonymous with high-profile events. It has hosted countless dignitaries from heads of state, international celebrities, and even royalty.



The Hilton has a strategic location and indeed a partnership with the Albert Luthuli National Convention Centre which has been the most successful Convention Centre for some time. Due to the nationwide lockdown, the ICC had to cancel several local and international events and conferences which usually rake in millions. This has had a severe impact on the hotel.

The Hilton Durban, however, isnt the only hotel in the province to suffer a major knock from the pandemic. The Fairmont Zimbali Hotel underwent business rescue in September 2020.



The general manager of Fairmont Zimbali, Wayne Krambeck, said the decision to undergo business rescue was made to safeguard the interests of its stakeholders, as the tourism industry faced disruptions because of the virus.

The consequent stagnation in global economic activity together with the South African government-imposed national state of disaster has impacted negatively on our business, Krambeck said.



Two other major players in the South African hospitality industry, Sun International and Tsogo Sun, also faced financial challenges as both their share prices declined significantly during the year.



SUI owns and operates around 19 resorts across South Africa, as well as two hotels in Latin America.



The Tsogo Sun Group (JSE: TSG), another huge South African hotel and casino operator, saw its shares decline by more than 57%.



Tsogo Sun operates 92 hotels across South Africa and another eight throughout the rest of the continent.



The group also operates two hotels abroad, one in the UAE and another in Seychelles.
Managing Editor Rebecca Huntington has worked for newspapers across the West. She hosts a rescue podcast, The Fine Line. Her family minivan doubles as her not-so-high-tech recording studio.
Researchers wearing headlamps and protective suits race to untangle the claws and wings of bats caught up in a big net after dark in the Philippine province of Laguna.



The tiny animals are carefully placed in cloth bags to be taken away, measured and swabbed, with details logged and saliva and faecal matter collected for analysis before they are returned to the wild.

The researchers call themselves the "virus hunters", tasked with catching thousands of bats to develop a simulation model they hope will help the world avoid a pandemic similar to COVID-19, which has killed nearly 2.8 million people.

Reuters

What's the project all about?

The Japanese-funded model will be developed over the next three years by the University of the Philippines Los Banos, which hopes the bats will help in predicting the dynamics of a coronavirus by analysing factors such as climate, temperature and ease of spread, to humans included.

"What we're trying to look into are other strains of coronavirus that have the potential to jump to humans," said ecologist Philip Alviola, the leader of the group, who has studied bat viruses for more than a decade.

Reuters

"If we know the virus itself and we know where it came from, we know how to isolate that virus geographically."

Beyond laboratories

Beyond work in the laboratory, the research requires lengthy field trips, involving traipsing for hours through thick rainforest and precarious night hikes on mountains covered in rocks, tree roots, mud and moss.

The group also targets bat roosts in buildings, setting up mist nets before dusk to catch bats and extract samples by the light of torches.

Reuters

How is it done?

Each bat is held steady by the head as researchers insert tiny swabs into their mouths and record wingspans with plastic rulers, to try and see which of the more than 1,300 species and 20 families of bats are most susceptible to infections and why.

Researchers wear protective suits, masks and gloves when in contact with the bats, as a precaution against catching viruses.

"It's really scary these days," said Edison Cosico, who is assisting Alviola. "You never know if the bat is already a carrier.

Reuters

"What we're after is finding out if there are any more viruses from bats that can be transmitted to humans. We'll never know if the next one is just like COVID."

Most bats are horseshoe bats

The bulk of those caught are horseshoe bats known to harbour coronaviruses, including the closest known relative of the novel coronavirus.

Horseshoe bats figure in two of the scenarios of World Health Organization experts investigating the origins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19.

Reuters

Host species, such as bats, usually display no symptoms of the pathogens, although they can be devastating if transmitted to humans or other animals.

Deadly viruses to have originated from bats include Ebola and other coronaviruses, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).

Reuters

Humans' exposure and closer interaction with wildlife meant the risk of disease transmission was now higher than ever, said bat ecologist Kirk Taray.

"By having baseline data on the nature and occurrence of the potentially zoonotic virus in bats, we can somehow predict possible outbreaks."
Thank you for reading!

Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Hazleton, PA (18201)

Today

Thunderstorms early, then variable clouds overnight with still a chance of showers. A few storms may be severe. Low near 60F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms early, then variable clouds overnight with still a chance of showers. A few storms may be severe. Low near 60F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%.
WASHINGTON  White House officials expressed optimism Wednesday about the pace of COVID-19 vaccinations while also voicing worries that partying on spring break at sunny tourist destinations could fuel outbreaks.

Im often asked, Are we turning the corner? My response is really more like, We are at the corner. Whether or not we turn the corner remains to be seen, White House senior medical adviser Anthony Fauci said at a press briefing. We do have a lot of challenges in front of us with regard to the high level of daily infections.

The level of daily new infections hovers around 55,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, far below the winter surge but still too high to resume regular life.

When youre at that level, I dont think you can declare victory and say youve turned the corner, he said.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said the agency is monitoring the potential impact of spring break trips and stressed hanging in there for a few more weeks.

I am indeed enthusiastic about the pace of vaccination that is happening, about the early data were seeing, about the changes in infection rates, the changes in emergency department rates, Walensky said. What concerns me is the footage of what is happening with spring breakers and people who are not continuing to implement prevention strategies while we get fully scaled up.

Walensky said that while 24% of the population has received one dose and 13% of the population is fully vaccinated, it will require another couple of months to approach herd immunity where the spread of COVID-19 is limited.

Were at 13%. We need to get much higher than that to feel like we have adequate protection in this country, Walensky continued. We are watching whats happening with people who are vacationing right now and that concerns me a lot.

Governors have also expressed worries about a spring break surge.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, said Tuesday that he was worried about people returning from Florida to the state.

Our emphasis on the spring breakers coming back is to get tested, take precautions, Hutchinson said.

But Hutchinson doubled down on a promise to lift the states mask mandate by March 31, despite questions about whether that would coincide with the incubation period of some traveling students who were potentially exposed.

He expressed concern about the political consequences of requiring public health protections like a mask mandate for a longer time.

Weve got some more work to do to make sure we articulate it in the right way and have appropriate guidance for our cities, for our employers and for our schools, he said. I think I would be roundly and appropriately criticized if I backpedaled from the commitment we made.

Meanwhile, Biden administration officials said they are studying the spread of more infectious variants spreading within the United States.

Fauci highlighted three March 23 studies in the New England Journal of Medicine  one of workers in Israel, another from California and a third from Texas  showing that infections among health care workers in protective equipment who were fully vaccinated were extremely rare, even amid outbreaks of the B.1.1.7 variant that originated in the United Kingdom.

If you look at the level of infection in individuals who are doubly vaccinated, the level of infection is 0.05 percent. Thats extremely low. Thats where we want to be, Fauci said.
EFI

Mandello del Larios two-wheeled entities and Marcin Guja are like hotdogs and mustarda perfect match. Over the years, the Polish expert crafted as many as fifteen custom ventures based solely on Moto Guzzi s machines. The exploit well be looking at today is perhaps the juiciest of them all. At its core, this bad boy is a 1980 model from the Italian manufacturers 850 T3 series.In stock form, the predator packs an air-cooled V-twin powerplant with two valves per cylinder and a generous displacement of 844cc. At about 7,000 revs, this wicked mill supplies up to 68 untamed horses, along with 54 pound-feet (73 Nm) of crushing twist at 5,800 rpm. A five-speed gearbox channels this force to the rear 18-inch wheel by means of a shaft final drive.Now that weve covered the donors main powertrain characteristics lets see what Gujas beast brings to the table. For starters, the moto doctor kicked things off by giving the T3 a thorough heart transplant. As such, it is now powered by a V11s brutal 1,064cc V-twin behemoth, coupled with a Californias five-speed transmission.Furthermore, the mill was modified to accommodate a set of DellOrto PHM40 carburetors instead of the factory. At the other end of the combustion cycle, we spot a rugged exhaust system hailing from Lafranconis inventory. As soon as his work in the performance department concluded, Marcin tweaked the bikes subframe to support a minute tail section and a handsome leather saddle upholstered in-house.Next, a Le Mans fiberglass fuel chamber has been outsourced, along with a Moto Guzzi Nevadas front fender. To round out the aesthetic goodness, the creatures front end received a vintage-style fairing. The following step consisted of blessing the T3's stock forks with progressive springs, while a pair of YYC shocks take care of rear suspension duties.After rebuilding its brakes, Marcin enveloped the warriors new bodywork in a stealthy two-tone color scheme, consisting of gloss and matte black segments, neatly divided by gold pinstripes. For contrast, a tasty gold finish has been applied to the frame and wheels.
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 GEM Opportunity Zone Fund, a private investment firm concentrated on impact investing, will build as well as own all of the facilities on the campus, which includes a distribution center, greenhouses, and co-packing facilities.

FREMONT, CA: Core Scientific, a leading infrastructure and software solutions provider for artificial intelligence and blockchain, has declared that it will provide innovative blockchain and AI solutions to the $314 million Agriculture Technology Campus in Early Branch, South Carolina. The high-tech agriculture campus is known to be the largest agricultural investment in the history of South Carolina as well as the largest agricultural investment in a Federal Qualified Opportunity Zone.

Situated between Charleston and Savannah, the Agriculture Technology Campus is a joint venture between Clear Water Farms, Mastronardi Produce, and LiDestri Food and Drink. The GEM Opportunity Zone Fund, a private investment company concentrated on impact investing, will build as well as own all of the facilities on the campus, which includes a distribution center, greenhouses, and co-packing facilities.

"Simply put, this is a major investment for the state of South Carolina, which has never seen an agricultural project of this scale. Additionally, a partnership of this nature between such well-respected names in the industry is the first of its kind," stated Zeb Portanova, CEO at GEM Opportunity Zone Fund. "We're teaming with Core Scientific to create a bonafide technological epicenter for agriculture not just locally, but globally. Once fully realized, the Agriculture Technology Campus will be able to provide pesticide-free, locally grown produce for 50 to 60 million Americans in the Southeast from the vine to the shelf in just a couple of days."

Blockchain offers a transparent and immutable registry of data, meaning produce recorded on the blockchain can be clearly traced from seed source to table. Thus, consumers can guarantee the authenticity of their food while producers can identify and correct various issues throughout the supply chain. This technology, coupled with AI/ML, will have a huge impact on the interoperable manner the partners in the Agriculture Technology Campus will work.

"This is one of the most technologically progressive teams I have worked with," stated Ian Ferreira, Chief Product Officer of Artificial Intelligence at Core Scientific. "We will be working alongside the GEM Opportunity Zone Fund to commit all of the Agriculture Technology Campus facilities to Smart Agriculture increasing productivity, yield and crop provenance. Using blockchain paired with AI-enabled production processes and technologies, the goal is to create a Center of Excellence for this agriculture category right here in the US."
STOCKHOLM, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Azelio has been selected to present its TES.POD to investors and industry representatives at the 2021 NREL Industry Growth Forum (IGF), to be held virtually on April 20-22, 2021. The IGF, celebrating its 26th anniversary, is hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). It is one of the nation's premier events for cleantech entrepreneurs and other industry experts. Azelio was selected following an extensive selection process.

"We are proud to be among the global top 40 companies, and as the only one from Sweden, selected for the 2021 NREL Industry Growth Forum. Making clean power affordable and available on-demand where it is needed and around the clock is a must for a global green transition. We look forward to presenting how Azelio is making this possible to investors and industry representatives at the forum in April," says Jonas Eklind, CEO of Azelio.

More than 600 cleantech investors, entrepreneurs, and industry representatives are expected to attend this year's IGF. Among them will be 40 of the world's most promising emerging cleantech companies, including Azelio, that will be presenting their cleantech innovations.

"We're facing global pressures to reduce negative climate impacts and ensure clean water, clean air, and sustainable energy and food systems," said IGF Program Manager Sheila Ebbitt. "We received applications from around the world and across technology sectors. It was a challenge for our investor selection committee to narrow the selection down to the top 40 startups."

For more information about the 2021 NREL IGF, please visit https://www.nrelforum.com/ .

For further information about Azelio, contact

Jonas Eklind - CEO

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +46 709 40 35 80

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/azelio/r/azelio-is-selected-to-present-its-energy-storage-at-the-2021-nrel-industry-growth-forum,c3314116

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/16031/3314116/1392610.pdf Release https://news.cision.com/azelio/i/azelio-s-thermal-energy-storage,c2893174 Azelio's Thermal Energy Storage

SOURCE Azelio
ROME  In an effort to contain costs and save jobs amid a slump in tourist dollars and donations as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, Pope Francis has ordered across-the-board pay cuts for the cardinals and other higher-ranking clerics working in the Vatican.

Cardinals will see their income trimmed 10 percent, according to a decree published Wednesday. The superiors of Vatican departments will have their salaries reduced 8 percent, while 3 percent cuts will be applied to upper-level priests and nuns. A two-year salary freeze has been imposed on other employees at higher pay grades.

The pandemic has negatively influenced all sources of income for the Holy See and Vatican City State, Francis wrote in an apostolic letter. A sustainable economic future requires today, among other decisions, adopting measures that also concern employee salaries.

The cuts, which go into effect on April 1, affect only employees of the Holy See, Vatican City and associated institutions, including the Vicariate of Rome. They will not apply to Vatican personnel who can prove that they cannot sustain the costs of personal medical care or that of close family members.
Fine-Tuning T-Cell Therapies for Leukemia, Lung and Skin Cancers



Aude Chapuis, Cancer Physician and Immunology Researcher

Theres something about America that Dr. Aude Chapuis picked up on very early in her career. You can be very spontaneous and take risks, she said. A lot more risks than in Europe. And people will also give you a chance. Fresh out of medical school in Lausanne, Switzerland, not far from where she grew up, Chapuis signed up to work in an immunology lab where researchers were studying HIV. Her soon-to-be mentor, Dr. Giuseppe Pantaleo, had just come to Lausanne after 10 years at the U.S. National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, working with the legendary AIDS researcher Dr. Anthony Fauci. Chapuis was then 23 years old and unsure where her career was going. I had no experience whatsoever, she recalled, And he said, Yeah, Ill give you a chance. It was a fantastic two years. Having fallen in love with immunology, Chapuis then came to the U.S. for a fellowship at Fred Hutch and soon was making a name for herself working with Dr. Philip Greenberg on adoptive T-cell therapy for leukemia. The technique exploits the powerful disease-fighting capacity of certain white blood cells called T cells. Taken from the blood, the T cells can be genetically modified with receptors to recognize cancer cells, multiplied, and returned to the patients bloodstream. The key is to find the right target on the cancer, ideally a protein found on few if any healthy cells, and find the right T-cell receptors to latch onto it.

Dr. Aude Chapuis, 2015 Bo Jungmayer / Fred Hutch

The work soon focused on a mutated protein known as WT1 associated with several types of cancers. Named for its link to Wilms Tumor, a pediatric kidney cancer, it is now associated with a broad spectrum of malignancies ranging from leukemia to lung cancer. Chapuis joined the Hutch faculty in 2014 and now works down the hall from Greenberg in her own laboratory, still savoring that American-style creative thinking. Her work today is focused on fine-tuning components of T-cell therapy  refining the T-cell receptors and selecting the cancer-specific molecules they target  to make sure that T cells and targets are not only well-matched, but that the immune cells can survive long enough to wipe out the cancer and keep it from returning. Her approach, which she calls T-cell receptor gene therapy, is applicable not only to WT1 but to other tumor-associated proteins that originate inside cells and are displayed in bits and pieces on the cell surface for the immune system to assess. She aims to screen donor T cells for the receptors best suited to attack those targets. Then, immune cells bearing those receptors or modified versions of them can be infused in patients.

Were trying to find something which is safe, targets just the tumor, doesnt involve chemotherapy... I think we are really on to something here.



Clinical trials of those T-cell receptors chosen to go after WT1 are yielding promising results and a wealth of nuanced information that will help Chapuis and other immunotherapy researchers at Fred Hutch and beyond improve the approach further. Chapuis is exploring new protein targets and crafting T-cell receptors that will zero in on them. Among those targets is one known as MAGE-A1 found in breast and lung tumors; others are viruses, including those that drive head and neck cancers, and a polyomavirus implicated in the rare skin cancer Merkel cell carcinoma. She is also developing strategies to speed the process of finding and isolating many new receptors on T cells so that therapies can target several other telltale proteins in tumors at once.

It used to take four years to develop one T-cell receptor. Now we have the capability to develop 10 in two months, she said. Were trying to find something which is safe, targets just the tumor, doesnt involve chemotherapy, hopefully, to make the outcomes better. I think we are really on to something here. Getting there will involve tapping that bold, free-flowing thought that is encouraged at Fred Hutch. Theres a lot less structure, convention, and a lot more freedom, she said, reflecting on the differences in research cultures here and in Europe. Were completely free to do whatever jumps in our minds.





 By Sabin Russell and Susan Keown, Dec. 3, 2016


Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.
Advertisement

The skeletal remains of over 25 men, women and children shot dead by Nazi troops during WWII have been uncovered in woodland in the Polish capital, Warsaw.

The grisly discovery by the country's Institute of National Remembrance came following a tip off from an elderly local who recalled seeing German troops leading people to the area.

Posting on Twitter, Tomasz Trzaska from the Institute said: 'The remains of several dozen people, including women and children, were discovered in a mass grave.

'The current state of work allows us to conclude that the remains of at least 25 people were buried at the discovered site.'

The skeletal remains of over 25 men, women and children shot dead by Nazi troops during WWII have been uncovered in woodland in the Polish capital, Warsaw

The grisly discovery by the country's Institute of National Remembrance came following a tip off from an elderly local who recalled seeing German troops leading people to the area

Historians were led to a forest between Choszczowka and Legionowo, where they found the mass grave that has been undiscovered for 80 years

'Information about this place was given to us by a witness who, as a small child, saw and remembered that the Germans led several people to this place.

'He was a few years old at the time, 7, maybe 8. Our historians investigated and confirmed this supposition.

'On Monday we started preparations, secured the site. On Tuesday we made the find.'

Since then, the number of skeletons has increased to 29.

Tomasz Trzaska from the Institute said on Twitter: 'The remains of several dozen people, including women and children, were discovered in a mass grave'

Trzaska added said the Institute had been led to the site by an elderly resident who was seven or eight during WWII

Skeletal remains of at least 29 people have been found since the site was discovered on Tuesday

In addition to the remains of adults and children, elements of clothing were also found, including buttons, belts, shoes

The Institute said that the bodies had been arranged close together indicating that the soldiers forced their victims to lie in the death pits immediately before executing them.

In addition to the remains of adults and children, elements of clothing were also found, including buttons, belts, shoes.

According to documents released by the Central Archives of Modern Records, the massacre most likely took place in 1943 as secret reports confirm mass killings in this part of Warsaw took place then.

A report from Poland's WWII resistance reads: 'On 3 July in the morning, four vehicles brought about 100 people, including several women, to the forest between Choszczowka and Legionowo.

'They were ordered to dig ditches, then all of them were shot.'

The Institute said the newly-discovered remains will now be examined in the hope that they will be able to identify who the victims were.

It is estimated that close to six million Polish civilians were killed during WWII.

Over 90 percent were non-military victims of German forces which invaded the country in September 1939, and the Soviets who invaded two weeks later.

According to documents released by the Central Archives of Modern Records, the massacre most likely took place in 1943 as secret reports confirm mass killings in this part of Warsaw took place then

The Institute said the newly-discovered remains will now be examined in the hope that they will be able to identify who the victims were

The Institute said that the bodies had been arranged close together indicating that the soldiers forced their victims to lie in the death pits immediately before executing them
TOWNSHEND  The West River Education budget passed in a 165-100 vote Wednesday.

We are so thankful for the support of our community members, Superintendent Bill Anton said. It has been a challenging year for everyone and to know that the citizens of the West River Education District continue to support our schools, our students, and our community is uplifting.

Brookline, Jamaica, Newfane, Townshend and Windham voted on the proposed $12,115,000 fiscal year 2022 budget via Australian ballot on Wednesday. Expenses are set to increase by about $80,000 or 0.66 percent over last year.

West River budget approved with administrative cuts TOWNSHEND  Minimizing the impact on tax bills by cutting back on administrative costs and a

The districts budget committee recommended using $300,000 from the fund balance or reserves to reduce the tax burden in response to a drop in revenue as a one-year stopgap, Laurie Garland, chief financial officer for Windham Central Supervisory Union, said at a recent meeting. The School Board also reduced one administrator position in response to wanting a tax rate minimally increased from the prior year.

Education tax rates are currently projected to increase by 9.64 percent in Brookline, 2.51 percent in Jamaica, 4.56 percent in Newfane and 0.2 percent in Townshend.

Rates are adjusted based on recent house sales with the goal of ensuring Vermonters pay a comparable amount of education taxes on properties of equal value. Jamaica also is losing what is known as the hold harmless protection, which helped districts experiencing steep increases associated with declining enrollment and is being phased out as part of the 2015 Act 46 legislation that encouraged the creation of merged districts like WRED.

The School Board has discussed restructuring options for the schools to reset tax rates but those talks were put on pause due to the disruption of COVID, Garland said. The plan is to broach the subject again in the spring.

West River district school closure projections presented TOWNSHEND  Board members are weighing the pros and cons of rearranging or closing school buildings in the merged West River Education District as a way to control costs. During a meeting 

Voters also authorized the use of $150,000 in leftover bond funds from a biomass project at Leland & Gray Union High School to upgrade the water system at the school. At the annual meeting held remotely Tuesday, Garland said grant funding also helped to cover the biomass system.

So by law, we cant spend [the remaining bond funds] on anything else at all unless we get your approval, she said.

Voters approved articles to pay stipends of $250 to the moderator, $2,000 to the clerk, $2,000 to the treasurer, $1,000 to School Board members and $1,200 to the School Board chairperson. They also set the next annual district meeting to be the fourth Tuesday of March.

On Tuesday, WRED Moderator David Liebow welcomed participants to an unusual meeting during unusual times

I would like to thank the School Board, the administration, the teachers and all of the employees for all of the hard work that they do for our towns, he said.

Liebow said due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the board decided all items would be voted on by ballot. In other years, some articles would be addressed during the annual meeting.

This time around, Liebow just read through the articles and allowed for questions. He noted turnout was lower than at regular board meetings.

Its pretty quiet, said School Board Chairman Al Claussen, who estimated regular board meetings tend to have 30 to 70 participants.
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.
English Danish

Not for release, publication or distribution in whole or in part, in, or into the United States.

Not for release, publication or distribution, in whole or in part, in, into or from any jurisdiction where to do so would constitute a violation of the relevant laws or regulations of that jurisdiction.



Major Shareholder Announcement



Tryg A/S, CVR no. 26 46 02 12 ("Tryg") hereby announces that it has received a major shareholder notification pursuant to Chapter 7 of Consolidated act no. 1767 of 27 November 2020 on Capital Markets, as amended (the "Danish Capital Markets Act"). The notification is, in accordance with Section 30 of the Danish Capital Markets Act, inserted below:

Pursuant to Section 38 of the Danish Capital Markets Act and Section 55 of Consolidated act no. 763 of 23 July 2019, as amended (the "Danish Companies Act"), TryghedsGruppen smba, CVR no. 10 43 04 10 ("TryghedsGruppen"), hereby notifies Tryg that as of 25 March 2021, TryghedsGruppen holds 293,948,347 shares of nominal value DKK 5 each and 146,974,173,500 voting rights in Tryg, corresponding to approximately 44.9% of the total share capital and voting rights in Tryg. The change in the number of shares and voting rights held by TryghedsGruppen is a result of completion of the rights issue announced by Tryg on 1 March 2021 (the "Rights Issue"). Prior to completion of the Rights Issue, TryghedsGruppen held a total of 160,138,436 shares of nominal value DKK 5 each and 80,069,218,000 voting rights in Tryg, corresponding to approximately 53% of the share capital and voting rights of Tryg, and from 25 March 2021, TryghedsGruppen consequently holds less than 50% of the share capital and voting rights of Tryg.

Contact information

For further information, visit tryg.com or contact:

Gianandrea Roberti, Investor Relations Officer +45 20 18 82 67 gianandrea.roberti@tryg.dk

Peter Brondt, Investor Relations Manager +45 22 75 89 04 peter.brondt@tryg.dk

Important information

This announcement is not for publication or distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States of America. This announcement is not an offer of securities for sale into the United States. The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 (the "US Securities Act"), as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States, except pursuant to an applicable exemption from registration. No public offering of securities is being made in the United States.

In any member state of the European Economic Area other than Denmark, Norway and Sweden (each a "Relevant State"), this communication is only addressed to, and is only directed at, persons in that Relevant State who fulfil the criteria for exemption from the obligation to publish a prospectus, including qualified investors within the meaning of Article 2(e) of the Prospectus Regulation. For the purposes of this provision, the expression Prospectus Regulation means Regulation (EU) 2017/1129.

In the United Kingdom, this communication is being distributed only to, and is directed only at, persons who are "qualified investors" (as defined in Article 2(e) of the UK Prospectus Regulation) and who are: (i) persons having professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within the definition of "investment professionals" in Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the "Order"); (ii) persons who are high net worth bodies corporate, unincorporated associations and partnerships and the trustees of high value trusts, as described in Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order; and/or (iii) persons to whom it may otherwise lawfully be communicated under the Order (all such persons together being referred to as "Relevant Persons"). This communication must not be acted on or relied on in the United Kingdom by persons who are not Relevant Persons. In the United Kingdom, any investment or investment activity to which this communication relates is available only to, and will be engaged in only with, Relevant Persons.

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE, OR FORM PART OF, AN OFFER TO SELL, OR A SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO PURCHASE ANY SECURITY IN THE UNITED STATES, THE UNITED KINGDOM, THE REPUBLIC OF ITALY, SWITZERLAND, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, THE ONSHORE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, THE DUBAI INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL CENTRE, THE ABU DHABI GLOBAL MARKET, SINGAPORE, JAPAN, HONG KONG, OR THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA. ANY FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THESE RESTRICTIONS MAY CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE SECURITIES LAWS OF ANY SUCH JURISDICTION.

Attachment
press release

Western Cape Government and partners developing emergency response to TB; R80 million in donor funding secured

This World TB Day, the Western Cape Government has joined hands with our partners in civil society and the private sector to develop an urgent, targeted and data-driven response to TB.

This is because the TB epidemic is an emergency that must be fought with the same courage and determination as we have demonstrated in our Covid-19 response over the last year.

Globally, it is estimated that the Covid-19 pandemic has set back the fight against TB by between 5 and 8 years and could result in an additional 6.3 million cases of TB between 2020 and 2025.

In the Western Cape, TB test positivity rates increased over the last year, hitting a high of 21% in September 2020. This indicates that we were not testing enough people to pick up new TB cases.

The reality is that the Covid-19 pandemic was a "hammer blow" to our efforts to respond to TB, and we must now step up the fight drastically.

I intend to do so as Premier of the Western Cape and co-chairperson of the Provincial Council on AIDS and TB.

And I am extremely excited by the support and enthusiasm that exists amongst our partners in civil society, other levels of government and the private sector. There is indeed a common resolve to step up the fight in this province.

I am accordingly pleased to announce today that this partnership has already started work to develop a detailed implementation plan for TB, which will be presented to the Provincial Council on AIDS and TB within the next 30 days.

I am also pleased to announce that the Western Cape Department of Health, Metro Health Services and City of Cape Town, with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, have committed to an ambitious effort to magnify their focus on Tuberculosis from 2021 onwards.

This 3-year program will provide catalytic funding of R80 million to work on rapidly identifying people with TB, linking them to care and ensuring that patients are effectively treated. This effort is based on using a combination of innovation and the wealth of data available through the Provincial Health Data Centre to drive a patient centric approach to TB control in the Western Cape.

This data-led approach to fighting TB will include:

Introducing TB screening in men's health programmes, as more men are infected by TB than women.

Using technology in the fight against TB, including social media messaging and the introduction of a TB self-screening app similar to the Covid-19 self-screening questionnaire.

Systematic screening for all HIV negative people accessing health services.

Introducing a publicly accessible TB dashboard similar to our award-winning Covid-19 website, to drive behaviour change in communities.

Using the systems, we have put in place for Covid-19 including medicines distribution, telemedicine, call centres, client and contact tracing for TB management and response.

The overall goal of the project is to strengthen the health system's ability to respond to public health needs, including TB, HIV, other chronic diseases and preventive services.

To achieve this goal, we will:

Address the technical, behavioral and organizational impediments to effective data utilization

Entrench data-driven continuous quality improvement methods to improving health outcomes

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines South Africa Governance Tuberculosis By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Use real-time data to link people with TB and HIV to care, and ensure they are retained in the appropriate care.

Implement data driven approaches to strengthen the implementation of new health policies.

Our Covid-19 response has also shown us the power of combining a health systems response, with behaviour change and whole of society support. It has also demonstrated our ability to be more agile, innovative and responsive. We fully intend to harness these lessons to ensure that we prevent TB infection, link people to treatment and ultimately save lives in the Western Cape.

Today, I call on residents, NGOs, faith-based organisations, civil society and in the private sector to join us in the fight against TB. I have no doubt that if we stand together now with a common resolve we can defeat TB in the Western Cape and help achieve the well-being and dignity that every single person in our province deserves.
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
Gaborone  As Botswana joined the world in commemorating World Tuberculosis (TB) Day yesterday, Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Edwin Dikoloti underscored the need for intensification of efforts to find missing undiagnosed TB cases.

He said this against the backdrop of a 2020 World Health Organisation report indicating that out of 3 100 TB cases recorded in Botswana, 2 700 were missed because they were undiagnosed.

Dr Dikoloti said despite the country's implementation of the active case finding strategy and using gene-expert machines as the initial diagnosis for TB, evidence showed that cases still went undetected.

That, he said, posed an extra challenge in the fight against the disease as currently one out of two patients with drug resistant TB were those who had never had the disease before.

"This therefore, means that drug resistant TB is being transmitted in the community," he stated.

Minister Dikoloti therefore urged members of the public to minimise transmission of TB by opening windows and seeking treatment early when showing signs and symptoms which included cough, night sweats, fever, unexplained weight loss, loss of appetite as well as chest pains.

Dr Dikoloti commended SADC ministers for their commitment evidenced by the adoption of a declaration on TB in the mining sector in response to the high incidence of the disease among mine workers.

The declaration would guide regional collaborative efforts on tackling TB in the mining sector, he said.

He said through the regional effort, an Occupational Health Service Centre was established at Molepolole's Boswelakoko Clinic where ex-miners were screened for TB and other lung diseases.

The minister explained that a special dispensation had been put in place to ensure that those affected and had worked in South African mines received compensation.

According to Dr Dikoloti, TB remained one of the world's greatest health threats.

Botswana was among 15 TB/HIV high burden countries in the world with 50 per cent of TB patients infected with HIV, he said.

This year's World TB Day was held under the theme ' The Clock is Ticking, which indicates that the world is running out of time to act on the commitment made by global leaders at the 2018 United Nations high level meeting to end TB.

<i>Source : BOPA</i>
At first glance, Crimson River Studio in Quezon City presents itself like any other tattoo shop. The walls are adorned with vibrant art, pop culture paraphernalia  from vinyl records to Stephen King books  are scattered around, and the steady buzz of tattooing machines lends itself to the background.

However, Crimson River Studio isnt the intimidating space that some may still imagine when thinking about conventional tattoo parlors. For one, a flood of natural light illuminates the room and makes it more inviting. And instead of the usual tattoo-covered men manning the shop, visitors are immediately greeted by Crimson Rivers resident team of all-women artists.

[Putting up a women-led studio] has definitely been a long-time dream of mine, shares Gigie Santiago, founder of Crimson River Studio. I am always so inspired by my colleagues and fellow women tattooers because they keep pushing out new works of art, not just with tattoos but also in different kinds of media. We support and empower each other the best way we can.

Since opening their doors almost two years ago, the studio has seen an increasingly mixed roster of visitors  including fellow young women, senior citizens, doctors, and even a priest. Photo by JL JAVIER

Tattoos are getting smaller and simpler in terms of design, unlike a couple of years back when bigger tattoos were more sought out, says Katz Lorenzana. Photo by JL JAVIER

By this time, women tattoo artists have long moved past the male-dominated industry stigma, even in a country as conservative as the Philippines. For Santiago, Annie Concepcion, Wiji Lacsamana, Drew Cortez, Katz Lorenzana, and Kara Gonzales of Crimson River Studio, being a woman artist isnt solely about rewriting the industrys narrative from an old boys club. Rather, being a woman in the industry means doing their part to elevate the community as a whole, so that every artist is respected for their quality of work, and diversity and inclusivity become less of a novelty and more of the norm.

I hope we [steer away from] the discussion of the tattoo scene being male-dominated and focus on a different perspective  something that doesnt involve trying to prove my worth as a female tattoo artist, explains Lacsamana. We all want great tattoo experiences filled with mutual respect and awesome art.

Indeed, the end goal is to build a supportive collective of creatives and safe space where everyone is welcome. Because tattoos are becoming more prevalent among a wider variety of demographics, cultivating an open environment is all the more vital. And who better to be part of this shift than women?

Drew Cortez. Photo by JL JAVIER

Wiji Lacsamana. Photo by JL JAVIER

Kara Gonzales. Photo by JL JAVIER

Society in general is a very male-structured and dominated system. Its a bit hard to see that others, especially women, exist, Santiago points out. It is very important for us to make everyone feel safe and included not only in our community, but everywhere. How you treat people explains the kind of person you are, and that energy radiates around you and [your work].

Each of Crimson River Studios artists bring a different style to the table. Santiago works with black ink, Lacsamanas focus is on watercolor-inspired pieces, Concepcion is known for precise lines akin to ballpoint pen art, Gonzales leans toward abstract and pops of color, Cortez does mostly fine lines and illustrative designs, and Lorenzana specializes in dainty, small pieces.

What they do have in common is a nurturing presence that manifests itself in their work ethic. From the very first email, I make sure that my clients feel like theyre talking to a trusted friend, details Lacsamana. The tattoo experience is as important to me as the output of the session. We try to guide the clients through every step  from conceptualizing the design and what they have to do during the session, to when were taking their photograph. Everything is consensual.

Like choosing a doctor or therapist, selecting a tattoo artist should be an equally thought-out process. Ultimately, this is a person with whom you literally and figuratively surrender your bare skin too  their lifelong impression guaranteed in ink. Without a doubt, womens ability to inject empathy and connect with clients is whats helping to make the community more welcoming. Being a woman tattoo artist helps because I am able to express my femininity when I [connect] with my clients, Cortez shares. I get to be professional and comfortable at the same time. As an all-female team, I think that we tend to be viewed as more approachable  not just by women.

Gigie Santiago. Photo by JL JAVIER

Annie Concepcion. Photo by JL JAVIER

Katz Lorenzana. Photo by JL JAVIER

True enough, as artists themselves are becoming more diverse, so are their clientele. Since opening their doors almost two years ago, the studio has seen an increasingly mixed roster of visitors  including fellow young women, senior citizens, doctors, and even a priest. [I even see] younger clients being accompanied by their parents, who now understand that tattoos are truly a form of self-expression, states Lorenzana.

On top of this, the designs themselves are evolving too. Because of this changed perception towards tattooing, there is now a broader array of new styles that artists and clients are more free to explore. Tattoos are getting smaller and simpler in terms of design, unlike a couple of years back when bigger tattoos were more sought out, she says.

This phenomenon is not unique to the tattoo world, and studies confirm that diversity is integral to growth in the workplace  especially when creativity and innovation take front and center. Different artists with different styles enrich the community and cater [better] to the needs of the growing client base, Gonzales emphasizes.

A diverse industry certainly leads to a more colorful amalgamation of ideas and approaches. But aside from that, workers are also able to perform to their fullest potential, in an environment that is conducive to their self-development. It feels nice to be surrounded by female energy [at work]. Having this vibe around the studio is definitely refreshing, adds Concepcion.

Says Gigie Santiago, I am always so inspired by my colleagues and fellow women tattooers because they keep pushing out new works of art, not just with tattoos but also in different kinds of media. We support and empower each other the best way we can. Photo by JL JAVIER

In a world where hashtag #GirlBoss has become a controversial faux-feminist battlecry, its easy to claim tattoo gun-wielding women as vanguards for progress. While that may be true to a certain extent, the real measure for progress is when gender no longer has to be a point in question altogether. As a woman, it feels a little weird (but also kind of great) that people think youre changing the world, when youre really just doing your thing. So I guess it feels pretty darn rewarding to be able to do me, and to be able to do what I enjoy doing, said Gonzales.

At the end of the day, women in any industry are more than just statistics. But the fact remains that the more women who enter a sector, the better it is for everyone  be it men, women, or non-binary. To that end, Lacsamana advises all aspiring artists, Never let gender be a variable. Tattoo with the goal of creating beautiful pieces and making meaningful connections with your clients. This can be achieved regardless of gender. Be a good person.

***

Visit them at crimsonrivertattoo.com or their Instagram and Facebook pages.
The police officer denies knowledge of the attack which led to the death of one person.

A chief superintendent of police, Danjuma Ochejeh, on Wednesday, denied leading a police attack on Odekpe community of Anambra West Local Government Area of Anambra State on April 24, 2020 and killing one person in the process

The police officer appeared before the Independent Investigative Panel which was set up by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to probe complaints of rights violations and acts of brutality committed by the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and other police tactical units.

The 11-man panel sitting in Abuja and led by a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Suleiman Galadima, was set up in response to last year's #EndSARS protests against SARS and all forms of police cruelty.

A statement by NHRC's information unit about the panel's Wednesday's proceedings stated that Mr Ochejeh was fingered in the complaint filed by some members of Odekpe community concerning the alleged attack on the community.

Session

Led in his evidence-in-chief by the lawyer to the Nigerian police, Joseph Nwadike, Mr Ochejeh told the panel that he did not know anything about the alleged attack.

He said he convened a peace meeting at Mongo Park Hotel in Delta State where some leaders of warring communities of Odekpe and Ala communities were present.

He told the panel that "he made a personal sacrifice by bearing the transport fare of some of the attendees of the meeting in his bid to ensure peace reigned".

The police officer said "he preached peace to the parties at the meeting".

He conceded that he was serving as a police officer in Delta State, while the Odekpe and Ala communities, where he was intervening were in Anambra State.

Mr Ochejeh also admitted that he was from Ala community which was locked in a land dispute with Odekpe community.

He also said "he did not know Mr Aboy let alone knowing the circumstances that led to his death".

He added that he was not aware of a reconciliatory meeting between the warring communities at Ugbolu community in Delta State.

Cross-examination

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Legal Affairs Nigeria By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"During cross-examination by the petitioners' counsel, E.C. Egwuatu, the respondent stated that he did not know anything about the alleged ambush of Chief Peter Ikechi and Peter Ekwealor (deceased)," the NHRC statement stated.

Mr Ikechi was one of the petitioners who filed the complaint before the panel.

Mr Ochejeh also told the panel that "he did not at any time issue orders or threats to anybody at the meeting he convened at Mongo Park Hotel in Delta".

The panel adjourned till May 3 for continuation of defence by the police.

Petition

Mr Ikechi and other complainants, in their petition, had accused the police of "death in police custody, arbitrary arrest and detention, unlawful use of firearms resulting in extra-judicial killing and abuse of office."

They alleged that Mr Ochejeh and officials of the Inspector General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IGP-IRT) caused the death of Aboy Okewu during their attack on Odekpe community of Anambra State on April 24, 2020.

In his testimony before the panel, Henry Ugwujede said Messrs Ikechi and Ekwealor (now deceased) had represented the Odekpe community at a peace meeting brokered by the Anambra State Government to settle the land dispute between the community and Ala/Onugwa village where Mr Ochejeh hails from.

The witness said Messrs Ikechi and Ekwealor were returning from the reconciliatory meeting on Thursday, June 11, 2020, "when Mr Ochejeh led officers of IGP-IRT to arrest the men and Mr Ekene Okona and later tortured them in detention".
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.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Bangladesh on March 26-27. During his visit, he will also be visiting the mazar or mausoleum of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Tungipara of Gopalganj district.

Prime Minister Modi will be visiting Bangladesh during March 26-27 and will be his first abroad visit since the lockdown. He will also be visiting the mazar or mausoleum of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Tungipara of Gopalganj district. Bangladesh is Indias closest neighbor and ties with the country has entered into a golden era, pointed out Harsh V, Sringla.

In a secretary-level meeting between the two countries, India and Bangladesh have come in a an agreement whereby they plan to expand cooperation on issues relating to water resources. Foreign Secretary, Harsh V. Sringla has commented that India will be focusing on the defense and security aspect of the bilateral relationship between New Delhi and Dhaka. It is also believed that talks will be held to strengthen defense cooperation which will also figure in Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Dhaka on 26-27 March, according to the Foreign Secretary.

In the media briefing, Sringla emphasized that security and defense cooperation form an important part of cooperation with Bangladesh. He highlighted how in recent years, and agreement on defence cooperation has been signed with Bangladesh. He also added how joint military exercises have been undertaken on a regular basis, training and capacity building exercises and stated how it has been a regular practice for Indian chiefs of the armed forces to visit Bangladesh.

Also Read: Rashmi Samants resignation had nothing to do with her religion: Oxford Hindu societies

Also Read: ISRO Makes Breakthrough With First Quantum Space Communication; New Chapter in Indian Space

INS Kulish and INS Sumedha had also visited the Mongla Port of Bangladesh from 8-10 March, marking as the first visit India has ever undertaken since the 50 years. Sringlas remarks came at the backdrop of India giving an impetus to to enhance infrastructure connectivity with Bangladesh. In addition, New Delhi plans to take Dhaka in its strategic embrace under the umbrella of Indo-Pacific cooperation. The Foreign secretary also mentioned that India has extended a $500 million line of credit to Bangladesh for defense imports from India. It has gifted 18 new 120mm mortars to the Bangladesh Army in December 2020 under army-to-army cooperation.

It is believed that Gopalganj will be in focus also for the visit by Mr. Modi to the Thakurbari at Orakandi, the heartland of the Matua Hindus who constitute a sizeable community in both Bangladesh and West Bengal. The Matuas will play an important role in the coming Assembly elections.

Also Read: India, Pak FMs to meet at Heart of Asia conference in Tajikistan: Trimurthi confirms Indias participation in Afghans peace process
Covid-19: California and Florida Prepare to Open Vaccine Access to All Adults Mark Zuckerberg and fellow Big Tech C.E.O.s face lawmakers questions on Covid misinformation. France extends tight lockdowns to more regions.

California, Florida and other states will soon offer vaccines to all adults. A drive-through Covid-19 vaccination site at Dodger Stadium last month. California will open up vaccine eligibility on April 1 to any resident who is 50 or older, and will expand that to residents 16 or older on April 15. Credit... Philip Cheung for The New York Times Governors across the United States are speeding up eligibility for coronavirus vaccines as the number of new cases nationally plateaus, adding more urgency to vaccination efforts. California will open up vaccine eligibility on April 1 to any resident who is 50 or older, and will expand that to residents 16 or older on April 15, state officials announced on Thursday, saying they could do so because of increasing supplies of vaccine from the federal government. And Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida announced that any state resident who is 40 or older would be eligible starting on Monday, and that the minimum age would drop to 18 on April 5. In Connecticut, which is among the most-vaccinated states in the country, Gov. Ned Lamont said Thursday that all residents 16 and above would be eligible beginning April 1. New Hampshire will make shots available to all residents 16 and older starting April 2, and North Carolina on April 7. In Rhode Island, Gov. Dan McKee said the state was on track to make vaccines available to all residents over 16 by April 19. Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky said the state would open vaccinations to those 40 and older starting Monday, adding that a mask mandate would stay in place for at least another 30 days. And in Minnesota, Gov. Tim Walz is expected to announce on Friday that all residents over the age of 16 will be eligible starting March 30. Alaska, Mississippi, Utah and West Virginia are the only states where all adults are now eligible to receive shots, but many more have announced plans to expand eligibility on or before May 1, a goal set by President Biden. Some local jurisdictions have also begun vaccinating all adults. The nation is averaging about 2.5 million doses of vaccine a day. At that pace, about half of the nations population would be at least partially vaccinated by mid-May. Listen to The Daily: The State of Vaccinations A look at the rapid expansion of shots, the people who are still holding out, and the rules of the road for those who are inoculated. transcript Back to The Daily bars 0:00 / 27:40 - 27:40 transcript Listen to The Daily: The State of Vaccinations Hosted by Michael Barbaro; produced by Alexandra Leigh Young and Luke Vander Ploeg; edited by M.J. Davis Lin and Lisa Chow. A look at the rapid expansion of shots, the people who are still holding out, and the rules of the road for those who are inoculated. michael barbaro From The New York Times, Im Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily. [music] Today the state of vaccinations. My colleague, Apoorva Mandavilli on the rapid expansion of inoculations, who is still holding out, and the new rules of the road for those who are now vaccinated. Its Thursday, March 25. Apoorva, good evening. apoorva mandavilli Hi, Michael. Nice to talk to you again. michael barbaro Nice to talk to you. It feels, Apoorva, like after many months of frustrating sluggishness that the story of vaccinations in the United States is now moving so quickly that its actually kind of hard to keep track of. And so thats why we wanted to check in with you about where exactly everything stands with inoculations. And I want to start with the question that I think has loomed over this entire process, which is, when the general population adults, no matter how old or with what medical conditions when they will be allowed to book appointments to get their shot. And Biden said May 1. But my sense is that its actually starting to happen a little bit faster. So I wondered if you can walk us through that. apoorva mandavilli I think part of the reason its been tough to keep up is because every state is moving at a different pace. And almost every other day theres a new announcement about which state is opening vaccinations up to all adults. So if you live in Alaska or Mississippi or West Virginia, youre lucky enough to already get a vaccine. If you live in Connecticut, you can start to get one April 5. If youre in Georgia, you can start this week. In Texas, you can get it on Monday. If you live in Indiana, you can get it next week. And New York state, where I live, just announced that they would give the vaccine to anyone 50 and over. Doesnt cover me, but Im hoping that that means pretty soon theyll start to move down the lane. So you can see that its sort of every state is getting there at a different pace. But I think Bidens announcement that every adult who wants one will get it by May 1 is pretty realistic. And as you said, we may even get there sooner. michael barbaro Whats your understanding of why things are now moving so much faster when it comes to vaccines? Is this simply a question of how long it took to ramp up the supply? Is this about us just getting better at administering them and finding people to administer them? apoorva mandavilli Supply was never the issue. We had plenty of doses sitting around. I think what the issue was was that we were just not getting the doses out to the people who needed them fast enough. And weve solved a lot of those distribution problems now, which, when you think about it, is pretty understandable. Weve never done a mass vaccination campaign of this scale this quickly. And it took a little while to figure out all the glitches. And I think the Biden administration has solved some of them. We now have mobile vaccination sites. We have 24 hour sites. Pharmacies are giving them out. Weve got three different vaccines that have three different sorts of storage. So weve just really corrected all the problems that we had initially. And were now moving at a pretty good clip. michael barbaro Gotcha. And everything you just said is predicated on the current scenario of those three vaccines Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna all of which have been authorized for emergency use in the U.S. My sense is that a fourth vaccine could soon be in the mix in the U.S. And I wonder if thats a correct assumption. And if it is, would that change the speed of this rollout that weve been describing? And here, of course, Im talking about AstraZeneca, about which there has been a fair bit of drama. apoorva mandavilli So the AstraZeneca situation is a bit confusing. Earlier this week, AstraZeneca came out with a study that showed that its a very safe and effective vaccine. But then the National Institutes of Health and the data safety monitoring board, which is this group that looks at all the data from the clinical trial, came out with a pretty strong statement saying that they didnt agree with how AstraZeneca had presented its data and said maybe some of that data was now outdated. So we dont know exactly how good AstraZeneca is. It looks like its pretty good. We just dont know how good. But none of that may really matter for the United States, because by the time AstraZeneca would be authorized here, we would probably be done vaccinating all the adults who want a vaccine. Between Pfizer and Moderna and J&J, we will probably have more than enough doses. And we may actually end up giving away all the AstraZeneca doses that we do have. michael barbaro God, that would be a far cry from where we all were a year ago, the concept that we wouldnt need a vaccine approved by the U.S. government. But that is, I guess, where we are. apoorva mandavilli I think that is something that maybe people dont marvel at enough, the idea that we did not even dream that we could have a vaccine this quickly. And here we are vaccinating millions of people every day. And we have three good candidates and a fourth one in the offing. Its just amazing. michael barbaro Well said. So during this period were in in which some adults are still waiting to become eligible in their states Im sure youre aware of this there seem to be a lot of adults who are trying to work the angles to get a vaccine before they are technically eligible. And my question for you is, is that OK? And if it is OK, whats the most appropriate and ethical way to go about doing that? apoorva mandavilli You know, early on I might have answered this question differently. But now we have so many vaccines, so much of it and so quickly, that I think anybody who really, really wants one and is willing to go to the extra effort of getting one should probably just get one. I mean, I wouldnt michael barbaro Thats interesting. apoorva mandavilli I wouldnt recommend falsifying a condition, which I have heard of people doing. But I think if people want to stand in line for hours or be a little creative with how they figure out their eligibility, Im OK with that. michael barbaro And why is that? Because I guess I have to say I didnt expect that answer. apoorva mandavilli Because at this point, Michael, were really just trying to get to herd immunity. We are trying to get as many people vaccinated as possible because we have to get those numbers down. The infection rate is still way too high. michael barbaro So what youre saying is a dose in an adult arm is a good thing period. apoorva mandavilli Yes, I do want to add one caveat though, which is that, on an individual level, I think thats absolutely fine. But I think as a society, we do need to figure out how to get vaccines to communities that are hit the hardest, and yet probably have the least time and resources to get themselves a vaccine. michael barbaro Very interesting. So that is adults and their timing for vaccines. We talked to you a few weeks ago about children. And during that conversation, you told us that the issue was that the vaccine had not been tested in children, which means they wont be eligible to be vaccinated until we know much more. And you said back then that your estimated timing for when children in the U.S. would start to be vaccinated was winter of 2022, which is a ways off. Has that changed? apoorva mandavilli Well, lets say what we mean by children. If we mean children 12 to 16 or 12 to 18, those children were going to be vaccinated in the fall. That has not changed, because those results from the clinical trials that are going on now will be expected sometime around the summer. What has changed is that Moderna announced that it would now start testing the vaccine in kids six months and up. And thats completely new, and it was kind of a surprise, really, because the thinking was that all the companies would wait to see how the vaccine did in older children before moving to younger children. Im not exactly sure why they changed their plan. And this is not the kind of information Moderna will freely give out. But its overall good news, because it does mean that the process is moving quickly. And we may see vaccines for all kids by the end of the year. michael barbaro OK. Speaking of people who the vaccine has not been widely tested on pregnant women and nursing mothers. What are we learning about them that we didnt know before? apoorva mandavilli The vaccine was always recommended for women who are breastfeeding. There was never any safety concern about them. And that has not changed. For pregnant women, it was a little bit more nuanced. Because there was not a lot of data, the C.D.C. said, every woman should really talk to her doctor and figure out if it makes sense for her sort of weigh the risks and benefits for each individual. We have not seen anything to indicate that the vaccines are unsafe for pregnant women. If anything, we now have tens of thousands of pregnant women whove been vaccinated and we havent heard of anything going wrong. So I think the chances are pretty good that, as we suspected, the vaccine is actually quite safe for pregnant women. michael barbaro So finally on the subject of vaccinations and availability, Im curious as more and more people are becoming eligible what were learning about who is refusing vaccines in the United States and if we can begin to say which group of Americans is holding out the most and I guess the longest? apoorva mandavilli I think the dominant narrative out there is that its communities of color, that its the minority populations who very legitimately have mistrust of the government and that they are refusing the vaccine. But in fact, thats not quite true. The group that is showing the most hesitancy right now is a group of men who vote Republican. michael barbaro Conservative men. apoorva mandavilli Conservative men who vote Republican. About half of them have said they have no plans to get the vaccine. michael barbaro Thats a very meaningful number. apoorva mandavilli Its a huge number. michael barbaro And how do we explain that? apoorva mandavilli Well, when you think about the fact that even something as simple as masks became a political weapon, its not entirely surprising. [orchestra music] I think there have been a lot of political leaders on the Republican side who have said things about the vaccine that are not true, have said things about the virus that are not true. Former President Trump got vaccinated, but he did so not publicly, not with photographs the way that all the other former presidents did. All of those things give a message. And they give a message that the vaccine is either something you dont want or you dont need. And until that message changes, I dont think we have a hope of reaching those men. michael barbaro Well be right back. Apoorva, with vaccinations expanding so rapidly, we want to talk to you about the latest understanding of life after the shot. And I want to start with literally moments after the first shot, since a lot of Americans are about to get one of the vaccines that requires two shots. So what are the common side effects of an initial shot and how commonly and quickly do they appear? apoorva mandavilli So when you first get a vaccine, probably the only thing you will feel immediately is a little bit of soreness at the injection site. What happens after that has been hugely variable. For a lot of people, they feel perfectly fine, maybe a little bit of tiredness, but thats pretty much it. But some people react a little bit more. They may have headaches. They may have a little bit of a fever. They may have a body ache. They may need to lie in bed for a few hours. Its extremely variable. michael barbaro So by and large, mostly minor side effects, and still pretty rare. apoorva mandavilli Thats right. michael barbaro OK. So staying with the first shot, how meaningful is the immunity that comes with just the first shot? It feels like nobody quite quantifies it. I mean, is it half the immunity or is it more than half the immunity? apoorva mandavilli As you said, nobodys really quantified it, so I dont want to give people any assurances about one shot of the Pfizer or Moderna. But it does look like even one dose does a pretty good job. And it looks like its more than half. But protection is absolutely not complete after the first dose. So people should continue to take all precautions, wear a mask, maintain social distance, all of that until after they get their second dose. michael barbaro Got it. So they should not act as if theyve gotten halfway towards immunity. They should, in some ways, act as if theres no immunity and theyre still operating under all the normal rules. apoorva mandavilli Thats right. michael barbaro OK. So on to the second shot. I want to start with symptoms. Many people in my own life say that the second shot is the one that really ran them ragged. And I dont want to rely on anecdotes. But my sense is that that is a somewhat widely held experience. apoorva mandavilli I think thats true. And I think it makes sense. Your body has already been exposed to the protein from the virus. It already knows how to recognize and give a reaction. And so the second dose really causes you to have a very strong reaction. Its really telling you that your first dose worked, in a way. michael barbaro Thats interesting. So when you hear people say, oh, I really dont feel well after my second shot, that means the vaccine is working, theyre kind of right. apoorva mandavilli Yeah. You should congratulate them. michael barbaro But just to be clear, if you have no reaction, thats not necessarily a sign youre missing out. apoorva mandavilli Absolutely not, because as I was saying earlier, the reaction can be very variable. Its not the same for everybody. michael barbaro Got it. So what is the guidance on how long after the second shot is required for real and robust immunity to take effect? apoorva mandavilli Two weeks for full protection regardless of the vaccine. michael barbaro So two weeks. And from everything you and our colleagues have told us, we know that vaccinated people will be well protected from the worst forms of infection. But the open question remains how readily a vaccinated person can transmit the virus and whether the vaccine diminishes that ability to transmit the virus. So what is the latest understanding of that? apoorva mandavilli We know a little bit more than we did a few weeks ago. But this is the sort of burning question that everybody wants to know the answer to because they want to know if they can stop wearing masks around unvaccinated people. The problem is that we just didnt really measure that during the clinical trials. So were trying to get that information now. There are a lot of natural experiments going on in the sense that millions of people have been vaccinated. And some of the countries that have vaccinated them are following people to see how many get infected. So hopefully well know soon. And so far, at least, its looking like most people who are vaccinated dont transmit the virus, that its a very small chance. Exactly how small is what we need to know. michael barbaro OK. So knowing that, lets turn to the rules of the road for the vaccinated. I know the United States government, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has just issued some pretty detailed guidance on this who can be with whom under what circumstances. So I want to talk about that kind of one scenario at a time with you. Lets start with vaccinated people who want to spend time with fellow vaccinated friends and family. What are the rules for that? apoorva mandavilli There are very few rules. You can take your masks off. You can get together indoors. You can spend time as much time as you want together without worrying about getting infected. michael barbaro Got it. So vaccinated with vaccinated can be with each other maskless. apoorva mandavilli Thats right. michael barbaro OK. Lets say you are vaccinated but your children and your grandchildren are not. Here I speak from experience, my parents now both vaccinated. Can you visit relatives who are unvaccinated and under what circumstances? apoorva mandavilli The C.D.C. has said that vaccinated people can spend time indoors with one unvaccinated household. So if thats your unvaccinated children and grandchildren, that is OK. michael barbaro Why one household? apoorva mandavilli The more people you have, the more risk. But also when you have multiple households youre now bringing in all different kinds of exposure. Its like bringing in all the people that the people in that household interacted with into your home. michael barbaro Because its never just one household. Its every single person a member of that second household has interacted with. apoorva mandavilli Exactly. And that can add up pretty fast. michael barbaro Right. OK, so another scenario what if you are a vaccinated adult and you want to visit unvaccinated friends or family, but you want to do so by plane, which I know many, many people do want to do. apoorva mandavilli Its a little bit tricky because air travel does involve spending a lot of time indoors with a lot of people. The plane itself is pretty safe because airplanes have excellent ventilation systems and there are a lot of studies now showing that its really just the two or three people right next to the person who is infected whos at risk. So it should be fairly safe. But taxis, people youre standing really close to at the airport, bathrooms all of those are a little bit different. And so I would urge any grandparent who is traveling or anybody whos traveling, really, whos vaccinated to keep their masks on throughout. michael barbaro Got you. But you can travel by plane as a vaccinated person to visit unvaccinated people? Has the C.D.C. said whether thats a good idea? apoorva mandavilli The C.D.C. doesnt set rules. So they recommend that people minimize travel unless they really need to. Air travel is back and higher than its been at any other time during the pandemic. So I think this is the C.D.C. being very practical, recognizing that if you say, hey, grandparents, if youre vaccinated you can go visit your grandkids, you cant also then tell them, but no, you cant get on a plane to go see them. Just doesnt make sense. michael barbaro Gotcha. OK, another quite common scenario youre vaccinated and you want to go out to eat indoors. You havent done it in a really long time. It feels safe. Is it a good idea? apoorva mandavilli The problem with restaurants, especially if theyre crowded, is you dont know how many other people in there are unvaccinated. And unless the restaurant has fantastic ventilation systems that are going to keep everybody safe, you may get infected from a fellow diner then bring it home to other people. We are hoping that the chances of that happening are very low. But we dont know that yet. So I know that there are a lot of states pretty much every state that has lifted restrictions on indoor dining. But I dont think were quite where we need to be for people to freely dine indoors without worry. michael barbaro Interesting. So in a way, planes better ventilated appear to be potentially safer than restaurants if they arent all that well ventilated? apoorva mandavilli Ventilation, it turns out, for an indoor space, is pretty much the most important thing. So an open window might do the trick if theres a nice breeze and the window is big enough. And it will certainly help. But if we had the kind of health grades that we post on restaurants, if there was a system to certify which restaurant has which kind of ventilation, maybe that would work. But were not there. But for the restaurant owners and restaurant workers listening to this, I do want to say get takeout. We should still support those restaurants. There are other ways to do it. Eat outdoors or get takeout. Just dont sit inside. michael barbaro OK. And finally, the office, the workplace very near and dear to both of us. We work in the same office, or we used to. Should vaccinated people be returning to the office? apoorva mandavilli Im sorry that Im going to repeat myself here, but ventilation. michael barbaro Ventilation, ventilation, ventilation. apoorva mandavilli Yes. And masks, masks, masks. michael barbaro So workplace return will be predicated on the speed of vaccinations. Everybody has their vaccinations then obviously we can all go back to work. But until then, youre saying if an office is not proven to be very well ventilated, then perhaps people should not return. apoorva mandavilli I completely recognize that thats not necessarily an option for everybody, that there are a lot of people who do have to go to work, even if the office is not well ventilated. And as I said, wearing masks goes a long way. So if its a poorly ventilated environment but you have no choice but to go to work, I would just wear a mask and be extremely careful. michael barbaro Apoorva, as were talking now, it occurs to me that there are a lot of rules to try to follow right now. And I wonder if you think people are struggling to learn these rules, but also to actually abide by them. apoorva mandavilli I think its hard. First of all, the rules are confusing. You know, theres all these distinctions. Are you getting together with one household? Are you getting together with more than one? Is it ventilated? Is it not? Its just too many things to keep straight. But also weve been in this pandemic for a year. And people are desperate to feel like life is somewhat back to normal. And if theyve been vaccinated, if they have actually gone through those stages, its really hard to hear, yes, but we still want you to take all these precautions. michael barbaro Right. But that is what people are being told. apoorva mandavilli And thats what they unfortunately have to be told until we know a little bit more and until we have enough people in the country vaccinated. michael barbaro Right. Its liberation with conditions. So Apoorva, finally, I asked this of Carl Zimmer your colleague, my colleague last time he was on. And I will ask it of you. Have you been vaccinated? apoorva mandavilli I have not and I am desperate to be. michael barbaro Youre a New Yorker. You are probably weeks away. apoorva mandavilli I hope so. I mean, I hope that I can get it sometime before May, if not May. And one of the first things Im going to do is go visit my parents. So yes, I would love to be vaccinated. michael barbaro Just one household, though. apoorva mandavilli Just one household. michael barbaro Thank you, Apoorva. apoorva mandavilli Thank you. [music] michael barbaro Well be right back. Heres what else you need to know today. chuck schumer Today, now, in the 21st century, there is a concerted, nationwide effort to limit the right of American citizens to vote and to truly have a voice in their own government. michael barbaro On Wednesday, Senate Democrats began hearings on whats expected to be their next major legislative push a sweeping plan to expand voting rights and reform federal elections. chuck schumer Instead of doing what you should be doing when you lose an election in a democracy attempting to win over those voters in the next election Republicans instead are trying to disenfranchise those voters. Shame on them. michael barbaro The legislation is a direct attempt by Democrats to confront a wave of Republican efforts at the state level to restrict access to voting. The bill would enact new rules to make it easier to vote, introduce new campaign finance laws, and end partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts. The bill has already passed in the Democratically controlled House but faces longer odds in the Senate. ted cruz This bill is the single most dangerous bill this committee has ever considered. michael barbaro where its encountering strong opposition from Senate Republicans, like Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who denounced the bill on Wednesday. ted cruz This bill is designed to corrupt the election process permanently. And it is a brazen and shameless power grab by Democrats. michael barbaro Democrats would need 60 votes in the Senate to pass the bill unless they seek to end the filibuster rule. Todays episode was produced by Alexandra Leigh Young and Luke Vander Ploeg. It was edited by M.J. Davis Lin and Lisa Chow and engineered by Corey Schreppel. Thats it for The Daily. Im Michael Barbaro. See you tomorrow. California will also allow health care providers to use their discretion to vaccinate family members of eligible people right away, even if the family members would not yet otherwise be eligible, Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement. State officials said they expected California to start receiving 2.5 million doses a week in the first part of April, and more than three million by the second half of the month, a major increase from the current pace of about 1.8 million doses a week. Mr. Newsom has been under intense pressure for weeks to speed up the states vaccination efforts. Experts say his ability to fend off a recall campaign may hinge on vaccinating millions of residents and lifting remaining restrictions, so that the state will be closer to normal when voters are asked to decide his fate. The governor has repeatedly said that short and unpredictable supplies have been to blame for what has been criticized as a confusing and chaotic vaccination process that has left many poorer communities to lag behind. State officials abruptly announced earlier this month that 40 percent of the states new vaccine doses would go to vulnerable communities, but the move frustrated local officials in the Bay Area, which had almost none of the prioritized communities. Dr. Jeffrey V. Smith, the Santa Clara County executive, recently described the program as a fake equity plan. Mayor Vicente Sarmiento of Santa Ana, the seat of Orange County and home to many lower-income Latinos, praised the plan. Who Is Eligible for Vaccines in Each State People 16 and older are now eligible in every state. See more  Age 16+ Restaurant workers Yes No High-risk adults Yes No Florida, more than most states, has emphasized age, rather than occupation or other risk factors, in its approach to vaccine eligibility. The state began by concentrating on people 65 and over, and then lowered the age threshold to 50. As of Wednesday, 24 percent of Floridas total population has received at least one shot, and 14 percent are fully vaccinated, according to a New York Times analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of new virus cases reported in Florida has been hovering around 4,600 a day in recent weeks, a level that health officials say is still too high, even though it has fallen significantly from a peak earlier this year. The states efforts to reopen its tourism industry has not been without problems. In Miami Beach, local officials have been overwhelmed with spring break revelers who have ignored safety precautions like mask wearing and social distancing. It got so bad that the city imposed a curfew and sent police officers in riot gear to disperse crowds. Jill Cowan, Eileen Sullivan and

After a rebuke, AstraZeneca releases new data that shows its vaccine is still highly effective. Administering the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine in London on Wednesday. Credit... Dan Kitwood/Getty Images AstraZeneca reiterated on Wednesday that its Covid-19 vaccine was very effective at preventing the disease, based on more recent data than was included when the company announced the interim results of its U.S. clinical trial on Monday. The company said in a news release that its vaccine was 76 percent effective at preventing Covid-19, which is slightly lower than the 79 percent effectiveness the company announced on Monday. The new results strengthen the scientific case for the embattled vaccine. But they may not repair the damage to AstraZenecas credibility after U.S. health officials and independent monitors issued an extraordinary rebuke of the company for not counting some Covid-19 cases when it announced its initial findings earlier this week. The companys vaccine was already under intense scrutiny in Europe after a safety scare prompted more than a dozen countries to temporarily stop using it. Most of the countries have resumed using the vaccine, but Denmark, on Thursday, said it was extending its suspension. AstraZeneca on Wednesday said complete results from its 32,000-person study showed that its vaccine was 100 percent effective in preventing severe disease and 85 percent effective in preventing Covid-19 in people over age 65. When it unveiled its interim results on Monday, asserting that the vaccine was 79 percent effective, the company ignored dozens of recently confirmed Covid-19 cases that had cropped up in trial volunteers before mid-February. In a letter to the company and federal officials, the independent monitoring board that was helping oversee the clinical trial issued an unusual reprimand of AstraZeneca for appearing to cherry-pick data to make its vaccine appear more effective. Decisions like this are what erode public trust in the scientific process, the letter said. The members of the monitoring board wrote that their statistical modeling had found that the vaccine might have a lower efficacy rate  between 69 and 74 percent  if the Covid-19 cases in question were included in the analysis. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases later disclosed the panels concerns via a public statement. It was not clear why the monitoring boards projection turned out to be lower than the figure in AstraZenecas complete results. The latest results could still change because there are still 14 possible Covid-19 cases that AstraZeneca representatives have not yet classified as actual cases. Until they received the monitoring boards letter, AstraZeneca executives werent aware that the panel expected them to include those cases in the results disclosed in their news release, according to a person familiar with the executives thinking. Vaccine experts said the brushback from federal officials appeared to reflect high levels of distrust between American regulators and AstraZeneca. Some worried that the episode could damage public confidence not only in AstraZenecas vaccine, but in all coronavirus vaccines. This vaccine is so important for global health and the disputes do not promote global health, Stephen Evans, a professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said. Regulators in Europe said last week that a review had found the shot to be safe after a small number of people who had recently been inoculated developed blood clots and abnormal bleeding. On Thursday, regulators announced the formation of a group of experts to look at the blood clot issues and the potential risk. The group will convene at the end of the month and release its findings in early April. Health officials in Denmark said they will continue to investigate safety concern until April 15. Denmark was the first country to suspend use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, on March 11. It has reported two deaths from brain hemorrhages among people who had received the shot. The U.S. trial did not turn up any signs of such safety problems. Rebecca Robbins and

Advertisement Continue reading the main story

Zuckerberg and other Big Tech C.E.O.s are questioned on Capitol Hill about Covid and vaccine misinformation. Facebooks chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, testified remotely on Thursday before the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee, along with his fellow Big Tech executives Sundar Pichai and Jack Dorsey. Credit... Reuters Lawmakers on Capitol Hill pressed the chief executives of Facebook, Google and Twitter on Thursday over their companies roles in the spread of potentially harmful disinformation across the internet. The lines of inquiry were broad, and included how Big Tech could be impeding the fight against the coronavirus by allowing vaccine misinformation to proliferate. Democratic and Republican members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee grilled Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai and Jack Dorsey for more than five hours, and the question of whether Facebook, YouTube and Twitter were doing enough to stem harmful misinformation around vaccination came up repeatedly. You can fix this, said Representative Mike Doyle, Democrat of Pennsylvania. But you choose not to. He said that Facebook had the means to stem the tide of misinformation, but time after time you are picking engagement and profit over the health and safety of Facebooks users. Tackling misinformation and its effects on users has been a top-of-mind issue for the tech platforms for the past four years, reaching a peak regarding politics after the 2016 presidential election. At the same time, false and misleading information about Covid-19 vaccines and their availability to the general public have proliferated across digital platforms. Just this week, a dozen state attorneys general called on Facebook and Twitter to crack down further on anti-vaccination content that appears on their sites, pointing to a number of anti-vaxxer superspreader accounts across the services, which they claimed were responsible for much of the vaccine misinformation flowing through the platforms. Your unwillingness to unambiguously commit to enforcing your own policies and remove the 12 most egregious spreaders of vaccine disinformation from your platforms gets right to what Im concerned about, Representative Jerry McNerny, Democrat of California, said at the hearing. For their part, the tech executives said that they had stepped up efforts to crack down on vaccine misinformation in line with their company policies. Mr. Zuckerberg, Facebooks chief executive, said that the company had instituted new rules around the coronavirus and vaccine misinformation, and had been acting swiftly to take down instances of such content when discovered by the companys systems. Facebook has taken down more than 12 million false or misleading posts regarding Covid-19 or vaccines over the past few months, the company said. Mr. Pichai, the chief executive of Googles parent company, Alphabet, echoed that with regard to the Google subsidiary YouTube, and Mr. Dorsey also stressed that his company, Twitter, was cracking down on false or misleading vaccine-related tweets. But the executives cautioned that some content fell into gray areas, especially when concerning points that were not provably or demonstrably false, and that it was difficult for each company to police all of the content all of the time at the scales at which they operate. And the executives all discouraged any move toward a future in which their platforms became so-called arbiters of truth in public discourse. They stressed that they preferred to err on the side of intervening in content only in circumstances outlined clearly in their company policies. I dont think anyone wants a world where you can only say things that private companies judge to be true, Mr. Zuckerberg said. But we also dont want misinformation to spread that undermines confidence in vaccines, stops people from voting, or causes other harms.

Rutgers says all students must be vaccinated before coming to campus in the fall. The Rutgers campus in New Brunswick, N.J., closed last fall. Credit... Bryan Anselm for The New York Times Taking note of President Bidens vow to make every adult in the United States eligible for a vaccine by early summer, Rutgers University, in New Jersey, said on Thursday that all students would need to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus to be allowed to return to campus in the fall. Adding Covid-19 vaccination to our student immunization requirements will help provide a safer and more robust college experience for our students, the Rutgers president, Jonathan Holloway, said in a statement. That requirement will apply to Rutgers three main campuses, in New Brunswick, Newark and Camden. Beginning in the fall, students will have to show proof of vaccination before moving into a dorm or attending in-person classes. According to the university, students may file for an exemption for medical or religious reasons. Those attending fully online or off-campus programs will also be exempt. The university has more than 70,000 students, 81 percent of whom are New Jersey residents. Gov. Phil Murphy said this month that the state would have enough vaccine supply for almost everyone by May. He has set a goal of ensuring that 70 percent of the states adult population is inoculated in the next six months. Rutgers plans to open a vaccine center once more doses become available. Dory Devlin, a university spokeswoman, said the college was still developing plans for how vaccinated and non-vaccinated students will interact. Even with the new requirement, students on the Rutgers campuses will be required to practice social distancing and use face coverings, the university said. All faculty, employees and students on campus will be required to participate in the universitys testing program. And the university expects to continue offering some hybrid courses to prevent crowding in classrooms next school year, Ms. Devlin said. University leaders have not made it mandatory for faculty and employees to be vaccinated but strongly urge them to do so before the fall.

Advertisement Continue reading the main story

200 million vaccines in 100 days is the new goal, Biden says, though the U.S. is already on track to meet that. Coronavirus vaccines were administered at a drive-through site in Cleveland, Miss., on Wednesday. Credit... Rory Doyle for The New York Times President Biden, who said when he was inaugurated that he would have 100 million shots in the arms of Americans by his 100th day in office, announced Thursday at his news conference that he is doubling that goal. The moving target is in keeping with the presidents pattern: aim low, and when it is clear the initial target will be exceeded, adjust upward to another attainable goal. The nation is on track to meet the 200 million figure already. As of Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that a total of 130 million shots had been administered, and that 14 percent of the American population is fully vaccinated. The White House is counting shots administered since January 20, when Mr. Biden took office; the nation hit that milestone last week, on his 58th day in office, the president said Thursday. We will by my 100th day in office have administered 200 million shots in peoples arms, Mr. Biden said, announcing his new goal at the outset of his news conference. Thats right  200 million shots in 100 days. I know its ambitious, twice our original goal but no other country in the world has even come close. Vaccine makers are also hitting their stride. Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson have promised enough doses to inoculate all the nations roughly 260 million adults by the end of May, as Mr. Biden promised. In June, the first vaccine producers, Pfizer and Moderna, are expected to deliver another 100 million doses  enough to cover another 50 million people. The United States has been averaging about 2.5 million doses a day during the last week. If that pace continues, the nation would surpass the 200 million shots goal before Mr. Bidens 100th day, April 30. The new goal was reported earlier by MSNBC and CNN. Officials say the nation will soon reach a point where the supply of vaccine outpaces demand; when that happens, the chief concern will not be a shortage of vaccine, but convincing those who are skeptical of the vaccine to get the shots and deciding what to do with a growing stockpile. Vaccine hesitancy is particularly prominent among minorities, and also Republicans, who spent months last year listening to former President Donald J. Trump suggest that the risk of the virus was being exaggerated. Earlier Thursday, White House officials said the administration would spend $10 billion of congressionally appropriated money to expand access to Covid-19 vaccines and build vaccine confidence in the hardest-hit and highest-risk communities. The C.D.C. also announced Thursday that dialysis clinics would now offer vaccines to chronic kidney disease patients at dialysis centers, and the centers health care personnel, as part of a federal partnership.

With revenue slumping, Pope Francis orders pay cuts at the Vatican. Pope Francis at a meeting of the Tribunal of the Roman Rota on Wednesday. Pope Francis has ordered across-the-board pay cuts for the cardinals and other higher-ranking clerics working in the Vatican. Credit... EPA, via Shutterstock ROME  In an effort to contain costs and save jobs amid a slump in tourist dollars and donations as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, Pope Francis has ordered across-the-board pay cuts for the cardinals and other higher-ranking clerics working in the Vatican. Cardinals will see their income trimmed by 10 percent, according to a decree published Wednesday. The superiors of Vatican departments will have their salaries reduced by 8 percent, while 3 percent cuts will be applied to upper-level priests and nuns. A two-year salary freeze has been imposed on other employees at higher pay grades. The pope himself does not receive a salary. The pandemic has negatively influenced all sources of income for the Holy See and Vatican City State, Francis wrote in an apostolic letter. A sustainable economic future requires today, among other decisions, adopting measures that also concern employee salaries. The cuts, which go into effect on April 1, affect only the employees of the Holy See, Vatican City and associated institutions, including the Vicariate of Rome. They will not apply to Vatican personnel who can prove that they cannot sustain the costs of personal medical care or that of close family members. Of the roughly 5,000 people employed in the Roman Curia, the administrative institutions of the Holy See, and in Vatican City State, cardinals have the highest monthly salaries, varying between 4,000 to 5,000 euros, or about $4,700 to $5,900, according to Mimmo Muolo, the author of the 2019 book The Churchs Money. The Vatican does not make the salaries of officials public. The 2021 budget approved by Francis projected a deficit of 49.7 million euros, even though operating costs had been slashed by 24 million euros as compared with 2019, the year before the pandemic. Personnel accounts for about half of the budget. The Rev. Juan Antonio Guerrero Alves, the Vaticans top economic official, said this month that revenue was expected to be about 213 million euros in 2021, a 30 percent reduction from 2019. The Holy Sees income comes from real estate management, investments and donations. Vatican City State has a separate budget and gets part of its revenue from the Vatican Museums. The museums were open on and off last year because of the pandemic.

Advertisement Continue reading the main story

The epidemic situation is not good: France extends lockdowns to more regions. Three more regions of France will be under tighter restrictions beginning Friday night, including the city of Lyon and the surrounding area. Credit... Andrea Mantovani for The New York Times A week after several regions, including Paris, went under lockdown, the French authorities said on Thursday that three additional regions would follow suit as France tries to fight back a rise in coronavirus infections. The epidemic situation is not good, Health Minister Olivier Veran said at a news conference, adding that the already high pressure on the hospital system was expected to increase in the coming days. Mr. Veran said that three administrative regions would be put under reinforced braking measures for four weeks beginning on Friday night. They include the region that is home to the city of Lyon, as well as areas in the eastern part of the country. The measures, which come on top of a nightly curfew already in place in the three areas, are similar to those imposed last week around Paris, in a large part of the north and in the southeastern tip of the country. Most stores considered nonessential will have to close, and peoples movements will be limited to within a six-mile radius of their homes. Leaving the regions will be banned. Mr. Veran tried to put the new rules in the least onerous light. This is not a lockdown, he said, but 50 shades of measures that take into account the epidemic situation and what we know about the virus. Asked about the possible closing of schools, he said it would be a solution of last resort because of its very heavy consequences on children and their families. Unlike some of its neighbors, France has resisted a new national lockdown, even in the face of new virus variants, opting instead for regional measures. Mr. Veran said more than seven million people in the country had received a first shot of a Covid-19 vaccine, almost 11 percent of the population. More than 2.5 million have had two injections, he said. He also announced an expansion of vaccine eligibility starting on Saturday to anyone over 70. The goal is to get a first shot to 10 million people by mid-April. This summer could be one of a progressive return to normal, and then there would probably not be additional waves to come, Mr. Veran told reporters. We have to hold on for a few more weeks, and we will make it. We are going to defeat this third wave. France registered more than 45,000 new cases on Thursday, a number reminiscent of figures during the pandemics second wave in the fall. The death toll rose by 225 over the past 24 hours to 93,378, the eighth-highest in the world. France Coronavirus Map and Case Count See the latest charts and maps of coronavirus cases, deaths, hospitalizations and vaccinations in France.

A day after passing 300,000 Covid deaths, Brazil logs a daily record of more than 100,000 new infections. The body of a person who died with Covid-19 in the intensive care unit at a municipal hospital in Duque de Caxias, Brazil, on Wednesday. Credit... Felipe Dana/Associated Press Brazil registered a record 100,158 new coronavirus cases within 24 hours, the Health Ministry said on Thursday, underlining the scale of a snowballing outbreak that is becoming a major political crisis for President Jair Bolsonaro. The record caseload, along with 2,777 more Covid-19 deaths, comes a day after Brazil surpassed 300,000 fatalities from the pandemic, the worlds worst death toll after the United States. Brazil has suffered from a patchy vaccine rollout, a lack of national coordination and an infectious new variant. Critics, including senior lawmakers with ties to the president, are increasingly blaming Mr. Bolsonaro for his handling of the pandemic. He has drawn sharp criticism for his efforts to block lockdowns, scorn masks and sow doubts over vaccines. Mr. Bolsonaro also faces growing calls to replace Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo over failures in the countrys pandemic response. The Senate president, Rodrigo Pacheco, said on Thursday that Brazils foreign policy must improve, adding that it was up to Mr. Bolsonaro to decide if he would replace Mr. Araujo. A close ideological ally of the president, Mr. Araujo has faced criticism for his barbs against China, which doles out vaccines to allies, while he has struggled to secure doses from the U.S. stockpile. Mr. Bolsonaro, who had questioned the rush to buy vaccines last year, has pledged to ramp up the countrys inoculation drive, targeting 1 million daily doses, compared with about 350,000 per day over the past week. On Thursday, the economy minister, Paulo Guedes, suggested that the private sector could help speed up immunizations by buying supplies and donating them to the government. It was unclear whether the idea was viable in such a tight global market for vaccines. Brazil Coronavirus Map and Case Count See the latest charts and maps of coronavirus cases, deaths, hospitalizations and vaccinations in Brazil.

Up to a tenth of New York Citys coronavirus dead may be buried in a potters field. Workers wearing personal protective equipment buried unclaimed remains on Hart Island in April 2020. Credit... John Minchillo/Associated Press As many as one-tenth of the people who have died from the coronavirus in New York City may be buried on Hart Island, the citys potters field, according to an analysis of city data. The analysis, a collaboration between Columbia Journalism Schools Stabile Center of Investigative Journalism and a nonprofit news website, The City, found a huge increase in burials on Hart Island in 2020  2,334 adults were buried there, up from 846 in 2019. The reporters, citing public health officials, attributed the increase largely to the pandemic: people killed by the coronavirus or by other medical issues that went unaddressed because of the crisis. (There was a similar, though smaller, surge in Hart Island burials in the late 1980s, at the height of the AIDS epidemic.) In addition to the burials, the city medical examiners office is storing the unclaimed bodies of more than 700 people who died at the height of the pandemic, according to Aja Worthy-Davis, a spokeswoman for the office. She said the exact causes of death for many of them may not be clear. If those bodies are buried on Hart Island as well, and all are counted as pandemic deaths, the total would exceed 3,000  about one-tenth of the 30,793 coronavirus deaths recorded in the city as of Wednesday, according to a New York Times database. About a million people are estimated to have been buried on Hart Island since it became a public cemetery in the 19th century, The City said. City officials recently considered ending burials on the island and shipping bodies out of the city instead. But during the pandemic, when funeral homes were overwhelmed, Hart Island became a last resort, preferable to having bodies languish indefinitely in refrigerated trucks. Melinda Hunt, the founder of the Hart Island Project, a nonprofit group that has pushed for greater awareness and access to the island, said in January that she hoped that the exigencies of the pandemic would help lawmakers and the public regard burials on Hart Island differently. Its not some Dickensian thing, Ms. Hunt said. Its an orderly and secure system of burials that works, especially when you have deaths on the scale of an epidemic.

Advertisement Continue reading the main story

Pfizer begins testing its vaccine in young children. Alejandra Gerardo, 9, looks up to her mom, Dr. Susanna Naggie, as she gets the first of two Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines during a clinical trial for children at Duke Health. Credit... Shawn Rocco/Duke Health Pfizer has begun testing its Covid-19 vaccine in children under 12, a significant step in turning back the pandemic. The trials first two participants, 9-year-old twin girls, were immunized at Duke University in North Carolina on Wednesday. Results from the trial are expected in the second half of the year, and the company hopes to begin vaccinating younger children widely early in 2022, according to Sharon Castillo, a spokeswoman for the company. Moderna also is beginning a trial of its vaccine in children six months to 12 years of age. Both companies have been testing their vaccines in children 12 and older, and expect those results in the next few weeks. AstraZeneca began testing its vaccine last month in children six months and older, and Johnson & Johnson has said it planned to extend trials of its vaccine to young children after assessing its performance in older children.



Immunizing children will help schools reopen, said Dr. Emily Erbelding, an infectious diseases physician at the National Institutes of Health who oversees testing of Covid-19 vaccines in special populations. An estimated 80 percent of the population may need to be vaccinated for the United States to reach what scientists call herd immunity, when the virus would stop spreading because anyone with an active infection would be unlikely to encounter many people who could catch it from them. Still, some adults may refuse to be vaccinated, and others may not produce a robust immune response.



Children under 18 make up about 23 percent of the population in the United States, so even if a vast majority of adults opt for vaccines, herd immunity might be hard to achieve without children being vaccinated, Dr. Erbelding said.

New York City plans a vaccination site just for Broadway theater workers. Video transcript Back bars 0:00 / 1:42 - 0:00 transcript New York Plans to Open Vaccination Site for Broadway Theater Workers Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York said on Thursday that the city plans to open a Covid-19 vaccination site on Broadway, as well as a mobile vaccination unit and pop-up sites specifically for theater industry workers. Its time to raise the curtain and bring Broadway back. So the next four weeks, well be setting up dedicated vaccination sites, specifically for the theater community, the theater industry. It will be staffed by workers from the theater industry. Were going to make sure its right where people are used to going, right in the heart of the theater district. Were also going to have a mobile unit that will serve off-Broadway theaters. Its so important to make sure that people are getting vaccinated, now as we look forward to the fall, also to make sure that testing is available on an ongoing basis. So there will be pop-up testing sites at and near theaters on Broadway and off Broadway. Now, were working with the Broadway community now to develop the plans to make the reopening go smoothly. One of the things we need is a crowd management plan. The city will be actively engaged in helping theaters to manage crowds before and after shows. Were going to have an active presence working with the theater community to make sure that goes smoothly as well. So, well  the city of New York  well do the vaccinations, well do the testing, well help with the crowd management, working with the theaters, well do everything in our power to bring Broadway and off-Broadway back strong. But we need some help. We need some help from the state of New York. So Im calling upon the state to please quickly issue clear guidance for theater workers in terms of mask usage, in terms of how we use proof of vaccination or proof of negative testing to help ensure that everyone can work, and that crowds can come back in the fall. Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York said on Thursday that the city plans to open a Covid-19 vaccination site on Broadway, as well as a mobile vaccination unit and pop-up sites specifically for theater industry workers. Credit Credit... Jeenah Moon/Reuters New York City plans to create a coronavirus vaccination site on Broadway just for people who work in the theater industry, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Thursday, as the city hopes to reopen shows by the fall. In addition to the Broadway vaccination site, there would be a mobile vaccination unit for theater workers in other parts of the city, the mayor said at a news conference. The sites will be staffed by theater workers, many of whom have been relying on unemployment insurance since Broadway shut down more than a year ago. This is going to be a year to turn things around, Mr. de Blasio said. Its time to raise the curtain and bring Broadway back. The citys plans will not change the states rules around vaccinations, which currently limit eligibility to people 50 and older, plus those in certain job categories or with certain health conditions. Mr. de Blasio said that the sites would be set up over the next four weeks or so, and that vaccination eligibility is expected to expand by then. There are also plans for pop-up coronavirus testing sites outside or near Broadway and Off Broadway theaters, to make sure that there is ample testing available as the industry tries to get back on its feet. And the city will assist theaters in developing plans to safely manage crowds entering and leaving theaters. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York announced this month that arts, entertainment and events venues could reopen April 2 at 33 percent of capacity, with a ceiling of 100 people indoors or 200 people outdoors, and higher limits if patrons are required to show that they have recently tested negative. But Broadway producers say it is not economically feasible to run commercial productions at reduced capacity. Although there may be some special events inside theaters in the spring and summer, full-scale plays and musicals are not likely to open until after Labor Day. The city of Berlin is testing a program that would allow people to attend live performances at its opera houses and theaters. The audience would be required to wear masks, maintain social distance and test negative for Covid-19; the test would be included in the price of admission. The first 350 tickets to a show at the venerable Berliner Ensemble theater sold out in four minutes. Julia Jacobs and

Why is Europe having so much trouble vaccinating people? Shortages are just part of the problem. Registering for a vaccination in Milan this week. Credit... Alessandro Grassani for The New York Times The European Union, where coronavirus vaccinations are moving at a maddeningly slow pace compared with those in United States and Britain, made clear this week that it is willing to flex its muscles to get more doses for its citizens, going so far as to curb exports of vaccine from the bloc. But the E.U.s trouble inoculating its population does not result from an inadequate vaccine supply alone. Bureaucratic inertia, strategic errors, a diffusion of responsibility and logistical problems in booking appointments have all helped seriously undercut vaccination efforts. Consider the northern Italian town of Cremona, an early victim during the pandemics initial explosion in Europe. Over the weekend, the mayor got a call that the local vaccination center was empty. The regions booking system had failed to contact and set up appointments with older residents  and more than 500 doses of vaccine were at risk of going to waste. There was staff, there were also vaccines, but there were no people, said the mayor, Gianluca Galimberti. Similar scenarios are playing out throughout the country, as the authorities struggle to get vaccines to older and vulnerable Italians who most need them. But the problems getting people vaccinated are hardly limited to Italy. The temporary suspension last week by multiple countries of the AstraZeneca vaccine, one that the European Union has bet on, was just one indication of how Europes rollouts have been plagued by an overabundance of caution, bad deals and flouted obligations by pharmaceutical companies. The situation remains so dire that the bloc unveiled emergency restrictions to curb exports of Covid-19 vaccines for six weeks. And the Italian government, acting on a request from the European Commission, the E.U. executive arm, sent the police to inspect 29 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine in a facility outside Rome, amid suspicions of possible exports out of the bloc. Italy is paying an especially heavy price for the vaccination campaign problems. A full year after the country became the first Western nation to confront the virus, it now has the dubious distinction of having the highest rate of daily deaths from Covid-19 among Europes major powers. And the missteps have especially affected Italys most vulnerable population: the elderly. Fewer than one in five people over 80 have received both doses of a vaccine, and less than 5 percent of septuagenarians have received their first shot. When it comes to distributing vaccines, Italy is on par with France and Germany and a little behind Spain, but its difficulties in vaccinating older citizens are far more consequential, given that it is the country with the oldest population in Europe. Every time the phone rings, I hope its them, said Ester Bucco, an 84-year-old resident of the Lombardy region, who registered two months ago to get vaccinated. She has yet to get an appointment. Jason Horowitz and

Advertisement Continue reading the main story

Global Roundup New Zealand tightens rules for people returning from abroad. The Nelson Airport in New Zealand last year. The New Zealand government said it would require people returning from overseas to remain in the country for six months, rather than the previous three, or pay a quarantine fee. Credit... Reuters New Zealand has said it will require people returning from overseas to remain in the country for six months, twice as long as the previous requirement, and to pay for hotel quarantine if they dont. The new rules, which took effect on Wednesday, add to the anxiety of New Zealand residents abroad who have been waiting to book spots in a quarantine system that the government introduced in October. There is a waiting list of around four months, and new slots often disappear within minutes. Under the new system, returnees who plan to stay less than six months must pay 3,100 New Zealand dollars, or around $2,150, for the two-week hotel quarantine they are required to undergo upon arrival. They were previously required to pay the fee for stays of less than three months. The changes were a response to anecdotal evidence that New Zealanders were entering the country for a three-month holiday to avoid paying the fee, said Chris Hipkins, the minister for Covid-19 response. Ultimately, our managed isolation facilities are designed to ensure that New Zealanders who need to return home are able to, he told reporters on Wednesday. New Zealand is one of the few places in the world that are limiting the number of residents who can return home during the pandemic. Tens of thousands of Australian citizens have also been stranded abroad in recent months because of restrictions that limit number of people allowed on flights into the country. The charges in New Zealand are expected to affect approximately 3 percent of those returning, according to the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment. As of February, New Zealands quarantine system was free to most residents and had collected $4.7 million in fees since its introduction last spring. The system has cost taxpayers about $1.7 million a day, according to figures provided to Radio New Zealand last year. New Zealand has all but eliminated local transmission of the coronavirus, reporting a total of 2,476 cases and 26 deaths as of Friday, according to a New York Times database. It has vaccinated 41,500 people, most of them workers at the countrys border or immigration facilities. In Australia, hospitals, prisons and nursing homes in Brisbane went into lockdown on Friday after a 26-year-old man tested positive for Covid-19. It was the first local transmission detected in Queensland State in two weeks. The health authorities said that the man had been infectious since last Friday and that they were still trying to determine how he had contracted the virus.

Norway on Friday extended its suspension of the AstraZeneca vaccine for another three weeks as the country assesses the vaccine, which the European Medicines Agency, the continents top drug regulator, has called safe and effective. At least four people who received the vaccine in Norway have since died. On Thursday, Denmark said that it, too, would extend its suspension of the vaccine, until April 15, while Sweden said it would resume its use for people over 65.

A top health official in Germany warned that the country could see 100,000 new cases a day amid a new wave of infection that he said was likely to be worse than either of the first two. The official, Lothar Wieler, is the head of the Robert Koch Institute, Germanys primary disease control agency. We have to be prepared for the fact that more people will become seriously ill again, that hospitals will be overloaded and also that many people will die, he said at a news conference on Friday. After a sharp increase in its virus caseload this month, Germany has recorded about 17,000 new cases a day over the past week.

Argentina is delaying applying the second dose of Covid-19 vaccines for three months to prioritize giving people at least one dose amid a sluggish vaccination drive. Argentina has been using Russias Sputnik V, Chinas Sinopharm and Covishield, the Indian version of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Argentina, a country of 45 million people, has given out a total of 3.55 million doses, including over 658,000 who have received the two doses. Natasha Frost, Yan Zhuang, Henrik Pryser Libell , Christopher F. Schuetze and

U.S. prisons start to resume allowing visits to inmates, with added virus precautions. California plans to allow relatives to resume visiting prisoners next month. The state has had major coronavirus outbreaks at several of its prisons, including San Quentin. Credit... Eric Risberg/Associated Press State prison systems across the United States have begun allowing visitors for the first time since the pandemic started, presenting challenges for facilities that want to balance much-needed contact between inmates and their families with the need to limit the spread of Covid-19 in one of the nations hardest-hit populations. California, Texas, Ohio, Michigan, Delaware and Louisiana have either resumed allowing visits in the past few days or plan to restart them in the next few weeks. Even when most were closed to visitors, the nations correctional institutions suffered many major coronavirus outbreaks, with almost 660,000 cases and nearly 3,000 deaths in all, according to a New York Times database. The facilities are preparing for the resumption of visits with extra safety protocols, including social distancing and temperature screenings. There will also probably be a good deal of awkwardness and long, silent gazes, prisoners, relatives and experts said. Family visits are what keeps prisoners motivated, not to mention sane, said Craig Haney, a psychology professor and expert on prison isolation at the University of California, Santa Cruz. There will be socially awkward interactions, and even more than a little initial social anxiety, Dr. Haney said about the resumption of visits. And some relationships will have changed. Children are one year older, and have grown up without the limited face-to-face contact they were once afforded with their incarcerated parent. The relationships will have to be re-established on a somewhat different footing. After California resumes allowing in-person visits on April 10, Michelle Tran plans to visit her husband, Thai Tran, at Avenal State Prison for the first time since March 8, 2020. Im going to be there, Ms. Tran said she told her husband. I need to see that youre still real  you know, I know that sounds crazy, to see youre not virtual, youre real. I need to see your face. And thats what I need. I need to see my husband. Lamont Heard, 43, who is incarcerated at the Lakeland Correctional Facility in Michigan, said he has struggled with his mental health because he hasnt seen his family. Im not evolving, Mr. Heard wrote in an email. Having the feelings of being ignored, rejected, left out and cut off. It makes me feel like Im by myself, and I go into a deep depression. But a visit takes all of that away. Rachel Sherman , Danya Issawi and
Dynamicweb, a leading eCommerce Suite, including a PIM system, provider in the mid-size and enterprise industry, announced today the partnership with priint Group, a German based global operating software vendor in the personalized and individualized printing industry.

The partnership extends the Dynamicweb offering by enabling customers to deliver a seamless experience on- and offline. The priint:suite and the Dynamicweb solutions revolutionize and automate the printing process, effortlessly connecting your digital world to your print world and giving you and your team the time and budget to do what you do bestcreate printable content!

The priint:suite connected to Adobe InDesign and Illustrator eliminating mundane tasks, enabling easy remote collaboration, cuts corrective cycles, drastically speeds production and personalization and virtually guarantees a cohesive message across all outreach platforms.

While eCommerce, and Dynamicweb, continues to grow rapidly we regularly see that our customers have print as a significant part of their promotion channels. The ability to offer a unified eCommerce experience, is not only what can make a difference in a positive commerce and brand experience, it is expected by consumers and B2B buyers, says Christian Beer, CEO and co-founder of Dynamicweb. Our partnership with the priint Group enables our customers to think beyond the screen. Reach and re-engage with customers and bring them back to your store or webshop with personalized offers that will resonate better with them than a one-size-fits-all message, Christian continues.

priint is proud to partner with Dynamicweb to help organizations deliver a consistent experience across all online and offline customer touchpoints. By combining and leveraging the power of a leading eCommerce Suite with the automation capabilities of priint:suite, marketing departments are able to dramatically reduce the time and expense needed to create modern marketing publications to enable true omnichannel marketing, says Horst Huber, CEO and founder of priint Group.

About the priint Group

The priint Group | Werk II develops the world's leading publishing software for product communication. Horst Huber, CEO of WERK II, and his team have been involved in data-driven product communication across all channels for 30 years. As pioneers of database publishing, they are among the top experts in the industry.

Companies from industry, wholesale and retail use priint Group products to support their publishing processes. The 450 customers include well-known companies such as XXXLutz, Bonprix, Hansgrohe, Jack Wolfskin, Pulsiva, JAF, Victorinox, Koch AG and Hafele and many more.

With the priint:suite customers can digitally map the entire publishing workflow, from planning and production control to creation and output. In addition to enormous time and cost savings, catalogs, data sheets, labels, price lists and other publications can be produced at the highest level of automation.

Learn more at http://www.priint.com

About Dynamicweb

Dynamicweb offers a cloud-based eCommerce suite. It enables customers to deliver better digital customer experiences and to scale ecommerce success through our Content Management, Digital Marketing, Ecommerce, and Product Information Management solutions.

Dynamicwebs 300+ partners, 200+ employees in offices all around the globe are proud to support well over 4.000 brands, which includes leading brands like Lego Wear, Vredestein, Unilever, Winnebago, LOreal, Flying Tiger, Toyota, Europcar, and Skanska. Built on Dynamicweb, these customers are empowered to gain lifelong customer relations, increase revenue and grow their brands.

Learn more at http://www.dynamicweb.com.
We have a tiny bird thats been making a nest in the birdhouse outside our kitchen window and trilling loudly when hes done for two years in a row. I went online and searched for tiny brown bird hoping to get it identified, but I couldnt find any photo of a bird that looked like it. I re
has over 60,000 TB patients and the state government has set a deadline of 2025 to eradicate the disease from the state, Health Minister said on Wednesday.

Vij made this remark while announcing the setting up of the Disease Control Centre in Ambala city on the occasion of World TB Day.

Speaking on the occasion, Vij said this centre would be built in place of the TB Hospital in Ambala city, in which the central government will play an important role.

According to an official statement, he said not only all the diseases can be investigated under one roof at this centre, their data too can be analysed.

Earlier the samples of TB-hit people were sent to Delhi or other places for investigation.

The NCDC will be built on a plot of land measuring over two acres, he said, adding that it would be manned by experts in various disciplines.

This centre will be equipped with all modern facilities, he said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
[March 25, 2021] MetLife Investment Management Reaches Record $22.4 Billion in Total Agricultural Mortgage Loan Assets Under Management

MetLife Investment Management (MIM), the institutional asset management business of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), announced today that it reached $22.4 billion1 in total agricultural mortgage loan assets under management (AUM) as of December 31, 2020. The agricultural mortgage group succeeded in achieving 10% year-over-year growth despite a tumultuous global backdrop. This growth pushed total agricultural mortgage loan AUM to a record level for MIM, reinforcing its position as the largest, non-government sponsored source of agricultural mortgage capital for the sector.2 "During these exceptional and difficult times, I am proud of the way that we have supported our clients and communities as a long-term partner and a stable source of capital," said Robert Merck, global head of Real Estate and Agriculture at MetLife Investment Management. "As the sector faced unprecedented challenges, we were reminded of the critical role that the agriculture sector plays in our day-to-day lives here in the U.S. and in markets all over the world. Our commitment to supporting our clients through these challenging times has never been more important in creating a sustainable and confident future." In 2020, MIM provided $4.7 billion in capital in the form of global agricultural mortgage loans across more than 700 transactions. The number of transactions completed in 2020 jumped by 35% compared to 2019. Greg Gallaway, head of MIM's Agricultural Finance group, noted: "Against the odds, MIM had a strong year working with our borrowers. As the pandemic brought additional volatility to the agricultural markets, our strong relationships enabled us to continue supporting our clients with capital and helping them rise to meet the many challenges posed by the pandemic." Highlights of MIM's agricultural lending transactions for 2020 include: Acadian Timber $90 million transaction consisting of five tranches - four totaling $80 million of senior secured fixed rate financing with terms ranging from five to 10 years, and a five-year $10 million revolving line of credit Secured by over 1 million acres of timberland across Maine and New Brunswick

Collateral consists of a diverse set of commercial hardwood and softwood timber species with a combination of pulpwood and sawtimber varieties



Bridge H-21 Cold $58 million senior secured variable rate financing transaction with a 10-year term

Funds will be used in the construction of a state-of-the-art cold storage facility with over 300,000 square feet located in Miami-Dade County, Florida

The facility includes 50-foot clear heights maximizing storage space as well as high tech systems which will offer broad temperature flexibility 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 billion in total assets under management.3 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 "commitment," "continue," "future," "sustainable," 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 Total agricultural mortgage loan AUM represents the value of all agricultural mortgage loans managed by MIM, at estimated fair value, presented on the basis of net asset value (net of encumbering debt). 2 Based on publicly available data as of December 31, 2020, that includes publicly disclosed financial reports from lenders, in addition to American Bankers Association data 3 Total AUM is comprised of all MetLife general account and separate account assets and unaffiliated/third party assets, at estimated fair value, managed by MIM. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005934/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Huntsville Hospitals Community Vaccination Clinic at John Hunt Park will close at noon Thursday due to the threat of severe weather.

People who have Thursday afternoon vaccination appointments may come any time on Friday, March 26, or Monday, March 29.

No appointment or phone call is needed.

Turn to WAAY 31 for everything you need to know to stay safe during Thursday's severe weather. Chief Meteorologist Kate McKenna and meteorologists Rob Elvington and Carson Meredith will provide you with the most accurate information on storms by using our StormTracker Early Warning Radar Network.

Stationed in Muscle Shoals, Decatur and Guntersville, the radars provide the best data for all of North Alabama by scanning EVERY community in North Alabama.

See all the radars HERE

Access the Muscle Shoals radar HERE

Access the Decatur radar HERE

Access the Guntersville radar HERE

And download our news and weather apps HERE
* Username

This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely!
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

The southern African state of Lesotho has secured the first batch of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine with shipments scheduled to begin in two months, a local nonprofit organization told Sputnik on Thursday

JOHANNESBURG (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th March, 2021) The southern African state of Lesotho has secured the first batch of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine with shipments scheduled to begin in two months, a local nonprofit organization told Sputnik on Thursday.

Sesiu Sa Lets'oele Le Beta Poho ("It takes a village to take down the bull") is the country's nonprofit organization in charge of providing support to Lesotho's COVID-19 vaccine acquisition and rollout efforts.

"We are at an advanced stage of placing the order for the first batch of the vaccine, which is Sputnik V. We expect it to land here in about 60 days from next week," Phafane Nkotsi, executive director of the organization, said.

So far, the nonprofit has secured funds from 11 companies in the amount of over two million Maloti (about $171,000) for procurement and distribution of vaccines for the Lesotho population.

"Our choice of vaccine is dependent on efficacy data, number of doses and global supplies. As it stands, the global political climate of the US, UK and EU has led to restriction in global access," Nkotsi added.

Lesotho has a population of two million but has currently received only 36,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines through the WHO-backed Covax program.
Transformation Church has donated more than 200 MacBook laptops to high school seniors and staff at a school in the Tulsa, Oklahoma, area.

The church distributed the 221 MacBook laptops at McLain High School for Science & Technology on Monday.

Tammy McQuarters, the executive pastor of Operations at Transformation, told The Christian Post that the giveaway was part of their culture code of generosity, noting that we give just to give, not to get.

Particularly in March, labeled as The Month of Generosity, we look for opportunities in the community to be generous. One of the opportunities identified this year was to bless the seniors, teachers and administration at McLain High School, McQuarters said.

Source:The Christian Post
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 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
North Korea should not return to brinkmanship



North Korea has escalated ensions on the Korean Peninsula by carrying out military provocations. On Thursday, the North fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea. They flew about 450 kilometers with an altitude of 60 kilometers after being launched from the eastern town of Hamju in South Hamgyong Province, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.



The launches came four days after the reclusive country shot off two short-range cruise missiles into the West Sea. It was the first time since March 2020 that the North has fired ballistic missiles. Cheong Wa Dae expressed "deep concern" over the provocation after holding an emergency National Security Council meeting.



The developments are raising fears that the Kim Jong-un regime might return to its outdated brinkmanship tactics in hopes of gaining an upper hand over South Korea and the U.S. The provocations are seen as a carefully calculated move before the Joe Biden administration completes its policy review on North Korea. It appears that Pyongyang is seeking to draw international attention and turn the tables on Seoul and Washington.



The North's provocations have been putting the new U.S. administration to the test. The Kim regime was also certainly trying to vent out its grievances at U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken who accused the North of human rights violations during his visit to Seoul last week for a "two plus two" meeting. North Korea is also taking advantage of the growing Sino-U.S. rivalry to forge closer ties with China, its sole benefactor.



The missile launches pose a serious security threat not only to South Korea and the U.S., but also to its neighbors such as Japan. Seoul and Washington made public the North's cruise missile launches belatedly, three days after the fact, saying that they did not constitute violations of the U.N. Security Council resolutions against the North. The U.S. brushed off the launches as part of "normal testing." President Biden even said, "Nothing much has changed."



The two allies must have taken such a lukewarm attitude toward the North to avoid angering it. However, that response seemed to embolden the Kim regime to fire the ballistic missiles, a clear violation of the U.N. resolutions. That's why Seoul and Washington should keep a firmer stance against any provocations by North Korea.



More worrisome, Pyongyang has continued refusing to return to dialogue with Seoul and Washington. Instead, it has heightened the level of its harsh rhetoric and provocative acts. The North rebuffed U.S. offers for talks. Its First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui said last week that Pyongyang won't resume negotiations with Washington unless the latter revokes its "hostile policy" toward the North.



Against this backdrop, South Korea and the U.S. need to take a two-track policy of luring the North back to dialogue while taking stern action against any provocations by the Kim regime. Most of all, the allies should hammer out a joint strategy to better deal with the recalcitrant North and prod it to move toward denuclearization and peace. North Korea, for its part, must stop resorting to brinksmanship, resume dialogue, and keep its earlier pledges to scrap its nuclear arsenal.


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.
Gilsdorf, who began her journey in early January, is spending 2021 traveling across the country, towing a custom tiny house and meeting inspiring people making a difference for their communities and for the planet. Gilsdorf met up with Emergent Media in California to create a mini docuseries about her expedition and the hard-working, change-making small business owners she meets along the way. While the two episodes will show the power, versatility and reliability of Mitsubishi's plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, they also showcase small batch workers with big hearts who are focused on creating a better, more sustainable world for future generations.

In the first episode of "Soul Pursuits," which launched today, Gilsdorf meets with Dylan Gordon, a photographer with a deep appreciation and pride for his community. When wildfires struck his hometown in 2018, Gordon sprang into action, launching Help California, an initiative that provides ranchers with supplies and support to help get back on their feet after losing it all.

"Mitsubishi Motors applauds those who aren't afraid to pursue their own path," said Mark Chaffin, Chief Operating Officer, MMNA. "Erika Gilsdorf is one of those people. Her mission to find and document the stories of other change makers really resonated with us, and the Outlander PHEV, which blends quiet, efficient EV technology with the capability of an SUV, is the perfect companion for her epic eco-tour. Through our partnership with Emergent Media, we've created a meaningful documentary series that is as inspiring and hopeful as it is unscripted and authentic."

Emergent Media and MMNA came together to bring Gordon's story to life, showcasing the incredible sacrifices he made to ease the burden of a devastating environmental catastrophe. The episode highlights Gordon's usage of technology, performance, safety and efficiency, offerings consumers can also find in the Outlander PHEV. Emergent Media will showcase the episodes on two of their platforms: Golden State, a highly curated platform celebrating the best of California and its entrepreneurial and creative culture; and Paradise, a global adventure and travel channel.

"At Emergent, we pride ourselves in delivering on our clients' objectives and telling authentic, real stories," said Jennifer Klawin, Managing Director, Brand Partnerships at Emergent Media. "We are thrilled to be partnering with Mitsubishi Motors to not only promote this incredible vehicle, but to share these important stories of artisans and changemakers positively impacting their communities through their work and generosity."

You can watch the first "Soul Pursuits" episode with Dylan Gordon here and learn more about Erika's journey, the people she meets and the Outlander PHEV. The second episode, which follows Trevor and Maddie Gordon, will focus on minimizing our carbon footprints and launches on Earth Day.

About Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc.

Through a network of approximately 330 dealer partners across the United States, Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) is responsible for the sales, marketing, and customer service of Mitsubishi Motors vehicles in the U.S. MMNA was the top-ranked Japanese brand in the J.D. Power 2020 Initial Quality study, ranking sixth overall and experiencing the greatest year-over-year improvement of any brand.

With headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee, and corporate operations in California, Georgia, Michigan, New Jersey, Texas, Florida, and Virginia, MMNA, directly and indirectly, employs more than 8,000 people across the United States.

For more information on Mitsubishi vehicles, please contact the Mitsubishi Motors News Bureau at 615-257-2698 or visit media.mitsubishicars.com.

ABOUT EMERGENT MEDIA

Emergent is a digital media group and lifestyle network with a family of brands that includes Paradise, SHLTR, Golden State, California Love, Cabinfeed and Surfers. Emergent offers creative, purposeful lifestyle content to a globally-minded audience of Modern Explorers seeking to live inspired lives motivated by self-discovery and fueled by authentic experiences. Emergent Media is part of The Golden State Company, whose portfolio of businesses includes Moon Tide, a full-service agency and branded content studio; Driftward, an e-commerce photography marketplace; Media Circus, a strategic media planning and buying group; as well as a family of California-based regional lifestyle publications.

Contacts

Jeremy Barnes

Senior Director, Communications and Events

[email protected]

Mobile: 714-296-1402

Lauren Ryan

Manager, Communications and Events

[email protected]

Mobile: 404-862-8286

SOURCE Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc.

Related Links

https://www.mitsubishicars.com


One comes in the form of a poem, a nursery rhyme, taught to every child in Greek parochial schools around the world. They recite it in pageants on March 25. I learned it. My brothers learned it. My cousins learned it. Every child attending a Greek school learns it today, the one about the moon shining a path for children to avoid Turkish patrols and get to the secret schools.
A photo showing North Korea's missile launch is displayed at the Unification Observation Post in Paju, near the border with North Korea, South Korea, Wednesday, March 24, 2021 (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

South Korea Says North Korea Likely Fired Short-Range Ballistic Missiles

SEOUL, South KoreaNorth Korea on Thursday test-fired its first short-range ballistic missiles since President Joe Biden took office, as it expands its military capabilities and increases pressure on Washington while nuclear negotiations remain stalled.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the launches threaten peace and safety in Japan and the region, and that Tokyo will closely coordinate with Washington and Seoul on the Norths testing activities.

South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, after meeting his Russian counterpart in Seoul, expressed deep concern over the launches and urged the North to uphold its commitments for peace. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called for a swift resumption of dialogue to resolve the standoff with North Korea.

South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff said the two short-range missiles were fired at 7:06 a.m. and 7:25 a.m. from an area on the Norths eastern coast and flew 450 kilometers (279 miles) on an apogee of 60 kilometers (37 miles) before landing in the sea. It said South Koreas military has stepped up monitoring in case of further provocations from the North.

A senior U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military observations, matched the information from South Koreas military, saying that initial assessments suggest the North fired two short-range ballistic missiles.

This activity highlights the threat that North Koreas illicit weapons program poses to its neighbors and the international community, said U.S. Indo-Pacific Command spokesperson Capt. Mike Kafka.

The launches came a day after U.S. and South Korean officials said the North fired short-range weapons presumed to be cruise missiles into its western sea over the weekend.

North Korea has a history of testing new U.S. administrations with missile launches and other provocations aimed at forcing the Americans back to the negotiating table.

Still, Thursdays launches were a measured provocation compared to the nuclear and intercontinental missile tests in 2017 that inspired war fears before the North shifted toward diplomacy with the Trump administration in 2018.

Analysts say that the North would gradually dial up its weapons displays to increase its bargaining power as it angles to get back into stalled talks aimed at leveraging nuclear weapons for badly needed economic benefits.

Its unclear how the Biden administration would respond before it completes its policy review on North Korea in the coming weeks.

The negotiations over the Norths nuclear program faltered after the collapse of Kim Jong Uns second summit with President Donald Trump in February 2019, when the Americans rejected North Korean demands for major sanctions relief in exchange for a partial surrender of their nuclear capabilities.

Since Trumps first meeting with Kim in 2018, the North has not conducted nuclear or long-range missile tests, although analysts believe they have pressed ahead with their programs on both.

The North has continued short- and medium range missile testing during its suspension of nuclear and long-range tests, expanding its ability to strike targets in South Korea and Japan, including U.S. bases there.

Kim Dong-yub, an analyst from South Koreas Institute for Far Eastern Studies, said the flight data released by South Koreas military suggests the North possibly tested a new solid-fuel system modeled after Russias 9K720 Iskander mobile ballistic missiles.

These missiles, which analysts see as potentially nuclear capable, are designed to be highly maneuverable and travel on lower trajectories compared to most other ballistic weapons.

Kim said it was also possible that the North tested its new multiple rocket launchers or another solid-fuel ballistic system that outwardly resembles the U.S. MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System.

The North had conducted at least 16 launches of the new short-range weapons since they were first revealed in 2019.

North Korea has so far ignored the Biden administrations efforts to reach out, saying it wont engage in meaningful talks unless Washington abandons its hostile policies.

Kim Jong Uns sister last week berated the United States over its latest round of combined military exercises with South Korea that ended earlier this month, describing the drills as an invasion rehearsal and warned Washington to refrain from causing a stink if it wants to sleep in peace for the next four years.

South Koreas Defense Ministry said the Norths short-range tests on Sunday were its first missile firings since April 2020. President Joe Biden played down those launches, telling reporters, Theres no new wrinkle in what they did.

While Kim has vowed to strengthen his nuclear weapons program in recent speeches, he also tried to give the new U.S. administration an opening by saying that the fate of their relations depends on Washington.

During his visit to Seoul last week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken sternly criticized North Koreas nuclear ambitions and human rights record and pressed China to use its tremendous influence to convince the North to denuclearize.
Problems in U.S. society exposed as COVID-19 cases top 30 million

Xinhua) 14:35, March 25, 2021

U.S. national flags fly at half-staff at the Washington Monument to mourn the more than half a million U.S. lives lost to COVID-19 in Washington D.C., the United States, on Feb. 24, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

WASHINGTON, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The United States on Wednesday surpassed 30 million COVID-19 cases over a year into the pandemic, highlighting a catastrophic failure resulting from lack of national leadership, disrespect for science and inadequacy of public health infrastructure.

With a total caseload of more than 30 million and over 545,000 deaths, the richest country remains the worst hit by COVID-19 worldwide, showed a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

The country, with a population of less than 5 percent of the world's total, accounted for more than 25 percent of the global COVID-19 count and nearly 20 percent of the worldwide death toll.

The grime milestone came when President Joe Biden, over 60 days in office, are trying hard to reverse the tragic trajectory of the pandemic left over by his predecessor Donald Trump's piecemeal approach.

Biden's team has, among other measures, ramped up vaccinations all over the country.

So far, a third of U.S. adults, around 84 million, have received at least one vaccine dose, and 45 million people have been fully vaccinated, said the White House on Wednesday.

Travelers receive COVID-19 tests upon their arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, Israel, on March 21, 2021. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua)

Despite its progress on vaccinations, the virus is still spreading across the country though major indicators have decreased significantly from their peak in January.

The most recent seven-day average of new cases is nearly 55,000 per day and the seven-day average of deaths is approximately 968 per day.

However, public experts warn that new, more contagious variants threaten to upend progress as the B.1.1.7, initially identified in Britain, could become the dominant strain in the United States by the end of March.

"When I'm often asked, 'Are we turning the corner?' my response is really more like, 'We are at the corner. Whether or not we're going to be turning that corner still remains to be seen,'" Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, said at the White House briefing.

"You've got to continue to do what we're doing: more vaccinations and continue to do public health measures until we actually do turn the corner," said Fauci.

Stanley Perlman, professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Iowa, agreed.

"Cases may be increasing again. We need to still wear masks and practise social distancing," Perlman told Xinhua on Wednesday, adding the spring break may see an uptick in cases with increased travel.

"This is already a problem. I suspect that we will see a rise in cases but it may be in the young so deaths may not increase much," said Perlman, referring to the uptick in travels during the spring break.

However, at least a dozen states have started to ease COVID-19 restrictions, including mask mandates and social distancing requirements in businesses.

(Web editor: Wen Ying, Bianji)
As part of continued efforts to advance diversity and inclusion, Visa, the worlds leader in digital payments, partnered with the Dubai Business Women Council (DBWC) to co-host their Women in Tech Forum.

Held virtually for the first time, the forum featured inspiring industry experts who came together to discuss what female entrepreneurs need for their businesses to survive and thrive in todays evolving tech ecosystem.

The panel shared both their professional advice on their experience with mentoring and working with startups and larger organisations, and shared personal experiences and insights that have helped them shape their successful careers in the tech industry.

Visa's Vice President, Fintech & Ventures, CEMEA, Otto Williams delved into the future of payments and innovation, the increased opportunities to take part in digital transformation agendas, various funding and investment avenues available to entrepreneurs and shed light on Visas Fast Track programme and the latest Visa Everywhere Initiative that is targeted at supporting start-ups. One of the Mena regions most influential women in technology, Raja Al Mazrouei, EVP, DIFC Fintech Hive, detailed the Hives different partnership and accelerator programmes and the opportunities it provides for female entrepreneurs to accelerate their careers and lead new tech businesses. Building on the support available for founders, Malak Alsaffar, Country Manager  Bahrain, Visa, shared her perspective of the local and regional fintech ecosystem and her own experience in taking up the challenge of a mid-career move.

Dr Raja Al Gurg, President of the Dubai Business Women Council delivered her welcome address. She highlighted how partnerships and mentorship opportunities with digital payments leaders like Visa can drive, scale and foster a more diverse and inclusive tech ecosystem for women to launch and grow their careers and businesses.

Shahebaz Khan, Visas General Manager for UAE, said: It's no secret that women still face more challenges than male entrepreneurs, including getting equal access to capital and connecting with a network of other entrepreneurs and mentors for support. At Visa, we take this imbalance very seriously and are always looking for ways to empower women-owned businesses and women in the workplace to advance diversity and inclusion around the world. We are delighted to expand our efforts here in the UAE and the wider Mena region by working with like-minded partners such as DBWC as we help female tech founders develop and grow their entrepreneurial visions 

Visa signed a strategic partnership with Dubai Business Women Council earlier this year to champion the advancement and support the growth of female entrepreneurs in the UAE. Visa will also support DBWCs flagship mentorship programme where 12 experienced mentors from Visa will offer insight, advice, and ideas over a five-month period.

In todays world, technology has become a crucial factor in enhancing business competitiveness and the main catalyst to get the most out of the available investment opportunities, said Dr Al Gurg, stressing that businesswomen and female entrepreneurs in the Dubai can harness technology in the service of their career objectives and produce tangible results. Our partnership with Visa comes as part of our painstaking efforts to provide businesswomen and female-owned start-ups with the best expertise and experiences available in the international arena and the new tech that can help them advance their businesses, added Al Gurg.

Stressing the importance of the forum as a perfect platform for supporting women with meaningful solutions, tools, and initiatives helping them take their businesses to new heights, Al Gurg pointed to the DBWCs keenness to conclude strategic partnerships with major companies to help support Dubais development process and empower women in all workplaces.

These programmes support Visas continual efforts to support small businesses  with a strong focus on women entrepreneurship, through its various platforms including Shes Next empowered by Visa, Where You Shop Matters and the Visa Everywhere Initiative.-- Tradearabia News Service
Send to Email Address

Your Name

Your Email Address

Post was not sent - check your email addresses!

Email check failed, please try again

Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
YEREVAN, MARCH 25, ARMENPRESS. The final session of the US chairmanship of the OSCE Forum for Security Cooperation was held on March 24 during which the US transferred the Forums 4-year chairmanship to Armenia, the Armenian foreign ministry told Armenpress.

On this occasion head of the Armenian Mission in the OSCE, Ambassador Armen Papikyan thanked the US chairmanship for the efforts made and for the cooperation. He stated that joint efforts, constructive engagement and dialogue are needed for ensuring peace and security in the OSCE responsibility zone.

Talking about Armenias chairmanship priorities at the Forum, the Ambassador highlighted arms control, regional security, cooperation with other organizations, trust-building measures and consistent implementation of the commitments and obligations of the OSCE military-political field.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
JUSTICE REFORM IN LA: On the Cusp

Since the 1970s, in an era now known as the Age of Mass Incarceration, Los Angeles County has operated the largest jail system in the nation. This jail system has drained public resources from the county and exacerbated its deep legacies of racial injustice as the harms of incarceration  fines, fees, toxic stress, family separation, lost work and school days, suppressed wages, increased exposure to infection, and more  disproportionately impact the Countys Black and Brown residents. But over the last year, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and voters have approved strategies to end LAs age of mass incarceration.

In March 2020, the Board voted to accept the report of the Alternatives to Incarceration Workgroup, a county-appointed body of some two dozen individuals  roughly half of whom were county agency heads and the remaining half were community leaders experienced in fighting for a re-imagined justice system.

County Supervisors asked for a roadmap in the pursuit of a Care as the first option, and jail as the last resort. The report listed more than 100 recommendations and prioritized 26 as foundational recommendations for early action. Recommendations are methodically grouped in data-supported intercept points where access to the proper services can divert individuals from the voracious jail and prison pipeline.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Boards unanimous vote to receive the ATI report, move the foundational recommendations forward, and create a new ATI (Alternatives to Incarceration) office was a major step toward de-carcerating LA. The second step was the Boards decision to plan for the closure of the Mens Central Jail near downtown Los Angeles and replace it with a system of services and care for the persons, families, and communities most harmed by decades of racist-infused mass incarceration. Thirdly, County voters decisively agreed to support Measure J, which promises to dedicate a portion of the county general fund to services and care for the population. That also will help reduce homelessness.

This trifecta of decisions lay the groundwork for a de-carceration process that is in support of community safety for all. Imagine just five years from now when Mens Central Jail is replaced by a human-centered restorative village, providing mental health services, employment, and housing for our community. The vision is within reach. We just need implement what the county Supervisors have called for, shifting our public resources from criminalization to care, while opening an unprecedented era of racial justice.

However, the resistance to this aspirational vision  closing jails and jail beds and replacing them with a system of services, opportunity, and hope  wont go quietly. It will require political courage and civic conviction to make historic change. Its the right thing to do as fiscal stewards of public tax dollars and racial justice advocates. Right now Supervisors, department heads, and community advocates will need to confront three dragons:

The Budget: While providing effective community-based services is always cheaper than incarceration  developing such a system of care wont be cheap. Court diversion programs, mental health and substance abused treatment services, and transitional and supportive housing will be costly. With state and county budgets strained by COVID-19, elected officials must be fearless and inventive to invest in this new system. Suggestion: as county leaders were once prepared to bond-finance a new jail to replace MCJ, perhaps we should shift our sights into bond-financing the infrastructure required for this new system of care.

The Narrative: A cadre of prosecutors in the District Attorneys office launched a rebellion against justice system reformer George Gascon, labeling reforms unconstitutional and threats to public safety. This outdated and disproven narrative claims that the only way to assure public safety is to lock people up. Expect the lockem up culture  which drove the rise of mass incarceration  to re-assert itself. Suggestion: elevate the voices of those most impacted by hyper-incarceration  the currently and formerly incarcerated as well as their families and communities. Trust what they say, and hold their experiences close as decisions are being made.

Race: Data on racial inequality and the legacy of structural racism that is foundational to hyper-incarceration of Black and Brown men and women are legion. Moreover, the stories of so many African American families negatively impacted by the justice system animate the data and research, making the numbers more compelling. Meaningful transformation of the system will not occur unless racial inequality and disparities are confronted.

The supervisors deserve credit for creating a new Office of Racial Equity to keep the matter of race on the front burner as reforms and transformation unfold. Suggestion: Support this office by inaugurating its work through the lens of ATI, Measure J, and MCJ developments. LA County can emerge as the nations leader in advancing anti-racist strategies, policies, and programs.

ADVERTISEMENT

Political and civic courage has put Los Angeles County on the national map about what a transformed care first, jails last system can look like. Trust the voices of the most impacted to illuminate the path.

Dr. Robert K Ross is the President/CEO of The California Endowment, the largest health foundation in the state. He is a medical doctor and former public health director of San Diego County. He served on Los Angeles County Alternatives to Incarceration taskforce.

Kelly Lytle Hernandez is a professor of History, African American Studies, and Urban Planning at UCLA where she holds The Thomas E. Lifka Endowed Chair in History and is the director of the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at UCLA. She is also known as one of the nations leading experts on race, immigration, and mass incarceration. Professor Hernandez served on Los Angeles County Alternatives to Incarceration taskforce.
NASAs Artemis program will mark a significant milestone in US space flight history when it lifts off in late 2024. Not only will it be the first time that American astronauts have travelled further than LEO since the 1970s, and not only will it be the first opportunity for a female astronaut to step foot on the moon. The Artemis mission will perform the crucial groundwork needed for humanity to further explore and potentially colonize our nearest celestial neighbor as well as eventually serve as a jumping-off point in our quest to reach Mars. Given how inhospitable space is to human physiology and psychology, however, NASA and its partners will face a significant challenge in keeping their lunar colonists alive and well.

Back in the Apollo mission era, the notion of constructing even a semi-permanent presence on the surface of the moon was laughable  largely because the numerous lunar regolith samples collected and returned to Earth during that period were found to be dry as a bone, Rob Mueller, Senior Technologist in Advanced Projects Development at NASA said during a SXSW 2021 panel. That was the common wisdom, there is no water on the moon, and so for many years that was the assumption held in the [aerospace] community.

It wasnt until the late 90s that a neutron spectrometer aboard NASAs Lunar Prospector mission found telltale evidence of hydrogen atoms located at the moons poles, suggesting the potential presence of water ice. And it wasnt until last October that the SOPHIA mission detected water on the sunlit surface of the moon, rather than only squirrelled away in deep, dark lunar craters.

We had indications that H2O  the familiar water we know  might be present on the sunlit side of the Moon, Paul Hertz, director of the Astrophysics Division in the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, said at the time. Now we know it is there. This discovery challenges our understanding of the lunar surface and raises intriguing questions about resources relevant for deep space exploration.

Based on this new evidence, Mueller estimates that there should be enough water ice available to launch a vehicle like the space shuttle every day for 2,000 years. So there's a lot of water on the moon. The trick is, is we have to find it, access it, and mine it, and then economically use it.

The revelation that the moon holds a cache of water  which can be used to both quenchslake an astronauts thirst and power their rocket  could set off a resource grab the likes of which we havent seen since the days of the forty-niner, Pete Carrato, Senior Consulting Engineer at the Bechtel Corporation, noted during the same panel discussion. So, the next gold rush to me is to the south pole of the Moon, and it's a harsh environment.

This is because the larger accumulations of water are located in permanently shadowed regions where the suns warming rays cannot reach the ice and vaporize it off the Moons surface. Problem is, the temperature in these regions hovers around a brisk 40 degrees Kelvin, which is colder than liquid nitrogen. Thats so cold that even modern mining rigs built for the Earths most extreme environments would have a hard time operating there. You get metal parts down that cold, they become almost like glass, Carrato declared.

It's also a hard vacuum on the moon, so you're going to have some really strange problems like cold welding of metals, Mueller added. If two metal surfaces are exposed to each other, they can actually bond in a hard vacuum and we've seen that before in space. It's a well known problem.

The ubiquitous, razor-sharp, potentially DNA-damaging, electrostatic dust found on the moon also poses a danger to colonists  one that NASA has been grappling with since Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt came down with the first case of lunar hay fever. This dust not only clings to rovers and spacesuits, the miniscule particles worm their way into sensitive electronics, clog filters, jam zippers and freeze joints. NASA has developed a destaticfying coating to counter the dusts electrical attraction but its effectiveness at scale remains to be seen. The micrometeorites themselves, whose impacts with the surface create this dangerous dust, will also have to be taken into account when designing lunar habitats.

But unlike the Apollo era, which helped usher in the Cold War, this time the American government is not going it alone. The Artemis program is deeply coordinating its efforts alongside a host of international and commercial partners such as SpaceX, which is tasked with delivering pieces of the Lunar Gateway into orbit around the moon (for a cool $331.8 million) in 2024.

This will let us do it for a reasonable cost with arguably a return on investment but we can't do it as NASA. NASA is a government agency, the role of the government is to facilitate industry, Mueller explained. And so we're setting up the framework, the infrastructure, and all the processes, the legal framework, communications, launch sites. This is all necessary, and then private industry can come in and do what they know how to do, which is make some money and create an economically efficient system.

While partnering with other nations in this endeavor is a great way to spread the up-front costs around, it could lead to conflicts as to which member nation will get access and rights to which resources. Currently, such matters are governed by the UNs Outer Space Treaty of 1967, however its language is not entirely clear, leaving the rules open to different readings. The US interpretation is that we will not claim the land and or claim sovereignty, but we do have the right to use resources and the commercial industry has the right to use the resources, Mueller said. Whats more, the Outer Space Treaty lacks specific enforcement mechanisms and has yet to be ratified by any signatory nations, making its rules more like suggestions. The Artemis Accords similarly are guidelines rather than directives, though if enough nations sign onto it and act within its framework, he continued, over time it becomes de facto law.

Mars poses many of the same challenges in exploration and eventual colonization that the Moon does, such as deadly radiation, micrometeorite impacts and clinging dust particles  not to mention the six month trip needed just to get to the former, compared to a measly three days for the latter. That vast distance also strains our ability to remotely control rovers and other teleoperated robotic systems we send to the Red Planet due to the minutes-long communication lag.

Prospective explorers and colonists will also have to contend with the wide temperature ranges that exist at each destination. On the Moon for example, the sun-ward side can be as hot as 125 Celsius while the shadowed side can drop to -175 Celsius, causing intense thermal stress on objects moving between them. Protection from galactic and solar radiation will also have to factor heavily into any decisions regarding where to settle on the surface. Shaded valleys and cliffside locations offer a higher degree of natural protection so well have to carefully consider the local topography when picking settlement sites. One potential solution to the radiation problem would be to ensconce our artificial habitats with a 3D-printed shell made from the Martian soil itself, Xavier De Kestelier, Head of Design Technology and Innovation at Hassell, noted during the panel.

Maintaining the crews physical and mental health on these increasingly long-duration missions will be of paramount importance and will have to be accomplished without help from home. The further we travel from Earth, the medical models that we might need and the psychological pressures on the crew will be different, Beth Healey, Head of Emergency Clinic at Hopital Du Valais, said. Each member of the crew will be called upon to serve in multiple roles beyond their individual specialties during the mission.

Should we manage to surmount these challenges, however, the rewards will be substantial. It's very difficult to live in space, Mueller said in a separate panel discussion at SXSW 2021. The good news is that there are a lot of resources in our solar system and beyond, there's almost an infinite amount of resources compared to what we have on Earth. These include everything from water, atmospheric gases, volatiles and rare metals to the crews own trash waste to energy. If you have sunlight, then you have access to energy, he continued. Humanity has already shown that its capable of inhabiting some of the most inhospitable areas of the Earth, such Concordia Station in Antarctica. With continued diligence, research and international cooperation, the stars themselves could soon come within our reach.
OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada will look at the constitutionality of provisions that govern evidence about an alleged assault victim's sexual history.

A motor vehicle passes in front of the Supreme Court of Canada in Ottawa, Thursday March 25, 2021. The Supreme Court of Canada will look at the constitutionality of provisions that govern evidence about an alleged assault victim's sexual history. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada will look at the constitutionality of provisions that govern evidence about an alleged assault victim's sexual history.

The decision comes in the case of Shane Reddick, who was charged with sexual assault and, in his defence, planned to cross-examine the complainant about her prior sexual activity.

Before his trial, Reddick challenged the constitutionality of Criminal Code provisions dealing with such evidence, arguing they violated his rights to fundamental justice and a fair trial.

In its decision last November, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice said that when sexual-assault complainants testify they must not be put on trial and should be protected from questioning that propagates myths surrounding such victims.

However, the court declared several of the contested Criminal Code provisions to be unconstitutional, saying they impaired the accused's right to a fair trial.

The Supreme Court says the complainant's appeal of the Ontario court ruling will be heard in May along with another, previously scheduled case involving a related Criminal Code provision.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2021.
Ranbir Kapoor Tested Negative For Covid-19 Confirms Randhir Kapoor; Actor Joins Prayer Meet For Father Rishi Kapoor

Actor Ranbir Kapoor has recovered from COVID-19 and is doing well, his paternal uncle and veteran actor Randhir Kapoor said on Thursday.

On March 9, Ranbir Kapoor's actor-mother Neetu Kapoor had informed his fans that the 38-year-old actor had tested positive for the virus and was under self quarantine.

"Ranbir is absolutely fine now. He is alright. I have met him," Randhir Kapoor told PTI, adding he was unaware when his nephew tested negative for COVID-19.

Speculation over Ranbir Kapoor's health status arose when his sister and jewellery designer Riddhima Kapoor Sahni posted their picture from the 11 month prayer meet for their late father, veteran actor Rishi Kapoor on Thursday.

"Always watching over us. We miss you," Sahni captioned their photo on Instagram and tagged their mother.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Riddhima Kapoor Sahni (RKS) (@riddhimakapoorsahniofficial)

Neetu Kapoor too shared a video with Rishi Kapoor from their last trip to New York where Rishi Kapoor was being treated for cancer for a year. In the video Rishi can be seen happily humming a tune as he enjoyed an evening walk with his wife.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by neetu Kapoor. Fightingfyt (@neetu54)

Rishi Kapoor passed away last April after a two year-long battle with leukaemia.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A majority Black venture capital firm, helmed by a technology veteran, a Hollywood producer, and a former mayor of Washington D.C., is leading a new $103 million fund to seed young companies started by people of color.

MaC Venture Capital, based in Los Angeles and Silicon Valley, is the result of a 2019 merger between Cross Culture Ventures, founded by Marlon Nichols, and M Ventures, co-founded by Adrian Fenty, Michael Palank and Charles D. King, who was the first Black partner at a major Hollywood talent agency. It has already invested in 25 companies.

The firm's philosophy: Women and people of color should be represented in the business and cultural life of the nation, particularly in the tech industry that drives so much innovation and so much of the economy.

"We want to get as close to a crystal ball as possible," Nichols told U.S. TODAY in an interview. "If human behavior is driving everything, then we should look at which of these emerging trends will be the new social norm."

MaC Venture Capital belongs to a new wave of venture capital firms and a new generation of venture capitalists shaking up the status quo.

These investors don't invest exclusively in entrepreneurs of color but make sure entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds who've been largely overlooked by venture capitalists get an equal shot at Silicon Valley success.

Among those championing a more diverse set of entrepreneurs are Plexo Capital's Lo Toney, Backstage Capital's Arlan Hamilton, Equal Ventures' Richard Kerby and Precursor Ventures' Charles Hudson.

With the new fund, MaC Venture Capital says it will make 40 investments, with an average investment of $1 million. Limited partners include Foot Locker, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and Howard University.

"It's important to approach the investing game without bias," Nichols said.

The vast majority of entrepreneurs who land venture capital funding are white men, much like the financiers who hand it out. Venture capitalists tend to place their bets on people who've already succeeded or who remind them of the people who have.

Black and Hispanic entrepreneurs face significant hurdlesinsular networks, negative stereotypes, and racial discrimination. A tiny fraction of start-ups led by people of color attract venture dollars.

For example, despite gains, Black women and Latinas combined make up less than 1% of all venture capital investment, a recent study by digitalundivided, a nonprofit that supports female entrepreneurs of color, found.

The small number of Black founders who receive venture financing mirrors the number of Black decision makers in venture capital, Nichols said.

According to a National Venture Capital Association and Deloitte survey, Black employees comprised 4% of the overall workforce, 4% of investment professionals and 7% of junior-level investment positions. The percentage of investment partner positions held by Black employees was 3%.

Black employees comprised 3% of investment professionals who originate deals, 3% of those who represent the firm on the boards of portfolio companies, 3% of firm investment committee members, and 3% of management company owners, the survey found.

"To solve this issue, more Black venture capital fund managers have to start receiving funding at similar levels to our white counterparts," Nichols said. "Diverse fund managers have proven to be more inclined to invest in Black founders, and in many cases, are able to quickly recognize the value in what they are building."

To increase the odds of success, these investors get involved at the formative stages of a company when even small bets on big ideas can make the difference between failure and becoming the next Facebook.

It's a strategy that has become all the more critical with the business world's focus on racial inequity following last year's police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

"The seed stage and series A is the best place to put our skills to work as we want to be on the front end of a company's success," said Fenty, the former D.C. mayor.

The long-term play is to level the playing field and gradually shift the gender and racial make-up of the technology industry, which remains mostly white and male.

"We feel like the ecosystem still has a long way to go," Fenty said. "But change is coming."

Explore further Venture capital more impactful than angel investments for tech startups

(c)2021 U.S. Today

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

County row offices, including register of wills, recorder of deeds and clerk of judicial records, serve the courts primarily through record-keeping. The register of wills also administers the so-called orphans court.

But Patrick OMalley, a former county commissioner now seeking the Democratic nomination for register of wills, apparently thinks the purpose of the publicly funded court system is to serve his private political prerogatives.

OMalley recently challenged incumbent Democrat Fran Kovaleskis nominating petitions, which she amended before the filing deadline to correct potential deficiencies regarding having them notarized in Florida by her sister, a Pennsylvania notary. Kovaleski returned and had the amended petitions notarized in Lackawanna County.

OMalley failed to meet Judge Michael J. Barrasses directive to produce any case law indicating that it is illegal to file amended petitions, probably because doing so is not illegal. Then OMalley withdrew the legal challenge and offered an illuminating explanation. He told politics reporter Borys Krawczeniuk of The Times-Tribune that he withdrew the challenge because he claimed to have proved his point that Kovaleski spends more time in Florida than at her job.

Well, thats a valid campaign issue. But the court system exists to resolve legal disputes, including those regarding elections. The public does not fund it so that candidates can prove their points via legally dubious lawsuits.

OMalleys appalling misuse of the county court system, at public expense, raises another fundamental campaign issue: whether OMalley understands that the row offices are meant to serve the courts rather than his own political ambitions.

Meanwhile, its telling that those issues are about the personal conduct of the candidates rather than about any issues relative to the offices work. This campaign just proves further that individual row officers are an expensive anachronism, and that the offices should be administered by a single professional more concerned with serving, than being served by the courts.
Acting Premier James Merlino has stood by the decision to run a safe injecting room next to a primary school in Richmond after emotional parents addressed a residents meeting on Wednesday night.

More than 100 residents met at the All Nations Hotel opposite the facility in Melbournes inner-east, urging the state government to move the injecting room away from Richmond West Primary School.

Wednesday evenings meeting was packed. Credit:Meredith oShea

Mr Merlino said on Thursday the facility saved lives and was supported by the school community.

My message to the whole of the community of North Richmond and the broader Victorian community [is] these are challenging and confronting issues, and they have been for decades in this community, 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.
Companies to Focus on Continued Expansion of the Helio Cryptocurrency CeFi Aggregator Platform

Boca Raton, Florida--(Newsfile Corp. - March 25, 2021) - CYIOS Corp. (OTC Pink: CYIO), a publicly traded company focused on developing and marketing specialty branded products in the Health and Wellness markets, is pleased to announce the acquisition of privately held Helio Lending, Pty Ltd. (Helio). With operations based in Australia and San Francisco, Helio has built a unique and propriety platform enabling cryptocurrency holders to earn interest on deposits and secure loans collateralized by certain cryptocurrencies. The two companies have executed a binding letter of intent and expect the transaction to close in mid-April. Cyios will acquire 100% of the outstanding interests in Helio, in exchange for a number of shares of Cyios restricted common stock with Helio becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Cyios. Helio shareholders will be subject to a lock up and leak out agreement.

Mr.John O'Shea, Cyios Corp. Chairman commented, "We are very excited to announce the acquisition of Helio. The Helio Board and Shareholders have given their overwhelming support of the transaction. Cyios Corp. provides Helio with a favorable public company structure which enables Helio to expand and scale its business. Since the beginning of this calendar year, Cyios has raised approximately $500,000 USD in straight equity financing, some of which will be utilized to support Helio's expansion plans, as well as to pursue other strategic opportunities to expand operations through acquisition. The business plan going forward is to leverage the Helio acquisition into building a synergistic, diversified crypto business within a public company."

"As a first to market CeFi aggregator, Helio has differentiated itself as the GO-TO provider of choice offering customers an array of loan and deposit structures with the ability to pick from the best terms and rates available at any given time. Centralized finance, called "CeFi", allows people to earn interest or get loans on their cryptocurrency by lending or borrowing through a centralized corporation. Since establishing its US operations earlier this year, Helio has been aggressively expanding its cryptocurrency lending platform. The Company is currently working on various partnership and affiliate agreements with some of the largest cryptocurrency lenders in the U.S. The Company anticipates announcing some of these agreements in the very near future. With access to over $100,000,000 USD funds for cryptocurrency loans, Helio's value add now includes the ability to work with various loan providers at once in order to secure same day quotes on loans with varying LTV, APR, and Terms as well as to help customers negotiate for the best possible terms on their loans," concluded Mr. O'Shea.

CONTACT INFORMATION

info@choicewellnessbrands.com

Investors are encouraged to follow CYIOS using:

www.twitter.com/cyioscorp

www.linkedin.com/company/cyios-corporation-llc

www.facebook.com/cyioscorporation

Follow Helio Lending using:

https://twitter.com/heliolending

For more information, please visit: https://heliolending.com/

About Helio Lending, PTY LTD.

Founded in 2018, Helio Lending is a cryptocurrency lender, with headquarters in Australia. Recognized as the first to market in Australia, Helio Lending was the first independent crypto lending company to actively lend within Australia.

Helio has since evolved and positioned itself as the first CeFi (centralized finance) aggregator worldwide. Helio has a large panel of partners providing access to the best rates and offers for crypto loan providers as well as offering a competitive yield generating platform. Helio Lending provides holders of cryptocurrency (such as Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin and Ripple) with a safe and secure way to access fiat funds at the best rates, without selling any of their cryptocurrency. Helio also allows holders to earn rates on their cryptocurrency.

About ChoiceWellness, Inc.

ChoiceWellness, Inc. is a health and wellness company that has brought to market the DR's CHOICE line of products, as well as the "24" Brand Hand Sanitizer products. DR's CHOICE was developed with a mission to offer Doctors and Medical Practitioners their own Professional Grade CBD BRAND with a suite of products they could stand behind and be confident to offer to their patients. Our customers can be assured that DR's CHOICE CBD products have gone through the highest scrutiny of testing for purity, potency and quality. DR's Choice products have been brought to market for Doctors and Medical Professionals seeking a better solution for patients suffering from pain, inflammation, anxiety or other persistent symptoms. For more information, please visit www.choicewellnessbrands.com.

About CYIOS Corporation

CYIOS Corporation is a publicly traded company focused on developing and marketing specialty branded products in the Health and Wellness markets, including the "DR's CHOICE" and "24" brand of products. The team has in-depth knowledge of the health and wellness markets, financial services industry, medical and health services, and blockchain. The Company looks to develop, distribute, and license proprietary products as well as evaluate potential acquisition opportunities. Further, the Company continues to seek and evaluate attractive business opportunities and to leverage its resources and expertise to build a diversified, sustainable business model. For more information, please visit www.cyioscorporation.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This release contains "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements also may be included in other publicly available documents issued by the Company and in oral statements made by our officers and representatives from time to time. These forward-looking statements are intended to provide management's current expectations or plans for our future operating and financial performance, based on assumptions currently believed to be valid. They can be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "goal," "seek," "believe," "project," "estimate," "expect," "strategy," "future," "likely," "may," "should," "would," "could," "will" & other words of similar meaning in connection with a discussion of future operating or financial performance. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, statements relating to future sales, earnings, cash flows, results of operations, uses of cash and other measures of financial performance. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company's actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include, among others such as, but not limited to economic conditions, changes in the laws or regulations, demand for products and services of the company, the effects of competition and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or represented in the forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking information provided in this release should be considered w/ these factors in mind. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this report.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/78567
The European Business Association (EBA) supports exclusively the judicial procedure for canceling special permits for subsoil use, Olga Boiko, the coordinator of the EBA Industrial Ecology and Sustainable Development Committee, has said.

"At a meeting on March 19, 2021, the NSDC decided to cancel special permits for the use of subsurface resources of 19 companies operating in Ukraine. At the same time, in the presidential decree, which enacts the NSDC decision, there are no legal grounds for such a decision," Boiko said in a comment to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

After analyzing the legal component of the issue, the EBA came to the conclusion that the issuance, refusal to issue, renewal and cancellation of permits for subsoil use, in accordance with Ukrainian legislation, is carried out by a preliminary court decision.

"In the opinion of business, the authorities should in every possible way contribute to the creation of transparent and equal rules for doing business in the country and promote the rule of law. It is very important that foreign investors are confident in the stability of the Ukrainian legal field. This is necessary to prevent a decrease in the inflow of investments, which are so necessary for the recovery of Ukraine after negative economic events caused, among other things, by COVID-19," she said.

"The association understands the challenges that our country faces and, at the same time, hopes that all decisions will have legal grounds," the EBA expert summed up.
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.
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.
Xiaomi's hosting a launch event on March 29 where the company is set to unveil its Mi 11 Pro and Mi 11 Ultra phones in China. However, it is now being reported that the company will be launching other phones as well at the event. While nothing is confirmed, there's a chance Xiaomi could launch the Mi 11 Lite 4G and Mi 11 Lite 5G too at the event. There's also the possibility that the company may launch the Mi Band 6 at the launch event. But the most interesting device reported to launch on the day will be the Mi Mix 4 Pro.

Reports coming from China reveal the device has been certified, hinting at the phone's imminent launch. The Mi Mix 4 Pro has been certified with model number M2011J18C, with the C suffix denoting that Xiaomi intends to release it in China. As per the listing, M2011J18C will come with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. For now, not too much is known about Xiaomi's first foldable smartphone. However, it is expected to feature Qualcomm's Snapdragon 888 SoC and a high-refresh-rate display.

Xiaomi foldable phone: Specifications

As per previous leaks, the foldable phone will use a display supplied by China Star Optoelectronics Technology (CSOT) -- a subsidiary of TCL. However, this information courtesy of popular tipster, Ross Young is in contrast with other reports that claim Xiaomi will use Samsung displays for its upcoming foldable phone. The Mi Mix 4 Pro is tipped to be an outward folding phone similar to that of the Huawei Mate XS. This phone will also reportedly comes with a cover display which will be 6.38-inches when folded.

This is also not the first time we are hearing about Xiaomi foldable phones from Ross Young. In fact, he has in the past claimed the company could release three foldable phones in 2021. No other information about the phones is available, or even the size of the phone. It is speculated that 2021 will be dominated by foldable phones, and it looks like Xiaomi wants to keep pace with other smartphone makers aiming to make the fold.
Members of an extended family in Kagukuni village, Maara Sub County, Tharaka Nithi County have been left homeless after a fire burnt down four residential houses and a shop.

The cause of the Tuesday evening fire is yet to be established but the owners' suspect that it could be a case of an electric fault.

Mr Miriti M'Rithaa, the father of the family, said that the fire started in one of the houses and quickly spread to the other houses as they were trying to put it off with the help of their neighbours.

He said title deeds, academic and birth certificates for his children are among the properties that have been reduced to ashes.

"No person has been injured by the fire but nothing has been salvaged from the four houses despite efforts by the residents," said Mr Miriti.

Miriti's wife, Lucy Karimi said she is worried that they are likely to spend the night in the cold with their children if no well-wishers will intervene.

She asked the government and individuals to support them with food and clothing noting that by the time they put off the fire, everything in the four houses had been completely consumed.

"We have been left empty-handed with no food, shelter or clothes" said Karimi.
A cyber-attack against the high street clothing retailer FatFace in January also put the bank details and National Insurance numbers of current and former employees at risk, This is Money can reveal.

The chain came under fire from customers yesterday after it took two months to inform them personal details including their name, email and physical addresses had been put at risk in a 'sophisticated criminal attack'.

However, we have discovered that employees of the retailer were told in a similar email yesterday that their bank account number, sort code and National Insurance number could have been accessed by unauthorised third parties in January.

This includes those who have been made redundant in the pandemic, including one ex-employee let go last summer who had an email telling them they'd had their bank details compromised in an extra kick in the teeth.

For sale, your details: FatFace admitted to employees on Wednesday their account number, sort code and National Insurance number could have been harvested by data thieves

The attack would put them at a significant risk of identity theft or even allow data thieves to set up direct debits to steal money from compromised accounts. However anyone who does lose money this way would be refunded.

FatFace failed to publicly disclose this on Wednesday when news of the breach came to light, saying in a statement only that 'some employment related information' had been accessed by third parties.

This is Money has asked the retailer, which has more than 200 UK stores, how many staff had this information put at risk and why it felt it was not necessary to mention this yesterday.

It said in a statement it was contacting 'a select number of employees, former employees and customers and providing appropriate guidance and support.'

The email from chief executive Liz Evans to a former member of staff was subject lined 'strictly private and confidential', the same as the message sent to customers, and asked the recipient to 'keep this email and the information included within it strictly private and confidential.'

It told the recipient: 'We are contacting you as one of our valued former employees to let you know about a recent security incident which involved some of our systems, including those that potentially held some information about you.'

Like the email sent to customers reported by This is Money yesterday it said the retailer had 'identified some suspicious activity within its IT systems' on 17 January.

After an investigation, Evans said an 'unauthorised third party had gained access to certain systems operated by us during a limited period of time earlier the same month.'

As well as the incredibly sensitive information, staff also had other personal details including names, addresses and partial payment information put at risk as a result of the cyber-attack, if they had bought items from the retailer, which specialises in outdoor wear.

Some customers on Twitter rounded on the company over the leak of their data and the fact it did not tell them for two months afterwards

Those who received the email from FatFace were told 'to remain vigilant to everyday phishing attempts including any risk of identity theft and fraud', check bank and card statements regularly and keep an eye on their credit files for any evidence that accounts had been opened by identity thieves in their name.

Affected shoppers were also offered a free 12-month subscription to the credit reference agency Experian's 'Identity Plus' service.

The services allows subscribers to have access to their credit report at any time for free and alerts them to any changes which are made to their report or if their details have been found on the 'dark web', where they could be sold on by criminals.

But customers rounded on the chain for not telling them about the leak of their personal data sooner.

The Information Commissioner's Office confirmed it had been notified, and under data protection rules firms should report a breach to it within 72 hours of becoming aware of it.

The retailer also received a raft of negative Trustpilot reviews when news of the cyber-attack became public

However, affected customers and staff have only been told their name, address, bank details and National Insurance number could have been harvested by criminals two months later.

One, Nicola Middleton, tweeted on Wednesday: 'As a long-running FatFace fan I am hugely disappointed at their mishandling of the January 2021 data breach.

'Not only was the email appallingly written, but their Twitter responses are clearly scripted copy and paste jobs - so unfriendly.'

Another, Moira, tweeted: 'It's a bit rich that FatFace wait two months to inform their "valued customers" of a serious data breach and tell us to keep the email and information included in it strictly private and confidential.'

There also seems to be little pattern to who has been affected, with shoppers who placed orders with it as recently as last December and as long ago as 26 months ago receiving the email on Wednesday.

This is Money also counted six one-star reviews left on the website Trustpilot on Wednesday, with customers complaining about their data being put at risk and the time taken to inform them about it.

FatFace said in a statement: 'We have been undertaking a thorough investigation into events with the assistance of numerous third-party experts.

'We wanted to get as much clarity on events and the data concerned before providing those involved with details of what has happened to ensure we knew what data may have been involved so we could support them properly.

'With incidents such as these it is important (and takes time) to get this right. We also notified the Information Commissioner's Office, police authorities (via Action Fraud) and the National Cyber Security Centre of the incident.'

We have also contacted the ICO to ask when companies should inform customers about data breaches.
Audio Attachment: Listen to Allotey Jacobs

Former Central Regional Chairman of the largest opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Bernard Allotey Jacobs has hurled javelin at the leadership of the party following their press statement that they have dismissed him from the party.



About two weeks ago, Allotey Jacobs announced to Ghanaians that he has dismissed himself from the party, although not officially informing the party national executives.



I no longer belong to the NDC . . . I know I have been suspended but I've dismissed myself. Im not going to join the NPP; I will never be an NPP member but I'm no longer with the NDC...", he said.



Allotey's self-dismisssal came with mixed feelings since he was already suspended by the party for what the party termed as "anti-party conduct".



NDC Sacks Allotey



On Tuesday, March 24, 2021, the National Democratic Congress, in a press statement signed by its General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia stated that it has sacked Allotey Jacobs from the party.



At our meeting on Wednesday 17th March 2021, the Functional Executive Committee of the NDC considered the report and recommendations of the Disciplinary Committee on the case or misconduct and anti-party behaviour brought against you Mr. Allotey Jacobs pursuant to articles 48(I) (b) and 8 (b) of the NDC Constitution.



The Committees report which is herein attached for your attention found you guilty of the said allegations of misconduct, anti-party conduct and recommended among other things your immediate expulsion from the party. The Functional Executive Committee acting in compliance of Article 48(1) of the NDC Constitution has unanimously adopted the report and accepts fully its recommendation for your expulsion from the party.



You are therefore by the decision of FEC, expelled from the National Democratic Congress and for that matter no more recognized as a member of the party and cannot carry yourself as such," the statement read.



The party also directed him to return any party property in his possession.



You are by this letter and pursuant to Article 48(10) directed to return any party properties that may be in your custody and shall forfeit any money, dues or subscription fees made to the Party.



NDC Mafias Exposing Themselves



Responding to the party's statement, Allotey Jacobs described the leaders as 'gangalees' and further added that their decision smacks of mischief.



"This is to expose themselves as 'ganglees'. They're exposing themselves. It's just to play a mischief. Because I announced on your noble platform that I have dismissed myself or sacked myself from the NDC, it was all over, newspapers, radio stations; a whole lot of interviews. That was two weeks ago; then, in their release, to the press or the media houses, they say they met on the 17th of March . . . so when they took a decision, made a recommendation to sack Allotey Jacob, it has taken them almost one week (to make it public)? You see there's mischief somewhere. It is all to stem the tide that is building up in the NDC. It is to stem the tide to assure their fanatic supporters around them that we have power," he fumed.





On whether the party's decision has lowered his spirit, Allotey Jacobs energitically said, "I'm not perturbed because the Founder of the NDC has passed away and his wife, who helped designed the logo or emblem of the NDC, they have maltreated her and she has left the party. So, who am I, Allotey Jacobs? I'm nobody. I'm just an ordinary man walking on the streets.''He disclosed the mischief behind the NDC dismissing him even though he had already sacked himself from the party weeks ago before the party arriving at their decision."They gave me a chance to write a letter and I said I won't. The whole accusation is based on me saying that we have a mature President in this country and then, we have good leader in the person of Nana Akufo-Addo, and also that I keep on praising Bawumia," he revealed.

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
Grovara, the largest B2B global marketplace for U.S. natural and organic brands, announced today the closing of a $5.5 million seed round financing to transform global commerce. David Pottruck led the round and was named Executive Chairman, and he was joined by SPINS, Bluestein Ventures, Spiral Sun Ventures, Siddhi Capital, CEAS Investments, and E and A Venture Capital LLC.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210324005746/en/

Grovara Co-Founders Abu Kamara, CEO (left), and Peter Groverman, CIO. (Photo by Brand Bridge Ltd.)

The new investment will be used to expand sales and support resources in key regions worldwide and appoint leadership for brands, sales, and business development. Grovara will also invest in additional supply chain team members, roll out marketing initiatives, develop global partnerships, and continue with product enhancements to its first-to-market technology platform.

We are happy to be joined by new investors and continue with some long-term partners who have helped us get to this point, says Grovara Co-Founder and now CEO Abu Kamara, who previously served as Grovaras President. Grovara is transforming global commerce for U.S. consumer brands with the first B2B global marketplace for U.S. natural and organic brands. When you lower barriers and simplify exporting to a marketplace, you create tremendous opportunities for brands and retailers to grow their business. It's a game-changer.

The bridge round comes at a time when the natural and organic food and beverage market and B2B ecommerce are surging. The global natural & organic products market is worth $327B with U.S. brands accounting for $110B, while a recent study of global B2B buyers found 87% of them are purchasing from online marketplaces.

For as challenging as the last year has been, it has greatly accelerated wellness and digital transformation. Our online B2B global marketplace is positioned perfectly to shepherd this growth and put the healthiest, highest-quality products in front of more retailers who previously did not have access, says Grovara Co-Founder Peter Groverman, who stepped away from his CEO role to fill the newly created Chief Innovation Officer position. With this funding round, we can accelerate the onboarding of brands and buyers in our ecosystem to discover, connect and grow their international business.

In 2020, Grovara launched its technology platform and despite the disruption related to the coronavirus pandemic, continued to grow its portfolio. In 2021, the company anticipates onboarding 200 new brands and 350 additional retailers.

Grovaras platform, built on a decade of exporting experience, brings access, visibility, and transparency to both brands and buyers via pricing, brand and market insights, and a modern B2C user experience for B2B business.

Nine out of 10 U.S. wellness brands do not export their products, primarily due to the complexities and risks of international business. Grovaras technology platform is built to manage the export lifecycle and provide wellness-focused, insights-driven data that accelerates growth and scale. Grovara connects major U.S. natural and organic brands like GTs Living Foods, Wholesome Sweeteners, Honey Stinger, True Citrus, and Thats It with key global retailers like Walmart Mexico, Cencosud, Whole Foods U.K., and Costco Taiwan.

My career has been focused on transformational technology and how consumers and businesses use it to create better outcomes, says Pottruck, former CEO of Charles Schwab. Its easy to see how Grovara is well-positioned for this moment with the best technology, the most authority, and industry-leading partners.

Grovara was recently named a finalist for the Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technology (PACT) Enterprise Awards, to be held on June 28, in the Technology Startup category.

ABOUT GROVARA: Grovara is the first B2B global marketplace for natural and organic brands. Grovara increases access to wellness products for global consumers with its proprietary technology platform that connects the most promising U.S. healthy consumer brands with vetted global retailers. With only 1 in 10 wellness brands selling overseas, Grovara enables exporting with visibility, transparency and an intuitive user experience, creating a pathway for dynamic growth potential for American manufacturers and added value for worldwide retailers. More information on Grovaras market-leading processes and partners can be found at www.grovara.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210324005746/en/
WHITEHALL, MI  The reemergence of a beached shipwreck, usually buried under sand, has onlookers flocking to the Lake Michigan shoreline.

Based on MLives drone footage, much of the schooners bow is exposed because of shifting beach sand. MLive documented the scene with a drone this week.

The remains of the Contest, a 124-foot schooner that grounded near White Lake in 1882, are visible again thanks to shifting beach sand and dropping Lake Michigan water levels.

The wreck is beached next to the south channel pier. The visible portion is the bow, which faces south.

Related: Wreck of the Contest re-emerges from Lake Michigan near Whitehall

The Contest was built in Buffalo, New York, in 1855 and hauled grain and lumber around lakes Michigan, Huron and Erie.

The shipwreck is just a short walk from the White River Light Station in Muskegon Countys Fruitland Township. The historic lighthouse was built in 1875 by Captain William Robinson.

The remains of the Contest, a 124-foot schooner that grounded near the White River Light Station in Fruitland Township in 1882, are visible again thanks to shifting beach sand and dropping Lake Michigan water levels on Tuesday, March 23, 2021. Cory Morse | MLive.com

The remains of the Contest, a 124-foot schooner that grounded near the White River Light Station in Fruitland Township in 1882, are visible again thanks to shifting beach sand and dropping Lake Michigan water levels on Tuesday, March 23, 2021. Cory Morse | MLive.com

The remains of the Contest, a 124-foot schooner that grounded near the White River Light Station in Fruitland Township in 1882, are visible again thanks to shifting beach sand and dropping Lake Michigan water levels on Tuesday, March 23, 2021. Cory Morse | MLive.com

23 Lake Michigan shipwreck re-emerges near Whitehall

More on MLive:

Go behind the scenes at John Ball Zoo as they take care of animals during the pandemic

July Fourth fireworks coming to Muskegon this year after all

Return of Muskegon Air Fair a goal of new airport management group
Will Spark build another data centre?

Every few years, an incumbent faces an existential threat to its business model. For Sparks IT and Managed Services division (formerly known as Gen-i), in the early 2010s it was the governments move to set up an infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) panel and leave them off it. The telco solved that problem by buying a company that did make it onto the panel, Revera (now merged with its CCL brand), in 2013, and it built a data centre in Takanini a year later to cement its position.

Now the threat is from the cloud hyperscalersAWS, Google, and Microsoft Azure. Obviously, Spark cant buy any of those, so its done the next best thingmade friends with them. At an investor presentation outlining the divisions three-year strategy, senior directors emphasised that Sparks role in enterprise IT is to be New Zealands leading agnostic cloud custodian, bring the best of private and public cloud together.

[ Keep up on the latest thought leadership, insights, how-to, and analysis on IT through Computerworlds newsletters. ]

IT and Managed Services accounts for a third of Sparks revenue, and a third of its network investment. The division aspires to between 5% and 10% growth over the next three years, and whether it hits the top of the range mostly depends on public cloud, as Spark finance director Stefan Knight explains: The biggest trend in the market will be the growth in public cloud. And that will obviously have an impact on pricing of our IaaS service. Thats where we will see the biggest change in trend potential, he says.

Knight cites Gartner research that shows 80% of enterprises globally will migrate entirely away from on-premises digital storage, moving to colocation or cloud. If that holds true for New Zealand, the market here is in for a big shiftKnight says only about 25% to 30% of Kiwi organisations have made the move to cloud.

IDC research last year showed that Spark and Datacom have been holding their own until now. Together they account for 43% of the overall New Zealand IaaS market share, while from a public cloud perspective Amazon Web Services has 23%, followed by Microsoft at 19%, and Google at 1% market share.

IDC analyst Prabhitha Dcruz told Computerworld New Zealand last year: IaaS is a highly competitive market, and global hyperscalers often account for close to 70% to 80% of the IaaS market share in most countries across [the Asia-Pacific region]. New Zealand, however, bucks the trend, reflecting that local IaaS providers are still in demand in New Zealand.

So how can Spark hold its position? Especially now that Microsoft and CDC are entering the local market. Will it invest in another data centre to keep up?

Knight batted away questions on this topic from financial analysts at the investor presentation, referring to companys current infrastructure review, whose results will be announced in August 2021. But he did say he thinks public cloud will grow faster than private cloud and that pricing will be key to maintaining customers. He was also quick to note that while competition might lower pricing, more volume can mean revenues arent as adversely affected.

Over time, you will see increasing [data centre] capacity coming to the New Zealand market. I guess the question is How much of it needs to be onshore versus offshore? and clearly there are bigger markets offshore. We see a large potential still for onshore, so I think there will be additional capacity come in. Were at 75% to 80% committed-to-date [data centre capacity], so thats some of the things well need to look at going forwardwhat is the optimal mix for using our own data centre facilities versus partnering with others.

Spark estimates the market size for cloud in New Zealand is revenue of about $730 million, of which it currently has about 31% revenue share.

IT strategy and skills key to staying employed

Understanding the investment strategies of the big providerslocal and globalis critical for career-minded IT professionals. Thats according to Inland Revenue deputy director Greg James, who is on the home stretch of the organisations massive transformation project. In common with many government IT projects these days, he sought out off-the-shelf solutions from companies such as Oracle and Fast Enterprises when completely rebuilding the nations tax system.

If I was crystal-ball gazing, I think that theyd be a move away from bespoke development as more and more commercial products are generated. So understanding market direction, understanding the strategy in the investments of some of the big players and some of the core technologies they use can really help people, he says.

James was reflecting on how IT professionals can stay employable in an environment of rapid change. The Inland Revenue project is a case in pointit is the process of moving all its products off its Cobol mainframe called First and onto an entirely new system called Start. During that transition he says theyve offered the Cobol developers the opportunity to retrain.

He says the most sought-after skills on the project have been at the process, analyst level, and at the architectural level. People that can broker or facilitate or translate the business requirements from the business, from the expertise that sits in the business through to those more technical resources that sit in the back of the partner channel.
Public health authorities in Montreal announced March 18 that they were launching a targeted vaccination campaign to inoculate the parents of school children in the neighbourhoods hardest hit by the more infectious and deadly COVID-19 variants.

Teachers at Montreals Westmount High School staged a protest Jan. 18 against the Quebec governments reckless school reopening policy. (Photo Credit: Robert Green)

A response to the major role that open schools are playing in the transmission of COVID-19, the health authorities action underscores the threat in-class instruction represents to communities. It is yet a further refutation of the dishonest and lying propaganda used by politicians across Canada and internationally to keep schools open as the pandemic continues to ragea policy that is dictated by the profit interests of big business.

Twenty-five schools in Cote-St-Luc, Cote Des Neiges, and Snowdon, where up to 26 percent of new cases are linked to the B.1.1.7 variant first identified in the UK, were selected for the pilot project. When the authorities first presented details of the initiative, they outrageously excluded teachers and other education staff from the planned vaccination campaign.

While the Quebec government continues to downplay the size and significance of school COVID-19 outbreaks, local officials were forced to acknowledge that parents are contracting the virus from their children, who had been infected at school. Montreals Director of Public Health, Mylene Drouin, remarked, What weve learned is that we have a pattern of transmission that has started from daycare and schools to households and after that to [other] settings, [in the] workplace or community.

This basic fact was proven months ago by scientific studies. A study conducted by Universite de Montreal researcher Simona Bignami last fall demonstrated that the citys schools played a major role in unleashing Canadas deadly second wave of the pandemic, which claimed well over 10,000 lives across the country. But politicians and media outlets in Canada, the US and Europe have repeatedly denied the role of schools as major vectors for the pandemic in order to justify the return to in-person learning. This was seen as necessary so that parents could be freed from child care responsibilities and sent back to work to churn out profits for big business.

Showing the authorities total indifference to the lives of teachers and education workers, Drouin initially announced that they would not be part of the pilot-project vaccination campaign. She added, in vaguely worded language, that their possible inclusion at a future date was being evaluated.

Less than 24 hours later, Drouin was forced to reverse her position and announce that teachers would be allowed to participate in the program. This was solely due to a wave of public outrage in response to the pilot project, with community members and people across Quebec taking to social media to denounce the exclusion of teachers.

It is all but certain that senior figures within Quebecs right-wing Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) government intervened to call for the inclusion of teachers in the project for fear that the burgeoning protest movement would raise broader demands, including vaccinations for all education staff and the closure of schools. Premier Francois Legault and his CAQ government have been vociferous proponents of herd immunity, i.e., allowing the virus to spread freely, since last spring. But government ministers were clearly watching the public anger with mounting nervousness and concern. Provincial Education Minister Jean-Francois Roberge took the unusual step of commenting via Twitter on a project that was ostensibly being run by local health authorities, stating, If parents are being vaccinated then so should school personnel.

The immense public support for vaccinating teachers reveals the widespread understanding in the population that schools are dangerous, and teachers are risking their lives due to the homicidal policies of the ruling elite. It is a slap in the face to all those, including within the trade union bureaucracy, who tell teachers not to wage a struggle for safe working conditions and the closure of schools because they lack popular support.

But the decision by the Montreal authorities to include teachers in the pilot project has merely underlined the complete inability of the capitalist ruling class to organize a rational and effective response to the pandemic. Teachers at one of the most impacted schools remain excluded from the pilot project, prompting a change.org petition to demand its inclusion. Schools just outside the postal codes of the worst-affected areas, such as Merton School on Robinson Ave. in Cote-St-Luc and Edinburgh School on Hudson Ave. in Montreal West, also remain excluded. Given the sluggish and shambolic character of Canadas vaccine rollout, teachers outside of these Montreal districts will not be receiving a vaccine anytime soon.

A teacher from one of the affected schools who wished to remain anonymous told the World Socialist Web Site, Learning that teachers were excluded didnt make any sense. We are a small school with elementary and high school students under one roof, with siblings in different cycles. If one child tests positive, the implications for multiple class bubbles are huge because multiple classes are impacted. I teach 7 groups. When I had to isolate with my own children due to my child being exposed to a positive teacher with the variant, all of my groups were impacted.

Teachers are the first domino to fall in a larger chain. Being excluded from the pilot vaccination project was a slap in the face and a blatant disregard for the risk we, as teachers, take on a daily basis and have taken since the start of this pandemic.

She continued, I was on calls with my union until 10pm for the past two days, thinking of what we could do to change the minds of Public Healtheverything from walkouts to picketing was discussed.

Underscoring the extremely dangerous working conditions faced by teachers in Quebec and across Canada, members of the Quebec Professional Association of Teachers (QPAT), which represents educators in Montreals English-language schools, received COVID variant directives via email that included advice not to drink or eat anything on school grounds. They stated that sharing a socially distanced space with a colleague for 15 minutes unmasked would result in a moderate COVID risk, if one teacher was positive with the variant. This moderate risk would require isolation and testing for teachers and their families. Students have not been given these directives and continue to eat unmasked in their classrooms.

Not a single voice from the political establishment or trade union bureaucracy has dared raise the most obvious and urgent demand under these dangerous conditions: that schools be immediately closed to in-person learning with full wages paid to all parents so they can shelter at home with their kids until the pandemic is brought under control.

This comes as no surprise. Since last spring, the role of the education unions in Quebec and across Canada has been to suppress all opposition among teachers to the reopening of schools and provide arguments on how they can be reopened safely. One example of this is the role of QPAT. Seizing on the media coverage in Quebec given to English-language school boards, which were portrayed as opponents of Premier Legaults reckless school reopening policy because they purchased air purifiers for classrooms, QPAT endorsed the reopening of schools after the Christmas break.

The only organization of educators that is advancing a science-based response to the pandemic that places the lives of teachers, students, and their families ahead of corporate profit is the Cross-Canada Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee. It demands that all schools be closed immediately to in-person learning, that nonessential production be shuttered, and that all workers and parents receive full compensation for the duration of the pandemic. The committee urges all teachers and their supporters in Montreal and across Canada who agree with this program to join its Facebook page and email cersc-csppb@gmail.com to attend the next committee meeting on Sunday, March 28, at 1pm eastern time.
The central bank chief also said that the RBI is committed to using all policy tools to support the economic recovery while preserving price stability and financial stability. (PTI file photo)

Mumbai: Underlining the need for innovation in the financial sector for effective service delivery, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on Thursday called for effective regulation that should help innovation in the fintech space and not suffocate it.

Effective regulation is a priority for the Reserve Bank, and regulation should not constrain innovation in the fintech space, the governor said at Times Network India Economic Conclave.

The governor also said that maintaining banking sector health with strong capital base and ethics-driven governance remains a policy priority.

Underlining the huge role that technology and innovation played in serving the consumers better and faster, Das said the RBI processed 274 crore digital transactions to provide direct benefit transfer to people, most of which happened during the pandemic.

"Since RTGS, which along with NEFT has been made round the clock now, has multi-currency capabilities, there is scope taking it beyond our shores," the governor said.

Despite its official opposition to the private crypto currencies, Das said the central bank is assessing financial stability concerns as it works on way ahead for central bank digital currency.

The central bank chief also said that the RBI is committed to using all policy tools to support the economic recovery while preserving price stability and financial stability.

Admitting that the spike in new pandemic infections is a matter of concern, Das, however, said the nation is equipped with additional insurances this time to tackle the afflictions.
For many young girls, a quinceanera is a rite of passage as they step into womanhood. Quinceaneras, a cultural celebration in many Latin American countries, are often held with more than 300 family members and friends, and can cost up to $20,000. In the past year, many Chicago-area Latino households postponed, canceled or held smaller events because of statewide restrictions on large gatherings. Para leer en espanol, haga clic aqui.
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.
Minersville

Mountaineer Hose Company, Third and South streets, will have its last Lenten sale of baked/unbaked pizzas from 2:30 to 6 p.m. Friday. To order, or for information about pricing and toppings, call 570-544-9622.

Port Carbon

Goodwill Fire Company, 88 Washington St., will have a bleenie sale from 2 to 6 p.m. April 2. To order in advance, or for more information, call 570-640-6786.

Pottsville

The Lifelong Learning Center, 2221 W. Market St., is offering a free 12-hour course to help people prepare to pass the TEAS college pre-admission exam. Programs are scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday and the same time April 9. For more information, call Jammie at 570-628-5761.

Shenandoah

The annual Shenandoah Kielbasi Festival has been rescheduled for 2021, according to the DSI Herald newsletter of the revitalization group Downtown Shenandoah Inc. The event now is on tap for 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 21 due to state COVID-19 pandemic outdoor festival attendance restrictions. For more information, call 570-462-2060 or go to www.downtownshenandoah.com.

Sheppton

The Sheppton-Oneida Volunteer Fire Company is selling lottery calendars for April. The cost is $5 and proceeds benefit the truck fund. For tickets, see any member or call 570-384-4746.

Sheppton

The American Legion Post 616 Auxiliary will have an Easter egg giveaway at 2 p.m. Sunday. It will be a drive-thru-only event for children up to age 12 and be held at the Legion post.
A businessman, Sylvanus Ukpong, has sued telecommunication giant, MTN, for barring his line.

Mr Ukpong, in the writ of summons filed at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja,on March 12, 2021, noted that MTN, by its action, blocked him from accessing partners and potential customers.

In the court documents exclusively obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, the claimant told the court that his Civil Construction and Agro-Allied Company based in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, relied largely on telephone calls to stay in touch with business partners and solve business-related challenges.

He said the action of the network provider, had therefore, cost him millions of naira in the last four months.

He prayed for, among others, in his suit, an order directing the defendant, MTN, to unblock his line with immediate effect.

He also urged the court to award general damages of N50 million in his favour and against MTN, and another N5 million to cover for filing and prosecution of the suit.

How it happened

He stated he had been using the MTN postpaid line 0803-746-6663 since 2008 and, was enjoying his solemn relationship with the network provider until early November 2020 when he was barred from making calls.

He was initially paying up to N100,000 as his monthly call credit to MTN Nigeria, and later reduced it N40,000, Mr Ukpong said while recalling his long-standing patronage of the network provider.

But he said in early November 2020, he was barred from making calls over an alleged N31,560 airtime bill incurred in October, a bill he said had been off-set by his recharge card vendor, Ime Esema, whom he made electronic bank transfer to.

He said, prior to the incident, he had submitted a type-written letter to the MTN Nigeria branch office at 40, Ikot Ekpene Road, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, requesting that his line 0803-746-6663 be migrated from postpaid to prepaid.

He said his request was rejected on the grounds of the companys claim that it could only accept handwritten letters.

On that same October 15, 2020, I submitted a hand-written letter to the MTN office, but they also rejected the letter, saying that there was no internet network for them to process my request.

On November 2, 2020, at 6.37p.m., I received the following text message from MTN, Dear Customer, your Oct 2020 bill is N31,560. Please pay on or before Nov. 5, 2020 to keep enjoying our services. Thank you.

On November 3, 2020, I recharged my MTN line 0803-746-6663 with N15,000 and on November 4, 2020, I recharged the line again with N30,000, thereby bringing my total recharge to N45,000. I expected this amount (N45,000) to clear up my N31,560 and for the MTN line to be left with N13,440 to enable the process of the migration from postpaid to prepaid, the claimant stated.

Mr Ukpong said his letter requesting migration from postpaid to prepaid was accepted later but not granted.

He added that his follow-up call to the MTN customer care line 180 at 7.36 a.m. on November 5, 2020, yielded no result, as the official who answered the call told him that there is nothing we can do here, you have to go to the Uyo office before hanging up on him.

According to him, this was followed by a call from another official of the company who introduced himself as his account officer and persuaded him not to migrate from postpaid to prepaid.

But I insisted that I needed to migrate the line for proper management of my personal finances. He promised that the matter was going to be treated that same day, he added.

ADVERTISEMENT

Line barred

Mr Ukpong said he realised his line had been barred two hours after speaking with the MTN official.

Two hours after speaking with the MTN official on November 6, 2020, I noticed that I was unable to make calls with my MTN line 0803-746-66630. I was able to receive calls, however. It was obvious to me then that my line had been barred by MTN.

I immediately called the MTN customer care line 180 to make a fresh complaint that I have been barred from making calls. The official who picked the call told me that I was indebted to MTN and that was why they barred me from making calls.

I explained to her that my October bill from MTN was N31,560 and that I had recharged the line with N45,000 vouchers which was enough to clear the bill, she then said it must have been a technical error and that it would be corrected between 15 to 24 hours. I told her that my business was going to be so negatively affected if I could not make calls for that length of time, Mr Ukpong explained to PREMIUM TIMES

He said all his efforts to get MTN to resolve what its official called technical error had been futile while his businesses had continued to suffer many losses.

I have sent two emails to MTN requesting that they should furnish me with information regarding how much I have recharged my line between November 1 to November 6, 2020, but up till now MTN is yet to respond to it, he said.

Line unbarred

Mr Ukpong said he engaged the services of two law firms, who equally wrote to the defendant on the subject, but got no response from the telecom company.

MTN, in its first reaction to PREMIUM TIMES through its spokesperson, Funsho Aina, last Saturday, asked this reporter to send an email through the official channel.

Mr Aina acknowledged the email and promised to review and revert ASAP but there has been no official reaction from MTN so far.

In another interview with this reporter on Tuesday morning, Mr Ukpong said his barred line had been unbarred, a development which reportedly came two days after this newspaper reached out to MTN and chronicled the complainants struggle to get the latter to do the needful.

This reporter again reached out to Mr Aina on whether MTN was willing to compensate the complainant or not.

Responding, Mr Aina said the company was still in talks with the complainant.

Did he also tell you that he can now use his line? So, we are making progress. We have made progress from what we used to have and we are still having series of conversations with him.

This thing is building blocks, Mr Aina said.
Apple has told the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) that developers have multiple ways to reach iOS users and are not limited to just using the App Store.

The ACCC is currently investigating Apple for using the App Stores dominant position to limit competition. In its latest filing, the company has rejected the characterisation Commissions of the Apple App Store as the most dominant app marketplace by a large margin.

It notes that it faces competition from alternative distribution sources within the iOS ecosystem, including developer websites.

Even if a user only owns iOS-based devices, distribution is far from limited to the Apple App Store because developers have multiple alternative channels to reach that user. The whole web is available to them, and iOS devices have unrestricted and uncontrolled access to it. One common approach is for users to purchase and consume digital content or services on a website.

Apple also says that the Google Play Store and Samsungs Galaxy Store also compete directly with the App Store, with even other app stores like Steam, Microsoft Store being its competitors.

Apple also defended its 30% commission for IAPs and on sale of apps and games. The company said that other platforms also charge a similar commission to developers, with some of them also charging a service fee for payments on top of their commissions.

Our Take

I am not exactly sure how Apple can claim that developer websites are an alternative to the App Store. The company does not allow for side-loading of iOS apps on the iPhone or iPad from third-party sources for this.

Also, Apple claiming that services accessed through the web browser on the iPhone are an alternative to the App Store is baseless since web apps have many limitations and cannot use native system APIs. As for Google Play Store and Galaxy Store being an alternative to the App Store, none of them allow one to install apps on their iPhone.
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.
In the everyday hustle of working online, the fonts we use in documents and emails aren't given a second thought.

But your favourite font could speak volumes about your personality, according to a UK-based psychologist.

Researchers at Cartridgesave.co.uk surveyed 2,468 participants who were asked about the font they use the most within digital documents and discourse.

They then partnered with Psychologist and Wellbeing Consultant Lee Chambers, who analysed the data and revealed the traits most closely associated with each font type.

So, from Century Gothic, Arial to Calibri, what does your go-to style really say about you?

ARIAL

According to Lee, Arial users 'appreciate simplicity and stability and are likely to be reliable even in a crisis.' Pictured, stock image

The most popular font in the UK is Arial, with 53% of the nation opting for the neat type. So, why is this font so popular?

Lee Chambers explains: 'Arial users appreciate simplicity and stability and are likely to be reliable even in a crisis.'

'At the same time, they are not likely to let their imagination run loose too often. Because Arial is everywhere, people who use it are likely to feel like they want to fit in and not stand out from the crowd.'

PAPRIKA

According to psychologist and Wellbeing Consultant Lee, Paprika users are 'willing to be courageous and make a statement.'

With just 5% of the nation choosing this type of font, it's by no means the most popular - but that doesn't mean it's not telling of its users.

'They are flexible and creative,' says Lee. 'They're easily excited but the most likely to be late for a meeting.'

'Its users are likely to be kind and friendly as an expressive font, and it strikes a balance between silly and serious.'

CALIBRI

The second most popular font in the UK is Calibri, with users valuing efficiency and trust in the default,' according to Lee. Pictured, stock image

The second most popular font in the UK is Calibri, with an impressive 38% of respondents saying they use this font almost every day.

'Calibri users value efficiency and trust in the default,' explains Lee. 'They are likely to be less bothered by what others think.

'They may be a little boring, or a bit lazy, or not enjoy expressing themselves as individuals.'

'With Calibri now being popular, its a very safe and universal choice, and its users are highly unlikely to take risks in life.'

COMFORTAA

Comfortaa may not be a font name that springs to mind, but it's still the go-to font for 12% of the nation.

'Comfortaa users have an appreciation for shapes and are likely to enjoy time in nature,' explains Lee.

He goes on to explain how users of this font are not ones to confirm to the more traditional.

'They are likely to be blazing a trail outside of their comfort zones, despite the suggestion of the font they have chosen,' he says. 'Often referred to as a cute font, the whole typeface feels very rounded, and this conveys an individual who is also likely to be an all-rounder, rather than a specialist.'

TIMES NEW ROMAN

People who choose Times New Roman as their font of choice as 'conformist, polite and practical,' according to Lee. Pictured, stock image

With 31% of the nation having Times New Roman has their font of choice, expert Lee describes its users as 'conformist, polite and practical.'

He continues: 'They will also appreciate the nostalgia and be reflective of the past, and dont like change or evolution.'

'However, as Times New Roman has started to disappear, it could suggest that a more straightforward and slower pace of life is preferable for users when compared to an increasingly dynamic and fast-paced society.'

GEORGIA

Those who opt for Georgia as their go-to font of choice are 'practical and likely to be mature,' Lee says. Pictured, stock image

A respectable 25% of the UK have made Georgia their go-to font of choice when it comes to work.

According to Lee, this font type is particularly telling of its users, who are 'practical and likely to be mature.'

He adds that they tend to value elements of formality and elegance and are also likely to be 'honest and convey credibility.'

'As a font, it is undoubtedly aspirational, and this will no doubt shine through in those who use it. And those with an eye for style will value how it gracefully flows when we see it.'

BAHNSCHRIFT

According to Lee, Bahnschrift users are 'clinical by nature.' Pictured, stock image

The Psychologist and Wellbeing Consultant explains that Bahnschrift users are 'clinical by nature.'

Taking first place for 21% of the UK, he goes on to say that Bahnschrift fans 'appreciate clarity' and as a result, do not appreciate things being 'overly complex.'

He adds: 'It is likely they are tidy and don't enjoy clutter or chaos. Because it is such a new font, those who use it are on the cutting edge, making a statement about the benefits of being agile, and are likely fans of the minimalism movement.'

LATO

With 14% of the nation prioritising Lato over any other front, Lee describes its users as 'modern' who 'embrace change without trying too hard.'

He goes on to say they are likely to know their own mind and are able to express themselves in an 'assured way.'

He adds: 'They tend not to be the most innovative but show glimpses of flair in their everyday lives.'

'With Lato becoming mainstream, it has a rounded warmth with undertones of stability, signalling a user with a blended personality.'

CENTURY GOTHIC

Lee explains that Century Gothic users are likely to be 'happy and sincere by nature.' Pictured, stock image

Century Gothic is the font of choice of 19% of the population.

'Such users are likely to be happy and sincere by nature,' explains Lee. 'Sticking to a font that doesn't vary too much from standard, but having a hint of personal expression in their choice.'

'Those who use it are likely to enjoy learning, as its clean design is often used in educational settings.'

ABRIL FATFACE

Abril Fatface is used by just 7% of the nation, with users often as bold as the font they utilise, according to Lee.

He adds: 'There is a high chance they will be assertive, direct and ambitious, but are unlikely to be the best listener or the most empathetic.'

'As a font that takes cues from classic styles, it demands a certain gravitas and presence, and those who use it are likely to want to appear sophisticated.'
Science, technology, engineering, and maths need to be at the heart of our economy. Image: Shutterstock

Australia needs to focus on science, technology, and innovation during the post-pandemic economic recovery, according to Shadow Science Minister and Deputy Opposition Leader Richard Marles.

In a speech to the National Press Club on Wednesday, Marles implored citizens to embrace a STEM-heavy education system to drive the future high-tech economy.

"Australia is being presented with the most significant chance to re-imagine our future that we have had since the end of World War II," he said.

"And this is a moment that we simply have to grasp."

To Marles, there is an "unwritten contract" in Australia that each generation passes on "a better deal than we inherited".

But he warns Australia's reliance on exporting resources, which ranks us poorly in terms of economic complexity, does not bode well for the next generation in a world of global innovation.

"Where lies modernity lies prosperity," Marles said. "Depending on how you see it, modernity might lie in Seoul or Munich, perhaps Shanghai or Taipei. In another sense it might be Silicon Valley or Tel Aviv.

"But nowadays no-one is claiming that it is here. And the gap between Australia and the cutting edge of modernity is growing."

Marles echoed the sentiment of CSIRO CEO Larry Marshall who last year called for industry and government to "double down" on local science, technology, and innovation.

A CSIRO report on Australia's COVID-19 recovery noted how the pandemic created years' worth of digital adoption for business and consumers in a few months.

But in order to fully take advantage of the way COVID-19 accelerated digital adoption, the CSIRO says our leaders in business and government need to take advantage of opportunities in data and automation while preparing for the billion dollar quantum computing industry which is poised to usher a new era of science and technology.

Failing our kids

Unfortunately, Australian children appear nonplussed by the prospect of a career in IT professions and are falling in international rankings when it comes to maths and science scores.

"On the sheer numbers, and on performance, we are failing our kids, and so failing their future," Marles said in his Press Club speech.

"In the last decade, the proportion of Year 12 students studying a maths subjects has gone down, not up. Only half of our high school students are studying a science subject in their final year of school.

"Less than a third are studying an ICT subject."

At the heart of our low testing rates in science and mathematics, according to Marles, is a culture that ignores the scientific marvels happening in this country on a daily basis.

Speaking to a room of journalists in Canberra, Marles waxed lyrical about the Square Kilometre Array space project in Western Australia, referring to it as one of the largest scientific endeavours in history

"The worlds smartest people are working on it  and that includes plenty of Australians," Marles said.

"Indeed this is happening here in Australia. And who knows about the Square Kilometre Array project?

"And who among you have reported on it or on the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex?

"This is our Apollo. And barely anyone has heard of it."

Marles wants to change Australia's cultural relationship with science and believes Labor is the party to do that.

Science is currently male-dominated with men being paid more and given greater opportunity for career advancement than their female counterparts.

The government has fronted up nearly $25 million to create STEM apprenticeships for women.

It has also made announcements about investing $1.5 billion for local manufacturing while dropping the the cost of IT degrees and other university STEM courses  at the expense of subjects in the humanities.
Construction projects for the relocation of close to 5,000 Marines and about 1,500 family members from Okinawa to Guam are on track even with the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the military's Joint Region Marianas.

"Although three construction projects were briefly paused for two weeks in late 2020 to prevent the potential spread of the virus, the pause did not affect the overall progress of the projects," Joint Region stated on Thursday.

The development of the Marine Corps base, named in honor of the late Brig. Gen. Vicente "Ben" Blaz, the first CHamoru Marine to reach the rank of general, has reached certain milestones:

 The project to clear the main base in Dededo's Finegayan area and install utilities infrastructure, roads and the perimeter fence is 85% complete.

 Projects are underway to construct three barracks facilities.

 The base administration building and the central fuel station have been awarded and have commenced.

 The first of two projects at the Mason Live Fire Training Range Complex is 75% complete. This project provides four ranges, including a known distance rifle and pistol range, as well as the access road and utilities infrastructure to support the entire range complex.

 The second project, the multi-purpose machine gun range, is expected to be awarded in 2021.

The Marines' relocation is part of the agreement between the U.S. and Japan to reduce the presence of U.S. troops in Okinawa and relocate them to Guam, Hawaii and elsewhere.

Japan is paying $3 billion of the $8 billion relocation cost.

"The Defense Policy Review Initiative plan of record is in full execution and on track to support (the Department of Defense's) agreements with the government of Japan. Per agreements, the Marine Corps is committed to commencing the relocation of approximately 5,000 Marines to Guam by the end of the first half of the 2020s," Joint Region stated.

"Less than 1,500 family members are expected to arrive in Guam during the relocation. The arrival of personnel will be staggered, and the rate of the force flow will be based on the pace of construction of facilities to support those forces."

Approximately 800 jobs available to civilians are expected to be created. Job opportunities will be available to those who meet the specific criteria and requirements for the position, according to Joint Region.

Guam infrastructure upgrades funded by the Defense Department include roadway improvements, water and wastewater infrastructure improvements, and the modernization of Guam's commercial port.

"Additionally, the DOD has facilitated a $12 million grant for the construction of the future Guam Cultural Repository. This facility will serve as a key resource for ongoing research, education and interpretive activities by and for the people of Guam, and will also enhance outreach and tourism activities as visitors come to know and appreciate the history of the CHamoru people in Guam and throughout the region," the military stated.
A container ship blocking the Suez Canal like a "beached whale" created a new setback for global trade on Thursday as officials stopped all ships entering the channel and the salvage company said it may take weeks to free.

The 400 m (430 yard) Ever Given, almost as long as the Empire State Building is high, is blocking transit in both directions through one of the world's busiest shipping channels for oil and grain and other trade linking Asia and Europe.

The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said eight tugs were working to move the vessel, which got stuck diagonally across the single-lane southern stretch of the canal on Tuesday morning amid high winds and a dust storm.

"We can't exclude it might take weeks, depending on the situation," Peter Berdowski, CEO of Dutch company Boskalis which is trying to free the ship, told the Dutch television programme "Nieuwsuur".

A total of 156 large container ships, tankers carrying oil and gas, and bulk vessels hauling grain have backed up at either end of the canal, Egypt's Leith Agencies said, creating one of the worst shipping jams seen for years.

The blockage comes on top of the disruption to world trade already caused in the past year by COVID-19, with trade volumes hit by high rates of ship cancellations, shortages of containers and slower handling speeds at ports.

The SCA, which had allowed some vessels to enter the canal in the hope the blockage could be cleared, said it had temporarily suspended all traffic on Thursday. Shipping giant Maersk said in a customer advisory it had seven vessels affected.

Berdowski said the ship's bow and stern had been lifted up against either side of the canal.

"It is like an enormous beached whale. It's an enormous weight on the sand. We might have to work with a combination of reducing the weight by removing containers, oil and water from the ship, tug boats and dredging of sand."

Roughly 30% of the world's shipping container volume transits through the 193 km (120 miles) Suez Canal daily, and about 12% of total global trade of all goods.

Shipping experts say that if the blockage is not cleared in the coming days, some shipping may re-route around Africa, which would add roughly a week to the journey.

"Every port in Western Europe is going to feel this," Leon Willems, a spokesman for Rotterdam Port, Europe's largest, said. "We hope for both companies and consumers that it will be resolved soon. When these ships do arrive in Europe, there will inevitably be longer waiting times."

Consultancy Wood Mackenzie said the biggest impact was on container shipping, but there were also a total of 16 laden crude and product oil tankers due to sail through the canal and now delayed.

The tankers were carrying 870,000 tonnes of crude and 670,000 tonnes of clean oil products such as gasoline, naphtha and diesel, it said.

According to oil analytics firm Vortexa, Russia and Saudi Arabia are the top two exporters of oil through the canal, while India and China are the main importers.

Joanna Konings, senior economist, International Trade Analysis at Dutch bank ING, said the impact on the world economy would be limited if it did not drag on since the container shipping industry was used to days of delays.

But Germany's BDI industry association was concerned. Deputy Managing Director Holger Loesch said earlier delays were already impacting production, with industries depending on raw materials or construction supply deliveries particularly affected.

About 16% of Germany's chemicals imports arrive by ship via the Suez canal and the chief economist for the association of German chemicals and pharmaceuticals producers VCI, Henrik Meincke, said they would be affected with every day of blockage.

Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM), the technical manager of Ever Given, said dredgers were working to clear sand and mud from around the blocked vessel while tugboats in conjunction with Ever Given's winches work to shift it.

Japanese shipowner Shoei Kisen apologised for the incident and said work on freeing the ship, which was heading to Europe from China, "has been extremely difficult" and it was not clear when the vessel would float again.

The owner and insurers face claims totalling millions of dollars even if the ship is refloated quickly, industry sources said on Wednesday. Shoei Kisen said the hull insurer of the group is MS&AD Insurance Group while the liability insurer is UK P&I Club.

The ship's GPS signal shows only minor changes to its position over the past 24 hours.

Two professional rescue teams from the Netherlands and Japan will work with local authorities to design a more effective plan to refloat the vessel, the company leasing it, Taiwan's Evergreen Marine Corp said.

Reporting by Yusri Mohamed in Isamilia, Gavin Maguire and Florence Tan in Singapore; additional reporting by Bart Meijer in Amsterdam, Yuka Obayashi and Sakura Murakami in Tokyo, Mark John, Julia Payne, Carolyn Cohn and Jonathan Saul in London, Anthony Deutsch in Amsterdam, Michael Hogan in Hamburg and Rene Wagner; editing by Robert Birsel, Aidan Lewis and Philippa Fletcher.

Also read: Regulation should not curb innovation in fintech sector: Shaktikanta Das

Also read: RBI discussing bank privatisation issue with govt: Shaktikanta Das
WASHINGTON  President Biden said on Wednesday that Vice President Kamala Harris would lead the administrations efforts to deter migration to the southwestern border by working to improve conditions in Central America, plunging her into one of the most politically fraught issues facing the White House.

The president said he had directed Ms. Harris to oversee the administrations plans to pump billions of dollars into the ravaged economies of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. She will work with the leaders of Central American governments to bolster the regions economy in the hopes of reducing the violence and poverty that often drive families in those countries to seek refuge in the United States.

While we are clear that people should not come to the border now, we also understand that we will enforce the law, Ms. Harris said before a White House meeting with top immigration officials. We also  because we can chew gum and walk at the same time  must address the root causes that cause people to make the trek.

The announcement underscores the sense of urgency at the border, where the administration has struggled to move thousands of young migrants from detention centers meant for adults into shelters managed by the Department of Health and Human Services. Republicans, who have seized on the images to make a case that Mr. Bidens immigration agenda is only attracting more people from the region, have vowed to put the issue at the center of their efforts to retake power in Congress next year.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP)  A Florida police officer shot a 6-year-old pit bull that approached her as she and another officer investigated a case of suspicious activity at an apartment complex, authorities said.

Rachel Robledo called Tampa police to report seeing someone holding a gun on the balcony of a nearby apartment on St. Patrick's Day, news outlets reported.

Police officers who responded to the call couldn't locate the suspect, so they decided to speak to Robledo, officials said.

The bodycam footage taken from the officers shows the woman holding back a pit bull as they approached. But the dog, named Nala, ended up leaving Robledo's apartment and approaching the officers. One officer shot the dog two times, police said.

The dog is recovering, following surgery, news outlets reported.

She went right to the gun to shoot my dog, Robledo told WFTS. She could have done pepper spray, she could have done anything else.

After the shooting, the Tampa Professional Standards Bureau, which conducts internal investigations, said the officer "took immediate action to keep herself safe, according to WFLA. The Bureau investigates each time an officer fires their weapon.

There wasnt time for a taser or negotiating. It was either shoot or get mauled and get attacked, Danny Alvarez, a spokesperson for Tampa Police Benevolent Association, told WFLA.

Robledo's neighbors told WFTS that Nala is loving and kind and questioned why an officer's first reaction was to shoot her. They've also created a GoFundMe to help Robledo pay for Nala's veterinary bills. According to WFTS, Robledo wants police to help with the medical costs as well as take accountability for the incident.
There were dramatic scenes in Naas yesterday when a fire broke out a matter of feet away from motor fuel storage tanks.

A car was destroyed in a blaze at a service station on the outskirts of the town.

It happened in the courtyard area of the Applegreen filling station on Naas Millennium Road - close to the Kerry Group plant - at around 4.30pm.

Its understood the vehicle - a 2012 registered Mercedes - was on fire before it arrived at the service station.

The aftermath of the fire

Read more County Kildare news

Its believed to be owned by a Dublin man, who was en route to Sallins at the time.

He heard a heard a loud noise coming from the vehicle and was flagged down by a bystander and alerted to the presence of flames

Applegreen site manager David OBrien said he saw the vehicle arrive.

The car was on fire so in accordance with protocol we switched off all of the fuel pumps immediately. The man parked the car away from the pumps and we cordoned the area and alerted the fire station. There was never any danger. We tackled the fire with fire extinguishers and the firefighters arrived within ten minutes and extinguished the blaze. It was too late to save the car and the man was a little upset because he had the car from new, but there were no injuries, said Mr OBrien.

Its believed the driver is unaware of the cause of the fire.

Two fire engines along with a jeep put out the blaze quickly and a garda also attended.

The filling station is one of three run by Applegreen in Naas and the newest of them to open.

It began operating less than two years ago.

The 400 square metre floor area development has a retail sales area of 100 square metres and a restaurant seating area of 107 square metres - along with 41 car park spaces, bicycle spaces and six fuel pump stands, including two stands to cater for trucks and heavy goods vehicles.
Government reliance on the manual entrance of COVID-19 data into basic software has caused data errors and civilian confusion across the globe. The U.K. used a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet to track COVID casesuntil the high caseload became too large for the software to handle. The maxed-out file stopped loading cases into the governments system and left more than 15,000 cases behind in the national count. As a result, exposed people were not contact-traced and quarantined, causing an additional 125,000 infections and an estimated 1,500 deaths. One employees misstep in Ohioprevented 4,000 COVID deaths from being reported in the states system. The newest entry to the COVID count glitch list comes from Spain.

Advertisement

On March 10, a respected peer-reviewed medical journal, the Lancet, published Spains child COVID mortality rate as around two to four times that of the U.S., U.K., Italy, Germany, France, and South Korea. The paper said that 54 children (defined as below 19) had died of COVID in the small country, making Spains reported death rates a staggering 4.9 percent for kids aged 10-19which is at least 2.92 percentage points higher than other country in the report.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Right after the Lancet paper was published, Pere Soler, a pediatrician at hospital in Catalonia, started getting calls. Concerned reporters were trying to reach him for comment. The first question that I received was, Have you been lying to us?  Soler says. He and other prominent pediatricians around the country had been in close contact with a circle of reporters throughout the pandemic, keeping them updated on child COVID research and school reopenings. This high of a child mortality rate did not add up with the numbers doctors had been seeing and feeding to the media.

Advertisement

As a re-examination of the information would soon reveal, in reality, only seven children had died of COVID. (The Lancet data has since been corrected.)

Even though I didnt know what the problem was, I knew it wasnt the right data, Soler realized once he got his hands on the Lancet paper. Our data is not worse than other countries. I would say it is even better, he says. Pediatricians across the nation contacted Spains main research institutes, as well as hospitals and regional governments. Eventually, they discovered that the national government somehow misreported the data. Its hard to pinpoint exactly what went wrong, but Soler says the main issue is that patient deaths for those over 100 were recorded as children. He believes that the system couldnt record three-digit numbers, and so instead registered them as one-digit. For example, a 102-year-old was registered as a 2-year-old in the system. Soler notes that not all centenarian deaths were misreported as children, but at least 47 were. This inflated the child mortality rate so much, Soler explains, because the number of children who had died was so small. Any tiny mistake causes a huge change in the data.

Advertisement

Advertisement

The Spanish national medias report on the Lancet papera week after its initial publicationframed the data as erroneous and reflected the correct numbers for Spain. This prevented public uproarand tempered any potential storm of terrified parents. But even though numbers can be corrected with relative ease, it is important for government data to be accurate, as John Farmer, the chief technology officer for New York City, explained to Slate. In the 21st century, good tech and good data are necessary for good policy. Thats the core of it, he said. So I think thats why its so important that all of us who do work in government really take a fine-tooth comb to the systems were using, and to the data that were producing, to make sure that it really does make sense.

Advertisement

Since computers were invented by humans, he notes, they also sometimes make human errors. When computers make mistakes, then, its up to the people behind the machine to question and problem solve. When our when our technology systems give us answers that dont make sense or seem out of line, its on us to ask why and not just accept the data. Too often, people shrug their shoulders and say, Well, thats what the computer says.  The swift action doctors and media took to sniff out the suspicious numbers in Spain and work to correct them is a model of how data should be interrogated.

Advertisement

Spains software error is also an example of what can happen when technology is built without the future in mind. Whats key is when we build a technology system, we need to build it for the long term, Farmer says. He drew the comparison between digit-based software error in Spain and the Y2K bug, when, as 99 rolled into 2000, computer programmers feared their systems would register the new millenniums dates as 1900. That just emphasizes how important is to think ahead. You cant assume that what youre building is only going to be used for five years or 10 years, Farmer said. Even if we humans lack foresight, we need our software to be prepared for whatever next comes our wayglobal pandemics and all.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
(Alliance News) - UK-based corporate watchdog RAID on Thursday claimed it had further evidence that guards employed by Petra Diamonds Ltd at its Williamson diamond mine in Tanzania have caused "serious harm" to local residents shot on the company's concession.

In total, RAID has found evidence of 10 killings and 50 injuries of local residents by security personnel, with the most recent assault occurring in late December 2020.

Williamson mine is 75% owned by Petra and 25% by the Tanzanian government.

Tanzanian private security firm Zenith Security Services Ltd has been the security contractor at Williamson mine since 2011.

Zenith was issued with metal projectiles, rather than rubber, according to RAID, in contrast to what senior management said was its policy.

In February, Petra said: "In the three months from November 2020 through January 2021 there have been 79 recorded incursions onto the special mining licence area, involving approximately 1,091 illegal diggers. In the majority of cases (60 of the 79 incidents), no force was used despite the illegal diggers becoming aggressive in 8 of those 60 incidents.

"In 19 of these incidents, reasonable force was required to remove or disperse the illegal diggers from the SML or for the security patrol teams to defend themselves. Live ammunition was only discharged on one occasion during November 2020, when the Tanzanian Police fired one live warning round in the air to disperse a group of illegal diggers."

In the 19 incidents where force was required, nine members of the security patrol team were injured, Petra said.

"[It] is not true that Zenith was only authorised to use rubber bullets. We used other bullets as well," said a former Zenith security guard to RAID, in RAID's release on Thursday.

He explained, RAID said, that guards replaced the rubber projectiles with "small, round metal" pellets or shot, such as "for the bearing of bicycles, so that when they fire, they spread... [which] helps them hit as many people as possible."

In Petra's release in February, the diamond miner said the "illegal diggers" were armed with slingshots and rocks.

In a letter to RAID on Tuesday, Petra said it would address the questions raised about the use of metal projectiles and the deliberate modification of ammunition as part of its public feedback on an internal investigation into the allegations of human rights abuses.

"According to the guard, Zenith supervisors were aware of the practice of swapping out rubber for metal projectiles," RAID said Thursday.

"Many of those injured and killed by the Zenith guards were taken to the mine-owned and operated Mwadui hospital, which sits inside the concession, raising questions as to how the company's management could have been unaware of the use of metal projectiles. In one case, an individual shot with metal pellets told RAID that he was visited by the mine's Chief Security Officer while at the Mwadui hospital and that X-ray images of the injuries were taken by the mineas hospital staff," RAID said.

Petra said in February that a sub-committee has been set up to oversee the investigation "being carried out by a specialist external advisor in conjunction with the company's lawyers".

In September last year, Petra said that UK-based law firm Leigh Day had filed claims in the High Court of England and Wales against Petra on behalf of 32 anonymous individuals in relation to alleged breaches of human rights at the Williamson mine, arising from the mineas security operations.

On Thursday afternoon, the company said: "As previously stated, Petra takes the allegations of human rights abuses at the Williamson mine extremely seriously. Petra has committed to provide feedback on the investigation being carried out by an external advisor, in conjunction with our legal advisors; the scope of this investigation already includes the allegations mentioned by RAID in their report."

Petra provided links to its previous responses to the allegations, ultimately offering no new information.

Petra declined to comment further on the issue when contacted by Alliance News.

The information uncovered by RAID is part of an ongoing investigation into human rights abuses at the Williamson Mine since UK-listed company Petra Diamonds took ownership in 2009.

Petra shares were up 2.1% at 1.44 pence each in London on Thursday.

By Greg Roxburgh; gregroxburgh@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
By Sarah Wu and Nichola Saminather

TORONTO (Reuters) - As China imposed a sweeping national security law in Hong Kong last year after massive protests, residents of the city moved tens of billions of dollars across the globe to Canada, where thousands are hoping to forge a new future.

Capital flows out of Hong Kong banks reaching Canada rose to their highest levels on record last year, with about C$43.6 billion ($34.8 billion) in electronic funds transfers (EFT) recorded by FINTRAC, Canada's anti-money laundering agency, which receives reports on transfers above C$10,000.

The previously unreported outflows, the highest since 2012 when the earliest FINTRAC records are available, are the first evidence of a significant flight of capital overseas from the Asian financial hub following the security turmoil.

One Canadian lender, Equitable Bank, also told Reuters it had seen a surge in deposits from Hong Kong just after the new law was introduced in June 2020. Critics say the law was aimed at stifling dissent, an allegation denied by Beijing which says it was needed to strengthen national security.

The Hong Kong government has said the city has not seen significant capital outflows since the anti-government unrest first began in 2019, when a now-shelved bill that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China was proposed.

The record transfers, up 46% from 2016 and up 10% from 2019, came in a year when Hong Kong police froze the accounts of several people linked to pro-democracy protests, triggering concern among some residents about asset safety.

The outflows represent only 1.9% of Hong Kong's total bank deposits in 2020. But, at the same time, the FINTRAC data captures only a fraction of total legal inflows into the Canadian economy because many transactions are not included, such as transfers via cryptocurrencies, between financial institutions, or under C$10,000, said spokesman Darren Gibb.

The agency has seen a steady increase in overall EFT reporting, consistent with global trends, he said.

Story continues

And it's not just money.

Reuters interviewed a dozen immigration consultants, lawyers, and real estate brokers who provided a window into how many Hong Kong residents are eager to start a new life in Canada and bring with them millions of dollars, once pandemic-induced travel restrictions end.

Canadian visa applications from Hong Kong, excluding visitors' visas, rose 10% to 8,121 in 2020, indicating further capital flows from the city are likely. Britain and Australia are expected to be other favored destinations for Hong Kong residents.

Andrew Lo, chief executive of immigration consultancy Anlex in Hong Kong, is looking to expand into wealth management services in Canada, which he believes will be "a booming market for new immigrants, especially from Hong Kong."

Lo said he helped around 36 families emigrate to Canada in the past 12 months, each bringing C$1.5 million on average.

(For graphic on financial transfers to Canada by Hong Kong residents - https://graphics.reuters.com/HONGKONG-SECURITY/CANADA2/yxmvjwyeopr/index.html)

HONG KONG INFLOWS SWELL

Despite the cash leaving Hong Kong, it continues to receive inflows on a net basis, with total deposits growing by 5.4% in 2020 to HK$14.5 trillion ($1.9 trillion), according to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

"As an international financial center (IFC), Hong Kong handles capital inflows and outflows which arise from all sorts of needs on a regular basis," a central bank spokeswoman told Reuters in response to the questions about outflows to Canada.

"This is just normal in keeping with the nature and function of an IFC."

Robust cash flows from mainland China via the Stock Connect initiative and strong demand for some of Hong Kong's initial public offerings (IPOs) last year have helped capital inflows into Hong Kong, analysts and bankers have said.

Canada is a second home for many Hong Kong residents after their families moved to the Vancouver and Toronto areas ahead of the British handover of its former colony to China in 1997. After obtaining Canadian citizenship, many returned to Hong Kong, which is now home to about 300,000 Canadians - one of the largest Canadian communities abroad.

But following the 2020 security law, more Hong Kong residents want to make their home in Canada, which took steps https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/2020/11/canada-announces-immigration-measures-supporting-hong-kong-residents-and-canadians-in-hong-kong.html late last year to make it easier for them to obtain work permits and permanent residency, according to immigration consultants and lawyers.

The residents cite eroding rights and freedoms, and a better education for their children as reasons for their choice, and many are selling their Hong Kong properties and bringing their money with them, they said.

Political developments have prompted people to consider what will happen if things decline, and to look at Canada as an option, said Canadian immigration attorney Evelyn Ackah. "Right now, it's just an option. I don't see a mass exodus. It's people looking around, saying 'can I be somewhere else if I need to?'"

(For graphic on Canada visa applications from Hong Kong - https://graphics.reuters.com/HONGKONG-SECURITY/CANADA/xegvbgeldpq/index.html)

'MORE THAN A SPIKE'

Even as departures are delayed by travel restrictions and slower immigration processing times, some have already begun moving money into Canadian accounts, according to immigration experts.

Toronto-based Equitable Bank has seen a "remarkable increase" in balances in existing accounts linked to Hong Kong phone numbers, said Mahima Poddar, group head of personal banking.

Average balances in these accounts were up 30% between June and mid-March, versus a 4% rise in accounts with non-Hong Kong phone numbers.

The country's large banks either didn't respond to requests for, or declined to comment on, any influxes from Hong Kong.

Jean-Francois Harvey, a Canadian lawyer based in Hong Kong who specializes in immigration for high-net-worth individuals, has seen a five-fold increase in clients seeking to move to Canada since mid-2020. His clients have transferred at least C$1 million and, more commonly, between C$5 million and C$10 million in the last 12 months.

"There's been an incredible increase in demand especially for Canada in Hong Kong, so much that in the middle of COVID-19, I had to double the team and the size of the office in Hong Kong," said Harvey, worldwide managing partner for Harvey Law Group.

"This is more than a spike. This is a wave."

Hong Kong-based attorney Clifford Ng, who himself immigrated to Canada in 1975 and returned to Hong Kong in 1995, said he has seen a four-fold increase in inquiries about the tax implications of moving to Canada.

Canada is not the only destination expected to see inflows from Hong Kong as residents look to leave, though.

Britain's government expects that as many as 321,600 Hong Kong residents will migrate there over the next five years, with almost half of those in 2021. Based on this, Bank of America said in January it expects emigration-related outflows to reach HK$280 billion ($36.1 billion) this year.

RACE FOR REAL ESTATE

Some of the money coming into Canada is likely to flow into real estate, property consultants said.

In the first 10 weeks of 2021, Hong Kong hosted nearly a third more exhibitions of new-build properties by Canadian developers than in the same period in 2019, according to data from Eli McGeever, vice president of international property at Soho App.

Exhibitions in 2020 were affected by Hong Kong's first wave of COVID-19 lockdowns.

Alisha Ma, founder of immigration consultancy Halcyon Counsel, said Hong Kong families are looking at properties in Toronto and Vancouver, but waiting until they obtain permanent residency to avoid foreign buyers' taxes.

Keelan Chapman, founder of the Canadian Real Estate Investment Centre (HK), said he has seen a noticeable increase in buyers looking for larger properties in good school areas for eventual self-use, rather than solely for investment.

He said many of his clients, most of whom are Hong Kong residents with Canadian passports, have accelerated timelines for returning to Canada to around five years on average, from around eight years previously.

"There's no rush to move back to Canada tomorrow," he said. "It's more of a long picture view."

($1 = 1.2546 Canadian dollars; $1 = 7.7669 Hong Kong dollars)

(Reporting By Sarah Wu and Nichola Saminather; Additional reporting by Alun John in Hong Kong; Editing by Denny Thomas and Pravin Char)


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.
Mar. 25A Republican lawmaker on the Legislature's Taxation Committee is facing criticism after he attended a committee meeting using a Zoom video conferencing backdrop that features a reference to convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein.

Rep. Bruce Bickford, R-Auburn, appeared in the committee's online meeting by video Wednesday with a background screen showing a sign that reads in part, "Harvey Weinstein Charm School . . . Center." A portion of the sign's message is blocked by Bickford's head.

Bickford left the meeting in less than 15 seconds, and when he returned several minutes later, the background image had been changed to lake scenery.

"It was a total mistake and as soon as I realized it, I took it down, "Bickford said in an interview Thursday. "It never should have been in a public setting." Bickford also issued a written apology later Thursday.

Thursday's incident was at least the second time Bickford used the background during a public legislative meeting. The same background appeared in a March 2 meeting of the committee, and more of the sign is visible. It reads: "Harvey Weinstein Charm School Rehab Center." At that meeting, Bickford changed the background after about nine seconds.

Harvey Weinstein is a former Hollywood producer who is serving prison time for rape convictions in New York after more than 80 women made allegations they were sexually assaulted by Weinstein. His case is largely credited with launching the powerful #MeToo campaign against sexual abuse, harassment and exploitation of women.

Bickford said the photo in the background was of a sign in California.

He said the sign was only meant to be shown in private settings. When asked if he thought the sign was funny, Bickford said, "In a private setting with the proper people, yes."

Bickford said Rep. Mo Terry, D-Gorham, the House chair of the committee, contacted him Wednesday night and he told her the same thing. "It has no place in public, it was meant to be in a private setting."

Story continues

Bickford also apologized in writing.

"I apologize for the screen image that briefly appeared behind me during a recent committee meeting conducted over Zoom," he wrote. "It was inappropriate and in poor taste. I sincerely regret the event and will ensure that it does not happen again. Please accept my apology."

Jenna Howard, a spokeswoman for House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford, said the Legislature's Human Resources Department was made aware of Bickford's background photo and was looking into whether it was a violation of the Legislature's policy on harassment.

"Harvey Weinstein hurt innumerable women," Fecteau said in a prepared statement. "To make light of violence against women, in any setting, is completely wrong and deeply inappropriate."

Bickford was also rebuked by Democratic leaders at a meeting Thursday of the Legislative Council, which includes the Legislature's presiding officers and the elected leaders of the House and Senate minority and majority caucuses.

Senate Majority Leader Eloise Vitelli, D-Arrowsic, called on the Legislature's Human Resources director to review the Legislature's harassment prevention policy and its mandatory training requirements for all lawmakers. Vitelli called the background displayed by Bickford "offensive and disturbing."

"This backdrop made light of the many offenses committed by convicted and infamous sex offender Harvey Weinstein. It is extremely concerning to me that despite our policies and the hard work that's gone into developing trainings for members of the Legislature, that a member of our branch clearly does not understand and appreciate the message his background sends to fellow legislators, the hard-working staff and members of the public."

Vitelli said the fact that the incident occurred during Women's History Month and on Equal Pay Day made it "that much more painful."

Assistant Senate Majority Leader Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick, echoed Vitelli's concerns, noting that lawmakers are "the leaders of our state."

"I guarantee you there are some young women who are waiting to see how we respond to this," Daughtry said. "Joking about sexual violence or someone who is a convicted serial rapist has no place in any space."

House Minority Leader Kathleen Dillingham, R-Oxford, had declined comment on the issue earlier, saying simply Bickford had apologized. She also said she was disappointed the Legislative Council was being used as platform to punish Bickford by publicly shaming him when a human resources investigation was already underway.

But Dillingham also said when it came to Bickford's behavior, "I don't have any excuses, nor will I make any for them."
Construction workers at a vacation rental property unearthed a human skull  then more bones, Washington officials said.

A person on an excavator at The Lookout in Chelan looked around and saw an upper arm, shin bone, lower jaw and small rib fragments, the Chelan County Coroners Office said in a news release.

Officials determined that the remains belonged to a Native American after examining the skull, according to the county coroner. Guy Tasa, the states physical anthropologist, was informed of the discovery and sent letters to local tribes about the remains.

A representative from the Colville Tribe and the coroner met at the site and discussed the situation, the coroner said in the news release. Tasa and his assistant walked the area and were able to locate several other skeletal pieces to include a rib, an ankle bone, a finger bone, and the sacrum and tailbone.

The site will be investigated by an archaeologist and is now an active Native American excavation site, the coroner said.

When the investigation is completed, all of the skeletal remains will be placed in a cedar box and interred at the small cemetery on property that belongs to the Wapato Tribe, the coroner said. Any remains or Native American artifacts found are to be turned over to local law enforcement, the Coroner, or the proper representative from the Colville tribe.
TORONTO - The Ontario budget's promise of $2.8 billion for improved broadband internet and cellular service in underserved areas has raised the hopes for many rural cities, towns and counties that are outside the province's major urban areas.

Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy arrives in the Ontario Legislature in Toronto with Premier Doug Ford to deliver the Provincial Budget on Wednesday March 24, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

TORONTO - The Ontario budget's promise of $2.8 billion for improved broadband internet and cellular service in underserved areas has raised the hopes for many rural cities, towns and counties that are outside the province's major urban areas.

Debbie Robinson, chair of the Eastern Ontario Wardens Caucus, said Thursday that her region has applied for between $1.2 billion and $1.6 billion from various sources to connect homes, businesses and schools to ultrafast internet in places that have little or no connection at this time.

"We're looking at contributions of $200 million from the federal government and same for the provincial government," Robinson said in a phone interview from Renfrew county, west of Ottawa, where she is based.

Robinson said the region is ready to make use of the money because it began working on its Gig Project long before the pandemic hit last year, forcing many families to work and study from home as part of public health efforts to combat the COVID-19 virus.

"We need the funding from the province and the feds. And if we get that funding  you know, sooner rather than later  I would say probably by this time next year, we'll be able to make an announcement that better broadband is coming to Eastern Ontario."

That's in addition to roughly $300 million announced last week for a public-private project to improve cellular phone and wireless data service in the same region. About half that funding will come from Rogers, which will upgrade and build hundreds of cellphone towers for the region, and the other half is from the federal, provincial and local governments.

The Ford government's 2021 budget, the first delivered by Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy, says the COVID-19 pandemic increased awareness that many rural and sparsely populated areas needed access to faster, more reliable networks for homes, schools and businesses.

It estimates that as many as 700,000 households in Ontario don't have acceptable broadband service through wireless connections and fibre optic cables.

The budget forecasts 52,000 households will benefit from the spending this year but the pace will speed up next year, so that a total of 700,000 more households have access to reliable broadband by 2025.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2021.
KOLKATA: A video of BJP state president Dilip Ghosh apparently suggesting West Bengal Chief Minister should wear bermuda shorts to display her injured leg has triggered controversy with the ruling TMC slamming it as a "distasteful comment" and women expressing outrage over the remark in social media.

While no one was named in the purported speech by Dilip Ghosh, known for his controversial comments in the past, most believe that it was directed at Banerjee.

In the video, the veracity of which could not be confirmed, Ghosh was seen saying at an election meeting in Purulia on Monday that after the cast was taken off and the foot was bandaged, she is displaying the leg to everyone.

"....She is wearing saree with one leg covered but kept another kept open for viewing. Haven't seen anyone draping a saree in such a way. If she has to display her leg for viewing, she can very well wear bermuda shorts. That will help to have a better view," the BJP MP was purportedly heard saying.

Sharply reacting to the purported comment by the BJP leader, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) said in a Twitter post in Bengali, "We can expect such distasteful comments only from Dilip Ghosh. His deplorable comments about a woman chief minister proves Bengal BJP leaders don't know how to show respect to women.

"Mothers and sisters of Bengal will give a befitting reply to such insults to Mamata Banerjee on May 2," the party said.

Trinamool Congress MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar said in a tweet, "It now appears that the role of @BJP4Bengal State President has been merely reduced to that of venom-spitting. From scathing attacks towards the CM of Bengal to violence towards @AITCofficial workers - he has conveniently crossed all limits. Shocking words, once again!"

It now appears that the role of @BJP4Bengal State President has been merely reduced to that of venom-spitting. From scathing attacks towards the CM of Bengal to violence towards @AITCofficial workers - he has conveniently crossed all limits. Shocking words, once again! pic.twitter.com/cBolkvpJvF  Dr. KakoliGDastidar (@kakoligdastidar) March 24, 2021

TMC MP Mahua Moitra's tweet on Dilip Ghosh's remark said, "@BJP WB Pres asks in the public meeting why Mamatadi is wearing a saree, she should be wearing Bermuda shorts to display her leg better. And these perverted ... (people) think they are going to win Bengal

@BJP WB Pres asks in public meeting why Mamatadi is wearing a saree, she should be wearing Bermuda shorts to display her leg better And these perverted depraved monkeys think they are going to win Bengal?  Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) March 24, 2021

BJP spokesperson Shamik Bhattacharya, however, said that there was no need to create a controversy over the remark.

"I think such comments should not be taken seriously. The chief minister makes many intemperate remarks against the BJP and our leaders at public meetings. Dilip Ghosh is a generous person. Even if he made such a comment at a rally, it has to be kept in mind that many things are said at election meetings which should not be always considered seriously.

"Ghosh has great respect for the chief minister. So no controversy should be created," Bhattacharya said. Ghosh, who was campaigning in Purulia district on Tuesday, has not commented on the row so far.

The BJP state president has earlier been in the midst of controversies for his comments which ranged from claims that `desi' (Indian) cows milk have gold content to demands that Balakot-like surgical strikes be carried out on Jadavpur university to drive out communists.

His purported comment triggered protests on Facebook too with some women expressing outrage.

The Chief Minister sustained injuries on her left leg, hip, forearm, neck and shoulder at an incident in Nandigram soon after filing her nomination papers on March 10.

She had alleged that the BJP hatched a conspiracy to prevent her from campaigning by organising an attack, a charge denied by the saffron camp.

The Election Commission had concluded that the chief minister had suffered injuries following an accident, due to a security lapse.

Live TV
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.
Many readers were clear on what needed to happen from here. Gee: 3 words: Pay It Back. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Carpe Diem 1990: Take it back. Then ATO does a full tax audit on the entity to ensure the clawback is honest. Then a tax audit on the individual board members and any legal entity obtaining bonuses or options. A tax honesty-led recovery. ross: Why cant government legislate to get the money back? Surely it would not be difficult to draft and would be universally supported.

Gregoire: Let the Auditor-General in to do a review ASAP. And publish a list of recipients. There should be accountability. Loading Wilson: As well as publishing a list, the government should pursue the amounts with an interest charged on the amount unfairly claimed and the cost of recovery paid for by the offending businesses. Daisy Day: Just think what a difference this money would make to people trying to survive on below-the-poverty-line Centrelink payments. There is enough money to give people who dont have work an amount that allows them to live with some element of dignity, but not if it is siphoned off into the pockets of those who already have more than enough. Powell says its easy to see why articles such as his elicit such a strong response.

No one likes to see the rich getting richer, especially when their profits appear to have been aided by a taxpayer-funded program such as JobKeeper, he says. Many would also observe the dissonance of billionaires increasing their personal wealth during a time when many lost their jobs or even lost loved ones due to COVID-19. He points to reader comments that compared the treatment of welfare recipients via robo-debt to the treatment of corporates on JobKeeper. Many viewed it as a double standard, with commenter Snowy River suggesting a robo-debt for corporations could be introduced, Powell said. As it stands, I think it would be unlikely for the government to introduce a plan to claw back any of the JobKeeper funds given to businesses.

However, if Treasurys investigation into the scheme, set to begin when it ends, was to find that a significant amount of that money went to profitable entities then there may be enough pressure to force the government to take action. Some readers said consumers should vote with their wallets against profitable companies who chose to keep payments. Credit:Gillianne Tedder Readers highlighted what they saw as obvious flaws in the design of JobKeeper. uMM: It would have been very easy to add a clawback mechanism in JobKeeper based on profit. I wonder if the public service suggested it to the government. FOI request anyone? Davidv: How dumb to design a system where you couldn't stop it or get it back once x number was triggered. 

OriginalBaz: Allowing companies to claim based on their own estimates without a follow-up adjustment was ridiculous. Other governments factored that into their systems but it was obviously beyond the capability of our government. A tiny bit of prudence would have saved many millions of dollars. Elwood: I would like to know the numbers for how many people received extra money because JobKeeper was more than their usual salary. gail clifton agreed: Yes, it would be interesting to learn how many casual workers got paid a full-time salary....absolutely ridiculous. Gadget: Just wait until JobKeeper ends. Those companies that made a killing from online sales will let go a tonne of staff and pump the online option now people have adapted. What was a general trend will become a mass shift which will be disastrous for casuals. Working from home will increasingly be the norm so city hospitality will collapse, not relocate. Then when the newly unemployed masses need support, the cookie jar will be empty and the leaners demonising will start again. Other readers were more forgiving, arguing that the extraordinary circumstances of a global pandemic and resulting lockdowns required swift action.

Wheres the Balance: Yes, maybe they should have spent 6-10 months designing the program, and costing the economy more than the figures being talked about here! It had to be quick and they succeeded. John: Jobkeeper was by necessity designed with simple criteria available to existing employers in order to prevent massive layoffs, ending those employment relationships and killing businesses (and businesses that relied on them). Companies were not to know their profits would increase and would have had to go by expectations at the time, which were dismal. SherNev: If the federal government could predict how the economy was going to react over the last 12 months they would be in the stock market in a flash. Thankfully they went with payment to all and lets sort it out after. Already a small percentage of companies that did well have paid back the JobKeeper money they were awarded. Silent Majority: People need to remember that Jobkeeper needed to be rolled out quickly, needed to be simple and needed to be able to be administered using existing systems. Of course there will be some anomalies at the edges. The government did a great job getting this support out to the Australian people, it has saved hundreds of thousands of livelihoods, or more. Alpals: It happens on both sides of politics if you have a memory ... Pink Batts anyone ??????
VILLANOVA, Pa.Villanova University President, the Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, PhD, has announced the appointment of Kathleen J. Byrnes, JD, as Vice President for Student Life, effective April 1, 2021. As Vice President, Byrnes will oversee the Universitys Division of Student Life, providing overall leadership, management and direction for a wide-range of student-related areas on campus, including health and counseling services, residence life, student involvement, intercultural affairs, fraternity and sorority life, international student services and disability services. Byrnes succeeds the Rev. John P. Stack, OSA, who is retiring after 50 years of service to the University.

Byrnes brings 30 years of experience to her new role, having been involved in all aspects of the undergraduate student experience during her Villanova tenure, most recently as Associate Vice President for Student Life. Her responsibilities have included the oversight of numerous Student Life departments and initiatives, including student organizations, student services and leadership programs, among others. She also co-founded and has remained closely involved in Villanovas learning communities as well as coordinating Villanovas Safe Zone, a training program that provides support for the LGBTQIA+ community at Villanova and educational opportunities for all community members.

While Kathys professional experience and contributions to Villanova University speak for themselves, it is her genuine care and concern for students that make her ideally suited to this position, said Father Donohue. While a candid, fierce and tireless advocate for students, it is her unassuming and often unknown acts of support for Villanova students, faculty and staff that truly sets her apart. It is clear she is passionate about helping shape the Villanova experience.

I am humbled by the opportunity to serve Villanova University and our students in this new capacity, said Byrnes. Villanova has shaped the person Ive becomeboth during my own college years and more recently as a professional. I will do my utmost to serve and meet the evolving needs of our students in ways that will allow each member to flourish.

Byrnes contributions to Villanova extend well beyond the area of student life. She has been a member of numerous University-wide initiatives around parent engagement, sustainability, compliance and ethics, and the Universitys accreditation. She also served as the chair of the presidential inauguration committee for Father Donohues inauguration in 2006. Byrnes has been an integral part of Villanovas sexual assault prevention efforts since the early 1990s and served as the Universitys Sexual Harassment Complaint Officer from 1993 to 2020. She was also central in the creation of the Sexual Assault Resource Coordinator team and many of Villanovas Title IX policies. Additionally, Byrnes has served as an instructor at Villanova, teaching on several topics including law, leadership and Title IX.

A Villanova alumna, Byrnes earned a bachelors degree in Psychology and Honors in 1982, and a masters degree in Theology in 2006. She also received a juris doctorate from Duke University School of Law and practiced corporate litigation with firms in Washington, DC, and Philadelphia. In 1989, she returned to Villanova as an instructor at Villanova Law School and two years later joined the Office for Student Life.

About Villanova University: Since 1842, Villanova Universitys Augustinian Catholic intellectual tradition has been the cornerstone of an academic community in which students learn to think critically, act compassionately and succeed while serving others. There are more than 10,000 undergraduate, graduate and law students in the University's six collegesthe College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Villanova School of Business, the College of Engineering, the M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing, the College of Professional Studies and the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. Ranked among the nations top universities, Villanova supports its students intellectual growth and prepares them to become ethical leaders who create positive change everywhere life takes them. For more, visit www.villanova.edu.
press release

We welcome the announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa today that Mr Cecyl Esau will be granted a Special Provincial Funeral.

I wrote to the President yesterday after receiving a request for a special funeral from Mr Esau's family.

According to the policy for state funerals, Category 2 Special Provincial Funerals may be held for "distinguished persons specifically designated by the President of South Africa on request by the Premier of a province".

Mr Esau's funeral will take place in Worcester on Saturday. As part of the funeral arrangements, the South African Police Service will provide ceremonial elements, and the flag will be flown at half- mast in the province on the day. Mr Esau was a son of the Western Cape, who was born in Worcester, attended the University of the Western Cape and who fought for freedom in our country. The announcement by the President will ensure that we can aptly honour his memory and his contribution to the Western Cape and to South Africa as a whole.
Zara and Mike Tindall are celebrating the birth of their baby son Lucas  who was born at home on the bathroom floor.

The Queens granddaughter Zara and former England rugby player Mike Tindall welcomed their third child, weighing 8lbs 4oz, on Sunday March 21.

The couple have named their baby boy Lucas Philip Tindall  with Philip in honour of both Mr Tindalls father as well as Zaras grandfather the Duke of Edinburgh.

Expand Close Zara Tindall with her daughter Lena, pictured in 2019 (Steve Parsons/PA) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Zara Tindall with her daughter Lena, pictured in 2019 (Steve Parsons/PA)

Mr Tindall said the royal baby  the Queen and Philips 10th great-grandchild  was born on the bathroom floor after the couple were unable to make it to hospital.

Arrived very quickly. Didnt make it to hospital. On the bathroom floor, he said on The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast.

Read More

He described how he rushed to get a mat for his wife.

So yeah, it was running to the gym, get a mat, get into the bathroom, get the mat on the floor, towels down, brace, brace, brace.

The babys birth at 6pm on Sunday comes just a few weeks after Zaras cousin Princess Eugenie had her son August on February 9.

Expand Close Mike Tindall with his daughter Mia (Andrew Matthews/PA) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Mike Tindall with his daughter Mia (Andrew Matthews/PA)

A spokeswoman for the couple said: Zara and Mike Tindall are happy to announce the birth of their third child, Lucas Philip Tindall.

The newest addition to the Tindall family is a younger brother to seven-year-old Mia and two-year-old Lena.

Lucas is a great-grandchild of the monarch, but is only 22nd in line to the throne. He is a regular Master Tindall and is not an HRH.

Mike Tindall had joked about wanting a boy this time around.
Connecticut legislators are considering a bill that would bar insurance agents and brokers from marketing and selling plans run by health care sharing ministries, nonprofit religious organizations that pool their members contributions with the intent of paying out medical bills, though there is often no guarantee of coverage.

As the health ministries have gained popularity in recent years, drawing new members by marketing themselves as a lower-cost alternative to traditional health insurance, complaints have also multiplied against the groups. In Connecticut, the insurance department fielded 10 complaints from March to December 2020, nearly the same number it received over a two-year stretch before the pandemic. At least four complaints have also been filed with the state Attorney Generals office since the pandemic began, and one has been filed with the health care advocates office. Both offices have recorded a growing number of grievances against the ministries in recent years.

Residents who are members of the organizations have complained about denial of coverage and non-payment of medical bills. Some say they were duped into buying the plans, believing they were purchasing health insurance. Others said they were aware the ministries were not traditional coverage but still expected all of their medical bills to be paid - only to find out they werent.

Some residents claimed they were denied coverage for heart attacks and appendectomies, medical conditions that the ministries classified as pre-existing conditions, according to the complaints. At least one person in Connecticut was denied coverage by her ministry for a COVID-19 test, leaving her to pay $270 out of pocket.

The bill now under consideration by the General Assembly would prohibit anyone licensed by the states insurance department from conducting business with a health care sharing ministry. It also bars everyone - regardless of their position - from accepting money for selling or marketing a ministry plan to Connecticut residents, for negotiating such a plan on behalf of a resident, or for administering such a plan that includes any state resident.

Nobody is trying to say that people of faith cannot pool their expenses for health or for anything else. Thats not what this is about, said Sen. Matthew Lesser, a key supporter of the bill and a co-chair of the legislatures Insurance Committee. This is about companies trying to evade insurance regulations.

If you want to engage in health sharing, you can, but we have a lot of concerns about the business of so-called ministries that  are engaged in a lot of profiteering by selling unlicensed insurance products.

Because the groups are unregulated, there is no way to tell how many people in Connecticut are members of the ministries. Last year, industry officials estimated that more than 5,000 state residents belonged to these organizations. But as the pandemic caused hundreds of thousands here to lose their jobs - and for many, their health insurance - that number could now be higher.

Representatives for the ministries estimated that 1.5 million people nationwide have signed up for their coverage. Many of the plans market themselves as lower-priced alternatives to policies that must meet tougher mandates under the Affordable Care Act, such as coverage for pre-existing conditions. The ministries offer cheaper rates because they are not considered to be insurance and are not required to pay claims.

This is the second year a bill targeting the ministries has been raised in Connecticut. Last years proposal, which was voted out of committee but shelved when the session shut down amid the pandemic, would have required ministries selling plans in the state to comply with all provisions of the ACA, including guaranteed coverage for pre-existing conditions.

The latest version cleared the Insurance Committee this week with a vote of 11-7 and now heads to the Senate floor. Lesser is hoping it will win support among his colleagues.

There have been some scary situations where people were incurring $25,000 medical bills and going in on a wing and a prayer as to whether their health ministry was going to actually cover the expenses, he said. That seems crazy to me.

Difficult limitationsThough the Insurance Committee ultimately advanced the bill, dozens of people wrote to lawmakers urging them to vote down the proposal.

Critics say the measure would effectively make it impossible for health care sharing ministries to continue operating in Connecticut.

Unfortunately, [the bill] would impose some difficult limitations that would result in the elimination of the availability of HCSMs to the residents of Connecticut and thus violate their rights to exercise their religious beliefs, Buddy Combs, the interim CEO of OneShare Health, a sharing ministry based in Texas, wrote to legislators.

In an extreme reading of the language, this provision could be interpreted to ban the practice of enrolling new ministry members, he said, [given that] something as benign as answering an inquiry from a prospective member could run afoul of the proposed language.

Thomas Balzamo, a pastor at the Colonial Baptist Church in Bozrah, urged legislators to amend the proposal in a way that provides consumer protection while still protecting the ministries ability to operate in our state.

I speak for many small-church pastors when I say that traditional forms of insurance are often incredibly cost prohibitive for those in our vocation, he wrote. For many years, we have turned to health care sharing ministries like Samaritan Ministries. They truly provide an outstanding service, not just for pastors but many Christians. I am not certain what we would do without them.

Alicia Fernandez, an Easton resident, said her family switched to a health sharing ministry after they had been paying a high monthly premium for mediocre insurance. Her husband is self-employed, she said, and health insurance options tend to be quite expensive.

We ask you to please reconsider the language in this bill that might potentially eliminate a health care choice that we and so many other families here depend upon, she wrote to lawmakers. Please try to find a way  that would protect consumers yet still allow for participation in this necessary program.

Ted Doolittle, the states health care advocate, has been vocal in his criticism of deceptive practices by the ministries. But he worries the proposal would further confuse consumers by taking away their ability to discuss those plans with an insurance agent.

The bill may end up causing more harm than good for those who set out on their own, unassisted by expert advice, in search of a low cost health insurance solution, he said.

But others, like the Connecticut State Medical Society, came out firmly in support of the measure, noting that several ministries use marketing practices designed to mislead consumers into thinking theyre buying health insurance.

HCSMs frequently market themselves close to traditional insurance plans, offering tiers like gold, silver, and bronze, the organization wrote. They also use terms like share instead of premium or need instead of claim.

The medical society urged legislators to go a step further and impose an outright ban on the organizations in Connecticut.

These plans prey on naive and unsophisticated shoppers of health insurance by exploiting their previous, unrelated comfort and experience with a specific group  exploiting that faith in a manner that is not transparent and that may better serve the entity than the individual who has subscribed to it, members wrote.
HONG KONG, March 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Kingdee International Software Group Company Limited ("Kingdee International", "Kingdee" or the "Company", together with its subsidiaries, the "Group"; stock code: 0268.HK) today announced its annual results for the year ended 31 December 2020 (the "Reporting Period"). The Group continued to promote its business transformation strategy by focusing on the development and promotion of subscription cloud products. During the Reporting Period, the Group's Kingdee Cloud business increased by 45.6% year-on-year, accounting for 57% of the total revenue. Due to the strong growth of the subscription-based cloud services, contract liabilities related to subscription services increased by 95.7% year-on-year, Kingdee Cloud's subscription ARR (annual recurring revenue) was amounted approximately RMB1.0 billion, representing an increase of 58% year-on-year.

During the Reporting Period, the Group recorded a turnover of approximately RMB3,356 million, representing a year-on-year growth of 0.9%, while revenue from enterprise resource planning (ERP) business decreased by 28.2% year-on-year. The Group's cloud services business maintained a high growth rate through the execution of its cloud strategy and transformation, with revenue from the cloud services business reaching RMB1,912 million in 2020, representing a year-on-year growth of 45.6%. Loss attributable to equity holders of the Company for the period was approximately RMB335 million, due to the Group's vigorous implementation of its cloud subscription model transformation strategy, the proactive cessation of sales of some ERP software license products and increased investment in the research and development of cloud products such as Cosmic.

Kingdee International has consistently been honoured by respected global research institutions during the year. According to IDC's research, Kingdee has grasped the biggest share in the enterprise-grade ERM SaaS (Cloud ERP) and financial SaaS Cloud services industry in China for the forth year, and has retained the largest share in the enterprise application software sector for fast-growing Chinese enterprises for 16 consecutive years. Kingdee has become the only SaaS company in China which received the 2020 IDC Global SaaS Customer Satisfaction Award, ranking No. 1 in the ERP SaaS Customer Satisfaction. The company was also included in the Hang Seng Indexes Co., Ltd.'s newly established Hang Seng Technology Index as a Top-10 constituent stock (launched on July 27, 2020).

Kingdee Cloud Cosmic strengthened R&D, focused on the self-developed technology innovation to occupy the high-end market of large enterprises

Moving into the EBC era, large enterprises have laid out new requirements for digitalisation platform and industrial internet platform. As the first cloud-native architecture platform in China with the core objective of enabling EBC's five capabilities, Kingdee Cloud Cosmic has gained the attention of many large enterprises. As at the end of 2020, Kingdee Cloud Cosmic officially released the version V3.0, which continued to accelerate the application research and development, strengthened the technical advantages, and made important upgrades to the platform structure, while also focusing on optimising the system openness.

During the Reporting Period, Kingdee Cloud Cosmic's revenue recorded approximately RMB190 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 220%. Contracted customers was 367 in 2020, including central enterprises and large state-owned enterprises such as State Power Investment Corporation, China Merchants Group, China Tobacco Yunnan, Hisense, HBIS Digital, Zhejiang Communications Investment and PowerChina Real Estate; also including well-known large enterprises such as HUAWEI, HAECO Xiamen, Kerry Logistics, DIT, and Rongan property. Cosmic has supported industry leaders to achieve improving efficiency and localized innovation out of the digital transformation and business innovation.

Kingdee Cloud Galaxy deepened industry digital intelligence empowerment, becoming a star product for medium-sized enterprises

Kingdee Cloud Galaxy provided comprehensive solutions for the close-loop of enterprise value chain, including Omni-channel Marketing Cloud, Smart Accounting Cloud, Smart Manufacturing Cloud, Smart Supply Chain Cloud, PLM R&D Cloud, etc., and innovated in remote customer engagement and marketing and upgraded online implementation platform, realized the quick launch of subscription products which efficiently helped enterprises restructure digital enterprise capability, using digital empowerment to accelerate transformation and upgrade of enterprises.

During the Reporting Period, Kingdee Cloud Galaxy continued to grow steadily, achieving a revenue of approximately RMB1,141 million, representing a year-on-year increase of over 31.4%, dollar retention rate remained above 86% and accumulated over 17,200 customers, including Huawei Marine, iFlytek, MEGVII, Yanjin Shop Food, Seamild Foods, Yuan Qi Sen Lin, RLX Technology, CYG SUNRI and other well-known enterprise customers. Galaxy has become the choice of many new economy enterprises and industry unicorns, to realize innovation and high growth.

Kingdee Cloud Stellar focused on the integrated solution of operation + management to build a service platform for the growth of small and micro enterprises

During the Reporting Period, Kingdee released Kingdee Cloud Stellar, a new service platform for smart growth of small and micro enterprises based on the Cosmic platform, which focused on online operation and digital management of small enterprises, empowered enterprises with the three characteristics of "new accounting & taxation, new marketing and new business model". It provides SaaS services such as Finance Cloud, Tax Cloud, Purchase, Sale & Inventory Cloud and Ordering Mall, etc., and supported small enterprises to quickly restore production after the pandemic, customer acquisitions and expansion of revenue sources, intelligent management and real-time decision-making. In addition, Kingdee Jingdou Cloud achieved a 62.4% growth in subscription revenue, with over 160,000 cumulative customers and dollar retention rate of approximately 76%.

Multi-field cloud deployment, deep cultivation in industry with best practice

During the Reporting Period, EAS Cloud focused on upgrading tax control in the digital age, integrating business and finance, improving efficiency through data intelligence, and promoting cloud migration for existing customers. Kingdee Guanyi Cloud released the Cosmic e-commerce cloud version. Cloud-Hub quickly launched solutions such as "Health Check-In" and audio and video conferencing. Kingdee Finance has successively won awards such as recommended products by the Bureau of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises of the MIIT of China. Wojia Cloud service project has covered 165 cities across the country, and newly signed with the top 100 properties such as Lushang, Shenzhen Science Park and Logan Property.

Outlook

"Kingdee will continue to execute the cloud subscription transformation strategy, adhering to the philosophy of 'customer-centric, hardworking as foundation and long-term professionalism', and creating a new Kingdee with the subscription business model in the next three years." Mr. Xu Shaochun, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Kingdee International Software Group Company Limited, said, "In 2021, Kingdee will be more ambitious and more powerful to help every enterprise customer grow through challenges and strengthen themselves in adversity to enable enterprise business capability in the future."

About Kingdee International Software Group Company Limited

Kingdee International Software Group Company Limited ("Kingdee International" or "Kingdee") was established in 1993. It is listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (stock code: 0268.HK) and headquartered in Shenzhen, the PRC. Adhering to the core values of "Acting in all Conscience, with Integrity and Righteousness", the Company is committed to helping businesses achieve their growth targets and let the sun shine on every company through dedicated services. It strives to provide them with the most trusted enterprise service platform.

Through persistent efforts to explore China's Cloud enterprise service market, Kingdee has retained the largest share in the enterprise application software sector for fast-growing enterprises for 16 consecutive years, and has grasped the biggest share in the enterprise-grade SaaS Cloud services industry for the 4 years. Kingdee is currently the only SaaS cloud service provider of Chinese enterprises selected into Gartner's global market guide, and has become the only Chinese SaaS company winning the 2020 IDC SaaS Customer Satisfaction Award.

In addition, Kingdee's diverse Cloud services and products are the preferred choices of leading enterprises. They include "Kingdee Cloud Cosmic" (digitalization and ecosystem platform for large enterprises), "Kingdee Cloud Galaxy" (intelligent growth service platform for medium-sized enterprises), "Kingdee Cloud Stellar" (intelligent growth service platform for micro and small-sized enterprises), "Cloud-Hub" (intelligent Cloud office), "Guanyi Cloud" (Cloud services for E-commerce operators), "Cargeer" (Cloud services for auto dealers) and "Wojia Cloud"(Cloud services for Property Industry). With its strengths in management software and Cloud services, Kingdee provides services and products to more than 6.8 million enterprises, government agencies and other organizations around the world.

For further information, please contact:

Wonderful Sky Financial Group Ltd. Cecilia Ip / Jing Fang Tel: (852) 3641 1317 / (852) 3970 2172 Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Kingdee


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.
A body found washed up on a beach in Yanchep is believed to be that of a man in his 60s who has been missing for about 30 hours.

A search and rescue mission resumed on Thursday morning to try and find the 68-year-old man from Perths northern suburbs after his boat, with his dog on board, was found circling off the coast of Alkimos on Wednesday.

Water police and surf life saving club members on jetskis found the body on Thursday morning.

Police were called just before 2pm after a beach fisherman spotted the small boat through binoculars driving in circles about 5 nautical miles off the coast of Alkimos with no sign of people on board.
Jeremy Vine today criticised the Oxford-educated QC whose dog fatally savaged Freddie the seal for taking legal action to try to stop her being identified - and then releasing a statement to a newspaper.

The broadcaster, who presents Jeremy Vine on 5 each weekday, tweeted today: 'Apparently we aren't allowed to show any pictures of the QC whose dog killed the #HammersmithSeal  after a legal action against broadcasters  yet she has issued a statement in her own name. Would this apply if owner had been teenager in tracksuit?'

Lawyers acting for Rebecca Sabben-Clare QC, 49, sent a legal warning to media outlets on Tuesday night claiming that naming her was a 'breach of privacy' - before she released a statement in her name to manage negative coverage.

Law firm Schillings, which is known for its aggressive approach in attempting to keep stories about their clients out the media and claims eye-watering fees, also complained of pictures that had been taken of Sabben-Clare with the dog on a public walkway.

In the UK, generally photographs can lawfully be taken of adults in a public place, provided no harassment is involved and the images are not indecent. Judges have also upheld the media's right to inform the public, including by taking pictures.

In yesterday's statement, Ms Sabben-Clare said she 'apologised unreservedly' for what happened, and said that 'in hindsight' she wished the dog had been on a lead but it had not seemed necessary at the time.

The broadcaster, who presents Jeremy Vine on 5 each weekday, criticised the QC for taking legal action to stop her being identified - despite releasing a statement in her name

Rebecca Sabben-Clare QC, 49, (pictured middle holding Toby, her brown cross-breed dog, after it attacked Freddie the Seal)

Ms Sabben-Clare studied at New College Oxford and was named a leading English silk in the 2021 Legal 500 Directory

'I am heartbroken by this terrible incident': QC's full statement yesterday 'I am heartbroken by this terrible accident. 'As an animal lover, I fully understand the dismay that has been expressed. I apologise unreservedly for what happened. In hindsight I wish, of course, that the dog had been on a lead but at the time that did not seem necessary. 'I am hugely grateful to all those who helped at the scene. They were heroic. I left for my own safety and that of my dog, believing that there was nothing that I could do to help as the seal was being looked after by a vet and help had been called. I offered my contact details to the vet before leaving.' 'Early yesterday morning I contacted the police to speak to them about the incident and was directed to the RSPCA. 'The RSPCA interviewed me and confirmed that they were happy that no offence had been committed. I tried to contact the police again repeatedly yesterday afternoon, in response to a statement from them that they wished to identify me and speak to me. They have still not been in contact. 'I have made a donation to the Wildlife Hospital which treated the seal. What wonderful work it does.' Advertisement

Schillings is known for its aggressive tactics with libel and privacy cases, and is a favourite among the super-rich and celebrities.

The London-based firm became well-known for obtaining controversial so-called 'super-injunctions', where on some occasions even the reporting of the injunctions existence was banned.

However, these orders backfired when public outrage led to celebrities being named on Twitter and even in Parliament.

In 2018, Peter Hain, a former cabinet minister, used parliamentary privilege to name Sir Philip Green as the businessman at allegations about racist and sexist behaviour after Schillings obtained an injunction to prevent the claims being published

Sir Philip denied the allegations.

Schillings has also acted for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Johnny Depp in his 'wife-beater' trial against his ex-wife Amanda Heard.

Police said yesterday that Ms Sabben-Clare would not face any more action over Sunday's attack by her dog Toby, a brown cross-breed.

In the morning, she released a statement to the Standard saying that she regretted 'in hindsight' not putting the dog on a lead but added that it 'did not seem necessary at the time'.

She also claimed she left the scene after the attack 'for my own safety and that of my dog', believing there was 'nothing more I could do to help the seal'.

An onlooker who became involved was reportedly bitten by Toby, which neighbours yesterday described as 'not aggressive'.

Owners of dogs that are 'seriously out of control' and attack humans can be prosecuted under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, with potential punishments including an unlimited fine to six months in jail.

Alternatively, the Dogs Act 1871 can be used for dogs that attack other animals or for less serious cases involving humans.

A neighbour, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Sun: 'The only thing I would say is that she's a f****** idiot to be taking dogs out not on a lead around places like that. It's not worth the risk, so if she was I think she should probably get fined.'

They added: 'Everybody feels sorry for the seal.

'I suspect she was probably being stupid for an intelligent, a clearly intelligent woman.'

Flowers and notes left for Freddie the Seal yesterday near Hammersmith Bridge where he was attacked

The animal (pictured with an injured flipper following the mauling, has also been seen upstream by Teddington and Richmond

Ms Sabben-Clare, who lives in a 5.8million mansion near Hammersmith Bridge with her husband, William, 57, said in the statement: 'I am heartbroken by this terrible accident.

OUT OF CONTROL DOGS: WHAT THE LAW SAYS Owners of dogs that are 'dangerously out of control' and attack humans can be prosecuted under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. A dog is seriously out of control if it injures someone or there are grounds to fear it will injure someone, whether or not it actually does so, in a public place, a private place or in the owner's home. Courts can decide that a dog is out of control if it attacks someone's animal or an animal's owner fears they could be injured stopping this happening. For the most serious offences, the punishment is an unlimited fine or up to six months in jail (or both). However the law states it is not exhaustive. If a dog could be 'factually deemed to be acting in a way that could be termed 'dangerously out of control', for example attacking livestock', a prosecution may still be brought. Alternatively, the Dogs Act 1871 can be used for dogs that attack other animals or for less serious cases involving humans. In this case the owner could be fined 1,000 or the dog destroyed. Owners of dogs who attack or chase sheep can also be prosecuted under the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953. The maximum penalty is 1,000 fine and compensation. Source: CPS Advertisement

'As an animal lover, I fully understand the dismay that has been expressed. I apologise unreservedly for what happened. In hindsight I wish, of course, that the dog had been on a lead but at the time that did not seem necessary.

'I am hugely grateful to all those who helped at the scene. They were heroic. I left for my own safety and that of my dog, believing that there was nothing that I could do to help as the seal was being looked after by a vet and help had been called. I offered my contact details to the vet before leaving.'

Distressing images showed the seal being mauled by a brown cross-breed at around 12.45pm on Sunday.

Ms Sabben-Clare studied at New College Oxford and was named a leading English silk in the 2021 Legal 500 Directory.

Her father, James, was headmaster of Winchester College from 1985 to 2000.

A specialist in commercial law, she has been described as 'incredibly bright' and 'very talented', praising her ability as 'a fearless advocate' who is 'very cool, calm and easy to work with'.

Previous cases have included one relating to Carillion, the construction company that went bust in 2018 in the UK's biggest ever commercial liquidation, and work representing a Middle Eastern government over oil interests.

Ms Sabben-Clare rushed over with other onlookers to release the dog's clamped jaws, but Freddie later had to be put down after suffering horrendous injuries.

Pictures showed her with a lead attached to her belt.

The RSPCA said that it was 'deeply saddened' by the attack but it was up to the police to investigate it.

'We investigate animal welfare offences,' a spokesman said. 'Dog attacks on animals would become an animal welfare offence if it was done deliberately. If no offences have been committed under the Animal Welfare Act we are unable to take incidents further. Offences involving dogs out of control are investigated by the police.

'In this instance, we spoke to the owner and as this was not a case of deliberate cruelty, it is not an offence we would investigate. The police are continuing to look into this and we are happy to assist them if needed.'

The animal, known as Freddie Mercury for his crowd-pleasing antics, was severely injured after the attack and had to be put down. Pictured is a photographer pulling at the dog's collar after Miss Sabben-Clare also tried to get it away from the seal

Witnesses described Sunday's attack as 'savage' and said the dog would not let go despite repeated attempts by passers-by

The Met said: 'Police have investigated the death of a seal after it was injured by a dog on the River Thames near Hammersmith Bridge.

'Officers attended the location at approximately 12:39 hours on Sunday 21 March along with colleagues from the London Fire Brigade.

'They recovered the young pup from the river bank and it was taken to a rescue centre for treatment, but had to be put down later, due to injuries sustained in the incident.

'Following the investigation there will be no further criminal investigation or action taken by police in regards to this matter. The owner of the dog has been informed.'

MailOnline has contacted Channel 5 and Schillings for comment.

Four onlookers, including a vet, repeatedly tried to pry the dog's jaw off the young seal but it refused, leaving severe wounds. Ms Sabben-Clare was seen with a lead around her belt

The onlookers who had stopped to help held the seal in place until the emergency services could get there. Young Freddie was left with severe wounds and had to be taken to South Essex Wildlife Hospital with the help of the London Fire Brigade
A west-central Illinois school superintendent whose reinstatement after an administrative leave last year was cited in the resignation of two principals is leaving the district.

Waverly School District Superintendent Dustin Day will become superintendent of Carthage Elementary School District starting July 1, according to the Carthage school board.

Day has been superintendent and a principal at Waverly for six years. Prior to that, he was a middle school and high school principal for Tri-City Community School District for five years. He has been an educator since 1996.

Mr. Days fiscal management, building projects and knowledge of school law were key factors in choosing him as our new superintendent, according to school board President Brent Ufkes. The board of education is looking forward to working with him and continuing the right path for our students, our teachers and our families with open communication and transparency.

Day said he and his family are excited to begin a new chapter.

I am anxious to get started and hope to bring experience to a community and school district that has already established respected tradition across the state of Illinois, he said. I look forward to meeting everyone in the community and the district, including the staff, teachers, and especially the students.

According to Days resume, during his time at Waverly, he doubled the school districts funding balance and days of cash on hand while lowering the tax rate and overseeing multiple construction and renovation programs. In addition, according to his resume, he implemented a new teacher mentoring program, established a student intervention plan to target at-risk youths and made a positive school climate in the middle and high schools with students and faculty.

Day was placed on a paid administrative leave for five weeks beginning Sept. 4 after a formal complaint by the districts two principals, Tammy Hermes and Brian Cook.

While an independent investigation found certain allegations in the complaint to be valid and justified and in breach of Days employment contract, he was reinstated on Oct. 8.

After a tense October school board meeting days later drew a crowd of more than 100 people, the board accepted the principals resignations. In a statement, the board said it had an independent investigation into  allegations completed by Tueth Keeney Cooper Mohan & Jackstadt. After the investigation was completed, the board passed a resolution Oct. 8 to return Superintendent Dustin Day to his position with some specific directives.

Those directives included that Day and other staff take training regarding sexual harassment and Day attend sensitivity training.

OneWeb, the satellite communications firm partly owned by the UK government, has launched another 36 satellites into orbit as part of its constellation.

The British firm, which is also partly owned by Indian multinational Bharti, will operate broadband to remote areas of the world similar to Starlink by SpaceX.

The latest 36 satellites were launched at 02:50 GMT from Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia, bringing coverage to areas north of 50 degrees latitude for the first time.

This is the fifth launch and will bring the total in-orbit constellation to 146 satellites operating in Low Earth Orbit - with a total of 648 launched by the end of 2022.

Initial regional services of OneWeb broadband will begin in the UK, Alaska, Northern Europe, Greenland, Iceland, the Artic Seas, and Canada early next year.

Unlike the Elon Musk owned SpaceX, OneWeb won't sell services direct to consumers, but rather provide infrastructure to existing operators, allowing them to offer their own, branded satellite internet to areas not covered by fibre.

The British firm, which is also partly owned by Indian multinational Bharti, will operate broadband to remote areas of the world similar to Starlink by SpaceX

The latest 36 satellites were launched at 02:50 GMT from Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia, bringing coverage to areas north of 50 degrees latitude for the first time

ONEWEB: UK-OWNED SATELLITE OPERATOR OneWeb was founded in 2012 by Greg Wyler in London England to bring satellite broadband to remote areas of the world. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US in 2020 after backers Softbank pulled its funding. A rescue deal by the UK Government and Bharti Enterprises worth $1 billion, allowing them to restart operations. They plan to have 650 satellites in orbit as part of their constellation, to bring global broadband coverage by 2022. Unlike main competitor Starlink, the Elon Musk owned SpaceX project, they don't plan to sell directly to consumers. The firm aims to become a new broadband backbone for most of the world, leasing network space to existing telecom companies that 'already know their market'. It hopes to launch 36 satellites per month throughout the next two years, each about the size of a fridge. They are being placed in the Polar Orbit at 750 miles above the Earth and have built in de-orbit capabilities, as well as 'hooks' to allow them to be removed if anything goes wrong. Advertisement

A Russian-built Soyuz 2.1b rocket and Fregat upper stage carried the satellites to a near-polar orbit from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Amur Oblast at 02:50 GMT.

The satellites are built by a subsidiary company called OneWeb Satellites based in Florida - it is a partnership with AirBus.

There are plans to bring production of the satellites to the UK in future.

They each weigh 325 lbs and are about the size of a dishwasher. They will use ion thrusters to raise their altitude to 745 miles above the Earth after launch.

A total of 19 Soyuz launched have been purchased from Arianespace - a French company - to send the satellites into orbit between now and 2022.

OneWeb, founded in 2014 by Greg Wyler, filed for bankruptcy protection at the end of March after its biggest investor SoftBank Group Corp pulled funding.

It emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year thanks to a $1 billion investment from the UK Government and India's Bharti Enterprises.

The UK has a 'significant equity stake' in OneWeb, said to be about 400 million.

Chris McLaughlin, OneWeb chief regulation officer, told MailOnline the final selling point to the UK government came when Bharti said 'we are in if you are'.

'There was a sudden clarity,"what is the purpose" and the discussion was around the UK owning the table and chairs and inviting other countries to join in,' he said.

This would let them act like a mobile phone GSM 'rather than watching American billionaires securing commercial space for themselves.'

Since then the firm has increased staffing by 200, launched another 64 satellites and tested their network ready for rollout in 2022.

McLaughlin said the plan with the business is to service existing telecom operators to fill in the 'not spots' and 'thin spots' of coverage in the UK and elsewhere.

'The function is to get coverage by June and July of this year including the UK down to the 50th degree of latitude, then working and testing throughout the summer.'

A Russian-built Soyuz 2.1b rocket and Fregat upper stage carried the satellites to a near-polar orbit from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Amur Oblast at 02:50 GMT

The satellites are built by a subsidiary company called OneWeb Satellites based in Florida - it is a partnership with AirBus

The satellites each weigh 325 lbs and are about the size of a dishwasher. They will use ion thrusters to raise their altitude to 745 miles above the Earth after launch

He said they wanted to work with telcos in each country rather than sell directly to consumers as they 'know their customers, know their pricing, and their network.'

The latest launch was on a Russian Soyuz rocket operated by the European operator Arianespace at the Roscosmos Vostochny Cosmodrome.

The final size of the OneWeb constellation will be about 650, with launches planned monthly throughout 2021, sending 36 into space at a time.

'This launch is part of the five to 50 campaign. The first went up in December, this is the second and each launches 36 satellites and by the time we have them all away by June the UK will be covered,' McLaughlin told MailOnline.

'The total will be for the whole global operation will be 558 live and operating, with 110 spare satellites we can use for other UK purposes.'

When asked if they'd ever launch from the UK, McLaughlin said the launch vehicles would only be large enough to send a single OneWeb satellite into low Earth orbit.

However, they made a commitment to the UK government to contract single satellite launches in the future, for example to repair or replace a broken device.

'The launch packages from the UK will be able to lift just one of our 150kg satellites, so we could do a repair or replacement, a test satellite and insert that into our network, we would be prepared to do that,' said McLaughlin.

The final size of the OneWeb constellation will be about 650, with launches planned monthly throughout 2021, sending 36 into space at a time

The latest launch was on a Russian Soyuz rocket operated by the European operator Arianespace at the Roscosmos Vostochny Cosmodrome

They each weigh 325 lbs and are about the size of a dishwasher. They will use ion thrusters to raise their altitude to 745 miles above the Earth after launch

OTHER LAUNCHES THIS WEEK There have been multiple launches this week from around the world. This included New Zealand operator RocketLab's Electron rocket, launched on March 22. The 20th launch, marking 104 satellites launched by the firm so far. SpaceX also put another 60 Starlink satellites into orbit on its Falcon 9 rocket this week. This brought its total constellation size over 1,200, with more planned to launch every few weeks through 2021. On a much smaller scale, British space tech manufacturer Open Cosmos launched two satellites into orbit for Lacuna Space and 5G IoT operator Satellot. Advertisement

'But for launching anywhere between 36 and 68 satellites for the economics, we would need lift capabilities the UK isn't focused on at the moment.'

The company is continuing to build its global ground station network and is pushing forward on user terminal development.

This includes a $73 million contract with Intellian to provide compact, affordable user terminals for enterprise and government applications.

They are also working with Satixfy to develop an in-flight terminal to deliver wifi on planes - continuing the theme of providing business to business services.

There have been multiple launches this week, including New Zealand operator RocketLab that launched its small Electron rocket on March 22 from New Zealand, marking 104 satellites launched by the firm so far.

SpaceX also put 60 Starlink satellites into orbit on its Falcon 9 rocket this week, bringing its total constellation size over 1,200, with more planned to launch every few weeks through 2021.

On a much smaller scale, British space tech manufacturer Open Cosmos launched two satellites into orbit for Lacuna Space and 5G IoT operator Satellot.

The satellites will go on to provide Internet of Things capabilities and connectivity everywhere, including remote areas, and will be key to monitoring the environment, biodiversity, maritime logistics, and off-shore infrastructure, Open Cosmos said.

A total of 19 Soyuz launched have been purchased from Arianespace - a French company - to send the satellites into orbit between now and 2022

The company is continuing to build its global ground station network and is pushing forward on user terminal development

When asked if they'd ever launch from the UK, McLaughlin said the launch vehicles would only be large enough to send a single OneWeb satellite into low Earth orbit

The startup has invested over 4 million in R&D, thanks to the support from the UK Space Agency and European Space Agency.

The launches represent the next step in Open Cosmoss mission to democratise space by providing key data to manage natural resources sustainably, control global infrastructure and monitor the climate crisis.

Open Cosmos operates space missions from start to finish by manufacturing and building satellites as well as handling the mission, satellite operation and services.

The company, which was created five years ago, was established with a view to open up space by making it more affordable for small businesses and governments.
Twitter says misidentifying Muslim Boulder shooter as 'white Christian terrorist' is OK

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

The man alleged to have murdered 10 people at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, was an anti-Trump Muslim immigrant, but Twitter has stated that tweets calling the suspect white and possibly Christian do not violate its misinformation policy.

On Tuesday, police named Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, a 21-year-old Syrian Muslim man who had made social media posts critical of former President Donald Trump, as the suspect in the mass shooting.

Alissa was arrested and charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder, including the killing of a police officer who responded to the mass shooting at a King Soopers supermarket. A motive is not yet known.

Before his social media accounts were taken down, The Daily Beast analyzed them and found that Alissa had posted about Islam, his criticism of Trumps immigration policies as well as his opposition to abortion and gay marriage.

On his now-deleted Facebook page, Alissa reportedly stated that he was born in Syria 1999 came to the USA in 2002. Posts about jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts dominated his page.

Claims that Alissa was an Islamic State sympathizer are still pending further evidence, according to a report by The Federalist.

Before Alissa was named a suspect in the mass shooting, many took to Twitter claiming that the guilty party was white. Some claimed he was Christian. Many online commentators used the incident to bash white supremacy.

Regarding tweets that falsely identified Alissas racial or religious backgrounds, Twitter told Newsweek that such posts were not in violation of misinformation policies. Newsweek asked Twitter specifically about whether a tweet identifying Alissa as a white Christian terrorist violated its policies.

The Tweets referenced are not in violation of the Twitter Rules, a Twitter spokesperson was quoted as saying. We will not take action on every instance of misinformation. Currently, our misinformation rules cover COVID-19 misinformation, synthetic and manipulated media and civic integrity.

Among those claiming the shooter was white was Meena Harris, the niece of Vice President Kamala Harris. She posted a now-deleted tweet alluding to the Atlanta spa shootings, in which the chief suspect was a white Southern Baptist man who killed eight people.

The Atlanta shooting was not even a week ago. Violent white men are the greatest terrorist threat to our country, she posted hours after the Boulder shooting, as quoted by the Daily Mail.

Alissas brother told The Daily Beast that Alissa had a history of violent behavior and was known to be paranoid, claiming that people were stalking him because of his religious beliefs.

When he was having lunch with my sister in a restaurant, he said, People are in the parking lot, they are looking for me. She went out, and there was no one. We didnt know what was going on in his head, explained the brother, adding that he believed the shooting was not a political statement but rather mental illness.

The guy used to get bullied a lot in high school. He was like an outgoing kid, but after he went to high school and got bullied a lot, he started becoming anti-social.

The brother told CNN that high school bullies made fun of Alissas name and his identity as a Muslim.
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 will pronounce its judgment in the four-and-a-half year-old corporate war between and the Mistrys on Friday.

A bitter legal and public battle between the two sides erupted when Cyrus Mistry, the scion of the Mistry family, was removed from Tata Sons board as chairman in October 2016 by its board.

While the NCLT Mumbai sided with the Tatas, the NCLAT had termed Mistrys removal as illegal and had reinstated Mistry as chairman, while terming his successor N Chandrasekarans appointment as illegal. The Tatas then moved the seeking to overturn the NCLAT judgement.

Tata Trusts, which owns 66 per cent stake in Tata Sons, is chaired by Ratan Tata, the patriarch of the Tata group, while the Mistry family owns 18.4 per cent stake in the company.
Contact: Ford Porter

Ford Porter govpress@nc.gov

Governor Roy Cooper and North Carolina Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy K. Cohen, M.D., announced today an accelerated timeline for moving to Groups 4 and 5 for vaccine eligibility with the rest of Group 4 eligible on March 31st and all adults eligible beginning April 7th. The move will allow the state and vaccine providers to continue to get vaccines into arms quickly and continue to reach underserved and historically marginalized populations. A new public private partnership, Healthier Together: Health Equity Action Network, will enhance the state's work to deliver equitable access to vaccines, and DHHS released a new biweekly equity data report to provide another avenue for transparency.said Governor Cooper.Beginning on March 31, additional essential workers and people living in other congregate settings such as student dormitories will be eligible for vaccination. Essential workers include frontline workers who do not have to in person for work and those in a range of sectors such as construction, energy, financial services, public works and others as categorized by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency . All North Carolinian adults will be eligible to be vaccinated beginning on April 7.The accelerated timeline will allow the state to double down on its "fast and fair" approach to getting shots into arms. Healthier Together , a new public private partnership with the NC Counts Coalition, will help increase the number of individuals from historically marginalized populations that receive COVID-19 vaccinations and provide a foundation for a longer-term framework for health equity.Healthier Together will implement strategies to increase access to vaccines to historically marginalized populations by conducting outreach and education efforts, coordinating local vaccine events at trusted and accessible locations, helping people schedule and get to vaccine appointments, providing on-site translation services, and helping ensure people get to second dose appointments.said Stacey Carless, Executive Director of the NC Counts Coalition.As part of this initiative, Healthier Together will provide grants to community-based organizations to do this work and hire regional health equity teams to support community-based organizations in their outreach and education efforts, help match vaccine providers with community-based organizations, and work with DHHS to ensure that communities have the vaccine supply, outreach, and transportation resources they need to get people vaccinated. The program is funded by federal COVID-19 dollars.said Secretary Cohen.The state's experience with the federally-supported site in Greensboro demonstrates that the principles guiding Healthier Together produce results. NCDHHS has partnered with grassroots, nonprofit, and community organizations on the ground to lead on outreach and facilitate appointments. The Department set aside half of all appointments for these trusted partners to schedule. To date, 22 percent of vaccinations at the Greensboro Community Vaccination Center have gone to Black/African American populations and 14 percent have gone to Hispanic/Latinx populations.Throughout the pandemic, NCDHHS has relied upon data transparency, with a focus on disaggregating data by race and ethnicity, to keep itself and its partners accountable and to drive inform needed actions. A new report expands upon this work. Promoting COVID-19 Vaccine Equity in North Carolina reports the share of vaccinations in the past week going to Black/African American, Hispanic/Latinx, and American Indian or Alaskan Native populations as well as key metrics for earning trust, embedding equity in vaccine operations, and promoting accountability through data transparency. The report also highlights best practices to promote equitable access to vaccinations. It will be updated every two weeks.North Carolina has been recognized nationally for its work to get COVID-19 vaccines to historically marginalized populations. North Carolina was named the only state to collect and publicly report race and ethnicity data for nearly 100% of vaccinations. According to the CDC, two-thirds of those vaccinated in North Carolina between December 14, 2020 and March 1, 2021 were from "highly" or "moderately" vulnerable communities, ranking the state in the top ten for equitable vaccine coverage. North Carolina was also featured in Bloomberg News for its data-driven approach to reducing disparities in vaccination rates.For accurate information about COVID-19 vaccines, visit HERE
FAMILY doctors are keen to work with patients to address problems contacting surgeries, a leading GP has said.

Dr Laurence Dorman was giving evidence at Stormonts Health Committee when he was asked what measures had been put in place to ensure vulnerable patients could contact surgeries.

The question was posed by committee deputy chair Pam Cameron, who told how she had called her surgery 125 times before getting through.

The DUP MLA said: "I know and understand the pressures that GPs have been under.

"I understand that the number of patients youre dealing with and the number of calls have actually increased.

"Has there been any progression towards dedicating a phone line for those patients who maybe dont have access to smart phones or good technology?

"As an example, I have seen me trying to make an appointment for a GP and having to ring 125 times."

Dr Dorman, chair of the Royal College of GPs in Northern Ireland, stressed that doctors were keen to engage with patients.

He said surgeries received additional funding to allow them to put in place extra phone lines when face-to-face appointments were restricted.

We plan to do some work with our patient group and see what that shows," he added.

He said GPs were also looking at the possibility of using email more to aid communication.

"Once we get through the pandemic a wee bit more, hopefully we can open our doors a bit more and our reception staff will be a bit more available. We look forward to this," he explained.

Dr Dorman and Dr Alan Stout, chair of the British Medical Associations GP committee, who also took attended the meeting, were asked about waiting times for cancer patients.

Figures released by the Department of Health yesterday revealed health trusts were consistently failing to meet government targets for access to treatment.

The medics called for an overhaul of the hospital list system.

Dr Stout said GPs were "massively concerned" about cancer waiting times.

He added: "The longer someone is on a waiting list, the more disruption on our system as a whole because of the increased levels of prescribing, the increased level of contacts, potential emergency department attendances as they potentially convert from an urgent case to an emergency case and all of what that entails.

"We have to change the system to a refined system that gets the right person seen in the right place at the right time.

"We are a million miles from that. Putting any sort of sticking plaster over our current system and our current way of elective care is not going to work.

"Its not a sustainable solution. We have to completely change it. We have to completely redesign it and get something that is much, much safer and much more effective for our patients."
American actress Kate Walsh has called Australia home since March last year.

And the 53-year-old Private Practice star is putting down roots in the beachside city of Perth on the country's west coast.

Taking to Instagram on Thursday, Kate shared a slew of photos at a book launch that will benefit the BeKids charity, a non-profit organisation that works with children in developing countries.

Lending a hand: Grey's Anatomy star Kate Walsh beamed as she promoted a children's charity in Perth on Thursday

The actress beamed as she huddled close to the kids while reading the book WheeleeBirds by Joan Peters.

In one photo, the American star had her arms outstretched as she nestled in for a group shot with the kids.

Another photo saw her sitting on a couch as kids surrounded her while she read the children's book.

Warm: The actress was all systems go as she chatted to kids at the book launch before engaging in official festivities

Another photo saw her standing up with kids on a stage.

'This Sunday I had the privilege to support the amazing #BeKids charity for the magical book launch of #WheeleeBirds by Joan Peters,' she wrote.

'They're a 100% volunteer-driven non-profit organization that works with children in developing countries to create opportunities that improve their living environment and educational aspirations'

Gentle: 'This Sunday I had the privilege to support the amazing #BeKids charity for the magical book launch of #WheeleeBirds by Joan Peters,' she wrote.

Support: 'They're a 100% volunteer-driven non-profit organisation that works with children in developing countries to create opportunities that improve their living environment and educational aspirations'

Cause: The American actress spent time with organisers and the author from the event with her positively beaming as they smiled at the camera

Kate has been living in Perth since the pandemic hit last March.

The beloved star found herself 'stuck' in the Southern Hemisphere after pandemic lockdowns began to take hold while she was vacationing down under back in March.

She quickly fell for the country.

Nope, not going: Speaking to The Daily Telegraph about her new love affair with Australia recently, the actress explained she didn't want to go back to her New York home

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph about her new love affair with Australia recently, the actress explained she didn't want to go back to her New York home.

'I didn't really want to go back to New York in the middle of a pandemic when it was pretty gnarly to say the least," she said.

'I couldn't go home initially, and now that I can, I don't really fancy going back. When I have my own mother saying don't come home, my 86-year-old mum we are in a very challenging time!'

Change of pace: The Grey's Anatomy star recently told 2GB's Jim Wilson she felt 'very grateful' to be in Australia during the COVID-19 crisis. Pictured: on Grey's Anatomy

Claiming to have found a new 'passion project', Kate revealed recently her plans to help bolster Australia's local film industry after it suffered enormously due to global pandemic.

The Grey's Anatomy star recently told 2GB's Jim Wilson she felt 'very grateful' to be in Australia during the COVID-19 crisis.

'Honestly, I feel very lucky,' she said. 'It's kind of a crazy situation: it's like being in an alternate reality compared to the rest of the world.'

Grey's Anatomy is available to stream on Stan in Australia
SVMC Offers Expanded Childbirth Education Series Online

BENNINGTON, Vt.  Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), part of Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) will host an expanded childbirth education class online starting at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 22.

Parents-to-be are invited to register for the 4-week series at svhealthcare.org/Classes-Events . Each class is live, virtual, and interactive. The new format allows families to get a thorough introduction to the birthing experience from the comfort of their own homes.

"I am so excited to once again bring expectant parents and their support people together for these fun, interactive, and educational classes," said Jodi Henderson, the class's leader. "Both those who have already gone through a birthing experience, including those intending to have a vaginal birth after a cesarean, and those who are new to birthing should find the series informative and insightful."

The class is a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Education Class.

"That means that the class is based on providing a respectful and evidence-based experience where parents can follow their own unique journey toward parenthood with understanding and confidence," Henderson said. "It is meant to provide the safest and healthiest options to parents without judgment."

Expectant parents should plan to participate in the class after their 30th week of pregnancy. Support persons are also encouraged to register. Those attending from the same household need only register once. Support persons, including doulas, are encouraged to participate in the classes in their entirety, if possible.

Once registered, participants will be provided with a Google classroom invite code. Participants will need a Google account; video capabilities, either a smartphone or webcam; and an Internet connection to participate. Organizers hope to develop a version for those who do not have these capabilities in the near future.

Each participant will be provided with a kit of materials to be used during the class. Instructors will arrange for kits to be available to participants at their scheduled obstetrician or midwives appointments or for pick up at the SVMC main entrance.

The cost of the class is $40, but accommodations are available for those in need of a reduced or free class. In addition, participants may submit a receipt for the class payment to their insurance company for potential reimbursement.

Subsequent sessions will be held Thursdays, April 29 and May 6, and 13 at which point the series will repeat. Topics covered include basic pregnancy and birthing anatomy; positions, breathing, and meditation techniques; and pain management strategies. The series will also touch on self and baby care post-delivery and breastfeeding.

Henderson received her associates in nursing from Fulton Montgomery Community College in Johnstown, NY, in 2007. Since that time, she has worked caring for birthing mothers and newborns in a variety of settings, including the Mother Baby Unit of St. Clares Hospital in Schenectady, NY; the Neonatal Intensive Care Unity and Newborn Nursery at Bellevue Women's Care Center in Niskayuna, NY; and the Pediatric Longterm Care Facility at St. Margaret's Center in Albany, NY. She has worked on the Women's and Children's Unit at SVMC since 2019.

Co-teacher Kristin Andrew, RN, has worked in the SVMC Women's and Children's Unit since 2016. She holds two bachelor's degrees: one in psychology from the State University of New York at Oneonta and one in nursing from Russell Sage College in Troy. She is currently in a master's program to become a family nurse practitioner at Stony Brook University in New York.

In addition, the hospital offers stand-alone classes for expectant parents:

Hospital to Home

Next Session: 4  7 p.m. Monday, April 12, 2021

Registered Nurse Lindsay Moran leads this interactive class, which reviews care for the new family and the new baby from delivery to home and beyond. Topics include hospital discharge, care for both baby and parent after delivery, infant feeding, soothing techniques for baby, infant safety, and wellness. Grandparents and adopting parents will also find this class helpful.

Breastfeeding for New Parents

Next Session: 6  8 p.m. Wednesday, April 14, 2021

SVMC's nurses have taught hundreds of families to breastfeed throughout her decades-long career. The class includes beginner information for new parents and members of their support teams, including the benefits of breastfeeding, what to expect during the first feedings, positioning options, helpful equipment, returning to work, overcoming challenges, and more. Filled with informational videos and anecdotes, this is a fun and engaging way to learn more about giving your baby the best start.
ROMULUS, MI  Three men accused of killing Egypt Covington during a botched robbery are heading to trial for murder.

The preliminary examination of Timothy Eugene Moore, Shandon Ray Groom and Shane Lamar Evans concluded Thursday, March 25, with Wayne County 34th District Judge Tina Green finding there was probable cause the men were involved in the 2017 slaying of Covington during a failed plot to steal marijuana from a medical care giver living in the next duplex apartment over.

The three men are facing felony murder and home invasion charges in the killing of Covington, 27, who was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head about 7:15 p.m. June 23, 2017, in her home in the 45000 block of Hull Road in Van Buren Township.

Moore, 34, of Toledo was bound over for trial on one count each first-degree murder, felony murder, first-degree home invasion and four counts of felony firearm. A charge of felon in possession of a firearm was dismissed at the exam.

Groom, 28, of Toledo was bound over on one count each on one count each of felony murder and first-degree home invasion as well as an added count of first-degree murder and three counts of felony firearms.

Evans, 31, of Sumpter Township, was bound over as charged on one count each of felony murder and first-degree home invasion.

Egypt Covingtons alleged killers came to wrong house looking to steal marijuana, police say

The prosecution argued Evans, who worked for a lawn care company that performed services at Covingtons duplex, was aware her neighbor was a medical marijuana care giver and was going to be out of town June 22, 2017.

He identified the home and pointed it out to Moore and Groom heading back to his home in Sumpter Township.

Covington was found the next day with her hands bound with Christmas lights and shot in the head at close range. Police testified they found a couch cushion with a bullet hole in it believed to have been used to muffle the sound of the gunshot.

Moores DNA was found on the Christmas lights removed from her hands, police said.

Certainly somewhere between tying her up, getting the cushion, putting it over her head, they certainly had time to take a second look and realize the consequences of their actions, Wayne County Assistant Prosecuting attorney Victoria Shackelford said.

Moores attorney, Kristina Joseph, argued there was insufficient evidence against her client, arguing police failed to thoroughly investigate the case while adding Moores injuries at the time, suffered in a crash 10 day prior to the incident, made him incapable of committing the crime within the fourfive minute window offered by investigators.

The prosecution is saying a person with broken ribs, who had a neck brace from a very serious accident 10 days before, was able to remove Christmas lights from a curtain rod, figure out where to go in the home, tie an individual up, find a cushion, shoot the person and get out of the home in four to five minutes. The timeline is too tight, she said.

Shackelford disagreed.

The argument that a crime like this cant happen in four-five minutes, its too brief of a time, Im certain Egypt Covington would have disagreed with that, Shackelford said. Im certain those four to five minutes of her life felt like an eternity.

The case has been sent to Wayne County Circuit Court which will schedule further court proceedings. All three men are being held in the Wayne County Jail without bond.

Family seeks justice for angelic slain Belleville area woman

Covington was known locally in Ann Arbor for her singing, as well as her previous employment at Frasers Pub in Ann Arbor.

Arbor Brewing Company released a seasonal beer, A Girl Named Egypt, in her honor with a portion of sales being donated to a foundation in her name to support charities related to music scholarship, animal welfare and victims of domestic abuse.

More from MLive:

Bicyclists to ride Ann Arbor hill 300 times for Sexual Assault Awareness Month

11 women file lawsuit alleging Eastern Michigan University mishandled sexual assault claims

UM warns it wont condone marijuana use at Hash Bash smoke-in protest
Sorry!

This content is not available in your region
MDC-T Vice President Thokozani Khupe has given up her three-month fight against newly elected party boss Douglas Mwonzora following chaotic extraordinary congress (EOC), which left the opposition deeply divided.

At last December's elective EOC, Khupe, now Vice President Elias Mudzuri and national chairperson Morgen Komichi; who were contesting for the presidency, lost the contest to Mwonzora in an election marred with violence.

The losers also felt aggrieved and walked out in protest accusing Mwonzora of rigging the election and looting the party's financial coffers.

However, in January, Mwonzora offered the three losing officials an olive branch and appointed Khupe as the first VP, Mudzuri second VP and Komichi as the national chairperson.

But, Khupe declined the offer insisting she did not recognise Mwonzora as the MDC-T president. The former deputy prime minister in the now defunct inclusive government, demanded the opposition party should hold fresh elections as the outcome of the December elections had been rigged and was marred with violence.

Efforts by Mwonzora to engage Khupe in the past three months were fruitless as she insisted on fresh elections results.

However, this week, the MDC-T confirmed Khupe had finally accepted Mwonzora's offer for the first VP's post.

MDC-T spokesperson, Witness Dube confirmed the latest developments to NewZimbabwe.Com Wednesday adding the post extraordinary congress fights were now "water under the bridge".

"We also know that was a heat of the moment disputation which she did not follow through within the organs of the party or through the courts of law. It is well, all that ends well," Dube said.

The spokesperson also tried to downplay the conflict between Mwonzora and Khupe saying the VP was not readily available to take the offer as she had tested Covid-19 positive soon after the congress.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Zimbabwe Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"Dr Khupe was affected by Covid after the EOC, and that is the only known reason why she had not attended any party meetings up to yesterday (Tuesday). (However), whatever was her position regarding the EOC is now water under the bridge."

However, Dube's claims are deceptive as last month Khupe confirmed meeting with Mwonzora and raising her concerns including what she viewed as illegal Standing Committee appointments.

"I can confirm that I met with Sen. Douglas Mwonzora in Harare on 18 February 2021 for the first time since 27 December 2020 extraordinary congress. The following issues were discussed:1. Violence, illegitimate voters roll as well as inquorate EOC among others," Khupe said last month.

She added; "That the National Council held on 6 February 2021 had no mandate to alter or amend the constitution. My absence in today's press conference held at MRT (Morgan Richard Tsvangirai) House was informed by the need to address the aforementioned important issues to enhance smooth running of our great movement, MDC-T."
(Natural News) The data that AstraZeneca has been using and releasing in clinical trials on its experimental injection for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) is outdated, officials warn.

The Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) sent a notice both to AstraZeneca and to two government health agencies expressing worry that the England-based drug giant is using outdated information to declare its jab is safe and effective.

The boards job involves monitoring clinical trials and reviewing data collected at regular intervals throughout the testing process. Based on what the board has uncovered thus far, it would appear that AstraZeneca is actively manipulating data in an attempt to peddle an unsafe and ineffective injection on the masses.

According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which is headed up by the infamous Anthony Fauci, the DSMB has expressed concern that AstraZeneca may have included outdated information from a phase three clinical trial that may have provided an incomplete view of the efficacy data.

The NIAID is now urging AstraZeneca to work closely with the DSMB to ensure that the company uses and releases only the most accurate and up-to-date information. As of right now, AstraZeneca is basically lying to both regulators and the general public about the true nature of its Chinese virus injection.

According to the company, its Wuhan flu injection was well tolerated in phase three trials, but again this is based on incomplete and outdated information that of course benefits the company at the expense of public health.

Fauci says AstraZeneca jab is safe and effective despite fraudulent data

Despite all this, Fauci says that AstraZenecas experimental gene therapy injection is still likely  very good.

During a recent appearance on ABCs Good Morning America program, Fauci reiterated the official narrative that no matter how much corruption and fraud is involved with the process, every Chinese virus injection presented to the public is still safe and effective.

Even though the DSMB got concerned and wrote a rather harsh note, Fauci says there is nothing to worry about because the injection in question is already being mass produced and thus must be plunged into peoples arms at warp speed if Big Pharma is going to realize the profits it craves.

More than a dozen countries throughout Europe are not buying what Fauci is trying to sell them, however. All of them suspended their AstraZeneca vaccination programs after it was revealed that many recipients were developing deadly blood clots or dying after injection.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA), like Fauci, still says the AstraZeneca jab is safe and effective, adding that the observed deadly side effects could not possibly be linked to the injection. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would likely say the same thing were the AstraZeneca jab being administered here, though it has not yet received approval.

This is soon to come, though, as the FDA is expected to issue emergency use authorization (EUA) for the AstraZeneca jab in a matter of weeks. Once approved, the jab will join three others from Pfizer and BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson (J&J) that have already received EUA from the FDA.

Currently, about 45 million people living in the U.S. have been injected with one of the aforementioned three jabs. Another 38 million are on the uniquely two-dose Pfizer/BioNTech track and have only received the first dose.

Since they are immune to being sued, they can do whatever they want with impunity, wrote one commenter at The Epoch Times about how these Big Pharma corporations are getting away with murder. Neither Big Pharma nor social media should be immune to litigation.

More related news about AstraZeneca, Anthony Fauci, and the rest of the Big Pharma cabal can be found at Evil.news.

Sources for this article include:

TheEpochTimes.com

NaturalNews.com

NaturalNews.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.
Ocholi Edicha was convicted for his involvement in the killing of Kogi PDP women leader, Salome Abuh, in 2019.

A high court in Idah, Kogi State, on Wednesday, sentenced Ocholi Edicha to 12 years and six months in prison over his involvement in the killing of the state Peoples Democratic Party women leader, Salome Abuh.

According to Punch newspaper, Mr Edicha was convicted of criminal conspiracy, armed robbery and culpable homicide.

The prosecution called five witnesses during the trial.

The report said the court agreed with the oral testimony and witnesses' accounts and statement made to the police.

Although the defendant denied making statement to the Nigeria police, he accepted some aspects of the statement, which was later admitted by the court.

Mrs Abuh was shot and her residence set ablaze in Ochadamu in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State during the state's governorship election in 2019.

After the incident, the police paraded six suspects, including Mr Edicha.

The State Commissioner of Police, Akeem Busari, while parading the suspects in Lokoja said they were arrested on November 22, 2019 by the police in collaboration with local vigilantes.

He named them as Ocholi Edicha, Adamu Haruna, Onu Egbunu, Musa Alidu, Attai Haruna Egwu and Attah Ejeh.

Mr Busari identified Ocholi Edicha as the ring leader of the mob that set Mrs Abuh's residence ablaze.
Miami, Florida--(Newsfile Corp. - March 25, 2021) - Miami-based United American Corp (OTC Pink: UAMA) ("UnitedCorp") announced today that its December 31, 2019 year-end financial results and 2019 annual report will be released on Monday, March 29 at 9:00am along with corporate updates. Furthermore, the company announced that it will release its 2020 quarterly and 2020 year-end financial results and related annual report on Monday, April 5 at 9:00 am as well as future plans for the company.

United American Corp - a Florida-based development and management company focusing on telecommunications and information technologies



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6697/78492_c54fc8c3e41afa01_001full.jpg

About United American Corp

Established in 1992, United American Corp is a Florida-based development and management company focusing on telecommunications and information technologies. The company currently holds the rights to manage a portfolio of patents and proprietary technology in telecommunications, social media and Blockchain technology, and owns and operates the Data Center Domes which are amongst the world's most efficient and green data centers and are designed to provide heat for agricultural operations using computer equipment in naturally cooled data centers where efficiency and low-cost operations are a priority.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of numerous factors that may be beyond the Company's control. Forward-looking statements are based on the expectations and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made, and the Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements should circumstances in management's expectations or opinions change.

Source:

United American Corp

Contact:

Investor Relations

investorrelations@unitedcorp.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/78492
She recently marked six months since she gave birth to her second child Serena.

And Tamara Ecclestone looked every inch the doting mother as she posed with her youngest daughter during a trip to a waterpark in Dubai on Thursday.

The mother-of-two, 36, wowed in a plunging pink swimsuit in the lovely snaps which she uploaded to her Instagram.

Quality time: Tamara Ecclestone looked every inch the doting mother as she posed with her daughter Serena during a trip to a waterpark in Dubai on Thursday

Tamara looked relaxed as she posed in the flattering one-piece which showed off her holiday tan as she held her baby who wore a sweet pink and white sun hat.

The beauty wore her dark tresses in a chic bun and opted for minimal makeup for the day out.

She accessorised with brown tortoise shell sunglasses and gold bracelets as she beamed at her little one.

Lovely: The mother-of-two, 36, wowed in a plunging pink swimsuit in the lovely snaps which she uploaded to her Instagram

Family: Tamara looked relaxed as she posed in the flattering one-piece which showed off her holiday tan as she held her baby who wore a sweet pink and white sun hat

It comes after last week she celebrated her eldest daughter Sophia's seventh birthday in style by visiting a cooking school and a dessert parlour in Dubai.

In their sweet posts, the birthday girl looked delighted as she licked chocolate off of a spatula at Mamalu Kitchen, before tucking into a tasty milkshake at Black Tap.

Fifi's doting mother paid tribute to her mini-me as she wrote in an accompanying caption: 'The most amazing few days celebrating our 7 year old.

'Couldnt be more proud of the little lady your becoming. Courageous, kind, loyal, clever and hilarious. Love you so much. Birthday eve was spent @mamalukitchen one of our favourites.'

Sweet: She also shared a very cute picture of Serena close up as she enjoyed a dip in the pool

Jay added: 'Happy 7th birthday to my baby girl Fifi and a happy 6 months bday to my little Fifi mark II, Riri.  The months and years are just flying by in a blink.

'Words cant describe how lucky I feel to have two such happy and healthy girls. May every father be blessed with daughters.'

Alongside images of Sophia looking animated with her baby sister, he added: 'Family dinner to celebrate Fifis 7th birthday, at @blacktapdubai.

Fun-filled: It comes after last week she celebrated their eldest daughter Sophia's seventh birthday in style by visiting a cooking school and a dessert parlour in Dubai

Celebrations galore: On the same day as her sister's seventh birthday, baby Serena turned six months old

'Probably should have been in the [photo] but Im better the other side of the camera anyway. Riris face in the last photo. Lovely day, Godbless X' (sic)

The family have barely been back to their UK home since last June, with businessman Jay admitting concerns over their protection was one reason they had not been back more.

The father-of-two revealed to MailOnline that they have no plans to return to London following the dramatic security lapse that led to a multi-million pound jewel heist at her West London home in December 2019.
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
A sign asking vacationners to follow Covid-19 safety protocols in Miami Beach

After a year of pandemic restrictions, Americans want to get back on the movea dynamic apparent in Miami's spring break revellers and Washington's deluge of rental cars each weekend.

Travel volumes remain depressed, but off their lows. Since March 11, between 1 and 1.5 million people per day have traveled by air, according to Transportation Security Administration data.

That level, while less than half the volume in 2019, stands well above the worst of the pandemic. Many in the travel industry are optimistic about a lift from vaccines after a catastrophic 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Spring is bringing warmer weather and a brighter outlook for the travel industry," said Amir Eylon, president of market consultancy Longwoods International.

"The faster the progress is on vaccines and controlling the virus, the faster the battered travel sector will recover."

The United States is administering about 2.5 million doses of vaccine per day. A majority of the population is on track to be vaccinated by the July 4 national holiday, setting the stage for a much busier travel outlook.

A new poll shows that 87 percent of American travelers have travel plans in the next six months, the highest level since March 2020 at the start of the pandemic, according to a Longwoods survey published this week.

"Only a third of travelers now say that COVID-19 will greatly impact their decision to travel in the next six months, the lowest level in a year," according to the survey.

United Airlines on Thursday announced it was adding 26 new routes between Midwestern cities and coastal destinations such as Hilton Head, South Carolina and Portland, Maine.

Comeback for Big Apple?

Among the destinations eager for a comeback is New York City, which saw 66.6 million visitors in 2019.

Broadway theaters remain shuttered a year into the coronavirus pandemic, but New York travel officials see some signs of a recovery from the worst of 2020

For now, most people visiting to the Big Apple are "within driving distance" of the city, said Chris Heywood, spokesman for NYC & Company, the city's official tourism and travel promotion organization.

"We are starting to see a lot of greenshoots of recovery," Heywood said, adding that domestic and leisure travel is coming back faster than international and business travel.

Data shows New York's hotels are becoming busier. The hotel occupancy rate was 47 percent for the week of March 7, the highest level since June 2020, according to data from STR.

That is still well below the 87 percent in the same period of 2019, but there are clear signs of life on weekends: On Saturday, March 13, occupancy reached 61.5 percent.

NYC & Company projects 36.4 million visitors in 2021 after the city had 22 million in 2020.

"Travel and tourism is the industry hardest hit by the economic fallout of COVID, and the damage is so severe that a broader economic recovery will stall if we can't get travel off the ground," said Roger Dow, chief executive of US Travel, a nonprofit representing the travel industry.

Dow expressed optimism about a rebound in domestic travel, "but that alone won't get the job done," he said. "A full travel recovery will depend on reopening international markets, and we must also contend with the challenge of reviving business travel."

Spending on travel fell 42 percent in 2020 to $680 billion in the United States, according to data from US Travel.

Even as industry officials grow more hopeful, public health leaders warn against a premature resumption of activity. On Wednesday alone, some 85,000 new COVID-19 infections were reported, according to Johns Hopkins University.

"Now is not the time to travel," Rochelle Walensky, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Monday.

Worries about renewed COVID-19 outbreaks prompted Miami officials to enact a nighttime curfew following an infusion of rowdy "spring breakers" that have frustrated locals.

Explore further US health officials alarmed by rise in air travel

 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 Ministry of Commerce has set five conditions for a foreigner to enter into a partnership with a Saudi investor or own a facility, in accordance with the corrective period for violators of the anti-tasattur regulation, said a report.

The first and second requirements are that the establishments total revenues should be over SR40 million ($10.66 million), or the number of employees should exceed 50, a Saudi Gazette report quoting the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce Ayidh Al-Ghwainem said.

The third condition is that the commercial register should have been issued before the date of the corrective period, and the fourth is the right to set forth in providing the capital, gradually, for a period of three years, and the fifth of these conditions is the approval of the Saudi sponsor.

Al-Ghwainem explained that submitting an application to correct the cover-up (Tasattur) violation does not require the consent of the two parties.

In other words, one of the parties can submit a request for rectification, whether to become a partner or the owner of the facility or to obtain a privileged residence permit (Iqama) for small entities, and the corrective period has waived the requirement for the international presence of the beneficiary enterprise.

He said that the platform for correcting the status of violators of the anti-cover-up regulation is independent of all government and monitoring regulations.

Hence, all the information provided to the platform enjoys total privacy and confidentiality. The information provided by applicants for correction of their status is not shared with any party.
Korn guitarist Brian "Head" Welch has clarified comments he recently made about his faith early on in his Christian walk in which he described some of his actions as haphazard and those of a "fanatic."

The rocker and evangelist took to Instagram over the weekend with a screen shot of an article in which the headline reads: Korns Brian Head Welch admits that he went too far with his Christian beliefs. A pull quote from the article is of Welch saying, There's nothing worse than a freaking irritating religious person just shoving it down your throat.

Some have taken my words out of context, but I do have a tendency to ramble without articulating my hearts intent clear enough, which is typical when a person with A.D.D. tries to juggle the inflow of dozens of thoughts coming in at once, Welch wrote on Instagram alongside an image of the article's headline and pull quote.

His comments were reported by the Consequence Of Sound, which were taken from an interview he had with MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn on his "No F------ Regrets With Robb Flynn" podcast.

Source:The Christian Post
After spending two decades building a business empire centered around coal, Indian billionaire is now looking beyond the fossil fuel to cement his groups future. His ambitious plans are getting a boost from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Adani has emerged as Indias infrastructure king, diversifying from mines, ports and power plants into airports, data centers and defense -- sectors Modi considers crucial to meeting Indias economic goals. Investors are rewarding the pivot, betting the tycoons strategy of dovetailing his interests with the governments development program will pay off.

The groups six listed units added a combined $79 billion to their market value in the past year at the height of a pandemic, capping the best 12 months in their history. Thats the most after the nations two biggest business empires, Tata group and Mukesh Ambani-led Ltd. Blue-chip names including French oil giant Total SE and Warburg Pincus LLC have plowed money into Adanis companies.

In less than two years, Adani has gained control of seven airports and almost a quarter of Indias air traffic. He has unveiled plans to boost his renewable energy capacity almost eightfold by 2025, positioning himself to benefit as the government debates ambitious climate targets that would cut net greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century. Last week, he won a contract to co-develop a port terminal in Sri Lanka, a neighbor India is courting to check Chinas influence in the region. Adani Enterprises Ltd. signed a pact last month with EdgeConneX to develop and operate data centers across India.

Adani is politically savvy and invests in mostly sensible, long-dated infrastructure projects broadly tied to government priorities, said Tim Buckley, director of energy finance for Australia and South Asia at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, or IEEFA. So long as India sustains strong growth, the group is likely to prosper under his leadership and witness a surge in global investor interest.

The focus on Indias infrastructure forms the core of our nation building philosophy and the group has created thousands of jobs and delivered unprecedented value to its shareholders, Adani said at a JPMorgan India Summit in September. A representative for the group declined to comment for this story.

After starting out as a commodities trader in the late 1980s, Adani is now richer than Jack Ma and is Indias second-wealthiest person with a net worth of $56 billion. He added $50 billion to his fortune in the past year, about $5 billion more than Ambani, Asias richest man, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Adanis net worth rose more than any other billionaires this year.

Adani shot into the international limelight when he won a coal project in Australia in 2010. Ever since, hes come under attack from climate activists including Greta Thunberg. A Stop Adani campaign by environmentalists disrupted development, with pressure building on lenders to turn off the credit tap. In a 2019 interview with Bloomberg News, Adani said the projects goals were energy security for India and jobs for locals.

But back home, Adani has been at the center of another controversy that got louder especially after Modi became prime minister in 2014. Opponents of the powerful leader say Adanis success is largely due to his closeness to Modi -- an allegation denied by the tycoon -- and his propensity to align his investments with Modis policy objectives.

Critics point to reports that the federal government under Modi relaxed airport bidding rules, helping Adanis group qualify despite having shown no prior experience running an airport. A lease the conglomerate won in the southern state of Kerala faced challenge in court, with a local minister last year calling the winning bid an an act of brazen cronyism.

The Adani group rejected those claims and said it won through a competitive process. In a Jan. 21 statement, the government said Adani was the top bidder among 86 registrations, and the process was transparent. The nations Supreme Court is still hearing the dispute. The Adani group representative declined to comment.

Like Modi, Adani hails from the western Indian state of Gujarat. About two decades ago, Adani publicly backed Modi when a crisis threatened to end the rising politicians career. Modi was under attack by rivals and businessmen who accused him of failing to prevent bloody sectarian riots in his home state in 2002. Adani created a regional industry lobby and helped kick off a biannual global investment summit in Gujarat in 2003 that boosted Modis pro-business credentials.

The connection between Modi and Adani dates back to 2003, said Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, a political analyst who wrote the biography Narendra Modi: The Man, the Times. Adanis fortunes will certainly take a beating without Modi in power. Should that happen, he will start forging close ties with the new ruling party, Mukhopadhyay said.

Responding to his opponents, Modi said in a parliament speech last month that the role of private enterprise in the economy is as important as the public sector, and wealth creators are a necessity. The Adani representative declined to comment.

Buoyant credit markets helped fuel Adanis expansion. Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd. sold a 10-year dollar bond in January at a 3.10% coupon, compared with 4.375% in June 2019. Adani Green Energy Ltd. signed a $1.35 billion loan facility last week from 12 banks including Standard Chartered Plc and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., one of the biggest renewable loans in Asia.

While Credit Suisse Group AG estimates the groups gross debt jumped 29% to $24 billion in the six months through September from a year earlier, a spinoff and ring fencing of units in 2015 has provided comfort to creditors.

The biggest threat Adani faces is coal. Financial institutions around the world are increasingly under pressure to avoid funding energy projects using the dirtiest fossil fuel. Adani Enterprises is Indias biggest importer and also a contract miner for 101 million tons annually. His investments of more than $2 billion in Australia are running into challenges and delays, and could pose a risk to any of the units stepping in to fund the development.

Adanis new ventures face far fewer headwinds. He has plans for defense manufacturing, heeding Modis calls to help cut reliance on expensive imports. He is also scaling up production of solar panels and modules, again under Modis Make in India appeal. The foray into data centers follows the governments proposed law that requires data to be stored locally.

Adanis penchant for attracting foreign capital also jibes with the priorities of a Modi administration that doesnt have a large enough budget to finance its infrastructure priorities. Warburg invested $110 million in Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone this month, while Frances Total took its total investment in Adani Green to $2.5 billion.

All told, Adani Group is doing all the right things, said Chakri Lokapriya, chief investment officer at TCG Asset Management Co. in Mumbai, whose fund recently sold its holdings in Adani units but is looking to buy again. In coming years, Adani group will own controlling stakes in critical gateways to infrastructure, power generation and information technology.

--With assistance from Bhuma Shrivastava, Bijou George, Bibhudatta Pradhan, Varun Vamsi Saripalli and Cecile Vannucci.
Defence Counsel Lamin S. Camara, who is representing Yakumba Jaiteh and Yusupha Jaiteh, who are charged with assault and obstruction, had informed the Kanifing Magistrates' Court before Principal Magistrate Isatou Janneh-Njie that the defence would file a no-case submission. The defence felt that the prosecution has not established a prima facie case against the accused persons to warrant them to open their defence.

When the case was called on the 23rd March, 2021, ASP Jahateh rose and told the court that he was representing the IGP along with Warrant First Class 2231 Gibba and Inspector Sanyang. He stated that the accused persons and their lawyer, Lamin S. Camara, were not present in court. He noted that no reason was advanced by the defence as to why they were not present in court. He applied for an adjournment at the instance of the defence.

The presiding magistrate then told the court that the case would be adjourned to the 12th April, 2021, to give the defence the benefit of the doubt to file a no-case submission.

This followed the testimony of the last prosecution witness, Sisaho Nyabally. The witness testified that he lives at Serrekunda and he is a narcotic officer. He stated that he is stationed at Serrekunda Police Station.

He further noted that on the 6th October, 2020, he was part of a team of narcotic officers. He informed the court that he saw the accused persons in the past. He adduced that on the 6th October, 2020, a team of narcotic officers left the charge office for a patrol. He said the team comprised Abdoulie Jarju, Ebrima Fadera, Landing Tamba and himself.

He testified that upon arrival at Queen's Head Bar their vehicle stopped. He told the court that they met some people and told them that they would like to conduct a search after they identified themselves as narcotic officers. He revealed that as their vehicle stopped, some of his colleagues went to a corner while some stayed.

"At Queen's Head Bar, we conducted a search on the people we found. As we were going, we realized that two of our men were left behind," he testified. He went on to say that when they realized the absence of his colleagues, they boarded a vehicle and heard a shout for help from the junction. He stated that he and his other colleagues went to the scene, and when they arrived, they showed out their warrant cards.

"On arrival, we found our colleagues struggling with the suspect, Tijan Macauley, who was being cuffed. As we were trying to get Tijan into the vehicle, the crowd insisted that Tijan would not go," he told the court.

He revealed that he realised that among the crowd, there was a lady called Yakumba Jaiteh, and that she was with an old man he believed to be her father. He further stated that as they were struggling with Tijan to get him into the vehicle, Yakumba and her father dragged Tijan from the officers. He added that Yakumba and her father held Tijan so that he would not be arrested.

"We succeeded getting Tijan into the vehicle. As he was in the vehicle, Yakumba and her father still pulled Tijan from the vehicle and he fell. We drove to the Serrekunda Police Station. On arrival, Ebrima Fadera was complaining about some injuries he sustained. He was escorted to the hospital where he was treated and discharged. I later made my statement and signed it," he narrated.

Under cross-examination to test the credibility of the witness, Lawyer L.S. Camara, who was representing the accused persons, rose and asked him how long he has been a narcotic officer. He said he served twelve years as a narcotic officer. It was put to him that he said that at the Queen's Head Bar, he and his colleagues went to the junction. He answered in the positive.

"How long have you been at the junction before you went to the Queen's Head Bar?" he was asked.

"Not long," he replied.

"Who were not at the scene when you went back to your vehicle?" Counsel Camara wanted to know.

"They were Abdoulie Jarju and Ebrima Fadera," he said.

He was asked whether Abdoulie Jarju and Ebrima Fadera were the officers who went to Tijan and handcuffed him. He replied in the positive. It was put to him that he said that when they arrived they found a crowd. He was asked how big the crowd was. In response, he said it was not a large crowd. He was also asked whether there were men and women mixed together. He answered in the positive.

It was put to him that he did not know Yakumba before. He noted that he could recognise her. It was also put to him that he did not know Yusupha Jaiteh before. He answered in the negative. He asked whether the majority of people who were pushing and pulling were at the junction. He replied that they could have been there.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Gambia Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"Where did you realise that the accused persons were among the crowd?"

"They were on the ground."

"At the scene, did you specifically know Yakumba?"

"Yes. But for Yusupha Jaiteh, I knew him at the station."

"Were you present when Yakumba spoke to Jarju and Fadera?"

"No."

"Because you were not there, you do not know what transpired between the accused persons and Jarju and Fadera."

"Yes."

It was put to him that he did not know the circumstances that led to the arrest of Tijan Macauley. He stated that he knew how Tijan was arrested but further told the court that he was not present when Tijan was arrested and put in cuffs.

At this juncture, he was given his statement which he confirmed. Counsel Camara applied to tender the statement. The prosecution team did not raise any objection to the tendering of the document. It was subsequently admitted by the court.
A former Decatur City High School teacher has resigned amid accusations of sexual conduct with students. Carrie Witt submitted her resignation during a special meeting for the Decatur City Board of Education. The Board originally scheduled a termination hearing for August 14th, but that meeting has been cancelled since Witt offered her resignation.

Witt had been on paid administrative leave for two years after she was accussed of having sex with two students between the ages of 16 and 19. During those two years Witt was paid a salary of $116,412. Morgan County Court Judge Glenn Thompson dismissed the charges against Witt calling the law on sex between a teacher and student unconstitutional. An appeal court recently reveresed the Thompson's ruling sending the case back to court.

Witt could face between two to 20 years in prison if found guilty.

This is the statement emailed from the Decatur City School Board of Education:

"The Decatur City Board of Education is pleased to have been able to bring closure to personnel

proceedings involving Carrie Cabri Witt by securing Ms. Witts resignation. The Boards

approval of Ms. Witts resignation does not in any way signify its acceptance of or agreement

with her denial of culpability. Carrie Witt was a former teacher at Decatur High School, who,

according to Court records, was arrested on March 21, 2016, for alleged violation of Code of

Alabama 13A-6-81, School Employee engaging in a sex act with a student under the age of 19

years which is a class B felony, carrying a range of punishment from two years to twenty years

in prison.



The termination hearing was delayed by order of The Circuit Court of Morgan County. Decatur

City Schools appealed this delay to the Supreme Court of Alabama. The Supreme Court

unanimously ruled in the Boards favor, reversing the injunction. A termination hearing was

scheduled as soon as possible, for Tuesday, August 14, 2018. This resignation negates the

necessity of the termination hearing. Although legal complications beyond our control delayed

resolution of the case, the determination to pursue it to conclusion confirms the Boards

unwavering commitment to ensuring that our faculty and staff adhere to the highest standards of

professionalism in their dealings with students."
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Go to form
Cover Story

Booming exponentially, the digital marketing industry is evolving as a major marketing trend of the 21st century intensified by digitization and rapid internet penetration. Contributing to this flourishing domain significantly, Digital Mill has emerged as one of the most dependable, trustworthy and ethical digital agencies across the NCR in India. Established by Anu Sehgal, Former Correspondent of The Economic Times, Digital Mill is blossoming into a novel digital platform adorned with contemporary technological advancements to tackle the rising demands of the digital marketing domain. Digital Mill is among bests in Delhi NCR and is the first of the companies that is approached by corporate & small companies for brand launches, political content, website designing, and SEO.
Indian Coast Guard swooped on a Sri Lankan boat and seized narcotics worth Rs.3000-crore & 5 AK-47s in an operation in Arabian Sea off Minicoy Isles. Image Source: IANS News

Indian Coast Guard swooped on a Sri Lankan boat and seized narcotics worth Rs.3000-crore & 5 AK-47s in an operation in Arabian Sea off Minicoy Isles. Image Source: IANS News

Mumbai, March 25 : In a major intelligence-based swoop, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) on Thursday said it has seized narcotics valued over Rs 3,000 crore and weapons from a Sri Lankan boat, off the Minicoy Isle in the Lakshadweep Islands region.

The ICG received an intelligence input on March 15 regarding a suspicious foreign boat likely to be engaged in drug trafficking in the high seas near the Lakshadweep Islands.

Following this and after verification, the ICG swiftly launched a coordinated air-sea operation to track the suspicious vessels in the Arabian Sea.

After intensive maritime and aerial searches of the regions, on March 18, the patrol units finally espied three suspicious boats off the Minicoy Isles and intercepted them.

Upon boarding the vessels and interrogating the crew, the ICG sleuths found their statements to be inconsistent, following which they searched the three vessels thoroughly.

"On searching the boats, high-grade heroin 300 kgs, 5 AK-47 rifles with 1,000 live rounds were recovered from Sri Lankan fishing boat 'Ravihansi'. The estimated value of narcotics in the international markets is approx Rs 3,000 crore," said an ICG spokesperson here.

The three boats, along with their 19-crew members, have been taken to Vizhinjam, Kerala, for further joint investigations.

This is the second major anti-drug trafficking operation by the ICG on the India's west coast within a fortnight.

On March 5, ICG ships and aircraft had apprehended Sri Lankan boat 'Akarsha Duwa' with 6 crew in the same region off Minicoy Isles.

The crew had confessed to carrying 200 kg of high-grade heroin and 60 kg hashish which they jettisoned in the Arabian Sea upon sighting the ICG patrol ships.

Prior to these, in November 2020, the ICG had intercepted Sri Lankan vessel 'Shenaya Duwa' off Kanyakumari in the Indian Ocean with 120 kg narcotics valued at Rs 1,000 crore and five weapons.

"The past one year has proved to be a big setback for drug traffickers at sea as ICG has successfully seized about 1.6 tons of narcotics valued at approximately Rs 4,900 crore. The total drug haul done by ICG since inception amounts to Rs 10,952 crore," the spokesperson said.
ATLANTA, March 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Atlanta-based Panoramic Ventures today announced the expansion of its leadership team, including the promotion of a new General Partner and the addition of a Vice President of Marketing and a Vice President on the investment team. Last month, the VC firm announced its formation through a partnership between Paul Judge and BIP Capital, one of the most active venture capital firms in the Southeast with more than $550 million in assets under management across five fund families.

Panoramic's mission is to take a "wider-view" approach to investing in order to fund companies in emerging tech ecosystems and give more entrepreneurs access to capital to build leading tech companies. In addition to seeking out investments in non-traditional geographies such as the Southeast and Midwest, racial and gender diversity of founders and teams is a focus. The new fund will also pursue innovative companies founded within colleges and universities.

Panoramic's vision is to "help founders everywhere accelerate farther and faster."

Flickinger Promoted to General PartnerMark Flickinger, previously COO at BIP Capital where he helped to raise and invest Funds III and IV, has been promoted to General Partner and COO of Panoramic Ventures. In addition to C-level and General Partner responsibilities, Flickinger also continues to work with portfolio companies, focusing on post-investment talent acquisition and scaling efficiently. He currently sits on the Board of Directors for portfolio companies AchieveIt and VoApps, while working closely with many others.

McQueen Joins to Head MarketingTami McQueen joins Panoramic as Vice President of Marketing. Previously, she was the first marketing hire at SalesLoft, one of the fastest-growing B2B SaaS startups that is now recognized as a "unicorn." As an entrepreneur, McQueen co-founded creative marketing agency 31south, now known as Summit House. She has worked with some of software's most innovative brands, including ActionIQ, Agility Recovery, Digital Hands, Keyfactor, SaaStr, Tricentis, and Women Who Code. McQueen will lead the firm's marketing efforts while also working closely with portfolio companies as a part of Panoramic's Founder Success Program.

Harris Joins Investment TeamChad Harris joins Panoramic as a Vice President on the investment team, where he focuses on early-stage investments. Harris comes to Panoramic from Truist Securities, where he was a VP in Equity Capital Markets and an Associate in TMT industry coverage. He was also a Manager in the Strategy and Corporate Development Group at MTV Networks. Harris began his career at Morgan Stanley as an Associate in Equity Research covering the cable & satellite industry.

"Mark highly deserves the promotion to General Partner as he has been key to our growth and success," said Mark Buffington, Managing Partner of Panoramic, a role he shares with entrepreneur and investor Paul Judge. "We're also excited to have Tami and Chad join our team, as they both offer significant experience in areas important for our ongoing momentum. We look forward to their contributions as we enter our next chapter of growth."

The addition of McQueen and Harris brings the Panoramic team to 26 members who offer decades of experience, both as founders and investors, and collectively have invested in over 200 startups and achieved billions in exit proceeds.

About Panoramic VenturesPanoramic Ventures is a venture capital firm based in Atlanta that takes a "wider-view" approach to investing by targeting the Southeast and Midwest and placing a focus on diverse founders and university startups. Panoramic opens new doors for overlooked founders, giving more entrepreneurs access to capital to build leading tech companies. For more information, visit www.panoramic.vc or follow Panoramic Ventures on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Twitter @panoramicvc.

Media Contact:Kathy Berardi media@panoramic.vc 678.644.4122

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/panoramic-ventures-gains-momentum-with-expansion-of-leadership-team-301255074.html

SOURCE Panoramic Ventures
Boris escaped without a bruise. A graze, perhaps, but nothing that required matrons attention. The Coronavirus Regulations Bill, which enables the Government to extend its bossy lockdown laws for another six months, passed by 484 votes to 76. Tory rebellion: 36.

Not so much an uprising as a minor scuffle in the queue at the local kebab shop. It meant that for another six months, the Government can continue to harass and criminalise us simply for going about our business.

Matt Hancock, who opened the debate, informed the House that there was no guarantee the laws would not be extended beyond September. The Health Secretary was barely apologetic. Of course not: he loves this authoritarian stuff.

Matt Hancock, who opened the debate, informed the House that there was no guarantee the laws would not be extended beyond September

The Health Secretary was barely apologetic. Of course not: he loves this authoritarian stuff

Sir Keir Starmer had instructed his party to vote for the Bill, so we heard little by way of opposition from Labour. Hancocks shadow Jon Ashworth certainly couldnt be bothered. As usual, he gave the impression he might disappear off with Hancock after his speech for a friendly game of billiards and a large brandy.

A few old lefties came out against. Owlish Graham Stringer (Lab, Blackley) gave a fine speech, all pounding kettledrums and deep organ sounds, urging Parliament never to award a government such sweeping powers again. Joining Mr Stringer in the no lobby: one Jeremy Corbyn.

He attacked the Governments take-it-or-leave-it approach to its draconian laws which was unacceptable in any democracy.

Until his name flashed up on the parliamentary feed, I had forgotten Labours previous leader is currently without party. Stateless. He wore a striking powder blue suit, powder blue shirt combo, finished with a raffish red tie. Had the old rake raided Barry Manilows wardrobe?

The privilege of following Mr Corbyn fell on Tory rebel William Wraggs broad shoulders. Poor Wraggy was most perplexed. He found himself in total agreement with Jezza. Disturbing was how he described the feeling. He attacked the utilitarian urges sweeping the Government front bench, describing the idea of vaccine passports as back-of-the-fag packet-esque.

Theres something wonderful about Mr Wraggs impertinence towards his party during this crisis. He reminds me of a despairing father whose son has just packed in a promising career in the City to pursue life in a sex cult.

Wraggs colleagues similarly swirled with tweedy disgruntlement. The atmosphere on the Tory backbenches felt like the Long Room at Lords when the Aussies are giving us a particularly hard thrashing.

Sir Charles Walker (Con, Broxbourne) gave an eccentric speech in which he pledged to walk around with a pint of milk in his hands in protest against what he saw as Britains slide into authoritarianism.

He encouraged others to do the same. Perhaps we might meet and stop for a chat, he ventured. Hmm. I fear Sir Charless attempted call to arms may struggle to catch on.

Sir Desmond Swayne (Con, New Forest W), in excellent voice as ever, reckoned the Government had become hooked on tyranny. Wedded to the stick Sir Dessie claimed.

Thats the trouble with governments. Hand over your freedoms, and they never want to give em back. That stately creature Sir Graham Brady (Con, Altrincham) said the Governments lust for control had gone too far. While Steve Baker (Con, Wycombe) demanded an end to all those scaremongering billboards showing patients dying of coronavirus. Quite right. Theyre an abomination.

Boris escaped without a bruise. A graze, perhaps, but nothing that required matrons attention. The Coronavirus Regulations Bill, which enables the Government to extend its bossy lockdown laws for another six months, passed by 484 votes to 76. Tory rebellion: 36

Sir Charles Walker (Con, Broxbourne) gave an eccentric speech in which he pledged to walk around with a pint of milk in his hands in protest against what he saw as Britains slide into authoritarianism

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, squinting and whining like a celebrity at a telethon, portentously announced that his party was voting against the Government. Yup, all 11 of them.

As usual, Sir Ed was completely outshone by one of his own MPs, Munira Wilson (Twickenham) who spoke up for all those unfairly prosecuted during lockdown. Good grief. The Lib Dems acting like Liberals? Lets hope it catches on.

In over three hours of debate, and despite the overhwelming result, only three members by my count bothered to give their unqualified support for the Bill. Pathetic really.

Oh well, well be doing this all again in September, of course. Just you watch.
House of Representatives, Wednesday resolved to pursue a comprehensive audit of funds so far expended on the maintenance and rehabilitation of the nation's refineries.

These included Port Harcourt, Warri, Kaduna refineries. Motion for the probe was moved by Hon. Onofiok Luke from Akwa Ibom State.

It was considered and adopted by the House. The probe is coming on the heels of the approval of $1.5 billion by the Federal Executive Council, FEC for the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery.

Incidentally, the singular approval has attracted widespread criticisms from many quarters which argued the money was far bigger than the worth or value of the facility itself.

Details later:
The world over, fraud is a major concern for both individuals and companies. The complexity of fraud changes every day and billions of Pula are lost to fraudsters on a yearly basis.

First National Bank Botswana, the countrys largest bank, is well alive to this. This explains why more resources are channeled towards guarding customers against financial fraud. No one within the bank is better placed to talk about fraud other than the banks Chief Risk Officer (CRO), Lesego Bannalotlhe. Her major role is to oversee the banks structures that deal with legal, fraud and operational risks. Bannalotlhe was appointed to the important position in 2016, after holding several senior positions within the bank.



The environment we work in is very agile. We have to ensure that we are always one step ahead of fraudsters, Bannalotlhe told Botswana Guardian by phone on Wednesday. Fraudsters are highly educated and sophisticated individuals, she disclosed, adding that fraudsters do a lot of research and background checks before hitting unsuspecting targets.

According to the banks CRO, who has been within the risk and fraud management sub sector for well over a decade, FNBB has water tight systems and processes which are geared towards ensuring they protect valued customers against any fraud. In fact, there are a number of well-oiled initiatives that the bank has come up with to ensure clients are protected against any fraud. First and foremost, the bank, renowned for its digital banking and innovation in Botswana, has ensured their award-winning banking platforms are safe and secure at all times. As more and more customers go online for transaction and payment purposes, fraudsters are always on the look to short change them. This explains why they have spent a fortune to ensure, suspicious activities within customers accounts are noticed and dealt with almost immediately.



In addition, the bank has also embarked on public education campaigns that educate clients on how to guard themselves against fraud at all times. Most fraud happens against customers not the bank per se, she said. Bannalotlhe highlighted to Botswana Guardian that the fraud that has been observed happens mostly within the cyber space. There is email and internet fraud in which fraudsters target customers and third parties banking activities. She said fraudsters are capable of making instructions to banks to make payments. At times, fraudsters will intercept conversations between clients and their suppliers and later use the information for their deceitful gain.

This explains why, FNBB is at the forefront of educating and sensitizing clients that their banking details which include Personal Identification Number (PIN)s and passwords should be kept secret. Customers are not supposed to share their personal banking information with anyone no matter how close they are, Bannalotlhe advised. Another form of cybercrime within the banking space is whereby fraudsters create fraudulent websites. Customers should always be careful not to be dragged into these fake websites links. Bannalotlhe said that, past experience shows that some customers could be defrauded after ending up in fake websites which pretend to be online shops. People should be careful not to click on these kinds of sites, she further advised. The banks Chief Risk Officer explained that, customers should always be vigilant and do thorough research before buying anything online.



Botswanas banking sector, just like elsewhere, has over the years become highly digitalised. This basically means more and more customers are now doing banking on digital platforms. FNBB has a wide range of digital banking platforms, such the FNB App, online and cellphone banking, which are utilized by both retail and corporate clients. Bannalotlhe was quick to point out that, as banks are becoming highly digitalised, fraudsters are also hard at work, devising means to defraud unsuspecting customers. Fraudsters are very agile. They shift with times and trends. We have noticed more fraud since most of our customers digitized their services e.g., retailers selling goods and services through online platforms due to Covid, she stated, adding that, fraudsters are intelligent people as some come from professions such as engineering, science among others. They are not average people.



FNBB, which has as much as 600 000 customers, has not seen much of fraud affecting customers largely because of their tight systems. The other factor which has contributed to low fraud cases is continuous public education campaigns against fraud. The FNBB Chief Risk Officer has told Botswana Guardian that, on a constant basis, they up-skill the risk and fraud management staff to be in a strong position to be able to deal with the agile fraudsters. In addition, the bank is also working with all government entities which are responsible for combating fraud and financial crimes.

In the coming days, the public will go for Easter Holidays.

Generally, crimes are rifer during holidays. But why is this the case? I think this happens because most of the time people will be having money and there will be more relaxed and forget to be more cautious. Fraudsters are able to notice this, she said as a matter of fact. This explains why FNB Botswana has always been on the forefront of sensitizing clients even more during holidays. Campaigns are done through radio, social media, website, print media, FNB App, among others. Similarly, the bank, which is listed on the Botswana Stock Exchange has also made it easy for customers to report any suspected fraudulent activity in their accounts immediately.

Customers can report any fraud using the FNB App, 24-hour contact center (395 9881) toll free 0800 302 302 (all the networks), among others. Bannalotlhe has advised customers to be vigilant during the coming holidays. Among others, cautionary measures for customers are keeping bank details private, guarding online information, accounts monitoring and knowing which third parties have access to their banking information. The FNB App, online banking and cellphone banking enable customers to keep track of their accounts activities at all times.












.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........

Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

Another 235 New Mexicans have tested positive for COVID-19 and seven more with the virus have died, according to numbers the state released Thursday.

Bernalillo County had 94 of the new cases and two of the fatalities: a woman in her 70s and a man in his 80s.

ADVERTISEMENTSkip



................................................................

The other new COVID-19-related deaths were individuals in their 50s-70s from McKinley, Rio Arriba, Sandoval, San Juan and Valencia counties.

Thursday marked the one-year anniversary of New Mexicos first announced coronavirus-related death.

The man died in Artesia on March 23, 2020, but his COVID-19 test did not come back positive until the following day. The state announced his death March 25, 2020.

A year later, New Mexicos cumulative coronavirus death toll stands at 3,916.

The pace of loss has slowed considerably from peak levels.

New Mexico has averaged slightly more than five virus-related deaths per day over the last week, compared with the more than 29 per day it averaged in the month of December.

As of Thursday, 112 people with COVID-19 were hospitalized in New Mexico. Thats up from 99 on Wednesday but less than half of the 245 who were hospitalized a month ago.
Shade uses offensive attack to take down Shanksville in D5-A semis
[March 24, 2021] Samsung Develops Industry's First HKMG-Based DDR5 Memory; Ideal for Bandwidth-Intensive Advanced Computing Applications

Samsung (News - Alert) Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced memory technology, today announced that it has expanded its DDR5 DRAM memory portfolio with the industry's first 512GB DDR5 module based on High-K Metal Gate (HKMG) process technology. Delivering more than twice the performance of DDR4 at up to 7,200 megabits per second (Mbps), the new DDR5 will be capable of orchestrating the most extreme compute-hungry, high-bandwidth workloads in supercomputing, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), as well as data analytics applications. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210324006026/en/ 512GB DDR5 module based on High-K Metal Gate technology (Photo: Business Wire) "Samsung is the only semiconductor company with logic and memory capabilities and the expertise to incorporate HKMG cutting-edge logic technology into memory product development," said Young-Soo Sohn, Vice President of the DRAM Memory Planning/Enabling Group at Samsung Electronics. "By bringing this type of process innovation to DRAM manufacturing, we are able to offer our customers high-performance, yet energy-efficient mmory solutions to power the computers needed for medical research, financial markets, autonomous driving, smart cities and beyond."



"As the amount of data to be moved, stored and processed increases exponentially, the transition to DDR5 comes at a critical inflection point for cloud datacenters, networks and edge deployments," said Carolyn Duran, Vice President and GM of Memory and IO Technology at Intel (News - Alert) . "Intel's engineering teams closely partner with memory leaders like Samsung to deliver fast, power-efficient DDR5 memory that is performance-optimized and compatible with our upcoming Intel Xeon Scalable processors, code-named Sapphire Rapids." Samsung's DDR5 will utilize highly advanced HKMG technology that has been traditionally used in logic semiconductors. With continued scaling down of DRAM structures, the insulation layer has thinned, leading to a higher leakage current. By replacing the insulator with HKMG material, Samsung's DDR5 will be able to reduce the leakage and reach new heights in performance. This new memory will also use approximately 13% less power, making it especially suitable for datacenters where energy efficiency is becoming increasingly critical.

The HKMG process was adopted in Samsung's GDDR6 memory in 2018 for the first time in the industry. By expanding its use in DDR5, Samsung is further solidifying its leadership in next-generation DRAM technology. Leveraging through-silicon via (TSV) technology, Samsung's DDR5 stacks eight layers of 16Gb DRAM chips to offer the largest capacity of 512GB. TSV was first utilized in DRAM in 2014 when Samsung introduced server modules with capacities up to 256GB. Samsung is currently sampling different variations of its DDR5 memory product family to customers for verification and, ultimately, certification with their leading-edge products to accelerate AI/ML, exascale computing, analytics, networking, and other data-intensive workloads. About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Samsung inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies. The company is redefining the worlds of TVs, smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, digital appliances, network systems, and memory, system LSI, foundry and LED solutions. For the latest news, please visit the Samsung Newsroom at http://news.samsung.com. Intel, the Intel logo and Intel names are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries. Specific Intel platforms may not support all available Samsung DDR5 features. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210324006026/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Two members of the 'Freshwater Five' cocaine smuggling gang, who were jailed over the 53m plot to import 250kg of the Class A drug, have lost their fight to clear their names at the Court of Appeal.

Jonathan Beere, 51, and Daniel Payne, 46, were jailed in 2011 for 24 and 18 years respectively for conspiracy to import huge quantities of the substance into the UK via Freshwater Bay, off the coast of the Isle of Wight.

Payne and three co-defendants - Jamie Green, Scott Birtwistle and Zoran Dresic - were said to have collected the drugs from the English Channel in a fishing boat, the Galwad-Y-Mor, in May 2010.

Jonathan Beere, 51 (left), and Daniel Payne, 46 (right), were sentenced in 2011 to 24 and 18 years respectively for conspiracy to import the 53 million cocaine haul into the UK

Beere was alleged to have acted as a liaison between Green, the skipper of the Galwad who was also jailed for 24 years, and those organising the smuggling.

At their trial in 2011, Kingston Crown Court heard the Galwad crossed the path of the Oriane, a container ship sailing from Brazil, and then slowed down to collect the cocaine.

The Court of Appeal heard in February that new radar evidence showed 'the Galwad never crossed behind the Oriane', meaning it was 'simply impossible' for them to have collected the drugs.

Beere and Payne's barrister Joel Bennathan QC said the new data 'transforms the picture that was presented to the jury'.

But the Court of Appeal today dismissed Beere and Payne's appeals against their convictions.

In the court's ruling, Sir Julian Flaux - sitting with Mr Justice Andrew Baker and Mr Justice Calver - said: 'Standing back and looking at all the evidence available at trial as well as the evidence now available, whilst the evidence is circumstantial, this was, as the (Criminal Cases Review Commission) concluded, a 'compelling prosecution case of conspiracy to import cocaine'.

Emily Bolton, director of the charity Appeal who represents the Freshwater Five, said in a statement: 'Miscarriages of justice don't just happen in the trial courts - today one happened in the Court of Appeal.

'The court handed down a judgment which simply underscores just how profoundly broken the criminal appeals system is in this country.

'There is no dispute that this is a case in which law enforcement and the prosecution failed to hand over crucial evidence to the defence at trial.

'As we showed in the court hearing, that new evidence undermines the prosecution's case on several fronts and gives a totally different picture to that which was presented to the jury.

'Yet, in yet another failure to correct a miscarriage of justice, the Court of Appeal has said today that none of this matters.

'The court has substituted its judgment for that of the jurors in a way that fundamentally undermines the principle of trial by jury.'

Police mugshots released of the 'Freshwater Five' after the trial show, from top-left: Daniel Payne, Zoran Dresic, Jonathan Beere, Scott Birtwistle, Jamie Green

Ms Bolton also said the Court of Appeal's ruling 'effectively gives law enforcement a licence to perpetuate evidence disclosure failures in future'.

She added: 'It sends a deeply troubling message that they can withhold crucial information from judges, juries, and defendants and get away with it.

'We have no doubt that law enforcement holds further evidence which supports the Freshwater Five's innocence.

'Yet our opaque, unaccountable justice system continues to prevent the truth from coming to light.

'To those with short memories, it is worth bearing in mind that it took three appeals before the Birmingham Six finally had their names cleared.

'The Freshwater Five, their families and the Appeal team will keep battling for justice and reform.'

A statement issued on behalf of the families of the Freshwater Five said: 'This is a bitter and dark day for the men and their families. Yet again, our faith in the criminal justice system has been shattered.

'These men are innocent and have collectively spent decades in prison for a crime they did not commit.

'They have missed births, the deaths of close family members and countless other irreplaceable family moments while our so-called 'justice' system has kept them kidnapped behind bars.

'Today, in ruling against Jon Beere and Danny Payne, the court has once again whitewashed over what has happened in this case, just four days after Jon's father died, having lost his battle to hold out long enough to see his son vindicated.

The group were said to have collected the drugs from the English Channel in a fishing boat, the Galwad-Y-Mor, in May 2010

'At this next funeral we will be mourning the death of Jon's father, but also the death of British justice.

'This pitiful judgment is just yet another example of the system protecting itself from embarrassment and criticism.

'If the Court of Appeal and the Criminal Cases Review Commission won't correct this mistake, where else do we turn?

'British justice is broken, and we will never trust it again.'

The Freshwater families' statement continued: 'But we have faith that the truth will out.

'In every round of this case, more and more people have come forward with information about what really happened.

'We are not the only ones waking up in the night worrying about this case - people involved in the original investigation are having trouble sleeping too.

'There are whistle-blower protections and those with a conscience will come forward.'

The statement added: 'We ask for privacy during this difficult time, as we come to terms with this decision.

'The war is not over, and you haven't heard the last of us.

'Once the dust has settled, we will be back fighting for this horrific miscarriage of justice to be overturned and making sure the public knows the full story of not just what happened here, but of the efforts that have been made to cover it up.'
A Major General has become the most-senior officer to be convicted at a court martial since 1815 after he was found guilty of fraudulently claiming 48,000.

Major General Nick Welch, 57, claimed the funds to send two of his children to 37,000-a-year and 22,500-a-year private boarding schools in Dorset, Bulford Military Court heard.

The two-star general - who left the military in 2018 - had applied for the allowance on the basis that both he and his wife lived in military quarters in London, and therefore were not close to children's schools.

But they in fact spent most of their time at their 800,000 Dorset home.

Maj Gen Welch had denied fraud but was today convicted of abusing the Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) in claiming the cash.

He will be sentenced 'accordingly' to the severity of the fraud he committed, a Ministry of Defence spokesperson said.

Major General Nick Welch (pictured) has become the most-senior officer to be convicted at a court martial since 1815 after he was found guilty of fraudulently claiming 48,000

The 57-year-old, pictured in Afghanistan with then-Prime Minister David Cameron, had applied for the allowance on the basis that both he and his wife lived in military quarters in London, and therefore were not close to children's schools

Major General Nick Welch: Glittering career of the retired British Army officer awarded OBE in 2006 Major General Nick Welch left the Army in 2018 after an illustrious career which spanned more than three decades. He joined the military as a Second Lieutenant in 1984, eventually rising through the ranks to become a two-star general. In that time he served as Commander of the The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire regiment and of the 7th Armoured Brigade based in Bergen-Hohne, Germany. Maj Gen Welch was awarded with the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in recognition of 'gallant and distinguished services in the former Yugoslavia' in 2005 and received his OBE in 2006. He has served in Afghanistan - where he was second in command of British and US troops in Helmand province - Germany, Northern Ireland and Belize. In 2014 he was appointed Chief of Staff of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps. In 2015, he became Assistant Chief of the General Staff, the highest ranking Army officer working in the Ministry of Defence in London. In this role Maj Gen Welch would have been earning around 120,000 a year. He held this post until 2018. He retired from the military a year later to enter the private sector, becoming Chief Operating Officer of Bournemouth Arts University, Dorset. Advertisement

Maj Gen Welch - who has a glittering career and an OBE - is the most senior officer to face a court martial since 1815, when a Lieutenant General was convicted during the Napoleonic wars.

Maj Gen Welch was Assistant Chief of the General Staff based at the Ministry of Defence's headquarters in London.

He claimed the CEA to allow two of his children to stay at 37,000-a-year Clayesmore School and 22,500-a-year Hanford School between December 2015 and February 2017.

The payment - which covers 90 per cent of fees - is aimed at allowing children of service personnel to remain at the same schools to enable their serving parent to be accompanied by their spouse as they are posted to different locations.

He claimed he couldn't afford the school fees by himself, even on his 'lofty' salary of 120,000 a year.

Meanwhile his wife claimed the neighbour who reported them must have done so as he was 'daunted' by her husband's rank.

Following five hours of deliberations, Maj Gen Welch gave no reaction as a panel of board members found him guilty of fraud.

The four-week trial heard the general had 'deliberately manipulated the numbers' to mislead military police about how much time his wife Charlotte Welch had spent in London from December 2015 to February 2017.

To conform to the allowance rules, freelance consultant Mrs Welch, 54, could only spend 90 days away from the London address in a year.

The court heard that Maj Gen Welch was reported to the Army by Colonel Jeremy Lamb because he and other 'irate' neighbours never saw him at their London home.

'Frustrated' Col Lamb said he never saw the senior officer or his wife at the London property in the 15-month period in which the married couple were supposed to be living there.

The court heard that the day after the complaint was made Mrs Welch rushed to London.

She messaged her husband stating she had arrived at their home and joked that she had 'beeped her horn very loudly all the way in'.

She added that she would be 'out and about and very sociable all week'.

Mrs Welch blamed the spouse of a lower ranked officer for blowing the whistle on them, messaging a friend saying: 'Perhaps they are daunted by Nick's rank, all of their husbands are two or three ranks below.'

Maj Gen Welch (pictured) had denied fraud but was today convicted of abusing the Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) in claiming the cash

During the trial, Maj Gen Welch denied he had asked his wife to 'make an impression' on the neighbours and insisted that they believed they were still within the 90 day rule.

He told the court he thought he satisfied the 'underlying principles' and 'spirit' of the allowance rules as long as he and his wife 'endeavoured to be together'.

He said in his evidence: 'We didn't believe that we were outside the [allowance] rules.

'At the time we didn't know that spending more time away from the [London home] put us outside the rules, that was our genuine belief.

'She placed herself with me, she tried to be with me as often as possible to accompany me as much as possible.

'That was my understanding at the time [that as long as Mrs Welch was with him it counted as serving accompanied].'

His calculations of how many days his wife had spent away from London were shown to the court, but prosecutor Sarah Clarke QC said they were 'significantly lower' than the true number.

Maj Gen Welch (pictured in 2014) was Assistant Chief of the General Staff based at the Ministry of Defence's headquarters in London

The number would have been clear from the various calendars and diaries available to him, she said.

She told Maj Gen Welch: 'You deliberately manipulated the numbers to reduce them as much as you thought you could get away with.

'You and your wife were trying to do all you could to knock these numbers down.'

Maj Gen Welch had denied one count of fraud.

Due to his high rank, the court had difficulties trying to find a six or seven-person panel senior enough to hear the case.

Court martial protocol states the president of the panel should be at least two ranks higher than the defendant, requiring a full General for this case.

However, the panel was instead made up of a retired Major General, a Rear Admiral, a retired Air Vice Marshall, two Commodores and a Brigadier.

There was even a civilian member of the board - a civil servant - which is highly uncommon in court martial proceedings.

An MoD spokeswoman said: 'If a service person has been reported to the Royal Military Police because it is believed they have committed a crime it is only right that it is investigated fully and the results of the investigation are presented to the Service Prosecuting Authority.

'It has been proven in this case that the retired Major General Nicholas Welch OBE did commit fraud and therefore he will be sentenced accordingly.'
A state trooper was legally justified in killing a New Hampshire man who shot him twice after being pulled over for speeding, the state attorney generals office announced Wednesday.

Associate Attorney General Jeffery Strelzin said Wednesday that no charges will be filed against State Trooper Matthew Merrill in the December shooting death of 45-year-old Mark Clermont. Merrill was shot in the abdomen and foot before shooting and killing Clermont, who was armed with a rifle and handgun.

Mr. Clermont clearly used unlawful deadly force against Trooper Merrill when he shot at him multiple times and wounded him twice, Strelzin said.

The incident started, Strelzin said, when Clermont sped past Merrill on Route 135. Merrill did not initially turn on his blue lights over fear that Clermont would escape into Vermont. When he did turn on his lights, Clermont sped up and eventually came to a stop in a friends driveway. After Clermont exited his vehicle, he walked toward a trailer and ignored Merrills order to stop. Then, Merrill grabbed him from behind, prompting both men to fall to the ground.

Soon after, Merrill said he felt what he thought was the first gunshot and found Clermont standing over him, pointing a gun at his head. Merrill was able to escape and retreat to his patrol car, sparking a brief gunbattle. After Clermont shot him in the foot, Merrill eventually spotted Clermont more than 100 feet (30 meters) away and fatally shot him. Clermonts body was later found near a wood pile, with a pistol underneath his body.

Merrill, who joined the force in 2012 and had not been involved in an officer-involved shooting before this incident, was briefly hospitalized for his injuries. He has since been released and continues to recovery from his injuries. He is hoping to eventually return to the job.

Trooper Matthew Merrill acted honorably and heroically in the face of incredible danger and I am grateful that his health continues to improve every day, New Hampshire State Police Colonel Nathan Noyes said in a statement.

Relatives of Clermont, who were not at the press briefing, disputed the attorney generals findings. They believe Clermont tried to walk away from a confrontation with Merrill and was only defending himself when he opened fire. They noted that Clermont didnt shoot Merrill when he said he had a gun pointed at his head and questioned why Merrill didnt wait for backup, rather than grabbing the rifle and shooting Clermont.

Its a bunch of nonsense, Clermonts brother, Thomas Clermont said of the findings. This officer was under the impression that my brother was trying to take his life. But what they didnt say, my brother was actually walking away from him the whole time. He didnt engage this dude in confrontation. This dude engaged my brother in a confrontation.

Thomas Clermont described his brother as smart as whip and someone who had a big heart and loved the outdoors. But he acknowledged the one-time chemical engineer had recently battled substance abuse and had run-ins with the laws  16 convictions in total including three felonies. He was not authorized to drive because of several DUIs convictions or own guns.

My brother was the sweetest person in the world. That dude would give you his shirt off his back, Thomas Clermont said. As far as him being on drugs and everything else, obviously that changes a persons mentality, their mindset.
Chinese security wear protective masks as they march after the opening session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on March 4, 2021. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

Exposing the Corrupt CCP: Former Top Chinese Officials Who Embezzled or Accepted Millions in Bribes

Commentary

In the eight years since taking office, Chinese leader Xi Jinping has purged hundreds of corrupt officials. Most of the high-level officials who were arrested were loyal to former leader Jiang Zemin.

The following are former high-ranking Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members who have taken bribes or embezzled more than 100 million yuan ($15.35 million). The information is based on government data and the actual figures are believed to be even higher.

Zhou Yongkang

Zhou Yongkang was a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CCP and Secretary of the Central Political and Legal Committee. He was in charge of the Ministry of Public Security, the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Procuratorate.

Zhou is a crony of the former CCP dictator Jiang Zemin, and one of the agents placed at the highest level of the CCP after Jiang retired. Zhou retired in November 2012.

On July 29, 2014, Xi Jinpings administration announced that Zhou was under investigation. The news was shocking at the time because Zhou was the highest-ranking CCP official arrested by Xi. Zhous wife and son, as well as a number of senior officials who had ties to Chinas petroleum industry, and local officials from Zhous hometown of Sichuan Province were arrested.

On June 11, 2015, Zhou was sentenced to life in prison by Tianjin No. 1 Intermediate Court for the crime of accepting bribes. The court determined that Zhou took bribes totaling 129 million yuan ($19.8 million).

Zhou Yongkang in a courtroom in Tianjin where he was sentenced to life in prison on June 11, 2015. (CCTV via AP)

Lai Xiaomin

Lai Xiaomin was the chairman of China Huarong Asset Management Co., Ltd. The company is the largest state-owned asset management company in China. He held high-ranking positions in the CCPs financial system.

On April 17, 2018, Lai was arrested.

In January 2020, Lai made a public confession in the CCTV series National Surveillance, a 5-episode TV series co-produced by the Propaganda Department of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) on corrupt officials under probe. Lai stated: The financial industry deals with money every day, and the bosses in contact are easily involved with hundreds of millions, billions, or tens of billions. For them, its a piece of cake to bribe. I could support them with so much, help them develop. I believe its normal for me to collect some money from them.

Chinese media Caixin disclosed that even Lais mother had received as much as 300 million yuan (about $46 million) in monetary gifts.

Lai Xiaomin, then chairman of China Huarong Asset Management Co., speaks during the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2016 in Boao, south Chinas Hainan province, on March 24, 2016. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

On Jan. 5, Lai was sentenced to death by Tianjin No. 2 Intermediate Court for taking bribes and engaging in bigamy. The court found that Lais bribery amount totaled 1.788 billion yuan (about $275 million).

Lai appealed to the Tianjin Higher Court. On Jan. 21, the court dismissed the appeal and upheld the original judgment. With the approval of the Supreme Court, Lai was executed on Jan. 29.

Lai was purged amid reshuffling within the central governments finance-related agencies, a hint that authorities would target corruption in the finance sector.

Li Jianping

Li Jianping was the former secretary of the Party Working Committee of the Inner Mongolia Hohhot Economic and Technological Development Zone.

In September 2018, Li was arrested. He was removed from public office and expelled from the Party in August 2019.

On Nov. 23, 2019, Inner Mongolia held a region-wide training conference for local officials and showed a film about Lis case, which served as a warning on corruption.

How much money did Li embezzle? Why didnt the CCP reveal the amount at the time? It was probably because the amount involved in Lis case was too large. Under this circumstance, the CCP would not reveal the information over fear of instigating public anger. For example, four high-ranking generals were sacked between 2014 and 2018 over corruption charges, but the total amount of bribes involved were are not disclosed.

On Feb. 27, 2021, the Chinese regimes anti-corruption watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), disclosed on its official website that Li accepted more than 3 billion yuan (about $460 million) in bribes.

The article stated, According to Li Jianpings confession  most of the bribe money was used to purchase famous calligraphy and paintings, antique jade, gold jewelry, luxury watches, and a large number of expensive Chinese and foreign wines. The wine cellar contained tens of thousands of bottles of various famous liquors.

Corruption Continues to Grow

Three points can be seen from the aforementioned cases.

First, the corruption of the CCP is becoming more serious. During the five years of Xi Jinpings first term, from January 2013 to October 2017, Xi arrested 440 senior officials at the vice-provincial (ministerial) level and above, including Zhou Yongkang. Many were sentenced to life imprisonment, but some were sentenced to death. However, none of these punitive measures could stop the corruption of CCP officials.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping (L) talks to former leader Jiang Zemin (R) during the closing of the 19th Communist Party Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China on Oct. 24, 2017. (Wang Zhao/AFP via Getty Images)

The corruption of the CCP is like cancer cells. Some cancer cells die while others are proliferating.

Second, most of the CCP officials are promoted even though they have committed crimes. For example, Zhou Yongkangs corruption problem can be traced back to when he was deputy general manager of China National Petroleum Corporation in 1996, but he continued to climb the ranks.

Third, the corruption in the CCP runs from top to bottom.

Take the Li Jianping case as an example. Li was only a mid-level official but he was able to take advantage of his post. Why wasnt Li arrested earlier and why did the authorities wait until he collected more than 3 billion yuan in bribes? This is because the CCPs system is a totalitarian system, not a system of separation of powers, and checks and balances. The CCP has repeatedly emphasized its core leadership. The Party governs legislation, law enforcement, and justicesuch a totalitarian system cannot be transparent and just.

Absolute power inevitably leads to absolute corruption.

For more than eight years since Xi Jinping came to power, most of the sacked CCP officials were loyal to former leader Jiang Zemin. In other words, Jiang is responsible for these corrupt elementshis corrupt actions have shaped subordinates who are not upright.

Xi only arrested the senior CCP officials or tigers who threatened his power. So far, Xi has not arrested Jiang, the biggest tiger, including some of his cronies who are still at large. The members of Jiangs faction take it for granted: It is safe as long as there is a protective umbrella. The CCP has long become the most corrupt political party in the world.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 22:10:46|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

by Murad Abdo

ADEN, Yemen, March 25 (Xinhua) -- On March 26, 2015, the Saudi Arabia-led coalition launched the Operation Decisive Storm in Yemen, which aimed to quickly quash the armed Houthi rebels and restore the internationally recognized Yemeni government to power. Six years later, however, the war is worse than ever.

Calling the civil war in Yemen "the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time," the United Nations estimates that the death toll of the war has surpassed 233,000, including the more than 100,000 who died from indirect causes such as lack of food, health services, and infrastructure.

WAR RAGES ON

There is no end in sight for Yemen's cruel civil war. Years of bloodshed have produced no clear winner, only to tear the poorest Arab country into pieces.

Entering 2021, the conflict between Yemen's warring factions intensified as the Houthi rebels stepped up their military operations against the oil-rich northeastern province of Marib in February. The battles over the control of Marib's oil and gas resources are still going on and both sides have lost hundreds of fighters so far.

In March, the government forces began a large-scale offensive on the frontline of Abs district, southwest of the northern Hajjah province, against the Houthi rebels.

The two sides are also fighting in the strategic Red Sea port city of Hodeidah despite a UN-brokered truce in the region.

Moreover, the Houthi group ramped up their cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia, using scores of explosive-laden drones and an array of ballistic and cruise missiles against strategic targets across the kingdom.

The intensified Houthi drone attacks prompted the Saudi-led coalition to carry out a series of heavy airstrikes on different areas controlled by the rebels in northern Yemen, pushing the violence to the probably higheast level, as the civil war is entering its seventh year at the cost of the lives of millions of Yemenis.

MILITARY INTERVENTION PROVES FUTILE

Analysts and political experts believe that as long as regional powers continue their direct interventions in Yemen's crisis, the war could drag on for many more years and the Yemeni people will continue to suffer.

The six-year-old policies of the regional countries that mainly depended on military operations were futile, Ali Bin Hadi, a retired military expert based in the southern port city of Aden, told Xinhua, noting pushing the warring parties into direct negotiations will be the only worthwhile option to achieve permanent peace in Yemen.

"Clash of interests of regional powers and supplies of weapons to the Yemeni internal factions continue to fuel the conflict which is heading to more escalation and expansion following six years of deadly confrontations," he said.

"Saudi Arabia and its allies waged large military campaigns during the past six years to achieve a goal to end the Iranian influence in Yemen but nothing worked as their military actions had no chance of being successful," Hadi explained.

Adel Al-Shuja'a, a politics professor at Sanaa University, agreed that the regional interventions complicated Yemen's crisis and delayed the arrival of a final solution.

"The coalition's intervention led to the prolonged deadly conflict in Yemen as it allowed the Houthis to recruit and mobilize more fighters under the pretext of confronting the foreign aggression against the country," he said.

Al-Shuja'a pointed out that the coalition's strategy was aimed at supporting the Yemeni government and restoring its legitimate institutions but "this intervention failed to curb the Houthis' progress and weakened the government forces instead of providing help to end the war."

PEACE DEAL STILL FAR AWAY

On Monday, Saudi Arabia announced an initiative that included a comprehensive cease-fire across war-ravaged Yemen under the supervision of the United Nations.

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan declared during a press conference that the initiative will push for the reopening of Sanaa International Airport to several regional and international destinations.

The minister said the initiative aims to promote the security and stability of Yemen and the region and to support peace in Yemen and put an end to the crisis.

The Yemeni government welcomed the Saudi initiative, describing it as "a real test to prove the Iran-backed militias' desire for peace" and noting the Houthi militia responded to all previous initiatives with obstinacy and procrastination.

As expected, the Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam announced his group's rejection to the Saudi initiative as "there is nothing new in the Saudi initiative to end the war in Yemen."

"Saudi Arabia is part of the war in Yemen and must end the blockade on Yemen immediately," Abdulsalam explained in a statement aired by the group's al-Masirah TV.

Following the announced Houthi rejection, experts expected the military situation in Yemen to further escalate in the next few months as Saudi Arabia will earnestly seek to protect its strategic locations from the Houthi cross-border attacks.

"Saudi Arabia is not fully safe from the dangerous repercussions of the Houthis' strength due to the coalition's unsuccessful results through the military intervention against the rebels in Yemen," Yaseen Tamimi, a Yemeni political writer and analyst, told Xinhua.

"Saudi Arabia is recently fighting a fateful battle. It has largely begun with expanding the level of its air intervention against the Houthis and may shift its policy during the upcoming period," Tamimi said. Enditem
: Senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister of on Sunday said he was not contesting the April 6 Assembly elections as there was a need to coordinate poll-related works and programmes of the party in the Union Territory.

He told reporters at the PCC office here that the president of the Pradesh Congress Committee A V Subramanian was contesting the poll from Karaikal (north) and so he (Narayanasamy), along with the Congress Member of Parliament V Vaithilingam, had to coordinate election-related party activities.

"This is the reason for my not contesting the poll," he said.

The Congress, heading the Secular Democratic Alliance (SDA), has been earmarked 15 constituencies out of the total 30 segments in the Union Territory.

The party has fielded its candidates in 14 seats leaving out Yanam where it would support an Independent.

He said Malladi Krishna Rao of the Congress, who was Health Minister, had announced support to the AINRC nominee N Rangasamy seeking election from Yanam.

Rao had also quit the post of Health Minister and that of MLA.

"There was delay in fixing a nominee of the Congress for Yanam," he said and added that an independent Kolapally Ashok had, in the meanwhile, sought support of the Congress in the poll in Yanam.

"We are supporting Ashok in response to his request," Narayanasamy said.

He alleged that since last week certain government departments in the Centre have been targeting leaders of the rival party and been taking action against them in

He did not, however, elaborate on the departments but said such action should be avoided.

He appealed to the election authorities to act in an impartial manner. "This is our big appeal to the authorities."



Narayanasamy reiterated that the Union Home Minister Amit Shah should prove and show evidence in support of his (Shah's) allegation against him that he had given cut money to the Gandhi family from the Central funds meant for the Union Territory.

Shah had said while addressing a public rally in Karaikal on February 28 that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given to Rs 15,000 crore as Central grant and that "I had given cut money out of this to the Gandhi family."



Rejecting the charge, Narayanasamy reiterated his call to the Home Minister to prove it or tender an open apology. "I am ready to face any probe into this as the allegation is unfounded," he said.

He said the local unit of Bharatiya Janata Party had also brought out what they called charge sheet against him and the government he had headed.

Narayanasamy said voters in the Union Territory were aware that the BJP would implement anti-people and anti-development programmes if it was voted to power in Puducherry.

He said power distribution, department of printing press and stationery and several other essential services here' would be privatised if the NDA captured power in Puducherry.

"People in Puducherry will never give scope to parties promoting communal and religious sentiments," he said.

Claiming that the Congress-led SDA would romp home in the forthcoming polls, Narayanasamy said he, along with Vaithilingam, and other leaders of the alliance would embark on electioneering on Monday from neighbouring Kalapet village.

(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.)
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.
LOS ANGELES, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- OpenX today released the findings of a recent survey that examines how digital media publishers are using Prebid to manage their programmatic advertising. The survey highlights the importance of Prebid in terms of generating and maximizing revenue, with over 75 percent of publishers reporting that they find Prebid to be a "critical aspect" of their revenue.

While publishers acknowledge the impact Prebid can have on their bottom line, many publishers feel they could be doing more, and only 8 percent of pubs were very satisfied with the programmatic revenue they were currently bringing in. Only 18 percent of publishers felt that they were getting everything out of Prebid that they could.

The survey generated responses from 381 people in the publishing community with 36 percent coming from large publishers that generate more than 1 billion ad requests a month. When contrasting answers from large publishers with those from smaller publishers, it is clear that large publishers are able to experiment more in order to drive as much revenue as possible. Publishers with more than 1B requests/month were more than 2X as likely to use multiple Prebid configurations than publishers with less than a billion monthly requests.

Other highlights from the report include:

There is a need for easily accessible actionable insights . Over 50 percent of publishers feel like it's hard to get actionable insights from Prebid, and only 4 percent felt strongly that they could easily get these insights

. Over 50 percent of publishers feel like it's hard to get actionable insights from Prebid, and only 4 percent felt strongly that they could easily get these insights Many publishers want to update Prebid more often. 42 percent of publishers would like to change their Prebid setup more frequently. Smaller publishers are 3X more likely to never update their stack than a publisher with over 1B requests/month.

42 percent of publishers would like to change their Prebid setup more frequently. Smaller publishers are 3X more likely to never update their stack than a publisher with over requests/month. There are mixed feelings about how difficult Prebid is to manage. 37 percent of pubs feel that Prebid is too time consuming to manage, and 27 percent of publishers feel it is difficult to set up.

"Prebid has filled a real gap in the market, providing an open source solution for publishers that gives them control and visibility over their stack," said Rich Calkins, Senior Product Manager at OpenX. "What the survey shows, however, is that Prebid is in many ways still an untapped opportunity. Publishers understand the revenue potential of Prebid, but many are not necessarily satisfied with what they are seeing today. As a community of companies that contribute code to Prebid, this is something that we need to work on fixing, making sure that we are setting up publishers to succeed and really unlock the full potential of Prebid."

To view additional findings from the report, visit https://blog.openx.com/the-pulse-on-prebid and for more information on the study, email [email protected] .

About OpenX

OpenX is a pioneering leader in advertising technology, helping create a world where the open web thrives. The company powers people-based marketing on the open web by enabling marketers to reach their target audience across OpenX's global network of publishers. OpenX works with more than 30,000 advertisers across every screen and device, reaching nearly one billion consumers - including a quarter billion unique consumers in the US - and processing more than one trillion transactions globally each day.

Media Contact:

[email protected]

SOURCE OpenX Technologies, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.openx.com


We grow up in the Black community not knowing our history, not knowing who we are, she said. Its so important to teach young kids because were not taught to self-love. Theres no self-confidence or self-image because you open up books and you never see positive images of Black people.
OSCODA, MI  The U.S. Air Force drew pointed criticism from activists and former state regulators during a meeting this week in which cleanup managers defended their intention to ignore new Michigan environmental rules by arguing they dont apply to plans for expanding a groundwater treatment system near a highly polluted wetland.

Air Force attorneys said Wednesday that new state rules severely limiting how much toxic PFAS forever chemicals a treatment system can discharge back into the environment dont apply to their plans to expand an existing system.

That position has angered locals who were already upset about transparency issues with the Air Forces proposal for expanding pollution capture near Clarks Marsh, a contaminated wetland in the Huron-Manistee National Forest adjacent to the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda.

Local officials and members of Need Our Water (NOW), a local activist group, say they were blindsided by an Air Forces announcement about plans for the new cleanup; only learning the draft plan had been released after being contacted by journalists.

The Air Force uploaded its Clarks Marsh plan to an obscure military administrative public record site on March 1 but did not disclose the plans existence until March 16, when it issued a press release announcing a 30-day public comment window that ends April 17.

Activists in the Wednesday, March 24 meeting want the Air Force to increase public involvement in cleanup planning and design the expansion to comply with state law, arguing itll have to be redone to meet that standard in the future anyhow.

The process by which this proposal has been developed has been conducted in secret and has not involved a single soul from Oscoda, said Tony Spaniola, a metro Detroit attorney and PFAS activist who owns a home on Van Etten Lake.

I keep hearing that because this is an interim remedial action that somehow the Air Force can do something less than what should be done in the end, Spaniola continued. That is a poor use and poor management of taxpayer dollars.

Do it right and do it right now.

Expansion of groundwater treatment near Clarks Marsh is the latest development in a long-running contamination saga in Oscoda, where PFAS chemicals are widespread on and around the former Wurtsmith base due to their use in chemical-based AFFF firefighting foam for decades.

The Air Force is expanding a granular activated carbon (GAC) treatment system built in 2015 at the former fire training area No. 2, which is immediately north of the Au Sable River marsh where some of the most highly PFAS contaminated fish, deer and other wildlife in Michigan are found.

The system expansion is one of several interim cleanup actions the Air Force agreed to undertake last year under heavy pressure from activists, state regulators and members of Congress  which gave the military $13.5 million in supplemental funding specifically for new stopgap cleaning measures at the former base in late 2019.

The Air Force infuriated locals last spring by announcing it would not perform any interim cleanup and would instead spend that money on more investigation. The military reversed that stance last June, saying it heard the community concerns.

Details on those plans have been scarce in the meantime, with limited access provided to regulators at the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), where staff could only view the drafts through a restricted access portal that prohibits copying.

Oscoda Township, Au Sable Township and the Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport Authority boards have each passed resolutions this year calling for greater public engagement from the Air Force in cleanup planning before key decision documents are placed in the administrative record.

The NOW activist group is planning to hold its own webinar about the cleanup plans on March 31 at 7 p.m.

Group members want the Air Force to make its Clarks Marsh treatment expansion adhere to state rules limiting PFOS discharge to 16 parts-per-trillion (ppt) and PFOA discharge to 8-ppt; levels formalized in December that mirror new state drinking water standards enacted last year.

The Air Force plan calls for discharging treated groundwater at 20-ppt for PFOS and 40-ppt for PFOA. Air Force attorneys and project managers say those levels are grandfathered into the system because it was installed under 2016 requirements from state regulators.

Were building off an existing system that has state requirements already put on that system for what we have to do discharging from that system, Sharon Vrisenga, an attorney with the Air Force environmental division, said during Wednesdays meeting. If youre expanding an existing system, you stay with the limits that have already been put on that system.

Vrisenga pointed to a provision in the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, or CERCLA (also known as the federal Superfund law) that allows the military to essentially ignore certain applicable state laws until later stages in the cleanup.

Thats what were doing here, she said. This is a piece of the bigger puzzle and were working just on this one piece right now.

The Air Force plan calls for increasing polluted groundwater capture from the fire training area by 40 percent through either expanding the existing activated carbon system or switching to ion resin exchange treatment, a more expensive option that project managers dont prefer. An ion resin system would require a new treatment facility and cost about $11.8 million versus about $9.9 million to expand the existing activated carbon treatment.

The Air Force didnt say how much more it would cost to treat discharge water down to new state requirements, although consultant Paula Bond acknowledged that as you go lower in concentration, it just increases your O&M (operation and maintenance) costs.

Air Force project manager Catharine Varley, who took over from previous site manager Dave Gibson, cast the concern about state requirements as moot because the system will meet those standards even if its not designed or required to.

We are still expecting non-detect; were still expecting to be below the Michigan levels when we install the system, she said.

Robert Delaney, a retired state regulator formerly in charge of the site for EGLE, said hes concerned that Air Force plume maps and plans dont accurately represent how much contamination is actually entering Clarks Marsh from other points besides the former fire training area.

Delaney, who was involved in the states initial discovery of PFAS at the site, said the pollutants are also entering the marsh and other nearby swamps from former Air Force wastewater treatment lagoons now owned by Oscoda Township. Delaney said contaminated sediment will also continue to bleed PFAS into the water and wildlife, and that some plumes are running under the marsh and discharging directly to the Au Sable River itself.

Im concerned that the public isnt being told or shown these things and its really impossible for them to evaluate how good this remedy is, Delaney said.

Varley encouraged Delaney to submit his concerns as a public comment and suggested that the Air Force isnt responsible for some of that contamination because the township owns the wastewater plant. The Air Force has refused to take responsibility for PFAS contamination across the wider Oscoda area, arguing its liability is limited to the base perimeter.

That has frustrated local officials who say the contamination in others spots around the area, such as under the high school, stems from AFFF that came from base firefighters.

Hopefully, youre talking about Wurtsmith contamination, not the townships wastewater treatment plant or something else, because our modeling is all based on Wurtsmith and our sites on base, Varley said.

Delaney replied that the township wastewater plant was transferred by the Air Force, which formerly directed polluted drainage into that system for years. The treatment plant did not touch that contamination and deposited it directly into the infiltration beds, he said. Theres an enormous plume generated from those infiltration beds.

Related stories:

Plan to stop toxic lake foam a step in the right direction

Pentagon needs culture change on pollution

Michigan PFAS site list surges past 100

With trepidation, Michigan settles Air Force dispute

Michigan veterans face uphill battle proving toxic exposure

Quit horsing around, Oscoda residents tell Air Force

Advocates ask EPA to regulate PFAS as hazardous waste
(Natural News) The Biden regimes Cloward and Piven plot to overwhelm the immigration system and destroy whats left of our border security on the way to legalizing and granting citizenship to millions of new Democratic dependents is proceeding apace.

No sooner than Joe Biden took office in January, his handlers had a stack of executive orders for him to sign, many of which were aimed at unwinding President Donald Trumps successful border and immigration enforcement policies.

But even before Biden started ruling by executive fiat, migrants by the tens of thousands were already scheming to traipse to the United States and cross illegally because they knew under the new amnesty rules he was putting in place, they would get to stay.

Not only has that turned out to be true, but thousands of migrants are being given entire new surroundings: In northern red states along or near the Canadian border.

Fox News reports:

As crossings along the southern border surge to near-record levels, the Biden administration is considering flying migrants to states near the Canadian border, according to a report.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) requested the plane support from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Friday after 1,000 migrant families and unaccompanied minors crossed the Rio Grande into South Texas Friday morning, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials told The Washington Post. Border agents still have another 1,000 migrants they were unable to process last night, according to communications reviewed by the Post.

But lets dare not call this a crisis because, in reality, its not. What seems chaotic and out-of-control along the U.S.-Mexico border to most observers is really exactly what Bidens handlers knew would happen and wanted to happen: A crush of new voters.

So, heres the Democrats plan: Flood Americas southern border with millions of illegal aliens, hook them on government aid and eventually turn them into voters. It cant be more obvious anymore, Robert Knight wrote in the Washington Timesin July 2019. (Related: WEAPONIZED IMMIGRATION: Biden Regime using biological warfare yet again in West Texas as revenge for Keystone pipeline.)

Use the courts to strike down any attempts to secure the border. Have judges rule against election integrity laws like voter ID or even the commonsense question about citizenship in the 2020 national census. Once the census count is in, grant more congressional districts and federal funds to jurisdictions swelled with illegals, he continued, explaining Democrats plans and objectives.

Meanwhile, prevent Congress from approving money for border security or even to accommodate the massive crowds. Promise free, unlimited health care for everyone, including illegal aliens. On June 27 during the Democratic debate, all the candidates raised their hands to support this insane proposal that is sure to be heard loud and clear south of the border, he added.

Around the same time, conservative talker and constitutional expert Mark Levin explained the Democratic scheme as well, noting that it would follow standard Neo-Marxist Cloward-Piven strategy.

The Blaze reported:

Levin read an article to listeners detailing the Cloward-Piven strategy, a political strategy outlined by American sociologists and socialist political activists Richard Cloward and Frances Fox Piven in 1966. The strategy seeks to bring about the fall of capitalism by overwhelming the welfare state to push it into an economic crisis.

The objective is to completely discredit existing systems and institutions and then replace them with Marxist/Communist authoritarianism.

In fact, that theorys working on our border, ladies and gentlemen, Levin said. Thats whats taking place. The very people who have caused these circumstances intentionally, first claiming it was a manufactured crisis, while they were creating the crisis through limits on budget. By obstructing the president on the wall. By undermining ICE, calling for its elimination. By undermining the Border Patrol. By claiming detention centers are concentration camps, while voting against more detention beds. While voting against more administrative law judges. While choking  choking the financial ability to cope with whats taking place, he added.

Obstructing the ability to secure the southern border. Then, they become the vocal, outspoken radicals against what they have created  chaos. Anarchy. Overwhelming the system. Because in this case, they want to destroy any lawful, manageable immigration system and have open borders.

Without a doubt, the first part of the sinister plan is underway. We now know what comes next.

See more reporting like this at OpenBorders.news.

Sources include:

TheBlaze.com

FoxNews.com

InvasionUSA.news
Joe Biden will announce a new goal of 200 million COVID vaccine shots in the arms of Americans in his first 100 days in office on Thursday.

The president will make the announcement at his first presidential press conference, NBC News reported.

Biden hit his original benchmark of 100 million shots last Friday, his 59th day in office. It was a target critics called too low. At the current pace of 2.5 million shots a day, the administration is on track to hit the 200 million mark by April 30th, his 100th day in office.

Ahead of the president announcement, the White House announced Thursday it will spend $10 billion to convince people to get the COVID vaccine as rates of infection are on the rise in the United States and experts warn of a fourth surge.

The money, which comes in part from President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion America Rescue Plan, will also be used to expand access to the vaccine in communities of color, rural areas and low-income populations, according to a White House fact sheet.

The funds will also be used to 'increase vaccine confidence across the country.'

The focus on increasing vaccine rates comes as the United States crossed 30 million coronavirus infections this week, more variants of the virus are being detected, and several states are - against the advice of health experts - lifting mitigation measures such as mask wearing.

'I continue to be worried about the latest data and the apparent stall we're seeing in the trajectory of the pandemic,' CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday. 'CDC is watching these numbers very closely.'

The White House announced Thursday it will spend $10 billion to convince people to get the COVID vaccine and to expand access to the vaccine in communities of color, rural areas and low-income populations

This month, the United States saw the first uptick in new COVID cases on a weekly basis since January and cases are trending higher in 30 out of 50 states. More than 546,000 people have died in the U.S. from the virus.

Additionally more cases of the COVID variants from the UK, Brazil and South Africa are being detected.

In the last week alone, the U.S. has reported 2,926 new variant cases  more than the country reported in December, January and February combined, a USA TODAY analysis found.

Health experts warn a fourth surge of the virus could come unless preventative measures - such as mask wearing - stay in place.

How the $10 billion will be spent $6 billion to expand access to Covid-19 vaccines in underserved communities $3 billion to strengthen vaccine confidence $300 million for community health worker services to support Covid-19 prevention $32 million for training, technical assistance, and evaluation -White House Fact Sheet Advertisement

'When I'm often asked, Are we turning the corner?, my response is really more like, We are at the corner. Whether or not we're going to be turning that corner still remains to be seen,' said Dr. Anthony Fauci at Wednesday's press briefing from health officials.

And Walensky warned: 'Decisions we make now will determine how the pandemic looks in the days and weeks ahead.

Six states have lifted their mask mandates for the general public: Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Texas and Wyoming. Alabama, Indiana and Utah are set to do so in the first half of April.

Nearly one-fourth of Americans have received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine while about 13% of the population is fully vaccinated.

Data isn't complete on a racial breakdown but, among 39 states the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation analyzed, 19% of whites had gotten vaccinated compared with 11% of Blacks and 9% of Latinos.

Herd immunity is considered reached with 75% of the population is vaccinate.

Health experts warned people need to remain cautious until the vaccination rate has increased.

'What concerns me is the footage of what's happening in spring breakers, in people who are not continuing to implement prevention strategies while we get fully scaled up. We're at 13 percent,' Walensky said. 'We need to be much higher than that to feel like we have adequate protection around this country.'

The move to increase vaccination rates comes as COVID cases are on the rise in the United States and more variants of virus are being detected

'I continue to be worried about the latest data and the apparent stall we're seeing in the trajectory of the pandemic,' CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday

President Joe Biden announced he wants vaccine eligibility expanded to all adults by May 1.

And, in an address to the nation earlier this month, Biden urged people to get vaccinated, socially distance and wear face masks so the country wouldnt have to reinstate restrictions in order to get the virus back under control.

'If we don't stay vigilant and the conditions change, than we may have to reinstate restrictions to get back on track. Please, we don't want to have to do that again,' he said.

'We've made so much progress, this is not the time to let up. Just as we were emerging from a dark winter into a hopeful spring and summer is not the time to not stick with the rules,' he added.

Several states already are expanding their vaccine eligibility ages.

The governors of Indiana, Texas and Georgia have announced plans to open eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine to anyone over 16 within the next week.

The three states join West Virginia, Tennessee and Arizona which announced plans to offer vaccines to anyone over 16 within the next two weeks.

Two states - Mississippi and Alaska - are already inoculating residents 16 and up.

An average of 2.5 million more shots are being given each day in the United States.

As of Wednesday, the U.S. has enough supply to vaccinate nearly 20 percent of its population, and had given at least one dose to 25.3 percent of its population and fully vaccinated 13.7 percent of Americans, according to Bloomberg tracking.

At that rate, the US could reach herd immunity within four months.

Herd immunity is broadly considered the benchmark for when life can return to some semblance of normality.
Kenner police have linked two men and a teen boy to a rash of car burglaries across the city over the last three months, capturing two of the suspects and obtaining an arrest warrant for the third.

Samaj Butler, 19, is accused of breaking into 20 cars, attempting to burglarize another six vehicles, and stealing two guns during the spree, Kenner Police Lt. Michael Cunningham said Wednesday.

A 17-year-old boy who was also arrested  but whose name wasnt released because he is a minor  is suspected of burglarizing 24 cars, attempting to break into another six vehicles, stealing two guns and stealing two cars, according to Cunningham.

Meanwhile, investigators obtained a warrant to book 22-year-old Keyon Randolph with simple burglary. He remained at large on Wednesday but had been arrested in New Orleans a day later.

Police said Butler, Randolph and the teen  all from New Orleans  came under scrutiny after officers investigated a series of vehicle burglaries, as well as two stolen cars, in north Kenners Grandlake subdivision in late December 2020. Investigators said they recovered surveillance videos and tracked one of the two stolen cars to the home of the 17-year-old.

In early January 2021, there were more vehicle break-ins, and four vehicles were stolen from the north Kenner subdivisions of Place Pontchartrain and South Lake Villages. Police again secured surveillance video of the burglars and found the stolen cars blocks away from the 17-year-old boys home.

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

Since then, Kenner police investigated vehicle burglaries in a neighborhood near Ole Miss Drive and West Esplanade Avenue, the Chateau Estates Lakefront subdivision and the Cannes Brulees subdivision off West Esplanade. Two handguns were stolen from separate cars during the vehicle burglaries in Chateau Estates Lakefront on March 15, Cunningham said.

+2 In death of baby fed meth-tainted breastmilk, grand jury charges Kenner mom with murder More than two-and-a-half years after Daisy Marie Froeba died of methamphetamine toxicity, a Jefferson Parish grand jury charged her mother, Br

That day, detectives spotted a car involved in those break-ins parked outside the 17-year-old boys home. Police from Kenner and New Orleans raided the teens home, recovering the stolen handguns as well as property from various burglaries in Kenner.

Butler and the teen suspect were first jailed in New Orleans for allegedly possessing the stolen firearms before being transferred to Kenner in connection with the spate of car burglaries there. Randolph is also a suspect because investigators found his DNA at the scene of one of the vehicle burglaries in December, Cunningham added.

Cunningham said Butler, Randolph and the teen are under investigation for car burglaries in neighboring jurisdictions but wouldnt specify which ones.

Note: This post was edited to include updated information from Kenner police about Randolph's arrest.
MADRID, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Directors of Lleida.net (OTCQX:LLEIF) (BME:LLN) (EPA:ALLLN) has approved today to propose to its General Shareholders' Meeting to pay out a 25 percent higher dividend than last year.

It will thus pay its shareholders 0.0125 net per share, on a date to be approved by the company's AGM.

"2020 was a year of inflection for Lleida.net, in which we gave the best results in our history and our shares recorded one of the best performances on the European stock exchange. These dividends are intended to reward our shareholders for their support, and to encourage the market to join us," explained Sisco Sapena, CEO of the company and its founder.

"The registered electronic signature and notification industry has exploded in the last 12 months as a result of the changes in user and business behaviour brought about by the health emergency, which has put us at the forefront of the industry globally," said Sapena.

The company has more than 16 million shares in circulation in the New York, Paris and Madrid markets.

During 2020, Lleida.net consolidated its market position, and its services are now population-based, with clients in all segments and in industries such as banking, insurance, telecommunications and services.

It also became the exclusive provider of registered electronic communications services in such critical markets as Dubai, South Africa and Portugal.

In the last year, the company's intellectual property activity soared, and it received almost 100 more new patents in just 12 months. The company now holds 203 such patents worldwide for its certification and notification methods, as well as digital tokenisation in electronic contracting and notification, in more than 60 countries on five continents.

FURTHER INFO

Investors can download the company's Investment Deck at the following link: https://investors.lleida.net/docs/2020-estimated-results.pdf

Further information on the Openum EIDAS service can be obtained here: https://www.lleida.net/en/openum-eidas-qualified-delivery

The full list of patents granted to the company can be retrieved in the following link: https://www.lleida.net/en/patents

Full information on the company's investment proposition is available at http://investors.lleida.net

Investors can contact Lleida.net's team at [email protected].

Media Contact:

The Paloma Project, Media,

[email protected],

+356 7946 7486,

https://Lleida.net

SOURCE Lleida.net
A staggering sum of eight million dalasis has been reportedly missing at the local Fishmeal processing plant at Sanyang, following a violent mob attack on the factory over the alleged killing of a native by a Senegalese.

In a press release posted on Police Facebook page, the Police High Command wishes to inform the public that it has opened an investigation into the violent riot incident that occurred at Sanyang village in Kombo South of West Coast Region on Monday 15th March 2021.

This unfortunate incident resulted in several acts of vandalism, attack and burning of the Police Station in Sanyang, burning and looting of a fishmeal processing factory, burning of tires on roads as well as numerous acts of destruction to properties by rioters.

Preliminary assessment of properties damaged reveals that, 13 fishing boats, 9 Boat engines, 5,273 fishing nets were burnt and destroyed. Cash amount of about 8 million Dalasis, 1 Million Five Hundred Thousand CFA, and Thirty- Four Thousand Chinese Renmini (RMB 34,000) is suspected to be looted from the Nessim Fishmeal processing company and from individual residents. A total of four motor vehicles including two pickups and two mini trucks were also torched.

Sanyang Police Station was attacked and the building burnt including all records, case exhibits, furniture and a taxi car parked at the station, was equally damaged.

Furthermore, homes of five individuals within the village were attacked and their compounds and properties vandalised. A mobile shop was broken into and items estimated at Two Hundred and Fifty-Seven Thousand Dalasis were all looted.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Gambia Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Further threats of violent attacks on foreign nationals within the coastal south areas led to the creation of a temporary shelter at Batokunku village. The shelter is currently inhabited by over 250 people of various nationalities, mainly Senegalese.

Security and relief are being provided for individuals at the shelter while efforts to reintegrate them into their communities are underway.

In view of the wanton destruction and looting of public and private properties by rioters contrary to the Laws of the Gambia, the Police High Command initiated a thorough investigation into the incident on Thursday 19th March 2021. The investigation led to the arrests of 50 individuals currently helping the Police in their investigations.

Twenty-Two individuals among the arrested people have been charged with offences under the criminal code including Arson, Rioters demolishing buildings, unlawful assembly and Conspiracy to commit felony. They will be arraigned before the courts as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, investigations are in progress and members of the public are encouraged to come forward with information that may be useful to the investigations.

The GPF High Command reminds the public that, in as much as the law provides for citizens to express themselves, they must do so within the confines of the Law and in a peaceful manner.

The cooperation of the public during the investigations is highly solicited.
When Attorney General Jeff Landrys office set out to discipline criminal division director Pat Magee over allegations of sexual harassment, it issued him a letter that said his behavior made others uncomfortable, but that his actions were believed to have been joking in nature.

But the sexual harassment training that all Louisiana state employees  including Landry and Magee  must take each year says that joking is no defense against a claim of sexual harassment.

Its unclear to what extent Landrys office relied on Magees claim that he was joking in the investigation the office commissioned from Baton Rouge law firm Taylor Porter. So far, Landrys office has refused to release the results of that probe to the public, although the office has promised to release a partially redacted version soon.

According to the letter sent to Magee and made public by Landry, the investigation found that Magee has acted improperly but that his actions did not rise to the level of sexual harassment. But neither of the two office employees who filed written sexual harassment complaints against Magee believed Magees comments to be meant in jest. Even if they were offered in the spirit of humor, state sexual harassment training says it shouldnt matter.

A common excuse for those accused of sexual harassment is simply to dismiss their actions as playfulness or joking around, says one of the states sexual harassment training videos reviewed by The Advocate | The Times-Picayune. This common excuse for inappropriate behavior provides little in the way of a defense against sexual harassment allegations.

Jeff Landry defends handling of case involving top aide's sexual harassment complaints In a letter to staff Monday, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry defended his handling of sexual harassment complaints against one of his t

The training goes on to include a true or false question that asks: it is not sexual harassment if the harasser was just joking.

The correct answer is false.

Both Magee and Landry were up-to-date on their training, according to records from Louisiana State Civil Service. Magee completed preventing sexual harassment and preventing sexual harassment for supervisors courses on Jan. 21 and Jan. 22 of this year  the same week he returned to the office after his sexual harassment investigation.

Magee initially had his pay docked by about $20,000 and was ordered to undergo a number of training seminars. But he resigned a little over a month later as the initial complaint against him became public, and the second one, filed by a former subordinate, arrived at the Attorney Generals Office.

Landrys office did not respond to questions about how it determined that Magee's comments were made in jest.

This year, Landry completed preventing sexual harassment for supervisors on Feb. 4. The next day, Landry he a lawsuit against a reporter for The Advocate | The Times-Picayune who had requested copies of the complaints filed against Magee and records of how Landry handled them.

Aide to Attorney General Jeff Landry resigns in wake of sexual harassment complaint A top aide in the Louisiana Attorney General's Office who was the subject of a sexual harassment complaint has submitted his resignation effec

A month later, Landry lost his bid to keep those records sealed, and the details of the complaint emerged. It alleged that Magee had sexually harassed at least five women in his office, either by making demeaning remarks to them directly or by saying inappropriate things about them to other employees.

Magee resigned a few days later, after a former employee filed a second complaint against him and this newspaper was preparing to publish a story.

In Magees resignation letter, he denied that he committed or condoned sexual harassment. Landry has also defended his handling of the complaints against Magee.

"First and foremost, sexual harassment is wrong and it will not be tolerated in this office," Landry wrote in a recent letter to employees. "It does not matter your division, your job title, or your length of service; if you (are) found to be engaging in this type (of) conduct you will no longer be employed. Actions have consequences, and no one is above reproach."

But the complaints against Magee describe textbook examples of the type of sexual harassment the state-mandated training warns about. Its still unclear  in part because the documents havent been made public  how Landrys investigation determined that Magee did not sexually harass anyone.

The state training tells employees that sexual harassment can be more than a quid pro quo where an employee demands sex in exchange for someone keeping their job or receiving a promotion. The training says hostile work environment sexual harassment occurs when employees are no longer able to do their jobs properly because of intimidation or offensive behavior.

+2 Inside the complaint against top Jeff Landry aide: 'Jurors would want to have sex with her' A sexual harassment complaint against a top aide for Attorney General Jeff Landry alleges that Pat Magee insisted that one woman should be dep

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 complaint filed March 9 alleges Magee committed that second type of harassment.

The training(s) teach us that comments meant to be a joke are not immune from being classified as sexual harassment  they should never be made to begin with, that complaint says. However, on a more practical note, in order for a comment to be considered joking in nature, there must be an established relationship and rapport between the speaker and the receiver of the said joke.

Director Magee never made any attempts to establish a relationship with his subordinate employees, explain his apparently bizarre sense of humor, and no one who received or overheard any of these statements took them as a joke, the complaint continued.

The state training says whether certain words or actions constitute harassment depends on how employees on the receiving end of them view them. In one example, the state training says that an employee hanging a calendar featuring shirtless firefighters could constitute sexual harassment if it makes other employees uncomfortable.

Perception is the key component in how your words are received by others, the training states. In most court cases, the decisions have favored the victims, finding the way they perceive the jokes or offensive language is the standard, rather than the intent of the person using the language.

The training also tells employees that if they are the subject of a sexual harassment complaint, they should never directly confront the accuser; instead, they should wait for the investigation to play out.

Jeff Landry must release records on aide, as judge rules in favor of Advocate reporter A Baton Rouge judge has ordered Attorney General Jeff Landry to release public records related to a sexual harassment investigation of one of 

You should never approach the accuser in an attempt to explain your actions, or worse yet, ask them to reconsider pursuing the claim, the training states.

But thats exactly what the Nov. 20 complaint against Magee alleged he did. According to the complaint, an employee who had spoken up said Magee almost immediately confronted her.

He proceeded to swear her to secrecy and then tried to get her to say that she was not offended by his comments regarding being replaced by someone who is more attractive than she was and that she was not currently as pretty as she was in law school at age 20, the Nov. 20 complaint states. She also stated how Pat remarked about how he liked the pants she was wearing yesterday.

The training also teaches employees that sexual harassment can come in the form of gender stereotyping. It warns employees that pigeonholing employees into certain job duties based on their gender can be a form of discrimination. Among the examples the training offers: someone describing a female employee as too girly to be a bus driver.

The March 9 complaint against Magee describes him taking precisely those sorts of actions. The attorney who submitted it said she resigned from the Attorney Generals office in 2019 because of Magees fixation on certain duties being good for women, like writing briefs and researching cases. Magee preferred to assign men to cases involving serious crimes, the woman wrote.

I certainly didnt think that the comments made to me about jobs that were appropriate for women was a joke, that was confirmed to me by the types of jobs I was able to pursue, the woman said.

Vicki Crochet, the Taylor Porter attorney who performed the investigation into Magee, billed $6,497 for her work, according to her billing records. Those records say Crochet interviewed witnesses in December and finalized her report in January, long before the second complaint against Magee was filed.

The billing records do not reveal how many employees Crochet interviewed, though some have raised questions about the narrow scope of the investigation. She billed for 20.5 hours of work.

It is obvious that the investigation was not thorough, and that little to no effort was made to contact current or former employees to verify the allegations or share additional experiences or concerns, wrote the woman who submitted the March 9 complaint.

DONATE TODAY TO THE LOUISIANA INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM FUND

Can't see form below? Click 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.
Extends Availability of Galaxy's Intercom and Paging to More Than 10,000 Registered Schools in Australia

TOCCOA, GA / ACCESSWIRE / March 25, 2021 / Galaxy Next Generation, Inc. (OTCQB:GAXY) ("Galaxy" or the "Company), a provider of interactive learning technology solutions, is pleased to announce that Technology Core, Inc., its distribution partner in Australia, has been awarded the New South Wales state contract.

Technology Core, Inc. has been an OEM partner of Galaxy's since late-2020 for the Company's hearing augmentation and Intercom/paging solutions. This major contract with the New South Wales state provides the availability of Galaxy's Intercom and Paging solution to Australia's more than 10,000 registered schools.

Gary LeCroy, Galaxy's Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We so pleased that this recent partnership expanding our availability across the world to Australia has already resulted in such a major contract. This contract award is a great step in increasing our products visibility into the Australian market. Technology Core became a partner late last year and this is a significant achievement in getting traction on the products we manufacture for them now that the New South Wales state has a vehicle to purchase from."

About Technology Core, Inc.

Technology Core, (previously trading as TeamBoard Australia) has been a leader in the design, manufacture and supply of interactive solutions since 1987. Responding to customer feedback, we wanted to expand our product offerings to schools and businesses and as such the brand HDinteractive was born.

We now distribute a wide range of interactive solutions, including Multi Touch Screens, Interactive Whiteboards, Projectors and Sound Systems, as well as Software and Student Response Systems to customers all around Australia. We are a complete solutions provider and as such provide installation and/or assembly on our hardware. We also provide training and after sales support for all of our products. As a result of our dedication to understanding customer needs and curriculum outcomes we are an approved supplier on a number of Australian Government contracts.

For additional information on Technology Core, Inc., please visit: https://technologycore.com.au/

About Galaxy Next Generation, Inc.

Galaxy Next Generation (OTCQB:GAXY) is a provider of interactive learning technology solutions that allows the presenter and participant to engage in a fully collaborative instructional environment. Galaxy's products include Galaxy's own private-label interactive touch screen panel as well as numerous other national and international branded peripheral and communication devices. Galaxy's distribution channel consists of 22+ resellers across the U.S. who primarily sell the Company's products within the commercial and educational market. Galaxy does not control where resellers focus their resell efforts, although generally, the K-12 education market is the largest customer base for Galaxy products - comprising nearly 90% of Galaxy's sales.

For additional information, please visit our website at: www.galaxynext.us

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release 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. These forward-looking statements are based on the current plans and expectations of management and are subject to a number of uncertainties and risks that could significantly affect the company's current plans and expectations, as well as future results of operations and financial condition. A more extensive listing of risks and factors that may affect the company's business prospects and cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in the reports and other documents filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Investors Contact:

IR@GalaxyNext.us

P:888-859-1274

SOURCE: Galaxy Next Generation, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/637346/Galaxy-Next-Generations-Australian-Partner-Technology-Core-Inc-Awarded-Major-Contract
Manchester Center, VT (05254)

Today

Thunderstorms with locally heavy downpours. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High around 65F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Periods of rain. Low 56F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a half an inch.
by Nirmala Carvalho

The Carmelite Monastery in Mumbai celebrated Sister Mary Joseph Radha. She was baptised in secret in the archbishoprics chapel after encountering Christianity in school. Among millions of people Jesus chose me to become Catholic, she said, and now, 50 years later, my heart is filled with gratitude.

Mumbai (AsiaNews)  Today, Feast of the Annunciation, the Carmelite Monastery in Mumbai celebrated the 50th anniversary of the baptism of Sister Mary Joseph (Radha), a woman religious born and raised in a Hindu brahmin family.

On 25 March 1971, Father Agnelo Gracias, the current Auxiliary Bishop of Mumbai, secretly baptised her in the Archbishoprics chapel.

Born in 1948 as Krishnan Iyer, Sister Mary attended a Catholic school and had many Catholic friends.

I was visiting the Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount in Bandra during celebrations. Seeing that beautiful church and the great multitude of people touched me deeply, she said, speaking to AsiaNews.

At St Xavier's College, a Jesuit school, she went to her first Mass on the feast day of St Francis Xavier. She remembers the beautiful singing and the communitarian worship touched my heart she said. Everyone sat, stood and knelt together. It was a wonderful experience.

Later, By my third year in college, I developed a great interest in Christianity and became a regular mass goer.

Two days after completing her last paper for her degree, on the Feast of the Annunciation in 1971 she was secretly baptised with her chosen names of Radha Maria Krishnan.

I wore a white sari with a small black print on the border because white sarees are not usually worn. I told my family I was going to friends' house; I was 23. With me were my godparents, schoolmates and six Canossian nuns.

That day marked my life. Becoming a Christian was the best gift in my life. Of all the millions of people Jesus chose me to become Catholic and now, 50 years later, my heart is filled with gratitude.

With the baptism also came the calling to the religious life, initially among the Canossian Daughters of Charity. Then, in 1977, she joined the cloistered Carmelite monastery.

God saw my desire for an even deeper knowledge of the Christian experience and he gave me this grace, Sister May explained.

Her three brothers and one sister (who passed away recently) accepted her choice and are happy with their families, all Hindu.

On the 50th anniversary of her baptism, the Carmelites interrupted their strict observance of the Lenten fast for one day. After a Thanksgiving Mass they celebrated at breakfast with sweet buns, chocolate and fruit.

The Golden jubilee of Baptism of our dear Sister Mary Joseph (Radha) today, writes the Prioress of Carmel, Sister Nina, is a great day indeed for all of us, nay the entire Church.

Together with Mary's 'yes', we celebrate our Sister's 'yes'. As we bow before the awesome mystery of ' the Word become flesh'.
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 site of a former milk plant on the Charleston peninsula could soon become a large apartment complex.

Flournoy Development Group wants to build a 225-unit multifamily structure at 578 Meeting St., where Regis Milk operated for more than 50 years before shutting down in 2011.

"With good employment growth in the area and continued demand, we feel its a great time to do another project on the peninsula," the Columbus, Ga.-based company said in a statement.

The firm cleared an early hurdle this week when the city's Board of Architectural Review voted unanimously to allow demolition of most of the existing structures on the site.

Several BAR members toured the abandoned facility March 23 to get a close-up look at the heavily altered property that started out as a motorcycle sales shop 100 years ago.

The cluster of buildings, referred to by Robert Stockton in a 2017 history of the site as the "Ellsworth/Cream Crest Dairy Building," has one small structure facing Meeting Street that dates back to the early 1920s with an adjacent piece added two decades later. They made up the oldest buildings on the property.

But they're not in their original state because of later additions, said Jimmy Walker of Walker Concepts Architecture, who is representing the developer as the project applicant.

Flournoy wants to keep the facade of the original structure, unbrick the windows and raze all of the add-ons on the site.

Board members agreed the rest of the property isn't historic and not worth saving.

"I like the concept they are proposing," BAR member Lawrence Courtney said while standing in a loading dock, one of the newer parts of the vacant structure.

Karo Wheeler, an alternate BAR member, agreed.

"I think it's good that they want to keep the original part of the building," she said.

BAR member James Meadors called the facade preservation plans "admirable."

Under current regulations, the building could rise up to five stories along Meeting and 3 floors on the backside next to Nassau Street, Walker said.

The 2-acre property sits between Stuart and Johnson streets and is in an area undergoing rapid redevelopment, with several new apartment buildings and restaurants nearby.

Sign up for our real estate newsletter! Get the best of the Post and Courier's Real Estate news, handpicked and delivered to your inbox each Saturday. Email

Sign Up!

The oldest part of the structure was built when William Ellsworth launched Charleston Motorcycle Co. in the early 1920s on part of the property next to a now-abandoned street called Oeland Place that extended into the site for a short distance.

Records show Ellsworth's wife, Leonie D. Ellsworth, bought the lot for $5 and "other valuable considerations," possibly assuming a mortgage.

With the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, the Ellsworths could no longer afford the property and sold it four years later for $5 to Arthur L. Rivers II to satisfy the debt, according to Stockton.

Rivers then conveyed the site to Grant Realty Corp., which was headed by George Sherrer, president of Ashley Ice Cream Co. It operated beside the site of the motorcycle business, which had since closed, on the south side of Oeland Place.

Grant Realty then leased the property to Cream Crest Dairy in 1934. The milk plant expanded in 1941, just ahead of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The extra space became necessary after a surge of new people moved to the region in the late 1930s. The Charleston Naval Shipyard had expanded while Hitler's armies swept across much of Europe before the U.S. entered the war.

Cream Crest Dairy changed ownership several times over the next two decades and shut down for a few years before Regis Milk acquired the business, not the land, in 1961 and moved its headquarters to Charleston from Norfolk, Va., where it started three years earlier.

Cream Crest continued to own the property until 1994, when Regis bought it for just over $515,000, according to Charleston County land records.

In 2005, Regis conveyed the property to Exchange Real Estate Holdings of Mount Pleasant, six years before the milk provider lost a lucrative contract to supply the Food Lion supermarket chain and shut down.

Flournoy hopes to complete construction by 2024, with units averaging 840 square feet.

If the project gains design approvals from the city, it will be the third in the Charleston area for Flournoy.

The company also developed the 300-unit, 35 Folly Apartments at 35 Folly Road in West Ashley, which it still manages, and the 290-unit Windsor Club at Wescott Plantation in North Charleston, which has been sold.

The company's website shows it has built 230 multifamily properties over the past 53 years. All but 16 have been sold.
The (MCA) has made amendments to rules in the Companies Act, mandating firms to disclose their investments in cryptocurrencies, spend on (CSR), and benami property transactions, among others, in their financial statements from the next financial year.

Companies will also have to disclose their relationship with struck-off firms and the details of title deeds of immovable property not held in the name of the company.

Nischal S Arora, partner at Nangia Anderson, said companies would have to disclose cryptocurrencies in which they had traded; profit and losses in such trades; and deposits or advances taken from other persons in these currencies. While the government is already working on a Bill on cryptocurrencies, the rules on disclosures have made it clear that the government wants to gather data on digital currencies, he said.

A few other amendments focused on broadening the scope of audit reporting. Now, management representations on advances, loans, and investments, etc, will have to be reported. One of these changes requires companies to use those accounting software for maintaining its books that allow it to record the audit trail of every transaction.





Companies will also have to disclose insolvency and bankruptcy matters and information relating to the valuation of the companys assets in the boards report. The new rules come into effect from April 1, 2021.

The new set of rules introduced by the MCA will require the management and auditors to play a greater role as far as the flow of information and representations is concerned, said Manendra Singh, associate partner at Economic Laws Practice, Mumbai.

Companies will also have to disclose the expenditure on CSR activities of the previous years as well, including reasons for any shortfall. Till now, CSR spend has been part of the directors report, but now companies will have to disclose it in their financial statements.

In that sense, there is some mismatch between the penal provisions for CSR -- introduced from January this year -- and the reporting of such spend, Arora said.



Kapil Rana, founder and chairman of HostBooks, said the amendments required companies to ensure that the board report contained the application or any proceeding pending under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) during a year, along with their status at the end of the financial year.

The report should also contain the details of the difference between the amount of valuation of related assets done at the time of one-time settlement and the valuation done while taking a loan from the banks or financial institutions, along with the reason thereof, he said.

From next year, the audit report will have to disclose the information cited above if those were not revealed in notes to accounts. Also, it has to be disclosed whether dividend declared or paid was in compliance with Section 123 of the Companies Act. The section mandates companies to declare dividend only out of profit or money given by the governments in lieu of guarantees given by them.

Prateek Agarwal, partner at Nangia and Co, said some of these requirements had significant implications for smaller businesses in case the existing accounting software did not support them. "We expect that the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) will soon issue detailed guidance on these to consider the same in the audit reports," he said.

On the new requirement of software, Singh said this might prove to be a challenge for companies that didn't use software with such compliant features.

Rana said companies were also mandated to create the edit log of each change made in account books with the proper dates.
School-choice advocates in Kentucky have tried for years to enact a program that would help low- and middle-income families crash through the barriers that exist in K12 education.

Theyre closer now than ever before  if they can overcome Governor Andy Beshears veto pen.

For the first time in the Bluegrass States history, an educational-choice bill cleared both legislative chambers. Previously, no choice bill had even cleared a legislative committee. Despite widespread support for choice programs nationally and at the state level, Beshear vetoed the legislation on Wednesday, calling the proposal the end of public education as we know it.

House Bill 563, establishing Education Opportunity Accounts, in Kentucky, would be one of the most expansive K12 education-savings-account (ESA) policies in the nation. Kentuckys ESAs would be available to students from low- and middle-income families living in one of the states eight largest counties, with lower-income families getting first priority.

Even more so than traditional school vouchers, ESAs open a world of educational opportunity. Families would be able to use ESAs not just for private-school tuition, but also for tutoring, textbooks, curricular materials, online courses, special-education therapy, and more. They can even save unused funds for future educational expenses. This is what Beshear rejected yesterday, when he vetoed the bill.

All hope is not lost, however. Overriding the governors veto requires only a majority of all members of each chamber. That should be easy enough in the Kentucky state senate, which passed the measure by a 2115 vote. But the lower chamber is a different story. The Kentucky House passed the proposal by a vote of 4847, three votes shy of the 51 needed for an override. The vote was essentially along party lines, with five absences and one Democrat, Representative Al Gentry, joining the majority of Republicans to cast the deciding vote.

Story continues

One of the four missing Republican votes was Representative John Bam Carney, a long-time champion of school choice who had originally sponsored the ESA bill. He has been on a leave of absence fighting a nearly deadly bout of pancreatitis. It would be a wonderful show of support for legislators finish the job that he started.

The Kentucky Association of School Superintendents has been sounding the alarm that the ESA bill would divert funds from public schools to private schools. Their view, in other words: We cant give families a choice because they just might take it.

Superintendents play an outsized role in deep-red states like Kentucky. Teachers unions, who are much more powerful in bluer states, have less sway when state houses have supermajority Republican legislatures. It is the superintendents  who are large employers in rural areas, are very visible in the community, and command large budgets  who have rural legislators ears.

That is why it is important to take their claims seriously  and to make sure were setting the record straight. With respect to diverting funding, the evidence from states that have actually implemented educational-choice programs overwhelmingly shows that choice programs have the net effect of improving public education while saving taxpayers money.

When students leave public schools with an ESA, the cost to educate them leaves as well. The ESA solely affects the state portion of funding, so local property-tax dollars and federal dollars (of which there are a lot more as of late) stay in the school district. On a per-pupil basis, public schools come out ahead.

But what about the more general concern that choice programs would hurt public schools? That is not what the mountain of research on school-choice programs predicts. Over the course of the last two decades, 28 studies have examined the impact of private school choice programs on the test scores of students who remain in public schools. These studies have looked at programs in Florida, Ohio, Milwaukee, Washington, D.C., and a host of other locations. Twenty-six of those studies found that private-school choice programs increase the test scores of nearby public-school students. One found no effect and only one found a decline.

One of the recent studies is of public education in Florida, which has the nations largest private-school choice program. The study finds that the recent massive expansion of Floridas choice programs had a positive effect on the test scores of public-school students, with the largest gains concentrated among low-income students. Indeed, the study found that the greater the choice and competition, the greater the increase in the public schools performance.

Far from ending public education, as Governor Beshear warned, choice policies help to improve it.

Kentuckians have nothing to fear from increasing educational choice. In fact, both the students who participate and the children who remain in public school stand to benefit. The only question that remains is whether their legislators will stand up to the superintendents and the governor and see this program through.

Jason Bedrick is the director of policy at EdChoice. Michael Q. McShane is the director of national research at EdChoice.



Editors note: This article has been edited since its original publication.



More from National Review
Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili.

Market Reports on Saudi Arabia Provides the Trending Market Research Report on Luxury Jewellery in the United Arab Emirates under Luxury Goods category. The Luxury Jewellery in the United Arab Emirates is projected to exhibit highest growth rate over report offers a collection of superior market research, market analysis, and competitive intelligence and industry reports.

The national lockdown in the UAE led to the temporary closure of many retail outlets in luxury jewellery, which is constrained sales in 2020, especially in the second quarter of the year. The national lockdown and subsequent social distancing measures also, however, led to extended periods of home seclusion and a reduced level of socialising. This gives consumers fewer occasions to wear jewellery in general as celebrating on special occasions was not possible for much of the year.

Luxury Jewellery in United Arab Emirates report offers a comprehensive guide to the size and shape of the Luxury Jewellery market at a national level. It provides the latest retail sales data, allowing you to identify the sectors driving growth. It identifies the leading companies, the leading brands and offers strategic analysis of key factors influencing the market and their effects on Luxury Jewellery retailing along with the development of consumers shopping patterns. Forecasts to 2025 illustrate how the market is set to change

Request a free sample copy of United Arab Emirates Luxury Jewellery Market Report @

http://www.marketreportsonsaudiarabia.com/marketreports/sample/reports/816251

Product coverage: Luxury Costume Jewellery, Luxury Fine Jewellery.

Data coverage: market sizes (historic and forecasts), company shares, brand shares and distribution data.

Why buy this report?

* Get a detailed picture of the Luxury Jewellery market;

* Pinpoint growth sectors and identify factors driving change;

* Understand the competitive environment, the markets major players and leading brands;

* Use five-year forecasts to assess how the market is predicted to develop.

Table of Contents

Luxury Jewelery in the United Arab Emirates

List OF CONTENTS AND TABLES

KEY DATA FINDINGS

2020 IMPACT

Category suffers as customers don't have the chance to dress up

Companies explore e-commerce options to mitigate losses from store closures

Pre-loved jewelery trade poses threat to luxury jewelery

RECOVERY AND OPPORTUNITIES

The future hangs on the success of vaccines in ending the COVID-19 crisis

Category demands further innovation and digitalization to compete with other categories

Consumers increasingly view jewelery as investment pieces

CATEGORY DATA

Table 1 Sales of Luxury Jewelery by Category: Value 2015-2020

Table 2 Sales of Luxury Jewelery by Category:% Value Growth 2015-2020

Table 3 NBO Company Shares of Luxury Jewelery:% Value 2015-2019

Table 4 LBN Brand Shares of Luxury Jewelery:% Value 2016-2019

Table 5 Distribution of Luxury Jewelery by Format:% Value 2015-2020

Table 6 Forecast Sales of Luxury Jewelery by Category: Value 2020-2025

Table 7 Forecast Sales of Luxury Jewelery by Category:% Value Growth 2020-2025

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

COVID-19 impact on luxury goods

COVID-19 country impact

Company response

Retailing shift

What next for luxury goods?

MARKET INDICATORS

Table 8 Number of High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI): 2015-2020

MARKET DATA

Table 9 Sales of Luxury Goods by Category: Value 2015-2020

Table 10 Sales of Luxury Goods by Category:% Value Growth 2015-2020

Table 11 Inbound Receipts for Luxury Goods by Country of Origin: Value 2015-2020

Table 12 NBO Company Shares of Luxury Goods:% Value 2015-2019

Table 13 LBN Brand Shares of Luxury Goods:% Value 2016-2019

Table 14 Distribution of Luxury Goods by Format and Category:% Value 2020

Table 15 Forecast Sales of Luxury Goods by Category: Value 2020-2025

Table 16 Forecast Sales of Luxury Goods by Category:% Value Growth 2020-2025

DISCLAIMER

GLOBAL MACROECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT

GLOBAL INDUSTRY ENVIRONMENT

SOURCES

Summary 1 Research Sources

Browse our full report with Table of Contents: http://www.marketreportsonsaudiarabia.com/marketreports/luxury-jewellery-in-the-united-arab-emirates/816251

About Us

Market Reports on Saudi Arabia provides you with an in-depth industry reports focusing on various economic, political and operational risk environment, complemented by detailed sector analysis. We have an exhaustive coverage on variety of industries - ranging from energy and chemicals to transportation, communications, constructions and mining to Food and Beverage and education. Our collection includes over 3000 up-to-date reports all researched, analyzed and published by top-notch international research firms.

Contact us at:

Market Reports On Saudi Arabia

Tel: +91 22 27810772/27810773

Email: info@marketreportsonsaudiarabia.com

Website: http://www.marketreportsonsaudiarabia.com

Follow us on: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn
By Lee Sun-ho





It was exceptionally notable to read a recent local story about the joyous interracial wedding of an active-duty couple consisting of American and Korean Army captains. The groom is Miles Gabrielson (30, West Point, graduated 2013) and the bride is Ha Neul (31, Hwarangdae, graduated 2015)  both belonging to the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Division stationed in Korea. Their wedding ceremony was held at Beomil Catholic Church in Busan on Feb. 20.



The background love story of this well-matched army captain couple who tied the knot has been spotlighted as amazing, perhaps both to Koreans and Americans as well.



While working together at the same military compound, they found they each grew up in devout Catholic families and shared the same values, such as family respect and the responsibility of marriage.



The relationship between the two for love and marriage seemed to have unfolded without difficulty. Their resolution could be traced to the understanding that, once one partner is not able to assist, the other, whether husband or wife, might have to polish their combat boots and help out.



The groom's father (Dr. George Gabrielson, an anesthesiologist) and his grandfather (a World War II surgeon) were both medical doctors. The bride's father is Ha Hyeong-ju, a gold medalist at the LA Olympic Games in 1984, is now a professor of physical education at Dong-A University in Busan. The founder of the bride's family was Ha Gong-jin, a warrior of the 918-1392 Goryeo Kingdom.



It was impressive to hear that, on the suggestion of the bride, the couple toured South Gyeongsang Province's seashore areas all together, in lieu of a honeymoon. They visited the shrine of the Ha family's founder as well as the graves of the bride's grandparents. The decision was made out of consideration for her precious visiting parents-in-law and brother-in-law, who flew in from faraway Connecticut and New England and went through the 14-day quarantine period upon arrival in Korea. The honored American guests, whose nation was founded around 250 years ago, sure learned a lot from the spirit of Korean ancestors with nearly 2,000 years of history.



The two have directly discussed the issue of the nationality of their future children. The bride said straightforwardly, "It is not about what we are going to decide, but it is about the environment and learning conditions that we are going to make. If we bear a child, I will make him read a lot of history books."



The just-married military couple's goal was attained through both their personal circumstances and their individual choices. Such lucky events, notwithstanding, would not be feasible without the coincidence of having been assigned together at their garrison, a space rooted historically in the dramatic Korea-U.S. military alliance, forged in blood 68 years ago.



The Gabrielson-Ha union highly values the significance of mutual partnership and fellowship between Korea and the United States. It is not only symbolic, but it also show how this international partnership will be practiced again and again in the years and decades to come. Congratulations on the army captain couple's wonderful departure, and many happy lifelong returns to the blessed newlyweds!



The writer (kexim2@unitel.co.kr) is a freelance columnist living in Seoul.


Lawyer Kwame Akuffo, a legal practitioner has urged government to step in and insist that the parents of the Rastafarian students abide by the rules of Achimota Secondary School.



He said since government is able to intervene for a child to receive blood transfusion despite the religious background of the parents, the same can be applied in this case.



The issue of the two Rastafarian students has raised divergent views in the country with some backing the directive that they should get rid of their dreadlock and others criticizing Achimota School for being "discriminatory".



Lawyer Kwame Akuffo speaking to Kwami Sefa Kayi in an interview on Peace FM's morning show 'Kokrokoo' said, "It is not offensive for the child to cut his hair . . . if it comes to the issue of discrimination, we can say it is even the child that is discriminating against his colleagues. They should comply to that standard and when they grow up the kids can choose to grow their hair or leave it".



"The parents are doing harm to the child . . . if we agree that government can step in for a child to receive blood transfusion then government can step in for the child to receive an education. Government should direct the parents to enroll the child. The parent cant say because of religion that child should be exempted . . . cutting the hair doesnt infringe on the right of the child," he opined.



GES backtracks



The Ghana Education Service (GES) after giving a directive to Achimota School to admit the students backtracked saying their initial order was to calm tension.



Lawyer Kwame Akuffo in reaction said it was good the GES "acknowledged that the school has the right to regulate the conduct of students".



Exchange students



After this issue became popular in the country, social media fanatic started sharing some pictures of exchange students in Achimota school who are keeping their hair citing 'discrimination'.



In reaction, lawyer Kwame Akuffo said the rules must apply to everyone and "if it is proven that some students are indeed keeping their hair, Achimota School should immediately rectify it".







Source: Rebecca Addo Tetteh/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
Michigan reported 5,224 additional coronavirus cases and 49 new deaths Thursday, March 25.

Of the 49 deaths reported Thursday, 30 occurred outside the last 24 hours and were identified during a vital records review conducted by the state health department. These reviews take place three times per week.

The state is averaging 3,493 new COVID-19 cases and 21 new deaths per day over the last week. This marks two weeks of day-over-day increase in the weekly average for cases.

Its also the highest seven-day average of cases since Dec. 21.

Since the pandemic began, Michigan has reported 642,869 confirmed cases and 15,984 deaths related to COVID-19. The state has also reported 69,524 probable cases and 1,019 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.)

Seventy-nine of Michigans 83 counties reported new cases on Thursday, with the exception of the Upper Peninsula counties of Baraga, Ontonagon, Keweenaw and Alger.

Counties with the most new cases remain in southeast Michigan, including Wayne with 949, followed by Macomb with 754 and Oakland with 735. Other top reporting counties included Genesee with 224, Kent with 210, Ingham with 157, St. Clair with 154, Washtenaw with 141, Ottawa with 135 and Jackson with 127.

Twenty-two counties reported new deaths, with Wayne reporting nine. Kent reported six, while Macomb and Jackson reported four each. St. Clair, Calhoun and Ingham reported three each, while Genesee and Sanilac reported two deaths each.

The following counties reported one new death: Oakland, Berrien, Monroe, Lenawee, Clinton, Hillsdale, Cass, Chippewa, Roscommon, Gratiot, St. Joseph, Isabella and Delta.

(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 1,843 patients with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, including 379 patients in the ICU. Thats up from a week ago, when hospitals were treating 1,222 such patients with 287 in the ICU on March 18.

Of the 49,009 diagnostic tests processed on Wednesday, 9.8% came back positive for SARS-CoV-2 after three days of rates at 10% or higher. The average positivity rate over the last seven days is 9.6%, nearly double the 5% recommended by health officials for opening schools and economies.

Note: The chart below rounds up to the nearest whole number

As of Wednesday, Michigan had administered more than 3.81 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine. This includes about 2.46 million first doses and about 1.34 million second doses. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines recommend two doses administered weeks apart, but the Johnson & Johnson vaccine only requires one dose for full immunization.

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:

Thursday, March 25, coronavirus data by Michigan county: State has 8 of the 20 worst counties in the U.S.

Visitation limits at Beaumont hospitals return as coronavirus cases rise

Michigans Dr. Khaldun helps administer COVID-19 vaccines at Ford Field

Hamilton Community Health Network in Flint to give free COVID-19 vaccines to anyone who needs it
[March 25, 2021] Aisle Rocket Welcomes Mike Paley as Chief Growth Officer

CHICAGO, March 25, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aisle Rocket, a growth-driven marketing agency that unifies creative services, data, and technology to drive results, announced today that it had hired Mike Paley as the agencys new Chief Growth Officer. In his new role, Paley will drive business development for Aisle Rocket as the agency positions for robust growth in 2021. With more than 25 years of experience leading strategic growth for agencies, brands and retail marketing services companies, Paley specializes in translating client business plans into actionable, monetizable go-to-market strategies and solutions.

Mike has the experience and track record to expand our business and show marketers whats possible when they combine data, creative and paid media, said Ross Shelleman, CEO of Aisle Rocket. 2021 promises to be a banner year for our agency and for our clients. I couldnt be happier to have Mike oining our team.



Prior to joining Aisle Rocket, Paley served as Senior Vice President, General Manager at Vestcom. Previously, he held agency leadership roles as Senior Vice President, Shopper Marketing & Experiential (The Marketing Arm/Omnicom) and Chief Marketing Officer (Square One), where he led commercial strategy, business development, digital/technology innovation and general management working with clients including AB InBev, AT&T, Bacardi, ConAgra, Danone, State Farm and PepsiCo. I was drawn to Aisle Rocket because its uniquely rooted in technology and data that informs dynamic creative, UX and performance media, Paley said. The future belongs to agencies that understand how to apply data across all disciplines. Data is no longer limited to just targeting and analytics. Creative and UX is now impacted greatly by data as well. Blending data across disciplines while relying on technology, programmatic buying, and AI is an exciting place to be. I welcome the opportunity to leverage my experience while working with great people to drive quantifiable business results for our clients.

About Aisle Rocket

Aisle Rocket is a new kind of agency, focused entirely on delivering results. By unifying marketing and creative services backed by data and technology, Aisle Rocket drives revenue through best-in-class creative, e-commerce and media execution. Aisle Rockets managed Customer Data Platform (CDP) harnesses a brands 1st-party data to inform omnichannel online and offline media campaigns, supported by world-class creative, content, and UX. Media Contact

press@aislerocket.com



[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Holidaymakers could be allowed to travel to Phuket and then across Thailand by July without having to stay in quarantine, as long as they are fully vaccinated.

Travellers will need to show authorities they have had Covid-19 to be able to travel to the resort island in Thailand, which is hoping to revive its dire tourist economy.

But unfortunately for Australians, special exemptions are still needed to fly overseas since the international borders closed on March 20.

If a traveller can prove they are leaving for at least three months, or for work or compassionate reasons, they can be granted the exemption from the government - but will need to quarantine when they come back to Australia.

Although Phuket visitors won't need to quarantine in a hotel, they will need to remain on the island for one week and take a Covid-19 test before they are allowed to travel around the rest of the country.

Holidaymakers could be allowed to travel to Phuket by July without having to stay in quarantine

Thailand's resort island of Phuket expects to have 70 per cent of its local population vaccinated by the time the new quarantine rules come into effect

Thailand will from April allow vaccinated visitors to undergo one week of quarantine instead of the required two weeks

'On July 1, we will be able to have tourists who have received two vaccine doses come to Phuket without having to stay in quarantine,' Tourism Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said.

'After one week on the island, without symptoms and with negative tests, they can travel to the rest of the country.'

Thailand's resort island of Phuket expects to have 70 per cent of its local population vaccinated by the time the new quarantine rules come into effect.

The island, which is visited typically by about a quarter of foreigners who travel to Thailand, is leading a project to revive a tourism industry battered by the pandemic, which has weighed heavily on its broader economy.

Thailand will from next month allow vaccinated visitors to undergo just one week of quarantine instead of the required two weeks.

Though its strict rules have kept coronavirus cases to a fraction of those in many other countries, it has caused tourist numbers to plummet.

The central bank expects three million foreign tourists this year, compared with 6.7 million last year and nearly 40 million in 2019, who spent 1.91 trillion baht ($61.4billion).

The tourism ministry is requesting 925,000 vaccine doses to inoculate Phuket residents starting from April, Phiphat said.

Though its strict rules have kept coronavirus cases to a fraction of those in many other countries, it has caused tourist numbers to plummet (pictured, an empty Patong beach in Phuket)

Thailand has administered about 100,000 doses among medical workers and at-risk groups so far (pictured, temperature check at Or Tor Kor Market)

Thailand has administered about 100,000 doses among medical workers and at-risk groups so far.

Authorities on Thursday approved Johnson and Johnson's vaccine, the third to be authorised after those of AstraZeneca and Sinovac .

Phuket's 'Tourism Sandbox' plan will be sent to the country's coronavirus taskforce for approval this week.

Hoteliers are keen to deploy vaccines faster and wider to speed up the revival.

'The government has to expedite approval of additional vaccine brands and import more vaccines and inoculate more people immediately,' Thai Hotels Association president Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi told Reuters.

Hotels had become 'zombies', she said, with immense debt and no profits.
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.
LAWYERS, representing nine Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP) activists in remand prison, are encountering challenges in securing court of record proceedings which enable them to file bail application for the accused at the High Court.

Bulawayo magistrate Tawengwa Sengester last week denied bail to the nine activists who are facing public violence charges.

The nine were arrested two weeks ago after they stormed Bulawayo Central Police Station protesting over the alleged harassment of their party leader Mqondisi Moyo by state security agents.

In denying the accused bail, the magistrate ruled the state had a strong case against them.

However, the magistrate gave the accused's lawyers an option to apply for bail at the High Court and further remanded them in custody to March 31.

One of the lawyers, Nqobani Sithole told NewZimbabwe.com it had not been easy to obtain the requisite court of records and proceed with the bail application.

"We cannot proceed to apply for bail at the High Court because we are still to get the record of proceedings. I can tell you it has been frustrating to obtain the record," he said.

However, Sithole said they will not relent until they get the records.

"We will not rest until we get the court of records. It is our clients' constitutional rights to be granted bail."
Researchers analyzed blood samples collected in late 2020 and early 2021 from residents and staff of long-term care homes in the Metro Vancouver area. Credit: Unsplash

A single dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine produces a much weaker antibody response in long-term care residents than it does in younger healthy adults, new research has found.

The pre-print findings, yet to be peer-reviewed, raise questions about the optimal timing of the second dose of vaccine for older adults.

"Results from this study in long-term care facilities in Vancouver reveal that individuals of advanced age, following the first dose of a two-dose vaccination regimen, are less able to generate as strong an antibody response, both in terms of magnitude and function, compared to adults of younger age," says Dr. Marc Romney, clinical associate professor in University of British Columbia's department of pathology and laboratory medicine, and medical leader for medical microbiology and virology at St. Paul's Hospital, Providence Health Care. "It will be important to assess whether this observation extends to older persons living in the community as this may inform the optimal timing of the second dose for this population."

Dr. Romney and the research team, co-led by Dr. Zabrina Brumme of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS and Dr. Mark Brockman of Simon Fraser University, analyzed blood samples collected in late 2020 and early 2021 from residents and staff of long-term care homes in the Metro Vancouver area.

Samples from 18 long-term care residents and 12 healthcare workers from the same network of long-term care facilities were taken before vaccination and provided a baseline against which the researchers could measure changes after participants received their first dose of vaccine.

Not only did the long-term care residents produce lower levels of antibodies than staff members after the first dose, the antibodies they did produce were less adept at blocking the SARS-CoV-2 virus from binding to its target cells.

"The antibody response was actively triggered in young, healthy people following a single dose of vaccine, while the response was clearly not as robust in older individuals. This indicates that some older people  not only in long-term care but also in the community  may be incompletely protected after their initial dose," explains Dr. Romney.

"The study is one of the first to assess immune response to COVID-19 vaccines in this vulnerable population in Canada," says Dr. Tim Evans, executive director of the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force, which funded the study. "The findings correspond with results from other countries that suggest the immune response to mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, as measured by these parameters, is less robust among older people, compared to younger persons. Fortunately, post-first dose infections leading to serious disease are exceedingly rare: real-world clinical evidence from Canada and the U.K. shows that older persons, in long-term care or in the community, are well-protected for many weeks by a single dose of an mRNA vaccine. Nevertheless, these findings are a reminder that there may be limits to how long we can stretch the time between doses for seniors and other segments of the population. Close post-vaccine surveillance, as is being done in many jurisdictions in Canada, is essential, and research correlating laboratory tests with clinical outcomes is needed."

The paper has been submitted for peer review and is also available as a pre-print on medRxiv.

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 homes 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 accordingly 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

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

More information: Mark A Brockman et al. Weak humoral immune reactivity among residents of long-term care facilities following one dose of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, medRxiv (2021). Mark A Brockman et al. Weak humoral immune reactivity among residents of long-term care facilities following one dose of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine,(2021). DOI: 10.1101/2021.03.17.21253773
Credit: Fabio Hofnik, Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0)

Withdrawing from antipsychotics may require months or even years, and patients need to gradually reduce to very low doses, according to a new analysis led by UCL and King's College London academics.

The review, published in Schizophrenia Bulletin, is the first-ever scientific paper outlining how exactly antipsychotic medication should be reduced in order to minimize both withdrawal effects and the risk of relapse.

Withdrawal symptoms can be severe, and may include psychotic symptoms similar to the underlying condition, which can result in patients being advised to remain on the medication indefinitely, even though the new symptoms might have been avoidable with a carefully-managed withdrawal.

Lead author Dr. Mark Horowitz (UCL Psychiatry) said: "Surprisingly, there are no published guidelines on how to come off antipsychotics. From my own experience I know how hard it can be to wean off psychiatric medicationsso we set out to write guidance on how to withdraw safely from antipsychotics. Stopping medications is an important part of the job of a psychiatrist, yet it has received relatively little attention."

Antipsychotics are one of the fastest growing classes of drugs being prescribed in England, growing from 660,000 people (9.4 million prescriptions) in 2015/2016 to 750,000 people in 2019/2020.

Antipsychotics are often recommended life-long for people diagnosed with schizophrenia or other serious mental illnesses because they are effective at controlling psychotic symptoms in the short term and might reduce the risk of relapse. These drugs are also increasingly prescribed for conditions like insomnia and anxiety 'off-label' (without being licensed for these conditions by the UK's MHRA).

However, some people find the drugs do not help them or that the side effects (which can sometimes contribute to long term health complications) outweigh the benefits, while many people who then stop taking antipsychotics experience withdrawal effects, which can be severe. Some patients say they are helpful in the short-term but harmful in the long-term.

Currently there are no established guidelines on how to stop taking antipsychotics, which is partly why psychiatrists are reluctant to do so. The authors of this proposal reviewed existing evidence into antipsychotic withdrawal, and the mechanisms of the drugs themselves. They describe research, which finds that people with schizophrenia who are slowly taken off their antipsychotics, have twice the chance of functioning well than those who stay on the same dosage, with no worsening in their symptoms.

These new guidelines on how to reduce antipsychotics align with guidelines the same researchers published recently on how to stop taking antidepressants safely. The principles are similar: doing so cautiously by small amounts, and ensuring patients are stable (with suggested three-to-six month intervals between dose reductions) before making further reductions. Liquid versions of the drug or small dose formulations will be needed to help patients to do this, to avoid having to crush up the tablets themselves.

In parallel, the first study in England to look at the effect of slowly reducing antipsychotics in people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, called RADAR, is currently being undertaken, led by Professor Joanna Moncrieff (UCL Psychiatry).

The reason for stopping drugs gradually is that our brains adapt to long-term use of drugs like antipsychotics (as they do to nicotine, caffeine or opioids). If drugs are stopped too quickly, people can get withdrawal symptoms (which for antipsychotics can include insomnia, tremors and sometimes psychotic symptoms) or can be de-stabilized by the process of coming off.

Dr. Horowitz said: "In clinical practice, I often see patients perking up when they reduce their antipsychotic medication and telling me that they 'feel more themselves." It is also true that some people get worse when their drugs are reduced. What we need is more research to work out who benefits and who doesn't. We also need to take patients seriously when they tell us that medications are doing them more harm than good."

Co-author Professor Sir Robin Murray (King's College London) said: "Some psychiatrists are reluctant to discuss reducing antipsychotics with their patients. Unfortunately the consequence is that patients suddenly stop the medication by themselves with the result that they relapse. Much better that psychiatrists become expert in when and how to advise their patients to slowly reduce their antipsychotic."

Senior author Professor David Taylor (King's College London) said: "Antipsychotics are so familiar to prescribers that it is tempting to assume that they are both effective and innocuous. While they are perhaps the most useful treatment for serious mental illness such as schizophrenia, their toxic nature makes them unsuitable for less severe conditions. Antipsychotics induce long-lasting changes to nerve cells in the brain and they need to be withdrawn very slowly (and in a particular way) to allow time for the brain to re-set."

Sandra Jayacodi, who is part of the lived experience advisory panel member of the RADAR trial, said: "The side effects of antipsychotic drugs are extremely unpleasant, and it reduced the quality of my life, and chances are that my life expectancy will be reduced too. Sometimes it feels like a life sentence."

Stephen Buckley, Head of Information at Mind said: "Antipsychotic medication can help lots of people who experience psychosis to manage their mental health. Should someone decide to come off their medication then ideally their doctor should be able to support them through the withdrawal process, but we know many clinicians feel they don't have the guidance or experience to do this with confidence.

"People should be treated as a whole person, so as well as welcoming more research and evidence into how people can withdraw from antipsychotics safely, it's really important when someone does come off their medication they have some control in their treatment, and are offered trauma informed and culturally relevant treatment optionsthis could include things like talking or creative therapies, social prescribing, and peer support. Key to this is looking at people's broader life experiences and making sure people have adequate social support to help them achieve their goals and integrate back into the community, this includes support with loneliness and isolation, finances, unemployment, and housing."

Explore further Antipsychotic prescriptions rising much faster than psychosis rates

More information: Mark Abie Horowitz et al. A Method for Tapering Antipsychotic Treatment That May Minimize the Risk of Relapse, Schizophrenia Bulletin (2021). Mark Abie Horowitz et al. A Method for Tapering Antipsychotic Treatment That May Minimize the Risk of Relapse,(2021). DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbab017
Dar es Salaam  Zanzibar President Hussein Ali Mwinyi exuded confidence yesterday that Tanzania's development trajectory, as envisioned by the late John Magufuli, would be completed under the leadership of President Samia Suluhu Hassan.

He said this when he led thousands of Zanzibaris in paying their last respects to Magufuli at the Amaan Stadium in the Isles.

The event, the third to be held after residents of Dar es Salaam and Dodoma paid their last respects, was attended by, among others, the chairperson of the Funeral Committee, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa.

Leadership experience

In his speech, Dr Mwinyi, who doubles as the chairman of the Revolutionary Council, said many more initiatives similar to what Dr Magufuli had established would be launched and implemented without any problems as he believed in the leadership experience of President Hassan.
SHELTON  Some Sunnyside School staffers will be topping off their second COVID-19 vaccine dose with a donated dinner.

Lasagna Love, a nationwide movement that describes itself as connecting neighbors with neighbors through homemade meal delivery, reached out to the school, asking if any staffers would like a meal after receiving their second COVID-19 vaccine dose Saturday.

Thirteen have requested the donated dinner as of early in the week.

This is our first group event for a school, said Michelle Eckler, parent of a Sunnyside School first grader and Lasagna Love Fairfield County Regional Leader. She said the meals will be handed out at the school between 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. Saturday.

I am hoping that having a meal already done for them for the weekend will help them with peace of mind, Eckler said, knowing that they could potentially have side effects from the second dose of their vaccine.

Sunnyside School Principal Amy Yost said Eckler contacted her about wanting to offer the option to the teachers, many of whom are getting their second shot during the Shelton Public School/Griffin Hospital clinic.

The second vaccine shot may have more of a negative impact on people, Yost said. (Eckler) thought our staff should be treated to dinner in case that was the case and their commitment throughout the pandemic.

Yost said her staff was touched by the offer and offered to pay it forward.

Many staff reached out about wanting to give back if another group needed lasagnas  we'd be the chefs this time. Such a wonderful concept in this time of so much uncertainty, Yost added.

Eckler said Lasagna Love was started at the beginning of the pandemic, when Rhiannon Menn, founder of Good to Mama, was looking for a way to help moms in her community.

The Lasagna Love website states that Menn and her toddler started making and delivering meals to families in the neighborhood who were struggling, whether that struggle was financial, emotional or simply a feeling of being overwhelmed.

Lasagna Love has since grown into a national movement, with thousands of people cooking and delivering meals to families in their communities, Eckler said.

Nationally, Lasagna Love has some 24,000 volunteers who have delivered more than 45,000 meals.

Lasagna Love came to Connecticut in September, Eckler said, and we are growing every day with currently more than 180 volunteers in Fairfield County alone. We hope to continue doing group events to bring comfort to people who need it.

Eckler said Lasagna Love is beginning to partner with area organizations. The Fairfield County branch recently participated in a group event in Stratford providing meals to frontline workers.

In talking with our national collaboration organizer, I came up with the idea to reach out to the principal at Sunnyside knowing that they had their second COVID vaccine clinic coming up, Eckler said. The idea was to provide a meal for them for the weekend in the event that any of them have any side effects from the vaccine  or even if they don't, a home-cooked meal can ease some weekend stress.

brian.gioiele@hearstmediact.com
Underlining the need for innovation in the financial sector for effective service delivery, Governor on Thursday called for effective regulation that should help innovation in the fintech space and not suffocate it.

Effective regulation is a priority for the Reserve Bank, and regulation should not constrain innovation in the fintech space, the governor told an event organised by the Times group.

The governor also said that maintaining banking sector health with strong capital base and ethics-driven governance remains a policy priority.

Underlining the huge role that technology and innovation played in serving the consumers better and faster, Das said the processed 274 crore digital transactions to provide direct benefit transfer to people, most of which happened during the pandemic.

"Since RTGS, which along with NEFT has been made round the clock now, has multi-currency capabilities, there is scope taking it beyond our shores," the governor said.

Despite its official opposition to the private crypto currencies, Das said the central bank is assessing financial stability concerns as it works on way ahead for central bank digital currency.

The central bank chief also said that the is committed to using all policy tools to support the economic recovery while preserving price stability and financial stability.

Admitting that the spike in new pandemic infections is a matter of concern, Das, however, said the nation is equipped with additional insurances this time to tackle the afflictions.

(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.)
Hospital Employees Gather Across California to Protest Bonus Pay Disappointment

Health care workersunhappy with the lack of compensation for their sacrifices during the ongoing pandemicgathered in Anaheim March 24 to protest Kaiser Permanentes lower-than-expected annual performance payouts.

The rally was among 29 held at health care company Kaiser Permanente facilities statewide.

Members of the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West said the bonus pay they received was 15 percent less than expected.

Hospital executives reduced employee bonuses overall because workers failed to meet pre-pandemic attendance goals, said union spokesperson Renee Saldana.

Kaiser Permanente had promised a heros bonus raise to all of their workers, Saldana told The Epoch Times. They originally said that they werent going to penalize anybody for not meeting attendance goals during the pandemic.

Arlene Peasnall, senior vice president of human resources at Kaiser Permanente, called the unions claims false.

Late last fall, labor and management leaders recognized that year-end performance bonus programs for union-represented employees could be a challenge to achieve in the pandemic, Peasnall said in a statement. Some unions advocated for a hero bonus. Working collaboratively with [various unions], we chose to guarantee all eligible, represented employees a minimum of a 100 percent payout of their performance sharing bonus payment.

Kaiser Permanente health care workers protest in Anaheim, Calif., on March 24, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Surgical technician Jorge De La Cruz said that due to the hike in COVID-19 cases, many employees were forced to work with patients exposed to the virus.

De La Cruz, who normally works in the operating room, was assigned to work in the intensive care unit (ICU) at the beginning of the pandemic.

I noticed that other coworkers that got paid a little more of the bonus because of their title, but a lot of us were on the front lines, De La Cruz told The Epoch Times. Were out there like working directly with a COVID patients.

It should be equal risk, equal pay.

He said he felt belittled, as he was working in the ICU, encountering COVID-19 patients while not receiving the pay his colleagues and registered nurses (RN) received.

The RNs are getting the max pay, he said. With us, its less. Thats why Im here.

Sheri Lucero, an intermediate clerk who has been working with Kaiser for 36 years, said she took off a couple days from work due to the pandemic, which might have counted against her.

Those days might have counted against me, even though they said that they didnt, she said.

We dont believe that they gave us all of that sick time with that part of the bonus.

A Kaiser Permanente health care center in Anaheim, Calif., on March 24, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Omar Candia, a Kaiser mail clerk who mainly works at the docks, participated in the rally to raise awareness for the unions cause.

Were exhausted and we want recognition on that, Candia told The Epoch Times. Its just nonstop work, and sometimes we dont have always enough equipment and supplies that we need in order for us to do a good job that were supposed to be doing here.

Denise Ellis has been working with Kaiser for 23 years as an intermediate clerk.

She said due to the pandemic, the medical offices were closed and she and her colleagues had to work at the hospital.

We didnt have the PPE and were right in the same room as the nurses, Ellis told The Epoch Times. Their lives were more important than ours, which was a problem. Its total discrimination.

She added: My family was scared for me to go to work because they didnt know. Im a single mom with three kids. They didnt know if I was going to make it home.

Kaisers human resources executive also disputed the claim employees were not properly equipped.

At the very outset of the pandemic, Kaiser Permanente followed the science, CDC guidelines, and the expertise of our internal infectious disease leaders to ensure we were protecting our teams and providing safe and effective care to our members, Peasnall said in the statement. We secured hard-to-find PPE, brought in additional staffing, and built out new testing facilities and equipment.

Elizabeth Saldana, an electrocardiography (EKG) technician who got sick with the virus in February, said her managers didnt show the appropriate care for her.

You could have been working with somebody that was exposed and they didnt tell you, Saldana told The Epoch Times. You werent aware of [it], and then you go home you expose your family.

Saldana went into the emergency room, and then into a 10-day quarantine.

After the 10 days were over  youre just sent back to work, she said. They expect you to work at your 100 percentyou cant.

They call us heroes, but they dont treat us like heroes.

A large caravan of cars participated in the rally, honking horns in support and holding up posters.
Advertisement

The secret World War Two plans to convert the RMS Queen Mary cruise ship into a troop carrier which ferried Prime Minister Winston Churchill across the Atlantic could fetch 4,000 at auction - after being bought for 25.

Grandfather-of-eight Francis Phillips, 73, bought the intricate plans at a car boot sale 25 years ago after learning they were destined for the bonfire.

After carrying out research with the help of university experts, Mr Philips, from Gloucester, then learnt of the stunning provenance of the documents.

The Queen Mary was launched in 1934 and, during more than 30 years in service, ferried celebrities and royals including Elizabeth Taylor, Walt Disney, the Duke of Windsor and the Queen Mother across the Atlantic.

After being converted to a troop carrier during the Second World War, the ship was used by Churchill on multiple occasions to get to the US for meetings.

Mr Phillips's conversion plans are one of only two known surviving copies - the other set is locked away in the archives of the National Museums in Liverpool. They are being sold with a guide price of 3,000 to 4,000.

The secret World War Two plans to convert the RMS Queen Mary cruise ship into a troop carrier which ferried Prime Minister Winston Churchill across the Atlantic could fetch 4,000 at auction - after being bought for 25

The Queen Mary was launched in 1934 and, during more than 30 years in service, ferried celebrities and royals including Elizabeth Taylor, Walt Disney, the Duke of Windsor and the Queen Mother across the Atlantic

Speaking of the moment he bought the plans, Mr Phillips said: 'I thought it was worth a punt.

'It was towards the end of the day at the car boot, and I knew this gentleman and his business was house repossession.

'One of the perks is they can sell these things at car boots.

'He was packing up and there was this tatty old cardboard box and I just flicked my hands through it briefly.

'I just thought "ooh that's interesting" and he "I'm taking them home to burn, they're taking up too much room".

'There was no haggling over prices, it was the end of the day and I asked what he wanted for them.

'He said "name a figure" so I offered 25, which seemed a bit rash in those days for me.'

Despite readily handing over his cash, Mr Phillips admitted he had no idea of the historical and monetary value of his find.

The ship was converted into a troop carrier during the Second World War. Pictured: The liner arriving in New York in June 1945, loaded with thousands of US troops returning from Europe

After being converted to a troop carrier during the Second World War, the ship was used by the then Prime Minister Winston Churchill on multiple occasions to get to the US. Pictured: Churchill stands on the deck of the Queen Mary alongside Admiral Dudley Pound

The Duke and Duchess of Windsor were among the members of the royal family who either toured or sailed on board the Queen Mary

Left: Grandfather-of-eight Francis Phillips, 73. Right: The plans for 'H Deck', which appear to show the workings of the ship's propellers. Savvy shopper Mr Phillips still goes to car boot sales two or three times a year but has never repeated his success of scoring such a bargain

The RMS Queen Mary was launched in 1934 as a passenger ship, but was converted for war service five years later, and carried Winston Churchill to important transatlantic meetings.

The RMS Queen Mary: In statistics Weight: 80,774 tonnes Top speed: 28.5 knots (32.8 mph) Length: 1,019.4 ft Height: 181 ft Decks: 12 Capacity: 2,139 passengers: 776 first (cabin) class, 784 cabin (tourist) class, 579 tourist (third) class Crew: 1,101 Advertisement

The retired ocean liner, which left service in 1967, is now moored as a tourist attraction, which includes a lavish art-deco designed hotel, in Long Beach, California.

Mr Phillips contacted specialists at the University of Liverpool who confirmed that he possessed the genuine copies of wartime plans.

He said: 'I was just a novice at this sort of thing but ever since then I got interested.

'If they did go on the fire, they'd be lost [forever].

'Having them still here is a chance for someone to enjoy them or take it a step further and study them a bit more.

'It was the ship of its time, it carried more passengers than any other ship.'

Over the years, the dedicated Mr Phillips spent 750 digitising the series of 14 deck plans, which are 2ft by 11ft each.

He also displayed the originals at the annual Ocean Liner Society's meeting in Westminster Hall.

Savvy shopper Mr Phillips still goes to car boot sales two or three times a year but has never repeated his success of scoring such a bargain.

He said: 'I watch these programmes on television such as Bargain Hunt and think I would like to be the one to find something one day.

'I have a loft and garage full of stuff, I may have to move to a smaller place and start thinning it out.'

Mr Phillips intends to put any money he makes from the sale towards a few treats in later life including the odd holiday.

Speaking of the moment he bought the plans, Mr Phillips said: 'I thought it was worth a punt. 'It was towards the end of the day at the car boot, and I knew this gentleman and his business was house repossession'. Pictured: One of the pages from the plans. The page describes the converted ship's accommodation space on one of its decks

Mr Phillips contacted specialists at the University of Liverpool who confirmed that he possessed the genuine copies of wartime plans. He said: 'I was just a novice at this sort of thing but ever since then I got interested'. Pictured: Another page from the intricate secret plans

In total, there are 14 plans in Mr Phillips's collection, which was originally destined for the bonfire before he rescued it. Pictured: The folded documents laid out on the floor

Over the years, the dedicated Mr Phillips spent 750 digitising the series of 14 deck plans, which are 2ft by 11ft each. Pictured: The plans for the 'Sports Deck'

Mr Phillips intends to put any money he makes from the sale towards a few treats in later life including the odd holiday. Pictured: One page from the plans, showing the 'Squash racket court' as well as a series of cabins and the 'wireless receiving room'

When put together, the plans stretch to several feet and show the enormous ship from end to end. The lot will be auctioned by Ewbank's auction house on March 26th.

'I have been so over enthusiastic with these plans all my life, it drives the rest of the family mad,' he said.

'They are probably sick and tired of hearing about them.'

As well as the plans, Mr Phillips' lot includes personal letters of a naval family found with them.

The lot will be auctioned by Ewbank's auction house on March 26th.
LANSING, MI - County prosecutors could receive up to $250,000 in state grants to investigate Gov. Gretchen Whitmers COVID-19 policies in nursing homes, according to a Michigan Senate bill passed Thursday.

Senate Bill 27, sponsored by Sen. Jim Stamas, R-Midland, appropriates $1.25 million in Department of Treasury grants to probe into executive policies used in the states long-term care facilities.

The bill passed 20-15 on partisan lines. It now heads to the House. It would need to pass the House and be signed by Whitmer to become law.

The appropriation is another step for Senate Republicans to try to link Whitmer to deaths in nursing homes or some sort of data cover-up. Two weeks ago, Attorney General Dana Nessel declined to investigate the states nursing home policies after a request from Sen. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake.

Read more: Michigan Attorney General declines senators request for investigation into nursing home coronavirus policies

In her response to Runestads request, Nessel said she saw no evidence suggesting that the administrations efforts to contain COVID-19 in Michigans nursing homes resulted in increased deaths.

I appreciate that you and your colleagues have policy disagreements with Governor Whitmers response to COVID-19, Nessel wrote. But an investigation by my office is not the mechanism to resolve those disagreements.

Republicans have pointed to one of Whitmers executive orders that would have forced nursing homes to accept COVID-positive patients discharged from hospitals. Ultimately, that part of the order was inoperable and forcing homes who couldnt care for those patients to accept them didnt happen, said former director Robert Gordon in a September 2020 hearing.

Read more: Nursing home debate gets heated with Michigan health director testifying at COVID-19 oversight hearing

An MLive investigation showed that heres no evidence that Michigan has been hiding data or is an outlier in its handling of the COVID-19 situation in long-term care facilities.

Read more: Republicans look for smoking gun on Whitmers handling of coronavirus in nursing homes. The data doesnt indicate there is one.

On two different metrics, Michigan is slightly below the national average in regards to nursing home deaths: The death toll per 1,000 nursing home residents and the percentage of total COVID-19 deaths attributed to long-term care facilities. On the latter, about 31% of the states COVID-19 deaths are attributed to long-term care facilities compared to a national average of 34%.

Senate Republicans and Democrats sparred over the bill on the Senate floor Thursday. Citing data from the MLive article, Sen. Adam Hollier, D-Detroit, noted that the evidence isnt there to justify this spending.

Theres no smoking gun, he said. Theres no data that suggests that this whole thing is going wrong.

Stamas said its not right that the public has to rely on media to investigate these numbers, while Sen. Lana Theis, R-Brighton, said lawmakers owe it to the grieving families of this state to get answers.

Sen. Curtis Hertel, D-East Lansing, countered by saying paying someone $250,000 isnt going to change the fact that infected patients werent forced into nursing homes.

Now youre coming forward to give money to somebody to investigate your enemies, he said, specifically responding to comments from Runestad.

One county prosecutor has already expressed the desire to investigate nursing home policies. Macomb County Prosecutor Pete Lucido, a former state senator, conceded that theres not probable cause for an investigation at this time.

Asked for his best evidence something fishy was going on, Lucido says he doesnt have best evidence, but rather a cumulation of general information hed like law enforcement to look into.

Ive got people in Macomb County, that would love to speak to the governor and ask them questions. And they want these questions answered as a part of the healing process the closure process so that they can explain to their children, grandchildren, this is how grandma died. And this is why she died, she caught COVID, he told MLive.

The proposed spending allows for individual grants up to $250,000 for local prosecutors to look into nursing homes, and it would require them to provide quarterly reports to the Legislature.

Read more from MLive:

Gov. Whitmer retries 17 appointments to state agencies that Senate previously blocked

Michigan House approves wide-ranging health care reforms aimed at lowering costs

Michigan Senate wont block new state health director

Michigan Senate GOP debuts election reforms critical of Secretary of States handling of November election

Michigan House committee revives bill to prohibit sale of vaping products with vitamin E acetate

Michigan Senate passes bill stopping health officers from banning family gatherings during pandemics
[March 25, 2021] Pennsylvania State University sells large block of IPv4 Addresses

NEW YORK, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- IPv4.Global, a division of Hilco Streambank, and Fraser Consulting LLC, an affiliate of Fraser Trebilcock, co-brokered the sale of a block of Pennsylvania State University's IPv4 addresses to a U.S. cloud communication platform. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. At the inception of the Internet, a significant number of IP addresses were assigned to research and higher education institutions. With a finite number of possible addresses, and the global exhaustion of freely available space, this asset quickly became valuable to entities that require these resources. Higher education institutions can now take any unused, potentially hidden space, in their possession to bring in dollars for scholarship funds, growth plans or other projects, helping fund the future of the institution and future generations. IPv4.Global is the leading IPv4 broker worldwide, having successfully monetized hundreds of millions of addresses to date for universities, local governments, and Fortune 500 companies among others. Through both its online auction marketplace and private brokerage, IPv4.Global has completed over 2,400 transactions. IPv4.Global teamed up with Fraser Consulting, whose affiliated law firm, Fraser Trebilcock, has a strong practice in advising universities in their business and transactional matters. "This is a great result for all the parties involved. The university will be able to put the sale proceeds to good use twards funding future projects, while the buyer will be able to continue the growth of its business," said Jack Hazan, Executive Vice President at IPv4.Global. "Joining forces with the Fraser firm also demonstrates how we can bring the appropriate expertise to help universities and other higher education institutions rationalize their assets."



With a close relationship to buyers and the regional internet registries, IPv4.Global ensures an efficient and timely sales process. Many of the largest IP address buyers have acquired space using IPv4.Global's services and are confident in the company's ability to run an efficient and transparent process. Several sale structures are available to suit clients' needs, including upfront cash payouts for the rights to the addresses with profit sharing optionality, leaseback, and brokered transactions. If an institution is using portions of its IPv4 addresses, IPv4.Global can monetize any of the unused space without disrupting active addresses currently in use.

About IPv4.Global

IPv4.Global is a global leader in IPv4 transactions, representing clients from both the buy and sell side. IPv4.Global revolutionized the way companies buy and sell blocks of IPv4 addresses with the launch of our auction website in 2014. Since 2014, IPv4.Global has completed more than 2,000 transactions on the online marketplace and privately, generated nearly $500 million for its clients and brokered over 48 million addresses.

About Fraser Consulting

Fraser Consulting is a full-service governmental and legislative affairs firm that provides cutting-edge practical advice on government action or inaction, litigation vulnerability, complex regulatory changes and media scrutiny. Fraser Consulting is a subsidiary of Fraser Trebilcock, one of Michigan's longest-established full-service law firms. Together, Fraser Consulting and the law firm have the collaborative power of more than 40 attorneys and a dozen lobbyists, working in three of Michigan's largest cities. If one's governmental, legislative, or legal issue extends beyond Michigan or even the United States, Fraser Trebilcock can effectively help through its affiliation with SCG Legal. As the Michigan member of this exclusive global network of leading law firms, Fraser Trebilcock is connected to more than 11,000 attorneys in 82 countries and all 50 United States. For more information contact: Lee Howard

leehoward@hilcoglobal.com

+1 571-512-0532 Mark Kellogg

mkellogg@fraserlawfirm.com

+1 517-377-0890 Media Contact:

Brianna Feldott

bfeldott@hilcoglobal.com

7745214935 View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pennsylvania-state-university-sells-large-block-of-ipv4-addresses-301256251.html SOURCE Hilco Streambank

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Most Popular

1. TESLA! Cathy Wood ARK Funds Bubble BURSTS! - 12th May 21

2.Stock Market Entering Early Summer Correction Trend Forecast - 10th May 21

4.Crypto Bubble Bursts! Nicehash Suspends Coinbase Withdrawals, Bitcoin, Ethereum Bear Market Begins - 16th May 21

6.Cathy Wood Ark Invest Funds Bubble BURSTS! ARKK, ARKG, Tesla Entering Severe Bear Market - 13th May 21

7.Stock Market - Should You Be In Cash Right Now? - 17th May 21

8.Gold to Benefit from Mounting US Debt Pile - 14th May 21

9.Coronavius Covid-19 in Italy in August 2019! - 13th May 21

10.How to Invest in HIGH RISK Tech Stocks for 2021 and Beyond - Part 2 of 2 - 18th May 21

Last 7 days

Microsoft (MSFT) Stock Trend Analysis - 3rd Jun 21

No More Market Bloodbath  Beyond Cryptos - 3rd Jun 21

Bank run, or run from the banks? - 3rd Jun 21

This Chart Shows When Gold Stocks Will Explode - 3rd Jun 21

The Meaning Behind Golds Triple Top - 2nd Jun 21

Stock Market Breakout Or Breakdown  What Does The Next Big Trend Look Like? - 2nd Jun 21

Bidens Alternate Inflation Universe - 2nd Jun 21

What You Should Know Before Buying Car Insurance - 2nd Jun 21

Amazon (AMZN) Stock Summer Prime Day Discount Sale - 1st Jun 21

Gold Investor's Survival Guide - 1st Jun 21

Silver and Copper to Benefit from Global Electrification Push - 1st Jun 21

Will Gold Shine Under Bidenomics? - 1st Jun 21

Stock Market Buy the Dip, Again?! - 1st Jun 21

Stock Market Consolidation Ahead - 1st Jun 21

Stock Market Summer Correction Review, Crypto CRASH, Bitcoin Bear Market Initial Targets - 31st May 21

Is Gold Price Setting Up For A Rally Above $2000 Again? - 31st May 21

Fed Offers No Holiday from Inflation - 31st May 21

You Should Never Trade Options If You Dont Know This - 31st May 21

Playing Dodge Ball With Budgies - 31st May 21

Bitcoin and Ravencoin Cryptos CRASH Bear Market Price Targets - 29th May 21

Silver SIL Global X Silver Miners ETF Fundamentals - 29th May 21

Stock Market Early Summer Correction Review - 28th May 21

GOOGLE (Alphabet) Stock Price Trend Analysis - Investing in AI Tech Stocks 2021 - 28th May 21

Eerily Serene Risk off Financial Markets - 28th May 21

Covid India Black Mold Epidemic - 28th May 21

Inflation Cools (For Now) Stagflation Awaits - 28th May 21

GOOGLE (Alphabet) Stock Price Trend Analysis - 27th May 21

The Shifting US Economy: AI and Automation Lead the Way - 27th May 21

Are Silver Prices Really Cheap; And Does It Matter? - 27th May 21

Looking Down the Rabbit Hole: The Soon Coming Stock Market Crash - 27th May 21

Bitcoin: More Volatility Directly Ahead? - 27th May 21

Are US Inflation Fears Destabilising the Global Markets? - 27th May 21

Gold: The Past Years Are Often the Best Guides - 26th May 21

Inflation Easing, Now What? - 26th May 21

Is it a Good Idea to Trade Penny Stocks - The Pros and Cons - 26th May 21

FREE Report - This Stock Strategy beat the market by 220% - 26th May 21

US Dollar Breaks Below 90  Continue To Confirm Depreciation Cycle Phase - 24th May 21

How Popular are Small Business Loans? - 24th May 21

Stock Market New Uptrend Starting? - 24th May 21

CHIA Plotting on Mechanical Hard Drives Not SSD's or NVME2s - How Long to Plot - 24th May 21

Gold Approaches $1,900 amid FOMC Minutes and Crypto Sell-Off - 23rd May 21

How To Improve Personal Finances? - 23rd May 21

Crypto, Stock Markets Rising from the Ashes - 23rd May 21

Is Online Gambling On The Rise In The UK? - 23rd May 21

How to Withdraw from Nicehash to Coinbase Bitcoin BTC Wallet or to Any Hard Wallet - 22nd May 21

What Investors and Traders Should Be Doing About the Stock Markets Strange Behavior - 22nd May 21

Cryptocurrency Crash Benefits Gold - 22nd May 21

DXY Weakness: Are You in A Crowded Commodities Trade? - 22nd May 21

Gold historically follows Inflation higher. Will it do so Again? - 22nd May 21

How the Pandemic Is Changing the Labor Market - 21st May 21

Gold Price Reversal Is the Name of the Game - 21st May 21

Inflation Bunker Mentality: 'Striking' Similarities Between Now and the Inflationary 1970s - 21st May 21

3 World-Shaking Trends Investors Need To Watch This Year - 21st May 21

Credit Market Wheels in Danger of Coming Off? - 20th May 21

Gold Rebounds After Fainting Due to Inflation Spike - 20th May 21

The Growing Market of New Crypto - 20th May 21

Bitcoin CRASH! Nicehash Freezes Withdrawals in Crypto's BLOOD BATH 2021 - 20th May 21
If you ask Scott Morrison about electric vehicles he throws poor, and inaccurate, marketing lines at you, such as they will end the weekend, they wont tow your trailer  its not going to tow your boat, as he did when former Labor leader Bill Shorten backed fairly modest objectives concerning the electrification of our vehicle fleet in the run-up to the last election.

Our nation drifts further and further behind the world on electric vehicles, or as Volkswagen puts it, Australia is becoming an automotive Third World.

The Volkswagen ID.4 is set to the be first mainstream electric vehicle in the US, but not here. Credit:AP

Specifically, we continue to lag on Euro 5 global emissions standards, with no intention of meeting Euro 6 until at least 2027, having delayed a reconsideration of our fuel standards until then. We persist with some of the dirtiest fuel in the OECD, with sulphur content some 15 times the European standard.

The reality is that a Euro 6 vehicle wouldnt get far from the showroom using our dirty petrol, particulate emissions from which kill many more people than the road toll each year. Rather than encouraging the take-up of electric vehicles, two of our state governments want to tax them.
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

New research shows that many school pupils who study in composite classes perform better than those in single year cohorts.

The study finds evidence that, for early years pupils, the gains created by composite classes are roughly equivalent to the attainment gap between the average pupil and a pupil in one of the 20% most deprived data zones in Scotland.

Composite classeswhere children from different year groups are taught togetherare widespread in Scotland in both urban and rural areas, with one in five primary school pupils in Scotland attending a composite class. These multi-grade classes are also common in the US and France.

The effects of composite classes on pupil attainment, alongside the effect of smaller class sizes, are the subject of much debate amongst parents, educators and politiciansyet composite classes are little-studied.

Compelling evidence

In a project funded by the Nuffield Foundation, researchers at Strathclyde's Fraser of Allander Institute set out to investigate the effects of both composite classes and class sizes on pupil attainment. For this they took advantage of high-quality pupil level data covering a period of 12 years.

Their results suggest that Primary 1 (P1) pupils benefit from sharing composite classrooms with P2 pupils, with every additional older pupil raising the P1 students' numeracy performance by around one percentage point. The effects on literacy were slightly larger at 1.3 to 1.5 percentage points.

By way of comparison, the gains being created by composite classes are roughly equivalent to the attainment gap between the average pupil and a pupil in one of the 20% most deprived data zones in Scotland.

The results for P4 and P7 pupils were less definite but suggestive of similar patterns.

The researchers also found no compelling evidence for adverse attainment effects on second-graders who share a composite classroom with first-graders. However, they caution that more work on the issue is warranted, not least because these results stand in contrast to previous work from outside the UK which had indicated small adverse effects for older composite class pupils in rural areas.

The researchers also failed to find persistent benefits of composite learning in P1 pupils when tested at P4 levelsuggesting either that the benefits are short-lived, fade over time or the study lacked the statistical precision to detect longer-term effects.

However, even if the effects do fade over time, the research shows that, importantly, the benefits did not seem to occur at the expense of the older pupils' attainment, meaning the financial savings of composite classes do not appear to come at the expense of academic performance.

No other positive or negative effects of composite classes were observed beyond attainment, for example in relation to attendance, suspension rates or attitudes to learning.

Even though composite classes tend to be smaller than single-year classes the research showed that class size was not a driving factor.

In fact, more broadly the results suggest that further reductions in class size in Scottish schools offer little return, at least in terms of attainment. Potential wider benefits, such as, but not limited to, the impact on classroom management and teacher recruitment were beyond the scope of this study.

Attainment benefits

Lead researcher Dr. Markus Gehrsitz said: "Our research finds that exposure to older peers is highly beneficial to early stage primary school pupils in terms of attainment.

"Composite classes, which are widespread internationally and very common in Scotland, explicitly create these peer effects while simultaneously reducing the number of classes that are needed and by extension reducing cost.

"Class size reductions by contrast offer no statistically significant attainment benefits.

"Our study should ease parental concerns about any negative attainment effect of composite classes, and reassure local authorities that the cost savings provided by composite classes do not come at the expense of pupil attainment or educational quality."

"While not a panaceafor instance composite classes often require more intense preparation by teacherswe would encourage policymakers to experiment more with mixed classrooms.

"Given the benefits suggested by our evidence, particularly in early years education, composite classes may be a useful strategy to support attainment in Scottish schools' after the disruption caused by the COVID pandemic."

Ruth Maisey, Education Programme Head at the Nuffield Foundation, said: "Although focused on schools in Scotland, the finding that composite classes are more effective for improving pupil outcomes than lower class sizes is relevant to other nations in the UK and internationally. In particular, this evidence will help for schools which are under capacity make better informed choices about whether to run with smaller class sizes or to opt for composite classes."

Anonymised data

In coming to their conclusions, the researchers used anonymised data from the Scottish Pupil Census to code each pupil's school, grade and class and compare outcomes over a period of 12 years between 2007/08 and 2018/19.

These data were linked to teacher assessments of pupils' numeracy and literacy abilities in P1, P4, P7 and the third year of secondary school, as well as surveys on learning attitudes and leavers' surveys which allowed the researchers to track each pupil's qualifications and post-high school destinations.

A legacy of the project is that the code to generate this data set will be made publicly available.

Dr. Gehrsitz added: "Our study also demonstrated the feasibility of creating a panel data set that allows researchers and stakeholders to track Scottish pupils as they progress through the education system and beyond, thus allowing for an analysis of both short-term and long-term outcomes of education policies and interventions.

"We encourage researchers to build on this work, and use it in evaluating existing and future policies and interventions, and to add new waves of data as they become available."

Explore further Smaller class sizes not always better for pupils, multinational study shows
KYODO NEWS - Mar 25, 2021 - 13:30 | All, World, Coronavirus

AstraZeneca Plc said Wednesday that its coronavirus vaccine was 76 percent effective at preventing symptomatic illness in a clinical trial, slightly lowering the rate after facing questions in the United States over its data.

An interim analysis of the trial, which took place in the United States, Peru and Chile, showed Monday that the vaccine efficacy was 79 percent.

But the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said a day later that the British company may have included "outdated" information from the trial when reporting the results, possibly providing an "incomplete view of the efficacy data."

AstraZeneca said the primary analysis released Wednesday was based on 190 symptomatic cases of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the virus, among more than 32,400 participants. The interim analysis was based on 141 cases through Feb. 17.

Vaccine efficacy was 85 percent in adults 65 years and older in the updated analysis, the company said. No safety concerns related to the vaccine were identified.

"The primary analysis is consistent with our previously released interim analysis, and confirms that our COVID-19 vaccine is highly effective in adults, including those aged 65 years and over," AstraZeneca said in a press release.

The company also said it is looking forward to seeking emergency use authorization in the United States.
Kathmandu, March 25

The government has declared that Nepal is now self-sufficient in animal products.

Organising a special function in Kathmandu on Thursday, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli announced that Nepal is now self-sufficient in milk powder, butter, eggs, and meat products.

Agriculture and Livestock Secretary Dr Prem Narayan Kandel said the declaration was made as per the standards set by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation.

For example, as per the standard, a country that has 48 eggs and 14 kg meat for a citizen for a year is self-sufficient in eggs and meat respectively. Nepal has already produced 55 eggs and 18 kg of meat for a person.

However, Nepal is yet to meet standards in terms of milk and fish among other animal products.

Speaking in the event, Agriculture and Livestock Minister Padma Kumari Aryal said the government would make efforts to make the country self-sufficient in other categories also soon.

She claimed the country would be ready to export some animal products in the next five years.
Most of the students from across the Upper Thumb are learning from home this week as they prepare for spring break next week.

Spring break will take place between March 29 and April 2 with most students at local districts returning to class on April 5.

Bad Axe Schools is one of the only schools in the area to still have students in K-12 learning in person. The trouble most schools are facing when it comes to keeping students in class is a shortage of substitute teachers and extensive COVID contact tracing.

We have been fortunate that the number of students or staff affected by contact tracing has been low up to this point, Bad Axe Superintendent Greg Newland said. That is why we have been able to maintain in-person instruction.

According to Bad Axe Public Schools' COVID-19 Dashboard, updated this week, the district has only seen 22 cases among students and staff since reporting began in October.

Newland said the district did have two days of virtual learning earlier this month due to a large number of staff receiving their second vaccination. The virtual days were conducted as a precaution to possible reactions to the vaccine.

We plan to continue to provide in-person learning through the rest of the school year and certainly hope that our cases remain low among those individuals impacted through contact tracing, Newland said.

Laker Schools announced March 23 that elementary students would be transitioning to remote learning the following day, due to new COVID cases and quarantines. This decision came a week after Laker High School students transitioned to remote learning due to the unavailability of substitute teachers following extensive contact tracing.

Laker Superintendent Brian Keim also announced the schools coming home game and crowning would continue as planned last Friday, in order to maintain positive student social mental health after a tough year.

North Huron Schools announced their transition of students in grades 6-12 to remote learning on March 18, with students in grades K-5 joining them virtually in the following days. This decision came after an increase in COVID cases and a number of teachers who had to quarantine. Staffing shortages have continued to affect most schools throughout the year.

Caseville Schools made the difficult decision to close school to face-to-face instruction on Wednesday, March 10. The shutdown was originally intended to last only a week, but due to additional positive cases among students or staff, quarantines, and concern over asymptomatic spread, they will remain virtual until after spring break.

Due to their remote learning extension, Caseville Schools also postponed their coming home festivities and kindergarten roundup, which has since been rescheduled for Thursday, April 8.

Harbor Beach Community Schools transitioned to remote learning on March 16 and will continue through spring break. This decision came after multiple positive cases among students or staff and large groups of individuals who needed to quarantine.

According to their COVID-19 Dashboard, the Harbor Beach school district has seen 45 cumulative cases since reporting began.

Ubly Community Schools announced on March 10 that some students had tested positive for COVID at the high school. Multiple grade levels were affected by this situation and while the school is reportedly working with the health department, students enjoyed many March is Reading Month activities through in-person instruction leading up to spring break.

All schools have ongoing plans to reopen to in-person instruction on Monday, April 5. Updates on school activities, extended learning plans, and COVID reporting can be found on school websites and Facebook pages.
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 woman was dragged along a road by truck-driving officials in Kenya after she had allegedly refused to give them a bribe.

Footage from the city of Kisumu showed angry locals pursuing the truck as it dragged the woman through the streets in an incident which has caused outrage.

Described by local media as a 39-year-old fruit vendor, the woman is said to have been injured in the legs and arms after being dragged for more than 500 yards.

Regional governor Peter Anyang' Nyong'o said he was 'saddened and shocked' by the footage, saying he had ordered the suspension of the officials involved.

A truck manned by Kenyan officials drove along a street with a female fruit vendor being dragged along the road in an incident which has caused outrage

According to local media, the woman had been selling oranges and lemons on the pavement when she was confronted by the city's enforcers.

Some reports said she had refused to pay a bribe to the officials, also known as askaris, who are described as being notorious for extorting money.

'They usually take away our goods and demand for money before we get them back,' she told The Nation.

'But on this day, I thought I was going to die because they dragged me as the vehicle drove off.'

One of the officials on the truck allegedly grasped her by the hand as the vehicle drove off, leaving her to scrape along the road in full view of pedestrians.

Sensing the anger of passers-by, the truck is said to have driven to a police station while officers sprayed tear gas to disperse the angry crowd.

Described by local media as a 39-year-old fruit vendor, the woman is said to have been injured in the legs and arms after being dragged for more than 500 yards

Footage from the city of Kisumu showed angry locals pursuing the truck as it dragged the woman through the streets

The vendor's son is also said to have been arrested after confronting the officers, while the woman herself went to hospital to have her wounds looked at.

The Kenya Human Rights Commission described the 17-second clip as a 'chilling video' of the woman being dragged through the streets.

County officials 'have a duty to ensure these officers are identified, arrested and prosecuted,' the commission said.

'Such inhumane treatment of civilians can't be tolerated.'

Nyong'o, the governor of Kisumu county, described the 'mishandling' of the female trader as an 'ugly incident' and vowed to investigate with 'urgency'.

'I have directed the city manager to immediately suspend from duty all the officers who were involved in this incident with immediate effect,' he said.

'In the meantime, all county enforcement officers must carry out their duties while fully respecting the human rights' of their citizens.
LOS ANGELES and BALTIMORE, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Mike Arias, managing partner of Los Angelesbased Arias Sanguinetti Wang & Torrijos, LLP (ASWT), and Howard Janet, managing partner of Baltimore-based Janet, Janet and Suggs, LLC (JJS), announced today that a group of 702 plaintiffs who brought litigation against USC related to the sexual abuse, assault, and harassment of Dr. George Tyndall have settled for a total of $842,400,000. Together, JJS and ASWT represent 136 of the 702 plaintiffs.

The $842.4 million figure is the largest known settlement in a sexual abuse case in U.S. history, as well as the largest known personal injury settlement against a university. It will be paid in two installments in August 2021 and August 2022, with a letter of credit securing the second payment.

"This is tremendous vindication for all the women who suffered abuse at the hands of a disgusting doctor who had to endure inaction and a cover up by USC," said Nicole Haynes, one of the plaintiffs in this case.

The 702 plaintiffs will be entitled to an average recovery of $1.2 million. All plaintiffs will participate in an allocation process managed by a neutral third party who will review each plaintiff's damages individually, and then allocate the proceeds of the settlement. Neither USC nor Dr. Tyndall will have any input in the allocation process.

ASWT was named co-liaison counsel (along with Manly, Stewart & Finaldi) for the plaintiffs, a leadership role to represent the interests of those who brought individual actions. Mike Arias was also instrumental in coordinating the passage of AB 1510, a law which created a retroactive exception to the statute of limitations to ensure that these claims could be brought.

"It could never have happened without our exceptionally brave clients who came forward to talk about the injustice they suffered," said Arias. "Those who reported abuse at the time it happened were ignored, and many did not feel comfortable doing so. Across the country, states are finally recognizing that this type of trauma comes with unique power dynamics that make survivors feel incapable of disclosing the abuse to others. The old time limits are insufficient and unjust."

Dr. Tyndall was the only full-time gynecologist at USC from the late 1980s until 2016. USC investigated his conduct thoroughly in 2016 and permitted him to retire with a financial settlement in 2017. After reports of allegations of sexual abuse surfaced in 2018, thousands of survivors have come forward to assert claims of sexual abuse, assault, and harassment, as well as racist comments, from throughout his nearly 30-year tenure at USC. In 2019, Dr. Tyndall was charged with 29 felonies related to sexual misconduct. He is currently under house arrest.

Some of the allegations disclosed by ASWT and JJS's clients over the course of the litigation were truly appalling. One woman who came to Dr. Tyndall shortly after being date-raped stated that he responded to the situation by taking pictures of her breasts and vagina and encouraging her not to report it, saying she probably did something to "turn him on because women like you do that"; after this incident, the woman dropped out of USC, unable to continue attending a school where she was constantly reminded of such trauma. Another plaintiff alleged that Dr. Tyndall himself raped her, during which he claimed he was helping her because she was "too dry" and now she was "finally getting wet." Another woman commented that Dr. Tyndall's sexual assault "was the very first time any man touched me that way" and her interactions with him "changed the course of how I sought out feminine health care, my trust in male doctors and men in general, and how I viewed myself sexually forever"feelings that are all too common among the survivors. Yet another plaintiff described recurring nightmares where she is in the "USC library in the dark" with a "menacing male figure," trying to scream as hard as she can, but finding she has no voice. Further, one plaintiff was suffering from such depression that she was unable to pursue graduate school after graduating from USC, and ended up getting a labiaplasty due to the anxieties created by Dr. Tyndall's behavior.

A separate class action settlement for claims relating to Dr. Tyndall was approved on February 26, 2020. At the time, many criticized the settlement for being inadequate, especially because it was devised before anyone had investigated the facts of the case through discovery. In that settlement, the absolute maximum payment was $250,000, and many claimants received far less (the minimum payment being $2,500). It has been recently disclosed that the victims in that class action process will receive a paltry settlement of just under $15,000 on average. Even worse, women who applied for the top tier recovery will receive a paltry $96,000 on average. All the 702 plaintiffs in the individual actions opted out of the class action settlement.

"I'm sure our clients will be glad they didn't settle for less," said Howard Janet. "Our results are a testament to the extraordinary work done by these plaintiff lawyers to ferret out the truth. It's also a reflection of this country's mindset after the Me Too movement. Institutions who let sexual predators operate with impunity are finally being held accountable."

Other ASWT attorneys who worked on the case included Alfredo Torrijos, Arnold Wang, and Travis Daniels, and other JJS attorneys who worked on the case included Andrew Janet (Vice Chair of JJS's Sexual Abuse Division) and former sex crime prosecutors Natalie D'Antonio and Brenda Harkavy.

"We could not be more proud to be involved in this process. It is an incredible victory for survivors of sexual abuse," said Andrew Janet.

Mike Arias is a former president of both the Consumer Attorneys of California and the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA), two of the largest trial lawyer associations in the nation.

Howard Janet had previously negotiated a $190 million settlement of the class action against The Johns Hopkins Hospital on behalf of the women who alleged they were sexually abused and photographed by OB/GYN Dr. Nikita Levy.

Both JJS and ASWT represent sexual abuse survivors throughout the country in a variety of institutional contexts, including by clergy, teachers, and health care providers.

Contact: Joe Marchelewski, 310-462-2252, [email protected].

SOURCE Arias Sanguinetti Wang & Torrijos
The former governor of a Mexican border state who U.S. prosecutors alleged cut deals with drug cartels, took kickbacks from government contractors and laundered millions of dollars in Texas real estate pleaded guilty Thursday to a single count of money laundering.

It was an anticlimactic end to a saga that has dragged on for nearly a decade.

Tomas Yarrington Ruvalcaba, who was governor of Tamaulipas from 1999 to 2005, initially faced up to life in prison if hed been convicted of the racketeering or drug trafficking conspiracy charges the U.S. government leveled against him eight years ago.

A 53-page indictment federal prosecutors filed in Brownsville in 2013 accused Yarrington, 64, of not only taking bribes from the notorious Zetas drug cartel, whose turf wars wracked Tamaulipas and its border from Brownsville to Nuevo Laredo, but of actively participating in their drug trafficking enterprise.

Yarrington was accused of laundering money by purchasing homes across Texas and investing in real estate developments in San Antonio and South Padre Island.

During Thursdays court hearing in Houston, prosecutors walked away from the drug trafficking allegations, dismissing the most serious charges and allowing the former governor to plead guilty to one money laundering conspiracy count.

Yarrington will face up to 20 years in prison when hes sentenced at a later date, but prosecutors said they'll recommend a sentence on the lower end of the nine to 11 years he'll likely receive under federal sentencing guidelines. Yarrington has been in detention since 2017 and will get credit for several years of time served. He also faces a fine, and has agreed to give up a waterside residence in Port Isabel.

Yarrington admitted to using Texas real estate transactions to launder money from bribes paid while he was governor, but not to taking bribes from drug traffickers.

Yarrington received illegal proceeds from individuals and private companies seeking business with the state of Tamaulipas, Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Betancourt said in court Thursday. These commercial bribes were made in exchange for favorable treatment by Yarrington and others for these individuals and companies through the award of contracts with the State of Tamaulipas.

The money was transferred to the U.S., Betancourt said, where Yarrington purchased assets in the State of Texas with these illegal proceeds using nominee names to hide his ownership.

She said the amount of bribe money Yarrington is admitting to moving into the U.S. was between $3.5 million and $9.4 million. Prosecutors had initially said his money laundering scheme involved $23 million.

Among the real estate prosecutors alleged Yarrington purchased with the stolen money was 46 acres on La Cantera Parkway that was slated to be turned into a mixed-use development. That property was eventually sold and $1 million was turned over to the U.S. The government also seized homes in Kyle and McAllen that prosecutors alleged he purchased through a nominee.

Yarrington, a charismatic figure in Mexican politics who was once viewed as a potential presidential candidate, spoke Spanish at Thursdays hearing but occasionally broke into English to gently correct the interpreter.

Afterward, his attorney Chris Flood said prosecutors obviously dont believe that what others are saying about his involvement in the cartels is true.

Governor Yarringtons happy to put this part of the case behind him, Flood said.

The Homeland Security Investigations-led case, dubbed Operation Green Tide, has dragged on for years.

For more than a year before Yarrington was indicted in 2013, federal prosecutors in Texas had accused him in court documents of taking bribes from the Zetas. The first public acknowledgment that he was under investigation came with the February 2012 arrest in San Antonio of a businessman prosecutors said was an intermediary between the former governor and cartel leaders in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. Later that year, prosecutors unveiled an indictment against Fernando Alejandro Cano Martinez, a Tamaulipas paving magnate they alleged bribed Yarrington and helped him launder money in Texas. In a related civil action, prosecutors again accused Yarrington of taking bribes from the Zetas.

A year later, the U.S. finally charged Yarrington, unveiling the lengthy indictment that accused him of being at the head of a racketeering enterprise that brought drugs and dirty money to Texas.

The prosecutors in Brownsville said then-governor Yarrington helped the Zetas and their masters-turned-rivals, the Gulf Cartel, traffic drugs and, after leaving office, was paid a commission for orchestrating a truce between warring narcos in a key port city.

Despite the weighty allegations in the U.S., and criminal proceedings against him in Mexico, Yarrington avoided arrest for four years.

In 2017 Italian authorities arrested him living in that country under a false name. The following year, after a brief spat between the U.S. and Mexico over who would get to prosecute him, he was extradited to the United States.

The damning allegations of drug trafficking went unmentioned at Thursdays hearing, prompting some drug war observers to draw connections to Salvador Cienfuegos, a former Mexican defense minister whose prosecution the Justice Department abandoned last year.

What is the signal that youre giving to Mexico? That youre not serious about this, said Guadalupe Correa Cabrera, a government and policy professor at George Mason University. It really makes us believe that theres no justice in the United States, either.
Even small increases in nitrogen dioxide levels in the air may be linked to increases in cardiovascular and respiratory deaths, according to research published by The BMJ today.

The findings suggest a need to revise and tighten the current air quality guidelines, and to consider stricter regulatory limits for nitrogen dioxide concentrations.

Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is a common air pollutant formed by burning fuel for things like transport, power and industrial processes.

It is measured in micrograms (one-millionth of a gram) per cubic meter of air or g/m3. World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines currently recommend that nitrogen dioxide levels should not exceed an annual average of 40 g/m3.

Many studies have reported the effects of short term exposure to NO2 on health, but most have been based on small samples, covered limited geographical areas, or used different study designs, so results are inconsistent.

To address this uncertainty, a team of international researchers set out to investigate the short term associations between NO2 and total, cardiovascular, and respiratory deaths across multiple countries/regions worldwide.

Their findings are based on daily concentrations of nitrogen dioxide from 398 cities in 22 low to high income countries/regions over a 45-year period (1973 to 2018).

Daily weather data, including average temperature and humidity, were also recorded, and death records were obtained from local authorities within each country/region.

A total of 62.8 million deaths were recorded over the 45-year study period, 19.7 million (31.5%) were cardiovascular related deaths and 5.5 million (8.7%) were respiratory deaths.

On average, a 10 g/m3 increase in NO2 concentration on the previous day was associated with 0.46%, 0.37%, and 0.47% increases in total, cardiovascular, and respiratory deaths, respectively.

These associations did not change after adjusting for levels of other common air pollutants (sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, ozone, and varying sizes of fine particulate matter) obtained from the same fixed site monitoring stations, suggesting that the results withstand scrutiny.

The researchers estimate that the proportion of deaths attributable to NO2 concentration above the zero level was 1.23% across the 398 cities.

And while they acknowledge that reducing NO2 to zero is infeasible, they say their analysis "provides insight into the public health benefits of substantial NO2 reductions."

This is an observational study, so can't establish cause, and the authors point out that because most of the data were obtained from developed areas, such as Europe, North America, and East Asia, any global generalisations should be made with caution.

In addition, there might have been slight changes in air pollution measurements over the decades, and the health data collection might be subject to diagnostic or coding errors.

However, strengths included the study's scale, providing enormous statistical power and ensuring the stability of the findings, and uniform analytical methods, allowing for more reliable comparisons across different regions and populations.

As such, they say their analysis "provides robust evidence for the independent associations of short term exposure to NO2 with increased risk of total, cardiovascular and respiratory mortality .. suggesting a need to revise and tighten the current air quality guidelines of NO2 for greater public health benefit, and to consider a regulation limit for daily mean NO2 concentration."

They add: "These findings contribute to a better understanding of how to optimise public health actions and strategies to mitigate air pollution."

###

[Ends]

Peer reviewed? Yes

Evidence type: Observational data analysis

Subjects: People
New Delhi, March 26 : Elated by positive internal feedback from Assam, the Congress is now planning to go full throttle in the final two phases of the Assembly election in the northeast state to defeat the BJP in their strongholds.

Congress sources say that the contest in the state is tough one for both the BJP and the Congress, but they have made a comeback with a tactical alliance with both the BPF and the AIUDF, and now the party's focus to make a strong pitch in the seats where the BJP is strong.

The Congress is pushing more leaders in each constituency to manage its campaign and reach out to voters.

Citing the Congress' five guarantees in the state, party General Secretary Jitendra Singh said: "Congress's guarantee of 5 lakh govt jobs means more opportunities for the youth of Assam to showcase their skills and talent and to contribute towards putting the state on the path of development.

"The party is overwhelmed with the massive response we have been getting to five guarantees. Our candidates and those of 10 Mahajot partners say people are responding positively to the guarantees, fed up as they are of 'Jumla' party's hollow promises." The first phase of polling is on Saturday, and for the two final two phases, the Congress will depute more leaders to reach out to the voters.

While the BJP has been running a high-voltage poll campaign along with its partner AGP and others in the Upper Assam division, primarily in Dibrugarh, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Tinsukia and Dhemaji districts to repeat its 2016 poll performance, when it won almost two-thirds of the total seats in the first phase, the Congress is leaving no stone unturned to cash in on the anti-CAA sentiments of the local people and over the low wage of tea estate workers.

The 126-member Assembly will go the polls in three phases on March 27 (47 seats), April 1 (39 seats) and April 6 (40 seats). The results will be declared on May 2.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 00:58:24|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (R) speaks during a joint press conference with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in Athens, Greece, on March 24, 2021. Contemporary challenges and asymmetrical threats, such as terrorism, extremism and climate change, can only be tackled jointly, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a joint statement to the press with visiting Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin here on Wednesday. (Photo by Nikolas Kominis/Xinhua)

ATHENS, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Contemporary challenges and asymmetrical threats, such as terrorism, extremism and climate change, can only be tackled jointly, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a joint statement to the press with visiting Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin here on Wednesday.

Mishustin is in Greece to attend the events marking the 200th anniversary of the start of the Greek Revolution against Ottoman rule. Other dignitaries include Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades, Britain's Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.

Ahead of Thursday's military parade, Mishustin held talks with Mitsotakis on bilateral issues and cooperation on regional and international levels in many sectors, according to an e-mailed press statement issued by the Greek PM's office.

"Greece is a member state of the EU and NATO, and this is the basis of our foreign affairs policy, but we acknowledge that Russia is a significant factor in Europe's security architecture, which should be built on cooperative rather than competitive grounds with respect for common values," Mitsotakis said.

Greece takes into account Russia's commitment to the power of international law and the Law of the Sea, especially in the Mediterranean region, he added.

Russia celebrates along with Greece, Mishustin said, noting that Russia was among the nations that supported Greece's War of Independence.

Russia wants to strengthen its cooperation with Greece in many fields, like health and technology, he said.

Bilateral trade dropped by a third in 2020 and tourism flows between the two countries were severely affected by COVID-19, he noted, stressing that Russia and Greece continue to cooperate to address the repercussions of the pandemic on joint projects.




Haiti - FLASH : The Court of Appeal orders the release of 17 people accused of coup attempted





Wednesday March 24, 2021, following the hearing of March 10, the panel of judges of the Court of Appeal of Port-au-Prince (Me Yves Altidor, Me Jacques Hermon Constant and Me Gabrielle Domingue Pierre) after having deliberated, ordered the immediate release of the 17 people imprisoned in the prisons of Croix-des-Bouquets and Cabaret for conspiracy against the internal security of the State https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-32982-haiti-coup-list-of-those-arrested.html



Let's recall that on February 7, 23 people were arrested at the Residence Petit Bois (Tabarre), accused of conspiracy against state security, attempted coup, and several other charges https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-32966-haiti-flash-coup-foiled-all-official-details.html



After their hearing at the Central Directorate of the Judicial Police (DCPJ), 18 of them were transferred to the prisons of Croix-des-Bouquets and Cabaret List of people imprisoned :: https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-32982-haiti-coup-list-of-those-arrested.html and the others released.



Note that this order goes against the decision of Me Grecias Norceus the Dean of the Court of First Instance (TPI) of Croix-des-Bouquets, who had only ordered the release of Me Yvickel Dabresil, judge at the Court of Cassation https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33008-haiti-news-zapping.html



The lawyers of the detainees who considered since the order of Me Grecias Norceus that these arrests and imprisonments were discriminatory and did not take into account the equality of all individuals before the law, welcomed this decision of the Court of Appeal.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33008-haiti-news-zapping.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-32967-haiti-coup-the-national-association-of-magistrates-demands-the-release-of-judge-dabresil.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-32982-haiti-coup-list-of-those-arrested.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-32966-haiti-flash-coup-foiled-all-official-details.html



PI/ HaitiLibre


















by Vladimir Rozanskij

The "Freedom for Naval'nyj!" Campaign launched on social media. As soon as it hits 500,000 in membership, it will invoke with peaceful protests. Putins opponent in prison is not allowed to meet his lawyers and suffers from untreated pain. In Belarus, demonstrations start again today. Svetlana Tikhanovskaja: We have to take responsibility for the victory.

Moscow (AsiaNews) - Under the slogan Svobodu Navalnomu! ("Freedom for Naval'nyj!") Aleksei Naval'nyj supporters announced two days ago the launch of a campaign for his release. Khartija-97 reports that this campaign is also a preparation for mass demonstrations across the country.

The date will be set only when at least 500,000 people have declared their willingness to take part in them on the free.navalny.com campaign site. According to the organizers, "if hundreds of thousands of people come out in peaceful protests, it will be impossible to ignore their demands".

The website states that Russian President Vladimir Putin "tried to kill Navalny", and when he survived, Putin "threw him in jail". According to dw.com, in the first 24 hours approximately 180,000 people responded to the appeal, at a rate of 5,000 subscriptions per hour, marking the geographical location of their home on the interactive map of the site.

These figures were also enthusiastically communicated by the coordinator of Navalnyj groups, Leonid Volkov, to Otkrytye media, specifying that the campaign site is able to resist cyber-attacks (about 4% of accesses, immediately eliminated).

According to Volkov "it is not dangerous to communicate the place of one's home, because in every house there are Naval'nyj supporters ". However, on the site there are also options that allow you to communicate only the courtyard, street or city of the subscribers.

According to the organizers' calculations, in the big cities about 20% are in favour of Naval'nyj. The map also allows you to sign up inside the Kremlin, and whoever has not marked the place has been registered on Red Square. As Volkov explained, the new protests will be "completely different" from those of previous months, and "it will not be possible to disperse them". The preparation will be long and thorough and will take several weeks.

Meanwhile, according to the Telegram story by Volkov himself, Alexei Navalny is beginning to feel the weight of detention and "feeling worse and worse" because he is not allowed to meet his lawyers. His physical condition also worsens, with back and leg pains, almost without the possibility of receiving painkillers (two Ibuprofen tablets in 10 days).

His lawyers, Olga Mikhailova and Vadim Kobzev, remained all day yesterday in front of the entrance to the prison camp, without being allowed to enter. According to Volkov, Naval'nyj was reported to have been transferred to the camp hospital, but the prison management does not want to let this be known.

The leader of the Belarusian opposition in exile, the former presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaja, also addressed the Belarusians on the eve of the protests planned for today 25 March, called Den Volo ("the day of freedom"), coinciding with the historic date of the independence of Belarus in 1918.

We sometimes accuse ourselves of not doing enough - said Tikhanovskaja - but in these moments I think that a year ago we would never have thought we could win. And we don't tell each other that enough in recent months, we have done more for our nation than in all the previous 26 years, so let's take the responsibility to get to the bottom of it. We must take responsibility for the victory.

The coordinator of the Opposition Council in Belarus, Pavel Latusko, in turn renewed the invitation to take to the streets, to start a "spring of protests".

Meanwhile, the representatives of Putin's party, "United Russia", are preparing new strategies to prevent the candidacies of the men supported by Naval'nyj with the "useful vote". In addition to the blocking of anyone who has been stopped in the protests, alternative candidates will be put forward by people from outside all sides, actually hired specifically by the Putinians.

This was the case when on March 21 in Varlamovo, a town in the province of Ekaterinburg in the Urals, and in other minor places, the "free candidates" were used to confuse the voters, forcing them to vote against the party in power, without realizing that they are playing into their hands.
Venture Construction Group of Florida Sponsors Autism Speaks Palm Beach Walk We are proud to sponsor the Autism Speaks Palm Beach Walk. This is a wonderful opportunity to raise awareness, increase funding and innovative research, said Stephen Shanton, CEO and president of Venture Construction Group of Florida (VCGFL).

Venture Construction Group of Florida (VCGFL) was a Grand Club Sponsor at the Autism Speaks Palm Beach Walk held on March 7. Registrants walked individually or in teams throughout the county, while respecting social distancing guidelines. Participants walked 1.54 miles, representing the 1 in 54 children in the U.S. living with autism. Autism Speaks has funded nearly $150 million in scientific grants, resulting in an additional $396 million of publicly-sourced autism-related funding.

Your strength and commitment are empowering crucial work to ensure people on the spectrum can gain access to resources, assistance and support in these troubling times. Our rapid response to Covid, adding cares grants, increasing our capacity for direct assistance, and also creating a whole new resource of tool kits adequate for these changing times, is all possible because of our supporters, said Carolina Lizarralde, area executive director, Autism Speaks.

The annual Autism Speaks Walk brings communities together for an inclusive day of kindness, learning, and encouragement. The funds raised support Autism Speaks mission to promote solutions, across the spectrum and throughout the life span, for the needs of people with autism and their families.

We are proud to sponsor the Autism Speaks Palm Beach Walk. This is a wonderful opportunity to raise awareness, increase funding and innovative research, said Stephen Shanton, CEO and president of Venture Construction Group of Florida (VCGFL).

The Autism Speaks Walk is the worlds largest fundraising event dedicated to improving the lives of people with autism. Powered by the love of people with autism and those who support them, the funds raised help ensure people of all abilities have access to the tools needed to reach their full potential.

World Autism Awareness Day is April 2. Hundreds of thousands of homes, businesses, and communities around the globe come together to Light It Up Blue in recognition of people with autism and their caregivers and families. To get involved, wear something blue in support of understanding and acceptance for people with autism and share on social with the hashtag #LightItUpBlue. Educational activities take place all month, aiming to increase understanding and acceptance of people with autism, foster worldwide support and inspire a kinder, more inclusive world.

VCGFL is committed to giving back to numerous charitable and community programs throughout the year. As a local leader in construction, restoration, roofing, and storm damage repairs, VCGFL has earned numerous accolades and awards for project excellence, safety, best practices, and design.

About Venture Construction Group of Florida

Founded in 1998, Venture Construction Group of Florida (VCGFL) is an award-winning leader in construction, restoration, renovations, roofing, storm damage repairs, and 24/7 emergency services throughout Florida, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Bahamas and the Caribbean. Specializing in industrial/ commercial projects, VCGFL assists property managers, condominium boards, homeowner associations, association boards, hotels, and business complexes with general contractor services, roofing, specialty construction, historical restoration, water and flood mitigation, and property repairs due to fire, flood, water, wind and hurricanes. With offices in Boca Raton, Ft. Myers, Naples, Panama City Beach, Orlando, Stuart, Tampa, San Juan, and Nassau, VCGFL is committed to operational excellence and exceptional customer service. VCGFL takes care of the details every step of the way including roofing, siding, windows, drywall, flooring, paint, gutters to rebuilding properties after major storm events from hurricanes, tornadoes, and hailstorms. VCGFL has earned leading industry awards including the Gold Coast Builders Association (GCBA) Silver PRISM Award for Safety Team of the Year, GCBA Gold PRISM Award for Craftsmanship- Commercial Exterior, GCBA Silver PRISM Award for Craftsmanship- Commercial Exterior, Owens Corning Pinnacle Award for Safety, Construction Business Owner Award, Roofing Alliance MVP Award, Coatings Pro Contractor Award, Pro Remodeler Forty Under 40 Award, Qualified Remodeler Top 500 Remodelers Award, Qualified Remodeler Master Design Award, Florida Roofing and Sheet Metal Contractors Association S.T.A.R. Spotlight Trophy for the Advancement of Roofing Awards in Sustainability and Community Service. Shanton is a certified member of the WindStorm Insurance Network and is a WIND Certified Umpire, WIND Certified Appraiser, and WIND Certified Fellow. VCGFL carries advanced accreditations and is an exclusive certified National Storm Damage Center Preferred Contractor and Certified Member of the United Association of Storm Restoration Contractors. VCGFL is a proud member of Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems (EIFS) Industry Members Association (EIMA); Florida Roofing and Sheet Metal Contractors Association (FRSA); Gold Coast Builders Association (GCBA); Insurance Appraisal and Umpire Association (IAUA); National Association of Environmentally Responsible Mold Contractors (NAERMC); National Association of Home Builders (NAHB); National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA); NRCA Qualified Trainer; Property Liability and Resource Bureau (PLRB); Restoration Industry Association (RIA).

VCGFL is a registered U.S. Federal Government Contractor and holds leading manufacturer certifications including Owens Corning Platinum Preferred Contractor, Mule-Hide Legacy Contractor, Certified CertainTeed Contractor, and Duro-Last Certified Contractor status. VCGFL credentials have been vetted and screened through independent third-party Global Risk Management Solutions. For more information, call 866-459-8351 or visit us online at http://www.VCGFL.com.

About Autism Speaks

Autism Speaks is dedicated to promoting solutions, across the spectrum and throughout the life span, for the needs of individuals with autism and their families. We do this through advocacy and support; increasing understanding and acceptance of people with autism spectrum disorder; and advancing research into causes and better interventions for autism spectrum disorder and related conditions. To find resources, join a fundraising walk or make a donation, go to http://www.AutismSpeaks.org.

Media Inquiries:

Alexis Bott

Elev8 Consulting Group

Ph: 386-243-5388

Web: http://www.elev8cg.com
Advertisement

Incredible aerial and satellite photos have shown the widespread trail of destruction of the devastating floods along Australia's east coast.

Large swathes of Sydney's north-west remain cut off by floodwaters from the swollen Hawkesbury and Colo rivers, two days after the torrential rain that soaked the region eased.

There are also stunning scenes north of the border, where plane passengers flying over the Gold Coast have shared images of the blue ocean meeting murky floodwaters from the swollen Tweed River.

The massive clean up has began in Sydney's north-west.

While some evacuated residents were able to return homes on Thursday, many others aren't so lucky.

Aerial photos taken of the flood zone on Thursday show rows of homes and abandoned floodwaters in Wisemans Ferry swamped by murky brown waters of floating debris, isolated from civilisation.

Wisemans Ferry, north-west of Sydney remains cut off from civilisation, where rows of homes are still swamped with floodwaters

Wisemans Ferry residents don't know where they will be able to return to their homes, which are still inundated with floodwaters

Residents who fled before their homes were inundated are among the 20,000 residents across NSW who remain holed up in evacuation centres.

There were similar scenes an hour's drive down the road in Windsor, where satellite images before and after the floods also show a fascinating but contrasting tale.

A satellite photo taken on Tuesday shows the area inundated with murky waters, looking far less greener than the image taken three weeks earlier on March 3.

Floods have also taken a heavy toll on Queensland's south-east.

A stunning photo showing floodwaters meeting the ocean was captured by a plane passenger flying over the New South Wales-Queensland border.

The photo taken over Flagstaff Beach on the Gold Coast on Wednesday showed a separation between blue ocean water and brown floodwater spilling from Tweed River.

This satellite image of Windsor in Sydney's north-west was taken on March 3, three weeks before the floods

This satellite image taken Tuesday shows Windsor after floodwaters inundated the area

Passengers flying over the Gold Coast were greeted with scene oof blue ocean water meeting brown floodwater spilling from Tweed River

Sydney resident Sam Hennigan was flying over the region when he spotted the unique phenomenon.

'It was pretty mesmerising,' he told nine.com.au.

The swollen Tween River had peaked on Tuesday as parts of south-east Queensland received as much as 550mm of rain in the space of two days.

Major flooding also continues in Sydney's western suburbs of North Richmond and Windsor, while fresh evacuation orders were issued for some areas in the centre of the state.

'The best advice I've received this morning is that most of the river systems we believe have peaked,' NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters on Thursday.

'And now we are considering ... which communities are able to return back in the next few days, and we just ask for everybody's patience.'

Around 40 per cent of Australia's population of 25 million was affected by the severe weather system that stretched across an area the size of Alaska in recent days, touching every mainland state or territory but one.

At least 17,000 damages claims worth about A$254.2 million, according to the The Insurance Council of Australia.

Flooding resulting from a severe weather event with prolonged rains is seen at the Hawkesbury River in Wisemans Ferry
China to contribute more power to making world cleaner, more beautiful

15:50, March 25, 2021 By He Yin ( People's Daily

Technicians inspect and maintain photovoltaic panels in Yuli County, Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Feb. 25, 2021. (People's Daily Online/Chang Xuehui)

China, making a major strategic decision to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060, has been widely appraised by the international society. The decision is a move that sustains the development of the Chinese nation and builds a community with a shared future for mankind.

China's Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035 demonstrates to the world the country's firm resolution to progress toward green development and harmonious coexistence between human and nature. It indicates China's major country responsibility to protect the Earth and strive for sustainable development.

China was the first country to raise and firmly practice the notion of an ecological civilization featuring harmonious coexistence between human and nature, and has achieved remarkable progress with unwavering resolve.

Two photos shared by a deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, from Qinghai Province attracted wide public attention during the just-concluded "two sessions," the annual meetings of the NPC and the country's top political advisory body the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). The photos showed a Chinese mountain cat walking in the bushes and a snow leopard roaming in the woods, respectively. The presence of these rare species exactly indicated the progress achieved by China regarding ecological and environmental protection.

The country delivered a remarkable ecological performance during the 13th Five-Year Plan period, or the last five years. With enhanced efforts of pollution control, it over-fulfilled its target of reducing major pollutant emission. Besides, the country also significantly improved its efficiency of resource utilization, as well as ecological environment.

A Bloomberg report recently introduced how China covered its land with forests over the past a dozen years, and Jean-Francois Donzier, director of the International Office for Water of France, also complimented China's environmental protection achievements, saying the country has contributed wisdom and strength to the harmonious coexistence between human and nature.

Ecological protection means productivity protection, and environmental improvement means greater productivity, said Chinese President Xi Jinping during an inspection tour to Hainan Province in 2013. A good ecological environment is the fairest public product, and the most accessible welfare for the people, he said.

Xi's remarks have long been turned into concrete actions. As China rapidly expands its green economy, the international society is increasingly attracted by the country's ecological progress led by science-based philosophies.

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 has received worldwide attention. It further charts the course for China's green development, and makes systematic top-level design for the country to improve ecological quality and stability, enhance environmental quality, and green its development models in a faster manner.

Clifford Cobb, editor-in-chief of American Journal of Economics and Sociology, believes that China has blazed a new trail in the construction of ecological civilization, setting a model for other countries in terms of pollution control.

China's efforts to green its economic and social development are a huge contribution to global sustainable development.

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 made it clear that China will scale up its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions in response to climate change by 2030. By incorporating peaking carbon dioxide emissions and achieving carbon neutrality into its general plan for ecological progress, China will make more contributions to the global climate governance.

It's great that China is making climate a priority and wants to work with other countries on this, said Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Ecological conservation and environmental protection benefit future generations. The Chinese people believe that when the interests of the entire humanity are at stake, China must step forward, take action, and get the job done.

It is believed that embarking on a new journey, China will keep practicing the idea that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets." It will also give priority to ecological conservation and green development, and work with other countries to jointly build a clean and beautiful world.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji)
Police solving a murder investigation in Maryland say they may have prevented a mass shooting.

Joshua David Eckenrode, 19, of Thurmont, was arrested this week on accusations he killed former classmate Curtis Mason Smith, a statement from the Frederick County Sheriffs Office said. But detectives uncovered much more than they expected through their investigation, including several guns, explosive materials, and plans to carry out mass murder.

Executing a search warrant on Eckenrodes home, police found three live explosives, eight guns  including an AR-15  and a written apology to his family for having to go out this way, according to charging documents, the Frederick News Post reported.

Eckenrode had also drawn up a plan of action outlining an attack, according to the outlet.

Our detectives and deputies, along with officers from the Frederick Police Department, have been working around the clock to solve this murder, Lt. Andy Crone, FCSO Criminal Investigations commander said in a statement Wednesday.

Curtis Mason Smith, also 19, went missing earlier this month before his body was found in a car Sunday, with a 9mm bullet wound to the head, outlets report. The murder investigation led authorities to Eckenrode, a former classmate of Smiths.

These professionals worked every lead, tip, and call they received and through their investigative efforts this person was quickly identified and detained, Crone said.

After uncovering Eckenrodes cache of weapons, documents show police believe had they not closed in on him in time, Smith may have only been Eckenrodes first victim  and far from his last, Fox 5 reported.

Evidence suggests Eckenrode was possibly intending to carry out a mass shooting and/or mass casualty event, according to charging documents.

In the murder case, Eckenrode and Smith had been discussing a vehicle sale for several weeks, with Eckenrode offering to buy Smiths current car if he were to buy a new one, the TV station reported.

Story continues

A family member told police that Smith had recently acquired a substantial amount of money.

Outside the apartment where Eckenrode stayed, investigators found human blood in the driveway, and garbage bags filled with bloody towels and clothes, including a sweatshirt witnesses say Smith was wearing the day he disappeared, WUSA reported.

Theres no indication that Smith was involved with Eckenrodes planned attack, Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins told the outlet.

I dont believe for a minute that they were involved together in any of this thing that were talking about such as any type of mass event, Jenkins said. Its all over the county. Everybody just doesnt know why. What was the motive, what was the reason?

Eckenrode has been charged with first-degree murder and is being held at the Frederick County Adult Detention Center, a sheriffs office release said.

The investigation is ongoing and anyone with useful information is encouraged to call the FCSO tip line at 301-600-4131, and reference case #21-025637.
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.
(Newser)  New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo hardly needs another scandal. Yet media outlets including the Washington Post and New York Times are reporting that the Cuomo familyincluding CNN anchor Chris Cuomoreceived preferential access to coronavirus tests as New York emerged as the epicenter of the US pandemic last March. While everyday New Yorkers with mild symptoms were often told to quarantine at home without a test, the governor "arranged special access to government-run coronavirus testing for members of his family and other influential people," sources tell the Times. They note the governor's mother, Matilda, brother Chris, and at least one of his sisters were given tests. Health officials were even sent to these peoples' homes, per the Post, which notes state laws bars officials from using their position to gain privileges for themselves or others.

story continues below

Chris Cuomo announced he'd tested positive for coronavirus on March 31, 2020, only after a top state doctor visited his Hamptons home, taking samples from him and his family members, per the Post. The outlet notes state troopers were recruited to transport samples to a state public health lab, though a State Police rep notes this was the case with "virtually all collections  early on." The governor's spokesman, Richard Azzopardi, describes efforts to assist "members of the general public, including legislators, reporters, state workers and their families who feared they had contracted the virus and had the capability to further spread it." He adds officials were also sent to homes in New Rochelle, an initial hot spot. But the Albany Times-Union reports officials were told to "prioritize" the testing of Cuomo family members, apparently at the governor's order. (Read more Andrew Cuomo stories.)
President Moon Jae-in inspects an assembly facility of the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, Thursday, during his visit for the engine combustion test for Korea-developed space rocket, Nuri. Yonhap



South Korea's plan to launch its first homegrown rocket later this year is on a roll after researchers successfully conducted the final combustion test for its main first-stage engines, the science ministry said Thursday.



The Ministry of Science and ICT said the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) successfully ran the third and final test for the four 75-ton liquid engines of the 200-ton rocket, named Nuri, at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, 473 kilometers south of Seoul.



Local researchers will now test the locally developed three-stage rocket's launch pad until July and complete assembly of the rocket's flight model before its planned launch with a mock payload in October.



Nuri's second launch, which aims to carry a 1.5-ton satellite, is slated for May next year.



South Korea has been seeking to develop a homegrown space launch vehicle since 2010, earmarking nearly 2 trillion won (US$1.8 billion). While the country launched its two-stage Naro rocket in 2013, its first stage was built in Russia.



Nuri has suffered setbacks in development, such as changes in the first stage's assembly process and delays in acquiring parts, prompting South Korea last year to push back its launch originally set for February.



"I am so proud. Congratulations!" President Moon Jae-in said after making an on-site inspection of the testing.



Based on the accomplishment, he added, the government will push aggressively for the development of South Korea's first lunar orbiter.



After launching it next year, South Korea aims to make its dream of landing on the moon with its own projectile come true by 2030, he said.



"The technology, experience, and confidence that we will gain from the exploration of the moon, which is the first step in space exploration, will serve as a solid foundation for space development," he stressed.



Moon reaffirmed plans to accelerate the development and use of various satellites by supporting civilian-led space projects.



He pointed out that South Korea has become able to develop solid-propellant space rockets under the missile guidelines with the United States revised in 2020.



Cheong Wa Dae, meanwhile, stated that the successful combustion test on the day represents the "de facto completion" of the three-stage Nuri rocket development.



"It went through the same procedure as when the projectile will actually be fired," Cheong Wa Dae deputy spokesperson Lim Se-eun said at a press briefing. (Yonhap)


ADVERTISEMENT

A high court in Idah, Kogi State, on Wednesday, sentenced Ocholi Edicha to 12 years and six months in prison over his involvement in the killing of the state Peoples Democratic Party women leader, Salome Abuh.

According to Punch newspaper, Mr Edicha was convicted of criminal conspiracy, armed robbery and culpable homicide.

The prosecution called five witnesses during the trial.

The report said the court agreed with the oral testimony and witnesses accounts and statement made to the police.

Although the defendant denied making statement to the Nigeria police, he accepted some aspects of the statement, which was later admitted by the court.

Mrs Abuh was shot and her residence set ablaze in Ochadamu in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State during the states governorship election in 2019.

After the incident, the police paraded six suspects, including Mr Edicha.

The State Commissioner of Police, Akeem Busari, while parading the suspects in Lokoja said they were arrested on November 22, 2019 by the police in collaboration with local vigilantes.

He named them as Ocholi Edicha, Adamu Haruna, Onu Egbunu, Musa Alidu, Attai Haruna Egwu and Attah Ejeh.

Mr Busari identified Ocholi Edicha as the ring leader of the mob that set Mrs Abuhs residence ablaze.
Were excited to join the Guilds vendor program and to offer additional resources to support our customers strategic planning initiatives," said Kevin McCaffrey, CEO and founder of Tr3Dent.

Tr3Dent, the leading global provider of an intuitive, end-to-end strategic planning platform that empowers digital transformation, today announced a new strategic partnership with the Business Architecture Guild, an international community of business architecture practitioners. As part of the agreement, the Business Architecture Guilds Industry Reference Models  including financial services, insurance, manufacturing, transportation, government and healthcare  are now available in Tr3Dents end-to-end strategic planning platform, Transformation Accelerator.

We are dedicated to providing our members with the skills, resources, information and support they need to make more informed business decisions, said Mike Rosen, vice president of the Business Architecture Guild. Platform providers like Tr3Dent help us take our mission to the next level by providing practitioners with advanced tools and functionality to quickly address their organizations individual needs. Were thrilled to welcome Tr3Dent to our vendor program and to make the Guilds industry reference models available to customers as part of their platform.

With members across 76 different countries, the Business Architecture Guild provides valuable resources to business architecture practitioners and others interested in the field. Built and refined by Guild reference model teams, its powerful industry reference models enable organizations to accelerate business transformations, mitigate risk and enact agile change. Reference models are continuously updated and purposefully designed to simplify the application of business architecture planning and strategic execution. Tr3Dent customers who are Guild members or authorized users can now access the Industry Reference Models in Transformation Accelerator.

As the global standard body for business architecture, the Business Architecture Guilds industry reference models are used across many sectors all over the world, said Kevin McCaffrey, CEO and founder, Tr3Dent. Were excited to join the Guilds vendor program and to offer additional resources to support our customers strategic planning initiatives.

On March 30, 2021, McCaffrey will join other industry experts in a live panel discussion on industry reference models and the emerging role of business architecture at the 9th annual Business Architecture Innovation Summit. Co-sponsored by the Business Architecture Guild and the Object Management Group, the three-day virtual summit will bring together business leaders, practitioners and industry experts from all over the world to share their experiences and discuss best practices to unlock the value of business architecture.

To learn more about the 9th annual Business Architecture Innovation Summit and to register visit, https://www.businessarchitectureguild.org/mpage/microSummitHome.

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.

About the Business Architecture Guild

The Business Architecture Guild is an international, not-for-profit, member-based association that provides valuable resources to business architecture practitioners and others interested in the field. The Business Architecture Guild is the source for A Guide to the Business Architecture Body of Knowledge (BIZBOK Guide) and exclusive provider of the Certified Business Architect certification program.
Dzivielevski Denies Addamo Fourth Super MILLION$ Title

March 24, 2021 Matthew Pitt

All eyes were on Michael Addamo when the latest GGPoker Super MILLION$ final table kicked off. The super-talented Australian sat down at the tournaments chip leader and looked set to become the events champion for the fourth time.

Addamo fans were left disappointed, however, after two-time Brazilian WSOP champion Yuri Dzivielevski came from sixth-place to take down the tournament and deny Addamo yet another victory.

Super MILLION$ Final Table Results

Place Player Country Prize 1 Yuri Dzivielevski Brazil $408,406 2 Michael Addamo Canada $314,924 3 Isaac Haxton Canada $242,839 4 Joao Vieira Luxembourg $187,255 5 DrMikee Uruguay $144,393 6 Thomas Muehloecker Austria $111,342 7 Chris Puetz Austria $85,856 8 Aliaksei Boika Mexico $66,204 9 Connor Drinan Canada $51,050

Connor Drinan finished ninth the last time he reached a Super MILLION$ final table, which is where he finished this time around. The action folded to Drinan on the button and he ripped it in for nine big blinds with ace-four. Thomas Muehloecker called in the big blind with king-queen, flopped a king, and sent Drinan to the showers.

Get Your GGPoker Off to a Flying Start With the Honeymoon Promotion

Aliaksei Boika, who was also at the final table of the partypoker WPT50 Knockout, was the next player eliminated. Addamo min-raised to 170,000 from the cutoff, leading to boika inexplicably three-betting all-in for 1,910,920 with ace-four of clubs from the small blind. Addamo decided his pocket eights were worthy of a call. The eights held and Addamos stack swell to more than 8.2 million, 2.5-times more than any other player at the final table.

Seventh-place and the last five-figure prize of the evening went to Austrias Chris Puetz. Thomas Muehloecker min-raised with king-eight of clubs before calling Puetzs 6.5 big blind jam with ace-jack. Muehloecker flopped a flush draw, which came in on the river.

Cooler Hand Eliminates Muehloecker

Muehloecker was the next player out of the door, busting in what was a cooler hand. The Austrian opened the betting with a min-raise to 160,000 with pocket queens. Addamo three-bet to 680,000 with aces from the small blind and Muehloecker called. A queen-high flop gifted Muehloecker a set. Addamo led for 376,000 and was called. The four of clubs turn saw Addamo bet again, this time 903,160. Muehloecker called once more. The ace of clubs river locked up the hand for Addamo, and he made a tiny bet of 408,000 into the 4,058,320 pot. Muehloecker responded with an all-in bet of 2,375,923, which Addamo called. Muehloecker called off his stack and crashed out in sixth, leaving Addamo with 13.5 million of the 20,030,000 chips in play.

DrMikee was on life support at this point, so it was no surprise to see him head to the rail in fifth place. Addamo min-raised to 160,000 with seven-four of diamonds before calling when DrMikee three-bet all-in with king-jack for 604,164. DrMikee flopped two pair, but the seemingly unstoppable Addamo hit runner-runner diamonds for a flush!

Joao Vieira busted in fourth shortly after DrMikee and it was Addamo, again, who did the damage. Vieira opened with a limp with pocket aces from under the gun, allowing Addamo to see a free flop from the big blind with his king-jack. The flop fell, you guessed it, with both a king and a jack. Addamo check-raised Vieiras 100,000 continuation bet to 350,000, and Vieira called. The six of diamonds turn was greeted with a 500,000 bet from Addamo, and a call from Vieira. The nine of diamonds river put three diamonds out there, but it did not deter Addamo. He set Vieira in for his 1,303,571 stack, Vieira called and busted in fourth-place.

Dzivielevski Wins Second Bracelet in WSOP Online PLOSSUS

From Zero To Hero

Dzivielevski only had eight big blinds when play was three-handed, yet he made it to heads-up. A round of applause has to be directed at Isaac Haxton who started the final table eight in chips, but navigated his way to a third-place finish.

Haxton fell by the wayside at the hands of Addamo, who min-raised to 200,000 with king-jack, before calling the 1,128,808 shove from Haxton, which he made with the dominated jack-ten of spades. Haxton turned a plethora of outs, but they all missed on the river.

Addamo went into heads-up holding a massive 16,263,326 to 3,866,674 chip lead over Dzivelevski and that fourth Super MILLION$ title looked all but guaranteed. Dzivielevski had other ideas, however, and began mounting an epic comeback.

The Brazilians stack dwindled, but he doubled with aces versus pocket fives to see his stack return to the levels at the start of the one-on-one battle. He made an excellent call to catch Addamo with his hand in the cookie jar, which turned the fight on its head.

Addamo pulled ahead once again, yet could not quite shake off Dzivielevski. The turning point came when Dzivielevski shoved on the turn with the board reading with and Addamo called with . The river shipped the gargantuan pot to Dzivielevski and left Addamo trailing eight-to-one.

The final hand took place during the 80,000/160,000/20,000a level, and saw Addamo open to 336,000 with queen-ten. Dzivielevski looked down at pocket jacks and made it 1,040,000 to call. Addamo called. A nine-high flop with two clubs saw both players check. The turn was the ten of spades. Dzivielevski checked again, leading to Addamo betting 1,060,000, leaving 2,360,844 chips behind. Those chips went into the middle when Dzivielevski check-raised all-in. Addamo needed some help on the river, but the king of hearts did not provide it.

A superb victory for Dzivielevski, one worth $408,406, and a runner-up finish for Addamo.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA / ACCESSWIRE / March 25, 2021 / Clean Group, based in Australia, is pleased to announce the launch of their medical centre cleaning service. The company also offers a variety of cleaning packages, suited to most commercial sites.

The Clean Group takes pride in providing premium office cleaning and customer services to medical centres in Sydney. They are capable of executing a wide range of cleaning services, regardless of the size of the structure in question. Some of the services now provided include sanitizing, polishing, sterilizing and disinfecting the medical centre along with other medical facilities, a feat that takes a lot of effort.

For reasons that may be obvious to most, any medical centre must be treated with the highest sensitivity, a factor which is even more relevant due to the global pandemic. This level of care is exactly what Clean Group's well experienced, skillful, licensed and insured technicians are capable of. The company's dedication to their craft ensures that every task they take on is carried out to the highest possible standards. This holds true with their medical cleaning service as well.

Clean Group strives to produce the cleanest medical centres in the city of Sydney. To achieve their goals, the crew will thoroughly work from the top to bottom of the entire building. This also includes areas such as the Doctor's Chambers, where the company will make sure every doctor's chamber is met with the highest cleaning standard available to the company because it is the place where the patients are mainly exposed to. The company also tackles the waiting area where all sick individuals meet and wait for their turn. This place must be thoroughly cleaned so that visiting patients do not become more ill.

The Clean Group crew will also thoroughly clean the cabinets which are stocked with an assortment of medical instruments, medicines, documents and files. The beds below these cabinets will similarly receive special attention, including sterilization, as patients with different ailments tend to lie down on them. The company will also clean couches, desks, chairs, electric devices, blinds, play areas for children, kitchens and washrooms thoroughly, sterilizing and decontaminating every element. Learn more here.

All of these aspects are a part of Clean Group's green cleaning solutions. A noteworthy factor about this is that the company can adapt to any kind of business premises, such as offices, retail stores, schools, childcare institutions and medical centres. They can even tackle fitness facilities.

Clean Group's teams know how to clean an entire medical centre with responsibility as well as with sensitivity. The company utilizes advanced technologies and equipment for the highest standard of cleaning purposes. They also make it a point to use environment-friendly chemicals that will leave even a large medical centre dry within two hours. These chemicals are odourless, thereby leaving no residue or other unwanted traces behind. Moreover, every cleaning team of Clean Group is accompanied by a manager whose primary task is to ensure every tiny bit of the building is spotless. To quote the Clean Group website, "A Medical Centre encounters patients of all sorts, from newborns to elderly individuals. Every corner, every inch and every millimetre is cleaned spotless. Sydney Clean Group values the significance of a thoroughly cleaned medical centre, free from all sorts of dusts and more. We ensure that they are well maintained, hygienic and properly sanitised as well as aseptic."

Clean Group is a cleaning company based in Sydney which guarantees their clients the highest standard of cleaning by a team of well skilled, highly experienced cleaners who use state-of-the-art technology. They take pride in being one of Australia's leading commercial cleaning providers with a team of dedicated and experienced office cleaners who are passionate about their work. The company boasts a team of 50+ highly skilled and expert cleaning professionals, who are experienced in professional cleaning of a range of commercial and residential properties. The company also thoroughly trains their cleaners to follow a safe and toxic-free cleaning process and use only high-quality, eco-friendly products to ensure the health of their clientele.

To learn more about Clean Group, one may visit the company's official website. Clean Group can also be contacted directly via phone or email.

For more information about Clean Group, contact the company here:

Clean Group

Suji Siv

1300 141 946

sales@cleangroup.email

14 Carrington St, Sydney NSW 2000

SOURCE: Clean Group

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/637482/Clean-Group-Launches-Medical-Centre-Cleaning-Service
Inter-state travellers arriving at Bengaluru must provide negative RT-PCR report in view of the rising infections, said Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar.

"There are travel restrictions in a way, whoever comes to Bengaluru from other states will have to bring in RT-PCR negative certificates otherwise we will test them here" he said.

Besides increasing testing, the health minister said the state is also introducing quarantine watch app and stamping from today.

Expressing concern over positivity rates rising between 20-40 years of age, Sudhakar said the authorities don't want any movement when people are in isolation.

Further restrictions were imposed in the state to contain the surge in infections. Only 200 people can attend events in closed spaces and maximum of 500 in open areas.

There are some large religious and political gatherings for which i've sought time with state election commissioner today. I'll request him to minimise this and issue circular, Sudhakar said.





Aimed at ensuring people follow Covid-19 preventive measures, the Karnataka government has decided to tighten rules and impose fines.

As per the order issued dated March 24, those who don't wear masks or maintain social distance will have to pay a fine of Rs 250 if caught in a Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) or Municipal Corporation area.

In areas other than Municipal corporations the fine amount is Rs 100.

For the second consecutive day on Wednesday, Karnataka logged over 2,000 fresh cases, reporting 2,298 new infections and 12 related fatalities.

With the addition of the new cases, the caseload mounted to 975,955 and the toll to 12,461, a health department bulletin said.
Editor's Note: The following is an opinion piece.

If youve lived in San Antonio for awhile, youve undoubtedly seen Mi Barrio no se Vende signs pop-up around the city.

The campaign, translating to "my neighborhood is not for sale," is a grassroots movement run by the Esperanza Justice Center that aims to keep gentrification out of the West Side.

Its grown as other areas in San Antonio, like communities near the Pearl, have changed drastically as new residents and money encroach on historic, working and middle class neighborhoods.

Now, Balcones Heights leaders are discussing turning the aged Wonderland Mall area into a development with Pearl district inspiration, including the possibility of new housing developments.

But do we really need another Pearl? That's the question that comes to mind when reading about plans inspired by the renovated brewery area meant for Balcones Heights, which acts as a northern gateway to the working class Northwest Side of San Antonio.

RELATED: Spiking home prices a sign that San Antonio neighborhood among hardest hit by gentrification

Over the years, voices and activists in the city have chimed in on the larger issue, expressing concern over the dramatic gentrification the Pearl development has brought.

Homogenous tower apartments went up, and droves up yuppies moved in, often benefiting the pockets of out of state developers, but rarely supporting people and businesses that existed in the area prior.

As Richard Gambiattas 2014 vision predicted in his op-ed on gentrification in San Antonio, areas across the Alamo City that offer quick access to downtown are continuing to rapidly gentrify.

Another "Pearl- like area in Balcones Heights would only expand that problem northward, and add to the rapidly built cookie-cutter, white collar catered condo-filled buildings that neighborhoods in Balcones Heights have seen pop-up in recent years.

There's no doubt the housing would be classified as "luxury," and exorbitant rent prices would be tacked on, just like what was done to those near the Pearl.

Even if leaders take notes from other examples of displacement driving development in the city and work to tip-toe around them, development and the skyrocketing numbers of out of town, high income professionals moving to San Antonio will drive up property taxes in the unincorporated area, leading to larger chances of that "revitalization" (as proponents call it), spilling over into the West Side.

Property taxes in some nearby downtown communities have skyrocketed since 2009, driven by generationally upper-middle class at minimum millennials, shunning suburbs and seeking what they see as the cultural areas of the city.

RELATED: Hays Street Bridge offers a view of gentrification

Although there's always free market benefits to areas like the Pearl that bring more money into the city and for some businesses, those funds usually remain concentrated, and rent paid for local spaces usually goes back to out-of state development pockets.

These areas also feel foreign, rigid, overly groomed and overly expensive to working and middle class families that don't see themselves represented in the boutique style that they encapsulate.

Rather than invest in a landscape shattering development that would change the area drastically, the city could work with local business and community leaders from the North Central and West Sides to bring a facelift to the complex and add amenities like pop-up shops, farmers markets, new local stores.

Leaders could also focus on efforts on a new project that doesnt have to be shopping-adjacent, like a new dog park, youth center, or playground.

If a "Pearl-like" area is what leaders really want to see, they better do a thoughtful job when executing plans.
The Department of Fisheries in Binh Dinh in collaboration with the De Gi border checkpoint in Phu Cat District in the same south-central Vietnamese province recently released an olive ridley sea turtle into the sea.

The turtle was discovered by Phan Dinh Lin while the resident of Cat Khanh Commune in Phu Cat District was pulling his fishing net on De Gi Lagoon on Tuesday evening, Nguyen Cong Binh, deputy head of the provincial Department of Fisheries, said on Thursday.

Shortly thereafter, Lin voluntarily handed over the sea turtle to the authorities to release it to the sea.

According to local authorities, the reptile was verified to be an olive ridley sea turtle, with the length of one meter and the weight of about 120kg. The sea turtle was in good health.

Olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea), also known commonly as the Pacific ridley sea turtle, is a rare marine reptile in the group of endangered species according to the classification of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

After receiving the turtle, the functional forces protected and tended to it before releasing the turtle back to a safe sea location, said Binh.

An olive ridley sea turtle is released into the sea in Binh Dinh Province, Vietnam, March 2021. Video: Lam Thien / Tuoi Tre

An olive ridley sea turtle is released into the sea in Binh Dinh Province, Vietnam, March 2021. Video: Lam Thien / Tuoi Tre

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Quebec needs to make up the economic ground lost during the pandemic before it can balance its books, which will take another six years, Finance Minister Eric Girard said Thursday.

Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard displays his budget documents and a pair of new running shoes outside a store, on the day before he tables the fiscal 2021-22 provincial budget, Wednesday, March 24, 2021, in Quebec City. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

Quebec needs to make up the economic ground lost during the pandemic before it can balance its books, which will take another six years, Finance Minister Eric Girard said Thursday.

Girard tabled his third budget since becoming finance minister, and he forecasts a deficit of $12.3 billion this fiscal year. He also estimates the damage caused by the pandemic will leave a structural deficit of $6.5 billion.

He said his plan is to balance the books by the 2027-28 fiscal year. And to succeed, he said, the government will need to amend a law that requires the state to return to a balanced budget five years after posting a deficit.

I think we need to recognize that were still in the pandemic, he told reporters in Quebec City, explaining why his government cant balance the books within the time frame required by law. So, the number 1 priority is to fight the pandemic. There is no economic rebound unless there is health safety.

Girard said the governments first priority remains dealing with COVID-19, followed by getting people back to work. Getting economic growth back to pre-pandemic levels is his third priority  and after that its budgetary balance.

The $6-billion effort over five years is manageable, he said about reducing the structural deficit after the pandemic is over. Its less than one per cent of our expenses. It is manageable, we can do it, but we need to start once weve reached full employment.

Last March, before the pandemic caused Quebecs GDP to contract by 5.2 per cent, Girards 2020-21 budget forecast a $2.7-billion surplus. That became a $15-billion deficit over the course of the fiscal year.

Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard presents his budget in the legislature, in Quebec City, Thursday, March 25, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

In total, Girard said he expects COVID-19 to cost the Quebec government $30 billion, with around half coming from a drop in revenue and half from increased spending. The minister said his government spent $12 billion on COVID-19 -related measures in 2020-21 and will spend another $4.3 billion on the pandemic in 2021-22.

The budget forecasts total expenditures by the government will be about $130.5 billion this fiscal year, including debt service and COVID-19 related costs. Spending on programs  including COVID-19-specific costs  will drop by about 1.2 per cent compared with last year.

Girard is estimating the provinces GDP will rebound by 4.2 per cent this year after last year's pandemic-induced drop. He called the forecast prudent and below the median projected by private sector economists.

Speaking in the provincial legislature, Girard said the budget takes into account Quebec's plan to give every resident who wants to be vaccinated against COVID-19 at least one dose by June 24.

"This gives us confidence in the future, and it is with this confidence that we have prepared this budget," he said.

Debt servicing will increase by more than 12 per cent this fiscal year, to $8.6 billion. Quebecs net debt-to-GDP ratio, which estimates the provinces ability to pay back debt, will rise by about 13 per cent, from 39.9 per cent to 45 per cent.

Girard described the debt as under control and said the province has a "coherent plan" to reduce it.

The budget includes $15.5 billion in new program spending over the next five years, with $5.2 billion set to be spent this year. Most of that  $2.9 billion  is earmarked for the health-care system.

There will also be new tax credits for seniors who need home care and for low-income seniors.

Programs to help businesses weather the pandemic have been extended, and small businesses will get a credit that will reduce the tax rate on their first $500,000 of taxable revenue. The government also plans to spend $246 million over the next two years to help immigrants integrate into the labour market.

The budget includes a total of $22.5 million over five years to support women who are victims of domestic violence, an amount that was described as too little by several opposition parties.

The budget also adds $4.5 billion to the provinces 10-year infrastructure fund. Quebec plans to spend $13.5 billion on infrastructure this fiscal year.

The opposition Liberals said the governments plan to get back to a balanced budget within a specific time frame is imprudent

We just dont know whats going to happen in the next months, Andre Fortin, the Liberal finance critic, told reporters.

He said the focus on infrastructure is also the wrong approach. It doesnt address the need coming out of the pandemic, Fortin said, adding that women were most affected by pandemic-related job losses.

The government is basing its relaunch of the economy on a sector thats already doing well  the construction sector  so the only thing that can happen is that prices will continue to go up, Fortin said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2021.

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.
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 one of the biggest aerial surveys, over 500 high resolution drones would be deployed soon to map nearly 6 lakh villages in the country to validate the residential properties of more than 83 crore Indians.

The survey, once completed, would enable a large population of India to validate their rural residential property and use it as a financial asset.

A big force of drone pilots on the ground to measure the rural land in India stretching from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and Shillong to Somnath, would be deployed by the Survey of India (SOI).

"A hi-tech drone takes around 15 minutes to map an average Indian village. We expect that by March 2024, the 'drone flying' in the country would be complete," said Sunil Kumar, the Union Secretary for the Panchayati Raj Ministry, the nodal agency for implementing the massive land survey scheme.

Almost all Indian states, except Telangana, have consented to map the entire rural properties in their respective jurisdiction.

The mega scheme, promoted by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, enables people in rural areas to unlock their rural assets.

"Once the survey would be complete, every owner would be given a property card. This card will enable countrymen to use their residential property as a financial asset... They can further be entitled to seek loans from banks," Sunil Kumar, also an IAS officer of the UP Cadre, noted.

A pilot project of the drone survey has been hitherto successful as more than 40,000 villages have been covered.

The country now gears for the full and final survey to map the rural assets of people.

Sources said that in Uttar Pradesh, hundreds of people have got their property cards during the pilot project. In some villages, farmers who got the validation of their houses also sought loans from the banks.

Last year, Modi had launched the pilot project for the drone survey which then covered only six states; Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

Later, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh also joined hands with the Centre and consented to go for the land survey, being conducted by Survey of India.

Sources said that during one of the meeting of the group of Ministers in late 2019, the idea of land survey of rural properties was picked up by Modi.

"The Prime Minister realised that by validation of property, the survey would benefit over 68 parent of population living in rural India. He quickly gave the go ahead. In fact, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, who also looks after Panchayti Raj Ministry, has been in touch with a team from Maharashtra which had earlier suggested the benefits of validation of rural property," the sources said.

The government which started the pilot project in April 2020, named it as "Swamitva Scheme".

"Now from the pilot project, the scheme would benefit the entire population," sources in the government added

One of the key benefits of the scheme is to end disputes over measurement and ownership of rural residential property.

In fact in most cases, rural residential property has not been validated as it's not taxed, though agriculture land is well documented. The residential survey of villages will also help the state governments to create accurate land record for a better rural planning.

According to a mid-level officer of the Panchayti Raj Ministry, at present 162 drones, mostly imported from Germany, have been been deployed to conduct the land survey.

The hi-tech drones have an accuracy of around 5 cm, a condition required to measure land.

Efforts are on to encourage Indian companies to manufacture such drones.

For every drone, almost two technicians are required to conduct the aerial survey properly.

"Once an accurate survey is completed, postal delivery of goods through e-commerce can begin in rural areas too," said the officer.

During the current financial year, government has provided rs 566 crore to expedite the me

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.
Islamabad, March 25 : Six people were killed and three others injured when a passenger van collided with a truck in Pakistan's Balochistan province, according to authorities.

The accident took place on Wednesday in Mastung area when the van carrying about a dozen passengers slammed into the truck coming from the opposite direction, Xinhua news agency quoted a paramilitary official as saying to reporters.

The victims, including two women, were members of the same family, whereas the injured were also their close relatives, local media reports said.

The injured people were shifted to a nearby hospital where one of them was said to be in critical condition.

Road accidents are frequent in Balochistan mainly due to poorly maintained vehicles and roads.
The new capital will be used to finance expanded clinical trials and early commercialization of Lightpoint's robotic probe, SENSEI , which has the potential to assist in over 2 million applicable surgical procedures every year in the EU, US, China and Japan.

SENSEI received CE Mark approval at the beginning of the year, has been registered successfully with the FDA, and has received approval for sale in Australia.

Lightpoint has secured commercial distribution deals for SENSEI in Spain, Portugal, and Australia. With more contracts to be announced in the forthcoming months, Lightpoint intends to establish a global distribution network by the end of 2021.

Clinical trials of SENSEI in robotic surgery are ongoing in prostate and cervical cancer with new studies in lung cancer planned for the second half of the year.

Dr. David Tuch, CEO of Lightpoint Medical commented: "We're grateful to the British Business Bank and many of our previous shareholders for investing in the round and reaffirming their commitment to Lightpoint. This fundraising follows the US and European market clearance for our SENSEI robotic probe and will enable us to further expand our clinical program and prepare for early commercial development of the technology. Our growing network of commercial distributors will help Lightpoint reach surgeons and nuclear physicians worldwide seeking a better way to perform targeted robotic cancer surgery."

About Lightpoint Medical

Lightpoint Medical is developing miniaturized imaging and sensing tools for intra-operative cancer detection. The company is addressing the urgent medical challenge that despite technological advances in robotic platforms, surgeons lack the tools to accurately detect cancer intra-operatively. As a result, cancer is often left behind or more healthy tissue than needed is removed, increasing the need for adjuvant therapies, causing post-surgical complications, and escalating healthcare costs.

By exploiting advances in miniaturized sensor technologies and the development of cancer-targeted diagnostic imaging agents, Lightpoint is developing miniature tools appropriate in scale for minimally-invasive and robot-assisted surgery to accurately detect cancer in real-time intra-operatively. The aims of the tools are to aid surgical decision making, improve patient outcomes and save costs for healthcare systems.

Lightpoint has a pipeline of miniaturized surgical tools in development with the first, SENSEI, recently approved for sale by regulators in the US, EU and Australia. The first commercial focus is prostate cancer surgery with a planned expansion into other solid tumor types.

For more information about the company visit: www.lightpointmedical.com; www.senseisurgical.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Media Contacts:

Jo O'Shea

Lightpoint Medical

[email protected]

Helen Shik

Shik Communications LLC

[email protected]

1- 617-510-4373

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1473201/Lightpoint_Funding.jpg

SOURCE Lightpoint Medical
NEW YORK, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Indian electric vehicle component market is growing on account of the declining prices of the components and increasing adoption of EVs, driven by the rising environmental concerns and strong government support. Subsequently, the industry, which was worth $536.1 million in 2019, is projected to expand at a robust 22.1% CAGR during 20202030, according to the market research study published by P&S Intelligence. Battery cells and packs, battery management systems (BMS), electric motors, thermal management systems, DCDC converters, and charging kits are just some of the components that go into an EV.

The market, on the basis of vehicle type, is divided into three-wheeler, two-wheeler, commercial vehicle, and passenger car. Among these, the three-wheeler category held the largest share in the Indian electric vehicle component market in 2019, on account of the widespread usage of e-rickshaws in the country. As these automobiles cover more than 100 km every day, the demand for replacement components for these is quite high.

Get the sample copy this report @ https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/indian-electric-vehicle-component-market/report-sample

The Indian electric vehicle component market for passenger cars is categorized into motor, battery pack, electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), controller, thermal management system, high-voltage cable, vehicle interface control module (VCIM), power distribution module (PDM), and DCDC converter. Throughout the forecast period, the industry would be dominated by the battery pack category, as it is the most expensive electric car component. With the battery pack cost predicted to reduce to $160 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) by 2030 from $230 per kWh in 2019, the sales of battery packs would rise.

A key trend in the industry is the increasing sales of EVs with higher battery capacities. As two-wheelers and e-rickshaws have dominated the Indian EV market till now, the demand for lower-capacity battery packs had been higher. But now, with the rising sales of electric cars, commercial vehicles, and longer-range scooters and motorcycles, the demand for higher-capacity battery packs is surging in the nation. For long-distance operation of EVs, it is important that the need for recharging the batteries is as less as possible, which is why they need batteries with a higher capacity.

Browse detailed report with COVID-19 impact analysis on Indian Electric Vehicle Component Market Research Report: Two-Wheeler (Scooters, Motorcycle), Three-Wheeler (E-Rickshaw, E-Auto, Retrofitted Rickshaw), Passenger Car, Commercial Vehicle  Industry Analysis and Growth Forecast to 2030 @ https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/indian-electric-vehicle-component-market

The most significant driver for the Indian electric vehicle component market is the rising adoption of EVs. In 2019, 2,000 electric passenger cars, 32.4 thousand electric two-wheelers, and 447.7 thousand electric three-wheelers were sold in the country, thus creating a high demand for original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and aftermarket components. As the transportation industry is responsible for around 40% of India's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the government is offering subsidies, tax rebates, and other incentives to those producing and purchasing EVs.

Similarly, the declining prices of the components are also leading to the increasing demand for them in the nation. For instance, the cost of the battery is projected to decrease by up to 30% between 2018 and 2025, and with batteries being the reason EVs are costly, their declining prices would make such automobiles affordable for the masses. In the same vein, during the said period, controllers, motors, thermal management systems, EVSE, VCIMs, PDMs, DCDC converters, and high-voltage cables would become 23%, 24%, 9%, 60%, 8.6%, 6.5%,21%, and 8.5% cheaper, respectively.

Make enquiry about this report @ https://www.psmarketresearch.com/send-enquiry?enquiry-url=indian-electric-vehicle-component-market

The Indian electric vehicle component market is divided into Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Delhi, Bihar, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Assam, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Tripura, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Rest of India, based on state. Among these, the largest share in the industry was held by Uttar Pradesh in 2019, as it is the most-populated state and the largest market for three-wheelers and two-wheelers in the nation. The forecast period scenario in different vehicle segments would be different across the states.

Therefore, with the increasing production and sale of EVs, the demand for OEM and aftermarket components, respectively, will continue increasing in India.

Browse More Reports

Electric Vehicle Component Market - https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/electric-vehicle-component-market

Indian End-of-Life Vehicle and Dismantling Market - https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/indian-end-of-life-vehicle-and-dismantling-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
The US needs to understand that India has had a longstanding relationship with the Russians for security cooperation and military equipment, a top American admiral told lawmakers, indicating that he would push for encouraging New Delhi to move away from Moscow rather than taking the route of sanctions for the purchase of major defence equipment.

Admiral John Aquilino, during his confirmation hearing on Tuesday (March 23) to be the next commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command or INDOPACOM, was responding to a question from Senator Jeanne Shaheen on India's decision to purchase the S-400 missile system from Russia.

"Should we sanction India if they acquire the S-400?" Shaheen asked.

"I think I would leave that to the policymakers to determine... I think we certainly should understand where we are with India and I think potentially the encouragement angle in providing alternatives might be a better approach," Aquilino replied.

"India is really a terrific partner and as we've seen from the recent Quad discussions, I think the importance of India and the rest of the nations in the Quad will increase. We're at a balance. However, India has had a longstanding relationship with the Russians for security cooperation and for military equipment," he said.

"... If confirmed, I would work to continue to encourage India to look at and consider US equipment. Number one, it's the best. Number two, it generates interoperability and makes it easier to work together and I think we should encourage India to do that through all the elements of national power and see where that goes," the US admiral told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Responding to another question from Senator Debra Fischer, Aquilino said the work or the effort that India has taken on to protect its northern border amid a standoff with China is noteworthy.

"The fact that the PRC has decided to instigate that skirmish on the northern border is noteworthy to all of us," he said.

"So, the strength of multilateral operations with India and with all allies and partners is certainly a mechanism to add to our deterrents in the region," he added.

"The deadly skirmishes between Indian and Chinese troops underscored the high level of tension along the border and China has made no secret of its ambition to encircle India with military and economic influence. As INDOPACOM commander, how would you approach this dynamic and what do you see as the future of the US-India military cooperation?" Senator Fischer asked.

"The work with India, the Quad, as well as all the allies and partners in the region, continues to be the strength and it highlights our ability to ensure that the entire force, the entire region understands the cooperation and the alignment with international norms, standards, rules and laws," the admiral said.

Aquilino said the goal of the Chinese is to supplant US security leadership in the region, be it in the South China Sea or on the northern border of India, and change international rules beyond what the nations agreed to under the 1982 UNCLOS Treaty to their benefit.

The US admiral further said, "We need to engage with every aspect of national power to be able to compete against the PLA."

Be it diplomacy, science or information, every aspect has the ability to generate deterrence, extend cooperation with allies and partners. And that's one example from the military perspective this last year, he said.

Senator Josh Hawley said the Quad appears to be forming the basis for a regional coalition to stand up to Chinese aggression.

"How do you see the Quad contributing to deterrence in the Indo-Pacific now and in the future?" he asked.

"It is extremely important when you look at India as the world's largest democracy, combined with three other nations (that) have shared values and beliefs. When an organisation of that magnitude comes together, it would generate concern for anyone with an opposite opinion," Aquilino said.

Quad countries -- the US, India, Australia and Japan -- held their first virtual summit on March 12 during which President Joe Biden told leaders of the coalition that a "free and open" Indo-Pacific is essential to their countries and that his country was committed to working with its partners and allies in the region to achieve stability.

Live TV
Petrobras, a global leader in the petroleum industry, said on Wednesday that it has signed an agreement for the sale of its Landulpho Alves Refinery (RLAM) and its associated logistics assets, in the state of Bahia, to Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Capital for $1.65 billion.



The signing of the sale and purchase agreement will take place soon, it added.



The agreement provides for purchase price adjustment due to changes in net working capital, net debt and investments until the closing of the transaction, and the operation is subject to approval by the Administrative Council for Economic Defence (CADE).



The refinery will be the first of the eight that are being divested by Petrobras to have its sale and purchase agreement signed. The sale of RLAM is in line with a resolution of the National Energy Policy Council, which established guidelines for the promotion of free competition in the national refining sector, and is reflective of the commitment signed between Petrobras and CADE in June 2019 to open the refining sector in Brazil.



Besides RLAM, the divestment processes of the other seven refineries are still in progress, as announced on February 8, 2021.



The RLAM divestment counted on fairness opinions from Citibank, Rotschild, and Santander banks, technical opinions from the global consulting firm IHS-Markit and the Fundacao Getulio Vargas, and a legal opinion from Dr. Francisco Costa e Silva, former president of the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission and a specialist in Corporate Law.



Roberto Castello Branco, CEO of Petrobras, commented: "Today is a very happy day for Petrobras and Brazil. It is the beginning of the end of a monopoly in an economy still with monopolies in several activities. The divestment of RLAM contributes to the improvement of capital allocation, reduction of the still high indebtedness and to start a process of reducing the risks of political interventions in fuel pricing, which caused so much damage to Petrobras and to the Brazilian economy itself. The transaction undoubtedly satisfies the best interests of Petrobras' and Brazil's shareholders."



This disclosure to the market is in accordance with Petrobras' internal rules and with the special regime for divestment of assets by federal mixed economy companies, provided for in Decree 9,188/2017.



The transaction is in compliance with the current strategic plan and it is aligned with the optimization of the portfolio and the improvement of the company's capital allocation, aiming to generate value for our shareholders.



RLAM, located in Sao Francisco do Conde in the state of Bahia, has a processing capacity of 333,000 barrels/day (14% of Brazil's total oil refining capacity), and its assets include four storage terminals and a set of pipelines that connect the refinery and the terminals totalling 669 km in length.  TradeArabia News Service


Defence Minister will address public meetings in West Bengal on Thursday to boost the prospects of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates in the upcoming assembly elections.

He will address public meetings in Joypur, Taldangra and Kakdwip assembly constituencies.

"I shall be in West Bengal tomorrow (on Thursday) to address public meetings in Joypur, Taldangra and Kakdwip assembly constituencies," Singh tweeted on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a rally in Contai, while Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a roadshow in Medinipur on Tuesday for the upcoming polls.

Elections to the 294-member state 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.)
Sara Kalosa, 40 Under 40 Class of 2021 I can say with certainty that she demonstrates the poise and confidence of an executive level media strategist who can creatively work with our clients to achieve their goals

Smarty Social Media, a social media marketing agency based in Orange County, Calif., announced that one of its own, Media Director Sarah Kalosa, has been named to the MM+M 40 Under 40 Class of 2021 and will be honored today during a virtual ceremony. In its second year, the program shines a light on the young marketers whose leadership, thinking and digital know-how have contributed to the industrys continued growth under challenging market conditions. Kalosa is among a list of impressive individuals who represent a wide range of the industrys most well-respected organizations.

Sarah Kalosa is a rising star in media demonstrating strategic leadership and has accomplished so much in her career even under the age of 30, said Jami Eidsvold, CEO, Smarty Social Media. Ive had the privilege of working with Sarah for over six years now, both as an agency client of hers and now managing her directly as an integral part of our strategic team. I can say with certainty that she demonstrates the poise and confidence of an executive level media strategist who can creatively work with our clients to achieve their goals.

In her three years at Smarty, Kalosa has combined her paid social expertise with excellent client service and a talent for finding creative solutions that consistently deliver on business KPIs and drive efficient media performance. She is one of the select few rising stars who continues to demonstrate and inspire leadership, thinking, confidence and digital know-how in the challenging and evolving healthcare marketing space. A few of her career accomplishments include:



Clients Sarah has managed full-funnel media campaigns for include: Invisalign, CoolSculpting, Solta Medical, DermTech, Whisper, Cala Health and Treace Medical Concepts.

Her expertise helped to win numerous industry awards for clients such as the Digital PR Awards Best Social Networking Campaign, Shorty Awards Finalist for Large Media Buying Strategy & PR News Social Media Awards Best Facebook Marketing Campaign.

Kalosa has also managed to level up consistently and pivot quickly along with the vast changes in the social media landscape over the past seven years. She can think strategically and creatively, while also executing with flawless accuracy.

Kalosa maintains current knowledge related to social media platforms, and the majority of her growth in ad planning and buying has been self-taught. Since 2013, she has consistently expanded her role from an Ad Buyer, to Social Marketing Manager, Senior Social Marketing Manager, and now Media Director as a result of her dedication to her craft and a proven track record of success.

Im honored to be named among such an impressive group of professionals, said Kalosa. I wouldnt be in this position without the support from the entire Smarty team and a culture that inspires and fosters growth.

To see Kalosas profile and for more information about MM+Ms 40 Under 40 program, visit https://www.mmm-online.com/40-under-40/mmm-40-under-40-2021/#sam-glassenberg.

About Smarty Social Media

Smarty Social Media is a full-service social media marketing agency based in Southern California with a specialization in healthcare and wellness. Founded in 2013, Smarty is dedicated to helping companies of all shapes and sizes leverage social media to drive consumer and customer demand. Services include social media strategy, paid media, influencer marketing, content development and social customer care, along with Smartys proprietary Social Academy training program. From well-established healthcare companies to medical device start-ups looking to disrupt their space, the Smarty team has expertise in the management of social advertising within these highly regulated industries. Smarty is dedicated to delivering smart social media marketing solutions that are custom-built, executed flawlessly and designed to deliver measurable results against client business goals. Visit http://www.smartysm.com for information.

About MM+M

First published in 1966 as Medical Marketing & Media, MM+M is the media brand of record for pharmaceutical marketing and commercialization, delivering the most balanced and relevant coverage of the growing industry. The title produces an essential mix of online breaking news and analysis combined with monthly print features  timely, objective, original editorial content for an executive audience of leaders and thinkers who work in pharma, medical device, diagnostics and greater healthcare marketing. MM+M also develops conferences and live and virtual events, and engineers the industrys premier awards program, the MM+M Awards.
- By GF Value





The stock of Mobile TeleSystems PJSC (NYSE:MBT, 30-year Financials) is believed to be modestly undervalued, according to GuruFocus Value calculation. GuruFocus Value is GuruFocus' estimate of the fair value at which the stock should be traded. It is calculated based on the historical multiples that the stock has traded at, the past business growth and analyst estimates of future business performance. If the price of a stock is significantly above the GF Value Line, it is overvalued and its future return is likely to be poor. On the other hand, if it is significantly below the GF Value Line, its future return will likely be higher. At its current price of $8.15 per share and the market cap of $7.2 billion, Mobile TeleSystems PJSC stock gives every indication of being modestly undervalued. GF Value for Mobile TeleSystems PJSC is shown in the chart below.





Mobile TeleSystems PJSC Stock Shows Every Sign Of Being Modestly Undervalued

Because Mobile TeleSystems PJSC is relatively undervalued, the long-term return of its stock is likely to be higher than its business growth, which averaged 9.5% over the past five years.

Link: These companies may deliever higher future returns at reduced risk.

Investing in companies with poor financial strength has a higher risk of permanent loss of capital. Thus, it is important to carefully review the financial strength of a company before deciding whether to buy its stock. Looking at the cash-to-debt ratio and interest coverage is a great starting point for understanding the financial strength of a company. Mobile TeleSystems PJSC has a cash-to-debt ratio of 0.32, which is in the middle range of the companies in Telecommunication Services industry. GuruFocus ranks the overall financial strength of Mobile TeleSystems PJSC at 4 out of 10, which indicates that the financial strength of Mobile TeleSystems PJSC is poor. This is the debt and cash of Mobile TeleSystems PJSC over the past years:

Story continues

Mobile TeleSystems PJSC Stock Shows Every Sign Of Being Modestly Undervalued

Investing in profitable companies carries less risk, especially in companies that have demonstrated consistent profitability over the long term. Typically, a company with high profit margins offers better performance potential than a company with low profit margins. Mobile TeleSystems PJSC has been profitable 10 years over the past 10 years. During the past 12 months, the company had revenues of $8.1 billion and earnings of $1.122 a share. Its operating margin of 21.76% better than 84% of the companies in Telecommunication Services industry. Overall, GuruFocus ranks Mobile TeleSystems PJSC's profitability as strong. This is the revenue and net income of Mobile TeleSystems PJSC over the past years:

Mobile TeleSystems PJSC Stock Shows Every Sign Of Being Modestly Undervalued

One of the most important factors in the valuation of a company is growth. Long-term stock performance is closely correlated with growth according to GuruFocus research. Companies that grow faster create more value for shareholders, especially if that growth is profitable. The average annual revenue growth of Mobile TeleSystems PJSC is 9.5%, which ranks better than 77% of the companies in Telecommunication Services industry. The 3-year average EBITDA growth is 12.3%, which ranks in the middle range of the companies in Telecommunication Services industry.

One can also evaluate a company's profitability by comparing its return on invested capital (ROIC) to its weighted average cost of capital (WACC). Return on invested capital (ROIC) measures how well a company generates cash flow relative to the capital it has invested in its business. The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is the rate that a company is expected to pay on average to all its security holders to finance its assets. If the return on invested capital exceeds the weighted average cost of capital, the company is likely creating value for its shareholders. During the past 12 months, Mobile TeleSystems PJSC's ROIC is 9.45 while its WACC came in at 10.29. The historical ROIC vs WACC comparison of Mobile TeleSystems PJSC is shown below:

Mobile TeleSystems PJSC Stock Shows Every Sign Of Being Modestly Undervalued

In conclusion, The stock of Mobile TeleSystems PJSC (NYSE:MBT, 30-year Financials) shows every sign of being modestly undervalued. The company's financial condition is poor and its profitability is strong. Its growth ranks in the middle range of the companies in Telecommunication Services industry. To learn more about Mobile TeleSystems PJSC stock, you can check out its 30-year Financials here. To find out the high quality companies that may deliever above average returns, please check out GuruFocus High Quality Low Capex Screener. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


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
Extends its reach in the North American market

MONTREAL, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Hornetsecurity, leading cloud email security provider, has announced its second acquisition this year. Hot on the heels of its acquisition of Altaro  worldwide backup solution provider  in January, it has now acquired Zerospam, cloud email protection specialists headquartered in Montreal, Canada.

Zerospam is a fast-growing and profitable business that serves more than 4,000 small, midsized and enterprise customers worldwide via an ecosystem of 400+ partners focused primarily on Canada and the US. It is a recognized leader in providing cloud-based email security solutions to the SMB market across North America, helping organizations to secure their #1 communication asset and combat cybercriminals.

Providing customers and partners with the best, safest solutions

"Zerospam has made a name for itself by living its core values, whereby we 'always stay calm', 'dig deeper', 'collaborate' and 'continuously improve'. This has helped us provide the best, safest solution for our partners and clients, coupled with elite customer service," said David Poellhuber, Zerospam CEO and Founder.

"Becoming part of the Hornetsecurity group is a wonderful progression for Zerospam, which will greatly benefit our customers and partners as well as our entire team. They will now be able to benefit from high-powered, enterprise-class functionality based on Hornetsecurity's years of expertise in this field, Microsoft 365 integration, and much more."

"We are on a journey to provide all organizations with a comprehensive security and compliance solution for their use of cloud technologies," said Daniel Hofmann, CEO of Hornetsecurity. "We warmly welcome David Poellhuber and the Zerospam team to the Hornetsecurity Group and are keen to integrate all team members into the Hornetsecurity family. We shall be investing heavily in the Zerospam partner community and providing them with an expanded range of new products so that they can boost their customers' security and compliance beyond their current offerings."

Strategic step to expand Hornetsecurity's North American reach

Daniel Blank, COO at Hornetsecurity added: "Our acquisition of Zerospam falls in line with Hornetsecurity's goal to become the #1 security, compliance and backup provider, and will help the company achieve its aggressive plans in its strongest growth market, North America and Canada. We are dedicating additional investment into these regions and are excited to shape the next chapter of our successful journey together with our new colleagues at Zerospam."

About Hornetsecurity

Hornetsecurity is a leading email cloud security and backup provider, which protects the IT infrastructure, digital communication and data of companies and organizations of all sizes. The security specialist provides its services worldwide via 9 redundant, secured data centers. Its product portfolio covers all important areas of email security, including spam and virus filters, legally compliant archiving and encryption, defense against CEO fraud and protection against ransomware; as well as backup and recovery. With more than 300 employees, Hornetsecurity operates in more than 30 countries through its international channel partner network. Its premium services are used by approximately 40,000 customers including Swisscom, Telefonica, KONICA MINOLTA, LVM Versicherung, DEKRA and Claas.

More information can be found at www.hornetsecurity.com and www.zerospam.ca

SOURCE ZEROSPAM Security

Related Links

zerospam.ca


Photo: Contributed Andrea Raso, employment lawyer at Clark Wilson LLP, doubts the province will introduce legislation mandating vaccinations in workplaces: "There are other ways to mitigate the risk"

Offices left mostly barren during the pandemic may soon be home again to the hum of workplace chatter and lunchroom confabs as British Columbians get their COVID-19 vaccinations en masse in the coming months.

But if employers want throngs of work-from-home employees to return to the office, can they tell them to get their jabs first?

The first question is: What do people mean by mandatory vaccinations? said Elizabeth Reid, a lawyer specializing in employment, labour and human rights at Vancouvers Boughton Law Corp. You cant hold your employees down and say, Youre getting this whether you want to or not.

But that doesnt mean there wont be consequences for non-vaccinated workers, and situations may play out differently depending on the profession.

As a general rule, any kind of mandatory vaccination policy is going to have to provide exceptions for protected human rights grounds, Reid said, pointing to people who refuse vaccines on religious grounds or because of underlying health issues such as allergies.

There can be what they call vaccinate-or-mask policies, and we see those in the health-care industry.

Workers may decline to get a shot, but that may mean theyll be required to mask-up the rest of the time theyre at work.

And if vaccines were to be mandated in a workplace, the authorization would have to come either through an order from the Office of the Provincial Health Officer or legislation, said employment and human rights lawyer Andrea Raso.

She doubts, however, that any legislation would be introduced.

We have other ways to mitigate the risk, said Raso, a partner at Clark Wilson LLP in Vancouver, noting the mask mandate example.

Other measures such as physical distancing and following arrows to keep people from coming into close contact may also suffice.

Another issue to consider is what happens to employees who are told to work from home if they refuse to abide by safety guidelines set out by employers.

The employer has to be careful with that, Raso said. If the employee says, I want to be in the workplace and thats the best way I could work, and the employer insists that they remain at home, you could possibly see some constructive-dismissal kinds of allegations.

Raso and Reid both said its fine for employers to encourage employees to get vaccinated, but only to a certain extent.

Sharing information with workers from a reputable public health agency wont cause any issues, according to Reid.

But if its accompanied by a threat, thats a different matter, she said.

Theres significant case law regarding vaccinations within the realm of health care, and Reid expects the issue to be further tested in B.C. in the coming months  but mostly outside of health-care jobs.

The leading cases or the first cases well see are in that unionized environment, she said.

They have the infrastructure where they have people who deal with workplace concerns and speak for the staff. Its a bit more challenging in a non-unionized environment. You have to get individual employees together to bring concerns forward.

Reid said the more coercive a policy, the greater the legal risks for an employer.

Its important for the policy to be really tailored to take into consideration both the needs of the employer and the concerns [of] the employees, she said.

It may also be difficult for employers to demand proof of vaccinations from employees, and Reid said considerations for B.C.s privacy laws will have to be taken into account if bosses store that information.

She said a 1992 quote by BC Court of Appeal Justice Mary Southin has been top of mind as employees and employers navigate questions emerging over vaccinations: It is not for the employee nor for the court to consider the wisdom of the procedures. The employer is the boss, and it is an essential implied term of every employment contract that, subject to the limitations I have expressed, the employee must obey the orders given to him.

Or as Reid summarizes it: You might think your employers an idiot, but if its not harming you, and its not illegal or dishonest or unethical, you have to do it.
New Delhi: The Centre has notified the new rules for digital news publishers and OTT (Over The Top) platforms. The new rules aim to bring online news published under the same regulations as the traditional media publishers such as news channels or newspapers.

The new rules will apply to social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter and OTT platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney Hotstar and several others.

The Centre had on Tuesday informed the Supreme Court that the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 have been put in place an institutional mechanism for adherence to Digital Media Ethics Code by the OTT platforms.

It said the government was seized of the need for developing an institutional mechanism regarding the regulation of audio-visual content streamed on OTT platforms and was consulting the stakeholders over the past two years.

The IT Rules, 2021 also provides for self-classification of audio-visual content of such platforms into five age-based categories for informed choice by viewers, it said.

The Centre said it has received several complaints/ representations from members of civil society, members of Parliament, Chief Ministers regarding the content of programmes being streamed on OTT platforms and the need for putting in place a mechanism to check content on these platforms.

In an affidavit, filed in a pending petition, the government said it notified the new rules on February 25, to put in place an institutional mechanism for following a code of ethics by Over-The-Top (OTT) players and redressal of any grievances in this regard.

"It is respectfully submitted that the answering respondent is seized of the need for developing an institutional mechanism regarding the regulation of audio-visual content streamed on OTT platforms and has been in active consultation with stakeholders over the period of last two years,'' it said.

''It is humbly submitted that in various jurisdictions across the globe like Singapore, European Union, Australia, etc have also framed similar mechanisms regulating/restricting access to the content on the OTT platforms,'' it said.

The government said the new rules are comprehensive in nature and framed keeping in view the major audience enjoyed by the OTT platforms and maintaining a fine balance so that various age groups are taken into account and a healthy classification is being done.

It said that the government is taking measures to further strengthen mechanisms in accordance with the rules. The Centre's affidavit has been filed in response to a plea seeking to regulate OTT platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime by an autonomous body.

The top court had on October 15, last year sought response from the Centre on the plea of Jha and co-petitioner Apurva Arhatia, who have said that a proper board/institution /association for the monitoring and management of content on different OTT/Streaming and digital media platforms was needed.

''With cinemas theatres unlikely to open anytime soon in the country, OTT/Streaming and different digital media platforms have surely given a way out for filmmakers and artists to release their content without being worried about getting clearance certificates for their films and series from the censor board,'' the plea said.

At present, however, there is no law or autonomous body governing the digital content to monitor and manage these digital contents and it is made available to the public at large without any filter or screening, it said.

''Lack of legislation governing OTT/Streaming Platforms is becoming evident with each passing day and every new case that is filed on these grounds. The government is facing heat to fill this lacuna with regulations from the public and the Judiciary; still the relevant government departments have not done anything significant to regularise these OTT/Streaming Platforms,'' the plea said.

None of the OTT/Streaming platforms including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Zee5, and Hotstar, has signed the self-regulation provided by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting since February 2020, it said.

The ministry had earlier told the top court in a separate case that there is a need to regulate digital media and that the court may first appoint a committee of persons as amicus before laying down guidelines with respect to the regulation of hate speech in the media.

(With PTI Inputs)

Live TV
The Hausawa community in Sabon- Dikko, Gurara Local Government Area of Niger State yesterday protested against the lack of electricity and other basic social amenities in the area.

The community claimed that for one year after the transformer they bought through community efforts got burnt beyond repairs, and requests made to the Abuja Electricity Development Company (AEDC) for its replacement, the area has remained without electricity.

The community, which claimed to have one million population, also decried the absence of educational institutions, health facility and potable in the area.

In a protest letter sent to the state Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, the Senator representing the area in the National Assembly, Alhaji Mohammed Sani Musa, and the AEDC, the community lamented that lack of electricity has hampered the socio and economic development of the people of the area.

According to the protest letter made available to journalists in Minna yesterday and signed by the Chairman of the Community's Youth Forum, Mallam Bello Sadau Mohammed, several representations made to the government on the issue has not received any favourable response.

In addition, the AEDC, which primary responsibility is to provide electricity to the people, has also ignored all the letters sent to it on the issue.

They said it only through serious efforts being made by the elders of the community that has been calming the anger of the youths who felt they "wasted their votes by voting for the ruling party in the state in the last election."

The community, therefore, pleaded with the government and the AEDC to provide and install at least two 500 KVA transformers for the community to ameliorate their suffering.
Unions will push for a $26-a-week rise in the minimum wage, warning Australia's pandemic recovery is under threat if pay packets do not increase.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions will on Friday make its submission to the Fair Work Commission's annual minimum wage review.

Unions want a 3.5 per cent rise in minimum wage and awards for a full-time worker, which amounts to $26.38 a week.

ACTU secretary Sally McManus said the increase would flow to 2.3 million workers, more than 60 per cent of whom are women.

'If wages don't increase it threatens the entire recovery,' she said on Friday.

'Money in the hands of working people is what will create sustainable economic growth, not bigger profits for big business.'

Unions are pushing for a $26-a-week rise in the minimum wage to help Australia emerged from the coronavirus pandemic. Pictured is a bartender in Bunbury, Western Australia

The national minimum wage increased by 1.75 per cent to $753.80 per week after last year's review but the rise was delayed at least three months for most workers.

Economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic was blamed for the more modest than usual increase.

In 2019 there was a three per cent minimum wage increase, which was was lower than 2018's 3.5 per cent rise and the 3.3 per cent hike in 2017.

Ms McManus said last year's rise meant Australia had fallen behind the UK and New Zealand in establishing a living wage of 60 per cent of median incomes.

'We cannot tolerate a minimum wage which leaves full-time workers in poverty,' she said.

'Everyone suffers if wage growth doesn't bounce back. If minimum wage workers do not have money to spend, local businesses feel it the most.'

Employer groups will call for the expert panel to take a cautious approach in weighing up any increase to the minimum wage.

Australian Industry Group's submission urges the economic and business risks associated with the end of JobKeeper wage subsidies next week to be considered.

The national minimum wage increased by 1.75 per cent to $753.80 per week after last year's review but the rise was delayed at least three months for most workers (stock image)

Ai Group chief executive Innes Willox said more data would be assessed before his organisation settles on a proposed figure for the minimum wage.

'The minimum wage increase from last year's annual wage review has only just been paid on 1 February 2021 by employers in some sectors,' he said.

'It would be extremely unfair to require them to pay another increase on 1 July.'

Mr Willox said the commission should take into account that Australia has the highest national minimum wage in the world on a purchasing power parity basis.
Bahrain had last year awarded 1,688 tenders worth $4.1 billion compared to $4.8 billion in 2019 despite the difficult economic conditions triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, according to new data released by Bahrains Tender Board.

In terms of value of contracts, the oil sector dominated the list with 228 tenders worth $1.6 billion followed by the construction and engineering industry with 317 tenders worth a combined $875.7 million, clearly underscoring the governments continued commitment to its extensive pipeline of major infrastructure projects, currently valued at some $32 billion.

Bahrain Tender Board said the third on the list was the aviation sector with $638.2 million followed by the materials and equipment sector with $606.1 million and finally the services sector, which saw a total of $424.8 million worth of tenders.

While bringing up the rear in terms of value of contracts, the services sector was awarded the highest number of contracts, at 599, said the report.

According to the Tender Board, the Ministry of Health (MoH) saw a sizable increase over last year - both in terms of number of tenders issued and value of tenders. In 2019 it had awarded 93 tenders, valued at some $123.8 million, while last year, its tally rose to 137 tenders valued at $298.1 million - a near threefold increase in value.

This surge in spending is mainly due to the Bahrains robust and rapid Covid-19 response on many fronts, including a track and trace app, extensive testing, vaccinations, hospital robots, car park conversions to hospitals and more, it stated.

The positive figures follow closely on from the release of equally encouraging data highlights a record number of tenders awarded to the SME sector during 2020 worth a total of $145.4 million, indicative of government support for a sector that it regards as the engine for post-Covid economic recovery.

Tender Board Chairman Sheikh Nayef Bin Khalid Al Khalifa said: "2020 has proven one of the most challenging and unpredictable years globally for businesses in all sectors across the board. Despite these less than friendly conditions, throughout the year, Bahrain has awarded an impressive 1,688 contracts valued at well over $4 billion."

"This dynamic performance is indicative of Bahrains commitment and ability to remain open for business even in times of crisis," he noted.

"The kingdoms extensive, multi-billion-dollar pipeline of infrastructure projects was a case in point, and had driven the consistently high value of contracts in its thriving construction and engineering sector throughout the year," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
WASHINGTON  It might discomfit the president and secretary of state to be told that their excellent first steps in foreign policy are reminiscent of Ronald Reagans 40 years ago, so instead lets call them Trumanesque.

Even before last weeks admirably acrimonious meeting between senior Chinese and U.S. officials in Anchorage, Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken seem to be adhering to the principle that in diplomacy it is generally wise to know your own mind and to make sure that the other side knows it too.

Harry S. Truman did that on April 23, 1945, just 11 days into his presidency, during an Oval Office meeting with Vyacheslav Molotov. When Truman gave the Soviet foreign minister a dressing down (in words of one syllable, Truman later said) about Soviet noncompliance with wartime promises, Molotov complained that he had never been spoken to like that. Truman replied, Carry out your agreements and you wont get to be talked to like that.

Franklin D. Roosevelt reportedly had told a former U.S. ambassador to Moscow that he had a hunch that if I give [Stalin] everything that I possibly can and ask nothing from him in return, noblesse oblige, he wont try to annex anything and will work for a world of democracy and peace. Truman, the product of Tom Pendergasts Kansas City machine politics, had other ideas.

Nine days into Reagans presidency, at his first news conference, he said that when dealing with the Soviets, one should remember that they reserve unto themselves the right to commit any crime, to lie, to cheat in order to attain their goals. In his June 8, 1982, Westminster speech to the British House of Commons, he called the Cold War a struggle between good and totalitarian evil. In a March 8, 1983, speech, he called the Soviet Union an evil empire and the focus of evil in the modern world. Reagans rhetoric implemented his policy of re-moralizing the Cold War, which he thought Richard Nixons policy of detente had drained of the moral clarity needed for implementing measures necessary for his vision of the endgame: We win, they lose.

Biden and Blinken surely do not expect that the competition with China will end so decisively, if at all. China cannot be described, as the Soviet Union was, as Upper Volta with rockets. Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan said in the 1980s, while rising Asian nations  although not yet China  were flooding the world with microcircuitry, the Soviet Union was peddling fish eggs and furs, the trading goods of a hunter-gatherer society. Because, however, China is woven into the global economy, it has much to lose from rhetoric accurately depicting it as barbarous and dangerous.

Corporate America is making endless woke gestures about this nations sinfulness while making fortunes off products of Chinas forced labor, and not making a peep that could offend the Leninist tyrants and complicate access to Chinas consumers. This straddle is becoming awkward. Five months before the previous secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, made it U.S. policy to categorize Chinas savagery toward millions of Uyghurs as genocide, candidate Biden described it as such.

And a decade before Bidens recent candor  prompted by an interviewer, he agreed that Vladimir Putin is a killer  Biden told a New Yorker interviewer that he once told Putin, I dont think you have a soul.

Blinkens word quash to describe what Beijing is doing  contrary to treaty obligations  to Hong Kongs democracy is commendably without mincing nuance. In Alaska, the Chinese Communist Partys top foreign affairs official, disdaining the negotiated two-minute limit for opening remarks, spoke for 16 minutes. It was bracing that one day before the Alaska meeting, Blinken, uninterested in cosmetic comity, identified 24 Chinese officials, including a member of the 25-person Politburo, subject to U.S. sanctions for their complicity in making Hong Kong in 2021 Asias Czechoslovakia of 1939.

Chinas prickliness about U.S. condescension looks, as does its harping on its century of humiliation (from the First Opium War to the Communists 1949 victory in the civil war), symptomatic of gnawing insecurity. This might intensify if Biden and Blinken successfully cultivate the Quad  the United States, India, Japan and Australia  as a counterweight to China. The four have combined populations of 1.85 billion and combined GDPs of $30.8 trillion, compared with Chinas 1.4 billion and $14.3 trillion. The Quad might be the beginning of something analogous to the Soviet containment measures Truman announced to a joint session of Congress 22 months after his admirably testy meeting with Molotov.

GEORGE WILL writes for The Washington Post.
Mar. 24Spring graduation ceremonies for Spokane Community College and Spokane Falls Community College will be virtual due to COVID-19 concerns, college administrators said Wednesday.

SCC and SFCC will each host a live-stream ceremony June 18. The events will feature presentations by college and student leaders, as well as a performance by the SFCC choir.

SCC President Kevin Brockbank and SFCC President Kimberlee Messina cited safety concerns with holding live ceremonies.

"We have had many classes on campus this year and have maintained a safe environment for students and employees," Brockbank said in a statement, "but having a large event poses challenges far beyond what we deal with on campus and we are disappointed but feel we are making the right decision by having the ceremony be online."

Students will receive diplomas, a printed program, graduation caps and college memorabilia in the mail, the announcement 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
SINGAPORE  A man who trapped a domestic helper in a toilet and molested her was jailed for four years and given six strokes of the cane on Thursday (25 March).

District Judge Brenda Tan considered that Vietnamese Le Huy Nam had pleaded guilty and was a first offender.

The 31-year-old had earlier pleaded guilty to molesting the 27-year-old Burmese woman while wrongfully restraining her, with one count of attempted sexual penetration to be taken into consideration for sentencing.

In an earlier hearing, Deputy Public Prosecutor Rebecca Wong sought four-and-a-half years' jail with six strokes of the cane. She said Le might have been successful had the victim's friends not intervened.

Les lawyer, Dennis Saw submitted for a jail term of three years. He said Le left his wife and two children, aged eight and five, in Vietnam when he came to work in Singapore.

Then the sole breadwinner of his family, Le took up a loan of $15,000 to come to Singapore and still owes the sum, together with the interest accrued. He added his client was uncertain of his family's financial status now as he was not able to contact them.

He misses them and is really regretful for his actions and wants to see them as soon as possible... he is very worried and concerned for his family, Saw said.

Accused and victim never met before incident

The victim, who cannot be named due to a court gag order, came to Singapore on 16 December 2019 in the hopes of getting employment as a maid. She moved into a lodging house where she resided in a room with other individuals.

Le, who worked as a restaurant chef, had been residing in the same lodging house from 30 September 2019. He had never met the victim before the offence.

On 23 December 2019, at around 2am, the woman went to use the common toilet at the service yard next to the kitchen. As she opened the door to leave, Le, who had been waiting outside, pushed her back in and closed the door behind him. He pulled the toilet cover down and pushed the victim onto the seat.

Story continues

Even as the victim pleaded with him not to do (it) in broken English, clasping her hands in a pleading gesture, the man groped her under her shirt forcefully. He told investigators that he had been overcome with a sexual urge upon seeing the victim.

Le then exposed his penis and attempted to sexually assault the woman. He forced the woman to masturbate him with her hand for some five minutes. Le tried to pull the womans pants down but she resisted. He held the woman down throughout her ordeal to prevent her from escaping.

Le stopped when the victims roommates knocked on the toilet. They had been concerned about her absence and had heard crying as they approached the toilet.

For molesting a person under wrongful restraint, Le may be jailed between two and 10 years, with caning.

Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore

More Singapore stories:

No need for COVID antibodies tests for Singapore residents after vaccination: MOH official

COVID-19: Singapore opens vaccination bookings to those aged 45 to 59

Up to 750 attendees allowed at live performances with COVID-19 testing from 24 April

From 5 April, work-from-home no longer default; more allowed back at workplaces
New Delhi, March 25 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will be on a two-day visit to Bangladesh from Friday, said that he was "happy that my first foreign visit after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic will be to our friendly neighbouring country, with which India shares deep cultural, linguistic and people-to-people ties".

In a statement on Thursday, he said he will be visiting Bangladesh on March 26-27 at the invitation of his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina, and he will participate at its National Day celebrations on Friday.

"I look forward to my participation at the National Day celebrations tomorrow, which will also commemorate the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation of Bangladesh, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

"Bangabandhu was one of the tallest leaders of the last Century, whose life and ideals continue to inspire millions. I look forward to visiting Bangabandhu's Samadhi in Tungipara to pay my respects to his memory," he said.

The Prime Minister also said that he will also look forward to offering prayers to Goddess Kali at the ancient Jashoreshwari Kali Temple, one of the 51 Shaktipeeths in the Puranic tradition.

"I am particularly looking forward to my interaction with representatives of the Matua community at Orakandi, from where Sri SriHarichandra Thakur ji disseminated his pious message." Later, the Prime Minister has plans to hold "substantive discussions with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina" after their "very productive virtual meeting" in December 2020.

He will also meet President Abdul Hamid and interact with other dignitaries.

"My visit will not only be an occasion to convey appreciation for Bangladesh's remarkable economic and developmental strides under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visionary leadership, but also to commit India's abiding support for these achievements. I will also express India's support and solidarity for Bangladesh's fight against Covid-19," he added.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  As vaccination promises an end to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, independent pharmacy owner Mike Parikh says its his turn to put members of the community on [his] back after theyve supported him for the last five years.

Owner of Super Health Pharmacy, located at 6400 Amboy Rd., Parikh began vaccinating the boroughs senior population through a partnership with the city, and later a partnership with the state during the Phase 1a and 1b rollout.

Super Health is the only independent pharmacy vaccinating Staten Islanders and has given more than 1,000 doses to date.

The pharmacy is getting between 100 and 200 doses per week and has a waiting list of thousands of residents, which required Parikh to hire five nurses from St. Pauls School of Nursing, two pharmacists and a handful of pharmacy interns to keep up with the demand.

The nursing and pharmacy staff at Super Health Pharmacy in Pleasant Plains, Michael Bessada, pharmacy intern, Mayank Parikh, pharmacist and owner, nurses, Robin Smith, Louisa Sciortino, RN and Jamie Mei. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)

It comes out of our own pocket. It gets very expensive because theyre highly qualified individuals, but we knew it had to be done, Parikh said of the expense.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of local, independent pharmacies, he said. They really trust us for advice. Im not discounting any physicians, but a lot of our patients tell me they trust me more than their physicians. Theyre seeing their pharmacist an average of 35 times a year and they only see their doctor maybe three times so were really an extended part of their family, he said.

He said it comes down to education: When it comes to vaccination rates and getting people to trust the vaccine its about education and telling them how it works with the mRNA and the proteins; taking the time to walk them through it and explain how antibodies work and thats how youre going to build trust, not just making an announcement and telling people to get vaccinated.

Mayank Parikh, Super Health Pharmacy pharmacist and the owner, discusses the COVID-19 vaccine with one of his patients. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)

Parikh and his staff have been on the frontlines since the pandemic hit last March.

At first it was donating hand sanitizer to first responders. Then the pharmacy partnered with non-profit Cut Red Tape for Heroes to donate free PPE to hospitals throughout the state. A partnership with Catholic Charities gave free rapid COVID-19 tests to Staten Islanders with developmental disabilities living in group homes.

Another partnership brought Parikh and staff to a North Shore facility where homebound seniors were in need of vaccinations. Most recently he partnered with South Shore Assemblyman Michael Reilly to vaccinate an additional 200 residents on Thursday, March 25.

Reilly said, Time and time again, our independent pharmacies step up and deliver, proving just how much of an asset they are to the local community. This is only a fraction of what our community deserves in terms of vaccine access, and I continue to advocate daily for city and state officials to establish a dedicated vaccination hub for Staten Islands South Shore.

Nurse Jamie Mei administers a COVID vaccine at the Super Health Pharmacy in Pleasant Plains. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)

Its been nuts, Parikh said about the pandemic.

But this was our opportunity to jump in and really help. Every single independent pharmacist is stepping up in ways to overcome these challenges, he continued. Especially when it was announced that pharmacists were allowed to test I knew the next thing was going to be the vaccine. We prepared, we got all the right people on board and we really just want to get our community back to normal.

We make sure we take care of the people in our community because those people always support us and put us on their backs, and now its time for us to step up and put them on our backs.

8 Independent pharmacy has been here through the whole pandemic

FOLLOW KRISTIN F. DALTON ON TWITTER.
EJ speaks and Everybody Laughs, A lot

Unfortunately, everything is funny to methis is code for Im childish and I need to grow up and please dont sit beside me at the funeral, because you will not mourn.

We will laugh, said content creator, brand ambassador, author and comedian, EJ of Ejspeaks.

And I believe her and would be in tears laughing at what is supposed to be a somber occasion. Luckily for me, I didnt have to sit next to this funny lady at a funeral to bust a gut, just get through 2020. I discovered EJ last year, surfing social media when I found a skit with her complaining about the heat and have been an admirer ever since.

ADVERTISEMENT

An Arkansas native, born and raised, EJ attended high school, college and received certification in Criminal Justice. Although headed in one direction, she stated, neither school, nor program, would be successfulI was all over the place. EJ shared she had aspirations for acting, writing and storytelling.

Why I allowed myself to waste my time and the resources of school, is still a great mystery, said EJ. This is code for I have a great deal of student loan debt.

Starting the journey into content creating and comedy was a natural direction for EJ, although she did share there were some other factors involved.

I began making Youtube videos because I was afraid to sleep alone, said EJ. My husband and I had just moved to a new location, I had just had baby #2, and my husband was working graveyards.

She continued, Basically, I was a wuss, a scaredy cat, if you willany noise alarmed me, any slight sound from the upstairs or next door neighbor could have easily prompted me to call to the police. So, since there was no way I could actually sleep in fear, I started making Youtube channels.

I went through a few changes, tweaked a few things along the way, and comedy was just something that really worked for me. Ive been creating content (good, bad and indifferent) for a decade now, and it has been quite the journey.

EJspeaks has something for everybody but is geared towards people of an adult persuasion. Her content ranges from skits, to hot topics to talking about everyday situations, but always laced with pure comedy. She talked about her content, keeping things clean and the challenges of staying in your created lane.

ADVERTISEMENT

I just wanted to tell stories and make people laugh, said EJ, I wanted to cuss like Kirk Franklin, but I didnt see the value in it. I wanted to make videos about funny stereotypical stuff, but I just couldnt. I never saw my mother drink, smoke, or go to a club. She wasnt vulgar and she never cursed until she got in her 50s and to be honest, shes not very good at it-at-all.

I am, what she showed methats it.

She continued, I have found that being clean keeps me in a lane of my own, and not overcrowded by all the other types of content. But I also feel like thats what has taken so long for the world to catch on. I also feel like I boxed myself in, by continuously creating clean content, to the point that if I did create something stereotypical or something with profanity, that my core audience would feel betrayed.

In one of her videos, EJ shared how her daughter and friends dont actually say the word pandemic by substituting another p word in its place. She spoke about 2020 and how the pastrami helped her brand produce revenue and what future content creators need to know.

Being in the Paramount Studios(pandemic) really showed me that creating content could be super profitable and rewarding, said EJ. Again, I had been creating content for 10 yearsthe money was there, but barely.

I had discovered my niche was content, but being laid off gave me time to create even more, and to do more tweaking to my brand, and to even challenge my stagnant productivity.

I say the same thing, every time, if you want to do something, just get started. There will always be someone with more followers, more views, a better camera, a better aesthetic, BUT THATS LITERALLY NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS. You are responsible for creating the life you want to liveit will not create itself on your behalf.

She outlined four important points for content creators to remember: finding out what you are good at, putting it into action, continue doing it and let the world know that you are doing it.

Oftentimes, doing skits and conversations with her husband, FJ, this funny gal balances her talents with being a wife and mother. She shared how she manages wearing all her hats while still having time to entertain us.

Honestly, it is the trickiest thing ever, said EJ. Most days, I think Do I really need to feed my kids, or can I create more content? (This is sarcasm- a mere joke. DO NOT CALL THE COPS!). Thankfully, my husband has been there every step of the way.

She continued, FJ and I make an awesome team, and he understands that this is me building the life I want to live. He has never made me feel like I had to have one or the other. It does take planning and sacrifice, and it takes a million reminders on my phone, but we get it done.

EJ made 2020 a lot easier and a whole lot funnier as we all navigated the paleontologist with the hand-washing, barren grocery stores, social uprisings, the worst president ever and a lot of crazy people. She shared that the out-pouring from people across social media made a difference in her life as well.

Not everyone will tell you how your work has helped them, or how youve gotten them through some rough times, but I receive messages like this daily, said EJ. It keeps me going, especially on the days when I want to quit.

And even for those who may never message me, thank you for the screen time, the shares, the tagging of friends to my videos.

I am swollen with thankfulness.

To find out more about EJ, please visit www.ejspeaks.com. You can follow Ejspeaks on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.
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.
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.
CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Duke Energy Foundation today announced a three-year, $300,000 commitment to support internships for college students of color to jumpstart more career opportunities in energy, government, law and politics.

Duke Energy is providing funds to four organizations that will award the scholarships to qualified students: The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) Summer Internship Program, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) Congressional Internship Program, North Carolina Central University School of Law and the South Carolina Washington Semester Program. These organizations will choose students this spring to participate in virtual summer internship programs in 2021.

Duke Energy's focus on building a diverse workforce mirrors the communities it serves. This is an intentional effort today and is a sustainable part of our culture for the next generation workforce.

"We all have a role and responsibility to participate in advancing justice and equity. That requires a further commitment to help address the systemic issues our communities face," said Katherine Neebe, Duke Energy's vice president, national engagement & strategy, chief sustainability officer and president, Duke Energy Foundation. "We are excited to help support promising young professionals, many who are from the communities we serve, as they learn and grow from their experiences in energy and environmental policy."

The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation

More than 40 years ago, the CBCF initiated its internship program to address the underrepresentation of African Americans in professional staff positions on Capitol Hill. The selected interns gain firsthand leadership experience by working with and learning from members of Congress and other executives in Washington, D.C.

"CBCF is proud to partner with Duke Energy to provide deserving students an opportunity to work on Capitol Hill, directly with members of the Congressional Black Caucus," said CBCF President and CEO Tonya Veasey. "Students will participate in our summer Congressional Internship Program where they will engage in professional development trainings and be exposed to the process of national policymaking."

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute

The CHCI Congressional Internship Program provides college students with a paid placement in a congressional office, supplemented with focused leadership training one day a week. Promising Latino undergraduates from across the country are selected for this extraordinary leadership training program.

"We appreciate Duke Energy's support for our mission to advance the next generation of Latino leaders," said Marco A. Davis, CHCI president and CEO. "We are inspired by the students who participate in our Congressional Internship Program. This transformational experience helps our participants continue to evolve as leaders and further contribute to creating positive change in their communities."

The North Carolina Central University (NCCU) School of Law

Each summer, law students from NCCU School of Law participate in the school's public interest internship program. Law students seek out internship opportunities that align with their interest and are supported financially by the program.

"We are thankful to Duke Energy for its newest grant to North Carolina Central University that expands our long-standing partnership to include our School of Law," said Johnson O. Akinleye, Ph.D., chancellor of North Carolina Central University. "The funding will provide internship opportunities that will introduce our future attorneys to new career opportunities in areas including energy, government and public policy."

The South Carolina Washington Semester Program

The South Carolina Washington Semester Program selects students from South Carolina's colleges and universities to intern mostly in congressional offices during the fall and spring semesters.

"This partnership will enrich the educational experience for students and allows us to intentionally attract, prepare and secure a full-time internship in our nation's capital for students of color," said Julie Hutt, director of internship programs and academic advisor, South Carolina Washington Semester Program. "Our recruiting efforts will focus on students from historically Black colleges and universities in the state of South Carolina. Each cohort participating in the program should reflect and support the diverse world around us."

Duke Energy Foundation

The Duke Energy Foundation provides philanthropic support to meet the needs of communities where Duke Energy customers live and work. The foundation contributes more than $30 million annually in charitable gifts, and is funded by Duke Energy shareholder dollars. More information about the foundation can be found at duke-energy.com/foundation.

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of the largest energy holding companies in the U.S. It employs 30,000 people and has an electric generating capacity of 51,000 megawatts through its regulated utilities, and 3,000 megawatts through its nonregulated Duke Energy Renewables unit.

Duke Energy is transforming its customers' experience, modernizing the energy grid, generating cleaner energy and expanding natural gas infrastructure to create a smarter energy future for the people and communities it serves. The Electric Utilities and Infrastructure unit's regulated utilities serve approximately 7.7 million retail electric customers in six states  North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. The Gas Utilities and Infrastructure unit distributes natural gas to more than 1.6 million customers in five states  North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The Duke Energy Renewables unit operates wind and solar generation facilities across the U.S., as well as energy storage and microgrid projects.

Duke Energy was named to Fortune's 2020 "World's Most Admired Companies" list, and Forbes' 2019 "America's Best Employers" list. More information about the company is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos, videos and other materials. Duke Energy's illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

Media contact: Phil Sgro

Media line: 800.559.3853

Twitter: @DE_PhilSgro

SOURCE Duke Energy
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 25, 2021] Steve Anheier Named Chief Financial Officer of Vocera

Vocera Communications, Inc. (NYSE:VCRA), a recognized leader in clinical communication and workflow solutions, today announced that Steve Anheier, previously the Vice President of Finance of Vocera (News - Alert) , has been promoted to Chief Financial Officer, effective June 15, 2021. Anheier will replace Justin Spencer, who, as previously announced, is leaving to serve as a mission president for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "After consulting with our board and auditors, and discussing with Justin, it was clear we already had the ideal candidate in Steve. Steve has demonstrated strong financial skills, a thorough understanding of our business, and the ability to work effectively with our board, investors and analysts. He is also a strong cultural fit and represents our company values very well," said Brent Lang, Chairman and CEO of Vocera. Anheier has served as Vice President of Finance and Accounting at Vocera since September 2019. Prior to joining Vocera, from May 2010 to August 2019, Anheier served in various roles of increasing responsibility at Accuray Incorporated, a publicly traded company and leader in radiation oncology. His key roles included Vice President of Finance and Investor Relations, along with leadership roles in Financial Planning and Analysis. Anheier began his career at KPMG LLP from 2006 to 2010 where he received his CPA. Anheier holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo. "Justin's ork has ensured that we have the right teams, systems and processes in place as we embark on the next stage of growth for our company. Steve's promotion to the role of Chief Financial Officer demonstrates the excellent job Justin did building a world-class finance organization. Steve has been working closely with Justin and is fully prepared to assume the CFO responsibilities," Lang said. "Steve is a great addition to our senior leadership team and is dedicated to leading the company for the benefit of all stakeholders - customers, employees, suppliers, communities, and shareholders."



"I am excited to lead our talented team of finance professionals. Justin and I share many philosophies, principles, and strategies on how to build businesses, develop our culture, and enhance shareholder value," Anheier said. About Vocera

The mission of Vocera Communications, Inc. is to simplify and improve the lives of healthcare professionals, patients, and families while enabling hospitals to enhance quality of care and operational efficiency and humanize the healthcare experience. In 2000, when the company was founded, we began to forever change the way care teams communicate. Today, Vocera offers the leading platform for improving clinical communication and workflow. More than 2,300 facilities worldwide, including nearly 1,900 hospitals and healthcare facilities, have selected our solutions. Care team members use our solutions to communicate and collaborate with co-workers by securely texting or calling, and to be notified of important alerts and alarms. They can choose the right device for their role or task, including smartphones or our hands-free, wearable Vocera Smartbadge and Vocera Badge. They can create a richer, more human connection for patients and their loved ones before, during, and after care using Vocera Ease applications. Interoperability between the Vocera Platform and more than 150 clinical and operational systems helps reduce alarm fatigue; speed up staff response times; and improve patient care, safety, and experience. In addition to healthcare, Vocera solutions are found in luxury hotels, aged care facilities, retail stores, schools, power facilities, libraries, and more. Vocera solutions make mobile workers safer and more effective by enabling them to connect instantly with other people and access resources or information quickly. Vocera has made the list of Forbes 100 Most Trustworthy Companies in America, and the Vocera Smartbadge was named to TIME's list of the 100 Best Inventions of 2020. Learn more at www.vocera.com, and follow @VoceraComm and @VoceraEase on Twitter (News - Alert) . Vocera and the Vocera logo are trademarks of Vocera Communications, Inc. registered in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other trademarks appearing in this release are the property of their respective owners. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005215/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
MEXICO CITY and NEW YORK, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Chatham Imports, a global supplier of premium spirits and wine brands and the parent company of Michter's Distillery, and a consortium led by Eduardo and Julio Mestre have formed a new 50/50 venture to own the global trademark rights to the celebrated super-premium mezcal Los Siete Misterios.

Under the agreement, Chatham becomes the exclusive global sales and marketing agent for Los Siete Misterios, excluding Mexico, while the Mestres remain responsible for the production of Los Siete Misterios as well as sales in Mexico. This new partnership, which entails an equity investment by Chatham, will bolster Los Siete Misterios' production capacity and enhance the brand's route-to-market within the United States and abroad.

Julio Mestre, CEO of Los Siete Misterios, commented: "We have known Matt Magliocco and his family for years and we have been following what they have achieved with Michter's internationally and the great job they have done. We couldn't think of a better partner to help us take Los Siete Misterios to the next level. Both companies have the same values and each of us shares the same passion to produce the best spirits in our respective categories. That's why we are certain this will be a great venture for both companies."

Matt Magliocco, Executive Vice President of Chatham, commented: "We are absolutely thrilled to partner with Julio and Eduardo in the development of Los Siete Misterios. I have been friends with Julio and Eduardo for years, and from the very first day we met, I have admired their commitment to producing superb Oaxaca mezcal ethically and responsibly. Since founding Los Siete Misterios in 2010, Julio, Eduardo, and their team have done a remarkable job establishing one of the world's greatest mezcals and have earned a well-deserved reputation as leaders in our industry."

Magliocco added, "Los Siete Misterios delivers in every respect, from the consistently delicious liquid across its diverse range of expressions to the arresting Catrinas artwork. The brand's preeminent status in Mexico City's renowned bars and restaurants is a testament to Los Siete Misterios' reputation and credibility at home. For Chatham, Los Siete Misterios exemplifies all the qualities we value in a brand and aligns perfectly with our existing portfolio. We cannot wait to bring Los Siete Misterios to more people in the United States and around the world."

About Los Siete Misterios

Founded in 2010 by Julio and Eduardo Mestre with only one thing in mind: to respect and preserve the mezcal making traditions, as well as to promote local commerce and stimulate the culture of small mezcal producers, all of this with a contemporary approach. Thus, we were able to relive the past and match it with the present time, combining the best of both worlds. We remain respectful of one of the purest essences: the mezcal, a genuine Mexican heritage. The legends and mysteries of Mexico, our land, were our source of inspiration to start a quest, looking for a beverage that is fully representative of the Mexican customs, culture and of course the passion that goes along with every Mexican product. With support from our bartender friends in over 20 countries, we have established Los Siete Misterios as one of the most beloved brands in the Mezcal category. Los Siete Misterios offers a wide range of mezcals starting with Doba Yej, a copper pot-distilled Espadin; our Ancestral line of clay pot-distilled Espadin, Barril, Mexicano, Coyote, Arroqueno and Tobala; our new Ensamble collection of copper pot-distilled Espadin and wild agave blends; and special releases including our Pechuga expression. For more information, please visit www.sietemisterios.com

About Chatham Imports

Headquartered in Manhattan's Flatiron District, Chatham represents a portfolio of quality-focused spirits, wine, and beer labels.Chatham's spirits brands include Michter's American Whiskey and its Legacy Series consisting of Bomberger's Declaration Bourbon and Shenk's Homestead Sour Mash, Crop Harvest Earth Organic Vodka, Farmer's Organic Gin, Foro Amaro and Vermouth, Marti Autentico Rum, and Faretti Biscotti Liqueur.Chatham's wine offerings are led by Santa Marina and Tuffo, while the portfolio is rounded out with New Amsterdam Beer.Chatham's subsidiaries include Michter's Shively and Fort Nelson distilleries in Louisville, Kentucky, as well as Michter's 145-acre farm and operations in Springfield, Kentucky.Chatham products are sold in all 50 United States as well as approximately 60 foreign markets spanning the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. For more information, please visit www.chathamimports.com.

Chatham Imports Contact: Los Siete Misterios Contact: Matt Magliocco Eduardo Mestre +1 (502) 774-2300 x470 +52 55 29812311 mmagliocco@chathamimports.com emestre@sietemisterios.com

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1473526/Chatham_Imports_Logo.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1473527/Los_Siete_Misterios_Mezcal.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1473528/Julio_and_Eduardo_Mestre.jpg
MBABANE  Senators have punched holes in Members of Parliament (MPs) stalling the passing of the 2020/2021 budget.

On Tuesday, the MPs declared that they were not prepared to pass the budget until Minister of Education and Training Lady Mabuza had made a ministerial statement on the suspension of payment of school fees for 2020. The minister later released a statement, suspending the payment of school fees during a press conference in her office. Meanwhile, yesterday when the senators had a sitting, they were informed by Senate President Lindiwe Dlamini that it was adjourned. The Senate president explained that it would resume today at 2:30pm. She further stated that Senate portfolio committees would have about eight sittings per day, to speed up the process since there was not enough time for debates. This then sparked a debate among some senators, who raised that the MPs were not right to delay the passing of the budget as this would affect emaSwati.

Pity

They also raised that it was a pity that there could not be a joint sitting with the House of Assembly to deliberate and correct each other. Senator Mkhululi Dlamini said both chambers of Parliament (Senate and House of Assembly) were not a mistake. They were established so that when things go wrong on one side, there could be other eyes to see. So now that we will not have the chance to engage with the other chamber, it means the other chamber does not exist, Dlamini said. He said if the president had said they would be having eight committee sessions per day, it was impossible as they would be deadbeat by the time they reached the fourth meeting.

Yes, constitutionally the House of Assembly has powers, but we also have powers in that we can apply ourselves in certain things, he said. Dlamini expressed that perhaps there could be an explanation from the finance minister on what was the issue that had caused the stalling of the budget to be passed. The senator added that the Senate president had also informed them that their sitting was adjourned. But we used the emaSwati money for fuel to get here. People will say we are wasting public funds, he said.

Joke

Senator Vuka Moi Moi Masilela submitted that what the MPs had done was a joke and they were offside because this was a matter of national interest. If they will leave the budget and talk about other matters, what does the speaker say? This is a national budget and it is a pity that we cant have a joint meeting with them (MPs) to tell them that this is a nation, not a playground or beer hole, Masilela said. He said the MPs were chosen by constituency members to work and not to play around. He said it was a pity that the acting prime minister was not present to explain what game the MPs were playing.

It is said they (MPs) have powers, what powers? We are saddened because we dont know what to do. There is a need to meet with them, the senator said. Senator Prince Hlangabeza was of the view that there should be no bickering among the parliamentarians. We should not point each other in the eyes. If we all work for the nation, we can achieve something. Asking each others powers will not help us anywhere, the senator said. He elaborated that they should all humble themselves and work together for a common goal, which was to build the nation.
Advertisement

The giant cargo ship wedged across the Suez Canal is blocking shipments worth an estimated $9.5billion per day including food and oil which will have an 'enormous' impact on the world economy, experts have warned.

At least 150 ships are now stuck in the logjam caused by 200,000-ton cargo ship Ever Given which ran aground in the narrow channel on Tuesday, with goods worth $29billion already held up.

The effect has been felt on world markets already as the price of crude oil shot up 6 per cent on Wednesday, reversing months of often-record falls caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

But the true cost of the disaster will be far higher as delays to vital goods cause losses at firms around the globe. Kate Harding, chief executive of trade data firm Coriolis Technologies, warned today that the risks to global trade are 'absolutely enormous'.

If the canal cannot be quickly unblocked then shipping firms will have no choice but to route their vessels around the Cape of Good Hope at the tip of Africa - a route that adds 14 days and 5,000 nautical miles to the journey.

That could mean higher prices for goods shipped to Europe from Asia - including cars, construction materials, and coronavirus PPE - as shipping companies increase their charges to cover the cost of taking longer routes.

Meanwhile the CEO of a team of Dutch experts brought in to help the rescue operation warned that the canal could be closed for 'weeks', with workers forced to unload cargo containers stacked some 100ft high on the ship's deck if attempts to dig it out fail.

Peter Berdowski, CEO of Dutch company Boskalis, compared the ship to 'an enormous beached whale' as he warned workers might have to start offloading cargo in order to reduce its weight and get it floating again.

'We can't exclude it might take weeks, depending on the situation,' he told Dutch media. 'It's an enormous weight on the sand. We might have to work with a combination of reducing the weight by removing containers, oil and water from the ship, tug boats and dredging of sand.'

He spoke as canal workers, who had paused work overnight during low tide, this morning restarted efforts to free the ship - which is about as long as the Empire State Building is tall - from where it has lodged diagonally across the waterway.

Excavators are trying to dig out the vessel's dolphin-nose bow which has lodged in the eastern wall of the canal, while dredgers and tugboats try to shift its stern which is jammed against the western side.

Efforts to free one of the world's largest container ships which became lodged in the Suez Canal on Tuesday have resumed this morning, as experts warn it could take weeks to refloat the stranded vessel

Canal workers are attempting to dig the boat's dolphin-nose bow out of the eastern bank of the canal, while tugboats and dredgers attempt to free its stern which is wedged against the western wall

The canal provides the shortest possible route for ships travelling between Asia and Europe, with the only alternative being to sail around the Cape of Good Hope - adding 14 days and 5,000 nautical miles to the journey

If workers cannot dig the ship free, then they face the daunting task of somehow getting cranes into the middle of the desert that are tall enough to start removing cargo containers from the deck of the vessel

Every day the canal is blocked means 10 per cent of oceangoing trade cannot move as it should, with 50 ships being added to the massive traffic jam building up around the canal (pictured)

Shipping data shows the extent of the traffic jam building up which is straddling two continents and currently involves some 150 ships (position of the Ever Given is marked with a white circle)

What the Suez Canal blockage means for the UK? Imports of electricals and toys will likely be affected - but health and beauty supplies should go unscathed The enormous ship currently stuck in the Suez Canal thousands of miles away could soon start to affect British shoppers. As a small island nation with a services-focused economy, the UK is incredibly reliant on imports from around the world. Many of these goods pass through the Suez Canal from Asia, while others from Europe and the US will go unscathed by the crisis. The logjam in the waterway will probably not stall supplies significantly, as ships will be re-routed round Africa's southern cape, but it could mean you have to wait a few more weeks for your TV. Here, MailOnline drills down into the numbers to assess how vulnerable Britain is to supplies coming from the East.

IMPORTS LIKELY AFFECTED Electricals Seven out the top 10 exporters of electrical goods to the UK are Asian countries Seven out the top 10 exporters of electrical goods to the UK are Asian countries. While 47 per cent of electrical imports come from the EU, the bulk of the remaining 53 per cent are shipped from Asia. Chinese products account for 28 per cent, while Hong Kong produces 5.4 per cent and Vietnam 5.1 per cent. Taiwan, Singapore, Japan and Malaysia are also in the top 10. Clothing and footwear All but two of the top 10 exporters Britain most relies on for clothing are from Asia. Again, the EU exports the lion's share (39 per cent) while we import a fifth from China, 9 per cent from Bangladesh and 5 per cent from India. Vietnam, Pakistan and Sri Lanker also export clothing to the UK. Furniture All but two of the top 10 exporters Britain most relies on for clothing are from Asia Roughly half of the UK's furniture imports come from Asian countries and shipped through the Suez Canal. Nearly a third (31 per cent) come from China while Vietnam, India and Hong Kong are also in the top 10. The other half is comprised of imports from the US and EU. Sports, toys and leisure More than half of these supplies are shipped from Asia, including an overwhelming 49 per cent from China - a powerhouse in toy manufacturing. Hong Kong also accounts for 6 per cent, while the EU and US account for 30 per cent. Homeware China is by far the largest exporter of homeware goods to Britain, accounting for 44 per cent of overall exports. Pakistan supplies 8 per cent of our products, and India is 6 per cent. The EU accounts for 26 per cent and the US just 3 per cent. IMPORTS LIKELY UNAFFECTED Food and drink The UK imports the overwhelming majority of its food and drink from the Continent: 74 per cent. The remaining supplies are drawn from an array of countries that contribute a fraction of total imports. The Asian country the UK imports the most food and drink from is Thailand, which supplies just 1.7 per cent. Health and beauty products sold in the UK will likely have been manufactured on the Continent Health and beauty Health and beauty products sold in the UK will likely have been manufactured on the Continent. The EU accounts for 69 per cent of total imports, while Switzerland produces 11 per cent. The US also produces 11 per cent. By contrast, China, the biggest Asian exporter of health and beauty to the UK, only supplies 2.7 per cent of total goods. DIY and gardening While China does supply 14 per cent of gardening equipment to the UK, this figure is eclipsed by the EU's 61 per cent. The US also exports 6 per cent and India 3 per cent. Source: Retail Economics analysis of UK imports 2018 Advertisement

Estimates of the value of cargo come from analytics firm Lloyd's List, which believes $5billion-worth of containers are sent westwards through the waterway each day. The value of eastbound traffic is slightly less, at $4.5billion.

The cargo makes up about 12 per cent of oceangoing trade each day, including around 10 per cent of oil and gas shipments.

As the backlog builds, costs for Ever Given's owners - Japanese firm Shoei Kisen KK - and their insurers will mount in what could turn out to be the world's most expensive traffic jam.

Industry experts warned the bill will likely total millions of dollars, even assuming the vessel can be moved quickly.

Insurers could find themselves on the hook for costs incurred by shipping firms whose routes are delayed, plus from Egyptian authorities which make almost $6billion each year charging companies for use of the canal.

The costs of the rescue operation will also fall on insurers, along with any damage the ship sustains while it is being salvaged, analysts said.

Attempting to head-off criticism, the ship's owners issued an apology today - saying they are 'extremely sorry' for the 'tremendous worry' that the accident has caused.

The firm said it is cooperating with its technical management company and the local authorities to get the ship afloat, but 'the operation is extremely difficult.'

'It is potentially the world's biggest ever container ship disaster without a ship going bang,' one shipping lawyer, who declined to be named, said.

Meanwhile Nick Sloane, a salvage master who helped refloat the Costa Concordia cruise ship after it ran aground off the coast of Italy, said rescuers' best chance of moving the vessel will come on Monday when tides will be at their highest point.

If that window is missed then it will take another two weeks for the opportunity to present itself again, he told Bloomberg. 'This is definitely not a quick refloat operation,' he added.

It is thought the accident happened after the ship's captain and two Egyptian pilots sent on board to help guide the vessel became blinded during a sandstorm with high winds that sent the vessel off course and caused it to get wedged around 7.45am on Tuesday.

While a gust of wind seems an unlikely culprit, it turns out that the Ever Given has past form of crashing during high winds, after being involved in an accident in the German port of Hamburg in 2019.

In February that year, the cargo ship was manoeuvering into port when a strong gust of wind pushed it off course and into a docked passenger ferry, Bild reports

The ferry, named Finkenwerder, was completely written off in the accident while three crew members were treated for shock - though thankfully there were no passengers on board.

Tracking data from Marine Traffic has revealed the extent of the jam, comparing a typical day last week with traffic yesterday, with ships piling up at either end of the waterway.

Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, the company that manages the Ever Given, said the ship's 25-member crew were safe and accounted for after the accident.

Canal service provider Leth Agencies said at least 150 ships were waiting for the Ever Given to be cleared, including vessels near Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea, Port Suez on the Red Sea and those already stuck in the canal system on Egypt's Great Bitter Lake.

Cargo ships already behind the Ever Given in the canal will be reversed south back to Port Suez to free the channel, Leth Agencies said. Authorities hope to do the same to the Ever Given when they can free it.

Evergreen Marine Corp, a major Taiwan-based shipping company that operates the ship, said in a statement that the Ever Given had been overcome by strong winds as it entered the canal from the Red Sea. None of its containers had sunk.

An Egyptian official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to brief journalists, similarly blamed a strong wind.

Satellite images reveal the precarious position the Ever Given finds herself in, with her bow embedded in the canal's eastern bank and her stern wedged against the western one

This image shows the extent of surrounding settlements (left) compared to the size of the ship (top right), giving a sense of the scale of the problem now facing rescuers

Rescuers are currently using diggers to try to free the bow of the ship which has become lodged in the eastern canal wall while dredgers and tugboats attempt to free the stern end, which is wedged against the western edge (top right). But experts warn that might not be enough, and that they may have to remove cargo to lessen her weight

Egyptian forecasters said high winds and a sandstorm plagued the area on Tuesday, with winds gusting as high as 30 miles per hour.

An initial report suggested the ship suffered a power blackout before the incident, something Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement denied on Thursday.

'Initial investigations rule out any mechanical or engine failure as a cause of the grounding,' the company said.

Tuesday marked the second major crash involving the Ever Given in recent years.

In 2019, the cargo ship ran into a small ferry moored on the Elbe River in the German port city of Hamburg. Authorities at the time blamed strong wind for the collision, which severely damaged the ferry.

The closure could affect oil and gas shipments to Europe from the Mideast, which rely on the canal to avoid sailing around Africa. The price of international benchmark Brent crude stood at more than 63 dollars a barrel on Thursday.

The Ever Given, built in 2018 with a length of nearly 400 meters, or a quarter of a mile, and a width of 193 feet, is among the largest cargo ships in the world.

It can carry some 20,000 containers at a time. It previously had been at ports in China before heading toward Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

Opened in 1869, the Suez Canal provides a crucial link for oil, natural gas and cargo. It also remains one of Egypt's top foreign currency earners.

In 2015, the government of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi completed a major expansion of the canal, allowing it to accommodate the world's largest vessels.

However, the Ever Given ran aground south of that new portion of the canal.

This stranding marks just the latest setback to affect mariners amid the Covid crisis, with hundreds of thousands of people having been stuck aboard vessels due to the pandemic.

Comparisons of ship tracking data shows a typical day in the life of the canal (left) with boats passing freely though, and how the situation appeared yesterday with ships piling up at either end

Several ships which were passing through the canal at the time the Ever Given got stuck are now waiting in Egypt's Bitter Sea, a body of water about halfway up its length, until they can move again

Why is the Suez Canal so important? The Suez canal, which is around 120 miles long links the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean and is the shortest shipping route between the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. Before the canal, shipping from Europe either had to go overland or risk going around Cape Horn and the South Atlantic. In April 1859, construction of the canal officially begins, much of the work financed by France. It was opened for navigation on November 17, 1869 for vessels from all countries, although the British government later wanted to have an armed force in the area to protect shipping interests having picked up a 44 per cent stake in the canal in 1875. The Suez Canal links the Red Sea and the Mediterranean providing a short cut from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic From then, while nominally owned by Egypt, the canal was run by Britain and France until its until its nationalisation in 1956 . The nationalisation by Nasser saw Britain and France launched an abortive and humiliating bid to recapture the vital waterway. The canal was shut briefly following the attempted invasion. However, in 1967 the canal was shut for eight years following the Six Day war with Israel. Due to the instability in the region, the canal remained closed until 1975 - its longest ever closure, as the waterway had been mined and some vessels had been sunk in the main channel. The Suez Canal is actually the first canal that directly links the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. In 2015 a new section of the canal opened, allowing vessels to traverse the waterway in both directions at the same time. Future plans will see the two-lane system extended across the entire network- doubling current capacity of the canal. The largest cargo vessels pay more than 180,000 in tolls to traverse the canal. On average about 40-50 cargo vessels use the canal on a daily basis in a trip that takes around 11 hours, as speed along the waterway is limited to about 9kts to prevent the banks of the canal getting washed away. Along the canal there are emergency mooring slots so vessels can pull over if they are suffering a mechanical issue. When the canal first opened, the channel was approximately 26 feet deep and 72 feet wide at the bottom. The surface was between 200 and 300 feet wide to allow ships to pass. By the 1960s, dredging of the canal increased the depth to 40 feet and widened the waterway to allow larger vessels. Now, the minimum depth of the canal is 66feet, though this is been increased to 72 feet - allowing even larger vessels. Advertisement
The group acquired royalties on Barrick Golds Alturas-Del Carmen project and one covering Agnico Eagles Amalgamated Kirkland property and Kirkland Lake Gold's North AK Property

Metalla also announced that it had closed the acquisition of an existing 1-2% NSR royalty on the CentroGold project in Brazil

(NYSEAMERICAN:MTA) ( ) (FRA:X9C) said Thursday it had acquired another two royalties to add to its growing portfolio.

The group acquired a 0.5% net smelter return (NSR) royalty on a portion of Barrick Golds Alturas-Del Carmen project in Argentina for C$1.6 million in cash from Coin Hodl Inc (CVE:COIN).

In addition, Metalla snagged a 0.45% NSR covering Agnico Eagles Amalgamated Kirkland property and Kirkland Lake Gold's North AK Property in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, for C$0.7 million in cash from private third parties.

CEO Brett Heath said that the two transactions provide extraordinary value for shareholders.

Alturas-Del Carmen is a nearly nine-million-ounce gold project actively being explored and advanced toward development by one of the world's largest gold producers, Heath said in a statement.

The Amalgamated Kirkland development projects reside on one of Canada's most proven geological trends. It also provides an easily accessible mill feed for Agnico Eagle's large Kirkland Lake camp with significant exploration potential."

Vancouver-based Metalla also announced that it had closed the acquisition of an existing 1-2% NSR royalty on the CentroGold project in Brazil owned by Australias Oz Minerals Ltd ( ) (OTCMKTS:OZMLF) (FRA:OXR). The group acquired the royalty from Jaguar Mining Inc ( ) (OTCMKTS:JAGGF) (FRA:32JP) for US$7 million. Metalla said it had also agreed to pay up to an additional US$11 million to Jaguar upon the achievement of certain milestones.

Contact Angela at angela@proactiveinvestors.com

Follow her on Twitter @AHarmantas
New Delhi, March 25 : The Congress on Thursday alleged that the voice of the opposition is not heard in the Parliament despite it providing constructive support on key issues.

Addressing a joint press conference of Congress' Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members here, senior party leader Jairam Ramesh said, "I have been in the Parliament for the last 17 years, but I have not seen any session without calling attention to short duration discussions. The parliament is not meant for government business only." The Congress, which had opposed the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021 in the Parliament, also attacked Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, saying, "Where was Kejriwal on August 5, 2019 when Ghulam Nabi Azad sought the support of AAP to oppose the Bill on Kashmir?"

The Congress also attacked Kejriwal on his statement that democracy is being murdered in the country, claiming that Kejriwal had supported the BJP when democracy was killed in the country earlier.

The Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Malliakarjun Kharge, said, "We had raised the issue of rising prices of petrol, diesel and kerosene in the House. We also asked them (government) how and where did they spend the revenue earned from cess and excise duty in the last six years, which comes to about Rs 22 lakh crore. But we didn't get any answer from the government." Kharge said the Congress also raised the issue of farmers, but the government did not listen to it.

The Parliament was adjourned sine die on Thursday, two weeks ahead of the schedule date on April 8.
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 Minister Anil Deshmukh on Wednesday informed that he has written a letter to Chief Minister to investigate the corrupt malpractices allegations levelled against him by former Mumbai Police chief Param Bir Singh.

Taking to his Twitter handle, Deshmukh shared the letter written to Thackeray. "I have asked the Chief Minister to inquire into the allegations made against me by (former Police Commissioner of Mumbai) Param Bir Singh to bring out the truth," he tweeted in Marathi.

"If the Chief Minister inquires the matter, I would welcome it. Satyamev Jayate," he added.

Former Police Commissioner of Mumbai Param Bir Singh had written a letter to Thackeray alleging that Deshmukh had indulged in "malpractices" and asked suspended Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Waze to collect Rs 100 crore every month.

Following this, a delegation of BJP leaders led by former Maharastra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis met the Governor on Wednesday, urging him to seek a report from Thackeray on the issue related to governance and corruption.

Cornering the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, Fadnvais said that it has lost the moral ground to remain in power.

"We requested the Governor to ask for a report from the Chief Minister on various issues related to governance and COVID-19 in the state. We also requested him to intervene in corruption-related issues," BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar had said.

Fadnavis on Tuesday had handed over purported evidence to the Union Home Secretary regarding the alleged transfer posting racket of IPS and non-IPS officers of Police.

He had sought time from Union Home Secretary to meet him and hand over 6.3 GB of data of call recordings and documents pertaining to the alleged transfer posting racket of IPS and non-IPS officers of Police.

Earlier, he had demanded Deshmukh's resignation over former Police Commissioner of Mumbai Singh's allegations against the State Home Minister.

Singh had, on Saturday, written a letter to Thackeray, alleging that Deshmukh had indulged in "malpractices" and asked suspended Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Waze to collect Rs 100 crore every month.

(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.
analysis

Israel's export of weapons to the United States and South Africa - and a proposed law to stop this and other trades - was discussed at this year's Israeli Apartheid Week.

Member of Parliament Mandla Mandela has endorsed a bill that would make it illegal for the South African government and private sector to have trade or diplomatic ties with Israel.

The Implementation and Protection of Palestinian Solidarity Rights Bill is a citizen's bill, written by human rights attorney Ziyaad Patel and endorsed by Mandela, Nelson Mandela's grandson, who is one of the ruling party's parliamentarians.

The bill was discussed at an online seminar on 20 March organised by the South African Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Coalition as part of Israeli Apartheid Week. The initiative launched in 2004 and features annual global protests and seminars to build support for the global BDS campaign and highlight Israel's apartheid policies against Palestinians.

Mandela said the bill was a "long overdue and worthy contribution to our collective efforts to mobilise all sectors of society towards our mutual goals of ending the occupation, right of return of all Palestinian refugees, freeing of all political prisoners, stopping expansion of illegal settlement and securing the right to free political determination for all citizens of occupied Palestine".

A summary of the bill says it aims to "construct a legally enabling framework which converts the political rhetoric of South Africa's governing political party, the African National Congress and/or other such political parties into tangible support for the international Palestinian Solidarity Intifada".

While the "BDS movement has breathed new life and impetus into the struggle for Palestine", there were still "contradictions and failures" in the South African government's approach to Palestine, such as "the denial of visa free status to Palestinians whilst apartheid Israel enjoys such privilege, the security status of [Israeli national airline] El Al at OR Tambo International Airport and ... the movement of financial services and goods to apartheid Israel", said Mandela.

"I am in full support of the draft bill. BDS is the most powerful tool in the hands of the Palestinian people and of activists in the solidarity movement," he added.

The willingness of governments

Some municipalities in the United States and Europe - and many global institutions such as the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America and College Retirement Equities Fund, and the Presbyterian Church in the US - have divested from companies such as Caterpillar, Veolia and G4 Security Services over the past eight years because of their support for the Israeli military occupation of Palestine.

But sanctions against Israel are dependent on the willingness of individual governments.

"We know that the Palestinian cause is at a tipping point where Palestinians are undergoing an incremental genocide. South Africa sits with a huge responsibility and we need to be taking the Palestinian cause to the next level," said Patel.

The proposed act would be a "state response by South Africa forcing Israel to alter its current policies violating fundamental Palestinian human rights". If the law is passed, the government would be legally compelled to establish boycotts, trade divestment, economic sanctions and a lawfare council that would agree a deadline by which BDS and the breaking of diplomatic, trade and economic relations with Israel would have to take place.

The council would be a statutory regulatory body made up of 30 politicians, lawyers and activists, and nine attorneys. The bill also proposes a set of fines and jail terms - from R300 000 to five years in prison - for individuals or businesses who continue to trade with Israel.

Weapons tests

Another Israeli Apartheid Week seminar organised by South African Jews for a Free Palestine discussed how the Israeli weapons trade affects activists and protesters in South Africa and the US.

The organisation's research has shown that "Israel perfects its use of the skunk water cannon [highly stinky water] on Palestinian protesters in the West Bank and then the South African Police Service uses this on student protesters in South Africa," said Rosa Manoim of South African Jews for a Free Palestine.

Speaking at the same seminar, Khury Petersen-Smith, a founding member of Black 4 Palestine in the US, said every major police department in the US has some collaboration with the Israeli state. The police used the same "skunk truck" that was developed in Israel and used in South Africa in St Louis, Missouri, to put down the Ferguson protests in 2014, following the police murder of Michael Brown, and in the city of Boston. Many colleges and universities had their own police departments that trained with Israel, as did the Boston airport and transit police, said Petersen-Smith.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines South Africa Governance External Relations By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"Policing in the US is so extensive, which is why our freedom really is bound together. It is the case that when Palestinians fight for their freedom and score victories against Israeli violence, that is connected with us fighting for our freedom in this country against the myriad ways that we are policed."

Israel's state-owned weapons companies specialise in "homeland security weaponry ... the kind of technology that is needed to control a civilian population", said German academic and writer Shir Hever. "This is used in Belarus, Hong Kong by the Chinese police, in Myanmar against the Rohingya and in many other places around the world where there is very severe inequality and people are rising up to fight against that injustice."

Hever said Israel first tested the weapons on Palestinians. "Every two years or so, the Israeli military would invade the Gaza Strip ... bombarding whole neighbourhoods and killing thousands of people and then waiting two years for the Palestinians to try to recover a little bit, rebuild and then invade again. Every time they would have an arms fair immediately after the invasion to say "these are the new technologies that we have used in this invasion and now you can buy them as well," said Hever.
A meeting was organised at the collectorate chaired by ADM (City) Shailendra Kumar Singh on Wednesday to discuss the upcoming 'Bharat Bandh' called by farmers' unions on March 26, i.e. tomorrow, officials said.

Participation in the countrywide 'Bharat Bandh' call given by the farmers' unions on March 26 against the three farm laws would be optional for the traders, according to a few office-bearers.

General Secretary of Mahanagar Vyapar Mandal Ashok Chawla told news agency PTI that the association would remain neutral during the 'Bharat Bandh'. No association would force anybody to close their shops or compel them to keep it open as traders are free to take decisions on their own, Chawla added.

In the meeting, all the problems regarding Covid-19, 'Bharat Bandh' and deposition of arms licenses during panchayat elections were discussed, he further said.

Also read: Bharat Bandh on March 26: Farmers call for countrywide strike from 6 am to 6 pm
Supporters of Trenton Catholic Academy took a big step forward Wednesday in their bid to save the school.

The Diocese of Trenton, which announced two months ago that the K-12 school would permanently close in June due to financial woes, said it is offering conceptual support for keeping it going by transforming the school into a nonprofit, independent Catholic academy.

In a statement, the Diocese said it had extended a lease agreement significantly below market value that would enable the school to remain on its 64-acre campus in Hamilton. Terms were not disclosed.

If all goes well, the new Trenton Catholic Preparatory Academy will open in September, officials said.

Trenton Catholic Preparatory Academy, the new school, would continue the mission of providing a Catholic educational experience for the students who currently make up the TCA community, as well as others in the area who might consider enrolling, read the statement.

Some exciting news to share with our Iron Mike family! Posted by Trenton Catholic Academy on Wednesday, March 24, 2021

It is a dramatic change in outlook from January, when officials said that the academy  known as Saint Anthony High School when it was founded in 1962  would permanently shut its doors at the end of the 2020-2021 school year, displacing 550 students and 57 employees.

While the diocese had planned to assist Trenton Catholic Academy students in transferring to other Catholic schools, including Notre Dame High School in Lawrenceville, alumni and other supporters countered that closing the school would negatively impact hundreds of families from a wide range of backgrounds.

A fundraising campaign formed to keep the school going, albeit under different administration. The Iron Mikes Fund is named for the schools founder, the late Monsignor Michael Iron Mike McCorristin.

The group has not said how much it has raised, but significant support will be needed. On Wednesday, the Diocese said that it has subsidized the academys student tuition and revenue with more than $20 million over the past 12 years, higher than any of its other schools.

The Diocese, in its statement, acknowledged that keeping the school going under new management is not yet a done deal.

After several meetings with representatives of this group, the Diocese has indicated its conceptual support of the proposal to open an independent Catholic school where TCA is now located, but distinctly autonomous from the Diocese, financially and otherwise, read the statement.

The school will be required to meet all terms of the agreement and is solely responsible for all financial obligations it incurs. The school will also be required to commit to adherence of Catholic doctrine and provide a Christ-centered environment in which students may learn, it stated.

There is a recent precedent, in the same diocese, for making such a transition. The Diocese of Trenton signed over control of Holy Cross Academy in 2018, and agreed to a 20-year lease, after an alumni group received $500,000 in annual fundraising commitments  enough to match the yearly subsidy that the diocese had provided.

The schools plight is the latest in a series of closures and restructuring impacting Catholic education in New Jersey in recent years.

It has continued providing in-person instruction during the coronavirus pandemic.

Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust.

Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com.

Ms. Collins - You Can't Tell Them It's Me: a beautiful love and life story of a man and a woman who found success together and walked a long and fulfilling journey. Ms. Collins - You Can't Tell Them It's Me is the creation of published author Clyde Andre Collins, a writer who played four years on varsity and earned four varsity letters. He majored in law.

Collins shares, Mae Collins graduated from a segregated high school at the age of sixteen. She was very intelligent and a visionary. Ms. Collins met a struggling entertainer; his name was James Brown. Ms. Collins was working at the Plaza Hotel in San Francisco, California. She worked at the main desk. She talked to James about his future and his goals; she even loaned him money. Ms. Collins had a vision that James would be superstar. She would give him a suite every time when he could only afford a room. She told him, One day you will stay in suites, and he did. This book takes you along their journeytogether to the end.

Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Clyde Andre Collinss new book is a captivating tale of a journey of reaching dreams, never giving up, and finding once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. Readers will be inspired by this extraordinary adventure of two hearts.

View a synopsis of Ms. Collins - You Can't Tell Them It's Me on YouTube.

Consumers can purchase Ms. Collins - You Can't Tell Them It's Me at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or inquiries about Ms. Collins - You Can't Tell Them It's Me, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919.
In pursuit of its efforts to implement the 2022 version of the Harmonized System in a timely manner, the East African Community (EAC) held a regional meeting of tariff experts from 15 to 19 March 2021 in Moshi, Tanzania. It was jointly organized by the EAC Secretariat and the WCO, within the framework of the EU-WCO Programme for the Harmonized System in Africa (HS-Africa Programme), funded by the European Union.

The objective of the meeting was to transpose the EAC Common External Tariff (CET) to the 2022 version of the HS. Participants reiterated the importance of a well-coordinated approach to the implementation of HS amendments for EAC Partner States, to fully respect their commitments of Contracting Parties to the HS Convention and of signatories of the EAC Treaty.

During the meeting, the HS 2022 amendments were considered and incorporated in the draft EAC CET 2022. In addition, a comprehensive review of the CET was carried out to ensure that the draft includes all amendments to the EAC CET that had been published in EAC legal gazettes starting from July 2017, and that all typographical errors are rectified.

The meeting was an important step in the process of the preparation of the 2022 version of the EAC CET. The meeting concluded by recommending to EAC policy organs to adopt the EAC CET 2022, with the entry into force on 1 January 2022.

For more details, please contact capacity.building@wcoomd.org
A book focused on intergenerational positive ageing is set to become a taonga for Ngati Pikiao whanau for generations to come.

Koeke  A ko ake nei was launched by Ngati Pikiao Iwi Trust last Friday at Te Takinga, Hohowai marae in Mourea, by the shores of Lake Rotoiti.

The book is the culmination of a multi-year research project, led by Ngati Pikiao and funded by the Health Research Council, and focusses on intergenerational positive ageing for Ngati Pikiao elders.

The book contains stories of nineteen Ngati Pikiao elders who spoke with researchers about their lives, and in particular what had contributed positively to their ageing, drawing on their lived experience and deep knowing.

Each story is unique and different, some in English and some in Maori, providing glimpses of the elders earlier lives and families.

The stories tell of connections to whanau, to community, to their surrounding environment, and how their cultural roles and obligations enable positive ageing and continued purpose.

On the day, each of the researchers read small snippets from the book that were special to them.

Then each participant was presented with a copy of the book by one of the children from Whangamarino School, many of them grandchildren or great-grandchildren of the participants.

Toi Ohomai senior researcher Dr Tepora Emery says its clear from the pride and satisfaction on the faces of those present, that this book will be a taonga for Ngati Pikiao whanau for generations to come.

Heather Hamerton.

My tuakana Waitiahoaho and I were privileged to lead the Koeke - A ko ake nei project. Building Ngati Pikiao research capability by recruiting and growing our own emerging kairangahau from within the haukainga (local home-based researchers) was an important project goal that was fostered and met.

With strong support, our team of seven participated in all aspects of the research including writing up the 19 stories. It has been a big, but hugely satisfying job.

Tepora says the book launch was a happy, uplifting and joyous occasion for Ngati Pikiao.

Pukapuka (book).

Toi Ohomai can feel proud to have been part of the production of the book  and also proud of Shirley Lyford, senior nursing lecturer, who assisted the research team with data analysis.

Teaching about positive ageing to Aotearoas fledging nursing fraternity, Shirley has been awaiting her personal copy of the book with great anticipation. Two additional copies have also been gifted to Toi Ohomai libraries.
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.
(Photo : Youtube/Unbox Daily) Samsung phones S21 best of 2021

Samsung is one of the most famous smartphones on the market, and for a good reason. Heavyweight flagship phones like Samsung Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21 Ultra are very popular, but Samsung has great mid-range and budget models as well.

Whatever you are looking for from a smartphone, there is a Samsung phone that will fit it, as Samsung is known to make some of the best Android phones.

So, how do you choose the best Samsung smartphone?

You will need to consider what you want it to do, how massive it is, and how much you are willing to shell out. The size and the resolution of the display depend on how you use your smartphone. If you stream videos often, edit photos, edit videos, or download and watch movies, then you may want to get a smartphone with a display ranging from 5.5-inch to 6-inch, full-HD, or QHD resolution.

Also, having a higher number of megapixels does not mean that the smartphone camera is better. Several specifications like the camera aperture, pixel size, ISO levels, autofocus, and more are important too.

A 16MP rear camera is not necessarily better than a 12MP camera. The same goes for the front-facing camera.

With that being said, here are the best Samsung smartphones:

Also Read: Samsung Galaxy S21 vs. S20: Price, Camera, Resolution, and More! Here's An Advanced Review

Samsung Galaxy S21

The Samsung Galaxy S21 may not be the star of Samsung's S series, but it is still a solid smartphone choice with an impressive camera, powerful internals, and great battery life.

The design is where Samsung has made the most noticeable changes since the S20, overhauling the materials used, the colors, and the device's overall look.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 has a 6.2-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display. The phone is the smallest one out of the Galaxy S21 series, and while it may not be as trim as the iPhone 12 Mini, those with smaller hands will not have any trouble using it.

The phone's camera hardware has not changed from last year's phone, as Samsung's big sensor upgrade happened between the Galaxy S10 and the Galaxy S20 generation. Now the Galaxy S21 is all about the software, and Samsung found a way to slim down the camera module.

The phone also has the same triple-lens rear array: 12MP main camera, 12MP ultra-wide, and 64MP telephoto capable of a 3x hybrid optical zoom. The Galaxy S21 also gets some software upgrades to improve things further.

However, the Samsung Galaxy S21 has no microSD support, the screen also is not the best of the bunch, and there is no charger in the box.

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra

The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra comes with a sleek design, and it offers faster performance, thanks to Qualcomm's Snapdragon 888 chip. Unlike the regular Galaxy S21, you do not have to make as many trade-offs. You get a better main 108MP camera, a glass back, more RAM, and a better display.

The dynamic display on the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra has a smooth 120Hz refresh rate and sharpest WQHD resolution at the same time. It is also very bright and colorful.

The dual telephoto lenses get you very close to your subject, and the new Zoom Lock feature keeps things steadier with digital Space Zoom. The S Pen support is great, but you will have to purchase the stylus and a case to hold it separately. The battery life can last for 11.5 hours.

However, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is not cheap. Also, you do not get a charger in the box or a microSD card slot.

Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G

The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G has the exact same size as that of the S20+. That means that it is not a small phone, but it is on par with most smartphone flagships on the market.

The phone comes in six colors, including mint, lavender, orange, navy, white, and red. The phone has a flat front and matte metal surfaces. It is also a bit more usable, and you do not have the accidental-touch problem that people usually have with the curved-screen phone.

The matte back also does a much better job at repelling both the fingerprints and the scratches on the phone than the glass back does.

The Galaxy S20 FE also has the same Snapdragon 865 processor as the S20 line does, together with 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and a microSD card slot.

However, the phone does not have any space zoom, and it does not have a great low-light camera performance.

Samsung Galaxy A51

The Samsung Galaxy A51 has 128GB of internal storage. You can expand it with microSD storage and there is also a headphone jack, which is a great inclusion.

The best part of the Galaxy A51 is the screen itself. It is a well-done 6.5-inch OLED, bright even in the sunlight. At 1080 x 2400, there are more than enough pixels, even at this screen size.

However, the camera is not that good, the battery life is not that long, and it is a bit slow compared to other Samsung devices.

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G

The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G has a massive 6.9-inch display with a dynamic 120Hz refresh rate, a 108MP camera with laser autofocus, and a responsive S Pen. The phone also lets you stream Xbox games, and it has very impressive battery life.

The phone has a trio of rear cameras, plus a laser auto-focus sensor. The phablet's camera array starts with a 108MP wide camera with an f/1.8 aperture, and it is paired with a 12MP ultra-wide camera with a 120-degree field of view and f/2.2. The 12MP telephoto lens delivers a 5x optical zoom and up to a 50x super-resolution zoom.

However, the phone is a bit expensive, and the camera bump is a bit massive. The curved display is also not comfortable at times.

Whatever you choose, you should get that smartphone with all of the features you are looking for. Thankfully, there are numerous Samsung phones that you can choose from.

Related Article: Samsung Galaxy S21, S21 Plus Hardware Specs and Price Leaks Reveal Everything Fans Can Expect

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Sieeka Khan

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
NEW YORK, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Prevalence of chronic diseases is constantly on the rise across the world. This is leading to a major health burden on governments and the society in general. Out of these, cardiovascular diseases make up around half of the total deaths caused by chronic diseases. According to the World Health Organization, in 2016, ischemic heart disease and stroke accounted for around 27% of total deaths, worldwide. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was the third most cause of death in the same years. These non-communicable diseases were major causes of deaths globally, ranging from 37% in lower economies and 88% in countries with high income.

Rising cases of chronic diseases is surging the need for pharmaceutical products, thereby increasing the need for pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), especially small molecules.

Persistence Market Research predicts that the global active pharmaceutical ingredients market to exhibit a CAGR above 4% over the forecast period (2021-2031).

Key Takeaways from Market Study

Non-controlled substances hold over half of the small molecule API market share, making them the predominant growth contributing factor.

Pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies, combined, to contribute over 70% of the market revenue.

Major markets for active pharmaceutical ingredients to be East Asia , South Asia , North America , and Europe .

, , , and . China and India to be the most lucrative markets for APIs.

and to be the most lucrative markets for APIs. Due to the impact of COVID-19, the API market saw a slight decline in growth in 2020, at 3.4%.

Request for PDF sample of Report: https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/11260

"Rising prevalence of chronic disorders and increasing research on small molecule APIs are expected to propel growth of the global active pharmaceutical ingredients market over the coming years," says a Persistence Market Research analyst.

Advancements in API Manufacturing

API manufacturing will require implementation of continuous new technologies and tools to speed up the process and deliver consistent quality products. Hence, major players are highly focused on the production of optimized APIs with technological advancements in processes such as powder handling, lyophilization, process control, continuous flow chemistry, and process control.

Ask an Expert for any other enquiry: https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/ask-an-expert/11260

Rise in Outsourcing to Merchant Companies

Even if big pharma players have established facilities for the production of APIs and pharma products, the trend of outsourcing is still on the rise. Many companies are outsourcing their requirements to cut costs on expensive equipment, manpower, and infrastructure. It is estimated that 40% of pharma products are manufactured by third-party vendors.

For instance, AstraZeneca used to have several manufacturing centers in North America , but currently, only 15% of its APIs are made in-house, and the company is looking to outsource all manufacturing overseas. From the last 20 years or so, directly sourcing APIs from China and India has increased due to the production capabilities of these countries. Also, stringent regulations in the West have attracted companies toward China and India .

Get Full Access of Report: https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/11260

What Does the Report Cover?

Persistence Market Research offers a unique perspective and actionable insights on the active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) market in its latest study, presenting historical demand assessment of 2016 - 2020 and projections for 2021 - 2031, on the basis of API (small molecules [controlled substances {natural opioids and semi-synthetic/synthetic opioids}, non-controlled substances {NSAIDs, anti-infective, antimicrobial, oral anti-diabetics, anti-hypertensive, and others}, and HPAPI], peptides & oligonucleotides, carbohydrate drugs, and steroidal drugs), end user (contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs), pharmaceuticals, contract development & manufacturing organizations (CDMOs), and compounding pharmacies), 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:

Pharmaceutical Outsourcing Market: https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/pharmaceutical-outsourcing-market.asp

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/pharmaceutical-outsourcing-market.asp Pharmaceutical Packaging Market: https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/pharmaceutical-packaging-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
China has made another outrageous propaganda attack on Australia by accusing the government of running 'concentration camps'.

Zhao Lijian, who sparked outrage after tweeting a fake photo of an Australian soldier slitting a young Afghan woman's throat, sounded off the on Manus Island immigration detention facility.

'The Australian Government built detention centres on the Manus Island, which ''accommodates'' tens of thousands of people from war-torn countries,' he tweeted on Wednesday.

'The concentration camps, as some critics call it, are still in operation.'

Senior Chinese official Zhao Lijian accused the federal government of operating concentration camps on Manus Island

He took to Twitter and shared a series of screenshots where Australia is criticised for the operation of Manus Island

The tweet was shared along with screenshots of articles where Australia is criticised for the operation of Manus Island.

Mr Lijian also tweeted a Lowy Institute report which claims 'almost one in five Chinese Australians have been physically threatened or attacked in the past year because of their heritage'.

As director of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Information Department, Mr Lijian is considered an official mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, and described as a 'troll' for past antics.

However, the Manus Island camp - and Australia's other offshore detention facility in Papua New Guinea - closed in 2017.

There are about 240 asylum seekers left in Papua New Guinea and Nauru after 960 refugees were resettled in the US, Cambodia, and other countries since 2015.

Those who remain on the islands are living in Port Moresby and Nauru communities.

Australia's relationship with China deteriorated last year in April when Prime Minister Scott Morrison called for an independent inquiry into the origins of coronavirus

Australian Strategic Policy Institute executive director Peter Jennings described Mr Lijian's social media attacks as attention seeking and 'more wolf warrior propaganda'.

'Here we have a country aspiring to global leadership which is just slinging insults and abuse around the place, in the spot where there used to be diplomacy,' he told The Australian.

'And China wonders why it's losing friends all around the world. I think this is a very dangerous stage that the Communist Party has got itself to. But I regret we are going to be stuck with it for some years, as long as Xi Jinping is in power.'

China has already been warned by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg that 30 countries will back Australia if it continues with the bullying.

Australia's relationship with China deteriorated last year in April when Prime Minister Scott Morrison called for an independent inquiry into the origins of coronavirus.

Mr Morrison was among the first world leaders to propose an investigation into the origins of coronavirus, which was identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan last year.

China recently held up Australia's coal and seafood exports and also put a 200 per cent tariff on Aussie wine despite the two countries signing a free trade deal in 2015.

Mr Lijian last year tweeted a fake photo of an Australian soldier slitting a young Afghan woman's throat (pictured)

Earlier this year, Beijing slapped an 80 per cent tariff on Australian barley, suspended beef imports, and told students and tourists not to travel Down Under.

'There are undoubtedly tensions that exist between China and Australia, but this is not how you deal with them,' Mr Morrison said.

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham flagged Canberra's willingness to pursue China at the World Trade Organisation over breaches to the countries' 2015 free trade agreement.

He said Australia outlined grievances over China's recent trade decisions to the WTO's trading goods committee.

In January, China warned it would become Australia's 'enemy' and released a dossier outlining 14 grievances with the government.

The dossier was released to the media by the Chinese Embassy in Canberra, containing accusations ranging from 'racist attacks against Asian people' to siding with the 'United States' anti-China campaign'.
analysis

Egyptian novelist, physician, sociologist and global activist Nawal El Saadawi died on 21 March 2021 at the age of 89. The author of more than 50 books, she told me in one of our many interviews, in 2007, that she self-identified as

an African from Egypt, not from the Middle East ... I am not from the third world. There is one world, that is a racist, capitalist economic world. I became a feminist when I was a child - when I started to ask questions to become aware that women are oppressed and feel discrimination.

Although her autobiography A Daughter of Isis (1986) is among the best known of her publications world-wide, she identified her vocation as that of a novelist: "I am mainly a novelist. Most of my books are novels."

The novelist

In fact, she was always writing a novel. Her 2004 work titled The Novel begins: "The novel caused tremendous outrage ... Her life became her first novel."

Arguably, the place to start in the evaluation of her works is what she deemed the function and perimeters of the novel. She wrote all her novels in Arabic. When asked about the translations of her works, she responded:

Can you translate music? So you can't translate novels. At least 30% of of the spirit of the work goes. Language is body, spirit, mind ... You dream in your (native) language.

Yet she conceded that she wrote essays in English.

El Saadawi was a global iconoclast in the best sense of the phrase. In a world that has become compartmentalised, tribal, overtly racist, anti-science and unashamedly sexist, her novels espoused truths that made her unpopular with many in government and in the so-called establishment. Asked if there was one politician she respected, she explained, "In a system based on oppression, an angel will be corrupted. I don't have in mind anyone who kept his promise."

Her penchant for looking at a situation and calling out its components - even though they were shrouded in deceptive marketing - was remarkable. She once confessed to me, "If I don't tell the truth, I don't deserve to be called a writer." She admitted in her autobiography:

Memory is never complete. There are always parts of it that time has amputated. Writing is a way of retrieving them, of bringing the missing parts back to it, or making it more holistic. If memory involves the recall of the things that happened, then the way to render a thing is to draw on creative thoughts.

A scientist and an artist

El Saadawi believed that to be whole - to recover the missing parts - one must embrace the science as well as the artistic and creative. She said:

I am a medical doctor ... immersed in blood. I'd rather be with healthy people. I wanted to be a dancer. My father said, 'Dancing means prostitution.'

Learning from such contradictions early on, El Saadawi became subversive in life and distinctly political in her writings. People have identified her works as political fiction and biographical fiction. To do so is to ignore the art or creativity of her writing. A more prudent evaluation would rest with the marriage of the politics of her life and the creativity that inspired her soul.

There is a clinical aspect to her writings. She relentlessly focuses on the issues without the trappings of romantic love and sentimentality. That is the key to evaluating and enjoying her works.

She admitted that she had been nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature a couple of times, "but people don't like my politics". In a 2012 interview in Baltimore, El Saadawi told me:

I'm proud of myself. Not because I did fantastic things, but because I never changed. People usually compromise. I'm proud because I didn't compromise.

This insistence on sharing her view of the truth on the condition of women, religion and politics is the key to the continued interest in her works. She never compromised because in many ways the condition of women globally has not much changed and because there is an ethos that persistently governs women, that, she believed, demanded unequivocal attention.

The life

El Saadawi was born in 1931 in a village outside of Cairo. She refused to accept the limitations imposed on her by the religious, gender and colonial oppression most women of rural origin experienced.

She attended the University of Cairo and graduated in 1955 with a degree in psychiatry and rose to become Egypt's Director of Public Health. Since she began to write over 50 years ago, her books - including the play God Resigns at the Summit Meeting (2006) have concentrated on women, specifically on Arab women, their sexuality and legal status.

In 1972, her first work of non-fiction Women and Sex evoked the antagonism of highly placed political and theological authorities in Egypt and the Ministry of Health was pressured into dismissing her. Under similar pressures, she lost her post as chief editor of a health journal and as assistant general secretary in the Medical Association of Egypt.

Fame and jail

From 1973 to 1976 El Saadawi researched women and neurosis. In 1977, she published her most famous work The Hidden Face of Eve, which covered a host of topics relative to Arab women such as aggression against female children and genital mutilation, prostitution, sexual relationships, marriage and divorce and Islamic fundamentalism.

From 1979 to 1980 she was the United Nation's advisor for the women's program in North Africa and the Middle East. Later in 1980, as a culmination of the long war she had fought for Egyptian women's social and intellectual freedom, she was imprisoned under the Anwar Sadat regime. She was released in 1982 and in 1983 she published Memoirs from the Women's Prison in which she continued her bold attacks on the repressive Egyptian government. The year 1983 also marked the year that the English version of Woman at Point Zero was published after appearing in Arabic in 1975.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Egypt Books By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Even after her release from prison, El Saadawi's life was threatened by those who opposed her work, mainly Islamic fundamentalists. Armed guards were stationed outside her home in Giza for several years until she left the country to be a visiting professor at European and North American universities.

She devoted her time to being a writer, journalist and worldwide speaker on women's issues. In 2002, officials tried to forcefully divorce her from her husband, but international solidarity helped her to win her case. In 2004 she presented herself as a candidate for presidential election in Egypt. Then in 2007, the controversy of her play God Resigns at the Summit Meeting erupted. She said that those who condemned her hadn't even read the play.

This was the power of Nawal El Saadawi, that her books - coldly scientific and endlessly creative - were seen as weapons in a war that is still to be won.

Newson-Horst has published two edited volumes on Nawal El Saadawi. They are The Dramatic Literature of Nawal El Saadawi (2009) and The Essential Nawal El Saadawi: A Reader (2010).

Adele Newson-Horst, Professor, Morgan State University
Thales and Inetum provide joint expertise to deliver greater security and convenience at the airports of Valencia and Bilbao, and before long at Fuerteventura.

Smart accesses improve the border control process with higher agility and security.

New system facilitates operations for the officers of the National Police

Thales, leader in digital security, and Inetum, European leader in digital services and solutions, provide the airports of Valencia and Bilbao with more than 45 Automatic Border Control gates (ABC Gates) leveraging facial recognition and automatic document verification. Thales is responsible for the identity verification and smart access control, while Inetum implements manual verifiers and the real-time monitoring system. Both companies collaborated on the integration and installation in the airports.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005053/en/

ABC Gates at Valencia Airport (Photo: Thales)

These new smart access points have already been in operation since July at Valencia and Bilbao Airports, in which passengers have already been able to verify greater agility. The system is key for National Police officers since it simplifies their operations. Fuerteventura airport is also currently in the deployment phase and will have 36 ABC Gates.

Automatic controls improve performance by providing agility, security and convenience when performing biometric identity checks inside the police databases. The officers remain in full control of operations and can proceed with extra security controls if necessary.

"This technology eases passenger management at borders by verifying the traveler's identity and travel documents, including biometric checks. The new system ultimately speeds up the identification process," explains Juan Carlos Crespo, Inetum's Deputy General Manager for Iberia Latam areas

"We are proud to support the work of the National Police and AENA, by creating a safe and agile airport environment, without compromising the traveller experience," says Jesus Sanchez Bargos, Country Director and CEO of Thales Spain

Thales has strong international experience in smart border management at airports. Our references span 20 countries including France and Switzerland. The company is also responsible for comprehensive border control systems, including airports, ports and border crossings for multiple countries.

About Thales Thales (Euronext Paris: HO) is a global leader in advanced technologies, investing in digital and "deep tech" innovations connectivity, big data, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and quantum computing to build a confident future crucial for the development of our societies. The Group provides its customers businesses, organisations and governments in the defense, aeronautics, space, transport, and digital identity and security domains with solutions, services and products that help them fulfil their critical role, consideration for the individual being the driving force behind all decisions. Thales has 81,000 employees in 68 countries. In 2020 the Group generated sales of 17 billion. About Inetum, Positive digital flow: Inetum is an agile IT services company that provides digital services and solutions, and a global group that helps companies and institutions to get the most out of digital flow. In a context of perpetual movement, where needs and usages are constantly being reinvented, the Inetum group is committed towards all these players to innovate, continue to adapt, and stay ahead. With its multi-expert profile, Inetum offers its clients a unique combination of proximity, a sectorial organisation, and solutions of industrial quality. Operating in more than 26 countries, the Group has nearly 27,000 employees and in 2019 generated revenues of 2.3 billion (pro forma)

PLEASE VISIT

Thales Group

Digital Identity Security

Download HD photos

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005053/en/

Contacts:

MEDIA CONTACTS

Vanessa Viala Thales Digital Identity Security

Vanessa.viala@thalesgroup.com

+33 6 07 34 00 34

Elena Chavarria Thales Spain

34 608 76 70 66

Elena.chavarria@thalesgroup.com
TRINIDAD and Tobago Unit Trust Corporation (UTC) executive director, Nigel Edwards, says the changes the 39-year-old financial institution is undergoing at this time are transformational.

The UTC is now in the middle of a three-year cycle of strategic changes that will culminate in 2023 and beyond, he said.
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.
By Simon Lewis and Humeyra Pamuk

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In the last days of the Trump administration, some U.S. officials urged outgoing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to formally declare that the Myanmar militarys campaign against the Rohingya minority was a genocide.

Such a determination, a culmination of years of State Department investigation and legal analysis, would send a signal that the generals would not enjoy impunity for their persecution of the Muslim group since 2017, the officials hoped.

Pompeo never made that call. Less than two weeks after he left office on Jan. 20, Myanmars generals seized power in a coup.

The 11th-hour scramble inside the State Department underscores how the United States struggled to formulate consistent policy toward Myanmar after the military began opening the country a decade ago.

Officials say Washingtons ability to influence events in Myanmar is limited, and U.S. policy was not the only factor that influenced the militarys decision to seize back power.

But the failure to condemn the slaughter of the Rohingya in the strongest terms available was a missed opportunity to have a moderating effect on the generals, said Morse Tan, who backed a genocide determination on Myanmar as head of the Office of Global Criminal Justice at the State Department.

Maybe (the coup) would have happened anyways, but I think it would have at least been a significant weight in the direction towards prevention and deterrence, Tan said.

Pompeo, as secretary of state, had the sole authority to make a genocide determination. Tan said Pompeo never explained why he declined to do so.

Spokespeople for Pompeo did not reply to repeated emails seeking comment for this story, and they did not make him available for an interview.

Reuters calls to a Myanmar military spokesman were not answered. The army has said it was conducting counter-terrorism operations. Civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, now detained by the military, previously denied that the acts constituted genocide.

Story continues

Reuters spoke to 18 current and former U.S. officials who worked on U.S.-Myanmar policy. The interviews showed how officials across two administrations argued over how to balance accountability for Myanmars military - internationally condemned for its abuses against civilians - and the need for continued engagement with a country that had made nascent steps toward democracy.

U.S. officials often disagreed on whether a tough response might backfire and end up weakening the hand of Myanmars civilian government without improving conditions for the Rohingya.

That debate came to a head during a State Department examination of the militarys bloody 2017 campaign that pushed at least 730,000 members of Myanmars Rohingya minority into neighboring Bangladesh.

The State Department in 2018 conducted a months-long examination process, officials said. It hired outside lawyers, the people said, to gather evidence of the armys atrocities and to analyze whether those actions constituted crimes against humanity or genocide - offenses that ultimately could be charged in international courts.

At the time, the United States had referred to events in Myanmar as ethnic cleansing, a descriptive term that cannot be used to prosecute perpetrators. A U.S. determination of genocide, in particular, carries a lot of weight, according to officials and rights advocates who hoped such a call would rally global support to hold the generals accountable. The United Nations defines genocide as acts such as pogroms and forced sterilizations intended to destroy a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.

Calling the events genocide would be a major boost for hundreds of thousands of survivors living in refugee camps, said Wai Wai Nu, a Rohingya former political prisoner and activist. They will feel like their suffering, the crimes that happened against them, have been recognized, she said.

Officials told Reuters that the process, after months of work, ended abruptly in August 2018 because Pompeo became enraged after details of the deliberations leaked.

These people said policy toward Myanmar was often overshadowed by the Trump administrations top foreign policy priority: China. Some State Department officials argued that punishing Myanmar for the armys atrocities would push the country into Chinas orbit.

In 2020, as ties between the United States and China became increasingly adversarial, Pompeo tasked the department to make an atrocity determination for Beijings persecution of Uighurs and other Muslims in its western Xinjiang province. United Nations experts say a million Muslims are detained in camps and are subjected to numerous abuses, including forced sterilizations, which China has denied.

In a previously unreported effort, some State Department officials said they encouraged Pompeo to take a fresh look at Myanmar in a parallel process in mid-2020. They argued that atrocities there were well-documented and had been going on for years. If the State Department leveled a genocide determination against China, a geopolitical rival, but failed to do so with Myanmar, officials said the administration could face criticism about its determination being politically motivated.

Ultimately, Pompeo declared a genocide was taking place in China. But he made no atrocity determination for Myanmar, despite new evidence that State Department lawyers said justified the genocide label there, several former U.S. officials familiar with the process, including Trump-era appointees, told Reuters.

Aides who worked with Pompeo at the State Department said he would have weighed a broad range of factors in making his decision.

SEEKING ACCOUNTABILITY

Inside the State Department, officials were split on the genocide label for Myanmar, Reuters has learned. The regional bureau for Asia did not support a genocide determination, in part because some bureau officials felt Myanmar was on a trajectory toward democracy, in contrast to China, where repression was ramping up, former officials said. They believed a genocide call would not help Suu Kyis civilian government in its struggle with the military, the officials said.

The head of the East Asian and Pacific Affairs bureau at the time, David Stilwell, a Trump appointee, declined to confirm or deny the difference of opinion within the State Department. These are complex issues that we wrestled with for months, he said.

Tan, the head of the Office of Global Criminal Justice, defended the Trump administrations overall handling of Myanmar despite its failure to call out genocide there. He said State Department officials under Pompeo worked hard to respond to the atrocities against the Rohingya, including providing financial aid to refugees and supporting a case against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice, brought by The Gambia.

Washington in December 2019 slapped Myanmars Commander in Chief Min Aung Hlaing with sanctions freezing any U.S. assets he may have and forbidding Americans to do any business with him. Human-rights groups say his family businesses remain largely unscathed. On Feb. 1, Min Aung Hlaing led the junta that overthrew Myanmars civilian government and detained State Counselor Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize winner who leads the National League for Democracy (NLD) party that won elections in November.

Reuters calls to a military spokesman seeking comment from Min Aung Hlaing were not answered. Reuters was unable to reach Suu Kyi for comment.

Dr. Sasa, a special envoy for lawmakers mainly from the NLD who oppose the coup, promised the group will seek "justice" for the Rohingya. It is unclear if his views represent Suu Kyi or her party's leadership, who are being held incommunicado by the ruling junta.

Sasa told Reuters a genocide determination by the United States would "have a huge impact" on the military.

"What we desperately need is the strong, unifying message from Washington and (the) international community that these military generals will no longer get away free" with crimes including "genocide," Sasa said in an email.

The coup presented newly inaugurated U.S. President Joe Biden with his first international crisis and a test of his pledge to stand up for human rights and democracy. His foreign policy team quickly imposed stronger sanctions against the generals and some of their children and companies they control, and tried to organize an international response to pressure them into reversing course.

This has not deterred the junta, which has now killed at least 275 people and arrested or charged more than 2,900 political leaders and others who have taken to the streets in massive numbers to oppose the coup.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Pompeos successor, said in January he would review whether Myanmar committed genocide against the Rohingya.

In an emailed statement, the State Department said it is urging Myanmars military to restore the countrys democratically elected government, end the violence and release people who have been unjustly detained. We will ensure achieving accountability for the atrocities against Rohingya is pivotal to our human rights-centered policy, the State Department said.

WHAT MAKES A GENOCIDE?

Genocide, considered the most serious international offense, was first used to describe the Nazi Holocaust. It was established as a crime under international law in a 1948 United Nations convention.

Since the end of the Cold War, the State Department has formally used the term six times to describe massacres in Bosnia, Rwanda, Iraq and Darfur, the Islamic States attacks on Yazidis and other minorities, and most recently this year, over Chinas treatment of Uighurs and other Muslims. China denies the genocide claims.

Individual U.S. officials and other branches of government have also used the term. In 2019, for example, Congress recognized as genocide the mass killings and deportations of Armenian subjects of the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Turkey denies it was a genocide.

At the State Department, such a determination normally follows a meticulous internal process. Still, the final decision is up to the secretary of state, who weighs whether the move would advance American interests, officials said.

A determination of genocide does not automatically unleash punitive U.S. action. But human-rights advocates say it can help mobilize an international response to prevent further atrocities. For instance, former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powells recognition of genocide in Darfur in 2004 helped isolate and stigmatize then-Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and bring about his 2009 indictment in the International Criminal Court, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum said in a report.

Februarys coup was the latest chapter in deteriorating U.S.-Myanmar relations, and a major turnaround from the high hopes that prevailed a decade ago.

In 2010, after a half-century of military rule, many of Myanmars roughly 54 million people saw life improve after the military initiated a transition towards democracy. The generals released Suu Kyi from house arrest and allowed her to run for office. The military opened energy and telecoms tenders to foreign companies.

The United States responded by lifting a trade embargo and easing some sanctions, including those on Burmese banks. In 2016, U.S. President Barack Obama welcomed Suu Kyi to Washington and lifted most remaining sanctions on Myanmar.

Some U.S. officials thought the move premature, including Tom Malinowski, a congressman who served as assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor at the time. We needed to maintain pressure and leverage on the military and military-owned companies in Burma until more progress was made, he told Reuters in an interview.

Warning signs proliferated throughout Obamas tenure. Myanmars generals resisted calls to reform the countrys constitution, which locked in the militarys political power. Fighting between the army and armed groups seeking ethnic autonomy intensified in some parts of the country.

Most stark was the situation for the Rohingya, a long-suffering Muslim minority numbering more than 1 million in the western state of Rakhine. The Rohingya had faced earlier waves of violence from security forces and from their Buddhist neighbors. Rohingya are largely denied citizenship under a 1982 law that favors certain ethnic groups, and in 2015 were stripped of identity papers that had previously allowed them to vote.

By August 2018, reporters and human rights groups had documented killings, mass rape and the burning of Rohingya villages during a 2017 military operation. Medical nonprofit Doctors Without Borders said at least 9,400 people were killed. A U.N. fact-finding mission said that estimate was conservative.

The military has said it was fighting Rohingya terrorists and that its troops followed strict rules of engagement.

Suu Kyi traveled to the International Court of Justice at The Hague in 2019 to defend the country against The Gambias accusation of genocide, a move that tarnished her reputation overseas.

She told the court that Myanmar made efforts to investigate the violence, proof there was no genocidal intent. "The situation in Rakhine is complex and not easy to fathom, she said.

U.S. diplomats working for the Trump administration avoided criticizing Suu Kyi, believing she still represented the best hope for Myanmars democracy, officials said.

In the summer of 2018, the United States was preparing to levy sanctions on some of Myanmars generals as the State Department was planning the rollout of a report it commissioned documenting eye-witness accounts from Rohingya survivors of the brutality, a half-dozen people involved in the process told Reuters.

Pompeo, meanwhile, was presented with options on an atrocity determination, the people said. But the State Department was split on the issue.

The Office of the Legal Advisor  the legal team which weighs in on such matters - concluded that crimes against humanity was a legally sound determination; it had not reached a conclusion regarding genocide, the people said. Officials in other parts of the State Department told Reuters they believed the genocide label was warranted by the Departments own research, including interviews with hundreds of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh who said they had witnessed killings by the military.

Officials said the process came to a halt on Aug. 13 in 2018 when the news outlet Politico published a story it said was based on leaked excerpts of a draft statement, shedding light on Pompeos deliberations.

Pompeo considered the leak an attempt to pressure him into deeming the Myanmar atrocities a genocide, former officials said. During Pompeos nearly three-year tenure at the State Department, critics said, he questioned the loyalty of career diplomats and their will to enforce Trumps agenda.

"To say he was infuriated is an understatement," a former U.S. official directly involved in the process said.

As a result, the process was derailed, officials said, and Pompeo walked away without making any determination. The State Department on Sept. 24, 2018 published its report on the Myanmar atrocities in a hard-to-find part of its website with no press release, announcement or other publicity, officials said.

We were all in shock and disappointed, said one lawyer who worked on the report.

Sam Brownback, Trumps envoy on religious freedom at the State Department, said there was clear evidence that the Rohingya had been suffering genocide for decades.

That part is not in question, Brownback said. It's getting the determination that was difficult."

Still, he praised Pompeo and declined to discuss internal deliberations as to why no genocide determination was reached.

OVERSHADOWED BY CHINA

By 2020, countering China had become the top U.S. foreign policy priority as ties between the worlds top two economies frayed.

Washington grew vocal about China's repression of Uighurs and other Muslims. China has been accused of detaining more than 1 million Uighurs and other minorities and subjecting them to forced labor and coercive family planning, including sterilization.

China denies abuses and says its camps provide vocational training and are needed to fight extremism.

As Pompeo aides in mid-2020 moved to prepare a determination on what was happening in Xinjiang, some department officials told him they should also revisit the Myanmar evidence.

Failure to address the mass atrocities against the Rohingya and call them by their right name would cast a cloud over any subsequent determination on Xinjiang, said Kelley Currie, then the State Departments ambassador on global womens issues who was deeply involved in the Myanmar effort.

Other State Department bureaus responsible for promoting human rights, religious freedoms and global criminal justice likewise lent their support to a genocide determination, U.S. officials said.

Their views were by that time supported by the Office of the Legal Adviser, which in late 2020 reached a new verdict that supported a genocide determination against Myanmar, four former U.S. officials familiar with the matter said. The legal case had been bolstered by the testimony of two Myanmar army defectors, now in the custody of the ICC at The Hague, who said they were given orders to massacre Rohingya.

But there was vigorous opposition to the genocide label from officials in the State Departments East Asian and Pacific Affairs bureaus, which favored continued engagement with Myanmar, according to Currie, the former ambassador on womens issues.

They opposed it on two grounds: that it would cause the military to launch a coup, and that it would push Burma closer to China, she said.

On Jan. 19, his last full day in office, Pompeo declared that China had committed genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang. That determination came despite the objections of some State Department lawyers that the criteria for genocide were not met, four officials told Reuters.

On Myanmar, there was silence. Officials said they never heard back from Pompeo.

(Reporting by Simon Lewis and Humeyra Pamuk; editing by Mary Milliken and Marla Dickerson)




LG Chem Vice Chairman and CEO Shin Hak-cheol speaks during an annual shareholders' meeting at the firm's headquarters in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap





By Yi Whan-woo







LG Chem Vice Chairman and CEO Shin Hak-cheol slammed SK Innovation (SKI), Thursday, vowing to receive "proportionate" compensation for the damage it suffered from the alleged theft of trade secrets related to electric vehicle (EV) battery technology.







During an annual shareholders meeting at the firm's headquarters in Seoul, Shin referred to SKI as "the rival" and said it is refusing to accept the verdict of the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) which ruled in favor of LG Chem. LG Chem is the parent firm of LG Energy Solution (LGES).







LG Chem filed trade complaints against SKI in the U.S. in 2019 over allegations of stealing trade secrets. The company, which supplies EV batteries to Tesla and General Motors, spun off its battery unit late last year to form LGES, which has been seeing the trade fight through.







The ITC slapped SKI with a 10-year import ban on EV batteries, while allowing the firm to continue importing components for batteries and other related parts a while longer for its embattled business partners, Ford Motor and Volkswagen of America, giving them time to find new suppliers.







Facing trillions of won in compensation payments, SKI claimed the ruling is "regrettable" and said it will make the truth known later by thoroughly analyzing the ITC ruling.







"We will deal with the case in a stern manner to receive a reasonable and proportionate amount for compensation," the LG Chem CEO said. "We accordingly will make utmost efforts to protect our intellectual property accumulated over decades, for shareholders, investors and the company itself."







He also stressed that respect for intellectual property, including the sales secrets of a rival company, is "a basic business rule to observe" as environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) values emerge as international business norms.







"And it is regretful that the rival not only does not accept the ruling of the ITC, which is internationally respected on global trade standards, but also merely attributes its defeat to its lack of experience in international business disputes," Shin said. "We can't let go of the case for the sake of global companies that are developing technologies on the belief of fair competition and clients who make purchases on the belief they were made lawfully."







LGES demanded nearly 3 trillion won ($2.6 billion) in total compensation from SKI, while the methods of the payment could vary including an equity swap of SKI's parts affiliate and royalties, sources involved with the issue said. SKI continues to insist on a compensatory payment in the 1 trillion won range. The ITC ruling could jeopardize SK Innovation's $2.6 billion battery factory currently under construction in Georgia.







Meanwhile, Shin assessed the company was preemptive and agile in management and "greatly enhanced its value" despite the COVID-19 crisis.







LG Chem posted nearly 30 trillion won in sales and 1.79 trillion won in operating profit in 2020.







He addressed three goals for this year  acceleration in nurturing the company's next growth engines, creation of the world's top-level environmental safety system and consolidation of the firm's reputation as a leader in sustainability.







In relation to the first goal, LG Chem seeks to work intensively on EV battery components, post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic, biodegradable plastic products and e-mobility services characterized by battery electric vehicles, fuel cell electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles and their infrastructures.







Shin underscored that the creation of an advanced environmental safety system should be preceded by a change in mindset of all employees including executives.







On sustainability, Shin reminded the shareholders of the company's goal of achieving "Carbon Neutral Growth."


King made a lasting and meaningful impact throughout her 37 years with the company by evolving human resource (HR) strategies, policies and benefits, which have created a more engaged, inclusive and future-prepared workforce and culture. She helped prepare the company for the future through her vision of the future of work, future real estate strategy and focus on associate wellbeing. Her leadership also helped to drive Nationwide's award-winning workplace environment.

"Under Gale's leadership, our company has been widely recognized for our leading HR practices and as an employer of choice for our strong culture, performance orientation and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion," said Nationwide Chief Executive Officer Kirt Walker. "Her numerous achievements and contributions have proven to be transformational."

In a testament to her exceptional impact and leadership, King has been honored as one of the 100 most powerful African Americans in the United States by Ebony, a Distinguished Alumnus by her alma mater, the University of Florida, one of Diversity Women's 2021 Elite 100, a member of the HR Executive of the Year Honor Roll by HR Executive Magazine and one of the 2019 Most Powerful Women in Corporate America by Black Enterprise. She is also an independent director for two Fortune 250 companies, serving on the compensation committee for each.

Vinita Clements will succeed King to lead the enterprise HR organization and will join the Nationwide executive leadership team. Clements joined Nationwide in 2004, with a broad base of experience, having led HR support for most of Nationwide's business operations.

Clements earned a bachelor's degree in Organizational Communication from Wright State University. She currently serves on the board for the Columbus Urban League, is a member of the Senior HR Executives Council and serves as an executive advisor to the Nationwide All Women's Associate Resource Group. Vinita is active in her support of community programs focused on the arts and education.

"I'm excited for Vinita to join our senior executive leadership team," Walker added. "She is known for her strategic thinking, ability to build trusted partnerships and focus on results. Vinita's demonstrated ability to build strong people and culture strategies, and her breadth of business, HR and leadership experience, will serve her well in her new role. The fact that we can do this is a testament to the breadth of incredible talent within Nationwide, coupled with strong succession plans. It's this forethought that enables smooth transitions for our businesses during times of change."

About Nationwide

Nationwide, a Fortune 100 company based in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the largest and strongest diversified insurance and financial services organizations in the United States. Nationwide is rated A+ by both A.M. Best and Standard & Poor's. An industry leader in driving customer-focused innovation, Nationwide provides a full range of insurance and financial services products including auto, business, homeowners, farm and life insurance; public and private sector retirement plans, annuities and mutual funds; excess & surplus, specialty and surety; pet, motorcycle and boat insurance. For more information, visit www.nationwide.com . Follow us on Facebook and Twitter .

Nationwide, Nationwide is on your side and the Nationwide N and Eagle are service marks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company.  2021

Contact:

Joe Case

(614) 249-6349

[email protected]

SOURCE Nationwide

Related Links

http://www.nationwide.com


Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signed a sweeping, GOP-sponsored overhaul to the state's election law on Thursday.

Why it matters: It is the first battleground state to pass such a law in the aftermath of the 2020 election.

Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds already signed a bill into law scaling back early voting in the state.

"Republican efforts to change voting laws in Georgia followed record-breaking turnout that led to Democratic victories in the presidential contest and two U.S. Senate runoffs in the once reliably red state," AP writes.

Joe Biden won the state by only slightly more than 12,000 votes in the 2020 presidential election.

The new law includes measures that:

Cut the time period voters have to request absentee ballots and impose new identification requirements.

Make it easier for state officials to take over local elections boards.

Limit the use of ballot drop boxes.

Allow challenges to voting eligibility.

Criminalize any attempt to approach voters in line, even if only to give them food or water.

"[R]eplace the elected secretary of state as the chair of the state election board with a new appointee of the legislature after Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger rebuffed [former President] Trumps attempts to overturn Georgias election results," AP writes.

What they're saying: "Few are more important than the law I signed moments ago," which ensures Georgias elections are "secure, accessible and fair," Kemp said at a press conference on Thursday.

"It's like the Christmas tree of goodies for voter suppression," Democratic state Sen. Jen Jordan said on the Senate floor Thursday, per CNN.

Some lawmakers argue restrictions will boost election integrity, despite no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election.

Meanwhile, critics say these measures are intended to target heavily Democratic jurisdictions and will hurt Black and Latino voters the most, Washington Post reports.

President Biden called the GOP effort "sick" and "un-American" at his press conference on Thursday.

Former President Jimmy Carter, who previously served as a state senator in Georgia and then governor, also voiced opposition early on.

Of note: During the signing ceremony, Georgia state Rep. Park Cannon (D) was handcuffed and "forcefully removed" after knocking on the governor's office door, Atlanta-based WXIA-TV reports.

Story continues

Cannon led rallies against the measures in February, according to The Atlanta-Journal-Constitution newspaper.

The big picture: Republican lawmakers have proposed at least 253 laws to restrict voting access in 43 states across the country, according to data compiled as of Feb. 19 by the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice. More proposals have reached the floor since, CNN writes.

The Georgia bill passed the state House in a 100-75 vote, and then was agreed to by Senate Republicans, with 34-20 in favor on Thursday afternoon.

More from Axios: Sign up to get the latest market trends with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free
North Korea fired two unidentified projectiles into the East Sea on Thursday morning, the Joint Chiefs of Staff here said. They were launched from South Hamgyong Province around 7 a.m.

Further details are not immediately available, but they are presumed to be short-range ballistic missiles, which are banned under UN sanctions.

The JCS was quick this time to confirm the launches amid criticism after it waited for several days for the North's firing of two cruise missiles last week.


Africa No Filter today announced that the British Council, the UK-based organisation that supports arts, culture, and education initiatives globally, has come on board to fund its work to shift harmful and stereotypical narratives about Africa.

The British Council will join seven other organisations  Ford Foundation, Bloomberg, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Luminate, Open Society Foundations, Comic Relief, and the Hilton Foundation  who are all committed to seeing narratives change on the continent. Africa No Filters pooled funding now tops USD 5million. The funds are used for grant-making, research and advocacy campaigns that highlight narratives and their impact on the continent.

New Narratives between the countries of Africa and the UK will not be achieved by any one organisation. The opportunity to work with the ANF collective on this important area allows us to harness our different strengths and networks to achieve a whole that is more than the sum of its parts. I am excited by the possibility and look forward to working with the ANF team in the coming years, says Ojoma Ochai, New Narratives programme director at the British Council.

The partnership comes at an important time for Africa No Filter as awareness of its work is growing. The organisation will celebrate its first anniversary in May. It has already made an impact on understanding the role of narrative on perceptions that exist about Africa and Africans, including the release of the How the Media in Africa Covers Africa report. The report found that a third of all stories found in African outlets about other African countries are sourced from western media outlets, 63% of outlets surveyed dont have correspondents in other countries in Africa, and 81% of the stories analysed were classified as hard news and largely political in nature.

Africa No Filter (ANF) also announced arts, culture, and media grants to support disruptive storytelling about Africa within Africa. In February, ANF announced its first cohort of Academic Fellowswho have joined forces to investigate narratives about Africa.

ANFs executive director Moky Makura welcomed the addition of the British Council to the donor collaborative. Its amazing that we are able to bring on new partners at this time, given the global disruption the world is experiencing with COVID. It shows the work we are doing to shift narratives is important. Narratives matter, how the world sees Africa and how Africa sees itself has an impact on development  on how aid, investment, and intra-Africa trade works. 

Makura added: The British Council brings immense expertise to the collaborative given its track record and expertise in supporting storytellers  especially young and emerging talent on the continent. New partners mean new funding for us to give to storytellers and for creative projects. They also understand that the success of their work on the continent is underpinned by our ability as Africans to believe in ourselves and not in the stereotypical narratives about and within Africa.

Moses Anibaba, regional director for sub-Saharan Africa at the British Council, said, Gaps in perceptions are the root cause of misunderstanding in all sort of situations: from friends and family, to relationships between countries. We need to tackle outdated, incorrect and incomplete pictures from Africa and the UK  and the best way to do this is to support and amplify young new voices and creativity.

Partager et informez vous aussi......

0 shares Share

Tweet

LinkedIn
Burma Kachin Rebels Seize Myanmar Military's Strategic Outpost near Chinese Border

Caption: Kachin Independence Army fighters in 2013. / The Irrawaddy

Yangon  The Kachin Independence Army (KIA), a major ethnic armed group based in Kachin State, has occupied a strategically important hill in Bhamo District held by Myanmars military, KIA information officer Colonel Naw Bu told The Irrawaddy.

KIA Battalion 30 attacked the military outpost on Alaw Hill on Wednesday at 5pm and had taken control of the hill by around 4am on Thursday, said Col. Naw Bu.

Alaw Hill is relatively close to the Chinese border. From the military point of view, it is relatively strategic. British troops deployed there during World War II. The reports that we have occupied three outposts are untrue. The rest were just groups of sentries guarding the outpost, said Col. Naw Bu.

The attack was made in retaliation to the militarys attacks on KIA outposts near Laiza, which are under the control of KIA headquarters, he said.

The troops of the military regime fired at our outposts on Hpalap Hill [near Laiza] with artillery throughout the night on March 22. They fired again at Battalion 3 in Sadone the following day. They have been carrying out assaults for two to three days.

Their artillery shells fell on our cantonment. Whats worse, artillery shells also fell on Hkau Sau [internal displacement] camp [on the Chinese border] and in Chinese territory, said Col. Naw Bu.

The KIA claimed that two artillery shells fell on Chinese territory on Tuesday. Myanmars military has made no comment.

We heard gunshots through Wednesday night. But everything is fine in the town. Everyone is safe, said a Laiza resident.

In response to heightened tensions, residents at the Weichyai displacement camp dug bomb shelters this month.

The military and KIA were in the process of negotiating a ceasefire before the Feb. 1 coup. The Kachin armed group asked the militarys Northern Command not to harm peaceful Kachin protesters opposing the military regime.

Two civilians were shot dead in a crackdown by the security forces on anti-regime protesters in Kachin States capital, Myitkyina, on March 8. A third protester was shot dead in Hpakant on March 14.

Three days after the Myitkyina killings, the KIA raided a military outpost in the jade-mining hub, Hpakant, and attacked another military outpost in Injangyang Township on March 15.

Military tensions are also escalating in northern Shan State between the two sides.

You may also like these stories:

Myanmars Military Regime Arrests Four Media Staff in Shan State

Myanmar Junta Accused of Using Deepfake Technology to Prove Graft Case Against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

63 Striking Myanmar Investment Staff Suspended by Junta
A pole in Durrow has survived three crashes and must be replaced by the ESB before there is a death, a Laois councillor has demanded.

However, after an inspection, the ESB says it is not their pole.

Cllr Ollie Clooney railed against the State-owned company and he called on Laois County Council to contact the electricity supplier to remove a dangerous pole on the Swan Road, Durrow.

It certainly has nine lives. There have been three crashes. It is standing even though it is only a timber pole. I cant believe how it is standing. Hopefully, there will not be a fatality, he told the recent Borris-in-Ossory Mountmellick Municipal District meeting.

He said he had made contact with the ESB but is disappointed by the ESB lack of response.

It is a dangerous pole. Health and safety applies to all not just to the ordinary man in the street. It applies to companies providing services. The ESB should cop themselves on and move this pole without delay.

There is a lot of speed at the turn and we dont want to see any fatalities, he said.

Cllr John King supported his colleague. He wanted to know if the ESB or the council is responsible for the cost.

Mr. Edmond Kenny, District Engineer replied that Laois County Council will visit the site with the utility provider to ascertain whose responsibility it is to relocate the pole.

Subsequent to the meeting, the ESB inspected the pole on Thursday, March 25.

"One of our local ESB Networks supervisors undertook a site visit to the pole in question yesterday morning and confirmed it's not in fact ESB Networks infrastructure. We've informed the councillor to that effect also," said the company.
It looks like there's a way forwards for the Great White Way!

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced the beginnings of a plan to get Broadway and off-Broadway reopened by autumn.

In the coming weeks, New York City will open dedicated Covid-19 vaccination sites on Broadway for the theatre industry, with a mobile vaccination unit dedicated to off-Broadway workers. These sites will be staffed by veteran theatre industry workers.

Additionally, the city is developing plans with the Broadway community to manage crowds before and after shows, and will open pop-up Covid testing sites in the area of the major theaters. De Blasio is now calling upon New York State to issue guidelines for theater workers in terms of mask usage, and how to use proof of vaccination or negative testing to ensure that everyone can return to work and that crowds can return in the fall.

While identical plans aren't currently being replicated in the UK, producers on this side of the Atlantic will naturally be exploring what can be emulated for venues. Producer and theatre owner Nica Burns has already set plans to create a testing centre underneath the Palace Theatre in the West End.

Further details about the plan will be announced in the coming weeks. "We will move heaven and earth to bring Broadway back," de Blasio said.
You have permission to edit this article.

Edit Close
Dhaka: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday urged the people to set aside their differences to build a "prosperous and non-communal" Bangladesh as the country celebrated 50 years of independence from Pakistan.

Addressing the nation on the eve of the golden jubilee of independence, she said the people of Bangladesh should renew their nation-building efforts, as envisioned by the Father of the Nation 'Bangabandhu' Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and inspired by the spirit of the 1971 War of Independence.

Hasina, also president of the ruling Awami League, said anti-liberation forces in and outside the country have hatched various conspiracies to hamper the progress of Bangladesh.

"That process (conspiracies) is still on. So, we all have to remain vigilant to resist anti-state activities," she said.

"Let's forget all our differences and be inspired by the spirit of the 1971 Liberation War to build Bangladesh as a developed and prosperous, non-communal Sonar Bangla (Golden Bengal) following the dream of the father of the nation," she was quoted as saying by the Dhaka Tribune newspaper.

The 73-year-old prime minister urged all to take an oath to ensure that no one can jeopardise the country's progress.

"On this auspicious occasion of the golden jubilee of our independence, we have to take an oath., so that no one can hinder the country's democratic and development progress," she said.

Hasina said: "We are celebrating the golden jubilee of our independence. However, this celebration should not be just a formality."

"With the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the golden jubilee of Bangladesh's independence in mind, we have to take a new oath to take our country to new heights."

She also remembered with gratefulness the roles of the friendly states, institutions and persons who extended their support during the trying times of the country in 1971.

Hasina, daughter of Bangabandhu, said, "Sheikh Mujib is the creator of the country and nation state. That's why we are celebrating his (Mujib) birth centenary and golden jubilee of the country's independence."

Presenting the statistics of the country's development, Hasina said, "This is the achievement of the general people of the country? My government created a congenial environment, giving only policy support. You (people) proved that if people of Bangladesh get favourable environment, they can make the impossible to possible."

In her address, the prime minister expressed gratitude to the people for bringing the Awami League, the political party that led the nation during the Liberation War, to power and give it the opportunity to oversee the celebrations of the twin occasions.

"Bangladesh beat all negative and depressing projections, enabling itself to stand in the world with its head held high. Bangladesh was projected as an instance of poverty and underdevelopment even a decade ago, but the development experts now present Bangladesh as a model of development and triumphing over poverty," she said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the guest of honour at the main celebrations on Friday at the National Parade Square. Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and Bhutan Prime Minister Dr Lotay Tshering have already attended the 10-day special programme, which began on March 17, coinciding with Bangabandhu's birthday.
Court docket no: 0801947120208020525

LONDON, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Heura, Europe's fastest growing plant-based meat brand, is to start legal proceedings today at the Ciutat de la Justicia de Barcelona following their provocative advertising campaign in November 2020 as spearheaded by activist co-founders Marc Coloma and Bernat Ananos.

The landmark case will see Provacuno and Interporc VS Heura face each other in court after Heura decided to remove the billboard in central Madrid, which highlighted the pollution caused by the livestock industry and was titled 'One beef burger pollutes more than your car.'

Heura has responded to the lawsuits by agreeing to take down the billboard and inviting key players in the meat industry to start a dialogue about how to jointly find solutions to create a more sustainable industry.

The billboard read:

"One beef burger pollutes more than your car.

Together with Madrid Central, we have reduced air pollution by changing the way we travel. Why not change the way we eat next?

Discover what the status quo doesn't want you to know at @heurafoods.

Releasing over 32,000 million tonnes of CO2, the livestock industry is the largest source of Greenhouse gas emissions, followed by transportation.

HEURA

TheRevolutionIsServed"

Heura Co-founder and CEO Marc Coloma will be available for comment.

A video of the billboard being taken down can be viewed here, and photos of Heura products for the media can be found here.

PRESS NOTES:

Heura is a 100% plant-based meat start-up. Its mission is to create solutions that make the current food system obsolete and accelerate the transition to a world in which animals are out of the protein production equation. Its roots and culinary tradition from the Mediterranean are reflected in its products: clean label, high nutritional values, and flavour.

Founded by food activists Marc Colona and Bernat Ananos, Heura was born in April 2017 and is currently present in 3,000 points of sale in Spain , Andorra , Portugal , France , the Netherlands , Singapore , Hong Kong , Chile , and the United Kingdom.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1473982/Heura.jpg
Illustration of NASA's lunar-orbiting Gateway and a human landing system in orbit around the moon. Credit: NASA

Space communications and navigation engineers at NASA are evaluating the navigation needs for the Artemis program, including identifying the precision navigation capabilities needed to establish the first sustained presence on the lunar surface.

"Artemis engages us to apply creative navigation solutions, choosing the right combination of capabilities for each mission," said Cheryl Gramling, associate chief for technology in the Mission Engineering and Systems Analysis Division at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "NASA has a multitude of navigation tools at its disposal, and Goddard has a half-century of experience navigating space exploration missions in lunar orbit."

Alongside proven navigation capabilities, NASA will use innovative navigation technologies during the upcoming Artemis missions.

"Lunar missions provide the opportunity to test and refine novel space navigation techniques," said Ben Ashman, a navigation engineer at Goddard. "The moon is a fascinating place to explore and can serve as a proving ground that expands our navigation toolkit for more distant destinations like Mars."

Ultimately, exploration missions need a robust combination of capabilities to provide the availability, resiliency, and integrity required from an in-situ navigation system. Some of the navigation techniques being analyzed for Artemis include:

The Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) sends laser pulses down to the surface of the Moon from the orbiting spacecraft. These pulses bounce off of the Moon and return to LRO, providing scientists with measurements of the distance from the spacecraft to the lunar surface. As LRO orbits the Moon, LOLA measures the shape of the lunar surface, which includes information about the Moon's surface elevations and slopes. This image shows the slopes found near the south pole of the moon. Credit: NASA/LRO

Radiometrics, Optimetrics and Laser Altimetry

Radiometrics, optimetrics, and laser altimetry measure distances and velocity using the properties of electromagnetic transmissions. Engineers measure the time it takes for a transmission to reach a spacecraft and divide by the transmission's rate of travelthe speed of light.

These accurate measurements have been the foundation of space navigation since the launch of the first satellite, giving an accurate and reliable measurement of the distance between the transmitter and spacecraft's receiver. Simultaneously, the rate of change in the spacecraft's velocity between the transmitter and spacecraft can be observed due to the Doppler effect.

Radiometrics and optimetrics measure the distances and velocity between a spacecraft and ground antennas or other spacecraft using their radio links and infrared optical communications links, respectively. In laser altimetry and space laser ranging, a spacecraft or ground telescope reflects lasers off the surface of a celestial body or a specially designated reflector to judge distances.

Illustration of Firefly Aerospaces Blue Ghost lander on the lunar surface. The lander will carry a suite of 10 science investigations and technology demonstrations to the moon in 2023 as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. Credit: Firefly Aerospace

Optical Navigation

Optical navigation techniques rely on images from cameras on a spacecraft. There are three main branches of optical navigation.

Star-based optical navigation uses bright celestial objects such as stars, moons, and planets for navigation. Instruments use these objects to determine a spacecrafts' orientation and can define their distance from the objects using the angles between them.

As a spacecraft approaches a celestial body, the object begins to fill the field of view of the camera. Navigation engineers then derive a spacecraft's distance from the body using its limbthe apparent edge of the bodyand centroid, or geometric center.

At a spacecraft's closest approach, terrain relative navigation uses camera images and computer processing to identify known surface features and calculate a spacecraft's course based on the location of those features in reference models or images.

Weak-Signal GPS and GNSS

NASA is developing capabilities that will allow missions at the moon to leverage signals from Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) constellations like the U.S. GPS. These signalsalready used on many Earth-orbiting spacecraftwill improve timing, enhance positioning accuracy, and assist autonomous navigation systems in cislunar and lunar space.

In 2023, the Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE), developed in partnership with the Italian Space Agency, will demonstrate and refine this capability on the moon's Mare Crisium basin. LuGRE will fly on a Commercial Lunar Payload Services mission delivered by Firefly Aerospace of Cedar Park, Texas. NASA will use data gathered from LuGRE to refine operational lunar GNSS systems for future missions.

Artist's conceptualization of Artemis astronauts using LunaNet services on the moon. a unique approach to lunar communications and navigation. The LunaNet communications and navigation architecture will enable the precision navigation required for crewed missions to the moon and place our astronauts closer to scientifically significant lunar sites, enhancing the our missions scientific output. Credit: NASA/Resse Patillo

Autonomous Navigation

Autonomous navigation software leverages measurements like radiometrics, celestial navigation, altimetry, terrain-relative navigation, and GNSS to perform navigation onboard without contact with operators or assets on Earth, enabling spacecraft to maneuver independently of terrestrial mission controllers. This level of autonomy enables responsiveness to the dynamic space environment.

Autonomous navigation can be particularly useful for deep space exploration, where the communications delay can hamper in-situ navigation. For example, missions at Mars must wait eight to 48 minutes for round trip communications with Earth depending on orbital dynamics. During critical maneuvers, spacecraft need the immediate decision-making that autonomous software can provide.

LunaNet Navigation Services

LunaNet is a unique communications and navigation architecture developed by NASA's Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program. LunaNet's common standards, protocols, and interface requirements will extend internetworking to the moon, offering unprecedented flexibility and access to data.

For navigation, the LunaNet approach offers operational independence and increased precision by combining many of the methods above into a seamless architecture. LunaNet will provide missions with access to key measurements for precision navigation in lunar space.

Explore further Galileo will help Lunar Pathfinder navigate around moon
Slovenian president Borut Pahor received his coronavirus vaccination on Friday in a bid to encourage the public to "trust science" and disperse concerns over the vaccine.

"I did it because I want to contribute to the end of the epidemic as soon as possible," he said speaking to reporters in Ljubljana.

He received the vaccine along with the country's Prime Minister Janes Jansa and other senior officials.

Slovenia reversed its suspension of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines after the European Medicines Agency declared the shots are safe.

Vaccinations had been halted earlier this week following reports of blood clotting in some people who received the shots.

The Alpine state of 2 million people has recently seen a surge in new coronavirus cases and deaths despite strict lockdown measures and a relatively successful vaccination campaign when compared to some other European Union states.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
NBCs Peacock streaming service still isnt available on Amazon Fire TV devices eight months after launch, and even some folks at Peacock seem exasperated by the stalemate.

As Scott Porch first pointed out, Peacocks social media team has been encouraging Fire TV users to sideload the app over the past week, particularly in response to WWE fans left stranded by the networks move to Peacock last week. Across Twitter and Facebook, Ive found numerous cases in which the company suggests sideloading Peacock on Fire TV as a workaround, though the company stops short of providing instructions.

We understand your frustration, one of the companys responses reads. While Peacock is not currently supported on Amazon devices, there are sideloading options that some customers have found helpful.

Of course, theres nothing wrong with sideloading apps on Fire TV. Ive done it for Peacock myself on several Fire TV devices without issue, and will describe how to do so below. Still, the fact that Peacock reps are encouraging the practice just shows how frustrating streaming-carriage disputes can beboth for customers and the company reps who have to deal with them.

Jared Newman / IDG Peacocks social media reps suggest Fire TV users sideload the app. .

When will Peacock arrive on Fire TV?

Earlier this month, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said at an investor conference that he hoped Peacock would be available on all major platforms soon. (NBCUniversal, which runs Peacock, is owned by Comcast.) Some observers interpreted that statement as a sign of an imminent launch on Fire TV.

As of now, though, Peacock remains unavailable on Fire TV devices, at least officially. Rumors of Peacock launching on Samsung TVs by mid-March havent panned out either.

Whats the holdup? As both CNBC and Matthew Keys reported last summer, NBCU and Amazon are mainly fighting over how to distribute the service. Amazon reportedly wants to sell Peacock subscriptions through its Prime Video Channels marketplace, while NBCU wants all customers flowing through its own app, where it would have more control over the experienceand users viewing data. A report from Vox last November reaffirmed that Channels distribution remains the big sticking point.

The dispute is somewhat different from the one that kept Peacock off Roku devices until last September. As Bloomberg reported, that holdup was largely about how to share ad revenue.

I have no inside knowledge of whether NBCU and Amazon are getting close to an agreement. I will note, however, that WrestleMania 37 is scheduled for April 10 and 11, when it will stream to all Peacock Premium subscribers at no extra charge beyond the $5-per-month subscription price. If the two companies cant get a deal done by then, itll be a major failure for all involved.

How to sideload Peacock on Fire TV

The good news is that Peacocks support reps are speaking the truth. You can, in fact, watch Peacock on Fire TV devices through a process called sideloading, which involves installing the Android TV version of the app from outside Amazons app store. (This is possible because Amazons Fire TV devices also run a version of the Android operating system.)

This process is also easier now than it used to be thanks to the work of Elias Saba over at AFTVNews. Heres how you can set it up:

1. Install Sabas free Downloader app on your Fire TV. The easiest way is to use the Alexa button on your remote to say Downloader.

2. Before you launch the Downloader app, head to Settings > My Fire TV > Developer Options > Install Unknown Apps, then toggle Downloader to ON.

Jared Newman / IDG

3. Launch the app, then enter the number 81035 into the URL field at the top. (If you didnt follow step two above, youll be prompted to let Downloader install unknown apps first. Follow the prompt to visit Settings, set the toggle to ON for Downloader, then go back to the Downloader app and repeat this step.)

Jared Newman / IDG

4. Be patient and wait until you see a prompt asking if you want to install Peacock. Select Install, then select Open to run the app. You might need to restart your Fire TV for video to play properly.

Jared Newman / IDG

At this point, you should be able to use Peacock like normal, with one notable caveat: In the current version, Peacock does not seem to display a home-screen icon, so youll only see a gray box with a slashed-out image icon instead. The app itself works fine, though, so just remember that this gray box represents the Peacock app, and consider pinning it to your home screen for faster access.

Jared Newman / IDG The sideloaded version of Peacock works on Fire TV, but the icon may not.

What if Peacock needs an update?

Having written this kind of tutorial before, I know that when Peacock updates its Android TV app, it can sometimes prevent your older sideloaded version from running. Ill try to keep this story up to date, but you can also update the app yourself through the following steps:

1. Head to the Peacock page on APK Mirror, scroll down to All versions, and click the option that shows the most recent date.

2. On the next page, right-click (or long-press) the Download APK button and copy the link.

Jared Newman / IDG

3. Head to the AFTVNews URL Shortener, paste your link into the URL box, and hit Shorten.

4. In Downloader, use the newly generated numeric code in place of the one seen in the steps above.

Hopefully sideloading wont be necessary for too much longer. But at least Peacocks reps have something to reference in the meantime.

Sign up for Jareds Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter to get this column and other cord-cutting news, insights, and deals delivered to your inbox.
Washington: The United States is planning to impose sanctions on two conglomerates controlled by Myanmars military over the generals February 1 coup and a deadly crackdown, two sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday (March 24).

The move by the US Treasury to blacklist Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC) and Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd (MEHL) and freeze any assets they hold in the United States could come as early as Thursday (March 25), sources said

The generals staged a takeover on the first day of parliament in February, detaining civilian leaders including Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party won elections in November. The military claimed there was voter fraud but observers said there were no significant irregularities.

The Myanmar coup sparked a widespread uprising, and security forces have responded with violence, killing at least 275 people.

US President Joe Biden issued an executive order on February 11 paving the way for new sanctions against the Myanmar military and its interests. The order froze about $1 billion in reserves Myanmars central bank was held at the New York Fed, which the junta had attempted to withdraw after seizing power.

The United States and Britain, as well as the European Union and Canada, have already imposed some sanctions against top generals including Commander in Chief Min Aung Hlaing and the chief`s adult children.

But aside from three gemstone companies hit by US sanctions in February and US Commerce Department export blacklisting against the conglomerates, sanctions had until now not targeted the military`s business interests.

The military controls vast swathes of Myanmars economy through the holding firms and their subsidiaries, with interests ranging from beer and cigarettes to telecom, tires, mining and real estate.

Activists have been calling for sanctions to starve the military of revenue, and want governments to go further and hit oil and gas projects that are a major source of revenue to Myanmar.

The White House National Security Council referred inquiries to the Treasury Department, which did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Live TV
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.
For the first time since it launched at the end of 2019, Disney Plus is raising its prices. You have exactly until Friday to subscribe before the change kicks in.

Come Friday (March 26, 2021), the popular on-demand streaming service will increase its monthly subscription fee from $6.99 to $7.99, and its annual subscription fee from $69.99 to $79.99. The bundle that combines Disney Plus with Hulu and ESPN Plus is similarly increasing, with the monthly price lifting from $12.99 to $13.99.

The updated price tag will be seen during the first billing cycle on or after March 26, and it will affect new subscribers and existing ones.

It may be the last day before the hike, but there is still a way to avoid the price increase. If you sign up for an annual subscription today, before March 26, youll lock in the current $69.99 rate and dodge the price hike for a year. (Signing up for a monthly subscription before March 26 will only save $1, so make sure to sign up for an annual subscription to maximize your savings.)

Since the change was announced in December, Disney has presented a plan to launch dozens of original titles from Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar, National Geographic, and the Disney brand itself in the coming years. That includes multiple upcoming films like Cruella and Black Widow, both of which will be available on Disney Plus for a $30 premier access fee.

Black Widow in theaters July 9 and on @DisneyPlus with Premier Access. Additional fees required. pic.twitter.com/MSLHxk6Eez  Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) March 23, 2021

The company intends to use the extra revenue to help fund this wealth of new content, much of which will be housed on the Disney Plus platform.

Many streaming services have increased prices over the past year, including YouTube TV, Hulu Live TV, and ESPN Plus. However, since Disney Plus has not existed as long as some of its competitors, the sudden change has drawn some anger from consumers.

The streaming giant is already the only place to find massive hits like The Mandalorian, WandaVision, Raya and the Last Dragon, the official recording of Hamilton, and most of Disneys massive roster of original content, both classic and new. It is also the official streaming home of the entire Star Wars saga, all Marvel movies, every Pixar film, and most content from the National Geographic channel.

Related stories about streaming TV services

WWE Network moving to Peacock, slashing cost: How to get a free trial and subscribe

What is Philo? Price, TV channels, how to get a free trial

How to get a free trial of horror movie streaming service Shudder  and what to watch with it

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Joseph Rejent may be reached at jrejent@njadvancemedia.com.
Blackstone Minerals is positioning itself to be part of the sector supplying the burgeoning battery market.

I have been a big fan of ( ) for a very long time. Followers who have been with since the beginning will know that I have been sharing their story since 2019 when they were just A$0.15. In fact, I have just realised that they went down to A$0.08 during COVID.

In the early days, the story was focused on whether they would be able to come up with good drilling results which was to be followed by the probability of 'resources'. The next step would be the obligation to show the competency of the existing plant.

In the last episode of Coffee with Samso with Scott, he mentioned the beginnings of a downstream strategy, Producing Nickel for the EV Revolution - Blackstone Minerals Ltd ( ).

Why their nickel products are of the highest quality

In this episode of Coffee with Samso, Scott Williamson tells us about how the company intends to make the best battery products for the industry.

There is going to be a supply issue. The biggest deal-breaker for the battery market is a lack of nickel sulphide concentrates.

As I have mentioned before in the other Coffee with Samso, the whole business of finding more nickel metal is a forgone conclusion. The relentless results coming out from Vietnam are now boring me. It is now just a matter of time for a re-rating of the company.

Would I buy Blackstone now?

I have been asked many times if BSX is still a buy at the current price. My simple answer is similar to what Rick Rule mentioned in our last Coffee with Samso. Look at 35:54 | Rick and Paladin - The story of Investing in Mineral Explorers - Commodities and Equities: Advice from Rick Rule - Episode 70.

The story that Rick tells is the best answer to any investor's questions of entry timing, understanding the value and letting that dictate your decision.

PODCAST:

About Scott Williamson

Managing director, BEng (Mining), BCom, MAusIMM

Scott Williamson is an experienced managing director with a demonstrated history of working in the mining and metals industry. He is skilled in open pit and underground mining, corporate finance, investor relations and project planning. A strong business development professional with equity capital markets experience, Scott graduated from West Australian School of Mines and Curtin University of Technology. Scott holds a WA First Class Mine Managers Certificate and is a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.

About Blackstone Minerals

Blackstone Minerals Ltd is developing the district-scale Ta Khoa Project in Northern Vietnam where the company is drilling out the large-scale Ban Phuc Nickel-PGE deposit. The Ta Khoa Nickel-Copper-PGE Project has existing modern mine infrastructures built to International Standards including a 450ktpa processing plant and permitted mine facilities.

Blackstone Minerals also owns a large landholding at the Gold Bridge project within the BC porphyry belt in British Columbia, Canada, with large-scale drill targets prospective for high-grade gold-cobalt-copper mineralisation.

In Australia, Blackstone Minerals is exploring for nickel and gold in the Eastern Goldfields and gold in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Blackstone Minerals has a board and management team with a proven track record of mineral discovery and corporate success.

Ta Khoa Nickel-Copper-PGE Project

The Ta Khoa Nickel-Copper-PGE Project is 160km west of Hanoi in the Son La Province of Vietnam and includes an existing modern nickel mine built to Australian standards, which is currently under care and maintenance. The Ban Phuc nickel mine successfully operated as a mechanised underground nickel mine from 2013 to 2016.

Previous project owners invested more than US$136m in capital and generated US$213m in revenue during a 3.5-year period of falling nickel prices. The project was placed into care and maintenance in mid-2016 during some of the lowest nickel prices in the past 10 years.

Existing infrastructure associated with the project includes an internationally-designed 450 ktpa processing plant connected to local hydro grid power with a fully-permitted tailings facility and a modern 250-person camp.

Since commencing maiden drilling in August 2019, Blackstone Minerals has made significant progress at Ta Khoa, drilling over 9,000 metres of diamond core in more than 47 holes into the Ban Phuc DSS deposit and the highly prospective King Cobra discovery zone.

An initial scoping study evaluating mining and processing options is well advanced, including potential in-country downstream processing to deliver high-value nickel sulphate into Asias rapidly expanding electric vehicle (EV) industry.

The MOU with Asias largest and the worlds second-largest EV battery cathode manufacturer, Ecopro BM Co Limited, represents a significant step towards making this a reality.

Please let Samso know your thoughts and send any comments to info@Samso.com.au. Remember to Subscribe to the YouTube Channel, Samso Media and the mail list to stay informed and make comments where appropriate. Other than that, also feel free to provide a Review on Google.

For further information about Coffee with Samso and Rooster Talks visit: www.samso.com.au

About Samso

Samso is a renowned resource among the investment community for keen market analysis and insights into the companies and business trends that matter.

Investors seek out Samso for knowledgeable evaluations of current industry developments across a variety of business sectors and considered forecasts of future performances.

With a compelling format of relaxed online video interviews, Samso provides clear answers to questions they may not have the opportunity to ask and lays out the big picture to help them complete their investment research.

And in doing so, Samso also enables companies featured in interviews to build valuable engagement with their investment communities and customers.

Headed by industry veteran Noel Ong and based in Perth, Western Australia, Samsos Coffee with Samso and Rooster Talk interviews both feature friendly conversations with business figures that give insights into Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) companies, related concepts and industry trends.

Noel Ong is a geologist with nearly 30 years of industry experience and a strong background in capital markets, corporate finance and the mineral resource sector. He was founder and managing director of ASX-listed company from 2009-2017 and has also been involved in several other ASX listings, providing advice, procuring projects and helping to raise capital.

He brings all this experience and expertise to the Samso interviews, where his engaging conversation style creates a relaxed dialogue, revealing insights that can pique investor interest.

Noel Ong travels across Australia to record the interviews, only requiring a coffee shop environment where they can be set up. The interviews are posted on Samsos website and podcasts, YouTube and other relevant online environments where they can be shared among investment communities.

Samso also has a track record of developing successful business concepts in the Australasia region and provides bespoke research and counsel to businesses seeking to raise capital and procuring projects for ASX listings.

Disclaimer
Residents in Sydney's suburbs could in the coming days be swarmed by deadly venomous spiders escaping flooding, the Australian Reptile Park has warned.

Thousands of people living in New South Wales have been evacuated this week due to some of the worst floods to hit the region in decades.

The torrential rain has also forced many animals and insects from their habitats, with Australians this week posting footage of spiders fleeing the water for dryer land.

And Australian Reptile Park director Tim Faulkner says the raised water levels and muggy conditions could see an influx of funnel-web spiders to homes in Sydney's suburbs.

"The upcoming warm weather and high levels of humidity is the perfect storm for a funnel-web spider boom," he said.

Read more:

"With the incredible flooding that we've experienced across the Greater Sydney area, they have been forced out of their habitat and are seeking refuge in dryer areas," he added.

"Unfortunately, this could mean that they'll be finding their way into residential homes very shortly."

Funnel-web spiders are arachnids that build webs around their burrows and are feared because of their highly toxic venom.

According to the Australian Museum, up to 30-40 people get bitten by the creatures each year, although only 13 deaths have ever been recorded and none since antivenoms were made available in the 80s.

The Australian Reptile Park is advising those who feel safe and confident enough to catch and deliver the spiders to designated collection facilities.

About 18,000 people were evacuated across New South Wales this week as heavy rains pounded the east coast of Australia, causing the floods to worsen.

On Monday, footage emerged showing hundreds of spiders crawling into a family's garage to escape the floods.

Melanie Williams, from the town of Macksville, shared the footage of her neighbours' garage, where spiders and other insects could be seen hurrying up walls to get away from the water.

She said her home had not been hit by the invasion and that the spiders eventually went back to "wherever they came from".
A human rights activist has asked the High Court to mete out stiff punishment to two convicted killers of a person with albinism in Nkhata Bay.

Happy Mhango says the two convicted killers deserve stiff sentence for the 2018 brutal killing of the person with albinism at Kande/Mbamba in Nkhata Bay.

Mhango hopes a stiff sentence would deter future attacks on people with albinism.

Judge Dorothy de'Gabrielle is yet to set a date for sentencing of Frank Mkweni Thonje and Bonzo Chirwa who both hail from Nkhata-Bay.

President of the Association of People with Albinism (APAM) Ian Simbota, says justice has finally been served following the conviction of the two men in the 2018 killing of Yassin Kwenda Phiri, a man with albinism in Nkhata Bay.

Simbota has since appealledto players in the justice system to expedite trial of cases on attacks on albinos.
President Joe Biden on Thursday announced the doubling of his administrations COVID-19 vaccination goal, pressing for 200 million shots to be administered within his first 100 days in office.

The president noted that back in December, he pledged to get 100 million shots in Americans arms within 100 days of taking office  a goal met last week 42 days ahead of schedule.

We will, by my 100th day in office ... have administered 200 million shots in peoples arms, Biden said in the East Room of the White House. I know its ambitious, twice our original goal, but no other country has come even close. I believe we can do it.

The president added that his administration recently made a historic investment of additional $10 billion to get the vaccine to hard hit and vulnerable communities.

The ramp up in vaccinations comes as production and distribution of the Johnson & Johnsons single-dose vaccine increases across the country. The Biden administration announced a deal earlier this month that the federal government would procure at least 100 million doses of the vaccine, which is also being produced by rival drugmaker Merck. The deal significantly bolstered the U.S. vaccine supply, reportedly giving the country more than enough to get shots in the arms of every American.

Bidens first solo news conference as president comes as his administration tours the country to hammer home the benefits of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Act. He touted the nearly 130 million $1,400 payments the Internal Revenue Service has already issued to Americans.

Thats real money in peoples pockets, bringing real relief, Biden said. He also noted that nearly half of kindergarten through eighth grade schools are open full-time. Were really close, he said, to reaching the goal of all such schools conducting in-person classes within his first 100 days in office.

Later, when pressed on how hed make progress on voting rights, gun legislation, immigration and other issues while grappling with an evenly-divided U.S. Senate, Biden noted that it is a pretty big deal that he and Democrats successfully pushed through the relief bill earlier this month.

Ive been hired to solve problems, not create division, he said. I have never been particularly poor at calculating how to get things done in the United States Senate.

Related Content:
Supt. Thurmond Deploys 3 Million COVID Tests to Speed Up Safe School Reopening

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond expanded an existing pilot testing program, adding 3 million free COVID-19 rapid antigen tests, as part of Gov. Gavin Newsoms plan to accelerate the safe reopening of schools across California. 2

Being able to quickly identify who is positive, and who is not, will be critically important for day-to-day operations on a school campus, and will help protect not only students but teachers and support staff, said Thurmond.

State administrators partnered with the California COVID-19 Testing Task Force and the California Department of Education to safeguard the reopening of K-12 schools in underprivileged communities across the state. High-needs schools will have access to antibody tests at no cost so that students can return for in-person instruction. The pilot program delivered rapid antigen tests to 11 school districts located in areas that were the most impacted by the pandemic. The participating schools produced fruitful results that identified individuals who were asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic. The pilot program prioritizes rural regions, low-income neighborhoods, as well as Black and Brown communities that were disproportionately affected by COVID-19 due to limited access to adequate health care.

ADVERTISEMENT

Thurmond said that it is important to get the rapid antibody tests, into the hands of those who may lack the access to testing or medical care.

The antibody tests are crucial for the safe reopening of schools seeing that individuals can get results in at least 15 minutes, state officials said. Members of the COVID-19 taskforce train and oversee the testing process at participating schools in efforts to expand the pilot program.

State administrators also implemented the Healthy Places Index, a census data-tracking tool that identifies underserved populations inconvenienced by the pandemic. The metric tool was created by the Public Health Alliance of Southern California to boost state outreach in low-income Black and Brown communities.

Gov. Newsom said the pilot program is preparing more schools to welcome students for in-person learning before the end of the year.

By deploying these rapid tests, California is adding another tool in the toolbox to support schools as they continue on the path to reopen as safely and quickly as possible, said Newsom.

The rapid antibody testing pilot program was launched in January 2021 by the California COVID-19 Testing Task Force along with the California Endowment and the Public Health Institute. The research institutions, part of Gov. Newsoms Together Toward Health initiative, are expected to publish the pilot programs data revealing the test results of more than 40,000 students from 80 elementary schools in 11 school districts across the state.
Defense of convicted ex-Mayor of Vladivostok acquitted of obstruction of justice

 flickr.com / bloomsberries

10:42 25/03/2021

MOSCOW, March 25 (RAPSI)  The Central District Court of Khabarovsk on Thursday acquitted two defense lawyers for ex-mayor of Vladivostok Igor Pushkarev in a case over perverting the course of justice, RAPSI learnt from the court.

The court found Yakov Sheinin and Sergey Golovanyuk not guilty of obstruction of justice committed by a group of conspirators.

According to the investigation, during the trial of Pushkarev and his accomplices, the attorneys attempted to obstruct justice using illegal methods and ways. They tried to influence through foul means and threats a representative of a victim, whose testimony uncovered the defendants, inducing him not to testify against Pushkarev.

Moreover, investigators claimed the lawyers put pressure on a representative of a victim through the Vladivostok administrations officials. However, they could not win them round, the accusations read.

In April 2019, Moscows Tverskoy District Court sentenced Pushkarev to 15 years in a high-security prison for receiving bribes, abuse of power and graft. He was also fined 500 million rubles ($6.5 million at the current exchange rate) and barred from holding authority posts for 10 years.

Moreover, the court recovered 143 million rubles (about $2 million) from Pushkarev in favor of Roads of Vladivostok granting the companys suit.
Armenian acting minister: EU allocated EUR 68,700,000 to Armenia for budget support in 2020

Armenia Finance Ministry: MFA's budget grew by AMD 1,600,000,000 in 2020

Bodies and remains of Armenian soldiers are kept in morgue in Armenia's Martuni

White House confirms Biden-Erdogan meeting in Brussels

Armenia acting MOD touches upon priority directions for development of Armed Forces

Diaspora Armenian writer, publicist Toros Toranian dies

2 Armenian soldiers injured in scuffle with Azerbaijan, Armenian POW is hospitalized, Jun. 3 digest

Wedding held in Armenia's Shurnukh for first time since the war ended

EEU member states to finish preparing for negotiations over free trade zone in Iran in late June

Armenia Central Bank: Economic downfall in 2020 was due to decline in service and construction sectors

Armenia legislature adopts several bills in first reading

Armenia President meets with Nursultan Nazarbayev

Dejavu: Armenia ruling party distributes money for votes at Yerevan district election office

Chief Advisor to Karabakh President sacked

Russian MFA: Works are carried out to settle situation around Karabakh every day

Armenia opposition MP sounds alarm about Baku fabricating criminal cases against Armenian prisoners

Armenia acting health minister: I have apologized, I am not going to resign

Helga Schmid meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Armenia's deputy foreign ministers resigned or have heavy workload?

Dollar goes down in Armenia

Armenia Elections Oversight Committee reports Iranian citizenship of ruling party's MP candidate

Acting deputy minister: Only 17 of 711 Iran-Armenia power transmission line towers were installed by 2017

Armenia Parliament Council holding session

Armenia to host CSTO "Thunder-2021" military exercises

NYT: Chinese hackers launch cyberattack on New York city transportation authority

Armenia President to Kazakhstan counterpart: I would like to see much deeper cooperation between our countries

Armenia citizens shut down Etchmiadzin-Ashtarak road, complaining about lack of irrigation water

Armenia independent MP: Foreign minister and his deputies don't want to take part in treacherous acts

Armenia to get $11mn loan, 350,000 grant for agriculture

WHO worries about worsening mental health worldwide amid pandemic

Armenia health ministry on improper handling of Artsakh war victims bodies: There is no justification

Armenia bloc election foundation already in operation

Russia ambassador to Armenia paying working visit to Syunik Province (PHOTOS)

China pledges to step up resistance to foreign interference in Hong Kong

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: There can be no talk of corridor for Azerbaijan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on incumbent authorities: Wherever they flee, we will bring them by the feet

President: Impossible to ensure peace in region or stay in Artsakh without Russia army joint efforts

China Daily: Dispatch from Makit: Thriving in the desert

Karabakh President: We will never put up with being part of Azerbaijan, it is ruled out

Armenia MFA information department chief: All deputy FMs carrying out their duties

Ardshinbank invited children to the cinema on International Childrens Day

Armenia judiciary to have 10 more judges

Armenia acting premier: We had recorded 40% increase in tax revenues according to 2019 results

Armenia acting PM on Artsakh war casualties bodies: We have 50 remains in which case DNA was not separated

Azerbaijan authorities plan to "squeeze" everything from "terrorist show" related to Armenian captives

Ameriabank announces a contest for bank card design

108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia parliament convenes special session

Armenia interim government holding Cabinet meeting

Catholicos of All Armenians heads for Syunik Province, Artsakh

World oil prices going up

Iran loses right to vote in UN General Assembly

Newspaper: Armenia authorities come up with new way of punishing unwanted characters

Newspaper: Russia army Southern Military District deputy commander to arrive in Yerevan Thursday

Lebanese Armenian man taken prisoner by Azerbaijan is hospitalized

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Are we getting under the burden? Then lets get under to the end

Armenia acting health minister on keeping fallen soldiers bodies in bags: What else should they be kept in?

Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation

Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow

2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik

Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center

"Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans

Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel

Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna

Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations

US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies

Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week

Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection

Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential

Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement

Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues

Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo

Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation

NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident

Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices

Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over

Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest

Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia

Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia

Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels

Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters

Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021

Dollar is stable in Armenia

Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector

Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out

Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe

Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia

Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border

Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor

Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue

Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia

Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this

Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia
Mr Shittu explained that the personnel of the task force are well trained and have been deployed to the area to maintain peace

The Special Task Force, Operation Safe Haven (OPSH), maintaining peace in Plateau and parts of Kaduna and Bauchi states, has denied killing a woman at Gon Gora, Zango Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

The Media Officer of the task force, Ibrahim Shittu, made the denial in a statement on Thursday in Jos.

According to Mr Shittu, the allegation making rounds that its personnel killed a certain woman during a protest, was malicious and false.

He said that the deceased was hit by a stray bullet during another violent protest staged by a group of women in the community.

He explained that personnel of the task force are well trained and have been deployed to the area to maintain peace, and have been operating within the rules of engagement, code of conduct and respect for fundamental human rights.

"To set the record straight, on March 5, following a reported case of the destruction of a farmland belonging to one Mr Ibrahim Amako by a group of herders numbering five, the Secretary to the District Head of Gon Gora, Mr Ayuba Bungon, intervened in the case where he facilitated the payment of the N300,000 compensation to appease the victim.

"On March 6, at about 6:55 p.m. while on routine patrol, our troops were informed that the Secretary and five herders were kidnapped by unknown persons suspected to be youths of Gora Village at Ungwan Masat along Gora - Zonkwa road while returning home.

"Troops in conjunction with other security agencies swiftly mobilised to the scene and successfully rescued the secretary unhurt, while two out of the five victims later escaped from their abductors. Efforts are ongoing to rescue other missing persons.

"Troops while searching the general area recovered one locally fabricated assault rifle, four rounds of 7.62mm special and a bag containing rings and charms," he said.

Giving further details of what transpired, Mr Shittu said women of community staged a protest on March 22 and another on March 23, and expressed their displeasure with the spate of killings in the area.

"In the same vein, March 22, a group of women staged a peaceful protest at troops location in Gora village. The protesters expressed their displeasure over the constant killing of their people by suspected militias which led to people deserting the village over fear of a possible reprisal attack.

"The protesters were addressed by Col. David Nwakonobi, the Commander of our Sector 6, to sheath their swords and embrace peace. They later dispersed peacefully.

"On March 23, at about 5: 45 p.m., troops received a distress call of a violent protests by women and youths of Gon Gora, Bafai Gora and Sagwaza villages. The violent protest was believed to be sponsored by some aggrieved elites of Zagon Kataf.

"Troops swiftly mobilised to the scene in order to restore normalcy to the area. Troops on arrival at the scene of the incident were however encountered by some youths in the midst of the female protesters firing and pelting dangerous object at the troops.

"In the pandemonium, one of the female protesters in close contact with troops was hit by a stray bullet from the youths, while an elderly man sustained a gunshot injury on his right hand," he explained.

Mr Shittu further explained that some youth later barricaded the exit and entry routes of the community and demanded the withdrawal of troops from the area.

He said troops later apprehended eight suspects involved in the violent protest and recovered one locally fabricated assault rifle and three cartridges from the suspects.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Women By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"The arrested suspects are currently in our custody undergoing preliminary investigation.

"The injured person is currently receiving treatment at Saint Louis Hospital Zonkwa, while the corpse of the deceased has been deposited at the morgue of General Hospital Zonkwa.

"Normalcy has since returned to the general area while troops are maintaining vigilance to forestall any further breakdown of law and order," Mr Shittu said.

The media officer warned mischief makers to desist from fomenting troubles and violence in the Southern Kaduna and across its joint operational areas, adding that anyone caught would be made to face the full wrath of the law.

He, however, solicited public support to the task force to enable it achieve its mandate of promoting peace and tranquillity in the society.
KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine registered a record daily high of 16,669 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, health minister Maksym Stepanov said on Thursday.

The previous high of 16,294 cases was on Nov. 28.

Stepanov said in Facebook post a record 363 coronavirus-related deaths were registered over Wednesday, exceeding the previous high of 342 cases on Tuesday.

The country of 41 million people has been hit by a sharp rise in coronavirus cases in recent weeks that Prime Minister Denys Shmygal has described as a third wave of the pandemic.

Ukraine has reported 1,596,575 coronavirus cases during the course of the pandemic and 31,135 deaths.

Stepanov said 18,561 Ukrainians got the first shot of COVID-19 vaccines and the total number of vaccinations reached 155,587 so far.

Ukraine received 500,000 doses of India-made AstraZeneca vaccine CoviShield in February. It also expects to receive the first batch of China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine later on Thursday.

But local state Medical Procurement Agency (MPA) said it cannot accept a batch because the local supplier did not provide the required documents.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Tom Hogue)
ADVERTISEMENT

The President, Association of Missionaries in Nigeria, Oscar Amaechina, has called on ministers of the gospel in Nigeria to shun prosperity theology which is a pandemic worse than COVID-19.

He made the assertion in a conference organised by Afri-Mission and Evangelism Network for pastors and Evangelists in Abuja at the weekend.

The theme of the conference was antichrist mandate and its effect on pastors and the mandate of the Great Commission.

The cleric observed that the empire building which is fashioned after the Babylonian system of Let us build and make names for ourselves has not allowed churches and pastors to realise the mandate of the church which is go ye.

Our inability to reach the unreached with the gospel and love of Christ is responsible for insurgency and terrorism in our country.

He warned participants to note that cross-less Christianity is a pandemic worse than COVID-19 and believers can only survive the pandemic through spiritual sanitisation of their hearts through sound Biblical theology.

This virus is capable of condemning billions of Christians to second death by facilitating their reception of the mark 666. Unlike COVID-19, no one is taking measure to stop its spread.

Rather, many African Christians are embracing it because it seems to proffer quasi-solution to the chronic poverty in the land. The only antiretroviral therapy is healthy dosage of sound biblical theology.

The cleric pleaded with the participants to stop collecting money from worshipers of God in the name of seed sowing and reminded them that every pastor will give account of his stewardship on earth.

Josephine Amaechina, who was represented by Uche Chiedu, Head, Training and Capacity Building of Afri-Mission and Evangelism Network, said that embracing the mandate of the Great Commission will inevitably bring transformations to the body of Christ and the country at large.

This conference was designed for pastors because we have realised that the gospel has not reached so many people and that we have not obeyed our masters command.

Also, Emmanuel Akpo, a student of Afri-Mission School of Advance Theology, said The teaching has quite changed my mentality totally, when I go back to my ministry I will change a lot of things.

Another participant, Onyekachi Amaechi, said that he has made a 360 degree turn around.

I have benefited a lot about changing the narrative of what I believed initially Christianity was, I have come to understand that we are called to concentrate on souls, to win souls for Jesus Christ and expand the kingdom. I have learnt a lot.

Adams Maxwell another participant said I am very excited to be a partaker of this great meeting and to meet a man that loves the work of God and never hides the truth.
The National Arts Council of Zimbabwe and Jacaranda Culture and Media Corporation have announced another set of artists set to make an appearance and perform at the forthcoming National Arts Merit Awards #NAMAlegends on 27 March 2021.

A first and rare occurrence, the collaboration has been called the 'Big Diaspora Collaboration' as it will see seven Zimbabwean artists in different parts of the world coming together on one track.

The artists include Bekezela (SA), Brian Nhira(USA), Cindy Munyavi (USA), Sani Makhalima (Australia), Tina Masawi (Spain), Vimbai Zimuto (Netherlands) and Vusa Mkhaya (Austria)

Speaking on behalf of the event organisers, Jacaranda Culture and Media Corporation, Tinashe Kitchen said, "Our aim with this performance is to celebrate our artists who are waving the Zimbabwean flag high all over the world. Just like the legends we honour this year, they continue to inspire and make us proud to be Zimbabwean through their art and majesty,"

NAMA executive director and producer, Napoleon Nyanhi, also added saying, "One of the NAMA mandates is to expose Zimbabwean talent to the world and this Big Diaspora Collaboration serves to herald Zimbabwe's dominance beyond our borders. We have exported a lot of brilliant talent as a nation and at NAMA we will celebrate with some of our best musical exports."

The seven join DJ Tamuka, Busi Ncube, Nutty O, Tamy Moyo, Poptain, Sylent Nqo, Mzoe 7, Anita Jackson, Jose Sax, Tariro neGitare, Exq among others who will grace the occasion.

Brian NhiraCindy MunyaviJacaranda Culture and Media CorporationNational Arts Council of ZimbabweSani Makhalima
A female science teacher has been spared jail over sex with a 16-year-old boy pupil after they swapped flirty messages and sexual photos for months while she waited for him to turn the legal age.

Shannon Parsons and the teenager exchanged a series of messages over the phone until he turned 16, at which point they slept together at his family home while his parents were at work.

Their relationship came to light after parents of another pupil at the state secondary school in Gravesham, Kent, raised their concerns, although no wrongdoing was found in respect of that child.

Parsons, of Welling, south east London, described as 'well-respected and highly regarded' by colleagues, told police she never thought of the teenager as a child, did not love him and it was 'purely sexual'.

But she added she knew it was wrong and should have ended it, Maidstone Crown Court was told.

Parsons, 33, pleaded guilty to abuse of a position of trust by causing or inciting sexual activity with a child.

She sobbed in the dock however as Judge Philip Statman said exceptional circumstances, including her previous good character, genuine remorse, the impact of custody on her young daughter, and the extensive delay in court proceedings, enabled him to impose a sentence of 12 months' imprisonment suspended for two years.

But he told the redhead that although she and the boy had had consensual sex, her behaviour had involved 'significant planning and an element of grooming'.

Shannon Parsons and the teenager exchanged a series of messages over the phone until he turned 16, at which point they slept together at his family home while his parents were at work

Judge Statman said: 'You were the adult, he was the student, you were in your 30s, he was 16, and you had a responsibility pursuant to your profession to behave in an appropriate manner towards him.

'You failed to comply with that which was required of you. It was one thing to have an interest in the education of a student and help a student to do his very best.

'But you crossed the important boundary and you fractured the relationship between student and teacher.

'The abuse of that position of trust highlights just how serious this type of criminality is.'

The court heard Parsons had been working at the school for three years when the sexual intercourse, said to be a 'one-off incident' occurred in 2018.

Prosecutor Vivian Walters said she was considered a good teacher and had been given the extra responsibility of being a 'learning conversation leader'.

But when parents of another student raised concerns with the school, it led to fellow pupils revealing she had had sex with the 16-year-old.

During his subsequent interview with police he told officers they 'got on well' and he had emailed her asking her to text him.

Ignoring the school's safeguarding policy, she then used her personal mobile phone to message him back.

Miss Walters told the court their conversations were initially about 'school stuff' and home life but then 'turned into flirting'.

'He said he would then see her at lunchtimes and once he was 16 the conversations started being more about sex,' she said.

'He said she would message him constantly, they had exchanged sexual photographs of themselves and arranged to meet for sex.'

The teenager told police he 'always felt a bit weird' about their conversations and would therefore cut them short.

He added that he would also make excuses about being busy because although at times he was 'up for it', the fact of who she was 'put him off'.

But the court heard intercourse took place one afternoon at his home while his parents were at work.

Miss Walters said: 'They had started kissing and then had sex. He was 16. He said that after they had had sex he felt awkward. He didn't talk to her and ignored her on Instagram.

Parsons, 33, pleaded guilty to abuse of a position of trust by causing or inciting sexual activity with a child

'She tried to talk to him on exam results day....but he said he couldn't be bothered. He also said he told a couple of mates (what had happened) which was how it got spread around.

'He said it affected him quite badly because 'everyone was talking about it'.'

Parsons was arrested, immediately confessed, and resigned from her job.

She told police the boy was 15 when they first began communicating on her phone and via social media.

'She said she wanted to help him get a good grade. When he emailed her she had been worried about him and sent him a text from her personal phone which is how he got her number,' the prosecutor told the court.

'She said she knew that wasn't allowed. At some stage he said he was attracted to her. She said she knew she should have ended it and she knew it was wrong.'

The court heard that when a false rumour they had already had sex began to spread around the school she told the student to 'deal with it', fearing she would lose her job.

'She was determined not to meet up with him until he was over 16 but they messaged and talked about having sex,' said Miss Walters.

'She said they exchanged intimate photographs but she said she hadn't solicited them. She said she thought he was 15 (at that time).

'She said she wasn't in love with him, it was purely sexual and she never thought of him as a child.

'She agreed it was not okay to do what she did but felt he wanted it to happen.'

Although interviewed by police, the court was told the boy did not want to provide a victim personal statement.

His father said however that his son's general behaviour had not been 'negatively affected', although he had experienced some bullying as a result.

Simon Connolly, defending, said Parsons had admitted her guilt 'unreservedly' and made no attempt to either avoid responsibility or blame others.

She was also said to be suffering from mental health issues at the time and has since been diagnosed with what is known as a stress-related adjustment disorder.

'It was a single incident, there was no attempt to repeat it and was followed immediately by regret,' Mr Connolly told the court.

'She has lost a job she worked hard to achieve and dearly loved. Of course, that is her own fault but that in itself is a punishment for her.'

Mr Connolly added that immediate custody was unnecessary and 'marginally' not in the public interest.

The court heard it took two years for Parsons to be charged, despite her full confession, with the CPS having to repeatedly chase Kent Police to complete the case file.

Judge Statman criticised the delay as 'inexcusable and completely unacceptable', and said it had created 'a very real difficulty' in deciding the appropriate punishment.

As part of her sentence, Parsons must undertake 40 days of a rehabilitation activity requirement. She was also made subject to a sexual harm prevention order for five years and must sign on the sex offenders' register for 10 years.

She will also be barred from working with children and vulnerable adults.

The court heard that although she still lives with her daughter's father, their relationship was coming to an end at the time of the offence.
Park Young-sun, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's candidate for the April 7 Seoul mayoral by-election, delivers a speech during a ceremony to mark the launch of her election campaign held in front of a building in Guro District, Seoul, Thursday, the first day of her official 13-day election campaign. Joint Press Corps



By Jung Da-min



The competition is heating up between rival candidates of the ruling and main opposition parties for the April 7 Seoul mayoral by-election, with both candidates officially embarking on election campaigns starting Thursday. The official election period lasts for 13 days until the day before April 7, the day of the by-elections according to relevant election law.



Park Young-sun of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) started her campaign right after midnight on Thursday by visiting a young part-timer at a convenience store in Seoul to learn more about young people's ways of living and policy demands, while also listening to the difficulties of small business owners and vendors.



Oh Se-hoon of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), also kicked off his campaign right after midnight by visiting a subway train depot to help staffers' quarantine works there to prevent further spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.









With less than two weeks left ahead of the April 7 by-elections, the current situation is favorable to Oh, who has been taking the lead in recent opinion surveys on favorable candidates for the Seoul mayoral by-election.





Oh Se-hoon, center, the main opposition People Power Party's candidate for the April 7 Seoul mayoral by-election, speaks during an election campaign in Seodaemun District, Seoul, Thursday, the first day of his official 13-day election campaign. Joint Press Corps



According to a survey of 806 adults conducted by pollster Realmeter on March 24, the day after Oh became the single unified candidate of the country's conservative opposition bloc by winning a public opinion survey against Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor opposition People's Party, Oh ranked top taking a big lead. Oh garnered 55 percent support, followed by Park with 36.5 percent.



The favorability toward Oh was especially high among respondents in their 20s, with 60.1 percent of them saying they would vote for Oh, while 21.1 percent said they would vote for Park.



The situation was different earlier in the year when Park declared her bid for the Seoul mayoral post in late January, as she had been garnering high public support ratings in popularity polls of potential candidates at the time. But her popularity has since been on the wane, especially in the wake of a speculative land purchase scandal involving employees of the state-run Korean Land and Housing Corp. (LH) which has fueled public anger toward the Moon Jae-in government and its real estate policy failures.





Park Young-sun, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea candidate for the April 7 Seoul mayoral by-election, speaks with a young part-timer during her visit to a convenience store in Mapo District, Seoul, Thursday, the first day of her official 13-day election campaign. Yonhap



Adding to unfavorable conditions for Park is some DPK members' recent remarks of support for former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon who killed himself last July over sexual harassment allegations raised by his former secretary. Controversies of secondary assault against the victim of the former mayor mounted after Im Jong-seok, former chief of staff to President Moon, posted messages of support for the former mayor on Facebook on Tuesday.



Park called for Im to refrain from making such remarks in a radio interview the same day but Im again posted similar messages on Facebook the following day. Lee Nak-yon, the DPK's election strategy committee chief, said in a radio interview Thursday that Im should respect the candidate's opinion.




If you haven't booked your rental for the summer on the Cape, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard by now, it's likely a waituntilnextyear scenario.
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 Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has ordered the attachment of bank accounts, share holdings, and mutual fund holdings of former Yes Bank MD and CEO Rana Kapoor to recover dues worth over Rs 1 crore. This decision came after the former Yes Bank boss failed to pay the fine imposed on him.

Sebi had levied a fine worth Rs 1 crore on Kapoor in September 2020 for failing to disclose a Morgan Credit transaction to the board of directors at Yes Bank, thus creating an opaque layer between him and Yes Bank's stakeholders. Morgan Credit was an unlisted promoter entity of Yes Bank. Since this was in clear violation of the Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements (LODR), Sebi issued a demand notice to him in February 2021, although he did not pay any dues.

Sebi's order stated the pending dues are Rs 1.04 crore, which comprise an initial fine of Rs 1 crore, an interest amount of Rs 4.56 lakh, and a recovery cost of Rs 1,000. Besides, the regulator has also directed banks, depositories, and mutual funds to not permit any debit from Rana Kapoor's accounts. Credits will, however, be permitted.

Sebi has also directed banks to attach all accounts belonging to Kapoor, including lockers. Rana Kapoor was arrested in March 2020 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and is currently lodged at Taloja Jail, Navi Mumbai.

According to the Enforcement Directorate, loans to the tune of Rs 30,000 crore were sanctioned when Kapoor was heading Yes Bank, out of these advances worth Rs 20,000 crore turned out to be bad loans. ED also accused Kapoor, his family members and others received benefits worth Rs 4,300 crore via companies controlled by his family as kickbacks for sanctioning massive loans. Kapoor has also been accused of receiving bribes for going easy on loans given to a few big corporate groups that turned into huge non-performing assets (NPAs).

Also read: DHFL directors availed thousands of crores through fake loan accounts under PMAY: CBI

Also read: Swiggy to cover COVID-19 vaccination cost of over 2 lakh delivery partners
A former Houston Bank of America employee is facing felony charges for allegedly taking customers' phones to access intimate personal content.

Prosecutors say Juan Esteban Ramirez tricked at least two 20-year-old women into giving him their cellphones so he could text their nude photos to himself, per KPRC2's Jacob Rascon. And it's "highly unlikely" they were his only victims.

Screengrab courtesy of Jacob Rascon via KPRC2

One of the women walked into the branch located at 7770 Hwy 6 N. on September 14, 2020, in search of a new debit card. She wasn't sure how to look up her account information, as reported by Rascon, so she unlocked her phone and handed it to Ramirez for help.

DID YOU KNOW? Gov. Abbott signs bill outlawing unsolicited nude photos

From there, Ramirez allegedly went into the victims photos app and sent himself approximately 16 images of the victim nude or wearing underwear only," as reported by Rascon. He attemped to cover his tracks by deleting the texts, but the victim later noticed the messages on her smart watch and filed a police report.

What I think is particularly dangerous about Mr. Ramirezs behavior is that he is creating victims that are unsuspecting, said Assistant District Attorney Keaton Forcht, as reported by Rascon. Mr. Ramirez, in this case, is placed in a position of trust as a bank employee, and hes exploiting that trust.

In the second incident, which happened the same week, the victim and her parents walked into the branch with questions about her bank account  and Ramirez allegedly stole her photos in the same way, but with a new and threatening twist.

In this case, he actually texts that victim from his personal cell phone and threatens her and says he has those pictures from her cell phone, said Forcht, as reported by Rascon. She felt threatened by the way he was speaking to her and felt as though he expected something from her in exchange for the privacy of those texts.

Ramirez has been charged with unlawful disclosure of intimate visual material and is out on a $1,500 bond.
HONOLULU  Hawaiis strict limit on openly carrying firearms is lawful, a panel of federal appeals court judges ruled Wednesday in a lawsuit by a man who tried unsuccessfully several times to obtain a license to carry a loaded gun in public.

George Youngs lawyer said he will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case. We are hopeful the Supreme Court will grant review in Mr. Youngs case, attorney Alan Beck said.

Young wants to carry a gun for self-defense and says that not being able to do so violates his rights. His 2012 lawsuit was dismissed, with a judge siding with officials who said the Second Amendment only applied to guns kept in homes.

He appealed. Three federal appeals court judges later ruled in his favor but the state asked for a fuller panel of judges to hear the case.

That panel of 11 judges on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday held that the Second Amendment does not guarantee an unfettered, general right to openly carry arms in public for individual self-defense. Accordingly, Hawaiis firearms-carry scheme is lawful.

The ruling doesnt change open-carry laws in other states under the 9th Circuit. But if Young prevailed, it could have led to more guns in public in the few Western states under 9th Circuit jurisdiction where they are currently restricted.

The Second Amendment allows states to enact common sense regulations like those we have in Hawaii, state Attorney General Clare Connors said in statement. The ruling properly upholds the constitutionality of Hawaiis longstanding law allowing persons to carry firearms openly in public when licensed to do so, she said.

Hawaii has a de facto ban on carrying guns in public, Beck said.

Its not a flat ban because individuals can carry firearms if they have good cause, Neal Katyal, an attorney representing Hawaii, argued before the panel in September.

The ruling comes on the same day the Hawaii attorney generals office issued a report showing that all private citizens who applied for licenses to carry a gun in public in 2020 were denied.

Statewide last year, 123 employees of private security firms applied for and were issued carry licenses and one was denied, according to the report.

Youngs applications failed to identify the urgency or the need to openly carry a firearm in public, the ruling noted: Instead, Young relied upon his general desire to carry a firearm for self-defense.

Judge Diarmuid OScannlain, one of the four dissenting judges, wrote that the majoritys finding that the Second Amendment only guarantees the right to keep a firearm for self-defense within ones home, is as unprecedented as it is extreme.

-- The Associated Press
 Flash

Three Chinese citizens have been blacklisted by some tourist attractions in Beijing's Yanqing District for their "uncivilized behavior." It entailed scribbling on the city's landmark Badaling Great Wall, local authorities said on Wednesday.

The district's 12 tourist sites, including the Badaling and some other sections of the Great Wall, a wildlife park, a ski resort, and a wetland park, will block the three visitors guilty of behaviors that cause damage to the cultural relic from revisiting the site and other scenic spots.

On Sunday afternoon, the three individuals scribbled their names on the Great Wall sections with sharp tools. Early Monday morning, they were held accountable for their behavior and arrested and fined by the local police per the law.

The district's tourist attractions launched a joint punishment mechanism in April 2020 to raise public awareness of cultural site protection.
The chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, has held separate meetings with the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Tanko Muhammad, and the President of the Court of Appeal, Monica Dongban-Mensem, in his first official interactions with the judiciary arm of government since assuming office in February.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that the meetings, held at Mr Bawas instance on Tuesday, are part of his efforts to enlist the support of the judiciary in the fight against corruption.

Officials of the EFCC, the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, who are privy to the details of the meetings, shared the major highlights of the discussions with PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday.

Three-point request

The officials, who spoke with our reporter on the condition that they would not be named because they were not authorised to talk to the media on the matter, said Mr Bawa tabled his concerns about Nigerian courts handling of corruption cases at the meetings with the jurists.

Mr Bawa reportedly made three major points at the meetings, one of them, an appeal to his hosts to impress it on judges to be strict in the application of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015 to remove the delays often suffered by the criminal cases, particularly, the high-profile corruption matters.

He then appealed to them to designate courts to handle exclusively corruption and financial crimes, an arrangement he believes will boost speedy hearing and determination of such cases.

The third point reportedly made by the EFCC chairman has to do with the setback often caused by indiscriminate transfer or elevation of judges to higher courts.

A criminal case no matter how far it has gone automatically begins afresh once the judge handling it is elevated to the Court of Appeal. Sometimes, the transfer of judges from one division of a High Court to another, leads to cases starting afresh.

The ACJA, welcomed in 2015 as a revolutionary legislation that would transform the criminal justice system by removing agelong obstacles to its smooth flow, made provision empowering High Court judges that have been elevated to the Court of Appeal to return to the lower court to conclude their part-heard criminal cases.

But the Supreme Court, in a February 2020 judgment on the corruption case involving a former Governor of Abia State, Orji Kalu, nullified the said provision in section 396(7) of ACJA as being unconstitutional.

The EFCC chairman urged the CJN, as the head of the Nigerian judiciary, to ensure that when judges are being elevated, the cases being handled by them are taken into account. He added that trial judges should also not be transferred in a way that would jeopardise their part-heard criminal cases. He also requested that the time of retirement of judges should also be taken into consideration while assigning cases to them, a source told PREMIUM TIMES.

Positive responses

Our sources said both the CJN and President of the Court of Appeal, gave positive responses, promising to address Mr Bawas requests.

The request by Mr Bawa for the judiciary to designate some judges to handle solely corruption and financial crimes cases is not new.

The immediate-past CJN, Walter Onnoghen, in a major reform drive, in September 2017, directed heads of various courts to designate judges to handle, exclusively, corruption and financial crimes cases.

He also, in his capacity, as the chairperson of the National Judicial Council (NJC), set up the Corruption Financial Crimes Cases Trials Monitoring Committee (COTRIMCO), to monitor the progress of cases being handled by those courts.

The EFCC, at the time , also issued a statement quoting then acting chairman of the commission, Ibrhaim Magu, as commending Mr Onnoghen for introducing the then new policies.

But the policies, which never developed fully, died with the exit of Mr Onnoghen under controversial circumstances in 2019.

Poor enforcement of ACJA

The Supreme Court has in a landmark judgment in a case involving a PDP official, Olisa Metuh, invalidated the provision of section 306 of ACJA prohibiting the granting of stay in criminal proceedings.

ADVERTISEMENT

But trial courts have largely been weak in the implementation of other provisions of the law such as the ones relating to adjournments.

Meetings confirmed

When contacted by PREMIUM TIMES for his comments on Thursday, EFCCs spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed the meetings Mr Bawa had with the CJN and the Court of Appeal president.

He said they are routine meetings a new chairman of the commission usually holds with critical stakeholders involved in the fight against corruption.

It is the usual practice for the new EFCC chairman of the commission to interface with critical stakeholders in the fight against corruption, and the judiciary is a critical stakeholders in the fight against corruption, Mr Uwujaren said.

Our correspondent also tried to speak with the CJNs media aide, Ahuraka Isah, but he could not be reached as his telephone line remained switched off for hours.

But the Director, Press and Information, Supreme Court, Festus Akande, told PREMIUM TIMES he could not confirm the meeting because he had been out of the office.
News Around the Republic of Mexico



Mexican Reporter Given Courage in Journalism Award



Mexican journalist Maria Elena Ferral Hernandez was recognized with the 2021 Courage in Journalism Award, which is awarded annually to a journalist who has been murdered as a direct result of his work. London, England - Mexican journalist Maria Elena Ferral Hernandez, who was murdered in March 2020, was awarded yesterday with the 2021 Courage in Journalism Award from the Legatum Institute.



Co-founder of the website El Quinto Poder de Veracruz, and correspondent for the Diario de Xalapa and El Heraldo de Poza Rica, Ferral was assassinated in broad daylight after publishing an article detailing the murders of four pre-candidates for the municipal mayoralty of Gutierrez Zamora.



Ferral survived three attempts on her life, having published stories of local corruption among politicians and criminal activities, including kidnappings and disappearances. She was based in the Papantla region of the State of Veracruz, which is recognized as valued territory for criminal groups that use the state highway to transport illicit goods and drug trafficking. Reporting in the region is generally considered a death sentence, and Veracruz is the most dangerous state in Mexico for journalists.



Despite this, Ferral continued her work with a deep commitment to the people, believing that the mission of her work as a journalist was to serve her community. She was well aware of the risks to her life, but her conviction in the need to seek the truth and report accurately for the benefit of all Mexicans gave her perseverance.



Each year, the Courage in Journalism Prize is awarded posthumously to a journalist who has been murdered as a direct result of his work and whose death has had a significant impact.



David Wesson, Managing Director of the Legatum Institute, commented: "Maria Elena Ferral Hernandez is a worthy recipient of this award; she was certainly a beacon of hope in a county ravaged by violence, where journalists are often deliberately targeted. Maria Elena's commitment to the truth, despite the ongoing personal cost and her refusal to be intimidated, speak volumes about her inner strength and courage.



"We owe Maria Elena, and all the journalists who work tirelessly in the search for truth, a great debt. Unfortunately, in many parts of the world journalists can still pay the highest price for free, fair and rigorous reporting. This award honors the legacy of these men and women and sheds light on countries where freedom of the press is still limited by crime, corruption, war or state censorship."



In 2020, Reporters Without Borders reported the deaths of eight journalists in Mexico. ARTICULO 19, a human rights organization with a focus on defending and promoting freedom of expression and freedom of information around the world, recently released figures showing that the country has experienced a 12 percent year-on-year increase in deaths of journalists since 2009, following the government's militarized crackdown on drug cartels. As a result, Mexico was the site of the highest number of journalist deaths in the world in 2020.



However, Mexico is not the only country where press freedom is at risk. Almost three-quarters of the 167 countries included in the 2020 Legatum Prosperity Index experienced declining levels of freedom of expression and access to information over the past decade. Around the world, journalists' safety, freedom from government censorship, political diversity of perspectives in the media, and freedom of opinion and expression were at lower levels in 2020 than in 2007.



Pedro CArdenas, Case Documentation Coordinator for ARTICULO 19 Mexico, commented: "As media freedoms continue to be threatened and undermined around the world, it is essential to highlight the fundamental role that free and fair journalism plays in flourishing societies. Press freedoms are an essential component of the functioning of a democracy, and people have the right to access information to ensure they are empowered to debate critical issues and hold leaders to account.



"It is disappointing to see Mexico once again assume the position of one of the most dangerous countries in the world to be a journalist. However, given that more than 98% of attacks and killings of journalists do not lead to prosecution, it is perhaps not surprising that this trend has continued. Impunity remains a serious concern, and journalists investigating the nexus between organized crime and corrupt officials are the most frequent targets. However, until the Mexican government sees freedom of the press as a fundamental component of prosperity, criminals will continue to threaten and kill journalists, in what is considered a 'permissive' environment.



"Better training for public officials, police and judges in Mexico is essential to ensure they fully understand the key role journalists play in prosperous democracies. The international community can also play a vital role, by continuing to pressure the Mexican government and reminding it of its responsibility to both citizens and journalists."



The Legatum Institute's Prize for Courage in Journalism was launched following the murder of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017 to honor her death and shed light on the real dangers journalists face in many parts of the world.



The 2020 winner of the Courage in Journalism Award was Raed Fares, the Syrian journalist and activist who had worked tirelessly to draw international attention to the ongoing violence in Syria; and in 2019, Jan Kuciak was named recipient following his investigative report on corruption in Slovakia.



The judging panel for the 2020 Courage in Journalism Award are Christina Lamb OBE, Sunday Times' chief foreign correspondent; Mike Thomson, BBC World Affairs Correspondent; Abeer Saady, international advisor for the Ethical Journalism Network; With Coughlin, Defense Editor for The Telegraph; and Lord Freud, a former Financial Times journalist.



To view the profiles of the 44 journalists killed between October 2019 and October 2020 who were considered for the Courage in Journalism Award 2021,



The Legatum Institute is a London-based think tank with a bold vision of creating a global movement of people committed to creating the pathways from poverty to prosperity and transforming society. For more information visit li.com. - Mexican journalist Maria Elena Ferral Hernandez, who was murdered in March 2020, was awarded yesterday with the 2021 Courage in Journalism Award from the Legatum Institute.Co-founder of the websiteand correspondent for theandFerral was assassinated in broad daylight after publishing an article detailing the murders of four pre-candidates for the municipal mayoralty of Gutierrez Zamora.Ferral survived three attempts on her life, having published stories of local corruption among politicians and criminal activities, including kidnappings and disappearances. She was based in the Papantla region of the State of Veracruz, which is recognized as valued territory for criminal groups that use the state highway to transport illicit goods and drug trafficking. Reporting in the region is generally considered a death sentence, and Veracruz is the most dangerous state in Mexico for journalists.Despite this, Ferral continued her work with a deep commitment to the people, believing that the mission of her work as a journalist was to serve her community. She was well aware of the risks to her life, but her conviction in the need to seek the truth and report accurately for the benefit of all Mexicans gave her perseverance.Each year, the Courage in Journalism Prize is awarded posthumously to a journalist who has been murdered as a direct result of his work and whose death has had a significant impact.David Wesson, Managing Director of the Legatum Institute, commented: "Maria Elena Ferral Hernandez is a worthy recipient of this award; she was certainly a beacon of hope in a county ravaged by violence, where journalists are often deliberately targeted. Maria Elena's commitment to the truth, despite the ongoing personal cost and her refusal to be intimidated, speak volumes about her inner strength and courage."We owe Maria Elena, and all the journalists who work tirelessly in the search for truth, a great debt. Unfortunately, in many parts of the world journalists can still pay the highest price for free, fair and rigorous reporting. This award honors the legacy of these men and women and sheds light on countries where freedom of the press is still limited by crime, corruption, war or state censorship."In 2020, Reporters Without Borders reported the deaths of eight journalists in Mexico. ARTICULO 19, a human rights organization with a focus on defending and promoting freedom of expression and freedom of information around the world, recently released figures showing that the country has experienced a 12 percent year-on-year increase in deaths of journalists since 2009, following the government's militarized crackdown on drug cartels. As a result, Mexico was the site of the highest number of journalist deaths in the world in 2020.However, Mexico is not the only country where press freedom is at risk. Almost three-quarters of the 167 countries included in the 2020 Legatum Prosperity Index experienced declining levels of freedom of expression and access to information over the past decade. Around the world, journalists' safety, freedom from government censorship, political diversity of perspectives in the media, and freedom of opinion and expression were at lower levels in 2020 than in 2007.Pedro CArdenas, Case Documentation Coordinator for ARTICULO 19 Mexico, commented: "As media freedoms continue to be threatened and undermined around the world, it is essential to highlight the fundamental role that free and fair journalism plays in flourishing societies. Press freedoms are an essential component of the functioning of a democracy, and people have the right to access information to ensure they are empowered to debate critical issues and hold leaders to account."It is disappointing to see Mexico once again assume the position of one of the most dangerous countries in the world to be a journalist. However, given that more than 98% of attacks and killings of journalists do not lead to prosecution, it is perhaps not surprising that this trend has continued. Impunity remains a serious concern, and journalists investigating the nexus between organized crime and corrupt officials are the most frequent targets. However, until the Mexican government sees freedom of the press as a fundamental component of prosperity, criminals will continue to threaten and kill journalists, in what is considered a 'permissive' environment."Better training for public officials, police and judges in Mexico is essential to ensure they fully understand the key role journalists play in prosperous democracies. The international community can also play a vital role, by continuing to pressure the Mexican government and reminding it of its responsibility to both citizens and journalists."The Legatum Institute's Prize for Courage in Journalism was launched following the murder of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017 to honor her death and shed light on the real dangers journalists face in many parts of the world.The 2020 winner of the Courage in Journalism Award was Raed Fares, the Syrian journalist and activist who had worked tirelessly to draw international attention to the ongoing violence in Syria; and in 2019, Jan Kuciak was named recipient following his investigative report on corruption in Slovakia.The judging panel for the 2020 Courage in Journalism Award are Christina Lamb OBE,chief foreign correspondent; Mike Thomson,Correspondent; Abeer Saady, international advisor for the Ethical Journalism Network; With Coughlin, Defense Editor for; and Lord Freud, a formerjournalist.To view the profiles of the 44 journalists killed between October 2019 and October 2020 who were considered for the Courage in Journalism Award 2021, click HERE.



Site Map  Print this Page  Email Us  Top


South Africa: Vaccination roll out programme extended to 54 sites

The COVID-19 Sisonke vaccination roll out programme has been extended to 54 vaccine sites across the country, Acting Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, announced on Thursday.

Briefing the media on the outcomes of the Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday, Ntshavheni said the programme has to date vaccinated more than 207 808 people.

There are three phases to South Africas vaccination roll out programme.

Phase 1 is being implemented over three months from February to April 2021, to target over 1.5 million (608 295 registered) healthcare workers countrywide.

The Department of Health is on track to vaccinate all healthcare workers by the end of Phase 1, Ntshavheni said.

The Minister announced that Phase 2 will be implemented over six months, starting from May to October 2021.

This phase will cover over 13 350 140 vulnerable groups, essential workers, and occupational health and safety stream, including workers in sectors that are critical for economic recovery such as mines, hospitality, the taxi industry, retail and spaza shops, fruit and vegetable vendors, media and other applicable beneficiaries, Ntshavheni explained.

The vaccination sites for Phases 2 and 3 will be increased to 2085, and will include private sector sites to improve the efficiency and speed of the vaccination roll out programme.

Phase 3 will be implemented over three months - from November 2021 to February 2022 - to cover the remainder of all people in South Africa, including those who were not vaccinated in Phase 2. The third phase will target 22 600 640 people.

Continual arrival of J&J vaccine welcomed

Cabinet welcomed the continual arrival of tranches of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine into the country.

Ntshavheni said Cabinet remains confident of the remarkable progress being made by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) in authorising the J&J jabs for mass vaccination.

The recent approval by the SAHPRA of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine should give the country access to more lifesaving vaccines. Cabinet would like to reassure South Africans of the capacity of the Department of Health, in partnership with the private sector, to undertake a mass vaccine roll out when Phase 2 gets underway, Ntshavheni said.

Cabinet welcomed Chairperson of the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on COVID-19 Vaccines, Deputy President David Mabuzas, visit to the Biovac Manufacturing Facility in the Western Cape last Thursday.

The Deputy President visited the facility to assess its capabilities, infrastructure and investments to support vaccine manufacturing and development.

Ntshavheni noted that the partnership between Biovac and the United States-based immunotherapy company, ImmunityBio, to develop South Africas capability to manufacture COVID-19 vaccines, will result in ImmunityBio's second-generation COVID-19 vaccine being manufactured in the country.

Citizens urged to adhere to lockdown restrictions

Cabinet reiterated its call to all South Africans and everyone in the country to play their part and strictly adhere to the lockdown restrictions, particularly during the upcoming Pesach, Easter and Ramadan religious celebrations.

This in a bid to minimise a resurgence in COVID-19 infections and prevent a potential third wave.

Cabinet further reiterated the importance of observing the non-pharmaceutical health protocols to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 by continuing to wear masks in public spaces, maintaining social distancing of at least 1.5 metres, always washing hands with soap and water or using an alcohol-based hand sanitiser and avoiding large gatherings.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-03-25. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
WASHINGTON  Faced with the herculean task of combating extremism in the ranks, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin directed all military leaders to gather with their units by the first week of April to discuss what it is, how and when to report it, and what it means to serve.

The extremism stand-down is taking place at bases across the world for all branches, and its getting mixed reviews. The Army, as the largest force, has the most people going through the training.

Some soldiers expressed frustration at check-the-blocks training led by military officials who were not prepared to answer complex questions about extremist activity. Others said the training was effective when skilled instructors led honest, open discussions.

Stars and Stripes interviewed soldiers who completed training, some who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

A staff sergeant at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, said the training needed more real discussion about extremism.

You had a few people who were very loud and boisterous about their opinion, but then the majority of people were just [like], This was kind of a waste of time,  he said late last week.

The one-day stand-down is the start of the Defense Departments renewed approach to preventing extremism.

The Pentagon chief directed the stand-down to address extremism in February in response to the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol in Washington. Thirty-seven military veterans and active-duty service members have been charged for their involvement.

This is just a step in what the secretary believes will be [a] very deliberate process to try and tackle this problem.  It might bring to light concerns and experience that he might not be aware of, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in February.

The Defense Department provided loose guidelines on what form the stand-down should take, including discussions about prohibited activities, reporting extremist behavior, case studies and answers to common questions. Unit heads and supervisors could then tailor the training.

The Armys message: Extremist activity is incongruent with military life and will not be tolerated, according to the office of public affairs.

Active-duty members have until April 6 to complete the training, and reserve forces have an additional month to finish.

Ramon Colon-Lopez, the senior enlisted adviser to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters last week that the stand-down was delegated to the lowest levels of unit command because the majority of troops are at that level.

The people that are actually affecting the mission, thats where they live. For us here at the Pentagon, were far detached from that, Colon-Lopez said. So we have to trust those commanders in the field to be able to fix their behavior.

Inconsistent experiences

Colon-Lopez described the training as a conversation with legal experts, military police and others.

Still, death by PowerPoint came up in conversations with members of the Army last week after their training. Outside experts were not always there to help facilitate the discussions, which left supervisors without subject matter expertise on their own.

A sergeant at Fort Sam Houston said his training was focused on Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention training, or SHARP, as well as Equal Opportunity training, which is designed to prohibit discrimination.

It kind of felt like they were trying to pack in all of the mandated trainings in at once, he said. A lot of people were like, What was the point of this? 

A logistics officer at Fort Leonard Wood said his training did a good job of focusing on extremism, highlighting that a person from any background can be recruited or be active in an extremist organization. He said he was frustrated by how hard it is to identify red flags.

In front of 50 soldiers in an auditorium, the sergeant first class leading the training asked the group to point out the warning signs after each case study.

That was the frustrating part because there really were no warning signs.  They can hide it or lie to you, he said.

The case studies, he said, were blatant examples of extremism, like a terrorist attack, which left less-obvious gray areas for officers to figure out on their own. He would have preferred a clear list of examples with action items, a sentiment that was shared by others.

The bulk of the training focused on the examples, defining extremism and reporting extremist behavior, and the rest was giving proof that it exists, he said.

Political, not partisan

In interviews, soldiers drew equivalencies between the Black Lives Matter racial protests last year and the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6. They questioned the timing of the stand-down and asked why it wasnt done last year, when protests occurred in Seattle, sparked by the death of George Floyd.

Colon-Lopez said last week that he was concerned over the number of troops who shared that view, from every echelon.

The answer, he said, is simple: When the military was called upon to go ahead and support an effort, we did. We never got called for the law enforcement issue that was happening in Seattle.

Christina Bembenek, a U.S. Army War College fellow who has written about extremist theories and the military, said in an interview Monday that to ensure troops know the difference between the two events, its important to make them understand that while the military is not partisan, it is political.

We follow the orders of the elected politicians in the government.  We are political. But we are not partisan. And thats where I think we need to more clearly describe things and talk about what partisan means, she said.

She said that having a rich discussion on what the First Amendment is, the intent of the individuals who were outside the Capitol and people who entered a government building unlawfully would be fruitful.

You dont have to have any type of partisan discussion on that, she said, when you focus on the Constitution.

Success story

Tyler Santangelo, a sergeant in leadership school to become a staff sergeant at the Fort Sill Non-Commissioned Officers Academy in Oklahoma, said his nine-hour-long training was valuable, but training at the academy was different than it is for most units.

I got lucky enough to where I did it at a noncommissioned officer academy where there [are] trained instructors who know how to lead open discussion.

The training started with discussing how the soldiers define extremism and what it means under Army doctrine, and how [extremism] counteracts our values, Santangelo, 26, said in an interview last week.

Santangelo said that he and others thought the training would be a way to weed out people on the right side of the political spectrum, but that it opened his eyes to the types of extremism in the ranks.

The Virginia native said he learned how to identify red flags  noticing people who actively disengage from the group, no matter the situation, for example  and how to target young people to combat isolation early.

One way to prevent loneliness is to encourage new soldiers to contact their parents when they get to the unit. The key is also fostering an environment of empathy and talking to each other and not being afraid to send it up [the chain of command] if somethings going wrong, Santangelo said.

The idea now is that taking the time to care about your soldiers and talk to them and make them feel like theyre actually part of the team is the No. 1 way to combat [extremism], he said.

What's next

The DoD stand-down guidelines do not require unit heads to provide feedback, but Colon-Lopez said that the services will share lessons and identify gaps with the Defense secretary.

That could lead to more formalized annual or professional military training, or the establishment of a task force on extremism in the military, he said.

Bembenek, the U.S. Army War College fellow, has ideas on ways to address extremism beyond the basics.

Media literacy should be incorporated into the training to equip soldiers with critical thinking skills to decode fact from fiction online, she said.

A bolstered civic education would also help, she said, so that troops better understand the military oath. However, the most important part of combating extremism for her is having a constant dialogue so soldiers can openly express their beliefs and views.

Its good to be in an environment where soldiers can ask the tough questions and leaders can think about it, research it, talk to outside sources and then come back and say, All right, lets talk more about this,  she said. This is just the start of this conversation.

Stars and Stripes reporter Caitlin M. Kenney contributed to this report.
ADVERTISEMENT

The Federal High Court in Ado-Ekiti has adjourned until April 14, a suit filed by Ekiti State against the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) over the dismissal of a pregnant officer.

The Ekiti Attorney General, Wale Fapounda, in the suit, is seeking an order of the court to nullify Section 127 of the Police Act and Regulations, which provides for the discharge from the Police Force female officers who become pregnant while married unofficially.

Joined as co-defendants in the suit are the Ekiti State Commissioner of Police and the Police Service Commission (PSC).

Justice Babs Kuewumi fixed the date after the attorney-general prayed the court for an extension of time to a file motion.

The defendants counsel, Femi Falade, did not oppose the application.

Mr Falade told the court that he has a preliminary objection before the court, praying for an adjournment to enable him react to the reply to the state government.

The Ekiti State government filed the suit in February after the police justified its action in dismissing a pregnant constable last year.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the suit also seeks an order of perpetual injunction restraining the IGP, the Ekiti CP and the PSC from implementing the regulation.

(NAN)
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.
International

N Korea test-fires missiles in message to US

FILE - This Aug. 29, 2017, photo shows what was said to be the test launch of a Hwasong-12 missile. (AP)

SEOUL, MAR 25 (AP) | Publish Date: 3/25/2021 1:35:05 PM IST

North Korea test-fired its first ballistic missiles since President Joe Biden took office on Thursday, as it expands its military capabilities and increases pressure on Washington while nuclear negotiations remain stalled.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the launches threaten peace and safety in Japan and the region, and that Tokyo will closely coordinate with Washington and Seoul on the Norths testing activities. South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles were fired at around 7:06 a.m. and 7:25 a.m. from an area on the Norths eastern coast and flew 450 kilometers (279 miles) on an apogee of 60 kilometers (37 miles) before landing in the sea.

US Indo-Pacific Command spokesperson Capt. Mike Kafka said the US military was aware of the missiles and was monitoring the situation while closely consulting with allies.

Another senior US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military observations, matched the information from South Koreas military, saying that initial assessments suggest the North fired two short-range ballistic missiles.

This activity highlights the threat that North Koreas illicit weapons program poses to its neighbors and the international community, Kafka said.

The launches came a day after US and South Korean officials said the North fired short-range weapons presumed to be cruise missiles into its western sea over the weekend. North Korea has a history of testing new US administrations with missile launches and other provocations aimed at forcing the Americans back to the negotiating table.

Still, Thursdays launches were a measured provocation compared to the nuclear and intercontinental missile tests in 2017 that inspired war fears before the North shifted toward diplomacy with the Trump administration in 2018.

Analysts say that the North would gradually dial up its weapons displays to increase its bargaining power as it angles to get back into stalled talks aimed at leveraging nuclear weapons for badly needed economic benefits.

Its unclear how the Biden administration would respond before it completes its policy review on North Korea in the coming weeks.

The negotiations over the Norths nuclear program faltered after the collapse of Kim Jong Uns second summit with President Donald Trump in February 2019, when the Americans rejected North Korean demands for major sanctions relief in exchange for a partial surrender of their nuclear capabilities.

Since Trumps first meeting with Kim in 2018, the North has not conducted nuclear or long-range missile tests, although analysts believe they have pressed ahead with their programs on both. The North has continued short- and medium range missile testing during its suspension of nuclear and long-range tests, expanding its ability to strike targets in South Korea and Japan, including US bases there.

North Korea has so far ignored the Biden administrations efforts to reach out, saying it wont engage in meaningful talks unless Washington abandons its hostile policies.

Kims powerful sister last week berated the United States over its latest round of combined military exercises with South Korea that ended earlier this month, describing the drills as an invasion rehearsal and warned Washington to refrain from causing a stink if it wants to sleep in peace for the next four years.

Just hours after Thursdays launches, South Korea Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong was to meet with visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Seoul for discussions on North Korea and other regional issues. South Koreas presidential office said it will hold an emergency National Security Council meeting to discuss the launches.

South Koreas Defense Ministry said the Norths short-range tests on Sunday were its first missile firings since April 2020. President Joe Biden played down those launches, telling reporters, Theres no new wrinkle in what they did.

While Kim has vowed to strengthen his nuclear weapons program in recent speeches, he also tried to give the new US administration an opening by saying that the fate of their relations depends on Washington.

During his visit to Seoul last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken sternly criticized North Koreas nuclear ambitions and human rights record and pressed China to use its tremendous influence to convince the North to denuclearise.
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 get to a certain age when you ask, Whos going to stand up and speak out for us? Then you look around and realize that the James Baldwins, Muhammad Alis and Dr. Kings are no longer here...and begin to understand that it falls on you. Im not trying to say Im here to try to correct the whole

Creating Social Change Through Film and Music: Do the Right Thing!

As part of the University of Michigan School of Social Work centennial celebration, Spike Lee and Terence Blanchard will headline the new Social Justice Changemaker Lecture Series. Stories have the power to stimulate conversation, change opinion and inspire people to action. Spike Lee and Terence Blanchard will share how to introduce new audiences to social justice through film, music and art.

For 100 years, the University of Michigan School of Social Work has made an impact educating the next generation of social work leaders, advancing social justice and creating progressive change. Since 1921, Michigan Social Work has been deeply committed to addressing the most crucial issues facing our society including structural racism, social justice and economic inequality.

As part of the centennial celebration, Spike Lee and Terence Blanchard will headline the new Social Justice Changemaker Lecture Series. Stories have the power to stimulate conversation, change opinion and inspire people to action. Spike Lee and Terence Blanchard will share how to introduce new audiences to social justice through film, music and art.

Spike Lee is an award-winning writer, director, actor, producer and author who revolutionized the role of Black talent in cinema. Widely regarded as a premiere filmmaker, Lee is a forerunner in the do it yourself school of independent film. Lee received an honorary degree from U-M in 2011.

Terence Blanchard is a jazz trumpeter, composer and music educator. He is a frequent collaborator with Spike Lee. He is nominated for a 2021 Academy Award for the score from Da 5 Bloods. Blanchard holds an endowed chair with the Detroit Symphony.

You get to a certain age when you ask, Whos going to stand up and speak out for us? Then you look around and realize that the James Baldwins, Muhammad Alis and Dr. Kings are no longer here...and begin to understand that it falls on you. Im not trying to say Im here to try to correct the whole thing, Im just trying to speak the truth, says Blanchard.

Creating Social Change Through Film and Music: Do the Right Thing! will take place on Wednesday, April 7, 2021, 4-5:30 PM, ET. The lecture is free and open to the public. Join us at https://ssw.umich.edu/r/spikelee

https://twitter.com/UMSocialWork

https://www.facebook.com/universityofmichigan.schoolofsocialwork

The Social Justice Changemaker Lecture series brings prominent experts and advocates from multiple disciplines  including social sciences, science, humanities and the arts  to the University of Michigan to address pressing social justice issues. The lecture series was established by a generous gift from Neil and Annemarie Hawkins.
Audio Attachment:

Dismissed member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Bernard Allotey Jacobs has dared the party to report him to the Police if they think he has any NDC property in his possession.



The NDC, on Tuesday, March 23, 2021, released a statement dismissing Allotey Jacobs after suspending him for months for exhibiting what the party described as ''anti-party conduct''.



At our meeting on Wednesday 17th March 2021, the Functional Executive Committee of the NDC considered the report and recommendations of the Disciplinary Committee on the case or misconduct and anti-party behaviour brought against you Mr. Allotey Jacobs pursuant to articles 48(I) (b) and 8 (b) of the NDC Constitution.



The Committees report which is herein attached for your attention found you guilty of the said allegations of misconduct, anti-party conduct and recommended among other things your immediate expulsion from the party. The Functional Executive Committee acting in compliance of Article 48(1) of the NDC Constitution has unanimously adopted the report and accepts fully its recommendation for your expulsion from the party.



You are therefore by the decision of FEC, expelled from the National Democratic Congress and for that matter no more recognized as a member of the party and cannot carry yourself as such," the statement read.



Interestingly, the embattled NDC stalwart dismissed himself about a month ago before the party's released its official statement.



Speaking during a panel discussion on Peace FM's morning show ''Kokrokoo'',he said; I no longer belong to the NDC...I know I have been suspended but I've dismissed myself. Im not going to join the NPP; I will never be an NPP member but I'm no longer with the NDC..."



The party says Allotety Jacobs should return any property in his possession.



You are by this letter and pursuant to Article 48(10) directed to return any party properties that may be in your custody and shall forfeit any money, dues or subscription fees made to the Party.



But Allotey, speaking on ''Kokrokoo'' on Wednesday, March 24, is least perturbed about the party's order.



According to him, there is nothing for him to return to the NDC.



"Police Regional Headquarters is in the Central Region, they should go and report that they gave me a pesewa, T-shirts, posters or cars. They should prove it . . . I don't have anything belonging to the NDC. I don't even know their cheque number. I've never even signed their cheque before. It was my Deputy Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer who were signing it. I don't even go and collect their money," he stated.



He, however, admitted he acquired a Toyota Land Cruiser while he was a member of the party but quickly added it doesn't belong to the NDC.



"I bought my Land Cruiser from Ibrahim Mahama", he emphasized and touted the virtues of Mr. Ibrahim Mahama saying ''you know Ibrahim, so soft; so nice. He didn't gift it to me but he sold it to me for less a price. So, I can say I paid half-way but it was almost a dash. That's why, everyday, I cherish him in my heart because of his character and the way he approaches people''.





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
A group of farmers are hoping to boost profitability and productivity by decreasing transmission of the fatal viral lung tumour ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma (OPA).

The project in Morayshire, Scotland examined the true impact of OPA, which is predominantly spread via nasal and oral secretions.

The disease has a significant impact on animal health and welfare of affected sheep across the country.

Affected farms can also see a financial impact due to increased cull rates, fallen stock disposal and increased need to purchase replacement stock

Laura Henderson, a qualified vet and agricultural consultant with SAC Consulting, who coordinated the group, said many farmers were not aware of the disease.

"Currently, the only diagnostic test available for live sheep is ultrasound scanning of lungs by a vet, but none of the local vets offer this service yet.

There can be a stigma attached to admitting the presence of OPA in your flock, but the farmers saw the importance of sharing their experiences.

"Those that were already scanning their sheep for the disease presented their results and what control measures they had implemented, she said.

The project, which ran from July to December last year, consisted of monthly meetings with an aim to increase farmers understanding of the risk factors for OPA spread.

The group welcomed guest speakers from the Moredun Institute to discuss the latest research as well as farmers from outside of the local district who shared how they have integrated scanning into their system.

Michael McGillivray from Auchnascraw who farms 1200 breeding ewes, 250 mule ewes in-by and 950 hill Blackface ewes participated in the project.

He said that farmer-to-farmer knowledge exchange was an important catalyst for others in the group to start scanning their sheep.

We have a closed female breeding flock except for the new shearling tups we buy in and, subsequently, started losing a percentage of tups each year and we suspected could be down to OPA," he said.

We started scanning in October after attending the RISS group meetings because we wanted to nip it in the bud before you end up with a big problem.

Our sheep go to the hill all summer and they are a hefted flock so if we lose sheep out of this flock, its not easy to go to market and replace them as theyre not hefted to that hill.

OPA is something that is quietly spoken about in the blackface sheep groups and there is a fear of scanning because if someone hears that theyre doing it there will be a perception that they have a problem.

"But, if you scan and get accredited for having a clean flock, I know we would be more likely to buy new breeding stock that were actively whole flock scanning for OPA as a preventative measure.

Although the project has now finished, those involved said they were keen to continue working together and encourage more farmers to start scanning their flocks.

Looking to the future, the group would like to gather more data which can demonstrate the economic cost of OPA in sheep based on flock performance.
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
An eight-year-old boy from Manyanga village in Tharaka Nithi County died after he was dragged by his familys donkey.

The boys father, Mbogo Kiige, said his young son had tied a rope around his waist; the rope had been strapped on the donkeys neck as most of the children in the area do while grazing the animals.

Unexpectedly, the donkey pulled him down and started running fast, dragging the boy through rocks and thickets for almost a kilometre.

Residents managed to rescue the Grade One pupil at Ntongoro Primary School from the animal but he was already in critical condition.

The minor was rushed to Marimanti Sub County Hospital but was referred to Chuka County Referral Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Area Chief Mwinja Nyaga said because most of the donkeys in the area are friendly, children who graze them tend to have fun with the animals oblivious of the fact that they can turn wild.
Credit: Lauren Roman

Researchers have used the evidence of pumice from an underwater volcanic eruption to answer a long-standing mystery about a mass death of migrating seabirds.

New research into the mass death of millions of shearwater birds in 2013 suggests seabirds are eating non-food materials including floating pumice stones, because they are starving, potentially indicating broader health issues for the marine ecosystem.

The research which was led by CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, and QUT, was published in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series, that examined a 2013 seabird "wreck" in which up to 3 million short-tailed shearwaters died.

The lead author on the paper and CSIRO and IMAS-UTas researcher Dr. Lauren Roman said there was much discussion in the scientific community about the causes of mass mortality of seabirds which are often found with plastic and other non-food items in their stomach.

"We found that in the instance of the shearwater bird deaths in 2013, these birds were starving, and in their starved state had reduced prey discrimination," Dr. Roman said.

"Our study investigates the chicken-and-egg dilemmado animals starve from eating non-food or do animals eat non-food because they are starving?""

Sea birds are widely considered to be indicators of the health of a marine ecosystem and mass mortalities can indicate changing food webs and ecological conditions.

Short-tailed shearwaters (Ardenna tenuirostris), which were the subject of the study, migrate from Australia in April to the North Pacific and return late in the year.

Necropsies of 172 seabirds recovered from beaches along the New South Wales and Queensland coast found 96.7 percent of birds had ingested pumice or plastic.

The research team, including Dr. Natalie Bool (IMAS-UTas), Leah Gustafson (QUT) and Dr. Kathy Townsend (USC), used satellite systems to track the 2013 shearwater migration and overlayed that onto locations of the pumice raft produced by the 2012 Havre eruption in the Kermadec arc north of New Zealand.

QUT's Associate Professor Scott Bryan has been studying pumice rafts for over 20 years and recently has been tracking the impact of another giant pumice raft from a 2019 underwater eruption near Tonga that landed along the Australian coastline last year.

"We proposed that a short time period between non-food ingestion and death would indicate that birds were already starving at the time of non-food ingestion, and a starving state would be reflected by poor body condition and reduced muscle mass," Professor Bryan said.

"Death after a longer period would indicate that birds starved following ingestion of non-food."

Professor Bryan said detailed information about the route of the pumice raft was an integral part to determining the answer of where the birds had consumed the pumice.

"We combined the tracking information data of the short-tailed shearwaters, using location tags on migrating birds, and the geological signature of the ingested pumice," Professor Bryan said.

"By October 2013 when the shearwaters were returning to Australia on their annual migration from the North Pacific, the floating pumice was now located along their flight path as they approached Australia."

By determining when the birds ate the pumice, and their physical condition at the time, the researchers were able to conclude that the birds were already starving when they ate the pumice, and they had ingested the pumice about 12 to 41 hours before death.

"With a projected increase in challenging times for wildlife because of threats such as climate change, marine pollution and over exploitation of resources, this study has implications for mass mortalities and exacerbation of existing threats to marine species," Dr. Roman said.

It was the coming together of researchers into seabirds and volcanoes and pumice rafts, apparently unrelated phenomena, and the crossing of science discipline boundaries that has been able to help solve this chicken-and-egg dilemma.

More information: L Roman et al. Desperate times call for desperate measures: non-food ingestion by starving seabirds, Marine Ecology Progress Series (2021). Journal information: Marine Ecology Progress Series L Roman et al. Desperate times call for desperate measures: non-food ingestion by starving seabirds,(2021). DOI: 10.3354/meps13626
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a media conference after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels on March 24, 2021. (Virginia Mayo/Pool/AP Photo)

US, Europe, NATO Close Ranks to Counter Aggressive China

BRUSSELSThe United States and European countries are closing ranks to respond to what the U.S. calls aggressive and coercive behavior by China, days after the United States and its allies launched coordinated sanctions against Chinese officials accused of rights abuses in the far-western Xinjiang region.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that he wants to work with the U.S.s partners on how to advance our shared economic interests and to counter some of Chinas aggressive and coercive actions, as well as its failures, at least in the past, to uphold its international commitments.

Blinken agreed in talks with senior European Union officials on the launch of what EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell described as an EU-U.S. dialogue on China to discuss the full range of related challenges and opportunities.

We share an assessment of Chinas role as a partner, as a competitor, and a systemic rival, Borrell told reporters after their meeting in Brussels, where Blinken has been underlining the importance that alliances and international partnerships play for the Biden administration.

Earlier, at NATO headquarters, Blinken said when we are acting together, we are much stronger and much more effective than if any single one of us is doing it alone. He noted that alone, the U.S. accounts for about 25 percent of global GDP, but up to 60 percent with its allies in Europe and Asia. Thats a lot harder for Beijing to ignore, he said.

On Monday, the United States, the EU, Britain, and Canada imposed asset freezes and travel bans on a group of officials in Xinjiang. Beijing said they had damaged Chinas interests and maliciously spread lies and disinformation. It retaliated by slapping sanctions on 10 Europeans, including lawmakers and academics, and four institutions.

Initially, China denied the existence of camps detaining Uyghurs in Xinjiang but has since described them as centers to provide job training and to re-educate those exposed to extremists. Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials deny all charges of human rights abuses there.

Blinken said at NATO that Beijings retaliatory sanctions make it all the more important that we stand firm and stand together, or risk sending the message that bullying works.

But views on the way that business and trade should play out differ across the Atlantic.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is at a news conference after a virtual summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Brussels, Belgium on Sept. 14, 2020. (YVES HERMAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

The EU is Chinas biggest trading partner but they are also economic competitors. As Beijing has become more assertive in recent years, the 27-nation bloc has struggled to balance its commercial interests with a country that it sees as a systemic rival and has human rights concerns about.

Blinken has warned of Beijings threatening behavior, but said that doesnt mean countries cant work with China where possible, for example on challenges like climate change and health security.

In terms of Chinas military aggressiveness, Blinken noted its efforts to threaten freedom of navigation, to militarize the South China Sea, to target countries throughout the Indo-Pacific with increasingly sophisticated military capabilities. Beijings military ambitions are growing by the year.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the military alliance does not regard China as an adversary, but of course the rise of China has direct consequences for our security. He noted that China is investing heavily in military equipment, including nuclear-capable missiles.

More importantly, China is a country that doesnt share our values. We see that in the way they deal with democratic protests in Hong Kong, how they suppress minorities in their own country, the Uyghurs, and also how they actually try to undermine the international rules-based order, Stoltenberg said.

By Lorne Cook
03/25/2021

Photo (c) ronniechua - Getty Images Coronavirus (COVID-19) tally as compiled by Johns Hopkins University. (Previous numbers in parentheses.)

Total U.S. confirmed cases: 30,015,938 (29,928,341)

Total U.S. deaths: 545,357 (543,933)

Total global cases: 124,971,776 (124,378,693)

Total global deaths: 2,746,581 (2,736,980)

U.S. reporting more cases but fewer deaths

Heres where the U.S. stands 12 months into the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic: New cases of the virus have begun to climb again after a steep drop last month, but the rate of deaths is significantly lower when compared to earlier in the year.

At a White House briefing, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said the U.S. is logging a seven-day average of about 55,000 new cases per day. Thats 3 percent higher than last week. In the last 24-hours, the number of U.S. cases went over 30 million.

At the same time, hospitalizations and deaths remain significantly below January levels, before vaccinations were widespread. The U.S. is currently averaging about 4,600 new hospitalizations and nearly 1,000 deaths per day.

AstraZeneca releases new data on its vaccine

AstraZeneca has released new U.S. clinical trial data on its coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine, just days after its initial release was criticized by U.S. health officials. On Monday, the company declared that the vaccine had an efficacy rate of 79 percent. The following day, the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), headed by Dr. Anthony Fauci, raised questions about the results, saying the trial relied on outdated information.

The new report is based on the analysis of 190 cases of symptomatic COVID-19 that occurred in the trial; thats 49 more than were in the initial release. While the efficacy rate declined slightly -- from 79 percent to 76 percent -- the effectiveness against severe forms of COVID-19, including death, remained at 100 percent.

Fauci called AstraZenecas misstep an unforced error and said it is unfortunate because the product is probably a very good vaccine.

A big drop in unemployment claims last week

The job market took a big step forward last week as more businesses reopened around the country. The Labor Department reports that initial claims for unemployment tumbled to 684,000 -- the lowest number since the pandemic forced huge layoffs a year ago.

The decrease was dramatic. In the week ending March 20, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was a decline of 97,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 11,000 from 770,000 to 781,000.

But the news from last week wasnt all good. Continuing claims for unemployment benefits increased by 733,862 from the previous week to 18,952,795.

Cuomo allegedly let family members cut in line

Embattled New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo allegedly gave members of his family priority to COVID-19 testing in the early days of the pandemic. The Washington Post quotes sources who claim Cuomos family members and other well-connected figures got special access to state-administered coronavirus tests

According to the newspaper account, Cuomo sent a top state doctor and other state health officials to the homes of family members and others who requested access to tests, which were in short supply during the early days of the pandemic.

A Cuomo spokesman denied any impropriety, saying that in the early days of the pandemic the state was taking extraordinary steps to make sure people who might have been exposed to the virus got tested.

CDC rejects plea to lift its no sail order

You should probably put your cruise plans on hold for a while. The CDC has rejected a plea from the cruise industry to lift its No Sail Order, now in place until Nov. 1.

The Cruise Lines International Association petitioned the CDC to lift the order several months early, saying it believed it was safe for vaccinated people to be aboard ships as early as July. The CDC said it disagrees.

"Returning to passenger cruising is a phased approach to mitigate the risk of spreading COVID-19. Details for the next phase of the CSO are currently under interagency review," the agency said.

Around the nation
The California Air Resources Board has enacted more stringent policies against diesel emissions than the rest of the U.S., significantly reducing air pollution and death in California's most vulnerable communities and beyond. One rule that has been particularly effective is requiring that older diesel engines from heavy duty vehicles be retrofit to meet new standards Credit: California Air Resources Board

Extending California's stringent diesel emissions standards to the rest of the U.S. could dramatically improve the nation's air quality and health, particularly in lower income communities of color, finds a new analysis published today in the journal Science.

Since 1990, California has used its authority under the federal Clean Air Act to enact more aggressive rules on emissions from diesel vehicles and engines compared to the rest of the U.S. These policies, crafted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), have helped the state reduce diesel emissions by 78% between 1990 and 2014, while diesel emissions in the rest of the U.S. dropped by just 51% during the same time period, the new analysis found.

The study estimates that by 2014, improved air quality cut the annual number of diesel-related cardiopulmonary deaths in the state in half, compared to the number of deaths that would have occurred if California had followed the same trajectory as the rest of the U.S. Adopting similar rules nationwide could produce the same kinds of benefits, particularly for communities that have suffered the worst impacts of air pollution.

"Everybody benefits from cleaner air, but we see time and again that it's predominantly lower income communities of color that are living and working in close proximity to sources of air pollution, like freight yards, highways and ports. When you target these sources, it's the highly exposed communities that stand to benefit most," said study lead author Megan Schwarzman, a physician and environmental health scientist at the University of California, Berkeley's School of Public Health. "It's about time, because these communities have suffered a disproportionate burden of harm."

The study also points out that exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) has been linked to poor outcomes from COVID-19, adding urgency to the need to reduce air pollution, particularly for communities of color that are disproportionately affected by both.

Diesel exhaust consists of both particles and gases and contributes significantly to PM2.5 air pollution worldwide. PM2.5 exposure from any source can compromise children's lung development and can trigger airway inflammation and exacerbate asthma and cardiopulmonary diseases. Diesel exhaust has also been designated a human carcinogen by California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA).

"There are hundreds of studies around the world that link particulate matter exposure and premature death," said study co-author Alvaro Alvarado, a former air pollution specialist at CARB who now works for OEHHA. "In cities with higher levels of air pollution, there are also higher hospitalization rates for respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses and more emergency room visits for asthma."

To improve air quality, CARB's policies have gone beyond federal standards to limit diesel emissions from a variety of mobile sources, including heavy-duty trucks and buses, ships and port equipment, train locomotives, and the engines that power construction equipment and agricultural machinery.

Container ships berthed at the Port of Los Angeles; California hosts the United States' two largest ports and moves 60% of its container cargo. Credit: Courtesy of the California Air Resources Board

In their study, Schwarzman and colleagues catalogued the wide range of CARB policies that target each emissions sector and tracked how changes in diesel emissions corresponded to the implementation of those rules. They then show the impact of CARB policies by comparing California's reductions in diesel emissions to those in the rest of the U.S. Their analysis reveals that CARB's policies reduced emissions to the extent that, by 2014, California was emitting less than half the diesel particulate matter, as would be expected had the state followed the same trajectory as the rest of the U.S.

One key policy approach that sets California apart is the requirement that older diesel engines be retrofitted to meet strict emissions standards, Schwarzman said. In the rest of the U.S., new diesel engines must meet updated emissions standards, but older, dirtier engines are allowed to operate without upgrades.

"The average lifetime of a diesel engine is about 20 years, or a million miles, so waiting for fleet turnover is just too slow," Schwarzman said. "California requires retrofits for existing trucks so that all diesel engines are held to a higher standard. This has made an enormous difference for air quality."

Requiring upgrades for the engines that power heavy-duty trucks and buses has reduced California's diesel emissions in that sector by 85% since 1990, the study found. By comparison, the study estimates that if California's heavy-duty vehicle sector had followed the trajectory of other U.S. states, the sector's emissions would have dropped by only 58% in that period.

Because the highways, ports and rail yards where diesel engines operate are more likely to be located near lower income communities of color than affluent, white communities, regulating diesel emissions can help correct persistent disparities in air quality and health, said senior study author John Balmes, a Berkeley Public Health professor and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.

"There are truly different levels of exposure to air pollution, and those differences in exposure have been linked to differential health outcomes," said Balmes, who also serves as the physician member of CARB.

The study reports that every dollar the state has spent controlling air pollution has generated $38 in benefits attributable to lower rates of illness, premature death and lost productivity attributable to air pollution. As a result, there is no reason why the U.S. as a whole shouldn't adopt diesel emissions standards similar to California's, the authors argue.

"In terms of public health, federal air quality policy should be moving toward that of California, because we've shown that it works, and we've also shown that greening transportation can be good for economic growth," Balmes said. "These environmental regulations not only save lives and improve public health, they actually drive innovation and grow the green economy, which is the future."

Explore further Commercial truck electrification is within reach

More information: M. Schwarzman el al., "Raising standards to lower diesel emissions," Science (2021). Journal information: Science M. Schwarzman el al., "Raising standards to lower diesel emissions,"(2021). science.sciencemag.org/cgi/doi  1126/science.abf8159
A union representing police officers has claimed that council staff at Coin town hall have received their coronavirus jabs ahead of essential workers- a group that includes its members.

The Independent Union of Andalusian Police (Sip-An) has made the claim in a complaint filed before the Public Prosecutor's Office in Malaga.

The complaint says that officials in Coin have been vaccinated against Covid-19 without following the established procedure and complained that the vaccination had been "arbitrary, without prioritising the people established in the population groups."

The council denies the claim saying that at all times "the protocols have been followed."

A town hall spokesperson told SUR, "At Coin council we regret the loss of prestige this union wants to cause for the great work that health professionals are doing."

In the complaint, the union refers to several instances in which they claim town hall staff were receiving a coronavirus vaccination before the Local Police and other essential workers including teaching staff and firefighters.

The police officers union points to technical and administrative staff at the council who work behind closed doors or remotely and who were called to be vaccinated.

However, the council spokesperson says that at no time has it provided the health centre with the data of any personnel who are not part of the official vaccination strategy.

Similarly, the council denies that either the mayor or any member of the local governing team have been vaccinated.

The police union has asked the Public Prosecutor's Office to open an investigation.

The complaint was made on 12 March, although it has only come to light now. Since then the police officers and almost all the staff have now been vaccinated.
AllAfrica publishes around 900 reports a day from more than 130 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.
(Natural News) The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has officially endorsed a series of lawsuits against Adrian Zenz, a German anthropologist and researcher known for works that exposed the genocide Beijing is committing against the Uyghur people in Chinas northwestern autonomous region of Xinjiang.

In Dec. 2020, Zenz published a report for the Center for Global Policy, a think tank based in Washington, D.C. The report accused China of using hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs as forced laborers to pick cotton by hand.

The lawsuits against Zenz are seeking apologies and financial compensation for the report, according to the Chinese state-run news site Tianshannet, which reported about the lawsuits on Monday, March 22.

Unidentified corporations from Xinjiang have  no doubt at state direction  filed a lawsuit in a Xinjiang court against researcher Adrian Zenz, wrote Donald Clarke, a professor and Chinese law specialist at George Washington University. There is little doubt that the plaintiffs will win in China. But what can they do with their victory? Nothing, unless they can enforce it in a jurisdiction where Zenz has assets.

The lawsuit was later endorsed by Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Zhao has called Zenzs reports disinformation with zero credibility. He also blamed Zenz for the Western backlash the country has been experiencing, particularly companies in Xinjiang with ties to the CCPs inhumane treatment of the regions ethnic minorities.

Some politicians have chosen to believe his words, said Zhao in a press briefing in Beijing on Tuesday. He added that the decision of the companies to seek legal redress against Zenz reflects a stronger awareness among Chinese citizens to safeguard their rights through the law.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has dismissed Zenzs claims as preposterous, and said that the rumors about Xinjiang were being spread because of ulterior motives.

Zenz said the lawsuit did not bother him, and it in fact validated his research. Its really rattling them, he said in a phone interview. Its important to see that my research is having a real impact.

It would actually be a welcome opportunity to actually look at the topics in detail and look at the evidence in detail, because the evidence is really strong, added Zenz.

Zenzs research corroborated by other scholars and by governments

Zenz, a senior fellow in China Studies at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, has focused his research on the CCP and Xinjiang. Specifically, he has done a lot of works uncovering the communist partys attempts to rein in the ethnic minorities of the region, particularly the Uyghur people.

He has accused the CCP of attempting to reduce the number of Uyghurs in the region through a variety of inhumane practices, including sending busloads of Uyghurs into other provinces for forced labor and preventing them from returning home for long periods of time. (Related: The United Nations is now partners with the Chinese Communist Party; turned over names of Chinese dissidents to the regime.)

Zenzs research has been corroborated by many other well-regarded China scholars, as well as many independent media outlets. The United Nations has attempted to confront China over Zenzs research. The United States was the first country in the world to declare the CCPs actions in Xinjiang a genocide, followed by the parliaments of Canada and the Netherlands.

Many Chinese state-run media outlets have gone on the offensive, accusing Zenz of being a variety of characters. The Global Times painted Zenz as a swindler under academic disguise. China Daily called Zenz a far-right fundamentalist Christian and evangelical zealot.

On social media, Chinese government officials have accused Zenz of being a liar and the news outlets that have run his stories as spin doctors engaged in a smear campaign.

Learn more about the CCPs actions in Xinjiang by reading the latest articles at CommunistChina.news.

Sources include:

TheNationalPulse.com

Bloomberg.com

VOANews.com

Reuters.com

Twitter.com
- Over half of all tech workers report that workloads are up during Covid-19

- 75% more tech workers are presently concerned about the state of their mental health compared to before the pandemic

- Companies rise to the mental health challenge - with more support offered

- The tech roles most likely to receive pay rises - Development Management/Team Leadership, Architecture and Software Engineering

LONDON, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite salaries rising for over a third (36%) of IT professionals, the pandemic has forced tech workers across the world to do more for their money, with over half (55%) reporting that their workloads have increased at the same time as around two thirds (64%) have either experienced pay freezes (48%), or a reduction in pay (16%).

Heavier workloads carried out remotely have had a negative impact on mental health with three quarters (75%) more tech workers reporting that they are presently concerned about the state of their mental health due to working pressures compared to last year's Harvey Nash Group Technology & Talent Study. This year's study found that over a quarter (28%) of tech workers globally are presently concerned about the state of their mental health.

The Harvey Nash Group Technology & Talent Study 2021, which is based on responses from over 1,700 tech professionals globally, also found that the three tech roles to see workloads increase the most during the pandemic have been: Development Management/Team Leadership (69%), CIOs/CTOs and VPs of IT (66%), and those working in IT operations (64%).

More hours - more stress - but also more support

Despite the significant rise in mental health concerns across the technology sector, the study found that more companies are being supportive, with over 80% 'quite' or 'very' supportive towards staff with concerns. Encouragingly, those companies regarded as unsupportive have dropped by almost a quarter in the past year.

Bev White, Chief Executive, Harvey Nash Group, said:

"Technology professionals have played a key role throughout the pandemic, supporting organisations in the massive push for home working and helping them adapt their business models in response to the crisis. But it's been quite a journey. There have been long days, rising workloads and rapidly changing objectives. It's no wonder that mental health is struggling."

Full release here

Media Contacts:

David Pippett

ProServ PR

david@proservpr.com

+44 (0) 7899 798197
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.
Rome, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 26th Mar, 2021 ) :Cruise ships will no longer sail past Venice's iconic St Mark's Square and will be made to dock at the lagoon city's industrial port, the Italian government said Thursday.

Ministers for infrastructure, culture, tourism and the environment jointly took the decision "to protect a cultural and historical heritage that belongs not only to Italy but to the entire world", a statement said.

However, getting cruise ships to dock at Marghera port -- rather than in the tourist terminal in Venice's historic centre -- is only a "temporary" solution, it added.

The four ministers announced a "call for ideas" to create a cruise ship terminal outside the lagoon "and give a structural and definitive solution to the problem of large ship transit in Venice".

Before the coronavirus pandemic brought the industry to a halt, cruise ship traffic boomed in Venice, bringing millions of extra visitors to the UNESCO World Heritage city.

But to critics, giant tourist vessels were an eyesore and potential safety hazard, passing exceptionally close to Venice's historic buildings, as well as a threat to the fragile ecosystem of its lagoon.

Cruise ships in Italy are currently blocked as part of lockdown measures against the coronavirus pandemic. In the country, more than 106,000 people have died with Covid-19.
Beaumont Health announced its hospitals will have limited visitation, effective Thursday, March 25 at 8 a.m.

Beaumont Health officials put restrictions in place to protect patients and staff as coronavirus cases continue to rise.

Coronavirus cases have been rising overall, but especially in southeast Michigan where Beaumont Health hospitals are located.

RELATED: Michigan reports 4,454 new coronavirus cases, 16 new deaths for Wednesday, March 24

We have noticed an alarming rise in COVID-19 cases in metro Detroit over the past few weeks, Dr. Nick Gilpin, Beaumont Health medical director of infection prevention and epidemiology, said in a release.

Gilpin is happy vaccines are becoming more available, but difficult steps like restricting visitation are necessary at this time.

RELATED: Michigan sees alarming increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations among unvaccinated adults

No one will be allowed in rooms of patients with pending or positive COVID-19 tests, according to the release. However, there are a few exceptions including visitors of patients who are nearing death, those under 21, women in labor and other unspecified extreme circumstances.

All exceptions will have to be approved by clinical leadership, the release said. These exceptions will only apply if the visitor screens negative for respiratory infection symptoms.

For patients who do not have COVID-19, one visitor can be present for those in critical condition. Additional guidelines include:

When a person is being evaluated for hospice care or near the end of life, two people are permitted at the bedside. Family members may take turns.

When an adult with a disability needs help with communication or other assistance, one visitor is allowed.

When a visitor is required for patient support, but arrangements are made in advance.

When a woman is in labor or has pregnancy complications, a doula and partner are permitted.

Children who are 21 or younger may have both parents visit.

Next month, health officials will release more guidelines for visitors who are fully vaccinated.

We decided to restrict visitors after thoughtful conversations with our physicians, nurses and staff. We know that families are critical to the healing process, said Susan Grant, Beaumont health chief nursing officer. Its troubling to see COVID-19 numbers climbing again just as more vaccine is finally starting to become available. Please wear a mask when you are in public and help us stop the spread of the virus.
When I think of collage, my mind goes first to Picasso and Braque: Pablo Picassos Les Demoiselles de Avignon (1907) and Georges Braques, Houses at LEstaque (1908). These works are referred to as Cubist, a name applied as an insult by critics as so many avant-garde works were back then.

The term papier colle was coined by both Braque and Picasso in the beginning of the 20th century when collage became a distinctive part of modern art. Wikipedia describes collage, from the French coller, to glue or to stick together, as a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole.

A collage is a work of art made from numerous materials such as paper, newsprint, photographs, fabric and other found objects. Many contemporary collages are made by placing electronic images on a digital background. Collage art has allowed artists to break free from the more traditional two-dimensional forms on canvas and not only add an extra dimension but also texture and a never-ending array of materials from which to work from.

Some of the famous artists who used collage in modern art whose names might ring a bell are:

 Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitsky in 1890). He created artwork in the Surrealist and Dada styles. He came up with the idea for rayographs as a play on his name and photographs after he experimented with camera-less photography.

 Kurt Schwitters, who is most associated with the Dada movement. He is well known for creating assemblage and collage work. He brought together materials that he found on the streets in Hannover, Germany in order to make assemblages. He did this in an effort to show that German culture was mostly in ruins.

ADVERTISEMENT



 Joseph Cornell. His artwork has been said to be poetic, romantic, surrealistic, and lyrical. He taught himself much about art and developed a sophisticated technique with his collages, box constructions, and with the experimental films that he created during the 1930s.

 Jesse Treece, who takes newspaper comic strips, architectural drawings, pieces of art from Hayao Miyazaki and Salvador Dali, images from the 1960s and 1970s, and bits of dystopian science fiction books to create his collage works.

The Sidney Janis Gallery in New York held an early pop-art show in 1962 called the New Realist Exhibition and featured many well-known artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg, Andy Warhol, Yves Klein and dozens more. Many used collage techniques in their work.

There were earlier precedents in history. Techniques of collage were first used at the time of the invention of paper in China, around 200 BC. The use of collage, however, wasnt used by many people until the 10th century in Japan, when calligraphers began to apply glued paper, using texts on surfaces, when writing their poems. The technique of collage appeared in medieval Europe during the 13th century. Gold leaf panes started to be applied in Gothic cathedrals around the 15th and 16th centuries.

Collage is used very frequently in contemporary art shows as is evidenced in two recent art exhibitions in St. Louis. The William Shearburn Gallery recently featured Andy Millners, Floating World. The title comes from the Japanese term ukiyo, Millner says.

Ukiyo has a complex history, the more I explore the more there is to unpack, said Millner. My floating world is made by digitally collaging together the individual plant drawings from my archive, and adding new silhouettes of figures into larger, artificial landscapes. They are colored with gradients inspired by traditional ukiyo prints, printed onto mulberry paper, and then mounted to linen.

And Kahlil Irving, one of the Great Rivers Biennial artists at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis who addresses cultural rules set by colonialism, challenges those constructs through material and form. The artist conflates history and the contemporary through a gathering of multiple images and sources derived from his own physical and social media explorations.

Kahlil says, I realized I had the opportunity to show a lot of new gestures, four to five sculptures from several groups of work, a large collage of 66 feet, new and old flags. What people will experience is deeper and more nuanced. Here is realized my research and investigations into colonialism in the U. S. and Midwest through multiple materials, media, objects, and forms.

We often hear of watercolor societies both national and international, but dont hear as often about collage organizations.

Collage is actually a genre or art discipline of its own. There are organizations such as the Collage Artists of America. The specific purpose of CAA is to promote interest and participation in the study, appreciation and support of collage, assemblage, and related mixed, media art by providing resources such as educational programs, instructional workshops, and art exhibits to its members and the public.

Maybe we can become more aware at our next trip to a museum or other art exhibition of the process and use of collage to make one outstanding work of art.
TPC Training Acquires Above Training as Part of Strategic Expansion of Food Safety Training Offerings. Bringing together the State Food Safety and eFoodHandlers brands offers our customers immense value in the markets that they serve

TPC Training, a leader in workforce training, performance, and compliance solutions, announced today the acquisition of Above Training, an eLearning company that specializes in partnering with regulatory agencies and customers to deliver food safety training to the restaurant, hospitality, and food retail industries through their StateFoodSafety division.

Above Training is TPC Trainings third acquisition in the past seven months and follows the December 2020 acquisition of eFoodHandlers, enhancing the companys Professional business unit.

Like other TPC Training Professional business lines, Above Training offers recurring, compliance-driven training, based on state mandated requirements for professionals and businesses. This acquisition supports the vision to expand TPC Trainings compliance-driven eLearning and certification solutions and services for learners pursuing and professionals maintaining certification across a wide range of industries and professions.

"Bringing together the StateFoodSafety and eFoodHandlers brands offers our customers immense value in the markets that they serve, said Derek Dunaway, CEO of TPC Training. The combination of the two will allow us to establish and deliver market-leading services in food safety and compliance."

StateFoodSafety partners with regulatory agencies nationwide to develop customized training and service solutions. Their online, mobile responsive courses are customized to meet multiple editions of the FDA Food Code, as well as state or local requirements, in 8 supported languages. The courses feature animated avatars, which have been shown to increase learner engagement, as well as simulation-based interactivities to promote retention.

Over the past several years, StateFoodSafety has made tremendous strides with many industry firsts. With the combination of TPC, the future will continue to be even brighter, said Franklin Lewis, founder of Above Training.

TPC Training, a Frontenac portfolio company, continues to accelerate its focus on investing in innovative technologies that streamline the delivery of education and training to its customer base.

About TPC Training

TPC Training is the leader in workforce training, performance, and compliance solutions. Featuring the industrys deepest library of technical and safety training content, as well as software solutions to manage workforce operations, TPC Training helps companies maximize the full potential of their workforce, dramatically improve productivity, reduce downtime, and keep teams safe. For more information, please visit tpctraining.com.

About Above Training

AboveTraining, through its division, StateFoodSafety, provides online food safety education programs to food handlers, food managers, alcohol servers, health departments, and food service companies throughout the country. The StateFoodSafety training and certification programs are built using industry-leading technology and food safety best practices and are customized to meet the needs of the unique customers and market segments. For more information, please visit abovetraining.com.

About Frontenac

Frontenac is a Chicago-based private equity firm. The firm focuses on investing in lower middle market buyout transactions in the consumer, industrial, and services industries. Frontenac works in partnership with established operating leaders, through an executive-centric approach called CEO1ST, which seeks to identify, acquire, and build market-leading companies through transformational acquisitions and operational excellence. Over the last 50 years, Frontenac has built a leading franchise working with over 275 owners of mid-sized businesses as they address complex transition issues of liquidity, management enhancement, and growth planning. For more information, please visit http://www.frontenac.com.
Nairobi  Deputy President William Ruto has given the clearest indication yet that he will ditch the Jubilee Party if push comes to shove and use the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party as his preferred political outfit in 2022.

While admitting of being aware of powerful individuals in and outside government hell bent to have him kicked out from the Jubilee Party, DP Ruto noted that he will not just sit and wait for that to happen.

"If they continue to push us to the wall we will definitely leave Jubilee and use UDA as our vehicle in 2022. UDA is one of the Jubilee party coalition partners and it will not be wrong for those who feel aggrieved to decamp to it," he said on Thursday during an interview with Citizen Radio.

DP Ruto who is still facing impeachment threats with a section of his critics like the Jubilee Party Vice Chairperson David Murathen having vowed to proceed with plans to have him ousted maintained he is not cowed and that he will remain steadfast to the end regardless of the continuous frustration.

"They are afraid because the hustler movement is making inroads in all corners of the country and that is why they want to take us back to the politics of tribalism and formations of parties that are based on tribes," he said.

Ruto noted that once it becomes official that he will be leading the UDA brigade, the team will be a force to reckon with even as he re-affirmed that his quest to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta was well on course.

"Good things come to those who wait but they will be left to those who hustle and the UDA party will not be a tribal party and we will do all it takes to unite Kenyans. More importantly we'll ensure that we are not taken back to the politics of tribalism," he said.

Ruto defended his hustler movement narrative noting that it was the best antidote for the country's perennial problems which he claimed have over the years been encouraged by poor and divisive politics fueled by ethnicity.

"Our movement aims to bring all Kenyans on board. I am very clear in my mind and I know what I am saying. I am not a mad person. Those pushing for tribal politics are the biggest enemies of our country and they need to be stopped," he said.

While disabusing the notion that his movement was creating a class war as alleged by critics, DP Ruto noted that contrary to the lies, the narrative would shape the country's politics and more importantly spark a paradigm shift on the economic model of the country.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"I am happy our movement has changed the conversation because it is no longer about tribes, its about wheelbarrow, the mama mbogas, the boda boda and that is the conversation we must have as a nation. Our focus at the moment should be about looking for a solution on how the close to 16 million unemployed Kenyans can get a source of income and that is why the bottom up approach is ideal," he said.

DP Ruto also stated that as the race to succeed President Kenyatta continues to shape up he is open to political alliances on condition that those who wish to join him should subscribe or believe to his hustler narrative.

"If there are people who will share our ideas and ambitions we will definitely form an alliance with them. Our agenda is to bring all Kenyans on board," he said.

Already, the UDA Party has announced plans to embark on grassroots elections on June 18 across all counties in a bid to solidify its support base across the country ahead of the high stake 2022 polls which are a year and five months away.
[March 25, 2021] VERBUND AG: Innovative EU taxonomy aligned "Green and Sustainability-linked Bond" was successfully placed

VIENNA, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Austria's leading utility and long-standing pioneer in green finance VERBUND has achieved another milestone in its sustainable finance track record, with its newly launched Green and Sustainability-linked Bond (the "Bond"). The 20-year, senior unsecured Bond was met with high market demand and was placed within the international and national institutional investor base. The 500m bond was oversubscribed several times. Investors with a focus on sustainability were given much preferential treatment in the allocation process and represented more than 90% of the final order book. The strong demand from green investors allowed setting the coupon at 0.90%, which, considering the long tenor, confirms the confidence investors place in VERBUND. The Bond combines the feature of environmentally sustainable ("green") use of proceeds with a coupon step-up linked to company-wide sustainability goals ("sustainability-linked"). VERBUND plans to use the proceeds exclusively for "green" projects that cmply with the VERBUND Green Financing Framework. This was developed in alignment with the Green Bond Principles 2018 and the Sustainability-linked Bond Principles 2020 and also aligns with the current draft of the Delegated Acts of the EU Taxonomy, which was published in November 2020. ISS ESG, a leading global sustainability rating agency, has positively assessed the quality of the Green Financing Framework in a second party opinion. Moreover, VERBUND commits to expand both its newly installed renewable energy production capacity in the areas of water, wind and photovoltaics by at least 2,000 MW and the installation of additional transformer capacity (necessary so that the renewable electricity can be fed into the high-voltage grid) by at least 12,000 MVA. If one of the two targets is not achieved by 31 December 2032, the coupon payments on the bond will be increased by 0.25% p.a. for the remainder of the Bond term, as further specified in the terms of the Bond.



Peter F. Kollmann, CFO VERBUND: "After the first Green Bond issued by a company in German-speaking countries in 2014, the world's first Green and Digital Schuldschein as well as the first 100% ESG-linked Syndicated Loan in 2018, this transaction is a further step that underlines VERBUND's position as an innovative pioneer in green financing instruments in the capital market." Contact

VERBUND AG

Mag. Ingun Metelko

Company Spokesperson

Tel.:+43 (0)50313-53748

Mobile:+43 (664)380 92 69

ingun.metelko@verbund.com Mag. Andreas Wollein

Head of Group Finance and Investor Relations

Tel.:+43(0)50313-52604

Fax:+43(0)50313-52694

investor-relations@verbund.com

[ 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.
YEREVAN, MARCH 25, ARMENPRESS. A stable operational situation with no incidents has been maintained along the Armenian-Azerbaijani line of contact of the Armenian state border overnight March 24-25, the Defense Ministry of Armenia told Armenpress.

According to the information provided by the Armenian National Security Service, the situation has also not changed 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 length of the border zone and fulfill their tasks.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Scandal-hit retailer Boohoo has slashed its supplier network by more than 400 firms after allegations factory staff were paid less than minimum wage emerged.

The online fashion firm shared its list of 78 approved suppliers across 100 factories, which was a significant drop on the 500 suppliers previously identified in an independent review of the business by Alison Levitt QC.

It comes just weeks after Boohoo and many of its suppliers were said to be facing an investigation which raised the possibility of a United States import ban because of widespread allegations over the use of slave labour.

Boohoo has worked to sever ties with 64 factories, consolidate others and cut out subcontracting after it was alleged last year that some factories in the UK working for the firm were paying staff as little as 3.50 an hour and had working conditions which did not meet lockdown restrictions.

Last month Boohoo announced a 25.2million deal to buy Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton as the fast fashion giant continued to carve up the remains of Sir Philip Green's Arcadia empire with rival ASOS.

Boohoo revealed a list of 78 approved suppliers across 100 factories - a significant drop on the estimated 500 suppliers previously identified in an independent review of the business by Alison Levitt QC (pictured is a publicity photo from the company)

The group said it has 'ceased doing business with a number of manufacturers who were unable to demonstrate the high standard of transparency required, despite being provided with opportunities to address any issues identified in the auditing process'.

It added that it asked the remaining suppliers to bring their so-called cut-make-trim units in-house 'to allow for greater oversight and remove the issue of unapproved subcontracting'.

The company had more than 1 billion wiped from its share value in two days after an article last year revealed the factory allegations.

As other retailers such as Next and Asos dropped Boohoo clothing from their websites, the company hired top lawyer Ms Levitt to look into the allegations which its board said left them 'shocked and appalled'.

In September last year, Ms Levitt found that there were 'serious issues' in the company's supply chain.

Pictured: Workers at the Faiza Fashion factory in Leicester last summer. The factory supplied clothes to Boohoo

Boohoo has since pledged to strengthen internal controls, overhaul its suppliers and is also launching a sustainability strategy, called Up Front, to reduce its carbon footprint.

Bosses also hired judge Sir Brian Leveson to supervise the firm's Agenda for Change reforms.

In his second report published separately on Thursday, Sir Brian noted that improved supplier audits have changed the way the industry is run in Leicester and noted Boohoo's efforts to embed a new way of working.

Boohoo boss Mahmud Kamani

John Lyttle, chief executive of Boohoo, said: 'This is the not the end of a project for us at Boohoo but the beginning of a new way of working with our suppliers.

'The publication of our UK Supply Chain List marks another step on our journey towards greater transparency and embedding positive change, not only in our own organisation, but through the wider network of businesses that make up our supply chain.'

Shares in Boohoo lifted two per cent.

Retail analysts at Jefferies said: 'We see today's publication of a fully audited UK supplier list as an important step in re-establishing trust in the business and momentum in the shares.'

US Customs and Border Protection said it had seen enough evidence to launch an investigation after petitions from British campaigners, Sky News reported at the start of this month.

In response, Boohoo defended its labour practices and said it was 'not aware of any investigation'.

Duncan Jepson who runs Liberty Shared, a charity that campaigns against modern slavery, argued that Boohoo was not doing enough to investigate claims of suspected forced Labour at its suppliers' factories in Leicester.

Boohoo - owned by Mahmud Kamani (pictured left with Snoop Dogg, Boohoo CEO Carol Kane and his son Samir Kamani in 2018) - has now bought Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton for 25m, weeks after purchasing Debenhams

He said: 'The evidence of Boohoo and forced labour is quite compelling. I think it will be a wake-up call for British institutions about how they're handling modern slavery enforced labour, particularly in a community like Leicester East.

'What we'd all like, those of us interested in improving labour conditions, is for Boohoo to really get to grips with governance of their supply chain to ensure there is no wage theft and people have proper contracts.'

Boohoo tells Leicester suppliers not to sub-contract after sweatshop scandal Boohoo told its Leicester-based suppliers that all clothes must be made in-house and cut ties with all sub-contractors. The company launched an 'immediate investigation' saying it was 'shocked and appalled' by the revelations workers in the city were paid as little as 3.50 an hour. Home Secretary Priti Patel said the alleged conditions in the city were 'truly appalling', while critics said the reality of Leicester's sweatshop garment industry has been an 'open secret' for many years. In an email to suppliers seen by the BBC, the company suppliers must 'bring all finished goods manufacturing in-house'. Boohoo said it is 'a mandatory requirement and not open to negotiation.' Advertisement

Home Secretary Priti Patel said the alleged conditions in Leicester were 'truly appalling', while critics said the reality of Leicester's sweatshop garment industry has been an 'open secret' for many years.

In an email to suppliers seen by the BBC, the company suppliers must 'bring all finished goods manufacturing in-house'.

Boohoo said it is 'a mandatory requirement and not open to negotiation.'

It said it is continuing to fulfil orders for US customers and will 'work with any competent authority to provide assurance that products from its supply chain meet the required standard'.

In a statement, Boohoo said: 'The group has not received any correspondence from, nor is it aware of any investigation by, US Customs and Border Protection.

'Over the past eight months the group has been working closely with UK enforcement bodies.

'If the group were to discover any suggestion of modern-day slavery it would immediately disclose this to the relevant authorities.'

Meanwhile, Boohoo, owned by billionaire Mahmud Kamani, said they would be buying the brands and stock from Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton but would shut all 214 physical stores, concessions or franchises with 2,450 job losses.

The deal spells another step into the mainstream for Mr Kamani's Boohoo, which had its reputation badly damaged last year.

The 25million deal for Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton means that more of the biggest names on the British high street are vanishing for good during the pandemic.

Burton was founded in 1903 by Meshe Osinky, a Lithuanian Jew who fled the pogroms of his country for a new life in Britain with no money and no English, before changing his name to Montague Burton and building one of the biggest male clothing empires in the UK and Europe.

The deal will see all 214 physical stores, concessions or franchises close with 2,450 job losses

At its height Burton employed over 10,500 people in 400 stores and had the largest clothing factory in the world in Leeds, becoming a mainstay of the FTSE 100 before collapsing under the leadership of Sir Philip Green who bought it in 2002.

Around 260 jobs, mainly head office roles, will be saved as they move with the brands to Boohoo. These include jobs in design, buying and merchandising, and the businesses' digital wings.

Some other staff will be kept on during a months-long transition period, Deloitte said.

The deal will see the brands transfer over to online fashion giant Boohoo, whose fortunes have increased as those of its high street predecessors waned.

Chief executive John Lyttle said: 'We are delighted to announce the acquisition of the assets associated with the online businesses of the three established brands Burton, Dorothy Perkins and Wallis.

'Acquiring these well-known brands in British fashion out of administration ensures their heritage is sustained, while our investment aims to transform them into brands that are fit for the current market environment.

'We have a successful track record of integrating British heritage fashion brands onto our proven multi-brand platform, and we are looking forward to bringing these brands on board.'

Boohoo chairman Mahmud Kamani added: 'This is a great acquisition for the group as we extend our market share across a broader demographic, capitalising on growth opportunities as more and more customers shop online.

'We continue to grow our portfolio of brands and customer base, strengthening our position as a leader in global fashion e-commerce.'

The deal marked an extraordinary few weeks for British retail where billionaires battled for some of its biggest names.

On January 25, Boohoo bought the Debenhams brand but revealed it would axe up to 12,000 jobs.

Debenhams was sold for 55million but was valued at 1.7billion when it was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2006 and made a record 160million profit in 2013. Its shares became worthless after annual losses approached 500million.

Wallis will not be seen again on the British high street as Sir Philip Green's Arcadia empire crumbled

Despite Boohoo's sweatshop scandal, revenues jumped 40 per cent to 660.8million and profits surged to 68.1million during the pandemic, Boohoo Group, which also owns the PrettyLittleThing website run by Mr Kamani's playboy son Umar, announced earlier this month.

His son Umar tweeted about the purchase: 'Mad that we used to go into Debenhams every Saturday looking for cheap TV's with my dad'.

On February 1 ASOS revelled in the deal after winning a battle with rival Boohoo to grab the crown jewels of Sir Philip's Arcadia empire after its collapse last year.

It said on Twitter: 'The rumours are true... @Topshop & @Topman are now part of the ASOS family'.

But one Arcadia employee said minutes later: 'Nice way to find out I've lost my job, ASOS, great move for the people.' Another added: 'Thanks for informing me I've lost my job, after 10 years. Very compassionate.' And a third said: 'It's actually disgusting. I've worked for Topshop for two years and my own manager found out through Sky News as the administrators didn't inform us.'

ASOS hopes the deal will help it grow in the US. The sale will see 300 shops shut down and 2,500 store staff lose their jobs. But it will 'look at' saving Topshop's flagship Oxford Street store.
A plaque in honour of the Irish woman who shot the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini has been approved by Dublin City Council.

Violet Gibson attempted to assassinate the fascist leader in 1926 in Rome after he had finished giving a speech.

Along with her revolver, she had also armed herself with a stone in case she had to break the fascist leaders car window. Gibson fired twice, hitting Mussolinis nose with the first shot and missing with the second.

Read More

Her memorial plaque is to be erected at 12 Merrion Square, which was her childhood home. The original motion to construct it was proposed by Independent councillor Mannix Flynn, and was later passed by the councils Commemoration and Naming committee.

The motion said: It is now time to bring Violet Gibson into the public eye and give her a rightful place in the history of Irish women and in the history of the Irish nation and its people.

Gibson came from a privileged Anglo-Irish family, and was almost lynched by an angry mob after attempting to kill Mussolini. However, she was taken away by police for questioning.

She told interrogators that she shot Mussolini to glorify God, and she was deported to Britain after being released without charge at the request of the dictator. The assassination attempt actually increased popular support for Mussolini, which helped him gain control of Italy.

Unfortunately for Gibson, she spent the rest of her life in a mental asylum, St Andrew's Hospital in Northampton.

She had suffered severe ill health throughout her life. She had a nervous breakdown in 1922 which led to her being declared insane and committed to a mental institution for two years. She later attempted suicide in early 1925. She died on May 2, 1956, at 79 years old.

The owners of the building where it is planned for her plaque to be erected - British real estate company Westhill - will have to give consent for it to be installed.
The ambassadors of Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia have called for greater support from the U.S. and the ASEAN regional bloc to address urgent environmental threats to the Mekong River. They also emphasized the need for improved water data sharing by all countries on the river, including China.

Vietnamese Ambassador to the U.S. Ha Kim Ngoc told a virtual panel hosted by the East-West Center in late February that U.S. support to address challenges to the Mekong River should be expanded while adding that Hanoi also wanted ASEAN engagement to help meet the challenges.

We strongly believe US leadership and commitment will be a very decisive factor for the success of our collaboration to help the Mekong," he said.

ASEAN needs to put a higher priority on this issue. In our region, we have some top priority issues, including the South China Sea, or what we call the East Sea. For Vietnam and some other countries in the region, the Mekong is also of strategic significance in terms of security, prosperity, and stability of the whole subregion.

Water data sharing and transboundary governance

Ha Kim Ngoc said some 20 million Vietnamese depended directly on the Mekong Delta. Since 2015, two historic droughts have caused some $1 billion in damages.

This will happen more often if we fail to act quickly especially in strengthening of the governance of transboundary water resources, he said, adding that Vietnam wanted all countries along the river to share water data, manage resources responsibly, and set rules and norms for water use management by all countries.

Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos are part of the Mekong River Commission (MRC), which is based on a 1995 agreement that fosters cooperation, but does not legally bind countries to unanimously agree on their water use. China, which is home to the Upper Mekong, and Myanmar, which is also on the river, are not MRC members.

The panel, which also included a top U.S. State Department representative for Asia and House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee member Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA), discussed a new report by the Congress-funded East-West Center. The report emphasizes the need for transboundary management of the Mekong to address pressing challenges posed by climate change, shifting hydrological conditions, chronic droughts, and natural disasters.

In recent years, extreme droughts have hurt the Mekongs extraordinary natural productivity, which is important to tens of millions of people who survive on fishing and agriculture.

Thai Ambassador Manasvi Srisodapol said, There are a lot of development needs along the Mekong River. We feel that ASEAN, having limited capacity, cannot develop the Mekong by itself. We need partners. We have plenty of partners that are interested in helping our development needs, either bilaterally or in subregional frameworks, including the [U.S.-led] Lower Mekong initiative and other U.S. partnerships.

Strengthening the rivers governance and transparency is central to addressing the Mekongs challenges, he said, adding that, Thailand supports sharing of timely accurate and high-quality water data on the mainstream Mekong River.

Cambodian Ambassador Chum Sounry welcomed U.S. support for the region, but stopped short of calling for transboundary governance. He cited a recent MRC Secretariat statement that called on, China and the Lower Mekong countries themselves to share water data with the MRC to help Lower Mekong countries to manage risks more effectively.

Concern over China, Laos dams

In the past year, the MRC Secretariat, Vietnam and Thailand have voiced strong concerns over the impacts of large hydropower dams upstream in China and Laos on the rivers flood pulse downstream.

Laos has shrugged off these concerns, while China has denied that its dams impact downstream water levels. Beijing only recently, after continued complaints, agreed to share water level data from its dams with the MRC, though questions remain.

The U.S. has strongly echoed the concerns that Chinas lack of cooperation and transparency over its use of the Mekong is having negative impacts downstream, and the issue appears to have become part of the U.S.-China rivalry in Southeast Asia.

In the panel, Rep. Ted Lieu and Atul Keshpa, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of East Asia and the Pacific, reiterated this position.

We remain concerned that (Mekong) record droughts and the upstream dams in China that exacerbate them, are hurting the communities and ecosystems that have relied for countless generations on the Mekong Rivers flood pulse, Keshap said.

He questioned whether China was sharing its water data with the MRC in a timely and effective manner, saying, It is clear these commitments are not being met.

Since 2009, the U.S. government has worked on cooperation programs with the Mekong countries. It recently launched a new $150-million program to address environmental challenges to the river basin and to support energy markets and combat transnational crime.
NICOSIA, CYPRUS / ACCESSWIRE / March 25, 2021 / Atalaya Mining Plc (AIM:ATYM)(TSX:AYM) announces that Dr. Jose Nicolas Sierra is retiring as an Independent Non-Executive Director and the Chair of the Physical Risk Committee of Atalaya, with an effective date of 31 March 2021.

Dr. Sierra was appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director in October 2011. His extensive experience as a mining and energy leader in the business and government sectors have allowed him to contribute, as a director of Atalaya, to the transformation and accomplishments of Atalaya over 10 years.

Following Dr. Sierra's resignation, the Company will continue to have four independent non-executive directors on the board.

Roger Davey, Chairman of Atalaya Mining plc., commented:

"Dr. Sierra has been one of the senior board members of Atalaya since his appointment to the Board in October 2011. The Atalaya story has transformed since then and has benefitted from his valuable industry experience and knowledge during that period. We would like to thank him for his commitment and support."

Alberto Lavandeira, CEO, commented:

"I would like to thank Dr. Sierra for his outstanding contribution to Atalaya. He has fulfilled his role with great professionalism and as Chair of the Physical Risk Committee has facilitated the improvement in many areas of Proyecto Riotinto."

Contacts:

SEC Newgate Elisabeth Cowell / Adam Lloyd / Tom Carnegie + 44 20 3757 6880 4C Communications Carina Corbett +44 20 3170 7973 Canaccord Genuity (NOMAD and Joint Broker) Henry Fitzgerald-O'Connor / James Asensio +44 20 7523 8000 BMO Capital Markets (Joint Broker) Tom Rider +44 20 7236 1010 Peel Hunt LLP (Joint Broker) Ross Allister / David McKeown +44 20 7418 8900

About Atalaya Mining Plc

Atalaya is an AIM and TSX-listed mining and development group which produces copper concentrates and silver by-product at its wholly owned Proyecto Riotinto site in southwest Spain. In addition, the Group has a phased, earn-in agreement for up to 80% ownership of Proyecto Touro, a brownfield copper project in the northwest of Spain. For further information, visit www.atalayamining.com

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.

SOURCE: Atalaya Mining PLC

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/637356/Atalaya-Mining-PLC-Announces-Directorate-Change
Armenian acting minister: EU allocated EUR 68,700,000 to Armenia for budget support in 2020

Armenia Finance Ministry: MFA's budget grew by AMD 1,600,000,000 in 2020

Bodies and remains of Armenian soldiers are kept in morgue in Armenia's Martuni

White House confirms Biden-Erdogan meeting in Brussels

Armenia acting MOD touches upon priority directions for development of Armed Forces

Diaspora Armenian writer, publicist Toros Toranian dies

2 Armenian soldiers injured in scuffle with Azerbaijan, Armenian POW is hospitalized, Jun. 3 digest

Wedding held in Armenia's Shurnukh for first time since the war ended

EEU member states to finish preparing for negotiations over free trade zone in Iran in late June

Armenia Central Bank: Economic downfall in 2020 was due to decline in service and construction sectors

Armenia legislature adopts several bills in first reading

Armenia President meets with Nursultan Nazarbayev

Dejavu: Armenia ruling party distributes money for votes at Yerevan district election office

Chief Advisor to Karabakh President sacked

Russian MFA: Works are carried out to settle situation around Karabakh every day

Armenia opposition MP sounds alarm about Baku fabricating criminal cases against Armenian prisoners

Armenia acting health minister: I have apologized, I am not going to resign

Helga Schmid meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Armenia's deputy foreign ministers resigned or have heavy workload?

Dollar goes down in Armenia

Armenia Elections Oversight Committee reports Iranian citizenship of ruling party's MP candidate

Acting deputy minister: Only 17 of 711 Iran-Armenia power transmission line towers were installed by 2017

Armenia Parliament Council holding session

Armenia to host CSTO "Thunder-2021" military exercises

NYT: Chinese hackers launch cyberattack on New York city transportation authority

Armenia President to Kazakhstan counterpart: I would like to see much deeper cooperation between our countries

Armenia citizens shut down Etchmiadzin-Ashtarak road, complaining about lack of irrigation water

Armenia independent MP: Foreign minister and his deputies don't want to take part in treacherous acts

Armenia to get $11mn loan, 350,000 grant for agriculture

WHO worries about worsening mental health worldwide amid pandemic

Armenia health ministry on improper handling of Artsakh war victims bodies: There is no justification

Armenia bloc election foundation already in operation

Russia ambassador to Armenia paying working visit to Syunik Province (PHOTOS)

China pledges to step up resistance to foreign interference in Hong Kong

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: There can be no talk of corridor for Azerbaijan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on incumbent authorities: Wherever they flee, we will bring them by the feet

President: Impossible to ensure peace in region or stay in Artsakh without Russia army joint efforts

China Daily: Dispatch from Makit: Thriving in the desert

Karabakh President: We will never put up with being part of Azerbaijan, it is ruled out

Armenia MFA information department chief: All deputy FMs carrying out their duties

Ardshinbank invited children to the cinema on International Childrens Day

Armenia judiciary to have 10 more judges

Armenia acting premier: We had recorded 40% increase in tax revenues according to 2019 results

Armenia acting PM on Artsakh war casualties bodies: We have 50 remains in which case DNA was not separated

Azerbaijan authorities plan to "squeeze" everything from "terrorist show" related to Armenian captives

Ameriabank announces a contest for bank card design

108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia parliament convenes special session

Armenia interim government holding Cabinet meeting

Catholicos of All Armenians heads for Syunik Province, Artsakh

World oil prices going up

Iran loses right to vote in UN General Assembly

Newspaper: Armenia authorities come up with new way of punishing unwanted characters

Newspaper: Russia army Southern Military District deputy commander to arrive in Yerevan Thursday

Lebanese Armenian man taken prisoner by Azerbaijan is hospitalized

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Are we getting under the burden? Then lets get under to the end

Armenia acting health minister on keeping fallen soldiers bodies in bags: What else should they be kept in?

Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation

Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow

2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik

Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center

"Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans

Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel

Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna

Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations

US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies

Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week

Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection

Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential

Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement

Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues

Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo

Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation

NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident

Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices

Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over

Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest

Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia

Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia

Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels

Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters

Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021

Dollar is stable in Armenia

Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector

Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out

Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe

Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia

Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border

Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor

Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue

Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia

Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this

Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia
New Delhi:

In a shocking incident, a Class 12 student has allegedly been murdered by her boyfriend in Hyderabad. According to police reports, she went missing from her home on Tuesday and was later found dead.

Chandni's boy friend Sai Kiran has been arrested on Wednesday on the charge of her murder after her decomposed body was found in hills on the city's outskirts, around 5 km from her home.

Latest media reports suggest that the 17-year-old was the daughter of a businessman and left home claiming she was going to meet some friends.

"My sister said she is going to meet her friends and then when she didn't come back even by 9, we went to the police," said Chandni's sister Nivedita.

According to police, Sai Kiran allegedly killed her as Chandni was repeatedly pressurising him for an early marriage.

Also Read: Shocking: 11-year-old girl punished, made to stand inside boys' toilet

Incidentally, a CCTV footage has been recovered which has helped the police immensely in solving the case. The girl was seen getting off an auto-rickshaw, along with a boy, and walking towards bushes.

The boy was later identified as Sai Kiran, who was Chandni's classmate from Class 6 to 10.

He told the police that he and Chandni had been in a relationship for two years but he had been trying to avoid her for the last few months.

The police say he told them the girl was trying to force him to continue the relationship and marry her, so he decided to get rid of her.

On Saturday, he allegedly took her to the hillocks and assaulted her following a fight. He allegedly pushed her and she fell 10 feet to her death.

When the body was found, Chandni's tongue was out, which indicated the intensity of the assault, the police said.

Also Read: Protest rallies taken out in Hyderabad in support of Rohingya

There were reports that the young girl was depressed and kept aloof since the last few days.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
A paramedic and a garda were both assaulted by a man who lashed out violently during an incident at a hospital.

33-year-old Bernard Horgan of Cork Simon Community pleaded guilty to two charges of assault causing harm.

Sergeant Gearoid Davis said the incident occurred on February 19 and Horgan was remanded in custody since then.

Horgan was injured in Cork city and was taken to the Mercy University Hospital where he became violent and assaulted a paramedic.

Gardai arrived to deal with the violent situation in the hospital and Horgan assaulted one of the guards causing him harm.

Sgt. Davis said that while the assault on the paramedic was minor in nature, the injured garda had only just returned to work since the assault last month.

Judge Olann Kelleher said he could not proceed to sentencing the accused for the two charges of assault causing harm until he received victim impact statements.

It was put back for a week for that purpose, with the accused remanded in continuing custody.
Funeral homes often submit obituaries as a service to the families they are assisting. However, we will be happy to accept obituaries from family members pending proper verification of the death.

Submit
press release

Minister Fritz deeply concerned by death of 1 civilian and injury of 4 officers amid violent protests

The MEC of Community Safety, Albert Fritz, is deeply concerned that one person has hit by a car and killed during violent protest action yesterday, and that four police officers have been injured. MEC Fritz has previously condemned the violent protest action which further serves to halt service delivery and economic recovery.

The protest action has affected both directions of the N2 highway, Mew Way, Baden Powell, R300 and Hindle Road, starting in the early hours of Monday morning. The protest action has affected communities including Khayelitsha, Belhar, Kuilsriver and Kraaifontein. There have been reports of stone throwing, and the burning of tires and rubble.

MEC Fritz said, "I was deeply concerned to hear that a person had been killed amid the protest action yesterday and that four police officers were injured in Kraaifontein. I call for an immediate end to these violent protests which are not only dangerous, but further jeopardise service delivery to our most vulnerable communities. I wish to convey my heartfelt condolences to the family of the deceased and wish a speedy recovery to those injured."

MEC Fritz added, "While everyone has the constitutional right to protest, resorting to violence and the destruction is simply unacceptable. It is dangerous and illegal to do so at the expense of the rights of others, especially their right to safety, to property and to move freely."

MEC Fritz added further, "I remind residents that the destruction of personal and public property is criminal. This action further threatens to undermine the economic opportunities of many vulnerable residents in our province, as well as further delay serve delivery to affected communities."

mEC Fritz added, "I have been informed by SAPS in the Western Cape that a Public Order Policing (POPs) unit was deployed to the scene and will continue to monitor the protests. I call residents to make use of alternative routes while SAPS continue in their efforts to stabilize to the affected communities."

MEC Fritz added further, "I call for calm in the affected communities. Anyone with information on those reportedly perpetuating these crimes is asked to immediately come forward and report such to SAPS. We cannot allow the safety and stability of communities to be undermined by a few."
President Joe Biden said at his first formal press conference that it would be 'hard to meet' a May 1 deadline to withdrawal U.S. troops from Afghanistan, site of the nation's longest war.

'Its going to be hard to meet the May 1 deadline,' he said when asked about the impending deadline, negotiated by his predecessor President Donald Trump.

'Just in terms of tactical reasons, hard to get those troops out,' Biden said, when asked about his plans Thursday.

'Its going to be hard to meet the May 1 deadline,' President Joe Biden said when asked if he would have U.S. troops out of Afghanistan by that date

He said the nation was coordinating with allies, and allowed: 'If we leave, we're going to do so in a safe and orderly way.'

Asked initially about his past writings that it was time to end the nation's 'forever wars,' Biden added: 'It is not my intention to stay there for a long time.'

'How and under what circumstances do we meet that agreement that was made by President Trump to leave under a deal that looks like its not been able to be worked out to begin with - how is that done?' he said.

The U.S. has had troops in Afghanistan since 2001

President Donald Trump's administration negotiated the exit date before he left office

He provided no specifics when it came to the calendar.

'But we are not staying a long time. We will leave. The question is when we leave,' he said. Asked if U.S. troops would still be there a year from now, Biden responded: 'I cant picture that being the case.'

The Trump administration negotiated the deadline in talks with the Taliban in February 2020. It tied the withdrawal to the Taliban cutting ties with Al Qaeda and ending attacks on U.S. forces.

There are currently about 2,500 U.S. troops there.

Some advisors fear a total withdrawal will lead to more chaos in the country.
Ava decided to write to Tyshaun when she saw her mother cry after reading Coxs story about him in The Post. Cox follows the childrens relationship as they FaceTime, bombarding each other with heart emojis, sending gifts (including stress toys), and commiserating and comforting each other as they open up about their bad weeks.

The thing that people tend to not appreciate is that when theres a single intense, overwhelming event, particularly if it involves unexpected traumatic death, thats not really one event, Bruce D. Perry, a psychiatrist who worked with families after the shootings at Columbine High School and Sandy Hook Elementary School, tells Cox. What happens is your brain revisits that thousands of times and so it becomes thousands of little events, all of which are able to activate your stress response.

The other element for which there can be no accounting in this engaging book is trust. Nonfiction of this kind cannot be crafted from a few phone calls and fleeting visits. It comes through an investment, both human and professional, that grants the writer a glimpse into the lives of people at their most vulnerable; they open up only if they feel confident the writer will do their stories justice. Earning their confidence takes time.

We see Coxs investment pay off when he witnesses one of Avas tantrums, sparked by her mother asking her not to stand on the couch. Over the next 34 minutes he sees her spit water at both parents, say shes nobody, swear, head-butt her mother, tell her father she hates him and scream You dont understand, as her parents struggle to restrain her. Her eyes appeared dilated, and her voice, now laced with a high-pitched rage, sounded unrecognizable, as though it had been digitally altered and sped up, Cox writes.

Starting with Avas and Tyshauns psychological wounds and childish idiosyncrasies, Cox broadens his gaze to trace the impact first on their families (Avas brother escapes the drama by spending more time with his grandparents; Tyshauns 2-year-old brother, AJ, starts lashing out at preschool), then on their communities (anticipating that their daughter would need a lifetime of therapeutic care, Avas parents joined a lawsuit against the school district) and finally on the broader polity (excavating the legislative graveyard, Cox unearths the euthanized policies that could make a difference).

With the exception of a jarring passage in the epilogue where Cox explicitly calls for universal background checks, more education for gun owners and more research (all of which are implied more effectively elsewhere), this is a show rather than tell book. The National Rifle Association and the Second Amendment are not ignored, but neither do they dominate. Opting to be descriptive rather than prescriptive, he draws a painful, critical picture of what a society with virtually unfettered access to lethal weapons looks like through childrens eyes instead of lecturing the reader on politics and policy.

That lecture has become not so much overdue as overwrought and consistently undermined by the vested interests of the gun lobby. The debate around guns, if one can dignify it as such, has been conducted in such bad faith, and produced so little in the way of substantial legislative progress, that a mood of learned hopelessness has dampened urgent calls for change. As Cox asks, How many children have to die or witness a killing or watch a family member be lowered into the earth before we say, enough?

Its an essential question. There is nothing inevitable about this; but there is nothing to suggest it will change anytime soon either. In the meantime, this book demonstrates that the most effective riposte to those who fetishize bearing arms is to bear witness.
Koko Hayashi, Founder and CEO of Koko Face Yoga, says, "There's no need for expensive face lifting now. Face Yoga is an effective, natural, non-toxic, and painless alternative to Botox, facial filler, and plastic surgery. Our facial exercises are easy and can be done anywhere." Adopting Face Yoga is undoubtedly a great natural solution for all those who want to regain their youthfulness and enhance looks.

Koko Face Yoga therapy basically focuses on 2 kinds of facial muscles  Sleeping muscles and over-working muscles. Koko Hayashi says, "The sleeping muscles are woken up for lifting up the skin, and overworking muscles are relaxed for wrinkle reduction. Apart from Facial Yoga exercises, we also provide training on how to keep good Face Posture as well as Tongue Posture. More than Facial Yoga exercises, the training is also on how to stop bad facial expression habits, and also to reduce asymmetrical face, jowls, saggy jawlines, frown lines between forehead and eyebrow, laugh lines, etc." People go to the gym regularly knowing how important it is to exercise body muscles and keep good body posture, so it's equally important to care for the face as well!

According to Koko Hayashi, Face Yoga actually doesn't have to be necessarily done in the morning but could be spread out over the day and done for a few minutes at different intervals. Face Yoga is just not an exercise, but it's essentially about how rigorous and effectively to work on facial muscles for improving daily facial activities through good face posture and tongue posture. "There are many things that we do. But the most important thing is the 'Resting Face'. We concentrate on 'Tongue Posture', which we call 'Mewing', and should be done 23 hours a day. The tongue should be at the top of the palette. We need to constantly work on this as it helps in not just lifting the face, but is also great for cheekbones. Nobody will like a face with a cheekbone meltdown. We also focus on forehead muscles. If you want to avoid wrinkles on your forehead then it's important to work on Eye muscles as well. If the forehead exercise is done on a regular basis then effective results could be seen in weeks or few months. It however depends on how much time you need to invest for the improvement," says Koko.

Koko Face Yoga works with the customers individually through one-on-one interactive sessions. The private session with clients is done through Koko Face Yoga website. The customers are also provided certification. Virtual lessons are provided. Everything is online. "We have celebrity clients from Hollywood as well. Several actresses from Hollywood are our clients, including Kim Kardashian. We have been doing this before Covid and doing it now with regularity," says Koko Hayashi.

Koko Face Yoga has gained popularity and was selected as the most popular yoga class at The Yoga Expo 2019. Koko Hayashi's media appearances include "Keeping Up With The Kardashians", "Shark Tank", "Good Morning America", "Fox", "CBS", "Popsugar", "Vogue", "Magic for Humans" at Netflix, and more. All those who care about their faces can book appointments at Koko Face Yoga website . You can also subscribe to Koko Face Yoga app!

Watch KoKo's pressful Interview here

Media Contact:

Pressful

[email protected]

415-741-5111

SOURCE Koko Face Yoga

Related Links

https://kokofaceyoga.com


Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 11:02:28|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, talks to people while visiting Fudao, a 19-km-long pedestrian walkway in Fuzhou, Fujian Province, March 24, 2021. Xi Jinping on Wednesday inspected the city of Fuzhou during his trip to east China's Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)

FUZHOU, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, on Wednesday praised Fuzhou, capital city of east China's Fujian Province, for its successful development during an inspection tour.

"I worked in Fuzhou for six to seven years. I came here at the age of 37 and spent the best years of my life here. I gained a lot of experience and understanding," said Xi when talking with local residents in a park in the city.

Xi said he envisaged building Fuzhou into an eco-friendly coastal city with beautiful landscape when he worked there. "Now it has developed even better than what had been envisaged at that time."

Xi encouraged the local government to continue their efforts to deliver more tangible benefits to the people. Enditem
Hazleton, PA (18201)

Today

Thunderstorms early, then variable clouds overnight with still a chance of showers. A few storms may be severe. Low near 60F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms early, then variable clouds overnight with still a chance of showers. A few storms may be severe. Low near 60F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%.
Sharon Stone has defended Christian Bale a dozen years after his profanity-laden outburst on the set of Terminator: Salvation went viral.

The 63-year-old actress appeared on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on Wednesday night to promote her book The Beauty of Living Twice.

She said that she believes that a lot of people don't fully understand what it takes for actors to do their jobs as they have to convey emotion in such a chaotic environment with lighting crews and sound people dragging cables.

Making the rounds: Sharon Stone appeared on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on Wednesday night to promote her book The Beauty of Living Twice

Interesting timing: The 63-year-old actress defended Christian Bale a dozen years after his profanity-laden outburst on the set of Terminator: Salvation went viral

Stone explained: 'A lot people they don't really get what that takes or that you have to have a small protected space to do that.

'Many people are trying to get so much else from you while youre doing that that you almost feel like youre gonna snap and youre criticized if you do snap.'

Colbert, 56, brought up her soon-to-be released book and asked if she wrote about any specific instances in which she snapped.

Obstacles to climb: She said that she believes that a lot of people don't fully understand what it takes for actors to do their jobs as they have to convey emotion in such a chaotic environment with lighting crews and sound people dragging cables

Stone explained: 'A lot people they don't really get what that takes or that you have to have a small protected space to do that'

She continued: 'Many people are trying to get so much else from you while youre doing that that you almost feel like youre gonna snap and youre criticized if you do snap'

Stone diverted the question a bit as she brought up the 47-year-old British actor Bale instead saying: 'I would not say so much for myself, but I can certainly say that I see that with such brilliant actors, like maybe Christian Bale, who completely transforms himself into someone else, whether hes playing George Bush or whether hes playing an anorexic or whether hes playing an O.C.D. stockbroker, he becomes a different personmonetary settlement.'

She went on to criticize those who have complained about actors like Bale who have had meltdowns on set.

Stone said: 'People want to get up in his business while hes trying to completely transform into another person. And then hes like, "Get away from me!" And then they want to criticize him for not being available to them. I find that a little bit, you know, maybe they should just grow up.'

Back in 2009 there was damning audio of Bale from the set of Terminator Salvation, where he directed an expletive-laden tirade at Shane Hurlbut, the film's director of cinematography, who, he said, had ruined his concentration by distracting him during an intense scene.

Asking the tough questions: Colbert, 56, brought up her soon-to-be released book and asked if she wrote about any specific instances in which she snapped

'I would not say so much for myself, but I can certainly say that I see that with such brilliant actors, like maybe Christian Bal': Stone diverted the question a bit as she brought up the 47-year-old British actor Bale instead s

Contrition: Bale (seen in November 2019) made an apology on a Los Angeles radio station after the incident, saying that his language was 'inexcusable', and that he had 'acted like a punk'

In Hollywood, it was widely agreed that Hurlbut had been out of order, but Bale made an apology on a Los Angeles radio station, saying that his language was 'inexcusable', and that he had 'acted like a punk'.

Bale said at the time: 'We've all done things we regret or we wish we could change. If you've done something you feel bad about, you have a choice  you can just move on and ignore it, or you can learn a lesson from it.

'The incident was resolved within 30 seconds. But I take full responsibility for it. Absolutely.'

Stone's autobiography titled The Beauty of Living Twice is set for release on Tuesday, March 30.
FN Media Group Presents Microsmallcap.com Market Commentary

NEW YORK, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- With many mining companies' exploration and development projects ramping up in 2021, the Mining Association of Canada believes that the industry will be able to bounce back from the initial economic downturn caused by the health crisis. For companies such as Graycliff Exploration Ltd. (CSE:GRAY) (OTCQB:GRYCF) and Pure Gold Mining Inc. (CSE:PGM) (OTCPK:LRTNF), commercial production is on track for 2021, while the likes of Yamana Gold (NYSE:AUY) (TSX:YRI), Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM) (TSX:NGT), and Great Bear Resources (TSXV:GBR) (OTCQX:GTBAF) are looking forward to a more consistent year of mining production.

Phase Two Commences for Graycliff's Shakespeare Gold Project

Graycliff Exploration Ltd. announced in early March that the company has resumed drilling production at its Shakespeare Gold Project, located near Sudbury, Ontario. The project is currently in Phase 2 of its 2020/2021 exploration program. At present, Graycliff is awaiting assay results for the final three holes of its initial Phase 1 drill program. This project was extended from the previously identified mineralization, which led to the outcome of a new mineralized zone.

Graycliff's Technical Advisor, Bruce Durham, commented on the progress of the project, stating, "we are extremely motivated by the success of the Phase 1 drilling program, which saw Shakespeare's mineralized area expanded and directed us to earmark more drilling in the vicinity of the Miller Shaft and the Number 3 adit. We are working in the 'shadow of a historic headframe', deemed often to be the best place to find a new gold mine."

Graycliff also shared details of two additional drill holes from the 2020 Phase 1 exploration program for the Shakespeare Gold Project. Key highlights include findings for drill hole J-3-20, which intersected a near surface mineralized interval of 5.37 g/t gold over 5 meters, including 18.50 g/t over 1.0 meter and 4.34 g/t over 0.7 meter. Drill hole J-4-20, meanwhile, confirmed the interpreted zone of mineralization remains open at depth. Together, the drill holes confirm that mineralization also extends along strike.

Core drilling of Graycliff's Phase 2 exploration program will include 1,000 meters averaging a hole length of 150 meters. Additionally, once the Phase 2 assay data has been established on these new holes, Graycliff plans to carry out 3D modeling of the area, a core foundation for digital mining. The company will then proceed with the interpreted structure and gold mineralization.

A Steady Year Ahead For Other Exploration Projects Underway

With mining productions in full swing, Pure Gold Mining (CSE:PGM) (OTC:LRTNF) reports that it is on track to begin commercial production at the company's Red Lake mine. With first gold being poured last December, Pure Gold believes there will be a declaration of commercial production by Q2 2021. The site currently has employed an approximate 260 people for the mining site.

In February 2021, the Canadian Malartic Partnership, which consists of Yamana Gold (NYSE:AUY) (TSX:YRI), Agnico Eagle Mines, and Osisko Gold Royalties, approved the construction of the Odyssey underground project at the Canadian Malartic mine. The partnership plans to invest US$30 million into the drilling and exploration work for this project, which will begin to receive royalty payments from underground production beginning in 2023. In Yamana Gold's Q4 and full-year financial results , the company explained further that this approval will help to extend the mine's life up to at least the year 2039.

Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM) (TSX:NGT) is expanding its world-class portfolio by introducing the Tatogga project , which is located in the highly desired Golden Triangle district in British Columbia. The Tatogga project appears to have a promising future, with the primary Saddle North deposit contributing to a significant amount of gold and copper production on an annual basis. Furthermore, this site projects a long mine life, as the Saddle North site provides further exploration opportunities across the land.

Great Bear Resources (TSXV:GBR) (OTCQX:GTBAF) reported results from its fully funded $45 million 2021 exploration project located in the Red Lake district of Ontario. During the drilling process along the northwestern kilometer of the LP Fault zone, the company came across new high-grade gold mineralization. This was in addition to the expected bulk tonnage intervals, and will now require auxiliary drilling in the area over the next several months.

The industry for mining exploration and commercial production is heating up as companies like Graycliff Exploration begin to focus more on their anticipated projects for 2021 and beyond.

For more information on Graycliff Exploration, click here.

Disclaimer: Microsmallcap.com (MSC) is the source of the Article and content set forth above. MSC owns and operates MiningNewsDaily.com. References to any issuer other than the profiled issuer are intended solely to identify industry participants and do not constitute an endorsement of any issuer and do not constitute a comparison to the profiled issuer. FN Media Group (FNM) is a third-party publisher and news dissemination service provider, which disseminates electronic information through multiple online media channels. FNM is NOT affiliated with MSC or any company mentioned herein. The commentary, views and opinions expressed in this release by MSC are solely those of MSC and are not shared by and do not reflect in any manner the views or opinions of FNM. Readers of this Article and content agree that they cannot and will not seek to hold liable MSC and FNM for any investment decisions by their readers or subscribers. MSC and FNM and their respective affiliated companies are a news dissemination and financial marketing solutions provider and are NOT registered broker-dealers/analysts/investment advisers, hold no investment licenses and may NOT sell, offer to sell or offer to buy any security.

The Article and content related to the profiled company represent the personal and subjective views of the Author (MSC), and are subject to change at any time without notice. The information provided in the Article and the content has been obtained from sources which the Author believes to be reliable. However, the Author (MSC) has not independently verified or otherwise investigated all such information. None of the Author, MSC, FNM, or any of their respective affiliates, guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any such information. This Article and content are not, and should not be regarded as investment advice or as a recommendation regarding any particular security or course of action; readers are strongly urged to speak with their own investment advisor and review all of the profiled issuer's filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission before making any investment decisions and should understand the risks associated with an investment in the profiled issuer's securities, including, but not limited to, the complete loss of your investment. FNM was not compensated by any public company mentioned herein to disseminate this press release but was compensated twenty five hundred dollars by MSC, a non-affiliated third party to distribute this release on behalf of Graycliff Exploration Ltd..

FNM HOLDS NO SHARES OF ANY COMPANY NAMED IN THIS RELEASE.

This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may", "future", "plan" or "planned", "will" or "should", "expected," "anticipates", "draft", "eventually" or "projected". You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a company's annual report on Form 10-K or 10-KSB and other filings made by such company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and MSC and FNM undertake no obligation to update such statements.

Media Contact:

FN Media Group, LLC

info@financialnewsmedia.com

+1(561)325-8757
PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc held phone talks with Chilean President Sebastian Pinera on March 24 to discuss orientations and specific measures to enhance the Vietnam-Chile comprehensive partnership

as the two nations are celebrating the 50th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties (March 25, 1971-2021).

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc holds phone talks with Chilean President Sebastian Pinera (Photo: VNA)

PM Phuc said that the bilateral relations have enjoyed strong development steps after 50 years, affirming that Vietnam hopes to continue deepening the relationship between the two countries, especially in economy, trade and investment.

President Pinera said Chile attaches importance to its traditional relationship with Vietnam, and appreciated the Vietnamese Governments efforts to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic and maintain economic growth.

The two leaders agreed on several measures to intensify the traditional friendship and comprehensive partnership between Vietnam and Chile in the coming time, including maintaining the regular exchange of high-level delegations, carrying out cooperative mechanisms effectively and frequently, and boosting multilateral and inter-regional trade cooperation frameworks in the context of the global economy and trade seriously affected by the pandemic.

They reached consensus on strengthening connectivity between ministries, sectors, localities and enterprises of both nations to bring into full play opportunities brought in by the Vietnam-Chile Free Trade Agreement, which came into effect in January 2014, and work to implement the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) after Chile completes its approval process.

Both leaders consented to coordinate closely in carrying out activities to celebrate the 50th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2021, as well as cooperating with and supporting each other at international organisations and multilateral forums, thus helping to intensify the relationship between ASEAN and the Pacific Alliance as well as to ensure peace, stability, cooperation and development in the two regions.

VNA
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.
Minister-Designate for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta has said the welfare of Kayayei is an issue of top priority to government.



According to him, government in its second term will initiate measures to improve the well-being of head porters in the country.



Taking his turn at the Appointments Committee of Parliament on Thursday, March 25, 2021, Mr Ofori-Atta said government is embarking on series of investments in the northern part of Ghana to improve the livelihoods of people up north in order to prevent en masse migration from that part of the country.



He said: the welfare of Kayayei is important to us. Our investment in the North like irrigation and agriculture is to reverse this trend of Kayayie and it is top on our agenda.



He was responding to questions from the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Mr Okudzeto Ablakwa on the status of hostels for kayayei.



He acknowledged that Kayayeis are one of the most vulnerable groups in the capital and therefore required attention. He said there was an urgent need to support such groups in the long-term to enhance their living conditions.



He assured that as part of measures to tackle the menace, government is developing a multi-sectoral policy to help solve the issue going into the future.



He also hinted that government will welcome suggestions from well-meaning Ghanaians to help improve the conditions of kayayei in the country.

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
Washington, March 25 : In yet another grim milestone, the coronavirus caseload in the US has surpassed the 30 million mark, as the pandemic still rages in the world's worst-hit country, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

In its latest update on Thursday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the country's overall number of cases and fatalities stood at 30,009,386 and 545,237, respectively.

California is the worst-hit state with 3,647,735 cases, followed by Texas (2,765,635), Florida (2,021,656), New York (1,814,662) and Illinois (1,227,708).

Other states with over 800,000 cases include Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, New Jersey, Arizona and Tennessee, the CSSE data showed.

The US remains the worst-hit nation making up more than 24 per cent of the global caseload and nearly 20 per cent of the overall fatatlities.

US Covid-19 cases reached 10 million on November 9, 2020, and the number doubled on January 1, 2021.

Ever since the beginning of 2021, the country has added 10 million new cases.

A national ensemble forecast updated on Wednesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) predicted that the number of new cases over the next four weeks will remain stable or have an uncertain trend, with 176,000 to 544,000 fresh infections likely reported by April 17.

The CDC also projected a total of 558,000 to 578,000 coronavirus deaths by April 17.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
A mum has offered her trick to getting rid of her kids' artwork without offending them - though some parents have said the trick is a little cruel.

TikTok parent Shan Chef showed how she throws away overwhelming number of art her kids have brought home by school by bringing up the 'dumpster gnome'.

In the video, Shan explains that the 'dumpster gnome' is one of the favourite things she's taught her child. Demonstrating with a decorated piece of paper he's brought home, she asks her son "Buddy, can I give this to the dumpster gnome?"

After he replies yes, Shan asks her son: "Okay, what does the dumpster gnome do with this?"

"[Mummy] throws it in the garbage and then decorates their house with it, he replies.
I came here to say this, she posted amid an onslaught of social media criticism over her racial slur. I STAND BY WHAT I SAID!!!! You mistreat me with my children. You infringed on my freedoms. I have freedom of speech. I can SAY WHAT I FEEL. Leave me alone and stop attacking me for saying my opinion.
Sinovac said its COVID-19 vaccine is safe in children ages 3-17, based on preliminary data, and it has submitted the data to Chinese drug regulators.

More than 70 million shots of Sinovacs vaccine have been given worldwide, including in China

China has approved its use in adults but it has not yet been used in children, because their immune systems may respond differently to the vaccine.

Early and mid-stage clinical trials with over 550 subjects showed the vaccine would induce an immune response, Gang Zeng, the medical director at Sinovac, said at a news conference.

Two recipients developed high fevers in response to the vaccine, one a 3-year-old and the other a 6-year-old. The rest of the trial subjects experienced mild symptoms, Zeng said.

Showing that the vaccine is safe and would elicit potentially useful immune response against SARS-CoV-2 is very welcomed, said Eng Eong Ooi, a professor at the Duke NUS Medical school in Singapore who is co-leading the development of a separate COVID-19 vaccine. However, he said the data presented publicly by the company was not enough to give a conclusive answer on the findings.

Children are far less likely to be seriously ill with COVID-19, but they are still at risk and can spread the virus. And while vaccination campaigns worldwide have focused on adults, children will need to be immunized to end the pandemic.

The Pfizer vaccine is cleared for use starting at age 16 and is being studied in ages 12-16. Moderna has been studying its vaccine in children aged 12 and older and last week announced a new study testing its use in children younger than 12.

State-owned Sinopharm, who has two COVID-19 vaccines, is also investigating the effectiveness of its vaccines in children. The company said in January it had submitted clinical data to regulators, though it was unclear if it was for one or both vaccines.
SAULT STE MARIE, MI  A Michigan State Police trooper suffered non-life-threatening injuries in a two-vehicle crash in Chippewa County.

According to the MSP Sault Ste. Marie Post, the unidentified trooper was responding to a hold-up alarm at a local government building at 1:50 p.m. on Wednesday.

Police say the trooper was hit by another vehicle attempting to turn into a private driveway near 3 Mile Road and M-129 Highway in Soo Township.

The trooper was treated for non-life-threatening injuries at War Memorial Hospital in Sault Ste. Marie. The occupants of the other vehicle refused any medical attention.

The incident remains under investigation. None of the parties involved have been identified.
Hong Kong: 9 COVID-19 cases identified

The Centre for Health Protection today said it is investigating nine additional COVID-19 cases, of which four are locally transmitted.

All four locally transmitted cases are linked cases.

The five imported cases arrived from the Philippines, India and Pakistan.

A total of 291 cases have been recorded in the past 14 days, including 219 local ones, of which 40 have unknown sources of infection.

For information and health advice on COVID-19, visit the Government's dedicated webpage.

This story has been published on: 2021-03-25. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
A number of people were killed in a grocery store shooting in Colorado, including a Christian police officer.

Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa gunned down 10 people at King Soopers in Boulder on Monday afternoon. The victims were identified as Tralona Bartkowiak, Suzanne Fountain, Teri Leiker, Kevin Mahoney, Lynn Murray, Rikki Olds, Neven Stanisic, Denny Stong, Jody Waters and Boulder police officer Eric Talley.

Alissa is a 21-year old resident of Arvada. He took two weapons, including an AR-15-style rifle, and started shooting at the parking lot, before proceeding inside the supermarket. He was charged with 10 counts of murder and will be taken to the Boulder County Jail after his release from the hospital for a leg wound.

Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold said that Talley, whom she said was with them since 2010, was the first officer who responded to the shooting and was killed during the shootout with the gunman.

Michael Dougherty, Boulder County District Attorney, described Talley as an "outstanding" officer.

"He was by all accounts one of the outstanding officers of the Boulder Police Department, and his life was cut too short," he said.

Dougherty promised to "secure justice" for the victims.

Talley's father, Homer, revealed that the officer has been training as a drone operator because he did not "want to put his family through something like this." He described his son as someone who "had a great sense of humor."

"Above all else, he loved his family and his Lord Jesus Christ," he further stated.

Jeremy Herko, Talley's friend, honored the officer on his Facebook post, captured by CBN News.

"He was a devout Christian, he had to buy a 15-passenger van to haul all his kids around, and he was the nicest guy in the world. I've known him since we went to the academy together, and we talked all the time. Please keep his wife and kids in your thoughts," Herko said.

According to The Washington Post, Talley had seven children, ages 7 to 20. He formerly held a job in information technology but quit after his close friend died in a DUI crash in 2010. He then studied in the police academy, secured his certification and joined the Boulder Police Department, taking many roles.

Talley first made headlines in 2013 following his act of kindness, along with two other officers, wherein they rescued 11 small ducklings and their mother trapped in a drainage ditch.

To honor the 10 individuals, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis ordered on Tuesday that the flags in the state will be lowered to half-staff for 10 days, until April 1. The order follows after Biden called for the flags in America to be flown in half-staff until sunset of March 27, honoring the slain.

Polis released a statement, expressing his grief and offering condolences to the loved ones of the victims.

"This loss is especially painful for the friends and family members left behind. As Governor, I offer my special condolences to all of those who suffered loss, but this is truly a loss for all of us, and we mourn the ten who died as a state and a nation," his statement said.


There are growing concerns that the United States is failing to counter Chinas rising power around the world.

For the past eight years, Chinas Belt and Road Initiative, BRI, has financed many international projects, including roads, railways, electric power and telecommunications systems.

The report released Tuesday by the Council on Foreign Relations also said the U.S. withdrawal created an opportunity for China to fill with BRI.

It said that the U.S. knew of the importance of building in Asia but did not try to meet the needs of the area. American lending to and investment in many BRI countries was limited and is now declining, it said.

David Sacks is a researcher at the CFR and one of the writers of the report.

He told VOA that China is now anywhere and everywhere.

The BRI is increasing Chinas ability to project its power across the region and the world, said Jack Lew. He was a U.S. Treasury secretary and the White House chief of staff during the Obama Administration.

U.S. policymakers need to offer alternatives to BRI where it can and to educate other countries about what it entails and push back when necessary, he said.

China is now considered to be more powerful than the United States in parts of Africa and Asia because of the BRI, said former U.S. Trade Representative General Counsel Jennifer Hillman. She was also one of the writers of the CFR report.

The BRI is made up of the land-based Silk Road Economic Belt, the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and the Polar Silk Road.

Hillman said the U.S. must rejoin trade agreements it left during the Trump presidency. She made the comment Tuesday during an online discussion about the report.

SALPIE Initiative

U.S. officials say the new administration of President Joe Biden is going to change the way America is seen.

A top administration official told VOA that competition with China is pushing the United States to intensify its diplomatic efforts.

The Trump administration countered the BRI with mostly small projects, including the Blue Dot initiative. Sacks said none of those efforts was given enough money to succeed.

The Biden administration this week launched the Small and Less Populous Island Economies Initiative, SALPIE. It aims to strengthen U.S. economic efforts with island countries and territories in the Caribbean, North Atlantic and Pacific regions.

It's important to strengthen our alliancesamong smaller countries that might otherwise come under a certain amount of pressure from China, a top administration official told VOA on Tuesday.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and National Economic Council Director Brian Deese led an online event Monday with officials from island countries and territories. They were invited to partner with Washington under the SALPIE Initiative. It will bring together 29 U.S. government agencies to work on future projects.

Im Susan Shand.

VOAs Steve Herman reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

counter - v. something that is made or done as a defense against or response to something else

opportunity - n. an amount of time or a situation in which something can be done

decline - v. to become worse in condition or quality

region  n. a part of a country, of the world, etc., that is different or separate from other parts in some way

alternative  n. a choice or an option

entail  v. to have (something) as a part, step, or result

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, and visit our Facebook page.
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE (Fan Edition) powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor could launch next week in India. The Galaxy S20 FE was launched back in September 2020 globally and now Samsung is looking to bring it to India. The 4G variant of the Galaxy S20 FE was launched back in October 2020 in India powered by the Exynos 990 processor.

According to a report by IANS published by The Economic Times, Samsung will launch the Galaxy S20 FE next week in India and will price it under Rs 50,000 making it the most affordable 5G phone by the company. With the Galaxy S20 FE, Samsung will go up against the likes of the OnePlus 9 series and Vivo X60 series that were both launched earlier this week in India.

Awesome. Samsung Galaxy S20 FE Snapdragon Edition has finally arrived in India #Samsung #SamsungGalaxyS20FE pic.twitter.com/WL0ZgmvSFt  Mukul Sharma (@stufflistings) March 25, 2021

A tweet by popular tipster Mukul Sharma also revealed what looks like an official poster of the Galaxy S20 FE 5G that confirms the presence of a Snapdragon processor. Heres everything we know about the Galaxy S20 FE 5G.

Samsung Galaxy S20 FE specifications

The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE features a 6.5-inch Full HD+ (2400 x 1080 pixels) resolution Super AMOLED display with a punch-hole cutout in the centre. The display also supports a 120Hz refresh rate and is certified for HDR10+ playback with features like an always-on display. It is IP68 rated which makes it protected against dust and water ingress.

The Galaxy S20 FE is powered by the Snapdragon 865 processor with an octa-core CPU and Adreno 650 GPU. This is paired with upto 8GB RAM and upto 256GB storage options to choose from. It will likely run on Android 11 based OneUI 3.1 out-of-the-box.

Samsung Galaxy S20 FE has triple cameras on the back headlined by a 12MP primary camera with an f/1.8 aperture and OIS, an 8MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom and a 12MP ultra-wide-angle camera with 123-degree field-of-view. The rear cameras can record in 4K at upto 60FPS and theres a 32MP selfie camera up front.

The Galaxy S20 FE has stereo speakers, in-display fingerprint sensor and is equipped with a 4,500mAh battery that supports 25W fast wired charging and 15W fast wireless charging.
Just to be listed alongside Bain & Company, Deloitte, McKinsey & Company, and Boston Consulting Group is a major accomplishment, but to take the #2 silver spot is a true testament of Interfacings proven methodologies, expertise, and innovative transformation software.

Business transformations are significant shifts that organizations make to accelerate change and growth beyond typical incremental advancements. Business transformations are wide-ranging and strategic in scope, and the typical types include Digital, Business Process, Cultural, Management and Organizational.

Just to be listed alongside Bain & Company, Deloitte, McKinsey & Company, and Boston Consulting Group is a major accomplishment, but to take the #2 silver spot is a true testament of Interfacings proven methodologies, expertise, and innovative transformation software. said Scott Armstrong, Interfacings Managing Partner.

Wimgo uses a multi-phase selection process beginning with a holistic review by their data analyst team to check any red flags or unresolved complaints. It then selects its curated list using its expert review team on five main criteria, assigning them numerical values. Interfacing is proud to have been ranked 5/5 within all categories:



Reputation (5/5)

Analysis of all reviews across verifiable platforms to determine overall sentiment.

Expertise (5/5)

Team experience and knowledge, along with number of years in business.

Service Quality (5/5)

The quality of service delivered measured by quality, speed, and value.

Consistency (5/5)

Rate at which the business consistently produce high quality outcomes.

Customer Service (5/5)

Reputation and quality of customer experience departments.

Business transformation is the key ingredient in many recipes. Successful digital transformation, M&A, agile work methods, rapid growth, innovation, continuous improvement, and many other initiatives cannot be achieved without successful busines transformation. COVID19 made it apparent to all organizations that agility and transformation was no longer an option but an imperative to survive. No matter the maturity of your organization, Interfacings consulting team have the methods and experience to guide your organization through all stages of transformation, from infancy to adulthood.

We owe our success to our process approach, states Matias Fontecilla, Service Manager, Interfacing Pacific. To truly transform, organizations must adopt disruptive business capabilities and flexible processes. Our program equips organizations with the capabilities they need to design, model, measure, mature and automate their business. Matias goes on to claim, In our space, its crucial to have a portfolio that keeps up with how the World is evolving. Our focus therefore goes beyond traditional transformation to also include areas such as Resilience (BCP, BIA, DRR) and Compliance.

A key differentiator of Interfacing to other digital and business transformation consulting firms is that Interfacing offers its own innovative technology solution in support of transformation programs. Interfacings transformation suite provides a digital blueprint of the enterprise to gain insight into impacts, digitalize work methods and promote collaboration. Interfacings software solutions deliver the transparency required to reduce complexity, improve execution and facilitates agility and change. Interfacings integrated management system is a one-stop-shop for managing transformation programs.

About Interfacing

Interfacing Technologies is a global leader in business and digital transformation, empowering organizations to efficiently govern business complexity through process based and data driven- quality, performance, and compliance management solutions. Interfacings solutions are intuitively designed for business users, facilitating multiple organizational programs within a single integrated platform and covering the full spectrum of automation, improvement, and governance initiatives.

About Wimgo

Wimgo is a team of dedicated professionals which review tens of thousands of service providers and systematically screen and rank them using proprietary methods. By doing so, it helps companies find the best service providers to select, which are likely to deliver the most consistently high quality outcomes. To date  Wimgo has helped create over 1 M connections with service providers with 95% of them being positive experiences.

To see the Wimgo rating, click here

Contact Interfacing Technologies:

+1 514 737 7333 (Direct)

sales@interfacing.com

http://www.interfacing.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.
Bolster Research Shows Cryptocurrency Scams Nearly Doubled in 2020 and Forecasts More This Year

Bolster, a deep learning-powered, next generation fraud prevention company, today announced key findings in their first annual, ground-breaking Cryptocurrency Scam Report. The findings, along with real life examples, clearly correlate the rise in crypto scams to the value and popularity of cryptocurrencies as well as the increase in individuals seeking financial assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic. With more than 400,000 crypto scams created in 2020, there was a 40 percent increase compared to 2019. Bolster forecasts an increase of 75 percent in 2021 based on current levels of suspicious activity that often indicates future scams.

As the leading cryptocurrency, Bitcoin has gone mainstream, in large part due to support from celebrities and major corporations, such as Tesla, and is gaining the interest of professional investors on Wall Street. The global market capitalization for all cryptocurrencies reached a peak of $1.7 trillion in January 2021, which is an eight times increase from January 2020. Fraudsters have taken notice of this and launched hundreds of thousands of scams to steal this valuable asset from the unwary, ranging from traditional giveaway scams to attacks targeting crypto wallets directly.

"Among all the different types of scams, crypto scams are the fastest growing category, and we are just at the beginning of this new wave of digital theft campaigns," said Shashi Prakash, co-founder and CTO of Bolster. "We continue to see scammers being opportunistic and designing campaigns focused on real time, surging trends when people are likely not to be on guard because it's so new."

Bolster's Cryptocurrency Scam Report analyzed more than 300 million websites to identify those related to cryptocurrency scams. The analysis covered Bitcoin, the most well-nown cryptocurrency, as well as other lesser-known currencies such as PolkaDot and Tether, with key report findings including:







The most prolific types of scams in 2020 were fake prizes, giveaways, or sweepstakes, followed by investment related scams, advance fee schemes and celebrity impersonations

Top three cryptocurrencies used in scams were Bitcoin, ChainLink and Ethereum

Top crypto wallets/exchanges targeted include Binance, Coinbase and Gemini

The top three celebrities impersonated were Elon Musk, John McAfee (News - Alert) and Yusaku Maezawa

A more detailed summary of the results can be found in Bolster's blog about the report, as well as the full Cryptocurrency Scam Report, which can be downloaded here.

Additional Bolster Research and Information:

About Bolster

Bolster helps companies create trust and safety on the Internet with its AI-powered next generation fraud prevention platform. The company protects some of the world's leading brands, helping them strengthen their brand's connection to their customers, partners, and supply chain ecosystem. Their platform provides the industry's fastest detection and automated takedowns of online scams, doing the work of hundreds of analysts and paralegals in only minutes. The company has a team of security experts from leading security companies including Cisco, Symantec (News - Alert) , McAfee, Bell Labs, and OpenDNS. Founded in 2017 and based in Los Altos, California. To learn more, go to www.bolster.ai.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005317/en/
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Go to form
[Update: After nearly a week, the Ever Given, the mammoth container ship stuck in the Suez Canal, has been freed.]

CAIRO  As tugboats strained against the weight of the mammoth ship and dredgers worked to clear sand and mud, a salvage company working on the operation warned on Thursday that releasing the container vessel blocking traffic in the Suez Canal in Egypt could take days or even weeks.

Dozens of ships laden with oil and goods destined for ports around the world are stranded in the canal, and with each passing hour, the economic cost of the disruption grows more consequential.

The stuck ship, the Ever Given, has been wedged in the canal since running aground amid the heavy winds of a sandstorm on Tuesday. Its bow is lodged in the canals eastern bank and its stern in the western bank.
Leaving Real Madrid for Juventus wasn't a tough move to make for Cristiano Ronaldo, financially speaking, but a return to Spain from Italy isn't quite so simple.

The law that the Italian government implemented which is very similar to the one that was approved in 2005 in Spain, known as the 'Beckham Law' but already repealed for high incomes, served to attract top talent to Serie A in recent times.

However, Ronaldo could not be accepted because he signed before it was approved on January 1, 2020.

The main advantage of this initiative is that clubs are able to pay almost half of the salary that a team in Spain would.

On the other hand, Cristiano is eligible for image rights tax in Italy right now, which allows him to pay just 100,000 euros to justify his multi-million income.

But returning to Madrid, however, would not give him the same privileges. Not even the solution proposed by some of his advisers, which was to maintain residence in Italy for a year so as not to lose those advantages in his image rights, would serve Cristiano.

Both Spain and Italy have a global income system, which means they are taxed on all income regardless of where they have obtained it.

With this in mind, in the hypothetical case that Ronaldo signs his contract in the month of August, Madrid can retain him until December 31 at 19 percent tax rate as a non-resident, but when the player makes his declaration in Italy from 2021 he will have to pay additionally up to 46 percent.

In other words, the tax advantage in salary is zero even if he maintains a residence in Italy for one year.

In practice, even if Ronaldo was lowered to an annual salary of 25 million euros, it will continue to cost Real Madrid almost 50m euros.
A former dog race musher who fled to the Philippines when cold case detectives questioned him about a 2001 rape and kidnapping has been found guilty of the crimes and sentenced to 37 years in prison.

Carmen Perzechino, 59, was linked to the brutal attack on Anna Sattler, who was 30 at the time, in 2019 when detectives finally linked his DNA to samples taken in a rape kit.

Sattler had to jump out of a moving vehicle in order to escape his clutches.

Perzechino was contacted by state police in January 2019 to answer questions about the rape and, two weeks later, he booked a round-trip ticket to the Philippines and skipped the return flight.

He was tracked down by Filipino authorities in April 2019 and extradited to Alaska.

The Sterling, Alaska native was convicted on two counts of sexual assault in the first degree and one count of kidnapping in November.

He was sentenced on Monday after a three week jury trial on Zoom, the state's first video conference trial of the pandemic.

Carmen Perzechino, 59, was convicted on two counts of sexual assault in the first degree and one count of kidnapping

According to the State of Alaska Department of Law, in January 2001 Anna Sattler, then 30, met Perzechino in a Soldotna, Alaska bar when he offered her a ride home.

Perzechino then proceeded to rape Sattler in his van parked along stretch of highway on the Kenai Peninsula and chasing after her every time she attempted to escape.

Sattler said Perzechino then drove her along the Sterling Highway, refusing to let her out of his car while threatening to kill her.

Sattler eventually jumped out of the moving vehicle in order to escape.

State troopers collected DNA from Sattler using a sexual assault kit, but it was not sent to the State Crime Lab for DNA testing.

According to standard practice at the time there needed to be an identified suspect to directly compared to the DNA collected in the sex assault kit.

Investigators could not identify the suspect or vehicle involved in the assault, and the case was closed in 2002 and went cold for nearly two decades.

Sattler (top right picture, on the left) is pictured during the trial in November 2020. He was sentenced on Monday after a three week jury trial Zoom, the state's first video conference trial of the pandemic

But in 2018, through the state's Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, hundreds of previously untested rape kits were processed and matched against modern databases.

The DNA collected from Sattler matched a swab Perzechino had given police in 2012 when he was charged for soliciting a prostitute.

'The SAKI project and thorough follow-up investigation allowed us to finally identify a suspect and hold him accountable for his deplorable actions,' Col. Bryan Barlow, Director of the Alaska State Troopers said.

After being contacted by a state trooper in 2019 to answer questions about the case, Perzechino escaped to the Philippines, the Anchorage Daily News reports.

He was indicted on the charges in March 2019, and in April 2019 Filipino officials tracked Perzechino down in Angeles City, Pampanga, where he was arrested at the request of the U.S. Embassy.

'People like him are not welcome in our country. If he did that in the U.S., then there is a possibility that he might commit the same crime in the Philippines,' Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente of the Philippines said at the time.

During his trial the former dog musher said he didn't remember anyone jumping out of his car and that the only person he'd had sex with around the time of the assault was his wife.

A second Alaska native woman, who said she was a victim of Perzechino's in 2016, was called to testify against him in court.

The woman, who has not waived her right to anonymity, said she was assaulted in a similar manner along the Sterling Highway four years ago.

She said Perzechino offered her the opportunity to come spend a few days helping him and his girlfriend around the house.

Perzechino's ex-wife also testified against him, saying that on the night in question, he told her a woman had jumped out of his car but he did not tell her about the sexual assault.

In 2004, Perzechino ran the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, the annual long-distance race from Anchorage to Nome. The defense asked the jury to consider why a rapist would subject himself to the statewide spotlight of the competition.

Sattler grew up in the native Yup'ik communities of Western Alaska.

At the end of the trial, she expressed her relief that the ordeal was done.

'This has haunted me for almost 20 years,' she said. 'Finally justice has caught up with him. I hope I can now put this behind me and move on with my life.'
Polar lows are particularly challenging to forecast due to their small size and short lifetime, and many questions remain unanswered. Credit: Shutterstock

Norway's coastal communities are familiar with polar lows, but they often go unnoticed in Canada. Short-lived, but intense and hard to forecast, polar lows can cause considerable damage with gale-force winds and heavy snowfall.

On Feb. 28, the Norwegian Meteorological Institute warned populations along the coast of Finnmark of an incoming polar low. One week later, another polar low threatened Norwegians, this time near Trondheim.

Polar lows often occur in sparsely populated regions, but they have led to deaths. Therefore, we must improve our ability to forecast these abrupt and intense storms.

My research in atmospheric sciences focuses on these meteorological phenomena. I conduct simulations of polar lows with the Canadian Regional Climate Model in the Center for the Study and Simulation of Regional-Scale Climate (ESCER).

Polar lows are particularly challenging to forecast due to their small size and short lifetime, and many questions remain unanswered. But after an exhaustive review of the published scientific literature, I'm able to answer many of the questions people have about polar lows.

Small, but intense

Polar lows are intense maritime storms that develop near the poles during the cold season. With a diametre of less than 1,000 kilometres and typically lasting less than 48 hours, polar lows are smallerand have a shorter lifetimethan the winter storms that often affect Eastern Canada.

Satellite images of two polar lows with different cloud signatures: comma-shaped (a) over the Norwegian Sea and spiralform (b) over the Barents Sea. Credit: (Moreno-Ibanez, M., Laprise, R. and Gachon, P., 2021.), CC BY-NC

Polar lows are associated with severe weather conditions, such as strong, sometimes hurricane-force, winds and heavy snow showers. The weather changes associated with polar lows are abrupt.

Consequently, polar lows pose a threat to coastal communities, maritime and air transport, and oil and gas platforms. Some polar lows have caused the loss of human lives. For instance, in October 2001, the Torsvag polar low developed near a fishing village on Vannya island, in northern Norway. A boat capsized in the strong winds, killing a crew member.

Closer than we think

Polar lows develop in the northern and southern hemispheres, between the poles and a latitude of around 40 degrees north and 50 degrees south, respectively. They form near the sea-ice edge (where the sea ice meets the open ocean) or snow-covered continents, when very cold air flows out over the relatively warm ocean.

A polar low east of Labrador. Credit: Environment and Climate Change Canada

The heat and humidity the ocean provides energy to the cold air to feed the development of polar lows. Polar lows dissipate when they make landfall or move over the sea ice and the energy source disappears.

Near Canada, we observe polar lows over the Labrador Sea, Davis Strait and Hudson Bay. These regions have low population density, so the risk of a polar low affecting a community is small.

In other parts of the world polar lows can be dangerous. Norway and Japan suffer from the impacts of these storms since they have important population centers located in the coastal regions where polar lows can develop. The weather associated with polar lows can lead to road and airport closures, and there is also a risk of snows avalanches. For instance, in January 2019, a particularly intense polar low made landfall in Norway, causing road closures and the isolation of a village.

With climate change, we can expect the location and the frequency of polar lows to shift. In the North Atlantic, for example, polar lows may form further north, as the sea ice edge retreats, and with decreased frequency. However, many questions remain unanswered regarding the impact of climate change on the frequency and spatial distribution of polar lows.

Infrared image acquired by the instrument AVHRR on board satellite NOAA-19 on 1 March 2021. The image shows the polar low that developed to the west of Norway (in white). Credit: Meteorologisk Institutt

Wind direction (arrows), wind speed (colours) and atmospheric pressure (black lines) over the Atlantic on March 1, 2021. Each L represents a cyclone, with a small circle showing the polar low just west of the northern coast of Norway. Credit: MeteoCentre

Storms that are hard to predict

Accurate forecasts of polar lows are essential to avoid any damage from them. But forecasting polar lows is challenging due to their small size and short lifetime.

As with other weather forecasts, the essential ingredients for a correct polar low forecast are an atmospheric model that performs well and good knowledge of the current state of the atmosphere. Yet a lack of conventional observations (such as observations from surface stations) over the ocean and near the poles means that the initial conditions are still not good enough.

The recent development of atmospheric modelsa set of equations that describe the evolving state of the atmospherethat have high resolution allows polar lows to be forecast better than before. Scientists continue to work on these models to improve the ways they represent heat exchange between the ocean and atmosphere, and other important processes.

Despite the fact that the high-resolution models allow us to correctly forecast some polar lows, there is still much work to do in order to succeed at correctly forecasting all these meteorological systems. In the meantime, be on the lookout: the polar low season in the northern hemisphere is not over yet!

Explore further Can polar bears and narwhals cling on as the ice shrinks?

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Stuck in the Suez Canal about 16 miles behind the grounded Ever Given megaship, there's little that North Charleston resident Joe Reynolds can do but sit and wait.

Reynolds, chief engineer on the Maersk Ohio container ship, said that vessel's crew "seems fine so far," but there's no indication how long it will take to dislodge the 1,300-foot-long Ever Given, which ran aground March 24 and is blocking the entire width of the canal's southern route. Its 220,000-ton weight makes the Ever Given difficult to budge, and if the containers have to be removed to lighten the load it could be a weeks-long operation.

"There is no mitigation for this event other than get the ship out of the way," Reynolds, who is with the U.S. Merchant Marine, said via Twitter on Thursday.

"It's frustrating," he said. "Getting through the canal is one of those painful exercises, but when you are through there is great relief that you are on your way home. So for a lot of the guys, and gals, there is some weariness that every day could be an extra day before we get home."

The Ohio was one of hundreds of container ships following the Ever Given through the Suez Canal, a key global shipping route that stretches 120 miles to link the Red and Mediterranean seas. Reynolds' ship is now at anchor.

"The anchorage right outside the canal is full," he said. "And we are in the second anchorage, which appears now full."

The Ohio was en route to a stop in Europe before heading across the Atlantic Ocean to Norfolk, Va., and then to the Port of Charleston.

The Ever Given, which is operated by Taiwan-based Evergreen Marine Corp., is capable of carrying 20,000 cargo containers measured in 20-foot increments. It was headed to the Netherlands when a dust storm hit, leading to heavy winds and poor visibility.

It's still not clear exactly what caused the vessel to run aground in the canal, because the Ever Given was built to withstand storms stronger than the one that has caused the logjam.

Sign up for our new business newsletter We're starting a weekly newsletter about the business stories that are shaping Charleston and South Carolina. Get ahead with us - it's free. Email

Sign Up!

Shipping journal Lloyd's List estimates each day the Suez Canal is closed it disrupts more than $9 billion worth of goods that should be passing through the waterway. A quarter of all traffic each day comes from container ships like the Ever Given, the maritime publication said, and the waterway accounts for about 12 percent of global trade.

"Blocking something like the Suez Canal really sets in motion a number of dominos toppling each other over," said Lars Jensen, chief executive of Denmark-based SeaIntelligence Consulting. "The effect is not only going to be the simple, immediate one with cargo being delayed over the next few weeks, but will actually have repercussions several months down the line for the supply chain."

That includes the cargo bound for U.S. consumers aboard the Ohio. The Port of Charleston hasn't noticed an immediate impact from the Suez closure, but eight of the 25 container ship services that call on the port sail through the canal. Even before this week's incident, container ships have been arriving later than ever to Charleston due to a surge in consumer goods shipped to the East Coast from Asian manufacturers.

Only 10.5 percent of container ships arrived on time in Charleston last month, down from a 13.3 percent on-time figure in January. Even in better times, vessels arrive as scheduled only about one-fourth of the time.

"We just had a long and very stressful shipyard period and were looking forward to some sea weeks and then back home," said Reynolds, who ran in the primary last year in an effort to unseat incumbent U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham. "So we either catch up to the schedule or we are late."
An Australian father has revealed how acknowledging a 'favourite child' every month encourages his three daughters to excel.

Davy Nguyen, from Sydney, has been using a 'favourite child system' in his home for the past 10 years on his three daughters - Angelique, now aged 20, Trinity, 18, and Siobhan, 14.

To earn the top spot, the 'competitive' sisters must do their homework or assignments, 'study harder', and help their parents around the house with chores and cooking.

Appearing in a SBS Insight episode about 'favourite children', Mr Nguyen said he explicitly has a favourite child - but his preference changes every week or month.

Scroll down for video

A father-of-three has been using a 'favourite child system' in his home for the past 10 years on his daughters - Angelique (right), now aged 20, Trinity (centre), 18, and Siobhan (left), 14

Poll Do you have a favourite child? Yes No Do you have a favourite child? Yes 52 votes

No 109 votes Now share your opinion





'Favouritism to me is a good thing. There's nothing wrong with having a favourite child. At the end of the day, I want to show them resilience,' Mr Nguyen explained.

'A lot of people say "having a favourite child is actually a negative thing" but I look at it as a positive thing because if they're good at something, then you should acknowledge that, we reward them for that.

'And if they're not good at something, then obviously they're going to go down to the bottom of the list of my favourite child.'

Mr Nguyen said his daughters have an option to 'slowly work their way back up' to become his favourite child for a particular week or month.

'For them to get back up the ladder again, they need to work harder, do more chores around the house, do more fantastic cooking,' he said.

The dad said his child would lose that top status if she was spending too much time on social media, back chatting, not doing homework or helping around with chores.

'Therefore they will slowly go back to the bottom,' he explained.

Davy Nguyen (pictured) said he explicitly has a favourite child - but his preference changes every week or month

According to an Australian study, 69 per cent of parents can 'easily' identify a favourite child - but most can agree they will never openly admit who it is.

'If every parent in Australia is telling us they don't have a favourite child, they are lying to us because we do have a favourite child,' Mr Nguyen said.

'But in my household, each child is my favourite for that particular week or that particular month.

'Every parent has a favourite but they just don't want to tell their child.'

Speaking to his daughters around the dinner table, Mr Nguyen said: 'I'm very balanced. You're all my favourite every single week.'

If every parent in Australia is telling us they don't have a favourite child, they are lying to us because we do have a favourite child

His wife Sandra insists she doesn't have a favourite child because she loves her three daughters equally - but Mr Nguyen joked: 'That's bollocks.'

Despite his favouritism, his three daughters - who all believe they are his favourite child but for different reasons - said his system works for them because it has shaped them into much better people.

Parenting counsellor Maggie Dent described Mr Nguyen's system as a 'lovely banter', in which she also shares with her four sons.

'They argue there's a golden child but this kind of banter is mild and not causing major issues down the track,' she explained.

'But when there is a really fixed perception, and the evidence within the family is quite strong, it can actually impact your sense of self, particularly when you go into the teenage years and that can become problematic.'
Is it possible to know that a new bit of technology is going to be groundbreaking? Can one know in advance that a new discovery will change human interaction? This week marks the 15th anniversary of the founding of Twitter, a company that further redefined how people talk to one another.

In the years before the companys founding, the idea of texting on a global level would have been preposterous. Now, every company worth its salt has a Twitter account, and its an honor to be verified by the company.

Heres some trivia to mark the special occasion for a company that set social media and the business world a-twitter.
A sign at the Orange County Fair & Event Center welcomes visitors to a new COVID-19 testing supersite in Costa Mesa, Calif., on Aug. 26, 2020. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

New Republican Group Seeks to Bridge Divides in Costa Mesa

A new Republican group wants to take a fresh approach to politics in Costa Mesa, California, by bridging divides between people, its founders say.

The organizationcalled the Greater Costa Mesa Republicans (GCMR)is a spin-off from the Greater Irvine Republicans (GIR), and was basically started because we wanted to bring a fresh, active group of conservatives into the citys politics, co-founder Ben Chapman told The Epoch Times.

What separates the GCMR from other groups is that were not just a strictly partisan organization, Chapman said. Were going out there and were talking to residents and informing them  no matter if theyre Republican, Democrat, NPP [No Party Preference], or Independent.

During the March 9 special election for a vacant seat on the Orange County Board of Supervisors, Chapman, 34, said some GCMR members went to Costa Mesa City Hall to hand out goodie bags to voters to thank them for casting their ballots.

We didnt ask if they were Republicans or Democrats, who they voted fornothing. We just wanted a way to show that their vote matters, and just thank them for voting. So thats kind of what our outreach is. Were not a far-right partisan organization. We want to talk to everybody, Chapman said.

Chapman said a woman told him she was pro-choice and held other views not typically supported by Republicans, yet talked to us about school in Costa Mesa and how shes disappointed in the route that Costa Mesa is going with regard to schools.

She knew we were Republican, but she just wanted to talk and there was no partisan bickering. There was no negativity. It was just local issues that had nothing to do with Republicans or Democrats, Chapman said.

The GCMR board of directors and its new members share core conservative principles, and want to do a better job of keeping all local residents informed on issues regardless of their party affiliation, he said.

Vice chair and co-founder Henny Abraham agrees. The 34-year-old told the Epoch Times that even though we are politically affiliated, we are not completely exclusive to Republicans.

We are a grassroots organization that wants to work for the greater good of the city, Abraham said, adding that people dont have to be residents of Costa Mesa to join GCMR. As long as you want to be an active member to get any candidate from local all the way up to governor elected, youre welcome in our club.

Both Abraham and Chapman pointed out that they represent the diversity of Republicans. Abraham said she was born and raised in Iran, while Chapman is Hispanic and gay.

Both ran unsuccessfully last November for seats on the Costa Mesa City Council, in District 6 and District 2 respectively. They said they lost their races because of vote splitting. Chapman was endorsed by former Orange County Supervisor Michelle Steel, who was elected to Congress, and former state Sen. John Moorlach, who lost to Democrat Katrina Foley in the special election to replace Steel.

So we have prominent figures who endorsed both of our campaigns, he said.

Abraham said she plans to run again, as a Republican-endorsed candidate in the 2022 mayoral race in Costa Mesa. She expects to officially kick off her campaign in May.

Steel and Orange County Republican Party Chairman Fred Whitaker are slated to speak at GCMRs official kickoff event on April 29.

Chapman is grateful for the partys blessing. I really appreciate that they see us as a great new organization thats ready to go out there, help campaigns, and volunteer our time any way we can, he said.

John Park, the first vice chairman of the Republican Party of Orange County, told The Epoch Times via email that although groups like GCMR are not part of an official franchise, we are pleased to see these grassroots groups emerge.

Park also founded the Greater Irvine Republicans and said he was happy to see GCMR pay homage to his groups legacy with the similar naming. What do they say? Mimicry is the highest form of flattery.

Impressed with the work GIR had done in Irvine, Chapman said, I wanted to take what they created as an amazing organization and bring that here to Costa Mesa.

The six-member GCMR board consists of four Republican millennials and two highly experienced board members with years of community organizing, Chapman said. The other board members include Scott Andersen, 30, membership director; John Russo, 23, social media director; Craig Chapman, 62, treasurer; and Brad Abraham, 38, secretary.

GCMR aims to uphold basic conservative principles and advocate for limited government, fiscal responsibility, transparency, and public safety. We are about three things: getting active members and volunteers to assist in campaigns, hosting fundraisers for candidates, and getting Republicans elected to local office, said Chapman.

The group has already identified a few policy points for its focus, including opposing a proposal to put up large LED billboards that it says would flash regularly and distract drivers and residents. It is also against bringing retail cannabis to the city, questioning the tax revenue it would provide.
The video shows two Orange County sheriffs deputies wrestling on the sidewalk with a Black man they tried to stop for allegedly jaywalking across a San Clemente street in September. Minutes later, Kurt Andreas Reinhold, a 42-year-old father of two, was shot and killed.

In a cell phone recording of the confrontation, Reinhold can be heard asking, Where did I jaywalk?

In October 2018, it was Chinedu Okobi who died while being tased and struck with batons by San Mateo County sheriffs deputies after he allegedly jaywalked in Millbrae. In April 2017, Nandi Cain was beaten by a Sacramento police officer after allegedly committing the same infraction. Cain was eventually released without charges.

Assembly Member Phil Ting of San Francisco wants to repeal the law that preceded these violent encounters.

On Thursday, the Democratic lawmaker unveiled AB1238, or the Freedom to Walk Act, which would decriminalize jaywalking across the state.

Whether its someones life or the hundreds of dollars in fines, the cost is too much for a relatively minor infraction, Ting said in a statement. Its time to reconsider how we use our law enforcement resources and whether our jaywalking laws really do protect pedestrians.

AB1238 would make it legal to cross a street outside of a crosswalk or against a traffic light when it doesnt cause an immediate hazard.

As for what constitutes an immediate hazard, the bills sponsors say they are working with law enforcement to determine that.

Were focusing specifically on repealing jaywalking laws that prohibit a pedestrian from even crossing mid-block or against a light, Jared Sanchez, of the California Bicycle Coalition, a sponsor of AB1238, said through email.

The bill would also eliminate all fines associated with jaywalking, some of which exceed $250 and are more burdensome for low-income individuals.

The state Assembly is expected to begin debate on AB1238 in April.

Supporters of the legislation contend that jaywalking is arbitrarily enforced throughout California.

Jaywalking laws do more than turn an ordinary and logical behavior into a crime. They also create opportunities for police to racially profile, Sanchez said.

A September report from the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area found that Black and Latino Californians received a higher number of citations for minor offenses like jaywalking or loitering compared to their white counterparts.

The report found that Black adults were up to 9.7 times more likely to be cited than white people. Latinos were up to 5.8 times more likely to be cited. The study analyzed non-traffic citations issued between July 2018 and December 2019 by Californias 15 largest law enforcement agencies, including San Franciscos police department.

We spend millions of dollars discriminatorily enforcing these non-traffic infraction laws against Black and Latinx people, Elisa Della-Piana, the groups legal director, said in a statement when the report was released. The fines and fees are largely uncollectable, but the debt burden, warrants and arrests cause significant harm.

Shwanika Narayan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: shwanika.narayan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @shwanika Instagram: @shwanika
WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI  A 36-hour standoff with an armed man barricaded inside his parents house has come to a peaceful end.

The man surrendered shortly before 4:30 p.m. Thursday, March 25, putting down his weapons and walking out of the front door of the home in the 5600 block of Meadows Drive in Superior Township, according to the Washtenaw County Sheriffs Office.

The standoff began early Wednesday morning,

Though the situation is over, a heavy police presence will still be in the area processing the scene, police said.

The mans parents called 911 at about 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 24, reporting that their son was suffering a mental health crisis and had assaulted them, police said.

They stated their son was armed with multiple weapons and was wearing a flak jacket with multiple magazines strapped to his body, police said.

Arriving deputies were able to safely evacuate the family from the home, but the son refused to exit, leading to the standoff where the man allegedly fired off several rounds, police said.

Family safely evacuated as police negotiate with barricaded gunman

There were no injures reported, but police equipment has been destroyed in the incident, police said.

The Washtenaw County Sheriffs Office would like to thank our Crisis Negotiators, SWAT team members, Deputies, Officers from numerous police and fire agencies, medical personnel, and support staff for their tireless work in bringing this situation to a peaceful resolution, Sheriffs Office Spokesman Derrick Jackson said. We would also like to acknowledge the many family members, friends, and neighbors who assisted.

More from MLive:

Staff shortages prompt Tecumseh Public Schools to move to remote learning

$1.6M for water infrastructure projects coming to University of Michigan

Future civil rights attorneys gaining experience through University of Michigan initiative
Women Leading Californias COVID-19 Response

This Womens History Month, California Black Media is profiling three Black women on the leading edge of Californias response to the COVID-19 pandemic: Surgeon General Nadine Burke Harris, Sec. of Gov. Ops Yolanda Richardson & Senior V.P. of External Affairs, Blue Shield of California Kimberley Goode. The profiles explore how these exceptional women have brought their experience, knowledge and leadership abilities to driving Californias COVID-19 recovery efforts. It also looks at the challenges they have faced, the successes they have won, and how they balance the rigors of their public roles with the responsibilities of their private lives.

Nadine Burke Harris is Californias first Surgeon General, a role that consists of a number of high-level internal governmental obligations, as well as a significant amount of public-facing responsibility. In addition to advising the governor on health matters, she is also the States public health spokesperson, Burke Harris told California Black Media.

Probably the biggest part of my job is that I translate science into information that people can use to help keep themselves healthy. Thats probably my favorite part of the job, she says.

When asked what her biggest success has been regarding Californias pandemic-related public-health efforts, Burke-Harris focused on the states equity measures. They include equity metrics within the states reopening blueprints for counties as well as an equity strategy within COVID-19 vaccine allocation that reserves 40 % of vaccines for socio-economically disadvantaged communities. She also mentioned her role as co-chair of the Community Vaccine Advisory Committee, which is part of the process of determining how California allocates and distributes its vaccines.

ADVERTISEMENT

I think our reopening blueprint really demonstrates how seriously California is taking the issue of equity because our whole notion is that we recognize that this pandemic is disproportionately hard on Black communities, and we really want to make sure that when we are reopening that we are doing an equitable reopening, said Burke-Harris.

Prior to becoming Californias Surgeon General, Burke-Harris treated children as a pediatrician. She is the founder of the Center for Youth Wellness in the Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood of San Francisco. In her decade and a half working in the community, Burke-Harris saw how certain equity and accessibility issues would impact her patients ability to receive care.

Burke-Harris says, There are a lot of little things that you realize. For example, I was just on a conversation where we were talking about how close a vaccine site has to be in order to be considered accessible. One of the things that I highlighted is that I live in San Francisco, and I have a car, so for me, something thats five miles away is perfectly acceptable. But for the patients that I cared for, I had the experience of seeing how hard it is for someone whos got two or three kids to take three buses across town to get where they have to go. Five miles away may not be accessible. That has certainly informed my role in the state and how I advise the governor.

In addition to her work on the COVID-19 response, Burke-Harris has also continued her previous work on raising awareness about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and how toxic stress affects children. A training initiative, which she began in January 2020, has now educated almost 20,000 doctors about how to identify and improve healthcare outcomes for people who have experienced ACEs.

As for her biggest challenge during the pandemic, she acknowledged a feeling of exhaustion. Such exhaustion, she says, is common among health care providers and others on the frontline of the COVID-19 response and relief efforts, after a full year of the pandemic.

Its been a real sprint. My colleagues in government, and especially in health and human services, have been working around the clock responding to this emergency. Its a lot, its late at night, on the weekends, my family not seeing enough of me. I think that for all of us, just the endurance has been pretty intense, Burke Harris says.

ADVERTISEMENT

To help recover from the daily pressures of work, Burke Harris values self-care and family time. She makes an intentional effort to practice meditation as selfcare when life gets hectic. As for family time, she enjoys game nights and snuggles from her children to cultivate joy. Also, her kids are quick to tell her when she seems stressed.

Burke Harris says, I remember there was one point during the January surge that was really intense. I was having dinner with my family and my eight-year-old said, Oh no, it looks like Mama lost her giggle. In that moment, he just held up a mirror for me, and how much the intensity and the pressure of my work was coming into our family life. It just reinforced for me that no matter what Ive got to keep that sense of playfulness with my kids.

In January 2020, Gov. Newsom appointed Yolanda Richardson as Californias new Secretary of the Government Operations Agency. Now, one year into that role, the governor has charged Richardson with spearheading Californias vaccination distribution. Thats in addition to other COVID-19 emergency response initiatives she leads, including promoting equitable testing and supplying personal protective equipment where needed to keep Californias population of 40 million people safer.

Richardson hit the ground running responding to the COVID-19 pandemic four days after being sworn into office by Newsom. She is responsible for 11 state departments and programs that ensure that the California state government runs smoothly and achieves its goal of overcoming the challenges presented by the pandemic. Richardsons passion for problem-solving was an effective tool in boosting state efforts to build a coronavirus testing laboratory and establishing a vaccine task force. Her 25 years of experience in the healthcare industry has sharpened her expertise and get-it-done leadership style as one of three African American women to lead Californias efforts in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A major challenge for Richardson was, being thrust into a situation, to fight the pandemic and find new ways to get things done in an environment in which we never imagined, she said.

The biggest challenge to us has been: How do we keep state government working effectively and continuing to deliver services efficiently, said Richardson.

Despite the unprecedented challenges of COVID-19, Richardson saw an opportunity to support legislation that enabled Californians to make a smooth transition to work-from-home and homeschooling policies. The operations team also implemented the governors plans to manage $7.6 billion in COVID-19 relief funds, $6.6 billion for state schools, and $30 million in grants to support local organizations.

The biggest win was that people did what they needed to continue moving forward during one of the biggest shifts our state has seen, said Richardson.

The State of California has partnered with various community-based organizations, leaders, and businesses, a unique approach to the pandemic, in efforts to promote equity, she said.

In everything we do, we have to be thoughtful about all of the different situations that we find people in, said Richardson. I think the state has just done an amazing job of really thinking about being thoughtful and trying to make sure that the approaches and the things that we do meet people where they are.

The states operations team continues to evaluate progress through data-tracking and managing collaborative efforts with community partners to make sure the state achieves its desired outcomes, she said.

Richardson discussed racial equity in the healthcare system with medical experts and leaders in the Black and Latino caucuses, as part of Gov. Newsoms plans to provide community clinics and health centers with COVID-19 testing and vaccines.

Im very passionate about allocating more vaccines to our communities that are mostly populated by Black and Brown people, said Richardson. I am very much committed to using my voice and the platform Ive been blessed with to make sure that I do everything I can to help those in need.

Vaccine hesitancy fueled by misinformation and disinformation about COVID-19 has made it hard for the state to reach vulnerable populations in low-income areas, according to state officials. However, community leaders expressed concerns regarding access to adequate health care, COVID-19 testing, vaccine distribution.

Were leveraging trusted advisors, using people in the community that the communities listened to the most, Sec. Richardson said. Were looking at all the different strategies we can employ that are most comfortable and familiar to those in diverse communities so that they can feel comfortable about getting the vaccine.

Among her list of impressive titles, Richardson is a proud mother of two, an enthusiastic dog owner and wife to her husband of 23 years, who are the anchor to her sanity and peace, she said.

I have an amazing family that is very supportive, Richardson said. I am very blessed to have a beautiful family that keeps me balanced.

Although balance is hard for any leader, Richardson said her operations team has pushed her to accomplish Californias objectives in serving communities statewide. Californias leaders still have a long road ahead to achieve its goal of overcoming the pandemic and safely reopening the state.

Theres so much to do, we joke and say every day is Monday in the state of California. But I have the most extraordinary colleagues who have been a huge support, said Richardson.

During a time when an all-out effort is underway to get Californians vaccinated, a few women leaders in California are leading the charge to reach the communities hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic, including Black families in hard-to-reach areas across the state.

Kimberley Goode, senior vice president of External Affairs for Blue Shield of California is one of those Black women in on the frontlines.

Blue Shield of California is the states third-party administrator as California ramps up its push to get its 40 million residents vaccinated. Goode says the company, with headquarters in Oakland, has taken a number of steps to support the states goal to get vaccines to all Californians  particularly those who have been disproportionately impacted  in a way that is safe, equitable and swift. Blue Shields provider network boasts more than 1,200 vaccination sites in California, including community clinics, multi-county entities, hospital systems, medical groups, pharmacies and others.

The state makes final allocation decisions. The state makes all decisions around eligibility, says Goode. Our job is to make sure that the robust network that weve built is able to get that vaccine to the providers who are throughout every community in the state of California  to reach every zip code.

Goode says their distribution efforts target areas in the state where data shows there are higher incidents of infection and death. Those are the places we really want to double down on and make sure that we have more vaccines there, more quickly, she said. We make sure we partner with local community clinics.

Our goal is two reach 3 million doses per week by March, Goode added.

A public-relations specialist, Goodes position with Blue Shield of California puts her in charge of communication and outreach on behalf of the nonprofit that generates more than $20 billion in annual revenue and serves more than 4 million members in commercial, individual, and government markets.

There is a lot of concern about the impact of COVID-19 on communities of color and, in particular, the African American community, says Goode. One of the things that should give comfort to people in this process is that there are a lot of people who care about equity, and two state leaders I work with, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris and Secretary Yolanda Richardson  they are two very important voices that are ensuring that equity is at the forefront of the decision-making process, and the implementation of the vaccine distribution.

She has more than 25 years of communications experience with several global companies, including Kelloggs, Prudential Financial, American Express, and Allstate. She also spent time as the vice president of Corporate Communications and Corporate Affairs at Northwestern Mutual, where she was responsible for leading the companys internal and external communications strategy.

In the summer of May 2017, Goode joined Blue Shield of California to provide strategic leadership in corporate communications, government affairs, and corporate citizenship. She is also responsible for building relationships that help advance the nonprofit health plans mission.

If thats not enough titles, I get to work on the communication, education, and equity workstream for the third-party administration work that were doing on the behalf of the state for the vaccination program, said Goode, who chairs Blue Shield of Californias Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leadership Council.

Goode is active professionally and in the community with a number of organizations, including the Executive Leadership Council, the Bay Area Council, Children Now Leadership Council and California Women Lead Advisory Council, Jack and Jill of America, Inc., and The Links, Inc.

At home, Goode says she has been working from home and sheltering in a four-generation family bubble with her husband, her two daughters, her 75-year-old mother and her 95-year-old grandmother.

The silver lining of this pandemic has been that it has really helped me to reflect on what matters most and prioritize my time with my family  to focus on the things that are meaningful. We engage in some old fun activities. We play Black Panther Monopoly. Its a board game that is a ton of fun. Just having fun with family in ways that we used to take for granted.

But the greatest reward of her work right now, Goode says, is working for a mission-driven company.

This is work that enables us to help every Californian, she said. It is very gratifying to know that when I wake up and come to work every day (even though it is in my living room), it is not focused on how I can help Blue Shield today. It is focused on how can Blue Shield help Californians across the state.
The Minister for Transport and Aviation, Hon. Kwaku Ofori Asiamah has tasked players in the aviation industry to work hard to sustain the gains made in the industry over the years.



According to the Minister, the successes chalked so far which include the expansion of the Kotoka International Airport (KIA), has culminated in the airport being adjudged best international airport in 2019 and 2020 in Africa.

Further to that, the deployment of over US$7million to install three new navigational equipment at KIA to boost the safety and security of aircraft is worth commending.



However, he stressed that they risk being under threat if players in the industry do not collaborate effectively to sustain and build upon it.



According to the Minister, aviation remains a symbolic target for terrorists who seek to attack aircraft, airport and aviation facilities to inflict mass casualties to cause economic destruction and public fear, stressing that it is only through effective collaboration by players in the aviation industry that these threats could be curtailed.



Safety and security are a priority of the aviation sector. Sustaining the industry requires not only safety regulatory measures but also robust security systems both on the ground and in the air. Our progress in the aviation industry will never be sustained if we do not work together with neighboring countries and other players in the industry. There is the need for us to combat emerging security threat in the sub-region. Our safety and security can be guaranteed through information sharing and adhering to regulatory standards in the industry, he noted.



To this end, he has appealed to the Transport Security Administration of the United States Department of Homeland Security to further engage the government of Ghana in the spirit of international cooperation and information sharing to discuss aviation issues and other new emerging threats in the aviation industry through workshops, seminars and exchange programs.



Let us all join hands and make aviation a mutual benefit, he added.



Hon. Ofori Asiamah made this observation on Monday, March 23, 2021, when he joined Ambassador Martha Pobe and the US Ambassador to Ghana, Stephanie S. Sullivan, to commission an L3 ProVision 2 body scanner and nine explosives and narcotics trace detectors donated by the US Government to the Ghana Airports Company to beef up security activities at the passenger checkpoint for outbound flights inside Kotoka International Airport Terminal 3.



L3 Provision 2



The L3 ProVision 2 is an advanced personnel-screening solution which quickly screen subjects using safe, active millimetre wave radio frequency technology to reveal concealed objects made of a broad range of materials  both metallic and non-metallic. It has an advanced, state-of-the art software that processes digital scans data and determines if the individual can be cleared through the checkpoint.



Based on the 1.5-second scan, the system detects both low and high density materials, including explosive sheets, powders, sheet and bulk explosives, liquids, gels, ceramics and other solids, in accordance with TSA and/or EU ECAC specifications. The ProVision 2 can support processing 200-300 people per hour, depending on the application and supporting security protocols.



Commenting on the body scanner, Hon. Asiamah said the ever changing dynamics within the aviation industry as evidence in the economic figures and data places a huge responsibility on government to develop appropriate policies to drive the sector.



It is significant to note that while the worlds aviation is growing at 5% and Africa is growing at 6%, Ghana is growing at the average rate of 7.9% per annum. This calls for a rapid development of our aviation infrastructure together with the integration other modes of transport such as rail and road transport as well as urban planning initiatives, he noted.



The donation by the US Government, he added, was therefore timely, noting that this is a kind gesture and indeed, a demonstration of the cordial relationship between our two countries and as partners in fighting the terrorism menace together.



Air Ghana will soon fly



Touching on the proposed national airline for Ghana, the Transport and Aviation Minister said plans are far advanced for Air Ghana to be launched.



Engagement with strategic partners are at advance stage to pave the way for its launch. This is to ensure that Ghanas aviation industry grows to become the pivot of regional and continental flight within the West African sub-region, he noted.



Ambassador Sullivan in her remarks highlighted that the growth of the aviation sector in Ghana has increased the importance of aviation security, screening, and information sharing noting, The airport security training and equipment program underscores the robust security cooperation between the United States and Ghana.



Ambassador Martha Pobe, who represented the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, on her part, welcomed the body scanner and explosive detectors which was provided by the Anti-Terrorism Assistance Aviation Security Enhancement Program of the United States of America.



She said the shared priority of ensuring the safety of air travel is important to the government of Ghana and urged that the country explores all avenues to deepen the cooperation and partnership with the government of the United States of America.



With is equipment, the airport authorities will be able to nib in the bud, activities of drug and arms smuggling syndicates. The installation and operation of the equipment also sends a clear message that Ghana will continue to cooperate with its partners and will not relent on its efforts in the fight against transnational organized crime, she stressed.



The Managing Director of the Ghana Airports Company Limited, Mr. Yaw Kwakwa, on his part, said events of September 11, 2001, in the United States of America, is a clear indication that aviation related terrorist attacks are not ending anytime soon.



Terrorists and their agents, he noted, are becoming more sophisticated to deploy mind boggling equipment to pursue their agenda. Therefore, the donation of the body scanner was timely, assuring that it will be put to good use in order to provide enhanced safety and security for US bound passengers as well as other passengers travelling through the Kotoka International Airport.

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
(CVE: GRSL- OTCQB: GRSLF) CEO Marcio Fonseca joined Steve Darling from Proactive to share news the company has seen more positive drill results from underground drilling in the Plomosas Mine Area at the Plomosas Silver Project in Mexico.

Fonseca telling Proactive these wide intervals, including 21 m of drilled silver mineralization from un-mined zones extending the mineralization footprint along strike and down-dip. The silver mineralization was intercepted up to 350 metres below surface.
Brussels: Amid deteriorating ties between Beijing and Washington, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Wednesday (March 24) said that top EU and US diplomats agreed to launch a dialogue to form a coordinated approach towards China.

"We agree to launch the European Union - United States dialogue on China as a forum to discuss the full range of related challenges and opportunities. We decided to continue meetings at the senior official and expert levels on topics such as reciprocity, economic issues, resilience, human rights, security, multilateralism and areas for constructive relations with China, such as climate change," Borrell said at a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

"We equally agreed and this is maybe the most important - to support the fullest possible involvement of the United States in the European Union defence initiatives and to enhance our dialogue on these issues''.

The European Union security and defence policy contributes to the transatlantic security and offers concrete opportunities for our cooperation.

Meanwhile, Blinken issued a strong rebuke to China for its sweeping use of coercive measures and insisted on the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) allies to work with America to mount a pushback on Beijing.

"The United States will not force our allies into "us or them" choice with China. There is no question that Beijing's coercive behaviour threatens our collective security and prosperity and that it is actively working to undercut the rules of the international system and the values we and our allies share," said Blinken, during an address at NATO's headquarters in Brussels.

He was delivering remarks from Brussels, Belgium after holding consultations with NATO allies.

Blinken called out Chinas militarisation of the South China Sea, use of predatory economics, intellectual property theft and human rights abuses. Blinkens speech comes after an increase in tensions between the US, European Union and China in recent weeks. Blinken also called on the Chinese government to follow through on its commitments on human rights as well as on other issues of concern.

China has failed to uphold these commitments in the past, he said. "We are looking very much forward actually having close consultations between the United States and the EU on China," Blinken added.

The United States, Canada and the United Kingdom joined the European Union (EU) on Monday (March 22) to take what they described as "coordinated action" against China to send "a clear message about the human rights violations and abuses in Xinjiang".

The sanctions blacklisted former and current officials in Xinjiang Zhu Hailun, Wang Junzheng, Wang Mingshan and Chen Mingguo for alleged abuses, which have sparked international outrage.

Live TV
BOULDER, Colo. (AP)  Three days after he was led away in handcuffs from a Boulder supermarket where 10 people were fatally shot, the suspect appeared in court Thursday for the first time and his defense lawyer asked for a health assessment to address his mental illness.

Kathryn Herold, the lawyer for suspect Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, provided no details about what he might suffer from.

During the brief hearing, Alissa appeared in court wearing a mask. He didnt speak other than to say yes to a question from the judge and was advised of the 10 charges of first-degree murder he faces. He did not enter a plea, which will come later in the judicial process.

Alissa, 21, remains held without bail. A prosecutor said that authorities planned to file more charges.

A law enforcement official briefed on the shooting had previously said the suspects family told investigators they believed Alissa was suffering some type of mental illness, including delusions.

Relatives have described times when Alissa told them people were following or chasing him, which they said may have contributed to the violence, the official said. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

It was the first time that Alissa was seen in public since he was arrested inside the King Soopers supermarket in Boulder on Monday and treated at a hospital for a leg wound.

Alissa was last seen handcuffed and being led out of the supermarket by police. He had removed all clothing except his shorts before being taken into custody. A rifle, a green tactical vest and a handgun were recovered inside the grocery store, according to an arrest affidavit.

While most Colorado court proceedings have been conducted with suspects appearing by video during the pandemic, District Judge Thomas Francis Mulvahill ordered Alissa to appear before him in court though the public and the media were not allowed inside.

Dozens of media trucks and reporters stood outside the courthouse on a cold, clear Colorado morning. There was no sign of protesters or victims families.

In addition to Boulder police Officer Eric Talley, 51, the victims are Denny Stong, 20; Neven Stanisic, 23; Rikki Olds, 25; Tralona Bartkowiak, 49; Suzanne Fountain, 59; Teri Leiker, 51; Kevin Mahoney, 61; Lynn Murray, 62; and Jodi Waters, 65. Leiker, Olds and Stong worked at the supermarket.

According to the arrest affidavit, the suspect bought a Ruger AR-556 pistol  which resembles an AR-15 rifle with a slightly shorter stock  on March 16, six days before the attack. Authorities have not disclosed where the gun was purchased.

According to two law enforcement officials, Alissa was born in Syria in 1999, emigrated to the U.S. as a toddler and later became a U.S. citizen. He would need to be a citizen to buy a gun. The officials were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

An AR-15-style gun recovered inside the supermarket was believed to have been used in the attack, said a law enforcement official briefed on the shooting who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

In addition to Boulder police Officer Eric Talley, 51, the victims are Denny Stong, 20; Neven Stanisic, 23; Rikki Olds, 25; Tralona Bartkowiak, 49; Suzanne Fountain, 59; Teri Leiker, 51; Kevin Mahoney, 61; Lynn Murray, 62; and Jodi Waters, 65. Leiker, Olds and Stong worked at the supermarket.

More than 500 people bundled in winter jackets and wool hats attended a downtown candlelight vigil Wednesday night to mourn the victims and comfort one another. They observed a moment of silence; violins soothed the crowd; a woman sang Ave Maria as candle flames flickered in the crisp air. A star-shaped light usually turned on for the holidays glowed on a mountain overlooking the open square.

Michele Weiner-Davis, a Boulder family therapist, offered the community some words of wisdom.

Whatever youre feeling, whatever youre thinking, no matter how uncomfortable, its completely natural, Weiner-Davis said. Be patient with yourself. Additionally, be just as compassionate with the people in your lives who might also be struggling.

Earlier Wednesday, hundreds of people paid their respects during a police procession for Talley as his body was taken to a funeral home in the Denver suburb of Aurora.

Police also announced that people whose cars were left in the supermarket parking lot Monday could retrieve them.
The inbound tourism spend of the UAE and Saudi Arabia are expected to top $25.3 billion and $33.5 billion, respectively, by 2025, according to the findings of Travel Forecast Model from leading market research firm Euromonitor International.



The report predicts that global inbound tourism spending will recover by 2022 at the earliest  as long as mass vaccinations and testing enable travel to resume safely.



World inbound tourism spending collapsed by 57% in 2020, and our forecast expects it to rebound by 82% in 2021, said Caroline Bremner, Head of Travel and Tourism Research at Euromonitor International.



She will present the findings of Euromonitor Internationals Travel Forecast Model in a webinar called Travel Industry Update with Euromonitor 2021to be hosted by Euromonitor International and WTM Global to discuss the prospects for the global travel and tourism market.



The virtual event will take place on March 25, 2021, starting at 6pm GST (2pm GMT) on WTM Global Hub.



In our most pessimistic scenario, spending growth is predicted to rise by 40% in 2021, leading to a more prolonged recovery timeline, returning to pre-crisis levels by 2024, said Bremner.



She will also discuss Euromonitor Internationals recent Voice of the Consumer global survey, which found that 65% of consumers remain concerned about climate change.



Consumers are increasingly interested in having a positive impact on the environment through day-to-day actions, added Bremner. France and Germany show high levels of interest in sustainable travel.



Using Euromonitors research, I will outline the outlook for recovery in different regions  and pinpoint opportunities as the market looks to build back better. Consumer attitudes have changed during the pandemic so we will look at how travel businesses can adapt, while accelerating their digital and sustainable transformation. Well showcase noteworthy case studies to illustrate the most crucial trends and inspire others to seize opportunities in the coming months.



Claude Blanc, WTM Portfolio Director, said: WTM Portfolio has been at the forefront of shaping the travel industrys revival and this Euromonitor webinar is our latest online forum for professionals to hear up-to-the-minute global research and find out how to capitalise on the pent-up demand from consumers.



We have been working with governments and the private sector around the world to create a safer, smarter and greener travel and tourism industry.



As well as post-Covid protocols, travel companies have to deal with environmental, technological and political challenges, so this Euromonitor webinar will be an essential event for our colleagues in the sector as we all navigate the roadmap to recovery, Blanc noted.  TradeArabia News 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.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts speaks at the dedication of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington on Sept. 24, 2016. (Joshua Roberts)

Supreme Court Sides With Woman Shot by Police While Fleeing

The Supreme Court on March 25 sided with a New Mexico woman who was shot by police when she tried to flee from them in her vehicle.

In a 53 ruling (pdf), the high court wrote that the woman was seized under the Constitutions Fourth Amendment, although the shooting didnt result in police immediately detaining her.

The case arose from a 2014 incident in which Roxanne Torres was approached by officers who were attempting to serve a warrant to a different person, and when they tried to speak to Torres, she drove away.

The officers fired 13 shots at the woman, saying they feared for their safety as she quickly drove off. Two of the shots hit Torres, although she didnt stop and kept driving for 75 miles.

Torres later sued for excessive force.

Under our cases, an officer seizes a person when he uses force to apprehend her, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion. The question in this case is whether a seizure occurs when an officer shoots someone who temporarily eludes capture after the shooting. The answer is yes: The application of physical force to the body of a person with intent to restrain is a seizure, even if the force does not succeed in subduing the person.

The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution states: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated.

Roberts was joined by Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Brett Kavanaugh. Justices Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito dissented, and Justice Amy Coney Barrett didnt participate, as the case was argued before she joined the high court last year.

In the case, lower courts had ruled that officers had qualified immunity and ruled against Torres, saying that because there was no physical touch or a show of authority by police, there was no seizure that took place. They reasoned that police hadnt technically seized Torres under the Fourth Amendment, rendering it moot before she appealed.

Roberts, meanwhile, said that the ruling was limited and was only on whether the incident was a seizure.

The Fourth Amendment does not forbid all or even most seizuresonly unreasonable ones, wrote Roberts, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush. All we decide today is that the officers seized Torres by shooting her with intent to restrain her movement. We leave open on remand any questions regarding the reasonableness of the seizure, the damages caused by the seizure, and the officers entitlement to qualified immunity.

Gorsuch, in his dissent, said that the majoritys ruling could cause problems for police to make decisions while on the job.

On the majoritys account, a Fourth Amendment seizure takes place whenever an officer merely touches a suspect. Its a seizure even if the suspect refuses to stop, evades capture, and rides off into the sunset never to be seen again. That view is as mistaken as it is novel, Gorsuch wrote. Neither the Constitution nor common sense can sustain it.

The case is Torres v. Madrid, No. 19-292.
AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine will be administered as a nasal spray as part of a new trial.

Oxford University scientists  who developed the jab  have been looking at injection-free ways to dish out the vaccine.

It's thought that nasal sprays may better target immune cells in the lungs, throat and nose, making them even more effective at defending against Covid.

Oxford is looking for 30 adults to get the vaccine squirted up their noses as soon as next week.

Volunteers will be tracked for four months to see make sure it's safe as part of the initial trial.

If successful, the phase one study will move on and tens or potentially hundreds more adults will be recruited to see if it can ward off the virus as well as a jab.

Nasal spray vaccines would be great news for people who have a fear of needles and could alleviate supply issues that have hindered rollouts around the world. This method is already used to give out children's flu jabs.

Oxford university will trial administering the AstraZeneca vaccine through a nasal spray as part of trials that could start as soon as next week

The university's study, involving adults over 40, is part of its partnership with AstraZeneca, the Financial Times reported.

Professor Sarah Gilbert, one of the lead scientists behind the Oxford university jab, announced last month that her team was working on injection-free ways of delivering the vaccine.

Coronavirus vaccine hesitancy could lead to 20,000 extra Covid deaths in Britain over the next two years, report warns Vaccine hesitancy could lead to 20,000 extra coronavirus deaths over the next two years, a study has suggested. Researchers warned that if a significant number of people turn the jab down, it may allow the virus to spread in high numbers when lockdowns are eased, posing a constant threat to the elderly and ill. The gloomy modelling by Imperial College London predicted 305 extra Covid deaths per million people by 2023, the equivalent of 20,130 people in the UK. Other more pessimistic calculations projected even more deaths. Experts warned vaccine hesitancy will lead to flare-ups in cases and hospitalisations which could see lockdown restrictions in place for longer. The study did not specify what constituted as high vaccine hesitancy. But Imperial has been repeatedly criticised for its pessimistic Covid models, which predicted 250,000 deaths in the first wave without further action. So far, uptake in Britain has been far higher than expected, with more than 90 per cent of Britons over the age of 60 having accepted their jab. But officials expect that, as the programme moves to younger, less-vulnerable groups, the turnout rate will drop because young people don't see the virus as a threat. Government-funded surveys have indicated up to a fifth of people under-30 will turn the vaccines down. Advertisement

She told the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee last month that researchers were exploring nasal spray and tablet forms of the vaccine.

She said: 'As you know all the vaccines have been given at the moment as intramuscular injections.

'That is not necessarily the best way to provide protection against a respiratory virus infection, where we want the immune system to be active in the upper respiratory tract and then in the lower respiratory tract, which is where the virus is causing the infection.

'We have flu vaccines that are given by nasal spray and this could be a very good approach in the future to use vaccines against coronaviruses.'

Other scientists in the UK began testing a different nasal spray vaccine, known as COVI-VAC, on volunteers at the start of the year.

The spray, made by New York-based company Codagenix, contains a genetically modified form of Covid and is being tested on 48 adults in London.

The UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) green-lit the trial after positive safety data in animal studies.

COVI-VAC is a type of live attenuated vaccine, meaning trialists will get a genetically-modified version of Covid that is weaker than the real thing but still infectious.

Live attenuated vaccines  such as the MMR jab  work by stimulating the immune system in the same way that real disease would, but by relying on viruses unable to cause severe illness.

Oxford University's vaccine is an adenovirus vaccine - which uses a weakened virus that causes the common cold that has been modified not to trigger illness and is not infectious.

Meanwhile, Russia's Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology is also trialing a nasal spray to deliver the countrys Sputnik V vaccine. The institute expects to complete clinical trials of the spray by the end of the year.

Scientists at the University of Birmingham are also working on a nasal Covid treatment.

But rather than acting as a vaccine, its version aims to prevent Covid infections by capturing the virus in the nose. Researchers hope the spray may be readily available in pharmacies in the coming months.

MailOnline has approached Oxford University and AstraZeneca for comment.
Phuket Immigration overloaded by COVID visa rush

PHUKET: Phuket Immigration has yet to explain what caused the mass of foreigners to be forced to wait outside this morning (Mar 25) while waiting to even receive a numbered ticket to have their applications processed.

COVID-19immigrationhealth

By The Phuket News

Thursday 25 March 2021, 12:27PM

Foreigners were already forced to wait outside first thing this morning (Mar 25). After that, the queue just grew longer. Photo: Supplied

Foreigners at the office in Phuket Town reported to The Phuket News that the long queue of foreigners had already stretched down the stairs at the front of the building, waiting to be served in the upstairs section of the building.

The upstairs section is usually where foreigners staying on non-immigrant visas apply to renew their one-year permit-to-stay.

One foreigner told The Phuket News that most of the people waiting outside were Russian-speaking, and were waiting to renew their 60-day Covid visas.

Phuket Immigration Deputy Chief Col Nareuwat Putthawiro, who is usually prepared to answer questions about immigration issues, told The Phuket News that he was unaware of the situation this morning as he is currently in Bangkok on a three-month training course.

He offered no alternative contact.

Calls to the Phuket Immigration office number went unanswered. Even calls to the Immigration bureau national hotline 1178 went unanswered.

The crowd today comes while the country remains under the emergency decree enacted specifically to allow the government to create laws to avoid any situations that might assist the spread of COVID-19.

One foreigner who arrived before the office opened this morning left after realising how long the queue was to get inside the front door to the upstairs section of the office.

Another foreigner who arrived at the Phuket Immigration Office early this morning reported that the crowd had settled down by 11am.

The foreigner, a long-term expat waiting to renew a one-year permit to stay, was still waiting after midday.

An immigration volunteer at the office told the foreigner still waiting that the crowd was because its near the end of the month and all the tourists trapped by the COVID situation must renew their visas at the same time.
















Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 07:41:04|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (R) meets with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in NEOM, Saudi Arabia, on March 24, 2021. (Xinhua/Tu Yifan)

RIYADH, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on Wednesday agreed to oppose any interference in the internal affairs of other countries and defend the interests of the developing countries.

During the meeting, Wang, also a Chinese state councilor, first conveyed Chinese President Xi Jinping's cordial greetings to Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and the crown prince.

He said that advancing its ties with Saudi Arabia, an important strategic partner of China in the Middle East, is a priority for China's Middle East policies.

China supports Saudi Arabia in safeguarding its sovereignty, national dignity, security and stability, and opposes interference in Saudi Arabia's internal affairs under any pretext, said the Chinese diplomat.

China staunchly supports Saudi Arabia's efforts to explore and find a path of development that fits its own conditions, said Wang, adding that China is ready to better integrate the development strategies between the two countries to help Saudi Arabia attain the goals of Vision 2030.

He also expressed China's strong support to Saudi Arabia for playing a greater role in the region, while pledging to work together with the Saudi side to promote peace, stability, and development in the Middle East.

China appreciates Saudi Arabia's firm support for China on the issues related to Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Taiwan, said the Chinese foreign minister.

He underlined the need for the two countries to strengthen unity and coordination to safeguard the international system with the United Nations at the core and the international order based on the international law, oppose any interference in the internal affairs of other countries, reject unilateral bullying actions, and defend the common interests of the developing countries.

The Chinese diplomat said the two sides can give full play to the role of the China-Saudi Arabia High-Level Joint Committee, which should take the lead in deepening bilateral cooperation in traditional areas such as trade, investment and infrastructure, as well as in the emerging fields including artificial intelligence, 5G, big data and aerospace technologies.

The two countries should also step up cooperation and exchanges in countering terrorism and eliminating extremism, Wang said.

China is willing to work together with Saudi Arabia to speed up the free trade deal negotiations between China and the Gulf countries to reach an agreement at an early date, said the Chinese diplomat.

Wang also said China and Saudi Arabia should jointly make good preparations for the upcoming China-Arab Summit and build a China-Arab community with a shared future.

For his part, Mohammed first asked Wang to convey the greetings of King Salman and himself to the Chinese president.

China, with a long history, is a world power with significant influence and its revival is inevitable, said the crown prince, adding that the rise of China is conducive to global peace, stability and prosperity, as well as a more balanced global development.

Saudi Arabia, which attaches great importance to its comprehensive strategic partnership with China, is willing to continuously deepen the bilateral cooperation in crude oil, petrochemical, nuclear energy and other energy fields, and expand it into new fields such as 5G, telecommunication and digital technologies, Mohammed said.

The two countries will also boost anti-terrorism and security cooperation to uplift the bilateral ties to a higher level, he said.

Saudi Arabia is willing to make joint efforts with China to push forward the free trade negotiations between China and Gulf countries in order to clinch a deal sooner, said the crown prince.

Mohammed said that Saudi Arabia firmly supports China's legitimate position on the issues related to Xinjiang and Hong Kong, opposes interfering in China's internal affairs under any pretext, and rejects the attempt by certain parties to sow dissension between China and the Islamic world.

Saudi Arabia is ready to join hands with China to uphold the goals and principles of the UN Charter, and safeguard regional and global peace and stability, he added.

Wang also met with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Nayef bin Falah Al-Hajraf on the same day. 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.
Government Announces Further Relaxation of COVID-19 Restrictions

Government says it is delighted to be in a position to further ease social restrictions in the light of very low rates of active cases of COVID-19 in Gibraltar.

There are currently no active cases of COVID-19 in St Bernards Hospital or in our Elderly Residential Services. Today is another day when we report zero new infections. As the Chief Minister stated in Parliament on Monday, this is an important demonstration of the effectiveness of our lockdown and of our vaccination programme.

As announced in Parliament, the curfew will end on Thursday, meaning that there will be no curfew in place on Thursday night going into Friday morning. The Government has said it is pleased that this restriction will be lifted in time for the upcoming Passover and Easter celebrations, which are so important to so many members of our community.

In addition, effective on Thursday night, bars and restaurants will be permitted to remain open until 2am. The ban on the consumption of alcohol in public places, that means outside of a licensed premises, will continue to be in effect from 7pm to 8am nightly. This does NOT apply to the outside area of a bar or restaurant as these areas are included in the demise of the licensed premises.

The Government says it is pleased to also be in a position to ease the requirements for the wearing of masks. Following Public Health advice, as from 11:59pm on Saturday night, masks will no longer be required outdoors in Main Street and its derivatives. Masks will continue to be a requirement in enclosed public places, shops and on public transport.

It is important to note that masks will still be required in Main Street and the streets surrounding it throughout Saturday but not as from Sunday morning.

The Minister for Civil Contingencies, the Hon Samantha Sacramento, said: As a result of the successful vaccination programme and our community following the rules, our numbers of positive cases are now extremely low. Tomorrow, another of the COVID-19 restrictions will be relaxed as the midnight curfew is deemed no longer to be necessary. The public are nevertheless reminded to continue to follow public health advice and guidance so that we can continue to keep the numbers down.

The Chief Minister, the Hon Fabian Picardo, said: We are at last leaving behind us our deadliest winter and entering our most hopeful spring. The global pandemic isnt entirely behind us and we must all move forward carefully to safeguard this incredible progress in the weeks and months ahead. I look forward to shortly being able to lift the restrictions on the freedom of assembly as we remove all restraints on our hard won civil liberties, but doing so in keeping with public health advice and in a safe and prudent manner.
The Greeks are distinguished by patriotism, says Ambassador of Greece in Bucharest Sofia Grammata, who emphasizes that the Greek people are very proud of their history.

"The great Greek diaspora, from around the world, maintains strong ties with Greece, with its customs and traditions. We, the Greeks, are very proud of our history, even if, sometimes we judge those who exercise political power in our country, the love for our country, blessed by beauty, climate, geographical position is huge. This also contributes to the Greek hospitality tradition. We are proud of the gift we were given, our beautiful country and we wish for our guests, considered sacred according to ancient traditions, to enjoy the Greek beauty," Sofia Grammata highlights, in a statement for AGERPRES.

She says about her countrymen that they are people who live intensely, and during this pandemic period they missed having fun and socializing.

Sofia Grammata also refers to the fact that there have been 141 years of Greek-Romanian diplomatic relations, mentioning that there is a good political and military cooperation between the two countries.

"Greek-Romanian diplomatic relations began 141 years ago and we are maintaining very close military and political cooperation, both within NATO and EU, as well as within regional organizations, such as BSEC, SEECP, regional cooperation schemes or bilateral initiatives. The Greeks love the Romanian people. My countrymen found here, since the second millennium BC, fertile land for their commerce through the Black Sea and the Danube. Greek and Romanian scholars collaborated at the end of the Ottoman period in order to promote Greek and Romanian writings," Sofia Grammata declares.

The diplomat says that the Romania's image in Greece was also promoted by the thousand of Greek specialists, graduates of higher education institutions.

"Furthermore, Greek political refugees, who found shelter in your country after the Greek civil war (which followed the occupation of Greece during the Second World War) loved it as their second home. The Greeks and Romanians have a lot in common. First, I will mention our shared religion, Orthodoxy. Secondly, both peoples have been through many hardships and came out on the winning side: the Ottoman rule, national victories, but also national losses, such as dictatorships, and now our countries are democratic and embarked on common ships - the EU and NATO," the ambassador shows.

She considers that it is important for both the Romanian and Greek diaspora to understand the progress that both countries are registering.

"We have, in both Greece and Romania, a great diaspora which contributes to the economies of other countries, as it is mostly formed of graduates of their own universities and polytechnics; it is necessary for both countries to convince their own diaspora of the progress their country is registering, and these countrymen to come back, in order to enrich our own economic potential," Sofia Grammata declares.

Among the things the Greeks and Romanians have in common, she mentions "love for all the good things in life, traveling, sociability, quality food, but also strong family bonds which characterize both societies".

The Greeks and Romanians also have in common the ease of learning foreign languages, the ambassador says, who believes that "numerous mixed marriages are proof of common traits and views that unite us".

"Among the things I appreciate in the Romanian people and which do not characterize the Greeks to the same extent, I am referring to the patience of Romanians (unlike the Greeks' haste and more obvious impulsiveness) and their love for flowers. I love Bucharest, I feel lucky to represent Greece in Romania and to live here. The images with flower rounds and parks here, since the beginning of Spring until the end of Autumn, will certainly be some of the most beautiful memories in my life, when my time of departure come," Sofia Grammata confesses.

March 25 is the National Day of the Hellenic Republic and the anniversary of the Revolution for Independence. This year, Greeks everywhere are celebrating 200 years since the outbreak of the Revolution of 1821, the most important event in modern Greek history.
(Natural News) A young couple that paid $560,000 cash on Jan. 31, 2020, to purchase a four-bedroom home in the Southern California community of Riverside is still unable to move into their property more than a year later because the seller is refusing to vacate, taking full advantage of a Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) eviction moratorium loophole in the Golden State that bars delinquent property occupiers from being removed.

Despite owning their home for a year and two months-and-counting, Myles and Tracie Albert are having to fight to try to take realized ownership of it. However, as long as Californias Democrat-led legislature continues to pass legislation extending the eviction moratorium  and as long as Gov. Gavin Newsom keeps signing said legislation into law  their attempts will be futile.

Its just draining, emotionally and financially, Tracie told FOX 11, a local news affiliate that went with the couple to the property in question to try to reason with the former owners-turned-squatters, to no avail.

Chris Taylor, the real estate agent that sold the home, told the media that his client needed $560,000 from the sale of his house in two weeks and he called me on a Sunday, so in traditional real estate theres no way of doing that unless the buyers a cash buyer.

The Alberts were able to complete the cash buy, only to have their transaction go awry due to the eviction moratorium. Little did they know that the seller was apparently in-the-know about his newfound rights thanks to the Chinese virus and the California state governments response to it.

Its genuinely unfathomable to me that we live in a state where something like this is even possible, Taylor added in a statement. [The Alberts] closed escrow on this home Jan. 31, 2020.

Local attorney says hes handled eight other similar cases in Southern California

According to Myles, he and his wife had to scrape up everything they had, meaning their entire life savings, along with a hard money loan in order to make the purchase possible. They now own the home outright, if only they were able to occupy it.

Thats our house and its all in a contract, written, legal, done, Myles says. Hes been paid the money in his account. How could we have no rights to go into our home?

They have this case under a COVID tenant situation, of no evictions when it doesnt fall under that at all, Myles added. This transaction went through in January 2020 before any of that. It isnt a renter who was getting thrown out. Its the guy who collected all of this money.

No other state, as far as this writer is aware, has policies like this in place. Had the Alberts purchased a home anywhere else, in other words, they would already be living in it without issue.

If you were in Arizona, if you were in Nevada, this wouldnt be a problem, Tracie told the media. You would just go take your house back. But in California  our hands are tied, even though were on your side, theres nothing we can do.

Local attorney Dennis Block told FOX that this year alone, his office has handled at least seven, maybe eight cases of this exact type of situation.

This person is not a tenant, Block explained. Its a previous owner who is enjoying the benefits of the money that was transferred to his account but of course doesnt want to move out of the premises that he no longer owns.

More related news about the societal impact of the governments Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) edicts can be found at Collapse.news.

Sources for this article include:

ZeroHedge.com

NaturalNews.com
Colorado baker Jack Phillips back in court after refusing to make gender transition cake

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

Colorado baker Jack Phillips was back in court Monday in a lawsuit brought by a transgender activist attorney who alleges Phillips violated state law by refusing to make a cake celebrating a gender transition.

Filed in state court, a transgender-identified male named Autumn Scardina attempted to order a birthday cake celebrating a gender transition on the same day in 2017 that the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Phillips previous case, a dispute litigated in federal court which centered around his refusal to bake a custom cake for a same-sex couple in 2012.

Phillips eventually won his case at the Supreme Court in a 7-2 victory on narrow grounds in 2018 in Masterpiece Cakeshop, LTD et al. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission.

During virtual opening arguments Monday, Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Sean Gates said the baker's refusal to make Scardinas cake was about the content of the message, not about Scardina, according to The Associated Press.

Scardina reportedly told the court that the call was placed to Masterpiece Cakeshop after hearing Phillips say that he opposed making the cake because it involved a gay wedding but would sell any other product.

Scardinas lawyer Paula Greisen asked if the call was a setup. Scardina denied that notion.

It was more of calling someones bluff, Scardina was quoted as saying.

In the 2018 ruling, the justices held that the state government agency did not show religious neutrality toward Phillips under the states anti-discrimination statute, stating that the CCRC had shown clear and impermissible hostility.

The high court did not rule, however, on the larger issue of whether businesses and other places of public accommodation can invoke religious objections to refuse services to LGBT-identifying people.

ADF has represented Phillips since his legal battles began. Gates argued his client could not create a cake containing a message he felt violated his religious convictions.

The message would be that he agrees that a gender transition is something to be celebrated, Gates stressed, subsequently noting that the Colorado bakery owner had also declined to make other items he objects to, such as Halloween-themed products.

Before filing a lawsuit, Scardina filed a complaint with the CCRC. The state commission found probable cause to continue the matter as state law protects from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

In response, Phillips filed a federal lawsuit against the state of Colorado, arguing that the state government is on a crusade to crush him. Both cases were dropped in March 2019 under a settlement that permitted Scardina to file a case as an individual.

The Alliance Defending Freedom said this week that Colorado has created a hostile environment for people like Phillips.

Eight years is a long time to live under the weight of constant litigation that threatens the business you built and the people you love. During his first case, Jack lost a big part of his business and more than half of his employees, ADF noted Monday in a blog post about his latest legal battle.

Over the years, he and his family have also endured hate mail, nasty phone calls, and even death threats. This most recent lawsuit is a blatant attempt to punish Jack, banish him from the marketplace, and intimidate him out of business just for living according to his beliefs.

Commenting on the case Tuesday on his Facebook page, evangelist Franklin Graham urged people to pray for Phillips.

"Jack is a humble, kind, and caring guy  and as a Christian, he also believes he has the right to live by his strongly held religious beliefs...His lawyer is right  'Today it's Jack. Tomorrow it could be you.' Think about that America," he wrote.


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.
A professor of gender studies at the University of Rhode Island is facing a fierce backlash for comparing transgender people to followers of the notorious conspiracy theory QAnon.

In a trenchant essay for the feminist website 4W, Donna M Hughes wrote that the 'belief' that a person could change their gender was a 'trans-sex fantasy'.

She went on to equate followers of QAnon, a bizarre and complex web of lies that posits that a global cabal of baby-eating celebrities and 'Deep State' politicians secretly rule the world, to people whose gender identity differs from the sex they were given at birth.

Hughes claimed that just as QAnon had been politized by right-wingers, the opposite side of the political spectrum was using transgender issues to further its political objectives and harm children.

'The American political left is increasingly diving headfirst into their own world of lies and fantasy and, unlike in the imaginary world of QAnon, real children are becoming actual victims,' she wrote.

Her inflammatory comments were called 'beyond the pale' by Annie Russell, the director of the university's Gender and Sexuality Center.

Donna M Hughes, left, sparked outrage among her fellow University of Rhode Island academic Annie Russell, right, for comparing QAnon followers to transgender people

Russell told The Providence Journal that: 'Trans people are people, period', adding that Hughes's comments had deeply upset the transgender community.

Russell said the diatribe had also angered students at the university, which was established in 1892 and costs an average of more than $30,000 per year in out of state tuition fees.

'It's not only outdated, it's never been a part of the gender and women's studies movement,' Russell told the The Providence Journal.

The University of Rhode Island put out a statement distancing itself from Hughes's comments.

'The University does not support statements and publications by Professor Donna Hughes that espouse anti-transgender perspectives and recognize that such discourse can cause pain and discomfort for many transgender individuals,' it said in a statement released this week.

In a statement, the University of Rhode Island said it 'does not support statements and publications by Professor Donna Hughes that espouse anti-transgender perspectives'

'The University is committed to transgender rights and the need to eliminate all forms of discrimination and violence aimed at transgender individuals and the LGBTQIA+ community.'

In response Hughes said her right to free speech was being trampled on.

'A person cannot change their sex. That is a fact.' she said in response to a series of emailed questions from The Providence Journal.

'I have a PhD in genetics so I think I am qualified to write about the basics of sex.'

Hughes, the Eleanor M. and Oscar M. Carlson Endowed Chair of Gender and Womens Studies at URI, has a long history of writing about controversial issues such as transgender people and prostitution.

Her lawyer Samantha Harris said like many in academia, Hughes had become the target of an online pressure campaign simply for expressing views that are 'out of step with the prevailing orthodoxy on campus'.

The far-right QAnon conspiracy began in 2017 when an anonymous person claiming to have 'Q-level' security clearance began posting on the 8Chan message board.

Among its many debunked prophecies is that Donald Trump would remain president despite losing the 2020 presidential election, that there would be mass arrests and public executions, and that John F Kennedy Jr was still alive.

Many of those who stormed the US Capitol on January 6, invading the Senate floor and chanting 'Hang Mike Pence' were QAnon devotees.

In her essay, Hughes wrote that the radicalization of QAnon supporters was similar to those on the left who accepted transgender rights.

She said young people were being 'guided into hormonal and surgical horrors that de-sex them'.

Hughes' continued: 'The biological category of sex, particularly women's sex, is being smashed. Women and girls are expected to give up their places of privacy such as restrooms, locker rooms, and even prison cells.'

The 4W website describes itself as a 'fourth-wave' platform for 'feminists who are stepping outside of the liberal mainstream'.
Fears of contracting COVID-19 are preventing people accessing vital health services, experts say.

The COVID-19 pandemic has prevented almost a third of people in Sub-Saharan Africa suffering from a fever from accessing malaria treatment in health facilities, health experts say.

Malaria continues to be a major global health challenge, with six African countries including Nigeria and Tanzania accounting for around half the 409,000 people globally who died from the disease in 2019, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

At a virtual media briefing organised by the Roll Back Malaria Partnership and the African Media and Malaria Research Network last week (15 March), experts said that many people are falsely associating fever solely with COVID-19. This contributed to an increase in the number of malaria deaths in 2020 of more than 40,000 globally from the previous year.

Thirty-one per cent of people with fever in Sub-Saharan Africa did not get access to health facilities due to lockdowns and fear of being exposed to the COVID-19 pandemic while a similar percentage of those who accessed malaria treatment did not get tested." Kalu Akpaka, WHO Regional Malaria Advisor for Africa

He added that communities must be made to understand that malaria prevention starts with individuals protecting themselves against mosquito bites and not taking drugs blindly without testing when they develop a fever.

"Parents with children under five years and communities in general must make it their responsibility to ensure sick people get medical help as soon as symptoms show," added Aboubacar Kempo, the director of health programmes at UNICEF. "It is imperative that fever cases are rushed to health facilities without delay for testing and treatment if the ever-rising incidence of malaria is to be checked."

Kempo called for a stop to diverting malaria funds to control COVID-19. "It is now that more funds need to be channelled in the direction of malaria, independent of COVID-19," Kempo urged, adding that diverting funds to address COVID-19 would create an impression that malaria is a lesser disease.

Akpaka described it as regrettable that fear of contracting COVID-19 and lockdowns in response to the global pandemic have kept many people away from health facilities, leading to deaths from other diseases including malaria.

"Health workers today are not only well trained to safely handle other diseases alongside COVID-19 but have been provided with personal protective equipment to enhance their safety and that of patients. There is nothing to fear," Akpaka explained.

He urged civil society to educate the public to help mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and other diseases and encourage vaccination.

"Vaccines pass in the able hands of a large group of scientists for scrutiny before they are approved for use. They are cheap, effective and the surest way to eradicate diseases. That is why children go through mandatory vaccination to keep common infections at bay," said Akpaka.

Kempo said that a pilot malaria vaccine project trialled in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi has ruled out adverse effects, but did not specify when the vaccine will be available for rollout. In 2019, WHO said the vaccine pilot programme would continuefor four years, making 2023 the possibleyear of rollout.

"The vaccine is perhaps the only hope left of eradicating malaria in Sub-Saharan Africa as happened with smallpox and now polio," Kempo added.
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 YORK, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Loyalty Programs market will register an incremental spend of about USD 291.03 Billion, growing at a CAGR of 13.95% during the five-year forecast period. A targeted strategic approach to Loyalty Programs 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

Loyalty Programs Market Procurement Research Report

Key Highlights Offered in the 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 Loyalty Programs market. The report also aids buyers with relevant Loyalty Programs 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 3.00%-5.00%.

Identify favorable opportunities in Loyalty Programs 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 Loyalty Programs suppliers listed in this report:

Story continues

This Loyalty Programs procurement intelligence report has enlisted the top suppliers and their cost structures, SLA terms, best selection criteria, and negotiation strategies.

Aimia Inc.

ADS Alliance Data Systems Inc.

Edenred SA

cxLoyalty

Kobie Marketing

Maritz Holdings Inc.

Brierley & Partners Inc.

Loyalty Research Center

Clutch Holdings LLC

BI WORLDWIDE

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

SpendEdge Logo (PRNewsfoto/SpendEdge)

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-loyalty-programs-market-procurement-intelligence-report-with-covid-19-impact-analysis--global-market-forecasts-analysis-2021-2025--spendedge-301255008.html

SOURCE SpendEdge
Sri Lanka's Education Ministry has declared to re-open all schools in the country's Western Province including capital Colombo on March 29 after it was shut since last October due to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, a minister said here Wednesday.

Education Minister G.L. Peiris told a weekly media briefing here that following recommendations from the Health Ministry, schools for all grades would re-open on March 29.

The country's Western Province was the worst affected by the COVID-19 pandemic with schools across the province remaining shut due to a rise in infections since October last year.

The Minister said schools would now re-open and all health protocols would be strictly followed.

"Now we believe that a conducive environment has been created to re-open all schools and all grades in the Western Province. The health recommendations in this regard were conveyed by the Health Services Director General," the Minister said.

Accordingly, all pre-schools in the Western Province have also been permitted to commence from March 29.
Charleston, WV (25301)

Today

Chance of an isolated thunderstorm early, then variable clouds overnight with more showers at times. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 61F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Chance of an isolated thunderstorm early, then variable clouds overnight with more showers at times. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 61F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
As attacks on Asian Americans increase, Rep. Andy Kim has started an effort to recruit more Asian-American candidates for public office.

Kim, D-3rd Dist., announced Wednesday that his leadership political action committee, In Our Hands PAC, would help recruit, train and support Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, known by the acronym AAPI, as well as other people of color running for office.

The announcement follows an increase in attacks against Asian Americans during the coronavirus pandemic, with some blaming the violence on rhetoric from public officials calling COVID-19 the Chinese virus or kung flu.

Im often asked what those in AAPI and other minority communities can do to combat hate, systemic racism, and other barriers that stand in our way, said Kim, the first Asian American elected to Congress from New Jersey.

If AAPI and other minorities dont fight for a seat at the table, well never have a say in the solutions necessary. We can win seats at the table if we realize that the power to make change is in our hands.

Two Asian American U.S. senators, Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, complained about the lack of Asian Americans at top levels in President Joe Bidens administration other than Vice President Kamala Harris, and threatened to withhold their votes for future nominees in response.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at her daily press briefing Wednesday that the Biden administration was adding a senior level liaison to the Asian American and Pacific Islander community who will insure that the communitys voice is further represented and heard.

New Jersey State Police said that incidents of bias against Asian Americans rose by 74% from 68 from 39, according to preliminary data. The total number of bias incidents, including those directed against Blacks, Hispanics and Jews, increased by 45% to 1,441.

A separate report from Stop AAPI Hate, an advocacy group, found 3,795 anti-Asian incidents across the nation from March 19, 2020, to Feb. 28, 2021. That included 59 incidents in New Jersey, which is tied with Florida for the eighth highest number of incidents in a state.

Last week, six Asian American women were among the eight people gunned down at three spas in Georgia.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JDSalant.

Sign up here to get the latest stories on COVID in New Jersey, straight to your inbox.
A protester from the Uighur community living in Turkey, participates in a protest in Istanbul (Emrah Gurel/AP)

Hundreds of Uighurs staged protests in Ankara and Istanbul, denouncing Chinese foreign minister Wang Yis visit to Turkey and demanding that the Turkish government take a stronger stance against human rights abuses in Chinas far-western Xinjiang region.

The crowd gathered at Istanbuls Beyazit Square, holding posters of missing relatives they believe are being kept in detention camps in China and chanting slogans against Beijing.

Dozens of Uighurs, Turkish opposition politicians and academics also assembled near the Chinese Embassy in Ankara, as Mr Wang met with Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and later with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

We call on Turkey to stand with East Turkestan, said Burhan Uluyol, who joined the protest in Istanbul.

We call on Turkey to not turn its back on our Uighur people because of some economic benefit.

He was using the Uighurs term of reference to their heartland in Xinjiang.

Expand Close Chinas foreign minister Wang Yi talks during a meeting with Turkeys foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, in Ankara (AP) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Chinas foreign minister Wang Yi talks during a meeting with Turkeys foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, in Ankara (AP)

Uighurs, a Turkic group native to Chinas Xinjiang region, have sought refuge in Turkey for decades because of their shared cultural ties with the country.

Once a champion of the Uyghur cause, Turkey has become less vocal about their plight in recent years as it has developed economic ties with China.

Initially, Beijing denied the existence of camps detaining Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang, but has since described them as centres to provide job training and to reeducate those exposed to extremists.

Chinese officials deny all charges of human rights abuses there.

China recently ratified an extradition treaty with Turkey that was signed years ago, raising fears among the Uighur community that they could be sent back to the country they fled.

Turkey has yet to ratify the agreement.

Expand Close Protesters from the Uyghur community living in Turkey step on a Chineses flag Emrah Gurel/AP) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Protesters from the Uyghur community living in Turkey step on a Chineses flag Emrah Gurel/AP)

Fatma Hasan, a 21-year-old Uighur demonstrator, said she believes Mr Wang will pressure Turkey to ratify the agreement.

If there is pressure, and the agreement is signed, we will be returned, she said.

We are here (protesting) because we dont want to end up in such a situation.

Both Turkish and Chinese authorities insist that the extradition bill does not aim to target Uighurs for deportation.

Mr Wang arrived in Ankara as part of a regional tour that is taking him to Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Bahrain.
Only o.1% of the COVID-19 relief aid for American farmers passed by the Trump administration went to Black farmers, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told the Washington Post in an interview Thursday.

Why it matters: Vilsack pointed to the disparity as another illustration of how the coronavirus has exacerbated pre-existing inequalities in American society, which he said the Biden administration is focused on helping close.

Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.

What they're saying: We saw 99 percent of the money going to White farmers and 1 percent going to socially disadvantaged farmers and if you break that down to how much went to Black farmers, its 0.1 percent," Vilsack, who was confirmed in February for his second term as agriculture secretary, told the Post.

"The top 10 percent of farmers in the country received 60 percent of the value of the covid payments. And the bottom 10 percent received 0.26 percent.

The big picture: During the Trump administration, $26 billion was disbursed under the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, but only $20.8 million went to Black Farmers, per the Post.

Under the Biden administration, $5 billion of the American Rescue Plan will be allocated to disadvantaged farmers, a policy point that has proved contentious with Republicans.

Vilsack told the Post that his agency will be focused on combatting three systemic problems: "a broken farm system, food insecurity and a health-care crisis."

Go deeper: Clyburn condemns Graham for calling COVID aid to Black farmers "reparations"

Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.
SAN DIEGO, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- MemComputing, Inc., developer of disruptive high-performance computing technology, is a recipient of a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II contract awarded by AFWERX and the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) in association with Space Force. MemComputing will focus on developing a solution for the AFRL Space Vehicles Directorate, which has a national defense-related need to optimize the processing of satellite imagery to track Airborne Moving Target Indications (AMTI) and deliver that information to the warfighter as fast as possible.

The SPRINT Program Manager stated, "The processing, accuracy, and dissemination of satellite imagery data is a critical process that the US Air Force relies on for a range of combat operations. MemComputing's solution is poised to significantly enhance our ability to efficiently process and deliver AMTI information to the warfighter for enhanced responsiveness to time critical events."

For this Phase II SBIR, MemComputing will utilize its commercially available Virtual MemComputing Machine (VMM) to develop a functional proof-of-concept that will demonstrate the optimized solution's performance and accuracy. With the implementation of the VMM, Space Force will gain an optimized distribution of processing between on-orbit embedded computers, cloud-based computers, and ground portable computing to get that information in the hands of the warfighter as quickly as possible.

"It is an honor to work with the Air Force and Space Force," said John Beane, CEO of MemComputing, "This work is all ground-based. However, we see a day in the not too distant future where MemComputing technology resides on Space Force Satellites and Air Force Drones and Jets. This is one of the clear advantages MemComputing has over Quantum Computing. We won't see a Quantum Computer on any of those vehicles in our lifetime."

Video of AMTI problem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeXxQJAzcOA

About MemComputing

MemComputing, Inc.'s disruptive technology dramatically reduces the time to find practical solutions to the world's most challenging optimization problems. MemComputing delivers the performance expected of quantum computing with its non-quantum solution. The company's Virtual MemComputing Machine is free to evaluate. Dr. Massimiliano Di Ventra and Dr. Fabio Traversa, co-inventors of the memcomputing technology, co-founded the company with John A. Beane, a successful serial entrepreneur. Visit https://memcpu.com to learn more.

Press contact:

Johnny Aiken

MemComputing, Inc.

[email protected]

SOURCE MemComputing Inc.

Related Links

http://memcomputing.com


Information concerning preparatory documentation availability

Regulatory News:

SOCIETE FONCIERE LYONNAISE (Paris:FLY) shareholders are informed that the preparatory documentation for the Annual General Meeting Thursday April 15, 2021 at 11 a.m. is available on Company's website: www.fonciere-lyonnaise.com/en/publications/general-meeting

It is recalled that based on the exceptional context, linked to Covid-19, this Meeting will be held behind closed doors, without the physical presence of shareholders nor entitled persons to attend.

In accordance with French Commercial Code article R.225-88 provisions, any shareholder in possession of registered shares may ask to receive a copy of the documents and information covered by French Commercial Code articles R.225-81 and R.225-83.

Holders of bearer shares may also request these documents from their authorised financial intermediary.

Shareholders can also consult these documents at the SOCIETE FONCIERE LYONNAISE headquarters (42 rue Washington, 75008 PARIS).

Notice of the meeting was published in the Bulletin des Annonces Legales et Obligatoires (Legal Notices Mandatory Bulletin or BALO) 10 March 2021 (Bulletin n 30 publication n 2100383).

This notice especially contains agenda and draft resolutions. This notice can also be viewed on Company website: www.fonciere-lyonnaise.com/en/publications/general-meeting

The terms of participation and voting in this Meeting have been changed accordingly to the Meeting closed-door holding. The new terms are also available on the company's website: www.fonciere-lyonnaise.com/en/publications/general-meeting

About SFL

Leader in the prime segment of the Parisian commercial real estate market, Societe Fonciere Lyonnaise stands out for the quality of its property portfolio, which is valued at 7.5 billion and is focused on the Central Business District of Paris (cloud.paris, Edouard VII, Washington Plaza, etc.), and for the quality of its client portfolio, which is composed of prestigious companies in the consulting, media, digital, luxury, finance and insurance sectors. As France's oldest property company, SFL demonstrates year after year an unwavering commitment to its strategy focused on creating a high value in use for users and, ultimately, substantial appraisal values for its properties.

Stock market: Euronext Paris Compartment A Euronext Paris ISIN FR0000033409 Bloomberg: FLY FP Reuters: FLYP PA

S&P rating: BBB+ stable outlook

www.fonciere-lyonnaise.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005652/en/

Contacts:

SFL Thomas Fareng Phone +33 (0)1 42 97 27 00 t.fareng@fonciere-lyonnaise.com

Evidence Gregoire Silly Phone: 06 99 10 78 99 gregoire.silly@evidenceparis.fr
Health official proud of residents turning out for vaccine shots

local
BEIJING, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Sunlands Technology Group (NYSE: STG) ("Sunlands" or the "Company"), a leader in China's online post-secondary and professional education, today announced the appointment of Ms. Jing Gao to the Company's Board of Directors, effective on March 25, 2021. For personal reasons, Mr. Xiaochuan Wang has tendered his resignation from the position of an independent director and a member of the audit committee, and Mr. Zheng Du and Mr. Gaoneng Ji have tendered their resignation as a member of the Board, all effective on March 24, 2021.

Ms. Gao has worked in Sunlands for 16 years, and held management responsibilities in various departments of the Company with the most recent role as the vice president. Ms. Gao has deep and keen insights into the Chinese adult continuing education market and extensive experiences in team management.

Mr. Peng Ou, Founder and Chairman of the Board, said, "On behalf of the Board and executive team, I would like to thank Xiaochuan, Zheng and Gaoneng for their contributions during their time at Sunlands, and wish them the best in their future endeavors. We are also delighted to welcome Ms. Gao to the Board. We look forward to her contributions drawing from her rich experience and profound insight as we continue to bring our leading technology and educational content to China's growing online post-secondary and professional education market."

About Sunlands

Sunlands Technology Group (NYSE: STG) ("Sunlands" or the "Company"), formerly known as Sunlands Online Education Group, is the leader in China's online post-secondary and professional education. With a one to many, live streaming platform, Sunlands offers various degree and diploma-oriented post-secondary courses as well as online professional courses and educational content, to help students prepare for professional certification exams and attain professional skills. Students can access its services either through PC or mobile applications. The Company's online platform cultivates a personalized, interactive learning environment by featuring a virtual learning community and a vast library of educational content offerings that adapt to the learning habits of its students. Sunlands offers a unique approach to education research and development that organizes subject content into Learning Outcome Trees, the Company's proprietary knowledge management system. Sunlands has a deep understanding of the educational needs of its prospective students and offers solutions that help them achieve their goals.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements made under the "safe harbor" provisions of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "confident" and similar statements. Sunlands may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its reports filed with or furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Any statements that are not historical facts, including statements about Sunlands' beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements that involve factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such factors and risks include, but not limited to the following: Sunlands' goals and strategies; its expectations regarding demand for and market acceptance of its brand and services; its ability to retain and increase student enrollments; its ability to offer new courses and educational content; its ability to improve teaching quality and students' learning results; its ability to improve sales and marketing efficiency and effectiveness; its ability to engage, train and retain new faculty members; its future business development, results of operations and financial condition; its ability to maintain and improve technology infrastructure necessary to operate its business; competition in the online education industry in China; relevant government policies and regulations relating to Sunlands' corporate structure, business and industry; and general economic and business condition in China. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in the Sunlands' filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All information provided in this press release is current as of the date of the press release, and Sunlands does not undertake any obligation to update such information, except as required under applicable law.

For investor and media enquiries, please contact:

Sunlands Technology Group

Investor Relations

Email: [email protected]

The Piacente Group, Inc.

Brandi Piacente

Tel: +1-212-481-2050

Email: [email protected]

Ross Warner

Tel: +86-10-6508-0677

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Sunlands Technology Group

Related Links

www.sunlands.com


Przepraszamy!

Ogoszenie na stanowisku:

Junior Process Officer in Banking Operations Poland



wygaso z dniem 2021-04-21



Ta propozycja bya zozona przez Nordea Bank Abp SA Oddzia w Polsce

Mozliwe przyczyny wygasniecia ogoszenia to:

propozycja zozona przez pracodawce zostaa usunieta z naszych zasobow

zleceniodawca zakonczy proces rekrutacji uzyskujac odpowiednia ilosc zgoszen

firma zmodyfikowaa tresc zlecenia i jest ono dostepne pod innym adresem url

dostawca tresci usuna ogoszenie z bazy danych

bedny adres WWW ogoszenia

Jezeli poszukujesz pracy w branzy Administracja biurowa, zajrzyj tutaj: Praca Administracja biurowa

Jezeli poszukujesz pracy na stanowisku Junior Process Officer in Banking Operations Poland, zajrzyj tutaj: Praca Junior Process Officer in Banking Operations Poland

Jezeli poszukujesz pracy w miescie: odz, zajrzyj tutaj: Praca odz



Pamietaj, ze mozesz takze rozpoczac poszukiwanie pracy od strony gownej, kliknij tutaj.

Inne oferty, ktore mogy byc w kregu Twoich zainteresowan:
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.
Armenian acting minister: EU allocated EUR 68,700,000 to Armenia for budget support in 2020

Armenia Finance Ministry: MFA's budget grew by AMD 1,600,000,000 in 2020

Bodies and remains of Armenian soldiers are kept in morgue in Armenia's Martuni

White House confirms Biden-Erdogan meeting in Brussels

Armenia acting MOD touches upon priority directions for development of Armed Forces

Diaspora Armenian writer, publicist Toros Toranian dies

2 Armenian soldiers injured in scuffle with Azerbaijan, Armenian POW is hospitalized, Jun. 3 digest

Wedding held in Armenia's Shurnukh for first time since the war ended

EEU member states to finish preparing for negotiations over free trade zone in Iran in late June

Armenia Central Bank: Economic downfall in 2020 was due to decline in service and construction sectors

Armenia legislature adopts several bills in first reading

Armenia President meets with Nursultan Nazarbayev

Dejavu: Armenia ruling party distributes money for votes at Yerevan district election office

Chief Advisor to Karabakh President sacked

Russian MFA: Works are carried out to settle situation around Karabakh every day

Armenia opposition MP sounds alarm about Baku fabricating criminal cases against Armenian prisoners

Armenia acting health minister: I have apologized, I am not going to resign

Helga Schmid meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Armenia's deputy foreign ministers resigned or have heavy workload?

Dollar goes down in Armenia

Armenia Elections Oversight Committee reports Iranian citizenship of ruling party's MP candidate

Acting deputy minister: Only 17 of 711 Iran-Armenia power transmission line towers were installed by 2017

Armenia Parliament Council holding session

Armenia to host CSTO "Thunder-2021" military exercises

NYT: Chinese hackers launch cyberattack on New York city transportation authority

Armenia President to Kazakhstan counterpart: I would like to see much deeper cooperation between our countries

Armenia citizens shut down Etchmiadzin-Ashtarak road, complaining about lack of irrigation water

Armenia independent MP: Foreign minister and his deputies don't want to take part in treacherous acts

Armenia to get $11mn loan, 350,000 grant for agriculture

WHO worries about worsening mental health worldwide amid pandemic

Armenia health ministry on improper handling of Artsakh war victims bodies: There is no justification

Armenia bloc election foundation already in operation

Russia ambassador to Armenia paying working visit to Syunik Province (PHOTOS)

China pledges to step up resistance to foreign interference in Hong Kong

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: There can be no talk of corridor for Azerbaijan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on incumbent authorities: Wherever they flee, we will bring them by the feet

President: Impossible to ensure peace in region or stay in Artsakh without Russia army joint efforts

China Daily: Dispatch from Makit: Thriving in the desert

Karabakh President: We will never put up with being part of Azerbaijan, it is ruled out

Armenia MFA information department chief: All deputy FMs carrying out their duties

Ardshinbank invited children to the cinema on International Childrens Day

Armenia judiciary to have 10 more judges

Armenia acting premier: We had recorded 40% increase in tax revenues according to 2019 results

Armenia acting PM on Artsakh war casualties bodies: We have 50 remains in which case DNA was not separated

Azerbaijan authorities plan to "squeeze" everything from "terrorist show" related to Armenian captives

Ameriabank announces a contest for bank card design

108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia parliament convenes special session

Armenia interim government holding Cabinet meeting

Catholicos of All Armenians heads for Syunik Province, Artsakh

World oil prices going up

Iran loses right to vote in UN General Assembly

Newspaper: Armenia authorities come up with new way of punishing unwanted characters

Newspaper: Russia army Southern Military District deputy commander to arrive in Yerevan Thursday

Lebanese Armenian man taken prisoner by Azerbaijan is hospitalized

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Are we getting under the burden? Then lets get under to the end

Armenia acting health minister on keeping fallen soldiers bodies in bags: What else should they be kept in?

Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation

Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow

2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik

Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center

"Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans

Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel

Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna

Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations

US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies

Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week

Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection

Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential

Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement

Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues

Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo

Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation

NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident

Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices

Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over

Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest

Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia

Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia

Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels

Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters

Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021

Dollar is stable in Armenia

Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector

Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out

Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe

Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia

Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border

Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor

Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue

Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia

Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this

Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia
Bihar School Education Board (BSEB) is expected to release the results of class 10 and class 12 exams soon at the official Bihar Board website. Candidates are advised to keep checking the official Bihar Board website-- biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in for latest updates.

The dates of Class 10 and Class 12 or Intermediate final will be declared on the official Bihar Board Twitter account. BSEB Class 12 exams ended on February 13 while the class 10 exams culminated on February 24. The evaluation of BSEB class 12th answer sheets was completed on March 19 whereas Class 10 evaluation could be completed by March 23.

Here's how to check Bihar board result 2021

Step 1: Visit the official website

Step 2: Click on the link reading 'class 12 results' or 'class 10 results'

Step 3: Key in your credentials like roll number, registration number or any other credentials to log in. Submit the details

Step 4: After this, you can access your results

Step 5: Download and save for future reference

Over 13.50 lakh students registered for the Bihar Board class 12 exams, which was conducted across 1,473 exam centres whereas over 16.84 lakh students registered for the Bihar Board class 10 exams, which were conducted across 1,525 exam centres.
Mar. 24COLUMBUS  After months of threats, Gov. Mike DeWine's fellow Republicans in the Ohio General Assembly on Wednesday handed him the first veto override of his administration.

Solely with Republican votes, the Senate voted 23-10 to force into law a bill limiting the power to quarantine individuals in the midst of a pandemic and limiting the life of states of emergency. It needed 20 votes.

The GOP-controlled House then voted 62-35 along party lines to do the same. It needed 60.

Among other things, the bill would specifically put a 30-day expiration date on the current coronavirus state-of-emergency order that has been in place for a year.

"It's time for us to stand up for the legislative branch," said Sen. Rob McColley (R., Napoleon), one of the sponsors of Senate Bill 22. "It's time for us to reassert ourselves as a separate and coequal branch of government here in the state of Ohio.

"It's time for us to acknowledge that the authority that's been given to governor was given to the governor by the legislature, and it is authority that is inherently reserved to the legislature in non-emergency times," he said. "We need to stand up, and we need to finish this for all the Ohioans who have been asking us for a long time to be their voice at the table."

Mr. DeWine has repeatedly said he could not sign a bill he sees as infringing on the powers of him, future governors, and health departments to respond to future pandemics and possibly bio-terrorism. His veto Tuesday of Senate Bill 22 marked his fourth of full bills on the subject. This, however, marked the first override.

"In the past year, over 17,000 Ohioans have died from COVID-19," Sen. Teresa Fedor (D., Toledo) said. "If it were not for the courageous effort of our governor, I'm convinced we would be citing a higher rate of COVID-19 deaths. This time of crisis is not the time to start restricting the authority of the Department of Health and local governments. This dangerous legislation would have put Ohioans' lives at at risk and prevent future administrations from being able to swiftly respond to deadly pandemics or other health crises.

Story continues

"... We thank you, governor, for saving the lives that we don't even know you saved," she said.

Senate Bill 22 would take effect in 90 days. Mr. DeWine's current state of emergency, if still in place at that time, would expire 30 days after that unless the General Assembly votes to extend it in 60-day increments.

The new law would limit the life of future orders to 90 days, but lawmakers could step in as soon 30 days to end them. A governor could not reinstate a similar order for at least 60 days.

Senate Bill 22 would prohibit the local health departments of health from quarantining individuals who have not been medically diagnosed with an infectious disease or known to have been exposed to someone who has.

Mr. DeWine has argued such a law would have prevented health officials from quarantining Ohioans returning from Wuhan, China last year early in the pandemic when it took days to get test results. He also said it would hamper future attempts to quarantine people returning from other hotspots, such as areas of Africa dealing with Ebola.

He predicted the law will open the state and its agencies to litigation from those arguing they'd been harmed by stay-at-home, mass gathering, curfew, and other restrictions.

DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney said the governor informed lawmakers of his "serious concerns" about the bill as did organizations representing hospitals, colleges, and mayors, and communities.

"Governor DeWine remains focused every single day on doing all he can to ensure every Ohioan who wants a COVID vaccine can get one in the coming weeks, which is truly what will help Ohio put this pandemic behind us," he said.

Sen. Terry Johnson (R., McDermott), a physician and Senate Bill 22's other sponsor, said nothing in the bill would have interfered with Governor DeWine's early response to the pandemic.

"Had we gone back to the beginning of this crisis and this bill had been in place, he could have acted exactly as he did and had plenty of time to do it," he said. "But he would have been accountable, very accountable, to the legislature as we're accountable to him when things are balanced."

The veto override happened on a day Ohio reported 1,848 new coronavirus cases Wednesday, above the 21-day average of 1,527.

The state has reached a total of 1,004,670 cases and 18,382 deaths. No new deaths were reported on Thursday as they are updated on the state's coronavirus dashboard twice a week rather than daily.

In Lucas County, 115 new cases and no new deaths were reported Wednesday, bringing those totals to 36,983 and 791.

First Published March 24, 2021, 2:50pm
Please note that the start time of the event is at 11:30 a.m. and not 11:10 a.m.

OTTAWA, ON, March 25, 2021 /CNW/ - Media representatives are advised that the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, will give opening keynote address at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce Executive Summit Series  Innovation in a Business-led Recovery, on March 25th, at 11:30 a.m. Following his address, the Minister will also take part in a fireside chat.

Event: Canada Chamber of Commerce Opening Keynote Address and Fireside Chat Date: Thursday, March 25, 2021 Time: 11:30 a.m. to 12:10 p.m. (EDT)

Media are encouraged to register for the event here.

Environment and Climate Change Canada's Twitter page

Environment and Climate Change Canada's Facebook page

SOURCE Environment and Climate Change Canada

Cision

View original content: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2021/25/c9823.html
A glance at some of the day's highlights from the Proactive Investors newswire

Open Orphan PLC (LON:ORPH) said the first three volunteers taking part in the worlds first COVID-19 characterisation study have successfully completed the quarantine phase.

Medica Group PLC (LON:MGP) confirmed that its acquisition of RadMD LLC, announced earlier this month, has now completed.

NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited (LON:NESF) celebrated as it hit a key milestone, reaching its subsidy-free development target of 150 megawatts peak (MWp) generation.

CMC Markets PLC (LON:CMC) said net operating income in the year to the end of March is set to be slightly above market forecasts.

Learning Technologies Group PLC (LON:LTG) has said it expects a strong recovery in its content & services division as it began its current year trading in line with expectations.

Genedrive PLC (LON:GDR) said it looks at the remainder of the financial year with optimism considering the contract with Beckman Coulter Life Sciences and the ongoing opportunity with a European Ministry of Health.

Filta Group Holdings PLC (LON:FLTA) has hailed the resilience of its model despite the disruption caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic as it said it had maintained positive earnings in 2020.

Faron Pharmaceuticals Oy (LON:FARN) said in its full-year results statement that it is becoming increasingly confident in bexmarilimab, its Clever-1 targeting precision immunotherapy. The company rapidly expanded its clinical development programme for Clevegen in 2020, resulting in the loss for the year widening to 16.95mln from 13.26mln in 2019.

Induction Healthcare Group PLC (LON:INHC) announced that a London-based NHS trust has chosen its Induction Switch platform to support its 8,000 clinicians and staff over a three-year contract.

Ncondezi Energy Ltd (LON:NCCL) said positive tariff negotiations continue as part of its plan to sell all power generated by its 300MW coal fired power project and coal mine in the Tete Province to Electricidade de Mocambique (EDM).

Jubilee Metals Group PLC (LON:JLP) posted a four-fold jump in interim pretax profit on higher PGM production and prices and said it expected 2021 to be another transformational year.

Ceres Power Holdings has appointed one of the founding members of ARM Holdings, one of the UKs great tech success stories of the past two decades, to its board as independent director.

Tirupati Graphite PLC (LON:TGR) has appointed a world-leading graphene scientist and mineral processing technology expert, Dr S. K. Biswal, and strengthened its team across its three business units to support the companys rapid growth.

Guild Esports PLC (LON:GILD) told investors it has signed a two-year multi-million-pound sponsorship deal with the Subway sandwich chain covering 55 markets in the EMEA region.

Capital Limited (LON:CAPD) executive chairman Jamie Boyton purchased 225,000 ordinary shares in the company on 24 March 2021 at a price of 65p apiece.

Accesso Technology Group PLC (LON:ASCO) chief executive Steve Brown purchased 13,000 ordinary shares on 23 March 2021 at an average price of 575p per share.

Oncimmune Holdings Plc (LON:ONC) has launched a 9mln equity funding to support the growth of its ImmunoINSIGHTS business, in Dortmund, which is in-demand and has a growing pipeline of commercial prospects.

Polarean Imaging plc (LON:POLX) announced that that it received notification from a warrant holder to exercise warrants representing 358,713 ordinary shares, for which the exercise price was 15p apiece.

NTree and Metal Digital have published a technical paper on blockchain technologies, offering a primer and positing some of the areas that might first experience these fundamental shifts. NTree also hosted a BrightTALK looking at what part silver will play in the new world economies, which has been made available to view on demand.

LoopUp Group plc (LON:LOOP) notified that it will announce its unaudited preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2020 on Tuesday 30 March 2021.
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.
Photo courtesy of The Oxford Method

Over the last year, during the pandemic, there have been many kids who have struggled academically. This is in part due to the millions who have had to do online learning and find the setup difficult. Whether children are learning online, in person, via classroom or through a combination of the three, there are things that parents can do to help them be more successful. Knowing what to do can help make a world a difference and reduce the struggling.

Many parents are aware of the way their kids are struggling with school over this school year, explains David Florence, professor and founder of The Oxford Method, a community that offers tutoring services around the country. Rather than let them fall behind, its a good idea to take action and do what you can to help them keep up and even pull ahead.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 93% of households with school-age children report that their kids have engaged in some sort of distance learning during the pandemic. They also report that the vast shift in the way kids are learning has also caused digital inequality because some kids dont have access to computers and/or the Internet. Whether students are learning online or in class, there are things parents can do to help them get a good education.

Here 7 ways to help ensure your child gets a good education:

Sleep. Its crucial for a child to get enough sleep each night, which will help them to be more focused, as well as improve their behavior, quality of life, and mental and physical health. The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that children ages 6-12 should get 9-12 hours of sleep per night, and teens ages 13-18 should get 8-10 hours of sleep per night.

Teach value. It usually starts at home whether or not a child values an education. Parents who want their kids to get a good education should instill a love of learning in their children and teach them to value the education they are getting.

Get them help. If your child is struggling, you may be able to help them, but there also comes a time when kids need a tutor to step in. A good tutor can make a world of difference in ensuring that a child gets a good education. They can help ensure that students will not fall behind and that they will get the foundation they need to move on in a subject.

Show them how. Oftentimes, kids dont know how to effectively study for a test or to take notes when they are in class. Take the time to show them how to do it effectively, as well as how to stay organized with their schooling. When students are organized, they are more likely to succeed.

Ask them questions. Be sure to ask your kids how it is going, if they got their homework done, if they need any help, or if theres anything they need to be more successful. They like to know that you are interested in how they are doing, so its good to show an active interest.

Get involved. Its always a good idea if you can get involved with the school and have good communication with the teacher. That way you will be aware of what is going on and know how to help your child more. Teachers love it when parents take an active interest in their childs education.

Praise your kids. Help kids to know what they are doing is right or what they are doing is wrong. Praising and encouraging the kids builds their confidence and helps them to succeed as they grow.

Just about every parent has the ability to help kids succeed with their academics, even if its ensuring they have the tools they need to succeed, added Florence. We help parents be successful, even those who dont have the funds to pay for a tutor. Our mission is to help as many students to achieve as we can.

The Oxford Method has over 100 tutors around the country, covering all subject areas. They offer online tutoring, as well as in-person and in-classroom options. Their tutoring services are available 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. Instructors have a minimum of a bachelors degree, with many of them having a masters degree, PhD, and at least four years of teaching experience. The Oxford Method works with their nonprofit, Social Actualization, Inc., by giving them 10% of all profits. The funds are used to provide free computers, high-speed internet, and instruction to underprivileged families in urban and rural America. Plus, 40% of their instructors are PhDs, 40% have a masters degree, and 20% have only a bachelors degree.

The Oxford Method believes that education is the great equalizer and the best gift you can give the next generation. Subject areas include science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), as well as business, social studies, psychology, English, history, public speaking, study methods, test taking, and more. To get more information about The Oxford Method, visit the website at: https://theoxfordmethod.com.

About The Oxford Method

Started in 2020, The Oxford Method has over 100 instructors who provide access to tutoring 24/7. It also has a nonprofit sector of its community, which offers tutoring services and computers to underprivileged students. Its relationship-based education helps everyone, including those who need financial assistance and those with special needs. It donates 10% of its profits to social organizations that help those in urban areas. To get more information about The Oxford Method, visit the website at: https://theoxfordmethod.com.

# # #

Source:

American Academy of Pediatrics. AAP Supports Childhood Sleep Guidelines. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/news/Pages/AAP-Supports-Childhood-Sleep-Guidelines.aspx

U.S. Census Bureau. Schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2020/08/schooling-during-the-covid-19-pandemic.html
NSW detectives will speak with suspended Nationals MP Michael Johnsen on Friday over allegations he raped a sex worker, with the scandal plunging the Coalition into minority government.

Mr Johnsen agreed several weeks ago to meet police on Friday before allegations were aired in NSW Parliament that an unnamed male MP had forced a sex worker to have non-consensual sex.

The Upper Hunter MP identified himself as the man at the centre of the allegations after Deputy Premier John Barilaro called to confront him amid speculation it was Mr Johnsen. He has strenuously denied the accusations.

Mr Johnsen agreed to move to the crossbench, he stood aside as a parliamentary secretary and has been suspended from the Nationals while the police investigation is pending.
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.
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters.

By Ese Olumhense of Spotlight PA

HARRISBURG  The Wolf administration is refusing to disclose details of wasted coronavirus vaccine doses, including how many have been discarded by each provider, citing a decades-old law that it has frequently used to shield the public from scrutinizing its pandemic response.

The state Department of Health recently denied a public records request by Spotlight PA seeking documentation of vaccine doses that providers did not administer because of expiration, damage, or other factors. The request did not seek any patient information.

Providers are required to self-report to state health officials whenever a dose of vaccine is compromised, and explain why. Those discarded for any reasons other than expiration or broken vials must also be accompanied by an incident report.

But state health officials declined to provide any of those records in response to Spotlight PAs request, citing the Disease Prevention and Control Law.

The 1955 law gives the state broad authority to keep contagious disease information confidential, like details that could potentially identify individuals. But legal experts said it also gives the state discretion over what records to make public in the interest of transparency.

Whats really important to note here is that the DPCL grants the Department of Health considerable discretion to release anything when it serves the public interest, said Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel at Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association (of which Spotlight PA is a member). They are choosing not to do that. And they have never justified that in the context of a Right-to-Know denial.

Spotlight PA plans to appeal the states decision.

A spokesperson for the state Health Department said just 1,589 of the more than 2.3 million doses administered as of Feb. 26  or just .06%  were reported by providers as wasted, mostly due to vials broken in handling, syringe issues, such as bent or broken needles, or clients refusing after the vaccine dose was drawn.

But information released by the state does not reveal which providers were responsible for the wasted doses or if any were responsible for a disproportionate share. The spokesperson declined to elaborate on why more details could not be made public.

A report by ProPublica published in January found inconsistent reporting requirements to document wasted doses across the states, and no enforcement of the federal reporting mandate, leaving providers with little incentive to comply.

State health officials across the country have generally played down wasted doses, according to an Associated Press report last week. The federal government has so far declined to provide a total number of wasted doses nationally, according to the report.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has come under scrutiny for his handling of the vaccine rollout, even among his most ardent Democratic supporters. And while Wolf has long said government transparency was a priority of his tenure, his administration has repeatedly used the Disease Prevention and Control Law, with little explanation, to block the release of records related to its pandemic response.

In the first days and weeks of the pandemic, former state Health Secretary Rachel Levine cited the law as a reason for withholding the number of COVID-19 tests the state was conducting and the number of cases in each nursing home. Under pressure, the state later reversed course, raising questions about its original reliance on the law to block the information.

Numerous news organizations have been denied records related to the administrations response because of its reliance on the law. As a result, the public may never have a complete understanding of the administrations at-times inconsistent statements and secretive decisions, Spotlight PA reported in August.

Last May, Nicole Brambila, then a reporter with PublicSource in Pittsburgh, filed a records request with the health department seeking county-level numbers of pneumonia and influenza deaths since 2015.

The request was denied, and the health department cited the Disease Prevention and Control Law. The state Office of Open Records upheld the decision. Brambila and PublicSource are challenging the determination in Commonwealth Court, and are being represented by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press as part of its Local Legal Initiative.

In a bid last year to boost transparency, the legislature passed a bill requiring Pennsylvania agencies to process Right-to-Know requests during emergency declarations, specifying that data state agencies use to inform their actions during such moments should be considered a public record. Though he initially criticized the legislation, saying it unnecessarily endangered the health of state employees, Wolf allowed Act 77 of 2020 to become law.

Some lawmakers have suggested revising the 1955 law to address transparency concerns, but so far those efforts have not advanced.

WHILE YOURE HERE... If you learned something from this story, pay it forward and become a member of Spotlight PA so someone else can in the future at spotlightpa.org/donate. Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results.
President Muhammadu Buhari Thursday in Abuja said a new basic chemicals platform worth $1.3billion that will produce ammonia and fertilizers in Nigeria will be ready for commissioning in the coming months.

Speaking at an audience with Fertilizer Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN), President Buhari said the new plant will be built in partnership with the Kingdom of Morocco.

His Majesty, the King of Morocco and I, have agreed to extend the current Phosphate supply agreement between the Kingdom of Morocco and Nigeria.

We both believe that to consolidate and expand on the successes recorded thus far, we must secure raw material supplies to our blenders.

Furthermore, to improve the balance of trade between Nigeria and Morocco, the two countries have signed an agreement to develop a $1.3 billion Basic Chemicals Platform in Nigeria that will produce Ammonia, Phosphoric Acid, Sulphuric Acid and various Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium (NPK) and Diammonium Phosphate (DAP) fertilisers using Nigerias gas reserves,  he said.

The President added that the new plant when completed would complement the existing Dangote and Indorama Chemicals facilities that produce urea, ammonia and other industrial raw materials.

When we combine these projects with the existing 44 blending plants, Nigeria will indeed become a regional and global fertiliser powerhouse, he said.

On the activities of the FEPSAN, President Buhari expressed delight on the progress they have made over the past five years, saying that despite the country going through recessions during the period, investments in the fertiliser and agricultural inputs sector continued to grow.

Though many investors chose to take their monies out of Nigeria, you continued to invest. Today, we are seeing the fruits of your smart, long term and patriotic decisions.

This is why all Nigerians should be proud of the personal commitments and sacrifices you all made in getting us to where we are today.

Another commendable trait worth mentioning is that all your investments have been balanced between urban and rural Nigeria. These are the types of investments needed to address the unemployment and security challenges our nation is facing today, he said.

He assured them that the Federal Government would continue to ensure a conducive business environment for these investments to flourish.

On the issue of security, the President expressed concern that the lack of employment prospects and opportunities in most rural communities had remained a major contributor to insecurity.

He noted that for decades, previous Government policies have focused on urban development at the expense of rural inclusion.

In the last four years, we have worked hard to bridge some of these economic imbalances through our various agricultural and financial policies to attract employment opportunities to rural areas.

As we continue to expand our security operations to bring an end to these challenges, it is important to note that peace and prosperity can only be sustained if we collectively and actively support investments that take opportunities to our rural citizens.

I, therefore, urge our governors, bankers, investors and entrepreneurs to look beyond our cities when it comes to investments.

As we have seen from Nigerias five-year fertiliser revolution, if investors are willing to endure the short term start-up pains, they will surely benefit from long term sustainable and substantial gains, he said.

ADVERTISEMENT

The President commended Governor Muhammad Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa State, Mr Thomas Etuh and his FEPSAN team, the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, security and intelligence agencies and all Federal and State Government agencies for their collaboration in making the project possible.

I will also use this opportunity, on behalf of Nigerians, to thank my brother and friend, His Majesty, the King of Morocco for being with us during this difficult but exciting journey.

This mutually beneficial partnership between our two countries is a true example of how intra-Africa trade and partnership should work, he said.

In his remarks, Thomas Etuh, FEPSAN President, recounted that in their first meeting with President Buhari five years ago, he gave the association a mission to reduce Nigerias reliance on import, enhance fertiliser availability and affordability and create jobs over a 4-year period.

Today, 4 years later Mr President, I am proud to inform Your Excellency, and indeed all Nigerians, that mission is accomplished, he said.

Mr Etuh told President Buhari that from 3 blending plants operating at 40 per cent capacity in 2016, today Nigeria has 44 blending plants most of which are operating at full capacity.

From focusing on one fertiliser blend (NPK20:10:10) in 2017, today, we have countless numbers of crop-specific blends coming up across the country.

From being reliant on imports, today over 60 per cent of raw materials used in fertiliser production are locally sourced.

From having fertiliser scarcity which led to rationing, today any farmer can buy as many bags as he or she wants.

As a matter of fact, some farmer associations even give customised orders for their specific crops. On behalf of the Nigerian farmers we wish to thank Mr President for empowering them, he said.

The FEPSAN leader added that from being an unbankable sector that was on the verge of bankruptcy, the members of the association in the last 3 months alone have been able to raise bank guarantees and funding of close to N100 billion.

Mr President, just 4 years ago, FEPSAN used to beg for money. Today Sir, the banks are begging us to take their money, he said.

Femi Adesina

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

March 25, 2021
With Piers Morgan gone from "Good Morning Britain," it may seem like there would be a breath of fresh air.

But it viewers of the morning show have noticed that ever since the controversial host quit his role, Reid has been trying to "cover" Morgan.

Without Piers Morgan, GMB has become quieter - but it disappointed the fans that his former co-host is trying to take on his shoes.

On Thursday morning, Susanna Reid was slammed for her interview with Ed Miliband, who joined the show via video call to talk about the "electric revolution."

Though Miliband still doesn't own an electric car himself despite calling for an electric vehicle revolution across the UK, Reid mocked him.

She asked, "I presume you have got one?"

Then he responded, "I have not yet, it is a work in progress."

Then Reid hit back at their guest, saying, "What? Practice what you preach."

Miliband, looking embarrassed, assured Reid that, "It is a work in progress. We had actually gone out of our way to buy one before lockdown."

He also promised, "I have bought an electric bike but it is on its way."

Twitter Reacts to Susanna Reid's Comments

On Twitter, fans slammed Susanna Reid for being rude.

One person said, "Susanna Reid seems to be trying too hard to cover for Piers Morgan that she's become very rude."

They added, "No matter your political viewers, no need to talk to Ed Miliband in such a belittling way."

#GMB Susanna Reid seems to be trying too hard to cover for Piers Morgan that she's become very rude. No matter your political views no need to talk to Ed Miliband in such a belittling way.  CalH (@CalH86809924) March 25, 2021

Another person tweeted,"Susanna Reid consistently comes across as really rude to all guests."

Susanna Reid consistently comes across as really rude to all guests. Trying to hard to get an answer to a question that nobody is that arsed about.



The way she spoke to Ed Miliband just was so patronising. This show is turning into complete rubbish. #GMB  Ollie Corbett (@olliecorbettt) March 25, 2021

Who is Susanna Reid?

Susanna Reid started her career as a reporter for BBC Radio Bristol and Radio 5 Live. She joined BBC News 24 as a reporter and became a stand-in presenter later on, which later turned into a more permanent position.

GMB isn't the first morning show she started presenting with, because she first joined BBC Breakfast and "Sunday Morning Live" in 2010.

By 2014, Reid joined rival morning show GMB for a reported $1.5 million salary.

Piers Morgan Quits GMB

Following backlash over his comments about Meghan Markle's interview with Oprah Winfrey, Piers Morgan has quit on GMB for the year.

According to reports, all of Morgan's stuff was already packed in boxes, but he has yet to return to the studio to collect all of it.

In an image he posted on Twitter to his 7.9 million followers, Morgan said, "Goodbye Good Morning Britain!"

Meanwhile, Susanna Reid took to her own Twitter to say, "End of an era. Thank you for five incredible years of rows, rants and reasons to eye-roll."

As of writing, it's still unclear who will be replacing Piers Morgan on "Good Morning Britain.."

It was previously rumored that Ben Shephard would be taking the place of Morgan, but ITV dismissed it as he will remain to present family rather than taking over.

But it's not like Morgan will be gone from TV soon. He has a few projects already lined up for him.

He may be joining GB News, which is said to become the most important news TV to launch in the UK.

See Now: Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles
A Savanna elephant is photographed in Kruger National Park, South Africa, in this March 4, 2020 file photo. Increasing threats of poaching and loss of habitat have made Africa's elephant populations more endangered, according to a report released Thursday March 25, 2021, by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)

Increasing threats of poaching and loss of habitat have made Africa's elephant populations more endangered, according to a report released Thursday by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The African forest elephant is critically endangered, and the African savanna elephant is endangered. The two species had previously been grouped together as a single species and were classified as vulnerable by the IUCN.

The number of African forest elephants has fallen by more than 86% over a 31-year period, while the population of savanna elephants dropped by more than 60% over a 50-year period, according to the IUCN, which rates the global extinction risks to the world's animals.

Africa currently has 415,000 elephants, counting the forest and savanna elephants together, according to the IUCN.

The savanna elephants prefer more open plains and are found in various habitats across sub-Saharan Africa, with Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe having high concentrations. The African forest elephantssmaller in sizemostly occupy the tropical forests of West and Central Africa, with the largest remaining populations found in Gabon and Republic of Congo.

In Gabon, the fight against elephant poaching "is more than just fighting for nature. It's fighting for the stability of our country," Lee White, Gabon's minister of water and forests, told The Associated Press.

A desert elephant is photographed in the Kaokoland near Puros, northern Namibia, in Kruger National Park, South Africa, in this Aug. 6, 2013 file photo. Increasing threats of poaching and loss of habitat have made Africa's elephant populations more endangered, according to a report released Thursday March 25, 2021, by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)

"We have seen countries like Central African Republic, where poachers became bandits, became rebels and destabilized the whole country," White said, attributing the bulk of poaching and ivory trafficking to international cross-border syndicates.

"Eighty to 90% of our ivory goes to Nigeria and ends up funding (the jihadist rebels) Boko Haram. So it's very much a cross-border fight against organized crime and even against terrorism," he said.

The battle to protect Gabon's forest elephants is a war, he said. "We have transformed biologists into warriors," White said. "We have transformed people who signed up to watch elephants and work with nature and the national parks into soldiers who have gone to war for the survival of the elephants."

Criminal networks working with corrupt officials are a significant problem in central and western Africa, Rudi van Aarde of the University of Pretoria's zoology department. told The Associated Press.

Lit by a red light, a rare forest elephant is photographed in Gabon's Pongara forest in this March 11, 2020 file photo. Increasing threats of poaching and loss of habitat have made Africa's elephant populations more endangered, according to a report released Thursday March 25, 2021, by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)

A Savanna elephant is photographed in Kruger National Park, South Africa, in this March 4, 2020 file photo. Increasing threats of poaching and loss of habitat have made Africa's elephant populations more endangered, according to a report released Thursday March 25, 2021, by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)

An elephant head wall trophy is on display at the Nesbitt Castle in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, in this April 23, 2018 file photo. Increasing threats of poaching and loss of habitat have made Africa's elephant populations more endangered, according to a report released Thursday March 25, 2021, by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)

"Most of the ivory that leaves this continent for Asia is from central and western Africa. The population is suffering more because of the illegal trade in ivory instead of environmental issues like deforestation," said van Aarde.

Sub-Saharan Africa's elephants suffered a huge knock with a spike in poaching between 2008 and 2012. A worrying trend is that a substantial amount of that poaching occurred in East and Southern Africa where an estimated 100,000 savanna elephants were killed in northern Mozambique and southern Tanzania, during that period, he said.

"Africa's elephants play key roles in ecosystems, economies and in our collective imagination all over the world," IUCN Director General Bruno Oberle said, lamenting the reduced numbers of Africa's elephants.

"Today's new IUCN Red List assessment of both African elephant species underlines the persistent pressure faced by the iconic animals," Oberle said. "The results quantify the dramatic extent of the decline of these ecologically important animals."

"With persistent demand for ivory and escalating human pressures on Africa's wildlands, ... concern for Africa's elephants is high, and the need to creatively conserve and wisely manage these animals and their habitats is more acute than ever," said Kathleen Gobush, lead assessor in the IUCN team compiling the list.

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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 distribution deal with Target puts the ready-to-drink premium lemonades in all 50 states and rounds out the brand's presence in retail, restaurants and cafes, and online commerce.

Just in time for the 2021 lemonade season, Me & the Bees has buzzed on in to over 800 Target food cafes from coast to coast to offer guests refrigerated grab-and-go, all-natural lemonades in three flavors: Classic, Prickly Pear and Ginger.

Me & the Bees was founded by teen entrepreneur Mikaila Ulmer and her family when she was just four years old in an effort to help save the bees. This distribution deal with Target puts the ready-to-drink premium lemonades in all 50 states and rounds out the companys omni channel strategy to have a presence in retail, restaurants and cafes, and online commerce.

Two of my dreams have come true today; one, offering our lemonades at one of my all-time favorite stores, Target, and two, reaching our goal of having our brand present in all 50 states, said Mikaila, Me & the Bees founder and CEO. As we enjoy warmer temperatures and the country continues to safely open, our lemonades are sure to quench the thirst of Target guests wanting a refreshing, all-natural beverage while running errands. Buy a bottle, save a bee!

The certified minority-owned company offers guests who enjoy sipping and shopping at Target lemonade that tastes good and does good. Flavors of the honey-sweetened, lower-in-sugar option now available in Target cafes include:

-Classic Lemonade: An updated twist on Mikailas great grandmother Helens recipe, upon which the Austin-based business was founded, strikes just the right balance of tart and sweet.

-Prickly Pear Lemonade: The cheerful addition of prickly pear cactus fruit will make taste buds hum, thanks to the notes of raspberry and watermelon.

-Ginger Lemonade: Mikaila and her brother Jacob created this flavor together by adding organic ginger for a special zing.

All three flavors will pair nicely with the savory snack options found at Target cafes while providing a healthier beverage alternative.

Me & the Bees ready-to-drink lemonade comes in 12-ounce bottles and is made with vitamin C-rich lemon juice and honey and for added health benefits, and a way to tie back to the companys mission of helping save the bees. The shelf-stable lemonades contain no high-fructose corn syrup, no preservatives or additives, and typically contain less sugar than other grab and go options in the same category.

Always keeping its mission of saving the bees at the forefront, Me & the Bees seeks to help educate consumers about the bees role in the ecosystem and the alarming decline in the bee population. The company gives a percentage of its profits to the Healthy Hive Foundation, Mikailas non-profit organization dedicated to increasing bee awareness and promoting safe environments where bees can thrive through research, education, and preservation.

Me & the Bees has grown significantly since it was founded 12 years ago, helping contribute to the $12B global lemonade market size that is growing at a CAGR of 6.8% during the forecast period 2020-2025, according to a recent Industry ARC market research report.

More information can be found at http://www.meandthebees.com, including where to buy. Another resource is Mikailas book Bee Fearless, Dream Like a Kid, published by Penguin Random House in 2020.

About Me & the Bees Lemonade

In 2009, when Mikaila Ulmer found her Great Granny Helens flaxseed lemonade recipe in a 1940s family cookbook, she was excited to give it a try. In 12 years, what started as a lemonade stand in a front yard in Austin, Texas has quickly grown to a national brand with distribution on more than 2,000 shelves in all 50 states. In addition Target cafes, Me & the Bees can be found nationally at select Whole Foods Market, Fresh Market, Natural Grocers, and World Market stores, as well as all H-E-B stores across Texas, at Kroger in Houston, at various local retailers and restaurants, and online at http://www.meandthebees.com. The clean-label, shelf stable lemonades contain no high-fructose corn syrup, no preservatives or additives, and are made with premium ingredients including U.S. Grade-A honey, real lemon juice, and flaxseed. Buy a Bottle. Save a Bee.
Youth ambassadors for the Malawi- Scotland Partnership (MaSP) have launched a school outreach programme designed to equip rural-based public schools with materials and correct information about Covid-19 so that they can prevent the spread of the pandemic.

To mark the launch, the MaSP Climate Change project coordinator, Hendricks Nkhata, last week handed over 550 masks, buckets and hand wash soap to Mtemambalame Full Primary School in the outskirts of Malawi's capital, Lilongwe.

Nkhata emphasized that MaSP, as an organization that champions the rights of people, communities and the nation a large, will keep on initiating programmes and initiatives aimed to transform the lives of the youth in Malawi.

The ambassadors also delivered motivational talk to Standards 7 and 8 pupils, encouraging and inspiring them to work hard in their studies in order to achieve their dreams and ambitions.

MaSP youth ambassador Edward Chidombe Msiska emphasized the need for the students to have self-confidence and believe in themselves and never to lose hope because they come from underprivileged schools.

"Even your family background should not limit your vision," he said.

Teachers at Mtemambalame Full Primary School commended the partnership for the donation. They said Mtemambalame is one of the most sidelined schools in Lilongwe when it comes to delivery of support of any kind.

"The donation will have a very big positive impact as some learners failed to attend classes just because they don't have a face mask or their mask is out of use mostly the single-use masks," said the head teacher of the school.

Meanwhile, MaSP has indicated that it will donate more supplies to nine schools. The donation will distributed as follows: two schools in the Northern Region, four schools in the Central Region and three in the Southern Region.

MaSP is a Malawian-owned and a Malawian led national network, which exists to support, inspire and develop links that benefit both Scottish and Malawian people.

The partnership provides training and capacity building, resulting in less duplication, sharing of relevant skills and experience and the establishment of a resource base which enables vulnerable and isolated communities to be better equipped to counter poverty.
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!
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.
More Than 16,500 Unaccompanied Minors in CBP, HHS Custody

A total of 16,513 unaccompanied minors were in the custody of either Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as of March 23, according to the HHS Administration for Children and Families.

CBP had custody of 4,962 minors, while 11,551 were in the hands of the HHS. The Biden administration has committed to releasing a daily tally of the unaccompanied minors in custody amid growing pressure for transparency amid an escalating crisis on the southern border.

CBP apprehends minors who cross the border illegally and holds them in custody until they are processed for transfer to HHS, which holds the minors until they are placed with a family member or sponsor in the United States.

The Biden administrations practice is different from the one under former President Donald Trump, in which immigration authorities sent unaccompanied minorschildren who unlawfully enter the country without an adultback to their home countries. Republicans say President Joe Bidens decision to release minors into the United States serves as a magnet for more migrants to make the trek and cross the southern border illegally.

The detention facilities for minors are severely overcrowded. Recently leaked photos show minors huddled close together in thermal blankets.

According to the daily tally sheet, children from Mexico are being treated differently to illegal immigrants from other countries. The children are being sent back to Mexico, according to the document.

In 80 percent of the cases, children in HHS custody have a family member in the United States, according to the Administration for Children and Families (ACF). In 40 percent of the cases, the family member is either a parent or legal guardian.

These children are reunited with their families who will care for them. The children then go through immigration proceedings where they are able to present an application for asylum or other protection under the law, a statement from ACF reads. The administration is monitoring the border and marshaling all corners of the government to find compassionate and fair solutions.

The White House is under increasing pressure to address the influx of unaccompanied minors. Biden on March 24 appointed Vice President Kamala Harris to handle the border crisis.

Shortly after taking office, Biden issued an exemption on Title 42 deportations for unaccompanied minors. The Trump administration had used Title 42 authority to send back illegal aliens, due to concerns over the spread of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) introduced a bill on March 24 that would require asylum-seekers from the Northern Triangle countriesGuatemala, Honduras, and El Salvadorto apply for refugee status at asylum centers outside the United States. The proposal would also afford equal treatment to unaccompanied minors from the Northern Triangle as those from Canada and Mexico.

Under the current law, unaccompanied minors from Mexico and Canada are returned to their home countries.
Kolkata, March 25 : A book with more than 150 rare photographs of the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War was launched at the Kolkata Press Club ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to Bangladesh.

Veteran Kolkata journalist Abhijit Dasgupta's "Through My Eyes : The Birth of Bangladesh" contains the rare images he shot during his ten forays into Bangladesh in the company of the Bengali freedom fighters then battling the Pakistan Army.

He worked for Statesman at that time but most of his pictures shot inside East Pakistan or on the borders went out to the world through the Gamma Presse Images, the world leading photo agency at that time.

"If a picture says a thousand words, I must have contributed my bit to arouse global opinion about the genocide unfolding in East Pakistan.

"My family roots are in Dhaka, the Pakistanis were killing my Bengali people, so the risk of entering a foreign territory engulfed in civil war was worth the while," Dasgupta told IANS in an interview before the launch.

The book contains pictures broadly of three kinds -- the massacres and devastation, the armed struggle and guerilla operations and both the refugee camps and post liberation Dhaka with some rare moments of the Mujib family captured on the photo film.

"Mujib's son Sheikh Kamal who was in the Mukti Bahini as ADC to Commander in Chief M.A. Osmani was my personal friend. He was around my age and we hit it off very well. He was a vibrant personality and mostly took me around," Dasgupta said, tears in his eyes as he recalled the death of Kamal and his wife with most members of Bangabondhu's family in the August 1975 coup.

Dasgupta is proud he even has pictures of Sheikh Mujib's father and mother who held out bravely during the nine months of massacre and mayhem.

"It was a rediscovery of my own people, my roots and ethos. I realised how tough the East Bengali peasentry is. They would face armed Pakistani soldiers with sticks, machetes and spears, their casualties in the initial months of the conflict was ten to twenty times that of the Pakistanis. They lost near and dear ones, their women were raped in front of their eyes, but the East Bengalis never flinched in their resolve to gain their Independence," Dasgupta said.

"After Mujib's 7th March speech declaring Independence, the people appeared possessed by a spirit of whatever it takes. So three million Bengalis died in 9 months but got their Independence.

"Don't forget Bengalis had also lost three million people in the British-orchestrated Bengal famine barely 30 years ago." Bangladesh's phenomenal economic turnaround and human development does not surprise Dasgupta.

"Sheikh Hasina has provided the same push and determination to take her country forward in continuation of her father's dream of a Golden Bengal.

"Mujib's famous 'dabaye rakte parbana' (we cant be put down) permeates Hasina's infectious leadership style that has taken Bangladesh past Pakistan -- and in some cases India -- in economic growth and human development in the 2010-2020 Golden Decade," said Dasgupta.

The spirit seen at birth remains unchanged 50 years later as Bangladesh celebrates the Golden Jubilee of its Independence with Indian PM Narendra Modi as guest of honour in what is obviously an expression of deep gratitude for India's role in Bangladesh's liberation.

India, under Indira Gandhi, provided substantial diplomatic, economic and military support to Bangladeshi nationalists. New Delhi joined the war on December 3, 1971, after Pakistan launched preemptive air strikes on North India. Pakistan surrendered in Dhaka on December 16, 1971, before the Allied Forces of Bangladesh and India.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text

EIR LEAD EDITORIAL FOR THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2021

BChanging the Historical Trajectory

March 24 , 2021 (EIRNS)The evolution of a physical system appears dominated, in the short-term, by its past behavior and by immediately neighboring components of the system. But over longer time scales, broader forces can make their influence known, and, eventually, come to dominate the systems behavior. Although historical processes are shaped by forces acting on both the short- and the long-term, rescuing ourselves from the deadly contradiction between the dying financial system of the West and the effort to maintain the control that system conferred, requires acting immediately on a long-term perspective.

The trajectory of the world political system does not look promising. Relations between Russia and the U.S. and EU are at a historic low: the U.S. President calls his Russian counterpart a killer; NATOs raison detre is to hype the threat of Russia; sanctions continue; and Russias Sputnik V vaccine is actively opposed by Brussels bureaucrats, leading to thousands of unnecessary deaths.

The China policy of the U.S. and the EU is no better. U.S. policy, as expressed by military leaders (the Pacific command), government officials (Blinken), and think tanks (most recently, the Council on Foreign Relations), is one of confrontation and containment, designed to secure the unachievable aim of preventing Chinas growth, both domestically and internationally. The EU has joined in and sanctioned China over what it claims are massive human rights abuses in Xinjiang. The most cursory comparison of the Chinese approach towards terrorism in Xinjiang, with the U.S.-British-NATO approach towards Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Libya, reveals how hollow are those accusations.

The Council on Foreign Relations lets it all hang out. Recognizing that Chinas Belt and Road Initiative is the largest-ever global infrastructure plan, far surpassing the Marshall Plan, they acknowledge that China has made investing in infrastructure a high priority. The United States has not, and that the United States has no real alternative to offer in high speed rail or 5G. They complain that China is breaking rules that the U.S. has adopted at British urging, such as providing government support for its enterprises to help them do business abroad, constructing coal power plants that produce plant food (carbon dioxide), and offering quick infrastructure financing without onerous environmental and social-impact assessments or stringent demands on repayment.

What can the U.S. do to compete? The CFR proposes destroying the competition, rather than playing a useful role: informing countries of the traps they claim are laid by the BRI, slowing BRI projects by pushing for green oversight, and attacking the corruption they imagine is embedded in the Chinese approach.

These approaches are not even wrong; their success would itself be a failure! The self-interest of the people of the world, including the United States, is diametrically opposed to what the Anglo-American financial-intelligence elite wrongly consider to be in their self-interest.

The LaRouche movement, as through the Schiller Institute, has played an absolutely unique, and entirely necessary role over the past half-century in fostering the conditions for a meaningful discussion of political collaboration, economic development and human identity, guided by the economic insights and fierce determination of Lyndon and Helga LaRouche. The active pursuit of the good, and of working with others to achieve it, means establishing government policies that cohere with the growth of the productive powers of laborboth in the immediate term, through capital-intensive development of new productive processes and the laying of more advanced infrastructure platformsand over the longer term, through government-social support for great breakthroughs in science and technology.

The shocking discovery that comes of impassioned genius, the insight that comes from profound dedication, the recognition of the beauty of the human species that comes from acting to improve itit is the shared nobility of all human beings, that divine potential, that must be nourished and unleashed to increase physical output and energy use by an order of magnitude over the coming generation or two.

The Schiller Institute conference process is key to discussing, articulating and implementing the needed concepts to shape the future. The trajectory for the human species we must become, is to soar!
Rauna Shikomba-Nyorkor

Otjozondjupa governor James Uerikua and regional council chairperson Marlayn Mbakera have denounced the abuse and ill-treatment of farmworkers in the region at the hands of their employers. According to Mbakera, the abuse of farmworkers by both commercial and communal farmers in the region has skyrocketed and is a serious concern.

"These people are suffering. They are physically, emotionally and financially exploited by their employers," she said. She added that the farmers have expressed a loss of trust in the ministry of labour because they feel the ministry's level of intervention is not satisfactory as it should be. "As a result, these victims flock to my office for intervention," Mbakera who also serves as Otjiwarongo constituency councillor said.

On his part, Uerikua claimed farmers are beaten up, insulted, and experience all sorts of treatment at the hands of their employers. He described the treatment as inhumane and unacceptable, which nobody deserves. Uerikua said that these culprits need to face the full wrath of the law. He also called upon all relevant institutions to come together and fight this social evil.

"Let us not wait for a life to be lost for us to take the situation seriously, the time to act is now," he said. "Justice delayed is justice denied. Let us give everyone an equal chance to justice." He promised to clean up the region and leave no stone unturned. The two leaders were speaking at a meeting this week with the Omatako constituency councillor Israel Hukura in Otjiwarongo, which was the first of series of consultative meetings that the two leaders will hold with all political leaders in the region.
Ava Corradi was stunned when her art teacher pulled her aside two weeks before a school art show and competition to say her art piece was not going to be in the event.

Her painting, although submitted late, featured George Floyds face, with the words Justice for Floyd painted around his image.

Floyds death in police custody sparked protests all over the country last year, including in Harrisburg and other parts of central Pa.

Corradi said her art teacher said the artwork would not be included in the show because it could cause political strife. Afterward, the student said her teacher commented you turned it in a little later than the deadline, in an off-handed way. The project was due on Feb. 19, and she submitted it on Feb. 20 or 21, she said.

In prior years, Corradi said late-submitted works were allowed in the show, but just excluded from the judging.

The whole thing left Corradi feeling unsettled, and days after the shows conclusion, she shared her view of what happened and her disappointment that the school perceived her painting as political on social media. In her post on Instagram, she explained she had a right to express herself, and her voice was ripped from her when the painting was removed from the show.

After her post went up Monday night, her principal called her into his office on Tuesday morning.

He assured her, that the decision to take the painting out of the show was not his, nor the schools president. She said she whole-heartedly believes him in part because he encouraged her to keep up her post and continue to stand up for civil rights.

Bishop McDevitt Principal Vincent Harper told PennLive in an email Wednesday that Corradis piece was submitted several days after the competition submission deadline and after all entries were turned over to the judging committee.

A conversation did take place between the student and the art teacher, to inform the student that the submission was late, Harper wrote. During this conversation, the teacher expressed that this piece could be viewed as controversial.

In the immediate aftermath of learning about the decision, Corradi said she didnt completely process it.

When I told my mom, she was really angry, Corradi said. Which really helped me realize the severity of it.

Although her mom wanted her to call the schools principal at the time, Corradi said she did not because she believed he was the reason behind the move at that time.

I didnt see how that would help the situation, Corradi said.

Harper on Wednesday said there was no social injustice done in this. It was not a denial of freedom of expression or the image of George Floyd.

Corradi said posting her thoughts on social media was not about shaming the school, but rather reminding other kids that they could speak up for what they believe in.

I am a very outspoken person, Corradi said. I would tell anyone that would listen what I feel.

She said the huge rise in the Black Lives Matter movement in the last year motivated her. She said after seeing horrors, like Floyds death, in the world, she wanted to use her platform.

She sees Floyd as a symbol for change and has been inspired by how communities rose up since his death.

When Corradis post first went up, she got responses from several alumni, all on her side.

Corradi said it was heartwarming to see how many people not only supported her but also supported the Black Lives Matter movement and ending police brutality. She knew some people would disagree with her, but shes been happy with the response so far.

Some conflicts remain between Corradis recollection of the conversation with her art teacher and the schools statement, but school officials shared with Corradi and PennLive that they know there is work to be done.

It would be irresponsible of our administration to believe our school is immune to unconscious or real biases, Harper said. We understand work is required to train our Staff in recognizing equity issues, eliminating biases, and the importance of honoring the diverse population we serve. Bishop McDevitt values the opinions of all students, faculty, staff and parents.

Since Corradis story blew up on social media, she is now in talks to sell the painting to the owners of the Good Brotha Cafe in Harrisburg. Although they havent discussed a price, she is excited for her painting to have a new home.

What they stand for is so heartwarming, Corradi said. She has a personal connection to her art and is usually hesitant to part with it, but that displaying it at the Black-owned bookstore and cafe felt right.

There is one more chance for the painting to be displayed by the school, at a special show for parents of seniors. Harper has said the painting will be included for that.

I dont hold anyone at McDevitt specifically to blame and I dont wish to put any hate on my school, Corradi said, emphasizing that she has loved her time there. The main point of me doing this was to spread awareness.

Read more on PennLive:
Talking to media after a government session on Thursday, Grigorian said that for the first time the issue of stopping the war was raised at the Security Council on October 19, which was the 23rd day of the hostilities.

On November 17, a week after Armenia signed a Russian-brokered ceasefire with Azerbaijan to put an end to a 44-day war in which Armenian forces suffered a defeat in Nagorno-Karabakh, Gasparian claimed that on the fourth day of the war (September 30), during a Security Council meeting, he reported about Armenian casualties and presented an assessment of the situation in the armed forces.

He said then that he noted that it is necessary to take measures to stop the war within the next two or three days, otherwise our resources will be exhausted in a short time and that with each day we will have more unfavorable conditions for the negotiation process.

The secretary of the Security Council today repeated his recent public comment on that, saying that it was during the October 19 Security Council meeting that the statement about resources being exhausted was made and the idea of stopping the war within the next two or three days was expressed.

By the way, leaders of the parliamentary opposition factions also attended that Security Council meeting, Grigorian said.

Grigorian first addressed the matter in an interview with the Civilnet news website on March 12. But his statement was then taken with skepticism by representatives of the opposition that challenged its timing that coincided with the controversial dismissal of Gasparian as chief of the Armed Forces General Staff.

Gasparian was relieved of his duties after he and four dozen generals and high-ranking officers on February 25 called for Pashinians resignation, accusing him of putting Armenia on the brink of collapse following last years war in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Grigorian said today that the authorities addressed Gasparians November 17 remarks not when he demanded [Pashinians] resignation, but when he had been relieved of his duties.

There is a big difference. It is not that when he issued that statement, we said it in response. Its been a long time before I talked about it, the secretary of the Security Council said.

When asked about why the war was not stopped earlier, Grigorian reminded that there were at least three public efforts on that, apparently referring to three ceasefire agreements announced by Armenia and Azerbaijan after talks mediated separately by Russia, France and United States.

But Grigorian said that efforts to stop the war failed not because of the Armenian side, but because of the onslaught of Azerbaijan and active involvement of Turkey and jihadists.

Stopping a war is not a unilateral action, Grigorian added.

The secretary of the Security Council said that the government has no intention to put the whole blame for the defeat in the war on the army.

We have no intention to shift the blame onto the Armed Forces. The Armed Forces should even prepare a report on the war and do it under the leadership of Onik Gasparian. If we wanted to put the blame on the Armed Forces, we would prepare that report ourselves, Grigorian said.

Meanwhile, in another development it became known today that citing incorrect grounds, an administrative court in Yerevan had not accepted the lawsuit of the former chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Gasparian against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and President Armen Sarkissian regarding his dismissal. Gasparians lawyer said the decision will be appealed at the Civil Court of Appeal.
Reports indicate that Christians and other non-Muslim students and female workers have been coerced to wear the jilbab, also called "hijab" in English, a mandatory apparel for Muslim girls and women.

Since the Indonesian government imposed a dress code for Muslims in 2001, it had led to widespread bullying against girls and women who didn't conform. Non-compliance had girls leave or be removed from their schools, while female workers have either lost or given up on their jobs because of the incessant demand to dress like Muslim women. Pressures to conform have also caused them psychological distress.

"Indonesian regulations and policies have long forced discriminatory dress codes on women and girls in schools and government offices that violate their right to freedom from coercion to adopt a religious belief," said Elaine Pearson, Australia director at Human Rights Watch.

Furthermore, international human rights law which covers freedom to manifest religious beliefs, freedom of expression, and to education without discrimination have also included one's right to choose what to wear. Limitations on any of these rights must be for legitimate reasons and should not be used as a tool to discriminate. These apply to both men and women.

On February 3, officials issued a decree allowing students or teachers to choose what to wear in school, with or without "religious attributes." This was following the case of a secondary school student in Padang in January. In a video uploaded on social media, a father is seen arguing with his daughter's teacher for the repetitive coercion to wear hijab even though she is not a Muslim. The video went viral, thereby prompting the concerned departments to take action.

"I am grateful that my daughter's case opened the eyes of everyone- now they are finally aware of the persecution of faith in schools," the student's father told ICC.

"As it turns out, the same thing has occurred not only in Padang, but also in several other places. My hope is that in Indonesia, there will no longer be any form of faith persecution in schools," be added.

The new decree was signed by the Education and Culture Minister Nadiem Makarim, Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian, and Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas.

Nadiem Makarim, Education and Culture Minister, claims that the incident is a "misinterpretation" of a 2014 regulation on school uniforms. At that time, the ministry issued a national state school uniform where the illustration used showed "Muslim clothing." Despite disclaimer from then education minister Mohammad Nuh that it isn't mandatory even for Muslim girls, the regulation was enough of an excuse for pro-hijab school heads to pressure girls to wear what they deemed as proper clothing.

Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, on the other hand,acknowledged that the Padang case shows how the mandatory hijab regulation has been used "to discriminate, intimidate and pressure schoolgirls."

The new decree mandated local governments and school principals to revoke any mandatory hijab regulations by March 5. Officials who will refuse to comply will be sanctioned including the withholding of their education funds from the office of the education minister.

Only state schools that are under the management of local governments and the Education and Culture Ministry are required to abide. Islamic state schools and universities under the Religious Affairs Ministry are exempted. The province of Aceh, which officially follows a version of Sharia, is also exempted in respect to its autonomy.
Assemblymember Holdens George Floyd Law Clears First Policy Committee

Assemblymember Chris Holdens police reform legislation, AB 26, passed the California State Assembly Committee on Public Safety. AB 26 establishes clear guidelines for police responsibility and accountability when witnessing excessive force by another member of law enforcement.

We are calling for responsibility and accountability, said Assemblymember Chris Holden. Instituting these core values is paramount to building public trust that has eroded between law enforcement and communities across California.

California law requires police officers to intercede when observing another officer using force that is beyond that which is necessary, but there are no universal measures used to determine that an officer has in fact interceded. In the case of George Floyd, a lawyer for one of the accused junior officers argued that there was intervention because the junior officer asked the supervising officer if they should turn Floyd on his side.

ADVERTISEMENT

AB 26 provides a selection of techniques to establish that an officer has in fact attempted to intercede. The bill also expands on current law to disqualify a person from being a police officer if they used excessive force that resulted in great bodily injury or death or to have failed to intercede in that incident.

If AB 26 becomes law, police officers would be required to intercede when witnessing excessive force under the updated guidelines and report the incident in real time to dispatch or the watch commander. The officers due process will be protected as the employing agency would review evidence and determine if the offending officer met the standard for intervention. Retaliation against officers that report violations of law or regulation of another officer to a supervisor would be prohibited.

Last year, Governor Newsoms Policing Advisors released their recommendations which included legislation to Require officers to intervene to prevent or stop other officers from engaging in excessive force, false arrest, or other inappropriate conduct.

The legislation will be next heard in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

Mates autopsy showed he died of heroin and fentanyl intoxication, officials said. Cellphone records confirmed that Mate was in the area of Juncos home and that Junco agreed to sell heroin to Mate, officials said. Junco also told police that he knew Mate, according to officials.
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.

Asian-run businesses around California are getting an anonymous, racist letter that is laced with expletives and Asian slurs and stereotypes.

Top 10 Nails in Riverside and another Asian-run business in Yucaipa in neighboring San Bernardino County have in recent days received what appears to be an identical letter, according to the Riverside Police Department, which anticipates that more recipients may come forward.

And in the Sonoma County town of Healdsburg, All Polish Nails and Spa also got a letter, which by photo comparison, appears to be the same as the ones sent to the businesses in the Inland Empire.

A DISTURBING MESSAGE

The author refers to Asians as "nasty, ugly, smelly, disgusting, pancake face, stir-fry cockroach eaters, dog/cat eaters, toe nail cleaners, raw monkey brain eaters" and tells them to "GET THE F--- OUT!" of the country.

You can read the redacted letter below:

Copies of this letter have reportedly been sent to different Asian-run businesses in San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

Jackie Vu, whose family runs Top 10 Nails in Riverside, was outraged on behalf of her mother, who bought the business in 2017 after decades of working at other nail salons.

Now Vu's mother is worried that the attention the letter brings will scare off customers.

"She's like, 'How about if the customers don't come back? What if people don't want to come here because they're scared they're going to get shot?'" Vu said.

Riverside Police Department Officer Ryan Railsback said detectives at this time don't believe the letter poses a "credible threat" to the businesses, but he added they "are taking it very, very seriously."

Railsback urged any other recipients to contact local law enforcement.

"That way we can kind of have a grasp on how far this has gone, how much reach this person was trying to make," Railsback said.

Vu said she hoped it was just one individual who "got bored versus a lot of people because that would break my heart."

Vicky Mai, owner of the nail salon in Healdsburg, said she was shocked to get the letter and immediately began to worry that business would suffer after an employee posted a photo on social media.

Her industry has been shuttered for much of the pandemic, not helped, she said, by Gov. Newsom's unsubstantiated claim that the first case of community transmission of covid started at a nail salon.

But she said since receiving the letter Monday, she's been heartened by the support she's received from customers.

"The local people are so wonderful here," Mai said. "They make appointments, and they call me and they send in emails."

A SERIES OF ATTACKS

The letters to salons prompted a response from an Orange County-based nail care industry group, which called the hate mail "a slap in all of our faces."

Nailing It For America pointed out that during the pandemic many workers haven't known "how they were going to make their rent payments or put food on their tables" yet still donated meals and protective equipment to frontline workers.

"To know such disgusting and vile letters are being read by Vietnamese Americans who helped their fellow Americans is beyond words," the group said. "We call upon all Americans to condemn this hate speech and say enough is enough."

The letters surfaced just days after a gunman killed eight people at Atlanta-area spas, including six women of Asian descent, intensifying concerns about anti-Asian racism.

Riverside is to play host to an anti-hate rally on Saturday at the Chinese Pavilion to honor the victims from Atlanta, support AAPI communities and to "denounce xenophobia and hate." Vu plans to attend.

A different racist anti-Asian letter was also sent in recent days to a resident of Leisure World in Seal Beach. A Korean American widow received the letter days after her husband died, with the writer saying his death "makes it one less Asian to put up with in Leisure World."

This story has been updated.

MORE LAIST COVERAGE
Many groups around Laois organises fundraisers every year for Daffodil Day and while they are restricted this year different types of efforts are being made to help the Irish Cancer Society.

Abbeyleix is set to turn the town yellow and light up landmark buildings for Daffodil Day, which takes place on Friday 26 March.

The streets would be teeming with kind-hearted volunteers selling daffodils and people would stop and chat about their families and loved ones, while proudly wearing their daffodils.

Businesses and households around the town have been urged to light up their buildings with yellow to remind everybody of the need to support cancer care in Ireland provided by the Society.

Portlaoise Daffodil Day organisers are holding a new type of fundraiser this year, because the traditional collections for the cancer fundraiser are not possible due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Committee member Cathy Fennelly says they have come up with a new idea that the public can do at any time to suit them.

"Our local committee has come up with one fundraiser that can be done at any time called Put a Spring in Your Step.

"Participants dedicate a walk (any distance) to the cause, donate using the local link http://www.justgiving.com/ portlaoise-daffodil-day and nominate 3 others to do the same.

"Social media sharing will generate more interest, more walkers and more donations to this great cause," she said.

All funds donated using the link above will go to cancer support services in Laois.

See the Portlaoise Daffodil Day Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ PortlaoiseDaffodilDay.

Organisers in Mountrath hope the public will contribute through donation boxes in the shops. Silk daffodils and pins may also be available.

If people wish to give a donation they may do so to organisers Margaret O'Brien or Bernie Phelan.

There is also the option of donating online by logging into the Irish Cancer Society website and clicking on the "Donate" button.

The Mountrath team say all donations go to support cancer patients and their loved ones free of charge.

The Borris-in-Ossory team says daffodils will be on sale in local shops and it is hoped that people will support this very important fundraising day for the Irish Cancer Society.

Alternatively, donations can be given to Helen Kavanagh or Stella Kealy.

The Irish Cancer Society is urging people in Laois to get behind a very different Daffodil Day this year, with street sales and events not possible due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Due to the current public health restrictions the flagship fundraiser is unable to go ahead in its traditional way with street sales of fresh daffodils or daffodil pins, and community events.

However, there are still many ways for people in Laois to get involved with this years Daffodil Day which is taking place on Friday March 26, supported by Boots Ireland.

Around 480 people in Laois will receive a cancer diagnosis each year and this Daffodil Day is an important chance not only to raise vital funds for services and research but also to send people affected by cancer a message of support in these challenging times.

There are many ways for communities across the country to get involved with Daffodil Day, by hosting virtual fundraisers and collections, purchasing items from the Daffodil Day online shop, or making a donation. Go to cancer.ie/daffodil day to find out more.

Throughout the pandemic, the Irish Cancer Society has continued to provide vital services and support to cancer patients and their families across Laois.

Services like Night Nursing, the Freephone Support Line: 1800 200 700 and Volunteer Driver service are available because of the vital funds raised on Daffodil Day.
H-E-B is a culture, but especially so for Texans who work for the grocery chain. So imagine their excitement when they saw a photo of a bagger wearing a Here Everything Bussin T-shirt.

Earlier this week, Twitter user @israeldrown shared a photo of a young man bagging groceries and wearing the H-E-Banz design, and included the caption, bro really pulled up to work wearing this shirt.

This quickly prompted H-E-B employees on the site to want to get their hands on the shirt, which also features H-E-Buddy with a grill, chain and oversized shirt, for themselves  and maybe make a few jokes as well.

For folks who may not be familiar or assumed it had to do with the booty-shaking buss it TikTok challenge from earlier this year (ahem, myself included), Urban Dictionary defines bussin as what you would say if something was really good. That seems pretty accurate given that most Texans would fight to death if someone dared to speak ill about H-E-B.

RELATED: You can soon buy Chick-fil-A sauces at H-E-B. Here's how.

As true as this statement may be about the San Antonio-based grocer, @israeldrown actually photoshopped the design onto a photo originally featured in a March 8 article from the Houston Chronicle. In the article, the man  identified as Isaiah Gatson  is wearing a T-shirt that says Be the change and has the stores logo.

Even if Gatson didnt show up to work as @israeldrown claimed, Texans can still snag the $40 T-shirt for themselves. Just maybe hold back on showing up to work in it if youre an H-E-B partner.
Hyderabad, March 25 : GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo (GHAC), a division of GMR Air Cargo and Aerospace Engineering Limited (GACAEL) on Thursday announced a partnership with Singapore-based technology startup StaTwig to roll out a new technology-based solution for tracking and monitoring of vaccine shipments handled at the airport's cargo terminal.

The MoU giving effect to the partnership was signed by Saurabh Kumar, CEO-GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo and Sid Chakravarthy and Nrupul Ponugoti, Co-Founders - StaTwig.

Given its well-established position as the major pharma hub of Indian air cargo and one of the primary gateways for vaccine exports from India, GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo through this exclusive partnership will leverage the next-gen Blockchain technology to deliver enhanced track and trace solution and real time monitoring of vaccine shipments at GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo Terminal.

The partnership brings together domain expertise of GMR cargo and its time-tested relationships with vaccine exporters and Air Cargo trade with StaTwig's proven Blockchain platform to help this solution strengthen the supply chain of vaccine exports from India, GHAC said.

The development assumes significance given Hyderabad's position as one of the biggest vaccine manufacturers globally, with the region set to produce over 3.5 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccine doses over the next couple of years to aid the global battle against the pandemic.

"We are glad to announce this partnership for launch of VaccineLedger, a first of its kind initiative in Air Cargo Industry in India. This new technology product would enable us to deliver enhanced real-time visibility and status information on vaccine shipments to our customers," Saurabh Kumar, CEO-GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo said.

Pradeep Panicker, CEO-GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd., said with this strategic partnership with StaTwig, GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo will further consolidate its position as one of the best gateways in India for vaccine shipment handling.

"Technology and temperature controlled supply chain are crucial elements in the fight against Covid. GMR has always been a pioneer when it comes to leveraging the latest technology to deliver enhanced value and better experience to our customers and airport infrastructure users," said SGK Kishore, ED-South, Chief Innovation Officer-GMR Airports.
Thank you for reading!

Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
A woman leaving a primary healthcare center in Madrid. Eduardo Parra / Europa Press

The new, more contagious strain of the coronavirus that was first detected in the United Kingdom now accounts for half of all new coronavirus cases in Spain. Given that the strain  known as B.1.1.7  is more contagious, it has been able to spread across the country and is now the dominant variant in Spain, said Spanish Health Minister Carolina Darias on Wednesday. Speaking after a meeting of the Inter-Territorial Council of the National Health System, which brings together health officials from the central and regional governments, Darias warned that Spain is facing a possible change in trend as the incidence rate continues to rise. The news comes after the central government on Tuesday announced that it is lifting a ban on air and sea arrivals from the UK that had been in place since December in a bid to contain the B.1.1.7 variant.

According to the latest Health Ministry report, released on Wednesday, the 14-day cumulative number of coronavirus cases per 100,000 inhabitants now stands at 132.22, up from 129.55 on Tuesday. After two months of a downward trend, as the third wave of the pandemic subsided, this data point has been steadily rising since last Wednesday. On January 27, the 14-day cumulative number of coronavirus cases per 100,000 inhabitants peaked at 900.

The Health Ministry recorded 7,026 new coronavirus cases and added 320 deaths to the official toll, which now stands at 74,064

We are at a decisive moment, said Darias. We must strengthen all control measures and reverse this trend. Although the Inter-Territorial Council of the National Health System did not reach an agreement on Wednesday on whether the restrictions planned for Easter week should be tightened, it did indicate that the regions  which are in charge of handling the response to the pandemic in their territories  may choose to strengthen the measures if considered necessary.

In Wednesdays report, the Health Ministry recorded 7,026 new coronavirus cases and added 320 deaths to the official toll, which now stands at 74,064. Eleven of Spains 17 regions, as well as the North African exclave cities of Ceuta and Melilla, reported a rise in the incidence rate from last week. Melilla continues to have the highest 14-day cumulative number of cases (511), followed by Ceuta (253), Madrid (228) and the Basque Country (199). On the other end of the spectrum are the Balearic Islands, Valencia region, Extremadura, Galicia, Murcia and La Rioja, where the data point is below 100.

Darias warned that hospitals continue to be under pressure in many regions of Spain. While Covid-19 patients occupy 18.6% of all intensive care unit (ICU) beds in the country, this figure is more than 30% in Catalonia, Madrid and La Rioja. This percentage refers to total ICU capacity, including spaces in operating theaters. If only designated ICU beds are counted, the occupancy rate is closer to 100% in some regions.

In Catalonia, for example, the number of Covid-19 patients in ICUs has not dropped below 400 since January 4. This is the threshold considered by the Catalan regional government to indicate a situation of extreme risk, given that such pressure may complicate hospital assistance and lead to the postponement of surgeries. Its hard to see the end, said Xavier Esquirol, an intensivist at Granollers General hospital. There are not enough intensivists and the pandemic has not let up. We are very tired.

Meanwhile in Madrid, eight in 10 basic healthcare zones  areas that are smaller than a city district and can include several primary healthcare centers  are at high or extreme risk, according to the Health Ministrys alert system.

With reporting by Bernat Coll and Isabel Valdes.

English version by Melissa Kitson.
Record Performance Demonstrates Strength of Highly Complementary Businesses

Investment Management and Investment Banking Segments Delivered Exceptional Results Despite Challenging Market Conditions and COVID-19

Durable Strategy, Deep Relationships Across the New Economy and Proven Track of Supporting the Full Life Cycle of Investment Needs Position the Company for Continued Growth

HONG KONG, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- China Renaissance Holdings Limited ("China Renaissance" or the "Company"; stock code: 1911.HK) today reported its audited consolidated financial results for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020.

2020 Annual Results Highlights (all growth rates reflect year-over-year growth):

Net profit attributable to owners of the Company increased by 320.5% to RMB1.04 billion , the highest level in China Renaissance's history;

, the highest level in Renaissance's history; Total revenue and net investment gains increased by 68.4% to RMB2.7 billion ;

; Total operating profit increased by 157% to RMB1 .1 billion;

.1 billion; Investment Management segment delivered outstanding growth, with revenue and investment gains up 128% to RMB1.4 billion , which accounted for 50% of the Company's revenue, with assets under management ("AUM") exceeding RMB57 billion ;

, which accounted for 50% of the Company's revenue, with assets under management ("AUM") exceeding ; Investment Banking segment delivered strong growth, with revenue and investment gains up 44.3% to a historical high of RMB1.0 billion , reflecting the unmatched strength of the Company's IPO underwriting capabilities for high-profile New Economy companies;

, reflecting the unmatched strength of the Company's IPO underwriting capabilities for high-profile New Economy companies; CR Securities' (formerly known as "Huajing") segment revenue and net investment gains were RMB254.2 million , contributed 9% of the Company's revenue;

, contributed 9% of the Company's revenue; Wealth Management business development stayed on track in 2020, with AUM reaching approximately RMB6 billion as of March 2021 . It continues to gain traction amongst New Economy clients and is well-positioned to capture synergies with the Investment Banking and Investment Management businesses;

billion as of . It continues to gain traction amongst New Economy clients and is well-positioned to capture synergies with the Investment Banking and Investment Management businesses; Return on equity ("ROE") reached 18.8%;

Cash position was RMB4.3 billion and its gearing ratio at 24.8% as of December 31, 2020 ; and

and its gearing ratio at 24.8% as of ; and Declared a final dividend payout of RMB38 cents per share, representing a 20% dividend payout ratio.

Commenting on the Company's financial results, Fan Bao, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of China Renaissance, stated:

"2020 was a ground-breaking year for China Renaissance, with our net profit exceeding RMB1 billion for the first time in our history, the Investment Management segment delivering more than half of our revenues and Investment Banking playing leading roles in a rising number of the landmark listings and follow-on offerings for Chinese New Economy champions around the world. Our strategy to build complementary Investment Management and Investment Banking businesses has enabled us to deepen our relationships with our clients as both a world-class advisor and investor. Our ability to deliver record profitability and dramatically accelerate our growth despite the challenging global market conditions and COVID-19 is a testament to our proven strategy, the trust that we have established with our clients, and our talented team of professionals."

"China Renaissance's long-term mission remains intact. We seek to partner with the New Economy champions of the future and will continue to support them in their value creation journey. Our ability to leverage a diversified product mix to provide one-stop financial services across our clients' financial life cycle has uniquely positioned China Renaissance as the partner of choice for the most innovative and disruptive companies in the world. We remain confident that the momentum we built in 2020 and the synergistic value we generate across our Investment Banking, Investment Management, CR Securities and Wealth Management businesses enable us to achieve sustained long-term growth."

2020 Annual Results Overview

Total revenue and net investment gains were RMB2.7 billion, a 68.4% increase from RMB1.6 billion in 2019. Transaction and advisory fees were RMB1.0 billion, an increase of 37.2% from the prior year. Management fees were RMB443.4 million, an increase of 1.7% from the prior year. Interest income was RMB81.7 million, an increase of 24.7% from the prior year. Net investment gains were RMB1.1 billion, a significant increase of 259.5% from the prior year.

Operating profit was RMB1.1 billion, a significant increase of 156.9% from RMB438 million in 2019. Net profit attributable to owners of the Company increased notably by 320.5% to RMB1.04 billion from the prior year. As of December 31, 2020, the Company's cash position was RMB4.3 billion and its gearing ratio was 24.8%.

Total assets were RMB12.5 billion, representing an increase of 31.8% from RMB9.5 billion at fiscal year end 2019.

Business Segment Results

In addition to providing consolidated financial results, China Renaissance reports separate financial information for its four business segments: Investment Banking, Investment Management, CR Securities and Others.

Investment Management:

The Investment Management segment reported revenue and net investment gains of RMB1.4 billion and an operating profit of RMB952.3 million, which represent significant increases of 128% and 218.4%, respectively, compared to the prior year. Segment operating margin improved from 49.6% in 2019 to 69.3% in 2020. The profitability improvement of this segment was mainly driven by the strong investment performance of the Company's private equity ("PE") funds. In 2020, Huaxing Growth Capital invested in a number of high growth companies, including MGI Tech, Pop Mart, Jiangxiaobai, AFIONA, Helios, HiRain Technologies and Insgeek. In addition, a number of portfolio companies of Huaxing Growth Capital successfully completed their IPOs over the past year, including Kuaishou Technology, Beike Zhaofang, Li Auto, Pop Mart, MicroPort, CardioFlow Medtech,17 Education and Technology, Dada Group and UCloud. The strong performance of China Renaissance's previous funds has paved the way for future fundraising. In 2021 and 2022, the Company will be raising its Huaxing Growth Capital RMB Fund IV with a target of RMB10 billion, in addition to Huaxing Growth Capital USD Fund IV that is seeking to raise US$1.0 billion.

The committed capital and AUM of our PE funds were RMB27.5 billion and RMB57.4 billion as of December 31, 2020, representing increases of 5.7% and of 67.8%, respectively, compared to the prior year. As of December 31, 2020, the average internal rate of return ("IRR") in our PE funds was 45%.

Investment Banking:

The Investment Banking segment reported revenue and net investment gains of RMB1.0 billion and an operating profit of RMB290.3 million, which represent increases of 44.3% and 259.4%, respectively, compared to the prior year. Segment operating margin improved from 11.6% to 28.9% in 2020.

China Renaissance is well-positioned to support Chinese New Economy companies looking to explore potential listing options by holding relevant listing licenses in mainland China, Hong Kong and the US, which were obtained between 2013 to 2016. Over the past several years, China Renaissance has devoted resources to building up its underwriting capabilities and this is reflected in the leading roles the Company played in a number of high-profile Hong Kong and US IPOs, such as KE Holdings and JD Health in 2020, as well as Kuaishou Technology in 2021. In addition, China Renaissance is committed to mainland China's A-share market and Hong Kong's H-share market by supporting the secondary listings of JD.com, ZTO Express and Baidu. In 2020, revenue generated from equity underwriting increased significantly by 476.7% to RMB259.3 million. In 2020, China Renaissance supported 16 overseas IPOs and follow-on offering transactions for Chinese New Economy companies, with an underwriting value exceeding US$25.0 billion. The Company expects stronger revenue momentum from its investment banking pipelines in the coming year.

At the same time, China Renaissance strengthened its leading position in the private placement sector and advised on a number of private placement and M&A transactions for leading New Economy players across the TMT, consumer and healthcare sectors, such as MGI Tech, NIO, MiningLamp Technology, Gome, Sohu, MissFresh, Zhenkunhang, XtalPi, Changyou and Sogou.

CR Securities:

In 2020, Huajing Securities, our A-share focused securities company was rebranded to CR Securities to further integrate with the Company's Investment Banking business. We expect this integration to help us further capitalize on our prominent market position and client relationships to grow our private placement business. With CR Securities having obtained principal investment and financial product distribution licenses in November 2020, it stands as an important part of our domestic operations. CR Securities' segment revenue and net investment gains were RMB254.2 million, compared to RMB262.2 million in the prior year. The slight decrease in revenue and net investment gains was primary due to a decline in equity underwriting revenue resulting from the challenging economic environment and delays in execution due to the impact of COVID-19, which was partially offset by an increase in interest income and net investment gains generated from bank deposits, term deposits, investments in listed equities in the STAR market and other cash management products.

Others:

The Others segment mainly comprises our Wealth Management business, and investment and management of China Renaissance's own funds. Revenue and net investment gains totaled RMB99.6 million, up 63% compared to the prior year. Growth of this segment was primarily driven by the expansion of our Wealth Management business, as well as an increase in returns generated from cash management products. Our Wealth Management business performed in-line with our expectations for 2020 and we remain confident about its future growth potential. The business, which had AUM of approximately RMB6 billion as of March 2021, continue to gain traction amongst new economy clients and is poised to benefit from the synergies with our Investment Banking and Investment Management businesses.

RMB38 Cents Per Share Dividend

The Board declared a dividend of RMB38 cents per share, payable to shareholders whose names appear on the register of members of the Company on or before the close of business on July 9, 2021, pending shareholder approval at the Company's Annual General Meeting ("AGM") on June 30, 2021. The dividend will be paid in Hong Kong dollars within two months following the AGM.

China Renaissance's 2020 Annual Results Announcement, which was filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, is available at https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2021/0325/2021032500925.pdf

Disclaimer

This document is prepared by China Renaissance Holdings Limited (China Renaissance Holdings Limited and any of its subsidiaries, associated companies, and affiliates, or any of their directors, officers, agents, advisers or employees are together known as "China Renaissance"). This document has been prepared for the recipient's information purpose only. The recipient shall conduct its own investment review, evaluation and assessment.

This document is not and shall not to be construed as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security in any jurisdiction. China Renaissance does not provide any representations, warranties or any other assurances with respect to the contents of this document. China Renaissance does not act for the recipients of this document. Distribution of this document in or from certain jurisdictions may be restricted or prohibited by law or regulations. Recipients are required to comply with all restrictions or prohibitions in such jurisdictions.

China Renaissance disclaims any liability over the use, misuse, reliance, distribution or possession of this document which shall be at the recipient's own risk. Neither this document nor any of its contents may be disclosed or used for any other purpose without the prior written consent of China Renaissance. If the recipient has any question, the recipient shall seek its own independent advice.

About China Renaissance Holdings Limited

China Renaissance Holdings Limited (stock code: 1911.HK) is a leading financial institution that combines private placement advisory, M&A advisory, direct investment, equity underwriting, sales, trading and brokerage, research, structured products, asset management, wealth management and other financial services. Providing one-stop financial services across mainland China, Hong Kong and the United States, China Renaissance operates a competitive and unique international network that connects China's capital markets with the rest of the world, serving new economy entrepreneurs and investors globally.

China Renaissance has offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and New York, with over 600 employees. As of December 31, 2020, China Renaissance had advised on approximately 1050 transactions worth over USD$176 billion since its inception, and the company's private equity funds had AUM of approximately RMB57.4 billion in new economy investments.

CR Securities (formerly known as "Huajing Securities") is one of the first securities firms set up in accordance with 10th Supplementary Agreement of "Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA)". Since its establishment, CR Securities has assembled strong investment banking, fixed income, asset management, wealth management, securities brokerage, and research teams to serve existing and new clients.

Visit the company website for more information http://www.huaxing.com/

SOURCE China Renaissance Holdings Limited
This release was removed on April 7, 2021. For more information, please contact Carolyn Unck at Carolyn.unck@kaust.edu.sa.

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.
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

According to the latest weekly report on dam levels by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), dams in the Northern Cape have exceeded their full supply capacity and the provincial average stands at 103,4%.

The Vanderkloof Dam is at 98.7% full, while the Orange Water Supply System is at 96,6%. The Spitskop storage weir in the Harts River is at 103.2%, Douglas storage weir 111.8%, Boegoeberg 153.5% and the Vaalharts storage weir is at 82.1%.

The Karee Dam, the only storage dam in the Northern Cape is at 29.3% of its water storage capacity.

The amount of water in the Northern Cape is likely to sustain the province until the next rainy season provided all water users continue with water saving practices. In light of the latter, the Department of Water and Sanitation urges all water users including residents, agriculture, mining, recreation and industry to continue to conserve water.

National Water Week this year was celebrated from the 15-22 March and coincided with Human Rights Day on 21 March. On 22 March South Africans joined the international community to commemorate World Water Day.

Under the theme "Valuing Water", the Department of Water and Sanitation visited various communities in the Northern Cape including the District Municipalities of Namakwa, ZF Mgcawu, John Taolo Gaetsewe and Frances Baard to remind all water users to use water sparingly and wisely.
A medical worker prepares to inoculate a man with the Covaxin Covid-19 coronavirus vaccine at a health center in New Delhi on March 25, 2021. Indian Minister for External Affairs S. Jaishankar writes in this opinion piece: Fashioning a robust response to the COVID-19 challenge is set to dominate global diplomacy in 2021. In its own way, India has set an example. (Sajjad Hussain/AFP via Getty Images)
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.
Bangladesh police Thursday fired rubber bullets and tear gas at hundreds of mainly student demonstrators who were protesting against an upcoming visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Police said the protest got out of hand as demonstrators marched in the capital Dhaka, with many throwing rocks and stones at officers, injuring at least four.

"We fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse them. There were 200 protesters. We have also arrested 33 people for violence," police official Syed Nurul Islam told AFP.

A spokesperson for the march said 2,000 mainly student protesters joined the demonstration.

The protesters accused Modi of stoking religious tensions and inciting anti-Muslim violence in the Indian state of Gujarat in 2002, which left about 1,000 people dead. Modi was Gujarat's chief minister at the time of the deadly religious riot.

"Some 40 protesters were injured, including 18 hospitalised with injuries from police beatings and rubber bullets," Bin Yamin Molla, a senior official of the Student Rights Council, which organised the protest, told AFP.

At a separate smaller protest elsewhere in Dhaka, hardline protesters slaughtered a cow - sacred to most Hindus - on the street.

Modi's two-day tour to the Muslim-majority nation, starting on Friday, will cap Dhaka's 10-day celebrations of the Golden Jubilee of its independence from Pakistan.

The celebrations also mark the birth centenary of the nation's founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was the father of current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Leaders from Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives have already attended the festivities, which started on March 17.

During his visit, Modi will tour two temples in southern rural districts, including the birthplace of a top Hindu reformer who has tens of millions of followers in the Indian state of West Bengal and Bangladesh.

sa/stu/am/axn
Police in Nairobi on Wednesday evening arrested a woman who allegedly stabbed three men, leaving one dead and two critically injured, in Saa Mbaya, Kahawa West.

Margaret Wambui Wangari is said to have started sucking blood that oozed from one of the men soon after she had stabbed them. It took startled onlookers who had witnessed the squabble that turned into a major clash to restrain the violent suspect.

"Passers-by found the suspect sucking blood from open stab wounds sustained by the three victims," police said.

Irate mob

The suspect was saved from the irate mob who had started stoning her by police officers who had been deployed to nearby schools during the KCPE exams.

"Officers rushed to the scene, just as outraged members of the public were about to lynch the suspect, who had further inflicted a serious cut at a second man's forehead," police said in a statement.

According to the police, the incident started after a fight ensued between the suspect, who was armed with a kitchen knife, and a man believed to be her boyfriend.

Passers-by

Two men, who were passing by, went to separate the couple but the enraged woman stabbed them with the knife, leaving them unconscious.

The two suffered serious stab injuries in the neck, chest and other parts of their bodies.

The survivors were rushed to Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital while the dead man's body was moved to Chiromo mortuary.

Detectives from Kasarani who were assigned the case are piecing together evidence to establish what exactly led to the scuffle that lead to death and serious injuries.
Note: Because pandemic-related capacity limits have been lifted, the Express-News is running star-rated restaurant reviews, now every other week on a five-star rating system.

Its been more than a year since the Express-News reviewed a restaurant in the traditional sense, sorting out the hits and misses, the service and atmosphere, the overall experience of a place and assigning a star rating to the whole thing.

As restaurants fought to survive the pandemic, closing their dining rooms, laying off staff, going takeout-only or just going under, it seemed like neither the time nor the place for criticism. But the industry has endured, even finding ways to grow, to open new restaurants, to chase excellence, to strike a balance between safety and the governors permission to open at 100 percent capacity.

It seems fitting that Brasserie Mon Chou Chou, the ambitious new French restaurant at the Pearl that opened in the dark December days of the pandemic, gets our first star-rated review as the San Antonio scene shakes itself back to life.

More Information Brasserie Mon Chou Chou ***** 312 Pearl Parkway at the Pearl, Building 2, Suite 2104, 210-469-3743, brasseriemonchouchou.com Quick bite: French restaurant with a sidewalk cafe feel from the Southerleigh Hospitality Group Hit: Coq au vin, charcuterie, steak frites Miss: No significant flaws Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. (brunch 10 a.m.-3 p.m.) Sunday. Dine-in and takeout available. Price range: Appetizers, $7-$19; salads and sandwiches, $12-$18; entrees, $14-$42; desserts, $6-$8 Alcohol: Wine, cocktails and beer ***** Excellent, an almost perfect experience **** Good, among the best in the city *** Average, with a few standouts ** Poor, with a redeeming factor or two * Bad, nothing to recommend Express-News dining critics pay for all meals. See More Collapse

In the spirit of optimism and revival, its even more fitting that Brasserie Mon Chou Chou earns all five stars in the first test of our new five-star rating system.

Five stars means an almost perfect restaurant experience. At Mon Chou Chou, that means food, of course, the kind of French comfort food that chef Laurent Rea does so well, from a deftly seared and seasoned New York strip steak with handcut shoestring frites to salmon that fell away in layers of coral-colored velvet served with a silky bearnaise that will make you a believer in the power of tarragon.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio now has a robust French dining scene after more than a decade with Brasserie Mon Chou Chou, Bistr09, La Frite and more

Comfort food by itself is too humble of a term for Mon Chou Chou. Because while brasserie is right there in the name, this is no blue-collar dive for beer and mussels. Its deluxe comfort food from a place where perfectly salted coq au vin with whipped potatoes and mushrooms in a red wine braise comes in a bright china bowl emblazoned with the restaurants name. Everythings branded with the name, from cups and plates to coasters and tiny wrapped blocks of raw sugar for espresso.

Id put my name on everything, too, for food like roasted rabbit quarters in a lush Dijon mustard sauce with ribbons of housemade tagliatelle pasta.

Coquillages a la Normande brought together scallops, mussels and clams in a garlic cream sauce in a dish as colorful as an art fair. Rich, tawny lobster bisque arrived wearing a billowed crown of puff pastry. The seafood parade carried on with loup de mer au four, an elegant term for equally elegant branzino in brown butter caper sauce.

Small touches helped to weave the French narrative together. A simple salade Lyonnaise combined frisee, egg and lardons with cubes of toasted, buttered bread that would make ordinary croutons feel shame. A charcuterie sampler flexed with housemade salumi the color of a sunset mosaic, including wine-kissed saucisson rouge and the dappled fatty grandeur of rosette de Lyon, accompanied by rugged country-style pork pate with a stripe of rabbit loin.

Built out with house-pickled onions, cauliflower and cornichons with a spoonful of magic mustard called moutarde de Meaux, the plate made an excellent opener for cocktails like a strong, absinthe-rinsed Sazerac and a rose-colored confection called the French Pink Fairy with gin, wild strawberry liqueur and the frothy clamor of egg whites. For something less flashy, the waiter recommended reliable, value-priced glasses of fruity red gamay Beaujolais and crisp white roussanne from a list that speaks fluent French, with 15 or so wines by the glass and about 90 by the bottle.

Dessert hit strong, comforting notes with an indulgent mocha-chocolate pot de creme and peach melba, a brasserie staple of vanilla ice cream, raspberry syrup and sliced peaches served in a parfait glass that rang like a memory bell struck by a spoon.

On ExpressNews.com: 4 San Antonio restaurants for great steak frites

Mon Chou Chous open for lunch and dinner seven days a week, with brunch on Sunday that includes lobster Benedict, baked eggs and the showoff tableside raclette cheese sandwich thats all over Instagram. But of course, the best restaurant experiences are about much more than food. Theyre about memories and people and stories and being part of the family that shares them, if only for a moment.

Mon Chou Chou feels like family, a feeling cultivated by the Southerleigh Hospitality Group that owns the restaurant, along with its Pearl flagship Southerleigh Fine Food & Brewery and Southerleigh Haute South. As executive chef, Rea is the brasseries beating heart, helped along by fellow Frenchmen and Southerleigh Hospitality Group partners Philippe Place and Jerome Serot, with the help of restaurant director Ryan Retaliatta.

Place is the face youll see most, as he stands at your table or corners you at the bar for a story. Like the one about how during the ice storm that paralyzed the city, even as Mon Chou Chou was barely able to open, chef Rea focused his anxiety on not having enough tarragon to make his bearnaise.

Or the one about Place growing up in France and how good the salmon was back then. Waiter Flora Aleman, one of the best servers Ive met in San Antonio, has heard the story a time or three. Doesnt the salmon remind you of Philippes childhood? she asked with a straight face.

Mon Chou Chou doesnt need memories of France to create a sense of place. The buildings been transformed from the brooding, dim, student-run restaurant Nao into something more like a sidewalk cafe of estate-scale brass, glass, wood and tiny black-and-white tile, with all the prime people-watching afforded by the corridor leading to the pampered pageant of guests checking in and out of Hotel Emma. So many Louis Vuitton bags, so many dogs.

Maybe sitting at a sidewalk cafe drinking wine while the world spins on a troubled axis smacks of denial, even privilege. True, celebration is a luxury. But its always been that.

And we should take the luxury of celebrating those things worth celebrating. Brasserie Mon Chou Chou is a celebration worth all five stars.

msutter@express-news.net | Twitter: @fedmanwalking | Instagram: @fedmanwalking
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.
This file photo shows a short-range missile launched by the North Korean military. North Korea on Thursday fired at least one unidentified projectile into the East Sea, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. Yonhap



North Korea fired what appeared to be two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Thursday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, an apparent move pressing the United States as Washington prepares to announce a new policy on the North.



The missiles were fired from the North's eastern town of Hamju, South Hamgyong Province, at 7:06 a.m and 7:25 a.m. and flew around 450 kilometers with an altitude of 60 km, the JCS said.



"South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities are analyzing the projectiles in detail, weighing the possibility that they could be short-range ballistic missiles," a JCS officer said.



North Korea last fired a ballistic missile in March 2020.



It was not immediately known whether the North's leader Kim Jong-un oversaw the firings.



"Our military is maintaining a thorough readiness posture in preparation for additional provocations while closely monitoring related moves," the JCS said in a statement.



The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae convened an emergency National Security Council meeting and expressed "deep concern" over the North's latest projectile launch.



Thursday's launches mark a gradual ratcheting up of tensions by the North as they came four days after the country fired two cruise missiles into the Yellow Sea on Sunday.



The United States brushed off the cruise missile launches as part of "normal testing" not banned under U.N. sanctions resolutions, with President Joe Biden saying, "nothing much has changed."




The DUP has vowed to press Secretary of State Brandon Lewis to fly the Union flag on Government buildings here all-year round in line with the rest of the UK.

It comes after London announced yesterday guidance will be issued for the flag to fly from Government buildings in England, Scotland and Wales permanently, instead of on designated days.

DUP MP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said when the designated days policy was introduced here in 2000 it was on the basis it was in line with the rest of the UK.

"It is firmly our view that Northern Ireland should be treated in the same way as the rest of the UK when it comes to flying our national flag on Government buildings," he said. "The Flags Order aligns the flag-flying days with that which had previously applied to Government buildings in Great Britain and it is logical that when they are flying the Union flag each day of the year, then the same should apply in Northern Ireland. "We will be pressing the Secretary of State on the need to ensure that Northern Ireland is in line with the rest of the UK." Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK where the flying of flags on Government buildings is enshrined in law, with it being flown on a number of days throughout the year, including the Queen's birthday and Remembrance Day. Local councils have control over their own flags policy. A December 2012 council vote to only fly the Union flag from Belfast City Hall on designated days sparked loyalist protests, civil disobedience and riots. TUV leader Jim Allister said the news was "another poke in the eye" for unionists. In the wake of Mr Lewis' move to compel the Department of Health to provide abortion services, Mr Allister suggested this could be another issue on which Westminster could intervene here. "It would be nice to have equality of citizenship and to have equal treatment in that regard," the North Antrim MLA said. "Why should we be any different? "We're part of the United Kingdom and this is a UK Government decision. "This would be a good one for them to intervene on."
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.
North Korea reportedly fired two ballistic missiles over the weekend allegedly to taunt the United States who is still in open negotiations with them.

The Gateway Pundit (TGP) reported that North Korea conducted the missile test of two short-range missiles during the weekend. Reuters reported that two cruise missiles were tracked by the South Korea military on Sunday.

Reuters also highlighted that, amidst the missiles being launched, U.S. officials maintain stature that nuclear talks are still open with North Korea while Biden downplayed the significance of the said tests.

TGP noted that the missiles were launched "because of Joe Biden's big mouth and weakness" and as a "challenge to Joe Biden after his triple-fall going up the steps to board Air Force One."

White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre explained that Biden fell thrice while stumbling up the stairs of Air Force One, bound for Atlanta on Monday to meet with community leaders of Asian America on the massage parlor massacre, since it "was very windy," the Independent reported.

In addition to the short range missiles, CNN also reported that two ballistic missiles were more recently fired on Thursday by North Korea based on intelligence assessment they received from a senior U.S. official. The ballistic missiles was the second test in less than a week.

"The U.S. military and intelligence community is still analyzing the data from the test launch to determine what kind of missile was fired and how far it went. It is not known yet whether the missiles were short, medium or long range, such as an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)," CNN said.

CNN cited South Korea's Joint Chiefs Of Staff (JCS) in saying that the missiles "flew about 450 kilometers (280 miles), reaching an altitude of 60 kilometers (37 miles), and are believed to have been ballistic missiles launched from the ground" of the Hamju area of South Hamgyong province.

The Yonhap News Agency tweeted that "N. Korea fires unidentified projectile into East Sea: JCS".

TGP added that North Korea fired off the missiles after reports circulated that it has refrained any outreach being done by the Biden Administration to them.

"To date, we have not received any response from Pyongyang," The Gateway Pundit cited a senior Biden official in an interview with Reuters.

TGP pointed out that North Korea Leader Kim Jong Un's sister Kim Yo Jong previously threatened President Joe Biden to "refrain causing a stink" as his "first step" in public.

"If it wants to sleep in peace for the coming four years, it had better refrain from causing a stink at its first step," Kim Yo Jong said.

TGP said Biden actually laughed at a reporter who asked him about it last Tuesday night after his Ohio trip when asked if it will "affect the diplomacy" before he walked away. He said that it was "no new wrinkle in what they did" since the U.S. Department of Defense said it was "business as usual" and should not be considered a provocation by North Korea.
document

At the 46th Session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), February 22 - March 23, the United States actively reengaged with the Council after a two-and-a-half-year absence and announced its candidacy for a member seat for the 2022-2024 term. With introspection about the United States' own human rights struggles, particularly in addressing systemic racism, we galvanized more than 155 members of the international community to join us in acknowledging the corrosive legacy of racism and racial discrimination and to proactively address this shameful legacy to make lasting progress. During HRC 46, the United States helped advance responses to dire human rights situations through resolutions, joint statements, and interventions including on: Belarus, Burma, Burundi, Egypt, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Russia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Venezuela, South Sudan, and Yemen.

South Sudan: The United States rejoined the core group on South Sudan, also comprised of the United Kingdom, Norway, and Albania, to renew the mandate of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan for another year. The Commission is the only mechanism currently collecting and preserving evidence of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights abuses with a view to promoting accountability and addressing human rights and transitional justice issues in South Sudan from a holistic perspective. We stand ready, as ever, to work with the government of South Sudan and other regional partners to improve the lives of the South Sudanese people.

Burma: The United States co-sponsored a resolution led by the European Union that highlighted ongoing human rights concerns, including for Rohingya, and recalled developments since February 1. The United States, along with the core group, supported language that condemned the military's actions and expanded monitoring and reporting. The resolution also renewed the mandate of the Special Rapporteur and continued support for the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar. We continue to urge the military to restore the democratically elected government, release those unjustly detained, and refrain from violence against the people of Burma.

Sri Lanka: The United States co-sponsored a resolution led by the United Kingdom on "Promoting reconciliation, accountability, and human rights in Sri Lanka." The United States, in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Core Group and likeminded countries, worked to include a mandate for OHCHR to collect, analyze and preserve information and evidence and to develop possible strategies for future accountability processes for violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. We hope to continue working through UN mechanisms and partner countries to support this major step towards accountability.

Syria: The United States co-sponsored a resolution led by the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Netherlands, Qatar, and Turkey that highlighted ongoing atrocities by the Assad regime in Syria and renewed the mandate of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria (COI). The United States successfully advocated to include a request for OHCHR to resume a civilian casualty count. Given that the 46th session of the HRC coincided with the 10th anniversary of the peaceful Syrian uprising, the United States reaffirmed the need for accountability, the release of those arbitrarily detained by the regime, and a political resolution to the conflict. The United States stands with Syrian survivors of the Assad regime's crimes and will continue to strongly support Syrian human rights defenders, the COI, the International Impartial Independent Mechanism for Syria, and other UN mechanisms and agencies as they document the regime's egregious abuses.

Belarus: The United States co-sponsored the EU resolution condemning the continuing human rights abuses in Belarus surrounding the fraudulent August 9, 2020 presidential election. The resolution calls for the immediate establishment of a strong OHCHR mandate, which would empower OHCHR to collect, preserve, and analyze evidence of human rights abuses surrounding the presidential election, identify those responsible for human rights violations, and provide recommendations on accountability and justice. This mandate enhances and complements the existing Special Rapporteur mandate.

Nicaragua: The United States cosponsored the resolution led by Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Peru on the promotion and protection of human rights in Nicaragua and collaborated with partners to reinforce the call for accountability for officials, security forces, and armed groups responsible for human rights abuses. We strongly supported the HRC's call for meaningful electoral reform in advance of November elections and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the unconditional release of all those arbitrarily or unlawfully detained.

The United States also cosponsored the Iran and North Korea resolutions which renewed the country-specific mandates for those Special Rapporteurs. In addition, the United States co-sponsored resolutions on technical assistance and capacity building in Mali and Georgia, which were run in cooperation with the countries involved and received widespread support.

The United States strongly opposed the "Mutually Beneficial Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights" resolution, led by China, which sought to promote an approach to human rights whereby States cooperate to advance the interests of governments over promoting and respecting the human rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals. Despite efforts by the United States and likeminded Member States to negotiate problematic language in Geneva, China did not respond constructively to our edits and the resolution passed by a vote (26 votes in favor, 15 votes against, 6 abstentions).

Thematic Issues: The United States co-sponsored resolutions on:

Freedom of Religion or Belief; Albinism;

Human Rights, Democracy, and the Rule of Law;

Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment;

Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights;

Privacy; and

Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States Trust Fund decision.

Joint Statements: Overall, the United States led two joint statements and signed onto 12 thematic or country-specific joint statements. The United States led a Joint Statement on Racism, securing signatures from 156 countries, including all members of the Africa Group. The joint statement called on countries to take steps to address racism and racial discrimination, as well as examine and eliminate practices and policies that marginalize members of ethnic and racial minority groups. Fifty-three countries also co-sponsored a U.S.-led Joint Statement on Human Rights Accountability. This effort was prompted by a series of apparently coordinated statements by delegations insisting that states cannot interfere in the "domestic affairs" of others by criticizing their human rights records. The joint statement made clear that state sovereignty cannot be used as a shield to prevent scrutiny from the Council, and that states continue to have responsibility to protect human rights. We reinforced this sentiment by joining the statement of the Group of Friends for Responsibility to Protect for the first time in Geneva. We also joined statements on Human Rights and COVID-19 Measures; Protection of Journalists; Ending Death Penalty as a Punishment for Blasphemy and Apostacy; and Human Rights of Migrants.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines U.S., Canada and Africa Africa Human Rights By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

For the first time since 2014, the United States also joined over 30 countries and cosponsored a Finland-led statement to express concern over the trajectory of human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression, in Egypt. The United States also co-signed a Polish-led Joint Statement criticizing Russia's ongoing attempts to silence its critics and attack independent media and civil society. In particular, the statement condemns Moscow's poisoning of prominent Kremlin critic Aleksey Navalny with the nerve agent Novichok and his and others' continuing unjust detention in Russia. The United States also signed onto country-specific joint statements on Belarus, Venezuela, and Ethiopia.

U.S. Universal Periodic Review (UPR): The HRC adopted the UPR outcome of the United States, the culmination of a multi-year process reviewing our domestic human rights record. The United States accepted in whole or in part 280 out of 347 recommendations it received from other UN Member States during the third cycle UPR, or approximately 81%. Acting DRL Assistant Secretary Lisa Peterson delivered remarks via pre-recorded video, outlining the U.S. approach to the recommendations received and further explaining the Biden Administration's priorities on racial justice, nondiscrimination, migration, climate change, and COVID-19 response, among others.

Agenda Item 7: The United States continues to oppose the HRC's one-sided and biased approach towards Israel through its stand-along Israel-specific Agenda Item 7. During HRC 46, two resolutions were merged under Agenda Item 2 (resolutions on accountability and the human rights situation in the Palestinian territories), leaving only three resolutions in Agenda Item 7 (Israeli Settlements, Self-Determination for Palestinians, and Human Rights in the Golan). The number of nations speaking against Israel during the Item 7 debate also decreased.
By Philip Blenkinsop and Jan Strupczewski

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU leaders voiced frustration on Thursday over a massive shortfall in contracted deliveries of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines, as a third wave of infections surged across Europe.

With inoculation programmes running far behind those of Britain and the United States, the bloc's executive warned that vaccine exports by the British-Swedish company would be blocked until it delivers the shots it promised to the EU.

"We have to and want to explain to our European citizens that they get their fair share," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told a news conference after a video-conference summit of the European Union's leaders.

"The company has to catch up, has to honour the contract it has with the European member states, before it can engage again in exporting vaccines," she said.

Of 300 million doses due to be delivered to EU countries by the end of June, Astrazeneca aims to deliver only 100 million.

That has contributed to a stuttering start to vaccination rollouts. As of March 23, Britain had administered nearly 46 shots for every 100 people, compared with under 14 per 100 in the 27-nation bloc it left last year, according to figures compiled by website Our World In Data.

This week, the European Commission unveiled plans to tighten oversight of vaccine exports. This would allow greater scope to block shipments to countries with higher inoculation rates.

The EU is divided over whether to take a tougher line on vaccine exports by companies that do not meet contractual commitments. French President Emmanuel Macron made it clear he was fully behind it.

"It's the end of naivety," he told a news conference after the summit. "I support the fact that we must block all exports for as long as some drug companies don't respect their commitments with Europeans."

QUARREL WITH BRITAIN

Europe's troubled vaccine rollout has led to a quarrel with Britain, which has imported 21 million doses made in the EU, according to an EU official. Britain says it did a better job negotiating with manufacturers and arranging supply chains.

Story continues

The EU says it should share more, notably to help make up the shortfall in contracted deliveries of AstraZeneca shots.

Brussels and London sought to cool tensions on Wednesday, declaring they were working "to create a win-win situation and expand vaccine supply for all our citizens".

Highlighting the EU's difficulties, U.S. biotech Novavax is delaying signing a contract to supply its vaccine to the bloc, an EU official told Reuters on Thursday, due to problems sourcing some raw materials.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said he and other leaders hoped the stricter approach to vaccine exports would not be applied, and warned of "broader consequences" if it is.

Von der Leyen, seeking to counter accusations that the EU's threat of export blocks amounted to "vaccine nationalism", presented slides showing that 77 million vaccine doses had been shipped from EU plants to over 40 countries since the start of December.

She said the EU would still hit its target to have 70% of adults inoculated by the summer and noted that, although a third wave of infections was underway, mortality increases were slower than the spread of the virus due to vaccinations of the elderly.

(Writing by John Chalmers; Additional reporting by John Chalmers, Michel Rose, Sabine Siebold, Francesco Guarascio, Madeline Chambers; Editing by David Gregorio)

To wrap up Womens History Month, Hearst Connecticut Media hosted a virtual event featuring women in leadership roles talking about their lives, careers and tips for other women.

Called Connecticut Women in Leadership, the event featured Alisa Bowens-Mercado, founder of Rhythm Brewing Co.; Wendy Metcalfe, vice president of content and editor-in-chief of the Hearst Connecticut Media Group; and Sara Bronin, an architect, attorney, professor, policymaker and founder of Desegregate Connecticut.

The discussion, streamed over Facebook Live on Tuesday, asked the panelists to talk about the women that inspire them, how they overcame challenges and what advice they have for other women looking to pursue their own goals.

Keila Torres Ocasio, managing editor of the Connecticut Post, moderated the discussion.

A professional salsa dancer/instructor, Bowens-Mercado, joined the craft beer scene in 2018.

I have this quote that if you walk into a room and you are the only one in that room that looks like you, that means youre in the right room, she said. Have the audacity, be audacious to stay there and be fearless.

A craft beer lover herself, Bowens-Mercado set out on a personal quest to offer better beverage options to suit a wider array of palates and founded Rhythm Brewing Co. She made history by becoming the first African American, woman-owned beer brand in Connecticut and the fourth in the country.

Once that happened, it was a win for all of us. It was a a win for the culture, she said.

Metcalfe, who joined Hearst Connecticut Media Group in 2019 as vice president of content and editor-in-chief, reflected on being the first woman to lead the Toronto Sun newspaper.

It wasnt that long ago, so I really shouldnt have been the first, she said. But I looked at it as an opportunity.

Metcalfe is also executive sponsor of Hearsts Diversity Equity and Inclusion Council. She was previously director of content and editor-in-chief at Brunswick News  a Canadian media company comprised of a number of publications, including the award-winning provincial newspaper the Telegraph-Journal, where she also oversaw marketing and reader sales.

The biggest thing is just getting over that fear, she said. We are going to fail, you learn so much from your failures. What do they say about Michael Jordan? Its all the shots he missed.

For me personally, being the only person in the room in some cases is always uncomfortable, said Bronin, a Mexican-American architect, attorney and professor. And part of what Ive had to do to get over that is work harder.

Bronin is also a policymaker specializing in property, land use, historic preservation, and climate change. She advises the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Sustainable Development Code, serves on the board of Latinos in Heritage Conservation, and leads Desegregate Connecticut.

Its always said some people have to work harder just to sort of prove that theyre the same  and I do see that with Latino women and men in the communities I work in, she said.

Watch a recap of the discussion at facebook.com/ctpost.
A man who allegedly claimed to be part of a white terrorist group and threatened to solve the problem with a shotgun after keying a mans car was taken into custody.

In June, police spoke with the victim, who told them he had posted his vehicle for sale on Facebook Marketplace. He had also placed one of his rooms for rent. The victim told police Michael Shaw, 37, sent him a threatening message saying that Shaw had taken his wife. When the victim replied and said he did not know what Shaw was talking about, the victim then told him he could not reply to Shaw any longer on Messenger.

The victim told police that Shaw told him he knew where the victim lived because of a street sign visible in a picture of the vehicle.

Shaw said he would steal the vehicle, and claimed he was a member of the white supremacist/terrorist group Aryan Nation, and the gang Ghostface. Shaw also threatened to send someone to harm the victim. The victim told police he did not know Shaw personally.

Police added the victims house to the watchlist, and the victim said he would call back to report any damage or activity that he saw when he returned from an out of town trip. Later that night, the victim told police that Shaw had sent him actual pictures of his vehicle and house, along with names of close relatives and family.

A few days later, police said they spoke with the victim again, who said that when he arrived home the drivers side of his vehicle had been keyed, and police observed this when they arrived. In addition to this, the passenger side headlight was also damaged.

The victim also showed police screenshots of Shaw threatening the victim by saying he would come to solve the problem with a shotgun. Police checked the profile picture and cross-referenced it with his mugshot and information in the Tennessee crime portal, and confirmed Shaw was the suspect.

Shaw was arrested on Tuesday, and is charged with civil rights intimidation and vandalism/malicious mischief.
(Natural News) Leaked documents from a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigation show that former President Barack Obamas administration had a chance to prevent big tech company Google from monopolizing the market but chose not to.

In the early 2010s, as Americans were beginning to flock towards smartphones, Google was able to hammer out multiple exclusionary contracts that made it the default search engine on many of these mobile phones.

The contracts at the center of the fight made Google the default search engine on almost all U.S. smartphones and locked in that exclusivity for years, giving the company a major advantage, wrote Politico tech reporter Leah Nylen.

In June 2011, antitrust regulators in the FTC appointed by Obama began an investigation into these exclusionary contracts and other potentially anti-competitive behavior. The regulators wanted to figure out whether the company was violating antitrust laws in any way to give its own search engine an unfair edge over its competitors.

This began a 19-month-long investigation that went nowhere. By Aug. 2012, dissent was forming from within the FTC. The commissions lawyers wanted to sue Google, or at least pursue some kind of settlement. But the agencys economists recommended that the probe be closed without taking any action against the tech giant.

At one point, after the 2012 election, Googles lawyers even approached the administration to offer their own settlement deal.

By Jan. 2013, the FTC commissioners voted unanimously to close the investigation without acting against Google. This, despite the fact that the investigators concluded that the tech giants very well-documented attempts to dominate the mobile internet search market were illegal.

Then-Chairman of the FTC Jon Leibowitz even admitted that the commission found evidence that Google changed its search algorithm to hamstring its competition.

In its antitrust suit against Google last October, [the Department of Justice] revealed that the company pays as much as $12 billion a year to Apple alone to keep its search engine as the default on iPhones, iPads and the Safari browser, wrote Nylen.

Decision reveals close relationship between Obama admin and Silicon Valley

The decision not to sue Google despite all the evidence clearly pointing to it having violating antitrust regulations has led the country to its current position, with the tech giant as the primary filter of the worlds information, according to Rachel Bovard, a journalist for The Federalist.

[Google is now] subject to an antitrust lawsuit led by the Department of Justice and joined by 48 states attorneys general, said Bovard, who believes that this position could have, and should have, been avoided. (Related: More states joining antitrust lawsuit against Google over rigged ad business.)

According to Bovard, the most stunning takeaway regarding the leaked documents from the FTC investigation is the extent to which the commissions lawyers were ignored in favor of the recommendations of the agencys economists.

The attorneys believed that Googles exclusionary contracts were clearly anti-competitive. The economists objected to this interpretation of the facts and insisted that Googles market dominance would soon fall in the face of competition from Mozilla and Amazon. They also argued that the mobile distribution channel for search engines was far too small a market for Googles behavior to be relevant.

The lawyers wanted to sue, or at the very least arrange some kind of settlement with the tech giant. The economists were able to outmaneuver the attorneys, and they convinced the commissioners to drop the investigation.

The FTCs decision to let Google off the hook reflected an era when the Obama administration had a close relationship with Silicon Valley and Americans held largely positive views toward the emerging tech giants, wrote Nylen. But the documents also demonstrate how the Obama-era FTC took a cautious approach to antitrust enforcement, deferring to the wisdom of the agencys economists over its lawyers.

Bovard believes that the FTC was not acting in a vacuum. Four of the FTCs five voting commissioners were appointed by Obama.

Obama had a special relationship with big tech. In 2016 the New York Times described Obama as Americas first truly digital president who routinely pushed policy that pleases the tech-savvy. Obama also boasted about his deep and meaningful connections with tech giants like Apples Steve Jobs, Microsofts Bill Gates and Facebooks Mark Zuckerberg.

In the 2012 election, Google employees were the second-largest source of campaign donations by any single U.S. company, bested only by Microsoft. Multiple Google employees went on to serve in the White House as senior aides, and company executives were drafted to serve on advisory panels.

This relationship between Google and Obama was further cultivated during the entire length of the FTCs investigation. In 2015, the Wall Street Journal even reported that the Obama administrations relationship with Google was very unusual.

The WSJ found that Google representatives were able to get no fewer than 230 meetings with senior White House officials, or one meeting a week. Googles top lobbyist, Johanna Shelton, was in more than 60 meetings. By Apr. 2016, Shelton had been in 128 meetings.

Google also reportedly attempted to dictate to the FTC how the commission should discuss both the company and the antitrust case against it.

Based on all the evidence, Bovard concluded that, since Google helped Obama win a second term, the president and his staffers put their thumbs on the scale to convince the FTC to not pursue any lawsuit against the company.

Republicans call hearing to investigate Obama FTCs decision not to sue Google

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri is leading the effort to investigate why Obamas FTC decided to not sue Google. He is joined by fellow Republican Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee.

On Thursday, Mar. 18, the three senators penned a letter to Democratic Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin of Illinois calling for a public session to conduct oversight into enforcement  or underenforcement  of our nations antitrust laws. In the letter, the senators said:

Confronted with the most consequential antitrust case in a generation and ample evidence of market dominance and misconduct, the nations antitrust enforcers failed to act The FTCs inaction has had broad-sweeping implications for our economy, our culture, and our democracy  far beyond the actions and market power of a single firm.

The senators added that the FTCs failure to act was a signal for other corporations who were beginning to dominate their own spaces in the market that compliance is optional.

They want the regulators who were responsible for letting Google walk away without paying for its crimes to be held to account for allowing the unprecedented economic concentration the country is currently experiencing.

The senators penned a separate letter to acting FTC Chairwoman Rebecca Kelly Slaughter urging the commission to cooperate in case the Democratic-held Senate agrees to a hearing.

The FTC has declined to comment on the matter. Google has dismissed the attempt to complain about a 2013 decision as a D.C. parlor game.

Learn more about how big tech corporations like Google were able to accumulate so much power and dominance in American society by reading the latest articles at TechGiants.news.

Sources include:

TheFederalist.com

Politico.com 1

CommonDreams.org

Politico.com 2

Hawley.Senate.gov [PDF]

TheHill.com
While Covid-19 patients scramble for unavailable beds in Intensive Care Units (ICU) across the country, in Mombasa, the facilities remain almost empty.

By Saturday, only eight patients had been admitted on oxygen support at the county's less than 30 ICU beds.

For instance, at the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital, only two patients had been admitted to the ICU, while Pandya had five and Aga Khan had only one.

However, no Covid-19 patient in Mombasa was on ventilators by press time.

Current admissions stand at 41 with Shimo La Tewa Maximum Prison having the highest number of patients at 15.

Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho cited a county facility with 12 ICU beds, which is currently 50 percent full.

"We almost had 800 beds for coronavirus patients, but we dismantled some remaining with about 100 after flattening the curve. But we are reopening the treatment and isolation centre we had dismantled. We have the capacity and sufficient ICU beds," said Mr Joho.

A total of 10 patients are currently on home-based care.

"Eight are within Nyali/Kisauni sub county while two in Likoni," read the report.

Infections spike

However, Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital chief administrator, Dr Iqbal Khandwalla warned of a spike in infections.

"We have seen a surge of coronavirus patients admitted at our hospital. Every day we are seeing numbers going higher by about 20 percent," warned Dr Khandwalla.

Medics led by the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) Peter Maroko attributed the low admissions at the ICU to the containment measures put in place to curb the disease.

He said Mombasa, which was heavily affected by the pandemic at the onset of the disease, learnt critical lessons on how to protect itself.

"Majority of the people are more cautious except for a few. We were the hardest hit by the virus that led to a lockdown. Definitely we are more cautious," he said.

Mr Joho lamented that the majority of those seeking treatment are going to hospitals while critically sick.

"Don't get too comfortable. The disease is more lethal in the third wave. Covid-19 is still here and we need to be cautious and adhere to the Ministry of Health protocols," said Governor Joho.

He urged Kenyans to go for coronavirus tests and seek treatment before it is too late.

"The virus is spreading really fast but we must defeat this third wave. I am glad residents are asking for the vaccine. But I am surprised frontline health workers are shying away," he insisted.

The county has so far vaccinated about 880 health workers.

At the same time, the county government has reviewed its coronavirus strategy to curb infections. All the quarantine facilities that had been shut down have been reopened.

Travellers from Tanzania lacking coronavirus negative results certificates will have to undergo mandatory quarantine alongside their Kenyan hosts.

The county emergency committee on Covid-19 response categorised public transport vehicles (matatus), ferries, tuktuks and motorcycles as high-risk areas.

The committee has resolved to enforce more protocols in high-risk areas due to the spike of coronavirus in the third wave to curb the spread of the disease.

The over 300,000 daily ferry users will be sensitised to use the Liwatoni flouting bridge to ensure social distancing within ferries plying the channel.

The governor has urged the Kenya Ferry Services and Kenya Ports Authority to develop a program that will ensure 99 percent of the over 300,000 pedestrians crossing the ferry use the flouting bridge.

The committee has further proposed a review of night travel in the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) and airline sectors insisting it is affecting the curfew.

The co-chairman of the county emergency response committee on Covid-19 response, Mr Gilbert Kitiyo directed officials of SGR to reinforce social distancing in the third and second classes and during departure.

"We want to stop congregating of passengers at the SGR terminus. We have also proposed night travel of SGR and airlines be reviewed since it is affecting the curfew. This means taxis must operate at night and hotels. SGR must arrive before curfew time," insisted Mr Kitiyo.

Public health will start inspecting Export Processing Zone (EPZ)'s and factories with many workers to ensure they observe the laid down protocols.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Coronavirus By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"All the mandatory quarantine sites shall be reopened for international travellers," he added.

The committee wants enforcement of the regulations on seminars and workshops. Mr Kitiyo said seminars must be conducted online.

"The seminars must stop for 30 days or be held online because it is possible. We have realised there are more meetings. We have realised many people are flouting the Ministry of Health protocols. But as a committee we have agreed to enforce protocols due to the spike of coronavirus in the third wave in order to curb the disease," said Mr Kitiyo.

Mr Kitiyo, who is also the area county commissioner, said all 14-seater PSVs must carry eight passengers as per the protocols.

The committee will enhance sensitisation and publicity on the virus.

The committee further warned politicians against holding public political meetings and religious leaders flouting the protocols.

"Some mosques, churches, supermarkets, schools and colleges have begun flouting the protocols. Many people think there is no more coronavirus. We will also sensitise touts on the importance of social distancing and adhering to the protocols. Touts, boda boda and tuktuks should stop congregating in one area," insisted the county commissioner.
Krispy Kreme Australia has shared a mouthwatering waffle recipe to celebrate International Waffle Day.

The company posted a snap of its famous Original Glazed doughnuts and a step-by-step guide to transforming them into oozing waffles.

All that's required to make the simple dessert is a pack of the doughnuts from the Krispy Kreme store or 7-Eleven and a waffle press.

'Press your doughnuts until they're as crispy, flat and golden as you so desire, carefully remove your waffle doughnuts with utensils (the glaze can get really hot!) and enjoy,' the brand wrote on Facebook alongside a snap of the maple-slathered dessert.

Krispy Kreme Australia has shared a mouthwatering waffle recipe to celebrate International Waffle Day

All that's required to make the simple dessert is a pack of the doughnuts from the Krispy Kreme store or 7-Eleven and a waffle press

While the idea was met with thousands of positive comments, others were less inclined to try the idea for themselves.

'I've never seen someone harm a doughnut in such an atrocious way,' one man wrote.

'Cleaning of the machine will be a nightmare,' another added.

Others suggested topping the waffles with maple bacon, maple syrup, chocolate sauce and/or vanilla ice cream to take it to the next level.

How to make Original Glazed Doughnut Waffles: Krispy Kreme Step 1: Pick up some Original Glazed Doughnuts in-store (take-away), through drive-thru, from a 7-Eleven or with UberEATS! Step 2: Carefully place your Original Glazed Doughnuts in a waffle press - please mind the heat and keep your fingers clear! Step 3: Press your doughnuts until they're as crispy, flat and golden as you so desire. Stay close by as it doesn't take long! Step 4: Carefully remove your waffle doughnuts with utensils (the glaze can get really hot!) and enjoy! Advertisement

It's not the first time Krispy Kreme has made waves this month, with the doughnut giant recently teaming up with world famous biscuit brand Biscoff to unveil two new flavours

It's not the first time Krispy Kreme has made waves this month, with the doughnut giant recently teaming up with world famous biscuit brand Biscoff to unveil two new flavours.

The limited edition Lotus Biscoff Ring and the Lotus Biscoff Cheesecake doughnuts launched on Tuesday, March 2.

The ring features the iconic Original Glazed doughnut, smothered in the Belgium spread, finished with a hand drizzled swirl of Biscoff Creme.

The limited edition Lotus Biscoff Ring and the Lotus Biscoff Cheesecake doughnuts launched on Tuesday, March 2

And for those with a sweeter tooth, the cheesecake doughnut consists of the signature shell, dipped in the caramelised spread, filled with cream cheese frosting and finished with Biscoff crumb and chocolate ganache drizzle.

Made with natural ingredients, the unique taste and caramelised biscuit, Lotus Biscoff is now available across seven continents, and has a cult following with more than six billion biscuits consumed every year.

Krispy Kremes are available in-store, 7-Eleven stores nationally and through 7-Eleven delivery as well as through online Krispy Kreme delivery, click and collect, UberEATS, Menulog and Deliveroo.

The freshly baked Krispy Kreme Lotus Biscoff doughnuts will be available in-store, 7-Eleven stores nationally and through 7-Eleven delivery as well as through online Krispy Kreme delivery, click and collect, UberEATS, Menulog and Deliveroo.

To find your nearest location, or to order online, visit Krispy Kreme website.
Khin Myo Chit who was shot at her home during protests against the military coup in Mandalay

A seven-year-old girl has been shot dead in Myanmar, becoming the youngest known victim in the crackdown following last months military coup.

The BBC reported that Khin Myo Chits family said she was killed by police while she ran towards her father, during a raid on their home in the city of Mandalay.

Rights group Save the Children says more than 20 children are among dozens of people who have been killed.

In total, the military says 164 people have been killed in protests, while the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) activist group puts the death toll at at least 261. Meanwhile, hundreds of people imprisoned for demonstrating against last months coup in Myanmar were released in a rare conciliatory gesture by the military that appeared aimed at placating the protest movement.

Witnesses outside Insein Prison in Yangon saw busloads of mostly young people looking happy with some flashing the three-finger gesture of defiance adopted by protesters. State-run TV said a total of 628 were freed.

Thein Zaw, a journalist for the Associated Press who was arrested last month while covering an anti-coup protest, was also released.

Myanmars security forces have cracked down violently on protests against a February 1 coup that reversed a decade of progress toward democracy and ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The independent Assistance Association for Political Prisoners says that at least 275 people have been killed in connection with the crackdown. Thousands have also been arrested, and more than 2,000 remain in custody or have charges against them outstanding.

Yesterdays release was an unusual overture by the military, which has so far seemed impervious to both internal pressure from protests and outside pressure from sanctions. In the face of an increasingly brutal crackdown, demonstrators yesterday tried a new tactic that they dubbed a silence strike, calling on people to stay home and businesses to close for the day.

The prisoners released appear to be the hundreds of students detained in early March.

One lawyer, speaking on condition of anonymity because she fears drawing attention from the authorities, said all those released were arrested on March 3.

She said only 55 people detained in connection with the protests remained in the prison, and it is likely they will all face charges under a law that carries a penalty of up to three years in prison.
analysis

The new Murban oil futures contract is a further sign of UAE's wavering commitment to OPEC, desire for independence, and hopes of partnering with global powers.

Although the jury remains out on whether the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) Murban oil futures contract will become the new regional benchmark, it does reveal Abu Dhabi's clear vision of its future and the role hydrocarbons are going to continue to play in it.

Only time will tell, but setting up the Murban contract to launch on Abu Dhabi-based exchange ICE Futures is certainly part of ADNOC'S strategy to displace S&P Global Platts monthly crude price assessments and 'hold the pen' on the emirate's oil future, leveraging its hydrocarbon endowment to the full.

The futures trading platform tests the market appetite for Murban, which looks promising and, if successful, helps Abu Dhabi consolidate its position as a major producer in a shrinking oil market as well as again call into question the UAE's commitment to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) - unclear since December's Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee.

What is certainly clear is that Abu Dhabi is now putting down a huge marker to become an increasingly independent actor in a bid to outpace regional allies in favour of strengthening its future ties with Israel, China, and India

But trading the contract is much more than an attempt to build out the UAE's future hydrocarbon position - it is firmly in line with the UAE's broader strategic goal of pursuing a path independent of its immediate neighbours, hedged by diversifying relations with the US and Asia.

Closer ties with global powers

The UAE - in particular Abu Dhabi - is trying to carve out a role as an indispensable partner to major powers, bringing a skillset including invaluable expertise in conflict resolution, green technologies, defence production, special force deployment, and significant investment.

In many ways the UAE is trying to outpace and outmanoeuvre its neighbours, especially Saudi Arabia and Qatar. But it is noteworthy that ADNOC is playing such a central role in Abu Dhabi's growth strategy in much the same way Saudi Aramco has done in Saudi Arabia because it points to the centralizing impulse of Abu Dhabi's leadership and dependence on a handful of trusted technocrats.

It comes as no surprise ADNOC chief Sultan Al Jaber was recently appointed to the new Supreme Council for Financial and Economic Affairs and is at the centre of the new industrial policy currently under development.

This demonstrates how much faith Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed's places in Al Jaber and the pivotal role he is expected to play in that transition given his dual titles as chair of ADNOC and Special Envoy for Climate Change. Sultan Al Jaber is the UAE's very own Khaled Al Falih - the keystone to every vision.

As to why ADNOC has a central role in Abu Dhabi's economic growth strategy, this is self-evident. The UAE holds 5.6 per cent of the world's known oil reserves and oil and gas account for about 30 per cent of the country's GDP with ADNOC being the largest and most significant actor, and a major national employer with around 55,000 employees.

Although the city state's long-term investment strategy remains to transition to a post-oil economy, it does want to monetize crude assets as quickly as possible while simultaneously preparing alternative and green investment strategies with ADNOC at the centre of those too. As a result, ADNOC plans to boost oil production capacity by 25 per cent to 5m b/d by 2030 with half that capacity expected to be Murban grade.

The official export price for June-loading crude is to be set by the Ice Futures Abu Dhabi (IFAD) contract by the end of April. After almost a year-long delay due to regulatory hurdles brought about by the pandemic, the contract will trade on the new IFAD Exchange and solidify ADNOC's ambition to benchmark Murban as the price determinant for Middle Eastern crude.

ADNOC's goal is for the Abu Dhabi grades, and eventually other crudes, to trade on the spot market against the IFAD contract, making Murban a regional marker. Murban has a production capacity of approximately 2mbpd with around 1mbpd reportedly available for export.

But it is unlikely that figure is accurate as local refining requirements and OPEC quotas which restrict production means less will be available to market. ADNOC is hopeful of high demand for its Murban grade and must ensure it has liquidity to support the contract.

The UAE - in particular Abu Dhabi - is trying to carve out a role as an indispensable partner to major powers, bringing a skillset including invaluable expertise in conflict resolution, green technologies, defence production, special force deployment, and significant investment

Although OPEC curbs technically apply to production not supply, it is considered bad form to increase exports while under quotas. ADNOC believes it has sufficient storage capacity to meet the expected uptick in demand but OPEC restrictions on future production will begin to grate. Given the Murban contract is a key component in the UAE strategy to monetize its resources now, this approach sets it on a potential collision course with OPEC.

ADNOC has also started to import crude for its Ruwais refinery - which until recently processed only Murban - in order to free up more Murban for export and for spot trades. Plus it has announced plans to lift destination restrictions on Murban and all other term crude exports from June, likely to result in more spot activity.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Africa Petroleum Middle East and Africa By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

With 90 per cent of the light grade oil being sold to Asian markets, nine companies have already signed on to be shareholders, including BP, Shell, Total, and Vitol. Two major Chinese crude importers - its largest refiner Rongsheng and state-run trading firm Unipec - have also expressed interest.

But concerns over adoption remain as other Gulf producers, notably Saudi Arabia, use different mechanisms to set their term export prices and are expected to be slow to change old habits. Some buyers may also wish to continue to buy Murban and other Abu Dhabi crudes on the spot market at differentials to Dubai because of familiarity with that system and because their other imports are linked to Dubai as well.

However, regardless of whether these concerns become a reality or not, what is certainly clear is that Abu Dhabi is now putting down a huge marker to become an increasingly independent actor in a bid to outpace regional allies in favour of strengthening its future ties with Israel, China, and India.

Dr Neil Quilliam

Associate Fellow, Middle East and North Africa Programme
AG Nessel Applauds Success of Lawsuit Challenging Trump Administration's Food Assistance Cuts, Urges Congress to Expand Program

AG Nessel Applauds Success of Lawsuit Challenging Trump Administration's Food Assistance Cuts, Urges Congress to Expand Program

Kelly Rossman-McKinney 517-512-9342 Attorney General

March 25, 2021

LANSING  Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel applauded the U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Columbias dismissal of an appeal to strike down the Trump Administrations attempt to revoke food assistance for approximately 700,000 Americans.

In January 2020, AG Nessel joined a multistate coalition led by AG Karl A. Racine of the District of Columbia and AG Letitia James of New York in suing the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to challenge a new rule that would have severely limited states flexibility to provide food assistance to individuals struggling to find work. Siding with the coalition, Chief Judge Beryl Howell temporarily halted parts of the rule in March 2020, and in October she struck down the rule in its entirety, protecting access to SNAP benefits for Michigan residents who rely on the program.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) initially appealed that decision but on Monday, the DOJ asked the Court to dismiss the appeal. The Court did so on Tuesday. As a result, Chief Judge Howells decision striking down the rule is final, and the cuts will not go into effect.

Limiting food assistance in the midst of a global pandemic would have been cruel, Nessel said. This is an important victory and I applaud the dismissal of this appeal. Now is the time to eliminate barriers to this vital food assistance program relied upon by so many Michigan residents.

Background on the Litigation

SNAP has served as the countrys primary response to hunger since 1977. The program provides access to nutrition for millions of Americans with limited incomes who would otherwise struggle with food insecurity.

While the federal government pays the full cost of SNAP benefits, it shares the costs of administering the program on a 50-50 basis with the states, which operate the program. In its 1996 federal welfare reform law, Congress limited the time period that unemployed able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) could access SNAP benefits to just three months in any 36-month period. Still, the law granted states the ability to request waivers for that time limit if the state or part of the state had an unemployment rate above 10 percent, or did not have enough jobs to provide employment for the SNAP recipients who lived there. Congress has reauthorized the statute four times without limiting states discretion over these mattersincluding in the 2018 Farm Bill, in which a bipartisan coalition rejected nearly identical restrictions to those later created by the rule.

Shortly after President Trump signed the 2018 Farm Bill into law, the USDA announced a proposed rule seeking to do what Congress had just expressly rejected. Despite strong opposition from a broad range of stakeholdersincluding a multistate coalition of Attorneys General the USDAs final rule went even further than the initial proposal in restricting state discretion over waivers and exemptions, and would have produced significant obstacles for states.

In January 2020, Michigan joined with 20 states, the District of Columbia and New York City to file suit, asserting that the rule undermined Congress intent for the food-stamp program, and that the USDA violated the federal rulemaking process. The coalition asked the Court to halt implementation of the rule immediately to avoid hurting Americans who relied on the program and states that administered it. In March 2020, Chief Judge Howell granted the coalitions request in part and halted the April 1 implementation of significant portions of the rule while the case proceeded. In October, Chief Judge Howell issued a 67-page decision striking down the rule in its entirety because the rule violated the federal rulemaking process, contradicted the 2018 Farm Bill and Congressional intent for the food-stamp program, and was poorly reasoned.

DOJ appealed Chief Judge Howells decision setting aside the rule. But in a filing on Monday, DOJ asked the Court to dismiss its appeal. The Court did so on Tuesday, leaving Chief Judge Howells decision as the final ruling on the matter and effectively preventing implementation of the rule.

Expertise Leads to Additional SNAP Action

Based on the expertise developed defending SNAP from the Trump Administrations attempted cuts, Attorney General Nessel joined a letter to Congress signed by 17 states and New York City on Friday in support of the Improving Access to Nutrition Act. If enacted, the bill would eliminate limitations on the time period during which ABAWDs can access benefits. The letter argues that those limitations have proven ineffective in encouraging employment and serve only to prevent those who cannot find work from accessing essential nutrition. The coalition further notes that the process for seeking waivers and exemptions from the time period due to lack of jobs in an area creates significant administrative burdens on states and that the data needed to show a lack of jobs is not always available. Finally, the letter notes that passage of the Improving Access to Nutrition Act would prevent future administrations from cruel attempts to cut off nutritional assistance.

A copy of the letter is available here.

Joining Attorney General Nessel in sending this letter are the Attorneys General from Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as the Corporation Counsel of New York City.

A copy of the Courts order dismissing the appeal is available here.

Several high-profile organizations filed briefs and declarations supporting the coalitions arguments, including the U.S. House of Representatives, the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the Food Research and Action Center, and a broad coalition of legal aid and anti-poverty groups. The multistate action was consolidated with an action brought on behalf of private plaintiffs by the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia.
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.
Dhaka, March 25 : The UN has donated $14 million to help rebuild Rohingya camps in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar district after they were destroyed in a massive blaze earlier this week, leaving thousands of the refugees homeless and killing at least 15 of them.

The fire on Monday ripped through four refugee camps at Balukhali, home to hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who fled persecution in neighbouring Myanmar, leaving at a dozen others wounded, reports dpa news agency.

"I am allocating $14 million from UNCERF (UN Central Emergency Response Fund) to help rebuild shelter and provide other emergency services for the tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees affected by the devastating fire in the camps in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh," Mark Lowcock, the UN humanitarian chief, announced in a tweet.

The funds will also help provide urgent water and sanitation services, food, mental and psychosocial health assistance, the UN said.

The government and volunteers from aid agencies have started supporting the fire victims and rebuilding shelters. Aid agencies estimated some 10,000 shelters were destroyed.

The fire displaced more than 45,000 people mostly Rohingya refugees, the UN agency said.

A hospital and other critical health, nutrition and education structures were also destroyed in Monday's fire.

Those who were displaced have sought refuge in nearby camps, shelters and school buildings.

"Rohingya refugees need our support now more than ever, as the pandemic continues to take its toll and they approach the monsoon season," said Lowcock.

More than 1 million Rohingya Muslims have been living in 34 squalid camps built on more than 3,000 hectares of hilly land in Cox's Bazar after they fled persecution in Myanmar.

Nearly 750,000 of them crossed the border after Myanmar launched a military crackdown on the ethnic group in 2017.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 16:04:31|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

RIO DE JANEIRO, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian club Gremio has joined the battle to sign River Plate and Colombia international striker Rafael Borre, according to local press reports.

The 25-year-old's contract with River is due to expire in June meaning he is now free to negotiate a pre-contract agreement with interested clubs.

Brazil's Globo Esporte news portal said Gremio is willing to pay Borre a signing-on fee of 4.5 million U.S. dollars plus an annual salary of 1.5 million U.S. dollars.

Borre has also reportedly attracted the interest of Gremio's Brazilian rivals Palmeiras and Sao Paulo.

Capped twice for Colombia's national team, Borre has scored 50 goals in 130 appearances for River Plate since joining the club from Villarreal in 2017. Enditem
Dont throw away that mask just yet  even if you have been vaccinated against COVID-19.

The science is still unclear whether you can spread the coronavirus even after getting immunized, experts say.

We dont know, said Dr. Adam Jarrett, executive vice president of medical affairs at Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck. Its looking more and more like (its) unlikely, but there is the theoretical possibility that the vaccine does not prevent all infections. It just prevents serious infections.

Jarrett and other doctors caution people not to shed their masks once and for all after getting inoculated. While the three vaccines approved in the U.S. are effective, theyre not foolproof.

You could have a very mild, or what we call subclinical infection, and pass it on to someone, which is why people should still be wearing masks, Jarrett said.

Much of the uncertainty revolves around the variants that are circulating with increased frequency in New Jersey and throughout the nation. Strains that emerged in the United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa are among those that concern experts.

More than 400 cases of the U.K. variant, seven cases of two California strains, six cases of two Brazilian strains and one case of the South African strain have been found in New Jersey as of Wednesday, the state Department of Health reported.

And an additional 80 cases of the New York variant have also been discovered.

The other possibility is there may not be as much protection against the variants, Jarrett said. So you could have the vaccine, get exposed to the variant, get infected from that and then pass that on.

Dr. Eddy Bresnitz, medical advisor to the New Jersey COVID-19 response team and chairman of the states COVID Professional Advisory Committee, said Wednesday that four strains are of particular concern: the U.K, South African and two Brazilian variants. The U.K. strain, he said, is the most worrisome.

But the variants do not appear to reduce the efficacy of vaccines, Bresnitz said, despite previous vaccine trial data that suggested otherwise.

The risk of infection for those vaccinated is far lower. But people can definitely still contract  and spread  the coronavirus during that stage between doses if you were given the Moderna or Pfizer/BioNTech two-shot vaccines.

Experts say the first shot  known as the prime dose  offers protection, just not the full armor. So people are still vulnerable until they receive the second shot, known as a booster.

If you were to be vaccinated with [the first dose of the] Pfizer or Moderna today  each one of those vaccines may be around 50 to 53% effective, explained Dr. Judith A. Lightfoot, chief of infectious disease at Rowan Universitys School of Osteopathic Medicine.

Lightfoot has a patient who recently encountered this very scenario: The woman received her first dose March 13 and was infected before she could get the second shot.

The patient, who was two weeks from her second dose, didnt have a fever, but she did have chills, nausea and diarrhea. She was sent to a hospital and tested positive.

So, can you acquire it after the first dose of the vaccine? Yes. And this is why we tell you to continue your distancing, your handwashing, wearing your mask, taking all the precautions, Lightfoot said.

She said its unclear exactly when or how the woman contracted the disease. But the point is, its possible, she said.

However, Lightfoot agreed that the chances of acquiring and spreading the virus are low for those who have been fully vaccinated.

You should be fine  you should have enough protective antibodies, she said.

But again, theres a caveat: the unknown surrounding the variants.

When you speak of variants, has it been documented that people who have received both doses of the vaccine have acquired infection? Yes, it has, Lightfoot said.

This is why experts say keep wearing that mask and maintaining social distance  even after a second vaccine shot. Not just for your safety, but for others.

If we felt more confident about the fact that the vaccine was 100% protective, then anyone who was vaccinated could take their masks off, Jarrett said. Right now, the appropriate recommendation is you still wear your mask. If youre in a small group of people that have all been vaccinated, you can take your mask off.

But other than that, you still need to be wearing masks because you could pass on a subclinical infection to someone.

So when will experts have a definitive answer? It may be coming sooner rather than later as the number of vaccine doses distributed grows by 500,000 every week and experts can analyze a larger sample size.

I am cautiously optimistic that we will work the science out over the next month or two, and well be able to answer that question for sure, Jarrett said. But right now its still an unknown.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com.
Around fifty souvenir shop workers from all over the province met in Plaza de la Constitucion in Malaga on Tuesday demanding help to save their sector. Chanting "Without help, we are condemned," the group complained that they have been forgotten during the coronavirus crisis. Central to their aims is being recognised as part of the tourist sector in order to receive government aid to cope with the ongoing situation.

During the event, representatives from the newly created National Association for Tourist and Souvenir Businesses noted that the problems facing souvenir shops at the moment stem from confusion in how they have been officially classified. Until now, most have been registered as hardware stores or homeware shops, making them ineligible for subsidies afforded to the tourism industry.

Revenue in some shops has dropped by 95% and the Associations Malaga spokesperson Miguel Angel Gomez explained that this is down to a lack of tourists visiting from outside the area.

He commented: "If someone visits somewhere else in their home province, theyre not going to buy a souvenir in the shops."

Although no data is available at a provincial level, Gomez pointed out the size of the souvenir sector at a national level, revealing that there 7,000 stores across Spain providing work for over 30,000 people. He added: Souvenirs are a big thing for anyone who comes to Spain- these shops are the first thing they see when they arrive at our airports or train stations.

Julia Perez is a typical example of a souvenir shop worker struggling to make ends meet at the moment. Her shop, Souvenirs4You, is located in La Carihuela in Torremolinos - a tourist hotspot in normal times. However, some days she now sells nothing. She remarks: Im basically just opening the shop to get out of the house, as nobody is buying anything.

Its a similar story for Rafael Rojas, who runs Rondando Souvenirs based in Ronda. Before the pandemic, the company had five stores in Ronda and four in Seville. Now, two stores in Ronda are the only ones that remain open.

With revenue currently less than 50 a day in the remaining stores, he stressed: "We want to be recognised as part of the tourism sector, because were a very important part of it."
The choice of Alan Turing to appear on the 50 banknote marks another step in the nations long overdue recognition of this very great man, Stephen Fry has said.

The actor welcomed the decision, which was made after the Bank of England invited nominations from the public for someone from the field of science, but said much progress is still needed to achieve an equal society.

In a YouTube video posted by the Bank of England, Fry said: Featuring him on a banknote is something Ive called for for a number of years.

The choice of Alan Turing and the manner at which it was arrived at, by public nomination, marks another step in our nations long overdue recognition of this very great man.

And there is much to recognise in his life, his interests and talents ranged far and wide.

We could talk about Alan Turing the prodigious mathematician whose early work changed the course of academic higher mathematics.

Or, Alan Turing the mathematician who turned his hand to cryptography and codebreaking, that helped change the course of the Second World War.

Andrew Bailey unveils the new A50 note, and is joined by actor and writer Stephen Fry @stephenfry and scientist Dr Simon Singh. In this video they each explain why Alan Turing is such an inspirational figure to them. https://t.co/hoj6xsUkLE #TheNew50  Bank of England (@bankofengland) March 25, 2021

Alan Turing, the cryptographer, who then conceived of and designed one of the worlds first programmable computers.

Alan Turing, the computer scientist, who loved nature and became a pioneer in the field of developmental biology.

And Alan Turing, the man who chose to be openly gay, at a time when this natural choice could attract the most barbaric punishments.

For many minorities, the 1950s were a particularly oppressive time in this countrys history.

This was especially true for the LGBTQ community.

Alan Turing was among the thousands of men who were harried and harangued by the authorities.

Not just down to the hostile attitude to their sexuality alone, but also under the bigoted belief that there was a link between homosexuality and communism.

That both had to be rooted out of British society, as part of the Cold War effort.

Alan was arrested in 1952 after the police learned that he had had a sexual relationship with another man.

He was tried and sentenced under the gross indecency laws of the time.

Given the awful choice of a prison term or hormone therapy, what transpired to be chemical castration though this wasnt revealed to him at the trial, Alan Turing chose the hormone therapy.

Although friends and colleagues from his work at GCHQ and Manchester University spoke up for him at his trial, attesting to his enormous contribution to the war effort and British academic prestige, it wasnt enough to save him from this cruel punishment.

Shortly after undergoing his hormone therapy Alan Turing committed suicide.

Sixteen days shy of his 42nd birthday.

Over the past decade, Alans life story, with its soaring highs and tragic lows, has become known to a much wider audience.

Today he is the overwhelming choice to be the figurehead of the new 50 banknote.

This follows other significant steps taken in Britain to right this historic wrong.

In 2009, prime minister Gordon Brown made an official public apology on behalf of the British government for the appalling way Alan Turing was treated.

In 2013, Queen Elizabeth II granted Turing a posthumous pardon.

In 2017, the Turing law was passed, pardoning the tens of thousands of people convicted under historic laws outlawing homosexual acts.

Although belated, this recognition of Alan Turings achievements goes some way to address the shameful treatment he was subjected to in the final years of his life.

And whilst the injustice perpetrated on the tens of thousands of LGBTQ people who were persecuted by the legal system cant be undone by pardoning Alan or by passing the law that bears his name, using his name as a vehicle to apologise to a community for what was done to them was an important step.

By figuring him on this new banknote, we have chosen to celebrate Alan Turings many remarkable achievements.

Much progress is still needed before we achieve the equal society we strive for, but by choosing this man as the figurehead, we are attesting to our belief that people should be judged by what they can contribute to the world and the ideas they bring.

And not anything else.
CANBERRA, Australia (AP)  A motorist trapped in a car in Sydney on Wednesday became the first fatality of the Australian east coast floods.

The car was trapped in floodwater in northwest Sydney at dawn and emergency services recovered the car with a body inside early afternoon, officials said. The body has yet to be formally identified.

While rain has eased across New South Wales state, the flooding emergency continued with rising river levels.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison expressed the Parliaments condolences to the family of the man who died at Glenorie. Morrison said his own policeman father had taken their family camping near Glenorie every Easter.

Morrison reflected on the states recent struggles. Years of drought across most of the state culminated in catastrophic wildfires last Southern Hemisphere summer. The fires were followed by the pandemic and now record floods.

This is a terribly sad day for that family, Morrison told Parliament. We have seen so much over the course of the past year and more as this country has battled so many things  floods, fires, viruses, drought and now these floods again.

Emergency services have made hundreds of rescues since the flood emergency in Australias most populous state began last week.

A flotilla of boats was delivering crucial supplies to isolated communities on the flooded Hawkesbury River northwest of Sydney and ferrying stranded residents to safety.

Morrison took a flight over the Hawkesbury to survey the damage early Wednesday.

The expanse of water that went right across that region was quite devastating to see and to see the homes, only their roofs and those of out sheds, Morrison said.

Cabinet Minister Peter Dutton said more than 700 defense personnel would soon be deployed as the floods recede to help people return to their homes and businesses as quickly as possible.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Relentless improvement will always be our focus in order to continue delivering the high-quality products and services our customers require, " said Barry Smallwood, President of Akimas Emerging Markets Group.

Akima today announced that its subsidiary, Cloud Lake Technology, has achieved a bronze level partnership with Scaled Agile Inc., the certifying body of the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe). Integrating Lean, Agile, and DevOps practices, SAFe enables Cloud Lake to rapidly deliver innovative, high-quality solutions to their military and federal civilian customers.

Lean-Agile transformation is essential to adapt to constantly changing technology and market conditions no matter the size of the agency or organization. As a Scaled Agile partner, Cloud Lake is globally recognized for its ability to leverage SAFe methodologies to deliver competitive systems and solutions to its customers in the shortest, most sustainable timeframe.

We understand that technology is ever-changing, and our teams are committed to staying at the forefront of these advances, said Barry Smallwood, President of Akimas Emerging Markets Group. Relentless improvement will always be our focus in order to continue delivering the high-quality products and services our customers require.

About Cloud Lake Technology

Cloud Lake Technology is an 8(a) company and wholly owned subsidiary of Akima, an Alaska Native Corporation (ANC), specializing in delivering optimized mission performance through advanced technologies and systems. We offer highly specialized, digital services that enable customers to quickly and cost-effectively harvest, analyze, and leverage the greatest possible value from the increasingly vast amounts of data they are required to manage. Cloud Lakes core services include critical infrastructure protection, enterprise IT, advanced analytics, and business lifecycle and mission support. Cloud Lake is CMMI Development and Services Level 3 (V2.0) and ISO 9001:2015 (QSR-1139) certified, and a Virginia Values Veterans (V3)-Certified company. Learn more at http://www.cloudlakellc.com.

About Akima

Akima is a global enterprise with more than 7,500 employees, delivering agile solutions to the federal government in the core areas of facilities, maintenance, and repair; information technology; logistics; protective services; systems engineering; mission support; furniture, fixtures & equipment (FF&E); and construction. As a subsidiary of NANA, an Alaska Native Corporation owned by more than 14,000 Inupiat shareholders, Akimas core mission is to enable superior outcomes for our customers missions while simultaneously creating a long-lived asset for NANA consistent with our Inupiat values. In 2020, Washington Technology ranked Akima #39 amongst the top 100 government contractors. To learn more about Akima, visit http://www.akima.com.


BBC confirmed this week that they rejected complaints of 'blatant projection of homosexuality' regarding her same-sex pairing with Nicola Adams during last year's show.

And Katya Jones proved to have the full support of Strictly Come Dancing behind her on Thursday as she sported a purple plaid coat and burgundy trousers after being confirmed for their 2021 pro dancer line-up.

The dancing sensation, 31, had plenty to smile about as she exited BBC's Morning Live studio after presenting the Strictly Fitness segment.

Catch the eye: Katya Jones beamed on Thursday as she sported a purple plaid coat and burgundy trousers after being confirmed for Strictly Come Dancing's 2021 line-up

Her colourful outfit, reminiscent of the 70s' psychedelic era, comprised of a knitted plaid coat and navy top with a rainbow and the word 'happy,' emblazoned on the front.

Katya added a golden touch with dazzling metallic brogues.

She decided to keep her make-up to a minimum and she styled her chocolate tresses in an effortless wave as she departed the building in London.

On Wednesday, Strictly announced its professional line-up for the 2021 series with reigning double champion Oti Mabuse returning to the show.

Back to business: The professional dancer, 31, had plenty to smile about as she exited BBC 's Morning Live studio after presenting the Strictly Fitness segment on the show

The BBC has confirmed the 16 dancers who will hit the dance floor this Autumn, with fan favourites such as Anton Du Beke, Johannes Radebe and Dianne Buswell all back.

It comes after it was reported that BBC bosses were 'worried' that Oti, 30, would leave the show after landing a new judging job on ITV's The Masked Dancer.

But it's now clear that Oti will be back in the ballroom when the new series kicks off in the autumn after being crowned the champion of the 2020 show with Bill Bailey following her 2019 win with Kelvin Fletcher.

While Anton, 54, is to continue his reign as Strictly Come Dancing's longest-serving professional dancer by marking his 19th season on the show.

Positive: Her colourful outfit, reminiscent of the 70s' psychedelic era, comprised of a knitted plaid coat and navy top with a rainbow and the word 'happy,' emblazoned on the front

Natural beauty: She decided to keep her make-up to a minimum and she styled her chocolate tresses in an effortless wave as she departed the building in London

Making up the female pros are Oti, Janette Manrara, Amy Dowden, Dianne, 31, Karen Hauer, Katya, Luba Mushtuk, Nadiya Bychkova and Nancy Xu.

While Aljaz Skorjanec, Anton, Giovanni Pernice, Gorka Marquez, Graziano Di Prima, Johannes, 33, and Neil Jones make up the male pros.

Sarah James, Executive Producer of BBC Studios said of the news: 'We are so thrilled to be welcoming back our incredible line-up of professional dancers for 2021.

'Their passion and dedication for Strictly shone through more than ever last year as they all sacrificed so much to deliver an unforgettable series during unprecedented and challenging times.

Secured a spot: On Wednesday, the BBC confirmed which 16 dancers will return to the dance floor for the upcoming Autumn series

'With so much talent returning to the ballroom, the 2021 series promises more show-stopping choreography, memorable performances and world class dancing.'

There are normally a number of reserve dancers who perform in the group dances and step in if another pro is unwell or injured.

Also on Wednesday, the iconic BBC dancing competition rejected complaints made about Strictly Come Dancing's first ever same-sex pairing.

According to The Mirror, the broadcaster has stood by former professional boxer Nicola, 38, and her dance partner Katya after some members of the public complained about the pairing.

Here come the girls! Making up the female pros are Amy Dowden, Oti Mabuse, Luba Mushtuk, Nadiya Bychkova, Dianne Buswell, Janette Manrara, Karen Hauer, Katya and Nancy Xu (pictured L-R in 2020)

Pros: Anton Du Beke, Gorka Marquez, Graziano Di Prima, Neil Jones, Aljaz Skorjanec, Giovanni Pernice and Johannes Radebe make up the male pros (pictured L-R in 2020)

The complaints referred specifically to the December 19 final and were made over the alleged 'blatant projection of homosexuality', according to BBC's Executive Complaints Unit (ECU).

Although they did not confirm the exact number of complaints made, the BBC did say they were 'not upheld'.

Nicola and Katya were the show's first ever same-sex pairing and were forced to pull out of the competition early after Katya tested positive for Covid-19.

A representative for the BBC declined to comment on the complaints when contacted by MailOnline.
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.
LAUSANNE, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) (NYSE: PM) announced in the 2021 Proxy Statement filed today that its Board of Directors has nominated two new members, Dr. Juan Jose Daboub and Mr. Shlomo Yanai.

Additionally, Mr. Jacek Olczak has been nominated to the Board following the announcement of his appointment as CEO, a role he will assume immediately following the Annual Shareholders Meeting on May 5.

Dr. Juan Jose Daboub

Dr. Daboub is an entrepreneurially minded professional who started his career as an engineer before moving into government. In 1999, he was the youngest senior cabinet member in El Salvador, serving first as Chief of Staff to the president and then as Minister of Finance. Later, as a Managing Director at the World Bank Group, he was credited with having driven several corporate initiatives and reforms, including leading the institutions global agenda on governance and anti-corruption. In the last decade, Dr. Daboub has focused on climate adaptation and energy transition through public and private investment vehicles and not-for-profit organizations, including as Chair of the Council on Climate Change at the World Economic Forum and founding CEO of the Global Adaptation Institute. He is currently President of The Daboub Partnership and of ThinkHUGE USA-Central America Job Creation Council.

Mr. Lucio Noto, PMIs interim Chairman, welcomed the nomination, saying: Juan Jose fully embraces PMIs commitment to delivering a smoke-free future. Juan Joses experience across multiple business sectors, combined with his deep understanding of geopolitics and international institutions, will be a great addition to the PMI board.

Dr. Daboub studied industrial engineering at North Carolina State University in the United States, where he earned a bachelors degree, a masters degree, and a PhD.

Mr. Shlomo Yanai

Mr. Yanai was President and CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries from 2007 to 2012. In that time, he led the companys international expansion and increased annual revenues by nearly USD 10 billion. Prior to that, Mr. Yanai was President and CEO of ADAMA (formerly Makhteshim Agan Industries Ltd.) for three years. His time at those organizations and later as a board member or Chair of several other companies in the pharma space, as well as his current position as Chairman of the Board of Lumenis, a medical devices company, have given Mr. Yanai a solid understanding of the science behind drug discovery, development, and regulation. He also served in the Israeli Defense Forces for more than 30 years, reaching the rank of Major General. In his military career, Mr. Yanai worked extensively with politicians and public sector bodies.

Mr. Noto endorsed the nomination, saying: The combination of Shlomos broad board experience and his knowledge of the pharma industry and its regulatory processes will bring to the Board an extremely relevant set of skills as PMI continues to develop and commercialize scientifically validated smoke-free products and starts deploying its beyond-nicotine strategy.

Mr. Yanai, a graduate of Harvard Business Schools Advanced Management Program (AMP), holds a BA (cum laude) in political science and economics from Tel Aviv University and a masters degree (MPA) in national resources administration from George Washington University. He is also a graduate of the National War College of the U.S. National Defense University.

The nominations announced today follow the appointments of Michel Combes and Bonin Bough to the Board of Directors in December 2020 and February 2021, respectively. Mr. Combes is President of SoftBank Group International and oversees several SoftBank portfolio companies. He was Chief Financial Officer and then CEO and a member of the board of directors of Sprint, CEO of Vodafone Europe, CEO of Alcatel-Lucent, CEO and Chief Operating Officer of Altice, and Chairman and CEO of SFR Group. Prior, he held several positions within French ministries, at France Telecom (including Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer) and TDF (Telediffusion de France). Mr. Bough is the founder and Chief Growth Officer of growth accelerator Bonin Ventures. He has been Chief Growth and Marketing Officer of Sundial Brands (Unilever); Chief Media and E-commerce Officer of Mondelez International; Vice President, Global Media and Consumer Engagement of Kraft Foods Group; and Chief Digital Officer of PepsiCo.

Philip Morris International: Delivering a Smoke-Free Future

Philip Morris International (PMI) is leading a transformation in the tobacco industry to create a smoke-free future and ultimately replace cigarettes with smoke-free products to the benefit of adults who would otherwise continue to smoke, society, the company, and its shareholders. PMI is a leading international tobacco company engaged in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes, as well as smoke-free products, associated electronic devices and accessories, and other nicotine-containing products in markets outside the U.S. In addition, PMI ships versions of its IQOS Platform 1 device and consumables to Altria Group, Inc. for sale under license in the U.S., where these products have received marketing authorizations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) pathway; the FDA has also authorized the marketing of a version of IQOS and its consumables as a modified risk tobacco product (MRTP), finding that an exposure modification order for these products is appropriate to promote the public health. PMI is building a future on a new category of smoke-free products that, while not risk-free, are a much better choice than continuing to smoke. Through multidisciplinary capabilities in product development, state-of-the-art facilities, and scientific substantiation, PMI aims to ensure that its smoke-free products meet adult consumer preferences and rigorous regulatory requirements. PMIs smoke-free product portfolio includes heat-not-burn and nicotine-containing vapor products. As of Dec. 31, 2020, IQOS is available for sale in 64 markets in key cities or nationwide, and PMI estimates that approximately 12.7 million adults around the world have already switched to IQOS and stopped smoking. For more information, please visit www.pmi.com and www.pmiscience.com.

# # #

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005426/en/

David Fraser

Philip Morris International

T. +41 (0)79 843 8603

E. david.fraser@pmi.com

Source: Philip Morris International
WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden on Wednesday tapped Vice President Kamala Harris to oversee efforts to slow the rush of migrants to the southern border, handing her a high-profile and politically fraught assignment amid fresh concerns from lawmakers and activists about the growing crisis.

The move came on the same day a delegation of senior White House officials and members of Congress visited a facility in Carrizo Springs, Texas, where migrant children are being held. The Biden administration is seeking urgently to process, shelter and care for thousands of young children and teenagers arriving at the border without their parents.

Biden called Harris "the most qualified person" to lead the U.S. dialogue with Mexico and Central American countries "that are going to need help in stemming the movement of so many folks."

"It's not her full-responsibility job, but she is leading the effort because I think the best thing to do is to put someone who, when he or she speaks, they don't have to wonder about, is that where the president is," Biden said. "When she speaks, she speaks for me."

The decision puts Harris in charge of one of the toughest problems facing the Biden administration, involving an issue that has vexed the last few presidencies. Harris until now lacked a specific portfolio, though Biden had said he wanted to put her in charge of pressing issues as they arose, a role he played for former president Barack Obama.

Harris is widely seen as a potential successor to Biden, and her new assignment gives her an opportunity to build her foreign policy credentials, strengthen her ties to the Latino community and resolve a high-profile problem. But the potential for failure is also clear, and a stumble could hurt her presidential ambitions.

Appearing with Biden on Wednesday, Harris echoed Biden's increasingly tough warnings to would-be migrants and pledged to tackle the underlying economic and social conditions that are driving people to flee their home countries.

"While we are clear that people should not come to the border now, we also understand that we will enforce the law and that we also - because we can chew gum and walk at the same time - must address the root causes that cause people to make the trek," Harris said.

The balance will not be easy. Human rights activists have raised concerns about migrants' treatment at the border and the housing provided for children. If those worries do not subside, Harris could face backlash from a Democratic base that is already frustrated with Biden on immigration issues.

More broadly, there is no guarantee Harris's talks with the leaders of Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras will yield results.

For Biden, who oversaw similar immigration issues for Obama, the decision effectively creates a point person for dealing with the flow of migrants, potentially taking some of the heat off him as he addresses other priorities, such as the coronavirus pandemic and the economy. But it suggests the White House sees the border surge as a bigger problem than it sometimes conveys.

As one senior administration official put it, "Starting today, the Northern Triangle nations and Mexico will know there is one senior official dedicated to this effort."

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the move before Biden announced it.

Harris will have two overarching goals in her new role, according to senior administration officials: She will be working to stem the flow of migrants and she will seek to establish a strategic partnership with Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. The latter three are often called the Northern Triangle countries.

Republicans like Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey wasted little time questioning Harris's qualifications for the task and highlighting some of the liberal stances she took when she ran for president. "At no point in her career has she given any indication that she considers the border a problem or a serious threat," Ducey said.

But on Wednesday, much of the attention was on the Biden administration's struggles to house and quickly process unaccompanied migrant children arriving at the border, as well as complaints that the administration is not being transparent about the border situation.

Responding to bipartisan calls from lawmakers to give the media more access to border facilities, the Department of Health and Human Services allowed one network camera to accompany the White House-led delegation on a visit to a facility in Carrizo Springs, where migrant children are being held.

The delegation included Julissa Reynoso, who serves as chief of staff to first lady Jill Biden; Angela Ramirez, Biden's legislative liaison with the U.S. House; Cindy Huang, director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement under the HHS; and Tyler Moran, a top Biden immigration adviser.

The group also included several members of Congress. Among them was Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, who has been a vocal critic of the administration and has urged officials to consult local officials like him more often.

On Monday, Cuellar released photos he had received from inside a temporary border tent in Donna, Texas, that was operating well beyond capacity. The photos showed children placed in crowded areas divided by clear partitions, some huddled under foil blankets on modest bedding.

The White House delegation did not visit that facility, which is run by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, a law enforcement agency. The facility in Carrizo Springs is run by the HHS. Some Democratic lawmakers who were asked to join the delegation declined the administration's invitation, according to people familiar with the planning.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the administration is open toallowing reporters into other facilities as well. "This is just the first step in a process of providing greater access to the media," she said.

Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Texas - who, like Cuellar, represents a district that touches the border - called on the White House to reconsider its decision to allow all unaccompanied children into the United States.

"One logical approach to this situation would be to return the older teenagers to their home country and provide funding for an effort supervised by the United Nations to properly care for those teenagers upon their return," Vela said in a statement.

"Then, once the pandemic is under control, you could phase the program back in so that there would be some semblance of control over the process," he added.

There are more than 11,000 children in HHS custody. Nearly 5,000 more are in CBP jails, which is nearly twice the previous record, according to the latest figures released by the government. Under pressure to be more transparent, officials provided fresh data Wednesday.

More sites that house migrant children could soon open in San Antonio and a site near El Paso. In San Antonio, Bexar County officials are in talks with the federal government to house migrant children at the Freeman Coliseum.

"What's happening on the border, as we've seen before, is just an incredible human tragedy," said San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg. "So my hope is that what happens going forward is treated with the utmost compassion and care."

Wednesday's White House delegation visit came ahead of a planned trip to the Carrizo Springs facility by House Democrats on Friday. Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, who represent Texas, are leading a Senate delegation to the border this week.

- - -

The Washington Post's Silvia Foster-Frau and Ashley Parker contributed to this report.
Re: A stunning rebuke

Well, my, my, my. It seems as if Mr. McAdam is at it again.

Another koolaid-induced diatribe against the federal Conservatives. Long on rhetoric, and short on actual facts.

Lets start with this little tidbit: The jury is not out on climate change.

Oh, it most certainly is Mr. McAdam. Just because you and others of your ilk accept it as gospel, doesnt mean that the jury is out.

Lets face it, if the jury really was out, your heroes Al Gore and David Suzuki (not to mention your dreamboat idol the current PM aka Mr. Two Planes) would be taking dramatic steps of their own to lead by example.

The luxurious mansions would be a thing of the past, and they would be beacons to fall in line behind.

Except thats not the case is it.

Which brings us to another Its my opinion, and therefore it cannot be disputed argument from Mr. McAdam. Namely that the science is not in dispute.

What science is that? The science that led Al Gore to predict an ice-free Arctic? While Gore attributed these predictions to scientists, they stemmed from a selective reading of aggressive estimates regarding future melting.

That doesnt sound like science. More like fear-mongering.

And thats the other part of your science argument. It aint science if it aint proven. And since most of the science is based on future predictions, were going to have to wait for thirty or forty years to find out if you alarmists are actually right.

And heres the real issue. Why is it whenever someone has to backtrack on a previous claim (like say, Dr. Tam with her the virus presents a low-risk to Canadians and her masks dont help bits), that the rallying cry is: The science has changed?

Now I get it, science can, and does change. Thats how it went from global warming to climate change, isnt it? Maybe that was just how the science was interpreted.

Except interestingly enough 'climate science.' Apparently, thats sacrosanct.

But the real kicker is this hyper-partisan nonsense has to be that the current federal government actually cares about the environment.

Witness: Liberals have been consistent in our efforts to protect the environment.

No one who lives in British Columbia can actually think that statement is true. Because the current federal governments plan to deal with climate change is a carbon tax.

And since weve had one in B.C. for over ten years now, were perfectly situated to address the science behind a carbon tax.

No significant reduction in total emissions. No, we will not hit our reduction targets.

We have, however contributed a great deal to the government coffers though. Thats the only thing the carbon tax has done for B.C.

Now the alarmists  surprisingly  were not alarmed when the data did not back up their vaunted claims about the effectiveness of a carbon tax.

They just shifted gears and said per capita emissions have gone down. Which  science-beholders that they claim to be notwithstanding  means theyre admitting that a carbon tax is effectively useless as a means to reduce total emissions if there is any population growth.

And thats the federal governments approach.

Mr. McAdam is quite correct. The Liberals approach has been consistent. It consistently does nothing for the environment. And it consistently dupes their hoard of trained clapping seals.

David Semple, Kelowna
Redcliffe Partners is pleased to announce that Yuriy Terentyev, former Chairman of the Anti-Monopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU), has joined the firm as a partner. Yuriy brings a wealth of experience to boost the firms capabilities in competition, corporate and commercial, government relations and international trade.

Prior to being appointed as the AMCU Chairman by the Ukrainian Parliament in 2015, Yuriy was the General Counsel of ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih and held various management positions in the Ukrainian offices of Metro Cash & Carry, Japan Tobacco International and Bristol Myers Squibb.

Yuriys work highlights include:

As the AMCU Chairman, carrying out the relaunch of the AMCU, which helped to increase the external economic impact (as per the OECD methodology) fourfold versus 2015, to USD150 million per annum in 2019 and overseeing the rollout of the state aid control system.

As the General Counsel of ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, renegotiating the privatisation conditions with the State Property Fund of Ukraine, as well as overseeing the successful defence in one of the largest tax litigation cases  valued at USD650 million  and the litigation concerning the invalidation of the collective labour agreement.

As the General Counsel of Metro Cash & Carry Ukraine, overseeing the launch of the groups wholesale and retail business in Ukraine, which achieved over USD1 billion in annual turnover.

Olexiy Soshenko, Managing Partner of Redcliffe Partners, says: We are thrilled to welcome Yuriy to the firm, and believe his expertise will greatly increase our capabilities. His ability to provide insights from numerous perspectives  whether handling corporate and commercial projects or negotiating with the state authorities  is an invaluable asset when managing the challenges our clients face.

Yuriy adds: Redcliffe Partners team has deserved its reputation at the top of the market, and I am delighted to be joining the firm. I look forward to bringing the experience I have to assist the firms clients to continue developing their businesses in Ukraine and the region.

Yuriy Terentyev's joining Redcliffe Partners follows our recent announcement of the addition of Sergiy Ignatovsky as a Litigation and Restructuring Partner.

The United Niger Delta Energy Development Security Strategy (UNDEDSS) says no individual or group should compel the region to be part of Biafra, Oodua, or any group outside of Nigeria.

Mr Tony Uranta, UNDEDSS Executive Secretary, in a statement on Wednesday in Lagos said that the Niger-Delta had not taken position on the ongoing agitations by various emancipation groups.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that there have been agitations from individuals and groups clamouring for secession from Nigeria.

"In pursuant of the Niger Delta's position during last night's raucous nationwide virtual meeting of emancipation groups and other relevant delegates, UNDEDSS, hereby declares that.

"No one individual or group can claim to be speaking for the six states that made up the South South and in any way compel the region to be part of Biafra, Oodua or any other group outside of Nigeria.

"Only PANDEF, led by Chief Edwin Clark, can call for an extraordinary meeting at which such a weighty decision can be taken, if at all.

"We reiterate, going forward that any map that deem to drag Niger Delta water and land into anything other than Nigeria, shall be deemed to be intentionally auctioned against the Niger Delta, until an extraordinary meeting of PANDEF declares otherwise," Uranta said.

He said that when necessary, the Niger Delta would be free to decide if it wanted to continue to be part of Nigeria or not, and the whole world would know of its decision.

He urged the National Assembly to discontinue work on the Water Resources Amendment Bill; describing it as an attempt to steal the Niger Delta's ancestral land and water.

The executive secretary urged the Federal Government to convene a National Security Round-table before the end of March to address security, foods and other challenges facing the country.

He said that such meeting would help to prevent experiences like that of Somalia and Libya in Nigeria.

NAN
New Delhi: The month long hectic campaign in West Bengal and Assam for the Assembly elections came to an end at 5pm on Thursday, the first phase of voting is scheduled for March 27.

WEST BENGAL ASSEMBLY ELECTION

The first phase of polling is scheduled for 30 seats and spread across tribal-dominated Purulia, Bankura, Jhargram, Purba Medinipur (Part 1) and Paschim Medinipur (Part 1) districts which were once considered the citadel of the Left in the state.

The star BJP campaigners for the seats going to polls in the first phase were Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. Also, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, party president Jagat Prakash Nadda, top leader Smriti Irani who repeatedly harped on the various scams.

The saffron party leaders claimed that the TMC-ruled West Bengal is full of corruption and anarchy and that the BJP will put an end to the menace when it comes to power.

Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister held poll rallies in each of the 30 constituencies, despite injury to her leg.

The TMC supremo in her campign took pot shots at the Modi government calling it "anti-people". She also blamed him for not allowing the state government to give free coronavirus vaccines to people.

Though, in the last two state elections the 30 constituencies had overwhelmingly voted for TMC but in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections BJP had tasted victory from these seats.

ASSAM ASSEMBLY ELECTION

The campaigning for the first phase took place for 47 Assembly seats, including eight seats reserved for the tribals. Polling for the first phase on March 27 will be with 264 candidates, including Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, state Congress chief Ripun Bora and 23 women candidates in the fray.

The star campaigners for BJP in the first phase of polling were both PM Modi and Amit Shah. Apart from them, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, party president Jagat Prakash Nadda, top leader Smriti Irani too took part in various rallies.

The 126-member Assam Assembly will go to the polls in three phases on March 27 (47 seats), April 1 (39 seats) and April 6 (40 seats). The results will be declared on May 2.
I went to bed and slept like a log. I woke up hale and hearty. Its been one week since, and Im not growing horns. Three days after I took my shot, when my wife was sure I was alive, she lined up for her shot, too!.. The familys guinea pig is in excellent company, at last. And yet, it was not planned.

It wasnt planned. I was seeing off my neighbour and friend on Thursday evening when one of the officers

of our estates residents association called out to me.

He was in knickers and shirtsleeves, with his right hand clutching his left shoulder. Ive just been vaccinated, he said. Would you like me to put your name forward for it tomorrow?

After what I have seen in the last one year  COVID-19 related deaths first becoming statistics, and then statistics becoming people, and people having faces, and faces becoming friends and relatives  news of the discovery of vaccines was a huge relief.

But vaccines, like many good things, are made abroad, while rumours and myths about them are manufactured locally.

Nigeria was expecting a consignment of about five million doses  one for every 40 citizens. With one of Africas highest infection and death rates at the height of the pandemic, no one was exactly sure how five million doses could work.

One evening when I brought up the subject at home, with the enthusiasm of someone who had just discovered a magic formula, I noticed a pregnant look on my wifes face. She suggested I asked the children what they think about vaccines before I decide on whether or not to take the shot when they became available.

That made sense. Since the youngest of them is 22, I fully expected a robust conversation. But what I got on that conference call with two of them, obviously speaking for other family members, was more than robust: It was premeditated, full-blown vaccine rebellion.

The chemical engineer, often the spokesperson, asked me what I knew about the vaccines already in circulation. This was in January. While a privileged few had either gone to Dubai to have it or, like the governors wife, Ebele Obiano, chased it all the way down to Houston, Texas, for designer sessions, the bulk of us were just following the news.

What do I know about the vaccines? I know they dont offer 100 per cent protection from coronavirus infection and that they have been developed and are being deployed at a historically record speed. Initial data also suggested that with good hygiene and social protocols, vaccination could reduce the spread of the virus.

My interlocutor laughed. Though conceding that science had done a great job of getting the vaccine out in record time, she said safety and efficacy may have been compromised on the altar of expediency and desperation.

She said she was not sure that enough samples had been taken or time given to analyse the outcomes from the different population demographics before the vaccine rollout. She dived into the global vaccine politics between the U.S. and European pharma giants, and between the West and China. Caution, Dad.

My family, already rebelling against vaccination, was hardly in the mood for AstraZeneca. Their suspicions were compounded by anxiety about all that could go wrong in the supply chain from shipment abroad, through many potentially crooked paths, to the point where the jab is taken. How do you even know what youre getting and if  or when  the next dose will come?

And then she asked the mother of all questions: Is there any evidence so far that a single particular vaccination could prevent the different strains popping up at the time or even if it does, where is the data that vaccination could prevent the risk of re-infection? Was I following what was happening in South Africa, for example? She summed it up by saying that for her, the risk of younger-not-obviously-at-risk persons taking the vaccination and being exposed to the potential negative side effects outweighed any benefits from taking any vaccination whose full after-effects were only just emerging.

I disagreed. Of course, while I conceded that there is still more to learn about the safety and efficacy of the vaccines, my point was that on balance, it was better to risk staying alive by getting vaccinated than to risk infection, long-term impairment and possibly death, by abstaining, on the basis of groundless fears. And I dont believe herd immunity is superior to personal responsibility.

After 56 years, health vulnerabilities and underlying conditions tend to increase. But confronting your mortality after that age also brings with it liberation from the fear of death. So, whats all the fuss about the jab, anyway?

Strangely, throughout the conversation, my wife, otherwise an engaging, strongly-opinionated woman, was silent. Were both above 50. After months of swallowing more than enough vitamins to float a chemist, immersing ourselves in steaming hot local herbs, and consuming all conceivable spices, I thought that this vaccination was our best chance to put the damn thing behind us once and for all; that we would be champions of vaccination.

Whats more, in the midst of the second wave, my son had an infection scare that put him out of circulation for days and got me ringing up everyone I knew for advice! So, why wont the family seize the opportunity for vaccination with both hands?

The vaccine finally arrived in Nigeria in March, but the news didnt lessen my isolation. A friend had shared with me a WhatsApp message about a tabular comparison of the safety, efficacy and unit prices of the four vaccines currently available  AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

ADVERTISEMENT

Of the four, Pfizer is rated the most effective, with a 95 per cent trial effectiveness and least side effects. At $20 per vial, its also the second most expensive. Moderna is 94 per cent, pricier and with virtually the same side effects as Pfizer; while Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca, come in at 66.9 per cent and 62 per cent effectiveness respectively, with longer lists of side effects. Others may think of AstraZeneca as the redeeming vial of the worlds majority, and Nigeria may be congratulating itself that its not too far behind in importing a limited quantity but the fact that AstraZeneca is at the bottom of the pile  the cheapest of the lot and the worst for side effects  seemed to highlight, if not confirm, my daughters worst suspicions.

My family, already rebelling against vaccination, was hardly in the mood for AstraZeneca. Their suspicions were compounded by anxiety about all that could go wrong in the supply chain from shipment abroad, through many potentially crooked paths, to the point where the jab is taken. How do you even know what youre getting and if  or when  the next dose will come?

These images flooded my mind on Thursday when my neighbour offered to enroll me for AstraZeneca in the estate. If I had been offered a chance at self-assisted suicide, I would not have felt more conflicted.

Why are you looking at me like that, my neighbour asked. Are you not interested? The medical team will be in the estate again by 8 a.m. on Friday. Let me have your name and your wifes name, too.

From the moment I walked in, my wifes eyes were on me. She asked if I felt anything, I said I didnt, which was true. She fussed that I should immediately use analgesics, but I brushed her suggestion aside. My children called and took turns to pepper and tease me with questions about how I was feeling.

I snapped out of my confusion. Leave my wife out, I said. Put my name down. I will be there at eight in the morning to take the shot.

That night, my wife convened another family conference. She called the children, one by one, to inform them that I had decided to take the vaccine. The chemical engineer was at her hilarious, even mischievous, best. She asked if I had written my Will and who was my next of kin. She also asked if I had left my bank details and details of any other valuables within reach.

As for herself, she said, even though there was a little more data about the vaccines today than was available in January, the risk of the unknown was still troubling.

We laughed and talked through it again and I went to bed asking myself, what if shes right? Too bad, too late. My mind was made up. Ill take the vaccine.

I turned up at the initial vaccination venue in the estate as Number 200 on the list. I learnt that over 80 persons had been vaccinated the previous day and there were no adverse reports. Today, persons of various ages  a good number of them 60 and above  were on the queue. With 199 persons ahead of me, whatever happened, I was in good company.

The venue was later changed but I stuck with the train and after re-numbering came up at 37. After three hours wait, I took my jab and went home.

From the moment I walked in, my wifes eyes were on me. She asked if I felt anything, I said I didnt, which was true. She fussed that I should immediately use analgesics, but I brushed her suggestion aside. My children called and took turns to pepper and tease me with questions about how I was feeling. I told them I felt nothing, which again, was true.

I have heard of stories of nausea, of dizziness, pains or aches after vaccination, but experienced nothing of the sorts.

I went to bed and slept like a log. I woke up hale and hearty. Its been one week since, and Im not growing horns. Three days after I took my shot, when my wife was sure I was alive, she lined up for her shot, too!

Then after she took it, I reminded her that the book says the second shot should come 15 to 22 days after the first shot, but our next appointment is in June, nearly three months after our first shot! Im not living worried, especially since Im now even in better company than when I lined up for my dose.

The familys guinea pig is in excellent company, at last. And yet, it was not planned.

Azu Ishiekwene editor-in-chief of LEADERSHIP.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  State legislators reached an agreement with Gov. Andrew Cuomos office Wednesday to legalize marijuana in New York, according to multiple reports.

The agreement, which is being finalized, will make New York the 16th state in the United States to legalized weed.

The deal would make it legal for adults over the age of 21 to use marijuana and could even allow people to grow a limited number of marijuana plants, sources told the New York Daily News.

Senate Finance Committee Chair Liz Krueger told Bloomberg that the deal would include a 13% sales tax, 9% of which would go to the state and 4% to the localities.

Cuomos office estimates that legalizing marijuana could pull in $350 million every year once implemented.

The agreement will create the Office of Cannabis Management which will be in charge of providing licenses to dispensaries and creating opportunities for delivery options.

At a press conference earlier on Wednesday, Cuomo said legalizing cannabis was among his top priorities in the budget in order to generate the revenue the state is losing to people driving to New Jersey or Massachusetts, where marijuana is already legal.

We have passed the point of legalized cannabis,' Cuomo said. Its in New Jersey. Its in Massachusetts. To say were going to stop it is not an option. It is here. The only question is, do we regulate it here, do we gather the revenue here, or do we have people driving to New Jersey, which is right there, or to Massachusetts if youre in a northern part of the state, but it is here.

The bill would also include impairment by cannabis being considered an infraction on the level of Driving While Ability Impaired, the Daily News reported.

District Attorney Michael McMahon expressed his concern in a recent editorial on the Staten Island Advance/SILive.com about the possibility of legalizing marijuana, calling for lawmakers to slow down first and make certain their bill includes comprehensive traffic safety measures to allow law enforcement to continue to hold impaired drivers accountable.

While I recognize the social justice aspect of this issue, which has disproportionately affected the lives of African American and minority communities, and the need to reform our marijuana laws, we must not kid ourselves into thinking that driving under the influence of any mind-altering substance is acceptable or safe behavior, McMahon wrote.
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.
By RYAN J. FOLEY, The Associated Press

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP)  Inmates used hammers to attack staff members during a failed attempt to escape an Iowa prison, killing a nurse and a correctional officer, kidnapping a third employee and severely injuring an inmate who intervened, authorities said Wednesday.

Those killed in Tuesdays attack at the Anamosa State Penitentiary were identified as 50-year-old nurse Lorena Schulte, of Cedar Rapids, and 46-year-old Officer Robert McFarland, of Ely. Both worked at the prison in Anamosa in eastern Iowa for more than a decade.

The two suffered blunt force trauma to the back of the head and died after they were attacked by inmates Michael Dutcher, 28, and Thomas Woodard, 39, said Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation agent Richard Rahn.

Dutcher and Woodard were trying to carry out a long-discussed plan to escape when they gained access to the prison infirmary under the ruse that they were there to repair equipment, Rahn said. They got into a break room, where they shattered glass and tried to use a work tool known as a grinder to cut the metal bars covering the window, he said.

A woman adjusts a sign next to memorials to the two prison staff who were killed near the steps to the administration building during a news conference in front of the Anamosa State Penitentiary in Anamosa, Iowa, on Wednesday, March 24, 2021. Lorena Schulte, a nurse and Robert McFarland, a correctional officer were killed by an inmate in the infirmary during an escape attempt. An inmate was also injured in the assault. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette via AP)

McFarland was in the room and attacked with a hammer, Rahn said. Schulte was also beaten with a hammer when she, like McFarland, intervened to stop their escape, Rahn said.

Inmate McKinley Roby, 57, was assaulted as he tried to help the injured employees and is hospitalized with skull fractures, he said.

Dutcher grabbed another employee, Lori Mathis, and told her she would be next if she didnt cooperate, Hahn said.

Mathis was held against her will but got free when Dutcher ran out of the room.

Rahn called the actions of Schulte and McFarland heroic, saying they tried to help each other and that their efforts allowed Mathis to get free.

They gave up their life and actually ended up saving another life, Rahn said at a news conference outside the prison, where mourners left flowers, balloons and signs to honor the victims.

He added that Roby also did everything he could to try to save the employees lives.

Dutcher was apprehended in a nearby prison yard. Guards found Woodard on the floor of the break room, where two hammers and the grinder were recovered.

A witness identified Woodard as the person who killed Schulte, and Dutcher admitted responsibility for causing the deaths, police said.

The inmates had accessed the tools through a prison maintenance shop for a work crew they were on, and the prison is investigating whether security protocols were followed. Tools are to be checked out by inmates for authorized purposes, and returned after they are used.

Iowa Department of Corrections Director Beth Skinner said the entire incident will be examined for any security flaws that can be fixed. She said the victims were wonderful employees who worked to heal sick inmates and keep the prison safe.

Two public servants were taken from this world by an act that can only be described as pure evil, she said.

The Anamosa prison, which houses 950 inmates and has medium- and maximum-security units, has a history of inmates committing violence against staff, including several assaults in the last year. But the deaths were the first of a prison employee killed by an Iowa inmate since 1975, Skinner said.

Dutcher and Woodard are charged with two counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder and second-degree kidnapping. Iowa does not have the death penalty, but first-degree murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

Dutcher was sentenced to 50 years in prison in 2015 for an armed bank robbery in Holstein and the robberies of two motels in Sioux City. In each case, authorities said he was armed with a gun or butcher knife and demanded cash from workers.

Woodard, originally of Union, Nebraska, was sentenced to 25 years in 2017 for a 2014 home invasion in Sioux City. Police say Woodard and another man forced a woman who answered the door to the ground, taped her to a chair, stole her cash and cellphone and poured bleach on the tape and her clothing to clear their fingerprints.

Schulte had worked at the prison since 2007 and previously worked at the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown. McFarland had worked at the prison since 2008 and leaves behind a wife and children, Skinner said.

More:

Man arrested with 5 guns, body armor at grocery store in Atlanta: police

Former Dauphin County GOP Chairman William Trickett Smith Sr. left a legacy of criminal convictions
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.

(Natural News) The Biden regimes Welcome to the United States! policy for illegal aliens is generating about $14 million per day for human traffickers, many of which are smuggling in underage children for the deep state.

Sources within the United States Border Patrol say that China Joes illicit immigration policies are a cash cow for the human trafficking industry, which is seeing a major boost in activity and revenues now that President Donald Trump is no longer in the White House.

Trafficking is a multibillion-dollar industry, says just-retired Tucson Border Patrol Chief Roy Villareal, who worked with the agency for 30 years.

A lot of these vulnerable populations use their life savings. Some are essentially indentured servants and theyre working off this debt for a long period of time. In other cases, some of these migrants are asked to transport narcotics or some form of crime to work off a different part of their debt.

According to 2019 figures from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), illegal immigration at the southern border costs American taxpayers about $5 million a day. The daily influx shelter costs come out to about $800 per migrant.

Just last week, Beijing Biden awarded an $86 million contract for hotel rooms to house some 1,200 migrant families as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities, also known as cages during the Trump years, are overflowing and well past capacity.

Additional costs will include overtime and hotel costs for the hundreds of agents reassigned to Texas from other areas, reported Fox News about the crisis.

For context, in 2019 Congress appropriated an extra $4.6 billion to handle a similar migrant surge. In 2014, Congress gave President [sic] Obama an extra $2.7 billion to deal with his border crisis.

Not only is Biden keeping kids in cages, hes also allowing them to be smuggled for exploitation

The situation at Americas southern border became exponentially worse after Trippy Joe called for a migrant surge, which he now denies ever having done. We will give China Joe the benefit of the doubt and just assume that his advancing late-stage dementia caused him to forget.

Forgetting or pretending that it never happened, though, does not let Dementia Joe off the hook for exacerbating an already out-of-control problem that has real-life repercussions for the tens of millions of law-abiding Americans who will now be forced to feed, house and care for all these migrants via their tax dollars.

As for the human trafficking component of Hunters dads little trafficking operation, smugglers are reportedly paid a portion of funds upfront, the rest of which is paid over time. These initial funds cover the costs for food, shelter, transportation, and a coyote guide to bring trafficked slaves across the border.

A recent incident involving an SUV that crashed into a semi-truck near the border, which killed 13 migrants, is one example of this operation in action. Illegal aliens were being smuggled for cash and the Biden regimes policies made it all possible.

We pray for the accident victims and their families during this difficult time, said El Centro Sector Chief Patrol Agent Gregory Bovino in a news conference, adding that the deceased individuals were believed to have been part of a larger group of 44 migrants who were smuggled through a fence near Calexico, a California border city.

Initial investigation into the origins of the vehicles indicate a potential nexus to the aforementioned breach in the border wall, Bovino added, further stating that human smugglers have proven time and again they have little regard for human life.

More of the latest news about Americas escalating border crisis can be found at InvasionUSA.news.

Sources for this article include:

ZeroHedge.com

NaturalNews.com
THE review panel in the ministry of finance has cancelled the awarding of tenders worth about N$3,6 billion to local companies to supply government-owned school hostels with food due to irregularities.

The Central Procurement Board of Namibia (CPBN), which was responsible for awarding the contracts, was told to re-evaluate the bids and to reallocate the contracts.

The contracts in question were awarded to eight local companies in February this year.

The CPBN's document, seen by The Namibian, shows that 96 bids were received for these contracts.

A total of 11 companies, however, challenged the awarding of these contracts, claiming they were unfairly treated, and that there were irregularities in the process followed by the CPBN.

The companies challenged the CPBN's evaluation committee's reasons to reject their bids.

This includes the alleged failure to provide a letter of intent to procure fresh produce and beef from local producers and abattoirs, or the failure to indicate their commitment to sourcing food locally.

They also challenged the CPBN's reasons for requesting either supply agreements or letters of intent to procure from registered fresh producers or abattoirs registered with the Meat Board of Namibia.

These requirements are in line with the government directive that all government offices, ministries and agencies should procure locally produced fresh produce and beef products.

'UNLAWFUL'

Documents from the review panel, seen by The Namibian, indicate the aggrieved companies argued that some of the reasons raised by the CPBN were unlawful and were not supposed to be used as qualifying criteria for all regions.

This included the requirement to provide a letter of intent to supply or source fresh produce from local producers situated north of the veterinary cordon fence (redline).

The companies also accused the CPBN of consistently applying the criteria used to award contracts, such as a required 51% Namibian ownership, to the tenders in question.

"The notice issued by the board was incorrect and misled the bidders on the course of action to be taken to seek recourse in terms of the public procurement law," the review panel document read.

TRIBALISM

Nudo parliamentarian Joseph Kauandenge in the National Assembly last week claimed these contracts were awarded based on tribal lines.

He asked the minister of finance Iipumbu Shiimi to explain why the selected companies were all from the northern regions.

"Their names and places of doing business are raising serious red flags as well, in that again the majority resides in the northern part of Namibia," he said.

"Are there no competent companies in other parts of the country, like the south, Otjozondjupa, Omaheke, Erongo, etc . . . that are qualified enough to get these tenders as well? Or is this a deliberate policy at the CPBN to empower Namibians from only one ethnic group above the rest of Namibians?" Kauandenge asked.

Shiimi told the National Assembly last week that the selected companies were evaluated based on various aspects, including their shareholding.

"Why they are all owned by people from the same ethnic group, I don't know," he said.

CANCELLATION

The decision to award the contracts was therefore cancelled because of the findings of the review panel, which revealed that there were "stark differences between the ITB and the actual evaluation criteria eventually used [by the procurement board]".

Documents show the review panel further found that the CPBN's bid evaluation committee examined bids on additional criteria not contained in the bidding document.

For example, the documents show some bids were scored based on women and youth participation in the ownership and management of companies, while this requirement was not set out in the bidding document.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Namibia By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"The evaluation done by the bid evaluation committee on this aspect is thus unlawful. Another issue, the procurement board set a different bar for Namibian participation to that set out in the Public Procurement Act. Nevertheless, the review panel observed that the bid evaluation committee in their actual evaluation evaluated the Namibianisation aspect, according to the act," the document read.

The CPBN was therefore told to set aside the notice of the tender for the supply of food to government-owned school hostels, "and any decision or action incidental thereto which are not in compliance with the law in whole".

It was also to re-evaluate the bids that were disadvantaged in all aspects, such as Namibianisation, storage facilities, and that "all bids should be strictly done in accordance with the criteria and methodology set out in the instruction of bids to the extent that they are consistent with the provision of the law".
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 25)  A health officer from the Bicol Region assured on Thursday that the thousands of AstraZeneca vaccine doses they sent back to the Department of Health are in good condition despite the container's defective thermometer.

Dr. Rita Mae Ang-Bon, coordinator of the DOH Bicol COVID-19 vaccine program, said the 7,500 COVID-19 vaccine doses made by Oxford-AstraZeneca had to be sent back to Metro Manila based on protocol because the temperature monitoring device it came with malfunctioned.

She said the device registered 400 degrees Celsius or beyond boiling point. But when they touched the vaccine vials, they were still cold. Upon using a different thermometer, it showed that the sensitive vaccines were transported in the temperature of 4 degrees Celsius.

AstraZeneca doses are supposed to be stored and transported at normal refrigerated temperature of 2 degrees to 8 degrees Celsius.

"These vaccines are in good condition," Ang-Bon told CNN Philippines. "Ang problem lang dito is the temperature monitoring device na kasama sa vaccine transport box."

[Translation: The only problem was the monitoring device included in the vaccine transport box.

"We are just following protocol because upon receipt nasa 400 degrees centigrade ang lumabas na temperature so ang vaccines ay hindi namin ni-release for distribution sa Bicol Region," she also said.

[Translation: We are just following protocol because upon receipt it registered 400 degrees Celsius, so we did not release it for distribution.]

The returned batch was part of the 22,000 doses of AstraZeneca shots delivered to the Bicol Region on March 10. The rest of the doses were distributed across the region.

The official said the returned vaccines can still be used because they were shipped in the required temperature.

"As long as the vaccines are kept in that temperature, we are assured of the potency of the vaccines," Ang-Bon explained. "Kapag tinurok ito [Once this is injected], it will use the desired effect."

The Health Department also assured that the 7,500 doses will not go to waste amid limited supplies reaching the country.

The Philippines has so far inoculated 508,332 individuals since it began its vaccination program on March 1.

Top political advisor commends achievements of democratic supervision on poverty alleviation

Xinhua) 14:22, March 25, 2021

Wang Yang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, speaks at a symposium on the contribution of non-Communist parties in conducting democratic supervision on poverty alleviation in Beijing, capital of China, March 24, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Bin)

BEIJING, March 24 (Xinhua) -- China's top political advisor Wang Yang on Wednesday commended the contribution of non-Communist parties in conducting democratic supervision on poverty alleviation.

Wang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, made the remarks at a symposium held in Beijing, which was attended by leaders from non-Communist parties.

In the past five years, non-Communist parties had attached great importance to supervising poverty alleviation work, pooled efforts to conduct the supervision and voiced their practical suggestions in the process, thus contributing greatly to China's victory in the war on poverty, said Wang when addressing the symposium.

Wang also noted that the supervision has been an enlightening attempt in exploring new ways for non-Communist parties to perform their duties of democratic supervision.

Wang called on all non-Communist parties to learn from the last five years' practices and improve the effectiveness and quality of democratic supervision.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Bianji)
A Brazilian man with an upside-down head has vowed to return to motivational speaking next month after a long year of isolation due to Covid-19.

Claudio Vieira de Oliveira, 44, suffers from a rare condition called arthrogryposis multiplex congenita which affects his joints. He has muscular atrophy in his legs, his arms are stuck by his chest, and, most strikingly, his head is turned all the way back, supported by his back.

Vieira de Oliveira has not let his disabilities stop him from pursuing his passions and has spent over two decades working as a motivational speaker. He has also released a DVD and an autobiography.

Claudio Vieira de Oliveira, 44, who lives with his legs atrophied, his arms stuck by his chest and his head turned back, supported by his back. At birth, he was only given 24 hours to live

He lives in the small town of Monte Santo in the north-eastern Brazilian state of Bahia. He has been walking on his knees since the age of seven and was taught how to read and write by his mother

Vieira de Oliveira, known to his friends as 'Claudinho', was not expected to live past 24 hours upon his birth.

However, he challenged the odds and since the age of seven has walked on his knees with specially designed support, and was taught to read and write by his mother at home.

He lives in the north-eastern Brazilian state of Bahia, in the small municipality of Monte Santo which has a population of 49,278.

He hopes to 'live for many years' and is eager to revive his passions and routine after a long year in isolation. Despite his condition he has no trouble seeing, eating, drinking or breathing

Throughout the last year 'Claudinho' has been 'twice as careful' in order to stay safe and protected from Covid-19

Despite having an upside down head, 'Claudinho' has no trouble seeing, breathing, eating or drinking.

He told Brazilian news site G1: 'I've never had difficulties, my life is normal. I'm in full-on quarantine because this Covid is very aggressive, it's lethal, so we're scared.

'I'm being over twice as careful, I've been isolating for over a year and I only leave the house to sort out things that only I can do in person, such as banking.'

Besides his motivational speaking, 'Claudinho' also volnuteers with the local Christian educational project Alegra-te which works with vulnerable children

'Claudinho' has not let his disability impede him from leading a happy and busy life. Pictured above, 'Claudinho' and his friends enjoy a day at the beach

'Claudinho' also volunteers with the local Christian educational project Alegra-te which works with vulnerable children.

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought his usually busy life to a hold, as he has been isolating at home to remain safe, but he is hoping to get back on track in the next month.

'I miss it so much. I've got a speech in the municipality of Bezerra, in the [north-eastern Brazilian] state of Pernamubco, scheduled for 28th April. If the pandemic eases, it'll go ahead.'
Associated Press

The younger generation of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales are on average about three feet (one meter) shorter than whales were 20 years, drone and aircraft data show in a study in Thursdays journal Current Biology. Entanglements with fishing gear, collisions with ships and climate change moving their food supply north are combining to stress and shrink these large whales, the study says. This isnt about short right whales, its about a physical manifestation of a physiological problem, its the chest pain before the heart attack, said Regina Asmutis-Silvia, executive director of Whale and Dolphin Conservation North America, who wasnt part of the study.
ADVERTISEMENT

If religiosity is the way to economic power and technological advancement, Nigeria would have been an Eldorado by now. Many Nigerians are extremely adept at being sanctimonious. They would rather fight for God than love fellow citizens. Some even kill for God to prove their right standing with their Maker. Never mind that religion doesnt stop these people, especially the political elite among them, from stealing and looting the nations commonwealth. Converting state money to personal funds is not a sin; they dont care if all the schoolchildren in the country live and die in the enclaves of terrorists so far they can make more money in the process. They are not bothered when pupils study under trees, wear tattered uniforms or defecate in the bush and drink pond water often mixed with cattle urine. But trust them, they wont miss any opportunity to enforce the fundamental rights of these children in religious matters-that is perhaps the only rights Nigerian children get to enjoy. Nigerian elite have mastered the act of using religion as a tool of manipulation to keep the poor in a state of perpetual misery. Unfortunately, since religion remains the opium of the poor, the elite give them a large dose of the drug, enough to keep them in a state of stupour so they could embark on their looting spree without hindrance.

Kwara State has been in the news. The bone of contention is hijab. While this is not an attempt to trivialise the importance of hijab to a Muslim faithful, it is just an example of how the political elite would rather leave leprosy and fight ringworm. For instance, there are many schools in Kwara State that currently require urgent government attention but this wont be a topic for public discourse. Is it not in this same Kwara that about 25 women had to tax themselves to raise money to build a community school for their kids? It took these poor women in Agindigbi and Onila communities in Irepodun local government area of the state five years to contribute N1million for this project. The state governor, Abdulrahaman Abdulrazaq had to return the money to the women following media reports on the womens activities. Who knows how many people in other communities doing the same thing but yet to receive media attention?

During his first tenure as Osun State governor, Rauf Aregbesola introduced a single uniform for all the schools in the state, reclassified the public school system and abolished single-sex schools across the state among his other controversial educational policies. This caused a lot of chaos and students lost ample study time in the process. The unenlightened folks might have thought that the former governor was fighting their cause, not knowing that religion was merely being used as a political tool to further his interest. His successor, Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, came and reversed the controversial policies. If anyone thinks his successor made that move to please the people, they are wrong. It is all political. The day Nigerians know that the real motives behind some of their leaders actions are selfish, they will stop hating one another. Many of us still remember how the Sharia apostle in Zamfara State, Ahmad Sani Yerima, rebranded himself after using Sharia as a political tool as governor. The same Yerima ended up wearing suits as a senator. This was a man that was always dressing as a Mallam as governor suddenly falling in love with suits-a supposedly English outfit. This is after he had cut peoples hands for stealing claiming to enforce Sharia laws.

The truth is hijab controversy is neither new in Nigeria nor in many other parts of the world. As a matter of fact, what is happening in Kwara now happened in Lagos State a few years back but the situation did not degenerate into chaos because political actors in the state did not use it as a pawn on the chessboard. In fact, Lagos State government is still at the Supreme Court appealing the ruling of the Appellate Court on the use of hijab in its public schools. A Lagos High Court had in October 2014, ruled against the use of hijabs in public schools, a judgment that was upturned by the Court of Appeal in July 2016. Interestingly, the governor of Lagos as of the time the suit was initiated in 2012 was a Muslim. But since former governor Raji Fashola was not interested in playing the religious card, there was no mayhem. By the time the appeal court upturned the ruling of the high court, another governor, a Christian, was in charge. Akinwunmi Ambode, a Christian, did not turn the situation to a political capital. Rather, the state decided to maintain the status quo and allowed students to wear hijab after due consultation with stakeholders pending the ruling of the Supreme Court on the matter. I cant recall anyone carrying placard following the governments decision because it wasnt an issue of so much concern.

Kwara State may claim to be doing what Lagos did by asking mission schools to allow Muslims to wear hijab pending the ruling of the Supreme Court on the matter. However, the difference between Lagos and Kwara is that Lagos State granted the request of the complainant, that is, the Muslim body that took it to court. In the case of Kwara, the mission schools are the complainant while the state is the defendant. The Kwara State government should have been more sensitive to the interest of the complainant. As it is, the government is giving room for unnecessary suspicion. Why the rush to implement the ruling of the appeal court when the case is already at the Supreme Court? How can a government that has failed to implement many pending court rulings over time convince mission schools that it means well by rushing to implement a ruling on hijab in a case where it is the defendant? This is a state that is yet to grant substantive autonomy on the throne of Ohoro of Shao in spite of court ruling; it hasnt implemented the judgement on the throne of the Oba of Jebba; or the injunction that Yorubas should be occupants of the throne in Ganmo; the expanse of land ceded to Erinle from Offa by the Court. If government is eager to obey court, why has it not obeyed these rulings?

No doubt, Muslims see school uniforms as being beyond mere wears. They believe the present-day uniform takes its origin from the western world and therefore should not be binding on them. They have also said that hijab should be seen as the fundamental human rights of Muslims. I agree with these submissions absolutely. Lets face it, Nigeria is not the only country where the two main religious groups-Christians and Muslims have been at loggerheads on use of hijabs in schools. Never mind that some Muslim countries have had cause to ban hijab to protect their children in the past. Tunisia, Gabon and Morocco are African countries with large populations of Muslims that have banned the burqa. Also, in 2015, Congo, Chad, Guinea and Cameroon, banned hijab in schools to counter Boko Haram attacks. In Kenya, Muslims pushed for the wearing of hijab in mission schools but in 2019, the Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling that had allowed female students to wear the head coverings in school.

Those who argue for dress codes and school uniforms claim it encourages discipline, unity, equality, and prevents groupings amongst children. In this age of terrorism, they also say it prevents terrorists from identifying non-Muslims, thus protecting students of other faiths. On the other hand, Muslims will tell you that wearing hijab is an act of worship or a statement of Muslim faith, while Christians believe uniforms is part of church and school traditions. In the case of Kwara, the Christians are saying that in principle and practice their schools are mission (government) grant-aided schools and not general public schools and cannot be technically islamised starting with the use of Hijab. Each faith holds a strong position on hijab and honestly I dont see how they can be forced to hold a common position.

So, what is the way out? I love the submission of a Muslim religious scholar, Abdallah Kheri, who chairs the Islamic Research and Education Trust in Kenya. To him, both Christians and Muslims are rivals, as they both call on people to join their faiths. They are always looking for customers, and they shall forever be rivals. Knowing that this is the situation, politicians should stop fuelling the rivalry among the two faiths.

Agreed Muslims have a right to wear hijab to school. Mission schools equally have the right to uphold the traditions and tenets of their founders against the use of hijabs in their schools. Some people have argued that the mission schools are funded by public funds and should therefore be controlled by it. They however forget that government didnt build these schools. The people that built those schools had a purpose for investing their resources in them. They did not envisage that the government would take over these schools. To that extent, the government also has a moral responsibility to respect the vision and mission of the school founders. Under normal circumstances, mission schools, be they of Islamic or Christian faiths, should be run by their owners. It is an anomaly for government to take over a school and subsequently impose the wish of one faith on another.

Let Kwara State government voluntarily return the mission schools to their owners and allow them to run their schools based on their vision and mission. The Muslims should also be encouraged to establish their own mission schools and run them in accordance with their religious tenets. Every child has a right to be schooled and taught in line with their faiths. Its their fundamental human rights. Instead of encouraging anarchy, let each faith build and fund their schools. Anyone that goes to such school will know what to expect. We may choose to deny this, but believe me, there will always be problem when government tries to force a particular faith to accommodate the interest of the other all in the name of understanding, mutual respect and communal harmony. It wont work. No amount of preaching on governments part will change that!

Olabisi Deji-Folutile is the Editor-in-Chief, Franktalknow.com and member, Nigerian Guild of Editors. Email: bisideji@yahoo.co.uk
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
Advertisement

Katharine McPhee and husband David Foster, 71, were spotted out for the first time with their newborn son Rennie on Thursday as they enjoyed brunch in Beverly Hills.

The family dined outdoors at the swanky Maybourne Hotel with a select group of friends in celebration of McPhee's 37th birthday.

Katharine, who welcomed her first child with David in late February, looked every bit the doting mother as she tenderly cradled Rennie in her arms at their designated dining table.

First time: Katharine McPhee and husband David Foster, 71, were spotted out for the first time with their newborn son Rennie on Thursday as they enjoyed brunch in Beverly Hills

Doting mom: Katharine, who welcomed her first child with David in late February, looked every bit the doting mother as she tenderly cradled Rennie in her arms at their designated dining table

Clearly smitten, Katharine pressed her son's head to her cheek before planting a few kisses on him.

The tiny newborn looked sweet in a bright white onesie and flailed around in his mother's arms as she continued to coddle him.

Katharine and David were first seen arriving to the upscale establishment with Rennie stowed away safely in a padded baby carrier, which Katharine handled with ease.

The Waitress actress looked spring-ready in a colorful Hale Bob floral mini dress with a plunging neckline that allowed her to show off her smooth decolletage.

Sweet: Clearly smitten, Katharine pressed her son's head to her cheek before planting a few kisses on him

Motherhood: The tiny newborn looked sweet in a bright white onesie and flailed around in his mother's arms as she continued to coddle him

Due to the breezy weather, Katharine layered up her ensemble with an ivory cable knit cardigan that hung just past her dress.

She had a myriad of gold chains hung around her neck and a pair of gold hoops in her ears.

McPhee's brunette hair was parted down the middle and styled into a chic low ponytail and sported a natural, flushed makeup look.

Flower power: The Waitress actress looked spring-ready in a colorful Hale Bob floral mini dress with a plunging neckline that allowed her to show off her smooth decolletage

Breezy: Due to the breezy weather, Katharine layered up her ensemble with an ivory cable knit cardigan that hung just past her dress

While Katharine took control of the baby carrier, David lugged their belongings around in a blue Givenchy tote that he carried in one hand.

The 71-year-old musician cut a stylish figure to celebrate his wife's birthday in a pair of distressed denim jeans and a pale blue button down shirt.

Foster braved the uncharacteristically chilly SoCal weather in a navy blue jacket.

Golden girl: She had a myriad of gold chains hung around her neck and a pair of gold hoops in her ears

Kisses: In order to clam her newborn, Katharine held him tightly against her chest and cradled his head in her manicured hands

After enjoying their delicious brunch with pals, the married couple fled the establishment and made their way towards their black SUV.

Rennie looked incredibly cozy in his carrier, while being wrapped in a white and grey patterned baby blanket.

Adhering to COVID-19 safety protocols, McPhee and Foster made sure to don face masks.

Arrival: Katharine and David were first seen arriving to the upscale establishment with Rennie stowed away safely in a padded baby carrier, which Katharine handled with ease

Time to go: After enjoying their delicious brunch with pals, the married couple fled the establishment and made their way towards their black SUV

Katharine effortlessly set-up their newborn in the backseat of the car, while David hopped into the driver's seat.

Katharine's representative announced famously announced Rennie's birth in late February telling People: 'Mom, Dad and son are all doing wonderfully.'

Rennie is Katharine's firstborn child but David also has five daughters - four of whom are older than their current stepmother.

McPhee finally revealed the name of her newborn son, while making a remote appearance on Today earlier this month.

Cozy boy: Rennie looked incredibly cozy in his carrier, while being wrapped in a white and grey patterned baby blanket

Safety first: Adhering to COVID-19 safety protocols, McPhee and Foster made sure to don face masks

Katharine effortlessly set-up their newborn in the backseat of the car, while David hopped into the driver's seat

'My husband probably will kill me for saying it, but his name is Rennie David Foster,' she dished.

She explained to the Today host that her and David 'had a couple names [picked out], but my husband was on a text chain with his sisters and one of his sisters suggested an old family name.'

The Smash star continued: 'It was his great-grandfathers name, his great-uncles name, so it has a long history in his family.'

Then after the baby was born 'My husband said: "Hi, Ren Foster," and so we said, "Thats a good name. Its a strong name."'

Arrival: Katharine's representative announced famously announced Rennie's birth in late February telling People: 'Mom, Dad and son are all doing wonderfully'

Revealed: McPhee finally revealed the name of her newborn son, while making a remote appearance on Today earlier this month

Katharine was previously married to Nick Cokas, 55, but they split up after she was snapped kissing her dashing married Smash director Michael Morris.

She became involved with David in 2017 and they tied the knot two years later in London where she had been playing in a West End production of Waitress.

Katharine had actually met David back in 2006 when she was a contestant on American Idol and he was a guest mentor.

The Smash actress is David's fifth wife - her most recent predecessor was Gigi and Bella Hadid's mother Yolanda who used to be a Real Housewife Of Beverly Hills.
Former ANC Western Cape leader Marius Fransman has previously been accused of using a lottery grant to campaign for the ANC.

A recent answer by the National Lotteries Commissioner in Parliament indicates that over R13 million of a lottery grant to a Cape minstrel organisation was spent on a magazine aimed at the "Cape Coloured community" and a symposium.

Four sources, including Soli Philander, state that Fransman played a key role in the magazine, while no details have been provided of when the R5 million symposium took place or who attended it.

New information has emerged placing former ANC Western Cape leader Marius Fransman at the centre of a plan to use money from the National Lottery to attract "coloured" votes during the 2014 elections.

Fransman had allegedly tried to buy support for the ANC by promising cash to the Cape minstrel troupes in exchange for their commitment to vote for the ANC, the Sunday Times reported in 2015.

At the time, Fransman denied soliciting votes from the minstrels in exchange for cash.

But GroundUp can reveal that Fransman, who was then deputy minister for International Relations and Cooperation, was central to the running of a Lottery-funded magazine aimed at the "Cape Coloured community", through the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Association. The magazine, Jitz, received R8.29 million from the Lottery. This was one of several multi million-rand Lottery grants given to the minstrels' association.

At the time, the Western Cape ANC was deeply divided and Fransman headed up a pro-Zuma faction that had its own election headquarters and "war room" in Observatory in Cape Town, in the runup to the 2014 national and provincial elections.

Fransman's name did not appear in any marketing or promotional material for Jitz magazine. But four sources have told GroundUp that he played a role in the magazine even after he was axed as deputy minister. During the almost a year that the magazine was published he was the leader of the opposition in the Provincial Parliament and headed up the ANC in the province.

"Everything we did had to be passed by Fransman," says publicist and former radio show host Soli Philander, who worked on a short freelance contract publicising Jitz prior to its launch, and for a short period afterward.

"Marius recruited me to do the marketing. The people who were doing the magazine also reported to Marius. It was clear that it was Marius's baby," he said.

Philander worked on the marketing of Jitz for about three months before being told his services were no longer required. He had no further involvement with Jitz after that, and says he had no idea that the magazine was Lottery-funded.

A former member of the ANC who was active in the party's core Western Cape leadership at the time confirmed that Fransman had been closely involved with Jitz. He said that there were "rumours at the time" that the magazine was funded by the Lottery.

"There is no question that Lottery money went into the ANC's coffers," the same former top ANC official told GroundUp last year. "The ANC project was to use the minstrels to build support in coloured communities. It was simple to do because a relationship with the minstrels already existed through Fransman, he said. "During the election campaign (in the Western Cape) the minstrels were everywhere, they were at every (ANC) event."

Prominent ANC events where the minstrels performed in the Western included a rally in April 2014 on the Cape Flats a few weeks before the election. Minstrels troupes also performed at other ANC events, including a pre-election rally in Vygieskraal, Athlone, ahead of the elections, where Zuma also celebrated his 72nd birthday.

Speaking at that rally, Zuma accused the DA-controlled Western Cape government of not caring for coloured people, and said: "This provincial government fails to support the minstrels, klopse and Malay choirs and refuses to agree to the historical right to march".

In response to detailed questions from GroundUp, Fransman denied that he was "the founder of the magazine" and said GroundUp was "being fed by people with some ulterior motive".

"The line of questions smack of insinuation and assumption, and as a senior reporter, I do not believe you will wilfully fall into [a] trap of being used by mischief makers and lies," Fransman said in a written response to detailed questions about the magazine and his role in it.

"In my capacity as the then leader of the [ANC in the Western Cape and province] and a member of government at time in office, as any other political office bearers, one attends and at times addresses functions, events, engagements with community organisations and business when invited. There is nothing wrong in that and it is disingenuous to allege such," Fransman said.

Another person who was closely involved with the magazine, who asked not to be named, said that they had attended "lots of" Jitz meetings at which Fransman was present and played an "active" part.

What the Lottery got for R8.29 million

Described as a lifestyle magazine, Jitz carried the tagline "Celebrating Cape Culture" on its cover. The magazine published between 10 and 12 editions before it folded in 2015. That means that it cost between R691,000 and R830,000 an edition, if the total grant is averaged over the number of editions produced using Lottery money.

The Jitz staff also produced a single magazine about Cape Town's minstrels that was distributed at minstrel events. But it was not branded as a Jitz publication, GroundUp was told.

The magazine failed to attract much advertising and after eight months of publishing the May 2015 edition only had a full page inside cover advert for the National Lottery, and three full-page adverts.

The Lottery grant money was channelled to Jitz via the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Association, which received R69 million rand in Lottery funding between 2003 and 2019. At the time of the Jitz grant in 2013, the association was under the control of Richard "Pot" Stemmet, a convicted criminal who police have described as a "drugs high flier", and Kevin Momberg, who were both directors of the association.

A "Carnival Heritage Museum", which was funded to the tune of R13 million via the minstrel association in the same year, is yet to open its doors almost eight years later. It is supposedly on the premises in Wetton, Cape Town where Stemmet operates several businesses.

Approached for comment, Stemmet swore repeatedly at this reporter. Earlier, detailed questions were sent to him via SMS. One of his associates made contact and requested that the questions be sent to his own email as "Mr Stemmet only has a small Nokia and cannot read the SMS you sent. He does not have email or WhatsApp". He asked what the questions were about.

As this was explained to him, the man repeated them out loud to Stemmet, who shouted: "Sy poes. Hy werk vir die DA. Se vir hom hy moet fok off" ["His p..s. He works for the DA. Tell him to fuck off"].

The email was sent to the address supplied but no response was received.

This is not the first time that Stemmet has threatened this reporter. Previously, after he was asked about the minstrel museum he threatened and swore at me, before ordering one of his associates to escort me from the premises and to photograph me and my vehicle's number plate.

The R5.5 million "symposium"

The magazine grant was part of a R13.75 million grant to the minstrel association which included R5.46 million for a "Socio Economic Cohesion Symposium and Cultural Awareness campaign", according to a written answer to Parliament by National Lotteries Commission Commissioner Thabang Mampane.

In her answer to Parliament about Jitz, Mampane said: "A total amount of about R8,290,000 was spent on the magazine." Mampane said the grant "is inclusive of procurement of transport equipment, marketing costs, procurement of operational equipment including personnel costs".

"The report submitted does not provide the number of publications and only quantifies the costs associated with publishing the magazine," Mampane said, apparently referring to a report by the minstrels association on how the money was spent.

With regard to the symposium and cultural awareness campaign, Mampane did not answer parliamentary questions about how many people attended and who the speakers were. The symposium was held "in two different areas/regions namely the metropole as well as the Western Cape region, Mampane said, but she did not specify where.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines South Africa Governance Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"This cost is inclusive of all operational costs and personnel costs for both regions/areas," Mampane said. "The purpose of the cultural awareness campaign was to set a foundation to integrate communities who were still operating within the boundaries of the previous dispensation according to race and socioeconomic status."

In response to follow-up questions requesting audited figures on how the R8.29 million was spent and the number of issues produced and total copies printed, Mampane said that she needed permission from the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) -- which is investigating alleged NLC corruption -- before she could respond. Minister Ebrahim Patel replied his department had checked with the SIU, which had no objection to being released in Parliament. He also undertook to supply the requested information once he received it.

Last year, Fransman was far more forthcoming when he was asked by GroundUp about allegations of indirect Lottery funding of the Western Cape ANC.

He said: "I am no longer in politics and just want to move on with my life. I cannot talk for the ANC, but when I headed up the ANC in the Western Cape we engaged with all sectors of society, and the minstrels were one of them. NGOs would ask where they could get funding and we made suggestions which included the Lottery. We were not involved in the operational side of their applications but we did speak at their events. If we went to an event we would not know who funded it," he said.

"But I can say that no money from the Lottery went to the ANC," he said.

At the time, NLC spokesman Ndivhuho Mafela said that "the NLC does not fund political parties or affiliations".

ANC Western Cape spokesperson Dennis Cruywagen told GroundUp this month: "Mr Fransman is no longer an ANC member. The present leadership was appointed in 2019 and does not know about funding for the Minstrels. All questions should be referred to Mr Fransman."
In this photo provided by the Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service, South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, right, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov greet each other prior to their talks in Seoul, Wednesday, March 24. AP



Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called for efforts to maintain peace on the Korean Peninsula and warned against "all kinds of military activities" Thursday, hours after North Korea fired off what appeared to be ballistic missiles into the East Sea.



Lavrov made the remark in a press statement after his talks with Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, where South Korea called for Moscow to play a "constructive" role in fostering a lasting peace on the divided peninsula.



"I particularly emphasized the importance of efforts to maintain peace and stability in Northeast Asia, as well as on the Korean Peninsula," the top Russian diplomat said in remarks interpreted in Korean.



"What's included in that is that all concerned countries have to renounce an arms race and activation of all kinds of military activities," he added.






British scientists today slammed US medical regulators for causing 'serious damage to public confidence' in AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine, as they waded into the row over the jab's efficacy.

The Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical giant was accused by US watchdogs of cherry-picking data to make it seem more effective than it actually was in the American arm of its human trials.

On the back of the criticism, AstraZeneca today revised the headline efficacy figure slightly, from 79 to 76 per cent at stopping symptomatic infections. The data was based on the final results of the exact same 32,000-person trial.

UK experts described the differences as 'tiny', adding that it was normal for results to fluctuate as more data from the studies came in. They also criticised US officials for potentially fuelling vaccine hesitancy.

Professor Stephen Evans, an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said AstraZeneca's vaccine was 'so important for global health'  and that public disputes 'do not promote global health'.

Dr Peter English, the former chair of the British Medical Association's Public Health Medicine committee, said US watchdogs 'acted in a way that risks doing serious harm to confidence in this vaccine and, more dangerous still, vaccination in general'.

AstraZeneca has now sent the amended results to the US Data and Safety Monitoring Board, the secretive committee vetting Covid vaccines that raised the alarm about the original numbers. It feared AstraZeneca had left out some cases that may have skewed the results.

Scientists said the original statement, issued by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) on behalf of the DSMB, was highly 'unusual' because any discussions about findings are usually held behind closed doors.

The small revision to the efficacy rate will go a long way to putting the vaccine back on track for US approval, with the firm hoping it will be given the green light in the coming weeks. Britain's regulators gave it the sign off in December.

In a late-night press release, AstraZeneca said it had recalculated data from that study and concluded the vaccine is 76% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19, instead of the 79% it had claimed earlier in the week

Dr Peter English, the former chair of the British Medical Association's Public Health Medicine committee, said US watchdogs 'acted in a way that risks doing serious harm to confidence in this vaccine and, more dangerous still, vaccination in general'

Dr Fauci called the NIAID note 'quite harsh' and assured Americans that AstraZeneca's 'data really are quite good' in a Tuesday Good Morning America interview

Macron delivers humiliating vaccine mea culpa as EU 'heads for export ban climbdown' at summit TODAY Emmanuel Macron has delivered an humiliating mea culpa on the EU's vaccine bungling as leaders gather for a crunch summit today. The French president admitted that the bloc did not go 'fast enough or strong enough' on the drive for jabs, saying it thought they would take longer to develop. But Mr Macron seemingly could not bring himself to praise the UK's stunning progress on vaccines, instead heaping praise on the US for 'shooting for the stars'. The comments came as EU leaders hold a 'virtual' gathering amid panicky threats from the commission to ban vaccine exports, with new rules targeted at Britain. France and Germany are backing tough action as they face massive pressure over dire rollouts, but Ireland and many other member states are alarmed at the idea of undermining legal contracts. The EU and UK issued a joint statement pledging to work together last night, after Boris Johnson warned that businesses could flee the bloc's borders if it imposed 'arbitrary' blockades. And Health Secretary Matt Hancock delivered another blunt rebuke today, insisting that the UK's contract with AstraZeneca was fundamentally better than the EU's. 'I believe that free trading nations follow the law of contracts,' he told the FT. 'They have a 'best efforts' contract and we have an exclusivity deal.' Advertisement

Professor Evans added: 'DSMBs (data safety monitoring boards) have primary responsibilities towards the patients in the trial they are monitoring and also, in my view, towards the general public.

'There may be hidden reasons for their actions, but so far it will have had serious damage to public confidence in this, and possibly all vaccines, globally and it is unclear what benefits to anyone the DSMBs announcement will have had.

'It would be better if this dispute could be laid to rest and the US and other regulators left to make their objective assessments of complete data without the glare of publicity. It does not make regulators tasks easier.'

Discussing the revised efficacy figure, Dr English said: 'The difference is tiny, and to be expected with the number of cases analysed.

'We have not seen the confidence intervals, but they will almost certainly overlap, with this difference not being statistically significant.

He added: 'By imputing darkly that the data were incorrect, and by implication that the vaccine might be very much less efficacious than the press release said, in my opinion DBMS and NIH have acted in a way that risks doing serious harm to confidence in this vaccine in particular and, more dangerous still, to vaccination in general.'

AstraZeneca's Mene Pangalos, executive vice president of biopharmaceutical research and development, said the results were 'consistent' with the interim results that sparked controversy.

He added the data 'confirms our Covid vaccine is highly effective in adults, including those aged 65 years and over'.

AstraZeneca also reiterated that the vaccine, developed with Oxford University, was 100 per cent effective against severe or critical forms of the disease.

Eight severe cases spotted in the trial  but all were among participants who were given the placebo.

It also said the vaccine showed 85 per cent efficacy at blocking symptoms in over-65s, higher than the 80 per cent figure reported on Monday.

The latest data was based on 190 infections among more than 32,400 participants in the US, Chile and Peru. The earlier interim data was based on 141 infections through to February 17.

The study hasn't ended so additional Covid cases may accrue.

AstraZeneca said that 14 additional possible infections already are being examined, which could lead to further changes in the data.

Dr William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert from Vanderbilt University, said: 'The vaccine efficacy against severe disease, including death, puts the AZ vaccine in the same ballpark as the other vaccines.'

Trump's administration made a deal with AstraZeneca last year for 300million doses and the federal government is currently sitting on nearly 30million which can't be used.

Covid vaccines can't be rolled out in the US until they are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Both boards rely on independent committees such as the DSMB to rigorously review the evidence.

The DSMB  which is run through the NIAID  is made up of around a dozen leading scientists and statisticians with no ties to the Government or the drug firms making the jabs.

But in a rare public rebuke of the data, the NIAID put out a statement accusing the drug-maker of not giving watchdogs the full details from the study of the jab.

The full NIAID statement read: 'Late Monday, the Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) notified NIAID, BARDA, and AstraZeneca that it was concerned by information released by AstraZeneca on initial data from its Covid vaccine clinical trial.

'The DSMB expressed concern that AstraZeneca may have included outdated information from that trial, which may have provided an incomplete view of the efficacy data.

'We urge the company to work with the DSMB to review the efficacy data and ensure the most accurate, up-to-date efficacy data be made public as quickly as possible.'

Experts were baffled by the NIAID's decision to call out AstraZeneca publicly, just hours after the study results were announced.

Even Dr Anthony Fauci, America's top infectious disease expert, said it was 'really unfortunate that this happened'.

Yesterday, Dr Fauci told reporters he hoped when all the data was publicly vetted by federal regulators, it would dispel any hesitancy caused by the spat.

He predicted it would 'turn out to be a good vaccine' and called the NIAID note 'quite harsh' in a Tuesday Good Morning America interview.

The hiccup was the latest in a string of PR disasters for AstraZeneca, which has faced constant criticism over its jab.

EU officials earlier this year claimed it didn't work on older people and later that it caused blood clots  neither of which turned out to be true. UK and EU officials are now rowing over supplies.

The US trial also confirmed the vaccine doesn't increase the risk of blood clots.

Two doses were given four weeks apart in the study and the effectiveness of a single dose was not reported.

It was carried out because US regulators the FDA wanted a trial done on Americans before it would approve the jab, choosing not to use data from Oxford's tests in the UK, South Africa and Brazil.

This may be because the original trials of the jab were not carried out to high enough standards to satisfy the American regulators  some of the people in the study were accidentally given a dose the wrong size and the effectiveness of the vaccine varied across different people in the trial.

The research also did not include very many people in older age groups, leading to hesitancy about how well it would work among over-55s.
Photo: (Photo : Photo by j_oconnor37 from Twitter)

In August 2019, Anne Sacoolas was driving away from the US military base in RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire when she was involved in an accident in which 19-year-old Harry Dunn was riding his motorcycle, collided with her car and died.

The 43-year-old, who's married to an American intelligence officer, was charged with reckless driving while driving on the wrong side. Still, Mrs. Sacoolas pleaded diplomatic immunity and returned to the United States with her family.

Since then, Harry's family has struggled to get Mrs. Sacoolas back to the UK to stand trial.

Sacoolas and her husband Jonathan have now been informed that they will be "deposed" by July 23rd, which means they will testify under oath in front of Mr. Dunn's mother, Charlotte Charles, and his father, Tim Dunn.

The examination will be part of the "discovery" procedure in the Dunn family's civil lawsuit, in which lawyers will turn over appropriate correspondence and paperwork ahead of a trial scheduled for the end of the year.

"This will hopefully help them to process what happened to Harry Dunn as they continue to reconstruct their broken lives," family spokesman Radd Seiger said in response to the scheduling order.

READ: Selfless mom died of a car crash after helping in another car accident



In early March, Harry Dunn's family received permission from a Virginia judge to pursue a civil claim for damages against Mrs. Sacoolas and her husband.

Earlier this month, Charles also turned down Mrs. Sacoolas' offer to do community work claiming that it was not up to her or her legal counsel to decide what penalty she will face.

Amy Jeffress, Mrs. Sacoolas' lawyer, said her client had "never denied" responsibility for the road accident and would be able to do community service in the US, make a "contribution" in Mr. Dunn's memory, and meet with his family.

On the other hand, Charles said in an interview, "She must return to the United Kingdom and go through the legal system. It is not up to them to determine what punishment should be imposed, if any.

"She needs to find a solution, and the only way to do that is to go through the UK legal system.

"She needs to move on with her life, and we need to rebuild ours, but we can't do that until she goes through the UK justice system."

ALSO READ: Family of 4 Died Tragically in a Car Crash

The fatal crash

Anne Sacoolas rode on the "wrong side of the road for 20 seconds" before the fatal crash. Otherwise, she was traveling carefully and below the speed limit.

Ms. Sacoolas "instinctively" started driving on the right-hand side and could not see Harry Dunn due to "the crest of a small hill.

They said Anne did everything she could to help Harry Dunn in a public statement. She jumped out of her vehicle after the collision and attempted to assist him. When Anne saw another motorist approaching, she signaled her for assistance. The other driver immediately dialed 911, and Anne made phone calls to the nearby air force base to alert the police.

Harry Dunn was aided by the police officers, who arrived quickly. Unfortunately, the ambulance took about 40 minutes to arrive, and he was admitted to the hospital after almost two hours.

Anne did not leave the scene until the UK authorities informed her she had to. Her legal team has made an on-the-record announcement about her feelings about the possibility of a simulated trial.

They stated that they have been and continue to be willing to negotiate a settlement with UK authorities, including the prospect of virtual proceedings.

READ MORE: Orlando Mom Whose Toddler Was Killed in a Car Crash Creates a Foundation
Advertisement

The Hindu and Sikh communities have rallied to support victims of the floods that have ravished parts of Sydney.

Melbourne Sikhs drove 12 hours to cook free curries for starving residents and others bought a washing machine just so SES volunteers would have a clean pair of pants.

A Sydney Hindu temple that was damaged by floodwater has still kept its doors open to shelter and feed the homeless, while other Hindus have braved the rain to supply nappies and muesli bars to cut-off communities.

Relentless rain battering the NSW coast for nearly a week finally eased on Wednesday, but the state is still in the grip of a crisis with swollen rivers still rising and floodwaters showing little sign of receding.

Sikh Volunteers Australia pictured serving food to farmers in Oxley Island

Volunteer Manpreet Singh said one woman cried when he gave her a curry

The Sikh Volunteers Australia food truck is usually used to feed the homeless

Manpreet Singh spent twelve hours driving food and utensils with two other volunteers from Melbourne's south-west to Taree on New South Wales' Mid North Coast on Tuesday morning.

With three other Sikhs who flew to Sydney, the volunteers took leave off work to cook hot curries for people who have lost their homes in the floods.

Mr Singh said one woman in Castle Hill, Sydney, cried when he gave her a curry and told her how far he had travelled to help out.

'People were so welcome and so happy to see us. Because when we told them we are from Melbourne, they are so surprised,' he said.

'One lady started to cry as well, she was so humbled. Like you guys came from long drive and to help us here.'

The Sikh Volunteers Australia group usually use their food truck to feed the homeless in Melbourne's south-west.

In only two days, the volunteers have visited the New South Wales towns of Taree, Oxley Island, Manning Point and are now based in Castle Hill in Sydney and are planning on staying for another week.

Turbans 4 Australia volunteers filled up their van with food and supplies for flood victims

They also flew out supplies to Kurrajong, which could not be reached on four wheels

'We are going according to the situation. We will see where most people need the food, then we will move there,' Mr Singh said.

Another Sikh community group in Sydney, Turbans 4 Australia, have been dropping off urgent supplies for people caught in the floods around the west of Sydney, and have even stocked a helicopter for Kurrajong residents.

They have been donating flushable wipes, nappies, muesli bars, chips, gloves, garbage bags and other basic supplies to affected communities.

The group has donated flushable wipes, nappies, muesli bars and garbage bags (pictured)

Other Hindus have been offering to open up their home to flood victims, with one temple opening its doors despite being affected by floodwater itself.

Arya Samaj Temple in Shanes Park, Sydney, was affected by floodwater but the president of temple is still offering it to provide food and shelter for anyone who needs it.

'Our temple is inundated in flooding but our spirits of helping the community can never be drowned,' Suresh Chandra, President of Arya Samaj Temple told Australia Today.

'Our temple community is ready to help and support anyone who needs shelter or food in case they had to leave their homes.'

Hindu Benevolent Fund has been working closely to assist the Blacktown SES (pictured)

The fund donated a washing machine and dryer so the rescuers could wash their clothes (pictured)

The broader Hindu community has also shown incredible generosity, with many members opening their homes on social media.

The Hindu Benevolent Fund has been working closely to assist the Blacktown SES by distributing food and even donating a washing machine and dryer on Tuesday just so volunteers could wash their clothes.

'In the end we all need to be worked together if we are having this type of natural disaster. Our first priority is to help community, our first priority to stand with the nation,' said volunteer Ajay Khanna.

'We're always saying about the humanity is one of the best religions, so help people when they need any help.'

Ashish Kumar (second left) and Jyoti Chaudhary (second right) offered their home to a stranded student

Mr Kumar (pictured) has previously volunteered with the SES

When Ashish Kumar and Jyoti Chaudhary heard the floods were affecting people near his Blacktown home, their first thought was that they had too much space anyway.

In a viral Facebook post, Mr Kumar said anyone in need of accommodation, shelter or food could reside in one of the families three bedrooms.

'I am happy to look after your fur babies as well if required,' he wrote.

One Sydney international student, who asked to stay anonymous, took the offer of a room and meals as the road to her home in Richmond was blocked by floods.

Mr Kumar told Daily Mail Australia offering help was 'in his blood'.

'I would say the teachings that my dad has given me is always give out what you have, because ... if you give help out, help does come back to you as well,' he said.
The Brazilian state of Mato Grosso has deployed a multi-agency communications solution using Sepuras SC20 TETRA radios to support security operations on the border with neighbouring Bolivia.

The solution enables coordination between the Border Task Force, Military and Civilian Police forces, the Military Fire Department, and other supporting agencies.

Robust communication solution

The solution is an extension of the TETRA network currently in operation in the Brazilian state, built on infrastructure provided by Teltronic. The Sepura SC20 radios interact with Teltronics control centre solution, CeCoCo NG, ensuring that operations can be seamlessly coordinated and information shared between the various operational teams.

The radios large screen ensures that images and text-based messages can be clearly read in varying light conditions

The SC20 provides users with a powerful TETRA communication device  with loud, clear audio and a robust design to withstand repeated rough treatment in tough environments. The SC20 also benefits from advanced connectivity options, allowing links to data sources and improving the situational awareness of both control room staff and field officers. The radios large screen ensures that images and text-based messages can be clearly read in varying light conditions, adding another element to the teams ability to communicate.

Environment-friendly solution

The border between Brazil and Bolivia is characterised by changing landscape, from dense rainforest to urban developments. The SC20 is equally at home in either, as it benefits from water porting technology, meaning that even in torrential downpours or areas with significant moisture, the radio will maintain outstanding service. Meanwhile, its loud audio and flexible set of audio accessories mean that voice communications will be heard even in noisy environments.

In addition, its extended range ensures that communications are maintained, whether based in remote areas with undulating terrain or in high-rise urban areas.

Terence Ledger, Worldwide Sales Director at Sepura said, The SC20 is a trusted device for public safety officers around the world. We have seen many organisations adopt the radio to maintain the advantage of TETRA networks and benefit from a market-leading tough, powerful radio. We are delighted to support the police in Mato Grosso state and throughout Brazil with their operations and look forward to working with them to extend their communication solutions in the future.
The Nagol is Back! VTOs guide to this years Nagol, plus where to stay and play in south, central and north Pentecost.
Credit: Cranfield University

Experts from Cranfield University are helping to protect one of the UK's rarest species of wildlife, by providing data that allows environmentalists to identify habitats in which it can thrive.

Due to a rapid decline in numbers during the last century, great crested newts are protected in law, meaning that developers wanting to build on land where they have made a home must wait until they have been relocated elsewhere before beginning work.

Previously, the relocation process was ad-hoc, and subject to seasonal restrictions, delays and uncertainty. But data from Cranfield's Land Information System (LandIS) is feeding into a new model that promises to result in better outcomes for the species, as well as make developers' lives easier.

Under Natural England's district level licensing (DLL), developers make a conservation payment based on the predicted impact of their development. The money is used to fund the strategic creation or restoration of ponds in areas which are known to represent the best places for newts to thrive. The new habitats created will then be maintained and monitored for 25 years, all funded by the initial payment.

Dr. Jacqueline Hannam, Senior Research Fellow in Pedology within Cranfield's Centre for Environmental and Agricultural Informatics, said: "District level licensing promises to result in fewer delays and uncertainties within the planning process butmore importantlyit focuses conservation effort where it will be of maximum benefit to the great crested newt species. LandIS data on the soil properties of different areas will feed into a wider geospatial analysis and be combined with ecological knowledge gathered from observational surveys, enabling Natural England to create a map of Strategic Opportunity Areas that will guide wildlife trusts regarding placing or restoring compensation ponds."

Dr. Ben Payne, Senior Adviser in the Modelling and Analysis Team at Natural England, said: "Understanding the soil properties, using Cranfield soils (drainage) data for example, as well as terrestrial habitat and pondscape characteristics, all contribute to improving the performance of the models and their ability to predict suitable habitat for great crested newts."

Karen Kramer Wilson, Senior Adviser for Species Data Use and Mobilisation at Natural England, added: "This is a great example of effective integration of multiple sources of valuable data to achieve a dynamic and relevant approach to inform key conservation efforts on a local and landscape level."

The great crested newt is the largest of the UK's three native species of newt, growing up to 17cm long. Dark brown or black, with distinctive 'warty' skin and an orange underside with irregular black blotches, males of the species display an impressive jagged crest along their back in Spring and a white 'flash' in their tail.

Due to a rapid decline in numbers during the last century, the great crested newt is strictly protected in British and European law. It is illegal to kill, injure, capture, keep, sell or trade them, and to disturb, damage or destroy their habitat.

District Level Licensing is currently available across 91 local authorities in England, and Natural England has plans to expand this to 150 local authorities in the coming months. Going forwards, its ambition is to extend the licensing model across all aspects of its biodiversity work.

LandIS, the Land Information System, is a substantial environmental information system operated by Cranfield University, designed to contain soil and soil-related information for England and Wales including spatial mapping of soils at a variety of scales, as well as corresponding soil property and agro-climatological data. LandIS is the largest system of its kind in Europe and is recognized by UK Government as the definitive source of national soils information.

Explore further Environmental DNA helps protect great crested newts
The HSE is to stop accepting new applications for Covid-19 vaccinations from frontline healthcare workers from tomorrow in a move which will free up Oxford-AstraZeneca jabs for people at very high risk due to underlying illness.

Since vaccination of frontline staff began in December, more than 204,000 workers have received a first dose  50,000 more than expected.

The additional 50,000 followed an underestimate of the number of private healthcare staff, Section 39 workers in certain State-funded healthcare bodies and people on the frontline in agencies, as well as physiotherapists, pharmacists and podiatrists.

The HSE believes this group  which was second in the vaccination priority list  is now covered.

In a letter to all hospital groups, HSE chief clinical officer Dr Colm Henry said as of midday tomorrow the registration portal, where frontline workers apply for the vaccine, will be closed to them.

He said, as of March 21, 204,000 frontline healthcare workers had received their first-dose vaccination. The HSE is now in a position to close out dose one vaccinations for this group, Dr Henry said.

Anyone registered before midday tomorrow will receive a first dose, while staff on leave or new employees will get a vaccine through special arrangement. Any healthcare worker who received a first dose will get their second.

The group on the vaccination priority list after healthcare workers are the over-70s, and their vaccination started in February with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

The decision to close off the frontline staff group is likely to mean more Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines will now be available for people at very high risk due to pre-existing illness. There are around 160,000 people in this group. They are followed by people aged 65-69 deemed at high risk due to illness.

The urgency to roll out the vaccine to at-risk groups comes as 683 new cases of the virus were reported yesterday along with 18 deaths, amid concerns the spread will increase further.

Five walk-in clinics offering free Covid-19 tests will open today. The Dublin sites are in the National Aquatic Centre in Blanchardstown, Tallaght Stadium, Irishtown Stadium and Grangegorman primary care centre. A temporary test centre is also opening in Tullamore Leisure Centre in Offaly.

A GP referral is not needed and the aim is to pick up cases in people who live within 5km of the centres and who do not have symptoms.

The areas have been chosen because they have higher incidence of the virus. The Dublin regions of Blanchardstown and Mulhuddart have the highest concentration of cases in the city.

Around one in five people infected has no symptoms.

The new cases yesterday included 308 in Dublin, 68 in Donegal, 49 in Kildare, 35 in Meath, and 30 in Offaly, with the remaining 193 cases spread across 21 other counties.

The number of Covid-19 patients in hospital continues to fall, and is now down to 329, with 76 in intensive care. There were 18 more admissions in the previous 24 hours.

New figures on outbreaks last week showed an increase in family homes, private houses, schools and creches.

There were 24 school-related outbreaks, up 16 in a week, with 258 family outbreaks, up 55.

Read More




University officials who punished Christian student club not immune from damage claims: appeals court

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

An appeals court has ruled that the University of Iowa, which previously punished a Christian student group for only allowing Christians to be leaders, cannot be immune from lawsuits.

Business Leaders in Christ recently sued the university and some of its officials, seeking damages after the school was found to have unlawfully punished the Christian student club.

Although a district court barred the university from enforcing a registered student organization policy against BLinC, it also granted qualified immunity, which stops public officials from being sued for deeds performed in their official capacity, to all of the defendants.

A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled Monday that the university defendants did not have qualified immunity on all claims made by BLinC.

Eighth Circuit Chief Judge Lavenski Smith wrote the panel opinion, which partially reversed a lower court decision in favor of the university while sending the case back to the court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

This inquiry takes into account the undisputed facts of the present case: the Universitys creation of a limited public forum for student speech and subsequent viewpoint discrimination against BLinC, a student organization, within that forum, wrote Smith.

As a result, we hold that the district court erroneously granted the individual defendants motion for summary judgment based on qualified immunity on BLinCs free-speech and expressive-association claims.

Smith did not believe that the Christian student group had sufficiently proved that the defendants should not get qualified immunity over free exercise claims.

BLinC cites several other cases in support of its argument that the law clearly established that the individual defendants conduct violated BLinCs free-exercise rights, but none of them involve student speech in a limited public forum, Smith continued.

Circuit Judge Jonathan Allen Kobes authored an opinion that concurred, in part, and dissented in part, arguing that he believed the law is clearly established on its free exercise claim, too.

The individual defendants decided that student groups with leadership qualifications based on race, gender, or political ideology were not subject to the Human Rights Policy, but BLinC was, wrote Kobes.

The individual defendants may pick their poison: they are either plainly incompetent or they knowingly violated the Constitution. Either way, they should not get qualified immunity.

Eric Baxter, vice president and senior counsel at Becket, a religious liberty law firm that helped represent BLinC, said in a statement Monday that he supported the panel ruling.

Its deeply ironic that school officials tried using the universitys nondiscrimination policy to discriminate against religion, stated Baxter.

They knew this was wrong, yet did it anyway. Were pleased the court has recognized that such blatant religious discrimination brings personal consequences.

In 2017, BLinC sued the University of Iowa after the group was derecognized for refusing to adhere to a non-discrimination policy that required them to open their leadership positions to non-Christians.

U.S. District Judge Stephanie M. Rose issued an injunction in February 2019 against the university enforcing the non-discrimination policy on BLinC. Still, she concluded that the policy itself was acceptable as it promotes valuable goals for both the University and society at large.

But the Constitution does not tolerate the way Defendants chose to enforce the Human Rights Policy, explained Rose in the 2019 ruling.

Particularly when free speech is involved, the uneven application of any policy risks the most exacting standard of judicial scrutiny, which Defendants have failed to withstand.
A new report by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission says Eritrean troops murdered unarmed civilians in the historic town of Aksum in Tigray, piling accusations of atrocities on Asmara.

The document released on Wednesday morning reports on incidents when armed Eritrean troops went from house to house asking for men and boys from villages. They then shot them.

The document, 'Investigation into Grave Human Rights Violations in Aksum City' is only preliminary finding, but it came a day after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed admitted for the first time of the presence of Eritrean troops on Ethiopian soil.

The report confirmed that on two days, November 28 and November 29, 2020, "grave violations of human rights" were committed and that in Aksum, more than 100 civilians including tourists on a pilgrimage who were attending to mark the annual Aksum Tsion celebration and IDPs living in the area. "As the residents, families of victims and eyewitnesses described to EHRC, "civilians were killed in front of their children, spouses and mothers." Eritrean soldiers went door to door asking women "where their husbands or children were" telling them "to bring their sons out if they have any" and asking questions in Tigrinya and shooting at civilian men they dragged out of houses and caught on streets even as the men pleaded saying they were not armed.

"Families of victims and eyewitnesses identified the attackers as Eritrean soldiers by their distinct Eritrean Tigrinya accent, by the uniforms and shoes they were wearing and a distinct cultural marking on the face of some of the Eritrean soldiers."

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Ethiopia Legal Affairs Conflict By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Eritrea had reacted angrily to earlier findings by Amnesty International and later Human Rights Watch in February, accusing the rights watchdogs of relying on 'biased' witnesses among the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).

On Tuesday, however, Dr Abiy said Eritrean troops had done "favours" to his country when he first launched an operation targeting the erstwhile ruling party, TPLF. But he did say Addis Ababa will not defend atrocities committed by either his own troops or those of Eritrea.

"However, after the Eritrean army crossed the border and was operating in Ethiopia, any damage it did to our people was unacceptable," he said.

"We don't accept it because it is the Eritrean army, and we would not accept it if it were our soldiers. The military campaign was against our clearly targeted enemies, not against the people. We have discussed this four or five times with the Eritrean government," Abiy said.

The Ethiopian rights watchdog said the crimes were not 'ordinary' "but grave contraventions of applicable international and human rights laws and principles, marked by intentionally directed attacks against civilians who were not directly taking part in the hostilities and including intentional looting, destruction and appropriation of property not justified by military necessity (including religious institutions and health facilities).

"As these grave human rights violations may amount to crimes against humanity or war crimes, it underscores the need for a comprehensive investigation into overall human rights situation in Tigray region."
Syracuse, N.Y.  An arrest has been made in the slaying of a 93-year-old woman found dead last week in Skyline Apartments in Syracuse.

Victoria Afet, 23, of Syracuse has been charged with murdering Connie Tuori. The Syracuse Police Department announced the arrest of Afet  who has been in jail for weeks on unrelated charges  during a news conference Thursday.

Afet has been charged with first-degree murder and first-degree burglary, both felonies. If shes convicted of first-degree murder, she could face life in prison without parole.

Syracuse police officers found Tuori, a retired teacher and world traveler, dead in her 12th-floor apartment on St. Patricks Day.

Afet has a history with law enforcement that includes being accused of robbing a 74-year-old woman at Skyline, stealing $38 and biting her hand on Feb. 18, police said in a felony complaint filed in Syracuse City Court. She was released by a judge the next day  only to be returned to jail just over a week later on a new charge.

Before her murder arrest, Afet had five ongoing felony cases, a short, failed stint on probation and a misdemeanor larceny conviction, public records show. Shed been jailed seven separate times in the past three years, according to records provided by Onondaga County Sheriffs Office spokesman Sgt. Jon Seeber.

Her prior ongoing allegations included, in separate cases from 2020: slamming a womans head against a tree, flashing a serrated knife while threatening someones life and injuring someone with a knife outside a store.

Skyline Apartments, once a luxury apartment complex, is now plagued by crime and notorious for its squalor. Since Sept. 1, police have been called to the building more than 527 times  averaging almost three calls a day.

Connie Tuori

After college, Tuori taught school in Syracuse and in California, along the Mexican border. And then she taught in Italy for several years before she moved to Istanbul, Turkey, to teach English for a year and a half.

She, however, loved to travel. In the end, she visited all seven of the worlds continents.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.

Read more

Skyline murder suspect was accused of attacking other woman, 74, in same building and freed a day later

Skyline Apartments to hire off-duty Syracuse cops for extra security after womans murder

Walsh says hes exploring legal action against Skyline owners: Its public nuisance No. 1

Elderly murder victims family on Skyline squalor: Did they get away with this because who owns it?

Connie Tuori, 93, survived Afghanistan, Antarctica and African safari, only to be killed in her Syracuse apartment

Family IDs 93-year-old woman murdered in Skyline Apartments

Inside Tim Greens Skyline Apartments: Murder, drugs and filth. Tenants, cops say enough is enough

Woman killed at Skyline Apartments on James Street

Police, tenants push football legend Tim Greens firm to fix nightmare apartments

Staff writer Samantha House covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? Reach her at shouse@syracuse.com.
The internet exists on a layered architecture of privately owned websites, servers and routers. And the ethos of the web, going back to its early days, has been one governed by cyber-libertarianism: this theory that by design this is supposed to be a relaxed regulatory environment.

What these hearings are trying to explore is the question, as you mentioned: Have we reached the end of that self-regulatory road, where the government ought to have a greater role than historically it has had in this space?

With all of that in mind, is antitrust legislation from Congress likely? How does President Bidens arrival in the Oval Office change the prospects?

Its interesting: If you look at what Biden has said as a candidate and what Biden has done as president, theyre a little bit different. As a candidate, Biden said he would favor revoking Section 230. He does not have even the Democratic votes to go through with a full revocation of Section 230, although an amendment might be possible. I think hes facing the political reality that that is going to be a harder sell than he had initially thought.

In terms of whether broad antitrust legislation might pass this Congress, it does seem possible. Antitrust issues in the social media space have generated a lot more interest in the last couple of years than they have in the last 15 or 20 combined. If I could put that in just a little bit of historical context for you: 2019 marked the 100th anniversary of a monumental dissenting opinion in a Supreme Court case called Abrams v. United States. That was a case in which Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes really gave rise to our modern First Amendment, and the enduring concept of the value in a market of free trade in ideas.

With the rise of social media, our free-speech landscape today looks exceedingly different than it did when Holmes wrote those words. He was warning of the dangers of the governments ability to censor critics or other disfavored speakers, whereas now the entities best able to restrict our speech are nongovernmental internet and web platforms.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, NEW YORK: Four Decades of Success, Excess, and Transformation, by Thomas Dyja. (Simon & Schuster, $30.) This capacious account of New Yorks recent rise describes the men and women in every facet of life who helped revitalize the city. Yet for Dyja, who sees the need for another reinvention of New York, the city has in many ways fallen prey to its own success. What he has produced is a tour de force, Kevin Baker writes in his review, a work of astonishing breadth and depth that encompasses seminal changes in New Yorks government and economy, along with deep dives into hip-hop, the AIDS crisis, the visual arts, housing, architecture and finance.

MONA, by Pola Oloixarac. Translated by Adam Morris. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $25.) The title character of this ruthless, very funny Argentine literary satire is vying for an important award at a conference in Sweden. But the comedy gives way to shocking revelations when Monas deeply repressed memories come back to haunt her. Oloixarac frequently made me laugh out loud, Sadie Stein writes in her review. There are moments so casually well observed  hat-tip to her translator, Adam Morris  that youre almost eager to prolong the conference beyond its antic and hallucinatory (in a bad way) conclusion.

THE CODE BREAKER: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race, by Walter Isaacson. (Simon & Schuster, $35.) Isaacson, the biographer of innovators from Einstein to Leonardo, reprises some favorite themes in this book about the woman who won the 2020 Nobel in Chemistry for her work on the gene-editing technology CRISPR. The result is in some respects a journal of our 2020 plague year, Dava Sobel writes in her review. Some of the most exciting sections of The Code Breaker detail the way CRISPR researchers rose to the Covid challenge: They developed rapid test procedures and vaccine strategies  and posted them to an open database for the benefit of the entire scientific community, spurring progress to a gallop.

RED WIDOW, by Alma Katsu. (Putnam, $27.) Katsu, a former intelligence analyst best known for her paranormal and horror novels, finally writes what shes most familiar with: This inside-the-C.I.A. thriller, about the friendship between an agent and the widow of a Russian asset, is replete with falsehoods, betrayals and double-dealing. The plotting is sophisticated and laced with surprises, Sarah Weinman writes in her latest crime column, but what stands out most is the emotional core of Lyndsey and Theresas alliance, and whether there is room, in a nest of vipers, for true sisterhood.

FLOATING IN A MOST PECULIAR WAY: A Memoir, by Louis Chude-Sokei. (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $27.) This debut memoir tells the story of a young Black man trying to find himself in a world where he never quite seems to belong. Too African for Jamaica, too Jamaican for America, too American for Nigeria, Chude-Sokei grows up in search of a Blackness that fits him. Chude-Sokeis prose is both direct and poetic, describing horrific trauma with such flat immediacy that at times I had to set the book down for a moment, just to process, Ijeoma Oluo writes in her review. Herein lies the beauty of Floating in a Most Peculiar Way: It reveals how we carry trauma with us, how that trauma can cause us to hurt one another, and how we still love and carry one another with wounds unhealed.
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.
After 12 months of inactivity, now you can feel it in springtime New York: the reanimation, the flow and flux, the lives again in transit. Theres movement once more in the city, and action of high velocity at the Whitney Museum of American Art, where the roiling midcareer retrospective of Julie Mehretu has finally made it to view. It opened in November 2019 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and surveys 25 years of rumbling paintings, drawings and prints. Its arrived nearly a year late in her hometown, but her disquieted art has only grown in pertinence and power.

Mehretu came to prominence in the early 2000s for large, multilayered paintings that incorporated architectural diagrams and cityscapes. Then, about ten years ago, her art took a profound and thrilling turn  painting gestural, calligraphic abstractions, bristling with unsettled tensions that evoke the dislocations of war and the disorder of the climate. Shed won fame early. She faced a market that preferred she stick to one style. Mehretu kept moving, and in the process forged a new sort of decolonial abstraction right inside the tradition of Western art.
Los Angeles DA faces resistance for criminal justice reforms View Photo

LOS ANGELES (AP)  Minutes after George Gascon was sworn in as Los Angeles County district attorney, he fulfilled a promise to institute sweeping criminal justice reform, sending a lengthy memo ordering prosecutors to stop seeking longer prison sentences, among other changes.

To many of his deputies, it may as well have been a declaration of war. The union representing prosecutors quickly sued their new boss to block the policy.

More resistance followed. Other county district attorneys took the unusual step of criticizing Gascons policies as reckless and tried to take cases from his jurisdiction. Before completing his first 100 days in office, a campaign kicked off to recall him. Its co-chaired by the widow of an officer killed in the line of duty who is furious Gascon wont seek the death penalty.

Theres a fundamental difference in philosophy in that hes prioritizing the needs of the accused and ignoring the needs of public safety and the victims, said Michele Hanisee, a deputy district attorney and president of the union representing rank-and-file prosecutors.

Gascon said anyone surprised with his policies wasnt paying attention during last falls campaign, and labeled opponents old-school fearmongers.

They continue to follow the playbook of the 80s and 90s, Gascon said. Its a simple message, right? Scare the heck out of people, and hopefully that will work for you.

Gascon is part of a wave of progressive DAs elected in cities including Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia and Austin, Texas. As the largest DAs office in the country  with nearly 1,000 prosecutors and a jurisdiction with 10 million residents  LA is the highest profile.

Other reform-minded DAs have encountered resistance from within their offices and police, but none has faced blowback like Gascon, said Daniel Medwed a law professor at Northeastern University in Boston.

Im sort of hard-pressed to think about what other obstacle he could face, Medwed said.

In November, Gascon unseated two-term incumbent Jackie Lacey in a campaign of contrasts and contradictions between fellow Democrats.

Gascon, a Cuban immigrant raised in Los Angeles, rose from beat cop to assistant chief of the LAPD before being appointed police chief in Mesa, Arizona, and then San Francisco. He later was district attorney of that city. Despite his police background, law enforcement groups opposed his reform platform.

Lacey, a career prosecutor who witnessed crime growing up in a tough LA neighborhood, was the first woman and Black person to serve as DA. But she clashed with Black Lives Matter for failing to prosecute officers in hundreds of deadly shootings.

Melina Abdullah, co-founder of Black Lives Matter-LA, held weekly protests calling for Laceys ouster. Before the election, she warned Gascon they would protest him, too, if he didnt follow through on campaign promises.

So far, he has surpassed expectations. The group has gone from tweeting #JackieLaceyMustGo to #StandWithGeorge.

Its a very strange turn for me, Abdullah said. Im not used to standing alongside and feeling like we have to flank the district attorney. But thats where we are because he is being really steadfast in his commitment to those reforms that we have been pushing for years.

When Gascon took office Dec. 7, he imposed his campaign agenda: not seeking the death penalty; not prosecuting juveniles as adults; ending cash bail for misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies; and no longer filing enhancements that trigger stiffer sentences for certain elements of crimes, repeat offenses or being a gang member.

Gascon argues enhancements and so-called three-strikes allegations  where a third serious or violent felony can trigger a life sentence  leads to excessive and costly incarceration, hasnt improved safety and has resulted in more repeat offenders.

His critics say studies dont support his policy and that the additional penalties add necessary prison time to punish egregious crimes.

Richard Ceballos, a 30-year LA prosecutor who had challenged Lacey and then supported Gascon, expected a more conservative approach. He thought Gascon, as an outsider, would get to know people in the office first.

Instead, he acted almost like, Im the savior, the messiah of LAs criminal justice system and Im going to do this without really consulting anyone, Ceballos said. That was probably one of the dumbest things he could have done.

Gascon ordered more than 100 enhancements dropped, including one that elevates a hate crime from misdemeanor to a felony. The move infuriated victims advocates and Gascon backpedaled, restoring enhancements in cases involving children, the elderly and people targeted because of their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or disability.

Still, the Association of Deputy District Attorneys took him to court. A judges preliminary ruling prevents the office from dropping enhancements already charged and requiring filing strike allegations.

On his 100th day in office last week, Gascon touted that 70% fewer sentencing enhancements were filed in his first three months compared to a year earlier. He said conservative calculations estimated 8,000 years of sentences were trimmed, saving $600 million in future prison costs at the rate of $80,000 per inmate a year.

Opponents swiftly countered, questioning why that would be a success and asserting Gascon couldnt show that eliminating enhancements reduces crime or promotes public safety.

The California District Attorneys Association has taken the unusual step of attacking him. Individual DAs have joined in, some seeking to move cases back to their jurisdictions.

Kern County District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer, in an op-ed piece at Bakersfield.com, suggested local criminals, take your criminal activity to Los Angeles, where you will be greeted with open arms.

Gascons stance against the death penalty has angered families of slain police officers.

Under Lacey, the DAs office was deciding whether to seek a death sentence for the killer of LA County Sheriffs Sgt. Steve Owen. A parolee is accused of murder in the 2016 killing of Owen, who was shot four more times once he was down.

Owens widow is now co-chair of the campaign to recall Gascon.

My husband for 29 years fought for victims rights to the point where he actually laid down his life for victims, said Tania Owen, a retired officer. I can tell you that no victim I ever encountered has ever said: We dont want these individuals held accountable and responsible to the full extent of the law.'

Miriam Krinsky, the executive director at Fair and Just Prosecutions, which works with progressive prosecutors to develop policies that arent driven by incarceration, thinks Gascon will ultimately prevail in enacting his reforms because the voters backed him and others will see that past policies failed.

When theyre willing to open their minds to a new way of thinking, I think theyll see the wisdom in what Gascon is primed to do and that theyll come on board, Krinsky said.

Those who dont, she said, may choose to move on.

By BRIAN MELLEY

Associated Press
Francesca Paris is The Eagle's data and public records reporter. She was previously the North Adams reporter. A California native and Williams College alumna, she has worked at NPR in Washington, D.C. and WBUR in Boston. Find her on Twitter at @fparises.
Shanghai (Gasgoo)- China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group Limited (Evergrande Auto) announced it signed on March 15 an agreement with TINNOVE, a Tencent-backed IoV (Internet of Vehicles) technology developer, to build a joint venture dedicated to the development of in-car smart OS (operating system) with independent intellectual property rights.

Hengchi 1; photo credit: Hengchi

The joint venture will be 60/40 controlled by Evergrande Auto and TINNOVE, according to the announcement. Both parties are expected to make full use of their respective capabilities in new energy vehicle (NEV) R&D, manufacturing, artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computation, commuting and other fields, aiming to jointly create a world-leading smart vehicle ecosystem.

Founded in 2018, TINNOVE is an IoV solution provider jointly owned by Tencent and Changan Automobile. According to the companys official website, TINNOVE renders industry-wide IoV-based OS solutions with open, adaptive and custom-made characteristics based on Tencents professional capabilities in AI, big data, cloud computing and mobility ecosystem.

Evergrande revealed last month three new full-electric vehicle models dubbed the Hengchi 7, Hengchi 8 and Hengchi 9. According to the companys statement, the Hengchi 7 is a sedan; the Hengchi 8 is a vehicle designed as a cross between a sport wagon and a sedan; the Hengchi 9 is a mid-sized SUV. All three types are branded as luxury cars.

The company took the wraps off its first six planned production vehicles in December 2020, named the Hengchi 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, including body styles from sedans to SUVs and a MPV.
The Conservative Party of Canada's refusal to acknowledge that climate change is an issue is truly troubling. In fact it beggars belief. We are supposed to draw comfort from the fact that Tracy Gray and Dan Albas say that they believe that climate change is real and O Toole says that he will have a plan in place by the next election  which could be in three years time.

Saying that you believe that climate change is real is not enough. It is a totally inadequate answer. So Dan and Tracy my questions are:

a) Do you believe that Greenhouse Gases are the cause? or,

b) Do you believe that that water vapour or something else is the cause? or,

c) Do you believe that the world is just going through one of its warming cycles and if we wait another 43,000 years (or whatever the number is) then it will all be alright again ? and,

d) What concrete actions are you going to advocate by way of input to your leaders plan whenever he plans to deliver it.

I am sure that a number of your progressive minded readers must be very concerned by the latest Conservative party decision and the general drift, despite O Tooles noisy protestation to the contrary, to the right. What is to be done?

It is worth noting that in the Kelowna Lake Country riding Stephen Fuhr (the Liberal incumbent) an excellent, charismatic, energised and results driven MP who drew some $160 million federal investment in the riding lost to Gray in 2019. Fuhr came out and said that he fully accepted the science on climate change.

If you look at the votes cast in 2019 in excess of 35,000 were cast for the Liberals, NDP and Greens and approximately 32,000 were cast for the right of centre parties. So we appear to be a progressive riding.

In order to ensure that the conservatives wacky, vague and muddled thinking on critical issues does not stand a chance of succeeding in the next election the progressive parties need to come together and agree not to run against each other and split the progressive vote in ridings where a split vote would let the conservatives win.

This eminently simple solution will require the Liberals, NDP and Greens to think in practical terms and give up on their misguided belief that they have a chance of winning every riding. If they do not do so then they may have a lot to answer for.

John Bailey, Kelowna
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.
Appointment: Cape Clear co-founder David Clarke has been made chair of Keelvar board

The former chief technology officer of the $60bn company Workday has become the new chairperson of the Cork-based software company Keelvar.

Irishman David Clarke, a co-founder of Cape Clear Software who became one of Workdays most senior executives after Cape Clears acquisition by the US company, will advise Keelvar on its product development and growth.

Keelvar, founded and led by the former UCC academic Alan Holland, raised 16m in funding last year.

It specialises in software for sourcing optimisation and automation and counts companies like Siemens, Logitech, Samsung and Coca-Cola as customers.

Mr Clarke is also an investor in Keelvar and other startups.

David is a technology pioneer with an extensive background in building and scaling global tech companies, said Alan Holland, founder and CEO of Keelvar.

His insights and practical learnings will be invaluable as we continue to expand our team, enter new markets and transform sourcing and procurement.

Clarke co-founded Cape Clear Software in 1999 with Annrai OToole, a fellow former Iona Technologies executive.

The company was bought by Workday in 2008, raising $50m in investment capital from leading venture capital firms through the acquisition.

What attracted me to invest in Keelvar and join as board chair is the quality and depth of its technology and team, said Mr Clarke.

I am also highly impressed by the customer success the company has already achieved in applying very advanced techniques to create better, easier ways to optimise and automate strategic and routine sourcing processes.

"Keelvar has a distinctive background, culture, and approach, which I believe positions them to develop rapidly as the market leader for global sourcing.

"Im looking forward to working with Alan, the Board, and the Keelvar team as we grow the company over the coming years.

Founded in 2012, Keelvar received 16m in Series A funding in 2020 to fund product development, sales and new hires.

The company claims to have doubled its headcount in the last year with record year-over-year revenue growth, partly due to the addition of more big customers in North America.

The appointment follows a strong year of fundraising for Irish tech companies, with almost 1bn raised.
When pondering investment in Southeast Asia, labour wages sit alongside political stability as key factors. Photo: Le Toan

While it may sometimes feel that the coronavirus pandemic is the only headline news on a global level these days, other serious issues are beginning to garner more notice as countries try to fight their way out of the health crisis.

Of interest to some businesspeople and enterprises with activities or potential development plans in 2021 is the ongoing unrest in Asia  in particular, in destinations such as Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia, along with newly-enacted changes in the likes of Hong Kong last year.

Experts are now beginning to pore over available data and ponder whether some nations and territories will see an exodus of investors, especially big multinationals  and if so, seek to predict where they will go.

On the other side of the coin, as these markets face uncertainty, others are attempting to either open up to more investment or proclaim that finances are already on the right track after emerging from the global health crisis  adding to signs that funding shifts are taking place for a new era.

Nikkei Asia reported on March 11 that the Philippines is closer to loosening its strict rules on foreign direct investment (FDI), previously seen as stifling international companies looking to carve a piece of a Southeast Asian market dominated by local conglomerates.

With just over a year left in office, President Rodrigo Duterte is reportedly making a last push for greater openness to foreign investment, with the changes attempting to undo what a 2019 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development index said was the continents most restrictive FDI rules.

On the same day, Chinese cable news network CGTN noted that FDI flows to China rose by 34.2 per cent on-year to $26.07 billion in January and February (excluding banking, securities, and insurance), as per data from its Ministry of Commerce.

In terms of source, funding from ASEAN countries and from the Belt and Road Initiative increased by 28.1 and 26.2 per cent, respectively, while investment from the European Union raised by 31.5 per cent on-year.

As the first to suffer from COVID-19 and, subsequently, one of the first to experience life without it, China has been looking to capitalise by widening market access for foreign investment, further reducing the number of sectors and industries off-limits to both Chinese and overseas investors from January.

Regional shifts

When it comes to businesses with an eye on the continent and in Southeast Asia in particular, a wait-and-see approach may be the only option. According to Brigitta Kinadi and Andrew Yeo, senior associates at strategic advisory group Global Counsel, there are three themes to watch out for this year when it comes to shifts that may have implications for both corporate and investors.

Firstly, tensions may continue to escalate in a number of places, of which Myanmar stands out. The political crisis in Myanmar is deteriorating, and while the response of foreign businesses and investors has been fairly muted so far, much will depend on future sanctions that will likely be imposed, they wrote.

A second major theme will be the continuing demands of Beijing for regional pre-eminence. Member states of ASEAN are now well attuned to the growing role China seeks, and external trade and investment will still be prioritised as the ruling party marks its 100th anniversary, the senior associates added.

Lastly, the new US administration is being greeted with calm. While it is unclear how a Biden administration plans to engage with the region, the escalating political and public health crisis he inherits means domestic needs are likely to take priority, Kinadi and Yeo concluded.

For Vietnam, many observers are paying attention to events in Thailand, which has traditionally competed with Vietnam across many sectors and fields.

Maxwell Abbott, head of Business Intelligence in Asia for Risk Advisory Group, noted that much of Thailands recent economic woes are mostly due to the pandemic, as a country that depended on tourism for nearly 15 per cent of its GDP. But political conflicts that erupted last year and resumed despite pandemic restrictions in January are also affecting confidence of investors.

As the standoff drags on, the initial shock seems to have worn off and there are signs of Thailand regaining its status as a destination for FDI, Abbott explained. That said, the current movement exposes Thailands systemic instability, something which could be a deterrent to foreign investors in the years and decades to come.

Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief economist for Asia-Pacific at French investment bank Natixis, had already summarised the situation back in November when she stated that higher political risk is weighing negatively on investment from both foreign and domestic sources.

According to the Financial Times, about $7.8 billion flowed out of Thai stocks last year up to the end of August, and another $2.3 billion out of bonds. It also noted that stocks had dropped more than 20 per cent to that point of the year, with dwindling investment also evident in specific sectors, especially renewable energy.

But confidence always seems to return. In November, overseas investors became net buyers on the Thai stock market for the first time all year. And an independent study in December revealed that 96 per cent of foreign investors operating in Thailand had plans to increase or maintain their presence in the country.

The best offer

But even if Thailand can weather the current storm, economists said it is not unreasonable to ask why financiers would continue to endure the countrys repeated episodes of unrest, especially when neighbouring Southeast Asian countries  particularly Vietnam and Indonesia  offer political stability and attractive investment incentives.

Gareth Leather, senior Asia economist at London-based consultancy Capital Economics told The Diplomat, If youre an investor looking to establish a factory in Southeast Asia, you look at Vietnam  its politically stable, has low wages, and borders

China. And then you look at Thailand  which has slightly higher wages, maybe doesnt have the same infrastructure links to China, and sees periodic bouts of quite severe unrest. Its a no-brainer.

If Thailand wants to remain competitive with Vietnam, Indonesia, and the other emerging economies of the region, according to Abbott from Risk Advisory Group, it will need to find a sustainable resolution to the current movement that prevent the same issues cropping up just a few years down the line.

Indeed, lessons can be learned in Vietnam from events elsewhere, but it also involves a lot of hard work in order to ensure companies will still eye Vietnam at the top of the list when it comes to the promised lands of ASEAN.

Le Hong Hiep, fellow in both the Vietnam Studies Program and the Regional Strategic and Political Studies Program at the

ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, said that Vietnam needs to seize the chance now to leap into the post-pandemic era, full steam ahead. The challenge is for Vietnam to quickly upgrade infrastructure and the workforce to meet the increasing demands, and to deal with certain unintended consequences, such as the countrys increasing dependence on foreign investment and exports, Hiep said.

Vietnamese leaders believe that political stability is a precondition for economic development, and of course it would be right to not attempt to destabilise the current system  besides, their conviction is further strengthened by recent developments in the region, especially in Myanmar, he added.

Other experts believed that regional unrest is not the be-all and end-all when it comes to making a mark through investments.

Jonathan Sanchez, Diageos director of corporate relations in Southeast Asia, told Marketing Interactive that businesses looking to invest in countries undergoing unrest, interruption, or controversy are most often going to take a very long lens view.

Mid- to long-term assessments are generally made on the premise of the business offer and route to market: how secure is the consumer? Is consumption growing? Can the economy be maintained? How is this affecting the supply or value chain? That is what matters, Sanchez said.

According to Sanchez, should businesses want to succeed in Southeast Asia, they need to be acutely mindful of the pace of change, unpredictability, and ambiguity. In return, however, there are endless opportunities, a bias for growth and optimism, and the ability to move at pace, he insisted.

However, he added that if investors can navigate sometimes bumpy social and economic environments, they can truly succeed. There has never been a better time to become an entrepreneur, start a business or follow your ambition, in any part of this phenomenal region, Sanchez explained.
[March 25, 2021] NWN and Hartford HealthCare Partner to Better Support Patients with Integrated Technology Solutions

NWN Corporation, the leading Cloud Communications Service Provider (CCSP) delivering solutions for today's work-from-anywhere environment, and Hartford HealthCare, Connecticut's most comprehensive healthcare system, today shared details of how the two organizations have furthered their partnership to support remote IT staff, launch field hospitals, testing sites and, most recently, mega-vaccine sites in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hartford HealthCare and NWN (News - Alert) have been partnering for over 15 years, focusing on all aspects of the hospital's innovative vision. Hartford HealthCare has leveraged NWN's solutions to connect remote workers and on-site care providers with unified communications for maximum productivity, transformed distributed clinical experiences with IT support and protected technology investments by simplifying operations and gaining deeper insights with integrated advanced technology solutions and security. As Hartford HealthCare proactively initiated their response operations in early 2020, the organization quickly began making critical decisions to ensure the health and safety of their employees and community. With the help of NWN's integrated offerings that dramatically simplifies a remote work posture, Hartford HealthCare rapidly moved all non-clinical staff to a work-from-home environment and began offering virtual health appointments to patients - working with NWN to enable their network to support virtual access to more than 1,300 primary and specialty care providers. As COVID-19 surged in the community, NWN delivered the necessary network solutions to support the launch of mobile testing sites, field hospitals and the mega-vaccine sites. "Over the last year, NWN has helped Hartford HealthCare be agile," said Joe Venturelli, Chief Technology Officer at Harford HealthCare. "As large as we are, we can think outside of the box to save lives and still have operational excllence at the forefront."



Since the end of 2020, Hartford HealthCare has now opened seven mega-vaccine sites across the state to meet the urgent demand for mass vaccination. NWN was instrumental in providing the integrated networking cradles, hubs and communications software to run these necessary operations. With this level of ongoing device and communications support, Hartford HealthCare has offered residents a baseline allocation of nearly 7,000 vaccination doses each week, anticipating capacity to do that many vaccines each day as the roll-out expands. "We asked NWN for miracles," said Venturelli. "Never in my career have my efforts had a more direct impact on patient welfare. The faster I can get a testing site set up or the faster we can get a vaccination site up, the faster we can save lives. NWN helps those efforts."

"We've had a long and successful partnership supporting Hartford HealthCare, but our recent work together has been a testament to the importance of technology infrastructure as we continue the fight against COVID-19," said Jim Sullivan, CEO of NWN Corporation. "Our partnership has enabled hospital staff and volunteers to distribute the vaccine quickly and effectively across the state of Connecticut and we're proud to have delivered the integrated cloud offerings that served as a backbone of their critical technology services." To learn more about the partnership between NWN Corporation and Hartford HealthCare, download the case study here: https://pi.nwnit.com/hartfordhealthcareCS About NWN NWN Corporation is a leading Cloud Communications Service Provider (CCSP) focused on transforming the customer and workspace experience for commercial, enterprise and public sector organizations. The Company offers solutions-as-a-service that help organizations work from anywhere securely. With over 1,400 customers throughout the U.S., NWN provides integrated cloud communications, security, contact center, managed devices, connectivity, and advanced technology solutions. To learn more about NWN's solutions and offerings, visit www.nwnit.com. About Hartford HealthCare Hartford HealthCare is Connecticut's only truly integrated healthcare system. With 33,000 colleagues, $4.3 billion in operating revenue and a medical staff of 4,000 providers, the system offers the full continuum of care with seven acute-care hospitals, the state's longest-running air-ambulance service, behavioral health and rehabilitation services, a physician group and clinical integration organization, skilled-nursing and home health services, and a comprehensive range of services for seniors, including senior-living facilities. To learn more, visit www.hartfordhealthcare.org. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005188/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.
Oil prices fell on Thursday as a new round of restrictions in revived worries about demand, even as tug boats struggled to move a stranded container ship blocking crude oil carriers in the Suez Canal.

Brent crude slid more than 2 per cent, to $61.64 a barrel at 7.57 pm (IST). US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped by $1.86, or 3 per cent, to $59.32 a barrel as of 7.10 pm.

Both contracts jumped about 6 per cent on Wednesday after a ship ran aground in the Suez Canal, one of the worlds most important oil shipping routes.





The Suez Canal Authority said on Thursday it had suspended traffic temporarily while eight tugs work to free the vessel.

The impact of the Suez Canal blockade on oil prices is also limited as the destination of most oil tankers is Europe, but European demand is currently weak due to a new round of lockdowns. A strong dollar also weighed on oil prices. It hit a new four-month high against the euro as the US pandemic response continued to outpace Europe's.
Thank you for reading!

Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Health official proud of residents turning out for vaccine shots

local
Two items involving the upcoming Buc-ees Athens travel center were on the agenda for Mondays City Council meeting.

One dealt with a potential project to add valuable commercial space near the upcoming Buc-ees Athens location, while the other involves amending a city ordinance to allow businesses to have larger detached signs in certain areas.

According to City Engineer Michael Griffin, the city has annexed a portion of property near a proposed extension of Lindsay Lane, but there is currently no road to get from there to a nearby future sewer lift station being built to handle the Buc-ees Athens development.

He said a further extension of the Lindsay Lane project made by the city would pass the Buc-ees Athens development to city property in an area zoned as B-2.

In order to get it developed as a right of way, we would pick up 1,200 feet of B-2 commercial space in order to arrive at that (station), Griffin said.

The idea is to provide access to the future lift station site, and in turn, the area along this proposed access road could be sold as commercial space. Griffin said this could be a valuable piece of land.

It would probably be some of the most expensive commercial property we would have in the city limits, he said.

The Council voted unanimously to authorize Mayor Ronnie Marks to commission the development of a plan for the design and construction of the proposed access road at a cost not to exceed $300,000.

Any future plans for the road would have to come back before the Council for approval.

Bigger signs

Athens has a city ordinance in place that limits how large a detached sign can be for a business. However, major commercial properties along large thoroughfares often like to have signs larger than what is currently allowed. One example of this is the upcoming Buc-ees Athens location.

To accommodate Buc-ees Athens and any other major developments in the future, the Council voted unanimously to amend the ordinance.

This sets up an exception to the rules you have on the books currently as it relates to accessory detached signage for major developments that are within a certain amount of feet of area around the intersection of Interstate 65 and major highways, City Attorney Shane Black said. It will allow for higher signs and bigger signs for those types of developments.

Black said the locations covered by the exception would be the areas where Interstate 65 intersects U.S. 72, U.S 31 and Huntsville-Browns Ferry Road.

According to the amended ordinance, the maximum size of signs in these areas will be 590 square feet, with a maximum height of 18 feet.

___

(c)2021 The News Courier (Athens, Ala.)

Visit The News Courier (Athens, Ala.) at enewscourier.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
You are here: World

 Flash

The Chinese government will donate a batch of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines to Sudan, Chinese Ambassador to Sudan Ma Xinmin announced on Wednesday.

"The Chinese government and military have decided to donate a batch of COVID-19 vaccines to Sudan," Ma made the announcement at a press conference held at the Chinese embassy in Khartoum.

"The vaccines, developed and produced by the Sinopharm Group, are scheduled to arrive on March 26 on a Chinese aircraft to the Khartoum International Airport," the ambassador added.

China has been helping Sudan in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic since its outbreak in the African country last year.

China donated batches of medical supplies to Sudan last year, and a Chinese team of medical experts was sent to the country in last June on a two-week mission to support its fight against the pandemic.

As of Tuesday, Sudan had recorded a total of 29,542 COVID-19 cases, including 23,858 recoveries and 2,003 deaths.
LONDON, GENEVA and ST HELIER, Jersey, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Medicxi announces that Dr Moncef Slaoui has stepped down from his position as a Partner at Medicxi with immediate effect.

This follows the statement from GlaxoSmithKline plc, his termination as Chair of the Galvani Board of Directors and Dr Slaoui's personal statement.

We would like to re-state that Medicxi's values are based on respect, trust and teamwork, and we are committed to working in an environment which reflects such values and culture.

Optimum Strategic Communications

Mary Clark/ Shabnam Bashir

+44 (0) 20 8148 3040

[email protected]

About Medicxi

Medicxi is a European venture capital firm with the mission to create and invest in companies along the full drug development continuum. Medicxi was established by the former Index Ventures life sciences team, which has been active for over 20 years, and invests in both early and late-stage assets with a product vision that can fulfil a clear unmet need. GSK, Johnson & Johnson Innovation  JJDC, Inc., Novartis and Verily (an Alphabet company) have invested in Medicxi funds.

For more information, please visit us at www.medicxi.com and follow us on Twitter (@medicxi).

SOURCE Medicxi
When will it stop?

An Asian beauty supply store owner in north Harris County was verbally and physically attacked by customers on March 17, per KPRC2's Andy Cerota. The attack came just a day after a gunman killed eight people at three massage parlors in Atlanta, Georgia, six of Asian descent.

According to Cerota, store owner Jung Kim asked five customers, two of which were identified by Houston police as Keaundra Young and Daquiesha Williams, to leave her store after they knocked over several wig displays.

U.S. SHORTCOMINGS: China bashes US over racism, inequality, pandemic response

Surveillance captured the women returning and once again, knocking over the displays. The incident escalated quickly, with Kim suffering at least eight punches, including one to the face, that left her bloodied and bruised with a broken nose that will require surgery.

They started saying something like some racial words like, 'Asian people shouldnt be in the Black market, said Sung Jun Lee, the victim's son, as reported by Cerota. Were stealing their money.

Lee was present at the time of the incident, and said the women scratched his face when he tried to help his mother. He and his father were also nearly ran over by their vehicle in the parking lot.

We never thought this would happen to us, he said, as reported by Cerota. He added that being referred to as "You little Asian girl" is something his mother will never forget.

Williams has been charged with assault and Young has been charged with aggravated assault.
Zapolski Real Estate (ZRE) announced that 30+ year commercial real estate industry veteran Bruce G. Lynch has a joined the bi-coastal company as Director of East Coast Property Management and Leasing, a new position created to complement his wide-ranging experience and skills.

I have known Bruce for many years now and jumped at the chance to have him join our company in a leadership role, said Todd Zapolski, founder and managing member of ZRE. As our portfolio continues to grow in the Carolinas and California, his extensive experience across all facets of real estate investment, leasing and management brings essential value to our business, focusing on our East Coast operations.

Since joining ZREs Raleigh, N.C. office as director in October, 2020, Bruce is responsible for oversight of the companys East Coast portfolio of office, retail and mixed-use properties. Given his deep market knowledge, he also assists the team nationally to help identify additional assets for investment and development.

Prior to joining ZRE, Bruce worked in investment sales at the national brokerage firm of Marcus & Millichap in the firms Raleigh office for four years. Before his investment sales work, he founded Rosamund Property Consultants, an independent real estate management and leasing firm he led for 25 years, based in Raleigh growing to eight employees and handling properties throughout North Carolina and Virginia.

Todd and I have known each other and transacted business together over many years. When I learned Todd was looking for a seasoned professional to oversee the East Coast portfolio, I thought my real estate experience lined up perfectly with what the company needed, and I was excited to join the ZRE Team.

Bruce holds an MBA in Finance from George Washington University and earned his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers, the Triangle Commercial Association of Realtors and the Crabtree Rotary Club.

About Zapolski Real Estate, LLC

Zapolski Real Estate, LLC is a privately-owned, fully integrated real estate investment, development and management firm with a geographic emphasis on the East Coast and Northern California. The company was founded by real estate veteran Todd C. Zapolski and focuses on the acquisition, development and redevelopment of retail, office, multifamily and mixed-use properties. For more information, please visit http://www.zapolskire.com.
New Delhi, March 25 : The Bharatiya Janata Party national president J.P. Nadda will be on a two-day visit to poll-bound Tamil Nadu and Kerala from Friday.

Nadda will address four public rallies and hold four roadshows. In a statement the BJP said Nadda will reach Trichy Airport in Tamil Nadu on March 26, where he will be welcomed by party workers.

"He will address two public rallies in Tamil Nadu tomorrow, one in Tittakudi at and another at Budalur, Thiruvaiyaru. Nadda will hold a roadshow in Harbour Assembly, Tamil Nadu," the BJP said.

After the roadshow, the BJP chief will leave for Kannur, Kerala. He will hold a meeting with BJP leaders in Kannur.

On Saturday, he will hold a roadshow in Kannur from Nalaampeedika to Chakkarakkal (Dharmadam Constituency).

"At noon, he will address a public rally at Kanjani Anakkadu (Manalur). After this, he will address another public rally at Thodupuzha Municipal Ground," the statement said.

Nadda will address two massive roadshows after the public rallies on Saturday.

"He will hold a roadshow in Kaimanam (Nemom) from Kaimanam to Pappanamcode. After this, he will hold another roadshow in Vattiyoorkavu assembly from Ambalamukku to Peroorkkada in the evening," it said.

Polling for the 234-member Tamil Nadu and 140-member Kerala Assemblies will be held on April 6. Counting of votes will take places on May 2.
Queensland police have dedicated more than 720 shifts every day, on average, to responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, including patrolling controversial border check-points with New South Wales.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk first slammed the states borders shut on March 26, 2020 as the states total cases of the virus hit 443, with police roadblocks rolled out on the Gold Coast.

Vehicles arriving from NSW queue at a police checkpoint at the Queensland-NSW border in Coolangatta. Credit:Dan Peled

Police Minister Mark Ryan has revealed more than 242,000 police shifts were dedicated to the pandemic response between March last year and February 25, 2021.

That included police working in hotel quarantine, airport and road border control, operations and co-ordination, compliance and investigation, and remote community operations.
A team of scientists from the USA and Canada recently characterized the cross-neutralizing potency of anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies isolated from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. The findings reveal that some of the isolated antibodies targeting the spike receptor-binding domain (RBD) and the S2 subunit are capable of cross-neutralizing other members of the human beta-coronavirus family. The study is currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

Background

SARS-CoV-2, the causative pathogen of COVID-19, is an enveloped, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus of the Coronaviridae family. The viruses belonging to the Coronaviridae family are capable of zoonotic transmission as observed in the current COVID-19 pandemic, as well as in previous outbreaks of SARS-CoV and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

Given the 54% sequence similarity between different coronavirus strains, many studies have been conducted to investigate the cross-reactive potency of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. In this context, it has been observed that only a small fraction of antibodies isolated from SARS-CoV-2 infected patients are capable of cross-neutralizing SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, or other beta (OC43 and HKU1) and alpha (229E and NL63) coronaviruses.

In the current study, the scientists have isolated and characterized a total of 198 monoclonal antibodies targeting SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Specifically, they have explored the cross-neutralizing potency of these antibodies against different strains of coronaviruses.

For antibody isolation, serum samples and peripheral blood mononuclear cells have been collected from four COVID-19 positive patients 3 to 7 weeks after the symptom onset.

Important observations

The analysis of serum samples using Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent assay (ELISA) revealed that all enrolled patients developed significant levels of anti-RBD bindings and neutralizing antibodies in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection. The highest virus neutralization potency was observed in samples collected at later timepoints.

By conducting a series of experiments using patient-obtained spike+ and RBD+ B cells (IgG+), the scientists finally isolated 198 anti-SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibodies. Moreover, they isolated 59 monoclonal antibodies from healthy individuals as experimental controls. By comparing relative frequencies of each heavy and light chain variable region sequence of patients and healthy controls, they observed that naive B cell clones preferentially recognized the viral spike protein at the initial stages of infection. In contrast, the anti-spike B cell response predominated 3  7 weeks after the symptom onset. Moreover, they noticed that the sequences of heavy and light chain variable regions derived from later-timepoint samples harbored higher amino acid mutations than early-timepoint samples. This indicates that the evolution of B cells occurs continuously during SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Cross-reactive potency of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies

Using various recombinant proteins, including spike S1 and S2 subunits, RBD, and N-terminal domain (NTD), the scientists observed that only a small fraction of isolated monoclonal antibodies recognized and bound the RBD. While exploring the cross-reactivity against SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, OC43 and HKU1 beta-coronaviruses, and NL63 and 229E alpha-coronaviruses, they noticed that 81 out of 198 monoclonal antibodies bound various subdomains of SARS-CoV spike protein, with RBD being the highly recognized region. In contrast, a significantly lower cross-reactivity was observed against other coronaviruses.

Cross-neutralizing potency of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies

Of 198 monoclonal antibodies, only 14 showed SARS-CoV-2 neutralization potency; of which, one targeted the NTD, one targeted the S2 subunit, and 12 targeted the RBD. Regarding cross-neutralization, only 4 out of 14 antibodies were found to effectively neutralize SARS-CoV. Of all cross-neutralizing antibodies, three were specific to the RBD, and one was specific to the S2 subunit. Importantly, all cross-neutralizing antibodies were found to effectively neutralize the South African variant of SARS-CoV-2 (lineage: B.1.351).

The mechanistic analysis conducted in the study revealed that the most potent anti-RBD antibodies neutralized SARS-CoV-2 by blocking the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2)-RBD interaction. Moreover, there was an association between the degree of ACE2-RBD binding inhibition and the robustness of neutralization. A similar mechanism was observed for SARS-CoV neutralization.

Interestingly, the analysis revealed that the two most potent anti-SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies failed to neutralize SARS-CoV. This could be because these two antibodies interacted with the receptor-binding motif in the RBD, which is structurally not similar to that of SARS-CoV RBD.

To explore the infection preventing abilities of neutralizing antibodies, the scientists initially immunized the mice with a panel of neutralizing antibodies with different epitope specificities, followed by experimental infection with SARS-CoV-2. By analyzing the viral RNA in lung samples two days post-infection, they observed that only antibodies with high neutralization efficiency could provide protection against infection.

Study significance

The study reveals that the expansion of B cell populations expressing particular pairs of variable domains is not a prerequisite for generating SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV cross-neutralizing antibodies. The study also identifies one epitope in the spike S2 subunit that is specific to at least four human beta-coronaviruses. Monoclonal antibodies targeting this S2 epitope have cross-neutralization potency.

*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.
(TNS)  Public Education Secretary Ryan Stewart on Wednesday championed some of his department's successes during the just finished 60-day legislative session  and the family income index was among them.Stewart touted the two-year, $30 million pilot project as "innovative" because it is designed to provide funding directly to schools that serve a greater proportion of students from low-income families."What this is going to do is really move forward innovatively," Stewart told the Interfaith Coalition for Public Education. "I don't know of any other states that have done it this way. I think this puts New Mexico ahead."The funding could be used for a variety of initiatives, such as math and reading intervention programs, hiring more school counselors and social workers, creating family resource centers or adopting culturally and linguistically diverse classroom materials, the Public Education Department said in a statement.Stewart said the index aims to help correct educational inequities highlighted by the landmark Yazzie/Martinez lawsuit, in which a district judge ruled the state was failing in its constitutional duty to properly educate all students.While the bill has yet to be signed into law by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, El Camino Real Academy would get a little more than $300,000 from the initial $15 million portion for the 2021-22 school year, Salazar Elementary School would get about $90,000 and Aspen Community School is set to receive $150,000, Santa Fe school board member Carmen Gonzales told the coalition.Stewart said the two-year program will give the department a chance to examine what types of programs and services work in helping at-risk students earn the education they deserve, and he hopes it eventually will lead to long-term funding. Because schools will have latitude in how they use the money, the index will provide flexibility in making adjustments to the project, if needed.Stewart also pointed to investments the Legislature made in Native American education, especially after the Yazzie/Martinez lawsuit highlighted the struggles Indigenous students have experienced in the public school system. He said $4.5 million went to tribal libraries and another $4.5 million went to tribal education departments to increase services provided through those entities as well as Native-language programs.The coronavirus pandemic exposed the digital divide on tribal lands, and Stewart said $5 million went toward broadband in those areas.Stewart also said $20 million went toward developing more community school programs, and he said he hopes every new school eventually becomes a community school."It provides those services and academic support to students and families," Stewart said.K. Elise Packard, co-founder of the Interfaith Coalition for Public Education, said the group embraced a community school model that emphasizes local governance and partnerships with community businesses and leaders to go along with a robust curriculum that engages students while supporting teachers.Stewart agreed, and he said there is a danger in developing community schools that focus on just a few important activities  like the occasional eye exam or dental visit  and not much else. He supports a model that accentuates the strengths of a community while finding ways to develop partnerships and programs with businesses and leaders to address a community's needs."That means their families are integral [to] it. There is a strong engagement program with families that bring them into the school and help contribute meaningfully," Stewart said. "It's not just, 'Let's do an event here or an event there.' It's about, 'We've got either an opportunity we can seize or a problem that we want to solve, and we're going to try to hit these particular goals through the work that we do. We're really focused on building the right kind of partnerships and strategies to hit those goals.' "Melinda Silver, an artist and coalition member, said she was heartened by Stewart's response, which was more consistent with her vision of community schools."I didn't think the presentation in the PowerPoint was nearly as really robust as his answer," Silver said. "I think his answer [to Packard's response] addressed a lot of the questions I had about his presentation because the presentation seemed to be more on social services and wraparound services [provided to students and their families]."
Francesca Paris is The Eagle's data and public records reporter. She was previously the North Adams reporter. A California native and Williams College alumna, she has worked at NPR in Washington, D.C. and WBUR in Boston. Find her on Twitter at @fparises.
The Fox News host slams the former president for his comments on gun violence

Tucker Carlson has never been a fan of Barack Obama but this week the Fox News host accused the former president of being a racial arsonist during his broadcast, due to comments he made about the recent shootings in Atlanta, Georgia, and Boulder, Colorado.

READ MORE: Keyon Harold Jr.s family to file lawsuit against hotel, woman who falsely accused teen

Tuesday evening, during the opening monologue for his show, Carlson responded to Obamas public statements on Mondays mass shooting in Colorado that left 10 people dead. He opined that Obama took a break from becoming one of the richest men in the world to weigh in on the tragedy and characterized the former president as someone seeking to use discussions of race as a way to divide the nation.

This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it.

More than any other contemporary American leader, Barack Obama is a racial arsonist, said Carlson. He emerges at our most vulnerable moments to deepen the wounds that divide us. He sows hate.

He then asked his audience, Why does Barack Obama do this? Well, it would take a psychiatrist to answer that question fully, though it seems obvious that deep loathing of some kind plays a role. It must play a role.

He then concluded by alleging that Obama managed to divide Americans a little more than they were yesterday, and so from his perspective, mission accomplished.

Carlson, and many conservative talking heads are upset because Tuesday, Obama  who was often critiqued by the Black community for not speaking about race more radically during his presidency  issued a statement about the Colorado shooting that very pointedly called out both racism and misogyny for emboldening the violent attacks.

As theGrio previously reported, the former president took to Twitter to release a copy of his statement with a caption, reading, A once-in-a-century pandemic cannot be the only thing that slows mass shootings in this country. Its time for leaders everywhere to listen to the American people when they say enough is enough.

Story continues

In the statement, Obama shares that he and wife Michelle are grieving with the families of the victims, along with the families of the people killed in Atlanta the week before.

This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it.

Read More: Biden senior advisor Cedric Richmond on how American Rescue Plan benefits Black communities

The statement goes on to say, Because in addition to grief we are feeling a deep and familiar outrage that we as a nation continue to tolerate this kind of random acts day in and day out without taking any significant action.

In so many ways, our lives may soon start to return to normal after a long, difficult year filled with so much loss. But in a normal life, we should be able to buy groceries without fear. We should be able to go to school, or go out with friends, or worship together without mentally planning our escape if someone shows up with a gun, Obama continues.

He adds, We should be able to live our lives without wondering if the next trip outside our home will be our last. We should. But in America, we cant.

Have you subscribed to theGrios podcast Dear Culture? Download our newest episodes now!

TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire, and Roku. Download theGrio today!

The post Tucker Carlson slams Barack Obama for saying recent shootings were motivated by racism and misogyny appeared first on TheGrio.
Rachel Levine, nominee for assistant secretary of Health and Human Services, testifies before her confirmation hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee in Washington on Feb. 25, 2021. (Caroline Brehman/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden Nominee Becomes First Senate-Confirmed Openly Transgender Official

The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Rachel Levine to a top post in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), making the doctor the first openly transgender person to get Senate confirmation.

Levine, previously Pennsylvanias health secretary, will be assistant secretary for health in HHS.

All 50 Democrats, along with Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) voted for Levines nomination, despite concerns that the doctor has supported children to have genital surgery and puberty blockers.

During a recent confirmation hearing, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) noted that data from the American College of Pediatricians shows that 80 to 95 percent of children who believe theyre a gender different from their birth sex will see a dissolution of those feelings by late adolescence, provided theyre not exposed to medical intervention and social affirmation.

American culture is now normalizing the idea that minors can be given hormones to prevent their biological development of their secondary sexual characteristics. Dr. Levine, you have supported both allowing minors to be given hormone blockers to prevent them from going through puberty as well as surgical reconstruction of a minors genitalia, Paul, a doctor, said, before asking Levine, Do you believe minors are capable of making such a life changing decision of changing ones sex?

Levine responded to that and another question by saying: Transgender medicine is a very complex and nuanced field with robust research and standards of care that have been developed. If Im fortunate enough to be confirmed as the assistant secretary of health, I will look forward to working with you and your office and coming to your office and discussing the particulars of the standards of care for transgender medicine.

Other lawmakers said Levine shouldnt have been nominated by President Joe Biden after mandating nursing homes accept COVID-19-positive patients.

Bidens nomination of former PA Sec. of Health Levine to serve at HHS is insulting to those who lost loved ones at senior living facilities  she moved her own mother OUT of a senior living facility after requiring them to admit COVID-19 patients, Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa.) wrote in a tweet last month.

But others said Levine has an established track record and will serve the nation well in the new role.

The people in our government should reflect the people it serves. Today, we took a new, historic step toward making that a reality with the confirmation of Dr. Rachel Levine, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said on Wednesday.

Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) called Levine the kind of crisis-tested leader that the United States needs at HHS during the pandemic.

When nominating Levine last year, Biden said the doctor will bring the steady leadership and essential expertise we need to get people through this pandemicno matter their zip code, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disabilityand meet the public health needs of our country in this critical moment and beyond.

Correction: A previous version of this article misattributed a quote to Rep. Smucker. The Epoch Times regrets the error.
NORTH CHATHAM  A just-published study led by researcher Megan Winton of the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy concludes that white sharks in local waters spend nearly half of their time in waters 15 feet deep or shallower. The research signals that, while rare, encounters between white sharks and people are a regular possibility.

To assess the extent of potential overlap between sharks and recreational water users, scientists from the Conservancy, Arizona State University, and the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries examined tagging data to determine how much time white sharks spend in shallow water close to shore. The study, which was published in the journal Wildlife Research last week, found that white sharks off Cape Cod spent almost half of their time at depths of 15 feet or less. Although the overall risk posed to humans by white sharks is low, there is a high potential for overlap between white sharks and recreational water users, and the results have clear implications for shark-related public safety practices in the region.

White sharks are regularly spotted off our coastline during the summer and fall, the peak of Cape Cods tourist season, but until now we didnt know just how much time they spent in shallow water close to shore, Winton said. She and her coauthors, James Sulikowski and Greg Skomal, analyzed data from tagging trips off the Cape during the summer and fall of 2017. The tags revealed that sharks spent 95 percent of their tracked times at depths of less than 100 feet and water temperatures ranging from 48 to 69 degrees. While they spent 47 percent of their time in 15 feet or water or less, white sharks frequently traveled further out, alternating between the surf zone and deeper offshore waters.

Winton said she hopes the results will improve beachgoers awareness of sharks. Since 2012, there have been four attacks by white sharks on humans in local waters, one of which claimed the life of 26-year-old Arthur Medici at Newcomb Hollow Beach in Wellfleet. The studys findings reinforce the need for beachgoers to follow safety rules, Atlantic White Shark Conservancy CEO Cynthia Wigren said.

The results of this study have greatly improved our understanding of white shark behavior near swimming beaches, she said. Its important to remember that the overall risk posed to humans by white sharks is low, but people should be aware that white sharks are present along Cape Cods beaches during the summer and fall and proactively modify their behavior to reduce their risk.
Two brothers from Pakistan who are in Melbourne studying business have been accused of running a large counterfeit scheme from their home and selling packages of fake postage stamps to people across Australia.

Police allege Obaid and Shaheryer Khan were in possession of counterfeit stamps with an estimated value of $3 million, and had sold on eBay and posted out at least four packages of stamps in denominations of between $3 and $20 each.

The brothers are each charged with possessing and selling counterfeit postage stamps, obtaining property by deception and dealing with the proceeds of crime.

However, Melbourne Magistrates Court was told on Thursday, police believe the number of people duped could be closer to 100.

Theres potentially a large number of victims that we arent aware of and a lot of these counterfeit stamps in circulation, Detective Senior Constable Tim Renshaw told a bail application.
Numinus is a life sciences company with a focus on mental health and wellness. The company is engaged in research, development and delivery of safe, evidence-based psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. We argue that demand for these services is set for strong growth, driven by a growing ecosystem of companies and research institutes demonstrating the likely benefits of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapies over many existing mental health treatments, and by increasing demand for mental health and substance abuse services in North America (see p3-4) in the post-COVID environment. The company has three areas of operational activity:

Numinus Health provides psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy through four clinics in Canada, with plans for rapid growth. These clinics are developing ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) protocols for a range of mental disorders, and are also working on new compassionate access trials enabling the introduction of therapies with psilocybin and MDMA under Health Canada approvals.

Numinus Biosciences operates a licensed laboratory for applied research and IP development and R&D partnerships. The company holds a federal government approved dealers license covering multiple psychedelic compounds, and as well as a license to produce and extract psilocybin from mushrooms, and for the testing of cannabis products. Numinus Biosciences is a leading provider of lab services to the psychedelics and cannabis industries.

Numinus R&D is a clinical research unit developing therapeutic protocols for psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. These protocols will be used for optimizing patient care under the current KAP therapies, and in defining clinical trials programs for future applications of psychedelic medicine.
S4 Capital, the tech-led, new age, new era digital advertising and marketing services company, announces that it has entered into a conditional agreement in relation to a merger of Jam3, an award-winning Toronto-based design and experience agency, with MediaMonks, S4Capitals Content practice. Through the merger, MediaMonks will deepen its creative capabilities and expand its presence in Los Angeles, The Netherlands, Canada and Latin Americawith an all-new expansion in Uruguay.

Founded in 2004, Jam3 is a design and experience agency in Toronto, Los Angeles, Amsterdam, and Montevideo led by Pablo Vio, Michael Dobell, Mark McQuillan, Adrian Belina, Jordan Cuddy, Miguel Moraleda. A global agency, Jam3 has over 150 employees worldwide who uncover relevance, purpose and innovation in everything they do. Together with their client portfolio of brands such as Facebook, Sonos, Adidas, eBay, Levis and CrowdStrike, Jam3 launches new products and design platforms, bringing moving experiences to customersdigitally and beyond.

This merger represents the natural convergence of two partners with a shared regard for creative excellence, and award-winning work at scale on behalf of shared clients including Google, Facebook, Spotify, and Netflix. Jam3 and MediaMonks combine their global teams of powerhouse talent under a single P&L void of silos and barriers to productivity. Named two of the 10 Digital Agencies to Supercharge Your Marketing by Forrester, MediaMonks and Jam3 are two of the most iconic, award-winning teams who share a vision for the future of brand experience. With a 20-year track record for award-winning work, MediaMonks and Jam3 have topped the leaderboard in industry award shows around the world. Both members of the FWA Hall of Fame and the FWA 100 Club, MediaMonks and Jam3 have collectively earned 386 FWAs. More recently, Jam3 was awarded 2020s Campaign US Digital Innovation Agency of the Year (Gold)  and MediaMonks won 2020s Campaign Digital Innovation Agency of the Year in EMEA (Gold) and the UK (Bronze). With Jam3, MediaMonks and Superhero Cheesecake, S4Capital is one of the most awarded digital craft and design companies.

S4Capital Executive Chairman Sir Martin Sorrell said, We are delighted to welcome the Jam3 team to S4Capital. Data-driven, Creativity is at the heart of our offering and Jam3s reputation, talent and client base is second to none. Jam3 is another key step in our seizing the next decade and converting clients at scale to our new, unitary model.

With shared clients, a shared focus on creative excellence and a shared ambition to disrupt the market, Jam3 and MediaMonks are obvious partners, said Wesley ter Haar, Founder MediaMonks, and S4Capital Executive Director. Weve long admired the work of the team at Jam3 and we cant wait to see what we can create together.

Mark McQuillan, Partner and Managing Director, Jam3 added, Our ambition at Jam3 was to find a partner who can inspire us to multiply our efforts, together. We couldnt be more excited to team up with The Monks and S4Capital for our next chapter.
A recent study from France showed that the UK variant of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)  also known as B.1.1.7 variant  can replicate much more efficiently in a reconstituted human bronchial epithelium, which may explain why it spreads so rapidly in the human population. The study is currently freely available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

Since its emergence in 2019, circulating populations of SARS-CoV-2 are known to acquire genetic diversity continuously. Consequently, within a few months, D614G spike mutations were pervasive in all viral populations, however, without evidence for higher coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) severity or mortality.

In September 2020, a variant named 20I/501Y.V1 from the lineage B.1.1.7 emerged in the United Kingdom, with a subsequent rapid spread around Western Europe and the United States. Many lines of evidence show that this so-called 'UK variant' can spread much more swiftly and efficiently when compared to pre-existing European strains  particularly in younger individuals.

Furthermore, new studies even show potentially increased mortality due to the UK strain, which in combination with increased spread may give rise to emergent disease waves. Nonetheless, salient biological evidence of different phenotypic characteristics in comparison to original European variants is still lacking.

In this study, a research group from Aix-Marseille University in France (led by Dr. Franck Touret) decided to appraise the replication ability of the UK variant in different cellular models, utilizing an ancestral D614G European strain (lineage B1) for comparison purposes.

Highly specific/realistic cell models

In this study, the replication ability of the 20I/501Y.V1 viral variant (strain UVE/SARS-CoV-2/2021/FR/7b isolated in February 2021 in Marseille, France) was assessed in vitro and ex vivo, by using the lineage B.1 BavPat D614G strain that circulated in Europe in February/March 2020 for comparison purposes.

The initial experiments were conducted in two cell lines frequently used for SARS Cov-2 culture: VeroE6/TMPRSS2 (African green monkey kidney cells) and Caco-2 (i.e., human colorectal adenocarcinoma cells).

After revealing highly similar replication kinetics, the researchers subsequently assessed the replicative fitness of both strains by utilizing a model of reconstituted human airway epithelial cells of bronchial origin.

More specifically, after inoculating the epithelia through their apical side at a multiplicity of infection of 0.1 (which was done in order to imitate the natural infection route of infection), the researchers monitored the excretion of new virions at the apical side 2-4 days after infection and measured the intracellular yield of viral genetic material at day 4.

In vitro and ex vivo replication ability of a 20I/501Y.V1 variant in comparison with a lineage B.1 D614G strain. (A-B) Replication kinetics in VeroE6 TMPRSS2 (A) and Caco-2 (B) cells. Viral replication was assessed using a RT-qPCR assay. (C) Graphical representation of experiments with reconstituted human airway epithelium (HAE) of bronchial origin. (D-E) Kinetics of virus excretion at the apical side of the epithelium measured using a TCID50 149 assay (D) and a RT-qPCR assay (E). (F) Estimation of virion infectivities (i.e., the ratio of the number of infectious particles over the number of viral RNA). (G) Intracellular viral RNA yields measured at 4 dpi using a RT-qPCR assay. (A-G) Data represent meanSD of a triplicate. No statistical difference was observed between both viral strains (p>0.05; unpaired Mann-Whitney test). (H) Follow-up of the 20I/501Y.V1/BavPat D614G ratios at the apical side. Each line represents results from an HAE insert. (I) Individual 20I/501Y.V1/BavPat D614G ratios estimated from intracellular viral RNAs at 4dpi (I). (H-I) p-values were determined against the initial ratios using Kruskal-Wallis test followed by uncorrected Dunns post-hoc analysis. The graphical representation was created with BioRENDER.

New strain outcompeting the old one

The study has shown that infectious titers and yields of viral genetic material at the apical side of the cells were slightly higher for the UK variant at days 3 and 4 of the infection. The same was valid for intracellular yields of viral genetic material on day 4 of the infection.

Nonetheless, these differences were not significant, while estimated relative virion infectivity (which was calculated as the ratio of the number of infectious particles over the number of viral RNA or genetic material) has been similar for both viral strains at all sampling times.

This study's significant highlight was when both viruses were put in competition in a human reconstituted bronchial epithelium because the UK variant subsequently outcompeted the ancestral strain  regardless of their initial ratio used in this study.

Understanding strain replacement

"Our results demonstrated that the 20I/501Y.V1 is more fit than the BavPat D614G in a reconstituted bronchial human epithelium", say study authors in this bioRxiv paper. "This may be explained by the presence of the N501Y mutation in the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein, which enhances viral particle binding to the ACE2 receptor", they add.

In any case, this may render certain fitness advantages to the virus, as demonstrated recently in research projects that used engineered viral strains. More specifically, similar findings have been observed with the D614G mutation, where new G614 strains overcame the original D614G strains when put in competition.

Everything said this study could contribute to our improved understanding of the progressive replacement of circulating strains by the SARS-CoV-2 20I/501Y.V1 (or the UK) variant. The emergence of different variants raises numerous questions concerning the future course of this pandemic. Thus more research endeavors in this field are highly needed.

*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.
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Go to form
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.
Khloe Kardashian pelted her new sister Kourtney with questions about her sex life during a girls night last summer.

The moment has been captured in a new preview for Thursday night's episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

Kourtney, 41, and Khloe, 36, had taken their sister Kim, 40, to spend the evening at a vacation home in Malibu to take her mind off her marital drama with Kanye West.

On the spot: Khloe Kardashian pelted her new sister Kourtney with questions about her sex life during a girls night last summer

Last summer Kanye was running for U.S. President and posting furious tweets denouncing Kim and her mother Kris Jenner whom he called 'Kris Jong Un.'

In response Kim made a statement saying the family was 'powerless' to intervene in Kanye's bipolar disorder issues since he is an adult.

Kim finally filed for divorce this February after about a month of rumors that she and Kanye were on the verge of breaking up.

However as the drama raged last summer her two Kardashian sisters decided to spending a relaxing evening with her to help her unwind.

There's Khloe: The moment has been captured in a new preview for Thursday night's episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians

By the sea: Kourtney, 41, and Khloe, 36, had taken their sister Kim, 40, to spend the evening at a vacation home in Malibu to take her mind off her marital drama with Kanye West

Having a ball: As the drama raged last summer her two Kardashian sisters decided to spending a relaxing evening with her to help her unwind

'It's really sweet that my sisters planned this little getaway night just to hang out and, you know, escape reality for two seconds,' said Kim in a confessional. 'There's so many f***ing stressful things going on that I needed this the most.'

The trio sat down to an alfresco dinner with drinks where Khloe began peppering Kourtney with love life questions for Kim's amusement.

She asked if Kourtney was involved with anyone or wanted to be - and Kourtney replied in the negative to both questions.

Apparently she has since changed her mind as she is currently seeing Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker who is an old pal of hers.

Delightful: 'It's really sweet that my sisters planned this little getaway night just to hang out and, you know, escape reality for two seconds,' said Kim in a confessional

Side by side: The trio sat down to an alfresco dinner with drinks where Khloe began peppering Kourtney with love life questions for Kim's amusement

Under fire: She asked if Kourtney was involved with anyone or wanted to be - and Kourtney replied in the negative to both questions

During the girls night last summer Khloe also asked: 'How many people DM you?' and Kourtney replied: 'Hundreds,' prompting Kim to come up with the idea that 'We can get drunk and go through your DMs.'

'Do you still talk to what's-his-name?' Khloe asked and Kourtney revealed that she 'never' does and does not even think of him - although 'he'll text me once in awhile.'

Kourtney has an close co-parenting relationship with her ex Scott Disick with whom she shares her children Mason, 11, Penelope, eight, and Reign, six.

After they broke up in 2016 she had a relationship with the Algerian model Younes Bendjima who is more than a decade her junior.

There's a plan: Khloe asked: 'How many people DM you?' and Kourtney replied: 'Hundreds,' prompting Kim to come up with the idea that 'We can get drunk and go through your DMs'

Having a ball: 'Do you still talk to what's-his-name?' Khloe asked and Kourtney revealed that she 'never' does and does not even think of him - although 'He'll text me once in awhile'

Throughout the sneak peek neither Kourtney, Khloe nor Kim ever revealed which man exactly 'what's-his-name' really was.

Khloe explained her line of questioning in a confessional: 'It's our job to distract Kim and take away all of her worries for the night, so if that means me, you know, going after Kourtney's sex life a little bit she's gonna have to take one for the team. Kim lives for the gossip and we're here to make Kim happy!'

On last week's episode Scott revealed that his close bond with Kourtney put strain on his relationship with his ex Sofia Richie, 22, whose father is Lionel Richie.

Mystery man: Throughout the sneak peek neither Kourtney, Khloe nor Kim ever revealed which man exactly 'what's-his-name' really was

'It's our job to distract Kim': Khloe explained her line of questioning in a confessional and pointed out: 'Kim lives for the gossip and we're here to make Kim happy!'

He even claimed that Sofia gave him an 'ultimatum' demanding he choose either her or Kourtney with whom he co-parents their three children.

He made the bombshell allegation to Kourtney's sisters Kim and Khloe, saying he tried to balance his girlfriend with his children's mother.

Although he attempted to have Sofia become 'more of a priority' he felt that she was 'wanting to push Kourtney out' of the equation, he alleged.

The show is ending this season and then the Kardashian-Jenner women will move on to a mystery project at Hulu later this year.

End of the road: Kim finally filed for divorce this February after about a month of rumors that she and Kanye were on the verge of breaking up; they are pictured in 2019

The Nagol is Back! VTOs guide to this years Nagol, plus where to stay and play in south, central and north Pentecost.
Boston police came away with quite the haul after executing three search warrants in Dorchester Wednesday morning.

Officers in the Boston Police Department Drug Control Unit searched a suspects Dorchester home and motor vehicle around 11 a.m. when they found a cache of guns, drugs and cash, according to a statement from the department.

Police said they discovered four loaded 9mm caliber firearms, roughly 2,151 grams of drugs and around $35,412 in cash. Authorities did not immediately disclose what drugs were found.

The suspect, who has since been identified as 37-year-old Dharol Joyner, was taken into custody after the three warrants out of Dorchester District Court were executed, according to the departments statement.

He was expected to appear in Dorchester District Court on four counts of unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition and trafficking Class A and B drugs, the statement said.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 15:54:05|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

TASHKENT, March 25 (Xinhua) -- A virtual exhibition on the anti-poverty achievements made by China and Uzbekistan has opened here to share Chinese experience in eradicating poverty.

The main goal of the exhibition, which is themed "Striving for a Better Life -- Achievements of China and Uzbekistan in Poverty Reduction," is to promote cooperation between the two countries in the fight against poverty, organizers of the event said Wednesday during the opening ceremony.

Chinese Ambassador to Uzbekistan Jiang Yan said that any country striving for development and prosperity must address the problem of poverty, adding that China, as one of the world's most populous countries, has done a great job in reducing poverty and thus achieving historic achievements.

China and Uzbekistan are comprehensive strategic partners in the fight against poverty, Jiang said, emphasizing that China is ready to exchange its practice of passing the "path of poverty eradication" with Uzbekistan and make joint efforts to achieve the common prosperity and well-being of the two peoples.

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has described poverty reduction in the country as a state political task in 2020, according to Ilkhom Norkulov, Uzbek first deputy minister of economic development and poverty reduction.

Recalling that the two countries have cooperated and exchanged experience in poverty reduction, with several teleconferences relevant to the theme held, Norkulov said "this exhibition brings together the long-term successful experience of China and the first steps of Uzbekistan in reducing poverty."

Hong Tianyun, deputy head of China's national administration for rural vitalization, the country's competent authority for poverty reduction, said "China is actively exchanging its useful experience with foreign partners, and highly appreciates the enormous efforts made by the Uzbek side to reduce poverty amid negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic."

"We are ready to establish contacts with the competent authorities of Uzbekistan on developing policy and consolidating the results of the fight against poverty," Hong said. Enditem
press release

Let me start by thanking Special Envoy Kubis for your briefing today. It is a pleasure to welcome you to this first Security Council briefing in your new role. And I also want to thank Ambassador Tirumuti for his efforts as Chair of the Libya Sanctions Committee.

The Libyan political process has advanced dramatically over the last six months, and particularly over the last six weeks since you arrived as Special Envoy. Libya has taken tremendous strides forward, and UNSMILs efforts to support this progress have been critical.

The vote of confidence by the House of Representatives and swearing-in of the cabinet of a new, unified, interim Libyan government, which has been charged with leading the country up to the elections, could mark a turning point for Libya. We commend all Libyan actors for constructively participating in this process, as well as the Libyan people for their determination to restore unity to their country.

These are welcome developments. Were encouraged by this progress. But we cannot become complacent. Its time to press forward, and to help Libyas cabinet with the hard work ahead of pulling the country together.

Today Id like to talk about the three main steps for permanent peace in Libya: unity, transparency, and free and fair elections.

First, unity. While Libya has taken great strides economically, were concerned that Libya does not have a unified budget. A unified budget is necessary to provide for the needs of the Libyan people. We urge swift action. The new interim government will need to earn its credibility with the Libyan people, and meeting their basic needs is essential to doing so.

Second, transparency. Trust is what democratic governments are built on. Any peaceful, sustainable, unified government must be transparent and free from corruption. Thats particularly true when it comes to any agreement on the management of oil revenues.

The interim Government of National Unity must resist and root out corruption wherever possible  and its up to us to make that clear to them. That includes taking control away from militias who have abused their power for personal gain, making sovereign institutions apolitical, and creating mechanisms to identify and punish those who engage in corruption.

Third, and most important, the top priority for our mission and the country needs to be organizing free and fair elections on December 24, 2021. International support for these efforts will be essential. We must honor this timeline in order to sustain the confidence of the Libyan people and the international community.

And that means all external actors involved in this conflict must cease their military intervention, respect the Libyan ceasefire agreement, and begin withdrawing from Libya immediately. The Libyan people demanded this withdrawal in their October 23 ceasefire announcement. The 5+5 Joint Military Commission recently reaffirmed this request.

There can be no exceptions to this stipulation. The continued presence of some forces has become an excuse for continuing the presence of others. Its time for everyone to deescalate and end this perpetual cycle. In addition, all military support in violation of the UN arms embargo must end  including the training and financing of mercenaries and proxy forces.

And to further ensure Libyans continue down the path towards free and fair elections in December, we call on members of this Council to adhere to their Berlin Process commitments. That means genuinely and actively supporting the UN political process, implementing the ceasefire agreement, and respecting the UN arms embargo.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Libya Governance Conflict By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

We must also hold to account perpetrators of human rights violations and abuses, and ensure humanitarians can access those who are in desperate need of help.

We welcome the deployment of the UN advance team to Libya as the next step in the ceasefire agreement. And we welcome the proposals on the tasks and scale of the ceasefire monitoring mechanisms from the Secretary-General this month.

The past few weeks have shown us that, when given the means, the people of Libya are ready to take responsibility and move their country forward. Libyan decisions have driven this process. Those decisions were made in public view through live transmissions. And most important, theyre supported by the Libyan public.

Now its time to turn promising progress into a full and lasting peace.

Thank you.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 23:57:25|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

MUSCAT, March 25 (Xinhua) -- The Omani health ministry on Thursday announced 733 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total confirmed number in the sultanate to 153,838, the official Oman News Agency reported.

Meanwhile, 546 people recovered during the past 24 hours, taking the overall recoveries to 140,766 while six deaths were reported, pushing the tally up to 1,650, according to a ministry statement quoted by ONA.

The ministry urged everyone to adhere to social distancing instructions issued by the Supreme Committee entrusted with handling the coronavirus pandemic. 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.
ALBANY  Faced with a sexual harassment scandal, Andrew Cuomo is asking New Yorkers to wait and be patient.

"Get the facts, please, before forming an opinion," the governor said earlier this month. "The Attorney General is doing (a) review. I will fully cooperate with it and then you will know the facts and make a decision when you know the facts."

Point of clarification: Letitia James is not "doing" a "review." With the help of two outside attorneys, the attorney general is conducting an investigation into misconduct allegations from a handful of current or former employees, including an aide who says she was groped at the Executive Mansion after being sent there to (supposedly) help the governor with his cell phone.

Despite the governor's suggestion to the contrary, this is serious. The allegations are troubling. And New Yorkers deserve to know the truth.

In any event, it makes strategic sense that Cuomo, who says he never touched the women "inappropriately," is seeking to buy time. Amid the many calls for his resignation, asking for patience allows him to change the subject while hoping the intense spotlight on the allegations by at least eight women fades.

What else could he do?

But the strategy is risky. Unless all the women are lying, which is beyond improbable, the James report is likely to be unflattering, if not devastating. Cuomo, in other words, has placed the eggs of his political future in a very precarious basket.

Certainly, that has to be unsettling for the governor, especially since James, to her credit, has already demonstrated a willingness to hurt him when warranted.

In late January, you'll remember, James infuriated and humiliated Team Cuomo with a searing report that rightly took the governor to task for dishonestly undercounting COVID-19 deaths among nursing home residents.

That wound is still festering. James' report seemingly led the FBI and the U.S. attorney's office to launch their own investigations into the Cuomo administration's handling of nursing homes and fatality data. The report, which blew the governor's credibility to smithereens, also contributed to the impeachment investigation subsequently launched by the Assembly.

You can bet, then, that Cuomo is not pleased to have James overseeing an investigation that might decide whether he keeps his job. You can bet he'll seek to minimize the risk.

For that reason, there's an expectation among some observers that Cuomo and his allies  including the army of mostly anonymous accounts suddenly supporting the Democrat on Twitter  may soon begin working to discredit James and her investigation, particularly if the governor senses it isn't going his way. Going on the offensive, of course, is very much in the governor's nature.

The most obvious and predictable line of attack would be to suggest that James is compromised by her own ambition  that damaging the governor, in other words, is her Machiavellian attempt at weakening the occupant of an office she craves. The report is tainted by politics and "palace intrigue," those aligned with the governor could say.

Cuomo adopted a similar strategy to deflect criticism on nursing homes. "Ugly politics," he called it, falsely suggesting that anyone who questioned his policies was working on behalf of the Republican in the White House.

In deep-blue New York, there is little risk in blaming Donald Trump for everything and anything. Questioning the credibility of James, a fellow Democrat and the first Black woman elected to her office, is another matter.

According to a recent Siena Research Institute poll, 61 percent of Black New York voters have a favorable opinion of Cuomo, compared to just 37 percent of white voters.

If Cuomo and his allies too aggressively go after James, he'll risk alienating one of the few segments of the voting population that remains in his corner. He could also annoy women attuned to notice the sexism inherent in calling out the ambition of a female politician.

Of course, another strategy might involve meddling with the James investigation from the start, an effort that might already be underway. As this newspaper reported last week, the Cuomo administration is providing attorneys to staffers called to speak with James' investigators, an offer that could be interpreted as an attempt to thwart unflattering testimony.

Coming to an inbox near you Our writers share more about the topics they cover in our newsletters. Churchill's Corner: Chris Churchill goes in depth on his latest columns, and shares what readers are saying. Sign up here. Editor's Note (subscribers only): Editor Casey Seiler shares the story behind our biggest stories of the week. Sign up here. Click here for a complete list of newsletter offerings.

"The Executive Chambers decision to provide staffers with in-house attorneys to advise them and accompany them to interviews will have a chilling effect on potential witnesses or other accusers who wish to come forward," said Deborah Katz, an attorney for one of the accusers. "Witnesses with whom I have spoken fear retaliation if they refuse to cooperate with the Executive Chambers lawyers."

Retaliation? From Andrew Cuomo?

Well, that sounds par for the course. And at a time when the governor is fighting for his political life, expect the fight to get ugly.

cchurchill@timesunion.com  518-454-5442  @chris_churchill
According to an adviser to Irans parliament speaker, Amir Hussein Abdollahian, Irans supreme leader sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the need to strengthen ties and the status of the nuclear deal.

Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf travelled to Moscow to personally deliver the letter from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. According to Abdollahian, who published the note on Khameneis website Khamenei.ir, This trip was timed for when there are new tenants in the White House and sends Iran's allies the message that we will not be delayed any longer with White House's games with respect to the nuclear deal.

The United States exited the nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in 2018 and reapplied sanctions on Iran, severely impacting the country's economy. Iran, citing Article 37 of the agreement, took steps to reduce its compliance with the JCPOA but technically remained within the agreement. Now the two sides are debating which will return to full compliance first.

The letter also emphasized the need to focus on Asia. The 21st century is the Asian century, Abdollahian wrote, adding that many Asian countries including Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia have significant roles to play and many of them have not yet realized their full capabilities.

Abdollahian also addressed a domestic controversy over Ghalibaf not personally meeting with Putin, writing that due to the urgency of the letter Putin wanted to immediately read it rather than waiting for the mandated health protocols. After reports that Ghalibaf was to personally meet with Putin, Iranian media outlets reported that due to quarantine requirements, the planned meeting with Putin would not take place. Ghalibaf instead delivered the letter to his Russian counterpart. Abdollahian insisted that the meeting with Vyacheslav Volodin was done while Volodin was acting as Putins adviser and not as his title as the head of Duma  in an apparent effort to elevate the status of the meeting.

The fallout led to highly partisan gloating in Tehran, where supporters of Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif shared pictures of Zarifs previous meeting with Putin. Ghalibaf, a conservative politician and former presidential candidate who some suspect still harbors presidential aspirations and was perhaps looking to use this trip to elevate his stature, has been critical of the Hassan Rouhan administration's domestic and economic policies.

Perhaps Tehran chose to reveal the letter's contents because of the controversy over what some took as a snub of Ghalibaf. In Irans look east policy, Russia, along with China and India, have been major focus points for the country in terms of increasing ties and trade. After the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal and many countries in Western Europe avoiding trade with Iran, Iran has been forced to seek alternative partners.
WASHINGTON (March 25, 2021)--Although demand for COVID-19 vaccines currently seems high, vaccine hesitancy could pose a major threat to public health efforts to end the pandemic, according to an editorial published today in the journal Science.

The authors, including David A. Broniatowski, associate director of the George Washington University Institute for Data, Democracy & Politics, point out that public sentiment towards vaccines are volatile in the face of events such as the recent controversy surrounding the AstraZeneca vaccine clinical trial data. For example, some people could develop safety concerns due to the news reporting about the AstraZeneca vaccine and then turn down the chance to get an approved COVID-19 vaccine--thus putting them at risk.

Vaccine hesitant people may have anxiety over safety concerns, or they might belong to a community that historically has mistrusted the medical establishment, according to the editorial.

Unfortunately, public health officials might not address their concerns. The editorial notes that people who are hesitant about getting the COVID-19 vaccine are often dismissed as anti-science. At the same time, the vaccine hesitant can be influenced by false information posted on social media or the internet by anti-vaxx activists and organized anti-vaxx groups, the authors said.

"Vaccine hesitant people are targeted by anti-vaxxers and ridiculed by some health care providers." Broniatowski said, "They are therefore doubly at risk."

How can vaccine hesitancy be addressed?

Broniatowski co-authored the editorial with Professor Heidi J. Larson, Director of The Vaccine Confidence Project at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

"Messages about vaccines must be delivered in a way that is empathetic to avoid stigmatizing people who have questions about the vaccine. Particularly in the context of Covid-19, with all its uncertainties, people need to be reassured, and feel that their concerns are heard," Larson said. "And, if there is one thing we have learned in all our research, people's concerns can change. Listening needs to be ongoing."

###

The editorial, "Volatility of vaccine confidence," appears in the March 26 issue of the journal Science.
Associated Press

The younger generation of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales are on average about three feet (one meter) shorter than whales were 20 years, drone and aircraft data show in a study in Thursdays journal Current Biology. Entanglements with fishing gear, collisions with ships and climate change moving their food supply north are combining to stress and shrink these large whales, the study says. This isnt about short right whales, its about a physical manifestation of a physiological problem, its the chest pain before the heart attack, said Regina Asmutis-Silvia, executive director of Whale and Dolphin Conservation North America, who wasnt part of the study.
You have permission to edit this article.

Edit Close
Women's History Month is here and we've tapped two San Antonio leaders to chat about how the contributions of women are embraced throughout the city.

RELATED: How San Antonio's fitness industry powered through a pandemic year

Ginger Diaz, co-owner of Feliz Modern, and District 5 Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales will join a Facebook Live discussion with MySA Thursday morning to talk about the importance of fostering female leaders in San Antonio.

Join Madalyn Mendoza this morning at 11 a.m. on Facebook.com/MySA.
The head of the Pentagon's anti-sexual assault and sexual harassment commission said Wednesday she wants to produce "major shifts" in how the military cares for victims and holds offenders accountable.

At a briefing with reporters, commission chairwoman Lynn Rosenthal said the Independent Review Commission will look at what hasn't been tried to stop sexual violence in the military, and will send Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and President Joe Biden recommendations for sweeping changes in how the military tackles this problem.

"I don't expect an in-the-weeds view of 150 policies that should be tweaked around the edges," Rosenthal said. "That is not what we're about. We are about looking at major shifts and big-picture items that could really change the culture, improve care for victims, bring about evidence-based prevention and hold offenders accountable."

Read Next: Wearable Health Monitors Could Lead to Mentally Tougher Troops, Experts Say

However, time is short for the commission, which has 90 days to finish its work from March 24. When she was first announced as the commission's head Feb. 26, Rosenthal said she hoped to produce initial recommendations, primarily on how to hold offenders accountable, within 60 days.

The commission has set up a webpage for service members and other stakeholders to contact them and share their ideas and stories, Rosenthal said. The commission, she said, is particularly interested in hearing from junior enlisted service members who face the highest risk of sexual violence.

Rosenthal said the commission won't be able to respond to everyone who shares a story, it will be analyzing submissions for trends that can help it find answers.

"The lived experiences of survivors are the very foundation of the work of the IRC," Rosenthal said. "The most powerful voices, sadly, come from trauma and from pain. These are the voices that we must hear in developing our recommendations, and we are committed to doing so."

Rosenthal is a leading activist who works to prevent domestic violence, sexual assault and other forms of gender-based violence. She was former President Barack Obamas adviser on violence against women, and worked with then-Vice President Biden on programs to reduce sexual assault and domestic violence murders.

At Wednesday's briefing, Rosenthal announced the commission's 12-person executive team, which includes two civilian prosecutors, prevention specialists, civilian advocates, military veterans and experts in gender integration. The commission also includes Rosenthal, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, acting Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Virginia Penrod, acting Pentagon General Counsel Beth George and senior adviser to the Defense secretary for human capital Bishop Garrison. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, the acting secretaries and chiefs of staff of the Army, Navy and Air Force, and Chief of Space Operations Gen. Jay Raymond comprise an advisory support team for the commission.

The executive team is divided into four main subjects: Accountability; prevention; climate and culture; and victim care and support. Rosenthal said the executive team members are experts, and some are also civilians who bring "fresh eyes" to the topic.

Executive team member Indira Henard, who also serves as the executive director of the DC Rape Crisis Center, "is an expert at innovative trauma-informed care that hasn't really been tried within the services," Rosenthal said. And Rosenthal predicted Kris Rose, a former Justice Department official and victim advocate in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, will ask "questions that haven't been asked" before.

Most members of the executive team have former military experience, including two retired general officers and West Point graduates, and a former Marine Corps attack helicopter pilot. One Army lieutenant colonel on the team is currently on inactive status, but none of the members is on active duty.

The commission will look at strategies that have worked in the civilian world, and see if those ideas can be adopted by the military, she said. And it will look for ideas that haven't been tried in the civilian world yet, but might work in the military because of its unique structure and other attributes.

Rosenthal said the commission will be looking closely at the role command plays in deciding which cases go to prosecution. She said she has spoken to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and is interested in studying and considering Gillibrand's long-standing proposal to give military attorneys, instead of commanders, the power to decide which sexual assault and other serious crimes should be prosecuted.

Rosenthal said the commission will build on previous Defense Department studies, such as the Fort Hood report following the murder of Spc. Vanessa Guillen last year, which examined the failings of specific installations that made them higher-risk locations for sexual assault and harassment. Guillens high-profile disappearance and murder, which followed repeated instances of sexual harassment, shocked the military community and refocused national attention on the problem of sexual harassment and assault in the military.

She highlighted a lack of resources at Fort Hood's Criminal Investigation Command as an example of problems that need to be fixed.

"It's about lack of leadership. It's about lack of resources. It's about lack of priority," Rosenthal said. "As we saw in the Fort Hood report, the lack of resourcing of these problems was a critical issue that was life-threatening for soldiers."

The climate and culture line of effort will try, in part, to address prevalent misunderstandings and myths about rape, such as beliefs that many sexual assault accusations are false, Rosenthal said. And the accountability line of effort could recommend changes to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, she said, to address problems of offenders being kept in the service or differing punishments meted out to officers versus enlisted service members.

Rosenthal said the commission also will be looking at sexual assault of male service members, a significant problem that has received increased attention in recent years. Male sexual assault may be tied to things like bullying and hazing, she said.

"It's ultimately about power and control," Rosenthal said. "It's that same dynamic of power and control we see in bullying and hazing situations. ... The sexual assault of men is a significant problem about which we don't raise enough awareness, or speak enough about, or highlight their voices. But it's a very significant problem."

-- Stephen Losey can be reached at stephen.losey@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StephenLosey.

Related: Senator Renews Push to Distance Commanders from Military Prosecutions

The chief operating officer of a Chicago hospital has resigned following reports that the facility offered coronavirus vaccines to employees at former President Donald Trumps nearby hotel, where the executive owns a condo.

The Board of Trustees for Loretto Hospital, which serves a majority-Black neighbourhood in an Illinois area badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic, announced on Wednesday that it had accepted the resignation of Anosh Ahmed.

Local news site Block Club Chicago reported last week that executives at Loretto had been giving vaccines to people not yet eligible, prompting the city to cut off the hospitals supply of the treatments while it investigated.

In a statement on Wednesday, Edward M Hogan, chairman of Lorettos board of trustees, announced Dr Ahmeds resignation, writing: On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I want to thank Dr Ahmed for his contributions to the Loretto Hospital community and we wish him the best in his future endeavours.

In a memo to staff obtained by CNN, Loretto CEO George Miller confirmed that the hospital set up a vaccine clinic for 72 of the hotels workers on 10 March in Chicagos Trump Tower, where Mr Ahmed purchased a $2.7m (1.96m) 43rd-floor condo just five months earlier.

Read more:

We were, at the time, under the impression that restaurant and other frontline hospitality industry workers were considered essential under the city of Chicagos 1b eligibility requirements, Mr Miller claimed in the memo.

Under Chicagos coronavirus guidelines, hotel workers are not supposed to receive vaccinations until the start of April. Vaccines are currently only supposed to be offered to those over the age of 65, teachers, those in homeless shelters, grocery store workers and people in prisons.

In addition to Mr Ahmeds condo building, Block Club Chicago reported on Monday that Loretto offered vaccines to a watch shop where he is a regular customer, which is located around 10 miles from the neighbourhood that the facility serves.

The Washington Post reported that Lorettos board met following the publication of that story, but decided not to terminate Mr Ahmeds employment at that time.

However, after the local news site reported that Mr Ahmed also offered vaccinations to a steakhouse that he frequents, the executive handed in his resignation later that day.

When asked by the Post whether the hospital had confirmation that Mr Ahmed had arranged vaccines for the steakhouse, Loretto spokesperson Becky Carroll said: That is part of the internal review being conducted by the board.

Read more:

Mr Hogan confirmed in the statement on Wednesday that an investigation is ongoing, adding: If our review should uncover anything further that indicates our processes were compromised, there will be additional consequences imposed on those responsible for these actions.

Following the pausing of Lorettos supply of vaccines, Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot said that the hospital would remain excluded for the time being, saying: I dont expect them to be coming back any time soon.

I fear that were going to hear more stories. Which is why we pushed pause on giving Loretto new first doses, Ms Lightfoot continued. Theyve got work to do, I think, to rebuild trust in their own community, the mayor added.

Since the start of the pandemic, Illinois has recorded close to 1.23m coronavirus cases and at least 23,408 deaths.

According to Johns Hopkins University, there are now more than 30 million people who have tested positive for the coronavirus in the US. The death toll has reached 545,282.

The Independent has contacted Loretto Hospital and Mr Ahmed for contact.
Citizens watch a television news program on North Korea's missile launch, Thursday morning at Suseo Station in Seoul. The North launched two short-range missiles which were assumed to be ballistic missiles at around 7 a.m. Yonhap



By Nam Hyun-woo



North Korea is ratcheting up tension to test U.S. President Joe Biden's policy toward Pyongyang, firing two more projectiles assumed to be ballistic missiles into the East Sea, Thursday, just four days after the regime launched cruise missiles.



Diplomatic observers say the totalitarian state may opt for a more serious provocation such as an intercontinental ballistic missile or even a nuclear test unless the United States ditches its hostile policies. The new U.S. government is in the final stages of deciding on its new North Korea policy and plans to host national security advisers of South Korea and Japan next week to discuss it.



According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the two short-range missiles were fired from South Hamgyong Province in North Korea at 7:06 a.m. and 7:25 a.m., respectively. The missiles flew about 450 kilometers into the East Sea on an apogee of 60 kilometers.



Following the launch, the South Korean government held a National Security Council (NSC) meeting and expressed "deep concerns" on the launch which came amid the U.S.' North Korea policy review, as well as pledging to strengthen consultations with related countries in analyzing the backdrop and the intentions of the launch.



"This activity highlights the threat that North Korea's illicit weapons program poses to its neighbors and the international community," said Capt. Mike Kafka, the spokesman of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.



The NSC said it will analyze the specifications of the projectiles through cooperation between Korean and U.S. defense and intelligence offices, and the JCS will later explain the details of the missiles.



Though South Korean authorities did not specify the type of projectiles, a JCS official said they see a high possibility they were ballistic missiles. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has already said the North Korean weapons were ballistic missiles and the U.S. also believes they are short-range ballistic missiles.









If the projectiles are ballistic missiles, this is the first case of the North firing projectiles of that type since March 2020. North Korea's development and testing of ballistic missile technologies are banned under United Nations Security Council resolutions.



Reportedly, Seoul's National Intelligence Service (NIS) reported to lawmakers that the spy agency is assuming the missile launches could be timed to precede Biden's scheduled press conference on Thursday (local time). Yonhap News Agency said that lawmakers were also told that the NIS also believes other reasons include the recent adoption of the United Nations resolution on North Korea's human rights and the extradition of a North Korean businessman.





This combined photo revealed by North Korea's state-run Rodong Sinmun on Nov. 29, 2017, shows the test-firing of North Korea's Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile. Yonhap
[March 25, 2021] Nuro Announces New Investors in Series C Financing

Nuro today announced new investments from Woven Capital, Chipotle, and other new investors, as part of the company's Series C funding round. Nuro's new financing is the first investment by Woven Capital, a newly established growth stage fund from Woven Planet, a Toyota subsidiary. This additional funding signifies continued confidence in Nuro's vision for autonomous delivery from a group of world class investors. "We are thrilled to have the backing of this tremendous group of best-in-class investors to shape the future of mobility for people across the globe," said Dave Ferguson, Nuro co-founder and president. "The support of these financial and strategic investors from multiple continents will be a huge boost to Nuro as we commercialize and scale our local delivery product." Woven Capital, Chipotle, and additional new investors joined as part of Nuro's recently closed Series C round, led by funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., with participation from new investors including Fidelity Management & Research Company, LLC. and Baillie Gifford, and existing investors such as SoftBank Vision Fund 1 and Greylock.



These new entrants, coupled with Nuro's recent news of securing the first and only deployment permit from the California DMV, further solidify the company's position as the leader in autonomous delivery. With this funding, Nuro will continue to advance its industry-leading autonomous technology, grow its team, and expand its delivery service. About Nuro

Nuro is the leader in autonomous delivery using robotics to improve everyday life. The company's fleet of on-road, fully occupantless and autonomous vehicles are designed to deliver everyday goods to consumers ranging from groceries to pizza to prescriptions in a way that is quick, affordable, and most importantly, safe. Nuro is on a mission to fundamentally change the last mile of local delivery for consumers and businesses alike, while using the power of robotics for the greater good. Nuro has announced partnerships with Kroger, Domino's, Walmart, CVS and other leading companies.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005171/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
03/25/2021

Photo (c) wildpixel - Getty Images The cruise industry gave its best effort to try to convince the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to lift its No Sail Order, but no dice. The CDC has formally rejected the industrys request, leaving cruise lines to either sit and sulk or try to entice anxious American travelers to fly elsewhere to board a cruise ship.

The CDC wasted no time responding to the cries of cruise operators. On Wednesday, the agency made it clear that the shutdown will remain in effect until at least November 1, 2021.

Returning to passenger cruising is a phased approach to mitigate the risk of spreading COVID-19, Jade Fulce, a Public Affairs Specialist for the CDC, told ConsumerAffairs. Details for the next phase of the CSO are currently under interagency review.

When ConsumerAffairs reached out to the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) for a comment on the CDCs stance, its president Zane Kerby expressed his deep disappointment

The CDCs continued inaction in removing cruise restrictions imperil livelihoods and communities in South Florida, up to now the de facto cruise capital of the world, and far beyond. It is a shame that the CDCs inflexibility has brought us to this point, he said.

Senator also turns up heat on CDC

The cruise industry isnt the only source of pressure that the CDC is facing. Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski went after CDC director Rochelle Walensky last week to try to pin down which agencies had the authority to make decisions concerning the No Sail Order. However, Walensky wasnt exactly sure.

"This is an interagency decision, it is not a decision solely up to the CDC. The decision is not totally up to us," Walensky said. When Murkowski pressed Walensky for a clearer answer, she said she couldnt provide one because she didnt believe that it's solely in our jurisdiction to address."

Like Florida, Alaska is in the thick of this cruise-related issue. Not only are businesses in the state reliant on the economic impact that cruise ships bring, but some cruise itineraries go through Canadian waters, and Canada has banned all cruise ships -- another burr in Murkowskis saddle.

We sent two letters to Prime Minister Trudeau. Its hard, because were all operating in a time of COVID so we dont want to imply that we want to risk health and safety for the purpose of our economy, but we are seeking areas of cooperation as to how we can move people safely. To do that, Canada must be willing to work with us, Murkowksi said in a meeting with Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and National Security Advisor (NSA) Jake Sullivan.

We dont have many points of entry that they have to worry about, but they have cut off all points of entryby land and by sea. We are truly an island, she added.

Consumers still have options

Impatient travelers still have options, but theyre going to have to invest in extra travel costs to satisfy their cruise craving. Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises plan to restart operations in June from the Bahamas and St. Maarten. Crystal Cruises has also announced plans to base one of its cruise ships in the Bahamas starting in July.

Greece is also opening its doors to international visitors in mid-May. Vaccinated Americans over 18 and minors with negative COVID-19 tests will be welcome aboard. Crews will also be fully vaccinated.

Celebrity Cruises is the first cruise line to take advantage of the situation, announcing that its new Edge series ship will make its world debut in Greece this summer beginning June 19.
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.
NORWALK  The Norwalk Fire Department on Thursday announced a new process for administering entry-level firefighter exams after the previous exam was marred by allegations of cheating.

At a news conference at Norwalk Fire Headquarters, Fire Chief Gino Gatto said the department has begun accepting applications for a new class of recruits as part of the overhauled testing procedure.

We invite men and women to join the rich tradition of our fire department, and the nearly 140 firefighters who work every day to serve and protect our city and its residents, Gatto said in a statement. Being a Norwalk firefighter is a challenging job, but it is equally rewarding.

The announcement comes several months after the city cut ties with the Connecticut Firefighter Testing Consortium, a collection of at least 15 other municipalities that aimed to streamline the often paperwork-intensive and costly application process.

The decision to leave the consortium was made after an investigation determined Chris King, the departments then-assistant fire chief, had likely leaked the consortiums test questions and answers to his son. King, who resigned last year amid the investigation, has denied the accusations.

The ensuing controversy prompted city leaders to reform the testing process. The department has since hired the consulting firm Morris & McDaniel to administer the new exam at a cost of $67,500.

We just didnt feel comfortable that the field was level for all applicants and, therefore, based on our concerns about the internal process, we decided to step out of the consortium and give a new exam, Mayor Harry Rilling, a member of the citys Fire Commission, said in December.

Rilling, who spoke at Thursdays news conference, described the newly launched recruitment effort as a critically important process for the department. He said the department is relying on community leaders and local clergy members to help boost the number of applications.

What we are trying to do here is partner with the community to attract a pool of candidates who are demographically similar to the city of Norwalk, Rilling said. We want a diverse pool of candidates.

Assistant Fire Chief Albe Bassett said the department is seeking to fill a dozen open positions. Individuals interested in becoming a firefighter have until May 10 to fill out an online application. The fee is $25.

The written test, which is followed by an oral exam, is scheduled to be held in late May. The starting salary for a new firefighter is $65,476 a year.

Bassett said the company administering the test will issue study guides to applicants. He encouraged anyone remotely interested in the job, including people with no previous experience in a related field, to apply.

Were going to teach you everything you need to know about being a firefighter, he said. Theres nothing you need to know coming in.
Joe Biden will likely run for a second term as president in 2024, he said during a press conference on Thursday, contrasting with previous reports that hed only run as a one-term unity candidate.

The answer is yes, my plan is to run for re election, Mr Biden said. Thats my expectation.

He suggested that a re-election bid is not 100 per cent guaranteed though.

Im a great respecter of fate, he continued. Ive never been able to plan three-and-a-half years head for certain.

If he was to run again, the president said, hed ask Kamala Harris to once again join him as vice president.

Read more:

I would fully expect that to be the case, he said. Shes doing a great job. Shes a great partner.

When asked if he thought he could be running against Donald Trump in 2024, Mr Biden joked he wasnt sure the GOP would even last that long.

I have no idea, he said. I have no idea if there will be a Republican party. Do you?

Mr Trump has hinted that hes considering a 2024 run, but hasnt outright announced his intentions yet, instead telling interviewers hes focused on getting Republicans elected during upcoming midterm elections.

Recent polling suggests Mr Trump remains popular with Republicans, while figures like former Vice President Mike Pence and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis are also polling well as potential 2024 GOP candidates for president.

While the focus turned for a moment to President Bidens future plans, his administration is facing a tough convergence of challenges day-to-day.

The Biden administration has struggled to find adequate space to house the rising number of unaccompanied minors whove crossed the border seeking asylum, leading to detaining children longer than legal limits in sub-par conditions, part of a renewed flow of border-crossers after the Biden administration rescinded some of his predecessors most hard-line immigration directives.

During the Thursday brief, Mr Biden, echoing the opinion of border experts, said the immigration trends went deeper than any one administrations policies and were the result of long-running structural challenges in the region.

Its because of earthquakes, floods, its because of a lack of food, Mr Biden said. Its because of gang violence.

In fact, the Biden administration has effectively kept in place many of the Trump administrations harshest immigration policies, including those that pushed asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for their legally protected claims to process in the US, and a pandemic-era order effectively shutting down the border altogether.

The president, and Democrats at large, are also facing a wave of bills from Republican-controlled state legislatures that would tighten voting requirements, which they argue is tantamount to voter suppression, especially towards people of colour. Mr Biden compared it to Jim Crow-era segregation and said he knew Republican voters themselves also find this despicable during his question-and-answer session on Thursday.

What Im worried about is how un-American this whole initiative is, its sick, its sick, deciding in some states that you cannot bring water to people standing in line waiting to vote? Mr Biden said.

Deciding that youre going to end voting at 5pm when working people are just getting off work? he added.
Illinois College has been presented the Racial Equity & Interfaith Cooperation Award, which includes $1,000 to fund development of a student advisory council for the colleges historic collection.

The new award will enable IC to explore new and meaningful opportunities to continue to engage our students as stakeholders with the equitable collection, preservation and sharing of historical campus collections, said Samantha Sauer, archivist, curator and assistant professor of history.
(All amounts in US$ unless otherwise specified and reflect 100% of the project)

Capstone Mining Corp. ("Capstone" or the "Company") (TSX:CS) announces it intends to advance the Cobalt Project at Santo Domingo in Region III, Chile, ("Santo Domingo" or the "Project") to Feasibility as described in the Santo Domingo Project, Region III, Chile NI 43-101 Technical Report and Preliminary Economic Assessment1 (the "Technical Report" or "PEA"). The production of battery-grade cobalt sulphate at Santo Domingo is expected to significantly add to the robust copper-iron-gold project and maximizes the recovery of future facing metals from this rich resource.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005352/en/

Figure 1: Cobalt Demand Growth All Applications (2018-2030 in metric tonnes). By 2025, an estimated 184,000 tonnes of cobalt (or 76% of total cobalt demand) is needed in Li-ion batteries, of which 118,000 tonnes is required for various EV applications. (Source: Darton Commodities Ltd. estimates)

Darren Pylot, Capstone President and CEO said, "Capstone has an incredible opportunity to produce ethically-sourced battery-grade cobalt sulphate from Santo Domingo's future copper-iron tailings stream. The process is a series of conventional steps, with below zero costs given significant by-product credits."

"The potential of cobalt production in Chile has been underappreciated for decades while copper and, recently, lithium have been the main focus of investment. Although this market is small, projections for demand growth suggest that it could triple in size by 2030 mainly due to the development of electromobility. As the chemical properties of cobalt extends the life of rechargeable lithium batteries used in electric vehicles, we are seeing a significant boost to exploration and extraction activity. Capstone's plans for a cobalt feasibility study at Santo Domingo could represent a great step forward and an example of Chile's potential to become an important world producer." said Edgar Blanco, Chile's mining ministry undersecretary.

The Santo Domingo Advantage in the Global Cobalt Supply Landscape2

Downstream cobalt users are actively seeking ethical supply to meet future demand needs and Chile is one of the best mining jurisdictions in the world.

In 2020, an estimated 71% of the 133,000 tonnes of cobalt produced globally originated from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the majority of this was shipped to China, the leading importer of mined cobalt and exporter of refined cobalt.

Global cobalt sulphate production in 2020 is estimated at 43,000 tonnes of cobalt contained. Of this, greater than 85% was produced in China and greater than 90% originated from DRC intermediates.

By 2025, an estimated 140,000 tonnes of cobalt contained in cobalt sulphate will be required for lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries.

Cobalt contained in sulphate currently sells at a premium over the cobalt metal benchmark price 3

The bulk of global cobalt sulphate production is dependent on refining third-party feedstock imported from other countries. The majority of cobalt sulphate producers are currently processing feed that is priced at around 93-94% of the cobalt metal benchmark price.

Santo Domingo's PEA estimated costs of -$4 per pound (net of by-products in cobalt operation) positions it to be a unique, fully integrated producer of battery-grade cobalt sulphate 4

Santo Domingo will be the only cobalt sulphate project in the Americas not dependent on third-party DRC feed 5

Santo Domingo's cobalt processing capacity could supply enough battery-grade material for more than 500,000 electric vehicles (EV's) annually6

Mr. Pylot added, "A cobalt operation at Santo Domingo would unlock Chile's vast potential for this critical metal and it is exciting that Capstone is leading this vision. The selection of a strategic partner due later this year, will accelerate this unique project to recover a future-facing, green metal from a waste stream, a plan that I'm set on making a reality."

Table 1 and Table 2 outline the top 10 cobalt miners and refiners outside of the DRC and top three cobalt projects to come online within the next five years.

Table 1: Top 10 Cobalt Miners Refiners Outside of DRC

Miner/Operator Mine Refinery End Product 2021 Est. Volume (t) 1 Sumitomo Metal Mining Philippines Japan Metal Chloride 6,000 2 Vale Canada New Caledonia Canada Metal Intermediates 4,700 3 Nornickel Russia Russia Metal Intermediates 4,600 4 Glencore Various Norway Metal 4,400 5 Sherritt General Nickel (Moa JV) Cuba Canada Metal 3,300 6 Glencore Australia Australia Metal 3,300 7 MCC Papua New Guinea N/A Intermediates 3,000 8 Cengiz Holding Turkey Turkey Intermediates 2,700 9 Cubaniquel Cuba N/A Concentrates 2,000 10 Ambatovy Madagascar Madagascar Metal 1,900

Source: Darton Commodities Limited (2020-2021 Report)

Table 2: Top Three Cobalt Projects Within Next Five Years Outside of DRC

Mine/Operator Mine Refinery End Product Future Volume (t) 1 QMB New Energy JV Indonesia Indonesia Intermediates Cobalt Sulphate 5,000 2 Capstone Mining Santo Domingo Chile Chile Cobalt Sulphate 4,700 3 Cleanteq Sunrise Australia Australia Cobalt Sulphate 4,000

NOTE: First Cobalt in Canada is expected to produce up to 4,500 MT of Cobalt by 2023 in sulphate form but will be processing mostly DRC feed. Source: Darton Commodities Limited (2020-2021 Report).

Cobalt Sulphate Demand Growth

According to Darton's recently published 2020-2021 Cobalt Market Review, Nickel Cobalt Manganese (NCM) is to remain the dominant cathode chemistry in EV batteries and cobalt sulphate is the prime ingredient for NCM precursor materials. By 2025, an estimated 184,000 tonnes of cobalt (or 76% of total cobalt demand) is needed in Li-ion batteries, of which 118,000 tonnes is required for various EV applications. Refer to Figure 1 for Darton's Cobalt Demand forecast.

Expert Hire to Lead Cobalt Feasibility Work at Santo Domingo

Romke Kuyvenhoven joined Capstone in February 2021 and is leading the cobalt feasibility work and overall metallurgical strategy for Santo Domingo. She has a M.Sc. in Mining Engineering from Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands and a Degree in Geo-Mining-Metallurgy from the Universidad de Chile. Previously, Romke worked at the Sustainable Minerals Institute in Santiago, where one of her focus areas was the characterization and metallurgical assessment of IOCG ores in Chile's Atacama Region, where Santo Domingo is located. She is co-author on several recent international publications related to cobalt and was also the technical lead of the First International Cobalt Workshop in November 2018 in Santiago. As an independent consultant and formally registered QP, she has been involved in several NI 43-101 based due diligence studies and has acted as geometallurgical consultant for international financial institutions involved in these studies of Chilean mineral properties.

Dr. Albert Garcia, Ph.D., PE, Capstone's Vice President of Projects commented, "I am very pleased to announce that we have hired Romke Kuyvenhoven as her experience in IOCG deposits and cobalt metallurgy is invaluable. Santo Domingo benefits from simple metallurgy and as it relates to cobalt recovery, means that we can recover nearly 80% of the cobalt contained in run-of-mine ore to refined battery-grade cobalt sulphate product that sells for a premium. Costs will be amongst the lowest in the world at negative $4 per pound given the by-product credits in the cobalt process in the form of increased copper recovery, sulphuric acid production and energy generation."

Table 3: Santo Domingo Cobalt PEA Recap

Key Metrics 2020 Colbalt Opportunity PEA Life of Mine "LOM" (years) 18 Cobalt production period (years) 16 Initial capital cost (US$ billions) $0.67 Net Present Value "NPV" (after-tax, 8% discount) (US$ billions) $0.63 Internal Rate of Return "IRR" (after-tax) (%) 27% Cobalt production LOM (tonnes per annum) 4,700 Sulphuric Acid (millions tonnes per annum) 1.4 C1 cash costs7 per pound of cobalt (net of by-products) -$4.11

Note: PEA assumptions include $20 per pound cobalt with no premium attributed to cobalt sulphate, $45 per tonne sulphuric acid prices ex-Santo Domingo Mine, $3.00 copper, and power credits from cogeneration process.

Santo Domingo Cobalt Project Timeline Feasibility Stage-Gates

The $20 million work program will consist of two phases and several stage gates as outlined in Figure 2. Following the Phase 1 work program in Q1-2022, Capstone will provide an update to the market on final met work, final process design and updated cobalt resources. The feasibility report is expected by Q4 2022 with construction to start in 2023 or 2024 following permitting. The integration of the cobalt project with the copper-iron concentrator has been designed so that, if necessary, pyrite-cobalt concentrate can be safely stored in a lined, wet pond for two years, allowing for the cobalt plant to be built later than the mill. Figure 3 illustrates key pre-production milestones and expected life of mine cobalt production anticipated to commence by 2025 or 2026.

Cobalt Process is a Series of Conventional Metallurgical Steps

Capstone's concept for cobalt recovery is based on its bond with pyrite, which is concentrated by preferential flotation on a tailings stream. Approximately 840,000 tonnes per year of pyrite containing 0.6% cobalt and 0.4% copper is expected to be recovered at this step. The concentrate is fed through a five-stage process consisting of roasting, leaching, copper precipitation, cobalt solvent extraction and crystallization to yield battery-grade cobalt sulfate heptahydrate. Recovery of cobalt from pyrite concentrate is expected to be approximately 90% at very low cost due to significant by-products from increased copper recovery, sulfuric acid production and energy generation. The flowsheets are simple and incorporate a series of conventional technologies that are used extensively in the mining industry, as shown in Figure 4 and Figure 5. The Santo Domingo concentrator is expected to commence construction in late 2021, with first year of operation in 2024.

ABOUT CAPSTONE MINING CORP.

Capstone Mining Corp. is a Canadian base metals mining company, focused on copper. Our two producing mines are the Pinto Valley copper mine located in Arizona, US and the Cozamin copper-silver mine in Zacatecas State, Mexico. In addition, Capstone owns 100% of Santo Domingo, a large scale, fully-permitted, copper-iron-gold project in Region III, Chile, as well as a portfolio of exploration properties. Capstone's strategy is to focus on the optimization of operations and assets in politically stable, mining friendly regions, centred in the Americas. We are committed to the responsible development of our assets and the environments in which we operate. Our headquarters are in Vancouver, Canada and we are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). Further information is available at www.capstonemining.com.

COMPLIANCE WITH NATIONAL INSTRUMENT 43-101

Unless otherwise indicated, Capstone has prepared the scientific and technical information in this news release based on information contained in the technical reports and news releases (collectively the "Disclosure Documents") available under Capstone Mining Corp.'s company profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Each Disclosure Document was prepared by or under the supervision of a qualified person (a "Qualified Person" or "QP") as defined in National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects of the Canadian Securities Administrators ("NI 43-101"). For readers to fully understand the information in this news release, they should read the Technical Reports (available on www.sedar.com) in their entirety, including all qualifications, assumptions and exclusions that relate to the information set out in this presentation which qualifies the Scientific and Technical Information. Readers are advised that mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The Disclosure Documents are each intended to be read as a whole, and sections should not be read or relied upon out of context. The Technical Information is subject to the assumptions and qualifications contained in the Disclosure Documents. For further details refer to the Company's NI 43-101 Technical Report Santo Domingo Project, Region III, Chile, Feasibility Study Update, published March 24, 2020, effective February 19, 2020. The Scientific and Technical Information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 and reviewed and approved by the following Qualified Persons, as defined by NI 43-101, who are independent from Capstone (except as noted below) based on content from their respective portions of the 2020 Technical Report:

Mr. Antonio Luraschi, CMC, Wood

Dr. Gregg Bush, P.Eng. (Non-independent)

Mr. David Rennie, P.Eng., RPA

Mr. Lyn Jones, P.Eng., Mplan International

Dr. Albert Garcia III, Ph.D., PE., Capstone Mining Corp. (Non-independent)

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This news release, and the documents incorporated by reference herein, contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this document and Capstone Mining Corp. ("Capstone" or the "Company") does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements, except as required under applicable securities legislation.

Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect our expectations or beliefs regarding future events. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to,statements with respect to the estimation of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, the realization of Mineral Reserve estimates, the timing and amount of estimated future production, costs of production, the timing and possible outcome of legal proceedings and regulatory actions, and capital expenditures, the success of our mining operations, environmental risks, unanticipated reclamation expenses and title disputes, Capstone's ability to satisfy the conditions of closing the Gold Stream Agreement and complete required corporate matters, Capstone's ability to complete the required agreements contemplated in the Framework Agreement with Puerto Ventanas, Capstone and Puerto Ventanas' ability to finance the construction of the Port, Capstone's ability to finance the Santo Domingo Project, the successful completion of our strategic process for the Santo Domingo Project. In certain cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "aims", "plans", "expects", "aiming", "approximately", "guidance", "scheduled", "target", "estimates", "forecasts", "extends", "convert", "potential", "intends", "anticipates", "believes" or variations of such words and phrases, or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would", "will", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative of these terms or comparable terminology. By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, amongst others, permitting risks related to the Santo Domingo Port and other permits required for the Santo Domingo Project our ability to finance the Santo Domingo Project, our ability to find a strategic partner for the Santo Domingo Project, risk related to compliance with our covenants under our RCF, risks related to inherent hazards associated with mining operations and closure of mining projects, the inherent uncertainty of mineral exploration and estimations of exploration targets, future prices of copper and other metals, compliance with financial covenants, surety bonding, our ability to raise capital, Capstone's ability to acquire properties for growth, counterparty risks associated with sales of our metals, foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, changes in general economic conditions, accuracy of mineral resource and mineral reserve estimates, operating in foreign jurisdictions with risk of changes to governmental regulation, compliance with governmental regulations, compliance with environmental laws and regulations, reliance on approvals, licences and permits from governmental authorities, changes in governmental tax legislation or interpretation thereof, impact of climatic conditions on our operations, aboriginal title claims, land reclamation and mine closure obligations, uncertainties and risks related to the potential development of the Santo Domingo Project, increased constructions costs, increased operating and capital costs, challenges to title to our mineral properties, maintaining ongoing social license to operate, dependence on key management personnel, potential conflicts of interest involving our directors and officers, corruption and bribery, limitations inherent in our insurance coverage, labour relations, increasing energy prices, competition in the mining industry, risks associated with joint venture partners, our ability to integrate new acquisitions into our operations, cybersecurity threats, legal proceedings, and other risks of the mining industry as well as those factors detailed from time to time in the Company's interim and annual financial statements and MD&A of those statements, all of which are filed and available for review under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those described in our forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause our results, performance or achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that our forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as our actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements.

ALTERNATIVE PERFORMANCE MEASURES

"C1 Cash Costs" and "Total Project Operating Cost" are Alternative Performance Measures. These performance measures are included because these statistics are key performance measures that management uses to monitor performance. Management uses these statistics to assess how the Company is performing to plan and to assess the overall effectiveness and efficiency of mining operations. These performance measures do not have a meaning within International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") and, therefore, amounts presented may not be comparable to similar data presented by other mining companies. These performance measures should not be considered in isolation as a substitute for measures of performance in accordance with IFRS.

CAUTIONARY NOTE TO UNITED STATES INVESTORS REGARDING PRESENTATION OF MINERAL RESERVE AND MINERAL RESOURCE ESTIMATES

As a British Columbia corporation and a "reporting issuer" under Canadian securities laws, we are required to provide disclosure regarding our mineral properties in accordance with Canadian National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"). NI 43-101 is a rule developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators that establishes standards for all public disclosure an issuer makes of scientific and technical information concerning mineral projects. In accordance with NI 43-101, we use the terms mineral reserves and resources as they are defined in accordance with the CIM Definition Standards on mineral reserves and resources (the "CIM Definition Standards") adopted by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum. In particular, the terms "mineral reserve", "proven mineral reserve", "probable mineral reserve", "mineral resource", "measured mineral resource", "indicated mineral resource" and "inferred mineral resource" used in this news release and the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein, are Canadian mining terms defined in accordance with CIM Definition Standards. These definitions differ from the definitions in the disclosure requirements promulgated by the SEC. Accordingly, information contained in this news release and the documents incorporated by reference herein may not be comparable to similar information made public by U.S. companies reporting pursuant to SEC disclosure requirements.

United States investors are also cautioned that while the SEC will now recognize "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources" and "inferred mineral resources", investors should not assume that any part or all of the mineralization in these categories will ever be converted into a higher category of mineral resources or into mineral reserves. Mineralization described using these terms has a greater amount of uncertainty as to their existence and feasibility than mineralization that has been characterized as reserves. Accordingly, investors are cautioned not to assume that any "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources", or "inferred mineral resources" that we report are or will be economically or legally mineable. Further, "inferred resources" have a greater amount of uncertainty as to their existence and as to whether they can be mined legally or economically. Therefore, United States investors are also cautioned not to assume that all or any part of the inferred resources exist. In accordance with Canadian rules, estimates of "inferred mineral resources" cannot form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies, except in limited circumstances where permitted under NI 43-101.

1 Santo Domingo Project, Region III, Chile NI 43-101 Technical Report effective date 19 February 2020 (Joyce Maycock, P.Eng., Antonio Luraschi, CMC, Marcial Mendoza, CMC, Mario Bianchin, P.Geo., David Rennie, P.Eng., Carlos Guzman, CMC, Roger Amelunxen, P.Eng., Michael Gingles, QP MMSA, Tom Kerr, P.Eng., Roy Betinol, P.Eng., Lyn Jones, P.Eng., Gregg Bush., P.Eng.)

2 Darton Commodities Limited (2020-2021 Cobalt Market Review)

3 Fastmarkets MB Standard Grade Cobalt Metals Price on March 22, 2021 was US$ 24/lb.

4 By 2025 there could be two other 'integrated' cobalt sulphate producers in operation: (1) Cleanteq (Sunrise project in Australia) 4,000 MT capacity and (2) QMB New Energy JV (Tsingshan, GEM a.o. in Indonesia) 5,000 MT capacity.

5 First Cobalt in Canada is expected to produce up to 4,500 MT of Co by 2023 in sulphate form but will be processing mostly DRC feed.

6 Assumes by 2025 a 68 KWh average battery pack in BEV with predominantly NCM811 chemistry. Source Darton Commodities

7 This is an Alternative Performance Measure. C1 cash cash costs reflect operating costs related to the cobalt process, net of by-product credits from sulphuric acid sales of $45 per tonne ex-minesite, power credits from cogen plant, and copper recovered in process.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005352/en/

Contacts:

Jerrold Annett, SVP, Strategy and Capital Markets

647-273-7351

jannett@capstonemining.com
EDITORS NOTE: On April 13, NJ Cannabis Insider hosts a virtual networking event, featuring professionals in the legal cannabis industries. Tickets are limited.

Lawmakers passed a bill Thursday that requires police to notify parents every time teens are caught with alcohol and weed, tweaking a measure they passed last month that outraged police and parents.

Now its headed to Gov. Phil Murphys desk. Its the first of three bills seeking to change the marijuana reforms signed into law last month.

The Senate voted 36-0 and the Assembly 72-0 to pass the latest cleanup bill (S3565). It would change the underage alcohol and weed use warning law that passed swiftly as a compromise to get legal weed done last month.

Murphy had said he would not sign bills to launch a legal cannabis industry and end arrests for marijuana possession until lawmakers passed a third bill to clarify civil penalties for those under 21 caught with weed.

Lawmakers debated replacing arrests with fines, but compromised on a three-tier warning system. The first warning would go only to the underage person, the second to a parent if the person was under 18 and the third as a referral to drug treatment or education programs.

It moved quickly from a committee to the full Senate and Assembly. The Legislature sent it to Murphys desk minutes before the deadline for him to sign the other two bills.

But the law received immediate criticism. Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers introduced several bills that would make the small change to have police notify parents of a juveniles first offense involving alcohol or marijuana.

Never have I ever seen such an outrage about one piece of legislation, Assemblywoman Nancy Munoz, R-Union, said during the voting session Thursday.

Murphy has said he supports changing the law.

I personally think thats a step in the right direction, and so well see where that goes, he said earlier this month.

But several lawmakers Thursday said more must be done. Republican senators last week introduced another bill to that would make a slight change to restrictions for police interacting with young people caught with weed or alcohol. The new underage law made officers subject to a third degree criminal charge of deprivation of civil rights for knowingly detaining a young person too long or illegally searching them.

Officers found guilty of the offense could face three to five years in prison or fines of $15,000.

There has to be some proportionately between the violation and the punishment, Sen. Anthony Bucco, R-Morris, said Thursday.

When our residents voted to legalize marijuana, I am sure they did not vote to criminalize police officers.

The new bill would only allow the officers to be guilty of such a charge if the person was targeted for their race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender or religion.

The New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police applauded the change Thursdays bill would make to the law, but called for more.

Without further reform, the legislation will limit the ability of officers to enforce underage marijuana and alcohol laws and will present health and safety risks to our states minors, the association said in a statement.

The potential for criminal liability in any interaction will prevent officers from intervening in situations where underage criminal activity occurs, allowing underage marijuana and alcohol use to run rampant in our schools, in our parks and on our beaches.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Amanda Hoover may be reached at ahoover@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @amandahoovernj.
Amaravati, March 25 : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national secretary Y. Satya Kumar claimed that the ruling party at the Centre has proposed projects worth Rs 8.25 lakh crore for Andhra Pradesh.

"In the coming five years in the state, proposals for 503 projects worth Rs 8.25 lakh have been sent," claimed Kumar on Wednesday.

He questioned whether the ruling Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) Parliamentarians were aware of this development.

He claimed that a lot of funds were also getting transferred through the direct benefit transfer (DBT) mode without the involvement of the state government.

"There will be no opportunity for the Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy government to indulge in corruption in these," Kumar claimed.

Meanwhile, Kumar, BJP in-charge for Andaman and Nicobar Islands and co-incharge for Uttar Pradesh alleged that the ruling YSRCP procured 2 lakh fake voter identity cards in preparation for the forthcoming Tirupati bypoll.

"To win the prestigious Tirupati bypoll, the ruling YSRCP made 2 lakh fake voter identity cards. We will complain to the Election Commission of India on this and request for action," he claimed.

Kumar and BJP President Somu Veerraju also inspected a couple of railway works in Tirupati saying that they are funded by the Central government.

"As part of Sethubharatam scheme, 33 Railway Over Bridges (RoB) have been identified for AP state out of 208 such projects being taken up by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways nationwide," he claimed.

He also visited RoB works at S.V. Veterinary College.

Several BJP leaders were claiming that voting for the BJP is equal to voting for development in the Tirupati bypoll.

Meanwhile, the BJP is yet to announce its candidate for the forthcoming Tirupati Lok Sabha bypoll while TDP candidate Panabaka Lakshmi has filed her nomination on Wednesday and YSRCP's M. Gurumoorthy is scheduled to do it on Monday.

The Scheduled Castes (SC) reserved Tirupati bypoll is scheduled on April 17.
By Aziz El Yaakoubi

DUBAI (Reuters) - A senior Saudi official denied on Thursday he had threatened to harm the human rights expert who led the U.N. investigation into the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, after the United Nations backed the expert's account of the threat.

Agnes Callamard, the U.N. expert on summary killings, has said that a Saudi official threatened at a Jan. 2020 meeting in Geneva that she would be "taken care of" if she was not reined in following her investigation into the journalist's murder.

She said the remark was interpreted by U.N. officials as a "death threat". The United Nations human rights office confirmed her account on Wednesday.

Neither Callamard nor the United Nations has identified the Saudi official who made the remark. However, the head of Saudi Arabia's human rights commission, Awwad Alawwad, identified himself as the official on Thursday, while denying he had intended any threat.

"It has come to my attention that Ms. Agnes Callamard ... and some U.N. officials believe I somehow made a veiled threat against her more than a year ago," Alawwad tweeted.

"While I cannot recall the exact conversations, I never would have desired or threatened any harm upon a U.N.-appointed individual, or anyone for that matter," he said.

He described himself as an advocate for human rights, and said: "I am disheartened that anything I have said could be interpreted as a threat."

"DEATH THREAT"

Callamard led a U.N. investigation into the October 2018 killing of U.S.-based journalist Khashoggi by Saudi agents at the kingdom's Istanbul consulate. She issued a report in 2019 concluding there was "credible evidence" that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and senior Saudi officials were responsible.

Callamard's allegation that she was threatened was first reported in the Guardian newspaper on Tuesday.

"A death threat. That was how it was understood," Callamard told the newspaper. "People that were present, and also subsequently, made it clear to the Saudi delegation that this was absolutely inappropriate."

Story continues

U.N. human rights spokesman Rupert Colville said on Wednesday "the details in the Guardian story about the threat aimed at Agnes Callamard are accurate". On Thursday, he provided additional detail, telling Reuters the Saudi official had made the remark interpreted as threatening twice.

"At one point he said: 'I'm taking phone calls from people ready to take care of this if you don't'," Colville said. "And then later on essentially he repeated almost the same thing. He said: 'I know some people who have offered to take care of the problem if you dont. So to us the message was pretty clear."

Callamard has called for sanctions against Prince Mohammed over the killing of Khashoggi. The prince denies any involvement but has said he bears ultimate responsibility as it happened under his watch.

U.S. President Joe Biden's administration, which has taken a tougher stance on Saudi Arabia's human rights record than that of his predecessor Donald Trump, last month released an intelligence report that said Prince Mohammed approved an operation to capture or kill Khashoggi. Saudi Arabia rejected the findings.

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva and Aziz El Yaakoubi in Dubai; Writing by Raya Jalabi and Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Peter Graff)
Kenya will recover Sh300 million from a multinational that unsuccessfully challenged cancellation of Sh300 billion mining licence that in 2013 sparked bribery accusations between officials in President Uhuru Kenyatta's administration and those of his outgoing predecessor Kibaki.

Cortec Mining Kenya Ltd, Cortec (pty) Ltd and Stirling Capital Ltd had sued the government, following the revocation of a mining licence in 2013 by President Kenyatta's Jubilee administration.

The licence had been awarded on March 7, two days after the 2013 elections, following reported political lobbying of outgoing officials in President Kibaki's government.

Suspect circumstances

But in August 2013, the Kenyatta administration revoked several mining licences it said were issued hurriedly in suspect circumstances during the transition, including Cortec's 21-year licence for the extraction of rare earths at the Mrima Hill project.

Cortec, after losing in Kenyan courts, moved to an international tribunal to challenge Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala's cancellation on August 5, 2013, of the special mining licence (SML 351) granted by the mining Commissioner, Mr Moses Masibo.

In the application on June 18, 2018, Cortec argued it had for six years invested millions of dollars in the project at Mrima Hill "home to one of the world's largest undeveloped niobium and rare earth deposits" but its investment had unfairly been nationalised.

During proceedings before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the mining firm alleged that Mr Balala had, in July 2013, attempted to solicit a bribe from officials of the company, which they refused.

Bribery claims

They claimed that it was after they rebuffed the bribery demand that the CS, on August 5, 2013, announced that several licences, including SML 351, issued during the prior administration's term, were being revoked.

But in response, according to court papers, the Kenya government contended that Cortec's purported investment was "tainted by corruption - on the part of Mr Masibo and Mr Jacob Juma, a businessman who acted as an intermediary between the claimants and Commissioner Masibo."

Juma was murdered in 2016 by gunmen who sprayed his car with bullets as he drove along a city road at night.

"In the course of its analysis, the tribunal declined to accept either the claimants' or the respondent's allegations of corruption," according to the court records.

Mr Balala had announced that all 253 licences issued from January 14 to May 15, 2013 would be suspended.

The government then set up a task force that would afford the affected licence holders an opportunity to have their licences evaluated and, if appropriate, re-issued.

Cortec Mining Kenya Ltd (CMK) did not participate in the process and instead sued the government in the Kenyan courts.

The local courts dismissed the application, finding issuance of the licence contravened the law, and the mining firm moved to the international tribunal.

CMK, a company incorporated in Kenya, as well as Cortec (Pty) Ltd (Cortec UK) and Stirling Capital Ltd, which are both incorporated in England and Wales, were the claimants.

CMK is majority (70 per cent) owned by Cortec UK and Stirling. Cortec UK and Stirling were eventually wholly owned by Pacific Wildcat (PAW), a Canadian company listed on the Venture Exchange Market of the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Tribunal ruling

The claimants asserted that they owned four investments in connection with the project, the primary one being the valuable mining.

They also claimed that the government had seized its investments and breached the UK-Kenya Bilateral Investment Treaty's obligation to treat them fairly and equitably.

But the tribunal ruled that the claimants failed to comply with the mandatory preconditions, including undertaking an environmental impact assessment study and obtaining de-gazettement of Mrima Hill as a forest and nature reserve.

It also declined jurisdiction in the award, reasoning that SML 351 was issued contrary to the laws of Kenya and international law and does not qualify as an investment protected by the treaty or the ICSID Convention.

On October 22, 2018, the tribunal dismissed the application by Cortec, ruling that the mining licence had been procured illegally. The claimants were ordered to pay the Kenyan government US$3,226,429.21 in legal costs and US $322,561.14 in arbitration costs.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Europe and Africa Mining By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Aggrieved by the decision, the claimants on February 15, 2019, appealed to the secretary-general of ICSID, seeking the annulment of the award, in whole or in part.

The claimants argued at the tribunal that the revocation violated multiple provisions of the treaty, including those on expropriation, fair and equitable treatment, and unreasonable and discriminatory measures.

But Kenya, yet again, won.

On March 19, this year, the Ad Hoc Committee dismissed the application for annulment of the award and lifted the order that had frozen its enforcement.

The committee further rejected all other claims or contentions of the parties. This means that Kenya will seek to recover from the claimants US $ 3,548,990.35.

Kenya was represented by Attorney General Kihara Kariuki, Solicitor General Kennedy Ogeto, Deputy Solicitor General Njeri Wachira, Deputy Chief State Counsel Emmanuel Bitta, Deputy Chief State Counsel Christine K. Omwakwe and senior state counsel Charles Wamwayi and Ms Sheila Mammet, as well as Queen's Counsel Michael Sullivan and Dr Henry Forbes Smith of One Essex Court.
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Long before Tyrone, Jermaine and Darnell came along, there were Isaac, Abe and Prince.

A new study reveals the earliest evidence of distinctively Black first names in the United States, finding them arising in the early 1700s and then becoming increasingly common in the late 1700s and early 1800s.

The results confirm previous work that shows the use of Black names didn't start during the civil rights movement of the 1960s, as some scholars have argued, said Trevon Logan, co-author of the study and professor of economics at The Ohio State University.

"Even during slavery, Black people had names that were unlikely to be held by whites. It is not just a recent phenomenon," Logan said.

Logan conducted the study with Lisa Cook of Michigan State University and John Parman of the College of William and Mary. It was published online this month in the journal Historical Methods.

The study focuses on names for Black males, partly because earlier research suggests less distinctiveness of Black women's names historically.

This research is a follow-up to a 2014 study by the same researchers that found distinctive Black names were being used in the period following the Civil War.

It was more difficult to find records that document the names of the enslaved, Logan said. Many official records only list slaves as numbers without names.

The researchers found three sources that did contain the names of enslaved people in the United States. Two of the three sources also included the names of the buyers or sellers of the enslaved, which allowed comparisons between Black and white names. The researchers supplemented the evidence of racial name distinctiveness by analyzing white names in the 1850 Census.

The names given Blacks in the United States were distinctively African American, Logan said. None of them had roots in Africa. Many of them had Biblical origins, like Abraham and Isaac. Other Black names that appeared more frequently in one or more of the data sets included Titus and Prince.

Results showed a clear increase in the use of Black names over the period of the study. In one data set, 3.17% of enslaved males born between 1770 to 1790 were likely to hold a Black name, but that increased to 4.5% of those born between 1810 and 1830.

And they were truly distinctive from white people. Depending on the data source, enslaved people were more than four to nine times as likely to have a Black name than was a slave owner.

The appearance of distinctively Black names wasn't only the result of more African Americans using them, Logan said.

"Our results suggest a strong decline in the use of Black names among whites over time," he said. "The actions of both Black and white people fed into the process that resulted in distinctive Black names."

For white people born before 1770, more than 4.75% held Black names, but that declined to less than 2% for those born from 1810 to 1830.

Many of the Black names identified in this study were the same that the researchers found in the post-Civil War period, but there were some differences.

"Post-emancipation we found more Blacks being named Master and Freeman, which for obvious reasons were not found in the antebellum era," Logan said.

While this study revealed the existence and growth of Black names in the United States, it can't answer why it happened, Logan said.

"We believe these naming practices could say something about culture, about family, and about social formation among Black people of the time," Logan said.

"But we don't have any records of people talking about it at the time, so we're not sure. We know there's this pattern, but we can't say for sure what it means."

###

Contact: Trevon Logan, Logan.155@osu.edu

Written by Jeff Grabmeier, 614-292-8457; Grabmeier.1#@osu.edu
Prawns, oysters, lobsters are all highly prized on the shellfish popularity stakes but it baffles me why mussels dont seem to be revered in the same way. This week, at my local fishmonger, Ballycotton Seafood, a 1-kilo net bag of spanking-fresh Glenbeigh mussels for 5. So few euros for such a burst of deliciousness  plus mussels have the most impressive nutrient profile of all shellfish.

They boost our immune system and are properly sustainable. They are cultivated on ropes suspended from floating rafts in the clean waters of various bays around the Irish coastline. They appear to be environmentally benign and some research seems to indicate that their cultivation has a beneficial effect on the marine ecosystem.

Of course, there are wild populations too, but for most, the sweet plump cultivated mussels are easier to come by. Cheap and super easy to cook, plus they take on flavours from every continent around the globe. Mussels are the quintessential fast food: from fridge to table in less than five minutes. A simple supper of warm freshly-steamed mussels with a bowl of mayo and some brown soda bread is one of my all-time favourites. I still dream of those large green-tipped mussels I enjoyed over and over again in New Zealand.

But first a few basics

Mussels must be fresh  each shell should be tightly shut. If it is open, tap the mussel lightly on the worktop  if it reacts and begins to close it is obviously still fresh and alive. 'But if in doubt, throw it out'.

Mussels like clams, roghans, cockles, palourdes are all bivalves  they filter the water so the water needs to be unpolluted.

All mussels you buy will have been purified as a precaution, so no need to be apprehensive.

Store them in your fridge and enjoy while they are fresh and plump.

How to cook:

Pick over the shells, if there are any open ones that dont close after a gentle tap, discard. Run under cold water, drain. At its most basic, put in a saute or a heavy frying pan or a saucepan in a single layer over a medium heat. One can add a dash of white wine, chopped shallots and herbs, depending on the recipe. Cover with a lid. In two or three minutes the mussels will start to open. Lift out with a perforated spoon. Remove the beard  the beard is the little tuft of tough hair that attaches the mussel onto the rock or rope that it grows on. Its not good to eat but is not dangerous. The mussels will exude lots of delicious briny juice which can be the basis of a sauce or chowder.

In Belgium, moules frites are the must have dish in every bistro. Sitting around a table, tucking into crispy chips with a big bowl of freshly-opened mussels and some mayo is a quintessential Belgian experience. In France, Moules Mariniere in a richer sauce are equally irresistible. Moules Provencal or garlic mussels in English are universally loved by everyone from toddlers upwards.

Mussels take on Asian flavours deliciously so here is a recipe for Thai mussels in a spicy coconut broth  completely irresistible. And then how about mussels in the Goan style from South India and how about mussels with Mexican flavours that will include jalapeno, chorizo and maybe tequila. Chinese mussels will be steamed open with Shaoxing wine, soy sauce with lots of ginger, chillies and spring onions and maybe oyster sauce. Japanese mussels will also be teased open in Saki, but try Dynamite mussels which seem to pop up everywhere in Japan. The name refers to the burst of flavour from the topping. These suggestions are just the tip of the iceberg. Pick up some Irish mussels next time you go shopping and start to experiment with recipes from around the world. Here are a few to get you started.

Moules Mariniere

Serves 4

Curnonsky, France's Prince of Gastronomes, declared that Brittany is a paradise for concylliophages. Apparently, that unpronounceable word means shellfish eaters. Ever since I discovered the word I've been longing to use it but haven't managed to get my tongue around it yet! The legendary mussel dish, Moules Mariniere can now be found not only in this area but all over the world  anywhere mussels are produced.

1.8kg (4 lbs) scrubbed mussels, weighed in their shells

2 teaspoons chopped parsley

2 teaspoons chopped spring onions

1 teaspoon chopped thyme leaves

1 teaspoon chopped chives

2 teaspoons chopped fennel

225ml (8 fl ozs) dry white wine

4 tablespoons (5 American tablespoons) Hollandaise Sauce (see recipe)

Garnish

freshly chopped parsley

Check that all the mussels are tightly closed and wash well in several changes of water. Steam open on a medium heat with the wine, herbs. and spring onions. Take the mussels out of the pan just as soon as the shells open. Remove the 'beard' and one shell from each. They can be kept at this stage for some time, even for a day or two in the fridge, as long as they sit in the cooking liquid.

To Serve

Heat the cooking juices. When boiling, add the mussels, allowing them to heat through but not to cook any more. Remove from the heat and stir in the Hollandaise Sauce. Serve at once in deep old-fashioned soup bowls, sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley.

Mussels in the Goan Style

This is a great recipe in that most of the work can be done early in the day or even the day before.

The mussels can be replaced with clams, shrimp or monkfish and a combination of fish and shellfish may be used. Thick pieces of pollock also work well, as do salmon and mackerel.

Plain boiled rice can be served with this dish or just crusty bread to mop up the delicious broth.

Serves 6

72 mussels

a 2.5cm (1 inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

8 cloves of peeled garlic

110ml (4fl oz) of water

4 tablespoons of vegetable oil

200g (7oz) onion, peeled and chopped

1-2 fresh chilies, sliced into fine rounds

1/2 teaspoon of turmeric

2 teaspoons of ground cumin

1 1/2 tins (1 pint/600ml) of coconut milk

salt

fresh coriander leaves

Wash the mussels, removing any loose beards. Put the ginger, garlic and water into a blender and blend to a smooth puree.

Heat the oil in a large pot and add the onions. Cook until translucent. Add the ginger and garlic puree, chillies, turmeric and cumin. Stir and cook for a minute. Add the coconut milk and a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. This broth can now be put aside for later.

When you want to serve the dish, put the mussels into the pan with the broth. Cover and place on a moderate heat and allow to come to the boil. Shake the pan occasionally and cook for approx.6 minutes. Check to see that all the mussels have popped open. Serve immediately with lots of fresh coriander leaves.

If using monkfish, bring the broth to the boil and add the collops of monkfish. If using any of the other suggested fish, cut into 5cm (2 inch) pieces. Cover and simmer gently for approximately 5 minutes or until the fish is just cooked. It will no longer look opaque but will have a white and creamy appearance. Serve in deep bowls garnished with coriander leaves.

Mussels: a perennial favourite

Moules Provencale

Mussels are a perennial favourite; don't skimp on the garlic in this recipe or they will taste rather dull and 'bready'.

Serves 6-8

48 mussels, approx. 600g (1 1/4lbs)

Provencale Butter

75g (3oz) soft butter

2 large cloves of garlic

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

1 tablespoon olive oil

fresh, white breadcrumbs

Check that all the mussels are closed. Scrape off any barnacles from the mussel shells. Wash the mussels well in several changes of cold water. Then spread them in a single layer in a pan, covered with a folded tea towel or a lid and cook over a gentle heat. This usually takes 2-3 minutes, the mussels are cooked just as soon as the shells open. Remove them from the pan immediately or they will shrink in size and become tough.

Remove the beard. Discard one shell. Loosen the mussel from the other shell, but leave it in the shell. Allow to get quite cold.

Meanwhile, make the Provencale Butter. Peel and crush the garlic and pound it in a mortar with the finely chopped parsley and olive oil. Gradually beat in the butter (this may be done either in a bowl or a food processor). Spread the soft garlic butter evenly over the mussels in the shells and dip each one into the soft, white breadcrumbs. They may be prepared ahead to this point and frozen in a covered box lined with parchment paper.

Arrange in individual serving dishes. Brown under the grill and serve with crusty white bread to mop up the delicious garlicky juices.

Mussels with Thai Flavours

We love this recipe. Use some of your precious fresh lime leaves to enhance the flavour. Cockles, clams or collops of monkfish can also be used.

Serves 4  6

2 kg mussels

2 tablespoon sunflower oil

6 cloves garlic

1-2 Thai red chillies

1 stalk lemongrass, chopped

3 kaffir lime leaves

1 tablespoon fish sauce, nam pla

3-4 tablespoons chopped coriander

Check the mussels carefully, discard any broken or open shells. Wash well, drain. Crush the garlic and chop the chillies finely. Heat a little oil on a medium heat, add the garlic and chilli and lemongrass and fry for a minute or two.

Add the nam pla and kaffir lime leaves and then the mussels. Cover with a folded tea-towel or the lid of the pan. The mussels will open in just a few minutes.

Add the chopped coriander to the mussel juices. Divide the mussels between four hot plates, pour the hot juices over the shellfish and serve immediately.

Goks Chinese Mussels with Black Bean Sauce

Serves 4

2 tablespoons groundnut oil

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced

2 sticks of celery, finely sliced at an angle

3 spring onions, finely sliced into rounds

1.5kg fresh mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded

75ml Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry

2 tablespoons black beans, soaked in water for 10 minutes and drained

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

1 tablespoon dark soy sauce

Heat the groundnut oil in a wok or saucepan with a tight-fitting lid over a medium heat. When hot, add the garlic, celery and spring onions. Stir-fry these vegetables for 1  2 minutes until they are soft and beginning to colour.

Increase the heat to maximum and add the mussels, stirring so they are coated with the rest of the ingredients. Once they are combined, pour in the Shaoxing rice wine and immediately cover the wok with a lid.

Leave the mussels to cook for 4  5 minutes. Mussels are cooked when they have opened to reveal the coral-coloured flesh on the inside. Do not eat any that remain closed. As soon as the mussels are opened, tip the entire contents of the wok into a sieve set over a bowl, shaking they mixture to make sure all the liquid has drained through.

Place the wok back on the heat over a low flame, then pour the sieved liquid back into the wok and bring back to the boil. Once its bubbling, add the black beans, oyster and soy sauce. Cook for 4  5 minutes to reduce the mixture by a quarter.

Put the mussels back in the wok, along with all the other ingredients gathered in the sieve. Heat through and serve immediately.

Recipe from Gok Wans Gok Cooks Chinese Published by Penguin)

Hot Tips

Zoes Ghana Kitchen, by Zoe Adjonyoh

Zoe Adjonyohs beautiful smiling face beams from the cover of her new cookbook. Zoes Ghana Kitchen is an introduction to a new emerging African gastronomy, steadily gaining recognition from the global food community. Zoe has Irish connections, she speaks warmly of Easter and Summer holidays spent in West Cork, building a treehouse, digging potatoes and collecting mussels from the beach at Bantry Bay. Her enthusiasm and obvious culinary talents are irresistible. Try her recipe for Steamed Mussels in Groundnut Oil on page 156  a delicious Ghanian-Irish crossover.

Calling All Cheese Lovers

Food writers Patrick Hanlon and Russell Alford (aka Gastrogays) have announced that they are on the lookout for Irelands most comforting cheese recipes where one winner will receive Irelands Blue Book Hotels vouchers worth 2,000, plus there are two runners-up prizes. Competition closes on April 9, 2021, send your entries to cheeseyourway.ie/competition

Easter Fun for the Kids with Darina Allen  Free Online Cookalong

Join me on Tuesday, March 30, 2021 at 11am for a fun Easter themed Kids Cookalong. Lots of irresistible recipes that the whole family will love, Easter Egg nests, Chicken Wings with Sweet Chilli sauce, Easter Bunny Crumpets and lots moreBook this free event at ballymaloecookeryschool.online or call 021 4646785
Syracuse, NY  Syracuses top two law enforcement officials on Thursday expressed concern that a 23-year-old woman facing four different felonies was free from jail at the time shes accused of murdering a 93-year-old woman at Skyline Apartments.

Victoria Afet, 23, was released on a robbery charge by City Court Judge Felicia Pitts Davis a week before Connie Tuoris death in late February, Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard revealed Thursday morning.

At a noon news conference, Syracuse Police Chief Kenton Buckner was careful to not blame anybody in particular for Afets release from jail, but noted that people charged with violent crimes arent supposed to be roaming the streets.

Thats what jails were built for, the chief said in announcing Afets murder arrest.

Victoria Afet, 23, of Syracuse, is pictured in this undated selfie.Provided

Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick noted that rules prohibited him from criticizing a judge. And he did not name Pitts Davis during his remarks.

But the DA pointed out that prosecutors had asked Afet to be held in jail on $50,000 bail a week before Tuoris death. The judge decided to release her with no bail.

Thats a big difference of opinion, Fitzpatrick noted.

One of us was seriously wrong, the DA said. I think we now know who was wrong.

While bail reform was discussed by both the DA and police chief, Fitzpatrick made it clear that the judge had the power in this case under bail reform to keep Afet locked up before Tuoris murder.

Under bail reform, a judge can keep someone locked up if that person has a pending charge at the time of a new arrest, so long as both the new and old charges each involve harm to people.

Afet was facing a robbery charge in mid February, accused of biting a 74-year-old woman at Skyline Apartments and stealing $38. She was already facing accusations in 2020 that included: slamming someones head against a tree, threatening someones life while flashing a serrated knife and injuring someone with a knife outside a store.

In this case, bail reform wasnt the problem, the DA concluded: The same judge would likely have made the same judgment call even before bail reform.

Read more

Accused Skyline killer followed 93-year-old victim into her apartment, police say. What happened next still a mystery

Woman charged in slaying of 93-year-old woman in Syracuses Skyline Apartments

Skyline murder suspect was accused of attacking other woman, 74, in same building and freed a day later

Skyline Apartments to hire off-duty Syracuse cops for extra security after womans murder

Walsh says hes exploring legal action against Skyline owners: Its public nuisance No. 1

Elderly murder victims family on Skyline squalor: Did they get away with this because who owns it?

Connie Tuori, 93, survived Afghanistan, Antarctica and African safari, only to be killed in her Syracuse apartment

Family IDs 93-year-old woman murdered in Skyline Apartments

Inside Tim Greens Skyline Apartments: Murder, drugs and filth. Tenants, cops say enough is enough

Woman killed at Skyline Apartments on James Street

Police, tenants push football legend Tim Greens firm to fix nightmare apartments

Staff writer Douglass Dowty can be reached at ddowty@syracuse.com or 315-470-6070.
Defaming and boycotting Xinjiangs cotton while hoping to make money off China? Dont even dream about it! - This is Chinese consumers reaction to the H&M's statement on Xinjiang.

In a statement last year, H&M, the worlds second-biggest clothing retailer, said it did not source cotton from Xinjiang

.

We do not work with any garment manufacturing factories located in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, and we do not source products from this region, the company said.

So far, H&M products were removed from all major Chinese e-commerce platforms, including JD, Taobao, and Pinduoduo.



While China is H&Ms fourth-largest market, the company has 520 stores in China, second only to the United States, where it has 593 outlets.



China produces 22 per cent of the worlds cotton, of which 84 per cent comes from Xinjiang, according to a report by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

The backlash against H&M came just a day after a flurry of sanctions

between China and the United States, the European Union, Britain and Canada over treatment of people from ethnic minorities in Xinjiang.



In one popular Weibo post, an internet user said he resigned after reading the companys statement.

As a long-time employee, I am taking the initiative of resigning, bye bye H&M, read the post, which was liked more than 200,000 times.



Xinjiang was also on the agenda in Alaska last week when top US officials took China to task over its human rights record. Chinas foreign policy chief Yang Jiechi mounted a tough defence, saying the United States was not qualified to be condescending when speaking to China.

Two of Yangs phrases  we Chinese people dont buy it, and stop interfering in Chinas internal politics  became popular memes online.



Some Chinese celebrities were also quick to cut ties with H&M. Actor Huang Xuan said on Wednesday that he had ended all business dealings with the Swedish clothing company.



Huang Xuan and his team resolutely oppose any form of behaviour that defames and maligns China and human rights! he said.
Subscriber content preview

SEATTLE  An apartment building at 2229 42nd Ave. S.W. sold for $4.3 million, according to King County records.

The seller was the Stanford family, which had owned the property for decades.





. . .
Aditya Atholi graduated from Center High School and Rice University. He has worked at the local, state and federal levels of government. He is a former Marine artillery officer who currently lives and works in Deep East Texas.
Azrieli Group Releases Q4/2020 and Y2020 Results USA - English USA - English

- Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown imposed during most of the quarter, the NOI in the quarter totaled NIS 224 million and the FFO totaled NIS 213 million

- The NOI in 2020 totaled NIS 1.2 billion and the FFO totaled NIS 999 million

- In the offices segment, new contracts have been signed since the beginning of the year for 169 thousand sqm, up 9% on average

- The Company's Board approved the distribution of a NIS 450 million dividend, and is expected to discuss another distribution of up to NIS 150 million later in the 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.
Aussie Broadband managing director Phillip Britt said he is disappointed by the proposals emerging from the NBN 2021 pricing review.

According to Britt, the proposals were "not even remotely close" to Aussie Broadband's hopes.

The key problem is that they do not reflect Australia's increasing demand for data.

"Due to the significant growth the industry has experienced in the last 12 months, and the fact that usage has not returned to pre-COVID levels, we believe that the proposed changes are wholly inadequate to support the needs of the RSP's and ultimately, Australian broadband users," said Britt.

By the time the proposals come into effect in May 2022, traffic would be significantly higher again, he predicted.

Citing ACCC figures, Aussie Broadband were not even remotely close to what the company is looking for. said the pre-COVID growth in average broadband usage was 16% year on year, accelerating to 27% in 2020.

"What we're seeing here at Aussie Broadband is actually 35% above industry usage, and as a result, this is putting even more pressure on our margins," said Britt.

Aussie Broadband's submission to NBN proposed a three-phase solution.

 Reinstate a COVID-19 style rebate to give RSPs the certainty and confidence to continue to facilitate growth in the market and promote high speed services to the benefit of all.

 Work towards increasing the bundled CVC allowance for high-speed tiers to further encourage RSPs to provide quality services to end users. Aussie Broadband believes NBN Co should include an allocation of 10Mbps of CVC per TC-4 high-speed bundle (100/20Mbps and up).

 Scrap CVC entirely and move to a single access charge based on the speed tier chosen, with no usage or CVC component, as is the practice in countries such as New Zealand.

While usage continues to rise and NBN keeps charging for bandwidth volume in the form of CVC, the only choice RSPs have is to raise prices or reduce service levels, said Britt.

This is a particular problem for companies such as Aussie Broadband that have made a selling point of having enough capacity at each POI to provide customers with good speeds during peak periods.

"The telco industry has effectively come off 12 months of not having to worry about CVC, other than network traffic during COVID," he said.

"The NBN proved during the pandemic that it completely supported the needs of both the industry and consumers, and we're looking for this support to continue. We believe this is in the interest of all Australians."
ATHENS (Reuters) - The European Union must ensure "credible implementation" of a dual-track approach to relations with Turkey, mixing the prospect of deeper trade ties with a threat of economic sanctions, Greece's prime minister said on Wednesday.

EU leaders are set at a summit this week to spell out its proposed offer of closer economic links, mixed with threats if Ankara moves against the bloc's interests, according to a draft statement seen by Reuters.

But Greece is at loggerheads with Turkey over a number of issues, including the ethnically divided island of Cyprus, and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis discussed the EU stance on Turkey with Cypriot President Nikos Anastasiades on Wednesday. Both Greece and Cyprus are members of the EU.

"We agreed with the (Cypriot) President that at tomorrow 's European Council our two countries, as well as the union as a whole, must insist on the credible implementation of the dual track approach," Mitsotakis said after meeting Anastasiades on the sidelines of bicentennial celebrations of Greece's independence from the Ottoman empire in 1821.

Thursday's EU summit will build on a report by EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell and the executive European Commission which was released on Tuesday and calls for "modernisation and expansion of the scope of the current EU-Turkey customs union".

Anastasiades said any decision or announcement at the summit "should be fully consistent with the report of the European Commission and Borrell".

Greece's relations with Turkey deteriorated last year over territorial issues and energy resources in the Eastern Mediterranean. Cyprus has been split between a Greek Cypriot south and a Turkish Cypriot north since a Turkish invasion triggered by a brief Greek-inspired coup in 1974.

In an attempt to ease tensions, Turkey has withdrawn its research ships from the Cypriot sea zones and an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Story continues

"This fact is not insignificant. However, it remains to be seen whether it will last," Mitsotakis said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu urged the EU before the summit to take steps to improve the positive momentum in ties.

(Reporting by James Mackenzie and Lefteris Papadimas, Editing by Timothy Heritage)

New Delhi, March 25 : The NIA on Thursday said that it has carried out searches at three locations in West Bengal and neighboring Jharkhand in connection with its probe into the blast at the Bengal's Nimtita railway station in which a state minister was injured along with over two dozen others.

A National Investigation Agency (NIA) spokesperson here said that the anti-terror probe agency carried out searches at three locations in West Bengal and Jharkhand on Wednesday - at the premises of Biyon Sk. and Mohammudin Sk. aka Mohan Kasai in West Bengal's Murshidabad and at the premises of accused Shahidul Islam at Jharkhand's West Singhbhum.

The official said that the agency has seized several incriminating documents and electronic items.

The NIA has taken over the probe of the February 17 bomb blast at Nimtita railway station on March 2.

The case was initially registered at the Azimganj GRPS in Murshidabad after the incident that resulted in grevious injury to 27 persons including state Minister Jakir Hossain.
Megachurch Pastor John Gray offers prayers for Derrick Jaxn amid cheating scandal

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

Megachurch Pastor John Gray has offered prayers to embattled Christian relationship guru Derrick Jaxn who's facing backlash after he confessed to being unfaithful to his wife multiple times during his marriage.

Grays prayer for Jaxn, which was highlighted by The Shade Room on Instagram, comes despite previous criticism from Jaxn, when he faced public criticism over allegations of infidelity in his own marriage in recent years.

Hey Derrick. You remember when I responded to your words about me? Remember when I posted videos about you? Neither do I. To be clear, Ive slept with one woman in my life. My wife. But that DOES NOT ABSOLVE ME OF THE WRONG I DID. Any interaction or communication with anyone was wrong. My failures are mine and I have gone through  and continue to  go through counseling to address the vast empty places that led me to behavior that is antithetical to how I was raised and what I believe. Ive learned in life that everyone gets a turn. When it was mine, I didnt obfuscate my wrong by addressing what I knew about others. I kept others names out of my mouth. Maybe it would be wise to do the same, Gray wrote. One more thing, I sincerely pray for you and your family to heal. I know how people throw you away. I will never do to another man what was done to me. May you receive the grace I didnt receive from others. May you rise to be a better man. One moment will not define your life.

In early 2020, Gray, who leads Relentless Church in Greenville, South Carolina, publicly revealed he had wanted to end his life and received prayer from Bishop T.D. Jakes as allegations of infidelity clouded his marriage. Prior to that, he told his congregation that his wife, Aventer, discovered that he had started listening to the wrong voices and let some people get too close  she set it off just like a good wife should.

Aventer Gray then revealed to their congregation that one of those wrong voices belonged to a strange woman, whom she fought off with prayer and Scripture.

In the summer of 2020, the megachurch pastor was also accused of another inappropriate relationship, but his lawyers argued that he was being blackmailed.

Jaxn, who is known for preaching that black men shouldnt cheat and presented himself as a model mate while doling out advice on what women deserved, heavily criticized Gray and accused him of manipulating his church and his followers.

On Monday, however, Jaxn publicly told his millions of followers on social media, with his wife Da'Naia by his side, that he was far from the ideal mate he presented himself to be after he was exposed by vlogger Tasha K.

Tasha K. interviewed a woman identified as Candice De Medeiros on Friday, who said she had an affair with Jaxn. She alleged that Jaxn told her he was separated from his wife of four years and that he planned a lavish Miami trip in July last year during which they had sex. She claimed that he also took her to his marital home in Atlanta, where they also connected while his family was away.

The truth is, and Im saying it here now, is that Derek Jackson was involved with other women outside the marriage," Jaxn stated in his confession. "And by involved, I want to be clear: Im not just talking about casually kicking it maybe at lunch or something like that. Im talking about as serious as sex, sexual flirtation and that kind of thing.

All of it falls under the umbrella of inappropriate, cheating, affairs, stepping out. Definitely not in line with the vows that I took and definitely not in the line with the biblical standard of what it means to be faithful, which is the standard that Im going by now, he said.

Asked by The Shade Room about his hypocrisy in calling out Gray for cheating on his wife when he was doing the same, Jaxn admitted to being prideful and egotistical.

When it came to John Gray, I dont want to make a separation because ultimately, were not different from each other. My sin is not greater than his, any of that stuff, he said.

He was going at the church talking about this strange woman. His wife was saying I put holy water on this strange woman. I personally felt that was manipulation. I personally felt like putting everything on the women and not on John Gray was manipulation to a church and playing organs and stuff like that. Again, from a place of pride, its so easy to call out somebody else whenever you got your own situation, he said. I have no place to sit there and judge the person. So if I did that, that was wrong. It was out of alignment, that was clown behavior. Egotistical, he said.

He further explained that 2020 was his lowest year but it was really what I needed.

For years, Ive been coming down on the hammer with people. Play no games, take no prisoners when it comes to certain things. And let me tell you something, for everybody listening out there man, you can believe in something so fervently that it develops a sense of pride and pride comes before the fall. And whenever you have pride and youre in a space God has allowed you to be, He has called you to be, but youre not doing it the right way, God will humble you, Jaxn said.
The horrific fire that swept through the massive Coxs Bazar refugee camps in Bangladesh on Monday constitutes an indictment not only of the Bangladeshi authorities, but of capitalist governments around the world. From South Asia and Australia to Europe and the United States, governments, whether nominally left or openly right-wing, have subjected tens of millions of desperate and impoverished people fleeing oppression and poverty to barbaric persecution.

The blaze, whose cause remains under investigation, rapidly consumed squalid shanties that house a million Rohingya refugees who fled the murderous operations of the military in neighbouring Myanmar. The fire gutted some 10,000 dwellings as well as community centres, schools and other structures, leaving as many as 60,000 homeless and in need of food, water, shelter and medicine.

Rohingya refugee camp in flames in Balukhali, southern Bangladesh, Monday, March 22, 2021. The fire destroyed hundreds of shelters and left thousands homeless. (AP Photo/ Shafiqur Rahman)

As of this writing, 15 people are confirmed dead, but the number could rapidly rise as at least 400 people, mostly children, are still missing. Another 560 people were injured.

Barbed wire fencing surrounding the camps hindered people fleeing the fire and contributed to the terrible toll. Lack of water enabled the fire to spread unchecked until it was finally brought under control by firefighters some six hours later.

Bangladeshs refugee commissioner, Shah Rezwan Hayat, had dismissed calls by international humanitarian agencies for the removal of the fences, absurdly claiming that their erection was to ensure the safety and security of the Rohingya people. In reality, the barbed wire surrounds what can only be characterized as a huge concentration camp, imprisoning hundreds of thousands of people without access to the most basic services, including clean water and sanitation.

The Bangladeshi government has treated the Rohingya refugees with outright hostility, tarring them as criminals and scapegoating them for the countrys lack of essential services. After attempting to block them from entering the country, then detaining them in shocking conditions in the Coxs Bazar camps, it is now seeking to force them into permanent accommodation on Bhasan Char Island, an isolated, unstable, flood- and cyclone-prone mud flat, or compel them to return to Myanmar, with no guarantees for their safety.

More than 700,000 of the refugees currently in Bangladesh fled Myanmar in 2017 after the military launched systematic attacks on the Muslim Rohingya minority, carrying out murder, rape and the burning of villages. In 2018, Andrew Gilmour, the UN assistant secretary-general for human rights, characterized the militarys operations as ethnic cleansing.

Myanmars de-facto government leader at the time, Aung San Suu Kyi, who had been universally hailed in the West as an icon of democracy, defended the militarys atrocities, appearing at the International Court of Justice in 2019 to deny the irrefutable evidence of human rights abuses. Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy, like the military, are mired in Burmese Buddhist chauvinism and brand the Rohingya as illegal immigrants, even though they have lived in the country for centuries.

Unlike the countrys other ethnic groups, the Rohingya have no citizenship rights and are thus reduced to the status of a stateless minority, not welcome in Myanmar, Bangladesh or anywhere else in the world.

The responsibility for this weeks terrible fire rests not just with the ruling elites in Bangladesh and Myanmar, but with the ruling classes around the world, which have shut their borders and vilified refugees and immigrants.

Not surprisingly, the blaze that swept through the Coxs Bazar detention camps has been all but ignored in the US and international media. No offers of aid have come from Western governments to assist in rehousing, feeding and supplying medical care.

While the brutal treatment of the Rohingya in Myanmar is recognized as a crime against humanity, the victims are treated with indifference and contempt. Should they seek a better life in the advanced capitalist countries, they are met with guns, prison cells and detention camps.

The Rohingya are part of the surging tide of humanity forced to flee war, oppression and poverty produced by the deepening crisis of global capitalism. According to the latest UN statistics, dating from 2019, there are at least 79.5 million stateless people around the world, many of them confined in fetid, crowded refugee camps in economically backward countries like Bangladesh.

The callous treatment of the Rohingya by the Bangladeshi government is paralleled in countries around the world. The Biden administration is just as intent as was Trump in blocking the entry of refugees fleeing oppression and poverty in Latin America produced by more than a century of plunder by US imperialism. Those who reach the border, including some 15,000 unaccompanied children, are treated as criminals and locked up.

The European powers have instituted measures to police their land and sea borders, leading to mass drownings in the Mediterranean.

Australian governments pioneered the use of the Navy to block refugees by sea and indefinitely incarcerate arrivals in offshore detention centres. Thousands have been confined to remote Pacific islands for years, without any possibility of Australian residency even if granted refugee status.

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly intensified the global crisis of capitalism and all its contradictions, accelerating the drive to war, the resort to police state measures and authoritarian and fascist forms of rule, and the relentless assault on the social position of the working class.

The toxic fumes of nationalism and xenophobia that are being whipped up by every ruling class are intended to turn explosive social tensions outwardseither by scapegoating some of the worlds most vulnerable people as illegal aliens, or beating the drums of war against an external enemy.

The failure of governments to recognize the basic democratic right to asylum is another demonstration that there is no constituency in ruling circles in any country for the defence of democratic rights.

The global pandemic, however, is producing an upsurge in the class struggle, as workers oppose the attempts by governments and corporations to force them to work in unsafe and unhealthy workplaces, and to accept deep inroads into their jobs, conditions and wages in order to boost profits.

As the world hurtles towards war and economic disaster, workers need to reject the poison of nationalism and racism, unite their struggles internationally, and defend the rights of every section of working people, including the millions of refugees being persecuted across the globe.
American culture is a grand mix of the old and the not so old, as we all know. As is true in other cultures, including the island culture here Read more
Second half 2020 turnover soars 33%, major international successes with the first 1m-plus foreign contract;

H2 2020 operating loss half that of H1, thereby confirming the turning point in the Group's trajectory towards operational profitability, expected in H2 2021;

23m cash and cash equivalents at December 31, 2020, thanks to efficient cost management while continuing to invest strategically in the Group's offering and sales network;

Sustained revenue growth buoyed by investments in the partner network and development of high-potential business solutions in healthcare and manufacturing.



Paris, March 25, 2021 - WALLIX (Euronext ALLIX), a European cybersecurity software developer and expert in privileged access management (PAM), announces its 2020 full-year earnings[1].

000

French GAAP 2019 H1 2020 H2 2020 2020 Turnover 16,335 8,091 11,981 20,072 Other operating income

(capitalized production, subsidies, etc.) 4,196 2,456 3,073 5,529 Total operating income 20,531 10,547 15,054 25,601 Total operating expenses (27,369) (15,675) (17,238) (32,913) o/w Other operating expenses (7,158) (3,671) (4,171) (7,842) o/w Payroll (16,304) (9,945) (10,996) (20,941) o/w Depreciation, amortization and provisions (3,117) (1,689) (1,548) (3,237) Operating profit/(loss) (6,837) (5,128) (2,184) (7,312) Net financial income/(expense) (5) (13) (15) (28) Non-recurring income/(expense) (2) 33 7 40 Tax 0 (18) (2) (20) Net profit/(loss) (6,845) (5,126) (2,194) (7,319)



Jean-Noel de Galzain, Chairman of the WALLIX GROUP Management Board, said: "2020 results, especially the second half trend, have vindicated the merits of our market positioning and the strategic decisions we took under the Ambition 2021 plan. Although the pandemic has temporarily slowed revenue growth, we managed to stay on course and pursue our roadmap in terms of the solutions portfolio and rolling out a top-class sales and partner network destined to cover 80% of the world market.

Our strategy is certainly paying off, as borne out by countless contract wins in key sectors including essential services, healthcare, manufacturing and telecoms, as well as the cybersecurity market's highly promising underlying trend. The COVID crisis has given an unprecedented boost to the digital transition among private individuals and businesses alike. This surge in new online habits has ushered in more cyberattacks, which quadrupled in 2020 with sometimes devastating consequences for victims.

The switch to "all digital" also raises sovereignty issues given our high dependence on non-European tech providers. The 1 billion plan announced by President Macron on February 18 is supposed to bolster France's cybersecurity and make our industry a top priority European investment sector over the coming decade. This will foster the emergence of new tech champions to guide us through this new era of trusted digital solutions underpinning IoT and big data. WALLIX will have a leading and driving role when it comes to building an alternative European cybersecurity offering aimed at helping users take back control of access and data in a digital world."



2020 turnover surged 23% to 20.1 million, including a growth upswing in the second half

WALLIX posted 2020 turnover of 20.1 million, up 23% year-on-year. This robust performance amid an environment still impacted by the health crisis reflects dynamic momentum in the second half (up 33%), driven by international operations and key sectors such as healthcare and manufacturing.

France continued to grow with turnover leaping 20% to 13.2 million. The Group was boosted by growing demand from SMEs. Key accounts, which had adopted a wait-and-see approach when COVID peaked, gradually gained momentum towards year-end as projects were launched under major previously signed contracts representing 6.9 million in 2020 billings. WALLIX estimates the potential turnover from these key account equipment contracts to be worth 18.1 million over the next three years (2021-2023).

International turnover surged 29% to 6.9 million. WALLIX started to reap the rewards of the investments made under the strategic plan (developing the office network in Germany, UK and Spain and expanding the partner network in target markets). The UK won the first 1 million-plus contract outside France.

A key strategic source of growth for WALLIX, 2020 recurring business soared 33% to 8.5 million. Recurring business accounted for 42% of 2020 turnover, up from 39% in 2019. In addition to the impact of the expanding client base on maintenance revenues, WALLIX posted an 80% increase in subscription revenues (SaaS mode license subscriptions), while managed services revenues doubled. At December 31, 2020, the Group estimates the future value of the subscription contracts billed in 2020 to be 3.9 million over three years.



Turning point in the Group's trajectory towards operating profits

Despite an uncertain market in H1 2020, the Group chose to pursue and finalize its growth investments, particularly abroad, by opening sales offices in Italy and Spain and strengthening its operations in the DACH region, in accordance with the strategic plan. These investments swelled 2020 full-year operating costs by 20%, less than revenue growth. Payroll expenses also rose sharply in line with the increase in staff numbers (38 new employees versus 2019). Other operating expenses rose only by 10%.

Strict cost control in relation to revenue growth resulted in the Group's operating loss shrinking to 2.2 million in H2 2020 from 3.1 million in H2 2019 and 5.1 million in H1 2020.

Full-year 2020 operating loss came in at 7.3 million, down from 6.8 million in 2019. Net loss Group share was equal to the 7.3 million net operating loss.



Strategy underpinned by financial strength

Operating cash flow improved sharply to a 0.9 million outflow (2019: 3.1m outflow), due to a favorable 3.2 million change in working capital. Cash flows from investing activities amounted to a 5.6 million outflow, primarily related to the R&D costs involved in finalizing new offerings.

At December 31, 2020, gross cash and cash equivalents amounted to 23.2 million versus 29.3 million at December 31, 2019. With 19.4 million net cash and cash equivalents and 25.3 million equity, WALLIX has the financial resources it needs to pursue growth and seize any acquisition opportunities.



2021 ramp-up in growth and H2 profit target

WALLIX is currently faced by a particularly promising market. Due to the health crisis, organizations and individuals have completely transformed their relationship with digital technology and its uses, opening the door to new risks with a proliferation of cyberattacks. To ensure the long-term viability of these new uses, users and companies must make investment in cybersecurity a priority, as underlined by leading market analysts such as KuppingerCole and Gartner, which predict an average annual growth rate of 10.7% for the PAM market over the 2020-2024 period [2], leading to a $2.9 billion global market in 2024.

WALLIX is ideally positioned to take advantage of the growth of the sector, which features among the strategic priorities of the French government's billion-euro recovery plan. Thanks to the structural investments carried out over the last two years, WALLIX has a comprehensive PAM offering 2(WALLIX Bastion) expanded into adjacent market segments (WALLIX BestSafe launched in February 2020 and WALLIX Trustelem launched in May 2020), enabling it to address all the threats posed by new technologies (IoT, Cloud, etc.) and new digital services (telemedicine, WFH, smart city, predictive maintenance, etc.).

To boost growth, WALLIX also plans to tap business verticals in high-potential markets such as healthcare and manufacture and the recognized top-class service provided by its business partner network ("channel"). In healthcare, the Group has a large client base (e.g. public and private hospital groups in France, major NHS contracts in the UK), which it plans to develop. In manufacturing, WALLIX will also offer its WALLIX Inside package comprising all WALLIX access security and identity solutions, which can be integrated by design into client business solutions. Based on an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) sales model, WALLIX Inside benefits from a new partnership with Fives, which has developed an industrial gateway equipped with WALLIX's native security module, thereby offering clients a by-design secured system.

Fueled by sustained market demand and an innovative marketing approach, the Group plans to ramp up business growth throughout 2021 and reaffirms its objective to report a second half 2021 operating profit. In so doing, the Group will follow the trajectory of its two previous strategic plans, both of which turned in profits after an investment phase.

Against the backdrop of the significant challenges at the European level involved in creating a trusted digital territory in Europe, with guarantees of independence and sovereignty, the Group foresees the creation of a standardized regulatory and legislative framework to "process and host Europeans' data in Europe" (Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Market Act (DMA), GDPR). This will be supported in the years ahead by the emergence of a trusted digital product and service offering, certified and recognized as such by European states (similar to GAIA X) and the creation of multinational cyber industry players. The only European developer among the 7 global leaders (KuppingerCole PAM survey, 2020), WALLIX reaffirms its desire and capacity to establish itself as one of the key players in European cybersecurity.



Next publication: H1 2021 turnover - July 22, 2021



ABOUT WALLIX

A software company providing cybersecurity solutions, WALLIX is the European specialist in Identity and Access Security Solutions. WALLIX's unified solutions portfolio enables companies to respond to today's data protection challenges. WALLIX solutions guarantee detection of and resilience to cyberattacks, which enables business continuity. The solutions also ensure compliance with regulatory requirements regarding access to IT infrastructures and critical data. The portfolio of unified solutions is distributed through a network of more than 180 resellers and integrators worldwide. Listed on the Euronext (ALLIX), WALLIX supports more than 1,300 organizations in securing their digital transformation. WALLIX is a founding member of the HEXATRUST group and has been included in the Futur40, the first ranking of growth companies on the stock exchange published by Forbes France and is part of the Tech 40 index.

www.wallix.com | info@wallix.com



FINANCIAL COMMUNICATION CONTACTS

ACTUS Finance & Communication



Investor Relations - Olivier LAMBERT

Tel. +33 (0)1 53 67 36 33 / wallix@actus.fr

Press Relations - Nicolas BOUCHEZ

Tel. +33 (0)1 53 67 36 74 / nbouchez@actus.fr

[1] The 2020 consolidated financial statements were approved by the Management Board and Supervisory Board on March 24, 2021. The statutory auditors have audited the financial statements and the financial report will be published by April 30, 2021.

[2] Privileged Access Management

------------------------

This publication embed "Actusnews SECURITY MASTER ".

- SECURITY MASTER Key:

lWltkphvZWaYxp2caZ1qamFomm6Um5OYbZWeyWVxZJrKa5uVnJlibJnKZm9pmG1q

- Check this key: https://www.security-master-key.com.

------------------------



 Copyright Actusnews Wire

Receive by email the next press releases of the company by registering on www.actusnews.com, it's free

Full and original release in PDF format:https://www.actusnews.com/documents_communiques/ACTUS-0-68384-wallix_250321_cp-ra-2020_gb.pdf
Help India!



During the second day of the round table on Gender Reporting in Urdu Media  Opportunities & Challenges by the Centre for Womens Studies and Dept of Journalism and Mass Communication, Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU), speakers described gender sensitivity as an integral part of journalism and called for media to be inclusive in nature.

TCN News

Support TwoCircles



Hyderabad: Gender sensitization of media is the need of the hour. Gender reporting in media does not exist per se. The scenario of Urdu media is no different. We need to change this condition. We only talk about women when some violence takes place against them otherwise they are ignored. These views were expressed Thursday during the second day of the round table Gender Reporting in Urdu Media  Opportunities & Challenges by eminent media personalities in a panel discussion organized online by the Centre for Womens Studies and Dept of Journalism and Mass Communication, Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) in collaboration with Population First supported by UNFPA and Norwegian Embassy.

Seema Mustafa, President, Editors Guild of India and Editor in Chief The Citizen, Naghma Seher, Editor & News Anchor, NDTV, New Delhi, Qurban Ali  Senior Journalist, Mohammad Azam Shahid, Salar, Bangalore and Rasheda Hussain- IRS (Rtd) were the panellists. Prof. S M Rahmatullah, Vice-Chancellor I/c presided over the discussion. Gowhar Geelani, Eminent Journalist, Political Analyst was the moderator.

Seema Mustafa expressed dismay over the state of affairs of present-day media and exhorted it to come out of it as the fourth pillar of democracy. Contrary to the general impression, Urdu media is prospering, she claimed.

Language media is not going to die, she added.

Naghma Saher expressed the need to accommodate women journalists at the decision-making level. We are promoting gender stereotyping unconsciously in media especially through advertisements. There is a need for sensitivity while reporting women issues, she said.

Qurban Ali spoke about the commercial value of the Urdu language and identified various opportunities for upcoming journalists.

Mohd. Azam Shahid stressed the need to treat Urdu language as an Indian language by the government.

Rasheda Hussain said concrete steps are required to stop misleading and false news. Newspapers should have content for young people too.

Prof. SM Rahmatullah in his presidential remarks said that what needs to be addressed is whether media leaders are paying attention to the welfare of the society or are they ignoring it.

Similarly in the case of education, we as an authority have to introspect and improve our work so that we can help in building a better society. It is the responsibility of those involved in the media to work towards improving womens representation. A journalist should provide authentic information only, he said.

Work impartially regardless of religion, nationality, language or region, he added.

Prof. SM Rahmatullah recommended that the news be given space not only on commercial value but also in view of its importance.

Earlier, Dr AL Sharda, Director Population First in her opening remarks described gender sensitivity as an integral part of journalism. Media should be inclusive in nature, she said.

Prof. Shahida Murtaza, Director, CWS said that media can play a large role in changing the mindset of the masses. Visibility and content in the media houses have to be gender sensitized, she remarked.

Prof. Ehtesham Ahmad Khan, Dean, School of Mass Communication and Journalism delivered the welcome address.

Gowhar Geelani while referring to the women of international reputation in Urdu broadcasting said that the issues raised in the discussion were the need for serious journalism.

The programme was webcast live on IMC, MANUU Youtube channel.
AstraZeneca said on Thursday its COVID-19 vaccine was 76% effective at preventing symptomatic illness, citing a new analysis of up-to-date results for its major US trial. US health officials earlier in the week publicly rebuked the drugmaker for using "outdated information" when calculating that the vaccine was 79% effective.

That marked a new setback for the vaccine that was once hailed as a milestone in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, but has been dogged by questions over its effectiveness and possible side-effects. AstraZeneca reiterated on Thursday that the shot, developed with Oxford University, was 100% effective against severe or critical forms of the disease.

It also said the vaccine showed 86% efficacy in adults 65 years and older. The latest trial data, which has yet to be reviewed by independent researchers or regulators, was based on 190 infections and 32,449 participants in the United States, Chile and Peru. The earlier interim data was based on 141 infections through Feb. 17.

The updated 76% efficacy rate compares with rates of about 95% for vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna. The AstraZeneca vaccine is, however, seen as crucial in tackling the spread of COVID-19 across the globe, not just due to limited vaccine supply but also because it is easier and cheaper to transport than rival shots. It has been granted conditional marketing or emergency use authorization in more than 70 countries.

The shot has faced questions since late last year when the drugmaker and Oxford University published data from an earlier trial with two different efficacy readings as a result of a dosing error. Then this month, more than a dozen countries temporarily suspended giving out the vaccine after reports linked it to a rare blood clotting disorder in a very small number of people.

The European Union's drug regulator said last week the vaccine was clearly safe, but Europeans remain sceptical about its safety.

Also read: COVID-19 vaccination: UK plans immunisations for children from August
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.
LOS ANGELES : NASA engineers plan to send a miniature helicopter whirring just above the surface of Mars next month in an interplanetary aviation experiment that, if successful, would mark the first powered, controlled flight by an aircraft on another celestial body.

The US space agency is comparing the Martian debut of its 4-lb (1.8-kg) solar-powered whirlybird, dubbed Ingenuity, with the Wright Brothers' first sustained flight of a motor-driven airplane near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903.

Paying homage to that feat, a tiny swath of wing fabric from the original Wright Brothers plane has been fastened underneath the helicopter's solar panel and will go aloft with Ingenuity when it takes flight roughly 150 million miles from Earth.

Engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) near Los Angeles, where Ingenuity was designed and built, are aiming to launch the twin-rotor, four-legged helicopter on its maiden test flight sometime around April 8.

The helicopter was carried to the red planet last month strapped to the belly of NASA's Mars rover Perseverance, which landed Feb. 18 on the floor of a vast basin called Jezero Crater after a nearly seven-month journey through space.

Perseverance, a robot lab on wheels, is designed primarily to seek out traces of fossilized microbial life from Mars' ancient past and to collect rock specimens for return to Earth through future missions to Mars.

One of its first tasks is to transport Ingenuity to its test-flight zone, a flat area near Perseverance's landing site. There the helicopter will be unloaded by remote control and set on the surface before the rover drives carefully away.

NASA has set aside 30 Martian days to unpack and prepare the helicopter for its historic, but modest, first spin. It will take off on a slow, vertical ascent to about 10 feet (3 meters), hovering for 30 seconds, rotating in the air and then descending to a gentle touchdown.

JPL plans to film the entire exercise with cameras mounted on Perseverance, parked a short distance away, and will beam images back to Earth hours later. Ingenuity is also equipped with two cameras of its own used for navigation.

The helicopter will undertake additional flights up to 16 feet (5 meters) high, assuming the initial foray unfolds as expected.

Wright brothers moment

If successful, NASA hopes Ingenuity - a technology demonstration separate from Perseverance's astrobiology mission - paves the way for aerial surveillance of Mars and other destinations in the solar system, such as Venus or Saturn's moon Titan.

The immediate goal, however, is achieving "that Wright Brothers moment, getting powered, controlled flight, then adding mobility and adding other capabilities like any flight-test program," said Bobby Braun, JPL's planetary science director.

While Mars possesses just a third of the gravity to overcome as Earth, its atmosphere is just 1% as dense, presenting a special challenge for aerodynamic lift. To compensate, engineers equipped Ingenuity with rotor blades that are larger (4-feet-long) and spin more rapidly than would ordinarily be needed for an aircraft of its size.

The design was successfully tested in vacuum chambers simulating Martian conditions at JPL, but it remains to be seen whether Ingenuity will fly on the red planet.

The small, lightweight aircraft must also withstand punishing cold, with nighttime temperatures dropping as low as 130 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (minus 90 degrees Celsius), using solar power alone to recharge its batteries and keep internal components sufficiently heated.

Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.
Benguela  Benguela province has vaccinated, since last Saturday, a little over 4,000 people against Covid-19, the local Health director, Antonio Cabinda said today.

Antonio Cabinda said that, amongst the target group, the most important were patients of the Benguela and Lobito haemodialysis centres, who were vaccinated on Tuesday, whilst today (Wednesday) they were working in some homes for the elderly.

The health official announced that later, with the support of the respective municipal administrations, the vaccination will benefit some inland communities.

Despite the long weekend, he said, the daily average was around 1,000 people, although the available capacity could attend up to 3,000 per day.

In her turn, doctor Isabel Catraio, coordinator of the vaccination process in Benguela municipality, admitted there was "a certain slowness in the process," which led local authorities to redouble their methods of action in the communities, starting this Wednesday.

Antonio Cabinda said that, amongst the target group, the most important were patients of the Benguela and Lobito haemodialysis centres, who were vaccinated on Tuesday, whilst today (Wednesday) they were working in some homes for the elderly.

The health official announced that later, with the support of the respective municipal administrations, the vaccination will benefit some inland communities.

Despite the long weekend, he said, the daily average was around 1,000 people, although the available capacity could attend up to 3,000 per day.

In her turn, doctor Isabel Catraio, coordinator of the vaccination process in Benguela municipality, admitted there was "a certain slowness in the process," which led local authorities to redouble their methods of action in the communities, starting this Wednesday.
Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg supports reforming a decades-old U.S. law that limits social media companies liability for content its users post online, while Googles Pichai remained averse to any changes to the legal shield.

Zuckerberg, in prepared testimony ahead of a House hearing Thursday, called for making liability protection for internet platforms conditional on having systems in place for identifying and removing unlawful material.

Zuckerberg will tell congressional representatives that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 would benefit from thoughtful changes to make it work better for people, but identifying a way forward is challenging given the chorus of people arguing -- sometimes for contradictory reasons -- that the law is doing more harm than good.

He added that platforms should not be held liable if a particular piece of content evades its detection -- that would be impractical for platforms with billions of posts per day. Under Zuckerbergs proposal, a third party would determine whether the companys systems are adequate enough to handle the load.

Sundar Pichai, chief executive officer of Alphabet Inc.s Google, signaled he was opposed to any changes to the law. Reforming it or repealing it altogether would have unintended consequences -- harming both free expression and the ability of platforms to take responsible action to protect users in the face of constantly evolving challenges, Pichai said in his prepared remarks.

Instead, Pichai wants companies to focus on developing content policies that are clear and accessible, such as notifying users if their work is removed and giving them ways to appeal such decisions.

Twitter Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey defended the companys handling of misinformation, including applying labels to misleading posts about the vaccine and the election. Twitter has permanently banned former President Donald Trump and is soliciting feedback about how to handle world leaders who violate its rules, while Facebook is awaiting a verdict from its oversight board after suspending Trumps account.

Dorsey warned that content moderation in isolation is not scalable, and simply removing content fails to meet the challenges of the modern Internet. Twitter is experimenting with new approaches to crowd source policing speech online, including a project called Birdwatch, which would allow users to add notes to tweets that are misleading or inaccurate.

Every day, millions of people around the world Tweet hundreds of millions of Tweets, with one set of rules that applies to everyone and every Tweet, Dorsey said. We built our policies primarily around the promotion and protection of three fundamental human rights -- freedom of expression, safety, and privacy.

Zuckerberg, Pichai and Dorsey are set to testify before the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce about the spread of misinformation and disinformation online in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol.

Politicians on both sides of the aisle have challenged Section 230 in recent years. Republicans, with little evidence, have said the websites have suppressed conservative speech, while Democrats blame them for the flood of disinformation.
Horizonte has been building value steadily for years with its Brazilian nickel assets

Cast your minds back.

There once was a time when ( )( ) owned a gold project in Brazil (yes it did), as well as what looked like some promising nickel assets, a time when the companys management had multiple other projects on the go - as any good executive in the junior mining space might do - and when the companys overall market capitalisation amounted to little more than a few million pounds.

But those days are long gone.

Financing talks for the companys Araguaia ferro-nickel project in Brazil got underway in earnest towards the end of last year, as BNP, ING, Mizuho, Natixis and Societe Generale all swung into action to help put a US$325mln debt facility in place.

These are serious names for whats become a very serious undertaking.

Memories of the gold project are now distant and fading away completely. The Horizonte executives, including the driving force, chief executive Jeremy Martin, are almost exclusively focused on the Brazilian nickel business, and the company itself has earned the respect of the market, measured in the only way anyone really understands  valuation.

Its now worth just over 118mln, based on its sizeable resource base and following a strong uptick on last years financing news and a turnaround in sentiment towards nickel itself. But although the share price graph looks attractive enough if youre glancing back to where Horizonte came from, theres also the prospect of an even greater iteration of growth ahead.

Because in a sense, Horizonte is still less than half way along on its journey. The direction of travel is now clear enough: with Araguaia, and then following on behind, the correspondingly attractive Vermelho nickel-cobalt project, the company looks set to propel itself firmly into the ranks of the top twenty nickel producers in the world by production.

With these two projects combined, the company plans ultimately to produce up to 60,000 tonnes of nickel per year, which will put it up at around the same level as Anglo American ( ) produces.

Brazils mining champion will always be VALE ( ) of course, but VALEs real strength remains in the iron ore space. To be sure, some years back it expanded into nickel quite aggressively. But it ended up faced with a choice: to focus either on Goro in New Caledonia, one of the largest nickel deposits in the world, or on the previous flagship asset, Vermelho, highly promising with a rich cobalt credit, but on a relative scale somewhat smaller.

Perhaps not altogether to the current satisfaction of VALE shareholders, the choice was for Goro, and Vermelho was allowed to pass into the hands of Horizonte, where it now nestles comfortably inside the portfolio of development assets, running around 18 months or so behind Araguaia.

Which asset is the better of the two?

Perhaps an academic question, given how much value there is in both, but some analysts think Vermelho just edges it.

Jeremy Martin himself takes a more pragmatic approach.

We have 100% of two Tier-1 nickel assets, he says.

They are low cost and high grade. Well be producing ferro-nickel from Araguaia, and nickel-cobalt sulphate from Vermelho. Well be producing 28,000 tonnes from line one and line two at Araguaia, and between 28,000 and 30,000 tonnes from Vermelho, from just under 400mln tonnes of total nickel resource.

Given that the nickel price has been on the move of late, partly on the back of rising demand for its use in electric vehicles, this is not a bad position for Horizonte to be in. Both assets lie in the neighbourhood of a well-known mining region, where the permitting process, though rigorous, is not onerous. Whats more, since most of the power in the region comes from hydro, Horizonte will be able to tick its carbon emissions boxes like no other major producer of nickel.

With all that in mind, its not altogether surprising to learn that a cornerstone equity investor has already been lined up for when the Araguaia financing finally comes together, and that Martin is pretty confident that the deal will close off fairly soon.

From the cornerstone investors point of view, the attractions are pretty clear.

There arent too many comparisons to be made, given how thin on the ground major nickel project developments are these days. But one company thats been through a process similar to Horizonte is Nickel Mines Ltd (ASX:NIC), which has assets in Indonesia. Its now worth over A$3bn on the Australian exchange, having nearly quadrupled in value over the past two years or so.

Will Horizonte repeat the trick?

Well, there are a few hurdles to get over yet, but the numbers are certainly there to back up such a proposition. The modelling shows that line one of Araguaia alone should deliver up US$2.4bn in free cash flow, with cash costs in the lowest quartile. And for its part, Vermelho looks set to deliver upwards of US$7bn of free cash over its projected 30 year life.

Its going to happen, says Martin.

Thats what he said at the beginning of the story too. But now the reality looks right around the corner, and the valuations are starting to reflect that.

Its a rare journey for a junior explorer to take its own discovery and transition into a developer, he says.

But a rewarding one.
* Username

This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely!
Stephen Atubiga says he is not going to retract his comments against Professor Joshua Alabi since they were the truth and nothing personal.



Atubiga a member of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has been suspended for failing to apologize to Prof Alabi.



A statement signed by the partys General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia indicated that Mr Atubiga, agreed to write officially on your Facebook wall retracting your earlier writings and to write officially to Hon. Joshua Alabi apologizing personally to him and to refrain from such defamatory comments in the future. However, recent publications on social media attributed to you on March 8, March 12, and March 14 among others, denigrating the Party and individuals in the Party indicate that you are not only in breach of your own promise and hence not reliable but you are further denting the image of the party contrary to article 47 (1) (a, b) of the partys constitution.



"You are therefore by this letter to take note and notice is hereby given that your membership of the NDC is suspended, pending the hearing and final determination by the National Disciplinary Committee".



Speaking to this in an interview on Neat FM's 'Me Man Nti' programme, Atubiga said the comments he made about Prof Alabi was nothing personal and that, "I have the right to criticize him as the campaign Manager but granted that if Prof Alabi has an issue with me, he can write to the party and send me a copy . . . Prof Alabi is not a party member more than me . . . if they are referring to senior members in the party I am one of them . . . Ive been arrested because of this party, no one came to my house yet I didn't get discouraged".



" . . I am a nonentity in the party, I am a fly that whether my inclusion or my exclusion doesn't reduce NDC or doesn't add anything to the party. We should rather focus how we can rebuild the party why we lost and the party should appreciate the criticism that internally we are drawing the attention why we lost miserably," he said.



Watch video below











"I want Ofosu Ampofo to understand that if you are a Chairman of the party and leading six million people plus members, we cannot have the same character; there are some people who need special care, special attention in managing them . . . Prof Alabi was the campaign Manager and it was his duty to ensure Mahama wins, but if I will be suspended for pointing that out then so be it . . . " he added.



Possible Expulsion



Atubiga says he won't be cowed into silence and that if there is something going wrong in the party, he will boldly say it and keep his dignity intact, even if it will cost him being expelled from the party.



"Our IT system crashed (during the election) . . . you have set up an IT system like Binduri internet cafe and you dont want us to talk . . . "



"I have been with this party for 28 years in good standing order and if I am sacrificing myself to draw attention to our failures, I accept it (expulsion) in good faith . . . Im a real man with a wife and children. Responsible man that can lead this country one day, nobody can take that dignity away from me, not Ofosu Ampofo. You can take my name out of the party but you cant take the party out of me . . . it won't stop me from protecting and defending the interest of this party . . . "



Watch video below





Source: Rebecca Addo-Tetteh/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
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Royal Bahrain Hospital (RBH) welcomes Dr Issa Kawalit, Consultant-Nephrology, to its team of medical experts.

Dr Issa is an American Board Certified Nephrology Consultant who graduated from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in 2002.

He specialises in the prevention and treatment of Acute & Chronic Kidney disorders, especially in Hypertensive and Diabetic patients, in addition to performing kidney biopsies, dialysis, and evaluates and follows up with kidney transplant patients.

Dr Issa is a board member of the distinguished International Renal Care Association, where he served as President.

He is also a member of the International Society of Nephrology and the International Society of Transplantation.

He is the co-founder of the Arab Renal Care Group, where he established educational programs, designed to provide comprehensive public health strategies for the promotion of kidney health and renal transplant program in Amman, Jordan for high risk sensitized patients.

Dr Issa has authored multiple books on Kidney Transplant protocols and Acid-Base Balance approaches. In addition to publishing manuscripts in the field of chronic kidney disease and transplant, he was involved with distinguished colleagues in writing a review paper on redefining the approach of dialysis patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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.
She's no stranger to a slinky bikini.

And Demi Rose certainly commanded attention as she showcased her trademark curves in a new snap shared to Instagram on Thursday.

The model, 25, looked sensational as she posed up a storm in a tiny white bikini top, leaving the straps untied and garment precariously placed over her ample assets.

Flaunt it: Demi Rose looked incredible as she showcased her infamous curves in a new snap shared to Instagram on Thursday

Demi flaunted her killer physique in a pair of purple and white tracksuit bottoms, making sure to showcase her taut midriff as she snapped a selfie.

The brunette beauty wore her long locks down, letting them cascade over her toned frame and flow into a gentle curl.

Not forgetting her glam, Demi rocked a full face of makeup including a touch of pink lipstick and highlighter to accentuate her pretty features.

It comes after Demi took part in a quick-fire fan Q&A on Tuesday, sharing a series of sensational bikini-clad photos as she answered fans' burning questions.

Stunning: The model, 25, recently took part in a quick-fire fan Q&A, sharing a series of sizzling bikini-clad photos as she answered fans' burning questions

The beauty flaunted her curves as she showcased her adventurous side, confirming her relationship status, age and 'favourite thing to do' in throwback snaps.

In one photo, Demi, who is currently residing in Ibiza, sizzled in a low-cut pink halterneck as she told a fan: 'I am single.'

With her brunette hair swept up into a messy bun and her famously plump pout accentuated with swipes of lip gloss, Demi insisted she's currently single.

The model also revealed that Ibiza is 'the place on earth where she feels most comfortable', posting a photo of herself sprawled out on the Spanish island's shoreline wearing an enormous straw sunhat.

With her beloved pet dog by her side, the social media sensation lay on her front wearing a black thong swimsuit that left her peachy bottom on full display.

Sizzling: The model flaunted her signature curves as she showcased her adventurous side, confirming her relationship status, age and 'favourite thing to do'

In another snap, Demi put on an eye-popping display in a barely-there orange bikini and retro-inspired sunglasses, telling a fan: 'I don't have implants.'

Demi has been sharing a slew of snaps from her sunny travels in recent months  including trips to the Maldives and Tanzania.

The Wolverhampton-born beauty recently opened up to MailOnline about how she shot to stardom at the age of 14 after being bullied in school - before going on to sign for a modelling agency at the age of 18.

Demi recalled: 'I was bullied in school, I wanted to make friends outside of it so I ended up spending a lot of time online.

'I was even interested in virtual reality as a kid, I was always on the computer and then MySpace came around and I found my calling.'
Patna, March 25 : In a shocking incident, a person set his wife and two minor children on fire in Bihar's Katihar district, an official said.

The accused has been identified as Mohamad Tahir, resident of Labha village. The incident occurred around 11 a.m. on Thursday after his verbal altercation with his wife turned violent.

"In a fit of the rage, Tahir poured kerosene oil on them and set them on fire. The neighbours, after hearing their screams, rushed to rescue them but failed.

"The victims charred to death on the spot," said investigating officer of Pranpur police station.

Tahir, after committed the crime, tried to flee from the spot, but was nabbed by the villagers. The handed him over to the police after thrashing him black and blue.

Mansoor Alam, a neighbour told the media in Katihar: "Tahir was often seen involved in verbal spats with his wife. He has beaten up his wife on several occasions. Hw would use abusive language agianst neighbours if they ever tried to intervene." "When we heard the screams of victims, we rushed there. Till the time we reached his house, he had already set his wife and two kids on fire. They died on the spot," Alam said.

"We have arrested the accused on the charge of murder. Further investigation is on," the investigating officer said.
Stock Market News

US Economic Data - Ulster University partners with Dublin City University to deliver report informing the launch of the Dublin-Belfast Economic Corridor 25-03-2021 04:05



Stock News headlines are gathered from financial news sources around the web. Views and opinions on each item are from their respective authors and website. They are not opinions of LiveCharts.co.uk
LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Ault Global Holdings, Inc. (NYSE American: DPW) a diversified holding company (the Company), announced today that its power electronics business, Coolisys Technologies Corp. (Coolisys), has received a $10.5 million purchase order for 30,000 7kW residential EV charging systems. Coolisys received the purchase order in conjunction with entering into a three-year Purchase and Resale Agreement (Agreement) for the residential chargers with Origin Micro and its subsidiary, iNetSupply.com (collectively, iNet). Coolisys anticipates that it will, in connection with fulfilling the purchase order, sell accessories to the residential charging EV systems in the approximate amount of $1.5 million through iNet. The 7kW wall-mount charging system runs on 208/240 volts and is compatible with the SAE J1772 charging connector, with the option to add an adapter to charge Tesla vehicles.

iNet is a leader in distributing new products for many popular brands including Lenovo, Dell, HP and Cisco through its strong relationships with traditional and e-commerce channels and platforms. The 7kW wall-mount residential charger and its peripherals will be available for purchase and preorder at iNetSupply.com. We expect that the 7kW wall-mount charger and peripherals will during the next few months be listed on Newegg.com, NeweggBusiness.com, Amazon.com, eBay.com and Walmart.com. iNet is highly regarded for delivering product integrity and customer service to businesses and consumers.

iNets President, Donald G. Doney, Jr. stated, The future of humanitys daily transportation lies in the development of EV and EV infrastructure. Affordable, rapid charging of those millions of EVs requires expertly engineered devices that are easy to use and install. We are excited to enter this agreement with Coolisys and navigate the growth of Coolisys groundbreaking residential line of chargers to the public.

Coolisys President and CEO, Amos Kohn said, We are pleased to announce this purchase and resale agreement with iNet along with our second purchase order from iNet. We look forward to cultivating the opportunities that iNet can provide in what we anticipate being a burgeoning relationship. iNet provides the level of experience, knowledge, integrity, and professionalism that we believe to be required to launch, manage, and grow our residential EV charging product line. We believe our EV residential charger product line will be well positioned to address the expected rapid expansion of infrastructure required to support broad adoption of electric vehicles globally.

For more information on Ault Global Holdings and its subsidiaries, the Company recommends that stockholders, investors and any other interested parties read the Companys public filings and press releases available under the Investor Relations section at www.AultGlobal.com or available at www.sec.gov.

About Ault Global Holdings, Inc.

Ault Global Holdings, Inc. is a diversified holding company pursuing growth by acquiring undervalued businesses and disruptive technologies with a global impact. Through its wholly and majority-owned subsidiaries and strategic investments, the Company provides mission-critical products that support a diverse range of industries, including defense/aerospace, industrial, automotive, telecommunications, medical/biopharma, and textiles. In addition, the Company extends credit to select entrepreneurial businesses through a licensed lending subsidiary. Ault Global Holdings headquarters are located at 11411 Southern Highlands Parkway, Suite 240, Las Vegas, NV 89141; www.AultGlobal.com.

About Coolisys Technologies Corp.

Coolisys designs and manufactures innovative, feature-rich, and top-quality power products for mission-critical applications in the harshest environments and lifesaving, life-sustaining applications and electric vehicle supply equipment across diverse markets including automotive, defense/aerospace, medical/healthcare, industrial and telecommunications. Coolisys headquarters are located at 1635 South Main Street, Milpitas, CA 95035; www.Coolisys.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements generally include statements that are predictive in nature and depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, and include words such as believes, plans, anticipates, projects, estimates, expects, intends, strategy, future, opportunity, may, will, should, could, potential, or similar expressions. Statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any of them publicly in light of new information or future events. Actual results could differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement as a result of various factors. More information, including potential risk factors, that could affect the Companys business and financial results are included in the Companys filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, the Companys Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K. All filings are available at www.sec.gov and on the Companys website at www.AultGlobal.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005410/en/

IR@AultGlobal.com or 1-888-753-2235

Source: Ault Global Holdings, Inc.
DUSSELDORF, Germany & BELMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ecotel communication ag, a leading provider of IT and telecommunication solutions for business customers in Germany and RingCentral, a leading provider of global enterprise cloud communications, video meetings, collaboration, and contact center solutions today announced a close partnership whereby RingCentral will be the lead Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) offer for customers of all sizes transitioning to the cloud. As part of the partnership, ecotel will offer RingCentral Office, a UCaaS platform that provides team messaging, video meetings, and a cloud phone system to customers. It will also provide customers with value-added services including migration, adoption, and integration to help customers rapidly move to the cloud.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210324005323/en/

RingCentral Office will seamlessly integrate with ecotels existing voice portfolio for a smooth transition of their legacy communications systems to the cloud. ecotel will be the first licensed service provider in Germany to launch this integrated service together with RingCentral.

We are excited to bring the flexibility and agility of UCaaS to our customers across Germany, said Markus Hendrich, Chief Digital Officer, ecotel communication ag. With RingCentrals unified solution, our customers can provide their people with all the communications services they need. This includes team messaging, video meetings, and a cloud phone system, all in one app enabling them to work, collaborate, and communicate anytime, anywhere and from any device, leading to the digitization of business communications in Germany.

Through this partnership, ecotel will leverage the RingCentral open API platform, empowering customers to revolutionize the way their organizations communicate and collaborate through custom integrations to fit their specific needs.

As people work from anywhere, cloud-based communications platforms are critical for businesses to sustain and drive business growth, said Marco Meier, Regional Vice President, Service Provider Sales at RingCentral. Through our partnership with ecotel, we will provide cutting-edge communications solutions that give organizations in Germany an opportunity to adapt to the new era of work, with the flexibility to connect and collaborate from anywhere on any device.

About ecotel communication ag

ecotel communication AG (shortly ecotel, XETRA: EE4C) has been operating nationwide in Germany since 1998 and specializes in the marketing of IT and telecommunications solutions in different segments. The ecotel group is headquartered in Dusseldorf, Germany. Including its subsidiaries and holdings, ecotel has a total of about 300 employees. Currently ecotel serves more than 50,000 customers nationwide, providing 50,000 data connections and more than 360,000 voice channels.

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 (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 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. RingCentrals 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.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210324005323/en/

Ecotel Communication AG Media Contacts

PR office:

Business and Financial Media

Annette Drescher (Assistant to the Executive Board)

Phone: ++49 211-55 007-740

Fax: ++49 211-55 007 5 740

E-mail: presse@ecotel.de

Trade Media

Bernadette Loosen-Flanz (PR)

Tel.: ++49 211-55 007-316

Fax: ++49 211-55 007 5 316

E-mail: presse@ecotel.de

RingCentral Media Contact

Jyotsna Grover

jyotsna.grover@ringcentral.com

(+1) 650-513-8712

Source: RingCentral, Inc.
Russian Justice Ministry drafts order on telephone talks of female prisoners with children

 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov

17:28 25/03/2021

MOSCOW, March 25 (RAPSI)  The Russian Ministry of Justice has developed a draft order granting women the right to carry out telephone conversations with their children, the body's press service informs on Thursday.

The draft document envisages that women suspected of or charged with committing crimes are to be granted an opportunity to have a telephone conversation with their children within 24 hours from the moment the respective written permission issued by the person or the body in charge of the criminal case, or by the court is received at the pretrial detention center, the Ministry said in a statement.

The order was developed with the aim to humanize the conditions of detention in pretrial detention centers and facilitate the exercise of the rights and obligations established by the Russian Family Code by women, the statement reads.

By now, this draft order has been posted for public discussion.
Morgan County

Sheriff

ARRESTS, CITATIONS

 Nahum Barron, 21, of La Fayette was arrested at 10:29 a.m. Tuesday on a charge of driving while license is revoked or suspended.

Jacksonville Police

OTHER REPORTS

 A 13-year-old boy told police he was attacked by other juveniles about 6:10 p.m. Tuesday in the 1000 block of East Morton Avenue. Police are investigating.

 A 51-year-old man found bleeding at 6:02 p.m. Tuesday in the 1000 block of East Morton Avenue told police he had been beaten during an altercation. He was treated at Passavant Area Hospital.

South Jacksonville Police

ACCIDENTS

 Sharon K. Wuthnow, 56, of Lees Summit, Missouri, was treated at Passavant Area Hospital after suffering minor injuries when she was struck by a semi-trailer truck being driven by Juan F. Mercado, 25, of Texas at 9:51 p.m. Tuesday at Loves Travel Stop at 201 Loves Drive.



Jersey County

Sheriff

ARRESTS, CITATIONS

 Richard D. Gansz, 49, of Jerseyville was arrested March 16 on a domestic battery charge. He is accused of shooting a household member with a BB gun.

 Rebecca L. Plante, 34, of Alton was arrested March 15 on charges of possession of methamphetamine and possession of a controlled substance.

 Heather M. Breedlove, 32, of Jerseyville was arrested March 15 on a charge of possession of methamphetamine.

 Amber C. Jones, 23, of Jerseyville was arrested March 17 on a charge of possession of a controlled substance.

 Tyler A Welch, 27, homeless, was arrested March 17 on a charge of criminal damage to property. He is accused of damaging 15 cellphones and an iPad belonging to someone else.

Compiled by David C.L. Bauer, Samantha McDaniel-Ogletree and Scott Cousins
Britain's best legal minds wrote on parchments made from sheepskin to prevent fraud for hundreds of years, a new study shows.

From the 13th to 20th centuries, lawyers specifically favoured sheepskin, rather than goatskin or calfskin, for writing legal documents, the UK authors say.

In an analysis of ancient sheepskin parchment, the researchers found the structure of sheepskin made fraudsters' attempts to remove or modify text obvious.

Amazingly, dried goat or calf skin, known as vellum, is being manufactured for writing on today  and is used to bind copies of Acts in the House of Commons.

A legal agreement from Staffordshire written on sheepskin parchment concerning the ownership of property, signed and August 12, 1728

MAKING PARCHMENT Parchment has been made for centuries, and is usually calf, goat, or sheep skin. The term vellum from the French veau refers to a parchment made from calf skin. After skin is removed from the animal and any hair or flesh is cleaned away, it is stretched on a wooden frame. While stretched, the parchment maker scrapes the surface of the skin with a special curved knife. In order to create tension in the skin, scraping is alternated by wetting and drying the skin. The parchment is scraped, wetted, and dried several times to bring it to the right thickness and tautness. Sometimes a final finish is achieved using pumice as an abrasive followed by chalk in order to prepare the surface of the skin to accept ink. Source: US National Archives Advertisement

Sheepskin, no longer in use, helped stop fraudsters 'from pulling the wool over people's eyes', according to the academics, from the universities of Exeter, York and Cambridge.

Legal deeds were almost exclusively written on sheepskin, rather than vellum, from the 13th to 20th centuries, they say.

'What our research reveals is that there was a sophisticated understanding of the properties of different products and that these could be exploited,' said study author Professor Jonathan Finch from the University of York's Department of Archaeology.

'In the case of sheepskin parchment, its properties were used to prevent fraud by the surreptitious alteration of important legal documents.'

By the late-16th century, English common law was predominantly text-based, as opposed to the previous method of relying on a verbal agreement.

Paper-making was introduced to England by John Tate, the first English paper-maker, in Hertfordshire in 1495.

But despite a growing use of paper, the researchers say legal documents concerning the ownership or land, buildings and rights remained principally handwritten on animal skin  broadly known as 'parchment'.

'I think the use of parchment over paper was that it is far more durable,' lead study author Dr Sean Doherty, an archaeologist from the University of Exeter, told MailOnline.

'For legal documents, the durability of the skin matched the intended durability of the agreement written on them.

Another legal agreements written on sheepskin parchment concerning the ownership of property. This one is from Enfield, and was signed January 15, 1499

'In more recent times, the continued use of parchment may be that is considered more prestigious than paper.'

Sheepskin was favoured because sheep deposit fat between the various layers of their skin.

During parchment manufacture, the skin would be submerged in lime, which draws out the fat leaving voids between the layers.

Attempts to scrape off the ink would result in these layers detaching  known as delamination  leaving a visible blemish highlighting any attempts to change any writing.

Sheepskin has a very high fat content, accounting for as much as 30 to 50 per cent, compared to 3 to 10 per cent in goatskin and just 2 to 3 per cent in cattle.

Consequently, the potential for scraping to detach these layers is considerably greater in sheepskin than those of other animals.

Image shows the structure of sheepskin and the layers typically present in parchment. From the 13th to 20th century, parchment legal deeds were almost exclusively written on sheepskin, rather than vellum - fine parchment made originally from the skin of a calf

A continuing use of sheepskin over goat or calfskin in later centuries was also likely influenced by their greater availability and lower cost.

'Lawyers were very concerned with authenticity and security, as we see through the use of seals,' said Dr Doherty.

'But it now appears as though this concern extended to the choice of animal skin they used too.'

Because they are so durable, millions of old legal documents on parchment survive in British archives and private collections, but they are often neglected because of their supposed lack of historic value.

Many were discarded, burnt or even repurposed into lampshades during the 20th century after the Land Registry Act of 1925 meant they didn't need to be kept.

Until now little was known about these documents, and many were incorrectly catalogued as calfskin vellum, when they were actually made of sheepskin parchment.

'The text written on these documents is often considered to be of limited historic value as the majority is taken up by formulaic rubric,' said Dr Doherty.

'However, modern research techniques mean we can now not only read the text, but the biological and chemical information recorded in the skin.

'As physical objects they are an extraordinarily molecular archive through which centuries of craft, trade and animal husbandry can be explored.'

Historical texts hint at the use of sheepskin as an anti-fraud device.

The 12th century text Dialogus de Scaccario  written by Richard FitzNeal, Lord Treasurer during the reigns of Henry II and Richard I  instructs the use of sheepskin for royal accounts as 'they do not easily yield to erasure without the blemish being apparent'.

In the 17th century when paper was common, Chief Justice Sir Edward Coke wrote of the necessity that legal documents were written on parchment 'for the writing upon these is least liable to alterations or corruption'.

Act V, Scene I of Hamlet  which was written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601  also contains a reference to sheepskins.

Hamlet asks, 'Is not parchment made of sheepskins?' to which Horatio answers, 'Ay, my lord, and of calfskins too...'

The new research has been published in the journal Heritage Science.
CRANBROOK, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 25, 2021 / Eagle Plains Resources Ltd. (TSXV:EPL) ("Eagle Plains") and SKRR Exploration ("SKRR":CSE) have received complete results from the 18 hole, 2981m (9,778') Phase 1 drill program completed in Fall, 2020 on EPL's 100%-owned Olson property (the "Property"). The Olson property area covers 5,038 ha located within the Trans Hudson Corridor 100 km east of La Ronge, Saskatchewan and 80km south of SSR Mining's Seabee Gold Operation.

Results from OL20001 - OL20005 were issued in a previous News Release dated February 04, 2021. Follow-up drilling is currently underway at the Olson property based on encouraging results from Phase 1 where gold mineralization was intersected in all zones drilled during this inaugural drilling program.

Highlights:

150m Step Out: Drill hole OL20017 hit 9.64 g/t over 1.23m within an interval grading 1.19g/t over 19.94m in a step-out at the historic Olson showing area;

Drill hole OL20017 hit 9.64 g/t over 1.23m within an interval grading 1.19g/t over 19.94m in a step-out at the historic Olson showing area; New Gold Discovery: First hole completed at Michael's Lake, drill hole OL20018, encountered gold mineralization including 2.85 g/t over 1.12m within 0.77g/t over 6.46m;

First hole completed at Michael's Lake, drill hole OL20018, encountered gold mineralization including 2.85 g/t over 1.12m within 0.77g/t over 6.46m; Near-Surface Mineralization: 5 holes at the Siskin zone encountered near surface mineralization including 0.42 g/t over 17.87m at a depth of 3.05m to 20.92m; Significant intercepts at the Tuscan zone including 0.52 g/t over 11.5m at a depth of 7.5m to 19.0m;

Mineralized Core: 91 of the core samples assayed returned greater than 0.5 g/t Au, with 29 samples greater than 1 g/t Au.

"Initial results obtained to date on the Olson project are extremely encouraging," stated Tim Termuende, P. Geo., President and CEO of Eagle Plains. "The presence of wide-spread gold occurrences throughout the property, highlighted by the confirmation and extension of high grade gold mineralization in the Olson area and the discovery of a near-surface continuous mineralized zone at the Point area underscores the significant potential of the property. With Phase 2 drilling underway, we look forward to further identifying the potential of the Olson Project and relaying those results to our stakeholders."

See Olson regional map here

2020 Drill Results

SKRR completed 18 holes, and 2981m (9,778') of diamond drilling during the 2020 drill program which tested seven separate target areas including the Jena, Juba, Point, Tuscan, Siskin, Olson and Michael Zones, located in the central part of the property.

See Olson property map here

Analytical results ranged from trace values to broad low grade and narrow higher-grade intercepts, as summarized below.

Select Drill Results Table

OL20006 - 018 Significant Intervals Hole From To Core Length (m)* Au (g/t) Zone OL20006 47.85 53.34 5.49 0.53 Point Including 49.05 50.13 1.08 1.45 OL20007 90.31 99.75 9.44 1.31 Tuscan Including 95.75 97.17 1.42 3.94 Including 98.17 99.75 1.58 2.61 114.70 115.30 0.60 1.56 OL20008 7.50 19.00 11.50 0.52 OL20009 24.46 25.08 0.62 1.21 Siskin 35.50 39.40 3.90 0.83 Including 35.50 36.35 0.85 1.74 OL20010 3.05 20.92 17.87 0.42 Including 10.70 20.92 10.22 0.59 78.79 79.45 0.66 2.19 OL20011 no significant intercepts OL20012 no significant intercepts OL20013 18.00 28.23 10.23 0.58 Including 23.77 24.84 1.07 1.52 OL20014 158.9 161.85 2.95 0.85 Jena Including 158.9 159.78 0.88 1.51 171.38 173.55 2.17 1.16 Including 171.38 172.43 1.05 1.38 OL20015 no significant intercepts OL20016 no significant intercepts Olson OL20017 130.46 150.4 19.94 1.19 Including 130.46 132.0 1.54 2.64 135.45 137.2 1.75 1.13 140.65 141.88 1.23 9.64 149.0 150.4 1.4 2.20 OL20018 158.0 164.46 6.46 0.77 Michael's Lake Including 161.97 163.09 1.12 2.85

* Drill indicated intercepts (core length) are reported as drilled widths and true thickness is undetermined

See Olson maps and drill collar locations here

DDH OL20006 was drilled at the Point Zone, 150m northeast of DDHOL2004, which returned 1.09 g/t Au over 39.80m from 3.05m to 42.85m. OL20006 tested a mapped shear-vein system along the contact between granodiorite and meta-sediments. A 5.46 m intercept from 47.85 - 53.34m returned 0.53 g/t Au including 1.08m at 1.45g/t Au, associated with arsenopyrite-bearing granodiorite.

Drill holes OL20007 and OL20008 tested the contact between Brownell Lake Pluton granodiorites and metasediments in the area of the Tuscan showing. Both holes intercepted broad zones of gold mineralization associated with arsenopyrite bearing quartz carbonate veining. OL20007 returned 1.31 g/t Au over 9.44m from 90.31 - 99.75m, including 3.94 g/t Au over 1.42m. A lower intercept from 114.70 - 115.30m returned 1.56 g/t Au. OL20008 intercepted near surface mineralization, returning 0.52 g/t Au over 11.50m from 7.50 - 19.0m.

Drill holes OL20009 through OL20013 tested for gold mineralization hosted in metavolcanic rocks at the historic Siskin showing area. Broad zones of disseminated arsenopyrite and chalcopyrite associated with foliation-parallel quartz veinlets were encountered in all five holes. Significant intervals include 0.83 g/t Au over 3.90m from drill hole OL20009, 0.42 g/t Au over 17.87m from drill hole OL20010, 0.28 g/t Au over 28.03m from drill hole OL20011, 0.30 g/t Au over 10.15m from drill hole OL20012, and 0.58 g/t Au over 10.23m from drill hole OL20013.

At the Jena showing area, drill holes OL20014 and OL20015 returned anomalous gold values along intrusive / metasediment contact zones. Drill hole OL20014 intercepted two granodiorite dykes with up to 1% disseminated arsenopyrite that returned 0.85 g/t Au and over 2.95m and 1.16 g/t Au over 2.17m.

Drill holes OL20016 and OL20017 tested the historic Olson showing area quartz veins and shears in metavolcanics. Drill hole OL20017 is a 150m step-out along strike from the 2008 drilling. A 19.94 m interval of metabasalt with intense quartz-carbonate veining averaged 1.19 g/t Au, including 9.64 g/t Au over 1.23m from 140.65 to 141.88m. This mineralization is open along strike to the east and down dip.

Drill hole OL20018 is the first hole ever completed at Michael's Lake, targeting an IP chargeability anomaly thought to represent the contact between Brownell Lake Group metasediments and the Brownell Lake Pluton. Analytical results returned 0.77 g/t Au over 6.46m, including 2.85 g/t Au over 1.12m from

metabasalt with pervasive hydrothermal alteration. Although the drill hole did not intercept the centre of the chargeability anomaly and did not encounter the Brownell Lake Pluton this feature remains an attractive drilling target. The contact between the pluton and surrounding country rock is known to host broad zones of anomalous gold endowment at the nearby Point showing and the chargeability anomaly could indicate increased sulphide mineralization.

Olson Project Summary

SKRR may earn a 75% interest in the Property by completing exploration expenditures of $3,000,000, making cash payments of $250,000 and issuing 1,000,000 voting class common shares to EPL over a 4-year period. Details of the option agreement are outlined below. All 2020 work, including the drill program and an earlier field program, were fully funded by SKRR.

The Olson project area overlies regionally sheared, highly strained meta-volcanic and intrusive rocks which are considered to be prospective for orogenic gold mineralization. The property is host to 29 mineral occurrences defined by historical geological mapping, prospecting, trenching and 4700 m of diamond drilling, with the last drilling reported in 2008. Historical drilling at Olson Lake has intersected 7.5 m grading 2.07 g/t Au including 13.00 g/t Au over 0.65 m, and grab samples of up to 105.52 g/t Au have been collected at the Kalix occurrence. 2018-2019 fieldwork completed by Eagle Plains and a previous partner consisted of a detailed compilation of historical data, geological mapping, soil geochemical work and prospecting. The project is considered to be significantly underexplored, with known gold occurrences open at depth and along strike. Results are historical in nature and have not been confirmed by Eagle Plains/SKRR but are considered to be reliable and will form a basis for ongoing work.

QA/QC

Geological and geotechnical logging and core sampling were completed at a facility on the Olson property. Assay intervals were based on visual identification of mineralization, presence and density of quartz veins and lithological boundaries. Terralogic Exploration geologists maintained chain of custody and sampling procedures reported in this news release according to best industry practice and with due attention to quality assurance and quality control, including sampling field duplicates and insertion of certified standard and blank samples.

Samples were sent for geochemical analysis with ALS Global, Vancouver for the following analyses: 48 element four-acid ICP-MS (ME-MS61) and gold (Au) 30 g Fire Assay - AA finish (Au-AA23). Samples that returned over 1ppm Au by Au-AA23 were re-analysed using gold (Au) 30g Fire Assay - Gravimetric finish (Au-GRA21).

On receipt of final certificates of analysis, the QA/QC sample results were reviewed to ensure the order of samples were reported correctly, that the blanks ran clean, and that the results for each standard had minimal variance from its certified value. QA/QC for the Olson Drilling Program included certified reference material ("CRM's") and blanks that were inserted into each sample batch in order to verify the analytical from the lab. The CRM's from all holes reported passed within 3.5 standard deviations. A single blank analytical sample was identified that appeared to be contaminated. Reanalysis of the blank and the corresponding samples in the analytical chain returned acceptable values. All of the lab internal standards and duplicates were within acceptable values.

Olson Option Agreement Details

Under the Agreement, SKRR may earn-in up to a 51% interest in the Property by making certain staged cash payments, share payments of common shares in the capital of SKRR to Eagle Plains and exploration expenditures over a period as follows: (i) $10,000 in cash upon execution of a letter of intent in respect of the Transaction (paid); (ii) $20,000 in cash and 200,000 common shares upon TSXV approval of the Transaction (received); (iii) $40,000 in cash, 200,000 common shares and $200,000 in exploration expenditures on or before December 31, 2020; (iv) $80,000 in cash, 200,000 common shares and $500,000 in exploration expenditures on or before December 31, 2021; and (v) $100,000 in cash, 200,000 common shares and $800,000 in exploration expenditures on or before December 31, 2022.

SKRR may earn-in up to a an additional 24% (75% total) interest in the Property by making additional exploration expenditures of $1,500,000 on the Property and issuing 200,000 common shares of SKRR to Eagle Plains on or before December 31, 2023.

Qualified Person

The four-week program was supervised by Jarrod Brown, P.Geo. of Terralogic Exploration Services of Cranbrook, B.C. and relied extensively on support services and personnel from the town of Deschambault Lake, SK for which we express our gratitude. Charles C. Downie, P.Geo., a "qualified person" for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, and a Director of Eagle Plains Resources Ltd., has prepared, reviewed, and approved the scientific and technical disclosure in this news release.

About Eagle Plains Resources

Based in Cranbrook, B.C., Eagle Plains continues to conduct research, acquire and explore mineral projects throughout western Canada. The Company is committed to steadily enhancing shareholder value by advancing our diverse portfolio of projects toward discovery through collaborative partnerships and development of a highly experienced technical team. Eagle Plains also holds significant royalty interests in western Canadian projects covering a broad spectrum of commodities. Management's focus is to advance its most promising exploration projects. In addition, Eagle Plains continues to seek out and secure high-quality, unencumbered projects through research, staking and strategic acquisitions. Throughout the exploration process, our mission is to help maintain prosperous communities by exploring for and discovering resource opportunities while building lasting relationships through honest and respectful business practices.

Expenditures from 2011-2020 on Eagle Plains-related projects exceed $22M, most of which was funded by third-party partners. This exploration work resulted in approximately 37,000 m of diamond-drilling and extensive ground-based exploration work facilitating the advancement of numerous projects at various stages of development.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

"Tim J. Termuende"

President and CEO

For further information on EPL, please contact Mike Labach at 1 866 HUNT ORE (486 8673)

Email: mgl@eagleplains.com or visit our website at http://www.eagleplains.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

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 including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, etc. 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.

SOURCE: Eagle Plains Resources Ltd.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/637285/Eagle-Plains-Partner-SKRR-Reports-Additional-Gold-Mineralization-at-Olson-Gold-Project-Follow-up-Drilling-Underway
An F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft that completes the 53rd Squadron arrived from Portugal at the 86th Air Base on Thursday evening, the Ministry of National Defence (MApN) informs on its official Facebook page.

The F-16 Fighting Falcon completes the list of purchases of fighter aircraft for the Romanian Air Force, states the quoted source.

The Ministry of National Defence reminds that the multi-role aircraft program started in 2014 "out of the need to increase the national defence system through the development of air power and led to an exchange of generations from all points of view at Air Force's level: technological, human resource development, infrastructure and mentality".
Bengaluru: Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar announced that the people coming to Bengaluru from any other state will need to take the RT-PCR test.

K Sudhakar said that "People coming from any state to Bengaluru need to take RTPCR test including Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Chandigarh and other states as well."

The Health Minister said that the more number of positive cases this time is from the 20 to 40 age group.

"There should be no negligence from any asymptomatic or with symptoms. They must have to be quarantined," he said.

He added by saying that the marshals will strictly implement and it is important to wear masks and to maintain social distances in markets, crowded roads, bus stops, theatres, marriage halls, event places, religious places, colleges and any crowded places.

"Organisers of any event, marriage, or any crowded places will be held responsible and such organisers will be fined," he added.

According to the Union Health Ministry, 30,29,544 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered so far in Karnataka. At present, there are 15,614 active coronavirus cases in the state of Karnataka. 9,45,594 recovered from the disease while 12,449 people have died.

Live TV
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 find, facilitate, and mentor semiconductor and IP design start-ups across India, Dutch semiconductor manufacturer NXP in collaboration with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and Fabless Chip Design Incubator (FabCI), IIT Hyderabad, has launched the maiden 'Semiconductor Startup Incubation and Acceleration Programme'. The programme has been launched keeping in mind Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat as it will support India's vision of making the country a self-reliant nation as it creates a ready platform to support start-ups willing to design semiconductor chips in India.

"The government of India has been working towards promoting the ESDM sector to bring electronic manufacturing to India. There is also a need to build a thriving fabless design ecosystem in India. We look forward to this joint initiative of NXP Semiconductors and IIT Hyderabad for this Incubation cum Accelerator Programme that aims to find, facilitate and mentor the semiconductor and IP design startups pan India. It is a significant step as India is poised to increase its share in innovation-driven global manufacturing of mobile phones, IT hardware, automotive, industrial and medical electronics, IoT and other devices," says Ajay Sawhney, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India.

Also read: Govt invites proposals for setting up semiconductor FAB plants in India

"In this endeavour, Team India has created a technology startups focused framework with two key initiatives - tech startup challenge to recognise most innovative Indian Startups products aligned to NXP businesses and technologies and Technology Startup Incubator to nurture and groom young startups with complete enablement, funding and day to day guidance using a unique collaboration with Govt. of India and top Academic institutes. We are certain that the enthusiastic and budding entrepreneurs of our country will benefit immensely from this programme," says Sanjay Gupta, Vice President and India Country Manager, NXP India.

The programme will incubate up to five promising start-ups for two years in each cohort every year. The participants will include semiconductor chip design, IP design, design services startups with an IP focus and chip design tool related startups. It will be a platform for start-ups to showcase their products to the investor and business community. Also, the startup selected for the core programme will have benefits accruing up to Rs 1 crore per year per startup, EDA tool access for design and simulations, mentoring access during design and development phase, Selective IP Access for processor or interconnect aspects, foundry/packaging access, characterisation lab access, and demo day visibility with NXP.

"FabCI is a unique incubator that provides free access to highly expensive EDA tools and prototyping, apart from the basic infrastructure. With the advent of Atmanirbhar Bharat, more number of start-ups are expected to come up across the various segments of the technology and incubators like FabCI with the support of technology experts like NXP will strengthen the start-up ecosystem in the semiconductor industries," Prof BS Murty, director, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad.

The local hardware designing and manufacturing of products will strengthen the core technology-driven system, which is pillar vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat and in turn will boost India's economy, generate employment, and enhance its position in the global electronics industry.

Also read: No big investment in semiconductor manufacturing recently, but interest rises: Industry body
Where a residential school once stood, a stones throw from The Pas, a place for healing is planned.

Where a residential school once stood, a stones throw from The Pas, a place for healing is planned.

Cree Nation Tribal Health intends to build a 50-bed detox and long-term addictions treatment centre, along with a healing lodge rooted in Indigenous practices, on the former site of Guy Hill Residential School, 20 kilometres from the northern Manitoba city.

"We have people coming to our office who want treatment, but they want to go today and that cannot happen. By the time a bed becomes available, its six to seven, eight months down the road. By that time, sometimes we lose them," said tribal health assistant director Frank Turner.

"Ive attended a lot of funerals in my life. Im 71 years old now and Ive attended a lot... Were burying more young people than we are elders nowadays in our area. Thats sad, we shouldnt have to bury our own children because of addictions."

Advocates and First Nations leaders say access to help for addictions is sorely lacking in the north even though substance abuse is prevalent.

Tribal Health plans to ask the province for 50 per cent of the $20 million cost of the project, and hopes private donors will kick in the rest.

The province said it would review the groups application.

"Id advocate to the premier, to the ministers, that that small investment will actually reduce the cost it takes to manage and look out for patients and individuals who require this If you want to be financially responsible, lets make this investment," said Arlen Dumas, grand chief of Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs.

The proposed healing lodge has been in the works for years, said Turner, but began in earnest after funding was received from Indigenous Services Canada in 2019. The preliminary planning was finished, but the pandemic ground the project to a halt.

The next step is community consultation and design, Turner said, noting broadcaster and addictions advocate Scott Oake, and Winnipeg city councillor Kevin Klein, have been brought on as advisers.

However, the timeline for construction depends on funding, Turner said. "If we had the money today, wed be shovelling tomorrow."

The lack of access to medical detox is also a problem.

"We dont have a detox facility in northern Manitoba, so I had to say I was suicidal in order for (the local emergency room) to medically watch me while I detoxed," said Zacc Harris, an Opaskwayak Cree Nation father who has been sober after a long addiction to opiates.

Although the centre will focus on traditional Indigenous healing, it will be open to anyone seeking treatment from Swampy Cree Tribal Council territory, not just Indigenous people.

Addictions advocates applauded the plan, and said although access to support is poor in northern Manitoba, addictions treatment across the province hasnt kept up with need.

"I dont think theres been enough investment in the north ever. Government is going to tell you, weve spent this and done this and done that, it still has not changed the fact wait times (for in-patient treatment) have not changed in 20 years. Two to three months for an assessment, for a bed, for a woman or a man, be it northern or city," said Ian Rabb, who works in the field.

Marion Willis, the executive director of Morberg House in Winnipeg, worked in First Nations communities for decades.

"Its terrible," she said of access to addictions treatment in the north. "Its terrible. Good on them for trying to add to the number of recovery opportunities in the province."

The COVID-19 pandemic and opioid epidemic have worsened access to treatment, Willis said.

"Do you know how difficult it is to access treatment right now? It is nearly impossible."

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @erik_pindera
Xinjiang-related issues are not about human rights, ethnicity or religion, but about combating violent terrorism and separatism. The Chinese government has launched anti-terrorism and de-radicalization efforts in Xinjiang in accordance with the law to protect people's lives, which has garnered ardent support of people from all ethnic groups. People in the region continue to embrace peace and prosperity and Xinjiang society continues to develop steadily. These facts are the most powerful tool to debunk lies surrounding Xinjiang.

We have chosen some typical Xinjiang-related rumors and lies fabricated by anti-China forces, and debunked them with facts to set the record straight.

6

1

[ Editor: JYZ ]
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

Reporters Frank Stolze and Chava Sanchez contributed to this report.

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.

Earlier this week, the homeless community at Echo Park Lake and its advocates resisted a closure and clean-up of the park aimed at clearing the encampment. Police gave the remaining occupants until 10:30 p.m. on Thursday to leave the area, although some stayed behind. The city of L.A. is offering temporary housing to everyone.

WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW

The homeless encampment is now empty .

. The final two Echo Park Lake encampment residents, Ayman Ahmed and David Busch-Lilly, were detained by LAPD Friday at 10:36 a.m. They were put in zip-ties and taken to the Metro Detention Center. Ahmed and Busch-Lilly were cited and released about an hour later.

At about 11 p.m. on Thursday, an announcement from an LAPD helicopter said that folks still in the park were subject to citations.

We spoke to two unhoused residents, Sterling Gaston and Charles McKnight, who left the park shortly after 10 p.m. Gaston said he was offered a room at a hotel in Skid Row, but did not take it. He also said his mother remained at the park with her belongings and her dogs.

Many unsheltered residents of the park -- almost 200 people -- have been given housing via Project Roomkey, Project Homekey, A Bridge Home and winter shelter, according to an email statement from Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell.

via Project Roomkey, Project Homekey, A Bridge Home and winter shelter, according to an email statement from Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell. Councilmember Nithya Raman, who represents City District 4, has spoken out against the closure of the park. "None of it needed to happen," she said in a tweet.

The LAPD declared an unlawful assembly in the area of Lemoyne and Park Avenue Thursday evening, the agency tweeted.

in the area of Lemoyne and Park Avenue Thursday evening, the agency tweeted. It is unclear how many, but several people were detained and arrested Thurday night. We saw LAPD officers loading detained protestors on buses. An LA Times reporter was detained earlier in the night, but was released from custody.

A designated protest zone was established on Glendale Blvd north of Park, LAPD posted on Twitter.

LAPD Captain Rick Stabile told us on Thursday morning that the closed perimeter around Echo Park Lake was for public safety. He said there was "no hard timeline" for homeless residents to get their belongings out: "We want to give it as much time as possible." But posted signs said belongings had to be gone by 10:30pm Thursday evening.

Streets around the park were shut down on Thursday, including the northbound 101 freeway's Echo Park Ave. off-ramp. Traffic was diverted. An officer told us the roadblocks were there because they expected more protests.

"Two minor use of forces have been reported," according to the LAPD. A reporter for The Intercept, who says he wasn't on assignment during Wednesday night's clash with police, tweeted that he was hit by an officer's baton and had his arm broken.

Dozens of homeless encampment residents and advocates faced off with police Wednesday night as city workers attempted to put fencing around Echo Park Lake.

Morning after a massive LAPD action to close #EchoParkLake: Streets around the park are shut down  this is Echo Park Ave just off the 101 freeway. Traffic is being diverted. Officer here tells me the roadblock is b/c they expect more protests today. @LAist @KPCC pic.twitter.com/ErnMm30AfT  Libby Denkmann (@libdenk) March 25, 2021

WHY IT MATTERS

The fight over the encampment has become a flashpoint in the debate over the city's policies towards homeless encampments. Those living at the park say they've essentially created a viable shelter, filling a void they argue the city has failed to fill.

Tony Arranga, a spokesman for City Councilman Mitch O'Farrell, who represents the area, said this week that city officials partnered with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority to place "more than 100 people living at the lake into safe housing and shelter" in recent weeks through Project Roomkey, Project Homekey and shorter term shelter beds.

The clash comes after many months of reprieve from so-called "homeless sweeps" for unhoused people living in encampments. Those sweeps have been largely abandoned during the COVID-19 pandemic, in part due to concerns that displacing those living in encampments could further spread the dangerous virus.

Ayman Ahmed, a resident of the Echo Park Lake who was one of the last to leave, described the emotion behind the park clean-up.

"I've lost everything before. We had something beautiful out here, and the rug has been swept out from under us."





Some unsheltered people who "go to a shelter just have to move from program to program every 3-6 months. We had stability here (in the park)," Ahmed said.

The city should have done this differently, said Zarinah Williams, president of the Echo Park Neighborhood Council.

"The first priority of it should have been, 'Ok, there are humans who are here, let's worry about them first and get them into permanent housing with permanent solutions for lives and their care, let's do that' and then the park would be perfect forever because we'd never have to worry about people living in it."





Homeless residents and advocates have been bracing for the city of Los Angeles to close Echo Park Lake and clear the tent community. Earlier this week, city officials indicated the closure was imminent. Then, as LAPD officers in riot gear were out in force late Wednesday while city workers installed fencing around the 30-acre park, city officials announced encampment residents had until 10:30 p.m. Thursday to leave.

HOW WE'RE REPORTING ON THIS

Our politics reporter Libby Denkmann was on scene at Echo Park Lake Thursday and Friday and visual journalist Chava Sanchez reported from near the park on Thursday night. Criminal Justice reporter Frank Stoltze covered the protests of a heavy police presence at the park late Wednesday. The editors on this story were Oscar Garza, who edits our politics coverage, LAist Editor Brian De Los Santos and Executive Editor Megan Garvey.

WHAT QUESTIONS WE'RE ASKING

How many encampment residents will be helped as they are forced out of the park?

Why did LAPD and city workers show up at night to put up fencing?

How many days in advance did Echo Park Lake residents were given notice this would be happening?

We're also reaching out to city officials.

LEARN MORE

YOUR QUESTIONS OR IDEAS
New Jersey officials on Wednesday said theyre following social media posts promoting a protest calling for people to go shopping at Freehold Raceway Mall on Saturday without face masks more than a year into restrictions to battle the coronavirus pandemic.

Not only we are aware of this ridiculous flyer thats gone around about maskless shopping, but I am personally aware of it and extremely unhappy about it, Gov. Phil Murphy said during his latest COVID-19 briefing in Trenton.

The origin of the maskless shopping protest is unclear, but officials said they were aware of the event being organized by the Patriot Party of New Jersey before a reporter asked about it during Wednesdays briefing. At least one version of the flyer that appears on Twitter lists a specific time and meeting place, though the authenticity could not be verified.

State Police Superintendent Col. Patrick Callahan said authorities have not yet sent guidance to local law enforcement or store owners on how to handle the matter, but he said hes disappointed that businesses would have to worry.

At a time when businesses have been struggling, to put them in a position they may have to close their doors seemed hard to fathom for us, Callahan said.

Murphy echoed his concern for mall security and staff.

Theyre not law enforcement, the Democratic governor said of stores. And to put them in a position  the overwhelming amount of whom have been doing the right thing for day in and day out now, for 13 months  to make them be the guy or gal at the door that has to say to some knucklehead whos trying to make a political statement, Actually, you cant come in, therefore you lose the business, and/or you get into a confrontation, thats the last thing we need right now.

The state Department of Homeland Security is investigating as well, Murphy said. A message left Wednesday afternoon for management at the mall was not immediately returned.

Stores in New Jersey have been limited to half capacity since June to help fight the pandemic. Customers and staff are required to wear masks while indoors under Murphys executive orders.

Republicans have routinely criticized the governor for his measures, arguing they go too far while businesses are struggling for survival.

The protest plans comes as New Jersey sees recent upticks in COVID-19 cases. The state on Wednesday reported another 3,227 confirmed cases of and 28 additional confirmed deaths, while the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations across the state was above 2,000 for the second straight day.

The states seven-day average for new confirmed cases is now 3,339, up 6% from a week ago and 35% from a month ago.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

Meanwhile, New Jersey health facilities and vaccine centers have now administered about 3.6 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine  including about 1.29 million people considered fully-vaccinated, according to state data.

The states goal is to vaccinate 70% of its eligible adults  about 4.7 million people  by the end of May. More than 18% of the adult population is fully vaccinated and more than half of adults have been administered at least one shot.

Murphy said Wednesday the states vaccine supply is set to increase about 19% next week, to nearly half a million doses.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com.


By Gwynne Dyer



The Syrian civil war is over 10 years old, and it's time to stop it. At least half a million Syrians have died, a quarter of the pre-war population are refugees abroad and another quarter are refugees inside Syria. Thirty percent of the country's housing is destroyed or badly damaged  and we have known who won the war for at least four years now.



More fighting cannot change anything. All the big cities are back under the regime's control, as is at least 80 percent of the territory and of the population that's still within the borders. The Russian military intervention in 2015 turned the tide, the remaining rebels are all crammed into one province, Idlib, and local ceasefires have silenced the guns in most places.



Yet there is no peace, because neither the rebels in Idlib nor their foreign backers are willing to recognize the victory of long-ruling dictator Bashar al-Assad and his Baath Party. You can see why, because this is a regime that pitilessly tortures and murders those who defy it, and in a world where divine justice prevailed it would surely have been destroyed.



Unfortunately, that is not this world. Assad came down with coronavirus last week, but he's very unlikely to die from it (he's only 55), and it's hard to think of anything else that might change the outcome.



Indeed, even Assad's death might not do the trick. It's a whole regime with deep roots, not just one man, and it has survived lost wars, attempted coups and rebellions for almost 60 years. Moreover, the only plausible successor to the ruling Baath Party at this point is the murderous Islamist fanatics of the al-Qaeda affiliates who control Idlib.



The real reason Assad has won the war is that enough people in Syria believe the Islamist jihadis would kill them if they came to power. All the religious minorities, Shia Muslim, Christian and Druze, believe that, plus anybody secular and anybody who works for the government, including teachers. They think of the jihadis as an Islamic version of the Khmer Rouge, and they're not far wrong.



The jihadis didn't dominate the original uprising in 2011, but Assad is not stupid. He immediately freed around 6,000 Islamists from his jails, in the hope that they were ruthless enough to win control of the opposition and frighten people into backing him instead. It worked.



Foreign countries, some ignorant, some naive and some 'soft' Islamist themselves (Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar), poured in guns and money, and the Syrian Islamists did take over the revolt. That drove a lot of Syrians to Assad's side  and then Russia sent its air force in to save him in 2015. By 2017, the war was effectively settled  but it did not stop.



It slowed down almost to a stop after Assad regained control of everything except Idlib province (occupied by Turkey) and the sparsely populated east of the country (partly held by Kurdish and American troops). But the anti-Assad foreigners won't acknowledge his victory.



The United States actually strengthened its already savage sanctions against Syria last year, so Assad's key supporters are still scraping by but everybody else is on the brink of starvation. The Syrian pound is worth less than a fifth of its value a year ago, and 80 percent of the population is below the poverty line.



The U.S. sanctions can go on forever at no cost to the United States, while American politicians feel virtuous and Syrians suffer, but there is a way to end this. It has to start with accepting that Assad will stay in power, because that's the only way that other countries get any leverage.



What price would Assad pay for an end to sanctions and renewed international recognition as Syria's leader? Quite a lot, because it would enable him to start rebuilding the country, however slowly, and free him from the isolation he has endured for the past decade.



He could be told that the price includes an amnesty for all Syrians, including those who fought against him, except for those who actually committed war crimes. Many of the refugees wouldn't go home anyway because they don't trust him, but international supervision and guarantees for those who take up the offer could probably be negotiated.



Turkey would try to block the deal, but Russia would go along with it and put pressure on the Turks. Syria would still be a police state, but most people would be back in their homes (some measures required to ensure that those who fled recover their property), and all the children would be back in school (most haven't been, for the past five years).



It would be something like the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, in other words, except with more international involvement and less vengeance against the losers. No promises, but it's certainly worth a try.



Gwynne Dyer (gwynne763121476@aol.com) has worked as a freelance journalist, columnist, broadcaster and lecturer on international affairs for more than 20 years. He is the author of "Growing Pains: The Future of Democracy (and Work)."






IF YOU GO

To get an appointment at the CSUB COVID-19 Vaccine Hub, visit myturn.ca.gov or call (833) 422-4255 to find out if its your turn.
President Joe Biden will conduct the first official press conference of his tenure on Thursday -- a time-honored tradition that will come later than in earlier presidencies with a different look due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He has held out on a press conference for longer than his 15 predecessors, waiting until the 64th day of his term to take questions from reporters committed to covering his every action.

Biden's 1st Official Press Conference

Historian Martha Joynt Kumar deems Joe Biden's press conference a "high-risk, high-reward" among other presidential news conferences. Back to former president Bill Clinton, the previous four presidents each held one solo White House news conference in their initial 60 days.

The White House is looking to use Biden's first news conference since being inducted into the office to celebrate the passage of the massive COVID-19 relief package. However, the president is reportedly sure to face questioning on Thursday regarding a growing list of challenges facing his administration, and many of them are unforeseen, reported AP.

Rising international tensions, a pair of mass shootings, early signs of intraparty divisions, and increasing numbers of migrants crossing the southern border are all confronting an Oval Office known for its message discipline. For the past four decades, Biden is the first commander-in-chief to reach this point in his term without initiating a formal question-and-answer session, reported Yahoo.

According to White House press secretary Jen Psaki in her briefing on Tuesday, the president was pondering on what he wants to convey, what he wants to say, where he could provide updates, and anticipating an opportunity to engage with a free press. The event has been much anticipated, with the secretary being posed with multiple questions regarding the time and date in the past few weeks, reported ABC News.

Illegal Immigrants to Be Sent $4.38 Billion Stimulus Checks

Former President Donald Trump held at least five news conferences by that time, Bill Clinton at least four, and Barack Obama two. The novel coronavirus pandemic has kept foreign leaders away from the White House this 2021.

Biden will convene with reporters for the event in the White House's East Room that will be nationally televised afternoon. According to Psaki, the event is an opportunity for Biden to address the American public, obviously directly through the coverage and directly through all the press.

According to Joe Lockhart, the White House press secretary under President Bill Clinton, the timing could not be better for the current president. Lockhart stated Biden has conveniently exceeded his campaign initiative on vaccines, and that deserves the display and circumstance of a full press conference at the White House.

The Biden administration is a reportedly tight ship, fully aware of its history of flubs, and Biden himself is a self-described "gaffe machine." He cycled through the 2020 campaign with a lack of news conferences and often focused on the pandemic.

While Biden has been on the same track with previous presidents in taking press queries in other formats, he has a tendency to field just one or two informal inquiries at a time. It is usually done in a hurried setting in front of a whirring helicopter or at the end of an event.

IRS to Send Second Batch of Third Stimulus Checks on March 24

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
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.
You have permission to edit this article.

Edit Close
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, today received virtually copies of credentials of several ambassadors-designate to Bahrain.

Director of Afro-Asian Affairs, Mona Abbas Mahmoud Radhi, and the Director of the Americas and Pacific Affairs, Ambassador Shaikh Abdullah bin Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, were present.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs received a copy of the credentials of Kuwait-resident Ambassador-designate of the Federative Republic of Brazil to the Kingdom of Bahrain, Francisco Mauro Brasil de Holanda.

He also received a copy of the credentials of the Abu Dhabi-resident Guatemalan Ambassador-designate to the Kingdom of Bahrain, Lars Pira Perez.

D. Zayani also received a copy of the credentials of the Abu Dhabi-resident Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to the Kingdom of Bahrain, Oto Pungartnik.

He also received a copy of the credentials of Kuwait -resident Ambassador of the Republic of Kenya to the Kingdom of Bahrain, Halima Abdille Mohamud.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs also received a copy of the credentials of Riyadh-resident Maltese Ambassador-designate to the Kingdom of Bahrain, Dr Clive Aquilina Spagnol.

The Minister welcomed their Excellencies the ambassadors-designate, praised the close friendship between the Kingdom of Bahrain and their friendly countries and stressed Bahrain's keenness to raise the levels of its bilateral cooperation to broader horizons to benefit all sides and achieve common aspirations, wishing them every success.

For their part, the ambassadors-designate expressed their great pride to have submitted copies of their credentials to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and stressed the interest and keenness of their countries to strengthen bilateral cooperation with the Kingdom of Bahrain at all levels, wishing the Kingdom further progress and prosperity.
The Victoria target is located at the company's Surimeau District property in Quebec, which hosts several target areas for critical and strategic metals as well as for gold

Drilling is planned for around three kilometers of the five-kilometer strike of the Victoria target area

( ) ( ) (FRA:9RR) said it has begun a 3,500-meter drill program on the Victoria Nickel target at its Surimeau District property in Quebec.

The company said the drilling is planned for around three kilometers of the five-kilometer strike of the Victoria target area and is a follow-up program to its confirmation surface and sub-surface sampling programs which it said has demonstrated the presence of mineralization including sulphide nickel, zinc, copper, and silver while testing for platinum group elements is ongoing.

Surimeau hosts several target areas, both for critical and strategic metals, as well as for gold, the company said, adding that the targets have been identified on the basis of prior work carried out by Renforth on the property, including verification of the presence of mineralization.

"The zinc-nickel occurrences at Surimeau bear a striking geological similarity to the Outokumpu, Finland deposits, which have a similar, and unusual, association of these two elements in what appears to be a tectonically juxtaposed magmatic nickel and zinc-rich volcanogenic massive sulfide-type settings, Renforths principal technical advisor on the Surimeau property, James Franklin, said in a statement.

This geological setting is an almost unique association in Canada (there is at least one other occurrence), but a substantial and productive resource in Finland", he added.

Contact the author at calum@proactiveinvestors.com

Follow him on Twitter @Cal_Proac
Seoul, March 25 : South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and his visiting Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov held talks here on Thursday to discuss the Korean Peninsula issue and ways to develop bilateral ties.

It was the first dialogue between the top diplomats of the two countries since June 2019, reports Xinhua news agency.

Chung said in a statement that he and Lavrov agreed to continue working together to arrange an early visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to South Korea as the Covid-19 situation is stabilised, while facilitating senior-level exchanges and cooperation between the two sides, according to the Foreign Ministry in Seoul.

They agreed to continue cooperation in the areas of "nine bridges" agreed upon by South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Putin in 2017 as a framework for substantive cooperation between the two countries.

The two ministers agreed to expand the bilateral cooperation in the disease prevention and control and the public health, under a common understanding that solidarity and cooperation are of paramount importance in overcoming the global challenge of Covid-19, the statement said.

South Korea and Russia agreed to continue close communication and cooperation at various levels to advance the Korean Peninsula peace process, according to the statement.

The statement said Seoul appreciates Moscow's various proposals to achieve complete denuclearisation and settle permanent peace on the peninsula as well as its consistent support for efforts for improvement in inter-Korean ties and the peninsula peace process.

South Korea asked Russia to continue to play a constructive role in the process, the statement added.
At least 22 youths of Sanyang village in the Kombo South District of the West Coast Region (WCR) were yesterday dragged to court in Brikama, The Point has been reliably informed.

The suspects are slammed with six count charges, including arson and five others; rioters demolishing buildings, rioters injuring, unlawful assembly and conspiracy to commit felony.

The case has been adjourned to today 24 March for continuation of hearing. The suspects are back to police custody.

The Sanyang incident which claimed the life of a Gambian has resulted in several acts of vandalism, attack and burning of the Police Station in Sanyang, looting and burning of a fishmeal processing factory, burning of tires on roads as well as numerous acts of destruction to properties.

Meanwhile, police preliminary investigation has led to the arrests of 50 individuals who are currently helping the police in their investigations.

According to the police, 22 individuals are among the arrested people, who are charged with offences under the criminal laws of The Gambia.
Panaji, March 25 : Eight years after a judicial commission exposed Goa's biggest scam, the Rs. 35,000 crore illegal mining scandal, the Goa government has still not been able to evaluate the exact loss caused to the state exchequer.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant told the ongoing budget session of the state legislative assembly on Thursday, that the "actual value" of the loss would be ascertained after the Goa government peruses the reports submitted by a committee of chartered accounts, which had been appointed to assess the findings of the Justice M.B. Shah Commission report.

"Government is going as per (the) CA reports and actual value will be informed," Sawant told Opposition MLA and former Deputy Chief Minister Vijai Sardesai during Question Hour.

The mines sector in Goa, which at its peak contributed around 17 per cent to the state's Gross Domestic Product, has been plagued by scam after scam over the last decade, which has led to a complete stoppage of mining activity in the state twice since 2012.

However, the extent of the financial loss caused to the Goa government treasury by the mining scam exposed by the Shah Commission, has never been formally established, even though several figures have been doing the rounds over the years.

While the 2012 Shah Commission report, which indicted top bureaucrats, then Chief Minister Digambar Kamat and nearly all the top mining companies in the state in the scam, pegging the loss to the government at Rs. 35,000 crore, figures put out by the BJP, now the ruling party, have fluctuated erratically.

In October 2011, top state BJP leaders including late Manohar Parrikar and then BJP national president Nitin Gadkari and then Rajya Sabha MP Kirit Somaiya had met President of India Pratibha Patil and accused the incumbent Congress-led coalition government in Goa of orchestrating a Rs. 25,000 crore illegal mining scam.

"This is the biggest illegal mining scam in India at Rs.25,000 crore in just two years. Like the 2G scam, the scam money is being routed through companies set up in tax havens like Mauritius and Cayman islands," Somaiya had then maintained.

In the same year, Parrikar, then a Leader of Opposition and chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, had pegged the scam at around Rs. 3,000 crore.

Once the BJP-led coalition government came to power however, Parrikar rubbished the findings of the Shah Commission report, stating that there were inadequacies in the findings and the loss estimation in the judicial commission's report needed to be verified.

Parrikar had later appointed a committee of chartered accountants to analyse the scam-related findings of the report.

Parrikar had flip flopped once again in 2018, claiming that the extent of the scam was only between Rs. 50 crore to Rs. 100 crore, facing flak for his comments.

In the discussion during Question Hour on Thursday, Goa Forward party president Vijai Sardesai grilled Sawant over the government's sluggishness in investigating the scandal, accusing mining companies of actually running the state government's Directorate of Mines and Geology.

"There seems to be match-fixing in the mining case. The case has been dilly-dallying since 2012. Are mining companies running the Mining department?" Sardesai said.

In his response to the accusation, Sawant maintained that a Special Investigation Team formed by the state government to probe the mining scam had filed 16 First Information Reports, out of which eight cases have been chargesheeted and two cases are still under investigation.
A former Mexican governor appeared before a federal Texas court judge Thursday and pleaded guilty to a single count of laundering money.

Tomas Yarrington governed the northeastern state of Tamaulipas from 1999 to 2006 under the then-ruling PRI Party, and came under the radar of United States authorities on allegations that he had accepted kickback payments.

According to a federal indictment filed in 2013 in the Brownsville Division of the Southern District of Texas, Yarrington was on the receiving end of bribes from drug traffickers and the Gulf Cartel who were operating in the border state. In exchange, the then-governor gave his alleged associates the green light to operate and smuggle drugs into the United States.

Federal prosecutors also accused Yarrington of trafficking cocaine to the U.S. via the Port of Veracruz.

Former Mexican governor Tomas Yarrington (second from left) pleaded guilty in a Texas federal court to money laundering charges. Yarrington admitted he used bribes he only received from commercial businesses in Mexico to purchase properties in Texas. The United States government had accused him of receiving kickback payments from drug traffickers and the Gulf Cartel. He faces up to 20 years in prison

Tomas Yarrington (pictured at a May 23, 2005 press conference in Mexico City) pleaded guilty in a Texas federal court to money laundering charges and admitted he used bribes he only received from commercial businesses in Mexico to purchase properties in Texas

Yarrington, pictured with his wife Maria Antonieta Morales Loo, also was accused of smuggling cocaine into the US from the Port of Veracruz

The indictment also showed that Yarrington took bribes from commercial businesses in Mexico.

A construction firm identified as Materiales y Construcciones Villa de Aguayo, S.A. de C.V. benefited from a vast amount of public works projects that were signed off during Yarrington's governorship. Its owner, Fernando Cano, reportedly paid off Yarrington to buy real estate under fake names for him.

Italian authorities arrested Yarrington on April 9, 2017 and refused to turn him over to Mexican authorities. Instead, the Italian government extradited him to the United States on April 20, 2018.

The 64-year-old reportedly laundered money through the purchase of homes in San Antonio and invested in real estate property in San Antonio and South Padre Island, according to Express News.

Yarrington, seen in the custody of Italian agents in 2018, avoided a life sentence and will have to turn over a waterfront home he owns in Port Isabel

Yarrington avoided a life sentence after prosecutors turned down the opportunity to try him on the more serious offenses, instead reaching a deal with him to accept the money laundering charges that will carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

As part of the plea deal, Yarrington admitted that he used the bribe money he accepted during his term as governor to buy properties in Texas. The payments made to him by the drug traffickers were not a part of the transactions.

The ex-governor was also forced to turn in a waterfront home he owns in Port Isabel.

'Yarrington received illegal proceeds from individuals and private companies seeking business with the state of Tamaulipas,' Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Betancourt said in court Thursday.
Lets hope its third time lucky for Victorias hotel quarantine program. If the record so far of the states attempts to keep COVID-19 at bay is anything to go by, it will need all the help it can get.

On Thursday, the Andrews government did its best to reassure the public that when international travellers start arriving again in two weeks  the state shut its doors on February 13  the revamped system and procedures will be fit for purpose.

Acting Premier James Merlino announces the new date for hotel quarantine to restart. Behind him is Deputy Chief Health Officer Allen Cheng. Credit:Justin McManus

While it is accepted that the first botched attempt at hotel quarantine was largely the fault of rushed execution and a lack of accountability, the revamped program, which began on December 7, was touted by Premier Daniel Andrews as the most risk averse in the country.

Just over two months later, following COVID-19 leaks from three hotels in under a month (including an outbreak of the highly infectious UK variant that led to a snap five-day statewide lockdown), hotel quarantine was shut down again. The state government justified the move by saying it needed breathing space to investigate what had gone wrong the second time around.
analysis

As the COVID-19 pandemic enters its second year, new fast-spreading variants have caused a surge in infections in many countries, and renewed lockdowns. The devastation of the pandemic - millions of deaths, economic strife and unprecedented curbs on social interaction - has already had a marked effect on people's mental health.

Researchers worldwide are investigating the causes and impacts of this stress, and some fear that the deterioration in mental health could linger long after the pandemic has subsided.

Ultimately, scientists hope that they can use the mountains of data being collected in studies about mental health to link the impact of particular control measures to changes in people's well-being, and to inform the management of future pandemics.

The data that emerge from these studies will be huge, says sociologist James Nazroo at the University of Manchester, UK. "This is really ambitious science," he says.

More than 42% of people surveyed by the US Census Bureau in December reported symptoms of anxiety or depression in December, an increase from 11% the previous year. Data from other surveys suggest that the picture is similar worldwide.

Major events that have shaken societies, such as the 9/11 terrorist attack in New York, have left some people with psychological distress for years, says Marques. A study of more than 36,000 New York residents and rescue workers revealed that more than 14 years after the attack, 14% still had post-traumatic stress disorder and 15% experienced depression - much higher rates than in comparable populations (5% and 8%, respectively).

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Gambia Health Coronavirus By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

The distress in the pandemic probably stems from people's limited social interactions, tensions among families in lockdown together and fear of illness, says psychiatrist Marcella Rietschel at the Central Institute for Mental Health in Mannheim, Germany.

Studies and surveys conducted so far in the pandemic consistently show that young people, rather than older people, are most vulnerable to increased psychological distress, perhaps because their need for social interactions are stronger.

Data also suggest that young women are more vulnerable than young men, and people with young children, or a previously diagnosed psychiatric disorder, are at particularly high risk for mental-health problems.

Scientists running large, detailed international studies say that they might eventually be able to show how particular COVID-control measures - such as lockdowns or restrictions on social interaction - reduce or exacerbate mental-health stress, and whether some populations, such as minority ethnic groups, are disproportionately affected by certain policies. That could help to inform the response in this pandemic and future ones, say researchers.

A Guest Editorial
A student has moaned about being pepper sprayed by police despite attending a violent 'Kill the Bill' protest in Bristol on Sunday.

Cydanie Smith claimed she was squirted in the face by officers when she refused to move from the pavement outside Bridewell Police Station.

The 20-year-old also alleges the chemical was fired from closer than the legal range - one-metre - but that has not been verified.

Violent scenes erupted in the city as policemen were injured and vehicles were set ablaze as thousands took to the streets over the past few days.

The 'thuggery and disorder' has been condemned by police and politicians across the board after the illegal gatherings.

Police yesterday released photos of eight more people wanted in connection with the riots - to add to the ten they are already hunting.

And riot officers faced down protesters again last night - including a naked one - as a police boss revealed the force feels 'under siege' amid rising tensions.

Cydanie Smith (pictured) claimed she was squirted in the face by officers when she refused to move from the pavement outside Bridewell Police Station

A vandalised police van explodes outside Bridewell Police Station, after protesters set it on fire on Sunday

A demonstrator gestures near a burning police vehicle as two other vans arrive at the scene to drive protesters away on Sunday

People watch a burning police vehicle during the protest, which has become violent with protesters attacking a police station on Sunday

Smith claimed she was left momentarily blind, in pain and says she has felt ill since being pepper sprayed.

University of West England student, who studies illustration, said having she inhaled the spray's toxins which gave her 'bad chest pains'.

She said: 'It was one of the most painful things I've experienced. It's like liquid chilli juice being sprayed into your eyes.

'It's like having chemicals fired on you and I inhaled a lot of it. The only thing going through my head was ''oh my god I'm never going to see again''.'

The protester said 'this isn't China or North Korea' and added: 'We should be allowed to stand up and say ''no we don't want this''.'

What started as a non-violent demonstration on Sunday afternoon turned violent after hundreds of protesters descended on the New Bridewell police station.

Two police officers were injured, suffering broken ribs and an arm, and taken to hospital during violent skirmishes with masked thugs.

Smith claimed she was left momentarily blind, in pain and says she has felt ill since being pepper sprayed

University of West England student (left, her hand, and right), who studies illustration, said having she inhaled the spray's toxins which gave her 'bad chest pains'

A vandalised police van on fire outside Bridewell Police Station, as other police vehicles arrive on Sunday

Riot police, with police horses and police vehicles, move down Rupert Street in Bristol towards protesters on Sunday

Protester kicks a smashed Bridewell Police Station window as police officers inside barricade the way , in Bristol, Sunday

And police said yesterday they were investigating 40 assaults on their officers and on one member of the media.

Nine people have been arrested so far - but the police have warned this number will almost certainly rise.

Later, protesters attempted to smash the windows of the glass-fronted police station.

They also tried to set fire to one of the marked police vans parked outside the station but the small flames were quickly extinguished by riot officers.

Other protesters set fire to a police van parked on Bridewell Street, near to the police station.

Rioters smashed the windows of the police station and also destroyed Avon and Somerset Police vehicles parked nearby, setting fire to a car and a van.

Cars parked in a multi-storey car park adjacent to the police station were also damaged by protesters.

Avon and Somerset Police said its officers had missiles and fireworks thrown at them and used mounted officers and dogs to disperse the mob.

Protester smashes a Bridewell Police Station window as they take part in a 'Kill the Bill' protest in Bristol, demonstrating against the Government's controversial Police and Crime Bill on Sunday

Police officers inside Bridewell Police Station recording protesters on the roof outside on Sunday

Police hold back people outside Bridewell Police Station as they take part in a 'Kill the Bill' protest in Bristol, Sunday

Protester denies carrying a SPEAR at Kill the Bill demonstration on Sunday A protester has denied carrying a spear at Sunday's Kill the Bill demonstration in Bristol. Bradley Edmonds, of Ilchester Crescent, appeared at Bristol Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, charged with possessing an offensive weapon. The 28-year-old had been arrested on Monday, the day after the Kill the Bill demonstration against the proposed Police and Crime Bill. Edmonds pleaded not guilty to possession of a homemade spear with a sharpened edge. He was granted unconditional bail ahead of his next appearance at the same court on June 10. Avon and Somerset police say they are now investigating assaults on 40 officers and one member of the media. One officer was initially reported to have a broken arm, but police have now confirmed no officers suffered broken bones. A force spokesman said: 'Two further people, a 20-year-old man and a man currently refusing to provide details, have been arrested on suspicion of violent disorder and are in custody. This brings the total number of arrests so far to nine. 'Since launching a dedicated form for members of the public to supply footage or give us information about those involved, we've had 210 submissions and a further 68 calls to our control room.' Advertisement

Smith got to the protest early, arriving at College Green at 2.30pm with a friend. She had a placard that read: 'It is a human right to protest.'

She followed the protest when it marched around the city centre and arrived outside Bridewell Police Station.

She said as the events descended, she found herself caught in the middle of a crowd shouting at police who were enforcing Covid restrictions and tackling rioters.

Smith and her friends sat on a pavement near the station but soon became engaged in a confrontation with riot police.

She said: 'People were jumping on cars and doing horrible things that I don't condone at all.

'I tried to have a conversation with the police - then they were like: ''If you don't move, you're gunna get pepper sprayed''.'

'I said ''why are you trying to threaten us? Your job is to protect us and now all of a sudden, your threatening us with pepper spray''.'

The student claimed: 'One had ''medic'' written across her shield - it was like a print. That is a picture of hypocrisy.'

Smith said she was sprayed in one of her eyes by an officer. She said she reached her arm out to shield her friends, but says they were bundled to the floor.

She said: 'We were in a pile of four or five people completely on the ground - on the other side of us we had a police van trying to drive into us and you can't move.'

Smith claims a can was emptied directly into her face, rendering her blind for 20 minutes and in pain.

She said: 'The last thing I saw was a can come right in front of my eyes - it was sprayed all over my nose and my mouth.

'I'm still experiencing issues; my chest has been extremely painful. Then someone luckily grabbed my arms and took me to the side where people had cartons of milk ready.

'It was at least 20 minutes until I started seeing again, I was covered in milk - it was all over me.'

Protestor uses a skateboard to protect himself from a police officer's baton in Bristol during a confrontation Sunday

Demonstrators throw objects from the top of Bridewell Police Station in Bristol which has been defaced during the protest on Sunday

Smith said she had not complained to police. But she claimed officers treated the protesters out of order, despite the vicious scenes the country watched in shock.

She said: 'I looked up police documents and when you can use pepper spray - and you should only use it when someone is getting violent or aggressive - and you're supposed to be a minimum metre away.

'I need to get in touch with someone to try help because I don't know how to go about it as I don't really know how to make a complaint.

'I feel they picked on people who seemed weaker - the people they were shoving with shields, the majority were young women like me who really are pretty defenceless against them.

'They come in with weapons and people are going to feel intimidated.

'The whole thing was completely peaceful and really a lovely experience until riot police came in and started intimidating people. That's really when violence kicked off.

'It is unfortunate that protests put people at risk - but we have to make a difficult decision. I have to stand up for my rights and for the many people around me.'

The mindless violence was condemned by the Home Secretary, police federation representatives and local leaders.

Home Secretary Priti Patel tweeted on Sunday: 'Unacceptable scenes in Bristol tonight.

'Thuggery and disorder by a minority will never be tolerated. Our police officers put themselves in harm's way to protect us all. My thoughts this evening are with those police officers injured.'

Bristol mayor Marvin Rees said: 'I have major concerns about the Bill myself, which is poorly thought out and could impose disproportionate controls on free expression and the right to peaceful protest.

A close up of protesters on the roof of Bridewell Police Station as police watch from inside on Sunday

Demonstrators graffiti a police shield during the Bristol protest against a new proposed policing bill on Sunday

Protestors attack a police van which is then set on fire as police clash with protesters outside Bridewell Police Station on Sunday

What legislation is behind the protests to Kill the Bill? The Government's Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill could see the police handed more powers to tackle demonstrations. The wide-ranging proposals include laws to reform sentencing, the courts and handling offenders. If passed, some of the measures will be UK-wide while others may only apply in England and Wales. They include: - Whole life orders for premeditated murder of a child, allowing judges to also hand out the maximum sentence to 18 to 20-year-olds in exceptional cases, like for acts of terrorism leading to mass loss of life. - The legislation looks to toughen up powers the police have to tackle 'non-violent' protests which are significantly disruptive to the public or on access to Parliament. - The proposed law includes an offence of 'intentionally or recklessly causing public nuisance'. According to the Bill, someone commits this crime if they cause 'serious harm to the public', which can include 'serious annoyance, serious inconvenience or serious loss of amenity'. Those convicted could face a fine or jail. Meanwhile, the Government is also seeking to increase the maximum penalty for criminal damage to a memorial from three months to 10 years, under the Bill. The laws could also see police have more powers to crack down on unauthorised encampments which interfere with the ability to use the land. Officers could also be allowed to stop and search people more if plans for serious violence reduction orders go ahead. This would make it easier to carry out checks on those who have previously been convicted of carrying a knife. Advertisement

'Smashing buildings in our city centre, vandalising vehicles, attacking our police will do nothing to lessen the likelihood of the Bill going through.

'On the contrary, the lawlessness on show will be used as evidence and promote the need for the Bill. This is a shameful day in an incredible year for Bristol.

'We have faced times of great confrontation particularly surrounding Black Lives Matter and the events that followed. We have had numerous protests.

'Our police, city representatives and I have been able to point out with pride that we have faced these moments of conflict without the physical conflict that others have experienced.

'Those who decided to turn the protest into a physical confrontation and smash our city have robbed us of this.'

Andy Roebuck, chairman of the Avon and Somerset Police Federation, said: 'Disgusting scenes in Bristol by a mob of animals who are injuring police officers, members of the public and damaging property.

'We have officers with suspected broken arms and ribs. This is so wrong.'

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill would give the police in England and Wales more power to impose conditions on non-violent protests.

Those convicted under the act under the proposed legislation could face a fine or jail.

Police yesterday released photos of eight more people wanted in connection with the Sunday riots.

Avon and Somerset Police had appealed for help identifying ten people on Tuesday and the force shared more images of suspected rioters.

Nine people have been arrested as police continue to investigate assaults on 40 officers and a member of the media.

Avon and Somerset Police said two people, a 20-year-old man and a man refusing to provide details, were arrested on suspicion of violent disorder and were in custody.

A second protest against the Bill took place in the city on Tuesday, resulting in 14 arrests.

Chief Superintendent Carolyn Belafonte said the investigation into Sunday's riot could be one of the largest in the history of Avon and Somerset Police.

Police have released photos of eight more people wanted in connection with the 'Kill the Bill' riots in Bristol on Sunday

Avon and Somerset Police had appealed for help identifying ten people on Tuesday and now the force has shared more images of suspected rioters

Bristol saw 3,000 demonstrators protesting the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill on Sunday

A total of nine people have so far been arrested as police continue to investigate assaults on 40 officers and a member of the media

'The fact we're investigating 40 assaults on officers and a member of the media as the result of one incident shows the scale of wanton disorder which took place that night,' Chief Supt Belafonte said.

'Through painstaking work to examine more than two terabytes worth of digital footage, we believe we're making clear progress to identify those responsible and anticipate further images will be released soon to the online gallery we've set up.

'One of the people we believe we've already identified is a suspect in the fire which destroyed a mobile community police station.

'We'd like to thank every member of the public who's got in touch to provide footage, information or to pass on their well-wishes and kind thoughts.'

The force has received 210 submissions after appealing for the public to supply footage or information about those involved, as well as 68 calls to the control room.

Two officers taken to hospital during the riot were found not to have suffered broken bones.

Six men arrested on suspicion of violent disorder were released under investigation, while a 28-year-old man appeared at Bristol Magistrates' Court charged with possessing an offensive weapon.

On Tuesday, around 200 people gathered on College Green for a second night of protests.

Chief Superintendent Carolyn Belafonte said the investigation into Sunday's riot could be one of the largest in the history of Avon and Somerset Police

The force is still looking to identify 17 people in connection with the unrest on Sunday night

On Tuesday, officers from Avon and Somerset Police first issued pictures of people they want to speak to in connection with the Bristol riots

A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said it will be one of their biggest ever investigations

Police requested mutual aid from neighbouring forces to assist in dispersing the gathering after attempts to encourage people to leave were unsuccessful, a police spokesman said.

Public order officers from Avon and Somerset, British Transport Police, Devon and Cornwall, Dorset, Dyfed-Powys, Gloucestershire, Gwent and Wiltshire were deployed to move protesters on at 10pm.

Police dog units, horses, the police helicopter and a police drone unit were also involved in the operation.

Many protesters left the area but a 'significant number' gathered on Deanery Road and refused to disperse, Avon and Somerset Police said.

Fourteen arrests were made, with one of those detained also arrested for offences connected to Sunday's protest.

Pictured: Two of the people Avon and Somerset Police wish to speak to in connection with the Bristol event

Police released pictures of people they would like to speak to in connection with Sunday's events in Bristol
Half of London businesses will support some form of remote working when the coronavirus crisis ends, new research suggests.

A survey of 500 business leaders in the capital showed that one in two plans to continue offering remote working to staff, while a third expect to cut down on office space.

London Chamber of Commerce said its study revealed that almost two-thirds of employers have allowed staff to work from home at least two days a week as a result of the pandemic.

A survey of 500 business leaders by the London Chambers of Commerce showed that one in two plans to continue offering remote working to staff, while a third expect to cut down on office space

Just over half of respondents said they will continue remote working in some form each week when the pandemic is over.

And over 60 per cent of businesses said they will keep holding meetings virtually where possible.

Have you allowed staff to work from home at least 2 days a week? 36% said they have done this, and will maintain this even when the pandemic is over. 16% said they have done this, and will keep this in a reduced fashion when the pandemic is over. 10% said they have done this, but will stop once the pandemic is over. 5% said they had not done this. 32% said it was not applicable to their organisation. 1% said dont know. Advertisement

In both cases only about 5 per cent of companies contacted had not tried either allowing staff to work at home or conduct virtual meetings.

Meanwhile two in five have reduced their office space, while one in five said they had not considered this.

The business leaders were also asked when they expected conditions for their firm and the wider economy to return to pre-pandemic levels, with 41 per cent suggesting it could happen later this year, but almost half said it would take until at least 2022.

Richard Burge, chief executive of London Chamber of Commerce, said: 'This is a further body of evidence that shows changes to ways of working that we have seen during the pandemic are going to carry on in some form for some businesses after it is over.

'Our research shows that half of businesses will continue some remote working, whilst a third of businesses polled will continue with reduced physical space, and three in five will maintain virtual meetings where possible.'

Mr Burge suggested that such a reduction in commuters in parts of major cities could have a serious negative knock-on impact on cafes, sandwich shops and pubs used by workers throughout the day.

'That will mean less commuters daily in certain parts of London than pre-Covid. Clearly this presents challenges for support businesses in those areas.

Richard Burge, chief executive of London Chamber of Commerce, said: 'This is a further body of evidence that shows changes to ways of working that we have seen during the pandemic are going to carry on in some form for some businesses after it is over'

Has your company reduced physical space (e.g. offices)? 18% said they have done this, and will maintain this even when the pandemic is over. 13% said they have done this, and will keep this in a reduced fashion when the pandemic is over. 11% said they have done this, but will stop once the pandemic is over. 21% said they had not done this. 35% said it was not applicable to my organisation. 3% said dont know. Advertisement

But he added that workers remaining in their 'home boroughs' more often could create more opportunities outside city centres.

Mr Burge continued: 'With a visible hybrid approach to ways of working emerging, rail companies simply must be offering part-week, flexible, season ticket options.

'And for Transport for London there are significant implications of a potential continued reduction in daily commuter use.

'The Government must consider a longer-term financial model with TfL that acknowledges this change of use.

'With central London set to be quieter than pre-covid, its all the more essential that the right parameters are in place to support the safe return of domestic and international visitors.

'The investment recently announced by the Mayor of London in a campaign to return domestic tourism is welcomed.

'The UK must ensure that our COVID-19 border protection measures are effective, give consumer confidence, and ideally align with the Europe-wide scheme being proposed.

'Its key that the Global Travel Taskforce stick to their reporting timetable, to that regard.'
ADVERTISEMENT

ASR AFRICA, the brainchild of Abdul Samad Rabiu, Founder and Executive Chairman of BUA Group has provided a grant of N1 billion to the Ahmadu Bello University as part of its yearly $100 million ASR Africa Fund for Social Development & Renewal.

This grant will go towards the provision of a hostel and department building as identified by the University today.

The African Industrialist and Philanthropist, had on Monday launched the ASR Africa Initiative for Education, Health and Social Development in Africa which focuses mainly on equipping facilities, researchers, healthcare practitioners and community-level service providers and also supporting the efforts of various Governments in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa in Education, Healthcare and Social Development.

Speaking at a ceremony at the Ahmadu Bello University today, Mr Rabiu also named the University of Nigeria, Nsukka; University of Maiduguri; University of Ilorin; University of Ibadan, and University of Benin as other beneficiaries of N 1 billion each in the first cohort of the intervention grant.

According to Mr Rabiu who was represented by Dliyu Idi Hong, he commended the Vice Chancellor for promptly identifying the projects that needed intervention.

In view of this and starting immediately, we intend to be on ground to commence the project. We are hoping the other five universities can also quickly identify such projects with our team to fast-track the project initiation.

It is our belief at the ASR Africa Initiative that this support will go a long way in bridging the infrastructure deficit in education within Nigeria and other African Countries in our cohort. We are excited about the endless possibilities that lie ahead of Africa and because The Time for Nigeria and Africa is now, and business development is nothing without citizens development.

On behalf of the ASR Africa Initiative, we look forward to commencing the work to build for the benefit of Africas children and her future.

ABOUT ASR AFRICA

The Abdul Samad Rabiu Africa Initiative seeks to support sustainable development initiatives in the Health, Education and Social Development within Nigeria and the rest of Africa, every year. For more information visit asrafrica.org or email asrafrica[at]buagroup[dot]com
The foreign ministers of France, Italy and Germany met with Libyan officials Thursday to show support for the country's newly elected transitional authorities, who are expected to lead the war-stricken country through general elections by the end of 2021.

The European foreign ministers also called on mercenaries and foreign fighters to leave the country immediately.

We are here to express our support of the political transition in Libya and we are willing to cooperate with the government of National Unity, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio told reporters at a joint news conference with his counterparts.

Di Maio was referring to Libyas interim government, which includes a three-member presidential council and a Cabinet that took power amid international pressure to implement a U.N.-brokered political roadmap.

The three foreign ministers stressed that foreign fighters and mercenaries should immediately leave the country in order to ensure the full implementation a ceasefire agreement inked in October.

This (withdrawal) is indispensable so that Libya can regain its sovereignty and security, said Frances Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian By fulfilling these conditions, Libya can finally turn the page after so many years of a crisis that has divided the country.

The oil-rich country in recent years has been split between rival east- and west-based administrations, each backed by armed groups and foreign governments. In April 2019, east-based commander Khalifa Hifter launched a military offensive to wrestle the capital, Tripoli, from a U.N.-supported government. Hifter's 14-month-long military campaign failed eventually after Turkey had thrown its full military backing behind his rivals forcing his troops to retreat eastwards.

Earlier this month, the U.N. Security Council called for countries with troops and mercenaries, who were involved in Libya's most recent civil conflict, to withdraw them without delay. The U.N. has estimated there are 20,000 foreign fighters in Libya, including Syrians, Turks, Sudanese and Russians.

Italy's Di Maio affirmed the commitment of the three European nations to continue enforcing the U.N. arms embargo on Libya through their naval mission in the Mediterranean sea, dubbed Irini.

We should increase our efforts to train the Libyan coast guard and navy so they could help with this mission," Di Maio. added.

A recently released U.N. report accused several foreign governments of turning the North African country into a stage to play out rivalries, ignoring U.N. sanctions and the decade-long arms embargo.

The experts identified Turkey and Qatar as the backers of forces loyal to the U.N.-supported administration in Tripoli, to the west, while the United Arab Emirates, Russia, and Egypt have supported Hifter.

We have talked about the tasks ahead and about how we can concretely support (Libya) where there is a wish for it, said Germany's Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.

EU top diplomats also stressed the need to reopen the country's Mediterranean coastal road linking the east and the west.

For her part, Libya's Foreign Minister Najla Mangouch said that she had discussed with her European counterparts the reopening of their embassies and consular services on Libyan soil.

On Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that his country will reopen its embassy in Tripoli next week in a show of support to the newly-elected transitional government.

Macron spoke after a meeting in Paris with Mohammad Younes Menfi and Musa al-Koni, president and vice-president of Libyas Presidential Council. It remains unclear whether other EU countries will follow suit soon.

I am happy to be here with German and Italian colleagues, said Le Drian. "We want to prove by our presence that the EU has a unified position on the Libyan portfolio. This unified position is important because Libya is our immediate neighbor and we cannot ignore the repercussions of the Libyan crisis on Europe."

Le Drian was referring to the EU previous failure to form a unified bloc when Hifter began marching on the capital two years ago, with France taking the latter's side and Italy backing the government in the west.

Separately, Menfi met with Egypts President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi in Cairo on Thursday as part of his diplomatic efforts to galvanize support for his government.

We are ready to provide our full support to Libya until it achieves the unity of its territories and stability away from any foreign intervention and (foreign) fighters and mercenaries, el-Sissi told Menfi
A Minnesota man has been arrested on domestic violence charges after police say he attacked the mother of his child in front of the boy for bringing him a quarter-pounder instead of a Big Mac.

Mohamed Aboubaker, 39, from Minneapolis, was arrested on Sunday on two counts of domestic assault.

According to a probable cause statement obtained by DailyMail.com, law enforcement officials in Mankato received multiple 911 calls just after 9pm about a disturbance. An emergency dispatcher reported hearing scuffling noises and a child screaming in the background on the calls.

Mohamed Aboubaker, 39, has been charged with two counts of domestic assault for allegedly throwing the mother of his child to the floor during an argument about a McDonald's meal

Unhappy meal: Aboubaker allegedly grew upset because the woman brought him a quarter-pounder from McDonald's (left) instead of a Big Mac (right)

An officer who responded to the scene was met by the victim, who told him that her attacker, whom she identified as Aboubaker, had fled.

The woman told the officer that Aboubaker, who is the father of her three-year-old son, had been visiting with her for the last few days.

Earlier that evening, the woman said Aboubaker grew upset with her for bringing him a quarter-pounder burger from McDonald's instead of a Big Mac, and an argument ensued between the pair in the kitchen.

The victim asked the man to leave, but he refused.

Aboubaker (pictured in an old booking photo) has an extensive criminal record in Minnesota, which includes convictions for domestic assault; aggravated robbery; receiving stolen property, and marijuana possession

As the shouting match continued, Aboubaker allegedly grabbed the woman and threw her to the floor against the dresser.

The woman's son was in the room and was screaming, according to the complaint.

'Victim 1 stated she was scared for herself and her son,' stated the document.

Aboubaker then allegedly went to the kitchen and took some money out of the victim's purse.

But the woman confronted Aboubaker about the pilfered cash and sprayed him from a can of hornet aerosol.

Officers later tracked down Aboubaker and arrested him. He was at a hospital at the time the affidavit was filed.

If convicted, Aboubaker could face up to two years in prison.

The Smoking Gun reported that Aboubaker has an extensive criminal record in Minnesota, which includes convictions for domestic assault; aggravated robbery; receiving stolen property, and marijuana possession.
DUBLIN, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "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" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

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.

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 segment is expected to grow at the highest rate during the forecast period

Based on technology, the AI in genomics market is segmented into machine learning and other technologies. The machine learning segment is projected to register a higher CAGR during the forecast period. The high growth rate of this segment is mainly 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 is estimated to account for the largest share of the AI in genomics market in 2019

Based on application, the AI 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 the AI 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.

North America is expected to dominate the AI in genomics market in 2020

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. The market in the Asia Pacific region, on the other hand, is projected to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Emerging countries in the APAC, such as India and China, offer lucrative growth opportunities for market players, primarily due to the increasing public and private funding, improving healthcare infrastructure, and rapid economic growth.

Key Topics Covered:

1 Introduction

2 Research Methodology

3 Executive Summary

4 Premium Insights

4.1 AI in Genomics: Market Overview

4.2 AI in Genomics Market, by End-user

4.3 North America: AI in Genomics Market, by Technology & Country (2019)

4.4 Geographical Snapshot of the AI in Genomics Market

5 Market Overview

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Market Dynamics

5.2.1 Drivers

5.2.1.1 Need to Control the Time and Costs of Drug Development and Discovery

5.2.1.2 Increasing Investments in AI in Genomics

5.2.1.3 Rising Adoption of AI in Precision Medicine

5.2.1.4 Growing Genomic Datasets

5.2.2 Restraints

5.2.2.1 Lack of Skilled AI Workforce and Ambiguous Regulatory Guidelines for Medical Software

5.2.3 Opportunities

5.2.3.1 Focus on Developing Human-Aware AI Systems

5.2.4 Challenges

5.2.4.1 Lack of Curated Genomic Data

5.2.4.2 Data Privacy Concerns

5.3 Impact of COVID-19 on the AI in Genomics Market

5.4 Ecosystem

6 Artificial Intelligence in Genomics Market, by Offering

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Software

6.2.1 Benefits Offered by Software & Strong Demand Among End-users Are Driving Market Growth

6.3 Services

6.3.1 Services Segment to Witness the Highest Growth During the Forecast Period

7 Artificial Intelligence in Genomics Market, by Technology

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Machine Learning

7.2.1 Deep Learning

7.2.1.1 Deep Learning is the Fastest-Growing and Largest Subsegment of Machine Learning

7.2.2 Supervised Learning

7.2.2.1 Supervised Learning Can Help Create Predictive Models

7.2.3 Reinforcement Learning

7.2.3.1 APAC to Show the Highest Growth in the Reinforcement Learning Market

7.2.4 Unsupervised Learning

7.2.4.1 Unsupervised Learning Algorithms Allow for Complex Processing Tasks, Exceeding the Capabilities of Supervised Systems

7.2.5 Other Machine Learning Technologies

7.3 Other Technologies

8 Artificial Intelligence in Genomics Market, by Functionality

8.1 Introduction

8.2 Genome Sequencing

8.2.1 Genome Sequencing Holds the Largest Share of the Market, by Functionality

8.3 Gene Editing

8.3.1 Growing Implementation of Machine Learning in Gene Editing May Help Reduce Time and Costs

8.4 Clinical Workflows

8.4.1 Machine Learning Can Help Increase the Efficiency of the Clinical Workflow

8.5 Predictive Genetic Testing & Preventive Medicine

8.5.1 AI in Genomics Can Predict Outcomes and the Risks Associated in Curing Genetic Diseases, Based on the Available Data

9 Artificial Intelligence in Genomics Market, by Application

9.1 Introduction

9.2 Diagnostics

9.2.1 Diagnostics Forms the Largest and Fastest-Growing Application Segment of the AI in Genomics Market

9.3 Drug Discovery & Development

9.3.1 Growing Application of AI in Genomics in Drug Discovery & Development to Propel Market Growth

9.4 Precision Medicine

9.4.1 Precision Medicine Focuses on Identifying the Most Effective Medical Treatments for Patients

9.5 Agriculture & Animal Research

9.5.1 AI in Genomics Helps in Improving the Productivity of Crops and Livestock

9.6 Other Applications

10 Artificial Intelligence in Genomics Market, by End-user

10.1 Introduction

10.2 Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Companies

10.2.1 Rising Demand for Solutions to Cut Time and Costs of Drug Development Have Drawn End-User Attention to AI in Genomics

10.3 Research Centers, Academic Institutes, & Government Organizations

10.3.1 Rising Research Activity to Drive the Usage of AI in Genomics Systems Among Academic & Government Institutes

10.4 Healthcare Providers

10.4.1 Increasing Demand for Pharmacogenomics to Drive the Acceptance of Ngs in Hospitals

10.5 Other End-users

11 Artificial Intelligence in Genomics Market, by Region

11.1 Introduction

11.2 North America

11.2.1 US

11.2.1.1 The US Dominates the North American AI in Genomics Market

11.2.2 Canada

11.2.2.1 Increasing Research in Genomics to Drive Market Growth

11.3 Europe

11.3.1 UK

11.3.1.1 UK to Register the Highest CAGR in the European Market During the Forecast Period

11.3.2 Germany

11.3.2.1 Availability of Funding for AI Initiatives to Boost the Market Growth in Germany

11.3.3 France

11.3.3.1 Increasing Government Investments in Genomics to Boost the Growth of the French Market

11.3.4 RoE

11.4 Asia-Pacific

11.4.1 Efforts to Develop It Infrastructure Will Drive the Market for AI in the APAC

11.5 RoW

12 Competitive Landscape

12.1 Overview

12.2 AI in Genomics Market: Ranking Analysis (2019)

12.3 Competitive Scenario (2018-2020)

12.3.1 Key Agreements, Contracts, and Partnerships (2018-2020)

12.3.2 Key Product Launches (2018-2020)

12.3.3 Key Expansions (2018-2020)

12.3.4 Key Acquisitions (2018-2020)

12.4 Competitive Leadership Mapping

12.5 Vendor Inclusion Criteria

12.5.1 Stars

12.5.2 Emerging Leaders

12.5.3 Pervasive Players

12.5.4 Emerging Companies

13 Company Profiles

13.1 IBM

13.2 Nvidia

13.3 Microsoft Corporation

13.4 Deep Genomics

13.5 BenevolentAI

13.6 Fabric Genomics

13.7 Verge Genomics

13.8 Freenome Holdings

13.9 Molecularmatch

13.10 Cambridge Cancer Genomics

13.11 Sophia Genetics

13.12 Data4Cure

13.13 Precisionlife

13.14 Genoox

13.15 Lifebit

13.16 Diploid

13.17 Fdna

13.18 DNAnexus

13.19 Empiric Logic

13.20 Engine Biosciences

14 Appendix

14.1 Discussion Guide

14.2 Available Customizations

14.3 Related Reports

14.4 Author Details

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/cz1n76

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


Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 13:34:24|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

SEOUL, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Seven more U.S. soldiers in South Korea tested positive for COVID-19, the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said Thursday.

The USFK said in a statement that seven USFK service members were confirmed with the COVID-19 after arriving in South Korea between March 8 and 22.

Three service members arrived at Osan Air Base on U.S. government-chartered flights from the United States on March 8 and 22. The Osan Air Base is located in Pyeongtaek, 70 km south of Seoul.

Four service members arrived at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on international commercial flights on March 11 and 22.

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 806, according to Yonhap news agency.

In the latest tally, South Korea reported 430 more cases of COVID-19 for the past 24 hours, raising the total number of infections to 100,276. The total cases topped 100,000 since the first case was found here in January last year.

"Despite the recent confirmed cases, the 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
Kochi is known as the land of spices and the queen of Arabian Sea is ready to dawn another feather in its cap with the launch of Indias first luxury silk clothing brand. 23rd March 2021 saw the unveiling of Beena Kannans signature brand at Hotel Grand Hyatt, Kochi. Adding a modern twist to traditional Indian silk, the brand has already won many hearts in the industry. Being the custodian of the brand Seematti, Beena Kannan has been contributing towards preserving and promoting Indian weaves for over four decades.

With a wide range of apparels and accessories offered by her new brand, Kannan aims to showcase the rich Indian heritage of silk weaving to the world. The Beena Kannan launch event witnessed 21 top models, styled in Beena Kannan designer masterpieces, gracing the runway.

Beena Kannan also launched Indias first flagship luxury fashion museum spread across 17,500 square feet. The store-cum-museum brings different art forms from the world under one roof. The store is a pavilion of five leading art forms fused with authentic Indian silk resulting in an exceptional collection fit for all generations. Beena Kannan, with her exquisite collection, is reviving ancient art forms such as Chettinad, Mughal, Byzantine and Jamawar. Every outfit in the store has a story behind it, giving visitors a unique perspective towards fashion and its evolution. Beena Kannans theme Theodora is a tribute to the byzantine empress who was one of the first women in history to recognize the rights of women. With this ode she brings fashion from the past to the future.

With the launch of this legacy brand, I am thrilled to introduce my signature brand, inspired by ancient art and fused with my love for silk. Beena Kannan for me is an experiential brand and a definition of modern art. The attires are designed to create an impactful fashion statement and be an empirical journey for all. I look forward to bringing the Beena Kannan brand to the entire world. The launch has been a success and we at Beena Kannan are overwhelmed with the love and appreciation received so far. Theres a lot in store for all, quite literally, and we await with pleasure to take you all through every design, every art and every piece at our fashion museum at Kochi, says an ecstatic Beena Kannan.

This new venture of Beena Kannan is an innovative and unique experiment in the field of weaving. The entry to the 17500 square feet store at MG Road, Ernakulam will be by prior booking and invite only. And here, the connoisseurs of fashion will get an opportunity to witness Beena Kannans designs from up-close. A visit to this luxury destination is a must for any fashion lover for an experiential journey in the world of silks.
The mergers and acquisition (M&A) deal-making landscape of the 2016-2020 artificial intelligence (AI) tech space was dominated by US tech giants Apple, Google, Microsoft and Facebook, according to the deals database by GlobalData.

Four of the top five acquirers (by number of acquisitions) in the space - Apple, Google, Microsoft and Facebook - are companies headquartered in the US, with Apple leading the race.

Further, GlobalData says it is "interesting to note that these are also FAAMG companies.

"Ireland-based Accenture was the only non-US company to appear in the top five."

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Business Fundamentals Analyst at GlobalData, said: Apple, Google, Microsoft and Facebook collectively undertook 60 acquisitions in the AI tech space during 20162020 while Apple led the race with 25 acquisitions.

"AI has remained a key focus area for tech giants and growing competition to dominate the space has resulted in an acquisition spree among these companies.

Nicklas Nilsson, Senior Analyst on the Thematic Research Team at GlobalData, commented: The US is the leader in AI, and the dominance of US tech giants in the list of top acquirers also indicate that these companies have some defined AI objectives.

"For instance, Apple has been ramping up its acquisition of AI companies, with several deals aimed at improving Siri or creating new features on its iPhones. Machine learning start-up Inductiv was acquired to improve Siri's data, Irish voice tech start-up Voysis was bought to improve Siris understanding of natural language, and PullString should make Siri easier for iOS developers to use.

Apple has gone on a shopping spree in efforts to catch up with Google (Google Assistant) and Amazon (Alexa). Siri was first on the market, but it consistently ranks below the two in terms of smartness, which is partly why Apple is far behind in smart speaker sales.

"Apple also want to make sure to keep its strong position within wearables. It is the dominant player in smartwatches. The acquisition of Xnor.ai last year was made to improve its on-edge processing capabilities, which has become important as it eliminates the need for data to be sent to the cloud, thereby improving data privacy.

Bose continued: An analysis of GlobalDatas Job Analytics database also revealed that these top five acquirers are also on an AI talent-hiring spree and collectively posted more than 14,000 jobs in the AI space during 2020.
The Department of Health and UNICEF Australia have joined forces to increase understanding of COVID-19 vaccines safety and effectiveness among culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

UNICEF has vaccinated half the worlds children against preventable diseases and has done work to tackle vaccine misinformation in 190 countries.

The federal government has partnered with UNICEF Australia to help boost vaccine confidence. Credit:AP

Australias Chief Medical Officer, Professor Paul Kelly, said vaccines were a critical part of protecting the country from COVID-19, but the next challenge was building vaccine confidence.

We can buy the vaccines, deliver the vaccines, train health workers in administering vaccines, but all this is pointless if, at the end of the journey, people dont want to roll up their sleeve, he said in a speech earlier this week.
(TNS)  Online learning might have helped prevent teachers and students from being infected with COVID-19 this past year, but new data show it also might have fueled a rise in failing grades and disengagement from school.It's hard to gauge the extent of the disengagement because many districts either aren't disclosing absentee rates or loosened the standard for what is considered "present." Although it's clear that across the state and locally, the switch to virtual school correlated with a drop-off in public school enrollment.Of the 14 school districts that responded to the Wisconsin State Journal's request for data, all but one  McFarland  showed an increase in measures of academic failure.The State Journal in mid-February asked all 16 of the districts completely or predominantly within Dane County to provide data on absenteeism and the number of failing grades passed out to middle- and high-schoolers in the first semesters of the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years  prior to and after the COVID-19 shutdown, when public education was almost entirely online.Fourteen districts eventually responded with at least some of the data. The county's two largest and most racially and socioeconomically diverse, Madison and Sun Prairie, required the newspaper to file public records requests for the data. To date, they remain unfilled.The 7,378-student Middleton-Cross Plains district, for example, had 410 middle-schoolers failing at least one class in the fall 2019-20 semester, but 578 in the fall 2020-21 semester. The comparable numbers at the high school level were 156 and 371.In Deerfield, with about 720 students, 61 failing grades were given to 31 students in grades 7-12 in the 2019-20 semester, and 265 to 83 students in the fall semester 2020.District officials point to a number of initiatives to help students recover some of those credits and catch up academically, from a wider range of courses over the summer to outreach to disengaged students and the use of diagnostic tests, such as the STAR assessment, to identify and create learning plans for individual students.But Mount Horeb superintendent Steve Salerno cautioned that it will take time."I have communicated with many families who have considerately asked, 'How will our kids ever catch up?'" he said in an email. "Public education is a resilient business and children even more so. After Hurricane Katrina, educators confronted the same issue. In the years following that terribly tragic event, reams of data promoted one common finding: Remediation is best provided over time, not in one fell swoop."Figures for absenteeism were mixed, with three districts reporting increases in chronic absenteeism at some schools and others either reporting similar or lower figures than before the pandemic.Belleville's rate of "high-risk absenteeism"  defined by the state Department of Public Instruction as "students with 10 or more absences in the given school year"  fell by more than half from the 2019-20 to current school years, or from 14.7 percent to 6.3 percent.However, "We have been more lenient with attendance this year, not wanting to push the issue if parents say students are ill," said district administrator Nate Perry. "This year's truancy numbers will be lower because of that."In Madison, students could be marked present simply by exchanging messages with "the homeroom teacher and any specials teacher they are scheduled to receive instruction from that day." In Verona, "two-way communication" with a teacher of staff had to occur at some time during the 24-hour day when the class occurred for the student to be marked present.By contrast, the Marshall School District expected students to show up for each online class just as they had to show up for each in-person class pre-pandemic. It saw its rate of chronic absenteeism rise from 7 percent to 12 percent from the first semester of the last school year to the first semester of this one."The percentage of student participation certainly was decreased during remote teaching and learning," district administrator Dan Grady said, but he lauded students, families and district staff for largely providing a traditional, rigorous school year online.Deerfield similarly did not loosen its attendance policy but saw rates of chronic absenteeism fall at the middle and high school levels."If students were not online during their first-hour class, our main office secretary called the parent right away," district administrator Michelle Jensen said in an email. "I think that the ease of getting out of bed, not having to get ready (shower, pick out an outfit, drive to school) made it easy for kids to quickly log on with minutes to spare. I spoke to many of them first semester that shared that they could sleep in until the last minute which they loved."Seven school districts in Wisconsin, including three in Dane County  Madison, Sun Prairie and Mount Horeb  dispensed with enforcing state attendance laws altogether. The law identifies actions districts have to take when students are regularly absent without valid excuses.Madison, the county's largest district, did not respond to multiple requests for comment on why it sought the waiver.In a Sept. 28 "situation report" to its school board, Sun Prairie administrators said that while "the district believes that attendance and engagement are a critical component of learning," it was seeking "flexibility" during the pandemic."Since these impacts may result in a student's decreased ability to attend to and engage with schoolwork, we do not believe that our traditional attendance enforcement and truancy plan is appropriate at this time," the report said. Sun Prairie is the county's second-largest district.Curtis Jones, director of the Socially Responsible Evaluation in Education program at UW-Milwaukee, said it wouldn't be surprising to see the downsides of online learning, such as more failing grades and absenteeism, fall more on less-privileged students, especially in a state such as Wisconsin with large achievement gaps between white students and students of color."It's really challenging for districts to engage Black students and Black families with educators being mostly white," said Jones, who also is a parent in the Monona Grove School District and is on a district committee focused on equity.Take away the in-person opportunities for teachers and these students and families to engage, and it becomes more likely that the students will disengage, he said.Enrollment in Wisconsin's public schools has been dropping for years as the population ages and people have fewer children, but that trend accelerated during the year of the pandemic, including in Dane County.Statewide the decline from 2018 to 2019 was 0.45 percent, according to Department of Public instruction data. But from 2019 to 2020 it was 2.99 percent, a reduction of more than 25,000 students. In Dane County, the fastest-growing county in Wisconsin, enrollment was down about 1.1 percent.All but two of the county's districts  Belleville and McFarland  saw decreased enrollment from fall 2019 to fall 2020.Belleville's 1.54-percent increase was driven by an increase in its kindergarten class from 56 in the fall of 2019 to 81 in the fall of 2020. It was one of five school districts in the county with double-digit increases in kindergarten enrollment even as enrollment in some other grades dropped, and appeared in some cases to be driven by parents' desire for in-person schooling.Belleville's Perry said the district expects a strong kindergarten class next year as well, and pointed to housing growth in the community, but added that "with our PK-2 grades being open since Sept. 8, we did draw in students from other districts that were not in-person to start the year at these grade levels."Cambridge Elementary School allowed parents to choose in-person kindergarten beginning Sept. 1. Principal Chris Holt said in an email that kindergarten families recognized "the significance of kindergartners' attention spans, hands-on learning opportunities, screen time concerns, play-based learning opportunities, etc., as well as how they play a major role in achieving learning targets at the kindergarten level."McFarland's K-12 enrollment boomed this school year by more than 20 percent  an increase superintendent Andrew Briddell attributed to the increased popularity of its two online charter schools that were in operation years before the pandemic effectively turned all schooling into online schooling.Private schools in Wisconsin, many of which were quicker to return to in-person schooling, experienced a 2-percent enrollment decline that was more in line with their decrease from 2018 to 2019, while the number of students identified as home-schooled in 2020 jumped from 17,021 to 26,641.Jones, of UW-Milwaukee, said it's clear that some students simply "faded away"  effectively dropped out  during the pandemic."You have a lot of disengaged students," he said. "What are districts doing with these students this semester that they didn't do last semester?"
When youve grown up in the foster care system, the odds are stacked against you. According to statistics shared by Second Shift, a nonprofit organization based in Shelby County, Alabama, within two years of leaving foster care, 25 percent of former foster youth will be homeless, and only half will have a job.

Second Shift has a lot of work to do to help bridge the gap between foster care and the real world. And in Alabama, 30 percent of youth in foster care are in residential facilities and group homes rather than with families. These young people dont have supportive families to ease the transition to college and work life, and many of them end up homeless or in jail.

Tammy Spence, the executive director of Second Shift, is an adoptive mom whose two oldest children were foster children. Because of them, she went back to school to earn a masters degree in social work, then she became a therapist in residential care. The more she learned about the plight of children in foster care, the more she became determined to make a difference.

She and a colleague started writing a book together, but as they outlined it they realized what they really needed to do was to start a nonprofit. Thats how Second Shift  whose name was chosen after a contest on social media to describe the second part of life between childhood and adulthood  began in 2017.

The need was so great, we hit the ground running, she says. We have prevented homelessness for so many young people. During the coronavirus pandemic, especially, Second Shifts client care advocates were able to provide food and supplies to those who were isolated with COVID-19 and didnt have a support system.

Spence says that 65 percent of the kids who leave foster care dont have housing. Alabama has the fourth-highest rate of homeless youth in the country. Its a startling statistic for people to hear, she says. Theyre often out in the world with nothing.

Second Shift helps by providing beginning bins  plastic bins filled with the kinds of items needed to set up a household. The organization also partners with DHR to connect former foster youth with volunteer mentors who can help them navigate their lives.

Connection is the one factor that makes all the difference, Spence says.

To help raise awareness of the organization and raise money for its efforts, Second Shift is hosting Hidden Eggs of Birmingham, a virtual egg/scavenger hunt that starts Friday, March 26, and lasts for eight days, ending Easter Sunday, April 3.

Participants register at $15, $25 or $35 levels to receive a text subscription to the contest. Every morning, they will receive a text of an egg-shaped photo of a fragment of an iconic Birmingham location. Each level of registration provides more clues to the photos, and extra clues can be purchased for $10 each. The first person to figure out all eight locations wins the grand prize: a catered party for 10 people as well as gift cards to local shops and restaurants, and more.

To find out more about Second Shift, go to www.secondshiftalabama.org.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has pleaded with the Kenya government to ensure that any decisions on the Daadab and Kakuma refugee camps allow for suitable and sustainable solutions to be found.

In response to a 14-day ultimatum issued by Interior CS Fred Matiangi on Wednesday, the UN refugee agency called for consideration of those who live in the camps for the need of protection.

The decision would have an impact on the protection of refugees in Kenya, including in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We will continue our dialogue with the Kenyan authorities on this issue, a statement reads.

At the same time, the UNHCR expressed its gratitude to Kenyans for generously hosting refugees and asylum-seekers for several decades saying it recognises the impact this has had.

UNHCR stands ready to support the Government of Kenya in continuing and further strengthening the work that is ongoing to find solutions that are orderly, sustainable and respect refugee rights, the agency added.

While issuing a two-week ultimatum to the refugee agency to close the two camps, CS Matiangi said there is no room for further negotiations.

He cited terror threats planned from Dadaab and Kakuma refugees camps, and noted Kenya and Somalia have no diplomatic relationship to continue hosting the refugees there.
Northern Ireland is set to adopt the UKs coronavirus red list of countries, First Minister Arlene Foster has said.

Brazil and South Africa are on the current red list of countries from which entry to the UK is banned.

The Stormont Executive also heard that work is ongoing on hotel quarantine plans for travellers arriving from abroad.

Travellers arriving at Belfast International Airport (Liam McBurney/PA)

There are currently no international flights landing in Northern Ireland.

Mrs Foster welcomed improvements across all indicators, in terms of Covid-19.

The R-rate for cases of the virus is currently estimated at between 0.75 and 0.95.

Im heartened to see our shared efforts are working because that means that more lives are being saved, she said.

Deputy First Minister Michelle ONeill welcomed a second consecutive day of no further coronavirus deaths as a welcome sign we are continuing to move in the right direction.

Ms ONeill said international travel was discussed in some detail by the Executive.

Brazil is on the red list (Mike Egerton/PA)

This is a fundamental concern for us all as we seek to manage the risks that are arising from the new variants and in line with the scientific and medical advice, we have agreed the introduction of managed isolation and hotel accommodation on return from red list countries for a period of 10 days to be pre-booked before arrival here, she said.

This will be kept under review and our arrangements for managed hotel isolation will be flexible to enable a broader approach on international travel to be put in place should the need arise.

The Executive has also agreed to the limited reopening of SureStart and youth services.

The phased return will involve both statutory and voluntary youth work settings operating in line with any overarching restrictions permitted within educational settings relating to outdoor or indoor gatherings, group sizes, social distancing, face coverings and hand washing.

Business support schemes have also been extended for those who must remain closed in the ongoing restrictions.

Payments under the Covid Restrictions Business Support Scheme and the Large Hospitality and Tourism Business Support Scheme will continue beyond March 31.

Hospitality Ulster chief Colin Neill said the extension of the schemes will be a welcome relief to many within the hospitality sector.

However he warned that even with the support as the industry remains closed, many businesses are hanging on by their fingernails and running out of options to borrow more money to cover the shortfall.

Our continued call is for the Executive to provide clarity on the reopening criteria, give us indicative dates, and engage with us on the best and safest way for the industry to move forward and recover, he said.

The Executives blueprint for exiting lockdown does not currently include any dates, with ministers having previously said it will be led by data.

Another 183 confirmed cases of the virus were recorded by the Department of Health in the last 24-hour reporting period on Thursday. while 153 Covid-positive confirmed inpatients in hospital, of whom 14 were in ICUs.

Meanwhile, the regions vaccination programme passed three landmarks on Thursday.

The total number of vaccines administered has pushed past 800,000, while the number of first doses provided has passed 700,000 and the number of second doses has moved beyond 100,000.

Health Minister Robin Swann said more landmarks will be reached next week when a mass vaccination centre is opened at the SSE Arena in Belfast, and community pharmacists start administering vaccines.
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 top aide in the Louisiana Attorney General's Office who was the subject of a sexual harassment complaint has submitted his resignation effective at 5 p.m. Thursday.

Pat Magee, a resident of Lafayette and head of the criminal division of Attorney General Jeff Landry's Office since 2018, made the announcement early Thursday afternoon in a statement to The Acadiana Advocate.

"Due to recent false and unjust allegations against me and after an exhaustive and gut-wrenching investigation, which concluded my conduct did not rise to the level of sexual harassment, I have made this personal and very difficult decision," Magee said in a statement Thursday to The Acadiana Advocate.

Read more details of new complaint: New sexual harassment complaint against Jeff Landry aide raises questions about investigation

Magee's resignation follows publication of the four-page complaint Monday after a Baton Rouge judge on March 4 ordered Landry to release it with names of the complainant and alleged victims removed.

The matter went to court because Landry sued The Advocate reporter Andrea Gallo on Feb. 5, nearly two months after she filed a public records request for a copy of the Nov. 20 sexual harassment complaint.

Read the complaint against a top aide that Jeff Landry fought to keep from the public After Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry sued a reporter for The Advocate to conceal a sexual harassment complaint against a top deputy, a

Following an investigation by the law firm Taylor Porter, Magee was placed on administrative leave for 38 days beginning Dec. 7. His pay was docked $20,559 and he was ordered to attend training sessions on leadership, professionalism and conflict management. Landry refused to release the complaint citing privacy issues.

None of the allegations in the complaint involved sexual advances, inappropriate touching or requests for sexual favors, the investigation concluded, describing Magee's comments as "joking in nature."

Top stories in Acadiana in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

The complaint filed by a third party recounts incidences the person either allegedly witnessed or that victims allegedly described involving Magee.

+2 Inside the complaint against top Jeff Landry aide: 'Jurors would want to have sex with her' A sexual harassment complaint against a top aide for Attorney General Jeff Landry alleges that Pat Magee insisted that one woman should be dep

The complainant wrote that "while (Magee) is gregarious at times and can be a joy to work with, at other times he can be very difficult" and reminded employees he is "close friends" with the Attorney General.

Landry and Magee attended Southern University law school together.

Among the allegations are that Magee declined to promote a woman because she was too attractive for him to work with.

Jeff Landry must release records on aide, as judge rules in favor of Advocate reporter A Baton Rouge judge has ordered Attorney General Jeff Landry to release public records related to a sexual harassment investigation of one of 

The complainant also alleged Magee rejected their suggestion of an experienced female attorney to assist with a rape case because she was "old and ugly" and instead suggested a younger, inexperienced attorney "because male jurors would want to have sex with her."

In his statement Thursday, Magee said it has been an honor to be the first Black man to serve as director of the state Department of Justice Criminal Division. A former assistant district attorney for the 15th Judicial District court in Lafayette under long-time former District Attorney Mike Harson, Magee also served as a litigation attorney and served in the Louisiana National Guard.

"Throughout my entire career," he wrote, "my prosecutorial philosophy has been to lead with compassion when appropriate and be aggressive in dispensing justice to those responsible when necessary.
All six episodes of the documentary series John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise covering the American serial killers infamous murders premiere on Peacock today, March 25.

John Wayne Gacy was from Chicago, Illinois. Working as a clown for childrens birthday parties, he regularly performed at hospitals and charitable events. But his clownish exterior hid horrific secrets. John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise will recount the chilling story of this notorious serial killer.

Gacy would lure his victims into his home, sometimes offering to show them a magic trick, before locking them in handcuffs to torture and kill them. He was convicted of one count of sodomy, 33 counts of murder, one count of sexual assault and one count of indecent liberties with a child before being sentenced to death. At the time, his 33 counts of murder were the most by anyone in the United States.

Through a multi-hour interview with Gacy from prison, of which only minutes have ever been seen, youll hear of his unspeakable deeds. Youll also hear from those who were forever changed by his monstrous acts in exclusive audio and video interviews, including his closest confidantes and his second wife.

Where can I watch John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise?

You can watch John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise on Peacock, the streaming service that offers hundreds of movies, binge-worthy TV shows, sports, news and culture for free. You can get access to their premium content with Peacock Premium for just $4.99/month, or you can watch without ads with their Peacock Premium Plus plan for $9.99/month.
Explainer: Why more migrant children are arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border Asylum-seeking migrants in La Joya, Texas

By Ted Hesson and Mica Rosenberg

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden will likely face questions during his first presidential news conference on Thursday about his handling of a rising number of unaccompanied children arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The Biden administration has struggled to house the children arriving without a parent or legal guardian, which has left the kids stuck in crowded border facilities for days.

WHO ARE THE UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN ARRIVING AT THE BORDER?

About two-thirds of unaccompanied children caught at the border since Oct. 1, 2020, have been from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Mexican children make up most of the remainder.

As of Wednesday, more than 11,000 unaccompanied children were in the custody of a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) refugee office that manages a government shelter system - the highest number since 2019.

Most of the kids in custody are teenagers, but hundreds are under 12 years old. The majority of unaccompanied children apprehended since Oct. 1, 2020, crossed through the Rio Grande Valley into Texas, according to CBP.

There were similar spikes in 2019 and 2014 under former President Donald Trump and former President Barack Obama, respectively. Graphic https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-IMMIGRATION/BORDER/xklpyoalapg/index.html

WHY ARE THOUSANDS OF KIDS COMING TO THE BORDER?

Many unaccompanied children come to the United States to reunite with family members or escape violence and poverty in their home countries, according to immigration experts.

Central America has recently been battered by hurricanes and slumping economies in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has spurred more migration.

Republicans argue Biden has encouraged illegal immigration by rolling back many of the hard-line policies of his Republican predecessor. But border arrests have been gradually rising since April 2020, when countries shut borders due to the pandemic.

Story continues

Biden told ABC in an interview earlier this month that it was nonsense that more migrants were coming because he is "a nice guy," saying "they come because their circumstance is so bad."

Biden officials and migrant advocates, however, acknowledge that the current increase is at least partly due to a recent policy change that allows unaccompanied children into the country after they were blocked for much of 2020.

ARE THE CHILDREN TRULY UNACCOMPANIED?

Some children do make the potentially dangerous trip to the border alone or with a smuggler, according to immigration experts. In other cases, children travel with older siblings, grandparents or other relatives, and can be split apart by CBP after being caught at the border.

Immigrant advocates are concerned that parents may be traveling to the border with their children and sending them to the United States alone so that they will be permitted to enter.

If the parents and children entered as a family, they could be expelled under Title 42, a Trump-era health order to limit the spread of COVID-19.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A CHILD ARRIVES AT THE BORDER?

Children are supposed to be transferred out of CBP custody to HHS-run shelters within 72 hours.

But when shelter space is limited, children can get stuck in border detention centers for longer periods - as is happening now.

The border stations were built to house adult men for short periods and could pose a COVID-19 health risk if they are overcrowded.

Once in the shelters, children can be released to parents or other sponsors, or placed in foster care. They can then pursue asylum cases, seek other ways to remain in the United States or potentially be deported - although that is unlikely to happen quickly.

The United States removed only 4% of the roughly 290,000 unaccompanied children who entered the country from fiscal years 2014 to 2019, according to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) data.

WHAT ARE THE CONDITIONS IN BORDER PATROL FACILITIES?

CBP facilities are not open to the public. But photos seen by Reuters and other outlets this week showed children in crowded conditions inside a facility in Donna, Texas.

The Donna facility had nearly 3,400 migrants in custody as of March 17 - far above its 250-person capacity, according to internal CBP data reviewed by Reuters.

WHAT IS THE U.S. DOING TO DEAL WITH THE INCREASE?

Biden announced on Wednesday that Vice President Kamala Harris will lead U.S. efforts with Mexico and Central America to deal with the growing number of migrants trekking north to the United States.

Biden has pledged to push for $4 billion in U.S. aid for Central America to help address the factors that drive migration, such as poverty and crime.

The administration has also opened several emergency shelters for children in Texas, including one inside the Dallas convention center.

HHS said on Wednesday that another emergency shelter would open inside the San Diego Convention Center.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) - which usually responds to floods, storms and other major disasters - was deployed earlier this month to help shelter and transport children at least until June.

The administration is also restarting a program that allows certain Central American children with parents lawfully living in the United States to apply for refugee resettlement from their home countries.

(Reporting by Ted Hesson in Washington and Mica Rosenberg in New York; Additional reporting by Mimi Dwyer in McAllen, Texas, and Kristina Cooke in San Francisco; editing by Ross Colvin and Rosalba O'Brien)
Brussels, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 26th Mar, 2021 ) :European Union leaders agreed at a video summit on Thursday that they are ready to boost cooperation with Turkey, if a "current de-escalation is sustained" following a spike in tensions.

Relations with Ankara were on the table as the bloc plots a way forward after ties suffered last year over Turkey's gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean.

The summit conclusions said the EU "is ready to engage with Turkey in a phased, proportionate and reversible manner to enhance cooperation in a number of areas of common interest" and leaders could take further decisions in June.

But that was only "provided that the current de-escalation is sustained and that Turkey engages constructively".

On the table is the prospect of meeting Turkish ambitions for top-level talks, preliminary moves to modernise a customs union and progress towards a potential liberalisaation of visa rules.

However, the conclusions also said the EU was prepared to renew sanctions "to defend its interests and those of its member states" if Ankara backtracks.

The carrot-and-stick approach comes as the EU tries to build on recent conciliatory moves from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and after it put on hold sanctions over drilling in Cypriot waters.

The bloc has been encouraged by the resumption of talks with Greece over a disputed maritime border and by plans to restart UN peace efforts for divided EU member state Cyprus.

But leaders remain deeply wary of Erdogan and there are major concerns over Ankara's recent moves to shut down an opposition party and its departure from a treaty on violence against women.

"We expect Turkey to respect the standards of the rule of law," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, ahead of the summit.

- Funding for refugees - EU members are divided over their approach to Turkey, with Cyprus, Greece and France urging a tough line while others, led by economic powerhouse Germany, pushing for more engagement.

Any delay in stepping up cooperation could frustrate Erdogan, who urged "concrete results" from the summit in a call with EU chiefs Michel and Ursula von der Leyen on Friday.

Turkey is pressing Brussels to update a deal struck five years ago to stop large-scale migrant arrivals in the EU, many of them fleeing from the war in Syria, in return for billions of Euros in aid.

The bloc is refusing to reopen the agreement but the summit told the European Commission to come up with a proposal on more funding for Turkey for housing millions of refugees.

A report by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell laid out the strategy for the bloc's approach on Ankara.

It outlined areas for cooperation, but said the EU could look to target Turkey's key tourism sector if Ankara escalates tensions.

"The last month we have seen positive developments on the part of Turkey, but the situation remains fragile," Borrell said at the start of the meeting.

"I have identified a couple of measures in a double-track approach. On one hand positive measures and on the other hand measures that can be taken if the situation could become worse."A European diplomat insisted that there would be "increased vigilance during the coming months" to determine if Turkey is living up to the bloc's demands.

"If a setback is observed, the EU will be able to defend its interests," the diplomat warned.
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
She went from portraying a New York City-based wizard to a princess saving bait girl. Selena Gomez had several roles with the television network, Disney Channel. Heres what we know about the star of the sitcom Wizards of Waverly Place.

Disney Channels The Wizards of Waverly Place Episode Titled Rock Around the Clock | Bruce Birmelin/Disney Channel via Getty Images

Selena Gomez starred in Disney Channels Wizards of Waverly Place

Everything is not what it seems. Along with Thats So Raven and Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place cemented its place as a favorite among Disney Channel viewers. Gomez starred as the main character, a spunky wizard from New York named Alex Russo.

In fact, this New York City-based series has the highest number of episodes in Disney Channel history. With 106 episodes, it far surpasses originals like The Suite Life of Zack and Cody (87 episodes) and Good Luck Charlie (97 episodes.)

RELATED: From The Simpsons to Sonny With a Chance  Here Are Shows on Disney+ Bringing Families Closer During Social Distancing

Which other Disney Channel original shows did Selena Gomez appear in?

Alex Russo and the rest of her family travelled outside of New York City, and not just in the wizard portal. For one episode of the comedy series The Suite Life on Deck, Gomez appeared alongside the other Wizards of Waverly Place cast members.

Besides her Wizards of Waverly Place character, Gomez had cameos in a few other Disney Channel projects. In The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, she played Zack and Codys classmate Gwen.

In Hannah Montana, she played Miley Stewarts rival, the popstar Mikayla. During 2009, she starred in the Disney Channel original movie, titled Princess Protection Program, alongside Sonny With a Chance and Camp Rock star, Demi Lovato.

RELATED: Its a (Zoom) Party Get Down  The Cast of Sonny With a Chance and So Random Have a Reunion Over Video Chat

Selena Gomez reprised her role as Alex Russo for Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie

When the Russo family went on vacation in Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie, things got even more complicated when it turned into the family wizard competition and Alexs relationship with her mother hit an all-time low. This feature film debuted in 2009 and starred Gomez as the main character.

With her beauty line, music, and collaboration with HBO MAX, its unclear if Gomez would return for a spinoff of this series. However, its not completely out of the question. Recently, Raven-Symone returned to Disney Channel to reprise her role as Raven Baxter from Thats So Raven.

Theres a lot of talk. We all talk about it for fun. Nothing is official. Weve talked about it Greg [Sulkin,] Selena [Gomez, and] me, actor David Henrie said of a potential reboot or spinoff, during one interview with People. Everyone would be down, but its just a matter of time I think.

Episodes of Wizards of Waverly Place and the movie, Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie, are available for binge-watching on Disneys streaming platform. To learn more about Disney+ and to subscribe, visit their website.
Maendeleo ya Wanawake (MYWO) and Equity Bank have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to make the National Harvesting Water Project, launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta in December last year, a success.

Once fully implemented, the project will ensure households at the grassroots receive 10,000-litre tanks to harvest is safe and clean rain water for domestic use.

The project will also see women groups across the country benefit from access to affordable credit to obtain tanks, and training on financial literacy, entrepreneurship and digital literacy.

MYWO national chairperson Ms Rahab Muiu, Equity Group Executive Director Mary Wamae and Group Commercial Officer Polycarp Igathe in February signed an MOU in Nairobi to formalise the partnership between the two organisations.

Already, some women groups across the country have started to receive their water tanks, with Maendeleo women groups in Mbita Homa Bay County being among the first recipients.

Research by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (Undesa) shows women and girls in low-income countries spend 40 billion hours annually collecting water.

Women's workloads

Improving access to clean water not only helps reduce illness rates and gives girls more opportunity to attend school, it also dramatically reduces women's workloads giving them more time for "productive endeavours" such as earning a decent income.

As the managers of households, women bear the primary responsibility for providing water and ensuring its quality in much of the world today.

In 2010, the United Nations adopted resolution 64/292, recognized the right to safe and clean drinking water as a human right.

However, more than 750 million people still depend on unimproved sources of drinking water with increased risk to diarrheal diseases; half of these are in sub-Saharan Africa.
New Delhi: When Taiwan's former Defence minister Michael Tsai referred to the coronavirus as the Wuhan virus and called Taiwan a country, it did not go down well for a pro-China lawmaker from Hong Kong who was also attending the event.

Hong Kong legislator Regina Ip Lau Suk-ye walked out of the 4th edition of the summit saying the virus should not be stigmatised by calling it Wuhan.

I don't think you should stigmatise the virus by calling it Wuhan. I am sorry I have to leave this forum," said Suk-ye.

"Taiwan is not a nation, it is a renegade province of the People's Republic of China," he added, before walking out.

Themed 'Power Play in a Post-Pandemic World, the summit was attended by dialogue partners from 15 countries, either virtually or in-person.

External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar attended the event as the Chief Guest. He highlighted India's leadership during the pandemic.

"Our domestic priorities were harmonised with our global outlook in the 'Vaccine Maitri' that now extends to almost 80 nations," Jaishankar said.

"Power plays always existed and it's the playing field that's now shifting," he added.

On the occasion, Pavan Kapoor, Indian Ambassador to UAE, said, "Countries now perceive global trade very differently. The metrics of measuring power are now very different - trade, connectivity, data, technology."

Former U.S. National Security advisor John Bolton, who also participated in the summit, said, "said It was the changing perception and recognition of the threat from Iran that led Gulf states into formalising ties with Israel."

Live TV
The Cuomo family received special access to government-run COVID-19 testing arranged by NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration claimed two sources who had direct knowledge of the incident. Aside from the Cuomo family, also given special access were other prominent people when the COVID-19 pandemic hit New York last year.

NY governor ordered officials to direct the Cuomo family in COVID-19 testing

According to one of the sources, high-ranking state health officials were behind the decision to make testing of individuals close to Gov. Cuomo a priority. It largely occurred in March 2020, when the general population was still recognizing the severity of the COVID-19, and testing was not readily available.

The governor's brother, CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, and his family were among those who benefited from the special care, the insider said. They were screened several times during the pandemic's early stages. The two sources claim that the governor's mother, Matilda Cuomo, and at least one of his sisters were also able to take advantage of the state-run tests.

Biden' Stance on Cuomo's Sexual Harassment Case

Chris Cuomo revealed that he had tested positive for the virus on March 31 of last year. The Washington Post had previously reported that the governor's office effectively let well-connected citizens cut the line to decide if they had been infected with a deadly virus ravaging the state. This claim does not bore well for Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is facing his most serious political challenge ever, with several of his fellow elected New York Democrats asking for his resignation in the wake of numerous sexual harassment allegations and concerns about his administration's treatment of the virus-related deaths of nursing home patients.

The State Assembly launched an impeachment probe into all issues this week, while the state attorney general launched a new investigation, and federal investigators are looking into the nursing home situation. The discovery of favorable tests could contribute to the Cuomo administration's increasingly difficult situation, New York Times reported.

State law restricts officials from using their power to receive or threaten to obtain "privileges or exemptions" for themselves or others. Cuomo's spokesman, Richard Azzopardi, did not expressly deny that the administration had given anybody preferential consideration while not attempting to refute the notion.

Billboard Urges NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo to Resign 'Now' amid Sexual Harassment Allegations

The latest allegations could contribute to Cuomo's dilemma

Many New Yorkers who thought they might have been subjected to the virus were faced with physicians, hospital administrators, and health officials identified as a confused and troubled state testing system as the behind-the-scenes campaign to procure samples for those with access to the governor and the administration unfolded. As a result, there was general dissatisfaction and fear for many people that an infection was going undetected.

The state-run Wadsworth Center in Albany was for a time the only facility in the state that was allowed to conduct virus testing, with the federal government struggling to satisfy the need for testing and New York being the U.S. epicenter of the pandemic. And back then, the Wadsworth lab could only process a couple of hundred samples at a time.

Officials from the Cuomo administration said that in March 2020, public nurses were sent to private homes in New Rochelle to test people who had signs or had been in close contact with COVID-19. In a statement to The Hill, Richard Azzopardi, a senior adviser to the governor, called the accusations "insincere attempts to rewrite the past."

Meanwhile, Gary Holmes, a spokesperson for the New York State Department of Health, said that asking those questions would essentially require "professionals who take an oath to protect a patient's privacy to violate the oath and risk their ethics."

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo Responds to Sexual Harassment Allegations, Offers Apology

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A lot of people say gun reform will never happen in America. Just look at the polls: Nearly 70 percent of Republicans say theyre satisfied with our nations current gun laws. And any reform faces slim prospects of passing the Senate because of the filibuster rule, which allows a minority of lawmakers to block legislation.

But we cant give up this fight, either. Its time to step away from the gun culture wars and recognize the full scale of this public health problem  that its not just about mass shootings, but a constant undercurrent of less-acknowledged gun deaths: the men killing their wives, the children accidentally shooting themselves, and, most common of all, the suicides.

Aside from the two rampages this month, gun violence killed nearly 20,000 Americans in 2020, more than any other year in at least two decades. And an additional 24,000 people died by suicide with a gun.

Attempts to ban weapons like the military-style semiautomatic rifle used in the Boulder mass shooting on Monday have failed in the past, as gun makers find new loopholes. A better strategy for reducing deaths, as New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof argues, is to focus on restricting the people who can own guns.

We need to limit access for those likely to use firearms in dangerous ways, like someone subject to a domestic violence restraining order. And we need to put out better public health messaging, as weve done with drunk driving.

When you poll gun owners, this approach is extremely popular. More than 90 percent support universal background checks. A strong majority want to prevent the mentally ill, people with convictions or suspected terrorists from buying guns. And legal gun owners are open to public health messaging because theyre burdened by gun violence too, says Michael Anestis, executive director of the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center and a professor at Rutgers School of Public Health.

He agrees we want to reduce gun access where the risk is obvious, but also stresses the importance of getting all gun owners to store their firearms more safely. The beauty of safe gun storage, he says, is that not only can it help prevent suicides by making it harder to get a gun in the heat of the moment, it also reduces accidental shootings by kids who find guns, and reduces the lethality of domestic violence.

And it diminishes the risk of theft, which matters because so many guns used in homicides are stolen and trafficked. Whats important and missing is the willingness to understand that risk is closer to us than it seems, and there are solutions to keep gun owners and their loved ones safe that are not threats to who they are and what they have, Anestis says.

Public health messaging like this works, he finds, particularly if it comes from trusted sources like law enforcement or folks with military experience. His researchers had a 15-minute conversation with members of the Mississippi National Guard about safe gun storage and reported a dramatic increase in the use of gun safes and locking devices when they followed up after three and six months.

And its particularly crucial now, as were in the middle of a big surge in firearm purchases. The New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center took a large sample of recent gun buyers across the U.S. and found they are far more likely than other gun owners to have had suicidal thoughts, putting them at higher risk.

Asking questions fairly, without pushing an agenda, creates an opportunity to understand the culture that drives gun ownership and find a path to effective solutions, Anestis says. But funding for gun research has been elusive, because its poorly financed relative to other public health crises. That must change.

Measures like these wont end gun deaths, of course, but even reducing the risk could save thousands of American lives a year. Being a good guy with a gun shouldnt just be an action hero fantasy  it should mean doing everything you can to ensure it is stored safely, and doesnt fall into the wrong hands.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook.

Tell us your coronavirus stories, whether its a news tip, a topic you want us to cover, or a personal story you want to share.
Advertisement

Coalition forces liberated Mosul from the brutal grip of ISIS in July 2017  but when photographer Thijs Broekkamp visited over two years later, it was still too dangerous for a foreigner to spend the night in.

So the Dutchman spent the day there  and came back with a mesmerising, powerfully evocative set of photographs. Heart-wrenching, shocking, eye-opening  yet also uplifting.

His images show that while war pulverised Mosul and left its buildings scarred and ruined, its resilient people are breathing life back into the streets.

Thijs spent a day in Mosul in November 2019 and snapped this image from the roof of the Al-Saffar Mosque

Another shot taken from the roof of the Al-Saffar Mosque. Thijs said: 'The scale of destruction was the most shocking thing to see for me, just empty skeletons of buildings with gaping holes and walls riddled with bullets holes'

Thijs said that this was a typical street scene in Mosul. He explained: 'Although it was busy with people again, especially during the call to prayer, and shops were reopening, the traces of fighting were still clearly visible'

While taking his images in Mosul, Thijs said it was 'very hard to fathom that you are standing in the rubble caused by a brutal war'. Pictured is a collapsed roof at an intersection in the old city

Thijs revealed that getting into Mosul required a bit of perseverance. After all, he couldn't just hop on an easyJet flight.

He told MailOnline Travel: 'I was on a photography trip in Iraqi Kurdistan and I had planned to spend two days in Mosul. However, I didn't manage to obtain an Iraqi visa, which you need outside the Kurdistan region and is notoriously difficult to get.

'On the first attempt to cross the border, we were sent away at the checkpoint. On the second try at another border crossing, we managed to get through.

'My friend and I travelled with my local fixer. You have to pass a couple of checkpoints, first on the Kurdish side and then on the Iraqi side. He had to do a lot of talking but finally managed to persuade the guards to let us in.'

Once across the border and in Mosul, Thijs was then able to see first-hand the shocking scale of destruction fighting wrought across the city.

He explained: 'It is very hard to fathom that you are standing in the rubble caused by a brutal war.

Thijs snapped this sombre image from a destroyed neighbourhood. It shows the Al-Saffar Mosque and the Our Lady of the Hour Catholic Church, which sits behind it

All that remains of the famous al-Nuri Mosque, which dates back to the 12th century. It was here that former ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi made his first public appearance and urged Muslims around the world to swear allegiance to the caliphate and obey him as its leader. Efforts are now ongoing to restore it. Thijs snapped this image from inside one of the minarets at the Al-Saffar Mosque

The remains of the Our Lady of the Hour Catholic Church in Mosul. Thijs said: 'Mosul was known for an ethnically and religiously diverse population. ISIS destroyed the church by detonating several explosives, although the iconic clock tower is still standing. It is currently being restored by Unesco'

'You see the half-collapsed mosque where then ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared the caliphate from and imagine all these people suffering from their unbelievable strict and medieval rule, all the homes and lives lost to the absurd delusions of a group of terrorists and the ensuing war. All that happened where I'm standing now. It is just unreal to imagine.

'The scale of destruction was the most shocking thing to see for me, just empty skeletons of buildings with gaping holes and walls riddled with bullets holes.'

But amid the rubble, Thijs, who visited in November 2019, saw that normal life had begun to return, with shops and restaurants open again. The old fish market at Maydan was 'especially lively'.

He said: 'The reopening of the fish market in Maydan has brought life and business back to the old city. Apart from the backdrop of ruins, the hectic and buzzing energy seems to cover up the city's sad and violent history.

'More and more traders are again cutting their fish and the activity seems to ignite the nearby markets, where more shutters are carefully raised to reveal bags full of fragrant spices and humming machines grinding sesame seeds into tahini.

The keeper of the Al-Saffar Mosque rests on a street corner. Thijs said: 'What struck me most is the resilience of people. With collapsed ruins in the backdrop, people greeted me with warm smiles and told me there is nothing to do but to move on'

About 138,000 houses were damaged or destroyed in the city during the conflict. Thijs revealed that a lot of properties that weren't damaged were still uninhabitable because ISIS had booby-trapped them

Thijs said: 'Most striking was perhaps seeing children playing and laughing, coming up to me and cracking jokes, in the midst of that rubble and debris'

Although Thijs admitted he is always 'a bit nervous about entering such places for the first time', he said he did not feel scared or in danger during his visit to Mosul

'Slowly but surely, life is flowing back into the city. Most striking was perhaps seeing children playing and laughing, coming up to me, cracking jokes, in the midst of that rubble and debris.

'What struck me most is the resilience of people. With collapsed ruins in the backdrop, people greeted me with warm smiles and told me there is nothing to do but to move on.

'The people of Iraq have already moved on so many times as tragedy after tragedy has befallen them. I think that due to the media coverage of the places I go to - Afghanistan, Kurdistan, Iraq - their inhabitants are portrayed as either terrorists or refugees.

'It seems to completely ignore that first of all they are the same as everybody else, with the same wishes, hopes and dreams as any human, and second of all their strength to endure things like this and keep on going.'

A fish merchant at the Maydan fishmarket. Thijs said: 'The market was slowly regaining its former status as a buzzing centre of the city. It was one of the first places where people took it up upon themselves to revive commercial life in the city. The merchants started the market without any government support'

Thijs explained that most of the fish sold in the market is caught locally in the Tigris River. He added: 'Everybody here was taking their fish off their stands and posing with them for a photo'

Thijs said: 'The bustling energy of the fish market was infectious for the surrounding areas. Across the street, more and more closed shutters were going up and once again revealing their merchandise of rich spices'

Thijs said this kebab stand was the only place open in the destroyed street where it was located. He said: 'People were coming to smoke water pipe, chat and get some kebab to eat. More and more restaurants were opening and around the corner from this street was a big neon-lit restaurant, almost full with people. Across the road from it was a gigantic skeleton of a blackened building; a grim backdrop against which to pick up your life again. While the people of Mosul are picking up their life again and doing everything they can to return to a sense of normality, the grim reminders of the tragedies that occurred will most likely be around for a while'

Although Thijs admitted he is always 'a bit nervous about entering such places for the first time', he did not feel scared or in danger during his visit to Mosul.

He found that most people there had no problem with him taking pictures, although he said he always asked for permission, with only one or two people saying no.

Thijs added: 'I just had to be a bit careful around the police and military to put away the camera and not draw too much attention.'

And would he return to Mosul? Absolutely, in fact, he is planning to pay another visit as he is keen to continue to photograph the city's rebirth.

This image by Thijs shows a family who had recently returned to their home. He explained: 'The small light bulb dangling above their house was the only light in this alley. Power services had been restored to all of Mosul, but supply remained weak'

A shot showing a little girl walking back home from a store through a dark alley in a destroyed neighbourhood. Thijs said: 'I found the way her colourful clothes sharply contrasted with the grim background symbolic of children's innocence in these dark episodes of conflict'

A group of young boys pose for the camera. Thijs said he is planning to return to Mosul as he wants to 'document the rebuilding of destroyed places like this'

Thijs said: 'I am planning to return because I want to document the rebuilding of destroyed places like this. Locals say something irreparable has been damaged, not just the bricks of the many historical mosques, churches, and other buildings that Mosul was known for.

'Big cracks have appeared in the social cohesion. Parties involved with the liberation are trying to exert their influence. Foreign NGOs are left to do most of the rebuilding work. Local initiatives are working on creating a better future.

'How often do we see the strength of the locals picking up the pieces? When do we see the tears of a local historian, saddened by the destruction of all the ancient and historical sites? When do we hear about a group of young entrepreneurs producing parts for destroyed hospital equipment with 3D printers?

'I became in touch with the latter while back in the Netherlands and got very excited about their positive spirit, so I'd really like to visit them in Mosul.

A man sits outside his shop on Mosul's Al-Shaziani street. The road had been relaid to fill in craters that had been caused by airstrikes

Thijs found that most people in Mosul had no problem with him taking pictures, although he said he always asked for permission, with only one or two people saying no. He added: 'I just had to be a bit careful around the police and military to put away the camera and not draw too much attention'

'My intention in Kurdistan and Iraq is to tell stories after the headlines have passed. The liberation of Mosul was on the front pages almost every day because it was so sensational. But once it was over, media coverage dropped.

'In the meantime, a big part of the city lay in ruins with the situation receiving hardly attention. What happens after the headlines are gone? It may seem that all is good to the general audience because we don't hear anything about it anymore.

'But just with the Yezidis, whose story I was working on at the same time as this, being liberated from ISIS doesn't mean an end to the troubles. Now, five years after being liberated, their situation is extremely dire.

'I think it is important to keep on reporting not only on the sensational news but the long-term situation.'
DALLAS (SMU) - SMU's Dominique Baker received the 2021 Early Career Award from the Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP).

Baker is an assistant professor of education policy in SMU's Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development.

Each year, AEFP, a non-profit academic and professional organization, gives its Early Career Award to a junior scholar who shows an exemplary early career trajectory and whose research substantially contributes to the field of education finance and policy.

Baker received the award in March at the association's annual conference. She also received a $1,000 award for the promise and contributions she's shown to the field.

Baker joined SMU (Southern Methodist University) in 2016. Her research focuses on how education policy affects and shapes the access and success of minoritized students in higher education. She primarily investigates student financial aid, affirmative action and admissions policies, as well as policies that influence the ability to create an inclusive and equitable campus climate.

Baker's research has been published in a variety of journals, including the American Educational Research Journal, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Journal of Higher Education, Journal of College Student Development, and Teachers College Record. Her work and expertise have also been highlighted by The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Public Radio, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and Inside Higher Ed, amongst others.

"I'm delighted to have my work recognized by AEFP," Baker says. "Education policy has the ability to transform lives, but only if thoughtfully constructed based on evidence that includes the experiences of the folks directly impacted. I look forward to continuing to promote justice by focusing on the ways that policies distribute power and resources."

###

For more on her research, see the following:

Baker, D. J. (2020). "Name and shame:" An effective strategy for college tuition accountability? Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 42(3), 393-416.

Baker, D. J., Skinner, B. T., & Redding, C. H. (2020). Affirmative intervention to reduce stereotype threat bias: Experimental evidence from a community college. Journal of Higher Education, 91(5), 722-754.

Baker, D. J. (2019). Pathways to racial equity in higher education: Modeling the antecedents of state affirmative action bans. American Educational Research Journal, 56(5), 1861-1895.

About SMU

SMU is the nationally ranked global research university in the dynamic city of Dallas. SMU's alumni, faculty and over 12,000 students in eight degree-granting schools demonstrate an entrepreneurial spirit as they lead change in their professions, communities and the world.

About Simmons School of Education & Human Development

The Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development at SMU (Southern Methodist University) reflects the University's vision of serving the most important educational needs of our city, region and nation, graduating students for successful careers in a variety of fields and providing educational opportunities beyond traditional degree programs. Recognized as a unique and transformative leader in education research, practice and policy, the School is committed to rigorous, research-driven programs that promote evidence-based, effective practices in education and human development.
Thailand has granted emergency authorization to Janssen, the single-dose coronavirus vaccine of Johnson & Johnson, the country's health minister said on Thursday, the third vaccine to be cleared for local use.

Anutin Charnvirankul told before media that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved the vaccine, in addition to those of AstraZeneca and Sinovac Biotech, which have already been administered in the country.

China's Sinopharm and the makers of Russia's Sputnik V and are preparing to submit requests for approval, Paisal Dunkhum head of Thailand's FDA said. Moderna has said it would submit an application for approval while India's Bharat Biotech is in the process submitting documents for vaccine registration, Paisal said.

Thailand, which has recorded just over 28,000 coronavirus cases overall, has administered about 100,000 doses of vaccines among medical workers and high-risk groups so far. It's main vaccine drive is expected to start in June, using locally-produced AstraZeneca shots and it plans to inoculate half of its adult population by the end of the year.

Meantime, Hoteliers are keen to deploy vaccines faster and wider to speed up the revival. "The government has to expedite approval of additional vaccine brands and import more vaccines and inoculate more people immediately," Thai Hotels Association president Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi said.

No quarantine mandatory for international travellers in Mumbai if vaccinated

Australia's Victoria to resume receiving international arrivals from April 8

Covid19: Sri Lanka to reopen all schools from March 29
Francesca Paris is The Eagle's data and public records reporter. She was previously the North Adams reporter. A California native and Williams College alumna, she has worked at NPR in Washington, D.C. and WBUR in Boston. Find her on Twitter at @fparises.
March 24, 2021

UCSF and Johns Hopkins University Launch Digital Trove of Opioid Industry Documents

The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Johns Hopkins University today announced the launch of the Opioid Industry Documents Archive, a digital repository of publicly disclosed documents from recent judgments, settlements, and ongoing lawsuits concerning the opioid crisis. The documents come from government litigation against pharmaceutical companies, including opioid manufacturers and distributors related to their contributions to the deadly epidemic, as well as litigation taking place in federal court on behalf of thousands of cities and counties in the United States. The documents in the archive include emails, memos, presentations, sales reports, budgets, audit reports, Drug Enforcement Administration briefings, meeting agendas and minutes, expert witness reports, and depositions of drug company executives.



The Opioid Industry Documents Archive leverages extraordinary expertise within UCSF and Johns Hopkins University in library science, information technology, and digital archiving. It also relies on scholarship focused on many dimensions of the opioid epidemic, ranging from the history of medicine to pharmaceutical policy to clinical care. Key organizations at UCSF involved include the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies; Department of Clinical Pharmacy; Department of Humanities and Social Sciences; Department of Family and Community Medicine; and Library. From Johns Hopkins University, the project involves the Bloomberg School of Public Healths Center for Drug Safety and Effectiveness; Welch Medical Library; Institute of the History of Medicine; and Sheridan Libraries Digital Research and Curation Center.



The new archive will provide free public access to anyone who is interested in investigating the activities that have led to the devastating epidemic, which has now contributed to the deaths of nearly 500,000 people. The archive will promptly include new documents as they become available through resolution of legal action against companies that contributed to the opioid crisis. The launch coincides with the universities efforts to house more than 250,000 documents produced by opioid manufacturer Insys in the course of its bankruptcy proceedings following opioid litigation.



The archive is similar to the groundbreaking Truth Tobacco Industry Documents archive at UCSF, which has fostered scientific and public health discoveries shaping tobacco policy in the U.S. and around the world. This new archive from two top research universities will deliver a wealth of information that experts can analyze to help policymakers prevent another disaster like this from happening again.



This archive serves a vital public health purpose. Thanks to the efforts of the many parties involved, including the leaders of our communities and states nationwide, private lawyers working on their behalf, State Attorneys General, and the Multidistrict Litigation Plaintiffs Executive Committee, the archive will shine the bright light of day on previously private documents that help explain the background of how the epidemic arose, said G. Caleb Alexander, MD, MS, professor of Epidemiology and Medicine at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and founding director of its Center for Drug Safety and Effectiveness. Alexander, who has provided expert testimony on behalf of plaintiffs in opioid-related litigation, added, Johns Hopkins University and its Bloomberg School of Public Health bring remarkable expertise and scholarship directly related to the opioid crisis that are vital to this projects success.



Michael Steinman, MD, professor of medicine at UCSF, said, UCSF's ongoing work, through its Industry Documents Library, to provide public access to millions of documents about the tobacco industry has supported significant scientific and investigative research that have facilitated efforts to reduce smoking and related diseases, saving millions of lives worldwide. This new archive will similarly reflect on the opioid industry, whose actions have led to an extraordinary level of suffering and death across the country.



The archive will be guided by an external advisory committee that will include individuals who have lost loved ones to the opioid epidemic and others who have been directly affected by it.



According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the first wave of the rise in opioid overdose deaths in the U.S. began with increased opioid prescriptions in the 1990s, with overdose deaths involving prescription opioids increasing since at least 1999. From 1999 to 2018, nearly 500,000 people in the U.S. died from an overdose involving opioids, including prescription and illicit opioids. According to the White House Council of Economic Advisors most recent analysis, the opioid epidemic cost $696 billion in 2018 and more than $2.5 trillion between 2015 and 2018.



This project will provide much-needed transparency into some of the origins of our recent opioid epidemic, informing policies and practices to prevent another such catastrophe, said Joshua Sharfstein, MD, the Bloomberg Schools vice dean for Public Health Practice and Community Engagement and director of the Bloomberg American Health Initiative.



In response to the crisis across the U.S., counties, cities, states, and thousands of municipalities have filed lawsuits against various opioid manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies, and consulting firms. The lawsuits and document discovery from the litigationsuch as the recent settlement by States Attorneys General with McKinsey & Companyhave exposed how opioid defendants pursued strategies to increase sales of addictive and deadly products, including producing manipulative and misleading marketing, casting doubt on the addictiveness of these products, ignoring or downplaying health risks, or otherwise overlooking signals of opioid oversupply and unsafe use.



Public archives promote transparency and accountability, said Kate Tasker, MLIS, UCSF Industry Documents Library Managing Archivist. With the creation of the Opioid Industry Documents Archive, UCSF and Johns Hopkins University commit to preserving these materialsand future documentsin a centralized and full-text searchable database, to make this information freely and openly available to the public.:

# # #

Media contacts: Robin Scullin at rsculli1@jhu.edu and Carly Kempler at ckemple2@jhu.edu.
Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, has announced the Top 42 Master's in Gerontology Degree Programs for 2021. The comprehensive research guide is based on an assessment of 190 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 190 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 Master's in Gerontology Degree Programs. To access the complete ranking, please visit: https://www.intelligent.com/best-masters-in-gerontology-degree-programs/

2021 Master's in Gerontology Degree Programs featured on Intelligent.com (in alphabetical order):

Bowling Green State University

Brenau University

Concordia University, Chicago

Drexel University

Eastern Illinois University

Fort Hays State University

George Washington University

Georgia State University

Iowa State University

Kansas State University

Maryville University

McDaniel College

Miami University

Michigan State University

North Dakota State University

Nova Southeastern University

Oklahoma State University

San Francisco State University

Seton Hall University

Texas State University

Texas Tech University

Thomas Jefferson University

University of Central Missouri

University of Detroit Mercy

University of Florida

University of Indianapolis

University of Louisiana, Monroe

University of Maryland, Baltimore County

University of Massachusetts, Boston

University of Missouri

University Of Nebraska, Omaha

UNC Greensboro

University of North Dakota

University of Southern California

University Of Southern Indiana

University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston

University of Texas, Arlington

University of Utah

Virginia Commonwealth University

Webster University

Wichita State University

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/.
Ibadaan, Nigeria  Saheed Babajide, a young animal production graduate and a manager at a national milk production company in Iseyin, Nigeria, is a beneficiary of the government's youth agriculture intervention programme. But he feels he received almost no training during the three years he participated.

"We thought we will go through rigorous trainings in our various fields in agriculture, but to our surprise we were just given a training manual merely containing little or nothing about specific agricultural training as a training guide throughout the three years of engagement," says Babajide of his time during the "N-power AGRO programme".

The "N-power AGRO programme" was launched in 2016 as a national social investment programme designed to create jobs and empower Nigerians aged 18 to 35.

"Relatively no training was given about our fields, talk less of trainings on critical skills needed to thrive in the 21st Century [such as digital skill and socio-emotional skills]. After our first meeting, many people left to continue their hustle and bustle while they receive their salaries," he added.

The government pays participating youths salaries during their training. But because of the poor monitoring system, those beneficiaries who left their place of assignment before the programme ended still received these salaries. Babajide admitted that the same happened when he left his place of assignment before the programme ended.

Nigeria, with over 200 million people, is Africa's most populous country with the continent's largest youth population. And about 34 percent of its total population is in need of employment.

But to Nteranya Sanginga, Director General of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), developing agriculture is key to addressing the urgent challenges of food insecurity, poverty and youth unemployment on the continent.

"Developing agriculture is key to addressing these challenges. Youth brings energy and innovation to the mix, but these qualities can be best channelled by young Africans themselves carrying out results-based research in agribusiness and rural development involving young people. Youth engagement is key," Sanginga said in an opinion editorial.

According to Nigerian Bureau of Statistics(NBS) Q2 report 2020, "about 55.4 percent of the employable youths are still unemployed". It is uncertain how the COVID-19 pandemic affects these figures.

While the government has set up various initiatives to address the issue of unemployment and food security, one study into the N-power AGRO programme showed that over the years the impact or performance of the programme was minimal.

Dr Khadijat Amolegbe, a lecturer at Department of Agricultural Economics and Farm Management, University of Ilorin, Nigeria, conducted a study into another government programme exploring the skills needed to motivate youth to participate in the agricultural sector.

Amolegbe conducted a randomised controlled experiment on Nigerian youth enrolled in the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) -- a programme set up by the Nigerian government in 1973 to involve graduates in nation building and development. She measured the youth's motivation to engage in the agricultural sector by evaluating the following;

their intention to start an agribusiness venture;

their intention to register a business name; and

their intention to save towards starting an agribusiness venture.

Amolegbe is a an awardee of the Enhancing Capacity to Apply Research Evidence (CARE) In Policy for Youth Engagement in Agribusiness and Rural Economic Activities in Africa project, funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and implemented by IITA.

Amolegbe's IITA-CARE study revealed that the youth need training beyond basic agricultural skills. According to the research study, "socio-emotional and digital skills, also known as the 21st Century skills are indispensable, not only to motivate youths into agriculture but also help them thrive and survive the new and emerging challenges".

"We realised that efforts made to motivate youths to participate in the agricultural sector have not yielded tangible results because they focus on basic agribusiness skills. However, youths need other skills that can help them strive the new and emerging challenges because of the risks and uncertainties in the agricultural sector and the changing nature of work around the world," Amolegbe told IPS.

Sami Hassan is a recent graduate who is currently part of the NYSC. During the service year, graduates are engaged in various programmes designed to facilitate self-reliance among youth and to reduce unemployment.

"We were introduced to the basic skills involved in any field of our choice, but we're expected to go into the nitty gritty of the technical skill ourselves," Hassan said. He explained that while digital skills was offered as a course, its application in specific fields such as agriculture were not expanded upon.

Amolegbe told IPS that although the effect of digital skills in motivating youth engagement in agriculture is still ambiguous, youth with high socio-emotional and digital skills have high agribusiness test scores. This, she said, suggests that socio-emotional and digital skills are linked to increased agribusiness skills.

"With basic knowledge of agribusiness, individuals that receive socio-emotional skills training have positive significant probability of engaging in the agricultural sector than individuals that have receive both socio-emotional skills and digital skills training," she said.

Among other recommendations, Amolegbe suggested that socio-emotional and digital skills training should be included in interventions targeted at motivating youth to participate in the agricultural sector.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Agribusiness Nigeria ICT By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"This will stimulate innovation, increase productivity and also help them prepare to counter the new and emerging challenges along the agricultural value chain," she added.

The IFAD-sponsored study, which is part of several others carried out by young researchers under the CARE project in 10 countries across Africa, proposed that there should be an investment in digitalising the agricultural sector in Nigeria to enable youth with digital skills engage the sector.

"Input supplies should go beyond basic inputs like seeds and fertilisers, we should also encourage the use of digital tools across the agricultural value chain," Amolegbe added.

Veronica Valentine, the Executive Director of FarmAgric Foundation, a non-governmental organisation that seeks to empower farmers and efficiently equip them with all the necessary tools to thrive in an evolving society, said the findings from the study gave a great insight into the challenges the youth have entering agriculture.

"Although our training modules at FarmAgric (which we give young farmers) are designed to sort of accommodate digital skills in order to help them in their agribusiness, especially in a digitalised world of today, we find the study very useful and hope government could implement this into their training modules in order to meet the demands of young people looking forward to venture into agriculture," she said.

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
He had led the combined allied forces to defeat of Nazi Germany  only to find himself, a decade later, intimidated before the cameras in an echoey room of the old executive office building, ready and willing to make history again.

Well, I see were trying a new experiment this morning, president Dwight Eisenhower told the press corps. I hope that doesnt prove to be a disturbing influence.

It was the first presidential news conference broadcast on TV.

In the scratchy black and white of 1955 television, Americans saw those trademark Ike grins and heard him beef about being asked a loaded question.

With that, an enlightening, contentious and often showboating tradition came into the modern age, one US President Joe Biden faces today with his first White House news conference.

Stay tuned for any disturbing influences.

Depending how you count, Biden is a little or a lot behind his recent predecessors in opening himself to questions in what historians have called the high-risk, high-reward enterprise of presidential news conferences.

The last four presidents, back to Bill Clinton, each held one solo White House news conference in their first 60 days, picking up the pace to varying degrees later.

Adding in the often very brief joint news conferences with visiting foreign leaders, Donald Trump held at least five news conferences by that point, Clinton four, and Barack Obama two.

The pandemic, however, has kept foreign leaders away from the White House this year.

The Biden White House is a notably tight ship, fully aware of his history of flubs, as is Biden himself, a self-described gaffe machine.

He went through the 2020 campaign with infrequent news conferences and often hunkered down in the pandemic.

Yet he debated fellow Democrats a dozen times and Trump three times without apparent harm to his campaign.

In one of his few extended and open-ended sessions with the media before todays scheduled meeting, the world gained an insight into his thinking about Vladimir Putin (Biden called him a killer who will pay a price for US election interference), as well as on the surge of young migrants at the border, a possibly delayed troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, and more.

Eisenhowers news conference on January 19, 1955, was one benchmark among several in the history of presidential news conferences.

Until his administration, the news conferences were off the record, meaning presidents gave the public information about the countrys affairs and the workings of government without necessarily letting their name be used.

Woodrow Wilson gave the first presidential news conference in 1913. Calvin Coolidge made a habit of them, holding nearly 73 a year on average, explaining the people should have a fairly accurate report of what the president is trying to do.

Franklin Roosevelt, a radio pioneer who mastered communications on all fronts and nearly matched Coolidges unrivaled pace of news conferences, regularly summoned his favored reporters to his office, consigning the ones he didnt like to his dunce club.

Off the record often meant giving the president a chance to clean up his remarks, unheard of today.

At a March 1950 news conference, Harry Truman declared that senator Joseph McCarthy, the audacious canceler of communists real and imagined in US government and society, was the Kremlins best asset.

When one of the reporters commented that the presidents observation would hit page one the following day, Truman realised he had better soften the statement.

He worked with reporters and allowed the following as a direct quotation: The greatest asset that the Kremlin has is the partisan attempt in the Senate to sabotage the bipartisan foreign policy of the United States.

Such manipulation became untenable when Eisenhower put the news conferences on the record and let broadcasters record them.

Even so, segments were only televised and shown in the broadcast.

Later today, we may find out whats really eating Joe Biden.
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 1919, officials in Demopolis, Ala., had a problem  the Tombigbee River could be crossed only by ferry from its landing, making it the last unfinished link in the Dixie Overland Highway, which was to run between Savannah and San Diego. World War I had just ended and no one had funds to build the large span along U.S. Highway 80.

So Demopolis officials turned to Frank Inge Derby, a man known not only for changing Alabamas cattle industry but for being able to raise money. Derby, a respected Sumter County businessman and community leader, had raised more than $100,000 for the Red Crosss war efforts in the summer of 1918 by selling Shorthorn bulls donated by fellow cattlemen for a benefit auction.

In summer of 1919, Derby held another sale  this time auctioning donated roosters and small livestock  to raise money to build and improve roads in York, Ala.

After seeing what Derby had done in York, people in Demopolis requested a rooster sale to initiate enthusiasm to build a bridge across the Tombigbee River at the site of the last ferry on the Dixie Overland Highway from Savannah to San Diego, the University of West Alabama says.

Derby would manage the feat by auctioning roosters donated by world leaders and famous Alabamians, including Helen Keller.

Historical marker at the current Rooster Bridge, erected in 1980. (RuralSWAlabama.org)

Who was Frank Derby?

Derby (1881-1963) was known as a cattleman, conservationist, farmer, timberman, entrepreneur, and a humanitarian, according to the UWA archives, which has in its archives a scrapbook of Derbys achievements.

Derby raised cattle as well as small livestock and he was the first in the State of Alabama to import registered Shorthorn bulls to improve local cattle. He was also the first in the state to dip cattle to kill ticks causing tick fever, the UWA article says.

In 1900, Derby married Kate Horn, one of the first University of Alabama co-eds. They had nine children. Kate died in 1929. In 1939, Derby married Minnie Wade Cory, a teacher, and they had one daughter. Derby was a member of Elizabeth Presbyterian Church.

Crossing the Tombigbee

Derby took on the Tombigbee bridge project with his usual enthusiasm. As it turned out, the timing was also pivotal to the venture. In just over two months, Derby had contacted Congressman Buck Oliver who contacted President Woodrow Wilson at the Versailles Peace Conference who then enlisted roosters from the Big Four world leaders: Woodrow Wilson, David Lloyd George, Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, and Georges Clemenceau, according to the UWA archives. The roosters were shipped from Europe to Washington DC, where a delegation from Alabama met them at the White House.

In its collection, the Alabama Department of Archives and History has a copy of the photo from the day the roosters arrived in Washington, D.C. Those who have been identified in the photo are: Rep. Edward B. Almon; Sen. John H. Bankhead Sr.; Rep. William B. Bankhead (in the light suit, to the right and rear of Senator Bankhead); President Woodrow Wilson; Rep. William Oliver; and Sen. Oscar Underwood. An unidentified man in uniform may be Henry McAuley Bankhead, the Archives says.

This photo from the Alabama Department of Archives and History was taken the day the roosters arrived in Washington, D.C. Frnk Derby is front left. Others who have been identified in the photo are: Rep. Edward B. Almon; Sen. John H. Bankhead Sr.; Rep. William B. Bankhead (in the light suit, to the right and rear of Senator Bankhead); President Woodrow Wilson; Rep. William Oliver; and Sen. Oscar Underwood. An unidentified man in uniform may be Henry McAuley Bankhead, the Archives says.

A historical marker on the side of the current bridge explains the sale and lists more of the donations by famous people of the time:

In 1919 a rooster sale organized by Frank Derby raised money to begin construction of a bridge over the Tombigbee River at Moscow Ferry. This was the last link in the completion of the Dixie Overland Highway between Savannah and San Diego. The idea was to bridge the Bigbee with cocks: Roosters would be solicited from world-famous persons and an auction and barbeque held in the city of Demopolis for the benefit of the bridge. Congressmen Buck Oliver, Admiral William S. Benson, and Secretary of Navy Josephus Daniels helped sell President Wilson on the idea. He and the others of the Big Four, Lloyd George, Clemenceau, and Orlando, who were meeting at the Versailles Conference, shipped roosters on the USS Northern Pacific. Governor Kilby sent 27 prominent Alabamians to the White House to receive the roosters from President Wilson. By August 14, 1919, 600 roosters (and one hen from Helen Keller) had arrived in Demopolis. President Wilsons rooster auctioned for $44,000.

The sale of the famous roosters occurred Aug. 14 and 15, 1919, in Demopolis. It raised $56,000 for the bridge, which officially opened for traffic in 1925 as Memorial Bridge. The bridge was used until 1980, when it was demolished to make way for a new bridge one mile upriver, according to RuralSWAlabama.org. It was always known locally as the Rooster Bridge, and its name was officially changed to Rooster Bridge by the state Legislature in 1959. The current bridge is also named Rooster Bridge.

Although more than $200,000 was pledged at the auction, most was not collected, leaving state and federal governments to add funds for the completion of the bridge.

At the original site a mile down the Tombigbee, a monument lists the names of 88 livestock donors.
(Alliance News) - Gemfields Group Ltd on Thursday said it is "reasonably certain" it will swing to a loss in 2020.

The London-based gemstones supplier said it expects to swing to a net loss after tax of USD93.2 million for 2020 from a profit of USD39.1 a year prior.

Loss per share is expected to be 7.0 US cents, swinging from an earnings per share of 2.0 cents.

Gemfields said: "Gemfields' 2020 auction schedule was severely impacted by the many travel, quarantines and congregating restrictions put in place to mitigate Covid-19 contagion. The pandemic has meant that no traditional Gemfields auctions have been held since February 2020, when USD 11.4 million was realised from the sale of commercial quality emeralds in Lusaka."

Gemfields added it is pleased to announce that its series of seven ruby and five emerald auctions commenced on last Monday.

Gemfields shares were down 5.1% at 7.00 pence each in London on Thursday morning. In Johannesburg on Thursday afternoon, the stock was flat at ZAR1.52 each.

By Greg Roxburgh; gregroxburgh@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
"The Stars of the Industry Awards honor special individuals who have supported their coworkers and their communities by going beyond the call of duty despite an unprecedented year for the hotel industry," said Chip Rogers, President and CEO of AHLA . "The women and men recognized at this event embody the true spirit of hospitality, going above and beyond for their guests and our hotels like never before. Their stories will tug heartstrings and we are proud to know them."

Vanessa Stanley, Vice President of New Builds + Transitions for PM Hotel Group, was recognized with the 2021 "Paving the Way" award in recognition of her accomplishments not just as an industry leader, but for her commitment to her community and dedication to mentoring and raising up everyone around her.

"Vanessa brings her positive mindset, entrepreneurial spirt, and drive to every project," said Joseph Bojanowski, President of PM Hotel Group. "With a specialty in new builds and construction she's often the only woman on-site or in the room and quickly earns the respect of her peers, partners and competitors with her expertise, energy and passion, all while managing, mentoring and inspiring excellence from her team." In 2020, despite the pandemic, she successfully opened 2 new build properties and transitioned multiple additional hotels into PM Hotel Group's portfolio. She was instrumental to the success of these newly transitioned hotels achieving 100% RevPar 30 days post transition.

The hotel industry will continue the celebration at the Night of a Thousand Stars Gala on July 25, 2021 in Los Angeles.

ABOUT AHLA

The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) is the sole national association representing all segments of the U.S. lodging industry. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., AHLA focuses on strategic advocacy, communications support and workforce development programs to move the industry forward. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the hospitality industry was the first industry impacted and it will be among the last to recover. That is why AHLA is committed to promoting safe travel while also creating a standardized safety experience nationwide through the Safe Stay initiative. With an enhanced set of health and safety protocols designed to provide a safe and clean environment for all hotel guests and employees, hotels across America are ready to welcome back travelers when they are ready to travel. Learn more at www.ahla.com.

ABOUT THE AHLA FOUNDATION

The AHLA Foundation, the charitable giving arm of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, is dedicated to helping people build careers, improve their lives, and strengthen the lodging industry. We are committed to elevating, educating, and empowering individuals and the public on the industry's story of opportunity and advancement. Since its founding in 1953, the Foundation has distributed over $27 million in support of the industry and is committed to ensuring a strong and viable workforce for the entire lodging industry. The Foundation is funded solely by contributions from generous individuals and companies who want to give back to the hotel industry and ensure a successful future.

ABOUT PM HOTEL GROUP

A Top-15 hotel management company, PM Hotel Group has over two decades of experience building relationships with brands, partners, and third-party hotel owners. We have participated in the development and acquisition of more than $3 billion in premium-branded and independent hotel properties across the United States. As an operator, PM Hotel Group is committed to its core values of respect- for one another, our guests, and the planet. We manage with a dedication to sustainability, a tradition of teamwork and a passion for innovation and entrepreneurship. At PM Hotel Group we know that our people are our greatest resource. By focusing on our associates and the communities in which we work, we deliver strong performance for our owners. Learn more at pmhotelgroup.com

SOURCE PM Hotel Group

Related Links

pmhotelgroup.com


As Senate Republicans continued to torch the Biden administration over its handling of the border situation this week, a funny thing happened: A bipartisan group of senators met to discuss immigration reform.

The meeting, convened Wednesday by Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, was the first time this Congress that Democrats and Republicans have actually sat in the same room to discuss the issue, which has long befuddled lawmakers.

Youve got people all over the map, but I think if we really want to get something done then I think were going to have to try to show were working on whats happening at the border right now, said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), one of the meeting attendees.

The meeting came as senators from both parties acknowledged that a path forward on a comprehensive immigration bill is unlikely, particularly with the surge of migrants arriving at the border. And while Democrats have long pushed for legislation to offer permanent legal protections to undocumented immigrants brought to this country as children, Republicans are making it clear that they wont support anything without additional border security.

Senators are trying to get a sense of what parameters might be, and theres another meeting coming up when we put some proposals on the table, said Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), who introduced President Joe Biden's sweeping immigration reform proposal this Congress.

It was a good first discussion, added Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.).  Nobodys taken themselves out. I thought they were all genuinely interested.

Cornyn told POLITICO he discussed the need to overhaul the current U.S. asylum system. He'd like to get asylum seekers in front of immigration judges immediately, instead of allowing them to remain in the U.S. while they await their court dates. Right now, the majority of migrants arriving at the border are kicked out before they can apply for asylum under a public health authority former President Donald Trump invoked in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic  which Biden has yet to revoke. Cornyn suggested pairing protections for Dreamers with asylum reform.

Story continues

But Cornyn acknowledged the challenges of getting any kind of immigration legislation  including passing protections for Dreamers, which has been popular for years  through the Senate. And comprehensive immigration is never going to work, he added.

In addition to Cornyn and Tillis, GOP Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Mike Rounds of South Dakota attended the meeting. On the Democratic side, Sens. Alex Padilla of California, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, Chris Coons of Delaware, Michael Bennet of Colorado, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico attended. Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mike Crapo of Idaho were invited, but couldn't attend.

Durbin has been holding one-on-one meetings with the GOP attendees for weeks, said a Democratic aide, laying the groundwork for Wednesdays meeting. The group will meet again to get into more details after a high-level talk.

Last week, the House passed a pair of immigration bills to offer legal protections for Dreamers, Temporary Protected Status recipients and farmworkers, as well as reform the existing H-2A agricultural guestworker program.

Both bills passed with bipartisan support, but neither bill is likely to get the necessary 60 votes in the Senate, especially given the current focus on what Republicans are calling Bidens border crisis. And its even less likely that Bidens sweeping reform plan would receive any GOP support in its current form.

Meanwhile, the spotlight on the border situation isnt going anywhere, as more delegations of lawmakers are traveling there to discuss whats happening. Republicans are blaming Biden, who they argue has actively encouraged migrants to come by undoing Trump-era policies. And Democrats are largely placing the blame on four years of Trumps efforts to seal off the border and dismantle the U.S. asylum system.

Cornyn and Sen. Ted Cruz on Friday will lead a delegation of 17 GOP senators to the Texas-Mexico border, including Tillis, Collins and Graham.
Russia will resume commercial flights to Germany, Venezuela, Syria, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Sri Lanka from April 1, the countrys official coronavirus task force said on Thursday, Reuters reports.

Russia suspended international flights in March last year at the start of the pandemic but has since resumed a selected number of routes.
A medical worker fills a syringe from a vial of the AstraZeneca vaccine on March 24, 2021 at a vaccination hub outside Rome's Termini railway station, as the vaccination campaing continues despite delays across the country . (ANDREAS SOLARO / AFP)

The new US president will address the 27 EU leaders by video link in the evening as Washington and Brussels put on a show of mending ties after the dramatic diplomatic battles of the Donald Trump years.

But his intervention will only be a brief respite from the main matter at hand: How to outpace the resurgent epidemic when drug deliveries came up short and vaccination campaigns started slowly?

Host Charles Michel, the president of the leaders' European Council, had hoped to hold a substantive face-to-face summit, but was forced to accept a stripped down video conference as EU members reinstated lockdown measures.

The Europeans are angry that UK-based pharma giant AstraZeneca has failed to meet its vaccine delivery promises to the EU while ensuring smoother supplies to former member Britain.

But they are also squabbling among themselves over how to share the vaccines they have received, and not all are happy with the European Commission's threat to block some vaccine exports.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen's executive updated its month-old control mechanism on Wednesday, giving the bloc more power to block vaccine shipments to countries like Britain that produce jabs but do not export them.

The leaders will not be asked to vote on the measure, already provisionally applied, at Thursday's summit, and most would back it if it helps pressure AstraZeneca to boost its deliveries.

But some -- like UK neighbour Ireland, and vaccine producers Belgium and the Netherlands -- are wary of any move to block exports from operations like Pfizer/BioNTech, which supplies both the EU and UK.

If the pharmaceutical industry's global supply chains are disrupted, many countries could lose out, as both British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government and von der Leyen's commission accepted.

- 'Win-win situation' -

"We are all facing the same pandemic and the third wave makes cooperation between the EU and UK even more important," they said, in a joint statement released to calm nerves after the EU tightened its rules.

The cross-Channel rivals are in discussions about how "to create a win-win situation and expand vaccine supply for all our citizens" but have yet to come to agreement on how to share AstraZeneca doses.

The firm has delivered the EU only 19 million of the 30 million it had promised in the first quarter -- and that pledge was itself a dramatic reduction from the 120 million it contracted for.

With some EU countries more reliant on the cheaper UK-designed vaccine than others, Brussels' focus has turned to a plant in the Netherlands which the UK had planned to use for its own supplies.

Johnson is holding out, insisting that the UK contract with AstraZeneca must be honoured, but he is worried that Brussels could use the toughened export mechanism to cut Britain off from other EU-made vaccines.

A European diplomat told reporters that the UK and the Commission are negotiating how to better share AstraZeneca doses, and that the EU must not shoulder the shortfall alone.

Another sensitive issue is sharing out the vaccines Europe has received under the Commission's joint buying strategy.

A group of smaller states, led by Austria, is demanding a revision in the distribution method after they came up short in the first quarter.

There is little sympathy in other capitals for their plight, however, as decisions were made on a joint steering committee where Austria and others failed to make use of opportunities to secure more batches.

Discussions are underway on a compromise, but some countries relied more heavily on AstraZeneca compared to more expensive -- but in the end more successful -- suppliers.

And, as one diplomat said: "Some countries just decided to buy fewer vaccines, it's a tactic that can't be blamed on the EU or other member states."

- Top envoy -

Against this backdrop, Biden's appearance, albeit by video from Washington, may prove a respite. European officials have been delighted with the new US administration's warmer tone.

On the eve of the summit, Biden's top diplomat Antony Blinken wrapped up a two-day visit to Brussels after talks with NATO ministers and top EU officials, promising close coordination.

But fearing leaks from a less than secure videoconference, the leaders do not expect to be able to make decisions on many sensitive topics, and talks initially planned for two days will instead end late Thursday.
Beijings total revenue from tourism decreased by over 53% in 2020 for a staggering loss of 330 billion ($50 billion), according to data presented by TradingPlatforms.com.



China has long moved on from its isolationist policies and has long encouraged the mainland as a travel destination for tourists. Revenue from Chinas tourism sector grew at a strong 13.8% CAGR from 2010-2019 to 5.7 trillion or almost $880 billion. In 2019, China was the fourth most visited country by foreign tourists with 65.7 million arrivals for the year.



Beijing is one of the leading tourist destinations in China and the city has been enjoying the growth of the tourism sector until the pandemic of 2020 hit. From 2016-2019 Beijings tourism revenue experienced a 5.53% CAGR, rising to a value of 622.7 billion in 2019. However, COVID-19 shut borders around the world, crippling global mobility and disrupting the momentum built up by Beijings tourism industry. Beijings revenue from tourism dropped over 53% in 2020 to just over 291.



Beijing suffered a staggering loss in revenue specifically in inbound tourism where revenue dropped from $5.16 billion in 2019 to just $480 million in 2020.



China felt the effects of COVID-19 before much of the rest of the world did. A clear example of this is in the drop in weekly Airbnb bookings from the period between January 5 to March 7 when the Coronavirus was just news to the rest of the world of what was happening in various parts of China. Beijing experienced a 96% drop in weekly AirBnB bookings compared to just 46% in Seoul and 29% in Tokyo in this time period.



The number of domestic tourists is estimated to have dropped by as much as 62% in the first half of 2020 compared to the year prior with revenues dropping by as much as 77%. By the end of the year, China had experienced a 43% drop in domestic tourists and a 52% drop in revenue from domestic tourism.



In 2019, the absolute economic contribution of tourism in China was estimated at $1.67T. This fell sharply to just $745.5 billion in 2020 - a decrease of more than 55% but still the largest in Asia and the second-largest overall after the US. However, projections have the figure bouncing back up by over 40.5% in 2021 to $1.04 trillion. The figure is projected to surpass pre-pandemic levels for the first time in 2023 when the absolute economic contribution of tourism is projected to be at $1.75 trillion.



Despite the turmoil of 2020, Chinas absolute economic contribution from tourism is projected to have an impressive CAGR of 20.75% from 2021-2025, reaching more than $2.67 trillion by the end of the forecast period.  TradeArabia News Service






Health official proud of residents turning out for vaccine shots

local
CHICAGO, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- World-renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. Richard Berger, M.D., Rush University Medical Center (RUMC), Chicago, is celebrating 20 years of performing same-day joint replacement surgery. As the first physician to perform hip and knee replacement in an outpatient setting, Dr. Berger has now completed over 12,000 outpatient joint replacements -- more than any orthopedic surgeon in the world.

Dr. Berger's ability to avoid cutting any muscle, ligaments or tendons distinguishes his work from others in the field. From A-list celebrities and former presidents to competitive athletes and weekend warriors, Dr. Berger's patients not only recover faster than traditional joint replacement patients, but also experience a more complete recovery -- allowing them to walk out the door following surgery.

"It has been an honor to go through the years with my patients. My greatest satisfaction is seeing them regain independence and resume activities after surgery," says Dr. Berger, who is on staff at Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush and an associate professor at RUMC. "I look forward to welcoming new patients and spearheading innovation to help them return to their version of normal."

With a mechanical engineering degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Dr. Berger has extensive knowledge of the science of movement. In 2020, he was honored by the Western Society of Engineers as the 102nd recipient of the Washington Award, an honor given to engineers whose accomplishments have preeminently advanced the welfare of humankind. Previous recipients include Henry Ford, Orville Wright and Neil Armstrong.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Berger has made it easy for patients to access his care by providing pre- and post-surgery telemedicine visits. With stringent protocols put in place, patients can have peace of mind that they are in a safe environment for surgery.

ABOUT MIDWEST ORTHOPAEDICS AT RUSH

Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush (MOR) offers comprehensive, unparalleled, orthopedic services. The physician group is known for treating patients with orthopedic conditions, ranging from the most common to the most complex. MOR's reputation as a leader in specialized orthopedic patient care, education and research has been recognized by many national publications. U.S. News & World Report ranks the orthopedic program at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, as one of the top in the nation. It is the highest ranked program in Illinois and Indiana.

SOURCE Dr. Richard Berger
SPRINGFIELD  The Mental Health Association has been named lead recipient of a state grant to supply personal protective equipment kits to the homeless as state emergency regulations remain in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The Emergency Solutions Grant of $163,695 from the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development will enable MHA to purchase and distribute the PPE to both homeless persons as well to other providers that serve the homeless for distribution.

We are proud that MHA has been chosen lead agency in distributing PPE to those we serve and to our partner agencies who also provide services to persons experiencing homelessness throughout our community, said Kimberley A. Lee, MHAs vice president of resource development and branding.

She added, MHA has an outreach program within our division of recovery and housing which provides case management and supportive wraparound services to those who are chronically and now formerly homeless.

We also work with the BeHealthy ACO/Baystate Health to provide individuals with housing stabilization services, Lee said.

Lee said that each kit contains masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, alcohol wipes and an instructional card on the proper use of PPE.

She said other providers of homelessness services that will receive kits from MHA, a nonprofit that serves the Greater Springfield Area, to distribute include Baystate Health, Clinical and Support Options Friends of the Homeless program, the Springfield Dioceses Catholic Charities Agency, and Tapestry.

She said the grant also provides that PPE kits be available for members of the outreach staff of these local providers who interact directly with the homeless populations served.

Related content:
https://flv1.gmw.cn/soby/sobey/20210329/1616989925833_High.mp4

Recently, some Hong Kong separatists who fled overseas have launched a so-called "2021 Hong Kong Charter", urging the international community to stand with them. It is clearly an offence under the national security law. Overseas Chinese strongly opposed the acts of the separatists.

"As overseas Chinese, we find those acts quite ill-conceived and absurd. The national security law adopted last year saved Hong Kong from the social unrest and enabled it to start anew. It wins broad understanding and support," Wu Hao from the Association for Promoting the Peaceful Reunification of China in Russia said.

Yan Tianlu from the China Public Relations Association in Malaysia indicated that the Hong Kong national security law China passed last year has further completed the norms in safeguarding the sovereignty of China based on the fact that the HKSAR is a part of the country under the implementation of "one country, two systems" for more than 20 years. Meanwhile, it has advanced shaping the society under the rule of law. In accordance with the law, Hong Kong residents' and even foreigners in Hong Kong's rights and freedom are protected.

"As we all know, it has not been an easy job to safeguard the stability and development of Hong Kong. We should thank for the timely adoption and implementation of the national security law. A few days ago, during the two sessions this year, the NPC passed the decision on improving Hong Kongs electoral system. It is a further effort to escort Hong Kong's future," Chen Jianxin, Chairperson of the Chinese Association in Spain, stressed. "That is what the people truly want."

Guo Wenchang, Chairperson of Kenya Overseas Chinese Association, implied that adhering to "patriots ruling Hong Kong" is justified. It concerns the national sovereignty, security and development interests, and is the fundamental principle for the city's long-term prosperity and stability. "As overseas Chinese, we give it our resolute support," he said.

"China is a country ruled by law. Hong Kong society is also under the rule of law. The rights of Hong Kong residents are fully protected in accordance with the law. However, any illegal or criminal behavior will inevitably be punished by the law," Liang Guanjun, Chairperson of the United Chinese Association of Eastern US pointed out. "As overseas Chinese, we resolutely repel and oppose such behavior. For any country, organization and individual, in any way, interfering with Hong Kong's justice and other affairs, and for those harboring illegal separatists for political purposes, we will also unite all the people as we can, and let out the voice of justice of overseas Chinese."

Yan Junren, Chairperson of the Peaceful Reunification of China Association of New Zealand, called on all the overseas Chinese around the globe and all the Hong Kong people living overseas for staying alert to such ill-conceived acts and firmly upholding the principle of "patriots governing Hong Kong". "We look forward to a more prosperous Hong Kong," he extended his best wishes to a better tomorrow of the city.

Ren Chenggong, Chairperson of the board of AUS-CHINA TV MEDIA also mentioned the importance of improving the electoral system in Hong Kong. He said that the stability and prosperity of Hong Kong concerns not only China's development, but also the global economic recovery and resurgence in the post-pandemic era.

We hope the international community will stand by international law and basic norms governing international relations, fully and accurately understand and respect "One Country, Two Systems", earnestly support Hong Kong's prosperity and stability, and avoid meddling with Hong Kong affairs and China's internal affairs as a whole in any way.

[ Editor: WXY]
The company is set to drill its 798 square kilometre tenement package and plans to commence an AEM survey over the Last Chance gold anomaly next month.

The camp at Newman Creek will support the field season activities at the Red Mountain silver-rich zinc VMS prospects.

( ) ( ) has started its fourth field season at the Red Mountain silver-rich zinc volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) and large Last Chance Intrusion Related Gold System (IRGS) gold anomaly projects in Alaska.

The company has secured three diamond drill rigs with one already on-site while a 20-person camp is set-up in the eastern part of the large district-scale 798 square kilometre tenement package.

A 30-person camp has also been secured for the company's Last Chance and northern VMS target activities.

AEM survey planned

In addition, a 1,900-line kilometre SkyTEM airborne electromagnetics (AEM) survey over the large Last Chance gold anomaly and northern VMS targets is scheduled for the second half of April and is expected to cover around 400 square kilometres.

This will be the first application of modern technology over this area with the capability of identifying conductivity anomalies to depths of 400 metres that could fast-track a new large discovery.

Location of the Red Mountain Project, including the Last Chance Gold Target, within the Tintina Gold Province and its major gold deposits.

Regional prospectivity

Red Mountain has a high-grade mineral resource estimate of 9.1 million tonnes at 157 g/t silver, 5.8% zinc, 2.6% lead, and 0.9 g/t gold for a 609 g/t silver equivalent grade or a 13% zinc equivalent grade.

This gives White Rock a quality advanced exploration project in an established mining district with significant potential to discover large zinc-silver-lead-gold-copper deposits - in addition to extending the known zinc-silver-lead-gold deposits at Dry Creek and West Tundra Flats.

The Red Mountain project also hosts the Last Chance gold anomaly, discovered in 2029, which covers 30 square kilometres of the highly prospective Tintina Gold Belt.

Tintina is home to giant gold deposits including Donlin Creek (45 million ounces gold), Fort Knox (13.5 million ounces gold) and Pogo (10 million ounces gold), which are all Cretaceous IRGS deposits.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-24 23:30:13|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

Video image taken on June 19, 2020 shows a session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland. (Xinhua)

It is time that those countries abide by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, respect the path of human rights development chosen by others, stop smearing other countries, and take their own problems seriously.



BEIJING, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The 46th regular session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) came to a close on Wednesday. What the world has witnessed during the four-week conference was a record of the repeated double standards of the United States and some other Western countries.

The beacon of human rights, as they would like to call themselves, has failed to shed light upon its own weaknesses. While they tried in vain to boast their human rights superiority, China's position and achievements on human rights have won the support and recognition of many developing countries.

During the session, representatives from 116 countries and international organizations reviewed the human rights situation in the United States and made 347 recommendations on human rights improvement, covering such issues as minority oppression, life and health deprivations and gun violence.

Some representatives pointed out that the United States, in pursuit of "vaccine nationalism," has hoarded vaccines far in excess of its population's needs in the pandemic, and refused to share them with other countries, including its allies.

Moreover, the United States has carried out numerous military interventions that have resulted in mass civilian casualties. The country also imposed coercive and unilateral sanctions that have seriously violated international law on developing countries, causing grave human rights and humanitarian crises.

During the session, a long list of countries urged the United States, Australia, Canada and the European Union to address issues including racism, discrimination, police violence and hate crimes targeted at ethnic minorities.

A representative from the United States admitted that some Americans, especially those in black communities, have lost confidence in the country's judicial system as a result of the irresponsibility of some U.S. police officers.

Ironically, some Western countries, the United States in particular, played down or totally dismissed their own human rights violations while launching groundless attacks against China over issues related to Xinjiang and Hong Kong under the guise of democracy and human rights. Such blatant double standards are astonishing and outrageous.

China has responded to the ill-founded accusations with sufficient facts and reason.

Photo taken on June 17, 2020 shows an urgent debate of the 43rd Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council held in Geneva, Switzerland. (Bodi Hugger/ACANU/Handout via Xinhua)

Addressing a high-level meeting at the session, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Xinjiang-related issues are in essence about countering violent terrorism and separatism, adding that there has never been so-called "genocide," "forced labor" or "religious oppression" in Xinjiang.

The legislation on safeguarding national security in Hong Kong, Wang said, has plugged the long-existing legal loopholes in Hong Kong. Around three million Hong Kong residents have expressed their support for national security legislation in signature campaigns.

The drama of smearing China orchestrated by a few Western countries has to come to an end. Gone are the days when they managed to meddle in China's internal affairs with a few made-up stories and rampant lies.

On March 12, Cuba delivered a joint statement on behalf of 64 countries, commending the people-centered philosophy that the Chinese government pursues and achievements that have been made in China's human rights cause, and reiterating that Xinjiang is an inseparable part of China.

On March 5, Belarus delivered a joint speech on behalf of 71 countries at the 46th UNHRC session, emphasizing that Hong Kong affairs are China's internal affairs and should not be interfered in by external forces.

Also in recent days, a number of countries have expressed their firm support for China on Xinjiang-related and Hong Kong-related issues in their individual statements delivered at the session.

The manipulation of a few Western countries simply cannot represent the international community.

Over the years, China has adhered to a people-centered concept of human rights and blazed a path of human rights development that suits China's national conditions and needs.

Chen Xu, China's permanent representative to the United Nations Office at Geneva, speaks during the opening ceremony of the photo exhibition "Home: Glimpse of People from Various Ethnic Groups in Xinjiang" in Geneva, Switzerland, on March 2, 2020. (Photo by Li Ye/Xinhua)

Just as Ambassador Chen Xu, China's permanent representative to the UN Office in Geneva has said, the 1.4 billion Chinese people, as masters of their country, are living a safe and happy life, enjoying equity, justice, development and prosperity.

"This is both the greatest human rights practice and the greatest human rights achievement," he said.

The international community has a fair judgement of who is violating human rights and who is upholding them. Human rights are not the exclusive rights of some countries, and China's human rights achievements have to be recognized.

It is time that those countries abide by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, respect the path of human rights development chosen by others, stop smearing other countries, and take their own problems seriously.

It is hoped that all countries can join efforts to enhance the exchange and cooperation on human rights based on equality and mutual respect, so as to work together for the healthy development of human rights in the world. 
A huge backlog of vessels was building up around the Suez Canal amid warnings that the salvage team could need days  or even weeks  to prise out the giant container ship thats blocking the crucial waterway.

Work to re-float the Ever Given and allow passage for oceangoing carriers hauling almost $10 billion of oil and consumer goods continued without success on Thursday in Egypt. Tugs and diggers have so far failed to budge the vessel, and some experts say the crisis could drag on for several days. The Suez Canal Authority has temporarily suspended traffic along the waterway.

Related: Container Ship Could Block Suez Canal for Weeks Insurers of Container Ship Aground in Suez Canal Face Millions in Claims

I cant exclude that it can last weeks if the ship is really stuck, said Peter Berdowski, chief executive officer of Boskalis Westminster, the parent company of the salvage team. The process would take that long if you need to get rid of cargo and you need to do dredging as well, he said in an interview on the Nieuwsuur TV program in the Netherlands on Wednesday.

About 12% of global trade goes through the canal, making it so strategic that world powers have fought over the waterway since it was completed in 1869. For now, all that traffic is backed up with the Ever Given aground in the southern part of the canal, creating another setback for global supply chains already strained by the e-commerce boom linked to the pandemic.

At about a quarter mile long (400 meters) and weighing in at 200,000 tons, the sheer size of the vessel is overwhelming efforts to dig it out. A huge yellow excavator, itself about twice as tall as its driver, looked like a childs toy parked next to the ships hulking bow.

Heres the latest:

The front of the ship is wedged around 5 meters (16 feet) into the canals wall, which is one of the main obstacles to re-floating it fully, according to people familiar with the matter.

Dredging has been done to remove sand from around the front hull, so it can be tugged from the side, according to people familiar with the matter.

Attempts to re-float the vessel have restarted again on Thursday, according to Inchcape Shipping Services, a maritime services provider.

SMIT Salvage BVs vessel Boka Da Vinci, which is in Egypts Port Said, is on standby and ready to help

In our view the situation now looks unlikely to be heading for a swift resolution given that it is not a simple grounding, Braemar ACM Shipbroking said in a report on Thursday. We now do not rule out several days of blockage in the canal as, among other things, the vessel will very likely have to be lightened and dug out at the ends.

A rough estimate shows the blockage is snarling about $9.6 billion worth of traffic a day, based on calculations from Lloyds List that suggest westbound traffic is worth around $5.1 billion a day and eastbound traffic approximately $4.5 billion. On Wednesday, 185 vessels were waiting to cross the canal, according to shipping data compiled by Bloomberg, while Lloyds estimates theres 165.

The struggle to dislodge the ship falls to SMIT Salvage BV, a legendary Dutch firm whose employees fly from one shipping incident to the next, often boarding vessels during violent storms. Japans Nippon Salvage Co. has also been hired to assist in the re-floating, according to a statement from the Ever Givens operator, Evergreen Marine Corp. Taiwan Ltd.

The best chance for returning shipping to normal may not come until Sunday or Monday, when the tide will reach a peak, according to Nick Sloane, the salvage master responsible for re-floating the Costa Concordia, which capsized off Italy in 2012.

The salvors may have to lighten the ship by removing things like the ballast water, which helps keep it steady while at sea. Fuel could also be unloaded.

A rough estimate shows the blockage is snarling about $9.6 billion worth of traffic a day, based on calculations from Lloyds List that suggest westbound traffic is worth around $5.1 billion a day and eastbound traffic approximately $4.5 billion. On Wednesday, 185 vessels were waiting to cross the canal, according to shipping data compiled by Bloomberg, while Lloyds estimates theres 165.

The biggest impact were seeing from all the vessels were tracking is around some bulks and container shipping, Wood Mackenzie Ltd. Vice President of Refining, Chemicals and Oil Markets Alan Gelder said in an interview on Bloomberg Television. We see less of an impact on oil, oil products and LNG, but the impact on those things get bigger if we are still in this situation in a few days.

The incident began on Tuesday when strong winds kicked up sands along the banks of the 120-mile canal. The waterway is narrow  less than 675 feet wide (205 meters) in some places  and can be difficult to navigate when theres poor visibility.

But the Ever Given stayed its course through the canal, on its way to Rotterdam from China. As gusts that reached as high as 46 miles an hour swept up dust around it, the crew lost control of ship and it careened sideways into a sandy embankment, blocking nearly the entirety of the channel.

At the heart of all of this is the ships massive scale. Container vessels have nearly doubled in size in the past decade as global trade expanded, making the job of moving such ships much harder when they get stuck.

Even while key routes  including the Suez Canal  have been widened and deepened over the years to accommodate the mega-sized vessels, the work to dig them out after they get stuck takes enormous power.

The blockage highlights a major risk faced by the shipping industry as more and more ships transit maritime choke points including the Suez, Panama Canal, the Strait of Hormuz and Malacca Strait. Such occurrences could become more common as ships get bigger and waterways become more congested.

Oil companies are starting to prepare for the worst. On Wednesday, there was an uptick in interest from oil companies looking to book tankers with options to avoid the canal, according to a broker, and several bid for space on the pipelines that allow bypass of the waterway completely.

For now, thats a just-in-case move. Container ships will most likely have to wait it out, as the main alternative is the unattractive option of sailing around the southern tip of Africa. However, at least one shipment of liquefied natural gas from the U.S. has potentially diverted course toward the Cape of Good Hope and away from Suez, Wood Mackenzie analyst Lucas Schmitt said in a note on Thursday.

We are now watching out for - and expect  vessel diversions, Braemar said in its report. Large tankers carrying oil products from the Atlantic basin are now likely to be evaluating a passage around the Cape of Good Hope.

With assistance from Alex Longley, Julian Lee, Anthony Di Paola, Javier Blas, Sergio Chapa, Robert Tuttle, Aaron Clark, Mirette Magdy, Jack Wittels, Fred Pals, Yvonne Yue Li, Lucia Kassai and Elaine He.

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.

Topics Lawsuits
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.
Andrew Lloyd Webber last night said he could take ministers to court if they do not allow theatres to operate at full capacity from June 21. The impresario said it would be 'the final death blow' if the relaxation of restrictions does not go ahead as planned later this month. Indoor entertainment venues were able to reopen on May 17 at half capacity, but many theatres have remained shut because it is not profitable to play to smaller audiences. Lord Lloyd-Webber said if theatres cannot reopen '100 per cent' after June 21, the issue becomes 'what is the legality of the whole thing?'. 'If the Government's own science has told them that buildings are safe... I'm advised that at that point things could get quite difficult,' he said. 'This is the very last thing that anybody wants to do, but there would become a legal case at that point because it's their science - not ours. I would passionately hope that we don't have to, but I think we would have to consider it.' Lord Lloyd-Webber, who hopes to open his new musical Cinderella starring Carrie Hope Fletcher (left with Lloyd Webber) at the Gillian Lynne theatre in the West End next month, said he would be happy to ask theatre-goers to wear face coverings.
A boat is seen as ships passing through the Suez Canal arrive in Ismailia, Egypt, March 24. Reuters



A skyscraper-sized cargo ship wedged across Egypt's Suez Canal further imperiled global shipping Thursday as at least 150 other vessels needing to pass through the crucial waterway idled waiting for the obstruction to clear, authorities said.



The Ever Given, a Panama-flagged ship that carries cargo between Asia and Europe, ran aground Tuesday in the narrow, man-made canal dividing continental Africa from the Sinai Peninsula. In the time since, efforts to free the ship using dredgers, digging and the aid of high tides have yet to push the container vessel aside.



Egyptian officials and others were due to begin work again to free the vessel Thursday morning after halting for the night.



So far, dredgers have tried to clear silt around the massive ship. Tug boats nudged the vessel alongside it, trying to gain momentum. From the shore, at least one backhoe dug into the canal's sandy banks, suggesting the bow of the ship had plowed into it.



Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, the company that manages the Ever Given, said the ship's 25-member crew are safe and accounted for. The ship had two pilots from Egypt's canal authority aboard the vessel to guide it when the grounding happened around 7:45 a.m. Tuesday, the company said.



Canal service provider Leth Agencies said at least 150 ships were waiting for the Ever Given to be cleared, including vessels near Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea, Port Suez on the Red Sea and those already stuck in the canal system on Egypt's Great Bitter Lake.



Cargo ships already behind the Ever Given in canal will be reversed south back to Port Suez to free the channel, Leth Agencies said. Authorities hope to do the same to the Ever Given when they can free it.



Evergreen Marine Corp., a major Taiwan-based shipping company that operates the ship, said in a statement that the Ever Given had been overcome by strong winds as it entered the canal from the Red Sea but none of its containers had sunk.



An Egyptian official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to brief journalists, similarly blamed a strong wind. Egyptian forecasters said high winds and a sandstorm plagued the area Tuesday, with winds gusting as much as 50 kilometers (30 miles) per hour.



An initial report suggested the ship suffered a power blackout before the incident, something Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement denied Thursday.



''Initial investigations rule out any mechanical or engine failure as a cause of the grounding,'' the company said.



Tuesday marked the second major crash involving the Ever Given in recent years. In 2019, the cargo ship ran into a small ferry moored on the Elbe River in the German port city of Hamburg. Authorities at the time blamed strong wind for the collision, which severely damaged the ferry.



The closure could affect oil and gas shipments to Europe from the Mideast, which rely on the canal to avoid sailing around Africa. The price of international benchmark Brent crude stood at over $63 a barrel Thursday.



The Ever Given, built in 2018 with a length of nearly 400 meters (a quarter mile) and a width of 59 meters (193 feet), is among the largest cargo ships in the world. It can carry some 20,000 containers at a time. It previously had been at ports in China before heading toward Rotterdam in the Netherlands.



Opened in 1869, the Suez Canal provides a crucial link for oil, natural gas and cargo. It also remains one of Egypt's top foreign currency earners. In 2015, the government of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi completed a major expansion of the canal, allowing it to accommodate the world's largest vessels. However, the Ever Given ran aground south of that new portion of the canal.



The stranding Tuesday marks just the latest to affect mariners amid the pandemic. Hundreds of thousands have been stuck aboard vessels due to the pandemic. Meanwhile, demands on shipping have increased, adding to the pressure on tired sailors. (AP)


While a motive was not made clear, prosecutors said West and Harper were living together as boyfriend and girlfriend, and Harpers mother began to worry because she hadnt heard from her all day Monday and also found out she hadnt shown up to her job as a secretary at Jackson Park Hospital.
Washington, March 25 : The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has expressed concerns over a surge in the number of new Covid-19 cases as more states were easing restrictions and also an increase in domestic travel.

During a virtual White House Covid-19 Response Team briefing on Wednesday, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said the US witnessed the seven-day average of new daily cases climb to 53,800 over the past week, while the two-week average has wavered between 50,000 to 60,000 cases per day, Xinhua news agency reported.

Walensky warned that US states are seeing an increasing number of new cases attributed to variant strains of the virus, particularly in California, currently the worst-hit, where a new variant accounts for 52 per cent of fresh infections.

The US is at a critical point in the pandemic and is worried if the nation does not take the correct actions, it is headed for an "avoidable surge", she added.

In yet another grim milestone, the coronavirus caseload in the US has surpassed the 30 million mark, as the pandemic still rages in the world's worst-hit country, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

In its latest update on Thursday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the country's overall number of cases and fatalities stood at 30,009,386 and 545,237, respectively.

The US remains the worst-hit nation making up more than 24 per cent of the global caseload and nearly 20 per cent of the overall fatatlities.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Armenian acting minister: EU allocated EUR 68,700,000 to Armenia for budget support in 2020

Armenia Finance Ministry: MFA's budget grew by AMD 1,600,000,000 in 2020

Bodies and remains of Armenian soldiers are kept in morgue in Armenia's Martuni

White House confirms Biden-Erdogan meeting in Brussels

Armenia acting MOD touches upon priority directions for development of Armed Forces

Diaspora Armenian writer, publicist Toros Toranian dies

2 Armenian soldiers injured in scuffle with Azerbaijan, Armenian POW is hospitalized, Jun. 3 digest

Wedding held in Armenia's Shurnukh for first time since the war ended

EEU member states to finish preparing for negotiations over free trade zone in Iran in late June

Armenia Central Bank: Economic downfall in 2020 was due to decline in service and construction sectors

Armenia legislature adopts several bills in first reading

Armenia President meets with Nursultan Nazarbayev

Dejavu: Armenia ruling party distributes money for votes at Yerevan district election office

Chief Advisor to Karabakh President sacked

Russian MFA: Works are carried out to settle situation around Karabakh every day

Armenia opposition MP sounds alarm about Baku fabricating criminal cases against Armenian prisoners

Armenia acting health minister: I have apologized, I am not going to resign

Helga Schmid meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Armenia's deputy foreign ministers resigned or have heavy workload?

Dollar goes down in Armenia

Armenia Elections Oversight Committee reports Iranian citizenship of ruling party's MP candidate

Acting deputy minister: Only 17 of 711 Iran-Armenia power transmission line towers were installed by 2017

Armenia Parliament Council holding session

Armenia to host CSTO "Thunder-2021" military exercises

NYT: Chinese hackers launch cyberattack on New York city transportation authority

Armenia President to Kazakhstan counterpart: I would like to see much deeper cooperation between our countries

Armenia citizens shut down Etchmiadzin-Ashtarak road, complaining about lack of irrigation water

Armenia independent MP: Foreign minister and his deputies don't want to take part in treacherous acts

Armenia to get $11mn loan, 350,000 grant for agriculture

WHO worries about worsening mental health worldwide amid pandemic

Armenia health ministry on improper handling of Artsakh war victims bodies: There is no justification

Armenia bloc election foundation already in operation

Russia ambassador to Armenia paying working visit to Syunik Province (PHOTOS)

China pledges to step up resistance to foreign interference in Hong Kong

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: There can be no talk of corridor for Azerbaijan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on incumbent authorities: Wherever they flee, we will bring them by the feet

President: Impossible to ensure peace in region or stay in Artsakh without Russia army joint efforts

China Daily: Dispatch from Makit: Thriving in the desert

Karabakh President: We will never put up with being part of Azerbaijan, it is ruled out

Armenia MFA information department chief: All deputy FMs carrying out their duties

Ardshinbank invited children to the cinema on International Childrens Day

Armenia judiciary to have 10 more judges

Armenia acting premier: We had recorded 40% increase in tax revenues according to 2019 results

Armenia acting PM on Artsakh war casualties bodies: We have 50 remains in which case DNA was not separated

Azerbaijan authorities plan to "squeeze" everything from "terrorist show" related to Armenian captives

Ameriabank announces a contest for bank card design

108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia parliament convenes special session

Armenia interim government holding Cabinet meeting

Catholicos of All Armenians heads for Syunik Province, Artsakh

World oil prices going up

Iran loses right to vote in UN General Assembly

Newspaper: Armenia authorities come up with new way of punishing unwanted characters

Newspaper: Russia army Southern Military District deputy commander to arrive in Yerevan Thursday

Lebanese Armenian man taken prisoner by Azerbaijan is hospitalized

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Are we getting under the burden? Then lets get under to the end

Armenia acting health minister on keeping fallen soldiers bodies in bags: What else should they be kept in?

Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation

Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow

2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik

Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center

"Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans

Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel

Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna

Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations

US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies

Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week

Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection

Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential

Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement

Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues

Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo

Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation

NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident

Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices

Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over

Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest

Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia

Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia

Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels

Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters

Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021

Dollar is stable in Armenia

Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector

Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out

Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe

Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia

Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border

Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor

Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue

Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia

Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this

Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia
After doing extensive research, we selected JTC because their U.S. and Guernsey teams could meet all of our fund administration needs.

JTC (LON: JTC), a leading global fund administrator, announced today that it was appointed by Resolute Capital Partners (Resolute Capital), a San Francisco-based private equity firm, to administer its two new international feeder funds.

Resolute Capital actively invests in and manages investments in energy, real estate, and technology and structures its offerings with proven and flexible operational techniques. JTC Americas (formerly NES Financial) has been administering Resolute Capitals private equity funds since 2018.

When Resolute Capital decided to expand globally and researched available fund administrator options, they awarded JTC the opportunity to administer their international feeder funds in Guernsey, a well-established fund domicile and a leading offshore financial center.

Master feeder structures are very common for funds that have a domestic (US-based) master and an offshore feeder. Typically, the master fund holds the portfolio of funds and each feeder fund invests into the master.

After doing extensive research, we selected JTC because their U.S. and Guernsey teams could meet all of our fund administration needs, said Jacqueline Kuiper, EVP, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Resolute Capital Partners. JTC welcomed the opportunity to grow together, so its been mutually symbiotic, and their purpose-built technology and communication align them perfectly to be our local to global growth partner.

If going offshore is part of your fund strategy, JTC is the perfect partner, said Michael Richards, Head of Fund Administration USA. Our organization is built for a fund to raise and deploy capital all over the world.

JTCs Guernsey office provides a wide variety of services to clients ranging from institutional to high-net-worth individuals. The office specializes in funds, corporate, management company (ManCo), registrar, AIFMD, and limited depositary services.

JTC Americas fund administration solution is changing the landscape for private equity funds by providing a uniquely scalable technology platform that features built-in compliance, data security, enhanced reporting, and greater transparency. Designed to help funds of any size successfully raise and manage capital by reducing operational risk, improving compliance capabilities, and providing superior value to fund investors, the solution is the ideal choice for funds seeking to improve marketability by leveraging operational excellence.

About JTC

JTC is a publicly listed, award-winning provider of fund, corporate and private client services. Founded in 1987, we have c.900 people working across our global office network and are trusted to administer assets of c.US$130 billion. The principle of making all our people owners of the business is fundamental to our culture and aligns us completely with the best interests of our clients.

We have a proven track record in administering both closed and open-ended funds established in the BVI, Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Jersey, Luxembourg, Mauritius, South Africa, the UK and US.

We have expertise in the administration of both traditional and alternative asset classes with a strong focus on private equity, real assets comprising of real estate, infrastructure and renewable energy, hedge and debt. We also specialize and have built expertise in more niche sectors such as FinTech and ESG.

About JTC Americas

JTC Americas is the US division of JTC Group, a multi-jurisdictional provider of fund, corporate and private client services. Listed on the London Stock Exchange and included in the FTSE 250 Index, JTC Group administers more than $130 billion in assets and employs more than 900 people in 23 offices worldwide. JTC Americas is a leader in specialty financial administration, serving markets characterized by high administrative complexity, elevated transaction security needs and challenging compliance requirements. The companys technology-driven solutions streamline best practices in these markets by simplifying specialized financial transactions, reducing back-office overhead, curtailing fraud and abuse, and offering security, transparency and regulatory compliance during each step of an investments life cycle.

For more information, visit nesfinancial.com.

About Resolute Capital Partners

Resolute Capital Partners (Resolute Capital) is a private equity firm with offices in San Francisco, Dallas, and Minneapolis. Having placed more than $3 billion in institutional-grade and private securities investments throughout their careers, its seasoned executive team has vast experience managing investments during distressed markets. Resolute Capital contributes professional expertise and multi-level support to companies, helping them realize their vision and creating the potential for flexibility and opportunity. Since its founding in 2010, Resolute Capital has raised over $514 million in its various energy, technology, and real estate funds. By partnering with issuers beyond Wall Street, Resolute Capital is bringing capital to worthy projects.

For more information, please visit resolutecapitalpartners.com.
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.
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.
Wilkes-Barre, PA (18701)

Today

Thunderstorms likely. A few storms may be severe. High 73F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Cloudy with showers. Low 63F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.
Different assessments of the damage inflicted by the marine disaster caused by Taiwanese steelmaker Formosa have prevented locals from selling or destroying their shrimp paste.

Bui Xuan Khiem, 63, a resident of Vinh Giang Commune, Vinh Linh District, Quang Tri Province, says his family has been stuck with 44 tons of shrimp paste for five years.

"For all these years, we have not been able to sleep and eat in peace because of the stink," he said.

His familys warehouse has a capacity of 100 tons, but this has been reduced by half to store the rotting inventory. The rotting shrimp paste belongs to a group of seafood products labeled unsafe for human health following the 2016 marine life disaster.

Formosa had made headlines the world over for causing one of the biggest environmental disasters in Vietnamese history, killing tons of fish across the four coastal provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue.

Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh, a steel production unit of the Taiwan-based Formosa Plastics Group, was found responsible for the incident after an estimated 70 tons of dead fish washed up ashore along more than 200 kilometers (125 miles) of coastline in April 2016.

Inspections found Formosa steel plant in Ha Tinh had discharged waste containing phenol, cyanide and iron hydroxides into the water, harming sea life and local economies dependent on fishing and tourism.

The company has already paid $500 million in compensation, which has been distributed to local victims. More than 200,000 people were directly affected, including 41,000 fishers.

Le Thi Huynh of Cua Tung Town said her familys warehouse has been stuck with 270 tons of the shrimp paste that "has been seriously spoiled and causing a great stench."

The rotting inventory has chased her customers away because they are afraid that Huynh might use the ruined paste to produce new batches, she said.

Together, Khiem, Huynh and three other households have been living with 500 tons of shrimp paste inventories for almost five years.

Explaining the delay in destroying the product, Nguyen Huu Nam, deputy director of the Quang Tri Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said the two departments of agriculture and health had come up with different data on the amount of seafood products needed to be destroyed and the entire process has been delayed, pending verification.

In the latest move to deal with the situation, Ha Sy Dong, deputy chairman of Quang Tri, told VnExpress Wednesday that the province has assigned the Department of Natural Disaster and Environment to collaborate with related agencies and local authorities to destroy the rotting shrimp paste at the earliest.
Passengers will be asked to wear face masks on Ryanair flights potentially until 2022, the airlines boss has said, as he announced a return to a more normal summer schedule.

The budget airline plans to run around 2,300 flights every day during the summer this year, Michael OLeary said.

The schedule will mean that Ryanair is running at about 80pc of its usual capacity, with British people desperate to get back to European beaches, according to the chief executive.

However, beachgoers will need to remember to pack their face masks alongside their swimwear.

I would imagine at this point in time, were planning to continue to require mandatory face mask wearing on board our aircraft through the remainder of this summer schedule and next winters schedule, Mr OLeary said.

He said this could continue until the spring of next year, unless there are new guidelines from European authorities.

"Zero change fee extended!"



As vaccination programmes continue throughout Europe, travel restrictions are set to relax in time for Summer. Book before 30 June and if your plans change so can your booking! aiihttps://t.co/FJLFLHMh0v  Ryanair Press Office (@RyanairPress) March 16, 2021

Mr OLeary is keen to get his planes back in the air, so Ryanair can start making money and selling tickets again.

The company has taken a massive hit over the last year, carrying only around 33 million passengers in the year to February, compared to 154 million in the same period a year earlier.

Airlines are now hoping that vaccination efforts can allow a return to fairly normal holiday plans this summer, with European destinations primarily back on the cards.

Families will be travelling to and from the UK, to and from Europe, going to the beaches of Europe on summer holidays that are richly deserved after the very fraught last 12 months, Mr OLeary said.

Im pleased to report that weve had a recent surge in bookings, as the UK began to open up restrictions also, two weeks ago when Germany eased their restrictions on travel weve seen a significant surge in bookings, he said.

Mr OLeary added that the airline could survive another lost summer of travel  however, he saw little reason for this to happen.

He said: If youre fully vaccinated, frankly, I would be very surprised if there was any legal basis for the UK Government preventing people travelling on holidays to other European countries, which will have caught up with the UK vaccine rollout programme by the end of May or the end of June.

Ryanair has also this week announced two new services from Ireland West Knock Airport to Edinburgh and Manchester, to commence in September 2021. Both will initially operate twice weekly and operate on a year round basis.
Advertisement

Russia has proposed its Arctic shipping route as an alternative to the Suez Canal, which has been blocked since Tuesday.

State-run Russian energy company Rosatum boasted the alternative route has more room to draw rude pictures, in reference to the Ever Given's penis-shaped water course in the Red Sea.

Eagle-eyed observers noticed the phallic shape drawn by the pilot of the 200,000-ton, 1,312ft-long, 175ft-wide cargo ship on Wednesday, making a bizarre turn in the story of the cargo ship blocking the Suez Canal.

Now Rosatom has offered three reasons why ships waiting to use the Suez Canal should divert to the Arctic shipping route.

Posting on Twitter, the company, which was founded by Russian President Vladimir Putin, said: '1. Way more space to draw peculiar pictures using your giant ships.

'2. If you get icebound, we have icebreakers, to break the ice. 3. You might get stuck in the Suez Canal for days'.

The company noted ice on the Arctic shipping route is particularly thin this year meaning oil tankers and container ships have been able to travel without an icebreaker escort.

But Rosatum also appeared to be poking fun at the Ever Given's plight, using a popular GIF from 'Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery' - where the main character is stuck in a shuttle car reversing back and forth in a narrow tunnel - with a picture of the vessel photoshopped on top, to animate its thread.

Russia has proposed its Arctic shipping route as an alternative to the Suez Canal, which has been blocked since Tuesday. State-run Russian energy company Rosatum boasted the alternative route has more room to draw rude pictures, in reference to the Ever Given's penis-shaped water course in the Red Sea

The MV Ever Given's ill fortune began in the early hours of Tuesday when it left a phallic tracking pattern described as 'innocent, but terrible luck' on its approach to the canal.

The unfortunately-shaped pattern was picked up on marine traffic websites tracking the Panama-flagged vessel on its journey from China to Rotterdam.

But matters took a more serious turn on Tuesday afternoon when the Ever Given veered off course in a sandstorm and blocked the entire Suez Canal, which handles 30 per cent of global container ship traffic a day.

Dr Sal Mercogliano - a maritime historian and former merchant mariner - previously warned of 'catastrophic delays' to supplies of vital goods, from food to fuel and even vaccines for every moment the canal remains closed.

Workers racing to free the ship managed to partially refloat the vessel on Wednesday, but have been unable to say how quickly they will be able to fully remove the Ever Given or clear a backlog of roughly 100 ships.

Port authority GAC, which controls traffic through the canal, said the massive container ship MV Ever Given is now being moved alongside the bank.

Analysts revealed today that 10 tankers carrying 13 million barrels of crude oil are already stuck, causing oil prices to spike 2 per cent over fears of a shortage.

It is not clear what cargo the Ever Given is carrying.

One alternative to going through the canal is for vessels to sail around the Horn of Africa and approach the Mediterranean from the west, adding 14 days and 5,000 nautical miles to the journey.

The other option is for ships to take Russia's Arctic route but the course experiences severe weather conditions and can be entirely frozen over even in the summer months, making it unpopular.

With a rapidly melting Arctic, because of global warming, the window for sailing vessels along the icy route is increasing in time from year to year but the route has remained on the fringes of mainstream shipping because it would add over 8,000 nautical miles and 35 days to journeys.

It still is not clear exactly how the Ever Given's accident happened - GAC said the ship suffered a 'blackout', meaning it lost power and steering before becoming stuck; but a spokesman for the canal authority said a sandstorm had blocked the captain's view and blown the ship off course before it got jammed and lost power.

Unfortunate: The MV Ever Given's bad luck began before it even entered the canal as it left a rudely-shaped holding pattern in the night from Monday to Tuesday, before blocking the Suez Canal after veering off course in a sandstorm

The MV Ever Given - a 1,312ft long, 175ft wide, 200,000 ton cargo ship owned by shipping firm Evergreen - has drifted sideways and become stuck across the width of the Suez Canal, blocking one of the world's busiest shipping lanes

The MV Ever Given lodged sideways in the Suez Canal on Wednesday after a sandstorm caused it to veer off course a day ago

The Ever Given is now aground with its bow lodged in the eastern wall of the canal. Workers are attempting to dig the bow free while tugboats try to shove it back into the waterway

The rescue operation involves diggers trying to excavate the boat's dolphin-nose bow from the eastern bank of the canal where it has become embedded, while tugboats attempt to shift the grounded stern. Meanwhile, a huge amount of sea traffic is building up on either side of the blockage

Ship tracking data reveals the extent of the vessels building up on either side of the stuck ship, with 100 of them thought to have been caught up so far - and 50 more arriving per day

Satellite images show the vessel lodged in the canal. Because the boat is longer than the waterway is wide, options for moving it are limited

Options are therefore limited. Because the boat is wider than the canal itself, it has to come out the exact way it went in. Except that both ends are out of the water, meaning it has no steering.

Virtually every tugboat in Egypt has been sent to try and pull or push her off the wall of the canal, while workers are trying to dig out the canal walls and refloat her, bringing her steering back online.

Efforts have been underway for almost two days, but have so far proved fruitless. The task resumed on Thursday morning, with no estimate as to how long it will take.

On Thursday, Egypts Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said it was temporarily suspending navigation through the canal until the grounded container is dislodged.

The announcement came after low tide overnight slowed the operation to refloat the massive container ship.

If tugboats and diggers aren't enough to free the vessel, then they only other option is to starting removing weight - either by dumping fuel or unloading cargo, piece by piece.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4, Dr Mercogliano, who is based in North Carolina, warned that the vessel is in 'a very precarious position'.

'With both ends of the vessel up on the beach there's a tendency for her to sag in the middle, so they have to be very careful in trying to get her off [the wall],' he said.

'If they can't get her up off that position with the tugs they're going to have to start getting fuel out of her, and then containers.

'But the difficulty with getting containers off her is that she's so high, so tall, that it will be very difficult to get the correct size crane in there.'

Underlining the importance of the canal to global trade, he added: 'The world economy, with Covid, you know how much things have slowed down with getting goods around.

'Now all of a sudden you add this to that, you're going to have delays with getting goods to market, we're talking vaccines, we're talking manufacturing goods, food, everything, fuel too, it's potential catastrophic delays.'

Data from Marine Traffic shows several tugs attending to the stricken vessel, but they have failed to pull it clear. The vessel is carrying cargo from Yantain, China to Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Workers are using diggers and heavy machinery to try and dig away the wall of the canal in the hopes of refloating the vessel, meaning its steering should become operational again

The Ever Given was part of a 20-ship convoy heading north through the canal, from Suez Gulf into the Mediterranean, and since becoming stuck has caused a 100-ship tailback

Virtually every tugboat in Egypt has been drafted in and are trying to push or pull the huge container ship off the canal walls, but their efforts have so-far proved fruitless

Egyptian officials overseeing the rescue operation discuss their options from on board a tugboat, as the stricken Ever Given is seen through the window

The ship, built in 2018 with a length of nearly 400 meters (a quarter mile) and a width of 59 meters (193 feet), is among the largest cargo ships in the world. It can carry some 20,000 containers at a time.

Opened in 1869, the Suez Canal provides a crucial link for oil, natural gas and cargo being shipping from East to West. Around 10 per cent of the world's trade flows through the waterway and it remains one of Egypt's top foreign currency earners.

In 2015, the government of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi completed a major expansion of the canal, allowing it to accommodate the world's largest vessels.

However, the Ever Given ran aground before that new portion of the canal.

Tuesday's incident marks just the latest event to affect mariners during the pandemic. Hundreds of thousands have been stuck aboard vessels due to successive lockdowns across the world.

Meanwhile, demands on shipping have increased, adding to the pressure on tired sailors, Mercogliano said.

'It's because of the breakneck pace of global shipping right now and shipping is on a very tight schedule,' he said. 'Add to it that mariners have not been able to get on and off vessels because of COVID restrictions.'

The Suez canal was first opened to marine traffic in 1869, and last year almost 19,000 ships passed through it carrying more than one billion tonnes of cargo, according to the Suez Canal Authority.

The canal was closed for several months after the 1956 Suez crisis and again in 1967 for eight years following the Six- Day war.

In February 2019 the Suez Canal Authority announced 75 massive cargo vessels transited the waterway carrying 5.8 million ton on a single day.

Officials on February 6, were able to guide 40 vessels from the Red Sea into the Mediterranean while 35 ships went south.

The Ever Given became stuck around 7.40am Tuesday, local time, and remains across the canal this morning. Tracking data shows virtually every tugboat in Egypt has been diverted to help the rescue effort

The Suez Canal is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, connecting Europe with the Far East
New Delhi:

A man from Odisha's Bhadrak district allegedly sold his 11-month-old son for Rs 25,000 and the bought alcohol, a silver anklet and a smartphone.

Police have arrested the man on Tuesday. The man has been identified as Balaram Mukhi.

The police said that Balaram bought a mobile phone of Rs 2,000, silver anklet of Rs 1,500 for his seven-year-old daughter and a saree for his wife and spend some amount on alcohol.

Police are also questioning Balaram's wife and his brother in law and an Anganwadi worker are also suspects in the case.

Bhadrak's Superintendent of Police (SSP) Anup Sahoo said that Mukhi has no regular income. "He works as a sweeper and seems to be a habitual drinker,".

The mother of the child, Barsha said "My husband was in a drunken condition, and he told people that this is an illegitimate child, which is why he didn't want to keep him with me and wants to give him to some other person.

"While the mother is saying that she could have raised the son as already she is raising her two children, on the other hand, the father claimed that both had a fight and in between of that he picked up the child and sold him.

The child is sold to Somnath Sethi who is a retired driver. The couple lost their 24-year-old son in 2012. Since Somnath's wife was suffering from depression, they were looking for a son to adopt.

"Sethi's wife had been suffering from depression after their only son died and he had told his acquaintances to look for a child they could adopt so that his wife recovers," said Inspector-in-charge of the Bhadrak Town Police Station, Manoj Rout.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
The Texas House Elections Committee abruptly ended its meeting today before about 200 people who traveled to the Capitol could testify on a controversial anti-voter fraud bill.

Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, who chairs the committee and authored House Bill 6, had recessed briefly as he argued with the committees vice chair, Democrat Jessica Gonzalez.

Gonzalez wanted to hear from Rep. Nicole Collier, a fellow Democrat and chair of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus.

Vice Chair Gonzalez, at this moment, you are not chairing this committee, Cain said as he overrode Gonzalezs attempts to allow Collier to speak. Im not recognizing anyone but a member of this committee at this time.

The meetings undoing came to pass for a procedural reason: Cain had not specified when the committee would reconvene, meaning the meeting would have to be rescheduled for a later date. He apologized to the hundreds who had made the trip to Austin to share their feedback on the bill.

Even though I wish very much to continue today's hearing, the rules prevent me from doing so," he said. Please forgive me for my error.

This is the third-term GOP members first time chairing a committee during a legislative session.

Cain and Gonzalez did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

Civil rights and voting advocacy groups slammed Cain, who had said it was committee practice not to allow non-members to ask questions, for blocking Colliers testimony. There are no Black members of the elections committee.

Today was further evidence of the GOP efforts to silence our voices. We can no longer stand by and allow them to shut us down, Collier said at an informal, livestreamed citizens hearing in the Capitol rotunda. We must speak up. Today shows why its important we have a seat at the table.

Common Cause Texas executive director Anthony Gutierrez said non-members participate in committee hearings all the time.

This deviation from standard practice to prevent a Black woman from engaging in debate on a bill that would impact Black communities disproportionately is appalling, Gutierrez said. There is truly nothing more absurd than Briscoe Cain having to adjourn his committee hearing on his bill that would criminalize procedural mistakes people might make while voting because he made a procedural mistake.

Those who had planned to speak Thursday immediately expressed their deep frustration.

(Cain) has promised a future hearing on the bill, date yet to be determined, Texas Civil Rights Project, a voting-focused advocacy group, said in a tweet. But this is still deeply unfair to all the Texans who took time off of work and school to be there today. And its troubling that no effort was made to accommodate and listen to these Texans.

IN-DEPTH: GOP Texas lawmakers take aim at 2020 Harris County voting expansions

The meeting had kicked off with Republican lawmakers repeating an incorrect statistic from the attorney generals office, where officials have claimed there are 500 pending voter fraud prosecutions in the state.

Data from the attorney generals office shows it has about 40 pending fraud prosecutions involving about 500 counts. The office has not responded to a request for comment from Hearst Newspapers as to why it has not clarified the number of prosecutions after an assistant attorney general repeatedly cited the 500 number in testimony to the Legislature earlier this month.

The overstated claims of voter fraud came as the committee was set to discuss House Bill 6, a voting bill that Republicans say would curb fraud. Democrats say the legislation would criminalize even innocent mistakes.

The bill contains various provisions that would make it a misdemeanor for a presiding election judges to remove poll watchers while votes are being cast. The bill would make it a felony for public officials to distribute a mail-ballot application to anyone who has not asked for one, and would also make it a felony for a person assisting a voter with disabilities to make an error on a mail ballot.

The legislation, along with a similarly wide-ranging bill in the Senate, SB 7, is among Republicans priorities this session. Testimony on Thursday was expected to run long with many registered to comment, including former Democratic Texas Congressman Beto ORourke.

Rep. Travis Clardy, R-Nacogdoches, repeated the false number of pending cases in arguing that an increase in alleged voter fraud was a troubling trend that needs addressing.

If youre a physician and you see someone who has a cut and its leading to an infection, you know if it goes untreated, it can develop into a very serious condition, Clardy said. We should have, in the state of Texas and frankly throughout the country, zero tolerance for voter fraud.

To Clardys metaphor, Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot, who testified before the committee, said if he had a cut, a doctor could handle the case, rather than the hospitals CEO. In the same way, he said, district attorneys can handle the small number of voter fraud cases and they do not need to take up the resources of the attorney generals office.

Creuzot said that if laws are written based on faulty data like that cited by the AG, he worries about the integrity of the process. Creuzot also noted that the pending cases are still unproven in court and merely allegations at this point.

Its just ridiculous to say that we need to change state law, that theres a problem out there that needs a solution, Creuzot said. What I think this is, is a solution looking for a problem and theres no legitimate reason based on data or facts to change public policy in this regard.

taylor.goldenstein@chron.com
A group of eminent Nigerians from the South-East geopolitical zone under the auspices of the Igbo Leadership Development Foundation has th...

A group of eminent Nigerians from the South-East geopolitical zone under the auspices of the Igbo Leadership Development Foundation has threatened to mobilise their people to dump the Peoples Democratic Party if it fails to zone the 2023 presidency to the region.

The group stated this in a statement read to journalists in Abuja on Thursday by its Director of Public Affairs, Dr. Law Mefor.

Others who also signed the statement are Dr. Godwin Udibe (Chairman) and Onyebuchi Obeta (National Secretary).

The group vowed to drag the PDP to the court of competent jurisdiction if it failed to stick to its constitution which provides for a rotational presidency.

Details later
The value added tax (VAT) should be abolished in Russia, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Commission on Small and Medium-Sized Businesses Nikolai Arefiev said in an interview with the Rossiya-1 television channel.



"I believe that VAT is a contrived tax. We propose to gradually abolish this tax. First, it is very difficult to administer. And, second, our products are 20% more expensive, which means it is not competitive either on the domestic or on the world market," the deputy explained.



Arefiev drew attention to the need to abolish VAT on product categories, and not reduce its rate.



The deputy explained that due to lower prices, consumption of goods will increase, and the abolition of VAT will be offset by an increase in income tax collections.



"I believe we will submit such a law to the State Duma in two months," the first deputy chairman of the Duma Committee for Support of Small and Medium Business said.
[March 25, 2021] Leyden Labs to Unlock a New Generation of Preventative Medicines against Known and Future Viruses by Securing a 40 Million Series A from GV (formerly Google Ventures), F-Prime and Casdin Capital

AMSTERDAM and BOSTON, March 25, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leyden Laboratories B.V., (the "Company" or "Leyden Labs") a company targeting commonalities of viral families to protect humanity from known and future viruses, today announced the closing of a 40 Million Series A financing led by GV (formerly Google Ventures), with participation from F-Prime Capital, Casdin Capital, LLC and Brook Byers. Concurrent with the financing, David Schenkein, M.D., general partner at GV, and Stephen Knight, M.D., president and managing partner at F-Prime, will join the board of directors. The proceeds will be used to further develop the Leyden Labs platform and portfolio of product candidates and to build out the team.

The world was caught off guard when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and severely constrained peoples ability to live their lives to the fullest. While existing reactive efforts to control and contain viruses are crucial they are insufficient, especially as viruses evolve into new variants. Similarly, the likelihood of future outbreaks is high given the millions of viruses harbored in nature. As it is impossible to know which virus will erupt when or where, the world needs to be ready for all. Leyden Labs proactive approach utilizes its platform to target commonalities of viral families to protect against many viruses simultaneously as opposed to vaccines that typically protect against a specific virus variant. Its intranasal product candidates (e.g. nasal sprays) will be sef-administerable, providing people with the freedom to protect themselves instantaneously from infection and prevent transmission.



The speed of development of vaccines during the current pandemic has been impressive, but major global health and economic challenges are evident. If we can develop products that provide immediate protection against existing, mutating and new viruses, we can prevent future pandemics, fight existing ones, and help people strive for a fantastic life, said Koenraad Wiedhaup, one of the founders and CEO of Leyden Labs. We pursue this critical and ambitious mission with a great team of seasoned and curious biotech leaders and scientists. The other founders of Leyden Labs are the chief scientific officer Jaap Goudsmit and biotech entrepreneurs Ronald Brus and Dinko Valerio (executive chair). They formed the previous Crucell team that created the AdVac and PER.C6 platforms. Crucell and the platforms were acquired by Johnson & Johnson and are now at the basis of the single-shot COVID-19 vaccine. The founding team is joined by a closely involved board of biotechnology leaders including John C. Martin, Onno van de Stolpe, James Shannon and Richard J. Whitley.

Dr. David Schenkein, general partner at GV added, The Leyden Labs leadership team includes world-renowned virologists and industry veterans who bring substantial relevant experience to establish and advance a powerful portfolio of intranasal products. The company is well-positioned to leverage its platform to free people from the burden of respiratory viral pandemics and I look forward to working together to achieve this goal. About Leyden Laboratories B.V.

Leyden Labs aims to help people live their lives to the fullest. Its platform targets commonalities of viral families to protect humanity from known and future viruses. Its portfolio of accessible intranasal product candidates may provide people with the freedom to immediately protect themselves from and prevent the spread of many strains of respiratory viruses, including ones in the influenza and coronavirus families. The Companys energetic team of world-renown biotechnology veterans and fresh talent is dedicated to thinking differently to free humanity from the burden of respiratory viruses. To learn more, visit www.leydenlabs.com. Corporate Contact:

Leyden Laboratories B.V.

investors@leydenlabs.com Media Contact:

Meredith Sosulski, Ph.D.

LifeSci Communications

+1-929-469-3851

media@leydenlabs.com



[ 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.
ROME, MAR 25 - League leader Matteo Salvini said Thursday that he hopes to see Italy's COVID-19 restrictions eased in a significant way next month. About half of the nation is currently a COVID red zone, meaning, among other things, that all shops selling non-essential goods are closed and pupils have to have lessons via distance learning. The whole nation will be a red zone for three days over Easter. "We are working for April to be the month of rebirth, of reopening, of revival," said Salvini, whose party is part of the broad coalition backing Premier Mario Draghi's government. "The most effective form of support is to (let people) return to work. "The Italian people have hung in for a year. They deserve to return to (normal) life". (ANSA).
Juba  The Sudanese People's Liberation Movement-North, headed Abdelaziz by El Hilu, and the Alliance of Civilian Nuba Mountains Forces agreed to adopt the principle of secularism at a joint meeting in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.

The principle of secularism, which is based on the separation of religion from the state, is one of the most important advocacy points of the SPLM-N El Hilu, together with self-determination for South Kordofan and the Blue Nile state.

According to a joint statement issued on Tuesday after the signing of the protocol, the two parties also agreed to uphold the principle of the right to self-determination for all Sudanese peoples.

The statement emphasised the importance of restructuring the Sudanese military and security forces so that they reflect the regional, ethnic, cultural, religious, and gender diversity that is present in Sudan.

The agreement also stipulated a thorough review of all laws and customs related to the ownership, use, and possession of land and the empowerment of women.

The two parties agreed to work hard to implement the joint protocol and to organise specialised and popular platforms to involve 'all the masses of our people' and to promote peace and democratic transition.

Women's support

Earlier this month, a coalition of women's organisations announced their support for the negotiating position of the SPLM-N El Hilu after a delegation of the women's organisations organised a 16-day visit to the areas controlled by the SPLM-N El Hilu.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Sudan Conflict Arms and Armies By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

They confirmed that the SPLM-N's stance enjoys widespread popular support in these areas and expressed their support for the SPLM-N's stance on secularism and the necessity of religious freedom.

The women organisations also expressed their support for the SPLM-N presence in the Nuba Mountains and for people of the Nuba Mountains' right to self-determination, to realise justice and human dignity and to fight exclusion and discrimination.

Negotiations

El Hilu withdrew from the Juba peace talks in protest of the chairmanship of the government delegation by Deputy Chairman of the Sovereign Council Lt Gen Mohamed Hamdan 'Hemeti', who is also Commander-in-Chief of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia. The rebels accuse the RSF forces of committing "heinous crimes" against civilians in various parts of Sudan.

The SPLM-N El Hilu has signed agreements with activist groups and is cooperating with them to reach their goals. He has also expressed his willingness to negotiate with the Sudanese government.

In November, El Hilu reaffirmed his eagerness "to reach a peaceful, just, and comprehensive political settlement of the Sudanese problem that would put an end to the civil wars in Sudan".
Fairbanks, AK (99707)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun this morning followed by mostly cloudy skies and a few showers this afternoon. High 67F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Considerable cloudiness. Low 48F. Winds WNW 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.
WASHINGTON  Urging action by the gridlocked U.S. Senate on a package of gun reforms, President Joe Biden on Tuesday demanded the chamber immediately pass two bills that would tighten federal background check laws and ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

The president's call came less than 24 hours after a gunman killed 10 people at a grocery store in Boulder, Colo.

ANALYSIS: Not all emergencies are priorities in the Texas Capitol

"Weve been through too many of these, Biden said in a speech at the White House. "I dont need to wait another minute, let alone an hour, to take common-sense steps that will save lives in the future and to urge my colleagues in the House and Senate to act."

In the Senate, the measure would face the hurdle of the filibuster, which could only be ended by 60 votes. On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said for the first time that she'd be willing to scrap the mechanism, which critics have long decried as an excessive brake on majority rule.

Congress must act to end the epidemic of mass shootings in this country," Gillibrand said in a statement. "I support eliminating the filibuster to deliver the changes Americans are demanding, particularly as it relates to common-sense gun control policies such as universal background checks, banning assault weapons, closing the gun show loophole and instituting a federal gun trafficking legislation.

Biden's press secretary said Tuesday the president is also considering a range of executive actions on gun laws. Those could reportedly include moves to tackle "ghost guns," hard-to-trace weapons that can be assembled at home, and law enforcement notifications when background checks fail.

On Capitol Hill, senators held a hearing Tuesday on how to respond to an uptick of gun violence during the pandemic  a forum that highlighted the persistent divide between the two parties on firearms in America and the uphill battle to pass reforms.

Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer repeated Tuesday that he plans to bring House-passed legislation expanding background checks on gun sales to the Senate floor, although Democrats do not appear to have enough votes to approve the bill.

Schumer also will meet with U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who has been leading Senate gun negotiations, and other senators this week to decide a path forward on legislation in the chamber.

RELATED: Man pulls gun on 11 National Guardsmen delivering COVID-19 vaccine

I don't see a lot of need to make changes to a bill that has 90 or 95 percent public support, Murphy said of the House bill, which would require background checks for online firearm sales, at gun shows and in some private transactions. I don't want to be negotiating against myself when there's a proposal that is wildly popular, (and) a political movement behind it that is growing stronger.

But Democrats could indeed end up negotiating against themselves: On Tuesday, the moderate Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V. said he opposed two House bills. He said commercial gun sales should be subject to background checks, but sales between private individuals should not.

Schumer also noted that he has not recently discussed a ban on assault weapons with Biden. Democrats have not coalesced around one major proposal to do that, but legislation could block military-style, semiautomatic weapons like those already banned in New York. (Biden helped pass a 10-year federal assault weapons ban as a senator in 1994.)

Democrats have pushed to change federal gun laws for years; Biden worked to strike a deal while he was vice president after the Sandy Hook school massacre in 2012. But they've failed to reach compromise with Republicans.

Asked if he now had the political capital to get something done, Biden said, "I hope so, and crossed his fingers.

I dont know. I havent done any counting yet, he added.

SALES: Gun sales hit high in January, continuing 2020 surge

The number of mass shootings increased in 2020 during the pandemic as the crisis forced more people home and cost many their work or school. The Capital Region was one of several regions that experienced a sharp uptick in gun violence, with law enforcement citing the health crisis as a challenge for their work trying to head off disputes that can lead to bloodshed. People also bought more guns than ever before in 2020.

We cant keep up with it, said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee. We are numb to the numbers. ... That has got to stop.

Tuesday's Judiciary Committee hearing on guns exposed the persistent rift between the two parties on federal gun laws. Democrats have championed measures to further regulate gun sales and remove firearms from abusers and people who make threats.

Gun violence is an epidemic in its own right, said Blumenthal. We need to end this epidemic with a comprehensive nationwide approach: expanded background checks; extreme-risk laws to prevent suicides, mass shooting and hate crimes; protecting domestic victims; and safe storage standards. These kind of measures are in our reach.

Republicans  equally vocal about the need to pass legislation  backed stronger police forces and prosecution of individuals who illegally purchase guns. They said the push by some progressives to "defund the police" has made people less safe.

What happens in this committee after every mass shooting is Democrats propose taking guns away from law-abiding citizens, because thats their political objective, said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who repeatedly targeted Blumenthal in his comments. But what they propose, not only does it not reduce crime, it makes it worse. ... When you disarm law-abiding citizens, you make them more likely to be victims.

To pass a bill, Democrats will either have to strike a deal on one of the most politically difficult issues they face or eliminate the filibuster in the Senate, a change that would allow Democrats to pass bills with no Republican votes, but could backfire in other ways.

The Boulder shooting was the second time in less than a week that the White House ordered flags to fly at half-staff. Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 21, is in custody and stands accused of killing the 10 victims, including a police officer.

In Atlanta last week, another man shot and killed eight people, including six Asian-American women.

Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday said the Colorado shooting was baffling.

It's 10 people going about their day living their lives, not bothering anybody, Harris said. A police officer who is performing his duties, and with great courage and heroism.
The Australian boss of global energy giant Shell sees demand for liquefied natural gas exports continuing to grow until at least the late 2030s even as COVID-19 hastens the shift away from planet-warming fossil fuels.

Shell, which believes its oil output may have hit a peak in 2019 and is now likely to gradually decline, has revealed a brighter outlook for its liquefied natural gas (LNG) assets including those in Queensland and off Western Australia.

Shell is a partner in the North West Shelf, Australias oldest and largest LNG project. Credit:Woodside Petroleum

Europes largest oil company has been accelerating plans to slash its carbon footprint ahead of a target for net-zero emissions by 2050 and diversify away from fossil fuels in favour of renewable sources such as wind and solar farms.

Shells Australian chairman Tony Nunan said the company was pushing further into clean energy sectors, but its extensive natural gas assets locally remained core to its long-term plans and would continue to receive investment.
Aer Lingus has confirmed the launch of its Manchester-based transatlantic services, which will include a route to Barbados  the first time Aer Lingus has flown to the Caribbean.

The carrier, part of the IAG group that also owns British Airways and Iberia, will start its direct routes from Manchester to New York JFK and Orlando on July 29, and a service to Barbados on October 20. A direct service to Boston from Manchester will commence in summer next year.

The flights from Manchester are operated by a Northern Ireland-based Aer Lingus subsidiary that was originally established in 2012 and had since been dormant. That Belfast-based subsidiarys name was changed from Aer Lingus (NI) to Aer Lingus (UK) last December.

Aer Lingus will base four aircraft at Manchester. Two A330s will serve Orlando and Barbados, while smaller A321LR jets will fly to JFK and Boston.

The airline has been hiring cabin crew for the Manchester operation. When all the new routes are flying, it will need about 140 cabin crew members and 40 pilots to service them.

Thats even as the carrier has cut 500 jobs and is finalising an additional 84 layoffs as it continues to tackle the impact of the pandemic.

Aer Lingus insisted the new services from Manchester will complement its Dub-Hub strategy that sees it connect customers from the UK and Europe via Dublin to the United States.

After IAG acquired Aer Lingus in 2015, it set about expanding the Irish carriers transatlantic route network and capacity. It invested heavily in new aircraft and staff, opening or re-opening routes to destinations such as Miami, Los Angeles, Seattle and Minneapolis-St Paul.

Had the pandemic not struck, Aer Lingus would have added an additional 500 jobs over the past year.

The carrier made a 563m loss last year, which included 202m of exceptional items. It had made a 276m pre-exceptional operating profit in 2019. Its passenger revenue slumped 81.4pc to 382 last year.

Last month, IAG chief executive Luis Gallego insisted that Dublin will remain an important hub for the group after the pandemic.

If things come back to the place where they were as we expect, for sure we will continue investing in Aer Lingus and development of the Dublin hub, he said.

Interim Aer Lingus chief executive Donal Moriarty also claimed that the introduction of transatlantic services from Manchester would not be at the expense of growth in Ireland.

He said the aircraft being used at Manchester would not necessarily have been deployed at Irish airports.

Our fleet plan and the aircraft within our fleet is sufficient to allow us to launch services from regional UK to North America and for us to execute on our plans out of airports in Ireland, he said.

The start of transatlantic services out of Manchester is an expensive experiment for Aer Lingus, and its outcome will be uncertain, especially during 2021 as Covid restrictions persist.

Its not the first time either that Aer Lingus has toyed with the idea of launching direct transatlantic services from destinations outside Ireland. In 2017, former chief operating officer Mike Rutter said the carrier was looking at operating direct services between North America and continental Europe.

And in a post-Covid world, Aer Lingus might increasingly find growth opportunities outside Ireland.
All eyes are indeed glued to the now-famous landing of the Perseverance rover on the planet Mars. Up to this moment, the experts are seeking another discovery on the Red Planet with Percy's help.

While NASA is focused on unearthing possible life forms in the neighboring planet of the Earth, the European Space Agency (ESA) has a different path to travel for its space exploration through DAEDALUS, a robot designed to venture into the moon's lunar caves.

ESA Begins DAEDALUS Exploration

In a report by Inceptive Mind, ESA has already started working with DAEDALUS (Descent and Exploration in Deep Autonomy of Lunar Underground Structures), an autonomous robot that will walk through the mysterious lunar caves, as well as the moon's lava tubes located underground.

To make this journey possible, Julius-Maximilians-Universitat of Wurzburg (JMU), a public research university in Germany, participated in the project.

The university had designed the probe, which appears to be spherical.

For the design's approval, the ESA's Concurrent Design Facility reviewed the proposed design and checked if it is suited for deep lunar cave exploration. Of course, the facility will make sure that the blueprint of the probe will be perfect for the methodology and processes that the robot would do.

DAEDALUS is not an ordinary robot that is controlled during the exploration.

Its spherical appearance is measured at 46 centimeters in diameter. Moreover, it uses a unique "laser radar" LiDAR system, which will be used to carve 3D maps of the interiors of the lunar caves.

There are also temperature sensors, which are devices that calculate the temperature in a specific environment. Later, input data will become electronic data that will be utilized in signaling and recording changes in temperature patterns.

Apart from that, DAEDALUS features a stereoscopic camera and a radiation dosimeter. It also has special arms, which can be made longer to remove the obstacles in its way easily. They can also be used to conduct rock property tests.

Read Also: ESO-Owned Very Large Telescope Discovers Most Distant Quasar in Full Detail

Why Do Scientists Choose the Moon as the Subject for the DAEDALUS Project?

The ESA revealed that the deep holes in the moon's surface were already surveyed by the lunar orbiters. This makes it appealing to the researchers to study what's inside it since there are still areas that are not yet discovered.

Also, the space agency said that it could acquire new materials like water ice deposits, which could help in its future studies about the moon.

It could be possible that there are times that the lunar caves have already become a dwelling to some settlers. This opens an area of curiosity that the caves could serve as a protection against fluctuations in temperatures, radiation, and micrometeorites.

To commence the mission, DAEDALUS will be allowed to wander the mouth of the cave. However, it remains connected to the Wi-Fi so the useful information can be easily relayed from the depths of the moon to the agency.

"The design is driven by the requirement to observe the surroundings in full 360 degrees and the necessity to protect the interior from the harsh lunar environment," Dorit Borrmann of the DAEDALUS team explained via ESA.

Bormann added that using the cameras, which serve as a vision system, the robot can identify the hindrance upon its landing in the lunar cave.

To view the full details of the project, visit Informatik.

Related Article: NASA's Perseverance Rover Records New Sounds From Red Planet Through SuperCam Instrument



This article is owned by Tech Times.

Written by Joen Coronel

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The non-profit CEO Roundtable on Cancer ( www.ceoroundtableoncancer.org ) was founded by former President George H.W. Bush in 2001 to bring bold and imaginative solutions to cancer treatment and prevention. Today, the organization works to develop and implement initiatives that reduce the risk of cancer, enable early diagnosis, facilitate access to the best available treatments, and hasten the discovery of novel and more effective anti-cancer therapies to help eliminate cancer as a personal disease and public health problem.

"We are fortunate to welcome two distinguished new directors to the Board of the CEO Roundtable on Cancer," said Robert Bradway, CEO Roundtable on Cancer Chairman and Amgen CEO. "Doctors Belen Garijo and Peter Pisters share a passion for fighting cancer and their insights will be invaluable in our ongoing quest to eliminate this terrible disease."

Dr. Belen Garijo

Dr. Garijo, a practicing physician who specialized in clinical pharmacology, has been appointed as new Chair of the Executive Board and CEO of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, effective May 1. She joined the company in 2011 as Chief Operating Officer of the Biopharma business and rose to President and CEO of Healthcare in 2015. In

July 2020, she was appointed Vice Chairman of the Executive Board and Deputy CEO in addition to her role as CEO of the Healthcare business.

Under her leadership, Healthcare at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, has become a key player in the areas of oncology, immunology, and immuno-oncology.

Before joining Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, she was Senior Vice President of Global Operations Europe at Sanofi-Aventis and Global Integration Leader of Genzyme after its acquisition by Sanofi.

Dr. Peter WT Pisters

A renowned cancer surgeon, researcher, professor, and administrator, Dr. Pisters became president of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in 2017. He served more than 20 years as a faculty member and medical director for the center's expansion in metropolitan Houston.

Dr. Pisters served as president and CEO of the University Health Network in Toronto, Canada's largest academic medical center, before returning to MD Anderson in 2017.

He earned his medical degree at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Western Ontario in Canada and received a master's degree in health care management at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston.

For more information on the CEO Roundtable on Cancer please visit www.ceoroundtableoncancer.org

SOURCE CEO Roundtable on Cancer

Related Links

www.ceoroundtableoncancer.org


Mar. 25A Michigan man faces a life sentence in state prison after pleading guilty Thursday to sexually assaulting an infant, and he may also face federal sanctions for allegedly posting videos of the assault online.

John Lewis, 27, of Utica, Mich., pleaded guilty in Lucas County Common Pleas Court to a charge of rape, a first-degree felony, for sexually abusing a 5-month-old girl.

Judge Lindsay Navarre immediately sentenced him to life in prison, with the eligibility of parole after 15 years served.

Facts laid out by the prosecution "are some of the most horrifying this court has ever heard and the court does believe the sentence to be appropriate for the protection of the most innocent members of our community," Judge Navarre said.

Prosecutors said Lewis recorded a 39-second video of the June 6 assault. Judge Navarre recommended that his state sentence run consecutively to any time imposed by a federal judge for charges of production of child pornography, receipt and distribution of child pornography, and possession of child pornography.

On June 9, a Department of Homeland Security agent operated undercover on Kik Messenger, a social media application that allows for users to "talk to your friends and browse and share any website."

The agent located a chat group whose name indicated child sexual abuse and found Lewis' video there, then engaged in a direct conversation with Lewis, who said the video showed him and his "friend's baby."

Advertisement

Lewis admitted to filming the abuse at a Toledo residence, according to a federal criminal complaint. He also admitted to using the social media application to receive and distribute similar content between two and six times a week, court records show.

Lewis is scheduled for a pretrial hearing April 13 in U.S. District Court in Toledo for the federal charges.

First Published March 25, 2021, 11:14am
Sharing economy thrives in China

By Qiao Cai (People's Daily Overseas Edition) 15:57, March 25, 2021

A farmer promotes a homemade mutton dish via live-streaming in a shared studio in Nanxun district, Huzhou, east China's Zhejiang province, Nov. 11, 2020. (People's Daily Online/Zhang Bin)

The market turnover of China's sharing economy stood at around 3.38 trillion yuan ($520 billion) in 2020, up 2.9 percent year on year, a recent report from the country's State Information Center (SIC) showed.

Disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the market size of sharing economy forms involving offline activities, including shared transport, shared accommodation, and shared office, declined.

Sharing economy in the areas of knowledge and skill, health care as well as production capacity, meanwhile, saw substantial market expansion, with year-on-year growth rates reaching 30.9 percent, 27.8 percent, and 17.8 percent respectively, said the report on the development of China's sharing economy.

Internet-based sharing of health care, which features efficiency and convenience, has benefited a great number of people amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

A citizen surnamed Wang in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning province, who had trouble sleeping after the COVID-19 outbreak, experienced in person the advantages of online health care while consulting doctors via a mini-program on WeChat.

After typing in a description of her condition and making online payment, she received messages or calls from the doctors, and purchased medicine on prescription online, according to the citizen. After some time, her condition got a lot better.

The rapid expansion of new business forms and models of shared services and consumption has played a key role in effectively satisfying the daily needs of residents, restoring the domestic service industry and consumer market, and ensuring the steady recovery of the economy.

Besides shared services and consumption, shared manufacturing based on industrial Internet has also entered a new stage of development.

Last year, the XCMG IT Hanyun Industrial Internet Platform made emergency deployment of online equipment for the construction of the Huoshenshan Hospital in Wuhan, central China's Hubei province, in the fight against the novel coronavirus.

Foxconn Technology Group, a Taiwanese multinational electronics contract manufacturer, switched to medical supply production during the pandemic by taking advantage of industrial Internet platforms.

By employing computing capabilities, pooling high-quality resources, and adopting related models, China's tech giants Aliyun and Huawei contributed to the screening and development of anti-viral drugs.

The COVID-19 has forced traditional manufacturing companies to actively explore and try new models of shared manufacturing with Internet platform companies to facilitate the resumption of work and production while combating the epidemic.

Last year, about 830 million people engaged in the sharing economy of China, of which around 84 million were service providers, an increase of about 7.7 percent year on year, according to the report.

It also noted that 6.31 million of the participants were employed by platforms in fields of the sharing economy, up 1.3 percent compared with the previous year.

While providing a large number of jobs and sprouting plenty of new occupations, sharing economy has significantly widened employment channels for job hunters and increased the income of workers.

New occupations such as ride-hailing service provider, food deliveryman, live-streaming salesperson, online consultant, and e-sports player are increasingly popular with young people in China.

Driven by the sharing economy, the traditional pattern of employment based on the relationship between companies and employees has been gradually replaced by a new employment pattern featuring work relationship between platforms and individuals, which has led to changes to the structure of the job market.

Flexible employment, including self-employment, work under short-term contracts, and part-time employment, is seeing an increasing proportion in all forms of employment, and significantly alleviating the structural problems in the job market.

Affected by the epidemic, some service companies went out of business and their employees had no work to do temporarily, while companies in such fields as e-commerce and logistics were suffering from labor shortage.

Against such a background, the model of "employee sharing" has enabled the effective flow of labor resources and helped companies in various fields achieve win-win results, becoming a new approach to addressing difficulties in the fight against the epidemic.

Yu Fengxia, deputy director of the Sharing Economy Research Center under the SIC, noted that new forms of employment brought about by the sharing economy are more inclusive, significantly lowered the employment threshold, and have improved employment efficiency for workers.

Sharing economy platforms have become a "reservoir" of employment and effectively helped stabilize employment during the special period of the epidemic, Yu added.

China's sharing economy is expected to rebound anywhere between 10 to 15 percent in 2021, maintaining an annual growth pace of over 10 percent in the following five years, the report predicted.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji)
is devoted to the true science of medical cannabis', according to the chairman and chief executive, Dr Stephen Barnhill, a veteran of the life sciences industry turned pioneer of this new area of drug development.

His company is fully vertically licensed in Jamaica, which means it has federal sign-off for everything from cultivation to extraction and production.

Crucially, it has a research & development (R&D) licence that has allowed it to clinically formulate treatments for patients at its facility on the island.

While Barnhills initial interest was to assess the use of cannabis in cancer, the remit has broadened to include ulcerative colitis, opioid addiction, anxiety, and chronic pain.

The wide-ranging licensing permissions have been baked in partly because of Apollons first-mover status.

But they owe as much to the fact Barnhill and his colleagues also forged an early and very close relationship with doctors and academics at the University of the West Indies.

Top medical and scientific team

Its fair to say that Apollon has shown its commitment by hiring a medical, scientific and advisory team that wouldnt look out of place in a teaching hospital.

The strategy is very simple: the company grows and extracts active cannabis ingredients including the psychoactive THC, ushers it through the R&D process to provide medically supervised, personalised treatments.

Apollon also has a number of retail products sold through its dispensaries.

The aim throughout the process is to provide a consistent medicinal formulation for anything it creates, which means its output could be exported.

The opportunity then exists to license its cannabis formulations to healthcare partners that have the potential to be able to commercialise them.

Ultimately, it hopes the huge tracts of real-world clinical data it is compiling daily will pave the way for potential future partnerships with Big Pharma.

We are in the unique position that we treat patients, collect the data on that treatment, says Barnhill.

Because we have a full medical staff, we also do the laboratory work for follow-up on these patients; the x-ray work; it is a medical facility where patients can get full care but also be treated with medical cannabis including THC.

THC critical component of medical cannabis

That THC part is important, as is the fact Apollon is federally licensed to work with it in Jamaica.

Many cannabis companies tend to focus on the cannabinoid, or CBD element because it is incredibly difficult to win government approval to grow plants with the psychoactive element.

Here in the UK, for example, only two THC cultivation licences have been issued in the last 20 years.

Yet as Barnhill points out: THC is a critical component of medical cannabis.

In February, it was announced that Apollon would reverse into Afriag Global ( ) to allow it to list on the Aquis Stock Exchange, raising 2.5mln in the process.

The general meeting to approve this transaction takes place on April 12.

Entrepreneur David Lenigas and his cohort will be coming off the Afriag board to be replaced by Stephen and Nicholas Barnhill, Kevin Sheil and Nicholas Ingrassia.

Stene Jacobs, the companys head of business development, says the reverse takeover (RTO) and relisting cut all ties with the previous management.

Third-party agreements

Going forward, the company is looking at potential third-party sales agreements for Apollon products in countries such as South Africa and Greece, says Jacobs.

Corporate developments may include up listing here in the UK and taking a stock market quote in the US, most likely on the OTC QB.

Jacobs says the company has news flow coming thick and fast after the RTO.

The market conditions, meanwhile, couldnt be better. Shares in companies involved in both medical cannabis and CBD have been in huge demand as the London listings of Cellular Goods, MGC Pharma and Kanabo have proven.

Apollon, meanwhile, is coming to the market almost oven ready as an integrated cannabis group, and with a lot of the investment required already made.

Before lockdown, it had 420 patients and was generating a healthy revenue stream.

Where it stands out from the pack is the ownership of that vertically integrated suite of licences that means it can cultivate, create and sell its own treatments and products.

And crucially, the R&D capability allows Apollon to do just what CEO Barnhill created it to do: Bring proper scientific rigour to medical cannabis.
A mother who lost her son in Gold Coast floods wishes she was killed instead, after she and his wife shared increasingly frantic Facebook posts while looking for him.

Suzy Allington is mourning the death of David Hornman, whose body was found in his submerged ute in the swollen Canungra Creek, inland from the Gold Coast, on Wednesday.

Rescue crews and police divers fought strong currents to retrieve the vehicle with the body of the 38-year-old father still inside.

Mr Hornman's shocked mother posted this message on Facebook after her son's body was recovered

In Queensland a desperate search for David Hornman, 38, ended when his body was found inside his ute in the Gold Coast Hinterland on Wednesday afternoon

Police investigations are centred on whether he crossed a flooded causeway across the creek.

In a heart-wrenching post on Facebook on Wednesday night, Ms Allington expressed gratitude to those who offered their sympathy and support.

'Thank you for all your messages - I wish God had taken me instead - RIP my beautiful son - you were the BEST xxxx,' she wrote.

The touching farewell messages came after Mr Hornman's wife and mother left a series of heartbreaking messages on Facebook trying to find him.

'Please, if you see him or the vehicle, let me know,' his wife Angela Hornman wrote on Facebook before he was located.

David Hornman's body was recovered from flooded Canungra Creek on Wednesday

David Hornman's mother left several heartbreaking messages on Facebook (including the one pictured) before and after her son was found drowned in flooded Canungra Creek

One of the heartbreaking messages left on Facebook by Mr Hornman's mother

'Or at least tell him please to contact someone so I know he's safe ... Please tell him no matter what I LOVE HIM,' she wrote.

'Please don't let this go cold,' she wrote in another post. 'Please keep looking and sharing and PLEASE let either me or police know ANYTHING - even if you think it's nothing, it might be something'.

On Tuesday she began to panic when he didn't turn up to work, pleading for any information that might help.

Mr Hornman's distraught mother also used Facebook to try and enlist help finding her son.

SES try to retrieve Mr Hornman's submerged vehicle from flooded Canungra Creek

'He didn't turn up to work and hasn't been able to be reached since. His phone is turned off,' Angela Hornman also wrote.

The 38-year-old father was last seen on Monday and had not contacted his family since heading to a job in the Tamborine area, where torrential rain caused flash flooding.

Mr Hornman was last seen leaving his father's home near Canungra on Monday morning.

That was the day flash flooding hit the region, with the Gold Coast hinterland copping almost half a metre of rain from Sunday until the deluge stopped on Wednesday.

Police are investigating Mr Hornman's death, but it is believed he died after attempting to cross the flooded creek and they appealed for help from the public.

Investigators appealed for footage of the weather conditions in the area, particularly near Coburg Road causeway, between 5am and 7am on March 22.

They also want vido of a white Isuzu ute heading down Coburg Road towards Canungra within those times.

Pakistani national Ayaz Younas' Toyota Camry became trapped in the flood on Cattai Ridge Road in Glenorie on Sydney's northern outskirts

Mr Younas called Triple-Zero at 6.25am on Wednesday and remained on the line with the operator until about 7am

Mr Hornman is the second person to drown in the New South Wales and Queensland flooding disaster.

Pakistani national Ayaz Younas was on his first day of a new contracting job when his Toyota Camry became trapped in the flood on Cattai Ridge Road in Glenorie on Sydney's northern outskirts.

Mr Younas spent a desperate 39 minutes on the phone with emergency services before drowning in his car in New South Wales floodwaters.

The inside of the 25-year-old's car was badly damaged, indicating to police that he frantically battled to save his life and escape as waters rose around him.

NSW Police Detective Inspector Chris Laird said Mr Younas called Triple-Zero at 6.25am on Wednesday and remained on the line with the operator until about 7am.

'Had he not rung us, we never would have found him. Not until the water receded anyway,' Det Insp Laird said.

'But we can only speculate that given what I have seen and the damage to the vehicle that it could very well be that the electrics totally failed, and he was simply unable to escape from the car which is an absolute tragedy.

'You can only just imagine somebody fighting for their life to get out of the car  that's what the inside damage of the vehicle looked like.'

Det Insp Laird said Mr Younas 'clearly couldn't get out' of the car as there were no broken windows.

He said the roads had multiple signs and closure warnings, yet the car was located 30m into floodwaters and 6m under water.

Emergency crews were called to Cattai Ridge Road, near Hidden Valley Lane in Glenorie at about 6.30am on Wednesday, following reports a car was submerged in floodwaters

Emergency crews recovered Mr Younas' body at 1pm after locating his submerged car.

Detective Inspector Laird suggested there would be investigations into why Mr Younas was in the area.

'The remote location of the area, (we'll ask) questions about what he was doing up there. He may not have known the area as locals would,' he said.

There was also a padlocked gate blocking off the road, but it was submerged.

The Pakistani Community of Australia said it had spoken to Mr Younas' father.

Community leader Farhat Jaffri said Mr Younas' heartbroken family requested that his body be sent back to Karachi in southern Pakistan.

Mr Younas, who has two elder brothers and one younger sister, was from Malir Cantt in Karachi and studied software engineering.

Shazbaz Muhammad said Mr Younas was a 'dear friend'.

'Please pray for the departed soul,' Mr Muhammad said.

Det Insp Laird said the 25-year-old had strong roots in western Sydney, and that his friends in Australia were devastated by the news.

'From the police force, all emergency services, here is the very reason why you should not make any attempt to drive through swollen rivers,' he said.

Emergency Services Minister David Elliott offered his condolences, saying it would send ripples through the northwest Sydney community.

Police divers are seen searching Cattai Creek on Wednesday, following reports a car was submerged in floodwaters

A police officer is seen in Glenorie after a man's body was discovered in a car in Sydney's north-west

'The human cost of these floods has been brought into sharp focus in the most tragic of circumstances and I urge communities to continue to be cautious in the face of continued and imminent threats to life,' Mr Elliott said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese also made statements in federal parliament about the tragedy.

Mr Morrison labelled Wednesday a 'terribly sad day', saying he knew the area well from childhood camping trips and felt for the man's family.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said there was still extreme danger in flood-hit areas despite the clear weather in Sydney on Wednesday.

'Whilst the sun is out conditions remain extremely dangerous, rivers are still rising,' she said.

Police boats head out on to floodwaters to deliver basic supplies donated by Coles to stranded locals in the Windsor region on Wednesday

'We ask everybody, especially if they are in vehicles to be extra cautious.

'Some would suggest it is even more dangerous now as rivers continue to rise and catchments fill up with water.'

SES volunteers and NSW Police begin delivering food, medicine and essential items and inspecting properties inundated but floodwaters around Windsor in the north west of Sydney
Gaborone, Botswana  Botswana is to issue nearly 300 elephant hunting licenses next month for the first full hunting season since a ban was lifted in 2019. Coronavirus travel restrictions disrupted the hunting season last year in Botswana, home to the world's largest elephant herd.

The country's Department of Wildlife and National Parks will issue 100 licenses for elephant hunts, with another 187 licenses from last year's aborted season. The hunting season, which includes a variety of species, will start April 6 and runs until September.

Debbie Peake, spokesperson for the Botswana Wildlife Producers Association, said they hope international hunters will be able travel to the southern African country.

"COVID-19 presents many difficulties in various forms, but we remain positive and we will be looking to our Department of Wildlife and National Parks and the ministry, for support to make 2021 the success we all desperately need," she said.

Hunting, she added, is key to the survival of communities, which were deprived of income from professional hunting activities since 2014.

"Botswana operators aim to reinvigorate the controlled hunting program in 2021, ensuring that communities become shareholders in the hunting wildlife economy and not just stakeholders," she said.

The government held auctions for elephant licenses in February last year, with each animal costing up to $43,000. Expedition operators buy the licenses and sell them at profit to overseas trophy hunters, who are mostly from the United States.

President Mokgweetsi Masisi's government lifted the trophy ban in 2019, in response to growing human-wildlife conflict, such as elephants trampling on crops and, in some cases, killing people.

However, wildlife biologist and conservationist Keith Lindsay said reintroducing trophy hunting will not reduce human-wildlife conflict.

"There is no ecological need to reduce elephant numbers by killing them," he said. "The government is already trying to encourage natural movement corridors including to neighboring countries like Angola, Zambia and Namibia. Shooting the elephants will also do nothing to reduce incidences of crop raiding in farming areas, as mostly killing will take place in different areas from trophy hunting blocks."

Botswana is one of the last places on the planet where elephants are thriving. The country's elephant population is more than 130,000, far more than its estimated capacity of 55,000.
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.
By completing the acquisition of two additional solar parks in Romania from Renesola Power, Alternus has ramped up its power generation capacity by 55%

Alternus Energy Group PLC (NOTC:ALT), the fast-growing pan-European independent power producer, has announced the completion of the acquisition of two additional solar parks in Romania from Renesola Power following definitive sales contracts signed between the parties in December last year.

Alternus said that Lucas Est SRL situated in Dumbrava, in Prahova county western Romania, has an installed power capacity of 6 MWp. Meanwhile, Ecosfer Energy S.r.l., in Costestii din Vale, barely an hour outside the capital Bucharest, has an installed capacity of 9.4 MWp.

With these additional power plants, Alternus said it has ramped up its power generation capacity by 55%, compared to the same time last year. It now operates a diverse portfolio of 27 solar PV parks across four European countries with a combined capacity of 46 MWp, the company added.

Under the terms of the contracts, Alternus paid 26 million for ownership of the two Romanian SPVs after working capital adjustments from effective date to closing.

In a statement, Alternus Energy CEO Vincent Browne said the power producer was very pleased to complete the acquisitions in the exciting European solar market.

These parks more than triple our presence in Romania with a single step and we are now moving to complete on contracts in place for further expansion there in the near term, added Browne. The world is currently at the beginning of a one-time transition from fossil-based energy to renewables. We are proud to be in the forefront of this transition, offering affordable and clean energy in Europe.

Browne noted that the acquisition is the first of many projects it has planned as part of strengthening its strategic partnership with Renesola which will underpin our pipeline of future projects as part of our journey to becoming the leading pan European solar IPP company in Europe.

ReneSola Power echoed the sentiments.

We are energized to complete the transaction with Alternus Energy, and we look forward to building on this transaction and expanding our partnership with future opportunities, said ReneSola Power CEO Yumin Liu. The proceeds from the sale of these operating assets will enable us to generate solid cash flow, realize profits and further strengthen our financial position.

Lucas has been in operation since April 2013 and has produced 30 GWh of solar power over the last four years, while Ecosfer has been in operation since August 2013 and has produced 48 GWh since 2017. Their performance represents stable annual recurring revenues of approximately 4.5 million that are contracted under EU incentive programs until 2028, said the company.

Thereafter the parks will continue to generate income from selling energy under Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) or to the country power grid. Both parks have a minimum remaining useful life until at least 2038 based on current land leases. Alternus owns the land for Ecosfer.

These acquisitions are in addition to that of the previously announced KKSOL S.r.l project in Italy, and form part of the 109 MWp worth of deals set to be acquired from the proceeds raised via the successful placement of a 110 million green bond, and a 27 million equity raise completed by the company in December 2020.

Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com

Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive
Photo: The Canadian Press A woman and a young boy walk through the streets in the northern Ontario First Nations reserve in Attawapiskat on Monday, April 16, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

A Statistics Canada study says Inuit are more than 17 times more likely to die in a fire than non-Indigenous people.

The agency also says that, overall, Indigenous people are five times more likely to die in a fire and First Nations members living on reserves are 10 times more likely.

The agency used data from a 2011 census.

The study was commissioned by the National Indigenous Fire Safety Council Project and was funded by Indigenous Services Canada.

The safety council says the study also found First Nations people are more than four times more likely to be hospitalized because of a fire-related injury compared with people who are not Indigenous.

The council says in a news release that fire protection for Indigenous peoples is a concern as there is no national code that enforces fire safety standards on reserves.
"Joseon Exorcist" continues to receive a wave of criticisms following the accusation regarding historical distortion.

In a recent report, a petition has reached the Blue House, seeking to remove the period drama series from SBS's broadcasting.

Petition to Halt "Joseon Exorcist" Receives More than 127,000 Signatures

Following this, the petition to axe the recently debuted SBS drama reached over 127,000 signatures in just a day.

The formal appeal states that they are requesting for "Joseon Exorcist" to be removed immediately "to prevent future occurrences of the serious distortion of the history.

Moreover, it raised concerns regarding the inaccuracy in South Korean culture depicted in the series, highlighting that the program referred to "real historical figures."

"If the drama is categorized as a fantasy, then they should have made brand new characters. They used real historical figures. If foreign viewers watch this drama, they will think that the depiction of the Joseon era characters in the drama is real," the petition stated.

"Joseon Exorcist" Blasted for Using Chinese Style Props in Episode 1

To recall, after airing "Joseon Exorcist" Episode 1, the show's production team received a backlash after some of the viewers noticed that they used various Chinese-style props.

Eagle-eyed viewers noticed Chinese-style mooncakes and dumplings, Chinese pidan or their century eggs, and liquor bottles with Chinese characters were used on the show.

Moreover, a well-known faculty at the Sungshin Women University accused the period drama program of "fueling" China's historical inaccuracy.

According to a recent report, a letter written by professor Seo Kyung Duk pointed out that "Joseon Exorcist" created a "lasting impact with its history distortion controversy."

In addition, the well-known professor blasted the production team and mentioned that they should have been more careful and aware of the situation between China and South Korea.

"Joseon Exorcist" Controversy Has Impacted the Show's Sponsorship and Ratings

Aside from the public's outrage, "Joseon Exorcist" also faced a series of alarming concerns. During its premiere, the much-awaited drama started off with an impressive rating.

"Joseon Exorcist" Episode 1 reached an average rating of 5.7 and 8.9 percent. Unfortunately, after the online criticisms, the period drama's episode 2 received a slight drop in their rating with a recorded average of 4.5 and 6.9 percent, as Nielsen Korea cited.

To make the situation worse, support from brands and companies has been halted.

In a recent report, LG Household & Health Care and wellness technology brand, Cozyma expressed that they would no longer sponsor the show.

It came after the leading South Korean consumer goods company announced that they would cancel their sponsorship for "Joseon Exorcist.

SBS Released an Official Statement Towards the "Joseon Exorcist" Controversy

The viewers' outrage caused SBS to release a statement to appease the public's fury.

In an official statement, the network pointed out that it was the "production team's mistake for not recognizing the issue beforehand."

Moreover, they vowed to omit these parts to appease the discomfort it caused from the audience.

ALSO CHECK: 'Joseon Exorcist' Director Reveals Why the Upcoming Series is Different from 'Kingdom'

KDramastars owns this article.

Written by Geca Wills
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.
News

Fourth Annual Call for Code Challenges Developers to Tackle 'Existential Threat of Climate Change'

The 4th annual Call for Code Global Challenge, which invites software developers from around the world to create open-source solutions to combat climate change, got underway this week.

The Call for Code Initiative has grown to more than 400,000 developers and problem solvers this year across 179 countries, and it has generated more than 15,000 applications. The goal of Challenge organizers is "to drive immediate and lasting humanitarian progress around the world through the creation of practical applications built on open source-powered software" The list of open-source platforms includes Red Hat OpenShift, IBM Cloud, IBM Watson, IBM Blockchain, atmospheric data from IBM's Weather Company, and developer resources and APIs from partners such as Intuit and New Relic.

"Climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time, and we must apply our collective ingenuity and cutting-edge technologies to make a lasting difference," said IBM's Ruth Davis, director of Call for Code, in a statement. "Together with our ecosystem of partners, IBM will work with the winning team to incubate and deploy their solution in communities where it's most needed, just as we've done with past winners. I encourage every developer and innovator around the world to seize this opportunity through Call for Code to change our climate trajectory."

The winning team from each Call for Code Global Challenge receives $200,000 and support from the IBM Service Corps, technical experts, and ecosystem partners to incubate their technology, open source their code, and deploy their solutions on the ground in communities around the world, said David Clark, CEO of David Clark Cause, and creator of Call for Code.

"This year the competition focuses on three sub-themes that are key to combatting climate change," Clark said in a statement, "clean water and sanitation; zero hunger; and responsible production and green consumption."

Last year's grand prize winner, Agrolly, developed an app designed to support small farmers by providing climate and crop predictions and recommendations. "Our focus is on the small farmers in emerging markets, because they are the ones who need help the most," Agrolly CEO Maneola Morais told ADTmag last year. "Most of the time people build the technology for the big players, because they can pay money for that. But it's really the small farms where we think we have an opportunity to start to make real change in the farming industry for the long run."

The Agrolly team has expanded their solution to new markets and provided hands-on training to more than 500 rural farmers across Mongolia, India, and Brazil, who are testing and using the app to fight the effects of climate change. Agrolly is also working with the IBM Service Corps on a deployment plan to improve and test their technology in the coming months.

Created by David Clark Cause with founding partner IBM, and in partnership with United Nations Human Rights and The Linux Foundation, Call for Code is among the largest "tech-for-good" challenges of its kind. In 2019, more than 180,000 participants from 165 countries responded to the call, creating more than 5,000 applications focused on natural disaster preparedness and relief. Last year more than 300,000 developers and problem solvers across 168 countries signed up for the Challenge. Health insurance provider Anthem became a Challenge supporter last year, committing to jointly deploying one of the top solutions from the COVID challenge track. The 2020 Call for Code Challenge also included a dedicated University Edition through a partnership that began last year with the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U). More than 10,000 students participated last year. The Challenge organizers also unveled a new Call for Code initiative last year: Call for Code for Racial Justice, which IBM described as "a vital initiative that brings together technology and a powerful ecosystem to combat one of the greatest challenges of our time: racial injustice."

Call for Code has generated more than 30 solutions, which are being incubated and field tested in a series of deployments that includes 12 open source projects hosted by the Linux Foundation. Operating under the foundation's umbrella enables these projects to evolve with the support of an open-source community. On UN World Water Day, the Linux Foundation announced that Call for Code solution Liquid Prep will be hosted by the Foundation, so developers worldwide can contribute their mobile, IoT, Edge, cloud, and weather skills to help farmers optimize water usage during droughts.

The diverse and like-minded global ecosystem of experts, companies, foundations, universities, and celebrities supporting Call for Code continues to expand. The ecosystem includes UN World Food Programme Innovation Accelerator experts, Arrow Electronics, Black Girls Code, Caribbean Girls Hack, Clinton Foundation, Clinton Global Initiative University, Ingram Micro, Intuit, Kode With Klossy, NearForm, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, United Way, and World Institute on Disability. The list supporting celebs includes Lady Gaga, Ellen DeGeneres, Kristen Bell, LL Cool J, Celine Dion, David Copperfield, Wiz Khalifa, Jeff Bridges, Sting, Cher, and Trevor Noah, among others.
analysis

The state, media and religious leadership across different faiths have unleashed a wave of homophobia against its queer community.

Last Sunday, an interdenominational group of Christian leaders - apostles, pastors, reverends, bishops - came together for a one-day national prayer rally in Accra. The focus and title of their prayers?

"Homosexuality: A detestable sin to God".

The rally was supported by a wide range of media organisations in Ghana and had representatives from the Islamic faith, traditional religions, civil society and parliament, in attendance. Prayer was not the only reason this influential group gathered. They also discussed possible legislation criminalising the country's LGBTQI+ community and the "rehabilitation, guidance and counselling" of their "lost souls".

This wave of homophobia began on 31 January when the advocacy organisation LGBT+ Rights Ghana opened an office and community space in Accra. It was the first of its kind, but this milestone did not last long once news of its existence reached local mainstream media.

The first broadside came from civil society. On 11 February, Moses Foh-Amoaning, executive secretary of the National Coalition for Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values, began a campaign urging the government to shut down the centre and arrest its leaders. His organisation - made up of representatives from Christian, Muslim and traditional religious groups - has been at the forefront of an anti-queer campaign since its establishment in December 2013.

Government officials soon picked up on this anti-queer discourse. In an unusual turn, ministers being vetted by parliament were asked about their stance on queer rights.

During Adwoa Sarfo's hearing, the minister-designate for gender, children, and social protection insisted that homosexuality is not permitted under Ghanaian law. She cited Section 104 of the Criminal Code which outlaws "unnatural carnal knowledge", punishable with up to 25 years imprisonment, even though it does not specifically mention same-sex relations.

In Shirley Ayorko Botchway's vetting, the minister-designate for foreign affairs claimed that homosexuality is un-African and that the notion of queer rights is a Western imposition. She cited recent statements by US President Joe Biden threatening sanctions against countries who criminalise homosexuality and pointed out the attendance of foreign dignitaries at the LGBT+ Rights Ghana centre's opening ceremony.

The Ghanaian media meanwhile gave platforms to the likes of Foh-Amoaning and MPs to express their homophobic opinions. Media panels were assembled to debate the humanity of queer people, often pitting queer rights activists against well-known homophobes. In the few instances where queer Ghanaians were interviewed, journalists questioned whether the violence they faced was not self-inflicted due to their insistence on equal rights. Newspaper headlines referred to the LGBT+ Rights Ghana offices in sexually explicit terms that relied on hypersexualised stereotypes of queer people.

On 24 February, these events combined culminated in the forceful closure of the LGBT+ Rights Ghana offices by police. Its staff went into hiding. No explanation or justification was given.

Since the closure, a number of activists say that physical and verbal attacks against queer Ghanaians, or even those just suspected to be, have increased particularly in remote parts of the country. Although LGBT+ Rights Ghana is not the only organisation working on queer issues in Ghana, it is by far the most visible and the only one to receive explicit support from foreign dignitaries, thus making it an easy target.

It wasn't over yet though. On 27 February, President Nana Akufo-Addo declared that he will never allow the legalisation of gay marriage, even though this was not an issue anyone had been advocating for. On 5 March, eight MPs introduced a new iteration of a previously proposed bill calling for the explicit criminalisation of queer people and for mandatory conversion therapy for those convicted.

Many people expressing anti-gay views claim that homosexuality is a Western import. However, the reality is that, as in many former colonies, Ghana's anti-gay laws are a relic of European rule. Moreover, Western organisations have been key to supporting those spreading homophobic attitudes. The Committee on Christian Marriage and Family Life (CCMFL), which supported heterosexual family structures, was set up by the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG) in 1966 and funded by the British organisation Christian Aid.

More recently, the likes of the National Coalition for Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values echoes rhetoric used by American evangelicals and has been publicly supported by the likes of the US-based evangelical organisation World Congress of Families (WCF), which held an anti-queer African Family and Sustainable Development Summit in Accra in 2019. A few months after this summit, the Ghanaian government banned an LGBT+ advocacy conference.

Not giving up

It does not seem that there is hope for the reopening of the LGBT+ Rights Ghana offices anytime soon nor a progressive national conversation about queer rights, but queer Ghanaians in the country and in the diaspora have not given up hope of a more accepting society.

LGBT+ Rights Ghana has launched a fundraiser toward the goal of acquiring a permanent space for a new community centre. It has raised over $40,200 so far. Key Watch Ghana and One Love Sisters, two organisations that work on intersex and human rights advocacy respectively, launched emergency support funds for queer Ghanaians.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Ghana Legal Affairs Human Rights By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

In the absence of mental health services, a group of queer Ghanaians in the diaspora have stepped in, providing weekly virtual sessions on emotional and mental well-being for their peers in the country. A coalition of feminist and queer organisations in Ghana has been newly established to think through long-term strategies for resistance, including challenging the constitutionality of section 104 of the criminal code and mounting a civil case to challenge the closure of the LGBT+ Rights Ghana offices.

Other organisations are lobbying members of parliament to prevent the passage of new legislation that explicitly criminalises homosexuality. Due to the risk of persecution and prosecution, most activists are organising outside of the public spotlight. Members of the diaspora and queer rights organisations have called on the government to protect its queer people and pledged support to the activists fighting for their rights.

As we celebrate the 64th Independence Day of Ghana, queer Ghanaians continue to insist on their humanity and right to equal protection under the law. As Alex Donkor, director of LGBT+ Rights Ghana, stated, "the center will remain in hearts and minds"; as will the hope and determination for liberation.

Shakia Asamoah is an educator. She writes about her intersectional experiences as a black, queer, Ghanaian millennial.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  While New York City works to bring back more full-time remote learners into school buildings during a new opt-in period amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the president of the citys largest teachers union said he has concerns about the new social distancing guidelines for schools released by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

The mayor recently announced the new opt-in period would begin Wednesday, after the CDC reduced the recommended distance between K-12 students from six feet to three feet as long as they wear a mask. But students should continue to be kept the usual six feet away from each other at other events, like sports, assemblies, lunch, or chorus practice.

Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) union, called the new CDC guidelines strange. He also said the union hasnt made an agreement with the city on whether to utilize the new CDC social distancing rule yet.

Were still trying to figure out how to do it  its not easy to figure out three feet in a classroom and six feet everywhere else in the building, because then it literally comes down to how many children do we have in the building at any given time, Mulgrew explained. If every classroom was full with a child every three feet, theres no way we can keep them six feet apart everywhere else in the building. Its physically impossible.

*** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK ***

Under the guidelines, he said, schools need to have very distinct cohorts of students.

There shouldnt be any interaction between students from different cohorts at any time theyre in the school building, Mulgrew explained  something that is not an easy thing to figure out.

Another big challenge is when students eat breakfast and lunch. Currently, public school students eat inside their classroom six feet apart and not wearing masks.

But if schools use the new three-foot rule in classrooms, students would still need to eat six feet apart under the CDCs guidelines, Mulgrew said.

The mayors initial response to me was every other child will eat... and I said, No that doesnt follow the guidelines, theres still a child in the middle whos only three feet apart. Mulgrew said.

He added he figures there could be some sort of shifting in a school cafeteria, but ultimately it would come down to how many kids are actually coming to school that day and if there are enough shifts inside a big enough space for them to eat.

These [CDC] guidelines were clearly designed by someone whos never tried to program or work inside of a school building, he said. The four studies were done from these very rural areas. We dont have one high school for 1,500 kids thats the size of CSI [the College of Staten Island]. We dont have things like that.

But Mulgrew said he hopes that the new opt-in period  which ends April 7  will give an idea of how many parents would feel comfortable with their children going back to school, as it will help planning for summer school and the 2021-2022 school year.

Im hoping that more parents are comfortable, because right now 30% of students are opted in, its not really the best number -- especially now that, you know, the vaccine is becoming more and more readily available. I know we still have issues, but we got to make sure our students are safe, he said.

When asked if he thinks many parents will opt to send their kids back for in-person learning, Mulgrew said it will likely vary from neighborhood to neighborhood -- similar to what the city is currently seeing with vaccination percentages. Currently, some schools have 20% of students in-person, while others have over 70%  so it will depend on individual schools and communities, he said.

The city Department of Education (DOE) is working with schools to implement the CDCs guidance on timelines that make the most sense for individual school communities  and much of this is dependent on unique circumstances in each school and classroom. The agency added that Schools Chancellor Meisha Ross Porter was in touch with principals last weekend to hear firsthand their questions, concerns and excitement regarding the new guidance.

The DOE is also working through options on implementing lunchtime social distancing.

Our rigorous approach to health and safety has made our public schools some of the safest places to be in the City, said Nathaniel Styer, spokesperson for the DOE. We hear the concerns of school leaders and we are working collaboratively to put together guidance that takes into account the unique needs of each school community  as we have throughout this pandemic.

There is more to come soon as the DOE partners with schools to implement the new rules, the agency added.

OPT-IN PERIOD OPEN UNTIL APRIL 7

As New York City prepared for the current school year amid the ongoing health crisis, students were able to choose to attend school remotely full-time or participate in a blended learning model, in which students were on campus a few days a week, learning remotely the rest of the time. Currently, many schools across the city are offering students five-day-a-week in-person instruction.

The city last offered parents an opt-in period in November, and at that time it was unclear if there would be another opportunity for remote-only learners to return to campus.

Parents can can now fill out this survey online, or call 311, by April 7 to let the DOE know that a child is opting into blended in-person learning for the remainder of the school year.

Younger students who choose to opt-in now will be back in school buildings next month, de Blasio said on Monday during a press conference. These include students in 3-K, pre-K, elementary school and those in District 75 schools.

If you opt-in to blended learning, your childs school will keep you informed about its specific learning model and your childs schedule. At any time of the year for any reason, you can opt your child back into fully remote learning.

While older students are included in the new opt-in period, more work needs to be done in bringing those additional middle and high school students back to campus.

Signing up for blended learning means schools are arranging schedules and programs to serve the number of students they expect to see in-person each day. And the DOE wants to make sure the expectation is clear  if you are in blended learning, your school expects that you will attend school in-person.

Students who sign up for blended learning must submit consent for random coronavirus testing by the first day their child begins in-person learning. If you have already submitted consent, the DOE encourages parents to submit the consent form again to ensure the latest form is on file.

For information on opting-in to the blended learning plan, go to schools.nyc.gov/returntoschool2020.

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.
Two of the eight men still being prosecuted in the long-running second Caprivi high treason trial heard yesterday that they have been found not guilty on a count of murder.

Progress Kenyoka Munuma, who is formally known as "accused number one" in the trial, and Shine Samulandela, who is the second accused in the matter, were discharged on a count of murder in a ruling which acting judge Petrus Unengu delivered in the Windhoek High Court.

On the other charges faced by Munuma, Samulandela and six co-accused, Unengu dismissed an application for them to be found not guilty at the end of the state's case in their trial.

The charges include counts of high treason, sedition and the importation and possession of firearms, other weaponry and ammunition.

The state accused Munuma and Samulandela of having been involved in the murder of Victor Falali, who was killed in the then Caprivi region near the end of October 1998, after he had left a camp where people recruited to a separatist organisation in the region had gathered for training.

Falali's killing was a key event in the discovery of the presence of a secessionist movement in the Zambezi region, and was followed by an exodus of members of the separatist Caprivi Liberation Army and its leader, former National Assembly member and official opposition leader Mishake Muyongo, from Namibia to Botswana, where they sought asylum, at the end of October 1998.

In his ruling, Unengu indicated that the evidence which the state placed before the court during the trial did not show that Munuma or Samulandela were the perpetrators who killed Falali.

However, he added, there is evidence before the court that all of the eight accused had been involved in an attempt to secede the Zambezi region from Namibia and that they had taken part in activities to achieve that goal.

The eight accused are standing trial for a second time on allegations that from September 1998 to December 2003 they had been involved in a plot to overthrow the Namibian government in the then Caprivi region and to secede the region from Namibia. They are denying guilt on all charges.

The eight men, together with four co-accused, went through a first trial in the High Court between 2005 and 2007. That trial ended with ten of them being convicted of high treason and sentenced to prison terms of either 30 or 32 years each in August 2007.

The Supreme Court set aside their convictions and sent their case back to the High Court for a retrial in July 2013, after finding that the judge who presided over their first trial should have recused himself from the matter when he was asked to do so following his dismissal of a jurisdiction challenge raised by the accused.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Namibia Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

The same jurisdiction challenge, based on a claim that most of the accused involved in the first trial had been abducted from Botswana and brought to Namibia illegally before they were arrested and charged by the Namibian authorities, was again raised before Unengu, who dismissed the challenge in November 2014.

A second special plea, in which the accused disputed that the Zambezi region is legally part of the territory of Namibia, was raised after the first jurisdiction challenge failed. That plea, too, was rejected by Unengu in April 2018, and the hearing of evidence on the merits of the charges against the eight accused started after that.

Five of the accused - Munuma, Samulandela, Manuel Makendano, Alex Mushakwa and John Tembwe - were arrested and charged in Namibia in December 2003, after they had been deported from Botswana.

Another of the accused, Frederick Ntambilwa, was arrested in July 2002. Two of the accused - John Tembwe and Hoster Ntombo - were arrested in September 2002, after they had been deported from Botswana to Namibia.

All of the eight have been kept in custody since their arrest.

The trial is scheduled to continue from 12 July.

Defence lawyers Ilse Agenbach and Jorge Neves are representing the accused. The state is being represented by deputy prosecutor general Lourens Campher.
Bryan Carroll was arrested on Thursday after multiple suspected explosives were found in his car at a University of Kentucky hospital

An armed man has been arrested after multiple suspected explosives were found near the emergency room at a hospital on the University of Kentucky campus in Lexington.

Dozens of officers with the FBI, ATF and several local police departments responded to an alleged bomb threat at the university's Chandler Hospital just after 10.30am on Thursday.

University Police Chief Joe Monroe confirmed that 44-year-old Bryan Carroll was taken into custody and will face unspecified state and federal charges in connection with the incident.

Monroe said his agency had received a tip from police in the neighboring town of Versailles that Carroll was going to the hospital to visit a relative and was considered potentially armed and dangerous.

Police intercepted Carroll as he walked out of the hospital. The suspect was carrying multiple firearms and wearing body armor.

Investigators discovered 'a couple' suspected explosive devices in Carroll's car, which was parked outside the emergency room, Monroe said.

The FBI and ATF responded to an alleged bomb threat at a hospital on the University of Kentucky campus in Lexington on Thursday

Officers in hazmat gear were seen surveying the parking lot outside the emergency room

The police chief refused to elaborate on the tip that led to Carroll's arrest and it remains unclear if he was planning to detonate the explosives.

No one was injured in the incident that led authorities to block traffic in the area for more than four hours.

Officers in bomb suits were pictured on the scene and a bomb disposal robot appeared to be checking various cars in the parking lot.

Monroe refused to say how long Carroll had been on the radar of the Versailles Police Department, or why.

He refuted social media rumors suggesting that the suspect had threatened to take people hostage inside the hospital.

The university issued a statement confirming that the threat situation had ended at 3pm.

Police were seen outside a home in Versailles believed to belong to Carroll on Thursday afternoon.



University Police Chief Joe Monroe (pictured) said Monroe said his agency received a tip from police in a neighboring town Carroll was going to the hospital and was considered potentially armed and dangerous
SARASOTA, Fla., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Peter Solodko, CEO of Consolidated Healthcare Services (CHS), has announced the company is now offering new and reconditioned medical imaging equipment sourcing and financing for medical diagnostic imaging centers.

CHS is an administrative management company that is expert at back-office operations for existing medical imaging clinics. This allows medical imaging centers to concentrate on their patients while CHS assures the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of their facility.

Consolidated Healthcare Services

CHS is experienced in managing medical diagnostic imaging businesses. Contracted services have ranged from insurance and vendor coordination, to staffing and HR management, to IT and legal assistance, and more.

"We are now adding the ability to source refurbished and new medical imaging equipment to our service offering," said Peter Solodko. "Options to finance this equipment have also been added. Combating ever-increasing costs is a challenging dilemma in our industry. There are financing choices available that can help reduce up-front costs and make it more affordable for ongoing equipment upgrades and enhancements. I am excited to now offer this valuable service."

Experienced medical equipment experts are on hand to assess different models and manufacturers across a range of modalities including MRI machines, CT scanners and X-ray equipment. From a financial perspective, leasing, rental and sale-leaseback options can be customized to best fit each specific scenario.

"Medical diagnostic imaging is changing rapidly. Finding new ways to remain efficient and cost-effective are now more important than ever," Solodko stated. "Adding these new services to what we already provide to medical imaging centers is evidence of our commitment to the industry."

To learn more about these new service offerings, please visit CHSmed.com.

About Consolidated Healthcare Services

Consolidated Healthcare Services (CHS) provides administrative services to diagnostic imaging facilities. From its home office in downtown Sarasota, Florida, the company provides primary in-house functions of administration, human resources, transcription, finance, insurance contracting, information systems and technology, billing and collection, medical technology and medical imaging equipment sourcing and financing. Consolidated Healthcare Services monitors the overall performance and operation of each imaging center from its one central location.

Media Contact:

Ronald G. Hock

Consolidated Healthcare Services

Email: [email protected]

Related Images

image1.png

SOURCE Consolidated Healthcare Services
Crawford & Company, an independent provider of claims management and outsourcing services to carriers, brokers and corporations, has appointed Jason Spencer as global president, Crawford Legal Services. Spencer will report to Crawford President Joseph Blanco.

In his new role, Spencer is responsible for operational delivery, strategy and growth within the legal sector, and will lead Crawfords efforts to deliver bundled and unbundled legal services for Crawfords clients on a global scale.

Spencer joined Crawford in 2016 from private practice to set up Crawford Legal Services in the U.K. Following the launch and growth of the U.K. legal business, Spencer assisted with Crawfords acquisition of HBA Group in Australia. Since the recent acquisition of Crawford Carvallo in Chile, he has worked to develop Crawfords legal capability in several other territories.

Prior to joining Crawford, Spencer held multiple leadership roles. He has been a senior partner with national and international law firms and led the development and launch of legal and business services.

Based in Atlanta, Crawford & Company serves clients in more than 70 countries.
Vaccine Diaries is a series of dispatches exploring the rollout of COVID-19 immunizations.

I had been waiting for the text message for months when it arrived: Please click on the following link to schedule your appointment. I yelped like a cartoon character.

I had registered for the coronavirus vaccine back in January on the New Jersey Department of Health website, after the state said it would progressively queue residents in the order of their infection risk. I figured: doctors and seniors first, and healthy young adults last.

Advertisement

I clicked right away, under the presumption that Id be one of the last to get it. I have family who work in hospitals, and theyd all been vaccinated, so I was eager to join them. I have moderate asthma that doesnt normally affect me too much, but I checked it off on a list when asked.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Then the text came on March 8. I was thrilled. I signed up, and I snagged the last appointment available for March 15, a week later. I came to the appointment ready to answer questions about my medical history. I found out the exact date I was diagnosed with asthma, in case they needed to corroborate it with my records. But none of that happened. I signed a waiver giving the hospital staff permission to poke me with a needle, and another acknowledging that the vaccine was a Food and Drug Administration emergency approval. That was it.

Advertisement

Within minutes, I was assigned a nurse, who poked me in the shoulder and gave me a vaccine swag bag, with information on how to report significant side effects and a sticker that said I Got the Shot! Suddenly, I had my first of two doses of the Moderna shot, and I was one step closer to putting COVID behind me forever.

Yet I didnt feel like I expected to feel. I certainly wasnt happy. I had no physical side effects (and still dont), but a different, weird one washed over me: guilt. I shoved the sticker in my coat pocket and walked away.

Advertisement

What was wrong with me? Well, I thought of my parents, and so many vulnerable people I know personally who are still waiting patiently for their vaccinations. After I got my shot, which was incredibly easy thanks to the hospital staff and nurses, I tried to dial my mom and let her know the good news. I couldnt. Shes in her mid-60s, has a medical history that makes her prone to illness, and is still waiting. I was so obsessive over quarantine, especially out of caution for her. It felt wrong that I ended up ahead of her in the vaccine line.

Advertisement

The balance seemed off. I felt like I got the shot too soon. Im a healthy 31-year-old, besides my asthma. About a quarter of the kids who grew up where I did in Newark have it, one of the highest rates in the country, possibly because of the awful air pollution caused by the waste stations, the airport, and the constant stream of truck traffic in residential areas. It really only becomes a problem for me when Im swimming or trying to sing karaoke. I was officially diagnosed when I was 16, but I thought the inhaler was dorky, so I never used it.

Advertisement

I only qualified because New Jersey qualified me. On the questionnaire for vaccine eligibility, people with cancer or liver disease are in the same category as people like me, and so are smokers. It felt especially troubling because there is currently little firm evidence that people with asthma are more likely to suffer severe illness with COVID.

Advertisement

I do understand the urgency of getting as many people vaccinated as possible at this stage of the pandemic. Ive heard more than once from my friends and family who work in medicine that right now its all about shots in arms. I had no problem getting the shot, of course, because now Im much less likely to contract and spread the virus. I dont regret it. Id just feel better if my mother got it first.

When I finally talked to others about this, more than one vaccinated person close to my age told me they felt the exact same way. They knew they shouldntthis was only a good thingbut here we are.

Advertisement

I think that as a child of immigrants, Im conditioned in a different way than many to feel responsible for my parents well-being. Ive been my mothers unofficial translator in various scenarios, including at the hospital where doctors and nurses can forget to explain things without using medical jargon she doesnt understand. Ive witnessed how experts can lose their patience and raise their voices condescendingly, rather than try to explain things in different terms. Its been widely reported that language barriers can lead directly to worse hospital care. Ive always helped her through confusing and scary situations, and as with many others, I helped her and my dad sign up for their shots too. I finally realized that I just felt selfish, like I should have given up my appointment to them.

I know. That isnt how it works.

I did finally tell my mother that I got the first shot recently. I was worried shed be a tiny bit hurt, like shed been cheated by the system. Instead, she sounded overjoyed. She said, OK, Im making fish this weekend. She grew up in Alexandria, Egypt, so a fish dinner is as good as cake. In two weeks, Ill have my second dose. Im hoping itll finally be safe enough soon to give her a kiss on a cheek.
Liam Hemsworth has been inseparable from his girlfriend Gabriella Brooks since going public with their romance in January 2020.

But on Wednesday, the 31-year-old enjoyed a moment of solitude as he hit the beach for a solo surf session in Byron Bay.

The Hunger Games star covered up his muscular arms and abs in a tight black rash vest as he caught some waves.

Surf's up! Liam Hemsworth (pictured)covered up his muscular arms and abs in a rash vest as he rode some waves in Byron Bay on Wednesday

The actor also wore printed swimming trunks as he balanced on his white surfboard.

Earlier in the day, Liam arrived to the beach wearing shorts, a white T-shirt, black hat and sunglasses.

He then showed off his impressive skills as he effortlessly rode the crashing waves.

Solo outing: The 31-year-old enjoyed a moment of solitude as he hit the beach for a solo surf session

Catching some waves! The actor also wore printed swimming trunks as he balanced on his white surfboard

The actor has previously been spotted spending time in Byron Bay with his model girlfriend Gabriella, 24.

They've have been dating since December 2019, following Liam's highly publicised split from ex-wife Miley Cyrus in August that same year.

The Hunger Games star, went public with their romance in January, 2020.

They were isolating together in Victoria at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, but Gabriella later joined the whole Hemsworth family in Byron Bay.

Fun in the sun! Earlier in the day, Liam arrived to the beach wearing shorts, a white T-shirt, black hat and sunglasses

Relaxed: After enjoying a surfing session, Liam appeared relaxed as he looked out into the distance

Back home: He was also spotted holding his phone in one hand and walking back to his car

Last month, Gabriella revealed how she stays grounded despite dating one of Australia's most famous brothers.

'I have a great support network who continually remind me of what's important,' the 24-year-old told The Daily Telegraph.

'This is incredibly grounding,' she added.

Passionate: In 2016, Liam spoke about his passion for surfing and revealed he chose to live in Malibu just to be closer to the ocean

'I grew up by the beach, surfing, and I'm much more conditioned to that sort of lifestyle,' he told GQ at the time

'I wanted to get back to the beach, I needed it, to be by the water and to be able to go surfing,' he said

According to a report by Us Weekly in December 2019, Liam was 'happy to be moving on' following his turbulent split from Miley.

'Liam feels comfortable with Gabriella. His family approves of her and really likes her, which is very important to him,' a source told the publication at the time.

Gabriella and Liam's romance is also 'very different' than the hunk's relationship with ex-wife Miley, E! News reported.

New romance: The actor has previously been spotted spending time in Byron Bay with his model girlfriend Gabriella, 24

Relationships: They've have been dating since December 2019, following Liam's highly publicised split from ex-wife Miley Cyrus in August that same year

'They like the same things and have the same lifestyle,' said a source.

'It's not a rollercoaster of highs and lows. Gabriella is very laid-back and even-keeled.'

The source also said that the young actress is getting along famously with the entire Hemsworth family.

Going strong: Gabriella and Liam's romance is 'very different' than the hunk's relationship with ex-wife Miley, E! News reported

Famous family: The source also said that the young actress is getting along famously with the entire Hemsworth family

Meanwhile, in 2016, Liam spoke about his passion for surfing and revealed he chose to live in Malibu just to be closer to the ocean.

'I grew up by the beach, surfing, and I'm much more conditioned to that sort of lifestyle,' he told GQ at the time.

'I wanted to get back to the beach, I needed it, to be by the water and to be able to go surfing.'

Moving forward: According to a report by Us Weekly in December 2019, Liam was 'happy to be moving on' following his turbulent split from Miley
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 25, 2021 / Zimtu Capital Corp. (TSXV:ZC)(FSE:ZCT1) (the "Company" or "Zimtu") announces it has signed an agreement with Pontus Protein Ltd. (HULK)(FSE:8YC) to provide its ZimtuADVANTAGE program (https://www.zimtu.com/zimtu-advantage/). Zimtu shall receive $9625 per month for a period of 12 months, with the entire 12 months payable at the beginning of the contract.

ZimtuADVANTAGE is a program designed to provide opportunities, guidance, cost savings and assistance to clients covering multiple aspects of being a public company. The services may include building financial networks, building business networks, shared costs with other public companies, building a social media presence, conference opportunities, media outlets and guidance and special group pricing provided by Zimtu's network of public company professionals. The program, which has been revised to enhance its digital communications and marketing opportunities, provides the flexibility to allow companies to customize the products and services to best support their needs.

About Pontus Protein Ltd.

Pontus Protein Ltd. is a Vancouver, B.C. based company that grows water lentil protein for commercial use. Pontus is reinventing agriculture with their proprietary Closed Environment Vertical Aquaponic System (CEVAS) - the farming of the future. Pontus specializes in the indoor vertical farming of water lentils that use 95 percent less water than traditional agriculture and no pesticides or chemicals. Pontus is committed to solving the global food crisis by providing access to sustainable indoor biosecure pure plant based proteins. Pontus' water lentils can be harvested every 24 hours, exceed organic certification, and can be grown in any climate in a relatively small area. Our water lentil protein is filled with antioxidants, minerals, vitamins and all the amino acids, making a complete protein food source. Pontus aims to revolutionize the plant-based sector as the entire sector is currently based on two main protein sources: soy and pea. Lentil protein is far superior to pea and soy protein. It contains over 40% protein vs. 5-36% protein*, and Pontus aims at being the base protein for plant based food products, which will lead this movement that has begun in the world transitioning from meat based to plant based protein. To learn more, please visit pontuswaterlentils.com.

* https://food-nutrition.canada.ca/cnf-fce/report-rapport.do

About Zimtu Capital Corp.

Zimtu Capital Corp. is a public investment issuer that aspires to achieve long-term capital appreciation for its shareholders. Zimtu Capital companies may operate in the fields of mineral exploration, mining, technology, life sciences or investment. The Company trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "ZC" and Frankfurt under symbol "ZCT1". For more information, please visit http://www.zimtu.com.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

ZIMTU CAPITAL CORP.

"David Hodge"

David Hodge

President & Director

Tel: 604.681.1568

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.

SOURCE: Zimtu Capital Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/637329/Zimtu-Capital-Corp-Announces-Contract-with-Pontus-Protein-Ltd
A woman wearing war paint burglarized and vandalized some storage units at a downtown Decatur apartment complex Wednesday, according to a witness.

A resident at 307 Second apartments on Second Avenue Southeast said the suspect, seen on a security video, was a light-skinned woman with dark hair in her 40s who rummaged through about 20 of the 30 storage units in the apartments basement area.

She was seen walking barefoot in and out of the storage units, said apartment resident Susan Hall. The woman appeared to have changed clothes at least once and, at one time, had war paint on her face.

Hall said the suspect must have had knowledge of electrical operations because the power was off for a few minutes about the time the crime was being committed. Hall said entry into the storage unit area requires an access code or key fob.

Decatur police spokeswoman Irene Cardenas-Martinez said the burglary call came in at about 2 p.m.

No arrests have been made. Officers are still investigating, she said.

Hall said graffiti was written on the walls and the suspect apparently sprayed a fire extinguisher in some units.

Another resident said power went off at the complex for about 30 minutes just before 9 a.m. Wednesday, but it was unclear whether that was related to the criminal activity.

At 4 p.m., at least six officers and five Decatur police vehicles were still at the scene.

Hall said she has lived in the apartment for about 18 months and this was the first time any criminal activity was reported.

Opened in 2017, 307 Second has 10 luxury loft apartments including some above The High Point Market.

 mike.wetzel@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2442. Twitter @DD_Wetzel.

___

(c)2021 The Decatur Daily (Decatur, Ala.)

Visit The Decatur Daily (Decatur, Ala.) at www.decaturdaily.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Shaws Crab House and all of the Lettuce Entertain You restaurants have signed up to support the Shedd Aquariums new Lets Shedd Plastic program designed to help restaurants reduce their plastic footprint. Vice President and Executive Partner of Shaws Crab House Bill Nevruz said the restaurant has chosen to help where they can by getting rid of straws and plastic stir sticks.
Thought Leaders Professor Mark McGurk Director of the Head and Neck Academic Centre University College London Hospital

Professor Mark McGurk speaks to News-Medical about his groundbreaking research that has led to the discovery of a world-first treatment for oral cancer.

What inspired your research into head and neck cancer?

I have been working on head and neck cancer for 30-40 years and one of the things that has driven me is to try and reduce the magnitude of surgeries. You can imagine how destructive treatment can be to mouths, jaws, and the face.

Small blemishes that can be easily hidden on, for example, the bowel or belly have a huge impact on patient form and function when in the face. I have been slowly moving away from major surgeries and instead of looking for minimally invasive surgeries that produce the same, if not better outcomes.

We have developed several different techniques to minimize the magnitude of surgery, we have introduced Sentinel Node Biopsy(SNB) to the UK, we now have methods of stopping jaws from being removed for odontogenic tumors and this particular treatment is a huge advancement in treatment for salivary glands.

I have had a real interest in salivary glands and two or three things have come together in the last year to create this new treatment. I have a brilliant radiologist called Simon Morley who has found a way of tracing the facial nerve, and by putting this together with some new technology we have been able to make a huge breakthrough.

Scan for Head and Neck Cancer. Image Credit: Mark_Kostich/Shutterstock.com

Your latest research investigated salivary gland tumors. Why do over three-quarters of salivary gland tumors start in the parotid gland?

The parotid gland is the biggest salivary gland, so this is purely a reflection of size. The more glandular tissue in an area the more chance there is of something going wrong.

Why is surgery difficult when faced with these types of tumors?

Surgery is difficult because the parotid gland sits on the side of your face and the facial nerve comes out from deep in your skull and passes through the gland before breaking into smaller branches to cover the face. This is a small nerve; the main trunk of the nerve is only about 1mm in diameter.

However, it is vital to controlling your face, which allows you to convey emotion. Therefore, damage to this nerve has a great impact on a persons form and function. Historically, this has become a dominant-negative effect from head and neck cancer treatment. Because it runs through the gland, it is easy to hit and damage the nerve during surgery.

The traditional approach was very maximal, it required surgeons to open up the face and locate the nerve during surgery. Surgeons have to carefully lift the tissue above the gland to access the top of the gland. Most of the gland is found above the nerve, meaning that the majority of tumors are located in the top section.

When the tumor is located in the top section, this is called a superficial parotidectomy. If the tumor is below the nerve, the surgeon will have to carefully tease the nerve off of the gland this is called a total parotidectomy with preservation of the nerve. As you can imagine, these operations have a high risk of damage. A total parotidectomy carries a 60% incidence of temporary nerve injury and a 4-6% incidence of permanent damage. Superficial parotidectomies carry a 30% rate of temporary damage and a 1% rate of permanent damage.

This operation is specifically difficult as you dont know where the nerve is or what the tumor has done to the nerve, making surgeons more or less blind when going in. This technique has stood the test of time, it was introduced in the 1940s/50s. Surgery has now moved on but has left parotid surgery behind.

Can you describe your research that has led to the groundbreaking new procedure for salivary gland tumors? How does this procedure work?

There have been developments in MRI scanning, the machines essentially use much bigger magnets now which allow the scans to produce more detail, with each layer being less than a millimeter apart. This allows us to now find the tiny nerves that come out of the skull base, these can be followed through the gland, though still difficult. Our radiologist picked up on this quicker than most and began to draw diagrams of this.

The initial diagrams were hard to understand and did not represent the 3d dimensions. It just so happened that I was working with the Microsoft HoloLens, which produces augmented reality holograms, for other purposes. We looked into whether we can take the information from the MRI scan, along with Simons tracings of the nerve, and turn these into holograms.

We are currently the only team in the world who can do this, although we have been trying very hard to export this to a number of units in the far east, USA, and throughout Europe.

The advantage of this is that we now have a more minimal approach that works with this treatment, which came from a team in Manchester years ago. This involves peeling back a smaller part of the skin and carefully dissecting the lump, almost opening it up like a flower in the sense of peeling back each petal. This still meant that surgeons were working blind meaning that they were reluctant to pick up the procedure even though it statistically much better results in terms of injury and morbidity.

The fact that we have this new visual information coming in and a technique that can accommodate this allows us to reduce the size of the operation and move to a minimally invasive approach, as many surgeries have done or are heading towards.

Salivary Gland Tumor. Image Credit: Orawan Pattarawimonchai/Shutterstock.com

Do you believe that this procedure will help to plan more accurate surgeries and improve patient outcomes? Why is this?

Yes, I do. There is still a lot of new developments coming in. Currently, you can look at the hologram of the gland, interact with it and examine it before surgery. We are now only a few months away from having the hologram co-localized onto the patient during surgery. This allows us to essentially see through patients and plan exactly where to make cuts.

I think this will facilitate the introduction of more minimally invasive surgery, improve it, and make it more reliable.

What are some of the limitations and barriers with this treatment option?

Right now, you have to have an enthusiastic radiologist as it can be a lot of extra work, each model can take 40 minutes to build. The radiologist also has to have a good eye to track the nerve. We can get over this by using artificial intelligence and machine learning to assist with tracing the larger structures such as the parotid gland and jaw, this is a few years away.

The cost of the equipment is not that expensive, it is really the extra work put on to the radiologist. I think surgeons may be reluctant to change and embrace new technologies, and it may be the younger surgeons that take this on more. However, these are not large limitations to us.

As more advanced technology and software becomes available, do you believe that this procedure will continue to become more accurate and precise at detailing the surgery area?

We are only at the start of a revolution in imaging. With new MRI scans, we can see more than ever, you will soon be able to look at a body and see within it using augmented reality. There are a few barriers to this such as breasts and bowels, which are very mobile and will move when a patient goes from lying down to sitting up.

We will likely be able to get over this by using ultrasound to marry into these images and recorrect them in real-time. I envision much more minimally invasive surgeries in the future with this improved imagery and the introduction of things like artificial intelligence. This is just the start.

MRI Scans. Image Credit: sfam_photo/Shutterstock.com

What are the next steps in your research into oral cancer?

Moving forward on a broad front. We have introduced SNB which allows people with early stages of mouth cancer to avoid a full neck dissection, about 70%. We are currently training units to implement this. This technique can be used in the parotid and the skin around the head and neck to reduce the magnitude of surgery.

My career is coming slowly to an end now, many of these projects can take 5-12 years to come to fruition. I want to leave a legacy of people looking at and using new technologies to minimize surgery. This is why I set up the Head and Neck Cancer Foundation.

To leave this legacy, we need two approaches: a flexible mind, meaning not getting stuck on the same techniques, and to utilize new technology that might not be designed for medicine but can be adapted to produce some remarkable results when matched with new technologies in medicine.

Where can readers find more information?

Readers can find more information about the Head and Neck Cancer Foundation and the work Mark is pioneering at www.hncf.org.uk.

About Professor Mark McGurk

Professor McGurk is the director of the Head & Neck Academic Centre at University College London Hospital. His clinical practice has centered on head and neck cancer surgery and minimally invasive management of salivary gland disease as have his research themes.

He has championed minimally invasive surgery for benign parotid tumors and obstructive salivary gland disorders. This has revolutionized the treatment of salivary gland disease and it is now no longer necessary to routinely remove salivary glands for benign disease.
Popular workplace communication and collaboration platform Slack is expanding its messaging functionality. The platform will now allow Slack users to send direct messages to any other Slack user. The feature is called Connect DMs.

According to a Protocol report, Slack lets you send an invitation to anyone through their work email address. When the recipient accepts the invitation, they are added as a new contact in the Slack sidebar. The report notes that the new messaging functionality turns the workplace platform into an application for messaging anyone. The feature also brings Slack on par with popular tools like Microsoft Teams.

WhatsApp for work? Slack now lets you message anyone, no matter where they workP (Protocol)

The report further said that the feature was in the works for quite some time, even before Salesforce acquired the company. The rollout, however, is aimed at keeping the platform competitive as the likes of Teams and Zoom grow in popularity.

Slack also faces questions on keeping users safe now that it has expanded the direct messaging functionality. Some users on Twitter also pointed out a few loopholes that could potentially lead to abuse. For instance, a sender can send an invitation with foul language or send abusive messages.

well that was easy as shit to abuse



- send invite with nasty language

- slack emails you w/ the full content of the invite

- can't block the emails because they come from a generic slack address that informs you of invites

- abuser can keep inviting w/ abusive language https://t.co/Mw9W5L251a pic.twitter.com/dWEAD7ccRO  Menotti Minutillo (@44) March 24, 2021

The company has been quick to acknowledge the problems. The company said it had removed the ability to customise a message when a user invites someone to Slack Connect DMs.

I will be definitely asking the admins of the Slack workspaces I use to turn this off if possible.   (@millenomi) March 24, 2021

Slack Connect's security features and robust administrative controls are a core part of its value both for individual users and their organisations. We made a mistake in this initial roll-out that is inconsistent with our goals for the product and the typical experience of Slack Connect usage. As always, we are grateful to everyone who spoke up, and we are committed to fixing this issue, Slack VP of Communications and Policy Jonathan Prince said.
The Customs House is reflected in the window of the Ulster Bank, in Dublin, Ireland, on March 1, 2021. (Clodagh Kilcoyne /Reuters)

NatWests Ulster Bank Fined Record 38 Million Euros for Mortgage Overcharging

DUBLINIrelands central bank on Thursday fined NatWests Irish business, Ulster Bank, a record 37.8 million euros for overcharging mortgage customers, some of whom lost their homes after being denied their right to a cheaper tracker mortgage.

The penalty was almost twice the largest fine previously laid down by the regulator on any institution, a 21 million euro reprimand for permanent tsb in 2019, also for failing to offer customers a mortgage that tracked the European Central Bank rate that has been at or close to zero for almost a decade.

Irish banks have paid out almost 700 million euros ($826.84 million) to compensate 40,000 borrowers denied the mortgage product that was widely offered during the countrys housing boom in the mid 2000s and withdrawn for new customers when the financial crisis hit.

Additional failings that contributed to Ulster Banks larger fine included what the central bank said was a deliberate strategy to seek to entice customers to convert their tracker rates to fixed rates during 2008.

The bank also failed to meet a statutory deadline to provide information to the central bank, forcing the regulator to take an unprecedented step of starting potential legal proceedings. Ultimately this was unnecessary as the information was provided.

Our investigation identified the numerous opportunities that UBID [Ulster Bank Ireland DAC] had to do right by its customers and the efforts that UBID went to in order to evade its obligations, Irish Central Bank Director General, Financial Conduct, Derville Rowland, said in a statement.

It is unacceptable for any regulated entity to treat its customers in this way.

Of the 5,940 individual customers impacted by Ulster Banks failings, 43 lost their properties as a result being unable to meet their mortgage repayments.

The fine for Ulster Bank, which NatWest announced last month it would wind down after years of under-performance, was reduced from almost 54 million euros in accordance with the central banks settlement discount rules.

The central bank launched a probe into the overcharging in 2015 and also fined KBC Bank Ireland 18.3 million euros last year. Other banks remain under investigation.

By Padraic Halpin
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.
FILE - In this Feb. 25, 2021, file photo, Rachel Levine, nominated to be an assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services, testifies before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee on Capitol Hill in Washington. Voting mostly along party lines, the U.S. Senate on March 24, confirmed Levine to be assistant secretary of health. She becomes the first openly transgender federal official to win Senate confirmation. (Caroline Brehman/Pool via AP, File)
SEVEN Prince Edward High School pupils have tested positive to Covid-19 after the boarding learners took polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests at Parirenyatwa Hospital.

In a memo sent to parents Wednesday, Prince Edward school head Agrippa Sora said the school was waiting for more results for the remaining 265 boarding students.

All the seven pupils who tested positive are in Advanced Level.

"Prince Edward School boarders were sent for Covid-19 testing at Parirenyatwa taking advantage of the free PCR testing being availed by The Higher Life Foundation," Sora stated.

"This was done as a precautionary measure. Unfortunately, the first batch of the results has indicated that seven Upper Six boarders tested positive for Covid-19. The rest of the results are still to come in but all 265 boarders were tested with the last test done on Wednesday 24 March.

"The affected have been quarantined while awaiting instruction from the Ministry of Secondary Education. All the relevant authorities have been informed."

Sora said the pupils would return to class after the mandatory eight-day quarantine.

Government reopened schools for examination classes Monday last week and the rest of the learners this week, but teachers' unions raised have raised concerns over the preparedness of schools to ensure safety of students and teachers against Covid-19.
More Australian-made coronavirus vaccines could be sent to Papua New Guinea, which is in the grips of a dire outbreak.

PNG, which is just kilometres from Australia's northernmost islands, faces a worsening crisis with hundreds of new cases recorded each day despite low testing rates.

While the federal government has delivered an initial 8480 doses of the AstraZeneca jab, more locally produced stocks could be sent to Australia's northern neighbour.

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade secretary Frances Adamson said the government was aware of the urgency of the situation.

PNG faces a worsening crisis with hundreds of new cases recorded each day despite low testing rates. Pictured: Port Moresby general hospital

Pharmaceutical giant CSL is contracted to manufacture 50 million AstraZeneca (pictured) doses in Melbourne during the year

'The possibility of some of Australia's domestically produced stocks being able to be used for this purpose is certainly something that is live but yet formally to be decided by government,' she said on Thursday.

Pharmaceutical giant CSL is contracted to manufacture 50 million AstraZeneca doses in Melbourne during the year.

Greens senator Janet Rice told a Senate estimates hearing there was an urgent and dire need for vaccines in Papua New Guinea.

'We've got this absolute tragedy unfolding in PNG,' she said.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne indicated cabinet would consider the issue of sending more Australian-made vaccines.

'That is something which must be on the table,' she said.

Australia has also pledged to redirect one million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine ordered from Europe to PNG.

But there are doubts those vials will ever leave Europe where countries are desperately trying to hang on to domestic stocks.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne indicated cabinet would consider the issue of sending more Australian-made vaccines

Australia has also pledged to redirect one million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine ordered from Europe to PNG

Ms Adamson said all of Australia's European missions were advocating for the plight of PNG in an effort to ensure the vaccines are released.

'It's not one of a long list of things we're doing, it's the top priority in Europe,' she said.

DFAT's Robin Davies said the PNG government was not expecting to be ready to rollout a mass vaccination campaign until mid-May.

'There are genuine limitations,' he said.

Almost 300,000 doses are expected to be delivered to PNG in April through the global COVAX arrangement for poorer nations.
Zoom made nearly $672 million in 2020 and yet avoided paying any federal income tax, according to its latest annual report.

The Silicon Valley company, founded in 2011 by Eric Yuan, has seen its profits skyrocket during the pandemic.

Zoom reported earlier this month it made $672 million in its fiscal year ended January 31, up 3,200 per cent from the $21 million it reported making during the previous fiscal year.

The sum marks a 4,000 per cent increase on its 2019 profits.

Eric Yuan, 51, founded Zoom in 2011 and in December cashed in $72 million in stock

But Zoom admitted that it did not pay any federal income tax on those profits, despite the corporate tax rate being set at 21 per cent.

The company is thought to have swerved tax perfectly legally, by making use of stock-based compensation for employees.

The move helped reduce its worldwide tax bill by more than $302 million for the year ending January 31.

Corporations that pay their executives in stock often benefit from a provision in the federal tax code that lets them write off expenses that appear far larger than their actual cost, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

'This is a strategy that has been leveraged effectively by virtually every tech giant in the last decade, from Apple to Facebook to Microsoft,' said Matthew Gardner, a senior fellow at the think tank, in a blog post detailing Zoom's tax discount.

'Zoom's success in using stock options to avoid taxes is neither surprising nor (currently) illegal.'

Zoom's profits have risen 3,200 per cent over the past year, thanks to the pandemic

Zoom has become an indispensable tool for millions of people worldwide

Zoom paid $580 million in stock compensation alone in 2020, much of it likely to a handful of top executives, according to a calculation by CBS MoneyWatch based on the company's latest financial filings.

Yuan had a cash salary of $300,000 for 2020, yet on a single day in mid-December he cashed in a stock grant worth nearly $72 million.

Zoom also, CBS reported, booked a $300 million tax credit last year to use against future earnings - which will also reduce what the company will owe to the tax authorities for years to come.

'We are allowing companies to legally exempt a big chuck of income from taxation,' Gardner told CBS.

Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator who has campaigned for tougher corporate tax laws, said that Zoom was taking advantage of the 'rigged' corporate tax code.

'If you paid $14.99 a month for a Zoom Pro membership, you paid more to Zoom than it paid in federal income taxes even as it made $660 million in profits last year  a 4,000 percent increase since 2019,' he tweeted on Sunday.

Zoom's tax schemes are entirely legal and use existing mechanisms to avoid tax

Zoom did pay about $5.7 million in global income taxes last year, giving it an effective tax rate of just 0.8 percent, according to the annual report.

That amount included about $1 million in state taxes and some $3.9 million in foreign taxes.

The company also recorded a deferred federal income tax expense of $689,000, though that's separate from its federal tax bill.

A Zoom spokesperson said the company 'complies with all applicable tax laws' in the nations where it does business.

It has also invested in research and development to bolster its communications technology, which is 'specifically encouraged under current law,' the spokesperson said.

Research and development credits reduced Zoom's total income tax bill by about $3.2 million last fiscal year, its annual filing shows.

'We are proud of the role we have played through this technology in supporting and fueling the US economy, particularly during the pandemic, enabling tens of thousands of businesses and schools to continue operating,' Zoom said.
Hopes escalating for post-pandemic growth in M&A

Vietnam has witnessed only a few merger and acquisition (M&A) deals since the beginning of 2021. Thailands SCG acquired 70 per cent stake in Duy Tan Plastics while Danish group BioMar scooped up a majority share in Viet-Uc.

Commenting on this trend, Masataka Sam Yoshida, head of the Cross-border Division of RECOF Corporation, said that this situation is just temporary, and a bright future is expected ahead. For instance, Japanese investors have become more cautious than ever after the latest wave of the pandemic in Japan.

Vietnam has been extremely successful in keeping the pandemic under control, but the strict travel restrictions make it difficult for Japanese companies to arrange short-term business travels, which are fundamental and crucial in considering and proceeding with M&A transactions. Having said that, the rationale for the investment in Vietnam has not changed. Vietnam has much higher growth potential than Japan where the economy is too mature. We are aware that Japanese companies remain interested in Vietnam, even though they are not active at this moment, he said.

According to RECOFs M&A database, the number of outbound transactions from Japan decreased by 33 per cent to 557 transactions in 2020, while the same number in Vietnam declined by 30 per cent to 23. Vietnam ranked sixth as the destination country for Japan among all countries worldwide, and second only to Singapore in Southeast Asia.

Sam Yoshida added, COVID-19 has been the sole reason for the recent sluggish M&A transactions between Vietnam and Japan, so assuming the COVID-19 will be subdued with the start of vaccinations and the removal of travel restrictions, we are more than confident that the market will recover in the latter half of 2021.

Meanwhile, Vo Ha Duyen, chairwoman of Vietnam International Law Firm, cited data by the Corporate Investment and Mergers & Acquisitions Center showing that the value of M&A deals in Vietnam in 2020 dropped by about a half from 2019. Various factors may have affected such activities, she said  the pandemic has had a significant impact on the global economy and also caused difficulties to dealmaking, while travel bans and lockdowns have hampered M&A due diligences and negotiation meetings.

According to Duyen, the ongoing changes to the laws of Vietnam have also contributed to some uncertainties. Under the new Law on Competition, a substantially higher percentage of M&A deals are subject to merger control filing requirements than under the old laws. Investors initially hoped that the introduction of the 30-day preliminary review track to the merger control filing procedure under the new law would help reduce procedural burdens.

Nonetheless, because sub-law regulatory guidance has not been issued, it seems that a majority of filing cases have not seen application of the 30-day preliminary review and have been subject to complex and uncertain evaluations which last for months.

In addition, local departments of planning and investment have had difficulties in applying the new Law on Investment as documents guiding the implementation of the law have not been issued. This could increase cases in which the licensing authorities have to seek opinions from other relevant authorities, which may contribute to delays in the M&A process.

We hope that new decrees and circulars providing detailed and favourable regulatory guidance will be issued soon to support the competition and investment authorities in dealing efficiently with M&A transactions and to effectively reduce the time gap and uncertainties in the procedures, helping boost the recovery of M&A activities when the pandemic settles down, Duyen said.

According to Vietnam M&A Forum Research Team, a number of mega deals are expected to be secured in 2021. Foreign investors from South Korea, Japan, Singapore, and Thailand will continue to dominate the market with the value of deals reaching up to $500 million. At present, Vietnams M&A market remains attractive to investors despite the impact of the global health crisis  in particular, in the second and third quarter of 2020 Vietnam witnessed more M&A deals after the country successfully contained the summer wave of infections.

That being said, Vietnam is hopeful about potential for post-pandemic M&A growth. Some experts have forecast that the main sectors that will contribute to the recovery of value in Vietnam are telecommunications, energy, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, education, and e-commerce.

Sam Yoshida from RECOF said that Japanese companies are concerned with stability of global supply chains. Vietnam is not only competitive as a location for manufacturing, but also it stands at the crossroads in terms of free trade agreements with major economic zones and so is well positioned.

Additionally, more Japanese companies are paying attention to sustainability and technology innovations, and they are eagerly looking for opportunities to apply their expertise, such as in renewable energy, smart cities, AI, and more in Vietnam, where the people are open to new ideas, he said. As for the pandemic, we highly evaluate Vietnams success in keeping the pandemic under control, and this fact makes the country even more attractive for the Japanese investors.
Jane Fonda stuns in a figure-hugging dress on the cover of the April issue of Harper's Bazaar, but despite her undeniable sex appeal, the 83-year-old says she has no desire to be in another sexual relationship.

'I dont want to be in a relationship, a sexual relationship, again. I dont have that desire,' she told the magazine.

Yet Jane, who had three long-lasting marriages from the '60s through the '00s, did share her fantasy about meeting a younger man  a professor type  but admitted that she doesn't think she is capable of intimacy.

Glam! Jane Fonda stuns in a figure-hugging Ralph Lauren Collection on the cover of the April issue of Harper's Bazaar

Va-va-voom! Despite her undeniable sex appeal, the 83-year-old says she has no desire to be in another sexual relationship

'I dont want to be in a relationship, a sexual relationship, again. I dont have that desire,' she said

Though the Academy Award winner  who this month became the oldest Harper's Bazaar cover star in the magazine's 153-year history  asserted that she doesn't want to be in another sexual relationship, she admitted that that doesn't mean she doesn't think about it.

'Do I fantasize? Yes, heres my fantasy. Ill just put it out there. That I meet a professor or a researcher, somebody in that line who is really capable of loving, of cherishing a woman, so that I could test myself and see if I could show up,' she said.

'I think maybe now I could, but the problem is that, like a man, I would want a younger man. Isnt that awful? Its a thing about skin. I would want a younger man, and Im too vain.'

On 'showing up,' Jane said that one of the 'painful' things she has learned about herself as she has grown older is that she is 'not really capable' of intimacy.

'Its not them. Its me. If a guy had come along and said, "Come on, Fonda, show up," I would have run away scared,' she reflected.

'I was attracted to men who never would have done that to me because they couldnt necessarily show up themselves. I didnt know that at the time, but now I know. I dont think I can do anything about it now, but thats the truth, as Lily [Tomlin] would say. Thats the truth.'

Candid: She did share her fantasy about meeting a younger man  a professor type  but admitted that she doesn't think she is capable of intimacy

On 'showing up,' Jane said that one of the 'painful' things she has learned about herself as she has grown older is that she is ' not really capable' of intimacy

'Im attracted to people who can teach me things and whose lives are different from mine, and so I give myself over to that,' she said

Jane has had a series of longterm relationships in her life, starting with her marriage to French film director Roger Vadim, whom she started dating in 1963. They were married from 1965 to 1973 and share daughter Vanessa Vadim, 52.

She was married to activist Tom Hayden from 1973 to 1990, with whom she shares son Troy Garity, 47. The pair also adopted Mary Williams, 53.

From 1991 to 2001 she was married to CNN founder Ted Turner, and from 2009 to 2017 she was in a relationship with record producer Richard Perry.

'Part of the reason I get into a relationship with a man is because I feel that he can take me down a new path,' Jane, who recently accepted the Cecil B. de Mille Award at the Golden Globes, said.

'Im attracted to people who can teach me things and whose lives are different from mine, and so I give myself over to that.

'First of all, I want to please him. Thats a problem. When I married Ted  I mean, marrying Ted is like marrying 15 people  you have to learn how to hunt, so I did. You have to learn how to fly-fish, so I did. He liked me to dress sexy, so I did. And so forth.

'I wanted to. Why be with Ted Turner if youre not going to allow yourself to be absorbed in his reality and learn from it? And Im glad I did.'

'Part of the reason I get into a relationship with a man is because I feel that he can take me down a new path,' Jane said

'When I married Ted [Turner],' she said, 'you have to learn how to hunt, so I did. You have to learn how to fly-fish, so I did. He liked me to dress sexy, so I did. And so forth'

Speaking up: Jane also discussed her activism, explaining how her definition of 'power' changed after going to North Vietnam in 1972 (pictured at a climate change protest in 2019)

Jane's interview also covered her political activism, with the actress explaining how her definition of 'power' changed after going to North Vietnam in 1972.

'Going to a country that was not industrialized, where most of the people were peasants and fishermen and -women. They didnt even have heavy equipment to fill in bomb holes and stuff, and we couldnt defeat them,' she said.

'That taught me that power has to come from inside. It has to come from knowing who you are, why youre on earth, what is the meaning of your life. Thats power.

'And it helped me understand what to do with my third act, because third acts are scary. Its not the getting old part. Its the finiteness of third acts.'

As for what's next, she spoke about holding President Biden accountable for what he promised to do in office.

'People of color and young people put him in office. Theres no question. And he made promises. So we have to hold his feet to the fire and make sure that he follows through,' she said.

Though she said that 'so far it's looking good,' there is still some 'pushing' to be done, citing how Biden delivered on his campaign promise to revoke the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline but did not commit to a 'just transition' so that 'all those workers are not going to be floating around without a job?'
In its first-ever report on China policy strategy, Switzerland says it wants to create greater coherence with communist China. It also indicates there are clear differences in values between the two countries. The central European nation also emphasizes human rights abuses in communist China. Beijings embassy in Switzerland denounced the report in response.
To my knowledge, this was being done by staff within the Prime Ministers media team, she wrote. Mr Morrison later told Parliament in afternoon question time that another person had contacted Mr Kunkel to support Ms Higgins claim. Describing the person as a primary and direct source, Mr Morrison said he had asked Mr Kunkel to investigate the claim of backgrounding with the assistance of the Department of Finance. Loading We have a process for dealing with that [allegation] and I think it is important that with things like this, that I allow how you deal with these matters to be done properly, Mr Morrison told A Current Affair. Days after the sacking of a Liberal adviser for filming himself in a solo sex act in a Liberal MPs office, Finance Minister Simon Birmingham said he was taking all steps possible to ensure there were consequences for anyone found to have done the wrong thing.

But the government is waiting for staff to volunteer themselves or identify others involved in sharing the images. The reshuffle, expected within days, will move Mr Porter out of the Attorney-Generals post over concerns of a conflict of interest while he takes defamation action against the ABC over its reporting of an alleged historical rape, which he denies. While he could remain in his other portfolio of Industrial Relations, another option is to transfer him to the employment portfolio held by Michaelia Cash so she can take his dual portfolio in a job swap. The would limit other changes to the cabinet. An alternative is a similar swap with Communications Minister Paul Fletcher. The leading contender to replace Senator Reynolds is Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, with Government Services Minister Stuart Robert named as a likely choice for the home affairs portfolio. A key concern for the government is that dropping Mr Porter from cabinet and the ministry would be a concession that an accusation was enough for a minister to lose their job. Mr Morrison commended Mr Porter in Parliament on Thursday on his work in his portfolio and has argued for weeks that it is not for the Prime Minister to judge the claim against him, saying it was a matter for the police.

Asked if he had full confidence in Mr Porter and Senator Reynolds, the Prime Minister told A Current Affair that they would stay in cabinet. Loading They will continue to play a very important role in my cabinet, he said. Asked if he would move them to different ministries, he said: When I make judgments about those things Ill announce them. Mr Morrison criticised Senator Reynolds over some of her response to the alleged rape in her office, saying it was disgraceful she called Ms Higgins a lying cow last month.

He also acknowledged that people in the government failed to give Ms Higgins enough support after the alleged rape in March 2019, even though they were seeking to help. But they were relying on the very processes that were not up to the job as well, he said. Mr Morrison said he was gaining a deeper understanding of the challenges for women and believed the country had to deal with the issues so women would not face the daily humiliations and degradations that included but were not limited to violence. Each and every day, it saps women in this country, he said. And thats what Im hearing. And I need to keep hearing of because I need to understand that even more deeply than I believe Ive been able to understand in the past month.

Loading Labor leader Anthony Albanese declared Mr Morrison was trying to dodge taking action over sexual harassment and assault. After eight long years what weve seen over this last fortnight is a tired, stale government thats unravelling before our eyes, disintegrating before our eyes, Mr Albanese told Parliament. This is a Prime Minister who has an ear of tin, a heart of stone and a wall of concrete to shield him from the concerns of his fellow Australians. He is an angry man who has mastered the rare art of clenching a glass jaw. Labor education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek questioned whether Mr Morrisons tears in a press conference on Tuesday were all an act about the concerns of women given his angry response to a journalist moments afterwards.

Loading The tragedy for Australian women today is, if we started crying about the women we know who have been raped and murdered and sexually assaulted and sexually harassed, if we started crying for the women that we know that this has happened to, we would never stop, Ms Plibersek said. She named rape victims Anita Cobby, Janine Balding and Eurydice Dixon as well as Hannah Clarke, who was murdered with her three children by her estranged husband. I remember all these women. We all do. It takes more than tears, Ms Plibersek said. It takes legislative change. It takes culture change. It takes working with our young people from their earliest days.
In this Oct. 1, 2019, file photo, Chinese People's Liberation Army soldiers march in formation during a parade to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in Beijing. The Chinese government will have the ability to invade Taiwan sooner than current predictions would suggest, U.S. President Joe Biden's nominee to lead America's Indo-Pacific Command said on Tuesday. AP




Growers looking for ways to take advantage of carbon credits can with Envita

RALEIGH, NC / ACCESSWIRE / March 25, 2021 / A greenhouse gas impact study commissioned by Azotic North America the manufacturers of Envita nitrogen fixing bacteria, indicates that significant carbon dioxide (CO2) emission reductions can be obtained through using Envita. In addition to providing increased yields to crops via N-Fixation, the study conducted by an independent third party, shows the use of Envita may qualify for significant carbon credits through its use.

How much is Envita worth in carbon credits?

The greenhouse gas impact study shows Envita N-fixing bacteria reduces carbon footprint in corn while increasing yields. Market conditions ultimately dictate what a carbon credit is worth. Current carbon pricing ranges between $18 to $30/tonne CO2 equivalent (CO2e).

Here's how Envita would return using $20 per metric tonne (or CO2e) per carbon credit.

An Envita-treated corn field producing a yield of 200 bushels per acre equals 5 tonnes of corn per ac. At a CO2 reduction rate of 65 Kg per tonne of corn, this field would provide a reduction of 325 kg of CO2 per ac. That's 1/3 of a tonne of CO2 reduced per acre by using Envita. You could receive $6.25/ac in carbon credits by using Envita.

Grower Returns improve as the carbon market increases.

"Sustainability in agriculture has quickly evolved from a topic of interest to a top priority," explains Ray Chyc CEO of Azotic North America and Azotic Technologies, "These are early days in the monetization of carbon in everyday farming, but it won't be long before carbon is factored in with equal focus as seed, fertilizer and inputs. We are excited to see the carbon offsets that Envita can bring to crops like corn and are working with experts in the carbon markets to determine how to turn the Envita carbon credit story into real dollars in farmers pockets."

Why does Envita have such a significant impact on the carbon footprint?

Envita N-fixing bacteria is applied in-furrow or as a foliar spray and enables cells throughout the entire plant to fix their own nitrogen. Envita naturally metabolizes N directly from the air, which is 78% nitrogen. The plant, drawing more N from the atmosphere, also pulls additional CO2 from the atmosphere as part of photosynthesis, which reduces the carbon footprint of that crop, leading to carbon credits.

Farmers using Envita to reduce applied nitrogen while maintaining yields increase their carbon credit potential even more. The combination of using less fertilizer and the process of pulling N from the atmosphere improves the crop's carbon score.

Study shows Envita gives growers a choice

The greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from producing most crops have three primary components, the emissions from on farm energy consumption, the emissions from the manufacturing of fertilizers, and the nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions associated with the decomposition of nitrogenous fertilizers and crops residues. The proportion of the three components varies with the crop and the producing region. The last component, the N2O emissions, is generally the largest of the three components for most crops. Growers earn credits for using the same rates of applied nitrogen with Envita or earn more with a reduction in applied nitrogen.

Azotic North America has undertaken field trials on a number of crops through North America. Azotic Technologies have undertaken similar work in Europe. The field trials suggest that Envita could be employed with two different strategies.

In one approach it would be used with normal fertilization practices to achieve higher crop yields (Table ES-1) In the second approach, nitrogen fertilizer rates would be reduced but normal yields would be achieved with Envita supplying the plant with the remainder of its nitrogen requirements. (Tables ES-3)

##

For more information contact:

Mary Fearon, Director Communications

Azotic North America

maryfearon@azotic-na.com

289-440-2654

About the Envita Carbon Study

The GHG emission calculations in this report follow the IPCC guidelines and use the regional N2O emission factors developed by Agriculture and AgriFood Canada. All of the carbon footprint standards and protocols outline specific inclusions and exclusions to be included in the system boundaries. For this work the system boundary for all product systems includes; 1) The seeds, fertilizers and pesticides acquired and applied to the soil and plants, including the GHG emissions associated with the production, transportation and application of these crop inputs, 2) The fuel and energy consumed in the field work (tillage, seeding, fertilizing, spraying, and harvesting activities) and the transportation of the product from the field to the on farm storage bin. This includes the emissions associated with the production and use of the energy products, and, 3) The emissions from the decomposition of the applied fertilizer products and the crop residues that are left on the field after harvesting the grains and oilseeds. Changes in soil carbon resulting from changes in land management are excluded from this work. The high yield scenario should produce more biomass and potentially could lead to increased soil carbon, but this will be site dependent and dependent on the past and present tillage practices.

About the global climate change initiative

To learn more about the history and focus of global climate change initiatives, the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change, provides more information. The IPCC was created to provide policymakers with regular scientific assessments on climate change, its implications and potential future risks, as well as to put forward adaptation and mitigation options. Visit https://www.ipcc.ch/

About Envita

Envita is a naturally-occurring, food grade microbe that provides plants with the ability to fix their own nitrogen from the air replacing an average of 27% of their nitrogen needs in corn. When applied in furrow or on seed, Envita grows with the plant, metabolizing nitrogen from the atmosphere which is 78% nitrogen. Growers can choose to use Envita with their regular fertility program for a yield boost or deliver same yields using less nitrogen. "Row crop farmers are quite familiar with the natural nitrogen fixing abilities of crops like soybeans. Now imagine that crops like corn can also fix nitrogen on their own and not just in the roots - throughout the entire plant, all season long. It's like turning crops into nitrogen-fixing machines," says John Squire, Lead Agronomist North America, Azotic. "Whether farmers are looking to boost their yields, reduce their nitrogen, or both, Envita provides options."

About Azotic North America

Azotic North America was formed to introduce this natural nitrogen-fixing technology to farmers in North America. With a North American offices in Raleigh, North Carolina, Guelph, Ontario and a global office in Nottingham, UK, Azotic has taken more than 20 years of academic research and created the first large scale, commercially available nitrogen-fixation product and is now offering it to farmers across the globe. Finally, there is no compromise between high yield production agriculture and nitrogen sustainability.

SOURCE: Azotic North America

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/637449/Carbon-Study-Shows-CO2-Emission-Reductions-Up-to-65-Kgtonne-of-Corn-with-Envita
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
(Natural News) British health authorities will soon ask every adult in the country to get tested for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) at least twice a week.

Britains testing chiefs are set to release an advertising campaign to encourage the public to play their part in beating the last throes of the pandemic. The campaign will ask the public to test themselves using a self-test kit at least twice a week in a bid to ease the country out of lockdown.

The testing chiefs hope that more people with asymptomatic coronavirus cases can be identified by the medical system if the countrys adult population voluntarily gets tested regularly. Public health officials believe this will further drive down the spread of COVID-19.

British news outlet The Times reported that this new voluntary testing drive will be supplemented by a program that will test and analyze the countrys sewage systems for traces of the coronavirus. This will supposedly help the government spot spikes in COVID-19 cases in areas where fewer people are subjecting themselves to tests.

Once the voluntary testing is able to identify more cases in certain areas across the country, the government will then quickly step in with surge testing, or mass testing. Government releases have stated that surge testing has successfully been used in areas with higher levels of new variants of the coronavirus. (Related: New, more transmissible coronavirus variant from the Philippines detected in the UK.)

Conservative Party faction wants lockdown to end right away

Officials within the countrys ruling Conservative Party are touting the combination of voluntary testing, national sewage monitoring and surge testing as a means of preventing future lockdowns.

This comes as many within the party are threatening to vote against a bill that would extend the emergency powers given to the government due to the coronavirus pandemic until September.

The dissenting conservative members of parliament (MPs) are warning Prime Minister Boris Johnson that Britain risks squandering the advantages of our vaccination program by moving far too slowly to lift lockdown restrictions and restart the economy.

The detention powers in the Coronavirus Act are disproportionate, extreme and wholly unnecessary, said Conservative MP Steve Baker. The parliamentarian said he will be voting against proposals to extend government powers due to measures such as giving police more power to detain people.

Renewing [the emergency powers] would not be reconcilable with the prime ministers guarantee that we are on a one-way road to freedom by June 21.

Despite the protests within the Conservative Party itself the bill is still expected to pass with little difficulty, thanks to the overwhelming majority the party has in parliament.

We do not want any restrictions to be in place longer than needed, which is why the regulations underpinning the road map expire at the end of June and must be reviewed at least every 35 days, said the government in a statement in response to the growing rebellion within the Conservative Party.

The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), a British pro-free market think tank, argued that the success of the mass vaccination program meant there was now a strong case to move up the governments reopening plan by four weeks. This view has been backed by multiple Conservative MPs.

Even if the vaccination program slows down next month, we are in a far better place than anybody expected in January, said Head of Lifestyle Economics at the IEA Christopher Snowdon.

In just one day we vaccinated the equivalent of the entire adult populations of Liverpool, Southampton and Oxford combined, said Sir Simon Stevens, chief executive of the National Health Service, the countrys government-run healthcare system. Britain recently broke its one-day vaccination record, with 874,000 inoculations given within a span of 24 hours.

Learn more about the U.K.s lockdown and mass testing and vaccination programs by reading the latest articles at Pandemic.news.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

Metro.co.uk

YorkshirePost.co.uk
United Nations:

UN chief Antonio Guterres on Wednesday called on Myanmar to halt its military campaign against Rohingyas in Rakhine state, acknowledging that the Muslim minority was facing ethnic cleansing.



I call on the Myanmar authorities to suspend military activities and violence and uphold the rule of law, he said in a press conference.



After describing reports of security forces attacking civilians as completely unacceptable, Guterres was asked if he agreed that the Rohingya population was being ethnically cleansed.



When one third of the Rohingya population has got to flee the country, can you find a better word to describe it? he replied.

Also read:



RSS leader Indresh Kumar asks Islamic countries to offer Rohingyas citizenship

Rohingya issue: India rejects UN human rights chief's criticism

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
On Wednesday, Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth expressed his gratitude towards the government of India for providing COVID-19 vaccines to the country. The Indian Embassy in Mauritius shared a clip in which Mauritius PM thanked India for its generous donation.

"I would like to place on record our deepest gratitude to the government of India for the generous donation of 100,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and also for its acceptance to supply to Mauritius a further 100,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine and 200,000 doses of COVAXIN," he said.

The Indian embassy in Mauritius tweeted the video of PM Jugnauth and thanked him for appreciating the Indian government.

Mauritius Receives 'Made In India' COVID-19 Vaccines

On Friday, India handed over to Mauritius a commercial supply of 200,000 doses of Covaxin vaccines under the 'Vaccine Maitri' initiative, in a unified attempt to free the world of coronavirus. High Commission of India in Mauritius informed that 2,00,000 doses of Coronavirus vaccines were handed over to Mauritius in a restricted ceremony.

Vaccine Maitri

Meanwhile, India has won global praise for its Vaccine Maitri programme which aims to aid poor countries amidst the global pandemic. As of now, the country has gifted domestically produced vaccinesCovaxin and Covishieldto over 20 countries, including those in the Caribbean and the Middle East. Earlier, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres denominated the vaccine production capacity of India as the "best asset" that the world has today while calling for India to play a major role in the global vaccination campaign.

72 countries have already received vaccines under the 'Vaccine Maitri' programme. Maldives, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Srilanka, and Myanmar are among many countries that were aided by India during the pandemic.

CECPA Mauritius-India

Earlier this month, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Prime Minister Jugnauth entered the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) with Mauritius.

Witnessed the exchange of several MOUs and the signature of the CECPA with @DrSJaishankar Minister of External Affairs of India, further consolidating the strong ties between Mauritius and India.@HCI_PortLouis pic.twitter.com/433Br0x4Gq  Pravind Kumar Jugnauth (@JugnauthKumar) February 22, 2021

(With ANI Inputs)

(Image Credits: AP/PTI)
The fight over the fate of KCPS will be decided by a razor thin margin and betwixt factions that are mostly unknown to Kansas City voters.

Because this town doesn't really have a newspaper any more, we'll do our best to explain whilst acknowledging that we're just scratching the surface of a debate that's about 40 years in the making.



Earlier this week a surprise visit to the home of school board member Manny Abarca ignited a social media firestorm rife with racial avarice and political intrigue.

Forgive the interjection . . .

SHAME ON KANSAS CITY MAINSTREAM MEDIA FOR FAKING DIVERSITY INTEREST BUT THEN IGNORING ONE OF THE MOST WIDELY TALKED ABOUT ISSUES IN THE URBAN CORE THIS WEEK!!!



As our friends from both the far-right and radical-left will attest . . . When the conversation doesn't follow the mainstream narrative set by national cable news talk shows . . . Most local "journalists" are clueless, lost and unable to decipher much about the city wherein they work.

To be fair, TKC also needed help deciphering this hot mess.

First, we shared Manny's side of the story and his rebuke of alleged intimidation tactics.

Then, we linked to a video of political campaigner Spark Bookhart and his response.



However, insightful readers asked . . .

How did the debate get so out of control and why are all these folks fighting?!?



We've already talked about the public showdown betwixt Manny Vs. Spark and the contentious rhetoric regarding racial authenticity (or the lack thereof) amid campaign season. From our vantage that's merely chatter focused on persuading voters and nothing more than the inciting incident.



Here's the back story . . .



Right now the School Smart group is making incredible progress advocating for more urban charter schools in small community meetings with help from the Kauffman Foundation along with an impressive list of donors including quite a few corporate interests.

Moreover, longtime political & education player Dr. Cokethea Hill and her group BLAQUE (maybe pronounced like PLAQUE?!?) have been earnestly campaigning for control of the school board with, of course, help from campaigner Spark Bookhart.

They're backing a swing vote for the school board who works with Kaffuman and, obviously, wants to foster more charter schools on the East side: Tanesha Ford.



And this brings us to the "pro public" faction who believe that KCPS is on the right course and will soon achieve accreditation.



Pro public denizens include but aren't limited to Nate Hogan, Pattie Mansur and Jennifer Wolfsie.



Now here's what's at stake and of course everyone will deny it:



IF THE SCHOOL SMART & BLAQUE FACTION WIN THE UPCOMING ELECTION THEN SUPERINTENDENT DR. MARK BEDELL WILL BE OVERRULED ON CHARTER SCHOOLS AND WILL LIKELY BE FORCED OUT!!!



Again, denials are expected but listen closely and voters are unlikely to hear any promises.



Fact is, people smarter than TKC acknowledge the substantial contributions of the Superintendent and realize that yes, KCPS will soon be accredited mostly because Missouri education officials have enough to deal with as they focus on COVID recovery.



More to the point . . .



The Charter Vs. Pro Public debate has sparked bitter divisions among denizens of the urban core and there is no end to the dispute in sight.



Instead . . .



KCPS, like every other cowtown institution, has been crippled by the impact of COVID and the upcoming school board vote has the potential to incite even more radical change.



What's troubling is that local news is ignoring the debate that doesn't just confront voters but future generations of Kansas City residents.



Developing . . .
Assembly elections are scheduled for April 6 in the southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Pondicherry, and from March 27 in the eastern states of West Bengal and Assam.

COVID-19 testing in Tamil Nadu

The bourgeois parties contesting this election have demonstrated their utter contempt for public health. They are actively implementing the herd immunity policy pursued by the world bourgeoisie, encouraging the all-but-uncontrolled spread of coronavirus infection. At the same time, they are mobilizing thousands and organizing their election campaign rallies without even elementary forms of social distancing.

As variant strains of the COVID-19 virus spread rapidly around the world, 47,262 new infections were confirmed in India on the March 21. According to the Union Health Ministry, 85 percent of the total cases are in eight states, including Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. So far 11,787,000 people have been infected in India, and 160,725 people have died.

The re-emergence of the epidemic in the southern state of Tamil Nadu has confirmed 1,437 cases in a single day. So far it has spread to 869,004 people, and 12,618 people have died. In India, which has a population of 1.3 billion, so far 37,143,000 people have been vaccinated with locally-made Covaxin and Covishield vaccines, according to the health department. In Tamil Nadu, which has a population of about 77,000,000, only 1,038,900 people have been vaccinated so far.

In the capital, Chennai, 240,245 people have been vaccinated and 4,179 have died. According to the latest news, 56 students and five parents, including a teacher, have been infected at the government-aided girls high school in Ammapettai, Thanjavur district. Coronavirus has also been found in Pattukottai Boys High School and Alathur Boys High School near Madukkur.

The security, health and livelihoods of the common people are openly sacrificed for the profit pursuit of capitalism. Most of the victims are working people. India has the third highest incidence of COVID-19 infection in the world.

Like governments around the world, Indias Hindu-supremacist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has give up even trying to stop the spread of the virus. Following the BJPs lead, its ally in Tamil Nadu, the regionalist All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government of Edappadi K. Palanichamy, opened schools, factories, transport and business establishments across the state. In addition, AIADMK is conducting an election campaign without any security measures.

The Tamil Nadu state government will sink into debt of Rs 5.70 lakh crore ($87.6 billion) in the coming months. These debts will be imposed by the ruling elite on working people through rising prices and social cuts. In this deteriorating economic situation, Chief Minister Palaniachai has been addressing election campaign meetings organized by the AIADMK around the theme Tamil Nadu on the path to victory.

Thousands of civilians are brought in and unloaded at lorries for public meetings. Even after the Tamil Nadu Transport Department warned that the public should not be accepted like this, reports say that it has been blatantly violated. The BJP and the caste-ist Proletarian Party in the AIADMK alliance have also begun campaigning.

Similarly, the Naam Tamilar Party, which has been campaigning to divide the working class and demand that only ethnic Tamils be allowed to govern Tamil Nadu, organized a huge public meeting in the capital, Chennai, on March 7. The meeting, attended by thousands, also blatantly violated basic COVID-19 rules, such as wearing a mask.

The leading opposition party, the regionalist, Tamil-nationalist Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) rallied tens of thousands of people in Trichy and organized a massive public rally on March 7, calling for a Slogan for Dawn. Other parties complained to the Election Commission of India (ECI) that more than 200,000 people were brought to the public meeting in more than 10,000 vehicles, without complying with any coronavirus safety rules. More than 2 billion rupees (US$27,609,055) were spent on the meeting.

According to the rules of the Election Commission of India, the maximum amount to be spent in an assembly constituency is 3,080,000 rupees (US$42,500).

Indian billionaires are thus spending massive sums for the DMK and AIADMK to capture power, while bringing larger numbers of working and toiling people to public meetings in unsafe lorries, in order to claim that they have the influence and support of the people.

These events again underscore the bankruptcy of the Indian Stalinist parties, whose branches in Tamil Nadu are campaigning as part of a DMK-led electoral alliance, and their allies. The Congress, the Stalinist Communist Party of India, and the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Marumalarchi (Renaissance) Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Indian Union Muslim League and the caste-ist Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (Liberation Panther Party) are all thus signaling they are willing to support the bourgeoisies herd immunity policy.

The longstanding orientation of the Indian Stalinists, seeking to tie workers to a politically debilitating orientation to the Congress, or to whatever bourgeois party seemed most likely to be able to rule in a given country or state, is producing a catastrophe amid the pandemic. They play the critical role in blocking the working class from building an independent, international movement fighting for a scientific and socialist policy against the pandemic.

At the meeting in Trichy, DMK Chairman M.K. Stalin did not utter a single word about the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, he recited seven empty points from his electoral program: economy, water resources, agriculture, education and health, urban development, rural infrastructure, social justice. At this meeting, as at the AMDK meeting, elementary social distancing was not observed.
KNOX COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) - Researchers looked at the effect of covid-19 on Indiana's jail populations and operations. The study was performed by the Center for Health and Justice Research at IU.

Between February and April of 2020 19 Indiana jails saw a decrease of more than 30 percent of their jail population. That level remained through mid-june.

Knox County was one of the surveyed. The population today remains at 25 percent less than normal capacity. Knox County law enforcement officials have done this by limiting the number of people who go to jail. Sheriff Doug Vantlin expects the population to begin rising again as those low-level crimes begin to be addressed.

Knox County is currently working on a project to expand the jail. This is due to overpopulation in the jail.

Vantlin says he and other law enforcement officials plan to review covid-19 changes that worked. However, he says the expansion is still needed.

Vantlin explains, "I've been at this profession for thirty years and this is only the first time that I've seen a jail count go down and it was because of the pandemic. Unfortunately the jail count just, I don't see no letting up."

To access the IU study: Click here
.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........

Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

Sherry Heim has spent so much time alone in the past year that she has invented a new cast of imaginary friends.

The 70-year-old Albuquerque womans isolation has been so intense that she cites a trip to Walgreens for her annual flu shot as almost exciting because she wound up in a waiting area with other people just as hungry for human interaction as she was.

ADVERTISEMENTSkip



................................................................

We were all so eager to talk, it was not even funny, Heim said.

But after a year of COVID-19-related solitude, Heim finally returned to her social element this month: She spent a recent Wednesday morning working on a 300-piece puzzle among a couple of other friends at the Highland Senior Center. The city recently reopened the facility on a limited basis as it resumes some activities at select senior centers and 50-plus fitness centers.

Weve missed this place, Heim said while sitting at a table with the pieces spread before her. Its our club house.

Heim has been a center devotee since she retired from the dental field about 3 years ago. She came for the companionship of a puzzle group but also to use the fitness equipment and to eat lunch. She has also taken watercolor and Spanish classes there.

Highland Senior Center Manager Julianna Brooks said the center is gradually reintroducing certain activities with restricted, by-reservation participation and a slew of new protocols. Brooks said staff members disinfect high-touch areas constantly and perform a more thorough center cleaning at the end of the day. A sign at the centers entrance also announces new requirements for visitors: They must wear face coverings, practice physical distancing and complete a wellness check before coming inside.

Only some programming has returned; the city is focusing for now on fitness and low-contact activities, and opportunities may vary by facility.

We are moving cautiously to ensure safety of our visitors, staff and volunteers during this transition, but will be adding new programs as we are able, Senior Affairs Director Anna Sanchez said in a written statement.

While Brooks said she does not have official data, she knows from conversations that many of the Highland users have now received COVID-19 vaccines, although it is not true for everyone. Heim, for instance, is still awaiting her shot.

As an 18-year veteran of the citys Senior Affairs Department, Brooks said, she knows how important the center is to members. It is a community hub that many visited daily before COVID-19.

Its not just doing a puzzle, she said. Its being around people.

The same holds true at Los Volcanes 50-plus Fitness Center, where the city is now allowing scheduled, 45-minute workout sessions.

Longtime user Theresa Gutierrez, 78, said she particularly missed the other members during the centers yearlong closure.

Its always more fun to work out with other people  see them sweat a little bit, the retired hairdresser and fitness fanatic said with a laugh while waiting outside the center for a recent morning workout.

As exercisers streamed into the Northwest Albuquerque building for a recent session, several made a point of greeting the center custodian by name before heading to their favorite workout machines.

Some in the room had been near-daily visitors before the pandemic hit.

Without it, I was lost, 88-year-old Cosme Pohl said while pausing during a recent session to talk to a Journal reporter.

Pohl made do with situps, pushups and other home-based exercises during the closure but longed for the centers range of equipment. The Korean War veteran, retired barber and Las Vegas, Nevada, poker dealer particularly likes the leg press, although he uses nearly every piece in the room.

Now that its reopened, he said, he intends to return every day.

I enjoy doing exercises, he said. I feel better, and it feels good, and its good for your health.

The citys senior, multigenerational and 50-plus fitness centers were popular venues before the pandemic. Visitors logged more than 343,000 recreation and fitness sessions across the network in fiscal year 2019, according to city data.

But with COVID-19 emerging as a threat last spring, the city shut them March 17, 2020. Older adults are at higher risk for severe COVID-19 and those 65-plus have represented 81% of all U.S. deaths related to the virus, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

On closing the venues, Senior Affairs spokeswoman Kinsey Cooper said the department pivoted services to focus on meals, care coordination, transportation, wellness check-ins on seniors and other critical support services. The department has served nearly 744,000 senior meals since last March, handing them out at drive-up sites and delivering directly to residences. That is more than twice as many senior meals as the city served in the 12 months before the pandemic.

Brooks said staffers at Highland worked to maintain connections with members, even with the centers closed. They did drive-through friendship coffee events and tried to reach as many as possible by phone. She said they recognize the social toll the pandemic has exacted on the centers membership.

It was really heartbreaking, she said.

National polling found that 56% of older Americans felt sometimes or often isolated from others in 2020  more than double the number who reported the same two years earlier.

And about one-third of people ages 50 to 80 also reported having less companionship than before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to polling completed last year for the University of Michigans Institute for Healthcare Policy.

Sitting in the puzzle room/library with Heim earlier this month, 80-year-old Evelyn Dan and her 90-year-old friend Terry said that they missed the camaraderie at the center last year and that doing puzzles alone at home just was not the same. Dan said she was thrilled when she learned that the center was welcoming people back.

I yelled  and said, Hallelujah,  Dan said.
press release

Basic Education Minister Mrs Angie Motshekga is aware and concerned about a video that has gone viral on social media, where a teacher is forcefully combing the hair of learners at a school in Gauteng. While the incident is unfortunate, it is critical to ensure that the School's Code of Conduct as specified in the South African Schools Act is adhered to at all times, but also that teachers do not inadvertently mistreat learners.

In terms of the South African Schools Act, Section 8 (4) every school has a binding Code of Conduct for both learners and teachers, and therefore, it is a correct step for the Gauteng Education MEC to have started a prompt investigation into the matter recorded on video.

The Department of Basic Education has clear guidelines regarding Schools Code of Conduct for both teachers and learners. The School Governing Body of this particular school, as our trusted stakeholder representing parents will take part in dealing with the matter. We await the outcomes of the investigations by the Gauteng MEC of Education regarding this matter.
RESEARCH TRIANGLE, N.C. and MADRID, Spain , March 25, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- JAGGAER hosted the final conference of the RELIEF project as a virtual event on March 17, in which two companies presented solutions for the self-management of pain at the conclusion of the third (field trials) phase of this European pre-commercial procurement (PCP) project to find eHealth solutions for the self-management of chronic pain. The project is funded by the European Unions Horizon 2020 Program.



Antonis Billis, R&D Manager at Gnomon Informatics of Thessaloniki, Greece, presented the Epione mobile app, and Carlos Chiatti, Chairman of Tech4Care srl, of Ancona, Italy, presented the VR-Relief mobile app. The two applications now go forward to commercialization.

The field tests found little difference in the performance of the Epione and VR-Relief apps. The functionalities most highly rated by patients were the ability to monitor activities and sleeping patterns, and self-management maintenance techniques and training recommendations. Physicians valued the information that the app provided about patients before a first visit.

JAGGAER has acted as the coordinator of the project, with the different phases of the process managed through JAGGAERs eTendering platform. The project consortium also included GIP Resah for Groupement dInteret Public, Servicio Andaluz de Salud and Uppsala Lans Landsting, acting as the buyer group for the RELIEF PCP, and the Open University of Catalonia.

The conference was introduced by Oresitis Kalliantzidis of the European Commissions DirectorateGeneral for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG Connect). Project Manager Ana Muniz Alonso presented an overview of the PCP project execution and results on behalf of JAGGAER.

Muniz explained the rationale behind the PCP approach: A pre-commercial procurement project makes sense when a research and development effort is required to satisfy public procurers needs, because there is no solution currently available on the market and, based on preliminary investigation by the user organizations, it is unlikely that such a solution will be available in the foreseeable future.

Speaking on behalf of the RELIEF buyer group, Louis Potel, Jose Carlos Prieto Baena and Rolf Karlsten then presented results and conclusions of the field testing at sites in France, Spain and Sweden. These trials were conducted over three steps: local adaptation of the apps, local pilot tests and clinical studies. The studies faced a number of challenges, some related to Covid-19, but also due to the fact that younger, more ICT-savvy patients had limited time to attend visits to the field test hospitals. Nevertheless, the buyer group reported that patient engagement was impressive.

Best practices in PCP

At the end of the event the speakers, including Knut Martensson, CEO miThings AB and Fotis Gonidis, IT Project Manager, Gnomon Informatics, engaged in a round table discussion on the lessons learnt from the RELIEF PCP and best practices to carry forward. They stressed the differences between a PCP and a more conventional tender process, which requires more effort up front in the open market consultation, Phase 0 of the project, when needs are defined. Louis Potel recommended working more intensely with fewer suppliers in Phase 1 (feasibility) and Phase 2 (prototype development), as the requirement to provide all information to all suppliers on a fair and equal basis is extremely demanding.

There was also consensus in the view that field testing and clinical studies should only be conducted when the prototypes have been fully tested and any technical issues resolved. The third phase of future PCPs should instead be used for more intense co-creation of the solutions and collaboration between buyers and contractors prior to clinical studies.

Knut Martensson looked forward to getting more in-depth evaluations from patients and physicians, which will come about through various channels such as the chronic pain management units of hospitals and patient associations in the commercialization phase, which can now commence.

More information about the Relief project is available here.

About JAGGAER: Procurement Simplified

We drive customer value for buyers and sellers through our global connected network served by offices located in the Americas, APAC, Asia and EMEA. JAGGAER develops and provides comprehensive source-to-settle SaaS-based solutions, including advanced Spend Analytics, Category Management, Supplier Management, Sourcing, Contracts, eProcurement, Invoicing, Supply Chain Management and Inventory Management. These all reside on a single platform, JAGGAER ONE. JAGGAER has pioneered spend management solutions for more than 25 years and continues to lead the innovation curve by listening to customers and stakeholders in all industry sectors, public services and academia.

www.jaggaer.com
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.
In 2021, the Consulate General of Ukraine in Houston will be opened, former Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States Volodymyr Yelchenko said.

"We continue to expand our presence in the United States to be closer and more responsive to the needs of our citizens and businesses. This year we will open a new Consulate General in Houston. This should have happened last year, but unfortunately, as a result of the pandemic, we should have postponed it," he said during an online discussion organized by the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council on Thursday.

In addition, the diplomat said that in 2020, Ukraine managed to increase the export of goods to the United States, which reached almost $1 billion. The export of Ukraine's services also increased by 7.8%, to $1.39 billion. According to Yelchenko, a greater export of services shows changes in the structure of the Ukrainian economy.

"We are becoming more focused on high-tech IT and telecommunications technologies, which today represent the bulk of our exports to the United States. Total Ukrainian IT exports increased by 20% in 2020, with further promising expectations for this year," he said.

The Ukrainian ambassador said that, in close contact with the new U.S. administration, the embassy is working on additional steps in all sectors of the U.S.-Ukrainian bilateral relations.

"Among other priorities, special attention will be paid to new economic opportunities and further improvement of the business climate in Ukraine. I believe that our joint efforts will increase bilateral trade," Yelchenko said.
ROME - Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio was in Tripoli on Thursday together with his German counterpart Heiko Maas and his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian, and said their presence there "testifies to the unity of intent of the European countries most committed to the stabilisation of Libya".



"Today we want to say that Europe will continue to remain alongside the Libyan people and to support them in their journey towards peace," Di Maio said.



"But we are also here to express full support to the Libyan authorities and the institutional transition and reunification process in progress. We are ready to collaborate with the interim unified executive authority and to support it in the next phases of this course," he said.



"Our cooperation with Libya is fundamental also as part of the management of irregular migrant flows. We appreciate the effort of the Libyan authorities in the fight against human traffickers and in patrolling maritime borders. At the same time, we expect maximum effort will be put forth to guarantee respect for essential human rights. In this sense, I confirm Italy's commitment, including within the framework of European action, to support Libya in managing migrant flows and in humanitarian assistance in favour of migrants and refugees," Di Maio said.



"We are ready to further intensify our efforts, starting with training activities for the Libyan Coast Guard and Navy" as part of the mission of Operation Irini, "in which France and Germany also participate operationally", and which contributes to the ceasefire with the control of the arms embargo, he said.



"When requested by the Libyan authorities and in close accord with the United Nations, we are also favourable to European involvement in the monitoring mechanism of the UN ceasefire, currently being finalised," he said.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 25, 2021) - Benchmark Botanics, Inc. (CSE: BBT) (FSE: BBW) ("Benchmark" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company has added two new directors to its board.

Mr. Terry Wang and Mr. Leon Jiao have been appointed to the Company's board of directors. As per the Company's March 18, 2021 press release, Mr. Wang was recently appointed as the Company's Interim CEO. Mr. Jiao, currently the CFO and director of a wine and spirits company, brings valuable marketing, customer service and facility oversight skills to Benchmark Botanics. Mr. Jiao holds a BA degree from Simon Fraser University.

Mr. Haifeng Liu resigned as the Company's President and board director. The Company wishes to thank Mr. Liu for his many valuable contributions, vision and dedication to Benchmark, and wishes him the best in his future endeavours. Mr. Liu has agreed to assist the Company in order to ensure a smooth transition. Additionally, Mr. David Li has resigned as the Company's Chief Financial Officer. Ms. Jin Kuang CPA, CGA, Benchmark's Financial Controller, has been appointed Chief Financial Officer of the Company.

About Benchmark

Benchmark is a diversified multi-licensed cannabis producer focused on a three-way vertical business model targeting the medical and recreational markets in Canada. The Company's business plan also includes a strategy to become a Canadian licensed producer to pioneer selling medical cannabis and hemp throughout Asia, in countries where it is legal to do so.

Benchmark is focused on producing the highest-quality, indoor-grown cannabis for patients and adult recreational consumers, as well as developing international business partnerships to extend the Company's global footprint.

Benchmark's 100% owned subsidiary, Potanicals Green Growers Inc. ("Potanicals") is a Health Canada licensed producer under the Cannabis Act and its regulations. The Company has been producing at its indoor Peachland, BC Cannabis Complex. Along with cultivation and production, the Company's Peachland BC facility also provided propagation, cultivation, cloning, storage, and research and development including genetic enhancements.

As part of its expansion strategy, the Company and a joint venture partner completed a second facility, a 4-acre Greenhouse Operation in Pitt Meadows, BC. The Company, through Potanicals, received its second cultivation license, effective November 29, 2019, from Health Canada for the Pitt Meadows greenhouse.

For further information, please visit the Company's website at www.benchmarkbotanics.com or the Company's profile at www.sedar.com.

If you would like to be added to Benchmark's news distribution list, please sign up at Investor Relations info@bbtinc.ca

BENCHMARK BOTANICS INC.

"Terry Wang"

Terry Wang

Interim Chief Executive Officer

The CSE has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements pertaining to various risks and uncertainties regarding future events. The use of any of the words "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "should", "believe" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking information can include without limitation statements based on current expectations involving a number of risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance of the Company. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks including the risk factors discussed in this news release and in the Company's disclosure documents, which can be found under the Company's profile on www.sedar.com and on the CSE website. These statements speak only as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law, the Company does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/78592
Troops of Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS) on Wednesday evening, engaged suspected armed bandits in a fierce gun battle at Abaji in Shitile axis of Katsina Ala local government area of Benue state leading to the death of atleast four persons.

The troops also recovered one AK47 riffle and several ammunition during the encounter with the armed bandits in the area.

According to a local source, four people were killed during the shoot out.

He said the troops responded to a distress call that suspected armed bandits had gone to launch an attack on Abaji market in the Shitile community.

It was further gathered that the troops immediately mobilised to the market to repel the bandits, leading to a shootout between them and the bandits .

According to another source from Katsina Ala town who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the OPWS troops overpowered the bandits by superior firepower, following which two of the bandits were eliminated by the troops while others escaped with gunshot wounds.

However, one of the soldiers was said to have been among those who were injured during the encounter.

The source however stated that the armed bandits had earlier invaded the Abaji market and opened fire on the people, and in the process, killed four traders before troops arrived to repel them.

The troops he said chased the bandits suspected to be Gana boys and neutralized two of them, bringing the total number of causalities to six.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Arms and Armies By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"It was around 4pm to 5pm this evening when we suddenly heard gunshots in and around the Abaji market and people started running for their lives. Despite running, the bandits continued shooting and in the process, killed two persons.

"We quickly alerted OPWS troops and they responded immediately and came to repel the armed bandits. The army went after the armed gang and engaged them in a gun duel.

"They were able to kill few of them because we saw two dead bodies in addition to the two persons earlier killed in the market place", the source said.

He commended the effort of the soldiers and appealed to the federal and state governments to deploy more security personnel to the area to address the increasing spate of insecurity in the Sankera axis.

When contacted on telephone, the Police Public Relations Officer DSP Catherine Anene said she was yet to be briefed on the matter.

"Sorry, I'm waiting for report of the incident. I will get back to you once I get the report," Anene said.

Commander of the OPWS Major General Adeyemi Yekini could not be reached when called on phone.
It pays to read more than the headlines for cases like the taken out of context statement of Pastor John Hagee referring to Jesus Christ as the ultimate vaccine over every sickness like the COVID-19.

November last year, the senior pastor of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio was hospitalized for double pneumonia and for testing positive for the 2019 novel coronavirus that started spreading from Wuhan, China. After spending 15 days in the hospital, Pastor Hagee spoke of his experience to his church. Following were his actual words:

"I'm sitting in this chair today to the testimonial of the healing power of Jesus Christ. I spent 15 days in the hospital with double pneumonia, and I'm still supposed to be home gasping for air," Hagee said as quoted by The Christian Post.

"I'm on this platform speaking of the glory of God for the healing power of God. I breathe under the authority of Christ every sickness and every disease and especially the COVID thing that's sweeping this nation," he continued.

"We have a vaccine; the name is Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God. Let Him sweep through this country and heal the righteous who dare to ask for it. Heal our church members. Restore them rapidly. Let the name of Jesus Christ be exalted because He is Lord over all," he declared.

The End Time preacher was criticized for his statement which, according to his critics, seemingly suggest that medical vaccines are irrelevant, thus heightening church people's skepticism and distrust toward the COVID-19 vaccine.

ABC News' medical contributor Dr. Jay Bhatt comments: "The challenges that we're seeing from the anti-vaxxer community, from religious communities, are also impacting equitable access to vaccines, which I think is a really important issue - particularly in communities of color. The choice we're making is one of health, of one of safety, of one of helping us together do the things we need to get to a COVID-free world."

Ari Morgenstern, Hagee Ministries' spokesperson, responded to the allegation where he told ABC that Pastor Hagee himself is taking the vaccine and that he also believes in both the power of prayer and modern medicine. Morgenstern added that Pastor Hagee's words were taken out of context.

In one of his sermons released early this year titled "Coronavirus: Dress Rehearsal for the New World Order," Hagee said that the coronavirus has "changed America forever." He did not deny the existence of the virus, but used it instead as another platform for evangelism where directs people to repentance and faith in Jesus.

Additionally, he critiqued the incarceration of business owners who are just simply trying to make a living and the trampling of people's freedom by those he dubbed as "power-hungry dictators." Hagee also noted that the irrational extension of the crisis is meant "to crush the hope of the people." Taking all these in consideration, he asserted that what the majority are experiencing now since the COVID outbreak is "a dress rehearsal" for what End Time commentators call the New World Order.

"Make no mistake...the Great Tribulation is coming, and it will be worse," said Hagee.
"Thank you to the entire Urban Confluence team for their extraordinary passion, perseverance, and good work, and for presenting the opportunity to our community to embrace an iconic civic monument in the Breeze of Innovation," said San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo. "Future generations will never know the work they did, but they will enjoy this beautiful symbol of our past and future."

Intended to sway in the wind, the winning design utilizes the natural movement of 500 dynamic rods to create a dramatic visual effect while generating enough power to light the structure, giving it a strong presence both day and night. Breeze of Innovation envisions a conical void within a 200-foot tower, creating a unique vertical space, multiple levels of walkways, and a dramatic viewing platform offering incredible 360-degree views from the top of the structure. The design will also incorporate an exhibition space and room for a cafe, among other features meant to inspire interaction and activation of the site and surroundings.

"Silicon Valley is not about replicating the past; it's about shaping the future. Our goal from the beginning was to capture the ever-changing magic of Silicon Valley while also creating a deep connection with the San Jose community," said designer Fernando Jerez. "This is why we came up with the idea of designing a dynamic landmark, one that is alive, moving with the wind and light, a magical space that includes a tribute to the San JoseElectric Light Tower of 1881. We want visitors to enjoy a unique experience on their ascent, connecting with the memory of the Valley while dreaming about its future possibilities."

"We are extremely excited to announce Breeze of Innovation as the winner of our design competition," says Jon Ball, Board Chair of Urban Confluence Silicon Valley. "This entry stood out because of its elegant and sophisticated visual style, representing Silicon Valley through vibrant motion and singular grace on an imposing scale. A living landmark, this design is destined to have a positive and profound impact on our community."

The project has raised more than $2.5 million to date with fundraising efforts ongoing. To learn more or donate to the project, please visit http://www.urbanconfluencesiliconvalley.org/.

About Urban Confluence Silicon Valley

Urban Confluence Silicon Valley, a project of San Jose Light Tower Corporation, envisions an impressive symbolic structure appropriate for the unique region that is recognized as the global center of innovation. This internationally respected icon will offer a must-see place of hope, healing, and human connection, creating a compelling world-class experience for tourists and the local community. This bold project will be a destination landmark providing a major enhancement to downtown San Jose and an important catalyst for Silicon Valley culture and long-term regional economic development. To learn more about this exciting journey from the past to the future for America's tenth largest city, or to get involved, visit http://www.urbanconfluencesiliconvalley.org/ .

About SMAR

SMAR Architecture Studio, founded by University of Western Australia Professor Fernando Jerez (PhD MArch ETSAM) in 2009 and co-directed by Belen Perez de Juan, is an awarded architectural practice with offices in Australia, Spain, and Lithuania. SMAR Architecture Studio

Media Contact

NINICO Communications | Ashley Alexander | [email protected]



SOURCE San Jose Light Tower Corporation
Hagerstown Housing Authority closes in on end of McCleary Hill project

After objections from neighbors, the Hagerstown Housing Authority's McCleary Hill project is done its first phase. Officials held an open house.
Bonn, March 26 : The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on Thursday announced that it now recognizes two distinct species of African elephant -- the Forest Elephant and the Savanna Elephant.

The revised assessment of African elephants also has found that the forest elephant is critically endangered and the Savanna elephant endangered, downgrading the status of both species from their previous classification as vulnerable.

The new IUCN findings clearly show that increased conservation measures are needed to protect both elephant species.

In particular, the forest elephant has seen a catastrophic decline of more than 60 per cent in the past 20 years, due to illegal ivory trade, habitat destruction and other threats.

The UN's Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) has been listing the forest elephant and the Savanna elephant as two separate species since 2008 on its Appendix II, which encourages range states to develop transboundary conservation agreements aimed at shared species.

As a result of the new findings, CMS Parties could consider whether to propose that one or both species be added to Appendix I - which provides the highest degree of protection under the Convention.

This is normally reserved for species that are endangered or critically endangered. Parties that are a Range State to a migratory species listed in Appendix I must strictly protect them by prohibiting the taking of such species, conserving and where appropriate restoring their habitats, preventing, removing or mitigating obstacles to their migration, and controlling other factors that might endanger them.

CMS Executive Secretary Amy Fraenkel said: "The findings of the new IUCN assessment clearly show that increased conservation measures are needed to protect both elephant species, in particular, the forest elephant which has now been found to be critically wndangered. In addition to stopping poaching for illegal trade in ivory, other threats, such as the destruction and fragmentation of habitat, need to be urgently addressed." CMS is the only global treaty that addresses the conservation of migratory species and their habitats.

To ensure the survival of African elephants, conservation measures need to protect elephant habitat and recognize the important functions that elephants play for healthy ecosystems.

The forest ekephants were recently the subject of an article from an unlikely source - the International Monetary Fund (IMF) - which cited recent research on the immense contribution that these elephants make to fighting climate change.

Through their feeding and movement in forest habitats, the forest elephants help the growth of taller, larger trees - which can sequester large amounts of carbon.

The IMF calculates that the value of this carbon service amounts to $1.75m per elephant over a 60-year lifespan, while the ivory of an elephant killed by poachers is far less, around $40,000.

In addition to providing legal protection for species in danger of extinction through listing on Appendix I, CMS also provides the basis for targeted conservation instruments for individual species or groups of related species among countries that share those species.

One such focused effort is the West African Elephant Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), signed by all 13 Range States, which is aimed at the conservation of the less than 10,000 west African elephants that remain.

On a continental scale, the African Elephant Action Plan was agreed by all 37 African Elephant Range States in 2010 in the margins of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and adopted by CMS Parties in 2017.
Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski have once again betrayed the American people and voted to confirm one of the most insidious persons ever nominated to a Cabinet position, "Rachel" Levine. He will now be the assistant secretary of health. Levine was as toxic as N.Y. Gov. Cuomo when it came to rendering Pennsylvania nursing homes super-spreaders of COVID, but he put his own mother in a hotel. He knew what he was doing as surely as Cuomo did.

There is much to condemn this appointment, but most serious is Levine's promotion of medication and surgery for pre-pubescent children with gender dysphoria. Sane people realize that this is perhaps the most despicable form of child abuse that has currently won favor among trans activists. Surely, both Murkowski and Collins know full well that the vast majority of the American people do not support such extremist views, but they apparently wanted to appear to be sufficiently "woke."

We are all beginning to realize, too late, that being woke is a form of mass hysteria meant to undermine every essential tenet of Judeo-Christian values. Being "woke" means adopting the new rules of the cancel culture, remaking America according to the whims of BLM and Antifa. BLM is a Marxist, anti-American, antinuclear family organization that is specifically pro-transgender. So Collins and Murkowski have revealed their inner anti-Americanism, a blatant betrayal of their constituents.

The question of the day is, why have any Republicans voted to confirm any of Biden's Cabinet appointees? Every one of them has been chosen not for his expertise in any sphere of influence, but for his radicalism; the farther left these people are, the better in Biden's (?) view. Xavier Beccara probably belongs in prison.



White House Cabinet Room, where the seats are still empty when the Cabinet members are in attendance

White House webcam screen grab.

Merrick Garland, A.G., could not admit that crossing the border illegally is in fact illegal. He actually said the Antifa terrorists who tried to burn down a federal courthouse in Portland were not terrorists because they did it at night!

Secretary of state Blinken made an utter fool of himself, and thus the U.S., at his meeting with the CCP representatives in Alaska.

And then there is the hapless Alejandro Mayorkas, the new secretary of DHS. He is our very own Baghdad Bob. "No crisis at the border," he keeps saying. The man is so unqualified for the job to which he's been appointed that it would be laughable if it were not so deadly serious.

Lloyd Austin as secretary of defense! His job is apparently to purge the military of any and all Christians and conservatives. He has vowed to protect us from all those Trump-supporters he and the Democrats have decided are domestic terrorists. He's already sent troops to Syria and stopped those who were set to return from Afghanistan from coming home.

Chances are we will be at war somewhere soon. We can feel the Democrats itching for it.

And then there is little Pete Buttigieg as transportation secretary. This guy could not run the city of South Bend, Indiana as mayor, and Biden has put him in charge of one of the most crucial agencies. This will not end well.

There are many more equally deficient nominees. Most have been confirmed with the help of enough effete and cowardly Republicans who fear bad press more than they fear the destruction of this nation. They cannot imagine the contempt conservative Americans feel for them, each and every one who has voted to confirm these pathetic, wholly unqualified nominees to such high-level jobs.

The most terrifying appointment of all is Kamala Harris, put on the ticket as V.P. Now she of the inappropriate cackle that rivals Hillary's grating laugh is to be in charge of the border crisis! Just a week ago, when asked about it, she replied, "I haven't been briefed on that." She is as clueless as she seems, as incompetent as she appears.

Biden created the border mess and likely did it on purpose. The left likes nothing as much as it loves chaos. Those poor migrants are just tools in their kit; they care nothing about the fact that they are providing the cartels with a $14M profit a day in human-trafficking. It's almost as though the cartels own Joe Biden as completely as China does.

This administration has done more damage in two months than any previous administration did in two years or two terms. We are no longer to be energy independent. There are no borders, so we are no longer a sovereign nation. Biden has put tens of thousands of people out of work  the pipeline, the wall, the 80 million acres of federal land he has declared no longer available for oil or gas exploration. He is dispersing COVID-infected migrants into the interior of the country, most likely to create a resurgence of the virus so he can impose a nationwide lockdown again.

The more dependent citizens are on the government, the more power over us all they can grasp  which is all to the good for the global reset they envision. As Dennis Prager often says, the bigger the government, the smaller the person.

These executive orders are a gift of billions and billions of dollars to Russia. As Peter Navarro commented, Russia is just a gas station with nukes. Thanks to Biden, the Russians will soon be much richer. So will China as they twirl old Joe and his pathetic Cabinet around their fingers.

Unless more Republicans decide to fight for what is right  the constitutional principles devised by the Founders  the United States will not last. As for Collins and Murkowski? A pox on both their houses. They could not even stand tall for the children likely to be destroyed by the likes of Rachel Levine and his monstrous theories.
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.
GOTHENBURG, Sweden, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Annual General Meeting of Aktiebolaget SKF, parent company of the SKF Group, was held on Thursday, 25 March 2021.

Due to the contagious Covid-19 and the authorities' regulations/guidance on avoiding gatherings of people, the general meeting was held without physical presence by shareholders exercising their voting rights only by postal voting.

The income statements and the balance sheets were adopted, together with the Board's proposal for distribution of dividend. A dividend of SEK 6.50 per share was approved. Tobe entitled to receive the dividend, shareholders must be recorded in the share register on 29 March 2021.

The Meeting resolved that the Board's fee for 2021 is to be in accordance with thefollowing:

a. an allotment of SEK 2,300,000 to the Chairman of the Board, and SEK 750,000 to each of the other Board members; and

b. an allotment for committee work of SEK 260,000 to the Chairman of the Audit Committee, with SEK 190,000 to each of the other members of the Audit Committee, with SEK 150,000 to the Chairman of the Remuneration Committee and with SEK 120,000 to each of the other members of the Remuneration Committee.

A prerequisite for obtaining an allotment is that the Board member is elected by the General Meeting and is not employed by the company.

The following Board members were re-elected: Mr. Hans Straberg, Mr. Hock Goh, Ms. Barb Samardzich, Ms. Colleen Repplier, Mr. Geert Follens, Mr. Hakan Buskhe and Ms. Susanna Schneeberger. Mr. Rickard Gustafson was newly elected as Board member.

Mr. Hans Straberg was elected Chairman of the Board.

Deloitte was elected auditor.

The Meeting approved the Board's proposal to amend the Articles of Association.

The Meeting approved the Board's remuneration report and the Board's proposal for a resolution on SKF's Performance Share Programme 2021.

Aktiebolaget SKF

(publ)

For further information, please contact:

PRESS: Theo Kjellberg, Director, Press Relations

tel: 46 31 337 6576, mobile: 46 725-776576, e-mail: theo.kjellberg@skf.com

INVESTOR RELATIONS: Patrik Stenberg, Head of Investor Relations

Patrik Stenberg, 46 31-337 2104; 46 705-472 104; patrik.stenberg@skf.com

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/skf/r/annual-general-meeting-of-ab-skf,c3313961

The following files are available for download:
(Natural News) Photos released this week by several media outlets show overcrowded and uncomfortable conditions inside the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) overflow facility where migrants are being held for processing in Donna, Texas.

In the leaked photos, migrants  many of them children  can be seen crowded into the makeshift quarters as growing numbers of migrants are continuing to flood in across the nations southwest border and the current facilities are struggling to accommodate all of them. The migrants are being held in clear pens that resemble cages, and many of them are seen lying down on plastic mattresses, sleeping shoulder to shoulder and covering themselves in foil blankets. Others can be seen sleeping on benches.

Some of the photos were provided to Axios by Democratic Congressman Henry Cuellar, who recently visited a childrens shelter but did not tour this particular facility and did not take the photos himself. He said the images that he provided were taken over the weekend and that more than 400 male minors were being held in one section that is meant for just 250 people.

The Biden White House is facing growing pressure over the conditions at the border, where the new president has promised to implement what he views as more humane policies than those seen during the Trump administration  although these pictures clearly indicate otherwise. The White House has maintained that it is keeping migrants safe via social distancing, but sleeping shoulder to shoulder cannot in any way be considered keeping a safe distance.

Moreover, U.S. policy states that children should not be held in custody for more than three days; right now, more than 2,000 of the children there have already passed the limit. As of Sunday morning, NBC News reports that there were 4,878 unaccompanied children in border patrol custody, 822 of whom had been there for longer than 10 days.

Why wont the Biden administration let journalists inside if it has nothing to hide?

Perhaps one of the biggest red flags here, however, is the fact that the Biden administration has refused to allow the press to access these border facilities. The only photos we have seen of the conditions these people are being kept in were leaked by various individuals who presumably work within the facilities.

In addition, non-profit lawyers who carry out oversight of these detention centers have been barred from going inside or seeing photos of the conditions there. Imagine the outrage in the mainstream media if this was happening under President Trump!

When Cuellar gave the photos to Axios, he described the terrible conditions for the children and said that border patrol agents were doing the best they could given the circumstances but that they need more support from the administration. Its clearly a bad look for Biden to have people from his own party calling for a stop to what is going on at the border.

He said: We have to stop kids and families from making the dangerous trek across Mexico to come to the United States. We have to work with Mexico and Central American countries to have them apply for asylum in their countries.

According to Project Veritas, at least 50 migrants in these cells have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last few days, which is not surprising given how closely they are being kept. There have been reports of multiple assaults, sexual assaults and medical emergencies in these facilities, and there is no telling what horrors many of these unaccompanied minors were subjected to by the drug cartels who brought them into the country.

Sources for this article include:

TheRightScoop.com

TheGuardian.com

FoxNews.com

NBCNews.com
Ilhan Omars office has slammed Tucker Carlson for accusing prominent Democratic politicians of colour of being racially divisive.

Jeremy Slevin, communications director for the Minnesota Democratic Representative, said the Fox News host was "putting prominent Black leaders on the screen and calling them the real racists. It is designed to incite."

The comments come after Carlson compared Illinois Democratic Senator and Iraq war veteran Tammy Duckworth to a former KKK leader and called former President Barack Obama a "racial arsonist" who sows hate and is creating real extremism".

Carlson said on Tuesday night: "Ilhan Omar specialises in shocking recklessness. It's what she does. After the mass killings in Atlanta last week, none of which seem to have anything whatsoever to do with the race of anyone involved, Omar tried her best to make Americans hate each other even more.

"That's how she's repaying the country that rescued her from a refugee camp in Africa. Law enforcement, Omar said, with zero evidence of any kind, works to protect 'the humanity of [w]hite mass murderers'. What does that even mean? We have no idea, though obviously, it is bristling with racial hostility."

Mr Slevin added: "The worst is Tucker's constant claim that Ilhan should be 'repaying the country that rescued her from Africa'. She went from being a refugee to serving her country in Congress! I'm sorry she didn't use her f****** Swanson frozen dinner fortune to become a TV talk show host."

Read more:

A police spokesman said the Atlanta shooting suspect had had a "bad day" and was subsequently roundly criticised for trying to lessen the severity of the crime. He was later removed from the case, according to The Washington Post.The outlet also reported in 2019 that law enforcement has a "blind spot for white male violence".

Of the eight people killed in the Atlanta shootings, six were Asian women. Experts and activists say that's no coincidence and that the suspect's comments about sexual addiction "are rooted in a history of misogyny and stereotypes that are all too familiar for ... Asian American women," CNN reported.

Defending against accusations of slander, Fox News lawyers have successfully argued in court that Carlson's comments shouldn't be taken seriously, NPR reported in September 2020.

Later in his segment, Carlson went after Mr Obama, saying: "More than any other contemporary American leader. Barack Obama is a racial arsonist. He emerges at our most vulnerable moments to deepen the wounds that divide us. He sows hate."

Mr Obama put out a statement on Tuesday, addressing the deadly mass shooting in Boulder, Colorado.

He said: It is long past time for those with the power to fight this epidemic of gun violence to do so. It will take time to root out the disaffection, racism, and misogyny that fuels so many of these senseless acts of violence."

Carlson said that Mr Obama had "managed to divide Americans a little more than they were yesterday".

The following night, he decided to go after Ms Duckworth, comparing her to former KKK leader Robert Byrd.

Robert Byrd was the Tammy Duckworth of his day, he said after a tirade about Ms Duckworth's move to say that she wouldn't confirm non-minority nominees, stating that she was angered by the lack of Asian American and Pacific Islander representation at the cabinet-level of the Biden administration.

She later backed down from her threat after the White House promised to hire a senior AAPI staffer, The Daily Beast reported.

Carlson claimed that Ms Duckworth and Hawaii Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono, who made the same threat, had opposed the entire foundation of American civil rights law and then proceeded to attack the core principle, the main principle of our country".

"Here you have two actual US senators announcing in public they will deny jobs to people who have the wrong skin colour ... In their defence, Hirono and Duckworth are well known as the dimmest politicians in Washington," Mr Carlson said.

The Independent has reached out to Fox News for comment.
Between Covid-19 winners and losers, one segment has rocketed: online beauty and personal care. While subdued in the initial months of the lockdown, growth at brands like Nykaa, MyGlamm, Sugar Cosmetics and Beardo has picked up, with recovery being stronger going into 2021.

Sure, e-commerce boomed as people could not (some still cannot) visit stores, but higher sales of  which includes makeup, fragrance, wellness and personal care consumables, mostly non-essentials  is a curious case. Analysts say the trend has been made possible because of two reasons: higher household savings during the lockdown, and an increase in orders, particularly from women, in tier II and tier III cities.

This has resulted in a blockbuster first quarter for the industry. A week back, MyGlamm, a direct-to-consumer online brand, raised $25 million at a valuation of $100 million. The start-up is only four years old. Purplle, an online marketplace, raised $45 million, while private label brand Sugar Cosmetics bagged $21 million.

To add to the list, Nykaa, the category leader, closed two funding rounds in the pandemic year 2020. It is now said to be planning an initial public officering, at a reported valuation of $3 billion.

A lot of these brands have been very successful in creating a direct connection with consumers, with the right marketing, targeting and price points. The early success and acquisitions in the space have also been a big boost, said Pinaki Mishra, partner and consumer leader at EY.

Last year, packaged-goods major Marico acquired the controlling 55 per cent stake in Beardo. Marico had been an early investor in the mens grooming brand. The idea that niche consumer brands become good acquisition targets is widely seen, and makes the category an attractive play for venture capital investors, say analysts. Back in 2015, HUL acquired ayurvedic hail oil brand Indulekha for Rs 300-odd crore. The public-listed company said that Indulekha had become a Rs2,000-crore brand in 2019.

The tier II-story is also playing out, said Mishra. People in non-metros always had cash but didnt have access so some of these products. Now they do, and that is what is driving the surge.

The beauty and personal care market in India is currently worth $14 billion and is expected to grow at 7.5 per cent CAGR, according to pre-Covid estimates by RedSeer Consulting. Currently, only 6-7 per cent of sales are online.

The growth is due to an Increase in disposable income leading to higher ability to purchase specialised products, rise in freedom of spending for women (because of more working females), and spread of urban fashion trends in tier-II+ areas propelling higher consumption, noted a September 2020 report by the firm.

While e-commerce is a good place to start, an omnichannel play is required to scale the category, said Ankur Bisen, senior vice president at Technopak Advisors. Evidently, these brands have relied on a multi-channel approach. For instance, Nykaa now has 70 stores across 34 cities and its website and app draw 60 million monthly visitors. Beardo sells in supermarkets like Big Bazaar, et al.

The industry has also taken the next step towards diversification. Nykaa, today, for instance, is no more a beauty-only product company, it has gone into fashion and lifestyle, said Bisen.
Not everything is made in China  and the Michigan Manufacturers Association wants to prove it.

For the third year, the group hosted a Coolest thing made in Michigan contest to highlight products coming from the states manufacturing industry.

Past winners have fluctuated between well-known consumer products like the Stormy Kromer hat and less-known products like Custom Booster Cylinder from Peninsular Cylinder Co.

Billions of products are made in Michigan every day, said Delaney McKinley, vice president with the MMA. Each year, we think this contest really serves to bring some of those things to the forefront.

Related: Hidden in the cornfields, Michigan has its own little silicon valley

As of January 2021, Michigan had 572,000 manufacturing jobs, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That accounts for nearly 13% of all jobs in the state and is one of the largest jobs sectors.

There were 27 products nominated for the 2020 Coolest thing made in Michigan award, which was narrowed to 10 finalists and eventually one winner via a public vote. The 2020 award was delayed until January because of the pandemic, but the MMA plans to start taking nominations for 2021 this summer and have the vote this fall.

Heres a look at the 10 coolest things made in the state from the 2020 award  starting with the winner. The following nine are in no particular order.

A look at a polysilicon rod made at Hemlock Semiconductor.

Hyper-pure polysilicon

Business: Hemlock Semiconductor

Where its made: Hemlock, near Saginaw

On the surface, polysilicon sounds like something only chemistry teachers would call cool.

But what makes Hemlock Semiconductor special is its role in powering electronics, vehicles, solar panels and more. The company purifies silicon until its 99.999999999% pure. The process requires so much heat and electricity, that Hemlock is Consumers Energys top customer.

After Hemlock Semiconductor is done with it, the polysilicon is shipped to companies that make semiconductor chips that go in electronics and more.

Hemlock Semiconductor is the only polysilicon producer in Michigan and one of only a few in the nation. It produces near one-third of the worlds polysilicon, said Phil Dembowski, a vice president at the company.

Statistically, its almost a certainty that at least some of the silicon in your phone came through Hemlock, Dembowski said.

Because of that, polysilicon has been cool for years, said McKinley. But as the pandemic has forced people to rely on technology to maintain connections, its more notable than ever, she said.

Right now, making sure were connected to the world in a way that allows us to be safe and remote couldnt be cooler, McKinley said. Its something that were all using, from preschoolers all the way to senior citizens to make sure we stay connected and stay productive and keep the world moving despite the global pandemic.

An Airotrust system is installed via magnets over cold air returns in the ceiling tiles.

Building Mask

Business: Airotrust

Where its made: Livonia

The Building Mask from Airotrust was created as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. A Livonia magnet company decided to expand after finding it could serve a new purpose.

The Building Mask magnetically attaches to cold-air returns in offices, schools and other settings. Its a simple way to install a MERV-rated filter that traps virus particles in hopes of making workplaces safer.

Its visibility also helps provide employees peace of mind, which doesnt necessarily happen when you install filters into the HVAC system behind the scenes.

Ice cream

Business: Hudsonville Ice Cream

Where its made: Holland

Boasting classic flavors like Traverse City Cherry Fudge and Mackinac Island Fudge, Hudsonville Ice Cream brings a more meaning than one to the descriptor cool.

The creamery started in Hudsonville in 1895, later moving to Holland.

Powered-lifting hand truck

Business: Magliner

Where its made: Standish

This hand truck from Magliner uses a lithium battery for power to lift things like kegs and boxes. Because of how it fits into tight spaces and lifts heavy things with ease, its perfect for workers who move and lift items regularly.

6400XT Wood Hog Horizontal Grinder

Business: Morbark

Where its made: Winn, near Mount Pleasant

This machine, also made in Michigan, takes wood waste and recycles it so it can be used for things like landscaping mulch, animal bedding material, boiler fuel or fiber composite boards.

Orion Modular Hunting Blind and Stand

Business: Orion Hunting Products

Where its made: Iron Mountain

This company, known for its hunting products, makes an insulated hunting blind that requires no tools to set up. The exterior is aluminum, interior is carpet and the deer blind sits on an elevated steel tower with steps to get hunters inside.

Human Hoist

Business: Personal Positioning Technologies LLC

Where its made: Bay City

The Human Hoist is part stool, part creeper. It can be used as a chair, but also lay back at 180 degrees and be used by mechanics and other workers who are adjusting on machinery.

The seat can also be raised or lowered to help people be at the perfect angle and not strain their body.

Custom skis

Business: Shaggys Copper Country Skis

Where its made: Boyne City

Shaggys doesnt just make skis  it also lets you customize your own with graphics and colors. The designing and manufacturing of the skis happen in-house, by hand at Shaggys. Plus, its only about a 10-minute drive from the Boyne Mountain Resort.

Powerboats

Business: Thoroughbred Boat Company

Where its made: Manistee

Thoroughbred Boat Company creates custom powerboats. The northwest Michigan boat manufacturer is new to the industry, but aims to create boats with a classic look and lots of horsepower.

Puppywarmer

Business: Warmer3

Where its made: Battle Creek

Whats cooler than saving puppies? The Puppywarmer is an incubator and oxygen concentrator used to help newborn puppies survive.

The space creates a warm, dry, oxygen-rich environment that has been shown to help more newborn puppies live and grow through the first few weeks of life. Its becoming a popular tool for breeders and veterinarians.

RELATED STORIES

For blue-collar workers, its fear. For white-collar workers, its isolation. COVID-19 changed work for everybody.

Extending office ban 6 months would be bad for Michigan, business leaders say

The 2020 heart attack Michigans economy suffered wont heal overnight, economists say

Hidden in the cornfields, Michigan has its own little silicon valley

Gender pay gap worse in Michigan than nationwide disparity
But with crime on the rise in places such as Oak Park, Chicago and other cities nationwide, questions have been raised by police chiefs and elected leaders about slashing police budgets, some of whom argue better training and other reforms are the answer.
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.
if the people of Biafra want Republic of Biafra, it will be a reality during my administration. ----Donald Trump Donald Trump I wi...
Union minister on



Thursday met President and sought President's rule in Maharashtra in the wake of former Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh's allegation of corruption against state home minister, and the Sachin Waze episode.

Athawale met the president in New Delhi.

Talking to reporters in the capital after the meeting, the Minister of State for Social Justice said, "I submitted a memorandum of demand to Kovind and urged him to impose President's rule in Maharashtra. He told me that he would think over my demand."



"One police officer Sachin Waze plants explosives near the residence of businessman (Mukesh Ambani), while state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh allegedly gives the target of collecting Rs 100 crore per month to senior police officers. This is a serious situation in the state," he said.

There should be a probe against Deshmukh as he is under suspicion at this moment, Athawale said.

Param Bir Singh had sent an eight-page letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on March 20, claiming that Deshmukh wanted police officers to collect Rs 100 crore monthly from bars and hotels. However, the minister has refuted the allegation.

Waze, a Mumbai police officer, has been arrested by the Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with the explosives-laden SUV found parked near Ambani's residence in south Mumbai on February 25. He is also facing heat in the alleged murder of Thane-based businesssman Mansukh Hiran, who was in possession of that SUV. Hiran was found dead in a creek on March 5.

(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.)
Never has there been quite such a hankering for the way things used to be. So we make no apology whatsoever for trumpeting the launch of what will be one of this summer's first major gatherings  the Daily Mail Chalke Valley History Festival.

As things stand, June 21 is scheduled to be England's Hallelujah moment  or, as civil servants prefer to call it, the start of 'Step Four'. For now, at least, that is the day when nearly all legal limits on social contact are due to be lifted.

Just two days after that, the gates will open at the Chalke Valley History Festival. Always held at the end of June, this spectacular event has a well-earned reputation as Britain's top summer celebration of great history for all the family  from Iron Age life through to the Romans, the Victorians, World War II and the Coronation (in the company of one of the maids of honour from the Queen's Coronation).

Set deep in the heart of Thomas Hardy country (where else would you find a festival site rejoicing in the name of Church Bottom?), the festival takes place on the Wiltshire/Dorset border not far from Salisbury. This year's programme will feature more than 100 events  all of them Covid-compliant  to suit every age and taste.

So we make no apology whatsoever for trumpeting the launch of what will be one of this summer's first major gatherings  the Daily Mail Chalke Valley History Festival

For ten years, this has been one of many gems in the summer festival calendar but it has surely never been as keenly anticipated, given the year we have just endured.

The pandemic has already driven other great events, such as the Hay Festival, online, while the vast Glastonbury pop bonanza has been reduced to a putative 'concert' in September.

At least, though, there will still be one place where people can, once more, liberate the soul; where they can experience that simple pleasure of being entertained and illuminated in the heart of the British countryside; where they can dine in a huge open marquee, or sit on a hay bale, or lie on the grass and enjoy fish and chips or a platter of Asian street food with a beer or a Pimm's in the company of great storytellers and the odd passing Spitfire . . .

The organisers of Chalke Valley are still finalising some of the programme but the decision has been taken to press ahead so that people can put the dates (June 23-27) in the diary.

Always held at the end of June, this spectacular event has a well-earned reputation as Britain's top summer celebration of great history for all the family

All planning has been agreed with the relevant authorities, though precise details will not be announced until the next phase of the lockdown 'roadmap' is clearer.

However, blessed with masses of open space, there is more than enough room to accommodate a line-up of top historians, biographers and broadcasters, along with as many members of the public as the rules permit at the time.

Whatever your favourite period, there will be talks and panel discussions, with historians including Margaret Macmillan, Philippe Sands, Antony Beevor, Max Hastings and Tracy Borman. Margaret Thatcher's biographer, Charles Moore, will conduct a 'Whodunnit' on the toppling of the Iron Lady while our foremost playwright, Sir Tom Stoppard, will be grilled by his biographer, Hermione Lee.

Courts past and present loom large. Charles Spencer examines Norman treachery while Lady Anne Glenconner reflects on life as lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret plus the day she accompanied the new Queen up the aisle of Westminster Abbey for the Coronation.

Spooks past and present are in the mix, too. The former head of MI6, Sir Richard Dearlove, will swap espionage notes with the Elizabethan scholar Stephen Alford.

Boris Johnson, then London Mayor, was a speaker at the Chalke Valley History Festival in 2013

Younger festival-goers have just as much to choose from, including Tudor cooking lessons and sword school. The comedian and author Charlie Higson will explore, in grisly detail, how our less fortunate monarchs have met their end (and, yes, that includes Edward II and the red-hot poker).

And then there is music  lots of it. 'It's just going to have that wonderful jamboree party feel with tents and flags and archery and lots of living history,' says the chairman, historian James Holland. 'Think of it as a return to the sunlit uplands.'

While there will be two big, airy marquees for talks, there will also be Roman-style open-air amphitheatres. Most of the family events are out in the open, too. All events have been planned in line with Step Four guidelines, but they can also conform to the more restrictive Step Three rules, too, should those be in force.

Everything is being org-anised in conjunction with the authorities. 'We are in their hands and will be abiding by whatever the rules are at the time,' says James Holland, pointing out that the festival is only happening thanks to a grant from one of the Government's rescue schemes, the Arts Council's Culture Recovery Fund.

Since the public have helped keep events such as this alive, it seems only right that they should now be able to enjoy them.

And right now, we could all do with a blast from the past.
PUPILS with visual impairments who wrote their Grade 12 exams through the Namibia College of Open Learning (Namcol) are still eagerly awaiting their results.

The pupils say they are disappointed in Namcol and the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture over the delay.

A representative of the group, who prefers to remain anonymous, says it has been a month since other Grade 12s in the country have received their results, yet they are still waiting.

He says the delays started last year when pupils with visual impairments received their braille textbooks late and had little time to prepare for their exams.

He says pupils with visual impairments are often subjected to such obstacles.

"At times we do not even receive our marks. They would just put down the letter X as if we did not write anything. Is this what visually impaired students have to be subject to?" he asks.

Namcol spokesperson Freddy Kaukungua says the institution does not deal with examination results, which are the responsibility of the education ministry.

The pupils' representative says students with visual impairments are also not pleased with the way the National Disability Council of Namibia (NDCN) does not follow up on them.

"The disability council paid our fees, but they do not bother following up on how we are being treated at the institutions," he says.

NDCN chairperson Martin Tjivera says it is the responsibility of council staff members to address these issues.

He says infighting among council members are to blame for the lack of tending to pupils' needs.

"How will matters concerning the disabled be addressed if everyone is too busy fighting?" Tjivera asked.

The education ministry did not respond to questions at the time of going to print.
The number of children in the states foster care who had to sleep in state office buildings is up again, reaching 186 last month. This statistic is not only alarming, but also represents a call to action: It underscores the need for state investments in community-based services for children and youth who have suffered from the trauma of to abuse and neglect.

With about 10 weeks left in this years session of the Texas Legislature, there are steps legislators can take  and time to take them. In fact, legislators have an opportunity to make targeted investments and strategic decisions that could do much more than the critical work of reducing the number of kids sleeping in offices. Our legislators can make a profound difference for some of the states most vulnerable children and families  many of whom have experienced severe and compounding trauma  by reinforcing services for them before and after a crisis hits in their home.

Children sleeping in office buildings results from a shortage of available placements in the states foster care system. Due to rising costs and the increased complexity of providing care and services, foster care providers have struggled to find homes for kids, particularly those with more complex needs, often due to the trauma of the abuse or neglect they have experienced. The system is further strained as organizations face a growing burden of duplicative and compounding administrative requirements that take time and energy away from their true mission. Meanwhile, kids who are in care are lingering in the system for longer periods of time.

The pandemic has made the squeeze on foster care capacity worse. Child and youth-serving organizations have struggled to maintain the staff needed to provide around-the-clock, in-person care. Some would-be and current foster families have chosen not to open their homes at a time when we need them more than ever.

The shortage of foster-care beds is an urgent symptom of a broader challenge facing legislators: The need to provide a continuum of services for vulnerable children, youth and families. If legislators rise to this challenge, they can grow capacity and alleviate the need for kids sleeping in office buildings. They can also strengthen the states safety net for traumatized youth to provide better outcomes and get kids in homes faster.

Organizations on the front lines of working with these vulnerable Texans ask that legislators:

Invest in prevention and family preservation services to stop crises related to mental health, substance use or domestic violence. These investments can help keep families together so foster care  or sleeping in a state office building  never becomes necessary.

Fund the full cost of foster care and fund incentives for organizations to build foster home capacity and improve the quality of care and services.

Update the rates that determine payments to foster care organizations and families so that those rates reflect the true cost of providing services to kids who have often experienced trauma and have severe needs.

Support services for children and families after children have been adopted. Too often, kids who move from foster care to adoption end up back in foster care.

Appropriately fund continued implementation of community-based care, a new and proven approach to care that pulls resources into a community, rather than a central headquarters in Austin, to meet childrens complex needs.

The state can meet some of these needs by effectively leveraging federal resources, including considerable dollars available to Texas through COVID-19 relief legislation that was signed into law in December and through the most recent stimulus package, which includes support for children, families and community services.

We all know kids should not be sleeping in offices or staying in foster care for years at a time. A state like Texas values our children far too much for this to happen under our watch. Fortunately, the Legislature can take real steps now to provide these vulnerable kids, and others, the care they need.

Olse is the CEO of the Texas Alliance of Child and Family Services, a network of mission-driven organizations serving children and families in Texas foster care and child welfare systems.
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe is marking its 70th anniversary this year and we are celebrating with an in-depth look into the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). We will journey back in time to the very beginning of the Alliance and week-by-week give you a new window into this Transatlantic-multinational organisation.





NATO's Structure

The resulting image of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is quite complex and not easy to explain.

Before delving into its structure it is important to note that NATO is: a political and military organisation with both domains having an important role to play.

The North Atlantic Council (NAC) is NATOs highest decision-making body and consists of Permanent Representatives  usually Ambassadors - from its 30 member countries. The NAC meets several times per week at the level of permanent representatives. It also meets at the level of Foreign Ministers, Defence Ministers and Heads of State and Government. All decisions in the NAC are taken by consensus. The work of the Council is prepared by dozens of subordinate committees that are responsible for specific areas of policy.

The current Secretary General of NATO is the former Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg who took office on October 1, 2014.

The Secretary General is NATOs top International civil servant and has three main roles: Chairman of the NATO Atlantic Council and other key bodies, the principal spokesperson and leader of the International Staff.

The first Secretary General, Lord Ismay, took up office on April 4, 1952 as both Secretary General of the Organisation and as Vice-Chairman of the North Atlantic Council. Since that time, twelve different diplomats have served officially as secretary general.

Each NATO member state has a delegation at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium where they contribute to the consultation process. The delegation is headed by an ambassador, who is appointed by his/her government for a period ranging between one to eight years.

The military structure is rigid and involves all forces. The key elements of the NATO military organisation are the Military Committee composed by the Chiefs of Defence of NATO member countries, its executive body, the International Military Staff and the Military Command Structure.

The NATO Command Structure is divided into two principal strategic commands: Allied Command Operations (ACO) and Allied Command Transformation (ACT).

ACO is responsible for the planning and execution of all Alliance operations. The command is headed by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) in Mons, Belgium and headquartered at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). The current SACEUR is General Tod D. Wolters who took command in May 2019. SACEUR leads all NATO military operations and is dual-hatted as the commander, US European Command.

Allied Command Transformation (ACT) has a two-fold role as a warfare development command, first, to enable ACO to efficiently conduct operations and second, to prepare NATOs future operations. The command is headed by Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT), which is headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia. The current SACT is French Air Force General Andre Lanata who took command in June 2018.

There are three tiers of command: strategic, operational, and tactical. The command structure is based on functionality rather than geography.

SHAPE, home to ACO, is a strategic headquarters. Its role is to prepare, plan, conduct and execute NATO military operations, missions and tasks in order to achieve the strategic objectives of the Alliance. As such it contributes to the deterrence of aggression and the preservation of peace, security and the territorial integrity of the Alliance.

Under ACO there are three operational level commands: Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum (JFCBS) in the Netherlands, Allied Joint Force Command Naples (JFCNP) in Italy and Joint Force Command Norfolk (JFC-NF) in the United States. There are also three tactical level commands: Allied Air Command (AIRCOM) in Germany; Allied Land Command (LANDCOM) in Turkey and Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) in the United Kingdom. Other commands include Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO) in Portugal; NATO Communication and Information System Group (NCISG) in Belgium and the Joint Support and Enabling Command (JSEC) in Germany.

ACT is also a strategic headquarters and organised around four principal functions: strategic thinking, development of capabilities, education, training and exercises and also cooperation and engagement. All of these functions are reflected in the composition of ACT, principally at its Norfolk Headquarters and then three subordinate entities: Joint Warfare Centre in Norway; Joint Force Training Centre in Poland and Joint Analysis & Lessons Learned Centre in Portugal.

Additionally, NATOs other education and training facilities, which are not part of the NATO Command Structure, also coordinate with ACT. This includes the NATO Defence College in Italy; the NATO School in Germany; the NATO Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Centre in Greece and nationally run Centres of Excellence. NATO Agencies also interact with ACT on matters of common concern.

This is NATO episode two of the SHAPE Public Affairs series, Knowing NATO, introducing the NATO command structure. The following highlights will include how does NATO function, and much more
Californias cash bail system for pretrial release, preserved by the voters in November, was cut back substantially Thursday by the state Supreme Court, which said judges in most cases must consider a defendants ability to pay before setting bail in any amount.

No person should lose the right to liberty simply because that person cant afford to post bail, Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuellar said in a 7-0 ruling in the case of a San Francisco man held in jail for a year on a robbery charge.

Newly arrested defendants can often be released safely with supervision by electronic monitoring, regular check-ins with a pretrial case manager and community housing, as well as drug and alcohol treatment, Cuellar said. When a judge determines that cash bail is necessary, he said, the judge must consider the arrestees ability to pay the stated amount of bail  and may not effectively detain the arrestee solely because the arrestee lacked the resources to post bail.

And before holding a defendant without bail, Cuellar said, the judge must find by clear and convincing evidence that pretrial detention is necessary to protect the public or to prevent the defendant from fleeing before trial.

California law allows judges to set bail based on the seriousness of the charges and the defendants record, a system that has kept hundreds of thousands of low-income defendants in jail awaiting trial while those who could afford bail were released.

In 2018, state lawmakers approved legislation, SB10, to abolish the cash bail system and allow judges to decide, for all but the most serious crimes, whether defendants should be freed without bail while awaiting trial. But bail bond companies blocked the measure from taking effect in 2019 by qualifying a referendum for the ballot, spending $3 million to collect signatures, and last November 55% of the voters rejected Proposition 25, which would have put the no-bail law into effect.

Bail bond companies chief source of income is the nonrefundable 10% fee they charge to defendants for posting bail.

The court case involved a San Francisco man, Kenneth Humphrey, now 66. He is accused of entering the apartment of a 79-year-old man who lived in the same building in May 2017, threatening to put a pillowcase over his head and stealing $5 and a bottle of cologne.

A judge initially set bail at $600,000, based on the charge and Humphreys record, then lowered it to $350,000. But he remained in jail until May 2018, then was freed without bail after the First District Court of Appeal said judges must consider defendants finances in setting bail. His charges are still pending.

Humphrey was thrilled by the ruling, San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju told reporters. He said Humphrey, since his release, has been a mentor and counselor to inmates in similar circumstances.

In August, the state Supreme Court ordered all trial judges in California to follow the appeals courts standards on bail consideration while Humphreys case was under review. But defense lawyers said compliance has been mixed at best, and Thursdays ruling should send a stronger message against unnecessary detention.

There was a lot of disagreement among judges about the meaning of the appellate ruling, said Alec Karakatsanis of the nonprofit Civil Rights Corps, who argued the case before the Supreme Court. Weve got a long way to go.

Thursdays ruling did not go as far as SB10, as the court allowed judges to set bail in some cases. But those situations are likely to be much less frequent when judges must consider a defendants financial resources, effectively barring cash bail for many low-income arrestees. And the courts requirement of clear and convincing evidence will make it harder for judges to hold defendants without bail unless a defendant is charged with murder or another life-sentence crime.

Cash bail will be much less common under the ruling, said Lara Bazelon, a University of San Francisco law professor who filed arguments for a group of legal scholars opposing the current bail system. Trial judges will have to go to much greater lengths to justify detaining someone.

She said the bail system also has the effect of coercing many people into accepting guilty-plea agreements that allow their release.

A lot of people plead to things they didnt do just to get out, many of them racial minorities, Bazelon said.

On the other side, attorney Kymberlee Stapleton of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, which urged the court to uphold the current system, said increasing pretrial release also increases potential dangers to crime victims and the public.

They cant be 100% sure those conditions (of supervision) are going to work, Stapleton said.

She said judges already had authority to release defendants without bail based on their record and the charges against them.

But David Quintana, lobbyist for the California Bail Agents Association, said the ruling was thoughtful and fair to all sides.

On a typical day, Cuellar said in the ruling, nearly half a million people sit in jails across the United States awaiting trial. In California, he said, a 2015 study found that the typical bail amount was $50,000, more than five times the national average.

The accused retains a fundamental constitutional right to liberty, Cuellar said.

He said the states proper concern in setting conditions of pretrial release is not to punish  it is to ensure the defendant appears at court proceedings and to protect the victim, as well as the public, from further harm.

The case is In re Kenneth Humphrey, S247278.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko
Megachurch Pastor John Gray has offered prayers to embattled Christian relationship guru Derrick Jaxn who's facing backlash after he confessed to being unfaithful to his wife multiple times during his marriage.

Grays prayer for Jaxn, which was highlighted by The Shade Room on Instagram, comes despite previous criticism from Jaxn, when he faced public criticism over allegations of infidelity in his own marriage in recent years.

Hey Derrick. You remember when I responded to your words about me? Remember when I posted videos about you? Neither do I. To be clear, Ive slept with one woman in my life. My wife. But that DOES NOT ABSOLVE ME OF THE WRONG I DID. Any interaction or communication with anyone was wrong. My failures are mine and I have gone through  and continue to  go through counseling to address the vast empty places that led me to behavior that is antithetical to how I was raised and what I believe. Ive learned in life that everyone gets a turn. When it was mine, I didnt obfuscate my wrong by addressing what I knew about others. I kept others names out of my mouth. Maybe it would be wise to do the same, Gray wrote. One more thing, I sincerely pray for you and your family to heal. I know how people throw you away. I will never do to another man what was done to me. May you receive the grace I didnt receive from others. May you rise to be a better man. One moment will not define your life.

In early 2020, Gray, who leads Relentless Church in Greenville, South Carolina, publicly revealed he had wanted to end his life and received prayer from Bishop T.D. Jakes as allegations of infidelity clouded his marriage. Prior to that, he told his congregation that his wife, Aventer, discovered that he had started listening to the wrong voices and let some people get too close  she set it off just like a good wife should.

Source:The Christian Post
New Delhi:

The main opposition party Congress on Thursday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for overlooking Indias other "serious issues" for the Bullet train project.

The reaction from Congress came minutes after PM Modi along with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe laid the foundation stone of Indias first ever bullet train project.

Terming the move as misplaced priority, Congress leader Anand Sharma said there are other serious issues on the agenda and bullet train is not Indias priority.

Our prime minister should not limit it to the photo opportunity and theatrics. There are serious issues on the agenda. Prime Minister Modi has misplaced the priority. The bullet train is not Indias priority, Anand Sharma told ANI.

Also Read | PM Modi says bullet train will add speed to India's growth

Reacting to this, Anand Sharma reminded Modi of Indias harsh realities and said the Prime Minister is only trying to impress Japanese premier.

He is seeking to use this opportunity just to impress Shinzo Abe. This is the time to show the result as to where we are, he said.

India has plans to run the bullet train on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai route by 2022. Total 12 stations have been proposed including Surat and Vadodara.

According to the railway ministry officials, the operating speed of the bullet train will be 320 kilometers per hour and the maximum speed will be 350 kilometers per hour. The high-speed train will reduce Mumbai to Ahmedabad time from 8 hours to 2 hours.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ibrahim Pantami has stressed the need for Nigeria to digitalise its agricultural sector in order to foster innovation and create new business opportunities.

Pantami who made the call at a recent webinar on smart agriculture, organised by the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), said some countries like USA, Netherlands, Germany, Israel and Brazil, were already feeding the world because they have digitalised their agricultural sector.

Citing Netherlands, which has a land area of 41,865 square kilometers and rated as the world's second-largest exporter of food and agricultural produce, Pantami who was represented at the virtual conference by his Special Assistant, Dr. Femi Adeluyi, said seven states in Nigeria, like Niger, Borno, Taraba, Kaduna, Bauchi, Yobe and Zamfara, have land masses either greater than or comparable to that of the Netherlands.

He added that if Nigeria should embrace smart agriculture and digitalise her agricultural sector, the country could become exporter of agricultural products, outside of oil.

According to Pantami, "To adequately utilise digital technology as a platform for stimulating growth in all sectors of the economy through the development of a digital economy for the country, the Nigerian government through the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, developed the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) anchored on eight pillars."

He said the target was to adopt farmers in all 36 States and 774 LGAs in the country, support and equip them with skills and resources that will make Nigeria one of the leading nations in food sufficiency, security and exportation.

He, however, said it was important for the private sector, academia, development partners and state governments to partner with federal government in the areas of capacity building, smart solutions and services, research and development, finance, among others, in order to develop smart agriculture.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Alhaji Sabo Nanono, who was the special guest, but represented by Mr. Bejide Stephen, from the Federal Minster of Agriculture, said smart agriculture would require heavy initial investments, recurring maintenance cost, strong internet connectivity, as well as high cost of technology devices such as precision sensors, drones, gateways, bots, among others.

President of NCS, Prof. Adesina Sodiya, called on the federal government to provide necessary supports to small and medium scale farmers for efficient transformation to smart farming in Nigeria.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Agribusiness Nigeria By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"Smart agriculture has been considered as an innovative technological-based solution for promoting large scale and economical agricultural production.

"It adopts precision agriculture techniques and technologies that aim at improving the efficiency of agriculture to maximise food production, minimise environmental impact and reduce cost," Sodiya said.

The Director- General, Nigeria Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT), Dr. Abimbola Alale, assured Nigerians, that with the satellite, all the smart agriculture technologies could be implemented even in the rural areas. "NIGCOMSAT and its channel partners can provide broadband connectivity through VSATs and TV White Spaces (TVWS) for individual farmers or farmers cooperatives in rural areas," Alale said.

Participants at the conference, recommended that relevant stakeholders within the smart agriculture industry should adopt IoT based technologies like Sigfox, Agrikoin, among others and collaborate with the indigenous Nigerian Companies championing them. They further called on organisations like Microsoft and others with products in the IoT, Smart Agriculture and Data Analytics domain, for flexible price regime that are region specific to support countries like Nigeria with several smaller holder farmers.

They advised government to set up a model smart farms in all the six geopolitical regions of the country, and called on the National

Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), to consider it as part of its innovation programme for this year and work with universities and agricultural research institutes to achieve it.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bulgarian health and wellness brand Muno-Vax is trying to raise the bar when it comes to immunity health. The brand has made it its mission to "provide the highest quality and most effective immune supplements available on the market." They are attempting to do so by bringing scientific knowledge and industry experience to bear on the problem.

The importance of the immune system has never been more obvious. Modern scientific knowledge has shined an ever-brighter spotlight on the need for a strong bodily defense system. The natural protection of the immune system can help to defeat external invaders.

This system begins with limited capacity and then adapts and grows along with the body. As different germs and microbes enter your body and are destroyed, your immune system keeps tabs on each and every fallen foe so that it can recognize and eliminate it in the future.

This natural line of bodily defense is a critical part of a healthy life, which is why the folks at Muno-Vax have made it their goal not to replace but to support the immune system. They are attempting to do so by developing a line of supplements that are backed by some of "the world's leading immunologists with over 75 years of experience in developing immune support products."

The company is attempting to use a unique immuno-modulator that contains specific lipopolysaccharides and immune-supporting antioxidants. These are designed to act as an antigen that stimulates the immune system with the goal of keeping it in a constant state of "excitement" to help fight off real would-be intruders. Each product is targeted toward particular parts of the immune system, giving it an additional potency.

While only time can tell, if Muno-Vax's products continue to deliver on the company's lofty promises, they could be absolutely revolutionary for the health and wellness industry. Rather than addressing symptoms, the brand's supplements could use the body's natural defense system to help to prevent problems from ever arising in the first place.

About Muno-Vax: Muno-Vax Biotechnologies, LLC works closely with Nastim, Ltd. which operates out of Sofia, Bulgaria. Both brands are also associated with the biotech manufacturing arm of The National Center of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases. Muno-Vax's primary goal is to fill "a great void in products that promote immune health to prevent respiratory illnesses, gingivitis and men's prostate health."

Please direct inquiries to:

Irena Banta

(954) 754-9437

[email protected]

SOURCE Muno-Vax
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
PATCHWORK PLAN

GAS-FIRED PLANTS

LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS

(TNS)  State agencies and electric utilities are scrambling to shore up power supplies in hopes of avoiding the rolling blackouts that left 800,000 California homes and businesses without power during a record-breaking heatwave last August.That means gas-fired power plants could be called on more, instead of less, at a time when the state is trying wean itself from fossil fuels that produce greenhouse gases. Already last year, state regulators extended the life of outdated gas-fired power generators in Huntington Beach, Long Beach, Redondo Beach and Oxnard, all of which had been scheduled to shut down at the end of 2020. And now, the state is considering a second extension for the Redondo Beach plant, which is currently scheduled to close at the end of this year.Environmentalists are at odds with regulators and utilities over how to address the shifting energy landscape. But both sides agree that more needs to be done to meet clean energy goals at a time of when the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant and several gas-fired plants are scheduled to close, climate change is increasing summer electricity demands, and the phasing out of gasoline cars and natural-gas buildings will boost year-round electricity needs.Legislators are also becoming increasingly aware of the steep challenge ahead if California is to meet its targets of 60% green energy by 2030 and 100% by 2045. "To meet our state's goals, we must build six gigawatts of new renewable and storage each year ... equivalent to powering approximately 4 million homes with clean energy every year," Sen. Dianne Feinstein said in a March 19 letter to California Public Utilities Commission President Marybel Batjer. Feinstein called on the commission to let her know of its priorities for possible inclusion in any future federal infrastructure package, such as the proposal now being prepared by the White House. But the more urgent concern is getting the state through the next couple summers.Like the deadly February power outages in Texas, California's shortfalls last summer have been linked to more extreme weather resulting from climate change. The biggest threat to California, though, is heat rather than cold. Another difference is the extent of the threat, with widespread agreement that California's electrical grid is more integrated than the grid in Texas, and that California has more contingencies in place to address temporary power shortages.But as last summer proved, that was not enough.The state's "Final Root Cause Analysis" found the rolling blackouts on Aug. 14 and 15 resulted from a combination of increased demand, inadequate supplies, a now-fixed software glitch, the export of power to out-of-state utilities, gas-fired plants unable to run at full capacity and out-of-state suppliers with no energy left to sell to California.It was a problem anticipated, in part, in a state readiness report for the summer of 2020 that was written by the non-profit, quasi-governmental agency known as CAISO, which coordinates 80% of power delivery in the state. The report noted that if a heatwave extended beyond California to neighboring states that sell energy to the Golden State, there would be risk of an electricity shortage.In an effort to shore up supplies for this summer, the state Public Utilities Commission on Thursday, March 25, will consider a proposal that, among other things, calls for a 2.5% increase in the amount of energy procured by the state's three major utilities, Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric, and Pacific Gas and Electric.The plan also seeks to reduce demand at critical junctures by adjusting and increasing the possible number of "critical peak pricing" periods when utilities charge the most for electricity, and by allowing large commercial customers to pay a lower rate if they allow the utility to reduce the amount of power available when there's a threat of blackouts.But green-power activists oppose the proposal, saying there should be more emphasis on reducing demand and less on increasing supplies from existing sources. "All of that gas burning is what we need to get away from, but instead we're leaning into it," said V. John White, executive director of the non-profit Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies. Along with the Sierra Club and other environmental groups, White's organization wants strict limits on utilities procuring additional energy from gas-fired plants.White and other environmentalists also are calling for the commission to require utilities to offer more incentives to residential customers  particularly low-income residents  to use less energy during critical periods and an easier process for residential customers with solar panels to sell their energy to the electrical grid.Edison, which provided recommendations to the commission and supports the proposal, said those suggested alternatives aren't practical to get in place by summer. "These programs take a fair amount of effort, so we are focused on what would give us the most resources quickly," said William Walsh, Edison's vice president of energy procurement. And where will the additional energy come from, if needed? "That's the key question now," Walsh said. "There's only so much that exists. There's probably very little left so we'll probably be looking outside of the state." He acknowledged that there could be cost increases for customers but said he couldn't predict how much.Natural-gas power plants in Huntington Beach and Long Beach fired up long-planned, new generators in 2020. Intended to replace existing units, the new generators are smaller, and get twice as much energy from the same amount of gas. Unlike the old generators, they don't suck in ocean water for cooling and so do not harm sea life.The units typically operate only in the evening and early morning, when solar and wind power is minimal. Unlike the old generators, which can take as much as three days to start running, the new units can start up in 20 minutes. The last of the old generators at those two plants, as well as those in Redondo Beach and Oxnard, most built in the 1950s and 1960s, had been scheduled to shut down in 2020 as part of a state mandate to eliminate power units that harmed sea life. In Redondo Beach and Oxnard, there were no replacements built because of the transition to clean energy. As a result, the plants were scheduled to shut down entirely.But, last year, concerns over adequate power supplies resulted in extensions for the old units. In Redondo Beach, where local opposition to the extensions was strongest, a new closure date was set for the end of 2021. At the other three sites, the approved shutdown date is 2023. On Friday, March 26, a committee representing a host of state regulatory agencies will consider recommending a second extension of the Redondo Beach's units, this time until 2023."The two heat storms in 2020 showed that the California planning margins need to be increased to account for more extreme heat events," said Public Utilities Commission spokesperson Terrie Prosper. "Concerns for 2021 will carry over into 2022 and 2023, until sufficient new resources can be built to meet the new planning needs based on extreme weather events."Then there's the longer-range energy needs, where renewable energy activists disagree with the commission on several fronts. Differences include including how much clean juice should be required by mid-decade and how carbon emissions are measured in reaching the 2030 goal of a 60% reduction.The state was ahead of schedule in meeting its 33% reduction goal for 2020, but some environmentalists take issue with that calculation and point to the old gas-fired plants that are still operating to help buoy their case. While Prosper said the commission has called for 8,000 megawatts of new clean energy over the next four years  including 2,000 megawatts by this summer  activists say that's not enough. That would be a 17% increase to the maximum amount of energy pumped out at any time last year.One clean-energy proposal getting legislators attention is the prospect of building windmills offshore of Northern California. Unlike onshore wind farms, those offshore would produce energy around the clock because of constant winds, according to Elizabeth Nickerson of Environment California.Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco, has introduced a bill, AB 525, that would establish goals of 3,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2030 and 10,000 by 2040. Meanwhile, a climate-change executive order signed by President Biden a week after being sworn calls on a sharp increase in offshore wind initiatives and a $1 trillion infrastructure proposal being developed by the White House includes clean-energy construction.With an emphasis on the need for power then the sun isn't shining, expanding battery storage of solar and wind power is a key priority. A particularly ambitious proposal would turn Riverside County's abandoned Eagle Mountain iron mine into a pump-storage plant, in which water would be pumped from a lower reservoir to an upper reservoir when the sun out and energy is cheap. When the sun sets, the upper reservoir would release its water to drive energy-producing turbines en route back to the lower reservoir.The plant could deliver as much as 1,300 megawatts and has received all necessary permits. The sticking point is the $3 billion price tag for construction. "It's a question of investing in infrastructure at a time when the utilities are trying to provide the lowest cost energy," said Patrick Sinclair, head of the non-profit California Alliance for Renewable Energy Solutions, which is funded in part by Eagle Mountain's developers. "How do you move forward at a time when the emphasis is on the lowest cost options and the lowest cost option is fossil fuels?"Edison's Walsh said it's not yet time to pursue the project. "We don't see a need for this type of long-term storage until the end of the decade or maybe the beginning of the next one, although we're open to additional information," he said. But environmentalists say the commission needs to be more proactive in pursuing long-term projects, despite the expense."Not investing in large-scale infrastructure is going to cost us in the long run," White said.
The Public Procurement Review Panel has ordered the Central Procurement Board of Namibia (CPBN) to re-evaluate the N$3.5 billion tender to supply food to public schools in the country.

The panel's decision follows after 11 unsuccessful bidders challenged the CPBN decision to award contracts to nine of the 96 companies who had tendered for the bid last year.

CPBN had awarded the tender to James and Young Enterprises, Beva Investments, Sash Trading and

Earthworks, Ndakalimwe Investments, Tuthikameni Pamwe Investments, Future Fresh Super Market, Om'kwana Caterer, Stream Two Properties and Fundamental Trading Enterprises.

"Having studied the evaluation sheets of the bid evaluation committee, the review panel found that the evaluation of this bid was not done in accordance with the criteria and methodology set out in the bidding document as described," the review panel said in its verdict.

Thus, the panel gave additional instructions that CPBN must comply with.

CPBN was ordered to re-evaluate bids strictly in accordance with the criteria and methodology set out in the instructions to bidders to the extent that they are consistent with the provisions of the law.

CPBN should also re-evaluate the bids that contained Social Security Commission's good standing certificates issued in respect of this bid.

Furthermore, aspects of the bid such as Namibianisation, storage facility or warehouse, should also be re-evaluated.

The review panel also ordered if the re-evaluation takes longer than the remaining portion of the extended bid validity period, CPBN should seek another extension with bidders.

However, "the re-evaluation herein is limited to bidders that have agreed in writing to the extension of the bid validity period in accordance with Section 49 (2) and/or 43 (3) (if applicable)."

In its findings, the review panel found that CPBN incorrectly assumed that the bidders ought to have known that the Social Security Commission's good standing certificate had an expiry date or was linked to a validity period.

Thus, the CPBN misdirected itself and acted unprocedural and unreasonably when it disqualified bidders whose Social Security Commission's good standing certificate was 30 days older than 7 September 2020.

The panel further noted that the bid closing date was initially extended due to the Covid-19 pandemic and bidders who obtained Social Security Commission's good standing certificates in preparation of the first closing date should not have been disqualified.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Namibia By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

In addition, the evaluation conducted by the bid evaluation committee regarding the storage facilities was not as per the requirement set out in the bidding document.

The review panel noted that it did not find any direct conflict of interest in bidders having the same registering accounting officer.

The 11 unsuccessful bidders argued that several of the awarded bidders have no prior experience in the catering business as their experience relates to mainly construction or property and the evaluation done by the board was not compliant with the Public Procurement Act as the methodology and criteria used to evaluate the bids was not as per the instructions to bidders contained in the bidding documents.

Furthermore, companies such as Fundamental Trading Enterprise and Tuthikameni Pamwe Investments were awarded contracts despite them not providing proof of a food storage facility as required by the bid.

In their defence, CPBN claims the criteria and methodology used to examine and evaluate bids were neither vague nor insufficient.

It submitted that bidders had the opportunity to seek clarification if they had questions regarding the evaluation, the qualification criteria, and the method of scoring.

The board indicated bids were selected for award based on their overall performance in the whole evaluation process and not only on their prices.

They further explained not having a warehouse was a criterion resulting in an automatic disqualification.

In addition, no bidder has been able to prove corruption in the evaluation process conducted by the CPBN.
China takes lead in ratifying RCEP

15:38, March 25, 2021 By Du Yifei ( People's Daily

Three new international sea routes are opened at Qingdao Port, east China's Shandong Province, Jan. 19, 2021. The new routes link Qingdao Port with regions and countries along the Belt and Road and with partner countries of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). (People's Daily/Zhang Jingang)

China has taken the lead in ratifying the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, said Yu Benlin, director-general of the Department of International Trade and Economic Affairs, Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) on Monday.

With the ratification by at least six ASEAN member states and three Non-ASEAN members, the agreement will be effective among these countries. So far, Thailand has also ratified the agreement.

It is reported that all parties concerned are proactively pushing for the agreement to take effect. They are planning to ratify the agreement before the end of this year and push for it to become effective on Jan. 1, 2022.

Once the RCEP takes effect, countries involved will immediately reduce tariffs according to it, fulfill their commitment of opening investment in the service sector, and implement the rules in all areas of the pact.

The MOFCOM and other relevant authorities have arranged a total of 701 binding obligations involving China under the RCEP, and completed preparations for the implementation of 613 items, or 87 percent of the total. Preparations for the remaining items are expected to be completed before the RCEP's implementation, and China will be able to entirely fulfill its obligations when the agreement becomes effective, said Yu.

The RCEP was officially signed on Nov. 15, 2020. It features the largest participating population, the most diversified membership structures, and the greatest potential for development in the world. Its 15 member countries have a total population of 2.27 billion and a total GDP of $26 trillion. Their combined exports stand at $5.2 trillion, accounting for around 30 percent of the world's total.

It is believed by the international society that the RCEP has a huge market potential and will vigorously drive regional and global growth. According to estimate by Peterson Institute for International Economics, the RCEP is expected to drive a net increase of $519 billion in exports and $186 billion in national income for its members each year by 2030.

The COVID-19 pandemic has plunged international trade and investment into a big slide, throwing the world economy into a severe recession. Under such background, the commitments made by RCEP members to lower tariffs, open markets, and reduce barriers will significantly vitalize the flow of commodities, technologies, services, personnel and capital. This will not only forcefully promote regional economic recovery, but also inject positive energy into the global cooperation on COVID-19 and the world economy.

Jurin Laksanawisit, Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister said that the signing of the RCEP indicates that a huge integrated market covering 1/3 of the world economy will be formed, which will guarantee its members better connection and wider mutual opening-up. The pact will generate huge development potential and revitalize the world's confidence in free trade.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji)
You have permission to edit this article.

Edit Close
Kyle Printon is sure Henry Rowan, if he were alive today, would be on his side over a flap about chickens.

Printon, a senior bioengineering student at Rowan University who shares an off-campus house with seven others in Glassboro, said the Borough Council rejected a request to allow them to keep a flock of one-year-old chickens for a few more weeks until they graduate in May.
Tech Data and Alteryx (NYSE: AYX), a leader in analytic process automation (APA) that automates analytics, data science and processes to accelerate business outcomes, today announced a new North America partnership. This provides Tech Data and its partners access to the Alteryx unified platform that simplifies analytics, data science and process automation to accelerate digital transformation for customers.

Tech Datas strategic channel partner program will accelerate organizations access to Alteryxs automated analytics and data science solutions, said Sharmila Mulligan, chief strategy and marketing officer of Alteryx. Together, we expect to drive partner growth, expand our market reach and grow our network of value-added resellers (VARs) to deliver ready-to-use solutions by analytics need, by department and industry.

Todays businesses demand faster automated insights and impactful business outcomes from the abundance of data they collect, says Colin Blair, vice president, IoT and Data Solutions at Tech Data. Were excited to add Alteryxs easy-to-use, automated analytics and data science platform to the Tech Data technology solution strategy. Tech Data is committed to helping channel partners transform their businesses with solutions to address the demands from end users.

Tech Data and Alteryx Partnership Highlights:

Comprehensive enablement for Tech Data partners  Dedicated business development and consulting resources to help grow VAR businesses

 Dedicated business development and consulting resources to help grow VAR businesses Meeting the demand for Alteryx in the channel  Address growing customer demand for Alteryx self-service analytics and process automation

 Address growing customer demand for Alteryx self-service analytics and process automation Added depth and breadth for the Tech Data IoT, Data and Analytics Practice  New unified data preparation, analytics, data science and process automation capabilities create new opportunity for Alteryx and enhance solutions already available in the market

 New unified data preparation, analytics, data science and process automation capabilities create new opportunity for Alteryx and enhance solutions already available in the market Productivity and quality enhancements for end users  Improve client sales, reduce churn, automate tax and audits, optimize supply chain or quickly deploy Alteryx to integrate with leading technologies

Partnering with Tech Data expands our community of VARs and solution providers that can bring the value of Alteryxs analytics, data science and process automation to more organizations to help speed business insights, said Bruce Gordon, vice president of Americas channels at Alteryx.

Visit iot.techdata.com for more details on Tech Datas complete portfolio of IoT and analytics offerings, enablement and industry solutions, and visit alteryx.com to learn more about why they were named to Fast Companys 10 Most Innovative Companies in Data Science.
Californias vaccination effort has grown more costly and convoluted but not much more effective. With federal vaccine supplies expected to increase and the state still struggling to administer shots at an average pace, the most promising course is to make most Californians eligible for vaccination as soon as possible.

Gov. Gavin Newsom recently turned over the laggard vaccine rollout to insurance giant Blue Shield, a generous supporter of his campaigns and causes dating to his San Francisco days. The no-bid contract appears to have made an immediate impact on the states bottom line. The Department of Finance last week projected that the states pandemic response would cost $15 billion, $2.1 billion more than the governors latest budget estimated, with about half the increase attributable to the vaccination program.

So far the effect on vaccination rates has not been as dramatic. The state recently moved to prioritize residents of disadvantaged neighborhoods for shots along with those with health conditions, those 65 and older, health care and emergency personnel, and other essential workers. California ranks near the national average and the middle of the pack among states in the share of its population to have received at least one vaccine dose, nearly 26%. But its still in the bottom third of states in the share of received doses administered, about 77%, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, and it fared even worse in a recent federal analysis of vaccine equity.

The best hope for improving that performance probably isnt another huge contract or fine-tuning of eligibility criteria. Its making vaccination broadly available and accelerating efforts to get ahead of virus variants, vaccine hesitancy and, perhaps most ominous, the resumption of risky activities such as indoor dining in the Bay Area and beyond.

Local officials are already leading in the right direction in that regard. Contra Costa County this week joined Solano County in offering vaccinations to anyone 50 or older. Several states have taken the same step or gone further, with a few offering shots to anyone 16 or older. President Biden has urged all the states to make every adult eligible by May 1, and Newsom said last week that he plans to do so by then.

Given Californias struggles to date and the prospect of another viral surge, officials should be moving to administer more vaccinations with at least the urgency with which theyre reopening stadiums and amusement parks.

This commentary is from The Chronicles editorial board. We invite you to express your views in a letter to the editor. Please submit your letter via our online form: SFChronicle.com/letters.
Prime Minister of the German federal state of Schleswig-Holstein and president of the Federal Council Daniel Gunther at a Swakopmund graveyard monument erected to commemorate the victims of the colonial concentration camp there.

A little-known committee under the banner, Otjisuta Otjetu Oveni, has criticised the ongoing genocide negotiations between Namibia and the German government, saying talks will fail because it is taking place in contravention of international conventions on human rights in relation to genocide.

The Australian-based committee president Jeremia Tjatindi this week said the matter should not be between the two governments but between the government of Germany and the descendants of the victims of the genocide with the facilitation of the Namibian government.

According to Tjatindi, the submission and spirit of the motion of September 2006 presented by the late parliamentarian Kuaima Riruako remain that the Namibian government should play a facilitating role in organising, amongst other things, a genocide conference to map out the future of the negotiating process.

"The government of Namibia has deliberately ignored this clause so as to be in charge of the negotiating process, thereby circumventing and violating the rights of the victims," Tjatindi said.

He said the ancestors of the Herero and Nama communities suffered a great loss of lives as well as movable and immovable properties at the hands of the German troops during the annulation war of 1904 to 1908.

Again, he said, the descendants continue to suffer at the hands of the Namibian government that imposes itself upon the descendants of the said communities to negotiate for the reparation of the crime committed against their ancestors.

He said the descendants demand their rightful centre stage in the negotiation process, which is to negotiate directly with the perpetrator of the crime.

Tjatindi advised government to use a society-centred approach where the descendants and affected communities play a leading role in the negotiation instead of the government-centred approach where government decides on behalf of the communities.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Namibia Governance Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"This process has been a struggle for the past five years; this struggle should be addressed soonest," he said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila announced in parliament last week that the German government has shown willingness to revise the offer of reparations.

The latest undertaking comes after the initial offer was rejected by the Namibian authorities.

"Germany has indicated that they were willing to give Namibia an amount of money for the implementation of projects. However, this amount is far below meaningful reparations," Kuugongelwa-Amadhila told lawmakers in the National Assembly while updating the nation on the status of the genocide negotiations between the two governments.

She added the amount is not acceptable to Namibia, given the loss of lives, land and cultural heritage of the affected communities and the impact the genocide has today on the Namibian nation in general.

Tens of thousands of Namibians, mainly the Nama and Ovaherero, were killed in what is called the first genocide of the 20th century. German troops massacred and displaced tens of thousands of Namibians between 1904 and 1908.

In 2015, the two countries started negotiating an agreement that would combine an official apology by Germany as well as development aid.

The negotiations have now taken close to five years.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 12:02:09|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, talks to enterprise staff at RICOM, an optical lens company, in Fuzhou, Fujian Province, March 24, 2021. Xi Jinping on Wednesday inspected the city of Fuzhou during his trip to east China's Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

FUZHOU, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, on Wednesday said China will give full support to those who are committed to innovation and make contributions to the country.

Xi made the remarks when he visited RICOM, an optical lens company in the city of Fuzhou, the provincial capital of east China's Fujian, during his inspection tour of the province.

Xi learned about the company's products and visited the workshop to see the production of precision equipment.

When talking with employees of the company, Xi said innovation is a must for the country to continue making progress during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), and this requires those who can seize opportunities with a sense of responsibility and mission and have the capability to do the job well. Enditem
Late Rishi Kapoor Seen Humming A Tune Enjoying A Fine NYC Evening In This Bittersweet Throwback Shared By Neetu Kapoor

It has been almost 11 months since Rishi Kapoors demise and his wife Neetu Kapoor who frequently shares cherished memories of him on social media marked the occasion in a special way. Remembering the late actor Neetu posted a video of Rishi Kapoor which was shot in New York while the actor was there for his cancer treatment.

Since today is Rishijis 11 month prayer meet felt like sharing some moments from our last trip to NYC. Neetu wrote in the caption. The late actor can be seen having a gala time with him wife as he hums a tune walking beside her while she records their evening on a video made in the selfie mode. The actor who was clearly enjoying a mesmerizing view in front of him even asked Neetu to turn the camera and film the view in front of them and not him. Show this na, what are you showing me? he says to Neetu who is smiling beside him.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by neetu Kapoor. Fightingfyt (@neetu54)

Several celebrities showered love on the video soon after it was posted by the actress. Anupam Kher who was Rishi's close friend poetically wrote in Hindi, Aaj phir teri kahaani yaad aayi, with a heart emoji. Rishi and Neetus daughter Riddhima also posted a heart emoji.

On her own social media account, Riddhima posted a family picture featuring Ranbir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Neetu Kapoor, herself and her daughter Samara. She wrote with the picture, Your love will light our way- Your memory will forever be with us! Always in our hearts.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Riddhima Kapoor Sahni (RKS) (@riddhimakapoorsahniofficial)

Rishi Kapoor spent a year in New York getting treated for Leukemia. The actor returned to India after he was declared cancer free but later in 2019 he relapsed and in April 2020 succumbed to the disease.
Photo: The Canadian Press Conservative MP Michael Chong rises during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

The Conservatives are calling on the Liberal government to stop funding the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank given the ongoing detention and secret trials of two Canadians in China.

In a letter Tuesday to Justin Trudeau, Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole urged the prime minister to cancel a US$40 million payment to the China-led agency.

"When the AIIB was first proposed it was criticized by the Obama administration as a political tool that the Chinese government would use to expand its influence throughout Asia," O'Toole wrote.

"Furthermore, concerns about the AIIB's environmental records, labour standards, and overall commitment to human rights continue to this day."

O'Toole said Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig "have been held hostage" by China for more than two years, arbitrarily detained in apparent retaliation for Canada's arrest of a top Huawei executive on the request of the United States. The are now being tried secretly in Chinese courts that "are not based on the rule of law," he said.

O'Toole said China's human rights violations against the Uyghur Muslims and protesters in Hong Kong are further reasons to stop payments to the bank.

Conservative foreign-affairs critic Michael Chong said it's unacceptable that Canada would support the bank when China is conducting secret trials of Spavor and Kovrig.

Chong said the Liberal government should use all of the tools at its disposal, including withholding the payment, to put pressure on Chinese authorities to stop the trials and release the two Michaels.

"We should also be looking at using other tools at our disposal to put pressure on Chinese authorities, such as withdrawing from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank ... banning Huawei from the build-out of Canada's telecommunications network, and a range of other measures," Chong said in an interview.

"The fact that the government is not using these tools at its disposal indicates that they don't have a plan to respond to China's threats, it indicates that they're naive and equivocating."

Global Affairs Canada and Finance Canada have not responded to several requests for information on whether the payment that's due this month has been made or whether Ottawa will withhold the payment to put pressure on China.

The government committed to contribute $256 million to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in 2017 and has made payments of nearly US$40 million in March in each of the last three years.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland last week said Canada will make its final two payments to the bank in March 2021 and March 2022 to complete its commitment.
Four people in Oregon are being monitored for the Ebola virus after travel to west African countries that have outbreaks of the disease, public health officials said Thursday.

The Oregon Health Authority has contacted all of the individuals, who traveled to Guinea and Democratic Republic of the Congo, and considers them to be persons under monitoring, the agency said in a statement.

All arrived in Oregon from the affected countries earlier this month, officials said, adding that risk to others in the state was low.

We want to make sure these individuals have the support they need to monitor their health, stay in contact with public health officials and safely get help with medical services if it comes to that, Richard Leman, the states chief medical officer for health security, preparedness and response, said in a statement.

Leman stressed that, unlike the coronavirus, people without symptoms cannot transmit the Ebola virus and none of the individuals being monitored had shown any signs of the illness.

He also said that Oregon has successfully implemented monitoring programs during past Ebola outbreaks.

Weve had to do this before, he said. These approaches were using have been successful in those instances and weve never had a case of Ebola in Oregon.

As of Wednesday, Guinea has reported 18 Ebola cases and nine deaths. The outbreak is centered in the southern region of the country. Democratic Republic of Congo has seen 12 cases and six deaths in the eastern part of the country near the border with Uganda.

The outbreaks were limited to small areas in both countries and had not affected large population centers.

Still, the Centers for Disease Control has issued warnings for both countries and told people to avoid unnecessary travel.

Public health officials said they were in contact with community-based organizations in Oregon to provide aid to those being monitored in the state.

-- Kale Williams; kwilliams@oregonian.com; 503-294-4048; @sfkale
Tillabery in Niger where many attacks have taken place (file photo)

The United Nations Secretary-General has reaffirmed the Organization's support and solidarity with Niger, as the second deadly attacks against civilians in less than a week rocked the west African nation.

On Sunday, unidentified gunmen attacked the villages of Intazayene, Bakorate and Wistane in the Tahoua region, killing at least 137 people, including 22 children. The attacks took place as people were fetching water, according to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Last week, on 15 March, gunmen killed at least 58 civilians, including six children, as they were returning from a weekly market in the Banibangou department, Tillaberi region, about 400 kilometres (250 miles) south-west of Tahoua.

'Bring perpetrators to justice'

In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned Sunday's attack and called on the Nigerien authorities to "spare no effort" in identifying and swiftly bringing the perpetrators to justice.

He also urged greater efforts to protect civilians.

The UN chief also called on countries in the Sahel region to continue their efforts, in close collaboration with regional organizations and international partners, "to address these serious threats to security and stability in the sub-region and beyond".

'Attacks must stop 'once and for all'

In a separate statement, UNICEF said it was "deeply shocked and outraged" by the attack and called on all parties to protect children and keep them out of harm's way.

"Attacks on children and families must stop, once and for all. Enough is enough", Marie-Pierre Poirier, the agency's Regional Director for West and Central Africa, said.

"It is hard to believe that children in the region should live in permanent fear of such attacks. This doesn't have to be their reality", she added.

Ms. Poirier also voiced concerns over the impact of the violence and insecurity on efforts to reach the vulnerable with aid.

"The continuing conflict, repeated attacks, and access restrictions due to insecurity and violence are hampering our ability to reach those most in need", she warned.

Across Niger, about 3.8 million people are in need of assistance and protection, including about 2 million children. Hunger is one of the main concerns, with nearly 920,000 children acutely malnourished (as of March 2020).
Thursday, March 25, 2021

Merriman Smith was the UPI journalist in the press car in the motorcade who first reported that shots were fired at JFK. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1964 for his coverage of the assassination.

He also wrote about Jim Garrison. He interviewed Garrison in late February 1967, and before he wrote his article, he called the FBI to tell them what he had learned:

This is a good early view of Garrison's thinking. You can see the homosexual angle played up where Garrison claims a "group of local perverts" infiltrated, and then took, over the anti-Castro training camp.

Here is his article from March 5, 1967 - in this case from the Boston Record American - note this is a UPI article and it appeared in many newspapers across the country.

Smith then wrote to the FBI with a copy of his wire story:

After Merriman Smith's article appeared, a complaint was filed by David Lewis:

You can read a more legible version here from an FBI Report.

Here is a picture of David Lewis:

I doubt this went anywhere. Here is David Lewis' statement from December 1966:

David Lewis sure saw Lee Harvey Oswald a lot. At Mancuso' Restaurant, in Banister's office, and even at David Ferrie's apartment. He realized he had seen Oswald right after he was killed by Jack Ruby. But, he never came forward until the Jim Garrison investigation.

Then in January 1967 he was back in Garrison's office, and David Chandler, a local reporter who was friendly with Garrison, was there:

A couple of points, first, note that Lewis now claims he saw Oswald with Quiroga in 1962 - which is impossible because Oswald had just returned from the Soviet Union, and was living in Ft. Worth. Second, he now claims he was just shot at. A future blog post will examine the supposed shooting in more detail. But, they administered a lie detector test on Lewis and he failed. That was enough to finish him off as a potential witness.

Here is what Tom Bethell wrote in his diary about David Lewis:

From September 9, 1967:

From October 2, 1967:

David Lewis met with the press in late February:

Boston Traveler, February 23, 1967

Here is a CIA report which quotes an FBI report on Lewis:

Not surprisingly, David Lewis is not mentioned in Jim Garrison's book, On The Trail of The Assassins. But, guess who actually believes Lewis is a credible witness? Yup, James DiEugenio, in his book Destiny Betrayed, writes:

"David Lewis, a former investigator for Banister, stated that he once met Oswald in the summer of 1963 in a restaurant housed at the Camp Street building. With Oswald was Sergio Arcacha Smith."

James DiEugenio doesn't even source primary documents - his source is Henry Hurt's book, Reasonable Doubt. And, besides the fact that Lewis has no credibility (and he was not an investigator for Banister) - DiEugenio should know that Sergio Arcacha Smith was not living in New Orleans in the summer of 1963.

Smith wrote another article about Garrison in 1969:
The deep freeze across the central U.S. last month didn't just darken 4 million homes in Texas. It also left millions of people across the border in Mexico in the dark for days, disrupted water supplies, forced schools and businesses to shut, and knocked out service to about 800 manufacturing facilities that depend on U.S. shale gas for energy.

Since then, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has turned the crisis into a rallying cry for more energy independence, weaponizing it to advance a nationalist agenda that has implications beyond natural gas imports and threatens tens of billions of dollars of investments in renewable energy by U.S., Canadian and European energy companies. On a large screen behind his press-briefing podium, he called up the image of a recent Wall Street Journal article showing how the power-market deregulation in Texas cost utility customers billions of dollars.

When they had the issue of the freeze in Texas, it became clear that the energy policy in place in that state and other states in the American union doesnt work well, the 67-year-old president, widely known as AMLO, told reporters last month as he pointed to the article, which he also cited in other occasions. They paid an extra $28 billion in Texas because of the privatization of the electricity industry.

The jabs at Texas provided fresh fodder for AMLOs long-standing crusade to return the countrys electricity to the hands of the state in a throwback to decades of monopoly that left old power plants in bad shape and unable to meet growing electricity demand. His policies are putting him on a collision course with the U.S. and other nations that worry about assets held by NextEra Energy Inc., Sempra Energy, Canadian Solar, Spains Iberdrola and Italys Enel.

While the president claims that private-sector investors are ransacking Mexicos energy riches, some critics say that all he has achieved is to stall power generation projects that would actually help Mexico cut gas purchases from north of the border. The government has this fantasy that they can reduce their use of natural gas, said Rosanety Barrios, an independent energy analyst and former energy ministry official in the previous administration of Enrique Pena Nieto. We dont have a strategy to reduce the risk of import dependency, thats the reality.

The president argues that the state can make the country more energy-independent by building new hydro dams and other power plants. Its hard to fathom, though, how the cash-strapped national utility Comision Federal de Electricidad and oil producer Petroleos Mexicanos could at the same time reduce Mexicos reliance on gas from Texas, sideline internationally owned solar and wind projects, and do all that without the help of private enterprise and foreign capital. CFE struggles to maintain its existing power plants, and Pemex cant produce gas as cheap as Texas does, so it focuses almost entirely on crude.

Officials from AMLOs office, CFE and Pemex didnt reply to requests for comment.

Energized by public outrage over last months outages that he blames on the previous administrations policies, his piecemeal moves to give the state more control over the electricity market are gaining some traction. This month, the president managed to pass a bill that gives CFE priority over solar and wind plants when selling electricity on the grid. The law is now stuck in a court battle, and thats just prodding him further: He has pledged to amend the constitution to dial back on the reforms that opened up the countrys energy industry to the private sector in 2013 and 2014.

I will send an initiative to reform the constitution, because I cannot be an accessory to theft, robbery, I cannot accept that individuals harm the public treasury,'' AMLO said last week.

In practice, Mexicos economy has continued to become increasingly reliant on the U.S. under AMLO, who rose to power in 2018 on pledges to reduce that dependence.

Rising exports to the northern neighbor and money sent home by Mexican expats have been a major boost to the economy during the pandemic. Meanwhile, gas imports from the U.S. have nearly tripled in five years to about 6.5 billion cubic feet a day.

Instead of helping Mexico diversify its electricity generation, his policies have mostly alienated the renewable energy developers that came to the country following the past administrations reforms and are already producing about a 10th of the countrys electricity. Theyve invested almost $30 billion in renewables and energy storage over the past decade, and potential power generation projects over the next 30 years could bring roughly $150 billion more, according to BloombergNEF.

But AMLO is putting all that in limbo. His government has sought to favor the state utility in the power market even before this months contentious bill. About 200 energy projects have been stalled, while competitive bidding rounds for new energy investments have been suspended.

Jaguar E&P, a Mexican upstart that has half of the privately operated onshore gas fields in the country, is hoping that private explorers will be able to thrive alongside the two state energy companies and help the country reduce dependence on imports.

What happened in February highlights the risk that we have associated not just with relying on gas coming from the U.S. but specifically gas coming from one state, Jaguar Chief Executive Officer Warren Levy said. You combine the very heavy import dependency, lack of storage capacity, lack of domestic supply, and what you get is that when you have a shortfall of gas, theres a very high risk for the Mexican economy.

Even if AMLOs approach cant realistically bring Mexico closer to energy self-sufficiency, it gets votes. After four years of a Donald Trump presidency that wasnt very friendly towards his country, AMLOs combination of charisma and tough nationalistic talk has helped him sustain high levels of popularity. And with over 60 percent of Mexicos electricity generation relying on gas that comes mostly from north of the border, its also easy to see how his supporters are willing to overlook flaws in his policies in the name of more independence.

It also didnt help that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, at the height of the crisis on Feb. 17, banned sales of power and gas to customers outside the state. The move was bound to have serious implications to Mexico, as Javier Lopez Ramos, the chief executive officer of Pemexs gas-trading unit, pointed out in a letter to the Texas energy regulator that same day.

The loss of export volumes from Texas cannot readily be offset with Mexican production, such that human deprivation will almost certainly result, he said in the letter.

While Mexicos outages werent as bad as in Texas, where 57 people died because of the freeze, grid operator Cenace announced rolling blackouts that lasted for three days, with as many as 4.7 million customers losing electricity at some point. The northern states of Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas were the worst hit. Manufacturing and export firms lost about $200 per hour during the outages, according to Luis Manuel Hernandez, the president of the National Council of the Maquiladora and Export Manufacturing Industry. But hes not blaming the U.S.

If the government had anticipated the problem, we wouldnt have had three days without electricity, he said over the phone from Tijuana.
By Muriel Jaeger

British Library. Paperback, 288 pp.

- - -

Somewhat surprisingly, London's venerable British Library has emerged as a major player in the reissuing of early-20th-century popular fiction. After immense success with a line of Golden Age mysteries, it recently added imprints devoted to classic weird tales, women's novels from before World War II and early science fiction. The BL's trade paperbacks are uniformly handsome, well printed, augmented with illuminating introductions and priced around $12.50. Some titles are issued in the United States by Poisoned Pen Press, while the others can be ordered online or through your favorite bookstore. Nearly all are worth seeking out.

Consider, for example, "The Question Mark" and "The Man With Six Senses," both by Muriel Jaeger. Originally published in 1926 and 1927 by Leonard and Virginia Woolf's Hogarth Press, the two novels are H.G. Wellsian works of technological, political and social extrapolation. The first depicts a socialist utopia of the 22nd century, and the second tracks the life of a flawed "superman" and the effect of his powers on himself and those closest to him. In both, action is subordinated to argument, as the characters converse about society, class, sex and marriage, religious belief and human evolution.

Such high-minded discourse fits with Jaeger's intellectual background. Born in 1892, she became one of the first graduates of Somerville, Oxford's famous women's college, where she was a close friend of Dorothy L. Sayers (who dedicated her first Peter Wimsey mystery, "Whose Body?," to Jaeger). Though she went on to produce four novels of ideas before her death in 1969, none of Jaeger's books gained a wide readership, though they are now being rediscovered. Appropriately enough, this British Library edition of "The Question Mark" is introduced by Mo Moulton, author of the recent and pioneering group biography "The Mutual Admiration Society: How Dorothy L. Sayers and Her Oxford Circle Remade the World for Women."

"The Question Mark" focuses on Guy Martin, an aggrieved bank clerk who "always believed that he could have done great things (the nature of which remained unspecified) if he had only been given his chance." Failing to turn friendship with an aristocratic young woman into something more, a despondent Guy wills himself into a deathlike sleep, eventually awakening in a seemingly idyllic socialist future. His first sight of 22nd-century London reveals Jaeger's flair for prediction:

"In a neighbouring field a gleaming, smokeless machine was mowing grass at an astonishing rate, apparently quite unattended, moving up and down the broad rows and turning at the ends with a quaint military precision."

Besides self-driving lawn mowers, Jaeger's utopia also includes personal-size helicopters, rather like ride-share bikes, virtual-reality cinemas and pocket-size power boxes, through which one can operate all sorts of devices. While Guy initially oohs and aahs at what he regards as a socialist dream come true, Jaeger soon reveals that society has divided into two classes: intellectuals and normals. The intellectuals are logical, emotionally low-key, fond of debate, creative. The normals, by contrast, are exuberant, susceptible to fads and fancies, highly physical. No gradation exists between the two: You are born either a knowledge-acquiring intellectual or a sensation-seeking normal.

To which class does Guy belong? He repeatedly shows a worshipful, homoerotic attraction to John, his chief guide to this brave new world, even as he remains unaware, and then disdainful, of the rapt adoration bestowed on him by the normal Ena. His encounter with a charismatic, Christ-like preacher does lead Guy to question the callousness of the elite, though not enough to initiate a revolution. He is simply too much a nebbish. Instead Jaeger lays bare the spiritual ennui of a leisured civilization without real purpose.

Jaeger's marked antipathy to classifying people in binary terms, whether social, sexual or psychological, continues in "The Man With Six Senses." The book's narrator, Ralph Standring, is wealthy, self-important and determined to marry Hilda (whose last name we never learn) - mainly, it seems, because his late mother wanted him to. But while Ralph enjoys a tempestuous love affair in Italy, Hilda goes off to Oxford and comes to know Michael Bristowe.

Michael, it turns out, possesses the ability to perceive objects he cannot see. At first, this talent seems akin to dowsing - the sensitive young man can "feel" metal underground and even detect the presence of a buried corpse. Ralph dismisses such extrasensory perception as more liability than gift, especially since Michael grows increasingly frail by exercising his powers and comes to depend on Hilda for friendship, stability and reassurance.

Could Michael represent the next stage in humankind's development? Whatever the personal sacrifice, Hilda deems herself obligated to ensure that his sixth sense is fostered and preserved. As in her first novel, Jaeger's principal characters are more interesting than likable. The vampirically needy Michael, the snobbish and pompous Ralph and the increasingly fanatical Hilda might have stepped out of a Strindberg closet drama - three studies in mutually inflicted torture.

Like "The Question Mark," too, "The Man With Six Senses" avoids not just a conventional happy ending but any clear-cut ending at all. Instead, Jaeger means for us to reflect on the competing issues - of morality, social progress and self-fulfillment - laid out in her impressive, albeit rather dour, scientific romances. Happily, these British Library reissues give us another chance to do just that.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- While there is much excitement about the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine, there is also some skepticism with polls showing that up to 30 percent of Americans say they are not sure that they will get the vaccine. To ensure confidence in the COVID-19 vaccine, BioFlorida has launched the COVID-19 Vaccine Facts educational resource to link Floridians to third-party scientific and evidenced-based information related to the vaccine development and distribution process. Topics include safety, efficacy, availability, and affordability of COVID-19 vaccines.

The resource, which is translated in English and Spanish, provides Floridians with answer to "frequently asked questions" related to vaccine development and distribution, including:

Are certain vaccines more effective than others?

Will the vaccine work against new COVID-19 strains?

Will the vaccine make me sick with COVID-19?

Why is diversity in vaccine clinical trials important?

When will my family and I receive a vaccine for COVID-19?

"Organizations from all over the world including our Florida-based companies, research organizations, universities, health systems, and labs have made significant advancements to discover the vaccines, therapeutics, and other tools to address COVID-19," said Nancy K. Bryan, President & CEO of BioFlorida. "We all have unique roles in the COVID-19 fight, and we hope BioFlorida's COVID-19 Vaccine Facts online resource will serve as a comprehensive resource for our companies, community partners, and government officials to educate the public on the scientifically rigorous, transparent, and safety-focused vaccine development process to build trust in our industry's unprecedented response to this pandemic."

The resource will continue to be updated in partnership with the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO). The resources have been independently reviewed by health experts and incorporate several visual elements to help explain concepts like herd immunity, emergency use authorization, and more.

BioFlorida has also aggregated vaccine resources on distribution, corporate guidance, and news from Florida companies making a difference in the fight against COVID-19.

The BioFlorida COVID-19 Vaccine Facts educational resource can be found by visiting: https://www.bioflorida.com/page/covid19vaccine.

About BioFlorida

BioFlorida is the voice of Florida's life science industry, representing 6,700 establishments and research organizations in the biopharmaceutical, medical technology, and bioagriculture sectors in BioPharma, MedTech, HealthIT and BioAg that collectively employ 94,000 Floridians. [Source: The Value of Bioscience Innovation in Growing Jobs and Improving Quality of Life (TEConomy/BIO, 2020)] BioFlorida's member driven initiatives provide a strong business climate for the advancement of innovative products and technology that improve lives and promote economic benefits to the state.

SOURCE BioFlorida
This is moment a zookeeper narrowly escapes a giant python's fangs as it lunges at him when he tries to remove rotten eggs from underneath her.

Jay Brewer, who owns The Reptile Zoo in Fountain Valley, California, posted the video to Instagram after he underwent the frightening experience to save the 'few good eggs' the snake had left.

Footage shows the python striking at Mr Brewer, as he admits he 'doesnt normally get nervous, but is now.'

As he moves closer in an attempt to retrieve the rotten eggs, the snake lunges, but Mr Brewer is able to quickly dive out of the way.

Footage shows the python striking at Jay Brewer at The Reptile Zoo in Fountain Valley, California. He said: 'I took my guard down for one second and she took advantage of that one second. When I say this is a grumpy snake, I'm not kidding.'

Mr Brewer ducks out of the way, admitting he 'doesnt normally' get nervous, but he is now. The python was defending her eggs as he tried to extract the rotten ones

He says: 'She is literally waiting for me to get into the exact position that she thinks she can reach.'

But when the zookeeper continues talking, the snake strikes again, forcing Mr Brewer to jump to the side to avoid a bite.

He adds: 'I took my guard down for one second and she took advantage of that one second. When I say this is a grumpy snake, I'm not kidding.'

Pythons are non-venomous snakes native to Africa, Asia, and Australia.

They are largely ambush predators, laying motionless in a camouflaged position before suddenly striking at passing prey.

As the clip continues, Mr Brewer is able to move the snake to one side so his daughter can take the rotten eggs away from the snake's nest.

He explained that if they don't remove those that have gone bad, there's an 'almost 100 per cent chance' they will 'get maggots, rot and all the eggs will die.'

The video comes to a close as Mr Brewer returns the snake to her enclosure.

In the caption, he said: 'When I say this snake is grumpy... I mean she's grumpy!

Mr Brewer explained that if he didn't remove the eggs that have gone bad, there's an 'almost 100 per cent chance' they will 'get maggots, rot and all the eggs will die'

'This is one of the craziest clutches I've pulled in a long time. She doesn't know I'm just trying to save the few good eggs she has.

'Without removing them even the good ones would have rotted.

'That is why I'm willing to take the risk to save the babies'.

The Reptile Zoo allows visitors to view hundreds of reptile exhibits displaying snakes, lizards, frogs, and tortoises from around the world.

Guests are also able to interact with the Ball Python, Bearded Dragon, Sulcata Tortoise and Leopard Gecko.
RTHK: North Korea fires 'projectiles' into sea: South

North Korea fired two projectiles into the sea early on Thursday, the South's military said, in what could be its first ballistic missile test during the administration of Joe Biden.

Seoul's joint chiefs of staff said in a statement that the "unidentified projectiles" were launched into the Sea of Japan, known as the East Sea in Korea.

The nuclear-armed North is banned from developing ballistic missiles under UN Security Council resolutions.

But it has made rapid progress in its capabilities under leader Kim Jong-un, testing missiles capable of reaching the entire continental United States as tensions mounted in 2017.

It has a long history of using weapons tests as a provocation, in a carefully calibrated process to forward its objectives.

Thursday's launch comes after Pyongyang fired two short-range, non-ballistic missiles in a westerly direction towards China at the weekend.

That followed joint exercises by the US and South Korean militaries and a visit to the region by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin to discuss alliance and security issues.

During their trip to Seoul and Tokyo, Blinken repeatedly stressed the importance of denuclearising Pyongyang.

That prompted North Korean first vice foreign minister Choe Son-hui to accuse the US of a "lunatic theory of 'threat from North Korea' and groundless rhetoric about 'complete denuclearisation'."

Pyongyang had been biding its time since the new administration took office, not even officially acknowledging its existence until last week.

Washington is reviewing its approach to the North after a tumultuous relationship between president Donald Trump and leader Kim, which went from trading insults and threats of war to a diplomatic bromance and several meetings, but made no substantive progress towards denuclearisation.

Trump held two headline-grabbing summits with Kim, in Singapore and Vietnam, and the United States pulled back on some joint training activities with South Korea's military while North Korea froze intercontinental ballistic missile tests.

But their February 2019 meeting in Hanoi broke up over sanctions relief and what the North would be willing to give up in return.

Communications then dried up, despite a third encounter in the Demilitarised Zone that divides the Korean peninsula.

The two-month-old Biden administration hopes to restart negotiations on the North's nuclear arsenal but officials say there has been no response to their initial outreach.

US officials are now finalising a strategy to restart talks that the White House will discuss with Japanese and South Korean security officials next week, an administration official said. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2021-03-25. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
The excavator trying to free the large ship from the Suez Canal. Suez Canal Authority

A large shipping vessel called Ever Given has been stuck in the Suez Canal since Tuesday.

Experts have said it could take weeks to dislodge the ship from the canal.

An image of an excavator digging around the ship shows how difficult the task may be.

See more stories on Insider's business page.

A massive shipping container has been blocking the Suez Canal for more than two days, and a photo of an excavator trying to dig it out shows just how hard it will be to free the watercraft.

The Ever Given became lodged in the heavily trafficked waterway in Egypt on Tuesday morning.

The excavator trying to free the ship from the Suez Canal. Suez Canal Authority

The ship, which is 1,300 feet long, is stuck on the ground of the canal, and it's unclear when and how it will be moved.

Experts have said it could take weeks to dislodge the ship and cause strain to the vital supply chain route that connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea.

And it appears workers on the ground are trying everything to get the ship to move, including a construction excavator that looks miniature against the giant ship.

An image of the excavator was shared by the Suez Canal Authority this week, showing the construction machine digging away at the dirt that has surrounded the ship.

Other efforts to move the ship include towing and pushing the vessel with large tug boats, according to the Suez Canal Authority.

Navigation through the canal has been temporarily suspended as workers attempt to move the ship.

Some shipping companies that had hoped to use the canal, meanwhile, are considering traveling around Africa, a costly journey that would take much longer.

Read the original article on Business Insider

 Flash

Another 5,605 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,312,908, according to official figures released Wednesday.

The country also reported another 98 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 126,382. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.

More than 28.6 million people in Britain have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest official figures.

Earlier Wednesday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said cooperation between Britain and the European Union (EU) is "very important" to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Johnson made the remarks at the House of Commons, lower house of Parliament, as tension between Britain and EU over vaccines supply remains high.

The prime minister said he doesn't believe blockades "are sensible", adding that the long-term damage done by blockades can be "very considerable".

On Wednesday, the European Commission proposed tougher controls on coronavirus vaccine exports.

According to the plan, any shipment would be assessed on the destination country's rate of vaccinations and vaccine exports.

The plans stop short of a ban but could still trigger tensions with Britain. The EU has accused British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca of failing to honour its contract to supply EU countries.

National Health Service (NHS) England has warned that Britain is going to face a "significant reduction" in vaccine supplies from March 29 onwards.

According to British Health Secretary Matt Hancock, a need to retest 1.7 million vaccine doses as well as delays to doses arriving from India are the reasons why Britain is facing a "tighter" supply in COVID jabs next month.

There is concern that a potential EU ban on the exports of vaccines to Britain will make the situation worse, but the British government has insisted that the country is on course to offer all adults a dose by the end of July.

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.
PHILADELPHIA, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Forman Arts Initiative (FAI) and Philadelphia Foundation are launching Art Works, a new $3 million grant program for community-based organizations and emerging artists. Art Works is designed to support arts, culture and creativity working in partnership with Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) and other under-served communities. This is the inaugural program from the Forman Arts Initiative and will provide direct grants to regional artists and organizations that are critical to Greater Philadelphia's rich diversity.

(PRNewsfoto/Forman Arts Initiative) (PRNewsfoto/Forman Arts Initiative)

Art Works was designed to support the arts and culture community, which experienced extraordinary setbacks during the COVID-19 pandemic. The new program will select four organizations annually to receive two-year, unrestricted grants of up to $200,000 per year. Four emerging artists will receive two-year grants of $10,000 per year. The program is open to both visual and performing artists. Art Works creators should aspire to influence Greater Philadelphia's civic identity and have deep roots in its communities.

"We're looking to create long-term partnerships with artists and arts organizations whose work reflects the region's diversity," said Pedro Ramos, President and CEO of Philadelphia Foundation. "Art can be the lens through which people view equity within the world, and we hope that this program gives grantees an opportunity to develop works that help others challenge their own perspectives."

Art Works investments will fund organizations and individual artists whose work is equitable and community focused. Art Works will place a premium on work that is designed to connect, build and transform spaces and narratives to break down barriers through open access and inclusion. Organizations must demonstrate how they are using the arts as an engine to transform their communities and create safe space for active civic participation.

"Philadelphia is a wonderful city with great organizations and artists. Our goal in creating the Forman Arts Initiative is to stimulate our region's creative and arts communities through ongoing programming and advocacy," said Michael Forman, co-founder of the Forman Arts Initiative. "Through FAI's first initiative, developed in partnership with the Philadelphia Foundation, we expect to invest in artists and arts organizations that actively work with communities to make Greater Philadelphia a better place at a time when the region needs them most. When their work is further supported, the result for communities can be impactful  and we would like to offer our help in that process."

The Forman Arts Initiative will also provide grantees with access to host co-operative education students from Drexel University to enhance their organizational effectiveness. These placements, administered by Drexel's Lenfest Center for Cultural Partnerships, provide meaningful work experience in the arts and culture sector.

Grantees will be selected by a nine-member committee composed of community advisors and FAI and Philadelphia Foundation principals and staff. Local nonprofit (or fiscally sponsored) organizations with budgets between $500,000 and $5 million are eligible to apply. They must demonstrate their deep connection to and their track records of working with BIPOC and other under-resourced communities. Individual applicants should be visual or performing artists with fewer than 10 years of professional experience. All applicants should be able to demonstrate a commitment to incorporating community perspectives into their work.

Applications are available at philafound.org./artworks, and submissions are due April 23, 2021.

About Forman Arts Initiative:

The Forman Arts Initiative (FAI), founded by Michael Forman and Jennifer Rice, is a new organization dedicated to supporting community-based arts and creativity in Philadelphia through programming, convening and advocacy. Over the coming years, FAI will serve as a platform to connect, mentor and support artists and organizations around Philadelphia to deepen and to grow the rich cultural heritage of Philadelphia's communities. More FAI initiatives for the city will unfold in the coming months and years. For more information visit www.formanartsinitiative.org.

About Philadelphia Foundation: Founded in 1918, Philadelphia Foundation strengthens the economic, social and civic vitality of Greater Philadelphia. Philadelphia Foundation grows effective philanthropic investment, connects individuals and institutions across sectors and geography, and advances civic initiatives through partnerships and collaboration. A publicly supported foundation, the Philadelphia Foundation manages more than 1,000 charitable funds established by its donors and makes over 1,000 grants and scholarship awards each year. To learn more visit www.philafound.org .

SOURCE Forman Arts Initiative
(Repeats to widen distribution)

By Ju-min Park and John Geddie

TOKYO, March 24 (Reuters) - A consortium of private Japanese firms and a Japanese state entity paid rent on a multi-million dollar hotel and office development that ultimately went to Myanmars defence ministry, six company and government officials told Reuters.

It is the first time Japan has acknowledged the project benefits Myanmars defence ministry, which is controlled by the military under the countrys constitution. The payments, starting in 2017, are not illegal but are potentially embarrassing for Japan given United Nations investigators have alleged human rights abuses by Myanmars military. Reuters could not determine how much rent was actually paid to the defence ministry.

Known officially as the Tatmadaw, Myanmars military is under investigation for genocide by the International Court of Justice over its offensive against Rohingya Muslims in 2017. The military seized control of the country in a Feb. 1 coup and has since detained the countrys elected leader and killed more than 261 protesters.

Myanmars defence ministry and the military junta could not be reached for comment. Myanmars army has said its action against the Rohingya were clearance operations targeting militants and the government has rejected accusations of human rights abuses and genocide as false. The junta has blamed the killings since the coup on protesters themselves, accusing them of arson and violence.

The Y Complex, built on army-owned land near the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, is just one of many assets and projects linked to Myanmars military, which has ruled the country for the majority of the last 60 years.

The military controls two conglomerates with interests ranging from mining to banking. Some foreign investors have struck partnerships with the conglomerates over the past decade as Myanmar's democratic government attempted to open the countrys economy.

Each party to the Y Complex deal told Reuters they thought the rent, which was paid by an intermediary, ultimately was going to Myanmars government, not the military.

Story continues

Ryota Nagao, an official at the international policy division of Japans land ministry, which approved the state agency's investment, said the ministry had judged the project was not dealing with the military directly or indirectly because the defence department was a government ministry. He declined to comment on the fact that Myanmars defence department is controlled by the military, under the countrys 2008 constitution, drafted during previous army rule.

Japanese construction company Fujita Corp said in a press release in 2017 that the Yangon project, converting a former military museum into a complex of swanky offices, shops and a five-star hotel, would cost $330 million.

Fujita, property manager Tokyo Tatemono Co and Japans state investment firm JOIN, which is overseen by Japans land ministry, told Reuters they formed a consortium that paid rent on the land the complex is built on. The state-owned Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) said in 2018 it was taking part in financing the project.

Fujita, Tokyo Tatemono and JOIN declined comment on how much rent has been paid and how much ended up with the Myanmar defence ministry.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato, the Japanese governments most senior spokesman, acknowledged the involvement of JOIN and JBIC in the Y Complex project, through a special purpose company. In response to Reuters questions, he said it was his understanding that neither entity had a direct business relationship with Myanmars military.

Fujita initially said the project would be finished in 2020. Construction was suspended after the coup due to concerns over worker safety, said JOIN, which is 95% owned by the Japanese government. Representatives of each of those parties told Reuters the rent payments were made via its local partner Yangon Technical and Trading (YTT), a subsidiary of privately held Myanmar conglomerate Ayeyar Hinthar which has interests in agriculture, banking, healthcare and property.

Kyi Tha, a YTT official, said that the site is being leased by the defence ministry and that the ultimate beneficiary is the Myanmar government. He said no special steps had been taken to assess the Myanmar militarys human rights record. That is not a requirement under any laws or regulations.

BIG INVESTOR

Chris Sidoti, who has researched the Myanmar militarys economic interests for the United Nations, said Y Complex was the only example he had found of a military-linked project involving foreign government entities.

Each of the Japanese state entities and companies declined to comment on the terms of the deal, which was approved by Myanmar in 2017. A trove of purported official Myanmar records leaked last month and posted online by Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets), which describes itself as a whistleblower website, indicates the rent on the complex amounts to about $2 million a year over 50 years. Reuters could not independently verify the terms of the deal, or how much the military is set to actually receive.

Documents on the DDoSecrets website show a project company controlled by the Japanese investors, Y Complex Company, agreed to pay $1.8 million out of a total $2.2 million in rent payments to the defence ministry, via an intermediary account, each year from 2019. The remainder was to be paid by YTT, according to the documents. For 2017 and 2018, called the construction phase, the project company agreed to pay a lesser amount of $500,000 out of $573,160 in annual rent, documents show. Reuters could not determine how much rent has actually been paid to the defence ministry.

JOIN, Fujita and Tokyo Tatemono paid $1.8 million in rent in 2019 for the project, according to the audited accounts of a Singapore holding company formed by them for the Y Complex scheme. The filing made to Singapores companies regulator does not say to whom the rent was paid. Each of the three companies which formed the entity declined to comment on the figure.

Japan is the worlds fifth-largest investor in Myanmar, putting $1.4 billion into the country over the past five years, according to Myanmars Directorate of Investment and Company Administration. Japanese officials have said the countrys ties with Myanmar, which also include aid donations, academic exchanges and medical and disaster relief training for its military, help counter China's growing influence in the region.

Revelations about economic ties to Myanmars military may put more pressure on Tokyo and Japanese companies to drop them, according to human rights groups. Last month, days after the coup, Japanese brewer Kirin axed a beer venture with Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd, one of two conglomerates owned by the Myanmar military, saying it was deeply concerned by the militarys recent actions, referring to the coup, which it said were against its standards and human rights policy.

This will have severe reputational implications for not just JOIN and JBIC, but for Japan as a country, said Akira Igata, a national security expert at Tama University. Japan is at risk for being perceived as a country that will continue doing business with human rights violators.

In early March, the U.S. Department of Commerce imposed sanctions on Myanmars military-controlled defence and home ministries saying they were responsible for the coup. The U.S. Treasury Department also has imposed sanctions on Myanmars defence minister, Mya Tun Oo, and his predecessor, Sein Win, among others.

Justice for Myanmar, Human Rights Watch and other pressure groups on Feb. 17 asked a United Nations' human rights body to investigate Y Complexs ties to the military. A spokeswoman for the U.N. human rights working group said it had received the petition, but declined further comment.

Yoshihiro Kubo, an official who handles Myanmar business for JOIN, declined comment on the future of its involvement in Y Complex. He described the situation as "painful and difficult" but did not elaborate.

Japans finance ministry, which supervises JBIC, directed questions to JBIC. JBIC said its loans for the project comply with Japanese laws and global sanctions, and that it was monitoring the situation in Myanmar.

JBIC said in a 2018 press release that Japanese banks Mizuho Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp would also provide loans to the project. Both declined comment.

Fujita and Tatemono both said in emailed statements that they will "keep an eye on the situation" while considering future measures. (Reporting by Ju-min Park in Tokyo and John Geddie in London Additional reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto and Antoni Slodkowski in Tokyo and Reuters staff Editing by Bill Rigby)
Abe Livingston, a former slave, was photographed in Texas in the 1930s Credit: Library of Congress

Long before Tyrone, Jermaine and Darnell came along, there were Isaac, Abe and Prince.

A new study reveals the earliest evidence of distinctively Black first names in the United States, finding them arising in the early 1700s and then becoming increasingly common in the late 1700s and early 1800s.

The results confirm previous work that shows the use of Black names didn't start during the civil rights movement of the 1960s, as some scholars have argued, said Trevon Logan, co-author of the study and professor of economics at The Ohio State University.

"Even during slavery, Black people had names that were unlikely to be held by whites. It is not just a recent phenomenon," Logan said.

Logan conducted the study with Lisa Cook of Michigan State University and John Parman of the College of William and Mary. It was published online this month in the journal Historical Methods.

The study focuses on names for Black males, partly because earlier research suggests less distinctiveness of Black women's names historically.

This research is a follow-up to a 2014 study by the same researchers that found distinctive Black names were being used in the period following the Civil War.

It was more difficult to find records that document the names of the enslaved, Logan said. Many official records only list slaves as numbers without names.

The researchers found three sources that did contain the names of enslaved people in the United States. Two of the three sources also included the names of the buyers or sellers of the enslaved, which allowed comparisons between Black and white names. The researchers supplemented the evidence of racial name distinctiveness by analyzing white names in the 1850 Census.

The names given Blacks in the United States were distinctively African American, Logan said. None of them had roots in Africa. Many of them had Biblical origins, like Abraham and Isaac. Other Black names that appeared more frequently in one or more of the data sets included Titus and Prince.

Results showed a clear increase in the use of Black names over the period of the study. In one data set, 3.17% of enslaved males born between 1770 to 1790 were likely to hold a Black name, but that increased to 4.5% of those born between 1810 and 1830.

And they were truly distinctive from white people. Depending on the data source, enslaved people were more than four to nine times as likely to have a Black name than was a slave owner.

The appearance of distinctively Black names wasn't only the result of more African Americans using them, Logan said.

"Our results suggest a strong decline in the use of Black names among whites over time," he said. "The actions of both Black and white people fed into the process that resulted in distinctive Black names."

For white people born before 1770, more than 4.75% held Black names, but that declined to less than 2% for those born from 1810 to 1830.

Many of the Black names identified in this study were the same that the researchers found in the post-Civil War period, but there were some differences.

"Post-emancipation we found more Blacks being named Master and Freeman, which for obvious reasons were not found in the antebellum era," Logan said.

While this study revealed the existence and growth of Black names in the United States, it can't answer why it happened, Logan said.

"We believe these naming practices could say something about culture, about family, and about social formation among Black people of the time," Logan said.

"But we don't have any records of people talking about it at the time, so we're not sure. We know there's this pattern, but we can't say for sure what it means."

More information: Lisa D. Cook et al, The antebellum roots of distinctively black names, Historical Methods: A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History (2021). Lisa D. Cook et al, The antebellum roots of distinctively black names,(2021). DOI: 10.1080/01615440.2021.1893877
Her boyfriend Eyal Booker recently revealed how Covid would 'make or break' them as a couple, but is glad they have made their relationship work.

And Delilah Hamilin cut a cheery figure as she headed out for lunch to meet a friend in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

The model, 22, turned heads as she went braless in a white ribbed vest top which teased a hint of her washboard abs.

Stunning: Delilah Hamilin turned heads as she went braless in a white ribbed vest top while heading out for lunch in Los Angeles on Wednesday

Delilah teamed the look with pale pink cargo trousers which sheathed over her slender pins.

She added a boost to her height with white open toe heeled sandals and accessorised her outfit with a cream tote bag, a gold necklace and a black face mask.

Delilah appeared in good spirits as she strutted down the streets of Los Angeles.

Cool: The model, 22, teamed the look with pale pink cargo trousers which sheathed over her slender pins

While speaking to the New York City-based fashion magazine Paper last month, Delilah and Eyal spoke about their deepest fears, desires and ambitions.

'COVID was going to either make or break mine and Delilah's relationship, and we weren't always sure if we would be able to see each other and spend time with each other but somehow we managed to get through it, make it work and come out even stronger,' the Love Island star, 25, admitted.

He continued: 'COVID is not over yet, but we've made it this far and that's pretty special to me considering at the beginning we weren't sure how we would navigate through it.'

Model behaviour: Delilah showed off her enviably taut midriff as she posed in the outfit on Instagram

Walk the way: The fashionista also shared a snap of herself strutting down the road in her white open toe heels

Through the pandemic, Delilah said she confessed that she has recently spent too much time 'worrying about contracting COVID,' which has led her to 'feel crazy' for isolating so strictly, unlike many of her peers.

She also noted that feeling judged by others causes her to suffer from 'massive social anxiety.'

'I constantly think people are judging,' she confessed, before speaking about working to better navigate her mental health.

Eyal appeared on the 2018 series of Love Island and started dating Delilah, in May 2019, after she slid into his DMs.

The couple declared their love for one another after just six months of dating and juggled a long-distance relationship at first before becoming inseparable.
BIG RAPIDS  A Paris man, wanted by the Big Rapids Department of Public Safety, was taken into custody after being found in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

Michael Lewis Buter, 49, of Paris, was wanted for an alleged home invasion and felonious assault. He was arrested on an outstanding warrant Wednesday after a multi-state manhunt was conducted.

Butler is in the process of being extradited back to Mecosta County, where he will be arraigned through the county's 77th District Court.

Butler was last seen March 16 in Big Rapids, where he was allegedly involved in a home invasion.

On that day, Big Rapids police officers were dispatched to the 500 block of South Michigan Avenue in Big Rapids for a report of a possible home invasion.

Officers were informed that Butler had fled the scene after the caller had began screaming at him.

Butler allegedly forced his way into the victims apartment, threatening the victim with a knife. Officers executed a search warrant on Butlers apartment and discovered he removed his GPS tether and left his phone in the residence.

Butler was taken into custody Wednesday without incident.

The BRDPS was assisted in the arrest by the Jonesboro Police Department, of Jonesboro, Arkansas; the Hardy Police Department, of Hardy, Arkansas; and the U.S. Marshall Fugitive Recovery Task Force.

Butler was convicted of one count of second-degree sexual assault in the state or Arkansas in March 2003, according to the Michigan Sex Offender Registry.
Health Minister Greg Hunt has confirmed all COVID-19 vaccine appointments must be free as the country passes the 400,000 vaccination mark.

Centre Alliance MP Rebekha Sharkie told Parliament several pensioners in her South Australian electorate had been charged $70 in out-of-pocket fees from doctors requiring patients to have a pre-vaccination appointment.

Greg Hunt said no vaccine-related consultation should come at a cost to patients. Credit:Rhett Wyman

Pensioners cant afford to pay these fees just to get the vaccine. Some risk not being vaccinated at all due to the cost. What can be done to address this issue? she asked Mr Hunt during question time on Thursday.

Mr Hunt said the specific cases raised by Ms Sharkies office were being followed up by the Department of Health as no doctors should be charging for any vaccine-related consultations.
A federal judge in Houston has issued an unusual ruling finding that a tech company should face trial over the conduct of pimps who promote trafficking victims through its technology.

U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen rejected a request to grant immunity to Salesforce.com, a cloud-based software company in San Francisco. The company says it shouldnt have to shoulder responsibility in a lawsuit brought by victims who alleged they were trafficked via Backpage.com, which relied on Salesforce's operating system. The suit says the company knowingly developed tailored electronic resources for Backpage so it could track and monitor pimps online profiles, likes, dislikes and shopping habits to generate more revenue from traffickers.
The Supreme Court management on Thursday made a clarification about the reported petition written by the All Progressives Congress against some Supreme Court judges concerning the lingering Imo North senatorial election legal tussle.

A statement by the Supreme Courts Director of Press and Information, Festus Akande, said Abdu Aboki, a member of the five-man panel hearing a case concerning the senatorial election, was not named in the petition as earlier announced by another judge of the court on Tuesday.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that Dattijo Muhammad, leading the five-man panel of the apex court, announced at Tuesdays proceedings that the APC, in its petition, accused him and two of his other colleagues of holding a secret meeting with top officials of rival Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to subvert justice.

Mr Muhammad, who denied the allegation, gave the names of the two other colleagues accused in the APCs petition to be Helen Ogunwumiju and Abdu Aboki.

The Supreme Court judge , who pointedly claimed that the petition was authored by the Governor of Yobe State, doubling as the acting chairperson of the APC, Mai-Mala Buni, also challenged the politician to come forward to substantiate the allegation.

But the apex courts director of information said there was a need to keep the record straight and admonish litigants, particularly politicians on the need to be decent their conducts, even though Mr Buni had issued a disclaimer of the petition.

Also denying the allegation contained in the petition on behalf of the apex court justices, Mr Akande said, The Honourable Justices of the Supreme Court who have always been working assiduously to promote the rule of law, impartial and seamless dispensation of justice dont deserve such orchestrated mudslinging, to say the least.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that there has been an orgy of court actions concerning the Imo North senatorial bye-election held on December 5, 2020.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared APC the winner of the poll but refused to announce the winning candidate due to conflicting court orders on the partys candidacy for the poll.

The two leading aspirants on the platform of the party, Ifeanyi Ararume and Chukwuemeka Ibezim, have been locked in legal battles over who is entitled to take benefit of the partys victory.

Read Supreme Courts statement in full:

PRESS RELEASE

JUSTICE ABDU ABOKI NOT MENTIONED IN THE PETITION AGAINST THREE JUSTICES OF SUPREME COURT

We need to state that the news that occupied strategic space in the media yesterday, Wednesday 24th March, 2021, which emanated from a petition purportedly written by the acting chair of the All Progressives Congress and Governor of Yobe State, Alhaji Mai-Mala Buni, against three Justices of the Supreme Court never mentioned the name of Hon. Justice Abdu Aboki even though he is on the panel of five Justices hearing the appeal that resulted from the Imo North Senatorial District Bye Election conducted on 5th October, 2020. The information in circulation is not only wrong but equally misleading.

It is pertinent to state that even though the acting chairperson of the APC, Alhaji Mai-Mala Buni, has issued a disclaimer of the malicious and baseless petition, there is still need to keep record straight and also to admonish litigants, particularly politicians on the need to be guided by good conscience and decency in all their conducts especially when a case is before a Court of competent jurisdiction, as such unguided disposition could send out the wrong signals.

The Honourable Justices of the Supreme Court who have always been working assiduously to promote the rule of law, impartial and seamless dispensation of justice dont deserve such orchestrated mudslinging, to say the least.

Dr Akande Festus

Director of Press and Information

ADVERTISEMENT

Supreme Court of Nigeria
Amid continued protest by the for the third day in a row, ruling the (BJP) passed finance related bills in the Assembly sans debate through voice vote.

Apart from passing of bill, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa even read out his reply in 40 minute on the Budget discussion, though party members continuously disrupted him by raising slogans. Ruling party legislators even engaged in heated arguments with the members over their conduct.

The Congress members continued their protest by raising slogans like 'Down Down BJP', 'Down Down CD government', while some BJP legislators questioned the grand old party's morality.

The ruling party members said that people were watching the developments and will teach them a lesson in the days to come.

Calling it 'anti democratic' and 'unconstitutional', Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Basavaraj Bommai said the Congress was unnecessarily disrupting the proceedings and infringing on the rights of the other members who want to participate,

"Your protest is against the law, constitution and democratic principles" he said.

Former speaker and BJP MLA K G Bopaiah objected to the protest and questioned the Opposition as to how the government can ask the Chief Justice to monitor any probe.

"Can the government write such a letter to the Chief Justice. Judicial probe is a different matter," he argued.

While Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar too said the Congress should be ashamed of their conduct as he questioned their morality by accusing them of hushing up the sex scandal, involving former minister H Y Meti, while in power.

As his repeated requests for cooperation in conducting the business of the House went unheard, Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri said that he was tabling the answers of the question in the house and requested the Chief Minister to begin his reply on the budget discussion.

At the end of his reply on the budget, Yediyurappa too did not spare the opposition Congress and its leaders for unnecessarily protesting and wasting time, aimed at disrupting the budget session.

"As they are bereft of any issue they are doing this, I strongly condemn their attitude. You protested even on the day of presenting a budget which was unheard of in the history of this state, and now on the conclusion day too you are doing it. This appears to be intentional nothing else. People of the state are watching you and will teach a lesson in the days to come, you can't achieve anything from it," he asserted.

After the CM's reply, the Speaker put the appropriation bills, supplementary estimates, and related financial bills including Fiscal Responsibility (Amendment) Bill 2021 that were tabled, to vote, and they were passed amid din.

The Transparency in Public Procurements (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was also passed by the assembly.

Announcing that the budget and related finance bills have been passed, the Speaker Vishweshwara Hegde Kageri said that he was pained as the Congress MLAs are not cooperating in conducting the proceedings of the House.

Noting that the passage of the budget and making the legislations are most important responsibilities on the members of this House, he said, "this is unfortunate, we have reached this stage. You may agree or disagree but if you have strong differences of opinion with the government then you can always take this fight outside this house and not inside. The least I expected from you all is a cooperation to allow the house to function."

--IANS

nbh/rt

(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.)
Associated Press

The younger generation of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales are on average about three feet (one meter) shorter than whales were 20 years, drone and aircraft data show in a study in Thursdays journal Current Biology. Entanglements with fishing gear, collisions with ships and climate change moving their food supply north are combining to stress and shrink these large whales, the study says. This isnt about short right whales, its about a physical manifestation of a physiological problem, its the chest pain before the heart attack, said Regina Asmutis-Silvia, executive director of Whale and Dolphin Conservation North America, who wasnt part of the study.
Ex-member of Basayev gang detained as part of case over 2000 attack on Russian servicemen

 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov

12:03 25/03/2021

MOSCOW, March 25 (RAPSI)  Russias Federal Security Service (FSB) and Investigative Committee have arrested in Moscow an alleged member of Shamil Basayev's gang, German Arbinin, who stands charged of banditry, armed rebellion and infringement on the life of a policeman, the FSB Public Relations Center informs RAPSI on Thursday.

FSB, working in cooperation with the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, could form a conclusive evidence base that a native of the Chechen Republic Arbinin was a participant in this crime, however, he had not carried punishment for this crime yet, the FSB noted in the statement.

The man is charged of banditry, armed rebellion, and an attempt on the life of a law enforcement officer. Investigation is going to ask the court to choose a preventive measure for Arbinin in the form of detention.

The FSB is confident that in 2000 Arbinin along with other gang members attacked servicemen of the 6th parachute airborne company of the 76th Pskov Airborne Division in the period from February 29 to March in the area of the village Ulus-Kert, Shatoisky district of the Chechen Republic, during which 84 paratroopers were killed.
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.
Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama made the surprise announcement on March 16 that he would stop all public consultations on a Police Bill, which would replace the 1965 Police Act and vastly increase police powers. According to the Fiji Sun, he said the bill does not represent government policy and will not be presented to parliament.

Bainimarama said the bill had been drafted and released unilaterally by the Fijian Police Force without being cleared by Cabinet, and called it a backwards step that would erode public trust in the Fijian Police Force.

Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama

The backdown followed an outpouring of criticism. Civil liberties groups, NGOs, opposition parties, sections of the media and the Fiji Law Society condemned the bill, describing it as another step towards the transformation of Fiji into a police state. At a recent public consultation forum in Levuka, ordinary people also expressed opposition, with one villager asking: Who will police the police?

According to the Fiji Times, a forum participant asked whether the government would send the police to arrest people who spoke against [the] government. Defence Ministry manager for national security and policing, Joji Washington, replied, every person has the right to say what they want to say about the government. But if you abuse, annoy or assault a police officer then its an offence.

The bill was designed to provide legal justification for the repressive actions of the regime, which, despite its veneer of democracy, rests directly on the military. Bainimarama was initially installed in a coup in 2006. The proposed law gave police sweeping new powers to secretly or forcefully enter any premises, seize personal property and place tracking devices. They would be able to secretly monitor and record the communications of people whom they suspect are about to commit a crime or have committed one.

Police would have been able to enter any designated crime scene and seize electronic devices and other evidence without a warrant. A crime scene is loosely defined as any place where any offence is alleged or suspected to have been committed and where evidence may be found.

Police, or any other person authorised by any Police officer could search any person or vehicle at, or in the immediate vicinity of, a crime scene. Police could use reasonable force on anyone who fails to comply, and anyone who resists can be jailed for up to five years.

The bill also contained regulations to protect the identities of informers and undercover police, including in court proceedings. Anyone who revealed the identity of protected informers or officers would face up to 20 years in prison.

Fiji Law Society President William Clark said the Police Bill potentially affects fundamental human rights set out in the Constitution and international conventions, which Fiji has signed. The wide scope of the proposed police powers, Clark added, is inconsistent with values of respect for human rights, freedom and the rule of law.

Withdrawal of the bill points to significant nervousness about rising anger among workers and rural villagers. It also suggests possible divisions in the government, about how best to deal with the escalating class tensions. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported, on March 18, that Bainimarama did not explain how the government could be unaware of the draft bill, when Defence Minister Inia Seruiratu was at the launch of the public consultation process for the legislation.

Bainimaramas move is purely tactical and does not signal any let-up in the attacks on democratic rights and police brutality in Fiji. It is likely that the Police Bill will be reintroduced following some cosmetic changes. Bainimaramas regime, like governments elsewhere, is using the coronavirus pandemic and threat of terrorism to ramp up existing authoritarian powers.

Provisions in the Crimes Act and the Public Order Act have previously been used to target journalists, activists and government critics. The Media Act has been used to attack press freedom and prosecute journalists.

Fijis police are infamous for their lawlessness and brutality. Last November, a public uproar over the violent death in custody of 46-year-old Mesake Sinu, in the course of an alleged beating, forced the acting police commissioner to condemn indiscipline among his own officers and order an investigation into Sinus death.

Figures from Fijis director of public prosecutions, obtained last year by the Guardian, revealed that 400 charges of serious violence were laid against police officers between 2015 and 2020. This included 16 charges of rape, two charges of murder and nine of manslaughter. More than 110 charges of assault were brought against officers.

Significantly, a former Fiji government advisor, Shailendra Raju, criticised the involvement of New Zealands Labour Party-led government in the Police Bill. Officials from the New Zealand High Commission attended its launch in Suva earlier this month and the NZ government funded the consultation process.

The NZ High Commissioner to Fiji, Jonathan Curr, defended Wellingtons involvement, writing on Twitter: NZ is engaged in a 4-year strengthening programme with @fijipoliceforce, partnering with @UNDP_Pacific & @nzpolice to improve policing, and support Fiji to meet international human rights obligations.

New Zealand, a minor imperialist power in the Pacific, is heavily involved with the Fiji police, spending $US5.4 million over four years on its operations. NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern signed off on the Bills funding deal during her visit to Fiji in February, 2020, which was designed to strengthen relations with the Bainimarama regime and push back against Chinas growing influence in the Pacific region.

The prime role of Fijis police force, which is under the direct control of the military, is to suppress social opposition to intensifying poverty and inequality. Harsh austerity measures are being accompanied by the intimidation of opposition parties and the working class, while assemblies, protests and strikes are routinely banned.

The working class, meanwhile, is bearing the brunt of the worsening economic crisis. The tourism industry has collapsed, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in the loss of 100,000 jobs. Half of the countrys 880,000 population is experiencing extreme financial hardship. Even before the pandemic, the minimum wage was just $FJ2.32 ($US1.12) per hour. An estimated 60,000 people suffer from diabetes, a poverty-related disease, and diabetes-related limb amputations account for 40 percent of all hospital operations.
A research team led by University College London archaeologists has discovered a 5,000-year-old dismantled stone circle in west Wales, close to Stonehenges bluestone quarries. The discovery, reported in a paper in the journal Antiquity, raises the possibility that a 900-year-old legend about Stonehenge being built from an earlier stone circle contains a grain of truth.

In the oldest story of Stonehenges origins, the History of the Kings of Britain (circa 1136 CE), Geoffrey of Monmouth describes how the monument was built using stones from the Giants Dance stone circle in Ireland, said Professor Mike Parker Pearson from the University College Londons Institute of Archaeology and colleagues.

Located on legendary Mount Killaraus, the circle was dismantled by Merlin and shipped to Amesbury on Salisbury Plain by a force of 15,000 men, who had defeated the Irish and captured the stones.

According to the legend, Stonehenge was built to commemorate the death of Britons who were treacherously killed by Saxons during peace talks at Amesbury. Merlin wanted the stones of the Giants Dance for their magical, healing properties.

This 900-year-old legend is fantasy: the Saxons arrived not in prehistory, but only 700 years before Geoffreys own time, and none of Stonehenges stones came from Ireland, they said.

Yet the fact that Stonehenges bluestones derive from Wales  far to the west of Salisbury Plain  has led to speculation that there may be some truth in Geoffreys pseudo-history.

Moreover, at the time Geoffrey was writing, this region of south-west Wales was considered Irish territory.

Stonehenges bluestones are already known to have come from the Preseli Hills of Wales and are thought to have been first erected 5,000 years ago, centuries before larger sarsen stones were brought from just 25 km (15.5 miles) away.

Professor Parker Pearson and co-authors discovered a dismantled stone circle (only four stones remain today) at Waun Mawn in west Wales.

At 110 m (361 feet) in diameter, this structure is the third largest of Britains great stone circles with diameters over 100 m (328 feet), after Avebury in Wiltshire and Stanton Drew in Somerset, and also one of the earliest.

The archaeologists also found empty stoneholes at Waun Mawn, confirming that the four remaining stones were part of a former circle.

Scientific dating of charcoal and sediments in the holes confirmed that it was put up around 3400 BCE.

Significantly too, both Waun Mawn and Stonehenge were aligned on the midsummer solstice sunrise.

One of the bluestones at Stonehenge has an unusual cross-section that matches one of the holes left at Waun Mawn. Chippings in that hole are of the same rock type as the Stonehenge stone.

In addition, the Waun Mawn circles diameter is the same as that of the ditch that encloses Stonehenge.

The archaeologists think that Stonehenge was built  partly or wholly  by Neolithic migrants from Wales, who brought their monument or monuments as a physical manifestation of their ancestral identities.

Is Waun Mawn the Giants Dance described by Geoffrey of Monmouth? Might there be any truth to the legend? Archaeology and myth make awkward companions, and we must reject the details of Geoffreys story concerning the appropriation of the stones, they said.

The shared diameters of Waun Mawn and Stonehenges enclosing ditch, as well as their midsummer solstice sunrise orientations, suggest that key aspects of the circles architecture were brought by the people of west Wales to Salisbury Plain, to be both transformed and reinstated, rather than taken by force as a trophy by a Neolithic Merlin and his army.

Recent isotopic analysis of people buried at Stonehenge when the bluestones are thought to have arrived reveals that the first people to be buried there came from western Britain, very possibly west Wales.

Some 43 bluestones survive today at Stonehenge, although many of these are today buried beneath the grass.

With an estimated 80 bluestones put up on Salisbury Plain at Stonehenge and nearby Bluestonehenge, my guess is that Waun Mawn was not the only stone circle that contributed to Stonehenge, Professor Parker Pearson said.

Maybe there are more in Preseli waiting to be found. Who knows? Someone might be lucky enough to find them.

_____

Mike Parker Pearson et al. 2021. The original Stonehenge? A dismantled stone circle in the Preseli Hills of west Wales. Antiquity 95 (379); doi: 10.15184/aqy.2020.239
Benjamin Netanyahu faces the prospect of courting fringe Islamist and hard-Right Zionist parties to remain in power after he failed to emerge as the clear winner of Tuesday nights election.

Initial results from Israels fourth vote in two years show that the prime ministers Likud party has won the largest number of seats but is set to fall short of the 61 seats required for a majority.

The final result is expected to be announced tomorrow, but if there is no clear majority then the country could face a fifth election later this year.

Weeks of complex coalition negotiations are likely in a bid to avoid a fresh poll. But to form a working majority, Mr Netanyahu may need to court the Islamist movement Raam and the hard-Right Religious Zionism group.

An alliance with Religious Zionism would be controversial as it includes the far-Right party Otzma Yehudit - Jewish Power in Hebrew - whose leader has expressed admiration for a mass murderer who gunned down 29 Palestinians in the early 1990s.

Itamar Ben Gvir, whose faction is set to enter the Israeli parliament for the first time, is notorious for displaying a picture of the killer, Baruch Goldstein, in his living room. He has also called for the deportation of Arab-Israeli citizens who are not loyal to Israel.

Mr Ben Gvir agreed to take down the photograph in January after criticism from Naftali Bennett, another prominent Right-winger.

Goldstein committed the murders in 1994 in Hebron and since then his grave has become a pilgrimage site of sorts for Jewish extremists.

Religious Zionism is projected to win around seven seats, which may prove decisive in building a coalition.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Arab Islamist party Raam could also prove to be an important player, for either Mr Netanyahu or an alliance of anti-Netanyahu parties.

Initial results say Raam has met the threshold for entering the Israeli parliament, with around five seats, though its leader has insisted he isnt in the pocket of Mr Netanyahu or his enemies.

There are also reports of tensions in Likud over whether it should join forces with Islamists to form a government.

Tuesdays election was widely regarded as a referendum on Mr Netanyahu, who is facing a corruption trial but has also won plaudits for his high-speed Covid vaccination campaign.

Yesh Atid, Likuds main rival, is set to win around 15 seats and maintains hopes of building a coalition against Israels longest-serving prime minister.

This would likely require support from Left-wing parties such as Labor, as well as the Blue and White faction led by Benny Gantz, which failed to unseat Mr Netanyahu last year.

The results were also disappointing for Right-wing rivals of Mr Netanyahu. Gideon Saar, leader of New Hope, is only set to secure around five seats while Naftali Bennett, the leader of Yamina, is projected to win seven.

If Mr Netanyahu again beats a furious political challenge, he will still face an ongoing legal challenge in the courts, where he is being tried on charges of bribery, fraud and corruption.

Israelis were skeptical that the vote would end the stalemate, as previous bargaining has failed to produce working coalitions except for a short-lived emergency unity government that was formed last spring as the pandemic erupted.

It is unclear if four rounds of election have resolved the longest political crisis in Israels history, with the country remaining as divided as it has been over the past two years, and fifth elections remain a very real option, said Yohanan Plesner, the president of the Israel Democracy Institute.

The ongoing health crisis and a steep economic downturn formed a backdrop to Tuesdays vote, the second conducted in pandemic conditions. Election workers in hazmat suits collected ballots in hospital wards, and buses were parked outside some polling places to serve as remote ballot drops for coronavirus-positive or quarantined voters

Read More

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]
Armenian acting minister: EU allocated EUR 68,700,000 to Armenia for budget support in 2020

Armenia Finance Ministry: MFA's budget grew by AMD 1,600,000,000 in 2020

Bodies and remains of Armenian soldiers are kept in morgue in Armenia's Martuni

White House confirms Biden-Erdogan meeting in Brussels

Armenia acting MOD touches upon priority directions for development of Armed Forces

Diaspora Armenian writer, publicist Toros Toranian dies

2 Armenian soldiers injured in scuffle with Azerbaijan, Armenian POW is hospitalized, Jun. 3 digest

Wedding held in Armenia's Shurnukh for first time since the war ended

EEU member states to finish preparing for negotiations over free trade zone in Iran in late June

Armenia Central Bank: Economic downfall in 2020 was due to decline in service and construction sectors

Armenia legislature adopts several bills in first reading

Armenia President meets with Nursultan Nazarbayev

Dejavu: Armenia ruling party distributes money for votes at Yerevan district election office

Chief Advisor to Karabakh President sacked

Russian MFA: Works are carried out to settle situation around Karabakh every day

Armenia opposition MP sounds alarm about Baku fabricating criminal cases against Armenian prisoners

Armenia acting health minister: I have apologized, I am not going to resign

Helga Schmid meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Armenia's deputy foreign ministers resigned or have heavy workload?

Dollar goes down in Armenia

Armenia Elections Oversight Committee reports Iranian citizenship of ruling party's MP candidate

Acting deputy minister: Only 17 of 711 Iran-Armenia power transmission line towers were installed by 2017

Armenia Parliament Council holding session

Armenia to host CSTO "Thunder-2021" military exercises

NYT: Chinese hackers launch cyberattack on New York city transportation authority

Armenia President to Kazakhstan counterpart: I would like to see much deeper cooperation between our countries

Armenia citizens shut down Etchmiadzin-Ashtarak road, complaining about lack of irrigation water

Armenia independent MP: Foreign minister and his deputies don't want to take part in treacherous acts

Armenia to get $11mn loan, 350,000 grant for agriculture

WHO worries about worsening mental health worldwide amid pandemic

Armenia health ministry on improper handling of Artsakh war victims bodies: There is no justification

Armenia bloc election foundation already in operation

Russia ambassador to Armenia paying working visit to Syunik Province (PHOTOS)

China pledges to step up resistance to foreign interference in Hong Kong

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: There can be no talk of corridor for Azerbaijan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on incumbent authorities: Wherever they flee, we will bring them by the feet

President: Impossible to ensure peace in region or stay in Artsakh without Russia army joint efforts

China Daily: Dispatch from Makit: Thriving in the desert

Karabakh President: We will never put up with being part of Azerbaijan, it is ruled out

Armenia MFA information department chief: All deputy FMs carrying out their duties

Ardshinbank invited children to the cinema on International Childrens Day

Armenia judiciary to have 10 more judges

Armenia acting premier: We had recorded 40% increase in tax revenues according to 2019 results

Armenia acting PM on Artsakh war casualties bodies: We have 50 remains in which case DNA was not separated

Azerbaijan authorities plan to "squeeze" everything from "terrorist show" related to Armenian captives

Ameriabank announces a contest for bank card design

108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia parliament convenes special session

Armenia interim government holding Cabinet meeting

Catholicos of All Armenians heads for Syunik Province, Artsakh

World oil prices going up

Iran loses right to vote in UN General Assembly

Newspaper: Armenia authorities come up with new way of punishing unwanted characters

Newspaper: Russia army Southern Military District deputy commander to arrive in Yerevan Thursday

Lebanese Armenian man taken prisoner by Azerbaijan is hospitalized

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Are we getting under the burden? Then lets get under to the end

Armenia acting health minister on keeping fallen soldiers bodies in bags: What else should they be kept in?

Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation

Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow

2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik

Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center

"Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans

Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel

Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna

Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations

US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies

Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week

Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection

Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential

Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement

Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues

Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo

Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation

NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident

Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices

Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over

Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest

Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia

Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia

Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels

Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters

Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021

Dollar is stable in Armenia

Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector

Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out

Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe

Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia

Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border

Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor

Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue

Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia

Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this

Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia
Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

The movie "Pretty Woman" came out 31 years ago this week. The films subtitle describes the plot: She walked off the street, into his life, and stole his heart.

People magazine reports some facts you may not have known about the popular film: Burt Reynolds was initially offered the lead role that Richard Gere made famous; the directors son plays a drug-dealing skateboarder in the movie; and the film was originally titled "3000"  the price of one night with Vivian, the prostitute played by Julia Roberts.

Here are some facts the article leaves out: the homicide rate among active female prostitutes is 17 times higher than that of the age-matched general female population; the average prostitute is physically attacked once a month; one study found that 89% of women in prostitution want to escape but are trapped.

An article I hope youll read

The glorification of prostitutes in popular media is just one example of our broken sexual ethic. Yesterday, we discussed our cultures clear rejection of biblical morality with regard to sex outside of marriage. I stated my intention to look today at the practical consequences of the sexual revolution: broken lives, broken homes, and broken souls.

We will do so with the help of the finest article on the subject I have found, one I encourage you to read today.

Steven R. Tracy, Ph.D., is professor of theology and ethics at Phoenix Seminary, where he has taught since 1995. He has also served as a church pastor for 15 years and is the author of seven books and numerous journal articles.

His article on premarital sexual abstinence and the Bible shows clearly that God intends us to abstain from all sexual relations outside of marriage. He counters the argument that the New Testament does not actually condemn non-married adults having consensual sex and the claim that the biblical authors wrote from a pre-modern perspective which need not be accepted wholesale by Christians today.

As he demonstrates, The overwhelming consensus of historical Christian teaching, as well as modern evangelical biblical scholarship, is that sexual relations are only appropriate in marriage.

Five consequences of disobeying Gods word

Tracys article is especially helpful with regard to the consequences of disobeying the biblical ethic regarding premarital sexual relationships. Consider five examples.

One: In terms of marital satisfaction, one of the most widespread modern myths is that couples need to live together before they get married to see if they are sexually and relationally compatible and thus to enhance future marital health and satisfaction. In reality, research shows that couples that live together before marriage have higher infidelity rates, lower marital satisfaction rates, and higher divorce rates than those who dont live together before marriage.

For instance, a study of 1,425 couples found that those who cohabited before marriage reported poorer marital quality and greater marital instability. A study of over 4,000 Swedish women reported that women who cohabit before marriage have an 80% higher marital failure rate than those who did not cohabit with their future spouse.

Tracy adds: This dynamic of cohabitation having a negative impact on subsequent marriage has been replicated in so many different studies that some social scientists have labeled it the cohabitation effect.'

Two: Cohabiting couples are much more likely to physically abuse each other than are non-cohabiting dating couples or married couples. A Department of Justice report notes that unmarried women are almost five times more likely to experience violence at the hands of their sexual partner than are married women.

Three: Cohabitors have been found to be almost twice as likely to be unfaithful to their partner as those who were married.

Four: Sexual abstinence before marriage is the only 100% effective method of birth control, guaranteeing that women will not have to deal with an unplanned pregnancy. Since many researchers consider out-of-wedlock births to be the single most significant factor influencing long-term poverty in America, this is a very significant issue.

Five: Sexually transmitted diseases in the U.S. are among the highest in the industrialized world. In addition to their health consequences, they create a great economic burden, with direct medical costs in the U.S. of $15.5 billion.

Grace is 'supernatural empowerment not to sin'

The consequences of breaking Gods Word are all around us today, from the public health crisis that is our pornography epidemic, to the threat of rising sexually transmitted infections as the coronavirus pandemic lessens, to the explosion of child pornography on the internet.

Once again, Gods word is right. As I have noted in the past, human nature does not change, which means that we still face the same issues our ancestors faced in biblical times. Divine nature does not change, which means that Gods answers to our issues are the same today as when he first revealed them.

Today and every day, His word is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).

If you are struggling with sexual temptation or sin, I urge you to act now. Speak with your pastor or another trusted counselor. Develop an accountability relationship with someone who will help you think and live biblically. Take all necessary steps with regard to software and technology protections for you and your family.

If this is not a besetting sin for you, identify those that are. Take them to the cross, claiming Jesus atoning sacrifice as payment for your debt. Ask for his forgiveness and cleansing grace (1 John 1:9). And claim his strength in partnership with others to be holy in all your conduct (1 Peter 1:15).

Randy Alcorn is right: Grace doesnt make people less holy  it makes them more holy. Grace doesnt make people despise or neglect truth  it makes them love and follow truth. Grace isnt a free pass to sin  its a supernatural empowerment not to sin. ... Grace raises the bar  but it also enables us to joyfully jump over that bar.

What bar do you need to joyfully jump over today?

Originally published at the Denison Forum
The European Unions plan to take on joint debt on a large scale and channel the money to member states worst hit by Covid-19 will create an important tool to overcome the crisis, but it must remain a one-off event, German Chancellor said on Thursday.

She spoke to the Bundestag lower house of Parliament before it voted to approve the legislation for the EU plan. The upper house, or Bundesrat, is expected to pass it on Friday.

In the debate today, it will be made clear again that the recovery fund is a one-off instrument limited in time and purpose, Merkel said, adding that it was an indispensable tool to help overcome the Covid-19 economic crisis.

The legislation later passed by a large majority in the Budestag, garnering support not only from Merkel's conservative bloc and the centre-left Social Democrats junior coalition partner, but also from the opposition Greens and business-friendly Free Democrats.

The question of whether the EU should take on joint debt for other tasks in the future is likely to be a key topic in campaigning for Germany's federal election in September. Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, the SPD candidate to become the next chancellor, has said that strengthening relations within Europe would be one of his top priorities. He has hinted that he does not view the EU recovery plan as a one-off event. Scholz was a leading architect of a Franco-German blueprint to enable the European Commission to take on joint debt to help member states worst hit by Covid-19.
The mayor of a coastal Alabama town has taken a hands-off approach when it comes to his communitys handling of the coronavirus pandemic, despite guidance from public health experts.

Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon doesnt deny that COVID-19 is real. During an appearance on FM Talk 106.5s The Jeff Poor Show on Tuesday, he revealed that one of his best friends in the world was among the more than 544,000 Americans who have lost their lives to the virus.

Still, he says the virus has become too politicized.

Ive always said we cant shut the world down, Kennon told show host Jeff Poor. If I die, I die from COVID  I wont die with a mask on, and I wont die hiding from it. I will die continuing to push for the freedoms in this country and my freedom as an American to make a decision about whats best for me. And thats sort of the way we approach it down here.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey extended the states Safer at Home order this month, which requires residents to wear a face mask while out in public.

+2 Orange Beach reportedly closing popular spring break spot to 'eliminate an MTV destination' A portion of Alabama state beach at the Perdido Pass bridge will be closed until further notice to prevent crowds from gathering during spring

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

The order expires April 9 at 5 p.m. local time.

Kennon, whos been mayor of the small tourist town since 2008, said Orange Beach hasnt seen a surge in COVID-19 cases like other cities. He said that while local hospitals have seen high rates of hospitalizations due to the pandemic, they arent much different from what theyve experienced during heavy flu seasons.

Ventilators were never in short supply, Kennon said, adding that, Weve had hundreds of thousands of people here and ... that silly word superspreader never happened.

You cant trust any of the numbers you see, in my opinion, he said, according to Poor.

The Alabama Department of Public Health has recorded more than 512,000 coronavirus cases and nearly 10,500 deaths since last March, state data show. The state has confirmed more than 11,000 new cases in the last two weeks, with more than 47,000 hospitalizations statewide.

In Baldwin County, home to Orange Beach, the rate of infection is high with about 9,100 confirmed cases per 100,000 people, according to DPH data.
It was at the beginning of the year when the phones started to ring. Hedge funds, eager to hitch a ride on the steadily rising price of tin, were in the market to buy physical stocks of the valuable metal that is predominately used in electronics.Solder makers and steel producers, fresh from unsatisfactory annual contract discussions, have been fielding booming orders and hitting up suppliers, only to be told there was little material available.At the time, cash prices for tin were trading above $20,000 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange, the 144-year-old bourse that has long been the home of price setting and hedging for the world's producers and industrial users.Now selling over at $27,850 per tonne, tin's 35% to-date increase makes it the top performing base metal on the LME this year, as buyers continue to catch up with a chronic squeeze on spreads between futures and cash prices.In the past month, players looking to roll positions from one day to the next have had to pay up to $600 per tonne for the privilege, but those short the spread between cash tin and the three-month delivery paid up to $5,000 per tonne, an all-time high.Some involved in the market closely said they saw it coming."It's an often ignored market so people get surprised, but if you've been following tin, the writing has been on the wall. Everything was pointing to the market getting tight and tighter," Robin Bhar, an independent analyst who spent seven years heading metals research for Societe Generale, said."Tin has always been a volatile market. In recent months, we have witnessed a perfect storm of supply and demand fundamentals," Michael Cuoco, head of hedge fund sales for metals and bulks at StoneX, said.Tin supply tanked over the course of 2020, most notably in swing producer Indonesia, which acts as a key supplier to solder makers across Asia and the United States.Tin smelters aside from Indonesia's PT Timah largely shrugged off pandemic-related disruptions (Source  International Tin Association)Production from Indonesian state producer PT Timah, which has the world's second largest output, dropped by 30,700 tonnes last year to 45,700 tonnes.Against 2019 figures, that amount would constitute 8.4% of annual refined consumption globally, while production elsewhere among the market's largest ten producers was largely flat, according to statistics from the International Tin Association."Historically, Indonesia's the biggest source of supply ex-China and exports have been restricted throughout last year," Tom Mulqueen, an analyst at London brokers Amalgamated Metal Trading, said.Moreover, Indonesia's independent smelters, clustered on the islands of Banka and Belitung, have struggled to export material amid the country's notorious bureaucracy since the start of the year, he added.Indonesian exports for February totaled 4,395 tonnes, an improvement from January but still down 40% compared with the same month last year."I have never seen a bigger deficit of any metal, nor am I aware of any one ever than we are currently seeing in tin," according to Mark Thompson, chairman of UK mining company Tungsten West and a former chief investment officer at Galena Asset Management.Premiums, which are fees paid on top of exchange prices to obtain specific metal in specific locations, have spiked since the start of the year to previously unheard of levels.This was most pronounced in the US, which is the world's second largest consumer of the metal at around 30,000 tonnes per year.Fastmarkets last assessed tin grade A min 99.85% ingot premium, ddp Midwest US at $1,500-1,950 per tonne on March 23, up 91.67% from $800-1,000 per at the start of 2021.The sharp rise has come after years of relatively low spot volatility, with most of the market securing supply on an annualized basis rather than buying when needed."All the traditional demand sectors such as soldering seem to be firing on all cylinders and you've got all the promising green-driven prospects, like copper, tin's probably indispensable for that transition," Bhar said.Tin premiums have spiked the world over as end users grapple with disjointed supply chains and an influx of ordersTraders have come under pressure to fill supply gaps, with merchants from Tokyo to New York describing phones ringing daily with orders that they lack the units to fill.There is a genuine tightness of physical supply, no doubt of that whatsoever, according to Laila Zollinger, a director at London tin traders Wildshaw Ltd and Fenix Metals, which produces tin ingots and solder alloys internationally.We are getting new enquires from people we havent heard from in years, she said, adding that the company is focused on fulfilling commitments to long-term customers.End users are not the only ones in the market for tin however, with several sources reporting that hedge funds are acquiring stocks of physical material with the intention of using it as a base for building positions in the derivatives markets."I've been called by a few of the [commodity trading advisors] trying to get exposed to tin, but had to say sorry, we have nothing left," a long-time tin trader, who declined to be named, said of the situation.Tin has been traded on the LME since the 19th century. The contract was suspended in 1985 with the collapse of the international tin cartel before being reinstated in 1989.Since then, the contract has been no stranger to squeezes. The Southend hedge fund Ebulio Capital Management was infamously said to have captured 90% of LME warrants and cash contracts in 2009, driving out the three-month cash spread to a then-record high of $790 per tonne."They kept buying and buying until there was no-one on the other side of the trade," a source with knowledge of the dealings told Fastmarkets.But market events of this year have thrown the previous bouts of spread tightness into sharp relief; with one market participant needing to borrow tin for a day via the tom-next (tomorrow/next day) spread at an unprecedented price of $600 per tonne.The LME's tom/next spread blew out to a $600 per tonne backwardation on Tuesday February 16thSpreads have since relaxed somewhat, although the exchange's three-month cash spread was last in a $2,000-per-tonne backwardation, a figure which dwarfs anything seen prior to the past two months.Spread volatility between LME tin contracts is not unusual but has reached unprecedented levels since the start of this yearWith the physical market in disarray, several market participants told Fastmarkets that managing positions in volatile times was made more difficult without a physical LME Ring to set prices."All the way through, since last year, the fact that the Ring closed has contributed to the lack of spread liquidity across all of the metals, so when you have situations like this in less liquid contracts. It's an aggregating factor when you don't have the Ring as a forum to deal with it," Mulqueen said. The Exchange has consulted the market as to whether it should close its 144-year-old Ring , which is the last open-outcry trading venue left in Europe and where traders set prices.With the Covid-19 pandemic making in-person (and high-decibel) deal-making impossible, traded volumes have successfully moved onto the LME's Select platform.But several players have lamented the difficulties of doing business through a screen at a time when old-school, in-person deal-making may have helped facilitate spread deals.I am not surprised that the tin market has become more volatile recently than ever before. Without the in-person LME rings, the more illiquid markets like lead and tin have greater potential to become disjointed, Cuoco said.The LME has increased the monitoring of its tin market contracts since backwardations began to flare up and has the ability to impose a variety of tools to regulate conditions if it sees fit."The LME notes current tightness in the tin market. At present, there is no indication that LME pricing has diverged from the underlying physical market," a spokesperson said.Volumes on the LME's cash contract have risen since prices rose (LME via Fastmarkets)The market has quietened down somewhat since the spikes of early February, in part due to an uptick in stocks delivered to LME warehouses.A total of 1,495 tonnes of tin are now warranted on the bourse, up from an all-time low of 485 tonnes on February 9.The vast majority of the inventory (1,325 tonnes) lies in Port Klang, Malaysia. According to brokers, the material is 99.85% purity that was produced by Malaysia Smelting Corporation (MSC), a deliverable quality for the LME but below the 99.9% purity industry standard preferred by the majority of solder makers and produced by most smelters other than MSC.With physical premiums this high, there remains a disincentive to deliver tonnages onto the exchange, even if it can be used to lend into a steady backwardation."For me, there's no reason to put metal on-warrant. In fact, if I can get my hands on 99.9% warrants, I'll cancel and deliver to my customers," a tin producer told Fastmarkets.After hitting record lows in February, warranted tin on the LME has since been on the upSome market members are hopeful that a potential reopening of the LME's Ring will help unwind the current tight spreads."The Ring would bring the main market makers together in the same location. That does a lot because the brokers are better able to ascertain who has what and make the needed markets, Cuoco said.Others see the old markets adage of higher prices being the best "cure" for high prices panning out, with alluvial miners incentivized to bring on more production."My personal view is it has to go to a price where demand is destroyed, because supply isn't there and because demand is so inelastic," Thompson said, citing an expectation that the cash price could be driven above $50,000 per tonne within the next 18 months.Whether that pans out remains to be seen, but with pandemic-era trading dominating markets in 2021 it's unlikely we'll see a commodity with more action than tin.[Editor's note: An earlier version of this article suggested that tin was new to the LME as of 1989. It was in fact one of the original metals traded on the exchange but went through a hiatus from 1985-1989 after the collapse of the international tin cartel. The story also erroneously stated that the all-time low of warranted LME tin stocks was 100 tonnes on February 18, while it was in fact 485 tonnes on February 9. Additionally, StoneX was misidentified as StoeneX in the ninth paragraph.]
IRCC is testing an algorithm that makes recommendations to immigrants on where they may enjoy the greatest success.

New tool could help immigrants decide where to live in Canada

New tool could help immigrants decide where to live in Canada IRCC is testing an algorithm that makes recommendations to immigrants on where they may enjoy the greatest success.

New tool could help immigrants decide where to live in Canada IRCC is testing an algorithm that makes recommendations to immigrants on where they may enjoy the greatest success.

New tool could help immigrants decide where to live in Canada IRCC is testing an algorithm that makes recommendations to immigrants on where they may enjoy the greatest success. Mohanad Moetaz Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif

Sans Font Size A

A

Researchers are working on a new tool that will help newcomers identify which Canadian city they are most likely to be successful in.

Most immigrants end up choosing to live in one of Canadas major cities. In fact, more than half of all immigrants and recent immigrants to Canada currently live in Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver, according to Statistics Canada.

However, there may be better opportunities for these immigrants elsewhere. Perhaps a film director or a tech worker may be suited to Toronto, but a petroleum engineer may not.

Since 2018, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has been working on a research project alongside the Immigration Policy Lab (IPL) at Stanford University that may pave the way for this tool, dubbed GeoMatch, to come to fruition.

Find Out if Youre Eligible for Canadian Immigration

The project attempts to repurpose an algorithm that is used in resettlement efforts, to work for Canadian immigration. It uses historical data to help immigrants choose where they might thrive the most, IRCC spokesperson Isabelle Dubois told CIC News.

The study suggested that prospective economic immigrants who followed the GeoMatch recommendation would be more likely to find a well-paying job after they arrived, Dubois said in an email.

Currently, newcomers tend to gravitate to cities theyve heard of which tend to be the largest. Yet such a tool could help change that by promoting different localities across Canada, beyond major urban centres like Toronto and Vancouver.

According to their website, GeoMatch uses machine learning capabilities to make its predictions. It considers factors such as previous immigrants work history, education as well as personal characteristics. It then finds patterns in the data by focusing on how these factors were related to economic success in different locations.

GeoMatch may then be able to predict an immigrants likelihood of success in various locations across Canada.

Research suggests that an immigrants initial arrival location plays a key role in shaping their economic success. Yet immigrants currently lack access to personalized information that would help them identify optimal destinations, said a report published by the IPL.

The report reiterates that the approach is motivated by data that show an immigrants first landing location is influential in their outcomes.

We find that for many economic immigrants the chosen [first] location is far from optimal in terms of expected income, the report adds.

The report suggests that many economic immigrants choose Toronto simply because that is all they know of Canada, but they may be in the wrong place for their skillset. For example, Toronto is ranked number 20 out of 52 regions in terms of maximizing income in the year after arrival. This means that for many immigrants, there were 19 other regions where they would have likely made a higher income.

Immigrants may, of course, choose not to use the tool. However, it is worth mentioning that GeoMatch takes into consideration not just data-driven predictions but immigrants location preferences as well.

Find Out if Youre Eligible for Canadian Immigration

 CIC News All Rights Reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options.
Lucknow, March 25 : The gun industry major, Webley and Scott, has shown interest to further invest in Uttar Pradesh. After having a unit in partnership in Hardoi, it is now keen to open an independent factory in the state.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will be meeting the director of Webley & Scott soon to bring FDI and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make In India' campaign together for the welfare of the state.

John Bright, Director, Webley & Scott, UK along with Mark Rambiaz, engineer, will be showcasing their high-quality products and services, and will share information about their upcoming innovative programmes.

John Bright has written a letter to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath saying that he would like to come down from the UK to meet him with an investment proposal.

Webley & Scott is one of the oldest names in the gun industry founded in 1790. And, this will be the first foreign company to independently manufacture firearms in India.

The company has manufactured some of the most famous firearms the world has ever seen -- the Webley revolver, shotguns, and Webley rifles. Webley became famous because of its production of handguns.

Webley & Scott already has a unit coming up in Hardoi district. The handgun manufacturing giant had earlier joined hands with Lucknow-based Sial Manufacturers Pvt. Ltd. for a project in Hardoi.

The Hardoi project will begin operations with the production of revolvers. This unit will manufacture the .32 revolver in the first phase.

Joginder Pal Singh Sial of Sial Manufacturers, the all-India distributor of W&S products, said, "The government's support and the Centre's 'Make in India' policy helped the project take final shape." According to the government spokesman, John Bright, the co-owner of Webley & Scott has said that they would later manufacture pistols, air-guns, shotgun and ammunition as well in their independent unit.

"We decided to invest in India and in the state of Uttar Pradesh keeping in view the vast market potential. The idea to expand our business got shape after discussions with the Sial family in 2018. We entered a new joint venture for the manufacture of firearms and air-guns in India for the Indian domestic market. We got the licence to manufacture firearms in India in 2019," said Bright in a statement.

He said the original design of the Mark IV .32 pistol of 1899 would be used to cater to the Indian market in the first phase.

The meeting with the Chief Minister will also be attended by Directors of Sial Manufacturer Surendra Singh, Daljit Singh Sial, and Joginder Sial.
Check out the news you should not miss today:

Society

 Vietnams COVID-19 tally on Thursday morning stood at 2,576, with 272 under treatment, 2,265 recoveries and 35 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health.

 Vietnam on Wednesday called for urgent diversification of its sources for COVID-19 vaccines amid global supply problems, as the Southeast Asian country pushes forward with an inoculation program that began earlier this month, Reuters reported the same day.

 Visas for foreigners living in Vietnam will be issued online via the National Public Service Portal in 2021, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

 Police in the southern province of Bac Lieu are investigating a case in which a 69-year-old woman was found dead and decomposing in her house where she lived alone in Vinh Loi District on Wednesday.

 Medical staff at a general hospital in border areas in the southern province of Dong Thap were given the first shot of COVID-19 vaccine AstraZeneca on Wednesday.

 From March 15 to 24, traffic police across Vietnam detected 5,752 cases of driving under the influence. More than 3,000 driver's licenses were taken away and 5,752 vehicles of all kinds were temporarily seized.

Business

 The Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Committee has recently submitted to the prime minister a plan to establish a regional and international administrative center in order to attract international investments.

 The northern province of Quang Ninh will set aside VND58.7 trillion (US$2.53 billion) to develop modern and synchronous infrastructure in 2021-25 to improve investment attraction, the Vietnam News Agency reported on Wednesday.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
David Cameron is being formally investigated for a possible breach of lobbying laws that were brought in when he was prime minister.

Mr Cameron has been accused of unsuccessfully lobbying the Government to increase stricken financial firm Greensill Capital's access to coronavirus loan schemes.

Sources claim the former prime minister directly lobbied Chancellor Rishi Sunak to secure multimillion-pound Covid loans for Greensill. It has also been claimed that he approached the Bank of England to try and get money for the firm.

If proven, Mr Cameron may have broken legislation that his own government passed which bans third parties from directly lobbying ministers without being officially declared on the government's register of lobbyists.

A spokesman for Harry Rich, the registrar who polices the lobbying rules, confirmed he was launching an official investigation.

David Cameron allegedly unsuccessfully lobbied the Government on behalf of the Greensill Capital firm

Greensill, which Mr Cameron joined as an adviser in 2018, plunged into administration after its loan application was refused

'The registrar is investigating whether David Cameron has engaged in unregistered consultant lobbying,' he told the Times.

If he is found guilty, Mr Cameron could be slapped with a 7,500 fine or, in the most severe case, criminal prosecution.

Earlier this week it was claimed that the former prime minister texted the Chancellor's private mobile in a bid to secure government-backed funding for the afflicted Greensill Capital.

Mr Sunak ignored most of the messages and instead referred Mr Cameron to senior Treasury officials, according to The Sunday Times.

Those contacted by the ex-Tory premier were said to include Tom Scholar, the permanent secretary, and Charles Roxburgh, the second permanent secretary.

The paper reported that Mr Sunak stood by officials who felt Greensill did not qualify for the scheme.

But Labour has called for an inquiry into the saga to ensure that decisions taken about taxpayer money is transparent.

It emerged earlier in the week that Mr Cameron held meetings with Treasury mandarins to ask that Greensill receive support through the Government's Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF).

The company, which Mr Cameron joined as an adviser in 2018, plunged into administration after its loan application was refused.

A spokesman for Harry Rich, the registrar who polices the lobbying rules, confirmed he was launching an official investigation

The FT said that public records showed Greensill representatives had 10 virtual meetings between March and June last year with senior Treasury officials.

Mr Cameron has exposed himself to accusations of hypocrisy after previously warning about the dangers of financial lobbying.

Mr Cameron, 54, was prime minister and Conservative leader when Mr Sunak was first elected to the Commons in 2015.

For Labour, shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds said: 'Rishi Sunak already had questions to answer as to why Greensill was given so much more access to the Treasury than other Covid lenders.

'The suggestion that David Cameron was also contacting the Chancellor directly to further Greensill's commercial interests raises even bigger concerns.

'This is public money, and the processes involved in decision-making should be fully transparent and beyond reproach. We need a full and thorough investigation into what's happened here.'

A Treasury spokeswoman said: 'Treasury officials regularly meet with stakeholders to discuss our economic response to Covid.

'The meetings in question were primarily about broadening the scope of CCFF to enable access for providers of supply chain finance, which - following a call for evidence and discussions with several other firms within the sector - we decided against and informed the businesses concerned.'
From time to time, whether motivated by politics or articulating a misinformed position, commentators will seek to claim Trinidad and Tobago is a failing state.

I take serious umbrage to that because when one understands what a failing state or economy looks like, it is clear we are very far from that. In fact, by independent measures, we are closer to the opposite side of that spectrum.
RESTON, Va., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- IDEMIA today launched a Mobile ID offering for Arizona in partnership with the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division (ADOT).

Mobile ID allows Arizona residents to carry a digital version of their driver's license or other state-issued ID in an app on their smartphone. The mID builds off the strength of the Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) enrollment process while adding layers of fraud protection. Mobile ID data is only stored with the MVD system of record and in the mID app on the resident's phone. The app also takes steps to protect information during age-verified transactions by allowing users to prove their age without sharing unnecessary information such as an address.

Mobile ID will not only support physical ID verification, it will also add convenience and security to online ID verification. For example, mID can be used to verify a person's identity to complete enhanced-verification services online, such as transferring a vehicle title and requesting a registration refund payout at AZMVDNow.gov, MVD's primary customer self-service website. By verifying identity prior to transactions, the state is able to streamline processes, reduce fraud and improve the customer experience.

"IDEMIA is proud to work with Arizona to bring its residents a secure identification option that will conveniently connect them to the state's services," said Matt Thompson, SVP, Civil and Mobile ID of IDEMIA. "This technology will change the way residents across the country manage their identity, and Arizona is paving the way to the next generation of state-issued identity credentials."

Arizona is the third state to roll out IDEMIA's Mobile ID technology, joining Oklahoma, and most recently Delaware. The technology will soon be available in other states, as well.

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 / Follow @IDEMIAGroup on Twitter

To learn more about Arizona Mobile ID please visit mobileID.az.gov. To download the app, please visit the App Store or Google Play Store and search "Arizona Mobile ID."

SOURCE IDEMIA
ADVERTISEMENT

Some residents of Igbogbo-Baiyeku, Ikorodu, Lagos State, have protested the non payment of compensation, three years after their houses were demolished for a road project in the area.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the placard-carrying victims stormed Igbogbo-Baiyeku Council Secretariat, demanding compensation for their demolished property as Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu was inaugurating a newly built office.

NAN reports that over 500 buildings were demolished in December 2017 to pave way for the construction of Igbogbo  Igbe-Ilara road, with a promise to compensate the victims after the demolition exercise.

The affected residents were with placards expressing their displeasure over delay in compensating of them.

The placards had inscriptions such as Sanwo-Olu, The Listening Governor, Help Us To Pay Our Compensation We Are Suffering.

Complaints

Jacob Arogundade, a 77-year-old pensioner and one of the victims, said that he built the house with gratuity paid to him after 35 years of service as a civil servant.

I am a pensioner, I used all the money paid to me as gratuity after 35 years of meritorious service as civil servant.

There is no way I can build another one, I am of age, I only live inside the hallow room left after the demolition, he said.

Titilayo Akintoye, another victim, said that her mother died as a result of shock, when information came that her house would be demolished to pave way for road construction in the area.

Mr Akintoye said the rent was what her mother used to sustain the family as a widow, who had lost her husband in a ghastly accident.

Another victim, Adeboye Asela, 65, said that his children were scattered among his friends, while himself and wife had been moving from one place to the other to stay.

Mr Asela appealed on the governor to pay their compensation to enable him take care of his family and reduce the untold hardship they were currently going through.

Response

Responding during his LCDA Secretariat inauguration speech, Governor Sanwo-Olu, promised to pay the compensation to residents whose houses were demolished for construction of the road.

He said the compensation would be paid to the victims in the next 30 to 40 days to alleviate the suffering of those affected.

I am giving you a commitment that the compensation due for that road will be paid in the next 30 to 40 days, the governor said.

(NAN)
New Orleans, LA As part of its ongoing Judges in the Classroom initiative, the Louisiana Supreme Court Justices welcomed students from Tulane University School of Law to the Supreme Court to witness oral arguments presented to the Court. The students, who were joined by Tulane Law School Dean David Meyer, are from Justice Scott J. Crichtons Contemporary Issues in Legal Ethics class. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, law students as well as students throughout the state frequently visited the Royal Street courthouse in the French Quarter to watch oral arguments in person. Due to COVID-19 safety protocols exercised by the court, this viewing took place via the Louisiana Supreme Court livestream. The students were privy to view four lawyer disciplinary cases  three on docket for the morning session and one scheduled on the afternoon session. Chief Justice Weimer stated, The Supreme Courts priority is always adherence to justice; having students view oral arguments and seeing the law interpreted is an example of how our statewide judges in the classroom/students in the courtroom efforts can influence future generations of lawyers, judges and public servants. I applaud Justice Crichton and encourage judges statewide to teach students of all ages be they law students, college, or high school, so they have a sound understanding of the judiciary.A four year instructor of the ethics class, which he teaches one evening a week, Justice Crichton stated, I share Chief Justice Weimers passion for teaching and education, and enjoy providing learning opportunities to all grade levels of students, Justice Crichton continued. As part of the law school ethics class, I believe watching these arguments provides invaluable real-life examples of the lawyer disciplinary process in action. The Contemporary Issues in Legal Ethicsclass, is an advanced course primarily designed for 3L law students who have taken the basic lawyer ethics course. The Judges in the Classroom/Students in the Courtroom initiative is a passion for Chief Justice Weimer, a former teacher himself. The Supreme Court has also partnered with Board of Elementary Secondary Education (BESE) in expanding the program and engaging Louisiana students with facts and information about our states judicial system and to improve civic education throughout the state of Louisiana. Justice Crichton and Chief Justice Weimer are deeply involved in the Judges Imparting Knowledge, Education, and Skills Task Force. The Judges Imparting Knowledge, Education, and Skills Task Force was launched in 2021 with the objective of creating partnerships by encouraging judges to connect with their local elementary, middle, and high schools to promote a better understanding of the law and the judiciary through the "Judges in the Classroom" program. The statewide program involves regular participation by district judges in classroom discussions and opens courthouse doors for class visits, mock trials, and courtroom presentations. The program enhances the efforts of the 2001 Judges in the Classroom program spearheaded by then-4th JDC Judge Benjamin Jones. For more information visit lasc.org or contact Louisiana Supreme Court Public Information Specialist/Coordinator Trina S. Vincent at tvincent@lasc.org or (504) 310-2590
Our relationship with the natural world is dangerously imbalanced. Recently, a series of catastrophic events  wildfires, extreme weather, locust plagues and the COVID-19 pandemic have shaken the world and we are still dealing with the unprecedented, tragic socio-economic, health and humanitarian consequences.

It is clearer than ever that our future and the future of our planet are intrinsically linked and both are under threat.

2020 has proved to us that nature is essential for our existence and intact natural systems are imperative to all our futures. What we do to nature  we do to ourselves. We need to urgently mend our broken relationship with nature.

Earth Hour 2021 will be a key moment to unite people to speak up for nature. Earth Hour will take place on 27 March 2021 at 8:30pm local time. In the lead up to and on the night of Earth Hour, we will ask people around the world to switch off and speak up for nature  to stand in solidarity to show we care about the future of our planet, our one shared home.

This year, Earth Hour is asking people to speak up for nature in as many diverse and creative ways as possible. We will encourage people to join their local Earth Hour events (likely virtually), share their stories of why nature matters to them  or simply learn more about why climate change and nature loss are the two biggest environmental issues facing our planet today. A new digital activation will ask people around the world to switch off virtually in solidarity as the hour spreads across the globe.

The time is now. We must speak up now to safeguard the health of our planet and in turn, our own health and well-being.

Nature underpins everything. The air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat all rely on functioning natural systems and the production of common goods, livelihoods and our health and wellbeing also rely on nature. Crucially, protecting nature is also a key solution to counteracting the effects of climate change. We cant beat climate change without protecting nature nor re-establish a thriving natural world without a stable climate.

Recent events have forced people around the world to re-evaluate the vital importance of nature, its impact in our daily lives and the huge threats it faces. It has become clearer that our health and the health of our planet are intrinsically linked and both are under threat. So why do we continue with unsustainable human activity, destroying habitats, accelerating climate change and increasing the risk of diseases like #COVID19?

Without recognising the costs, people have taken more and more from nature, with human activity altering landscapes and ecosystems beyond recognition; polluting waterways, filling the oceans with plastic waste and destroying nature on an unprecedented scale.

Its vital that we reverse the loss of biodiversity  the variety of life on Earth and places where they live  and its vital that we restore destroyed and deteriorated ecosystems as they underpin a healthy natural world.

This Earth Hour, we need everyone who understands this vital truth to speak up for nature and help spark millions of conversations to elevate nature loss to a global audience. We must stop the destruction of nature on which our health, happiness and prosperity depend.

Earth Hour: a movement to raise awareness on Climate Change and Nature Loss

Starting as a symbolic lights out event in Sydney in 2007, Earth Hour has grown to become one of the worlds largest grassroots movements for the environment. Its been more successful than we ever imagined  inspiring and empowering individuals, communities, businesses and organizations in 190 countries and territories to take actions for climate change and nature loss.

While climate change remains a vital issue for our planet, we believe the spotlight must also focus on the accelerating loss of nature and the threats this poses to us all. We need to build a movement for nature, to generate and galvanize attention in a similar way to what was achieved with the 2015 Paris agreement on climate change. It is ever more important to raise awareness that nature is the critical foundation of a healthy planet and an immediate, powerful and cost-effective solution to climate disaster and pandemic prevention.

Every country can play a part in protecting and restoring nature

In 2021 the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration will start to boost restoration actions on the ground. The opportunity to restore nature is found in all landscapes, from tropical to temperate forests, from wetlands to grasslands and farmlands. There are opportunities in countries North and South:

1. Improving degraded ecosystems such as coral reefs, mangroves and forests as they build resilience against climate change, enhance biodiversity and reduce the risk of future pandemics. Restored forests, mangroves and seagrass ecosystems can capture and store huge amounts of carbon dioxide, helping to reduce the atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases while contributing to reducing biodiversity loss.

2. Reducing environmental stresses  such as pollution, over-fishing and industrial development  can allow deteriorated ecosystems to rebuild and thrive, building resilience to the effects of climate change and improving biodiversity..

3. Practicing sustainable farming and forestry can improve livelihoods and can revitalise rural communities.

4. Promoting green infrastructure can help improve air quality, regulate local air temperature and moisture, improve quality of life as well as contributing significantly to rebalance greenhouse gas emissions, in particular in cities.

Individuals can support nature by making ethical purchase choices, consuming less and more wisely, restoring nature where they live and using renewable energy. They can also waste less, join movements like Earth Hour and educate themselves and others more widely on these issues.

Earth Hour Mauritius

As a matter of fact, Mauritius, through the initiative of Association Civique Midlands (ACM), became the first country in Southern Hemisphere (outside Australia) to celebrate the Earth-Hour in 2007. Mauritius celebrated its 1st Earth-Hour event back in 2007 at Domaine de Lagrave in support to the Sydney movement. Earth Hour was locally pioneered by ACM with the theme Une Heure pour notre Terre (literally meaning One Hour for Our Earth). In 2010, ANPRAS joined ACM to form the Earth Mauritius platform; thereafter, both have been actively engaged in promoting the event across the country. In February 2012, ANPRAS/Earth-Mauritius became the official focal point and lead organiser for the Earth Hour Global in. Earth Hour has now become an established national event in Mauritius with a huge participation from the Corporate World, Hotel Industry, Educational Sector and individuals.

Mauritius Plans for EH 2021

With the announcement of the lockdown, ANPRAS had to recall and review all its activities; initially a grand launch of the campaign was scheduled for 23 March 2021. ANPRAS/Earth-Hour has now moved to online campaign and will also be hosting a number of virtual events to celebrate EH 2021 under these special circumstances with amplified emphasis on the protection of biodiversity.

Christ Appadoo, President of ANPRAS

we are hosting a virtual event which will be broadcast live on our Facebook Page #mauritius.earthhour ; we will have a number of items and reflections around the theme of the campaign ; that is to speak up for nature. We also invite the population to follow our page and keep abreast of latest news from our side. We also invite every nature caring individual to send us short videos ( less than 1 mins) of what they are doing on Earth Hour; things which may range from anything like (a) candle light dinner with the family, (b) elderly sharing traditional games or sirandanes with younger generations, (c) yoga , (d) story telling etc.In fact you can just do anything as long as you are thinking positively about how we can change of our lifestyle and be closer to nature:

Raj Chintaram, President Emeritus and founder of Earth Hour Mauritius states,

its a sense of accomplishment and see that ANPRAS is the focal point for the 3 major global environment movements namely Earth Day, Earth Hour and World Cleanup Day in Mauritius. ANPRAS has hosted and promoted the event for the past 14 years and COVID-19 has not dampened the zeal of the team to speak up for nature. We might be under lockdown but we always find means to unlock our full potentials. On the same, we have launched a special painting contest for students of Grade 7 & 8. Entries will be accepted till Friday 26th March and paintings receiving the maximum likes will be rewarded; so we invite our young talents to speak up their brushes for the nature.

Malini Moneeram, Country Director for Earth Hour,

its my privilege to have been appointed to lead Earth Hour in Mauritius for the next 5 years. For this EH, I am inviting all Mauritians to partake our on-the-night online digital switch off activation and also share extensively the special video which will be globally released to celebrate the Virtual Spotlight.

Partager et informez vous aussi......

0 shares Share

Tweet

LinkedIn
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.
SPRINGFIELD  Kathleen Harrington remembers very clearly what happened last year shortly after the Annual Catholic Appeal she manages for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield launched in February.

The dioceses main fund-raiser converged with the spread of COVID-19 in the commonwealth. Parishes and their schools across the four counties of Western Massachusetts that the diocese encompasses began to close in response to emergency public health orders first issued in mid-March.

Harrington, like many others, began to work remotely as the pandemic brought sickness, death and economic hardship.

February 26, Ash Wednesday, was our launch date, Harrington recalled.

Across the diocese, parishes hosted or were to host speakers from the ministries and agencies for the first three weekends of March to help the faithful understand how the contributions are used. However, after the first weekend of speakers at the parishes the first set of directives were put into place and the speakers were cancelled. Then the churches were closed.

The appeal takes place during Lent every year and seeks donations from members of the dioceses 79 parishes as the major funding source for the dioceses ministries and administration. Plans for the 2020 appeal to collect donations during weekend Masses in March in addition to mail-in contributions had to be discarded and what would this and the economic hardship brought by the pandemic mean even as the federal government stepped up to replace loss wages with stimulus checks?

Harrington said she was humbled by what happened: The final total for 2020 was $2,562,991.36  an increase of $176,453.56 over the previous year. The goal set for this year is $3 million.

I am humbled by the generosity of the faithful here in Western Massachusetts, Harrington said. As the timeline went out the window, donations continued to come in.

She said that after receiving their first stimulus check, some people called to donate part of it to the ACA.

Others called to donate a second time, Harrington said. Seeing so many of their neighbors suddenly out of work motivated them to help. You might think that as we all hunkered down to ride out the first wave of the pandemic that people would be fearfully guarding their resources. But that wasnt the case. More than 10,000 people contributed to the ACA after March 13, 2020.

Harrington said the average gift of $143 is in a way deceitful because the average donor is the person who made a gift of $25 or maybe $50.

Their generosity is what brought us to $2.5 million, Harrington said.

The final donor count for 2020, Harrington said, was 17,890 donors.

The largest distribution - $583,800 - from the 2020 appeal, whose theme was Our Faith, Our Future, was for Catholic schools in the diocese and related office support. Other large distributions went to Catholic Communications, $426,100; Latino Ministries, $268,000; and Catholic Charities, $230,620.

Some $272,500 in grants was awarded to 27 community-based agencies like Lorraines Soup Kitchen and Pantry.

Community based agencies and ministries submit grant requests beginning in August, said Harrington when asked how monies are allocated. The agencies are asked to explain which Catholic values are reflected by their work and if their agency or ministry was begun at the request of the diocese.

She added, In the fall, the members of the allocation committee review the grant requests and determine funding.

Some ministries are umbrellas for several or many programs, Harrington said. The grant will specify how the allocation will be spent. Most of the ministries that provide food saw huge demands on their resources in 2020. It was especially important to maintain funding for all of them.

She said funds allocated for internal ministries can be fluid from year to year depending on a specific project that is undertaken or work that may require additional funds.

For example, Catholic Charities saw a significant increase in funding this year due to the economic fallout of the pandemic, Harrington said. Annual Catholic Appeal funding for the internal ministries of the diocese is determined by the finance committee.

She added while the appeal supports diocesan ministries the money is not sent directly to parishes.

Parishioners support all the ministries, such as Latino Ministries or Catholic education, regardless of whether there is a Spanish-speaking population at their own parish, or regardless of a parish not having a school to support, Harrington said.

Appeal funds are not given directly to the people who need the funds. They are dispersed through the ministries or agencies to the people. Each ministry or agency has a framework for distribution of emergency food, shelter, clothing.

Harrington said the 2021 Annual Catholic Appeal launched as scheduled on Feb. 17, Ash Wednesday, with the goal of raising $3 million and themed Sowing the Seeds that Bishop William D. Byrne in his appeal letter to the parishes said were seeds of faith with our words, actions and generosity.

She said that a little more than $1.3 million - some $1,353,278.29 has been contributed from 7,947 donors as of March 22 and that the average donation to date is $170.28.

Related content:

Shaker, Saudi Arabias leading importer, manufacturer and distributor of Air Conditioners and Home Appliances, has announced its first profitable year since 2016.

Financial results for the 12-month period ended December 31, 2020 showed full-year revenue of SR932.7 million, growing by 5.6% as compared to 2019. Gross profit of SR195.6 million increased by 18.1% year-on-year. Shakers 12-month net profit reached SR10.1 million ($2.69 million), a significant improvement from a net loss of SR50.9 million in 2019.

Management attributes stable and improving revenues, the success and completion of the Breakthrough Programme turnaround strategy, and the Companys agile and proactive response to Covid-19 for achieving profitability. In 2020, Shaker completed all the goals set out by the Breakthrough Programme, which has achieved significant operational and structural efficiencies.

Mohammed Ibrahim Abunayyan, Chief Executive Officer at Shaker, said: Our return to healthy financial performance is a clear indication of the positive impact the Breakthrough Programme has had on our business. Despite the challenges posed by Covid-19, by remaining committed to the pillars of the strategy we delivered profitability for the first time since 2016; maintained strong revenue growth and reduced costs; and cemented our relationships with stakeholders across the supply chain. In the course of 2020, we welcomed a new home appliances brand to our portfolio, and achieved growth in our projects business by embracing opportunities created by Saudi Vision 2030 and government-sponsored mega projects.

While the events of 2020 created challenges for our supply chain, with inventory pressures in some categories, and in manufacturing, with shortages of components parts delaying production, we acted quickly to mitigate the impact of the pandemic, safeguarding inventory and reassessing our manufacturing processes. This was a clear demonstration of our ability to navigate headwinds.

Abunayyan continued: Having delivered our objectives, with an improved operating structure in place, a pool of talented and driven staff, and a lean business model, we are pleased to be launching our new growth strategy, which aims to make Shaker the market leader in ACs, consumer electronics and appliances. With the turnaround process complete we are ready to focus on growing market share across the segments we operate in, expanding to new segments to meet consumer needs, and defend our position in segments where we are the supplier of choice. These goals will be supported by initiatives to improve our product mix, increase efficiencies across our distribution channels, and digitalise our business, particularly e-commerce channels.

Shaker will now implement its new strategy until 2023, which aims to grow the business by becoming the preferred choice for customers and the ideal partner for brands in the Saudi consumer electronics and appliances sector.

The strategy follows the success of the Breakthrough Programme, which was completed in 2020 and saw Shaker achieve profitability for the first time since 2016.

Shaker will build on its extensive portfolio of home appliances and ACs, to take advantage of emerging opportunities in the market. Saudi Arabias AC market is expected to grow by 2% in the next two years, with growth supported by energy efficiency programs by the government including the Saudi Energy Efficiency Centres high-efficiency AC initiative, and Tarsheed, the Saudi governments National Energy Services Company. Mega projects such as Neom and Red Sea also present compelling opportunities.

The home appliances market is expected to grow by 3% in the next three years driven by consumer demand for energy efficient products, increasing disposable income as more women enter the workforce, and a strong pipeline of housing projects supported by the Saudi government.

The Board and management have continued to address the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and put in place mitigating plans. Shaker and its dealers were successful in pivoting sales and distribution to alternative channels, alleviating pressure on traditional retail, although some projects faced delays.

With the easing of preventive measures and the gradual return of normal economic activity, sales generally improved to levels stronger than those achieved in 2019. Throughout the pandemic crisis, the Group has acted quickly to utilise available private sector support packages, actively manage down fixed and variable costs, shore up working capital, and maintain operations at optimal capacity.

Given the fluidity of the pandemic situation both locally and internationally, it is not possible to make accurate forecasts for its future impact on performance. Further updates regarding material developments in relation to Covid-19 will be provided by the Company, as required.

Shaker, which is listed on Tadawul, is a leader in the Saudi market as both a distributor for international electrical brands and a local manufacturer of LG Air Conditioners. The Companys portfolio brands include LG Air Conditioners, as well as Indesit, Ariston, Maytag, Midea, and Bompani in the home appliances segment. In 2015, the Group increased its stake in the UAEs Emirates Energy Management Services (EMS) from 20% to 74%, and in establishing ESCO, as a business unit of Shaker Group, took an important strategic step towards diversifying operations and revenue streams.

-- Tradearabia News Service
A Texas man was forced at gunpoint to get his girlfriend's name tattooed on his neck before he was shot dead and dumped in a drainage ditch, police say.

The body of Younis Hussain Alhassinyani was found dumped near Arlington, Texas, back on February 4 just days after his family reported him missing.

The 22-year-old was found with a gunshot wound to his neck.

Police have since charged four people in relation to his death, including Alhassinyani's 28-year-old girlfriend Erika Perez.

They say a lengthy investigation into the bizarre crime revealed that Alhassinyani had been at his girlfriend's apartment in Arlington for a late-night tattoo session the night he was shot dead.

A tattoo artist and four other men were also at the apartment, police said.

The body of Younis Hussain Alhassinyani was found dumped near Arlington, Texas, back on February 4 just days after his family reported him missing

The three other men charged so far are: Benjamin Delgadillo, 21; Pedro Angel Rodriguez, 21; and Justin Jaxs Salinas, 23.

Police are still searching for a fourth man. The tattoo artist has not been charged.

Police have since charged four people in relation to his death, including Alhassinyani's 28-year-old girlfriend Erika Perez (above)

When police questioned Perez about her boyfriend's whereabouts, she allegedly told officers that she had kicked him out after getting into an argument.

In court documents obtained by NBC, police said Perez seemed unaffected by the news that her boyfriend had been found murdered.

Police eventually interviewed the tattoo artist who said he had witnessed Perez and Alhassinyani getting into an argument about him seeing other women.

Perez allegedly ripped Alhassinyani's shirt and then put tape over his mouth, which he later removed.

The tattoo artist's account contradicted Perez's claim that she then kicked him out.

Police found video on Perez's phone that showed a shirtless Alhassinyani lying on a massage table as the tattoo artist worked on his back.

One of the other men, who was armed with a gun, then grabbed the tattoo gun and started allegedly defacing one of Alhassinyani's tattoos.

Perez then allegedly demanded her name be tattooed on her boyfriend's neck.

The three other men charged with capital murder in Alhassinyani's death are: Pedro Angel Rodriguez, 21; Justin Jaxs Salinas, 23; and Benjamin Delgadillo, 21

A lengthy investigation into the bizarre crime revealed that Alhassinyani had been at his girlfriend's apartment for a late-night tattoo session Police say Alhassinyani was forced to get his girlfriend's name tattooed in him before being shot in the neck

The tattoo artist told police he didn't object to what was happening because the men were armed.

Police say the four men then said Alhassinyani would be leaving the apartment with them.

Alhassinyani asked if he could just call his relatives to take him home but the men refused, according to police.

Perez allegedly told the men: 'Whatever you do to him, don't do it here'.

The men then drove up a highway about 12 miles away and allegedly forced Alhassinyani to get out of the car.

He was then shot in the neck before the men allegedly dragged his body into a drainage ditch and fled the scene.

Alhassinyani's family say they repeatedly went to Perez's home in search of him after he stopped writing back to texts and answering calls.

Police said Perez reported his family to authorities for harassment.

The three men involved have now been charged with capital murder.

Perez has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated kidnapping, filing a false police report and failure to report a felony.

Alhassinyani was his mother's only son. His father died two years ago from a terminal illness.
Local News, Community, Charity & Cause

By Ls Cohen Published: March 25 2021

Rabbi Aaron Benson leads Port Jeff Station congregation and officially joins the ranks of police chaplains.

Rabbi Aaron Benson is already responsible for the spiritual leadership of the Port Jefferson Station congregation at North Shore Jewish Center. His leadership and teachings have been long admired in the local Jewish community and out, as he brings representation to many interfaith activities and events.

Recently, Rabbi Benson was officially sworn in as the newest chaplain in the Suffolk County Police Department. Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart and Chief of Department Stuart Cameron hosted a swearing-in ceremony last week to welcome Rabbi Benson.

Photo: SCPD Facebook page.

On social media, congregants sent Rabbi benson a hearty Mazel Tov - which is a Jewish term of congratulations and good luck - on his induction.

Rabbi Benson, who is married and father of three children, became a chaplain with SCPD several months ago but was just sworn in by Pastor Michael Staneck, the departments Chief of Chaplains, on Thursday, March 18.

In a post on Facebook, the SCPD reported that Rabbi Benson said he is honored to join the department and inspired by the public service of SCPD members.
In his work and all activities, the President is always responsible, exemplary, close and respectful to the people, and wholeheartedly devotes himself to serve the fatherland and the people.

Party Secretary General and State President Nguyen Phu Trong meets voters

At the opening ceremony of the last session of the 14th National Assembly (NA), President Nguyen Phu Trong presented the work report for the 2016-2021 tenure of the State President.

In 2018, Mr. Trong, the Party Committee Secretary General, took office as State President. He has been fully and effectively performing his tasks and powers in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and the laws, and taking responsibility before the Party, State, NA and people.

In work and all activities, Mr. Trong has been making every effort to be responsible, exemplary, simple, close to people and wholeheartedly serving the fatherland and people, asserting the position of the Partys highest leader, the head of the State, who acts on behalf of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in domestic and foreign affairs.

During the time when his health was not in good condition, the President applied measures to keep activities uninterrupted, such as decentralizing vice president duties or authorizing agencies to join forces to run routine operations.

Even when rapid-fire difficult work came, including Covid-19 and the floods in the central region, especially during the 13th Party Congress period, when he had to deal with many works in personnel and documents, he still managed to run everything smoothly.

The works implemented by the State President and Vice President during the tenure have, together with the entire Party, people and army, contributed to promoting traditional patriotism, the will and strength of great national solidarity, and strengthening the building and rectification of the Party and the political system to make it clean and strong.

Corruption, wrongdoings restrained

Reviewing the results of the work in 2016-2021, Mr. Trong said from the beginning of the term to now, the prevention and fight against corruption, wrongdoing and wastefulness continues to be drastically implemented under the motto: "No restricted areas, no exceptions", which has posed great deterrence and warnings.

Corruption and wrongdoing have been step by step restrained. A lot of complicated embezzlement and economic cases have been discovered and investigated, put into prosecution and judged strictly, which has been applauded, highly appreciated and supported by people.

Regarding the implementation of duties and powers related to the legislative field, the President signed the orders to announce 72 laws and two ordinances ratified by the 14th NA and its Standing Committee, and instructed the State President Office to cooperate with relevant agencies to soon bring legal documents to life.

As the 14th NAs Deputies, the President and the Vice President attended NAs sessions, participated in the activities of NA deputy delegations at their electoral units and meetings with voters before and after each NA session.

The President always keeps the close link with the Government. During the tenure, the Party Secretary General and President four times attended and delivered speed at offline and online conferences of the Government with local authorities.

In his capacity as head of the Central Judicial Reform Steering Committee, the State President has instructed judicial agencies to promote judicial and administrative reform; improve the quality of investigation, prosecution, adjudication and enforcement of judgments, especially big economic and corruption cases; so as not to be injustice and omit criminals, and to reclaim the States properties.

Mr. Trong said the process of considering the application for the death penalty remission is a matter related to human life and the strictness and clearness of the law, so all the applications are considered with extreme caution.

Security

In the capacity as Chairman of the National Defense and Security Council, Commander of the People's Armed Forces, the State President presided over and directed the meetings of the Politburo, the Central Military Commission and the Central Public Security Commission.

The President worked with the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security on continuing to lead and instruct to implement effectively the 11th Party Central Committee's 8th meeting Resolution on the strategy to protect the fatherland in the new situation, implement the Partys resolutions, instructions on ensuring national defense and security, building an all-people defense associated with people's security, and building a solid defense area.

The State President stressed that Vietnam must not let unexpected national defence and security problems from countries, far and near, big and small, occur.

As Head of State, Mr. Trong led high-level State delegations to visit many countries in the world; to welcome and hold talks with many delegations of heads of states visiting Vietnam; attended three international conferences and hosted one major international conference held in Vietnam (APEC 2017).

Vietnams position and prestige continue to be enhanced in the international arena when Vietnam fulfilled role as AIPA (ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly) and ASEAN Chair in 2020 and a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2020-2021 term.

During the tenure, the State President: - appointed five Deputy PM, 21 Ministers and other members of the Government for 2016-2021 term - awarded the rank of ambassador to 55 officers of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, appointed 112 Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassadors of Vietnam to other countries. - released decision on promotion to the rank of general to 400 army officers. - approved 1,598 people to regain Vietnamese nationality; 24,370 Vietnamese citizens were allowed to renounce Vietnamese nationality. - released decision on special amnesty before the term for 4,384 prisoners; rejected the application for sentence remission of 295 convicts; approved the reduction from death penalty to life imprisonment for 94 sentences.

Thu Hang

13th National Party Congress a complete success The 13th National Party Congress was a success and concluded two days earlier than scheduled, Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong said at a press briefing on February 1 following the congresss closure.
Animation Explainers Ltd. (AE) has announced that John Qualls, CEO of Purpose HQ is the newest member of their Strategic Advisory Board. Qualls is recognized as a leader in talent optimization and is an innovator with cutting-edge technologies that help organizations maximize productivity and profitability.

Animation Explainers

Animation Explainers, experiencing rapid growth since its launch in 2018, is now expanding internationally with new offices serving the UK, Ireland, and North America. In 2020, Animation Explainers produced more than 200 animated explainer videos. The momentum continues into 2021, with the company on track to more than double its production of corporate video and business animation projects.

AE recently launched a Hosting & Reporting Package. It offers a comprehensive suite of client services, including video-content reporting and hosting tools to help businesses track, analyze, and manage video content for the best results. The timing for adding Qualls to AEs Strategic Advisory Board is ideal for this launch.

John Qualls

John Qualls is a thought leader in talent optimization and technology innovation for organizations worldwide. Beyond his role as CEO of Purpose HQ, he's also a leading Board Member of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce and is active in other business management and development organizations. Most significantly for AE, Qualls is the founder of Bluelock, a leading Infrastructure-as-Service provider, and he has extensive video-hosting and IT expertise for optimal results from animated video content.

B2B video production has skyrocketed since most people are working remotely after the COVID-19 pandemic, says Animation Explainers co-founder Dylan Healy. Our agency is scaling rapidly because businesses need a quick way to visually explain complex products and services.

Animation Explainers Co-founder Aaron Connolly added, We're animated video production experts, but were not experts when it comes to international business, finance, and hosting technologies. John is a lifesaver because he's helping us scale up and optimize our team to meet the demand for explainer videos, and he also brings innovative insights and new technologies to help host and manage our clients videos. Were continuing to focus on our core competency of providing professional videos that sell clients' products and services. As we expand our service to cover the US, UAE, and Australia, we wish to ensure our same top-quality results for all our new clients.

Just as their video production has doubled, AE's list of major clients has also grown. They've scaled up into new verticals including cybersecurity, telecom, insurance, and medical device companies. Their blue-chip clients include:

AIG

TD Bank

Deutsche Telekom

Adventist Risk Management Inc.

Munich Re

Viatel

Appier

ISA Cybersecurity

Impellam Group

University College Dublin

To learn more, contact media@animationexplainers.com
Tokyo, March 25 : Japan's nuclear regulatory body has decided to ban the transportation of nuclear fuel to the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata prefecture owing to the plant's "severe security breaches".

Following its probe, the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) decided at its meeting to ban Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. (TEPCO) from transporting to the plant or loading nuclear fuel into its reactors, as the plant's intruder detection and backup systems were found to be defective, reports Xinhua news agency.

"We have yet to thoroughly confirm whether measures to protect nuclear material at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa are sufficient. If we ban the transport of nuclear fuel, the protection of such material will be enhanced," NRA Chairman Toyoshi Fuketa told the meeting on Wednesday.

NRA commissioners at the meeting were in agreement that legally stipulated corrective measures should be enforced on the operator of the seven-reactor plant on the Sea of Japan coast.

The regulators also discussed other measures to punish TEPCO, having, for the first time, provisionally rated the plant's security breaches to be at the worst level in terms of safety and severity, such as revoking TEPCO's license to operate the complex or ordering the halt of plant operations for up to a year.

Specific security breaches included the plant being "vulnerable to unauthorised entry at 15 locations since March last year because of defective intruder detection systems and backups", the NRA said earlier this month.

Other breaches at the plant, along with safety measures not being completed for the No. 7 reactor at the plant, include an employee last year using a colleague's ID pass to enter the central control room without authorisation.

The NRA said the punitive measures will be kept in place until TEPCO responds appropriately to the situation.

"The punitive measure will remain in effect until TEPCO's response to the incident is in a situation where self-sustained improvement is expected," the NRA 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.
This year, Jewish Easter  Passover  is celebrated from March 27th to April 4th. Jews living in Azerbaijan prepare for the holiday as well. There are three communities in Azerbaijan: Mountain Jews, Ashkenazi Jews, and Georgian Jews. The most ancient is the community of Mountain Jews. It appeared here about 15 centuries ago, according to some sources. Sun Sentinel reports on local traditions.

Ahead of his first Passover in Azerbaijan, Rabbi Shneor Segal stocked up on kosher food for the holiday, when Jews are prohibited from eating foods made from leavened grains. Segal, an Israel-born emissary of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement who immigrated to Azerbaijan in 2010 to run the largest synagogue in the capital Baku, ensured that his congregation had all the kosher-certified basics, like sugar, pickles and cheese. It was a beginners mistake. As Segal soon discovered Mountain Jews, an ancient community that comprises the bulk of Azerbaijans Jewish population of about 8,000, abstain from those products as well on Passover.

The rich and unique traditions of the Mountain Jews are on particular display during Passover, a holiday that for historic reasons has become the most important one for Jews across the former Soviet Union. I remember one lady in particular who looked at me appalled after she saw I keep sugar on Passover, Segal recalled. I assured her it was up to the strictest standards of kashrut. She looked at me, asked And you call yourself a rabbi?! and walked away. I cherish the memory of this woman, so secure in her knowledge of Judaism that some guy with a beard from Israel wasnt going to confuse her.

The Passover bans on pickles, sugar and cheese date back to when Mountain Jews had no access to rabbinical-supervised factories that made those products, according to Yaniv Naftalayev, the leader of the Caucasian Jewish community in Israel. The Caucasus range, straddling Russia, Georgia and Azerbaijan, gives Mountain Jews their name.

Now Naftalayev and an organization of Mountain Jews called STMEGI are busy cataloging and teaching those and other traditions through the Museum of the History and Culture of Mountain Jews, which opened last year in Krasnaiya Sloboda, Azerbaijan.

Passover is called Nisonu in Juhuri, the ancient and dying Farsi-based Jewish language of Mountain Jews, after the Jewish month of Nisan when Passover occurs. During Passover, Mountain Jews avoid cemeteries. Anniversaries of a loved ones death that fall during Nisan are marked before or after the month of the holiday.

Mountain Jews Seders feature special dishes, too, including one called kisani burochoi thats made from thorns. Its based on a rabbinic legend that Egyptian children used to throw thorns into the tubs of clay that Hebrew slaves would pound with their bare feet.

Another Seder dish is the eshkena, a stew combining other traditional dishes from the ritual meal, including eggs, meat and celery. It is eaten with matzah.

Yet one traditional dish, zeroa, a lamb shank or chicken wing meant to represent a sacrifice in the ancient Temple, is absent from Mountain Jews Seders. It is made and consumed the following day by a familys eldest born  a tribute to how the Israelites were spared the plague of the firstborn in Egypt, according to the Passover story.

Other unique Passover customs  there are many  include lighting fires on the first day of Nisan and celebrating the end of the weeklong holiday with an event called Govgil  the back of the holiday in Juhuri  when families hold picnics.

Why Mountain Jews developed such a rich tradition around Passover simply has to do with how old the Mountain Jews community is, said David Mordechayev, an executive of the Moscow-based STMEGI, who helped open the museum in Krasnaiya Sloboda.

The museum features a full catalog of the Passover customs of Mountain Jews compiled by Naftalayev in 2018. Recipes for eshkena and other traditional dishes are found in Yehudei Kavkaz, a Hebrew-language monthly that STMEGI launched on Passover that year.

Many of the customs survived because in the times of the Soviet Union, religious persecution was less severe in Central Asia than in the European part, Mordechayev said. Azerbaijani and Uzbek Jews lost many sons as soldiers in the Red Army during World War II, earning them further leniency. Elsewhere in the former Soviet Union, Jews used Passover  a largely home-based holiday  as a relatively safe connection to their faith.

Matzah provided an easy link to Judaism. It was just a piece of bread, Mendy Axelrod, an Israeli Chabad rabbi based in Moldova, told the Jewish Telegraph Agency. It didnt involve the risk of going to synagogue or actually holding a religious ceremony. Celebrating was not without its risks, however. Because of communism, there is a huge attachment to matzah here, Axelrod said. It seems like everyone who was alive under communism has a story about getting matzah  standing in line at a secret bakery, getting a package from friends.

Ira Zborovskaya, director of special projects at the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, recalls having Seder dinners with her family in Odessa, Ukraine, during communism. We just had the foods, matzah and no hametz on the table, but we didnt even read the Haggadah or do any religious ceremony, she said. That experience was part of what made her reconnect to Judaism, which was not practiced or discussed much in her nuclear family, Zborovskaya added.

Above all, Mountain Jews managed to preserve their Passover traditions because they escaped the Holocaust, which elsewhere destroyed centuries-old Jewish communities and traditions. The Nazis failed to penetrate Central Asia. If you stick around for 1,000 years  and Mountain Jews have been around for at least that long  youre going to develop some specific traditions, said Mordechayev, a father of two whose paternal grandmother, Yafa, used to live in Krasnaiya Sloboda.

As a boy, Mordechayev would often spend the holiday at his late grandmothers house, where Passover cleaning began with washing the carpets. Mountain Jews back then ate on the carpet, there was no dinner table, he said. So it wasnt theoretical: There were definitely bread crumbs there.

Now the Jewish community of Krasnaiya Sloboda is in decline, like other communities of Mountain Jews, and has just a few hundred residents. Their members have left for Israel, the United States, Russia and Europe. Unique traditions are fading as more and more of them marry Jews from different communities.

Some local Passover traditions, like the Govgil picnics, may not survive outside the region, Mordechayev said. His own family in Moscow does not make a point of attending synagogue with many other Mountain Jews, he said. It doesnt work like that. We just go to the nearest synagogue with Ashkenazim, Sephardim, same as most Jews in the world, he said. Still, Mordechayev predicted, some traditions, especially special foods, will live on. We Mountain Jews have an especially long memory for whats on the table come Seder night, he said.
Thursday, March 25, 2021

The Media Doesn't Get 9 Basics About Immigration

By Margaret Orchowski

Immigration is a hot, emotional topic right now. It's about who can legally come into the country, stay and become a citizen, who can't, and how that all is to be enforced. Immigration is complicated. But it's not nuclear science.

Unfortunately most journalists don't include even the basics of immigration that would help calm the debate. For instance most reporters and editors ignore the universal differences between migrants, immigrants, refugees and asylees, as well as distinguishing between legal and illegal immigrant workers and residents. By ignoring these facts, the media has fostered misinformation and misunderstandings that have spiked the toxicity of immigration into a highly partisan issue

I have covered immigration and higher education in Washington DC as a credentialed journalist for the Hispanic Outlook magazine the past 15 years and have written two books about immigration. I was married to an immigrant, have lived ten years abroad and speak four languages. Here are nine basic facts about U.S. immigration that the press doesn't cover.

1) In U.S. law there are three completely different categories of immigrants (who are migrants who come to stay, not visitors or people passing through): permanent legal resident, temporary non-immigrant, illegal alien.

2) Immigration is not a human right nor a civil right. The UN Charter on Human Rights states that migrants have the right to leave their own countries and to return. But they have no right to just go to another country, work, stay and become a citizen without legal authorization from that country.

3) Every sovereign nation state has immigration laws. Think of them like college admission policies. Think of the United States as hugely desirable college where tens of thousands of applicants  most of them more than qualified - dream of going there. They are sure their lives will be changed forever by getting in; they will give so much and get so much. They apply. But they don't get admitted. There are too many applicants. To keep the integrity of the college the administration's board of trustees limits the number. The rejected students cannot storm the dorms, sit in the classes and demand a degree. They have to find another alternative. That college at that time is not their destiny

4) Immigration is about work. The purpose of almost all wanna-be immigrants is to better their lives  to get a good paying job and have the opportunity to raise their families in freedom and stability under the rule of law. The majority of immigrants do not intend to become U.S. citizens.

The reason most nation states want immigrants is to develop a national work force that will make the country prosper. In addition, almost all immigrant-host nations reserve some immigrant spots for refugees. But the nation states gets to choose how many and who.

5) Most countries do not have many temporary nor illegal immigrant workers as the U.S. does. That is because most especially European countries have strong unions to protect high wages and working conditions for their citizens. Most also have digitalized national identity cards used for everything.

6) In most countries illegal immigration is a felony. But it is only a misdemeanor in the United States to cross into the border illegally the first time (it becomes a felony after that). It's only a civil offense to overstay a temporary non-immigration permit that are given out by the millions (there are over 1 million foreign students in the U.S.)  the largest source now of illegal immigration

6) Immigration laws have two basic, contentious roles: a)to bring in usually good enthusiastic, fresh immigrant workers and entrepreneurs; b) to protect the conditions of labor in the U.S. for American citizens and legal immigrants.

7) Illegal immigration undercuts immigration laws and the duty of nation states (and strong national unions) to protect their working citizens and legal immigrants from unauthorized workers willing to work for less

8) Many Democratic liberals seem to consider immigration as a means of social justice: a human and civil right, not about work. Liberals hype deportation as a crime against humanity, not a common immigration enforcement measure. Libertarians (Cato Institute) - many of whom are Republican - share that open borders idea with liberals because they believe there should be as few laws as possible to inhibit commercial profit (such as hiring (cheap) immigrant labor).

9) The President does not have the authority to make immigration law. He heads only one of the three branches of government  the executive branch. He only can issue executive memos that determine how agencies use their budgets to carry out and enforce (or not) immigration laws while he is in office.

# # # # #
The first deputy governor of the Central Bank of The Gambia, Dr. Seeku A.K. Jabbie, has disclosed from the World Health Organisation (WHO), report that approximately 1.35 million people die each year as a result of road traffic crashes globally.

Dr. Jabbie made these remarks yesterday at the West African Insurance Institution (WAII), during a joint training course organised by the Insurance Industry and The Gambia Police Force under the theme: "Insurance and Road Traffic Management."

According to him, the coming together of the two important institutions to conduct a joint training course under such a crucial theme was a laudable and commendable initiative, adding that the insurance industry and The Gambia Police Force share the common objective of providing security to the population.

He further added that implementing traffic laws and regulations by the police and the protection of lives and properties through insurance, cover for any potential financial loss to individuals, businesses and society at large are crucial for economic growth.

"The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has set an ambition of halving the global number of deaths and injuries from road traffic crashes by the end of 2021.

Road traffic crashes cost most countries 3% of their gross domestic product."

"Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 5-29 years," he stated.

For his part, Assistant Inspector General of Police Ebrima Bah revealed that the relationship between the Insurance Association of The Gambia and The Gambia Police Force started October 2020 under the guidance of the late IGP Mamour Jobe.

He added that the police play a very important role in the insurance work activities; not only does the police enforce laws and regulations to the operation of motor vehicles, but most importantly, the law enforcement agency is responsible for dealing with Road Traffic Accident (RTA) cases and preparing investigation reports.

He outlined that the police and insurance industry must share a symbiotic relationship such that both parties are able to realise their objectives, and hoping that insurance companies learn about police work on one hand, while the police would also acquire in-depth knowledge of the operations of the insurance industry.
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 good news is Manitoba administered its highest daily number of COVID-19 vaccines on Tuesday. The bad news is it comes after two days of declining numbers. It raises questions about why the province still isnt using up more of its vaccine supply.

The good news is Manitoba administered its highest daily number of COVID-19 vaccines on Tuesday. The bad news is it comes after two days of declining numbers. It raises questions about why the province still isnt using up more of its vaccine supply.

After ramping up doses last week to more than 5,000 a day, the number of shots administered fell to 2,642 on Sunday and 3,262 on Monday. It wasnt for a lack of supply. By the weekend, the province had received 193,760 doses from Ottawa, while administering only 146,993. While some of that inventory was earmarked for First Nations, or is being used by clinics and pharmacies, at least half is still sitting in freezers.

Meanwhile, the province received another shipment of nearly 40,000 doses on Wednesday, a delivery that was listed as a "confirmed" shipment two weeks ago.

As it stands, the province has received 233,540 doses and administered only 159,838, which includes doses administered by First Nations, pharmacies and clinics. Over the next week, the province expects another 40,600 doses of the Moderna vaccine.

The excuse that Manitoba doesnt have enough supply to dole out more shots is wearing thinner by the week.

Keeping track Total number of doses received: 233,540 Total number of doses administered: 159,838 Percentage of doses administered: 68 per cent click to read more Total number of doses received: 233,540 Total number of doses administered: 159,838 Percentage of doses administered: 68 per cent Number of daily doses administered March 16-23 March 16: 3,400 March 17: 4,794 March 18: 5,075 March 19: 5,455 March 20: 5,088 March 21: 2,642 March 22: 3,262 March 23: 6,938 Percentage of people by age who have received at least one dose (first doses) Over 100: *100 per cent (550) 90-99: 80 per cent (9,534) 80-89: 44 per cent (18,780) 70-79: 7.5 per cent (7,175) 60-69: 9.7 per cent (15,016) 50-59: 10 per cent (17,028) 40-49: 7 per cent (11,952) 30-39: 5.8 per cent (11,311) 20-29: 3.9 per cent (7,498) 19 and under: N/A (246) *small population sample size  Source: Manitoba Government vaccine dashboard/Statistics Canada Close

The way provincial officials explained it during a technical briefing Wednesday is that about 50 per cent of its inventory has been allocated to First Nations, medical clinics and pharmacies. The other half is already booked, including through "supersites." If the province received no new supply, the latter would be depleted within five days.

The trouble with that argument is that the province is getting more supply, lots of it. Some of it has arrived (and wasnt reflected in the technical briefing). More is coming in the next few days. The province is expecting close to 500,000 doses from Ottawa in confirmed deliveries over the next 10 weeks. That number will likely grow significantly once more is known about Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccine deliveries for the month of May.

The province is still telling the public what it can do  its theoretical capacity  instead of consistently administering more doses every day. Scaling down this past weekend showed an appalling lack of urgency in administering doses as quickly as possible.

Manitoba should be using a just-in-time delivery model by now. Vaccines should go out almost as quickly as they come in. There will be some delays in distributing the vaccine through the provinces focused immunization teams, pop-up clinics and in getting shipments to remote First Nations communities. Those are important modes of distribution that ensure vaccines get to those who cant travel to supersites. The province was right to set them up. Unfortunately, it takes longer to get supply through those channels.

Still, those modes of distribution represent a minority share of the overall supply chain; the majority of vaccines are administered through supersites, which have the ability to draw down inventory much quicker.

Given the supply, the province should be administering at least 7,000 to 8,000 doses a day by now. It had the supply to start doing that a week ago.

There is some hope of a turnaround. The province administered 6,938 doses on Tuesday, the highest single-day number to date. If the system can keep that up, and increase it over the next few weeks, it will be able to draw down inventory quicker and get more needles into arms faster.

If it cant, provincial officials will have to make some adjustments. They will have to find ways to speed up delivery through focused immunization teams and pop-up clinics, as well as medical clinics and pharmacies. The fact only 10,000 of the 18,000 doses provided to the latter have been administered is problematic. That inventory was distributed to sites well over a week ago.

Its time to open the floodgates. The supply is there to do it.

tom.brodbeck@freepress.mb.ca
WATLINGTON artist Jim Kelso has had his painting The Treasure of Britwell Salome  Vespers accepted into the Royal Society of British Artists annual show at the Mall Galleries.

The exhibition at the central London venue runs from April 15 to 25.

Meanwhile, Mr Kelso has just finished work on an allegorical painting called The Raft that he plans to enter for inclusion in the Royal Academys summer exhibition.

He said: When I was 13 I went on a school trip to Paris. In the Louvre I saw the famous painting by Theodore Gericault, The Raft of the Medusa.

It was overwhelming, sensational. The terrible tale of destruction, death and cannibalism rocked the French state.

Since then, Ive always wanted to paint a seascape. I was thinking of the sad plight of Trumps America when I noticed the letters USA in the word Medusa. Voila, a painting.

Am I comparing The Raft to Gericaults masterpiece? No. His work is 16ft by 20ft. Even if I had his talent, I dont have ladders that long.
Alessandra Ambrosio was seen walking her dog in Santa Monica, California on Wednesday.

The Brazilian stunner, 39, showed off her toned stomach in a white tank top with a grey coat with the sleeves rolled up, as she made her way out on the spring day in black striped capri pants.

The 5ft9 model accessorized donned a black beanie with white New Balance sneakers and had a green purse strapped on her shoulder as she walked through the area lined with shrubbery.

With confidence: Alessandra Ambrosio, 39, was seen walking her dog in Santa Monica, California on Wednesday

The supermodel wore a watch, bracelets and a necklace on the daytime outing.

Ambrosio has two children with ex Jamie Mazur - daughter Anja, 12, and son Noah, eight; she called off her engagement to her ex-fiance RE/DONE founder in 2018. She is currently in a relationship with model Richard Lee.

She was seen earlier this month engaging in PDA with Lee at the luxe LA restaurant Katsyua, after the pair had previously been seen on dinner dates in recent weeks.

Ambrosio's new romance with Lee, who is repped by Wilhelmina and LA Models, comes after the end of her two-year romance with Italian fashion designer Nicolo Oddi.

Fashionista: The Brazilian stunner showed off her toned stomach in a white tank top with a grey coat with the sleeves rolled up

Moving forward: The supermodel wore a watch, bracelets and a necklace on the daytime outing

Beach day: The Victoria's Secret Angel alum took to Instagram on Wednesday with a shot in a beige poncho alongside her daughter Anja from Malibu, California

The Victoria's Secret Angel alum took to Instagram earlier Wednesday with a shot in a beige poncho alongside her daughter Anja from Malibu, California, where her eldest daughter was enjoying spring break with her.

She shared a shot of the pair earlier Wednesday, captioning the shot, 'All the snuggles,' with emojis of a teddy bear and hearts.

Ambrosio was snapped shopping on Melrose in Los Angeles earlier in the day.
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.
WASHINGTON  The Supreme Court on Thursday made it easier for consumers injured by products to sue their manufacturers, unanimously ruling that courts have jurisdiction over lawsuits filed in the consumers home states notwithstanding that the products were made and sold elsewhere so long as the manufacturers did substantial business in the states.

The case arose from two car accidents involving vehicles made by Ford Motor Company. In one, Markkaya Gullett was driving her 1996 Explorer near her Montana home when the tread separated from a tire. The vehicle spun into a ditch and flipped over, and Ms. Gullett died at the scene. Her estate sued Ford in state court in Montana.

In the other, Adam Bandemer was a passenger in a 1994 Crown Victoria, on his way to do some ice-fishing in Minnesota, when the driver rear-ended a snowplow. The passenger-side airbag failed, and Mr. Bandemer sustained serious brain damage. He sued in state court in Minnesota.

Ford argued that the courts lacked jurisdiction because the company did not have a relevant connection to those states. It had designed the vehicles in Michigan; it had manufactured the Explorer in Kentucky and sold it in Washington State; and it had manufactured the Crown Victoria in Canada and sold it in North Dakota. (The cars ended up in Montana and Minnesota after they were resold.)
Kilkenny writer John Morton has been nominated for a RTS Ireland/Gradaim RTS Television Award.

Dead Still is a nominee in The Screen Ireland Drama Award category. Dead Still is a six-part murder mystery dark comedy series set in Dublin in the year 1880 and created and written by John Morton.

Speaking at the announcement of the nominees, RTS Ireland Television Awards Committee chairperson, Niall Cogley, said:

We are proud to launch our inaugural RTS Ireland Television Awards with the wholehearted support of all of the broadcasters in the country and from the wider Irish television industry. 2020 was an extraordinary year, but the TV community was able to adapt and excel despite the logistical, economic and the very human challenges it faced.

We all wanted to come together to recognise some of those achievements, to celebrate the creative excellence that Irish audiences have enjoyed in this exceptional year, and to say Thanks for sharing your talents with us."

The RTS Ireland Television Awards are supported by all the mainstream Irish Broadcasters - Virgin Media Television, RTE, TG4 & Sky Ireland - and by the wider television industry including the Broadcast Authority of Ireland and Screen Ireland to recognise excellence in Irish Television production and in Irish international co-productions during 2020.

The winners will be announced next week.
By Catherine Ageno

The president of the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights Justice Sylvain Ore, has sent a condolence message to the people of Tanzania upon the demise of their president John Magufuli.

In the letter addressed to President Samia Suluhu Hassan, Justice Ore says the death of President Magufuli is a great loss not only for Tanzania, to which he had dedicated his life, but also for Africa as a whole.

He says President Magufuli will be remembered for his foresightedness and dedication to peace, human dignity and the development of Africa, and that his legacy will endure and will continue to live in the hearts and minds of all.

On behalf of the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights and on my own behalf, I pay tribute to the memory of the guarantor of institutions and national unity he was, said Justice Ore.

He says the African Court joins the family, and the entire Tanzanian Nation in mourning and expresses deepest condolences.

Magufuli, who died last week of heart-related complications is to be laid to rest tomorrow.

The Arusha-based African Court on Human and Peoples Rights was established by virtue of Article 1 of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples Rights, to complement the protective mandate of the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights, with a view to enhancing the protection of human rights on the continent.

The Protocol was adopted on 9 June 1998 in Burkina Faso and came into force on 25 January 2004.

The Court officially started its operations in November 2006 initially in Addis Ababa and a year later moved to its permanent seat in Arusha, Tanzania.
Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Ludovic Orban welcomed the Japanese ambassador in Bucharest, Hiroshi Ueda, on Thursday, to whom he conveyed that parliamentary diplomacy is extremely important for the Romanian Parliament, and the new friendship group with Japan to be established in the following period will continue the bilateral cooperation in this area, according to AGERPRES.

"The meeting has a special meaning, because this year marks the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Romania and Japan. On the occasion of the Centennial of bilateral relations between the two states, we talked about the importance of continuing these ties, both diplomatic and parliamentary, as well as economic. I conveyed to the ambassador of Japan that parliamentary diplomacy is extremely important for the Romanian Parliament, and the new friendship group with Japan, which will be established in the following period, will continue the bilateral cooperation, at a parliamentary level," Ludovic Orban said in a Facebook post.

He announced that he accepted to take part in an anniversary event, held by the Japanese Embassy in Romania.

"I accepted the invitation of ambassador Hiroshi Ueda of taking part, in November, in the traditional puppet show Awa Ningyo Joruri, which will take place in Bucharest and is part of a series of anniversary events organized by the Embassy of Japan on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Romanian-Japanese relations," the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies added.


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.
Associated Press

The younger generation of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales are on average about three feet (one meter) shorter than whales were 20 years, drone and aircraft data show in a study in Thursdays journal Current Biology. Entanglements with fishing gear, collisions with ships and climate change moving their food supply north are combining to stress and shrink these large whales, the study says. This isnt about short right whales, its about a physical manifestation of a physiological problem, its the chest pain before the heart attack, said Regina Asmutis-Silvia, executive director of Whale and Dolphin Conservation North America, who wasnt part of the study.
Press Release

25 March 2021

MGallery's UK Hotels, Francis Hotel Bath, Queens Hotel Cheltenham and Castle Hotel Windsor are proud to announce that they have become an approved Charter Hotelier.

Advertisements

The Hoteliers' Charter, since its creation in 2020, has sought 'to raise the profile of the hospitality industry and promote hospitality as a profession of choice to parents, schools, colleges, universities and careers influencers'.

The Charter emphasises the importance of a number of initiatives that have been implemented by the MGallery UK hotels to support their teams. As members of Accor's "Heartist" program, these values extend beyond the guest experience, from the recruitment process to the employees themselves. Castle Hotel Windsor has invested 200,000 on improving its 'heart of house' facilities, while also focusing on providing healthy and nutritious food for team meals. The importance of employee wellness is recognised in a number of ways including two-day mental health first aid training sessions and regular colleague appreciation initiatives. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, all three hotels have pivoted their focus during to support their local communities, raising funds for Hospitality Action with a 24hour Gymathon, donating food parcels to NHS trusts and local charities and implementing key worker drive-throughs for the community.

Sam Goss, General Manager of Castle Hotel Windsor; "I am absolutely thrilled that MGallery Hotel Collection UK has joined this prestigious network. Whilst we already undertake a number of activities to support the wellbeing of our employees this further cements our commitment to ensure our employees are front of mind in everything we do. We are proud to do our part in promoting and supporting The Hoteliers' Charter's growth."

Founder Sally Beck, General Manager of The Royal Lancaster London and Hotelier of the Year 2019 and 2020, conceived the idea to help dispel the notion that those working in hotels work 'long hours for little pay'. Instead, The Hoteliers' Charter supports promoting a workplace environment built on the foundations of respect, fairness, equality, diversity and opportunity; and placing colleagues' wellness and career development at the heart of operations.

The Hoteliers' Charter has already secured the support of industry bodies including: The Master Innholders, UKHospitality, St Julian's Scholars and The Institute of Hospitality along with many hotel general managers. MGallery Hotel Collection UK is delighted to join these respected industry bodies and announce its commitment to such a worthwhile cause.

In accordance with the current government guidelines, Castle Hotel Windsor, Queens Hotel Cheltenham and Francis Hotel Bath will all reopen to the public on Monday 17 May with outdoor dining available in Cheltenham and Bath from 12 April. Located in some of the UK's most historic cities, the hotels are situated in the heart of their destinations, just a stone's throw away from sought-after attractions, cultural activities and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
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.
State education officials have approved a proposal from the Boston Public Schools to start full-time education for K-8 students on April 26.

The states largest school district asked for that start date for five days a week of in-person learning, saying more time was needed for BPS to address operational and logistical challenges to a full-time return, including adjusting staff and student schedules, including transportation; setting up classrooms in compliance with updated guidance; and planning for a physically distant breakfast and lunch at full capacity.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is requiring districts to have full-time in-person learning for K-5 students by April 5 and for grade 6-8 students by April 28. Parents are allowed to keep their children at home for remote learning for the rest of the school year. But districts have to offer five days a week of in-person learning by those days unless a waiver request is approved.

Bostons waiver was approved Wednesday by DESE Commissioner Jeffrey Riley. This means the return for K-5 students will be delayed by a few weeks, but 6-8 students will start just ahead of the states timeline.

Given that BPS recently brought some students back in a hybrid model, we were hopeful that the district would be able to meet the states deadline of April 5 for returning elementary students to full-time, in-person school, Riley wrote in a letter to Superintendent Brenda Cassellius. However, based on the information provided, your request has been approved. BPS will operate a hybrid model for all K-12 students starting no later than March 29, 2021, and a full-time, in-person model for all K-8 students starting no later than April 26, 2021.

Riley, in the letter, reminded the district that DESE provided support to Boston on COVID-19 health and safety mitigation, including funding of more than $1.3 million in air purifier purchases, or 5,000 units, for the school system.

There is no task more critical for the City of Boston than bringing back Bostons children to full-time, in-person school after a largely remote school year. We know that families are anxious to have their children back in school full-time, Riley wrote.

The commissioner also noted that it is unlikely Boston will be granted any further waivers for delaying the full-time return to school for middle or high school students.

A waiver for Worcester to delay the full-time return for K-8 students was also approved on Wednesday.

Waiver requests were due to the state Monday. DESE received 74 waiver requests.

We are pleased that 90 percent of districts will have their elementary schools back fully in-person by April 5, with all elementary schools in the Commonwealth fully in-person by May 3, Riley said in a statement Tuesday.

DESE has not yet decided on a return date for high school students but expects to make an announcement in April. Districts are encouraged to plan for a return to in-person learning for pre-kindergarten as soon as possible.

Related Content:
[March 25, 2021] Tact.ai Adds Industry Veteran David Logue to Lead Pharmaceuticals and Life Sciences Strategy SUNNYVALE, Calif., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Tact.ai, the human-friendly CRM company, today announced the appointment of David Logue as Senior Vice President Strategy & General Manager of Life Sciences. Logue brings more than two decades of experience in the life science industry, most recently as SVP of Commercial Strategy at Veeva Systems, as well as a Partner at Accenture. "We welcome David Logue as our new Head of Strategy and GM of Life Sciences as we continue building our team for our next phase of growth," said Chuck Ganapathi, founder and CEO of Tact.ai. "David joins Tact.ai at a critical time, when life science companies are facing unprecedented disruption in their commercial models and need new ways to engage their customers." The post-COVID new normal forced a lot of companies to quickly shift their transformation or digital strategies to the forefront. Commercial and Medical Affairs have been reevaluating technology investments over the past 12 months in order to prepare for such shifts in how their teams engage with physicians and healthcare professionals (HCPs) in the near and long term. "I first learned about Tact.ai through the great experiences Veva's largest customers were having with them," said David Logue. "After meeting with the Tact.ai team and speaking with some of their customers, it was clear this company was right on the precipice of transforming how global companies work with their customers. I'm excited to join Tact.ai and accelerate its growth in life sciences." Logue, who previously was responsible for go-to-market strategies for Veeva Commercial Cloud in Europe, will lead Tact.ai's life sciences strategy and execution. Before Veeva, David spent 20 years as a Consulting Partner at Accenture focused on digital strategy projects and large-scale business transformation programs in the pharma and healthcare industries. Demand for Tact for Life Sciences has increased every quarter in the previous year. Continuing its history of delivering innovative solutions to the market, the company helped pharmaceutical, medical device, biotech and others improve HCP engagement and capture more data, including one of the largest pharma companies in the world. Tact.ai has recently added talent across sales, product, marketing and management from companies like IQVIA, Symphony Health, Veeva, ZS Associates and more. It announced a partnership with BASE life science, a specialist in sales and marketing innovation for pharmaceutical and life sciences companies. David holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Psychology from University College Dublin and a Business Studies degree from the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School. About Tact.ai Tact.ai is on a mission to make enterprise software more human-friendly. Tact.ai puts sellers first with human-friendly CRM solutions that are frictionless, omnichannel, and prescriptive. Powered by our patented Edge AI platform, Fortune 500 sales organizations -- including Novartis, Honeywell and Cisco -- use Tact to change sales behavior and digitally transform how sellers work with customers every day to achieve new levels of productivity and collaboration. Founded by Chuck Ganapathi, who has built three generations of CRM products, Tact.ai Technologies, Inc. is a privately-held company backed by Accel Partners, Redpoint Ventures, Upfront Ventures, M12 (formerly Microsoft Ventures), Comcast Ventures, Honeywell Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, and the Amazon Alexa Fund. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/493203/Tact_Logo.jpg

[ Back to the Next Generation Communications Community's Homepage ]
Page Content

The City of Johannesburg will join its international counterparts to celebrate Earth Hour on Saturday, 27 March 2021, under the theme Climate Action to Save Earth.







The global campaign, which is organised by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), encourages households and businesses to switch off non-essential lights and appliances for one hour between 8:30pm and 9:30pm. This symbolic gesture is targeted at raising awareness about climate change and its effect on the planet.



In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, the WWF advised that this years event be held virtually, with participants urged to use their social media accounts to share the message of climate change and its devastating effects on the ecosystem.

In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, the WWF advised that this years event be held virtually, with participants urged to use their social media accounts to share the message of climate change and its devastating effects on the ecosystem.





Earth Hour first started in Sydney, Australia, in 2007 and has since spread to over 7 000 cities.





The call to switch off lights should, however, not be confused with load shedding. It is a symbolic gesture to mobilise the community and businesses to support efforts geared towards addressing climate change and saving the planet.





This can be done symbolically by switching off lights for an hour, says Cllr Mpho Moerane, the Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Environment and Infrastructure Services.





Climate change is causing many challenges around the world such as rising sea levels, floods, heatwaves, droughts and erratic rainfall patterns, These impacts of climate change are also already manifesting in the City, as the City has witnessed episodes of flooding, heatwaves, water scarcity associated with drought.





It is evident that municipalities, communities and businesses are all impacted by climate change, hence the call for various stakeholders to heed the call to work together in the fight against climate change and on measures to adapt to the impacts of climate change, says MMC Moerane.





He adds that this years theme is coined around speaking for nature, as nature cannot speak for itself.





A healthy population begins with a healthy environment, and scientists around the world have warned that unless we take better care of the planet, we are at risk of even deadlier viruses emerging, he emphasises.





Cllr Moerane says Johannesburg will use Earth Hour to enlighten residents about energy-saving methods, water-saving methods, waste management and waste separation at source, biodiversity protection, wetland protection and rehabilitation, including other ecologically friendly habits, which all require a united effort. He says the initiative will also help the municipality raise awareness about the need to conserve scarce resources, including water, energy and biodiversity.





Last year, the City of Johannesburg completed a Climate Change Action Plan. The plan requires a joint effort from the City, National and Provincial government, communities, business, academia, NGOs and CBOs, among others, to fight against climate change.





This entails reducing the carbon footprint of the City and the implementation of measures to adapt to the impacts of climate change. The Climate Action Plan will be launched as part of the Citys active progress to Restore our Earth aligned with the three spheres of government from 20 to 22 April 2021.





Cllr Moerane says the Joburg Climate Change Action Plan reaffirms the Citys commitment to supporting and safeguarding the well-being and livelihoods of all its citizens by pursuing a sustainable future.





Written by Dudu Lushaba







25/03/2021


Discovery+ has announced a new high-volume, multi-territory SVOD deal with All3Media International, a leading independent distributor of television programming. The deal sees the streaming platform pick up more than 250 hours of non-scripted content from the British distributor. Titles like Race Across the World, Naked Attraction, and The Undateables, as well as the distributors Gordon Ramsay portfolio, are all coming over to the platform, with licensing to multiple territories.

Both seasons of the BAFTA-winning series Race Across the World (15 episodes in total) are now streaming on discovery+. The adventure series from Studio Lambert is available for viewers in North America, India, Italy, and Spain.

Discovery+ has also secured SVOD rights of all four seasons of Naked Attraction (40 episodes), also from Studio Lambert. The bold dating series is currently streaming on the platform in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands, and many other countries. It will be available in North America later this year, with more regions to follow. Local versions of the series have also premiered in Italy and Finland. One such is coming to Norway as well.

Advertisement

Later this year, 11 series (45 episodes) of Bettys award-winning The Undateables is also coming to discovery+ in North America.

Discovery+ has also picked up All3Media Internationals Gordon Ramsay portfolio

This high-volume deal between discovery+ and All3Media International also includes North American SVOD rights to 100+ hours of content from the latters Gordon Ramsay portfolio. Titles now streaming on discovery+ include six seasons of Kitchen Nightmares, two seasons of Gordon Ramsays Great Escape, and two cooking competitions  Culinary Genius (UK) and five seasons of The F Word (UK).

Additionally, three documentaries  Gordon Ramsay Behind Bars, Gordon Ramsay: Shark Bait, and Gordon Ramsay On Cocaine  are also coming to discovery+. The former two are already streaming on the platform while the latter will be available later this year.

Advertisement

On top of that, discovery+ has also secured North American SVOD rights to many other titles from All3Media International. Titles now streaming on the platform include The Elephant Hospital, Ski A&E, Extreme Everest, and The Parachute Murder Plot. Additionally, Generation Porn is set to launch on discovery+ later this year.

Discovery+ was first launched in India in March last year. The streaming platform made its debut in the US on January 4th, 2021. The company has been gradually expanding its content portfolio as well as global presence since then. As of 2021, discovery+ is available in more than 25 key markets globally. It also plans to launch in Latin American markets, including Brazil, and parts of Asia soon.
Audio Attachment: Listen to Allotey Jacobs

Bernard Allotey Jacobs has fired salvoes at the National Democratic Congress (NDC) after the party announced they have dismissed him.



The party, in a press statement on Tuesday, March 23, stated that the embattled NDC stalwart has been expelled from the party with immediate effect.



At our meeting on Wednesday 17th March 2021, the Functional Executive Committee of the NDC considered the report and recommendations of the Disciplinary Committee on the case or misconduct and anti-party behaviour brought against you Mr. Allotey Jacobs pursuant to articles 48(I) (b) and 8 (b) of the NDC Constitution.



The Committees report which is herein attached for your attention found you guilty of the said allegations of misconduct, anti-party conduct and recommended among other things your immediate expulsion from the party. The Functional Executive Committee acting in compliance of Article 48(1) of the NDC Constitution has unanimously adopted the report and accepts fully its recommendation for your expulsion from the party.



You are therefore by the decision of FEC, expelled from the National Democratic Congress and for that matter no more recognized as a member of the party and cannot carry yourself as such," the statement read.



In a quick riposte during a panel discussion on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo", Allotey Jacobs says the NDC leaders arrived at their decision because they have ulterior motives towards the party.



He revealed some of the leaders want to turn the party into their personal property.



"Some have intended that they will own the party themselves but the party is for the people and they keep on lying to the people. I say whatever life you live, there are future consequences. When one tells the truth, it becomes a problem."



He further ridiculed the NDC dismissal letter saying, "you couldn't provide pink sheet. 2016, the same thing happened; 2020, the same thing has happened. They are deceiving their people. At a point in time, as the party goes forward, people will know if they have to re-elect these leaders or sack them all from the party".



He, however, advised the party to tolerate opposing views if they so want to progress.



"Unless you're not a democrat. Unless you're not a politician. Unless you don't do any analysis about situations in our political landscape. It is done everywhere . . . Everybody should have a critic," 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
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying's Regular Press Conference on March 25, 2021

2021/03/25

CCTV: The 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council has concluded. We noticed that China had intensive clashes with Western countries during the meeting. The US State Department said yesterday that the Chinese-initiated resolution on "Promoting Mutually Beneficial Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights" advances the interests of governments over promoting and respecting the human rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals, and that the US strongly opposes the adoption of the resolution. Do you have any comment?

Hua Chunying: The US accusation that China places the interests of government over human rights is distortion of concepts. China puts people's interests at the center. We believe that people and life always come first, and safeguard the human rights of the people. In comparison, some US politicians put partisan political interests at the center, and do not care about the lives of ordinary people. The US claims to value individual's human rights and freedoms. If so, when the US launched an unprovoked war against sovereign countries, leading to hundreds of thousands of deaths and family separation and displacement for numerous people, did it ever care about the human rights and freedoms of the people of those countries?

When the US, the most developed, richest and medically advanced country, let politics override science, leading to losses of over 500,000 lives, tens of millions uncovered by medical insurance, and 1/6 Americans and 1/4 children facing the threat of hunger, did it ever care about the human rights and freedoms of the American people?

When the US condoned the spread of speeches of racial discrimination, let police brutality go unchecked against people of color, and watched George Floyd unable to breathe; when Asian Americans were attacked or even killed before their eyes, did it ever care about the human rights and freedoms of these people suffering from systemic racism and hate crimes?

When the US let proliferation of firearms drag on without being attended to, and when more than 41,500 people die of gunshots every year, did it ever care about the human rights and freedoms of these victims?

Human rights are not empty slogans, still less tools to exert pressure on other countries. Rather, they should be embodied in concrete actions. The people are what human rights are all about. The people's interests are where the human rights cause starts and ends. China adheres to the people-centered philosophy of human rights, and takes increasing people's sense of gains, happiness and security as the fundamental pursuit of human rights as well as the ultimate goal of state governance.

We hit the poverty reduction target set in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule. We have put in place the world's largest social security system, covering nearly 1.4 billion people. This has not only raised people's incomes and living standards, but also ensured that everyone has access to housing, education and medical insurance. In the face of the COVID-19 epidemic, China spared no effort to defend the value and dignity of human life, took the lead in bringing the epidemic under control, and launched the largest global emergency humanitarian operation in the history of the People's Republic of China.

Two days ago, the 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council adopted the resolution on "Promoting Mutually Beneficial Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights" submitted by China, calling on all countries to uphold multilateralism, carry out constructive dialogue and cooperation in the field of human rights, and work for the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. I think this fully demonstrates the universal aspiration and the call for justice of the international community and people around the world. When the UN Human Rights Council reviewed the report on the US, over 110 countries criticized the human rights situation in the US. Dozens of special rapporteurs of the Council criticized the issue of poverty and discrimination against minority groups in the US on different occasions. We hope that the US side and its Western allies will abandon hypocrisy, arrogance and double standards, face up to their own human rights issues, and take concrete actions to improve and protect human rights. In the spirit of equality and mutual respect, China is ready to conduct dialogue and exchanges with other countries on human rights issues for mutual learning and common progress.

Bloomberg: Chinese net users have called for a boycott of H&M because it won't use cotton from Xinjiang. Other foreign brands including Burberry, Adidas, Nike and New Balance may also be new targets. What's the Foreign Ministry's comment?

Hua Chunying: I have noted relevant situation. Here, I have but a few comments to make:

First, Xinjiang cotton is one of the best in the world, and it will be the loss of certain company to not use it.

Second, the allegation of "forced labor" in Xinjiang is nothing but malicious lies concocted by a few anti-China forces in an attempt to smear China, undermine security and stability in Xinjiang, and frustrate China's development.

Third, anyone with some sense would see it a good thing to provide more job opportunities to the people including ethnic minority groups, because that will help improve their livelihood. But some are bent on linking it with forced labor and oppression, because they have been doing this themselves for hundreds of years in history. They are presuming others' behavior based on their own experience.

Fourth, China does everything in an open, aboveboard manner, and Chinese people are friendly and open-minded. That said, nothing will prevail over the will of the Chinese people. Anyone who offends the Chinese people should prepare to pay the price.

AFP: H&M, Nike and some other brands are now criticized on the Internet for what they said last year about "forced labor" in Xinjiang. We notice that relevant statements were made last year, but it is only now that some official agencies and netizens bring up the issue. To some, it looks like that China is leveraging its economy and market access to pressure and intimidate certain international brands into explicitly supporting China's position on Xinjiang-related issues. What is China's response?

Hua Chunying: You talked about timing and intention. Was it your opinion, or were you citing other people?

Journalist: I saw people making those comments on the Internet.

Hua Chunying: I'm not sure when those statements were made, but I do know that they provoked a strong reaction from Chinese netizens. I have just made a few brief observations on the matter. As for the issue of "forced labor" itself, the accusations against Xinjiang made by some Western countries, including the US, are totally based on lies. Those lies are cooked up by some so-called scholars and the media, and then fanned by some anti-China forces. It is extremely wrong to spread rumors and slander China.

Here is a picture of black slaves being forced to work in cotton fields in the US (showing picture). Here is another picture of cotton fields in China's Xinjiang where more than 70% of the cotton is picked with machines (showing picture). There is never "forced labor" in picking cotton in Xinjiang. It's incredible that some enterprises believed in the rumor.

These enterprises get to decide what they should do. The Chinese people also get to express their thoughts freely. Given the size of Chinese market, we don't need to coerce anyone. But one thing is for sure: the Chinese people wouldn't allow foreigners to reap benefits in China on the one hand and smear China on the other. China is open and we welcome foreign enterprises and people to do business, live and work in China. And we reject any malicious attack on China and even attempts to undermine China's interests on the basis of rumors and lies.

China Daily: US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said in his speech on March 24 at NATO headquarters that China threatens freedom of navigation and militarize the South China Sea. He said that the retaliatory sanctions that China then imposed on the EU "make it all the more important that we stand firm and stand together". He added that China is "working to undercut the rules of the international system and the values we and our allies share, and threatens our collective security and prosperity". Do you have any comment?

Hua Chunying: It seems that the US side goes far unchecked in talking irresponsibly and pinning labels on others. China's position on relevant issues is clear-cut as we repeatedly stressed. I just want to underscore several points.

First, the label of militarization in the South China Sea cannot be pinned on China. China is not the first to carry out construction activities and deploy necessary facilities on islands and reefs in the South China Sea. Nor is it the one that has conducted the most of such activities. The US can by no means deprive China of the right to self-preservation and self-defense for its own territory by putting a label of militarization on China. The US has fought no war for only 16 of its nearly 250 years of history, and it runs over 800 overseas military bases all over the world. As the country with the highest military expenditure for years in a roll, its military spending accounts for 40% of the world total. The South China Sea is more than 8,300 miles away from the continental United States. Despite the distance, the US side has built military bases around the South China Sea, where offensive weapons and equipment are deployed. It has also repeatedly sent aircraft carriers and strategic bombers to the South China Sea and deployed military aircraft and warships there on regular basis. It even conducted activities in the South China Sea for more than a hundred times by impersonating civil aircraft of other countries. No one is more suitable than the US for the label of militarization and jeopardizing freedom of navigation.

Second, the label of undermining the rules of the international system cannot be pinned on China. There is only one system in the world, that is the international system with the United Nations at its core. There is only one set of rules, that is basic norms governing international relations based on the purposes of the UN Charter. In recent years, the US has selectively applied international rules as it sees fit, pulling out of many international organizations and treaties. It used a test tube of washing powder and a staged video as evidence to stage wars against the two sovereign states of Iraq and Syria, causing numerous civilian casualties and the destruction of countless families. Now it even wantonly wields the big stick of sanctions to impose unilateral, illegal sanctions on other sovereign states. No one is more suitable than the US for the label of breaking rules of the international system.

Third, the label of undermining US and Western values cannot be pinned on China. The world is a diverse place with all kinds of civilizations. The US and its allies combined only account for 10% of the world's population. There are also so many developing countries in the world. And even US allies don't always see eye to eye. US values do not equate international value and US-style democracy is not universal democracy. If the US really respects and protects human rights, takes pride in its own values and is the most democratic, how can it be so indifferent to people's right to life and do nothing while over 500,000 people lost their lives within a year? The fact is, it is the US and Western countries themselves that are undermining their own values. The Chinese people only want to manage their own business well. We have no interest in or time to meddle in other country's affairs.

Listening to one another and showing respect are vital in interpersonal relations, and the same goes with state-to-state relations. The US has rich imagination of its democratic values, yet the reality is disillusionary. It is hoped that the US side will develop a correct understanding of itself and others, abandon the zero-sum game and the Cold War mentality, earnestly learn to get along with other countries on the basis of equality and respect, and truly take on the responsibility of a major country for world peace and development.

Xinhua News Agency: Some foreign media recently released photos of a makeshift detention center at the US-Mexico border, showing children huddled under foil blankets with inadequate access to food and clothes. Critics say that the way that the US treats the migrants is inhumane, separating children from their parents. The US government is also criticized for denying media access to the detention center and not willing to face the humanitarian crisis. What is China's comment?

Hua Chunying: It breaks our heart to see the relevant photos. This proves once again that forced family separation is not taking place in China, but in the US.

I read from the US media report that 21 people died in immigration detention facilities in the US in 2020. Of the 266,000 migrant children detained by the US government in recent years, more than 25,000 have been held for more than 100 days, nearly 1,000 have spent more than a year in refugee shelters, and many have been held for more than five years.

Will the US make a thorough investigation and hold relevant people accountable? Will the EU impose sanctions on the US for human rights abuses?

Kyodo News: It is reported that the DPRK fired two unidentified projectiles today. This is the second launch within a week. Do you have any comment?

Hua Chunying: We have noted the situation. Maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and resolving issues through dialogue and consultation serve the common interests of all relevant parties, and meet the shared aspiration of the international community. China always holds that all parties concerned need to work together to sustain the situation of detente on the Korean Peninsula, press ahead with the political settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue, and make positive efforts to achieve lasting peace and stability on the Peninsula and the region.

China News Service: On March 23, The interior ministry of the Republic of the Congo announced the preliminary results of the presidential election held on March 21. The candidate of the ruling Congolese Party of Labour and incumbent President Denis Sassou-N'guesso won the first round with 88.57% of the votes. What is China's comment?

Hua Chunying: We have taken note of relevant reports, and extend warm congratulations to the Republic of the Congo for the smooth election and to President Denis Sassou-N'guesso for his re-election. It's believed that under the leadership of President Denis Sassou-N'guesso, people of the Republic of the Congo will achieve greater progress in development and revitalization.

The Republic of the Congo is China's long-standing friend and important partner for cooperation in Africa. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties more than half a century ago, China and the Republic of the Congo have been standing together through thick and thin, and have always understood and supported each other on issues concerning each other's core interests and major concerns. China is ready to join hands with the Republic of the Congo to follow through on the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries and elevate the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation to a new level.

Reuters: Facebook said overnight it's identified and blocked a group of China-based hackers that were targeting overseas Uyghur people. I wanted to ask what's China doing to protect people abroad from targeted attacks originating from within China.

Hua Chunying: The premise of your question is flawed. You said that the attacks on some people outside China were carried out from within China. Is there any evidence?

Journalist: Facebook said that the actors were from within China. Not me.

Hua Chunying: Can Facebook present any evidence? As we said before, the tracing of cyber attacks is very complex. Ample evidence is needed to reach a conclusion on the nature of the attacks.

BBC: On Monday, the Chinese government announced sanctions against relevant European individuals and entities in response to the sanctions placed on Chinese officials by the EU over what it described as human rights abuses in Xinjiang. Does China intend to place similar tensions on any British, US or Canadian individuals in response to the sanctions announced by those countries?

Hua Chunying: I was recently asked the same question by Canadian journalist. My feeling is that people are eager to see China sanction countries that undermined China's interests and dignity.

The EU, on the basis of lies and disinformation, imposed unilateral sanctions on Chinese individuals and entity by using human rights issue in Xinjiang as a pretext. China has stated its stern position on this and has announced sanctions on relevant individuals and entities that severely harmed China's sovereignty and interests and maliciously spread lies and disinformation. China's position is crystal clear. We will make necessary, just and justified reactions to all moves that viciously smear and attack China and undermine China's sovereignty, interests and dignity. I must stress that China never starts provocation, but we will not flinch from any provocation coming our way.

CGTN: The charge d'affaires at the US mission to the UN in Geneva voiced hope that the WHO-led mission to Wuhan had access to the raw data and to the people required to make an independent assessment. The US expects the WHO investigation into the origins of the novel coronavirus pandemic to require further study, perhaps including a return visit to China. What's your response to that?

Hua Chunying: Whenever the origin-tracing study comes at a crucial juncture, certain individuals from the US side will start spreading conspiracy theories even though they are neither scientists nor health experts. It can't be more obvious that political manipulation is at play here.

Members of the WHO mission said that during the joint study in China, they had comprehensive and frank discussions with the Chinese side on data issues, and were able to obtain key data throughout the process. They can feel the trust and openness of the Chinese side. Member of the joint mission Peter Daszak said during an interview with American media that they were able to have in-depth exchanges with authoritative experts in the Wuhan Institute of Virology with a level of openness even he hadn't anticipated, when the origin-tracing study was "politicized on a global scale". This fully shows that China provides as much support as possible to the origin-tracing cooperation, and the international mission also obtained sufficient and necessary information. The experts went to every place they asked to see, and met everyone they wanted to meet.

The work related to the report on origin-tracing has been carried out between Chinese and international experts. We are not aware of specifics with regard to the specific content of the report, how the Chinese translation is going and the date of release, etc. I think this mainly depends on the discussions between Chinese and international experts. But I would like to stress again that China has all along been open, transparent and aboveboard in the origin-tracing issue. Origin-tracing is a complex scientific issue that involves many countries and places and should be jointly studied by scientists worldwide. All parties should leave this job to experts with a science-based attitude, rather than make noise and interference.

You just mentioned that the charge d'affaires of the US mission in Geneva said they expect the expert team to require another visit to China, right? As I said just now, the Chinese side has always been very open, transparent and aboveboard on the issue of origin-tracing and our cooperation with the expert group has been very good. Now that the WHO expert team has concluded their visit to China, including to Wuhan and specifically the Wuhan Institute of Virology and that relevant media, including US media, have also conducted interviews there. I am curious to know when will the US side become as open and transparent as China on the issue of origin-tracing? When will the international expert team be invited to the US for investigation and study? When will Fort Detrick be opened for foreign experts and media to visit, investigate and study? Should the US do something on their part?

Reuters: The top US securities regulator on Wednesday adopted measures that would remove foreign companies from American stock exchanges if they don't comply with US auditing standards and require them to disclose any governmental affiliations. This legislation has threatened US-listed Chinese companies. What's the ministry's comment on the adoption of this measure?

Hua Chunying: The so-called Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act issued by the US side, which contains discriminatory provisions against Chinese enterprises, is nothing but an unjustified political crackdown on Chinese enterprises listed in the US. It has severely distorted the basic norms of the market economy that the US has always touted, and deprived US investors and the public of the opportunities to share the development dividends of Chinese enterprises. At the end of the day, it will only damage the international standing and reputation of the US capital market. It is just another move by the US to oppress Chinese companies, to which China is firmed opposed.

We urge the US side to stop the erroneous practice of politicizing securities regulation, and put an end to discriminatory practice against Chinese companies, so as to provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment for enterprises from all countries, including China, to be listed in the US.

RIA Novosti: Ukrainian President signed an order on aircraft engine manufacturers. The order, after taking effect, means that all aircraft engine manufacturers in Ukraine will be nationalized, including China-invested Motor Sich. What is your comment on this?

Hua Chunying: I noticed relevant reports. China asks the Ukrainian side to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises and investors in accordance with law and properly handle relavant issues.

Beijing Youth Daily: It is reported that on March 23, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato expressed grave concerns on the human rights situation in Xinjiang, following EU sanctions on China over the human rights issue in Xinjiang. Also on March 23, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said that Japan shares the same thought with the EU and is deeply concerned about the human rights situation in China. What's your comment?

Hua Chunying: China has stated its stern position on the groundless sanctions on relevant Chinese individuals and entity by the EU side on the basis of lies and disinformation. I am a little bit surprised that the Japanese side expressed concern.

The concern of Japan on the so-called human rights issues in Xinjiang is based on nothing but lies, rumors and disinformation while the heinous crimes committed by Japan against the people of China and other neighboring countries in Asia during World War II are historical facts with solid proof. Relevant people on the Japanese side claimed they care about human rights, but have they forgotten the 35 million Chinese casualties from the war of Japanese aggression, including the over 300,000 victims of the Nanjing Massacre alone? Convicted World War II class-A war criminals are honored in the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, and Japan is evasive on the humanitarian crime of forced recruitment of "comfort women" to this day. Is this how Japan respects human rights? I didn't want to bring up history. But now that Japan expressed concern on the so-called human rights issue in China on the basis of lies and rumors, I must remind the Japanese side that there is a part of history they need to face squarely and show deep repentance. We hope the Japanese side can be prudent about its words and actions, and stop smearing and attacking China on the basis of lies and rumors. We also hope it can refrain from joining the US in attacking China just because it is a US ally. It is not in Japan's interest to do so.

Reuters: Just one last question following up on the comments you already made about H&M. In reading about this this morning, I came across this state media article that said H&M had committed suicide with its comments. I thought it was a very interesting turn of phrase. I'm wondering if the Chinese government feels the same way that making these statements was an act of suicide and I'm wondering whether you think that other companies in China could be concerned that speaking up about human rights issues inside China or elsewhere could be an act of suicide for their businesses inside China?

Hua Chunying: I just made clear my point. Western countries have always encouraged Chinese people to enjoy freedom of speech, but why do they feel upset, nervous and anxious when ordinary Chinese people, including Chinese netizens, frankly speak out what they think and how they feel? Aren't they hypocritical in preaching the freedom of speech?

Chinese netizens have the right to express their feelings, especially considering that the honor and dignity of their country are very important to the Chinese people. I also want to tell you that this is not nationalism, but simply patriotism. Because any person with integrity will not tolerate some ill-intentioned foreigners who unscrupulously damage the interests and dignity of their own country. What's more, since you are in China, you should know that the accusations of human rights violations against the Chinese side are totally preposterous. So I think it's very natural for ordinary Chinese people to feel offended.
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Skoltech scientists and their colleagues have proposed a new human height inheritance model that accounts for the interaction between various factors that influence adult human height. The research was published in the European Journal of Human Genetics.

Human height is a classical quantitative trait that depends on sex, genetics, and the environment.

Scientists from Skoltech, Novosibirsk State University, the Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the Siberian Branch of RAS, and the Institute of Science and Technology in Vienna analyzed the human height distribution across a population and its dependence on sex, genes, and the environment. The team used a huge set of data on over 369,000 U.K. individuals and average male and female heights from various ethnic groups across the world.

The classical human height model assumes the additivity of various factors. The team has shown that the interactions between these diverse factors should be taken into account when studying remote populations or large datasets. For instance, certain genetic variants are assumed to have a greater effect on the height in males than in females. The researchers proposed an alternative model in which the effects of sex, genes, and the environment are multiplied (and not added up) and can be regarded as independent.

"The conventional model would reveal different average heights in centimeters for males and females in each country, while our model straightforwardly shows a difference of 8%. The same goes for the environment and the genes which turned out to have the same relative effect in all the studied populations," explains Ivan Kuznetsov, a Ph.D. student at the Skoltech Center for Life Sciences (CLS).

Explore further How our genes and environment influence BMI and height

More information: Sergei A. Slavskii et al. The limits of normal approximation for adult height, European Journal of Human Genetics (2021). Sergei A. Slavskii et al. The limits of normal approximation for adult height,(2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41431-021-00836-7
The anger of Karen Andrews carried so much heat on Tuesday morning it could have fired up an entire government if there was a way to bottle it and share it around.

Andrews, the Minister for Industry and Science, was livid over the story of a Liberal adviser filming himself masturbating on the desk of a female MP, in another sordid insight into a problem that goes beyond Parliament House.

Karen Andrews anger when she spoke to the media on Tuesday could have fired up an entire government. Credit:Rhett Wyman

There seemed to be years of frustration in Andrews voice as she asked for heads to roll among Liberal staffers who shared the video. The blood seemed to drain from her face as she spoke to journalists in a Parliament House corridor, to the point where she really was white with anger.

Nobody asked Andrews to speak out that morning. The Prime Ministers Office did not send her out to help the boss. She was just fed up. So she chose to speak to Radio National and a gaggle of journalists. Unlike many around her, Andrews was not raised in the hothouse of Parliament House. She never worked as a staffer. She is a mechanical engineer who worked in business before entering Parliament at 50. Perhaps her revulsion was stronger because she had a life outside politics.
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.
DUSHANBE -- Once one of Tajikistan's most influential businessmen, Rajabali Odinaev, who is serving a 28-year prison term on embezzlement charges many consider to be politically motivated, has undergone stomach surgery after his health deteriorated.

The head of Tajikistan's Penitentiary Service, Mansurjon Umarov, told RFE/RL on March 25 that Odinaev was rushed from prison to a hospital in Dushanbe two weeks ago, where he underwent an operation on his stomach after developing an ulcer.

"Experienced doctors are monitoring his health condition now. He will be very likely transferred back to prison soon," Umarov said.

A physician at the Dushanbe Ambulance Center confirmed to RFE/RL that Odinaev had been taken to a hospital in the Tajik capital.

Odinaev's Umed-88 company, established in 1997, dominated the Central Asian nation's energy market for almost a decade until its closure in 2017 following the arrest of the businessman.

In September 2018, Odinaev was found guilty of embezzlement, abuse of office, and financial mishandling. He was then sentenced to 24 years in prison. Last year, a court in Dushanbe added four more years to his prison term.

Odinaev's relatives have insisted that the case against him is baseless.

Many in Tajikistan believe that Odinaev was imprisoned in order to remove his company from the market as it was a serious competitor to the local energy giant Faroz and Russia's Gazprom.
Hollywood star Paris Hilton revealed she's never had fillers or Botox during a new interview with Tatler.

The ever-youthful socialite and entrepreneur, 40, appears on the cover of the magazine in a pink-themed shoot along with some of her beloved pet dogs.

She said: 'I have never done a filler, I have never done Botox, I have never put a needle in my face. I am 100 per cent natural. I have also stayed out of the sun my entire life.'

'I am 100 per cent natural': Paris Hilton, 40, has claimed she's 'never had filler or Botox' during a new Tatler interview in which she stars in a pink-themed shoot

Paris, who got engaged to entrepreneur Carter Reum, in February, said she enjoyed the last 12 months of her life, despite the global pandemic.

'I'm loving it,' she said. 'I'm in the best place in my life. I've never been happier. I'm at home finally with my boyfriend and it's so amazing.

'My life was so hectic, travelling 250 days out of the year, for two decades. Obviously, it's a really scary time around the world and my heart goes out to everyone.

'But I try to see the silver lining and, for me, it's been amazing to re-evaluate my life and my priorities.

Happy: Paris, who got engaged to entrepreneur Carter Reum, in February, said she enjoyed the last 12 months of her life, despite the global pandemic and is looking forward to having kids

'I've lived such a full life, I now know that I am happy being at home. And I am excited for the next phase of my life: to grow up and get married and have a kid  kids  and live a real life. Because I never got to do that before.'

Paris has already said she will call her child London because it is her favourite place in the world.

The Hilton heiress has said the lockdown has not meant she has been closed for business.

She said: 'I don't stop. I'm like a machine. I am always working. Now I have even more projects than ever. And being with [Carter], he's so business-minded, I am so inspired by being with him every day.

Paris, who stars on the cover with her pets, said: 'I don't stop. I'm like a machine. I am always working. Now I have even more projects than ever. And being with [Carter], he's so business-minded, I am so inspired by being with him every day'

'Success is what drives me. Feeling good about myself and accomplishing things. Fame and money? I have that. That doesn't interest me. I like making my fans happy, giving them things that they will enjoy.'

In February, Paris testified about the 'traumatizing' abuse she says she suffered years ago at Provo Canyon School in Utah.

She spoke to the Utah Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee in favor of the bill that would require more government oversight of youth residential treatment centers and require them to document when they use restraints.

Making plans: Paris has said she and Carter (pictured) will call their first child London because that is their favourite place in the world

Hilton had previously revealed that she was abused at the school for 11 months at age 17 in the YouTube Originals documentary This Is Paris.

And During the Tatler interview, Paris's sister, Nicky Hilton Rothschild, 37, spoke about Paris, and her experiences at reform schools.

She said: 'Paris is the most unconventional person I know. That's what I love about her. She doesn't follow the rules, or trends, or do what's expected of her.

'She marches to the beat of her own drum. I'm extremely proud of her for telling her story. Paris has never been so vulnerable publicly.

'She has been judged, bullied, ridiculed, but she always manages to pick herself up and dust herself off.'

Having spoken out about her experiences at the reform schools, Paris is now leading a charge of victims who are doing the same:

She said 'The last thing I ever thought I would be is an activist but now I am. I have never felt so empowered.'

See the full feature in the May issue of Tatler available via digital download and newsstands on Thursday 1st April. https://www.tatler.com/

Back in February, a tearful Paris spoke at a committee hearing on the regulation of boarding schools at the Utah State Capitol
A 50th anniversary memorial service was held at the Seafarer Center in Port Arthur for those lost, as well as those who survived, the SS Texaco-Oklahoma tragedy of March 27, 1971. The ship, which left Port Arthur carrying 220,000 barrels of fuel oil, was split in two after being hit by a massive wave during a winter storm off of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Only 13 of the 44 crewmen aboard survived. One of them, Clyde Mike Bandy, addressed the crowd, recounting the 36 hours he and others endured, fighting to to keep the stern afloat before abandoning ship, rather the half that remained of it, then fighting to endure sub-freezing temperatures, crashing waves and quickly onsetting hypothermia before being rescued by a Liberian tanker.

The 33 crewmen that were in the stern grew close, he recalls, especially in the final hour before abandoning the sinking ship, as they gathered together on deck. I think its appropriate to remember that their last thoughts were of you, Bandy said, his voice cracking as he motioned out to the crowd assembled for the event. The only thing everyone wanted was to make it home, he said.
A North Korea flag flutters next to concertina wire at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur in this March 9, 2017, file photo. Reuters-Yonhap



By Nam Hyun-woo





The United Nations Human Rights Council has adopted a resolution for the 19th-consecutive year condemning North Korea's human rights violations. This year's resolution carries extra significance with the U.S. joining as a co-sponsor.



Diplomatic observers said this comes as a test for the foreign policy of the Moon Jae-in administration, which has been trying hard to resume dialogue with the North. To revive an atmosphere of inter-Korean rapprochement, while not hurting South Korea-U.S. relations, Moon needs to convince U.S. President Joe Biden that the North Korea issue needs to be addressed through exceptional means, diplomatic observers added.



The United Nations Human Rights Council held its 46th session in Geneva on Tuesday (local time) and adopted the resolution by consensus.



The UNHRC's resolution "condemns in the strongest terms the long-standing and ongoing systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations and other human rights abuses committed in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and expresses again its grave concern" over the human rights situation in the regime.



The content of the latest resolution is generally similar to the previous version, but a big difference is that the U.S. has participated as a co-sponsor.



The U.S. withdrew from the Human Rights Council in June 2018 during the Donald Trump administration, and also did not participate in the 2019 and 2020 human rights resolutions on North Korea.



However, the U.S. returned to the Human Rights Council under incumbent President Joe Biden, who has pledged to put human rights back at the core of America's foreign policy, as he stepped into office. Last month, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke about human rights violations in North Korea in a video message.





President Moon Jae-in takes off his face mask during a meeting with aides at Cheong Wa Dae, Monday. Yonhap



The U.S. has changed its stance, but the Moon administration is maintaining an equivocal position over the human rights issue in the North.



In adopting the fresh resolution, South Korea took part in making the consensus, but did not participate as a co-sponsor of the resolution, which is a stance that the Moon administration has been maintaining for the past three years.



"It is true that we (Korea) did not participate in co-sponsoring the resolution after taking the situation on the Korean Peninsula into account," a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said. "However, it is also important that we have joined the consensus."



When asked if the Korean government is changing its stance, the official said, "We are not in a situation to answer whether our stance has changed or not." But the official added, "The ministry welcomes the U.S. participation in the resolution and becoming active in human rights issues again."



Researchers said the U.S. participation in the resolution is being interpreted as the Biden administration's efforts to restore its presence on the global diplomatic stage, rather than being a targeted move specifically aimed at North Korea.



"Recent moves by the Biden administration appear to be aimed at restoring America's diplomatic presence, which was weakened during the previous Trump administration," Asan Institute for Policy Studies Senior Fellow Go Myong-hyun said.



"Having a stronger say in human rights or other issues which Biden believes are American values seems to be the diplomatic doctrine of the new president. And this comes as a source of huge pressure for South Korea, whether the U.S. intended or not."





A mock North Korea's Scud-B missile, center right, and South Korean missiles are displayed at the Korea War Memorial Museum in Seoul, Thursday, March 18. AP-Yonhap
by NAT da Polis

The Greek Revolution, which began the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, was characterised by a reference to religion. For this reason, the then Ecumenical Patriarch Gregory V was killed, as was his defender Haci Halil, Grand Imam of Constantinople. The betrayal by the Russians. Erdogan's neo-Ottoman prospects.

Istanbul (AsiaNews)  Today, 25 March 2021, marks the bicentenary of the start of Greece's war of independence against the despotic and absolutist rule of the Ottoman Empire. The war began in Patras (Peloponnese), when the insurgents took an oath on the Gospel, precisely on the day of the feast of the Annunciation of the Lord.

It should be noted that centuries earlier, the Ottomans took advantage of the collapse of the Byzantine State, the social and political divisions of the new Balkan states and the political opportunism of the Western powers to conquer Asia Minor and the Balkans in a very short period of time.

Christianity and freedom

The independence process involved all Greeks, both in the territories occupied by the Ottoman Empire, and the Greeks living in territories controlled by the great powers. Greeks held a sense of nationhood as a shared homeland and were looking for a state to govern themselves, outside the despotism of the Ottoman Empire, from which they considered themselves culturally different.

It should be remembered that in the Ottoman Empire ethnicity and religion were superimposed. Therefore the population was divided into Muslims, Christians and Jews. Ethnic Muslims, of Mongolian origin, ruled the empire, led by the despotic figure of the sultan, who was also caliph. The power of the sultan and caliph was absolute, based on a certain interpretation of Qur'anic precepts.

The other groups, particularly Christians and Jews, were subjects at the mercy of the sultan and caliph, and a source of wealth for the empire since they were heavily taxed in the name of Islam.

Out of political opportunism, the infidels were granted communal autonomy in matters of family, inheritance and education. As a result, the Patriarchate of Constantinople ruled over the Christian population; the Chief Rabbi did the same for Jews (especially after the arrival of Sephardic Jews, victims of Spanish persecution).

The Patriarch of Constantinople was accountable for all Orthodox Christians to the sultan and caliph for all the issues concerning Christians and their activity in the Ottoman Empire.

Ecumenical Patriarch Gregory V was accused by the Sultan of being responsible for the rebellion by Peloponnesian Greeks who started the War of Independence. For this reason, he was hanged.

The execution sparked protests by the great Sheikh ul-Islam of Constantinople, Grand Imam Haci Halil, the highest Muslim authority, who refused to approve the massacre of Christians. He too was condemned to be hanged by Sultan Mahmud II himself. As we would say today, political motives and religion make a strange mix.

According to historical studies, the proclamation of the Greek War of Independence gave rise to the romantic movement of Philo-Hellenism across Europe. The Greek War of Independence, with the motto "Freedom or death", and with the insurgents taking their oath on the Gospel, was considered in Christian Europe a response to the widespread atheism produced by the French Enlightenment, which was giving rise to the birth of nations in Europe, resulting in the slow dissolution of the great empires, united in the Holy Alliance against Napoleonic upheavals.

The link between religion and politics, the Gospel and the nation were bound to last. The drafting of the first three Greek constitutions, in 1822, 1823 and 1827, as acts of foundation of the State, declared fidelity to democratic processes and proclaimed that Jesus Christ, Saviour of the world, as the reference.

This conception of democracy is part of the Byzantine tradition that was characterised by the osmosis of Greek philosophical thought with Christian doctrine and developed a participatory and popular religious feeling, not bigoted or fundamentalist, expression of the synodal tradition.

The Russian Game

Dostoyevsky himself invited his countrymen to imitate the Greeks. Orthodox groups dominated by the despotic game of the Ottoman Empire also looked to the Russian Orthodox Empire as their liberator.

But then came the events of 1770, the Orlov Revolt, named after the Orlov brothers. Through them, the Russian Empire tried to incite the Greek population, betting on their historical desire to free themselves from the Ottoman game, a move mainly designed to take control of the trade routes in the south-eastern Mediterranean.

The Greeks' aspirations for freedom were disappointed after the Treaty of Kucuk Kaynarca between the Russians and the Ottomans (1774), which left the Greeks at the mercy of Ottoman fury, and subsequent massacres.

Despite the usual internal Greek diatribes due to their disposition, the start of the Greek Revolution set in motion the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, and the birth of modern Turkey, founded by Kemal Ataturk and defined by the Lausanne Agreements of 1923.

Post-Ottoman Turkey

Kemalist Turkey saw the abolition of the caliphate and the forced secularisation of social mores, but not a real democratisation of Turkish society. On the contrary, the later remains under the control of a centralised state and the military in accordance with the centralising Ottoman tradition.

As a result of the methodical purge of religious minorities and by applying its skilled Eastern policy in its international relations, Kemalist Turkey became formally neutral, taking advantage of the new great powers.

The forced imposition of a secular state and the contempt for Islamic tradition in Kemalist Turkey did not mean the rejection of Islam. We must not forget the Kemalist motto, which is a real Turk is a Muslim.

Still, this has led to frustration and marginalisation of the Anatolian population, which found a voice in various religious parties. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the latest expression of this.

He came to power in 2002 at the helm of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), an Islamic party. He started out by promising democratic development, but after he became president, he began to act like a sultan and caliph. Thanks to Turkey's traditional stance of neutrality in international relations, he is promoting Turkey as the crowning achievement of the Neo-Ottoman dream.

He is not interested in joining Europe, but sees Turkey as a cornerstone between North and South, East and West. As an economic power, the country controls all the legal and illegal trade routes in a large area of the Middle East and has a strong and powerful military.

At home, Erdogan is establishing an Islamic-fascist regime, which has as its first victim the development of the democratic conscience of the Turkish people in all its expressions. He has been able to do this because of the tolerance of the big powers. But the consequences can be unpredictable: if a rope is pulled too much it can break.
Sorry, no valid subscriptions were found for this Publication. Please select from an option below to start a subscription.

SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

24 Hour Access
Bjoern Wylezich / TNS

A 40-year-old Waterbury man was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon last June.

Desi Williams also faces three years of supervised released at the conclusion of his sentence, the U.S. attorneys office for the District of Connecticut said.
US Admiral says that China will try to conquer Taiwan. He warned that China's military buildup is not without reason.

The People"s Republic of China (PRC) is standing almost alone as Beijing's threats increase. America has a commitment to Taiwan, but Biden is no Pompeo or Trump.

US Admiral warns of Chinese aggression

According to U.S. Adm. John Aquilino he said Chinese is flexing its military muscle. Just waiting when the time is right, and when the US is weakest, reported the Epoch Times. This is what Adm. Aquilino said during his nomination hearing last Tuesday.

He added that Taiwan is in more danger than ever. With China getting bolder after Trump's failed re-election. US foreign policy is less tough under the Biden administration.

Aquilino will succeed Adm. Philip Davidson as commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM). Aquilino was asked about Davidson's recent remark that Beijing could invade Taiwan in the next six years. He testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.

There have been reports that the Chinese People' Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is winning the South China Sea. Recently their newest boat 'Type 55 Destroyer' was cruising in the Japan Sea making its presence felt.

In response, Aquilino said there were "multiple statistics to choose from" starting from 2021 to 2045. However, he declined to endorse the six-year forecast. Aquilino, on the other hand, warned of possible dangers to the self-governing nation.

The Pacific Deterrence Initiative (PDI) was established under the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021. The Pentagon's annual spending bill to secure advanced military power said the US Admiral.

Guided-Missile Destroyer USS Russell Crosses Taiwan Strait After Chinese Aircraft Carrier Went for Sea Trials

That stops China's military challenges in the Indo-Pacific region. The PDI is similar to the European Deterrence Initiative (pdf), which began in 2014, intending to improve US military readiness in Europe.

Congress could provide the PDI with around $27 billion in additional support from 2022 to 2027. According to INDOPACOM, it includes $4.6 billion in the fiscal year 2022. The money is used to create better weapons, such as a missile shield for Guam. Also, for cooperation with allies in the region.

Beijing will not stop until Taiwan is reclaimed as a mainland outpost territory. The CCP will not allow any country to stop China, even the United States. The communist wants Taiwan soon, by hook or crook.

Taiwan is an autonomous nation with its own democracy, military, constitution, and currency. Citizens elect all officials, not like China, run by the CCP. Washington doesn't have any diplomatic links with Taipei. It keeps a strong relationship through the Taiwan Relations Act for the US to supply Taiwan with military equipment for its own defense.

Will the U.S. back up Taiwan if the PLAN does attack the island? Nothing is sure. There is a policy of "strategic ambiguity that does not fully commit Americans to Taiwan's defense. It has not been tested yet, since China likes to play games.

Aquilino said that the U.S. Forces will not stay in one corner. A Taiwanese invasion will force the US to engage Beijing in any degree. America will not allow an armed invasion that affects its ally.

The US Admiral added that an enslaved Taiwan will affect the Indo-Pacific. But, the Taiwanese have enough arms to bloodify China's nose.

Biden Orders Dual Aircraft Carrier Drill in the South China Sea, China is not Pleased

Biden Takes Hardline Stance, Sends Warship into Taiwan Strait Amidst Chinese Threats

Upgraded American F-16s to Deter Aggression in the Taiwan Strait

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Attorney General Nessel Calls on Facebook, Twitter to Stop Spread of Anti-Vaxxer Coronavirus Disinformation

Attorney General Nessel Calls on Facebook, Twitter to Stop Spread of Anti-Vaxxer Coronavirus Disinformation

Kelly Rossman-McKinney 517-512-9342 Attorney General

March 25, 2021

LANSING  Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel today joined a coalition of 11 other attorneys general calling on Facebook and Twitter to take stronger measures to stop the spread of anti-vaxxer coronavirus disinformation on their social media platforms. In letters to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, the attorneys general urge both leaders to immediately and fully enforce company guidelines against vaccine misinformation to prevent needless infection and death and to hasten the road to recovery.

False information regarding the safety of coronavirus vaccines by a small number of individuals lacking medical expertise and often motivated by their own financial interests has reached more than 59 million followers on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter, threatening to undermine vaccine acceptance and harm the nations recovery. Anti-vaxxers have used these platforms to disproportionately target people of color and Black Americans specificallycommunities who have already suffered the worst health impacts of the virus and whose vaccination rates are already lagging.

"The availability of safe and effective vaccines means the end of this pandemic is finally in sight. However, disinformation threatens that, Nessel said. The rampant disinformation being disseminated across social media platforms directly undermines all efforts to safely and quickly distribute vaccines and limit further loss of life.

The letter cites specific examples where Facebook and Twitter have failed to enforce their existing guidelines, including:

Twitter and Facebook have yet to remove from all their platforms the accounts of prominent anti-vaxxers who have repeatedly violated the companies terms of service. Digital media research groups estimate that as of March 10, 12 anti-vaxxers personal accounts and their associated organizations, groups and websites are responsible for 65% of public anti-vaccine content on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Facebook has failed to consistently apply misinformation labels and popups on Facebook pages and groups that discuss vaccines or COVID-19. For example, the company neglected to apply warning labels on dozens of Facebook groups that anti-vaxxer Larry Cook created for his followers. At the same time, the company has mistakenly flagged pro-vaccine pages and content in ways that have undermined pro-vaccine public education efforts.

Facebook has allowed anti-vaxxers to skirt its policy of removing misinformation that health experts have debunked, by failing to prevent them from using video and streaming tools like Facebook Live and sites like Bitchute, Rumble, and Brighteon to evade detection.

The letter comes as Zuckerberg, Dorsey and Google CEO Sundar Pichai are set to testify today at a joint hearing of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee and the Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives regarding social medias role in promoting extremism and misinformation.

Joining Attorney General Nessel in sending this letter are the Attorneys General of Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Virginia.
This is a province that is ruled by water. Were concerned when the rivers flow too high in spring, creating the potential for flooding, upheaval and the loss of lives  both human and animal. We begin to feel nervous when the banks of the rivers are too low and the snow retreats quickly from our fields, leaving the soil dry. What will this mean for crops and our economy?

Opinion

This is a province that is ruled by water. Were concerned when the rivers flow too high in spring, creating the potential for flooding, upheaval and the loss of lives  both human and animal. We begin to feel nervous when the banks of the rivers are too low and the snow retreats quickly from our fields, leaving the soil dry. What will this mean for crops and our economy?

We worry about the health of our lakes and rivers, and the possible effects on our fish populations. Roughly 15 per cent of Manitoba is made up of water, and how this province takes care of this important resource is now in the provincial governments hands.

Earlier this week, a report by an expert advisory council on a provincial water management strategy was received by the ministers of conservation and agriculture. Its recommendations are expected to become part of the Pallister governments provincewide water management strategy.

It couldnt come at a more urgent time. A quick look at Manitobas drought-conditions map for the spring shows things are not looking very promising. Much of the south of the province is marked as either in severe drought or moderate drought. According to the federal governments Canadian Drought Monitor assessment, extreme drought conditions havent yet developed in southern Manitoba but "there is the potential for rapid degradation of drought should conditions continue as spring approaches."

Those of us who live in the city might be wondering why our houses are developing cracks everywhere. Last year was the driest year on record  in total, Winnipeg received only 273 mm of precipitation in 2020, about 50 per cent of the citys annual average. Thats great for keeping the mosquitoes at bay, but its not great for foundations of some old houses. And its going to mean many of us are going to have to spend an enormous amount of money on foundation repairs and on "watering our foundations" just to keep houses straight.

Climate change is playing a key role in this extreme weather. Indeed, the Manitoba government predicts that "we will see warmer and wetter winters and longer, warmer and drier summers. Precipitation is likely to vary more from year to year. Extreme weather, such as heat waves, droughts, floods and intense storms, will likely become more common."

Its time for a cohesive and comprehensive water strategy for the entire province.

The councils report to the province includes 16 recommendations, but the biggest takeaway is the message that Manitoba needs to have an integrated watershed strategy. Basically, a watershed is an area of land that contains a common set of streams and rivers that all drain into a single larger body of water. The recommendations call for a co-ordinated watershed management plan that should "include activities, communities, and water resources from all regions of the province; for all regions of the province."

The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) has long been calling for action on Manitobas watershed policy. Dimple Roy, IISDs director of water management and a member of the executive council that produced this weeks report, wrote in 2017 that "strengthening co-ordination between proposed watershed authorities, municipal plans, agricultural extension groups, and other local planning entities is necessary."

This plan could provide an important first step.

The report suggests Manitoba should look beyond its borders to "work with other jurisdictions to update and strengthen existing interprovincial and international mechanisms (e.g., International Joint Commission, Prairie Provinces Water Board), and develop new interprovincial agreements as needed." Water, as we know all too well, doesnt stop at the border.

Its also time to modernize. The report recommends the province should build upon existing water management plans, with the aim of updating and improving current plans in all municipalities and communities, and encourage continued investment in clean water. Clean water is a right  not just for those of us in cities, but everywhere.

If the reports broadly stated recommendations are taken seriously, with an eye toward modernizing water-related policies in Manitoba, perhaps specific issues such as the regular spills of raw sewage into the Assiniboine River could become a thing of the past. But taking them seriously is the key  with the report now in the provinces hands, its imperative for government to act upon the recommendations.

Its time for Manitoba to show leadership by managing water as a resource for the entire province  without cutting it up into regions, communities and municipalities in a way that creates competition instead of collaboration. We need to invest in clean-water technology that is visionary, and we need to move beyond election cycles to commit to a comprehensive strategy that will maintain this vital asset.

This should be a legacy project any politician should be proud to put their name on. Who will be brave enough to commit to it?

Shannon Sampert is a Winnipeg-based political scientist.

shannon@mediadiva.ca

Twitter:@CdnMediadiva
Cole in 2014 sought help from an attorney, and they were able to secure a letter from Marion County, which he carries with him, stating he is not the Darren Cole still wanted by police. In 2018, he convinced a sergeant in the Harrison District, where he is often taken after being stopped, to craft a handwritten note with personal contact information for him to also keep with him. Cole has attempted to use the note but continues to get stopped, the lawsuit states.
Jubilant Foodworks entered into an exclusive Master Franchise and Development Agreement with PLK APAC Pte. to develop, establish, own and operate hundreds of Popeyes restaurants in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan in the coming years.

Founded in New Orleans in 1972, Popeyes has more than 45 years of history and culinary tradition. Popeyes distinguishes itself with a unique New Orleans style menu featuring the iconic chicken sandwich, spicy chicken, chicken tenders, fried shrimp, and other regional items. The brand has become one of the world's largest chicken quick service restaurants with over 3,400 restaurants in over 25 countries around the world.

Since its acquisition by RBI, Popeyes has expanded successfully into Spain, Switzerland, China, Brazil, Sri Lanka and the Philippines over the past few years.

Shyam S. Bhartia, Chairman and Hari S. Bhartia, Co-Chairman, Jubilant Foodworks said Popeyes will be an exciting addition to the company's portfolio and is expected to become one of the key drivers of growth for us in the coming years.

The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 24 March 2021. Shares of Jubilant Foodworks fell 2.15% to settle at Rs 2,869.30 yesterday.

Jubilant Foodworks is part of Jubilant Bhartia group and is India's largest foodservice Company. Its Domino's Pizza franchise extends across a network of 1,314 restaurants in 285 cities (as of December 31, 2020). The company has the exclusive rights to develop and operate Domino's Pizza brand in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. The Company also enjoys exclusive rights to develop and operate Dunkin' Donuts restaurants in India, has in operation 27 restaurants across 8 cities in India (as of December 31, 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 sensible idea of creating a state vaccine czar hasnt caught on. Not surprising.

It came, after all, from the states sole independent lawmaker, Luzerne Countys Sen. John Yudichak. And since all things are seen through the lens of politics, it didnt have enough politics, just common sense.

We pick sides and play partisan whack-a-mole with whatever pops up.
Actor Hina Khan dropped a video on Wednesday night and updated fans about her health. She mentioned that her fans were really concerned after she attended Manish Malhotras Lakme Fashion Week, which had Kartik Aaryan and Kiara Advani as show stoppers. A day after the event was over, Kartik Aaryan shared that he has been tested positive for Coronavirus. In her clip, Hina Khan said that she got her tests done before she left for the Maldives and got another one done after she returned.

She added, "After I came back, we all got to know about Kartik Aaryan. We were all in close proximity. So, I was really concerned. I isolated myself immediately and after that, I got tested and my report is negative. I am absolutely fine. I'm still going to isolate myself for a couple of days more but I'm absolutely fine." Hina remarked that the cases in Bombay are increasing and hence she's also warned her parents from stepping out.

After Hina Khan's video was up, Rubina Dilaik, Mohit Kathuria, Ssumier S Pasricha, and many others dropped comments on the post. Hina then thanked some of her fans who were worried about her health. The Unlocked star remarked that she has a lot of work and also promised fans to do the live session regularly.

Hina Khan's COVID update

Recently, Hina Khan walked the ramp at Lakme Fashion Week and the grand finale of the same took place on March 21, Sunday. Apart from her and Kiara Advani, Ananya Panday, Dia Mirza, Aahana Kumra, Pooja Hegde, Lara Dutt and Divya Khosla Kumar also walked the ramp. On the work front, the actor was last seen in the music album titled Main Aur Tu, alongside Jitendra Rai, Namita Lal and Monica Aggarwal.

The emotional number is voiced by Mohit Pathak and Rutikka Brahmbhatt. Apart from this, she also kicked-off the fifth season of Ekta Kapoor's supernatural series, Naagin 5. Later on, Surbhi Chandna, Mohit and Sharad were a part of the rest of the episodes. Naagin 5 went off-air on February 5 and the lead stars of the show penned lengthy heartfelt notes and bid adieu.

(Promo source: Hina Khan/Kartik Aaryan Instagram)

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.
Having a fully accessible platform is a necessity. Government of Canada public facing Web and mobile applications must be available to everyone and that is why we selected Level Access, to work alongside: to ensure all the platforms we work on meets and exceeds the highest accessibility standards.

One of Ottawas fastest growing companies, GC Strategies, today announced a partnership with Level Access, the global leader in digital accessibility, to offer digital accessibility services to Government of Canada agencies and organizations. The partnership brings years of digital accessibility knowledge and skills to Canadian agencies that are looking to improve the usability of their websites, mobile apps, and other digital assets, meet accessibility laws and governance requirements, and mitigate the risk of fines or discrimination lawsuits.

Access to technology is a profound enabling force in the lives of people with disabilities and the elderly, said Tim Springer, CEO of Level Access. Our strategic partnership with GC Strategies will enable products, platforms, and applications that GC Strategies works on to conform to todays accessibility standards. Were delighted with the opportunity and the GCS promise of equal access for all Canadians.

The expertise that Level Access brings to the digital space is unparalleled, said Kristian Firth, Partner at GC Strategies. Having a fully accessible platform is a necessity. Government of Canada public facing Web and mobile applications must be available to everyone and that is why we selected the best provider possible to work alongside: to ensure all the platforms we work on meets  and exceeds  the highest accessibility standards.

About GC Strategies

Founded in 2015, GC Strategies have spent the past 6 years aligning themselves with industry leaders to provide innovative solutions to the Government of Canada. They have been recognized as industry leaders in Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Mobile Application Development and Biometrics. For more information, please visit https://gcstrategies.ca/.

About Level Access

Level Access provides industry-leading and award-winning digital accessibility solutions to over 2000 corporations, government agencies, and educational institutions. Level Accesss mission is to achieve digital equality for all users by ensuring technology is accessible to people with disabilities and the growing aging population. Founded in 1997, Level Access has an unparalleled history in helping customers achieve and maintain compliance with the full scope of accessible technology regulations and standards including the ADA, WCAG, CVAA, AODA, EN 301 549, and Section 508. Delivered through a comprehensive suite of software, consulting services, and training solutions, the companys solutions ensure customers web, desktop, mobile, and electronic document systems are accessible to everyone. Level Access is endorsed by the American Banking Association, named a White House Champion of Change in 2014, and multi-year repeat winners on the Inc. 5000 list of fast-growing companies. For more information, please visit https://levelaccess.com/.
Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili.

The worldwide Automotive Wholesale And Distribution Aftermarket Market is anticipated to reach over USD 295.2 billion by 2026 according to a new research published by Polaris Market Research. In 2017, the passenger vehicles segment dominated the global market, in terms of revenue. In 2017, North America accounted for the majority share in the global automotive wholesale and distribution aftermarket market.

The expanding global automotive industry, along with increasing average age of vehicles majorly drives the automotive wholesale and distribution aftermarket market growth. The increasing sale of passenger vehicles, especially form the emerging economies of Asia-Pacific, and use of advanced technology for fabrication of auto parts boosts the market growth.

Sample Copy of Report @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/automotive-wholesale-and-distribution-aftermarket-market/request-for-sample

Consumers are increasingly becoming aware of proper maintenance and repair of vehicles, which supports market growth. Other factors driving market growth include greater need for long distance travel, technological advancements in telematics technologies, and changing lifestyles. New emerging markets, and emerging consumer demographics would provide growth opportunities for automotive wholesale and distribution aftermarket market in the coming years.

In 2017, North America accounted for the highest share in the global automotive wholesale and distribution aftermarket market. The established automotive industry, technological advancements, and high investment in R&D are factors expected to drive the market growth in the region. Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. This is due to economic growth in countries such as China and India, leading to rising living standards and increasing disposable income. Expansion of global players into these countries to tap market potential boosts the market growth. Favorable regulations for production of automotive wholesale and distribution aftermarket components, and poor road infrastructure in developing countries such as India, and Pakistan are expected to augment Automotive Wholesale And Distribution Aftermarket Market Growth during the forecast period.

Get Discount Offer @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/automotive-wholesale-and-distribution-aftermarket-market/request-for-discount-pricing

The companies operating in the market include Denso Corporation, Robert Bosch GmbH, ZF Friedrichshafen AG, Continental AG, 3M Company, Delphi Automotive PLC, Magneti Marelli S.p.A, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, and Federal-Mogul Corporation. 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.
JERUSALEM (dpa-AFX) - Traffic of cargo vessels through Egypt's Suez Canal continues to be blocked for the third day as a large container ship that ran aground in the southern end of the Canal remains stuck. Panama-registered ship Ever Given, sailing to the Dutch port of Rotterdam, ran aground after being affected by a stand storm and strong winds before entering the Mediterranean at about 7:40 a.m. local time Tuesday. The huge vessel with a capacity to carry 20000 containers is fully-loaded. A salvage operations company reportedly said it was impossible to free the ship with its current cargo on board. Satellite map shows the ship is still stuck, with tug boats trying to move it. Shipping experts were quoted as saying that operations to free the 224,000-ton ship may take several days or even weeks. Meanwhile, an update from marine services firm GAC said, 'According to information from the Suez Canal Authority, the grounded vessel has been partially refloated and is now alongside the Canal bank. Convoys and traffic are expected to resume as soon as vessel is towed to another position. The traffic jam caused by the accident in one of the world's most important and busy waterways has worsened, with dozens of large container ships, tankers carrying oil and gas, and bulk vessels carrying grain have been held up at either end of the Suez canal. AFP reported that more than a hundred ships have been waiting to enter the canal. 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.
Alameda County is in discussions with state officials about keeping the Oakland Coliseum mass vaccination site going once its planned eight-week run ends in early April, county officials said Wednesday.

The talks focus on what it would mean to transition the site to county management in terms of getting vaccine supply and operational capacity, county spokesperson Neetu Balram said.

The site opened in February as a joint program run by the state Office of Emergency Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, one of two mass vaccination sites in California launched under a Biden administration program to ensure vaccination access in underserved communities. The site receives special vaccine allocations from the federal government.

The Coliseum is one of 100 federal-direct mass sites in the country. It was set up as an eight-week project that dovetailed with Californias efforts at prioritizing equitable vaccine distribution.

California is set to expand vaccination eligibility to everyone over 16 on April 15 and to those over 50 on Thursday. The expansion has been expected, putting more pressure on Californias vaccination sites, but state officials said this week there were no plans to extend the state-federal partnership running the Coliseum program.

State and FEMA workers have been administering 6,000 shots a day in the Coliseum parking lot. Its not clear if the federal government would continue to directly provide vaccine if the site shifts to Alameda County management, or whether the hand-off would simply keep the spot for the county to administer shots from the supply that it already receives.

The county on Monday sent an informal notice to vendors, seeking groups that could distribute 2,000 to 6,000 vaccine doses a day for four to 12 weeks. The Coliseum was among numerous potential sites named in the document, which was provided to The Chronicle by Greg Garrett, chief operating officer of the Native American Health Center, one of the groups that received the request for proposals.

The Coliseum site provides a huge boost to the vaccine supply available for the East Bay, supplementing what Alameda County gets through the state. The amount that the county receives from the state varies each week. It was 36,380 doses this week, records show.

In all, workers at the Coliseum have administered more than 200,000 shots and are focused on second doses of Pfizers two-dose regimen. Next week, the site plans to switch to administering only Johnson & Johnsons single-dose vaccine.

A statement from Alameda County said the Coliseum vaccination program has helped bring us one step closer to normalcy.

We are currently in conversation with the state to learn more about what it means to transition the site. Key considerations under review are vaccine supply and operational capacity, the statement said.

Public health experts have worried about the pending loss of the Coliseum location and potential loss of vaccination momentum.

All these kind of changes are confusing to people, said Denise Herd, professor of health and social behavior at UC Berkeleys School of Public Health. I imagine if the Coliseum is being known as a place where you get vaccinated, the shift without another plan in place particularly will be hard on people.

Garrett noted the importance of major-capacity vaccination sites in quickly inoculating large numbers of people.

To get to herd immunity and to get to the goal of 80% of our country vaccinated, its going to take mass vaccination sites, he said. Theyre critical. You cant replace them.

Mobile outreach, taking vaccines into communities and focusing on vaccination equity, also has been part of the Coliseums role, but Alameda County has its own mobile outreach and is not contemplating taking over the Coliseums.

The Coliseum operates three mobile vaccination clinics in Oakland with roving vans that set up at churches and community centers for a few days at a time.

The Coliseum serves both Alameda County residents and people from outside the county who can sign up if they fall into an eligible group.

The site uses half of the parking lot at the Coliseum, which is the home of the Oakland As, who begin play there on April 1. Baseball games should not affect the vaccination site, a state official said.

Meghan Bobrowsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: meghan.bobrowsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @MeghanBobrowsky
(CNN)  Chinese hackers targeted Uyghur activists and journalists living in the United States in an attempt to spy on them, an investigation by security staff at Facebook has found.

"They targeted activists, journalists and dissidents among Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities from Xinjiang in China primarily living abroad in Turkey, Kazakhstan, the United States and other countries," Facebook said in a post Wednesday detailing its findings about the cyber espionage campaign.

The hackers infected targets' electronic devices with malware "to enable surveillance," Facebook said. In some cases, the hackers compromised or impersonated news websites popular among Uyghurs to secretly install spying software.

"This group used fake accounts on Facebook to create fictitious personas posing as journalists, students, human rights advocates or members of the Uyghur community to build trust with people they targeted and trick them into clicking on malicious links," the company said.

Some of Facebook's finding benefited from research by FireEye, a cybersecurity company, Facebook said.

In January, the United States officially determined that China is committing genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghur Muslims and ethnic and religious minority groups who live in the northwestern region of Xinjiang. (The Chinese government denied this assertion, calling it a lie.)

The US State Department has previously estimated as many as 2 million Uyghurs, as well as members of other Muslim minority groups, have been detained in internment camps in the region.

Facebook did not point the blame directly at the government in Beijing but said the hackers "had the hallmarks of a well-resourced and persistent operation." (Hackers linked to the Chinese government previously hacked iPhones and Android devices to target Uyghurs.)

The hacking groups identified as being behind the latest campaign are known in the cybersecurity industry as "Evil Eye" and "Earth Empusa" and have been involved in previous spying campaigns, according to Facebook.

Facebook's announcement comes a day before CEO Mark Zuckerberg is set to appear before Congress, alongside the heads of Twitter and Google. Zuckerberg is expected to be asked about the role his platform may have played in fueling the January 6th riot at the US Capitol, among other issues.

Facebook and other social media platforms were widely criticized for allowing Russian trolls to pose as Americans online in the run-up to the 2016 election. Since then, Facebook has publicly called out some governments and other entities it finds using its platform for nefarious purposes.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Chinese hackers targeted Uyghurs living in US, Facebook security team finds."
SOME SAY OUR planet has six continents, others claim the number is eight, but generally it is agreed that the world has seven.

A continent is a large land mass.

In alphabetical order the world's continents are Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America.

Those who say the world has six justify this by pointing out that the two Americas are joined and resultantly should really be counted as one continent.

In contemporary times the existence of a continental land mass covered by the Pacific Ocean was discovered by scientists and named Zealandia.

Some say this is the world's eighth continent.

Antarctica excluded, here are some interesting facts on the world's six other continents:

Measured by gross domestic product (GDP) Asia is the wealthiest in terms of global economic output.

By GDP ranking, North America holds the second position, followed in descending order by Europe, South America, Africa, and Australia.

With a population far bigger than Australia when measured by per-capita GDP, Africa is considered the poorest of all.

Determined as a percentage of the world's land mass, Africa is the second-largest continent.

It is much smaller than Asia, which covers over a third of the world's inhabited land mass.

Covering just short of a quarter of the world's entire land mass, Africa is considerably bigger than the others.

Africa is the continent with the most independent nations.

Namibia is one of Africa's 54 countries.

Add to this number the continent's six island nations.

The world's population is rapidly growing, and by the end of this decade will exceed eight billion people.

With close to 62% of the world's population squeezed into Asia, here again Africa holds the second place.

But the gap between first and second is huge, with only 16% of the global population living on this continent - few people with lots of arable land, rivers, lakes, and other resources.

Africa is considered the world's poorest continent as its contribution to the global economy amounts to a mere 3%.

But Africa is not poor.

Potentially a rich continent, why then does Africa have so many poor people?

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Namibia Africa By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

The same can be asked about Namibia. There are many poor people, yet the country has so much to offer.

Some say it's due to history and the country's legacy of colonialism. Others attribute Africa's widespread poverty to exploitation.

It is an anatomical reality that when one points a finger you have three pointing back. If not discovered yet, you will soon learn that this is one of life's truths too - a powerful statement that some will consider rather presumptuous.

But facts speak volumes of a continent blessed with an abundance of riches below and above the ground.

Seemingly others can see what Africa's people cannot see.

Africa's manufacturing sector has unmatched growth potential, not only in terms of minerals, but viewed from an agricultural perspective too.

Just shift the focus from resource extraction to value addition.

The continent has the freshest brainpower too with the world's youngest and fastest-urbanising population.

Time to stop blame-gaming and start doing the right things right now.

* Danny Meyer is reachable at [email protected]
Guest Column Thailand Must Be a Friend to the People of Myanmar

Anti-regime protesters confront security forces in Yangon on March 16. / The Irrawaddy

Ten years ago, when Myanmars then-ruling junta initiated a series of reforms to open the country up after decades of military rule, I was Thailands foreign minister. I remember well how myself and other ASEAN foreign envoys met regularly with our Myanmar counterpart ahead of Myanmars 2010 general electiona heavily flawed vote, but one that would pave the way for some form of democracy in the country.

These meetings were typically informal, taking place over a glass of wine or a cup of coffee, but were important in assisting the Myanmar government in keeping to its plan of moving beyond its isolationist rule, and being accepted into the international fold. Through these meetings, ASEEAN in many ways became the midwife in Myanmars reform process.

There were well-documented flaws in the years of quasi-civilian rule that followed, including in the National League for Democracy government, which came to power following the countrys first free and fair election in decades, held in 2015. Yet, there can be little doubt that improved job opportunities and greater freedoms were cause for optimism among much of Myanmars population and the regional and international communities.

With the Feb. 1 coup, those gains have been stripped away, and the countrys economy now stands on the brink of collapse, while every day the military commits violence towards unarmed protesters. The current crisis in Myanmar is not good for anyone: not the Myanmar people, not Thailand, not ASEAN.

As a body that played such an important role in helping to initiate the reforms in Myanmar, ASEAN not only has the right, but the responsibility, to act decisively and take concrete actions to ensure that Myanmars generals end the violence, reverse their coup, respect the will of the people, and allow democracy to prevail in Myanmar.

Such a move will require leadership from some of ASEANs member states. Since the Feb. 1 coup, however, Thailand has not demonstrated this.

Thailand played an important role in the opening of Myanmar 10 years ago, particularly as the ASEAN chair in 2009, encouraging Myanmar to release political prisoners, and to be inclusive of all political parties in the leadup to the 2010 election.

Sadly, I have been deeply disappointed by my governments responseor lack thereofregarding the violence and chaos that has been unleashed in our neighboring country.

On the day of the coup, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha described the situation as an internal affair for Myanmar, while Thailands most recent statement on the crisis, issued on March 11, expressed sadness about the loss of lives and called on all sides to exercise restraint and flexibility. This as Myanmars security forces have turned their guns on largely peaceful protesters in recent weeks, killing more than 200 people.

It is in Thailands best interests to respond effectively. With Myanmars economy, and government apparatus, on the brink of collapse, the country is at a tipping point. A further deterioration of conditions in Myanmar would almost certainly lead to a refugee crisis in Thailand, placing greater strain on its resources, while chaos and fighting at the two countries borders would risk the proliferation of illicit goods, notably arms and drugs. The risk of the spread of COVID-19 would also increase.

Instead of standing on the sidelines, Thailand should use its relationship with the Myanmar generals to ensure they immediately stop the ongoing bloodshed, and help them realize that they are isolated at home and abroad: The entire nation is uniting against their illicit power grab and the region has had enough of having to defend them in the global arena.

Thailand should publicly and proactively support efforts made by Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, which have all pushed for the bloc to play a direct role in addressing the disastrous situation in Myanmar. Last week Indonesian President Joko Jokowi Widodo called for a special ASEAN leaders summit to discuss the situation in Myanmar.

The meeting should include an invitation to the UN Secretary-Generals Special Envoy for Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, to establish a strong and decisive joint response to the ongoing crisis. It would also offer an opportunity to arrange a joint delegation between ASEAN and Schraner Burgener to travel to Myanmar to monitor the situation and help negotiate a democratic solution.

Thailand should support such a meeting, and extend an official invitation to the UN Special Envoy to come to the region. Thailand must also ensure that all those escaping Myanmar are allowed to seek asylum and be granted protection as refugees.

Beyond the special ASEAN Summit on Myanmar, one immediate step the grouping should also consider would be to not extend any invitation to the juntas officials to attend its meetings as long as the violence against peaceful protesters continues.

Until now, ASEAN has hidden behind its much-criticized principle of non-interference as an excuse for not stepping up on the Myanmar issue, yet when member states demonstrate the political will to act, the non-interference principle is effectively ignored. In 2005, for example, ASEAN leaders pressured Myanmar to forfeit its role as the blocs chair the following year after the US and EU governments threatened to boycott ASEAN meetings. After the devastation of Cyclone Nargis in 2008, the grouping was also able to engage with Myanmars generals, who had rejected international assistance, and played a crucial role in ensuring humanitarian assistance reached affected communities.

The breaking of the non-interference rule has not only occurred in the context of Myanmar. When I was Thailands foreign minister, ASEAN intervened to help put an end to a border dispute between ourselves and Cambodia.

So its clear that ASEAN could do more; it is just a matter of political leadership and willingness. Thailand should be at the forefront of the groups response and play the significant role it once had in the regions foreign policy.

Thailands government was a friend to the Myanmar people in the past, assisting in helping to bring an end to decades of military rule. Instead of standing on the side of Myanmars generals, who have wrought devastation on the country, its time for our government to support the Myanmar people, and be their friend once again during their time of need.

Kasit Piromya is a board member of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), and is a former Thai foreign minister.

This article was first published in The Bangkok Post.

You may also like these stories:

French Energy Giant Halts Myanmar Hydropower Project Over Human Rights Concerns

Myanmar Protest Death Toll Climbs As Regimes Troops Keep Shooting

Villagers Flee Their Homes as Myanmar Military Regime Vows Action
Beshear Vetoes Scholarship Tax Credits Bill

By The Associated Press

FRANKFORT - Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has vetoed a measure that would allow limited use of scholarship tax credits for private school tuition.He calls it an unconstitutional attack on public education.Public education advocates denounced the proposal leading up to the veto Wednesday.But the embattled bill could still become law if the Republican-led legislature overrides the veto next week.The bill's advocates say opponents are using scare tactics.The measure would create new accounts to pay for education expenses, including private school tuition in highly populated counties.The accounts would be backed by private donors who would receive tax credits.
A 36 year police officer based at ZRP Amaveni in Kwekwe has been arraigned before the courts facing murder charges after he shot dead a murder suspect.

According to the charge sheet are that on March 21, 2021 Constable Morris Bako was making a follow up on circumstances around the death of one Godfrey Manyanga who was allegedly hit by Honest Mbulavi now deceased.

"On the 21st day of March 2021at around 0200 hours, Godfrey Manyanga was drinking beer with Allen Bafana (45) of Amaveni Kwekwe and Farai Chihava of Gore Complex Amaveni, Kwekwe. Godfrey Manyanga had a misunderstanding with Honest Mbulavi and one Nxonxo NFPK over beer.

"Honest Mbulavi and Nxonxo started assaulting Godfrey Manyanga. Nxonxo slapped Godfrey Manyanga once on the face. Honest Mbulavi hit Godfrey Manyanga once on the face with fist. Godfrey Manyanga fell on his back and hit against a concrete floor with the back of his head.

"Honest Mbulavi and Nxonxo left Godfrey Manyanga lying down on the floor facing upwards and went to their homes. Allen Bafana together with Farai Chihava rendered Godfrey Manyanga first aid by pouring water over him and he did not wake up. Allen Bafana then proceeded to ZRP Amaveni on the same date at around 0230 hours and made a report," read the charge sheet

ZRP Amaveni DUB and CID details attended the scene and observed that Godfrey Manyanga lying on the floor facing upwards and had blood stains on the mouth and nose with a swollen occipital (back of the head). Manyanga was pronounced dead after being ferried to Kwekwe General Hospital.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Zimbabwe Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

A manhunt was made for Mbulavi was made by members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police including Constable Bako

"A follow up was made to Honest Mbulavi place of residence by a team of police officers namely Superintendent Makuni of Kwekwe DHQ, Inspector Maukazuva, Sgt Gava and accused person. Upon arrival, police knocked at Honest Mbulavi's door and he opened the door to check.

"He was advised of his arrest for murder. He attempted to retreat into his room and that is when accused who was armed with ZRP Mossberg serial number 493 fired one shot and hit Honest Mbulavi on the collar bone and he fell on the ground. Honest Mbulavi was then ferried to Kwekwe General Hospital where he was pronounced dead upon arrival."

The accused was arrested and detained at ZRP Kwekwe Central facing Murder charges under case number DB499/21. The mossberg shotgun was recovered and is held as exhibit.
The Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland has withdrawn from the Shared Island Unit, set up by the Republic's coalition government to foster good relations, as anger continues to grow among unionists at the Northern Ireland Protocol.

In a letter sent to Taoiseach Micheal Martin on Wednesday, the loyalist fraternity accused the Irish government of showing "scant regard for the views of the unionist community".

"The Orange family will not play any part in a process that masquerades as two neighbouring jurisdictions improving relationships for the benefit of both countries when in reality they pursue an agenda that enforces a Protocol that normalises and 'talks up' the inevitability of a United Ireland," the letter states.

The Irish Government's Shared Island initiative, with a budget of 500m, was set up to work with the Northern Ireland Executive and the British Government to address strategic challenges faced on the island.

It involves unionist outreach and fostering "constructive and inclusive dialogue and a comprehensive programme of research to support the building of consensus around a shared future on the island".

However, withdrawal of support from the largest unionist group involved in the Shared Island project throws the future of the initiative into doubt.

Rev Mervyn Gibson, grand secretary of the Orange Order of Ireland said the letter was in response to the mood among members "getting worse by the day as people realise the reality of what the Protocol means".

"We have withdrawn any engagement with the Shared Island Unit, because it is clear that the government in the Republic is trying to ride two horses, and therefore it has no longer had any genuine outcome.

"People are beginning to see the full implications of what the Protocol means, and I pray and I trust people will not turn to violence, but if we'd no restrictions I think there would be protests on the streets, people are being pushed into a corner."

The move by the Orange Order, which has over 1,000 lodges across the island, will further intensify pressure on both the British and Irish governments to find compromises on Brexit trade arrangements.

Earlier this month the Loyalist Communities Council (LCC), an organisation that represents the views of the UDA, UVF and Red Hand Commando, said in a letter to Boris Johnson that the paramilitary groups would be withdrawing support for the Good Friday Agreement in protest at the protocol. The Orange Order's withdrawal from the Taoiseach's Shared Island unit is designed to send a message to the heart of the Irish government that unionist's anger at the Irish Sea border is growing.

"The current situation regarding the Protocol has, in our opinion, fundamentally damaged relations between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland", the letter states.

"The attitude, actions, and words of members of the Irish Government have shown scant regard for the views of the unionist community in Northern Ireland and an extremely selective regard for the workings of the Belfast Agreement.

"The assurances by Micheal Martin that he sought to work with all to build consensus around a shared future underpinned by the Good Friday Agreement, increasingly rings hollow with our members.

"When the threat of a resurgence of border violence was introduced into the Brexit debate in Europe and talked up by Leo Varadkar, (touting a photo of a Customs Post destroyed by 'Republican' terrorists) and when the ongoing unhelpful comments of Simon Coveney over recent times are placed alongside the strong-arm tactics of your allies in the EU and US it leaves little room for hope that there is any meaningful interest in understanding, let alone addressing, the concerns of our community.

"As an organisation affected by the violence of the past, but which nonetheless had embarked on a journey to build good relations with our neighbours, we feel deeply disappointed by the Irish government's actions in recent weeks and months. We feel that the building blocks of mutual respect and co-operation have been replaced by an attitude of arrogance and indifference."

A spokesperson for the Irish Government said: "The correspondence referred to has not been received as yet.

"The Government has engagement with the Orange Order in a number of areas, and would wish to maintain and further develop that in the period ahead".
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's presence as guest of honour on the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh's independence is significant both for the optics and the substance of bilateral relations.

In the first place, it is an expression of deep gratitude that Bangladesh seeks to express to its neighbour, without whose military intervention we would not have won our Independence in less than a year after the struggle started. Our bravehearts were fighting, their sacrifices were enormous but Bangladesh would not be free of the Pakistani scourge without the brilliant military offensive planned and executed by Field Marshal Sam Maneckshaw and Generals Arora and Jacob.

Secondly, Modi's presence at Bangladesh's most emotional moment is a reminder of a stark fact which some religious fundamentalists on both sides of the border seek to deny -- that having grown together in the last three decades into economic powerhouses, India and Bangladesh need to be friends and partners to be able to grow together in future.

The release of a World Bank report titled "Connecting to Thrive" just before Modi packs his bags for Dhaka drives home this point. It advocates further strengthening of 'seamless transport connectivity' between the two neighbours, which, it says, can drive up their national incomes by 8 to 10 per cent and boost exports by 180 to 290 per cent in a decade.

No visionary leader like Prime Ministers Sheikh Hasina or Narendra Modi can miss out on such obvious opportunities.

Thirdly, there is a strong security raison d'etre for the two nations to be friends and not foes. If Bangladesh is hostile, it can become the launchpad for rebels from India's northeast -- like in the days of East Pakistan. If India is hostile, it can destabilise the strategic but remote and the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

Bangladesh's successive military rulers incurred India's wrath by backing northeastern rebels and our forces faced the music in Chittagong Hill Tracts for two decades. Modi cannot be chief guest at the Golden Jubilee of our independence if the two neighbours are not rocking. That's good news for both.

When the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) opposed the Kolkata-Dhaka bus service during the first Hasina government (1996-2001) , their leaders had to be reminded that most Bangladeshis don't have the resources to go for medical treatment to Singapore and that Kolkata or other Indian cities were their best bet. Bengali food stalls in Vellore proves the steady flow of our people to hospitals like the CMC. And this makes Bangladeshis the largest segment of tourists to India, 23 per cent, who spend much more in the country than cannabis-smoking Western tourists. So no way we are termites and no way we can ignore India. This is the stark reality.

Prime Minister Hasina has been more than kind in her expression of gratitude to India. An important road in Dhaka is named after Indira Gandhi, widely viewed in our country as 'Liberator', someone described as 'Ma Durga' by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Modi's predecessor as India's first Bharatiya Janata Party Prime Minister. In fact Modi accepted Vajpayee's 'Muktijuddho Padak' (Liberation War Medal).

Scores of Indians who played an important role in 1971 have received this medal. Hasina has delivered on India's crucial security and connectivity concerns and signed the land boundary agreement to settle the prickly enclaves problem.

Both nations are trying to negotiate water sharing agreements on common rivers like the Teesta and moving towards a slew of economic agreements which can hugely boost growth in both countries, specially in their border regions .

The radicals who are threatening to disrupt Modi's visit must be reminded that lakhs of Bangladeshis, including some who spew venom at India, are getting vaccinated by India-made vaccines. Actually, Modi has faced some criticism at home for rushing off vaccines abroad before inoculating his own people. But proving detractors wrong, Indian vaccine supply to Bangladesh has been steady and uninterrupted.

The battle to contain Covid was no less important than other battles. India has stood by us both in 1971 and now.

India-bashing is cottage industry in a section of Bangladesh's elite and radical political fringe. I have three requests for them : (a) please don't take the Indian vaccine and leave it for a poor Bangladeshi because you can afford an expensive Chinese or an American vaccine even by flying to that country; (b) don't go to an Indian hospital next time you suffer an ailment but rush to Singapore or the West for treatment at five to 10 times the cost; (c) please ask Pakistan to tender a formal apology for its massacre and mass rapes in 1971 because they did not kill or rape Indians but massacred your fellow Bengalis (unless you think you are Pakistanis).

I am a victim of sexual harassment at my workplace and, in some ways, the pioneer of the #Metoo movement in Bangladesh. I thank Modi for asking his powerful minister MJ Akbar, once India's top editor, to stand down from his cabinet because of the charges of sexual abuse against him.

Akbar has lost his case against the ladies he tormented.

I want my tormentors at the bank I worked to be similiarly brought to justice and the rapists elsewhere in Bangladesh to be hauled over the coals. Here again, the Indian example should help.
Centessa Pharmaceuticals ("Centessa") today announced that Moncef Slaoui, M.D., has stepped down from his position as chief scientific officer, advisor, effective immediately. Dr. Slaoui's departure from Centessa follows the reports of allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate conduct towards an employee of GlaxoSmithKline plc ("GSK") several years ago which we learned of following the announcement by GSK.

Saurabh Saha, M.D., Ph.D., chief executive officer of Centessa stated, "The Centessa management team and board of directors were troubled to learn of yesterday's news regarding Dr. Slaoui. Centessa is absolutely committed to fostering a culture of respect that is free from harassment and discrimination of any kind and are steadfastly committed to maintaining a work environment that is reflective of our strong values as a company."

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.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005482/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
The transfer of the presiding Judge of the Federal High Court in Ado- Ekiti, Ekiti State, Justice Uche Agomoh, yesterday stalled the trial of a 19 -year-old cybercrime kingpin, David Oritsegbeyiwa Ofoeyeno.

Ofoeyeno allegedly defrauded some girls by bullying and threatening them with their nude videos.

Four witnesses, three of which were Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti(ABUAD) female students and victims of Ofoeyeno cyber tricks, and the Director of Students' Affairs of the university, were expected to testify against the suspect yesterday.

Ofoeyeno, a 300- level student of Media and Communication Studies in ABUAD, was being tried for allegedly defrauding students of the university and other institutions by displaying their nude videos, which he acquired through tricks and handiworks of other syndicates.

When the matter, which has reached a witness stage, came up yesterday, Justice Agomoh announced to the court that she has been transferred to Ibadan, the Oyo State Division of the Federal High Court.

The Jurist said: "Let me announce to this court that I have been transferred, and I have just two days more to spend here in this judicial division.

"The prosecution has four witnesses lined up for today (yesterday), and if I should begin with the trial, I can't take all the four and there would be adjournment, so it is better to adjourn this case so that probably the case can be taken over by another Judge."

After the prosecution and defence counsel had consented to the position canvassed by the Judge, Justice Ugomoh adjourned the case to April 22, 2021, for witnesses to testify in the matter.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

The prosecution was being midwifed by Akin Fadeyi Foundation in collaboration with ABUAD.

The Ofoeyeno's prosecution commenced in 2020, after receiving litany of complaints from some students that the accused person had extorted millions of naira from them through threat, that he was in possession of their nude videos, and that he could upload them on social media platforms.

The 19-year-old was discovered to be the kingpin of a cyber-bully cartel across tertiary institutions in Nigeria, following six months of covert investigations carried out in the university, following a complaint on the foundation's Flagit app.

Ofoeyeno was docked on a six-count charge bordering on conspiracy to commit a felony with cyber fraud, attempt to defraud, impersonation, threat to expose nudes and cyber-stalking among others.
Rights Group Calls on FCC to Investigate Chinese State-Run Media

A human rights organization is urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to investigate Chinas state-owned media for broadcasting fake news in the United States.

Safeguard Defenders, a Madrid-based nonprofit, submitted a complaint to the U.S. regulator back in 2019 with evidence showing systematic airing of lies and distortions by state-run media China Central Television (CCTV) and China Global Television Network (CGTN).

On March 17, the group wrote to the FCC renewing calls to launch a probe into the communist state-backed media outlets.

An FCC spokesperson said it was reviewing the complaint from Safeguard Defenders, and declined to comment on whether the regulator was investigating the outlets.

CGTN is an news channel run by the Chinese Communist Partys (CCPs) Central Propaganda Department to reach an international audience. It has aired forced confessions and distorted coverage of issues such as the pro-democracy, anti-CCP movement in Hong Kong, human rights abuses in Xinjiang, and the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Safeguard Defenders.

The 30-page complaint submitted to the FCC includes testimonies from people who were forced to record confession videos after they were detained by Chinese authorities without access to legal help.

They drugged me, locked me to a tiger chair, and placed me and the chair inside a small metal cage. China Central Television (CCTV) journalists then aimed their cameras at me and recorded me reading out the answers already prepared for me by the police. No questions were asked, British citizen Peter Humphrey said. Humphrey, a former journalist turned corporate investigator, was sentenced to two years in a Chinese prison in 2014 after being convicted by the state of illegally acquiring personal information of Chinese citizensa crime which he says he didnt commit.

CGTN, a division of CCTV, reaches 140 million households in more than 100 countries. It is available in 30 million households in the United States, according to CGTN America.

Western countries have taken measures to limit Chinas state-own media in recent months.

The British Communications Authority (Ofcom) in March fined CGTN 225,000 points ($310,000) for violating broadcasting policies by airing forced concessions and biased coverage of the Hong Kong protests. In February, Ofcom also revoked CGTNs UK broadcast rights after finding its license was unlawful.

Further investigations are pending in Canada, the European Union, and the Asia-Pacific region, according to Safeguard Defenders. The French government agency CSA has also warned CGTN that it would be subject to tighter scrutiny due to its history of violations.

Read More SBS Suspends Chinese State Media Broadcasts Over Human Rights Complaint

CGTN is a registered agent of a foreign government under U.S. law. Both CGTN and CCTV were also designed by the Trump administration as foreign missions, which restricted some of its operations in the United States. The designations do not impact editorial independence.

Given the increase in disinformation by state actors targeting the United States, the FCC is duty-bound to investigate violations by the Chinese regimes media outlets, Safeguard Defenders said.

Where found to have been committed, appropriate punitive action must be taken against all abuses, the group said in a March 22 press release.
President is keen that the US Congress should quickly fix America's "broken immigration system, for which he has already sent in a legislation, the has said.

In February, the Biden administration introduced an ambitious immigration bill in Congress which among other things proposes to eliminate the per-country cap for employment-based green cards.

The US Citizenship Act of 2021 proposes a pathway to citizenship to 11 million undocumented workers, elimination of per country quota for employment-based green cards and work authorisation for dependents of H-1B foreign workers.

The president...believes that there should be faster processing, that our immigration system is broken at many levels and of the system and that he is eager for Congress to move forward with action there, Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Wednesday at her daily news conference.

She was responding to a question on the recent protest by Indian-American doctors who are seeking the elimination of the existing per country quota for Green Card, as a result of which the backlog for Indians now runs into several decades.

A Green Card, known officially as a Permanent Resident Card, is a document issued to immigrants to the US as evidence that the bearer has been granted the privilege of residing permanently.

The bicameral immigration bill, if passed by both the chambers of the Congress House of Representatives and the Senate and signed into law by President Joe Biden, would bring citizenship to millions of foreign nationals, including undocumented workers and those who came to the country legally.

The legislation would also benefit hundreds and thousands of Indian IT professionals and their families.

Responding to another question on the inordinate delay in the issuance of employment authorisation card to H4 and L2 visa holders, a significant number of whom are Indian women, Psaki said that part of the reason the administration went to push for action on immigration on the Hill is to move forward with expediting the processing and doing that on several levels, including a number of the visas.

So, that's part of the reason why we think that's such an important piece to move forward, Psaki said.

An H-4 visa is issued by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to immediate family members (spouse and children under 21 years of age) of the H-1B visa holders, most of whom are Indian IT professionals.

The Biden administration has taken several steps to address the problems related to legal immigrants.

The citizenship bill sent by the to Congress includes providing new funding to the state and local governments, private organisations, educational institutions, community-based organisations, and not-for-profit organisations to expand programmes to promote integration and inclusion, increase English-language instruction, and provide assistance to individuals seeking to become citizens.

This bill clears employment-based visa backlogs, recaptures unused visas, reduces lengthy wait times, and eliminates per-country visa caps.

The bill makes it easier for graduates of US universities with advanced STEM degrees to stay in the US; improves access to green cards for workers in lower-wage sectors; and eliminates other unnecessary hurdles for employment-based green cards.

The bill provides dependents of H-1B visa holders work authorisation, and children are prevented from aging out of the system.

The bill sent by the White House also creates a pilot programme to stimulate regional economic development, gives the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) the authority to adjust green cards based on macroeconomic conditions, and incentivises higher wages for non-immigrant, high-skilled visas to prevent unfair competition with American workers.

It also requires that the DHS and the Department of Labour establish a commission involving labour, employer, and civil rights organisations to make recommendations for improving the employment verification process.

Workers who suffer serious labour violations and cooperate with worker protection agencies will be granted greater access to U visa relief.

The bill protects workers who are victims of workplace retaliation from deportation in order to allow labour agencies to interview these workers.

It also protects migrant and seasonal workers, and increases penalties for employers who violate labour laws.
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| 2021-03-25 09:45:21|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

Libya's Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah speaks during the first meeting of Libya's new Government of National Unity in Tripoli, capital of Libya, on March 24, 2021. Libya's new Government of National Unity on Wednesday held its first meeting to discuss its domestic fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and electricity supply. Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah also urged the government ministers to communicate with the people and personally oversee the process of solving all problems, according to the statement. (Photo by Hamza Turkia/Xinhua)

TRIPOLI, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Libya's new Government of National Unity on Wednesday held its first meeting to discuss its domestic fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and electricity supply.

"The most serious challenges of this stage are the Coronavirus and providing services, mainly electricity," said a statement issued by the information office of the government.

Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah also urged the government ministers to communicate with the people and personally oversee the process of solving all problems, according to the statement.

Libya had been politically divided between eastern and western governments for years, before the Government of National Unity was approved recently by the House of Representatives.

The new government's main task is to prepare for the upcoming general elections in Libya on Dec. 24, as agreed by the United Nations-sponsored Libyan Political Dialogue Forum. Enditem
Invictus Energy, which is exploring for oil and gas in Muzarabani, has received firm commitments from investors to raise US$10,48 million (A$8 million), which the firm requires to fund exploration.

The oil and gas exploration junior said the resources will be raised through a share placement to new and existing institutional as well as sophisticated investors.

Invictus has already spent more than US$3,5 million in processing secondary data collected in the early 1990s by global oil giant Mobil and the research findings support huge potential for oil and gas.

The funding will be applied towards seisimic acquisition campaign this year and ordering of long lead equipment for the test well drilling, which is scheduled for October.

Invictus has since undertaken detailed traversing and mapping across the prospective area, identifying the optimal acquisition routes.

"Invictus received strong interest and support from both new institutional investors and existing shareholders, PAC Partners acted as lead manager to the placement," Invictus said.

Under the placement Invictus will issue 25 058198 new fully paid ordinary shares under the company's remaining ASX LR-7,1 capacity.

The company will also issue 47 669 075 new shares under the company's additional ASX LR-7.1A placement capacity, for a total of 72 727 273 New Shares, at an issue price of $0,11 per share.

The placement price of A$0,11 per share represents a 21,4 percent discount to the last traded price of $0,14 per share on 19 March 2021, being the last trading date before the placement and a 10 percent discount to the 15-day VWAP prior to that date. Each investor in the shares will also be allocated an attaching unlisted option, on a 1-for-2 basis, with an exercise price of $0,17 and a 3-year term, resulting in a total of 36 363 636 new options being issued.

Proceeds of the placement will be applied towards the upcoming 2D seismic campaign in special grant 4571, basis of well design, long lead drilling items for the Muzarabani-1 exploration well, drilling rig tender preparation and general working capital.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Company Zimbabwe Petroleum By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"We are extremely pleased with the excellent support received from new and existing shareholders and it is a strong endorsement of our Cahora Bassa project and the exciting and world class Muzarabani-1 Prospect, which the company is preparing to drill," commented managing director Scott Macmillan.

The company has confirmed that a Petroleum Exploration Development and Production Agreement (PEDPA) review had been completed by the Inter-Ministerial Committee of the Government of Zimbabwe and has been already approved.

The PEDPA provides the framework for progression of the Cahora Bassa (Muzarabani) project through the exploration, appraisal, development and production phases and the obligations and rights of each party over the project life-cycle.

The company announced, three trading days before the end of 2020, that it had received a farm-in offer to Geo Associates', the firm's 80 percent shareholder, to the Cahora Bassa (Muzarabani) project.

Invictus Energy is an independent oil and gas exploration company focused on high impact energy resources in sub-Saharan Africa.

Its asset portfolio consists of a highly prospective 250 000 acres within the Cahora Bassa Basin in Mashinaland Central, Zimbabwe.

Special Grant 4571 contains the world class multi-trillion cubic feet Muzarabani and Msasa conventional gas condensate prospects.
The accident of the container ship Ever Given in the Suez Canal, on the eve of running aground and blocking traffic, could have very noticeable consequences for global trade.

This opinion was expressed by Ihor Zhyhora, CEO of the DP World TIS Pivdenniy container terminal (Pivdenny port, Odesa region), in a comment to Interfax-Ukraine.

"Disruptions in delivery times will entail a lack of goods in retail and, as a result, financial losses from lost profits and loans. The costs will be borne by everyone, so now the attention of literally the whole world, both the largest businesses and small players, is riveted on one small excavator," he said.

According to Zhyhora, hundreds of ship calls around the world have already been disrupted due to the blockage of the canal, and the transit of a group of ships is being canceled or corrected.

"Disruptions in the schedule of ship calls automatically entail a delay in the delivery of various cargoes and, as a result, disruption of the contractual obligations of the clients of sea lines. The result is penalties for the participants in the 'supply chain,' that is, ship owners, charterers, cargo owners. Now in the Suez Canal area there is a traffic jam of more than 150 ships that deliver food, consumer goods, and oil products. In addition to food products and consumer goods, there are a lot of industrial products and equipment on the way, paid for, including with credit money," the DP World TIS Pivdenniy CEO said.

As reported, the Panama-flagged container ship Ever Given ran aground on Tuesday at 07:40 local time shortly after entering the Suez Canal from the Red Sea.
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.
GCHQ has created its toughest puzzle ever in honour of Alan Turing appearing on the new 50 note.

The Bank of England revealed the notes design featuring the scientist and mathematician on Thursday, as GCHQ officials said their new treasure hunt involving 12 puzzles might even have left him scratching his head.

Mr Turing was a pioneer of modern computing and hugely instrumental in breaking the German Naval Enigma cipher in 1942, at Bletchley Park  GCHQs wartime home.

To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here to do so.

Director of the cyber and intelligence agency Jeremy Fleming described him becoming the first gay man to appear on a banknote as confirming his status as one of the most iconic LGBT+ figures in the world.

Mr Fleming said: Alan Turings appearance on the 50 note is a landmark moment in our history.

Not only is it a celebration of his scientific genius, which helped to shorten the war and influence the technology we still use today, it also confirms his status as one of the most iconic LGBT+ figures in the world.

Turing was embraced for his brilliance and persecuted for being gay.

Sarah John, Chief Cashier at the Bank of England, holding the new 50 note (Bank of England/PA)

His legacy is a reminder of the value of embracing all aspects of diversity, but also the work we still need to do to become truly inclusive.

The puzzles are based on the unique design elements of the new banknote, such as the technical drawings for the British Bombe, the machine designed by Mr Turing to break Enigma-enciphered messages.

GCHQ officials said the full challenge could take an experienced puzzler seven hours to complete.

Colin, a GCHQ analyst and its chief puzzler, said: Alan Turing has inspired many recruits over the years to join GCHQ, eager to use their own problem-solving skills to help to keep the country safe.

To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here to do so.

So it seemed only fitting to gather a mix of minds from across our missions to devise a seriously tough puzzle to honour his commemoration on the new 50 note.

It might even have left him scratching his head  although we very much doubt it.

Mr Turing joined the Government Code & Cypher School  GCHQs wartime name  in 1938 to help with the code-breaking effort during the Second World War, working alongside Gordon Welchman.

To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here to do so.

In January 1940, Mr Turing had a meeting in Paris with Polish counterparts, who gave him the insights he needed to design the Bombe.

The combination of the Bombe and the brilliant minds and perseverance of those working at Bletchley Park led to the breaking of Enigma.

In January 1952, Mr Turing was prosecuted for indecency over his relationship with another man in Manchester, and was given a choice between imprisonment and probation on condition of undergoing hormone treatment.

In 1954, Mr Turing took his own life.
A black and white photo handed to police could hold the key to solving the baffling disappearance of two teenagers more than 50 years ago.

Maureen Braddy, 16, and 17-year-old Allan Whyte were last seen leaving a YMCA dance in Bendigo, Victoria, with their families believing they were murdered.

Victoria Police on Thursday revealed they had obtained a new photo of a young man and woman that fits the description of the pair, who disappeared on November 23, 1968.

The image was captured at a boarding house in Aberdeen Street, Geelong in 1968, with the words 'Neil and Kaye. Kaye is asleep on her feet, Neil is supporting her with his elbow' scribbled on the back.

This could mean the pair were alive after their disappearance, and going by different names.

Victoria Police have released this photograph of a young man and woman at a Geelong boarding house in 1968 as they investigate the disappearance of teenagers Maureen Braddy and Allan Whyte. Detectives want anyone who was at the boarding house to come forward

On the back of the photograph the words 'Neil and Kaye. Kaye is asleep on her feet, Neil is supporting her with his elbow' are scribbled

The photographed pair are believed to have revealed they were from the Swan Hill area.

'Since being handed in to police, the photograph has undergone specialist forensic analysis by both Victoria Police and the Australian Federal Police to help determine whether the pair in the photograph are, in fact, Allan and Maureen,' Victoria Police said in a statement.

'Unfortunately, due to the age and quality of the photograph, comparisons with existing photographs of the Bendigo teens were inconclusive.'

Detectives are now hoping to speak to any individual who was at the Geelong boarding house in 1968, or anyone who may be able to shed light on Neil and Kaye.

Maureen and Allan became friends the year they vanished after being colleagues at the Crystal Egg Company in Bendigo.

A witness reportedly saw the teenagers board a tram after leaving the YMCA dance on Mundy Street, California Gully and gunshots were also believed to have been heard by neighbours at the Braddy family home.

Maureen's younger sister Lynette Ireland revealed in 2018 how she believed the pair were murdered and dumped in a well in the grounds of the family home. The bodies have never been found.

Police did not search the well at the time, arguing there was no evidence to suggest that bodies were buried there and Maureen's father Stanley Braddy later concreted over the site.

Maureen Braddy (left), 16, and 17-year-old Allan Whyte (right) vanished after leaving a YMCA dance in Bendigo, Victoria on November 23, 1968

At an inquest into Maureen and Allan's death in 2014, Coroner Iain West said her father's evidence was selective and self-serving.

'I found him am unreliable witness, who had no interest in assisting either my inquiry or that of the police,' he said.

Ms Ireland was only eight-year- old at the time of her sister's disappearance and told the inquest she saw her father and another man carrying a bloody body. She said she believed it was Allan's body.

However, Mr West disregarded her testimony as Ms Ireland had used a hypnotherapist to help her rediscover forgotten memories.

The inquest concluded Maureen and Allan most likely met with foul play and died on the night of their disappearance. No charges have ever been laid.

A $1million reward is on offer for information relating to the pair's disappearance, with anyone with details urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Following Successful Elimination of Gender Inequalities, Firmenich Takes Further Action Globally Focusing on Ethnic Minorities, LGBTIQ+ & Differently-abled Workforce

SINGAPORE, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Firmenich Singapore, an affiliate of the world's largest privately-owned perfume and taste company, today successfully upgraded its EDGE Certification for gender equality in the workplace to the next level: "Move" status. Only two companies in Singapore currently have this certification. Recognizing the Group's ever more inclusive culture, the leading business certification standard for gender equality awarded Firmenich Move status across all of its markets for its progress in expanding diverse representation at all levels and a strong sense of belonging among its diverse workforce. Firmenich continues to lead in workplace equality, having been the first in its industry globally, and the 7th company in the world to achieve global certification in 2018 at Assess level.

"I am very proud that Firmenich is one of only two companies and organizations in Singapore that currently have EDGE MOVE certification, raising the bar for gender equality under EDGE's demanding benchmarks for continuous improvement," said Lourds Rajan Arul, General Manager of Firmenich Singapore. "EDGE recognizes our concrete achievements in embedding equality in Singapore and across our operations globally, as an employer of choice and a trusted and reliable partner for our customers. With women representing 59% of our local management, we are actually above parity and well ahead of the national average of 40%."

"The remarkable leap forward Firmenich Singapore has made in two years from the first level to the second level of EDGE Certification, EDGE Move, demonstrates that intentional, prioritized and measured actions undeniably accelerate progress towards gender balance, diversity and inclusion," said Aniela Unguresan, Co-founder of EDGE Certified Foundation. "Specifically, Firmenich's global EDGE Move certification illustrates the company's progress in terms of gender representation and proactive management of pay equity across its main countries of operation."

"Firmenich continues to set the standard for excellence as the best place to work in our industry. Since our first global EDGE certification in 2018, we have achieved significant milestones, from no gender pay gap worldwide to systematically implementing diverse talent pools," said Patricia Lie, HR Director Firmenich Singapore. "While I am very proud of our achievements, we are focusing on new frontiers with targeted action that goes beyond gender. It's about embracing the power of inclusion of minority groups, securing effective representation and engagement of people with different abilities, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds and sexual orientation."

Building on its achievements, the Group's new Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy sets ambitious 2030 people goals, including commitments on human rights, ethnic pay equity, creating 5,000 job opportunities across the globe for youth and continuing to raise the representation of differently-abled people in its global workforce to 10%.

Firmenich Singapore emerged from the rigorous assessment as an employer clearly dedicated to gender equality, with policies in place for pay equity, an inclusive company culture, and high ratings from its colleagues on equal hiring opportunities. In particular the affiliate in Singapore has an exceptional track record in the recruitment and integration of visually impaired sensory panelists at Firmenich. In 2017, Firmenich Singapore hired six visually-impaired sensory panelists to its team, and the program has been hailed internationally as an example of successful inclusion.

EDGE Certification at the global level entails a global evaluation of Firmenich data and processes, as well as a comprehensive survey of its employees worldwide. Firmenich, globally and in Singapore, emerged from the assessment as an employer that is meeting and exceeding core certification criteria around hiring, pay, retention, development and engagement of its employees.

About Firmenich

Firmenich, the world's largest privately-owned fragrance and taste company, was founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1895, and has been family-owned for 125 years. Firmenich is a leading business-to-business company specialized in the research, creation, manufacture and sale of perfumes, flavors and ingredients. Renowned for its world-class research and creativity, as well as its leadership in sustainability, Firmenich offers its customers superior innovation in formulation, a broad and high-quality palette of ingredients, and proprietary technologies including biotechnology, encapsulation, olfactory science and taste modulation. Firmenich had an annual turnover of 3.9 billion Swiss Francs at end June 2020. More information about Firmenich is available at www.firmenich.com

Firmenich Singapore is committed to gender equality in the workplace and part of a group that is certified EDGE MOVE at the global level.

About EDGE Certification

EDGE is the leading global assessment methodology and business certification standard for gender equality. It measures where organizations stand in terms of gender balance across their pipeline, pay equity, effectiveness of policies and practices to ensure equitable career flows as well as inclusiveness of their culture. Launched at the World Economic Forum in 2011, EDGE has been designed to help companies not only create an optimal workplace for women and men, but also benefit from it. EDGE stands for Economic Dividends for Gender Equality and is distinguished by its rigor and focus on business impact. EDGE assessment methodology was developed by the EDGE Certified Foundation, which continues to act as the guardian of EDGE methodology and certification standards. Its commercial arm, EDGE Strategy, works with companies to prepare them for the EDGE Certification. EDGE Certification's diverse customer base consists of 200 large organizations in 44 countries across five continents, representing 29 different industries and employing globally more than 2.4 million employees.

For more information, visit edge-cert.org

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/798187/Firmenich_Logo.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1459922/EDGE_Certification_Logo.jpg
A magistrate court in Banjul presided over by Principal Magistrate S. Jobarteh on Tuesday, issued a bench warrant of arrest for two non-Gambians who are accused of hacking NAWEC's Qpower Account.

The accused: Godwin Ojukun and Frederick Felix Chainacherem are charged with two counts of criminal offences relating to their alleged involvement in the hacking of the Qpower account. They now face conspiracy to commit a felony and money laundering charges.

Chief Inspector E. Sarr for the Inspector General of Police said the two are currently apprehended in Guinea Bissau awaiting extradition. He explained that the Interpol office in Banjul had requested for their extradition, but their counterparts in Bissau are requesting for a bench warrant of arrest from a court of law.

Sarr, in making the application for the bench warrant of arrest against the two accused persons, pleaded with the court to grant the application in order to extradite the two.

The principal magistrate said she was satisfied with the application adding it had merit. : In this regard, she granted the application and issued a bench warrant of arrest against the two accused persons.

On the first count, they were charged with conspiracy to commit felony. According to the particulars of offence, the two accused persons, in the year 2021 in Banjul and diverse places in The Gambia, conspired between themselves and jointly hacked the National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC) Qpower bank account number 003101010102011137 at Agib Bank, knowing same to be proceed of a crime, for the purpose of concealing the illicit origin of the funds to evade traces.

On the second and final count, the two were charged with money laundering contrary to section 22 (a) and (b) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act Combatting Terrorist Finance Act 2012. According to the particulars of the offence, the two accused persons, in the year 2021 in Banjul and diverse places in The Gambia, jointly hacked the NAWEC Qpower bank account at Agib Bank, knowing same to have been the proceed of a crime, for the purpose of concealing the illicit origin of the funds to evade traces.

The case was adjourned to the 26th April 2021 at 10 am for mention and for further hearing. Media reports suggested that the amount hacked is believed to be to a tune of eight million dalasis. Foroyaa will continue to follow the case.
Amid growing tensions between India and Sri Lanka, Tamil nationalist parties on the island are backing calls from the Indian government for the Sri Lankan government in Colombo to devolve authority to the provincial government in the Tamil-majority north of Sri Lanka.

Bagli (Credit-Facebook)

This was the subject of a four-day visit by Indias High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Gopal Bagli, to the war-torn north and east of Sri Lanka, earlier this month. Bagli met with all the political parties, including the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the Tamil Peoples National Alliance (TPNA) and Tamil National Peoples Front (TNPF). Bagli stressed the aspirations of the Tamil community for equality, justice, peace and dignity and the need for meaningful devolution within a united Sri Lanka, according to a report in the Hindu .

The visit came as the COVID-19 pandemic devastates India and Sri Lanka due to herd immunity policies of both governments, and shortly after the founding of the Sri Lanka Bharatiya Janata Party (SLBJP), a political ally of Indias Hindu-supremacist ruling BJP.

Their empty rhetoric notwithstanding, the purpose of Baglis visit and meetings with the Tamil nationalists was not to advance the democratic rights of Sri Lankas Tamil minority. Rather, amid a vastly more explosive situation bound up with the pandemic, they are drawing together to pursue the same geostrategic interests that dictated Indias bloody 1987 military intervention in Sri Lankas communal war of 1983-2009. What is unfolding is a bitter struggle inside the bourgeoisie for profits and strategic advantage, antithetical to the interests of the working class.

Bagli in meeting with TNA at Jaffna (Credit- facebook-India in Sri Lanka)

In the present century, by moving ever closer to Washington, successive Indian governments have locked themselves in a bitter geostrategic rivalry with China across the region, including notably in Sri Lanka, which sits on critical shipping lanes across the Indian Ocean. As US officials demand massive increases in US military spending to prepare to fight China, the purpose of this visit is to counter Chinas influence and make the necessary political and military preparations for war.

Only weeks after the SLBJPs founding, Bagli made a point of signaling the Indian governments support for Hinduism and violently anti-Muslim Hindu forces in Sri Lanka. On March 11, the first day of his visit, he traveled to Mannar in order to perform a Hindu ritual on the beach. There, he pledged that Indo-Sri Lankan ties will be strengthened. Bagli also visited the Vegan Monastery in Nallur. There he was welcomed by Sachithanandan, the leader of the Sri Lanka Shiv Senai, who is notorious for his hate speech against Muslims.

After the Hindu ceremonies, he met separately with religious leaders, political parties, businessmen, journalists and intellectuals.

Bagli in Pooja at Mannar (Credit-facebook-India in Sri Lanka)

After the meeting, TNA media spokesman M.A. Sumanthiran told the press: The Indian High Commissioner explained that there is no change in Indias diplomatic position. He said that there was no change in their policy of devolution and that they would exert pressure in this regard.

TPNA leader C.V. Wigneswaran repeated earlier calls from India and Tamil nationalist parties for Sri Lanka to promptly hold provincial elections: Although we do not receive the required powers through the provincial council, the absence of a provincial council means the Tamil Community is losing one of its entities.  We reiterated that provincial council elections should be held, and the high commissioner accepted that.

These remarks point to the explosive international class and geostrategic tensions surging in Sri Lanka and across the region. The Sri Lankan government has postponed regional elections since 2019, citing legal issues related to a reform of electoral law in 2018. This month, Sri Lankan External Affairs Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said the government could not hold an emergency election and that an election could be held only after the High Court duly framed the law.

It is not difficult to identify political issues bound up with Colombos decision not to promptly hold elections. As it attempts to balance between its economic ties to China and its historic alliance with Washington, the Colombo regime must take into account the possibility that provincial elections in the north, strengthening the Tamil nationalists, would also strengthen Indias position in Sri Lanka.

As Tamil businessmen founded the SLBJP last month, leading TNA politician M.K. Shivajilingam demanded that Colombo cut its vital economic ties to China or face a joint US-Indian invasion. Calling for Chinese companies to be immediately withdrawn from the north of Sri Lanka, Shivajilingam warned that otherwise, there could be major conflict  There is no guarantee that perhaps American or Indian troops might not land and stay in the North and East of Sri Lanka.

These geostrategic interests are closely bound up with the attempts of the Indian and Sri Lankan Tamil bourgeoisies to suppress mounting class tensions and class struggles at home. While tea plantation workers in Sri Lanka are taking strike action against poverty wages, India has seen an explosion of class struggles. Mass public sector strikes across India and in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, as well as insurrectionary farmers protests, have shaken the Modi government to its foundations.

Broad sections of the ruling elite, both in India and in Sri Lanka, are turning to the incitement of anti-Muslim hatreds in order to divide the working class.

This is a longstanding theme of the Tamil nationalists. After the BJP won the 2019 elections and installed as prime minister Narendra Modi, who had overseen the massacre of 2,000 innocent Muslims in Gujarat in 2002, Vigneswaran hailed the victory of a strong government in India. He launched into an anti-Muslim diatribe: We need to realize the challenges facing India today. Bangladesh is to the northwest of India and Pakistan to the northeast. Both are Islamic majority states. Pakistan has nuclear weapons. And there are more than 20 crore [200 million] Muslims in India.

India fears that the challenge of Islamic organizations may come to India through Sri Lanka, he said, adding that he believed an independent Tamil statelet would help Indias defense: When our autonomous state is established in our territories, the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal will have to join hands for Indias security. Then we will take steps to ensure that Indias internal security is strong without fear of maritime intrusion.

Recently, Indian politicians have made similar points. On March 12, Indian Samata Party leader N.A. Cohn said: Now, Sri Lanka is important to us. You can infiltrate [India] from Sri Lanka, reaching Rameshwaram in 20 minutes from Nainital. The ports are under their [Chinese] control. So this is a big threat to India. He claimed, India can only get relief if China is removed from Sri Lanka.

The Tamil nationalists alignment on these forces amid the pandemic exposes their hostility to the working class and vindicates the Sri Lankan Socialist Equality Partys principled opposition to all forms of nationalism. One would have to be politically blind to believe that their criminal ethno-sectarian activities aim to advance the democratic aspirations of the Tamil people. By associating with the SLBJP and Shiva Senai, they are signaling that they have utterly repudiated promises they made in earlier decades to defend democracy and end exploitation.

Against the escalating threat of imperialist war against China, and against herd immunity policies adopted by the ruling class amid the spread of COVID-19, it is critical to unify the working class of all ethnicities across the Indian Ocean on the SEPs socialist and internationalist program.
Digital yuan efforts gather more speed

From:ChinaDaily | 2021-03-25 07:25

Six major commercial banks allow customers to apply for virtual wallets

China's six major commercial banks are stepping up digital wallet efforts to provide new impetus for the digital renminbi trials in the country.

The Shanghai branch of State-owned Bank of China has allowed customers to apply for digital wallets via its official WeChat account. Upon approval, which normally takes three to five working days after receipt of the application, the user will receive a text message with the download links for the official digital yuan application.

Bank of China officials said the user will be able to add other bank accounts to the official application. A personal quick response code is generated within the application for payments. But details of transfer are yet to be confirmed.

Simple paperwork is needed at China Construction Bank's Shanghai branch. The applicant's job information is checked against a white list. Once approved, the applicant will see the digital wallet interface automatically generated in his/her CCB application. The digital wallet can be used like Alipay and WeChat Pay, said CCB officials.

As reported by Shanghai Securities News on Tuesday, China's six major commercial banks, including Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of Communications, Postal Savings Bank of China, BOC and CCB, have started to promote the use of digital yuan wallets. Tencent-backed WeBank and Alibaba-supported MyBank, both of which are online-only private banks, are also getting ready to test the digital wallet.

The application of e-CNY started last April in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, Suzhou, Jiangsu province, Chengdu, Sichuan province and the Xiong'an New Area in Hebei province. Since then, the application scenarios have been significantly enriched. In early December, JD became the first online retailer in the country to accept digital yuan payments. At the same time, the digital yuan wallet is connected to the bike-sharing service of Meituan, video site Bilibili and ride-hailing platform Didi Chuxing, all of which are part of Suzhou's continued trials of digital wallet application.

Mu Changchun, head of the People's Bank of China's Digital Currency Research Institute, said that e-commerce platforms that accept payments via e-CNY will not have access to users' personal information. E-CNY users can open an anonymous digital wallet by registering a mobile phone number, and telecom operators should not disclose customer information to the central bank or any third-party institutions.

In other words, the e-CNY users' privacy protection is at the highest level among all the existing payment tools, according to Mu.

To promote the use of digital wallets, the first pilot program of the e-CNY digital red packets was conducted in Shenzhen's Luohu district in October last year. Since then, China's central bank has distributed at least 150 million yuan ($23 million) worth of red packets in Beijing, Suzhou, Chengdu, as well as Shenzhen's Futian and Longhua districts.

Cheng Shi, chief economist and managing director of ICBC International, wrote in a report released in early March that the development of e-CNY has started to "accelerate", with steady progress in the online and offline financial infrastructure development. The e-CNY use has also been clearly stated in the regional government work plans released earlier this year.

Chen Jia contributed to this story.
Armenian acting minister: EU allocated EUR 68,700,000 to Armenia for budget support in 2020

Armenia Finance Ministry: MFA's budget grew by AMD 1,600,000,000 in 2020

Bodies and remains of Armenian soldiers are kept in morgue in Armenia's Martuni

White House confirms Biden-Erdogan meeting in Brussels

Armenia acting MOD touches upon priority directions for development of Armed Forces

Diaspora Armenian writer, publicist Toros Toranian dies

2 Armenian soldiers injured in scuffle with Azerbaijan, Armenian POW is hospitalized, Jun. 3 digest

Wedding held in Armenia's Shurnukh for first time since the war ended

EEU member states to finish preparing for negotiations over free trade zone in Iran in late June

Armenia Central Bank: Economic downfall in 2020 was due to decline in service and construction sectors

Armenia legislature adopts several bills in first reading

Armenia President meets with Nursultan Nazarbayev

Dejavu: Armenia ruling party distributes money for votes at Yerevan district election office

Chief Advisor to Karabakh President sacked

Russian MFA: Works are carried out to settle situation around Karabakh every day

Armenia opposition MP sounds alarm about Baku fabricating criminal cases against Armenian prisoners

Armenia acting health minister: I have apologized, I am not going to resign

Helga Schmid meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Armenia's deputy foreign ministers resigned or have heavy workload?

Dollar goes down in Armenia

Armenia Elections Oversight Committee reports Iranian citizenship of ruling party's MP candidate

Acting deputy minister: Only 17 of 711 Iran-Armenia power transmission line towers were installed by 2017

Armenia Parliament Council holding session

Armenia to host CSTO "Thunder-2021" military exercises

NYT: Chinese hackers launch cyberattack on New York city transportation authority

Armenia President to Kazakhstan counterpart: I would like to see much deeper cooperation between our countries

Armenia citizens shut down Etchmiadzin-Ashtarak road, complaining about lack of irrigation water

Armenia independent MP: Foreign minister and his deputies don't want to take part in treacherous acts

Armenia to get $11mn loan, 350,000 grant for agriculture

WHO worries about worsening mental health worldwide amid pandemic

Armenia health ministry on improper handling of Artsakh war victims bodies: There is no justification

Armenia bloc election foundation already in operation

Russia ambassador to Armenia paying working visit to Syunik Province (PHOTOS)

China pledges to step up resistance to foreign interference in Hong Kong

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: There can be no talk of corridor for Azerbaijan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on incumbent authorities: Wherever they flee, we will bring them by the feet

President: Impossible to ensure peace in region or stay in Artsakh without Russia army joint efforts

China Daily: Dispatch from Makit: Thriving in the desert

Karabakh President: We will never put up with being part of Azerbaijan, it is ruled out

Armenia MFA information department chief: All deputy FMs carrying out their duties

Ardshinbank invited children to the cinema on International Childrens Day

Armenia judiciary to have 10 more judges

Armenia acting premier: We had recorded 40% increase in tax revenues according to 2019 results

Armenia acting PM on Artsakh war casualties bodies: We have 50 remains in which case DNA was not separated

Azerbaijan authorities plan to "squeeze" everything from "terrorist show" related to Armenian captives

Ameriabank announces a contest for bank card design

108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia parliament convenes special session

Armenia interim government holding Cabinet meeting

Catholicos of All Armenians heads for Syunik Province, Artsakh

World oil prices going up

Iran loses right to vote in UN General Assembly

Newspaper: Armenia authorities come up with new way of punishing unwanted characters

Newspaper: Russia army Southern Military District deputy commander to arrive in Yerevan Thursday

Lebanese Armenian man taken prisoner by Azerbaijan is hospitalized

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Are we getting under the burden? Then lets get under to the end

Armenia acting health minister on keeping fallen soldiers bodies in bags: What else should they be kept in?

Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation

Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow

2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik

Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center

"Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans

Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel

Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna

Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations

US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies

Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week

Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection

Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential

Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement

Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues

Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo

Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation

NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident

Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices

Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over

Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest

Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia

Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia

Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels

Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters

Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021

Dollar is stable in Armenia

Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector

Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out

Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe

Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia

Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border

Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor

Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue

Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia

Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this

Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia
"All of us need to return to Nazareth."

 Pope Benedict XVI, from his visit to Nazareth, 2009

After the best-selling archaeological biography Mary of Nazareth, Michael Hesemann sets out once again for the Holy Land, this time seeking traces of perhaps the most mysterious figure in human history: Jesus of Nazareth, whom Christians believe to be the Son of God, the Messiah.

In this unique book, Hesemann walks the streets of Israel in order to put historical, archaeological, geographical, and scriptural research on Jesus to the test. Bible in hand, he takes readers on a stunning tour through the places Jesus lived, worked, and sufferedBethlehem, Nazareth, Capernaum, Jerusalemto give a concrete and colorful sense of the historical Jesus and the world he knew.

Along the way, archaeologists reveal to Hesemann a host of little-known discoveries, from the apostles' boat to Herod's palace to what might be the sites of Jesus' miracles. This book brings readers face-to-face with the mystery of the Incarnationa God who, if Scripture is right, became man and lived among us. Pack your bag and follow closely as Michael Hesemann retraces the footsteps of Jesus of Nazareth.
Do you have a news tip?

Want to share good news story, or do you have information that should see the light of day? Then we want to hear from you.

More here
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 19:49:33|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

JAKARTA, March 25 (Xinhua) -- A total of 16 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine in bulk produced by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech arrived on Thursday at Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Tangerang district, Banten province.

"With this arrival of 16 million doses, it means cumulatively we have received 53.5 million doses of vaccine in bulk," Deputy Health Minister Dante Harbuwono told a virtual press conference on Thursday.

From Soekarno-Hatta Airport, all the doses of the vaccine will be transported to state-owned pharmaceutical company Bio Farma in Bandung city, West Java province.

This is the seventh stage of the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccines in Indonesia. The first stage arrived on Dec. 6, 2020, with a total of 1.2 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine, and the second phase on Dec. 31, with 1.8 million doses of vaccine produced by the same company.

The next three stages were the arrivals of the Sinovac vaccine doses in bulk which were then further processed by Bio Farma.

The third stage arriving on Jan. 12, 2021, consisted of 15 million doses of vaccine and 1.5 million doses for overfill, the fourth phase came in Indonesia on Feb. 1, comprising 10 million doses of vaccine with 1 million doses for overfill, and the fifth stage reached the country on March 2, with 10 million doses of vaccine.

The sixth stage arrived on March 8, consisting of 1.1 million doses of vaccine researched by Oxford University and British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. This vaccine was obtained from the COVAX Facility organized by the World Health Organization.

Indonesia started the mass COVID-19 vaccination on Jan. 13, with a target of 181.5 million people until next year.

So far, around 6 million people in Indonesia have received the COVID-19 vaccine jabs, including three million who have accepted the second dose. Enditem
A young financial services worker who spotted a technical glitch in an online banking system and manipulated it to steal almost 25,000 has been given a three year suspended sentence.

Prince Joseph Ncube (24) was working in a separate financial institution in April 2017 when he became aware of a way to manipulate Bank of Irelands online banking system allowing him to create what are termed notional credits in his own bank account.

He opened up four deposit accounts in April 2017 which allowed him to transfer the funds between the various accounts to facilitate the theft.

Detective Garda Shane Fitzsimons told John Byrne BL, prosecuting, that the crime involved Ncube exploiting a sequencing and timing anomaly within the online banking system and began with him transferring 48 from one account to two separate accounts using two separate devices.

This then created a notional credit in one of the accounts meaning that it was credited to the tune of 48 even though the cash was not actually in the account.

Ncube then transferred this 48 to another account again, creating more notional credits and thereby doubling the initial 48 to 96.

He continued in this manner, completing a large number of transfers between his bank accounts over a short period, until he had built up a notional credit balance in excess of 24,500.

Det Gda Fitzsimons agreed that Ncube only managed to withdraw 14,500 in cash before the bank became suspicious and the account was frozen. It was examined by a senior fraud investigator with Bank of Ireland and 10,000 was recovered.

The gardai were alerted in May 2017 and the bank provided officers with the documentation used to open the four deposit accounts the previous month.

This led to Ncube being identified as a suspect and his arrest. He made limited admissions during subsequent garda interviews.

Ncube of Parnell Green, Ladyswell Road, Mulhuddart, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to theft from Bank of Ireland in April 2017.

He has two previous convictions for road traffic offences but has not come to garda attention since.

Det Gda Fitzsimons agreed that given the sophisticated nature of the fraud Ncubes plea of guilty was valuable to the prosecution of the case.

He accepted a suggestion from Oisin Clarke BL, defending, that his client claims he gave the money he stole to a third party but he said he was not in a position to dispute this claim.

Judge Martin Nolan said Ncube was a a bright young man who spotted a gap and exploited this gap by stealing before he described it as a complicated and sophisticated way to steal.

He accepted Ncubes admissions, lack of relevant convictions, education and work history before he handed down a three-year sentence which he suspended in full on condition that Ncube pay 14,500 to the investigating garda for onward transmission to Bank of Ireland within six months.

Mr Clarke told Judge Nolan that his client was from a hard-working family and was currently working himself while studying part-time for a certificate in Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Manufacturing in Tallaght Institute of Technology.

A letter from his mother and himself expressed his remorse and their disappointment in his behaviour. He had 7,000 in court which he had borrowed from his mother to compensate the bank and counsel said if he was given a number of weeks he would be able to get together the balance of 7,500.

His youth didnt allow him to think through the consequences of his actions at the time, Mr Clarke said, reminding Judge Nolan that his client was 20 years old at the time of the offence.

He was a very young man who did a very stupid thing but he has seemingly put it behind him, counsel said before he suggested that he didnt think it would benefit society to have Ncube in custody.
[March 25, 2021] World Retail Banking Report 2021: To Create New Value, Banks Can Adopt Banking-as-a-Service to Embed Finance in Consumer Lifestyles

Retail banks are facing a choice between aligning their offerings to customer expectations or running the risk of losing those customers altogether, says the World Retail Banking Report 2021 (WRBR) published today by Capgemini and Efma. As the economic fallout of COVID-19 continues, post-pandemic disruption has ignited a new era of value-based customer-centric banking, which the report refers to as Banking 4.X. To succeed in Banking 4.X, banks must embrace digital transformation and implement cloud-based Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS)1 platform models, which utilize APIs2 to embed banking in everyday life, making it more accessible and inclusive for banking customers. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210324006029/en/ World Retail Banking Report 2021 Infographic (Graphic: Business Wire) Over the last 10 years, neo-3 and challenger-banks have attracted more than 39 million customers. The report finds that currently 81% of consumers said easy access and flexible banking will motivate them to switch to a new-age financial provider, in lieu of their traditional bank. Meanwhile many traditional banks are seeking to retain and grow their customer base and have already embarked on their digitalization and costs optimization journey, as the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to substantially accelerate their efforts. In addition, retail banking customers faced with pandemic-driven realities now expect on-demand, fully digitalized experiences, hyper-personalized services, and around-the-clock assistance. However, of those surveyed, 46% of bank executives say they are unsure how to embrace open banking, orchestrate ecosystems, and become a truly data-driven organization. These actions are essential components of the new way of doing banking, identified by Capgemini (News - Alert) as Banking 4.X4. "By overcoming outdated legacy mindsets and adopting Banking-as-a-Service, financial institutions will move beyond their core banking products, create new offerings, and provide their customers with personalized experiences," says Anirban Bose, CEO of Capgemini's Financial Services and Group Executive Board Member. "Banks must focus on how they can add value to their customers to retain and engage them. Through platformification and by leveraging data, banks can better cater to the needs of the modern customer as wel as create new revenue streams."



Platformification defines a new era for the industry Incumbent banks can unlock new value in open ecosystems via BaaS platforms, which offer access to new data sources and monetization opportunities. Banks need to quickly turn to experience-driven, platform-based approaches, which embed banking and other services within consumer lifestyles. On a positive note, 66% of banks claim to already use a BaaS platform, while 25% are in the process of developing one.

Incumbents have several strengths in their business they can easily monetize (e.g., reporting, knowledge of the customer, licensing, transaction processing, connectivity to global schemes, etc.). They can also tap into an array of external providers to improve their offering and best cater to consumer demand for a more integrated and personalized experience. Traditional banks have recognized accessing the capabilities of their wider ecosystem is at the heart of their new journey, and 80% of banking executives said BaaS will help them to cultivate open ecosystem synergies to innovate and create new banking products and services. This will enable banks to bridge the gap between where they sit today and meeting tomorrow's customer expectations, which will be magnified in the Banking 4.X era. This new way of doing banking will also allow banks to become more inclusive in onboarding the unbanked and underbanked segments of the population through on-demand, digital, and easier-to-use channels. "Banking and non-banking firms have the opportunity to come together and empower better customer service," says John Berry, CEO of Efma. "These strategic partnerships enable new, creative offerings that reflect customers' lifestyle, needs, wants, and even personalities. Banks should focus on improving support, reducing the costs of banking products and services, and offering sustainability initiatives. The future of banking relies on a strong digital foundation and a flexible attitude toward embracing innovation." Data-driven approach will prioritize hyper-personalization and secure long-term growth As banking is entering an era where financial services are embedded into customers' daily lives, collaboration will be the route to success. BaaS offers unprecedented opportunities to gather data through ecosystems, with more than 86% of consumers saying they would share their data to gain a better, more personalized experience. Incumbents need to build digital capabilities to harvest these data ecosystems to create, retain, and increase value in the Banking 4.X era. Leading banks will keep customers at the heart of their transformation journey by tracking behaviors and sentiment through smart data analytics. Banks, however, need to act quickly. Capgemini and Efma's report found that 61% of firms lack a dedicated customer experience (CX) management team to define customer roadmaps. Banks can drastically improve their customer experience by deploying a digital CX layer and reimagining branches as experience centers, to offer consistent and secure omni-channel experience across all touchpoints. Report Methodology The World Retail Banking Report 2021 draws on insights from two primary sources - the Global Retail Banking Voice of the Customer Survey 2021, and the Retail Banking Executive Surveys and Interviews 2021. The report includes insights from 23 markets, over 8,500 banking customers and over 130 senior executives of leading banks and non-banking firms across regions. To view the report findings animated video, click here. For more information, please visit www.worldretailbankingreport.com. About Capgemini Capgemini is a global leader in partnering with companies to transform and manage their business by harnessing the power of technology. The Group is guided everyday by its purpose of unleashing human energy through technology for an inclusive and sustainable future. It is a responsible and diverse organization of 270,000 team members in nearly 50 countries. With its strong 50 year heritage and deep industry expertise, Capgemini is trusted by its clients to address the entire breadth of their business needs, from strategy and design to operations, fueled by the fast evolving and innovative world of cloud, data, AI, connectivity, software, digital engineering and platforms. The Group reported in 2020 global revenues of 16 billion. Get the Future You Want | www.capgemini.com About Efma A global non-profit organization established in 1971 by banks and insurance companies, Efma facilitates networking between decision-makers. It provides quality insights to help banks and insurance companies make the right decisions to foster innovation and drive their transformation. 120 financial groups in 133 countries are Efma members. Headquartered in Paris. Offices in London, Brussels, Andorra, Milan, Stockholm, Bratislava, Warsaw, Moscow, Istanbul, Beirut, Dubai, Tokyo, Singapore, Sydney and Montreal. Learn more: www.efma.com 1 Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platforms facilitate the creation and exchange of value by allowing banks to share their core capabilities and data with third parties as consumable APIs.

2 APIs, which is the acronym commonly used for Application Programming Interfaces, are intermediaries that enables applications to interact with each other. The interfacing ability allows bank to share data and capabilities within an organization as well as with third-parties external to organizations.

3 Neobanks are financial technology firms that offer internet-only financial services and lack physical branches.

4 Banking 4.X is an experience-driven platform-based optimum-channel banking, resilient to financial and non-financial threats, built around long-term sustainable growth, and where human interactions evolve from servicing to advising. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210324006029/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
At a time when far-left progressive Democrats have unified control of government and have demonstrated their commitment to change the fundamentals of America (can you say "Dr. Seuss"?), the need is now more pressing than ever for bold conservative leadership in Washington.

Weak-kneed establishment Republicans who have sat at the top of party leadership for the past few decades have betrayed conservatives by constantly giving in to Democratic demands. When was the last time you saw Mitch McConnell stand up to Democrats when he wasn't backed by a party majority? These individuals represent the past, not the future of the party, and they should make way for new representatives who will be true to themselves and their constituents.

Nowhere has this lack of leadership been more conspicuous of late than with the politically charged sham impeachment trial of President Trump that occurred this past January. Recent revelations that the Washington Post made up fake quotes attributed to President Trump, part of a story that some could argue served as a pretext for his second impeachment trial, have again reminded us of the travesty of that whole process!

What is even more egregious is that so many so-called Republicans were complicit in Democratic attempts to subvert justice as well. But let's be clear here. This demonstrates the task at hand for freshman Republicans: they are fighting far-left Democrats, establishment Republicans, and a far-left media.

While events such as this might be enough to cause even the most rock-ribbed conservative to give up hope, there is no need for despair. On the heels of the impeachment trial, a new class of exciting conservative leaders were sworn into Congress. Fresh voices like Marjorie Taylor Greene, Madison Cawthorn, and Lauren Boebert promise to shake up the status quo and bring some much-needed sanity back to the congressional Republican conference.

They are not afraid to speak truth to power and tell it like it is. All three members of Congress have been fierce defenders of former President Trump and have shown a willingness to call out members of their own party who betrayed the president during the impeachment trial.

Congressman Cawthorn in particular has been a leader on this issue, asking how we could ever trust these members again. He even made a special call out to one of his colleagues in North Carolina, saying: "You see my home state senator, Richard Burr, who literally said he thinks this impeachment is unconstitutional, yet then he turns right around and votes for it." Disavowing such blatant hypocrisy is critical to defending the soul of our nation.

Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, meanwhile, has shown that she is not afraid to stick it to Democrats in Congress in a way that Republican leadership would not have even dreamed of in previous sessions of Congress. When Democrats tried to ram through the $1.9-trillion Biden bailout bill that had very little to do with COVID relief, she bravely stood up and said "no." One hundred forty-nine other Republicans ended up rallying to her cause, sending a stark message to Democrats that Republicans will no longer stand for business as usual. Let that sink in for a moment.

When Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the "Squad" arrived in Washington a few years ago, they were greeted with glowing media coverage that was borderline propaganda. Yet those same mainstream cancel culture outlets were conspicuously silent when these freshman Republicans came to town. In fact, Mother Jones went as far as to claim that a storm was coming for Marjorie Taylor Greene due to her willingness to upend the status quo.

Given the radical progressive agenda that Biden, Pelosi, and Schumer have all laid out for the next few years, nothing short of the future of our country is at stake. Everything Americans have worked so hard to build over the last 250 years is at risk of being lost to the siren song of socialism.

Even a broken clock is right twice a day, and Mother Jones was correct that a storm was coming to Congress, but not in the sense its writers imagined. Representatives like Marjorie Taylor Greene, Madison Cawthorn, and Lauren Boebert are prepared to fight for the future of our country. Democrats may have the "Squad," but we have the "Storm," and we need to get behind these brave leaders. The America our children will grow up in and come to know just may depend upon it.

Rick Amato is a former financial adviser for Merrill Lynch and founded the Amato Wealth Management Group. He is currently the host of Politics and Profits with Rick Amato and co-hosts Jobenomics America TV. Find out more at amatotalk.com.
Meals on Wheels San Antonio client Brenda Love has learned first-hand the friendly people at the nonprofit offer more than good food and conversation during their daily visits.

They installed an air conditioning unit in her Northeast Side trailer that helped keep her cool during the brutal summer heat. When temperatures dipped near freezing, they set her up with a small heater.

So after the February winter storm left Love with busted water pipes, she knew where to turn.

Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News

Calling on the MOW office to tell them about her predicament, they quickly responded, sending out a volunteer plumber to repair the six broken pipes at her home.

Without their help, I know I couldnt make it, Love, 61, said. They give me the strength to keep going.

On ExpressNews.com: Parks and Recreation host drive-thru event for San Antonians to adopt free fruit trees

Love is one of the nonprofits clients helped by Comfy Casas, a program that seeks to improve living conditions through home repairs. Staff intake coordinators, paid delivery drivers and a cadre of volunteers are the programs eyes and ears, making client referrals from observations during regular visits.

Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News

Last year, the nonprofit delivered 270 fans and 88 air conditioning units to provide relief through the blistering summer months.

On this cool day, Love dabbed away tears as she thanked Stephanie Gil, the nonprofits special programs coordinator, and Casey Parker, its community outreach coordinator.

The three sat at a weathered wood picnic table outside of her trailer surrounded by cats lazing in the grass. The MOW client has lived at the property for 32 years off a road dubbed Love Lane. She said state authorities gave her the option to name the street when she was among the first families to move into that rural sector of Cibolo.

On ExpressNews.com: Winter storm devastated a San Antonio icon - Mexican free-tailed bats

Love said Meals on Wheels has been a lifesaver during times when life has hit her hard, such as the winter storm that struck San Antonio.

These are emergency needs, Gil said. The biggest issue is everyone is looking for a plumber. Were reaching out to people who specialize in major repairs.

Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News

Meals on Wheels is working with two plumbing companies. One of their volunteers, the wife of George Plumbing Co. owner, asked the company to prioritize seniors.

Gil said they are still looking for plumbers to help the remaining 53 clients on a waiting list to repair roof damage, saturated walls and flood damage.

On ExpressNews.com: It feels good to know someone cares says recipient of San Antonio nonprofits goodwill and food box

As plumbers worked on the broken pipes, Gil brought Love her weekly meal and several other items. There was a microwave, cleaning supplies, blankets and items for her four cats that included a litter box and litter.

Bottled water donated by H-E-B is also included in daily meals.

Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News

Parker said the nonprofit distributes separate meal packs to clients throughout the year for emergencies. During the storm when Love was without water and electricity and MOWs staff and volunteers couldnt get to their clients, the emergency pack helped her make it through the storm, she said.

If it wasnt for them helping me I probably wouldnt be here, Love said. Knowing this is possible has really helped.

vtdavis@express-news.net
Doodnath Maharaj was the general secretary of the Oilfields Workers Trade Union for nearly two decades. This is out of a total of 40 years service.

He was a dedicated and loyal comrade who did his best work away from the limelight. Indeed, he shunned it, embodying a self-effacing personality that was deeply mystifying to many who came to know him.
Sydney, March 25 : Some 20,000 people in Australia's New South Wales (NSW) were still unable to return to their homes on Thursday after being evacuated in the wake of the state's flood crisis.

After days of downpours that battered the state, rain had eased and blue skies emerged over parts of NSW on Wednesday, but authorities warned that some areas were still at risk, dpa news agency reported.

It is believed most of the river systems have peaked in NSW, state premier Gladys Berejiklian said in a Thursday morning press conference.

But flows and currents are still strong in floodwaters, and Berejiklian urged the public to stay out of them.

Some 3,000 people returned to their homes on Wednesday, but 20,000 were still evacuated and tens of thousands remained on evacuation alert, Berejiklian said.

Authorities will need to check that roads are safe and bridges can support vehicles before giving the all-clear for returns, she said.

On the mid-north coast, communities have faced the worst flooding in almost a century.

NSW police confirmed the death of a man in floodwaters in Sydney on Wednesday.

Police in the neighbouring state of Queensland confirmed another death likely linked to flash flooding.

Both bodies were found in cars.
John Lewis to shut eight more stores Store closures announced yesterday: Aberdeen

Ashford (At Home)

Basingstoke (At Home)

Chester (At Home)

Peterborough

Sheffield

Tunbridge Wells (At Home)

York Store closures announced last July Birmingham

Croydon

Watford

Newbury

Swindon

Tamworth

St Pancras

Heathrow Advertisement

MPs today called the permanent closure of eight John Lewis stores 'devastating' for the future of the High Street, as business leaders admitted they are 'shellshocked' by a move which has put more than 1,400 jobs at risk.

Yesterday the 157-year-old retail giant said it will be shutting four department stores in Aberdeen, Peterborough, Sheffield and York, and another four At Home stores in Ashford, Basingstoke, Chester and Tunbridge Wells.

Five of those shops were opened since the 2008-09 financial crisis, while the other three are big department stores that have been at the heart of three big cities - Aberdeen, Peterborough and Sheffield - for many decades.

In January the John Lewis Partnership recorded its first ever pre-tax loss of 517million during the pandemic, having previously announced it would be closing eight stores including its flagship site in Grand Central, Birmingham.

Those towns and cities now face an epic struggle to plug the gaping hole left by John Lewis in their communities, on their high streets and in their jobs markets.

In Peterborough, the 125,000 sq ft store in Queensgate shopping centre - which opened in 1982 and is part of a complex owned by Invesco Retail Estate - was the biggest closure announced by the John Lewis Partnership yesterday.

Shabina Qayyum, the shadow cabinet member for investment for Peterborough City Council, said: 'This is devastating news not only for the hundreds of employees but for the heart of retail in Peterborough. Clearly this is a watershed for retail.'

Paul Bristow, the Conservative MP for Peterborough, claimed he had urged Dame Sharon White, chairwoman of John Lewis, not to close the store.

'I am extremely disappointed with this decision,' he told the Peterborough Telegraph. 'Dame Sharon called me this morning, shortly after staff were informed.

'I asked her how she could justify this closure given the company's investment in the store and the opportunities within our city.'

In Aberdeen, the 102,000 sq ft store which opened in 1989 was a major voice in the city's 150million regeneration plans. Now, the closest store for locals is 127 miles away in Edinburgh, while a Waitrose alternative is in Stirling, 120 miles away.

Adrian Watson, chief executive of Aberdeen Inspired, the business improvement district, said of the move to shut the outlet: 'I'm a bit shellshocked.'

He told the Times that the plans would have to be dramatically reworked, adding: 'People travelled from long distances across the Highlands and northeast to come to John Lewis, it brought people into the city.

'This will be a huge challenge for the city centre.'

The British Retail Consortium warned that 'with footfall already having dropped significantly over the last year, even outside of lockdown, both independent stores and consumers will feel the loss of these larger retailer stores'.

Dr Amna Khan, a senior lecturer in consumer behaviour and retailing at the Manchester Metropolitan Business School, today warned that the closure of several major John Lewis sites will have a 'domino effect' on other businesses.

Peterborough's John Lewis store will not reopen when non-essential retail is allowed to return

John Lewis' store in Aberdeen will close, but the retail giant confirmed shops in Glasgow and Edinburgh would reopen in April and May, in line with Government guidelines

In January the group recorded its first loss. John Lewis in Sheffield is another casualty

Speaking on the Today programme, she warned that the disappearance of 'destination stores' like John Lewis will reduce 'foot flow' on the local high street as a whole and has a 'wider, lasting impact on the community'.

The business analyst urged cash-strapped local councils to 'reinvent' their high streets by moving away from retailing and making them 'multifunctional'.

Asked if the closures will be a 'big blow', Ms Khan said: 'I think it certainly does. When a department store like John Lewis closes, it has a massive knock-on implication on other retailers around that business because the foot flow for that destination store also has a ripple effect on other stores within that local area.

'So it s a domino effect, and when a store closes, it doesn't just effect the employees or the shareholders, it has a wider lasting impact on the community too.'

She went on: 'What we're seeing is as these stores are leaving the high street, there's a need for reinvention of the high street, we need people to more than shop.

'What we need is high streets that are multifunctional, that offer leisure, and employment, health, art and culture and are vital to the communities for which they exist. And yes, destination stores like John Lewis are an integral part of that.'

Put to her that councils will find it difficult to find the money to reinvent their town centres when their finances are stretched, she said: 'Their [council] finances will be very very stretched, but with many stores leaving those destinations, what we need to do is as a community create those high streets, again, that are multifunctional, that don't just focus on high street retailing.

'So you can have for example a gym that might want to come to the high street, you might have leisure activities, other activities - but there needs to be a roadmap by the council and other policymakers around that to be able to facilitate the rebuilding of a multifunctional high street.'

Among eight sites to close are four John Lewis at Home stores, including one in Basingstoke

Ashford's John Lewis at Home store, found just off the M20, will also close

The company plans to close bigger stores in order to 'invest significantly to improve our remaining ones'. The improvements will cost eight stores, including in Tunbridge Wells

Figures from January show how retail sales had plummeted again, but had not reached lows seen at the start of Covid-19 pandemic last March

In Sheffield, the closure of the store, established as a Cole Brothers by John and Thomas Cole in 1847 and was rebranded as a John Lewis in 2002, has sparked upset.

Clive Betts, MP for Sheffield South East, said the move to shut down the store was 'desperately disappointing'. He added: 'I think John Lewis has a deserved reputation in the past for looking after their staff, looking after their customers and not being the usual sort of company. I think that reputation now is in tatters.'

The city council, which took over John Lewis' lease last year for 3million and agreed to pay for a refurbishment of the store, had tried to persuade John Lewis to retain its store, which is a major attraction for shoppers and helps it to compete with Meadowhall shopping centre on the outskirts.

Following yesterday's announcement, Sheffield Heeley Labour MP Louise Haigh said on Facebook: 'This will be a hammer blow for Sheffield and leave a gaping hole in our city centre. John Lewis is a huge draw, and the closure will have a knock-on effect for businesses across Sheffield. 'We can't continue with a situation where five US tech firms account for 1.3billion in lost corporation tax every year, while high street shops pay business rates under a system that hasn't been reformed for years. 'The Government are washing their hands of any responsibility for reviving our high streets, and creating a level playing field for local businesses. It's the communities and workers who rely on them that are paying the price.' John Lewis in York, pictured, is one of two Yorkshire outlets that have been cut John Lewis at Home in Chester will also close. Earlier this month the company told its partners they would not receive an annual bonus for the first time in 68 years

John Lewis: From a small shop on Oxford Street to one of Britain's biggest retailers John Lewis has become one of the most recognisable brands on Britain's high streets with the company also owning supermarket giant Waitrose. But its history can be traced back to 1964, when founder John Lewis opened a small shop on London's Oxford Street. Over time it expanded, and the Lewis family purchased Peter Jones, a business in Sloane Square, before control of the company was handed to the founder's son, John Spedan Lewis. Spedan Lewis wanted to 'create a way of doing business that was both commercial, allowing it to move quickly and stay ahead in a highly-competitive industry, and democratic, giving every Partner a voice in the business they co-own', according to the brand's website. As a result, all members of staff are referred to as 'partners' and the company is run by a trust on their behalf. John Lewis opened as a small shop in Oxford Street in 1864 The Oxford Street store with a festive display in 1936 Among its eye-catching schemes is a six-month leave for employees who have worked at the company for 25 years, an idea that was started in 1979. In 1920 the firm offered its first ever bonus to all of its staff, and nine years later set up a medical service providing free healthcare for all partners - 19 years before the NHS was founded. By 1940 the company had expanded further, purchasing Waitrose and 15 branches of the collapsing Selfridge Provincial Stores Group, by 1960 it was able to reopen a much larger shop on Oxford Street. In 1963, Spedan Lewis died. Seven years later the company issued its annual bonuses to staff in cash, rather than in stocks and cash. Stanley Carter, the ex-managing director of the department store on London's Oxford Street, pictured in August 1965 At the turn of the century, John Lewis was preparing to move online, launching its website in 2001, while using Waitrose to supply online supermarket Ocado. In recent years it has become known for its iconic Christmas adverts, the first one being launched in 2007. Changing demands from shoppers and the decline of the high has had a negative impact on John Lewis' stores. Last year it announced eight shops were to close, including a flagship site in Birmingham. A further 1,500 jobs have been put at risk, as it plans to close another eight stores in Kent, York, Hampshire, Northamptonshire, Cheshire and Aberdeen. It plans to rely on smaller Waitrose stores that stock some John Lewis items, while also profiting online by expanding its click and collect service. Advertisement

Local residents told BBC Radio 4's Today programme they were 'really disappointed' by the news, with one woman saying she was 'gutted' because she loved 'perusing all the perfumes and trying the make-up'.

A passer-by told the show: 'Really disappointed for the city, really disappointed for all the people who are going to lose their jobs. John Lewis has been something that's been so important to us, I remember my mum taking me to John Lewis.

'It's a destination store for the city. I just think it's a real shame.'

A male shopper said he was unsurprised, commenting 'there are not many people in there [John Lewis] now like there used to be'.

A Change.org petition to John Lewis Partnership urging that it keep the Sheffield store open has already been signed more than 6,000 times.

The petition states: 'With Sheffield's heart of the city redevelopment plan, a closure of this proportion will set back the project massively. As a Sheffield resident I know the main reason I head into the town centre and not to Meadowhall is John Lewis and now that it's closed I can't see that people will choose town over Meadowhall.

'This is a huge setback for Sheffield's development to become a major city centre. Help Sheffield grow and sign this petition to stop John Lewis Sheffield closing, and in turn, stop the city of Sheffield falling into stagnation.'

In Peterborough, shopper James Morrell said goes to John Lewis to look at the 'tech' and admitted it will be a shame to not see it reopen after lockdown.

'This is pretty much all we've got in Peterborough really, it's our main selling point,' he told the BBC. Jim Edwards, who runs a sandwich bar in Peterborough, says the closure of the 'big shops' affects the smaller ones, too.

The retail giant told staff this morning that it plans to close the branches after Covid lockdown measures lift, as it undergoes a major shift in strategy to adapt to changing shopping habits.

The eight shops set to close comprise four department stores in Aberdeen, Peterborough, Sheffield and York, and four At Home stores in Ashford, Basingstoke, Chester and Tunbridge Wells.

It has confirmed its remaining 32 branches will reopen on April 12 - when England is expected to allow non-essential retail to reopen following the lockdown.

The remaining two, Glasgow and Edinburgh, will reopen on April 26 and May 14, in line with Scotland's Covid restrictions.

For the first time in nearly 70 years, partners were not offered bonuses as the Covid-19 lockdown put added pressure on the high street retailer.

It decided not to reopen eight stores after the first lockdown, at a loss of around 1,300 jobs.

The retailer announced yesterday's cuts as it looks to 'reshape its business to how its customers increasingly want to shop in-store and online.'

'At Home' stores are being shut in favour of nearby Waitrose supermarkets, with the introduction of John Lewis shopping areas in the supermarket expected to arrive by the autumn.

Former staff say they are 'utterly heartbroken' by the announcement.

The eight shops identified for closure include four 'At Home' shops in Ashford, Basingstoke, Chester and Tunbridge Wells and four department stores in Aberdeen, Peterborough, Sheffield and York.

John Lewis Partnership said on Wednesday that it will also transfer the operations of its Waitrose distribution centre in Leyland, Lancashire, to XPO Logistics.

It said 436 Waitrose staff at the site will be transferred to XPO.

John Lewis has been buoyed by soaring online sales in recent months but these were not sufficient to offset its decline in store sales as it tumbled to a 517 million pre-tax loss for the year to January.

It was the first loss in the group's history dating back to 1864.

Last summer the company announced it was closing eight stores across the country in Birmingham, Croydon, Watford, Newbury, Swindon, Tamworth, St Pancras and Heathrow, costing around 1,300 people their jobs.

None of the sites reopened after the first lockdown, and leases have been returned to landlords at six of the shops, with just Swindon and Tamworth left.

Gutted shoppers have expressed their upset at the announcement.

A former employee at the York store wrote: 'Incredibly sad being a former partner in John Lewis and being part of the senior team in York, thoughts are with everyone impacted.'

One Aberdeen shopper wrote: 'That's huge for the town centre'.

Another exasperated shopper said: 'F*** me, is there actually anywhere left to buy s*** in the town?'' A former worker at the Aberdeen store wrote: 'I'm truly and utterly heartbroken over the news.

'John Lewis helped shape me into the person I am today. I made some friends for life over the 4 years I worked here and I'm so thankful for the time I shared there.

'My heart aches for both my former colleagues and those that joined after me. This city has lost a great place.'

Sharing the news that hundreds could lose their job, John Lewis wrote on Twitter: 'Some of our stores may be closing, but there are plenty of ways to continue shopping with us'.

Gutted social media users (tweets above) expressed their upset at the announcement

Retail bloodbath: How the pandemic changed Britain's High Street The High Street has been hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic as people were told to stay inside for several national lockdowns. High Street stalwarts such as Debenhams, WH Smith and Clarks did not escape the bloodbath. In August 228-year-old business WH Smith said a dramatic fall in sales could force them to axe around 11 per cent of its workforce. It was a grim announcement for an already hammered high street after hundreds of jobs were also cut at high street fashion chain M&Co. The chain also announced the closure of 47 stores, taking the number of workers facing redundancy as a result of the Covid crisis above 100,000. Within one week over the summer 651 roles were lost at Byron, 1,700 put at risk at DW Sports, 878 lost at Hays Travel and 1,100 put at risk at Pizza Express. John Lewis cut a further 1,500 jobs, adding to the 1,300 axed when it permanently shut eight stores in July. The retail giant was widely seen as a benchmark for High Street performance in the UK. Lloyds Bank also announced their decision to make 1,070 more staff redundant on top of the 865 earlier in the pandemic. Within the same 24 hours Marks & Spencer also reported its first loss in its 94 years as a listed company. The company had already cut 8,000 staff since March. And Sainsbury's also confirmed it would cut around 3,500 jobs across its Argos stores and supermarket meat, fish and deli counters, while Clarks shoes put the jobs of all 4,000 of its store staff on notice as part of its fight for survival. Advertisement

Though shops are expected to reopen on April 12, The British Retail Consortium has warned non-essential stores like John Lewis have lost more than 22billion over the course of the pandemic

In February Ms Dickinson warned that every day a shop remains closed 'increases the chances that it will never open again'.

She said: 'The cost of lost sales to non-food stores during lockdown is now over 22billion and counting. Every day that a shop remains closed increases the chances that it will never open again - costing jobs and damaging local communities.'

In January John Lewis announced a pre-tax loss of 517m, the same month that retail sales plunged by 8 per cent compared with December.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said retail sales volumes dived 8.2 per cent last month against December 2020 after non-essential retailers shut their doors to customers.

It was significantly worse than analyst expectations, with a consensus of economists predicting a 2.5 per cent decline for the month.

Meanwhile, a Labour MP has described the decision to close the John Lewis store in Sheffield as a 'hammer blow' to the city.

Sheffield Heeley MP Louise Haigh said on Facebook: 'This will be a hammer blow for Sheffield and leave a gaping hole in our city centre.

'John Lewis is a huge draw, and the closure will have a knock-on effect for businesses across Sheffield.

'We can't continue with a situation where five US tech firms account for 1.3 billion in lost corporation tax every year, while high street shops pay business rates under a system that hasn't been reformed for years.

'The Government are washing their hands of any responsibility for reviving our high streets, and creating a level playing field for local businesses. It's the communities and workers who rely on them that are paying the price.'

It is only six months since Sheffield City Council agreed a multimillion-pound deal with the department store company to restructure the lease of the landmark 1960s Cole Brothers building, opposite City Hall and the war memorial.

The deal, which included plans for a major refurbishment of the Barker's Pool store, was struck after the site was confirmed as a lynchpin of the Heart of the City II scheme - an ongoing 480 million investment in a fundamental regeneration of Sheffield city centre.

Nalin Seneviratne, the council's director of city centre development, said: 'It's no secret that high streets across the country have faced challenges over the past decade, and no-one could have prepared for the impacts of the global pandemic.

'But Sheffield is a resilient city, and we already have in place ambitious plans for a city centre that competes on a global stage.

'Our Heart of the City plans will deliver between 5,500 and 7,000 jobs, create social spaces, homes, showcase our incredible culture, deliver restaurants, workspace, creative hubs - with a focus on socialising, alongside a fantastic retail offering that supports new and existing businesses.'

Non-food shops have been the hardest hit during the pandemic, with supermarkets and online retailers actually seeing some minor growth, according to ONS figures from earlier this year.

Experts say companies were forced to 'adapt' to measures that saw a dramatic drop in retail spending at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

John Lewis Partnership suggested earlier this month that it would announce the closures. A spokesman said: 'We will enter into consultation with the 1,465 affected Partners about our proposals.

'Should we proceed, we will make every effort to find alternative roles in the Partnership for as many Partners as possible.

'At the Partnership's full year results earlier this month, we said that we will reshape our business in response to how our customers increasingly want to shop in-store and online.

'This follows substantial research to identify and cater for new customer shopping habits in different parts of the country.

'As part of this, we can unfortunately no longer profitably sustain a large John Lewis store in some locations where we do not have enough customers, which is resulting in the proposed closures.

'The eight shops were financially challenged prior to the pandemic.'
Imagine has drawn down a further 4m of the 120m in cash investment agreed with Canadian investor Brookfield Asset Management as it continues its rural broadband expansion.

Recently published accounts show that the wireless broadband firm hadturnover of 20.1m in 2019. But despite a gross profit on normal activities of 9.6m, it recorded a total financial loss of 25.7m for the year, up from 13m in 2018.

The operators joint director, Brian ODonoghue, said that growth during the pandemic had been strong. He said that the firms wireless broadband was seeing average data usage of 400 gigabytes, slightly above the national broadband average.

Imagine is building fixed wireless broadband connections in rural areas that do not have access to alternative high speed internet options.

In 2018, the Canadian investment firm Brookfield Asset Management took a 31pc economic interest in Imagine in a deal that Imagine said valued it at 200m.

The Canadian company has effective control of the Irish group, with a 55pc voting interest in Imagine.

According to recent figures from Irelands telecoms regulator, there are 61,400 fixed wireless broadband connections in Ireland, up 10,000 on the year before.

The majority of that growth is understood to be from Imagine, which is the only Irish company significantly investing in non-cellular wireless broadband.

However, the companys main market is in areas where the National Broadband Plan is due to introduce ultra high speed fibre broadband at taxpayer-subsidised prices in the next one to four years.

Imagine was one of a number of telecoms firms awarded space on the State's wireless 3.6Ghz spectrum in 2017, which paved the way for the arrival of high speed 5G and wireless networks.

The group has continued to invest in the LTE/5G project giving the group a strong strategic position for the future by providing an essential element of Irelands future broadband infrastructure, said the annual report.

The group continues to pursue its plan to deploy a national broadband network in Ireland.
Investors have punished TPG Telecom after the shock exit of its elusive billionaire chairman David Teoh, wiping close to a billion dollars off the telcos books.

Mr Teoh announced his immediate departure from the $12.9 billion company on Friday, putting an end to his 30 year tenure at the helm of one of Australias biggest broadband businesses. The news sent TPGs stock into a tailspin, with shares falling to their lowest point since last July, and closing 6.7 per cent weaker at $6.41 on Friday. They had finished the session on Thurdsay at $6.90.

Mr Teoh, who established TPG with his wife Vicki in 1992, said on Friday it was the right time to leave and pursue other interests despite the merger of his company with Vodafone Hutchison Australia only eight months ago.

Elusive TPG Telecom founder David Teoh has resigned from the company. Credit:Joe Armao

His resignation coincided with the exit of his son Shane Teoh, who was convicted of assaulting an Uber driver earlier this month. TPG did not comment on the reasons for Mr Teohs resignation but said earlier this month it was reviewing the conviction. The resignation of both Teohs followed a board meeting late on Thursday night.
(@FahadShabbir)

Washington, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 26th Mar, 2021 ) :US President Joe Biden on Thursday promised 200 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine in his first 100 days in office, doubling his initial goal, as he said at his first news conference that he intended to seek another term.

Biden also said the United States would likely miss a May 1 deadline set by former president Donald Trump to pull all troops from Afghanistan, although he made clear he expected to end America's longest war within the year.

Delving into details and offering low-key answers, Biden cast a dramatically different character than his bombastic predecessor in his first formal encounter with reporters in the White House's imposing East Room since he entered office on January 20.

Biden waited longer than any modern president to hold a news conference with his aides apparently worried that the free-wheeling 78-year-old politician -- who joked that he entered the Senate "120 years ago" -- would veer off a carefully crafted message.

But Biden appeared at ease and in command as he cast himself as a seasoned Washington operator who would tackle pressing problems starting with Covid-19, which has killed nearly 550,000 people in the United States.

"I've been hired to solve problems, not create division," Biden said, pointing to passage of a $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill that sends money to most Americans.

"I'm a fairly practical guy. I want to get things done." Biden began his news conference by announcing that he planned to administer 200 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine in his first 100 days -- the end of April.

"I know it's ambitious, twice our original goal," Biden said. "But no other country in the world has even come close -- not even close -- to what we are doing, and I believe we can do it." The United States under Biden has dramatically scaled up the distribution of vaccines -- developed during Trump's presidency -- as well as economic support, bringing dividends as hospitalizations dip and new unemployment claims fall to their lowest level since the start of the pandemic.

- Hitting back on border - Amid the successes against Covid-19, Trump's Republican Party has united in denouncing Biden over a wave of Central American migrants heading to the southern border.

Biden pushed back on the narrative of Republicans and some media that there was a crisis as he voiced compassion for people from Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua who are fleeing violence and poverty.

"There is a significant increase in the number of people coming to the border in the winter months of January, February, March.

It happens every year," Biden said.

But officials say that the number of unaccompanied children has risen, with the Biden administration racing to set up more shelters to house the youngsters.

Biden made no apologies for not sending back children-- a shift from Trump, who built his political career on strident denunciations of immigration and, in one of his most controversial moves, separated migrant children from parents.

"The idea that I'm going to say, which I would never do, if an unaccompanied child ends up at the border we're going to let them starve to death and stay on the other side -- no previous administration did that either, except Trump. I'm not going to do it." Biden has put Vice President Kamala Harris in charge of the border situation, for the first time giving a specific portfolio to his number two who has constantly been at the side of America's oldest ever president.

But amid speculation that Biden is laying the groundwork for Harris to run in 2024, the president said he was "a great respecter of fate" but plans to run.

"My plan is to run for reelection. That's my expectation," Biden said.

As a veteran politician, Biden likely was aware that any demurring on his political future would instantly become the narrative of the news conference and dominate talk in Washington.

- Troops to stay longer in Afghanistan - Biden also indicated he would add nuance to two of the key foreign policy issues of Trump -- Afghanistan and North Korea.

Biden, who as Barack Obama's vice president was an early advocate of leaving Afghanistan, gave his clearest indication yet that he would not meet an agreement between Trump and Taliban insurgents to pull remaining US troops by May 1.

"It is going to be hard to meet the May 1 deadline in terms of tactical reasons. It's hard to get those troops out," Biden said.

"We will leave; the question is when we leave," he said. Asked whether he envisions US soldiers still in Afghanistan in 2022, Biden said: "I can't picture that being the case."Biden also promised to "respond accordingly" if North Korea escalates its missile testing, after Pyongyang fired two suspected ballistic missiles into the sea, but also offered diplomacy.

The launches appeared to end a freeze under Trump, who held three made-for-television encounters with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un but did not reach a lasting agreement.
Garissa County is set to streamline operations and resource allocation by donors and development organisations.

This follows a deliberation meeting which was held in Garissa town on Tuesday, bringing together development partners, donor organisations and top county government officials.

The move aims at ensuring fair distribution of resources from the development partners, in tandem with the vision and development agenda of the county government.

With devolution in place, some of the issues of interest for development partners such as water and health have been devolved.

This, and with Garissa being among the counties in arid and semi-arid lands (Asals), has aroused the interest of donors seeking to implement projects that empower communities.

Extreme weather conditions

The county is often faced with extreme weather conditions, with prolonged dry seasons resulting to drought, while heavy rains often lead to floods.

Speaking while officially opening the one-day meeting, Garissa Governor Ali Korane called for unity in the development of the county, saying it is the only way to ensure success and sustainability.

By working together, he added, development organisations will avoid overlapping and re-invention of the wheel, and instead enhance wider distribution of resources and empowerment of the people.

The governor further recommended that donor organisations keenly and deeply understand communities so that they can bring programmes that rhyme with local interests.

In the 1970s, for example, the government and a development partner initiated an irrigation project in a bid to encourage local communities to engage in agriculture.

As it would turn out, the farmers, made their maiden bumper harvest -- mostly of green grams -- and sold the produce. However, instead of planting for the next season, they invested their income in buying goats, and went on with their livestock keeping as a cultural business venture.

"The government had to figure out what to do with the project, and that was how the Jalajala National Youth Service (NYS) was started," explained the governor, adding that each environment has its own challenges, best understood by local communities.

Collaboration

In this light, he recommended for consultation, collaboration and effective communication between donors, development organisations and the county government.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Lack of good communication, he added, would often lead to confusion and misconception, even about programmes which had been successfully implemented and had positive impact.

"Coordination is very important and I assure you that we will work in transparency and are ready to answer all questions in the best interest of our people," noted the governor.

Among stakeholders in development who were represented included the Kenya Red Cross Society, Millennium Ware Alliance, Islamic Relief, and Refugee Consortium of Kenya among others.

And in the light of Covid-19 protocols, some representatives joined the meeting through online platforms.

The county's Finance and Economic Planning Executive Issa Oyow noted that Garissa has already established a department for partnership and donor coordination.

The department will deal with collaborations with development partners and open a way of discussions between them and the county leadership.

He emphasised on the need for participation of the donor community in complimenting the development agenda of the county government, saying that this will bring more and better impact to the people.

Among challenges that need to be addressed in this county include water and sanitation, health and nutrition, livestock and agriculture as well as efficient urban services.

The stakeholders plan to form clusters of organisations that focus on specific issues of development so that they can create synergy and get sustainable solutions.
Pope pays tribute to Italy's 'Supreme Poet' on Dantedi.

Pope Francis has paid tribute to Dante Alighieri, Italy's great mediaeval poet and philosopher, by releasing an Apostolic Letter entitled Candor lucis aeternae in honour of Dante's epic masterpiece The Divine Comedy.

In his letter the pontiff highlights the relevance, timelessness and depth of faith in La Divina Commedia which describes Dante's journey through the realms of hell, purgatory and heaven, reports Vatican News.

Hailing Dante as a "prophet of hope," Francis states that in his writings the poet urges humanity to free itself from the "dark forest" of sin to find "the right path" and thus reach "the fullness of life and time in history" and "eternal beatitude in God."

The pontiff identified two main pillars in The Divine Comedy as "an innate desire in the human heart" and "fulfilment in the happiness bestowed by the vision of the Love who is God.

Francis wrote that Dante can "help us to advance with serenity and courage on the pilgrimage of life and faith that each of us is called to make, until our hearts find true peace and true joy, until we arrive at the ultimate goal of all humanity."

The pope also praised teachers who passionately communicate Dantes message and introduce others to the cultural, religious and moral riches contained in his works."

The release of the Apostolic Letter coincides with Dantedi - Italy's national day in honour of Dante - who died in Ravenna 700 years ago.

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.
India and Bangladesh: Subregional grouping for multilateral cooperation between seven member countries with coastline along the Bay of Bengal

March 25,2021 | Source: The Sentinel Assam

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) has grown into important subregional grouping for multilateral cooperation between seven member countries with coastline along the Bay of Bengal. India being a part of the 17th BIMSTEC meet scheduled to be held virtually on April 1 assumes significance for the north-eastern states. It includes seven countries  five in south Asia- India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka and two from Southeast Asia  Myanmar and Thailand. According to BIMSTEC data, the region is home to around 1.5 billion people which constitute around 22% of the global population with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of 2.7 trillion economy. In the last five years, BIMSTEC Member States have been able to sustain an average 6.5% economic growth trajectory despite global financial meltdown, according to official information. The subregional grouping gaining importance can be attributed to gradual decline of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) as a subregional grouping in the Asian geo-political space. When BIMSTEC, headquartered at Dhaka, was formed on June 6, 1997 there were six sectors - trade, technology, energy, transport, tourism and fisheries for mutual cooperation among member countries. The number of sectors subsequently increased with expansion of cooperation in agriculture, public health, poverty alleviation, counter terrorism, environment, culture, people-to-people contact and climate change.



The objective of formation of BIMSTEC was to utilize the geographical advantage and regional resources to strengthen mutual cooperation in various sectors to withstand and overcome of the challenges of globalization. With recent inauguration of the bridge over the river Feni flowing along India-Bangladesh border connecting Sabroom in Tripura, the northeast region has now easy access to seaports in Bangladesh. The Chittagong port is just 72 km off bridge. With the BIMSTEC Member States having finalized a Master Plan for Transport Connectivity with a vision to promote seamless connectivity between and across the member countries through the use of different transport modes, a wind of opportunities has been opened for the north-eastern states to achieve enhanced transport and trade linkages for the export market. Under the Master Plan 267 projects of construction, expansion and modernization of transport infrastructure have been identified of which 137 projects have been identified to enhance connectivity in the Bay of Bengal region. The transport connectivity plan is expected to gather momentum after it is adopted in the upcoming BIMSTEC ministerial meeting on April 1. Successful execution of these projects will ensure seamless connectivity in this Asian subregion. The Secretary General of BIMSTEC at the inaugural of the Bay of the Bengal Economic Dialogue 2021 expressed optimism that the member countries "will come to a consensus and agree on trade facilitation measures, including, simplification of customs procedures, introduction of electronic tracking system for cross-border container movement, acceptance of electronic copies of export-import related documents, and expand e-commerce." He also impressed on early finalization of Trade in Goods Agreement, Coastal Shipping Agreement to promote greater cooperation in the BIMSTEC region and hoped that it would be - a game changer for the region. North-eastern states sharing international borders with four of these seven member countries- Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Myanmar- is on the cusp of scripting an unprecedented growth story benefiting from the sectoral cooperation among BIMSTEC countries.



Troubled situation in Myanmar is an area of concern and India has a huge diplomatic challenge of handling the issues of providing shelter to people from the neighbouring country and balancing the long-term goal of BIMSTEC that requires cooperation from all member countries. BIMSTEC also enlarges the scope of Act East Policy with its two members Myanmar and Thailand being key ASEAN countries India seeks to engage in bilateral and multilateral cooperation under the Act East Policy. Northeast region lies at the centre of the Act East Policy and leveraging the BIMSTEC cooperation is an added advantage for the landlocked states in the region. Moving Northeast region along the BIMSTEC and ASEAN growth trajectories, however, depends on the ability of the governments, policy makers, and people in these states to visualise the enormous possibilities from such multilateral engagements. Expediting connectivity and other development projects is crucial. The states in the region need to focus on capacity building to complete projects on time and also undertake global projects to bolster confidence among key stakeholders in the BIMSTEC and ASEAN countries to engage in multiple sectors mutually beneficial to all. Being a biodiversity hotspot and culturally rich Northeast region has huge potential to attract tourists from BIMSTEC countries. Adoption of the Master Plan of Transport connectivity will brighten the dream of India putting Northeast into the core of its areas of cooperation and engagement with other countries in the BIMSTEC. All this can be possible only when the northeast region actually becomes a part of this vibrant transboundary and multilateral engagement.

 2021. Omega Printers & Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) speaks during a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Border Security and Immigration hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Dec. 16, 2020. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Sen. Marco Rubio: Theres Stuff Flying Over Military Installations, and Nobody Knows What It Is

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) told a reporter this week that he is concerned about UFOs, or unidentified flying objects, flying over U.S. military bases.

When asked about UFOs at the Reagan National Airport near Washington, Rubio said, Theres stuff flying over military installations, and nobody knows what it is and it isnt ours. Rubio is a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee and was its chairman before Democrats took over this year. Its common sense, right? he asked.

It comes as the Pentagon and intelligence agencies are slated to release a report about UFOs in June.

The TMZ reporter then asked the Republican senator about whether aliens from outer space or the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) pose a larger threat to the United States.

Theres stuff flying over the top of our military installations and they dont know whos flying it, they dont even know what it is, Rubio told TMZ on March 22. So thats a problem. We need to find out if we can.

Maybe its another country, and that would be bad news, too.

Former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe last week noted that there are a lot more sightings of UFOs than have been made public.

When we talk about sightings, we are talking about objects that have been seen by Navy or Air Force pilots or have been picked up by satellite imagery that frankly engage in actions that are difficult to explain, Ratcliffe told Fox Business on March 19. Movements that are hard to replicate, that we dont have the technology for, or traveling at speeds that exceed the sound barrier without a sonic boom.

Ratcliffe, a former House representative from Texas, added that Americans would be surprised about the number of sightings.

When we talk about sightings, the other thing I will tell you is, its not just a pilot or just a satellite or some intelligence collection, he told Fox Business. Usually, we have multiple sensors that are picking up these things, and some of these are unexplained phenomenon, and there is actually quite a few more than have been made public.

Ratcliffe said these sightings have happened all over the world.
COLUMBUS, OhioOhio lawmakers on Thursday gave final approval to legislation dismantling two key parts of the corruption-ridden House Bill 6 that give billions in ratepayer dollars to energy companies.

House Bill 128, which Gov. Mike DeWine is expected to soon sign, is the first bill to clear the legislature that repeals any part of HB6, the law at the center of what authorities say is the largest bribery scheme in Ohio history.

HB128 rescinds a $1 billion-plus financial bailout of two Northern Ohio nuclear power plants. It also repeals a decoupling provision that allows FirstEnergy Corp. to collect a comparatively high amount of money from customers even in years when demand is down, and orders refunds for money already collected.

HB128 also revokes language from a different law making it easier for FirstEnergy to pass a state test meant to prevent utilities from making significantly excessive profits.

House Bill 6, which passed the legislature in 2019 after a contentious battle, came under even more scrutiny starting last summer, when then-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and four allies were charged with using more than $60 million in FirstEnergy bribery money to secure the bills passage.

HB128 passed the legislature with little opposition. One reason for that is that after Householders arrest, DeWine and a majority of state lawmakers called for the repeal of HB6. But another reason is that Energy Harbor, the former FirstEnergy subsidiary that now owns the nuclear plants, has lobbied for the option of turning down the bailout money because a federal regulatory ruling might otherwise make the subsidies a liability.

Even if DeWine signs HB128, several other parts of HB6 would remain in place, including provisions gutting Ohios energy-efficiency programs and renewable-energy mandates, as well as statewide subsidies for two coal plants -- one in Indiana, one in Ohio -- owned by a consortium of utility companies in the state.

HB128 also provides $20 million in annual solar subsides to six large-scale solar projects around the state.

House Speaker Bob Cupp, a Lima Republican, said in a statement after Thursdays vote that HB128 is sound energy policy.

Cupp commended House members for their thorough and extensive work to produce a bill that Ohioans can be proud of  one that retains carbon-free energy in the state, provides additional ratepayer protections and savings and moves Ohio forward.

State Rep. Kent Smith, a Euclid Democrat, said in a statement that HB128 is an improvement, but he urged lawmakers to move to fully repeal HB6.

We cant afford to wait or stall any longer, Smith stated. The time for action is now.

Read more Ohio politics and government stories:

Ohio school coronavirus case numbers delayed, as state dashboards down

FEMA to provide up to $9,000 in financial assistance for coronavirus funerals

Ex-U.S. attorney who oversaw HB6 investigation will now help Ohio combat unemployment fraud

Ohio officials report 1,501 new coronavirus cases: Thursday update

Rep. Dave Joyce objects to marijuana-related firings at the White House
By Kirstin Ridley

LONDON (Reuters) - A specialist London court will this week re-consider allowing an historic 14 billion pound ($19 billion) class action against to proceed, which could entitle adults in Britain to about 300 pounds each if successful.

Former financial ombudsman Walter Merricks, who alleges that overcharged more than 46 million people in Britain over nearly 16 years, hopes the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) will certify the case after the Supreme Court overruled objections to it proceeding in December.

A two-day court hearing will kick off on Thursday and will determine the fate of Britain's first mass consumer claim -- and clarify the rules for a string of other competition class actions that have stalled in its wake.

Merricks, who is being advised by U.S.-headquartered law firm Quinn Emanuel, alleges charged excessive "interchange" fees - the fees retailers pay credit card when consumers use a card to shop - between May 1992 and June 2008 and that those fees were passed on to consumers as retailers raised prices.

Mastercard says the claim should not be brought, that people received valuable benefits from its payments technology and that the lawsuit is driven by U.S. lawyers and backed by organisations focused on making money for themselves.

"We fundamentally disagree with this claim...," it said.

THE DECEASED, COMPOUND INTEREST IN FOCUS

Legal arguments this week are expected to revolve in part around whether estates of the deceased should have a claim and whether compound interest should accrue, which are "significant" for the ultimate size of the claim, Mastercard says.

The case was filed in 2016, one year after the CAT was nominated to oversee Britain's U.S.-style "opt-out" class action regime for breaches of or EU competition law -- and 12 years after the European Commission ruled that Mastercard had charged unlawful cross-border interchange fees over the period.

In such cases, UK-based members of a defined group are automatically bound into legal action unless they opt out.

But the CAT blocked the lawsuit in 2017 because it thought it unsuitable for collective proceedings, triggering drawn-out appeals and causing a bottleneck for other class actions.

If the case proceeds, Merricks is expected to need to prove that Mastercard's domestic fees were illegal -- and to quantify the costs passed on to consumers.

Litigation funder Innsworth Capital has stumped up 60.1 million pounds to cover the legal costs of the case, including 15 million pounds for Mastercard's legal costs if the claim fails. It will be paid from any unclaimed damages awarded, after agreement from the CAT.

Typically, take-up by claimants is low in such claims. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission found in 2019 that only about 9% made a claim after successful consumer class actions.

($1 = 0.7189 pounds)

(Reporting by Kirstin Ridley; editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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.
Noh Kyu-duk, right, South Korea's chief nuclear envoy, and Sung Kim, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, pose for photos before their meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Seoul, March 19. Yonhap



South Korea's chief nuclear envoy discussed North Korea's latest missile launches with a senior U.S. official and his Japanese counterpart in separate phone talks on Thursday, the foreign ministry said.



Noh Kyu-duk, the chief nuclear negotiator, spoke with Sung Kim, acting U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, earlier in the day, the ministry said, hours after the North fired what appeared to be two ballistic missiles into the East Sea.



He then had a phone conversation with Takehiro Funakoshi, director-general for Asian and Oceanian affairs at Tokyo's foreign ministry.



Noh and Kim shared their concerns over North Korea's launches of short-range missiles and exchanged assessments on the recent Korean Peninsula situation, the ministry said in a release.



"While managing the situation in a stable manner, the two countries agreed to continue coordination to bring substantive progress toward the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and building lasting peace," it added.



Noh and Funakoshi agreed to continue close communication and cooperation on North Korea's nuclear issues between the two countries, and also trilaterally with the U.S., the ministry said.



The latest launches came four days after the North fired two cruise missiles into the Yellow Sea.



The launches also came as the U.S. administration of President Joe Biden said it was in the final stage of reviewing its policy on North Korea. The U.S. is due to host a meeting of national security advisers with South Korea and Japan next week.



The official said that Washington is keeping a close eye on the situation with "alertness."



Asked about the possibility of any action by the U.N. Security Council (UNSC), the official said it is unlikely the UNSC will take steps toward a fresh resolution or sanctions given that the projectiles were short-range.



North Korea is banned from launching ballistic missiles under the UNSC resolutions, though Pyongyang has maintained a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile testing since late 2017.



Seoul stressed that it is coordinating closely with Washington and other related countries over the matter.



"We express deep concerns over North Korea's launch of short-range missiles this morning," ministry spokesperson Choi Young-sam said in a press briefing. "Our ministry will step up consultations with related countries about the future response, based on our close Korea-U.S. coordination," he said. (Yonhap)


Portuguese lawmaker Beatriz Gomes Dias said it's important to honor victims of slave trade as strong individuals.

As the world marks the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery, more and more Portuguese with African roots are calling for a critical reappraisal of this dark chapter in history.

"Portugal has long swept the history of slaves from Africa under the carpet," said Evalina Dias, president of the Lisbon-based association of Afro-descendants, Djass. A native of Portugal with ancestors from Guinea-Bissau, she is now demanding that Portugal finally face up to its historical responsibilities and thoroughly reevaluate its role in the story.

"We know that the structural discrimination of African people today is also the result of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, which was largely introduced by the Portuguese starting in the 15th century," Dias told DW.

The Portuguese have always covered up this stain on its history, she said. In Portugal, it is always said that slavery was not an invention of the Portuguese or the Europeans and that there always were slaves, even before the 15th century.

But the fact is that during the age of the "discoveries" -- beginning in the 15th century -- the slave trade took on a trans-Atlantic dimension. By opening up sea routes to Africa, Asia and America, Western European countries -- led by Portugal -- rose to become internationally active trading and colonial powers.

From that point onwards, trading in spices, ivory, textiles and slaves became global.

"The new trans-Atlantic slave trade turned Africans into objects that were seen as commodities for Europeans," said Gilbert Ndi Shang from the Africa Multiple research group at the University of Bayreuth. He said millions of Africans were forced to labor on European-run plantations in Europe, the Americas, and the Caribbean.

"Over a period of more than 400 years, more than 15 million men, women, and children became victims of the trans-Atlantic slave trade," Ndi Shang told DW.

It has repeatedly been noted, including in history textbooks, that Portugal was the first country in Europe to officially abolish slavery 260 years ago. But the ban initially only applied to Portugal and its colonies in India. Slavery continued in the other colonies. In Brazil, slavery was still practiced well after it gained independence from Portugal in 1822 and was not officially banned until 1888.

Honoring victims of enslavement

"Trivialization is a tradition in Portugal," said Dias. Lisbon has been full of monuments to conquerors and explorers for centuries, she said, but the city has not erected a monument honoring the victims of slavery until this year. The initiative, she said, came from her association, a civil society of Portuguese citizens with African roots. Angolan artist Kiluanji Kia Henda designed the monument.

"The memorial, since it will be inaugurated this spring in Lisbon, is a stylized sugarcane plantation, made of aluminum stakes, symbolizing the cold and inhumane rationality with which the forced laborers on the plantations of Europeans, in Europe and overseas, were dehumanized over centuries," said Beatriz Gomes Dias, a lawmaker and the mother of Djass chairwoman Evalina Dias.

Gomes Dias has been a member of the Portuguese parliament since 2019, representing the Bloco de Esquerda party. She is one of three black female parliamentarians in Portugal. This year, she is also running as her party's top candidate for mayor of Lisbon.

"Portuguese society is changing very slowly," Joacine Katar Moreira, another Portuguese member of parliament with roots in the West African nation of Guinea-Bissau, told DW. "We are fighting an uphill battle against a lot of resistance from conservative circles."

Remains of dehumanized slaves discovered

"At least one positive trend is clearly visible: Portuguese scholars and universities are increasingly dedicated to the study of the trans-Atlantic slave trade," said Katar Moreira, who is also a historian.

In 2009, Portuguese archaeologists uncovered valuable evidence about the lives of the first African slaves in Portugal. The analysis of 158 skeletons found during construction work in the southern Portuguese port city of Lagos led to clear conclusions: Malnutrition, untreated injuries and severe physical abuse were the order of the day in 15th century Portugal.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Europe and Africa Africa Human Rights By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"Some of the people whose skeletons were found in Lagos were bound, and many wore objects of African origin such as rings and necklaces," said Evalina Dias, who visited the Lagos excavation site with her mother.

The point now, said Gomes Dias, is to put a face to these people and show that they were not just victims but strong personalities who developed strategies for survival.

"They resisted their enslavement and also fought for the preservation of their cultural roots," she said. "And in the end, they even had a decisive influence on the culture of Portugal and Lisbon."

This article has been adapted from German.
press release

HRW Statement - Item 10 General Debate

As the Council considers the human rights situation in South Sudan, the needs on the ground make clear that the work of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan remains critical and that the Council should renew its mandate in full.

Any shift in the agenda item would be premature. Last year's resolution, adopted by consensus, expressly provided that "demonstrable progress in key human rights issues of concern is critical to any future change to the mandate of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan". Unfortunately, no such progress has taken place.

By contrast, violence in parts of the country has reached and even surpassed 2013 levels according to the most recent report by the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan. Moreover, the accountability mechanisms provided for under Chapter V of the 2015 peace agreement remain merely aspirational. Last week UNMISS released a devastating report documenting new displacement, killings, abductions and sexual violence by local community-based militias, backed by political and military leaders.

The government announced in January that it approved the establishment of the Chapter V accountability mechanisms, more than 5 years after they had already been agreed to. This is an encouraging development, but the true test of the government's commitment to accountability is whether this leads to concrete steps to establish the hybrid court, truth and reconciliation mechanism, and compensation authority.

At this time, we urge the Council to stay the course, renew the mandate of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, request a concrete implementation plan with benchmarks, and resist any change in the mandate until such benchmarks are met. The interests of victims and accountability demand nothing less.
SUZHOU, China, March 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Transcenta Holding Limited (Transcenta), a clinical stage global biotherapeutics company with fully-integrated capabilities in discovery, development and manufacturing of antibody-based therapeutics, today announced the expansion of its senior management team by appointing Dr. Xichen Zhang as Senior Vice President of Manufacturing and Dr. Steven Yu as Senior Vice President of DMPK & Translational Science.

Dr. Xichen Zhang has 27-year experience of GMP manufacturing, CMC development of clinical products, CTA/MA filing strategy, and life-cycle management of commercial products. Before joining Transcenta, he worked as Product Quality Director at Amgen, leading product quality teams of several new drug projects at various developmental stages, including Sensipar/Mimpara, Parsabiv, AMG223, AMG282, AMG420, AMG479, AMG592, and Sotorasib (AMG510). He played a key role in developing and advancing Parsabiv from early clinical stage to commercialization, and led the team rapidly completed product quality development of Sotorasib, which had been brought to MA filing stage with expected US approval soon. Dr. Zhang received his Ph.D. degree in Chemical Engineering from Queen's University in Canada.

Dr. Steven Yu has more than 20 years of experience in large molecule drug development and extensive expertise in PKPD evaluation, assay development/validation, biomarker development, immunogenicity assessment, and biotransformation assessment supporting both discovery and clinical projects. Before joining Transcenta, he was the VP of DMPK & Clinical Bioanalysis at ChemPartner. Dr. Yu spent most of his career with global pharmaceutical companies including Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Shire, and Takeda. Dr. Yu had a Ph.D. degree in biochemistry from Loma Linda University, and an MBA in Global Business from Pepperdine University.

"We are honored to have Dr. Xichen Zhang and Dr. Steven Yu join the Transcenta team," said Dr. Xueming Qian, CEO of Transcenta. "As we continue to enrich and advance Transcenta's pipeline with more innovative antibody drug candidates entering clinical trial or moving into late-phase clinical trial, the demand for large-scale manufacturing and DMPK and translational research work is growing rapidly. As seasoned professionals, Dr. Zhang and Dr. Yu will further solidify the advantages of Transcenta as a fully-integrated biopharmaceutical company."

"Transcenta is a leader in flexible manufacturing facility design and continuous biomanufacturing technology." Dr. Xichen Zhang said, "I am very excited to join Transcenta and lead the effort to further enhance capability and ensure global standard product quality in clinical and commercial manufacturing."

"DMPK and translational research is an important part of the drug development throughout the R&D processes from drug discovery to IND filing." Dr. Steven Yu said, "I hope my experience will help Transcenta to select molecules with higher potency and better safety profiles, and further improve the success rate of clinical trials."

About Transcenta Holding Limited.

Transcenta is a clinical stage global biotherapeutics company that fully integrates antibody-based biotherapeutics discovery, development and manufacturing. With Headquarters and Discovery and Translational Research Center in Suzhou, Process and Product Development Center and Manufacturing Facility in Hangzhou, and Clinical Development Centers in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou in China and in Princeton, US, and External Partnering Center in Boston, US, Transcenta has established global footprint. Transcenta is developing a panel of ten antibody molecules for oncology and selected non-oncology indications including bone and kidney disorders. Upon the latest financing, the company has raised over $342 million from globally prominent investors. For more information, please visit www.transcenta.com.

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/transcenta-announces-appointments-of-dr-xichen-zhang-as-senior-vice-president-of-manufacturing-and-dr-steven-yu-as-senior-vice-president-of-dmpk-and-translational-science-301254035.html

SOURCE Transcenta Holding Limited
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: National African American Fellowship, SBC

The leadership of the National African American Fellowship of the Southern Baptist Convention has released a statement addressing recent statements from the SBC Council of Seminary Presidents. Its an important statement, that will merit response from the SBC seminary presidents, and consideration of SBC leaders. If you have questions about Critical Race Theory, be sure to read more in this series, beginning with our framing article; Dr. Patrick Sawyers part one here, part two here, and part three here; and D.A. Hortons part one here, part two here, part three here, and part four here. We will have more articles coming soon.

One of the National African American Fellowship's purposes is to sensitize SBC leaders to concerns in the African American community. In this spirit, NAAF met with the SBC Council of Seminary Presidents on January 6th, has communicated with written letters and submitted recommendations to the Council of Seminary Presidents to provide a pathway towards restoring unity within the Convention. Accordingly, NAAF releases the following statement:

On December 9, 2020, The National African American Fellowship expressed its objection to the Council of Seminary Presidents statement asserting CRTs incompatibility in all its forms with the Baptist Faith and Message in a published statement on November 30, 2020.

We believe that certain limited insights from CRT, not as an ideology or worldview, can be useful to identify and repudiate racial bias and systemic racism in organizations and institutions. We believe that discussions on systemic racism and racial injustice requires understanding, patience, and grace.

The CSP statement has the effect of delegitimizing and dismissing the lived experiences of African Americans and other ethnic groups. We strongly believe that any discussions on systemic racism must consider the lived experiences of Blacks and other ethnic groups.

In light of the above, and as a way forward in bringing healing and a better understanding among Southern Baptists, we have asked the seminary presidents to:

1. Join the NAAF in co-hosting a series of open forums to facilitate conversations among Southern Baptist on biblical approaches to addressing systemic racism in our institutions, organizations and churches;

2. Require a course related to the historical and theological understanding of race and racism in America and its impact on society to be included in their standard curriculum; and

3. Acknowledge that the CSP was speaking for their seminaries and not for the SBC.

We have also asked the CSP to create safe spaces on their campuses and in their curriculum, where race and racism can be discussed and studied. These discussions would help create cultural competencies in our future pastors, church leaders, and SBC leaders.

We further recommend that in light of the ongoing realities of racism, the CSP should develop biblically-based methodologies designed to identify and address systemic racism.

We are deeply disappointed that the CSP has not moved from their original statement of CRTs incompatibility in all its forms. We feel that the tone, tenor, and timing of the CSP statement has undermined the extraordinary efforts put forth by many Black and White Southern Baptists to build unity in the body of baptized believers and has placed many African American Southern Baptist pastors, leaders and students in an untenable position. We further believe that the CSP should publicly acknowledge the pain and harm caused but their statement.

Over the last year, there has been much division and tension in the SBC. As we continue to work with the CSP and SBC leaders, we call on all Southern Baptists to pray that the spirit of Christ will enable each of us to demonstrate greater sensitivity in our interactions with every tribe, language, and peoples.

We remain committed to our purpose to work in harmony with the Southern Baptist Convention and our entities to address the concerns of the African American community.

We encourage all Great Commission minded believers to unite around the essentials of our faith, and in the nonessentials, maintain a spirit of charity as together we live out the Great Commandment in pursue the Great Commission.
The students of have ended the strike started after the resignation of Pratap Bhanu Mehta.

"Over the last week, we have observed the power and impact of collective action. We witnessed a strong sense of community that emerged for one of the first times since we went online. We sincerely thank you for your undeterred support and resilience for the past 6 days", they said in the letter.

"We sincerely appreciate your participation in the protest. With the Vice Chancellor's email today morning, we are officially closing the strike", they added.

"However, this is not to say that the movement must end. We must continue coming together, asking questions, making art, and discussing academic freedom and the precarious political situation we find ourselves in. We must continue showing solidarity with our faculty members, workers, each other, and movements against injustice beyond Ashoka", the students said.

"We would like to sincerely thank all the people on-campus for fighting in our stead, for challenging and questioning without fear, and most of all, for holding sit-ins, painting protest art, and working towards making Our Ashoka. For those of us who were online, we needed to find a way to show collective solidarity through a screen. You organised reading circles, club events, plays and so much more in a pandemic. We thank the alums for their continued support as well", they added.

"To the Vice-Chancellor, we thank you for being so receptive to our proposed changes and for your commitment to work with us to the best of your ability in building a more representative Ashoka. To our Professors, TAs and TFs, we have nothing but appreciation. You have supported us by cancelling classes or creating a space to discuss Prof. Mehta and Prof. Subramanian's resignations", the students said.

"We are at a critical juncture -- the university is growing and we must grow with it. The way we proceed going forward will leave an impact on the way Ashoka treats its own stakeholders as well as those outside of it. We were able to meet unprecedented demands after protesting for six days and boycotting classes for two. Public universities across the country strike for weeks and months on end, often to fulfill basic needs, and even then they are not always successful. We must forge deeper solidarities with student unions and collectives fighting against injustice throughout India", they added.

--IANS

san/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.)
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Millions of oysters are feared to have perished along the NSW coast as murky freshwater from up to 200 kilometres away sweeps through their homes, bound for the ocean. Deb and her husband Peter OSullivan, from the Hawkesbury River Oyster Shed, are making a last-ditch attempt to salvage their crop of thousands before the floodwaters destroy them. Mr OSullivan and his staff had been in the river since Tuesday grabbing trays of oysters and placing them on a punt to sail them down the river. Each trip takes 30 minutes and there is no certainty that the Sydney rock and Pacific oysters will make it. The past weeks torrential rain and flooding has threatened the oyster industry along the Hawkesbury River. Credit:James Brickwood The floods change the rivers salt concentration, meaning the oysters are unable to feed. The team also has to contend with floating fridges, cows, pumpkins and plastic containers while they move their precious produce. The oysters are probably going to die, they dont last under extreme conditions, Ms OSullivan said. We cant harvest oysters to sell unless the water quality is right. I reckon there is no real chance that the Pacific [oysters] survive.

Advertisement

But they will have to wait three weeks to see if their efforts have paid off, as oysters can stay closed for that long before needing to feed again. If they survive that, then we might have a chance, Ms OSullivan said. The couple sells their oysters in a little shed along with some other seafood from nearby producers. But now their shops doors could be shut for months on end. On Thursday, the couple held a crisis meeting with staff to figure out how they will get through. Some possibilities include diversifying the sheds stock, possibly selling chowder or mussels, and how to keep everyone employed. Peter OSullivan has spent every day since Tuesday trying to move his oysters further downstream Credit:James Brickwood We might have to become the prawn shed or mussel shed instead of the Oyster Shed, Ms OSullivan said.

Advertisement

The community, like the majority of NSW, has survived the 2019-20 bushfires, floods, COVID-19 and the floods again. This flood is the worst, she said. There is an old saying: another day and another dollar, but for now its just another day... and take a deep breath in. It will take years for us to get oysters back. Its not good. Loading Farmer Shane Buckley, of Wapengo Rocks on the far south coast and a NSW Shellfish Committee industry member, said there was an emergency meeting on Wednesday with farmers from the north. Theres large-scale damage, their stock losses will be enormous, their infrastructure losses are huge, he said. Theyre still in a state of flood so its yet to be realised the amount of damage thats up there. He said 80 per cent or more of the crop of millions could have been lost but hopes the state government will come through with funding for clean-up and replacement stock, and expects further information in the coming days.

Advertisement

If you lose multiple crops, you have a shortfall to catch up for mature oysters again, Mr Buckley said. His farm, cropping about 100,000 dozen oysters each year, had 161 millimetres of rain on Monday, bringing foreign material into the lake. He said massive hay bales impacted oyster infrastructure in lakes further south and tore them to pieces. Millions of oysters are feared to have perished in the flood. Credit:James Brickwood Not to the scale of the North Coast ... those guys have definitely had the brunt of it this time, he said. But its pretty typical. We were closed to rainfall for Christmas and now were closed on a big clean-up through Easter - two of our major harvest periods. With the bushfires, floods, COVID-19 and peak periods being washed out, he fears smaller North Coast farms may not survive this flood event. When the oysters are back, please buy some oysters, he said. Thats what is going to help farms survive, the general public kicking in and consuming the product that weve got available.

Advertisement
Sheard Elected COGIC Presiding Bishop, Blake Requests Emeritus Status

The Right Reverend J. Drew Sheard has been elected presiding bishop and chief apostle of the Church of God in Christ, Inc., the nations largest Pentecostal denomination of more than six million members.

The announcement was made on March 20, following the Quadrennial Election, which was held virtually.

Sheard replaces the Right Reverend Charles E. Blake, Sr., pastor of West Angeles COGIC in Los Angeles, who served 13 years as the chief apostle and presiding bishop.

ADVERTISEMENT

Last October, Blake stated that he would not seek another term and had requested to receive emeritus status.

At the time, he expressed gratitude for every opportunity that God has afforded me in serving you, and vowed to support a smooth transition so that the work of the Lord will seamlessly continue.

He also revealed his intention to remain as pastor of West Angeles and focus on the construction of the Family Life Center building project, which he described as a 25-million-dollar addition that will attach to the West Angeles Cathedral. A lifelong COGIC member, Blake has served 35 years as a bishop and 32 years on the denominations General Board, which is its legislative body.

Sheard has also been affiliated with the COGIC denomination for his entire life. The pastor of Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ in Detroit, Michigan, he is the presiding prelate of the Michigan North Central Jurisdiction and has been a member of the General Board since 2012. Sheard is married to Karen Clark-Sheard, a member of The Clark Sisters, and is the father of Kierra and J. Drew II.

To be elected to serve as the presiding bishop for the Church in which I was born, raised, and have learned and served all my life, is a dream and desire that can only be fulfilled by Gods loving grace and guidance. The opportunity to serve such an extraordinary organization at our highest recognized level of priesthood is beyond humbling, said Sheard in a statement.

I am so grateful for the unparalleled support of my loving wife, Karen, who has served diligently alongside me in ministry, and for my children. I could never adequately honor or appreciate my parents for demonstrating holiness by sheer example. With complete excitement and joy, I look forward to serving the Lords people, he added.

A native of Detroit, Sheard is the son of Bishop and Mrs. John Henry Sheard. He earned both his Bachelor of Science degree in Education and his Master of Education degree in Mathematics at Wayne State University.

ADVERTISEMENT

In addition to Sheard, 11 bishops were elected to the General Board including the Right Reverend Jerry W. Macklin, the founding pastor of Glad Tidings COGIC in Hayward, California. Macklin, who also established COGICs NorCal Metropolitan Jurisdiction, has served on the General Board since 2004.

Blake appointed Macklin as second assistant presiding bishop, a position he has held for the past 12 years. Sheard has elevated Macklin to first assistant presiding bishop and selected the Right Reverend Lawrence M. Wooten, Sr. of Missouri to serve as second assistant presiding bishop.

Also elected to the General Board are Bishop Sedgwick Daniels, Bishop Darrel L. Hines, Sr. and Bishop Charles H. McClelland, all of Wisconsin; Bishop Brandon B. Porter and Bishop David A. Hall, Sr., both of Tennessee; Bishop Michael E. Hill, Sr. of Michigan, Bishop Prince E. Bryant, Sr. of Texas, Bishop Loran E. Mann of Delaware, and Bishop Malcolm Coby of Oklahoma. The installation for the presiding bishop, General Board and General Officers will be held at a later date.

During Blakes tenure as presiding bishop, he attracted a favorable spotlight on Los Angeles and the citys faith community. He was also responsible for many successes as the denominations CEO. Blakes accomplishments included:
Jos  Sharibu, Nathan and Rebecca, have decried the abandonment of their daughter, Leah, with her abductors by the Federal Government, saying her continued captivity is a sad situation.

Although the teenager is said to be nursing her second child in captivity, her parents said Nigeria had failed Leah and pleaded with President Muhammadu Buhari to accept the American offer of assistance to secure the release of their daughter.

The parents in a statement by their spokesperson, Dr Gloria Puldu, demanded that President Buhari brings back their daughter with or without children because Leah remains their child and they will take her back no matter the situation or the condition she comes out with.

The statement reads in part: "Morning of March 23 was another very difficult day as we woke up to the very sad and heartbreaking rumours that Leah Sharibu, who is still in captivity for three years, has given birth to a second baby in captivity.

"It is a very big shame on General Buhari and his entire government. He has abandoned this young child in captivity.

"Two weeks ago, Nathan and Rebecca called on him to use the current negotiators his government is using, who have successfully negotiated and secured the release of most if not all 300 Muslim Kankara boys from Katsina in December 2020 just six days after their abduction.

"In February 2021 they also negotiated and secured the release of about 27 schoolboys from Kagara in Niger State and 317 schoolgirls from Jangebe in Zamfara who all regained their freedom within few days of their abduction.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"Nigeria has woefully failed Leah Sharibu, what a very big shame. Nations all across the world value their citizens and will go to any length to rescue their adult citizens let alone their children, yet the Buhari administration has abandoned Leah Sharibu the lone Christian girl for over three years in captivity.

"This same administration has abandoned the remaining 112 Chibok girls for almost seven years. Nigerians recently saw how the American government came to rescue one of its citizens who was abducted in Niger Republic but transported into Nigeria (another sovereign state).

"Yet Leah, a minor, has been abandoned and forgotten by her government. We know that the American government has recently offered to assist Nigeria in its fight against insecurity if the Nigerian government requests its assistance.

"Leah's parents are calling on General Buhari to please accept the American offer of assistance to secure the release of their daughter, especially if his current successful negotiators are not able to secure her release as they did with the recent school abductions."

Vanguard News Nigeria
The coronavirus pandemic has caused uncertainty for many businesses, but some have thrived amid the adversity.

The most recent pandemic winners include three young men who have had their bitcoin company valued at 3.8billion after closing a 218million funding round.

Started in a two-bedroom flat in York by Ben Reeves, Peter Smith and Nicolas Cary in 2011, Blockchain.com is the worlds largest crypto-currency wallet, a place where customers can track ownership and receive or spend crypto-currencies.

Blockchain billionaires Ben Reeves, Peter Smith and Nicolas Cary started what is now the worlds largest crypto-currency wallet from a two-bedroom flat in York

It is responsible for 28 per cent of all bitcoin transactions worldwide and the three founders are believed to still hold substantial stakes.

Other high-profile investors include billionaire Richard Branson, Googles venture arm GV and Spotify backer Lakestar.

The valuation shows that crypto-currencies are now being taken seriously as an asset class and the company recently added Jim Messina, Barack Obamas former deputy chief of staff, as a board member to lend it further credibility.

The firm joins a growing list of entrepreneurs who have hit the jackpot during the pandemic.

Brothers John and Patrick Collison's tech company Stripe was valued at 69bn two weeks ag

1. Stripe

John and Patrick Collison are two unassuming brothers from Tipperary in the Republic of Ireland who have taken the world by storm.

Both in their early 30s, their wealth has soared above 16billion after tech company Stripe was valued at 69billion two weeks ago.

Stripe, which provides software so businesses can process payments online, is the most valuable private company in Silicon Valley and there is plenty of excitement about a possible flotation.

The brothers showed early signs that they would grow up to be tech pioneers and by eight years of age Patrick had taken his first computer course at the University of Limerick.

He later attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but dropped out, while John attended Harvard.

The company has some notable names on its board, including former Bank of England governor Mark Carney, but sceptics say Stripe has yet to show its revenues or profits and has refused to open its books.

2. Pension Bee

135m windfall: Pension Bee founder Romi Savov

Founded in 2014 by Romi Savova, 35, this company is proof that the best business ideas are always the simplest.

The firm is behind a smartphone app that lets people consolidate their pension savings into one pot and manage them digitally  particularly useful for those who have worked at lots of different companies over the course of their careers.

This week Pension Bee unveiled plans for a 300million float in London, putting Savova in line for a 135million windfall.

Born in Bulgaria and raised in South Africa, the former Goldman Sachs banker had the idea for the business after struggling to move her own pension pot when switching jobs.

While running the company, she has also given birth to two children and has written about the difficulties female entrepreneurs face.

3. Deliveroo

Remarkably the food delivery entrepreneur Will Shu claims he never wanted to start his own company. I never set out to be a founder or a CEO.

I was never into start-ups. Im not one of those Silicon Valley types with a million ideas. I had one idea, he said after the firm confirmed plans to list on the London stock exchange.

The flotation  valued at up to 8.8billion  has set tongues wagging in the City and would be the largest in a decade, since Glencores mammoth 38billion IPO in 2011.

Shu will sell shares in the float worth up to 30.8million and retain a 6.3 per cent stake valued as much as 530million.

But in an early setback, big institutional investors including Aberdeen Standard and Aviva said they would shun the companys shares because of concerns over workers rights.

Deliveroo has responded by saying riders have freedom to choose their hours and analysts believe there would be plenty of appetite for the shares even without the backing of major fund managers.

4. The Hut Group

The Hut Group has wasted no time in becoming a stock market darling, with the retailers shares rising 26 per cent since it floated in September.

Founder and boss Matt Moulding, 48, has already scooped 54million at the float and is in line to take a stupendous 840million payout in the spring, the biggest ever jackpot to a British chief executive.

The Hut Group founder Matthew Moulding (pictured with wife Jodie) has already scooped 54m at the float and is in line to take a stupendous 840m payout in the spring

Mouldings rise is a classic rags-to-riches fairy tale for a boy from the back streets of Lancashire but many are still uncomfortable with his excessive pay, corporate governance standards and lifestyle.

Moulding also comes in for stick for the amount of oiled-up, bare-chested photographs there are of him in the public eye.

Many joke there are more available than of Russian president Vladimir Putin.

5. End

Another success story for two young men in their 30s.

Premium clothing retailer End was snapped up by private equity giant Carlyle Group for 750million earlier this week.

Founded in Newcastle in 2005 by university friends Christiaan Ashworth, 38, and John Parker, 39  the two will now join the ranks of the super-rich after selling their majority stake.

End Clothing founders Christiann Ashworth and John Parker. The retailer was snapped up by private equity giant Carlyle Group for 750m earlier this week

End, which sells brands from Adidas to Gucci, has three stores  in Newcastle, London and Glasgow.

Its largest revenue source is its website, as Ashworth, with his economics degree, and Parker, with his IT degree, realised the power of ecommerce.

The deal is proof of the shift in the retail world from bricks and mortar to online.

6. Moonpig

Moonpig floated in January to little fanfare but made a small fortune for its executives.

Former WH Smith chief and Moonpig chairman Kate Swann netted 7million, while chief executive Nickyl Raithatha got 11million.

Many of the firms 450 staff were also given shares but founder and Dragons Den star Nick Jenkins sold his remaining shares in 2016.

The digital greeting cards maker float shows that the UK tech sector is booming and investors cant get enough during lockdown.

7. Dr. Martens

This punk brand joined the mainstream when it floated in January this year.

The float was cheered by skinheads around the world and saw dozens of Dr. Martens executives and former staff take a multi-million pound windfall.

It was also a particularly lucrative day for the Griggs family who bought the rights to manufacture the shoes back in back in the 50s.

Descendant Max Griggs, 80, and his son, Stephen, 57, owned a 10 per cent stake worth 330million.

Dr. Martens has enjoyed a resurgence in recent years with models Gigi Hadid and Hailey Baldwin sporting them.

The brands come a long way since the Sex Pistols.
An antibody (CoV-X2) was constructed by the ATAC team from two potent monoclonal antibody candidates derived from humans, chosen from a shortlist of over 100 antibodies. Credit: Louis Reed / Unsplash

A new antibody that can mount a double attack on the SARS-CoV-2 virus by binding to two different sites on the spike protein is starting human trials, leading to hopes of an antibody therapy that can maintain its effectiveness even against new variants of coronavirus.

A virus is constantly mutating. Staying ahead of the evolutionary game is key in the fight against an infectious virusespecially one like the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which has its genetic material encoded in RNA rather than the more stable DNA. Even the smallest change in its surface spike proteins can make it unrecognisable to the host's immune system, meaning a drug that's effective on the original virus may have little impact on its successors. That's why researchers are working against the clock to develop treatments and vaccines to tackle troublesome variants of the coronavirus, of which there are currently three of concern, with more likely to come.

Many groups are putting their money on antibody cocktails to treat the symptoms of a COVID-19 infection. "The idea is that one antibody in the cocktail will bind to a particular spike protein on the virus and another antibody will bind to another," said Professor Qiang Pan-Hammarstrom from Sweden's Karolinska Institute. "That way, the cocktail still works even when one of the spike proteins mutates."

The international project known as ATAC, however, is taking a radically different approach. Its researchers developed a single antibody that can mount a double attack on the coronavirus, rather than two antibodies working in tandem. The group's 'bispecific' antibody binds to two separate sites on the spike protein on the virus' surface, therefore remaining potent even if one of the two sites undergoes a significant mutation.

"Experimentsboth in-vitro and using animal modelsshow this antibody binds well to all variants of the virus," said Prof. Pan-Hammarstrom, who is the coordinator of the ATAC consortium. "Our two-in-one model seems to prevent the virus from escaping the immune response."

Double attack

Late last year, a two-antibody cocktail created by biotech company Regeneron brought hope for coronavirus patients  studies showed it boosted the body's defence against COVID-19, reducing hospitalisations and deaths. It was authorised for emergency use in the US. In February, a second cocktailthis one produced by Eli Lillywas given similar US approval, and shortly after, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) expressed a positive opinion of Lilly's cocktail. But less than a month on, new studies suggest the treatment is being outwitted by a constantly evolving virus, with new variants of the disease showing resistance to the monoclonal, or lab-made, antibodies.

"The coronavirus is mutating, and it will continue to mutate, so we need treatments that can keep up with these changes and work effectively on all variants of the virus," said Prof. Pan-Hammarstrom. "In other words, we need solutions that save lives now and also prepare us for the future."

Though bispecific antibodies, such as the one emerging from the ATAC consortium, are gaining popularity in the treatment of certain cancers (where one part of an antibody might bind to a tumour cell and the other to an immune cell), the ATAC researchers are the first to produce a bispecific antibody against SARS-CoV-2, according to Prof. Pan-Hammarstrom.

"This antibody means we can stay one step ahead of the virus," said Prof. Pan-Hammarstrom. A paper describing their findings has been published in the scientific journal Nature.

The ATAC antibody (CoV-X2) was constructed by the team from two potent monoclonal antibody candidates derived from humans, chosen from a shortlist of over 100 antibodies. It is now being prepared for Phase 1 clinical trials, during which it will be tested on healthy volunteers. The trials will take place in Italy, the locus of Europe's first brutal outbreak of COVID-19 and home to an ATAC partner. Prof. Pan-Hammarstrom is hopeful that these trials will have been launched by the summer, and that a new, variant-resistant antibody could be on the market within six to eight months.

"We have some good vaccines for COVID and I'm sure there will soon be vaccines for variants of the virus too, but infected patients are still getting very sick from this disease and they will continue to do so until we have some really good therapies available for them," said Prof. Pan-Hammarstrom. "Thus far, only two therapies have been found to work in large-scale randomised clinical trialssteroids (dexamethasone), which are used to reduce inflammation, and  medicine(s) used to treat for rheumatoid arthritis (drugs that block the interleukin-6 receptor), which is also immunomodulatory (modifies the response of the immune system).

"This is very disappointingwe definitely need to find new drugs to treat this illness."

She added: "We are confident that our antibody could be one of the treatments clinicians and patients have been waiting for."

Complementary

Since the onset of the pandemic, hundreds of projects have sprung up around the world to develop monoclonal antibodies to treat COVID-19 patients. These antibodies work in a similar way to vaccines, first recognising and then neutralising a virus, though they are regarded as complementary to, not replacements for, regular vaccines.

When a person receives a vaccination, their immune system is triggered into producing infection-fighting antibodies and it can take several weeks for immunity to set in. By contrast, monoclonal antibodies (generated from natural antibodies that have undergone modifications) enter the bloodstream through a drip and are ready for action straight away. But though these antibodies mimic the infection-fighting work of the immune system, they don't last forevertypically, a monoclonal antibody will stick around for a number of weeks or months.

"Why do we need antibody therapies when there are now good vaccines against COVID? Because some people are immunocompromised and don't respond to a vaccine, plus of course it will take several years for the whole world to be vaccinated against COVID-19, so there will be an ongoing need for medicines that can temperately protect us or treat the disease," explained Prof. Pan-Hammarstrom.

The hope is to find an effective antibody treatment that can be mass produced and distributed at speed to hospitals around the world, though cost is a factor to be consideredantibodies are notoriously expensive to produce (to give an idea, the average annual price of monoclonal antibody cancer treatment in the US exceeds 80,000 per person). However, Prof. Pan-Hammarstrom says ATAC's double-whammy antibody goes some way to addressing this problem as a single antibody is a lot cheaper to produce than a cocktail of two, such as the ones created by Regeneron and Eli Lilly.

"I'm not saying it will be half the cost, but it will be more cost effective," she said.

Professor Luis Serrano from the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Spain, who was involved in COVID-19-related research nearer the start of the pandemic but is not involved in ATAC, welcomes research into bispecific antibodies but stresses the importance of 'very, very high affinity' between the antibody and both sites. "Otherwise non-binding to one site could result in the antibody binding weakly to the other, and not being effective," he said.

Models

Being prepared for the next pandemicor for a catastrophic twist to the current onethrough large-scale international collaborations is a major theme in today's research community.

"It's difficult to make predictions on whether a more dangerous variant will emerge in the future, but we can prepare for it," said Prof. Pan-Hammarstrom. She is among those calling for greater links between scientists and industry, where researchers are invited to float and test new ideas, and banks of antibodies are established well in advance of a new infection taking root.

"If we can prove the concept of our bispecific antibody, we can use computer and animal models to predict what a virus might do next, and to come up with solutions before there's an actual problem," she said.

"Our consortium is already starting to work on this idea with scientists from around the world, including China. They have identified sequences for viruses from animals that don't yet infect humans, but one day might mutate and do just that. We could prepare ourselves by making antibodies against these viruses already now. We could create a pool of antibodies to dip into the moment a new infection emerges. We could stop the next pandemic before a single person has died."

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
Actor Sean Ward has shared an angry rant telling fans not to have a Covid vaccine, claiming it'll turn them into 'super-spreaders'.

The Our Girl star, 32, posted his nonsensical argument to Instagram Stories on Thursday, just days after he was slammed for joining thousands of mask-free protesters for an anti-lockdown march through London.

Sean struggled to hide his emotion as he faced the camera to talk about survival rate statistics on the same day research claimed to have found vaccinations spared more than 6,000 lives by the end of February.

Saying his piece: Sean Ward shared an angry rant telling fans not to have a Covid vaccine to Instagram Stories on Thursday, claiming it'll turn them into 'super-spreaders'

Sean, who has also appeared in Coronation Street, said: 'This is just your daily reminder that Covid-19 has an effective survival rate of 99.96 per cent if you are age 0 to 60 with or without an underlying health condition.

'The vaccine has 95. The Johnson & Johnson has 81. So you're taking the medicine that is putting you more at risk from dying to Covid and you don't see the problem here [sic].

'Stop. Stop with the vaccine. The more you have the vaccine, the closer we are to them coming to vaccinate the kids. '

He then continued, tapping his head, as he said: 'Don't take a medicine that is going to give you a less than effective chance to beat the virus. Come on. Common sense.'

Protesting: The Our Girl star, 32, was slammed for joining thousands of mask-free protesters for an anti-lockdown march through London at the weekend (pictured at the demonstration)

More than 28million Britons have so far had their Covid jabs, with Pfizer, Oxford AstraZeneca and the Moderna vaccinations all being used in the UK.

And speaking as new data was revealed on Thursday suggesting more than 6,000 lives have been saved by vaccinations since February, Dr Mary Ramsay reassured people of their 'excellent safety record'.

Dr Ramsay, PHE head of immunisation, said: 'The vaccines have an excellent safety record and I would encourage anyone who is offered a vaccine to take it as soon as possible.'

She also reminded people to continue 'practising good hand hygiene and staying at home' while more data is gathered on how well they impact rates of transmission.

Despite the new data and government guidelines, Sean continued to voice his own theory and admitted he'd lost followers for airing his thoughts.

Angry: Sean became emotional as he shared his thoughts with his 165K Instagram followers asking them to use 'common sense'

Vaccinations: Government data up to March 23 shows 28,653,523 people have received a first vaccine dose, a rise of 325,650 on the previous day

He said: 'Me as an asymptomatic person gets f*****g s**t flung at them. I lost over a couple of thousand followers because I'm asymptomatic and could now spread it.

'So if you take the vaccine, you get low to no symptoms. Low to no symptoms, that's what a vaccine does. It doesn't stop transmission, so you can still pass it onto someone, but you're going to have low to no symptoms.

'Which I'm sorry, makes you asymptomatic. It turns YOU into a super-spreader, at a 95% survival rate. And we're the f*****g nut jobs. The vaccine is not safe. Stop.'

Not done with his Stories sessions, Sean returned to Instagram later in the day to claim that 'the science is being suppressed' and say he's going to have to do a post soon about 'World War Three'.

It comes as Matt Hancock said the vaccine rollout's success meant he could 'see an end' to the crisis, after new Government-backed research had found vaccination spared more than 6,000 lives by the end of February.

Out of line: Sean was condemned by social media followers after taking part in an anti-lockdown demonstration over the weekend

HOW DO THE UK-APPROVED MODERNA, OXFORD AND PFIZER VACCINES COMPARE? Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech have both released interim results of the final stage clinical trials of their vaccines, with both suggesting they are extremely effective. Oxford University has published the findings from its second phase, which show the jab provokes an immune response and is safe to use  it is not yet clear how well it protects against coronavirus in the real world. Here's how they compare: CREATOR: MODERNA (US) PFIZER (US) & BIONTECH (DE) OXFORD UNIVERSITY (UK) How it works: mRNA vaccine  Genetic material from coronavirus is injected to trick immune system into making 'spike' proteins and learning how to attack them. mRNA vaccine  both Moderna's and Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccines work in the same way. Recombinant viral vector vaccine  a harmless cold virus taken from chimpanzees was edited to produce the 'spike' proteins and look like the coronavirus. How well does it work? 94.5% effective (90 positive in placebo group, 5 positive in vaccine group) . 95% effective (160 positive in placebo group, 8 positive in vaccine group). 62% - 90% effective, depending on dosing. How much does it cost? Moderna confirmed it will charge countries placing smaller orders, such as the UK's five million doses, between 24 and 28 per dose. US has secured 100million doses for $1.525billion (1.16bn), suggesting it will cost $15.25 (11.57) per dose. The US will pay $1.95bn (1.48bn) for the first 100m doses, a cost of $19.50 (14.80) per dose. Expected to cost 2.23 per dose. The UK's full 100m dose supply could amount to just 223million. Can we get hold of it? UK has ordered five million doses which will become available from March 2021. Moderna will produce 20m doses this year, expected to stay in the US. UK has already ordered 40million doses, of which 10million could be available in 2020. First vaccinations expected in December. UK has already ordered 100million doses and is expected to be first in line to get it once approved. What side effects does it cause? Moderna said the vaccine is 'generally safe and well tolerated'. Most side effects were mild or moderate but included pain, fatigue and headache, which were 'generally' short-lived. Pfizer and BioNTech did not produce a breakdown of side effects but said the Data Monitoring Committee 'has not reported any serious safety concerns'. Oxford said there have been no serious safety concerns. Mild side effects have been relatively common in small trials, with many participants reporting that their arm hurt after the jab and they later suffered a headache, exhaustion or muscle pain. More data is being collected. Advertisement

His comments to the Financial Times also came as forecasts by No10's scientists suggested the number of Covid patients being admitted to English hospitals is poised to halve in a fortnight, from 294 to fewer than 150.

The projections from the SPI-M modelling group also projected the number of deaths to drop fourfold, from 92 to 20, early next month and the level of inpatients with the disease to plummet from 4,000 to about 2,000.

The promising calculations, which have been presented to ministers, were made after children returned to classrooms this month, The Times reports. There were fears that reopening schools could trigger a wave of infections.

SPI-M's modelling assumes that vaccinations will continue at current levels. More than 450,000 Brits are being jabbed every day, but there are fears that supply issues next month could drastically slow the scheme down.

Freedom: The actor posted a lengthy Instagram post in which he outlined his reasons for taking part in the controversial march in London on Sunday

Government data up to March 23 shows 28,653,523 people have received a first vaccine dose, a rise of 325,650 on the previous day. Both AstraZeneca and Pfizer's vaccines have been shown to cut deaths and hospitalisations by more than 90 per cent after both doses and symptomatic infections by over 60 per cent.

All the the metrics now suggest Boris Johnson's cautious roadmap out of lockdown is firmly on track and the unusually optimistic projections from No10's experts will pile more pressure on the PM to speed up his plan.

Sean's rant comes after he was condemned by social media followers after taking part in an anti-lockdown demonstration over the weekend.

The Our Girl star joined thousands of mask-free protesters as they thoughtlessly marched from Hyde Park to St Paul's Cathedral and back to Westminster ahead of the anniversary of the first UK lockdown, which began on March 23 2020.

Sean filmed himself travelling to London by car before taking part in the mass event, from which she shared a series of video updates on Instagram.

Speaking out: Ward insisted 'the psychological trauma so many people have been put under has to end'

Getting involved: The Our Girl star joined thousands of mask-free protesters as they thoughtlessly marched from Hyde Park to St Paul's Cathedral and back to Westminster

Without a face covering in sight, the actor - who has also appeared in Coronation Street - posed for cheerful selfies with pals as they crammed in to rally against restrictions brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

'Worst Bill since Gates,' he announced in reference to Britain's third national lockdown. 'This is happening all over the world now, in every major city. This shouldn't be happening, we shouldn't need to convince this many people.

'The psychological trauma that so many people have been put under has to end. Someone has to be held accountable for it.'

Captioning a video of the demonstration, he added: 'Over 80,000 people. All ages. Races. Creeds. All standing together for our basic human rights. I know it's easy to give up our rights in such terrible times as now hoping you're doing your bit and helping but it won't be temporary.

'Once we loose the right to protest and your basic human rights. It's game over. The irony of it all is we can't all be crazy. Look at how many people are there. That's 80,000 mums, dads brothers sisters.

'We aren't all conspiracy theorist who hate the nhs. Quite the opposite. I have nhs whistleblowers in my DMs. Theres a lot going on behind the smoke and mirrors of constant fear. It's deep. Stay powerful.' [sic]

Not happy: Followers were divided over Ward's decision to get involved, with many slamming him for his perceived stupidity

However his appearance at the event divided his 164,000 Instagram followers, with many slamming the star for his perceived stupidity.

Commenting on the post, one disappointed fan wrote: 'Sorry Sean but I am unfollowing you, I've been here since our girl started and I've stayed because everyone is entitled to their own opinions but promoting this is a step too far for me whilst my friends husband is currently fighting for his life and all these people who won't vaccinate and protest are just spreaders. Shame on you all.'

A second added: 'I don't understand this. Do these people not believe covid is real or don't believe in the vaccine or don't care which is it??? We know the vaccine doesn't stop the virus spreading. But medical research shows us its 99% effective in lowering the awful symptoms.

'No one's claiming it cures the virus. I'm confused as to what these people are angry about? Freedom? I'm pretty free here sitting in the park enjoying the sun mask on if need be near many people. What's the issue? People are dying from this god awful virus. Stop this. You'd soon all need the NHS if you caught it. These NHS workers and key workers. Thank god for them!'

Bare faced cheek: Without a face covering in sight, the actor posed for cheerful selfies with pals as they crammed in to rally against restrictions brought about by the coronavirus pandemic

Packed: Thousands of protesters waving signs marched through central London after meeting earlier in the afternoon in Hyde Park

While a third commented: 'We are in lockdown!! Wtf! Ridiculous. Irresponsible. What a k**b. How to ruin your 'career.''

Another furious follower wrote: 'Idiots. And to think they allow people like you to breed. SHAKE MY HEAD.'

Elsewhere others supported Ward, with one writing: 'Why people announce they are unfollowing what do you want him to say please don't, he was fighting for your freedom, even if you don't agree, and hundreds and thousands more were around the world love and light.

Familiar face: Laurence Fox was seen attending the rally in Hyde Park London. The actor is fighting to become the next mayor of London

Keep on: However others supported Ward and his decision to go on Sunday's march

'Seemingly in agreement, a second added: 'Absolutely love this! Gutted I couldn't go.'

The Metropolitan Police walked with protesters on their route along Oxford Street, Chancery Lane, the Embankment and Parliament Square before heading up Whitehall.

Among those attending the march were controversial actor Laurence Fox and Piers Corbyn, brother of the former Labour Party leader Jeremy.

Crowds that gathered in Trafalgar Square were dispersed, while other demonstrators returned to Hyde Park.

Don't mind me: But Ward was hard to miss as he mingled with pals during the event

But police were met with more hostile responses later in the evening, as protesters threw bottles and cans at them and some officers were later forced to run back to their vans.

A group of around 100 chased police vehicles, punching and kicking them, as they left the area.

Members of the public left the park, with small children carried by their parents.

Around 100 police officers wearing riot helmets and carrying shields then arrived and urged people to go home.

The Met said 36 people had been arrested by 6.45pm, many for breaching Covid regulations.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, who led the policing operation, said while the majority in attendance caused no trouble, there were pockets of disorder with crowds throwing bottles and other missiles and a number of officers were assaulted.

Trouble: Police officers detain a demonstrator in Hyde Park, London, during a protest against lockdown

On a challenging day for the force, officers tried to explain to people their actions were unlawful under Covid-19 regulations, and encouraged them to go home to protect themselves and others during the public health crisis.

'Where this approach did not work and officers were met with hostility, police enforced the regulations and made arrests,' he said.

DAC Taylor added: 'We once again saw police come under fire from missiles thrown by people in crowds, and several were injured as a result of targeted assaults.

'It is totally unacceptable and saddening that officers enforcing regulations that are there to protect us all were the victims of violent attacks. I wish them a speedy recovery.

'Many of those on duty in central London today should have been in their local communities dealing with violent crime and other local issues, but they played a role in reducing the risk of Covid-19 spreading by dispersing crowds.'

MailOnline contacted a representative for Sean for further comment at the time.
Janani Ramachandran waited roughly an hour after Gov. Gavin Newsom nominated Rob Bonta to be state attorney general to post on Twitter that she was running for Bontas soon-to-be-former East Bay Assembly seat.

I wanted to get a head start, said Ramachandran, a 2020 Berkeley Law school graduate and social justice attorney who launched her campaign three weeks ago, soon after Bonta emerged as a front-runner to replace Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.

Shes not alone  with an emphasis on she. Most of those who say they are running for Bontas seat or are pondering it are women of color. If they won, they would help to better reflect Californias demographics in the Legislature, where only 31% of the members are women and just 18% identify as women of color.

Women are really standing up, said Oakland City Council member Sheng Thao, who said she is thinking about running. If elected, she would be the first Hmong woman to serve in the Legislature. Women lead differently than men, Thao said.

Bonta, D-Alameda, has represented the 18th District in the Assembly since 2012. If confirmed as attorney general, he would be the first Filipino American to hold the job. A special election would be held to fill out the rest of his Assembly term through 2022.

Perhaps the most prominent politician in the district, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, is not interested in the job, according to a spokesperson. She will be termed out next year. Neither is Oakland City Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas.

I am not interested, but look forward to seeing how the field develops and hope that AD18 continues to have strong progressive leadership, Bas told The Chronicle.

Alameda Vice Mayor Malia Vella, who lives roughly a mile from Bonta, told The Chronicle she is running.

I have the experience that it takes and I know the district and the region well, said Vella, who is a staff attorney for the Teamsters Local 856.

Others who have announced their candidacy include James Aguilar, 21, a San Leandro school board member who in 2018 became the youngest LGBTQ person elected to the panel.

Also pondering a bid is Liz Ortega-Toro, secretary-treasurer of the Alameda Labor Council. She is the first Latina to hold that position.

Mia Bonta, Rob Bontas wife and president of the Alameda school board, is also believed to be planning a run. She did not respond to a request for comment. Oakland Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan, a past candidate for mayor, also did not respond to a query about whether she might run.

Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli
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.
AS more women continue to venture into politics and government manning highest posts in the world, Tanzania recently recorded another milestone by swearing in the first female President, Samia Suluhu Hassan after the sudden death of late President John Magufuli.

Africa has been slow to embrace women leaders in politics, but there is an exclusive group of female presidents who have laid the foundations for future female leadership in Africa.

Wielding power, Samia becomes one of two serving female heads of State in Africa, alongside Ethiopia's Sahle-Work Zewde. Others include Ellen Johnson Sirleaf - Liberia, Sylvie Kinigi - Burundi, Rose Francine Rogombe - Gabon, Monique Ohsan-Bellepeau - Mauritius, Joyce Banda - Malawi, Catherine Samba-Panza- Central African Republic, Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri - South Africa and Ameenah Gurib- Fakim - Mauritius.

Two years ago, in an interview ahead of women's day commemoration, Ms Samia was quoted as saying Tanzania could have a female president because it has been possible in other nations, especially in the ongoing efforts to eliminate oppressive systems and give women the opportunity to scale up.

President Samia becomes the tenth woman who has held the presidential title in African politics and the first in Tanzanian politics, some women become presidents through the election process and others in an interim capacity at a time of need.

All of them have made their mark on politics in their respective countries while their presence as heads of state has been positive for gender equality in Africa. In July 2015, CCM's presidential nominee, John Magufuli chose her as his running mate for the 2015 election, making her the first female running mate in the party's history.

She subsequently became the first female vice-president in the history of the country upon Magufuli's victory in the election. Due to President Magufuli's death on 17 March 2021, Samia, as the vice president, was sworn in as President and will serve the balance of Magufuli's second five-year term.

Ms Samia was born on January 27, 1960, in Zanzibar, a former slaving hub and trading outpost in the Indian Ocean. Then still a Muslim sultanate, Zanzibar did not merge formally with mainland Tanzania for another four years.

Her father was a school teacher and her mother, a housewife. She graduated from high school but has said publicly that her finishing results were poor, and she took a clerkship in a government office at 17.

By 1988, after undertaking further study, Ms Samia had risen through the ranks to become a development officer in the Zanzibar government. She was employed as a project manager for the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) and later in the 1990s was made executive director of an umbrella body governing non-governmental organisations in Zanzibar.

In 2000, she was nominated by the CCM to a special seat in Zanzibar's House of Representatives. She then served as a local government minister - first for youth employment, women and children and then for tourism and trade investment. In 2010, she was elected to the National Assembly on mainland Tanzania.

Then- President Jakaya Kikwete appointed her as Minister of State for Union Affairs. She holds university qualifications from Tanzania, Britain and the United States. The mother of four has spoken publicly to encourage Tanzanian women and girls to pursue their dreams.

"I may look polite, and do not shout when speaking, but the most important thing is that everyone understands what I say and things get done as I say," Mama Samia said in a speech last year.

President Samia is the only other current serving female head of state in Africa alongside Ethiopia's President Sahle-Work Zewde, whose role is mainly ceremonial. It should be noted that Estonia is the only country where both women leaders are elected by the people.

New Zealand, Barbados, and Denmark are three other countries with female prime ministers and heads of state, but the latter in these countries are monarchs and therefore not elected. Tanzania has seen recent progress on issues such as girl's access to primary and secondary education and women's representation in decision-making spaces.

For example, from 2010/11 to 2014/15, the proportion of women in senior positions increased from 33 per cent to 41 per cent. Although the country is yet to attain a 50/50 gender threshold, it had managed to surpass the Southern African Development Community (SADC) target of having at least 30 per cent of women in decision-making organs and there were 136 women featured in the 11th Parliament formed after the 2015 General Election - then recorded a slight increase, to 139 Member of Parliament after the 28 October 2020 elections.

To prompt further gender equality progress and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the government of Tanzania has made some efforts to align SDG implementation strategies with its national development plan. By engaging civil society organisations, the government has localised the SDG implementation.

Tanzania has ratified both the 2030 SDG Agenda and the long term 2063 Agenda, as well as regional development plans, such as the SADC and the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (2005- 2020). Yet, current national plans still don't fully capture gender equality issues and women's empowerment.

Women's equality and empowerment is SDG goal number 5, but also integral to all dimensions of inclusive and sustainable development. While gender equality is essentially a question of power, in a male-dominated world, equal power will not happen by itself.

According to an Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) report released recently, the number of women holding the top job - president or prime minister - rose by only two to 22. More than half of countries led by women are in Europe. It further revealed that the number of countries where women hold half or more of ministerial portfolios dropped from 14 to 13.

Twelve countries have no women ministers at all - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Brunei, North Korea, Papua New Guinea, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Vietnam and Yemen. According to UN Women, as of 2020, women serve as Heads of State or Government in only 22 countries and 119 countries have never had a woman leader.

At the current rate, gender equality in the highest positions of power will not be reached for another 130 years. IPU Secretary-General Martin Chungong said discrimination against women prevents them from becoming parliamentarians. In some cases, he said, governments have laws that prevent women from running for office.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Tanzania Governance Women By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"We have in recent years brought to light the phenomenon of violence against women, and there is ample evidence out there that women are now refraining from entering the dangerous terrain of politics on account of harassment, sexism and outright violence, which is something we need to combat," he said.

The IPU report finds progress has been made in all regions of the world. It says the Americas once again tops all other regions with women making up 32.4 per cent of MPs. This, the report says, was despite political upheaval across Latin America. It notes women represented nearly 27 per cent of membership in the U.S. Congress, the highest level in its history.

In sub-Saharan Africa, the report finds Mali and Niger have made significant gains in women's representation, despite grave security risks. It says a few countries in Europe have achieved 30 per cent female representation, while the Middle East and North Africa have lagged with 17 per cent. The worst-performing countries are in the Asia- Pacific region.

The IPU says Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea have no female representation. IPU officials call this a matter of great concern. The report shows the COVID-19 pandemic harmed elections last year, noting that national parliamentary elections were postponed in nearly 20 countries due to restrictions.
WASHINGTON - The oil and gas industry's top lobbying group on Thursday endorsed a federal price on carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming, a reversal of longstanding policy that comes as the Biden administration has pledged dramatic steps to address climate change.

FILE - This Sunday, April 10, 2011 picture shows a rig and supply vessel in the Gulf of Mexico, off the cost of Louisiana. Thirteen states sued the Biden administration Wednesday, March 24, 2021 to end a suspension of new oil and gas leases on federal land and water and to reschedule canceled sales of offshore leases in the Gulf of Mexico, Alaska waters and western states. The Republican-leaning states, led by Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, seek a court order ending the moratorium imposed after Democratic President Joe Biden signed executive orders on climate change on Jan. 27. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

WASHINGTON - The oil and gas industry's top lobbying group on Thursday endorsed a federal price on carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming, a reversal of longstanding policy that comes as the Biden administration has pledged dramatic steps to address climate change.

The American Petroleum Institute, whose members include ExxonMobil, Chevron and other oil giants, announced the shift ahead of a virtual forum Thursday by the Interior Department as it launches a months-long review of the governments oil and gas sales.

API also called for fast-tracking commercial deployment of long-sought technology to capture and store carbon emissions, as well as federal regulation of methane emissions from new and existing oil and gas wells, after strongly resisting such regulations proposed by the Obama administration.

Confronting the challenge of climate change and building a lower-carbon future will require a combination of government policies, industry initiatives and continuous innovation, API President and CEO Mike Sommers said in a statement.

FILE - In this Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021, file photo, then-Rep. Debra Haaland, D-N.M., testifies before a Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources hearing on her nomination to be secretary of the interior, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Haaland, a former two-term New Mexico congresswoman, said she is committed to "strike the right balance" as interior manages oil drilling and other energy development, while seeking to conserve public lands and address climate change. (Leigh Vogel/Pool via AP, File)

The reversal comes as President Joe Biden has made tackling climate change a top priority, moving in his first days in office to suspend oil and gas lease sales from federal lands and waters and cancelling the contentious Keystone XL oil sands pipeline from Canada.

Biden said during the campaign he supports an enforcement mechanism that targets carbon pollution, and the White House has left open use of a carbon tax to help lower U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has spoken in favour of the idea, telling the Senate Finance Committee, We cannot solve the climate crisis without effective carbon pricing.

While industry critics expressed suspicions over the sincerity of the move, Sommers emphasized that oil companies want market-based solutions such as a carbon tax or a cap-and-trade policy, rather than "heavy-handed government regulation.'' The oil industry played a key role in the defeat of proposed cap-and-trade legislation in the Senate a decade ago, and its endorsement of a carbon price and other federal action marks a turnaround after years of opposition to federal legislation to address climate change.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland on Thursday kicked off a broad review of the governments oil and gas program that could lead to a long-term ban on leases or other steps to discourage drilling and reduce emissions.

Industry representatives and Republican lawmakers have sharply criticized the leasing suspension and warn that widespread job losses are likely in energy-producing states should it become permanent.

FILE - In this April 24, 2015, file photo, pumpjacks work in a field near Lovington, N.M. President Joe Biden shut down oil and gas lease sales from the nation's vast public lands and waters in his first days in office, citing worries about climate change. Now his administration has to figure out what do with the multi-billion dollar program without crushing a significant sector of the U.S. economy, while fending off sharp criticism from congressional Republicans and the oil industry. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

But Haaland, the nations first Native American cabinet member, said it was time to take a longer view just as her ancestors did as they farmed the same land for centuries. In order to tackle the climate crisis and strengthen our nations economy, we must manage our lands and waters and resources, not just across fiscal years, but across generations, she said.

Ahead of the forum, the White House hosted a videoconference meeting Monday with industry executives, including ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell. The White House said climate adviser Gina McCarthy made clear that the administration is not fighting the oil and gas sector."

The meeting came after weeks of friction over moves the administration made to halt new oil leasing on federal lands and to review Trump administration deregulation efforts aimed at helping U.S. oil and gas producers.

During a Thursday press conference, Biden pitched an emerging $3 trillion proposal to upgrade U.S. infrastructure and other needs as an opportunity to create new jobs without making global warming worse.

"We have over 100,000 (oil and gas) wells that are not capped, leaking methane. We can put as many pipefitters and miners to work capping those wells at the same price that they would charge to dig those wells, Biden said.

President Joe Biden speaks during a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, March 25, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The White House declined comment Thursday, but the industry turnaround on carbon pricing was met with doubt among some environmentalists and scorn from congressional Republicans.

Were deeply skeptical, said Joshua Axelrod, senior advocate for the Natural Resources Defence Council.

API has not specified what price should be put on carbon, and a tax alone would not directly address other environmental problems caused by drilling, such as groundwater contamination from fracking or air pollution from oil refineries, Axelrod said.

Louisiana Rep. Garret Graves, top Republican on a special House committee on climate change, said a carbon tax would increase the cost of everything from food for our families to fuel for our cars, while costing jobs and harming the economy.

We need serious American solutions that are based on American innovation ... not a cop-out approach to appease the radical left, Graves said.

Biden has already postponed lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and western states and suspended leasing in Alaskas Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Interior officials say the fossil fuel program has failed to consider climate impacts and that irresponsible leasing practices carve up wildlife habitat, threaten Native American cultural and sacred sites and lock up public lands that could be used for recreation or conservation.

After what they call a fire sale of public energy reserves under former President Donald Trump, Bidens team argues that companies still have plenty of undeveloped leases  almost 14 million non-producing acres in western states and more than 9 million acres offshore. Companies also have about 7,700 unused drilling permits  enough for years.

Despite the moratorium on new leases, the Biden administration has continued to issue permits for existing leases, including more than 200 in March, records show.

Environmentalists want that to stop, but an outright drilling ban would raise thorny legal issues. Companies could claim they have the right to extract oil and gas after spending years and millions of dollars to secure leases.

Thirteen states sued the Biden administration Wednesday to end the leasing suspension. The Republican-leaning states, led by Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, seek a court order ending the moratorium imposed by Biden in a Jan. 27 executive order.
Were proud to welcome Stateline into the Thompson Insurance Group family of agencies. We understand the impact Virgil has had on the community, and were committed to providing exemplary insurance services to its current and new clients

Thompson Insurance Group announced that Stateline Insurance & Financial Services of East Providence has joined the Thompson Insurance Group. By merging with Thompson, Stateline customers will receive access to a greater insurance company portfolio and services with improved technology.

Established by Virgil Sales in 1981, Stateline has served the insurance needs of the East Bay community for 40 years, insuring thousands of families and small businesses.

When I looked at the many options to provide my valued clients with even greater opportunity, I could not think of anyone better than the Thompson Insurance Group. I know Ken and his team will work with Statelines longtime staff to make a smooth transition for our clients and provide even greater access to new markets, said Virgil Sales, principal of Stateline Insurance & Financial Group.

Thompson Insurance Group based in East Providence, Rhode Island, is an insurance, real estate and investment company, which includes Lezaola Thompson Insurance, Soucy Insurance Agency, MKI Insurance Agency, and Stateline Insurance. The group was formed in 2018, when Lezaola Thompson and Soucy Insurance merged, and is owned by Kenneth Thomson, Jr. A leader in the insurance industry, Thompson is president of the Independent Insurance Agency of Rhode Island.

Were proud to welcome Stateline into the Thompson Insurance Group family of agencies. We understand the impact Virgil has had on the community, and were committed to providing exemplary insurance services to its current and new clients, said Kenneth Thompson, chief executive officer of the Thompson Insurance Group.

Stateline staff will continue to work at the Thompson offices to provide solutions for the individuals and businesses that rely on the agency for coverage. The agency will retain its name and contact information, Sales explained.

About Thompson Insurance Group

The Thompson Insurance Group, comprised of Lezaola Thompson Insurance, Soucy Insurance Agency, Mercier and Kosinski Insurance, and Stateline Insurance & Financial Services, Inc., works with individuals and businesses across Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts to address a variety of insurance needs. A real estate, insurance, and investment company, Thompson Insurance Group provides tailored solutions for financial security. With the combined resources of the insurance agencies, the Thompson Insurance Group advises clients on securing affordable lines of coverage from over 25 insurance companies.

For more information, visit the Thompson Insurance Group website at https://thompsoninsurancegroup.net/


Advertisement

Razor wire steel fences and road blocks around the US Capitol complex have finally been removed more than two months after the deadly riots - but an inner layer of barricades will still remain around the building for now.

The imposing 7-foot fence line that has cut off the entire area to pedestrians and traffic since the January 6 riots has now been heavily scaled back.

Photos taken this week show just how drastically the area has changed since the fencing was erected and tens of thousands of National Guardsmen were brought in to patrol the area.

Pedestrians are now able to access the area and vehicles can now drive on roads that have been shut for two months.

Capitol police confirmed on Wednesday that the fencing on the outer perimeter of the complex has been taken down and local streets in the vicinity have reopened.

 Slide me  The imposing 7-foot fence line around the US Capitol complex that has cut off the entire area to pedestrians and traffic since the January 6 riots has now been heavily scaled back. An outer perimeter surrounding the Capitol compex has now been removed, which has allowed pedestrians to get closer to the building

The inner perimeter of fencing, which is directly around the Capitol building, will stay up while authorities and lawmakers continue to try and hash out a long-term plan for security.

Strings of razor wire atop the remaining fence has now also been removed.

As part of the scaling back, Independence and Constitution avenues, the two major thoroughfares that flank the Capitol, have reopened opened for traffic for the first time in months.

The fencing had cost roughly $1.2 million a week to remain up.

Capitol Police said they were ready to 'quickly ramp up security at a moment's notice' if it was needed.

The political pressure to remove the security fencing has been building for several weeks now.

Lawmakers from both parties have decried the fencing as unsightly, expensive and beyond what is necessary.

Members of Congress have described their unease at arriving for work each day in what can feel like a war zone, with checkpoints and National Guard troops lining the perimeter fence.

 Slide me  Steel fences and National Guardsmen along the outer perimeter of the Capitol complex are now longer in place but several road blocks, which were already in place, are still there. Pedestrians can now access the area for the first time in months

 Slide me  Security fences that were erected around the National Wall and Washington Monument in the days either side of the inauguration have now also been removed

 Slide me  Constitution Avenue (pictured above), which is the major thoroughfare that flanks the Capitol, has now reopened. Road blocks and razor wire fence that had lined the perimeter have now been taken down

 Slide me  Roads blocks along this stretch outside the Capitol complex have now been removed but an inner perimeter fence surrounding the building remains in place

Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, had compared it to a combat zone in Afghanistan, saying 'we are way overreacting'. The No. 2 Senate Democrat, Dick Durbin, had called it 'ghastly.'

Republican congresswoman Lauren Boebert repeatedly slammed the security and branded it 'Fort Pelosi'.

The heightened security measures had been in place since the January 6 riots when crowds of MAGA supporters stormed the Capitol in a failed attempt to overturn Biden's election win.

Five people died after the rioters, many who have since been charged, stormed the building.

As many as 20,000 National Guardsmen were brought in to patrol the fence perimeters throughout Washington DC in the aftermath of the riots and the days either side of Biden's inauguration.

At least 5,000 National Guard troops remained in DC the weeks to follow and Capitol Police last week asked to extend the deployment of nearly 2,300 troops for an additional two months.

The National Guardsmen on duty at the Capitol has cost more than $500 million since the riots.

Business owners and residents in the immediate vicinity of the Capitol hailed the decision to remove the fences.

Some restaurants inside the perimeter haven't been able to open since they were blocked off on January 6.

 Slide me 

 Slide me 

 Slide me 

 Slide me 

 Slide me 

 Slide me 

Capitol police confirmed on Wednesday that the fencing on the outer perimeter of the complex has been taken down and local streets in the vicinity have reopened
The head of the PSNI's specialist domestic abuse unit has said violence against women perpetrated by older children is on the increase as she welcomed new legislation designed to help deal with the growing instances of matricide.

Detective Chief Superintendent Lindsay Fisher was speaking after the brutal murder of Karen McClean (50) by her son Ken Flanagan at the weekend.

Flanagan (26) was known to police and had been red-flagged to them and social services just hours before he stabbed his mother to death at her Rathcoole home before murdering his girlfriend Stacey Knell (30) and then taking his own life.

While unable to comment directly on live cases, as head of the PSNI's Public Protection Branch, Det Ch Supt Fisher added: "One murder is too many. Behind every single victim there is a family that's left behind."

The Domestic Abuse and Civil Proceedings Bill, expected to pass into legislation later this year, will broaden out the definition of domestic violence to cover abuse carried out by an older child.

"One of the good things about our legislation, which is going to be wider than some other parts of the UK, is to recognise those difficult dynamics," she said.

"We are seeing children staying at home into their older years so there is always that opportunity for different dynamics of domestic abuse to be present, up to where it is fatal.

"So again, it is about trying to reassure every victim of domestic abuse - no matter what the relationship - to seek help, to ring 999 in an emergency.

"Tell a friend, tell a family member, let someone know what is going on behind closed doors, because that is the only way that we as police will be able to step in and to do what we can around protecting and reducing the likelihood of them becoming a repeat victim."

During the first lockdown in March last year police noticed an almost instant spike in reports of abuse.

"Our weekly averages did increase from just over 500 to just under 600, so there was on average 16 extra per week, which is significant because we know every time a victim picks up the phone, and has the courage to pick up the phone, they are already likely repeat victims of abuse," she said.

"There's a well-quoted statistic that on average a person is a victim of domestic abuse around 30 times before they have the courage to pick up the phone and tell police.

"That is a staggering statistic. The fact that domestic abuse makes up almost 20% of the PSNI's total crime type... again, a staggering statistic.

"During lockdown we actually implemented the domestic abuse call back team, working to call all victims of domestic abuse back within 24 hours, and to date we have been able to contact over 13,000 people.

"That is in addition to contact from their investigating officer and from their initial call attendance - so an additional reassurance, an additional contact away from all the trauma of the last 24 hours to reach out, ask if there's any additional support they maybe need, or if there is any other information they didn't provide at that time.

"Through that we have seen over 470 additional referrals, so it is something I feel is worthwhile, and if we are able to get extra information from victims of domestic abuse and maybe push that over the criminal justice line even for one person, it is absolutely worth it."

The uptake for the Domestic Violence and Abuse Disclosure scheme, which gives the public the right to know if a person has a record of violent or abusive behaviour, remains low here.

"We do receive a number of applications every month, it's something I keep an eye on," Det Ch Supt Fisher explained.

"We have normally in and around 20 applications monthly, so it isn't that high when you think about the 32,000 incidents reported to police every year."

The new coercive control legislation is expected to be in place before the end of the year.

Northern Ireland is currently the only part of the UK not to have laws for controlling abusive behaviour.

"I really welcome the new Domestic Abuse Bill and everything it brings," she added.

"And we are doing a significant amount of work before it goes live at the end of the year to make sure officers are aware of what coercive control looks like."
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 25, 2021) - Appia Energy Corp. (CSE: API) (OTCQB: APAAF) (FSE: A0I.F) (FSE: A0I.MU) (FSE: A0I.BE) (the "Company" or "Appia") is pleased to announce that high-grade gallium has been consistently reported from lithogeochemical assay results from all of the high-grade rare earth element ("REE") zones on the Company's Alces Lake property (the "Property"), northern Saskatchewan.

Following up on the results from an electron microprobe study that successfully showed monazite was the mineral host for gallium as well as REEs (see News Release dated February 17, 2021), the Company re-analyzed select samples with high-grade rare earth oxide ("REO") results from each zone to determine the extent of gallium mineralization over the Property (Table 1). The results from the recent study shows gallium concentrations ranging from 0.01 to 0.104 wt% Ga 2 O 3 , and a positive linear correlation between gallium and REO suggests that all monazite on the Property contains gallium: more monazite means more REO and gallium. High-grade gallium is considered anything greater than 0.010 wt% Ga 2 O 3 .

Frederick Kozak, Appia's President, comments: "The gallium concentrations on the Property are remarkable. Gallium was found in naturally occurring high-concentrations on the Property that far-exceed current concentrations required for global production of gallium. The presence of gallium in the high-grade REO system on the Alces Lake property helps distinguish the Property as a potential world-class asset for high-valued critical elements required for sustainable production of advanced technological applications".

The current price of high-grade gallium metal (99.99%) is US$376.71/kg. On January 31st, 2021, the price of high-grade gallium metal (99.99%) was US$306.72/kg, and on October 31st, 2020, the price of high-grade gallium metal (99.99%) was US$189.43/kg (all prices were derived from Shanghai Metals Market). These represent a 23% price increase over 2 months and 99% price increase over 5 months. In 2011, the price for low-grade gallium oxide (99%) peaked at US$1,150/kg.

Up to 90% of primary global gallium supply is a by-product of processing of bauxite (alumina ore) with lesser amounts derived from sphalerite (ZnS) production. Production of gallium is therefore limited by global economic and social factors that influence the production of the principal mineral commodities (i.e., aluminum or zinc). It takes multiple cycles of bauxite processing before the gallium content reaches its production starting concentration point of approximately 100 - 125 ppm Ga 2 O 3 , whereas Ga 2 O 3 from Alces Lake monazite would have approximately 10x to 20x higher starting concentrations.

Gallium is one of several elements deemed "critical" by the United States Government (i.e., restricted supply by China, Kazakhstan and Ukraine, and in high-demand) that is used in numerous modern technological applications, in wireless communications such as 5G, cell phones, laser diodes, semiconductors, solar energy magnetic materials, and military defense. A significant potential exists for bottlenecks in the gallium supply chain because of rapid growth in areas of green/clean energy technologies.

Much like rare earth elements, gallium is widely dispersed in nature but rarely found in economically extractable quantities. For example, the Apex mine, southwestern Utah, USA, was the only primary mined source of gallium (and germanium) until its closure in 2011 by Teck Resources Limited. The mine operated intermittently over 100 years since 1884. A historic estimate for the average concentration of gallium was 0.032 wt%, with locally occurring grades up to 0.148 wt% gallium (USGS - Gallium Statistics and Information).

All lithogeochemical assay results were provided by Saskatchewan Research Council's Geoanalytical Laboratory, an ISO/IEC 17025:2005 (CAN-P-4E) certified laboratory in Saskatoon, SK, for lead isotope, uranium and gallium analysis by lithium metaborate fusion.

All analytical results reported herein have passed internal QA/QC review and compilation. The technical content in this news release was reviewed and approved by Dr. Irvine R. Annesley, P.Geo, Advisor to Appia's Board of Directors, and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

ALCES LAKE SUMMARY

Since detailed exploration began at Alces Lake in 2017, a total of seventy-four (74) REE, gallium and uranium bearing surface zones and occurrences over 45 km of the System have been discovered on the Property. To date, less than 1% of the Property has been explored with diamond drilling. The Property is in Saskatchewan, the provincial jurisdiction that is developing a "first-of-its-kind" rare earth processing facility in Canada, scheduled to become operational by 2022.

The Property encompasses some of the highest-grade total and critical rare earth elements ("CREE") and gallium mineralization in the world. CREE is defined here as those rare earth elements that are in short-supply and high-demand for use in permanent magnets and modern electronic applications such as electric vehicles and wind turbines, (i.e: neodymium (Nd), praseodymium (Pr) dysprosium (Dy), and terbium (Tb)). The Alces Lake project area is 17,577 hectares (43,434 acres) in size and is 100% owned by Appia. The project is located close to an old mining camp with existing support services, such as transportation (i.e., 15 km from the nearest trail), energy infrastructure (hydroelectric power), a 1,200 m airstrip that receives daily scheduled services, and access to heavy equipment.

Appia is planning to aggressively explore the Property during the summer months of 2021. The Company is fully-funded and committed to complete the largest exploration and diamond drilling program on the Property to date.

About Appia

Appia is a Canadian publicly-listed company in the uranium and rare earth element sectors. The Company is currently focusing on delineating high-grade critical rare earth elements and uranium on the Alces Lake property, as well as prospecting for high-grade uranium in the prolific Athabasca Basin on its Loranger, North Wollaston, and Eastside properties. The Company holds the surface rights to exploration for 65,601 hectares (162,104 acres) in Saskatchewan.

The Company also has a 100% interest (subject to a 1% Uranium Production Payment Royalty and a 1% Net Smelter Return Royalty on any precious or base metals payable, provided that the price of uranium is greater than US$130 per pound) in 12,545 hectares (31,000 acres), with rare earth element and uranium deposits over five mineralized zones in the Elliot Lake Camp, Ontario. The Camp historically produced over 300 million pounds of U 3 O 8 and is the only Canadian camp that has had significant rare earth element (yttrium) production. The deposits are largely unconstrained along strike and down dip.

Appia has 94.4 million common shares outstanding, 110.4 million shares fully diluted.

For more information, visit Appia's website at www.appiaenergy.ca.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This News Release contains forward-looking statements which are typically preceded by, followed by or including the words "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "estimates", "intends", "plans" or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance as they involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. We do not intend and do not assume any obligation to update these forward- looking statements and shareholders are cautioned not to put undue reliance on such statements.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For further information, please contact:

Tom Drivas, CEO and Director: (cell) 416-876-3957, (fax) 416-218-9772 or (email) appia@appiaenergy.ca

Frederick Kozak, President: (cell) 403-606-3165 or (email) fkozak@appiaenergy.ca

James Sykes, VP Exploration & Development, (tel) 306-221-8717 or (email) jsykes@uraniumgeologist.com

Frank van de Water, Chief Financial Officer and Director, (tel) 416-546-2707, (fax) 416-218-9772 or (email) fvandewater@rogers.com

Table 1 - Lithogeochemical results for Gallium (Ga 2 O 3 ), Thorium (ThO 2 ), Uranium (U 3 O 8 ) and Individual, Total and Critical REOs





To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5416/78564_table.jpg

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/78564
Until now, Europe has had two major collaborative networks for ground-based astronomy, one in the optical wavelength domain and the other in the radio-wave domain. OPTICON and RadioNet have now come together to form Europe's largest ground-based astronomy collaborative network. Launched with funding to the tune of 15 million under the H2020 programme, the project aims to harmonise observational methods and tools, and provide access to a wider range of astronomy facilities.

As our knowledge of the Universe advances, astronomers increasingly need a range of complementary techniques in order to analyse and understand astronomical phenomena. As a result, the European Union has decided to bring together the optical and radio networks OPTICON and RadioNet, who have successfully served their respective communities over the past twenty years.

With 15 million in funding from the European Commission's H2020 programme, the European astronomical community will now benefit from the formation of Europe's largest ground-based astronomy network: the OPTICON-RadioNet PILOT (ORP), which brings together some twenty telescopes and telescope arrays.

The ORP network is intended to harmonise observational methods and tools for ground-based optical and radio astronomy instruments, and provide researchers with access to a wider range of facilities, building on the success and experience of the OPTICON and RadioNet networks.

The new programme will make it easier for the astronomy community to access these infrastructures, as well as provide training for new generations of astronomers.

According to the management team,  it is very exciting to have this opportunity to further develop European integration in astronomy, and develop new scientific opportunities for astronomy research across Europe and globally. 

The ORP will in particular foster the development of the booming field of what is known as multi-messenger astronomy, which makes use of a wide range of wavelengths as well as gravitational waves, cosmic rays and neutrinos. Removing barriers between communities by harmonising observation protocols and analysis methods in the optical and radio domains will enable astronomers to work better together when observing and monitoring transient and variable astronomical events.

Astronomers from 15 European countries, Australia and South Africa, as well as from 37 institutions, have already joined the ORP consortium. It will be coordinated by the French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), which runs and contributes to several optical and radio telescopes, the University of Cambridge (UK), and the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (Germany).

In Belgium, the network involves the Institute of Astronomy at KU Leuven in charge of developing new instrumentation for the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI, Chile) and coordinating one of the seven European VLTI expertise centers. The VLTI is a major European observatory at the forefront of astronomical research.

With the new ORP funding, the Institute of Astronomy will develop a new VLTI observing mode dedicated to exoplanet research, support the VLTI expertise centres network's activities, and gather the whole VLTI community in Leuven in 2023. "We are excited to be part of this new ORP network and to contribute to the development of astronomical research and community in Europe" says Denis Defrere, associate professor at the Institute of Astronomy.

The management team includes Jean-Gabriel Cuby, ORP project coordinator at the CNRS National Institute for Earth Sciences and Astronomy, and Gerry Gilmore, Professor at the University of Cambridge (UK) and Anton Zensus, Director of the Max-Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (Germany), as ORP scientific coordinators for OPTICON and RadioNet respectively.

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101004719.

###
A nurse extracts the AstraZeneca vaccine from a vial to a syringe, ahead of the inoculation on President Moon Jae-in at a public health center in Jongno District, Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap



Health authorities file police reports against conspiracy theory



By Lee Hyo-jin



Rumors have been spreading online that the nurse who inoculated President Moon Jae-in for COVID-19 deliberately switched syringes right before the injection.



In preparation for his attendance at the G7 summit set for June in Britain, Moon and first lady Kim Jung-sook received their first shots of the AstraZeneca vaccine at a public health center in Jongno District, Seoul, Tuesday.



The inoculation was made public as Moon's early vaccination was partially aimed at easing public anxiety on vaccine safety.



But rumors began the next day, when an internet user wrote on an online community that the nurse who inoculated Moon deliberately switched the syringe filled with AstraZeneca's vaccine and used another syringe in order to avoid his injection of the "controversial" vaccine.



"After extracting the vaccine from the vial to a syringe, the nurse went behind the partition wall holding the syringe with its lid off, and came back after a few seconds with a recapped syringe," read the post.



The writer claimed that as the nurse had no reason to cap the syringe before the injection, she may have changed it to another one containing a Pfizer product or saline solution.



As the unconfirmed claim spread rapidly through social media channels and YouTube, Jongno public health center and Jongno District Office were bombarded with phone calls demanding an explanation and disclosure of CCTV footage. Some even threatened to set the office on fire, according to officials.



The nurse who inoculated Moon has been reportedly suffering from excessive stress due to repeated threats "to tell the truth" through phone calls and text messages after her personal information was revealed on online communities.



Regarding claims that Moon was administered with a Pfizer vaccine instead of AstraZeneca's product, an official at the district office said, "It's absurd. Our office is not even equipped with an ultra-cold freezer yet." Pfizer's product requires an ultra-cold storage at minus 78 degrees Celsius to 76 degrees Celsius.



Following such rumors, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) confirmed that there had been no switching of vaccines for the President and warned of stern measures against those spreading conspiracy theories, as it may lead to public anxiety and confusion.



"After extracting the dose to the syringe, the nurse recapped the needle in order to prevent possible contamination while making additional preparations for the injection," it said in a statement, adding that medical staffers' decision on whether to close the lid or not depends on the situation.



The agency explained that usually, injection takes place immediately after extraction of the dose to a syringe, but the process had been slightly delayed due to video filming on site.



The KDCA has filed police reports against uploaders of four internet posts and four videos clips on charges of spreading unfounded conspiracy theories, while asking the Korea Communications Commission to immediately remove such content from the internet.



Daegu Metropolitan Police Agency, which took charge of the case, launched an investigation on Thursday.




Thursday, March 25, 2021

BURTON-ON-TRENT, United Kingdom and CLEVELAND, March 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/  Putnam Consulting Group, a global consultancy led by philanthropy expert Kris Putnam-Walkerly, was named Philanthropy Advisor of the Year by LUXlife Magazines 2020 Global Excellence Awards . LUXlife Magazine is a premium lifestyle publication that focuses on a range of topics within the luxury lifestyle industry. Winners of the 2020 Global Excellence Awards were selected for their successes, achievements and growth, despite the crippling nature of the global pandemic.

Philanthropy played a pivotal role in responding to the multiple crises of 2020. Over $22 Billion (U.S.) has been donated globally by high-net-worth individuals, foundations, and corporations to combat the COVID-19 pandemic alone. Philanthropists want to achieve dramatic impact with their charitable giving, but like all businesses and nonprofits, the constantly changing landscape of 2020 made it difficult for them to plan ahead. Many felt overwhelmed and paralyzed by the sheer magnitude of problems and inequities, and lacked an updated strategy to guide decision-making.

My goal in 2020 was to help philanthropists navigate the unknown with confidence, create a plan they can count on, and increase their impact during the crises, says Kris Putnam-Walkerly , award-winning author of Delusional Altruism . Im honored to be recognized by LUXlife Magazine as the 2020 Philanthropy Advisor of the Year.

Kris Putnam-Walkerlys deep knowledge and experience in philanthropy is invaluable, explains Mamie Kanfer Stewart, trustee of the Lippman Kanfer Family Foundation. Her ability to identify and distill best practices and translate them into actionable approaches is a gift to every funder. Whether its through her books, articles or speaking, Kriss insights and messages enable philanthropists to increase their impact and find even more joy in their work.

The challenges of 2020 allowed Putnam Consulting Group to help foundations, generous families, and corporations increase their agility and pivot with purpose. Philanthropists have tremendous opportunity to make a positive and lasting difference in peoples lives. But it can feel overwhelming to navigate rapidly changing conditions, explains Kris Putnam-Walkerly. Thats why I created a free downloadable guide last year,  8 Things Every Philanthropist Can Do To Change The World, Even When The World Keeps Changing ,' to help grantmakers create a powerful giving plan even in radically uncertain times.

Kris Putnam-Walkerly is one of the worlds foremost advisors to leading philanthropists, says, Mitzi Perdue, philanthropist and author of How to be Up in Down Times. This award is well deserved, and I highly recommend Kris to any donor seeking a trusted guide and confidential sounding board to navigate their philanthropic journey.

In 2020 Putnam-Walkerly also published her second book Delusional Altruism: Why Philanthropists Fail To Achieve Change and What They Can Do To Transform Giving (Wiley). Delusional Altruism provides real-world, practical guidance to help funders avoid mistakes that hamstring impact, and offers an insiders guide to creating truly transformational change. Delusional Altruism can be purchased on Amazon, or wherever books are sold.

About Kris Putnam-Walkerly and Putnam Consulting Group

Kris Putnam-Walkerly, MSW is a global philanthropy advisor and president of Putnam Consulting Group , Inc. For more than 20 years, top global philanthropies have requested Kris Putnam-Walkerlys help to transform their giving and catapult their impact. Since 1999, she has helped Kris has helped hundreds of foundations, Fortune 500 companies and ultra-high-net-worth donors strategically allocate over half a billion dollars in grants and gifts. Putnam Consulting Groups clients include the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, J.M. Smucker Company, Heising Simons-Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, Avery Dennison, and Fujitsu, and many others.

Kris is a regular philanthropy contributor to Forbes.com , Alliance Magazine, CEOWORLD Magazine, ThinkAdvisor, and WealthManagement.com. She provides expert commentary about philanthropy to the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, NPRs Marketplace Morning Report, Variety, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Financial Advisor Magazine, Mujer Hoy, and Ariana Huffingtons Thrive Global. Kris was named one of the Top 50 Philanthropy Bloggers & Influencers in 2020 (Feedspot), one of Americas Top 25 Philanthropy Speakers for the past three years (Philanthropy Media), and was inducted into the Million Dollar Consulting Hall of Fame.

About LUXlife Magazine

LUXlife Magazine is a premium lifestyle publication which was founded in 2015 by the publishing company AI Global Media Ltd. Distributed to a circulation of 238,000 globally, LUXlife focuses on a range of topics within the luxury lifestyle industry, featuring articles on; fashion, beauty, fine dining, travel, luxury real estate and much more.

Contact

Kris Putnam-Walkerly

+1 510-388-5231

kris@putnam-consulting.com

SOURCE Putnam Consulting Group
A group of 3,292 Congolese refugees has been relocated from Kigeme and Gihembe refugee camps to the Kirehe based Mahama camp, the Ministry of Emergency Management has said, citing looming landslides.

Government said the move aims at protecting the wellbeing of refugees and conserving the environment among others.

Based in Nyamagabe District, Kigeme refugee camp is on the hilly topography of the Southern Province, an area that is currently deemed highly prone to landslides among other environmental disasters.

This is the same case for Gihembe camp in the Northern Province.

In addition to securing the wellbeing of refugees, the government says that the relocation is in line with mitigating environmental degradation in and around refugee camps.

The relocation targets refugees in high-risk zone, the ministry told The New Times in an email response.

The New Times understands that the move has triggered mixed responses from refugees with some of them citing potential difficulties of starting a new upon relocation.

Some refugees have reportedly refused to relocate, saying that they had established businesses and rapport with their respective communities.

However, with the latest weather prediction pointing to above normal rainfall, ranging between 450 and 550 millimetres in some parts of the country, including the two areas, concerns have emerged that this could potentially lead to loss of lives.

"The number of refugees to be relocated will depend on ongoing assessments in camps," reads part of the response.

Kigeme camp hosts over 18,000 refugees who over time fled from armed conflicts fuelled by militia groups in eastern DR Congo.

Before the latest repatriation, Mahama camp-the country's largest refugee camp hosted over 44,000 Burundians who left their country in the midst of civil unrest triggered by late President Pierre Nkurunziza's bid for a third term in office.

By November 2020, official data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Rwanda hosted around 77,000 refugees from DR Congo, and 71,000 refugees from Burundi amongst others, in camps and urban centres.
A ground worker approaches a WestJet Airlines Boeing 737 Max aircraft after it arrived at Vancouver International Airport on Jan. 21, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck)

Airline Industry Bailout Talks Ongoing as Committee Explores Options

While the federal government continues talks with airlines over a bailout package that could cost as much as $9 billion, a parliamentary committee on March 23 heard from other aviation sector players about ways to assist the recovery of the industry left reeling from pandemic restrictions on domestic and international travel.

Ottawas fighter jet contract is worth up to $19 billion for the winning firm, and Boeing is one of three aircraft manufacturers that have bid on the contract. Boeing boasted last October that its project can guarantee $61 billion for the Canadian economy and generate nearly 250,000 jobs over its 40-year lifespan.

But until Ottawa makes a decision, that windfall for the aerospace industry and the chosen bidder remains in limbo.

On March 23, Boeing International president Michael Arthur told the standing committee on industry, science, and technology that a winning bid to replace Canadas aging fighter jets with Boeings next-generation Block III Super Hornets would benefit the domestic aerospace industry, regardless of dollar-for-dollar investment obligations tied to military procurement contracts.

We have 500 suppliers already in Canada, he said.

At the beginning of March, WestJet cancelled an order of 15 Boeing 737 Max planes, blaming the industry downturn.

Tracy Medve, president of British Columbia-based KF Aerospace, a maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) provider, told the committee that an immediate fix would be to lift pandemic travel restrictions on technical representatives who need to enter the country to work on aircraft maintenance.

Pilots can come and go in and out of the country with relative ease, but now, suddenly, the maintenance technicians  are now being impeded, said Medve.

When were talking about this industry, were not just talking about the airlines, but about all the back-end providers.  Sometimes the policy-making really stops at the carriers door. We think carriers like Air Canada should come to Canadian MROs first, she said.

Medve noted that her companys recent expansion happened independent of government loans or subsidies, and said she did not want her appearance at committee misconstrued with asking for a handout.

Aaron Wudrick, federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said the CTF takes a zero-government-subsidies position for any industry. However, he conceded that if governments decide they are going to support businesses  the bare minimum expectation for taxpayers is that they should be able to see where the money goes, when it gets paid back, and whether the contract gets fulfilled.

Wudricks comments were related to Liberal committee member Nathaniel Erskine-Smiths suggestions that instead of a government handout, Canada could take on an equity stake, similar to what the German government did with Lufthansa in May 2020, taking a 20 percent stake in exchange for 9 billion euro (nearly US$10 billion at the time).

Wouldnt you think  that the public interest is better protected by government having a serious stake and a seat at the table? Erskine-Smith asked.

Its definitely better than a no-strings-attached approach, Id definitely agree with that, Wudrick said.

Previous government loans to Canadian transportation firms have cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars with mixed results.

In February 2020, European multinational Airbus SE and the Quebec government took over Bombardiers share of their joint venture to build Airbuss A220 jet, formerly called the C Series, as the Montreal-based plane and train company moved to reorganize its business to pay off a massive debt. This occurred after Quebec invested $1.3 billion in the C Series in 2016, after which Ottawa in February 2017 provided a $372.5 million loan to Bombardier for its C Series and Global 7000 jet programs.

In March 2017, the company took heat for approving US$32.6 million to a few senior executives after laying off some 14,500 employees worldwide over the previous two years.

In August 1986, the federal government sold failing Crown corporation Canadair to Bombardier for a purported $200 million, eight months after selling de Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd. to Boeing Co. for $155 million.
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!
A coordinated global effort to reduce the production of greenhouse gas emissions from industry and other sectors may not stop climate change, but Earth has a powerful ally that humans might partner with to achieve carbon neutrality: Mother Nature. An international team of researchers called for the use of natural climate solutions to help "cancel" produced emissions and remove existing emissions as part of a comprehensive plan to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius -- the point at which damage to human life and livelihoods could become catastrophic, according to the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The researchers published their invited views on March 24 in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences. "The Earth is heating up, and climate change has become a major environmental concern for the whole planet," said first author Dr. Zhangcai Qin, professor at Sun Yat-sen University and Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai). "In this work, we want to highlight the important role of nature and human action in mitigating climate change."

Called natural climate solutions, largely land-based ecosystems, such as forests, agriculture, grasslands and wetlands, could sequester carbon emissions from industry and store them in trees, grass and soil. While the energy and industrial sectors are essential in their commitment to reduce emissions, Qin said, they are both insufficient and unable to rectify already emitted gases.

"Natural climate solutions have been recognized as one of the most cost-effective and readily available options that can be used to supplement energy and industrial mitigation in the climate portfolio," Qin said.

He pointed to China, which has launched several nationwide ecological projects over the past half century, as an example of success, although these projects were not intended as natural climate solutions at the time they were initiated. The Natural Forest Protection Project, for instance, was implemented to help mitigate mass flooding in 1998 but has since contributed to more than half of the country's natural carbon sinks.

"China started its first major projects in the 1970s, and it took over 40 years and several phases to finally reshape its degraded landscapes," Qin said. "China provides invaluable experience and lessons with a long history of natural climate solutions. Studying China's past experiences offers a shortcut to learning how Mother Nature can help us deal with climate change. However, one of the biggest challenges to scaling up China's experience is delayed action. We need to act and act fast before it is too late."

According to Qin's team, the use of natural carbon solutions, if managed properly under local and global guidance, could result in achievable mitigation of the equivalent of nearly 15 trillion pounds of greenhouse gases per year -- which would account for more than 10% of current global annual greenhouse gas emissions. That's more than a quarter of the annual global emissions reduction of 50% needed in the next 10 years to reach net zero by the 2050s, as set out in the Paris Climate Agreement. This figure, the most conservative, accounts for potential delays as projects get underway, as well as pauses to navigate the challenges. If the delays can be minimized, the mitigation potential could be even larger for natural climate solutions, according to Qin's earlier publication.

Qin and the team are now establishing a systematic and comprehensive evaluation strategy for large-scale natural climate solutions to help avoid any potential failures in an effort to help advance mitigation efforts.

"We call for global collaboration and immediate actions in natural climate solutions," Qin said. "This is our best shot to achieve a carbon neutral society globally."

###

Co-authors include Xi Deng and Wenping Yuan, also with Sun Yat-sen University; Bronson Griscom, Conservation International in the United States; Yao Huang, Institute of Botany, CAS; Tingting Li and Wen Zhang, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, CAS; and Pete Smith, Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen in the United Kingdom.

The National Basic Research Program of China, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Guangdong Province Key Laboratory for Climate Change and Natural Disaster Studies and the Guangdong Provincial Department of Science and Technology funded this work.
AstraZeneca reiterated on Wednesday that its Covid-19 vaccine was very effective at preventing the disease, based on more recent data than was included when the company announced the interim results of its U.S. clinical trial on Monday.

The company said in a news release that its vaccine was 76 percent effective at preventing Covid-19, which is slightly lower than the 79 percent effectiveness the company announced on Monday.

The new results strengthen the scientific case for the embattled vaccine. But they may not repair the damage to AstraZenecas credibility after U.S. health officials and independent monitors issued an extraordinary rebuke of the company for not counting some Covid-19 cases when it announced its initial findings earlier this week.

The companys vaccine was already under intense scrutiny in Europe after a safety scare prompted more than a dozen countries to temporarily stop using it. Most of the countries have resumed using the vaccine, but Denmark, on Thursday, said it was extending its suspension.
ADVERTISEMENT

Virginia has become the first state in the U.S. South to stop executions after Governor Ralph Northam signed a piece of legislation to abolish the death penalty.

The Democratic governor signed the death penalty repeal into law during a ceremony outside the Greensville Correctional Centre in Jarratt, Virginia, after touring the prisons execution chamber, where 102 people have been executed since its opening in 1991.

In February, both chambers of Congress voted in favour of scrapping capital punishment.

Virginia joins 22 of the countrys other 50 states that have abolished the death penalty.

Over our 400-year history, Virginia has executed more people than any other state.

The death penalty system is fundamentally flawed it is inequitable, ineffective, and it has no place in this Commonwealth or this country.

Virginia has come within days of executing innocent people, and Black defendants have been disproportionately sentenced to death.

Abolishing this inhumane practice is the moral thing to do, the governor said.

Virginia has executed over 1,300 people in its history, with the most recent execution carried out in 2017.

The death penalty is on the decline in the U.S., in part due to changing public opinion, as well as the increasing difficulties in obtaining the necessary substances for lethal injections.

The imposition of the death penalty also usually leads to protracted and costly litigation.

In 2020, a total of 17 people were executed in the U.S. by five states and the Federal Government, according to the Death Penalty Information Centre.

(NAN)
A telephone conversation between U.S. President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will take place in the near future, but this call should be backed up by action, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs George Kent has said.

"So I think you're right that trust is very important in any relationship. That's again within a country as well as between countries. And I think President Biden established an excellent record when he was vice president of reaching out and trying to establish that trust with Ukrainian counterparts. Trust is a two-way street, obviously, and I anticipate that there will be a call between our leaders in the near future. But I believe it's also important to understand that a call, while taken as a symbol, has to be backed up by actions," Kent said in interview with Voice of America on Thursday.

He recalled that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken two months ago announced readiness to support Ukraine defending against aggression from abroad primarily from Russia and from the challenges from within. Kent said this administration is putting authority on anti-corruption action and helping democracies thrive.

"The expectations of Ukrainians and Americans are clear. Reform efforts need to continue and deepen. The justice sector is absolutely essential. How Ukrainian authorities get out of the constitutional crisis created by the Constitutional Court undermining reversing changes that were made is a real challenge for Ukrainians," Kent said.

He said that the United States as a partner is here to be supportive.

"But to be very clear, any legislation that rolls back the independence of organizations, whether it's the National Anti-Corruption Bureau or NBU does not help Ukraine and that will make it very difficult for international partners, whether it's the IMF or the United States, to continue to be as supportive of efforts when they are not leading to reform the change that Ukraine needs," Kent said.

The U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary assured that with the filling of the team at the State Department, and when they all get vaccinated and can resume travel, it will be possible to see active U.S. diplomacy towards resolving the situation in Donbas.
Burma Myanmar Regime Arrests NLD Members for Seeking Explosive Training

Photos of those arrested by the regime forces on March 22 / Global News Light of Myanmar

The military regime said it arrested 14 people at the outskirts of Yangon on Monday who were trying to join explosives training in the area controlled by an ethnic armed group in the countrys southeast.

Military-control news media said security forces arrested 14 people between the ages of 21 and 47 in Hlegu and Htauk Kyant of Yangon Region and in Nyaung Khar Shey junction in Waw township of Bago Region on March 22.

Labeling the detainees rioters, the report alleged some youths who participated in the riotous protests [attempted to] go to an ethnic armed group to attend an explosives course.

The state-controlled media report added that the juntas security forces are tightening security in respective areas following an informants tip that those people would be travelling.

Of the 14, three are drivers and the rest are the members of National League for Democracy (NLD) in Thanlynn, South Dagon, Thingangyun and Hlaing Thayar townships.

The report said the detainees were planning to travel to Bilin, in Mon State, and from there they would join an ethnic armed organization. It did not identify which group.

In the countrys southeast, where Karen and Mon states are located, several Karen and Mon ethnic armed groups are active. They have been fighting with the Myanmar military for the last seven decades, aside from a ceasefire in the past decade.

On Tuesday, the regimes spokesman also said that more than a thousand people have fled into the countrys southeast border areas.

It said the regime would take effective action against the detainees, accusing them of destabilizing the state and rule of law. In addition to those arrests, the regime also said it is preparing to arrest another 13 NLD members of Thanlynn, South Dagon and Mingaladon townships.

Since the coup, anti-regime protests have erupted across the country, calling for the release of detained State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the President U Win Myint and others arrested by the junta.

The regimes violent crackdown on anti-regime protests has killed at least 262 protesters and bystanders, including children, since the coup on Feb. 1.

As of Wednesday, some 1,900 people are still under the regimes detention. Twenty-four people have been charged and sentenced to prison, and arrest warrants have been issued for another 109 people, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).

You may also like these stories:

Myanmar Protest Death Toll Hits 270 as Regime Intensifies Assaults

Kachin Rebels Seize Myanmar Militarys Strategic Outpost near Chinese Border

Myanmars Military Regime Arrests Four Media Staff in Shan State
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.
Good morning, North State. Here's what you need to know to start your day on Thursday, March 25.

Armed, violent Old Station encounter leads to one arrest

A violent standoff with deputies and a SWAT team ended with an arrest in Shasta County. Investigators said Benjamin Elliot threatened a woman and yelled obscenities as he tried to break into her home. Elliot then attacked a deputy, resisting a taser and pepper spray, according to authorities. Three hours later he surrendered, he now faces felony charges.

Man arrested after pipe bomb found near Sacramento school

Sacramento deputies arrested a man suspected of leaving a pipe bomb and a homemade gun near an elementary school Wednesday. The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office said deputies arrested Gustavo Aguilar of Sacramento. He is now facing four felony charges. The sheriff's office said Aguilar posted bail and has been released.

Prosecutor in Boulder massacre says he's preparing more charges as the suspect is ordered to stay in jail

The suspect accused of murdering 10 people at a Colorado grocery this week will remain in jail without bond as investigators and his legal defense team prepare for the case, a judge ruled Thursday. Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 21, made his first court appearance in the case, accompanied by an attorney.

California power grid operators try to avert blackout replay

The board overseeing the management of the California power grid approved a plan aimed at averting blackouts that rolled across parts of the state during a blistering heatwave in August. The California Independent System Operator voted Wednesday to establish financial incentives to provide power when supplies are tight. A report blamed outages on poor planning and market practices that allowed power to be exported out of state.

Story Makers hosting fundraiser at Chico's Woodstock's

A chance to help raise money for a local non-profit and get yourself a slice of pizza: Story Makers Chico is hosting a fundraiser at Woodstocks pizza this afternoon. The event kicks off at noon and lasts until 9 tonight. Story Makers is part of the North Valley Community Foundation. It is a nonprofit offering free writers workshops for kids and adults in the community.

Newsom taps Asian lawmaker as California attorney general

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has chosen Alameda Assemblyman Rob Bonta as the state's next attorney general. He was elected in 2012 and has authored legislation to end cash bail, phase out private prisons and automatically expunge old marijuana convictions. He would be the state's first Filipino attorney general and would replace Xavier Becerra, who is now the federal health and human services secretary.
As a result of enemy shelling since 2014, 735 civilians have been killed and 1,835 civilians have been wounded in Donetsk region.

The Prosecutor Generals Office prepared an information report to the International Criminal Court (ICC) regarding the shelling of civilian objects in Donetsk region by illegal armed formations of the Russian Federation.

"Head of the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor's Office signed an information report to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court regarding serious violations of international humanitarian law during the armed conflict in the region," the Prosecutor Generals Office informs.

The appeal, prepared by the prosecutor's office in cooperation with the Luhansk Regional Human Rights Center "Alternative", contains information about numerous facts of indiscriminate hostilities by representatives of illegal armed formations of the Russian Federation.

"As a result of military aggression, critical civilian infrastructure has been damaged. In particular, this applies to artillery shelling of electricity supply facilities, water mains, hydraulic structures and health care facilities prohibited by the 1949 Geneva Convention. There are 42 cases of indiscriminate shelling of the towns of Avdiivka, Lyman, Slovyansk, Vuhlehirsk, and Yasynuvate and Marinka districts of Donetsk region with a total population of over 200,000 citizens," the prosecutor's office noted.

Since 2014, more than 3,500 damaged and destroyed infrastructure facilities of Donetsk region have been documented. Almost 3,000 persons have been identified as victims. More than 90% of them are individuals.

"Evidence has been received of 735 civilians killed and 1,835 civilians wounded as a result of enemy shelling," the prosecutor's office emphasized.

In total, the law enforcement agencies of the region have information about 3,969 cases of damage and destruction of residential buildings, industrial buildings and other civilian objects. In addition, a register of victims of the armed conflict is kept, which makes it possible to determine the number of victims, the amount of damage and provide an appropriate legal assessment of the actions of representatives of the occupation administrations of the Russian Federation.

On March 17, the Ukrainian delegation reported during a meeting of the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation that the Russian armed formations in Donbas committed 882 ceasefire violations, killing 16 Ukrainian service members and wounding another 69 soldiers since July 27, 2020, when a new "ceasefire" had come into force.

ol
Kristin Davis shared her hilarious response to fans' confusion over her new movie, Deadly Illusions.

In the thriller, which is Netflix's most-watched film, the actress, 56, plays an author who suffers from writer's block, but is forced to hire a sly nanny called Grace (Greer Grammer) after her husband Tom (Dermot Mulroney) gambles on a risky investment.

As the drama concludes with an open ending, viewers took to social media to admit they were left 'uncomfortable' by the flick, but screen star Kristin confessed she understands where they're coming from, insisting: 'That's ok, I get it!'

'That's OK, I get it!' Kristin Davis shared her hilarious response to fans' confusion over her new movie, Deadly Illusions (pictured with Greer Grammer), in an Instagram post on Wednesday

The Sex and the City actress had uploaded a picture of her on-screen husband Dermot and Shanola Hampton, who portrays the role of her best friend Elaine, to Instagram on Wednesday when she garnered comments from her followers.

Baffled social media users wrote: 'need someone to explain the ending to me. So confused.

'Please, for the love of god. What is that ending all about!!?... This movie made me uncomfortable! Only could get through half of it.'

Others heaped praise on the thespian's performance as they added: 'open ending! 2 part coming? loved it!... It was so good!!!! We've been telling everyone they HAVE to watch it!

Plot: The actress, 56, plays an struggling author who is forced to hire a nanny after her husband Tom (Dermot Mulroney) gambles (pictured together with co-star Shanola Hampton)

'I understand!' Viewers took to social media to admit they were left 'uncomfortable' by the flick, but screen star Kristin confessed she gets where they're coming from

'just yesterday i watched it 5 times so obsessed that i was, for Mary and grace. they have such a sexual connection that it messes with my head I was just sad about the ending, they would give anything to be happy together. broke my heart.' (sic)

Its off-the-wall plot and gratuitous sex scenes also caused viewers to take to Twitter with their views, with some insisting the film is better suited for Lifetime than Netflix.

Leading actress Greer, 29, who graduated from the University of Southern California, followed in her famous father Kelsey's footsteps with her first on-screen role in iCarly in 2010.

'It was so good!!!!' Others heaped praise on the thespian's performance

Prior to Deadly illusions, the celebrity offspring was best known for playing Lissa Miller on MTVs series Awkward.

Greer stepped out of her comfort zone to play the role of Grace, which included dark and intimate scenes with her co-stars.

The Rush Hour star told KGET: 'I loved the idea of doing it and pushing myself further because I loved that and always wanted to be taken a little more seriously. But I think there were moments on set where I was like, "Whoa. I actually have to do this."

Different role: Leading actress Greer, 29, the daughter of actor Kelsey Grammer, stepped out of her comfort zone to play Grace, which included dark and intimate scenes with her co-stars

'It is different to read it in a script and view it from the eyes of somebody else,' she explained. 'When I was filming it, I was on board to do it but it was just so different than anything I had done before.'

Greer also praised Kristin for making her feel comfortable on set and showing her how to be mindful of her boundaries when filming sex scenes.

She said: 'I felt so safe in all of the scenarios and everyone felt so comfortable with everything we were portraying.

'Kristin is amazing for so many reasons, but she was on a show called Sex in the City for years. So she is not a newbie to sexual scenes or sex in movies and how to shoot it where I very much was.'
Burma Myanmar Protest Death Toll Hits 270 as Regime Intensifies Assaults

Caption for features- Roadblocks were being set on fire during a crackdown by security forces against the anti-regime protests in Yangon's Thingangyun Township on Thursday.

After eight more people were shot dead by security forces of the military regime in several areas across Myanmar, the countrys protest-related death toll since the militarys Feb. 1 coup reached 270 on Thursday.

Security forces intensified their brutal crackdowns on anti-regime protests held at several cities including Taunggyi, Khin-U, Mohnyin, Khin-U, Pyay, and Hpa-an.

During the crackdowns, several people were seriously wounded while many others were arrested by police and military troops.

Beginning Thursday morning, security forces conducted a brutal assault against anti-regime protests in Shan States capital Taunggyi.

During the crackdown, four anti-regime protesters were reportedly killed and many were injured as police and soldiers used live rounds, rubber bullets, teargas, stun grenades and slingshots.

Residents said that security forces also raided houses where anti-regime protesters were taking cover and opened fire at protesters inside with rubber bullets fired at close range.

Also, security forces destroyed several vehicles and motorcycles belonging to local people in Taunggyi and opened fire on the windows of houses and apartments.

A video of the crackdown in Taunggyi shows the body of an anti-regime protester being dragged on the ground by security forces.

Another video shows a female protester being slapped and punched in the face by three members of security forces after she was taken out of a house.

Military troops also opened fire against residents in Sagaing Regions Khin-U township. Two out of three people wounded reportedly died in the afternoon when they were being moved while security forces pursued the wounded.

A man was also shot dead at Kachin States Mohnyin Township on Thursday as police opened fire on a crowd that had appeared in front of the towns police station calling for the release of ten anti-regime protesters who had been detained during a protest that morning.

A resident said that another man was shot in the arm in the confrontation. Three other anti-regime protesters hiding under a small bridge were shot by security forces when they were discovered. Two were wounded, and one was killed.

Security forces also conducted a brutal crackdown against the anti-regime protests in Yangons Thingangyun Township on Thursday. Several people were arrested and injured.

After holding a nationwide Silent Strike on Wednesday, tens of thousands of people across the country took to the streets to protest against the military regime on Thursday.

Amid the intensified brutal crackdowns, people in Myanmar have been taking to the street day and night to show their defiance of military rule.

You may also like these stories:

Kachin Rebels Seize Myanmar Militarys Strategic Outpost near Chinese Border

Myanmars Military Regime Arrests Four Media Staff in Shan State

Myanmar Junta Accused of Using Deepfake Technology to Prove Graft Case Against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
Code of generosity: Transformation Church donates over 200 MacBooks to students, high school staff

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

Transformation Church has donated more than 200 MacBook laptops to high school seniors and staff at a school in the Tulsa, Oklahoma, area.

The church distributed the 221 MacBook laptops at McLain High School for Science & Technology on Monday.

Tammy McQuarters, the executive pastor of Operations at Transformation, told The Christian Post that the giveaway was part of their culture code of generosity, noting that we give just to give, not to get.

Particularly in March, labeled as The Month of Generosity, we look for opportunities in the community to be generous. One of the opportunities identified this year was to bless the seniors, teachers and administration at McLain High School, McQuarters said.

As part of this code, McQuarters told CP that the church sets aside 10 percent of our income to give to individual benevolent situations, natural disasters, and other nonprofit organizations that provide support for homelessness, food banks, and other churches to name a few.

We just want people to know that the church cares for them and, more importantly, Jesus loves them. Our vision statement is to 'Re-present God to the lost and found for Transformation in Christ,' she continued.

We want to show God differently, promote God differently and give God differently, and sometimes that is best done by meeting their needs.

For their part, McLain High School took to their Facebook page to express their appreciation of the laptop giveaway, noting that it happened at an event featuring remarks by Transformation Church Lead Pastor Michael Todd.

He told them he hopes they turn that into a music studio, or a business, or the book that is living inside of them, or to use it to continue their educations, posted McLain.

We are so grateful, and even though they didnt do it for the shout out, we want to SHOUT THEM OUT! Thank you for pouring love into McLain!

Last December, Transformation raised millions of dollars to help several churches, charity groups, and individuals; this included giving one needy family a car and money to buy a house.

The whole mission of this message was to show you more than I could tell you, said Pastor Todd in a statement last year to commemorate the donations.

Transformation Church gains nothing from blessing these people and organizations personally but the reputation of the Kingdom of God is expanded because of what God did through us today.
IF YOU need evidence that the Democratic administration in Washington is hostile to the Granite State, look no further than its disposition toward our states lawsuit against Massachusetts over the Bay States bad faith policy of imposing its income tax on New Hampshire telecommuters who bot
The Nigerian government has again rejected the assessment of Buhari administration by Transparency International (TI).

PREMIUM TIMES reported how Nigeria dropped in the 2020 corruption ranking released by Transparency International (TI) last month.

An indicator that corruption is perceived to have worsened in the country within the last one year, the country dropped three places and scored lower in number of points than in its previous years record.

The latest Corruption Perception Index (CPI) says Nigeria scored 25/100 which is by one point less than its 26 points in the previous year.

It says Nigeria is now 149 out of 180 countries, a record that is three steps lower than its rank of 146 in 2019.

In the 2018 index, Nigeria rose by four places on the index from 148 to 144.

When the report was first released, the Nigerian government had said the report did not adequately reflect the governments anti-corruption effort.

On Wednesday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, fielding questions from State House correspondents in Abuja, described the rating as unfair and unacceptable.

He said: I think that Im aware of that particular rating which was not quite flattering to Nigeria, but our position, which Ive declared before is that that rating does not truly reflect the great strides that the administration has made in the area of fighting corruption.

The government has put in place various reforms in fighting corruption, but some of these reforms will take time to yield the desired results because the matrix used by TI is not just about grafts alone.

It includes how transparent or how opaque the services are and youll find out that when we scored in the 2018, 2019 transparency reports, we realised that we scored very low in the area of ease of doing business in particular.

The minister stated that the federal government had embarked on various reforms aimed at tackling cases of corrupt practices in both private and public sectors of the economy to improve the countrys rating by Transparency International (TI).

That is why the federal government embarked on reforms, especially at the seaports, because that is one area where we scored very low.

You will see that in recent times, weve embarked on numerous reforms at our seaports so that our rating will improve.

For instance, we realised that following the release of 2019 TI corruption perception index, we initiated reforms to improve on ease of doing business indices.

This is because we found that up to 40 per cent of the countrys corruption perception survey indices related to business, process and general public service delivery.

So, that is why we are concentrating on the ease of doing business, making sure that people can get to the ports, clear the goods in good time and by the time some of these forms start yielding fruits, Im sure that perception will improve, he added.

Mr Mohammed further disclosed that the federal government had put in place a preventive mechanism to check corruption rather than prosecution.

ADVERTISEMENT

He said: We believe that its more important to put in place preventive mechanism rather than prosecution and this preventive mechanism that weve put in place include the programme launched by the ICPC, which is what they called the National Ethics Policy.

According to him, this policy addresses integrity issues in all sectors of the polity and is directly linked to the pillar of national anti-corruption strategy.

He revealed that the Code of Conduct Bureau had also put in place some preventive measures, especially in the area of energising the code of conduct for public officers

Mr Mohammed disclosed that the Council for Ease of Doing Business recently launched the Nigerian Ports Process manual meant to help people doing business at the nation ports.

In addition, we actually also analysed the process that the TI used in the rating that was used recently and we found quite a few discrepancies in the rating process, including some data sources in which Nigerias course has remained flat over the past 10 years.

What we said is that we take these ratings seriously, so we actually went and analysed the ratings and we found that thereve been some gaps.

Its either weve not flooded enough data or they have not revised all data because we found it strange that the countrys rating in certain areas has remained the same for a period of 10 years.

We are taking the media measures so that they can get this data in respect of these sectors because we believe that its not possible for you not to improve, for you not to lose points for 10 years. So theres a bit of discrepancy there, he said.

(NAN)

SYC/MST
After last years lowest spending on new field developments in 30 years, the offshore oil and gas sector is set to significantly increase capital expenditures this year to around US$44 billion, according to Westwood Global Energy Group.

Offshore upstream oil and gas spending is expected to surge to around US$44 billion this year, compared to just US$12.3 billion worth of engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contracts awarded in 2020. In 2019, before the pandemic hit oil demand and prices, the EPC contracts in the offshore oil and gas industry were around US$40 billion.

In 2021, we will see a significant uptick in activity, Thom Payne, Head of Offshore at Westwood Global Energy Group said at Riviera Maritime Medias Annual Offshore Support Journal virtual conference and exhibition on Wednesday.

Most of this years capital expenditure and the biggest EPC contracts will go to major natural gas projects offshore Australia and deepwater oil project developments offshore South America.

The major increase in 2021, part of which will come from the deferred spend in 2020, will also help the offshore rig and support vessel markets this year, Payne said at the conference.

Last month, Payne wrote in an analysis that offshore investment is set for a rapid rebound this year, driven by deferred projects from 2020 and a resurgent Petrobras.



Related: Why Aramco Isnt Rushing To Boost Its Oil Production

Last year, offshore investment slumped to the lowest in more than 30 years as companies slashed capex by 30 percent on average and postponed or stalled as much as US$54 billion of 2020 offshore EPC contract awards, Payne said.

Offshore oil has already started to show signs of emerging from last years crisis, as costs have been slashed since the previous downturn of 2015-2016. Deepwater oil breakevens have dropped to below those of U.S. shale supply, making deepwater one of the cheapest new sources of oil supply globally, Rystad Energy said last year.

According to the energy research firm, operators are expected to commit to developing a record number of offshore oil and gas projects over the next five years, with deepwater projects set for the most impressive growth.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Yet on this and other legislation, Democrats are not only facing opposition from Republicans but also from some in their own ranks, threatening their ability to pass it even with changes to the filibuster. West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin said Thursday he believes his fellow Democrats must focus on the parts of the legislation where they can work with Republicans.
Laredo police arrested 15 suspected drunk drivers during a two-week enforcement period, authorities announced on Monday.

Officers worked the Impaired Driver Mobilization grant funded by the Texas Department of Transportation. Officers worked overtime to enforce DWI laws by locating, identifying and arresting intoxicated drivers from March 5 to March 21.

In those two weeks, police arrested 15 people on a DWI charge, conducted 133 traffic stops, issued 182 citations and arrested six other people for unrelated offenses.

The detail proved to be a very successful initiative for the department. As motor vehicle traffic continues to increase in Laredo, we want to remind the community of Laredo to make the right choice and Plan While You Can. Dont Drink and Drive, LPD said in a statement.
Yes, along most or all of the coast

Yes, but only places where an entry fee can cover their cost

No, people can continue swimming at their own risk

Vote

View Results


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.
PHILIPSBURG:--- As of March 24th, there were six (6) persons who tested positive for COVID-19; however two (2) persons have recovered; bringing the total active cases to twenty-five (25). The total number of confirmed cases is now two thousand one hundred fourteen (2114).

The Collective Prevention Services (CPS) are monitoring twenty-four (24) people in home isolation. One (1) patient remains hospitalized at the St. Maarten Medical Center. The total number of deaths due to COVID-19 remains at twenty-seven (27).

The number of people recovered since the first case surfaced on St. Maarten has increased to two thousand sixty-two (2062). Forty-seven (47) people are in quarantine based on contact tracing investigations carried out by CPS.



The Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour (VSA) Airport Health Team in collaboration with Health Care Laboratory Sint Maarten (HCLS) have tested 2607 travelers arriving at the Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA), while CPS tested 22, 989 people throughout the community. As the numbers continue to fluctuate, CPS will continue to actively execute its contact tracing measures.

Minister Panneflek encourages all Dutch side residents 18+ to register for the COVID-19 vaccine via the online registration form which is available in English, Spanish, and Creole, and can be found via this link: https://forms.sintmaartengov.org/form.aspx?v=OGtn05kNmb or by paper registration which can be found at Collective Prevention Services (CPS) at the Vineyard Office Park Building, the Division of Labour Affairs at the Simpson Bay Public Service Center in Simpson Bay, doctors offices, the Government Administration Building, and select pharmacies.
Accomplished board with extensive Mexico experience

Five drill rigs in operation at Plomosas project

Has consolidated land position in key district

What does:

Ltd ( ) ( ) is a precious metals explorer, which is consolidating assets in the well-known Rosario mining district in Mexico, where it now controls the most attractive ground.

The main assets are the Plomosas silver project (8,515 hectares), which hosts a former producing mine, and the San Marcial project, which lies 5 kilometres (km) away and is a near-surface, high-grade silver, lead, and zinc property, amenable to becoming an open-pit mine.

The company also has other projects attractive for future development near Plomosas and San Marcial. For example, it has the Rosario-gold project, which lies adjacent to 's ( ) historical multimillion-ounce Rosario mine.

GR Silver says its Plomosas and San Marcial assets collectively represent a setting resembling the multi-million-ounce San Dimas district in Durango, north-west Mexico. This area historically produced over 620 million ounces (Moz) silver and 11 Moz gold over around 100 years.

The Plomosas project was operated for 15 years by Grupo Mexico as a lead, zinc mine but was never explored or exploited for gold, silver or copper.

The Plomosas mine area at the project displays evidence of a 600m long epithermal system, potentially extending up to 1.2km, where multiple veins and discoveries have so far defined a much larger high-grade silver and gold mineralized footprint.

The former Plomosas silver-gold-lead-zinc underground mine operated a 600 tpd crush milling flotation circuit from 1986 to 2001, producing around 8 million ounces of silver, 73 million pounds of lead and 28 million pounds of zinc.

How is it doing:

believes that Plomosas represents a district-scale project and the company is currently in the midst of an 11,900 metre (m) drill program.

Notably, in February 2021, the group announced a definitive deal to acquire Ltd from Mako Mining Corp ( ) (OTCQX:MAKOF). Marlin owns the La Trinidad mine, which is currently being decommissioned, as well as control over 100% of nine concessions totaling 104,094.5 hectares, which are next to GR Silver's existing portfolio.

The acquisition is expected to close on March 31 this year, at which point GR will control a concession portfolio of over 1,000 square kilometres (sq km). That includes two previously producing mines fully permitted for future developments and a total combined 75 km of structures with field evidence of 24 silver-gold veins in historic old workings.

Positive drill results from the company have been coming thick and fast in recent months.

The most recent were announced on March 25 coming from the Plomosas mine area at Plomosas, which included results from lower levels of the mine area, where previous underground drilling has been limited. The assays have expanded high-grade silver-gold bulk tonnage zones, said GR.

The same month, the company reported it had hit at one hole high-grade, near surface mineralization at the San Juan area at Plomosas. Highlight results included 5.7m at a grade of 611 g/t silver, 0.5% lead and 1.7 % zinc.

Two new resource estimates are due to be released for the Plomosas mine area and the Plomosas mine area in the second quarter of this year.

In February this year, the company also told investors it had embarked on the first-ever ground geophysical program at its San Marcial asset, centered on the resource area and will incorporate a 3D Induced Polarization (IP) survey as well as ground magnetometry. The company said it expected new anomalies derived from the study to generate further drill targets to follow up later in the year.

In January, the resource group said it had hired Dr Honza Catchpole as its VP Exploration effective January 20, 2021.

It noted that Dr Catchpole had extensive experience working in Mexico, USA, Canada, Andean South America and Europe, mainly with porphyry Cu, skarn (Zn-Pb-Ag-Cu), epithermal precious (Au-Ag) and base metal (Ag-Zn-Pb-Cu) deposits.

Meanwhile, in February, it said Brenda Dayton had been named the VP Corporate Communications effective March 1.

GR Silver said Dayton has extensive experience within the precious metals mining industry, adding that, before joining the company, she served in a variety of senior investor relations and corporate communications roles, as well as corporate secretary for companies including Sunward Resources and Golden Queen Mining.

Inflection points:

Resouce estimates for two areas of Plomosas

More drill results

Precious metals moves

What the boss says:

In early March, CEO Mario Fonseca spoke to Proactive about the latest drill assays from the San Juan Area and looked ahead to the resource estimate for that area and the one for the Plomosas mine area, due to be released in coming months.

"We expect the results of these resource estimations to increase materially the number of ounces of the company, that now sits at 39 million ounces - more than that for sure."

Contact the author at giles@proactiveinvestors.com
Dr. Rosario Gonzalez-Ferez, a researcher at the Department of Atomic, Molecular and Nuclear Physics and the "Carlos I" Institute of Theoretical and Computational Physics of the University of Granada, has published the article "Ultralong-Range Rydberg Bi-molecules" in the prestigious scientific journal Physical Review Letters. The results of the study show a new type of bi-molecule formed from two nitric oxide (NO) molecules, both in their ground state and in the Rydberg electronic state.

The work was made possible thanks to the scientific collaboration between the researcher and the Institute for Theoretical Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics (ITAMP) at Harvard University. The study began during her stay at Harvard between March and July 2020, meaning that the entire process, from data-gathering and analysis to final written conclusions, was conducted during the Covid-19 pandemic. The stay, which was funded by the Fulbright Foundation and the Salvador de Madariaga programme of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, enjoyed the scientific collaboration of ITAMP's Hossein R. Sadeghpour and Janine Shertzer.

This new type of bi-molecule is the result of the union of two molecules of nitric oxide (NO) whose structure is arranged in such a way that the NO is located in one of the poles, while, in the other, is the NO + ion. The electron orbits around both, acting like a "glue" that binds this bi-molecule. In addition, its size corresponds to between 200 and 1,000 times that of NO, and its lifetime is long enough to enable its observation and experimental control, as these fragile systems are easily manipulated by means of very weak electric fields.

This type of bi-molecule enables researchers to implement and study chemical reactions at low temperatures from a quantum perspective and facilitates the investigation of intermolecular interactions at large distances, since they coexist at low temperatures.

Dr. Gonzalez-Ferez observes that the use of these bi-molecules in quantum technologies would be interesting both for the processing of information by entanglement and for the development of quantum sensors, with multiple technological applications in quantum optics and quantum computing.

Gonzalez-Ferez continues her work with two research groups, from the University of British Columbia in Canada and the University of Stuttgart in Germany, which aims to create this bi-molecule experimentally and confirm the theoretical predictions made over the last year.

###
The Jesuit priest who presided over the inaugural mass for President Joe Biden is being investigated and placed on leave from the university where he serves as president.

In an announcement from the chair of the board of trustees posted on its website Thursday, Santa Clara University in California said that Father Kevin OBrien had exhibited behaviors in adult settings, consisting primarily of conversations, which may be inconsistent with established Jesuit protocols and boundaries.

The university, also known as the Jesuit University In Silicon Valley, noted that an independent investigation has been launched. During the course of the inquiry, OBrien will be on leave from his position.

The Board of Trustees takes these accounts seriously. We also respect the need for a thorough investigation and support the actions being taken by the USA West Province Office. We reserve any further action on the part of the Trustees until we have fully reviewed the final results of the investigation, board chair John M. Sobrato wrote in the statement.

Source:The Christian Post
NEW DELHI  With its own battle against the coronavirus taking a sharp turn for the worse, India has severely curtailed exports of Covid-19 vaccines, triggering setbacks for vaccination drives in many other countries.

The government of India is now holding back nearly all of the 2.4 million doses that the Serum Institute of India, the private company that is one of the worlds largest producers of the AstraZeneca vaccine, makes each day.

India is desperate for all the doses it can get. Infections are soaring, topping 50,000 per day, more than double the number less than two weeks ago. And the Indian vaccine drive has been sluggish, with less than 4 percent of Indias nearly 1.4 billion people getting a jab, far behind the rates of the United States, Britain and most European countries.

Just a few weeks ago, India was a major exporter of the AstraZeneca vaccine, and it was using that to exert influence in South Asia and around the world. More than 70 countries, from Djibouti to Britain, received vaccines made in India, with a total of more than 60 million doses. From mid January into March, not more than a few days passed between major vaccine shipments leaving India.
After Israel's tight election, who matters and what happens next?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures while standing near a voting booth as he prepares to cast his ballot in Israel's general election, at a polling station in Jerusalem (Photo : REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool/File Photo)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's prospects for another term looked uncertain on Wednesday after partial results from Israel's fourth national election in two years projected no clear path to victory.



The right-wing bloc led by Netanyahu's Likud party had a slight edge but was in a tight race with a grouping of centre, left and right-wing parties looking to unseat him.



Advertisement

WHO ARE THE MAIN PLAYERS?



NETANYAHU, 71, campaigned on Israel's world-beating COVID-19 vaccine rollout, but such is the polarisation in Israeli politics that even this could not break the stalemate.



Critics accuse him of mismanaging pandemic lockdowns that have hit Israel's economy hard and also point to corruption allegations. He denies any wrongdoing.



His party looks set to lose around six seats - falling to around 30 in Israel's 120-seat parliament - making him more reliant on right-wing rivals.



They will demand concessions during coalition horse-trading, and will ultimately be looking to replace him as standard-bearer of the right.



YAIR LAPID, 57, a former finance minister and TV host who leads the centre-left party Yesh Atid - "There is a Future".



His party is predicted to come second, with around 18 seats.



Lapid campaigned to "bring sanity" back to Israel with clean government and moderate leadership.



But he faces an even harder task - uniting disparate parties from across the political spectrum. They all want to see Netanyahu removed, but are not obvious bedfellows.



NAFTALI BENNETT, 48, a former Netanyahu aide, defence minister and high-tech millionaire who heads the ultra-hawkish Yamina party and is vying to be the next leader of the Israeli right.



Though his party is predicted to grow slightly to seven seats, Bennett has positioned himself as a king-maker, refusing to commit to Netanyahu or against him.



GIDEON SAAR, 54, a former cabinet minister who quit Likud to set up the New Hope party, vowing to end Netanyahu's reign.



Like Likud his party opposes Palestinian statehood. Saar's campaign centred on clean government and jump-starting the economy but is expected to land only six seats.



He could help unite factions from left and right. But Netanyahu will probably urge disappointed New Hope members to defect back 'home' to Likud.



BEZALEL SMOTRICH, 41, heads the far-right Religious Zionism party, which is projected to win around six seats.



It includes Itamar Ben-Gvir, a former activist with the now-outlawed Kach movement, which advocated that Israel expel Arabs. It also includes a member of the Noam movement, which opposes LGBT rights and recognition of non-Orthodox Judaism in Israel.



The party includes hardline Jewish settlers among its base, and rejects any territorial concessions to the Palestinians.



MANSOUR ABBAS, 46, an Islamist forecast to win five seats, has shaken the Arab political establishment by floating the idea of working with Netanyahu's right-wing government to address violence and other social issues in Arab towns.



No Arab party has ever joined a ruling Israeli coalition, and Abbas's proposal is rejected by most Arab voters, many of whom identify with their Palestinian brethren in the West Bank and Gaza.



Although Netanyahu dropped past scaremongering about Arabs to reach out to them in this election, it remains an unlikely alliance of opposites.



The divisions within Israel's 21% Arab minority look set to push overall Arab representation down.



WHEN ARE THE RESULTS?



The final tally is expected by Friday. A party must pass a threshold of 3.25% of the votes to enter parliament. Around 12 parties have a realistic chance of qualifying.



WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE RESULTS ARE PUBLISHED?



Israel's president will consult with party leaders about who they want as prime minister. By April 7 he is expected to choose the legislator with the best chance.



That nominee has up to 42 days to form a government. Then the president asks others to try.



If nobody succeeds, Israel goes to a fifth election.


A man from Alabama has been charged with murder after experts identified human remains found in a forest as those of his ex-wife who had been missing for five years.

Elmore County Sheriff's Office said that 53-year-old Kimberley 'Starr' Mulder had last been seen on June 11, 2016, as she headed to Birmingham for medical treatment.

She was believed to have been picked up from her home in Wetumpka, which she shared with her ex, but never arrived at her destination.

Kimberley's ex-husband Thomas Whitehurst, 65, had been identified as a person of interest in the investigation into her disappearance.

Thomas Whitehurst, 65, (pictured) from Alabama has been charged with murder after experts identified human remains found in a forest as those of his ex-wife who had been missing for five years

Investigators found 'minute' traces of her blood inside Whitehurt's vehicle and garage at the time, but with no body at the time they chose not to try the case.

Chief Deputy Jeremy Amerson told Fox News that Kimberley's family had been waiting since 2016 for an answer to his disappearance, but that it was 'hard to prosecute somebody without a body'.

Last year though, authorities investigating Kimberley's disappearance discovered human remains in Conecuh National Forest, 130 miles from her home.

The body was found to have had a bullet hole, from a small calibre firearm, between its eyes, and forensic investigators last week identified the remains as Kimberley.

DNA forensic analysis conducted on human remains found in in Conecuh National Forest identified the body as Kimberley (pictured) - and matched 'minute' blood traces found in Whitehurst's vehicle

After DNA testing had been carried out on the recovered body, the remains matched the blood found in Whitehurt's vehicle.

Amerson said: 'It wasnt until the evidence came back from [the Alabama] Department of Forensic Sciences that said thats actually a lady from Elmore County who was listed as missing.'

Whitehurst, who is now being held on a $1million bond, was arrested by officers in his car as he headed off to work, after deputies waited outside of his home.

Speaking to AL.com, Sheriff Bill Franklin said Whitehust knew he had been a significant part of the puzzle when officers originally investigated the disappearance.

'He had been told by the investigator that the next time we came to see him, we'd probably have an arrest warrant for murder - and that's exactly what happened,' Franklin said.
Category Select Category Apparel/Garments Textiles Fashion Technical Textiles Information Technology E-commerce Retail Corporate Association Press Release

SubCategory Select Sub-Category
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 03:53:37|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

SAN FRANCISCO, March 24 (Xinhua) -- U.S. San Francisco Mayor London Breed on Wednesday announced new efforts to advance public safety in the city and provide targeted support to members of San Francisco's Asian and Pacific Islander (API) community.

The first effort is an expanded community safety teams program that will provide outreach, support, and engagement in key neighborhood corridors throughout the city. The second is the extension of a program to accompany seniors to medical and personal appointments, the announcement said.

This effort will be accomplished through an expansion of the Street Violence Intervention Program (SVIP) and partnership with community organizations rooted in San Francisco's API communities.

The collaboration between SVIP and API community-based organizations will ensure these teams are culturally-competent and can collectively advance the work of building racial solidarity while also increasing public safety.

"San Francisco, like many areas around California and the country, has seen unacceptable violence targeting out Asian and Pacific Islander residents," said Breed.

"In an effort to create a meaningful and sustainable response to protect our residents we're providing a proactive, culturally competent, community-based response. Our goal with these two programs is to build trust among our diverse communities and increase public safety for everyone in San Francisco," she added.

The city is working to create the teams as quickly as possible and expects that the teams will be in the neighborhood corridors no later than the beginning of summer, according to the announcement.

The city is also investing in continuing a senior escort program, which provides individuals to accompany seniors to medical and personal appointments, such as going to the bank, grocery store, or doctor's office.

This program provides seniors with the added security of having a companion when walking around or taking transit. This program is currently focused in China Town, and the city will work with senior service centers and providers in other communities to assess interest in expanding to other areas of the city.

The announcement builds upon two recent initiatives that Breed announced to prevent repeat offenses and gun violence in the city. Enditem
Seoul, March 25 : North Korea on Thursday fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea in its latest weapons test, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) confirmed.

In a statement, the JCS said that the missiles were fired from the North's Hamju town in South Hamgyong Province, at 7.06 a.m and 7.25 a.m. and flew around 450 km with an altitude of 60 km, Yonhap News Agency reported.

"South Korean and SS intelligence authorities are analysing the projectiles in detail, weighing the possibility that they could be short-range ballistic missiles," a JCS officer was quoted as saying in the statement.

The last time North Korea fired a ballistic missile was in March 2020.

It was not immediately known whether North Korean's leader Kim Jong-un oversaw the firings.

Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga also said the projectiles were ballistic missiles, reports dpa news agency.

Suga said Tokyo is making "a serious protest" and that Tokyo "strongly condemns" the act.

"The launch threatens the peace and stability of our country and the region and it was a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions," Suga told reporters.

It marks the second time Pyongyang has launched missiles in the past week.

Thursday's development comes four days after the North fired two cruise missiles into the Yellow Sea on Sunday, said the Yonhap News Agency report.

According to a senior US administration official, the weekend launches were part of "normal testing" not in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

That test on Sunday came in the wake of joint military exercises by the armed forces of South Korea and the US.

The nine-day command exercise, which did not include field training, ended on Thursday last week.

Kim Jong-un's influential sister, Kim Yo-jong, had condemned the military exercises and accused the new US administration of wanting to cause trouble as a first step.

North Korea is banned from testing ballistic missiles by UN resolutions, and has been slapped with tough international sanctions to deter it from continuing to develop rockets that could be equipped with nuclear warheads.

The sanctions imposed as a result of the weapons programme are hampering North Korea's economic development.

Washington's negotiations with Pyongyang over its nuclear weapons programme have not made any progress since former President Donald Trump's failed summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam in February 2019.

Although Trump touted his friendly relationship with Kim Jong-un, the two sides failed to agree on a roadmap for North Korea's disarmament and what Pyongyang could receive in return.

According to media reports, the US has been trying to contact North Korea since mid-February.
The Wright Center for Community Health was dropped from the states network of COVID-19 vaccine providers effective this week, meaning it will no longer receive any new vaccines from the state unless or until its reinstated.

All of the centers vaccine administration sites in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties were removed from a map listing providers as of Monday, according to the Department of Healths website.

The development comes as the centers policy of requiring an office visit to receive the vaccine has come under scrutiny.

A story published Wednesday in The-Times-Tribune cited three current or former employees and two medical billing experts who contend the center is violating billing regulations that dictate when a medical provider can charge for an office visit, as well as rules the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued specifically for the COVID-19 vaccine.

It was not clear Wednesday whether the Health Departments decision to halt the centers state allotment of vaccines is connected to the alleged violations or if it is part of its scheduled plan to reduce the number of providers receiving the vaccine.

In an email, spokeswoman Maggi Barton said the department is aware of concerns surrounding the center. She cited Acting Health Secretary Alison Beams Feb. 12 order that set specific requirements each provider must meet. The order says any provider who does not comply with those regulations or guidance issued under federal government or state law will have their vaccine allocations suspended or reduced until the deficiencies are corrected.

Asked Wednesday to clarify if the center was dropped for violations, Barry Ciccocioppo, communications director for the department, declined to comment.

They are no longer receiving first dose allocations. It is accurate we are aware of concerns about the provider. Im not putting those two together, Ciccocioppo said.

In an email, Wright Center CEO Linda Thomas-Hemak said the center will continue vaccinating patients with scheduled appointments with its existing supply. She did not respond to questions about how long it expects the supply to last or if the center was removed for violating state or federal regulations.

We have committed to the Pennsylvania Department of Health that we would abide by their guidance and, if necessary, reassess our role in the vaccination response, she said.

The Wright Center has been a major player in vaccinating residents. As of last week, it had received 43,155 doses, nearly half of the total 94,995 doses distributed to all Lackawanna County providers, according to state data. It had administered 22,832 doses of the vaccine as of March 15, according to Thomas-Hemak.

The Health Departments decision to reduce the provider network was based in part on concerns over a shortage of vaccines, Ciccocioppo said. It opted to focus on 200-300 providers it believes can most effectively administer the vaccine. The providers were chosen based on several criteria, including their geographic reach, access and estimated demand.

While the supply of vaccine remains extremely limited, instead of giving very few doses to a lot of different providers each week, we will be giving larger quantities of vaccine to fewer providers, Ciccocioppo said.

Its not known how many providers other than the Wright Center were dropped from the program; Ciccocioppo said the Health Department does not have that information readily accessible. The only way to determine that is to review the weekly allocations list and compare who was on the list each week.

That request is going to take some time, he said.

Ciccocioppo said the reduction in providers is temporary. The department expects to expand the list again in about four to six weeks. Any provider who was removed for cause, however, would have to rectify any issues before they will get new allotments, he said.
The gunman arrested after killing 10 people at a supermarket is being arraigned this morning in Boulder, Colorado. Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, aged 21, surrendered to police after throwing down his weapons and body armor Monday afternoon. He faces 10 counts of first-degree murder.

No evidence has yet emerged of Alissas motive in the mass slaying, including why or how he selected the King Soopers supermarket in Boulder, some 20 miles from his home in suburban Arvada, on the other side of the Denver metropolitan area.

Mourners walk the temporary fence around a King Soopers grocery store, which is where multiple victims died in a mass shooting, Wednesday, March 24, 2021, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Alissa was brought from Syria at the age of two, when his family emigrated to the United States. His family now operates a string of successful restaurants across the Denver area, serving Mediterranean Arab cuisine. He was living at home after graduating from high school in 2018. He was not reported to be in college or employed at the time of the mass shooting.

Four of the 10 victims were at work when they were killedthree employed by King Soopers, a branch of the Kroger empire, and one working for Instacart, which fills food orders and delivers groceries.

Neither the police nor the corporate media have alleged a political motive for the rampage. Alissas online activity did not indicate any interest in Islamic fundamentalism, and he had expressed sympathy both for the victims of the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris, carried out by Islamist terrorists, and the victims of the mosque massacre in New Zealand, carried out by a fascist who hated Islam.

Family members and school acquaintances confirmed that Alissa was socially isolated and had an explosive temper. One of his brothers said that he was mentally ill, and a sister-in-law recounted taking a weapon away from him the week before the shooting because he was playing with it in a way she found reckless.

No one referred Alissa to receive mental health treatment, and it is doubtful that after a year of the coronavirus and various forms of isolation and lockdown, which have greatly multiplied the number and variety of such maladies, that any treatment would have been made available.

The coronavirus pandemic has been accompanied by an epidemic of gun violence and particularly mass killings. According to one tabulation, by the Gun Violence Archive, killings of four or more people skyrocketed from 336 in 2018 to 417 in 2019 and 611 in 2020.

Now, 2021 has begun with two mass shootings separated by only a week: the killing of eight people, six of them Asian women, at three massage spas in the Atlanta, Georgia, area on March 16, and the killing of 10 people in Boulder on March 22.

As the WSWS has explained repeatedly (See: The Parkland massacre and the dysfunction of American society, The Las Vegas massacre: the day after, and many other statements), such mass shootings have social and political implications far beyond the small change of gun violence and the need for gun control, to which the Democratic Party seeks to reduce the issue.

The Democrats seek to avoid any discussion of the more fundamental issues: the extreme brutalization of American society, including a quarter-century of unending war and threats of even wider, bloodier conflicts, a society increasingly run by the military-intelligence apparatus, as described in the second statement cited above.

Not only has an entire generation grown up in the midst of war, but the society in which it has come to maturity is increasingly barbaric. More than 30,000 people a year die by suicide, another 20,000 by homicide; 1,000 people a year are killed by police; the term active shooter has entered the lexicon of millions, including that of school children.

In particular, young people, even before the pandemic, face the prospect of low-paying, dead-end jobs and massive debts if they attempt to go to college. The trade unions, civil rights groups and capitalist political parties offer no hope for a better future.

The Republican Party responded to the mass shooting in Boulder as it has to dozens of similar incidents with a declaration of support for gun rights, as certified by the 2008 Supreme Court decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, which overturned 200 years of understanding of the Second Amendment, which clearly applies to state militias, not individual possession of weapons.

The Colorado State Shooting Association, which had sued the city of Boulder to put an end to its assault weapons ban, denounced emotional sensationalism over the King Soopers massacre. There will be a time for the debate on gun laws, the group said in a statement. But today is not the time.
The author says that the cash-only model in the U.S. marijuana industry hamstrings companies that would like to borrow in order to expand but cant because bank loans are unavailable. It is both frustrating and somewhat ludicrous to many that this U.S. sector, which is valued at $17 billion, remains a cash business.
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.

* Username

This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely!
NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. (UPDATED)  New Hartford police are still searching for a driver who fled the scene after hitting a Department of Transportation sign outside of New Hartford Eye Associates early Thursday morning.

Police say the driver veered off the road around 12:30 a.m. while heading east on Route 5, hit the sign, and ruptured a gas line.

National Grid crews were called to the scene to repair the line.

After hitting the sign, the vehicle continued on and hit the New Hartford Eye Associates building. Police say the collision did not cause any structural damage.

Police say the car was not stolen, but is registered to someone who lives out of the area.
Allies of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny said yesterday they were concerned by a deterioration in his health and his lawyers said they had not been allowed to visit him in the prison camp holding him.

Mr Navalny (44) was jailed last month for two-and-a-half years on charges he claims are fabricated.

He was arrested as he returned to Russia from Germany in January where he had been recovering from what doctors said was a nerve agent poisoning.

Mr Navalny began experiencing serious back pain last week, felt a numbness in his leg and was unable to stand on it, according to close ally Leonid Volkov, who said that Mr Navalny had only been given two pills of Ibuprofen in response.

Mr Volkov said that Mr Navalnys lawyers, Olga Mikhailova and Vadim Kobzev, had tried to visit him for a scheduled meeting yesterday morning, but as of 1.45pm they had not been allowed in.

Mr Kobzev, one of the lawyers, confirmed he had been denied access which he said was unacceptable.

Mr Navalny is being held in a prison camp in the Vladimir region around 100km east of Moscow.

The federal prison service and the regional one in Vladimir did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Mr Navalnys lawyers said prison officials had told them it was not possible to visit their client due to unspecified security measures.

Mr Volkov said it was possible Mr Navalny had been moved to the prison hospital and that the facilitys administration was trying to hide that fact.

Given all of the circumstances known to us, the sharp deterioration of his health can only cause extreme concern, said Mr Volkov.
Amid the second wave of coronavirus in the country, India is likely to restrict deliveries of AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine doses to the GAVI/WHO-backed COVAX facility for March and April, according to UNICEF.

AP

"We understand that deliveries of COVID-19 vaccines to lower-income economies participating in the COVAX Facility will likely face delays following a setback in securing export licenses for further doses of COVID-19 vaccines produced by the Serum Institute of India (SII), expected to be shipped in March and April," UNICEF said. Read more

15 Passengers Who Refused To Follow COVID Norms Onboard Are Now Facing Three-Month Flight Ban

Amid the rising number of instances where passengers are refusing to pay heed to COVID-19 protocols on domestic flights, the DGCA is reportedly planning to ban several of them from flying.

BCCL

According to reports, a total of 15 passengers who were found violating COVID-19 norms on domestic flights of three airlines this month, maybe banned for three months by the carriers. Read more

80% COVID Samples In Punjab Traced As UK Variant: Why Is The State Witnessing Rise In Cases

The Centre said that the rising cases in Maharashtra and Punjab are a matter of "grave concern" as both the states continue to report a huge number of cases in proportion to their population.

AFP

Punjab has the most number of coronavirus samples with mutations, followed by Telangana, Delhi, and Maharashtra, as per the state-wise data released by the Union Health Ministry. Read more



Migrants Workers Who Were Lured Back With Flight Tickets Are Made To Pay It Back From Salaries

The Jharkhand Government has received over 100 complaints from migrant labourers who were called to work after being given a flight ticket after the lockdown opened last year.

BCCL

The migrants who work in Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru have said that money for the flight ticket they got is now being deducted from their salaries. Read more

Man Thrashed Mercilessly, Forced to Chant 'Pakistan Murdabad' In Delhi

Social media saw a horrific video doing the rounds where a man can be seen thrashing another man and making him shout slogans of Hindustan Zindabad and Pakistan Murdabad.

Representational Image/Pexels

Delhi Police has registered a case against a person purportedly seen in a video thrashing a man at the Khajuri Khas area in the northeastern part of the national capital, officials said. Read more
China's donation of COVID-19 vaccine arrives in Mauritania

Xinhua) 10:01, March 25, 2021

NOUAKCHOTT, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Mauritania received on Wednesday the Chinese government's donation of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine and medical ventilators.

Mauritanian Health Minister Mohamed Nedhirou Ould Hamed welcomed the donation at Nouakchott Oumtounsy International Airport, along with the Charge d'Affaires ad interim of Chinese Embassy in Mauritania, Wang Jian.

On behalf of the Mauritanian government and people, Hamed thanked the Chinese government and people for the donation and supports during Mauritania's fight against COVID-19 pandemic.

"This gesture of friendship and solidarity illustrates the depth of bilateral relations between the two countries in the field of health in general, and in particular, the bilateral cooperation in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic," the minister said.

For his part, Wang Jian said that China's donation of COVID-19 vaccine to Mauritania implements the important consensus between the presidents of the two countries.

"It also shows the longstanding affection of the Chinese people for the Mauritanian people, and opens a new page for the active cooperation of the two countries in public health," he added.

Wang stressed that the Chinese side is willing to work together with the others in order to push forward international anti-epidemic cooperation and to jointly build a global community of health for all.

According to the latest update of Mauritania's health ministry, the country has recorded a total of 17,690 positive cases for coronavirus, including 447 deaths and 16,947 recoveries.

(Web editor: Wen Ying, Bianji)
A Limerick councillor has questioned whether dogs should be banned from footpaths  and has called for special areas where canines can relieve themselves.

At this months full council meeting, Independent member Jerome Scanlan made the suggestion, as his colleagues backed the adoption of a strategy which would reward dog owners who did not leave their animals waste on the street.

A lot more people are having dogs. But they should come with a health and safety warning. People who get dogs sometimes do not realise the duty they have of care and cleanliness. People have a disdain about cleaning up after their dog. Theres not enough signage up there. The duty in relation to keeping the dog seems to have been lost, said Cllr Scanlan, who represents the Newcastle West municipal district.

He said: Im not so sure we should allow dogs to be walked on footpaths either. It was always the case in the UK, and Ive seen it in Germany, where they have a special section where dogs are allowed to relieve themselves. Maybe we should try and encourage that here where possible?

Labour councillor Conor Sheehan says the local authority does all it can, adding: Short of putting nappies on dogs, I really cannot see what else we can do.

It was Adare-Rathkeales Fianna Fail councillor Bridie Collins who proposed the new strategy, which was adopted unanimously.

She asked Limerick City and County Council to use powers given to it under the control of dogs act to address the issue of dog fouling on paths and walkways, and adopt a green dog walker initiative.

Its a huge issue up and down the country, not just a Limerick issue. Dog mess is unsightly and can lead to serious health problems and this has been widely documented. Dog fouling is and has always been the responsibility of the owner, she said.

Cllr Collins proposed Council teams up with the Team Limerick Clean-Up  which will take place virtually on Good Friday next week  on the issue.

Ive already been in touch with the Team Limerick Clean-Up and they are happy to be involved. This initiative is in situ in some County Councils already. Dog owners would sign up to the initiative and when they do, in return, theyd get some sort of free gift or a pack. When signing up, they promise to clean up after their own dog. They also sign up to keep their own dog on a lead, and keep it under control at all times, she explained.

Her Fianna Fail colleague in Adare-Rathkeale, Cllr Kevin Sheahan formally seconded the motion.

Im influenced greatly by the fact that it is a public health related issue, he said.

And councillor Kieran OHanlon also backed the idea up, saying:

Its totally irresponsible of dog owners to allow them to foul footpaths and roads.

We have to think of people in wheelchairs, people going to work, and as Kevin said there, people could be infected and get a disease from this.
Thursday, March 25, 2021

The Herman Trend Alert

March 24, 2021

Mutations, Variants, and the Euphoria to Come





Though I am personally somewhat bored covering the COVID-19 Pandemic and we are all more than ready for it to be over, unfortunately it is not---not in the US, not in Europe, and not in the rest of the world. So being your futurist friend to demystify all the statistics and data, I feel compelled to once more, take a look at what is happening now and the possible trajectories for the infection moving forward.

Cases in the US on a Plateau



Though the US as a whole is seeing the number of cases plateauing or even decreasing slightly, in 21 of the states the cases are climbing again. . . but not Texas.

Why I Think Texas Has Been Spared So Far



As I see it, there are two major factors contributing to the decline of cases in Texas: 1) Due to warm weather---more people are congregating outdoors; many of the restaurants that are opening are doing so with outdoor seating; and 2) Businesses are ignoring Governor Abbott's lifting of the mask mandate, especially in my hometown of Austin, Texas where the city's mask mandate remains in effect. All that said, it may not be long before the variants catch up in Texas, too.

Cases Surging in Europe, Too



While cases are surging in Europe, notably in Italy, France, and Poland. Like the US, the European countries are looking forward to opening up. Germany is taking steps to begin to ease restrictions. Yet many there are still skeptical that they can open safely.

Why COVID Cases are Surging



The more infection there is in an area, the more chance there is for mutation. (You may remember a year ago, I wrote about mutations of influenza, and how it is quite common.) A mutation is the virus' attempt to survive against the medical weapons directed at it. There are thousands of COVID mutations; most are harmless. But sometimes, those mutations merge, and they turn out to be effective in keeping the virus alive. That combination of mutations becomes what we call a "variant." Sadly, most of the variants we have seen are more transmissible---that means they are spread more easily. It is those variants that are wreaking havoc in some parts of the US, Europe, Brazil, South Africa, and Australia. While the variants rage in Brazil, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the US has fostered variants of its own.

Worries over new US COVID Variants



In fact, there are two homegrown, highly contagious variants of the coronavirus that are rapidly spreading in California and the New York City metro area. This California variant has raised fears among scientists that the strains could cause a nationwide spike in infections and deaths. This variant also seems to be more resistant to antibodies generated by a COVID-19 vaccine or prior infection.

What Will Stop the Spread?



Simply put, when enough of us are vaccinated with a vaccine that is effective against all of the various iterations of SARS-CoV-2, then we will have established herd immunity. Once there is herd immunity, in other words, enough of us are vaccinated to stop the spread, we can return in-person business meetings, revenge spending, going to concerts and sporting events, and to working together in person. Those of us who have chosen not to be vaccinated will remain vulnerable.

What We May Expect



Once we have really contained this virus and we have so few cases that we can test and contact trace effectively, we will be in a position to heave a collective sigh of relief---at least temporarily. At that point, we will see the returns to the local bistros, the skies, and our local retail stores. And perhaps also, for some of us, our offices? At that point, we will be so happy to go to in-person meetings, we will wonder that we ever dreaded them as we all did. There will be a euphoria about working together (in person) that we have never seen before. This feeling of relief will last for some weeks or even months---unless and until a new, more contagious variant shows up.

We Are Not There Yet!



Unfortunately, though I hate wearing a mask as much as anyone else, we are still seeing cases spreading. In spite of the fact that I have had both of my shots, I am still in the minority. So dear Friends, we must still wear our masks, stay physically distant, wash our hands---I use the app on my Apple iWatch, and otherwise take precautions. While the vaccines will keep us out of the hospital and the funeral parlor, they are not guaranteed to keep us from getting sick---or spreading the disease. Please keep yourself and your loved ones safe----however you need to do that---and know that there is light at the end of this tunnel.

And finally, in the words of my friend, the great Barnett Helzberg, Jr., (the guy who sold Helzberg Diamonds to Warren Buffet) remember, "You are loved."

Next Week's Herman Trend Alert: Women Reentering Workforce Vital to Recovery



Using research from the well-respected financial institution PIMCO, we will look at what happened to women in the workforce during the Pandemic and what steps employers must take to ensure that they support their women employees and candidates, as we emerge from our year plus of lock-down and isolation.

*********
Floods that have swept across Australias east coast since the weekend have claimed their first victims, with the tragic death yesterday of a 25-year-old worker in Sydney and the discovery of the body of a 38-year-old man on Queenslands Gold Coast.

Large swathes of New South Wales (NSW), Australias most populous state, and south-eastern Queensland were struck by record rainfalls that began last week and persisted until late Tuesday. Deluges then occurred in Victoria and Tasmania on Wednesday as the storm system shifted south.

A boat is loaded back onto its trailer on a flooded road at Old Pitt Town, north west of Sydney, Australia, Sunday, March 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Some 40,000 people have been forced to flee their homes since Sunday. While some have been able to return as waters have subsided, thousands remain in hotels and evacuation centres. With relief operations in early stages, an untold number of properties have been damaged or rendered uninhabitable.

Flood waters from the Hawkesbury and Nepean rivers, northwest of Sydney, are not expected to recede until the weekend, meaning areas of the city remain affected. Parts of the NSW mid-north coast remain submerged. Other regional and rural areas continue to be affected by swollen rivers.

It has become clear that the scale of the flooding is not merely a natural phenomenon, but the outcome of government policy, including the encouragement of housing construction on flood plains and a lack of disaster planning.

Troubling questions have emerged about yesterdays fatality in Sydney. The victim, Ayaz Younus, was a young migrant worker from Pakistan who was travelling to his first day of work for a contract construction company.

Younus was driving along Cattai Ridge Road in the north-western suburb of Glenorie when his car entered floodwaters. Unable to open the door or the windows, potentially because of a failure of the cars electric system, he called emergency services. Younus was on the phone to them for up to 45 minutes, as the car sank into 10 metres of water, without police or rescuers arriving. When his body was later found, police said the cars interior showed signs of someone fighting for their life to get out.

Information remains scanty, including about why it took emergency services so long to arrive. Police, however, revealed that a floodgate meant to indicate the closure of the road was completely underwater.

Road signs submerged in Penrith, north west of Sydney (Wikipedia)

In comments to Nine News last night, an anonymous local resident said an almost identical incident had taken place on Monday morning. One of his neighbours was up moving stuff to higher ground in his bobcat and saw that a ute was trapped in water on the same corner of the road where Younus later perished. The driver of the ute, who had been stuck in the vehicle for around an hour, was rescued by residents using the bobcat.

The apparent absence of basic safety measures on a road in Sydney, Australias largest city, points to the shambolic character of the response to natural disasters.

David Hornman, the man who died on the Gold Coast, was also killed after his vehicle was subsumed by floodwaters. Dozens of other cases of motorists being trapped in their cars have been reported in the media.

Residents of Penrith, a major Sydney suburb, were given just half an hours notice to evacuate on Sunday, and were told that if they failed to leave they would risk being stranded in floodwaters without electricity or running water. Similar hasty evacuations occurred on the mid-north coast, leaving some residents no time to move their belongings to higher ground. This was days after the authorities were aware that large-scale flooding was likely.

Despite a spate of natural disasters, and promises from state and federal governments, Australia still has no national agency responsible for coordinating the response to such events. The issue came to centre stage after the 201920 bushfires, when official inaction amid some of the worst blazes in decades contributed to 30 deaths and the destruction of more than 2,500 homes.

A royal commission, which white-washed the government negligence, recommended the creation of a national disaster relief agency. More than a year on from the fires, however, the federal Liberal-National governments National Resilience, Relief and Recovery Agency exists only in an online statement announcing it would be established sometime in 2021.

As a result, State Emergency Services, overwhelmingly staffed by volunteers, are the primary frontline responders to disasters. As in the bushfire catastrophe, the Australian Defence Force is being mobilised, underscoring the lack of civilian emergency resources and ongoing attempts to normalise the domestic deployment of the military.

The impact of the flooding on the outskirts of Sydney has highlighted the encouragement by successive NSW state governments, Labor and Liberal alike, of housing construction on floodplains.

There are already some 70,000 residents on the flood plain of the Hawkesbury and Nepean rivers. Despite the catastrophe that is still underway, the NSW Liberal government has signalled it will continue with plans for the population there to be increased to 130,000 by 2050.

Hawkesbury River engulfs Windsor Bridge north west of Sydney (Wikipedia)

Government ministers have floated a 17-metre heightening of the walls of Warragamba Dam, Sydneys main water supply, which overflowed onto the plain this week. Experts said this would not lessen the dangers but only seek to legitimise the building plans.

The government proposal was a really silly idea, Professor James Pittock, a waterways expert at the Australian National University (ANU) told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. I would argue that the best approach is to prevent development on the flood plains  use that land for agriculture, and recreation and nature conservation. But dont put more houses there.

The NSW governments Floodplain Development Manual, distributed to local councils, which are responsible for building approvals, encourages construction on floodplains. The policy recognises the benefits of use, occupation and development of flood-prone land, it states. Flood-prone land is a valuable resource that should not be sterilised by unnecessarily precluding its development.

This is simply the line of the property developers and construction companies. Its sole purpose is to continue the bonanza for them resulting from government tax incentives, cheap credit and virtually no regulation. This has contributed to soaring housing prices, which have driven many workers and the poor to the furthest reaches of the city, including the floodplains. Annual household insurance premiums in such areas are as high as $30,000, so thousands of flood victims are not insured, and face a financial crisis.

The dangers resulting from this subordination of public safety to profit interests are intensified by the growing frequency of catastrophic weather events. For some of those affected, such as on the mid-north coast, the floods are the fourth natural disaster they have experienced in a year, following two bushfire seasons and a drought.

Experts have warned that such extreme weather events will become more common as a result of climate change. The dangers were spelled out in an article published on the Conversation by Joelle Gergis, an ANU professor who is preparing a report for the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Gergins explained: The recent flooding in New South Wales is consistent with what we might expect as climate change continues. Australias natural rainfall patterns are highly variable. This means the influence climate change has on any single weather event is difficult to determine; the signal is buried in the background of a lot of climatic noise. But as our planet warms, the water-holding capacity of the lower atmosphere increases by around 7 percent for every 1 degree of warming. This can cause heavier rainfall, which in turn increases flood risk.

Every Australian government over the past two decades has rejected calls for a substantial cut to carbon emissions and other measures to tackle global warming, in line with their defence of the capitalist interests responsible for the environmental crisis.
A teenage girl has been raped after getting off a bus and being dragged into bushes on an island off Brisbane, police say.

The teenager lapsed into unconsciousness after the man dragged her away from a road by the neck and sexually assaulting her on Macleay Island on Wednesday afternoon.

The girl had gotten off a bus near Hamilton Parade when a man she didn't know started following her, police said.

The teenager lapsed into unconsciousness after the man dragged her away from a road by the neck and sexually assaulting her on Macleay Island (pictured)

As they approached the intersection of Williams and Arthur streets, it's alleged he forced her into nearby bushland.

At one point the girl became unconscious from the man putting his arm around her neck to drag her into the bushes, police said.

When she came to, she fought back and her alleged attacker ran off.

The girl managed to get help from a nearby resident and the man was arrested in bushland off Cooee Crescent a short time later.

The 20-year-old, from nearby Russell Island, has been charged with rape and disabling in order to commit an indictable offence.

He is due to appear in Cleveland Magistrates Court on Thursday.
A year of lockdowns and temporary closures impacted the list of Asias leading dining rooms, with some new names emerging near the top.

The Chairman in was named the No 1 restaurant in the region by Worlds 50 Best Restaurants, which is owned by William Reed Business Media Ltd. The other that made up the Top 5 were Singapores Odette, Den in Tokyo, Le Du in Bangkok and Gaggan Anand  a new entry  also in Bangkok. It represented a shift from previous lists.

The announcement came in a virtual ceremony on March 25.

Odette in Singapore, part of the Lo & Behold Group, has been the top restaurant for the past two years. Its been very fun, very humbling to be recognised by our peers, said Julien Royer, Odettes chef-owner, in an interview.

In March 2020, the ceremony took place despite the pandemic, which closed many of the winning dining rooms, at least temporarily. The decision to go forward with the event drew criticism on social media  and a few days after, the organisers cancelled its international 2020 rankings.





The judging this time around factored in a mix of pre-Covid experiences as well as much from after the pandemic started, according to William Drew, the director of content for 50 Best. He said they adjusted the voting to account for the fact that many judges would have had more limited ability to travel in the current climate. Although, he added, the organisation trusted the voters to make a judgment based on what they thought was best.

We wanted to produce the list, Drew said in a phone interview.

The ranking is important, but its a vehicle for celebrating great The bigger picture is to recognise that are massively important to all of us.

Odettes Royer predicted that a future trend in cooking at the top restaurants in his region would be a return to simplicity. Creativity when it comes to cooking will be less important than quality. People are really looking for this now.

Asias 50 Best Restaurants list is selected and voted on by a panel of more than 300 food writers, critics, chefs, restaurateurs and food aficionados. The awards are held and published each year since 2013 by William Reed Business Media.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Adedeji Badiru of the Air Force Institute of Technology in Dayton, Ohio, U.S., discusses the notion of quality insight in the International Journal of Quality Engineering and Technology and how this relates to motivating researchers and developers working on quality certification programs after the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the realm of product quality, we depend on certification based on generally accepted standards to ensure high quality. Badiru writes that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has led to serious disruption to production facilities and led to the upending of normal quality engineering and technology programs. In the aftermath of the pandemic, there will be a pressing need to redress this problem and its impact on quality management processes may, as with many other areas of normal life, continue to be felt for a long time.

Badiru suggests that now is the time to develop new approaches to ensure that we retrieve the pre-COVID quality levels. He suggests that in the area of quality certification, we must look at other methods in this field, perhaps borrowing from other areas of quality oversight. One mature area from which the new-normal of certification might borrow is academic accreditation.

The work environment has changed beyond recognition through the pandemic and we are unlikely to revert to old approaches entirely. Indeed, the pandemic has already necessitated the urgent application of existing quantitative and qualitative tools and techniques to other areas, such as work design, workforce development, and the form of the curriculum in education. Action now, from the systems perspective in engineering and technology, "will get a company properly prepared for the quality certification of the future, post-COVID-19 pandemic," he writes. This will allow research and development of new products to satisfy the triage of cost, time, and quality requirements as we ultimately emerge from the pandemic.

Explore further The lockdown learning curve

More information: Adedeji Badiru. Quality insight: product quality certification post COVID-19 using systems framework from academic program accreditation, International Journal of Quality Engineering and Technology (2021). Adedeji Badiru. Quality insight: product quality certification post COVID-19 using systems framework from academic program accreditation,(2021). DOI: 10.1504/IJQET.2021.113728
Transaction demonstrates Slate Asset Management's ability to execute complex transaction at opportunistic time in the market cycle

CHICAGO, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Slate Asset Management ("Slate"), a leading alternative asset management platform with a focus on real estate, has announced the acquisition of the Commercial Real Estate Business ("ACREG") of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. ("Annaly") for US$2.33 billion.

The acquisition includes a portfolio of performing real estate loans, debt securities and real estate equity positions. Members of the ACREG team will be joining Slate upon closing of the transaction.

"We believe this transaction is another example of Slate's ability to find value for our partners and investors at an opportune time in the market cycle," said Blair Welch, co-founding partner of Slate. "The acquisition of this platform further expands Slate's core capabilities across the real estate capital stack. Combined with our investment platform, sophistication, institutional relationships and operational expertise, we are uniquely positioned to provide creative debt capital solutions in the current market environment. Additionally, we are very excited to have the ACREG team members join us at Slate."

The acquisition from Annaly also includes a US$0.4 billion portfolio of grocery-anchored real estate assets located in major U.S. markets that will be purchased by Slate Grocery REIT (TSX: SGR.UN / SGR.U), Slate's pure-play U.S. grocery-anchored business.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including applicable regulatory approvals. The closing is expected to be complete by the middle of 2021.

BMO Capital Markets is serving as financial advisor and Goodwin Procter LLP and McCarthy Tetrault LLP as legal advisors to Slate. Evercore is serving as financial advisor and Ropes & Gray LLP as legal advisor to Annaly.

About Slate Asset Management

Slate Asset Management is a leading real estate focused alternative investment platform. Slate is a value-oriented manager and a significant sponsor of all of its private and publicly traded investment vehicles, which are tailored to the unique goals and objectives of its investors. The firm's careful and selective investment approach creates long-term value with an emphasis on capital preservation and outsized returns. Slate is supported by exceptional people, flexible capital and a demonstrated ability to originate and execute on a wide range of compelling investment opportunities. Visit slateam.com to learn more.

About Annaly

Annaly is a leading diversified capital manager that invests in and finances residential and commercial assets. Annaly's principal business objective is to generate net income for distribution to its stockholders and to optimize its returns through prudent management of its diversified investment strategies. Annaly is internally managed and has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust, or REIT, for federal income tax purposes. Additional information on the company can be found at www.annaly.com .

Slate Investor Contact

Slate Asset Management

Investor Relations

+1 416 644 4264

[email protected]

Annaly Investor Contact

Annaly Capital Management, Inc.

Investor Relations

1-888-8Annaly

[email protected]

SOURCE Slate Asset Management

Related Links

https://www.slateam.com


NEW YORK, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The travel industry was forced to make big changes in 2020 to adapt to the disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Despite the world coming to a virtual standstill, devoted nomads found ways to create movement through short road trips, extended workations and more. The new travel trends were coming at the industry at a fast pace and businesses needed to develop solutions for travelers looking to navigate through the challenges. As a brand that uses technology to keep travelers secure and in a perpetual state of motion, Samsara Luggage quickly launched products that provided the new layer of safety needed to keep travelers going. These products remain necessary even as we get closer to a new normal.

Preparation is key. Samsara Luggage discusses travel in the new normal and how small changes can have a big impact in travel safety. (PRNewsfoto/Samsara Luggage Inc)

Travel passports, travel bubbles and such are giving us a better sense of what this next phase we are entering will look like from a global perspective. As the pandemic continues to reshape the travel experience, Samsara Luggage looks at the trends that will affect the individual as well as the industry as a whole. Here Samsara Luggage weighs in on the top trends and how its tech and travel products are designed for travelers to navigate the new normal upon us.

Smart Travel Defined: Creating Your Own Travel Bubble

The travel bubble is happening right now between countries that have successfully contained the coronavirus. It's an effective strategy where foot traffic and touchpoints are contained as a safety measure as we transition to the next phase of a post-COVID world.

Taking from their playbook, individual travelers should create their own bubble as they begin to reenter the travel space. Is it possible to create a travel bubble when you're accustomed to public workspaces and charging ports? The short answer is yes!

Samsara Luggage's Carry-on suitcase was designed for business travelers to create their own workspaces throughout their trip. When deadlines are looming, there's no time to find a place to sit, charge and work. This design is helping travelers create a bubble of their own as well. You can still prop up your laptop to work, but also dine, catch up on content or charge devices.

Samsara's Carry-on is also a perfect fit for workation travelers. The Next Gen model set to launch in the next few months enhances the workation experience offering portable WiFi that works globally. This feature helps travelers remain in their bubble without having to seek cafes or high-traffic areas and be exposed while connected to public WiFi signals.

That means avoiding shared spaces and creating an individual space that keeps you apart while still getting out there. This manufactured bubble limits your contact with others to keep you safe in these first few months in the post-COVID travel landscape.

Nanotechnology Paves the Way

Technology comes in all different forms as demonstrated with nanotechnology. Keeping the outside world from entering your inside space has been one of the many challenges for travelers. Alternating between flights, taxis and hotel rooms can expose people to high-traffic touch points that leave them vulnerable to germs, bacteria and viruses.

Nanotechnology is a solution that Samsara Luggage incorporated into its Smart Weekender that launched in the late summer months of 2020. The Smart Weekender is treated with a special nanotech that prevents droplets and bacteria from developing on the fabric. This product was designed for commuters and essential travelers that were exposed to public spaces and needed a new type of protection.

The Smart Weekender is still relevant even in a post-pandemic world. As travel gains momentum, precautions will still be necessary. Ensuring that your personal items are protected while on-the-go can be an easy task with the Smart Weekender.

Travel Essentials Redefined

Travel essentials have gotten a makeover since the start of the pandemic. Added to the kit are protective items like facemasks, hand sanitizer, disposable gloves and alcohol wipes. Having these items handy will make keeping travelers protected and shared spaces sanitized a breeze.

Samsara expanded its product line to include the Essentials Kits at the start of the pandemic when the public was still cleared for travel. The intention was to provide commuters and essential travelers with a new layer of safety that our technology was not capable of offering. Once the shelter in place order was given, the demand for our Essentials kits increased. These kits remain a must-have item. They are sold individually and gifted to customers with purchase of the Carry-on or Smart Weekender.

Travel safety and security is the main part of Samsara's brand DNA and informs their business and operations. This focus has allowed the brand's products to continue to gain relevance through a rapidly evolving travel landscape. The new normal is here and Samsara's products address the needs of a global audience that is constantly in motion.

About Samsara Luggage:

Samsara Luggage, Inc. (OTC: SAML) (OTC: SAMLD) is a global smart luggage and smart travel brand with a deep belief in creating a world where travel isn't a hassle, but rather an effortless experience. By combining smart features, including IoT technology, innovative design and quality materials, Samsara is dedicated to transforming the travel industry with its products. Samsara Luggage unveiled its Next Generation smart carry-on at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The Next Generation is the first to market a Wi-Fi Hotspot technology for travelers to access a secured network globally.

In response to the coronavirus pandemic Samsara Luggage launched the Smart Weekender Nano Bag, an overnight travel bag treated with a layer of bacteriostatic nanotechnology protection that prevents colonies of bacteria from developing on the fabric. Samsara Luggage also launched Essentials by Samsara, a safety kit providing commuters with a new layer of safety with protective items like facemasks, hand sanitizer, disposable gloves and alcohol wipes. These kits are sold individually and gifted to customers with purchase of the Carry-on Aluminum suitcase or Smart Weekender bag.

In the last quarter of 2020, Samsara launched Sarah & Sam Fashion and Lifestyle Collection. Sarah & Sam is a part of Samsara Direct business model prompted by the travel limitations due to the coronavirus pandemic, leveraging the company's established digital assets and manufacturing and fulfillment supply chain capabilities to offer additional consumer products that respond to the changing needs of the market.

For more information visit www.samsaraluggage.com.

Forward-Looking Statements:

Certain matters discussed in this press release may be forward-looking statements. Such matters involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including, without limitation, the following: changes in economic conditions; general competitive factors; the company's success in obtaining new customers; the company's ability to execute its business model and strategic plans; the company's success in integrating acquired entities and assets, and all the risks and related information described from time to time in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including the financial statements and related information contained in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and interim Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. The company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Samsara Luggage Inc

Related Links

https://www.samsaraluggage.com/


Auburn, N.Y.  The driver of a truck involved in a fatal crash Feb. 8 in Cayuga County was arrested Wednesday, deputies said.

Tristan Hope, 24, of Auburn, was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, a misdemeanor, and criminally negligent homicide, a felony, according to a Cayuga County Sheriffs Office news release.

Michael Maltese, 52, of Weedsport, was killed during the two-truck crash on State Route 31 just west of Centerport Road.

Hope had consumed a controlled substance, which was determined to have contributed to the crash, deputies said.

Hope was driving west on Route 31 in a white 2007 Dodge pickup truck when the truck crossed the center of the road into oncoming traffic, according to deputies. The Dodge crashed head-on into the eastbound black 2017 Nissan pickup truck Maltese was driving, deputies said.

Hope is being held at the Cayuga County Jail pending his arraignment, the release said.

Staff writer James McClendon covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? Reach him at 914-204-2815 or jmcclendon@syracuse.com.
Welspun Enterprises has reached an agreement with Soma Indus Varanasi Aurangabad Tollway (SPV), a Special Purpose Vehicle promoted by Indus Concessions India and Soma Enterprises, for six-laning of Varanasi Aurangabad NH2 Project. The project length is around 192 km, and is situated in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

The contract value for the Company is estimated at Rs. 2,366 crore(inclusive of GST).

Under the contract the Company will undertake the procurement and construction, while the Engineering will be undertaken by the SPV.

The project construction is expected to start in April 2021 and likely to be completed in 24 / 27 months subject to the ongoing discussions between SPV and NHAI on descoping to non-availability of land.

This addition once operational shall make the outstanding EPC order book position as Rs. 10,400 crores. This includes EPC work awarded by subsidiary/ joint venture companies and the work being executed during Q4 FY21.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Leaders of 50 journalists unions and associations in 34 European countries today called on their governments to intensify pressure and take action in the face of constant violations of human rights and press freedom in Belarus. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) supports the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and all its European affiliates efforts to protect Belarussian media workers rights and freedoms.

In a joint letter, they urge their head of government to demand from the Belarusian authorities the immediate release of the 12 imprisoned journalists and the withdrawal of administrative and criminal proceedings against Belarusian journalists.

On the initiative of the EFJ and its and IFJs affiliate in Belarus, the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), the leaders of 50 journalists organisations in 34 countries in Europe today sent a joint letter to European Heads of State and Government about the situation in Belarus, on a very symbolic day.

Thursday 25 March, known as Freedom Day, is an unofficial public holiday marking Belarus 1918 declaration of independence. This year, it is expected to be marked with nationwide protests. On 25 March activists around the world will hold protests outside Belarusian embassies and share messages of solidarity with peaceful protesters. The BAJ has called for solidarity with Belarusians on this day.

The co-signatories of the EFJ-BAJ letter express their deep concern about the intensification of repression in Belarus. () Today, there are over 250 political prisoners in the country, including 12 journalists. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Since the fraudulent presidential elections of 9 August 2020, more than 30,000 people (including 480 journalists) have been detained, with many of them subjected to torture and ill-treatment, and over 1,000 people targeted by criminal prosecution.

The joint letter urges European Heads of State:

to demand from the Belarusian authorities the immediate release of the 12 imprisoned journalists, the withdrawal of administrative and criminal proceedings against Belarusian journalists, and the reopening of the Minsk press club;

to appeal to the United Nations, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the European Union, so that the international community intensifies pressure and takes action in the face of constant violations of human rights and press freedom in Belarus.

We welcome yesterdays decision by the U.N. Human rights Council to set up a team of investigators to gather evidence about the excessive use of force and torture by authorities in Belarus during their post-election crackdown on peaceful protesters, said EFJ President Mogens Blicher Bjerregard.

But this is not enough. The repression continues and intensifies. The regime of the dictator Lukashenko must release all political prisoners without delay, including 12 journalists who have only done their job. It must also end all pending prosecutions. We will work with BAJ to ensure that all those responsible for the repression of journalists are prosecuted and convicted. It is high time for European governments and the international community to take action.

IFJ General Secretary, Anthony Bellanger, said: We welcome the efforts by European journalists unions to help our Belarussian colleagues. We demand Lukashenko's government to stop once for all its harassment against the press and release immediately all the imprisoned journalists for simply doing their job.

The IFJ, EFJ and BAJ also called on European journalists to send letters to imprisoned journalists in Belarus. Here are their postal details:
President of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Arayik Harutyunyan today met with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ara Aivazian in Yerevan, the press service of the President of Artsakh reports.

During the meeting, the parties thoroughly touched upon the actions being taken to solve the humanitarian and social-economic issues that emerged in Artsakh after the Turkish-Azerbaijani aggression and, in this context, attached importance to the unimpeded involvement of international specialized institutions on the spot.

In the context of humanitarian issues that need to be addressed urgently, President Harutyunyan and Minister Aivazian exchanged views on the actions being taken for repatriation of Armenian prisoners of war and civilian hostages and viewed Azerbaijans needless politicization of the issue as inadmissible.

The parties also underscored the need for an ultimate political solution to the Azerbajian-Nagorno-Karabakh conflict under the auspices of the Co-Chairmanship of the OSCE Minsk Group. In this regard, they stressed the cornerstone role of the recognition of the rights of the people of Artsakh to self-determination and security in the context of a fair resolution of the conflict, the press release reads.
[March 25, 2021] 360training Launches OSHA Training Courses in Spanish

AUSTIN, Texas, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- 360training, the nation's leading online training provider for Environmental, Health, and Safety training, now offers OSHA courses in Spanish. The OSHA 10 and OSHA 30 courses are available in Spanish for both the General Industry and Construction communities. Everyone is safer on the jobsite when they're trained in their native language. Why Offer OSHA Training in Spanish? The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) ensures that worker safety standards are enforced. OSHA authorized institutions, like 360training, administer up-to-date courses to satisfy training requirements. Not all such institutions, however, offer OSHA training in Spanish. "Our workforce and our economy stand strong because we celebrate diversity and inclusion. We are thrilled to do our part to help ensure the safety of our Spanish speaking workforce with the launch of the Spanish OSHA Outreach courses," said Samantha Montalbano Chief Operating Officer leading the evolution of the global product team.



"Worker safety is our top priority. 360training is excited to offer critical OSHA training to Spanish speaking people. It is the best way to make sure they understand the material to improve safety," stated Tom Anderson, Chief Executive Officer at 360training. "Everyone is safer on the jobsite if they have been trained in a language they are fluent in." What Can You Expect from Spanish OSHA Training?

360training's Spanish language OSHA training courses provide safety training for employees who do not understand English or are more comfortable learning in Spanish. All components of the new OSHA 10 and 30 courses, including video, audio, and text, are in Spanish. These fully narrated and interactive training courses are intended for Spanish-speaking workers as an orientation to safety and health hazards that workers commonly face. They cover specific OSHA standards and requirements as they apply to construction and general industry jobs. The company's OSHA Spanish courses meet all OSHA training requirements for most employers. Once successfully completed, these courses will provide a durable card from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) within 7-10 business days. About 360training 360training's mission is to provide individuals and businesses with regulatory-approved training, enabling a safe and healthy environment for the communities they serve. Since launching in 1997, it has provided individuals and businesses with online regulatory-approved training, facilitating a safe, healthy environment for the communities they serve. The company has delivered over four million training plans across multiple disciplines including environmental health and safety, food and beverage, real estate, and insurance. To learn more, please visit www.360training.com or their social media accounts on Facebook , Twitter , and LinkedIn . View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/360training-launches-osha-training-courses-in-spanish-301256293.html SOURCE 360training.com

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
ADVERTISEMENT

Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State has told the people of the state not to panic over who will succeed him as the next governor.

I will never go for a third term through surrogacy, he said. The choice of who will take over from Governor Udom Emmanuel is not mine but Gods.

Mr Emmanuel spoke on Tuesday at Uyo Local Government Secretariat, Uyo, during the inauguration of projects to mark the 100 days in office of the council chairman, Uwemedimo Udo.

The event was attended by many politicians, especially from the Uyo Local Government Area.

The governor appealed to the people to wait for Gods direction on who will be the next Akwa Ibom governor in 2023.

Once God says this is the direction I believe everybody will cue behind and theres nothing any other person can do.

God will not reveal (his successor) to everybody, disregard those with false prophecy. God is not the author of confusion, that they selected 30 people to become the next governor all through prophecy. Whoever God reveals to the governor (him) is the person (his successor) and not the one which God revealed to any other person. he said.

The governor, who said he was happy to see key political leaders from Uyo at the ceremony, praised the council chairman for projects which included a new office block.

He made his remark partly in Ibibio language.

What you have done is well appreciated, Governor Emmanuel told the chairman, Mr Udo.

Nigeria is going through a trying time. When we started government in 2015, we never thought that exchange rate would come to five hundred naira (N500) to a dollar. The cement, roofing sheets, paints are denominated in dollars.

You are faithful with the little you are receiving. It means God has something bigger for you. Its amazing to see what the chairman has done with the meager resources.

Meanwhile, Mr Udo thanked the people of Uyo for the privilege given him to serve as their chairman.

Mr Udo, a former lecturer in the University of Uyo, mentioned the achievements of his administration in the last 100 days.

These include construction of the administrative block, procurement and installation of 300 KVA transformer in the council, grading of roads, provision of potable water, and installation of solar power to illuminate the council, among others.

Mr Udo was among the 31 council chairmen in Akwa Ibom State who were sworn into office in December, 2020.

The new office block is named after Governor Emmanuel.
French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has vowed to hold a national referendum on immigration as her first presidential act if she wins the 2022 presidential race.

Speaking to national radio station France Inter, the leader of Rassemblement National (RN) - National Rally - said her 'first decision would be the organisation of a referendum on immigration'.

'It has been decades since the various governments made decisions on immigration with the French people ever being listening to or questioned on the subject,' she said.

The head of far-right party Rassemblement National (RN) Marine Le Pen, 52, vowed to make a national referendum on immigration her first act as French president if she wins next year's presidential elections

Le Pen outlined her three upmost priorities as the potential French president, adding that her second most important concern would be defending French national borders and sovereignty within the European Commission.

'Secondly, I would go to the European Commissionto explain to them what I consider to be non-negotiable in the area of national sovereignty and in particular the control of our borders, because I consider border control a matter of national sovereignty,' she said.

Her third act would be the sweeping reforms of the French tax system, as she claims the country's middle class is under 'unsustainable pressure'.

Le Pen has previously been vocal about her support for a referendum on immigration. In 2019, she accused the current president Emmanuel Macron of failing to act on the issue since he took office in 2017.

Over recent weeks, Le Pen has emerged as a strong contender in the French presidential race, with elections expected to be held in April 2022.

The upcoming presidential election is expected to be a repeat of the run-off between Le Pen and Macron in 2017, in which the latter emerged victorious with 66% of the vote.

Pollsters expect a repeat of the 2017 presidential run-off between Macron and Le Pen, with many predicting Le Pen to perform strongly

However, even those currently in power are wary Le Pen could take the country's top job next year. Last month Bruno Le Maire, the French finance minister, warned a Le Pen victory was a 'possibility' that must be 'fought'.

Additionally a leaked Harris Interactive poll found the right-wing candidate could secure up to 48% of the vote in a new duel with the incumbent.

Despite her concerns on immigration data from the French Interior Ministry published in January showed a sharp decrease in immigration throughout 2020.

Over the last year France issued 712,311 visas in comparison to the 3,534,999 the previous year, reflecting a 79.8% drop.

The amount of undocumented immigrants in the country is also calculated to have fallen by 47.8% in 2020.

Bruno Le Maire, the French finance minister, has warned that victory for Marine Le Pen in next year's presidential election is a 'political possibility' that must be 'fought'

Additionally, the Interior Ministry's data also revealed that economic immigration had fallen by 20.5% between 2019 and 2020.

Requests for asylum and refugee status also saw a sharp drop over the last year, with a 38.2% and a 33.5% decrease respectively.

The sharp drop is thought to have been largely due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The amount of people who obtained French nationality last year also decreased by 20%, as the system usually in place to process said requests was closed during the country's first lockdown.

Among the demands of the Gilet Jaunes (Yellow Vest) movement that took over France for much of 2019 was the implementation of regular citizen-initiated referendums.
.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........

WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE  Construction of a new information systems facility at the Armys largest U.S. installation was supposed to commence in 2019, until the Trump administration diverted its funding for the border wall instead.

Last week, New Mexicos senior senator said funds to replace the nearly 60-year-old facility have been restored, including an additional $13 million over what had been appropriated in 2018. The construction is now estimated at over $50 million.

In a statement, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, a Democrat, called the project the first major military construction project in direct support of testing and evaluation at White Sands in nearly 20 years.

The installation did not immediately respond to queries from the Las Cruces Sun-News.

ADVERTISEMENTSkip



................................................................

The new information systems facility was designed to replace a fire-damaged facility built in 1962 and include contemporary data processing and digital as well as telephonic and radio systems for communication infrastructure and support for missile and weapon testing with new equipment valued at $32 million.

Before the construction broke ground in 2019, former President Donald Trump declared a national emergency at the Mexican border to appropriate $8 billion for border wall construction. Trump took the action after Congress did not authorize the $5.7 billion he had requested for the wall, one of his signature policy goals.

The diversion affected $3.6 billion Congress had appropriated for military construction projects, including $187.5 million for projects at New Mexico installations.

Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper had promised to restore the funding in the 2021 fiscal year, but the Trump administration did not include it in its subsequent budget request.

Heinrich is now chairman of the senate appropriations subcommittee on military construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs and related agencies, and approved the Defense Departments request to reprogram funds for the project at WSMR.

It was an honor to use that responsibility to ensure this much-needed facility can replace an outdated complex built in 1962, Heinrich said in a statement.

Trumps successor, President Joe Biden, paused nearly all border wall construction on his first day in office in January and later rescinded Trumps national emergency declaration.
Associated Press

The younger generation of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales are on average about three feet (one meter) shorter than whales were 20 years, drone and aircraft data show in a study in Thursdays journal Current Biology. Entanglements with fishing gear, collisions with ships and climate change moving their food supply north are combining to stress and shrink these large whales, the study says. This isnt about short right whales, its about a physical manifestation of a physiological problem, its the chest pain before the heart attack, said Regina Asmutis-Silvia, executive director of Whale and Dolphin Conservation North America, who wasnt part of the study.
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.
Celebrity couple Bahati and Diana Marua are worried parentsand are going through an agonising time.

This is because their first-born daughter, Heaven Bahati, has been hospitalised for the last four days.

According to the father of four, Heaven has not been feeling well for quite some time and the experience has been difficult for him and his wife.

"The last 4 nights were One of the hardest for us as Parents; Our Daughter @HeavenBahati getting admitted at the @Gertrudeshosp  I know this Strong Lady here @Diana_Marua doesn't Know I got this Video From her phone  But Babe Just Writing to let You know that You are the Best Mother that My Kids Could Ever Have. I know this was Extreme for you but we thank Jesus for the Grace Thank You for showing My Kids this Kind of Love," wrote Bahati on Instagram.

Diana also posted on her social media page wishing her daughter a quick recovery.

"Back to hospital again  Get well soon my Baby @HeavenBahati ," said Marua.

The video shared by Bahati captured his daughter with a respiratory aid placed on her nose.

The couple has two children of their own, Heaven and Majesty, an adopted son Morgan Bahati and Mueni Bahati, a daughter from Bahati's previous relationship.

Friends and fans camped on their comments to wish their daughter a quick recovery.

Dj Mo Kenya said, "Pole she will be fine ... . In JESUS NAME."

Comedian MCA Tricky wrote, "Poleni sana , quick recovery to our princess."

Popular radio host Maina Kageni commented, "Get well soon little lad."

Vlogger Milly wa Jesus remarked, "Healing is her portion in Jesus name."

Media personality Betty Kyallo wrote, "Oh little baby. May you receive Gods healing. Been there and I know how hard it can be having a sick Baby. She'll be well."
(Alliance News) - British-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca PLC on Wednesday revised down by three percentage points the effectiveness of its Covid vaccine after American authorities raised concerns that results reported from its US trial were outdated.A

The company now says its vaccine is 76% rather than 79% effective at preventing any kind of symptomatic Covid.A

It remains 100% effective against severe Covid, it added.

The move came after an independent panel of experts appointed to supervise the trial expressed concern that AstraZeneca had failed to include updated data in its initially released figure.

The US National Institutes of Health then issued a highly unusual statement asking AstraZeneca to work with the panel and issue a new press release.

"We look forward to filing our regulatory submission for Emergency Use Authorization in the US and preparing for the rollout of millions of doses across America," said Mene Pangalos executive vice president of biopharmaceuticals research & development.

The new figure is based on 190 people who fell sick among 32,449 trial participants across the US, Peru and Chile, two-thirds of whom received the vaccine while the rest received a placebo.

The previous figure was based on 141 cases, with a cut-off in mid-February.

The company added there are 14 additional or probable Covid cases left to be adjudicated.A

Depending on whether these occurred in the vaccine or placebo group, the final efficacy figure could go up or down a few percentage points.

The company added the vaccine efficacy in people 65-years-old and over was 85%, but the statistical range for this figure a anywhere between 58% and 95% a make it less meaningful and the sample size was not mentioned.

Eight cases of severe Covid occurred a all in the placebo group.

AstraZeneca was an early frontrunner in the global race to develop a Covid vaccine, and was heavily favored by the US, which ordered 300 million doses a more than its first orders for Moderna Inc's and Pfizer Inc's shots.

But a series of communications blunders eroded US agencies' confidence.

The US now has three authorised vaccines a Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson a and should have enough supply to more than cover the adult population by the end of May.A

However, authorisation by the US Food & Drug Administration a considered the gold standard regulator a would go a long way to calm global doubts over the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Several European countries paused rollout of the shot over potential blood clot risks before later resuming its use.A

The European Medicines Agency deemed the vaccine safe and said it was not associated with blood clotting generally a but added it could not rule out a link to two highly rare forms of clotting, and suggested these risks be mentioned on a warning label.

The AstraZeneca vaccine is still seen as vital to vaccinating the world because of its low price and the fact it can be stored long term at fridge temperatures.A

It uses an adenovirus that causes colds in chimpanzees, modified so it can't replicate, to carry the gene for a key protein of the coronavirus into human cells.

The cells then produce that protein on their surface, training the immune system should it encounter the real virus.

source: AFP

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Nearly $1 million for an INRS research project in Madagascar

The project of Professor Genevieve Bordeleau, from the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS), received financial support from the Quebec government under the International Climate Cooperation Program (ICCP), a program of the 2013-2020 Action Plan on Climate Change, which was succeeded by the 2030 Plan for a Green Economy. The research, which will be carried out in Madagascar, has been awarded a grant of $984,563.

The project will assess the risks of well water contamination and propose solutions for access to safe water for rural communities living along the Ikopa River, which runs through Madagascar's capital. Frequent floods in this region contaminate underground and surface drinking water sources, increasing the prevalence of diarrheal diseases, which are a major cause of morbidity and mortality.

"Access to clean drinking water is very limited in some parts of the world," says Genevieve Bordeleau, a researcher in hydrogeology and isotope geochemistry. "Climate change is accentuating these inequalities, so I'm honoured and proud to be able to work with our Malagasy partner to improve the quality of well water in rural Madagascar."

ICCP Projects

The ICCP has a total budget of $30.1 million to finance projects that aim to help French-speaking African and Caribbean countries adapt to climate change and limit their greenhouse gas emissions. The projects are led by Quebec businesses, research and educational institutions, and organizations in association with local partners and involve numerous spheres of activity, including renewable energy, energy efficiency, waste management, agriculture, forestry, and water management.

"The INRS project, supported by Ministere de l'Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, holds great promise for our university and its community," says INRS CEO Luc-Alain Giraldeau. "We believe fundamental and applied research drives economic, social, and cultural progress. Having all the partners share their expertise will help us all in ways that go well beyond water management research."

" By declaring itself bound to the Paris Agreement, Quebec has committed itself to greater international climate solidarity. The countries targeted by the International Climate Cooperation Program have many challenges to face in order to improve the quality of life of their citizens while effectively combating climate change. The projects funded will respond concretely to the needs of these communities. The program also gives our organizations and businesses, including those in the Capitale-Nationale region, the opportunity to showcase their know-how and expertise. Everyone wins! " adds Benoit Charette, Minister of the Environment and the Fight Against Climate Change, Minister Responsible for the Fight Against Racism and Minister Responsible for the Laval Region.

In addition to addressing climate change, the projects will contribute to many other sustainable development goals including innovation, economic growth, gender equality, and reducing inequality.

About the project

The project, entitled "Rano Madagasikara: Strengthening the resilience of communities in the Ikopa sub-basin in response to contaminated drinking water sources in times of floods," will be carried out in collaboration with professors Rene Lefebvre, Claudio Paniconi, Saeid Homayouni, and Monique Bernier (a retired professor). The group will hire two students in Madagascar to help with research through a co-tutorship with Institut national des sciences et techniques nucleaires (INSTN)--the local partner affiliated with the University of Antananarivo--and INRS. The students will complete their first year of studies in Madagascar before coming to finish the program in Quebec. Emma Mamifarananahary, a project manager from Madagascar who has lived in Quebec for many years, has been hired by INRS to join the group.

###

About INRS

INRS is a university dedicated exclusively to graduate level research and training. Since its creation in 1969, INRS has played an active role in Quebec's economic, social, and cultural development and is ranked first for research intensity in Quebec and in Canada. INRS is made up of four interdisciplinary research and training centres in Quebec City, Montreal, Laval, and Varennes, with expertise in strategic sectors: Eau Terre Environnement, Energie Materiaux Telecommunications, Urbanisation Culture Societe, and Armand-Frappier Sante Biotechnologie. The INRS community includes more than 1,500 students, postdoctoral fellows, faculty members, and staff.

Source :

Audrey-Maude Vezina

Service des communications de l'INRS

418 254-2156

audrey-maude.vezina@inrs.ca

This story has been published on: 2021-03-25. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
THIS WEBSITE (AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN) DOES NOT CONTAIN OR CONSTITUTE AN OFFER OF SECURITIES FOR SALE, OR SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO PURCHASE SECURITIES OR IS NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES (INCLUDING ITS TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS, ANY STATE OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA) OR FOR THE ACCOUNT OR BENEFIT OF ANY U.S. PERSON AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE SECURITIES ACT (A "U.S. PERSON"), AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN OR SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE SUCH AN OFFER OR SOLICITATION WOULD REQUIRE THE APPROVAL OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES OR OTHERWISE BE UNLAWFUL (THE "OTHER COUNTRIES"). THE SECURITIES REFERRED TO HEREIN HAVE NOT BEEN AND WILL NOT BE REGISTERED UNDER THE U.S. SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE "SECURITIES ACT"), OR PURSUANT TO THE CORRESPONDING REGULATIONS IN FORCE IN AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, SOUTH AFRICA OR THE OTHER COUNTRIES AND MAY NOT BE OFFERED OR SOLD IN THE UNITED STATES OR TO A U.S. PERSON UNLESS THE SECURITIES ARE REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT, OR AN EXEMPTION FROM THE REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS OF THE SECURITIES ACT IS AVAILABLE. NO PUBLIC OFFERING OF SUCH SECURITIES IS INTENDED TO BE MADE IN THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN OR IN THE OTHER COUNTRIES.

In any Member State of the European Economic Area ("EEA"), the information contained in this website is only directed at and may only be communicated to persons who are "qualified investors" ("Qualified Investors") within the meaning of Article 2(e) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (the "Prospectus Regulation").

The information to which this website gives access is directed only at persons (i) who are persons falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) ("high net worth companies, unincorporated associations etc.") of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Order") or (ii) who have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within Article 19(5) of the Order or (iii) to whom it may otherwise lawfully be communicated (all such persons together being referred to as "relevant persons"). Any investment or investment activity to which this communication relates is only available to relevant persons and will be engaged in only with relevant persons, or in the EEA, with Qualified Investors. Any person who is not a relevant person, a Qualified Investor or otherwise permitted under applicable law or regulation to access the information, should not act or rely on the information contained herein.

Confirmation of Understanding and Acceptance of Disclaimer

These materials are for informational purposes only and are not directed to, nor are they intended for, access by persons located or resident in the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan or South Africa or any of the Other Countries. I certify that:

I am not resident of, or located in, the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan or South Africa or any of the Other Countries or I am not a U.S. Person; or If I am a resident of, or located in, the EEA, I am a Qualified Investor within the meaning of Article 2(e) of the Prospectus Regulation; or If I am a resident of, or located in, the United Kingdom, I am a Qualified Investor and a relevant person.



I have read and understood the disclaimer set out above. I understand that it may affect my rights. I agree to be bound by its terms and I am permitted under applicable law and regulations to proceed to the following parts of this website.

WARNING: the above certification constitutes a "self-certification" pursuant to Decree of the President of the Italian Republic No. 445 of 28 December 2000. False certifications are punishable by law.
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/Getty

After four years of Trumpism, weve learned that Trumpism has very few core tenets except lower taxes for the wealthy and that government is bad. Some people like Rand Paul have been running on government is bad their entire careers, but the problem with being a member of the government who wants to destroy the government is that when a problem arises that the government could theoretically fix, you cant participate because you would be encouraging the use of government.

Yes, this Republican Party is filled with men of no action. Meet the Helpless Caucusa group of laissez-faire nihilists who want you vote so they can crush the government youd like them to run.

This was on full display on Tuesday during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on gun violence, when Texas Senator and Cancun visitor and Ritz Carlton stayer Ted Cruz said, Every time theres a shooting, we play this ridiculous theater Democrats propose taking away guns from law-abiding citizens It makes it worse.

The GOP Is Now the Party of Thugs, Terrorists, Racists and Dopes

Ted wasnt mad at the gunman, or even angry at the event that caused the death of 10 people, including both the store manager and a police officer. Ted wasnt mad about the gun crisis gripping our country (there have been seven shootings in the last seven days). Nor was Ted mad at the mental health crisis that has gripped our sick, sad nation. No, Ted was preemptively mad at Democrats, for their desire to legislate.

The irony of course is that the Boulder, Colorado, shooting happened just 10 days after a local ban on assault weapons had lapsed. The Washington Post points out, Police have yet to say whether the ordinance would have prevented him from buying or possessing the weapon within city limits. But as with so much legislation, it may not always work, but the point of our government should be at the very least to try, shouldnt it?

Gun violence is not the only thing that Republicans have no interest in legislating. Theres also the pandemic, which has killed almost as many people as the population of Wyoming. Former President Trump and numerous members of his party seemed at best apathetic to COVID. Trump argued that if the economic shutdown continues, deaths by suicide definitely would be in far greater numbers than the numbers that were talking about for COVID-19 deaths.

Story continues

During the early months of the pandemic the White House could have use the Defense Production Act as they claimed to but they largely didnt. The New York Times noted that the Trump administration suggested that wielding that authority would have amounted to left-wing overreach. Yes, the Trump administration thought using the Defense Production Act was some kind of hippy dippy voodoo.

But wait, theres more! Trump, remember, refused to enact a mask mandate. My administration has a different approach: We have urged Americans to wear masks, and I emphasized this is a patriotic thing to do. Maybe theyre great, and maybe theyre just good. Maybe theyre not so good.

A national mask mandate would have been easy and cheap. And yet, legislating is kind of something the libs do since telling people to do things that might help them violates one of the tenets of Trumpism and Republicanism. Trump and the Republicans also refused to enact a national testing and tracing program, with Trump saying that testing makes us look bad and that he had his people slow the testing down, please.

Trump galvanized the Republican Party as the party of no. Trump had 10 laws that he promised to pass in his first 100 days. They were part of Steve Bannons promises made promises kept, and they included the hilarious American Energy and Infrastructure Act (not passed) and the equally unintentionally hilarious Clean Up Corruption in Washington Act (also not passed). Guess which act was the only one of those 10 that passed? Give up? The one that cut taxes for people making over a million dollars. Most of the Trump presidency was pretty light on legislation and pretty heavy on theatrics.

But the party of no started earlier than Trump with the self-proclaimed grim reaper. Since Barack Obama was elected to office, Mitch McConnell has been the king of obstruction, telling the National Review right before the 2010 midterms that, The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president. That call to inaction created a kind of anti-government movement in the Republican Party. Mitch became the obstructionist in chief, making sure that Merrick Garland never got a Supreme Court nomination hearing and letting him languish for 293 days.

Republicans no longer control the House, the Senate, or the presidency. They are finally in the perfect position to live their truths and do nothing: no legislation, no anything but obstruction. And it seems clear that Republicans will run against Bidens legislation in the midterms. The American Rescue Plan (giving people money they desperately need during a pandemic) is pretty popular, but who knows? Republicans have been historically extremely good at messaging, so perhaps they will once again be able to sell their do-nothingness.

Its worth wondering why voters would support a party that wants to destroy the government when you could vote for the party that wants the government to succeed. But, again, who knows? Maybe people will embrace laissez-faire nihilism.

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.
Denton, TX (76205)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 82F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds. Low 62F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph.
There is public outcry in Kilifi as young girls engage in sex for food.

In Mitangani Sub-location in Ganze Sub-county, lorry drivers ferrying charcoal to Mombasa and Nairobi and boda boda operators employed by foreign herders to sell milk and transport Miraa, prey on girls as young as 15 years.

Speaking to nation.africa at Ndharako Trading Centre in Gede Sub-location, Jila Primary School PTA member Ms Regina Barisa said lack of feeding programs in schools have contributed to most girls from poor families engaging in sex for food.

"Many families are starving due to the current drought and children are going to school without food; this has led to them engaging in sex with the lorry drivers and boda boda operators," she said.

She noted that majority of pupils are emaciated and starve in schools.

"We have had incidents where pupils have suddenly collapsed in class or on parade in the morning; and because we are aware of the challenges, we buy them food as first aid and they get fine," said Ms Barisa.

She disclosed that most of the girls got pregnant and dropped out of school, and are now suffering in the villages.

"We have pupils from ages 11, 12 and 13 in Class Four and Six who are pregnant. Some are about seven months pregnant and this is happening because of the high rate of poverty in our area," she added.

Charcoal production

Gede Sub-location is among areas hard hit by drought, with the community lacking food and water. Majority of the residents depend on charcoal production for a livelihood while some are livestock farmers but due to financial challenges, parents are unable to provide food and other basics for their families.

The presence of foreign herders in the area searching for water and pasture, she added, has contributed to school boys dropping out of school to work as boda boda operators.

This, Ms Barisa said, has given them have easy access to money, enabling them to lure the girls for sex. The boys earn between Sh6,000 and Sh9, 000 per month.

"The school feeding program played a great role in retaining girls in schools because even if they did not have food at home, they were assured of a meal in school," she said.

She also noted that the high rate of school dropouts among the boys is alarming and posed a security threat in the area.

"The boys have been taught how to get quick money but what will happen in case the herders decide to migrate? They will be criminals," added Ms Barisa.

A total of 61 candidates, 33 girls and 28 boys, at the school are seating their KCPE that started on Monday. Only two girls are pregnant.

At the Kilifi County Gender-Based Violence Recovery Centre (GBVRC) majority of the sexual gender-based violence survivors who are minors, disclosed that the perpetrators sometimes provide them with money for food while at school.

A medical officer who is not authorised to speak to the press, said most of the girls revealed that their parents could not provide them with breakfast before they leave for school.

Ante-natal clinics

"The girls are being given money because they are desperate. Majority are aged below 15 years, and are pregnant. By the time they come to us, they are ready for ante-natal clinics, yet most parents are never aware their daughters have conceived," said the medical officer.

The officer said that in most cases the girls do not know the second name of the perpetrator while majority of the survivors aged 16 years and below, are married.

"The government should revive the school feeding programs in primary schools to save the vulnerable girls from the perpetrators and retain them in school instead of getting married at a very young age," added the officer.

Statistics from the Kilifi County Ministry of Education shows that 1,151 primary and secondary school girls got pregnant during the Covid-19 break.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Children By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Magarini and Kilifi South Sub-counties had the highest number pregnant girls at 221and 77 respectively.

Ganze Sub-county had 148 primary school pregnancies and 20 in secondary school. Malindi recorded 116 pregnancies in primary school and 49 in secondary.

Kaloleni had 80 in primary school and 50 in secondary schools. Kilifi North Sub-county had 23 pregnancies in primary schools and 40 in secondary.

Chonyi Sub-county had an equal number of 26 pregnant girls in both primary and secondary schools.

Rabai Sub-county had 18 and 24 pregnant girls for primary and secondary school respectively, while Kauma Sub-county recorded eight cases of pregnant girls in primary schools.

A report from the Kilifi County Department of Health shows that 7,457 girls aged between 10 and19 years are pregnant in the county. Those aged between 10-14 years were 186 and 7,271 are aged between 15 years-19 years.
A warning letter has been issued to the operators of a small garage cafe which has popped up on Corks Mardyke without planning permission.

Cork City Council confirmed that an enforcement file has been opened, and a warning letter has been issued, on foot of a complaint from a member of the public about the cafe which is operating from a garage to the rear of a private residence on the Western Road, but which opens out onto the Mardyke.

The property is owned by publican Paul Montgomery, who confirmed that the cafe is operated, with his backing, by his teenage son. He confirmed that there was no application for planning permission before it opened for business.

But he defended the venture, which he said is small and tastefully designed, and which is donating a percentage of sale proceeds to the Irish Guide Dogs (IGD) and which is also selling IGD merchandise.

It has already resulted in the donation of almost 600 to the charity, Mr Montgomery said.

Its a small, pop-up, temporary and seasonal cafe which we think has been a great addition to the area, he said.

In fact, its been welcomed by many people in the area. And for many, popping down for a coffee and a chat, is the highlight of their day as they exercise within their 5km.

Its not interfering with pedestrians or traffic. When the shutters are down, you wouldnt even know its there.

And I have been in touch with the city council about it already, and Ive been in touch with my architect and I look forward to responding to the matter.

In a statement, the city council said enforcement files are opened once its planning enforcement section has enough information about a case to ensure that a complaint is not vexatious, frivolous or without substance or foundation, and that it appears that there may be a planning breach in relation to a particular development or address.

A spokesperson said such enforcement files are reviewed by a planning inspector who decides on the next course of action, which may or may not include a site inspection.

The local authority, as the planning authority, has six weeks following the opening of an enforcement file within which to decide as to whether to issue a warning letter.

But in this case, a warning letter has already been issued.

The council said there are no live planning applications, nor planning decisions pending for a cafe at the address from which this cafe is operating.

And it confirmed that it has not granted planning for the operation of a cafe at this address.

The council said: In order to instruct the owners of a premises to cease an unauthorised use, the city council would have to take out a planning injunction under Section 160 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000.
In a first-of-its-kind study to understand the effectiveness of In-Content Advertising, Whisper Media released insights on the effectiveness, efficiency and impact of In-Content Advertising (ICA) on TV audiences across GEC genres in India. The insights of this study on ICA were derived by Kantar, the worlds leading evidence-based insights and consulting company and Orbit, a Singapore based research and analytics company.

In-Content Advertising digitally embeds the advertising communication of Brands into the content at the post-production phase and is deemed to be the most cost-effective and operationally efficient process in branded content integration, thereby retaining the editorial value. Whisper Media is the Global Leader in such integrations and began their India operations in January 2019. For the purpose of this in-depth study, Whisper Media shared 2 years of historical, anonymized data based on their 100 campaigns across 15 brands.

The research was undertaken across three broad parameters/metrics: Reach, Viewability and Recall. The Reach was measured by using BARCs Yumi Analytics to ascertain number of users exposed to the campaign, GRPs and frequency, both pre and post campaign. The Viewability was gauged using Eye Tracking studies, which evaluated the attention and focus of the viewer on ICA placements and the time spent by them viewing the campaign. Finally, Recall is an outcome of all parameters to understand the enhanced attention on the content.

Key findings of the study:

Across GECs, on an average, 10 points increase is seen in Spontaneous Brand recall as compared to non-ICA campaigns, with Hindi Speaking Markets and Tamil GEC showcasing an uplift of more than 15+ points

increase is seen in Spontaneous Brand recall as compared to non-ICA campaigns, with Hindi Speaking Markets and Tamil GEC showcasing an uplift of more than The eye gaze data indicates that close to 90% of the consumers have seen the brand/product via an ICA and typically spent about 5 seconds observing the same

of the consumers have seen the brand/product via an ICA and typically spent about observing the same 7 points jump noticed in the key message being recalled with ICA

jump noticed in the key message being recalled with ICA While in-content embeds bring in an uplift for brand as well as ad recalls, it also pushes the Intention to Purchase/Continue using the product by a small margin of 4 points in the regional GECs, hence pushing the overall likeability & favourability of the ad in the ICA format.

in the regional GECs, hence pushing the overall likeability & favourability of the ad in the ICA format. As compared to TV break ratings, viewership showcased a lift of close to 15% across campaigns with ICA

Commenting on this, Anil Cheriyedath, Director - Marketing & Strategy, Whisper Media said, India is the largest content producer globally, and GECs remain the biggest drivers of this production where brands prefer to reach the target audience. Brand integrations have always been around in the entertainment industry, but with these studies, it shows the In-Content Advertising through digital embeds have also shown acceptance by brands and audience across all GEC markets which includes the regional and Hindi Speaking Markets. The challenge that integrations faced in India was the measurability aspect, and with that in place through BARC YUMI Tools, it has become easier to validate claims of showcasing effectiveness of ICA campaigns through such unique studies

The methodology for this survey was undertaken through two groups: Controlled  not exposed to ICA and Exposed to ICA. For Controlled, the respondents were shown a combination of various TVCs like in a break, and for Exposed, each of the respondents were shown a video of 5-8 minutes. Each group was asked to answer few questions 10 minutes after watching the visual content.
Illegal immigrants, most from Honduras, walk toward a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint after crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico near Mission, Texas, on March 23, 2021. (John Moore/Getty Images)

Pentagon Approves Request to House Unaccompanied Minors at Texas Military Facilities

The Pentagon on Wednesday approved a request for assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to temporarily house unaccompanied minors at two Texas military facilities.

John Kirby, Pentagon press secretary, said in a statement that the department will temporarily house unaccompanied children who cross into the United States illegally at a vacant dormitory at Joint Base San Antonio in Lackland. The department has also approved a plant to construct a temporary housing facility at Fort Bliss.

DoD will provide HHS officials access to these locations immediately to begin initial actions to prepare for receiving unaccompanied migrant children as soon as preparations are complete, Kirby said.

The announcement also stated that HHS will be covering the cost of the temporary housing. It also assured that the arrangement would not affect military training and operations.

HHS will maintain custody and responsibility for the well-being and support for these children at all times on the installation, he said.

This comes a day after Kirby told reporters that HHS had sent the request for temporary housing of migrant children at the two facilities. However, he was unable to provide further details about the request, saying that he had not perused the document at the time.

Kirby also could not say how many unaccompanied minorschildren who unlawfully enter the country without an adultcould be housed at the two locations.

The United States is currently facing a significant surge in illegal border crossings, in particular from unaccompanied minors. While families and single adults are being expelled at the border, the administration is still accepting unaccompanied minors who arrive illegally.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas acknowledged last week that the United States is on pace to encounter more individuals on the southwest border than we have in the last 20 years.

President Joe Biden, who vowed to reverse his predecessors immigration policies during his campaign, has recently pleaded to Central American migrants to stay put in their town or city or community instead of making the dangerous trip to illegally cross into the United States.

Upon taking office, Biden reversed several Trump-era immigration policies, including his predecessors key Migrant Protection Protocol, which sought to end the problematic catch and release policy and is credited for significantly stemming the flow of illegal immigrants in 2019.

The sharp increase in unaccompanied minors arriving at the border, complicated by the ongoing pandemic, has overwhelmed border facilities and resources, and has seen the administration open more overflow shelters to handle the influx.

Earlier this week, the Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), and Project Veritas separately released photos of unaccompanied minors sleeping on the floor in crowded conditions.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-23 00:30:46|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

SOFIA, March 22 (Xinhua) -- The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry on Monday said it has declared two diplomats at the Russian Embassy in Sofia persona non grata and has given them 72 hours to leave the country.

A note with this content was handed to the Deputy Head of the Russian Embassy on Monday, the ministry said in a statement.

As grounds for the expulsion, the ministry cited a letter from the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Bulgaria that the two diplomats had carried out activities incompatible with their diplomatic status.

Meanwhile, the Prosecutor's Office said on its website that the two Russian citizens have carried out "intelligence activity."

The Russian Embassy in Sofia on Monday confirmed the expulsion. "We have to state with regret that this yet another groundless demarche of the Bulgarian authorities will not contribute to the further building of a constructive Russian-Bulgarian dialogue," the Russian Embassy said in a statement.

"The Russian side reserves the right to retaliate," it added.

Bulgaria, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) since 2004, has reportedly expelled five staff members of the Russian Embassy in Sofia last year, including four diplomats and one member of the technical staff. Enditem
March 24, 2021

On Wednesday afternoon, Governor Brad Little announced immediate changes to Idahos COVID-19 vaccine distribution timeline. The changes to vaccine eligibility mean earlier access to the vaccination than previously expected for all members of the Idaho State University campus community.

All members of the University community are encouraged to get a COVID-19 vaccine when it is available to them. All three currently available vaccines have been thoroughly tested and authorized by the FDA, which has confirmed the vaccines are safe and effective at preventing COVID-19.

STATE OF IDAHO VACCINE UPDATED SCHEDULE: MARCH 24, 2021

Effective immediately, all adults ages 45 and older are now eligible for the vaccine.

Beginning March 29, everyone ages 16 and older with a qualifying medical condition will be eligible. Common conditions include diabetes, heart conditions, obesity, and pregnancy.

Beginning April 5, everyone ages 16 and older will be eligible for the vaccine.

More information about Idahos vaccination timeline is available online, including pre-registration instructions. Contact your local public health district if you have questions about providers in your area or the vaccine. Bengal Pharmacy will be added as an authorized provider in the near future.

Here are some helpful websites to learn more about the effectiveness and safety of the vaccines:
Joe Biden will hold his first press conference as president Thursday afternoon with a room of 25 reporters  waiting longer than any other president in the last 100 years to formally take questions from members of the media.

On Day 65, Biden has a lot to tout  like the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan and vaccine rollout successes  but he will also field some tough questions on the border crisis and potential executive orders on gun control.

A TV reporter told Politico Playbook that taking into account Biden is 78 years old, members of the press are going to want to know if he will seek a second term.

'He is likely to punt,' the reporter acknowledged. 'But Vice President Kamala Harris and Democrats across town would surely be eager to hear the true answer of when he will make a determination about 2024.'

The gaffe-prone president has been largely steered away from the press by his team.

At 1:15 p.m. on Thursday, however, the president will finally face questions from a room of socially-distanced journalists in the East Wing of the White House.

President Joe Biden will hold his first press conference as president Thursday at 1:15 p.m. in a nationally televised event in the East Room of the White House

Biden speaks with reporters on occasion in informal manners, but has waited the longest of any other president in the last nearly 100 years to hold a formal question-and-answer session with journalists

While it appears the White House was waiting to present Biden to the press until after he could celebrate his American Rescue Plan passed, other challenges have come up along the way for which he will have to answer.

A pair of mass shootings, rising international tensions, early signs of intra-party divisions and a growing southern border crisis are all confronting a West Wing known for its discipline in messaging.

Recently, Biden's communications team has been receiving flack for mixed-messaging on allowing photographers, videographers and reporters to tour and capture images from detention and holding facilities at the border.

'This issue about the press being allowed to document HHS facilities at the border is their first real live test of transparency,' New York Times' reporter Annie Karni, who will be at the briefing Thursday, told Politico.

Biden is the only chief executive in nearly 100 years to reach this point in his first term without holding a formal question-and-answer session with journalists.

'It's an opportunity for him to speak to the American people, obviously directly through the coverage, directly through all of you,' White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday.

'And so I think he's thinking about what he wants to say, what he wants to convey, where he can provide updates, and, you know, looking forward to the opportunity to engage with a free press.'

While Biden has been on pace with his predecessors in taking questions from the press in other, more informal formats, he tends to field just one or two inquiries at a time, usually in a hurried setting at the end of an event or in front of a helicopter.

Pressure had mounted on Biden to hold a formal session, which allows reporters to have an extended back-and-forth with the president on the issues of the day.

Former President Donald Trump held his first press conference February 16, 2017  less than a month after taking office. And Barack Obama waited even less time, holding his first February 10, 2009.

Biden's conservative critics have pointed to the delay to suggest that Biden was being shielded by his staff.

There's a lot of interest on whether Biden will call on Fox News reporter Peter Doocy and how he will handle the right-leaning reporter.

'I'm obsessed with whether the president will call on Fox News' PETER DOOCY, who tormented Biden during the campaign with constant questions about his son Hunter,' a print reporter revealed.

'Does Biden want to enter the Fox thunderdome, or does he play it safe with the milder networks?'

A TV reporter made the case that Biden's team has purposely been holding off on a formal press conference because they are worried about what he might say.

'I assume there's a reason they've waited this long,' the individual said.

'It's his natural inclination to talk to us,' the reporter continued. 'They are [holding] him back. And there's a reason for that. But they are not going to be able to control him on Thursday. For a comms team and for a chief of staff who have the tightest ship going right now, there is probably a lot of anxiety.'

West Wing aides have dismissed the questions about a news conference as a Washington obsession, pointing to Biden's high approval ratings while suggesting that the general public is not concerned about the event.

When Biden was asked Wednesday if he was ready for the press conference, he joked, 'What press conference?'

Behind the scenes, though, aides have taken the event seriously enough to hold a mock session with the president earlier this week. And there is some concern that Biden, a self-proclaimed 'gaffe machine,' could go off message and generate a series of unflattering news cycles.

'The press conference serves an important purpose: It presents the press an extended opportunity to hold a leader accountable for decisions,' said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, presidential scholar and professor of communication at the University of Pennsylvania. 'A question I ask: What is the public going to learn in this venue that it couldnt learn elsewhere? And why does it matter? The answer: The president speaks for the nation.'

Biden will stand behind a lectern emblazoned with the presidential seal and point to a surge in vaccine distribution, encouraging signs in the economy and the benefits Americans will receive from the sweeping stimulus package. But plenty of challenges abound.

One reporter revealed they are interested in whether Biden, 78, will seek at second term  a question sure to perk the ears of Vice President Kamala Harris

His appearance will come just a day after he appointed Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the government's response to the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border, where the administration faces a growing humanitarian and political challenge that threatens to overshadow Biden's legislative agenda.

In less than a week, two mass shootings have rattled the nation and pressure has mounted on the White House to back tougher gun measures. The White House has struggled to blunt a nationwide effort by Republican legislatures to tighten election laws. A pair of Democratic senators briefly threatened to hold up the confirmation of Biden appointees due to a lack of Asian-American representation in the Cabinet. And both North Korea and Russia have unleashed provocative actions to test a new commander in chief.

In a sharp contrast with the previous administration, the Biden White House has exerted extreme message discipline, empowering staff to speak but doing so with caution. The new White House team has carefully managed the president's appearances, which serves Biden's purposes but denies the media opportunities to directly press him on major policy issues and to engage in the kind of back-and-forth that can draw out information and thoughts that go beyond curated talking points.

Having overcome a childhood stutter and famously long-winded, Biden has long enjoyed interplay with reporters and has defied aides requests to ignore questions from the press. He has been prone to gaffes throughout his long political career and, as president, has occasionally struggled with off-the-cuff remarks.

Those are the types of distractions his aides have tried to avoid, and, in a pandemic silver lining, were largely able to dodge during the campaign because the virus kept Biden home for months and limited the potential for public mistakes.

Firmly pledging his belief in freedom of the press, Biden has rebuked his predecessor's incendiary rhetoric toward the media, including Donald Trump's references to reporters as 'the enemy of the people.' Biden restored the daily press briefing, which had gone extinct under Trump, opening a window into the workings of the White House. And he sat for a national interview with ABC News last week.

Biden has also delivered a series of well-received speeches, including his inaugural address, and has shown that he can effectively communicate beyond news conferences, according to Frank Sesno, former head of George Washington University's school of media.

'His strongest communication is not extemporaneous. He can ramble or stumble into a famous Biden gaffe,' said Sesno in a recent interview. 'But to this point, he and his team have been very disciplined with the message of the day and in hitting the words of the day.'
The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine is ready for any scenario of conflict with the Russian Federation.

"It is difficult for me to say how the situation with the Russian Federation will develop because there are several scenarios, not one. We are ready for any scenario," Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov said on the air of Radio NV.

According to Danilov, Ukraine understands that it is not alone in confronting the aggressor.

"We need to understand that we are not alone, we have partners, and we are constantly communicating with them, keeping our finger on the pulse. We have a clear understanding of what is happening in Europe, in the European Union, who is really our partner and who is just pretending to be our partner. There are those who pander to the Russian Federation," Danilov stressed.

In February 2014, Russia launched armed aggression against Ukraine, capturing part of its territory  Crimea. Subsequently, Russian regular troops and Russian-led militants occupied parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine.

The European Union, the United States and other countries imposed sanctions on Russia over its aggression against Ukraine.

ol
President Joe Biden suspended construction on new barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border when he took office, leaving the fate of contracts to build nearly 300 miles of barrier unclear.

According to a recent Facebook post, Texas is stepping up to finish the project on its own.

"Texas has launched Operation Lone Star to finish the border wall themselves," the post says. "I love Texas."

This post was flagged as part of Facebooks efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Department of Public Safety did recently launch an initiative called "Operation Lone Star," the Austin American-Statesman reported on March 6. But its aimed at combating the smuggling of people and drugs into Texas  not building a border wall.

TEXAS TAKE: Sign up for Texas politics and policy news, curated by the Chronicle's Austin bureau

Now Playing: Video: Associated Press

In a statement, the governors office said the operation would tap DPS and the Texas National Guard to deploy "air, ground, marine, and tactical border security assets to high threat areas to deny Mexican Cartels and other smugglers the ability to move drugs and people into Texas."

Theres no mention of the border wall. A subsequent statement the governors office issued on March 17 also doesnt discuss the wall. Instead, the office announced that Operation Lone Star would be expanded to include "efforts to crack down on human trafficking related to illegal border crossings."

A spokesperson for DPS told PolitiFact that "finishing construction of the southern border wall is not a part of Operation Lone Stars mission."

Since 2017, the federal government has constructed about 455 miles of barriers along the nearly 2,000-mile southern border, including in the U.S. Border Patrols El Paso and Rio Grande Valley sectors, with about 209 more miles under construction. Most of that was to replace existing structures that were outdated or in disrepair.

Under former President Donald Trump, the feds finished about 20 of more than 100 miles of planned border barriers in the Rio Grande Valley, according to the Texas Observer. Planned construction on more than 120 miles of barrier northeast of there hasnt begun.

SUBSCRIBE TODAY: Stay informed with accurate reporting you can trust on HoustonChronicle.com

The project has fallen far short of Trumps promise to build a wall across the border, and get Mexico to pay for it.

In 2018, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick floated the idea of Texas building a border wall with reimbursement from the federal government. Political scientist Mark Jones said such a scheme "would be challenged in court almost immediately," including by property owners on the Texas border whose land would be seized.

Now, a Texas state representative has filed a bill to direct DPS to finish the border wall using state funds and name the finished product after Trump. It was referred to the House Committee on State Affairs on March 18.

But thats not connected to Operation Lone Star.

We rate this post False.
Concord, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 25, 2021) - Ultrack Systems Inc. (OTC Pink: MJLB), a total fleet-management GPS tracking and monitoring solution provider, is pleased to announce that the Company has retained the comprehensive branding and advertising services of renowned marketing agency Hardie and Company. (http://www.hardieandcompany.com/).

For over 20 years, Hardie and Company has been at the forefront of creating compelling branding and advertising solutions for their clients. Hardie and Company boasts a long list of prestigious clients including TV Guide, BASF, Novalis, and the National Bank of Canada.

Ultrack's primary initiative in this recent move is for Hardie and Company to create compelling full-page and half-page ads for Ultrack's flagship ELD to be placed in popular North American trucking magazines such as Fleet Owner (https://www.fleetowner.com/), Overdrive (https://www.overdriveonline.com/), American Trucker (https://www.trucker.com/), and Canadian Trucking Magazine (http://www.canadiantruckingmagazine.com) among many others. The Company anticipates the strategic, targeted placement of Ultrack's flagship ELD ads to begin before summer and subsequently ramp up in scope and reach of the ads throughout the rest of 2021.

Additionally, Hardie and Company will provide a facelift to every part of the Company's public presence in an ongoing effort to establish Ultrack as the premier brand within the GPS and Fleet Management industry.

Ultrack CEO Michael Marsbergen commented: "Step by step, Ultrack is doing what is necessary to become a major player within the GPS Monitoring and Fleet Management industry. In anticipation of our new flagship ELD device being a true industry disruptor, Ultrack is planning a major pre-summer rollout that targets North American fleets and the key decision makers within those businesses, corporations, and governments. I plan to provide more updates next week concerning our progress with Ultrack's ELD certification as well as other important strides the Company has made over the past two months. All of Ultrack's key partnerships remain intact and effective, as do our commitments from existing corporate clients and at least 1 potential government entity to begin using our new flagship ELD once it is released."

As part of the flagship ELD product rollout, Ultrack has secured a new Company presence in Calgary, a key metropolitan area with over 1 million people and multiple corporate and government fleets. Ultrack plans to increase its corporate physical presence in strategic American and Canadian cities throughout 2021, where the Company anticipates that a physical presence will enhance its regional salesforce and influence.

The Company invites current and future shareholders to check back regularly at our website http://ultrack.ca, Facebook page www.facebook.com/UltrackSolutions and Twitter page https://twitter.com/Ultracki.

About MJLB: Located in Concord, Ontario, Ultrack Systems Inc., (www.ultrack.ca) is a publicly traded company listed on the OTC MARKETS under the MJLB trading symbol. Ultrack Systems Inc., is a provider of GPS tracking solutions. We develop, implement, and distribute electronic monitoring and tracking systems for companies in leasing, transportation, construction, disposal, and many other service driven industries. Our platform includes live tracking, reports, and alerts on a web-based platform. Our mission is to provide the best fleet tracking, reporting systems and our commitment to service. The Company plans to launch a new ELD product in 2021 in partnership with major corporations that will take the trucking industry by storm.

Safe Harbor Statement: This Press Release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company has tried, whenever possible, to identify these forward-looking statements using words such as "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "plans," "intends," "potential" and similar expressions. These statements reflect the Company's current beliefs and are based upon information currently available to it. Accordingly, such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or advise in the event of any change, addition or alteration to the information catered in this Press Release including such forward-looking statements.

Contact: Ultrack Systems, Inc

Phone: 800-893-9506

Email: info@ultrack.ca

Website: http://ultrack.ca

Facebook: www.facebook.com/UltrackSolutions

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ultracki

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/78532
BALTIMORE (AP)  A Maryland businessman has offered to buy the Tribune Publishing media company that owns The Baltimore Sun, the Chicago Tribune and other newspapers.

The Baltimore Sun reported Wednesday that hotel executive Stewart Bainum Jr. has offered $650 million for the company.

But the Chicago-based newspaper companys board has already endorsed a $630 million offer from another bidder, New York hedge fund Alden Global Capital. The board of directors has recommended that shareholders approve Aldens deal to buy the company for $17.25 a share.

The board, however, gave Bainum the green light to pursue financing for his bid of $18.50 a share. Bainum has already said that he wants to buy The Sun and turn it into a nonprofit.

Bainum is the chairman of Maryland-based Choice Hotels International. He initially had a nonbinding agreement to buy Baltimore Sun Media for $65 million when Aldens acquires Tribune. But negotiations over the terms faltered.

Bainum subsequently made his bid for the whole company. Other properties that it owns include the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland, the Hartford Connecticut Courant in Connecticut. the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the New York Daily News and The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Virginia.
CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- POS Nation, a retail point of sale solution provider, announced the closing of its first outside investment to support the development and modernization of its retail POS software. The investment was funded by CreativeCo, a local growth equity studio.

POS Nation's funding via CreativeCo will lead to major improvements to their flagship software, CAP Retail. The POS Nation team is also focusing on moving the product to operate as a cloud-based system.

"We needed a development partner with experience in cloud technology to get us where we needed to go. We were ready to respond to the market and serve the needs of our customers who could benefit from a cloud-based solution," said Spence Hoffman, POS Nation's director of sales and product.

Also based in Charlotte, North Carolina, CreativeCo focuses on growing small businesses like POS Nation. Their goal is to find early-stage companies that develop software and help them accelerate their growth through a capital and capabilities investment.

"Retail operators today, more than ever, need a helpful partner to enable their local stores to succeed. It's impressive that since 2001, POS Nation has been providing the point of sale software, payment processing, and support services that make several thousand retail stores run smoothly," said Travis Parsons, managing partner, CreativeCo. "We believe POS Nation's customer-first approach has been a winning formula, and we look forward to working together to make their easy-to-use and proven software platform even better for their customers."

The POS Nation team is excited to work toward a new, more modern version of the CAP Retail point of sale software. The updates will help POS Nation better serve customers and further support small business retailers with an all-in-one solution.

Contact: Gina Obert, Content Marketing Manager

[email protected] | 1-877-727-3548

Related Files

POSNation_SoftwareFunding_CreativeCo.pdf

SOURCE POS Nation
A petitioner, Timothy Ogbeye, on Wednesday, told an investigative panel probing acts of police brutality in Abuja, how he was allegedly dehumanised by police officers attached to the Awkuzu division of the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Anambra State.

Mr Ogbeye, who was continuing his part-heard testimony before the 11-man panel led by a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Suleiman Galadima, said he was tortured, made to bark like a dog, crawl like a snake, and lick the bare floor of his cell during his alleged unlawful detention for four months at the detention facility last year.

Trauma

Ending his testimony in an emotion-laden voice, Mr Ogbeye, said in pidgin English, my lord, I see pepper for that place, adding that his hands had been partially stiff due to the torture he received during his detention.

The Awkuzu facility run by the defunct SARS is notorious for extra-judicial killings and inhumane conducts of its men.

During last years #EndSARS protest, the police division drew the anger of Nigerians many of whom had heard of or experienced horrible treatments in the hands of police officers manning the detention facility.

Police authorities announced the disbandment of SARS following #EndSARS protests that broke out in many Nigerian major cities in October last year.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) set up the Mr Galadima-led panel in response to the #EndSARS protests to probe complaints about various acts of rights violations committed by the operatives of SARS and other police units in different parts of the country.

How Ogbeye was arrested

A statement by the NHRCs press unit stated that Mr Ogbeye, a car dealer, recalled on Wednesday, that he was arrested at his car stand at Mpape, Abuja, on January 22, 2020.

He said Andrew James who had led eight policemen to effect the arrest accused him of buying a stolen Toyota Corolla car from Micheal Obinna.

Mr Ogbeye he was moved to Kwali Police Station, where he met the said Mr Obinna.

The petitioner testified that he pleaded with the investigative police officer, Oriyomi Aregbelo, and Mr James to charge him to court to enable him to defend himself, but they refused.

He added that his family was denied access to him.

According to the petitioner, he was eventually taken to Awkuzu SARS office in Anambra State, where he claimed he was severely tortured by Mr James and others.

He said the torture continued despite his insistence on his innocence.

My ordeal in Awkuzu SARS custody

Mr Ogbeye told the panel he was made to mimic the sound of animals and their behaviours at the Awkuzu detention facility.

He said he was detained with other inmates in Cell 4 in Awkuzu with no window, water and toilet.

He said he was at some points hung upside down from the ceiling, with blood dripping from his nose.

He said he was beaten with iron and two-by-two wood, adding that in-between the series of torture, Mr James, allegedly kept demanding N5 million for him to be released.

ADVERTISEMENT

Vindicated

Mr Ogbeye told the panel that his lawyer, Olochukwu Udemezue, later instituted a fundamental rights enforcement suit at the High Court of Anambra State to seek an order for his release.

The petitioner said the court granted his prayers, but the police refused to release him.

He said his lawyer then wrote the Commissioner of Police, Anambra State Command, whom he said eventually ordered the X Squad to investigate the allegations against him.

He said the investigations proved him to be innocent and he was immediately released after spending four months in unlawful detention and dehumanised condition.

Cross-examination

While cross-examining the petitioner, police lawyer, Monday Jonathan, suggested to him that he indeed bought a stolen accidented vehicle from Obinna Michael, whom the police alleged to be a notorious armed robber.

But the panel reminded the lawyer that it was not set up to hear theft cases.

The panel adjourned till May 3 for the witnesses of the complainant and police respondents to testify.
US President Joe Biden is eager for Congress to fix the broken immigration system in the US and has already sent in legislation for the same, the White House said on March 24. The statement comes in the light of the recent protests which saw hundreds of thousands of Indian-American doctors coalesced to streets to demand the elimination of the existing per country quota for Green cards. Backed by several Indian-American lawmakers, Biden has promised faster processing of documents to end the colossal green card backlog.

The president... believes that there should be faster processing, that our immigration system is broken at many levels and of the system and that he is eager for Congress to move forward with action there," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference.

Speaking to reporters, Psaki also emphasised that one major reason that the Biden Administration wanted to push for immediate action on Immigration was to expatiate the processing of visas on several levels. Despite proposing the ambitious Immigration Bill, the Biden administration has been lampooned for inordinate delays in the issuance of employment authorisation cards to H4 and L2 visa holders, a significant number of whom are Indian women. The increasing delays in the process have also caught the eye of several Indian American lawmakers who have pointed out that the delays would only result in the loss of top talent, especially in Silicon Valley.

Biden's Citizenship Bill

In January, the Joe Biden administration had introduced the US Citizenship Act of 2021 that will most likely benefit thousands of Indian IT professionals in the US. This bill proposes to eliminate the per-country cap for employment-based green cards. The ones who are waiting for a Green Card for over a decade would receive legal permanent residency soon after they are exempted from the visa cap.

The bill first needs to be passed by Congress, House of Representatives and the Senate then will reach the White House for President Biden to sign into law. If it happens, it would bring citizenship to millions of foreign nationals, including 11 million undocumented migrants and legal settlers.

(Image Credits: The Associated Press)
Wix's integration with Google My Business enables business owners to create and manage their Business Profile on Google Search and Maps seamlessly and efficiently

NEW YORK, March 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Wix (Nasdaq: WIX), a leading global SaaS platform to create, manage and grow an online presence, today announced an expanded integration with Google, enabling users to create and manage their Business Profile on Google Search and Maps directly via Wix's platform. The integration is part of Wix's vision to provide business owners with a full solution to manage their business from one place.

Wix is equipped with built-in and customizable creation, management and marketing tools to help businesses grow and succeed. Wix is continuously adding advanced SEO capabilities to ensure users can attain maximum site traffic, connect with customers and generate engagement and sales through multiple channels. Now via Wix, businesses can claim and update their Business Profile on Google to ensure their business information is current on the Google results page for searches with a local intent.

Business owners can manage their Business Profiles, update their business information and hours, add photos, update their website, create posts, add attributes, respond to reviews, share Q&As, message with customers and accept bookings. An up-to-date Business Profile is considered 2.7 times more reputable, 70% more likely to attract location visits and are 50% more likely to lead to a purchase.

Through the integration, business owners will be able to create and verify a new Business Profile or import their current Profile to their Wix dashboard. They can utilize features including insights and data, without having to toggle between different platforms. The integration offers businesses a complete experience to conveniently manage their business via Wix and presence on Google Search and Maps.

"Together with Wix, we're providing essential tools that help business owners efficiently and instantaneously engage with new and existing customers online," said Valerio Sudrio, Head of EMEA Google My Business partnerships at Google.

Story continues

"We believe Google My Business is important for business owners to gain exposure and increase their customer base," said Kobi Gamliel, Head of User Marketing at Wix. "We're happy to continue our partnership with Google and offer a seamless integration enabling our users to better optimize their online presence for engaging with customers and succeeding in today's online landscape."

Google and Wix's existing partnership includes the integrations of the Google Search Console, Google Workspaces (formerly known as G Suite), Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager and Reserve with Google. With the addition of Google My Business, users have even more access to a complete business solution seamlessly integrated into Wix.

About Wix.com, Ltd

Wix is leading the way with a cloud-based website development platform for over 200 million registered users worldwide today. The Wix website builder was founded on the belief that the Internet should be accessible to everyone to develop, create and contribute. Through free and premium subscriptions, Wix empowers millions of businesses, organizations, artists, and individuals to take their businesses, brands and workflow online. The Wix Editor, Wix ADI, Editor X, a curated App Market, Ascend by Wix and Velo by Wix enable users to build and manage a fully integrated and dynamic digital presence. Wix's headquarters are in Tel Aviv with offices in Austin, Be'er Sheva, Berlin, Cedar Rapids, Denver, Dnipro, Dublin, Kiev, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Tokyo and Vilnius.

Learn more at Wix.com in our Press Room and our Investor Relations site

Visit us on our blog , Facebook , Twitter , Instagram , LinkedIn , and Pinterest

Download the Wix App , available for free on Google Play and in the App Store

Media Relations Contact:

Blake Brodie

pr@wix.com

 Ipsos research, Benefits of a complete listing 2017 (Global)

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/google-and-wix-partner-to-make-it-easier-for-wix-users-to-manage-their-business-profile-on-google-301254867.html

SOURCE Wix.com Ltd.
A settlement that is pending approval from a federal judge would require the former owner of a shuttered chemical plant in Maine to spend more than $180 million to clean up mercury contamination.

The settlement concerns the site of the HoltraChem Manufacturing plant on the Penobscot River that has been the subject of legal conflicts for more than two decades. HoltraChems one-time owner Mallinckrodt US, LLC of Delaware, would deposit $187 million into a trust fund to pay for the cleanup, and could end up adding up to $80 million more, the Bangor Daily News reported.

The Orrington plant operated from 1967 to 2000. HoltraChem filed for bankruptcy and shut down in 2000. A federal judge ruled in 2015 that Mallinckrodt US, LLC was responsible for the cleanup of the river. Mallinckrodt owned the site from 1962 to 1982 and is the only former plant owner still in business.

The pollution was extensive. One study found that six to 12 tons of mercury were discharged from the plant into the river in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Activist groups that sued Mallinckrodt US, LLC and attorneys for Mallinckrodt US, LLC both described the settlement as fair, the Bangor Daily News reported on Tuesday.

Correction: This story has been corrected to show that Mallinckrodt US LLC is headquartered in Delaware, not St. Louis, Missouri.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  The Cleveland Landmarks Commissions reluctance to approve a plan to build 18 one-bedroom apartments atop a 100-year-old building in the citys Ohio City neighborhood has almost certainly doomed the project, the developer said.

James Asimes of the Local Development Partners firm planned to build Fulton House on a 6,900 square-foot piece of land on Fulton Road and Woodbine Avenue.

The building is part of a complex that is best known to locals because it houses the Ohio City Brew Stop convenience store. However, another section of the building once served as the home base for a company that made condiments for prisons and other institutional settings, he said.

Still, residents have expressed concerns about Asimes plans, and a committee that advises the Landmarks Commission expressed its disapproval. The commission did not take a vote on whether to issue a certificate of appropriateness during its virtual meeting Thursday, but instead agreed to postpone one so Asimes could make changes based on its feedback and re-submit plans.

However, following the meeting, Asimes said the Landmarks Commissions stance on the project as presented means it will likely not come to fruition.

He planned to build a four-story building with 500-square-feet apartments that would go for about $1,100, and create space on the first floor for a coffee shop or bakery. Asimes also wanted to create an area with picnic benches for patrons of the restaurant that would go on the first floor.

He said during the meeting that he planned to keep the Brew Stop at its current location.

The Ohio City Inc. development corporation solicited feedback on the project for several months via the CoUrbanize website. The project also went in front of the Landmarks Commission last month for feedback.

The feedback had been critical. Residents and a local design review committee expressed concerns about the original proposal for the building to be five stories tall. As a result, Asimes and architect Westleigh Harper agreed to remove a story and two apartment units.

Still, many residents continued to push back because of the proposed buildings height of about 50 feet. They also had misgivings about a lack of on-site parking, as a planned garage would only hold eight cars.

The design review committee last week unanimously voted not to recommend approval, Ohio City Inc. Director of Neighborhood Development Donna Grigonis said during Thursdays meeting.

The Landmarks Commission also had concerns, though. Chairwoman Julie Trott said Thursday that the projects building was still too tall compared to surrounding buildings in a part of Ohio City zoned for structures that house two families.

Others expressed concerns about how the development would fit in with the rest of the historic district.

Its not a question of blending in, but how it lives in a community thats already established and has been established for hundreds of years, Vice Chairman Giancarlo Calicchia said.

Harper, during the meeting, pointed to other nearby apartment buildings that were similar sizes. While the citys Board of Zoning Appeals would have to grant several variances for the project to go forward, he maintained that the plans were not far outside the realm of its Ohio City surroundings.

Additional alterations would make the project unviable, Asimes said. He said he was under contract to buy the property from longtime owner Tom Hatzopoulos but that the sale had not yet gone through.

Despite that, he said he was proud of the designs he created with Harper.
Muskox (Ovibos moschatus) - one of numerous herbivores that roam in the enclosure of the Pleistocene Park, nature reserve in northern Sakha Republic, Russia. This ongoing grazing experiment started in 1988 and its aim is to test if large herbivores can restore rich Pleistocene grassland ecosystems. Credit: Frank Kienast

By clearing forests, burning grasslands, plowing fields and harvesting crops, humans apply strong selective pressures on the plants that survive on the landscapes we use. Plants that evolved traits for long-distance seed-dispersal, including rapid annual growth, a lack of toxins and large seed generations, were more likely to survive on these dynamic anthropogenic landscapes. In a new article, researchers argue that these traits may have evolved as adaptations for megafaunal mutualisms, later allowing those plants to prosper among increasingly sedentary human populations.

The new study hypothesizes that the presence of specific anthropophilic traits explains why a select few plant families came to dominate the crop and weed assemblages around the globe, such as quinoa, some grasses, and knotweeds. These traits, the authors argue, also explain why so many genera appear to have been domesticated repeatedly in different parts of the world at different times. The 'weediness' and adaptability of those plants was the result of exaptation traits, or changes in the function of an evolutionary trait. In this way, rather than an active and engaged human process, certain plants gradually increased in prominence around villages, in cultivated fields, or on grazing land.

Grasses and field crops weren't the only plants to use prior adaptations to prosper in human landscapes; select handfuls of trees also had advantageous traits, such as large fleshy fruits, resulting from past relationships with large browsers. The rapid extinction of megafauna at the end of the Pleistocene left many of these large-fruiting tree species with small, isolated populations, setting the stage for more dramatic changes during later hybridization. When humans began moving these trees they were likely to hybridize with distant relatives, resulting, in some cases, in larger fruits and more robust plants. In this way, the domestication process for many long-generation perennials appears to have been more rapid and tied into population changes due to megafaunal extinctions.

The wood bison (Bison bison spp. athabascae) of the Ust'-Buotama Bison Park, central Sakha Republic, Russia. In 2006, 35 wood bison were brought from Canada. These megaherbivores adapted to local environment and increased their population. The 100-ha enclosure, where animals live, serves as a study site for ecologists and zoologists and provides an opportunity to trace changes in vegetation associated with herbivore pressure. Credit: Frank Kienast

"The key to better understanding plant domestication may lay further in the past than archaeologists have previously thought; we need to think about the domestication process as another step in the evolution of life on Earth, as opposed to an isolated phenomenon," states Dr. Robert Spengler. He is the director of the archaeobotanical laboratories at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Jena, Germany, and the lead investigator on this paper.

This publication is a result of archaeologists, geneticists, botanists, and paleontologists contributing insights from their unique disciplines to reframe the way scholars think about domestication. The goal of the collaboration is to get researchers to consider the deeper ecological legacies of the plants and the pre-cultivation adaptations that they study.

Prof. Nicole Boivin, director of the Department of Archaeology at the Max Planck Institute in Jena, studies the ecological impacts of humans deep in the past. "When we think about the ecology of the origins of agriculture, we need to recognize the dramatic changes in plant and animal dynamics that have unfolded across the Holocene, especially those directly resulting from human action," she adds.

While it may just look like a regular field, the plants growing on either side of this bison trail are primarily little barley, one of the North American Lost Crops. This photo was taken during field work by Natalie Muller of Washington University in St. Louis in an attempt to determine the role that bison may have played in shaping the ecology of the progenitors for certain ancient crops. Credit: Natalie Mueller

Ultimately, the scholars suggest that, rather than in archaeological excavations, laboratories, or in modern agricultural fields, the next big discoveries in plant domestication research may come from restored megafaunal landscapes. Ongoing research by Dr. Natalie Mueller, one of the authors, on North American restored prairies is investigating potential links between bison and the North American Lost Crops. Similar studies could be conducted on restored megafaunal landscapes in Europe, such as the Bialowieski National Park in Poland, the Ust'-Buotoma Bizon Park or Pleistocene Park in Sakha Republic, Russia.

Dr. Ashastina, another author on the paper and a paleontologist studying Pleistocene vegetation communities in North Asia, states, "these restored nature preserves provide a novel glimpse deep into the nature of plant and animal interactions and allow ecologists, not only to directly trace vegetation changes occurring under herbivore pressure in various ecosystems, but to disentangle the deeper legacies of these mutualisms."

Explore further Anthropogenic seed dispersal: Rethinking the origins of plant domestication

More information: Robert N. Spengler et al, Exaptation Traits for Megafaunal Mutualisms as a Factor in Plant Domestication, Frontiers in Plant Science (2021). Robert N. Spengler et al, Exaptation Traits for Megafaunal Mutualisms as a Factor in Plant Domestication,(2021). DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.649394
No one was hurt but 400 customers lost power and several buildings were damaged when two manholes exploded in downtown Asbury Park on Thursday morning, officials said.

Something happened in the cable vault down below that caused the manholes to pop up, Jersey Central Power & Light spokesman Mark Dubin said.

JCP&L crews are making repairs and investigating the cause of the explosions.

Multiple witnesses said that they heard explosions shortly before 9 a.m., felt buildings shake and evacuations followed. Photos show smoke pouring out of the street.

About 400 customers are without power in downtown Asbury Park after two manholes exploded and sent smoke into the air on Thursday, March 25, 2021.Briana Nicole Derenstein

I was actually in my kitchen, and I just heard like this loud, loud explosion, it literally sound like a bomb, DJ Presto, the co-owner of DJs Deli said. I turned around I saw the sign on my door swinging, like a ghost just took it and swung it, so it was like swinging really hard.

The explosion was strong enough that it blew the letters off of the House of Independences marquee, Presto said. He was told to evacuate by police, and again by firefighters when he didnt leave the store fast enough, he said. They didnt give a timeline for when he would be able to get back inside.

Rebecca Kaul was blow drying her hair when her lights started flickering, and then the outlet started buzzing. Then the Cookman Avenue resident heard an explosion.

It was loud, she said. At about 10:30 a.m., shed been standing outside  a block away  for about 90 minutes, awaiting word she could get back to her place.

Asbury Park police said to avoid the areas of Cookman, Mattison, Lake and Bangs avenues, a popular downtown area fulls of bars and restaurants. New Jersey Natural Gas vehicles and fire trucks were visible at the scene.

The damaged buildings are being checked to see if theyre safe to re-occupy, Asbury Park Fire Chief Kevin Keddy said.

The Neptune Township firefighters union said its assisting the Asbury Park Fire Department.

Asbury Park police couldnt immediately be reached for additional information.

Crews are on the scene in downtown Asbury Park after a pair of manhole explosions.Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.
In addition, there were 21 additional cases of the coronavirus variant that originated from the United Kingdom for a total of 167, and three additional cases of the Brazilian variants for a total of nine. Officials previously identified three cases of the variant that originated in South Africa.
Nairobi  Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, Kenyan tech startups still managed to raise Sh21.4 billion in funding in 2020, taking the top spot in the Continent.

This is according to the Association of Countrywide Innovation Hubs (ACIH) Kenya Chairman who attributes this to a socio-professional environment conducive to work and investment.

Speaking during the sidelines of The Great Covid-19 Innovation Challenge Demo Day, ACIH Chairman David Ogiga said though the past year was tough, a lot of Kenyans showed creativity in birthing new ideas that are solving local problems.

He says going forward; startup growth is expected to double in 2021.

'Mentorship is what is needed to accelerate the growth of Startups in Kenya. With continued support from our partners, we will continue offering mentorship and linkages to the industry, networks that will enable these innovators scale," he said.

The Demo Day saw over 15 startups who won the Hackathon were able to showcase their products and services. The Hackathon was in partnership with Konza Technopolis with financial support from UK Kenya Tech Hub, UNDP, US Alumni Exchange.

Walid Badawi, the UNDP Resident Representative in Kenya, while acknowledging the role of innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship in post Covid reconstruction, urged everyone to look to the future to build forward better from covid 19.

"Let's continue building with the same spirit of entrepreneurship, of energy, of optimism and of hope for a brighter future for it is such types of innovations as witnessed today that will be tomorrow's currency of economic growth and prosperity for the young people of Kenya," added Badawi.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Business By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

On her part UK Kenya Tech Hub Director Sheena Raikundalia says the challenges facing startups in Kenya are varied, including right policy frameworks, sufficient resources, partnerships and networks to support their growth and establishment.

"These innovators' journey just started, to stay in market and grow their scope still requires our support. We will continue to partner with the Association to help the startups reach their full potential, "she added.

In his address, Christopher Machin, the Cultural Affairs Officer at the US Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, called for the need "add to the conversations by listening to the innovators... and furnish the innovations". He Urged the UN experts to "use the environment, people around you for inspiration to keep the conversation moving".

The CEO, Konza Technopolis, John Tanui, highlighted the importance of Konza towards positioning Kenya as a global hub for innovation and technology; "With the support of the Government, Konza will be an excellent location with world class infrastructure plus smart city components... building Innovations and knowledge economy, this will be our focus going forward," he 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.
(Natural News) Hong Kong health officials have HALTED shipments of the Pfizer vaccine after multiple defects were identified and reported. The South China Morning Post reports that front-line healthcare workers discovered over fifty instances of cracked and leaking vials. How can Pfizer guarantee the consistency and safety of the mRNA science, if they cannot keep the vials intact and properly preserved?

There is no practical way to ensure the safety of an experimental vaccine that has to be preserved at -93 degrees Fahrenheit. The Pfizer mRNA vaccine is shipped in boxes that can only be opened twice a day for a maximum of 180 seconds. If the nano-particles in the vaccine are not properly preserved at this correct temperature, they become dangerous and ineffective to human immune systems. Moreover, a manufacturing feat at this scale is naturally prone to multiple errors.

Twenty-one Hong Kong vaccination centers suspend vaccine appointments

After the leaking vials were identified, Hong Kong health officials canceled vaccine appointments at all twenty-one community vaccination centers. At least 1,080 doses had already been administered at nineteen vaccination centers the same day the doses were suspended. Citizens who were scheduled to get the Pfizer vaccine that day were told they could not get the jab until further notice. Some of the vaccine junkies angrily waited at the vaccination centers, demanding that they get their fix.

Just as the heroin addict shoots up to get a feeling of elation and a sense of freedom, so do todays vaccine addicts, who shoot up to get a feeling of elation and a psychological sense of freedom. Vaccine junkies derive a sense of elation and freedom from a series of shots. While they arent technically addicted on a physiological level, their brains are trained to be dependent on the needles all the same. It doesnt matter where the shots come from, if the vials are broken, or whether the needles are dirty and unsafe. Vaccine junkies need their fix.

This embarrassing psychological phenomenon is happening because governments continue to hold people down, coercing people to give up their freedoms, while brainwashing them to believe they will never be fine again if they do not plunge the needles in their arms. Governments and pharmaceutical companies have become like gangs and drug dealers, controlling and ruining peoples lives. This isnt science. This is coercion. These are people with real PROBLEMS and they will soon be coming for every childs mind, to continue the cycle and plunge more needles in their arms.

The manufacturer is looking for an alibi, but doesnt need to worry because they enjoy immunity from all prosecution

Hong Kongs covid-19 vaccination program had previously dealt with eight incidents of cracked BioNTech vials and twenty-two air pressure issues resulting in leaks. These quality control issues were all traced back to the manufacturer and were not the result of sabotage along the distribution process. After another sixteen reports of leaking vials, Hong Kongs Director of Health had to investigate. There were an additional eleven vials that were stained, with suspicious marks on the exterior of the glass containers. These vials were traced back to batch 210102, of which, over one hundred fifty thousand doses had already been injected into arms. The Hong Kong Director of Health is preparing to open batch 210104, which includes seven hundred fifty-eight thousand reserve doses.

BioNTech, the manufacturer, has launched a separate investigation into the botched, stained and leaking vials. BioNTech wrote to Hong Kong health officials, confirming that there are no safety issues with the batch; however, BioNTech requested that Hong Kong stop using vials from that batch out of an abundance of caution. BioNTech wrote that the one hundred fifty thousand doses that were already received from that batch pose no safety risk to the people who received them.

At the end of the day, Pfizer and BioNTech need not worry. Even if someone experiences a severe reaction to the vaccine, Pfizer is indemnified from any civil or criminal lawsuit. These vaccine companies wield absolute power over Nations, subverting the rule of law, while coercing people to comply with no recourse.

Sources include:

Zerohedge.com

SCMP.com

NaturalNews.com
Amaravati, March 25 : Andhra Pradesh government recommended the names of three retired IAS officers to Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan to appoint a successor to current State Election Commissioner (SEC) Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar.

Former chief secretary Nilam Sawhney, M. Samuel and L. Premchandra Reddy are the three former bureaucrats recommended.

Currently Sawhney is working as an adviser to Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy while Samuel is playing a role in the Navaratnalu scheme.

Likewise, Premachandra Reddy has also been entrusted with responsibilities with regard to the bifurcation of the state which occurred in 2014.

Once the Governor takes a call on these names and approves one of them, the state government will appoint that person as the new SEC.

Kumar is set to superannuate on March 31 as there continues to be disagreements between him and the government.

The outgoing SEC said that there was not enough time for him to conduct the MPTC and ZPTC polls while the state government wants those elections also to be done away with, riding high on the recent landslide victories in the rural and urban local bodies' polls.

The government is looking at completing the MPTC and ZPTC polls as well once the new SEC arrives and proceed with the gigantic task of intensifying Coronavirus vaccination.
Scientists have produced the first high-resolution 3D image of the sarcomere, the basic contractile unit of skeletal and heart muscle cells, using electron cryo-tomography (cryo-ET).

The international team, led by Stefan Raunser, Director at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology in Dortmund, collaborated with Mathias Gautel at the King's College in London, describes the findings this week in the online version of the journal Cell.

Cryo-ET capability of imaging structures directly in frozen muscle cells could translate into future medical treatments for muscle diseases and better understand the aging process.

Sarcomeres are small repeating subunits of myofibrils, the long cylinders that bundle together to make the muscle fibers. Inside the sarcomeres, filaments of the proteins myosin and actin interact to generate muscle contraction and relaxation.

So far, traditional experimental approaches to investigate the structure and function of muscle tissue were performed on reconstructed protein complexes or suffered from low resolution.

Electron cryo-tomography, instead, allows us to obtain detailed and artefact-free 3D images of the frozen muscle." Stefan Raunser, Director, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology, Dortmund

An old technique flexes its muscles

Cryo-ET was for a long time an established yet niche methodology. But recent technical advances in electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM) as well as the new development of cryo focused ion beam (FIB) milling are pushing cryo-ET resolution. Similar to cryo-EM, researchers flash-freeze the biological sample at a very low temperature (- 175 C).

Through this process, the sample preserves its hydration and fine structure and remains close to its native state. FIB milling is then applied to shave away extra material and obtain an ideal thickness of around 100 nanometers for the transmission electron microscope, acquiring multiple images as the sample is tilted along an axis. Finally, computational methods reconstruct a three-dimensional picture at high resolution.

Raunser's team performed cryo-ET on mouse myofibrils isolated at the King's College and obtained a resolution of one nanometer (a millionth of a millimeter, enough to see fine structures within a protein): "We can now look at a myofibril with details thought unimaginable only four years ago. It's fascinating!", says Raunser.

Fibers in their natural context

The calculated reconstruction of the myofibrils revealed the three-dimensional organization of the sarcomere, including the sub regions M-, A-, and I- bands, and the Z-disc, which unexpectedly forms a more irregular mesh and adopts different conformations.

The scientists used a sample with myosin strongly bound to actin, representing a stage of the contracting muscle that is called the rigor state. And indeed, they could visualize for the first time in the native cell how two heads of the same myosin bind to an actin filament.

They also discovered that the double head not only interacts with the same actin filament but is also found split between two actin filaments. This has never been seen before and shows that proximity to the next actin filament is stronger than the cooperative effect between the neighboring heads.

"This is just the beginning. Cryo-ET is moving from niche to widespread technology in structural biology", says Raunser. "Soon we will be able to investigate muscle diseases at molecular and even atomic level". Mouse muscles are very similar to those of humans, yet scientists plan to investigate muscle tissue from biopsies or derived from pluripotent stem cells.
Highlights Steve Jobss job application letter which was filed in 1973 has been bought for GBP 162,000

he letter was put up for auction on March 24 on the auction website Charterfeilds.

The application is a single-page hand-written letter by Jobs.

Steve Jobs's job application letter which was filed in 1973 has been bought for GBP 162,000

(roughly Rs 1.06 crores) at an auction. The letter was put up for auction on March 24 on the auction website Charterfeilds. The application is a single-page hand-written letter by Jobs. However, there is no mention of the role for which he was applying nor does the letter mention the name of the company for which he was applying.

It is being reported that the letter is one of the first job applications filed by Apple CEO Steve Jobs. He joined a company called Atari Inc as a Technician so this application was filed a year before he got his first job.

Charterfeilds, the site where the letter was put up for auction described the letter as, "A single page signed job application form 1973 is being offered for sale by auction. In the questionnaire Steve Jobs highlights his experience with "computers and calculators" and special abilities in "electronic tech or design engineer digital".The questionnaire is believed to have been completed around the time he dropped out of Reed College in Portland, Oregon.A year later he joined Atari as a technician where he worked with Steve Wozniak before they founded Apple in 1976.

The application is in very good condition with some overall creasing, light staining, and old clear tape to the top edge. It is accompanied by letters and certificates of authenticity. Previously it was sold at auction in 2018 for over $175,000.



Steve who joined Atari after he dropped out of Reed College was described by his colleague at Atari as "difficult but valuable", pointing out that "he was very often the smartest guy in the room, and he would let people know that." This was also the place where he met Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple.

Apple along with Steve Wozniak founded Apple in 1976, years after he left his job in Atari. Jobs had said in an interview that they founded apple because they wanted a personal computer but could not afford one. "Not only couldn't we afford the computers that were on the market, but those computers were also impractical for us to use. We needed a Volkswagen. The Volkswagen isn't as fast or comfortable as other ways of traveling, but the VW owners can go where they want when they want and with whom they want. The VW owners have personal control of their car," Jobs was once quoted as saying.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 25) Retired Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio on Thursday said President Rodrigo Duterte may not personally carry out any action to address the presence of suspected Chinese militia vessels at the Julian Felipe Reef, accusing the chief executive of having no sense of urgency on the case.

I think the President will just allow the DFA [Department of Foreign Affairs] to protest, will allow our military to make noise, but he will not do anything, Carpio told CNN Philippines The Source. Because President Duterte doesnt want to incur the ire of President Xi Jinping, because he loves [him].

I dont see any sense of urgency, any concern by the President, he added. Remember, he considers President Xi Jinping as his best friend. So how can President Duterte go against his idol?

The DFA over the weekend sent a diplomatic protest against China over the presence of some 220 suspected Chinese maritime militia vessels at the reef in the West Philippine Sea, within the countrys 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone.

Despite this, around 183 vessels in phalanx formation remain situated in the area as of March 22, according to the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Carpio said Duterte could have called and berated Chinas ambassador to the country right away, saying that other heads of state do this if there are encroachments in their respective territories.

In situations like this, you immediately summon the ambassador of the other country. Here, we dont do it, the former magistrate argued.

Malacanang later in the day said that Duterte has met with Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian, and that the two talked about the matter.

Ang sabi ng Chinese ambassador sila'y mangingisda, nandoon lang sila because they are seeking shelter. Wala naman pong kontrobersiya dahil hindi naman nila pinaglalaban na mananatili sila doon, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a media briefing.

[Translation: The Chinese ambassador said they were fishermen, and were only there because they are seeking shelter. Theres no controversy because theyre not pushing to stay there for long.]

Carpio earlier disputed this statement, claiming that the spotted ships are not built like ordinary fishing vessels.

Roque maintained that the government will continue to stand by the 2016 arbitral ruling one that recognized sovereign rights of the Philippines in areas of its EEZ, and invalidated China's sweeping claims to the South China Sea.
Green Policies Are to Remake Economy and Justify Control Over People: Expert

People should be concerned about the Green New Deal because it includes the most radical policies that can transform the economy into a socialist one and allow the government to tighten control over society, according to Hayden Ludwig, Senior Investigative Researcher at the Capital Research Center.

The Green New Deal, I would say, has nothing to do with climate change, it has nothing to do with global warming, the environment. Period. Its everything to do with remaking the entire United States in the radical lefts own image, Ludwig told The Epoch Times Crossroads program.

Saikat Chakrabarti, former chief of staff to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), told The Washington Post in 2019, The interesting thing about the Green New Deal  is it wasnt originally a climate thing at all.  we really think of it as a how-do-you-change-the-entire-economy thing.

A campaign organizer for Friends of the Earth stated at a United Nations conference, A climate change response must have at its heart a redistribution of wealth and resources, according to Christopher Horners book Red Hot Lies.

The Democrats in the House of Representatives proposed an infrastructure package that would include roughly $1 trillion for roads, bridges, rail lines, electrical vehicle charging stations, and the cellular network, among other items. The stated goal is to facilitate the shift to cleaner energy while improving economic competitiveness.

A second component of the package would propose benefits for workers, including free community college, universal pre-kindergarten, and paid family leave.

They published a proposal that was a sprawling proposal that pretended to be a highway bill. But it was really just a multi-thousand-page cousin of the Green New Deal, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said about the proposed package.

Were hearing the next few months might bring a so-called infrastructure proposal that may actually be a Trojan horse for massive tax hikes and other job-killing left-wing policies, McConnell said.

If you read the text of [the Green New Deal] from a few years ago youll find references, fig leaves, to global warming that immediately jump into things they really want to talk about, Ludwig said. And thats about combating rising income inequality, and environmental justice, which really is a way to say reparations to black and brown communities because theyve been systematically oppressed by white communities and this has nothing to do with the environment.

Ludwig explained that environmental justice is the Marxist concept of oppressor and oppressed applied to global warming. Rich polluters, right, those are people who own houses, people who own multiple cars, who are by the nature of their pollution, oppressing the oppressed people, and these are poor people who live in poor communities, who are ethnic minorities, he said. This way any sort of sweeping redistribution, reparations agenda [can be justified] by pointing out its all climate-related, Ludwig added.

Creating conflict between the oppressor and the oppressed is at the core of Marxist doctrine. Marxists basically see the world in terms of one oppressor class oppressing an oppressed class and that used to be the capitalist class oppressing the proletariat, the labor class, Ludwig said. That didnt really work out.

The same dichotomy of oppressor and oppressed was applied to races like white people and black people or other non-white people, or men and women, Ludwig said.

Environmentalism Leads to Population Control

Environmentalists hold a protest march from the U.S. Capitol in Washington on April 29, 2017. (Astrid Riecken/Getty Images)

Ludwig said that true environmentalism leads to population control. He said that he drew this conclusion after tracing the origins of environmentalism back to the eugenics movement and the pro-abortion movementin short, the population control movement of the 20th century.

The Green New Deal allows the federal government to justify policies that will control how people travel, how they eat, and how many children they have, Ludwig said. Thats why this is so dangerous. Its an open-ended mandate for the most radical transformation weve ever seen proposed.

Theres a reason, I think, why the Democratic Party is pushing so much radical environmental policy right now, as opposed to anything else, like Medicare For All, and my theory is that they realize that this is the fastest way to get the amount of power that they want over peoples lives, he added. If you can sell somebody on, If you dont pass this measure, you die, the whole world goes up in smoke, so to speakif you can pass that, you can justify whatever you want.

Traditional socialism, like in China, seeks power over everything people do and environmentalism is the only ideology I know of that goes even more beyond that; it gives the government power of your very genes, over what you get to breathe outI mean, cellular-level kind of control, Ludwig said. Its the most extreme thing weve ever seen,

Ludwig cited filmmaker and activist Michael Moore, who in his 2019 documentary Planet of the Humans pointed out that if one seriously considers saving the planet through stopping climate change, yet excludes carbon-free nuclear power as an option, as many environmentalists have, then what youre left with is minimizing the number of humans left on the planet, Ludwig said. Theres no other way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions short of massive population control schemes.

We have to be wary of these things because they will ultimately end in controlling how many children you can have, Ludwig said, noting there are organizations that have been advocating these policies since the 1960s, such as Population Connection.

Population Connection was founded in 1968 under the name of Zero Population Growth (ZPG) with a mission to raise public awareness of the link between population growth and environmental degradation and, in turn, encourage people to have smaller families limited to two children, according to its website.

The organization changed its name in 2002, but its mission never changed, the website states. The name change allowed the organization to get access to Capitol Hill, public schools, and attract younger members and supporters.

Originally ZPG targeted the white middle class because the white middle-class majority use up more than their share of resources and do more than their share of polluting, Paul Ehrlich, Bing Professor Emeritus of Population Studies at Stanford University wrote in 1970 in the ZPG National Reporter. Later, the organization decided to extend its message to the rich, the poor, and the middle class.

In February, Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), with support from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I- Vt.), introduced The National Climate Emergency Act, which grants the president enormous ability to respond to an emergency, Ludwig wrote for Capital Research Center.

In January, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told MSNBC: I think it might be a good idea for President Biden to declare a climate emergency. Then he can do many, many things under the emergency powers of the president that wouldnt have to go through, that he could do without legislation.

Relying on Renewable Energy

Solar panels are mounted atop the roof of the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, Calif. on Sept. 5, 2018. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Renewable energy sources such as wind turbines or solar panel arrays require an enormous amount of land, Ludwig said, adding that applying them on a large scale could lead to the total deforestation of the United States.

Wind turbines need foundations built of hundreds of tons of concrete embedded very deep into the earth, tons of steel, and tons of copper wiring, some of which need to be replaced after a decade and are not easily recycled, Ludwig said. Things that are supposed to be saving the planet, in reality, theyre just polluting the planet with all sorts of excess materials, resources that could have been better used elsewhere.

Renewable sources of energy such as wind power and solar power are notoriously unreliable because there are times when the sun does not shine or the wind does not blow, Ludwig said. Therefore any electrical power grid which uses solar or wind power needs to include steady reliable forms of energy such as nuclear power, natural gas, oil, or coal.

There is no technology so far that will allow the storing on a mass scale of the energy produced from intermittent sources, Ludwig said.

The electrical grid does not work like a light bulb dimmer, which can accept less power and give less. Its much more like a computer or television. If you dont provide exactly the minimum amount of electricity to the grid thats required at all times it simply shuts off.

Isabel van Brugen contributed to this report.
The Federal Ministry of Health has commenced investigation into a report alleging that frequent use of hand sanitisers may alter a person's finger print.

A source at the Ministry of Health told THISDAY that the ministry had received a memo drawing its attention to a report credited to an Indian Dematologist warning that frequent use of hand sanitisers could peel off the skin's upper layer, thereby blurring the fingerprint, preventing it from being recognised by biometric machine.

The source also confirmed that the Secretary to Government of Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha had contacted the Ministry of Health on the issue, adding however, that there is nothing to worry about.

He said that it was a routine practice for the SGF to draw the attention of the Ministry of Health to any healthcare issue that raises public concerns.

He further disclosed that the ministry had referred the issue to relevant departments and agencies for investigation.

He added that ministry will also contact the World Health Organisation (WHO) over the issue.

The SGF letter dated March 10, addressed to the Minister of Health and copied both the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), said: " I wish to draw the attention of the minister to a report by an Indian Dematologist, Anshul Warman that warned that frequent use of hand sanitisers could cause abrasion of the skin's upper layer and may prevent a finger print recognition by the biometric machine".

According to the Indian medical expert, there were reports of cases from bank and medical college staff in India whose fingerprints could not be recognised by the biometric attendance machine in their offices.
The company said results of the pilot study have shown potential promise in the area of inflammatory markers and the possible effects on exaggerated inflammation

HempFusion said it has released a white paper illustrating the potential of tracking and elucidating biomarkers sensitive to inflammation

Wellness Inc ( ) ( ) (FRA:8OO) said it has completed a pilot study, in collaboration with Kansas-based Inflammatory Markers Laboratory (IML), which assessed the effect of the formulation CBD Capsules as it relates to a combination of anti-inflammatories in lowering the results of the chronic inflammation test.

said results of the pilot study have shown potential promise in the area of inflammatory markers and the possible effects on exaggerated inflammation.

We are committed to furthering research in the area of hemp-derived CBD and this pilot trial and soon to be published white paper reinforces our continued focus on the safe and effective use of hemp-derived CBD products, HempFusion Wellness CEO Jason Mitchell said in a statement.

IML Director Gordon Ens also commented, stating: Our laboratory has demonstrated the effectiveness of numerous products in reducing thromboxane production. I was pleased to see a CBD product show such a significant reduction of thromboxane in this pilot trial.

HempFusion also said it has released a white paper, which is expected to be published shortly, titled Oral Formulation May Modulate Thromboxane Production, illustrating the potential of tracking and elucidating biomarkers sensitive to inflammation, in addition to how novel compounds and formulas modulate the expression of these markers. The paper is co-authored by Ens and University of Alabama Professor George Fritsma.

HempFusion noted that it is dedicated to research related to toxicology safety, which is evident through its involvement and co-sponsoring of the ValidCare Human Observational Safety Study, which it believes is the largest CBD toxicology study of its kind ever completed to date.

The company added that it continues to focus on research & development, pilot studies, and clinical trials, to advance the science of CBD.

HempFusion distributes its family of brands, including HempFusion, Probulin Probiotics, Biome Research, and HF Labs, to around 4,000 retail locations across all 50 states of the US and select international locations.

In addition, HempFusions wholly-owned subsidiary Probulin Probiotics is one of the fastest-growing probiotics companies in the US, according to data technology company SPINS. The subsidiary offers the unique MAKtrek 3-D system that ensures more probiotics arrive alive.

Contact Sean at sean@proactiveinvestors.com
Mumbai: Superstar Salman Khan on Wednesday received the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine. The 55-year-old actor, who was spotted at the Lilavati Hospital in suburban Bandra in the evening, shared the news on Twitter.

"Took my first dose of vaccine today...." Salman Khan wrote on the microblogging site.

Took my first dose of vaccine today....  Salman Khan (@BeingSalmanKhan) March 24, 2021

The "Bharat" star's parents -- veteran screenwriter Salim Khan and producer Salma Khan -- received their first dose of the vaccine a few days ago, a source close to Salman Khan told PTI.

On Tuesday, the government announced that from April 1, all people above 45 years of age will be eligible to get COVID-19 vaccines.

Union minister Prakash Javadekar said now even people without comorbidities who are more than 45 years of age can get inoculated.

Salman Khan is the latest Indian film celebrity to be vaccinated, after Sanjay Dutt, Sharmila Tagore, Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Mohanlal, Jeetendra, Kamal Haasan, Nagarjuna, Neena Gupta, Rakesh Roshan, and Johnny Lever.

According to the Union health ministry, the number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 5 crore till Tuesday.

The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers getting vaccinated first and immunisation of frontline workers began from February 2.

The next phase of COVID-19 vaccination commenced on March 1 for those who are over 60 years of age and for people aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditions.
-Rep. Francis Nyumalin explains threat to declare elected offices vacant

Lofa County District 1 Representative Francis Sakila Nyumalin says he stands by his recent statement that the same authority that will nullify Lofa County's decision to elect Brownie Samukai as senator will also be used to nullify all positions for the president, vice president, senators and representatives.

"Any attempt to dissolve the result of Lofa County or nullifying the decision of the people of Lofa County, the authority that will do it, we will use that same authority to nullify all other positions in the country from the President, Vice President, Senator [to the] Representative," Mr. Nyumalin told the Plenary of the House of Representatives during an inquiry Tuesday, 23 March.

The House Plenary has sanctioned the inquiry based on a communication from Montserrado County District 16 Representative Dixon W. Seboe, seeking explanation from Nyumalin on the basis of his statement.

But Nyumalin tells members of the House of Representatives that he has no regret for the statement he made, adding: "I stand by my word."

In Seboe's communication to the House, he alleges that his colleague Nyumalin had asserted in a recording "that if Senator Elect Brownie Samukai is not certificated, all other elected positions from the President to representatives will be declared vacant and discussions that will lead to the formation of an interim government will begin."

Further, Seboe narrates that judging from Liberia's history since the 1990s, every situation that led to the formation of an interim government was on the basis of political destabilization and or overthrow of a legitimate sitting government.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Liberia Governance Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"As such it is important that our colleague be made to explain to this plenary how his statement will be implemented," Seboe says, reminding his colleagues that they are national leaders who have followers that can implement whatever they say.

However, Rep. Nyumalin in response to inquiry by his colleagues explains that the letter written by Rep. Seboe has serious misquotation in it, disclosing that his intention is not to form a rebel group or to go after government.

The Lofa lawmaker explains that if the Supreme Court or the National Elections Commission is used to nullify the result of Samukai, they are going to use the same means to nullify all other elections.

According to Rep. Nyumalin, his statement was very clear and he thought the House would be asking him about the status of the issue with the executive, instead, there is a letter on the floor to investigate him.

House Plenary's inquiry with Rep. Nyumalin comes days after the Lofa County representative was invited by the National Security Agency (NSA) for questioning over the same statement he made on a local radio station. Meanwhile the communication has been forwarded to the leadership of the House of Representatives.

As the City of Laredo continues to experience a downturn in the spread of the novel coronavirus, it celebrated another milestone, announcing that only 12 patients are hospitalized in Laredo with COVID-19.

The mark is the lowest number seen since the city started reporting COVID hospitalizations at a consistent rate. Accordingly, the number of patients is also the lowest mark in 2021, after the year started with 184 people hospitalized.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reports a hospital rate of 3.59% for the Laredo hospital region, based on data from March 24. The rate has now been reported below 4% for the second consecutive day.

Laredo fire chief and emergency management coordinator Guillermo Heard said Laredo's medical sector continues to demobilize state resources at a slow rate amid the decrease of hospitalizations.

According to Heard, about 10% of the workforce sent by the state has been relieved every week since the start of March. In total, 251 health professionals are currently in Laredo, with having demobilized about 150 professionals that were in Laredo to assist in local medical facilities.

Two facilities -- the infusion center at the Haynes Recreation Center and the alternate care site at the UT-Health Science Center -- are currently in operation and will remain in operation until at least the end of March, Heard said. At that point, the facilities will be reevaluated and a decision will be made on whether they will be extended.

Both the facilities will be needed, specifically if a surge in cases is seen due to spring break celebrations and the repeal of some restrictions designed to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

City Manager Robert Eads revealed Thursday that as of the noon update, no City of Laredo employees or their immediate family members have COVID-19, a first since the virus was originally confirmed in the city's workforce.

Eads said he is hopeful the news is yet another indicator that the spread of COVID-19 is lessening in Laredo.

"We're hopeful we could see the same throughout the community," Eads said. "We're driving down to zero, and that's where we want to be."

The city manager also relayed the scheduling of the city council meeting on Monday, when council is expected to discuss their plan to further open the city. Eads said in light of the lessening COVID metrics, that the city council could soon enter phase 2 or 3 of their plan to return to normalcy.

In today's update, city leaders confirmed only one positive and one new death.

The death, of a man in his mid 50s, occurred Wednesday, and marks the fifth COVID-19 death reported in the last four days.

95 people are actively infected with the virus, with 42,182 persons estimated to have recovered from a previous infection. As of noon, 316,350 tests for the coronavirus have been administered in the Laredo area.

Since last March, 43,093 have tested positive and 816 people have died.

78,852 first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Laredo, with 19.76% of the population fully vaccinated. 66.10% of the population aged 65 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
Rwanda's Covid-19 vaccination process could cost up to about $120 million with short term costs standing at $47 million, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning has said.

The vaccination process, which commenced in March and is expected to reach out to 7.8 million people representing 60 per cent of the population by June next year.

The cost of the entire process including logistics, distribution and facilitation.

Richard Tusabe, the Minister of State in charge of the National Treasury said that they are working alongside partners to mobilise funds for the process.

Among the partners working to mobilise funds for the vaccination exercise is the World Bank Group.

World Bank Rwanda Country Manager, Rolande Pryce, said that they are in the process of completing a proposal to be submitted to the Board of the group in the coming month.

The proposal could see up to $30 million availed to Rwanda to support the ongoing countrywide vaccination which is expected to enable resumption to normalcy and increased economic activity.

With Covax expected to avail about 1.2 million doses, the country will be looking to acquire more doses to cover up to 60 per cent of the population.

Rwanda has also secured an additional 2.6 million doses from AU's Union's African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team (AVATT).

The AVATT was established by the AU as a component in support of the Africa Vaccine Strategy that was endorsed by the AU Bureau of Heads of State and Government in August 2020.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Rwanda Coronavirus By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is facilitating payments by providing advance procurement commitment guarantees of up to US$2 billion to the manufacturers on behalf of the Member States.

AVATT has secured provisional 600 million Covid-19 doses from Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca with the first 50 million expected to be available by April.

Rwanda's composition of 2.6 million doses is made up of about 500,000 from Pfizer, about 1 Million doses from Johnson & Johnson and about 1 million AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine doses expected to cover about 1.8 million Rwandans.

So far over 250,000 Rwandans have received their first doses of vaccine in the ongoing exercise putting the country among the nations that have vaccinated the highest number in Africa.
YPSILANTI, MI  Eleven women have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Eastern Michigan University claiming the school mishandled sexual assault reports against several male students.

Filed on March 24 in the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Michigan, the lawsuit states that law enforcement is currently investigating 30 rape cases that occurred between 2015-20, and that sexual assault was prevalent at EMU because EMUs officials turned a blind eye or were deliberately indifferent to reported sexual assaults.

The 13-count lawsuit alleges the 11 women were raped by four different men, three of whom are facing criminal charges: Dustyn Durbin, Thomas Hernandez and DAngelo McWilliams, a Washtenaw County Sheriffs Deputy who is on unpaid administrative leave.

Former EMU student accused of sexually assaulting multiple women heads to trial

Defendants in the lawsuit include the EMU Board of Regents, former EMU Title IX Director Melody Werner, the Eastern Michigan University Police Department, Police Chief Robert Heighes, Deputy Chief Daniel Karrick and the local and national chapters of the Alpha Sigma Phi and Delta Tau Delta fraternities.

Accusations in the lawsuit that the university covered up the alleged crimes are false, EMU spokesman Geoff Larcom said. EMU President James Smith also addressed the situation, but not specifically the lawsuit in a message to the campus community.

There is no place for sexual violence in our campus community and we will always take swift action to stop it, Smith wrote. An important part of that commitment is communicating with students, faculty, staff and the community whenever something like this occurs, as well as providing information about the universitys handling of such cases.

Smiths message also addresses reports of criminal sexual conduct involving former students that occurred off campus several years ago, and states that the university hired law firm Cozen OConnor to review and audit its Title IX policies, procedures and actions regarding those events.

Read Smiths full message here.

The complaint speaks for itself, and it was expected that EMU would deny the accusations, Todd Flood, an attorney representing the women, said.

This case is about courageous women stepping up to attempt to make a change and bring awareness to make sure this type of activity never happens again, Flood said.

One woman, identified in the lawsuit as Jane Doe 1, alleges that McWilliams and Hernandez raped her after a party at Delta Tau Delta. As a result, she suffered several physical and emotional injuries, according to the lawsuit.

After the assault, McWilliams and Hernandez told EMUPD the sexual acts were consensual, the lawsuit states. Werner met with Hernandez and McWilliams on multiple occasions, where the two men gave statements regarding the assault, but those statements were not property recorded, according to the lawsuit.

Doe eventually met with Werner, who told her she had spoken with Hernandez and McWilliams, the lawsuit states.

There is no point in reporting it. Youre going to have to go through all of this to report it. Theyre in a fraternity. Greek community is going to back them up, Werner allegedly told Doe, according to the lawsuit.

When Doe said she would contact the Ypsilanti Police Department, Werner allegedly told her no one would believe her and its not even worth reporting, according to the suit.

Melody Werner categorically denies ever saying anything of that nature to any individual reporting a sexual assault, Larcom said in a statement. Her career as a Title IX professional is dedicated to exactly the opposite  encouraging survivors to come forward and report what happened to them and to support them in any way possible.

The lawsuit alleges several counts against the defendants, including sexual harassment and assault, retaliation, violation of civil rights, discrimination and negligence. The suit seeks a judgment in excess of $75,000.

READ MORE:

Eastern Michigan University one of nations most military friendly universities, report shows

EMU renames engineering, technology college for alumni group thats donated $20M

Third former Eastern Michigan University student charged with sexual assault
Bill Gates said the world will not return to normal, with no traces of the COVID-19 pandemic, until the end of 2022.

The billionaire philanthropist made the prediction on Thursday during an interview with Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza and television broadcaster TVN24.

'This is an incredible tragedy.

'We can measure the economic cost but we probably can't even measure the loss of learning, the suffering from the restrictions that we've had to put in place, to keep the deaths from being even higher.

'The only good news here is that we can now see an end.

'We can see vaccines, almost all of which have worked, to a large degree are finally getting out, so we can see the end is in sight.

Bill Gates gave an interview on Polish TV on Thursday (above) where he gave his analysis of the pandemic response and predicted that it will take until the end of 2022 for COVID-19 to be eradicated

'[In the US], probably by the end of the year, the vaccinations will be high enough that the numbers won't hit zero but they'll start to come down, school will be back in session.

'Until we get rid of it for the entire world, we'll still have some restrictions on bans on public gatherings, but even that by the end of 2022, if we all work together, we should be completely back to normal,' he said.

He was promoting his book, How To Avoid A Climate Disaster.

He also said that had some 'investments' been made early on by the international community, the scale of the pandemic could have been avoided.

'Well the most important thing is that people like myself who warned that we have this risk and for a small cost, a level of investment, we could avoid this problem.

'Well the most important thing is that people like myself who warned that we had this risk and for a small cost, a level of investment, we could be ready and avoid this problem.

'Those investments were not made. Among those are the idea of being able to very quickly diagnose people.

'Fortunately a technology called PCR allows us to do a test, a very accurate test, and if in the early stage of a pandemic you test enough people, and then quarantine those who test positive, you can avoid this exponential growth that forces you to shut down so much activity.'

Gates added that while some countries successfully contained the virus, others failed;.

'A few countries like Australia, South Korea, New Zealand did that very, very well.

'Sadly, most of Europe, South America and the US did not so we suffered an incredible problem.

The numbers got very, very large. And even the trade offs, how we handled it, were very difficult.

Bodies are seen inside a makeshift morgue outside Wyckoff Hospital amid an outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, U.S., April 4, 2020

'We should have invested in advance and it wouldn't have been that costly. Even when the epidemic hit there was still a chance, if the leaders had practiced or if they went to the right scientists and said, "hey it's about this testing and isolation", countries could have done much better.

'There's a lot of lessons here,' he said.

Now, he thinks the global health community will improve to the extent that the flu, malaria and polio are also stamped out.

'I do think we'll invest to avoid this happening again and a lot of those investments will give us new tools to improve health. Not just when there's a pandemic but also to help get rid of a lot of diseases including the flu, malaria, polio and several others,' he said.

Gates has given more than $1.8million to charity to help fight COVID-19 since the pandemic began.
According to a new survey, bald eagles, which were once considered extinct, are now flourishing.

The loss of Bald Eagles caused Congress to pass the Bald Eagle Preservation Act in 1940, which made it illegal to kill or disturb eagles and possess eagle pieces such as feathers, eggs, and nests.

Recent Reports

In a recent survey, the US Fish and Wildlife Service claims that the population of bald eagles has quadrupled since 2009. According to the survey, over 316,700 bald eagles and more than 71,400 nesting pairs were present in the lower 48 states during the 2019 breeding season.

Related Article: Wind Energy Company To Breed California Condors, Replace Those Killed by Turbines



On Field Surveys

Aerial surveys conducted by Migratory Bird Program pilot biologists and observers over a two-year period in 2018 and 2019 were used to estimate the population. In places where aerial surveys were not feasible, they partnered with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to collect alternative data.

In a press conference, US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland said, "This is really a landmark environmental success story."

The knowledge was then combined with data on longevity, productivity, and breeding rates to approximate the population size.

"We're hoping that this will allow the Service to monitor bald eagle populations over a much larger region in the future in the most cost-effective way," said Viviana Ruiz-Gutierrez, Assistant Director of Cornell Lab's Center for Avian Population Studies.

The Rise, Fall, and Rise Again of Bald Eagles

"The bald eagle has long been regarded as a holy bird by American Indians, and it is equally revered by our nation... The quick return of this prized bird reminds us of our country's mutual durability, as well as the value of becoming conscientious stewards of the lands and waters that unite us.

Between 1870 and 1970, bald eagle numbers in the lower 48 states plummeted due to hunting, habitat destruction, and the use of DDT, a potent insecticide that rendered bald eagle eggshells too fragile to produce viable offspring.

In 1963, there were only 417 breeding pairs, and the federal government banned the use of DDT in 1972 as part of a national campaign to preserve the famous bird. The bald eagle was then protected under the Endangered Species Act, which required the government to safeguard bald eagle populations.

Bald eagles were excluded from the endangered species list in 2007, and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act also protects them.

For the momentous "conservation success story," experts credit decades of protection, the 1972 ban on the pesticide DDT, and widespread conservation efforts, including breeding schemes and habitat protection around nesting sites. When the Endangered Species Act was passed, the eagle was one of the first species to be protected due to DDT use since World War II, decimating the country's population.

Continuing Efforts

"The bald eagle's survival is one of the most well-known environmental success stories of all time," said Martha Williams, Service Principal Deputy Director. "To ensure that our nation's hallmark continues to prosper, the Service continues to collaborate with our allies in state and federal governments, tribes, non-government groups, and private landowners."

Also Read: Conservation or Preservation: What's the Difference?

For more Animal Conservation and Preservation news, don't forget to follow Nature World News!
Scottish farmers have welcomed the passing of a new livestock worrying bill that will increase penalties to a fine of 40,000 or 12 months imprisonment.

The members' bill, brought forward by Emma Harper MSP, will significantly increase the powers of investigation and penalties to tackle the ongoing blight of dog attacks.

It gained cross-party support on Wednesday (24 March), which successfully saw it reach Stage Three approval ahead of the Scottish parliament going into recess.

NFU Scotland welcomed the passing of the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill.

President Martin Kennedy said: With dog attacks on livestock occurring daily, I thank Emma Harper for her tireless efforts in bringing forward this landmark Bill to address this.

As someone who has seen several dog attacks on my sheep in the past, the pain and suffering of animals is dreadful to see.

"The cost to livestock owners is often high, both financially and emotionally, and such attacks are easily avoidable by dog owners acting responsibly around livestock."

Rural business group Scottish Land & Estates (SLE) added that the time had come for tougher penalties on irresponsible dog owners who put livestock at risk.

Jason Rust, the group's legal adviser said: Current legislation does not adequately protect farmers and their livestock.

We have been pleased to offer Emma Harper MSP our full support in bringing this bill forward.

Rural organisations alongside government and police will continue to raise awareness to ensure dogs are kept on a short leash when around livestock."
DES MOINES, Iowa, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Kemin Biofuels, part of Kemin Industries, a global ingredient manufacturer that strives to sustainably transform the quality of life every day for 80 percent of the world with its products and services, has expanded its enzyme portfolio with ZyloCell, a unique dry cellulase for use in bioethanol plants that breaks down cellulose in corn kernel fiber for a low-carbon fuel source. ZyloCell is a cost-effective alternative to liquid enzyme formulation.

In addition to increased bioethanol production, ZyloCell provides bioethanol producers the following benefits:

12-month stability for longer shelf life without refrigeration

Concentrated for less storage space

Dry powder for easier handling and accurate dosing

Cellulosic ethanol is an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable solution to reduce carbon emissions in the transportation sector.1

"The biofuels ingredients align with Kemin's focus on sustainably transforming the quality of life by protecting the future of our planet. We are excited to offer this bioethanol solution to the industry," said Penny Woods, Marketing Director, Kemin Biofuels.

"Cellulosic ethanol presents not only a financial opportunity for ethanol producers  the lower carbon fuel may result in a price premium under the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) and the federal Renewable Fuel Standard  but it also provides biofuels producers a low-carbon fuel alternative," said John Phillips, Business Manager, Kemin Biofuels.

Kemin uses its technical expertise, extensive testing and industry knowledge to provide biofuels producers with a portfolio of enzymes designed to improve yeast nutrition, lower operating costs and increase plant efficiency, as well as antioxidants to improve biodiesel stability. With Kemin's tailored Customer Laboratory Services, Kemin Biofuels can identify the most efficient application rate of its products for customers.

To learn more about Kemin Biofuels, click here.

About Kemin Industries

Kemin Industries (www.kemin.com) is a global ingredient manufacturer that strives to sustainably transform the quality of life every day for 80 percent of the world with its products and services. The company supplies over 500 specialty ingredients for human and animal health and nutrition, pet food, aquaculture, nutraceutical, food technologies, crop technologies, textile, biofuels and animal vaccine industries.

For over half a century, Kemin has been dedicated to using applied science to address industry challenges and offer product solutions to customers in more than 120 countries. Kemin provides ingredients to feed a growing population with its commitment to the quality, safety and efficacy of food, feed and health-related products.

Established in 1961, Kemin is a privately held, family-owned-and-operated company with more than 2,800 global employees and operations in 90 countries, including manufacturing facilities in Belgium, Brazil, China, India, Italy, Russia, San Marino, Singapore, South Africa and the United States.





Media Contact:

Kim Edwards, Product Manager, [email protected], 515 559 5407

REFERENCES:

1https://www.cgee.org.br/documents/10195/1738909/24102016_PL_Abbqgcds_001.pdf

 Kemin Industries, Inc. and its group of companies 2021. All rights reserved.   Trademarks of Kemin Industries, Inc., U.S.A.

Certain statements, product labeling and claims may differ by geography or as required by government requirements.

SOURCE Kemin Industries

Related Links

http://www.kemin.com


Las Catalinas / Las Catalinas

Undaunted, vaccinated and ready to travel, Americans around the country are looking to make moves.

According to the Transportation Security Administration, more than 1,543,115 travelers were screened at U.S. airports last Sunday, March 21, making it the busiest travel day in the U.S. since March 13, 2020. American travelers packed airports and planes over spring break, according to the TSA. Over the past 11 consecutive days, the TSA has seen an uptick of 1-million-plus travelers boarding flights.
A teenage game addict from Vietnams Mekong Delta has been arrested for perpetrating a murder-robbery on his friend.

The Department of Public Security in An Giang Province confirmed on Thursday morning that it had apprehended Bui Trong Nghia, 16, a resident of Chau Phu B Ward, Chau Doc City, for murder and robbery.

The victim is Thai Quang Minh, 28, also a resident of Chau Phu B Ward.

At the police station, Nghia claimed to be a game addict and admitted that he had pawned two of his familys motorbikes for gaming money.

As the boy needed to claim back the two vehicles, he planned on robbing Minh.

The knife Bui Trong Nghia used to murder Thai Quang Minh in An Giang Province, Vietnam. Photo: Tien Vu / Tuoi Tre

Nghia said he had been friends with Minh and noticed that the latter often wear valuable accessories.

At around 7:00 pm on Tuesday, Minh picked up Nghia on a motorbike and the two traveled to a local eatery.

After they finished their meal at about 10:30 pm, Nghia asked Minh to take him to a new urban area in Chau Doc City.

After reaching a secluded location, Nghia told Minh to pull over.

He then threated Minh with a knife and forced him to hand over his gold necklace.

Minh resisted and screamed for help, prompting Nghia to stab him in the neck.

Police probe the scene in An Giang Province, Vietnam, March 24, 2021. Photo: Buu Dau / Tuoi Tre

The victim tried to run away but was chased by Nghia, who stabbed him to death.

Nghia took Minhs necklace, motorbike, and VND500,000 (US$21.6) before hiding the body and the murder weapon.

He rode the motorbike to Vinh Chau Commune and pushed the vehicle into a canal.

The following morning, Nghia sold the gold necklace for VND34 million ($1,470).

Local residents found Minhs motorbike with multiple blood stains the same day and reported the case to police officers.

Following a brief investigation, officers arrested Nghia and found the victims body and the murder weapon.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
He shared an emotional tribute to his late aunt on his Instagram Story on Wednesday, two years after she passed away.

And Married At First Sight star Johnny Balbuziente looked understandably downcast as he spent time with his family the same day.

Johnny appeared to be leaving a pub with his brother Ross and father Paul in the Brisbane CBD.

Devastated Married At First Sight star Johnny Balbuziente stepped out with his brother and father in Brisbane on Wednesday after speaking about his aunt's heartbreaking death

The three men were spending quality time together, the same day Johnny posted a selfie of his late aunt Zia after speaking about her heartbreaking death on the reality show.

He wrote alongside the post: 'Forever young, forever beautiful. RIP - I love you x.'

His simple yet heartfelt post comes after he revealed to wife Kerry that his biggest regret was 'not spending enough time' with her before she passed.

On Tuesday's episode of Married At First Sight, the theatre producer told his 'wife': 'My biggest regret is definitely with my aunty, not spending enough time before she passed away.

'My aunty was like my second mum. She passed away from cancer,' his voice began to shake, while Kerry showed her support with words of encouragement.

Johnny appeared to be leaving a pub with his brother Ross and father Paul in the Brisbane CBD

The three men were spending quality time together the same day Johnny shared a selfie of his late aunt Zia after speaking about her heartbreaking death on the reality show

The same day Johnny shared an emotional tribute to his late aunt (pictured here) on his Instagram Story

He shared a selfie of Zia and wrote: 'Forever young, forever beautiful. RIP - I love you x'

'She was told he had like two weeks left,' he revealed.

'And even while we were going to the hospital, as soon as you'd walk into her room, she'd be the first to get out of her bed - that she knew was going to pass away in - and made sure that you felt comfortable.

'And, um... it's that memory that sticks in my head,' he recalled.

'I definitely regret not being able to spend more time with her because I lost someone that had such a powerful impact on me and my life,' he added as Kerry embraced him.

Reveal: Johnny's simple yet heartfelt post comes after he revealed to wife Kerry that his biggest regret was 'not spending enough time' with his late aunt before she passed away, on Tuesday's episode of Married At First Sight

Two years ago, Johnny also shared a beautiful and emotional tribute on the passing of his aunt after she lost her battle with cancer.

He shared a lovely photo of them smiling and wrote: 'My beautiful Zia, my 2nd mum - May you finally Rest In Peace.'

'This woman is leaving such a massive hole in our lives, an energy that was so infectious it would fill the room instantly - the 2 most ever lasting things she taught me were to always be a fighter and a forgiver!'

Sad: 'My aunty was like my second mum. She passed away from cancer,' his voice began to shake, while Kerry showed her support with words of encouragement

'Thank you for always having my back Zia - I promise I'll repay the favor back for the rest of my life!

He added: 'We'll see you later - till then I will live in every moment and always raise my scotch glass to the most amazing boss woman that grabbed life by the nuts!'

Married At First Sight continues Wednesday at 7.30pm on Channel Nine
Technology being built into smart motorways to improve their controversial safety credentials might only detect around 85 per cent of stranded vehicles - and leave thousands of motorists a year vulnerable to potentially life-threatening collisions, a report has revealed.

Stationary Vehicle Detection (SVD) systems are due to be rolled out across all smart motorways in England, which have had hard shoulders removed in the aim of improving traffic flow and reducing congestion spikes.

The introduction of SVD systems will cost at least 18million after Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced last year they will be retrofitted into the network by the end of 2023 to protect motorists following a safety inquiry.

However, industry scrutiny of a Highways England trial published in 2016 has found errors in the report that suggests the technology is not as effective as initially claimed.

Stationary Vehicle Detection systems being retrofitted to smart motorways to boost safety might not be as effective as first claimed, a new study has revealed

The report, published by the Government agency and reviewed by Highways Magazine earlier this month, details a 2015 test of SVD systems on a eight-mile stretch of the M25 over six days.

It says the technology identified 192 stationary vehicle 'events' during the review period.

However, CCTV later revealed that there had been 294 stopped motors on the section of the busy route over the six days.

The publication says this means the systems only successfully identified 65 per cent of cases of motors at a standstill.

While this was well below the required detection rate of 80 per cent - already considered by experts as a relatively low benchmark for safety - the system passed the evaluation, because some of the events for which alarms were not sent were identified were correct, even though they were labelled incorrectly in the report, Highways England told This is Money.

With these incidents included, it boosted SVD performance to 86.4 per cent, which was deemed passable even with a 3.9 per cent margin of error applied.

'Subsequently, a highway expert told Highways that these events should have been classified as missed detections. If they had the system would have failed the evaluation,' the publication said.

Of the 102 events for which alerts were not sent to operators, 40 were classified as missed detection for unknown reason or 'blind spots'.

Another 62 were classified as allowable missed detection. However, later in the report these are referred to as 'SVD system detected'.

Highways Magazine found errors in a 2016 report published by smart motorway operator, Highways England, which suggests the technology that might fail to identify 2,400 potentially dangerous cases on an 8-mile stretch of road every year

Highways Magazine said the operator has now claimed that 45 of the latter cases were in fact incorrectly labelled, as they were detected but no alert was sent because they were 'suppressed' by a feature built into the system to prevent unnecessary alarms being raised.

Highways England claims the remaining 17 events should not have been included in the analysis in the report at all and therefore should be discounted from the 294 total recorded.

Taking into account the reporting errors, the government agency now says the SVD system worked 237 times out of 277, a success rate of 85.6 per cent - which is still above the 80 per cent benchmark required to meet the minimum standard with the designated margin on error included.

Estimations by Highways Magazine, based on the review of the report, state that 2,400 stationary vehicles could be missed annually by SVDs on the eight-mile stretch of M25 smart motorway used in the trial.

With around 788 miles of trunk roads set to be converted to smart motorways by 2025, the detection systems being retrofitted to smart motorways could miss thousands of potentially lethal cases.

Speaking to This is Money, a Highways England spokesman said: 'Stopped vehicle detection is part of a wider system on smart motorways which helps to keep motorists safe.

'Initial trials in 2015 indicated that more than 85 per cent of incidents were identified  surpassing the benchmark set - and the technology has since been developed to become even more effective.

'Drivers and passengers can have confidence that stopped vehicle detection plays its part in keeping motorway journeys safe.'

Highways Magazine added that a second trial of the SVD system was conducted in 2018 but the results have not been published by Highways England on the grounds of commercial confidentiality.

A emergency refuge area on the M3 smart motorway near Camberley in Surrey. The motorways have no hard shoulder for emergencies, and use technology to close off lanes

Edmund King, the president of the AA who has been campaigning fiercely for years for improvements to boost the safety of smart motorways, told the publication that any questions raised about the performance of SVD systems 'should be investigated as a matter of urgency'.

He added: 'Smart motorways are meant to rely on technology but if that technology is now being questioned it might be time to go back to the drawing board.'

In the last month, the Commons Transport Committee began an inquiry into the safety of smart motorways, after it emerged that deaths rose to a record 14 in 2019, up from 11 in 2018 and five in 2017.

Highways England suggested the problem lies with drivers not understanding how the roads work, which has resulted in a new television advertising campaign to raise awareness.

That's despite three coroners in recent months slamming the lack of safety on smart motorways.

During a January inquest into the death of Jason Mercer, 46, on a stretch of the M1 with no hard shoulder in June 2019, Sheffield coroner David Urpeth said: 'I find, as a finding of fact, it is clear a lack of hard shoulder contributed to this tragedy.'

He added: 'I believe that smart motorways, as things currently stand, present an ongoing risk of future deaths.'

Mr Mercer's window, Claire, 44, believes Highways England should be prosecuted over the death of her husband and earlier this month staged a protest outside a police headquarters.

Claire Mercer, whose husband Jason was killed along with Alexandru Murgeanu when they stopped on a section of smart motorway on the M1 near Sheffield after a minor collision and were then hit by a lorry, protests outside South Yorkshire Police HQ in Sheffield, where she is calling on the chief constable to prosecute Highways England over her husband's death. Picture date: Tuesday March 2, 2021

In February, Doncaster coroner Nicola Mundy referred Highways England to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to consider if corporate manslaughter charges are appropriate in relation to the death of grandmother Nargis Begum, 62, who died on a different stretch of the M1 in September 2018.

And just a matter of weeks ago, another coroner issued a repeated warning against the expansion of the smart motorway network after a teenager who died in a crash on the M1 became the fifth fatality in two years.

The assistant coroner for Bedfordshire and Luton, Tom Stoate, wrote to Highways England calling for urgent action after a detective said the teenagers would not have come to such harm if there had been a hard shoulder on the route.

Zahid Ahmed, 19, was killed when the people carrier he was in stopped before an emergency refuse area on the smart motorway and was hit by a lorry at 56mph.
Mar. 24Another round of strong to severe storms will make its way into Northeast Mississippi on late Wednesday night and is expected to last through Thursday evening, forecasters say.

According to the National Weather Service in Memphis (NWS), the first round of storms will begin to move through the area around midnight, with the main threats being hail and damaging winds.

On Thursday, much of the area will be under an Enhanced to Moderate Risk of Severe Weather, with large hail, damaging straight line winds, tornadoes, and flash flooding being the main threats.

"The two main threats that we're worried about are damaging winds and tornadoes tomorrow (Thursday)," NWS forecaster Michael Hill said. "Some of those tornadoes could be strong, that's EF2 plus and long track within supercells. So, we're going to be definitely watching the tornado threat, the damaging wind threat and the hail threat too."

"The best environment for that looks like it'll be across north Mississippi, that includes Oxford and Tupelo," Hill added. "So, there are some models and scenarios that keep the brunt of the severe weather south of the Tennessee border. We're just going to see how it plays out."

Hill also said much of the Northeast Mississippi area could see heavy amounts of rainfall. An estimate of two to four inches is possible across the area from Wednesday night through Thursday night.

"Rain could be efficient and very heavy at times, especially in that Slight Risk area, from Northeast Mississippi across the middle Tennessee," Hill said.

HOW TO STAY SAFE & PREPARE FOR A TORNADO

According to the NWS, safe places include storm shelters and basements, but if neither of those are available, an interior room without windows is another way to protect yourself.

Here are some tips to help you prepare for a tornado:

 Check the forecast regularly to see if you're at risk for tornadoes

Story continues

 Know how your local community sends weather warnings

 Have a family plan that includes an emergency meeting place and related information

 Conduct a family severe thunderstorm drill

 Consider having your safe room reinforced

WHEN TO EXPECT SEVERE WEATHER

The best estimated time of the worst severe weather for the areas near Oxford and Holly Springs is 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. The time frame for Tupelo and its other surrounding areas is 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.

"Now, some of these storms can get going before the allotted time, especially across north Mississippi," Hill said. "We could get storms starting early as midday further west and really get cranking around 2 p.m. across north Mississippi out ahead of the main storm system that comes later on in the afternoon."

jayson.burnett@djournal.com
China votes against EU-drafted resolution on Belarus at UNHRC

(CGTN) 14:26, March 25, 2021

Video image taken on June 19, 2020 shows a session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland. (Xinhua)

China on Wednesday voted against a draft resolution on Belarus submitted by some European Union member states to the 46th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

The draft resolution expressed concerns about alleged human rights violations that occurred in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election in Belarus and in its aftermath.

Chen Xu, head of the Chinese Mission to the UN in Geneva, said China always opposes interfering in other countries' internal affairs or harming other countries' sovereignty under the pretext of human rights issues.

The draft resolution ignored efforts and achievements made by the Belarussian government in promoting and protecting human rights, Chen said, calling it an attempt to exert pressure and interfere in Belarus's internal affairs under the pretext of human rights issues.

The politicization of human rights issues will only damage the reputation of the UNHRC, he stressed.

Rejecting the draft resolution, Belarusian Ambassador Yury Ambrazevic said that the country regarded it "as yet another attempt to interfere in the domestic affairs of our state."

"We understand that there were upheavals in some Belarusian cities with the purpose to counter and fight against the legally elected government and this was supported by some European governments. This leads to the undermining of democratic processes," Ambrazevic said.

Belarus witnessed mass protests after incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko won a sixth term during the August 9 elections, with the opposition refusing to recognize the results.

(Web editor: Wen Ying, Bianji)
As President Joe Biden wrestles with his first major decision on American troops abroad, he suggests it's likely he'll end the war in Afghanistan that has dragged on for two decades by next year.

"I can't picture that being the case," Biden told reporters Thursday when asked whether the U.S. will have troops in Afghanistan in 2022. "We will leave; the question is when we leave."

The U.S. appears poised to keep the war going beyond an inherited May 1 deadline set last year in an agreement between former President Donald Trump's administration and the Taliban.

Read Next: Army Units to Deploy with Less Equipment, Use More Prepositioned War Stocks for Missions

"Hard to meet the May 1 deadline for the tactical reasons," Biden said at the first news conference of his presidency. "We've been meeting with our allies, other nations who have troops in Afghanistan as well. If we leave, we're doing so in a safe and orderly way."

Biden, like Trump, has promised to end America's longest war. As of Monday, 2,352 U.S. troops have been killed since the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan on Oct. 7, 2001. It's estimated 3,500 troops remain in the country, according to reporting for The New York Times.

Biden did not detail when he expects a full withdrawal, or how much support the Afghanistan government would get from an expected Taliban offensive in America's absence.

In an interview with Stars and Stripes last year, Biden said a small group of troops would need to remain in Afghanistan to facilitate special operations missions. After conventional troops leave, it is unclear how much the U.S. will stay involved in counterterror operations in the country, or how those missions could be conducted.

Biden also said he plans to run for president again in 2024.

"My plan is to run for reelection, that's my expectation," he told reporters.

-- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon

Related: Report: US Wasted Billions on Cars, Buildings in Afghanistan
VANCOUVER - Scientists at the National Advisory Committee on Immunization are reviewing research that suggests people who have been infected with COVID-19 can turbocharge their antibodies with just one dose of a vaccine.

A dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is pictured at a vaccination site in Vancouver on March 11, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

VANCOUVER - Scientists at the National Advisory Committee on Immunization are reviewing research that suggests people who have been infected with COVID-19 can turbocharge their antibodies with just one dose of a vaccine.

The committee is "actively reviewing evidence on the protection offered by one dose for those previously infected, and whether a second dose continues to be necessary," says a statement from the panel.

Caroline Quach-Thanh said the committee is "debating" the question of how many vaccine doses someone who has been infected with COVID-19 requires.

"France and Quebec have said only one," said Quach-Thanh, chair of the committee, in an email.

Quebec's Health Department confirmed Thursday that previously infected patients will only require a single dose of vaccine, a decision made by experts at the province's public health institute and the province's immunization committee.

They said those with a confirmed infection have built up an immune memory during infection, so a single dose of vaccine acts as the booster.

Authorities added that Quebecers previously infected will be able to secure a second dose if they want one, and anyone immunosuppressed who has been infected should get both doses.

Studies have suggested people who have had COVID-19 may produce the required antibody response with just one dose of a vaccine.

A letter in the New England Journal of Medicine earlier this month says the question of whether one dose is enough "requires investigation." It's written by 32 researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York after conducting a small study.

It suggests people who have been infected with the novel coronavirus may produce 10 to 45 times as many antibodies after the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines compared with someone who hasnt had COVID-19. The research is yet to be peer reviewed.

Quach-Thanh said data shows that the response to the first dose of vaccine is strong for those who have been infected with the virus.

"Like a booster dose," she said.

Those who have been infected and get a second shot may also have stronger side-effects, such as fever, aches and feeling tired, which are signs their immune system is already primed, Quach-Thanh said.

"The question that remains is: is that true for everyone or at least for the vast majority?"

Dr. Bonnie Henry, British Columbias provincial health officer, said early data from around the world suggest people who have had a lab-confirmed positive test for COVID-19 get a good response from just one dose of a vaccine.

The jury is still out but more and more it is looking like they get a really strong booster effect from a single dose and a second booster may not be necessary, she said.

Quebecs public health director, Horacio Arruda, told a news conference earlier this week that immunization experts believe a single dose of vaccine, when given three months after recovery from the disease, provides the same amount of immunity as two doses.

A second dose, Arruda explained, is not recommended for people who have had COVID-19 because "it doesn't give more immunity, and it brings more significant adverse effects," such as flu-like symptoms.

Prof. Fiona Brinkman of Simon Fraser University's molecular biology and biochemistry department said the number of antibodies produced by a person may depend on how severe their COVID-19 infection was.

That does not mean people need to get an antibody test done before getting a vaccine, although that may change, she added.

"Right now, the policy is that we're just vaccinating everybody and doing that first dose."

However, Quach-Thanh warned that the presence of antibodies is not, in itself, a sign of protection and they are all not created equal.

"Some people without much antibodies will have protection, while others with antibodies may not be that well protected," she said.

Brinkman said it's also possible that there may be a difference in the kind of antibodies produced after a COVID-19 infection and a vaccine.

"The most important thing is to have these certain antibodies  what we call neutralizing antibodies  that we really want," she said, adding the vaccines have been shown to produce them.

The experts said there is no harm in those who have been infected with COVID-19 getting both shots.

The statement from the committee said it is also evaluating how long someone previously infected with COVID-19 could wait before getting a vaccine, based on emerging evidence.

Brinkman said one of the concerns researchers have is how long immunity might last.

"This disease literally hasn't been around long enough to allow us to appropriately assess how long you have antibodies and an immune response that will be effective against this virus, if you've either been vaccinated or you've had the disease."

Researchers said it could also potentially mean that the vaccine can be delivered into arms faster because a number of people may only need one dose of the shot.

"It really is good news," Brinkman said. "If anything, it's a good thing."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2021.
THIRTEEN further cases of Covid-19 have been reported in Limerick this Thursday evening.

This follows the 21 new confirmed cases which were reported on Wednesday evening.

Sadly, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been notified of three additional deaths related to Covid-19 across the country.

Of the deaths reported today, two occurred in March and one in February.

As of midnight, Wednesday, the HPSC has been notified of 606 confirmed cases of Covid-19 across the country.

Of the cases notified today:

298 are men / 305 are women

75% are under 45 years of age

The median age is 33 years old

249 in Dublin, 57 in Donegal, 39 in Kildare, 32 in Meath, 31 in Louth and the remaining 198 cases are spread across all other counties*.



As of 8am today, 312 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 75 are in ICU. 24 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.

As of March 22nd 2021, 690,449 doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in Ireland:

503,796 people have received their first dose

186,653 people have received their second dose



Dr. Ronan Glynn, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said: The vast majority of people are making a huge sacrifice and missing time with loved ones in order for us to stay on course with the public health guidance.

However, we know that in the week ending March 14th, approximately one-in-ten people visited another household for social reasons, with most of these visits involving time spent indoors. While this clearly demonstrates that the vast majority of people are sticking with the public health guidance, it does represent a significant change versus January when just one in 20 people were visiting other homes for social reasons. Please continue to stick with the public heath advice and avoid visiting other homes at this time  do not give this virus the opportunities it is seeking to spread.

Dr. Lorraine Nolan, Chief Executive Officer, Health Products Regulatory Authority said: People can be assured about the transparency and honesty of the vaccines monitoring and approvals process. Where there is any indication of concern in relation to side effects of a vaccine, even in a very small number of cases across the EU, we have seen that appropriate steps will be taken to ensure further investigation if needed. There are risks associated with all vaccines but with Covid-19, the benefits of a vaccine far outweighs the risks for a very small number of cases. Rigorous monitoring and safety reporting is ongoing by the HPRA in partnership with our EU partners. We have three safe and effective vaccines, Astra Zeneca, Pfizer and Moderna and we will shortly add the Johnson and Johnson vaccine to increase the roll out of protection against this highly transmissible disease.

Professor Philip Nolan, Chair of the NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, said: We are experiencing a levelling off in the daily incidence rate of Covid-19 and the concern is that we could so easily move backwards and undo the progress that has been hard-earned since the beginning of the year. The pattern isnt entirely clear and continues to be volatile, so well be monitoring this quite carefully over the coming weeks. It is important to remember that when the infection gets into a household the transmission rates are very high  up to one third of contacts within a household will subsequently become infected. It is critically important during this very volatile stage that we minimise our contacts where possible and follow public health advice.

Dr. Miriam Owens, Director of Public Health, HSE, said: Today sees the opening of new walk-in test centres in areas of high transmission to enable increased ease of access to testing facilities for people who dont have symptoms. If you do experience symptoms, I would encourage you to contact your GP to arrange a test as soon as possible. Together we can break the chains of transmission of this infection, by washing our hands, keeping a safe distance and by avoiding all non-essential activity where you are mixing with others.

The Covid-19 Dashboard provides up-to-date information on the key indicators of Covid-19 in the community including daily data on Irelands Covid-19 Vaccination Programme.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 19, 2021. (Graeme Jennings/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

More Democrats Express Alarm Over House Leaderships Bid to Overturn Iowa Election Results

Several Democratic lawmakers have expressed alarm at House Democrats bid to overturn the results of Iowas 2nd Congressional District election in favor of Democrat Rita Hart.

Im sorry, I cannot support overturning an election, especially given everything thats gone on, Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), a swing district Democrat, told the Skullduggery podcast. I cant turn around and vote to decertify something thats been stamped and approved in Iowa.

Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) defeated Hart by six votes during the Nov. 3, 2020, election. Hart asked the House Administration Committee, led by longtime Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), to investigate the election.

Other Democrat members of the House have expressed concern over the move.

Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) said March 22 that the election result was certified by the State of Iowa, and Rep. Miller-Meeks was sworn in nearly three months ago  its time to move on.

I have said before, in connection with the 2020 presidential election, legislators should be heeding states certifications of their elections. Unless there is rampant error and substantial evidence thereof, I do not believe it is the role of House members to dictate the outcome of elections, Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.) told reporters this week.

And Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) said Democratic leaders in the House need to abandon their pursuit of investigating and potentially overturning the Iowa congressional result.

Losing a House election by six votes is painful for Democrats, Phillips wrote on Twitter. But overturning it in the House would be even more painful for America.

Just because a majority can, does not mean a majority should.

In an interview this month, Miller-Meeks defended her victory, which was certified by the state of Iowa, and said there should be outrage over whats happening in the House.

Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) addresses the media after holding a constituent community conversation at Oakland University in Rochester, Mich., on Dec. 16, 2019. (Carlos Osorio/AP Photo)

Everybody across the country should be outraged by this, Miller-Meeks said in a Fox News interview. I certainly have been encouraged by those people across the country who have reached out to me and told me theyre contacting their representatives to let them know their displeasure.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) suggested, during a news conference earlier in March, that Democrats are open to overturn the results of the election.

Well, I respect the work of the committee, she told reporters on March 12. I did see, as you saw in the press, what they decided toand they were following my, as I read it, the requirements of the law as to how you go forward. And how you go forward is the path youre on and well see where that takes us. But there could be a scenario to that extent. Yes.

Mariannette Miller-Meeks answers a question during a debate in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Oct. 8, 2020. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette via AP)

Lofgren, meanwhile, explained that due to the slim margin of victory, it warrants an investigation; she dismissed a motion filed by Miller-Meeks to throw out Harts challenge.

The margin separating the two candidates was only six votes out of almost 400,000 cast: less than 1/6 of 1 percent. Thats six votesnot 6,000; not 600; not 60 or even 16just six fewer votes than we have members of this committee, Lofgren told panel members. It should not be surprising that any candidate in these circumstanceswith a margin this closewould seek to exercise their rights under the law to contest the results.
Armenian acting minister: EU allocated EUR 68,700,000 to Armenia for budget support in 2020

Armenia Finance Ministry: MFA's budget grew by AMD 1,600,000,000 in 2020

Bodies and remains of Armenian soldiers are kept in morgue in Armenia's Martuni

White House confirms Biden-Erdogan meeting in Brussels

Armenia acting MOD touches upon priority directions for development of Armed Forces

Diaspora Armenian writer, publicist Toros Toranian dies

2 Armenian soldiers injured in scuffle with Azerbaijan, Armenian POW is hospitalized, Jun. 3 digest

Wedding held in Armenia's Shurnukh for first time since the war ended

EEU member states to finish preparing for negotiations over free trade zone in Iran in late June

Armenia Central Bank: Economic downfall in 2020 was due to decline in service and construction sectors

Armenia legislature adopts several bills in first reading

Armenia President meets with Nursultan Nazarbayev

Dejavu: Armenia ruling party distributes money for votes at Yerevan district election office

Chief Advisor to Karabakh President sacked

Russian MFA: Works are carried out to settle situation around Karabakh every day

Armenia opposition MP sounds alarm about Baku fabricating criminal cases against Armenian prisoners

Armenia acting health minister: I have apologized, I am not going to resign

Helga Schmid meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Armenia's deputy foreign ministers resigned or have heavy workload?

Dollar goes down in Armenia

Armenia Elections Oversight Committee reports Iranian citizenship of ruling party's MP candidate

Acting deputy minister: Only 17 of 711 Iran-Armenia power transmission line towers were installed by 2017

Armenia Parliament Council holding session

Armenia to host CSTO "Thunder-2021" military exercises

NYT: Chinese hackers launch cyberattack on New York city transportation authority

Armenia President to Kazakhstan counterpart: I would like to see much deeper cooperation between our countries

Armenia citizens shut down Etchmiadzin-Ashtarak road, complaining about lack of irrigation water

Armenia independent MP: Foreign minister and his deputies don't want to take part in treacherous acts

Armenia to get $11mn loan, 350,000 grant for agriculture

WHO worries about worsening mental health worldwide amid pandemic

Armenia health ministry on improper handling of Artsakh war victims bodies: There is no justification

Armenia bloc election foundation already in operation

Russia ambassador to Armenia paying working visit to Syunik Province (PHOTOS)

China pledges to step up resistance to foreign interference in Hong Kong

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: There can be no talk of corridor for Azerbaijan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on incumbent authorities: Wherever they flee, we will bring them by the feet

President: Impossible to ensure peace in region or stay in Artsakh without Russia army joint efforts

China Daily: Dispatch from Makit: Thriving in the desert

Karabakh President: We will never put up with being part of Azerbaijan, it is ruled out

Armenia MFA information department chief: All deputy FMs carrying out their duties

Ardshinbank invited children to the cinema on International Childrens Day

Armenia judiciary to have 10 more judges

Armenia acting premier: We had recorded 40% increase in tax revenues according to 2019 results

Armenia acting PM on Artsakh war casualties bodies: We have 50 remains in which case DNA was not separated

Azerbaijan authorities plan to "squeeze" everything from "terrorist show" related to Armenian captives

Ameriabank announces a contest for bank card design

108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia parliament convenes special session

Armenia interim government holding Cabinet meeting

Catholicos of All Armenians heads for Syunik Province, Artsakh

World oil prices going up

Iran loses right to vote in UN General Assembly

Newspaper: Armenia authorities come up with new way of punishing unwanted characters

Newspaper: Russia army Southern Military District deputy commander to arrive in Yerevan Thursday

Lebanese Armenian man taken prisoner by Azerbaijan is hospitalized

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Are we getting under the burden? Then lets get under to the end

Armenia acting health minister on keeping fallen soldiers bodies in bags: What else should they be kept in?

Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation

Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow

2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik

Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center

"Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans

Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel

Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna

Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations

US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies

Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week

Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection

Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential

Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement

Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues

Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo

Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation

NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident

Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices

Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over

Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest

Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia

Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia

Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels

Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters

Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021

Dollar is stable in Armenia

Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector

Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out

Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe

Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia

Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border

Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor

Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue

Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia

Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this

Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia
Bauchi State governor's wife, Hajiya Aisha Bala Mohammed, has called for a policy to make girl-child education compulsory in Nigeria, saying the low enrolment of girl child in schools is unacceptable.

She said this in Abuja while receiving the Most Valuable Governor's Wife Award.

She said, "My focus areas are in so many areas. I'm focused on the girl child education and mothers' education. We're already on it. We also have about 100 women back to school and we are going to expand it to cover every LGA in the state so that they all can enjoy what their colleagues are enjoying.

"Education is the first priority for every human being. That's how it's all over the world and even in the Qur'an. Everybody who wants to be wealthy become a leader, you must become educated," she said.

The wife of Katsina State governor, Hajiya Zakiyya Masari, equally called for a legislation that would make gild-child education compulsory in every state.

Team leader/CEO, Most Valuable Governor's Wife Awards, Nigeria, Tom Obulu, advocated special courts to handle cases of violence against women.

He said that this would enable women talk without fear, and also for special funds for the violated women.
The suspect in the shooting at a Boulder, Colorado, supermarket was convicted of assaulting a high school classmate but still got a gun. The man accused of opening fire on three massage businesses in the Atlanta area bought his gun just hours before the attack  no waiting required.

They are just the latest suspected U.S. mass shooters to obtain guns because of limited firearms laws, background check lapses or law enforcements failure to heed warnings of concerning behavior.

In the wake of the shootings, which together left 18 people dead, President Joe Biden renewed calls for stronger gun laws  including banning assault weapons and expanding background checks. Many Republicans oppose the measures, and the National Rifle Association blasted the discussions as a rush to politicize this horrific situation.

A look at how suspects in recent mass shootings obtained guns, based on police accounts, court documents and contemporaneous reporting:

BOULDER, COLORADO: MARCH 22, 2021. 10 DEAD.

Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa bought a Ruger AR-556 pistol, an assault weapon with a 30-round capacity, on March 16, police said. Days earlier, a judge struck down an ordinance that banned assault rifles and high-capacity magazines in Boulder, citing a state law prohibiting local gun bans. A lawsuit challenging Boulders ordinances had the backing of the NRA, which said the ruling gave law-abiding gun owners something to celebrate. Alissa was prone to sudden rage and was convicted of misdemeanor assault and sentenced to probation for attacking a high school classmate, law enforcement officials and former associates said. It was not immediately known where Alissa purchased his gun or whether that incident came up on a background check. Had he been convicted of a felony, his purchase wouldve been barred under federal law. Alissa is charged with 10 counts of murder.

Flowers and signs adorn Gold Spa in Atlanta, Ga., where activists demonstrated against violence against women and Asians following a deadly shooting where three women were gunned down on March 18, 2021. Eight people overall were killed in a series of shootings at three Atlanta-area spas. (Photo by Megan Varner, Getty Images)

ATLANTA: MARCH 16, 2021. 8 DEAD

Robert Aaron Long purchased a 9 mm handgun just hours before going on a shooting rampage at three massage businesses in the Atlanta area, police said. A lawyer for the gun shop said it complies with federal background check laws. Georgia, like the majority of states, has no waiting period to obtain a gun. Long claimed to have a sex addiction, police said, and he spent time at an addiction recovery facility last year. Federal law bans guns for people who are unlawful users of or addicted to a controlled substance or whove been court ordered to a mental health or substance abuse treatment facility, but doesnt mention treatment for other compulsions as a barrier to ownership. Long is charged with eight counts of murder.

MIDLAND, TEXAS, AUG. 31, 2019. 7 DEAD.

Seth Aaron Ator purchased an AR-style rifle through a private sale, allowing him to evade a federal background check, and fired it indiscriminately from his car into passing vehicles and shopping plazas. He also hijacked a mail truck, killing the driver. Ator had been blocked from getting a gun in 2014 after his background check was flagged because a court determined he was mentally ill, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the matter. Private sales, which account for up to 40 percent of all gun sales according to some estimates, are not subject to a federal background check and private sellers arent required to determine if a buyer is eligible to own a gun. Ator was killed by police.

Authorities retrieve evidence markers at the scene of a mass shooting, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2019, in Dayton, Ohio. (John Minchillo, Associated Press file photo)AP

DAYTON, OHIO: AUG. 4, 2019. 9 DEAD.

Connor Betts classmates said he was suspended in high school for compiling a hit list and a rape list, but authorities said there was nothing in his background that prevented him from purchasing the AR-15-style pistol used in the shooting at Ned Peppers Bar. Ohio law requires that sealed records of any juvenile crimes be expunged either after five years or once the offender turns 23. Betts, who was 24 at the time of the shooting, bought the gun online from a Texas dealer. It was then shipped to a Dayton-area firearms dealer, in accordance with federal law. Betts was killed by police.

EL PASO, TEXAS, AUG. 3, 2019. 23 DEAD.

Patrick Crusius bought an AK-47-style rifle and 1,000 rounds of hollow-point ammunition online 45 days before the Walmart attack, prosecutors said. A Crusius family lawyer said his mother raised concerns about the purchase in a call to police on June 27. Police said she asked if Crusius, who was 21 at the time, was old enough to buy a gun. Police said she was assured he was and that hed qualify if he passed a background check. Police said she expressed concern only about his safety and said shed seen no recent change in his behavior. Texas does not have the kind of red flag law that in other states allows courts to take guns from people posing immediate danger. Crusius posted a racist screed online just before the attack and appeared to target Mexicans. Hes charged with capital murder in Texas and federal hate crimes and firearms offenses.

VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA: MAY 31, 2019. 12 DEAD.

Former Virginia Beach city employee DeWayne Craddock legally purchased six firearms in the three years before he opened fire on a municipal building, including the two .45-caliber pistols used in the attack. An independent review of the shooting, commissioned by the City of Virginia Beach, found that Craddock displayed no warning signs or prohibited behaviors associated with a pathway to violence, and that he had no known history of mental health treatment. Craddock was killed by police.

THOUSAND OAKS, CALIFORNIA: NOV. 7, 2018. 12 DEAD.

Ian David Long, a former Marine machine gunner who served in Afghanistan, used a legally purchased .45-caliber pistol with an extended magazine in the shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill. California tried to outlaw high-capacity magazines, but a federal judge reversed that after a pro-gun group sued. Months before the shooting, sheriffs deputies called to Longs home found him acting irrationally, but a mental health specialist didnt feel he needed to be involuntarily committed. California has a red flag law, but theres no indication authorities sought a court order to take away Longs guns. Long killed himself.

A Pittsburgh Police officer walks past the Tree of Life Synagogue and a memorial of flowers and stars in Pittsburgh on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018, in remembrance of those killed and injured when a shooter opened fire during services at the synagogue. (Gene J. Puskar, Associated Press file photo)AP

PITTSBURGH: OCT. 27, 2018. 11 DEAD.

Robert Gregory Bowers had a carry license and legally owned the Colt AR-15 SP1 and three Glock .357 handguns police said he used to kill worshipers at Tree of Life synagogue. Bowers spent months posting angry rants against Jews on Gab, a social media site favored by right-wing extremists. He also posted photos of his glock family. Just before the attack, he posted a screed against a Jewish organization that resettles refugees, saying: I cant sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, Im going in. None of the rhetoric appeared to raise red flags. His case is pending.

SANTA FE, TEXAS: MAY. 18, 2018. 10 DEAD.

Dimitrios Pagourtzis, a 17-year-old student, used a shotgun and a .38-caliber handgun that his father purchased legally and stored in a closet at their home, authorities said. It wasnt clear if his father knew hed taken the guns. Prior to the attack, Pagourtzis posted a photo on social media of a T-shirt with the phrase Born to Kill and had writings indicating he planned to attack his high school. A judge sent him to a mental health facility after ruling he was incompetent to stand trial.

People are brought out of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School after a shooting at the school on February 14, 2018, in Parkland, Florida. (Joe Raedle, Getty Images file photo)Getty Images

PARKLAND, FLORIDA: FEB. 14, 2018. 17 DEAD.

Nikolas Cruz legally purchased a Smith & Wesson M&P 15 rifle in February 2017 from a licensed dealer a few miles from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, authorities said. Hed been treated at a mental health clinic but hadnt been there in more than a year. Federal law prohibits gun purchases if a court declares a person a mental defective or commits them to an institution, but not if the person seeks treatment voluntarily. Federal law allows people as young as 18 to buy semi-automatic weapons. Cruz was 19 at the time of the shooting. His trial has been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.

SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, TEXAS: NOV. 5, 2017. 25 DEAD.

Devin Patrick Kelleys history of domestic abuse barred him from buying guns. He was able to because information about his crimes was never entered into a federal database used for background checks. The Air Force failed to follow rules requiring that it inform the FBI about his conduct. Kelley purchased four guns, including an AR-15-style rifle found at First Baptist Church, from licensed Texas and Colorado dealers over a four-year span. Kelley killed himself.

Jill Hale stands at a makeshift memorial for shooting victims, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019, in Las Vegas, on the anniversary of the mass shooting two years earlier. Hale, who attended the country music festival when the shooting occurred, was unsure if she could endure other memorial events on the anniversary. "I just don't have it in me to do this all day," she said. (John Locher, Associated Press file photo)AP

LAS VEGAS: OCT. 1, 2017. 58 DEAD.

Stephen Paddock purchased 33 of the 49 weapons found in his hotel room and at his homes in the year before he opened fire on a country music festival. Paddock passed all background checks. His gradual accumulation of guns went undetected because federal law doesnt require licensed gun dealers to alert the government about rifle purchases. Paddock killed himself.

ORLANDO, FLORIDA: JUNE 12, 2016. 49 DEAD.

Omar Mateen purchased an AR-15-style rifle, a Sig Sauer MCX, and a handgun from a licensed dealer on separate days about a week before the Pulse nightclub attack. He passed a background check and had a security license that allowed him to be armed while on duty. The FBI investigated Mateen in 2013 and 2014 over co-workers concerns that hed spoken about ties to terror groups. Neither inquiry led to charges. Even if hed been placed on a terrorism watch list, Congress in 2015 rejected attempts to prevent people on the list from purchasing guns. Mateen was killed by police.

SAN BERNARDINO, CALIFORNIA: DEC. 2, 2015. 14 DEAD.

Syed Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, used weapons the FBI said his neighbor, Enrique Marquez, legally purchased from a licensed dealer in 2011 and 2012. Marquez pleaded guilty to charges he conspired to provide support to terrorists and made false statements to acquire a firearm. He told investigators Farook asked him to buy the weapons because he would draw less attention. Farook and Malik were killed by police.

ROSEBURG, OREGON: OCT. 1, 2015. 10 DEAD.

Christopher Harper-Mercer and his family members legally purchased the handguns and rifle used in the Umpqua Community College shooting from a licensed dealer. Investigators found six guns at the college and eight at an apartment. Neighbors said Harper-Mercer and his mother went target shooting together. Harper-Mercer killed himself after he was wounded by police.

CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA: JUNE 17, 2015. 9 DEAD.

A drug arrest shouldve prevented Dylann Roof from purchasing the pistol he used at Emanuel AME Church, but a record-keeping error and background check delay enabled the transaction to go through. The FBI said a background check examiner never saw the arrest report because the wrong arresting agency was listed in state criminal history records. After three days, the gun dealer was legally permitted to complete the transaction. He was convicted and is on federal death row.

WASHINGTON, D.C.: SEPT. 16, 2013. 12 DEAD.

Aaron Alexis, a former reservist turned civilian contractor, passed background checks and legally purchased the shotgun used in the Washington Navy Yard shooting despite recent mental health treatment and a history of violent outbursts. He previously fired a gun in anger twice but wasnt prosecuted in either case. Alexis was killed by police.

Parents leave a staging area after being reunited with their children following a shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14, 2012. (Jessica Hill, Associated Press file photo)AP

NEWTOWN, CONNECTICUT: DEC. 14, 2012. 26 DEAD.

Adam Lanza used his mothers weapons, including a .223-caliber semi-automatic rifle, in the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Lanzas mother, whom he fatally shot before going to the school, also purchased the ammunition. Lanza killed himself.

AURORA, COLORADO: JULY 20, 2012. 12 DEAD.

James Holmes was receiving psychiatric treatment when he passed required federal background checks and legally purchased the weapons he used in his movie theater assault. As in the Parkland and Navy Yard cases, treatment alone did not prevent him from buying guns. He was convicted and sentenced to 12 life terms and thousands of years in prison.
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.
JoBeth McDaniel, a California resident with the group Freelancers Against AB5, told me in an email that the law hurt a wide swath of independent contractors. She said she still hears new horror stories, representing just a tiny portion of the blood bath out there. Ms. McDaniel is also a plaintiff in a lawsuit that contests AB5 on First Amendment grounds, filed by the Pacific Legal Foundation, which fights for the right to earn an honest living free from unreasonable government interference.

AB5 Personal Stories, a website run by Karen Anderson, a freelance editor, features dozens of Facebook testimonials against the ABC test as applied in California. On the site, I found several accounts by people who said that they had indeed lost work. Yet many other stories were from individuals who predicted that they would lose work or who turned down some offers of employment because they didnt want taxes deducted from their paychecks. Not quite a blood bath.

According to Ms. McDaniel, most news stories about the ABC test have focused on unskilled workers who, according to her, can easily leave their job if they are unhappy, while ignoring the impact on people like writers, licensed pharmacists, medical translators and court reporters. Her implication: White-collar freelancers should not be punished for the success they enjoyed before the ABC test came along. But my interviews over the years with dozens of Uber and Lyft drivers, health technicians, artists, tech workers and fellow journalists have shown me just how little separates the working conditions of blue- and white-collar freelancers.

O., a freelance software designer in the Bay Area (who asked that I use only his first initial for fear of losing work) told me that hes had to moonlight for Uber and Lyft since 2014 to survive periodic downturns in tech. He supported AB5 but opposed Proposition 22, a subsequent ballot measure that allows Uber and Lyft to continue to treat their drivers as independent contractors. He now backs the PRO Act because people need a union, he said.

The lasting anger over AB5 has tainted understanding of the PRO Act, which amends only the N.L.R.A., and obscured the reality of contemporary work. Opponents of the ABC test tend to overstate both the flexibility of freelancing and the rigidity of W2 employment. In fact, thousands of unionized actors, electricians, art handlers, sound technicians and health care workers already have short-term W2 jobs for multiple employers.

Robin Kaiser-Schatzlein, a writer and art installer in New York, receives a W2 for work in museums and galleries, but is still a freelancer with a flexible schedule. As a writer, he is a member of the Freelance Solidarity Project, an organizing initiative for independent newspaper and magazine writers, editors, illustrators and photographers housed under the National Writers Union. I joined the project last year, looking for something as close to a union as I could get without having the legal right to one.

Some of us in the Freelance Solidarity Project are misclassified permalancers (permanent freelancers like Leigh was), while others have W2 day jobs; most work for many outlets at once. We share advice on pitching and contracts, and swap information on industry rates. The PRO Act would give us a key additional tool: the ability to collectively bargain with the outlets that depend on our labor.

The PRO Act eats away at the small-business-cooperation problem, Mr. Kaiser-Schatzlein explained. Even if youre a freelancer and you dont want to unionize, you should at least have a group that advocates for your rights. If youre doing your thing and you get six figures, thats fine, but you should see the benefit of banding together to do that.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. Wed like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And heres our email: letters@nytimes.com.

Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram.
Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-Wen (C in blue jacket) and assembled naval personnel take part in a ceremony to commission two Perry-class guided missile frigates from the US into the Taiwan Navy, in the southern port of Kaohsiung on Nov. 8, 2018. President Tsai Ing-wen vowed on Nov. 8 that Taiwan would not "concede one step" in defending itself as she inaugurated two frigates bought from the US aimed at boosting the island's naval capabilities against China threats. (Chris Stowers/AFP/Getty Images)

Only by Resisting the CCP Can Taiwan Be Strong: Analyst

Hong Kongs fate a reminder for Taiwans democracy

A Taiwanese professor has told the Chinese-language Epoch Times in an exclusive interview that only by adamantly opposing the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) can Taiwan be strong.

His comments come following Taiwan President Tsai Ing-Wens recent warning that Taiwan will be reduced to another Hong Kong if it chooses to appease the CCP.

Tsai, who is also Taiwans Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairwoman, spoke at a local party meeting in Taipei on March 16, saying: Taiwan faces tremendous external pressure. Weve been targeted by China over and over again. Taiwans confidence to stand up to China has almost worn away.

But she warned, If we choose to please China, Taiwan will be turned into a second Hong Kong for sure.

Yen Chien-Fa, a former chairman of the DPPs China Affairs Committee and professor of business administration at Chien Hsin University of Science and Technology, said that in order to hold onto its democratic system of governance, Taiwan needs to stand united against Beijings influence, or else fall like Hong Kong, where the Chinese Communist Party from Beijing have taken over as arbiter, even after many residents fought back with the 2014 umbrella movement, the 2019 protests against an overhaul of extradition law, and the 2020 Hong Kong national security law.

Legally and internationally, Hong Kong is recognized as part of communist China, Yen said, referring to the 1997 handover of Hong Kong from the UK back to China, deemed a political legacy of late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping.

Protesters are taken away by police officers after hundreds of protesters staged a peaceful sit-ins overnight on a street in the financial district in Hong Kong Wednesday, July 2, 2014, following a huge rally to show their support for democratic reform and oppose Beijings desire to have the final say on candidates for the chief executives job. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Yen noted that the election of Hong Kongs legislature is being delayed until September 2022 as Beijing attempts to ensure that only CCP patriots be elected to new seats to solidify its control. With the intervention of the CCPs National Congress and a local political advisory body, members of Hong Kongs Legislative Council will introduce electoral reforms to increase the number of seats in the council from 70 to 90, which will see the pro-democracy opposition to lose its one-third right to resist.

According to Song Ruan, deputy commissioner of the Office of the Commissioner at the CCPs Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong, the term patriot refers to those who show their allegiance to the CCP-led Peoples Republic of China rather than a cultural and historical China.

Yen said that Song told reporters on March 9 that, The CCPs branches in Hong Kong continue to purge local democrats. On Feb. 28, 47 pro-democracy activists were charged with subversion. Therefore, the democracy camp is breaking down. Now, the CCP is turning to target local pro-CCP establishment members.

Yen noted that Beijings destabilization of the citys democratic system unmistakably indicates that Chinese leader Xi Jinping is turning increasingly turning leftgoing back to the path of late communist Chinese leader Mao Zedong, who led China into a Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and 1970s.

Never expect Chinese communists will change, Yen warned. The elites around Xi are former Red Guards who experienced Chinas Cultural Revolution, shouting slogans and brandishing Little Red Books with Maos instructions in their hands.

Taiwan should regard the CCP-infiltrated Hong Kong as a minefield to avoid, he added.

Yen says Taiwan is a de facto sovereign country and is called the Republic of China under its Constitution. He also says it is a historical fact that the island never belonged to communist China and vice versa.

He told The Epoch Times that Taiwan can never accept the CCPs policies of One China and the 1992 Consensus, or else, the issue of Taiwans independence will be considered a countrys internal affair, and the United States and Japan would find themselves morally and legally powerless to step in and save Taiwan if the CCP pulls the trigger on its missiles aimed at Taiwan.

CCPs Winning Tactic: Unite with Secondary Enemy to Defeat a Primary One

Yen explained that the founders of Taiwans Kuomintang party (KMT) were familiar with the CCPs pattern of fighting against competitors from its decades of struggle against the communists.

In 1978, the Republic of China President Chiang Ching-kuo published his Three Nos policyno contact, no compromise, and no negotiationfor dealing with the CCP. He told the New York Times: To talk peace with the Chinese Communists is to invite death. This is an agonizing, blood-stained lesson that we and many other Asian countries have learned.

In October 1987, Chiang said in an exclusive interview with The Wall Street Journal Asia: When it comes to the CCPs slogan One Country, Two Systems, its another form of deception under the banner of its United Front Work, which doesnt work at all.

In Yens opinion, KMT members who today favor One China and the 1992 Consensus are traitors to the late Republic of China president Chiang Ching-kuo. They are turning a blind eye to both their partys past and Hong Kongs present, and have shifted their enemy from the CCP to the DPP.

Yen said this has been the CCPs tactic to unite with a secondary opponent to attack a primary one.

According to Yen, currently the DPP is deemed by the CCP to be the primary enemy, and the KMT is the one it will join hands with to battle against the DPP. Later, when it is the KMTs turn to rule Taiwan, the CCP will target the KMT and drive it out of power too.

The CCP will for sure repeat this tactic, as it is already doing in Hong Kong, he said.

Zhong Yuan contributed to this report.
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.
Rachel Levine, nominated to be an assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services (Caroline Brehman/AP)

The US Senate confirmed former Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine to be the nations assistant secretary of health as she became the first openly transgender federal official to win Senate confirmation.

The final vote was 52-48.

Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine joined all Democrats in supporting Ms Levine.

Ms Levine had been serving as Pennsylvanias top health official since 2017, and emerged as the public face of the states response to the coronavirus pandemic.

She is expected to oversee Health and Human Services offices and programmes across the US.

President Joe Biden cited Ms Levines experience when he nominated her in January.

Expand Close Senator Rand Paul (Susan Walsh/AP) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Senator Rand Paul (Susan Walsh/AP)

Ms Levine will bring the steady leadership and essential expertise we need to get people through this pandemic  no matter their zip code, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability, Mr Biden said.

Transgender-rights activists have hailed Ms Levines appointment as a historic breakthrough.

Few trans people have ever held high-level offices at the federal or state level.

However, the confirmation vote came at a challenging moment for the transgender-rights movement as legislatures across the US, primarily those under Republican control, are considering an unprecedented wave of bills targeting trans young people.

One type of bill, introduced in at least 25 states, seeks to ban trans girls and young women from participating in female scholastic sports.

One such measure already has been signed into law by Mississippi governor Tate Reeves, and similar measures have been sent to the governors in Tennessee, Arkansas and South Dakota.

Another variety of bill, introduced in at least 17 states, seeks to outlaw or restrict certain types of medical care for transgender youths.

None of these measures has yet won final approval.

Senator Rand Paul confronted Ms Levine about medical treatments for transgender young people, include hormone treatment and puberty blockers, during her confirmation hearing on February 25.

Do you believe that minors are capable of making such a life-changing decision as changing ones sex? Mr Paul asked.

Ms Levine replied that transgender medicine is a very complex and nuanced field with robust research and standards of care and said she would welcome discussing the issues with him.

In the past, Ms Levine has asserted that hormone therapy and puberty-blocking drugs can be valuable medical tools in sparing some transgender youth from mental distress and possible suicide risk.
President Joe Biden on Thursday afternoon will hold his first news conference since taking office, giving reporters the first formal opportunity to fire off direct questions after weeks of pressure from White House media and critics.

The event comes as the Biden administration tours the country to hammer home the benefits of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Act, and as COVID-19 vaccination has ramped up well beyond Bidens target of 100 million inoculated during his first 100 days in the White House.

Biden, who has largely delivered prepared statements and answered occasional questions during White House events, held an informal practice session earlier this week and has been preparing for several days, according to CNN.

His critics have pointed to former President Donald Trump and other predecessors facing the press directly much earlier in their presidencies. The American Presidency Project shows 15 prior presidents held a solo conference within 33 days of their inauguration, while Biden is holding his appearance after more than 60 days.

But the Biden communications team has also brought back daily press briefings, which were all but shunned during most of the Trump administration.

Heres more on how to watch the news conference.

When and where?

1:15 p.m. in the East Room of the White House.

How can I watch?

In addition to the PBS livestream above and C-SPAN, broadcast networks ABC, CBS and NBC and cable stations including CNN, Fox News and MSNBC will carry the news conference.

To watch the cable channel coverage above, you can sign up for a free trial of fuboTV, Sling, Paramount + (formerly known as CBS All-Access), Hulu + Live TV or other cord-cutting live TV service and use it to tune into impeachment coverage.

What questions are likely?

Biden will surely face questions about the pandemic, the surge of migrants at the southern border, North Koreas weapons test this week, and his and other Democrats calls for tighter gun legislation in the wake of two recent mass shootings.

He may also face questions regarding Social Security beneficiaries and others waiting on stimulus checks.

According to Rep. Richard Neal and other Democratic lawmakers, nearly 30 million have yet to receive their checks because the Social Security Administration failed to send the proper paperwork to the Internal Revenue Service. Some lawmakers pin blame for the hold up on SSAs Trump-appointed leadership.

Calls to cancel student debt, a key issue for Massachusetts lawmakers including Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey and Reps. Ayanna Pressley and Katherine Clark, may also arise during the conference.

Related Content:
Rwanda's tourist attractions are being featured on the latest edition of Quest's World of Wonder, a travel show hosted by journalist Richard Quest, who came to the country in early February and spent time covering a number of topics.

Under Quest's World of Wonder, the host travels to landmark locations around the world, explores popular tourist spots and meets influential locals who provide an insight into the region's heritage and culture.

For more than a week (from March 20 to 29), the show will be spotlighting a number of Rwanda's attractions including mountain Gorillas, culture homegrown solutions like Umuganda, fashion, historical topics like the genocide against the Tutsi, among others.

Speaking on his experience filming the show, Richard Quest said: "I knew a visit here was bound to be exceptional, but it's lived way beyond my expectations. The way the people here have faced historic horrors and then moved forward into the future... Take it from me, Rwanda is part of our World of Wonder."

During his visit, Quest visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial to reflect on the country's past.

Here, he met people determined to unite, renew, and move the country forward while educating future generations.

Honore Gatera, the Director of the Kigali Genocide Memorial and a survivor of the Genocide told Quest why it's important to remember the atrocities,

"You'll never be able to prevent mass atrocities, genocide, and hate, if it doesn't start with the personal and individual commitment to the cause."

The programme also explores Rwanda's cultural scene as Quest meets the creative force behind a new fashion brand, Rwanda Clothing, which imports fabrics from across the continent and transforms them into bespoke garments.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Rwanda Travel By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Founded in 2012, Joselyne Umutoniwase told CNN that she hopes to bring Rwandan fashion to a global audience,

"I think every time someone takes an outfit from here, in this showroom, travels with it, to New York, to London, to Paris, that outfit can tell a different story of Rwanda." She explains that the garments represent many aspects of Rwanda: "I think it's the image of Rwanda. I sell the image. I sell the creativity, the energy of the people. I sell the dream of the people who wants to move forward."

In the final part of the show, Quest's World of Wonder showcases the reason so many tourists visit Rwanda - mountain gorillas.

Quest and his crew climb the Virunga Mountains with trekking guide Francoise Bigirimana, who had previously worked alongside renowned primatologist Dian Fossey.

The programme witnesses them first-hand and hears about the conservation efforts taking place in the country.
Two Calif. Women Are Now Leading Efforts to Support States 3.9 Million Small Businesses

Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that he had appointed Tara Lynn Gray, 57, of Fresno, as Director of the California Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA).

In that role, Gray, who is African American, replaces Isabella Casillas Guzman, who President Biden appointed the 27thAdministrator of the Small Business Administration in January. Last week in Washington, with an 81-17 vote, the United States Senate confirmed Guzmans nomination. She is Latina.

In California, Gray is expected to begin working immediately since the Director of the Office of the Small Business Advocate position does not require State Senate confirmation.

ADVERTISEMENT

Now, working with similar mandates  one in a federal Cabinet position and the other at the top-level of state government  Guzman and Gray have become the de facto leading advocates for the almost four million small businesses in California, which, in aggregate, hire more than 7 million people and account for more than 99 % of all Golden State businesses. Together, the women will be responsible for directing tens of billions of dollars in emergency and ongoing budgetary funding to California small businesses.

CalOSBA is part of the Governors Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), which serves as the states main apparatus leading economic development programs designed to boost job growth and business assistance efforts.

Ashley Swearengin, CEO of the Central Valley Community Foundation and former Republican mayor of Fresno, praised Grays appointment.

Tara is a tireless and effective leader in Californias small business community and the right choice at this pivotal time, she said. As the State of California continues its recovery, Tara will turn advocacy into action, get results for small businesses, and ensure our diverse small business owners and entrepreneurs are at the table driving towards an equitable and inclusive economic recovery.

GO-Biz offers a range of growth and support services to California business owners, including permit streamlining, clearing of regulatory hurdles, international trade development assistance, and more, according to the governors office. The governor has also charged the office to manage more than $2 billion in COVID-19 relief funding targeted to small businesses, non-profits and cultural institutions across California.

Guzman earned her bachelors at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business. As SBA Administrator, she will lead the federal agency with 9,000 employees and represent the interests of the countrys estimated 30 million small businesses. In addition, she will oversee key parts of the Biden-Harris administrations $1.9 trillion stimulus American Rescue Plan, including relief funding for small businesses like the Paycheck Protection Program and the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Program.

Throughout my public and private sector career, I have been dedicated to helping small businesses grow and succeed, Guzman said during her Senate confirmation hearing. Now more than ever, our impacted small businesses need our support, and the SBA stands ready to help them reopen and thrive.

ADVERTISEMENT

Before Gov. Newsom appointed Guzman to serve as CalOSBA director in 2019, she served as the SBAs Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor during the Obama-Biden Administration.

I have every confidence that under Ms. Guzmans leadership, the SBA will help small business owners hold on to their dreams until the economy comes roaring back, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said before voting to confirm the Burbank natives nomination.

Before Gray accepted the top role at CalOSBA last week, she had been serving as the Chief Executive Officer of YADARI Enterprises for the last 17 years. YADARI is a management consulting firm with headquarters in Vallejo.

Currently, Gray is also president and Chief Executive Officer of Fresno Metro Black Chamber of Commerce (FMBCC), a position she has held since 2017. FMBCC is a community-based organization that advances the interests of African American entrepreneurs in the Central Valley with programs that focus on advocacy and economic development.

Before that, Gray supported small businesses as a counselor at two Northern California small business development centers, taught a small business feasibility and planning class in Stockton, and led a youth entrepreneurship program for nine years with California Black Chamber and Chamber Foundation.

Gray holds a masters degree in Christian Studies from Grand Canyon University in Arizona and a Bachelors in Business Management from Saint Marys College in Contra Costa County.

(Grays) announcement is yet another proof point of Gov. Newsoms ongoing commitment to equity and inclusivity as we recover together, said Mark Herbert, managing director at the California office of the Small Business Majority, an organization that works with entrepreneurs and policymakers.

In addition to her many professional accomplishments, Gray is actively involved in the social, civic and religious life of Fresno as well as the broader African American community across California. She is member of Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA), Abundant Life Worship Center, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, the California Black Chamber of Commerce and Chamber Foundation, and the California Small Business Employer Advisory Council.

Gray, a Democrat, will earn an annual salary of $175,644.

Betty Jo Toccoli, president of the California Small Business Association, said

Gray is qualified for the job she looks forward to working with her.

Small business has always been integral to the success of Californias economy, which is why today is a very special day for small business owners and entrepreneurs across the state, said Toccoli. Tara will bring a longstanding history of understanding the nuances of small business and advocacy for small businesses to this new role. She is extremely well-qualified for this position and we couldnt be more ecstatic to collaborate with her to ensure an equitable recovery and sustained growth for Californias small business community.

As for Guzman, working with the SBAs hardworking employees to create an ecosystem that ensures small businesses across the United States are strong is a motivating factor.

I am excited to return to the SBA and serve as the voice of small business in the Biden-Harris Administration. I am committed to championing the agencys mission and helping equitably build back the economy, she said.
23 March 2021: At its Capital Markets Update today, renewable company Scatec confirms its current 4.5 GW capacity target for 2021 and raises its target to 15 GW by end of 2025. The business plan is supported by Scatecs track record of strong growth and a solid project pipeline across solar, wind, hydro and storage in high-growth markets globally.



12 GW of new capacity, from current 3.3 GW, will require NOK 100 billion in investments according to company estimates, of which NOK 15-20 billion will be funded by Scatec equity. Solid long term cash flows from operating power plants and margins from development and construction of new plants are expected to fund a major part of Scatecs equity investments.

From the very first day, Scatec has been a frontrunner in an increasingly dynamic renewables market, and we continue to lead. In line with our broadened strategy, we are developing renewable energy solutions and combining solar, wind, hydropower and storage to the benefit of our growing customer base of state utilities and large energy consumers, says Raymond Carlsen, Scatecs CEO.

Since its previous Capital Markets Update in 2019, Scatec has taken major steps to broaden its business development activities to build a global leader in renewables. The project development footprint has been expanded to 35 countries, and the backlog and pipeline of projects has increased from 4.2 GW to 11.9 GW over the past two years. In 2020, the company acquired leading hydropower player SN Power, a transaction adding both scale and significant cash flow.

Scatec is a pure renewable player. Our business model will continue to be based exclusively on delivery of reliable renewable energy. Our competence and track record across renewable technologies and in key growth regions paired with our integrated business model and strong partnership focus, create lasting competitive advantages, says Carlsen.

The company remains committed to its strong position in ESG, earning top ratings from leading agencies.

Our ESG ambition is forming an important part of our company culture. A leading approach to sustainability and ESG is not only a requirement. It mitigates risk, creates market opportunities and a competitive advantage, says Carlsen.

Scatec intends to pay consistent and growing dividends to its shareholders. Dividends will grow with increased long term cash flow, and the company will from 2021 adjust its dividend policy to pay out a minimum of 25 % of the cash distributions received from our operating power plants.

Scatecs robust and diversified assets portfolio creates a solid platform for growth in the years to come. Scatec and SN Power delivered a combined 2020 EBITDA of NOK 2.5 billion and power production of 3,045 GWh. For the full year 2021, the total proportionate power production volume is estimated to 3,500-3,700 GWh, up 20% from 2020. In the first quarter 2021, Scatec is expecting to report proportionate EBITDA in the Power Production segment of NOK 660  680 million.

Webcast and presentations

For further details, see the attached CEO introduction and financial presentation. The agenda and the remaining presentation material are available on our website , including a spread sheet with 2020 pro forma financials. The webcast starts at 09:00 am CET and can be followed from this link . You may submit questions through the webcast solution or email your question in advance to ir@scatec.com .

For further information, please contact:

Mikkel Trud, CFO, tel: +47 976 99 144, ir@scatec.com

Ingrid Aarsnes, VP Communication & IR, tel: +47 950 38 364, ingrid.aarsnes@scatec.com

About Scatec ASA:

Scatec is a leading renewable power producer, delivering affordable and clean energy worldwide. As a long- term player, Scatec develops, builds, owns and operates solar, wind and hydro power plants and storage solutions. In the first half of 2021, Scatec will have a total of 3.3 GW in operation on four continents and more than 500 employees. The company is targeting 15 GW capacity in operation or under construction by the end of 2025. Scatec is headquartered in Oslo, Norway and listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SCATC. To learn more, visit www.scatec.com, or connect with us on Linkedin.

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act



Attachment
Boulder: The suspected gunman in the Boulder supermarket shooting that killed 10 people has appeared in court for the first time, and a defence attorney immediately asked for an assessment of his mental health.

Kathryn Herold, the lawyer for suspect Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, provided no details about what he might suffer from.

Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 21, appears in a Boulder court in a wheelchair. Credit:The Denver Post via AP

During the brief hearing on Thursday, local time, Alissa did not speak other than to say yes to a question from the judge and was advised of the 10 charges of first-degree murder he faces. He did not enter a plea, which will come later in the judicial process.

Alissa entered court in a wheelchair, presumably because of the gunshot wound to the leg that he suffered in the shooting. One of his attorneys leaned down to talk to him before the hearing began, and Alissa nodded his head as the attorney spoke to him. Four deputies with black bands of mourning across their badges stood close by.
The application for discharge, lodged by the remaining seven treason accused persons in the longest-running trial in the history of Namibia, was dismissed yesterday by Windhoek High Court acting Judge Petrus Unengu.

The judge ordered that Progress Kenyoka Munuma (59), Shine Samulandela (52), Manuel Manepelo Makendano(66), Alex Sinjabata Mushakwa (55), Diamond Samunzala Salufu (58), Frederick Isaka Ntambila (54) and John Mazila Tembwe (51) have a case to answer.

Hoster Simasiku Ntombo (56) was released after the Supreme Court found he was illegally abducted from Botswana by the security forces.

They were first convicted and sentenced to jail terms ranging from 30 to 32 years by the late justice John Manyarara in 2007.

The convictions and sentences were, however, set aside by the Supreme Court on appeal in July 2013 and ordered to start afresh before a new judge.

The seven accused, arrested between July 2002 and December 2003, have been in custody now for the past 19 years.

They are accused of taking part in a conspiracy, aimed at overthrowing the Namibian government in the former Caprivi region between September 1998 and December 2003.

They face charges of high treason, murder, attempted murder, sedition, public violence and illegal importation of weapons and ammunition.

In his ruling, Unengu said there is sufficient evidence presented to the court to convict them of the charges or any other charges.

"Put differently, the state proved a prima facie case against you on all the charges preferred against you, except for the count of murder, which I found accused one and two not guilty and discharge them."

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Namibia Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

The judge said he is not satisfied that the State did not manage to establish a prima facie case in respect of the murder of Victor Falali, with which Munuma and Samulandela were charged. He said the evidence fell short of establishing that either men were responsible for his death - and as such, they deserve the benefit of the doubt and stand to be acquitted on that charge.

However, Unengu stated that it was established that all of them took part in the activities designed to secede the then Caprivi (now Zambezi) from the rest of Namibia.

"You had a duty to report to the authorities of what was going on, but you failed to do so. Instead, you either assisted or took part yourselves in carrying out these covert and overt acts."

He further said no evidence was placed before court that any of them were forced, coerced or cheated in taking part in the fight.

In the end, the judge said, he is satisfied the accused had a case to answer and thus dismissed the application for discharge.

The accused will be back in court on 12 July to present their case and they remain in custody at the Windhoek Correctional Facility's section for trial awaiting inmates.

Ilse Aggenbach and Gorg Neves represent the accused, while Lourens Campher is the prosecutor.
Smart motorway crash statistics are to be analysed by the roads regulator amid safety fears after a number of deaths on the controversial roads.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has commissioned the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to carry out an independent review of safety data despite insisting the roads are safe.

He has also ordered his officials to continue their work with Highways England - the Government-owned company responsible for England's motorways and major A roads - on 'developing possible future options' for reducing accidents on smart motorways.

Smart motorway crash statistics are to be analysed by the roads regulator amid safety fears

Jason Mercer, pictured with his wife Claire, died on a stretch of the M1 with no hard shoulder in June 2019

The design of all lane running (ALR) smart motorways, which involve the hard shoulder being converted into a running lane, has led to safety concerns following fatal incidents involving stationary vehicles being hit from behind.

Fourteen people were killed in 2019 on motorways where the hard shoulder was either permanently removed or being temporarily used as a live running lane, according to Sunday Times analysis.

In a written statement to Parliament, Mr Shapps said: 'While the evidence has suggested that ALR motorways are in most ways as safe as, or safer than, conventional ones, I am determined to go further and ensure that they are the safest roads in Britain.'

Nargis Begum, 62, was killed on the M1 in 2018 when the Nissan Qashqai her husband was driving broke down on the inside lane in South Yorkshire

Alexandru Murgeanu died in the same crash as Jason Mercer when a lorry driver smashed into them on the M1

Zahid Ahmed, 19, was killed when the people carrier he was in stopped before an emergency refuse area on the smart motorway and was hit by a lorry at 56mph

Steve Gooding, director of motoring research charity the RAC Foundation, said: 'We strongly support the decision to bring in the ORR.

'Public confidence in the safety of smart motorways appears to be stuck at a low ebb and the best way to offer reassurance to sceptical drivers is by publishing comprehensive safety data that has been independently scrutinised by the regulator.'

A spokesman for the ORR said 'robust and trusted data and analysis is essential'.

Mr Shapps published a smart motorway action plan in March 2020 with 18 measures to boost safety.

He ordered Highways England to produce a report one year on, outlining its progress and identifying actions that can be delivered ahead of schedule.

This document will be published 'by summer, once I am assured that the proposals are sufficiently robust', Mr Shapps said.

A coroner in Sheffield claimed in January that smart motorways 'present an ongoing risk of future deaths' after two people were killed when a lorry driver ploughed into their vehicles while they were stationary on the M1 in South Yorkshire.

The Commons' Transport Select Committee launched an inquiry into smart motorways last month, with chairman and Tory MP Huw Merriman warning there are 'genuine worries' about the roads.
Armenian acting minister: EU allocated EUR 68,700,000 to Armenia for budget support in 2020

Armenia Finance Ministry: MFA's budget grew by AMD 1,600,000,000 in 2020

Bodies and remains of Armenian soldiers are kept in morgue in Armenia's Martuni

White House confirms Biden-Erdogan meeting in Brussels

Armenia acting MOD touches upon priority directions for development of Armed Forces

Diaspora Armenian writer, publicist Toros Toranian dies

2 Armenian soldiers injured in scuffle with Azerbaijan, Armenian POW is hospitalized, Jun. 3 digest

Wedding held in Armenia's Shurnukh for first time since the war ended

EEU member states to finish preparing for negotiations over free trade zone in Iran in late June

Armenia Central Bank: Economic downfall in 2020 was due to decline in service and construction sectors

Armenia legislature adopts several bills in first reading

Armenia President meets with Nursultan Nazarbayev

Dejavu: Armenia ruling party distributes money for votes at Yerevan district election office

Chief Advisor to Karabakh President sacked

Russian MFA: Works are carried out to settle situation around Karabakh every day

Armenia opposition MP sounds alarm about Baku fabricating criminal cases against Armenian prisoners

Armenia acting health minister: I have apologized, I am not going to resign

Helga Schmid meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Armenia's deputy foreign ministers resigned or have heavy workload?

Dollar goes down in Armenia

Armenia Elections Oversight Committee reports Iranian citizenship of ruling party's MP candidate

Acting deputy minister: Only 17 of 711 Iran-Armenia power transmission line towers were installed by 2017

Armenia Parliament Council holding session

Armenia to host CSTO "Thunder-2021" military exercises

NYT: Chinese hackers launch cyberattack on New York city transportation authority

Armenia President to Kazakhstan counterpart: I would like to see much deeper cooperation between our countries

Armenia citizens shut down Etchmiadzin-Ashtarak road, complaining about lack of irrigation water

Armenia independent MP: Foreign minister and his deputies don't want to take part in treacherous acts

Armenia to get $11mn loan, 350,000 grant for agriculture

WHO worries about worsening mental health worldwide amid pandemic

Armenia health ministry on improper handling of Artsakh war victims bodies: There is no justification

Armenia bloc election foundation already in operation

Russia ambassador to Armenia paying working visit to Syunik Province (PHOTOS)

China pledges to step up resistance to foreign interference in Hong Kong

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: There can be no talk of corridor for Azerbaijan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on incumbent authorities: Wherever they flee, we will bring them by the feet

President: Impossible to ensure peace in region or stay in Artsakh without Russia army joint efforts

China Daily: Dispatch from Makit: Thriving in the desert

Karabakh President: We will never put up with being part of Azerbaijan, it is ruled out

Armenia MFA information department chief: All deputy FMs carrying out their duties

Ardshinbank invited children to the cinema on International Childrens Day

Armenia judiciary to have 10 more judges

Armenia acting premier: We had recorded 40% increase in tax revenues according to 2019 results

Armenia acting PM on Artsakh war casualties bodies: We have 50 remains in which case DNA was not separated

Azerbaijan authorities plan to "squeeze" everything from "terrorist show" related to Armenian captives

Ameriabank announces a contest for bank card design

108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia parliament convenes special session

Armenia interim government holding Cabinet meeting

Catholicos of All Armenians heads for Syunik Province, Artsakh

World oil prices going up

Iran loses right to vote in UN General Assembly

Newspaper: Armenia authorities come up with new way of punishing unwanted characters

Newspaper: Russia army Southern Military District deputy commander to arrive in Yerevan Thursday

Lebanese Armenian man taken prisoner by Azerbaijan is hospitalized

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Are we getting under the burden? Then lets get under to the end

Armenia acting health minister on keeping fallen soldiers bodies in bags: What else should they be kept in?

Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation

Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow

2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik

Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center

"Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans

Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel

Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna

Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations

US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies

Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week

Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection

Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential

Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement

Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues

Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo

Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation

NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident

Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices

Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over

Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest

Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia

Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia

Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels

Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters

Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021

Dollar is stable in Armenia

Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector

Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out

Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe

Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia

Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border

Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor

Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue

Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia

Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this

Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia
Dublin Lord Mayor Hazel Chu pictured in the centre of Dublin City. Photograph by Gerry Mooney

The Galway branch of the Green Party have written a letter to Chairperson Hazel Chu, saying that her position within the party is untenable.

A motion of no confidence in the Dublin Lord Mayor was deferred to a future parliamentary party last night.

Three senators, namely Minister of State Pippa Hackett and Senators Pauline OReilly and Roisin Garvey, tabled three motions, including one expressing no confidence in the Chair.

This comes after Cllr Chu launched her official bid for a seat on the Seanads Commercial and Industrial panel yesterday, which she will be running for as an Independent, having failed to secure the backing of her party.

The letter was sent from Galway Greens, Senator OReillys local Green Party branch. The Senator is the Green Party leader in the Seanad.

Writing to Cllr Chu, Chair of Galway Greens Eoin Madden says that she has made an excellent contribution to the party, Dublin city and Irish society.

Her decision to run outside the Selection Convention process makes her position as chair untenable, he writes.

We ask the National Executive to request the Chair to step down, in the first instance, or remove the Chair.

He writes that it is inappropriate for the party chair, who is also chair of the Electoral Task Force within the Green Party, to seek nominations in this Seanad by election.

We understand that the Chair has gone against the internal processes and electoral strategy of the party, he added.

The letter also asks for Cllr Chu to forward it on to all members of the National Executive.

Minister of State Pippa Hackett called Ms Chus decision to run as an independent deeply divisive last night in a letter to her Laois-Offaly constituents.

She wrote that her bid not only undermines her role as chair of the Party, but also our position in Government.

Senator Hackett said that in previous times, members who ran as Independents were asked to leave the party.

She has gone against the wishes of the both the PP and the EC by seeking a nomination. Many of us feel this makes her position untenable, she wrote.
Addis Ababa  In a statement released on March 23, the Amhara Regional State chapter of the ruling Prosperity Party (PP), Amhara Prosperity Party (APP) condemend earlier statement released by the Oromia Prosperity Party (OPP) blaming the recent violence in both Oromo Special Zone and North Shewa Zone of the Amhara Regional State on members of the Amhara Special Forces.

In the Statement the APP stood by the regional administration statement that accused both "OLF-Shene" and "TPLF" for being behind the recent violence, the statement said, "While the party acknowledge that the two zones where the ongoing violence is taking place are known to enjoy peaceful coexistence, the party also wants to bring to public attention that claims made about the nonexistence of the OLF-Shene group in the area are false for two reasons", APP said. First, the zonal party chapters have knowledge about the presence of OLF-Shene operatives in the area and second, there are arrested members of the rogue group (OLF-Shene) and arrest warrants were issued against individuals in connection with their alleged relation to the group.

"Amhara Special Forces have evacuated the area and heavily armed OLF-Shene members invaded the area and caused a lot of damage to lives and properties despite efforts by elders for reconciliation," the statement said.

APP also responded to comments made by both OPP and members of parliament about the Amhara Special Forces involvement in the violence by saying, "OLF-Shene knew that Amhara special forces had evacuated the area and they chose to start the conflict by killing religious leaders and elders." It also explained that authorities in both Oromo Special Zone and North Shewa Zone have seen movements and training of "OLF-Shene" soldiers countering, the statement issued by OPP suggesting that there were no "OLF-Shene" operatives in the area, "There has been organizing and training which posed danger to zonal leadership," APP said further accusing "OLF-Shene" group of being a culprit in conflicts bordering the region particularily with Afar Regional State. "Because of OLF-Shene and other groups aggression, Local communities clash with neighbouring Afar people," it said.

The regional chapter in its statement highlighted regional and zonal administrations' efforts to put a stop to the violence, "In the areas that the conflict broke out, the leadership from both said zones were engaged in efforts to restore peace." While at the same time casting blame on what it called 'elements' within the zonal administrations for trying to sew division and create a complex situation, "There are some elements in the zonal leadership which want to create a situation where these zones seem to operate as regional states by themselves."

In response to both the statement issued by Oromia Prosperity Party and news reports that suggested the involvement of the regional special forces, the statement said, "The state of our politics is backward as it is far below the dignity of the country and the people." It continued, "We consider the statement by the Oromia Prosperity Party irresponsible and irrational." Addressing what it describes as false reports the statement read, "Although defending oneself is natural, radical media and short sighted political parties wanted to push an agenda."

The statement concluded by emphasizing on the importance of the regional chapter of the ruling party in the reform process, the statement read, "Finally, we ensure that the Amhara Prosperity Party is part of the Prosperity Party, not a separate from it and will play its role as part of the forces for change. We are not advocates of division and would never unless put under pressure engage in political games that are aimed at hurting Ethiopia's as well as its regions."

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Ethiopia Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

In related news, the Amhara regional state announced in a statement issued today that the region is relatively stable. The administrator of North Shewa Zone, Tadesse Gebre said "The threat still remains but relative calm has been restored because of concerted efforts of both regional and federal security forces." He added, "Gunshots have not been heard in the last 24 hours." Tadesse also denounced the comments by the members of parliament at yesterday's session. "The comments are abhorrent and far from the truth," Taddese said while asking that the representatives be held accountable.

The administrator of Oromo Zone, Ahmed Hassen on his part said that there is relative peace in the zone while also mentioning some gunshots still being heard in some areas. He spoke of efforts being made to start a reconciliation process led by elders and religious leaders. AS
A former municipal tax collector for three Warren County townships has admitted stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in residents payments.

In exchange for her guilty plea on Wednesday, Rachellyn Mosher, 50, of Lopatcong Township, now faces jail time, almost $1 million in restitution and loss of her state pension, the Warren County Prosecutors Office announced Wednesday.

Municipal officials had already moved to fire Mosher in 2018 before she was arrested by New Jersey State Police that fall. A grand jury in neighboring Hunterdon County then spent two years investigating the thefts, resulting in an indictment on March 11.

Mosher worked for Lopatcong, Harmony and White townships. Between 2013 and 18, instead of depositing residents cash payments into the townships bank accounts, Mosher would keep the money then tamper with the subsequent entries into the municipal computer systems, according to the indictment.

Forensic audits by each township revealed Mosher misappropriated approximately $124,000 in Harmony, $166,000 in White and $534,000 from Lopatcong, though it may have been more  thats just what the county thought it could prove beyond a reasonable doubt, Warren County Prosecutor James Pfeiffer told lehighvalleylive.com after the indictment.

Mosher was charged with first-degree corruption of public resources; six counts of second-degree official misconduct; second-degree official misconduct; second-degree pattern of official misconduct; three second-degree counts of computer theft; and three third-degree counts of tampering with public records or information. The first-degree count alone carried a maximum possible penalty of 20 years in state prison.

Under the agreement with prosecutors, Mosher pleaded to one count of official misconduct, which covered the thefts from all three towns, the prosecutors office said.

In exchange, she faces up to five years in state prison, with four years before the possibility of parole. She must give up her entire state pension  it was unclear how much that is as she had already been removed from a state pension database; her salary was at least $55,000 in her last year of municipal employment.

Mosher must also pay back what was stolen plus expenses, about $925,000. And she will be barred from ever holding public employment again.

She is due to be sentenced on May 14.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com.
The Celtics are parting ways with big man Daniel Theis and guard Javonte Green, who are heading to the Chicago Bulls, in a three-team trade, according to Radio.coms Ryan McDonough. Boston will acquire Moritz Wagner and Luke Kornet from Chicago.

Boston is also sending Jeff Teague out as part of the earlier move with the Magic. The Celtics traded for Evan Fournier on Thursday for two second-round picks. That deal reportedly now includes Teague, according to The Athletic, who is expected to be waived by the Magic and can check out the free agent market.

The Theis-to-Chicago deal is a three-team trade between the Celtics, Bulls and Wizards. Boston shipped out Theis, Green and $1.3 million in the move.

The Celtics received Wagner (Washington) and Kornet (Chicago). The Bulls got Theis (Boston), Green (Boston), Troy Brown (Washington), $1.3 million (Boston) and $250,000 (Washington). And finally, the Wizards received Daniel Gafford and Chandler Hutchinson from the Bulls.

Between shipping out Teague, Theis and Green, that should dip Boston under the luxury tax line after adding Fournier.

The Celtics added three players (Fournier, Wagner and Kornet) while sending out three bodies (Theis, Green and Teague), meaning theyre at the maximum on the 15-man roster. However, Wagner ($2.2 million) and Kornet ($2.3 million) could be waived to create a roster spot. That means Boston could be players in the buyout market, whether thats a guy like LaMarcus Aldridge or Andre Drummond.

The trade ends Theis four-year stint with the Celtics. He was making a $5 million salary and was set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer. Green was in his second year with the team after starting his career overseas then sticking with an NBA roster. Teague was signed this offseason and had been playing great basketball over the past two games, but can mull over his options.

Theis was set to become a free agent this summer where his contract was going to be difficult for the Celtics to afford. Trading Theis also opens the door for the Celtics to explore the big man market more.

Arguably the biggest benefactor Thursday could be Robert Williams III. With Tristan Thompson out for health and safety protocol and Theis out of the picture, Williams is slated to be the starting center at least for a few games. The Celtics had been cautious of Williams playing time because of his injury history. But after Williams elevated play in recent weeks, hell have a shot to earn some more minutes.

The 6-foot-11 Wagner and 7-foot-2 Luke Kornet are expected to be backup bigs if they stick with the roster. Wagner has played in 25 games for Washington this season, averaging 7.1 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. Kornet averages 2.0 points and 1.2 rebounds per game and has seen action in 13 games this season.
* Username

This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely!
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 man charged with trespass was given the benefit of the Probation Act at Portlaoise court.

Paul Holohan (37) of 11 Mountain View Square, Portlaoise was charged with trespass at Harpur's Lane Portlaoise on June 18, 2020.

Sgt JJ Kirby said that on that date Mr Holohan was discovered by Gardai in a derelict building at Harpurs Lane with another man.

They had no permission to be there.

Mr Holohan was on a suspended sentence from the Circuit Court.

Defence solicitor Barry Fitzgerald said that he had been released from custody. He was doing well and engaging with the probation services.

He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. There was no sinister motive to him being in that location, but he should not have been there

He had a significant history with heroin but was now doing well.

Judge Staines gave him the benefit of the Probation Act but noted that she had to send him back to the Circuit Court for the breach of the suspended sentence.
(Im Yeong-sun's "Ascending to Heaven" sculpture in the courtyard of Seoul Memorial Park



By Richard Pennington




's ( ) David Minchin joins Proactive London's Katie Pilbeam about appointing Mitchell Drilling Ltd which he regards as a 'big victory' for the Rukwa project in Tanzania. Mitchell Drilling will mobilise a drill rig from Tanzania which is expected to start work in mid-May.

Minchin also updates the market on the progress on the site regarding the acquisition of the infill seismic as well as the initiation note this week.
DETROIT, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- RECUR, the new technology company that designs and develops on-chain branded experiences allowing fans to buy, collect, and re-sell digital products and collectibles (NFTs), announces its raise of $5M, the largest seed-raise to date in NFT history. It will build branded NFT Fan Experiences for global brands and the first is set to launch in Summer 2021.

RECUR is fundamentally changing the NFT market by creating and setting the standard for a decentralized recurring royalty. Though assets will default to Ethereum, RECUR will ultimately be chain agnostic creating the widest distribution and reach for NFTs minted on their platform. RECUR believes that NFTs will act as a gateway for the everyday consumer to enter the crypto space, making its opportunity for growth exponential for its partnered brands.

The raise was led by the Defi Alliance and included investors and funds such as: Gary Vaynerchuk, Courtside VC, Founder of Ethereum, Joseph Lubin (Fund in stealth), Gemini (Tyler & Cameron Winklevoss), Scott Belsky (Founder of Behance), JST Capital, Delphi Digital, Volt Capital, Nascent, CMT Digital, Hashed and more.

RECUR was founded by Co-CEO Zach Bruch, crypto industry veteran, and Co-CEO Trevor George, digital licensing industry pioneer. The core team includes some of the top minds across the crypto and licensing spaces: President Stephen Teglas, former SVP of Licensing at Disney; Head of Engagement Chris Heatherly, former EVP of Games for NBC Universal & SVP of Games for Disney; and CTO James Seibel, former Director of Engineering at Poloniex, among others.

On the significance of NFTs and RECUR's industry standardization Bruch notes, "NFTs will serve as the ultimate gateway for billions to enter the greater crypto ecosystem." He continues, "The future digital world and economy will be decentralized which we are not only preparing for, but championing. Our NFTs will have the widest range of distribution and incorporate a recurring royalty element in the underlying code itself."

Bruch has worked and held leadership positions at some of the most established firms in the crypto industry such as Kraken, Cumberland/DRW, and JST Capital and is the founder of Manna, a proprietary trading and investment firm. George owns Trevco, a top 150 global licensee, and Blue Wheel, one of Inc. 5000s Fastest Growing Companies.

About RECUR

Founded by crypto industry expert Zach Bruch and digital licensing industry pioneer Trevor George, RECUR is a technology company that designs & develops on-chain branded experiences that allow fans to buy, collect, and re-sell digital products and collectibles (NFTs). RECUR will be chain agnostic and is fundamentally changing the NFT market by creating and setting the standard for a decentralized recurring royalty, creating the widest distribution and reach for NFTs minted on their platform.

Media Contact

Lauren Bishop Jennings

ALISON BROD MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS

[email protected]

Max Bruch

Chief of Staff, RECUR

+1 (862) 263 0660

[email protected]

SOURCE RECUR
ADVERTISEMENT

The University of Aberdeen says it will return a Benin Bronze to Nigeria within weeks, the first institution to do so more than a century after Britain looted the sculptures and auctioned them to Western museums and collectors.

The university said on Thursday that the sculpture had left Nigeria in an extremely immoral manner, leading it to reach out to appropriate authorities in 2019 to negotiate its return.

The bronze, which depicts the Oba of Benin, was part of a haul of thousands of religious and cultural treasures taken when British forces looted Nigeria in 1897, and will be sent back within weeks.

In a statement, the institution, which has had the bronze since 1957, said the punitive expedition of 1897 was one of the most notorious examples of the pillaging of cultural treasures associated with 19th-century European colonial expansion.

Thousands of metal and ivory sculptures and carvings were looted by British forces in 1897 during the destruction of Benin City in present-day Nigeria by a British military expedition, the university said

It added that many of the soldiers and administrators involved sold Benin objects to museums or private collectors. Others were later given as gifts to museums or sold at auction or by art dealers.

Over the last 40 years there have been growing calls for the return of such items, which have become symbols of injustice, the university said.

George Boyne, the Principal and Vice-chancellor of the university, said the decision was in line with Aberdeens values as an international, inclusive university, adding that keeping the bronze would have been wrong.

It would not have been right to have retained an item of such great cultural importance that was acquired in such reprehensible circumstances. We therefore decided that an unconditional return is the most appropriate action we can take, and are grateful for the close collaboration with our partners in Nigeria, he said

Meanwhile, the Nigerian government has welcomed the development saying the reaching out by the University of Aberdeen and eventual release of the priceless antiquity is a step in the right direction.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said other holders of Nigerian antiquity ought to emulate this to bring fairness to the burning issue of repatriation.

The Director-General of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Abba Tijani, noted that the world looks forward to further release of other purloined Nigerian antiquities to the Nigerian nation. Not just Benin bronzes, but the Ife, Nok, Esie, Owo and other Nigerian ancient arts. We welcome collaborations and agreements of all sorts. We love the fact that others cherish these great art-works. International travelling exhibitions of these art-works is part of what we offer the world.
With COVID-19 rates dipping into the red tier in Kern County, it opens up the possibility that some junior high, middle and high school studen
Supplier News

24 March 2021

Monrovia, CA - VivoAquatics launches VivoPoint Essentials, an innovative new monthly subscription package to help pool operators manage commercial water easier, while also keeping compliant with health department standards. This program helps simplify managing aquatics - balancing chemicals, meeting health department requirements, maintaining safety, handling daily upkeep, making repairs, ensuring guest satisfaction, and more.

VivoAquatics Essentials Package replaces paper pool logbooks with a simple, easy-to-implement, and manage cloud-based solution combined with a reagent subscription that brings you and your team confidence that your pools are being managed right. The subscription offers:

A rapid digital water test meter that tests 10 chemicals in just minutes and is certified to NSF/ANSI Standard 50.

A digital logbook that allows you to ditch the paper and access your data anytime, anywhere, on any device.

An expert support team that's available 7 days per week via phone, chat, video, and email. Our aquatics experts can virtually visit any property in the world to diagnose and solve problems.

Equipment tracking that documents installation dates, warranties, replacements, s-numbers, and voltages.

Service orders that help track issues, the progress of repairs, and approvals to keep you up to date on the status of jobs.

Use our Essentials Package to:

Stay Compliant with Health Department Requirements. Easily complete daily chemistry tests and log in to our digital platform. Our platform meets health department requirements and is certified for CDC Safety Standards by the Council for the Model Aquatic Health Code when paired with the test frequency required at the State level.

Easily complete daily chemistry tests and log in to our digital platform. Our platform meets health department requirements and is certified for CDC Safety Standards by the Council for the Model Aquatic Health Code when paired with the test frequency required at the State level. Save Money & Create Peace of Mind. Help your pool staff complete important maintenance and limit costly future repairs.

Help your pool staff complete important maintenance and limit costly future repairs. Track All of Your Equipment. Identify and track all your equipment including installation date and warranty information.

Starting at $75 per month, in addition to the digital logbook and digital test kit, quarterly reagent refills directly to your facility.

At VivoAquatics, our mission is to make managing aquatics easier through technology, tools, and an expert team with years of experience. We spend our days thinking about the best ways to protect our clients' pools and spas, simplify operations and create great experiences for their guests, customers, and members. We've partnered with some of the top brands in the world and serve a diverse clientele, including hospitality, multi-family, municipalities, vacation ownership, new construction, and fitness.

The VivoPoint Essentials Package is more than easier pool management - it's peace of mind.

Learn more.

About VivoAquatics

VivoAquatics provides a smart and connected technology platform for pools, spas, and water features. It provides real-time chemical management, monitoring, and work-flow tools that deliver the safest and most appealing water for guests in a more sustainable and cost-effective way. It also provides tools to simplify and digitize testing and monitoring. The platform is the center of the aquatics program which also includes expert support, training, certification, and procurement optimization. VivoAquatics partners with the world's leading hospitality, real estate, and fitness brands to help manage their water that is enjoyed by millions of guests each including Ritz Carlton, Marriott, 1Hotels, MGM Resorts International, Westgate, W Hotel, The Irvine Company, In-Shape Fitness and many more. For more information, visit www.VivoAquatics.com.
SMALL business operators and vendors at Donkerhoek informal settlement at Khorixas have not recovered from the impact of Covid-19 since last year.

Emilia Kamati (41) who rents a tuckshop at Khorixas told The Namibian she wishes Covid-19 would disappear.

"Business is not doing well with Covid-19 around. I hope it goes away," said Kamati who has two children to support, one is in Grade 12.

"I have to buy electricity and pay rent. The government should assist us with grants as business is low," Kamati said.

Ellen !Nawases, a mother of two who sells ice and chips, says she no longer sells as much as she used to because of Covid-19.

"Much of the money we make goes to pay for electricity and to buy food for my children," !Nawases explained.

Appolus Vakola (64) who sells fat cakes, baked fish and meat outside Kamati's tuckshop said business was 'problematic' . Vakola have been vending for the past 20 years.

"It's good today, bad the next day. I planned buying a goat and selling the meat but can't do so due to low sales these days".

Vakola who supports his wife, four children and 10 grandchildren from the business said government should assist vendors like him with grants and urged the Khorixas Town Council to build them a proper shelter to sell from.

Vakola's wife, Tekla Howaes, told The Namibian she also use to sell potato soup and flavoured ice to supplement her husband's income.

"Due to low sales I stopped to avoid losses. We struggle with electricity and the many people we have to feed," she said.

Barber Collin Ashipala said business is not doing well as customers are few. "Before Covid-19 I use to get many customers," he said.

Ashipala has three children and says it is very hard for him to send money to his children as he used to do.

Khorixas chief executive officer, Andreas //Howoseb told The Namibian: "Some demands such as providing flour and food stuffs, are not the council's core responsibilities and mandate."

//Howoseb said training is provided on a regular basis on business activities and procurement under the town council's local economic development office.
New Delhi: A man from Thailand had a 59-foot long tapeworm removed from his intestines baffling the doctors. As per reports, the Thai man was in constant pain and had arrived at the hospital complaining of flatulence. The incident took place in Nong Khai province, Thailand.

It was very big and took us a while to lay it all out on the ground, the Daily Mail quoted a spokesperson from the centre as saying.

As the man he had no previous medical history the doctors were perplexed. They conducted a number of tests and a stool sample was sent to experts at the Parasitic Disease Research Centre which came back with a startling discovery.

As many as 28 parasitic eggs were found in the sample. The man was given deworming medicine after which the giant parasite oozed out of his rectum.

The tapeworm was identified as long Taenia saginata which causes diseases like taeniasis and cysticercosis in cattle. The parasite can enter the human body upon consumption of raw or uncooked beef with the parasites eggs. Doctors believe that to be cause of infection.

The man has been advised to change his eating habits.

We have suggested that the patients family also have medical tests to find out whether they had parasites as they are also at risk, said Dr Schawanya Rattanapitoon, his lead doctor told the Daily Mail.

The medics believe this is the biggest tapeworm found in Thailand for more than 50 years.
Russia has started manufacture of its unmanned space airplane which will correspond to the size of Boeing X-37B spacecraft for the US, general director Olga Sokolova of Moscows Molniya NPO that developed Buran aircraft told RIA Novosti. In an interview with Russia's Zvezda TV network, Buran's leading designer Vladimir Bugrov revealed that the production of the fundamentally new reusable vehicle has begun on the lines of the model presented by Russia in the closed pavilion at the Army-2020 forum. The space plane is being developed by the Molniya base that will be assigned for the delivery and return of cargo from space, the agency's interlocutor explained.

Now the task has been set, and the development of a civilian reusable complex with an orbital aircraft is in full swing," Olga Sokolova said in Molniya research and production bases release.

The civilian aerospace shuttle will be launched on a Soyuz-type rocket within the next five years in the likeness to the 1988 Buran that conducted a range of tasks and transportation on Earth Space route. The United States X-37B spacecraft is currently deployed for a similar mission for the US Air force and has had 6 launches so far. The details, however, remain discreet. China also tested a spacecraft with reusable technologies of similar design from Jiuquan Cosmodrome in September 2020 on Changzheng-2F launch vehicle.

Manufactured with discarded Russian components

As per the release issued by Molniya facility, Russias Sukhoi design bureau was brought into the project to provide expertise on the aeronautical design of the spacecraft thus far known by the acronym MLD, which the base hasnt made clear whether it stands for Myasishchev M-55 Geophysica research plane [NATO reporting name Mystic-B]. In the infographics released, although, the prototype developed by The International Scientific Optical Network (ISON) for Russia's space agency Roscosmos reflected similarities with delta wing configuration, hypersonic speeds, rocket-like central fuselage, and deployment of parachutes at a certain altitude. The spacecraft will be entirely manufactured from discarded old Russian-made components, including the 14D30 rocket booster, the upper stage of a Briz-M space launch vehicle.

(Image Credit: Twitter/@pulplibranian)
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.
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 used to just see each other in passing  rushing to go to work, in and out of the garage Jean-Paul said. This connected us together in a way that was like never before. We know each others names. We didnt before. It really did something extraordinary. Music has that power.
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.
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) today announced that it has invested in Nuro, a leader in autonomous delivery, as part of their Series C funding round. Nuro uses robotics in their fleet of on-road, occupantless and autonomous vehicles to deliver everyday consumer goods. This is the first significant investment in a third-party technology company the organization has made since Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Brian Niccol took the helm in 2018.

Expanding access and convenience through Chipotle's digital ecosystem is a strategic priority for the company. Chipotle's digital business grew over 174% year over year in 2020, with about half of the digital sales coming from delivery. Early investments in digital innovation have provided a competitive advantage operationally with digital kitchens and the brand's Chipotlanes. Now the organization is exploring disruptive opportunities outside of traditional third-party partnerships.

"We are always seeking opportunities that provide innovative solutions for increasing access and convenience for our guests," said Curt Garner, Chief Technology Officer. "Nuro could change the traditional delivery model and we believe consumers are going to continue to seek options and additional access points for how and where they enjoy their food."

"Nuro and Chipotle share the same commitment to improving everyday life through innovative products, whether it's through responsibly sourced food or autonomous delivery vehicles," said Dave Ferguson, Nuro Co-founder and President. "With financial and strategic support from world-class companies like Chipotle, we can continue to advance our industry-leading autonomous technology, grow our team and expand our delivery service."

In addition to increasing access in the U.S., Chipotle announced earlier this week that it will be expanding its footprint in Canada with new restaurant openings over the next year. Additionally, Chipotle recently added its first-ever customizable digital entree, the Hand-Crafted Quesadilla, to the Chipotle app and Chipotle.com.

ABOUT CHIPOTLE

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) is cultivating a better world by serving responsibly sourced, classically-cooked, real food with wholesome ingredients without artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. Chipotle had over 2,750 restaurants as of December 31, 2020, in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Germany and is the only restaurant company of its size that owns and operates all its restaurants. With nearly 88,000 employees passionate about providing a great guest experience, Chipotle is a longtime leader and innovator in the food industry. Chipotle is committed to making its food more accessible to everyone while continuing to be a brand with a demonstrated purpose as it leads the way in digital, technology and sustainable business practices. Steve Ells, founder, first opened Chipotle with a single restaurant in Denver, Colorado in 1993. For more information or to place an order online, visit WWW.CHIPOTLE.COM.

ABOUT NURO

Nuro is the leader in autonomous delivery using robotics to improve everyday life. The company's fleet of on-road, fully occupantless and autonomous vehicles are designed to deliver everyday goods to consumers in a way that is quick, affordable, and most importantly, safe. Nuro is on a mission to fundamentally change the last mile of local delivery for consumers and businesses alike, while using the power of robotics for the greater good.

SOURCE Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.
In a small area of Northern France, in a town called Seringes-et-Nesles, is a cemetery filled with soldiers who died fighting to keep France from falling to the Kaisers Germany during WWI.

The cemetery, Oise-Aisne American Cemetery, holds the remains of 6,012 soldiers in plots A-D, some unidentified, as well as a memorial to the almost 300 who went missing and were never found. There are many interesting side stories about this cemetery. Famous poet Joyce Kilmer is buried here. The tombs of the unknown are marked with the same epitaph as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.

The most infamous stories, however, lie in plot E.

Oise Aisne American Cemetery (Photo by Victor Grigas/Wikimedia Commons)

Officially Plot E does not exist. The 100-by-54 foot oval does not appear on maps, pamphlets, or on any websites. Ninety-six white markers the size of index cards, carrying only a small ID number litter the ground in Plot E, overlooked by a single granite cross. No U.S. flag is allowed to fly over it. The bodies are interred with their backs to the four plots across the street.

Plot E now contains the remains of 94 bodies. Across the street, unmarked, surrounded by thick shrubs and undergrowth, and accessible only through the supervisors office, the infamous fifth plot inters the Dishonorable Dead, Americans dishonorably discharged by the U.S. Army before being executed for crimes like rape and murder during or shortly after WWII.

Oise Aisne American Cemetery Plot E (Wikimedia Commons)

With the exception of the infamous deserter Eddie Slovik (who was buried here after becoming the first soldier since the Civil War to be tried and executed for desertion  his remains have since been repatriated), each criminal faced the firing squad or the hangmans rope for the murder of 26 fellow American soldiers and 71 British, French, German, Italian, Polish and Algerian civilians (both male and female) who were raped or murdered.

British murder victim Elizabeth Green (age 15) was raped and strangled by Corporal Ernest Lee Clarke (Grave 68) and Private Augustine M. Guerra (Grave 44). Louis Till (Grave 73), the father of American Civil Rights Icon Emmett Till, was hanged for his part in the murder of an Italian woman in 1944. Sir Eric Teichman was shot in the head by George E. Smith (Grave 52) in December 1944 after Smith was found poaching on his estate. Smith was hanged on V-E Day.

The Army executed a total of 98 servicemen for these kinds of crimes during WWII. While they were originally buried near the site of their execution, in 1949 they were all reinterred to where they are today.

MORE POSTS FROM WE ARE THE MIGHTY:

Good news, airmen: The Air Force put all of your basic training photos online

This is how Marine infantrymen prepare for a hike

Here is how the Allies planned to evacuate wounded before D-Day

We Are The Mighty (WATM) celebrates service with stories that inspire. WATM is made in Hollywood by veterans. It's military life presented like never before. Check it out at We Are the Mighty.

Keep Up With the Best in Military Entertainment

Whether you're looking for news and entertainment, thinking of joining the military or keeping up with military life and benefits, Military.com has you covered. Subscribe to the Military.com newsletter to have military news, updates and resources delivered straight to your inbox.

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.
(Natural News) If you want to know the details surrounding the horrific shooting in Boulder, Colo., on Monday, in which 10 people including a veteran police officer were killed, youd better start searching for it now before the powers that be deep-six it and scrub it from the Web.

As is always the case following these kinds of shootings, the left-wing media and the Democrats they protect like a Pretorian guard immediately began blaming everything but the murders: Assault weapons; Donald Trump; white people; white supremacy; white nationalism; etc.

But as it turns out, just waiting 24 hours would have shown all of those conclusions to be false (not that Democrats and their media propagandists care much about facts when it comes to any opportunity to lie about a majority of the population).

According to various reports, the accused shooter is 21-year-old Ahmad Al-Issa, a devout Muslim who was constantly focused on Islamophobia. And because the left hates stereotypes of protected classes (white, heterosexual males are fair game, of course), they sprung into action in order to protect him as details emerged.

The suspect in the #Boulder, Colo. mass shooting where 10 were murdered has been identified as Ahmad al-Issa. He was first described as a white male. His social media, which is now deleted, show he was a religious Muslim who posted frequently about Islamophobia' journalist Andy Ngo tweeted.

BREAKING: The suspect in the #Boulder, Colo. mass shooting where 10 were murdered has been identified as Ahmad al-Issa. He was first described as a white male. His social media, which is now deleted, show he was a religious Muslim who posted frequently about "Islamophobia." pic.twitter.com/Y6RWNK0nZ7  Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) March 23, 2021

It is beginning to look like the Boulder shooting was a jihadist terror attack, One America News Jack Prosobiec added.

It is beginning to look like the Boulder shooting was a jihadist terror attack  Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) March 23, 2021

A Facebook page that appeared to belong to Al-Issa showed that his family had immigrated to the U.S. from Syria. The page featured quotes from the prophet Muhammad as well as posts about mixed martial arts, Yahoo! News reported.

Lefties were already changing their narratives as well.

The shooter was taken into custody. In other words, it was almost certainly a white man (again). If he were Black or Brown he would be dead, feminist activist Amy Suskind wrote initially.

Did something change overnight? pic.twitter.com/1p1RqecVKu  Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) March 23, 2021

She would later write on Twitter as details (like the shooters name, suggesting ethnicity) became known: Lets mourn the victims but not glorify the killer with the attention of having his name widely known.

No, of course not; wouldnt want any Americans, especially the families of the victims, to get the impression the attack was anything like terrorism. (Related: Here it is  The bill to destroy gun ownership.)

Here are all the idiotic leftists who immediately jumped to politicize the tragic Boulder shooting to push their narrative, only for it all to fall apart when it turns out the shooter is muslim, noted Caleb Hull of the Independent Journal Review (IJR) on Twitter with screen grabs of comments by left-wing media types jumping to very racist  and wrong  conclusions.

Deadspin Editor + USA Today Editor What makes this one even more ironic is that the shooter posted to his FB about needing a girlfriend. pic.twitter.com/dptSsk8bzd  Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) March 23, 2021

All said, there was a police officer who was shot and killed by the gunman; 51-year-old Eric Talley. According to the New York Times:

Dean Schiller, who posted a live video from the scene shortly after the shooting began, said he heard about a dozen shots and saw three people who appeared to be wounded  two in the parking lot and one inside the supermarket.

As officers secured the building, more than a dozen people were led out of the supermarket, a King Soopers in a residential area a couple of miles south of the campus of the University of Colorado. The grocery store usually draws a mix of families and college students.

Police and the FBI, so far, have not provided any details as to the shooters motivations. But that doesnt matter; those are just details.

Democrats, including Joe Biden, didnt waste a single moment stumping for new gun control laws including  wait for it  a ban on so-called assault weapons.

I dont need to wait another minute, let alone an hour, to take common-sense steps that will save lives in the future, Biden told reporters at the White House.

The Senate should immediately past the two House-passed bills that close holes in the background check system, Biden said. We should also ban assault weapons in the process.

Its a shame Congress cant ban shameless political pandering on the backs of grieving families while theyre at it.

See more reporting like this at Shootings.news.

Sources include:

ConservativeBrief.com

NYTimes.com

Guns.news
Tuesday brought the second high-profile mass shooting in America in less than a week. With the news came the familiar scramble to find any scrap of motive or clue in the shooters background, anything to explain why he killed 10 people in a Boulder, Colorado, supermarket on a weekday afternoon. Some liberals and media figures initially reacted to the shooting on social media by blaming it, erroneously, on white men, and the right eagerly pounced on the misstep (the suspect was born in Syria). Meanwhile, the Federalist, which labeled the crime terrorism with no evidence, described the suspect as an anti-Trump Muslim and got a bit over its skis by falsely reporting he had ISIS sympathies. Zaid Jilani, weighing in for the IDW crew on Bari Weiss Substack, somehow made it about Muslim anti-Semitism and critical race theory by arguing, White People Dont Have a Monopoly on Hatred, despite the dearth of any evidence that the killings were motivated by bigotry.*

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Theres almost always some effort to impart meaning to mass shootings or to use them to settle some culture war score, based on some aspect of the suspects identity or stated motivation.

But these attempts to parse mass shootings obscure more than they reveal. We havent heard an explanation from the shooter or found a manifesto laying out a rationale for committing this particular shooting. We just know the suspects ethnicity, gender, and age, and that he posted on social media about wanting a girlfriend, about Islam, about politics. Theres no clear way to interpret these facts to better understand why these atrocities keep happening, or what we could do to help prevent them in the future.

Advertisement

Past shooters have embraced a wide range of hateful ideologies, or none at all. Tons of people spout extreme political speech online, but only a vanishingly small number commit mass shootings. Some choose victims on the basis of their race or creed, others places of personal significance to the shooter, and still others seemingly choose targets at random. Many mass shootings arent publicly recognized as such: Family annihilation shootings, for instance, or retaliatory criminal shootings can claim many casualties but frequently pass unnoticed. Almost all mass shootings are committed by men, yes, but that category that includes half the population, so gender alone is not a meaningful risk factor.

Advertisement

To explain what shooters actually have in common, we need to look at the suspects behavior more than speech or identitythat is, anger more than hatred. The most important risk factors for committing acts of spectacular violence are past acts of violence, frequent anti-social behavior, making threats, and a profound fixation on guns beyond mere ownership. The most important risk factor of those is past violence, which might mean that American tolerance for everyday violence is more to blame for mass shootings than any kind of ideology. The biggest clue that the Boulder shooter posed a danger to those around him was his well-known history of threatening and fighting peers. At 18, he was convicted of misdemeanor assault after brutally beating a classmate. Police said hed been involved in another more recent assault, and though its not clear he was arrested, it seems clear that he was engaged in an escalating pattern of violence. A week before the shooting he suddenly bought semi-automatic weapons, unsettling his family to the point that they temporarily took them from him.

Advertisement

At the same time, his social media postings were harmless by the standards of mass shooters. He posted on Facebook that he wanted a girlfriend, yes, but he did not exhibit any explicit ties to the incel phenomenon so associated with mass shooters since the 2014 Isla Vista shooting. Anti-Muslim discrimination often provoked his rage, but he didnt betray any flirtation with Islamic extremism.

Advertisement

The number of people who actually commit acts of violence is quite small, never mind mass shootings. According to the FBI, police made 495,000 arrests for violent crimes in 2019  less than 5 percent of the total number of arrests, and less than 0.2 percent of the total population. Only 8 percent of adults report recurrent violent outbursts, per the National Comorbidity Survey. Most gun owners do not pose a threat: A 2015 analysis of that same survey data found gun ownership was not strongly associated with violent outbursts.

Advertisement

Unfortunately, we have not actually designed a gun control system to prevent the people who pose the most risk of committing future acts of violence from getting guns. The federal gun background check system does bar people from owning guns on the basis of convictions for felonies or the most serious misdemeanors, including domestic violence, but those individuals have already gone through the cycle of escalatory violence. Many other violent misdemeanor offenders slip through. For instance, the Colorado shooters misdemeanor assault conviction only came with a sentence of probation and community service; the federal misdemeanor gun purchase ban only applies to crimes that carry a two-year prison sentence, so it didnt apply here. Only five statesConnecticut, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, and Californiahave expanded the range of criminal convictions that bar gun ownership to include violent misdemeanors like assault, battery, or misusing firearms. In any case, less than half of violent crimes ever get reported to police in the first place. As a result, many people who clearly pose a threat of future violence can legally buy guns. The 2015 study of the National Comorbidity Survey found about 9 percent of American adults both report violent, impulsive behavior and keep guns in the home.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Some states, Colorado included, have enacted red flag laws that allow police, family members, teachers, or mental health professionals to petition a court to temporarily seize guns from people who pose a demonstrated threat, akin to a restraining order. Courts issue the orders on the basis of threats and violencethat is, they issue them in response to behavior, not identity, speech, or a mental illness diagnosis. A study of Californias red flag law found that its use may have prevented 21 potential mass shootings. So these orders workwhen they are actually used.

All of this is to say that the specific who or why behind any given mass shooting may be the least practically important thing to understand about the crime. If mass shootings have any meaning, it is in the violence itself, which more easily becomes deadly in the United States thanks to freely available weapons. Commentators and policymakers should drop the culture war frame and focus on the actual warning signs that precede violence, or the legal structures that allow so many obvious threats to public safety to fester until its too late.

Correction, March 25, 2021: This piece originally misspelled Zaid Jilanis last 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.
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Denmark on Thursday suspended the use of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 shots for another three weeks pending further investigation into a potential link between the vaccine and rare cases of blood clots.

Denmark was among the first countries in Europe to suspend the use of the vaccine this month after the cases were reported.

Most countries that enforced temporary suspensions have now resumed administering it following recommendations from the European Union's drug watchdog and the World Health Organization (WHO).

But Danish authorities said they still could not rule out a connection between the vaccine and the very unusual illness in two local cases still being analysed as well as cases elsewhere in Europe.

"Our basis for making a final decision on the further use of the COVID-19 vaccine by AstraZeneca is too uncertain," Danish Health Authority director Soren Brostrom told a news briefing.

"Many studies have been launched, but we do not yet have any conclusions, which is why we have decided to extend the suspension".

The vaccine rollout in Denmark will face a delay of four weeks if the AstraZeneca shot is not reapproved in three weeks' time, according to a timeline on the health agency's website.

The decision to extend the suspension was partly taken in order not to jeopardize the high level of trust among Danes in COVID-19 vaccinations.

"We need to be able to tell people with great clarity, certainty and openness that they can trust the vaccine that we not only offer, but also recommend," Brostrom said.

"That is why we follow the precautionary principle."

Approximately 150,000 people in Denmark had received AstraZeneca's shot in Denmark before it was suspended, while almost 500,000 have received Pfizer-BioNTech's jab and around 37,000 Moderna's vaccine.

Both the European Medicines Agency and the WHO said last week the benefits of AstraZeneca's vaccine outweighed the risks.

An EMA review covering 20 million people who took the AstraZeneca shot in Britain and the European Economic Area found seven cases of blood clots in multiple blood vessels and 18 cases of a rare condition called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), in which a clot forms in the sinuses that drain blood from the brain.

(Reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard, Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Tim Barsoe; editing by Nick Macfie and John Stonestreet)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at a ceremony in Pyongyang on Tuesday. His countrys latest missile tests are seen as a move to increase pressure on the US over stalled nuclear negotiations (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service/AP)

North Korea test-fired its first ballistic missiles since President Joe Biden took office on Thursday as it boosts its military and increases pressure on Washington over stalled nuclear negotiations.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the launches threaten peace and safety in Japan and the region and that Tokyo would closely coordinate with Washington and Seoul about the Norths testing activities.

South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, after meeting his Russian counterpart in Seoul, expressed deep concern over the launches and urged the North to uphold its commitments for peace. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called for a swift resumption of dialogue to resolve the stand-off with North Korea.

South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles were fired at around 7.06am and 7.25am, local time, from an area on the Norths eastern coast. They flew 279 miles on an apogee of 37 miles before landing in the sea.

US Indo-Pacific Command spokesman, Captain Mike Kafka, said the US military was aware of the missiles and was monitoring the situation while closely consulting with allies.

Expand Close North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during a ceremony on Tuesday (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during a ceremony on Tuesday (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service/AP)

Another senior US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military observations, matched the information from South Koreas military, saying initial assessments suggested the North fired two short-range ballistic missiles.

This activity highlights the threat that North Koreas illicit weapons programme poses to its neighbours and the international community, Capt Kafka said.

The launches came a day after US and South Korean officials said the North fired short-range weapons presumed to be cruise missiles into its western sea over the weekend.

North Korea has a history of testing new US administrations with missile launches and other provocations aimed at forcing the Americans back to the negotiating table.

Still, Thursdays launches were a measured provocation compared to the nuclear and intercontinental missile tests in 2017 that inspired war fears before the North shifted toward diplomacy with the Trump administration in 2018.

Analysts have predicted the North will gradually dial up its weapons displays to increase its bargaining power as it angles to get back into stalled talks aimed at leveraging nuclear weapons for badly needed economic benefits.

Expand Close South Korean army K-9 self-propelled howitzers park in Paju, near the border with North Korea on Wednesday. Pyongyangs latest missile firings have increased tensions on the peninsula (Ahn Young-joon/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp South Korean army K-9 self-propelled howitzers park in Paju, near the border with North Korea on Wednesday. Pyongyangs latest missile firings have increased tensions on the peninsula (Ahn Young-joon/AP)

Negotiations over the Norths nuclear programme faltered after the collapse of Kim Jong Uns second summit with former President Donald Trump in February 2019, when the US rejected North Korean demands for major sanctions relief in exchange for a partial surrender of their nuclear capabilities.

The North has so far ignored the Biden administrations efforts to engage, saying it will not take part in meaningful talks unless Washington abandons its hostile policies.

Mr Kims powerful sister last week berated the US over its latest round of combined military exercises with South Korea that ended earlier this month. Kim Yo Jong described the drills as an invasion rehearsal and warned Washington to refrain from causing a stink if it wants to sleep in peace for the next four years.

Just hours after Thursdays launches, South Korea Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong was to meet with visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Seoul for discussions on North Korea and other regional issues.

South Koreas presidential office said it would hold an emergency National Security Council meeting to discuss the launches.

Expand Close US President Joe Biden said there was nothing new in North Koreas missile firings of last weekend (Evan Vucci/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp US President Joe Biden said there was nothing new in North Koreas missile firings of last weekend (Evan Vucci/AP)

South Koreas Defence Ministry said the Norths short-range tests on Sunday were its first missile firings since April 2020. Mr Biden played down those launches, telling reporters there was no new wrinkle in what they did.

Since Mr Trumps first meeting with Mr Kim in Singapore in 2018, the North has not conducted nuclear or long-range missile tests, although analysts believe they have pressed ahead with their programmes on both.

The North has continued short and medium range missile testing during its suspension of nuclear and long-range tests, expanding its ability to strike targets in South Korea and Japan, including US bases there.

While Mr Kim has vowed to strengthen his nuclear weapons programme in recent speeches, he also tried to give the new US administration an opening by saying the fate of their relations depended on Washington.

During his visit to Seoul last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken sternly criticised North Koreas nuclear ambitions and human rights record and pressed China to use its tremendous influence to convince the North to denuclearise.
Photo credit: Laure Joliet

When architect Stephanie Goto was tasked with creating an outdoor dining experience for the vaunted New York restaurant Daniel, she did so with an eye to the natural world. As architects and designers, weve always talked about bringing the outside in,  says Goto. And I think that in this moment when weve been retreating indoors, its really about how you bring the indoors out.

The ubiquitous dining parkletor streeteryis perhaps the most visible symbol of a current fascination with alfresco architectural interventions born out of necessity, but with potentially lasting effects on the built environment. The space Goto createddubbed Boulud Sur Meris a cluster of bungalows that evoke the French seaside. Their spiky roofs look like ocean waves but also mimic the city skyline just beyond; partitions outfitted with porthole windows let patrons experience togetherness, even as theyre separated.

Photo credit: Christopher Spitzmiller

The trend is indicative of a universal yearning to find new ways to connect as we turn to the great outdoors as the latest (if only) conduit for sustained intimacy. Benjamin Turner and Isabel Avellan leaned into the possibilities of the moment with the serendipitously timed launch of their Oakland, Californiabased tree house design and fabrication studio, Wildernest Design. The duos mission to create modern tree houses akin to sculptural art installations took on a renewed sense of urgency when the pandemic hit; in 2020 they fashioned six whimsical arboreal creations for private clients throughout northern California. Were focused on getting people to play in nature, to feel some connection and ownership to the environment, says Turner, who notes that they have largely worked on projects for families that want their children to be active outside in a well-designed area meant for play.



Outfitted with trapdoors, climbing nets, and rope bridges, Wildernest tree houses are feats of nature-inspired biomimetic design that incorporate recycled materials, such as one project clad in reclaimed redwood, fitted together in various geometric patterns. In addition to offering an imaginative way to interact with the outdoors, tree houses let property owners use backyards in a unique way: Building vertically maximizes available space and can activate areas that were previously deemed to be unusable, such as a steep hillside.

Story continues

Photo credit: Isabel Avellan

Similarly, architects Richard Bories and James Shearron, of the New York firm Bories & Shearron, were not considering the impact of COVID-19 when they built an 18-foot-tall folly (a decorative outdoor structure akin to a gazebo) for a 2020 showhouse in Lake Forest, Illinois. The intervening months have revealed newly relevant advantages to such flexible structures: The open-air, pergola-style building could easily be retrofitted with screens or a solid wall, affording a variety of uses. The pair also own a home in Lake Forest with a screened-in porch and have become evangelists for the architectural feature, citing the ample ventilation it providesnot to mention unobstructed views onto green space and protection from pesky insects.

Photo credit: Laure Joliet

Each designer predicted that the current need for such liminal spaces, flexible buildings, and temporal outdoor structures will outlast the current crisis, as weve become newly attuned to both the practical and restorative benefits of gathering outside. Turner envisions myriad applications of tree houses, such as plein air day cares or public spaces where people can congregate in a safely dispersed manner, separated, for instance, by strategically positioned platforms and rope bridges. Beyond shelter and the free flow of air, the indoor-outdoor structure fulfills another important role when it comes to coaxing people outside, says Turner: It makes you feel you belong there.

Photo credit: Hearst Owned

This story originally appeared in the April 2021 issue of ELLE Decor. SUBSCRIBE

You Might Also Like
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.

Kirloskar Ferrous Industries rose 1.16% to Rs 161.15 after the company was declared as 'preferred bidder' in e-auction of Bharath Mines & Minerals based on highest final price offer submitted by the company.

The company said it entered into the mining lease deed with the Government of Karnataka, Department of Mines and Geology for the aforesaid mine to conduct mining operations for a period of 50 years.

Operations of the mine have commenced from 24 March 2021 and will continue till 5 April 2021 in accordance with the validity of the forest clearance approval received from the Government of Karnataka.

The company said that it is in process to obtain necessary approvals/permissions for renewal of validity of the forest clearance beyond 5 April 2021 and the update will be given upon receipt of the renewal of forest clearance.

Kirloskar Ferrous Industries' principal activity is to manufacture and supply iron castings. On a consolidated basis, the company posted a 95.7% jump in net profit to Rs 12.84 crore on a 32.4% rise in net sales to Rs 81.81 crore in Q3 FY21 over Q3 FY20.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
's Tony Locantro discusses capital raisings this week by ( ) and Inc. ( ). Alta Zinc raised A$3.75 million in a private placement, to further advance drilling at its Gorno Zinc Project in northern Italy. Locantro also mentions that he's now putting some of his clients into Marenica Energy ( ) and Bannerman Resources Limited ( ) given recent heightened interest in the uranium sector.
DALLAS, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Braemar Hotels & Resorts Inc. (NYSE: BHR) ("Braemar" or the "Company") today announced details for the release of its results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021.

Braemar plans to issue its earnings release for the first quarter after the market closes on Wednesday, May 5, 2021, and will host a conference call on Thursday, May 6, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. ET. The number to call for this interactive teleconference is (201) 493-6725. A replay of the conference call will be available through Thursday May 13, 2021, by dialing (412) 317-6671 and entering the confirmation number, 13717719.

The live broadcast of Braemar's quarterly conference call will be available online at the Company's web site, www.bhrreit.com on Thursday, May 6, 2021, beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET. The online replay will follow shortly after the call and continue for approximately one year.

Braemar Hotels & Resorts is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on investing in luxury hotels and resorts.

Ashford has created an Ashford App for the hospitality REIT investor community. The Ashford App is available for free download at Apple's App Store and the Google Play Store by searching "Ashford."

SOURCE Braemar Hotels & Resorts Inc.

Related Links

http://www.bhrreit.com


A $2.1 million, Ducks Unlimited starting this spring will investigate how restored wetland habitats can reduce harmful algae blooms and improve the population of mallards, one of the regions most important waterfowl.

Large algae bloom outbreaks in recent years threaten the livelihoods of residents who live near Lake Erie. More than $65 million in economic activity was lost due to the harmful blooms in western Lake Erie in 2011 and 2014. In 2017, the third largest Lake Erie harmful algae bloom on record made international news by shutting down the drinking water supply for hundreds of thousands of Great Lakes residents.

Not coincidentally, nearly 90 percent of wetlands in the Lake Erie Basin have been drained. Wetland restoration is a promising solution for capturing phosphorus before it enters the Great Lakes and feeds harmful algal blooms, said John Coluccy, DUs director of conservation planning for the Great Lakes.

The new project will evaluate how much phosphorus is being removed at more than a half-dozen previously restored DU conservation projects, and establish a model allowing conservation experts to create maps predicting the best wetland locations to remove the pollutants.

Supported by a $1 million grant from the Sunshine Charitable Foundation, the study will guide conservation stakeholders and U.S and Canadian agencies to identify wetland restoration projects that would improve water quality for the more than 30 million people who get drinking water from the Great Lakes, as well as the hundreds of species of wildlife that rely on healthy water during their lifecycles.

The project will blend new technology and scientific expertise and is divided into two components: water quality research and Great Lakes mallard population status.

Research by Ducks Unlimited, Ducks Unlimited Canada and several partners will study how wetland restoration reduces agricultural phosphorus runoff fueling the harmful algal blooms that threaten economies, recreation and safe drinking water in the Great Lakes.

In addition to the 2 DU organizations, the water quality study has numerous collaborators and funding sources, including University of Waterloo, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, St. Clair Region Conservation Authority, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, H2Ohio, Lake Erie Aquatic Research Network, Ohio Department of Natural Resources and Great Lakes Mallard Study.

This waterfowl-focused research will help scientists determine why the Great Lakes mallard population has declined in recent years. Breeding mallards in Michigan have dropped from a peak of over 500,000 to just under 200,000, and trends in Wisconsin and Minnesota are similar.

Waterfowl biologists in the Great Lakes states are at a loss to explain the decline, especially when scientists have seen ideal regional breeding habitat go unoccupied.

Hunters who enjoy the outdoors generate an estimated $1.4 billion in revenue for Mississippi Flyway states, and mallards are one of the most popular game birds sought by waterfowlers, said DU Chief Conservation Officer Karen Waldrop. Boosting mallard populations will ensure a steady flow of tax revenue from hunter activity and conservation dollars derived from hunting licenses.

Michigan State University, in partnership with Mississippi Flyway states and non-profit organizations like DU, will use cutting-edge Global Position System and Global System for Mobile Communications transmitter technology to study the movement, habitat selection and productivity of Great Lakes mallards.

This spring, before nesting and before the hunting season, researchers will mark a minimum of 350 female mallards from across the Great Lakes region with solar-powered transmitters that download data using cell phone technology.

That will allow researchers to document movements and habitat use, estimate the number of mallards that return to the same breeding, staging and wintering areas and estimate survival and productivity rates.

Information from this study will inform recommendations regarding habitat programs and harvest management to assist with breeding mallard population recovery in the Great Lakes region.
Lured by the promise of winning a fortune in a deaf lottery, an elderly, deaf Windsor Locks man sent scammers $51,000 in late February.

Local police, who are working with the FBI and law enforcement in other states, are trying to collar the con artists behind what is now a nationwide scheme targeting the deaf and hard of hearing community.

Windsor Locks Det. Sgt. Jeff Lampson said Thursday that the scam has surfaced in at least four states and there are likely more victims who have not come forward. But Lampson acknowledged that making arrests will be a challenge, in part because the stolen money was converted into the hard-to-trace cryptocurrency, Bitcoin.

The Windsor Locks victims daughter, Terri Lebonitte, said her father and mother, both deaf, are devastated and embarrassed.

My dad said to me today, Do you think Im ever going to get my money back?  Lebonitte, said. I said, No, I dont believe so. 

Her father, retired and in his 80s, received an email in the third week of February, hooking him with the chance to rake more than $1 million from a special lottery limited to deaf people, Lebonitte said. Besides somehow knowing that her father was deaf, the swindler had hacked into the email of her fathers longtime friend, which raised his credibility, Lebonitte said.

She forwarded a copy of the email, which read in part:

I want to inform you that there is a new program called The National Deaf/Hard of Hearing Country Lottery Program. It is a new program to encourage the strengthening of Human Right and Poverty Reduction, as well as to help citizens maintain a good standard living, especially for pensioners and retirees. The Elderly.

A month ago, my friend informed me about this new Lottery Program... She saw my name and email address on the Lottery Brochure because she had won $$1,000,000.00 from the Deaf Country Lottery Prize Program and she had already received... I thought it was a joke and kind of gadget....

Story continues

I still thought it was a joke until the agent arrived at my house with my winning check. .. I share this wonderful news with you because I have also see YOUR NAME on the list of winners of the Deaf Country Lottery Rewards Program... Do not forget to keep it a secret. I hate to see people Jealous and Keep asking to borrow $$.

Her father, who lives on retirement income, was told he would have to pay a fee to cover taxes and fees before claiming his prize, Lebonitte said.

My dad was excited, thrilled, she said.

To gather the first payment of about $35,000, he went to several branches of his bank, withdrew cash and mailed it to an address in Springfield, Illinois. He later wired an additional $16,000.

Windsor Locks police stepped in when the man realized he had been duped. Posing as the victim, Lampson continued communicating with the swindler, who requested an additional $15,980 in cash be sent to the same Illinois address. Lampson and Det. Dan Bontempo flew to Springfield, and working with local police, watched to see who would accept delivery of the dummy package they had sent.

Turns out, Lampson said, that the resident at the address also was deaf and was being used as a pawn in the scam. The puppeteer, as Lampson called the main contact in the swindle, had told the Springfield man that he also had won the deaf lottery, but he had to pay fees to claim the prize.

The swindler also convinced the man that other people were willing to help him cover the fees and would be sending payments to his address, Lampson said. He was given a Bitcoin barcode and instructed on how to deposit the money.

While they were at the address, a package arrived from Florida containing a check for $75,000, Lampson said. Police are trying to verify the validity of the check and trace it to a possible victim in the Tampa area, he said.

Police also found another likely victim from Maryland, who may have paid out $164,000, Lampson said. Windsor Locks police are trying to coordinate their investigation with Maryland officials, he said.

The FBI may adopt the investigation, Lampson said. There are a number of different thresholds we seem to be meeting to elevate the case to the federal level, he said.

This is not a new con. In 2018, AARP alerted members that emails targeting the hearing-impaired promised winnings of $50,000 or more, but winners were told they could collect only after making payments to cover taxes and other fees.

Other scammers targeting the deaf community claimed to be from charities or advocacy groups for the deaf, asking for donations or answers to surveys but actually angling for personal financial information. Scammers also have targeted businesses using technology designed for deaf people to communicate by telephone, the AARP said.

Rennie Polk, director of community engagement for the American School for the Deaf in West Hartford, said elderly deaf people are no different from other elderly victims of fraud. Polk noted that the Connecticut Council of Organizations Serving the Deaf has hosted sessions on internet safety and how to avoid scams.

Jesse Leavenworth can be reached at jleavenworth@courant.com
A special court here on Thursday extended the custody of suspended police officer Sachin Waze, arrested in connection with the recovery of explosives- laden vehicle near industrialist Mukesh Ambani's house, till April 3.

He had nothing to do with the crime and had been made a scapegoat, he told the special court.

Waze (49), an assistant police inspector with Mumbai crime branch, was arrested on March 13 by the Investigation agency. He was produced before the court after his earlier remand expired.

The NIA, which has invoked the stringent provisions of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against Waze, sought his custody for another 15 days.

"I have been made a scapegoat and have nothing to do with the case," Waze told judge P R Sitre during the hearing.

"I was investigating officer of the case for one and a half days, and didwhatever I could in that capacity. But there was suddenly change in some plan somewhere. I went to the office on my own and was arrested," the police officer said, adding he had not confessed to anything.

Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, the NIA lawyer, told court that everybody was shocked to find that a policeman was involved in the crime.

During the probe, the NIA recovered 62 bullets from his house and it needed to probe why they were kept there, Singh said. The police department had issued Waze 30 bullets of which only five were recovered, and the rest were yet to be found, the ASG added.

The murder of Thane businessman Mansukh Hiran -- who had claimed that the SUV found near Ambani's house had been stolen from his possession -- was a connected case, and the NIA got the custody of two other accused arrested in that case from the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad only the day before, Singh said.

They need to confront Waze with the other accused, he added. The NIA has taken over the Hiran case too.

However, the judge extended the custody only till April 3.
Queen's Theatre Hornchurch has announced a new season of work, with the Essex theatre set to reopen from May.

The venue will revive Tim Firth's hit comedy Neville's Island, set to play from 20 May to 3 July with social distancing in place. The piece follows four middle managers who are shipwrecked.

From 30 July to 21 August, Douglas Rintoul's new jukebox musical Love Letters will be presented, celebrating all things Essex and created to shine a spotlight on emerging artists from Essex and outer east London.

As previously revealed, David Eldridge's Beginning will run in September, with the venue's pantomime, Aladdin, to run this Christmas.

Further casting and details are to be revealed.
New Delhi: On his two-day visit to Bangladesh starting Friday (March 26), Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit the Matua community's Shri Shri Harichand temple and the Hari temple of Guruchand at the Orakandi Thakurbari under Kashiani upazila, Gopalganj.

The prime minister will also spend time with the family of Harichand Thakur, founder of the Matua community. According to Padmanabha Thakur, president of the Bangladesh Matua Maha Mission, Harichand Thakur was born at Orakandi in 1812.

The Matua community of Bangladesh, a Scheduled Caste group with a presence in at least six parliamentary seats of West Bengal.

A large chunk of the community moved into West Bengal following the partition of India and also after the 2001-02 anti-Hindu pogroms during the Khaleda Zia government. The community leaders claim that their population is about 3 crore.

Modi will also visit the Jashoreshwari Kali temple at Ishwaripur under Shaymnagar upazila. This will be the first-ever visit by a foreign head of state to the temple.

Custodian of the temple, Jyoti Chattapaddhaya said necessary preparations are being done to welcome the Indian prime minister and the delegates.

PM Modi is slated to meet the country's President Md Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

A range of pacts will be signed and new announcements for bolstering cooperation in several areas will be made during the visit.

The PM will also interact with diverse groups of Bangladesh's polity and society which will include the representatives of the country's ruling 14-party alliance, the opposition party, freedom fighters, community leaders and youth icons.

Modi will visit the mausoleum of 'Bangabandhu' Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Tungipara in Gopalganj district.

The PM will also attend Bangladesh's national day celebrations on March 26 and will deliver an address on the occasion at the parade ground in Dhaka.

Modi is also scheduled to visit the 'National Martyrs' Memorial' located in Savar. The memorial was set up in honour of those who died in the Bangladesh War of Independence in 1971.

This is his first visit to a foreign country since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

Live TV
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
The Puerto Rico Statehood Council has retained government relations firm Michael Best Strategies in an effort to resolve Puerto Ricos territorial status.

The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit focuses on public policy and advocacy in support of admitting Puerto Rico into the United States Union. It has hired MBS to lobby Washington on issues regarding Puerto Rico statehood legislation, according to lobbying registration documents filed with Congress in March.

The retainer comes amid several recent developments in the years-long debate regarding whether or not to grant Puerto Rico statehood status, a move, supporters argue, which would give citizens of the U.S. territory voting representation in Congress, the ability to vote for President and equal access to federal programs as the territory continues to wrangle with a series of compounding crises, including the devastating effects of Hurricane Maria as well as its ongoing financial woes.

In March, Rep. Darren Soto (D-FL), and Rep. Jenniffer Gonzalez (R-PR), introduced the Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Act, which would admit the island territory as a U.S. state. Similar versions of that bill have unsuccessfully been introduced in Congress for several years.

Another bill, the Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act of 2021, introduced by Reps. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), would allow Puerto Rico to call a status convention of delegates elected by voters who would work to devise solutions for the islands territorial status.

While Puerto Ricans remain divided on the issue, 52 percent of the territorys residents in November voted in favor of a nonbinding referendum seeking statehood, authorizing Puerto Rico governor Pedro Pierluisi the ability to appoint a commission representing the territory in negotiations related to that goal.

Many Republican lawmakers, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), oppose the moveas well as similar recent attempts to recognize Washington D.C. as a statewhich would give Democrats an electoral advantage.

MBS principal Alexander Angelson handles the Puerto Rico Statehood Council account. He previously served in the White House Office of Legislative Affairs as special assistant to President Trump. Prior to that, he was special assistant to the chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Michael Best Strategies, which was founded in 2014, specializes in lobbying, government relations, public affairs and crisis management. The firm maintains offices in Washington, D.C., Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison, Austin, Denver and Salt Lake City. Former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus is chairman of MBS board of advisors.
AstraZeneca has updated its phase three trial data for its Covid-19 vaccine on Wednesday, March 24. After facing accuracy questions earlier this week about its preliminary reports from the U.S study, they come out with a new report about its vaccine. What have they updated in this new report?

AstraZeneca changes their efficacy rate

AstraZeneca has updated its efficacy rate from 79% to 76% in protecting against the virus's symptomatic cases, on Wednesday, March 24.

The updated results include data collected from 190 symptomatic cases across more than 32,000 participants. This was an increase of roughly 50 symptomatic cases studied compared to the results on Monday, March 22.

This suggests that the vaccine is more effective with patients aged 65 and older than previously known. The newly-reported efficacy rate for that age group is now 85% from the previously stated 80%

AstraZeneca reiterated that the vaccine was "well tolerated" among the participants who took the vaccine. There were no safety concerns that were identified in the people who took the drug.

AstraZeneca still 100% effective against severe cases

According to CNBC, the updated report of AstraZeneca maintains that the shot is 100% effective against severe disease and hospitalization.

Many U.S Health officials have criticized the company in recent days for what has been claimed as cherry-picking information to make the results more favorable for them.

According to TheWashingtonPost, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases showed on Tuesday, March 23, that the UK-Based company possibly included information from its U.S results provided an incomplete showing of the efficacy data.

The company has said that at the time, the figures they showed were based on a "pre-specified interim analysis." AstraZeneca says they have vowed to share updated analysis in the coming days.

Read Also: AstraZeneca Vaccine, Blood Clot Link Unveiled by European Experts - Is Vaccine Still Safe for Those Who Have Blood Clot History?

What others have said

Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House chief medical advisor and director of the NIAID, called the situation at hand "unfortunate." He also said that it would be more than likely AstraZeneca would issue a modified statement soon.

According to CNBC, Fauci said that what had happened was what you would call an unforced error because the facts are that this vaccine is likely to be very good.

He has also said that the only thing that this does is only cast doubt on the vaccine and contribute to the hesitancy of everything that wasnt necessary.

AstraZeneca also faced a separate backlash in recent weeks over blood clotting reports in conjunction with its vaccine. This vaccine was already approved and used in dozens of countries around the world. Several European nations suspended the vaccine before resuming after their independent safety reviews.

Related Article: US Health Officials Question AstraZeneca's COVID-19 Vaccination Data, Says it is Outdated





This article is owned by Tech Times.



Written by Lionell Moore

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Coastal Cloud, an award-winning provider of consulting, implementation and managed services and a Salesforce partner, has announced the Board of Managers, including Dan Reardon, a renowned specialist in management consulting.

Palm Coast, Florida, USA, March 23, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Coastal Cloud, an award-winning provider of consulting, implementation and managed services and a Salesforce partner, has announced the Board of Managers, including Dan Reardon, a renowned specialist in management consulting.

Mr. Reardon is CEO and Chairman of North Highland, a global management consulting firm, and has led the employee-owned company for more than 24 years. North Highland helps clients solve their most complex challenges related to customer experience, performance improvement, technology and digital transformation. Headquartered in Atlanta, GA, North Highland has more than 3,000 consultants and 60-plus offices around the world.

Mr. Reardon joined six executives who currently serve on the Coastal Cloud Board of Managers. The other Board Managers are Tom Healy, former Senior Partner at Accenture, Eric Berridge, co-founder and former CEO of Bluewolf, an IBM Company, Sara Stanley Hale and Tim Hale, both co-founders and Managing Partners at Coastal Cloud, Jordan Richards, Chairman of Coastal Clouds Board and Managing Partner at Sverica Capital Management, and Ryan Harstad, Partner, also at Sverica Capital Management.

Making A Difference In Health Care and Public-Sector Solutions

Over the last year, businesses, nonprofits and governments have worked alongside Coastal Cloud and Salesforce to develop rapid solutions to address the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Coastal Clouds latest solution built on the Salesforce Platform is part of a full suite of Care4COVID health care and public-sector solutions that help organizations and communities ensure access and distribution of care, supplies and recovery resources.

Most recently, Coastal Cloud has partnered with CDR Maguire, disaster health and medicine logistics and site experts, to assist with large scale COVID-19 vaccination sites and assisted living facilities across the State of Florida.

To learn more about Coastal Clouds new vaccine management tool, as well as Salesforce solutions for public-sector response to hurricanes and other emergencies, please visit https://coastalcloud.us/care4covid/

Salesforce, and others are among the trademarks of salesforce.com, inc.

About Coastal Cloud

Coastal Cloud is an IT business consulting partner based in Palm Coast, Florida. Through its unique consulting business model, Coastal Cloud provides implementation and managed services to assist clients in migrating to next-generation cloud technology.

A Salesforce Partner since 2012, Coastal Cloud has earned the highest designation possible, Salesforce Navigator Expert, across numerous products and industries, including Public Sector, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Nonprofit, Manufacturing and more.

Coastal Cloud has rapidly grown to over 275 Consultants in the past year while still providing excellent client and employee satisfaction. They were awarded the Global Customer Success Innovation Award from Salesforce in 2020 and were named to Inc.s Best Workplaces in 2020. including making the Editors Top 10 List. For more information, please visit www.CoastalCloud.US.



Attachment
2021-03-24

Maeci

Italy reiterates its unmoveable position on safeguarding human rights and fundamental liberties, and expresses its solidarity with the European parliamentarians, academics, think tanks, and functionaries affected by the Chinese sanctions.

This is the basic message that Vice Foreign Minister Marina Sereni put across to the Chinese Ambassador to Italy, Li Junhua, called to the Foreign Affairs Ministry this morning.

Italy confirms its support for the measures adopted by the European Union, and rejects Chinese sanctions as unacceptable, as they go contrary to the basic rights of freedom of expression, speech, thought, and opinion, the exercising of which is part and parcel of the fullness of democracy and its values, from which Italy and the European Union take inspiration.

In conclusion, Vice Minister Sereni stated her hope that open, frank dialogue and collaboration would continue between China and the European Union, who are key players in global matters.
SEATTLE, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- PitchBook , the premier data provider for the private and public equity markets, today released its first bi-annual global real estate report, which found the COVID-19 pandemic led to significant short-term market dislocations and accelerated long-term structural changes in both commercial and multifamily real estate. The report delves into recent macro trends in real estate through the lens of private market fundraising and performance, offering insight into the availability of capital and allocation potential across regions and real estate sub-strategies like core, core plus, value-add, distressed, opportunistic and debt.

To download the full report and underlying data, click here .

"After displaying remarkable resilience early in 2020, global real estate fundraising fell sharply from the record high raised in 2019 as uncertainty from COVID-19 lingered," said James Gelfer, Head of US Private Market Research at PitchBook. "Investors closed fewer funds than at any point since the global financial crisis and the amount of capital raised was the lowest since 2013. The beginning of 2021 has been sluggish for real estate fundraising, too, and this trend seems likely to continue as there are few large funds in the market at present."

Key Takeaways from PitchBook's H2 2020 Global Real Estate Report

Global real estate fundraising weakened considerably in 2020. Firms were able to keep activity steady in the first half of the year, but by year end, fund closings had ground nearly to a halt. Activity was particularly soft in North America and Europe , while Asia was resilient during the tumultuous year.

Firms were able to keep activity steady in the first half of the year, but by year end, fund closings had ground nearly to a halt. Activity was particularly soft in and , while was resilient during the tumultuous year. Dry powder levels remained relatively flat through the first half of 2020, sitting just above one third of $1 trillion . Approximately half of that capital sits in distressed or opportunistic vehicles. These figures may fall as the COVID-19 pandemic presents a prime buying opportunity in certain strained property types and geographies.

Approximately half of that capital sits in distressed or opportunistic vehicles. These figures may fall as the COVID-19 pandemic presents a prime buying opportunity in certain strained property types and geographies. Industrial and self-storage were the only property types to record positive total returns in 2020. This strong performance during the pandemic caps off a five-year run during which returns for industrial properties far outperformed all other property types. As the pandemic caused many to forgo elective medical procedures, skip vacations, and work and shop from home, healthcare, office, retail, and lodging all fell.

This strong performance during the pandemic caps off a five-year run during which returns for industrial properties far outperformed all other property types. As the pandemic caused many to forgo elective medical procedures, skip vacations, and work and shop from home, healthcare, office, retail, and lodging all fell. Real estate technology has grown rapidly over the past decade, though VC deal flow fell in 2020 to $9.1 billion . Flexible office space, warehouse utilization, tenant engagement, and data analytics are areas of particular interest as the world transitions from pandemic-induced lockdowns to the next cycle in the real estate market.

To learn more about the work and analysis available from the PitchBook Institutional Research Group, click here.

About PitchBook

PitchBook is a financial data and software company that provides transparency into the capital markets to help professionals discover and execute opportunities with confidence and efficiency. PitchBook collects and analyzes detailed data on the entire venture capital, private equity and M&A landscapeincluding public and private companies, investors, funds, investments, exits and people. The company's data and analysis are available through the PitchBook Platform, industry news and in-depth reports. Founded in 2007, PitchBook has offices in Seattle, San Francisco, New York and London and serves more than 50,000 professionals around the world. In 2016, Morningstar acquired PitchBook, which now operates as an independent subsidiary.

SOURCE PitchBook

Related Links

https://pitchbook.com/


California governor chooses progressive lawmaker as top cop View Photo

SAN FRANCISCO (AP)  California Gov. Gavin Newsom nominated a progressive Filipino American state assemblyman as Californias next attorney general Wednesday, ensuring a push from the top for criminal justice reform and other liberal priorities in the nations most populous state.

Assemblyman Rob Bonta, a 48-year-old Democrat from the east San Francisco Bay Area city of Alameda, would be the first Filipino American to hold the states top law enforcement job, which has an outsize role in influencing national policy and moving financial markets.

Now more than ever we need leaders in government, and leaders in law enforcement, who will build bridges with communities that have been othered, that have been persecuted, that have been targeted, Bonta said.

If he is confirmed as expected by the Democratic-led Legislature, Bonta would replace Xavier Becerra, who was confirmed last week as health and human services secretary in the Biden administration. Its also a stepping stone to higher office; in addition to Becerra, Vice President Kamala Harris and former Gov. Jerry Brown both held the job.

Bonta has authored laws to phase out private prisons, automatically expunge marijuana convictions and end the cash bail system, though voters rejected the bail change last November. He also authored legislation that requires the office hes set to run to conduct independent investigations of police shootings where an unarmed person dies.

The Prosecutors Alliance of California, which supports criminal justice reform, applauded the choice. The more traditional California District Attorneys Association did not immediately comment. In a statement, California Republican Party Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson said Bonta may be tough on sugary drinks, but hes soft on criminals. Bonta authored legislation aimed at stopping soda companies from offering coupon discounts for their drinks.

Kent Scheidegger, legal director of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation that has typically opposed previous Democratic attorneys general, said Bonta is fully on board with the fundamentally wrong direction that California criminal justice has been taking in recent years.

Newsoms choice gives him a powerful ally as he faces a likely recall election this year. It also comes amid rising attacks against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, which prompted AAPI elected officials to call on him to tap Bonta. California has more than 6 million people of Asian descent.

From his unique life and lived experience we have someone that doesnt need to be educated on these things, Newsom said.

Bontas nomination was announced at the International Hotel-Manilatown Center, a San Francisco site rich with Filipino history. He was born in the Philippines to missionary parents, but the family returned to California when he was 2 months old. They settled in California among the farmworker activist community led by Cesar Chavez.

It made me want to become an attorney to fight for people whove been wronged, whove been hurt, whove been harmed, whove been mistreated, and to be their champion, Bonta said. And its that fight for justice for all Californians that continues to motivate me.

Bonta said hell use the bully pulpit that comes with his role to protect people, and he said he supports efforts to create a 24/7 hate crime hotline in the AGs office. He criticized former President Donald Trump for contributing to the reductionist devaluing of Asian Americans throughout this nation with racist language and slurs regarding the coronavirus.

Bontas nomination comes at a time when progressive prosecutors have been winning seats  and facing pushback  in some of Californias biggest cities.

Newly elected Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon was sued by his own deputies and faces criticism from other state district attorneys and an effort to recall him from office after he promised not to seek the death penalty or prosecute juveniles as adults and told prosecutors to stop seeking cash bail for lesser offenses.

In San Francisco, public-defender-turned-District Attorney Chesa Boudin took heat in January after a man who had been put on parole struck and killed two pedestrians.

While Becerras tenure overlapped with Trumps, when more than 100 lawsuits were filed against his Republican administration, Bonta said he hopes to look inward for reforms now that Joe Biden is president.

Before he was elected to the state Legislature in 2012, Bonta served one term on the Alameda City Council and as a deputy city attorney in San Francisco. He is married with three children.

The timeline is tight for Bonta, who would face election in 2022, potentially against a field of eager Democrats with more statewide name recognition. Minutes after the announcement, Bonta posted a campaign-style video on Twitter with details about his parents history of activism and his legislative record.

Bonta told reporters: My theme in any election has been the voters will decide, but I will never be outworked.

___

Ronayne reported from Sacramento, Calif.

___

Associated Press writers Don Thompson in Sacramento and Brian Melley in Los Angeles contributed.

By KATHLEEN RONAYNE and OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ

Associated Press
President Joe Biden holds a meeting on cancer with Vice President Kamala Harris and other lawmakers in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, on March 3, 2021. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

Harris to Negotiate With Central American Countries to Enforce Border Control

Vice President Kamala Harris has been tasked with demanding that Central American countries strengthen their borders and blocking immigrants who come to the southern border of the United States.

The Vice President agreed  to lead our diplomatic effort and work with those nations to accept returnees, and enhanced migration enforcement at their borders, President Joe Biden said in a press conference on Wednesday. Were already talking to Mexico about that.

Harris will be working with the countries that need help in stemming the movement of so many folks, stemming the migration to our southern border, Biden said.

After the new measures were announced, Harris she said she was looking forward to the negotiations with the Central American countries.

I look forward to engaging in diplomacy with government, with private sector, with civil society and the leaders of each in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, to strengthen democracy and the rule of law, and ensure shared prosperity in the region, she said.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a virtual listening session at the South Court Auditorium at Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington on Feb. 10, 2021. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Border Patrol has apprehended 100,441 illegal immigrants at the southern border in February, representing a 28 percent increase compared to January.

Former CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan said on Tuesday that the Biden administrations policies on the border are detrimental for the nation.

This administration is absolutelyhas dismantled everything, and everything that theyre doing is against the nations best interest, and I believe its for perceived political gain, Morgan told Just the News.

Morgan then elaborated on unofficial illegal immigration numbers.

I think within the last 10-11 days, they actually had a single-day encounter of over 6,000. Have you seen that officially? Has anyone in [the Department of Homeland Security] reported that? No. Six thousand! Theyre averaging, now, anywhere between probably about 4,500 to 5,000 a day.

But heres the truth, and heres the stat theyre not presenting officially: 75 percent of the so-called unaccompanied minors are older teenagers15, 16, 17 years of age, Morgan told the outlet.

Theyre not being ripped from their parents. Theyre making a tough decision on their own to leave simply because they want a better job in the United States.

Honduran migrants, part of a caravan heading to the United States, walk along a road in Camotan, Guatemala, on Jan. 16, 2021. (Johan Ordonez/AFP via Getty Images)
The Eastern Cape principal accused of lowering a grade 6 learner into a dirty pit toilet to retrieve his cellphone has been warned not to return to the school for the duration of the case.

Luthuthu Junior Secondary principal, Lubeko Mgandela, 49, made a brief appearance in the Tsolo Magistrates Court on 16 March and faces a charge of child abuse for the incident. A previous statement by officials stated that Mgandela could face attempted murder charges.

He was granted bail of R2,500 and part of his bail conditions include that he not interfere with witnesses and not return to the school. Mgandela is due back in court on 27 May.

Mgandela was also suspended following public outcry over the incident.

On Wednesday, Eastern Cape Education MEC Fundile Gade visited the school and the learner's family.

He said Mgandela had apparently apologised to the learner and his family but Gade insisted that the court process continue. "We need the Human Rights Commission to investigate this matter while the justice process is ongoing. We need to allow the law to run its course otherwise we will be setting a bad precedent if we allow the family to settle the matter on their own through apologies," he said.

The school's SGB chairman Albert Mpukane said Mgandela approached the SGB to report the incident and requested that SGB members accompany him to the learner's home where he lives with his 75-year-old grandmother.

Community leader Thembelani Gwampa said the Phalisa community no longer trusted Mgandela.

"This principal is not a first time offender. He has been suspended by the department before and we don't want him back here anymore," he said. Gwampa also demanded that the school's SGB be dissolved. (GroundUp has not been able to confirm this.)

Education department spokesperson Malibongwe Mtima confirmed that plans are in place to elect new SGB members.
Green consumption comes into fashion in China

15:10, March 25, 2021 By Qi Zhiming ( People's Daily

A villager picks and boxes up bell peppers at an organic vegetable base in Zhongluotan town, Baiyun district, Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong province, Jan. 27, 2021. (People's Daily Online/Qiu Xinsheng)

Green consumption is becoming a new trend in China as more and more Chinese people advocate the new consumption philosophy featuring environmental-friendly, low-carbon, healthy and safe consumption.

New energy vehicles, and household supplies, such as energy-efficient light bulbs and water conserving toilets, are increasingly popular among Chinese consumers. Meanwhile, the Chinese people tend to order smaller-portion dishes in restaurants and try not to use disposable tableware.

Pei Jing, a white-collar worker at an Internet company in Beijing, is an upholder of green lifestyle. While shopping at the Wanhui shopping mall in Chaoyang district of Beijing lately, Pei noticed that many customers carried biodegradable shopping bags. She then decided to buy and use such shopping bags herself.

According to Pei, the sales of some degradable shopping bags on certain e-commerce platforms have exceeded 100,000 items.

Green consumption refers to a way of consumption that caters for ecological conservation and protection, benefits people's health while being conducive to ecological environment protection, and conforms to standards of people's health and environmental protection, according to Chen Kai, a professor with the School of Economics and Management under the Beijing Forestry University.

The professor added that green consumption usually involves the purchase, use and disposal of products.

The State Council of China has recently issued a guideline, proposing that a green and low-carbon circular economic development system concerning production, circulation and consumption should be basically formed by 2025.

Green consumption became a new trend and highlight of China's consumer market in 2020, said Zhu Xiaoliang, an official with the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) of China.

Before this year's Spring Festival, which fell on Feb. 12, Fang Wen, a citizen in Guixi, east China's Jiangxi province, purchased five bags of rice labeled organic while making holiday purchases at a supermarket.

According to Fang, she always checks the date of manufacture when buying food and prefers pollution-free agricultural products, green food, organic agricultural products, and agricultural products with geographical indications (GI). "I have a baby, so I care about the quality of food very much," she said.

In January, the MOC released a circular on promoting the green development of e-commerce companies.

Various regions in China need to actively explore local green and high-quality agricultural products, and join hands with e-commerce platforms to boost the online sales of green agricultural products, especially certified pollution-free agricultural products, green food, organic food and agricultural products, as well as farm produce with GI, said the document.

In 2020, China's sales of new energy vehicles grew by 10.9 percent over the previous year, thanks to the country's policy on extending subsidies for electric vehicles and its campaign to promote the use of green cars in the countryside.

Meanwhile, washing machines, refrigerators, water heaters, and other household appliances with energy efficiency labels are also popular among consumers.

Data from Chinese e-commerce platform Pinduoduo suggest that the number of consumers and their expenditure on major energy-saving domestic appliances on the platform increased by 35 percent and 41 percent year on year in 2020, respectively.

Besides, the number of purchasers of and the amount of money spent on major water-saving home appliances via Pinduoduo saw year-on-year growth of 115 percent and 89 percent respectively, according to the platform.

Green consumption has become a booming trend, stressed Fu Yifu, a senior researcher at the Suning Institute of Finance, who pointed out that it not only covers categories like household appliances, food, clothes, personal care and beauty products and other daily necessities, but is increasingly integrated into service industries such as travel, catering, logistics, and packaging.

Fu believes that green consumption has accelerated the renewal or replacement of related products and services, and driven consumption upgrading.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji)
New Delhi: Ahead of the 'Bharat Bandh' called by protesting farmers on March 26, the Delhi Police on Thursday (March 25) informed that adequate security arrangements have been made.

Delhi Police PRO Chinmoy Biswal said that there will be intense patrolling to maintain peace in Delhi on the day of Bharat Bandh. "There will be adequate security arrangements in all police districts during the 'Bharat Bandh', Biswal was quoted as saying by PTI.

"The patrolling staff will roam in their area throughout the day and their focus will to maintain peace in busy marketplaces," he added.

To mark four months of the ongoing farmers' protest, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of protesting unions, has called for 'Bharat Bandh' on Friday.

On Wednesday, the SKM had appealed to the citizens to honour their Annadata and make Bharat Bandh on March 26 a 'complete success'.

"We appeal to the people of the country to make this Bharat Bandh a success and honour their 'Annadata'," farmer leader Darshan Pal was quoted as saying by PTI.

From 6 am to 6 pm, all road and rail transport, markets and other public places will be closed across the country. However, this directive is not necessarily to be followed by the states where elections are going to be held, a statement released by SKM had said.

Live TV
Shade uses offensive attack to take down Shanksville in D5-A semis
Many countries are looking towards more environmentally friendly forms of energy.

GREEN hydrogen is fast becoming a topic of global interest among environmentalists, energy experts and governments, as the world looks towards more environmentally friendly forms of energy.

Namibia has also set its sights on the prospect of mechanising the renewable energy.

In the recently launched Harambee Prosperity Plan II, president Hage Geingob pinpointed Namibia's intention to invest in green hydrogen. He earmarked it as one of the key components in the country's goals towards the attainment of zero emissions in favour of a clean environment.

Green hydrogen refers to hydrogen fuel that is created using renewable energy rather than fossil fuels, producing only water as a by-product. It can be in gas or liquid form and can be converted into electricity, and is quickly emerging as a potential solution for sectors such as aviation, marine shipping and other heavy industries.

The concept of green hydrogen and its effects on climate change is, however, not yet well understood.

Jane Olwoch, the executive director of the Southern African Science Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management (Sasscal), says green hydrogen energy provides an opportunity to transform the global energy sector into one which contributes to climate-friendly products.

"Hydrogen energy will become a game changer and the best replacement for fossil fuels and it is the best tool to achieving the net-zero emissions target. Why? Because hydrogen fuel is as clean as the inputs that are used to produce it," she said.

Olwoch said although it is too early for the global adoption of renewable hydrogen, its potential is enormous and several nations are in the forefront and gearing for it.

Countries such as Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia and Japan are already prioritising investment in hydrogen energy, for green-friendly energy and to tackle climate change, she added. "The future is here and Africa must be [part of this] future to determine its direction," she said.

Through funding from Germany's Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Sasscal is coordinating the 'Atlas of Green Hydrogen Generation Potential' project in 12 Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries.

In the project initiative, Germany is collaborating with African countries to explore the use of green hydrogen and hydrogen derivatives as an energy option.

The project is by far the most comprehensive study on green hydrogen in the region.

It also provides a capacity building component which will see 14 young scientists from SADC spending three months in Germany in efforts to allow the region to have the skills and know-how in operating green hydrogen technology.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Namibia Energy By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Olwoch has urged all other countries, especially those who are party to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, to follow suit in research and piloting the adoption of renewable energy for their economies.

She emphasised the importance of African nations to invest in and prioritise the use and adoption of green hydrogen, although they are not producing substantial carbon emissions.

Olwoch pointed out the vast potential the region has towards green fuel, as it is endowed with an abundance of renewable energy sources.

Namibia and South Africa are two Sasscal member states that are in the forefront, working towards the adoption of green hydrogen.

The two countries are, however, challenged by inadequate recognition of the importance of green hydrogen energy, increased risks of investments with this line of energy, lack of coordination and collaboration among stakeholders as well as capacity to invest in these technologies, Olwoch noted.

She said Sasscal has an important role to play in leading and influencing the region's efforts against climate change.

Through collaboration with other institutions and member states, the organisation has piloted, commissioned and coordinated different green hydrogen energy projects.
Photo: The Canadian Press

Residents in Princeton are voicing their concerns on social media after having "no luck" in getting a COVID-19 vaccine clinic appointment, being turned away when they call in for their age group.

One person started the discussion on a local Facebook page, Princeton BC & Area Issues, after being told that there are no appointments in Princeton available currently and to continue calling back over the next few days. Multiple commentators said they were having the same issues, getting through to the booking line with no spots left.

Interior Health (IH) said in a statement that Immunizations in Princeton started for the public last week, following the age cohorts the province set out. Clinics are happening at the Riverside Community Centre. The clinics have been filling up quickly and we are in the process of opening up more clinics.

Clinics are given a certain number of appointments that they can accommodate each day and guidelines on how to use the vaccine in order to avoid wastage.

There is no lack of vaccine. Creating clinics to meet the demand is a work in progress. We understand it is frustrating for people to have to call back, but we ask everyone to be patient and know that everyone will get an appointment.
The needs to understand that has had a longstanding relationship with the Russians for security cooperation and military equipment, a top American admiral told lawmakers, indicating that he would push for encouraging New Delhi to move away from Moscow rather than taking the route of sanctions for the purchase of major defence equipment.

Admiral John Aquilino, during his confirmation hearing on Tuesday to be the next commander of the Indo-Pacific Command or INDOPACOM, was responding to a question from Senator Jeanne Shaheen on India's decision to purchase the S-400 missile system from

"Should we sanction if they acquire the S-400?" Shaheen asked.

"I think I would leave that to the policymakers to determine... I think we certainly should understand where we are with and I think potentially the encouragement angle in providing alternatives might be a better approach," Aquilino replied.

"India is really a terrific partner and as we've seen from the recent Quad discussions, I think the importance of India and the rest of the nations in the Quad will increase. We're at a balance. However, India has had a longstanding relationship with the Russians for security cooperation and for military equipment," he said.

"... if confirmed, I would work to continue to encourage India to look at and consider equipment. Number one, it's the best. Number two, it generates interoperability and makes it easier to work together and I think we should encourage India to do that through all the elements of power and see where that goes," the US admiral told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Responding to another question from Senator Debra Fischer, Aquilino said the work, or the effort that India has taken on to protect its northern border amid a standoff with China is noteworthy.

"The fact that the PRC has decided to instigate that skirmish on the northern border is noteworthy to all of us," he said.

"So, the strength of multilateral operations with India and with all allies and partners is certainly a mechanism to add to our deterrents in the region," he added.

"The deadly skirmishes between Indian and Chinese troops underscored the high level of tension along the border and China has made no secret of its ambition to encircle India with military and economic influence. As INDOPACOM commander, how would you approach this dynamic and what do you see as the future of the US-India military cooperation?" Senator Fischer asked.

"The work with India, the Quad, as well as all the allies and partners in the region, continues to be the strength and it highlights our ability to ensure that the entire force, the entire region understands the cooperation and the alignment with international norms, standards, rules and laws," the admiral said.

Aquilino said the goal of the Chinese is to supplant US security leadership in the region, be it in the South China Sea or on the northern border of India, and change international rules beyond what the nations agreed to under the 1982 UNCLOS Treaty to their benefit.

The US admiral further said, "We need to engage with every aspect of power to be able to compete against the PLA."



Be it diplomacy, science or information, every aspect has the ability to generate deterrence, extend cooperation with allies and partners. And that's one example from the military perspective this last year, he said.

Senator Josh Hawley said the Quad appears to be forming the basis for a regional coalition to stand up to Chinese aggression.

"How do you see the Quad contributing to deterrence in the Indo-Pacific now and in the future?" he asked.

"It is extremely important when you look at India as the world's largest democracy, combined with three other nations (that) have shared values and beliefs. When an organisation of that magnitude comes together, it would generate concern for anyone with an opposite opinion," Aquilino said.

Quad countries -- the US, India, Australia and Japan -- held their first virtual summit on March 12 during which President Joe Biden told leaders of the coalition that a "free and open" Indo-Pacific is essential to their countries and that his country was committed to working with its partners and allies in the region to achieve stability.

(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 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!
THE Roads Authority (RA) says phase 1 of the extension of the highway to the Hosea Kutako International Airport will be completed in August.

This includes the road along Kleine Kuppe, Auasblick and Avis Hills, which eventually connects with the Hosea Kutako International Airport road.

The construction forms part of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Trunk Road Network, which supports trade within the region.

Phase 1 commenced in January 2016.

Conrad Lutombi, the RA's chief executive officer, at a press briefing in Windhoek recently said although the project was faced with a few hurdles, including some due to the Covid-19 pandemic, he is satisfied with its progress so far.

He said the road would involve nine dual-carriage freeways, 15 km of ramp roads, four interchanges and 13 new bridges, of which two would be river bridges.

Lutombi said phases 2a and 2b have already kicked off this month and would be completed by September 2023.

"This phase (2) will cover the section of road from the Sam Nujoma Avenue interchange (in Avis) to the Dordabis interchange. It will comprise 19,5 km of a dual-carriage freeway," he said.

This stretch of road would include the construction of three interchanges and seven new bridges, of which one is a river bridge.

Phase 2a will be co-funded by the government and the African Development Bank to the tune of approximately N$949 million, and is already 13% complete.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Namibia By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Phase 2b will cover the remainder of the road from the Dordabis interchange to the Hosea Kutako International Airport, and is yet to start.

The ball has been set rolling, with the process of appionting a contractor underway.

This phase will be funded through a grant from China and will comprise 23,5 km of a dual-carriage freeway.

Lutombi said the ongoing expansion project aims to decongest the city's roads and divert long-haul heavy traffic from the city centre to its outskirts.

"It is both a financial and structural mitigation effort as Windhoek's streets were not designed for heavy traffic, and this will minimise the costly exercise of maintaining and repairing damaged roads annually within the city," he said, adding that this would also reduce noise pollution and ease traffic flow from the airport to the city centre, and vice versa.

"This is to improve road safety, and reduce road accidents and carnage, especially on the busy Hosea Kutako International Airport road," he said.

Lutombi said the new freeway will improve organisation, access, mobility and fluidity of transport operations into and out of the city by allowing quicker and faster linking with the north-to-south and east-to-west highway and freeway corridors linking other towns to the city.

Economically, it will be key in improving business operations and reducing road fatalities on the busy highways that open Windhoek up to the rest of the country and the SADC region.
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
Per TDOT Specifications, there will be no temporary lane closures permitted between Thursday, April 1, 6:00 p.m. through Monday, April 5, 6:00 a.m. in observance of the Easter Holiday!

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 24 through Wednesday, March 31, 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 24 through Wednesday, March 31, 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 and Little Beaver Creek. 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 24 through Wednesday, March 31, 7:00 p.m.-6:00 a.m.: I-40 east and westbound will have intermittent left and right lane closures to install temporary barrier rail as well as repairing any potholes as needed.

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 84.0. Median crossovers will be utilized during this time frame to allow crews to safely demolish the Old 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 traffic 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 traffic to the eastbound side, while the eastbound traffic will still have 2 through lanes. (BACKUP DATES: Friday, April 9, 7:00 p.m. through Monday, April 12, 6:00 a.m.)

Closed until Summer of 2021: 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.

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 25 and Friday, March 26, 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, 8:00 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 paving and new signal activation. Exit 82 on I-40 both east and westbound will be CLOSED for striping and switching traffic to new ramps.

Sunday, March 28, 5:00 p.m.6:00 a.m.: I-40 westbound will possibly have right lane closures from Exit 82 to MM 81.0 for paving activities and barrier rail removal.

Monday, March 29 through Wednesday, March 31, 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, April 1, 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, April 5 through Wednesday, April 7, 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, April 5 through Wednesday, April 7, 8:00 p.m.6:00 a.m.: I-40 both east and westbound will have intermittent left and right lane closures from Exit 79 to Exit 82 for removal of barrier rail.

MADISON COUNTY, I-40:

Wednesday, March 24 through Wednesday, March 31, 7:00 p.m.-7:00 a.m.: I- 40 eastbound from MM 87.6 to MM 95.0 will be down one lane for saw cutting and removal and replacement of damaged concrete. The on ramp at Exit 93 will have construction activity but will remain open. Flaggers will be present on the ramp.

LOOK AHEAD

Wednesday, March 31 and Thursday, April 1, 7:00 p.m.-7:00 a.m.: I- 40 eastbound from MM 87.6 to MM 95.0 will be down one lane for saw cutting and removal and replacement of damaged concrete. The on ramp at Exit 93 will have construction activity but will remain open. Flaggers will be present on the ramp.

MADISON COUNTY, I-40:

Sunday, March 21 through Thursday, April 1, 7:00 p.m.7:00 a.m.: I-40 westbound will have intermittent lane closures from MM 67.0 (lm 0.00) to MM 74.4 (LM 7.30) for resurfacing operations.

TDOT District 48 MAINTENANCE:

Wednesday, March 24 through Wednesday, March 31, 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 29 through Wednesday, March 31, 8:00 p.m.6:00 a.m.: There will be nighttime 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 24 through Wednesday, March 31, 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.: There will be lane closures for pavement markings at various locations along SR 15 (LM 9.99  14.38) in Hardeman County.

District 49 - West TN  Southwest

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-205 : The addition of turn lanes on SR 205 (Airline Rd) from Brooks River Drive to south of I-40 will have lane closures throughout the project.

Wednesday, March 24 through Tuesday, March 30, 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.: There will be intermittent lane closures on SR 205 north and southbound from Brooks River Drive to just south of I-40 to perform temporary road widening work. There will be one lane traffic with flaggers present at times. *Speed limit has been reduced to 35 MPH. Weather Permitting.

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.

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 24 through Tuesday, March 30, 8:00 p.m.6:00 a.m.: There will be night time 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 24 through Tuesday, March 30, 8:00 p.m.-6:00 a.m.: There will be nighttime ramp closures in Shelby County at I-40 EB EXIT 8 On ramp from SB SR 14, I-40 WB EXIT 10 Off ramp to SR 204, I-40 WB EXIT 18 On ramp from SR 15 (US 64), I-240 WB EXIT 24 Off ramp to Millbranch, and I-240 EB EXIT 13 Off ramp to EB Walnut Grove. Weather Permitting. If weather prohibits, the closures will be on the next available night.

Thursday, March 25 through Wednesday, March 31, 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. Flagmen will be used to direct traffic where necessary. Weather Permitting.

LOOK AHEAD:

Wednesday, March 31, Monday, April 5 and Tuesday, April 6, 8:00 p.m.-6:00 a.m.: There will be nighttime ramp closures in Shelby County at I-40 EB EXIT 8 On ramp from SB SR 14, I-40 WB EXIT 10 Off ramp to SR 204, I-40 WB EXIT 18 On ramp from SR 15 (US 64), I-240 WB EXIT 24 Off ramp to Millbranch, and I-240 EB EXIT 13 Off ramp to EB Walnut Grove. Weather Permitting.

TDOT District 49 MAINTENANCE

Thursday, March 25 through Wednesday, March 31, 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 24 through Wednesday, March 31, 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.: There will be lane closures for the installation of stop lines and cross walks 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.
Following Successful Elimination of Gender Inequalities, Firmenich Takes Further Action Globally Focusing on Ethnic Minorities, LGBTIQ+ & Differently-abled Workforce

SHANGHAI, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Firmenich China, an affiliate of the world's largest privately-owned perfume and taste company, today successfully upgraded its EDGE Certification for gender equality in the workplace to the next level: "Move" status. Only two companies in China currently have this certification. Recognizing the Group's ever more inclusive culture, the leading business certification standard for gender equality awarded Firmenich Move status across all of its markets for its progress in expanding diverse representation at all levels and a strong sense of belonging among its diverse workforce. Firmenich continues to lead in workplace equality, having been the first in its industry globally, and the 7th company in the world to achieve global certification in 2018 at Assess level.

"I am very proud that Firmenich is one of only two companies in China that currently has EDGE MOVE certification, raising the bar for gender equality under EDGE's demanding benchmarks for continuous improvement," said Paul Andersson, President, Firmenich China. "EDGE recognizes our concrete achievements in embedding equality in China and across our operations globally, as an employer of choice and a trusted and reliable partner for our customers. With women representing exactly 50% of our local management, we are at full parity and well ahead of the national average of 30%."

"The remarkable leap forward Firmenich China has made in two years from the first level to the second level of EDGE Certification, EDGE Move, demonstrates that intentional, prioritized and measured actions undeniably accelerate progress towards gender balance, diversity and inclusion," said Aniela Unguresan, Co-founder of EDGE Certified Foundation. "Specifically, Firmenich's global EDGE Move certification illustrates the company's progress in terms of gender representation and proactive management of pay equity across its main countries of operation."

"Firmenich continues to set the standard for excellence as the best place to work in our industry. Since our first global EDGE certification in 2018, we have achieved significant milestones, from no gender pay gap worldwide to systematically implementing diverse talent pools," said Susan Shao-Chun ZHANG, HR Director Greater China at Firmenich. "While I am very proud of our achievements, we are focusing on new frontiers with targeted action that goes beyond gender. It's about embracing the power of inclusion of minority groups, securing effective representation and engagement of people with different abilities, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds and sexual orientation."

Building on its achievements, the Group's new Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy sets ambitious 2030 people goals, including commitments on human rights, ethnic pay equity, creating 5,000 job opportunities across the globe for youth and continuing to raise the representation of differently-abled people in its global workforce to 10%.

Firmenich China emerged from the rigorous assessment as an employer clearly dedicated to gender equality, with policies in place for pay equity, an inclusive company culture, and high ratings from its colleagues on equal hiring opportunities. In particular the Chinese affiliate has an exceptional maternity leave retention rate with 100% of women remaining with the company 12 months following their return from maternity leave. Committed to helping its colleagues balance their professional and personal priorities, this best-in-class result is testament to the success of its parental leave program, coupled with flexible work arrangements, and dedicated mother-baby care facilities in the main buildings at Firmenich.

EDGE Certification at the global level entails a global evaluation of Firmenich data and processes, as well as a comprehensive survey of its employees worldwide. Firmenich, globally and in China, emerged from the assessment as an employer that is meeting and exceeding core certification criteria around hiring, pay, retention, development and engagement of its employees.

About Firmenich

Firmenich, the world's largest privately-owned fragrance and taste company, was founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1895, and has been family-owned for 125 years. Firmenich is a leading business-to-business company specialized in the research, creation, manufacture and sale of perfumes, flavors and ingredients. Renowned for its world-class research and creativity, as well as its leadership in sustainability, Firmenich offers its customers superior innovation in formulation, a broad and high-quality palette of ingredients, and proprietary technologies including biotechnology, encapsulation, olfactory science and taste modulation. Firmenich had an annual turnover of 3.9 billion Swiss Francs at end June 2020. More information about Firmenich is available at www.firmenich.com

Firmenich China is committed to gender equality in the workplace and part of a group that is certified EDGE MOVE at the global level.

About EDGE Certification

EDGE is the leading global assessment methodology and business certification standard for gender equality. It measures where organizations stand in terms of gender balance across their pipeline, pay equity, effectiveness of policies and practices to ensure equitable career flows as well as inclusiveness of their culture. Launched at the World Economic Forum in 2011, EDGE has been designed to help companies not only create an optimal workplace for women and men, but also benefit from it. EDGE stands for Economic Dividends for Gender Equality and is distinguished by its rigor and focus on business impact. EDGE assessment methodology was developed by the EDGE Certified Foundation, which continues to act as the guardian of EDGE methodology and certification standards. Its commercial arm, EDGE Strategy, works with companies to prepare them for the EDGE Certification. EDGE Certification's diverse customer base consists of 200 large organizations in 44 countries across five continents, representing 29 different industries and employing globally more than 2.4 million employees.

For more information, visit edge-cert.org

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/798187/Firmenich_Logo.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1459922/EDGE_Certification_Logo.jpg
Until the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Committee, WASHCom's foray into their domain, the people of Kabawa, in Abinsi town, Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, fished and farmed from the polluted Benue river.

They drank from the river too even as some of the villagers, nomadic shepherds and their herds waded into its currents to bathe, defecate and sate their thirst.

Large deposits of human and animal waste are a common sight on the riverbank, and right inside the water, leaving the community vulnerable to water-borne diseases.

"Cases of water-related diseases are not new in our community," disclosed Fatimah Bala, a Kabawa resident and mother of four.

"Most of the time that I take my children to the primary health care centre, it is always because of typhoid, stomach problem, or frequent stooling," she said.

Over 25 people died recently from cholera in Benue State, the state's Commissioner for Information, Ngunan Adingi, had said.

Adingi disclosed this to journalists at the Government House in Makurdi, the state capital, urging riverine dwellers to avoid untreated water, the major cause of cholera.

She said contaminated water has been identified as the cause of the death of 25 persons in Agatu and Guma local government areas in the state.

In a separate statement, the state Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Joseph Ngbea, also advised residents living at the riverbanks and residents of the state to be wary of contaminated water.

Worried by the situation, Yakubu Adama and Aminu Yusuf, both WASHCom members and natives of Kabawa, started a campaign to educate members of the community on the need to use only water from improved sources and avoid drinking from the Benue river.

"Now a good number of us are complying, and we use the river water only for bathing and washing, while we use the water from the borehole (manpower) for drinking and cooking," said Adama.

Learning the hard way

Previous efforts by the duo bore no fruit as they were rebuffed by members of the community who thought they exaggerated the situation.

"It was always very discouraging," said Adama, "to imagine that we would suffer insults and rejection just because we were trying to save our people from eating their own faeces and getting sick."

But Adama and his partner were vindicated in the wake of the recent cholera outbreak in the community.

"When the recent cholera epidemic struck," he said, "we saw it as an opportunity to reach the hearts of our people on the pressing need to avoid drinking from the river, pointing to it as the current cause of the sickness and deaths in the community."

Although it was a sad time and a period of mourning for the community, the duo's emphatic message finally struck a chord in their hearts and many began to take heed of their counsel.

It would be recalled that when Benue suffered a cholera outbreak in January 2021, Kabawa community was among the most severe hit by the crisis.

"So far, seven persons have died in Kabawa, most of whom were children and a few adults. Several others are currently hospitalised and are being treated for the disease. We pray that they will recover soon," said Adama.

He stressed that but for the timely intervention of the World Health Organisation, WHO, who intervened, the mortality rate would have been higher.

The recent outbreak of the water-borne disease is hardly the first time that communities in Benue State would suffer such gruesome experience.

In March 2008, at least 25 people were reported dead in Makurdi, the state capital, while 10 people died in Otukpo of the cholera disease. The cases reported in Makurdi occurred in areas near the Benue river.

These statistics show that the epidemic has been a recurring decimal in the lives of the Benue People. In 2016, 132,121 cholera cases and 2,420 deaths were reported to WHO worldwide.

Outbreaks continued to affect several countries. Overall, 54% of cases were reported from Africa, 13% from Asia and 32% from Hispaniola.

Cholera remains a major public health problem and affect primarily developing world populations with no proper access to adequate water and sanitation resources.

Kabawa community is no doubt part of this often-cited statistics of developing populations with inadequate water resources afflicted by the cholera disease.

Sustainable initiative

Kabawa community has three manually-operated boreholes at different locations. One is in the Jukun settlement, the second is at the community primary school, and the third is located at the edge of the community close to the river.

Shortly after the boreholes were constructed and donated to the community by a non-governmental organisation (NGO), they broke down due to lack of proper maintenance. The joy that heralded their construction faded away with the smiles on the faces of the Kabawa people.

They needed water for sustenance, but the only option they had left was to return to drinking from the infested river.

"It was a very delicate and trying situation," recounted Yusuf. "We could not go back to drinking water with animals. All our efforts would simply have been for nothing.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Water By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"We could not just sit back and wait for the NGO that constructed the boreholes to come and fix them, neither could we depend on the government to do so. Thus, we decided that we were going to do something about it as fast as we could," he said.

The WASHCOM associates paid the cost of the repair of the boreholes to the delight of the entire community. Subsequently, they adopted a method of regulating the operations of the boreholes to avoid mishandling and another episode of damage.

They would keep the boreholes open from morning till 12p.m., after which they will be locked. The boreholes are reopened for use by 4p.m., until 7p.m., after which they are locked till the next morning.

Besides their joy and appreciation of the initiative, the Kabawa community has developed a culture of orderliness by which they fetch water on a queue.

The recent cholera outbreak is undoubtedly a grim reminder about why other riverine dwellers of Benue should develop and implement sustainable initiatives that would benefit their various communities.

Perhaps they would take a cue from Yusuf and Adama's sanitary water scheme in Kabawa.

Iwunze, a WASH, Solutions and Data PhotoJournalist, wrote in from Kabawa, Benue State.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 18:59:05|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, learns about local efforts to develop the tea industry while visiting an eco-friendly tea garden in Nanping City, Fujian Province, March 22, 2021. Xi Jinping on Monday arrived in Fujian Province for inspection. (Xinhua/Yan Yan)

FUZHOU, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed more efforts to serve and integrate into the new development paradigm in fully building a modern socialist country.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks during his inspection trip to east China's Fujian Province from Monday to Thursday.

Xi also called on Fujian to make greater progress in developing a modernized economy, take bigger strides in exploring a new way of integrated development on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and achieve greater breakthroughs in creating a high-quality life.

The inspection trip took Xi to the cities of Nanping, Sanming and Fuzhou. He researched local efforts in implementing the guiding principles of the fifth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee, facilitating a good start in the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), and coordinating regular epidemic control and economic and social development.

On Monday afternoon, Xi visited the Wuyishan National Park, one of the pioneers in piloting the national park system. The aim to build a nature reserves system centering on national parks is to keep the ecosystem intact and protect biodiversity, Xi said.

Visiting a tea farm, Xi called for coordinated efforts to promote tea culture, the development of the tea industry and the use of technology in the sector. He also stressed more efforts in implementing the arrangements to dispatch technical professionals to rural areas to help with local development.

After the tea farm, Xi visited a park dedicated to Zhu Xi, a renowned Chinese philosopher of the 12th century. The president called for innovative efforts to transform and develop fine traditional Chinese culture.

While visiting Shaxian District of Sanming on Tuesday, Xi made his first stop at Shaxian General Hospital where he learned about the reform of local medical and healthcare system and emphasized that people's health is a hallmark of socialist modernization.

Xi also called for deepening reform of the medicine and healthcare system, balanced distribution of high-quality medical resources and improved infrastructure at the primary level.

In the afternoon, Xi paid a visit to Yubang Village of Xiamao Township, an old revolutionary base, where he underlined that the key to rural vitalization lies in developing industries that suit local conditions and benefit local people.

Visiting a rural property rights transaction center in Shaxian, Xi urged innovating the collective forest tenure system in an active yet prudent manner while working hard to make new breakthroughs.

While inspecting the provincial capital of Fuzhou on Wednesday, Xi called for continuous efforts to make the city a better place and deliver more benefits to the people.

Xi went to the historical and cultural block of Sanfangqixiang (Three Lanes and Seven Alleys) in the city. He said the protection of historical blocks, ancient architecture and cultural relics is equivalent to the preservation of the city's history and heritage.

During his visit to RICOM, an optical lens company, Xi underscored the importance of independent innovation.

"We can only be in the front rank in scientific and technological development through making innovations, while following others will not work," he said. "We must accelerate our pace to achieve self-reliance in science and technology."

On Thursday morning, Xi inspected Fuzhou-based Minjiang University. At a square on the campus, Xi said young Chinese bear the responsibility of realizing national rejuvenation, calling on students to actively devote themselves to building a modern socialist China. Enditem
Five people killed in firing in northern Pakistan

Islamabad, Mar 25 (UNI) At least five people were killed and seven others injured in a firing in Pakistan's northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, police officials said on Thursday.

Senior Superintendent of Police in Gilgit Mirza Hassan told media that unidentified gunmen opened fire at a passenger van near a bridge in the Naltar area of the region. Women and children were on board the vehicle when it came under attack.

The passenger van was on its way to Naltar Bala from Gilgit, according to the reports, and the injured were shifted to a nearby hospital.
Sardine Sardine is the first fraud prevention as a Service (FaaS) solution truly built for digital businesses, helping companies scale and grow with zero fraud.

Sardine today launches the first fraud prevention as a Service (FaaS) for digital businesses designed to detect all types of financial crimes, from identity fraud at account opening through to payment fraud at account funding. The company has also closed $4.6 million in seed funding, led by XYZ Ventures with participation from 11.2 Capital, Village Global, and Coinbase Ventures, after incubating as part of Sweat Equity Ventures. The funding round was also participated by over 25+ angel investors that include Adam Nash, former CEO and president of WealthFront; John Lilly, partner at Greylock; Dan Romero, former VP of Coinbase; Linda Xie, co-founder & managing director of Scalar Capital; and CEOs and operators of many Silicon Valley startups and early Coinbase, Revolut, Stripe and Google employees.

Current anti-fraud solutions were built for e-commerce platforms in the last decade, relying heavily on catching fraudsters through shopping cart analytics or shipping addresses. However, with the rise in cryptocurrencies and neobanks, previous solutions cannot adapt to new digital businesses, leading to poor fraud detection, high decline rates, and high false-positives.

"Plaid, Synapse, Marqeta and other Banking-as-a-Service platforms are leading a generational shift towards better financial services, making financial products more accessible than ever-- that is, if fraud doesn't kill them first. Sardine is the first fraud prevention as a Service (FaaS) solution truly built for digital businesses, helping companies scale and grow with zero fraud," said Soups Ranjan, Co-Founder & CEO of Sardine. "Sardine is already helping several neobanks and crypto companies take care of all their fraud needs. We have built the first zero-day fraud prevention technology to catch bad actors no matter what they do, because we look for intrinsic behavior patterns; with Sardine, a fraudster can swim but never hide."

Sardines single fraud detection platform combines millions of data points per customer around browser fingerprinting, mobile device attributes, network traffic, sensor data, and intrinsic user behavior to identify bad actors quickly. Using advanced AI techniques, Sardine quickly aggregates all available data. Within the time it takes to load funds into a digital wallet, it can tell fintech customers whether the user can be trusted.

Sardines API and SDK make it easy for development teams of all sizes to easily incorporate Sardine into their platforms current tech stack and be up and running in less than a day. Sardine is the first product that seamlessly combines identity and transaction data for a continuous risk assessment while also allowing digital businesses to have the same millions of data points at their disposal to create transaction monitoring rules.

Sardine helps digital businesses onboard truly authentic users by providing a holistic approach to fraud detection, including:



Foundational Fraud Score: Sardine delivers machine-learnt fraud scores based on proprietary Device Intelligence technology and user behavior biometrics to comprehensively detect fraudsters on all fronts.

Enhanced Card / ACH Fraud Protection: Sardines AI model utilizes thousands of additional signals to cross-check the identity behind the bank account and credit card against dozens of third-party data providers and partners-- from credit bureaus, telcos, email intelligence, social media, card, and bank blacklist providers-- to ensure that the user can be trusted.

KYC and Identity Fraud Protection: To provide a complete picture of a users identity, Sardine correlates information from multiple data and intelligence sources, including credit bureaus, email, social media, and phone numbers. Further, Sardine detects usage of stolen identities based on nuances in how fraudsters enter someone elses information vs. how good customers provide their own information.

Account Takeover Prevention: Sardine enables companies to detect the most sophisticated account takeovers, from credential stuffing attacks and SIM swaps to SMShing and Vishing. Sardines multi-factor orchestration (MFA) makes it easy for companies to offer a frictionless way to enforce any additional authentication.

Continuous Transaction Monitoring: Sardine allows companies to centralize their user workflow and risk management across their Fraud, Compliance, and Trust & Safety teams through 100+ Transaction monitoring rules that cover any fraud, user security, and money laundering typologies, all the while empowering teams to create new approval/rejection rules on the fly and back-test them against historical data to benchmark accuracy.

Sardine works transparently in the background and doesnt impact user experience while still being privacy-preserving.

At Moonpay, our mission is to enable access to cryptocurrencies to the next billion customers. To do it, we need really strong defense against a wide variety of fraud attacks, without layering the kind of friction or fear that might turn off customers who are just getting started with crypto, said Victor Faramond, CTO of Moonpay. Sardine provides a perfect balance, helping us detect 3x more fraud than before while also reducing friction by 2x.

Founded by early employees from Coinbase, Revolut, PayPal, Bolt and Uber, Sardine's founding team has tackled fraud at some of the most complex industries -- cryptocurrencies, e-commerce, ride-sharing and cross-border banking. The team has witnessed some of the most spectacular fraud attacks and quickly realized that new fintech companies were left to navigate the massive burden of tackling fraud and risk on their own, so they stepped in to help.

"Sardine's team is made up of founders with deep domain expertise. They helped scale Coinbase by 1,000x, launched Revolut's US business, fought ghost-riding at Uber, and built fraud protection for PayPal," said Ross Furbini, founder and managing partner of XYZ Venture Capital. This is why we knew that the team was so uniquely suited to super-power both established and emerging fintechs as they battle fraud to scale more quickly."

Sardines solution appeals to customers at various stages from the very early stage of product launch all the way to larger enterprise companies, where Sardine offers the most cutting edge identity, device and behavior signals for use in their anti-fraud systems.

About Sardine

Sardine is the first fraud prevention as a service (FaaS) solution, built from the ground-up for digital businesses and financial institutions. The company is building the next generation anti-fraud platform using cutting-edge device intelligence and behavior biometrics. Started by early employees from Uber, Coinbase, Revolut, Bolt & Paypal, Sardine believes in acting as an extension of your risk and fraud teams. Sardine's platform gives your team the superpower of real-time intelligence, machine learning at scale, and genuinely differentiating good users from high risk ones.
As all signs are pointing toward pandemic life finally turning a corner, job loss, financial stress, and uncertainty are still common among consumers  and their priorities and needs continue to change. A recent survey shows that a significant number of people have taken drastic measures to manage their finances since the onset of the pandemic, with 14% of respondents draining their emergency funds and 17% tapping into them. For many, their financial future is still full of questions. But thats where you can come in. With the right approach, credit unions are already positioned to help!

By now we have all figured out that this new normal is here to stay  at least parts of it, anyway. And those institutions that are reimagining how to better understand and communicate with members when so many have changed have already taken the right first steps. Working with your members and how they want to hear from you  and bank with you  will help them overcome the hardships of the past year and find solid financial footing in 2021 and the years to come.

Relevancy is Key

Before the pandemic, remaining relevant with your members was fairly straightforward: Provide consumers with simplified banking solutions, a few personalized product recommendations, and a promotion or two. Now, with fewer ways to connect and an uptick in virtual communication methods, it can be a challenge to provide the personalized support that members need.

A recent global survey by Bain found that anywhere from a quarter to half of all banking purchases go to organizations other than the customers primary financial institution  with U.S. banks and credit unions experiencing 40% of this hidden defection. But when further questioned, 78% of these consumers who went with another institution due to a competitive offer reported that they would have stayed with their primary financial institutions if theyd received a similar promotion.

So how can you stay ahead of your competition and support your members right when they need it?

Create a complete view of each member

We all know that you have mountains of data about each member  their demographics, products, and transactions, to name a few. But its important to break down the silos so you REALLY know the full picture of each members relationship with your institution, augment that with additional data  and then act! For example  you may find that a segment of your member base have auto loans that are close to maturing  and when you augment your data they are flagged as having the propensity to purchase a new car in the next 6 months. Now is the right time to get in touch with them (through their preferred channels) with a new auto loan offer. Building a program that keeps that data fresh and actionable in real time means you will be there for your members BEFORE the competition even has a chance.

Break out of your comfort zone

While it may seem like a lifetime ago, it wasnt too long ago that we were focused on quarterly marketing calendars that were defined a year in advance  and didnt really change from year to year. 2020 definitely changed that  and its time to use the lessons of last year in new ways. We all learned to be nimble in ways we never anticipated  with lobbies closed and members unable to step into your branch, it was a necessity!

That nimble mindset  and knowing that time doesnt stand still  provides you with a leg up on other institutions that may be slow to change. An example: a credit union in Maryland launched a campaign just prior to the pandemic targeting members who were not using direct deposit and incenting them to initiate it. The campaign ran through April 2020  and when it completed they found that the members who initiated direct deposit also increased their average daily balances by 62%, and increased their POS transaction spending by 52%. While many institutions stopped marketing for a period, this CUs members continued to live their lives and expanded their relationship with them.

Segment and target members who are becoming disengaged

How can you combat the hidden defection when there are seemingly no signs pointing to your members looking elsewhere? The truth is that there ARE signs  if you know where to look. Define what a disengaged member looks like for your credit union and create an ongoing program that flags and targets those members quickly. If a member was consistently using Bill Pay that suddenly stops  reach out to them with a message to find out why and get them back up and running. Or a member consistently used their debit card for POS transactions that slows, contact them with a different message. And if they have a number of indicators that the relationship might be going somewhere else  dont hesitate!
The Minister for Energy, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has emphasized that the ultimate interest of the people of Ghana lies at the heart of the NPP governments dealings with investors.



Dr Prempeh, who is popularly known as NAPO and is the MP for Manhyia South, made this point during a virtual meeting with the Chief Executive Officer of Tullow Oil, Mr Rahul Dhir. In attendance were the Managing Director of Tullow Ghana Ltd, Mr Wissam Al-Monthiry and other leading executives of the company in Ghana.



The purpose of the meeting was for the company to formally welcome the Minister to the energy sector and to brief him on their operations in Ghana, their strategic directions for 2021 and a number of legal and other challenges. Tullow Oil has been in Ghana since 2006 and has invested over $19bn in its operations here since then. In the period it has also paid over $6n to the Government of Ghana through taxes and entitlements and plans to invest $10bn in its operations over the next 10 years. It is also working towards a target if 40-45% reduced emissions by 2025.



Dr Prempeh acknowledged Tullows position with respect to outstanding contractual matters and the Ghana Revenue Authority as the company seeks a further exploration licence. You owe an ultimate duty to your shareholders, which we recognize and respect. But as Energy Minister, I owe an ultimate duty to the President and people of Ghana, and it is important that we both recognize each others position as we seek to collaborate in an honest and open manner, he stated, and



He further indicated the governments desire to build on its partnership with Tullow, notwithstanding the current differences, noting that at a time when operators considered exploration in Ghana as too high a risk, companies like Tullow and Kosmos took the gamble and decided it was worth investing here. He added that Ghana and Tullow thus go back a long way and that through honestly and collaboration some ground could be found to accommodate each other going forward.



We are happy you want to continue investing in Ghana, and we look forward to a long-term partnership with you, Dr Prempeh stated.

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
Its worth noting the ABCs best and brightest turned out en masse. The spotlight-shy Sara sat just out-of-the-way from the best seats in the house, with 730 presenter Leigh Sales, Kitchen Cabinet host Annabel Crabb and RN Breakfast host Fran Kelly nearby. Earlier in the week, News Breakfast host Lisa Millar  also a former foreign correspondent  jetted to Sydney to sit through a preview of the well-reviewed play. On Wednesday, Family Law writer Benjamin Law was also in the audience. But it wasnt just the Aunty crew. Belvoir chair Sam Meers sat beside the Governor in the audience, with Health Minister Brad Hazzard and Vaucluse MP Gabrielle Upton a few seats along, and philanthropists Luca and Anita Belgiorno-Nettis just beyond that.

TOP FLIGHT TEAM

Former ABC journalist Ben Worsley was in and out of Rex Airlines quicker than it takes a baggage handler to unload a Saab turboprop at Tullamarine, but the regional carrier taking the fight to Qantas and Virgin finally has a big new hire to crow about. Just two weeks after the group took on veteran Qantas operations executive Steve Loader to look after its corporate services, it has taken on another operator with serious aviation experience to head up its corporate affairs and communications arm. Strap in, Michael Venus. The former Nine Melbourne news director spent seven years in Abu Dhabi as Etihads world-wide communications, marketing and media exec under its Melbourne born chief executive James Hogan. They both left the UAE airline in 2017. Last week, he was spotted walking the floors of the Australian Parliament alongside Rex deputy chair John Sharp. On Wednesday, the pair were spotted again in the vicinity of both Treasurer Josh Frydenbergs offices and that of Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack. Earlier in the day, the pair were at Canberra Airport for the launch of the airlines Canberra flights, flanked by ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr and Canberra Airport boss Stephen Byron. And theres even more on the plate next week as the airline launches five new services. Venus, a Melbourne Grammar graduate, is now back living in his home town and barracking for the Demons. Enthusing about Rexs new Melbourne to Gold Coast route must be quite the change from spruiking Ethaids The Residence, the luxury three-room first-class suite. Spruiking Rexs new Gold Coast routes wont have quite the same cache.

MAKING IT RAIN

Good news for the arts! In January the federal government announced it was gifting $9 million to four arts organisations in the first batch of its COVID-19 Arts Sustainability Fund, a rescue package aimed at groups that were really struggling under the pandemic.
Miriam Margolyes, 79, dropped the bombshell on This Morning on Thursday that she has created multiple 'sex tapes'.

Speaking from the comfort of her Italian villa, the actress assured presenters Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby that they were just audio recordings with no accompanying visuals.

She admitted that she was left 'exhausted' after having to simulate orgasms, as she added the shocking interview to her long list of outrageous TV moments, earning her the show's 'favourite guest' top spot.

'It was very tiring and exhausting': Miriam Margolyes, 79, dropped the bombshell on This Morning on Thursday that she has created multiple 'sex tapes'

While discussing a previous job in an advert, Phillip, 58, pressed Miriam: 'Didnt you possibly get that job out of a couple of other tapes that you might have that were, umslightly less family-orientated?'

'I thought I was supposed to be very careful this morning on this show,' the Call The Midwife actress quipped before Holly, 40, added: 'Hes poking you with a big stick, let me tell you that.'

She responded: 'Your chap told me, "now dont say anything nasty,"' before an amused Phillip said: 'Dont say anything nasty but youre always naughty and we love that.'

'Well, I did a couple of sex tapes, Sexy Sonja: Leaves from my Schoolgirl Diary. That was one of them' she laughed as the This Morning presenters struggled to maintain composure.

Shock! Speaking from the comfort of her Italian villa, the actress assured presenters Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby that they were just audio recordings with no accompanying visuals

Miriam continued: 'But I have to stress they were audiotapes, they were not visual.

'And theyre very exhausting because when youre simulating orgasm as all of you out there will know.

'Its tiring and you get a headache, its not a question of having a headache at the beginning, you get a headache at the end.'

Phillip and Holly were left in hysterics. She recalled they were for Ann Summers, the high street retailer known for selling sex toys and X-rated products.

In a previous appearance on the daytime show, the actress said she could see Holly 'crackling' from nerves.

Tell-all: She admitted that she was 'exhausted' after having to simulate an orgasm, as she added the shocking interview to her long list of outrageous TV moments

In another instance, Phillip and Holly chuckled as Miriam branded herself as 'fat with a belly' as she clutched her stomach.

The 79-year-old is currently soaking up the sunshine in rural Tuscany as the coronavirus pandemic persists in the UK and elsewhere.

She has reportedly been forced to take a break from Call The Midwife due to Covid-19 travel restrictions.

The actress has played the lovable Sister Mildred since 2018 and has been a key figure at Nonnatus House ever since.

However, her character will not appear in the upcoming BBC series as she was abroad when filming began and restrictions prevented her from getting back to the UK on time.

No holding back: 'Well, I did a couple of sex tapes, Sexy Sonja: Leaves from my Schoolgirl Diary. That was one of them' she laughed as the This Morning presenters struggled to maintain composure

A source told The Daily Star: 'Miriam was abroad when filming took place and  due to travel restrictions  she was unable to get back to the UK to take part.

'If she could have been back on set, she would have been there in a heartbeat because she loves the show so much.'

MailOnline have contacted a BBC representative for comment.

The 10th series of the much-loved east London based series is due to return to screens in April, with cast members including Helen George, Leonie Elliott, Linda Bassett and Jenny Agutter back again.

Oh no! The 79-year-old is currently soaking up the sunshine in Tuscany and has reportedly been forced to take a break from Call The Midwife due to Covid-19 travel restrictions

And while fans will no doubt miss out on Mother Mildred's presence, they can rest assured that Miriam will be back for series 11, when it returns in 2022.

Filming for the next series will begin later this year, with the insider adding that 'everyone is looking forward to welcoming Miriam back'.

While she's not set to don her habit quite yet, the Harry Potter actress has been making a habit of staying in the headlines in recent months.

In January, she slammed Prime Minister Boris Johnson's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic - after previously claiming she wished he'd died of the virus.

Much loved: The actress has played the lovable Sister Mildred since 2018 and has been a key figure at Nonnatus House ever since

The Labour-supporting actress, who has never minced her words when discussing the politician, admitted she fled the UK in May and doesn't wish to return home until the case numbers have improved.

Miriam also took aim at US President Donald Trump after he was impeached for the second time for inciting the US Capitol protests, claiming he was a 'dangerous fascist' who she 'hopes to see the back of.'

Speaking during an impassioned appearance on Good Morning Britain, Miriam was asked whether she'd be getting a COVID-19 vaccine.

The Harry Potter said that while she was currently isolating at her home in Italy, she'd only return to the UK when it's safe to get the jab.

She said: 'Of course one must have a vaccine. Those anti-vaxxers are nuts. They need their heads seen to.

'It's ridiculous. I'm hoping I get a vaccine as soon as possible. I'm 79 so I'm not quite 80 yet - I'll be 80 in May. I may be able to have it in Italy before I come [back to the UK].'

Miriam then insisted Boris must be held to account for his management of the pandemic, which at the time has claimed over 84,000 lives in the UK.

She said: 'But I'm not going to England until it's safe to go. I mean you've got that clown in charge there that I didn't vote for and I'm holding him responsible for a lot of this mess.'
In his latest contribution to the partisan culture war over anti-coronavirus measures continues, Texas Senator Ted Cruz is selling a spring break-friendly tank top bearing his own image  even as young Americans are warned that spring break trips could be a Covid-19 risk.

The top, sold via Mr Cruzs office and promoted on his official twitter feed, features an unflatteringly jowly drawing of Mr Cruz with the side of his head shaven  a signature haircut of the grassroots pro-Trump right. Above and below him are the words McConnell in the front and MAGA in the back.

In a tweet promoting the $30 shirt, the senator invited supporters to join the so-called #CruzCrew. Some who saw the tank top for sale could barely believe their eyes, with senior Bulwark editor Jim Swift simply tweeting wut; to ram home the point that his office was indeed selling the tops, Mr Cruz sniped at another stunned journalist pointing to the brash garment: At least include the link.

Mr Cruz is a longtime critic of social distancing restrictions and mask mandates, which he last month mocked in a high-energy speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference. He is hardly alone in this among Republicans, and among his fellow travellers is Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida  the USs most beloved spring break destination.

The mayor of Miami Beach, Dan Gelber, has accused Mr DeSantis of sending mixed messages in the run up to spring break, complaining that thanks to relaxed rhetoric from the top, south Florida must now contend with too many people coming that want to just let loose in ways that are unacceptable  amid the risk of highly contagious variants spreading around the country.

Read more

While many states and cities across the US are still imposing compulsory anti-coronavirus rules, the prospect of widespread spring-break travel and mass gatherings in the name of spring break is deeply concerning for public health experts. Government adviser Dr Anthony Fauci has cautioned that given the US has not yet fully turned the tide on the virus, it is extremely worrying to see people travelling and gathering in large numbers  especially given that the accelerated vaccination programme means that things may soon be much safer.

Reflecting on his warnings that young people are not immune from the virus and can still spread it to others even if they do not become seriously ill, Dr Fauci told PBS news that young people had a crucial role to play in keeping the pandemic from getting out of control again.

One of the things that stimulated me to make [my] statement about appealing and pleading to the younger generation is that I see those pictures of people frolicking around at a bar.

And we know its spring break in many cases. Youre young. You feel youre invulnerable. You want to have a good time. I get that. I was young at one time, and I enjoyed doing that.

But this is  this is a very unique situation we are in. You can almost make it analogous to what was happening in a war, when everyone was called upon to just step to the plate and do something extraordinary.

For now, that something extraordinary means respecting the risks that come with socialising in public, and in particular avoiding areas where mask mandates and social distancing requirements are loose or absent  south Florida among them.

As things stand, Florida has already seen thousands of young Americans arrive for the spring season flooding onto beaches and drinking heavily in huge groups.

And the resultant problems are bad enough without the coronavirus to contend with. The South Beach area saw more than 1,000 arrests and 100 gun seizures over the last week, with dangerous stampedes and fights breaking out in crowded streets  and two men from North Carolina have been charged with drugging and raping a woman who later died.
Dean of the School of Performing Arts of the University of Ghana, Professor Kofi Agyekum, popularly known as Opanyin Agyekum has kicked against students wearing dreadlocks in school.



There is an ongoing debate on whether children with dreadlocks must be allowed into public schools in the country.



This comes after Achimota school refused to enrol two students because of their dreadlocks.



According to the school management, the school rules frown on such appearance.



However, the parents have expressed their resentment over the school's decision and threatened to go to court.



Addressing the issue on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo", Opanyin Agyekum supported the action by management of Achimota School.



He was of a strong opinion that bending the rules will set a bad precedent in the country.



He stated that uniformity in schools is very significant to societal development and so stressed it is not a good precedent to allow students to wear dreadlocks.



Opanyin Agyekum asked Ghanaians if they have ever seen a Chief with "bushy hair" before, therefore shooting down the argument that the students have their right to wear the dreadlocks.



He further added that every school has its rules and regulations which are binding on parents and guardians sending their wards to school.



"Families have their rules. You can't be in a family and behave anyhow . . . The same thing pertains to schools. The school has its rules and everyone is to conform to the rules."



He took a swipe at the students' parents saying "train up your child in the way of the Lord and when he is old, he will not depart from 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
Queen Letizia of Spain made her second outfit change of the day as she arrived for an official dinner at Andorra Park Hotel during her state visit to Andorra today.

The Spanish monarch, 48, opted for a stylish nude-coloured feather top with black waist-tie detail, which she paired with smart black trousers and stiletto heels.

Wearing her brown hair in a loose bun, the royal put safety first in a face mask and added glamorous makeup - including lashings of mascara and subtle eyeshadow.

It comes just hours after the royal showcased her chic sense of style in a long sleeved red dress, which she dressed up with a black belt after already having worn the outfit to an engagement in Madrid last month.

Mother-of-two Letizia was joined by her husband, King Felipe, as they visited Andorra for the first time since Felipe's enthronement in June 2014 to meet with local politicians and dignitaries.

Queen Letizia of Spain, 48, made her second change of the day as she arrived for an official dinner at Andorra Park Hotel during her state visit to Andorra today. Pictured, with Patrick Strzoda, representative of the French President

The Spanish monarch opted for a stylish beige feather top with black waist-tie detail, which she paired with smart black trousers and stiletto heels

The outfit change comes just hours after Letizia of Spain looked typically stylish in an elegant scarlet ensemble

The two day trip marks the couple's first trip outside of Spain since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, with state visits previously off the cards for Europe's royals due to travel restrictions.

Keeping the look simple, Letizia matched her dress with just a black belt opted to wear her brown tresses in a sleek ponytail.

Typically polished, the royal styled her high neck maxi dress with matching scarlet heels and clutch purse.

She also donned a pair of small gold hoop earrings as she embarked on the visit to discuss education and culture.

The stylish royal paired her outfit with a timeless pair of stiletto heels and matching clutch bag

Queen Letizia of Spain, who put safety first in a face mask, wore her brown hair in a loose bun for the occasion

The monarch looked the epitome of style as she stepped out in her second outfit of the day alongside husband King Felipe VI of Spain (pictured)

Joan Enric Vives, Co-Prince of Andorra and Archbishop 'Ad Personam' of Urgell, King Felipe VI of Spain, Queen Letizia of Spain and Patrick Strzoda, representative of the French President (pictured)

Wearing her brown hair in a loose bun, the royal put safety first in a face mask and added glamorous makeup - including lashings of mascara and subtle eyeshadow

Putting her best fashion foot forward, the royal cut a stylish figure in her second ensemble of the day

Joan Enric Vives, Co-Prince of Andorra and Archbishop 'Ad Personam' of Urgell, King Felipe VI of Spain, Queen Letizia of Spain and Patrick Strzoda, representative of the French President, arrive for an official dinner at Andorra Park Hotel (pictured)

The couple were accompanied by Spain's Foreign Minister, Arancha Gonzalez Laya as they met foreign dignitaries at the Casa de la Vall, the headquarters of the General Council of Andorra.

Letizia was seen waving to royal fans ahead of meeting with Joan Enric Vives, Co-Prince of Andorra and Archbishop of Urgell, and Patrick Strzoda, the representative of the French President.

During the visit in the country's capitol Andorra la Vella, Letizia took part in a meeting about the inclusion of students with disability at the Andorra Park Hotel.

Letizia, pictured, looked effortlessly chic with the fitted trousers and the feathered top, which added a touch of glamour to her evening

The Spanish queen was wearing a natural dash of makeup with brown hues of eye-shadow, mascara and eyeliner

Letizia wore little accessories, only rocking a pair of studded earrings, but in spite of her sanitary mask, pictured, she looked glamourous

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia were a dashing pair during their first evening in the Principality of Andorra last night

Letizia looked cool and relaxed in the outfit, which she complimented with a messy bun and little accessories

The queen's was sported a discreet manicure and her favourite gold ring, as well as a pair of diamond studded earrings

The two day trip comes ahead of Andorra's presidency of the Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government in April, which King Felipe will also attend.

Andorra is one of the smallest states in Europe. It is an independent European co-principality situated among the southern peaks of the Pyrenees Mountains and bounded by France and Spain.

Letizia last wore the gown on February 16 as she attended an exhibit at the National Library in Madrid, opting to style the look with a black cape coat for the visit.

The queen's top tied in at the waiste with an elegant black bow which highlighted her petite figure

While King Felipe, left, went for a navy blue suit and blue tie, Letizia preferred a black and pink look

The Spanish monarch, 48, showcased her chic sense of style in a long sleeved red dress as she attended the event with husband King Felipe

Keeping the look simple, Letizia matched her dress with just a black belt and put safety first by donning a white face mask

Typically polished, the royal styled her high neck maxi dress with matching scarlet heels and clutch purse. She and Felipe are pictured departing ahead of the visit

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia are pictured with with the Consul Major, Conxita Marsol (L) and Consul Minor, David Astrie (R), during their visit to Andorra la Vella

The couple are pictured with Joan Enric Vives, Co-Prince of Andorra and Archbishop of Urgell and Patrick Strzoda, representative of the French President at the Casa de la Vall

She appeared fresh faced, donning a light eyeliner and peach-toned eyeshadow, opting wear her brown tresses in a sleek ponytail

Letizia , pictured departing for the official visit, also donned a pair of small gold hoop earrings as she embarked on the visit to discuss education and culture

Queen Letizia is pictured deep in conversation with her husband King Felipe as they embark on their two day trip to Andorra la Vella

She teamed her dress and coat with smart plum and black heels to look round the exhibition showcasing the work of the Spanish poet and essayist Concepcion Arenal Ponte.

The exhibit - called 'Concepcion Arenal. The humanist passion 1820-1839' - was being held to mark 200 years since the academic was born.

The monarch once again wore a white face mask as she met officials including the Deputy Prime Minister of Spain Carmen Calvo.

She again wore her hair in a stylish ponytail and waved to fans gathered outside the venue in the centre of the Spanish capital.

Letizia and Felipe were seen waving to royal fans ahead of meeting with politicians and dignitaries

The two day trip marks the couple's first foreign trip since the begin of the coronavirus pandemic, with state visits previously off the cards for Europe's royals
* 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
Gulalai had several suitors in her hometown in Pakistan, where arranged marriages are common.



But the marriage proposals fell through because the families of the potential grooms demanded a hefty dowry that her parents could not afford.



"People often come to ask for my hand in marriage, but they do not come back after they realize that my poor family cannot pay a huge dowry," says Gulalai, who is from the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.



Dowries are a centuries-old tradition in South Asia where the Pakistani bride's parents give cash, jewelry, or clothes to the groom's family as part of the marriage.



There are laws that limit dowries in the deeply religious, conservative country of some 220 million. But the rules are rarely enforced or followed.



Activists say disputes over dowries leave women susceptible to domestic violence and can even lead to death when the in-laws are unhappy with a dowry.



'List Of Items'



Gulalai is not alone in being beholden to an out-of-reach dowry in order to get married. The problem is common.



"Many families cannot marry their daughters due to dowries," she adds.



Gulalai says the groom's family often presents a list of items to the bride-to-be's family. It can include jewelry, furniture, electrical appliances, and sometimes even a new car.



The immense cost of the dowry is often a crippling expense for poor families already struggling to make ends meet.



The economic pressure of trying to reduce or avoid a dowry or needing to receive one compels families to accept a marriage proposal even for underage girls.



Mohammad Ali, the head of Khpal Kor (Own House), an NGO in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that helps poor families, says dowries are "an outdated and unnecessary ritual that has become a competition between families."



"The families of poor girls are the worst affected because they can't afford it," he says. "In the past, dowries were simple and involved kitchen items and clothing. But now the burden is too much."

While some girls stay unmarried, other families take out huge loans to satisfy dowry demands. The loans often saddle families with huge debts that they struggle to repay.



"My father and my brothers took loans from various friends and relatives to arrange my dowry," says Zahida, a woman in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. "They tried to get everything that my in-laws wanted."



But even that was not enough.



Zahida says she has suffered years of psychological abuse from her in-laws who believe the dowry her family gave was insufficient.



"It has been over 15 years since my marriage," says Zahida. "But my husband's family still taunts me about the dowry. It's a terrible tradition."



Dowry-Related Deaths



Dowries exist across all levels of Pakistani society as it is an issue of honor for the bridegroom and his family.



Brides who do not meet the dowry expectations of in-laws are often humiliated and physically abused. In some cases brides have been killed.



Human rights groups say disputes over dowries are often a trigger for abuse. In some cases, even after families paid dowries they faced pressure to pay more.



"Dowry demands are usually settled at the time of marriage. However, some men and their families continue to make dowry demands throughout the marriage," said Human Rights Watch, referring to the practice in the wider South Asian region.



"Women who are unable to satisfy those demands suffer threats of abandonment, beatings, cigarette burns, deprivation of food and medicine, acid attacks, and, in some cases, death," added the New York-based human rights watchdog.
document

The Ad Hoc Committee to Initiate and Introduce Legislation Amending Section 25 of the Constitution yesterday began virtual public hearings regarding the amendments to the Constitution that would see the expropriation of land without compensation.

As the hearing began, Committee Chairperson Dr Mathole Motshekga said the committee will hear oral presentations only from those individuals and organisations who had previously requested an opportunity to do so in their written submissions. "We will not reopen the process, thereby allowing other stakeholders to make oral presentations, if they had not made use of the opportunities during the public participation when it was allowed to do so."

Yesterday, the committee heard from, among others, Sakeliga, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), the South African Property Owners Association, the Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF), AgriSA and the Black Management Forum (BMF). Mr Piet le Roux from Sakeliga told the committee that the expropriation of land without compensation amounts to "confiscation", which is at odds with constitutionalism. Sakeliga and its members can never accept the recommendation of the expropriation of land without compensation. He advised the committee to rather report to Parliament that it could not find suitable wording for such an amendment. "If, however, this was allowed to continue, we would be obligated to set in motion a campaign to restore constitutionality," he warned.

Mr Matthew Parks made it clear that Cosatu is in favour of the 18th Constitution Amendment Bill in its current format. He stated that South Africa has thus far failed to address land reform. "This will compel the state to advance land reform and accelerate it. It will also address the legacies of the past and colonialism whilst at the same time protecting the rights of workers."

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines South Africa Governance Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

The South African Property Owners Association, the HSF and AfgriSA all made presentations against such an amendment. However, BMF was strongly in favour of it and urged that it be done expeditiously. At the same time, due regard should be given to protecting the economy and food security.

Dr Motshekga said all inputs would assist the committee during its deliberations on the Bill. "It was therefore important to the committee not to be doing work behind the backs of our people and rather have a public participation process. We believe strongly a peaceful resolution is better than armed conflict."

The hearings continue today.
The Centre is working on a proposal to build a double-decker flyover in steel city Jamshedpur to reduce traffic congestion in the city, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday.

Replying to a query from Jamshedpur MP Bidyut Baran Mahato during the Question Hour in Lok Sabha, Gadkari also said the total toll collection on national highways is expected to reach Rs 34,000 crore in the financial year ending March 31, 2021 despite farmers' protest on some highways from Rs 24,000 crore in 2019-20.

"I have told a good designer to design a double-decker flyover for Jamshedpur," he said.

The Centre has also proposed building a double-decker flyover connecting Chennai Port with other vital locations in Tamil Nadu at a cost of Rs 5,000 crore.

The minister also said all toll booths across the NH network will be done away with and complete GPS-based toll collection system will be rolled out.

Also read: Jhunjhunwala-backed Barbeque Nation IPO subscribed 1.6 times on day 2; retail investors portion 7.9 times

Also read: Top losers today: 5 shares fell up to 5%; Maruti, Bharti Airtel, HUL, Bajaj Auto, NTPC
New Delhi, March 25 : The Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday said that it has arrested an Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) official and two private persons for alleged bribery.

A CBI spokesperson said that EPFO Enforcement Officer Loganayaki G, posted in Tamil Nadu's Tiruppur, and Suresh of Raghavi Associates and Ramesh Babu, were arrested in connection with an alleged bribery case of Rs 4 lakh.

In the FIR, it was alleged that the Enforcement Officer was demanding undue advantage from a Chennai-based private firm official and his employee for settling the issues related with violation of the EPFO Act by a Tiruppur-based private firm.

The CBI intercepted both persons when they were coming out of the office chamber of the Enforcement Officer after paying the alleged bribe money to her. The office was also searched and unaccounted cash, totalling Rs 4 lakh, was recovered.

Loganayaki and the two were arrested, the official said. The CBI team also carried out more searches in which it recovered cash to the tune of Rs 3 lakh from the chamber of another official.

The agency carried out searches at five places in Tiruppur, Coimbatore and Chennai.

An amount of Rs 6.10 lakh cash and certain other incriminating documents were also recovered from the premises of Loganayaki.
Reporter

Mary Schenk is a reporter covering police, courts and breaking news at The News-Gazette. Her email is mschenk@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@schenk).
Prianca Shharma surprised her fans by announcing her wedding to her Belgium boyfriend Adrian Vankeirsbilck with a sweet caption. The former Splitsvilla contestant took to her Instagram to share multiple videos and pictures where Prianca Shharma's husband can be seen celebrating with her friends and family. Prianca Shharma's wedding was held privately in Mumbai in the presence of her friends and family. See Prianca Shharma's latest Instagram post here!

Prianca Shharma's wedding in Mumbai

In the first picture, Prianca Shharma's husband can be seen planting a kiss on Prianca's cheek as she smiled giddily. The next pictures are filled with snaps of their private wedding ceremony with her friends. The couple also shared a sweet picture where they both kissed each other with their masks on. The private ceremony appeared to be cheerful as the couple was all smiles with their friends in the pictures.

'We got hitched'

Prianca Shharma wrote a sweet message in the caption where she relayed her story of meeting her boyfriend, Adrian Vankeirsbilck. She wrote about how he swept her away after being with each other in the same apartment due to lockdown. Her boyfriend cycled his way from Belgium to India and managed to capture her heart after just 6 months together. Calling him her best friend, Prianca thanked the universe for teaching her to love someone so much.

Prianca Shharma shared a fun video on her Instagram video where the couple can be seen performing the marriage rites. Prianca told her followers that she loved the video particularly because her friends asked her boyfriend to bow down and he did as he was asked. Hashtagging the story 'Cutenessoverloaded', Prianca gushed about her husband. In another snapped shared by the yogini, she can be seen signing the formal wedding papers on the back of the car. Lastly, she shared a snap of her celebrating their wedding with a dinner date with her friends.

Pic Credit: Prianca Shharma Instagram.

Netizens' react to Prianca's wedding

Followers shared the actress's excitement and happiness as they flood in to congratulate her for her wedding. One fan wrote that she was a big fan of her since Splitsvilla and was happy to be a part of such a big moment of her life through Instagram. One fan also welcomed her husband to Mumbai.

Pic Credit: Prianca Shharma Instagram.

More on Prianca Shharma in Splitsvilla

The actress gained popularity from the MTV television reality show Splitsvilla and went on to work in South movies with minor roles. The actress garnered a great following on her social media platform after posting about her Yoga practice. She also shares photos of her husband and their moments together.

Promo Pic Credit: Prianca Shharma Instagram

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.
Virginia Becomes First Southern State to Abolish Death Penalty

Virginia, the state that has executed more people than any other in the nation, has abolished the death penalty. Governor Ralph Northam signed the bill into law on Wednesday, a month it was passed in the states Democrat majority House and Senate.

It is the moral thing to do, he said during the press briefing, echoing Democrat party policy. The death penalty is fundamentally flawed. Virginia becomes the first former Confederate state to get rid of capital punishment.

This is a major change because our Commonwealth has a long history with capital punishment. Over our 400-year history, Virginia has executed more than 1,300 people, more than any other state for 200 years, Northam said.

Virginia executed 113 people in the years after the U.S. Supreme Court restored states rights to enact capital punishment in 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC). In the last five decades, only Texas has executed more people than Virginia.

The Virginia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which has been lobbying against the death penalty, praised the change in the law. Our Commonwealth has executed more people than any other state under the guise of justice, but it is a racist, barbaric practice and thankfully, it ends today, the organization said in a statement on Twitter.

Opponents of capital punishment cite the possibility of executing the innocent, the disproportionate impact on different ethnicities, and the high legal and related costs as reasons to end the practise. Defendants who are black are more likely to be given death sentences, especially when their victims are white, Northam said, without mentioning details of the crimes.

We know that this Commonwealths use of capital punishment has been inequitable in the 20th century; 296 of the 377 defendants that Virginia executed for murder were black, Northam told reporters.

The governor shared the case of Earl Washington Jr., a black man who was sentenced to death in Virginia in 1984 and exonerated in 2000 by DNA evidence.

While Mr. Washington is the only person we know of rescued from Virginias death row, can we really, truly be sure that there arent others? Northam asked.

Northam, a Democrat, signed the House and Senate bills in a ceremony after touring the execution chamber at the Greensville Correctional Center, where 102 people have been killed since executions were moved there from the Virginia State Penitentiary in the early 1990s.

Two inmates currently on death row in Virginia will have their death sentences commuted to life imprisonment.

A total of 23 states have now abolished the death penalty, and three others have moratoriums in place that were imposed by their governors.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Advertisement

Michael Boren, who co-founded Clearwater Analytics, has become embroiled in a dispute with his neighbors after he allegedly constructed an airstrip on his Idaho ranch without permission

The co-founder of a billion-dollar software company has become embroiled in a dispute with his neighbors after he allegedly constructed an airstrip on his Idaho ranch without permission.

Michael Boren, who co-founded Clearwater Analytics, officially filed a permit with Custer County Planning and Zoning last month, asking them to recognize a runway and hangar that appear to have already been built at his sprawling Hell Roaring Ranch.

Boren's ranch is located within the Sawtooth National Recreation Area - a 756,000-acre space filled with stunning lakes, mountains ranges and hiking trails.

Private citizens who own land within the bounds of the National Recreation Area are subject to strict building and development guidelines established back in 1972 to preserve its 'pastoral character'.

Neighbors claim Boren has ignored those guidelines by building the runway and hangar. They worry it could set a dangerous precedent for other wealthy landowners who have recently swooped in to snap up scenic land nearby.

Photos published on a local construction website claim to show Boren's new hangar completed by January of this year. It allegedly took 30 weeks to construct and cost a total of $1.1 million.

'The problem is the fact that you're going after a conditional use permit when the project's already been developed without any approval from Planning and Zoning,' one angry neighbor told The Idaho Statesman.

Another local sternly stated: 'The Sawtooth National Recreation Area is the heart of Idaho, not a plaything for the wealthy and powerful.'

An aerial view showing the outline of Boren's sprawling Hell Roaring Ranch. It is located within the Sawtooth National Recreation Area

A graphic from Boren's proposal, submitted to the Custer County Planning and Zoning commission last month

Boren's ranch is located within the Sawtooth National Recreation Area - a 756,000-acre space filled with stunning lakes, mountains ranges and hiking trails

Private citizens who own land within the bounds of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area are subject to strict building and development guidelines established back in 1972 to preserve its 'pastoral character'

In Boren's application submitted to the Planning and Zoning commission, he states that he owns a number of separate ranches in the area and that 'small aircraft form an integral part of the ranch management plan'.

He admits to having a 'grass area occasionally used as a runway' at the ranch already, and insists that the installation of a proper runway would not increase air traffic.

Boren asserts that flights currently operate from his Hell Roaring Ranch less than a handful of times per week.

His neighbors dispute that claim, saying they frequently see his red helicopter overhead. Some say there are multiple flights per day.

On Facebook, one local is urging friends and neighbors to make their opposition to the airstrip known to the Custer County Planning and Zoning commission.

'A variety of aircraft have been observed using the strip for take offs, landings and parking, consisting of fixed wing and helicopters. Since development of the airstrip, there have been many low-level flights by Michael Boren's red helicopter above homes... This is an ongoing nuisance and a safety hazard over private lands,' they wrote.

'This airstrip would be solely for the use of a private residence but would have a large impact on the surrounding homes, wildlife and recreators enjoying the solitude of the crown jewel of Idaho... A proposal this significant should have careful planning and plenty of time for public input. Please pass this information on, let's prevent one homeowner with deep pockets from making an irreversible and negative impact on so many.'

On Facebook, one local is urging friends and neighbors to make their opposition to the airstrip known to the Custer County Planning and Zoning commission. They shared this picture purportedly showing Boren's red helicopter flying over the area

Boren co- founded Clearwater Analytics in 2004. The software company now boasts close to 1,000 employees and is reportedly valued at around a billion dollars

Boren founded Clearwater Analytics with his brother, David, back in 2004.

The software company - which is based in Boise - now boasts close to 1,000 employees. Clearwater 'aggregates, reconciles, and reports on more than $5.5 trillion in assets across thousands of accounts daily', and the company is reportedly valued at around a billion dollars.

David Boren - who graduated from Harvard Business School - has also snapped up scenic land in Idaho.

In 2016, he purchased the 1,781-acre Sawtooth Mountain Ranch. But, like his brother, he was accused of angering neighbors with his aerial activities.

Officials had approved a hiking trail from the town of Stanley to Redfish Lake which cut through part of David Boren's land.

David and Michael Boren are pictured. David Boren has also been accused of angering neighbors with his aerial activities

Officials had approved a hiking trail from the town of Stanley to Redfish Lake which cut through David Boren's Sawtooth Mountain Ranch.He was staunchly opposed to the construction of the trail and filed a federal lawsuit to stop it. Later, he was accused of harassing workers by flying low over the top of them in his helicopter

He was staunchly opposed to the construction of the trail and filed a federal lawsuit to stop it. Later, he was accused of harassing workers by flying low over the top of them in his helicopter.

Tensions between longtime locals and cashed-up businessman flooding in to the area has been rising in recent years.

According to The Idaho Statesman, demand for property in the town of Stanley, near Sawtooth National Recreaton Area, is 'surging', with 'big new luxury homes going up'.

'The whole character of the town changed when the super wealthy swooped in and scooped up all the property,' Stanely Mayor Steve Botti recently told the publication, complaining that humble log cabins have been replaced with 'statement houses'.
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.
PECO Pallet, which supplies shipping pallets to businesses across North America, is teaming up with Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo to recognize successful women in agriculture. Sarah Freys journey and the challenges she overcame are a testament to resiliency and determination, and a great leadership example for todays aspiring women farmers, ranchers and business leaders. We hope the book inspires current and future Cal Poly students. - Joe Dagnese, CEO, PECO Pallet

PECO Pallet, which operates one of the nations largest rental pallet pool networks, announced today an agreement with Cal Polys College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences, to provide a donation of 250 copies of the book The Growing Season.

Published last year by Ballantine Books, The Growing Season chronicles the tenacious journey of Sarah Frey who, determined to escape the rural poverty of her youth, at 17-years-old takes over her familys struggling farm and ultimately builds it into a billion-dollar business.

Profiled in the New York Times as the Pumpkin Queen of America, Sarah Frey is the CEO of Frey Farms, which plants thousands of acres of fruits and vegetables across seven states and sells more pumpkins than any other producer in the United States.

We are grateful for our partners in the community and their commitment to ensuring student success, said Russ Kabaker, assistant dean of advancement and external relations in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences. The books, and the message of inspiration within, will be well received by our students as they chart their own paths to success.

Joe Dagnese, chief executive of PECO Pallet, said the company was proud to support Cal Poly and provide students with a real-life success story about women in agriculture. Sarah Freys journey and the challenges she overcame are a testament to resiliency and determination, and a great leadership example for todays aspiring women farmers, ranchers and business leaders. We hope the book inspires current and future Cal Poly students.

PECO is donating the books to the College of Agriculture, Food & Environmental Sciences at Cal Poly, which is widely recognized as one of the nations premiere agricultural educational institutions. The company also provided copies of the book to its employees, and recently hosted a session in which Ms. Frey spoke to PECOs management team and shared her experiences.

PECO currently operates a North American pallet pool network encompassing more than 80 facilities and 21 million pallets. The company builds, services, delivers, and manages distribution of its red, high-quality block pallets for Americas top consumer products, grocery, beverage, agriculture and other food-related enterprises to ship goods.

About PECO Pallet, Inc.  Irvington, NY-based PECO Pallet is the North American leader in pallet rental services and provides millions of its red block pallets to major grocery and consumer goods manufacturers in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. PECO Pallets tremendous growth over the last decade reflects the companys commitment to quality and service. Customers using PECOs superior pallets experience less product damage, greater efficiency, improved safety, and significant cost savings. PECO is headquartered in Irvington, New York. For more information about PECO Pallet, please visit http://www.pecopallet.com.

About Cal Polys College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences -- Cal Poly is a nationally ranked, comprehensive polytechnic university. The universitys College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences is comprised of expert faculty members who take pride in their ability to transform academically motivated students into innovative professionals ready to solve the complex challenges associated with feeding the world in sustainable ways. Students have access to state-of-the-art laboratories, including ranch land, orchards, vineyards and forests, all of which provide the basis for Cal Polys Learn by Doing methodology. It is the fifth-largest college of agriculture in the country, with 4,000 undergraduate students.


Police and other competent law enforcement authorities issued in the past 24 hours 5,553 coronavirus fines worth a combined 1,133,640 lei, the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Policen (IGPR) informs on Thursday, according to AGERPRES.

"Over 7,100 police, together with gendarmes, border police, personnel of the Emergency Situations Inspectorate, local police, representatives of the National Veterinary and Food Safety Authority, the National Consumer Protection Authority, the Health Ministry, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, the Transport Ministry and local authorities conducted 850 actions with 74,122 entities to check on compliance with the health protection measures," the cited release states.

"The police are permanently on duty and will intervene firmly in all situations where the law is violated. For the safety of everyone, we recommend people to comply with the legal provisions for the prevention of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic," the source said.
GoLiver Therapeutics, a start-up developing cell therapy products, has just received a one million euros grant from the French Government to support investment and to boost the competitiveness of French industry.

A groundbreaking/pioneering treatment for liver diseases avoiding transplants

GoLiver Therapeutics, which has developed a biomedicine consisting of an injectable solution of allogeneic and frozen liver cells, aims to market regenerative medicine products at an affordable price and very low production cost. This 2 million investment, 50% of which is supported by France, partly finances this crucial step, and also welcomes the deployment of biomanufacturing capacities in France, which are essential for securing supplies of therapeutic solutions.

The cell therapy developed by GoLiver Therapeutics offers regenerative medicine to treat:

- Severe liver failure with no therapeutic solution other than liver transplantation, the only possible curative treatment for end-stage liver disease as for now;

- Chronic liver diseases such as Non-Alcoholic SteatoHepatitis (NASH).

By allowing patients to live without a liver transplant and with their own regenerated liver, GoLiver Therapeutics' therapeutic solution will relieve the healthcare system of its shortage of transplants and will also allow the reallocation of transplants to others. Finally, the start-up expects to drastically reduce the cost per patient.

The start-up will now scale up the production of its biomedicine in order to manufacture on a large scale and produce clinical batches. These will enable the company to advance its application for a Phase I/IIa clinical trial, for which a partnership agreement has already been signed with Paul Brousse Hospital, the leading liver transplant center in France.

"Cell therapy today is a bit like mRNA 10 years ago: great potential, but a new pharmaceutical industry had to be built, and this did not make investors dream, whereas today it has made it possible to develop the first vaccines against COVID-19 in record time. We believe that cell therapy, and pluripotent stem cells in particular, will revolutionize patient care. While we primarily focus on liver diseases, our cell therapy may offer solutions for the treatment of other organs. We hope to attract visionary and audacious investors like us" said Tuan Huy Nguyen, CEO of GoLiver Therapeutics

https://golivertx.com/

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005602/en/

Contacts:

Press

Florence Portejoie I fportejoie@fp2com.fr
You have permission to edit this article.

Edit Close
This video still frame demonstrates how Sentient Kestrel can detect and track multiple targets based on motion We developed MIDAS to provide a standards-based toolset to allow UAS operators to truly make effective use of video data to provide actionable intelligence

Kongsberg Geospatial, developer of the TerraLens Geospatial SDK, announced today that it has partnered with Sentient Vision Systems to enable real-time analysis of sensor video data from drone-based sensors, using Sentients Kestrel, an AIenabled computer vision system that provides automated object detection.

Kongsberg MIDAS (Modular ISR Data Analysis and Storage) provides a simple, powerful tool for reviewing and comparing real-time, near real-time and historical sensor data, including full-motion video (FMV). Sentient Kestrel is now integrated within MIDAS as a powerful analysis tool.

This new capability will help to enhance the effectiveness of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) that are deployed by search and rescue organizations, law enforcement, and military organizations for a variety of applications, including Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) and search and Rescue (SAR) missions.

MIDAS allows operators to examine video data in real-time, and easily compare and cross-reference it with data collected from previous missions in the same area. MIDAS seamlessly integrates with real-time tools like Sentient Kestrel for tasks like identifying a search and rescue subject under conditions where they might easily be missed  in heavily wooded areas, in poor weather, or on choppy seas.

The Kongsberg Geospatial MIDAS system is based on technology developed for the NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) project which required the storage and retrieval of vast amounts of intelligence data for later analysis by Intelligence Analysts. Kongsberg Geospatial has now packaged this functionality into a portable form factor for use by both military and civilian organizations.

Sentients Kestrel is an AI-enabled computer vision system that automatically detects objects in electro-optical (EO) and infrared (IR) video over land and maritime environments. Kestrel can detect objects down to a few pixels in size, and can dramatically increase the effectiveness of video surveillance, while reducing operator fatigue. In addition to highlighting objects in a live data feed, Kestrel provides object tracking with a visible history of movements and a predicted future path. Kestrel has been field-proven with a wide range of air platforms and has over 3,000 deployments across six continents.

We developed MIDAS to provide a standards-based toolset to allow UAS operators to truly make effective use of video data to provide actionable intelligence, said Ranald McGillis, president of Kongsberg Geospatial. With the addition of Sentients Kestrel computer vision technology, we can extend that functionality to provide a tremendously useful near real-time capability for applications like search and rescue.

We are excited that our Kestrel object detection software is now part of the Kongsberg Geospatial MIDAS system, said Dr Paul Boxer, Managing Director of Sentient Vision Systems. The combination of these industry leading solutions will enable our customers to greatly enhance real-time situational awareness, intelligence analysis and lifesaving capabilities.

More information about how MIDAS can enhance ISR and search and rescue capabilities for unmanned systems is available on the Kongsberg Geospatial product page for MIDAS.

ENDS ###

About Kongsberg Geospatial: Based in Ottawa, Canada, Kongsberg Geospatial (https://kongsberggeospatial.com) creates precision real-time software for air traffic control and UxS and situational awareness. The Companys products are primarily deployed in solutions for air-traffic control, Command and Control, and air defense. Over nearly three decades of providing dependable performance under extreme conditions, Kongsberg Geospatial has become the leading geospatial technology provider for mission-critical applications where lives are on the line. Kongsberg Geospatial is a subsidiary of Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace.

About Sentient: Sentient (https://sentientvision.com) develops and deploys computer vision technology with a focus on the development of automated detection software for EO/IR imagery. With over 3,000 systems deployed, Sentients solutions enhance the performance of EO/IR operations for many agencies and forces worldwide.
If you have an event you'd like to list on the site, submit it now!

Submit


Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, talks to people while visiting Fudao, a 19-km-long pedestrian walkway in Fuzhou, Fujian Province, March 24, 2021. Xi Jinping on Wednesday inspected the city of Fuzhou during his trip to east China's Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)



FUZHOU, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, Wednesday inspected the city of Fuzhou during his trip to east China's Fujian Province.

Xi visited Fudao, a 19-km-long pedestrian walkway, the historical and cultural block of Sanfangqixiang (Three Lanes and Seven Alleys) and RICOM, an optical lens company.

He learned about local efforts in urban planning and development and the protection of historical and cultural blocks, as well as corporate innovation and development.
SLAC and Stanford researchers have made the first atomic-scale observations of how nanocrystals known as quantum dots lose their light-producing efficiency when excited with intense light. Dots were excited with green light (top) or higher-energy purple light (bottom), and scientists watched them respond with an "electron camera," MeV-UED. When hit with green light, the dots relaxed, and excited pairs of electrons and holes converted virtually all of the incoming energy to light. But when hit with purple light, some of the energy was trapped on the surface of the dot; this distorted the arrangement of surrounding atoms and wasted energy as heat. The results have broad implications for developing future quantum and photonics technologies where light replaces electrons in computers and fluids in refrigerators. Credit: B. Guzelturk et al., Nature Communications, 25 March 2021

Bright semiconductor nanocrystals known as quantum dots give QLED TV screens their vibrant colors. But attempts to increase the intensity of that light generate heat instead, reducing the dots' light-producing efficiency.

A new study explains why, and the results have broad implications for developing future quantum and photonics technologies where light replaces electrons in computers and fluids in refrigerators, for example.

In a QLED TV screen, dots absorb blue light and turn it into green or red. At the low energies where TV screens operate, this conversion of light from one color to another is virtually 100% efficient. But at the higher excitation energies required for brighter screens and other technologies, the efficiency drops off sharply. Researchers had theories about why this happens, but no one had ever observed it at the atomic scale until now.

To find out more, scientists at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory used a high-speed "electron camera" to watch dots turn incoming high-energy laser light into their own glowing light emissions.

The experiments revealed that the incoming high-energy laser light ejects electrons from the dot's atoms, and their corresponding holesempty spots with positive charges that are free to move aroundbecome trapped at the surface of the dot, producing unwanted waste heat.

In addition, electrons and holes recombine in a way that gives off additional heat energy. This increases the jiggling of the dot's atoms, deforms its crystal structure and wastes even more energy that could have gone into making the dots brighter.

"This represents a key way that energy is sucked out of the system without giving rise to light," said Aaron Lindenberg, a Stanford University associate professor and investigator with the Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences at SLAC who led the study with postdoctoral researcher Burak Guzelturk.

"Trying to figure out what underlies this process has been the subject of study for decades," he said. "This is the first time we could see what the atoms are actually doing while excited state energy is being lost as heat."

The research team, which included scientists from SLAC, Stanford, the University of California, Berkeley and DOE's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, described the results in Nature Communications today.

Emitting a pure, brilliant glow

Despite their tiny sizethey have about the same diameter as four strands of DNAquantum dot nanocrystals are surprisingly complex and highly engineered. They emit extremely pure light whose color can be tuned by adjusting their size, shape, composition and surface chemistry. The quantum dots used in this study were invented more than two decades ago, and today they're widely used in bright, energy-efficient displays and in imaging tools for biology and medicine.

Understanding and fixing problems that stand in the way of making dots more efficient at higher energies is a very hot field of research right now, said Guzelturk, who carried out experiments at SLAC with postdoctoral researcher Ben Cotts.

Previous studies had focused on how the dots' electrons behaved. But in this study, the team was able to see the movements of whole atoms, too, with an electron camera known as MeV-UED. It hits samples with short pulses of electrons with very high energies, measured in millions of electronvolts (MeV). In a process called ultrafast electron diffraction (UED), the electrons scatter off the sample and into detectors, creating patterns that reveal what both electrons and atoms are doing.

As the SLAC/Stanford team measured the behavior of quantum dots that had been hit with various wavelengths and intensities of laser light, UC Berkeley graduate students Dipti Jasrasaria and John Philbin worked with Berkeley theoretical chemist Eran Rabani to calculate and understand the resulting interplay of electronic and atomic motions from a theoretical standpoint.

"We met with the experimenters quite often," Rabani said. "They came with a problem and we started to work together to understand it. Thoughts were going back and forth, but it was all seeded from the experiments, which were a big breakthrough in being able to measure what happens to the quantum dots' atomic lattice when it's intensely excited."

A future of light-based technology

The study was carried out by researchers in a DOE Energy Frontier Research Center, Photonics at Thermodynamic Limits, led by Jennifer Dionne, a Stanford associate professor of materials science and engineering and senior associate vice provost of research platforms/shared facilities. Her research group worked with Lindenberg's group to help develop the experimental technique for probing the nanocrystals.

The center's ultimate goal, Dionne said, is to demonstrate photonic processes, such as light absorption and emission, at the limits of what thermodynamics allows. This could bring about technologies like refrigeration, heating, cooling and energy storageas well as quantum computers and new engines for space explorationpowered entirely by light.

"To create photonic thermodynamic cycles, you need to precisely control how light, heat, atoms, and electrons interact in materials," Dionne said. "This work is exciting because it provides an unprecedented lens on the electronic and thermal processes that limit the light emission efficiency. The particles studied already have record quantum yields, but now there is a path toward designing almost-perfect optical materials." Such high light emission efficiencies could open a host of big futuristic applications, all driven by tiny dots probed with ultrafast electrons.

Explore further Cheap, nontoxic carbon nanodots poised to be quantum dots of the future

More information: Burak Guzelturk et al, Dynamic lattice distortions driven by surface trapping in semiconductor nanocrystals, Nature Communications (2021). Journal information: Nature Communications Burak Guzelturk et al, Dynamic lattice distortions driven by surface trapping in semiconductor nanocrystals,(2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22116-0
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant told the ongoing budget session of the state legislative assembly on Thursday, that the "actual value" of the loss would be ascertained after the Goa government peruses the reports submitted by a committee of chartered accounts, which had been appointed to assess the findings of the Justice M.B. Shah Commission report.

Panaji, March 25 (IANS) Eight years after a judicial commission exposed Goa's biggest scam, the Rs. 35,000 crore illegal mining scandal, the Goa government has still not been able to evaluate the exact loss caused to the state exchequer.

"Government is going as per (the) CA reports and actual value will be informed," Sawant told Opposition MLA and former Deputy Chief Minister Vijai Sardesai during Question Hour.

The mines sector in Goa, which at its peak contributed around 17 per cent to the state's Gross Domestic Product, has been plagued by scam after scam over the last decade, which has led to a complete stoppage of mining activity in the state twice since 2012.

However, the extent of the financial loss caused to the Goa government treasury by the mining scam exposed by the Shah Commission, has never been formally established, even though several figures have been doing the rounds over the years.

While the 2012 Shah Commission report, which indicted top bureaucrats, then Chief Minister Digambar Kamat and nearly all the top mining companies in the state in the scam, pegging the loss to the government at Rs. 35,000 crore, figures put out by the BJP, now the ruling party, have fluctuated erratically.

In October 2011, top state BJP leaders including late Manohar Parrikar and then BJP national president Nitin Gadkari and then Rajya Sabha MP Kirit Somaiya had met President of India Pratibha Patil and accused the incumbent Congress-led coalition government in Goa of orchestrating a Rs. 25,000 crore illegal mining scam.

"This is the biggest illegal mining scam in India at Rs.25,000 crore in just two years. Like the 2G scam, the scam money is being routed through companies set up in tax havens like Mauritius and Cayman islands," Somaiya had then maintained.

In the same year, Parrikar, then a Leader of Opposition and chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, had pegged the scam at around Rs. 3,000 crore.

Once the BJP-led coalition government came to power however, Parrikar rubbished the findings of the Shah Commission report, stating that there were inadequacies in the findings and the loss estimation in the judicial commission's report needed to be verified.

Parrikar had later appointed a committee of chartered accountants to analyse the scam-related findings of the report.

Parrikar had flip flopped once again in 2018, claiming that the extent of the scam was only between Rs. 50 crore to Rs. 100 crore, facing flak for his comments.

In the discussion during Question Hour on Thursday, Goa Forward party president Vijai Sardesai grilled Sawant over the government's sluggishness in investigating the scandal, accusing mining companies of actually running the state government's Directorate of Mines and Geology.

"There seems to be match-fixing in the mining case. The case has been dilly-dallying since 2012. Are mining companies running the Mining department?" Sardesai said.

In his response to the accusation, Sawant maintained that a Special Investigation Team formed by the state government to probe the mining scam had filed 16 First Information Reports, out of which eight cases have been chargesheeted and two cases are still under investigation.

--IANS

maya/ash
A Married At First Sight star was arrested on drugs charges prior to his appearance on this year's season of the hit reality TV show.

Fan favourite Christopher Mark Jenson, 32, faces one count of trafficking dangerous drugs - serious organised crime.

He was due to appear for a mention before Brisbane Supreme Court on Wednesday, but the matter was adjourned until April 23.

Trouble with the law: Chris Jensen was arrested on drug trafficking charges prior to his appearance on this year's season of Married At First Sight

Jensen had previously been granted Supreme Court Bail, The Courier Mail reported.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia on Thursday, Queensland Courts and the Department of Justice and Attorney-General confirmed the charges.

He was arrested alongside three co-accused, who are all facing similar charges.

A Brisbane Magistrates Court spokesman told The Courier Mail Jensen last appeared in court before on October 30, 2020, after being granted magistrates bail in 2018.

Busted: According to a report by The Courier Mail on Thursday, the 32-year-old fan favourite faces one count of trafficking dangerous drugs - serious organised crime

During his last appearance his bail was enlarged, and the matter was adjourned to July 23.

Jenson also faces single charges of possessing dangerous drugs, possessing anything used in commission of a crime, possessing used utensils or pipes and two counts of possessing property suspected of being proceeds of an offence under the Drugs Misuse Act.

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Channel Nine for additional comment.

Chris was a late-comer to this year's series, and was paired with bride Jaimie Gardner on the hit Channel Nine reality show.

Hit and miss: Chris was a late-comer to this year's series, and was paired with bride Jaimie Gardner on the hit Channel Nine reality show

The two failed to form a connection though, and opted to leave the series during Monday night's episode.

'I came in here to give my heart and to put everything in and I did,' he said after deciding to quit the experiment.

'I hope that I will actually find the one that I'm supposed to be with and they just want to be with me, too.'

Chris posted about his experience on the show on Instagram on Monday, and said he has 'so much to offer and so much love to give the woman that chooses me'.

'My #MAFS journey ends I know my worth and the quality of man I am. I won't settle for anything less,' he wrote.
Disturbing new details have emerged about a mass shooting in the small Colorado city of Boulder that has yet again rocked the US.

Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 21, has been charged with 10 counts of murder in connection with the deadly attack at a grocery store but his motive remains unclear, US authorities say.

Police said he was in a stable condition after suffering a leg wound in an exchange of gunfire with responding police officers at the King Soopers outlet in Boulder, about 45km northwest of Denver, on Monday afternoon.

Ahmad Alissa has been charged with 10 counts of murder. Source: AFP

The 10 victims, whose names were released at a Tuesday morning news conference, range in age from 20 to 65 and include Eric Talley, an 11-year veteran of the Boulder police force and dad of seven.

A police affidavit revealed Alissa purchased a Ruger AR-556 semiautomatic pistol just six days before the deadly shooting. It is unclear if the weapon was used in the attack.

He was known to the FBI for his links to another person under investigation, officials revealed.

Shooter's first words to police

Immediately following his arrest, Alissa refused to answer questions, however made a request to speak to family.

Police cordon off the King Soopers grocery store where a shooting took place. Source: AP

The suspect did not answer questions, though he asked to speak to his mother, the affidavit said.

The document revealed grisly details of his alleged actions during the shooting. It states Alissa shot an elderly man in the supermarket's car park before walking up to him, standing over him and shooting him several more times.

He had stripped off all his clothing bar a pair of shorts, including a green tactical vest.

Dramatic helicopter footage showed Alissa being apprehended by police as blood poured from his leg wound.

Another video shot by one of the people in the store showed several bodies lying motionless in the car park as the man called for others to call 911.

A photo of Alissa provided by the Boulder Police Department. Source: AP

Police officer's wish before tragic death

Talley, 51, was the father of seven children and had recently been looking for a less dangerous job, according to a statement released by his father.

Story continues

He was discovered by SWAT members with a gunshot wound to the head.

Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold described his death as "tragic". She said he had seven children aged between five and 18.

"He loved this community. And he was everything that policing deserves and needs. He cared about this community.

He was willing to die to protect others.

Residents paid tribute to Talley by placing flowers on and surrounding his police vehicle outside Boulder Police station.

Police identified the nine other victims as Denny Strong, 20; Neven Stanisic, 23; Rikky Olds, 25; Tralona Bartkowiak, 49; Suzanne Fountain, 59; Teri Leiker, 51; Kevin Mahoney, 61; Lynn Murray, 62; and Jody Waters, 65.

This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it.

Second mass shooting in the US in just a week

The bloodshed marked the country's second mass shooting in a week.

A gunman went on a killing spree on March 16 in the Atlanta area, fatally shooting eight people at three day spas before he was arrested.

Investigators said they were confident Alissa had acted alone although they did not offer any details on what might have motivated the massacre.

"It would be premature for us to draw any conclusions at this time," Michael Schneider, the agent in charge of the FBI's field office in Denver, said at a news briefing.

Alissa was later released from the hospital on Tuesday and transported to jail to await an initial court appearance, officials said.

Monday's attack, which began about 2.40pm, drew hundreds of police officers to the scene and sent terrified shoppers and employees fleeing for safety amid the sound of gunfire.

The shooting added to the Rocky Mountain state's tragic list of mass killings that include some of the most shocking episodes of gun violence in US history including the 2012 mass shooting at a movie theatre in Aurora and the 1999 rampage at Columbine High School near Littleton.

"My heart aches today," Governor Jared Polis said on Tuesday.

"Flags had barely been raised back to full-mast after the tragic shooting in Atlanta that claimed eight lives, and now a tragedy here close to home at a grocery store that could be any of our neighbourhood grocery stores."

President Joe Biden said he was "devastated" by the shooting and called on Congress not to wait another minute to push through legislation to ban assault rifles.

With Reuters

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.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 25, 2021) - Hornby Bay Mineral Exploration Ltd. (TSXV: HBE) (OTC: HBEXF) ("HBE" or the "Company") announces that further to its press release of December 3, 2020, the Company has entered into an amending agreement (the "Amending Agreement") with Frank Guillemette, Jonathan Girard and Jean-Francois Girard (collectively, the "Vendors') amending and extending the outside date of the definitive share purchase agreement dated November 30, 2020 (the "Definitive Agreement"), between the Vendors and the Company, to May 6, 2021. Pursuant to the Definitive Agreement, the Company will purchase from the Vendors all of the issued and outstanding common shares in the capital of 9396-1217 Quebec Inc. ("Holdco"), whose sole asset is 100% of the common shares in the capital of 9220-5392 Quebec Inc., whose sole asset is 100% of the common shares in the capital of 9220-5392 Quebec Inc. o/a Mines Royales Quebec ("MRQ") (the "Proposed Transaction"). MRQ holds an option to acquire a 100% interest in the Philibert property (the "Philibert Property") located in Quebec's Chibougamau mining camp.

In addition, the Company wishes to provide an update with respect to the Proposed Transaction. The Company has filed the filing statement and the accompanying documents with the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") and are awaiting comments. In connection with the Proposed Transaction, the Company has applied for a waiver of sponsorship requirements pursuant to the policies of the TSXV.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

"Fred Leigh"

For further information, please contact:

Fred Leigh, President & CEO of Hornby Bay Mineral Exploration Ltd.

Phone: 416-861-5933

Email: info@hornbybay.com

THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

Completion of the transaction contemplated by the Definitive Agreement is subject to a number of conditions, including but not limited to, TSXV acceptance and, if applicable, disinterested shareholder approval. The transaction cannot close until the required shareholder approval is obtained. There can be no assurance that the contemplated transaction will be completed as proposed or at all. Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the management information circular or filing statement to be prepared in connection with the transaction, any information released or received with respect to the contemplated transactions may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities of the Company should be considered highly speculative. The TSXV has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Further details of the transaction contemplated by the Definitive Agreement will be included in subsequent news releases and disclosure documents to be filed by the Company.

The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements relate to information that is based on assumptions of management, forecasts of future results, and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. Any statements that express predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: risks related to failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis and on acceptable terms; risks related to the outcome of legal proceedings; political and regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration; risks related to the maintenance of stock exchange listings; risks related to environmental regulation and liability; the potential for delays in exploration or development activities or the completion of feasibility studies; the uncertainty of profitability; risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; risks related to the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses; results of prefeasibility and feasibility studies, and the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations; risks related to commodity price fluctuations; and other risks and uncertainties related to the Company's prospects, properties and business detailed elsewhere in the Company's disclosure record. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. 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. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations or projections.

NOT FOR DISSEMINATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/78583
AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Thursday that hes hoping to increase the number of Texans getting COVID-19 vaccines after seeing a drop in people showing up for the shot.

He said that a state program focusing on getting seniors vaccinated is expanding from rural areas to more populated ones, like Hidalgo County in South Texas. Through the program, drive-thru vaccine clinics are set up or vaccines are given directly to homebound seniors.

He said that the significant number of seniors who are already vaccinated has led to an ongoing downward trend in the number of hospitalized people in the state.

On Thursday, the state reported that 3,410 people were hospitalized. That number has been falling since soaring past 14,000 for a couple of days in January.

___

THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:

VACCINES: More than 87.3 million people, or 26.3% of the U.S. population, have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some 47.4 million people, or 14% of the population, have completed their vaccination.

CASES: The seven-day rolling average for daily new cases in the U.S. increased over the past two weeks from 56,315 on March 10 to 57,531 on Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University.

DEATHS: The seven-day rolling average for daily new deaths in the U.S. decreased over the past two weeks decreased from 1,424 on March 10 to 977 on Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University.

 Biden doubles goal of COVID vaccines to 200 million doses

 Britain prolongs coronavirus emergency measures for six months

 Follow APs pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic, https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak

___

HERES WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

OLYMPIA, Wash. - Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday reduced the COVID-19 social distancing requirements for K-12 classrooms in the state from 6 feet to 3 feet as more schools in the state begin to open up.

Story continues

At a news conference Inslee said the new guidance was consistent with direction from federal health authorities and that, for now, schools had the option to maintain the 6-foot rule. However the Democrat said by this summer and fall no classrooms should still be at the more stringent standard.

Inslee has for weeks been pushing to return students to the classroom, saying remote learning hasnt worked for many children.

He had previously said all public schools in Washington will be required to offer students an in-person learning option by April  with school districts having to meet an average of at least 30% weekly in-class instruction by April 19.

___

BUCHAREST, Romania  Romanian authorities announced Thursday that Easter celebrations in the deeply Christian country will go ahead in person this year, even though Romania is battling a surge of COVID-19 infections that is threatening to overwhelm its hospitals.

The announcement came after Prime Minister Florin Citu of the National Liberal Party met with religious representatives to discuss potential solutions for worshipers to observe Easter celebrations and attend church during the pandemic.

The solution that we are going with is to adapt the timeframe of restrictions so believers can physically attend the Resurrection Service or the holidays of each religious group and still respect health and safety rules, Citu said.

Romania is one of Europes most religious countries. About 85% of its more than 19 million people identify as Orthodox and around 4.5% are Catholic. Easter this year falls on May 2 for the Orthodox and April 4 for Catholics.

The Easter Service is one of the most important dates in the Christian calendar. On the night of the Resurrection, Romanian Orthodox worshipers attend a service at midnight when they receive the Holy Light.

The Easter announcement came as Romania this week reported its highest number of daily COVID-19 infections in three months and hospital intensive care units recorded their highest numbers of patients since the start of the pandemic. Romania has recorded over 22,700 deaths in the pandemic.

___

JUNEAU, Alaska  The state health department is floating the idea of providing COVID-19 vaccinations to travelers at Alaskas busiest airports with the summer tourism and fishing seasons looming.

The department released a request for information Wednesday, seeking to determine interest among potential contractors to provide a one-dose vaccine to interested travelers in a secure section of the airports in Anchorage, Juneau, Fairbanks and Ketchikan.

The state health department request asks interested contractors to provide staffing plans and estimates for what they think it would cost to administer the program.

___

OKLAHOMA CITY  The Oklahoma State Department of Health lacked sufficient contact tracing data to measure the spread of COVID-19 in the state and help communities make data-driven policy decisions, according to a draft report released Thursday by a legislative watchdog.

The 68-page report by the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency also found that data collected by the state was either lacking in substance, withheld, misaligned, or never developed for public consumption.

OSDH contact tracing efforts failed to keep pace with the growing spread and exposure of COVID-19, the report states. From September 24th to December 23rd, contacts being monitored by OSDH decreased by 65% while number of positive COVID-19 cases increased by 205% during the same period.

The goal of contact tracing is to alert people who may have been exposed to someone with the coronavirus, and prevent them from spreading it to others. Health experts say contact tracing is key to containing the virus and allowing places to reopen more safely.

In response to the report, Oklahomas Interim Health Commissioner Dr. Lance Frye acknowledged the challenge the agency faced responding to the pandemic was overwhelming.

No doubt there were a multitude of challenges with contact tracing in Oklahoma, the United States and throughout the world over the course of the COVID-19 response, Frye said. Experts have noted that by May 2020, contact tracing cases were overwhelmed in the United States due to rising cases. To evaluate the states response based entirely on contact tracing ignores key components of our multifaceted public health response.

___

RALEIGH, N.C.  The governor of North Carolina has announced all residents who are at least 16 years old will qualify for a COVID-19 vaccine starting April 7. Meanwhile, essential workers not yet vaccinated can get their shot starting March 31.

State health officials and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper bumped up the distribution timeline as lack of demand has prompted some counties to already administer doses to the general public. The state also received reassurances on Tuesday that it would soon see increased vaccine supply from the federal government.

The state Department of Health and Human Services said nearly 1 in 3 North Carolina adults have been at least partially vaccinated since the state first began administering doses in December 2020.

Over the next three weeks, North Carolina is adjusting its strategy to give more doses from its weekly supply to counties that have a smaller share of residents vaccinated. Distributions were previously shipped based on a countys overall population size.

___

PHOENIX  The governor of Arizona is prohibiting government mask mandates and allowing bars and nightclubs shuttered for months to open their doors without restrictions.

Republican Gov. Doug Duceys move leaves in place few of the restrictions he implemented to curb the spread of the coronavirus. His order still allows businesses to enforce mask mandates if they want, but cities, towns and counties must lift theirs.

Restrictions on gatherings of 50 or more people also were lifted, but organizers are required to encourage safety precautions like social distancing.

Ducey cites rising vaccination rates and the opening of vaccine appointments to all adults, as well as a declining number of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations.

___

SANTA ANA, Calif.  California is expanding vaccine eligibility to anyone 50 and over starting in April and anyone 16 and over on April 15.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state expects to receive 2.5 million doses a week in the first half of April and more than 3 million a week in the second half of the month. Thats a big jump from the roughly 1.8 million doses a week the state is currently getting.

The move comes as some California counties have veered away from the states vaccine eligibility criteria by opening up the shots for people with a broader range of medical conditions and at younger ages than the 65 and over required in most counties.

___

WASHINGTON  President Joe Biden is doubling his original goal on COVID-19 vaccines by pledging the nation will administer 200 million doses by the end of his first 100 days in office.

The administration had met Bidens initial goal of 100 million doses before his 60th day in office  as the president pushes to defeat a pandemic that has killed more than 545,000 Americans and devastated the nations economy.

Biden can point to a surge in vaccine distribution, encouraging signs in the economy and the financial and other benefits Americans will receive from the sweeping stimulus package.

___

PHOENIX  Arizona on Thursday reported 138 confirmed coronavirus cases, the smallest daily increase reported in more than six months.

The cases and the 32 deaths reported increased Arizonas pandemic totals to 837,907 confirmed cases and 16,874 confirmed deaths.

The state reported 81 cases on Sept. 8. The highest daily cases reached as high as 17,000 last year.

Arizonas rolling average of daily new cases dropped from 1,239 on March 9 to 503 on Tuesday while the rolling average of daily deaths declined from 52 to 36 during the same period.

___

LONDON  British lawmakers have agreed to prolong coronavirus emergency measures for six months, allowing the Conservative government to keep powers to restrict U.K. citizens everyday lives.

The House of Commons voted to extend the powers until September and approved a road map for gradually easing Britains strict lockdown over the next three months.

Prime Minister Boris Johnsons large majority in Parliament guaranteed success but some Conservative lawmakers say the economic, democratic and human costs of the restrictions outweighed the benefits.

The Coronavirus Act, passed a year ago as Britain went into lockdown, gives authorities powers to bar protests, shut businesses, restrict travel and detain people suspected of having the virus.

Britain has recorded more than 126,000 coronavirus deaths, the highest toll in Europe. The U.K. says its vaccination program has given at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to more than half the adult population.

___

GENEVA  The U.N.-backed program to ship COVID-19 vaccines worldwide has announced supply delays for up to 90 million doses from an Indian manufacturer.

Its a major setback for the ambitious rollout aimed to help low- and middle-income countries fight the pandemic. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, says the delays come as India is facing a surge of coronavirus infections that will increase domestic demands on the Serum Institute of India, a pivotal vaccine maker behind the COVAX program.

The move will affect up to 40 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines being manufactured by the Serum Institute that were to be delivered for COVAX this month, as well as 50 million expected next month.

Gavi, which runs COVAX jointly with the World Health Organization and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, has already distributed 31 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Theres been 28 million from the Serum Institute and another 3 million from a South Korean contractor producing the vaccine.

___

NEW YORK  New York City is taking steps toward the reopening of the citys theaters, creating vaccination and testing sites for stage workers in a bid to restore a key part of New Yorks draw.

Its time to raise the curtain and bring Broadway back, Mayor Bill de Blasio said during a virtual press conference Thursday. The mayor says the city will set up dedicated vaccination sites specifically for the theater community and the theater industry.

A statement from The Broadway League says, vaccination and testing sites for theatre workers are a great step towards recovery. De Blasio says the city needs state guidance on issues like whether audiences need to bring proof of vaccination.

___

BERLIN  Germany will require negative coronavirus test results from all travelers entering the country from abroad by plane, the health ministry announced Thursday.

Travelers will need to show the negative test result, no older than 48 hours, before boarding the airplane. If they refuse to get tested, airline carriers will no longer take the travelers to Germany. The new testing will start Sunday and last until May 12.

Only travelers arriving from regions Germany deemed as high-risk areas in the pandemic had been asked to show negative tests results. Now the test obligation expands to all plane travelers from aboard.

The blanket testing requirement doesnt include travelers entering Germany by car or other means of transportation. There are currently different regulations depending on the infection rate of the country.

___

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia  Cambodia says it will train dogs to detect the presence of the coronavirus in humans.

Heng Ratana, director general of the Cambodian Mine Action Center, said on his Facebook page that Prime Minister Hun Sen suggested his agency work with the Health Ministry on training the dogs. The initiative comes as Cambodia is fighting a third wave of coronavirus infections.

Heng Ratana says his agencys trainers, with 22 years of experience handling dogs to sniff out land mines, would have no problem teaching dogs to sniff out the coronavirus.

Tests using dogs to detect the virus are reported to have a high success rate, often above 90%. Dogs have been used in pilot projects at airports in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and Helsinki, Finland.

___

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.  Florida will open eligibility requirements to anyone 18 and older on April 5, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday.

Starting Monday, the eligibility requirement for getting the vaccine will drop from 50 to 40, the governor said.

DeSantis urged people interested in getting the vaccine to pre-register online. There is also vaccine pre-registration phone number in each county for anyone who doesnt have online access.

The vaccines are also available at most CVS, Wal-Mart and Sams Club locations, along with Winn Dixie and Publix pharmacies across Florida. The vaccine is expected to be available soon at statewide Walgreens pharmacies.

___
For Immediate Release Singapore, 25 March 2021 GoldSilver Central celebrates her 10th Anniversary and launched an Anniversary microsite and e-book to commemorate this occasion GoldSilver Central announced today that she has achieved a significant milestone: 10 years in business. GoldSilver Central (GSC) was officially founded in 2011, Singapores home grown Precious Metals bullion dealer. As a homegrown bullion dealer promoting the Singapore market, GoldSilver Central has been steadily contributing to the growth of 
NEW DELHI : The government on Wednesday informed the Parliament that 7,890 Indian citizens are logged in various jails of several foreign countries as of February 2021 and more than half of them are prisoners in Gulf countries where they went in search of better employment.

Minister of State for Ministry of External Affairs V. Muraleedharan said with 1,570 prisoners, Saudi Arabia has the highest number of convicts and under-trials of Indian origin followed by United Arab Emirates (UAE) with 1,292 Indian inmates. 460 Indian citizens are currently lodged in prisons of Kuwait, 439 in Qatar, 178 in Bahrain, 70 in Iran and 49 in Oman, the minister added.

The minister further said nearly 2,000 Indian citizens are logged in various jails of seven neighboring countries. The maximum of them (886) are in different jails of Nepal, followed by 524 in Pakistan, 157 in China, 123 in Bangladesh, 91 in Bhutan, 67 in Sri Lanka and 65 in Myanmar.

Muraleedharan further said 267 Indian citizens are lodged in various jails of the US and 373 in the UK. Singapore and Malaysia have 409 and 71 Indian national lodged in their prisons respectively. Philippines has 41, Thailand has 23 and Indonesia has 20 Indians lodged in their jails, the minister added.

The minister said Indian Missions closely monitor the incidents of Indian nationals being put in jail in foreign countries for violation of local laws or alleged violation of local laws. Apart from extending them all possible consular assistance, the Indian Missions also assist in providing legal aid wherever needed.

There is a regular process of consultation and coordination with countries concerned on the issue of repatriation of Indian nationals in foreign prisons including in the context of bilateral agreements for Transfer of Sentenced Persons, the minister added.

Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.
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.
stefanamer/iStockBy IVAN PEREIRA and SONY SALZMAN, ABC News

(NEW YORK) -- A report released Wednesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provided additional details into how the earliest months of the coronavirus pandemic disproportionately affected minorities.



The study found that as COVID-19 cases in the U.S. increased during the spring and summer, counties with larger populations of minority residents saw more of them.



During the first two weeks of April, just over 11% of U.S. counties, mostly in the Northeast and the South, were heavily affected by the novel coronavirus, according to the report. During that same time, 29% of communities with large Asian populations and 28% of communities with large Black populations were impacted.



In early August, when about two-thirds of all U.S. counties were seriously affected, 92% of those with large Black populations and 75% of those with large Hispanic populations were, the report said.



Counties with "large" minority populations were those that contained more residents of a certain racial or ethnic group than is represented by nationwide demographics.



"Inequities in social, economic and environmental conditions among racial and ethnic minority groups lead to disparities in health risks and outcomes, including those related to COVID-19," the report said.



During the December rise in cases, the virus was widespread throughout all counties, according to the CDC.



Researchers said the new report adds to the agency's prior surveys and analysis that have shown how the pandemic has greatly affected minority Americans.



The report said national, state and local health offices need to direct their efforts to curb cases in these communities and emphasize practices such as social distancing, mask-wearing and expanded vaccination programs.



Copyright  2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 16:13:25|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

BEIJING, March 25 (Xinhua) -- "Guilin's scenery is peerless in the world, and the high level of China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era is also the best in the world."

This is how Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi commented on China-Russia relations after he met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in China's southern city of Guilin. It is also an apt description of the relationship between the two countries amid a time of turbulence.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the signing of the China-Russia Treaty of Good-neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation. Over the past 20 years, this treaty has laid a solid legal foundation for the long-term and healthy development of China-Russia relations.

One of the most important results of the meeting between Wang and Lavrov in Guilin is an agreement to renew the treaty between the two sides and to make it more relevant in the new era.

The meeting has also demonstrated the new heights, new ideas and new results of China-Russia cooperation.

The Guilin meeting is of particular importance against the backdrop of a lingering pandemic and growing global uncertainties. It is also a further confirmation of the commitment of the two countries to strengthening bilateral relations.

The reason why China-Russia relations have withstood the test of changes in international situation and become a stable force in today's world lies in the fact that the two sides always pursue a principle of non-alignment, non-confrontation and non-targeting of third parties.

Besides, they always respect each other's core interests and accommodate each other's legitimate concerns, always act responsibly and uphold justice, and firmly safeguard the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order based on international law.

Just as Lavrov said ahead of his trip to China, "the model of interaction between Russia and China is absolutely free from any ideological constraints. It is of an intrinsic nature, not subject to any opportunistic factors nor against any third country."

In the spirit of such principles, cooperation between China and Russia has injected valuable stability and positive energy into the global community.

As two permanent members of the UN Security Council, the two sides also shoulder their due responsibilities in safeguarding security and development of the international community, and promoting the improvement of the current global governance system.

After the talks in Guilin, the two sides issued a joint statement on several issues of current global governance, expounding the essence of major concepts such as human rights, democracy, international order, and multilateralism, which reflected the collective demands of the international community, especially developing countries.

The more unstable the world is, the greater the need for closer China-Russia cooperation. China and Russia should continue to work together and turn their relationship into a pillar of world peace and stability. Enditem
First agrivoltaic solar project in Maine to support state's wild blueberry farmers and generate clean energy for local communities

BOSTON, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- BlueWave Solar, a Boston-based leading solar developer and community solar service provider, announced today the sale of a 4.2 MW, 10 acre agrivoltaic solar project on a wild (lowbush) blueberry farm in Rockport, Maine to Navisun, a solar power producer that owns and operates distributed and small utility-scale solar projects.

Having successfully developed over 130 MW of solar in Massachusetts since 2010, including driving innovation in community solar and dual-use development, BlueWave is excited to be developing the first agrivoltaic dual-use project in Maine, combining solar and agriculture by positioning solar panels above an existing wild blueberry farm field. Under the terms of the acquisition, Navisun will own and operate the completed project which is expected to complete construction in June.

"Achieving the promised benefits of an alternative income source for farmers while maintaining crop production requires thoughtful design," said Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Commissioner Amanda Beal. " We applaud Bluewave for their innovative partnership with the University of Maine to undergo this study so it can serve as an educational resource for wild blueberry growers who might be interested in pursuing co-development of a similar type of solar project in the future."

Conducted in partnership with wild blueberry growers, specialist networks, and the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, the Rockport project includes an agricultural research plot to study how wild blueberry cultivation performs within a solar array. The study will showcase best practices in agricultural solar construction and operation and inform a new path forward for Maine's wild blueberry farmers. One of the many project innovations will include manufacturing custom equipment to be used within the rows of solar panels for wild blueberry management. This equipment, funded by BlueWave, will benefit not only the Rockport project, but potentially enable the farming of other, small, hard-to-cultivate wild blueberry fields in the state.

Story continues

"Sustainable solar development is at the core of everything BlueWave does, but with this project, we aimed to look beyond the traditional definition of dual-use solar to set a new standard for the industry and explore the full potential of what agrivoltaics has to offer for the agricultural sector," said Alan Robertson, Senior Director of Solar Development at BlueWave Solar. "We're thrilled that Navisun and the many partners we're working with share our passion to do right by the land and see the value in the emerging agrivoltaics market."

"The potential for this project to pave the way in providing farmers with alternative income streams while still producing the iconic Maine wild blueberry is exciting and we're thrilled to be a part of it," said Lily Calderwood, University of Maine Cooperative Extension Wild Blueberry Specialist. "We will be closely monitoring soil quality and moisture in addition to crop production throughout the course of our work in hopes of ultimately creating a new playbook for today's wild blueberry farmer."

Dual-use solar provides blueberry farmers with the ability to diversify income as well as the potential to improve yield by providing more favorable growing conditions, in turn, improving the vitality of this important business sector for the state.

"I'm hopeful that this effort will help enhance crop production and our ability to work the land for years to come," said Paul Sweetland, the site's farmer. "Beyond the benefits to the land, I'm happy to be a part of a project that's producing clean energy for those around us."

The agricultural research plot will occupy 5 acres of the total project space and the remaining acreage will be a traditional community solar plot. Navisun will take over operation of the community solar farm which will generate clean energy for the local community and allow residents to achieve savings on their utility bills.

"The Rockport project is an excellent example of how Navisun works to develop long-term, successful partnerships between collaborators like BlueWave and our host communities," said John Malloy, Managing Partner and Co-founder of Navisun. "Local farmers, businesses, and the burgeoning agrivoltaic industry as a whole will see significant benefits from this important sustainable solar project."

"Projects like this are great examples of how research, innovation and partnerships are driving Maine's clean energy economy," said Dan Burgess, director of the Governor's Energy Office. "By complementing existing agricultural practices, especially Maine's iconic wild blueberry industry, this project shows how renewable energy can help support our state's heritage industries, expand our clean energy generation, and create new economic opportunities across Maine."

About BlueWave Solar

BlueWave Solar is on a mission to revolutionize energy with simple, powerful solar solutions. As a pioneering solar developer, BlueWave has built more than 155 MW of solar projects to date. As built, these projects collectively generate enough solar energy to avoid roughly 119,490 metric tons of carbon emissions annually. A certified B Corp, BlueWave Solar has received national recognition for its work to protect the planet, including being named the Clean Energy Company of the Year in 2018 by the Northeast Clean Energy Council, one of the top 100 Impact Companies in the United States for each of the last two years as rated by Real Leaders Magazine, and a leading growth company by Inc. Magazine and the Boston Business Journal.

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bluewave-solar-announces-sale-of-innovative-maine-agrivoltaic-solar-project-to-navisun-301255414.html

SOURCE BlueWave Solar
Charleston, WV (25301)

Today

Chance of an isolated thunderstorm early, then variable clouds overnight with more showers at times. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 61F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Chance of an isolated thunderstorm early, then variable clouds overnight with more showers at times. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 61F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 14:20:20|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

COTONOU, March 25 (Xinhua) -- The Beninese government said Wednesday that it will launch a nationwide immunization campaign against COVID-19 on Monday.

The campaign will target primarily health workers, people with co-morbidity and those aged 60 and above, said the government in a statement.

"Thanks to the COVAX facility, the Chinese cooperation and the domestic resource mobilization, the government has made vaccines available, especially the AstraZeneca vaccines and the Chinese Sinovac vaccines", said the statement.

According to the World Health Organization, Benin has so far registered a total of 7,100 COVID-19 cases with 90 deaths. The country reported its first case on March 16, 2020. Enditem

The foreign affairs department is alert to concerns about a new Chinese consulate in Adelaide, which has raised eyebrows over its size and staffing levels.

South Australian Liberal senator Alex Antic told Senate estimates the consulate had caused angst among local residents.

'There are, as we understand it, 12 foreign national staff working in what is a state of 1.7 million people with a significant defence project footprint and a significant Uighur population,' he said on Thursday.

The foreign affairs department is alert to concerns about a new Chinese consulate in Adelaide, which has raised eyebrows over its size and staffing levels

South Australian Liberal senator Alex Antic told Senate estimates the consulate had caused angst among local residents

'Does that not cause any alarm bells to ring?'

Conservative Liberals Eric Abetz and Concetta Fierravanti-Wells also quizzed Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials at the hearing.

DFAT secretary Frances Adamson said she fully understood the concerns of senators and residents.

'We are alert to as a government, as an agency within the government, both our obligations under the Vienna Convention and to the points that each of you are making,' she said.

'This is a matter of, if you like, active consideration on our part.'

There are about 30,000 Chinese citizens in Adelaide but there has been speculation the consular presence could intimidate the Uighur population, which is Australia's largest.

Ms Adamson said DFAT examined a country's needs to service citizens when establishing consulates.

'On the basis of that alone, yes it looks on the large size but it is not on its own a matter of concern,' he said.

DFAT officer Ian McConville said Australia was obliged to accept applications for diplomatic missions under the Vienna Convention. Pictured: Chinese President Xi Jinping

She described it as a 'normal Chinese footprint', but said if staff engaged in any behaviour contrary to Australia's interests or their roles it would be a concern.

DFAT officer Ian McConville said Australia was obliged to accept applications for diplomatic missions under the Vienna Convention.

He said Australia had a significantly larger cohort of staff in China than the reverse.

Meanwhile, consular officials continue to visit Australian citizens Cheng Lei and Yang Hengjun in detention in China.

Ms Cheng, a TV anchor accused of leaking state secrets, was visited on Wednesday, while Mr Yang, a writer charged with spying, is due to be seen on Thursday.
The Technology Incubation Centre in Ekiti has begun the mass production of energy-saving LED bulbs, the manager of the federal government-owned centre, Fasan Babatola, has said.

He said during a media tour of the centre that the production was achieved in collaboration with AB Tech Electronics, one of its 30 entrepreneurs, currently located at the centre where they were currently camped and conducting research to proffer solutions to some of the nations problems.

According to him, the LED bulbs, which come in both screw and pin forms, are in 3 W, 5 W and 9 W capacities, aimed at addressing energy conservation for homes and businesses.

He disclosed that raw materials for the mass production of the energy saving bulbs abound in large quantity, and that it was also commercially viable, as every home needs electric bulbs, especially energy saving ones

We are even going into mass production now. I can assure that we can roll out hundreds of thousands of these products within months.

We can also assure that the energy saving LED bulb production is sustainable because everyone and all nations are trying to conserve power and Nigeria is not an exception, he said.

He explained that both the entrepreneurs and the centre were expecting fairly good profits on the project, after executing their different lines of actions.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the TIC, an agency of the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, had also commenced the production of rechargeable bulbs and electrical insulators.

Mr Babatola explained that the terms of the TICs partnership with the entrepreneurs was to camp them and incubate their products in its premises, provide technical expertise, mentor, as well as nurture them to maturity.

However, in order to qualify, he said, such entrepreneurs must have first registered with the agency under its open mentorship scheme, aimed at encouraging technological growth of the country, tackling employment and empowering businesses to grow.

The Centre manager also disclosed that 29 other product lines being undertaken at the centre, were currently operational, cutting across different spheres of the economy.

He listed some of them to include Asbestos Free ceiling tiles, Electrical insulators, simple agricultural equipment, dry foods processing, yoghurt production, Zobo fortified drink production, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, as well as animal feeds production.

Others are wall bracket design, herbal ulcer production, cocoyam flour production, castor oil, potato and beans flower production, plantain chips, as well as local rice processing.

The manager also said SON and other regulatory agencies certification were being processed for the products.

Mr Babatola appealed to the state government to provide the centre with a bigger transformer, to increase electricity supply, as well as establish an industrial park in the state to enable the Centre accommodate more entrepreneurs as its current premises was not enough to accommodate the high number of willing investors.

He also called on the federal government to consider creating a special dedicated fund for entrepreneurs under incubation, and also help address the centres mobility problems.

Three entrepreneurs, Tope Popoola, Olori Popoola and Francis Olukayode, who spoke to NAN, expressed gratitude to the federal government for providing such a platform, to facilitate the growth of investments and realisation of visions.

(NAN)

ADVERTISEMENT
The past 12 months have been extraordinary. An unexpected pandemic provided sudden and immediate challenges. Unlike the huge mistakes the government made in responding to the crash of 2008, this time the fiscal response was correct. The focus was on protecting jobs and services and ensuring a minimum standard of living could be maintained.

People generally worked together very effectively. This happened at various levels, ranging from essential workers in healthcare, retail and transport to local organisations who responded so generously to the community call. They sought to ensure that nobody, especially vulnerable people, were forgotten.

Mistakes were made, especially where nursing homes were concerned, but these were mitigated as far as possible in due course. Plans were developed. People responded. Changes, some of which were dramatic, were delivered.

The common good featured in planning and delivery. The State, the only institution with the required capacity to address the pandemic, expanded to meet the task.

Having experienced the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and with the vaccination programme being rolled out, many are now reflecting on what the future holds. They are thinking about what future we should be working for  the plans and approaches most likely to be effective against the challenges facing Ireland and the wider world.

This reflection goes far beyond the immediate response to the pandemic. Many believe Covid-19 exposed weaknesses that already existed, while the response to it showed that Government could expand and adjust as required to protect society and the economy.

The approach taken did not mean a choice between protecting the economy and protecting society. Both were addressed simultaneously, something Social Justice Ireland has been advocating for decades.

There is widespread agreement on the immediate policy challenges Ireland faces. This includes a totally inadequate supply of social housing, a two-tier healthcare system, climate change, growing inequality, homelessness, and environmental goals not being met, to name but a few.

It also needs to be recognised that all of these challenges, and more, preceded the Covid-19 pandemic. There have been some improvements  although not as many as was possible  in poverty and similar policy areas over the past number of years. This comes as a result of government following the policy trajectory identified over many years by Social Justice Ireland and others, and shows that progressive policies that place human dignity at the centre are more effective than austerity.

There have also, however, been some disturbing developments. These range from Governments failure to increase core social welfare payment rates in the last two Budgets to Ireland falling into last position when ranked against EU15 countries on implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals on Environment.

Decades of weakening the public sector have been exposed by the pandemic. Failure of successive governments to address inequality has led to the persistence of poverty. That has led to a lack of adequate income, accommodation, healthcare, food, job security and education.

This goes beyond income inequality. In effect, the political system which responded quickly and effectively to the Covid-19 emergency has failed to deal with the hidden human misery caused by ongoing inequality. But as we have seen, change is possible.

A return to the pre-Covid-19 normal would be a pathway to continued failure. Building a better future is meaningless unless better more equal. People want access to healthcare in a time of need, affordable and appropriate accommodation, meaningful work with a decent wage, a minimum floor of social supports in a time of need, access to decent services and protection of the environment.

A new approach is required if we are to see these and similar challenges being addressed effectively in the years ahead. The role of government within the economy and society is changing. The pandemic has shown clearly that only the State can harness the nations resources on the scale required at such a time of real threat. The need for prioritising the common good is clear.

Some might think this is not the time to focus on issues such as the future of the social contract. History says otherwise. After the Great Depression and World War II, a new social contract (the welfare state) was created and implemented by political and academic elites.

In the last two decades of the 20th century, globalisation imposed a new social contract (neoliberalism), led by multinational corporations and pro-business politicians. Now is the time for creative thinking about what society should look like when the pandemic has passed. Business as usual is not acceptable.

As Ireland moves into a post-Covid world, it needs to cure the virus of social injustice, inequality, marginalisation and environmental destruction. In its place it needs a new social contract. A social contract focused on delivering five outcomes simultaneously: a vibrant economy, decent infrastructure and services, just taxation, good governance, and sustainability. This approach is not simply doable, it is also desirable, effective and efficient. Its time for change.

Dr Sean Healy is the CEO of Social Justice Ireland.
ROME - Syrian media widely reported on Thursday the news, thus far only reported by Russian government media, that official trade crossings would open between the three territorial areas into which Syria is de facto divided, for the first time after years of internal and regional conflict.



The three areas are: the government zone under Russian and Iranian control; the northeastern zone under mixed Turkish, US, Kurdish and government control; and the northwestern zone under Turkish control.



Syrian press sources said a deal was reached in recent hours between Moscow and Ankara for the opening of trade crossings between the government zone and the northwestern zone.



Other sources said the deal also involves trade crossings between the government zone and the northeastern and eastern one in the hands of Kurdish-Syrian authorities.



The news comes just a few months ahead of highly anticipated legislative and presidential elections that will take place in May and July in the areas controlled by the government.



In all the Syrian territories, people are suffering from the worst economic and financial crisis in recent decades, aggravated by the high cost of consumer goods in a context of devaluation of the local lira.



The various Syrian parties involved in the conflict have not confirmed the deal thus far.



On Thursday, the so-called pro-Turkish interim Syrian government in the northwest denied the news, while no comment has thus far been made by the central Syrian government of Damascus.



Within the fragmented Syrian territory, oil as well as other goods cross military lines through smugglers and warlords hostile to any type of resolution of the conflict and to any formal opening of internal trade crossings.


A young woman was Tuesday arraigned at Makadara law courts for stealing her lovers mobile phones after he refused to give her fare.

Nelius Wangui Maina was charged with stealing two mobile phones worth Sh37,500 and Sh40,300 belonging to her alleged boyfriend Eric Basweti.

She told the court she had travelled from Nakuru to visit Basweti in Nairobi but he declined to give her fare to return home.

The court heard that Basweti was in the bathroom when Wangui stole the mobile phones at his house in South B estate on March 18. She later allegedly transferred Sh40,300 from his M-PESA account to other mobile phone numbers.

Ms Wangui was arrested after a boda boda rider she had hired reported her to police, and Basweti was contacted.

The accused pleaded guilty to theft charges before chief magistrate Angelo Kithinji. She was released on a cash bail of Sh50,000.

The case will be mentioned on April 6.
It is a tale of two sides of the pandemic  while a group of construction workers basked in sunshine at Dublins Grand Canal, on the opposite bank their peers who lost their jobs sheltered in two tents.

As the three workers chatted and enjoyed the spring weather, across from them five men made attempts to tidy their ramshackle lives, as the human toll of Covid-19 lay bare for all to see.

Some 60,000 construction workers are out of work due to the Level 5 restrictions introduced in January.

Only 40pc of sites remain open as projects deemed essential by the Government.

While they enjoyed a moment of sunshine, the men in hardhats admitted they also worried about losing their jobs.

I know one of the homeless men on the other side of the canal. I used to work on- site with him, said one man.

Its sad to see him living like this. But I know around 70 construction workers whove lost their jobs and some of them are now homeless and others are at risk of homelessness.

Its a hard life but Covid-19 has made life in the construction industry cruel.

Homeless man Philipe Talaj (36) told the Irish Independent he had been laid off and found himself unable to support himself.

I had a job on a construction site but I lost it and I had to move out from my home, he said.

Its very hard to find another job when youre living like this and during Covid-19.

I dont worry about Covid, I worry about living like this.

I just hope it ends soon. I hope I will get a job and a home soon. I love Dublin but things are very hard right now. There doesnt seem an end in sight.

Another of the homeless men, who did not want to be named, said he worked in construction until the pandemic hit and caused his site to close. He found himself on the streets several months ago.

I lost my job at the start of Covid. I lost my home then too. I ended up on the streets and met friends here whod been through the same.

I was working on a site nearby but the building site was closed with Covid. There was nothing to do, so I started drinking and now I drink every day because theres just nothing else.

Ive looked for somewhere to live but I cant find anything. I dont want to go into the hostels because Ive seen drugs being taken there and violence.

I was busy before, I had a life and now I feel like I have nothing, so I just drink. I wont take drugs though, no matter what.

I want to go back to work, to find a new home, to have a life, something to do. The virus has caused a lot of damage to my life.

Its funny looking across the canal. We were like those lads not long ago.

A construction worker on the other side of the canal sipped a fizzy drink and smoked as he looked across the water at the two tents.

I know an awful lot of my friends are out of work, he said.

Id say a good 70pc of people I know are out of work. I think Covid-19 is a major problem for the industry but it makes me sad to see guys who were in the industry out on the streets."

He said many construction workers do not have contracts so theyre easy to let go in the pandemic.

We are at work but even our own lives are sad. Were agency workers and we dont have holiday pay, we dont get sick pay. And we could be let go like that and in a very bad position too.
Watertown, NY (13601)

Today

Cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 69F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy. Low 58F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.
Chennai, March 25 : On a day when DMK President M.K. Stalin was campaigning in Tamil Nadu's Tiruvannamalai for party's senior leader E.V.Velu for the April 6 assembly polls, Income Tax officials searched the candidate's home and several other locations.

The former minister is seeking reelection from Tiruvannamalai constituency.

Completing his campaign, Stalin and others returned to the guest house located in Velu's engineering college in the district.

Reacting to the searches, DMK Treasurer Duraimuragan said that the raids were done with a political motive.

"The searches are being carried out as the DMK cannot be defeated in the polls," he said.
Maine church takes challenge to Gov. Mills' COVID-19 restrictions to Supreme Court

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

Church takes challenge to Maine COVID-19 restrictions to Supreme Court

A congregation in Maine has filed a request for the United States Supreme Court to hear its lawsuit against the state's restrictions on in-person worship.

Calvary Chapel of Bangor filed a petition for a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court on Monday, having failed to get an injunction against Maines restrictions at the lower court level. If granted, the high court will hear their appeal.

The petition argued that since last year, Gov. Janet Mills has issued orders extensively restricting when, where, and how Mainers may exercise their liberties, including gathering for religious worship, while exempting myriad businesses and nonreligious activities from similar gathering restrictions.

Executive Order 16 requires churches and religious worship services to adhere to a strict 50-person limit regardless of the size of the sanctuary or Church facility, stated the petition.

Yet, as has been true since the beginning of the Governors regime of restrictions on religious gatherings, myriad businesses and industries are wholly exempt from the 50-person limit, including transportation facilities, bus stations, train stations, airports, manufacturing facilities, gas stations and laundromats, industrial manufacturing, post offices and shipping outlets, financial payment, clearing, manufacturing, food packaging and processing, and legal, business, and professional services 

The church also noted in its suit that under the orders, the pastor, members and volunteers can carry out nonreligious activities at Calvary Chapel, but worship has been "totally banned or severely restricted in the same building."

Liberty Counsel founder and Chairman Mat Staver, whose organization is helping to represent Calvary Chapel, said in a statement that he believed Mills actions were unconstitutional.

The U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled against these unconstitutional worship bans, and Governor Janet Mills has continued her draconian restrictions against churches and places of worship, stated Staver. The High Court now must end Governor Mills unconstitutional actions once and for all.

In May 2020, Calvary Chapel sued Mills, seeking a temporary restraining order over the in-person worship restrictions she ordered in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus.

That same month, U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Torresen denied the motion for a temporary restraining order, arguing that the harm to the State that would come from an order requiring it to exempt religious institutions from gathering restrictions is profound.

The State is managing an extraordinary array of issues, and it has responded to the challenges raised by COVID-19 by establishing uniform standards and restrictions that are based on evolving scientific evidence, ruled Torresen.

Governor Mills has laid out a path for organizations to seek to ease restrictions. Upsetting the careful balance being drawn by Maines Governor at this time would have an adverse effect on the public interest.

Last December, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit unanimously ruled against the church, upholding an earlier district court ruling.

Let us be perfectly clear: public officials do not have free rein to curtail individual constitutional liberties during a public health emergency, wrote Circuit Judge Bruce Selya for the panel.

Even so, the public interest demands that public officials be accorded considerable latitude to grapple with the dynamic and fact-intensive considerations involved in mounting an effective response.

Last November, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo that certain New York restrictions unfairly singled out religious groups.

Members of this Court are not public health experts, and we should respect the judgment of those with special expertise and responsibility in this area. But even in a pandemic, the Constitution cannot be put away and forgotten," stated the high court majority.

"The restrictions at issue here, by effectively barring many from attending religious services, strike at the very heart of the First Amendments guarantee of religious liberty.
Scarlett Johansson news: It's now weird to think that Black Widow would've been starred by a different actress on "Avengers."

In an interview with The Gentlewoman, the 36-year-old actress admitted she previously thought the whole concept of the hit 2012 film would be a disaster.

She believes that bringing in so many superheroes in one movie was just too much.

Johansson explained, "Even the thought of all of us together in our superhero costumes sounded like it was going to be a disaster."

However, one moment during the production of "Avengers" made her feel that playing the role of Black Widow was going to work.

Scarlett Johansson discussed the iconic shot of her and her fellow heroes standing in the city as it burned around them.

"I remember doing that 360 shot and we're standing in the rubble of Grand Central or wherever, of this alien onslaught, and all of us are ready, like, 'Here we go, this is it.'"

When the cast of "Avengers" was showed the playback, Johansson immediately believed it was the moment for all of them that "Oh, this is going to work. I think this is going to work."

Meanwhile, the movie "Black Widow," where Scarlett Johansson plays the Russian-born spy-turned-superhero, will have a Jul. 9 release date instead of May.

The highly-anticipated Marvel superhero movie has been pushed back by Disney and would also be available to stream the same day for Disney+ subscribers for an additional fee.

This is due to several movie theaters closing due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

Scarlett Johansson Controversies

In the same The Gentlewoman interview, the two-time Oscar nominee talked about her apparent attraction to controversies.

In the past, she sparked a backlash over two movie roles and positive comments she said about controversial director Woody Allen.

Johannsson told the outlet, "I've made a career out of it."

In 2017, the Hollywood actress was accused of white-washing the main role in "Ghost in the Shell" film, an adaptation of a Japanese manga series.

The following year, she was cast as a transgender man for "Rub & Tug," sparking even more backlash from the LGBTQ community and their allies.

Later on, however, she stepped down from the role citing "recent ethical questions raised surrounding my casting."

In 2019, Scarlett Johansson once again was embroiled in a controversy for speaking favorably of Woody Allen.

"I believe him and I would work with him anytime," she said.

See Now: Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles
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.
Advertisement

The extraordinary moment a crocodile eats a bull shark has been captured on camera in North Queensland, Australia.

Research scientist and photographer Mark Ziembicki, 46, documented the rare moment during a recent visit to the east coast of Australia.

'While we were busy taking photos of another crocodile on the bank there was some commotion about one-hundred feet away', said Ziembicki.

'A local resident of the area who was also there, shouted there was a croc eating a shark.

'We turned to see the shark thrashing away in the crocodile's mouth'.

The two apex predators came head-to-head in North Queensland, Australia

The crocodile was pictured with the shark upside down between its jaws, unable to escape its grim fate

The once in a lifetime moment was captured by research scientist and photographer Mark Ziembicki, 46, from North Queensland, Australia, during a recent visit to the east coast of Australia

The enormous one-thousand-five-hundred-pound crocodile could be seen closing in on the 100-pound bull shark pup with its huge mouth open wide, ready to feast on its prey

The Nile crocodile could be seen closing in on the 100-pound bull shark pup with its huge mouth open wide, ready to feast on its prey

'The shark gradually moved less until it was eventually swallowed whole headfirst', said Ziembicki who captured the full event from a spot just 60 feet away from the kill

According to Ziembicki, the combination of the recent opening of the nearby St Lucia estuary and excessive rainfall inland caused freshwater species to be washed downriver into saline coastal waters, leading to the unlikely meeting between the two apex predators.

Nile crocodiles, the species pictured, are freshwater reptiles and are rarely spotted in salt water environments. However, excessive rainfall has washed them downriver to places occupied by the salt water bull shark.

'We'd been observing both the crocodiles and sharks in the area for several hours and were wondering what would happen if the two might meet.'

There was really no match for the shark, however. The Nile crocodile has the most powerful bite in the animal kingdom, which is about eight times greater than that of a great white shark.

Nile crocodiles are one of the latest apex predators in the world. Their bite is stronger than any other animal, and roughly eight times greater than that of a great white shark
A frustrated resident has shared a picture of his car after an inconsiderate driver left him only a tiny gap to get out from a very tight parking spot.

A Sydney driver posted a picture to Facebook group 'Coogee Local Loop' on Tuesday night, where he complained his car was stuck in a parking space.

A blue Citroen had blocked the motorist's Volkswagen in, only allowing him a few centimetres at the front of his vehicle to get out.

According to the driver's post on Facebook, the vehicle was trapped at the bottom of a steep hill on Mount Street, next to Coogee Beach Club, in Sydney's eastern suburbs.

A Coogee local has slammed an inconsiderate driver for leaving him next to no room to manoeuvre out of his parking spot

The steep incline of the hill also made things difficult for the motorist, as it required him to perform a reverse hill start.

'If anyone knows who owns it can you please tell them to come and move it forward', the driver urged members of the group', the post read.

'We've been unable to drive anywhere for two days now and have been getting public transport to work.'

Many group members shared their expertise in the comments, with one man explaining it was a simple as 'handbrake on, foot on break and engage the reverse'.

The frustrated resident said the Citroen driver (left) had given him just ten centimetres of wriggle room at the front of his vehicle (right)

The driver replied to this comment and asked if the local had seen the steep hill the car was currently stuck on.

'We did exactly as the steps you said and due to gravity its almost impossible to not have the car roll forward at least slightly. Which is what ended up happening.'

Other members of the group were sure the driver could get out of the tight spot.

'There is this magic symbol on the gear lever, it looks like 'R'... maybe try that before pointing the blame at someone else?', one person suggested.

'Your inability to drive has got yourself in that situation', another said.

The driver defended himself saying he knew how to do reverse hill starts, but his car wasn't powerful enough to 'take off instantly' after he released the handbrake.

'It would be doable if we had more room but as we only have 10 centimetres it's inevitable that we would tap the car in front, which we want to avoid', he said.

The car is stuck at the bottom of a steep hill on Mount Street, Coogee (pictured) making it difficult for the frustrated driver to execute a reverse hill start

Other residents expressed their disdain for the inconsiderate Citroen driver.

'Unbelievably selfish - maybe contact council ranger', one user suggested.

'Jesus that's bad parking', another agreed.

One user suggested the man report the bad driver to the Coogee Council.

'They can tow the car away and have a fine issued for the cost of traffic obstruction and towing. Punitive for sure, but hopefully they will learn not to do this again.'
LYSANDER, NY  United Auto Supply is proposing building a huge $120 million warehouse/distribution center on 122 acres in the town of Lysander.

The 1 million-square-foot center, which would be built in three phases, would be equal in size to the floor space of almost two Carrier Domes.

The first phase of the project could add 100 to 150 jobs that pay $18 an hour, James Trasher of Clough Harbor & Associates, told Lysander planners.

When completed in a couple years, the facility near the intersection of Route 48 and Hencle Boulevard could employ up to 500 new people, he said.

United Auto Supply, an auto parts retailer and distributor based in Syracuse, has 30 retail locations and employs about 500 people. It got its start in 1946 with a 2,500-square-foot store.

We are experiencing explosive growth and have significantly expanded said James Ranalli III, president of United Auto Supply His father, James Ranalli Jr., is chief executive officer.

Several factors are driving that growth, but one of the most significant is the new e-commerce part of the business, which started in 2018, Ranalli III told Syracuse.com | The Post Standard.

We are shipping orders to all 50 states, and internationally,' he said.

The need for the warehouse comes from United Autos decision to carry all the car parts needed for todays vehicles, Ranalli said. The Covid-19 pandemic seems to have prompted many people to hang onto their cars and improve them either to keep or to sell, he said.

Do-it-yourselfers, car dealers and independent service centers (like Dunn Tire) and other car parts stores (like Auto Zone) are among their biggest customers.

There is such a proliferation of parts and they are so complex today,' Ranalli said. For example, every car today has a unique starter. Twenty years ago, every car used the same starter.

The smaller auto parts retailers arent large enough to carry all the parts because they dont have the space, so they buy from United Auto Supply, he said.

In the past three years sales have increased about four times what they were, Ranalli said. He declined to provide specific numbers as the company is privately owned.

United Auto Supply would use the Lysander warehouse as its main distribution center, he said.

The company will eventually move its headquarters and operations from the former P&C Warehouse at 1200 State Fair Blvd to Lysander, Ranalli said. That building would either be leased or possibly used for another division, he said. The move wouldnt take place until probably late 2022.

The State Fair site employs about 300 people, who would all move to Lysander.

The company plans to continue building an 80,000-square-foot building at 738 Erie Blvd. W., the former site of Roth Steel. That would continue to be used as a warehouse, Trasher said.

The company needs a full environmental review and public hearing probably in May, but Trasher told planners theyd like to get approval for the first phase by late spring or early summer if possible.

The warehouse would operate 24 hours, seven days a week, and be closed only on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Trasher said they will likely seek tax credits down the road from the Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency.

The warehouse would have three access points - two on Hencle Road and one on Route 48. It would be 1,000 feet from Interstate 690.

Editors note: An earlier version of this article had the wrong estimated cost for the project. The correct cost is about $120 million.

Other Central NY development articles

Upscale senior apartments proposed on DeWitt hillside near ShoppingTown Mall

Large $40 million residential development proposed in Van Buren; some residents oppose it

Developer of luxury waterfront apartments with rents up to $1,800 wants $6 million tax break

Amazon starts hiring for Clay, DeWitt facilities

Byrne Dairy to build store near giant Amazon warehouse in Clay: Will others follow?

Amazon: Well open delivery station on Kirkville Road in DeWitt in 2021

Amazon update in Clay: When will big fulfillment center open? When will it start hiring?

Elizabeth Doran covers education, suburban government and development, breaking news and more. Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact her anytime at 315-470-3012 or email edoran@syracuse.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.
A 35-year-old Easton man faces felony drug and firearm charges after selling what was represented to be a pound of methamphetamine in a controlled buy, according to police.

Jeffrey Sampson, of Easton, was arrested after the Pennsylvania State Police Troop M Vice/Narcotics Unit reportedly conducted the controlled purchase about 7:45 p.m. March 18 at 1880 Steelstone Road, which is the address of a hotel, in Hanover Township, Lehigh County.

After the transaction, numerous troopers conducted a traffic stop at the address, according to a news release from state police.

Sampson immediately forcefully resisted arrest and failed to obey commands, refusing to remove his hands from the waistband of his pants, police said.

Once troopers got control and eventually detained Sampson, a 9mm 80% polymer handgun loaded with 14 rounds, and no serial number, fell from his waistband, the release states.

Sampson allegedly had on him about 11.1 grams of cocaine, 40 pills of MDMA known commonly as ecstasy or molly, $1,300, cellphones and drug paraphernalia.

Troopers seized a large grocery bag containing a large amount of cash in plain view inside Sampsons vehicle, and a search warrant executed March 19 on the vehicle turned up a bag of about 369.6 grams of meth, a bag of about 210 grams of cocaine, an extended handgun magazine containing 34 9mm rounds, scales, bags, cutting agents and other paraphernalia, according to police.

Sampson was also found to be wanted on an arrest warrant in Northampton County, where he is scheduled for formal arraignment March 25 on felony prohibited possession of a firearm and summary public drunkenness in an incident last May 8 in Easton, court records show.

He was arraigned in the March 18 incident before District Judge Edward Lewis on three counts of drug possession with intent to deliver, prohibited possession of a firearm and carrying a firearm without a license, all of which are felonies, in addition to misdemeanor drug possession (three counts), possession of drug paraphernalia (three counts) and resisting arrest.

He was sent to Lehigh County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail, and is also being held in lieu of $20,000 bail in the Northampton County case.

Additional charges are pending as a result of the vehicle search, police said.

Sampson faces a preliminary hearing tentatively scheduled April 23 before District Judge Michael DAmore to determine if there is sufficient evidence to send the charges from the alleged drug buy toward trial in Lehigh County Court.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com.
NEW YORK, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Gold and silver prices modestly increased on Wednesday. April gold futures were last up USD 5.70 at USD 1,730.80 and May Comex silver was last up USD 0.103 at USD 25.33 an ounce. Economically, the U.S. is on track to recover into next year, with the help of the government's relief program. Yet, the pandemic and the subsequent partial economic shutdown have had some severe consequences. Janet Yellen, Secretary of the Treasury, explained that "1 in 10 homeowners with a mortgage are behind on their payments and almost 1 in 5 renters are behind on their rent. There are 22 million people who say they don't have enough food to eat. 1 in 10 adults are hungry in America. I looked at data like these and I worried that the COVID economy was going to keep hurting millions of people now and haunt them long after the health emergency was over." Exploits Discovery Corp. (CSE: NFLD) (OTC: RNRRF), Alamos Gold Inc. (NYSE: AGI), Coeur Mining, Inc. (NYSE: CDE), DRDGOLD Limited (NYSE: DRD), Golden Star Resources Ltd. (NYSE: GSS)

Even though there is a gradual easing of all the restrictions and businesses are slowly starting to reopen, the actual economic repercussions from the current pandemic and measures taken to combat it are still unclear. The value of gold is problematic to forecast, as it contingent on many economic variables as well as on decisions made by the federal reserve. Nevertheless, gold investments are frequently regarded as safe haven in a time of economic and political turmoil.

Exploits Discovery Corp. (CSE: NFLD) (OTCQB: RNRRF) Outlined yesterday its, "drilling targets at the Jonathan's Pond Project (the "Project") located in the Exploits Subzone, Newfoundland. The Company also announces that it will hold an online special investors meeting March 25th, 2021 (See details below).

Highlights

Exploits defined two high priority targets at the Jonathan's Pond Gold Project JP Vein, and a 2-kilometre long demagnetized fault zone.

The JP Vein target contains high grade gold in quartz veining up to 28 g/t Au, low grade gold in wall rock returning 0.44 g/t Au over 5 meters, including 1 meter at 0.80 g/t Au in trenching, and a further 300 metres of anomalous unexplored strike length of gold indicated by Spatiotemporal Gas Hydrocarbon (SGH) soil samples.

The 2-kilometre fault zone is a demagnetized geophysical target located 1.3 km northeast of the highest documented cluster of heavy mineral concentrate (HMC) samples on the island of Newfoundland and 1.6 km northeast of a float boulder that assayed 700 g/t Au (Keats, 2004).

and 1.6 km northeast of a float boulder that assayed 700 g/t Au (Keats, 2004). These targets are a high priority for the Spring 2021 drilling program.

Exploits identified two high priority target areas on the Jonathan's Pond Gold Project through late 2020 trenching, outcrop mapping, SGH soil sampling, and geophysical analysis. The JP Vein received the majority of the 2020 field work that resulted in the identification of the gold bearing phase of quartz veining and its structural orientation, with samples assaying up to 28 g/t Au. The SGH soil sampling results over this area coincided with this orientation and opened up a further 300 metres of additional unexplored strike length to be followed up on.

The structural information collected during outcrop mapping allowed for a detailed geophysical analysis of historic high resolution airborne magnetic data over the Project. A series of tight folds were defined with an apparent 2-kilometre demagnetized secondary fault. This secondary fault displays the preferred orientation similar to the gold bearing phase of quartz veining as seen at the JP Vein. Demagnetized "destruction" fault zones are important in orogenic gold systems as it demonstrates fluids potentially carrying gold have propagated through this structural conduit and replaced the magnetic minerals with non-magnetic alteration minerals, such as sericite (mica). This target is located 1.3 km from the highly elevated, historic gold in till samples (New Found Gold Corp., 2017).

Michael Collins, President & Chief Executive Officer of Exploits, commented: "Jonathan's Pond has delivered great targets for us that are backed by solid geology field work with high grade assays and large scale structures to be targeted."

'We also welcome you to join us tomorrow for a live discussion on the history and outlook of the prolific Exploits Subzone, also known as the Newfoundland Gold Belt. We will also joined by Al and Kevin Keats and Gary Lewis, who have played an instrumental part in the identification of Jonathan's Pond and other targets within the Exploits Subzone Gold Belt.'

About Jonathan's Pond Targets

Jonathan's Pond is a 100% Exploits owned gold Project located along Highway 330, 17 kilometres north of Gander, Newfoundland. Situated along the Gander River Ultramafic Belt (GRUB) Line Fault Zone, the Project hosts gold in heavy mineral concentrate (HMC) till anomalies with 24 samples ranging from 720 to 410,000 ppb Au, float boulder samples up to 700 g/t Au, and outcrop samples up to 28.0 g/t Au in quartz veins. In December 2020, Exploits acquired an additional 11.25 square kilometres of land from New Found Gold Corp. This consolidated the Project area allowing uninhibited exploration on the identified targets.

Trenching and outcrop mapping efforts Exploits undertook in the fall of 2020 at the JP Vein helped move the Project along in the understanding of geology, structure, and gold mineralization style. Outcrop grab and channel sampling has highlighted that the high-grade gold mineralization is localized to late-stage quartz veining, associated with a third phase of structural deformation. Trenching highlighted the presence of lower grade gold mineralization in host rock that returned 0.44 g/t Au over 5 meters, including 1 meter at 0.80 g/t Au, in altered gabbro. This indicates the high-grade gold in quartz veins may be contained within a lower grade envelope in the host rock. SGH soil sampling results were also consistent in the orientation of the anomalous gold in SGH signature to the high-grade gold in quartz vein orientation, outlining a further 300-metres of unexplored strike length"

For our latest "Buzz on the Street" Show featuring Exploits Discovery Corp. recent corporate news, please head over to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RusxTZjdhtE&ab_channel=FinancialBuzzMedia

Alamos Gold Inc. (NYSE: AGI) reported on January 27th, new results from surface and underground exploration drilling at the Island Gold Mine, further extending high-grade gold mineralization in Island Main, East and West. "These latest results conclude another successful drilling campaign in 2020. Despite not completing as much drilling as planned due to COVID-19, the 2020 program included some of the best exploration results drilled to date at Island Gold. We expect these results to drive further growth in high-grade Mineral Resources at Island Gold with our 2020 year end update, improving already attractive economics with the Phase III shaft expansion, while also clearly demonstrating the significant ongoing growth potential of the deposit," said John A. McCluskey, President and Chief Executive Officer.

Coeur Mining, Inc. (NYSE: CDE) announced last year, details of the expansion of its Rochester silver-gold mine in Nevada, reflecting significant reserve growth and the benefits of a larger-scale expansion project. "The expansion of Rochester represents the Company's single largest organic growth opportunity," said Mitchell J. Krebs, Coeur's President and Chief Executive Officer. "The combination of significant reserve growth, the scope of the expansion project to leverage economies of scale and the benefit of higher and faster silver recoveries from HPGR technology is expected to generate an internal rate of return of over 30%. Importantly, the project is supported by a technically sound foundation with robust economics that helps drive an anticipated step-change in Coeur's cash flow profile."

DRDGOLD Limited (NYSE: DRD) reported on October 27th, in an operational update for the quarter ended 30 September 2020, a 45% quarter-on-quarter increase in gold production to 1 514kg, due primarily to a 27% increase in tonnage throughput to 7 260 000t and a 15% increase in yield to 0.209g/t. Gold sold increased by 60% to 1 522kg. As a result, cash operating costs per kilogram of gold sold decreased by 10% to R489 750/kg. Cash operating costs per ton of material processed increased by 2% to R104/t.

Golden Star Resources Ltd. (NYSE: GSS) filed on March 1st, a National Instrument 43-101 technical report which includes a mineral reserve and resource update and a preliminary economic assessment of the potential expansion of the Southern Extension zone in the Wassa underground gold mine in Ghana. "In 2020, we focused on improving our geological confidence in the orebody through an extensive infill drilling program which has resulted in a significant increase in our measured resource and proven reserve. Converting the open pit reserve at Wassa to an underground reserve allows us to bring production from those areas forward with a lower upfront capital cost. Development of the Upper Mine will start to deliver production from 2023 and will provide a second decline access to the mine which can be incorporated into the long term mine design.

Subscribe Now! Watch us report LIVE https://www.youtube.com/FinancialBuzzMedia

Follow us on Twitter for real time Financial News Updates: https://twitter.com/financialbuzz

Follow and talk to us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/financialbuzz

Facebook Like Us to receive live feeds: https://www.facebook.com/Financialbuzz/

About FinancialBuzz.com

FinancialBuzz.com, a leading financial news informational web portal designed to provide the latest trends in Market News, Investing News, Personal Finance, Politics, Entertainment, in-depth broadcasts on Stock News, Market Analysis and Company Interviews. A pioneer in the financially driven digital space, video production and integration of social media, FinancialBuzz.com creates 100% unique original content. FinancialBuzz.com also provides financial news PR dissemination, branding, marketing and advertising for third parties for corporate news and original content through our unique media platform that includes Newswire Delivery, Digital Advertising, Social Media Relations, Video Production, Broadcasting, and Financial Publications.

Please Note: FinancialBuzz.com is not a financial advisory or advisor, investment advisor or broker-dealer and do not undertake any activities that would require such registration. The information provided on http://www.FinancialBuzz.com (the 'Site') is either original financial news or paid advertisements provided [exclusively] by our affiliates (sponsored content), FinancialBuzz.com, a financial news media and marketing firm enters into media buys or service agreements with the companies which are the subject to the articles posted on the Site or other editorials for advertising such companies. FinancialBuzz.com has not been compensated directly by any of the companies mentioned here in this editorial unless mentioned otherwise. We are not an independent news media provider and therefore do not represent or warrant that the information posted on the Site is accurate, unbiased or complete. FinancialBuzz.com receives fees for producing and presenting high quality and sophisticated content on FinancialBuzz.com along with other financial news PR media services. FinancialBuzz.com does not offer any personal opinions, recommendations or bias commentary as we purely incorporate public market information along with financial and corporate news. FinancialBuzz.com only aggregates or regurgitates financial or corporate news through our unique financial newswire and media platform. For exploits discovery corp. video production, filming editing, news reporting, financial and corporate news dissemination, FinancialBuzz.com has been compensated five thousand dollars by the company. Our fees may be either a flat cash sum or negotiated number of securities of the companies featured on this editorial or site, or a combination thereof. The securities are commonly paid in segments, of which a portion is received upon engagement and the balance is paid on or near the conclusion of the engagement. FinancialBuzz.com will always disclose any compensation in securities or cash payments for financial news PR advertising. FinancialBuzz.com does not undertake to update any of the information on the editorial or Site or continue to post information about any companies the information contained herein is not intended to be used as the basis for investment decisions and should not be considered as investment advice or a recommendation. The information contained herein is not an offer or solicitation to buy, hold or sell any security. FinancialBuzz.com, members and affiliates are not responsible for any gains or losses that result from the opinions expressed on this editorial or Site, company profiles, quotations or in other materials or presentations that it publishes electronically or in print. Investors accept full responsibility for any and all of their investment decisions based on their own independent research and evaluation of their own investment goals, risk tolerance, and financial condition. FinancialBuzz.com. By accessing this editorial and website and any pages thereof, you agree to be bound by the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, as may be amended from time to time. None of the content issued by FinancialBuzz.com constitutes a recommendation for any investor to purchase, hold or sell any particular security, pursue a particular investment strategy or that any security is suitable for any investor. This publication is provided by FinancialBuzz.com. Each investor is solely responsible for determining whether a particular security or investment strategy is suitable based on their objectives, other securities holdings, financial situation needs, and tax status. You agree to consult with your investment advisor, tax and legal consultant before making any investment decisions. We make no representations as to the completeness, accuracy or timeless of the material provided. All materials are subject to change without notice. Information is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but its accuracy and completeness are not guaranteed. For our full disclaimer, disclosure and Terms of Use, please visit: http://www.financialbuzz.com

Media Contact:

[email protected]

+1-877-601-1879

www.FinancialBuzz.com

SOURCE FinancialBuzz.com
After the Centre asked vaccine makers  (SII) and Bharat Biotech  to prioritise deliveries of the Covid-19 vaccine to meet domestic requirements, global public-private outfit Gavi criticised the move. In fact, COVAX, the World Health Organisation (WHO)-led Covid-19 vaccine collaboration, has initiated talks with the Indian government to ensure deliveries can happen quickly.

In a statement Gavi, which is also co-leading the COVAX facility said, Delays in granting further export licenses for SII-produced vaccine doses are due to the increased demand of Covid-19 vaccines in India.



It further added: SII has pledged that, alongside supplying India, it will prioritise the COVAX multilateral solution for equitable distribution. COVAX is in talks with the Government of India with a view to ensuring deliveries as quickly as possible.



Amidst rising Covid-19 cases and opening up of vaccinations for all above 45, the government has asked the two vaccine makers to prioritise deliveries to the domestic market. The government has also placed an order of 100 million doses with SII last week and expects deliveries soon.

It is learnt that all the vaccines in the month of April may be delivered to the government by SII.

Gavi and WHO-led COVAX is ensuring that vaccines have an equitable distribution, and SII is committed to supplying 200 million doses at $3 per dose to the collaboration.

Shipments in March and April have been delayed. In fact, according to the Ministry of External Affairs, no vaccine shipment has gone out of the country after March 18 (see chart). COVAX was supposed to deliver over 230 million doses by May end to low- and medium-income countries.

The WHO has repeatedly criticised vaccine nationalism. In February, Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist at WHO, had said that manufacturers need to prioritise COVAX to bilateral deals. What we see today is kind of the opposite, that there are more bilateral deals than supplies to Covax, she said.

Swaminathan had also insisted that countries in the high income, middle income and low income categories need to play by the rules as COVAX will only succeed if countries prioritise deliveries, and not take the resources away. They should not impose export bans, she quipped.




The Dallas Morning News once supported Republicans, like Gov. Mitt Romney in 2002, and of course President George W. Bush, President George Bush, and President Ronald Reagan. In 2016, it went for Hillary Clinton, and then in 2018 for Beto O'Rourke.

On Wednesday morning, its editorial page addressed the border issue this way:

President Joe Biden's administration, which promised a more humane and responsible immigration policy, seems to have been caught flat-footed by the massive surge of migrants from Central America to the United States, and has made a bad situation worse by issuing messages that are as clear as mud. Administration officials have spent the last few days trying to send the belated message that the border is closed. But for weeks, those officials also emphasized that they were reversing the Trump administration's border policies and would be more welcoming. No wonder the border is in crisis. When the message is so muddled, people who are desperate to flee dangerous situations at home hold out hope that they will be allowed to enter if they simply show up at the border. And the administration can't say it didn't know this was coming. In promising to roll back Trump's immigration policies, Biden had asked for time to implement "guardrails" to avoid winding up with "2 million people on our border."

Wonder if the editorial board checked with President Andres Manuel Lopez-Obrador of Mexico? He is basically saying the same thing:

'Expectations were created that with the government of President Biden there would be a better treatment of migrants'

I don't know where this is going to end, but I wouldn't want to be a Democrat running in a competitive district in 2022. High gasoline prices and chaos on the border do not make for a good platform.

PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).

Image: Screen grab from Fox News via shareable YouTube.
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.
Pediatric heart surgeon Lori West led a team that pioneered ABO-incompatible heart transplants after realizing that infants' immature immune systems wouldn't reject organs from donors of a different blood type. Credit: Laughing Dog Photography

A pediatric heart transplant procedure pioneered by Canadian doctorsonce deemed impossiblehas been shown to be at least as effective as the traditional approach, according to newly published research in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health.

ABO-incompatible heart transplantation was developed in the mid-1990s, after a Canadian transplant team led by Lori West realized that infants under the age of two have immature immune systems that would allow them to accept life-saving replacements for their defective hearts from donors with incompatible blood types.

"It's really important to see it has not only helped these very sick babies to get transplants faster, but also to live as long, with no more rejections, and better outcomes with regards to infections, as children who received a matched blood group heart," said principal investigator Simon Urschel, associate professor of pediatrics in the University of Alberta's Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, director of pediatric cardiac transplantation at the Stollery Children's Hospital and member of the Women and Children's Health Research Institute (WCHRI).

ABO-incompatible heart transplantation is now routinely carried out in Canada and some other countries, but not everywhere. That should change thanks to these new study results, Urschel said.

"For example, Eurotransplant (the agency responsible for transplants in eight European countries) still considers it an inferior option to be used with caution," he said. "That concern will probably be relieved in those last places that were reluctant to do it, now that we have shown it is safe."

About 50 percent of the population is born with type O blood, while 35 percent has A type and 15 percent has B or AB type blood. Organs from a donor with type O blood can be accepted by anyone, but adult type O patients can receive only type O organs. The development of ABO-incompatible pediatric heart transplantation meant that twice as many organs would be available to type O infants born with heart defects.

Urschel and his team analyzed data from more than 2,200 infant transplant recipients in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States from 1999 to 2018. The records were from the Pediatric Heart Transplant Society registry, an international research collaboration that collects data from 58 transplant centers. This resulted in more than 11,000 cumulative patient-years of observation, by far the largest study of its kind.

Three hundred sixty-four of the babies received ABO-incompatible transplants, while 1,842 received ABO-compatible hearts. "We wanted to compare apples with apples, so the children were matched by characteristics such as their underlying disease and the age at which they underwent surgery," Urschel said.

The researchers found the survival rate was the same between the two groups, as were the rates of acute and chronic organ rejection and the risk of developing leukemia after transplant. They also examined the rates of post-transplant bacterial, viral and fungal infections, which they were concerned might be higher among the ABO-incompatible transplant recipients.

"Interestingly, we found that there were fewer of the infections that we were worried about in the ABO-incompatible patients," Urschel said.

U of A researcher Simon Urschel with patient George Kemp, who received a heart transplant as a baby and is now four years old. Credit: Lindsey Kemp; taken pre-COVID-19

Earlier work by Urschel's research team showed that wait times for these patients were significantly shortened, with the average time to transplant being about 50 percent shorter thanks to the innovative transplant technique.

"It's easier and faster to find a heart for these patients, which is crucial because they are extremely sick, often on mechanical heart support devices or on ventilators in intensive care units," he said. "This gives them a chance not only to survive, but to stay healthier and be in better condition before and after transplantation."

The pioneering pediatric heart surgeons who started it all in 1996West and Ivan Rebeykarefined their method after being recruited to join the U of A faculty, with help from other faculty members such as Urschel. Urschel and West's work has received funding from the Stollery Children's Foundation through WCHRI.

The "rule" requiring ABO-compatible donors was instituted for older patients and had never been revisited from the perspective of the immunologic immaturity of infants, said West, now Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Cardiac Transplantation, and director of the Alberta Transplant Institute and the Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Program.

"This, in combination with an extremely high mortality for infants on our transplant waiting list, is why we instituted the first ABO-incompatible transplant protocol," she said.

"Transplantation has always been about pushing the boundaries of risks in order to offer reasonable options to patients who would otherwise have no options."

Urschel will continue his work to understand the mechanism in infant immune systems that allows them to accept blood type-incompatible hearts, in hopes of being able to one day use what is learned to help older transplant recipients. He is also involved in projects to improve the quality of life of young transplant patients and their families.

"It's a real lesson in the need for scientific vigor to guide our operationalization of clinical protocols, not just the blind adoption of previously accepted regulations," said West.

The fact that heart transplant recipients can now survive with a normal lifespan is a credit to both West and Rebeyka, who has a clinical faculty position with the U of A's Cardiovascular Research Centre, said Urschel, who continues to provide clinical care for teenage and young adult patients who received ABO-incompatible transplants as babies.

"It's just amazing to see them, knowing that at one time they were so sick in the intensive care unit that they might not make it to the next day," Urschel said.

Explore further Social work researcher advances literature on pediatric quality of life in organ transplant patients

More information: Simon Urschel et al, Clinical outcomes of children receiving ABO-incompatible versus ABO-compatible heart transplantation: a multicentre cohort study, The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health (2021). Simon Urschel et al, Clinical outcomes of children receiving ABO-incompatible versus ABO-compatible heart transplantation: a multicentre cohort study,(2021). DOI: 10.1016/S2352-4642(21)00023-7
Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

___

March 24

The Albuquerque Journal on President Joe Bidens immigration policy:

The Biden administration says its not a crisis along our southern border. And the president insists he hasnt sent a signal that if you get here you can stay. Unfortunately, the message being sent is not the same as the one being received.

Sensing the United States has become more welcoming, Central American migrants are streaming north in the largest numbers in two decades, The New York Times reported Monday. We have holding facilities overflowing with children and teens who entered the country without parents. Not wanting a repeat of the detention center debacle that occurred under Donald Trump, the Biden administration is scrambling to deal with the worsening situation.

The Biden administration says it is still turning away adults at the border but isnt going to release children into the desert. And it shouldnt. But whether he intended to or not, the president sent the signal that led to the current influx.

He now needs to articulate a clear policy on immigration beyond humane treatment, legislation to legalize Dreamers and a path for citizenship for others. These are important, but this country deserves to know where the administration stands on the broader questions. As the Times reported, there is a strong sentiment for humane and generous treatment for undocumented people living here who have abided by our laws  and a strong sentiment for rigorous border security. The latter isnt just a Republican talking point. Historically, many Democrats have supported immigration restrictions as a way to keep U.S. wages high. Thats especially pertinent in a country that still has more than 10 million people unemployed.

During the campaign, Biden said he would sharply limit deportations. Meanwhile, the administration has done away with Trumps remain in Mexico policy for asylum-seekers and is processing tens of thousands of minors who can legally stay permanently only if they are granted asylum, which in most cases is unlikely. So then what happens?

Its a message that says open.

But exactly what is Bidens policy? Does he agree with his former boss, Barack Obama, when he said, We simply cannot allow people to pour into the United States, undetected, undocumented and unchecked?

The Times raises the question of whether the new administrations version of humane treatment coupled with virtually no deportation would be to allow anyone who manages to enter the U.S. to stay. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas made the rounds of Sunday news talk shows and insisted the Mexican border is closed.

But immigrants and the traffickers who shepherd them north dont pay much attention to Sunday news shows. If Biden hopes to stem the flow, he needs to be crystal clear in both actions and words on the immigration policies he is implementing by executive authority and what he wants Congress to adopt in terms of a long-term fix.

Online: https://www.abqjournal.com

___

March 23

The Denver Post on the mass shooting in Colorado:

The grocery store shooting that killed 10 people in Boulder Monday has driven home what weve long suspected: Today America is a country where every resident must be prepared at all times for a deadly assault.

Americans once enjoyed domestic peace. The Columbine High School massacre in 1999 was an anomaly of such historic proportions that the entire world watched in horror as the death toll climbed. Too much evil has occurred since then, and Colorado has received more than its fair share of senseless violence.

On Monday when shoppers heard gunfire in the King Soopers in south Boulder, it was as though the inevitable had occurred. It seemed like all of us had imagined wed be in a situation like this at some point in our lives, James Bentz, a survivor of the tragedy told Denver Post reporters.

And so, Americans must decide if we are OK living with the fear that someday we too might lose someone we hold dear at the hands of a mass killer. Most decidedly, The Posts editorial board is not willing to accept the status quo. Because while we cannot prevent every mass shooting, or drive-by, or suicide, or accident, we can implement policies that would make these tragedies rarer and less deadly.

In the coming days, we will learn more about what happened Monday.

Some of the details will matter a great deal  the stories of those who died.

We know that one of the victims was Boulder Police Officer Eric Talley, a man with more than a decade on the force and seven children, who responded to the call of shots being fired and died at the scene. His courage will be marked in the coming days with solemn tributes from his friends and family. His name will forever be linked with University of Colorado Colorado Springs Police Officer Garrett Swasey who died in 2015 trying to prevent the Planned Parenthood shooting; Douglas County sheriffs deputy Zackari Parrish who did everything he could to deescalate a mental health crisis before he was shot and killed; and Kendrick Castillo who died in 2019 while trying to stop a teen gunman at STEM School Highlands Ranch. There have been too many fallen heroes in recent years to name here. 

Some of the details will be hard to turn away from, but they wont matter.

Knowing the shooters name and his motive wont bring back the dead or stop the hurt felt throughout the Boulder community.

And some details will be critical as we go forward.

Colorado closed the gun show loophole after Columbine. We learned there were warning signs that psychiatrists needed to report to authorities from the Aurora theater shooting. Claire Davis family pushed Arapahoe High School after the 17-year-old was shot and killed to take future threats of violence seriously. And the STEM shooting taught us all the consequences of not having firearms stored securely enough from those who could be dangerous.

There will be time to grieve as a community, lessons to learn and vulnerabilities to patch up.

We pray this never happens again, and if thats not possible in todays America then we pray for the resolve to never let this become ordinary, to never give up the hope that a more tranquil world could exist. We must all be prepared for a deadly assault like the one in Boulder on Monday, but we dont have to pretend that its inevitable.

Online: https://www.denverpost.com

___

March 22

The Baltimore Sun on Floridas spring break chaos:

Thousands of Maryland college students returned to class on Monday after a brief mid-semester respite  Its probably safe to assume that some of the more adventurous of the undergraduate set either has made, or is planning to make, the trek to Florida or a similar clime. We have no problem with that, we all need a getaway now and again.

We do have a problem, however, with young adults treating their deserved vacations like a rock concert gone bad and failing to maintain social distance or wear masks, like occurred in Miami Beach over the weekend, leading to an emergency curfew and police intervention to try to disperse the massive crowds. They may well have dragged home an unwelcome souvenir, a little COVID-19, to finish out the spring term.

This was all so predictable, beginning with the choice by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to not only lift restrictions, but prevent local governments from imposing mask mandates. If anyone was chomping at the bit for the pandemic to be over (beyond Florida businesses that profit off spring break), its 18-to-22-year-olds, who already feel invulnerable and are looking for a good time 

The problem here is not just spring break. And its not just Governor DeSantis. No, the underlying issue continues to be the publics COVID-19 fatigue and the desire to let our collective guard down as the nation makes progress in vaccinations. Florida spring break is just the most visible sign of this concerning trend.

As Dr. Anthony Fauci and other public health experts have stated repeatedly: This is not let the moment to lift vital safety measures.

It is all very well to relax certain restrictions where appropriate. As teachers are vaccinated and schools move ahead with responsible reopening plans, in-person instruction is sensible, particularly given its own public health benefits. But lifting mask restrictions isnt  despite the claim that individuals can make responsible choices. It sends a spring break-like message that the pandemic is no longer a serious threat when it is. Just ask the colleagues, friends and families of the 26 Maryland residents who died from the coronavirus on Saturday alone. Or perhaps those of the 8,000 Marylanders who lost their own battles with COVID-19 during the past year. Its not over until its over.

Thats not a fun message. Thats not a good time to think about. Its not a party on the beach and its definitely not the return to normal that all of us crave. But this is a serious business  Sorry, but the moment to celebrate the end of the pandemic has not yet arrived.

Online: https://www.baltimoresun.com

___

March 21

The Washington Post on the continuing coronavirus threat:

Spring seems just around the corner, 121 million doses of vaccine have been administered, and Americans are eager to get back to normal after a year of fighting the coronavirus pandemic. President Biden recently raised the prospect of a festive Independence Day. What could go wrong?

Hopefully, nothing will. But there are dark clouds amid the rosy scenarios. The big decline in viral spread evident in January and early February has stalled. The pandemics winter surge tapered off into a stubborn plateau in the national rate of new daily infections, which has been running at about 53,000 on a seven-day average. That is well above the troughs of last summer and autumn. Lurking in the background is the B.1.1.7 variant, which is about 50 percent more transmissible and possibly more lethal; it now appears to be igniting fresh outbreaks in some states. Anthony S. Fauci, the presidents medical adviser and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, estimated that this variant may now comprise 20 to 30 percent of all U.S. infections, setting the table for sudden spikes like those already seen in Britain and Europe.

In the past week or so, cases started climbing again in 14 states.

The spikes and plateau suggest the pandemic is not over yet, and the virus could flare anew. The worst-case scenario would be a fourth wave, requiring widespread return to closures and restrictions. That is not a certainty. The rollout of vaccines continues to build a firewall against the pandemic. The vaccines appear to work well against the B.1.1.7 variant. Nearly 24 percent of the U.S. population has now received at least one dose, and 13 percent has received two. Among the elderly  the most vulnerable part of the population  68 percent of those over 65 years old have received at least one dose, and 40.8 percent have received two.

But as Dr. Fauci pointed out, this is an inflection point, and it is quite risky to declare victory before you have the level of infection in the community to a much, much lower level than 53,000 cases per day. Decisions in many states to reopen businesses, especially bars and restaurants, and to drop mask mandates, are misguided and premature, and could trigger a surge in cases.

If you want a pleasant summer, keep your guard up and mask on during the last miles of the long journey to normal.

Online: https://www.washingtonpost.com

___

March 20

The South China Morning Post on U.S.-China relations:

Diplomatic niceties were never going to be a hallmark of the first high-level meeting of Chinese and American officials since Joe Biden became United States president. The ill-tempered start to the two days of talks in Anchorage, with rhetorical sniping and accusations, was to be expected after four years of the disruptive policies of Donald Trumps administration.

Nor was a breakthrough likely, with so many disputes and differences. But that does not mean the coming together of the nations most senior foreign policy representatives was a failure; that they were willing to sit at the same table and constructively lay out grievances and identify where they were able to work together proves Beijing and Washington seek more constructive relations.

Ties have not been so broken since formal diplomatic relations were established in 1979. That was evident in the undiplomatic language used by both sides before the talks began.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said his country would not shy away from contentious issues like Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Taiwan, cyberattacks and economic coercion that he claimed were a threat to global stability.

Politburo member Yang Jiechi, Chinas top diplomat and President Xi Jinpings most senior foreign policy adviser, hit back by accusing Washington of violating human rights in its own country and around the world.

But such posturing and rhetoric for the benefit of domestic audiences subsided as talks began, the attention turning to laying out positions. 

Anti-Chinese sentiment runs deep in the US and there is no likelihood under Biden that trade and technology measures imposed by Trump are going to be eased soon.

Underscoring that, a bipartisan group of 17 American senators said they planned to introduce a resolution condemning the Chinese governments ongoing crackdown on democracy and fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong. The previous day, three Republican senators reintroduced a bill that, if approved, would revoke the permanent normal trading status between the US and China. 

Beijing has its bottom lines, but it knows the value of ensuring relations with its biggest trading partner do not founder. Biden is also mindful of that, which is why relative calm quickly descended on the Anchorage talks after their tempestuous start. By their conclusion, the language was more considered, with both sides saying they had been useful, although disagreements remained. Yang said the discussions had been candid, constructive and helpful, similar to the assessment of Blinken.

As State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi pointed out, conversation is better than confrontation. But such dialogue has to be carried out with mutual respect and requires compromise. Differences run deep and some of those issues may never be adequately settled.

In the meantime, though, the sides have rightly realised that the way forward for now lies in finding common ground and exploring the possibility of working together on issues of shared interest. Climate change was agreed to as being one such area, while Iran, North Korea and Afghanistan were also mentioned.

Biden has made climate change a priority and he plans an international summit next month. It would be impractical to leave China out of such a meeting. By inviting Xi, the opportunity would be presented for the Chinese and American leaders to hold their first face-to-face talks, whether in-person or by video. Such a chance cannot be missed.

There is also every need to get people-to-people relations back on track. Students, academics, researchers, scientists and journalists were affected by Trumps policies. Such interactions are the bedrock of relations and must be resumed as normal.

High-level dialogue like that in Anchorage is important, but so, too, is quiet diplomacy. Now there is every need for the communication to continue at all levels, to build trust and understanding. The conversation may sometimes be angry and emotional, but it is still better than no conversation at all.

Online: https://www.scmp.com

___

March 18

The New York Times on racism against Asian Americans in the U.S.:

The grim reality of modern American life is that each new mass killing leads to a fevered study of motives and meaning. Was the latest shooter motivated by racism, misogyny, religion, revenge or some combination thereof? Those are not questions that members of a healthy society should routinely be forced to ask or answer.

After eight people  including six people of Asian descent and seven women  were shot to death in Georgia this week, a deputy sheriff chalked the killings up to the suspects confessed sex addiction, adding that yesterday was a really bad day for the alleged shooter. That diagnosis was met with the skepticism it deserved: The same deputy promoted the sale of anti-Asian T-shirts that referred to the coronavirus as an import from Chy-na.

Its difficult to disentangle the vile pathologies that lead a man to take so many innocent lives. Its also impossible to ignore the context in which the murders were committed and the impact that the tragedy has had on communities across America. In an analysis of nearly 4,000 hate-related incidents targeting Asian-Americans documented this year and last, nearly 70 percent of the victims were women, according to a report by the group Stop AAPI Hate. New York was the second state behind California in the total number of incidents documented by the group.

After a year of vitriol and violence against Asian-Americans amid the coronavirus pandemic, its long past time to admit that the country has a problem. The Asian-American community has reached a crisis point that cannot be ignored, Representative Judy Chu, a Democrat from California, told a congressional hearing on Thursday. It was the first such hearing on anti-Asian discrimination in three decades.

A year ago this month, after the pandemic had already established a beachhead in the United States, this board wrote that there was a long history of diseases triggering waves of violence  against Jews during the Black Death right through the animus linked to Ebola, SARS and Zika. Chinese-Americans and other Asians lumped together with them by racists are being beaten, spat on, yelled at and insulted from coast to coast, driving some members of the maligned minority to purchase firearms in the fear of worse to come as the pandemic deepens, the board wrote.

The president then was Donald Trump, who spent his term exploiting anti-immigrant hostility for political gain. He seized every opportunity to cast the pandemic in bigoted terms, portraying China in particular as the villain. Mr. Trump said China virus again this week during a Fox News interview on the very night of the Georgia shootings.

Its impossible not to acknowledge the nations history of maltreatment of Asian-Americans, nor how it has manifested over the past year  from political stump speeches, to xenophobic merchandise, to the rise in hate crimes. It falls to Americans living in the shadow of this history to demand more from ourselves  more compassion, more dignity, more grace  as we work to heal our society of its many ills.

Online: https://www.nytimes.com

By The Associated Press
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-24 20:21:42|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

China's State Council Information Office on Wednesday issued the Report on Human Rights Violations in the United States in 2020.

The report said Washington's incompetent pandemic containment led to tragic outcomes and that American democracy disorder triggered political chaos.

Ethnic minorities suffered racial discrimination and continuous social unrest threatened public security in the United States, it said.

The report also drew attention to the growing polarization between the rich and the poor that aggravated social inequality in America.

The U.S. trampling on international rules resulted in humanitarian disasters, it added.

Produced by Xinhua Global Service
RUISLIP, London, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- With its recent successes in the film industry, Filmways Pictures Agency opens its doors to the U.K. and European market. The move is the company's first step towards taking its business on a global scale.

"We are driven by the mission to create more meaningful and original films and multimedia content. That is why we're expanding our reach to Europe in search of more market opportunities," said Ben Davidson, the marketing director of Filmways Pictures.



He also added:"We also know that this area houses world-class content creators, so we're also planning to harness it. This is just the first step towards our planned development this year."

Filmways Pictures Agency hopes to discover more interesting market niches and other avenues that match their project standards. Combining their current business setup targeting a broader reach, the company aims to cover more titles for consideration as part of the annual submissions.



Davidson added:"Throughout our experience in the American market, every time we receive new film concepts from aspiring screenwriters, we are always in awe of the creativity and uniqueness of the submissions. We thought that if we can also open our doors for other creative content creators, the world can enjoy more stories."



The number of submissions for film production never wavered despite the current limitations due to the pandemic. The company has seen more growth than ever before, that is why the management and executives of Filmways Pictures Agency are looking forward to a brighter future.



Company Profile



Filmways Pictures Agency brings screenplays to life. It was founded by a group of agents and producers in California in 1952. The production company strives to produce original, creative, and outstanding content for film, television, and other emerging formats. For more information, visit the website.



For more information, please contact +1-888-214-1757 or email us at [email protected].

Ben Davidson

Marketing Director

Filmways Pictures Film Rights Management

888-214-1757

[email protected]

This release was issued through WebWire. For more information, visit http://www.webwire.com.

SOURCE Filmways Pictures Agency

Related Links

https://www.filmwayspictures.com


Proceeds will fund the biotech services business to expand amid high commercial demand, to double capacity this year, and, double it again next year.

Holdings Plc ( ) has raised 9mln to support the growth of its ImmunoINSIGHTS business, in Dortmund, which is in-demand and has a growing pipeline of commercial prospects.

ImmunoINSIGHTS, acquired by in 2019, has so far entered into seven contracts with leading global biopharmaceutical companies including Roche and Genentech and is currently in advanced talks for 19 further potential contracts.

The contracts currently under discussion would have a value of around 10.8mln, and these are among a pipeline that presently has more than 100 separate opportunities, the company noted.

Oncimmune highlighted that ImmunoINSIGHTS is in a position to deliver sustainable growth.

It intends to use proceeds from the equity raise to invest in ImmunoINSIGHTS, to take advantage of its growing pipeline.

Cash will be used to increase the operating capacity which will accommodate the near-term contracts and others in the pipeline.

Presently the business, which fulfils service contracts as part of the development of immune checkpoint inhibitors and other biotechs, has the capacity to handle some 10,000 samples per year  and the company currently sees utilisation of around 60%.

The plan is to expand capacity in Dortmund to 20,000 samples per year by December 2021 and then 40,000 samples per year by June 2022.

In step, it intends to bolster the sales and business development presence for ImmunoINSIGHTS in the United States.

At the same time, the company said it plans to rationalise certain of its partnerships to enable strategic optionality and support a path to US capital markets, eyeing a dual listing.

Some proceeds will, meanwhile, also be invested in Oncimmunes commercial discovery technology.

Adam Hill, Oncimmune's chief executive, said: " Whilst Oncimmune is already funded to meet previous market expectations, it has become clear that an exciting opportunity exists to deploy additional capital to accelerate the growth of the ImmunoINSIGHTS business in the near term.

"We are therefore delighted with the outcome of this oversubscribed equity financing round and the strong level of support received from both existing and new investors.

"The company is increasingly being recognised as a global leader in the stratification of patients to optimise immune-modulating therapy, helping our partners to develop new classes of medicines to treat patients with cancer, autoimmune disease and, more latterly, infectious diseases.

"This funding will accelerate an exciting growth trajectory for the company as we scale up our capacity to deliver a growing number of ImmunoINSIGHTS services projects."

Trading update

Onciummue highlighted progress in-line with commentary at the time of its latest results, released February 15.

It noted that within ImmunoINSIGHTS it continues to expect the signing of new contracts before the end of this financial year.

The EarlyCDT Lung product business is, meanwhile, said to be proceeding well and the company noted that a significant number of blood tests have been performed. Participants that have tested with a positive result for the presence of lung cancer being referred for further clinical examination.

The company expects the signing of another NHS contract before the end of the financial year, as previously announced.

Elsewhere, the company's partner in the US, Biodesix Inc has reported a continued increase in onboarding of new sales representatives dedicated to EarlyCDT Lung to US pulmonologists and it is forecasting an acceleration in quarter-on-quarter sales growth through calendar year 2021.

Overall, the company continues to deliver on its strategic objectives and is benefiting from the creation of a business which now has a broad commercial offering with significant revenue growth potential, Oncimmune said in the statement.

It is against this backdrop of momentum that the Board is confident of delivering increasing value to all stakeholders.

--adds placing outcome, comment --
Anyone who wants a COVID-19 vaccine in Sweetwater County can receive one.

The Sweetwater County District Board of Health opened vaccines to all residents last week, but demand for large-scale vaccination clinics is diminishing according to healthcare representatives.

Castle Rock Hospital District CEO Bailie Dockter said the medical center is going to pull away from giving first doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines and turn over more of its vaccine allotment to the county board of health in the coming weeks.

The medical center has distributed 2,300 first injections and 1,455 second doses as of Monday. Dr. Connie Fauntleroy said the medical center had 250 first doses available Monday as it continues to shift focus to providing those second doses.

Kim Lionberger, director of the Sweetwater County District Board of Health, said they had 1,300 open vaccination appointments available Monday and said area pharmacies, such as K-Pack Pharmacy and and Pharmacy at Smiths Food and Drug in Green River are offering vaccination appointments as well.

There are multiple places to receive vaccine at this time, she said.

Dr. Jean Stachon, the countys health officer, said nearly 11,000 residents have received at least a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. However, the number of vaccinations will likely increase as a single-dose vaccine provided by Johnson & Johnson becomes more available along with the two other vaccines.

Sweetwater County residents are also provided access to the vaccine sooner than other Wyoming residents, as the vaccines are not scheduled to be open to all residents of the state until April 11.

Phases do not matter at this point in time, Lionberger said.

With that, Lionberger said people who are unable to leave their homes can request a home vaccination visit as long as they receive a doctors order to have it done. People who schedule an appointment at a vaccination clinic can receive a vaccination in their vehicle if theyre unable to walk into the clinic.

While some may express concern about how quickly the vaccines were developed, Lionberger said a number of things occurred to speed up development in a safe manner, including a large amount of money and trials utilizing several thousands of people.

Dr. Stachon said the countys infection numbers continues to decline, but remains at a higher rate than most Wyoming counties.

During a virtual COVID-19 update Monday, Steve Core, the chairman of the Sweetwater County School District No. 2 Board of Trustees asked Dr. Stachon her thoughts about the district in Pinedale voting to end the mask mandate within its schools and what her thoughts on the districts in Green River and Rock Springs following suit.

Dr. Stachon said Rock Springs students will continue to wear because infection numbers are so high, saying the board decided not to seek a variance. She said the first hurdle to clear for a county variance is to have infection rates in the green zone, meaning between nine and 19 cases per 100,000 population and a 3-4.9% test positivity over the previous 14 days.

Sweetwater and Teton Counties being the outliers according to data provided by the state, with Sweetwater County recording 260 cases between from March 4-17. She said she wouldnt seek a variance until theres a lower transmission rate.

While the state-recorded infection rate places Sweetwater County in the red zone, with 260 cases, the percent positivity recorded is on a downward trend. At Castle Rock Medical Center, Dockter said the percent positivity of the COVID-19 tests conducted is above 30%, but thats due to tests only being administered to people already ill.

The decline in testing has resulted in Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County to cut back its swab testing hours in April.

Im really pleased to see ... things are moving as well as they are, Dr. Stachon said.
SHASTA COUNTY, Calif. - A man was sentenced to six years and four months in a local prison for felony charges on Tuesday, Shasta County District Attorney Office said.

Michael Fain II was arrested 10 times and was contacted by law enforcement 21 times on different calls for service between March 2019 and July 2020.

In October 2020, Fain was seen on Highway 273 darting in front of vehicles causing them to swerve as the vehicles avoided hitting him.

A passing Anderson Police Department officer attempted to detain Fain in order to prevent him from walking into the road.

Fain refused to cooperate with the officer and threatened the officer with violence.

The officer used his taser to get control of Fain and began to search Fain.

The officer found numerous weapons on Fain including a hammer, bicycle chains, at least five knives or stabbing weapons. Fain had an illegal switchblade and a shiv improvised stabbing weapon, the attorneys office said.

Fain pleaded guilty to a felony charge and a misdemeanor charge. He also admitted violations of felony probation that he was found guilty of in 2019.

Fain sentencing is a part of the Chronic Offender Accountability Program which is aimed at keeping repeat offenders off the streets.
SCRANTON  Former Old Forge School Director Frank J. Scavo celebrated entering the U.S. Capitol illegally during the Jan. 6 riot, chanted with rioters once inside, posed for a picture near a painting and climbed a staircase while recording cellphone video, a federal criminal complaint charges.

One video on Scavos phone records him roaming the Capitol halls, though he is not in the footage, FBI agent Brian R. Austin wrote in the complaint.

Your own personal tour of the freaking Capitol, Scavo can be heard saying, according to the complaint. We  took it back. Took it back.

Federal agents charged Scavo with entering the Capitol illegally during the riot meant to prevent Congress from ratifying President Joe Bidens election.

Scavo, 58, surrendered to the FBI just before 10 a.m. Thursday at the William J. Nealon Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Scranton. The FBI charged him with four misdemeanors: knowingly entering or remaining in the Capitol without lawful authority, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct on Capitol grounds and parading, demonstrating or picketing in the Capitol.

They resemble charges filed against hundreds of others who entered the Capitol the same day, including Annie Howell, 30, of Swoyersville, charged only last week. Five people died in the rioting, including a Capitol Police officer.

Scavo organized a caravan of five buses of about 200 supporters of President Donald Trump to a Washington, D.C., rally Jan. 6. Once there, they protested that the election was stolen from Trump  a false claim  just hours before Congress planned to meet to ratify the election of Biden, a Scranton native, to the presidency.

Before the riot, Trump spoke at a gathering where he encouraged supporters to keep believing the election was stolen from him and to march to the Capitol. Afterward, hundreds stormed the Capitol, breaking windows, attacking guards, roaming through offices and taking over the Senate chamber as members of Congress escaped to safety. Later that night, the Capitol cleared, Congress ratified Bidens election.

During a 15-minute hearing Thursday, Middle District of Pennsylvania Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Karoline Mehalchick allowed Scavo to remain free without bail and set two preliminary hearings  one via Zoom on March 31 at 1 p.m. with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and another April 1 at 9 a.m. before her. The first hearing may eliminate the need for the second, she said.

Scavo faces up to three years in prison, fines of up to $210,000 and special assessments of up to $70.

Sentencing guidelines could produce a lesser penalty, assuming a conviction or guilty plea.

Scavo plans to plead not guilty.

After the hearing, his lawyer, Scranton attorney Ernie Preate Jr., told reporters the mob pushed Scavo into the Capitol, where he remained for eight minutes, six of which he spent trying to get out. He even asked two security guards for directions on leaving, Preate said.

Scavo initially denied entering the Capitol to The Times-Tribune and other media. Photos of him inside the building later emerged.

Preate called his clients claim inaccurate and said he did not know why Scavo told reporters he never entered the building.

He was in awe of where he was and what was happening to him, Preate said. We dont deny he was inside the Capitol. Its a question of how he got in the Capitol. And if you look at the affidavit, youll see that theres a question as to whether he voluntarily went in or he was pushed in by the mob that was there ... The video that we have shows the mob screaming at the door, Heave, heave, heave and him getting caught in this mob going through. Thats our position. We showed that to the government and the government has that, its from his own phone.

Preate said he will seek recordings from Capitol video cameras.

So were pretty confident that he didnt commit any acts of violence, that he didnt do anything unruly, didnt break anything, he said. If youre caught in a mob, and somebody pushes you through a door, I dont know whether thats knowingly entering... (He) never crossed any yellow line, never went through any barrier. No police officer confronted him and told him to stay away. He just was pushed in through the door. And it was a mob of 1,000, maybe more that did that.

Preate said Scavo recording his entry on his cellphone only corroborates his version.

The criminal complaint offers a different take.

It acknowledges Scavo voluntarily met with the FBI on Jan. 15 and told agents the crowd pushed him into the Capitol.

The FBI affidavit says his video does not show the mob pushing him, though the video is not continuous and does not show when he crossed the entrance threshold.

As rioters open the doors from inside, one of Scavos videos records him saying he has to put on his mask and shows him wearing his End the Rain Tax mask.

Then he turns the camera on himself and says, Here we go. The video cuts to Scavo walking up a staircase and roaming inside the Capitol.

He introduces himself to a woman in a hallway. He can also be heard saying, God Bless America and joining chants of treason and defend the Constitution, defend your liberty.

Other video from inside the Capitol shows Scavo crossed the threshold at 2:40 p.m. with a large crowd following closely behind.

Once inside, he held up his cellphone and started recording video or photos. He kept doing that as he climbed a staircase. Scavo told the FBI he wanted to document the event.

This is top-secret  Were in the Capitol. Stormed the  Capitol of the  United States at 58 years old. What the  is wrong with America? he says in one video.

He stopped a random passerby and asked the person to take a photo of him in front of a painting of a boat.

As he stepped out of the federal courthouse Thursday, Scavo talked about none of that. He pulled a pocket-sized copy of the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence out of his coal-black suit jacket, but declined to comment directly on the charges.

Well be giving you more comments as the days progress, Scavo said.

Asked about his earlier denial of being inside the Capitol and Preate acknowledging he entered the building, Scavo said legal discovery will produce unspecified evidence, but todays not the day that we will tell the whole story.

As he walked away from reporters, a woman shouted for him to shut up.

He did.

Mehalchick ordered Scavo to turn over his passport and forbid him from traveling to Washington, D.C., unless a court orders him there. She also said he would need the permission of the court and a federal pretrial services officer to leave Pennsylvanias middle federal court district, a 33-county territory that includes northeastern and central Pennsylvania. She said Scavo must check in with a pretrial officer weekly and forbid him from talking to potential witnesses or keeping firearms or other destructive weapons. She also ordered him to report any contact with law enforcement, even a traffic stop.

Yes, your honor, Scavo said, echoing his answer to most of Mehalchicks questions.

Preate said Scavo owns only a bow and arrow.

Hes been cooperating with the FBI, Preate told the judge. He has no criminal record. Hes been an outstanding citizen of the community for 58 years.
She's gearing up to play Russian assassin Villanelle one more time after BBC bosses confirmed the fourth season of Killing Eve will be its last.

But actress Jodie Comer had other things on her mind as she ventured out with her brother Charlie in their native Liverpool on Wednesday.

The British star, 28, appeared to have her hands full as she made her way out of a local Sainsbury's branch carrying a large printer.

Make way: Jodie Comer had her hands full with a large printer as she left a Liverpool branch of Sainsbury's on Wednesday afternoon

In accordance with current health and safety guidelines Jodie covered her mouth and nose with a protective covering while crossing the supermarket's busy carpark.

The actress, who has spent Britain's third national lockdown with her family, looked relaxed in a casual jacket, ripped jeans and trainers during her latest outing.

It was recently confirmed on Twitter that the much-loved BBC series Killing Eve will draw to a conclusion with its fourth instalment in 2022.

In good company: The Killing Eve actress was joined by brother Charlie during her latest public appearance

Safety first: In accordance with current health and safety guidelines Jodie covered her mouth and nose with a protective covering while crossing the supermarket's busy carpark

A promotional video shared on the programme's social media account also revealed that filming will begin again this summer.

Filming of the new series was previously halted due to the coronavirus pandemic, which restricted filmed over the show's various European locations.

Over a backdrop of London with the programme's protagonist stood on a bridge, the words 'Killing Eve season four films summer 2021', appeared on screen.

Low key appearance: The actress, who has spent Britain's third national lockdown with her family, looked relaxed in a casual jacket, ripped jeans and trainers during her latest outing

Followed by 'premieres 2022, oh one more thing, the final season', while the show's theme tune played over the video.

The clip was posted alongside the caption: 'Anything worth having is worth the wait.'

It was previously announced in July the fourth season of Killing Eve had been postponed as a consequence of the pandemic and the travel restrictions it has imposed.

Juggling act: Jodie had her hands full as she made her way back to her car on Wednesday

Let's go: Jodie and Charlie loaded their purchases into the boot of their car before heading home

Producers hoped to begin filming in August, little more than two months after season three's finale teased fans with an ambiguous cliff-hanger on London's Tower Bridge.

However, original plans to push ahead with a new series were scuppered due to the current health crisis.

According to Deadline at the time there was no 'clear return date', until now.

News: It was confirmed by the show on Twitter that Killing Eve will draw to a conclusion with its fourth series in 2022

Big plans: A promotional video shared on the programme's social media account also revealed that filming will begin again this summer

The publication reported the show's production company, Sid Gentle Films, had 'abandoned their plans and was yet to set a restart date for later that year' due to Killing Eve's 'jigsaw of European location shoots'.

To date, the drama has been shot in the likes of Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bucharest and Tuscany.

There was added complication due to actress Sandra Oh needing to fly to the UK from the United States to join Jodie and the rest of the cast, before embarking on further travel further afield.

On hold: Season 4 of Killing Eve was postponed, meaning fans have a long wait before being reunited with Eve and Villanelle

A spokesman for the show told Deadline: 'Killing Eve shoots across multiple European locations.

'Due to the uncertainty of the world as a result of COVID-19, no shooting schedules for Killing Eve season four have been locked in at this point and there are various scenarios in play.'

Killing Eve ordinarily shoots in the summer through to the end of autumn and returns to screens in the spring.
SAN JOSE, Calif., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- LILEE Systems is proud to receive the first permit for self-driving bus commercial services on two designated bus lines in Tainan, Taiwan. The self-driving fleet, subsidized by the Ministry of Transportation, will generate new revenues to the city's public transit systems by providing two regular bus services in the science park and between the high-speed railway station and the nearby university, exhibition center and large outlet mall. This milestone of the innovative autonomous rapid transit (ART) system has been achieved through partnership with Kasion Green Energy, Taiwan's sole distributor of BYD vehicles, and Tainan Bus, one of the largest bus operators servicing over 23-million passengers per year.

Selected by the Tainan City Government and Taiwan's Ministry of Transportation, LILEE Systems, Kasion Green Energy and Tainan Bus have signed a memorandum of cooperation in creating a new smart transportation model that realizes true driverless driving of urban buses. The commercial services will begin on September 2021 using the BYD K6 bus fleet.

"Launching the autonomous rapid transit (ART) system with LILEE Systems is a key milestone of our smart transportation development," said Ming-Te Wang, Director of Tainan's Bureau of Transportation. "We are excited to roll our self-driving buses to expand the city's public transportation services and improve safety and efficiency."

Headquartered in Silicon Valley, USA, LILEE Systems specializes in advanced transportation safety software and is the leading technology provider of autonomous driving solutions that deliver AI-based object detection, precision positioning, HD-Map and path planning. The self-driving system is monitored by a cloud-based operations control center (OCC) for an extra layer of safety.

Jia-Ru Li, CEO of LILEE Systems, added: "Autonomous driving reduces the operating cost of labor and fuel, the two biggest expenses of bus operations. It can effectively solve urban transportation issues of driver shortages and improves safety by avoiding human errors. Through close government-industry collaborations, we are confident that the autonomous rapid transit (ART) system will become a sustainable public transportation mode for the future."

About LILEE Systems

LILEE Systems is the leader provider of mission-critical transportation safety software and autonomous driving solutions. LILEE Systems is headquartered in Silicon Valley with an office in Taipei, Taiwan.

Contact us:

91 East Tasman Drive Suite #150

San Jose, CA 95134, USA

[email protected]

SOURCE LILEE Systems

Related Links

https://www.lileesystems.com


Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 07:22:51|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

NEW YORK, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) fired at least one unidentified projectile into the East Sea, Yonhap news agency reported early Thursday Seoul Time, citing South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Other details are not yet available, including how many and what type of projectile was launched, according to the report.

It marked the DPRK's "second missile launch in a week after its firing of cruise missiles off the west coast over the weekend was belatedly made public the previous day," the report said. Enditem
YEREVAN. - Past daily of Armenia writes: The National Security Service proposes to modernize the Law on State and Official Secrets.

The National Security Service believes that the current Law on State and Official Secrets needs to be completely reformed and improved in terms of content and legislative point of view, it was adopted in 1996 and several legal regulations in it do not reflect the current realities as well as the international track-record.

Thus, () the draft law on State and Official Secrets clarifies the definitions of the degree of secrecy, permission regarding confidential information, their means of protection, the seal of secrecy, and other concepts.

The scope of the Government's powers to classify information among the ranks of state and official secrets and their protection was also clarified, as well as a number of other legal regulations are envisaged.

With the adoption of the draft, the current legal regulations on the relationship between state and official secrets will be changed in terms of content and legislation, they will be made in line with current realities and international track-record, as well as new mechanisms and solutions aimed at protecting confidential information will be introduced.
One in three American adults has now received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the White Houses COVID-19 response team.

Acting Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Andy Slavitt said Wednesday that 84 million people have gotten at least one dose, and 45 million have been fully vaccinated.

As of Wednesday, he said, 70 percent of Americans age 65 and older have received at least one shot. He said the White House informed governors Tuesday that 27 million doses will be allocated across all vaccine distribution channels this week, with two-thirds going to states for them to distribute.

Responding to a question about whether the country was turning the corner on the pandemic, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci said, We are at the corner. Whether or not were going to be turning that corner still remains to be seen. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said that about 13 percent of the population is fully vaccinated, and We need to be much higher than that to feel like we have adequate protection around this country.

Walensky said shes concerned by footage showing people on spring break and not continuing to implement prevention strategies.

In Massachusetts, more than 3 million doses have been administered.
Opinion Article

25 March 2021

With no signs that growth in VC funding will slow this year, 2021 could be a record year for deals and investments.

The industry is buzzing with news that Montreal and Boston-based travel app Hopper has just received another round of fresh funds. Capital One led this round that injects another $170M into the company, which appears to have set its sights on the B2B travel space. If funding is flowing into companies that are focused on B2B travel, as the pundits state that business travel will take some time to return, then many other startups may be extremely attractive to the VC community.

It appears as if the global travel market is beginning to soften, and the news is increasing the likelihood that VCs will start pumping money into the travel and hospitality industry as "revenge travel" appears to be on the horizon. Individuals have been stuck in their houses for over a year now, vaccines are available, and we are definitely seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. People will want to stretch, spread their wings, and travel once again with this optimistic view.

In other startup news, Getaway received $42M in a Series C round led by Ceteras. Getaway is fueling some travelers' needs, not all, in search of a secluded and private location. Getaway's destinations are known as Outposts and consist of furnished cabins of no more than 200 square feet available to rent nightly and equipped with linens, towels, basic kitchen equipment, and, by design, without Wi-Fi. This is indeed a unique idea not only for those who want to truly disconnect but for those who are looking for a unique travel experience.

On the hotel technology front, it appears as if there will be a renewed investment here as well. Allegion Ventures has expanded its strategic portfolio with an investment in Mint House, a startup that revolutionizes the hotel experience for modern business travelers through technology-aided amenities secure mobile check-in keyless entry, digital concierge, customized pre-stocked grocery delivery, and more. The details of the investment have not been disclosed, but it shows that the VC community is once again very interested in travel and hospitality.

Many airlines are starting to add routes to their current sparse offering, which is a great sign. Cruise lines are coming out of hibernation, and it appears as if several cruises will set sail in a few months. Also, Disney is re-opening in CA in April and will be adding back 10000 jobs. All of this is fantastic news.

So, expect to see many more transactions in the coming months as travel continues to heat up and people begin to book trips believing that the future is once again bright.
The Federal Government Wednesday said that Nigeria's low rating by the Transparency International (TI) corruption perception index was as a result of the country's opaqueness in doing business.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed stated this while fielding questions from State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Council Chamber, presidential villa Abuja.

But he noted that the present administration has initiated reforms to make it easier and more transparent to do business especially in the port sector.

He said the issue of TI low corruption perception of the country was not necessarily about stealing of public funds, even as he contended that the group's rating of Nigerian has not correctly reflected the government's effort to curb corruption in the country.

Alhaji Mohammed said that the inconsistencies in scoring by TI over the years could be due to inadequate data, saying that government is taking necessary measures to communicate relevant data on all sectors.

He, however, said that by the time the reform put in place by the government begin to yield result, the country's corruption perception will improve.

Details later...

Vanguard News Nigeria
CLEVELAND, Ohio  There are so many ways to catch a walleye in the Walleye Capital of the World, and April is one of those times when everyone can easily get in on the action.

My very first walleye was hooked and landed while fishing the Sandusky River in April more than a half century ago. With a spinning rod and a new drivers license in hand, a couple of Cleveland friends and I headed for Fremont on the Sandusky River, just south of Sandusky.

Wed heard about the spring walleye run, and I had bought a pair of used hip boots in order to wade the muddy Sandusky. A bunch of old timers there gave us a jaundiced look when we arrived, but we were eager to join them after seeing a walleye, or two, on old chain stringers attached to their belts.

We had bought a half-dozen lead-head jigs with hair skirts at a local fishing tackle shop, got some savvy advice from the shop owner, and headed for the river.

Copying the cast and retrieve of the other anglers around us, it took a while to finally hook a fish. Then another. We were hooked, and it was the first of many pilgrimages to those spring walleye Meccas.

This week, the predictable runs began again. As usual, the fishing is being determined by the weather. Spring rains that kick up water levels and muddy the waters inhibit fishing success, but waters rising above the 40-degree mark lure the fish back to their gravel spawning areas each April.

The first, and best: The Maumee River is the first of the Northwest Ohio waterways to lure walleye each spring, and for good reason. Walleye return to the areas where they hatched, and the Maumee is a bigger, broader river than the Sandusky.

Most walleye spawn on the Western Lake Erie near-shore reefs and around the rocky areas around the Lake Erie Islands. Fisheries experts believe the walleye have expanded their spawn to other areas along the Ohio shoreline, one of the reasons the lakewide walleye population has soared in recent years.

Maumee Bait and Tackle on the Maumee River in the Toledo area is command central for fishermen, and its experts on Thursday reported the river water temperature was a balmy 52 degrees. Limit catches had become more common, and as water levels slowly went down after recent rains, some of the top fishing areas such as Bluegrass Island could be accessed by wading fishermen.

Top techniques for catching river walleye: There are two basic casting rigs that catch walleye with consistency. The old-time rig is to cast a 1/4-ounce to 1/2-ounce lead-head jig tipped with a plastic twister tail to the gravel areas and deeper holes, allowing it to bounce along the river bottom.

More productive, at times, is to cast a Carolina rig consisting of a barrel sinker, swivel, a 2- to 4-foot leader and a floating jig head tipped with a twister tail. The sinkers range from 3/8- to 1/2-ounce.

Expect crowds of wading fishermen. Casting courtesy sometimes goes by the wayside, so expect to move often if the elbow-to-elbow crowd gets too unbearable.

River rules in effect: Fishing on both the Maumee and Sandusky rivers is only allowed from dawn to dusk. This week, thats about 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. The days will get a little longer in the weeks to come.

Only lures with a single hook are allowed. All fish that are snagged must be released. Wildlife officers will be watching with binoculars. Citations can be common for not releasing snagged walleye.

Sandusky River picking up steam without Ballville Dam: The best Sandusky River walleye fishing is in the downtown Fremont area. Anglers Supplies is the top tackle shop, and owner Bernie Whitt said the fishing has been a bit slow due to murky waters, but is picking up. Both Carolina rigs floating jigs and lead-head jigs have been working equally well.

The Sandusky River fishing has been on the upswing ever since the Ballville Dam in Fremont was removed a couple of years ago, increasing available gravel spawning areas. Parking can be difficult at times.

Trout transfusions scheduled: The Ohio Division of Wildlife hatcheries will be sending foot-long rainbow trout to ponds and inland lakes all around Ohio in the coming month, and among the first waters to receive a transfusion will be Forest Hill Pond in East Cleveland and Shadow Lake in the South Chagrin Reservation of the Cleveland Metroparks. Theyll receive the bonus trout this week.

Punderson Lake in Geauga County and Silver Creek Lake in Summit County get trout the week of April 9. Hinckley Lake in Medina County, Little Turtle Pond in Summit County, Clevelands Ohio & Erie Canal, and Painesville Recreation Park and Veterans Park, both in Lake County, get trout the week of April 16.

For other Ohio trout stockings, visit the ODOW website at wildlife.ohiodnr.gov.
She appeared on Lorraine Kelly's chat show to discuss her police training and working to raise money for the British Heart Foundation.

However Penny Lancaster's interview with the TV host was interrupted by her husband Rod Stewart midway through the chat on Thursday morning.

The model, 50, was discussing training to become a police constable when her rocker beau suddenly appeared behind her on a pair of crutches.

Haha! Penny Lancaster's interview with the TV host was interrupted by her husband Rod Stewart midway through the chat on Thursday morning

Lorraine, 61, delightedly exclaimed: 'Hello! He's behind you', as Rod briefly appeared on screen while his wife was chatting.

Penny didn't appear to mind the interruption as she smiled as Rod walked off, before Lorraine quizzed her on why Rod was walking on crutches.

She said: 'Has he got a sore leg?'

Penny explained: 'He had knee surgery but the ankle surgery is taking a little bit longer to heal from, but he'll be back. He's got a whole new album coming out soon and he's very supportive of me doing the police, he knows I've got a burning desire.'

Interview: The model, 50, was discussing training to become a police constable when her rocker beau suddenly appeared behind her on a pair of crutches

Penny, who has been married, 76, to Rod since 2007, went on to discuss her police training to become a constable and being a police officer.

She said: 'That picture was taken on Channel 4's Famous and Fighting Crime so there were some very scary moments, but I felt like this is where I'm meant to be.

'I know it's crazy because I'm the wife of Rod Stewart, and for me being a police officer, I feel like you make a difference every day. We are upholding the law, our biggest priority is protecting life and property and maintaining the peace.'

'He's behind you!' Lorraine, 61, delightedly exclaimed: 'Hello! He's behind you', as Rod briefly appeared on screen while his wife was chatting

Make a wish! Penny celebrated her 50th birthday in lockdown and lit 50 personalised candles for the occasion in an Instagram post earlier this month

On Rod being supportive, she said: 'Obviously, he will be nervous for me because police do put themselves out there. I think the police get a hard rap sometimes, with every step we take we have to go through a whole step course of decision making.

'We're all trained to treat the public as equals and we would like the public to treat the police with the same respect, and we all set ourselves to create a good experience as well as preventing crime.'

Earlier this month, Penny celebrated her 50th birthday in lockdown and lit 50 personalised candles for the occasion. She took to her Instagram to share a snap of her mantelpiece with fans.

Happiness: Former model Penny  who shares sons Alistair, 15, and Aiden, 10, with Rod, dotted the candles amongst family photo frames (pictured together in 2020)

Penny  who shares sons Alistair, 15, and Aiden, 10, with Rod, dotted the candles amongst photo frames and a vase of lillies to celebrate.

She spaced the white and green candles, which had things like 'Lady P' and '50' written on them, across every inch of the surface dotted between a white bust.

The mother-of-two said that the 'outpouring of love' she received on her special day had 'warmed' her soul.

She penned: 'My lockdown 50th was magical. The out pouring of love and birthday wishes warmed me to my soul.

'You made my birthday complete, just as you make my life complete. My zoom party was full of unforgettable memories, tears and laughter.

Magical: The mother-of-two said the 'outpouring of love' she received on her special day had 'warmed' her soul

'I made lots of wishes when I blow out all 50 of my hand made personalised candles, giving thanks to all my cherished loved ones'.

Penny also took to her Instagram Stories to give fans a closer look at her personalised candles, which had 'soul' and 'ritz' adorned on them.

As she panned across the table, with Annie Lennox's hit Shining Light playing over the clip, there was also a candle with 'goats' on it, a nod to her pet pygmies Rupert, Biscuit and Hazel.

Her birthday cake also featured her beloved goats, with three chocolate sculptures perched on top.

Penny's green cake was made to look like a field with a fence round the bottom and little icing flowers on top, and included the names of her pets around the base.

Beloved pets: Penny's birthday cake also featured her goats, with three chocolate sculptures perched on top of the cake which was made to look like a field

Musician Rod shares his daughter, as well as son Sean, 40, with his first wife Alana Stewart, who he was married to married for five years.

The music sensation has fathered eight children in total, including two during his second marriage with Rachel Hunter, daughter Renee, 28, and son Liam, 26.

Rod was married to the New Zealand-born model from 1990 until 1999 and eventually divorced in 2006.

The star also shares daughter Ruby, 33, with his model ex Kelly Emberg.

His first child - Sarah Streeter, 57, from his romance with then-art student Susannah Boffey - was given up for adoption after he fathered her at age 18.
ARCHIVED - Spain considers closing bar and restaurant interiors if Covid incidence rates rise over 150



Various ways of tightening and standardising restrictions are under debate as the threat of a fourth wave looms

Spains Public Health Committee is meeting on Thursday to discuss possible modifications to the coronavirus response guidelines with the intention of unifying the criteria governing all 17 regions of the country, with the changes considered including a proposal to ban customers from the inside of bars and restaurants if and when 14-day incidence rates rise above 150 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

If this measure were in place at present it would affect the regions of Asturias, Cataluna, Madrid, Navarra, the Basque Country, Ceuta and Melilla.

The guidelines as they stand at present were introduced on 22nd October, shortly before the peak of the second wave of Covid infections which seemed disastrous at the time but which was later dwarfed by the third wave in January. Now that the threat of a fourth wave is growing, the Ministry of Health intends to tighten up the ways in which regional governments are required to respond to the data, but even if the new proposal is adopted it appears unlikely it will be implemented before Easter Week begins this weekend.

The current regulations state that at alert level 3, with incidence rates of between 150 and 250, regional health services should consider whether to close indoor areas of bars and restaurants, rather than enforcing the closure.

Also being debated is a proposal that bars and restaurants should be closed altogether except for takeaway orders at incidence rates of over 500, a situation which among Spanish regions currently affects only the north African enclave of Melilla, and at the same time consideration is being given to the possibility of establishing the maximum number of people allowed to meet in outdoor areas at 4 when incidence rates climb above 150.

In addition, a draft document stipulates a 50 per cent occupation limit on outdoor bar and restaurant terraces, and the postponement of weddings, baptisms and communions at incidence rates of over 250.

Although the need to protect the public and try to limit the continued spread of the virus is paramount, the situation for many businesses is now becoming desperate. The stop-start routine of the last year has left business owners facing difficult decisions, after being forced to close premises, partially re-open them, close them again, etc etc with the uncertainty continuing as the waves of the virus rise and fall. In some cases staff are being shed altogether after being furloughed for months, some businesses are closing down, others are struggling on, the future depending on whether premises are owned directly by the business owner or leased.

And the future remains uncertain, particularly for those in coastal regions that depend on the tourist trade and cant say for certain at the moment whether there will even be a summer season or not.

The government is trying to avoid paying direct aid to business owners as there are so many affected, and is offering aid through re-financing schemes, and local or regional government schemes, but the situation is still dire and the prospect of significant job losses in the sector looms over these plans, as virologists insist that the hostelry sector is a major source of contagions.

As of last night the incidence rate in Spain over 14 days stood at 132.2 cases per 100,000 inhabitants and has been rising gradually for the last week. The data made public on Wednesday evening also showed that the figures rose in 15 of the countrys 17 regions. Only Andalucia (-0.6 per cent) and Aragon (-1.3 per cent) were exempt from the general trend, with the sharpest rises reported during the last 24 hours in Navarra (11.3 per cent), the Balearics (where a 9.5 per cent rise took the islands out of the low risk zone) and La Rioja (8.9 per cent).

The highest incidence rates among the regions are those reported in Madrid (228), the Basque Country (199.5) and Navarra (185.3), although in the north African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla the data are even more worrying with figures of 254 and 511 respectively.

At the same time, the total of 7,026 cases reported on Wednesday is the highest for a single day so far this month, while the addition of 320 fatalities takes the official Covid death toll in Spain to 74,064 since the first wave of the pandemic early last year.

It goes without saying that the country is hardly prepared for another wave of infection of the magnitude of the surge in January, with hospitals still struggling to cope with the large numbers of coronavirus patients in long-term intensive care. The proportion of all hospital beds occupied by Covid patients has dropped to 6.24 per cent, according to the latest data, but in intensive care units coronavirus still accounts for 18.6 per cent of all patients and in Madrid, La Rioja and Catalunya the figure is well above 30 per cent.

On Wednesday evening the health authorities of the country voted to maintain the current restrictions in place for Semana Santa and intensify the roadblocks attempting to prevent inter-regional travel, hoping that the public understands the high probability of a fourth wave should they fail to respect the restrictions imposed, which aim to give a good deal of freedom and enable businesses to remain open.
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.

You have permission to edit this article.

Edit Close
S.Korean, Russian foreign ministers hold talks in Seoul

Xinhua) 14:58, March 25, 2021

SEOUL, March 25 (Xinhua) -- South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and the visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held talks in Seoul Thursday to discuss the Korean Peninsula issue and ways to develop bilateral ties.

It was the first dialogue between the top diplomats of the two countries since June 2019.

Chung said in the press statement that he and Lavrov agreed to continue working together to arrange an early visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to South Korea as the COVID-19 situation is stabilized, while facilitating senior-level exchanges and cooperation between the two sides, according to the Seoul foreign ministry.

They agreed to continue cooperation in the areas of "nine bridges" agreed upon by South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Putin in 2017 as a framework for substantive cooperation between the two countries.

The two ministers agreed to expand the bilateral cooperation in the disease prevention and control and the public health, under a common understanding that solidarity and cooperation are of paramount importance in overcoming the global challenge of COVID-19, the statement said.

South Korea and Russia agreed to continue close communication and cooperation at various levels to advance the Korean Peninsula peace process, according to the statement.

The statement said Seoul appreciates Moscow's various proposals to achieve complete denuclearization and settle permanent peace on the peninsula as well as its consistent support for efforts for improvement in inter-Korean ties and the peninsula peace process.

South Korea asked Russia to continue to play a constructive role in the process, the statement added.

(Web editor: Wen Ying, Bianji)
The Lefts Legal Top Gun Marc Elias Isnt Finished With Democracy Yet

This week the House Committee on Administration is taking up the challenge by Rita Hart to have Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks kicked out of Congress. The Democratic candidate for a vacant seat in Iowas 2nd Congressional District, Hart lost by six votes in November to Miller-Meeks, a Republican. The election was properly certified in Iowa, but Harts attorneythe Democratic Partys most powerful power lawyer, Marc Eliasclaims to have found extra ballots for Hart. He wants Congress to overrule state elections officials and seat Hart.

Rodney Davis, the ranking Republican member of the administration committee, blasts the effort, calling it an attempt to steal a House seat. Hes not alone is seeing hypocrisy in litigating to overturn an election after Democrats lambasted Donald Trump for doing much the same. But Elias may have something more ambitious in mind than just this one Iowa seat. His political action group, the Democracy Docket, is floating a new strategy to guarantee Democratic majorities in the House and Senate: unseating any Republican they say won unfairly, especially through voter suppression or gerrymandering.

Elias has long represented Democrats in close races. He was Al Frankens attorney in 2008 (and well into 2009) for the comedian-turned-candidates effort to overcome a 215-vote deficit in his challenge of Sen. Norm Coleman for a U.S. Senate seat from Minnesota. There were months of recountingand courtroom arguments over whether to count absentee ballots that had originally been rejected. Enough of those ballots eventually went to Franken that Coleman was sent packing.

Now Elias is representing Rita Hart in her effort to undo the certified Iowa election. Elias needs to come up with only seven yet-to-be-counted ballots for the Democrat and then persuade the congressional majority to overrule Iowas certification of Miller-Meeks as the winner. He claims to have that many uncounted votes and more: 22 ballots remain uncounted, Elias declares at his Democracy Docket website. Elias concedes that a few of those votes would go to Miller-Meeks, but most would add to Harts countthe results of which would put her ahead by 9 votes. He argues that Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution empowers the House and Senate to overrule vote tallies as each body is the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members.

RealClearInvestigations reached out twice to Elias through Perkins Coie, the law firm at which he is a partner. He did not respond.

Elias has been described as the most consequential Democrat not holding an office. But that might sell him short. Compared with elected officials, whether a boisterous backbencher such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or President Joe Biden himself, Elias is the Democrat doing the most to shape American political campaigns.

In the 2020 election, he was a key field marshal leading an army of lawyers for the Biden campaigns special litigation unit. In litigation across the country, Eliass Perkins Coie team fought restrictions on absentee ballots and litigated for the expansion of mail-in voting. Elias represented the Democratic National Committee, state Democratic parties, congressional Democrats, and activist groups such as Priorities USA, bringing more than 200 pre-election lawsuits.

Elias had tremendous success with litigation designed to change voting rules state by state well into campaign season. His win-loss record was even more impressive after Election Day. Leading more than 100 lawyers, Elias swamped Donald Trumps legal team, who struggled to prove the presidents claims of electoral irregularities.

Elias is also notable for having made possible the creation and dissemination of the salacious Steele dossier that prompted a special prosecutors inquiry over supposed Russian election influence just weeks into Trumps tenure in office. It was Elias and the firm at which he is a partner, Perkins Coie, who hired Fusion GPS, using money from the Clinton campaign and the DNC. Fusion in turn paid former British spy Christopher Steele to compile the never-verified and now discredited collection of memos accusing Donald Trump of conspiring with Russia to sway the 2016 election. His role in secretly delivering campaign cash used to pay foreign nationals to interfere in the election may have made Elias infamous among Republicans, but its been great for business with Democrats. The American Lawyer calls Elias Every Democrats Favorite Lawyer.

Elias calls what he practices political law. And no doubt when playing politics, being a lawyer has its advantages. When interviewed by the House, Elias was able to invoke attorney/client privilege and refuse to answer questions about his conversations with Hillary Clinton and the DNC. That privilege gave him the opportunity to have some fun at the expense of the lawmakers conducting the interview. Asked who his privilege covered at the DNC, he offered to find out the names of the committee vice chairs and officers. Im happy to get that for you, he told Rep. Trey Gowdy. Its, I think, on their website.

At one point Donna Brazile was a clientshe chaired the DNC from July 2016 through February 2017. She told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence that at the time she was unaware of Steeles activities shopping the dossier around to journalists. But in the days before the election, she started getting calls from reporters asking her to confirm that MI-6 was on [the DNC] payroll. Brazile emailed Elias: MI-6 on our payroll? Need to know. Eliass reply was as cynical as it was curt: You dont need to know.

Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Il.) speaks in Washington on Jan. 9, 2020. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Elias and his team did run into trouble with their relentless tactics. A new rule taking effect for the 2020 election in Texas prohibited straight-ticket voting, the practice of checking one box to cast votes for the entire slate of a given partys candidates. In challenging that rule, Elias and his fellow Perkins Coie lawyers earned a rebuke from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals: Appellees did not notify the court that their latest motion  was nearly identical to the motion to supplement the record filed several months ago by the same attorneys. Elias failed to notify the court that their previous and nearly identical motion was denied. This inexplicable failure to disclose the earlier denial of their motion violated their duty of candor to the court. The panel of judges sanctioned Elias and the five lawyers working with him on the case, encouraging them all to attend ethics training.

Normally such a sanction would be a humiliating embarrassment to a law firm. But a spokesman for Perkins Coie said they strongly disagree with the Appellate Courts ruling and back Elias completely.

Elias seems to enjoy his notoriety. Having heard that Republicans are saying that a dirty trickster is leading the effort to unseat Miller-Meeks, Elias turned to Twitter to mock the GOP: I really am living in their heads rent free, he snarked, and its really cold, dark and empty in here. The tweet is telling about how he expects his pleadings for Rita Hart to be received: If Elias thought he needed even one Republican vote to unseat Miller-Meeks, would he taunt them so?

Davis, the top House Administration Committee Republican, objected, saying that Iowa had counted and recounted the votes. The state certified Miller-Meeks the winner after a thorough, transparent, and bipartisan process, the Illinoisan said. Every vote valid under Iowa law, Davis said, had been counted.

From the first meeting of the committee, however, committee Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren was already echoing and endorsing the Elias filings: Rita Hart, she said, has raised specific, credible allegations that enough validly cast ballots were wrongly excluded from the certified total to reverse the elections outcome.

Capitol Hill Republicans point to the bitter fight begun in 1984 over who won Indianas 8th Congressional District. It was a bruising battle in which Democrats used their majorities to seat Frank McCloskey even though his GOP opponent, Richard McIntyre, had been certified by Indiana as the winner by more than 400 votes. Republicans were outraged and responded with newly aggressive tactics devised by Newt Gingrich. The fight over Iowas 2nd District seat promises to be far more brutal than even the bloody Eighth in Indiana, in no small part because Elias feels no need to be solicitous of those hes planning to steamroll.

Weve seen Democrats do this beforesteal a House seat by changing the rules, Davis said in a committee meeting this month. Elias tweeted: Republican House members are very brave in lying while hiding behind speech and debate immunity. He then double-dog-dared lawmakers who have been critical of him: How about they agree to waive it and then see how brave they are.

Elias describes himself as a Lawyer fighting for Democrats and voting rights for all. The lawyer himself subordinates voting rights to Democratic victories. Republicans chafe at being lectured on electoral morals by someone they see as gaming elections for partisan, and monetary, gain. It was a year ago that Elias developed a litigation strategy built around what he calls the four pillars. Each eliminates rules Republicans say are necessary to protect against voter fraud. Elias denounces those rules as designed to suppress the votes of the poor and minorities. He says the GOP is committed to disenfranchising voters.

The first of Eliass pillars supposes that a 55-cent stamp is more than many voters can afford in order to exercise their franchise: Postage must be free or prepaid by the government. The second pillar all but guarantees results wont be known for weeks after Election Day in any close contest: Ballots postmarked on or before Election Day must count. And the third pillar is designed to gut state laws that require signatures on mail-in ballots match the signatures voters penned when they registered.

But it is the fourth pillar that worries Republicans most: Community organizations should be permitted to help collect and deliver voted, sealed ballots. The GOP sees this as an obvious invitation to ballot harvesting. The risk is that activists will take advantage of the elderly, for example, filling out their ballots for the activists preferred candidates. A Texas social worker, Kelly Reagan Brunner, was arrested last year and charged with 134 counts of voter fraud, accused, among other things, of registering dementia patients at a nursing home to vote.

Elias rejects the term ballot harvesting and instead insists the practice be referred to as community ballot collection. He accuses Republicans of passing laws against ballot-gathering as an effort to suppress the vote.

The four pillars are no longer just a litigation strategy, they are embedded in HR 1the For the People Act, Democrats flagship legislation rewriting and nationalizing election law along the lines championed by Elias.

The bill is irredeemable, a minority congressional aide tells RealClearInvestigations. The election administration provisions are made up of every Marc Elias policy dream meant to guarantee the outcome of elections for Democrats.

Mariannette Miller-Meeks answers a question during a debate in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Oct. 8, 2020. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette via AP)

Its hard to think of a good-faith reason that Democrats targeted every law designed to protect elections against fraud, says a Republican attorney who practices election law.

When you spread out Election Day for weeks or more, it can be hard to keep ballots secure, he says. If a vote is cast at a polling place on Election Day, there are observers. But if votes are collected over days or weeks in drop boxes, its unlikely anyone will be keeping a watch on them.

Elias has said that the election laws he supports are part of a democracy agenda, which includes changes to post-election recount and contest provisions to disincentivize frivolous attacks, while allowing those with genuine issues to raise them and have them resolved.

Republican Davis says the issues in Iowas 2nd District have already been resolvedby Iowa election officials. Unfortunately, however, the Democrat majority is not content to let Iowa voters choose their own representative. Instead, it has decided that Democrats in Washington, D.C., representing other states should choose Iowans representative for them. This is not how the Constitution or American democracy should work.

But making the Constitution work that wayand on a grand scale at thatis apparently exactly what Elias has in mind.

While gearing up to argue for removing Miller-Meeks, Elias published, at his Democracy Docket website, an article by Harvard law professor Nicholas Stephanopoulos. Elias highlighted the essay, putting it in a Spotlight position and promoting it on Twitter as an exclusive analysis of Congress forgotten electoral power. Stephanopoulos argues Congress should refuse to seat any candidate who benefited from voter suppression or gerrymandering. Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution, he points out, makes each chamber of Congress the Judge of the Elections [and] Returns  of its own Members. A simple majority of the House or Senate would be enough to undo any election, and neither the courts nor the president would have any grounds to intervene.

Article I, Section 5 is of course the same power Elias is calling on the House of Representatives to use in replacing Rep. Miller-Meeks with Rita Hart.

RealClearInvestigations asked Stephanopoulos whether an election would have to be close for the majority party to refuse to seat a winning minority party candidate. I made no effort to work out the details of how exactly each chamber should exercise this authority, Stephanopoulos replied.

But the practice would hardly be infrequent. Stephanopoulos defines voter suppression as any policy that makes it hard for people to register and vote. For Elias that means, among other things, any state law that shortens early voting, limits the number of ballot drop boxes, or blocks ballots received after Election Day. With a concept of voter suppression so broad, encompassing just about every conservative states election laws, there would be no shortage of Republicans who could find themselves unseated.

To avoid the appearance that refusing to seat ones political opponents was a partisan power-grab, Stephanopoulos recommends creating expert panels to which this power could be delegated. Each panel would be made up of respected election specialists, including administrators, attorneys and academics who would determine well ahead of Election Day which candidates benefited from vote suppression. The House and Senate could each rubber stamp these recommendations and rely on them to welcomeor excludemembers-elect looking to take their seats.

This is a terrible idea, undemocratic, elitist and extremely problematic, says Lonna Atkeson, director of the Center for the Study of Voting, Elections and Democracy at the University of New Mexico. The idea of an expert panel to overturn elections is crazy. Democracy is about voters, not experts.

But as crazy as it may seem, Stephanopoulos is perfectly serious. So is Elias.

The effort to remove Miller-Meeks from Congress and put Rita Hart in her seat is Elias broader strategy in miniature. Under their interpretation of Article I, Section 5, Congress has an unbounded and uncontestable power to control who is and isnt a lawmaker. For now, that theory is being put to use to wrest a single Iowa House seat away from Republicans. But armed with an expansive vision of how Article I, Section 5 can be used, theres little reason to think Marc Elias would restrain his ambitions.

This article was written by Eric Felten for RealClearInvestigations.
The COVID-19 relief bill that Biden signed into law this month included another $7.25 billion for the program, but it did not extend the timeline for getting the loans. Business groups lobbied lawmakers to keep the program going to help ensure businesses that still need help can get it.
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.
Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili.

San Francisco, 24 March 2021: The Report Biopharmaceutical Excipients Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (Polyols, Solubilizers & Surfactants/Emulsifiers, Carbohydrates), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2021 - 2028

The global biopharmaceutical excipients market size is expected to reach USD 3.4 billion by 2028, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 6.5% from 2021 to 2028. The factors driving the market growth include increasing development of biosimilars, instability associated with drugs & vaccines, and growing focus on the development of novel drugs, among others.

The changing regulatory scenarios by both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) have impacted drug development. Several legislative proposals are addressing new ways for lowering the cost of prescription drugs. Similarly, in recent years there is an increasing focus on drug-manufacturing quality has led to several recalls by FDA and the EMA. Hence, the stringent investigations related to an examination of drugs are likely to promote the use of specific excipients for developing efficient drugs.

In addition, companies are collaborating with government authorities for increasing the application of novel compounds. For instance, in December 2019, U.S. FDA started a pilot program to evaluate novel biopharmaceutical excipients. Later, the initiative was supported by several companies such as AstraZeneca, Regeneron, and Janssen for FDAs plan to review novel biopharmaceutical excipients. Regeneron highlighted different novel compounds that can potentially help in improving public health for example hydrophobic salts can reduce the viscosity of highly concentrated antibody formulations.

Moreover, the rising focus on the rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutic drugs is further driving the market growth. Excipients have an essential role in the development of biologics as it helps in stabilizing the drug during storage and processing. The use of appropriate biopharmaceutical excipients enables the development of novel therapies and robust pharmaceutical products for fighting against the pandemic.

Large-scale pharmaceutical companies signed a long-term supply agreement with companies for supporting the development of COVID-19 vaccines. For instance, in November 2020, Pfizer Inc. signed a five-year contract with Croda International for lipid-based excipients that will be used for manufacturing Pfizers COVID-19 vaccine candidate. Similarly, in May 2020, Moderna signed a supply agreement with CordenPharma for the large-scale production of lipid excipient for the development of mRNA-1273, Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

Access Research Report of Biopharmaceutical Excipients Market @ https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/biopharmaceutical-excipients-market

Biopharmaceutical Excipients Market Report Highlights

Carbohydrates accounted for the largest revenue share of 36.2% in 2020 owing to the increasing use of carbohydrates owing to their several advantages

The advantages include it helps the efficient binding of tablet ingredients, enables accurate dosing and protecting the tablet from harsh environmental conditions, among others

Sucrose amongst the carbohydrates dominated with a market share of 32.8% owing to its increasing application in stabilizing proteins

Starch is expected to witness the fastest CAGR of 6.6% from 2021 to 2028 owing to the increasing launch of new starch excipients

For instance, in May 2019, Colorcon Inc. launched STARTAB, a new starch tableting excipient. It is developed by directly compressible starch for enhancing the stability of moisture sensitive API

North America has emerged as the highest revenue-generating region, representing a market share of 32.0% in 2020

Large pharmaceutical companies are entering in collaboration with the companies in the region which can be attributed to market growth

For instance, in February 2020, MilliporeSigma entered in an agreement with ReForm Biologics LLC for commercializing ReForms excipients that are used in biotherapeutic formulations

In Asia Pacific, the market is expected to witness a lucrative CAGR of 7.0% from 2021 to 2028 owing to the increasing production of biosimilar drugs in the region

The government in this region is promoting biosimilar development. For instance, the government of South Korea provided regulatory guidance to local biosimilars companies for aiming to develop around 22.0% of global biosimilars by 2020

List of Key Players of Biopharmaceutical Excipients Market

Merck KGaA

Signet Excipients Pvt. Ltd

Sigachi Industries Limited

Associated British Foods plc

Spectrum Chemical Manufacturing Corp.

Roquette Freres

IMCD

Clariant

DFE Pharma

Colorcon

BASF SE

Evonik Industries AG

RETTENMAIER & SOHNE GmbH + Co KG

Access Press Release of Biopharmaceutical Excipients Market @ https://www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/global-biopharmaceutical-excipients-market
-Promises to construct 20 housing units for nurses

Tubmanburg, Bomi County- President George Weah on Wednesday rapped up his tour of Bomi County with a commitment to construct 2 housing units for nurses at the Government run hospital in Tubmanburg.

The President also donated one vehicle to the hospital during a brief stopover for their operations, while First Lady Clar Weah also donated a new vehicle to the Female nurse who moves around Suehn Mecca on bike to help deliver our pregnant mothers.

On Tuesday night Mr. Weah also dedicated streets lights power by solar panel in Tubmanburg on as part of his light up the city project. Similar lightening was also done in Gbamai on Wednesday night.

Speaking to hospital officials, Mr. Weah flanked by first lad Clar Weah said the construction of the 20 housing units could begin in less than 24 hours if the land for the project was immediately provided.

He made the commitment after listening to the challenges being face by health workers at that particular government run hospital, which ranges from lack of housing, vehicles and other basic necessities that are lacking there.

It appears the local health officials have brought this to these problems to the health authorities at the national level but noting have been done.

President Weah noted that it was just not right for the health workers at the facility to keep silent and not share their problems when their immediate leaders are ignoring them.

"Sometimes don't be afraid, you should take the report to people to see," President Weah said as he bemoaned the conditions of health workers at the government run hospital.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Liberia Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"When something happen, they will not hold you. They will say that the President," he said nothing that this is why it is important for him to be in the know.

Mr. Weah queried the local health officials saying, "Why if we had not stop by that means you would have continue to work under such condition."

However, responding to the vehicle request, President Weah said he hopes they will be able to fuel it adding "everything you ask for has its own responsibility attached."

The President and delegation departed Bomi for Gbamai, in Gbarpolu County where he held a town hall meeting and reassured local citizens that the construction of the 52km road corridor between Bomi and Gamai is on course.

He also visited Lofa Bridge in Grand Capemount and held a town hall meeting in Tahn District.
March 25 : Sanjay Leela Bansalis film Gangubai Kathiawadi starring Alia Bhatt in the lead has been entangled in legal cases and protests. A Mumbai court, which is hearing a criminal defamation case connected to the upcoming film Gangubai Kathiawadi has issued summons to the actress and its filmmaker along with its two writers, asking them to be present in the court on May 21.

The defamation case has been filed by Babu Ravji Shah, who claimed to be the adopted son of Gangubai Kathiawadi. The film is loosely based on a chapter of Hussain Zaidi's book, Mafia Queens of Mumbai, which narrates the life of the famous madame of the red light area of Kamathipura.

Babu Ravji Shah claimed that the chapter of Zaidi's book on Gangubai Kathiawadi was defamatory, and it has tarnished her reputation while infringing upon the right to privacy and self-respect of late Gangubai Kathiawadi.

In December 2020, Babu Ravji Shah had filed a defamation case with a Mumbai civil court, which was dismissed. Through the suit, he sought an order to restrain the author from publishing the book. It also sought court order against Sanjay Leela Bansali to restrain from airing promos and trailers.

The Mumbai civil court had held that since the book was published in 2011 and the suit was filed in December 2020, it was barred by limitation. It also pointed out that Shah had not submitted any proof to his claim that he is the adopted son of Kathiawadi. Shah had also failed to submit any evidence on how the legal requirements of adoption were complied. Hence, his suit was dismissed.

After the suit was dismissed, Shah then filed a petition urging a criminal action to be initiated against the filmmaker and the writers for defaming Gangubai Kathiawadi and his family as he claimed that the film is not based on facts.

Now, the additional chief metropolitan magistrate court in Mumbai pointed out that the complainant and his family are suffering from mental agony due to the book and the film's trailer released recently. The court also said that the complainant has issued notice to all accused, but except one of them, others failed to reply.

The court has also said that the complainant has made sufficient grounds to proceed against the accused under section 500, 501 and 502 read with 34 of the Indian Penal Code. Hence, the court issued summons to all the accused.

However, there has been no reaction to the summons by Alia or Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Scheduled to release on July 30 this year, Gangubai Kathiawadi also stars Ajay Devgn in a pivotal role. The biographical crime drama is co-produced by Jayantilal Gada and Bhansali.
One of Editor & Publishers 10 That Do It Right 2021
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.
A Maryland bomb squad was summoned to a home to safely dispose of a Civil War-era cannonball discovered with its fusing mechanism still intact.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal said a bomb squad was called Tuesday to a home in Jefferson where a resident reported they had been given the cannonball by a relative who found it near the Monocacy Battlefield in Frederick County.

The person said they called authorities after another family member raised concerns that it could explode.

The bomb squad determined it was a Civil War-era cannonball and its fusing mechanism was still intact, meaning it could potentially still be dangerous.

The technicians took the cannonball to the Beaver Creek Quarry to be safely detonated.

"If you should uncover or are unsure if an unidentified object may be military ordnance, be safe rather than sorry. Stay away and call 911," State Fire Marshal Brian S. Geraci said. "Marylanders need to be mindful that military ordnance, even vintage artifacts from previous conflicts, have the potential to explode."
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 and Turkey have agreed to take measures to ensure the prevention of cease-fire violations in Syria, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said following a phone call with is Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu.

"We spoke about the violations during the call. We agreed upon taking some measures," Akar said, and added that the agreed ceasefire must be respected to support "opening the road to peace and stability."

Earlier this week, Turkey expressed to Russia's envoy its objections and concerns about a recent flare-up of violence in northwest Syria, after Russian jets hit towns near the Turkish border and a hospital in the region, Daily Sabah reported.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-24 22:52:56|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (C) attends a question session of the German Bundestag in Berlin, capital of Germany, on March 24, 2021. The planned hard COVID-19 lockdown over the Easter holidays in Germany that was only agreed on Tuesday has been canceled, Merkel announced after calling a press conference at short notice on Wednesday. (Florian Gaertner/photothek/Handout via Xinhua)

BERLIN, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The planned hard COVID-19 lockdown over the Easter holidays in Germany that was only agreed on Tuesday has been canceled, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced after calling a press conference at short notice on Wednesday.

Although a complete shutdown in Germany next week was originally announced with "the best of intentions" in order to slow down and reverse the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the idea was a "mistake," Merkel said.

According to the chancellor, a complete five-day lockdown over the Easter holidays could not have been properly implemented. Far too many questions -- from the continued payment of wages due to lost working hours to the situation in stores and businesses -- could not be resolved "in such a short time."

"This mistake is mine and mine alone," stressed Merkel. As chancellor, she said she was ready to take the ultimate responsibility. "A mistake has to be named as a mistake, and above all, it must be corrected, and if possible in time."

Merkel said she regretted that the announcement on Tuesday caused additional uncertainty and apologized to all German citizens. "I am deeply convinced that we will defeat the virus together," stressed Merkel. "The path is difficult and rocky; it is marked by successes but also by mistakes and setbacks."

Prior to her public announcement, Merkel unexpectedly invited the minister-presidents of Germany's federal states to a virtual meeting. On April 12, Merkel and the minister presidents are scheduled to meet again to decide the country's next steps.
Colorado Politics is published both in print and online. Our website features subscriber-only news stories daily, designed for public policy arena professionals. Member subscribers also receive the weekly print edition of our award-winning newspaper, containing outstanding features and news stories, in their mailboxes every Saturday.
It was a divided house when industry representatives met government officials on Thursday to discuss the proposed e-commerce policy. Chaired by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) secretary Guruprasad Mohapatra, the virtual meeting attended by more than 15 firms turned out to be a new policy versus a no change in policy debate between home-grown and foreign-owned companies, according to people in the know.

The industry has been asked to send inputs in writing within a week to the government for further consultation.

Executives representing domestic sought an amendment to the policy to widen the scope of group company, sources said. The definition of group should include affiliate and associate companies, while prohibiting direct or indirect control, they suggested. The draft e-commerce policy too highlights this point.

Speaking out against capital dumping through select sellers on foreign e-commerce platforms, this group stressed on the need for to comply with policy provisions. Also, referring to a current retail policy, the Indian firms have asked the government to review a manufacturing clause to prevent misuse by foreign Reliance Industries (RIL), Snapdeal, Urban Ladder, Paytm and Tata Cliq are among those sharing this view.

According to a PTI report, a Reliance Retail representative said some foreign companies have used complex legal structures to exploit loopholes or used creative interpretation of the policy that violate the policy in spirit.

The other side, representing firms such as Amazon, Flipkart, Pepperfry, Udaan, Swiggy, Uber, Ola and others, argued there shouldnt be any change in the policy to ensure stability and consistency in the e-commerce sector. They said the changes in the policy would have an adverse impact on the investment climate. In case of any irregularities, investigative agencies can step in, according to one of the companies in this group. The demand for a comprehensive e-commerce policy gathered pace after complaints by trader associations that foreign marketplace players such as Amazon were violating FDI norms by investing in select sellers and giving them preference in sales. The government does not allow FDI in the e-commerce inventory model (owning products and selling them directly to buyers). After violations were detected, it was mandated that no seller must exceed 25 per cent of the total business on any foreign e-commerce platform.

Pointing out that the government should have a longer-term view of e-commerce to keep the policy "stable, companies with significant global funding said the sector required FDI and many emerging companies including startups were looking for such investments. They added that policy stability was the need of the hour at a time when many firms were going for public listing.

A good investment climate would help attract new investments and also enable companies to explore the IPO market, said an industry official with direct knowledge about the meeting. For that, it is important that policy consistency and stability remains.



E-commerce firms told the government that they have made investments in the country under a legitimate policy regime. They said as a principle, policy change should be prospective and forward-looking so that investments already made are not impacted. Any change that does the opposite will dent investor confidence and sentiment, said a company official.

An Amazon spokesperson said the company welcomes the initiative for consultations with the industry and the opportunity for a constructive and continuing dialogue with the government. We reiterated our strong, long-term commitment to India as we continue to onboard hundreds of thousands of MSMEs, building infrastructure and technology to empower and scale these local businesses, said an Amazon spokesperson.

The FDI policy needs to be stable and predictable for investor confidence as any disruption in business will impact millions of livelihoods and jobs, have negative consequences on downstream suppliers and service providers, the spokesperson added.
Brian Head Welch defends Christian faith, but slams 'cult-like' fanaticism

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

Korn guitarist Brian "Head" Welch has clarified comments he recently made about his faith early on in his Christian walk in which he described some of his actions as haphazard and those of a "fanatic."

The rocker and evangelist took to Instagram over the weekend with a screen shot of an article in which the headline reads: Korns Brian Head Welch admits that he went too far with his Christian beliefs. A pull quote from the article is of Welch saying, There's nothing worse than a freaking irritating religious person just shoving it down your throat.

Some have taken my words out of context, but I do have a tendency to ramble without articulating my hearts intent clear enough, which is typical when a person with A.D.D. tries to juggle the inflow of dozens of thoughts coming in at once, Welch wrote on Instagram alongside an image of the article's headline and pull quote.

His comments were reported by the Consequence Of Sound, which were taken from an interview he had with MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn on his "No F------ Regrets With Robb Flynn" podcast.

During that interview, Welch, who left Korn in early 2005 for a time, talked about when he decided to leave the band and announced that he kicked his drug and alcohol addictions and became a born-again Christian.

Welch felt that some news reports about the interview interpreted his comments as him saying that religion became his "new addiction."

The musician felt he needed to clarify his stance.

Let me shed some more light here: I was trying to address my early fanaticism with Christianity. Do I regret taking some much-needed time away from Korn? Not at all. I enjoyed some of the best years of my life with my daughter, making precious memories with her I wouldnt have been able to make if I wouldve stayed, he wrote.

But some of the choices I made were reminiscent of a true fanatic: I ripped Jennea out of public school because it wasnt a Christian school. One day, I left my house with her out of the blue and NEVER returned and I hired someone I barely knew to sell all of our furniture and bring our personal items to AZ; expensive items went missing of course! I joined a group of Christians in AZ that ended up resembling a cult and the leader squandered all my money away!

He said he even gave his mother The Book of Christian Martyrs and told her that was who he wanted to be like.

These are only a few of the fanatical decisions I made, and they did damage to Jennea and still affect her negatively in some ways to this day, said Welch, describing as a "cult-like mentality" and how that time affected his daughter.

However, the California native said his relationship with Christ is something he has committed his life to.



What I will never regret though, is giving my entire being to Christ and I will share my story until the day I die, Welch declared. Sharing your story of faith is way different than shoving scripture down peoples throats in a heartless way as I was trying to convey in this interview with our old friend Robb.

Jesus Christ is my whole lifes foundation. When the storms come, AND THEY WILL COME, my life will not crumble because my foundation is very secure, he added. I have found true rest in the depths of my soul. Matthew 11:28; the first scripture that I found  my first scripture tattoo  came true for me in EVERY way. This life Ive discovered is so real! Im so glad Ive never walked away from Christ, like many have, AND I NEVER WILL! Take that you overly religious Christian haters.

In his documentary, Loud Krazy Love, Welch talked about the strained relationship he had with his daughter due to his lifestyle and detailed his faith journey.

Welch officially returned to Korn in 2013 and regularly shares his faith in Christ with others. The artist has since been very open about how God delivered him from addictions and restored his relationship with his daughter.
Many children of low-income families across the country do not have access to quality health care. Lack of health care can have a domino effect, affecting educational outcomes in the classroom.

School-based telehealth could offer a sustainable and effective solution, according to a new report in the Journal for Nurse Practitioners by Kathryn King Cristaldi, M.D., the medical director of the school-based telehealth program, and Kelli Garber, the lead advanced practice provider and clinical integration specialist for the program.

The program through the MUSC Health Center for Telehealth has effectively served over 70 schools across the state of South Carolina. Evaluating a child at school via telehealth is a time-efficient process that removes the geographic and transportation barriers many families face when accessing health care for their children.

"When a family wants their child to have a visit, the school nurse requests a visit from the telehealth provider group," said Garber. "Our goal is to ensure a connection between the school nurse and the provider group in 15 minutes, but our average time is three to six minutes. Using the telehealth equipment in the nurse's office, we evaluate the child, and then most of the time, we return the child to class and send any prescriptions to the local pharmacy."

The school-based telehealth program is particularly effective for children with asthma.

I think that's where telehealth really shines. A typical in-office provider visit for a patient with asthma would involve ordering a controller inhaler and seeing the patient in three months. Through telehealth, there are more touch points with a patient. If a child has exacerbated asthma, we could start steroids today and see them tomorrow to ensure treatment is working." Kathryn King Cristaldi, M.D., medical director of the school-based telehealth program

Additionally, school nurses are on hand to administer daily medication to children.

"We really thought a lot about one thing we could change to reduce the number of emergency room visits for children with asthma, and that one thing was using their controller medication every single day," said Cristaldi. "Getting the school nurse involved with daily medication has been a game changer."

Thanks to the program, underserved communities across South Carolina, including those in some of the poorest and most rural parts of the state, now have access to care.

"Children in Williamsburg County, Sumter County and Cherokee County now have access to care," said Cristaldi. "We are making incremental changes in the health care structure for children in South Carolina and supporting providers across the state who are, one by one, making profound differences."

When kids' health improves, they do better in school. This was shown when underserved children were provided with health care at school-based health centers across the US. Their academic performances improved, and they were less likely to be absent from school. Children with asthma also required fewer Emergency Department visits. Unfortunately, funding for these centers has been inconsistent. School-based telehealth offers a more sustainable alternative to these programs while providing many of the same benefits.

The report by Cristaldi, Garber and colleagues provides a roadmap for other institutions considering a school-based telehealth program. It gives a detailed overview of the school-based telehealth workflow and tips for circumventing challenges, ranging from school nurse and provider availability to missed class time for students, which are unique to delivering health care in an educational environment. However, each region has its own needs and challenges, and Cristaldi and Garber encourage people to reach out to their regional telehealth centers for more information about school-based telehealth implementation in their local areas. More information on regional telehealth centers can be found at https:/ / telehealthresourcecenter. org/ .
Advertisement

The giant cargo ship blocking the Suez Canal is threatening to play havoc with global trade, with Downing Street warning of delays in getting goods such as electronics, toys and clothes to the UK.

Boris Johnson's spokesman said today that 'goods destined for the UK may be delayed in transit' but added that no company has yet approached the government with concerns.

However, analysts who spoke with MailOnline warned that a prolonged blockage of the canal could drive up the price of new cars by causing a shortage of computer chips, and cause shipping costs to spike - heaping pressure on Covid-hit businesses which could ultimately be passed to consumers as lockdowns ease.

Meanwhile, analysis of UK trade data exposes exports from Asia to Britain which are likely to be affected if the crisis drags on - with furniture, homewares, clothing and footwear among those which could be affected.

Seven out of the top 10 exporters of electrical goods to the UK are Asian countries making them a likely casualty, while almost half of the UK's furniture imports come from the same region.

China alone manufactures almost half the toys imported into Britain which are likely to pass through the canal, and accounts for a similar amount of homewares.

Workers are now in a desperate race against time to free the stricken Ever Given, a huge container ship as long as the Empire State Building is tall, which has been lodged diagonally across the Suez for more than two days.

It is thought there are around 150 vessels currently waiting to go through the waterway carrying cargo worth an estimated $29billion, with 50 more ships carrying $9.5billion-worth of goods arriving each day.

Dutch experts brought in to help with the operation have already warned that the rescue could take 'weeks', an outcome described as a 'worst-case scenario' by Simon Macadam, senior global economist at Capital Economics.

He told MailOnline that a delay of that length would drive up shipping rates - which are already at 'unprecedented' levels due to the Covid crisis - piling pressure on hard-hit businesses who would be expected to swallow the increased costs in the short-term.

However, he added that those costs could eventually be passed along to customers later in the year as Covid locdowns ease and business owners try to recoup their losses.

A huge container ship blocking the Suez Canal is threatening to delay shipments to the UK, with electronics, clothes, furniture and toys all likely to be affected

Canal workers are attempting to dig out sand from around the bow of the ship which is embedded in the eastern wall of the canal, and may have to dig tens of feet to allow the ship to refloat. Meanwhile tugboats and dredgers are working at the rear of the vessel to free the stern against the western wall. If those efforts fail, specialist cranes will have to come in to help remove some of the cargo - with containers weighing up to 33 tons each

The Taiwan-owned MV Ever Given is pictured today still lodged sideways and impeding all traffic across the waterway

Satellite images taken today reveal the Ever Given - leased by shipping firm Evergreen - is still stranded in much the same position it was left on Tuesday after crashing

ELECTRICALS (left): Seven out the top 10 exporters of electrical goods to the UK are Asian countries. CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR (right): All but two of the top 10 exporters Britain most relies on for clothing are from Asia

FURNITURE (left): Roughly half of the UK's furniture imports come from Asian countries. SPORTS, TOYS, LEISURE (right): More than half of these supplies are shipped from Asia, including 49 per cent from China

HOMEWARE (left): China is by far the largest exporter of homeware goods to Britain, accounting for 44 per cent of overall exports.

Efforts to free one of the world's largest container ships which became lodged in the Suez Canal on Tuesday resumed today, as experts warned it could take weeks to refloat the stranded vessel

The canal provides the shortest possible route for ships travelling between Asia and Europe, with the only alternative being to sail around the Cape of Good Hope - adding 14 days and 5,000 nautical miles to the journey

The cost of renting some tankers for voyages from the Middle East to Asia has jumped 47 per cent over the last three days Anoop Singh, Singapore-based head of tanker analysis at Braemar ACM, told the Wall Street Journal.

Similar price hikes could hit Europe-bound routes as shipping firms run low on vessels with many stuck in the canal, while those which are free are forced to sail around Africa.

Avoiding the canal by sailing around Africa can add $450,000 in costs per voyage, Mr. Singh added.

Meanwhile Douglas McWilliams, deputy chairman of the Centre for Economics and Business Research, warned that a lengthy blockage is likely to cause a shortage of computer chips - with several weeks' worth of supplies thought to be caught up in the unfolding drama.

That could mean price hikes in products which use a lot of chips, potentially adding 70 to the price of a new car while having a knock-on effect on other electrical goods.

Oil markets were one of the first to react on Wednesday as the price of crude spiked 6 per cent, before falling back today as demand slumps amid the Covid pandemic.

Another analyst who spoke to MailOnline on condition of anonymity said an outage of two weeks or more could potentially cause shortages in stores as ships are routed around Africa, increasing their journey time by 14 days.

A source involved in the UK shipping trade added that it they are being warned it could take up to three weeks to clear the backlog of ships building up around the canal, even if the stricken ship is removed soon.

Kate Harding, chief executive of trade data firm Coriolis Technologies, warned that the risks to global trade are 'absolutely enormous'.

A longer-term issue, one analyst told MailOnline, is disruption to global shipping schedules that could drag on for weeks even after the canal is unblocked.

Ports typically run tight operations with strict time-slots for loading and unloading cargo to make sure containers don't pile up and to ensure a smooth supply of goods across the world.

But with ships piling up around the canal, whenever the waterway is unblocked it will cause a glut of vessels to arrive at ports all at once.

That will mean delays in getting ships unloaded and then re-loaded as there are only a limited number of specialist cranes that can deal with vessels of this size, knocking schedules out of whack.

There is still no indication of how long the ship make take to free, with Japanese owners Shoei Kisen KK saying it is still 'too early to tell'.

Mr Berdowski compared the ship to 'an enormous beached whale' and warned workers might have to start offloading cargo in order to reduce its weight and get it floating again.

'We can't exclude it might take weeks, depending on the situation,' he told Dutch media. 'It's an enormous weight on the sand. We might have to work with a combination of reducing the weight by removing containers, oil and water from the ship, tug boats and dredging of sand.'

Excavators are trying to dig out the vessel's dolphin-nose bow which has lodged in the eastern wall of the canal, while dredgers and tugboats try to shift its stern which is jammed against the western side.

Estimates of the value of cargo come from analytics firm Lloyd's List, which believes $5billion-worth of containers are sent westwards through the waterway each day. The value of eastbound traffic is slightly less, at $4.5billion.

The cargo makes up about 12 per cent of oceangoing trade each day, including around 10 per cent of oil and gas shipments.

As the backlog builds, costs for Ever Given's owners - Japanese firm Shoei Kisen KK - and their insurers will mount in what could turn out to be the world's most expensive traffic jam.

Industry experts warned the bill will likely total millions of dollars, even assuming the vessel can be moved quickly.

Insurers could find themselves on the hook for costs incurred by shipping firms whose routes are delayed, plus from Egyptian authorities which make almost $6billion each year charging companies for use of the canal.

The costs of the rescue operation will also fall on insurers, along with any damage the ship sustains while it is being salvaged, analysts said.

Attempting to head-off criticism, the ship's owners issued an apology today - saying they are 'extremely sorry' for the 'tremendous worry' that the accident has caused.

The firm said it is cooperating with its technical management company and the local authorities to get the ship afloat, but 'the operation is extremely difficult.'

'It is potentially the world's biggest ever container ship disaster without a ship going bang,' one shipping lawyer, who declined to be named, said.

Inspectors from the Suez Canal Authority walk alongside the stricken container vessel, giving some idea of the scale of the challenge facing engineers

Satellite images reveal the precarious position the Ever Given finds herself in, with her bow embedded in the canal's eastern bank and her stern wedged against the western one

This image shows the extent of surrounding settlements (left) compared to the size of the ship (top right), giving a sense of the scale of the problem now facing rescuers

Ships are anchored outside the Suez Canal in Ismailia, Egypt, wait to be able to pass through the canal after it was blocked

Shipping data shows the extent of the traffic jam building up which is straddling two continents and currently involves some 150 ships (position of the Ever Given is marked with a white circle)

Meanwhile Nick Sloane, a salvage master who helped refloat the Costa Concordia cruise ship after it ran aground off the coast of Italy, said rescuers' best chance of moving the vessel will come on Monday when tides will be at their highest point.

If that window is missed then it will take another two weeks for the opportunity to present itself again, he told Bloomberg. 'This is definitely not a quick refloat operation,' he added.

It is thought the accident happened after the ship's captain and two Egyptian pilots sent on board to help guide the vessel became blinded during a sandstorm with high winds that sent the vessel off course and caused it to get wedged around 7.45am on Tuesday.

While a gust of wind seems an unlikely culprit, it turns out that the Ever Given has past form of crashing during high winds, after being involved in an accident in the German port of Hamburg in 2019.

In February that year, the cargo ship was manoeuvering into port when a strong gust of wind pushed it off course and into a docked passenger ferry, Bild reports

The ferry, named Finkenwerder, was completely written off in the accident while three crew members were treated for shock - though thankfully there were no passengers on board.

Tracking data from Marine Traffic has revealed the extent of the jam, comparing a typical day last week with traffic yesterday, with ships piling up at either end of the waterway.

Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, the company that manages the Ever Given, said the ship's 25-member crew were safe and accounted for after the accident.

Canal service provider Leth Agencies said at least 150 ships were waiting for the Ever Given to be cleared, including vessels near Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea, Port Suez on the Red Sea and those already stuck in the canal system on Egypt's Great Bitter Lake.

Cargo ships already behind the Ever Given in the canal will be reversed south back to Port Suez to free the channel, Leth Agencies said. Authorities hope to do the same to the Ever Given when they can free it.

Evergreen Marine Corp, a major Taiwan-based shipping company that operates the ship, said in a statement that the Ever Given had been overcome by strong winds as it entered the canal from the Red Sea. None of its containers had sunk.

An Egyptian official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to brief journalists, similarly blamed a strong wind.

Egyptian forecasters said high winds and a sandstorm plagued the area on Tuesday, with winds gusting as high as 30 miles per hour.

An initial report suggested the ship suffered a power blackout before the incident, something Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement denied on Thursday.

'Initial investigations rule out any mechanical or engine failure as a cause of the grounding,' the company said.

Tuesday marked the second major crash involving the Ever Given in recent years.

In 2019, the cargo ship ran into a small ferry moored on the Elbe River in the German port city of Hamburg. Authorities at the time blamed strong wind for the collision, which severely damaged the ferry.

The closure could affect oil and gas shipments to Europe from the Mideast, which rely on the canal to avoid sailing around Africa. The price of international benchmark Brent crude stood at more than 63 dollars a barrel on Thursday.

The Ever Given, built in 2018 with a length of nearly 400 meters, or a quarter of a mile, and a width of 193 feet, is among the largest cargo ships in the world.

It can carry some 20,000 containers at a time. It previously had been at ports in China before heading toward Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

Opened in 1869, the Suez Canal provides a crucial link for oil, natural gas and cargo. It also remains one of Egypt's top foreign currency earners.

In 2015, the government of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi completed a major expansion of the canal, allowing it to accommodate the world's largest vessels.

However, the Ever Given ran aground south of that new portion of the canal.

This stranding marks just the latest setback to affect mariners amid the Covid crisis, with hundreds of thousands of people having been stuck aboard vessels due to the pandemic.

Every day the canal is blocked means 10 per cent of oceangoing trade cannot move as it should, with 50 ships being added to the massive traffic jam building up around the canal (pictured)

If workers cannot dig the ship free, then they face the daunting task of somehow getting cranes into the middle of the desert that are tall enough to start removing cargo containers from the deck of the vessel

Comparisons of ship tracking data shows a typical day in the life of the canal (left) with boats passing freely though, and how the situation appeared yesterday with ships piling up at either end

Several ships which were passing through the canal at the time the Ever Given got stuck are now waiting in Egypt's Bitter Sea, a body of water about halfway up its length, until they can move again

Why is the Suez Canal so important? The Suez canal, which is around 120 miles long links the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean and is the shortest shipping route between the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. Before the canal, shipping from Europe either had to go overland or risk going around Cape Horn and the South Atlantic. In April 1859, construction of the canal officially begins, much of the work financed by France. It was opened for navigation on November 17, 1869 for vessels from all countries, although the British government later wanted to have an armed force in the area to protect shipping interests having picked up a 44 per cent stake in the canal in 1875. The Suez Canal links the Red Sea and the Mediterranean providing a short cut from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic From then, while nominally owned by Egypt, the canal was run by Britain and France until its until its nationalisation in 1956 . The nationalisation by Nasser saw Britain and France launched an abortive and humiliating bid to recapture the vital waterway. The canal was shut briefly following the attempted invasion. However, in 1967 the canal was shut for eight years following the Six Day war with Israel. Due to the instability in the region, the canal remained closed until 1975 - its longest ever closure, as the waterway had been mined and some vessels had been sunk in the main channel. The Suez Canal is actually the first canal that directly links the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. In 2015 a new section of the canal opened, allowing vessels to traverse the waterway in both directions at the same time. Future plans will see the two-lane system extended across the entire network- doubling current capacity of the canal. The largest cargo vessels pay more than 180,000 in tolls to traverse the canal. On average about 40-50 cargo vessels use the canal on a daily basis in a trip that takes around 11 hours, as speed along the waterway is limited to about 9kts to prevent the banks of the canal getting washed away. Along the canal there are emergency mooring slots so vessels can pull over if they are suffering a mechanical issue. When the canal first opened, the channel was approximately 26 feet deep and 72 feet wide at the bottom. The surface was between 200 and 300 feet wide to allow ships to pass. By the 1960s, dredging of the canal increased the depth to 40 feet and widened the waterway to allow larger vessels. Now, the minimum depth of the canal is 66feet, though this is been increased to 72 feet - allowing even larger vessels. Advertisement
The calendar year 2021 has been a busy one for the primary with 17 mainboard issues already having hit the Street. They have mostly been received well by investors with five of the 17 issues garnering over 100 times subscription. MTAR Tech went one step ahead and was the most subscribed issue of 2021 with over 200 times.

However, the secondary market has not been too kind and some of these names have either failed to see listing gains or such gains have fizzled out in a day or two. Look at IRFC, Easy Trip or the recently listed Anupam Rasayan. All of these are currently trading below or nearby to their issue prices.

In this podcast, Arun Kejriwal, founder of Kejriwal Research & Investment and Vikas Jain, senior research analyst at Reliance Securities explained the reason behind this trend, what should investors do now with these stocks and if the euphoria in the market is fading. Listen 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.
Aftermath of a fire at the Rohingya refugee camp in Cox's Bazar

Aid agencies rush in emergency assistance to thousands of refugees affected by a massive fire which swept through a Rohingya refugee camp in southern Bangladesh. The fire killed fifteen people, injured several others and caused massive damage to shelters and essential facilities.

By Vatican News staff writer

At least fifteen people were killed in a fire that swept through the sprawling Rohingya refugee camp in Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh on Monday.

Reports indicate that the fire destroyed at least 10,000 shelters as it blazed through the camp. Several people were injured and an estimated 45,000 people were displaced. Some essential facilities including distribution points, learning centers and a health clinic were also damaged in the fire.

Coxs Bazar is one of the worlds largest refugee camps. It currently houses an estimated 800 - 900,000 Rohingya refugees who fled the violence in Myanmar in 2017. A significant percentage of the refugee population at Coxs Bazar consists of children.

In the immediate aftermath, several aid agencies rushed in emergency assistance to tens of thousands of victims. Officials say that they are uncertain about the cause of the catastrophic fire.

Emergency aid response

A statement on the UN website said that World Food Programme (WFP) engineering and field personnel, as well as food assistance teams have been on ground since the fire was first reported.

Bangladeshi government agencies, NGOs and other humanitarian organizations are also working hard to respond to the situation by delivering emergency supplies including blankets and clean drinking water.

The UN is responding to the emergency by providing meals for the affected as well as ambulances and medical teams to respond to injuries and provide mental health and psychosocial support.

The UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) has also mobilized teams to provide assistance to children in need, especially those separated from their families.

The Rohingya refugee crisis

The Rohingya refugee crisis began in August 2017 after attacks on police outposts in Western Myanmar by armed groups allegedly belonging to the community.

These attacks were subsequently followed by military-led counter attacks against this predominantly Muslim minority group.

In the period that followed, over 700,000 Rohingya fled their homes for safety into Bangladesh  the majority of them the elderly, women and children.
It is breathtaking, Simon said, that Kelly would think its a good idea to travel to Washington about a month before his sentencing hearing. Seeing photos of Kelly in the rotunda with his arm around a statute of a founding father to say its a bridge too far is not enough, Simon said.
New Delhi:

According to the reports of Ekatha Ann and statistics sourced by TOI, the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu may have made an improvement as far as the distinction of high-prevalence state for HIV-AIDS is concerned, but the dark spot in its success story is the rising rate of deaths among those living with the infection in the last three years.



Despite the decline in the prevalence of the infection, the crisis is far from over as 4,397 people infected with HIV had died in 2016, pushing up the average increase in the number of deaths by 70 per cent from what it was till 2013. Low HIV AIDS awareness among people could have led to an increase in late referrals, high dropout rates, and poor treatment outcomes.



According to experts, several national surveys, including the National Family Health Survey and the District Health Surveys, have pointed the spike in death among those diagnosed with AIDS more than a decade ago.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
The end of the battle against Covid-19 seems a long way off in Northern Ireland but nations across the globe are beginning to ease restrictions and look to a brighter future.

A world without face masks and unlimited social gatherings has become a reality for some.

The Belfast Telegraph takes a look at five countries relaxing their restrictions and how they got there in 12 months or less.

Australia

The state of New South Wales will return to the closest thing to normal on Monday since the pandemic began.

Weddings, funerals and private gatherings can welcome unlimited numbers, people will be allowed to sing and dance "in any environment", and face masks will no longer be mandatory on public transport.

Stadiums and theatres can also reopen with a 100% seated capacity.

New South Wales and Sydney introduced state border closures following a mid-December outbreak and are reaping the benefits.

High rates of community compliance and aggressive contact tracing has helped Australia manage the pandemic. In total, the country has suffered 909 deaths and a total of 29,220 cases.

New Zealand

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern put New Zealand into a state of lockdown on March 23, 2020, after already shutting its borders.

Compulsory quarantine for travellers and successful contact tracing kept the spread of Covid to a minimum.

More recently, 'snap lockdowns' in cities such as Auckland have stemmed community transmission.

The country is currently at 'Alert Level 1', which means there is still a risk of the virus returning to the community; however, there are no restrictions on crowd gatherings.

New Zealand is the envy of nations across the world as it's stellar handling of the pandemic has kept the number of positive cases down to 2,470, while just 26 people have lost their lives.

Iceland

Meanwhile in Europe, Iceland has virtually banished Covid from the remote North Atlantic island.

With the benefits of having one international airport and less than half a million people, luck has played its part, but testing, contact tracing and placing those infected into isolation has been a huge effort.

On April 9, restrictions such as mandatory mask wearing in shops and public transport, 50-person gathering limits, and social distancing between those who do not have a close relationship will all be lifted.

Bars, restaurants, pools and gyms are all currently open on the island.

Since the pandemic began, Iceland has had 6,122 positive cases and 29 deaths.

Spain

Despite having over three million positive Covid cases and 73,744 deaths since the pandemic began, Madrid has some of the loosest lockdown restrictions in Europe. Spain's capital has saw an influx of French tourists taking advantage of open bars and restaurants in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, Gibraltar, with a population of fewer than 34,000, has vaccinated all of its adult population.

Shops, bars and restaurants are all open with restrictions, while masks are still mandatory in public spaces.

Gibraltar has had 4,271 total virus cases and 94 deaths during the course of the pandemic.

Israel

The Middle Eastern country is slowly exiting its third lockdown.

Waiting lists for restaurants can be as long as 10 days as venues are permitted to allow 100 guests indoors.

However, those able to make the most of the easing of restrictions must be vaccinated. They receive green passes, which indicate vaccination or recovery from Covid.

The passes allow those who have had both doses of the vaccine to access places of worship, cultural events, restaurants, bars, swimming pools and gyms. Those without green passes can eat in outdoor areas.

Much like Northern Ireland, Israel has suffered over the past 12 months with 830,000 cases and 6,122 deaths, but it is coming out the other side.
A Covid-19 situation at the National Insurance Board (NIB) led to late pension cheques this month, says Social Development Minister Donna Cox. And the ministry yesterday apologised for any inconvenience caused to pensioners and other recipients of social welfare as a result of the late payment of benefits.
Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili.

Market Overview:

Global car camera cleaning system market is expected to grow rapidly in the forecasted period, with CAGR of XX% from 2017-2028. In 2017 market size of the car camera cleaning system was XX million and in 2028 is expected to reach at XX million with growing CAGR of XX%. Car camera cleaning system is an innovative technology for auto cleaning and cleaning dust form the mirrors and cameras for better vision of the driver. The car cleaning system involves different gears such as pumps, reservoir tank, camera nozzle, hoses and connectors and uses a water jet to remove dirt on the camera lens.

Market Dynamics:

One of the major driver for the growth of car camera cleaning system market is rising adoption for car camera cleaning systems in commercial vehicles and passenger cars to avoid high number of accidents. Also, in the coming years the automotive industry is expected to grow, which would drive demand of car camera cleaning system. Also, increasing production of electric vehicles would upsurge the demand of car camera cleaning system driving the growth of market over the forecast period. However, absence of commercialization is the major curbing factor of the growth of car camera cleaning system market over the forecast period.

Request for Report Sample: https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/3207

Market Players:

Car camera system market consist several participants, top players of the market are dlhBOWLES, Waymo, Continental AG, Shenzhen Mingshang Industrial Co., Ltd., Ficosa Internacional SA and others.

Market Segmentation:

The car camera cleaning system market is segmented on the basis of application, type, sales channel and regions. On the basis of applications, the car camera cleaning system market can be segmented into night vision camera, parking camera, front/rear camera, interjection camera and camera in mirror. The front/rear camera market is expected to grow in the forthcoming years as these, camera systems are mainly installed in front/rear camera to avoid accidents. Further, on the basis of type the car camera cleaning system market is divided into passenger cars and commercial vehicles. Passenger cars are sub-segmented into mid sized, premium and luxury cars; commercial vehicles further segmented into light commercial vehicle and heavy commercial vehicle.

Place a Direct Purchase Order @ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/checkout/3207/Single

Market segmented on the basis of application:

Night vision Camera

 Front/Rear Camera

 Parking Camera

 Interjection Camera

 Cameras in Mirror

Market segmented on the basis of type:

Passenger Cars

 Mid-sized

 Premium

 Luxury

 Commercial Vehicles

 Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV)

 Heavy Commercial Vehicle (HCV)

Market segmented on the basis of sales channel:

Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM)

 Aftermarket

Market segmented on the basis of region:
Motherhood is one of the greatest blessing and an overwhelming experience for a woman. The journey from being a 'woman' to being a 'mother' is not just one with a family but also with the doctor or medical practitioner who becomes an indispensable part of this journey.

Making this transition easier, heathier and a healing one is Dr Anita Rajpurohit, a Sumerpur (Rajasthan) based Infertility Specialist, Gynaecologist & Obstetrics who is popular and well known across the three districts of Pali, Jalore and Sirohi not just because of her specialization but because of her commitment and dedication towards the well-being of her patients.

Dr Rajpurohit believes in making a difference in the life of her patients and end the rising healthcare inequality. She offers Infertility treatments and IVF procedure at a very affordable price so that expenses do not become a burden on the family. It is precisely because of this fact that she has patients visiting from not just the vicinity of Rajasthan but also from various other states across the country.

Having completed her medical education (MBBS) from SN Medical College located in Jodhpur in 1999, she trained herself further as a specialist in her field from RNT Medical College, Udaipur in 2008 and then completed her Advance IVF Training Part-2from Homerton University Hospital - NHS, London.

Coming from a traditional Rajpurohit community, she is one of the first lady doctors in her community who has braved the hegemony of local politicians while working in a Government hospital during her medical career. After this stint, she dedicated her life to provide the best of fertility care and facility by starting her own private hospital by the name of Dr Anita Rajpurohit Hospital 'Samarpan Advance IVF & Laparoscopy Centre' in 2011.

Today, the hospital stands as an epitome of quality care for both mother and child offering world class facility and IVF treatment in Rajasthan.

Infertility though a common problem has a lot of social taboos and hence discussing or speaking about it in public space affects the mental and emotional health of both the parents. According to Indian Society of Assisted Reproduction, almost 10-14 per cent of Indian population suffers from infertility, estimating roughly around 1 in every 6 couples in urban India.

Dr Purohit provides this balancing space to her patients by maintaining a complete confidentiality and addressing every fear and apprehension of the would-be new parents opting for IVF treatment.

In addition to her specialisation in all the above areas, she is well trained and offers affordable treatments and procedures related to Test tube baby, Blastocyst, Donor service, Surrogacy, Hysteroscopy, Pregnancy deliveries, Gynaecological Cancer detection and treatment, Irregular periods, Leukorrhea, Menopause, Miscarriage, Hormonal treatments as well as Family Planning.

Because of her compassion, focus and conviction, Dr Rajpurohit has been awarded with a certificate in Hysteroscopy Skills Building Course by Dr Osama Shawki, M.D. (Global Trainer) in the year 2017 as well as with a certificate towards Management of Endometriosis with Sub fertility (The American Association of Continuing Medical Education) (AACME) in the year 2014.

She has also completed her Yoga teacher training from Sri Sri School of Yoga in 2020. As a certified Yoga trainer, she has started conducting yoga sessions with her patients in both online and offline mode to help them restore the mind and body balance which is very crucial during and after fertility treatments.

Apart from patients who visits her at the hospital, Dr. Rajpurohit is also largely involved with welfare services in her community and nearby areas making gynaecology treatment accessible for those who cannot afford it. She has operated on patients as a part of Free Laparoscopy Surgery camp, conducted Safai Abhiyan at Jawai Bandh under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (2017), provides free medical services at a primary health care centre in Falna, Rajasthan as well as free food facilities for the less privileged.

Apart from this, she is trying to promote the lesser known place of Jawai through medical tourism and spread awareness about the place which is also known as 'India's Leopard Hills'.

One's effort and sincere dedication never goes unrewarded and recognising her endless efforts towards the benefits of the society, she was awarded the 'Social Impact Award for providing free Healthcare services to the society' by actress & MP, Kirron Kher and Delhi BJP Leader, Manoj Tiwari at the Constitution Club of India in 2019. She was also recognised as the 'Most Promising Obstetrician & Gynaecologist in Rajasthan' by Ministry of AYUSH and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of India in 2015.

Dr Rajpurohit is also a proud member of FOGSI (The Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India), a renowned associate member of Royal College of Obs & Gynae (London, UK) and also a member of Rajasthan Medical Council, Jaipur. She is an active participant of AICOG which is the distinguished medical conference conducted under the aegis of FOGSI.

Dr Anita believes that even though advancement in medical science and technology has made infertility a problem of the past, it has its challenges as well. The procedure is not yet full proof and successful at all times. However she believes that proper counselling, awareness and patience on both the patient and doctor's end will help in making the entire process easier and healing.

To get in touch with Dr Anita Rajpurohit, please visit: (https://www.anitarajpurohit.com/)

This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article.

DISCLAIMER

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 19:41:09|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

HARARE, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe on Wednesday joined the rest of the world in commemorating World Tuberculosis (TB) Day, with Vice President and Health Minister Constantino Chiwenga bemoaning the impact of the pandemic in the fight against TB.

In his keynote address during virtual commemorations of the day, Chiwenga said the emergence of COVID-19 in 2020 disrupted the country's progress in the national TB response, the state-run Herald newspaper reported Thursday.

He said this had been evidenced by a sharp decline in TB notifications for both drug-sensitive and drug-resistant forms of the disease.

"This negative impact of COVID-19 is mainly related to stigma and reduced accessibility to health services leading to delays in TB diagnosis and treatment initiation," he said.

Chiwenga said Zimbabwe's efforts and focus on COVID-19 should not make it forget that TB remains one of its major public health threats.

"The realization calls for expansion and acceleration of integrated approaches given the similarities of some of the symptoms and signs of the two conditions," he said.

Zimbabwe, the VP said, should redouble efforts to raise awareness on TB, enhance the community and health system capacities to reduce morbidity and mortalities from the disease.

According to the World Health Organization Global TB Report of 2019, Zimbabwe is listed among the 30 high burden countries for TB and HIV and multi-drug-resistant TB for the period 2016-2020.

Women of reproductive age group and men are mostly affected.

Chiwenga said faced with this challenge, the Zimbabwean government came up with several interventions including the development of a TB national strategy plan 2021-25 to guide all actors on the TB response priorities for the country.

However, Zimbabwe had made significant progress in reducing the burden as observed from the decline in estimated incident rate from 242 per 100,000 in 2015 to a rate of 199 per 100,000 in 2019, Chiwenga said.

He added that the TB epidemic in Zimbabwe is largely driven by HIV.

"As the country inches towards the last mile of finding missed TB cases, there is a need for more targeting of priority groups to optimize yield," he said.

Chiwenga also pointed out that Zimbabwe continues to suffer the scourge of drug-resistant TB, with 226 drug-resistant TB cases being recorded in 2020.

The government had thus decentralized drug-resistant TB services to district level to improve access to diagnosis and treatment.

The country had also introduced an injection-free drug-resistant TB treatment as the preferred treatment for all patients with drug-resistant TB.

Chiwenga said this year's theme "The clock is Ticking" conveys the message that time is running out for the government to act on commitments to end TB by 2035. Enditem
Photo: The Canadian Press Employees work with Canada Goose jackets at the Canada Goose factory in Toronto on Thursday, April 2, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

The head of Canada Goose Holdings Inc. is addressing head-on allegations of labour unrest at some of the companys Canadian factories while the luxury parka maker moves into new markets, expands its product offerings and doubles down on quality.

In an interview with The Canadian Press, Canada Goose president and CEO Dani Reiss discussed the companys rebounding financials in the midst of a pandemic, thanks in part to soaring online sales.

In a year that began with so many unknowns, it was very difficult to budget the year, to imagine what was going to happen and to forecast, he said. So we leaned into what we knew to be true.

We knew the retail traffic would be down because of the pandemic so we focused on digital. We knew that China was likely further along in their recovery and so we focused on bricks and mortar in China.

Its a strategy that paid off, with Canada Goose reporting its largest revenue for a quarter  ever  last month.

Canada Goose has eight facilities in Canada with about 2,800 workers that make the companys down-filled parkas  a made-in-Canada pledge the company committed to shortly after Reiss became CEO.

Its three Toronto facilities are unionized while its three Winnipeg locations and two Montreal locations are not.

Some labour organizers say there's been intimidation of pro-union workers in Canada Goose's non-unionized factories.

Reiss said the number of unionized workers at Canada Goose has grown more than 175 per cent under his 20-year tenure.

When I started working here we had one factory which was unionized, and since then I've always had a great relationship with (the union), he said.

We respect the rights of all workers, we respect the rights of everybody to unionize, and we have always enjoyed a great relationship with the union.

Labour organizer Rabia Syed said that efforts to unionize garment workers at Canada Goose's Winnipeg factories have been met with intimidation and retaliation by management.

She said the workforce is made up primarily of immigrant women, many of whom worry about losing their jobs and means of survival for their families.

The biggest issues are low wages, such as a piece-rate workers say is lower at the non-unionized factories, and health and safety concerns, she said.

They feel like they arent treated with respect, said Syed, the organizing co-ordinator with the Workers United Canada Council. They dont speak up out of fear theyll lose their job.

But Reiss said the health and safety of employees is the absolute top priority.

We take it very seriously, he said, adding that the companys COVID-19 health and safety measures have been reviewed by labour boards and that its protocols meet or exceed standards. We've been very meticulous when it comes to this.

The company on Wednesday announced plans to offer all employees up to four hours of paid leave to receive COVID-19 vaccinations to remove barriers and ensure equitable access, the company said in a statement.

Canada Goose was launched by Reiss grandfather, a Polish immigrant in Toronto, as Metro Sportswear in 1957.

Reiss took over as CEO in 2001 and in late 2013, the company announced that U.S. private equity giant Bain Capital acquired a majority stake in the extreme weather outerwear maker. In 2017, Canada Goose went public.

The winter clothing maker has seen meteoric growth over the last two decades, expanding sales through its own retail stores, online and wholesale.

Canada Goose is also making headway in new markets, especially in Asia, winning over new customers with the iconic outerwear's distinctive red, white and blue patch despite climates that never approach Arctic temperatures.

We really focused on China this past year, Reiss said, noting that the company doubled its store footprint to 10.

Thats actually a relatively small number of stores compared to other global brands, so there's a lot of opportunity to continue to grow and evolve in that market.

To continue that expansion, Reiss said the upscale parka maker is now branching out into new products  but avoiding the pitfalls of going down market that have diminished other luxury brands.

We've diversified our product range tremendously over time from a warm jacket to a full range of outerwear of all kinds, he said. Lightweight outerwear has become really important to our assortment as has wind wear and knitwear.

Canada Goose also introduced fleece this year and will be launching footwear next year, Reiss said.

The goal is to continue to make best in class products, he said.

Reiss added that craftsmanship, quality and sustainability will remain the key focus with any new products.

We're certainly not looking to go down market, he said. We dont have to dilute ourselves in order to grow.
Today

Thunderstorms. High near 80F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.

Tonight

Thunderstorms this evening followed by occasional showers overnight. Low 61F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected.

Tomorrow

Cloudy early with partial sunshine expected late. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 84F. Winds light and variable.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power operates the Pine Tree Wind Farm and solar power plant in the Tehachapi Mountains. Clean energy jobs are already far outpacing fossil fuel jobs. (Los Angeles Times)

The Green New Deal has been called a lot of names, but unambitious is not among them. In pursuing a laudable goal of nationwide carbon neutrality, the Green New Deal would do nothing less than reinvent vast swaths of the U.S. economy, potentially wiping out entire industries, companies and jobs.

It is that last element that has created the most blowback, as thousands of skilled workers  supported by their unions  are understandably concerned about how exactly theyre supposed to transition from well-paid employment in the oil patch to building solar farms or windmill blades.

Economic transformations always have winners and losers, or creative destruction as described by Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter. I have witnessed the decline of the western Pennsylvania steel and coal industry and the pain of workers who had to struggle to put food on the table. But Ive also seen the rebirth of my hometown Pittsburgh into a regional economic engine based on healthcare, higher education and technology through a combination of government and private sector cooperation.

A Green New Deal should not be viewed through the traditional lens of a big government program, like President Franklin D. Roosevelts New Deal. Instead, its goals can be achieved through private sector incentives with a helping hand from government in the form of incentives that favor clean energy while leveling the playing field with fossil fuels.

One example is the Arctic Investment Protocol, a set of objectives to guide infrastructure projects and clean energy development in the Arctic. (I lead my investment firms participation in helping design the goals.) The aim is to avoid a free-for-all that would carve up the region without regard for the environment or Indigenous people. The Arctic Investment Protocol, put forward by the World Economic Forum, calls for public-private partnerships, with an emphasis on responsible infrastructure development and renewable energy.

Story continues

We have found from our work in the Arctic that market incentives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are effective and have been around long enough to significantly reduce carbon output where theyre used. Imposing a carbon tax while eliminating federal subsidies to producers of fossil fuels would be a great first step.

The problem is that free market incentives are still dwarfed by subsidies. Direct government subsidies to the fossil fuel industry are around $20 billion per year, not a lot when you compare it with the $46.3 billion the government paid out in agriculture subsidies in 2020. But its the $649 billion in so-called unpriced externalities that are staggering. These are the indirect costs in air pollution, traffic congestion, medical treatment and other expenses that are borne by society, rather than the fossil fuel producers and users, which makes them an unpaid form of subsidies.

A carbon tax, combined with reducing or altogether eliminating direct subsidies to the fossil fuel industry, would be a good first step. A necessary element would be a revenue-neutral approach that combines a carbon tax with reductions or offsets elsewhere so the increases arent as painful to low-income consumers and energy users, and have the intended effect of behavior modification, instead of pushback about the extra costs. That could be accomplished by getting rid of the federal gas tax, which is regressive and disproportionately falls on lower-wage earners. No less an authority than former President Obama has told me he would support this combination of policies.

While theres debate about whether a carbon tax would be effective, one sign of progress is that the oil companies themselves are coming around to the idea, if only as a tactic to avoid more drastic regulation. This tax would be easy to implement, its already in place in other countries, and it lets households and companies find the best way to reduce emissions at the lowest cost. At the same time, revenues can be returned to households or used for infrastructure spending or deficit reduction.

Government investment in new technologies such as battery technology and a program to modernize and harden the grid would allow us to get closer to a carbon-free society while addressing issues of national security. Additionally, it would have the benefit of reducing the risk of wildfires and the associated cost to the environment and loss of property.

In the interim, the Biden administration could support the private sector modernization of the grid with the $43 billion of unused low-interest loans for clean energy projects that languished in the Trump administration. That would create new high-tech jobs at leading research institutions and more work for lower-skilled workers in the manufacturing of solar, wind and battery equipment.

As it is, clean energy jobs by the end of 2019 were already outpacing fossil fuel jobs by a ratio of nearly 3 to 1 (3.36 million to 1.19 million), while clean energy employment grew at a 10.4% pace between 2015 and 2019, well ahead of the 6.1% growth in total employment. And the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts two of the top three fastest-growing occupations from 2019-2029 will be wind turbine service technicians and solar panel installers.

There will be losses with the transition to a carbon-neutral economy. Those losses, painful as they will be to those who are affected, will, however, be more than offset by new opportunities. Much of this pain can be reduced through job training and education to retool the workforce. The key will be having the political courage to move away from the status quo, and the follow-through to ensure no one is left behind.

Scott Minerd is the global chief investment officer of Guggenheim Partners and chairman of Guggenheim Investments. He is a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Investor Advisory Committee on Financial Markets.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Since California schools were given the green light to allow students back into classrooms, 6 feet has been the official standard for socially
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
At the NW Metastatic Breast Cancer Conference in 2018, Dr. Ruth Etzioni, holder of the Rosalie and Harold Rea Brown Endowed Chair, talks about cancer registries and how they are used in research.

Biggest broadest brush

Establish in 1973, SEER is only one of the countrys national registries. In the early 90s, the U.S. government established a sister program, the National Program of Cancer Registries, sponsored by then-freshman Rep. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. The NPCR, operated through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, covers about 97% of the country: 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Pacific Island jurisdictions. This registry is also trying to enhance its state databases.

SEER serves more as a microcosm of the U.S. population, with around 20 carefully selected state and regional registries representing our blended nation. SEER and the NPCR are both are part of a larger umbrella organization, the North America Association of Central Cancer Registries or NAACCR, which promotes uniform standards, provides education and much more, like view cancer stats with their interactive online tools.

Etzioni openly sings the praises of cancer registries but also realizes theyre not perfect. Registries like SEER are still extremely valuable, she said, tracking progress against cancer; identifying changes that require attention; identifying new cancer causes; generating ideas to reduce the risk of cancer and illuminating disparities between various groups.

Cancer registry data are the biggest broad brush we have to understand cancer in the population, she said. Were trying to get a broad unbiased snapshot of the population and its incredibly useful in understanding the state of cancer in the nation.

One recent study using SEER data found breast cancer deaths in women under 40 have stopped declining, which researchers believe is related to the rapidly rising distant-stage breast cancer rates in the same age group.

SEER is the most well-respected cancer registry program in the world and is the gold standard of cancer registries out there, Li said. And the CSS is the gold standard within that. We have an outstanding staff with a wealth of experience in cancer registration and they take their work very seriously.

Digging into the data using AI

One reason CSS data are so valuable is because of working agreements, or linkages, it struck early on with all of the major pathology providers serving its 13-county catchment area. These linkages allow for very rapid identification and ascertainment of data on patients when theyre diagnosed, Li said.

The linkages provide us with complete data much more rapidly, he said. That was our former Director of Information Services Mary Potts vision, to take advantage of electronic data. Thats made CSS a model for other registries.

The quality of CSS data has also made it an attractive target for scientists eager to mine the registry for additional secrets.

In a 2018 study, then-Hutch physician-scientist Dr. Bernardo Goulart and colleagues used natural language processing, or NLP, to delve into the CSS and capture information on two mutations often found in non-small cell lung cancer, or NSCLC. Targeted oral therapies known as tyrosine kinase inhibitors or TKIs have been life-changers for many patients who carry common mutations in the genes ALK and EGFR, and these drugs are currently offered as a first-line treatment for patients diagnosed with stage 4 NSCLC.

But not all patients were being tested  or getting accurate tests  before their treatment. Goulart was able to tease this information out from the CSS. Another of his studies used NLP to scour the CSS for patients whod been prescribed TKIs for their ALK- and EGFR-driven cancers, pairing it with insurance claims data to determine the financial impact of this treatment on cancer patients.

He and colleagues from HICOR, the Hutchinson Institute for Cancer Outcomes Research, found that the higher the TKI out-of-pocket costs, the more patients cut back or quit taking the medications, with Medicare patients faring worse by a significant margin.

Moving forward, Goulart said AI methods could be used to look for other actionable mutations or interventions.

These studies could serve as a prototype to look at molecular mutations in other tumors, he said. We did it in lung cancer, but theres no reason to believe you cant do this in other tumor settings.

New linkages, new opportunities

Schwartz, who has worked at the Hutch for over 30 years and partnered with Goulart on one of his studies, said the CSS is also an extremely valuable source for disparities research.

We use it internally within the [Fred Hutch/University of Washington] Cancer Consortium to help identify parts of our catchment area where there are populations that might have a high burden of a particular cancer, he said.

It can also pinpoint problems with access to care or structural bias. A recent HICOR report found that where a person lived in Washington state often determined if they lived after a cancer diagnosis.

Theres been a major effort to expand the different ways the SEER data is being used, Li said. Historical linkages  like the ones between SEER and Medicare data  have been used in many, many studies. More recently, though, there have been linkages with different commercial pharmacies to try and get information on prescription medications relating to cancer or other disease. And theres interest in trying to expand the geospatial data  linking information on addresses with neighborhood characteristics, like exposures to pollutants and other environmental exposures. Thats another opportunity.

Li is currently collaborating with Microsoft to interrogate electronic medical record data to capture information about metastatic recurrence. He and others are also testing the accuracy of these new linkages and data extraction methods.

Weve found that the accuracy depends on your source of data, he said. With a pathology report you get so far. With radiology, you get more. A lot of recurrences are identified by imaging and there may never be a biopsy or pathology report. It does seem like it would be a substantial improvement to have pathology and radiology reports linked to a registry.

Li said he and his collaborators are currently writing up preliminary results, but the process might provide a model for filling in all recurrence data gaps.

We started with breast cancer because we had gold standard data from thousands of patients showing who recurred and who did not, he said. This could definitely be used as a model moving forward.

Etzioni is also using workarounds to collect recurrence data. In a paper published last year, she and colleagues found that data mining of medical claims holds promise for the streamlining of cancer registry operations to collect metastatic recurrence data. The project also explored using patient self-report about recurrence histories, which they found to be a highly accurate source of information (published results are forthcoming).

Schwartz, both cancer survivor and scientist, said cancer registries will always be an incredibly valuable resource for patients, clinicians, and researchers, even if they havent yet revealed all their secrets.

Youd be hard pressed to find any kind of regular data collection effort that was trying to maintain consistency with the past and stay relevant to the current situation that was also, with constricted funding, able to collect everything you want, he said.

As for cancer registries potential in future research?

In some senses, its only limited by peoples creativity, he said.
Sweden had a smaller increase in its mortality rate in 2020 than most other European countries but fared worse than its Nordic neighbours, according to an analysis of official data.

An outlier in its initial approach to strict Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, Sweden recorded 7.7 per cent more deaths last year than its average for the preceding four years, preliminary data from EU statistics agency Eurostat shows.

Sweden imposed few restrictions at the start of the pandemic but passed legislation in January this year, bringing its approach more into line with the rest of Europe.

Countries that opted for several periods of strict lockdowns last year, such as Spain and Belgium, had so-called excess mortality of 18.1 per cent and 16.2 per cent respectively.

Sweden's chief epidemiologist Anders Tegnell claimed the data raised doubts about the effectiveness of lockdowns.

But other experts warned that interpreting excess deaths data is fraught with risks of ignoring crucial variables.

Read more:

Twenty-one of the 30 countries with available statistics had higher excess mortality than Sweden.

But Sweden did much worse than its closest neighbours, with Denmark registering just 1.5 per cent excess mortality and Finland 1 per cent. Norway had no excess mortality at all in 2020, according to the data. All three of those countries initially introduced tight restrictions.

Sweden's rate also came out at the low end of the spectrum in a separate tally of Eurostat and other data released by the UK's Office for National Statistics last week.

That analysis, which included an adjustment to account for differences in both the age structures and seasonal mortality patterns of countries analysed, placed Sweden 18th in a ranking of 26. Poland, Spain and Belgium were at the top.

"I think people will probably think very carefully about these total shutdowns, how good they really were," said Mr Tegnell of Sweden's death rate.

"They may have had an effect in the short term, but when you look at it throughout the pandemic, you become more and more doubtful," he added.

Experts have pointed out, however, factors such as the age structure and general health of Sweden's population could explain the lower death rates.

Sweden's proportion of people aged over 80 was 5.1 per cent at the start of 2019, lower than the EU average of 5.8 per cent but on par with the United Kingdom and higher than Norway and Denmark.

Its population is also generally healthier than the EU average with a life expectancy at 82.6 years in 2018, compared to an average 81.0 years in EU.

"All of us have to be really careful interpreting death data connected with Covid-19, whatever its source - none of them are perfect," said Mark Woolhouse, professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh.

"They do raise a question about whether, in fact, Sweden's strategy was relatively successful. They certainly raise that question," he added.

Additional reporting by Reuters
* Username

This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely!
ADVERTISEMENT

A High Court in Akwa-Ibom State, on Thursday, sentenced a Nigerian professor, Peter Ogban, to three years in prison, for election fraud.

The court, which found Mr Ogban guilty of fraudulent manipulation of election results, publishing and announcing of false results, also asked the professor to pay N100,000 fine.

Mr Ogban, a professor of soil science, University of Calabar, and a returning officer in the 2019 general elections in Akwa Ibom North-West District, was charged for manipulating the election results of two local government areas  Oruk Anam and Etim Ekpo.

In a previous court session, Mr Ogban had told the court how the results of the election were falsified to give the All Progressives Congress (APC) an unfair advantage over its main rival, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

For instance, some 5,000 fake votes were added to the APCs score in Oruk Anam, in the election.

Godswill Akpabio, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, was the APC candidate in the election. He was seeking a return to the Senate, after he defected from the PDP.

The PDP candidate, Chris Ekpenyong, a former deputy governor in Akwa Ibom State, defeated Mr Akpabio in the election, which was gripped by pockets of violence.

Mr Ogban was prosecuted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the landmark case.

The university lecturer, before his sentencing, pleaded for mercy from the judge, Augustine Odokwo.

Justice Odokwo, who described the case as a novel one, told the lecturer that there was not much he could do other than to let the law take its course.

He said the prosecution was able to prove its case against Mr Ogban, beyond any reasonable doubt.

Another professor also faces trial for election fraud

Ignatius Uduk, a professor of Human Kinetics in the Department of Physical and Health Education, University of Uyo, has also been charged for election fraud in Akwa Ibom State.

He is accused of unlawful generation of election results in favour of PDP in Essien Udim State Constituency election in 2019 and lying under oath.

Mr Uduk was remanded in custody in December after the court issued a warrant of arrest on him.

This is the first time INEC is prosecuting professors for electoral fraud.
The HSE just received 9,600 doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine last week, the lowest delivery to date.

It coincided with the temporary pause on the roll out of the vaccine while the European Medicines Agency investigated reports of blood clots in a number of people abroad who got the jab.

Read More

So far since it was approved for use here 216,000 doses of this vaccine have been administered. This compared to 570,960 doses the Pfizer vaccine and 68,400 of the Moderna jab.

Overall, some 855,360 doses of the vaccine have been delivered here since December. As of Sunday 680,015 doses of vaccine have been delivered .

The Department of Health said Moderna requested that 50pc of its vaccine is held back for second doses.

"Similarly, an appropriate buffer amount is built up and held back for all vaccines to ensure availability of second doses for the following week.

"Currently, about 95pc of available vaccines are administered within seven days of arrival in Ireland."

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said it is expected that around 1 million vaccines will arrive here next month.

Around 10,000 vaccinators have been trained to administer the vaccines, he said.

From tomorrow the HSE will stop taking new applications from frontline healthcare staff as they have all been covered at this point.

It will mean that there will be more AstraZeneca vaccine to administer to people with underlying conditions leaving them at very high risk if they catch Covid-19.

In a letter to hospital groups the HSE's chief clinical officer Dr Colm Henry said:

"I am writing in relation to the vaccination programme for frontline healthcare workers (Cohort2). In accordance with the governments provisional allocation grouping, vaccination of this high risk group began in late December

"As of March 21 over 204,000 frontline healthcare workers had received their first dose vaccination. We have now significantly exceeded the original estimation of this group by more than 50,000 and are now in a position to begin to close out dose 1 vaccinations for this group

"On midday Friday March 26 the healthcare worker portal will close for new registrations. Anyone registered on the healthcare worker portal prior to midday Friday will be offered a vaccine as part of this group. Specific arrangements for new employees and staff returning from sick leave who have not been vaccinated and meet the criteria for frontline healthcare workers will be required.

"For healthcare workers not in direct patient contact (group 6b) the HCW portal will re-open in due course. I would like to take this opportunity to once again recognise and thank you for the tremendous effort that has and continues to be made across Community and Acute operations to enable the safe, effective and timely roll out of the vaccination programme."

Speaking today, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly assured the Dail that the HSE is ready to administer very high volumes of vaccine which are to be delivered in the next few days,

Minister Donnelly said he has met with HSE management to ensure plans are in place to facilitate a stepchange in the number of daily doses administered.

Labour leader Alan Kelly told Minister Donnelly he found it extraordinary that the health minister couldnt stand up in the Dail and say how many vaccines are expected in the nation next week.

You are the Minister for Health, you should know how many doses you expect next week at least. Those figures should be in front of you, Deputy Kelly said.

Minister Donnelly said he did have exact figures for each day but highly caveated their accuracy by saying the delivery schedule changes so often and these changes can cause people anxiety, so the government prefers to use a higher level of months, not weeks.

One in eight adults has now received a first dose, the Minister said.

A further one million vaccine doses are scheduled to arrive in April with the Minister insisting the 10,000-strong vaccination team will be able to get the vaccines to people in a timely fashion.

We fully expect Astrazeneca to make good on their contractual obligations, the Minister said, but added that the drugmaker has not fully committed to the European Commission that it will fulfill these contractual obligations.

Minister Donnelly said if everything thats expected comes in in the next few days, the shortfall for Q1 will be just 100,000.

Sinn Fein spokesperson on Health David Cullinane pointed out that initial forecasts were for 1.4m in Q1, which would mean a shortfall of 300,000.

Minister Donnelly said the effect of the vaccination programme on the most vulnerable has absolutely changed the risk matrix of the pandemic in Ireland and the result of this is less illness, harm and death from the same number of cases and this enables a very different conversation about people being able to return to normal lives.

He pointed out that in January, one in nine people admitted to hospital was a resident of a nursing home and this rate has now fallen to one in 200.

Minister Donnelly said it was unfortunate that a reduction in the number of cases among vaccinated cohorts was being offset by an increase in mobility in recent weeks.

It must feel to many like this pandemic will never end and many are very understandably frustrated at what can seem like a largely unchanging landscape. But, pandemics do end and this one will end, too. Its end is firmly in sight, he told the Dail.

Minister Donnelly said the Government can increase the number of walk-in test centres around the country from next week if there is a demand for it. There are five in operation from today, four in Dublin and one in Tullamore, Co Offaly.

Read More




The unavailability of adequate organs for transplantation to meet the existing demand has resulted in major organ shortage crises.

As a result, there has been a major increase in the number of patients on transplant waiting lists as well as in the number of patients dying while on the waiting list. Worse, trade of human organs is prevalent.

The Ministry of Health yesterday organized a seminar on human organ donation in order to remove barriers in the Law on organ donation. According to health experts, though the law has taken effect on July 7, 2007, there have still been several inadequacies leading to shortage crises of organ donation while the demand is high.

Illustrative photo. -- Photo: SGGP

From 1992, Vietnam started to carry out human organ transplantation for living people and in 2010, Vietnamese health workers began to perform transplantation on brain-dead organ donation.

As of December, 2020, medical workers in the Southeast Asian country have performed 5,587 transplants including kidneys, livers, hearts pancreas, hands and intestines.

Some 40,257 Vietnamese people registered to donate their organs after natural death and brain death; especially, 100 agreed to donate their organ when they are alive and seven of them are still alive. Presently, 20 approved medical centers can perform all transplantation techniques which other countries in the world can do.

However, Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Truong Son said that there have been some inadequacies in the law of organ donation. For instance, the regulations that people over 18 are eligible for donating their organs unintentionally limit the organ source from brain-dead people.

Annually, roughly 10,000 Vietnamese people died of traffic accidents  their organs are potential sources for transplantation.

Solutions are needed to solve presently existing problems in the donation of human organs for transplantation. People should give their opinions for amendments for the law of organ donation but still adhere to the declaration of Istanbul on organ trafficking and transplant tourism, said Deputy Minister Son.

Dr. Tran Thi Cam Tu from the Hue Hospitals Organ Transplantation Center said that law on organ donations in other countries in the world is open; for instance, British people under 18 are eligible for donating their organs and they can change their mind at any time while in Netherland, people from twelve can donate their organs.

In Vietnam, an estimated 10,000 people and thousands of people are waiting for kidney and liver transplants respectively. The rate of dead-brain donors in infirmaries is just 0.5 percent while 5,255 transplants were made by living donors; as a result, there has been very high likelihood of organ trafficking which is illegal, said Deputy Chairman of the Vietnam Society of Organ Transplantation Tran Ngoc Sinh.

Terribly, Dr. Tran Thi Cam Tu said that half of living organ donors are under 30 who usually sell their organs. Dr. Du Thi Ngoc Thu, Head of the human organ coordination unit in Cho Ray Hospital said that the hospital has refused to carry out transplant as it discovered fraudulent documents for organ transplants.

To eradicate trade of human organs, medical centers for transplantation should only conduct transplants on people in the waiting list. As scheduled, the Ministry of Health will submit amendments to the law on organ donation by 2022.

SGGP

Young PhD promotes organ donation registration to save lives With his health and job in good condition, a young lecturer at the HCM City University of Forestry and Agriculture with a doctorate registered to donate his organs after death to convey the message that giving is forever existing.
Fairbanks, AK (99707)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun this morning followed by mostly cloudy skies and a few showers this afternoon. High 67F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Considerable cloudiness. Low 48F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Lionsgate announced Wednesday that Spiral: From the Book of Saw would open one week earlier than planned. Originally scheduled to open May 21, it will now open May 14.

ADVERTISEMENT

The May 21 date represented a one-year delay from the film's original 2020 release date. Spiral was one of many 2020 franchise movies that postponed after movie theaters closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chris Rock, Samuel L. Jackson and Max Minghella play cops investigating a new series of killings with ties to the original Jigsaw killings. Rock also suggested the story, with Jigsaw writers Josh Stolberg and Pete Goldfinger writing the script.

Lionsgate President of Distribution David Spitz cited the reopening of New York and Los Angeles, Calif. movie theaters as incentive to open Spiral sooner.

"We are proud to support the exhibitors with one of our most eagerly awaited films," Spitz said in a statement. "We are confident this film will kick off a robust summer moviegoing season."

Some 2020 films like Tenet and The Croods: A New Age still released after theaters reopened with limited capacity. Others, like Bill and Ted Face the Music, Mulan, Wonder Woman 1984 and Soul offered video-on-demand, streaming or a hybrid release along with limited theaters.

Other 2020 holdovers are shuffling. Universal moved F9: The Fast Saga to June while Paramount bumped A Quiet Place Part II to Memorial Day weekend. Disney committed to a hybrid theatrical/Disney+ Premium Access release for Black Widow and Cruella.

Potential blockbusters Top Gun: Maverick, No Time to Die, Halloween Kills, Candyman and more have slated theatrical release dates later this year.

FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS!

Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source!

The Saw franchise was a boon for Lionsgate with seven entries coming out annually from 2004 - 2010, and Jigsaw in 2017. Jigsaw ( Tobin Bell ) would place victims in deadly or disfiguring traps. If they could escape, they'd have a chance to redeem themselves for their sins.

Saw II, III and IV director Darren Lynn Bousman returns to direct Spiral. Producers Mark Burg and Oren Koules also return.
A 3D printed Whatsapp logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken (Photo : REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)

India's competition watchdog on Wednesday ordered a probe into a WhatsApp privacy policy update, saying the Facebook Inc-owned messaging service had breached antitrust laws.



The update announced in January, which will take effect in May, allows WhatsApp to share some user data with Facebook and its units, prompting a global backlash including in India, its biggest market with more than 500 million users.



Advertisement

The 21-page antitrust order came as WhatsApp is expanding its digital payment services to millions of Indians.



The Competition Commission of India said WhatsApp had violated competition laws "through its exploitative and exclusionary conduct ... in the garb of policy update."



It ordered its investigation unit to launch a probe and submit a report within 60 days. Such probes typically take several months.



WhatsApp's sharing of data in a way that is "neither fully transparent nor based on voluntary and specific user consent," appears unfair to users, the watchdog added.



The regulator said WhatsApp had told it that the policy update raised no competition law concerns.



WhatsApp responded in a statement it would engage with the commission, noting the company's commitment to protecting encryption and providing transparency on how the new business features work.



WhatsApp has previously said that changes only involved users' interactions with businesses.



In India, users concerned about privacy have downloaded rival apps such as Signal and Telegram, according to data from research firms.


A man calls on people to raid the Capitol as Trump supporters clash with police on January 6, 2021. Photo: Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images

The Justice Department revealed new evidence Tuesday that suggests there was coordination between the Oath Keepers militia, the Proud Boys, and other far-right groups during the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

A court filing in the case against Kelly Meggs, the self-described leader of the Oath Keepers Florida chapter, includes online communication between Meggs and others concerning their plan to travel to Washington, D.C., to disrupt Congress certification of the presidential election.

Meggs is currently facing several charges, including conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding, and destruction of federal property. The filing was made in order to oppose Meggss request for pretrial release.

Prosecutors said Meggs plotted with his co-conspirators to stop the certification of the Electoral College vote, prepared to use violence if necessary, and stormed the Capitol, adding that he was the team leader of the attack.

This is the first indication that militia groups might have been in contact prior to the events of January 6 with the intention of coordinating their actions and strategy. This would greatly strengthen the conspiracy case federal prosecutors are building against members of the Oath Keepers for their role in the Capitol riot.

According to court documents provided by Politico, Meggs, in a comment on a Facebook post on November 9, asked those ready to really join the fight to message him directly.

In a December 19 Facebook message, Meggs wrote, Well we are ready for the rioters, this week I organized an alliance between Oath Keepers, Florida 3%ers, and Proud Boys. We have decided to work together and shut this shit down.

Meggs also discussed coordinating with the Proud Boys on Facebook once in D.C., writing on December 22, Plus we have made Contact with PB and they always have a big group. Force multiplier.

He even outlined how attendees should arm themselves, providing suggestions on gear.

Dc is no guns. So mace and gas masks, some batons. If you have armor, thats good. During the day its kind of boring but when it starts getting dark Game on, Meggs wrote in a December 25 conversation.

Meggs seems to have subscribed to the conspiracy theory that President Donald Trump would invoke the Insurrection Act in order to retain power, saying on December 26 that he would use the emergency broadcast system on cell phones to broadcast to the American people. Then he will claim the insurrection act.

Meggs later added, Then wait for the 6th when we are all in DC to insurrection.

During a conversation from January 3, just days before the Capitol attack, Meggs seemed to cite Vice President Mike Pences recent actions as further proof of the theory, writing now pence announced he is going to allow the evidence to be presented to Congress. That checks all the boxes.

He added, I think this is why we were called there. Anything less would be a terrible mistake.
The recordings show the organisation was open to recruiting teenagers and that Brenton Tarrants murderous mosque rampage in New Zealand in March 2019 was admired by some. In his recorded vetting interview in late 2019, a 21-year-old Brisbane applicant told The Base leadership: I fully wholeheartedly agree with what he [Tarrant] did. He was joining The Base because there is no political or democratic solution at all. A 33-year-old applicant from Perth, known online by the name James Jameson, described how he got enjoyment watching ... Tarrant do his thing.

Another applicant, a 16-year-old boy from Canberra, told The Bases leaders that his father was a government security official who didnt support his views and that the teen had been kicked out of a local nationalist group for promoting violent tactics and supporting Tarrant. My dad came to me one time and he basically screamed at me about what Ive been doing online and things like that and how it threatens his job, the young applicant said. Mr Nazzaro, who is based in Russia, responded that The Base was trying to increase our presence in Australia and if you join, were going to look to you to kind of help in that regard. The teen responded: Well, Ill finish school after next year, so I should be all good for that. The leaked material suggests that, by early 2020, The Base had recruited four Australians, though two had by then also left the group. One of those who stayed, and who The Age and Herald have identified as a young Perth tradesman, agreed to be The Bases Australian leader and recruit more members, targeting young, impressionable men rather than older men with children.

The guys with wives and kids, thats a big problem, the lead Australian recruiter said on one recording, while also describing how he would instruct the Canberra teen applicant to take photographs of neo-Nazi material in front of the Parliament House as a really good propaganda piece. Another applicant to The Base is Gold Coast-based Grant Fuller, whose vetting application states that he is a former military employee turned leader of the Queensland chapter of Australias highest-profile extremist group, The Lads Society. This meant he could open doors to more recruits, he said. Mr Fuller denied attempting to join The Base when quizzed by The Age and Herald. Former One Nation candidate Dean Smith, who underwent a recruitment interview with US-based neo-Nazi group, The Base. Former West Australian One Nation candidate Dean Smith, who unsuccessfully contested the 2019 federal election, told Mr Nazzaro during his vetting interview that I have come to realise that there really is no political solution and that, if I want to leave a legacy for my children, then Im going to have to do something about it.

Mr Smith refused to answer questions last week, but sources with knowledge of The Base said he did not end up joining the US group and remains close to SWAN. Both Mr Smith and Mr Fuller sought to obscure their identities but were revealed by personal details they disclosed in their applications. Formed in 2018 and active in the US, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, The Base supports accelerationist theory, which involves efforts to hasten the collapse of American liberal democracy into civil war, and bring about a white ethnostate. In encrypted chats, members have discussed the methods and efficacy of tactics such as sabotaging infrastructure and the finer points of guerrilla warfare. While Mr Nazzaro has publicly sought to distance his group from domestic terrorism and violence, he and his fellow Base leaders are heard tacitly encouraging violence. A Perth applicant said he wanted to access firearms and avoid police attention. He said he had taught his 11-year-old stepdaughter a martial art and she had already bashed two f---ing Africans. One of The Bases leaders responded: Thats good. So then you are a good trainer. There is no evidence that Mr Smith or Mr Fuller have engaged in or planned any violent activity or terrorism. Grant Fuller, self-professed leader of The Lads Society, one of the countrys biggest neo-Nazi groups. In response to questions sent by The Age and Herald, Mr Nazzaro said The Base was an entirely legal self-defence and survivalist network.

The recordings suggest that proscription of The Base by ASIO as a domestic terrorism group  a move which outlaws people becoming members and supporting it  would undermine its operations. One of The Bases leaders described a terrorism designation , if it were to happen, as a game changer. ASIO has recommended a number of extreme right-wing groups be declared terrorist organisations but they have not succeeded because Australias legal definition is narrower than in some other countries. UK-based neo-Nazi group Sonnenkrieg Division recently became the first right-wing extremist organisation listed as a terrorist group in Australia. Loading In mid March, ASIO director general Mike Burgess described how ideological extremism investigations have grown from around one-third of our priority counter-terrorism caseload, to around 40 per cent and that he was particularly concerned by the number of 15- and 16-year-olds who are being radicalised.
Navalny says health deteriorating, suffering sleep deprivation 'torture' Navalny is serving out his two-and-a-half-year term in a penal colony infamous for harsh discipline.

Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny said Thursday his health was declining and accused prison authorities of "torture" through sleep deprivation, with allies saying they feared for his life.

President Vladimir Putin's most prominent critic is serving a two-and-a-half-year sentence on old embezzlement charges in a penal colony outside Moscow. Rights campaigners have described his prison as especially harsh, and Navalny himself compared it to a "concentration camp."

The 44-year-old was arrested on his return to Russia in January from Germany, where he spent months recovering from a near-fatal nerve agent poisoning in August that he blames on the Kremlin.

Navalny's allies raised concerns over his health after he complained of severe back and leg pain in recent days, and on Thursday he made a formal complaint through his lawyers of mistreatment.

"I believe that my deteriorating health is the direct consequence of actions and inaction of FSIN employees," Navalny said, referring to the prison service by its Russian acronym.

In another complaint Navalny, who is considered a flight risk by authorities, said he is woken eight times per night by guards announcing to a recording camera that he is still in his cell.

"Essentially I am being tortured through sleep deprivation," Navalny wrote.

Navalny's lawyers managed to visit him at his prison in the town of Pokrov around 100 kilometres (60 miles) east of Moscow on Thursday, after they were denied access to the penal colony the day before.

In a statement on Instagram, Navalny's wife Yulia said later Thursday that her husband had been in pain for the past four weeks and appealed directly to Putin to set his critic free.

"What's happening right now is personal revenge and punishment," Navalnaya said. "This should stop immediately."

She said Navalny began suffering from back pain in the Moscow detention centre and his condition only worsened in the Pokrov prison. Officials have however refused to allow him to be treated properly, his wife said.

Story continues

- 'Afraid for his life' -

Lawyer Olga Mikhailova said Navalny's condition was "extremely unfavourable."

"He is suffering from strong back pain and pain in his right leg," Mikhailova said in remarks on Dozhd television after visiting him.

"Everyone is afraid for his life and health."

Mikhailova said Navalny's right leg was in "an awful condition" and that we was losing sensation in it.

She said that on Wednesday Navalny had undergone an MRI examination in a hospital outside the prison but doctors did not release any diagnosis.

She demanded that he be transferred to Moscow for treatment.

Another lawyer, Vadim Kobzev, accused prison officials of adopting a "deliberate strategy to undermine his health."

The prison service earlier on Thursday insisted that Navalny has been checked by medics and that "his state of health was assessed as stable and satisfactory".

Navalny's arrest and jailing sparked large-scale protests, an outcry from rights groups in Russia and abroad and condemnation from Western governments.

The United States and the European Union have slapped sanctions on Russia for jailing Navalny and for allegedly orchestrating last year's poisoning, a charge Moscow has denied.

- Protests planned -

The Kremlin said it was not following reports of Navalny's health and had not requested information from prison authorities.

"The condition of convicts and people who are serving time in correctional institutions is being monitored by their administrations. That's their job," spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Navalny has been a thorn in the Kremlin's side for a decade by probing corruption among officials and leading large protests throughout Russia.

This week his team launched a campaign seeking his release and announced plans to stage what they said would be "modern Russia's biggest protest."

The team said they would set a date for the protest once 500,000 supporters have been registered with the website free.navalny.com

As of Thursday, 250,000 people had signed up.

bur-as/mjs
Octopuses are known to sleep and to change color while they do it. Now, a study publishing March 25 in the journal iScience finds that these color changes are characteristic of two major alternating sleep states: an "active sleep" stage and a "quiet sleep" stage. The researchers say that the findings have implications for the evolution of sleep and might indicate that it's possible for octopuses to experience something akin to dreams.

Scientists used to think that only mammals and birds had two sleep states. More recently, it was shown that some reptiles also show non-REM and REM sleep. A REM-like sleep state was reported also in cuttlefish, a cephalopod relative of the octopus.

"That led us to wonder whether we might see evidence of two sleep states in octopuses, too," says senior author Sidarta Ribeiro of the Brain Institute of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. "Octopuses have the most centralized nervous system of any invertebrate and are known to have a high learning capacity."

To find out, the researchers captured video recordings of octopuses in the lab. They found that during 'quiet sleep' the animals were still and quiet, with pale skin and eye pupils contracted to a slit. During 'active sleep,' it was a different story. The animals dynamically changed their skin color and texture. They also moved their eyes while contracting their suckers and body with muscular twitches.

"What makes it more interesting is that this 'active sleep' mostly occurs after a long 'quiet sleep'--generally longer than 6 minutes--and that it has a characteristic periodicity," Ribeiro says.

The cycle would repeat at about 30- to 40-minute intervals. To establish that these states indeed represented sleep, the researchers measured the octopuses' arousal threshold using visual and tactile stimulation tests. The results of those tests showed that in both 'active' and 'quiet sleep' states, the octopuses needed a strong stimulus to evoke a behavioral response in comparison with the alert state. In other words, they were sleeping.

The findings have interesting implications for octopuses and for the evolution of sleep. They also raise intriguing new questions.

"The alternation of sleep states observed in the Octopus insularis seems quite similar to ours, despite the enormous evolutionary distance between cephalopods and vertebrates, with an early divergence of lineages around 500 million years ago," says first author and graduate student Sylvia Medeiros of the Brain Institute of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.

"If in fact two different sleep states evolved twice independently in vertebrates and invertebrates, what are the essential evolutionary pressures shaping this physiological process?" she asks. "The independent evolution in cephalopods of an 'active sleep' analogous to vertebrate REM sleep may reflect an emerging property common to centralized nervous systems that reach a certain complexity."

Medeiros also says that the findings raise the possibility that octopuses experience something similar to dreaming. "It is not possible to affirm that they are dreaming because they cannot tell us that, but our results suggest that during 'active sleep' the octopus might experience a state analogous to REM sleep, which is the state during which humans dream the most," she says. "If octopuses indeed dream, it is unlikely that they experience complex symbolic plots like we do. 'Active sleep' in the octopus has a very short duration--typically from a few seconds to one minute. If during this state there is any dreaming going on, it should be more like small videoclips, or even gifs."

In future studies, the researchers would like to record neural data from cephalopods to better understand what happens when they sleep. They're also curious about the role of sleep in the animals' metabolisms, thinking, and learning.

"It is tempting to speculate that, just like in humans, dreaming in the octopus may help to adapt to environmental challenges and promote learning," Ribeiro says. "Do octopuses have nightmares? Could octopuses' dreams be inscribed on their dynamic skin patterns? Could we learn to read their dreams by quantifying these changes?"

###

This work was supported by the State University of Rio Grande do Norte (UERN), the Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq), and from the Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) Center for Neuromathematics.

iScience, Medeiros et al.: "Cyclic alternation of quiet and active sleep states in the octopus" https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(21)00191-7
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Ohio Elections Commission continues to weigh whether to ask for a criminal prosecution of Newburgh Heights Mayor Trevor Elkins over his admitted misuse of his campaign account.

Commissioners voted Thursday to set an April 8 hearing to decide the issue, which began when the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections made a referral in June 2019. Elkins has admitted to misusing more than $134,100 of his campaign funds on 650 occasions from 2015 to 2019, using a campaign debit card to cover routine personal expenses, but said he always repaid the account and didnt realize what he was doing was illegal until it was pointed out to him.

State law prohibits politicians from using their campaign accounts to pay for personal expenses.

Commissioners are trying to decide whether to refer Elkins for prosecution, or whether to just issue a fine, or possibly issue a fine with the threat of prosecution if he doesnt comply. The fine theoretically could be up to $650,000, or $1,000 per offense.

Theyre also considering whether to issue a finding over Elkins using his campaign account to pay $8,400 to a political consulting company he owns.

Brian Simms, a Franklin County senior assistant prosecutor, said during Thursdays commission hearing he supports charging Elkins, and said a felony offense is fully on the table.

His conduct represents the worst form of the offense, Simms said. And why is that? Its pervasive and its repetitive, and the amount of campaign funds that he converted to personal use or when he realized he couldnt do that any longer, he then created this LLC and then magically in 47 days his campaign is incurring an $8,400 expense, its excessive.

Jeffrey Ruppert, Elkins attorney, said the elections commission should only fine Elkins. He also called the $8,400 payment to Elkins company a gray area in state law, and said Elkins has worked to repay the money and fix his campaign records.

There was no real intent to deceive here, he said. There certainly is a misunderstanding of the law. It was certainly sloppy, and its certainly not best campaign practices, and questionable whether it was a smart thing to do.

Elkins called his use of his campaign fund a bad habit.

There is not a good explanation for the co-mingling, and I readily and forthrightly admit that, Elkins said.

Some elections commissioners said they supported making a criminal prosecution referral, doubting that Elkins, an experienced politician, didnt realize that using his campaign money on personal expenses was improper. The elections commission has only made prosecution referrals perhaps 10 times in its history, according to Phil Richter, its executive director.

This has got to be one of the most egregious misuse of campaign funds for personal purposes that weve seen, at least in my tenure here on the commission, said commissioner Michael Crites, a Republican and former federal prosecutor. He essentially used his campaign funds as a personal piggy bank.

Elkins, a Democrat, has been mayor of Newburgh Heights, a Cleveland suburb of roughly 1,700 people, since 2011. He is actively involved in county Democratic politics, including unsuccessfully seeking leadership of the county party in the past. He has said the investigation began as a vendetta for challenging party leaders.

County elections officials referred the issue to the state in 2019 after their audit found Elkins reported fund balances didnt match his actual account spending. A hearing initially was set for January 2020, but was postponed several times, with the coronavirus pandemic eventually playing a factor.

The issue has attracted attention from the FBI, which subpoenaed Elkins campaign finance records from the county elections board in October 2019.

Taylor Swift, looking for more novelty theme parks to rip off. Photo: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images

Are you a theme park enthusiast and also a Swiftie? Do you often confuse the Taylor Swift album evermore and the fantasy themed amusement park, Evermore, located in Pleasant Grove, Utah? Then boy, oh boy, do we have a lawsuit right up your alley. On Wednesday, February 3, Pitchfork reported that mega pop star turned moody folk artist Taylor Swift is being sued by Utah-based theme park Evermore Park, for trademark infringement surrounding her latest smash hit album also named evermore. Random coincidence? Evermore the theme park thinks not. The suit, filed in a U.S. District Court in Utah on February 2, seeks millions in damages including all legal fees, claiming that Swifts record-breaking album has led to confused guests and negatively affected the parks searchability on Google and allegedly infringes on the parks merchandise designs and album covers for their original soundtracks. A cursory Google search shows that the theme park is the number one his when you search Evermore Utah, but, sure, go off.

Swifts lawyers are calling b.s., referring to the suit as baseless in a letter filed in court. Put simply, the Swift Parties have not infringed your clients trademark, the letter states. It is inconceivable that there is any likelihood of confusion between your clients theme park and related products and Ms. Swifts music and related products. The letter goes on to single out Evermore Parks merchandise, which includes small dragon eggs, guild patches, and a small dragon mount, products that are not similar to those sold on Swifts website. Although it would be fun she did sell items such as these, but anyone worth their salt knows Swifts more into snake eggs. Swift and her team are denying the suits request to cease and desist from [the] use of the EVERMORE trademark, so dont worry about the album getting pulled from streaming platforms any time soon. While we are sensitive to the plight of the small business owner, we do feel that instead of a lawsuit, a collaboration or licensing deal would benefit both parties. Imagine walking through a quaint old hamlet while dorothea plays over the loudspeaker? Pure bliss.

Update, March 25: Evermore the theme park and Taylor Swift have dropped their respective suits over evermore the album (note the lowercase difference!), Billboard reported on March 24. The suits were dismissed without monetary settlement, a Swift spokesperson told Billboard. TAS Rights Management, which oversees Swifts music rights, filed a separate suit against the park three weeks after the park sued Swift, claiming Evermore played Swifts music without permission. The problem allegedly predated Swifts album evermore, with TAS and rights organization BMI claiming theyve tried to correct the situation since 2019, and that the park owed $1,728.67 just from music played between May and December 2019. So just dont expect to hear anything from evermore on your next visit to Evermore.
HESPERIA, Calif. (AP)  A Southern California sheriffs deputy who was shot on Tuesday was in critical condition following surgery, authorities said.

The deputy, who has not been identified, was shot in the arm by a gunman who was later arrested in Hesperia, said San Bernardino County sheriffs spokeswoman Cindy Bachman.

The department updated the deputys condition late Tuesday. There was no new information Wednesday.

The deputy initially responded to reports of an unwanted subject at a storage facility. The man left the area and the deputy found his car at the nearby parking lot of a shopping center, where the shooting occurred, according to Bachman.

The deputy was airlifted to a hospital.

When responding deputies located the suspects car a few miles away, the man got out and began firing at them, Bachman said.

The deputies fired back and the suspect was shot, she said. He was hospitalized with unknown injuries. The suspect has not been identified.
(Reuters) -The United States and Britain turned up the international pressure on Myanmar's ruling junta on Thursday by blacklisting military-controlled businesses, but troops reportedly shot dead nine more protesters in the generals' campaign to crush dissent.

Thousands of people held protests against last month's coup in the commercial capital Yangon and other cities and towns on Thursday, according to witnesses and social media posts.

"Are we united? Yes we are," protesters shouted in Monywa. "The revolution must prevail."

Myanmar has been rocked by almost daily protests since the army overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government on Feb. 1 and installed the junta. Suu Kyi and other members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) are being held in detention.

At least 320 people have been killed in the subsequent crackdown as of Thursday evening, according to figures compiled by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) activist group.

In Washington, the U.S. Treasury Department announced new sanctions targeting Myanma Economic Holdings Public Company Limited (ed. correct) and Myanmar Economic Corporation Limited.

Both are part of a vast military-controlled network which spans a variety of sectors from mining to tourism and has enriched the generals. Representatives for the two entities had no immediate comment.

Washington's move freezes any assets held by them in the United States. It also prohibits U.S. companies or citizens from trading or conducting financial transactions with those listed.

"These actions will specifically target those who led the coup, the economic interests of the military, and the funding streams supporting the Burmese military's brutal repression," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

"They are not directed at the people of Burma."

In a move coordinated with the United States, former colonial power Britain said it would target Myanma Economic Holdings Ltd, citing human rights violations against civilians and its association with senior military figures.

Story continues

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the sanctions would help to drain the sources of finance for the military's campaigns of repression.

Earlier U.S. measures had hit individuals linked to the coup, while junta leader and army commander General Min Aung Hlaing was already blacklisted due to previous human rights issues.

The European Union announced sanctions on 11 individuals on Monday and is expected to target the conglomerates soon.

But although many foreign governments have condemned the military's actions, Thomas Andrews, special U.N. rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, said the diplomatic response was slow and "out of step with the scale of the crisis".

Conditions in Myanmar were deteriorating and likely get much worse without an "immediate, robust, international response in support of those under siege," he said, calling for an emergency summit on the crisis.

ON THE STREETS

Protests against the miitary resumed on Thursday after a silent strike on Wednesday left normally bustling areas of commercial hubs like Yangon and Monywa virtually deserted.

The AAPP recorded nine deaths of protesters at the hands of the security forces on Thursday - in Yangon's Thingangyun township, Khin-U town in Sagaing Region, Mohnyin town in Kachin State, and Taunggyi City in Shan State.

Other media outlets reported at least seven protesters were wounded when security forces opened fire in various places. Reuters could not independently verify the reports.

The military was trying to stifle protests before Armed Forces Day on Saturday, the AAPP said. A military spokesman did not respond to calls seeking comment.

Candle-lit vigils took place across the country again overnight, photographs on social media showed.

Residents said that after dark on Thursday, soldiers raided Yangon's Mingalar Taungnyunt district and arrested people still on the streets after curfew. Residents heard bangs that could be either stun grenades or gunfire although there was no protest in the area, they said.

One Yangon resident said soldiers had shot at his building every night this week and checked houses they deemed suspicious.

"Even if they find nothing, they take everything they want," he told Reuters.

SINGAPORE, INDONESIA 'DISTRESSED'

Although the junta has shown little sign of reversing course, on Wednesday it freed hundreds of people who had been rounded up and imprisoned in the crackdown. Nearly 3,000 people have been arrested since the coup, AAPP said.

The junta has tried to justify the takeover by saying a Nov. 8 election won by Suu Kyi's NLD was fraudulent - an accusation the electoral commission has rejected. Military leaders have promised a new election but have not set a date and have declared a state of emergency.

Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her campaign to bring democratic civilian rule to Myanmar, has been in detention since the coup and faces charges that her lawyer says have been cooked up to discredit her.

Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan met his Indonesian counterpart in Jakarta on Thursday and said both countries were "very distressed" by the situation in Myanmar. He had visited Malaysia and Brunei earlier in the week.

Malaysia and Indonesia are seeking an urgent meeting of Southeast Asia's ASEAN regional grouping, of which Myanmar is a member, to discuss the crisis.

(Reporting by Reuters Staff, Writing by Raju Gopalakrishnan, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
's ( ) Tom Oakley talks to Proactive London's Katie Pilbeam about 'the moment they've all been waiting for' after winning one-year deal worth 84,000 with the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust for its clinical communications platform, Bleepa.

Oakley says the deal 'reflects the value that the Trust believes Bleepa offers them', he says given the time this contract has been won, 'Bleepa is a much needed product on the front line'.

The funding has been drawn down from the NHSx National Clinical Communication Tool Framework  the companys first commercial contract from this source.
A parliamentary inquiry will be launched into the military coup in Myanmar as concern grows about the violent crackdown on pro-democracy activists in the country.

A public hearing will be held next month to examine the deteriorating situation in Myanmar, the effectiveness of the steps taken by Australia to date and additional measures the government should take in response to the coup.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne concedes she probably would have joined the statement had she been consulted. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

There are at least three Australians who have been detained since the coup began on February 1, while at least 250 people have been killed and more than 2300 individuals arrested.

The Foreign Affairs and Aid Subcommittee of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade will hold a public hearing on April 13 in Canberra where it will hear from government departments, diaspora groups, think tanks and human rights organisations on the military coup.
New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - March 25, 2021) - Enerkon Solar International Inc. (OTC Pink: ENKS) announced today important administrative initiatives and actions taken this week as well as the appointment of a new Scientific Committee and additional Board Members.





To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7322/78555_6c505345e4c4eae7_001full.jpg

ENKS Chairman Mr. Ballout Stated that the company Nominated a New Scientific Committee and Board Members this week, and had Agreed to sell its East Africa Division to AL FADA Equity Holdings in UK as well as making new pronouncements on document and information uploads to the company website, supplemental filings to the DOJ FARA National Security Division of the USG, and issued statements on Fake News Articles or Net Chatter related to the current Geopolitical Tensions in the Eastern European region - sometimes spreading disinformation and the company has filed a complaint to authorities last week regarding some Journalists associated with alleged Ukraine Opposition groups funded by Russian Supporters of Disinformation, this complaint was distributed to the Diplomatic missions , the Law Enforcement authorities and other in both Washington DC and Kiev Ukraine - as the company has a zero tolerance policy for fake news, disinformation short bashing programs other illegitimate behavior becoming more popular in this modern era of global connectivity.

"The company has appointed 7 New Board Members or Advisory posts including the new Scientific Committee established this week to support New technologies - Patent Commercialization and our work in new Green Energy Technology Space this year."

The Biographies of new Board Members and Company Advisers nominated for new positions with ENKS will be included in the company website for Shareholders, Investors and the General Public during the coming week.

As stated Before, ENKS is comprised of 7 Companies, including corporate wholly or majority owned divisions - Corporate information for each will be posted on the company website for ease of search as some shareholders or investors have mentioned it was difficult to locate some of the data online, causing the possibility for others posting wrong or misleading information online - knowingly - or otherwise, therefore, we shall post additional legal documents and status information on line for all to review and take into consideration.

Mr. Ballout States Again, that the company is proud of its commercial relationship with companies and government personalities in Ukraine and are very positive on the development of the mutual cooperation while the company rejects any negative journalism related to geopolitical tensions in the region or the US Ukraine relations which are not our business but the business between the governments whereas our interaction is 100% Commercial with no political activities whatsoever.

"During the Previous US Administration, the Press reported Heavily on Ukraine in a politicized manner and today, in this new administration, we find a more balanced approach and more legitimate journalism here at home, while there remain detractors in the Eastern European Region, (against east west cooperation) for which we absolutely reject and insist that journalists must be only, ethical and accurate as to facts in their reporting, or coverage of such issues"

"A supplementary and expanded explanation, of the commercial relationship support for Ukraine, was registered again, on the US DOJ FARA Administration Site under the Division of National Security previously mentioned "

In other news ENKS received a Letter Drafted by Sheik Yaqob Sibindy President of the Extra-Parliamentary Block, PIMO - as a reference for the Government of Ukraine supporting our Utility Scale Activities In East Africa (Mozambique) - he further states his satisfaction of the companies activities over the last years from 2017 and related the Government entities who awarded the first project to the company during that time. Copies of this letter and previous letters from the President of Mozambique to Mr. Benjamin Ballout - and Letters from the Ministry or Energy and Public Utilities including after the award during that time and updated information on the company website during the coming days.

Regarding FAKE NEWS, associated with the publication, or disclosure, of the communications and interaction with Ukraine Commercial and Official personalities, ENKS again, Absolutely state that ALL of our pronouncements have always been clear and correct and factual at all times and in particular as it relates to any public disclosures and we reject all Fake news, supporting Geopolitical Games in Eastern Europe attempt to throw cold water on our great opportunities and interaction with Ukraine and their interest to attempt to damage the New Government of the Ukraine "

A technical call is also being scheduled with the new ChNPP director regarding the Chernobyl Special Exclusion Zone technical points and contents of this call which will be video recorded will explain better to the general public what Solar, Co-Generation is (the use of Solar Power (about 500 MW or less to Power Electric Steam Boilers which in turn are planned to supply the pressure needed to drive the 3 Turbine Electric generators on the ChNPP Site whereby each generator has a tolerance of nearly 1 Gigawatt - and further auxiliary power from the solar array will power a 50 and later a 100MW Electrolysis Driven Green Hydrogen Plant to supply buyers of Green Hydrogen. The company has already received expression of interest letters from German, Green Hydrogen Buyers and we shall pose these letter(s) on the company website in coming days as well.

Support for the Modernization of the Ukraine Metals industry will entail plans for Titanium Production and mining modernization - and Carbon Anode Sourcing for their Aluminum Industry - including Graphite Electrodes for their Steel Industry modernization plans in the future (a letter from the Vice Prime minister of Ukraine regarding our cooperation on the Titanium Industry has already been received by the company some weeks ago - expressing appreciation and explaining the many jobs and social benefits of such cooperation to future development in Ukraine.

"These Media entities (some of them), are associated with Ukraine Opposition, funded by Russia and others, that reject Nord Stream 2 - Crimea and other anomalies in the Geopolitical Atmosphere, that currently exists in Eastern Europe."

The Chairman of the ECO WORLD ALLIANCE last month, presented a Value Proposition issued by them to the attention of the President of the Ukraine - offering over USF $I Billion in financial support for social programs and other program support using their unique capacity exchange trade unit of settlement to accomplish the economic aspirations of the Ukraine Governments Financial Development Policy - and yesterday, the ECO Chairman, thanked Enerkon Solar International - Diplomatic Trade - Mr. Benjamin Ballout - Mr. Michael Vishmidt - Dr. Zayed of the AACSED and others, for assisting the introduction of the Eco World Alliance to the Ukraine Administration and Thanked the President of the Ukraine, for his Kind words, related to the 5G Project mentioned in the commercial MOU signed with parties previously including the 5G Network Project, The ChNPP Special Exclusion Zone Solar Co Generation Plant - and the Hydrogen Electrolysis Projects planned for the Ukraine this year.

Official letter from President of Ukraine to ECO via Deputy chief of staff

President of Ukraine Official letter to ECO official translation to English via Chief of Staff Mr. Sviridenk

ECO reply to president of Ukraine March 24, 2021 with thanks to DT ENKS and others

Today Mr. Ballout also stated that ENKS has decided to sell their Eastern Africa EPC Partner Holdings to the AL Fada Equity Holdings Ltd. Group (UK) in the amount of $38 Million USD in a Debt / Equity Swap this week and it is expected this amount, Witten down, from the companies Cost + 10% ($50M USD) project value in East Africa, will allow the company to amplify their focus on Eastern and Central Europe in the Green Energy Sector (SOLAR - Green Hydrogen - Battery Back Up Facilities and other Energy Technologies.

What is a Public Private Partnership (PPP)?





Cannot view this video? Visit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k586R6EFrY

"Loyal ENKS Shareholders, are the 'ENKS ARMY', and we will always support their best interests working to enhance shareholder value and steady growth" stated Mr. Ballout.

The foregoing statements are forward looking statements, and as such, they may or may not reflect the results which could transpire in the future which should be negative or not transpire at all due to circumstances or other reasons and investors, shareholders, or others should not rely on these forward-looking statements to ascertain any value if any of ENKS or to make any investment decisions and to take note that this is not an offer to buy or sell securities or an endorsement of ENKS for investment purposes as all investment carry a risk of loss sometimes a total loss of your investment in Micro cap shares markets or any market and therefore such statements or plans should not be relied upon for any business decisions of any kind - Approval and permissions required by federal regulations may or may not be approved and if not approved may result in the loss of all value and all investments in products requiring such regulatory permissions to market and sell. These statements are made as forward-looking statements for educational purposes only in accordance with the rules and regulations which pertain to the same.

Enerkon Solar International Inc.

www.enerkoninternational.com

info@enerkoninternational.com

New HQ Address in New York at:

Enerkon Solar International Inc

477 Madison Avenue



New York, NY 10022 USA



Tel. +1 (877) 573-7797

Tel. +1 (718) 709-7889

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/78555
New Jerseys schools will return to full in-person classes for the next school year, and districts will not be allowed to offer virtual learning, even for parents who want that option due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns, Gov. Phil Murphy said Wednesday.

As were sitting here now, no, Murphy said during his latest coronavirus briefing in Trenton, responding to NJ Advance Medias question about preserving that option even if districts are required to offer full in-person classes. I want to unequivocal about this. We are expecting Monday through Friday, in-person, every school, every district. Obviously, if the world goes sideways, we have to revisit that. But as of this sitting, the answer is no.

The governor has said hes fully expecting schools across New Jersey to return for in-person learning safely and responsibly when the next school year starts in September. And if thats the case, virtual learning is out.

As of Wednesday, 143 districts with about 97,000 students are open for all in-person instruction, Murphy said. In addition, 534 districts with more than 833,000 students are open for hybrid instruction. Another 44 districts with 121,600 students are in a mix of in-person, hybrid, or all-remote learning, while 90 districts with 302,000 students remain all remote.

Murphy also announced Wednesday that most schools can move classroom desks three feet apart, instead of six feet, under new social distancing guidance issued by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week that said it was safe for students to be closer together at school if they continue to wear masks and follow other social distancing guidelines to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

New Jersey has reported 205 in-school coronavirus outbreaks, which have resulted in 947 cases among students, teachers and school staff this academic year, according to the states dashboard.

There are about 1.4 million public school students and teachers across the state, though teaching methods amid the outbreak have varied, with some schools teaching in-person, some using a hybrid format and others remaining all-remote.

Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com.
In context: Twitter has long been known as a social network and was once seen as Facebook's big rival, yet the service considers itself more of a news-focused site. But a potential upcoming feature is a tried and tested staple of social media: emoji reactions.

In 2016, Twitter changed its App Store category from Social Network to News, helping it move out of the shadow of Mark Zuckerberg's company and its billion+ userbase. Twitter has, however, introduced social media-style designs, such as its switch from stars to hearts (its 'Likes') and increasing the tweet character length.

Last year, research engineer Jane Manchun Wong discovered that Twitter appeared to be moving even closer to Facebook by testing emoji reactions. The company said it wasn't currently working on such a feature, but it hasn't been killed off.

The last month has seen Twitter send out surveys to users, asking them to choose between several emoji reaction sets. These consist of Like, Funny, Interesting, Sad, Awesome, Agree, and Disagree.

Image credit: WFBrother on Twitter

Only the last three reactions differ in each of the three sets. The Awesome reaction could end up being an open-mouthed shocked face or a fire emoji, while Agree and Disagree could be Yes/No buttons, thumbs up/thumbs down, or Reddit-style upvote/downvote icons.

There's also another set of reactions that swap Agree and Disagree for Support and Angry.

Survey participants were asked about their feelings toward a Disagree button, such as whether they'd use it instead of replying to a tweet or to downvote offensive and irrelevant tweets.

Twitter also wants to know how someone would feel if one of their tweets received a negative reaction. Possible answers include tweeting less, appreciate the feedback and using it constructively, or feeling judged and uncomfortable.

"We're exploring additional ways for people to express themselves in conversations happening on Twitter," a company spokesperson told Techcrunch.
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Go to form
Hey dude, wheres my aerocar? Science-fiction has been promising this flying sedan for 121 years, a cheeky means to leapfrog the gridlock, to slalom the clouds, yet still our commute is limited to road and rubber  no heli-taxi, no spacebus, no gyroferry on the horizon.

FC Smale, an American pulp writer, was the first to promise the aerocar. Back in 1900, his short story, Abduction of Alexandra Seine, included this tease: The aerocarwas still outside the large bay window swinging gently to and fro at its moorings in the summer breeze.

A vision of flying cars in this promotional image for Blade Runner 2049. Credit:Warner Bros.

Since then, other writers have carjacked the term. From pulp to Popular Mechanics, from scripts to trilogies, aerocars have been zooming at our fingertips, a jet-like limo condemned to lay-by, the original unobtainium.

Teleporting is another false hope. For all the hype, Uber still cant offer a molecular transfer. Id even settle for a space-elevator, what Robert Heinlein called a beanstalk in 1981: A cable that goes up into the sky with nothing to hold it up smells too much of magic. Too right. Magic and fairy dust. Ditto for time machines, devised by H.G. Wells in 1894. And dont get me started on the TARDIS.
An Ohio mother who allegedly murdered her six-year-old son by running him over with her minivan has now been accused of hog-tying the boy and his two siblings for hours on the day before his death, new court records reveal.

Brittany Gosney, 29, had taken son James Hutchinson and his two elder siblings, aged 9 and 7, to Rush Run Park in Preble County, allegedly with the intention to leave them there.

But when she tried to drive away, James grabbed onto the car and was killed after allegedly being dragged along and run over. She allegedly dumped his body in the Ohio River a day later.

Now, new court filings allege that Gosney had kept James and his siblings bound by their hands and feet with cloths in their mouths on the day before or the day of the boy's killing.

The purpose was to 'terrorize and/or inflict serious harm' to the children, prosecutors allege.

Brittany Gosney faces charges of murder, corpse abuse, involuntary manslaughter and multiple counts of endangering children, abduction and kidnapping stemming from the death of her son

Brittany Gosney. 29, allegedly hog-tied her 6-year-old son James Hutchinson and his two siblings and placing a rag in their mouths in the lead up to his death

Her boyfriend James Hamilton, 43, who is alleged to have encouraged Gosney to abandon her children, is accused of helping her tie a concrete block to the boy's body and dumping it in the Ohio River near Lawrenceburg, Indiana, the following day.

Divers started looking for his body a week later using sonar equipment, but officials have not yet announced the recovery of a body.

The latest court filings revealed the couple are also accused of trying to cover up their crimes by removing a hard drive from cameras at the house, as well as tape and rope from another location.

Middletown police have said that James was killed while attempting to climb back in his mother's minivan when she drove off. The boy was said to have grabbed onto the minivan's bumper or door, and ended up being run over and killed.

Police say Gosney returned to the park 30 to 40 minutes later and found James lying in the middle of the parking lot with injuries to his head. She said the child had died.

Gosney then allegedly placed his body in her car, drove to the family's home in Middletown and stored the remains in an upstairs bedroom.

Gosney's boyfriend, James Hamilton, faces charges of abuse of corpse and evidence tampering. The 43-year-old had allegedly pressured her to abandon her children

Gosney's attorney last week filed a motion to enter a not guilty by reason of insanity plea

A March 7 tribute to James Hutchinson, 6, in Middletown, Ohio, where he lived with his mother and siblings before his death

Gosney faces charges of murder, corpse abuse, involuntary manslaughter and multiple counts of endangering children, abduction and kidnapping stemming from the death of her son.

Last week her attorney filed a motion to enter a not guilty by reason of insanity plea.

'Defendant struggles to assist in her defense and counsel has serious concerns regarding defendant's mental state,' wrote lawyer David Washington Jr.

Washington will seek a court-ordered competency evaluation to determine Gosney's ability to understand the charges and assist in her own defense, reported Local12.

Gosney is being held in lieu of a $2 million bond at the Butler County Jail.

Hamiltons bond is $750,000.
Huawei has published a new white paper focused on innovation and intellectual property at its Forum on Innovation and IP Prospects in 2021.



The white paper focuses on how Huawei has been a leader in innovation and intellectual property (IP) management since the 1990s. This has been key to Huawei rising as one of the worlds most influential technology powerhouses.

African consumers have benefited particularly from this, as Huawei has brought numerous impressive technologies to previously underserved areas on the continent.



These range from mobile network technologies that are affordable and reliable, to smartphones that offer incredible value for their price.



We want to show the history of our innovation over the past 30 years and our long-term commitment to respecting, protecting, and contributing to IP, said Huaweis Chief Legal Officer Song Liuping.



Huawei  The leader in patent filing



Huawei is one of the worlds largest patent holders, and as of the end of 2020 it held over 100,00 active patents in more than 40,000 patent families worldwide.



Huawei first topped the World Intellectual Property Organisations (WIPOs) list of patent filers in 2008. Since then, it has finished first on this list for all but one of these years.



This has been key to the company repeatedly dominating the market in developing important technologies, with the most notable example of this being 5G.



Huaweis innovation has been key to several African mobile networks developing high-quality networks that offer tremendous benefits for businesses  both now and in the future.



The white paper also focuses on how Huaweis priority on intellectual property and R&D did not appear out of nowhere.

Innovation has been at the core of Huawei's business since the company was founded, explained Huaweis Head of Intellectual Property Rights Jason Ding.



Our white paper lists the number of patent applications Huawei filed, or our R&D and innovation activities, in the late 90s and early 2000s.



Huawei Head of Intellectual Property Rights Jason Ding.



5G royalty rate announced



The company also announced that for multi-mode 5G smartphones, it will be providing a reasonable percentage royalty rate of the handsets selling price and a per unit royalty cap of $2.50. This will drive the adoption of 5G by making the cost structure for 5G implementers transparent and affordable.



This certainty and affordable licence fee structure goes a long way to ensuring that 5G smartphones are attainable to African consumers.



Huawei is therefore supporting African countries to embrace future technologies that drive economic growth, improved education, and a better quality of life.



 Read the full white paper here.

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
A funeral home has captured the heart wrenching moment a woman trapped in hotel quarantine is forced to say goodbye to her dead mother through a fence.

New Zealand based funeral directors 'Tipene Funerals' organised the emotional farewell for the grieving family on Wednesday.

In the video, captioned 'The boys took nena to see mum in quarantine' the hearse can be seen backing up to the fence of the quarantine facility to display the coffin.

The grieving woman can be heard wailing as she reaches a hand through the fence toward her late mother, while family members try to console her from a distance.

A funeral home has captured the heartbreaking moment a New Zealand woman was forced to say goodbye to her deceased mother through a fence at a MIQ facility

'Yesterday we transferred the late (family member) home and it was requested that we stop into one of the quarantine facilities so that her daughter can pay her respects to her mother', Francis Tipene from Tipene Funerals said.

'Not often do you see Funeral Directors cry, but this broke us too.'

Mr Tipene explained those arriving in New Zealand from overseas must quarantine for 14 days 'for the purpose of safety and to prevent any spread of Covid'.

He said the funeral directors feel the 'aroha' - a Maori word for love - for all that experience loss during this trying time.

Funeral home 'Tipene Funerals' (pictured) organised the emotional farewell for the bereaved family

New Zealand's Ministry of Health has recommended people in hotel quarantine should delay funerals until their 14 day isolation period is complete

'A funeral service will be held on Friday 26th March and the daughter will celebrate her mother's life via livestream with many who also can't be there.'

Viewers of the emotional scene shared their love and respect for the family in the comments, as well as their well wishes to the grieving daughter in quarantine.

'Much love to this family & to all the others who have lost someone while in managed isolation', one user commented.

Another family member posted the video on TikTok with the caption, 'Surely the New Zealand government can let mum out to say a proper goodbye to her mum'.

Hundreds of viewers agreed that people who have lost someone during their stay in a quarantine facility should be able to attend their funeral.

'That's horrific, surely they could of let her out if everyone stood away', one user suggested.

'This so isn't right, just let her out to say her last goodbye', another said.

Earlier in the month it was announced that Auckland would be joining the rest of New Zealand at Covid-19 alert level one restrictions.

International visitors to New Zealand are currently required to spend 14 days in hotel quarantine, pictured: The Pullman Hotel in Auckland's CBD

Funeral homes across the country can run services with no limits to numbers and are no longer required to keep contact tracing information.

For people staying in managed isolation and quarantine, the Ministry of Health recommends delaying funerals until the 14 day isolation period is complete.

It was recently announced Australia had amended its international travel ban to allow citizens to legally leave the country and visit New Zealand.

Currently Australians who travel to New Zealand are required to quarantine for 14 days, but this is expected to change in due time.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said the commencement date for quarantine-free travel between the two countries will be announced on April 6.
CLEARWATER, Fla., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- PostcardMania, a 295-employee marketing company in the Tampa Bay area, has been honored as a winner of Energage's first-ever national Top Workplaces Woman-Led Culture Excellence Award. Energage announced the nationwide winners yesterday, ahead of schedule, in recognition of Women's History Month.

Then and now - PostcardMania Founder/CEO Joy Gendusa kisses the cheek of Melissa Bradshaw, PostcardMania President. The original photo on the left was taken 22 years ago, not long after PostcardMania was founded, and recreated recently during a photo shoot in the photo on the right. Melissa was one of PostcardMania's first employees and has held just about every position at the company as it expanded and as she moved up the ranks to President. Then and now - PostcardMania's first office space on the left, a 600 sq. ft. cottage near downtown Clearwater. On the right, PostcardMania's current facilities, a 66,000 st. ft. custom-built building that is home to 295 staff, an in-house organic cafe, staff gym, a fleet of 5 commercial printing presses and now the first-ever national Top Workplaces Woman-Led Culture Excellence Award.

PostcardMania ranks among 85 other woman-led companies across the nation for cultivating a people-first workplace cultures. Placement is based solely on direct employee feedback captured last year by the Energage Workplace Survey, a research-backed employee engagement survey. Participating organizations are evaluated against the industry's most robust benchmarks, based on 15 years of research and data from 70,000 organizations and 23 million employee surveys.

Joy Gendusa founded PostcardMania in 1998 without any outside investment or funding  just a phone, a computer and her own marketing savvy. Since then, the company has grown from a small startup in a 600 sq. ft. cottage to a fast-growing $64 million marketing company serving 96,765 small business clients from a 66,000 sq. ft. custom built facility in Clearwater.

According to Women in the Workplace 2020, women make up only 29% of executive leadership or those with the title of Vice President or better. At PostcardMania, the senior executive leadership team is 75% female, with Gendusa at the helm in the role of Founder/CEO, and its overall executive leadership team is 52% female  nearly double the national averages.

"I am over the moon to be the first national recipient of Energage's Woman-Led Culture Excellence Award," said Gendusa. "When I started PostcardMania in 1998, I did so with basically one rule  no office politics whatsoever. I've experienced toxic workplaces before, and I knew I didn't want PostcardMania to be that kind of place. From the start, I had the support and buy-in from my most key employee, Melissa Bradshaw. She's been there since the start, has worked probably every single position as we grew, and she is now PostcardMania's President.

"Melissa's help in creating and maintaining PostcardMania's culture can't be overstated. When you have a team at the top willing to put their heart and soul into creating a meaningful culture, it helps you attract and retain the right people  people who have a high care factor about their jobs and their lives (who want to feel comfortable and confident at work) and who have a willingness to perform and grow. When you have people like that  and Melissa was the very first one  you fight to keep them and grow their skillset until they are completely invaluable. I am blessed to say that I'm surrounded by people like Melissa, most of whom have been with PostcardMania over 10 years each. We wouldn't be the company we are today without them."

PostcardMania has been a near-permanent fixture atop the annual Tampa Bay Top Workplaces rankings since 2013. This year marks the first expansion of Energage's regional ranking to a national level, along with adding Industry and Culture Excellence awards to its lineup.

For the complete list of Top Workplaces Led by Women, visit: https://topworkplaces.com/award/women-led/2021/1-499/

For additional information or to schedule an interview with Joy Gendusa, contact Jessica Lalau at [email protected] or 888-338-6409.

About PostcardMania:

PostcardMania is one of the nation's most effective marketing companies specializing in lead generation for small to large-sized businesses. They have been featured on the Inc. 500 and 5,000 lists as well as Forbes.com, Entrepreneur.com, Inc. Magazine and more. PostcardMania offers fully integrated marketing campaigns that bring online and offline channels together seamlessly. Visit www.postcardmania.com for more information about direct mail.

SOURCE PostcardMania
Maine coon cats are known as great mousers, popular farm cats and, of course, for their enormous size. The New England breed is a really big cat and can weigh up to 19 pounds and grow up to 40 inches in length. Janson fell in love with these animals more than 25 years ago bringing them into her Cincinnati suburban home to become part of her family.



Maine coon cats are beautiful animals, she says. They have great personalities with dog-like characteristics, coming when called. They are intelligent, lovable lap cats. There is no cat like them in my estimation.

Her cats learned to open cabinets, fetch pens and one of her Maine coon cats she trained to use the toilet. There was a book out about how to train your cat to do this, says Janson. I worked with him and he just took to it. It sounds funny but he was unbelievable.
Italy: Teen in hijab aims to be Afro-influencer on TikTok View Photo

MILAN (AP)  In Milans chic Victor Emmanuel II Gallery, a spacious mall that would be jammed with shoppers were it not for the pandemic, a young Black woman wearing a violet hijab and matching lipstick propped up her phone and moved her hips to a tinny-sounding beat coming from the device.

Aida Diouf Mbengue, 19, was recording a TikTok video to share with her 330,000 followers. She is making a name for herself as a self-styled Afro-influencer, one of a group of young people of African origin who have come together in Italy to try to increase their social media clout.

Their campaign is not just about views and followers, Mbengue said. With her posts, she is trying to destroy stereotypes.

I am representing girls with the veil, Mbengue said in a recent interview with The Associated Press, I have a large Italian following, and this makes me happy because most Italians do not have anything in common with me.

As to her own identify, she is clear: I am Muslim, I wear a veil, and I am also Black.

Some three decades ago, immigration was a new phenomenon in Italy, a predominantly white, Catholic nation with a long history of emigration. Today, about 9% of Italys 60 million people are foreign nationals, according to the countrys national statistics agency, ISTAT.

Nearly one-fifth of those foreigners come from African countries, including Mbengue, She came to Italy from Kaolack, Senegal, with her family at age 3.

Mbengue, who is in high school, said she didnt feel discriminated against as a student. But she says she started receiving racist messages once she started posting videos of herself in a hijab.

The discriminatory phrases included the N-word, or monkey, Go back to your country, I will throw a banana in your face, the teenager said. But then you realize it is just the usual people who want to make you feel bad, so you laugh about it or you just let it go, and thats it.

A quick glance through Mbengues TikTok and Instagram posts reveals that she also receives supportive comments and hundreds of red hearts and heart-eyed emojis every day.

Mbengue started making content for TikTok, a video-sharing social networking platform, on a whim in 2019 with a simple video. The comments indicated there was much ignorance about women who wear hijabs, with many assuming that a woman with a head scarf could not be funny, lighthearted or likable, she said.

I realized I could use TikTok to open some minds, she said.

Mbengue, who started wearing a hijab when she was 7 years old, said she is bothered by comments from other hijab-wearers who have accused her of using the headscarf to attract attention on social media.

She lives with her mother, her father and four of her eight siblings in a small apartment in the Milan suburb of Romano di Lombardia and uses her smartphone to churn out dozens of posts a day.

Her mother, Die Mbaye, said people think that a girl with a veil is not capable of doing exceptional things. Speaking in Wolof language with Mbengue translating, Mbaye described her daughter as a reference point for many girls who want to wear the veil but fear being judged.

Stella Jean, an Italian fashion designer and Black Lives Matter activist, said Mbengue represents Italys irreversible path toward multiculturalism.

Seeing someone doing TikTok might seem like something frivolous and superficial. She had to fight and push herself to get to this point, the designer said in an interview in Rome.

Fortunately, this is the new face of Italy and we are not going back, Jean said.

By TRISHA THOMAS

Associated Press
The Spanish government will mobilise almost 65,000 officers to police the autonomous region border controls to try and stem the spread of the coronavirus at Easter.

"The limitations and restrictions are to protect public health and save lives," said Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska.

Last week we carried out 162,000 controls that led to 9,500 proposals for fines. This Easter 64,200 officers will be deployed to ensure compliance with the regulations," he promised.

Grande-Marlaska added, "This deployment means we will have all the forces necessary to ensure compliance with the regulations" and there will be "controls at the borders of the different autonomous regions" as well as control points at "the boundaries between provinces where provincial perimeter restrictions have been established," such as in Andalucia.

We remain in an exceptional situation. We must stay at home and reduce mobility to the maximum. It is not yet possible to plan long-distance trips," insisted the head of the ministry, who pointed out that these restrictions, in reality, are to avoid having to "take tougher measures in the future to combat the fourth wave of infections".

Officials have revealed that in recent days there have been coordination meetings between the National Police, Guardia Civil, regional police forces such as Mossos and Ertzaintza, as well as Local Police to implement random controls, especially at the exits of the main cities, starting this Friday.
Ridley-Thomas and Empowerment Congress Discuss Reimagining L.A.

While Mark Ridley-Thomas has less than six months in his position as the 10th District Councilmember, his roots with the Empowerment Congress go way back, nearly 30 years. So, its no surprised that he joined with the community group to host Reimagining L.A.: Whats Next?

The Zoom event, held on March 17, featured a presentation and discussion about the citys funding allocation to address and prevent homelessness as well as re-envision public safety. Ridley-Thomas, who founded the Empowerment Congress in 1992 during his previous stint on the City Council, has frequently partnered with the nonprofit to examine policies and issues that impact the quality of life of stakeholders throughout Los Angeles.

With this gathering of 75+ people, both the councilmember and the organization aimed to bring 10th Council District members up-to-speed about the two pressing issues and solicit input about potential strategies that municipal government might adopt to deal with these community concerns. In addition to Ridley-Thomas, Rhea Mac, co-chair of the Empowerment Congress Committee on Homelessness, served as facilitator; and Charlene Dimas-Peinado, also co-chair of the Empowerment Congress Committee on Homelessness, and Byron L. Smith, Sr., co-chair of the Empowerment Congress Public Safety and Justice Committee, were the moderators.

ADVERTISEMENT

We are here to take another step in educating, engaging and empowering and Im proud to be on this journey with you, said Ridley-Thomas, as he opened the meeting. He followed his remarks with a PowerPoint exhibit that outlined how the City Council plans to reinvest $88 million cut from the L.A. Police Departments budget into resources to improve disadvantaged communities and communities of color. Each of the citys 15 council districts will receive funds in the 2021-2022 budget that are in line with the individual poverty rates established by the 2020 U.S. Census.

Focusing on the apportionment to Council District 10, the councilmember explained, CD 10 received $4.5 million allocation and the priority I sought to bring to bear was to look at the issue of homelessness. He said that $1.5 million would be distributed to nonprofit providers to create Encampment to Home initiatives in Koreatown, Mid-City and the Leimert Park/Crenshaw Corridor.

One-half million will go to operating the new South Los Angeles Street Engagement and Coordination Hub that will be located near 18th Street and Washington. Another $500,00 will be dedicated to the Stay Housed L.A. program run by the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles for Eviction Defense Services. The program is designed to assist CD 10 residents in preventing eviction and homelessness and help businesses avoid closing down.

As his history verifies, Ridley-Thomas has advocated on behalf of homelessness prevention throughout his public service career as a state assembly member, a state senator and a L.A. County supervisor.

When he assumed his current position in December 2020, one of his first acts was to sponsor the Right to Housing legislation. The motion called for the City Administrative Officer to report, within 60 days, on a legal framework to implement a Right to Housing strategy, an assessment to fund the initiative and an estimate of the resources needed in partnership with the county, state and federal government.

In addition, Ridley-Thomas indicated that $750,000 of CD 10s allocation would be devoted to fighting poverty with a Universal Basic Income pilot and job training program. Also, $500,000 would be earmarked for the reimagining public safety initiative through a pilot program on unarmed response to 911 calls and reimagining community and arts enterprises in St. Elmo Village.

All of these resources, as it relates to the homelessness part of the equation, are illustrative of what we think of as the right to housing  what it can and should be, insisted Ridley-Thomas. We need to be laser-like focused on this challenge, which is just that great and just that deep. We cannot walk away from the crisis that confronts us called homelessness!

ADVERTISEMENT

As part of the panel discussion, Dimas-Peinado asked the councilmember to explain how the issue of homelessness became the focus of these resources. He replied, I think if were going to take seriously reimagining, theres only one issue I can think of that cuts through the issue of public safety, economic justice, issues related to housing, issues related to land use, issues related to mental health and public health and thats the issue of homelessness. He also mentioned that in several polls, L.A. voters selected homelessness as the most pressing issue confronting the city of Los Angeles.

Smith questioned Ridley-Thomas about the next step that people should expect as far as the reinvestment process. He answered that city staff would work on designating the programs and nonprofits to work with and that the Street Engagement and Coordination Hub would be operating soon.

As we move toward implementation, we will be soliciting input from the stakeholders in those communities to see what resources we can bring to bear in the area of prevention, intervention and innovation, added Ridley-Thomas.

In the second half of the meeting, attendees participated in breakout sessions on reimagining public safety, homelessness and fighting poverty. CD 10 staff facilitated and provided summaries of the sessions.

Emerson Luke, who moderated public safety, said that his group talked about ways to aid people who through no fault of their own have found themselves homeless. Dhakshike Wickrema, who assisted the homelessness group, recounted that one area that concerned attendees was sanitation around homeless encampments and continuing to have money allocated to homelessness in future budgets. According to Porsha Cropper, who oversaw the fighting poverty session, the emphasis was on outcomes that restore dignity to those who are experiencing homelessness and put them on a pathway to wellness.

Concluding the meeting, Ridley-Thomas expressed his appreciation to all in attendance and said, We have a lot of work that we can and should be attending to. Im pleased that the Empowerment Congress will be leading the way to translate policy into budgetary items. This is an enlightened way of making our city better.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The African Union (AU) has welcomed the Democratic Republic of Congo as the newest member of its African Peer Review Mechanism This took place during the AUs 30th Forum of Heads of State and Government on Thursday
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) considered the application filed by attorney-at-law Oleksandr Shadrin in the interests of former MP from the Communist Party of Ukraine Alla Oleksandrovska, accused of separatism, and delivered a judgement on Thursday, March 25.

"The European Court of Human Rights declared that the detention of Alla Oleksandrivna [...] (violation of clause 1(c) of Article 5) was unlawful and unjustified. It also recognized the arrest for four months as excessively long (violation of clause 3 of Article 5 of the Convention), and the detention in a metal cage as degrading treatment (violation of Article 3 of the Convention)," Shadrin told Interfax-Ukraine.

He said the court ruled to recover more than EUR 19,000 in compensation.

"The ECHR ruled to recover EUR 19,163 in compensation, including EUR 3,000 for legal aid costs for attorneys and EUR 563 for other costs and expenses," Shadrin said.

According to the decision, released on the ECHR website, the respondent state (Ukraine) must pay compensation within three months.

He expressed gratitude to the lawyers of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union for their help during communication.

Shadrin said he was satisfied with the judgement delivered by the ECHR and did not rule out that he would file applications due to other violations, in particular for the duration of the consideration (the indictment against Oleksandrovska was sent to Kharkiv Regional Court in December 2016). The regular hearing on the case is scheduled for Monday, March 29. It is planned to review written materials.

As reported, June 28, 2016, attorney-at-law of former MP from the Communist Party of Ukraine Alla Oleksandrovska, Oleksandr Shadrin, said that his client was searched and she was detained. She is charged with Part 2 of Article 110 (encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine) and Part 3 of Article 369 (proposal, promise or provision of unlawful benefits to an official) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

On June 29, 2016, the SBU confirmed that law enforcement officers had detained Oleksandrovska, and her son Oleksandr, who is hiding in Russia, was notified of the suspicion and put on the wanted list.
New Delhi, March 25 : The Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die on Thursday, curtailing the ongoing Budget Session in the wake of Assembly elections in four states and one Union Territory slated to begin from Saturday.

The Budget Session was originally scheduled to continue till April 8.

The move comes after requests by floor leaders of various political parties to cut it short due to the Assembly elections in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry, which will take place between Saturday to April 29.

Biju Janata Dal MP Bhartruhari Mahtab, on the chair, announced that the Lok Sabha is adjourned sine die after the House conducted the Question Hour and papers of legislative business were tabled in the House.

Mahtab declared that the Lok Sabha registered 114 per cent productivity during its 24 sittings of Budget Session and passed 18 Bills, including the Finance Bill, 2021; The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill, 2021; The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021.

Besides, National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development Bill, 2021; The Jammu and Kashmir Appropriation Bill, 2021; The Puducherry Appropriation Bill, 2021; The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2021; The Marine Aids to Navigation Bill, 2021; The Constitution (Schedled Castes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2021; The Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2021 were also passed in the lower House.

The first part of the Budget Session started on January 29 and concluded on February 29.

After a recess, the second part commenced on March 8.

Assembly polls will be held for 294 seats in West Bengal in eight phases between March 27 and April 29.

The polls will be held for 126 seats in Assam in three phases between March 27 and April 6.

The elections for 30 seats in Puducherry, 234 seats in Tamil Nadu and 140 seats in Kerala will be held in a single phase on April 6.

The results will be announced on May 2.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
MIAMI, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- eMed, a digital health company democratizing healthcare through digital point-of-care solutions, and x.labs, the leader in next-generation digital healthcare technologies, have announced a collaboration to support communication of at-home COVID-19 rapid test results via x.labs' PreCheck Digital Health Passport.

"Widespread rapid testing and results reporting continues to be among the key solutions for reducing the spread of COVID-19," said Dr. Patrice Harris, eMed CEO. "Our collaboration with x.labs will help more individuals get tested and receive their results through our verification process, now with the additional ability to share their health status in order to get back to school, work and life."

eMed offers a first-of-its-kind digital health platform to virtually guide individuals through an at-home COVID-19 rapid antigen test. The rapid BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card Home Test requires no additional equipment, is authenticated, and delivers results within 15 minutes.

Under the agreement with x.labs, eMed Certified Guides will validate each test and result for PreCheck users. Users have access to their test result in the PreCheck app. Additionally, eMed automatically reports a test result to public health departments for tracking and tracing, benefiting broader public health.

The PreCheck Digital Health Passport is built on blockchain technology and allows individuals to share their health status through an encrypted digital wallet on their smartphone, without the need to share the underlying medical and personal information. The health data includes testing and vaccination results, as well as temperature and wellness survey results.

The aim of the collaboration is to give businesses, hotels, schools, event venues and governments accurate information about an individual's COVID-19 health status, and therefore the confidence they can gather safely.

"This collaboration will ensure accurate testing and interpretation of results for convenient, at-home rapid tests, and help protect against the further spread of COVID-19," said Todd Dunphy, COO for x.labs. "We are thrilled to integrate this layer of accuracy into PreCheck for its users and clients."

Among a growing number of corporate clients, x.labs collaborates closely with Accor, a world-leading augmented hospitality group offering unique experiences in 5,100 hotels and residences across 110 destinations. PreCheck will be available in all Accor hotels in the USA and Puerto Rico beginning in April, including Delano, Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, Mondrian, SLS Hotels, Sofitel, among other hospitality brands.

Between the collaboration with eMed, individual sales, and corporate and municipal partnerships, x.labs is tracking to gain more than 10 million PreCheck users by the end of the year.

eMed continues to distribute and administer millions of at-home COVID-19 rapid tests throughout the country, helping get more tests in the hands of people who need them most.

About eMed

eMed ( www.eMed.com ) is a digital health company democratizing healthcare with a digital point-of-care platform that provides fast, easy and affordable at-home health care testing, supervised and guided online by eMed Certified Guides. We embrace quantitative medicine to deliver prescribed tests and treatments directly to patients, driving better and more cost-effective health outcomes.

About x.labs

x.labs is the leader in next-generation public safety threat detection and digital healthcare technologies and is a company dedicated to the development of cutting edge, high-speed checkpoint systems that detect emerging threats to civilians, buildings and law enforcement. The company is dedicated to delivering innovative technologies for a safer world. They are addressing the need for fast, effective, proactive security and the digitization of healthcare. Their smart technologies offer many compelling advantages. That goes for consumers as well as resorts, healthcare providers, schools, places of worship, event venues, airports and corporate venues.

This product has not been FDA cleared or approved; but has been authorized by FDA under an EUA;

This product has been authorized only for the detection of proteins from SARS- CoV-2, not for any other viruses or pathogens; and,

This product is only authorized for the duration of the declaration that circumstances exist justifying the authorization of emergency use of in vitro diagnostics for detection and/or diagnosis of COVID-19 under Section 564(b)(1) of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C.  360bbb-3(b)(1), unless the declaration is terminated, or authorization is revoked sooner.

SOURCE eMed

Related Links

http://www.eMed.com


Nay Pyi Taw, March 25 : A Polish journalist working for dpa, the German press agency, in Myanmar has been freed nearly two weeks after his arrest by security forces.

On Thursday, Robert Bociaga took off from the airport in Myanmar's largest city Yangon and headed for Poland, where he is due to arrive on Friday, dpa said in a report.

The 30-year-old was arrested on March 11 in Taunggyi, the capital of Shan State.

At the time, Bociaga had been reporting from the region about the protests against the junta following the military coup in Myanmar on February 1.

"We are very relieved that Robert Bociaga is free and will soon be with his family again," said dpa Editor-in-Chief Sven Goesmann.

He however, warned that the situation for journalists in Myanmar and for the entire population remains very dangerous.

"We appeal to the transitional government to respect freedom of the press and human rights. The world and dpa will continue to watch what is happening in Myanmar closely," Goesmann added.

The case attracted attention internationally.

Reporters Without Borders was among the organisations that called for the immediate release of Bociaga and all other media workers arrested in Myanmar.

The German embassy in Yangon, which represents the consular interests of Polish citizens in Myanmar, had demanded immediate access and information about the reason for his imprisonment.

In Myanmar the military and police have been acting with increasing severity not only against demonstrators, but also against politicians, activists and journalists since the coup in early February.

According to estimates by the prisoner's aid organization AAPP, more than 2,900 people have been arrested so far.

More than 280 have been killed, AAPP tweeted on Thursday.

So far, however, foreigners have been considered to be relatively safe.

Some 600 detainees were released on Wednesday, most of them students.

Meanwhile, former de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior members of her National League for Democracy party are still under detention.
The Signpost Series Webinar - Working with farmers to improve water quality

Event Time 9:30am

Venue Online



A series of weekly Environment Webinars aimed at the Irish Agri industry.

This webinar as part of The Signpost Series will focus on working with farmers to improve water quality.

The webinar will be moderated by Mark Gibson and will feature guest speakers Noel Meehan, ASSAP Programme Manager and Edward Burgess, ACP Specialist Advisor, Teagasc.

The presentation will be followed by an interactive questions and answers session.
Peshawar, March 25 : Terming the 'Aurat March' (women's march) taken out in Islamabad on International Women's Day on March 8 as anti-Islamic, a lawyer in Peshawar has filed a petition in the court seeking directiions to the police to register an FIR against the organisers of the event.

The application was filed by lawyer Ibrar Hussain under Section 22-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which empowers the court to act as 'Justice of Peace' and order the registration of an FIR in case the police fail to do so.

The lawyers of the applicant have contended that the organisers of the 'Aurat March' had staged processions in different cities, highlighting the march held in Islamabad, where the "participants raised anti-Islamic slogans hurting the religious sentiments of a large number of people".

"The government and the Islamabad administration have so far not taken any action against the organisers of the march," the applicant maintained.

"A cognisable offence had taken place during the Aurat March, so it is the duty of the police to register an FIR against the event organisers," the plea added.

Moreover, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council had also passed at least two resolutions on March 15, demanding the government to take action against the organisers and some NGOs, which had organised the Aurat March in different cities of Pakistan.

"The participants of those marches were involved in desecrating the holy personalities of Muslims through sloganeering and provocative banners, so they deserve to be treated strictly," read one resolution.

On the other hand, the organisers of the Aurat March have maintained that the agenda of the processions was to raise voices against the oppression of females and mark the International Women Day by staging processions and taking to the streets in a show of unity.

The Aurat March had come under serious criticism in the past also, as some banners, slogans and activities witnessed during the march offended many while questions were raised over the agenda behind the staged performances on the streets of major cities of the country.

Religious groups in Pakistan maintain that slogans ridiculing Islamic values cannot be tolerated, and have called on the government to take immediate action against the organisers of what they called an "anti-Islamic march".
Brussels, March 25 : Non-medical contact professions in Belgium, such as hairdressers and beauty salons, will have to close, the country's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said at a press conference.

Schools will also close next week and will reopen on April 19 in a blitz of new measures designed to curb the third coronavirus wave, Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday.

"Outdoor bubbles" will be reduced to four people from ten, not counting children under the age of 12.

These new measures will apply from the evening of March 26 and will remain in force for at least four weeks. The current curfew remains in place, and teleworking will be compulsory until new measures are announced.

"Belgium is taking a number of strict additional measures to combat the rapidly rising coronavirus figures," De Croo said. "We have been able to keep the virus on a plateau for months, and we will be able to overpower this third wave as well." To date, Belgium has recorded 842,775 Covid-19 cases and 22,763 deaths since the start of the pandemic, according to the Sciensano public health institute.

As the world is struggling to contain the pandemic, vaccination is underway in an increasing number of countries, including Belgium, with the already-authorized coronavirus vaccines.

Meanwhile, 267 candidate vaccines are still being developed worldwide -- 83 of them in clinical trials -- in countries including Germany, China, Russia, Britain, and the United States, according to the latest information released by the World Health Organization.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
A Covid-19 situation at the National Insurance Board (NIB) led to late pension cheques this month, says Social Development Minister Donna Cox. And the ministry yesterday apologised for any inconvenience caused to pensioners and other recipients of social welfare as a result of the late payment of benefits.
A police officer has described being inside a police van that protesters allegedly attempted to set alight during a riot in Bristol on Sunday.

Avon and Somerset Police released footage of the incident, appearing to show a person placing a lit object under the vehicle as it was moving.

The force is investigating assaults on 40 officers and one member of the media at the riot on Sunday, which followed a peaceful Kill the Bill protest in the city centre.

Nine people have been arrested in connection with the disorder, which saw police officers injured, police vehicles set on fire and the windows of a police station smashed.

A vandalised police van explodes outside Bridewell Police Station (Andrew Matthews/PA)

A second protest against the Governments Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill took place in Bristol on Tuesday, resulting in 15 arrests.

The officer inside the van on Sunday described hearing on the radio that colleagues were being injured outside Bridewell police station.

They told of hearing screaming and shouting from officers being attacked, with a call made for vehicles to be used to assist them.

The only way to protect my colleagues was to place the vehicle across, side on, in front of them to offer protection, the officer said.

There were glass bottles, rocks as big as fists, pallets, fences and other objects strewn across the road and being used against the police.

Whilst in the vehicle, a number of people attempted to gain entry to it, however the vehicle was bolted shut.

I was aware of the smell of burning and CCTV reported that people were attempting to set the vehicle tyres alight, with me still in it, and so I began to prepare to decamp the vehicle.

To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here to do so.

Around 3,000 people had attended a peaceful demonstration on College Green but events turned violent after about 500 people descended on Bridewell police station.

Police have released images of 18 people they want to identify following the protest on Sunday.

These images have been posted on an online gallery, which has been viewed more than 80,000 times.

The force has received around 280 submissions after appealing for members of the public to supply footage or information about those involved, as well as more than 200 calls.

Two officers taken to hospital during the riot were later found not to have suffered broken bones.

Chief Superintendent Carolyn Belafonte said: This officers account is just one of many weve gathered from our colleagues at the scene of this terrifying incident.

Its upsetting to hear how colleagues feared for their lives that night and it strengthens our resolve to bring all those responsible to justice.

Our investigation is continuing at pace but it is painstaking work.

Ms Belafonte urged people to who know the identify of the 18 people pictured to contact police.

The force later said those arrested after Tuesdays protest had all been released from custody and face being fined or reported for summons for Covid breaches, while several were on conditional bail for obstructing the highway, pending further inquiries or charging decisions.

A 22-year-old man from Bristol was released on conditional bail for the theft of a police baton, which was recovered, and two women from Bristol, aged 19 and 24, accepted a caution for obstructing the highway.

Two of those arrested on Tuesday were in connection with the violent disorder on Sunday, and they have been released under investigation.

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill would give the police in England and Wales more power to impose conditions on non-violent protests, including those deemed too noisy or a nuisance.

Those convicted under the proposed legislation could face a fine or jail.
The Coalition for Romania's Development is asking for an individualized and detailed outline of the reform of the National Tax Administration Authority (ANAF) in the version of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) that will be submitted to the European Commission for the start of negotiations, according to AGERPRES.

"We consider that in addition to digital tax collection and e-invoicing services already provided for in the PNRR, ANAF's reform must also include the implementation of technical solutions for remote dialogue with ANAF representatives, remote tax control, improvement of income and tax statement systems for individuals, improvement of the services offered through the Virtual Private Space and the taxpayer record, as well as critical investments in human capital for re-skilling and up-skilling, both technically and as regards the relationship with the taxpayer. On behalf of the business community we are calling for the reform of ANAF, the turntable for any direction for Romania's development, to be individualized and detailed in the PNRR version that will be now be submitted to the European Commission for the start negotiations, thus increasing the chances for the speedy approval and implementation of this reform. The CDR expresses its readiness to support the outlining of this project with concrete proposals," CDR said in a release.

The Coalition for the Development of Romania welcomes the release for consultation of the updated version of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan which incorporates several proposals for projects and reforms advanced by the private sector, especially in terms of digital transformation, education, green shift.

On the other hand, the organization points out that the reform of ANAF is mentioned only generically, without indicating concrete measures and proposals.

"Overhauling ANAF is a key reform that Romania urgently needs, both from the perspective of economic recovery and from the perspective of increasing competitiveness and quality of life. By including the reform of ANAF in PNRR, without a clear individualization, Romania risks missing out again on the opportunity to finance and operationalize the real modernization, the complex and complete digital transformation of the tax administration, despite the positive impact proven by the experience of other states in improving budget revenue collection or the taxation of the economy," the cited document states.

Pillar II dedicated to digital transformation provides for the tax collection system going digital, including e-billing services, but these are just some important elements of a larger puzzle that needs to be included in the PNRR.

In the vision of the business environment, the reform of ANAF is a stand-alone project, which is fully subsumed both to the country recommendations the EC has repeatedly made in recent years, and to the eligibility criteria provided for by the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism. According to CDR, this project must benefit from a coherent and rigorous planning and an appropriate allocation, so as to ensure its implementation by the end of 2026, the deadline for receiving funding through PNRR.

CDR is a private initiative built as a collaboration agreement through the joint participation of its members, and brings together organizations such as the American Chamber of Commerce in Romania (AmCham), the French Chamber of Commerce in Romania (CCIFER), the Romanian Businesspeople's Association (AOAR ), the Romanian - German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AHK), Romanian Business Leaders (RBL), the Foreign Investors Council (FIC), the 'Concordia' Employers' Confederation (CPC) and the National Council of Small and Medium-sized Private Enterprises in Romania (CNIPMMR).

The companies represented by the 25 CDR member business organizations employ over one million people and generate approximately 50 percent of GDP.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 24)  The Senate has adopted a resolution urging President Rodrigo Duterte to address the alarming number of killings and violent attacks against lawyers and judges in the country.

During their last plenary session before a two-month break, senators adopted Senate Resolution No. 691, which strongly condemns crimes against members of judiciary.

Crossing party lines, the resolution was filed Wednesday by eight lawyer-senators: Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, and Senators Sonny Angara, Pia Cayetano, Leila de Lima, Richard Gordon, Francisco Pangilinan, Aquilino Pimentel IV, and Francisco Tolentino.

"I have been a lawyer for 50 years, ngayon ko lang po naririnig na tinatakot yung mga abogado dahil lang po sa kanilang mga kasong hinahawakan," Drilon said. "This has a very adverse and harmful effect on our administration of justice."

[Translation: I have been a lawyer for 50 years, but it is only now that I heard lawyers are being threatened because of the cases they handle.]

In the resolution, the lawmakers said the President should undertake necessary steps to ensure the safety of lawyers and judges "by laying out definitive solutions and actions" to address the killings, as well as an efficient investigation of the cases.

The resolution cited data from the Department of Justice that said 54 members of the legal profession have been killed since 2016, but only five cases have reached the courts. The Free Legal Assistance Group, meanwhile, said 100 lawyers have been killed in the last 20 years.

The senators also cited Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution that defines the role of the government in protecting its people, and the United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers that underscores the role of the government in ensuring that lawyers are able to perform their function without hindrance.

The brazen acts of violence against lawyers send a chilling message to the members of the bench and the bar, the lawmakers said, while also emphasizing that such criminal acts could threaten their performance of responsibilities which is crucial in the administration of justice, especially in terms of representing the marginalized sector.

The continuing flagrant and horrific attacks on the lawyers, prosecutors, and judges and the failure to condemn, investigate, and prosecute these acts of violence and bring the perpetrators to justice is an act of injustice in itself and erode the publics trust and confidence in our justice system, the senators added.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court condemned the acts of violence against lawyers and judges. It also outlined a plan of action to end the killings, including providing security to judges or justices who have been threatened.

In a statement, Commission on Human Rights spokesperson Jacqueline Ann de Guia welcomed the High Courts move, noting that it is time to send a stronger message on the role of lawyers and judges especially when it comes to upholding human rights.

She added that impunity can be addressed if there is assurance that those liable are punished and that the legal system is free from threat and intimidation.

Ultimately, to assault the legal professionhence, an assault to the Judiciaryis to assault the established check and balance in the government enshrined in the Constitution, de Guia said.

The official also added it is best for the government to support these courses of action to ensure a functional justice system and that human rights are protected.

CNN Philippines correspondent Melissa Lopez contributed to this report.
Women Warrior-Pioneers Resurrection and Revival of The Conscience The Mothers of Modern Gynecology part 2

Women Warrior-Pioneers

Resurrection and Revival of The Conscience

The Mothers of Modern Gynecology  part 2

ADVERTISEMENT

Revival : A time of awakened interest; reviving what belonged to an earlier time, but now, coming into new importance and significance previously denied for such a time as this. (askdrj)

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio agreed with The Public Design Commission and approved the decision to place Dr. J. Marion Sims statue in the cemetery where he was buried. The scriptures are clear: all those who accept Jesus Christ as Savior must not identify people by race, or income level or slavery (Galatians 3:26-28). Everyone who comes to Jesus Christ is identified by the oneness of faith and faith alone in our creator and His Son, Jesus Christ. There is no partiality, nor is there another passageway or intermediary, nor mediator into His divine kingdom. One might ask, How can this be? Unfortunately, acts are committed on people because of their skin color or other reasons of prejudice. We are speaking about spiritual things. You recall when Jesus was asked about the seven brothers(who had no children and all of them died. The wife (according to custom) was passed on to the next brothers and sequence? The question was asked about the wife who had been married many times; Jesus told them (Matthew 12:23; 22:25-30), There is neither marrying nor be given in marriage at the resurrection. When the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51) that broke down the middle wall partition. No more separation, racism and turning up noses. We have immediate access to His grace through His resurrection. The bible does not condone slavery or abortions. You remember Shiphrah and Puah, the midwives: (Exodus 1:15) who were important enough for their names to be memorialized in the Bible). The Pharaoh ordered them to kill the Hebrew babies. They bravely defied the Pharaohs orders and refused to kill the babies! Who has given authority to kill babies? Not God Almighty! There is a highly intelligent adversary who lurks around to immediately snatch away consciences, the moral compass which tells right from wrong. (abstract-askdrj)

This week, Hidden Brain is returning to our archives to grapple with the troubling history of medical experimentation on African Americans and how that history connects to the unequal medical care African Americans still receive today. Black patients continue to receive less pain medication for broken bones and cancer. Black children receive less pain medication that white children for appendicitis. One reason for this is that many people inaccurately believe that blacks literally have thicker skin than whites and experience less pain. The failure to recognize the pain of black patients can be tracked far back in the history of American medicine. Dr. James Marion Sims, a 19th-century physician, has been dubbed the father of modern gynecology. Hes honored by three statues across the United States, one of which describes him as treating both empresses and slave women. This week, we consider what  and whom  this inscription leaves out. Invisible in his shadow are the enslaved women on whom he experimented. Today, they are unknown and unnamed except for three: Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsey. We speak with Dr. Vanessa Gamble, a physician and historian, to investigate Dr. Sims complicated legacy. He perfected a surgery that continues to help women today, but he practiced this technique through experimental surgeries on unanesthetized enslaved women. Hidden Brain also spoke with poet Bettina Judd. She helps us connect the experiences of Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsey to the ways black patients are treated today.] The present work examines beliefs associated with racial bias in pain management, a critical health care domain with well-documented racial disparities. Specifically, this work reveals that a substantial number of white laypeople and medical students and residents hold false beliefs about biological differences between blacks and whites and demonstrates that these beliefs predict racial bias in pain perception and treatment recommendation accuracy. It also provides the first evidence that racial bias in pain perception is associated with racial bias in pain treatment recommendations. Taken together, this work provides evidence that false beliefs about biological differences between blacks and whites continue to shape the way we perceive and treat black peoplethey are associated with racial disparities in pain assessment and treatment recommendations.(pnas.org-Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States)We are witnesses today that the CoronaVirus Pandemic by plan or other, African Americans and some other nationalities are subjected to greater attacks than other nationalities .(askdrj) [Hidden Brain is hosted by Shankar Vedantam and produced by Maggie Penman, Jennifer Schmidt, Rhaina Cohen, and Renee Klahr. Our intern is Chloe Connelly, and our supervising producer is Tara Boyle. You can follow us on Twitter @hiddenbrain, and listen for Hidden Brain stories each week on your local public radio station. [HIDDEN BRAIN Remembering Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsey: [The Mothers of Modern Gynecology 2017]NPRBy Shankar Vedantam, Maggie Penman, Jennifer Schmidt, Tara Boyle, Rhaina Cohen, Chloe Connelly Published February 6, 2017 at 11:00 PM CST {ref: American Heritage College dictionary LA Times Thanks for reading! Jeanette Grattan Parker, Founder-Superintendent Todays Fresh Start Charter School 323-293-9826 www.todaysfreshstart.org; [email protected]tm tm[email protected] tm Inquiring minds want to know. All rights reservedAskdrjeanetteparker.com tm
Russia recorded 9,221 new COVID-19 cases in the past day, bringing the total caseload to 4,492,692, the anti-coronavirus crisis center told reporters on Thursday.

In relative terms the growth rate stood at 0.2%.

The lowest growth rates were registered in the past day in the Tuva Republic (0.01%), the Sakhalin and Magadan Regions (0.05%), the Republic of Adygea and the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region (0.06%).

Moscow confirmed 1,787 new coronavirus cases over the past day. Some 804 COVID-19 cases were confirmed in St. Petersburg, 540 in the Moscow Region, 331 in the Nizhny Novgorod Region, 237 in the Rostov Region and 211 in the Voronezh Region.

Currently, 286,799 people are ill in Russia.
The installation of wifi hotspots by the Hanoi Department of Information & Communications is part of its plan for digital transformation and Tourism improvement in the capital city.

According to the latest report of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), thanks to global Covid-19 vaccinations, the world tourism industry will gain a slow recovery in 2021 and regain growth momentum in the second half of the year.

UNWTO also said that domestic tourism would still be the main trend this year, accounting for 90% of tourists. In the context of Covid-19 pandemic, people tend to travel close to home, to destinations close to nature (60%) and in small groups or with their families. International tourism activities are likely to reopen from late in the third quarter 2021.

Ms. Dang Huong Giang, Director of the Hanoi Department of Tourism, talks about the capital's tourism development. Photo: Trong Dat

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism assessed that domestic tourism will remain a key factor this year. Thanks to the Vietnamese government's control of Covid, Booking.com stated that 71% of Vietnamese are ready to travel. These are good signs for Vietnam's tourism industry.

Hanoi allowed bars, karaoke parlors and discos to resume their activities on March 23, creating favorable conditions for the recovery of tourism and service activities.

In this context, the Department of Tourism and the Department of Information and Communications of Hanoi inked a coordination program on improving the efficiency of information, propaganda, promotion and application of information technology in tourism activities in the period of 2021-2025.

According to Director of the Hanoi Department of Tourism Ms. Dang Huong Giang, the tourism industry contributed 12.54% to Hanois GDP in 2019, which dropped to only 3.54% of GDP in 2020.

The signing ceremony of the joint program on improving the efficiency of information, promotion and application of information technology in Hanois tourism activities. Photo: Trong Dat

To deal with the situation, in addition to perform digital transformation and IT application, the Department of Tourism will organize many activities to stimulate demand and promote the city's tourism industry.

Ms. Giang said that tourist firms are now ready to go digital which will help businesses save on spending and provide better services for tourists.

The Hanoi authorities are very supportive of digital transformation and building a green, clean, friendly, safe, attractive tourist environment that brings unforgettable experiences to attract visitors.

Director of the Hanoi Department of Information and Communications Nguyen Thanh Liem. Photo: Trong Dat

Director of the Hanoi Department of Information and Communications Nguyen Thanh Liem said that being aware of the importance of the capital's tourism industry, his agency proposed to shoulder part of the responsibility in promoting the image of the city and help the Hanoi Department of Tourism in digital transformation.

Currently, 25 free WiFi hotspots have been set up at popular tourist destinations in Hanoi. Hanoi will set up nine more free WiFi hotspots in 2021.

These efforts are made to give tourists the best experience when traveling in the capital city, said Liem.

Trong Dat

Hanoi relic sites, tourist attractions reopen Relic sites and tourist attractions in Hanoi reopened on March 8 with safety precautions put in place, after they were temporarily closed to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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.
Armenian acting minister: EU allocated EUR 68,700,000 to Armenia for budget support in 2020

Armenia Finance Ministry: MFA's budget grew by AMD 1,600,000,000 in 2020

Bodies and remains of Armenian soldiers are kept in morgue in Armenia's Martuni

White House confirms Biden-Erdogan meeting in Brussels

Armenia acting MOD touches upon priority directions for development of Armed Forces

Diaspora Armenian writer, publicist Toros Toranian dies

2 Armenian soldiers injured in scuffle with Azerbaijan, Armenian POW is hospitalized, Jun. 3 digest

Wedding held in Armenia's Shurnukh for first time since the war ended

EEU member states to finish preparing for negotiations over free trade zone in Iran in late June

Armenia Central Bank: Economic downfall in 2020 was due to decline in service and construction sectors

Armenia legislature adopts several bills in first reading

Armenia President meets with Nursultan Nazarbayev

Dejavu: Armenia ruling party distributes money for votes at Yerevan district election office

Chief Advisor to Karabakh President sacked

Russian MFA: Works are carried out to settle situation around Karabakh every day

Armenia opposition MP sounds alarm about Baku fabricating criminal cases against Armenian prisoners

Armenia acting health minister: I have apologized, I am not going to resign

Helga Schmid meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Armenia's deputy foreign ministers resigned or have heavy workload?

Dollar goes down in Armenia

Armenia Elections Oversight Committee reports Iranian citizenship of ruling party's MP candidate

Acting deputy minister: Only 17 of 711 Iran-Armenia power transmission line towers were installed by 2017

Armenia Parliament Council holding session

Armenia to host CSTO "Thunder-2021" military exercises

NYT: Chinese hackers launch cyberattack on New York city transportation authority

Armenia President to Kazakhstan counterpart: I would like to see much deeper cooperation between our countries

Armenia citizens shut down Etchmiadzin-Ashtarak road, complaining about lack of irrigation water

Armenia independent MP: Foreign minister and his deputies don't want to take part in treacherous acts

Armenia to get $11mn loan, 350,000 grant for agriculture

WHO worries about worsening mental health worldwide amid pandemic

Armenia health ministry on improper handling of Artsakh war victims bodies: There is no justification

Armenia bloc election foundation already in operation

Russia ambassador to Armenia paying working visit to Syunik Province (PHOTOS)

China pledges to step up resistance to foreign interference in Hong Kong

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: There can be no talk of corridor for Azerbaijan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on incumbent authorities: Wherever they flee, we will bring them by the feet

President: Impossible to ensure peace in region or stay in Artsakh without Russia army joint efforts

China Daily: Dispatch from Makit: Thriving in the desert

Karabakh President: We will never put up with being part of Azerbaijan, it is ruled out

Armenia MFA information department chief: All deputy FMs carrying out their duties

Ardshinbank invited children to the cinema on International Childrens Day

Armenia judiciary to have 10 more judges

Armenia acting premier: We had recorded 40% increase in tax revenues according to 2019 results

Armenia acting PM on Artsakh war casualties bodies: We have 50 remains in which case DNA was not separated

Azerbaijan authorities plan to "squeeze" everything from "terrorist show" related to Armenian captives

Ameriabank announces a contest for bank card design

108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia parliament convenes special session

Armenia interim government holding Cabinet meeting

Catholicos of All Armenians heads for Syunik Province, Artsakh

World oil prices going up

Iran loses right to vote in UN General Assembly

Newspaper: Armenia authorities come up with new way of punishing unwanted characters

Newspaper: Russia army Southern Military District deputy commander to arrive in Yerevan Thursday

Lebanese Armenian man taken prisoner by Azerbaijan is hospitalized

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Are we getting under the burden? Then lets get under to the end

Armenia acting health minister on keeping fallen soldiers bodies in bags: What else should they be kept in?

Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation

Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow

2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik

Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center

"Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans

Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel

Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna

Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations

US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies

Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week

Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection

Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential

Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement

Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues

Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo

Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation

NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident

Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices

Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over

Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest

Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia

Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia

Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels

Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters

Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021

Dollar is stable in Armenia

Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector

Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out

Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe

Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia

Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border

Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor

Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue

Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia

Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this

Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia
Your colleagues

UB faculty receive Fulbright awards

By MARCENE ROBINSON and CHARLES ANZALONE

UB faculty members Jaekyung Lee and Anya Bernstein have received 2020-21 Fulbright Scholar Awards, one of the most widely recognized and prestigious scholarships in the world.

Lee, professor of counseling, school and educational psychology in the Graduate School of Education, will journey to South Korea, Vietnam and Kazakhstan to investigate educational equity and engage in research collaborations and trainings with international universities and think tanks.

Bernstein, professor in the School of Law, will travel to Germany to examine how democratic states create legitimacy, and will use interviews and ethnography to study German national administrators.

Lee and Bernstein were honored March 22 at the U.S. Fulbright Scholar Program Workshop for Faculty, hosted by UBs Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Office of the Vice Provost for International Education.

This is a well-deserved honor and recognition of Dr. Lees excellent scholarship, says Suzanne Rosenblith, professor and dean of the Graduate School of Education.

Professor Bernsteins scholarship is critical to our understanding of democracy at a global level, says Aviva Abramovsky, professor and dean of the School of Law. We are proud of her exceptional work and pleased that it has been recognized with this prestigious award.

The Fulbright program, coordinated by the U.S. Department of State, is devoted to improving intercultural relations, diplomacy and competence between the people of the U.S. and other nations through educational exchange.

Fulbright alumni have become heads of state, judges, ambassadors, cabinet ministers, CEOs and university presidents. They include 60 Nobel Laureates, 86 Pulitzer Prize winners and 74 MacArthur Fellows, as well as leading journalists, artists, scientists and teachers.
[March 25, 2021] United Kingdom Pet Insurance Market Distribution and Marketing Report 2020-2021: Direct to Insurer Remains the Most Popular Channel of Distribution for Pet Insurance - ResearchAndMarkets.com

The "United Kingdom (UK) Pet Insurance - Distribution and Marketing 2020" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. This report explores pet insurance purchasing behavior and how consumer preferences are changing over time. It discovers the most influential factors for customers purchasing a policy and also reveals the most popular providers in the market. New trends and innovations are highlighted, as well as the key factors that will influence the market over the next few years. The direct channel was the most popular among both cat and dog insurance policyholders in 2020, with 49.3% and 53.1% of individuals purchasing through this channel respectively. Consumers have shifted towards online purchases through PCs and away from other methods like phone and face to face. Scope Direct to insurer remains the most popular channel of distribution for pet insurance, with particularly strong growth in the dog insurance market.

Online via a PC remains the preferred method of arranging pet cover.

Switching levels remain low among pet insurance customers, but a considerable number of new entrants continue to enter the market.



Reasons to Buy Discover which providers lead the way in the pet insurance space, and how providers are revolutionizing the market through new innovations.

Understand consumer purchasing decisions and how these will influence the market over the next few years.

Improve customer engagement by recognizing what is most important to them and how to adapt your products and services to meet their needs.

Adapt your distribution strategy to ensure it still meets customer purchasing behaviors. Key Topics Covered:

The Purchasing Journey

Provider Engagement

Channel View

Marketing

Future Market

Appendix Companies Mentioned Petplan

Animal Friends

Tesco Bank

Pets at Home

Direct Line

Asda

Aviva

More Th>n

Argos

Healthy Pets

Sainsbury's

Admiral

Kennel Club

Churchill For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/99b599 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005761/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Clemson University is participating in a clinical trial to study the effects of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in students.

The school also is partnering with a grocery chain to vaccinate employees.

Both announcements were made March 25.

The Moderna trial is capped at 12,000 participants nationwide. Half will receive the vaccine immediately, the other half in four months. The goal is to study "infection, viral shedding and subsequent potential transmission in students."

The eligibility and requirements are stringent. Participants must be between 18 and 26 and not have previously tested positive for COVID-19. They will be tracked for four months or more after receiving the vaccine, and be required to collect daily nasal swabs and submit to a weekly saliva test.

Students can earn up to $750 participating in the trial. More information is available on the Clemson Parent and Family Experience website.

The trial is a joint effort of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, and Department of Health and Human Services.

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!

"We are pleased to participate in this important study of vaccine effectiveness among healthy college students," Dr. Corey Kalbaugh, Clemson's lead epidemiologist and public health strategist, said in a news release. "The more we vaccinate at our university, the closer we will be to some semblance of normalcy."

Meanwhile, the supermarket chain Ingles is helping vaccinate eligible Clemson employees.

A survey that went out to all Clemson employees indicated more than 1,000 individuals were eligible and wanted the vaccine. Ingles Pharmacies then contacted those respondents to set up an appointment at a nearby location.

As of March 25, 660 Clemson employees have tested positive on campus since June 1, according to Clemson's COVID-19 dashboard. For the current week beginning March 21, Clemson has administered 9,392 tests to students and employees with a positivity rate of less than one percent.

We know every vaccine we administer helps our community as we move closer to herd immunity, and even helps protect those who choose not to receive the vaccine," Ingles Chief Financial Officer Ron Freeman said in a statement.

South Carolina moved into Phase 1B of vaccinations on March 8. So far, the state has given 1.7 million COVID-19 vaccine doses, according to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.
A fast-food delivery driver has been forced to give up his job because he is afraid of drunk people after he was brutally assaulted in Co Donegal.

Mohammed Shaiful Alam had his jaw broken by James Horan after he had cooked his family a meal at their home in Bundoran in Co Donegal.

Horan, 32, had asked Mr Alam to drive his mother home to Ballyshannon after the meal but the victim said he was late for attending prayers.

Horan exploded and grabbed his victim by the neck and began squeezing it.

He then punched him on the left hand-side of the face hitting him with such force that he broke his jaw.

Horan appeared at Donegal Circuit Court where he pleaded guilty to assault.

The court heard that Mr Alam called to Ballyshannon Garda station the day after the attack on September 15th, 2018 to make a complaint.

Read More

Gardai noticed swelling and marks to his face and blood coming from his mouth.

He was advised to go to the hospital for treatment and he attended Sligo University Hospital where he was assessed.

Doctors diagnosed a broken jaw and Mr Alam had to have screws and a titanium plate fitted inside his jaw.

Horan was arrested by Gardai on October later that day and taken to Ballyshannon Garda station for interview.

He initially denied that he was there and then claimed he pushed Mr Alam and that he fell back on the sofa and must have bitten his mouth.

In his victim impact statement to Donegal Circuit Court, Mr Alam said he had lost a number of teeth and still had problems chewing his food and still suffered as a result of the broken jaw he received.

He said he had given up his job delivering food as he was now frightened of drunk people.

Barrister for Horan, Mr Peter Nolan, said his client had an extremely low IQ and presented a report from a psychiatrist.

He was now a full-time carer for his partner Lizzie Bullman and also looked after his mother.

Garda Sergeant Stewart Doyle said Horan was more of a menace than a criminal and that he had not come to Garda attention since the incident.

The court was told that Horan, of Seacrest, Bundoran, had experienced the loss of two friends in separate accidents when he was younger including one accident which he himself had survived.

He had suffered a shoulder injury from a broken collar bone and this had a long term effect on him.

Mr Nolan added that his client was the only breadwinner in his house but there was no reality of compensation for his victim.

Judge John Aylmer asked him if he thought he would be able to do community service which involved some light work.

Horan replied he could.

Judge Aylmer said this was a serious assault in which he caused significant harm to his victim, he placed it in the mid-range of such offences and was deserving of a prison sentence of two and a half years before mitigation.

However, Horan had pleaded guilty, this was his first charge of assault and that he had behaved himself since the attack and he proposed to reduce the sentence to one of 18 months.

He said he had the option of replacing that jail sentence with 240 hours of community service but must first hear from a doctor that Horan is capable of doing that community service because of his past injuries.

He adjourned the case until April 20th and if the GP says Horan is fit for light work then he will replace the jail sentence with 240 hours community service.
A reenactment of a Falun Gong adherent being forcibly injected with psychiatric drugs. Psychiatric abuse is a common method of persecution in China to coerce people to give up their faith. (Minghui.org)

Persecuted Teacher Loses Unborn Child, Dies After Enduring Years of Torture

She was one of the countless victims of the communist China's suppression of faith.

An exemplary school teacher narrowly escaped an attempted forced abortion after she was arrested in China for her faith. To avoid persecution and protect her unborn child, she was forced to go homeless, which led to the death of her unborn baby in her womb.

Sadly, her courage to honor her faith and exercise her fundamental right to religion in the communist country shoved her into endless misery. When the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials were unable to track her down, they arrested her two sisters, which led to the unfortunate demise of her elderly mother. Traumatized by the CCP-led calamity that befell the entire family, her father went insane.

Li Fengmei, a former English teacher from Yingkou City, Liaoning Province, in China, was highly respected for her commendable work. But she still suffered endless abuses at the hands of the CCP. Over the years, she was repeatedly arrested and endured unimaginable torture, including being injected with nerve-damaging drugs for refusing to give up her faith, before passing away at the age of 53.

Lis offense? She was one of the countless law-abiding citizens who are being targeted for elimination by the CCP for their faith in the spiritual practice of Falun Gong.

Cases related to Falun Gong are easy to handle. You can write down whatever you want to make up.  The deputy director of a Domestic Security Bureau in China

The late Ms. Li Fengmei, a former English teacher from Yingkou City, Liaoning Province, in China. (Minghui.org)

Falun Gong, or Falun Dafa, is a self-improvement discipline comprising five meditative exercises and moral teachings based on the universal principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. Over 70 million to 100 million people were practicing Falun Gong in China by the late 1990s, including some communist party members, according to state estimates at the time.

However, on July 20, 1999merely seven years after the peaceful meditation was introducedthe CCP launched a brutal persecution campaign to eradicate Falun Gong, perceiving the practices moral presence as a threat to its authoritarian rule and communist ideologies; countless have been detained, brainwashed, tortured, raped, and even killed. A detailed report cites the cases (the full name list) of over 4,000 Falun Gong practitioners who have died as a result of the persecution, with tens of thousands more deaths still to be confirmed due the regimes full secrecy over the details of the persecution.

Li, who passed away on Dec. 9, 2019, is one of the countless others who were persecuted for their faith, reported Minghui.org, a United States-based website dedicated to reporting the persecution of Falun Gong.

Arrested for Good Reputation

Li, who was one of the three daughters to her parents, Wang Fuqin and Li Kunlian, was plagued by a host of health issues in her early life. However, Lis life took a 180-degree turn in 1997 when she began practicing the slow-moving exercises of Falun Gong, reported Minghui.org.

As she lived by the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance, her health was restored, and Li, who was once a short-tempered woman, became kinder and considerate of those around her. At work, Li earned respect from her students and fellow teachers.

Earning the title of an exemplary teacher, Li also won the admiration of the school authorities for her strong work ethic and admirable performance. However, only five years later on July 20, 2002, during the first day of her school summer break, Li was arrested and taken to a brainwashing center in Yingkou City to coerce her to give up her faith.

The officer told her that she was arrested because of her eloquence and her good reputation, adding that if they could make her renounce her belief, officials could then use her to transform other detained practitioners, the report said.

A re-enactment of an abuse and torture method employed in Chinese prisons to coerce prisoners of conscience to give up their faith. (Minghui.org)

Braving Inhuman Torture

When Li didnt give in in the face of the pressure, the authorities planned to move her to a labor camp. However, they discovered that Li was eight weeks pregnant. On July 25, 2002, Li was taken to a state hospital for a forced abortion, but she fled before the surgery. As Li struggled to live on the streets while hiding from the police, her unborn baby died in the womb.

After she went on the run, the police targeted her family, arresting her two sisters, Li Fengzhen and Li Fengzhi, also Falun Gong adherents.

On Aug. 21, 2003, Li was arrested again along with another Falun Gong adherent. During the interrogation, an officer beat her. Protesting the unlawful arrest and beating, Li refused to answer any questions unless her handcuffs were removed. The police then smothered her with a blanket while three officers beat her up.

Li was sent to Bayujuan Detention Center for 13 months, where she was routinely tortured. On the first day at the detention center, a guard slapped her so hard that her eardrum bled profusely.

Three days later, Li was interrogated by the deputy director and officials from the Domestic Security Bureau. The officers and a guard took turns to torture her. They used their knees to forcefully push her abdomen to the wall while slapping her 30 times in the face and pulling her hair. After the beatings were done, one officer told the deputy director that no interrogation record had been made.

However, the deputy director said: Cases related to Falun Gong are easy to handle. You can write down whatever you want to make up.

Already marred in the agonizing pain, Li went on a hunger strike to protest her arrest. The head surgeon of the detention center, Gao Rizheng, took the lead to force-feed Li a mixture of saline and milk to increase the pain while having her restrained in a chair. This only deteriorated her health, and Li suffered from bleeding in the lower body, accompanied by stomach pain, reported Minghui.org.

Torture re-enactment of forced drug injections. (Minghui.org)

In one life-threatening instance, Li was shaking and sweating profusely due to intense pain and high fever. Head surgeon Gao refused to send her to a hospital and to notify her family on her critical condition. Rather, Gao continued with the abuse.

Citing another incident, the report said that under the pretext of treating Lis condition, Gao administered an intravenous injection with a high dose of unknown drugs. She eventually suffered from memory loss.

Still incarcerated for her faith, Li continued to be abused and fed drug-laced food. She was shocked with electric batons. The torture left both her arms broken and neck infected, oozing pus and blood. She lost her hair, developed breathing difficulties, struggled to walk, and lost function in her sensory organs. On several occasions, Li was on the verge of death.

After head surgeon Gao forcibly injected Li with an unknown drug, she suffered from lymph node tuberculosis. After her diagnosis, Liaoning Womens Prison refused to admit her. However, Gao used his personal connections to bring Li, who was already near death, back to the detention center to continue torturing her. With each passing day, her condition only got worse.

Back at Lis home, things took an even uglier turn. With the arrest of all the siblings, Lis 69-year-old mother was traumatized and suffered a stroke and died in March 2004. After the death of her mother, Lis elderly father had a mental collapse and ended up insane.

Every evening, he would grab a knife or stick to scare away imaginary bad guys who he thought were coming to take away his loved ones; he died five years later at the age of 71. Meanwhile, Lis husband divorced her, and she was fired from work.

Li Fengmeis parents, mother Wang Fuqin and father Li Kunlian. (Minghui.org)

In 2006, Li was diagnosed with severe myocardial ischemia. Doctors recommended hospitalization. However, Li was forced to work every day, producing IC cards (also known as smart cards). She was later diagnosed with lymphoma, a life-threatening disease that caused her lymph nodes to swell all over.

Having paid the price of firmly holding to her fundamental right to freedom of religion in communist China, the role-model and beloved teacher was eventually released from prison. The relentless persecution left her almost lifeless. With no financial support or physical ability to take care of herself, she was looked after by her relatives before passing away in her early 50s.

Arshdeep Sarao contributed to this report.
[March 25, 2021] PLDA Joins ETP4HPC to share its expertise in High Speed Interconnect Solution IP with the European High Performance Computing Ecosystem

PLDA, the leading developer of high-speed interconnect silicon IP, is joining ETP4HPC, an association that gathers leading European players in high performance computing technologies. ETP4HPC - the European Technology Platform (ETP) for High-Performance Computing (HPC) - is a private, industry-led and non-profit association whose main mission is to promote European HPC research and innovation in order to maximise the economic and societal benefits of HPC for European science, industry, and citizens. Interconnect solutions like PCIe, CXL, and CCIX are key technologies for High Performance Computing, which require increasingly higher data rates with the lowest latency possible. PLDA, a leading developer and licensor of High Speed Interconnect silicon IP for over 25 years, is proud to take an active part in this European initiative which aims to develop the region's high performance computing leadership. "ETP4HPC is very glad to welcome PLDA among our members. Our association has been campaigning for years in favour of a determined European policy for the development of sovereign technologies in the field of high performance computing. With PLDA and their leading expertise in interconnect IP, we welcome key skills and technologies for the future of European HPC.", declared Jean-Pierre Panziera, chairman of the ETP4HPC association. According to Stephane Hauradou, CTO of PLDA "We are proud to contribute our expertise in this collective effort, spearheaded by ETP4HPC, to build a powerful European HPC ecosystem. As a cmpany with European roots, it was a natural fit for us to take part in this initiative."



More Information For more information on PLDA products for High Performance Computing, contact PLDA or visit the company's website:

PLDA CXL Controller information: CXL Controller IP

PLDA PCIe Controller information: XpressRICH Controller IP for PCIe 5.0

PLDA CCIX based Controller: CCIX Controller IP You can also read use cases of PLDA solutions in the High Performance Computing field. About PLDA PLDA is the leading developer of high-speed interface and interconnect Intellectual Property (SIP) supporting protocols such as PCI (News - Alert) Express, CXL (Compute Express Link), CCIX (Cache Coherent Interconnect for Accelerators), and Gen-Z at multi-gigabit rates (2.5G, 5G, 8G, 16G, 25G, 32G, 56G, 112G). Since our founding in 1996, PLDA has served over 3,300 customers and signed 6,400 licenses in 62 countries. PLDA is a global technology company with design and support offices in Silicon Valley, France, Bulgaria, Taiwan, and China. ### Trademarks All registered trademarks and other trademarks belong to their respective owners. PCI-SIG, PCI Express and PCIe are trademarks or registered trademarks of PCI-SIG. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005641/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

Perhaps never before has the story of Passover transcended the borders of religion to apply to all my friends in the U.S. Who among us isnt ready to be done with the phrase, living through an historic crisis? From wiping down our groceries and our grocery cart, loved ones being absent from holiday traditions, and  worst of all  watching many of those we love catch the deadly virus, all of mankind is certainly ready for an exodus from our current situation.

The traditional Passover holiday centers on a population that lived through an historic crisis themselves and survived under Gods divine providence. In the book of Exodus we learn that Moses, who was miraculously saved as a baby and raised by Pharaohs daughter, grew up to lead the people of Israel out from under the brutal slavery of Pharaoh. After repeated demands from Moses, through a series of miracles, and ten infamous plagues, Pharaoh sends the Hebrew nation out of Egypt. Passover commemorates this deliverance from slavery and Gods hand of protection over the Jewish people.

The holiday signals a time of gratitude for Gods deliverance. Jewish families will remember how the Hebrew nation has been delivered from enemies, both in Biblical times, and in the modern era. Many will also celebrate the re-birth of the young nation of Israel. But Im sure most everyone can identify with this sacred holiday in some way, having some sort of deliverance to rejoice in. Anyone who has survived COVID has much to be grateful for this year. And with Passover commemorating freedom from slavery, this is certainly something all Americans can celebrate together.

At the conclusion of each Passover meal we always declare, Next year in Jerusalem, as the Jewish people have been waiting anxiously for generations to be able to celebrate in a restored temple in the City of David once again. Israel has always been an underdog country, and my friends in America love an underdog. Neighbored on all sides by nations that are traditional enemies, Israel is now emerging a nation of victors. Last years peace agreements continue what has become a broad pathway of communication for new business and tourism ventures between Israel and its neighbors. And of course, with Jerusalem now recognized as its capital, the phrase holds even greater sentiment for the homeland.

Next year in Jerusalem is also a rallying cry for American technology students and innovators who are flocking to Israels tech industry and educational institutions. It is well known that Israel has more Nobel-laureates per capita than any other nation. In recent years, Israel has emerged as a nation of top global entrepreneurs and innovators. One of the worlds smallest countries, with a population of only 9 million, Israel now ranks as fifth in the world for technological advancement.

Whereas Next year in Jerusalem is intended to be an aspirational call for Jewish people to return to the homeland, it could also serve as a catchphrase for those eager to travel again. Israels economy is largely dependent on tourism which has nearly evaporated due to COVID restrictions. In fact, this is precisely why I started Artza, a direct-to-consumer service that provides a way to get Israeli made goods into the hands of Americans via a quarterly subscription box while travel is off the table. During the shut-down months, shopkeepers in Israel have been able to sell local delicacies and handmade crafts all throughout the global pandemic.

And now, Israel is at the top of the list of nations that have accelerated their vaccinations. Nearly 60% of Israels population has received at least one shot of the COVID vaccine, and they are the worldwide leader in vaccinations per capita. This means Israel is becoming one of the safest places on earth to travel.

Passover recalls a past historic crisis and it symbolizes tremendous hope for the future. As are all of us in Israel, I know Americans are ready to turn the corner and start looking to the future once again. This Passover season might be just the time to do it. I pray this holiday, and the promise that it holds, means as much to you this year as it does to me.

President Joe Biden speaks during a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, March 25, 2021 (AP)

On the 65th day of his presidency, Joe Biden held his first formal press conference since entering the White House on 20 January.

In the hour-long Q&A, Biden courted controversy on migration at the Mexico border, the US relationship with China, and the potential to face off against Trump in 2024 in a rematch that see two oldest presidential candidates in US history (Biden 82 v Trump 78).

Of the 15 presidents of the past 100 years, all but for Biden have held a press conference within 33 days of being sworn into office. Donald Trump did it 27 days in, while Barack Obama outdid Trump by a week at 20 days.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg dismissed the company's role in polarising the US, blaming the "political and media environment" for promoting extremism and misinformation. His opening statement in the Senate big tech hearing came after a cutout of the Facebook boss dressed as the QAnon Shaman Jacob Chansley appeared on Capitol Hill before Congress began grilling the social media platforms.

Kayleigh McEnany, former White House press secretary to Mr Trump, has meanwhile appeared on Fox News to claim Joe Biden is in badly declining health and is concealing his condition behind a Covid face mask, a baseless smear intended to undermine his first press conference as president, where questions on immigration, the coronavirus vaccine rollout, infrastructure and gun control are likely to be forthcoming.

His vice president, Kamala Harris, is also already facing criticism from Republicans Ted Cruz and Doug Ducey, Arizonas governor, after being appointed to lead the countrys response to the latest surge in asylum seekers arriving at the US border with Mexico as the administration struggles to find temporary housing for hundreds of unaccompanied children.

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.
KY Supreme Court Upholds Morris' 2019 Convictions

By West Kentucky Star Staff

GRAVES COUNTY - The Kentucky Supreme Court has upheld all but one of Bradley Morris' convictions related to a 2017 shooting incident in Mayfield.On September 12, 2019, a Graves County Jury convicted Bradley Morris of first-degree assault, first-degree burglary, felon in possession of a handgun, tampering with physical evidence, and second-degree persistent felony offender.Morris was sentenced to 70 years behind bars on October 15, 2019. Morris appealed the conviction shortly after.On Thursday, all of the convictions were upheld by the Kentucky Supreme Court except for the charge of tampering with physical evidence. The reversal of this conviction will not lessen his 70-year sentence.According to Mayfield Police, on December 6, 2017, Morris shot Kathy Bouland three times at a home on South 9th Street. She was shot in the calf while on the front porch but ran inside the home. Morris reportedly shot her in the arm as she tried to escape into a bathroom, then fired through the door until his gun was empty, striking Bouland in the knee.She was taken to a local hospital and then flown to Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville for treatment. Morris was arrested at the scene.
It has been a year since the COVID-19 virus has taken control of our lives. This year has been full of challenges and lessons learned. I have always considered myself a lifelong learner and over these past 365 days, I have learned to appreciate many things I formerly took for granted. As I reflect on this past year, I am reminded of many words of which now have a new meaning to me.

Here is a short list:

Twitch  I once only thought of this word when I would become nervous. Now I know it as a video streaming service that allows multiple people to share ideas and video screens.

Zoom  Also a video conferencing tool that saves me miles on my car because I do not have to drive to so many meetings. I used to think it was just the sound a fast car made.

Metric  I used to only use this term when I was looking for my 10mm socket wrench, usually proceeded by a few cuss words because I am an American and have not yet fully given in to the notion that we need a different measurement system. Post-COVID, this is a term used by the health departments and the CDC to measure many different types of information used to determine when it is safe to return to our pre-COVID way of life.

I would like to focus on what should be, but is not currently, a metric we use when collaborating between our health departments and our education system. I have named this metric the Q-Pos metric. It measures the number of students who have been quarantined and then became infected with the virus. This metric would be valuable to show us if the recommendation of removing students from face-to-face learning is really preventing the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

I am a firm believer in science. I also believe in holding our government agencies accountable. I believe our students learn best in person, in a classroom with a teacher. But, over this past year, I have seen students quarantined over 5,000 times in Madison County schools and I have not seen many of those students catch the dreaded virus while they were in home confinement.

The job of the county health department, the IDPH, and the CDC has been a very difficult one throughout this pandemic. I have been careful not to criticize their efforts. They have worked tirelessly and have, undoubtedly, saved many lives. I am asking those organizations to look at the science and use what I consider to be a useful metric to help our educators keep students in our schools. Our schools have done a wonderful job of keeping track of all types of information throughout the pandemic. They should be asked by the state for these two numbers: The numbers of students who have been quarantined and the number of students who have become sick while they were in quarantine. Divide the number of students who became sick by the number of students who were quarantined and publish the Q-Pos metric. They can then determine a threshold as to when quarantines are warranted and when they are not required.

Currently, we are interrupting way too many lives and educational opportunities for our students and their families. We owe it to our kids to teach them to use science and numbers in a correct, accurate, and useful way. I am not an expert in mitigation, but I would consider myself, a humble expert in education. I am sure there are folks much smarter than I am in our health departments who can help me get this metric created. Lets work together to keep our students in the classroom.

Robert W. Werden is the Madison County Regional Superintendent of Schools. He is in his 26th year as an educator. He is a former Director of the Madison County Career and Technical Education System. He can be reached at www.roe41.org
A virus is constantly mutating. Staying ahead of the evolutionary game is key in the fight against an infectious virus  especially one like the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus, which has its genetic material encoded in RNA rather than the more stable DNA. Even the smallest change in its surface spike proteins can make it unrecognisable to the hosts immune system, meaning a drug thats effective on the original virus may have little impact on its successors. Thats why researchers are working against the clock to develop treatments and vaccines to tackle troublesome variants of the coronavirus, of which there are currently three of concern, with more likely to come.

Many groups are putting their money on antibody cocktails to treat the symptoms of a Covid-19 infection. The idea is that one antibody in the cocktail will bind to a particular spike protein on the virus and another antibody will bind to another, said Professor Qiang Pan-Hammarstrom from Swedens Karolinska Institute. That way, the cocktail still works even when one of the spike proteins mutates.

The international project known as ATAC, however, is taking a radically different approach. Its researchers developed a single antibody that can mount a double attack on the coronavirus, rather than two antibodies working in tandem. The groups bispecific antibody binds to two separate sites on the spike protein on the virus surface, therefore remaining potent even if one of the two sites undergoes a significant mutation.

Experiments  both in-vitro and using animal models  show this antibody binds well to all variants of the virus, said Prof. Pan-Hammarstrom, who is the coordinator of the ATAC consortium. Our two-in-one model seems to prevent the virus from escaping the immune response.

Double attack

Late last year, a two-antibody cocktail created by biotech company Regeneron brought hope for coronavirus patients  studies showed it boosted the bodys defence against Covid-19, reducing hospitalisations and deaths. It was authorised for emergency use in the US. In February, a second cocktail  this one produced by Eli Lilly  was given similar US approval, and shortly after, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) expressed a positive opinion of Lillys cocktail. But less than a month on, new studies suggest the treatment is being outwitted by a constantly evolving virus, with new variants of the disease showing resistance to the monoclonal, or lab-made, antibodies.

The coronavirus is mutating, and it will continue to mutate, so we need treatments that can keep up with these changes and work effectively on all variants of the virus, said Prof. Pan-Hammarstrom. In other words, we need solutions that save lives now and also prepare us for the future.

Though bispecific antibodies, such as the one emerging from the ATAC consortium, are gaining popularity in the treatment of certain cancers (where one part of an antibody might bind to a tumour cell and the other to an immune cell), the ATAC researchers are the first to produce a bispecific antibody against SARS-CoV-2, according to Prof. Pan-Hammarstrom.

This antibody means we can stay one step ahead of the virus, said Prof. Pan-Hammarstrom. A paper describing their findings has been published in the scientific journal Nature.

The ATAC antibody (CoV-X2) was constructed by the team from two potent monoclonal antibody candidates derived from humans, chosen from a shortlist of over 100 antibodies. It is now being prepared for Phase 1 clinical trials, during which it will be tested on healthy volunteers. The trials will take place in Italy, the locus of Europes first brutal outbreak of Covid-19 and home to an ATAC partner. Prof. Pan-Hammarstrom is hopeful that these trials will have been launched by the summer, and that a new, variant-resistant antibody could be on the market within six to eight months.

We have some good vaccines for Covid and Im sure there will soon be vaccines for variants of the virus too, but infected patients are still getting very sick from this disease and they will continue to do so until we have some really good therapies available for them, said Prof. Pan-Hammarstrom. Thus far, only two therapies have been found to work in large-scale randomised clinical trials  steroids (dexamethasone), which are used to reduce inflammation, and  medicine(s) used to treat for rheumatoid arthritis (drugs that block the interleukin-6 receptor), which is also immunomodulatory (modifies the response of the immune system).

This is very disappointing  we definitely need to find new drugs to treat this illness.

She added: We are confident that our antibody could be one of the treatments clinicians and patients have been waiting for.

The coronavirus is mutating, and it will continue to mutate, so we need treatments that can keep up with these changes. Prof. Qiang Pan-Hammarstrom, Karolinska Institute, Sweden

Complementary

Since the onset of the pandemic, hundreds of projects have sprung up around the world to develop monoclonal antibodies to treat Covid-19 patients. These antibodies work in a similar way to vaccines, first recognising and then neutralising a virus, though they are regarded as complementary to, not replacements for, regular vaccines.

When a person receives a vaccination, their immune system is triggered into producing infection-fighting antibodies and it can take several weeks for immunity to set in. By contrast, monoclonal antibodies (generated from natural antibodies that have undergone modifications) enter the bloodstream through a drip and are ready for action straight away. But though these antibodies mimic the infection-fighting work of the immune system, they dont last forever  typically, a monoclonal antibody will stick around for a number of weeks or months.

Why do we need antibody therapies when there are now good vaccines against Covid? Because some people are immunocompromised and dont respond to a vaccine, plus of course it will take several years for the whole world to be vaccinated against Covid-19, so there will be an ongoing need for medicines that can temperately protect us or treat the disease, explained Prof. Pan-Hammarstrom.

The hope is to find an effective antibody treatment that can be mass produced and distributed at speed to hospitals around the world, though cost is a factor to be considered  antibodies are notoriously expensive to produce (to give an idea, the average annual price of monoclonal antibody cancer treatment in the US exceeds 80,000 per person). However, Prof. Pan-Hammarstrom says ATACs double-whammy antibody goes some way to addressing this problem as a single antibody is a lot cheaper to produce than a cocktail of two, such as the ones created by Regeneron and Eli Lilly.

Im not saying it will be half the cost, but it will be more cost effective, she said.

Professor Luis Serrano from the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Spain, who was involved in Covid-19-related research nearer the start of the pandemic but is not involved in ATAC, welcomes research into bispecific antibodies but stresses the importance of very, very high affinity between the antibody and both sites. Otherwise non-binding to one site could result in the antibody binding weakly to the other, and not being effective, he said.

Models

Being prepared for the next pandemic  or for a catastrophic twist to the current one  through large-scale international collaborations is a major theme in todays research community.

Its difficult to make predictions on whether a more dangerous variant will emerge in the future, but we can prepare for it, said Prof. Pan-Hammarstrom. She is among those calling for greater links between scientists and industry, where researchers are invited to float and test new ideas, and banks of antibodies are established well in advance of a new infection taking root.

If we can prove the concept of our bispecific antibody, we can use computer and animal models to predict what a virus might do next, and to come up with solutions before theres an actual problem, she said.

Our consortium is already starting to work on this idea with scientists from around the world, including China. They have identified sequences for viruses from animals that dont yet infect humans, but one day might mutate and do just that. We could prepare ourselves by making antibodies against these viruses already now. We could create a pool of antibodies to dip into the moment a new infection emerges. We could stop the next pandemic before a single person has died.

The research in this article was funded by the EU. If you liked this article, please consider sharing it on social media.
Local Ranch Hosts NWTF Youth Event

The Blackland Prairie Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) held its annual JAKES (Juniors Acquiring Knowledge, Ethics and Sportsmanship) event Saturday, March 20, at Joe Cunningham's ranch in Peoria.



Volunteers from the Hill County Sheriff's Office, Texas Parks and Wildlife and Hill County Emergency Management joined with other instructors to teach children and teens about outdoor activities.



This year, 22 participants learned about activities like turkey calling, archery, shooting and drones. Sponsors included Alvarado Archery, Gateway Archery, Quaker Boy Turkey Calls, Jimmy Westerman of Pops Custom Calls, Shelby Monrreal of 3M Custom Leather, Triple H Feed and Clayton Homes.



JAKES is dedicated to informing, educating and involving youth in wildlife conservation and the wise stewardship of natural resources.



NWTF chapters provide youth ages 12 and younger chances to explore the outdoors through fun events that help pass on the traditions of responsible hunting, teach the principles of habitat management, and teach hunting ethics and safety.



Xtreme JAKES offers youth ages 13-17 opportunities and challenges more in line with their abilities and experiences. Xtreme JAKES learn to be responsible outdoorsmen and women through fishing, camping and other outdoor activities. They learn to identify plants and animals, as well as how to effectively call in those elusive toms through hunting seminars taught by legends in the field.



The JAKES Take Aim program presents opportunities for youth ages 17 and younger to try target shooting, clay target shooting and shotgunning in a safe, fun environment.



For more information about the organization, visit www.nwtf.org.




Austrian authorities have extradited Boris Mazo, a former employee of the Russian Culture Ministry who is suspected in Russia of fraud and embezzlement.

The Russian Prosecutor-General's Office said on March 25 that Mazo is now on his way to Moscow.

"Thanks to a large amount of work organized with the cooperation of our Austrian colleagues, and due to the timely presentation by the Prosecutor-General's Office of the Russian Federation of additional data and materials requested by the Austrian side, it became possible to arrange Mazo's extradition," a statement from the Prosecutor-General's Office said.

Mazo is accused of embezzling 450 million rubles ($5.9 million) from the state budget.

Former Deputy Culture Minister Grigory Pirumov, who was arrested in 2018 and is currently under house arrest in Moscow, is also a suspect in the case.

Investigators say that Mazo, Pirumov and other former officials of the Culture Ministry also laundered up to 800 million rubles ($10.5 million) illegally obtained via fraudulent activities.

Russian investigators say Pirumov, Mazo, and others secured government funds with no intention of using the money designated for construction works for St. Petersburg's Hermitage Museum. Instead, they allegedly transferred the money to their own companies.

Austrian authorities detained Mazo in November at Spain's request.

Spanish investigators say Mazo might have laundered money he stole in Russia through the purchase of an expensive property in Spain's southern resort city of Marbella.

However, the Austrian court decided to extradite Mazo to Russia, not Spain.

In 2017, Mazo and Pirumov were convicted in Moscow of embezzling 164 million rubles ($2.1 million), but the judge ruled that the time spent by the two men in pretrial detention was a sufficient punishment.

Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax
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.
Category Select Category Apparel/Garments Textiles Fashion Technical Textiles Information Technology E-commerce Retail Corporate Association Press Release

SubCategory Select Sub-Category
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday that she was 'not familiar' with the widely reported claim that Hunter Biden received $3.5million from the wife of Moscow's former mayor.

Psaki was speaking at her daily press briefing when she was asked by the New York Post what the payment from Elena Baturina, widow of former Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov, was for.

'I'm not familiar with that claim. It doesn't sound like it's backed up by a lot of evidence. If you have evidence or specifics, I'm happy to discuss it further,' Psaki said.

'I'm not familiar with the report at all,' she added when asked about the report from the Senate Finance and Homeland Security committees that made the claim.

Scroll down for video

Psaki was speaking at her daily press briefing when she was asked by the New York Post what the payment from Elena Baturina was for

The September Senate report claimed that the firm linked to Hunter Biden received 3.5million from Elena Baturina, widow of former Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov. Senators said that they did not know the purpose of the payment

The alleged 2014 payment was brought up during the presidential campaign last year, with then President Trump talking about it while on the trail.

During one contentious moment at the first presidential debate between Trump and Biden, the president denied that his son was paid the money and called Trump a 'clown.'

'Joe got $3.5 million from Russia. And it came through Putin, because he was very friendly with the former mayor of Moscow and it was the mayor of Moscow's wife. He got $3.5 million. Your family got $3.5 million and you know, someday you're gonna have to explain  why did you get three and a half [million]?' Trump said during the debate.

The September Senate report claimed that the firm linked to Hunter Biden received 3.5million from Elena Baturina. Senators said that they did not know the purpose of the payment.

Yelena Baturina's brother, Viktor Baturina, told DailyMail.com the money was 'a payment to enter the American market.'

During one contentious moment at the first presidential debate between Trump and Biden, Biden denied that his son was paid the money and called Trump a 'clown'

Joe Biden was the vice president when Baturina wired the money in a series of payments to a bank account held by Hunter's investment firm Rosemont Seneca Thornton in 2014, according to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

The following year, she opened up an office in the US to oversee her investments in America. In 2016, she launched her first development project, investing $10 million in commercial buildings next to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

The ultra-wealthy 57-year-old has long been dogged by corruption allegations, stemming from when her late husband, who was the mayor of Moscow, awarded her with lucrative government business contracts, helping her grow the business.

The suspicion the money was given to Hunter in order to influence Joe has been a battle cry of corruption for Republicans, as it would be considered illegal to try to influence a public official into creating policies that would favor Hunter's interests.

Widow Yelena Baturina and daughter Yelena Luzhkova after a farewell ceremony for Yuri Luzhkov, who served as mayor of Moscow in 1992-2010, at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour

President Trump referenced the alleged payment during the first presidential debate, but Joe Biden flatly denied his 50-year-old son had received the Russian's money.

Baturina, whose estimated fortune is around $1.3 billion, told DailyMail.com she was 'not interested' in explaining an alleged consultancy fee. Hunter's lawyer denied he received $3.5 million from Baturina, claiming he wasn't a co-founder of the investment firm.

Baturina is the widow of former Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov, who died in 2019 and was mayor between 1992 and 2010. The two met in 1987 while working on Moscow's council committees before marrying in 1991.

Much of Baturina's fortune was built on her plastics-turned-construction firm Inteco, which dominated the construction business in Moscow - thanks in part to lucrative government contracts granted while her husband was mayor.

Biden speaking at the World Food Program USA's Annual McGovern-Dole Leadership Award Ceremony at Organization of American States on April 12, 2016

There was outcry in 1995 when her firm was awarded a contract with Moscow to build seats for the 81,000-person Luzhniki Stadium, the city's largest stadium. Critics accused Luzhkov of corruption by awarding the contract to his wife.

Baturina's firm later shifted into construction and was credited with receiving up to 20 percent of Moscow's new construction contracts.

Luzhkov was fired in 2010 by Russia's then president Dmitry Medvedev over corruption allegations, which were never proven in court prior to his death.

Biden's campaign immediately panned the report, released six weeks before the election, as an effort by an ally of President Donald Trump's to damage his election opponent.

The campaign said the investigation was founded on 'a long-disproven, hardcore rightwing conspiracy theory' and, even before the report was released, issued a detailed statement aiming to rebut point-by-point allegations that it said had long been debunked by media organizations as well as by U.S. and Ukrainian officials.
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.
Facebook continues to host more than 201 pages and 13 groups tied to far-right militias, more than two months after a deadly attack on the US Capitol and seven months after the company announced it would take action against similar groups, according to a March report from a tech watchdog.

The report from the Tech Transparency Project arrives as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg prepares to testify to members of Congress alongside other tech giants about Social Medias Role in Promoting Extremism and Misinformation.

According to TPP, the platform is auto-generating pages for some organisations  effectively expanding the reach of the movement  and directing users who like certain militia to similar groups, helping these organisations potentially recruit and radicalise users.

Facebook announced a platform-wide crackdown on militarised social movements on 19 August following FBI testimony about the growing threat of far-right and white supremacist groups in the US.

But TTP found that 26 of militia-linked pages and six groups were created in the months that followed. Roughly 70 per cent of militia-linked Facebook pages on the platform have militia in their name.

Read more:

Thats a hard-to-miss affiliation, especially for a company that says its artificial intelligence systems are successfully detecting and removing policy violations like hate speech and terrorist content, the report says.

In a statement to The Independent, a spokesperson for Facebook say the company is reviewing the accuracy of the claims and the content referenced in this report.

We have banned over 890 militarised social movements and removed more than 3,400 Pages, 19,500 groups, 120 events, 25,300 Facebook profiles and 7500 Instagram accounts representing them; but simply using the word militia does not violate our policies, the spokesperson said.

The organisation also found 31 militia-linked profiles that displayed their militia links in their names or in other content.

A group named Texas Militia launched on 6 January, TTP found. According to the report: The administrator who created the group warned that modern technology has enabled radicals to subvert the process by which we elect our representatives, adding we must be prepared  to defend our rights and prevent the takeover of our great nation by radicals, uphold the Constitution and preserve our way of life.

The report also arrives as President Joe Bidens administration targets domestic violence extremists, which pose an elevated threat to the US in 2021, according to a newly unclassified report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security.

Domestic violence extremists motivated by a range of ideologies and galvanised by recent political and societal events pose an elevated threat to the US in 2021, according to the report.

False narratives spread across social media about the 2020 presidential election, the Capitol insurrection, and conspiracy theories and conditions related to the Covid-19 crisis will almost certainly spur some DVEs to try to engage in violence this year, the agencies reported.

The US Attorneys office has charged more than 300 people for their role in the insurrection at the Capitol. Federal law enforcement expects to bring dozens more charges.
The New Republic named a new editor on Thursday and announced that it was moving back to Washington, its home city for most of its 107-year existence.

Michael Tomasky, who has edited the policy journal Democracy: A Journal of Ideas since 2009 and writes a regular column for The Daily Beast, will take over as The New Republics top editor. Mr. Tomasky, 60, will continue his role at Democracy, a quarterly publication. He said joining The New Republic would be the crowning achievement of my career.

This is such a critical moment, with a new administration signaling a fresh era of American politics  but with clear and present threats emanating from an opposition party that has basically become anti-democratic, he said in a statement. There is much important work to do.

He will start his new job on April 19, replacing Chris Lehmann, who will become an editor at large for the magazine.
Ithaca, N.Y.  A 55-year-old Tompkins County man has been arrested and accused of sexual assault, according to the New York State Police.

Eric N. Deas was charged with aggravated sexual assault, a felony, and arraigned on March 17, police said in a news release Wednesday. The assault happened sometime between March 6 and March 7 in Ithaca, police said.

Deas is being held at the Tompkins County Jail on a $50,000 cash bail or $100,000 bond.

An order of protection was issued for the victim.

Staff writer James McClendon covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? Reach him at 914-204-2815 or jmcclendon@syracuse.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! 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.
Singapore -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/24/2021 -- Volt Singapore, a well-renowned global recruitment provider, offers global outsourcing solutions to help businesses find the right candidates for their particular roles. The company assists the client with management, consulting, and many outsourcing services surrounding professionals working internationally. The agency leverages the brand in a competitive marketplace and can source active, passive, and diverse individuals for their vacancies. Rather than having one central area of expertise, Volt Singapore have a team of skilled professionals with more than 20 years of experience and a large network across the world.



They have a team of skilled professionals with all the required knowledge and certificates to offer the client their global outsourcing solutions following national laws & customs. Their global outsourcing solutions include legal & corporate secretarial services, accounting & tax services, payroll & HR services, immigration & relocation services and project management. Those looking to hire the perfect individual for their critical role can contact the team at Volt Singapore.



When asked about their global outsourcing solutions, a representative from the company stated, "Volt Singapore is a consulting company with expertise in project delivery. Our team has 697 years of combined experience in helping our clients access their complex challenges and formulating innovative solutions. Through this process, our clients can move their project forward driving results for their company and overcoming initial constraints."



Volt Singapore is one of the most sought-after recruitment agencies in Asia and the UK. The company's recruiters leverage several targeted job boards, online communities, recruiting sites, social media platforms and participate in industry forums to find talented candidates and gain crucial referrals. In addition to global outsourcing solutions, the company also offers numerous other services including managed service programs (MSP), total talent management (TTM), services procurement (SOW), offshoring services, recruitment process outsourcing (RPO), and many more.



About Volt Singapore

An award winning global workforce solution provider, listed on the NYSE and a Fortune 1000 organisation, Volt Singapore propels businesses and careers forward with expert momentum. The company provides workforce management and talent acquisition solutions to businesses and job placement services. With many years of industry leadership and a growing global team of employment strategists, Volt strives to maintain an innovative and highly relevant sector-based portfolio globally. Volt's core values of Integrity, Respect, Innovation, Success and Excellence are embedded in the company's code of conduct. More than a marketing slogan, Volt's values are reflected in the daily behaviour of the company's staff, its business practices and its approach to client and candidate management.



For more information, please visit: https://www.voltinternational.com.sg



Contact Details



6 Temasek Boulevard, #25-05, Suntec Tower 4, Singapore 038986

E-mail: singapore@voltasia.com.sg

Phone: +65 6701 1500
Georgia Tech Professor Indicted For Fraudulently Sponsoring Visas for Chinese Nationals

A Georgia Tech professor has been accused by federal prosecutors of violating customs laws by using his position to bring Chinese nationals into the United States to work at an partially state-owned Chinese information technology firm in New Jersey.

Chinese national Gee-Kung Chang, a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology for 19 years, was charged on March 18 alongside former ZTE USA research director Jianju Yu with conspiracy to commit visa fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and wire fraud, according to Northern District of Georgia Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt Erskine.

The pair allegedly conspired together to bring Chinese nationals to the United States to conduct research at ZTE USAa subsidiary of ZTE Corporation, a partially state-owned Chinese telecommunications and information technology companyin Morristown, New Jersey.

The 73-year-old Georgia Tech professor is accused of using his position to fraudulently sponsor J-1 visasa work-study programfor the individuals through his institution, only to have them work at the New Jersey telecommunications company.

The program is not intended for general employment of foreign workers in the United States, the U.S. Attorneys Office said.

After arriving in the United States, the Chinese nationals traveled to and resided in New Jersey to work with Yu at ZTE USA, the indictment alleges.

Erskine said that in some instances, the visa recipients would receive salaries from Georgia Tech while they were actually working at ZTE USA.

The United States welcomes academics and researchers from across the globe, special agent in charge of FBI Atlanta Chris Hacker said. But we cannot allow anyone to exploit our benevolence. Thats what these defendants are accused of doing and now they will be judged.

Schemes like this not only steal invaluable opportunities from legitimate, hard-working students it also allows scammers to come to the United States and profit from their misdeeds, Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Katrina Berger said.

It is not clear how many Chinese nationals were brought in to the United States on fraudulent visas.

The defendants allegedly abused the visa program and deceived Georgia Tech to bring researchers into the United States, Erskine added. The charges presented are the first step toward holding them accountable.

The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements Homeland Security Investigations.

Georgia Tech didnt immediately respond to a request for comment by The Epoch Times.

A statement from the institution obtained by Patch says that Chang will remain on administrative leave pending the outcome of the judicial process.

Georgia Tech is committed to the highest standards of integrity in all areas of operation, it said.

A number of Chinese researchers working in the United States have been prosecuted for hiding Beijing-backed plans to steal American research and technology, such as the Thousand Talents Program.
Chennai, March 25 : Chennai Super Kings (CSK) travel to Mumbai on Thursday to continue with their preparations for the Indian Premier League (IPL) and will be based there for a month, the franchise said in a statement. CSK began their pre-season camp on March 8 at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai with the available players, including captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

"The players felt the fortnight-long camp was very beneficial. We also had four or five days of open nets," CSK CEO KS Viswanathan said.

"After the previous season, Dhoni told us that he'd reach Chennai in March to prepare for the 2021 edition. True to his word, he was here," he added.

CSK play their first five matches in Mumbai. The three-time champions face the Delhi Capitals on April 10, Punjab Kings on April 16, Rajasthan Royals on April 19, Kolkata Knight Riders on April 21 and Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 25 before moving to Delhi. They will also play their league fixtures in Bengaluru and Kolkata.

All matches of the IPL, which starts on April 9, will be played at neutral venues, with Ahmedabad hosting the playoffs and the final between May 25 and 30.

CSK failed to make it to the playoffs for the first time last season, but signed off the 2020 IPL campaign with three back-to-back wins. The run made it six wins for them out of 14 matches.

"We are very confident that the team will do well this season given the kind of replacements that we've got and the preparations we have had so far," Viswanathan concluded.

CSK picked six players at the auction in February, headlined by off-spin bowling all-rounders Moeen Ali and Krishnappa Gowtham, after trading top-order batsman Robin Uthappa from Rajasthan Royals.

Latest updates on IPL 2021

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice wants to get rid of personal income tax offset it by increasing the state consumer sales tax by about 2% and adding a tax on luxury items that cost $5,000 or more.

The proposal would reduce the income tax by 60% for the first year and repeal it completely in three years - while generating over a billion dollars in revenue for the Mountain State and the ability to provide some residents with cash rebates.

In order to eliminate the personal income tax, Justice said that the sales tax would increase from 6% to 7.9%, Fox Business reported.

Gov. Jim Justice hosts a panel of business leaders from across West Virginia for a meeting to discuss his plan to repeal the state personal income tax

According to a press release, Justice hopes repealing the state income tax will draw in more residents - as the state has seen population decrease in recent years

Justice claimed in a tweet that the proposal will give residents more 'net-positive dollars in their pockets'

Justice also wrote on Twitter that the tax changes will 'fast track' the state to a successful future

It would also expand sales tax to include computer hardware and software, advertising, electronic data processing, gym memberships and professional services - including legal and accounting services.

The proposal would also affect the state's soft drink tax for the first time since 1951, as well as tobacco products and alcoholic beverages.

A pack of cigarettes or like product would see a new $2.25 excise tax, up from $1.20, according to the bill text. A 31-gallon barrel of beer would now have a $29.25 tax - up from $5.50. Bottled soft drinks would see a 6 cent tax - up from just 1 cent.

'We've got a strong economy, the state is right side up, and with this, it will take us to another level beyond belief,' Justice said.

West Virginians who make less than $35,000 annually would get a tax rebate check, which WVNews reported would be about $1,483.

'So we came up with $52 million in cash rebates to those people, so they can pay a little more in consumer sales tax ... and still end up with money in their pocket,' Justice said, according to Fox News.

If the proposal is passed into law, Justice said checks would nearly double by the third year.

'You'd be from the planet Mongo if you didn't think something would come,' Justice said, according to WVNews.

Justice hopes that the tax proposal will bring people to the state which has seen its population decrease 3.8% between 2010 and 2020, marking the steepest rate of population decline in the country, according to a press release.

'It could be an avalanche of people coming to move to West Virginia because we don't have an income tax. We know some will come, and that will help.'

Other states with no income tax include: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming.


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.
KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MI  Jason Fritz, the band director at Comstock High School, has died of injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash, the school district said.

It is with a heavy heart that we regret to inform you that our beloved Comstock Band Director, Jason Fritz, passed away Tuesday evening , Superintendent Jeffrey Thoenes wrote in a Wednesday, March 24, letter to families in the school district.

Jason was a talented, dedicated, and valued member of the Comstock community, he wrote. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, colleagues, friends, and students.

The Comstock Band Boosters held a candlelight vigil Wednesday night at the high school.

Counselors are available to help support students.

Read more:

Grand Rapids police strategic plan hits hiccup with union contract dispute

Kalamazoo pastor accused of assaulting deacon found not guilty
(CNN)  Boris Johnson, the UK's gaffe-prone Prime Minister, is making frantic attempts to row back on comments made in a private meeting with lawmakers from his own Conservative party on Tuesday night.

During the weekly "1922 Committee" meeting of Conservative backbenchers, Johnson made an unguarded comment in which he claimed that the UK's successful vaccine rollout was "because of capitalism, because of greed, my friends," multiple sources who were on the call have confirmed to CNN.

Realizing how controversial his comments could be if made public, Johnson then retracted them almost immediately, according to the sources, saying "actually I regret saying it ... forget I said that."

Johnson's spokespeople have declined to provide CNN with a comment on the matter.

A spokesperson for the opposition Labour party told CNN: "The idea that acts of selfishness ... have got us through this crisis seems very odd: It's hard to work out where the Prime Minister is coming from there."

The timing of these comments could be troubling for the Prime Minister, as the European Commission prepares to lay out its plans for tougher export controls on Covid-19 vaccines produced within the bloc.

Brussels' vaccine plan has been hindered by supply and distribution problems.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is expected to target companies within the EU that the Commission believes are not honoring the contracts signed with Brussels when it negotiated deals for vaccines on behalf of the 27 member states.

The plans are also expected to include new powers allowing the EU to withhold deliveries to countries that do not reciprocally export vaccines back to the EU.

Leaders from the EU's 27 member states will meet virtually on Thursday to discuss the Commission's recommendations.

Leaders from Germany and Ireland have already urged caution over export measures that would target countries.

The UK, which opted not to take part in the EU's vaccine strategy, has been rolling out its program to immunize citizens notably faster than the rest of the continent. Domestically, this has been framed by many as an upshot of Brexit and an example of what can be done now the country is free of the EU's bureaucratic yoke.

The European Medicines Agency has been criticized for being slow to approve vaccines, so other EU nations have turned to Russia and China to plug the gaps in vaccine supply through unilateral procurement deals.

The UK's relative success has been embarrassing for the EU. Any complaints that the UK is not playing fairly or suggestions of retroactive measures are easy to frame as petulance from Brussels, an attempt to blame others for its own failures.

However, Johnson's greed comments could prove useful for a Commission trying to unite member states and paint the UK as the bad guy.

Which raises the key question: Why did Johnson say this?

Those present at the meeting have offered up theories that the Prime Minister was "clearly joking" to a room of friends, as he'd spent the whole meeting "praising AstraZeneca for not seeking profit," to suggestions he was "speaking in a typical Boris rambly way" and stumbled into discussing how the left-wing opposition Labour party opposes any private investment in the National Health Service.

"He was talking off the cuff, I think, then suddenly remembered he was Prime Minister," one lawmaker present at the meeting told CNN.

There is no denying, though, that the timing of his remarks is poor.

The vaccine rollout has been a rare success in Johnson's response to the pandemic.

The UK still has the highest death toll from coronavirus in Europe.

Anything that dents the vaccination program and delays his plans to take Britons out of lockdown could severely damage the Prime Minister and his government at a time they can ill afford a serious knock  least of all one delivered by the European Union.

This story was first published on CNN.com "Boris Johnson's latest gaffe could threaten Britain's vaccine rollout"
AMHERST  U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern said he saw something Thursday hed never seen before.

Ive never seen a place where people are getting a shot and happy to be there. This is an incredible job of responding to the needs of the community, an incredible public service, McGovern said after a tour of the University of Massachusetts Amherst vaccine clinic at the Campus Center. Theres a light at the end of the tunnel, but to get there, everybody needs to get vaccinated.

The UMass vaccine clinic is handling between 650 and 700 vaccinations a day, according to Ann Becker, the universitys public health director. She said nearly 15,000 people have been vaccinated.

McGovern toured the operation with UMass Amherst Chancellor Kumble R. Subbaswamy, and praised not just the efficiency of the clinical staff, but its spirit. In addition to praising McGoverns support, Subbaswamy said tuition fees would remain stable for the 2021-22 academic year, and that the campus would return to nearly its pre-pandemic level of interaction, in-person learning and activity.

Ive always said that in times of crisis, we see the goodness of the American people, and we see it here. UMass is not an island in the community, its a part of the community and in times like these, thats so important, Subbaswamy said.

He added: This has been a traumatic time for so many people, but were feeling a sense of relief.

McGovern, a Worcester Democrat whose Massachusetts 2nd Congressional District includes Amherst, used the occasion to trumpet the American Rescue Plan. He said the $1.9 trillion package will ensure all Americans have access to vaccines.

Asked if future bipartisan legislation could eventually replace party partisanship, he didnt sound optimistic.

I think the American Rescue Plan had bipartisan support, everywhere except in Washington, D.C. Republican mayors and governors, who were in touch with whats happening on the ground, were for it, McGovern said.

In Washington, the bill divided the two parties, but Democrats control the Senate (with a tiebreaking vote by Vice President Kamala Harris if necessary), House and White House. McGovern said future political urgencies will include not just more COVID-19 action but infrastructure improvements and, very likely, gun control.

The prime topic Thursday was vaccination. Subbaswamy said UMass was proud not only to operate the clinic, but to give hands-on experience to nursing school students who are helping it succeed.

We are grateful for the work of Rep. McGovern, as chairman of the powerful House Rules Committee, for the relief bill that includes much-needed funding, Subbaswamy said. This will boost our efforts in COVID-19 testing and help our school return to as close to normal as possible in the fall.

Subbaswamy credited Becker and Jeffrey Hescock, executive director of environmental health and safety, for their supervision of the vaccine clinic.

The chancellor said he is optimistic that the fall semester at UMass will resemble pre-pandemic campus and classroom activity to a great degree. He said he expected masks and social distancing to remain in place, and some classes might be smaller than in the past  but by and large, UMass will be able to restore its traditional method of operation.

The university is currently formulating its fall 2021 plan in more specific terms, he said. The school announced this week that after a steep rise in COVID-19 cases in February, it was dropping its risk level from elevated to guarded. The risk levels are used to set safety guidelines during the pandemic.

McGovern acknowledged the problems Massachusetts has encountered in a vaccine distribution process that drew national attention for its unwieldy rollout.

It got off to a bumpy start, but I think were doing much better, he said. McGovern added that the Rescue Plan leaves no excuse for disparities that have plagued Western Massachusetts counties, some of which have received fewer doses per capita than other parts of the state.

He credited the UMass site, which includes a spacious 15-minute waiting area for people to sit after receiving their shots, as user-friendly. While vaccinations were the reason for the tour, much of McGoverns press conference was spent touting the impact of the American Rescue Plan.

He said economists predict the package will bring the American economy back to nearly full employment, as opposed to the three-year time frame predicted without it.

The plan will bring back jobs, put kids back in schools and put money in peoples pockets. And it will ensure that all Americans know when, where and how to get a vaccination, McGovern said.

Related content:
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.
Secret evidence could shed light on whether MI5 and police failed to prevent the Fishmongers' Hall attack, a court has heard.

Cambridge University graduates Jack Merritt, 25, and Saskia Jones, 23, were killed by convicted terrorist Usman Khan at a prisoner rehabilitation event near London Bridge on November 29 2019.

Khan, 28, who was armed with two knives and wore a fake suicide vest, was tackled by members of the public and then shot dead by police on London Bridge.

Cambridge University graduates Jack Merritt, 25, and Saskia Jones, 23, were killed by convicted terrorist Usman Khan at a prisoner rehabilitation event near London Bridge on November 29 2019

A full inquest is due to start on April 12 before Coroner Mark Lucraft QC at the Guildhall in central London.

At a pre-inquest hearing on Thursday, a public interest immunity (PII) application was made for material to remain secret in the interests of national security.

Jesse Nicholls, for the Merritt family, said: 'The evidence over which PII is claimed appears to be of central relevance to one of, if not the central issue in these inquests - whether the attack could and should have been prevented.

'That is a matter of the greatest importance to Jack's family and the wider public.'

He said the open evidence led to 'significant concern that opportunities were missed to prevent Khan's attack'.

He pointed out that Khan had previously been convicted of plotting to carry out attacks at central London landmarks and against high-profile individuals.

MI5 had long-held concerns about him and he was assessed at or near the 'very highest level' of risk up to his release from prison, the court heard.

Security services were informed that he intended to re-engage in terrorism-related activity, including carrying out an attack, following his release, Mr Nicholls said.

Usman Khan, pictured, stabbed Mr Merritt and Ms Jones before he was shot dead by police

And both MI5 and counter-terrorism police continued to have concerns about Khan in the months leading to the attack, it was alleged.

Khan was subject to active monitoring and MI5 was concerned that his apparent compliance may have been a manipulative attempt to avoid scrutiny from the authorities, the court heard.

On November 18 2019, just 11 days before the attack, MI5 and counter-terrorism police identified Khan as being increasingly withdrawn and at risk of re-engaging in Islamist extremist activity, it was claimed.

Even though they knew he was intending to travel to the Learning Together event in central London with high-profile guests, no steps were taken to stop him going or to alert organisers, Mr Nicholls said.

If the PII claim is upheld, the inquests would not ask and answer the 'central questions' and comply with the statutory duty of inquiry, he argued.

Mr Nicholls said the family would then invite the coroner to convene an inquiry.

He said the family do so 'with their eyes open to the consequences'.

He added: 'It is what Jack would have wanted. For them, they want it to be got right.'

Jonathan Hough QC, counsel to the inquests, said that if the PII application is successful, consideration should be made as to whether the inquest could carry out a 'satisfactory' investigation or if a public inquiry request is needed.

Khan was challenged outside the Fishmonger's Hall by members of the public before the arrival of police

The inquest will include a large amount of witness and documentary evidence on the critical decision to allow Khan to travel to London, he said.

The security service's 'witness A' could be questioned on key information received by MI5 and whether it was shared with others.

There is no suggestion that the PII material contains evidence of attack planning, the court was told.

Mr Hough said there is no evidence that Khan did anything in public that would point to attack planning or that he shared his plans with anyone.

Following submissions in open court, the pre-inquest hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice continued with the PII application in a closed hearing.
NHS England today downgraded its coronavirus alert level because so few patients are in hospital with the virus.

Chief executive Sir Simon Stevens recommended the health service was moved from the highest level of four to level three due to 'much reduced acute pressures on the health service'.

He cited the fact there are currently just 4,000 coronavirus patients being treated in English hospitals, down from 34,000 at the peak in mid-January.

It means nationally there are now only 400 more patients in hospitals with all conditions than there were last year, before the pandemic struck.

Level four means health bosses believe there is a real threat that an expected influx of Covid-19 patients could start to force the closure of other vital services.

A level three alert signals the Covid virus is in general circulation but is unlikely to overwhelm the health service anytime soon.

Sir Simon credited 'both declining infection rates across the community and the impact that's now being felt from the vaccination programme' for the dramatic reduction in hospitalisations.

Britain has vaccinated around 54 per cent of all adults  almost 28.7million people. But only 5 per cent of people  2.5million  have had both jabs since the mass scheme began last December.

NHS England today downgraded its coronavirus alert level from four to three because of 'much reduced acute pressures on the health service'

Chief executive Sir Simon Stevens recommended the move due to the 'much reduced acute pressures on the health service'

NHS England was upgraded to a level four alert level in November when the number of Covid inpatients breached 10,000.

Sir Simon said today: 'We had over 34,000 severely ill coronavirus patients in our hospitals in mid January. That number is now 4,000.

'Although that is still about 400 more Covid patients than we had this same day a year ago, nevertheless that very sharp decrease in the number of patients with Covid in hospital is a consequence of both declining infection rates across the community and the impact that's now being felt from the vaccination programme.

Kent NHS trust fears Covid surge in JUNE that could see it treat as many infected patients as it did during last April's peak An NHS trust fears it could face a huge Covid surge this summer  and is preparing to treat as many infected patients as it did last April. Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells, which was hit hard in the second wave, expects up to 100 beds to be occupied by coronavirus patients in mid-June under a 'reasonably optimistic' scenario. But it warns this could double to 200 beds  more than a quarter of those available  if vaccine uptake is poor, hampered by supply issues or affected by new variants. The trust, which runs two hospitals, saw 90 beds occupied by Covid patients in the peak of the first wave last spring. But this spiralled to more than 300 during the darkest days of the second wave, after the more infectious Kent variant triggered a devastating outbreak. The forecasts were based on modelling by local health chiefs. But NHS sources said similar plans made at other trusts were based on gloomy predictions from SAGE that there could be a third wave of hospitalisations later this year. Experts have poked holes in SAGE's forecasting, pointing out that coronaviruses are seasonal and spreads better in the winter. Advertisement

'As a result of those much reduced acute pressures on the health service, today I'm recommending that we reduce the national alert level across the health service - the EPRR alert level - from level four to level three, and that would take effect today.'

Across the UK as a whole cases have been plummeting in recent weeks. There are on average 5,500 new infections every day now, compared to 60,000 in January.

This, combined with the fact the vaccines have been given to the vast majority of people in the top nine priority groups already, has led to a drastic fall in hospital rates.

Daily Covid admissions stood at 360 yesterday, latest figures show, compared to 4,000 at the peak in the winter.

The health service was originally put on a level four alert in January ahead of the first peak of the epidemic, but it was downgraded in August when England successfully flattened its curve through lockdown.

Despite the triumph of the vaccines and plethora of encouraging statistics, there are still lingering fears among some in the NHS of another spike in admissions when lockdown lifts.

It emerged today that the NHS trust in Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells, in Kent, which was hit hard in the second wave, has already started planning for a wave as big as the one last spring.

The trust expects up to 100 beds to be occupied by coronavirus patients in mid-June under a 'reasonably optimistic' scenario.

But it warned this could double to 200 beds  more than a quarter of those available  if vaccine uptake is poor, hampered by supply issues or affected by new variants.

The trust, which runs two hospitals, saw 90 beds occupied by Covid patients in the peak of the first wave last spring.

But this spiralled to more than 300 during the darkest days of the second wave, after the more infectious Kent variant triggered a devastating outbreak.

The forecasts were based on modelling by local health chiefs. But NHS sources said similar plans made at other trusts were based on gloomy predictions from SAGE that there could be a third wave of hospitalisations later this year.

The Trust's meeting minutes, revealed by the Health Service Journal, showed they estimated a peak in Covid hospitalisations in the summer.

'With schools returning and public behaviour changing, infection levels have a high probability of starting to pick up again in the younger, less medically vulnerable populations,' they said.

'This was observed in autumn, when case counts started to rise in the younger population, but hospital admissions remained very low until a few weeks later, when infections started to rise in older populations.'

But the trust also predicts hospitalisations should start to tail off from June in its 'optimistic scenario' as the pandemic starts to 'burn itself out'.

They said this would be because the percentage of the population protected against the virus, either from vaccination or prior infection, would hit the critical 70 to 75 per cent 'herd immunity' level.

Ministers are aiming to vaccinate every adult in the country  52million people  by the end of July.

But their roll-out has hit a snag this week amid a blocked delivery of 5million doses from India, and EU threats of a vaccines export ban.

And as the clock ticks down to when second doses must be administered en masse, millions of jabs are being held back to ensure the NHS has adequate supplies.
WASHINGTON, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) announces its American Image Award honorees to be celebrated virtually on June 21, 2021. Celebrating Fashion's Future, the 2021 honorees exemplify leadership, excellence, and outstanding achievement in all sectors of the apparel and footwear industry, including design, manufacturing, and retail.

Honoree Slate for the 2021 AAFA American Image Awards

The honorees are: HanesBrands, Inc.  Company of the Year; Walmart - Retail Innovator of the Year; Gabriela Hearst  Designer of the Year; Black in Fashion Council (BIFC)  Fashion Maverick; and the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) as the inaugural recipient of the Eco-Steward of the Year. Celebrating a fifth year in partnership, the gala benefits the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Foundation.

The association has launched the Eco-Steward of the Year award to honor the industry's movement to accelerate its eco-journey and fashion's contribution to protect the future of our planet and its people.

"This spring, we will celebrate the brilliant thread of unity that our industry has rallied around for the past year. We are energized around new realities, confronting new challenges, and advancing new opportunities," said Steve Lamar, president and CEO of AAFA. "On June 21, we celebrate this industry's future, honoring the talents and contributions of our incredible honorees as well as their ability to empower and inspire so many more."

"This past year has been testing for the fashion industry, and designers and retail businesses have had to navigate new challenges," said Steven Kolb, CEO of the CFDA. "We are very pleased to see how this time has aimed focus on important issues in fashion such as diversity and inclusion, sustainability, and overall excellence, as our talent pivots to look to the future."

2021 American Image Awards Honorees

Company of the Year  HanesBrands, Inc., accepted by Mike Faircloth, Group President, Global Operations

HanesBrands, based in Winston-Salem, N.C., is a socially responsible leading marketer of everyday basic innerwear and activewear apparel in the Americas, Europe, Australia and Asia-Pacific. The company sells its products under some of the world's strongest apparel brands, including Hanes, Champion, Bonds Maidenform, DIM, Bali, Playtex, Bras N Things, Nur Die/Nur Der, Alternative, L'eggs, JMS/Just My Size, Lovable, Wonderbra, Berlei and Gear for Sports. The company sells T-shirts, bras, panties, shapewear, underwear, socks, hosiery, and activewear produced in the company's low-cost global supply chain. A Fortune 500 company and member of the S&P 500 stock Index, Hanes has approximately 61,000 employees in more than 40 countries.

Retail Innovator of the Year  Walmart, accepted by Denise Incandela, Executive Vice President, Apparel Division and Private Brands

What started small, with a single discount store and the simple idea of selling more for less, has grown over the last 50 years into the largest retailer in the world. Each week, approximately 220 million customers and members visit approximately 10,500 stores and clubs under 48 banners in 24 countries and eCommerce websites. In the U.S. alone, nearly 90% of the population lives within 10 miles of a Walmart. Transforming the customer experience now and into the future through innovation and an integrated omnichannel approach is bringing a much talked about future into a speedy reality. Advancing new opportunities for partnership and alignment with brands and suppliers, Walmart's unwavering commitment to retail excellence has profoundly benefitted our industry.

Eco-Steward of the Year  Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), accepted by Amina Razvi, Executive Director

The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) is an industry-wide group of more than 250 leading apparel, footwear and textile, brands, retailers, suppliers, service providers, trade associations, nonprofits, NGOs and academic institutions working to reduce environmental impact and promote social justice throughout the global value chain. Leveraging the Higg Index suite of tools for the standardized measurement of value chain sustainability, the SAC is working to transform business for exponential impact.

Designer of the Year  Gabriela Hearst

Melding luxury with sustainability, Gabriela Hearst is a collection of women's and men's ready-to-wear and accessories, built on the principles of timelessness, uncompromising quality and sustainability. Born in Uruguay, the designer grew up on her family's 17,000-acre ranch surrounded by horses, cattle and sheep, where the notion of luxury meant that things were beautifully crafted and made to last. In 2015, she launched her brand fusing the values of enduring utilitarian beauty learned on the ranch with her reality as a professional woman seeking practical elegance in her daily life. She has since received the 2016/17 International Woolmark Prize for Womenswear and was the 2018 recipient of the Pratt Institute Fashion Visionary Award. In 2020, she won the American Womenswear Designer of the Year Award at the CFDA Fashion Awards. The British Fashion Council awarded Gabriela with the 2020 Fashion Award in the Environment Category, celebrating her work and the positive change it has within the fashion industry.

Fashion Maverick  Black in Fashion Council (BIFC), accepted by Sandrine Charles and Lindsay Peoples Wagner, Co-Founders

Founded in 2018 the Black in Fashion Council (BIFC) has become an essential voice of our time, forging a platform enabling fashion and beauty to truly reflect the diversity of our world. The organization is made up of a resilient group of editors, models, stylists, media executives, assistants, freelance creatives, and industry stakeholders, all aiming to build a new foundation for inclusivity. By fostering meaningful and measurable change, they are blazing a trail for the American fashion industry to achieve an equitable and representative workplace and are also ensuring an indelible transformation at all levels of our industry. More than just a catalyst of inclusion, the BIFC is elevating the stature of our industry for all.

Additional information on the American Image Awards can be found at americanimageawards.org.

Supporters are encouraged to join the conversation using #AmericanImageAwards.

About the American Apparel & Footwear Association

The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) is the national trade association representing apparel, footwear and other sewn products companies, and their suppliers, which compete in the global market. Representing more than 1,000 world famous name brands, we are the trusted public policy and political voice of the apparel and footwear industry, its management and shareholders, its nearly four million U.S. workers, and its contribution of more than $400 billion in annual U.S. retail sales. AAFA provides exclusive expertise in trade, brand protection, and supply chain & manufacturing to help our members navigate the complex regulatory environment and lower costs. Members gain unparalleled access to information and exclusive insights on regulation and policy, and premier opportunities for networking and collaboration.

Media Contact:

R. Scott French

[email protected]

917.816.0665

SOURCE American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA)

Related Links

https://www.americanimageawards.org


In this Monday, March. 22, 2021, file photo, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam receives the second dose of the Sinovac Biotech COVID-19 vaccine at a Central Government office in Hong Kong. Hong Kong's sudden suspension of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech is another blow to a vaccination program already struggling against a wall of public distrust. Hong Kong on Wednesday, March 24, 2021, suspended use of the Pfizer vaccine, distributed by Chinese pharmaceutical firm Fosun Pharma, after defective packaging such as loose vial lids and cracks on bottles were found in one of two batches of the vaccine. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)

Hong Kong's sudden suspension of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech is another blow to a vaccination program already struggling against a wall of public distrust.

Hong Kong on Wednesday suspended use of the Pfizer vaccine, distributed by Chinese pharmaceutical firm Fosun Pharma, after defective packaging such as loose vial lids and cracks on bottles were found in one of two batches of the vaccine.

For now, Hong Kong residents can only get the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine, which is reported to have an efficacy rate of 62%, compared with Pfizer's 97%. Wariness toward the Sinovac shot has grown after seven people who were vaccinated with it died, though authorities say the deaths were not linked to the vaccine.

When the government launched the vaccination drive in February, 66-year-old Chan Yuet Lin was eager to get inoculated. A mainland Chinese immigrant in the semi-autonomous city, she hoped vaccination would help her eventually visit her family in the Chinese mainland, whom she had not seen since the pandemic began, without enduring onerous quarantines.

But after seeing reports on television that several people with chronic illnesses had died days after having the Sinovac vaccine, Chan decided against getting inoculated.

"I have high blood pressure, high cholesterol and high blood sugar. Right now with my health condition I don't think I can get the shot, I will wait and see," she said, adding that she planned to seek her doctor's advice at her next appointment.

In this Feb. 23, 2021, file photo, health workers look at a vial and a syringe while administering a dose of the Sinovac Biotech COVID-19 vaccine at a community vaccination center in Hong Kong. Hong Kong's sudden suspension of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech is another blow to a vaccination program already struggling against a wall of public distrust. Hong Kong on Wednesday, March 24, 2021, suspended use of the Pfizer vaccine, distributed by Chinese pharmaceutical firm Fosun Pharma, after defective packaging such as loose vial lids and cracks on bottles were found in one of two batches of the vaccine. (Paul Yeung/Pool Photo via AP, File)

Since vaccinations began on Feb. 26, about 5.7% of Hong Kong's 7.2 million residents have gotten inoculateda far cry from a goal of vaccinating 70%. The slow uptake trails Singapore's. It started giving COVID-19 shots just days before Hong Kong and has administered vaccines to more than 13% of its population of 5.7 million.

The government has expanded the range of people who can get the shots, allowing those 30 and above after initially prioritizing those 60 and older, and employees from essential industries. It is considering giving the shots to anyone older than 16.

Slow progress on vaccinations could slow the city's economic recovery. Hong Kong is still grappling with coronavirus outbreaks and stringent social distancing measures that are especially hard on bars, restaurants and the tourism industry. The jobless rate climbed to 7.2% in February, the highest level since 2004.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam and health officials are urging people to get vaccinated. They insist the shots, including the Sinovac vaccine, are safe. Hong Kong, a former British colony, relies heavily on tourism but has been closed to foreign visitors since March 2020 and Lam has said social distancing precautions and border controls can only be relaxed after most people have gotten the shots.

"If we can't control the epidemic, there's nothing we can do about the economy," she told lawmakers last week.

Hesitancy toward the vaccines partly reflects growing mistrust of the government, as Beijing has asserted growing influence following months of anti-government protests in 2019. Authorities have arrested and jailed dozens of pro-democracy activists under a tough new national security law.

In this Feb. 26, 2021, file photo, people line up to receive China's Sinovac COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine at a community vaccination center in Hong Kong. Hong Kong's sudden suspension of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech is another blow to a vaccination program already struggling against a wall of public distrust. Hong Kong on Wednesday, March 24, 2021, suspended use of the Pfizer vaccine, distributed by Chinese pharmaceutical firm Fosun Pharma, after defective packaging such as loose vial lids and cracks on bottles were found in one of two batches of the vaccine. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, file)

Some residents are worried by the seven deaths that occurred after Sinovac shots.

"According to the government, none of the deaths are related to the vaccine. Most of the patients had cardiovascular conditions, so there must be some association, but the government seems to be trying to dissociate it," said Belinda Lin, a Hong Kong resident in her 30s.

"It's an issue of responsibility, the willingness to take responsibility  I haven't seen this yet," said Lin, who does not plan to get the vaccine as she says there is a lack of studies showing long-term effects.

"From what we've seen in the news so far it seems like people have more side effects from the (Sinovac) vaccine that's less effective," said Agnes Wong, a sales executive in Hong Kong who also had no immediate plans to get vaccinated.

Unease over the vaccines, which were developed in under a year using varying levels of clinical trials, are not confined to Hong Kong.

In Europe, reports of problems with blood clotting following the AstraZeneca shot raised concerns. So have questions over some of AstraZeneca's clinical data.

In this Wednesday, March 24, 2021 file photo, a notice of vaccine suspension, left, is placed as people queue up outside a vaccination center for BioNTech in Hong Kong. Hong Kong's sudden suspension of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech is another blow to a vaccination program already struggling against a wall of public distrust. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

The number of people who have booked but failed to show up for their Sinovac vaccine appointments currently stands at around 20%, up from about 11% a week into the program. That compares with a 5% no-show rate for the Pfizer shot before those were halted.

Martin Wong, a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, co-authored a survey published in January that showed only 37% of Hong Kong residents were willing to get a COVID-19 vaccine. He says the technology used, a manufacturer's track record and reports of side effects can all affect willingness to get the shots.

The government has advised people with chronic illnesses to ask their doctors before getting the COVID-19 vaccines. That can be difficult for many underprivileged Hong Kong seniors, said Ivan Lin from the rights advocacy group Society of Community Organization.

"The public health system should be more proactive in providing advice," said Lin. "For many of these elderly, their long-term illnesses are taken care of by public hospitals where appointments take place every three months, so they are not able to get (timely) medical advice."

Policies that would reward people for getting vaccinated are essential, says Wong.

"New incentives may be required such as exemptions from certain travel bans or issuance of a certificate of vaccination that can be used for different purposes," he said.

Residents line up against Hong Kong's business district to get tested for the coronavirus at a temporary testing center for COVID-19 in Hong Kong on March 16, 2021. Hong Kong's sudden suspension of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech is another blow to a vaccination program already struggling against a wall of public distrust. Hong Kong on Wednesday, March 24, 2021, suspended use of the Pfizer vaccine, distributed by Chinese pharmaceutical firm Fosun Pharma, after defective packaging such as loose vial lids and cracks on bottles were found in one of two batches of the vaccine. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

Lam, the city's leader, has said the government might considering such measures, such as relaxing certain social distancing restrictions. Hong Kong is also discussing with Chinese authorities on easing restrictions for travelers who are vaccinated.

That might work for some.

Bilal Hussain, a doctoral student at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, signed up to receive his first shot of the Sinovac vaccine after learning that China had eased its policy to allow foreign workers and their families to apply for visas into the country.

Hussain's wife and 5-year-old son are in China. He hasn't seen them since January 2020.

"I'm hoping that maybe in the near future, China will open up their borders for students who have been vaccinated," he said.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
SEOUL (Reuters) - A court hearing in a trial involving Samsung Electronics vice chairman Jay Y. Lee has been postponed to April 22, court records showed, with South Korean newspapers saying he still has a fever after receiving emergency surgery last week.

Lee, who has been jailed at the Seoul Detention Center since January for a two-and-a-half-year sentence of bribery and other charges, had the surgery on Friday for a burst appendix, Seoul media reported previously.

Lee, 52, is South Korea's most powerful businessman. Protracted legal uncertainty and concerns over his health have been seen as hindrances to the group's ownership restructuring following the death of Lee's father in October.

The vice chairman had symptoms even earlier, but his hospitalisation and surgery were delayed to Friday, the Korea Economic Daily reported late on Wednesday, citing unnamed medical and industry sources.

This delay led to "partial necrosis and removing of a part of the large intestine", and though "his life is not in danger, a fever of 38 degrees or above (Celsius) persists", newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported late on Wednesday, citing an unnamed medical source.

Seoul Central District Court records showed that a hearing on a trial of Lee and 10 others in a separate case that was previously scheduled for Thursday was postponed to April 22. The case related to suspected accounting fraud and stock price manipulation connected to a 2015 merger.

Samsung Electronics, Seoul Detention Center and Samsung Medical Center, where Lee is hospitalised, declined to comment.

Lee still needs to serve 18 months jail time, after serving a year in 2017-2018 for the bribery case.

(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
The latest Corruption Perception Index (CPI) says Nigeria scored 25/100 which is by one point less than its 26 points in the previous year.

The Nigerian government has again rejected the assessment of Buhari administration by Transparency International (TI).

PREMIUM TIMES reported how Nigeria dropped in the 2020 corruption ranking released by Transparency International (TI) last month.

An indicator that corruption is perceived to have worsened in the country within the last one year, the country dropped three places and scored lower in number of points than in its previous year's record.

The latest Corruption Perception Index (CPI) says Nigeria scored 25/100 which is by one point less than its 26 points in the previous year.

It says Nigeria is now 149 out of 180 countries, a record that is three steps lower than its rank of 146 in 2019.

In the 2018 index, Nigeria rose by four places on the index from 148 to 144.

When the report was first released, the Nigerian government had said the report did not adequately reflect the government's anti-corruption effort.

On Wednesday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, fielding questions from State House correspondents in Abuja, described the rating as unfair and unacceptable.

He said: "I think that I'm aware of that particular rating which was not quite flattering to Nigeria, but our position, which I've declared before is that that rating does not truly reflect the great strides that the administration has made in the area of fighting corruption.

"The government has put in place various reforms in fighting corruption, but some of these reforms will take time to yield the desired results because the matrix used by TI is not just about grafts alone.

"It includes how transparent or how opaque the services are and you'll find out that when we scored in the 2018, 2019 transparency reports, we realised that we scored very low in the area of ease of doing business in particular."

The minister stated that the federal government had embarked on various reforms aimed at tackling cases of corrupt practices in both private and public sectors of the economy to improve the country's rating by Transparency International (TI).

"That is why the federal government embarked on reforms, especially at the seaports, because that is one area where we scored very low.

"You will see that in recent times, we've embarked on numerous reforms at our seaports so that our rating will improve.

"For instance, we realised that following the release of 2019 TI corruption perception index, we initiated reforms to improve on ease of doing business indices.

"This is because we found that up to 40 per cent of the country's corruption perception survey indices related to business, process and general public service delivery.

"So, that is why we are concentrating on the ease of doing business, making sure that people can get to the ports, clear the goods in good time and by the time some of these forms start yielding fruits, I'm sure that perception will improve," he added.

Mr Mohammed further disclosed that the federal government had put in place a preventive mechanism to check corruption rather than prosecution.

He said: "We believe that it's more important to put in place preventive mechanism rather than prosecution and this preventive mechanism that we've put in place include the programme launched by the ICPC, which is what they called the National Ethics Policy."

According to him, this policy addresses integrity issues in all sectors of the polity and is directly linked to the pillar of national anti-corruption strategy.

He revealed that the Code of Conduct Bureau had also put in place some preventive measures, especially in the area of energising the code of conduct for public officers

Mr Mohammed disclosed that the Council for Ease of Doing Business recently launched the Nigerian Ports Process manual meant to help people doing business at the nation ports.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Corruption Nigeria By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"In addition, we actually also analysed the process that the TI used in the rating that was used recently and we found quite a few discrepancies in the rating process, including some data sources in which Nigeria's course has remained flat over the past 10 years.

"What we said is that we take these ratings seriously, so we actually went and analysed the ratings and we found that there've been some gaps.

"It's either we've not flooded enough data or they have not revised all data because we found it strange that the country's rating in certain areas has remained the same for a period of 10 years.

"We are taking the media measures so that they can get this data in respect of these sectors because we believe that it's not possible for you not to improve, for you not to lose points for 10 years. So there's a bit of discrepancy there," he said.

(NAN)
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.
(CNN)  China and the European Union rang in the new year by striking a major investment deal intended to strengthen their trade ties. A contentious spat over human rights could now doom the agreement.

The European Union joined the United States and United Kingdom this week in punishing Chinese officials with sanctions over alleged human rights abuses in the country's Xinjiang region. Beijing fired back with sanctions of its own on 10 EU politicians, including members of parliament and four entities, for "maliciously spreading lies."

Valdis Dombrovskis, the European Union trade commissioner, said the fate of the investment agreement, which has not yet been ratified by the European Parliament, is now in doubt.

"China's retaliatory sanctions are regrettable and unacceptable," Dombrovskis told the Financial Times in remarks confirmed by his spokesperson. "The prospects for ... ratification will depend on how the situation evolves."

The European Commission, which negotiates trade deals for the 27 EU countries, had already come under fire from members of parliament and activist groups for moving ahead with the investment agreement without securing stronger commitments from China on labor and human rights protections.

China's dramatic response to sanctions means the investment deal now faces an even tougher path to ratification, underscoring just how difficult it will be for the European Union to balance its economic interests with human rights concerns, especially as the United States wants to work with allies to challenge Beijing.

"The lifting of sanctions against [members of the European parliament] is a pre-condition for us to enter into talks with the Chinese government on the investment deal," said Kathleen van Brempt, a member of the European Parliament and spokesperson for the Socialists and Democrats. "We will not be intimidated, we will not be silenced."

Guy Verhofstadt, a member of European Parliament and the former prime minister of Belgium, said that China's decision to fire back over sanctions had "killed" the deal.

A complicated deal

The investment agreement  which aims to promote sustainable development, and improve access for EU investors to China's economy in areas such as health, financial services and electric cars  was always going to be tricky to finalize.

Increased tensions between the United States and China are one major reason. Washington is confronting China on a range of economic issues including market access and trade, and it has even accused Beijing of carrying out "genocide" against Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang. That's forcing other countries to pick sides.

"The China-EU investment deal has always been a long-shot," said Alex Capri, a research fellow at Hinrich Foundation and a visiting senior fellow at National University of Singapore.

Capri said concessions China made to the United States as part of last year's trade truce with the Trump administration had pushed Europe to revive its own agreement. But while Brussels wants to keep up a "robust" trading relationship with Beijing, he said, the bloc will "continue to pivot" to the United States on many issues, including alignment on artificial intelligence and strategic supply chains.

"It'll be awkward for the European Parliament to ratify an investment deal with a country that's sanctioned several," of its members, said Nick Marro, the lead for global trade at the Economist Intelligence Unit, in a commentary published Tuesday.

Not dead just yet

Marro said that the investment deal isn't "dead on arrival" just yet. And several experts have pointed out that it's in Beijing's best interest to bolster economic ties: China is the European Union's second biggest trading partner behind the United States, while the European Union is China's largest trading partner, according to the European Commission.

"The biggest risk to the [investment deal] is not Beijing pulling out, but unleashing an aggressive response that undercuts European support for the pact," wrote analysts at Eurasia Group in a research note published late last week.

Some influential voices in China appear to understand that, too. Hu Xijin, the editor of the state-run tabloid the Global Times, played up the "symbolic" nature of the sanctions Tuesday on his Weibo account.

"Please note that the mutual sanctions didn't touch trade and the economy, so it's mainly just a verbal fight," Hu wrote on the Chinese social media platform. "The essence of China and the West's relations are business. That's the real interest."

A 'costly' approach

Brussels and Beijing have huge incentives to preserve their overall economic relationship and prevent further deterioration.

Still, China may have miscalculated its response. Its new sanctions ban several EU politicians from entering mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. And their related companies and institutions will be restricted from doing business with China.

"Chinese diplomacy seems incapable of taking a measured approach when it comes to responding to perceived public affronts," said Capri, who added that the reaction "will prove to be costly."

Daniel Gros, a distinguished fellow at the Centre for European Policy Studies, said China has "a bit overreacted." But he added that ratification of the investment deal is still a long way off, and the spat may not jeopardize it in the long run.

Even so, geopolitical tensions could increase over the coming year. Gros pointed to Beijing's crackdown on pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong and China's confrontational diplomacy as potential flash points.

"If there's more evidence of human rights violations against the Uyghurs, all these things could and would influence the final decision," Gros said.

 Laura He and Charles Riley contributed to this report.

This story was first published on CNN.com "China may just have doomed its trade deal with Europe".
Amid ongoing attempts to impose more control over the Internet, Russian media regulator Roskomnadzor has proposed users of social-media networks and messenger applications hand over passport data and other personal information for verification.

Roskomnadzor's proposal regarding the change was submitted for public discussion on its website on March 23.

It comes as the Russian government battles U.S. social media over what Moscow says is their failure to follow local regulations.

Roskomnadzor last week announced a slowing down, or throttling, of Twitter's speed across the country for its "failure" to remove what it said was banned content that encouraged suicide among children and information about drugs and child pornography.

The new proposal was drawn up following amendments to personal-data legislation requiring companies from July to receive consent from users to handle some kinds of data.

Under the new proposal, users would be able to submit their consent directly to the company or through Roskomnadzor's unified information system, whichever the user chooses.

During that process, users will be requested to reveal their full names, permanent residence addresses, personal telephone numbers, and electronic addresses.

The data will be verified through the Gosuslugi online state registry, which will be linked with Roskomnadzor.

One of the authors of Russia's new law on personal data, lawmaker Anton Gorelkin of the ruling United Russia party, told the daily Kommersant on March 25 that Roskomnadzor's initiative targeted mainly social networks and instant messengers.

Meanwhile, Mikhail Tretyak, the leader of Roskomsvoboda, an NGO that supports open, self-regulated networks and the protection of the digital rights of Internet users, expressed concerns over the move.

"Neither Roskomnadzor, nor social networks need that amount of data unless they plan to pass them over to law enforcement structures or monetize them via advertisement," Tretyak said, adding that law enforcement might easily misuse the data.

The new proposal also coincides with efforts to tighten control of social media and a clampdown on platforms that have been used to organize protests in support of jailed Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny.

Last month, a law came into force that says social networks must themselves find and delete content banned by Russian law. If a social network is unable to determine if content contains banned materials, it must send that content to Roskomnadzor for an evaluation.

The agency has said that, as of March 10, Twitter had 3,168 posts with banned content on its site, including more than 2,500 posts encouraging suicide among minors. It also referred to content on illegal drugs and pornography.

With reporting by Kommersant
SCHENECTADY  The wife of a Rotterdam man charged in January with causing the death of their 4-year-old foster son was arraigned earlier this week on a 3-count indictment that accuses her of tampering with evidence in the case, according to the Schenectady County district attorney's Office.

The boys 5-year brother, who was also being cared for by Latrisha and Dequan Greene, also suffered injuries, authorities said.

Charlie Garay died at Ellis Hospital from injuries Dequan Greene allegedly inflicted. Prosecutors contend Latrisha Green warned her husband after the child was brought to the hospital on Dec. 20.

Shes at the hospital and she sends him a text that he needs to clean up the house, Assistant District Attorney Christina Tremante-Pelham said, explaining the top count of tampering with physical evidence, a felony, that Latrisha Greene faces.

Latrisha Greene, who appeared in county court Monday with her attorney Danielle Neroni, is also charged with two counts of misdemeanor child endangerment.

She pleaded not guilty and was released pending a future court date.

Neroni did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Dequan Greene remains behind bars without bail charged with murder and manslaughter and other charges. He is being represented by attorney James Tyner.

Tremante-Pelham said the District Attorneys office has handed over evidence to the lawyers representing the husband and wife.

In December, police and paramedics went to the couples Broadway residence for a 911 call reporting that Charlie was in respiratory distress.

Paramedics could not revive the boy, who was later pronounced dead at Ellis Hospital.

Dequan Greene, 27, told authorities that Charlie fell out of a childs chair, began slurring his speech, and passed out. Police say he told others that the child choked.

Authorities say Green called his wife, who was out running errands, instead of calling for help, and only after she got home did the woman call 911.

Rotterdam police say Latrisha Greene texted her husband from Ellis Hospital shortly after speaking to police about Charlies death, asking him to clean the house.

Medical investigators say Charlie died from extensive internal injuries to his liver and intestines caused by blunt force trauma.

His surviving 5-year-old older brother was taken from the Greenes and treated at Albany Medical Center for his injuries including bruises, cuts and a torn frenulum, the fold of skin beneath the tongue.

Authorities say Charlie and his brother are from Albany County and that Schenectady County found them a home because there wasnt a foster family available to take both boys in in their home county.
Senior officials in the Union health ministry said there is no need to panic as the government has ensured that there is no shortage of Covid-19 vaccines in the country.  DC Photo

New Delhi: Due to the big surge in cases again, the Kumbh Mela has been curtailed to one month and Covid negative report has been mandatory for pilgrims. Besides, several states have started imposing restrictions on movement of people and all passengers to Bengaluru will now need to have a Covid-19 negative report from April 1.

The Rajasthan government has issued orders for no functions during Holi and Shab-e-Barat while two-day lockdown is expected to be imposed in Indore on Holi due to rising cases. In Chhattisgarhs Raipur, all tourist places have been shut down and restrictions for Holi have been imposed.

Six states -- Maharashtra, Punjab, Kerala, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat -- are reporting a surge in daily new cases and together they account for 80.63 per cent of the cases reported in the last 24 hours.

While Maharashtra recorded 35,952 cases, Mumbai reported 5,504 fresh cases. Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai has decided to take up testing to at least 60,000 per day in coming weeks to contain the spread.

Given the situation in India, the government has decided to pause Vaccine Maitri, its diplomatic initiative, and temporarily put on hold large exports of the AstraZeneca-Oxford-SII vaccine, Covishield. Indias last commercial shipment was to Namibia on March 22 and the last dispatch of free vaccines was to Malawi on March 18. So far, more than 60 million doses of Made in India vaccines have been supplied to over 75 countries, including through COVAX, led by Gavi, the global vaccine alliance.

With the government opening up vaccination for a larger chunk of population over the age of 45, the demand of vaccines at domestic level is expected to rise manifold forcing the Centre to recalibrate its export commitments. Sources said the Indian government wants to first fulfil its domestic commitment before allowing exports of Covishield. India is likely to remove these restrictions after three months or so when more vaccines like Reddy-SuptnikV and others enter the Indian market in a big way.

Indias decision has irked the UN-backed international vaccine alliance Gavi which blamed India for going back on its export commitments. In a statement, Gavi said deliveries of the Covid-19 vaccines to low-income economies will face delays due to Indias decision to halt exports.

However, sources in the government clarified that India has not imposed any ban on export of the vaccines but is only recalibrating supply schedules due to domestic commitment and manufacturing capacity.

''We had stated that keeping in view the domestic requirements of the phased roll out, India will continue to supply Covid-19 vaccines to partner countries over the coming weeks and months in a phased manner. This position remains unchanged. We have not imposed any ban on exports of vaccines unlike many other countries. We remain committed to help the world with vaccines, including through COVAX Facility. Given our current manufacturing capacity and requirements of national vaccination programmes, there may be a need to calibrate the supply schedules from time to time. All stakeholders would have to work together to adjust the schedules as required. Only by such cooperation, we can collectively deal with the ongoing pandemic, an official said.
The family of a seven-year-old girl who became the youngest victim of army brutality in Myanmar when she was gunned down as she ran into her father's arms have revealed her last words.

Khin Myo Chit was shot inside her home when security forces opened fire in the Chan Mya Thazi township, a suburb of the central city on Tuesday, according to witnesses.

She was rushed out to a car to seek medical treatment but died of bullet wounds just half an hour later.

Her father U Maung Ko Hashin Bai has since told local news outlet Myanmar Muslim Media her last words: 'She said, "I can't father, it's too painful".'

Police also beat and arrested his 19-year-old son.

Khin Myo Chit, seven, was shot inside her home when security forces opened fire in the Chan Mya Thazi township, a suburb of the central city, according to witnesses. Pictured: Photograph reportedly of the girl's body

Khin's older sister May Thu Sumaya told the BBC that police officers had been searching the houses in their neighbourhood on Tuesday to search for weapons and make arrests.

The 25-year-old said: 'They kicked the door to open it. When the door was open, they asked my father whether there were any other people in the house.'

May said that her father had told them no but soldiers accused him of lying and began searching the house.

She said that was the moment that Khin ran over to their father to sit on his lap.

'Then they shot and hit her,' she said.

The military has made no immediate comment on the incident.

Residents said at least one person had been killed in shooting elsewhere in Mandalay, while charity Save the Children said on Tuesday that at least 20 children have so far been killed as the country's military continues its crackdown on protests.

Authorities have not hesitated to use lethal force to break up demonstrations staged against last month's military coup and detention of the country's de-facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, 2021.

A further 17 children are being held in arbitrary detention, the charity said, as it called a separate killing of a teenage boy 'horrifying'.

Pictured: Family members cry over the dead body of a teenage boy Tun Tun Aung who was shot dead by security forces in front of his home on Monday, in Mandalay, March 23, 2021

According to multiple sources on social media, the boy's sister said he was at home in a 'squatters' area', which was 'not strong enough to stop bullets'.

Footage of the boy's grieving mother is also circulating social media. The teenage boy was due to turn 15 in July.

In addition to child detainees, other protesters, many of them young students, continue to be arrested, with at least 488 students currently being held in detention according to the latest estimates from Save the Children.

At least twenty of those arrested are high-school students whose ages are unknown, though some of them could also be under 18, the charity added.

'We are horrified that children continue to be among the targets of these fatal attacks on peaceful protesters,' Save the Children said in a statement.

'The death of the boy is especially concerning given that he reportedly was killed while being at home, where he should have been safe from harm.

'The fact that so many children are being killed on an almost daily basis now shows a complete disregard for human life by security forces.

'The safety of children must be protected under all circumstances and we once again call on security forces to end these deadly attacks against protesters immediately.'

The charity also said that security forces have reportedly occupied more than 60 schools and university campuses across the country.

In at least one incident, security forces reportedly beat two teachers while entering premises, and left several others injured.

Pictured: Protesters take cover during clashes with security forces in Monywa, Myanmar March 21, 2021. Authorities have not hesitated to use lethal force to break up demonstrations staged against last month's military coup and detention of the country's de-facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, 2021

Myanmar's junta on Tuesday defended its seven-week crackdown that has left more than 260 democracy protesters dead, insisting it would not tolerate 'anarchy'.

The junta has unleashed deadly violence as it struggles to quell nationwide protests against the February 1 ousting of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

In a news conference in the capital Naypyidaw, junta spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun put the death toll lower at 164.

'I am sad because these violent terrorist people who died are our nationals,' he said.

The streets of towns and cities across the country have seen chaotic scenes for weeks as security forces clash with protesters demanding the restoration of democracy and the release of Suu Kyi.

The authorities have used tear gas, rubber bullets and live rounds to disperse protests, prompting a senior UN rights expert to warn they may be committing 'crimes against humanity'.

But despite widespread international condemnation, Zaw Min Tun defended the response, saying that the security forces were dealing with 'insurgents holding weapons' and five police and four soldiers had been killed.

'We have to crack down on the anarchy. Which countries in the world accept anarchy?' he said.

Anti-coup protesters prepare against a police crackdown at Taketa township in Yangon, Myanmar Saturday, March 20, 2021

Despite the bloodshed, protesters took to the streets again on Tuesday, staging dawn demonstrations in parts of the commercial capital Yangon.

As well as breaking up protests, the military has sought to stem the flow of news about the crackdown, banning several local media outlets and arresting dozens of journalists.

Mobile data networks are suspended and Zaw Min Tun said there were presently no plans to restore them.

Suu Kyi, not seen in public since being detained on February 1, is facing several criminal charges as well as allegations of accepting illegal payments of gold and cash.

Sean Turnell, an Australian adviser to the 75-year-old Nobel laureate, is being investigated under immigration and state secrets laws, the junta spokesman announced Tuesday.

Turnell, an economist and university professor, was the first foreign national arrested following the coup.

At a news conference in the capital Naypyitaw, the military presented a video of a former political colleague of ousted Aung San Suu Kyi claiming he had handed over large amounts of cash and gold to her personally, in what the military has characterised as corruption.

Such allegations were previously denied by her lawyer.

The mother of Khant Ngar Hein weeps during his funeral in Yangon, Myanmar Tuesday, March 16, 2021. Khant Ngar Hein, an 18-year old medical student, was fatally shot by security forces during an anti-crop protest on Sunday, March 14, in Tamwe, Yangon

Many of the protests Tuesday were staged in a way that avoided confrontations with authorities, who have not hesitated to use lethal force to break up demonstrations.

Some marches were held before dawn in Yangon, the country's biggest city, and elsewhere and went unmolested. Other protests adopted the tactic of having signboards or other inanimate objects lined up in the street to serve as proxies for human demonstrators.

The independent Assistance Association for Political Prisoners has verified 261 protesters' deaths nationwide but says the actual total, including cases where verification has been difficult, is probably much higher.

It said 2,682 people have also been arrested or charged since the coup, with 2,302 still detained or sought for arrest.

In its news conference, the military presented displays of seized homemade weapons and videos of street battles to argue that the demonstrators are violent and that its efforts to stop them are justified.

Images of Myanmar ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi are displayed during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, 18 March 2021

However, in the weeks since the February 1 coup, protesters only began using organised violence after more than 100 demonstrators had been shot dead by police and soldiers.

The allegations against Suu Kyi made by former Yangon Chief Minister Phyo Min Thein were first mentioned by the military several weeks ago. Last week the military-controlled Myawaddy TV station aired a similar video with a construction magnate who also claimed to have made large payoffs to Suu Kyi.

That video was replayed at Tuesday's news conference.

No supporting evidence for the allegations has been offered, and they are generally dismissed as an effort by the military to frame Suu Kyi so she can be discredited and tried on a serious criminal charge. She is already being held on several more minor charges.

A report in the state-controlled Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper on Tuesday said the junta has expressed fresh concern about civil servants, teachers and medical workers joining the Civil Disobedience Movement that is the vanguard group opposing last month's military takeover.

The report referred to the opposition group as CDM, the initials by which it is popularly known. The group encourages employees of key enterprises, such as government offices, to stay away from work.

Pictured: Residents prepare to free balloons with the 'R2P' message, or the 'Responsibility to Protect' principle that the international community is justified in taking action against a state that is deemed to have failed to protect its population from atrocities, in Myanmar, March 22

In what was a relatively conciliatory tone compared with earlier threats, the junta at its Monday meeting was reported to have described failing to show up at work as 'not a crime but a violation of the civil service disciplines.'

It said that for first offences, civil servants would have to sign confessions, but further offences would be dealt with according to civil service rules.

Previously, government employees have been detained for joining the CDM, and striking state railway workers have been kicked out of their government-supplied housing if they don't agree to go back to work.

Myanmar labor unions on March 7 issued a joint call for an extended nationwide work stoppage, with the goal of a 'full, extended shutdown of the Myanmar economy.' In a statement, they called for the strike to continue 'until we receive our democracy back.'

Tuesday's report of the junta's meeting also highlighted teachers' absences from work, saying some have joined the CDM, as have health workers.

The junta repeated its claims that civil servants, teachers and doctors joined the CDM under threat.

'They should make a complaint to the respective authorities about the matter,' said the newspaper's account of the junta meeting. 'Some teachers and doctors are still absent from work as they are worried that they may face punishment if they return to the unit,' junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing was cited saying.

Although the CDM does not advocate violence, the movement has painted those who don't give it support as collaborators with the junta with blood on their hands, who may be ostracised.
SHENZHEN, China, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Huawei held the Digital Tax session during its Industrial Digital Transformation Conference. Based on technical practices and industry thinking, Huawei works with leading partners to release the digital tax solution for global customers. By combining ICTs with tax scenarios, the company is building a governance framework for tax data, with the goals of implementing innovative supervision, optimizing tax services, improving risk control, and ultimately facilitating digital tax transformation.

Huawei Digital Tax Solution: Shaping New Tax Services with Digital Technologies

During the session, Deloitte's tax information expert Marilyn Lu gave a keynote speech on digital tax transformation, and released a research report - Data + Technology, the Catalyst for Tax Transformation. She pointed out that the pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation of tax worldwide, which now has three typical features: technical enablement, data driving, and data connection. On top of that, cloud migration, electronic invoices, big data application, and mobile interconnection have been recognized as the application trends of new technologies in tax administration fields.

In line with this trend, Sheldon Wang, President of Huawei Global Customs and Tax Industries, launched the solution and introduced its technologies (including cloud, AI, big data, and blockchain). The solution involves logistics, information, and invoice flows, and builds three scenarios for e-invoice, e-Revenue Authority, and smart risk control, providing better tax services with the help of digital technologies.

Sheldon Wang noted how the solution uses digital methods to enable tax administration through traditional function applications, business automation, security control, and others. The data value is fully leveraged to facilitate intelligent analysis and decision-making, shifting the focus from IT-based towards digital tax management. Additionally, in terms of tax supervision, strict regulatory measures are phased out in favor of high-quality services.

"Under the digitalization trend, the tax industry needs advanced IT infrastructure to ensure business stability and growth," commented Michael Fan, Vice President of Huawei Enterprise Data Storage Technical Sales Department. He further pointed out how Huawei OceanStor Dorado all-flash storage features a 10-fold storage improvement with zero interruption, ensuring 24/7 online services and building a reliable data storage base for tax services.

Accelerating Tax Digital Transformation in Three Scenarios

With the accelerating development of the global digital economy, new requirements are being posed on the business environment. Efficiency improvement, service reconstruction, and risk control enhancement have become the three major objectives of tax digital transformation. To achieve these objectives, Huawei works with Baiwang, Servyou, and Atos to develop the solution, targeting the following three scenarios: e-invoice, e-Revenue Authority, and smart risk control. They also promote service innovation in each tax administration field.

E-invoice (eIN): An end-to-end electronic solution - invoice claim, issuance, and transfer - has been developed for both revenue authorities and enterprises. In terms of transaction information, enterprise credit, and tax distribution, invoice data is used for full-lifecycle tracking and coordinated supervision. Credit is used for risk management, formulating lightweight methods of managing tax and reducing enterprises' reluctance to pay tax. In doing so, the scope of taxpayers has expanded considerably, and the quality of tax services will improve.

Electronic revenue authority (eRA): Based on Huawei's intelligent cloud platform, AI, and big data capabilities, the eRA provides online, integrated, and intelligent services, facilitating the construction of a service-oriented electronic tax bureau. In addition, the solution upgrades the 8/5 manual counter service to 24/7 full-process online services. The benefits include pre-filled forms (or even lack of forms), as well as taxpayer credit and risk classification that are optimized and assessed in real time to provide smart and personalized tax services.

Smart risk control (iRisk): Tax-related data is precisely and automatically analyzed using the machine learning technology, deep learning technology, and big data service platform. As such, several services are provided to support smart decision-making and innovation. These services include dynamic credit assessment, real-time tax distribution, peak warning, economic insight, and policy and legislation simulation, and they fully extend the data value and build a data-driven risk control system.

Huawei has developed the digital tax solution based on its proprietary intelligent twins architecture. It provides a governance framework for tax data across technologies and application services. The company uses its leading technologies, (such as AI, big data, and cloud computing) to empower the solution. Under an open architecture, Huawei is working with more than 30 global partners to foster a sustainable digital transformation ecosystem for the industry.

To obtain the full report of Data + Technology, the Catalyst for Tax Transformation, please visit: https://e.huawei.com/en/material/industry/government/2da122d50d424827a0697680623bc378

Huawei Industrial Digital Transformation Conference 2021 is being held from March 24 to 26, exploring the power of the resilient and innovative digital world from three perspectives: business, technology, and ecosystems. For more information, please visit: https://e.huawei.com/en/events/industry-digital-transformation/2021
The transportation bill, I think, needs to be a transportation bill, not a Green New Deal, said Representative Sam Graves of Missouri, the top Republican on the committee. It needs to be about roads and bridges, and I hope that as this committee works on our next major bill, that we remember to prioritize transportation infrastructure.

It remains unclear whether top Democrats, with slim majorities in both chambers and control of the White House, will be willing to curtail their ambitions to satisfy Republicans. They have refused to rule out using a fast-track budget process, known as reconciliation, to bypass Republican opposition and the 60-vote filibuster threshold in the Senate to advance Mr. Bidens infrastructure initiatives on strictly party-line votes.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California said Democrats would pursue a bipartisan legislative package but would have to make a judgment about how to accomplish more ambitious goals related to addressing climate change and economic inequality that Republicans might not support.

One of the challenges that we face is we cannot just settle for what we can agree on without recognizing that this has to be a bill for the future, she said. Among the specific proposals she said she favored was electrifying the U.S. Postal Service fleet.

Repeatedly pressed by Republicans for a commitment to compromise, Mr. Buttigieg assured lawmakers that the president strongly prefers a bipartisan approach, and so do I, and observed that he had yet to see a Republican bridge or a Democratic pothole.

That support, however, will most likely hinge on both the scope of the package put forward by Democrats and the mechanisms for paying for the legislation. On top of passing the dozen annual spending bills needed to keep the government funded in 2020, Congress approved more than $3 trillion in emergency spending to address the economic and health toll of the pandemic.

Early in the hearing, Republican lawmakers interrogated Mr. Buttigieg on how the administration planned to pay for such a large spending bill, while raising concerns about whether funds would be distributed equally across the country. Representative Don Young, Republican of Alaska, pressed Mr. Buttigieg on whether the Biden administration had a strategy to pay for more than a trillion dollars in spending needs.
Video footage showed Nylander opening the driver door of his Mazda sedan and exiting, raising his hands but holding what authorities said was a loaded shotgun in the left hand. Seconds after leaving the car, he was hit by two gunshots fired by Lee, one in the buttocks and one in the neck, and died at the scene.

Nylander, who had a cast on his right hand, swept the muzzle of his shotgun from a downward position to a straight-up vertical position in less than a second, and never pointed the muzzle directly at the sheriffs deputy, according to the filing in federal court. He stepped out of his car raising both arms in the air and turning his back to Lee, the complaint states.

The familys complaint alleges that Deputy Lee, pulling up his patrol car behind Nylanders Mazda, exited his own vehicle, positioned himself behind the open door and immediately began firing his pistol, causing Nylander to fall to the ground seven seconds after opening his car door.

Lee could not remember putting his vehicle in park, removing his seatbelt, opening his door, or even hearing his own gunfire, the suit alleges. He remembered instinctively yelling something similar to no or stop. He did not recall giving (Nylander) any other commands. He did not remember thinking about being fearful for anyone but himself.

Napa County DA: Deputy involved in April fatal shooting will not be charged DA Allison Haley says a review by investigators shows that deputies actions were "a reasonable and lawful response."
BEIJING, Mar. 25 -- In 2021, the Chinese military will go abroad to participate in a number of events of the International Army Games (IAG) and host three important events in China, said Senior Colonel Ren Guoqiang, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, at a regular press conference on March 25.

Ren introduced that from April 4 to 20, the PLA Army will send team to participate in the event of Sayan Range March Snow Field Combat and March Competition in Russia at the invitation of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, and this will be the first time for China to participate in this event.

Ren said that China attaches great importance to military training cooperation with foreign militaries and has been taking an active part in the IAG since it was initiated, which has played a positive role in deepening the friendship between the Chinese military and the competing counterparts, strengthening exchanges in training field, and improving real-combat capability.

According to the plan, this year, the Chinese military will go abroad to participate in a number of events of the IAG and host three important events in China. The Chinese side is currently in close communication with the defense authorities of relevant countries to advance preparations for the upcoming events, added Ren.
A OK Walker Luxury Autoworks in Peachtree City, Ga., has built Ford Mustangs for the Clint Eastwood film Trouble With the Curve and for an attempt at a world record for land speed, according to its website. Now the high-end car repair shop has acquired another rare distinction: It has been accused of paying a former employee in pennies.

To be precise, thats 91,500 pennies, adding up to $915 in wages owed  although Andreas Flaten, who was a manager at A OK Walker until last November, has not counted them to make sure he got every last cent. He said his former employer had left him a glimmering mound of pennies at the end of his driveway on March 12 to punish him for quitting and persistently demanding his final paycheck.

Since his girlfriend posted a video of the pennies on Instagram on March 13, he has been attracting the sympathies of thousands of people also navigating strained relations with their employers amid the pandemic.

It would be one thing if it was just pennies, Mr. Flaten said. I wish it was just pennies. But the pennies are covered in a pungent, sticky substance; Mr. Flaten suspects it might be power-steering fluid.
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th March, 2021) Turkey uses claims of civilian deaths in Syrian army operations to justify its illegal occupation of the neighboring country, Imad Moustapha, Syria's ambassador in Beijing and former ambassador in Washington, told Sputnik.

Throughout the Syrian conflict, Turkey has been seeking to create a buffer zone along the border with Syria to keep it free from Kurdish forces whom it views as terrorists. On Sunday, the Turkish Ministry of Defense blamed the Syrian military for the deaths of five civilians in a shelling attack on a hospital in the Idlib de-escalation zone as well as for another attack on a residential area and a parking lot that reportedly injured another seven people.

"Turkey, the main sponsor and protector of the radical terrorist groups in Idlib and across the region, colludes with the [Joe] Biden administration in upping the ante against Syria, hoping that this will create a context conducive to its illegal occupation of Syrian territories, and its flagrant support of criminal terrorists," Moustapha said.

In parallel with Ankara's claims, the US Department of State on Monday accused Russian and Syrian forces of conducting airstrikes and artillery attacks that killed several civilians in Idlib and Aleppo on March 21.

On the same day when the US leveled its accusations, Russian military reported that terrorists had shelled Salihin and Al-Firdaws areas in Syria's Aleppo, leaving two civilians killed and at least 17 injured. The Russian reconciliation center later expressed hope that Turkey, which was said to have summoned the Russian ambassador over the Idlib escalation, would provide assistance in identifying militants responsible for the attack.

[March 25, 2021] Voya Financial Named to Fortune Best Workplaces in Financial Services & Insurance 2021 List

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA) announced today that it has been named to the Great Place to Work and Fortune Best Workplaces in Financial Services & Insurance 2021 list. This marks the first time the company, which ranked 37 overall, made the highly competitive financial services and insurance group list. The Best Workplaces in Financial Services & Insurance award is based on analysis of survey responses from more than 840,000 current employees of various companies across the U.S. In the survey, almost nine in 10 (88%) Voya Financial employees said the organization is a great place to work. This favorability result outpaces the average U.S. company by approximately 30 percentage points (59% favorability). "On behalf of everyone at Voya, we are honored to earn this recognition among the best in our industry," said Voya Chairman and CEO Rodney O. Martin, Jr. "Our inclusion is a credit to each and every Voya employee who contributes to our culture - and enables our company to be an employer of choice." Other notable results from the Great Place to Work survey include: 92% of Voya Financial employees believe management is honest and ethical in its business practices.

91% of employees feel people in the organization are given a lot of responsibility.

93% of employees said they were made to feel welcome when they joined the company.

95% of employees feel good about the way the company contributes to the community. The Best Workplaces in Financial Services & Insurance list is highly competitive. Great Place to Work, the global authority on workplace culture, selected the list using rigorous analytics and confidential employee feedback. Companies were only considered if they had been a Great Place to Work-Certified organization. Great Place to Work is the only company culture award in America that selects winners based on how fairly employees are treated. Companies are assessed on how well they are creating a great employee experience that cuts across race, gender, age, disability status, or any aspect of who employees are or whatever role they play. For more information on the list, please visit Fortune Best Workplaces in Financial Services & Insurance 2021. About Voya Financial Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA), helps Americans plan, invest and protect their savings - to get ready to retire better. Serving the financial needs of approximately 14.8 million individual customers, worklace participants and institutions in the United States, Voya is a Fortune 500 company that had $7.6 billion in revenue in 2020. The company had $700 billion in total assets under management and administration as of Dec. 31, 2020. With a clear mission to make a secure financial future possible - one person, one family, one institution at a time - Voya's vision is to be America's Retirement Company. Certified as a "Great Place to Work" by the Great Place to Work Institute, Voya is equally committed to conducting business in a way that is socially, environmentally, economically and ethically responsible. Voya has earned recognition as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute; as the No. 1-ranked financial services firm among Barron's 100 Most Sustainable Companies for three consecutive years; as a member of the Bloomberg (News - Alert) Gender Equality Index; and as a "Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion" on the Disability Equality Index. For more information, visit voya.com. Follow Voya Financial on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter (News - Alert) @Voya.



About the Best Workplaces in Financial Services & Insurance Great Place to Work selected the Best Workplaces for Financial Services & Insurance by gathering and analyzing confidential survey responses from more than 840,000 employees at Great Place to Work-Certified organizations across the country. Company rankings are derived from 75 employee experience questions within the Great Place to Work Trust Index survey. Read the full methodology.

About Great Place to Work Great Place to Work is the global authority on workplace culture. Since 1992, they have surveyed more than 100 million employees worldwide and used those deep insights to define what makes a great workplace: trust. Their employee survey platform empowers leaders with the feedback, real-time reporting and insights they need to make data-driven people decisions. Everything they do is driven by the mission to build a better world by helping every organization become a great place to work For All. Learn more at greatplacetowork.com and on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. VOYA-IR VOYA-CR View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005782/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
The Covid pandemic has been instrumental in accelerating a shift from the heavy influencer-style look, popular in the 2010s, to a more natural and dewey appearance.

But how has beauty changed over history? From the glitz and glamour of the 1920s to the make do and mend approach of women in wartime Britain, who used burnt cork for mascara and beetroot juice for lipstick, each era has developed its own distinct look.

Experts at the Transform Hospital Group have examined how beauty trends have changed over the last ten decades, and which make-up looks have withstood the test of time.

The experts analysed various historic makeup guides and old photographs before working with artists to visualise the most popular beauty looks from the 1920s to the 2020s ,and predicting how beauty will evolve in the 2030s.

1920s: Glamour takes hold as make-up use becomes more popular

The 1920s saw an increase in women wearing makeup with shaped lips and heavy eye-shadow in style

The 1920s saw an increase in women wearing makeup, early stigmas surrounding the use of makeup were gone and women felt comfortable using the latest products to enhance their beauty.

Shaping the lips were a huge trend in this era, women would line their lips smaller than their natural outline and shape them to make it look like they had a cupid's bow. Red was the most popular shade of this decade.

The other well-loved trends were dark defined lashes, with more daring women also using a kohl eye shadow and plucked eyebrows that were drawn in a downwards fashion towards the temple.

People used various foundation liquids and powders to get the highly coveted pale, ivory skin and blush was applied in circles to give the appearance of a more rounded face.

If you'd like to change up your look in 2021 to feel your very best, then take a look our range of non-surgical procedures.

1930s: Softer eyeshadow and a more feminine look

Makeup in the 30s was greatly different to its previous decade, heavy eyeshadow was replaced by softer shades

People were still feeling financial strains from the Great Depression, and so although 1930s makeup appeared glamorous, people often didn't have much money to spend on beauty products. Subsequently, beauty routines became much more practical, using fewer products to achieve the same result.

Makeup in the 30s was greatly different to its previous decade, heavy eyeshadow was replaced by softer shades, femininity was the goal with a push on a more natural look.

Hollywood hugely influenced this decade; stars wore glamorous styles that many women wanted to recreate, as such, the pancake foundation that was made popular for its use on actresses became commercially available in 1937, much to the public's joy.

Actresses also influenced the huge trend of pencil-thin eyebrows, with some women completely removing their eyebrows so that they could draw a higher brow back on. People also changed their lip line, so it appeared longer and fuller, with shades such as maroons and dark reds in favour.

1940s: Well groomed and minimal but with statement lipstick

In the 1940s eyebrows were well-groomed, medium thickness and either brushed or lightly drawn in and colour matching was very popular

In wartime Britain, make up ingredient were in short supply and as such innovative substitutes such as burnt cork for mascara and beetroot juice for lipstick were introduced.

Thanks to the impact of rationing and product scarcity, 1940s makeup was very natural and sun-kissed with the addition of a red lip. 40s women were praised for their use of lipstick, as it was viewed as a good way to boost morale whilst maintaining their femininity.

Eyebrows were well-groomed, medium thickness and either brushed or lightly drawn in. Colour matching was very popular, with beauty advice being to match your blush, lips and nail colour to each other.

Any eyeliner that was used was applied very subtly, towards the end of the decade eyeliner started to become more defined and not too dissimilar to the style that is still worn today.

1950s: Rise of pastel shades

Post-war, the 1950s saw the rise in pastel make up; greens, blues, yellows and pink were vastly popular in this time

Post-war, the 1950s saw the rise in pastel make up; greens, blues, yellows and pink were vastly popular in this time.

Soft eyeliner was paired with generous applications of mascara, whilst full eyebrows with a defined arch, and pale foundation in a cream or liquid texture were the way to go in this decade. People also applied their blush very high on the cheeks, never going below the tip of their nose.

The most popular lip line changed again with people now extending the border of their mouth, to give a more voluptuous look. And pinks, orange-reds and purple-reds were the most popular lip colours of this era.

1960s: Winged liner and a focus on the eyes

Thick winged liner was a hugely popular trend of the 60s and women started using concealer for blemishes and bags under the eyes

Thick winged liner was a hugely popular trend of the 60s, women would create a cat-eye effect, giving the appearance of a larger, brighter eye.

This decade also introduced false eyelashes to the world, made popular by a photo of the famous model Twiggy, people would buy the longest lashes they could find or layer on mascara if they weren't available.

Along with the introduction of falsies, women started using concealer for blemishes and under eyes as well.

Cool tones were the trend of the decade, with eyeshadow colours in grey, blue and white being the most sought after. People opted for foundation was pale and matte choosing to forgo any blush, bronzer, or highlighter.

As the 60s trends had such a focus on the eyes, lips were often a nude colour or some women even matched them to their foundation, creating a vastly contrasting appearance.

1970s: Tanned and natural look with shimmery eyeshadow

In the 1970s sheer coverage foundation became more popular, and people swapped their pale shades for a more tanned and natural look

The 1970s saw a change in the way we approached our makeup. Sheer coverage foundation became more popular, and people swapped their pale shades for a more tanned and natural look.

Bronzer was now being heavily incorporated into people's routines and there was a rise in popularity of using pearl powders to give a healthy glow and accentuate the cheekbones.

Shimmer and creme eyeshadows also became very popular trends, always paired with mascara or false lashes, although these were more natural shapes and sizes than worn in the previous decade.

Eyebrows were also kept natural, people opted for brushing them with clear mascara rather than filling them in with pencil.

In keeping with the natural trend of the decade, clear lip gloss or nude lipstick was the most popular choice when it came to lip products.

1980s: Bold colours become popular

The 80s were a time for colour; blue, purple, pink eyeshadow was everywhere and bright bold lips were incredibly popular during this decade

The 80s were a time for colour; blue, purple, pink eyeshadow was everywhere, the brighter your look was, the better. And it wasn't just eyeshadow, coloured mascara and bright bold lips were incredibly popular during this decade, reds, pinks, and oranges were the trendiest to wear.

Raccoon-esque liner was all the rage, with people opting for a heavy application around both the tops and bottoms of their eyes.

This was also the first decade we saw the bushy brow gain popularity. Blush was a must-have, with people opting for bold colours like bright pink or deep plum, and in order to get these standout looks picking the right base was key.

When it came to complexion trends, heavy foundation that was lighter than your natural skin tone was the most common look.

1990s: Dark lipliner and bold eyebrows

Brown, purple, and burgundy lipstick flew onto the scene during the 1990s and became a huge trend, usually paired with a dark lip liner

The 90s were the decade of bold eyebrows, eyes and lips.

Brown, purple, and burgundy lipstick flew onto the scene and became a huge trend, usually paired with a dark lip liner. At the time it was very trendy to line the lip with a darker colour, then use a lighter lipstick and not blend the line, giving a very striking look.

Eyebrows were dark and well-defined, and usually very thin. We also saw the start of the blue eyeshadow trend and the use of glitter on the eyes. Skin was flawless and fresh, and so provided a striking contrast with the favoured bold eyes and lips.

2000s: Blue eyeshadow and lots of lip gloss

The 2000s had less of an emphasis on skin or complexion products, with the main identifiable look being some blue eyeshadow and glossy lips

The 2000s had less of an emphasis on skin or complexion products, with the main identifiable look being some blue eyeshadow and glossy lips.

Vibrant blue eyeshadow was donned all over the eyelid and underneath the eyes, there was no getting away from this bold trend.

This decade was also a fan of the frosted lipstick and lip gloss (a lot of lip gloss). Eyebrows were plucked thinner than is trendy now and were shaped with a defined arch.

People would style their hair with the addition of extreme highlights, with the final touches of either crimping or straightening it.

2010s: Full coverage, heavy brows and contouring

Going back to the 2010s, the biggest trend was a full face of make-up with heavy brows, contouring, and highlighting

Going back to the 2010s, the biggest trend was a full face 'beat'. Full coverage foundation was paired with carved out brows, and contouring, and highlighting to the max.

A bright highlight on your cheekbones and high points of your face gave the impression of a striking glow. Experimenting with eyeshadow looks was in full swing, so whether you preferred a bold, colourful look or something deeper and smokier there was an option for every preference.

The 2010s also brought about the trend of the full pout and lip fillers. Overlining lips was greatly popular and many opted for bold, matte lips in their day to day make up routines.

This decade also saw the trend of faux freckles, where people would add freckles over their foundation.

2020s: Dewy skin and emphasising natural features

The use of creme and liquid blushes, bronzers and highlighters are on the rise as people are moving away from powder products to give a more glowing skin appearance in 2020

The 2020s have seen the focus move away from makeup and onto skincare, with the biggest trend of the decade so far being 'your skin but better' makeup and skin rejuvenation treatments.

An emphasis on embracing your natural features has meant people are looking for dewy skin, natural brows, and neutral lip colours.

The use of creme and liquid blushes, bronzers and highlighters are on the rise as people are moving away from powder products to give a more glowing skin appearance.

Monochrome looks are a big trend with people using multi-use products over their eyes, lips, and cheeks to have a cohesive look in a bid to save us precious time in the mornings.

Don't be fooled though, despite the natural look being much coveted, 2020s makeup is far from boring, with every opportunity to experiment with bold looks and colour.

As another emerging trend is experimenting with eyeliner flicks (fox, dog, cat, bear, owl, tiger) and colourful graphic liner looks.

2030s: Radiant complexion and barely-there lipstick and blusher

The experts at Transform predict that in the 2030s, skincare and anti-ageing treatments will continue to be a priority with non-surgical procedures such as PRP (Vampire Facelifts) expected to be popular, as a way to help wind back the years and achieve plump skin and a radiant complexion.

They also believe that makeup will become more playful  with less need to hide skin imperfections. Shadows and pencils that make a feature of the eyes in particular (such as jewel-toned eye liners) may become a top trend, alongside 'barely there' blush and lip colours.
Two GOP congressmen who toured teen migrant facilities in their respective towns in Texas were upset about what they saw during their visit.

The congressmen witnessed that migrants in the facilities were allowed to sleep without social distancing amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Representative Van Taylor visited a teen migrant facility in Dallas on Tuesday, and Representative August Pfluger visited a Midland facility on Wednesday.

Taylor noted that the migrants detained in the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas were "sleeping head to foot" inside a single room of the facility, Fox News reported.

RELATED ARTICLE: Biden Administration to Expedite Release of Migrant Children by Flying, Bussing to U.S. Homes

Teen Migrant Facilities

As of Wednesday, about 5,000 migrant children and teens are under the custody of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), according to an NPR report.

Data retrieved from the agency also showed that 590 teens and children are arriving at the southern border each day over the last three weeks.

"For many years we have struggled as a country to have a secure southern border," said Taylor, emphasizing that America has never had a surge like this one before.

Taylor was also surprised about the number of teen migrants in the facility, saying that, in his understanding, the facility has only 2,300 beds. But during his time of visit, "1,602 kids" are already admitted as of 8 a.m. of the previous day, and it can reach the maximum capacity of the facility by "close of business today."

Another problem that concerns Taylor is migrants testing positive for COVID-19. He said: "It's very hard to think that they didn't infect somebody else when they're sleeping on the floor, seven to a room for a week."

Taylor noted that there were no physical barriers in the facility that separate the teen migrants from each other.

Meanwhile, the facility in Midland that Pfugler has visited has a record of 300 teens. Pfugler noted that some had already tested positive for COVID-19.

"They had a mixture of single and double rooms," said Pfugler, adding that among more than 300 kids, "about 10 percent" had tested positive for the disease.

But Pfugler said the kids seemed to be healthy, making the congressmen noted that they are getting help there.

Teen Migrants on the rise

Because of the influx of migrant children, migrant facilities are getting full. About 1,750 boys are being held at the Dallas' Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center as of Tuesday.

Volunteers said these children are doing well and "on a path to having a much better life ahead of them," according to The Dallas Morning News report.

Most of the teenagers who are being admitted are from Central America. Most of them were sent to the prepared "decompression centers" from overcrowded federal facilities situated at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Meanwhile, around 3,300 children have already stayed in CBP facilities for more than 72 hours. According to the law, children must be transferred under the Health and Human Services (HHS) care within 72 hours.

HHS assured that the children "are again COVID-19 tested" when they arrive at the migrant facility and are tested every three days.

Taylor has described his tour to be "the most upsetting thing" he has witnessed in his time in Congress.

READ MORE: U.S. Near Max Capacity to Hold Migrant Children; Biden Administration Scrutinized Over Reopening Holding Facility

WATCH: Immigrant Teens to be Housed at Dallas Convention Center - From 12NewsNow
HIV. Credit: Chris Bickel / AAAS

About two decades after first devising a new kind of vaccine, Oregon Health & Science University researchers are unlocking why it stops and ultimately clears the monkey form of HIV, called SIV, in about half of nonhuman primatesand why it's a promising candidate to stop HIV in people.

In scientific papers that were simultaneously published today in the journals Science and Science Immunology, creators of the cytomegalovirus, or CMV, vaccine platform describe the unusual biological mechanisms through which it works.

The findings also helped fine-tune VIR-1111, the CMV-based experimental vaccine against HIV that was developed at OHSU and is now being evaluated in a Phase 1 clinical trial. The trial is being conducted by Vir Biotechnology, which licensed the CMV vaccine platform technology from OHSU.

"Knowing the mechanism that the CMV-based SIV vaccine uses to work in rhesus macaques gives us a way to judge the potential of a human vaccine very quickly," said Louis Picker, M.D., the associate director of the OHSU Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute and a professor of pathology/molecular microbiology and immunology in the OHSU School of Medicine. "If you have the wrong genes in the CMV vaccine, the critical immune response needed for efficacy won't develop. You have to thread the CMV vaccine's needle exactly if you want a high degree of protection, and you have to know what you're looking for."

Localization of MHC-E (red) into intracellular spaces of fibroblasts (blue) via endocytosis. Credit: Malouli et al., Sci. Immunol. 6, eabg5413 (2021)

Two of the papers describe that the cytomegalovirus vaccine needs to generate an unusual type of CD8-positive T cell response called MHC-E-restricted T cells to effectively fight off SIV in monkeys.

"We knew for a while that we have unusual T cell responses in monkeys that receive our CMV vaccine against SIV," said Klaus Frueh, Ph.D., a professor of molecular microbiology and immunology in the OHSU School of Medicine and OHSU Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute. "But we didn't know if they were important for protection against SIV. This research shows clearly that, without this special MHC-E-restricted T cell response, we don't have protection."

The study published in Science Immunology shows that the vaccine was only able to generate these special T cells to fight off SIV if eight specific genes were missing or inactivated from the natural form of monkey CMV. And a corresponding paper published via Science's First Release describes how a specific cytomegalovirus protein known as Rh67 is required to generate MHC-E-restricted T cells to protect against SIV. Together, these papers suggest how a CMV-based vaccine needs to be designed to create these unconventional T cell responses.

The VL9 peptide (green) promoted localization of MHC-E proteins (red) into the intracellular space of fibroblasts in macaques. Credit: Malouli et al., Sci. Immunol. 6, eabg5413 (2021)

And, in a separate Science Immunology paper that was also published today, a research team led by Andrew J. McMichael, Ph.D., of Oxford University looked into whether what has been learned from nonhuman primate experiments could be transferrable to humans. These researchers showed that MHC-E-restricted CD8-positive T cells could be increased and suppress HIV in laboratory cell cultures.

This new research is being published as the OHSU Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute celebrates the 20th anniversary of its first building opening for research in April 2001. Picker and Frueh moved to Oregon to help start the institute: Picker has led its vaccine program since its founding, and Frueh joined forces with Picker in 2006.

Explore further HIV vaccine nears clinical trial following new findings
Our Warren project showcases the value of solar power when intelligently paired with battery energy storage. Besides benefits to the town and utility, the system can bring enormous cost savings to local small businesses who have long-term power purchase agreements with us.

Agilitas Energy, a leading energy developer with a robust portfolio in the Northeast, is moving forward with a 10 MW solar and energy storage project in the Town of Warren, third of its type in the current Massachusetts SMART portfolio. The prior two projects totaling 16 MW of solar and 18 MWh of energy storage, are currently under construction, making Agilitas Energy one of the largest SMART program developers. All Agilitas Energys SMART program projects qualify for Community Solar.

With the ever-growing power consumption, energy storage is the high-impact solution to significantly improve grid operations, reduce energy costs, provide backup power through storms, while benefiting the local economy. Massachusetts is aiming to become a national leader in energy storage with a 1,000 MWh target to be achieved by the end of 2025.

When paired with solar arrays, energy storage systems can provide multiple benefits such as shifting solar energy production to fulfill peak demand, and mitigating the otherwise unnecessary substation upgrades often associated with installing solar. Energy storage systems can be configured to dispatch power at any time, which can further stabilize the grid operations and provide additional cost-saving benefits to rate payers.

Our Warren project showcases the value of solar power when intelligently paired with battery energy storage. The SMART program is proving to be a win-win for all of the Massachusetts stakeholders: local towns, energy consumers and the utilities. In particular, the system can greatly reduce energy costs for those local, small businesses who have the foresight to sign long-term power purchase agreements with us, said Barrett Bilotta, President of Agilitas Energy.

Agilitas Energy is currently developing approximately 300 megawatts of energy projects in Massachusetts, New York, and other markets in the Northeast through acquisition, origination, and by strategically pairing energy storage with solar arrays. The company plays an integral role in the clean-energy ecosystem on social, economic, and environmental levels. Agilitas strives to deliver renewable energy benefits to the local businesses and residents through the community solar programs, and engage local engineers, surveyors, and site work contractors whenever feasible. Many of its projects also contributed to conserving the land and wildlife, and restoring brownfields in the site areas.

About Agilitas Energy

Agilitas Energy is a leading distributed solar and energy storage developer and owner / operator in the Northeast U.S. Agilitas invests in energy projects at various stages, from inception, full entitlement to commercial operation. The company is an expert in the full cycle of development, construction, and operation of large-scale distributed energy projects. The Agilitas team has developed and/or built over 450 megawatts of solar PV systems collectively since 2014 and is currently developing and constructing 300 megawatts of solar and energy storage projects throughout the Northeast.

More information can be found at: http://www.agilitasenergy.com
Darpan Sanghvi, CEO and co-founder of beauty and cosmetic products start-up MyGlamm, was on the verge of signing on dotted lines with his new investor in March last year, when a nationwide lockdown was announced to counter the spread of the coronavirus. The new investor backed out as uncertainty engulfed the economy, and Sanghvi, who was gearing up for next level of growth, was left in a lurch with Rs 100 crore worth inventory and another Rs 100 crore worth inventory order. To add to that, he had 1,000 employees and absolutely no revenue during the months of April-May-June.

Cut to March 2021, his beauty start-up is valued at $100 million, and is richer by Rs 175 crore. It recently closed its Series C funding that was led by Ascent Capital, Amazon and Wipro Consumer. Sanghvi is hoping that his Rs 210-crore company would triple its revenue to Rs 600 crore by December. His ambition is to be the biggest new age beauty and personal care company, a space held only by legacy companies such as HUL, Dabur, ITC and Loreal.

When his investor backed out in March last year, Sanghvi quickly went back to his existing investors and asked them to invest in the business. "We told them with that money we will make bold moves and they luckily agreed," says Sanghvi. To begin with, the cosmetic start-up expanded its portfolio to skincare from make-up. "In February last year when China opened up, its beauty products sales went up by 20 per cent over the previous year. That gave us the cue to take risk and double down both online and offline, and that paid off for us," he further adds.

Through the lockdown, MyGlamm spread its wings to tier 2-3 markets and increased its offline presence from 500 to 10,000 point of sales. It also expanded its distribution team, who reached out not just to modern retail stores but also chemists and other mom and pop retail stores in these markets.

Since there was reverse migration and a lot of people went back to their homes in tier 2-3 towns, it helped MyGlamm increase its sales in these markets. The smaller towns also were more resilient and returned to shopping in physical stores faster. "By the time the festive season began, my distribution was much more than pre-COVID levels. By October, we crossed pre-COVID levels and hit EBITDA profitability."

Also read: Beauty brand MyGlamm raises Rs 175 crore from Amazon, Wipro Consumer

In August last year, MyGlamm acquired content and influencer marketing platforms POPxo and Plixxo, which increased its digital reach exponentially, claims Sanghvi. POPxo has 88 million female users and Plixxo has 1,50,000 influencers, and the idea is to build a content to commerce platform.

"We are acquiring consumers through content, which is a radical change through how other people do business," explains Priyanka Gill, co-founder, MyGlamm. She says the 88 million POPxo users often read content or watch videos on the platform and the kind of content they are interacting with allows to understand the mind of the users and serve them products as per their needs.

"We are able to make nuanced recommendations so that she is able to engage with us in different ways. This data play makes us unique. We have proven content-commerce works at scale, if we do it right it can be extremely profitable" Gill further explains.

Close to 99 per cent of MyGlamm's sales comes from its own platforms, unlike other new-age FMCG brands which are more dependent on e-commerce marketplaces for their revenue. Sanghvi is particularly proud of this because he believes that it enables the brand to connect more deeply with the consumer.

"We really understand better as we know what she is browsing, what she wants, she even co-creates her products with us. We are able to cross-sell to her much more because she is directly connected with us," he explains. Having said that, going forward, MyGlamm is also looking at getting 10-15 per cent of its revenue from marketplaces. "With Amazon coming onboard as an investor, consumers will definitely see a fair bit of MyGlamm products on Amazon.

The beauty products start-up plans to increase its point of sales from 10,000 to 35,000 by the end of this year. It is also widening its product portfolio by getting into hair care. It also hopes to increase POPxo's user base to 120 million and have at least 5,00,000 influencers on Plixxo by end of 2021.
(Reuters) - AstraZeneca said its COVID-19 vaccine was 76% effective at preventing symptomatic illness in a new analysis of its major U.S. trial, slightly lower than the level announced this week in a report criticised for using outdated information.

U.S. health officials had publicly rebuked the drugmaker for not using the most up-to-date information when it published an interim analysis on Monday showing the vaccine was 79% effective.

Here are comments on the latest developments:

MENE PANGALOS, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, BIOPHARMACEUTICALS R&D AT ASTRAZENECA IN STATEMENT:

"The primary analysis is consistent with our previously released interim analysis, and confirms that our COVID-19 vaccine is highly effective in adults, including those aged 65 years and over.

"We look forward to filing our regulatory submission for emergency use authorisation (EUA) in the United States and preparing for the rollout of millions of doses across America."

DANNY ALTMANN, PROFESSOR OF IMMUNOLOGY, IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON:

"I think one has to just continue to distinguish between the strong, positive, data from the U.S. trial on the one hand, and then the amazing ability of AstraZeneca press release messaging to continually rescue defeat from the jaws of victory!

"Notwithstanding tweaks of the past 24 hours, the data look excellent - and the politics a sideshow. For my taste, we continue to be in a life-and-death race to get vaccines out fast in the face of the third wave threat of variants."

DOMINIQUE LE GULUDEC, HEAD OF TOP FRENCH ADVISORY BODY HAUTE AUTORITE DE LA SANTE (HAS):

"We are totally reassured with AstraZeneca's vaccine when it comes to efficacy, even though it looks like the company does not communicate very well."

EYAL LESHEM, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR TRAVEL MEDICINE AND TROPICAL DISEASES, SHEBA MEDICAL CENTER, ISRAEL:

"The preliminary results from the U.S. study reported today showed that using the protocol in a rigorous clinical trial setting, the AstraZeneca vaccine showed excellent efficacy against symptomatic COVID, very high efficacy against severe and critical disease and against hospitalization, 100%, and excellent efficacy in older people.

Story continues

"So all this is very good news that attests to the AstraZeneca vaccines effectiveness."

On prospects for FDA approval:

"It's more of a policy issue than a scientific question. The U.S. FDA has given two very quick approvals for two vaccine types, and they have their standard operating procedure. The question is if the FDA has sufficient workforce and the budget to move again with the emergency approval."

A third vaccine approval "is not expected to dramatically change the situation in the U.S. because they have their doses from Pfizer and Moderna."

BRUCE THOMPSON, PROFESSOR, SCHOOL OF HEALTH SCIENCES, SWINBURNE UNIVERSITY, AUSTRALIA:

"Basically it was a governance issue which is resolved now. We really need to take great satisfaction that all these processes are working to make sure that we know everything about the drug.

"AstraZeneca has given more information and the data is looking fine. Its a very good vaccine."

WILLIAM SCHAFFNER, PROFESSOR OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, TENNESSEE:

"I think this will pour some oil on the troubled waters. The vaccine efficacy against severe disease, including death, puts the AstraZeneca vaccine in the same ballpark as the other vaccines.

"The company continues to intend to submit the data to the FDA and its external advisory committee for an EUA which I expect to be granted."

PAUL GRIFFIN, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA:

"This appears to be a very effective vaccine with no safety concerns. Hopefully, this should now give people the confidence that this vaccine is the right one to continue to use moving forward."

JASON TETRO, INFECTIOUS DISEASE EXPERT IN CANADA, AUTHOR OF "THE GERM CODE":

"This should help secure approval in the United States and increase the trust in this vaccine worldwide."

(Reporting by Reuters staff; Editing by Josephine Mason and Clarence Fernandez)
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.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus prospects for another term looked uncertain on Wednesday after partial results from a national election projected no clear path to victory.
REDLANDS, Calif., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- AxS Health's Vaccine Reservation and Appointment System has enabled Redlands Community Hospital to provide almost 20,000 Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to San Bernardino County residents, making it among the leaders in supplying COVID 19 vaccinations in the largest county in the U.S.

The Johnson & Johnson, Pfiizer and Moderna vaccines are released under Emergency Use and pose three difficult problems for vaccine administration. First, inventory supply is limited and delivery unpredictable. Second, Moderna and Pfizer vaccines require frozen storage meaning once thawed, any vaccines not administered within the approved thaw period must be discarded. Lastly, the California Department of Public Health as required that all vaccine be delivered into arms within 96 hours of delivery to the provider.

Individuals qualified to receive vaccines are often frustrated by appointment systems. Redlands Community Hospital reached out to AxS Health to help them create a digital registration, scheduling and check-in process that would also match inventory to scheduling qualified individuals. "AxS Health has provided a pathway of communication with our community to schedule appointments when vaccine is available increasing patient satisfaction and reducing the need to cancel appointments when supply is short," stated James Holmes, President and CEO, Redlands Community Hospital.

According to Angela Carlson, Chief Operating Officer for AxS Health, "Creating a system that enabled the vaccine administrator to control the conversion of qualified reservations to appointments based on actual available inventory proved to be the key to expanded delivery and high satisfaction."

The AxS Health Vaccine Appointment System provided Redlands Community Hospital a branded web page for interested individuals to register based on Tier qualifications. Upon confirmation of vaccine delivery, Redlands Community Hospital staff could define the number of vaccines available and easily schedule to that number. A confirmed appointment time is delivered to the patient via text and the AxS Health App provides additional details including location, vaccine information, required patient information and consent forms. Communication and data is HIPAA compliant, secure, and easily converted into state defined reporting requirements.

"Redlands Community Hospital really stepped up effectively and admirably for the community taking on the important challenge of providing COVID vaccinations," stated John C. Steinmann D.O., CEO and founder of AxS Health. "AxS Health looks forward to continuing to support Redlands Community Hospital and other vaccination sites in this important community health effort."

About AxS Health

AxS Health is dedicated to "Simplifying Access to Healthcare" with its secure digital platform connecting patients and providers through digital registration, messaging, asynchronous and live video telemedicine, and contactless patient communication tools. For information contact Angela Carlson at [email protected].

For information about Redlands Community Hospital please visit www.redlandshospital.org

SOURCE AxS Health

Related Links

https://www.axshealthapp.com


Biden Holds First Press Conference, Warns GOP He May Back Changing Filibuster

President Joe Biden held his first press conference on Thursday, after more than two months in office, answering questions on topics including whether he will run for reelection, the burgeoning crisis along the border, and abolishing the 60-vote filibuster.

Biden responded to a question about how his administration will handle the surge in illegal immigration, saying that it happens every single year.

Nothing has changed. Happens every single solitary year. There is a significant increase in the number of people coming to the border in the winter months, he said, adding that the prior administration created the crisis along the border. Republican elected officials have disputed that claim, saying it was Bidens executive orders that triggered the surge.

The president defended his move to end programs such as the Migrant Protection Protocols, known as the Remain in Mexico policy that was implemented by former President Donald Trump, which some critics have said encouraged a surge in illegal immigration. Biden said it would not stop the number of people arriving at the border.

And no child should be kept in the custody of Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) facilities for longer than the 72-hour allotted time period, Biden also said. The president added he is coordinating with the Defense Department to open up military facilities for unaccompanied children that CBP agents encounter.

Trump this week blasted Bidens response to the crush of illegal immigration at the border, saying it will ultimately destroy our country.

Today, they are coming in. You take a look. They are coming in from foreign countries. I see they are coming in from Yemen. They are coming in from the Middle East. They are coming in from everywhere, Trump said. They are dropping them off and they are pouring into our country. It is a disgrace.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) responded to Bidens defense of his administrations immigration response on Thursday, accusing the president of spreading misinformation.

With all due respect, this press conference is hard to watch, Graham tweeted. The misinformation being given by President Biden on immigration is stunning. Its clear he does not have the situational awareness he needs to understand what is going on at the border or how to fix it.

Biden suggested he is open to making significant changes to the Senate filibuster if key agenda items are not passed.

I strongly support moving in that direction, Biden said about re-implementing the old, talking filibuster, in addition to having an open mind about dealing with certain things that are just elemental to the functioning of our democracy, like the right to vote. Like the basic right to vote. Weve amended the filibuster in the past.

Weve got to get to the place where I get 50 votes so the vice president of the United States can break the tie, or 51 without her, referring to Vice President Kamala Harris tie-breaking ability in the upper chamber. Democrats like Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) have pushed for removing the key procedural hurdlewhich was designed, according to some founding fathers, to protect minority rights in the Senateto pass voting overhaul bills, gun control bills, and other measures.

Republicans are going to have to determine if were going to work together or the way in which they want to proceed is to divide the country, continue politics of division, Biden told reporters.

The president was also asked about whether he plans on running for reelection, which comes as members of the media have speculated and questioned why he hasnt held a formal White House press conference in more than two months.

My plan is to run for reelection, he said at the White House, adding that he has no idea about whether he will run against former President Donald Trump. Biden said he expects Harris to join him on a potential ticket.
Dreamstime, HO / TNS

A Nederland man has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for drug trafficking and firearms violations, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Texas.

Esdras Homero Pedroza, 27, pleaded guilty on Jan. 6, 2021 to possession with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm after the Jefferson County Narcotics Task Force officers found 336 grams of methamphetamine, equaling $1,259, and an AR-15 in his truck.
This is the heartwarming moment a two-month-old puma was bottle-fed after a family decided it was only right to turn her over to wildlife authorities in Colombia.

According to the Valle de Aburra Metropolitan Office, the baby puma had been gifted to the family in the western part of Medellin shortly after she had been born.

A series of videos released on Twitter on Wednesday showed the puma's delicate condition as she struggled to walk.

Additional footage captured the tiny cat letting out a growl as she was being injected by a veterinarian.

A two-month-old puma is fed in Colombia after a family in Medellin turned her over to wildlife authorities just days after a friend had gifted them a new pet. The Valle de Aburra Metropolitan Office said in a statement that the cat weighed only 1.7 pounds and had developed secretions in her eyes. She also encountered problems breathing and had digestive issues

Colombian officials say the brown-eyed puma presented a tame demeanor, which could pose an issue during her recovery and rehabilitation

The two-month-old had problems walking due to an abnormality that the veterinarians discovered in her hind legs

The family acknowledged that they had been in possession of the puma for just two days after she had been delivered by a friend from the Orinoquia natural region, one of the Andean nation's five natural regions.

On Tuesday, agents from the Environmental and Ecological Police transferred the animal to the Center of Attention and Valuation of Wild Fauna, the Valle de Aburra Metropolitan Office said in a statement.

The tiny cat weighed only 1.7 pounds and had developed secretions in her eyes. She also encountered problems breathing and had digestive issues.

A veterinarian applies medicine to the small puma after she was dropped off at the Center of Attention and Valuation of Wild Fauna in Medellin

A two-month-old puma lets out a growl as she is injected with medicine in Colombia. The wild animal had been gifted earlier this week to a family in Medellin before they contacted Environmental and Ecological Police and volunteered to turn her over

Elbert Ramos Espitia, coordinator for the Center of Attention and Valuation of Wild Fauna in Medellin, Colombia, said the puma's health problems 'require major intervention' from the staff

The brown-eyed puma presented a tame demeanor, which in the end could pose as an obstacle in her recovery and rehabilitation.

Veterinarians at the clinic also found the cat had developed a deformity in her hind legs, which prohibited her from walking normally.

'Her health problems will require major intervention, which makes it even more difficult to eliminate the link with human beings, something that is necessary for this puma to return to the wild,' said Elbert Ramos Espitia, coordinator for the Center of Attention and Valuation of Wild Fauna.

The puma is expected to undergo several more tests in the coming days as the site will look to apply additional medical treatments and draw up a biological and nutritional assessment in hope that she will recover and continue to grow.
Kin Insurance is expanding to offer homeowners insurance coverage in Louisiana.

The company said the expansion into the underserved Louisiana market creates new opportunities for residents  especially for those in high-risk areas.

Kin Insurance describes itself as an insurtech that relies on data models that provide over 10,000 property data points to find coverage accurately priced for each home.

It currently offers homeowners insurance in California and Florida.

Kin Insurance Network Distributor (KIND) can offer Louisianans HO3 coverage. The Kin Interinsurance Network is Rated A, Exceptional, by Demotech, a testament to the underwriters ability to pay out claims, even after widespread disaster.

The company said its Louisiana homeowners policy can cover the following:

The dwelling, including walls, foundation, roof, floors, electric, and plumbing.

Belongings, such as clothing, furniture, electronics, appliances, and more.

Other structures that arent attached to the home, like garages, fences, and greenhouses.

Loss of use coverage for additional living expenses during a covered claim.

Personal liability coverage for third-party property damage or bodily harm.

Medical expense payments for small visitor injuries.

Source: Kin Insurance

Topics Louisiana Homeowners
New Delhi, March 25 : Several police officers including four former DGPs from Uttar Pradesh have raised serious concern over Trinamool Congress's objection over deployment of UP Police in West Bengal Assembly polls.

"The party and its leader(Mamata Banerji), who politicised the police in Bengal have no moral right to comment on the integrity of UP police. I should clarify that UP's armed police is considered the best force in the country which has conducted impartial duties in other states, during challenging situations," said Prakash Singh, former Director General of Police (DGP) of UP, regarded as the architect of police reforms in India.

Senior IPS officers of UP were of the view that Trinamool's 'weird' objection over deployment of UP police could affect the morale of the jawans. "The objection seems to be weird. I believe Mamata Banerjee is unaware about the conduct of UP police, its valour, discipline and history. Raising objections on the credibility of UP Police is very unfortunate," said celebrated UP cop Ajai Raj Sharma, former DG of BSF. "For so many years we have been rushing PAC(Pradeshik Armed Police of UP) to other states. On several occasions, heads of various state governments appreciated the PAC's role. PAC was chosen by the Centre(during the Nehru Government) for deployment on the India-Pakistan border , before BSF was not founded. PAC was sought for help in annexation of Hyderabad by Sardar Patel. That's the history and credibility of our force...Mamataji should understand this," Ajai Raj Sharma, a 1966 batch IPS officer told IANS.

Reacting strongly on Trinamool's letter to the Election Commission, objecting to the deployment of 30 companies of UP police in Bengal, former DGP of UP, OP Singh said that Mamata Banerjee and her leaders should first accept the fact that during the Lok Sabha polls in 2019, the UP police was adjudged the best force for conducting violence-free polls in the country's largest populated state. "I am hurt, and I pity Trinamool leaders perception about UP police, for accusing our force of taking political sides. Trinamool has even gone to the extent of dragging CM Yogi Adityanath's name in the controversy. They(Trinamool leaders)should be aware of the fact that any force deployed in the polls are supervised by the EC and not by a CM. Moreover, I have served as DGP for more than two years(2018 to 2020) under Yogi ji. As CM, he gave me a free hand and never intervened in matters of police administration," said OP Singh, a 1983 batch IPS officer of UP Cadre who as police chief introduced the Commissioner police system in the state.

Another decorated police officer and former DG of BSF, Rajnikant Mishra said that it's an attempt to malign the image of armed police. "During the polls, political barbs should not be aimed at policemen. I am of the view that Mamata Banerji, a seasoned politician, should realise that the armed police is different from civil police. Her leaders should know that the armed police of UP protect several top leaders of various political parties.

"Having served for UP police for more than three decades, I would not comment on the politics being played behind the issue, but would certainly admit that such allegations do affect the morale of the jawans," Rajnikant Mishra an IPS officer of 1984 batch told IANS adding, "Tomorrow if the West Bengal police is charged of not being impartial in their duty, how would the police officers of Bengal feel? So let's be fair to men in khaki and do not drag police in politics." Raising doubts over UP police's impartial conduct, Trinamool Congress has alleged in the letter to EC that the presence of UP cops "would heavily disturb the level playing field and impartiality of the election machinery and we suspect them to have a bias in favour of the BJP. We strongly object to deployment of personnel of S.A.P from UP, since it is governed by Bharatiya Janata Party and their Chief Minister Shri Yogi Adityanath, is a star campaigner for BJP." TMC desires that before the first phase of polling begins in West Bengal, the deployment of armed police of UP in election duty be "stopped."
Mumbai, March 25 : As the number of new Covid-19 cases in Mumbai reached the highest so far, at 5,504, and 14 fatalities, the BMC on Thursday warned that it was preparing for a worst-case scenario of recording around 10,000 cases per day in the near future.

BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Municipal Commissioner I.S. Chahal, while assuring that the "situation is under control and there is no reason to panic", said that the Health Department is gearing up to raise the total availability of Covid beds from 13,733 to 21,000 in the next two weeks in various hospitals in the city.

"This is assuming that the number of positives in the due course of time in Mumbai increases to 10,000 per day with assumption that 15 per cent of these would be symptomatic - and requiring beds as per ICMR guidelines," he said.

He pointed out that assuming every symptomatic patient requires a bed and considering a 14 days bed occupancy, the total beds needed to handle 10,000 cases per day for a period of next six to eight weeks would be around 21,000.

Chahal's statement assumes significance after Mumbai recorded 5,000 plus tallies - 5,458 on March 24 and 5,504 on March 25 - from 40,400-plus Covid tests.

The positivity rate is 12 per cent, the percentage of asymptomatic patients is 84 per cent, and preparations are on in full swing to cater to the expected increase of 10,000 patients daily of which 15 per cent would be symptomatic requiring hospitalisation as per ICMR norms, he pointed out.

On the brighter side, Chahal said that the mortality rate is low - 4.6 deaths per day or 0.3 percent of the total positive cases between February 10-March 25, when the purported 'second wave' has set in.

The BMC has already notched a million-plus vaccinations with plans to enhance the numbers, and has increased testing in hospitals and public places or crowded areas, though all Covid-19 protocols must be followed by citizens, he urged.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
On Steven Pereiras lucky day, the gas station where he was trying to buy his Megabucks Doubler lottery ticket was closed.

He then headed to a 7-Eleven location in Fairhaven to purchase his ticket, resulting in the $10.04 million prize.

The $10.04 million jackpot is the largest won in the Megabucks Doubler game since March 11, 2017, when an $11.34 million jackpot was won on a single ticket sold in Clinton, the Massachusetts State Lottery said in a statement.

The drawing took place on March 20 and the winning numbers were 2-16-23-27-31-45.

Before claiming his prize at the Mass Lottery headquarters, Pereira got a virtual celebration.

Pereira was able to verify that he indeed won the jackpot by using the Mass Lottery app on his smartphone to scan the code on his ticket, the lottery said. When he did so, a message stating the amount of his prize appeared and virtual confetti rained down the screen accompanied by the sound of trumpets.

He chose the cash option on his prize. He received a one-time payment of $8,424,485 before taxes, which he said he plans on using to pay off his mortgage and helping out his children.

Steven Pereira's had a virtual celebration after winning $10.04 million.

Other Massachusetts residents might be sitting on unknown winnings.

There were 235 total Mass Cash tickets that won $100,000 in 2020 but not all of the ticket buyers have claimed their prizes. While these tickets do not yet expire, there are a number of winning tickets from previous years that will expire this year if left unclaimed.

Editors note: The story has been updated to include the correct spelling of Steven Pereira.

Related Content:
Train Strikes Vehicle, Injures Princeton Woman

By West Kentucky Star Staff

PRINCETON - A Princeton woman was injured Wednesday night when her vehicle was struck by a train.The Caldwell County Sheriff's Office said the collision happened at approximately 6:50 pm on Matt Rich Road. Deputies said a vehicle driven by 28-year-old Macie Oliver was traveling on Matt Rich Road toward Highway 62.

According to police, Oliver's vehicle was struck after she failed to yield the right of way to an oncoming P&L Railway train.

Oliver refused treatment at the scene, but was later airlifted to Deaconess Hospital in Evansville for treatment of her injuries. Deputies said two children in Oliver's vehicle were not injured.






[March 25, 2021] AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of Cigna Corporation and Its Subsidiaries

AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) of "a" of the key U.S. life/health subsidiaries, health maintenance organizations and New Zealand- and Europe-based insurance companies of Cigna Corporation (Cigna) (headquartered in Bloomfield, CT) [NYSE: CI]. Concurrently, AM Best has affirmed the FSR of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICRs of "a" of Medco Containment Life Insurance Company (Warrendale, PA) and Medco Containment Insurance Company of New York (Troy, NY) (collectively referred to as Medco Containment Group). Additionally, AM Best has affirmed the FSR of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICRs of "a" of the Cigna HealthSpring Companies (HealthSpring). AM Best also has affirmed the Long-Term ICR of "bbb", the Long-Term Issue Credit Ratings (Long-Term IR) and the Short-Term Issue Credit Rating (Short-Term IR) of AMB-2 of Cigna. The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. Furthermore, AM Best has affirmed the Long-Term IRs of Cigna Holding Company (headquartered in Bloomfield, CT). The outlook of these ratings is stable. (Please see link below for a detailed listing of the companies and ratings.) The majority of Cigna's core U.S. operating entities are collectively referred to herein by AM Best as the Cigna Life & Health Group. The ratings of Cigna Life & Health Group reflect its balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strong, as well as its strong operating performance, favorable business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM). The ratings of Cigna Life & Health Group also factor in the elevated, albeit declining, financial leverage of just below 40% through year-end 2020, and the very high level of goodwill at Cigna, the ultimate parent. AM Best notes that the Cigna organization has successfully executed the integration of Express Scripts following the merger, including the moderation of its total leverage. While the March 2021 debt issue has caused leverage to increase in the interim, a large portion of the funds are being used to redeem and replace existing debt. Furthermore management has repeatedly indicated that it remains committed to continued de-leveraging, which is expected to leave financial leverage around 40% again by the end of 2021. Cigna has strong earnings and dividends from the group's insurance entities, as well as solid non-regulated earnings from its Evernorth segment and from additional one-time special items, such as a portion of the proceeds from the sale of its group employee benefits business at year-end 2020. These have helped bolster holding company metrics, such as interest coverage and reduction of outstanding debt. Cigna Life & Health Group's balance sheet strength assessment of strong is supported by its risk-adjusted capitalization, which is at the strongest level, as measured by Best's Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), reinforced by excellent sources of contingent liquidity with strong and stable metrics, and operating cash flows across its diverse set of businesses. Additionally, Cigna provides access to cash in the event there are any cash flow or capital needs, and Cigna's insurance subsidiaries have consistently provided cash flow upstream in the form of dividends, which have been growing each of the past two-years, given favorable operating results. Cigna Life & Health Group reported strong earnings again in 2020, supported by lower utilization in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the organization also consistently reporting strongdouble-digit profitability ratios. Earnings and margins have been driven by Cigna Life & Health Group's core commercial and its senior segment-Medicare-related operations. AM Best also notes that Cigna Life & Health Group operates a lower risk model, with a majority of its commercial business in self-funded/administrative services only (ASO) employer groups. It should be noted that the sale of its group insurance operations is expected to cause a decline in total aggregate premium volume. Additionally, new sales were somewhat depressed in 2020, due to the pandemic, but this was offset by better persistency with less groups shopping coverage. Cigna has generally reported premium growth in its core businesses, and growth is projected for 2021.



AM Best views Cigna Life & Health Group's business profile as favorable, driven by the combination of strong market presence in its core products in the United States. In addition, Cigna Life & Health Group continues to grow its government segment, primarily Medicare-related business, which includes Medicare supplement and Medicare Advantage (MA) and MA-Part D, along with its other ancillary/supplemental businesses. Cigna has taken a measured approach to the Medicaid space, with a focus on the dual-eligible population. Finally, Express Scripts and growth of its Evernorth health services business, as well as the parent's international business, provide Cigna an expanded customer base and cross-selling opportunities, with further opportunity for premium, revenue and earnings growth for the overall organization. The ratings of Medco Containment Group reflect its balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate ERM. AM Best's views Medco as a strategic and core part of Cigna's Medicare Part D offerings.

The ratings of HealthSpring reflect its balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as adequate, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate ERM. Additionally, the ratings reflect AM Best's view of the strategic position HealthSpring plays as a core part of Cigna's MA offerings. The ratings of Cigna Life Insurance Company of Europe S.A.-N.V. (CLICE) (Belgium) reflect its balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate ERM. The ratings also factor in rating enhancement from Cigna. The ratings of CIGNA Europe Insurance Company S.A.-N.V. (CEIC) factors in its strategic importance to CLICE and Cigna as the group's non-life insurance carrier in Europe. With its competitive position in Europe's health insurance market, CLICE is viewed as a key component to the group's strategy to access and develop local opportunities in a drive to provide further geographical diversification and to strengthen global presence. The ratings of Cigna Life Insurance New Zealand Limited (CLINZ) (New Zealand) reflect its balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate ERM. Furthermore, the ratings of CLINZ factor in rating enhancement from the Cigna group. This reflects integration and ownership from Cigna group and AM Best's expectation that the group would provide capital support if required. CLINZ ranks among the largest life insurance companies in New Zealand, benefiting from a multichannel distribution approach. While the company accounts for a small component of the Cigna group's consolidated revenues and earnings, it is viewed as significant to the group's operations in the Asia-Pacific region. A complete listing of Cigna Corporation and its subsidiaries' FSRs, Long-Term ICRs and Long- and Short-Term IRs also is available. 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/20210325005650/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
A multi-millionaire classic car enthusiast lost 150,000 at the hands of a rogue salesman he had entrusted to find and restore an E-Type Jaguar.

Scott Shearman was one of a number of collectors who were stung for 400,000 by Scott Nicolson.

A court heard he would send regular updates to clients showing progress being made on the restoration of vehicles they were paying for. But in some cases the cars were not Nicolson's to sell and belonged to other clients.

It was only after his company Barbary Hill went into administration in 2018 that customers discovered they had been left out of pocket.

Businessman Mr Shearman is such a fan of Jaguar that he bought Wappenbury Hall in Warwickshire, the country estate which was home to the British marque's founder Sir William Lyons for more than 50 years.

Scott Shearman is such a fan of Jaguar that he bought Wappenbury Hall in Warwickshire, the home to the British marque's founder Sir William Lyons (pictured in front Wappenbury Hall with an E-Type Jaguar in 1966) for more than 50 years

He had planned to display the 1961 E-Type as part of his collection of classic cars at the 3.6million estate, and paid 129,993 to Nicolson's company to have it sourced and restored. But within weeks of paying for it, Barbary Hill went into administration.

Prosecutor Joey Kwong told Lincoln Crown Court the firm would 'source, purchase and restore classic Jaguar motor vehicles' from around the world, with Nicolson retaining possession of them until restoration was complete.

He said Nicolson, 45, had employed the grandson of former Jaguar chief engineer Bill Haynes, which 'no doubt led Jaguar aficionados to take their custom to Barbary Hill'.

Mr Kwong said that, while William Haynes had 'intimate knowledge' of Jaguar vehicles and oversaw the restoration workshop, he had no involvement in the finances of the company and was unaware of Nicolson's offending.

He continued: 'Mr Shearman had already purchased 30 classic cars for restoration. He was recommended to Nicolson because William Haynes was the grandson of Jaguar's long-time chief engineer.'

Lincoln Crown Court (pictured: file photo) heard heard Nicolson would send regular updates to clients showing progress being made on the restoration of vehicles they were paying for. But in some cases the cars were not Nicolson's to sell and belonged to other clients

Nicolson sourced the E-Type bought by Mr Shearman, an Australian citizen and former racing driver, from the US.

He added: 'The financial impact has been a sore point as the cars he was buying would have been renovated. He was out of pocket by at least 150,000.'

The court heard another client, who had bought nine Jaguars from Barbary Hill as an investment for his pension, paid 98,150 for one of the cars, only for Nicolson to sell it to a buyer in Portugal without permission.

A third client handed over a 50,000 deposit for the purchase and restoration of a classic Jaguar as a Christmas present, only to discover he was out of pocket when administrators notified him the firm had gone under.

Neil Sands, defending Nicolson, said the business began to suffer cash flow problems after Nicolson splashed out on what he thought was a classic vehicle which turned out to have been 'cut and shut' from three cars.

Mr Sands said a client then refused to pay for the car because it was 'essentially worthless'.

He added: 'The money has not gone on a luxury lifestyle. He lives in a rented house. He doesn't have luxury foreign holidays, a speed boat or anything like that.' Nicolson, 45, of Witham St Hughs, Lincolnshire, admitted two charges of theft and two charges of fraud. He was jailed for three years, seven months.

His benefit from crime was assessed at 409,146 but he was ruled to have no available assets and was ordered to pay a nominal sum of 1 under the Proceeds of Crime Act, meaning his victims will not receive any compensation.
A driver has narrowly avoided death after his car became trapped in floodwaters in the same spot a man was killed days earlier in eerily similar circumstances.

The man spent almost an hour stuck in his ute on Monday after it was swallowed by raging flood waters in Glenorie, in Sydney's north-west, before a local resident with a bobcat hoisted the vehicle to safety.

The harrowing escape occurred on the same road where Ayaz Younas tragically died when he was unable to free himself from his submerged Toyota Camry.

A man narrowly escaped a deadly situation after his ute became trapped in floodwaters in Glenorie, in Sydney's northwest, on Monday (pictured)

Footage obtained by 9News shows murky water creeping up over the ute bonnet and into the tray as tow chain tries to wrench it to higher ground.

With assistance, the car manages to reverse out of the deep gully as water pours out of the sides of the vehicle.

Adam, a local resident, said the water was almost up to the car's windows when his neighbour rushed to the man's aid.

'My neighbour was up moving stuff to higher ground in his bobcat and a car had gone off  a ute had gone off in the same corner,' he said.

'It was only that he was up in his bobcat saw the car there and the man had been trapped for an hour so he got in there and ripped it out.'

The two incidents on Cattai Ridge Road, which is sparsely populated, have sparked calls for floodgates to be moved.

Cattai Creek (pictured on Wednesday) became inundated with water after wild weather battered New South Wales east coast

Adam said they were currently at least 20 to 30 metres down the road.

'To have two things like that happen within three days, maybe we should move the flood gates up a bit higher,' he said.

Mr Younas was on his first day of a new contracting job when his Toyota Camry became trapped in the flood on Cattai Ridge Road.

The 25-year-old spent a desperate 39 minutes on the phone with emergency services before drowning in his car.

Pakistani national Ayaz Younas (pictured) was on his first day of a new contracting job when his Toyota Camry became trapped in floodwaters

The inside of his car was badly damaged, indicating to police that he frantically battled to save his own life and escape the car as waters rose around him.

NSW Police Detective Inspector Chris Laird said Mr Younas called Triple-Zero at 6.25am on Wednesday and remained on the line with the operator until about 7am.

'Had he not rung us, we never would have found him. Not until the water receded anyway,' Det Insp Laird said.

'But we can only speculate that given what I have seen and the damage to the vehicle that it could very well be that the electrics totally failed, and he was simply unable to escape from the car which is an absolute tragedy.

He said the roads had multiple signs and road closure warnings, yet the car was located 30 metres into flood waters and six metres under water.

Another man, David Hornman, was found inside his ute in the Gold Coast hinterland on Wednesday afternoon.

The 38-year-old father was last seen on Monday and had not contacted his family since heading to a job in the Tamborine area, where torrential rain caused flash flooding this week.

His ute was spotted earlier in the day in the flooded Canungra Creek.

Mr Younas's car (pictured) was found in Cattai Creek at about 1pm following a NSW Police and SES Flood Rescue search
Yanmar Holdings Co., Ltd. and its subsidiary Yanmar Power Technology Co., Ltd. have conducted a field demonstration test for a maritime fuel cell system in Oita, Japan.





The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has announced a strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero by the end of this century. With marine environmental regulations tightening worldwide, in December last year the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry formulated its Green Growth Strategy towards 2050 Carbon Neutrality. The strategy highlights the development of energy and power sources that reduce the impact on the environment, including those for vessels powered by carbon free fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia.

A global leader in maritime powertrain technology, Yanmar was among the first companies to comply with environmental regulations with its development of dual-fuel marine engines. Looking to the future of powertrain technology, Yanmar has developed a maritime fuel cell system that incorporates hydrogen fuel cell modules from Toyotas MIRAI automobile. The system was installed into Yanmars EX38A FC pleasure boat for field testing.

The boat is the first to officially comply with the safety guidelines for hydrogen fuel cell vessels formulated by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in Japan.

Yanmar aims to verify specific issues and solutions in a maritime environment for deployment of the maritime fuel cell system. Looking to the future, Yanmar has plans to scale the maritime fuel cell system by connecting multiple units. The system is planned to be deployed to larger vessels by 2025.

Demonstration test boat specifications Model EX38AFC prototype Weight 7.9 t Length/Beam 12.4 m / 3.4 m Power 250 kW Fuel Cell Type PEM Fuel Cell x 2 modules Hydrogen tank 70M Pa x 8 tanks

Founded in Osaka, Japan in 1912, Yanmar was the first to succeed in making a compact diesel engine of a practical size in 1933. A pioneer in diesel engine technology, Yanmar is a global innovator in a wide range of industrial equipment, from small and large engines, agricultural machinery and facilities, construction equipment, energy systems, marine, to machine tools, and components.
Maple Leaf Cement Factory awards a contract for Punjab brownfield project

25 March 2021

Maple Leaf Cement Factory Ltd (MLCFL) has signed a contract with plant supplier Chengdu Design & Research Institute of Building Materials Industry Co Ltd, China, for the supply of equipment and engineering for a 7000tpd dry-process grey clinker Line (No 4), through a brownfield expansion project in Punjab province, Pakistan.

According to a communication to Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) by Company Secretary, Muhammad Ashraf, the agreement was reached on 22 March to enhance its clinker production capacity up to 25,000tpd at the existing plant site Ishanderabad, district Mianwali, Punjab.

The project is expected to commence trial production in August 2022 and is estimated to cost PKR18.5bn (US$118.5m).

Earlier, the company had established a letter of credit for the expansion of the existing waste heat recovery plant. The project, with a projected capital outlay of PKR1.8 bn, is expected to complete by September 2021 and will increase the current capacity of 16MW to 25MW. A civil contractor has been mobilised at the site and piling work is in progress.

Published under
Shares of Nike (NYSE: NKE) are trading about 3% lower in Thursday's pre-open after the sportswear giant found itself in the center of a social media backlash in China.

Reports emerged that Nike released a statement that theyre concerned about reports of forced labor in Xinjiang. The statement didnt have a date on it and it is still unclear whether it is authentic.

We are concerned about reports of forced labor in, and connected to, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), Nike said in the statement.

Nike does not source products from the XUAR and we have confirmed with our contract suppliers that they are not using textiles or spun yarn from the region.

Some influential social media profiles on Chinese social media Weibo picked up this statement, which quickly became one of the highest trending topics in the country. Popular local actor, Wang Yibo, said he will no longer cooperate with Nike in response to the companys alleged statement.

According to Morgan Stanley, Greater China is the NKEs highest margin region (35%+ operating margin).

China has faced harsh criticism from the Western countries, with the likes of the United States, the European Union, Britain and Canada imposing sanctions on some of the countrys officials for alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang.

Human Rights Watch is continuously accusing Chinese state officials of mistreatment of the mostly Muslim Uighur population in the north-western region of Xinjiang.

In addition to NKE, the Sweden-based fashion company H&M said earlier this week it was deeply concerned about reports. Similar to Nike, H&M denied they are sourcing products from this Chinese region. Nikes arch-rival voiced similar concerns.

The state media singled out H&M for its anti-China campaign, which then prompted a strong backlash on social media as users asked for a boycott of Nike, Adidas, H&M, and others who criticized China.

Adidas stock price is down almost 4% in Frankfurt this morning while shares of H&M are trading about 2% in the red.
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.


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.
YEREVAN, MARCH 25, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and President of the Republic of Artsakh Arayik Harutyunyan chaired a consultation today with the participation of heads of responsible agencies of the Armenian government, the PMs Office told Armenpress.

Pashinyan delivered opening remarks at the meeting, stating in particular: Dear President of the Republic of Artsakh, dear colleagues, today we have gathered to discuss our agenda in the socio-economic sector, cooperation issues, as well as the process and future of the programs which we are implementing today together with the government of Artsakh. I would like to remind that one of the most important points of the roadmap released by me on November 18 is the restoration of normal life in Artsakh. We must record that at the moment we have very tangible results, but of course, there is still a lot to do and its important for us to express our political determination and commitment to completely implement that work and talk not only about the restoration of normal life in Artsakh, but also about the future development, as well as implement concrete programs. Of course, the discussions during this period at different levels have not stopped, joint decisions have been made, and today we will sum up the results of the discussions held so far and will reach some agreements over our future plans.

In his turn the President of Artsakh stated: I want to welcome and thank Mr. Prime Minister for initiating this meeting. I want to thank also the Armenian government for the ongoing social programs in the post-war period. The results are tangible in a sense that nearly 120,000 citizens of Artsakh today live in Artsakh and it seems it has been possible to ensure everything what is needed for normal life.

Arayik Harutyunyan emphasized that the key task at this stage is the house-building, adding that there are a lot of works to be done in this respect.

I consider the house-building as our main task, and according to our plans, at least 5-5,58 thousand apartments should be constructed within 2.5-3 years. The second key task is the compensation of the damages caused, as many of our compatriots have suffered huge damages, and we need to make a decision together in terms of the compensation of these damages, the President of Artsakh said.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
TALLAHASSEE, FLA.  Amid a bitter contract dispute, a Florida police union purchased billboard space spotlighting the crime and murder rate in Tallahassee, warning parents to think again before sending their children to town for college.

The Big Bend Police Benevolent Association-sponsored billboards went up at prominent intersections at midnight Wednesday, said President Richard Murphy, who is in the middle of contract mediation negotiations. The PBA is in mediation with Tallahassee city officials pushing for an end to a contract impasse.

The billboards warn people about the crime rate and encourage them to the city manager push for a fair contract.

Thinking of sending your child to college in Tallahassee? Think again, the billboards read. Tallahassee is the 5th most dangerous city in Florida. Murders are the highest theyve been in years.

Tallahassee is home to Florida State University and Florida A&M University, as well as Tallahassee Community College. The three schools enroll thousands of students.

The digital billboard plays in succession with advertisements purchased by the city thanking the Tallahassee Police Department and the Tallahassee Fire Department.

Related: Tallahassee police investigate 'massive stabbing'

Tallahassee and Leon County saw a record number of murders in 2020  part of an uptick in violent crime across the country  tallying 28 last year, according to records from the Tallahassee Police Department and the Leon County Sheriff's Office.

Were trying to educate the whole community why we should get a fair and competitive contract that can help with recruitment and retention, Murphy said. Have we been frustrated in this process by the city? Yes. But weve got to get serious about addressing our crime problem.

The move drew immediate backlash from some who questioned whether the PBA was working against itself.

City Commissioner Curtis Richardson, who along with his colleagues would eventually vote to ratify any contract with the PBA, said he was dismayed by the tactic.

Story continues

Im very disappointed to say the least because that is an indictment on our community, not just the city of Tallahassee government, but our community generally, he said.

Extremely poor timing. Well continue the negotiating process," he added. "I wish they had taken that into consideration before they decided to do that billboard.

Leon County Republican Chair Evan Power weighed in on Twitter saying the billboard's message on crime and murders were a "real concern."

Sue Dick, president of the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce, rejected the billboard's message that Tallahassee was an unsafe place to send kids for college.

Parents from all over Florida, the country and even internationally trust their children to Tallahassee as a safe community where our trio of outstanding, nationally respected and recognized universities and colleges prepare those young people for the future," she said. "It's wrong for the PBA to engage in this regrettable effort to undermine our city

The areas top law enforcement official, State Attorney Jack Campbell, noted the issues raised by the PBA are ones that officers with TPD and other law enforcement agencies in town work toward solving every day.

To use fear as a negotiating strategy is disappointing to me," Campbell said. "Our law enforcement is better than that. Our community is better than that. Thats not who we are. Of course there are things we work on and candidly TPD and the officers they employ are on the frontline of those issues.

An impasse was declared last fall. Murphy said TPD officers pay among the highest in the state into their pension, and take-home pay is one of the lowest of law enforcement officers at agencies across the region.

According to city documents, the gross salary range for TPD officers who were PBA members ranged from $143,057 at the high end to $50,298 at the entry level in 2020. A city official added that the average salary for an officer is $79,133.

Follow Karl Etters on Twitter: @KarlEtters.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Police union purchases billboards blasting Florida's capital city
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

New research by Carmel Salhi, a Northeastern professor, shows that 70 percent of parents believe their children cannot access the guns they keep in their homes. The children tell a different story.

More than one-third of adolescents (ages 13 to 17) say they could gain access in less than five minutes to a loaded firearm kept in the home, and half could gain access in 60 minutes or less.

"It was really shocking to see that half of the children in homes with guns reported being able to get to a loaded gun in under an hour," says Salhi, an assistant professor of health sciences, in reference to another key finding.

Salhi says the nationally representative surveywhich included 280 families with children who keep firearms in the homeserves as a warning to parents that a home with guns isn't as safe as they may have thought.

He says the focus should be on adolescents' access to firearms, because 30 percent of parents admitted that their children had access to guns in the home. Also, he adds, locking away the guns doesn't necessarily cut off access.

"Most of the messaging around reducing firearms access for adolescents has been around locking the guns," Salhi says. "The number of adolescents who have ready access to a gun in the home is really startling to see, and that points to this being a public health issue."

Previous research by Northeastern's Matt Miller, a co-author of the study, has shown that people who own a handgun are almost four times more likely to die by suicide than those who don't have guns. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among people under 35 in the United States.

Salhi's work pairs with earlier research by Miller revealing that health-care workers rarely discuss firearm safety with their patients. These studies help reveal the need for a public health approach to gun safety, says Miller, a professor of health sciences and epidemiology who has been researching injury and violence prevention for two decades.

"These conversations in a medical setting rarely occur with gun owners even when there are children in the home," says Miller, who was joined on the Salhi study by Deborah Azrael of the Harvard Injury Control Research Center. "Access to loaded firearms, which Dr. Salhi's work indicates is all too common, means that impulsive suicidal behavior is more likely to result in death than if guns were less accessible to adolescents in this country."

The American Public Health Association, a century-old organization of public-health professionals with more than 25,000 members worldwide, cites gun violence as "a leading cause of premature death in the U.S." A national record of more than 43,000 people were killed by gun violence in 2020, according to the Gun Violence Archive, including more than 24,000 people who died by suicide.

Research released by Miller in 2020 showed that access to a gun makes it four times more likely that a suicide will result in death than if there were no gun involved.

"Suicide is impulsive," says Salhi. "Prevention is much more likely to be effective than trying to predict it."

Salhi says the next step is to conduct research that shows how adolescents gain access to guns in their household, regardless of whether they are locked. In addition to the primary focus on suicide, there also is reason to fear the potential for accidents when children gain access to firearms.

"This is also a message about unintentional firearm death and injury," Salhi says. "When children have guns in an unsupervised environment, they face a higher risk of injury."

Explore further Handgun ownership associated with firearm suicide

More information: Carmel Salhi et al. Parent and Adolescent Reports of Adolescent Access to Household Firearms in the United States, JAMA Network Open (2021). Journal information: JAMA Network Open Carmel Salhi et al. Parent and Adolescent Reports of Adolescent Access to Household Firearms in the United States,(2021). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.0989
Director of Operations, Drug Law Enforcement Agency - The Gambia (DLEAG), Ebrima Drammeh, alias Jim Drammeh, yesterday admitted before the TRRC that the cover-up in the killings of West African Migrants was not based on national security but a shame.

The former director of Internal Security and Operations at the NIA reappeared in connection with the taskforce created by The Gambia government to help ECOWAS/ UN investigations into the killings of West African Migrants.

He testified that he and Aziz Hydara were summoned at the Ministry of Interior alongside Lamin Bo Badjie, Yankuba Sonko, Malamin Ceesay, late Numo Kujabi, the late Nfally Jabang and Justice Awa Bah.

According to him, they were not chosen to investigate the matter because there was a preliminary investigation made by a previous taskforce, saying their task was to be a focal person for the UN Fact Finders.

"We were orally briefed that the UN will post questions to Gambia government and the taskforce was supposed to respond to those questions. We would also take them to visiting places, arrange interviews."

According to Drammeh, when the alleged killings of the Ghanaians happened, he was not in the country. However, lead counsel Faal told him that he witness (Drammeh) knew a lot bigger than that.

In response, Drammeh said rumours were rife, while Counsel Essa Faal told him that those rife rumours had some elements of truth involving the person they were supposed to report to. Drammeh answered in the positive.

The witness told the commission that had it been that Jungler Omar Jallow, alias Oya and others had not confessed before the Truth Commission, he wouldn't have known that 51 West African migrants were executed.

Continuing his testimony, the witness said when the Ghanaians' issue arose, he was not the director of Internal Security and Operations. But Faal told him that every correspondence by government was kept at the NIA.

Mr. Drammeh said they all lied to the UN investigators but Faal told him that the lie continued from 2005- 2007 when the said investigators came to The Gambia.

Lead Counsel Faal further indicated to him that the fact findings established by The Gambia government was interested in the 8 Ghanaians that were killed, while the international community was interested in 56 migrants.

Drammeh said there was never a point in time he ever became afraid in operations other than the killings of the West African migrants, saying if they had done otherwise, he would not have been before the TRRC to testify.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Gambia Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

He further admitted that the taskforce was formed to deliberately serve as an obstacle to the investigations.

The witness added that in all their operations, Nfally Jabang was there as the eyes and ears of the former president.

"I want to make known to this Commission that during the constitution of that taskforce, we were not to investigate but to serve as focal persons for government. To provide the necessary answers to the UN Fact Finding Mission but when we got to the work, it was different."

He accepted that they all deliberately and consciously lied to the investigators; adding that the Barra Dairy was submitted to the then Crime Management coordinator, now Minister of the Interior.

Mr. Drammeh disagreed with Counsel Faal that he had violated the law for accepting to be part of a cover-up of crimes committed by the state.

Share Article

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share by E-Mail

Share on Pinterest

Share on LinkedIn

Share on WhatsApp

Bench warrant for NAWEC Qpower bank account hackers

Yakumba, Yusupha Jaiteh to file no-case submission
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
HARBOR SPRINGS, MICH. -- Fittingly, the idea to marry childrens nursery rhymes with constellations in the night sky came to author Mary Stewart Adams while waking from a dream.

Sparked by learning a new nursery rhyme from her young niece during a family visit, Adams awoke one morning more than a decade ago with the words Mother Goose is Cygnus at the top of her mind.

The star lore historian and founding director of Michigans Headlands International Dark Sky Park was instantly captivated by the juxtaposition of Cygnus  the constellation of the swan  with the tales of Mother Goose.

What followed was a decade of research and related work that now have culminated in a new book, The Star Tales of Mother Goose, written by Adams and illustrated by Adams sister, Patricia DeLisa.

Adams says the book is for both children and adults, as it includes colorfully illustrated traditional nursery rhymes like Hey Diddle Diddle, Little Bo Peep, and Humpty Dumpty, but also sky maps, historical references, a glossary of astronomical terms, and keys for finding stars that can be linked to corresponding characters from Mother Goose rhymes.

In many ways, the book is an attempt to reestablish humans cultural connection with the night sky, Adams says.

I feel very strongly that we need that now more than ever, she says. We need that sense of being connected to something thats greater, and its OK if that greater thing is a thing thats full of delightfulness. It doesnt always have to be seriousness. It can just be something that lifts up the heart and makes us smile and sparkle.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of writing the book for Adams was digging through historical literature to find when each nursery rhyme first appeared. From there, she used research and imagination to connect each tales characters with the stars.

Take the nursery rhyme Hey Diddle Diddle, for instance. Adams says the cow jumped over the moon line clued her to look at the stars in the month of May, when the moon is new in Taurus, the sign of the bull. From there, finding the rhymes other characters was simple: The cat is embodied in the constellation Leo, the fiddle is Lyra, the little dog is Canis Minor, and the spoon is the Big Dipper, all constellations that are visible in the May night sky.

Adams says that finishing the book in 2020, a year eclipsed by the global pandemic, felt especially timely. The way that nursery rhymes just bounce along, in the same way that the stars continue to shine and the sun keeps rising, offers hope that theres always a way through, she says.

When the pandemic hit it was like, We need this, she says. Maybe Im bold in saying that, but I feel like we need the joy, we need the whimsy, we need to be lifted up to this greater sense of being connected to something that resolves in happily ever after, again and again and again.

The Star Tales of Mother Goose is currently available for pre-order at www.starlore.co, where you can also find out more about the author and illustrator, and see examples of the illustrations. More on Mary Stewart Adams work can be found at storytellersnightsky.com.

RELATED:

Delaying early spring yardwork helps save Michigan bees and butterflies
Armenias Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Vache Terteryan today received newly appointed Ambassador of Iceland to Armenia Arni Thor Sigurdsson (seat in Moscow).

The deputy minister stated that Armenia and Iceland have successfully cooperated on international platforms and particularly within various structures of the Council of Europe. He also considered prospective exchange of experience and further partnership in the areas of territorial administration and local self-governance, development of local democracy, expansion of inter-community relations, transport communication and diversification of energy infrastructures.

Terteryan also attached special importance to the significant role that Iceland has played in the preservation of Armenia historical and cultural values within the scope of the UNESCO and further support.

Expressing gratitude for the reception, Ambassador Sigurdsson expressed willingness to expand the partnership between Armenia and Iceland. He added that Iceland is interested in the use of the unused potential in the indicated sectors and the exchange of experience within the framework of reforms in the areas of civil aviation, thermal energy and administrative-territorial reforms.
A matrix of winemaking decisions progress from the vineyard to the bottle. As a sommelier, Skye LaTorre sees her job as carrying that process through to the glass and to her own patrons experience.

Now she has a new wine bar for all that to open up.

Pluck Wine Bar & Restaurant opened in late March in the Central Business District, with a deep wine list and a kitchen led by Heathcliffe Hailey, who built his name as chef at the now-closed Mimis in the Marigny.

LaTorre developed Pluck with partners as her first restaurant and wine bar, after building a career in different facets of the wine business.

This is the closest thing to making wine that I can imagine for myself, being thoughtful about how I represent wines that I love and winemakers I admire, LaTorre said.

The wine list makes clear her own high regard for Champagne and Burgundy, two regions that get lavish attention at Pluck. But as she hired her staff and refined Plucks style and approach, her decisions were aimed at creating a wine bar that invites exploration and stirs curiosity.

That opens it up for everyone, she said. Because wine is not just about the high end, there's so much nuance in between. Thats what I like to show people.

Pluck is focused squarely on wine. The bar has no cocktails and just a small selection of beer.

The by-the-glass list runs to 20 wines; the bottle list runs to 14 pages. There are plenty of bottles under $50 and also what LaTorre dubs overachievers that land higher up the curve.

I like wine that's priced to drink, she said.

Pluck is licensed as a restaurant, an important distinction under the citys coronavirus rules.

Hailey's menu is about food to make you want to drink wine, not necessarily about specific pairings.

Food and restaurant news in your inbox Every Thursday we give you the scoop on NOLA dining. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

At Mimis, Hailey essentially ran a late-night tapas bar, and some of that shows here, with goat cheese croquettes, wild mushrooms cooked with garlic and sauce verdejo and grilled lamb chops with romesco, the classic Catalonian sauce. The menu has cheese and charcuterie boards, of course, and includes a few sandwiches, like a traditional French jambon beurre.

The location is key. To LaTorre, a wine bar needs to be part of its neighborhood. She knows the CBD is a neighborhood that mixes residents, visitors and a lot of people in the restaurant business, at least when times are good. She's banking on times getting better.

LaTorre worked in New Orleans restaurants from 1999 until Hurricane Katrina, after which she worked around San Francisco and New York in the wine business, earning sommelier certification along the way.

Pluck is in an old storefront that's now part of a larger development by Sonder, the short-term rental company. It shares the block with Donald Links bistro Herbsaint.

It's a snug space that still has distinct areas for different types of visits  small booths tucked into scalloped coves, a communal table (perhaps for when life becomes more communal again), and a small dining room area opening to a front patio.

Walls of thick white masonry evoke a wine cave, while pearlescent tile floors add a subtle sparkle  and maybe a subliminal nudge to order more bubbly.

On one wall, a commissioned piece from local artist Ashlee Jones is a rendition of the wine aroma wheel that's plucky in its own right, recasting the familiar industry tool for assessing wine qualities with pop art accessibility.

I want this to be a place where people feel super welcome, where they're coming for wine and learning more about what they like, which just makes us even more curious, LaTorre said. It's important to have places like that."

Pluck Wine Bar & Restaurant

722 Girod St., no phone; reservations via resy.com

Initial hours: Wed.-Sun., 5-11 p.m.

+9 With covered patio, bottomless mimosas, Birdys adds brunch to Magazine Street complex Tents cover the long, landscaped patio in the Framework building. Now, all the restaurants that share this outdoor space are under the same umbrella.

+12 Dunbars Creole Cuisine gets a reality TV revamp, and new hope to survive pandemic The gumbo goes back at Dunbars Creole Cuisine. The urgent question now for the family here is how to carry it forward.
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!
Jess Gale left little to the imagination on Wednesday when she posed up a storm in a tiny yellow bikini for a sizzling trio of throwback Instagram snaps.

The Love Island star, 21, put her incredible curves on full display, with the string two-piece barely containing her ample assets.

Wearing her waist-length hair loose and plumping her pout with lipgloss, Jess looked nothing short of sensational in the photos, which she captioned: 'Summer archives.'

Stunning: Jess Gale, 21, left little to the imagination on Wednesday when she posed up a storm in a tiny yellow bikini for a sizzling trio of Instagram snaps

Summer ready: The Love Island star, 21, put her incredible curves on full display, with the string two-piece barely containing her ample assets

Jess' supportive twin sister Eve was quick to repost her sibling's gorgeous photo, adding a shooting star emoji.

Earlier this month, Eve told fans that she was pining for sunnier climes as she shared a throwback swimsuit snap, before slipping into tiny hotpants.

The blonde beauty flaunted her ample cleavage and underboob in a skimpy orange swimsuit. She captioned the snap: 'Oh to be this tanned again #June2020.

Natural look: Wearing her sandy waist-length hair loose and plumping her pout with a lick of lipgloss, Jess looked nothing short of sensational in the sultry photos

Jess and Eve recently returned to the UK following their 'work' trip to the United Arab Emirates.

The TV stars were just two of many celebrities who jetted to Dubai throughout the pandemic, joining many other Love Islanders including Joanna Chimonides, Hayley Hughes and Francesca Allen.

After Dubai joined UK's travel ban list, celebrities then began flocking to Mexico's bars and beaches as it established itself as the next COVID getaway destination.

The country appeared to be the new destination of choice for global jet-setters and could rocket in popularity at the time.

Travel abroad is now banned from the UK without a legally permitted reason, Home Secretary Priti Patel announced, as she criticised influencers for 'showing off in sunny parts of the world'.

Many stars insisted their trips are for 'work purposes', with several influencers forced to hit back at fans after they were criticised for jetting off on holiday during the global pandemic.

Jess and Eve rose to fame on the first ever series of winter Love Island back in 2020.

While Eve was booted off after less than a week, Jess made it to the final with Ched Uzor - with the pair going their separate ways shortly afterwards.
Queen Mathilde of Belgium cut a stylish figure as she visited the 'Children of the Renaissance' exhibition in Museum Hof van Busleyden in Mechelen, Belgium today.

The mother-of-four, 48, looked typically glamorous in a green dress which featured waist-belt detail and a matching face mask, and wore a checked coat elegantly over her shoulders.

The royal completed her chic ensemble with a pair of brown suede heels and matching clutch bag.

Based on works of art, writings and utensils, the exhibition tells the story of three generations of Burgundian-Habsburg princes and princesses who grew up in Mechelen in the 16th century.

Queen Mathilde of Belgium, 48, visited the new exhibition 'Children of the Renaissance' at the Hof Van Busleyden Museum in Mechelen, Belgium today

The royal (pictured) looked typically glamorous in a green dress which featured waist-belt detail and a matching face mask

Queen Mathilde accessorised with a pair of dangling gold leaf earrings and kept her makeup glam - adding a layering of mascara and pink blusher.

The royal also donned a silver and gold watch on her left wrist, along with two dainty bracelets, and was greeted by well-wishers as she arrived in a chauffeur-driven car.

With this visit, the Queen wishes to support the cultural sector, which has been badly affected by the Covid-19 crisis in recent months.

The exhibition is under the patronage of His Majesty King Philippe of Belgium.

The mother-of-four braved the chilly weather conditions in bare legs and completed her outfit with a pair of brown suede heels

Based on works of art, writings and utensils, the exhibition tells the story of three generations of Burgundian-Habsburg princes and princesses who grew up in Mechelen in the 16th century. Pictured, Queen Mathilde

With this visit, the Queen (pictured) wishes to support the cultural sector, which has been badly affected by the Covid-19 crisis in recent months

The engagement comes just days after the king of Belgium laid a wreath at a metro station on the fifth anniversary of the Brussels terror attack that killed 32 people in the country's worst atrocity since World War II.

King Philippe and Queen Mathilde held a moment of silence at Maelbeek station at 9.11am, the exact time a bomb went off on a metro train on March 22, 2016.

The royals also met victims and their relatives at the city's Zaventem airport where ISIS suicide bombers let off another two explosions on that day.

The Islamist attacks left hundreds injured and traumatised in addition to the 32 deaths, and efforts to bring the surviving plotters to justice are still ongoing.

The mother-of-four wore a silver and gold watch on her left wrist, along with two dainty bracelets (pictured)

Queen Mathilde of Belgium put her best foot forward as she took a tour of the exhibition in a bid to support the cultural sector which has been badly affected by Covid-19

The exhibition is based on works of art, writings and utensils. Pictured, Mathilde during the tour

Queen Mathilde (pictured) accessorised with a pair of dangling gold leaf earrings and kept her makeup glam - adding a layering of mascara and pink blusher

During a tour of the exhibition, the royal learned about the story of three generations of Burgundian-Habsburg princes and princesses who grew up in Mechelen in the 16th century

The mother-of-four could be seen clutching a book during her tour of the exhibition (pictured)

Typically stylish, the royal placed her checked jacket elegant on her shoulders during the duration of her visit (pictured)

Queen Mathilde, along with staff members, could be seen putting safety first in protective masks (pictured)

The royal's visit (pictured, today) comes just days after her husband, the king of Belgium laid a wreath at a metro station on the fifth anniversary of the Brussels terror attack

Following the tour, Queen Mathilde of Belgium could be seen signing a book to mark her working visit
(Natural News) (Article republished from TheNationalPulse.com)

The victims include grocery store workers, local college graduates, medicare agents, a police officer, and an Orthodox Christian.

Today, The National Pulse calls on the political left and their media counterparts to stop the racial hatred they continue to perpetuate against white people, which doubtlessly led to these murders in Colorado.

Strong resided in Boulder, Colorado and had worked at the King Soopers grocery store since 2018. He described himself as a fan of planes, bikes, and motorcycles on social media and friends say he was training to be a pilot.

Rikki Olds, 25

Olds worked at the King Soopers grocery store. She went to high school in Lafayette, Colorado, and attended Front Range Community College. We lost our beloved Rikki Olds to the monster who shot up the king scoopers in Boulder CO yesterday may his rotten a** fry and burn in hell, her aunt Lori Olds said.

Tralona Bartkowiak, 49

Bartkowiak had recently gotten engaged and ran a small boutique focused on yoga and festival attire in Boulder.

Suzanne Fountain, 59

Fountain worked as a licensed Medicare agent and financial counselor.

Teri Leiker, 51

Leiker had worked at the store targeted in the attack for three decades, and her friends revealed working at the store was her favorite thing to do.

Since 2019, Leiker was dating a colleague, Clint, who survived the shooting.

She loved going to work and enjoyed everything about being there, friends added.

Eric Talley, 51

The father of seven had served the Boulder Police Department since 2010.

He loved his kids and his family more than anything, said Talleys father, Homer Talley.

He was looking for a job to keep himself off of the front lines and was learning to be a drone operator. He didnt want to put his family through something like this and he believed in Jesus Christ, he added.

Kevin Mahoney, 61

Mahoneys daughter revealed that her father had been killed in the shooting with a photo of him walking her down the aisle for her wedding with the caption I am heartbroken to announce that my Dad, my hero, Kevin Mahoney, was killed in the King Soopers shooting in my hometown of Boulder, CO.

My dad represents all things Love, she added.

Lynn Murray, 62

Murray had two children and was a retired New York City magazine photo director whose clients included Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, and Glamour. She relocated to Colorado to raise her children.

Her family noted she was at the grocery store to fill an Instacart order at the time of the shooting.

I just want her to be remembered as just as this amazing, amazing comet spending 62 years flying across the sky, her husband John urged.

Jody Waters, 65

Waters was a mother, grandmother, and rescue dog owner. She describes herself as a hiker and creative entrepreneur.

Neven Stanisic, 23

A graduate of Alameda West High School, Stanisic and his family fled Bosnia 20 years ago for a better life in America, according to leaders at Saint John the Baptist Serbian Orthodox Church in Lakewood.

He was an amazing child, said Ivana Petrovic, who along with her husband, Rev. Radovan Petrovic, have close ties with the family. Weve known the family ever since we became their spiritual father and mother here. He was a very good, shy, hardworking boy and one of those kiddos who listened to his parents the best.

Stanisics Facebook showed him smiling with classmates and contained images of hand-drawn anime characters and the Assassins Creed video game series.

Read more at: TheNationalPulse.com or AntiWhite.news.
Ottawa, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 25, 2021) - Northern Graphite Corporation (TSXV: NGC) (OTCQB: NGPHF) (the "Company" or "Northern") announces that 3,020,000 warrants that were due to expire on March 24, 2021 have been exercised at a price of $0.40 per share. The Company realized proceeds of $1,208,000 and its cash position currently stands at $4.9 million. The Company also owns 2,000,000 shares of Electric Royalties Ltd. with a market value of approximately $650,000 and it has no debt. Northern currently has 78,820,756 shares outstanding.

Gregory Bowes, CEO commented that: "The Company greatly appreciates the vote of confidence from existing shareholders who have increased their investment by exercising warrants." He added that: "While there has been an almost constant stream of announcements about the EV plans of major automobile makers and increases in lithium ion battery manufacturing capacity, they have said little about the substantial quantity of graphite that is required to actualize these plans. This needs to change because the production of synthetic graphite has a very large environmental footprint and both it and the natural graphite market are dominated by China. There are very few graphite deposits located in countries, and owned by companies, that can meet the highest ESG standards. Northern is one of them."

About Northern Graphite

Northern Graphite is a mineral development and technology company focussed on developing its Bissett Creek graphite deposit and upgrading mine concentrates into high value components used in lithium-ion batteries, electric vehicles, fuel cells, graphene and other advanced technologies. An independent study estimates that Bissett Creek will have the highest margin of any existing or proposed graphite deposit due to its very favorable location, simple metallurgy and the high quality of its concentrates which the Company believes will provide a competitive advantage in manufacturing products for the green economy.

Bissett Creek is an advanced stage project with a full Feasibility Study and its major mining permit which puts the Company in position to make a construction decision, subject to financing. The Project is located in the southern part of Canada between the cities of North Bay and Ottawa and close to the Trans-Canada highway providing ready access to labour, supplies, equipment, natural gas and markets.

Qualified Person

Gregory Bowes, B.Sc. MBA, P. Geo., a Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and is responsible for the technical information in this news release.

For additional information

Please visit the Company's website at http://www.northerngraphite.com/investors/presentation/, the Company's profile on www.sedar.com, or contact Gregory Bowes, CEO (613) 241-9959.

This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements and information are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "potential", "possible" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may", "will", "could", or "should" occur. Forward-looking statements in this release include statements regarding, among others; economic and technical studies, graphite prices, project economics, permitting, the development timeline and the graphite market.All such forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and analyses made by management based on their experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors they believe are appropriate in the circumstances. However, these statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected including, but not limited to, unexpected changes in laws, rules or regulations, or their enforcement by applicable authorities; the failure of other parties to perform as agreed; social or labour unrest; changes in commodity prices; unexpected failure or inadequacy of infrastructure and the failure of ongoing and contemplated studies to deliver anticipated results or results that would justify and support continued studies, development or operations. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information or statements.

Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based on what management believes are reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with them. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Subject to applicable securities laws, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this news release.

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.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/78570
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.
Death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate.

- Ambrose Bierce.





However, this can be avoided by having a well-crafted estate plan in place and a will may be the most important document that you would write. This is important not only for the elderly but for every individual above the age of thirty years. It is a part of your overall financial planning because it allows you to select the persons who will receive your assets in case of demise.

Image: Shutterstock

How To Prepare A Will:

Preparing a will requires you to do all of the below points

collating the details of all the assets and liabilities,

understanding the specific laws of succession for each asset class,

deciding which family member or person would inherit the assets after your demise,

choosing the right executor who will administer the estate after your demise,

choosing a guardian for minor children in case of the demise of both parents.

One could seek the help of a lawyer who could provide advice on the above matters and ultimately draft the will in legal language incorporating crucial and contingency clauses.

Review Of An Existing Will

Those who already have a will should review the same to check if any changes are required due to marriage, divorce, having children, the demise of family members, the addition of wealth, changing your mind about your heirs etc. One may either choose to make a codicil or prepare a new will.

Executing A Will And Its Registration

Once the will has been drafted, it can be printed on plain paper, signed by the testator and two witnesses. The witnesses shouldnt be the beneficiaries under the will. Registration of a will is not compulsory, but it provides greater authenticity and makes it less prone to legal challenges.





Image: Shutterstock

Intestacy Rules

In absence of a will, the intestacy rules will apply. Its means that the assets of an individual will get distributed amongst the legal heirs as per the applicable succession laws which are based on their religion. This is irrespective of any nomination. Most of the times people do not prefer distributing their assets in the above manner and their wishes regarding distribution can be exercised by writing a Will.

Challenges In Absence Of A Will

Not having a Will may lead to family disputes and lengthy court battles. A Will which lists down all the assets comes as a rescue to the family members when they are trying to get access to these assets and saves them the hassle of digging into your accounts and files to gather information. Having a Will in place also reduces the paperwork tremendously during the execution of the estate of a deceased.

An effective succession plan in place provides one peace of mind and without procrastinating one should implement this with careful thought and consideration.



Also read: Do Finances Matter In Relationships?
Report reveals 'astonishing' shortage of information about how rapid advances in educational technology could help pupils with disabilities in low and middle-income countries

An 'astonishing' deficit of data about how the global boom in educational technology could help pupils with disabilities in low and middle-income countries has been highlighted in a new report.

Despite widespread optimism that educational technology, or 'EdTech', can help to level the playing field for young people with disabilities, the study found a significant shortage of evidence about which innovations are best-positioned to help which children, and why; specifically in low-income contexts.

The review also found that many teachers lack training on how to use new technology, or are reluctant to do so.

The study was carried out for the EdTech Hub partnership, by researchers from the Universities of Cambridge, Glasgow and York. They conducted a detailed search for publications reporting trials or evaluations about how EdTech is being used to help primary school-age children with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries. Despite screening 20,000 documents, they found just 51 relevant papers from the past 14 years - few of which assessed any impact on children's learning outcomes.

Their report describes the paucity of evidence as 'astonishing', given the importance of educational technologies to support the learning of children with disabilities. According to the Inclusive Education Initiative, as many as half the estimated 65 million school-age children with disabilities worldwide were out of school even before the COVID-19 pandemic, and most face ongoing, significant barriers to attending or participating in education.

EdTech is widely seen as having the potential to reverse this trend, and numerous devices have been developed to support the education of young people with disabilities. The study itself identifies a kaleidoscopic range of devices to support low vision, sign language programmes, mobile apps which teach braille, and computer screen readers.

It also suggests, however, that there have been very few systematic attempts to test the effectiveness of these devices. Dr Paul Lynch, from the School of Education, University of Glasgow, said: "The evidence for EdTech's potential to support learners with disabilities is worryingly thin. Even though we commonly hear of interesting innovations taking place across the globe, these are not being rigorously evaluated or documented."

Professor Nidhi Singal, from the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, said: "There is an urgent need to know which technology works best for children with disabilities, where, and in response to which specific needs. The lack of evidence is a serious problem if we want EdTech to fulfil its potential to improve children's access to learning, and to increase their independence and agency as they progress through school."

The report identifies numerous 'glaring omissions' in the evaluations that researchers did manage to uncover. Around half were for devices designed to support children with hearing or vision difficulties; hardly any addressed the learning needs of children with autism, dyslexia, or physical disabilities. Most were from trials in Asia or Africa, while South America was underrepresented.

Much of the evidence also concerned EdTech projects which Dr Gill Francis, from the University of York and a co-author, described as 'in their infancy'. Most focused on whether children liked the tools, or found them easy to use, rather than whether they actually improved curriculum delivery, learner participation and outcomes. Attention was also rarely given to whether the devices could be scaled up - for example, in remote and rural areas where resources such as electricity are often lacking. Few studies appeared to have taken into account the views or experiences of parents or carers, or of learners themselves.

The studies reviewed also suggest that many teachers lack experience with educational technology. For example, one study in Nigeria found that teachers lacked experience of assistive technologies for students with a range of disabilities. Another, undertaken at 10 schools for the blind in Delhi, found that the uptake of modern low-vision devices was extremely limited, because teachers were unaware of their benefits.

Despite the shortage of information overall, the study did uncover some clear evidence about how technology - particularly portable devices - is transforming opportunities for children with disabilities. Deaf and hard-of-hearing pupils, for instance, are increasingly using SMS and social media to access information about lessons and communicate with peers; while visually-impaired pupils have been able to use tablet computers, in particular, to magnify and read learning materials.

Based on this, the report recommends that efforts to support children with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries should focus on the provision of mobile and portable devices, and that strategies should be put in place to ensure that these are sustainable and affordable for parents and schools - as cost was another concern that emerged from the studies cited.

Critically, however, the report states that more structured evidence-gathering is urgently needed to ensure EdTech meets the UN's stated goal to 'ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning for all'. The authors suggest that there is a need to adopt more robust research designs, which should address a full range of disabilities, and involve pupils, carers and teachers in the process.

"There is no one-size-fits-all solution when working with children with disabilities," Singal added. "That is why the current lack of substantive evidence is such a concern. It needs to be addressed so that teachers, parents and learners are enabled to make informed judgements about which technological interventions work, and what might work best for them."

###
Amy Hart has revealed that she was initially sent into a 'panic' when her first two attempts at freezing her eggs failed.

The Love Island star, 28, who has never had a boyfriend, revealed earlier this month that she has had her eggs frozen after doctors warned her she was heading towards an 'early menopause'.

And speaking in a new interview, Amy discussed her fertility journey and admitted that one of the key factors in her decision was because she didn't want to 'miss out' on having children when the 'right person' does eventually come along.

Fertility journey: Amy Hart has revealed that she was initially sent into a 'panic' when her first two attempts at freezing her eggs failed (pictured in February)

The former air hostess was left devastated after previously spending 5,000 on two rounds of unsuccessful egg-freezing, with Amy left wondering if she should attempt IVF should her third attempt fail.

Speaking to The Sun after her third attempt luckily proved a success, Amy discussed her desire to be a mum as she said: 'I have always wanted kids and cant see myself ever not having them. That is why I wanted to freeze my eggs now, while they are still young and healthy.

'When my first two attempts failed, it sent me into a panic about whether to do IVF and have a baby immediately, because the freezing was not working. I felt uncertain about what was going to happen if I went for the third round and it didnt work.'

Meanwhile, the single star discussed her future and noted that although she's in 'no rush' for a romance, her frozen eggs means that she'll have have the option of starting a family when Mr Right does eventually come along.

She explained: 'I would love to meet someone but I am in no rush. I have never had a relationship and there is no boy currently on the horizon. But if and when I do meet someone, I would never want to be in the position where I missed out on having children because I didnt meet the right person in time.'

Taking action: The Love Island star, 28, who has never had a boyfriend, revealed earlier this month that she has had her eggs frozen after doctors warned her she was heading towards an 'early menopause'

Amy was famously left heartbroken when she was dumped by 'half boyfriend' Curtis Pritchard on the 2019 series of Love Island, with the dancer going on to romance Maura Higgins.

She also attempted to find love on Celebs Go Dating, but sadly Amy's hunt for 'the one' continues.

Discussing her love life, the stunner admitted she's 'always been single' and so doesn't 'know any different', but added she sees the positive in this as she has a 'nice life' surrounded by loved ones and is free to do what she wants at any time.

Decision: Speaking in a new interview, Amy discussed her fertility journey and admitted that one of the key factors in her decision was because she didn't want to 'miss out' on having children when the 'right person' does eventually come along

What is egg freezing? Freezing allows women to store their eggs at a young age so they can be used in IVF when they want a family. This gives them a greater chance of conceiving as the quality of the eggs they produce as they get older deteriorates. But so far fewer than a fifth have a baby after using their frozen eggs, according to the fertility watchdog, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). It has an average UK cost of 8,000. Advertisement

And while she's fine with being single for now, her desire for children is always at the forefront of her mind as she went on to says she 'so maternal' and has long dreamt of having kids, insisting that she didn't want her low egg count to 'get in the way' of her dream.

Going through her gruelling treatment, Amy ensured she kept her fitness levels up in the month before and ditched alcohol and fizzy drinks.

She also had two weeks of hormone injections to stimulate the ovaries in a bid to produce multiple eggs, with Amy admitting that though her third attempt was successful, she didn't realise the process would be so hard and noted it was 'a lot to go through.'

Despite suffering side effects such as headaches and nausea, Amy insisted it was 'all worth it' after doctors managed to collect five eggs which were big enough to freeze immediately.

The TV personality then went on to add that she feels it is now her 'responsibility' to educate people and dispel the stigma of fertility treatment using the platform she has.

Earlier this month, Amy emotionally revealed on Loose Women that she has had her eggs frozen and that was she relieved over the successful results following two previous failed rounds.

The star also shared a throwback video of where she was heavily sedated in hospital amid her journey as she likened it to an 'all-day bender'.

Worry: 'When my first two attempts failed, it sent me into a panic about whether to do IVF and have a baby immediately, because the freezing was not working'

Wearing a patient gown and a pulse oximeter on her finger in the clip, the drowsy reality star said: 'I feel like I've been out on an all-day bender at Drag Queen Sundays and I'm at the end of the night where you can't really see.'

Amy previously shared that she was relieved over the successful results after she was warned by doctors she was heading towards an 'early menopause' following a fertility MOT last year.

The reality star revealed that she has got five eggs in the freezer for 10 years and a potential further four, likening the process to a 'little insurance policy'.

Future plan: 'If and when I do meet someone, I would never want to be in the position where I missed out on having children because I didnt meet the right person in time'

Woes: Amy was famously left heartbroken when she was dumped by 'half boyfriend' Curtis Pritchard on the 2019 series of Love Island, with the dancer going on to romance Maura Higgins (pictured in the villa in 2019)

Talking about her relief over freezing her eggs, after 'quite a lot of uncertainty' and two previous failed rounds, Amy emotionally admitted on Loose Women: 'It's not hanging over me anymore. I just think that's done now, they're in the freezer.'

Amy, who first revealed she was planning on freezing her eggs in 2019, explained to the panellists over the process: 'I've got five [eggs] in the freezer and then they managed to grab four more, which were a little on the small side.

'But if they progress in the next few days, then they'll be able to put those in the freezer as well.'

Amy also admitted that she was getting a 'bit emotional' as the ITV studio played back a montage of her process, she said: 'I haven't watched it back, and I feel a bit emotional watching it, and watching it all cut together, it's weird.'

Freezing allows women to store their eggs at a young age so they can be used in IVF when they want a family.

Tough: She also had two weeks of hormone injections to stimulate the ovaries in a bid to produce multiple eggs, with Amy admitting that though her third attempt was successful, she didn't realise the process would be so hard and noted it was 'a lot to go through'

This gives them a greater chance of conceiving as the quality of the eggs they produce as they get older deteriorates.

The reality star emotionally added: 'I am [relieved]. I've had quite a lot of uncertainty whilst I was doing this round. I've had two failed rounds.

'People kept saying, "What are you going to do if this one doesn't work?" I was like, "I don't know." Now it has worked, I'm like, and breathe!'

Talking about her decision to freeze her eggs, Amy revealed that she was warned by doctors that she was heading towards an 'early menopause' following a fertility MOT.

'Insurance policy': Amy revealed earlier this month that she has definitely got five eggs in the freezer for ten years and a potential further four, likening the process to a 'little insurance policy'

Early menopause, also known as premature ovarian failure, is a loss of the normal function of the ovaries before a woman turns 40. It affects around one in 1,000 women aged 15-to-29 and one in 100 aged 30-to-39.

Amy said: 'My mum and my nan and my auntie, all had their children by the time they were 25 and all went through the menopause in their early 40s, so 41, 42.

'I went for a fertility MOT and all the results showed that Im heading for that same sort of timeline. My eggs now are a better quality than they will be in a year, two years, three years.

'I would have loved to have frozen earlier, unfortunately the legislation at the moment is they can only be frozen for 10 years.

'So youve got to get it right in that you get the better quality eggs to freeze, but then you dont sell yourself short for how long you can use them for.'
A new leak suggests that Nvidia will bring two new graphics cards in the market soon. The company's chipsets, the Quadro RTX A5000 and RTX A4000, have been recently spotted in an OpenCL certification document online.

Still, there are no ways to confirm it yet, but Nvidia may be planning to release the graphics cards soon for gamers and crypto miners alike.

Nvidia Quadro RTX A5000 and Quadro RTX A4000 Leaks

Per Tech Radar, a Twitter user named @KOMACHI_ENSAKA first spilled the beans of a potential Nvidia Quadro RTX A5000 and Quadro RTX A4000 release on the Khronos Group's OpenCL conformant product page, a consortium group that oversees that API. However, there is still no official word from the company about this OpenCL listing. For now, readers should take this news with a grain of salt.

Nvidia has already submitted its rumored Quadro RTX A5000 and Quadro RTX A4000 to the Khronos Group back in mid-February. Tom's Hardware predicts that the organization has tested the graphics cards and found that they conform to the OpenCL 1.2 specification.

Besides that, the Nvidia graphics cards were submitted to Khronos Groups along with the RTX A6000 board, and all three were submitted as Quadro RTX A6000/A5000/A4000 products. The publications also stated that the Nvidia Quadro RTX line-up is a professional GPU, meaning it is not suited for gaming and will not carry a GeForce brand.

Also Read: AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT Restock Update: Where to Buy the Latest Radeon Graphics Card-Amazon, Best Buy & More

TechRadar added that Nvidia is peculiar to make an RTX graphics card line-up under the Quadro brand. This Quadro RTX A5000 and Quadro RTX A4000 leak does not align with its statement in the past year. It stated that they will not make a professional graphics card anymore and will focus on distributing high-end GPUs for gamers and crypto miners alike.

Furthermore, both Quadro RTX A5000 and Quadro RTX A4000 GPU remain a mystery for now, as there is still no official statement from the company, even the specs and release date are not specified. However, it is worth noting that the Quadro RTX A6000 is built on the Ga102 GPU with 10,752 CUDA cores and 48GB of VRAM.

With that said, fans could theorize what both the Quadro RTX A5000 and Quadro RTX A4000 will be like until the official features of the graphics cards are announced. In the meantime, fans will have to wait if the company will proceed with this plan or go in a new direction for the leaked GPU.

Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti Release Delayed Again?

In other related news, TechRadar shared that the release of the upcoming Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti will be delayed again. The company has been reported to put out an internal memo confirming that the RTX 3080 Ti will not be released in mid-May, moving the graphics card's supposed to release in mid-April.

With that said, this is not the first time Nvidia has moved a release date for its graphics card. Previously, the company promised to launch an RTX 3080 20GB variant in December 2020, which was moved to January 2021, then moved again in February this year. However, the release delay will not affect the purported CUDA core count of 10,240, so fans need to worry.

If Nvidia can release the RTX 3080 Ti this year, the company can capitalize with its release and be ahead with its competitor, AMD, who recently released its graphics card, the Radeon RX 6700 XT.

Related Article: Rumour Suggests That Nvidia May Skip RTX 3060 12GB Founders Edition
Clive Owen looked positively dashing as he headed to the grocery store.

The 56-year-old actor sported a dapper blazer and slacks to head to popular Los Angeles market Erewhon with wife Sarah-Jane Fenton on Wednesday.

The masked Closer star held a cup of coffee while Sarah carried a full bag of food as the couple made their way back to their car.

Dapper: Clive Owen sported a dapper blazer and slacks to head to popular Los Angeles market Erewhon with wife Sarah-Jane Fenton on Wednesday

Clive paired his look with a crisp white shirt and clean white sneakers, as well as a pair of black sunglasses.

He let his wife take a break from heaving their major grocery haul as he carried more bags out of the store.

The pair, who wed in 1995, both brought face coverings with them for the outing as a safety precaution amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The star has been in LA to play Bill Clinton in the upcoming Ryan Murphy-produced series Impeachment: American Crime Story alongside Sarah Paulson, Beanie Feldstein and Edie Falco as Hillary Clinton.

Large haul: The 56-year-old actor let his wife take a break from heaving their major grocery haul as he carried more bags out of the store. Clive paired his look with a crisp white shirt and clean white sneakers, as well as a pair of black sunglasses

The Sin CIty performer also took a moment to enjoy the Southern California sunshine as he sat on a nearby bench to take a phone call.

His sockless ankles could be seen as he chatted on his iPhone in the warm weather.

Sarah donned a more relaxed ensemble for the trip with a pair of blue linen pants, white shirt and brown sunhat.

Chit-chat: The Sin CIty performer also took a moment to enjoy the Southern California sunshine as he sat on a nearby bench to take a phone call

Happy family: The longtime spouses reside in north London with their two daughters Hannah, 24, and Eve, 22; Clive is seen here with Eve in London earlier this month

The longtime spouses reside in north London with their two daughters Hannah, 24, and Eve, 22.

Clive and Eve were recently seen getting great quality time as they hit the streets of London to grab food.

The Coventry-born actor and his wife, an actress-turned-academic, are celebrating their 26th wedding anniversary this year, making theirs one of the strongest marriages in show business.

While promoting his film Words And Pictures in 2014, Clive revealed the secret to a lasting marriage in the movie industry is to ensure you are never parted through work for too long.

Quality time: Clive enjoyed some quality time with his daughter Eve, 22, as they headed out for a low-key stroll together in London on March 8

Longtime love: The Coventry-born actor and his wife, an actress-turned-academic, are celebrating their 26th wedding anniversary this year, making theirs one of the strongest marriages in show business

He explained: 'If you go away for a long period of time for a shoot, you then go home for a long period of time and put it back there, because otherwise you're not going to sustain it.'

The actor also admitted he and Sarah-Jane enjoy the independence of an equal union.

He explained: 'I couldn't bear a marriage in which one partner hinges on the other.

Marriage secret: While promoting his film Words And Pictures in 2014, Clive revealed the secret to a lasting marriage in the movie industry is to ensure you are never parted through work for too long

'My wife needs her freedom just like me. The wonderful thing about my wife Sarah-Jane is that she's an actress herself and she knows what that means: constant travels and goodbyes.'

The actor met his wife when they were putting on a production of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet while they were students at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

The couple tied the knot on March 6 1995, welcoming first daughter Hannah in June 1997 and Eve in October 1999.
Highlights:

Received drill permits for its Gold Rush Project

Signed drilling contract with G4 Drilling Canada Ltd.

Drilling to commence immediately with a 3,000 metre program

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 25, 2021) - Sanatana Resources Inc. (TSXV: STA) ("Sanatana" or the "Company") has received final drilling permits and signed a contract with G4 Drilling Canada Ltd. to immediately commence a 3,000m drilling program on the Gold Rush project, 25 km west of Timmins. This drill program will target eight different areas of the property identified in previous work as prospective for gold mineralization.

Peter Miles, CEO, states, "After delays due to COVID, we are pleased to begin our initial drill program at the Gold Rush project. We look forward to reporting results once we have them in hand."

About the Company

Sanatana Resources Inc. is a mineral exploration and development company focused on high-impact properties in Canada and the Western Pacific. With an award winning technical team and experienced management and board of directors, Sanatana is based in Vancouver and is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV: STA).

SANATANA RESOURCES INC.

(signed) "Peter Miles" ______________



Peter Miles

Chief Executive Officer

For additional information on the Company, please contact Mr. Peter Miles, Chief Executive Officer at (604) 408-6680 or email investor@sanatanaresources.com.

To be added to the email distribution list, please email ir@sanatanaresources.com with "Sanatana" in the subject line.

Cautionary Statement Regarding "Forward-Looking" Information

Some of the statements contained in this news release are forward-looking statements and information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "intends", "is expected", "potential", "suggests" or variations of such words or phrases, or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements and information are not historical facts and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties beyond Sanatana's control. Actual results and developments are likely to differ, and may differ materially, from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulations Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/78548
As part of its commitment to a successful implementation of the African Continental Free Trade (AfCFTA) Agreement, Nigerian Government said, efforts are ongoing to establish a trade remedies authority to enforce Rules of origin and tighten borders against fraudulent invoicing.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, made the disclosure at Lagos State Government House while paying a call on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu as part of the Nationwide Sensitisation visit to Lagos by the National Action Committee on the AfCFTA.

The Minister added that the Federal Government was committed to establishing Nigeria's designated competent authority for administering the AfCFTA rules of origin as well as automating the process for managing exporter and product registration.

Adebayo, said the National Action Committee on the AfCFTA, which he Chairs, is collaborating with the National Trade Facilitation Committee domiciled in the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment to facilitate the execution of the regional trade facilitation roadmap.

The Minister highlighted the AfCFTA implementation plans to include domestication of the AfCFTA Agreement, border enforcement and Rules of origin enforcement, trade facilitation and ease of doing business, production and service capacity growth, power and trade logistics infrastructure, market access, skills and human capacity development , and quality infrastructure.

Responding, Governor Sanwo-Olu, announced the State Government's willingness to domesticate the policies of the AfCFTA to accelerate the actualisation of the recently launched Lagos thirty-year Development Plan.

According to Governor Sanwo-Olu, Lagos State Government will explore all the opportunities inherent in the AfCFTA Agreement to grow its revenue and GDP base and create employment for youth.

Speaking at a press conference with the Journalists shortly after the meeting with the Governor, the Secretary of the National Action Committee, Francis Anatogu said: "Our strategy is to work with the states based on their areas of comparative advantages and Lagos State has been identified to have trade strength in ICT, telecommunication, transportation and financial services".

He said the core objective of the AfCFTA is to create a single market for goods, services, and free movement of persons in order to deepen the economic integration of the African continent.

"The AfCFTA is expected to deliver an integrated continental market of 1.27 billion consumers with an aggregate GDP of USD3.4 trillion. Nigeria constitutes a significant portion of these figures largely spread across our states," he said.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Trade Nigeria By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

In his remarks, Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr. Samuel Egube, the State Government has come to understand that the GDP impact of the AfCFTA Agreement on the State's economy would be massive as result of free movement of people, goods and services.

He noted that already, many SMEs and big companies in Lagos have built international trust through partnerships and exports of goods and services to other parts of the world, adding that the AfCFTA Agreement is coming at no better time than now.

Expressing concern over the competitiveness of Nigerian MSMEs at the continental level, Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, Mrs. Lola Akande, said Nigerian small businesses need financial capacity and training support to enable them produce products that meet international standards and good packaging required to attract diverse buyers.

Speaking, the Executive Secretary, African Shipowners Association, Funmi Folorunso, stressed the need for the Federal Government to focus energy on making Nigeria the transportation hub for Africa, adding that countries like Ghana have cut their trade niche under the AfCFTA.

Other key speakers at the press conference include Director of Trade, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Aliyu Abubakar, Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on SDG and Investment, Mrs. Solape Hammond and Director-General of NACCIMA, Ambassador Ayoola Olukanni.
Axius Water expands in the UK with acquisition of wastewater technology leader

Axius Water, the global water quality solutions platform created jointly by KKR Global Impact and XPV Water Partners, has acquired ATAC Solutions Ltd., a UK-based wastewater technology and services supplier.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005331/en/

Founded in 2007, ATAC sells, rents, and services wastewater treatment equipment for solids and nutrient removal applications. It also provides full-service offerings for liquid waste disposal, tankerage, and service of equipment, treatment systems, and facilities. Led by principals Adam Colley and Andrew Turnill, ATAC is currently operating within major frameworks in place at three of the UK's largest water utilities (Thames Water, Anglian Water, and Southern Water) and recently won an extensive service and maintenance contract with the UK's largest housing association.

ATAC fits seamlessly into Axius Water with its focus on full-service nutrient removal and will serve as a UK base of operations for solutions offered by the broader platform. Chris McIntire, CEO of Axius, said, "Under Adam and Andrew's leadership, ATAC Solutions has built a strong business both by using deep technical and application knowledge and by focusing on serving customers. ATAC has a strong reputation as a trusted problem solver. We are lucky to have them join the platform and are excited to bring even more solutions to every part of the UK."

"We were looking for a partner to help us take ATAC to the next level," said Colley. "The resources and expertise that Axius Water brings to ATAC will allow us to expand and serve a broader range of customers."

Added Turnill, "Having spent considerable time getting to know the Axius Water team, we are convinced that we found a group of professionals that shares our vision, values our in-house experts, and also cares deeply about serving our customers."

About Axius Water

Axius Water was founded in 2019 by KKR, in partnership with XPV Water Partners. This wastewater treatment platform is a leading provider of nutrient management solutions for municipal and industrial wastewater treatment facilities. Through the foundational acquisitions of EOSi and Nexom, and the subsequent acquisitions of EDI (Environmental Dynamics International) and ATAC Solutions Ltd., the company aims to address nutrient contamination of water globally by bringing together businesses that have the knowledge, capability and track record to deliver nutrient removal solutions to customers around the world. For additional information about Axius Water, please visit www.axiuswater.com.

About ATAC Solutions Ltd.

ATAC Solutions is a leading environmental services company, providing liquid waste disposal, equipment for hire, and pump sales, for systems serving hundreds of thousands of homes in the southern United Kingdom. In addition, ATAC manufactures Lamella settlement tanks, SAF (Submerged Aerated Filter) modular treatment plants, among other bespoke process technologies from its BS EN ISO 9001 ISO 14001-accredited facility in Maidstone, Kent. For additional information about ATAC Solutions, please visit www.atacsolutions.com.

About KKR

KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management and capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR's insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life and reinsurance products under the management of The Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR's investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR's website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

About XPV Water Partners

XPV Water Partners is comprised of experienced water entrepreneurs, operators, and investment professionals dedicated to make a difference in the water industry. They invest in and actively supports water-focused companies to enable them to grow and deliver value for all stakeholders. Over $400 million USD are managed by XPV in investment capital from institutional investors in North America, Europe and Asia. For more information about XPV Water Partners, please visit https://www.xpvwaterpartners.com/.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005331/en/

Contacts:

Axius Water

Philip Wiebe

pwiebe@nexom.com
.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........

Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

Restrictions on business and other commercial activities loosened in 17 New Mexico counties on Wednesday, but Bernalillo and Sandoval counties are stuck in the more restrictive yellow status because new COVID-19 case counts are still too high.

Meanwhile, a three-week state effort to get teachers and staffers vaccinated in time for school reopenings in April appears to be working.

ADVERTISEMENTSkip



................................................................

State Health Secretary Dr. Tracie Collins reported Wednesday that 82% of the 62,000 or so educators who have registered on the state Department of Health website for a vaccination have received at least one dose and that 32% are fully vaccinated. It wasnt clear how many others in that category may have received COVID-19 vaccinations outside the registry system.

Following federal guidance aimed at getting students back in the classroom, New Mexico officials said certain essential workers, including teachers, staffers and early childhood professionals, would be given priority in March over other eligible groups, such as those with chronic conditions or those ages 75 and older.

Nearly two in five New Mexicans have received at least one dose of the vaccine, Collins said in a press update Wednesday. Next weeks allocation to New Mexico will be 116,280 doses, including 12,100 doses of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson brand.

Meanwhile, the threat of COVID-19 appears to be decreasing in many of the less populated counties, while the majority of the states 33 counties are at or approaching the least restrictive levels on commercial and day-to-day activities.

The number of counties hitting the least restrictive level, turquoise, increased to 13 from seven counties two weeks ago, and three new counties joined seven others in green status. Ten are at the yellow level, and none were designated red, signifying the highest risk.

The state is just making great progress, said Human Services Secretary Dr. David Scrase. More than two-thirds of our counties are either green or turquoise. Thats exactly what we wanted to see.

The states color-coded map reflects the per capita daily incidence of new cases in each county for the past two weeks and the average COVID-19 test positivity within county borders.

But those criteria are expected to change.

Scrase said health officials are going to make some adjustments in the methodology in the short run and then in the long run.

Since the county-by-county reopening system was launched in December, the number of COVID-19 tests has declined, given the uptick in vaccinations. And that affects a countys overall test positivity rate.

We dont want to start penalizing counties as that test positivity rate moves up, Scrase said. He said that state health officials havent decided what new metrics to use but that they want to adopt ones that are the best possible reflection of disease activity.

As to when the state will ultimately lift all restrictions, Scrase said, It is too early to know for sure. Its kind of like being in a race and youve signed up for the race, but you dont actually know where the finish line is going to be.

The current state reopening framework imposes the fewest restrictions on turquoise-level counties, or those that sustain for four consecutive weeks a new COVID-19 case incident rate of no more than 8 cases per 100,000 inhabitants and an average percentage of positive COVID-19 test results no greater than 5%.

Businesses in those counties can operate at 75% of maximum occupancy, including indoor dining, and 33% maximum occupancy for bars and clubs.

The green level, which requires both low case numbers and a low percentage of positive tests for the previous two weeks, permits 50% of maximum occupancy and 25% of capacity for bars and clubs.

But yellow status, in which a county has met only one of the two criteria, keeps retail spaces at 33% of maximum occupancy and restaurants at 25% of capacity for indoor dining. Bars and clubs may not operate.

Although all New Mexico counties have been meeting the low test positivity rate, new case counts are holding back some of the most populated New Mexico counties from reopening more fully.

In the yellow category, for instance, Bernalillo Countys average per capita new case count was 9.80, and on Wednesday, the state reported 52 new cases in the county.

Sandoval Countys per capita count was 9.30, and Valencia County appeared to nearly hit green status, with 8.30 new daily cases per capita. Sandoval County had 22 new cases on Wednesday, but only nine new cases per capita were reported in Valencia County over the past two weeks.

On Wednesday, Dona Ana County had the highest one-day total of new COVID-19 cases, 59. The county remained in yellow status, reporting 15.20 cases per 100,000.

The state reported 218 additional COVID-19 cases Wednesday and six deaths.
The Court of Appeal has stopped a Sh43 million compensation awarded to a judge and his wife for unlawful eviction from a prime plot in Kakamega town by the local government.

Justice Munyao Sila and his wife Linda Chepkorir Ruto were awarded the damages on September 25, 2019 by Justice Nelly Matheka of the Environment and Lands Court, who found that their half-acre land had been forcibly taken by the Kakamega County Government without compensation.

However, the Court of Appeal has suspended execution of the judgment, pending the hearing and determination of an appeal lodged by the county government.

A three-judge bench composed of justices Gatembu Kairu, Agnes Murgor and Jamila Mohammed said Governor Wycliffe Oparanya has an arguable appeal against the judgment.

Among the arguable points that the bench noted is the question of whether the evidence adduced before the trial court demonstrated that the suit property was public land and whether the judge and his wife obtained the land fraudulently.

The judges also found that the county government, being a public entity, has the capacity to settle the decree in the event the appeal does not succeed.

"We bear in mind that being a government entity and funded by tax payers, the applicant will be in a position to honour the decree in the event that the appeal is unsuccessful," ruled the court.

Unnecessary risk

While urging the judges to stay the execution, the county government, together with the County Development Control & Dispute Resolution Committee, told the court they were apprehensive that should the execution happen, public funds would be exposed to unnecessary risk and render the intended appeal nugatory.

The dispute revolved around a plot registered as Kakamega Municipality/Block III/7, which is adjacent to Bukhungu Stadium.

Justice Munyao and his wife claimed to be the registered owners of the property following the purchase and registration in their favour in 2011.

They said the property was prone to encroachment and they applied for planning permission to build a fence around it, which was granted by the county government. Subsequently, they built a perimeter wall at a cost of Sh2.5 million.

On December 7, 2017, persons claiming to act under the instructions of the county government began demolishing the perimeter wall but were stopped by the police, said the couple.

On December 11, the county government attached an illegal enforcement notice, claiming that the perimeter wall had not been approved, and directed the couple to demolish it within 24 hours. However, it was demolished on the night of December 12 and 13, 2017 at around 1am by agents of the county government.

A year later, the government forcibly entered the suit property and began construction works entailing a wall on one side of the land so as to annex it to be part of Bukhungu Stadium, and laying of concrete paving blocks to create a car park for the stadium.

Constructive eviction

The couple argued that the county government's conduct was part of a larger scheme to expropriate and forcibly take over the suit property.

They sued, claiming the government's officials abused their office and acted illegally and unconstitutionally in facilitating the demolition of the wall.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Legal Affairs Land and Rural Issues By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

The trial court ruled in their favour and declared that the county government acted illegally and unconstitutionally in facilitating the demolition of the wall.

The court also declared that the actions of the government constituted an eviction or a constructive eviction and taking of the property.

Justice Matheka ordered that the couple is entitled to full compensation for the value of the suit property in the sum of Sh40.5 million, subject to them surrendering the leasehold title to the county government.

They were also compensated Sh2.5 million, being the costs incurred to put up the wall, and special damages for Sh60,000 for the valuation report alongside interest, from November 2018, when the case was filed in court.

jwangui@ke.nationmedia.com
Former President Donald Trump has received some free speech support from an unusual source - Bernie Sanders.

The independent U.S. senator from Vermont said in a new podcast interview that he does not feel 'particularly comfortable' with Twitter's permanent ban on Trump, The Hill reported.

Shortly after the Jan. 6 Capitol protest during which pro-Trump rioters ran amok through the building - resulting in the deaths of five people, including a Capitol police officer - social media companies Twitter, Facebook and YouTube banned Trump's accounts or restricted his access.

The Republican was accused of inciting the riot in a speech earlier in the day and impeached by the House of Representatives on the charge.

Sanders appeared Tuesday on 'The Ezra Klein Show,' a podcast from The New York Times, and was asked about conservative criticism that liberals were 'too censorious' and 'too willing' to censor others.

'Look, you have a former president in Trump, who is a racist, a sexist, a homophobe, a xenophobe, a pathological liar, an authoritarian, somebody who doesn't believe in the rule of law. This is a bad news guy,' Sanders said.

'But if you're asking me, do I feel particularly comfortable that the president, the then-president of the United States, could not express his views on Twitter? I don't feel comfortable about it,' Sanders said.

U.S. Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks during a hearing at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on January 27. Sanders told 'The Ezra Klein Show' on Tuesday he was not 'comfortable' with Twitter's permanent ban on Trump arising from the January 6 Capitol riot

Former President Donald Trump looks at his phone in the White House on June 18, 2020. Trump was a prolific Twitter user during his presidency, using the platform to reach millions of followers

New York Times opinion columnist and podcaster Ezra Klein, who questioned Sanders about conservative claims that liberals were 'too censorious'

The outspoken liberal has called on numerous occasions for the breakup of Big Tech companies, criticizing the biggest among them as monopolies.

He has taken particular aim at Amazon for working conditions at its warehouses and for not paying higher federal taxes - the company paid no tax for 2018, despite income of more than $11 billion, CNBC reported.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey previously said he thought banning an account was a failure by the company 'to promote healthy conversation' even though he said barring Trump was the 'right decision for Twitter.'

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, photographed in October 2020, says Trump's ban was the 'right decision for Twitter' following the riot at the U.S. Capitol that resulted in the deaths of five people, including a police officer. Trump was accused of inciting the riot in a speech earlier in the day and impeached by the House of Representatives on the charge

The social media platform issued a statement January 8 saying Trump's account had been permanently blocked 'due to the risk of further incitement of violence' by the then-president

Sanders maintained in the podcast interview that internet platforms should not allow 'hate speech and conspiracy theories' to spread or be used for 'authoritarian purposes and insurrection.'

'So how do you balance that? I don't know, but it is an issue that we have got to be thinking about,' Sanders said. 'Because of anybody who thinks yesterday it was Donald Trump who was banned, and tomorrow it could be somebody else who has a very different point of view.'

The former presidential candidate who twice sought the Democratic Party's nomination said he did not like 'giving that much power to a handful of high-tech people.'

One of the tech world's biggest names leans in the same direction on the former president being placed on a social media blacklist.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said in a February interview that he believed companies should eventually allow Trump back.

Bill Gates of Microsoft says companies should eventually lift the Trump social media ban

'I think at some point he probably will be allowed back on and probably should be allowed back on,' Gates told CNBC.

Twitter declined to comment on Sanders' remarks, Axios reported, but a company spokesperson pointed to the company's January 8 statement explaining Trump's ban was 'due to the risk of further incitement of violence.'

'In the context of horrific events this week, we made it clear on Wednesday that additional violations of the Twitter Rules would potentially result in this very course of action,' the company said in its post.
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 25, 2021] Philips Ranks Among Top 50 Employers for Multicultural Employees

Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG) (AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, today announced that it ranked number 48 on Equal Opportunity magazine's 30th annual list of "Top 50 Employers." Inclusion on this list demonstrates the company's belief that every individual should have equal access to opportunity and resources, and its commitment to seeking diverse experiences and perspectives to achieve a workplace culture that fosters belonging. Equal Opportunity magazine's "Top 50 Employers" list is the result of an annual reader survey mailed each year to randomly selected readers. The ranking honors the top U.S. companies for which Equal Opportunity magazine readers would most prefer to work or believe would provide a positive working environment for members of minority groups and diverse cultures. As a global organization, Philips (News - Alert) embraces diversity in the broadest sense and commits to transparency, fairness and integrity. Philips' ranking on this list further highlights the company's initiative to prioritize diverse and inclusive work environments for its 82,000 employees in over 100 countries. "We recognize that diverse workplaces lead to diversity in thought, and it is this variety of perspectives that lead to enhanced innovation, greater performance and employee satisfaction," said Lauren Gohde, Philips North America Inclusion & Diversity Lead. "By fostering an inclusive working environment, we bring together some of the brightest minds in the world to address critical healthcare issues, partner with health systems to overcome their biggest challenges, and find new ways to bring access to care to those in underserved comunities. Recognition by Equal Opportunity Magazine validates our inclusive approach as we continue to look for ways to promote equality in all that we do."



The company has a mission to improve the lives of 2.5 billion people a year by 2030, including supporting the communities in which employees live, work and serve. In January 2021, Philips was named one of the Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Annual Assessment of LGBTQ Workplace Equality. The company was previously highlighted in Forbes' Best Employers for Women and Forbes' America's Best Employers for Diversity. To view the list, please visit https://www.eop.com/awards-EO.php.

About Royal Philips Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a leading health technology company focused on improving people's health and well-being, and enabling better outcomes across the health continuum - from healthy living and prevention, to diagnosis, treatment and home care. Philips leverages advanced technology and deep clinical and consumer insights to deliver integrated solutions. Headquartered in the Netherlands, the company is a leader in diagnostic imaging, image-guided therapy, patient monitoring and health informatics, as well as in consumer health and home care. Philips generated 2020 sales of EUR 19.5 billion and employs approximately 82,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. News about Philips can be found at www.philips.com/newscenter. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005161/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
As India stares at a second wave of Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases, one year has passed since Prime Minister Modi announced a 21-day total lockdown across India to curb the spread of the virus. Explaining the fallout for not handling the next three weeks as catastrophic, he had said that 'India will be set back by 21 years, if 21 days are not handled'. While India moved from 'total lockdown' to 'partial lockdown' to the current 'Unlock' phase, India which had reported 519 cases on 25 March 2020, now has 1,17,87,534 cases of which 3,95,192 are active.

Here's a timeline of India's COVID journey:

March 24, 2020: PM Modi addresses the nation announcing a 21-day lockdown throughout India starting at midnight. "From midnight 12, across the country, there will be countrywide lockdown in India. There will be complete restriction of leaving out from the residence. All districts, village will be locked down. This is curfew only -a stricter curfew than janta curfew. We have to bear economic consequences because of this. But to save every Indian's life at this time is my and the government's responsibility," said PM Modi, invoking Disaster Management Act (2005)

India had already suspended all visas and barred travel from Afghanistan, Philippines, EU, UK, China, Malaysia and mandatory 14-day quarantine from several other countries and shut down over 32 states and Union territories. It had also closed the India-Pakistan border and restricted passenger movement at the border with Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Myanmar and all domestic airplanes and trains had ceased operation. The government was monitoring all suspected cases and issued preventive advisories with states declaring the disease an epidemic shutting down all educational institutions, monuments, parks, gyms, swimming pools, pubs and banning large gatherings.

March 25 - March 30: As lockdown kicks in, all offices barring those providing essential services were shut. With roads deserted, India came to a standstill as all commercial establishments and private organizations remained shut and all transport and hospitality services stalled. The exemptions to these included print and electronic media, shops selling essential items, e-delivery of food, medical equipment, banks, petrol pumps etc. With essential workers like police officials, civic health officials, doctors, nurses, sanitation workers stepping out to ensure total lockdown, India witnessed the world's largest and strictest lockdown.

With shops, factories shut and jobs drying up, migrant labourers begin to walk back to their native homes in thousands, as transport remained stalled. On March 28, thousands of migrant workers were seen thronging the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border at Delhi's Anand Vihar Interstate Bus Terminal in the hope of reaching their homes, defying lockdown and creating a health hazard. The Centre came under massive fire as visuals of several migrant labourers walking back on foot, thousands of kilometres were captured by the media.

Adding to India's COVID worries, a religious programme organised at Tablighi Jamaat's headquarters Markaz Nizamuddin mosque in Delhi between 13-15 March had over 3400 attendees from Malaysia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Kyrgyzstan and from several states in India. After attending the meeting, prior to the nationwide lockdown, 1500 of these attendees returned to several parts of the country, possibly spreading the COVID-19 virus - marking a super-spreader event. Most attendees were traced, tested, isolated and treated by various state governments. While several attendees were jailed for flouting lockdown, most have been acquitted by lower courts, while Tablighi Jamaat chief Maulana Saad was booked by Delhi police.

April 2020: On April 5, one week after total lockdown, PM Modi urged citizens to light diyas, candles, torches and flashlights to show solidarity with frontline workers as India's death toll crossed 100-mark.

As India crossed 1000 deaths, on April 14, PM Modi extends the 21-day lockdown to May 3, which was later extended to May 16. Immediately, around 2,000 migrant workers gathered at Bandra station, under the illusion of boarding 'Jansdharan Express' trains to UP, Bengal and Bihar. Migrants also continued walking across state borders to reach their native homes due to loss of income amid lockdown.

May 1-12: As migrants continue to trudge across states on foot, MHA on May 1, allowed the movement of stranded migrants, pilgrims, tourists, students and other persons across India via special trains called 'Shramik trains' operated by the Ministry of Railways. 85% of the fare cost was borne by Centre while 15% were borne by state governments. Railways ferried 63.15 lakh migrant workers across 23 states in over 4,000 Shramik Special trains from May 1 to August 30, 2020 suffering a Rs 38,017 crore loss in FY 2020-21.

On May 7, the Centre launched the Vande Bharat mission to bring back Indians stranded abroad amid lobal lockdown via aircraft and naval ships in a phased manner. As of March 22, 2021, around 52 lakhs stranded Indians from 137 countries Indians have returned to India from abroad via Vande Bharat, informed Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan to Lok Sabha. While international air travel has not resumed completely, India has formed several 'bubbles' with partner countries to facilitate air travel.

May 13-May 17: With partial lockdown being lifted, PM Modi announced a Rs 20 lakh crore economic package - including the previous monetary package and the liquidity measures announced by RBI till date (amounting to 10.26 lakh crore) to kickstart Indian economy's growth as India emerged from total lockdown. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a slew of reforms in five parts to strengthen MSMEs, migrants, street vendors, urban poor, agriculture, animal husbandry, sectors like - Coal, defence production, minerals, civil aviation (Airports, Airspace Mgmt & MRO), power distribution in UTs, Space, atomic energy. While the industry hailed the government's economic package, the Opposition slammed it calling a 'farce'.

MHA extended lockdown till May 30 bit allowed inter-state movement of passenger vehicles with mutual consent of states, as India took over China in number of COVID-19 cases reporting nearly 86,000 cases.

May 18- May 31: Domestic flight services resume in a calibrated manner with only 30% capacity and fares too remain capped as India crosses 1 lakh cases.

June 2020: With Unlock-1 kicking in, MHA allowed a phase-wise reopening of India outside containment zones in three phases. From June 8, religious places, hotels, restaurants, shopping malls were allowed to reopen adhering to SOPs. While MHA allowed schools, colleges and other educational institutions to reopen from July 2020, most states have kept schools shut till date, while allowing phase-wise opening of higher educational institutions, as COVID subsided.

July 2020: With Unlock-2 kicking in, more relaxations followed, with night curfew timings getting extended 10 PM to 5 AM and more trains and flights began. Inter and Intra-state travel including those for cross-border trade continued, while passenger trains, Shramik special trains, domestic passenger air travel covered. India's active cases stood at 2,10,120, recovered cases at 3,21,723 with 16,475 fatalities.

While the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine trials continued in UK, Indias first indigenous Covid-19 vaccine, Covaxin, began its first trials across the nation by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the National Institute of Virology (NIV) and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)

August 2020: Unlock-3 kicked in with govt allowing gymnasiums and yoga centres to reopen and night curfew was lifted. As India ramped up its testing it clocked 3.45 crore tests, overtaking Russia and falling behind China, US. Meanwhile, Serum Institue of India (SII) starts India trials of Covishield across India.

Marking its worst contraction in history, India's GDP growth for the first quarter of FY 21 stood at -23.9% as per data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on August 31. This contraction came after the overall FY 19-20 GDP growth stood at 4.2%, hitting an 11-year low. As per market reports, core sectors' growth stood at: Industries at -381%, Services at -20.6%, Manufacturing at -39.3 %, Trade, Hotels at -47%. Agriculture has been the only sector to see growth clocking a 3.4% increase, due to rural sector remaining mostly free from lockdown. Subsequently, in the second quarter of FY 21, India's GDP contracted at -7.5% - plunging the nation into recession with two successive quarters of contraction.

September 2020: Unlock 4 kicks in with metro services resume in a phased manner across India. COVID-19 continues to spread and peak in India as daily cases touch almost a lakh, with Parliament holding its first session amid COVID-19, after being suspended in March.

The 10-day monsoon session from September 14 to September 23 saw 20 bills introduced, of which 17 were passed - 12 in Lok Sabha and five in Rajya Sabha. The key bills include the three farm Bills, three Labour codes, Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, Taxation and Other Laws, Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill. While it was scheduled to last till October 1 (18 sittings in total), it was cut short after over 30 parliamentarians were infected with the virus.

Towards the end of September, India's COVID tally rose to 60 lakhs, while total recoveries crossed 50 lakhs. A third COVID-19 vaccine Russias Sputnik V Covid-19 signs an agreement with Dr Reddys Laboratories for manufacturing and clinical trials.

October 2020: Unlock 5 is announced with cinemas and multiplexes allowed to reopen with 50% capacity while states are empowered to decide to open schools, removes limits on outdoor gatherings and allowing indoors gatherings with 50% capacity.

ICMR released the nationwide serosurvey revealing that One in 15 individuals aged 10 years and above were estimated to be exposed to SARS-CoV2 by August 2020, showing that a considerable population is still susceptible to COVID-19. Urban slums (15.6 per cent) and non-slum (8.2 per cent) areas had higher SARS-COV2 infection prevalence than that in rural areas (4.4 per cent), he said quoting the second sero-survey. The second sero-survey was conducted in the same 700 villages and wards from 70 districts from 21 states which were covered during the first survey. The first sero-survey of May 2020 revealed that the nationwide prevalence of novel coronavirus infection was only 0.73 per cent.

Nov-Dec 2020: India's COVID-19 cases continue to rise as do recoveries, with India crossing 1 crore cases. As clinical phase-2 trials complete and phase-3 clinical trials get underway, both COVAXIN and COVISHIELD apply for emergency use authorisation to the DCGI in December. As COVID-19 cases continued, India also witnessed a massive farmers' protest in Delhi's borders - Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur, demanding total repeal of the Centre's Farm Laws.

January 2021: As Centre prepares for vaccination, the Centre conducts first nationwide dry run for all states and Union Territories. On January 3, Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) announced that the vaccines of Serum Institue of India (Covishield) and Bharat Biotech (Covaxin) have been granted permission for restricted use in an emergency situation. Covishield - a Recombinant Chimpanzee Adenovirus vector vaccine - has an efficacy of 70.42%, with interim safety and immunogenicity data of Phase-II/III trials submitted to the SEC. Covaxin - a Whole Virion Inactivated Corona Virus Vaccine - 22,500 participants vaccinated in Phase-III trials and was found to be safe as per the data available till date. COVAXIN was given a different approval i.e 'clinical trial mode' - where all COVAXIN recipients will be tracked,monitored as if theyre in trial.

On 16 January, Manish Kumar, a sanitation worker in Delhi, became the first person to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in India after PM Modi flagged off the nationwide vaccination drive in the presence of Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan at AIIMS Delhi. PM Modi launched the nationwide vaccine drive via videoconferencing and congratulated the people of India on getting two 'Made in India' vaccines. With a limit of 100 beneficiaries per centre, vaccination drive commenced in 3351 locations, aiming to inoculate 3 lakh health workers in the 'world's biggest vaccine programme'. The government had already purchased 1.1 crore COVISHIELD vaccine doses and 55 lakh COVAXIN vaccine shots - aiming to vaccinate 3 crore frontline warriors, in the first phase - free of cost.

Being the pharmacy of the world and the biggest vaccine manufacturer, India began its 'Vaccine Maitri' programme delivering around 45.6 million doses of COVISHIELD and COVAXIN to 45 countries. Of the 45.6 million doses, 38.47 million doses were commercial supplies and 7.12 million doses were 'gifted' to other countries. The countries include Bangladesh, Nepal, Morocco, Brazil, Bhutan, Canada, Myanmar etc, with all countries, lauding the Centre's gesture.

February 2021: Within 34 days of kicking off phase-1 vaccination, India completed one crore vaccinations on February 19 becoming the second-fastest in the world after the United States. As COVID-19 cases subside in India, two new strains from UK and South Africa are found in India with over 700 people infected till date.

March 2021: India kicked off its second phase on March 1, with PM Modi taking the first shot. The second phase is dedicated to those above 60 years of age and those above 45 years with co-morbidities - registered on CO-WIN website and walk-ins at some hospitals. While pricing for a COVID-19 vaccine dose has been capped at Rs 250 at private hospitals, doses are available free of cost at government centers with the Centre bearing the cost of the inoculation. Recently, several states like Delhi, Punjab, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka have sought the Centre's nod to rope in private hospitals and to begin vaccinating adults above 18. As of date, 5,37,25,315 have been administered - 4,56,46,219 have received the first dose, while 80,79,096 have received the second dose.

In mid-March, India's COVID-19 cases begin to rise with Kerala and Maharashtra accounting for 77% of total Covid-19 active cases in the country.

As COVID surged around Maharashtra, the government issued new guidelines capping cinemas (single screen/multiplex) & hotels at 50% capacity, banned social/political/religious gatherings, capped 50 people allowed for weddings & 20 for funerals and capped all offices except health & essential at 50% capacity, advising work from home. Cracking the whip on violations, Maharashtra govt warned that cinema halls/hotels/restaurants found violating COVID-related rules will remain closed for a period until the COVID-19 pandemic stays notified as a disaster by Central govt. All drama theatres and auditoriums are allowed to operate at 50% capacity, with masks mandated. Districts like Amaravati, Yavatmal and Latur have been put already under restrictions and Nagpur has been put under lockdown till the month-end.

India is also unlikely to expand the export of Coronavirus vaccines for the next few months as the focus shifts to domestic demand in view of a spike in Coronavirus infections. With COWIN glitches, vaccination hesitancy and centralisation, India's vaccination drive has progressed slowly with only 14,56,351 vaccinated today. Moreover, over 65 deaths have occured post-vaccination, but Centre has denied any links to inoculation as the reason for deaths. Centre has revised the interval between the two doses of Serum Institute of India (SII)'s vaccine - COVISHIELD to 4-8 weeks instead of 4-6 weeks, while COVAXIN has been removed from 'clinical trial' mode after reporting an efficacy of 81%
YEREVAN, MARCH 25, ARMENPRESS. The Ministry of Environment has refused to grant Lydian Armenia a permit for using more water from Arpa Rivers lower currents for the exploitation of Amulsar  the gold mine currently halted pending the governments decision whether or not to allow its resumption due to environmental concerns.

The head of the ministrys department in charge of issuing permits, Artyom Mkhitaryan, told ARMENPRESS that in 2020 the company received a permit for using water in volumes of 11 l/s from the Arpa Rivers lower channels, and now the company requested to have a permit for 41,3 l/s.

Mkhitaryan said they rejected the request based on the 2016-2020 government decision regulating the Ararat basin territory. Mkhitaryan said it doesnt envisage allowing the use of such volumes.

Lydian Armenia had earlier applied to the authorities to get permission for using more water from Arpa Rivers Darp streamlet and the Arpa Rivers upper channels, but was rejected in both cases.

Lydian Armenia is now disputing the ministrys decision concerning the Darp streamlet at the administrative court.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
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.
Editors Note: The above video contains explicit language.

An Essex County man was recently charged with inciting a riot in Raleigh, North Carolina last summer during an event that started as a protest and culminated in Confederate statues being ripped down and dragged along streets.

Alan F. Chorun, 53, of Maplewood, turned himself in to authorities last month in Wake County, North Carolina and was released from jail on a $25,000 bond, the North Carolina State Capitol Police said. The charge, inciting a riot, is a felony.

Chorun is a self-described activist and teacher who runs a charity, Young Vision Africa, which aids communities in Sierra Leone, according to multiple online listings. His bio on the site says he, participates actively in attempts to reveal and deconstruct racial, environmental and institutional injustice.

Attempts to reach Chorun were unsuccessful, and an attorney listed for him in court records was not immediately returned.

Raleigh, North Carolinas state capital, was, like many other cities last year, the scene of protests in which people took to the streets to condemn racial injustices following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. In that reckoning, many communities also reexamined statutes of Confederate leaders that still stand.

According to police and media accounts, the protestors in Raleigh on the evening of June 19, 2020 took it upon themselves to topple two statues and a historical medallion from the state capital area. One of the statues, a soldier, was dragged and hung from a street light by its neck.

The event celebrated Juneteenth, an annual event marking the end of slavery.

The charges against Chorun accuse him of causing riotous behavior that led to more than $100,000 in damages. Other Confederate statues in the capital were later taken down after the June 19 topplings.

This arrest illustrates our commitment to holding people accountable who threaten the safety of visitors and state property at the locations we are sworn to protect, State Capitol Police Chief Chip Hawley said in a statement. This investigation is ongoing and additional arrests are possible.

Another suspect, a local resident described as an activist, was also charged with inciting a riot following the June 19 protest. Chorun is next scheduled to appear in court in April.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com
YEREVAN, MARCH 25, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani authorities have completely demolished an Armenian Church in Mekhakavan, a village that fell under Azeri control after the 2020 war.

BBCs Jonah Fisher traveled to the region to investigate the disappearance, since a video posted online clearly showed the church was intact when the town was captured by Azerbaijani forces.

Fisher traveled to the exact location of the church, where not a single trace of it is left. When he asks a police escort what happened to the church, he replies that he has no information. When asked again, the Azeri policeman falsely claims that perhaps the church was destroyed during the war  something that couldnt have happened because the videos clearly show that the area had come under Azerbaijani control when the church was still intact.

The Armenian authorities have numerously warned the international community to take action and prevent the Azerbaijani policy of eradicating Armenian cultural and spiritual legacy in Nagorno Karabakh.

The Surb Hovhannes Mkrtich Church in the town of Shushi has suffered a similar fate.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
John Davenport/San Antonio Express-News

Ovintiv Inc., the shale oil producer recently pressed by an activist investor to cut its debt load, agreed to sell drilling rights in South Texas to Validus Energy for $880 million.

The price tag is less than one-third of the $3.1 billion Ovintiv paid Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. in 2014 to acquire the assets in the Eagle Ford, one of the two busiest shale fields in the Lone Star State.
IN 2013, MEDIUM SEEMED to have a bright future. It was founded by Evan Williams, a co-founder and former chief executive of Twitter, and also a co-founder of Blogger, one of the first self-publishing platforms during the early days of the social web. When Twitter went public in 2013, Williams stake gave him a net worth of almost $2 billion. And he made it clear he intended to reinvent publishing and possibly journalism, by giving writers a way to publish their work easily. The company has stumbled a number of times on the way towards realizing that dream, however: it has hired editors and writers and encouraged publications to move onto its platform, only to yank the financial rug out from under themnot just once, but multiple times.

This week, it announced another pivot that calls into question the future of the publications it launched with much fanfare two years ago. Williams announced in an email to staff on Tuesday that the company is changing its editorial strategy to focus on finding and developing new and promising writers from the pool of users who publish using its platform. He also announced a voluntary severance program for staff who would rather get off this crazy ride, which offers a lump sum of five months salary and six months worth of health benefits. According to The Information, the company told employees the buyout plan came about as a result of a recent union drive, which fell short of certification by one vote. What is to become of Mediums existing magazines, including the tech-focused site OneZero, and Zora, which is focused on telling the stories of Black women, is unclear. Williams is vague on that point, saying only that it will take a lot more experimentation to figure out what their role is.

Medium staffers say its not clear what the Williams email means for them or their future. When it launched its owned-and-operated magazines, Medium gave staffers lots of resources and editorial independence, and allowed editors to commission freelancers at relatively high rates. The bet seemed to be that high-quality content from professionals would buttress the user-generated content coming in from the platform. That clearly hasnt panned out, however. Freelance rates have reportedly plummeted, and there seem to be few signs of warmth towards the companys journalists, especially from Mediums founder. But many feel they have little choice but to stick it out, since other media outlets are just as bad, if not worse.

ICYMI: Covering the Atlanta massacre from inside the Korean community

According to Williams, the platform is growing strongly when it comes to subscribers, but whats worked less well is where weve followed the traditional editorial playbook  specifically, commissioning stories from professional writers into publications with broad mandates. Medium has published many stellar stories that found a wide audience and more than paid for themselves, he said. But our hit rate has been low, and were not near where we need to be to make it work economically. Although Williams is a billionaire, and could likely afford to fund Medium out of his own pocket, the company took the traditional Silicon Valley route and raised a lot of venture capitala total of $132 million as of its last roundand presumably needs to meet financial targets. That kind of pressure that has led to layoffs and even outright closure at other VC-based companies including BuzzFeed, Mic, and others.

At this point, Mediums history of pivots seems to include almost every digital business model the journalism industry has tried over the past two decades: It started as a platform for individuals, then created publications and convinced publishers to move to its platform. It has tried different payment schemes, including payment based on traffic, and membership programs, which it abruptly shut down, driving many partners away. And it has tried to build or buy franchises that could monetize via ads (at one point Williams talked about buying New York magazine), but that didnt work either. Finally, it tried to launch publications like OneZero based on subscriptions, and now that seems to have a questionable future.

Sign up for CJR 's daily email

The end result of all the pivoting is that Medium seems to be returning to a variation of the model it started with in 2013: finding writers from the pool of users, and helping them monetize their content  a model very similar to the one Substack uses for its subscription newsletter business. Will this one stick, or will there be yet another pivot?

Heres more on Medium:

Dysfunctional : Casey Newton, who writes a Substack newsletter called Platformer, spoke with 14 current and former staffers at Medium about the changes Williams announced, and about his management style. The company is on track to make $32 million in revenue this year, according to two sources Newton spoke to, but thats not much when you have raised $132 million and are supposed to be worth $600 million. He keeps talking like this company founded in 2012 is a brand new startup finding its way, one staffer said . At a certain point youre not nimble and iterating. Youre just floundering and failing to follow through and execute.

Rug pulling : In 2017, Medium shut down its hosted publication unit, while some of its partnerslike The Establishment, an independent magazine were still in the process of moving their operations to the platform . I remember raising the issue of all the previous pivots the company has been through, cofounder Kelley Calkins told the Poynter Institute at the time. A representative from Medium assured her the company was committed to the strategy. The announcement of the shut down came literally as we were switching over our URLs to Medium, Calkins said . Initially, it was a lot of swearing. Then came the tears. And the cheap beer.

Writers or no? In an essay published in 2018, Williams said that the company was all about curating content from users who published on the platform. We have no writers on staff and dont plan to add any, he said. A year later, he said the company wanted to create its own publications : We are seeking partners to create new publications, which we will help fund and distribute. If you are a current (or aspiring) editor-in-chief or an existing publisher with extra capacity, wed love to hear from you. Nieman Journalism Lab said : Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me seven times, wellhow much money do you have, again?

Other notable stories:

ICYMI: Another day, another mass shooting

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.
[March 25, 2021]

Pure Storage FlashBlade Nears $1B in Sales and is Used by More Than 25% of the Fortune 100

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Pure Storage (NYSE: PSTG), the IT pioneer that delivers storage as-a-service in a multi-cloud world announced growth milestones to mark the five year anniversary of introducing FlashBlade.

Unveiled in March 2016, FlashBlade has delivered consistent year-over-year growth every quarter since. Within two years of general availability (GA), FlashBlade reached a $250M run rate and more than tripled its customer count. FlashBlade continues to expand and diversify its customer base at a breakneck speed, adding several hundred new FlashBlade customers in FY21 and reaching nearly $1B in sales four years after GA. Today, more than 25% of the Fortune 100 use FlashBlade to derive value from their unstructured data.

The growth of FlashBlade has been powered by continuous innovation to not only solve for customer's current needs, but enable them to take advantage of the next wave of modern data and applications to fuel their business. The innovation FlashBlade has delivered includes:

Platform evolution to power next generation workloads : FlashBlade was built with dense scale-out capacity and multi-dimensional performance in mind from day one and has been bolstered by continuous feature upgrades, like native SMB support , SafeMode  snapshots for ransomware protection, and software enhancements designed for real-time analytics, for example. In 2020, FlashBlade defined a new category of storage: Unified Fast File and Object (UFFO). By unifying fast file and fast object capabilities on a single platform, FlashBlade empowers customers with future-proofed infrastructure for the rise of unstructured data.

: FlashBlade was built with dense scale-out capacity and multi-dimensional performance in mind from day one and has been bolstered by continuous feature upgrades, like , for ransomware protection, and designed for real-time analytics, for example. In 2020, FlashBlade defined a new category of storage: Unified Fast File and Object (UFFO). By unifying fast file and fast object capabilities on a single platform, FlashBlade empowers customers with future-proofed infrastructure for the rise of unstructured data. Stand out partnerships and integrated solutions : To tackle a diverse set of customer challenges, FlashBlade has brought uniquely differentiated partnerships to bear. With NVIDIA, FlashBlade created the industry's first integrated AI-Ready Infrastructure ( AIRI  ), a joint solution for deploying deep learning at scale. With Cohesity, FlashBlade created FlashRecover, Powered by Cohesity  , the industry's first jointly-engineered all-flash modern data protection solution for rapid recovery, ransomware protection, and reuse of data. FlashBlade extended its unified fast file and object platform to AWS Outposts , enabling enterprises with a hybrid cloud solution to consolidate current and next-generation workloads.

: To tackle a diverse set of customer challenges, FlashBlade has brought uniquely differentiated partnerships to bear. With NVIDIA, FlashBlade created the industry's first integrated AI-Ready Infrastructure ( ), a joint solution for deploying deep learning at scale. With Cohesity, FlashBlade created , the industry's first jointly-engineered all-flash modern data protection solution for rapid recovery, ransomware protection, and reuse of data. FlashBlade extended its unified fast file and object platform to , enabling enterprises with a hybrid cloud solution to consolidate current and next-generation workloads. Flexible consumption models and non-disruptive upgrades: Pure's Evergreen subscription to innovation lets FlashBlade customers adopt new features without disruption, downtime, or the requirement to re-buy capacity. With the option of buying FlashBlade's Unified Fast File and Object Service through Pure as-a-Service, customers can select from Premium and Ultra Performance tiers to support not only traditional file and cloud object workloads, but also a wide variety of AI and Machine Learning, high performance compute, and software development needs, all delivered with pay as you go consumption.







Matt Burr

FlashBlade customers are among the industry's happiest, contributing to Pure's NPS score in the top 1% of B2B companies. Based on customer reviews, FlashBlade has been named a Gartner Peer Insights Customers' Choice for Distributed File Systems and Object Storage for 2021 and TrustRadius has recognized FlashBlade as the 2020 Top Rated Award winner in the Object Storage category.

"FlashBlade performance has been fantastic, with no downtime. With Vertica on Pure Storage, we have a 360-degree view of customers and fast, sophisticated analytics to provide all sorts of insights to the business, fueling customer success. Our users don't know about the new technology underneath, they just know that Vertica answers their questions much faster. One customer knowledge base report used to take seven days to run  now it's complete in two seconds." -- Chris "CB" Bohn, Principal Data Engineer, Micro Focus

"FlashBlade's ability to scale up performance while lowering I/O latency has exceeded our expectations. With FlashBlade, we are confident that we'll be able to meet the increasing demand for supercomputing resources and strengthen NTU's position as a world-class research-intensive university, while walking the talk when it comes to protecting the environment." -- Alvin Ong, Chief Information Officer, NTU Singapore

Learn more at PureStorage.com/FlashBlade .

About Pure Storage

Pure Storage (NYSE: PSTG) gives technologists their time back. Pure delivers a modern data experience that empowers organizations to run their operations as a true, automated, storage as-a-service model seamlessly across multiple clouds. One of the fastest-growing enterprise IT companies in history, Pure helps customers put data to use while reducing the complexity and expense of managing the infrastructure behind it. And with a certified customer satisfaction score in the top one percent of B2B companies, Pure's ever-expanding list of customers are among the happiest in the world. For more information, visit www.purestorage.com .

Analyst Recognition: Pure Storage has been named a Leader in the 2020 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Primary Storage Arrays .

Connect with Pure

Blog

LinkedIn

Twitter

Facebook

Pure Storage, the Pure P Logo, Portworx, and the marks on the Pure Trademark List at www.purestorage.com/legal/productenduserinfo.html are trademarks of Pure Storage, Inc. Other names are trademarks of their respective owners.

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pure-storage-flashblade-nears-1b-in-sales-and-is-used-by-more-than-25-of-the-fortune-100-301255775.html

SOURCE Pure Storage
[March 25, 2021] Great Learning collaborates with JAIN (Deemed-to-be University) to offer cutting edge PG and UG degree programs

The degrees will include MBA, MCA, and BBA with specializations in cutting-edge domains like Business Analytics, Digital Marketing & E-commerce, Data Science, Full Stack Development, Cloud Computing, and Artificial Intelligence.

The degrees provided by JAIN (Deemed-to-be University) offer exceptional value to working professionals, who can now continue working while pursuing a masters' degree in high demand specializations

Students will also get an Advanced Professional Certificate and career assistance from Great Learning BENGALURU, India, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Great Learning, one of India's leading EdTech companies for professional and higher education, announced its collaboration with JAIN (Deemed-to-be University), Bengaluru, to offer contemporary online degree programs in high-demand domains that are seeking a skilled workforce. This collaboration offers MBA, MCA, and BBA programs with specialties in Digital Marketing, Data Science, Full Stack Development, Cloud Computing, and Artificial Intelligence. These UGC recognized degree programs have been designed by academic experts and digital innovators from academia and industry to help students master core concepts in various specializations. In addition to the degree from the University, the students will also receive an Advanced Professional Certificate from Great Learning. These programs, which will be delivered online, offer exceptional value to working professionals who can continue to work and simultaneously get their degree in future-focused, high-growth domains. The MBA program in Digital Marketing and Data Science blends the traditional MBA curriculum with new-age skills like Artificial Intelligence, Data Analytics, Python, Predictive Analytics, and Web and Social Media Analytics. The MCA programs cover some of the most sought-after skills by the industry including Python, SQL & NoSQL, Microsoft Azure, AWS, Data Visualization, Software Engineering, Business Analysis, and Data Communication. The launch of these programs comes after the recent announcement by the government under the New Education Policy that enables universities to offer online degrees. Recognizing and enabling online degrees in India will reshape education delivery in the country, making top-quality education from prominent universities more accessible and affordable to learners. This will go a long way towards increasing our national gross enrolment ratio to 50% as per the goal of the NEP. Online degree delivery will further provide learners withthe flexibility to learn what they desire, irrespective of their geographic location.



Some job roles that learners can expect to secure after program completion include that of a Business Analyst, Data Analyst, Data Scientist, Data Engineer, Digital Marketing Manager, Ecommerce Specialist, Cloud Developer, Cloud Engineer, Software Developer, etc. Additionally, the programs include practical projects that would help learners develop acumen in solving real-world business problems and gaining hands-on experience in the application of these skills. Upon the completion of the programs, learners will receive a master's or bachelor's degree from JAIN (Deemed-to-be University). Mohan Lakhamraju, Founder and CEO, Great Learning, said, "At Great Learning, our mission is to provide students and working professionals access to high-quality education that can help transform and power their career ahead. With digital skills like Data Science, Analytics, AI, Machine Learning, Cloud Computing, Digital Marketing becoming critical building blocks for most roles across industries, it is essential to include them as a part of the curriculum. Through our collaborations with progressive academies like JAIN (Deemed-to-be University), we aim to bring cutting-edge industry relevance to students thus making them future-ready. We are confident that these will take their career trajectory to a whole new level and give them a competitive advantage."

Dr. Raj Singh, Vice-Chancellor, JAIN (Deemed-to-be University), said, "In the era when the Universities as we have known them, are beginning to change and the future is certainly going to belong to micro-credentials offered by the best faculty from across the world, two categories of the audience will be the beneficiaries; the ones who need to upskill for emerging job profiles without leaving their current jobs in 'anything, anywhere and anytime' mode and those who haven't had access to quality education yet. By serving these two categories of learners through the UGC-approved online degrees, JAIN (Deemed-to-be University) will not only help the Government to achieve a higher Gross Enrolment Ration (GER) but also make a sustainable impact on the society, as enshrined in its vision and mission. The specialized certifications by Great Learning in Industry 4.0 technologies will place the students a notch above their contemporaries." Great Learning will also provide placement assistance to the learners and connect them to the right job opportunities through its placement assistance program, GL Excelerate. The platform has partnered with 400+ leading organizations including JP Morgan, Barclays, Tata Consultancy Services, Accenture, HSBC, Bank of America, Capgemini, and Cognizant, which leverage the extensive talent pool available to fulfill their workforce requirements. Students can get a detailed understanding of the programs and hear from the faculty at JAIN (Deemed-to-be University) and Great Learning experts at a launch event on March 25, 2021, at 05:00 P.M. by registering at https://program.greatlearning.in/jain-online-program-launch/ About JAIN (Deemed-to-be-University) Promoted by Jain Group, the University is recognized among the top universities in India and considered a preferred learner-centric destination for students from different countries across the globe. The University has been awarded 5 stars in the Young Universities Category by KSURF. Known for its emphasis on education, entrepreneurship, research, and sports, JAIN (Deemed-to-be University) has some of the best minds in the educational and research fields, and centers that inspire entrepreneurship and innovative thinking. About Great Learning Great Learning is one of India's leading ed-tech companies for professional and higher education. It offers comprehensive, industry-relevant programs in Software Engineering, Business Management, Business Analytics, Data Science, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing, Cyber Security, Digital Marketing, Design Thinking, and more. Great Learning's programs are developed in collaboration with the world's foremost academic institutions like Stanford University, MIT, The University of Texas at Austin, National University Singapore, IIT Madras, IIT Bombay, IIT Roorkee, and Great Lakes Institute of Management and are constantly reimagined and revamped to address the dynamic needs of the industry. Great Learning is the only ed-tech company to provide these programs in a blended mode, classroom mode, and purely online mode, relying on its vast network of expert mentors and highly qualified faculty to deliver an unmatched learning experience for learners in India and the world over. By delivering over 50 million hours of transformational learning, we have impacted over 1 million learners from 160 countries. Great Learning is on a mission to enable transformative learning and career success in the digital economy for professionals and students across the globe. Media Contact:

Rishita Chiranewala

rishita@greatlearning.in

PR Head

Great Learning Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1458111/Great_Learning_Logo.jpg

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
I certainly support the decision [of the authorities of Artsakh] to grant an official status to the Russian language. This is what First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on CIS, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Russian Nationals Abroad of the Russian State Duma, MP Konstantin Zatulin told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

I know that the population of Nagorno-Karabakh, or perhaps as it was in the past, had good knowledge of Russian and respected the Russian language. Today, in the current circumstances, I understand why a decision was made to grant an official status to the Russian language. Perhaps Russias role in the maintenance of peace in Nagorno-Karabakh and the presence of Russian peacekeepers are bringing Nagorno-Karabakh closer to Russia. I believe knowledge of Russian will help the population communicate with the Russian soldiers, Zatulin said.

During a conversation with Armenian News-NEWS.am today, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Science, Education, Culture, Youth and Sport of the Parliament of Artsakh Aram Harutyunyan said the Russian language has been granted an official status in Artsakh. He also stressed that Russian will be the second official language and that Armenian remains the only state language.
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 British-born militant sentenced to death for the beheading of American journalist Daniel Pearl was ordered to be let out of prison on Thursday by Pakistan's Supreme Court in the latest twist to a legal saga spanning nearly two decades.

The court said, however, that Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh - who has been on death row for 18 years - should remain in custody in accommodation similar to prison staff's while another appeal is considered.

Sheikh and three accomplices have been behind bars since 2002 when they were convicted of the kidnapping and murder of Pearl - who was at the time the South Asia bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal.

Since then they have won and lost a series of appeals and counter-appeals in connection with the case, with a top court last year overturning their murder convictions.

That decision meant they had completed their sentences on the kidnapping charge, and the court in January ordered them to be released.

In February, Pakistan's Supreme Court ordered Sheikh to be moved to a so-called government 'safe house'.

British-born militant Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who was sentenced to death for the beheading of American journalist Daniel Pearl, was ordered to be let out of prison on Thursday by Pakistan's Supreme Court in the latest twist to a legal saga spanning nearly two decades

The release order said he would be under guard and not be permitted to leave the safe house, but his wife and children will be allowed to visit him.

They were kept in custody, however, as the provincial and federal governments - as well as Pearl's family - launched another petition to keep them behind bars.

On Thursday, the court said they should be confined to prison staff accommodation during the process.

'We are not satisfied with the continuous detention of this person,' Justice Umar Ata Bandial told the court. 'The detainee Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh shall be accommodated in a government building in which officers of jail reside.'

Lawyers said Sheikh will likely be transferred from the southern port city of Karachi to Lahore, his ancestral home, in the east.

It was not immediately clear when the judges would make a final ruling on the case proper, or if prosecutors have exhausted all avenues of appeal.

The February order sending Sheikh to a safe house appeared to be a concession to the federal government, as well as the government of southern Sindh province where Karachi is the capital.

The case has caused enormous friction between Islamabad and Washington, despite officials in both capitals being convinced of Sheikh's complicity in Pearl's death.

Daniel Pearl (pictured) disappeared on January 23, 2002, in the port city of Karachi where he was investigating links between Pakistani militant groups and Richard C Reid, dubbed the 'shoe bomber' after his attempt to blow up a flight from Paris to Miami with explosives hidden in his shoes [File photo]

At his original trial, the now 47-year-old did not deny being behind the plot to kidnap the American, but said he was not responsible for his brutal beheading, which was filmed and broadcast on the internet.

In a transcript released by the Pentagon in 2007, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed - one of Osama bin Laden's most trusted lieutenants and the alleged mastermind of the September 11 attacks - told a military tribunal in Guantanamo Bay that he had slit Pearl's throat.

He is still in US custody awaiting trial on myriad charges that carry the death penalty.

Omar Sheikh was born in London to middle-class Pakistani immigrant parents and attended private schools before starting a degree at the London School of Economics.

But the hulking 6ft 2in amateur boxer dropped out in his first year and began delivering aid to support Muslims besieged by Serbs during the Bosnian war in the 1990s.

Pictured: This undated file photo releaed by the Washington Post shows Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl at an undisclosed location with a copy of Pakistan's English language newspaper Dawn, before he was murdered in 2002

In his biography 'In the Line of Fire', former Pakistan military chief and president Pervez Musharraf said Sheikh had been recruited by Britain's MI6 spy agency, but went rogue after becoming radicalised when he moved to Pakistan.

In 1994, posing as a Hindu in Indian-administered Kashmir, Sheikh arranged the kidnapping of four foreign tourists to demand the release of jailed Islamic militants.

He was captured in a shootout and imprisoned in New Delhi, but freed in a hostage exchange in 1999 when militants hijacked an Indian Airlines flight and forced it to land in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

He lured Pearl to his death in Karachi on January 23, 2002 by pretending to be a media-friendly intermediary with access to extremists.

Ahmed Saeed Sheikh, father of British-born Pakistani Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, talks to media following Daniel Pearl case hearing in the Supreme Court, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021

Pearl was in the city investigating links between Pakistani militant groups and Richard C Reid, dubbed the 'shoe bomber' after his attempt to blow up a flight from Paris to Miami with explosives hidden in his shoes.

Pearl's widow Mariane, a French journalist, wrote a book about her husband's life titled 'A Mighty Heart', which was later adapted into a movie co-produced by Brad Pitt and starring Angeline Jolie.

Washington has previously asked Pakistan to hand Sheikh to US authorities if he is ever freed.
Both Branislav Grohling and Ivan Korcok announced their resignation.

Education Minister Branislav Grohling and Foreign Affairs Minister Ivan Korcok (both SaS) have resigned. Grohling announced his resignation at a cabinet session on March 24. Korcok, currently in Brussels, announced his resignation via a written statement.

"It was a pleasure to work with you and get to know you as colleagues," Korcok wrote. He asked the other cabinet members to stick to the governmental programme statement in the field of foreign and European policies.

State Secretary Martin Klus bid farewell to other cabinet members on his behalf, Klus wrote on Facebook.

Grohling will meet with President Zuzana Caputova on March 25 at 14:00 to hand her the resignation. He bid farewell to colleagues, teachers and employees of schools at the cabinet session.

The fate of the ruling coalition is in Igor Matovic's hands Read more

Earlier this week, SaS chair Richard Sulik and Maria Kolikova of Za Ludi left their posts of economy minister and justice minister, respectively. They did so after PM Igor Matovic (OLaNO) said he would step down only if his coalition partners meet certain conditions.

A room for government reshuffles

Im thankful for the opportunity to initiate changes in education and shifting the education system to the 21st century, Grohling told the press on March 24.

He continued that he did everything not to transfer the political situation into schools, and added that if the pandemic situation starts improving, more schools will be able to open on April 9, after the Easter holiday.

Grohling believes that his resignation will create room for government reshuffles.

Junior coalition party SaS said earlier that they are giving PM Igor Matovic time until March 24 to resign, otherwise the SaS ministers will step down. Matovic is still PM.

24. Mar 2021 at 9:41 (modified at 24. Mar 2021 at 10:51) | Compiled by Spectator staff
Michael Johnsen spent the best part of two decades attempting to snare a spot in Parliament.

By the time he was eventually elected to Macquarie Street in 2015 as the Nationals member for Upper Hunter, Johnsen had unsuccessfully run three times for Federal Parliament.

By midday on Thursday he was listed as an independent MP, with his political career hanging in the balance amid a police investigation into accusations he raped a sex worker in 2019.

Nationals leader John Barilaro with Michael Jensen Credit:Louise Kennerley

Less than 24 hours earlier, Labor MP Trish Doyle dropped a bombshell in the Legislative Assembly, using parliamentary privilege to reveal an unnamed member of the government was at the centre of the allegations.
Reporter

Mary Schenk is a reporter covering police, courts and breaking news at The News-Gazette. Her email is mschenk@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@schenk).
The ongoing situation in Myanmar has pushed Mizoram under a massive drug smuggling threat. The post-coup influx is being misused by the narcotic smugglers across the borders. Mizoram has the country's highest drug addiction figures and the biggest consignments of drugs are allegedly entering the state from the porous borders of Myanmar. Inputs reveal that large consignments of heroin and pink drug are being pushed into India through Mizoram. The Assam Rifles that guards the 510 km long border with Myanmar has recovered drugs worth Rs 35 crore during COVID period itself.

Mizoram has been in the grip of the drug menace since 1984. A total of 1,645 people have died due to drug abuse in the last three decades. In 2020 alone, 67 people have died. Drugs have impacted the youth of the state either directly through consumption or indirectly through thefts, robberies and crimes. A total of 268 people were arrested in 2020 on drug-related charges. As per data available with Law Enforcement Agencies, in 2020, 21 kg heroin, 130 kg of marijuana & Methamphetamine tablets worth Rs 47 crore were seized.

Mizoram threatened by drug smuggling from Myanmar

A major reason for this rampant drug problem in the state is the illegally settled Chin population which has close ties to the drug network. Yaba tablets, produced in the Wa state of Myanmar and which are in high demand in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru, are smuggled through Mizoram. Apart from drugs, Mizoram has also become a hub for trafficking various metals and other products. It is one of the fastest-growing hubs of gold smuggling from China. More than 8 kg of gold was recovered in Mizoram in 2020 and about 70 kg recovered in other parts of the country in 2020 which is believed to have come from Mizoram.

Arms and fertilisers are the other products that are smuggled through Mizoram. Around 30 AK 47, Two Chinese pistols, one Air rifle, around 600 rifle scopes and about 1.5 Lakh detonators were recovered in 2020. Assam Rifles has made stellar contributions in recovering illegal drugs and other contraband. Looking at the data from 2020 till date, the force has apprehended 45 Myanmar nationals and 215 drug peddlers. It has recovered the following (worth Rs 50.469 crore):-

- Narcotics - Worth 61 crore.

- Contrabands - Worth 70 crore.

Methamphetamine or the pink drug is the newest threat in the region. Since the profit in this drug is very high, the pill which is sold in Myanmar for just 10 rupees comes to Mizoram and goes to other metros like Delhi, Mumbai and is sold for more than Rs 2,000. Commander, 23 Sector of Assam Rifle, Brigadier Digvijay Singh said that the biggest reason for drug addiction in Mizoram is the easy availability of drugs and Mizoram being a dry state, people here get easily trapped into drug menace.

Drug smuggling increases in Mizoram after Mayanmar ruckus

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the Free Border Movement Regime between Myanmar and India has been suspended but the movement of Myanmar citizens is still continuing due to the violent protests and action against protesters. Assam Rifles had caught more than Rs 35 crore in drugs during the Coronavirus pandemic last year and arrested 40 people. Earlier, in 2019, drugs worth Rs 50 crore were recovered and this year, so far, drugs worth Rs 16 crore have been caught. The biggest challenge is that due to its small size the pink drug is smoothed very easily, all the consignments that have been caught so far have been caught in small packets and each packet had 20 thousand tablets.

Since Mizoram is a land-locked state bounded by Bangladesh and Myanmar on two sides, it is said that in the past, trade from Mizoram in India used to be through Laos, Myanmar and Thailand which is also known as the Old Silk Route. Mizoram used the same route for salt, it was later renamed as Salt Route. Now the salt route is being used for smuggling drugs. This route is also referred to as the Golden Triangle of intoxicants.

According to the information, at present, this drug business has changed from the Golden Triangle to the Golden Pentagon. Now along with Laos, Myanmar and Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia also are in the drug trap. Assam Rifles is continuously fighting the drug menace in the region.

(Picture Credit: unsplash@f7photo)
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

By April Dembosky | KQED

As more surveys come out showing that Black Americans are more hesitant than white Americans to get the coronavirus vaccine, more journalists, politicians and health officials -- from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to Dr. Anthony Fauci -- are invoking the infamous Tuskegee syphilis study to explain why.

"It's 'Oh, Tuskegee, Tuskegee, Tuskegee,' and it's mentioned every single time," says Karen Lincoln, a professor of social work at the University of Southern California. "We make these assumptions that it's Tuskegee. We don't ask people."

When she asks the Black seniors she works with in Los Angeles about the vaccine, Tuskegee rarely comes up. People in the community are more interested in talking about contemporary racism and barriers to health care, she says, while it seems to be mainly academics and officials who are preoccupied with the history of Tuskegee.

"It's a scapegoat," Lincoln says. "It's an excuse. If you continue to use it as a way of explaining why many African Americans are hesitant, it almost absolves you of having to learn more, do more, involve other people -- admit that racism is actually a thing today."

It's the health inequities of today that Maxine Toler, 72, hears about when she talks to her friends and neighbors in LA about the vaccine. Toler is president of her city's senior advocacy council and her neighborhood block club. She and most of the other Black seniors she talks to want the vaccine, but are having trouble getting it, she says, and that alone is sowing mistrust.

Those who don't want the vaccine have very modern reasons for not wanting it. They tell Toler it's because of religious beliefs, safety concerns or distrust for the former U.S. president and his relationship to science. Only a handful mention Tuskegee, she says, and when they do, they're fuzzy on the details of what happened during the 40-year study.

"If you ask them what was it about and why do you feel like it would impact your receiving the vaccine, they can't even tell you," she says.

Toler remembers, and says the history is a distraction; it's not relevant to what's happening now.

"It's almost the opposite of Tuskegee," she says. "Because they were being denied treatment. And this is like, we're pushing people forward: Go and get this vaccine. We want everybody to be protected from COVID."

Questioning the Tuskegee Legacy

The "Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male" was a government-sponsored, taxpayer-funded study that began in 1932. Some people believe that researchers injected the men with syphilis, but that's not true. Rather, they recruited 399 Black men from Alabama who already had the disease, though the government doctors never told them they had it.

Instead, researchers told the men they had come to cure "bad blood," though they never intended to cure anything. Even when a cure for syphilis - penicillin - became widely available in the 1940s, the researchers withheld it and continued the study for decades, determined to track the disease to its end point: autopsy.

By the time the study was exposed and shut down in 1972, 128 of the men involved had died from syphilis or related complications; 40 of their wives and 19 children had also been infected.

With a horrific history like this, many scientists assumed that Black people would never want to participate in clinical research again. Over the next three decades, various books, articles and films repeated this assumption until it became gospel.

"That was a false assumption," says Dr. Rueben Warren, director of the National Center for Bioethics in Research and Health Care at Tuskegee University in Alabama, and former associate director of Minority Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, from 1988 to 1997.

Several researchers began to question this assumption at a 1994 bioethics conference, where almost all the speakers seemed to accept it as a given. The doubters asked, what kind of scientific evidence is there to support the notion that Black people would refuse to participate in research because of Tuskegee?

When those researchers did a comprehensive search of the existing literature, they found nothing.

"It was apparently a 'fact' known more in the gut than in the head," wrote lead doubter Ralph Katz, a dentist from New York.

So Katz formed a research team to look for this evidence. They completed a series of studies over the next 14 years, focused mainly on surveying thousands of people across seven cities, from Baltimore to San Antonio to Tuskegee.

The conclusions were definitive: While Black people were twice as "wary" of participating in research, as compared to white people, they were equally willing to actually participate. And, there was no association between knowledge of Tuskegee and willingness to participate.

"The hesitancy is there, but the refusal is not. And that's an important difference," says Warren, who later joined Katz in editing "The Search for the Legacy of the USPHS Syphilis Study at Tuskegee," a book about the research. "Hesitant, yes. But not refusal."

Tuskegee was not the deal breaker everyone thought it was.

These results did not go over well within academic and government research circles, Warren says, as they "indicted and contradicted" the common belief that low minority enrollment in research was the result of Tuskegee.

"That was the excuse that they used," Warren says. "If I don't want to go to the extra energy, resources to include the population, I can simply say they were not interested. They refused."

Now, researchers had to confront the real problem. Many of them never invited Black people to participate in their studies in the first place. When they did, they didn't try very hard. For example, two studies of cardiovascular disease offered enrollment to more than 2,000 white people, compared to no more than 30 people from minority groups.

"We have a tendency to use Tuskegee as a scapegoat, for us, as researchers, not doing what we need to do to ensure that people are well-educated about the benefits of participating in a clinical trial," says B. Lee Green, vice president of diversity at Moffitt Cancer Center in Florida, who worked on the early research.

"There may be individuals in the community who absolutely remember Tuskegee, and we should not discount that," he adds. But hesitancy "is more related to individuals' lived experiences, what people live each and every day."

'It's What Happened to Me Yesterday'

Some of the same presumptions that were made about clinical research are resurfacing today around the coronavirus vaccine. A lot of hesitancy is being confused for refusal, Warren says. And so many of the entrenched structural barriers that are limiting access to the vaccine in Black communities are not being sufficiently addressed.

Tuskegee is once again being used as a scapegoat, says USC professor of social work Karen Lincoln.

"If you say Tuskegee, then you don't have to acknowledge things like pharmacy deserts, things like poverty and unemployment," she says. "You can just say, 'That happened then. Things are different now and there's nothing we can do about it.' "

She says the contemporary failures of the health care system are causing more distrust than the events of the past.

"It's what happened to me yesterday," she says. "Not what happened in the '50s or '60s, when Tuskegee was actually active."

The seniors she works with, through her group Advocates for African American Elders, complain all the time about doctors dismissing their concerns and talking down to them, or nurses answering the hospital call buttons for their white roommates more often than for them.

They point to the recent Facebook Live video of Susan Moore as a prime example of the unequal treatment Black people receive. Moore, a Black doctor from Indiana who got COVID-19, filmed herself from her hospital bed, an oxygen tube in her nose. She said she had to beg her physician to continue her course of Remdesivir, the drug that speeds up recovery from the disease.

"He said, 'Ah, you don't need it. You're not even short of breath.' I said 'Yes, I am,' " Moore said into the camera. "I put forward and I maintain, if I was white, I wouldn't have to go through that."

Moore died two weeks later.

"She knew what kind of treatment she should be getting and she wasn't getting it," said Maxine Toler, the 72-year-old from LA. "We saw it up close and personal with the president, that he got the best of everything. They cured him in a couple of days, and our people are dying like flies."

Toler and her neighbors are watching the same inequity play out with the vaccine. The first mass vaccination sites set up in LA - at Dodger Stadium and Disneyland - are difficult to get to from Black neighborhoods without a car, and you practically needed a computer science degree to get an online appointment for the early doses.

White people are snatching up appointments, even at clinics intended for disadvantaged communities, while people of color can't get through. So far, Black people make up just 2.9% of Californians who have received the vaccination, even though they account for 6.2% of the state's COVID-19 deaths.

It's stories like these that stoke mistrust, Lincoln says. "And the word travels fast when people have negative experiences. They share it."

The key to addressing this mistrust requires a paradigm shift, says Warren of Tuskegee University. If you want Black people to trust doctors and trust the vaccine, don't blame them for distrusting it, he says. The obligation is on health institutions to first show they are trustworthy: to listen, take responsibility, show accountability and stop making excuses. That, he adds, means providing information about the vaccine without being paternalistic and making it easier to access in Black communities.

"Prove yourself trustworthy and trust will follow," he says.
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.
By SA Commercial Prop News

The tourism industry is one of the key industries in South Africa attracting visitors from all over the world.



KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala announced that R20 million has been set aside towards the KwaZulu-Natal Tourism Relief Fund to provide relief to tourism businesses in distress

KZN's tourism businesses will receive R50 000 each as part of the province's tourism recovery plan in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In his State of the Province Address, KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala announced that R20 million has been set aside towards the KwaZulu-Natal Tourism Relief Fund to provide relief to tourism businesses in distress.

The tourism industry is one of the key industries in South Africa attracting visitors from all over the world. Globally, the tourism sector was the most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. During his address, Zikalala said that the focus is on implementing the provinces Tourism Recovery Plan which was put together by industry partners when the pandemic started last year.



The latest report by SA Tourism estimated that over 40 000 jobs were lost countrywide because of the COVID-19 pandemic. R20 million has been set aside towards the Tourism Relief Fund aimed to provide relief to tourism businesses. The fund will be capped at R50 000 per business.



Some of KZN Businesses In Distress



In September last year, the management of the iconic five-star Fairmont Zimbali Resort on the KZN North Coast near Ballito announced that the resort has gone into business rescue.



The iconic Hilton Durban Hotel closed its doors in January this year and is one of 1000 Hilton hotels to close since the start of the pandemic.



International investor, Hanes South Africa PTY, which operates the 60-year-old Wonderbra and Playtex companies, said in a statement after careful consideration, the board decided to file for creditors voluntary liquidation. It said it believed it would be the best outcome for staff and other affected parties. The Durban-based factory in Jacobs remains closed and over 700 workers from the underwear manufacturer Playtex lost their jobs.

Plans to Improve Rural and Township Tourism in KZN



During his address, Zikalala said that a strong focus has been placed on rural tourism, as well as on women and youth-owned businesses.



Some of the provinces projects include the development of a tourism precinct at Howick Falls in uMgungundlovu District Municipality, Improvements at KwaXolo Caves Adventures in Ugu District Municipality, and the construction of Mtubatuba tourism information and SMME Centre in uMkhanyakude District Municipality, he said.
Amazon said Thursday it will build a delivery station in Slidell that is set to open in 2022, the first of this type of facility in St. Tammany Parish and the third in Louisiana.

Construction will begin in the next few weeks, according to a company spokesperson.

The announcement about the 140,000-square-foot facility - about the size of a Sam's Club - offered few details but said that it will create "hundreds" of full and part-time positions. The site, still covered by trees, is at 1914 Town Center Parkway, near the intersection with Old Spanish Trail and close to Interstate 10.

Delivery stations are the final stopping place for packages before they are delivered to the customer, and Amazon said that the centers are designed for electric delivery vehicles as the company works toward a goal of having 10,000 electric delivery vehicles delivering goods by next year.

Slidell Mayor Greg Cromer said there will be over six miles of conduit in the ground to accommodate the electric vehicles, which will be charged as they are loading up.

The other two Louisiana delivery stations are in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. National media outlets have reported that Amazon plans to put as many as 1,000 of the last-stop facilities in suburban areas across the country.

Rumors that Amazon would build the facility in Slidell have circulated for weeks. Cromer, who had demurred weeks when asked about the possibility, said the city had been working to bring the center to the city for about 15 months.

"This is a huge win for the community and the city," he said Thursday. "I'm just so excited. I've been bursting to talk about it."

Cromer said that while Amazon asked him not to discuss specific numbers, the center would bring more than 250 jobs and fewer than 400.

"This is the biggest project to come around since I've been in office," Cromer said. "We've not had anybody with an international brand and over 200 jobs in a long time. It's the biggest thing business-wise in Slidell in quite a while."

He called Slidell's strategic location, workforce and ease of doing business "compelling advantages."

Gov. John Bel Edwards said in a prepared statement that Amazon's investment in Louisiana "enhances our logistics sector by providing new career opportunities and crucial consumer connections."

Amazon said that delivery station jobs will have starting pay of $15 per hour and benefits and also provide opportunities for entrepreneurs and independent contractors who want to deliver packages.

St. Tammany top stories in your inbox A weekly guide to the biggest news in St. Tammany. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

"It's a significant project for Slidell," Chris Masingill, CEO of St. Tammany Corp., the parish's economic development agency, said.

Logistics, transportation and warehousing is a targeted development sector for St. Tammany, which has three interstate highways, Masingill said. Amazon choosing to come to Slidell validates that.

"It's a strong signal that we have the right work force, infrastructure and geographic location to be a leader in logistics and transportation," he said. "Imagine what that would also say to global Fortune 500 companies."

St. Tammany already has some of that kind of business, with both Rooms To Go and Associated Wholesale Grocers operating large warehouse facilities in the eastern part of the parish. But Medline, a large medical supply company that has operated a smaller facility near Covington for a decade, abandoned plans to greatly expand its operations after running into lawsuits and opposition from nearby residents and decided to move to Tangipahoa Parish.

Slidell has targeted that sector, too, although Cromer said this is first such project to come to the city. He's talking to several developers about building structures between 100,000 and 400,000 square feet that have at least 40-foot ceilings to allow for palletized storage. If the city had an inventory of that type of building, Cromer said, they could get them filled.

The Amazon center is the second large development being proposed for the Slidell area, following an announcement in February that a casino developer wants to build a casino resort just outside the city near the I-10 twin spans.

Amazon has had its eyes on Louisiana for awhile, locating a 111,918-square-foot distribution center on 34 acres in south Baton Rouge. The company is currently building a 1-million-square-foot fulfillment center at the former Evangeline Downs site near Carencro.

Amazon is also planning to build a 2.9-million-square foot fulfillment center at the site of the largely vacant Cortana Mall in Baton Rouge. Amazon bought the site last month, and the East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council approved rezoning last week with the goal to open by August 2022.

And last fall, Seefried, an Atlanta-based developer that works closely with Amazon, bought a site in Port Allen. Documents filed with the West Baton Rouge Parish Clerk of Courts office outline a lease agreement with Amazon, which plans to put a regional sorting center there by the end of this year.

Staff writer Timothy Boone contributed to this report.
The UN rights council called Wednesday on Belarus to halt its crackdown on peaceful demonstrators, urging the UN rights chief to probe violations in connection with last year's controversial presidential vote.

In a separate move, the United States and 18 other countries announced the creation of a new body for collecting evidence of abuses committed "daily" in Belarus, with the aim of bringing perpetrators to justice.

The United Nations Human Rights Council voted in favour of a resolution harshly critical of President Alexander Lukashenko's government and its response to months of anti-government protests.

The text "condemns the ongoing grave violations of human rights in Belarus in connection with the 2020 presidential election, including the systematic denial of human rights and fundamental freedoms".

The resolution, introduced by the European Union, was adopted with 20 votes in favour, seven against and 20 abstentions, after the 47-member council first rejected 14 different amendments proposed by Minsk, Moscow and Beijing.

Ahead of the vote, Belarusian ambassador Yuri Ambrazevich slammed the text as "yet another example of manipulation of the UN by Western states in their own political interests".

Several countries came to Belarus's defence, with Russian ambassador Gennady Gatilov condemning the resolution as "totally unacceptable" and "an extreme case of politicisation".

Belarus was gripped by months of unprecedented anti-government demonstrations that erupted after a disputed presidential election last August in which Lukashenko claimed a sixth term in office.

His opponents say the poll was rigged and that political novice Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who ran in place of her jailed husband, was the true winner.

Belarusian security forces unleashed a harsh crackdown against the protests, detaining demonstrators and pushing opposition leaders into exile.

- 'Torture' -

Wednesday's resolution urged the Belarusian authorities to "cease using excessive force against peaceful demonstrators, and torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and enforced disappearance".

It also demanded a halt to "arbitrary arrests, detentions and imprisonment of persons for exercising their human rights".

And it called on authorities to "immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners" and others arbitrarily detained for exercising their rights.

The text also called on Belarusian authorities to "ensure free and fair elections, and to enter into a genuine dialogue with the political opposition... in order to restore and maintain the rule of law, democracy and respect for human rights law and standards".

And the resolution called for Minsk to ensure "independent, transparent and impartial investigations" into all reported violations.

It urged the office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet and other UN experts to "carry out a comprehensive examination" of the reported abuses in the country since May 1 last year.

At the start of the current council session last month, Bachelet herself presented a report accusing the authorities of systematically repressing protests and urging an independent probe into torture allegations.

The US State Department meanwhile released a statement Wednesday with 18 other mainly European states, announcing the creation of an "International Accountability Platform for Belarus".

The platform, to be headed by the Danish Institute against Torture, will be independent and impartial and will take responsibility for "the collection, consolidation, verification and preservation of information, documentation and evidence of serious violations" committed in the run-up to and following last year's elections in Belarus, it said.

The material collected by the IAPB will then be handed over to UN investigators and will serve future independent criminal investigations and prosecution, it added.
In light of the Atlanta shooting of six Asian women on March 16, 2021 and the subsequent outrage and rallies over racist attacks against Asian Americans, are Asian Americans now ready to fully engage in public demonstrations against social injustices?

One significant event already occurred on June 28, 2020, as well over 1,000 Asian American Christians in Chicagoland gathered for a demonstration in support of black dignity and pride which was initiated by the Asian American Christian Collaborative. The killing of George Floyd, coupled with the recent deaths of other African Americans, had galvanized the Asian American community to participate in a two-mile march against the violence perpetrated on the black community. The march began on the outskirts of Chinatown, stopped for prayer vigils at several points including the historic century old Chinese Christian Union Church, and eventually ended at a historic century old African American church (Progressive Baptist Church).

A study was recently conducted to determine whether the Chicago march was an indication that the younger generation of the model minority was now engaging in political activism, or whether it was an aberration. These results were presented on March 5 at the World Christianity Virtual Conference at Princeton Theological Seminary.

This study surveyed Asian American believers in Chicagoland, both those who participated in this march and those who did not, with the intention of answering several pivotal questions:

What were the primary reasons why these demonstrators joined the Chicago march?

What were the primary reasons why others did not join?

Did the church leadership of immigrant congregations endorse this expression of social justice?

Is age a significant factor influencing attitudes and actions?

Are Asian American evangelicals now ready to engage in political activism or was this an isolated event?

What were the primary reasons why these demonstrators joined the Chicago march?

Out of a list of seven reasons, the two overwhelming choices were Wanted to demonstrate against the racism experienced by the Black community (88%) and Wanted to march as an expression of my spiritual faith (85%). In fact, 76% chose both these primary reasons.

Only 40% felt supported by their Family, church or community, indicating that fewer than half felt supported by their churches in this march. In actuality, this figure is far fewer than 40% as there were three sources of support which were suggested.

Was age an important factor in determining how one answered?

These results were further broken down by age groupings. As a number of recent Asian American church plants are essentially mono-generational at their inception, consisting primarily of those in their early post-college years, the first age bracket mimics this trend by incorporating those from 16-34 years of age (Only four respondents were under the age of 21.). The second bracket consists of more seasoned adults from ages 35-49. The final cluster of mature adults follows the AARP designation of those 50 years of age and above as seniors.

There were no wildly dramatic differences in the results from which one can draw definitive conclusions based on age. For example, to the question of why these marchers chose to take part, the responses were highly similar across the age segments as seen in the next two graphs.

Image: Dr. Andrew Lee

Image: Dr. Andrew Lee

What were the primary reasons why others did not join?

Those in the Asian American community who did not march were also surveyed to determine why they chose not to participate. Concern for ones personal safety, whether due to contracting COVID-19, potential confrontations with others during the march, or the possibility of degenerating into a riot, was the number one concern with more than half checking that box at 58%. The second most chosen reason at 49% was that the march was not convenient to attend. The remaining six options returned single digit responses.

What is the level of interest in social justice in the Asian American community?

One way to gauge this is by examining what people have done since the march. Both marchers and non-marchers were asked whether they had engaged in the following four activities after the June 28 march.

 Detailed and focused reading about social justice issues

 Detailed and focused viewing of videos and/or other media about social justice issues

 Wrote/blogged/communicated with others about social justice issues

 Participated in other social justice activities (Ministry opportunities, other marches, gatherings, etc.)

Image: Dr. Andrew Lee

For all respondents, the Viewing of videos and/or other media about social justice issues was the most popular follow-up activity with an identical 73% participation for both groups, followed by Detailed and focused reading about social justice issues--69% for marchers and 73% for non-marchers.

Communicating with others in some form, written or verbal, was higher for the marchers, 45% to 31%, as was participating in other Social Justice activities, 38% to 25%.

Reading and Viewing are often solitary activities stoking the mind and imagination. Communicating with others and Participating in other social justice activities require action and interaction. More than half of the respondents who marched did not interact with others in these latter two categories, even fewer among the non-marchers. It should be noted, however, that the pandemic created conditions that made in-person interaction with others less accessible.

Image: Dr. Andrew Lee

Of the four follow-up activities, how engaged were respondents? With how many were they involved?

This graph reveals much similarity between these two groups. The marchers were slightly more engaged in multiple endeavors.

Did age make a difference?

Were young adults more inclined to do more as might be theorized considering the interest of millennials regarding social justice matters?

Image: Dr. Andrew Lee

Here is what the data shows: There are similarities that cut across all age ranges. The young adults in blue did not lead by percentage participation in any of the groupings. However, in terms of raw numbers, there were more young adults engaged and participating than in any other age group. The median age of the marchers was 34. So interest is clearly there if 50% of all the marchers fall into this one age bracket.

Did the immigrant congregation in your church support participation in this march?

Image: Dr. Andrew Lee

Seventy-eight percent of the respondents worship at immigrant heritage churches. Only 31% said Yes, 16% replied No, and 53% answered Neutral/Not sure. These results are not ringing endorsements for the march from the churches where their members did take part in this highly visible public activity.

In your opinion, do you think Asian American Christians are willing to prioritize participation in social justice activities?

As the responses from both marchers and non-marchers were similar, they were combined.

Image: Dr. Andrew Lee

Twenty-five percent answered affirmatively. Another 25%, answered negatively. Half said Maybe. Half were uncertain about the position of their peers.

Returning to the central question, Are Asian American evangelicals now ready to engage in political activism based on their participation in the June 28 march as well as their subsequent activities, the results of this survey indicate uncertainty as well as potential.

Conclusions

The overwhelming numbers who engaged in either extended reading or viewing about social justice matters in the subsequent months indicate interest, as well as growing knowledge and awareness about political activism.

However, as noted above, fewer than half felt supported by family, church or community. Public presentations and open conversations about social justice topics are still limited and controversial in a number of Asian American evangelical churches. This would be consistent with the reigning model minority script of ascending the socio-economic ladder through achievement and diligence rather than through political activism.

The large number of maybes, uncertain which direction their peers would take in prioritizing social justice activities, indicates a potential that could be tapped with effective leadership. The hastily assembled, yet highly attended June march is proof of the desire to speak out against racial inequality. The Asian American Christian Collaborative (AACC) and its partners provided leadership and direction resulting in a highly successful march.

Image: Asian American Christian Collaborative

A wildcard factor that has emerged is the attacks against Asians which have escalated exponentially during the pandemic. The Atlanta murders have drawn national attention to the plight of the usually silent model minority. Synchronized protests coordinated by the AACC to Stand for AAPI Lives are scheduled for March 28 in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Maryland, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington DC. Will this tragedy be the catalyst that galvanizes the Asian American community to emerge as a voice against social justice inequities? Will this concern extend to standing up for other minorities as the Chicago march did or will it remain insular, primarily concerned over its own interests?

Rev. Andrew Lee was born in Hong Kong but came to the United States on a boat when he was 3 years old. He has been married to Penny for 40 years and they have three adult children and three grandchildren. He recently retired as senior pastor of the Chinese Christian Union Church in Chicago, the largest Chinese church in the Midwest. He has taken on a new role as associate director of the Global Diaspora Institute at the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center. Dr. Lee has a PhD in Religion from Baylor University.
Alan and Jennifer Roberts, whose daughter Claire died from hyponatraemia in 1996

Nine-year-old Claire Roberts, who died from hyponatraemia as a result of fluid mismanagement.

The Department of Health does not dispute the contents of a scathing report which found that doctors covered up the cause of a childs death, Robin Swann has said.

The Hyponatraemia Inquiry, published in January 2018, found the deaths of four children following hospital treatment were preventable.

The inquiry chair, Mr Justice OHara, accused consultants of a cover-up following the death of nine-year-old Claire Roberts, who died from hyponatraemia as a result of fluid mismanagement.

Mr Swann has come under pressure to address concerns about the findings of the controversial report in recent months.

Read More

While he has repeatedly said he accepts its recommendations, he has refused to say whether he accepts the damning findings.

Addressing the Assembly on Thursday, the Health Minister said: "The report is a landmark document. My strong view is that (it is) the foundation for lasting improvements in governance, safety and transparency within and across the health and social care system.

"My department accepts the recommendations of the report in their entirety. It is unfortunate that a distorted narrative has been propagated by some in this regard in recent times.

Expand Close Tragedy: Alan and Jennifer Roberts with photographs of their daughter Claire / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Tragedy: Alan and Jennifer Roberts with photographs of their daughter Claire

"For the benefit of any doubt, I reiterate that the Department of Health and the wider health and social care system have at no time disputed the contents of the Inquiry into Hyponatraemia Related Deaths."

Mr Swann said he could not comment on allegations made against individual doctors by Mr Justice OHara. However, he referred to cautions made by the inquiry chair that the claims "are not binding and are not determinative of liability".

The Hyponatraemia Inquiry has been back in the headlines after the Chief Scientific Adviser took legal action to try and prevent his regulatory body from investigating alleged failings on his part following the death of Claire Roberts.

Professor Ian Young was not involved in her care, but he was asked to carry out an independent review of her treatment.

Mr Justice OHara found Prof Young misled a coroner examining the circumstances of Claires death and had not told Claires parents about failings.

He also said Prof Young "shifted from his initial independent role to one of protecting the hospitals and its doctors".

Prof Young strenuously denied the allegations and launched Judicial Review proceedings at the start of the year in a bid to prevent the General Medical Council (GMC) from carrying out an investigation.

However, the Royal Courts of Justice in London ruled against Prof Young, allowing the GMC probe to continue.

In his statement to the Assembly, Mr Swann said: "Given the limitations articulated by Mr Justice OHara, it is clearly not for the department to offer a qualitative view on his criticisms of individuals.

"There are pathways in place, including trust standards frameworks and independent regulatory processes, to produce findings that can be binding and determinative of liability.

"Such processes are independent of the Health Minister and the department, and quite properly so.

"At no stage has the department sought to challenge the validity of Mr Justice OHaras criticisms.

"Relevant employers have taken them, similarly without challenge, as the starting point for consideration of the need, or otherwise, for further action against any individuals named in the report."

Earlier this year, this newspapers revealed that the Belfast Trust had carried out an investigation into the allegations against Prof Young.

The trust  the organisation that Prof Young is accused of protecting  decided not to take disciplinary action against him.




[March 25, 2021] VENZA Acquires CyberTek to Deliver Holistic Cybersecurity and Managed IT Services

VENZA, the leading data protection, compliance, and training organization for the hospitality industry, announced it has acquired privately-owned CyberTek Engineering, an award-winning MSP (Managed Service Provider) that offers a wide range of business IT services and solutions. The purchase complements VENZA's existing security solutions, enhances its position as an MSSP (Managed Security Services Provider), significantly increases its technical talent, and enhances its ability to serve its client base more comprehensively. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005025/en/ VENZA Acquires CyberTek to Deliver Holistic Cybersecurity and Managed IT Services. "Today's announcement is another remarkable milestone in VENZA's strategic growth journey, building upon our continued momentum and strong innovation trajectory," says Jeff Venza, the company's Chairman & CEO. "By acquiring CyberTek, we create a force-multiplier effect in addressing some of the biggest struggles for hoteliers today: staying ahead of technological change while ensuring compliance and protecting their business and guest data against vulnerabilities and threats." Founded in 1997, CyberTek has grown by helping hundreds of businesses maximize their technology investments' value. CyberTek offers technical consulting support, network architecture, systems procurement, and complete implementation services along with managed IT ervices. Combining forces with CyberTek diversifies and strengthens VENZA's capabilities and rounds out its Managed Security Services. The addition of next-level talent in-house immediately enhances its ability to deliver unrivaled end-to-end cybersecurity and IT services. When a security breach occurs, VENZA will now be self-reliant, able to deploy help at a moment's notice to handle issues like ransomware attacks. They can also offer additional expert guidance and advice from a broader perspective while on the ground to optimize systems. Joshua Bergen, President of VENZA, has been a long-time advocate for bolstering the company's MSSP potential and was a key influencer in the acquisition.



Jeff added, "We're delighted to welcome the entire CyberTek team to the VENZA family! Our shared values and culture make them a natural fit for the global brand we've built over the years. The collective experience and expertise amplify our in-house resources and efficiencies. We can ensure that data privacy and security are never compromised." David Neel, CIO of CyberTek, commented, "VENZA is a recognized and trusted industry leader with a remarkable team, and we're thrilled with this new alliance. The partnership represents an outstanding outcome for all involved. Bringing together our strengths benefits clients from both organizations who can expect to receive an even broader set of best-in-class services and solutions."

CyberTek MSSP will become a solely owned subsidiary of VENZA, bolstering the capacity of the company's security operations center opened in Pensacola 2 years ago. Through the security operations center, VENZA delivers ongoing, real-time endpoint protection, detection, and response, including security monitoring, firewall management, anti-virus operations, identity and access management, and other services. Find out more about VENZA's cybersecurity solutions for hospitality at venzagroup.com. About VENZA Drawing on decades of experience, VENZA is a data protection company that can help organizations mitigate their vulnerabilities and ensure compliance, keeping guests and their data safe from breaches. By delivering a security solution for readiness, reassurance and response, VENZA offers 360-degree visibility for proactive management of risks-so users can focus on guest service and building trust in their brand. Better visibility means better defense. Know the risks, protect the enterprise with VENZA. More than 225,000 users in 100+ countries look to VENZA for tools, technology, and strategic security support. Founded in 2008 with a decade of service to the hospitality industry, VENZA is a privately held company with regional offices in Atlanta, GA, Pensacola, FL and The Hague, Netherlands. For more information, visit www.VENZAgroup.com or contact us at sales@venzagroup.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005025/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Majority of Republicans support same-sex marriage: survey

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

A new survey has found that for the first time, a majority of Republicans support same-sex marriage.

As part of its annual American Values Atlas, the Public Religion Research Institute released a report Thursday finding broad support for pro-LGBT policies in the United States spanning across partisan, ethnic and religious lines. The results of the survey match findings of other studies showing rising support for such policies.

Overall, 67% of Americans support same-sex marriage. Support for allowing same-sex couples to marry is highest among Democrats (76%) and independents (72%). Notably, 51% of Republicans, who are seen as the party committed to defending traditional family values, said they support same-sex marriage. 2020 marked the first time a majority of Republicans surveyed in the American Values Atlas expressed support for same-sex marriage.

Same-sex marriage boasts majority support in nearly all religious groups. Seventy-six percent of Americans belonging to a religion other than Christianity support allowing same-sex couples to marry, along with 75% of white Catholics, 72% of white mainline Protestants and 71% of Hispanic Catholics. An overwhelming majority (81%) of religiously unaffiliated Americans support same-sex marriage.

Support for same-sex marriage is lower among black Protestants (57%), other Protestants of color (56%) and Hispanic Protestants (51%). Less than half of evangelical Protestants of all races support same-sex marriage. Support is lowest among Hispanic evangelical Protestants (41%), followed by evangelical Protestants of another race (43%), white evangelical Protestants (43%), and black evangelical Protestants (49%).

As Congress considers the Equality Act, a wide-reaching measure that includes nondiscrimination protections for LGBT individuals, the American Values Atlas found broad support for such policies in the American public. When asked if they supported "laws that protect gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people against discrimination in jobs, public accommodations, and housing," 76% of Americans answered in the affirmative.

Support for nondiscrimination protections for LGBT individuals reaches 85% among Democrats and 78% among independents. While support for nondiscrimination protections is lower among Republicans, they still receive majority support (62%).

Among conservative Republicans, support for nondiscrimination protection measures at 59%. This number rises to 73% among liberal Republicans and 75% among moderate Republicans. Independents (86%) and Democrats (91%) who describe themselves as liberal overwhelmingly favor nondiscrimination protections for LGBT individuals.

Moderate Democrats (83%) and independents (81%) favor nondiscrimination protections by wide margins, while conservative Democrats (73%) and Democrats (69%) support the protections by less sizable but still substantial margins.

Reflecting the results of other surveys, support for LGBT nondiscrimination protections is highest among Americans between the ages of 18-29, 81% of whom support LGBT policies. Support declines among older age groups, with 81% of Americans between the ages of 30 and 49 favoring nondiscrimination policies, along with 72% of Americans between the ages of 50 and 64, and 65% of those over the age of 65.

The age gap surrounding support for nondiscrimination protections is also evident within partisan groups. Commanding majorities of Republicans (70%), independents (84%), and Democrats (89%) under the age of 50 support nondiscrimination protections for LGBT individuals. Smaller majorities of Republicans (56%), independents (71%) and Democrats (81%) over the age of 50 favor the measures.

Within religious communities, younger members are more likely than older members to favor nondiscrimination protections for LGBT people. Seventy-three percent of white evangelical Protestants younger than 50 support the protections compared to 56% of their counterparts age 50 and older. Among other Protestants of color, 80% of those younger than age 50 support nondiscrimination protections, while 66% of those age 50 and older said the same.

Support for nondiscrimination protections stands at 80% among black Protestants under the age of 50, 66% among black Protestants over the age of 50, 88% among white mainline Protestants younger than 50, 75% of white mainline Protestants older than 50, 83% among younger white Catholics, 72% among older white Catholics, 71% among younger Hispanic Protestants, 62% among older Hispanic Protestants, 84% of Hispanic Catholics younger than 50, and 75% among Hispanic Catholics older than 50.

The survey also found that women are more likely than men to support nondiscrimination protections for LGBT individuals. Sixty-eight percent of Republican women support the policies compared to 57% of their male counterparts. While independent women (82%) are more likely than independent men (75%) to favor nondiscrimination protections, the difference in support among female and male Democrats is minimal (87% as opposed to 83%).

Majorities of all religious groups support nondiscrimination protections for LGBT individuals. The support was highest among religiously unaffiliated Americans (82%), white mainline Protestants (82%), Hispanic Catholics (81%) and Jewish Americans (79%).

Significant majorities of Mormons (78%), white Catholics (77%), other Catholics of color (74%), and black Protestants (73%) also support codifying protections for LGBT individuals into law. The groups that are least likely to support such measures were white evangelical Protestants (62%), Hispanic Protestants (68%) and other Protestants of color (72%).

The American Values Atlas also found that a supermajority of Americans (61%) oppose allowing small businesses to "refuse to provide products or services to gay or lesbian people, if doing so violates their religious beliefs." While a plurality of white evangelical Protestants (49%) support allowing business owners to abide by their religious beliefs, pluralities or majorities of all other religious groups oppose religiously based service refusals.

A plurality of Mormons (49%) oppose religiously based service refusals, along with a majority of Hispanic Protestants (54%), other Protestants of color (56%), white mainline Protestants (59%), white Catholics (60%), Hispanic Catholics (62%), other Catholics of color (64%), religiously unaffiliated Americans (70%), black Protestants (70%), and Jews (71%). Less than half of Republicans (42%) oppose religiously based service refusals compared to majorities of independents (62%) and Democrats (73%).

The survey concluded with an analysis of support for the "pro-LGBTQ policies" of legal same-sex marriage, nondiscrimination protections for LGBT individuals and opposition to religiously based service refusals. Forty-two percent of Americans were classified as "completely in favor of pro-LGBTQ policies," 27% were "somewhat in favor of pro-LGBTQ policies," 13% were "somewhat against pro-LGBTQ policies" and 7% were "completely against pro-LGBTQ policies."

White evangelicals were the most likely group to be "completely against pro-LGBTQ policies," while religiously unaffiliated Americans were the most likely group to be "completely in favor of pro-LGBTQ policies."

Although a majority of Americans support the provision of the Equality Act guaranteeing nondiscrimination protections for the LGBT community, other parts of the legislation are far less popular with the American public. A poll released last year found that 67% of Americans opposed allowing biological males who identify as females to compete in women's sports, while less than 60% of likely voters opposed allowing biological males who identify as females to use women's restrooms and locker rooms.

The 2020 American Values Atlas was based on responses collected from 50,334 adults between Jan. 7, 2020, and Dec. 20, 2020.
President Joe Biden speaks during a news conference in the East Room of the White House Thursday. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press)

If you were looking for clarity about President Biden's position on the Senate filibuster  liberal Democrats' No. 1 Enemy at the moment  you didn't get it at Thursday's news conference, Biden's first as president.

Biden was a vocal supporter of the filibuster rule when he was a lawmaker. Since then, he's become more elusive, often avoiding comment on the issue during the campaign or hedging his bets.

On Thursday he was all over the map.

The president started by saying he'd like to return to the way things were done when he was first elected to the Senate "120 years ago"  a joke delivered in such a deadpan manner, Twitter lit up with Republicans pouncing on what they thought was a gaffe. Biden went on to explain that the filibuster used to visit the upper chamber far less frequently  between 1917 and 1971, the Senate averaged about one motion to cut off debate per year, Biden said; in 2020 alone, there were 118 cloture motions.

"It's being abused in a gigantic way," he said, stating the obvious.

In the year Biden cited, it was Democrats deploying the filibuster in a largely vain effort to block Republican actions  mainly on nominations, where the threshold to kill a filibuster is only 51 votes. Fewer than a dozen filibusters actually succeeded last year.

And that may explain why Republicans aren't so hot and bothered by the filibuster. If your main goal while in power is to confirm judges (where it takes only 51 votes to end a filibuster) while cutting tax rates and slashing entitlements (which is done through budget bills that cannot be filibustered), and to play defense against new governmental programs when you're out of power (which typically would be subject to a filibuster), there isn't much reason to change a system that has little to no effect on your agenda

So what's Biden's preferred solution?

As of Thursday it was a return to the "talking filibuster," when opponents of a bill could only hold the Senate floor by giving endless speeches. "People got tired of talking and tired of collapsing," Biden said. "We were able to break the filibuster, get a quorum and vote. So I strongly support moving in that direction."

Story continues

In reality, though, the talking filibuster bears little resemblance to the cinematic version in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington"  or in Biden's depiction of last century's Senate. Under Senate rules, senators cannot vote until every member who wants to debate gets his or her chance, up to two times per legislative day. A handful of senators can't sustain a filibuster for long, but 41 or more united in opposition can keep the talkfest going forever.

Perhaps recognizing how little his proposed solution would actually solve, Biden went on to say that he was keeping an open mind "about dealing with certain things that are just elemental to the functioning of our democracy, like the right to vote, like the basic right to vote." Some Democrats have suggested that just as the Senate has set a 51-vote threshold for ending debate on presidential nominees, it should do so for selected types of legislation  such as voting and civil rights measures.

And then the president went considerably further, saying, "If we have to, if there's complete lockdown and chaos as a consequence of the filibuster, then we'll have to go beyond what I'm talking about." Later, he said he agreed with President Obama's characterization of the filibuster as a relic of the Jim Crow era  a proverbial shot across the bow.

Before anti-filibuster forces get too excited, though, Biden gave plenty of hints that he's still looking for a middle ground  something that preserves the filibuster, but returns it to the bin of rarely used tools. For instance, he insisted that "there's a lot we can do while we're talking about what we're gonna do about the filibuster."

Later, explaining why he wouldn't just seek to abolish the filibuster as a legacy of segregation, he said, "Successful electoral politics is the art of the possible. Let's figure out how we can get this done and move the direction of significantly changing the abuse of even the filibuster rule, first.... Let's deal with the abuse first."

CNN's Kaitlan Collins sought to pin him down, asking, "It sounds like you're moving closer to eliminating the filibuster. Is that correct?

"I answered your question," he replied.

But no, he didn't.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
New Delhi/Srinagar, March 25 : The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which was in power in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir in alliance with the BJP, was pumping money into the Hurriyat Conference for keeping secessionist activities alive in the Valley, found the National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into the case related to suspended Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Davinder Singh and Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Naveed Babu.

The PDP had formed the government in J&K in alliance with the BJP on March 1, 2015 with Mufti Mohammad Sayeed as the Chief Minister. After he passed away on January 7, 2016, his daughter Mehbooba Mufti was sworn-in as the Chief Minister on April 4, 2016. However, the BJP pulled out of the alliance on June 19, 2018.

On March 22, the NIA had filed a supplementary chargesheet against three persons, including arrested PDP youth wing chief Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra, who allegedly worked as a financier for Hizbul Mujahideen, and two gun runners -- Shaheen Ahmad Lone and Tafazul Hussain Parimoo.

The NIA in its chargesheet, which has been viewed by IANS, claimed: "Parra gave Rs 5 crore to Altaf Ahmed Shah aka Altaf Fantoosh, separartist leader of All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) who was chargesheeted in NIA's terror-funding case, to keep the situation boiling in the Kashmir Valley after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani." Altaf Ahmed Shah, the son-in-law of Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani, is currently lodged in Tihar jail in connection with the terror-funding case.

In the chargesheet, the NIA said, "The amount of Rs 5 crore was given by Parra on behalf of PDP to Hurriyat Conference for keeping the secessionist activities alive." The chargesheet also claimed that Altaf Ahmed Shah was a close associate of Parra and was in "continuous touch" with him during the turmoil in the Valley after Burhan Wani was neutralised by the security forces.

Parra was arrested by the NIA in October last year. He had recently won in the District Development Council polls in J&K.

The official said that Parra was part of the "conspiracy" to raise and transfer terror funds to Hizbul Mujahideen militants for the procurement of terrorist hardware and was also a crucial player in sustaining the political-separatist-terrorist nexus in J&K.

Parra was instrumental in the revival of the PDP in south Kashmir, especially in the militancy-affected Pulwama district.

The NIA chargesheet also alleged that Parra entered into a criminal conspiracy along with accused Irfan Shafi Mir, Davinder Singh and Syed Naveed Mushtaq for raising funds for Hizbul Mujahideen to procure arms and ammunition for the terrorists operating in the Kashmir Valley to sustain the ongoing terrorist activities in J&K.

It further alleged that the association of Parra with Mir, Singh and Mushtaq was a part of the larger conspiracy hatched by Pakistan based leadership of Hizbul Mujahideen to make inroads into the important institutions and entities for want of desired support to carry forward the agenda of secession of Jammu and Kashmir from the Union of India by way of violent means.

The NIA alleged that Parra not only associated himself with Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Toiba, but was also in constant touch with the secessionist leaders and extended financial support to them to keep the situation of the Union Territory volatile.

Suspended police officer Singh is currently lodged in Kathua jail in Jammu division. He was arrested by the police on January 11 last year from the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway while transporting two Hizbul terrorists -- Naveed Babu and Rafi Ahmad Rather -- and a law school dropout, Irfan Shafi Mir, to Jammu.

After the arrest of Singh, initial investigations were done by the J&K Police before the case was handed over to the NIA. The police had said that the two terrorists and the lawyer had planned to travel to Pakistan.

The NIA had earlier claimed that its probe has revealed that the accused were part of a deep-rooted conspiracy hatched by the Hizbul and Pakistan to commit violent acts and wage war against India.

(Anand SIngh can be contacted at anand.s@ians.in)
Thank you for reading!

Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Health official proud of residents turning out for vaccine shots

local
The United States continues to call for the release of all political prisoners in Belarus, site of nearly daily protests since a disputed presidential election last year handed Alyaksandr Lukashenka a sixth term amid claims the vote was rigged.

"We stand with Belarusians in their struggle for freedom," State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Twitter on March 25, ahead of a planned opposition Freedom Day demonstrations in Belarus to coincide with the founding of the short-lived, independent Belarusian republic in 1918.

Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who supporters say actually won the August 9 election, has called on Belarusians to turn out in force on Freedom Day in a bid to reignite the pro-democracy protests, whose numbers dwindled over the winter amid a harsh government crackdown that led to more than 30,000 people being detained.

Price noted that more than 290 Belarusians were political prisoners, while highlighting the plight of Ihar Losik and Marrya Kalesnikava.

Kalesnikava, who faces national-security charges that supporters say are absurd, had her pretrial detention extended on March 22.

Arrested in September, Kalesnikava, a key aide of Tsikhanouskaya and a senior member of the opposition Coordination Council, was remanded in custody until May 8.

Losik, a popular blogger and RFE/RL consultant, has been held since June on charges his supporters say are trumped up.

He had been charged initially with allegedly using his popular Telegram channel to "prepare to disrupt public order" ahead of the August 9 presidential election.

Losik, 28, tried to slit his wrists and launched a four-day hunger strike on March 11 after being informed he faced new unspecified charges.

The statement by Price comes a day after the top two members of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee also called for the release of all political prisoners in Belarus and pledged their support for the pro-democracy movement in the country.

"We will continue to support the Belarusian people's democratic aspirations until the illegitimate Lukashenka steps down, all political prisoners -- including RFE/RL consultant Ihar Losik -- are released and, new free and fair elections are held," Representatives Gregory Meeks (Democrat-New York) and Representative Michael McCaul (Republican-Texas) said in a statement.

The statement said that in the seven months since Lukashenka "rigged the presidential election" the Belarusian people have "courageously continued their struggle for democracy and freedom in the face of violent repression."

It also mentioned Freedom Day in Belarus, celebrated on March 25 to commemorate the anniversary of the Belarusian People's Republic, which existed for less than a year in 1918.

"We stand in solidarity with all of those who, like their forebearers who sought to rid Belarus of authoritarianism in 1918, wave the white-and-red flag and demand a democratic future for their country," Meeks and McCaul said.
DANBURY  Students wont return to the public schools full-time next month, after all.

Im disappointed, said Superintendent Sal Pascarella, who announced to the school board on Wednesday that the district will stay on the hybrid model.

Administrators had said two weeks ago that they hoped to open the schools full-time to the majority of students in April, but space limitations and other challenges made this too difficult, Pascarella said.

For safety reasons at this point, we think we can just continue in the manner that we are, he said.

The plan is to focus on summer-school programs and to reopen for every student next academic year, he said.

Brian A. Pounds / Hearst Connecticut Media

The decision comes as new COVID-19 cases begin to climb again in the city, although they are still far below the most recent peaks in November and December.

The city reported 127 positive tests taken between March 15 to March 21, although some data from that week is still pending. Thats a nearly 140 percent increase from the week of March 8, when 53 positive tests were collected.

Dr. Jack Fong, the districts medical adviser, blamed this on the relaxing atmosphere in the community, with the state lifting many COVID restrictions on businesses last Friday.

People let their guards down, he said.

School board member Kathy Molinaro said she was let down by the decision.

Its just so disappointing because when you all worked so hard to get the teachers vaccinated, I really thought there was going to be a light at the end of the tunnel, she said. I think it was the train coming down.

Most educators will get their second dose on April 2 or 3 and will no longer need to quarantine if they are exposed to the virus, said Kathy ODowd, health and nursing services coordinator.

But some classrooms or clusters are expected to need to go on distance learning in the near future because of a high number of staff absent for illnesses and quarantines, said Kim Thompson, director of human resources.

As of Wednesday night, more than 215 staff members had called out for Thursday, she said. This week, an average of 50 to 60 staff members have called out sick in the morning, she said.

The most difficult thing for families and parents is going to be getting that robocall at 8 at night saying, Tomorrow your child is on a distance learning model, Thompson said.

Her department is working with the unions to accommodate requests for personal days, she said.

But we may have to say no in some cases, Thompson said. Its going to get rockier here.

Some staff who had health accommodations to work from home are expected to return once they are fully vaccinated, she said.

Thats kind of the Calvary coming, as well, Thompson said.

Reopening challenges

If students returned full-time, the districts medical advisers were worried about cohorts of students mixing and with social distancing in classrooms and on buses.

The district would have been unable to safely fit all of the roughly 12,000 students, so some full-time distance learners may not have been allowed to return.

It was a problem of how we could make those selections and could be an equity issue, Pascarella said.

Other school districts that have opened full-time are not as overcrowded as Danbury, he said.

At the elementary schools, class sizes range from 16 to 24 students, and keeping students socially distanced would have been a problem in 89 classrooms, he said. Students would have needed to switch teachers.

Its a deep concern that we all have, Pascarella said. Changing teachers is not something we would want to do.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week said students should be kept at least three feet apart in the classroom, down from the previous six feet. But distance between staff and students should still be six feet.

Danbury already aims to keep students between three to six feet apart following guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Families traveling for April break and spreading the virus is another concern because the states travel advisory is now recommended, not required, Pascarella said. But the district has not decided whether to move to distance learning for the week after vacation, as New Milford has.

The vaccine will be in full effect for the majority of educators by the end of spring break, but the CDC still recommends those with the vaccine follow travel-related recommendations, ODowd said.

In a thorough examination, with the spacing challenge we have and the rise in the community spread, mixing the cohorts, its best we remain steadfast in what were doing and plan for summer school and plan for opening next year in a very aggressive way, Pascarella said.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 05:33:33|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

KHARTOUM, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Sudan's Higher Committee for Health Emergencies on Wednesday warned against increased infection and death cases of COVID-19.

The committee on Wednesday held an emergency meeting to discuss the necessary measures to confront the pandemic.

"Reports indicate continued increase in the number of infection and death cases of COVID-19, particularly in Khartoum and Gezira States," Omer Al-Najeeb, Sudan's Health Minister, said in a statement.

"The situation in Khartoum state is worrying, particularly among school children and teachers," he noted.

The Sudanese minister complained about the week capabilities to receive COVID-19 and other cases as well as the lack of oxygen, medicines and other aids.

He announced measures including face covering, sterilization and social distancing in all state institutions, schools, public transport and places of gatherings.

He further declared increasing the target categories with COVID-19 vaccines to include health workers, elders above 60 years of age, people with chronic disease and workers at vital sectors.

Sudan has so far recorded a total of 29,542 COVID-19 cases, including 2,003 deaths. Enditem
The Bahrain Grand Prix has always been one of the more controversial GPs on the calendar. This season that will not change as a collection of 22 human rights organisations have called for an independent investigation into the race in an open letter to Stefano Domenicali, the FIA and Lewis Hamilton. The call is supported by 57 UK MPs.

The intention is to investigate the impact of the Grand Prix on the human rights situation in Bahrain. According to them, since the uprising in 2011 this has only gotten worse and the Grand Prix has been used by the regime in Bahrain to legitimize their policies.

"Any semblance of democracy has been abandoned as the government outlawed opposition political parties, forcibly closed Bahrain's only independent newspaper and severely curtailed freedom of assembly, forbidding unlicensed gatherings of more than five people." the letter read.

F1 sees its presence as mostly positive

Formula 1 announced in a statement via The Guardian that it keeps a close eye on the situation in the countries they visit. They still have the belief that they can make a positive contribution with their presence. The government of Bahrain in turn says that in recent years it has worked closely with international institutions such as the United Nations to ensure human rights in the country.

Remarkably, Lewis Hamilton is also written to, something that also happened in relation to the GP of Saudi Arabia. Last season in Bahrain he was written to by an eleven year old boy whose father was unjustly sentenced to death after supporting a movement for democracy.

"Lewis, please save my father," the letter read. This moved Hamilton enormously and during the second race weekend in December he planned to address the crown prince of Bahrain about it. Due to his infection with the coronavirus this never happened.

"Zlotosch's extensive background in technical sales, service, and thermoforming manufacturing make him perfect for this role and we are thrilled to onboard him to this important position. While focusing on increasing Sencorp's market share in the thermoforming industry, and growing topline sales, he will also manage our team of Account Executives to ensure seamless execution of thermoforming machine sales," says Brian Urban of SencorpWhite's Advisory Board.

Zlotosch has over 30 years of experience working with customers, engineering, and product design. This expertise has provided him with ample knowledge of thermoforming equipment and processes and will enable Sencorp to work with packaging manufacturers to design equipment tailored to their unique business model.

"Zlotosch's technical experience within the Thermoforming industry will add significant value to our customers as we support them throughout the design and manufacturing of their machines. I have confidence that Zlotosch will bring immediate value to both new and existing customers to provide an unmatched customer experience," says Corey Calla, CEO of SencorpWhite.

Zlotosch previously held several positions at Kiefel Packaging, where he advanced from engineering to service management, then sales, and eventually served as Vice President for 13 years. Over the past two decades, Zlotosch has had success leading team expansion, but among his greatest achievements was constructing a service team and leading the growth of the packaging thermoforming business in the United States and Canada.

"I am truly enthusiastic about joining the Sencorp team," Zlotosch said. "New market segments continue to open in the thermoforming industry, allowing Sencorp to provide customer value. Sencorp has been positioned as the 'workhorse of the industry' for over 75 years and we will continue to bring innovative solutions and value through service to each of our partners."

About Sencorp:

Sencorp is a leading Thermoforming machine manufacturer located in Massachusetts. Sencorp Thermoformers are used for manufacturing blister packs, clamshells, trays, and disposable containers. They are engineered to reliably produce high volume, quality parts from most major polymers. Sencorp machines are used for many markets including consumer, medical, pharmaceutical, food, and automotive.

About SencorpWhite:

SencorpWhite is an industry-leading designer and manufacturer of intelligent storage and retrieval solutions, thermoforming, sealing, and inventory management software. We offer customized solutions with in-house engineering, design and manufacturing capabilities, on-site maintenance, and service with field service engineers located throughout the United States. For more information, call (508) 771-9400 or e-mail [email protected].

Follow Us

https://www.linkedin.com/company/sencorpwhite

https://twitter.com/sencorpwhite

https://www.instagram.com/sencorpwhite/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKITGVQlcBaKCFjX_QkujPg

Scott Boyson

Marketing and Sales Operations Manager

(508) 771-9400

[email protected]

SOURCE SencorpWhite
Military sources say life as a border guard is no longer as cushy as it was before coronavirus.

North Korean soldiers stand on guard at the Yalu River in Sinuiju, North Korea, which borders Dandong of China's Liaoning province April 15, 2017

A group of six North Korean soldiers guarding the Yalu River border with China abandoned their posts and escaped across the river early this month, sources in the North Korean military told RFA.

The six soldiers were stationed near at the border in the countrys northern Ryanggang province, near the city of Hyesan. Sources told RFA that their increased work schedule and meager supply since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020 left them hungry and overworked, but authorities have yet to identify the motive for their escape.

On the 3rd six soldiers of the 25th Border Guard brigade escaped with their weapons. Its caused quite the stir among not only the border security bureau, but also the troops near the Hyesan area, a military official from Hyesan told RFAs Korean Service Monday.

The six were on nighttime stakeout at the border on the night of the 2nd and did not show up after their scheduled return time in the early morning. A search team combed the entire border area looking for them. It was determined that the six had crossed the river with their weapons and escaped to China, said the source, who requested anonymity for security reasons.

Soldiers in the North Korean military are not adequately supplied by the government. It is not uncommon to see soldiers in uniform working on farms to make enough food to supply their unit.

But under normal circumstances, soldiers posted at the border are in a relatively privileged situation and can easily find ways to make enough money to support themselves. Many accept bribes to look the other way when smugglers shuttle goods into and out of the country, while others do the smuggling themselves.

However, smuggling came to a near halt at the start of coronavirus pandemic. In January 2020, Beijing and Pyongyang shut down the Sino-Korean border and suspended all trade, with disastrous effect on the North Korean economy.

To further deter people from crossing the border Pyongyang in the summer established a kill zone, warning that anyone found within one kilometer of the border would be shot on sight.

Authorities also ordered border security to lay land mines along some parts of the border and sent special forces to keep a watchful eye on the border guards.

Usually, border guard soldiers are in collusion with professional smugglers and bundle merchants, and they live better than soldiers in other regions. But the coronavirus outbreak has been raging for more than a year, so smuggling has completely stopped, and they are suffering from hunger these days, the source said.

Both professional and amateur smugglers cant even approach the border in times like this. Theres a shoot-to-kill order from the General Command, and the intensity of border security is much higher than in the past. The soldiers are all tired, said the source.

Another military source from Ryanggang Tuesday confirmed that the six soldiers from the 25th Brigade had escaped to China by crossing the Yalu River with their automatic rifles.

As this incident was reported to the Central Committee, the area around Hyesan and the border area was completely turned upside down, said the second source, who requested anonymity to speak freely.

Border security command and a search team from the State Security department searched the border area and the city of Hyesan, but they concluded that the six border guard soldiers had already escaped to China, the second source said.

The second source said that the border guards are in such a privileged position that only those with good connections can join their ranks.

They are better supplied, and they can more easily make extra income than other military units. Border guards dont actually guard the border, they take money from Chinese and North Korean smugglers who illegally cross the border. They lived quite well before the coronavirus, said the second source.

The soldiers' motives for escaping North Korea are still unknown, but people assume that they either accidentally crossed the river to steal food because they were hungry, or they might have been planning to escape the country and finally executed their plan while on nighttime stakeout duty, said the second source.

The second source said that the border security bureau is in a state of chaos over the escape. One soldier escaping would be a problem, but six escaping together makes the case serious enough that the Central Committee of the ruling Korean Workers Party is paying close attention.

The General Command notified the Chinese border guards and requested cooperation in the search and arrest of the escaped soldiers, and China seems to be taking this case very seriously. Since the six soldiers are armed and dangerous, the Chinese guards must be very nervous about what could happen, said the second source.

Residents of the border area have had a very difficult time making a living in the era of the coronavirus. The escape of the six soldiers has only increased tension in the border area with more frequent and thorough inspections, the second source said.

The six escapees are not the only ones responsible for their escape, according to the second source.

Even if they are caught, their entire company will be disbanded, and their commanders and anyone else involved will have to take responsibility, so it will be a bit of a bloodbath here for a while.

Reported by Yonggun Shin for RFAs Korean Service. Translated by Leejin Jun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in holds a cabinet council meeting at Cheong Wa Dae. Korea Times file



Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday that it has convened an urgent National Security Council (NSC) meeting on North Korea's latest projectile launch.



Members of the NSC's standing committee opened the "emergency" session at 9 a.m., according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok.



It came after the South Korean military announced that the North lobbed at least two "unidentified projectiles" into the East Sea earlier in the day. Those are suspected to be ballistic missiles.




COMMERZBANK AG (London Branch) - Pre Stabilisation - Fraport EUR Tap and new 7yr

Pre-Stabilisation notice

25 March 2021

Not for distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States or any jurisdiction in which such distribution would be unlawful.

Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide

EUR Benchmark Fixed Rate Notes due 31 March 2028

EUR 200mil(exp) increase of 1.625% Notes due 09 July 2024

Standalone documentation

Commerzbank AG (contact: Ian Turner; telephone: +44 207 475 1817) hereby announces, as Stabilisation Coordinator, that the Stabilising Managers named below may stabilise the offer of the following securities in accordance with Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052 under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU Regulation 596/2014).

The security to be stabilised: Issuer: Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide Guarantor (if any): n/a Aggregate nominal amount: EUR Benchmark Notes due 31 March 2028

EUR 200mil(exp) Notes due 09 July 2024 Description: Fixed Rate Notes due 31 March 2028

Increase of 1.625% Notes due 09 July 2024 Offer price: tbc Other offer terms: payment date 31 March 2021, denoms 1k/1k, listing Luxembourg, 3mth par call, tax call. Non Rated Stabilisation: Stabilisation coordinator:

Stabilising Managers: Commerzbank AG

BNP Paribas

DZ Bank AG

Landesbank Baden-Wurttemberg Stabilisation period expected to start on: 25 March 2021 Stabilisation period expected to end on: no later than 30 days after the proposed issue date of the securities Existence, maximum size and conditions of use of over-allotment facility. The Stabilising Managers may over-allot the securities to the extent permitted in accordance with applicable law. Stabilisation trading venue: Luxembourg Stock Exchange, Regulated Market

In connection with the offer of the above securities, the Stabilising Manager(s) may over-allot the securities or effect transactions with a view to supporting the market price of the securities during the stabilisation period at a level higher than that which might otherwise prevail. However, stabilisation may not necessarily occur and any stabilisation action, if begun, may cease at any time Any stabilisation action or over-allotment shall be conducted in accordance with all applicable laws and rules.

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.

END
A man in Thailand who complained of stomach pain, has had a huge 59-foot tapeworm removed from his bottom - the biggest ever found in the country for 50 years.

Doctors suspect that the parasite was introduced to the man's insides after he ate raw beef which contained tapeworm eggs, Daily Star reported.

Also read: Surgeons Cut Patient's Skull To Remove Tumour, But Find A Tapeworm Instead

Viral Press

The 67-year-old patient, from Nong Khai province, went to the doctor after he started experiencing stomach pain and flatulence. Upon discovering 28 tapeworm eggs in a faecal sample, the doctor prescribed deworming medicine.



The next morning he had an unpleasant surprise, as the giant parasite oozed out of his bottom.

Pictures posted online show medics unfurling the giant parasite on a red cloth.

Thai man excretes 59-FOOT tapeworm after doctors visit about extreme flatulence https://t.co/G8CrTNMxEt  Bourbiza Mohamed (@techgateorg) March 24, 2021

A spokesman for the Parasitic Disease Research Centre said: "A Taenia saginata bovine tapeworm more than 18 metres long was obtained from a patient whose sample was sent to the centre. He was given the deworming medication before bedtime and in the morning this long worm came out of his bottom. It was very big and took us a while to lay it all out on the ground."

Also read: Doctors Find 100 Tapeworm Eggs Inside 8-Year-Old Girl's Brain After She Complained Of Headaches

Viral Press

Tapeworms can grow to be longer than 11.5 feet (3.5 m) and live for years in a person's gut, according to the National Library of Medicine (NLM). Because tapeworms usually do not cause symptoms, people may not realize they have an infection, the NLM says. In some cases, however, a tapeworm can cause abdominal pain, according to the NLM.



Also read: Doctors Find Tapeworm Larvae In Woman's Spine After She Complains Of 'Electric Shocks' In Legs
The U.S. moves, while E.U. stumbles

Joe Biden held his first presidential news conference this afternoon and announced a new goal: His administration would administer 200 million vaccines within his first 100 days in office, or April 30, double his initial goal.

I know its ambitious, twice our original goal, but no other country in the world has even come close, Mr. Biden said.

The new goal was not all that aspirational: The U.S. is already on track to meet that target. The country has administered 130 million total doses and is averaging about 2.5 million doses per day. If that pace continues, about half of the nations population would have at least one dose by mid-May.

Throughout the U.S. rollout, there has been moralizing and hand-wringing about people jumping the line or finding loopholes in the countrys ad hoc vaccine distribution systems. But its possible that the alternative  a rigid, bureaucratic system  may actually cost more lives.
For the first time, scientists have succeeded in continuous monitoring of a subglacial discharge plume, providing a deeper understanding of the glacier-fjord environment.

As marine-terminating glaciers melt, the fresh water from the glacier interacts with the seawater to form subglacial discharge plumes, or convective water flows. These turbulent plumes are known to accelerate the melting and breakup (calving) of glaciers, drive fjord-scale circulation and mixing, and create foraging hotspots for birds. Currently, the scientific understanding of the dynamics of subglacial plumes based on direct measurements is limited to isolated instances.

A team of scientists consisting of Hokkaido University's Assistant Professor Evgeny A. Podolskiy and Professor Shin Sugiyama, and the University of Tokyo's JSPS postdoctoral scholar Dr. Naoya Kanna have pioneered a method for direct and continuous monitoring of plume dynamics. Their findings were published by Springer-Nature in the journal Communications Earth & Environment.

Freshwater and marine water have very different densities, due to the salts dissolved in marine water. As a result of this density contrast, when the meltwater - originating from the glacier surface - flows down the cracks and emerges at the base of the glacier, it starts upwelling causing the formation of subglacial plumes. The rising plume entrains nutrient-rich, warmer water from the deep that further melts the glacier ice. In light of the effects of global warming and climate change, which have caused a massive loss in the volume of glaciers, understanding how plumes behave and evolve is crucial for predicting both glacier retreat and fjord response.

The scientists conducted the most comprehensive plume monitoring campaign to date at Bowdoin Glacier (Kangerluarsuup Sermia), Greenland. It involved a chain of subsurface sensors recording oceanographic data directly at the calving front at different depths. Additional observations were made by time-lapse cameras, a seismometer, unmanned aerial vehicles, and etc. This high-temporal-resolution dataset was then subjected to a thorough analysis to identify connections, patterns, and trends.

The study reveals that the dynamics of the plume and glacier-fjord are far more complex than previously thought. It is intermittent in nature and influenced by a diversity of factors, such as sudden stratification changes and drainage of marginal lakes. For example, the scientists observed the abrupt subglacial drainage of an ice-dammed lake via the plume which had a pronounced impact on its dynamics and was accompanied by a seismic tremor several hours long. They also show that tides may influence the plumes, which have not been accounted for in previous studies of Greenlandic glaciers. Additionally, they suggest that the wind needs more attention as it may also affect the structure of the subglacial plumes.

From their results, the scientists conclude that their work is the first step enabling researchers to transition from a snapshot view of a plume to a continuously updated image. The identified processes and their role in the glacier environments will have to be refined in future studies via modelling and new observations.

###

The lead author, Assistant Professor Evgeny A. Podolskiy, is a geoscientist at Hokkaido University's Arctic Research Center whose research focuses on the Cryosphere. Most recently, he has been interested in passive seismo-acoustic monitoring of glacier and ocean phenomena, such as icequakes and whale vocalizations.
You have permission to edit this article.

Edit Close
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
Pete Mora, 57, spent a week calling and looking for appointments online before getting his first vaccine Wednesday at WellMeds Elvira Cisneros Senior Community Center on the South Side.

We went through seven different avenues to get scheduled, said Mora, who has lived in San Antonio for more than 30 years. The hard part is getting scheduled for the whole thing.

Josefa Cruz, 48, had to call WellMeds hotline for a week to secure an appointment for herself and her two daughters. She took a celebratory selfie with a volunteer who was sanitizing the seats and expressed relief that they managed to get in before the expected rush.

That rush begins Monday, when all Texas adults become eligible for the shots. The appointments will remain hard to get  but there are more ways to get them, officials said.

San Antonios four government-run mass vaccination sites havent been notified of any increase in supply, but the vaccine has become available at private doctors offices and retail drugstore chains, and the number of providers will continue to increase.

More Information Online: Find vaccination sites in and around San Antonio at expressnews.com/vaccine-faq See More Collapse

What I dont think people fully understand is that there are dozens and dozens of providers who received the COVID-19 vaccine throughout Bexar County, Assistant City Manager Colleen Bridger said earlier this week.

That means younger, healthier Texans might have to shop around, call more places and surf more websites if they want to get vaccinated once they become eligible Monday.

The vaccine stock throughout the community also is increasing: 65,000 doses were delivered to various locations last week alone, and that 65,000 is growing every week. said Bridger, who oversees the Metropolitan Health District.

City- and county-operated mass vaccination sites  such as Metro Healths operation at the Alamodome and University Healths vaccine clinic at the Wonderland of the Americas mall  get their vaccines from the state. Other places, such as pharmacies, get theirs from federal sources.

And the federal pipeline has been widening.

Our communitys supply is increasing, said Dr. Junda Woo, Metro Healths medical director. Theres more (vaccines) coming through the federal program ... to places like CVS and H-E-B and some of the Walgreens, to independent pharmacies.

On ExpressNews.com: Vaccination sites in and around San Antonio

The states new rules allow seniors 80 and older to walk in to vaccination sites and get their shots immediately. As San Antonios mass vaccination sites prepare for increased demand, some are trying to give that priority access through their appointment process.

University Health launched a special online registration process for them Thursday. They can visit universityhealthsystem.com and click on the yellow banner at the top of the page to reach an online form, where they will have to give their date of birth. The system will then call them to schedule an appointment.

Those seniors must be prepared to show their photo identification with their birthdate when they show up to get the shot.

As the line gets longer, were looking for ways to make sure they stay at the front of it, University Health spokeswoman Elizabeth Allen said of the oldest seniors. They dont have to compete for those times when we open up a bunch of slots.

The citys vaccine operation at the Alamodome will allow seniors 80 and up to walk in without appointments starting next week, Woo said. They are urged to come in the afternoons, when the pace is less hectic.

Walk-in access wont be granted to anyone younger than 80, though.

Because the local government-run sites are still receiving the same number of vaccine doses and will continue to tightly control access, they arent bracing for people of all ages to crash their gates. Metro Health is still limited to 10,000 doses per week for its Alamodome operation, while WellMed still gets 18,000 doses per week to dispense at two of its community centers.

Vaccine appointments scheduled for next week at the Alamodome were booked weeks ago, Woo said.

And the latest batch of Alamodome appointments, which will become available at 7 p.m. this evening, are still limited to people 50 and older or to anyone at least 16 years old with an underlying health condition. Those appointments will extend through May 1.

The citys community health workers also will continue canvassing vulnerable neighborhoods to schedule vaccine appointments for people 50 years old and up.

The amount of vaccine that we get is not increasing, Bridger said of Metro Healths supply. So it doesnt make any sense to open another mass vaccination site.

The federal government is increasing its weekly shipments to private providers throughout the county. Thats how a number of people are going to have access to the vaccine  through their private provider or their pharmacy.

People without appointments sometimes gather in the evenings outside University Healths vaccine clinic, which spans two floors in the Wonderland of the Americas mall, to see if they can get vaccinated with any leftover doses at closing time.

That does happen, Allen said. We dont encourage it because if there are doses left over, there are only a tiny handful. And we hate to see large numbers of people out there (interacting) unvaccinated and then the majority be disappointed.

Just showing up is not a good idea. Because we are serving teachers, school district employees and child care workers for the next couple of weeks, we dont have a date yet for when were going to release a large number of appointments. People should just keep monitoring the (University Health) website and the (Go Mobile) app and the other ways they can get notifications.

On ExpressNews.com: Get the latest update on coronavirus and a tracking map of U.S. cases

WellMed, which books vaccine appointments only by phone at 833-968-1745, is expecting a lot more calls next week, when every adult will be eligible.

Its one thing to just say, Oh, everybodys eligible! said Dr. Laura Huete, a WellMed senior medical director and physician. Ideally, you would have your supply outpace your demand. And right now, were seeing the opposite.  It is a little bit of a waiting game.

Adding to the challenges is a rising percentage of patients not showing up for their vaccine appointments.

Two weeks ago, the no show rate at all mass vaccination sites across the city stood at 5 percent. Then it began to climb. On a single day last week, that number surged to 20 percent, Bridger said.

She speculated the broken appointments may have resulted from spring break, people forgetting their reservations or patients unexpectedly getting vaccinated somewhere else.

If you are fortunate enough to get a COVID-19 vaccine appointment, please keep that appointment, Bridger said. Because its only exacerbating the unavailability for other people.

People with a vaccine appointment at the Alamodome who no longer need it can cancel it by calling 311, Woo said.

Mark Olmos, 50, who suffers from asthma, got his vaccine Wednesday at the Cisneros Center so he can attend his daughters wedding. His mother surprised him with the appointment  she booked it for him after waiting on the phone for 90 minutes.

By comparison, the shot itself was speedy.

Its so quick, he said of his trek through the center.

Thuy Nguyn, 42, said she and her parents snagged their appointments after a long wait on the phone.

Its the right time, Nguyn said. We held off until more people got it, and we saw good results.

pohare@express-news.net | Twitter: Peggy_OHare
A powerful Senate committee has passed a resolution reaffirming the importance of America's alliances and partnerships in the region, including with India.

The United States greatly values other partnerships in the region, including with India, Singapore, Indonesia, Taiwan, New Zealand, and Vietnam, said the resolution introduced by Senators Robert Menendez and Jim Risch.

Menendez is the chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, while Risch is its ranking member.

The resolution passed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday reaffirms the enduring commitment of the United States to treaty allies in the region and NATO, as well as to other partners, including its treaty obligations for mutual defence. It now moves to the Senate floor.

Emphasising the primary importance of the United States' relationships, alliances, and partnerships to global peace and prosperity, the resolution welcomed and sought to advance the continued collaboration of the United States and its allies and partners to respect and defend the rules-based order and the values of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law that undergird common security and prosperity.

The resolution calls on the Biden administration to ensure that the United States' policy and posture reflect the requirements of extended deterrence to preserve non-proliferation benefits, assure allies, and to deter, and if necessary, respond, across the spectrum of nuclear and non-nuclear scenarios in defence of allies and partners.

It also supports maintaining robust diplomatic, economic, and defence budgets as critical to advancing cooperation with allies and partners on shared challenges.

The resolution asks all members of NATO, including the United States, to devote significant energy to the development of a new, forward-looking strategy to replace the 2010 Strategic Concept and focus on the many emerging challenges that face the alliance, including China, Russia, and instability on Europe's southern border.

It reaffirms the commitment of the United States to strengthening and boosting its alliances and partnerships in the Indo-Pacific, including to contend China's growing power projection capabilities and use of coercive and grey-zone tactics, and to jointly develop, regulate, and monitor the production, use, and protection of strategic and emerging technologies.

Underscoring that alliances have enhanced mutual security by jointly sharing common defence, including the defence of the United States, and that strong alliances and partnerships generate decisive and sustained United States military advantages, the resolution encourages dealing constructively with significant tensions in the United States' alliance relationships to ensure they do not create fissures that adversaries can exploit.

(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 Law Society of Kenya (LSK) is demanding for the arrest of Kisumu county askaris who were captured on video dragging a female hawker on a tarmac road, sparking public outrage.

LSK has threatened to sue the officers on behalf of the victim's family, even as Governor Anyang Nyong'o suspended the 12 officers who were involved in the shocking incident, pending investigations into the matter.

Mrs Beatrice Atieno Magolo was Wednesdays dragged for about 400 meters on a hot tarmac road in Kisumu town by a pick-up vehicle belonging to the Kisumu City Enforcement Department after she was found trading on the pavements.

The governor's move to suspend the 12 officers came amid pressure from members of the public, county assembly members and the executive who demanded that action be taken against the culprits.

Prof Nyong'o said he was saddened and shocked by the incident.

"As investigations continue on this matter with the urgency it deserves, I have directed the City Manager to immediately suspend from duty all the officers who were involved in this incident with immediate effect, until the conclusion of the on-going probe on the matter," he said.

Apology to traders

His Deputy Dr Mathews Owili apologised to the Kisumu women and traders in the county over the ugly incident.

"What was done to the woman was inhuman and I apologise to Kisumu women and traders. The enforcement officers received individual suspension letters today morning as we look into the matter," said Dr Owili.

He stated that the officers will be offered further training so that they know how to handle such issues in future.

At the same time, LSK Kisumu Chapter has immediately commenced private investigations into the matter with a view to seeking redress for the victim.

"We call for immediate arrest of the county askaris who were involved in this very incident together with the driver of the pick-up. We are keenly following on this matter and shall offer representation to the helpless woman," Ms Joan Neto, Chair of LSK, Kisumu Chapter.

Unacceptable incident

LSK has further condemned the incident terming it unacceptable in a modern society.

"The hauling of human beings by fellow humans reminds us of the early 20th century America where blacks were tied behind pick-ups and pulled along highways by racist gangs," said Ms Neto.

After preliminary investigations by the City Rapid Intervention Investigatory Team, the acting Kisumu City manager Abala Wanga has narrowed down to four officers who are to face an internal disciplinary process to account for their actions.

The four are Mr Kevin Omondi (the driver of the pick-up), Mr George Nyonje, Mr Simon Nyumba and Wycliffe Omondi.

"This does not prejudice in any way the hawker's standing rights to opt for any other legal proceedings if she so wishes," said Mr Wanga.

According to Mr Wanga, the team established that the woman without regard to her own safety clutched onto the vehicle with one hand while holding her wares with the other hand.

Biometric registration of traders

He also stated that the driver of the vehicle was pelted with stones prompting him to drive off without seeking confirmation from enforcement officers seated behind the pick-up.

"The driver made an unfortunate and regrettable decision to drive off while the hawker was still clutching onto the pick-up rail demanding her wares back. This action was done recklessly and negligently by both the driver and supporting enforcement officer who clearly failed to coordinate their interventions," said Mr Wanga.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

But even as this happened, LSK and civil society groups in Kisumu continued to demand more action from the county government of Kisumu on the officers involved in the incident.

The county leadership, however, warned against politicisation of the incident by county staff and human rights activists.

The county government will Friday launch biometric registration of all traders, including hawkers, for a well-coordinated place in markets and designated areas for traders in the next months.

In the meantime, Governor Nyong'o has directed all county enforcement officers to carry out their duties while fully respecting the human rights of members of the public, whom he challenged to respect city regulations and the rule of law in return.
(Newser)  The defendant in the Boulder mass shootings appeared in court Thursday for the first time. Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa said nothing other than "yes," which was his answer when the judge asked him if he understood his rights, the Denver Post reports. His lawyers said they need more time to prepare his case. "We cannot do anything until we can fully assess Mr. Alissa's mental illness," Kathryn Herold told the judge. That can't begin, she said, until discoverywhen the prosecution turns over its evidence to the defense. District Judge Thomas Mulvahill scheduled a status conference next, to be held in 60 to 90 days, per CNN. Alissa will remain in jail in the meantime, the judge said. Alissa, 21, is charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder in the shootings Monday at a King Soopers grocery store and one count of attempted first-degree murder.

story continues below

The prosecution also needs time. Investigators are still working at the site of the killings. "We'll be filing additional charges in the next couple of weeks," Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty told the judge. In the meantime, per CNN, the FBI is interviewing people who know Alissa and looking into his activity on the internet. Outside court, Dougherty said it could be a year before the trial is completed. Alissa, who was shot in the leg Monday, entered court in a wheelchair. Police tweeted Thursday that when officers went to the hospital where Alissa was being treated to take him into custody, they used the handcuffs carried by Eric Talley, the officer killed at the store. "Though this was a small gesture, we hope it is the start of the healing process that so many of us need at this time," the tweet said. (The suspect bought his gun days before the rampage.)
Gabonese president gets first shot of China's Sinopharm vaccine against COVID-19

Xinhua) 08:41, March 25, 2021

LIBREVILLE, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba and his wife Sylvia Bongo Ondimba received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Sinopharm on Tuesday in Libreville, said a press release from the Presidency.

"As he himself announced, the President of the Republic has been vaccinated against COVID-19," the release said.

The First Lady had also published on social media the photos taken during her vaccination.

On Tuesday, Gabon's Minister of Health Guy Patrick Obiang Ndong officially launched the national vaccination campaign against COVID-19.

The kick-off of this campaign was made possible by a donation of Sinopharm's vaccine to the Gabonese people by China.

In a message to the nation on Monday evening, the Gabonese president specified that the first phase of vaccination would mainly target health personnel, the military and similar forces as well as vulnerable people.

The first confirmed case of COVID-19 was discovered in Gabon on March 12, 2020. In about one year's time, Gabon has lost 108 people as a result of this pandemic, according to the latest data published by the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Liang Jun)
NEW HAVEN  Springfield resident Brandon Batiste on Thursday denied six criminal counts linked to the alleged Christmastime kidnapping and murder of Francisco Roman.

Facing a virtual audience of people wearing masks that read Justice for Francisco, Batiste, 33, answered the charges. Two carry a potential death penalty, though it is up to federal prosecutors whether to seek that punishment. Otherwise, Batiste faces a sentence of life in prison if convicted of the murder and kidnapping charges.

Batiste offered one- and two-word answers to U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Farrishs questions, including whether Batiste preferred a formal reading of the entire indictment.

Waive it, he said flatly from the Donald W. Wyatt detention facility in Rhode Island, where many federal pretrial defendants land.

The case is being prosecuted federally because Batiste and codefendant Calvin Roberson, 38, of Waterbury, Connecticut, are accused of shooting Roman, placing him in the trunk of his own car and dumping the vehicle across state lines.

Batiste and Roberson, arraigned previously, have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Roman, a father of three from Chicopee, was last seen on Christmas Eve, investigators say. His family reported him missing on Dec. 25 after he failed to surface for the holiday. Romans father found his house in disarray, a surveillance camera wrested from its mounting and the smell of bleach throughout the house, court records say.

Romans burning car was discovered in a neighborhood in Hartford, Connecticut, on Dec. 26, according to the charges.

Firefighters called police when they discovered the body, handcuffed, in the back of his car, court records show.

Roberson was arrested weeks later at his home after investigators tracked a Sony PlayStation 5 gaming system that had been stolen from Romans home, the box left behind, investigators said. Batiste was arrested in Athens, Georgia. He was extradited back to Massachusetts.

Investigators have not disclosed a motive for the alleged kidnapping and murder. However, a pricey diamond necklace intended for Romans girlfriend ended up instead around the neck of a woman who lived with Roberson, according to investigators.

Batistes next court date is May 6. A court-appointed attorney reserved the right to argue for bail at a later date.

Related content:
Making Los Angeles Whole: Radical Recovery for All Angelinos

After World War II, the United States led an effort to rebuild war-torn Europe. After hate decimated New York City on 9/11, the world stood at the ready to help the city rebuild. After systemic racism was once again laid bare by the 1992 Civil Unrest in Los Angeles, our city leaders made deep commitments to Rebuild LA. Our public investment and personal commitment to the people who had been traumatized by years of conflict and division helped in the physical, economic, and emotional reconstruction needed after each of these traumatic events.

The twelve months of this pandemic have taken an emotional and psychological toll on all of us, but the economic pain has harshly targeted certain communities. When our city became the national epicenter of COVID-19, our most vulnerable community members bore the brunt of the crisis. Most upper-income earners remained largely unscathed and indeed increased their wealth while other families, neighbors, and fellow Angelenos continue to pay the price for this pandemic, and have been fractured by its profound impact on all facets of life.

With the passage of a new, massive federal COVID relief package, our city will receive some $1.3 billion in funds aimed at helping our communities recover from the economic fallout of this deadly pandemic.

ADVERTISEMENT

With so much money flooding in, we have a unique opportunity to remake our city in a way that reflects our values. We have an obligation to address historical inequities that have divided us for generations, and to ensure a more equitable Los Angeles going forward.

LAs history has contributed to the inequality we see today. Decades of discriminatory policies in housing, racist policing, as well as zoning and planning decisions have isolated poor Black and Brown neighborhoods from the rest of Los Angeles. The policies of the past have created the inequitable impacts of our present COVID-19 reality.

According to research conducted by Advancement Project CA, South LA and East LA zip codes rank among the highest in the state for risks for infection, deaths, and a longer economic recovery, much less economic improvement. Meanwhile, 10 of the richest neighborhoods in Los Angeles County combined, representing about 323,000 people, have about 700 fewer confirmed coronavirus cases than just the city of Compton (95,000 people) alone, underscoring the vast differences in how this virus is being experienced across communities.

Government is a key driver to address systemic inequality. Thus far, our city has failed to meet the challenge. While the COVID 19 pandemic has exacerbated many of those inequalities, our rebuilding efforts coming out of this pandemic will shape our city for generations to come.

Thats why community and civic leaders have developed a proposal to help ensure the city does not make the same mistakes we have made for decades.

We call on the City of Los Angeles to direct a $1 billion dollar investment over the next two years towards poor and working-class families hit hardest by COVID, and develop a formula targeting 80% of the resources towards communities hardest hit by COVID. Those funds should be accountable to the people so that we see results for dollars spent.

We should also use this opportunity to reimagine our city budget, and not simply replace what was there before. While city employees need full pay for full work, we adamantly believe the LAPD does not require additional funding. This is an opportunity to invest in additional mental health services that can reduce the need for police on the streets, and create a more humane response to community issues. Imagine the positive impact on public safety and the economy if this city invests in careers for our youth, housing for all and economic opportunity for disadvantaged women.

ADVERTISEMENT

The COVID vaccine has tapped into our collective humanity and desire to care for our communities. We have seen people stepping up to help their neighbors, to provide charitable donations, and volunteer at vaccination clinicsdemonstrating that there is more awareness than ever about the need for more equity and equal opportunity for all of us.

We are at a critical moment in our citys history, one that comes from tremendous hardship and suffering. But one that also provides a great opportunity to build back better.

We must seize this moment to invest in imagination and needs, not backfilling the past. Lets rebuild Los Angeles in a way that reflects our values and extends opportunity to all Angelinos.

Alberto Retana is president and CEO of Community Coalition and April Verrett is the president of S.E.I.U. Local 2015.
Kendallville, IN (46755)

Today

Partly cloudy. High 78F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Mostly clear early then increasing cloudiness after midnight. Low near 60F. Winds light and variable.
[March 25, 2021] TRUSTID to Continue to Protect Its Intellectual Property

Neustar, Inc., a global information services and technology company and leader in identity resolution, announced today that after a four-day trial, a jury in the Federal District Court of Colorado found that Next Caller had not misappropriated TRUSTID's (a Neustar company) trade secrets, breached a referral agreement with TRUSTID and intentionally interfered with a TRUSTID's business relationship. TRUSTID has filed two lawsuits against Next Caller to protect its intellectual property and investment in call authentication technology, and to ensure marketplace integrity. In addition to the present lawsuit, TRUSTID has a pending lawsuit against Next Caller in the Federal District Court of Delaware. In that suit, TRUSTID has alleged that Next Caller is infringing several of its call authentication patents and for false advertising. That case has been delayed due to the on-going Covid-19 pandemic and is scheduled for trial in July 2021. "First, we are deeply grateful to the Judge, Court staff, and jurors for their commitment to enabling this trial to proceed safely during these challenging times. We thank all involved," said Robert McKay, Senior Vice President Customer Identity and Risk Solutions. He further noted, "we are disappointed with the Jury's verdict, but remain committed to protecting our valuable intellectual property. We have made significant investments in caller-authentication services to provide a best-of-breed service to our customers ad will not tolerate the theft of our intellectual property. This decision strengthens our ongoing commitment to protecting those investments to fully support our customers and ensure marketplace integrity."



TRUSTID is positioned well to prevail in the Delaware suit. Most notably, TRUSTID's asserted patents have withstood Next Caller's multiple attempts to invalidate them. Additionally, the Court has also denied a summary judgment motion filed by Next Caller that is was not infringing TRUSTID's patents and did not provide false advertising. "Regardless of this decision, we will continue to strongly defend our intellectual property rights," said Kevin Hughes (News - Alert) , Neustar's Executive Vice President and General Counsel. He added, "we are well-positioned for success in the Delaware action. As I have stated before, we look forward to that trial in which we plan to pursue the maximum damages possible, including trebling of damages for Next Caller's willful infringement, and seeking a permanent injunction against Next Caller. Finally, like Bob, I too thank the Court and jury for their service in the present case."

For more information about Neustar and its inbound authentication solutions, visit risk.neustar. About TRUSTID Acquired by Neustar in January 2019, TRUSTID is a leading provider of caller authentication, identity and risk solutions. TRUSTID works with financial institutions and other enterprises to authenticate callers using a caller's phone as an ownership-based authentication token that puts trusted callers into the fast lane, before their calls are even answered, while assessing the risk of others. TRUSTID's inbound caller engagement solutions, along with Neustar's market-leading outbound phone-centric risk solutions, help clients reduce contact center operating costs, improve the customer experience and increase the efficiency of fraud-fighting efforts. About Neustar Neustar is an information services and technology company and a leader in identity resolution providing the data and technology that enables trusted connections between companies and people at the moments that matter most. Neustar offers industry-leading solutions in Marketing, Risk, Communications, and Security that responsibly connect data on people, devices and locations, continuously corroborated through billions of transactions. Neustar serves more than 8,000 clients worldwide, including 60 of the Fortune 100. Learn how your company can benefit from the power of trusted connections here: home.neustar. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005969/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Texas Brandy from Andalusia Whiskey Co. "I feel most people overlook brandy," said Co-Founder Ty Phelps. "Which is why we are excited to show what a brandy from Texas can taste like," he continued.

Andalusia Whiskey Co will release their first Texas Brandy on Saturday March 27th. The distillery is not the first but one of the few to release a brandy in Texas.

"I feel most people overlook brandy," said Co-Founder Ty Phelps. "Which is why we are excited to show what a brandy from Texas can taste like," he continued.

The Andalusia Whiskey Co. Texas brandy uses 2018 Orange Muscat grapes grown by Lost Draw Cellars and then pressed by William Chris Vineyards. These grapes were too sweet to make wine but great for distilling into brandy. Aged 2.5 years in used American oak charred barrels. We love how aromatic and flavorful the spirit turned out, said Ty Phelps. The tasting notes include citrus, vanilla, honey, floral, anise, and cloves.

"People have a desire for local products, so we jumped at the chance to make a local Texas Brandy from regional wineries," said Co-Founder Tommy Erwin.

Our Texas Brandy will be available in 375 ml bottles for $40. You can purchase them at the distillery or online. Online sales must be picked up at the distillery located at 6462 N US Hwy 281, Blanco, Texas 78606. Whiskey or brandy cannot be shipped. You are allowed to pick up two bottles (750 ml) per person per 30 days.

Follow Andalusia Whiskey Co. on Facebook for updates on tours, tasting room hours, and special releases. You can find Andalusia's award-winning single malts Stryker, Revenant Oak, and their Triple Distilled whiskey at liquor stores throughout Texas.

About Andalusia Whiskey Co.

Andalusia Whiskey Co. produces hand-crafted, grain to glass malt whiskies deep in the heart of the Texas Hill Country. The distillery offers tours, tastings, and cocktails in their beautiful tasting room. Visitors to the Texas Hill Country are encouraged to sign up for a distillery tour and come by for a visit. For more information, visit their website http://www.andalusiawhiskey.com. For interviews, contact Jake Clements at media@txwhiskeyfest.com.
Wadia group-owned plans to come out with a Rs 2,500 crore-initial share sale early next fiscal, according to sources.

The no-frills airline has been working on expansion plans and an Initial Public Offer (IPO) will help in raising funds.

In recent months, many have hit the capital market with their IPOs amid business activities slowly normalising after the pandemic blow.

The carrier, which started operations in 2005, has been contemplating about going public in the last couple of years. The airline, which has also been witnessing frequent churns in the top management, could not come out with the on a few occasions earlier.

" is gearing up to raise funds to the tune of around Rs 2,500 crore from public investors and is likely to initiate this process with the filing of DRHP (Draft Red Herring Prospectus) around the second week of April," one of the sources said.



Consultations are progressing with ICICI Securities on the modalities of the proposed IPO, the sources said.

According to them, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley are also involved in helping the airline with its plan.

In response to an e-mail query sent to the airline's CEO Kaushik Khona, a spokesperson said, "as a policy, does not comment on market speculation".

GoAir flies to 39 destinations, including 10 international ones.

Currently, only two Indian carriers -- SpiceJet and IndiGo -- are trading on the bourses. Jet Airways, which is a listed company, was shuttered in April 2019 due to financial woes. Kingfisher Airlines, which went belly up in 2012, was also listed on the exchanges.

There are seven major domestic scheduled air operators in India.

In the case of GoAir, there have been frequent changes in management over the years. Last week, Jeh Wadia, the airline's promoter, resigned as Managing Director while former Spirit Airlines CEO Ben Baldanza was appointed as its Vice Chairman.

Baldanza had successfully led Spirit Airlines in 2011.
The Amazon rainforest is teeming with creatures unknown to science--and that's just in broad daylight. After dark, the forest is a whole new place, alive with nocturnal animals that have remained even more elusive to scientists than their day-shift counterparts. In a new paper in Zootaxa, researchers described two new species of screech owls that live in the Amazon and Atlantic forests, both of which are already critically endangered.

"Screech owls are considered a well-understood group compared to some other types of organisms in these areas," says John Bates, curator of birds at the Field Museum in Chicago and one of the study's authors. "But when you start listening to them and comparing them across geography, it turns out that there are things that people hadn't appreciated. That's why these new species are being described."

"Not even professional ornithologists who have worked on owls for their entire lives would agree about the actual number of species found in this group, so a study like ours has been awaited for a really long time," says Alex Aleixo, head of the research team responsible for the study, and currently curator of birds at the Finnish Museum of Natural History in the University of Helsinki, Finland.

The newly-discovered screech owls are cousins of the Eastern Screech Owls that are common in the United States. "They're cute little owls, probably five or six inches long, with tufts of feathers on their heads," says Bates. "Some are brown, some are gray, and some are in between." Until this study, the new species were lumped together with the Tawny-bellied Screech Owl and the Black-capped Screech Owl, which are found throughout South America.

Teasing out the differences between the species started with years of fieldwork in the Amazon rainforest as well as the Atlantic forest running along the eastern part of Brazil and surrounding countries. Bates, who usually conducts fieldwork during the day, says that doing fieldwork in the rainforest at night comes with new challenges. "For me it's more a feeling of fascination than being scared, but at the same time, you're running into spider webs. If you're wearing a headlight you see the eyeshine of the nocturnal animals. One time I was stepping over a log and I looked down and there was a tarantula the size of my hand just sitting there," says Bates. "If I had been a kid I would have been scared to death."

The owls that the researchers were looking for live in the trees, often a hundred feet above the forest floor. That makes studying them difficult. But the researchers had a secret weapon: the screech owls' namesake screech.

"To draw the birds out, we used tape recordings," explains Bates. "We'd record their calls and then play them back. The owls are territorial, and when they heard the recordings, they came out to defend their territory."

The scientists compared the birds' calls and found that there were variations in the sounds they made, indicative of different species. They also examined the birds' physical appearances and took tissue samples so they could study the owls' DNA at the Field Museum's Pritzker DNA Lab.

Altogether, 252 specimens, 83 tape-recordings, and 49 genetic samples from across the range of the Tawny-bellied Screech Owl complex in South America were analyzed. A significant number of specimens were collected by the research team itself, especially the study's lead author Sidnei Dantas, who spent a good share of his time in graduate school searching for and tape-recording screech owls in South American rainforests. In addition, natural history collections and their materials collected over the centuries were essential to complete the studys unprecedented sampling.

"The study would not have been possible if it were not for the great biological collections in Brazil and USA which I visited during my work, and that sent us essential material, either genetic and morphological. This highlights the importance of such research institutions for the progress of science and hence of the countries they represent," says Dantas, who conducted the study as part of his PhD dissertation at the Goeldi Museum in Belem and is currently working as a nature guide in Brazilian Amazonia.

The combination of genetic variation, physical differences, and unique vocalizations led the team to describe two new species in addition to the previously known Tawny-bellied Screech Owl: the Xingu Screech Owl and the Alagoas Screech Owl. The Xingu owl's scientific name is in honor of Sister Dorothy May Stang, an activist who worked with Brazilian farmers to develop sustainable practices and fight for their land rights; its common name is for the area where the owl is found near the Xingu River. The Alagoas owl's name is a reference to the northeastern Brazilian state of Alagoas where the owl is primarily found.

While the owls are new to science, they're already in danger of disappearing forever. "Both new species are threatened by deforestation," says Jason Weckstein, associate curator of Ornithology in the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University and associate professor in the university's Department of Biodiversity, Earth, and Environmental Science. "The Xingu Screech Owl is endemic to the most severely burned area of the Amazon by the unprecedented 2019 fires, and the Alagoas Screech Owl should be regarded as critically endangered given the extensive forest fragmentation in the very small area where it occurs," says Weckstein, who is a co-author and began work on this project as a postdoctoral researcher at the Field Museum.

Bates says he hopes that the study will shed light on how varied the Amazon and Atlantic forests are and how simply protecting certain areas isn't enough to preserve the forests' biodiversity. "If you just say, 'Well, you know Amazonia is Amazonia, and it's big,' you don't end up prioritizing efforts to keep forests from being cut in these different parts of Amazonia. That could mean losing entire faunas in this region," says Bates.

In addition to the study's conservation implications, the authors highlight the international collaboration that made the work possible. "This study shows how important it is to train the next generation of scientists at a global level," says Bates. "That means to having students like Sidnei come from Brazil and work in the Field's Pritzker Lab and measure specimens in our collection for their research. It's a great thing to build those connections."

###
St Louis student Victory Isijola, a sixth year, was the proud recipient of third place in the Columban Missionaries Schools Media Competition 2021.

They announced the winners last week, and Victory will be awarded a 100 cheque along with the publication of her article in the Far East Magazine this year.

This years theme was Lets Create a World Without Racism.

The judges were very impressed with the standard of entries this year - over 300 were received.

Victory was delighted to win the prize saying: Im so thankful to have received an award from this amazing organisation.

"It is great to see that our voices are finally being acknowledged and hopefully, with time, patience and empathy, we truly will create a world without racism."

Teacher Orla Drumgoogle said: Victory is an inspiring young woman who calls out racism where and when she sees it.

"She teaches me every day, and with young women like her in our society I am confident that we will be a kinder, more equal society in the future.

"Her recognition is justified. I look forward to hearing her voice in the future too.

International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrmination takes place on March 21st every year, the anniversary of the day the police in Sharpeville, South Africa, opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration against apartheid "pass laws" in 1960.
Hagerstown Housing Authority closes in on end of McCleary Hill project

After objections from neighbors, the Hagerstown Housing Authority's McCleary Hill project is done its first phase. Officials held an open house.
Shares of telecom services providers, on Thursday, were under pressure at the bourses with and Vodafone Idea hitting their respective over three-month lows on the BSE in intra-day trade.

slipped 5 per cent to Rs 499.35 in intra-day trade, falling 12 per cent in the past one month. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex fell 5 per cent during the period. The stock global telecommunications company's stock was trading at its lowest level since December 23. With todays fall, the stock has now corrected 20 per cent from its record high level of Rs 623, hit on February 2, 2021.

Shares of Vodafone Idea (VIL) tanked 9 per cent to Rs 8.87, plunging 23 per cent in the past one month, amid heavy volumes. The stock was trading at its lowest level since November 14, 2020. The trading volumes on the counter jumped nearly three-fold with a combined 447 million equity shares changing hands on the NSE and BSE.

VILs board has approved funding raising of up to Rs 25,000 crore through a mix of debt. The company is in active discussion with potential investors and expects the fund raise soon. Similarly, on the tariff correction front, without indicating exact timeline, it has indicated that tariff hike (likely in near term) and/or floor tariff implementation will be key, analysts at ICICI Securities said in February report.

VIL remains the weakest private telco. While the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues payment extension was a short-term breather, its survival hinges on quick capital infusion and tariff hike/floor tariff implementation. The need for capitalisation is of paramount importance mainly due to its lagging spends on network and relative market share loss, the brokerage firm said.

Meanwhile, informed the exchanges, on Wednesday, that the National Company Law Tribunal, New Delhi, Principal Bench (NCL') has sanctioned the Composite Scheme of arrangement between Bharti Airtel, Bharti Airtel Services (a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel), Hughes Communications India Private Limited and HCIL Comtel Private Limited (a subsidiary of Hughes) and their respective shareholders and creditors.

Bharti's subsidiary Airtel Africa, on Tuesday, announced the sale of 1,424 towers in Madagascar and Malawi to Helios Towers for $119 million. Airtel Africa's Tower portfolio in these two regions consists of 1,229 towers  it is entering into two separate agreements for the different jurisdictions. Total proceeds from the sale of these towers would be $108 million. The transactions expected to be completed in 4QCY21.

Additionally, it has entered into an exclusive MOU with Helios for the potential sale of its tower assets (around 1000) in Chad and Gabon. This deal should also incorporate lease agreements and the sites in these regions. This transaction is expected to be completed by end-FY22.

Both of these decisions are in line with the management's intention to achieve strategic asset monetization. Proceeds from these transactions would be utilized for debt reduction and as investments in network and sales infrastructure, Motilal Oswal Securities said in stock update.

Meanwhile, analysts at Axis Securities believe Bharti Airtel has a resilient business structure from a long term perspective EBITDA margins likely to expand in near term because of better execution.
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.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 25)  The Chinese Embassy in Manila on Thursday called out three foreign diplomats who have taken to social media to raise concerns over developments in the West Philippine Sea.

On its official Twitter page, the Chinese embassy posted screenshots of separate tweets from United Kingdoms Minister for Asia Nigel Adams, Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Steven Robinson, and Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines Peter MacArthur.

UK, Australia, and Canada are just some of the countries that expressed support for the Philippines as it protested the presence of more than 200 Chinese fishing and maritime vessels at the Julian Felipe Reef, also known as Whitsun Reef, in the West Philippine Sea. It is part of the vast area being claimed by Beijing in the South China Sea.

China denied deploying militia, explaining in a statement on Monday that these were fishing vessels taking shelter in the area due to rough sea conditions.

Other countries went on to deplore the presence of the supposed militia, saying it would stir up trouble in contested waters, much to Chinas dismay.

Neither these diplomats understand the basic facts, nor do they have the ability to think and judge independently. But they came out with irresponsible comments, using the same scripts, the Chinese embassy said in its tweet.

If the so-called facts are false from the beginning, you couldnt be more wrong to repeat the mistakes. Understand and respect the fact before you make any comments, it added.

These statements were in response to Adams, who maintained that the Philippines is an important partner for the UK, and that the British government shares concerns over actions that raise tensions in the South China Sea.

Robinson, meanwhile, tweeted about Australias support for the Indo-Pacific region and its concern about destabilizing actions in the global waterway.

MacArthur was more specific  saying Canada opposes recent Chinese actions in the South China Sea, including off the coast of the Philippines.

Earlier, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price also conveyed support for the Philippines citing the controversial presence of Chinese vessels around Julian Felipe Reef.

We call on Beijing to stop using its maritime militia to intimidate and provoke others, which undermines peace and security, Price said.

The European Union is the latest to weigh in on the issue. Its envoy, Luc Veron, quoted EUs high representative for foreign affairs and security, Josep Borrell Fontelles, as saying We cannot allow countries to unilaterally undermine international law and maritime security in the #SouthChinaSea, thereby representing a serious threat to the peaceful development of the region.

The Philippines' Department of Foreign Affairs sent a diplomatic protest and demanded that China "promptly withdraw" its vessels from the country's exclusive economic zone, while the Armed Forces deployed more naval units to the area.
A year after releasing a report examining the struggles faced by Black professors at Penn State, the authors released a new report that says Black faculty are still underrepresented in the university system, and the vast majority say they have experienced racism from students, administrators or colleagues.

According to part two of More Rivers to Cross: A Report on the Status of African-American Professors at Penn State University, Black professors in the Penn State system comprise roughly 3% of the faculty  a level where it has remained for the last 20 years. Beyond that, roughly eight out of 10 of those professors reported in a survey that they have experienced racism in some form at Penn State.

The second report, put together over the course of two years by a group of Black professors at Penn State University, also includes recommendations for change.

When discussing Black faculty members experiencing racism, the report references a wide array of incidents, from underrepresentation to exclusion to students using racial slurs directed at them.

It was surprising, but not totally shocking, said Dr. Gary King, who is one of the authors, and is a professor in the bio-behavioral health department. It details a good deal of the trauma that many of us have to deal with on a daily basis at the university.

King, who has been with Penn State for 22 years, said it all started when a group of Black professors met in April 2019 to commemorate the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. After their discussions at that meeting, King and several other professors embarked on the first part of this report, taking a close look at the issues affecting Black professors at University Park.

Change only comes about by people having courage and speaking truth to power, King said.

The report was released Thursday morning.

We look forward to reviewing the report. However, we have not yet received it and are therefore unable to comment at this time, said Penn State senior director of news and media relations Lisa Powers.

The first part of the report brought out a few important items, King said.

One was that over the last 15 years, there has been a decrease in the number of Black professors at University Park, showing problems with both recruiting and retention.

He said it has been a steady decrease, and the university has not been responsive to the need to recruit Black professors. In one example, he noted at the universitys College of Liberal Arts, most of the Black professors are in the Department of African-American studies, which he said really reflects another form of segregation.

The number of Black professors dropped from 105 in 2004 to 103 in 2018, hitting the lowest points of 93 in 2012 and 2014. The number of Black faculty members who were tenured or on a tenure-track position decreased in that time period as well, from 83 to 68.

The number of Black faculty members at the school is critical as their representation indicates the degree of adherence to the universitys principles of diversity, equality and inclusion, the report contends.

Another issue has been student ratings. Long a sore spot for many faculty, the ratings also show biases towards professors of color, King said. Some students who are not particularly interested in issues of race use the evaluations as a way of getting back at the professors who instruct those classes, the report contends. This often happens in required diversity courses, which are often taught by Black professors, according to the report.

In the newly released part two of the More Rivers to Cross report, the authors surveyed Black professors at University Park and the other Penn State campuses regarding their experiences with racism.

Its been very, very revealing as to what exactly has been their experience, King said. Our report certainly documents the reasons why the university has to address this issue from multiple perspectives.

While eight out of 10 Black professors reported experiencing racism on campus, about two-thirds of that number reported they have experienced it in the last three years from students.

While this is occurring at University Park, about three times as many Black professors at the branch campuses say theyve experienced racism often in the last three years. They report being called racist names by students, having racial slurs appear on their cars and even in their student ratings of teaching effectiveness, according to the survey.

One said, students complain every time I teach about enslavement.

About 53.1% of Black faculty members reported experiencing racism from administrators or supervisors. According to the report, they have heard from administrators that hiring Black and Brown people is vital to the department so long as it is not at the risk of the reputation of the program.

Slightly more  56.2% of Black professors -- report experiencing racism among their colleagues within the last three years. That includes being forgotten on credits for projects, not being invited to events, a lack of response to communications, a lack of greetings in meetings.

These are the things that indicate that in spite of people saying you are important, you are not, the report states.

The survey showed 70% of Black professors did not believe the academic culture at Penn State would become an equitable environment for the pursuit of learning, teaching and scholarship for Black Americans.

One survey respondent wrote, Historically, Penn State fosters a conservative climate and culture; therefore, it is difficult to feel included when institutional leaders do not champion diversity, equity and inclusion, and another respondent added, The culture of silence to racism is pervasive, and you become the monster by standing up for your rights.

But the vast majority  73.1% of Black professors who responded to the survey -- say they chose not to report their experiences with racism to the administrators. Many say they feel the problems are so deeply rooted that reporting it would be futile.

They often suffer in silence, King said about the Black faculty members who responded to the survey. This survey gave them the opportunity to express what they have been harboring for awhile.

When the first report came out in January 2020, it was generally well received by the faculty and administration, and it prompted the Penn State Faculty Senate to begin its own report to look into some of the findings, King said.

The report is very worthwhile reading, and an important reminder of challenges that we face, not only at Penn State but in higher education nationally, Penn State President Eric Barron said at the time. Though these challenges are not unique to Penn State, Barron added, that is not an excuse for us not to be thinking about these issues at Penn State. We absolutely have to be thinking about these issues at Penn State.

The university started the Presidential Commission on Racism, Bias and Community Safety, but King and the authors of the More Rivers to Cross report say that study has a glaring omission  there are no references to increasing the underrepresentation of Black faculty throughout the university system.

A draft report of the universitys study was released and has gone through a truth-and-reconciliation committee, but King said theres a problem with committees.

That can go on ad infinitum, King said. Thats part of the problem.

That is why part two of the More Rivers to Cross makes some recommendations for real change, King said, including:

Recruitment and hiring plans and measurable implementation to increase the number of Black faculty members over the next five years.

Implementation of an anti-racism and social justice agenda for the Board of Trustees, university administration, deans, departmental heads and program and center directors and faculty at all ranks.

Particular and immediate attention to be devoted to the anti-racism transformations needed at the campuses impacting Black faculty and their interactions with students, colleagues, and administrators.

Establishment of an anti-racism progress and accountability committee, consisting of internal and external stakeholders.

Commissioning of an external study to examine salaries and equity over the last 15 years.

Immediate disuse of the system of student ratings of teaching effectiveness.

Restructuring of present organizational units such as the Office of Affirmative Action, Office of Educational Equity, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion functions to reflect an antiracism agenda.

The report goes into detail and makes recommendations on how these can be implemented.

It also tells readers this statement on academic racism at Penn State requires a serious reflection as to exactly who really We Are.

You can read both parts of the More Rivers to Cross report below.
.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........

HOUSTON  A former Texas trooper faces federal charges after being accused of sexually assaulting two women in the Houston area while he was on duty, prosecutors announced Wednesday.

Authorities allege that Lee Ray Boykin Jr. forced the women to perform oral sex on him after pulling them over during separate traffic stops in August, according to court documents.

Boykin, 32, was on duty with the Texas Department of Public Safety during the alleged assaults and one of the women told investigators that he threatened her with his gun.

He faces three federal charges: deprivation of rights under color of law; destruction of records; and using a firearm in a violent crime.

Boykin has also been indicted in state district court in Houston on a charge of aggravated sexual assault.

ADVERTISEMENTSkip



................................................................

Authorities say they are looking for other possible victims.

An attorney for Boykin did not immediately return a call seeking comment Wednesday.

If convicted of the federal charges, Boykin faces up to life in prison.

Troopers and police officers in other states in recent years have also been charged with or convicted of sexually assaulting women during traffic stops or while on duty.
Could Worksites Soon Get Advance Notice of Cal/OSHA Inspections?

A new assembly bill introduced in California could give employers advance notice of Cal/OSHA inspections or investigations.

The global pandemic has changed a lot about the way we work, even the jobs of OSHA inspectors look different these days. Due to the influx of COVID-19 safety measures on worksites in the state, Cal/OSHA inspectors have needed greater coordination with worksites to ensure they are able to complete their inspections and investigations. Could there be a more efficient way?

A new Assembly Bill introduced in February might be the answer. Assembly Bill (AB) 1175, introduced on February 18, 2021, would authorize California employers to receive advance notice of an inspection or investigation if the chief of Cal/OSHA or the chiefs representative approves the notice and advance notice is necessary to ensure [the] availability of essential personnel or access to the site.

OH&S reached out to Ogletree Deakins counsel attorney Karen Tynan to learn more about what this AB could mean.

OH&S: How has the pandemic changed the way that Cal/OSHA inspectors do their jobs? What hurdles are present now, that in a pre-pandemic world, they did not have to worry about?

Karen: Typically, inspectors did not have to worry about bringing anything other than standard PPE (gloves, safety glasses, wearing safety shoes, high visibility vest, and hard hat) to a job site. Now, many facilities require face coverings, additional entry screenings, and social distancing which can create more coordination and management of an inspection. We are also seeing many remote (Zoom) interviews which require coordination and technology support to complete. Lastly, frankly, many inspectors and the DOSH counsel have shared with me that they have very high caseloads because of COVID-19. Any steps to help manage resources favor the counsel and inspectors.

OH&S: Cal/OSHA clearly prohibits advance notice of inspections or investigation, but COVID-19 has clearly created obstacles that the agency never accounted for. A new Assembly Bill is looking to authorize California employers to receive advance notice of an inspection. According to AB 1175, how would this work?
Working from home might be here to stay for many careers, even once the COVID-19 pandemic ends. That would be welcome news for a lot of physically disabled veterans who find it difficult to get around and report to an office every day.

Bill Wiczen is one of those veterans. Now 64 years old, Wiczen spent six years in the Navy as a cryptologic technician between 1974 and 1980. While he was in the service, he suffered a series of injuries that left him requiring the use of a wheelchair.

After working in computer engineering for 20 years and attending broadcasting school, Wiczen eventually ended up on disability, a situation that got old after a while.

There is only so much television one person can watch, Wiczen told Military.com.  I was going nuts and I needed something I could do. Thats why I love Liveops.

Liveops is a virtual call center service based in Arizona that hires people to handle customer service calls from their homes. Agents begin making a rate based on the number of minutes spent handling calls. Wiczen quickly was promoted to a full-time position with the company, supporting other agents.

The sense of purpose, and I say this with all my heart, gives me a reason to get up in the morning, he says. Its astounding. No matter who you are in this company, you feel like youre someone important.

Wiczen notes four great reasons why veterans are perfect for a work-from-home kind of job, whether they have a disability or not.

Bill Wiczen was a Navy cryptologic technician for six years. Now he works for Liveops from his home. (Courtesy of Bill Wiczen)

1. Self-Motivation

When he first began working as an agent, he was able to choose his own schedule and work remotely. For a disabled veteran, this gave him the flexibility to ease back into the workforce after being away for so long. After being promoted, he was trained fully and able to do his job.

At Liveops, theres an independent contract model, Wiczen says. I am there to answer questions, communicate with agents. If an agent gets stuck in a process, I am there to jump in when they need me.

2. Respect for Structure

When people sign up for work, they show up for work and they show up for work on time. As a veteran, that was instilled in your brain, he says. Understanding who you report to and who reports to you is a reliable skill, both in the military and in the workplace.

Wiczen also notes that while his workplace has a clear chain of command, theres also an open-door policy similar to what he had in the military, and he credits that policy with his ability to move up in the chain.

3. Teamwork

A lot of what Wiczen does at Liveops depends on the ability of agents and senior agent resource advocates like him to work together to resolve problems. Veterans, he believes, have the teamwork experience for Liveops and any career -- but he can speak only for himself.

As with the military, your colleagues become somewhat of a second family to you, he says. The relationships Ive built with the agents and staff have provided me with some of the best support Ive ever had.

4. Resilience

Veterans of all eras can carry issues from their military service into their new civilian lives. Wiczen says that veterans also are determined to overcome obstacles to their happiness. All they need, he says, is an atmosphere where they can thrive.

I left the military inheriting disabilities I did not previously have, as many veterans do, Wiczen says. Having the resiliency to work through those obstacles and finding a workplace that supports you with proper training and no discrimination are the building blocks for

a successful future.

-- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on Facebook.

Want to Know More About Veteran Jobs?

Be sure to get the latest news about post-military careers as well as critical info about veteran jobs and all the benefits of service. Subscribe to Military.com and receive customized updates delivered straight to your inbox.
analysis

Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno, who has ruled since 1990, is gearing up to take on his sixth mandate as head of state. Elections are scheduled for 11 April 2021. And the country's 2018 constitution allows him to stay in office, if elected, until 2033.

Deby is an experienced military man who first joined the army in the 1970s during the former French colony's civil war. He eventually became commander in chief of the armed forces under former president Hissene Habre who served from 1982 to 1990.

In that year, an insurrection led by Deby hounded President Habre out of office. Deby promised to establish a functioning multiparty democracy and to put an end to the previous regime's lawlessness and violence. That promise was short lived. Deby's ambitions quickly shifted to staying in power by any means and enriching his extended family.

Thirty years later, he is governing a population that has long suffered from extreme poverty despite the country's oil wealth. The country also has an inadequate healthcare system, poor educational opportunities, lack of career prospects among the youth, and high unemployment. The United Nations Human Development Index (2020) ranks the country 187 (out of 189).

Political liberties are almost non-existent; human rights violations are part of everyday life, and opposition leaders, human rights activists, journalists and trade unionists live under permanent threat.

Over the years, various protests have been staged against Deby's rule. Opposition parties and trade unions have held repeated demonstrations to demand free and fair elections, and also to bring attention to the poor socio-economic status of ordinary Chadians.

Northern Chad has also witnessed a number of rebellions against Deby's rule. And in 2006 and 2008, members of Deby's Zaghawa clan and former allies who defected to the opposition tried to overthrow him by military force.

Most recently, protests broke out in February 2021, when Deby announced that he would run for a sixth term. The president dispatched his security forces to disperse them immediately.

Run-up to the elections

The resistance during this election cycle is even more passionate than in recent years. Chadians are turning to the example set by Burkina Faso and Mali, where presidents Blaise Compaore and Ibrahim Boubacar Keita were ousted following protests in 2014 and 2020, respectively.

Prominent opposition politician Succes Masra, who leads The Transformers party, has been at the forefront of the protests against Deby. Masra gave up a post at the African Development Bank to join politics in 2018.

But Chad's revised constitution of 2018 barred him from running for president because he is 38. Presidential candidates must now be 40 or older, despite the majority of the population being younger than 45. The cutoff age in the previous constitution was 35 years.

Deby does not have a serious challenger for the presidency because the opposition is splintered. Initially, 17 opposition leaders registered interest to contest. But when candidate and former minister Yaya Dillo's mother was killed by security forces, some candidates withdrew their bids. Dillo, a Zaghawa like Deby, has since gone into hiding.

One opposition heavyweight who withdrew is veteran opposition leader Saleh Kebzabo, who leads the National Union for Democracy and Renewal party, and was runner-up in the 2016 presidential elections. The official results, which were questioned by the opposition, showed that he won just 12.8% of the vote. Kebzabo is now calling for a boycott of the elections and regime change.

But despite a groundswell of opposition against Deby's candidature, four factors stand in his favour.

One, Chad's substantial oil producing capacity. Two, the precarious security situation in the Sahel region, which has been under siege by Islamist terrorists. Three, France's unconditional loyalty to the regime, and four, Deby is a strategic diplomat.

Favourable factors

First, Chad's oil revenues have given Deby the means to arm the military. He uses the Chadian military to counter attacks on his rule, which has helped him remain in power.

Second, for more than a decade, the Boko Haram terror group in neighbouring Nigeria, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and the Islamic State in the Sahel have plagued the region with violence. The Chadian army under Deby's command has shown itself to be an indispensable partner in the international fight against extremism in the Sahel.

Third, in 2013 when then French President Francois Hollande provided military support to fight Al-Qaeda and the militant Islamist group, Ansar Dine, in northern Mali, Deby and his military stood by the French.

Since independence in 1960, France has used Chad's capital N'Djamena as a military base for the entire Sahel region. And from 2014, N'Djamena has hosted the headquarters for Barkhane, a France-led mission to fight terrorists. French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Castex visit Chad regularly.

Fourth, Deby is a strategic diplomatic. For years, he has successfully placed his loyal followers in influential regional and international positions. For example, his former Foreign Minister Moussa Faki was recently re-confirmed as president of the African Union commission.

His longtime ambassador to the European Union and Special Representative of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali, Mahamat Saleh Annadif, will soon move to Dakar as the United Nations representative for West Africa.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Chad Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

And in February 2021, Deby took over as the rotating chair of the G5 Sahel, an institutional framework for coordination of regional cooperation in development policies and security matters in west Africa.

Why Deby should worry

But Deby still faces a threat to his reign. For one, Chadians had hoped for better access to resources, especially when Chad joined the list of oil-producing countries in 2003. But only the corrupt elite around Deby and his clan have benefited from the revenues.

Second is the lack of political freedom. During this election period only Deby and his ruling Patriotic Salvation Movement have been allowed to campaign. Citing pandemic protocols, his government has restricted the opposition from campaigning. Opposition leaders have called for the international community to intervene.

If anti-Deby sentiment gains momentum, the opposition, youth, and some members of Deby's Zaghawa clan could for the first time march together despite the fear of state violence.

Whether they succeed will depend on the loyalty of the security forces, which are dominated by Zaghawa - and on the political leanings of France.

Helga Dickow, Senior Researcher at the Arnold Bergstraesser Institut, Freiburg Germany, University of Freiburg
Donna Perry is a Sun Chronicle columnist and media commentator. Reach her at sprucemedia8@gmail.com , follow her @donnaperryma1.
Since its debut 12 years ago, bitcoin has frequently been lambasted for its energy-intensive mining process. About 2.5 years ago, Nature Climate Change, a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Nature Publishing Group, warned that bitcoin mining alone could push global warming over the 2C catastrophic threshold in just 14 years if adoption rates matched those by other broadly used technologies.

The bitcoin mining rate has increased 500% since the publication.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, crypto buffs, investors, and speculators view critics who squawk at the vast amounts of energy supposedly consumed by crypto mining and how it contributes to climate change as pedantic party poopers. For instance, PoW (Proof-of-Work) maximalists argue that bitcoin is the "most secure public chain" as measured by hashrate, but deny that bitcoin is an energy hog.

In the other camp are crypto apologists (such as CoinShare) who concede that bitcoin and crypto mining are indeed power-hungry processes, but also claim that most of the energy is derived from renewable sources.

You can chalk up Mike Coyler, chief executive of Foundry, as belonging to the latter camp--but with a fresh twist. Foundry is a sister company of major bitcoin player Grayscale.

Coyler has told Insider that bitcoin can actually become a useful bridge as the world transitions to sustainable energy.

According to Coyler, the green energy boom has led to an oversupply in many areas, making it costly to manage for renewable energy firms. Colyer says that locating bitcoin mines near renewable energy projects can help lap up this excess power.

More importantly, Coyler argues that such an arrangement allows for a faster payback on wind and solar projects and can, therefore, spur even more rapid adoption of clean energy by encouraging infrastructure buildout in regions where it would not have been attractive before due to the said oversupply. Related: Pandemic Puts Saudi-Kuwaiti Oil Plans On Ice



Source: Y-Charts

Bad for the environment

As you might expect, many green-leaning analysts remain unconvinced by Coyler's proposition, with Bank of America analysts pointing out that the bitcoin network now consumes as much electricity as the Netherlands. In fact, if bitcoin was a country, it would be a top 30 electricity consumer.

BofA commodities strategist Francisco Blanch and his peers say that bitcoin's estimated energy consumption has grown over 200% over the past two years alone, making it a major environmental risk. The Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index currently puts energy consumption by the bitcoin network at a staggering 136.3 TWh, or 3.4% of the ~4,000 TWh of electricity consumed in the United States in 2019.

They have also shot down one of Coyler's major selling points: That bitcoin mining can make the energy transition smoother.

According to Coyler, bitcoin miners will naturally seek the cheapest energy source in a bid to maximize their profits--which happens to be renewable energy in places like North America.

The Foundry CEO does have a valid point. Mid-last year, UAE-based clean energy think tank International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) reported that more than half of the renewable capacity added in 2019 achieved lower power costs than the cheapest new coal plants. IRENA goes on to say that replacing the costliest 500 GW of coal with solar PV and onshore wind would cut power system costs by up to USD 23 billion every year; lower annual CO2 emissions by around 1.8 gigatons (equivalent to 5% of total global CO2 emissions in 2019) and yield an investment stimulus of USD 940 billion (1% of global GDP) to boot. Related: How Will We Pay for the Energy Transition?

However, Coyler has also neglected to mention that over 65% of bitcoin mining happens in China, a country where coal and other fossil fuels are by far the most dominant energy sources.

Two years ago, CoinShares made the controversial claim that the bitcoin network gets 74.1% of its electricity from renewables, making it one of greenest industries. However, A University of Cambridge report begs to differ by pointing out that whereas the majority of bitcoin mining facilities draw on renewables to some extent, the average share is just 28%.

With a cross-section of experts predicting that bitcoin prices will break the $100K barrier soon, bitcoin mining could end up doing a lot more harm than good to the environment. Christopher Bendiksen, head of research at CoinShares, has warned that another price spike could push energy use even higher:

"We fundamentally don't know how high the price of bitcoin will go. If the bitcoin price goes up by 10x, you would expect the energy consumption of the network to also go up by 10x."

Bitcoin might not be among the biggest offenders as far as carbon footprints go, but could be competing for those honors in a decade or so unless the energy transition in places like China advances at a much faster clip.

Better still, many countries, including the United States, badly need to upgrade their power grids in a hurry to handle renewable energy surges and also support newer power distribution models such as Peer-to-Peer (P2P) energy trading.

By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The plane of the Lebanese airline Middle East Airlines will deliver the first batch of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against coronavirus from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Beirut on March 25, Chairman of the Lebanese-Russian Business Council, Honorary Consul of the Russian Federation in Tripoli Jacques Sarraf said.

According to him, the plane will deliver a consignment of the Russian drug that will be used to vaccinate Lebanese citizens against coronavirus.

Sarraf noted, this initiative of the private medical sector has been undertaken in coordination with the countrys Ministry of Health. Several batches of a total of 1 mln doses of Sputnik V will be enough at the first stage to vaccinate 500,000 workers of industrial and commercial enterprises, he added.

"Preference was given to the Russian drug, given its high efficiency, which reaches 91.6%," TASS cited Sarraf a saying.

The Lebanese Ministry of Health approved the emergency use of the Russian vaccine on February 5. On February 26, it was announced that 20 private firms had been granted the right to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies manufacturing anti-coronavirus drugs. According to the ministry, 13 of them plan to sign contracts for the supply of the Russian-made Sputnik V, and seven more expect to purchase vaccines from Chinese corporation Sinopharm.
Last year, community members were invited to publicly share their experiences, both positive and negative, with Oak Park police officers. One resident said police were called on his son while he attempted to earn money raking leaves while another woman said she was upset at the lack of a response to a sexual assault allegation. Others praised the departments resident beat officer program, while one resident called police polite and concerned following a response to a burglary. Village officials say the dialogue will be used to further the discussion on the future of its police department structure and policies.
Reporter

Mary Schenk is a reporter covering police, courts and breaking news at The News-Gazette. Her email is mschenk@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@schenk).
YEREVAN, MARCH 25, ARMENPRESS. FRV has reached financial close with IFC, EBRD, and Ameriabank for the largest Utility Scale Solar Power Plant in Armenia.

55 MW Masrik-1 Solar Farm will produce enough clean energy to supply more than 20,000 homes and avoid the emission of over 40,000 tons of CO2 annually.

The project signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Electric Networks of Armenia which will distribute the electricity produced by the plant delivering significant benefits to the community.

IFC and EBRD will support the project with senior loans and an investment grant from the European Union, mobilized by EBRD

Ameriabank will support the project with tailored VAT financing loan facility.

This is currently the largest utility-scale solar power plant in Armenia.

Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV), part of Abdul Latif Jameel Energy and a leading global developer of renewable energy projects, has closed the financing agreement for the development of the largest utility-scale solar power plant in Armenia.Located in Mets Masrik municipality, Gegharkunik region, the 55MW solar power plant is the first-of-its-kind in the country, and it will help boost Armenias supply of renewable energy while reducing its dependence on fossil fuels.

In 2018, FRV and the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure signed a Government Support Agreement (GSA) to design, finance, build, own and operate the solar power plant with the support of the Renewable Resources and Energy Efficiency(R2E2) Fund, the implementation agency authorized by the Government of Armenia. Masrik-1 solar power plant will generate more than 128 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually at a competitive tariff of 41,9 USD/MWh. The electricity will be sold under a power purchase agreement to Electric Networks of Armenia, the utility company responsible for distribution of electricity in the country. The plant will produce enough energy to supply more than 20,000 Armenian households and is projected to avoid the release of over 40,000 tons of carbon emissions annually.

The project is supported by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Union (EU). They will extend up to USD 38.4 million financing structured indifferent tranches of debt. Ameriabank will provide AMD loan facility to finance companys VAT needs.

Armenia has great potential when it comes to the development of renewable energy, in particular solar energy said Tristan Higuero, Chief Operations Officer of FRV. The financial close of our first solar project in the region is a milestone for FRV as it allows us to expand our reach worldwide. Through this project, we will contribute to the countrys sustainable economic growth through the generation of wealth and employment, helping to build a more sustainable future.

Artak Hanesyan, Ameriabanks Chairman of the Management Board-CEO, highlighted the importance of the project and said that the renewable energy projects are a priority for the Bank: We support international business in Armenia and have prioritized this project for its role in economic development, addressing environmental issues, creation of new job opportunities and improvement of the living standards in our country. We provided a loan to support development of the largest utility-scale solar power plant thus contributing to formation of a more independent and secure power system in Armenia. According to Artak Hanesyan, Ameriabank has been actively supporting the Energy sector in the country through financing of hydropower plant (HPP) and solar power plant (SPP) projects: Masrik-1 solar power plant is yet another daring and critical project for our country which, I am sure, will be a success due to our joint efforts.

Fady Jameel, Deputy President & Vice Chairman of Abdul Latif Jameel, said: Abdul Latif Jameel Energy, through FRV, is providing Armenias largest utility scale solar plant which is a testament to our commitment to developing the renewable energy sector. In finalizing this financial agreement for Masrik Solar Farm, we move closer towards our objectives and take pride in assisting Armenias shift towards a renewable future.

About FRV

FRV, part of Abdul Latif Jameel Energy is a leading global renewable development company. Aligned with our ambition to be a leading player in the worlds transition to a sustainable energy future, FRV moved from a pure PV utility-scale developer to a renewable energy IPP (Independent Power Producer). We want to transform ourselves into the futures main green utility/energy platform, therefore we have a rapid growth strategy that will be realized through project generation revenue, shareholder contributions and rotation of assets through minority stake sales and pipeline sales. To this end, FRV plans to invest over USD 1.5 billion in fixed assets to double the total installed capacity, from 2 GW in 2020 to 4 GW by 2024. For more information please visit: www.frv.com

About Abdul Latif Jameel Energy

Abdul Latif Jameel Energy was formed in 2012, and today is a leading, independent power producer, and a premier service provider of operations and maintenance in the renewable energy sector, with interests in 16 countries worldwide with capabilities in renewable energy including solar photovoltaic, wind, waste-to-energy, and environmental solutions including desalination, water and waste-water treatment. For more information, please visit: www.alj.com/energy. For further inquiries contact our communications team on [email protected] or on +971 4 448 0906

About Ameriabank CJSC

Ameriabank is a dynamically developing bank and one of the most stable financial institutions in Armenia. Ameriabank is a universal bank offering corporate, investment and retail services in a comprehensive set of banking solutions. For more information please visit www.ameriabank.am or call (+37410) 56 11 11.

Ameriabank is supervised by the Central Bank of Armenia.
A student of Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST) is fighting for her life in hospital after suffering complications following an abortion.

The first-year student had allegedly aborted a seven-month-old pregnancy on Tuesday, March 23.

Another student, who had gone to a pit latrine in Lurambi, reportedly spotted the male foetus and alerted college-mates.

Suspecting their 20-yer-old colleague had induced an abortion, the learners went to her room and found her bleeding profusely from the private parts.

Witnesses, Samuel Luvembe and Naomi Gimoi, said they rushed the girl to Kakamega Hospital, where she is receiving treatment.

Police said the student is in stable condition.

Neighbours retrieved the foetus from the pit latrine and handed it over to police.
Johnny Depp is about to find out whether he can bring an appeal against a damning High Court ruling that he assaulted ex-wife Amber Heard and left her in fear for her life.

Following a three-week trial in July last year, Mr Justice Nicol dismissed the Hollywood stars libel claim against the publisher of The Sun, finding that an April 2018 column calling Mr Depp a wife beater was substantially true.

The judge ruled Mr Depp, 57, assaulted Ms Heard, 34, on a dozen occasions and put her in fear for her life three times.

The actor has asked the Court of Appeal to grant permission for him to challenge the ruling, with the aim of having its findings overturned and a retrial ordered.

At the hearing last week, Mr Depps lawyers asked the court to consider fresh evidence relating to what they said was Ms Heards claim that she gave her seven million US dollar (5.5 million) divorce settlement to charity.

A poster in support of Johnny Depp was hung outside the court ahead of the hearing (Yui Mok/PA)

Mr Depps barrister Andrew Caldecott QC told the court that claim was a calculated and manipulative lie.

After the couple divorced in 2016, Ms Heard said she would split the seven million dollars between the Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

But, Mr Caldecott said, the hospital wrote to Mr Depps business adviser in 2019 to say Ms Heard had not made any payments.

The court heard just 100,000 dollars (72,000) was donated to the hospital and 450,000 dollars (322,000) to the ACLU, although Ms Heard claims she made a further 500,000-dollar (358,000) donation to the second charity anonymously.

Mr Caldecott said the claims had given Ms Heard a considerable boost to her credibility as a person, and had tipped the scales against Mr Depp from the very beginning.

In November, Mr Justice Nicol rejected Mr Depps contention that Ms Heard was a gold-digger, saying in his ruling: Her donation of the seven million US dollars to charity is hardly the act one would expect of a gold-digger.

But Mr Caldecott argued that if the truth about the charity claim emerged at the trial, it would have materially affected Mr Justice Nicols consideration of Ms Heards evidence as a whole.

He said the fact Ms Heard publicly donated her divorce settlement to charity was relevant to the likelihood of her being a victim of grave domestic violence.

Mr Caldecott said the donation was a wholly remarkable act of philanthropy, if true, adding it was also a potent subliminal message: I want him to pay, but I do not want to keep a dime of his money because of the way I have been treated.

He told the court: In the context of this case, it implies revulsion at the way he has treated her physically.

Amber Heard made a statement on the steps of the Royal Courts of Justice in London on the final day of the trial (Victoria Jones/PA)

But Adam Wolanski QC, representing The Suns publisher News Group Newspapers (NGN), said the new evidence Mr Depp wanted to rely on would not have had any impact on the result of the trial.

He said the issue of donating the settlement to charity was only of relevance to the so-called gold-digger thesis, and that was of course a thesis that was expressly abandoned by Mr Depps legal team during the trial.

Mr Wolanski added: The labelling of Ms Heard as a gold-digger was a misogynistic trope. The gold-digger theory was hopeless.

He also rejected Mr Depps contention that Ms Heard had lied about donating her divorce settlement to charity, saying: The information does not demonstrate that Ms Heard lied.

Mr Wolanski added that Ms Heard had paid in total, some 950,000 dollars to the ACLU and 850,000 dollars to the Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.

On Thursday morning, Lord Justice Underhill and Lord Justice Dingemans will give the courts ruling on whether Mr Depp can bring an appeal against the High Court judgment.

The Court of Appeals decision will be announced at the Royal Courts of Justice in London at 10am.

Johnny Depps barristers Andrew Caldecott QC and David Sherborne at the Royal Courts of Justice (Yui Mok/PA)

Mr Depp sued NGN in June 2018 over the column by The Suns executive editor Dan Wootton, which referred to overwhelming evidence he attacked Ms Heard.

In his judgment, Mr Justice Nicol concluded 12 of the 14 alleged incidents of domestic violence relied on by NGN in its defence of the actors claim did occur.

The judge also found Mr Depp put Ms Heard in fear for her life on three occasions, including one the actress described as a three-day hostage situation in Australia in March 2015.

Days after the ruling in November, Mr Depp announced he had been asked by Warner Brothers to resign from his role in the Harry Potter spin-off franchise Fantastic Beasts  a role that prompted Mr Wootton to ask how JK Rowling could be genuinely happy that Mr Depp was cast in the film.

Mr Depp is embroiled in a separate libel battle in the US, having sued Ms Heard personally over a 2018 Washington Post opinion piece in which she claimed to be a victim of domestic abuse but did not mention the actor by name.

The actors 50 million dollar (35 million) US case against Ms Heard was recently delayed until April 2022.
In an interview with Prof. Wolfgang Kellerer by TUM staff on the next wireless communications generation, he talks about the future of 6G and what it means for devices - and us all.

Before we start, Prof. Wolfgang Kellerer (pictured, click to enlarge) holds the Chair of Communication Networks at TUM. He previously worked in industry and at Stanford University. His research focuses on fundamental methods for communication networks, and he is a member of the scientific board of the Federal Network Agency of Germany and the Dean of Studies of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at TUM.

Here is the interview:

From hologram-based communications to remote-controlled surgical procedures  the 6G wireless standard will make many high-tech applications a reality. A major project now being launched at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) aims to establish the key technical criteria for the new standard.

In this interview, project leader Prof. Wolfgang Kellerer explains how 6G will become the most intelligent wireless network, when Germany could take on a leading role and why, in the world of research, new speed records are less important than ensuring 99.999999999% reliability.

The 6G Future Lab Bavaria at TUM is regarded as Germanys largest university research project for the sixth wireless communications generation. The project is part of the Bavarian 6G initiative, for which the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs will provide at least 5 million euros in funding. Over the next three years, 12 research professorships will develop fundamental mechanisms for 6G and draw up a roadmap for its standardisation and rollout.

Project leader Prof. Wolfgang Kellerer is also one of the two spokesmen for the Thinknet 6G platform, launched today as another building block in the Bavarian initiative to promote the networking of all relevant actors.

The 5G wireless standard is not yet available everywhere  and youre starting work on the next generation. Is 5G already obsolete?

5G will still be there even after the next wireless generation is launched. But there will be differences in the applications: 5G plays a vital role for Industry 4.0, facilitating a new dimension of machine-to-machine communication. In 6G, the focus will be on humans and their surroundings.

But you dont mean humans and their phones?

Not primarily. Its more about a wide range of technologies integrated into our everyday lives that we interact with almost without thinking about it, thanks to excellent wireless communications and sensor technology. It might be robot assistants in the household, high-resolution 3D maps for self-driving vehicles or holograms enabling us to visualise people we are talking to. With 6G, remote-control surgery and other applications requiring precise positioning of equipment will become a reality.

What bandwidths will 6G be capable of?

We believe that the higher frequencies used for 6G will allow a data transfer rate of one terabyte per second. However, the speed records are not the main priority in our research program. We want to lay the foundation to achieve the highest fail-safe standards, shortest latency times and maximum energy efficiency. We also want to create new processes to ensure data security even when quantum computers are used.

At first glance, those look like secondary criteria.

On the contrary: those are the essential points for the high-tech applications that represent the promise of 6G. Think of telesurgery, for example. When lives are at stake, we cant settle for 99.9% reliability. For the 6G network, we are aiming for 99.999999999% fail-safe reliability.

Another example is the scenario where humans and robots work together. If these assistants are used in everyday life or nursing care settings, they will be very close to people. For that reason, when controlling them, latency  in other words the time lag when processing wireless signals  has to be close to zero. After all, just one false reaction by a robot could cause personal injury or property damage in a split second. For 6G we want to achieve latencies well under one millisecond.

We want these specifications to be guaranteed for end-to-end communications across multiple networks  because communications are not generally limited to the network of one provider. That might sound trivial, but it involves enormous challenges. Finally, we want the entire network to be intelligent.

What does intelligence mean for a wireless network?

With artificial intelligence, the network can conduct its own calculations to continuously optimise itself. It should be flexible and adaptable to the point where it can deliver the required performance when and where it is needed.

6G will be the first wireless communication generation in which the network works together with countless sensors positioned in the networked devices such as robots and self-driving vehicles.

At the same time, the network can now become a sensor itself, with the wireless signals being used to obtain certain information such as the presence of an object between the transmitter and receiver. The AI technology can then use all these data to create a picture of the users surroundings and the communication requirements and adapt the network accordingly.

The big challenge is to develop network architectures that are able to make optimal use of the characteristics of different sensors and are also trainable. Consequently, a core element of our research is digital twins. These virtual images of objects are already being used in industry. For example, a computer creates a detailed digital replica of a manufacturing plant. This makes it possible to explore and optimise the workings of the plant. We want to create digital twins of the network and its components to optimise them with machine learning methods.

When will 6G be ready to use?

Experience shows that it takes around 10 years to develop a new wireless generation. To be ready for a big rollout in the early 2030s, those of us doing basic research want to work with the other key actors right from the start to lay the groundwork for success. We want to learn about the expectations of the business sector and society at large. This networking will now take place on the Thinknet 6G platform.

In the context of the wireless generation cycle, we are actually starting earlier than usual with the development of the next generation.

Does this mean that Germany has a chance to play a leading role in 6G?

Yes. We want to create the conditions for companies to be among the leaders right from the start. We want to see start-ups emerging and to produce leading experts through our degree programs.

And with vital infrastructure of this kind, sovereignty is also a top priority. When network components fail, we must always be in a position to replace each and every one of them ourselves.

Note: The following TUM professorships are participating in the Bavarian 6G Future Lab: Communication Networks, Media Technology, Theoretical Information Technology, Network Architectures and Services, Data Processing, Machine Learning, Integrated Systems, Communication Engineering, Connected Mobility, IT Security, Signal Processing Methods, Coding for Communications and Data Storage.
Siblings spar at times.

Theresa Cannon and her brother Salvatore Gianquitto of Harrisburg were no different.

They hadnt been speaking lately because of a disagreement. The last time Cannon saw her younger brother, they didnt acknowledge each other.

They loved each other and would have made up soon. They always did in the past.

But days later, someone killed Gianquitto, 35, robbing him of the rest of his life and devastating Cannon, who wont get the chance to make up and hang out with her brother again.

I believe he knew deep down in his heart I loved him, she said. We were both bull-headed.

Now she wants to know why someone stabbed him in the chest as he stood on a street corner March 16 near 13th and Kittatinny streets. The attack was recorded by video surveillance and police quickly arrested a suspect and recovered a bloody knife.

Prosecutors arent sure why the man attacked Gianquitto. Detectives are still investigating. Gianquittos friend fired a gun at the assailant, who fled.

The gunshots prompted neighbors to call 911 about 11:30 p.m. Police arrived and said Gianquitto died at the scene.

His funeral is planned for Saturday March 27 at Neumyer Funeral Home, 1334 N. 2nd St., Harrisburg. There will be a viewing starting at 2 p.m. with a funeral service following at 3 p.m.

Gianquitto grew up with his two siblings in Harrisburg, but moved to Kansas at one point to live with a cousin in Junction City. Gianquitto attended college classes at Kansas State University, then moved back to Harrisburg in about 2006.

While back in the city, he worked at Habitat for Humanity and other warehouse jobs. He also performed construction and landscaping and other odd jobs.

This past Christmas, the entire family got together with their mom and talked about old times, Cannon said, like when Sal used to wake up his sleeping baby brother just so he would have someone with whom to play. Or when Gianquitto as a boy would launch off the back of the sofa screaming, Im Superman!

It was one of the best Christmases ever, she said, thankful for the memories.

Gianquitto had a 6-year-old daughter with his former girlfriend and embraced her children as his own.

He was funny, outgoing, energetic, a great person and an amazing father, said Jessica Gonzalez. All in all, he was a family man who loved to joke around and was always looking to have fun and spend time with us.

He enjoyed fishing, playing chess, watching the Dallas Cowboys and making memories with his daughter and step children, she said. He doted on his niece and nephew as well, getting advice on what to wear from his niece and playing video games with his nephew.

Gonzalez last talked to Gianquitto two days before he died, because he called to talk to his daughter. He hadnt been working lately and talked to Gonzalez about getting a job and doing better, she said.

He was trying to do the right out here, she said. He didnt deserve any of this. No one does.

Gonzalez said neither she nor her friends know the man charged with first-degree murder in the killing: Joseph Aguayo-Quinones, 29. Neighbors said he was known to hang around the area of 13th and Kittatinny but no one knows a motive for the fatal stabbing, Gonzalez said.

Gianquittos father died in 2006. His mother remains in Harrisburg, where she has been battling breast cancer. Now she must face burying her oldest son.

The family already was stretched financially but now must figure out how to pay for the unexpected funeral expenses. Friends and relatives have been selling meals, pins, and facemasks to raise money. They also started an online fundraiser for anyone interested in helping.

If you knew Sal, he was so generous, Cannon said. I dont understand how this happened to him. None of us knows why.

READ MORE:

Why Harrisburg police were sent out for shots fired, but found a man stabbed to death

Harrisburg police charge woman with lying in connection with fatal shooting of truck driver

How a registered sex offender in Harrisburg ran a basketball league, held Easter egg hunts for kids
Car makers today demanded much greater support from the Government to help consumers buy electric vehicles if ministers ambitious electric dreams are to become a reality.

Rule makers must put ordinary drivers at the heart of policy and planning if they are to win consumers hearts and minds, they said.

Electric cars are still too expensive to make and own, out of reach for most people of modest means, and served by an electric charging network that is still not fit for purpose. There are too few charging point, and too many of those which do exist  around one in ten  simply dont work, it said.

'Put ordinary drivers at the heart of policy and planning': Car makers call on the Government to increase incentives and the public charging network to encourage consumers to switch to EVs

Without help, the Government ambition of banning petrol and diesel cars by 2030 will be impossible to fulfil, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) warned Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.

Mr Shapps, who owns an expensive Tesla Model 3 electric car and a guest speaker at the trade body's day-long industry conference on electric vehicles held on Thursday morning, defended the recent decision to slash the Plug-in Car Grant (PiCG) thats designed to reduce the sky-high cost of EVs.

Compared to far more generous consumer electric car purchase incentives abroad and on the continent, UK consumers are being short-changed, SMMT boss Mike Hawes said.

The Plug-in Car Grant - a scheme designed to reduce the sky-high price of new electric cars - is lags behind similar incentives in other European countries, including Germany and France. The trade body said the Government needs to do more to make it financially viable for drivers to make the transition

Car manufacturers, industry commentators and electric vehicle campaigners have all blasted the Government's decision last week to slash suddenly and without prior warning both the size of the PiCG by 500 to 2,500, and to reduce the cap on cars eligible to benefit for the scheme from 50,000 to 35,000.

By contrast, preserving the grant and providing consumer VAT exemption could increase electric car uptake by almost two thirds by 2026, said the SMMT.

The industry body has published new figures today showing businesses are twice as likely as consumers to make the switch from petrol or diesel due to the stronger incentives available to companies.

It added that 700 charge points needed to be installed daily to support the growing market.

It came as Labour unveiled its own incentive plans to boost the uptake of zero-emissions electric vehicles to reduce pollution.

Speaking this morning, Shadow Business Secretary, Ed Miliband, said owning a zero emission vehicle should be an option for all.

He called for interest-free loans to be offered for new and used electric vehicles to those on low to middle incomes to remove the upfront cost barrier; a quicker rollout of charging points on streets, targeting areas such as Yorkshire, the North West and the West Midlands; and part-financing the creation of three new gigafactories by 2025.

Shadow Business Secretary, Ed Miliband, this morning said Labour would have more ambitious plans to encourage EV take up, including interest-free loans to be offered for new and used electric vehicles to those on low to middle incomes to remove the upfront cost barrier

The SMMT this morning also published its own blueprint to deliver greater retail uptake.

It demanded for government and stakeholders to prioritise overcoming consumer concerns through fairer incentives and a commitment to a dramatically expanded public charging infrastructure'.

The SMMTs analysis of new car registrations in 2020 by the SMMT show that just 4.6 per cent of privately bought cars were battery electric vehicles (BEVs)  compared to 8.7 per cent for businesses and large fleets.

Consumers registered 34,324 pure electric vehicles in 2020, compared to 73,881 corporate registrations, it said.

The SMMT said: Ahead of the phase out of new pure petrol and diesel car and van sales in 2030, manufacturers have invested billions in new technology, with plug-ins now accounting for one in four of new car models available  with one in 10 powered purely by electricity.

However, consumer acceptance remains low because of concerns over affordability, charge point availability and infrastructure reliability.

Around one in three households have no dedicated off-street parking, leaving them disproportionately dependent on public charging points  of which around one in 10 are out of order at any given time.

Transport Secretary defends slashing PiCG Transport Secretary Grant Shapps today defended the Government's decision to slash the Plug-in Car Grant, despite the move coming at a time when ministers are trying to encourage motorists to make the switch to greener vehicles Grant Shapps this morning has defended the Government's move to cut the Plug-in Car Grant, telling the virtual SMMT conference they would now be better targeted. And he insisted his zero-emissions plans for 2030, including the much-criticised roll-out of public charging points, were on track. The grant had been reduced by 500 to 2,500 and the cap cut from 50,000 to 35,000 to make it more effective in attracting motorists of modest means to electric power and to ensure value for money for taxpayers, he said. Its to allow more motorists to go green. Were focussing support where most consumers can go green. It had started originally at 5,000, he said, and remained under constant review. The decision to bring forward the ban on petrol and diesel cars by 10 years  from 2040 to 2030  had been made only after careful consideration, he said. Yes, its ambitious for industry and government. But if there was a time to be ambitious its now as we build back after Covid. We are on track to meet that 2030 deadline. He insisted the Government was investing heavily in many more public charging points. There are currently 20,000 publicly-available devices, of which just 3,900 are the fastest 'rapid' chargers. Mr Shapps conceded: We have much work to do, We have to reach the tipping point where choosing an electric vehicle is the natural thing to do  a no brainer. He said the Covid pandemic had increased the urgency towards transition: Were on a path which will not only transform motoring within a generation, but also the whole planet. A consultation on electric vehicles ends on April 10, he said. To find out which models currently qualify for the Plug-in Car Grant, read our exclusive report.

Bigger and better incentives to switch to EVs for businesses over consumers

By contrast, businesses and company car drivers currently receive stronger and longer-lasting motivation through reduced purchase taxes and fiscal incentives compared to consumers.

Compared to the now reduced grants available to UK consumers, the SMMT noted: By comparison, private buyers in Germany receive a 9,000 grant towards a new pure electric vehicle, while Dutch drivers do not pay VAT on such purchases - equivalent to a purchase cost saving of around a sixth.

Current projections suggest the majority of drivers will choose to charge their vehicle at home if they can, so the SMMT estimates there would also need to be around 2.3 million public charge points in service by 2030 to provide adequate coverage and tackle range anxiety.

That means more than 700 new charge points would have to be installed every day until the end of the decade. By comparison, the current installation rate is approximately 42 a day,' the trade body added.

Businesses currently have bigger and better incentives available to them to switch their vehicles to electric models than members of the public, SMMT bosses pointed out

Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said: While last years bumper uptake of electric vehicles is to be welcomed, its clear this has been an electric revolution primarily for fleets, not families.

Manufacturers are committed to the consumer, reducing costs and providing as wide a choice as possible of zero-emission capable vehicles with many more to come.

Mr Hawes continued: To deliver an electric revolution that is affordable, achievable and accessible to all by 2030, however, government and other stakeholders must put ordinary drivers at the heart of policy and planning.

We need incentives that tempt consumers, infrastructure that is robust and charging points that provide reassurance, so that zero-emission mobility will be possible for everyone, regardless of income or location.

When every market is vying for these new technologies, a clear and collaborative strategy engaging all would ensure the UK remains an attractive place both to manufacture and market electric vehicles, helping us achieve our net zero ambition.

While demand for greener cars is currently booming, more needs to be done to ensure drivers are able to go electric from 2030

Mr Hawes stressed that incentives send out an important signal to customers and also helps ensure that the UK gets a sufficient supply of electric vehicles from manufacturers.

Jonathan Goodman, boss at electric vehicle manufacturer Polestar, said it was a dangerous game to expect car makers to reduce margins beyond reason or even sell at a loss.

'Ministers should stop changing the rules suddenly and without warning. The industry needed consistency, he said.

One in four available new models on the UK auto market can now be plugged in, one in ten now powered purely by electricity, said the SMMT.

This represents around 150 individual models, and that number is rising.

But SMMT chief executive Mr Hawes said: We will only succeed if the consumer thinks they are affordable, they are convenient and they are the right choice for them.

'This means giving people the incentives to buy them and the infrastructure to charge them. Both are currently lacking.

He noted: Electric vehicles may be cheaper to run but they are more expensive to manufacture and, therefore, to purchase.

If we are to ask consumers to change their behaviour, they need to be encouraged to do so. We can appeal to their good nature and their desire to save the planet but that wont transform a market.

The ownership experience must be cheaper, more enjoyable and easy. That is not yet the case. Its not so much a race to zero as a game of snakes and ladders.

'That was because ministers kept moving the goal-posts. The industry needed consistency.'

Currently more than one in three households do not have a driveway or a designated parking space so would find charging difficult, a survey by the SMMT found

Half of Britons 'not ready' for electric cars in 2030

Almost half of drivers dont believe they will be ready to drive an electric vehicle by 2030, when the sale of new petrol and diesel models will be prohibited by the Government.

Many UK licence holders believe that, because of cost and a lack of infrastructure, they will never drive one, said Mr Hawes; We will not meet our goals if we do not change the hearts and minds of consumers.

Currently more than one in three households do not have a driveway or a designated parking space so would find charging difficult.

Most early electric vehicle adopters can park and charge off street: But those in flats, terraced houses, shared houses, cannot, Hawes said.

In London, with a population of nine and a half million, there are only around 7,000 public charging points. One for every 1,300 people.

Scotland, has just over 2,000 public charging points for a population of five and a half million whereas Wales has 846 charging points for a population of more than three million.

Northern Ireland is worst off, with a mere 325 chargers for a population of nearly two million.

Mr Hawes stressed: And here is another crucial point. In the UK, one in ten of existing charging points dont work.

Northern Ireland has a mere 325 public electric vehicle chargers for a population of nearly two million people
Photo: Nicholas Johansen Protesters gather near Highway on Nov. 28, 2020.

After the Chief Justice of BC's Supreme Court ruled the province's public health order banning outdoor protests was unconstitutional, it's not clear if payment of the tickets will still be enforced.

In a decision released last Thursday, Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson ruled the ban on protests infringed upon the Charter rights of Alan Beaudoin, a man from Dawson Creek who who organized three protests against what he called "draconian COVID-19 restrictions in December of 2020.

The decision stemmed from the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms petition to the court challenging the province's ban on in-person church services and protests, which was put in place last November. Chief Justice Hinkson ruled that while the ban on church services was an infringement on Charter rights, it was a reasonable and proportionate measure. But he did not find the same could be said about the protest ban.

During submissions though, the provincial government's lawyers noted that Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry changed her order on Feb. 10, to allow for outdoor assemblies for the purpose of communicating a position on a matter of public interest or controversy, which effectively allowed for protests under the law. The province's lawyers conceded the order banning protests prior to Feb. 10 was of no force and effect during that time, and Chief Justice Hinkson agreed.

But Chief Justice Hinkson stopped short of ruling Beaudoin's $2,300 ticket invalid, as he was not provided with the specific information about why the ticket was issued.

The provincial government says it doesn't know how many tickets were issued to people in contravention of the order banning protests.

"We only receive aggregate data of the number of tickets issued and not specific circumstances that gave rise to the ticket," said Travis Paterson, spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General.

Kelowna's David Lindsay received at least three $2,300 tickets for organizing the weekly protest in Stuart Park against the province's COVID-19 measures. But it's unclear if payment of these tickets that have been deemed unconstitutional will be enforced.

Kelowna RCMP spokesperson Jocelyn Noseworthy said they have not yet made a decision about pursuing payment of these tickets, and decisions regarding this matter will be made in consultation with the BC Prosecution Service.

But BC Prosecution Spokesperson Dan McLaughlin said that decision lies squarely on the police agency that issues the ticket.

The BC Prosecution Service is not involved in the collection of payment from individuals who have received violation tickets for various offences and have either been deemed convicted because they failed to dispute the ticket or are convicted after a hearing, McLaughlin said. Generally speaking the BCPS is not involved in the prosecution of violation tickets. Those prosecutions are usually conducted by the police agency that issues the ticket.

Paterson said the government is currently reviewing the court's decision, but that the decision whether or not to pursue payment of the fines lies with the police.
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.
Photo: Getty Images

On Wednesday, President Joe Biden put Vice-President Kamala Harris in charge of diplomatic efforts to reduce the number of child migrants and migrant families arriving at the southern border this year.

The role will essentially be twofold. According to a senior official who spoke with Politico, the vice-president will converse with leaders in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras on ways to alleviate the root causes of the migration, while also strengthening relationships with Mexico and these northern triangle countries after years of damaging rhetoric from the White House. While we are clear that people should not come to the border now, we also understand that we will enforce the law, Harris said Wednesday. We also  because we can chew gum and walk at the same time  must address the root causes that cause people to make the trek, as the president has described, to come here.

In his campaign last year, Biden proposed spending over $4 billion during his first term to mitigate violence, government corruption, and the effects of climate change in the northern-triangle countries, which account for a strong percentage of those arriving at the border in recent years. Bidens proposal acts as an expansion of the Obama administrations $750 million in aid promised to the three countries as an effort to slow arrivals by unaccompanied minors in 2014. (The assistance was frozen by the Trump administration in 2019.) Seven years ago, Biden, as vice-president, effectively served in the same diplomatic role that Harris has been appointed to.

While the White House did not state when Harris would begin this foreign-policy task, she told CBS News in an interview that she and Biden would head to the southern border soon. Two months into his presidency, the number of child migrants that the Border Patrol and Health and Human Services have taken in has become a political vulnerability for Biden, as support among Democrats for his path to citizenship decreases and Republicans weaponize the situation. However, as an analysis of Customs and Border Patrol data by the Washington Post reveals, there is no evidence to suggest that Bidens messaging on immigration has caused an increase in border arrivals. Rather, the current increase in apprehensions is consistent with the usual January-through-March uptick  which is related to more hospitable weather at the border  and due to a backlog of demand because of 2020s coronavirus border closure. Nevertheless, the administrations decision to allow unaccompanied migrants into the U.S. to be placed with family sponsors is creating overcrowded conditions for some children, who are being forced to sleep on mats on the floor with foil sheets as they await relocation with family members.
South Africa: Resolving SA's energy challenge

Government has assured citizens that efforts are being made to resolve the energy challenge faced by the country.

This comes after the recent load shedding that was implemented by Eskom.

Cabinet is aware of the negative socio-economic impact, disruption and inconvenience caused by load shedding to ordinary citizens and businesses over the past few weeks.

Every effort is being made to resolve current energy challenges and bring new power generation capacity online in the shortest possible time, which is fundamental to South Africas economic recovery, Acting Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, said on Thursday.

Addressing members of the media on the outcomes of Wednesdays Cabinet meeting, the Minister said government continues to support concerted efforts to stabilise Eskom and set it on a sustainable growth path.

Cabinet has welcomed the announcement by Mineral Resources and Energy Minister, Gwede Mantashe, of eight preferred bidders to provide an additional 2 000 megawatts of emergency electricity that will help support the national grid over the short-term.

The preferred bidders from the Independent Power Producer Programme are expected to source energy from solar, wind, liquefied natural gas and battery storage. The first connections to the grid are set for August 2022.

The eight projects will inject R45 billion into the economy, with an average local content of 50% and create some 3 800 job opportunities during construction. A further 13 500 job opportunities will be created during the 20-year Purchase Power Agreement Term.

The strategic interventions that government is making to restructure and strengthen the electricity system will fundamentally improve the countrys power-generation capacity. The significant progress being made shows that our efforts to deal with the energy challenges are gathering momentum, Ntshavheni said.

Cabinet has called on South Africans to support interventions to strengthen the performance of Eskom by reporting illegal connections, meter tampering and illicit sale of prepaid electricity vouchers to law-enforcement agencies.

We must all be responsible consumers of electricity by paying our monthly bills, she said.

Police killings

Meanwhile, Cabinet has expressed concern about the reported attacks on members of the South African Police Service.

Since 25 February, 12 police officers were brutally murdered on and off duty in different parts of the country.

Police officers put their lives at risk daily to ensure the safety of our communities and the country. All acts of violence and murder directed against police officers are not only cowardly but also unpatriotic, and should not be tolerated in our society, Ntshavheni said.

Cabinet has called on law-enforcement agencies to ensure that justice is done for the fallen police officers.

As a law-abiding and peace-loving society, let us all demonstrate our revulsion towards police killings by reporting all perpetrators and fugitives to law-enforcement agencies. The death of a police officer is one too many, the Minister said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-03-25. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Sometimes police shootings are justified, but other times they cry out for a remedy, Justice Gorsuch wrote, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. The majority seems to give voice to this sentiment.

Chief Justice Robertss mild response did not wholly mask his irritation. The dissent speculates that the real reason for todays decision is an impulse to provide relief to Torres, he wrote.

There is no call for such surmise, he wrote, saying the court had effectively answered the question before it in a 1991 decision featuring a majority opinion from Justice Antonin Scalia. At the end of the day, we simply agree with the analysis of the common law of arrest and its relation to the Fourth Amendment set forth 30 years ago by Justice Scalia, joined by six of his colleagues, rather than the competing view urged by the dissent today.

Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh joined the majority opinion, as did the three members of the courts liberal wing  Justices Stephen G. Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. That coalition now appears to represent the most likely one in which the liberal bloc prevails. (The case was argued before Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the court, and she did not take part in deciding it.)

The case, Torres v. Madrid, No. 19-292, started when two state police officers in dark tactical gear arrived at a housing complex to serve an arrest warrant early on a summer morning in Albuquerque in 2014. In the parking lot, they came upon Ms. Torres, sitting in her car with the engine running.
WhatsApps troubles with India over its updated privacy policies is continuing as the Competition Commission of India (CCI), an anti-trust watchdog has announced a new probe into the Facebook-owned messaging service. The probe is aimed at investigating WhatsApps new privacy policy for its violating competition laws, before it goes live in May 2021.

WhatsApp first introduced the problematic privacy policy back in January, 2021 and nearly instantly rolled back the changes after receiving a lot of backlash. Since then, WhatsApp has decided to re-introduce their updated terms of service (TOS) and privacy policy with a new information banner in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, the Government of India requested WhatsApp to withdraw the update as it essentially robs Indians of the choice of giving up their user data to Facebook. Now, the Competition Commission of India has ordered a probe into WhatsApp, investigating their breach of various anti-trust laws. According to the commission, WhatsApps privacy policy is neither fully transparent nor based on voluntary and specific user consent.

WhatsApp has responded to the Commissions probe order, stating that they will co-operate with them in the investigation.

Source | Via
YEREVAN, MARCH 25, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister of Armenia Ara Ayvazian met with Defense Minister of Iraq Juma Inad Saadoun Khattab on March 25, ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the MFA Armenia.

Greeting the Iraqi delegation, Minister Ayvazian expressed satisfaction over the high level of the relations between Armenia and Iraq based on centuries-old friendship.

The interlocutors highlighted the importance of deepening military and security dialogue between the two countries, expressing conviction that the close cooperation in the mentioned sphere will have a positive impact on regional stability and peace.

The Ministers referred to a broad scope of regional security issues. FM Ayvazian drew the attention of his interlocutor on the direct involvement of Turkey in the war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh, expressing concerns over the deployment of foreign mercenaries and terrorists in the conflict zone by Turkey. In this context, the sides highlighted the necessity of a close collaboration between Armenia and Iraq for fighting against terrorism in all possible formats.
San Antonio will soon house thousands of migrant children at two sites.

According to Benjamin Wermund from the San Antonio Express-News' Washington Bureau, the White House said Thursday the temporary shelters for the migrant children will be at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland and Freeman Coliseum.

READ ALSO: Paxton refuses to release messages about attendance at pro-Trump rally before Jan. 6 insurrection

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn tweeted Thursday there will be 350 beds at Lackland and 2,400 at Freeman. Another 5,000 children will be housed at Fort Bliss in El Paso.

The announcement comes after the Department of Defense approved a request for assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Wednesday to temporarily house unaccompanied migrant children at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland and other facilities in Texas.

Wermund reports officials plan on moving the children from crowded U.S. Customs and Border Protection sites, such as one in Donna, near McAllen.

HHS will maintain custody and responsibility for the well-being and support for these children at all times on the installation, according to a release from the Department of Defense.
They looked nothing lik humans, but their genes still reside inside us. Headless sea creatures, more than half a billion years ago that looked like teardrops, leaves, and waves of rope searched through the primeval seas. Although these immature creatures looked nothing like humans, some of our top crucial genes may be 555-million-year-old remnant from these ancient animals, according to recent research.



The research discovered that the world's first and most primitive creatures might have possesed genes that code for body immune systems, symmetry, and sensory organs that are still around currently.

Bizarre Creatures

Creatures of the Ediacaran age were bottom-feeding, flat ocean inhabitants that explored the seafloor. They were clearly other world-like in appearance, many, such as shapeshifting rangeomorphs appeared very much like leaves that researchers argued for years If the animals were real creatures.

These creatures are super strange and they don't appear like what humans imagined animals look like, Virginia Tech's post-doctoral researcher and study lead author Scott Evans explained.



A lot of these Ediacaran creatures would have been simplistic, possibly one or two stages more developed than sponges in that they had a gut and nerves. Though in their age, they portrayed a massive evolutionary step. Creatures from this time were the earliest multicellular animals to ever exist, this makes them the distant ancestors of all modern creatures.

Also Read: Rare Discovery: 170-Million-Year-Old Jurassic 'Sea Monster' Fossil in Scotland Freed from Rock Tomb

The Four Creatures

Their lack of distinct characteristics and strangeness have made it impossible for researchers to assume the animals' role on the tree of life. So, for the recent research, Scott and his colleagues - The University of California, Riverside's professor of geology Mary Droser and the National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C.research biologist Douglas Erwin assessed the fossils from four genera illustrating the diversity of the more than 40 understood Ediacaran creatures from fossil sites in the Outback of Australian.

Their motive was to recognize hints about how these long-aged creatures were related and what ancestry came after them.



The four kinds of animals they noticed were: The completely immobile, pinwheel-shaped Tribrachidium; Ikaria; oval-shaped Dickinsonia, the veiny-looking; the teardrop-shaped Kimberella. Scott himself assisted in the discovery of a worm-like genus.

The Ediacaran Age

These four representatives from the Ediacaran age demonstrated that these animals are not as varied from present animals as previously imagined. Despite not having legs and heads, the creatures still have several main features that withstand today. For instance, three of the four were balanced from left to right and had well-placed bodies.

However, it is not logical to precisely analyze the genetic structure of these animals, the existence of developmental traits, like body segmentation and symmetry implies that some of the most valuable genes in present-day creatures - master controllers called adance-level regulatory genes - were existing in these ancient animals.



Developmental biologists have understood that everything with a back and a front, or a right and a left, is utilizing the exact genetic elements to establish a back and a front or a right and a left, Scott explained. They can employ that fact to say that if these Ediacaran creatures possess these exact traits, then they are likely controlled by the same genes.

Related Article: Fukushima Wolfish 'Sea Monster' A Product of Radiation Contamination?

For more news, updates about sea monsters and similar topics don't forget to follow Nature World News!
At least 28,000 Spring Breakers descended on Hawaii over the weekend with many defying the state's outdoor mask mandate as infections surge in some states but deaths fall by 42 per cent.

Hawaii's 'Safe Travels' program reported that about 28,000 people flew into and throughout the islands on Saturday, the highest number of travelers in a single day since the pandemic began, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Monday.

Before the pandemic, Hawaii had about 30,000 arrivals daily. When quarantine rules were put in place early in the pandemic, arrivals plummeted and the state's tourism-dependent economy tanked.

In October, state officials launched a pre-travel testing program that allowed visitors to sidestep quarantine rules. But travel remained sluggish until the second week in March, when spring break tourists started arriving in the islands.

Scroll down for video

At least 28,000 Spring Breakers descended on Hawaii over the weekend and many were wandering around Waikiki without masks, despite a statewide mandate to wear them in public

Hawaii's 'Safe Travels' program reported that about 28,000 people flew into and throughout the islands on Saturday, the highest number of travelers in a single day since the pandemic began

Beachgoers are seen soaking up the sun over the weekend in Hawaii

A family is seen playing at the beach in Hawaii over the weekend

Travel company Pleasant Holidays president and CEO Jack Richards told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that the agency's bookings increased 30 per cent over the last two weeks.

'We haven't seen travel demand for Hawaii this strong for over a year,' Richards said.

'I thought we would have a U-shaped recovery; it's V-shaped. January and February were terrible, but we've gone from zero to 150mph in two weeks.'

Hawaii News Now reported that officials are receiving complaints about visitors not wearing masks. With a few exceptions, people in Hawaii are still required to wear masks while in public.

'I'm a believer that if you're outdoors, you can remove it,' said Glenn Day, a visitor from Indiana.

Visitors said rules in their home states are different than those in place in Hawaii. There are 17 states that recommend but do not require masks be worn in public.

'We carry our masks around and if we walk into an establishment we'll wear one, and if people look like theyre uncomfortable with us around, we'll put one on. But otherwise, like I said where we come from, people are really not required to wear them,' Wisconsin visitor Larry Dopke said.

'I'm not wearing one right now, I'm outdoors,' said Todd Hasley who was visiting from Idaho. 'Boise city has an indoor mask mandate. The rest of the state has a mask recommendation.'

Some visitors have said that rules in their home states are different than those in place in Hawaii. There are 17 states that recommend but do not require masks be worn in public

Tourists are seen enjoying a drink at a pub in Hawaii without wearing masks

Officials said tourists have been walking around in public without wearing masks

People are seen outside a bar in Hawaii as some forego wearing a mask

Some lawmakers expressed concern about a possible backlash from residents.

'I think we're all going to have to be prepared for a potential surge in tourism,' said Hawaii state Rep Scott Saiki, a Democrat.

'I think we have to be prepared because the public may have a response to a sudden surge.'

Such a reaction could hinder economic recovery.

'Pushing back against tourism is the same thing as telling your neighbor they shouldn't have a job,' said Carl Bonham, executive director of the University of Hawaii's Economic Research Organization.

Hawaii requires all visitors and returning residents to get negative pre-travel COVID-19 tests before flying to the state to be exempt from the 10-day quarantine rule.

The island of Kauai has additional measures that will be in place until April 5.

All visitors to Kauai must either spend three days on another island or quarantine at a county-approved resort for three days and then get second, post-arrival tests.

Violating the state's coronavirus mandates, which are outlined in Hawaii Gov David Ige's latest emergency proclamation, is a misdemeanor that is punishable by up to a $5,000 fine, a year in prison, or both.

Each island county's police are responsible for enforcing the rules. Messages from The Associated Press seeking comment from the Honolulu Police Department regarding enforcement of mask rules in Waikiki was not immediately returned.

Spring Breakers descended on Hawaii just a week after Florida was overtaken by thousands of revelers. A group of friends are seen on the beach in Miami on Wednesday

Miami Beach is an annual partying hotspot over the spring break holiday as thousands of people -- many of them students -- travel from across the US to embrace the warm weather, golden sand and late-night bars

A group of beachgoers sit near the ocean in Miami in Wednesday

Tim Sakahara, a spokesman for Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi, said in an email that the city recently put up banners throughout Waikiki reminding people to wear masks and remain socially distanced.

'These banners provide a tool to help Honolulu Police officers do their jobs in gaining compliance with COVID-19 rules,' Sakahara said.

'The majority of residents and visitors are compliant with the rule or are cooperative when informed of it.'

However, some residents have also opposed wearing masks. Two people were arrested and two others were cited during a weekend anti-mask rally in Waikiki.

As of Wednesday, the US surpassed 30 million COVID-19 infections since the start of the pandemic, and recorded more than 545,000 deaths.

Hawaii has had among the lowest rates of confirmed coronavirus infections in the US with more than 28,000 infections and 451 deaths.

Currently, Hawaii averages about 75 new COVID-19 cases per day. The state also has a 1.5 per cent test positivity rate.

However in Maui and Honolulu counties test positivity rates are up 36 per cent and 80 per cent, respectively, between March 7 and March 20.

Spring Breakers descended on Hawaii just a week after Florida was overtaken by thousands of revelers.

Hordes of drunken revelers ignoring the pandemic forced parts of Miami Beach into a state of emergency.

Miami Beach is an annual partying hotspot over the spring break holiday as thousands of people -- many of them students -- travel from across the US to embrace the warm weather, golden sand and late-night bars.

But this year, the destination was overwhelmed by visitors unleashing built-up frustration at COVID-19 shutdowns and restrictions.

Police were forced to break up crowds of tourists dancing on car roofs and passing bottles from hand to hand as they celebrated -- prematurely -- the end of the pandemic.

Spring Breakers descended on Hawaii just a week after Florida was overtaken by thousands of revelers. Hordes of drunken revelers ignoring the pandemic forced parts of Miami Beach (pictured) into a state of emergency

Police were forced to break up crowds of tourists dancing on car roofs (pictured) and passing bottles from hand to hand as they celebrated -- prematurely -- the end of the pandemic

Fights and clashes with police also erupted, along with some gun shots fired into the air.

'It has been a hard time with the spring break. As residents, we are cautious,' said Radha Silva, 49.

'It's always been busy, but I guess this year because of the pandemic... unfortunately all those people, they're coming here and are unconscious about preserving the place.

'It has never like this year. I don't remember seeing spring break like this.'

'People gonna live. Corona is over, winter is over, get the vaccine, get back to business,' said Joseph, a young visitor from New Jersey.

'People are just out here enjoying the beach and it's a good vibe, but they want to shut it down at 8.00pm.'

On weekends, police will start imposing a curfew on the most touristy streets, and at night the bridges that connect the island with Miami city will be closed.

Since February, police have confiscated 80 weapons and made more than 1,000 arrests, about 400 of them for serious crimes.

Across other parts of the US, states are beginning to lift lockdown restrictions and do away with mask mandates.

Indiana Gov Eric Holcomb announced this week that the state's mask mandate will end on April 6.

His state joins six other states that have lifted mask mandates, a move that goes against the advice of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which still recommends masks to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

Alabama and Utah are set to lift their mask mandates in April as well.

Meanwhile, Holcomb along with the governors of Texas and Georgia have announced plans to open eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine to anyone over 16 within the next week.

At least 21 states are experiencing a rise in COVID-19 cases, with six of the 10 states with the highest seven-day case rates in the north Atlantic region

Cases have dropped significantly in California, with the seven-day case rate per 100,000 people was among the lowest in the nation at 46.8 per 100,000.

In Connecticut, the seven-day case rate is one of the 10 highest rates in the country, sitting at 184.1 per 100,000 people

New Jersey's seven-day case rate per 100,000 people is among the highest in the nation at 319.2 infections per 100,000

Georgia Gov Brian Kemp said on Tuesday that starting this Thursday 'all adults in Georgia over the age of 16 will be eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine'.

Holcomb tweeted that vaccine eligibility will be open to all residents '16 years and older on Wednesday, March 31, provided Indiana receives a large increase in the amount of vaccine as outlined by the federal government'.

In Texas, Gov Greg Abbott shared that the state will open COVID-19 vaccine appointments 'to all adults' beginning on Monday.

The three states join West Virginia, Tennessee and Arizona which announced plans to offer vaccines to anyone over 16 within the next two weeks.

Two states - Mississippi and Alaska - are already inoculating residents 16 and up, but West Virginia, Tennessee and Arizona revealed plans to expand access by May 3.

The news comes as new coronavirus infections are rising in several US states - something being attributed to pandemic fatigue plus new variants from the UK, Brazil, South Africa and within the US.

The seven-day average of newly reported cases climbed 2.6 per cent on Sunday, even as overall hospitalizations and deaths remain down.

COVID-19 deaths have dramatically fallen in the United States over the past few weeks, but cases seem to have plateaued.

Over the last two weeks, COVID-19-related fatalities have declined from a seven-day rolling average of 1,752 deaths per day to 1,001 deaths, representing a 42 per cent drop, a DailyMail.com analysis of Johns Hopkins University data showed.

By comparison, infections have dropped over the past 14 days from a seven-day rolling average of 58,589 per day to 52,935, a modest nine percent decrease, the analysis found.

On Tuesday, the US recorded 52,878 new cases and 894 new deaths.

There have been more than 29 million cases of the virus reported in the US since the pandemic broke out more than a year ago

Public health experts have previously stated that deaths are a lagging indicator and that they are finally beginning to drop drastically just as infections were a few weeks prior.

Some states have finally seen a decrease in coronavirus cases after holding steady for several months, including California and Texas.

But at least 21 states are experiencing a rise, such as Spring Break haven Florida, where infections among the age 24-to-49 bracket are surging.

What's more, the majority of states in the Northeast have a case rate higher than the national average, in some areas more than double.

'I continue to be worried about the latest data and the apparent stall we are seeing in the trajectory of the pandemic,' CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky said at a press briefing on Wednesday.

'Decisions we make now will determine how the pandemic looks in the days and weeks ahead. If we choose to invest in prevention right now, we will come back out of this pandemic faster and with fewer lives lost.'

Officials continue to warn that the pandemic is not over yet so residents must not let their guard down and forego masks or social distancing.
Nine teachers unions from Africa and across the world are now mounting pressure on President Uhuru Kenyatta asking him to intervene and stop the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) from further crippling the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut).

The Education International Africa Region, the Syndicat National des Enseignements de Second degre'(Paris), the National Education Union(UK), All India Primary Teachers Federation(AIPTF), New Zealand Post Primary Teachers Association, South African Democratic Teachers Union(SADTU), Syndicat des Enseignants Romands, National Education Union(London) and the Formation et de l' Enseignement Prives have all joined in solidarity to support Knut.

In separate letters, written on diverse dates between March 19 and March 23 addressed to President Kenyatta, the unions have called on the Kenyan government to intervene and safe Knut from collapsing.

Education International Africa Region in their letter signed by chairperson, Dr Christian Addai-Poku, and Regional director Dr Dennis Sinyolo, said the committee is concerned with the way Knut is suffering attacks by the TSC.

"Knut members have also suffered discrimination on promotions and salary upgrades through TSC changes made without consultation and legislative approval," read their letter to President Kenyatta dated March 19.

Membership loss

Dr Sinyolo said the committee is also concerned by the way TSC illegally introduced a digital validation of union members which has resulted in a membership loss for Knut.

The regional trade union said the ongoing discrimination is not in line with Kenya's international treaty obligations under the United Nations and ILO labour standards.

Secretary Generals Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney in a letter signed jointly and addressed to President Uhuru Kenyatta said they are saddened by the way TSC is treating Knut.

"As the joint secretaries of the National Education Union (UK), we write this letter requesting you intervene and stop the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) onslaught on Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut)," read the letter dated March 22.

According to the unions, since 2019, TSC has engaged in a systematic campaign against Knut and has discriminated against members of the union from the collective bargaining agreement.

The discrimination of the union members had deprived the union membership dues.

"This systematic attack against Knut members has decimated union membership and crippled trade union capacity to represent members," said the national education union secretary generals.

All India primary teachers Federation (AIPTF) president Rampal Singh asked President Kenyatta to intervene and stop the discrimination against Knut.

In February 2020, the global teachers union federation, Education International through the facilitation of its affiliates, Knut and Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers(Kuppet) met the TSC and the Ministry of Labour seeking amicable solution to the crisis, however, the unions say, TSC has continued its campaign to destroy Knut.

The unions want TSC to reverse its anti-union actions against Knut and engage in serious dialogue and in good faith to restore healthy industrial relations and a good environment for quality education.

They are also calling for TSC to restore Knut membership to that of June 2019.

Knut membership went down from 187,471 to 17,000 in 2019 according to data from TSC.

Job evaluation

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Education By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Knut secretary general Wilson Sossion has however blamed the teacher's employer of tempering with the union's register.

In the last two weeks, TSC has been engaging with Kuppet and the Kenya Union of Special Education teachers (Kusnet) to discuss the new 2021-2025 CBA as they await the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) to finalize job evaluation which will enable the unions to finalise negotiations.

Kuppet Secretary General Akelo Misori called on the SRC to give its advisory to the TSC to enable the employer to table a counter offer to the union.

"We are seriously concerned by this delay by SRC, since the expiry of the current CBA on 30 June is imminent," said Mr Misori.

In February, SRC wrote to the TSC requesting for more time to allow the union finalize job evaluation salary structures for public servants.
Sometime later this year, the U.S. Supreme Court will hand down its decision in Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee, a case that Republicans very much hope will grind what little remains of your right to vote into a fine, democracy-tinged dust.

Brnovich is about two Arizona laws: one that tosses out provisional ballots cast outside a voters assigned precinct on Election Day and another that prohibits most third-party groups, like campaign volunteers, from going door to door to return voters completed absentee ballots. Last year, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down these laws under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, finding that they make it more difficult for Black, Hispanic, and Native Arizonans to vote. Now, Arizona and the Arizona Republican Partya party that just watched in horror as President Joe Biden won their state by about 10,000 voteshope the justices will decide otherwise.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Much of the coverage of Brnovich, including my own, has centered on how much damage the court will inflict on the Voting Rights Acts effects test, which applies to seemingly neutral laws that nonetheless disproportionately affect minority voters. Since the courts 2013 decision in Shelby County v. Holder, the effects test has emerged as the last, best tool for enforcing the Voting Rights Act.

The effects test isnt all thats at stake, though. Also before the justices is the appeals courts finding that the ballot collection bans impact is not an accidentthat Arizona lawmakers actually intended it to disenfranchise voters of color. In Brnovich, the courts conservatives could insulate this sort of unapologetic voter suppression from legal scrutiny for good.

Advertisement

The timing couldnt be better for conservatives: Across the country, revanchist Republicans are working to pass literally hundreds of anti-democracy bills that target minority voters, drafting off Donald Trumps outraged insistence that fraud cost him the 2020 election.

The goal of this movementto craft a narrower electorate likely to flip Congress and the White House in 2022 and 2024, respectivelyis not subtle. Everybody shouldnt be voting, John Kavanagh, a Republican member of the Arizona House, told CNN earlier this month, explaining his support for a proposal to purge the states early voter list. Quantity is important, but we have to look at the quality of votes, as well.

Advertisement

Like many states, Arizona has a long history of excluding people of color from democracy. In the early 20th century, officials designed English-language literacy tests to keep Hispanic residents off the voter rollsa test the legislature didnt repeal until 1972. Between 1928 and 1948, an Arizona Supreme Court decision prevented Native people from voting altogether. In the 1960s, a Republican Party initiative known as Operation Eagle Eye challenged the qualifications of minority voters at polling places in the name of ballot security. Among the participants, witnesses said, was a young lawyer named William Rehnquist, who would go on to serve as Chief Justice of the United States.

Advertisement

The fight over absentee ballots is newer, but the dynamics that inform it are not. Before the Republican-controlled legislature enacted the ban in 2016, ballot collection had become a key get-out-the-vote tool in poor, remote, or predominantly minority communities where many Democratic voters liveand where voting is especially difficult. In urban areas where mail theft is common, volunteer collection enabled voters to cast a ballot without risking its disappearance. Outside the states two most populous counties, just 18 percent of Native voters have access to home mail service. Native voters who live on reservations sometimes must travel two hours to the nearest mailbox, and between a quarter and half of households dont have access to a car. Ballot collection relieves some of Arizonas most marginalized residents of the burden of embarking on hours-long journeys just to cast a vote.

Advertisement

Advertisement

This feature of ballot collection, of course, meant that Republicans spent the better part of a decade trying to get rid of it. In 2011, an earlier, less restrictive version of the ban was functionally blocked under the Voting Rights Acts preclearance system, which Chief Justice John Roberts and the conservatives would hollow out two years later in Shelby County. In 2013, Republicans passed a revised version, only to hastily repeal it after incensed Arizonans organized a referendum that, if successful, would have limited lawmakers ability to meddle with ballot collection in the future.

Lingering throughout debate over the bans were the antics of a now-former state lawmaker, Don Shooter, who made something of a name for himself by doggedlyand falselyclaiming that the ban was essential to stamping out fraud. Shooters passion for the issue correlated strongly with how he perceived his own job security: In a 2010 race he won with just 53 percent of the vote, Shooter secured 83 percent of the nonminority vote, but only 20 percent of the Hispanic vote. In a remarkable coincidence, he proposed the ban the following year even though, as the 9th Circuit noted, there was no evidence that ballot collection fraud in the state has ever taken place.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Shooters proffered rationales were equal parts wild and weak. We dont want people playing with our ballots, he explained to the state House Appropriations Committee in 2015. But when asked for examples of such nefarious misconduct, the Arizona Republic reported, all Shooter could offer was an unsubstantiated anecdote about people popping ballots into a microwave with a bowl of water, steaming them open and reviewing the contents. His most recent stint in politics ended in 2018, when the Arizona House of Representatives expelled him after multiple women came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct.

Also key to the bans passage, the 9th Circuit found, was some good old-fashioned agitprop. In 2013, Maricopa County Republican Party chair A.J. LaFaro cobbled together some ominous-looking footage of an apparently Hispanic manperhaps undocumented, LaFaro helpfully noted, and certainly a thugpurportedly stuffing a ballot box. LaFaros commentary also warned of ballot parties where people handed over ballots for completion by malevolent political operatives, and the video was widely circulated in right-wing media outlets and used in a Republican secretary of state candidates attack ads as indicative of a burgeoning, unaddressed crisis.

Advertisement

Together, Shooters crusade against the scourge of microwaved ballots and LaFaros foray into bigotry-tinged filmmaking helped create a vibrant culture of election fraud paranoia among Republicans. Ballot collection, declared state Rep. Michelle Ugenti-Rita in 2016, increases the opportunity for fraud to exist. Republican lawmaker J.D. Mesnard explained his support for the ban by appealing not to the veracity of the purported problem but instead to rapidly metastasizing fears of its existence. What is indisputable is that many people believe its happening, he said. And I think that matters.

Advertisement

Advertisement

At the Supreme Court, Arizona and the Arizona GOP urged the justices to treat this history as if it did not exist. Evidence of how legislators came to a particular, good-faith, non-discriminatory motivation cannot taint that motive or the resulting bill, the party writes. In other words, as long as lawmakers like Mesnard believed they were acting to, say, safeguard election integrityeven if they arrived at that objectively wrong belief after absorbing a series of racist liesthe ban cant be illegal.

Advertisement

This is the precise logic Republicans are deploying as they work to overhaul the voting rules that just led to the highest turnout in over a century. For the most part, proponents of these anti-democracy bills dont actually assert that voter fraud took place; instead, they explain, theyre acting because their constituents think voter fraud took place, and who are they to ignore the people who elected them? In Georgia, where a surge in participation among Black voters helped send two Democratic senators to Washington, Republicans pushing a slew of restrictive new laws say they wanted to restore confidence in the ballot box. In Wisconsin, another state Trump won in 2016 but lost in 2020, lawmakers cite a solemn responsibility to ensure uniformity of process and transparency of conduct so all voters, regardless of political belief, trust the final outcome.

Advertisement

Advertisement

I will never apologize for giving voice to the millions of Missourians and Americans who have concerns about the integrity of our elections, said Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, one day after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building in a last-ditch effort to stop the election certification process. Thats my job, and I will keep doing it.

The perversity of Republicans bemoaning this supposed loss of faith is that it is the product of the partys purposeful efforts to bring it about. Using tales about shadowy, democracy-hijacking plots to disenfranchise marginalized people is among the oldest tricks in American politics. Well before Election Day, Trump was warning of a rigged contest that would take its place among the most fraudulent elections ever. Since then, Trump and company have parroted this lie so many times that it has become an article of faith for party leaders and supporters alike: A Quinnipiac poll conducted earlier this year found that some three-quarters of Republicans believed the 2020 election was tainted by widespread fraud. The line between pretextual fearmongering about the supposed dangers of voter fraud and sincere belief in their existenceto the extent such a line ever existedis vanishingly thin.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Republican lawmakers have been laying this groundwork for months. Securing the Supreme Courts formal endorsement, however, would launder their rhetoric using bone-dry legalese, allowing the success of the partys cynical misinformation campaign to justify the partys voter suppression agenda. At oral argument, the conservative justices seemed ready to buy it, sometimes invoking talking points about speculative dangers and worst-case scenarios that would not be out of place in a Tucker Carlson monologue. Does Arizona have to wait for fraud to occur in Arizona using a practice before it can outlaw it? asked an incredulous Justice Neil Gorsuch, as if a laws benign implementation anywhere could excuse its discriminatory implementation everywhere else.

In a particularly telling exchange with the Democratic National Committees lawyer, Roberts acknowledged the existence of Shooters troubling comments but quickly brushed off their real-world impact. The evidence of racist intent, he opined, is really quite limited in this matter. Is there any evidence of other legislators other than Mr. Shooter? he asked.

Advertisement

For all his faults, Roberts is certainly capable of reading briefs and knows that Shooters legacy is just one piece of the puzzle here. But to the chief justice, none of the context mattersnot the LaFaro videos permeation of Republican politics, or the conspicuously start-and-stop nature of the GOPs disenfranchisement efforts, or the states shameful track record of marginalizing nonwhite voters. Nothing matters, apparently, except the publicly stated positions of the specific elected officials who voted to enact the ballot collection ban into law.

Advertisement

This logic badly misconstrues how racist disenfranchisement works: Obviously, lawmakers need not discriminate explicitly in order to act intentionally. From poll taxes to literacy tests to white primaries to voter ID laws to voter roll purges to decades of outright violence in the Jim Crow South, the tools of voter suppression have always been inextricably bound up with the preservation of racial hierarchy. Allowing unfounded fears of fraud to justify voter suppression would absolve politicians of their complicity in this tradition, and place the GOPs vested interest in perpetuating it beyond the laws reach, so long as most of its members remember to keep the quiet part quiet.

The Voting Rights Acts slow death is not a fluke. It is the payoff for a conservative legal project whose dominance of the federal bench allows it to cast reactionary policy choices as the inevitable outcomes of legal processes. For anyone who aspires to live in a representative democracy, the simple fact that the stakes in Brnovich are the precise types of permissible infringements on nonwhite Americans right to vote is already a giant loss.

What conservatives understand is that the power to shape the electorate is the power to accomplish everything else on their agenda. Roberts and company have no interest in honest debate about what the Voting Rights Act means, because their purpose is to deliver answers to those questions that keep themselves and their allies in power. The result is a legal system where disenfranchisement is just a routine part of the political process, and every opportunity to pare back voting rights is a question not of if, but of how much, how quickly. This is the most insidious feature of voter suppression in America: Eventually, it feels so ordinary that you might not even notice.

Update, March 25, 2021: Due to an editing error, an unfinalized draft of this piece was originally published. It has since been updated.
.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........

WASHINGTON  The outer perimeter fence that was installed to protect the Capitol complex after the Jan. 6 attack on Congress has been removed, the Capitol Police announced Wednesday.

All of the fencing that surrounded the outer perimeter of the U.S. Capitol Complex has been removed, the Capitol Police said in a statement. Affected roads have reopened. The USCP is ready to quickly ramp up security at a moments notice, if needed.

The notice comes after a March 19 email from acting House Sergeant-at-Arms Timothy Blodgett in which he said the outer fence would be removed that coming weekend. The Capitol Police told Blodgett there does not exist a known, credible threat against Congress or the Capitol Complex that warrants the temporary security fencing.

ADVERTISEMENTSkip



................................................................

Razor wire had already been removed from both fences and bike racks constituting a barrier have been positioned around the office buildings and the Supreme Court.

An inner fence surrounding the Capitol building remains as the Architect of the Capitol makes security repairs to the structure and the Capitol Police force works to strengthen its security posture.

The notion of a permanent fence has troubled a bipartisan contingent of members and people from the surrounding community who said it would restrict access to the public to engage with their elected representatives.

Retired Army Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honore and his task force recommended a mobile fencing option that can be easily put up and taken down. For the long term, they suggest an integrated, retractable fencing system in the long term to secure both the Capitol Building and Congressional office buildings.

Congressional staffers are pleased to see the outer fence is down.

Its a symbol of democracy, one House staffer said. I dont think constituents want to have to go through layers of fencing just to talk to their members of Congress.

The recession of the outer fence will make the grounds easier to access for members and staff.

Glad to see the fence down as reportedly there are no credible threats at this time, another House aide said. My concern is that theres the necessary resources and cooperation between Capitol Police, MPD, and National Guard for the future.

___

(c)2021 CQ Roll Call

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC
Politicians from across the divide have accused Downing Street of again failing the victims of Libyan-sponsored terrorism and have asked what the Government has to hide.

The author of a Foreign Office report on the IRA bombings, William Shawcross, expressed surprise and disappointment at the Government ruling out compensation payments.

It won't use 12bn of frozen Libyan assets held in the UK and says the responsibility for payment lies with the North African state.

Read More

Ulster Unionist leader Steve Aiken said: "People are rightly angry that the American, French and German Governments all managed to secure compensation from Libya for the death and injury of their citizens.

"Yet successive British Governments have displayed a virtual shrug of the shoulders when it comes to victims of terror.

"The USA got $1.8bn, the French got $170m for the downing of the UTA flight in 1989, and the Germans received $35m for the victims of a bombing in a Berlin nightclub in 1986.

Expand Close William Shawcross / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp William Shawcross

"British victims have received nothing.

"This situation is even more reprehensible given that the UK suffered an extremely large number of dead and injured as a result of the IRA's prolonged use of Libyan-supplied weaponry, not least Semtex explosives."

Mr Aiken added: "Successive governments should have been fighting hard for their own people in a bid to secure compensation.

"Instead, the level of foot-dragging on display has been staggering and a source of shame. We have long suspected that this is because a dirty deal was in the past done with Gadaffi.

"The Government does not want to use the tax on frozen Libyan assets, nor does it seem to have the political will to demand that the current Libyan Government comes up with a compensation scheme."

SDLP MP Claire Hanna said: "Ministers created an expectation when they commissioned William Shawcross to examine options for compensation for victims that the report would lead to financial redress.

"At the very least, victims should have expected that they would see the terms of the report.

"The layers of secrecy around all of this begs huge questions of what is there to hide, including around the IRA, how cover was blown on the Libyan operation, and the role of the security services when all of this was happening."

Alliance deputy leader Stephen Farry said: "The Foreign Office's handling of the Shawcross Report is both disappointing and cynical. There is no good reason why the report could not be published even in a redacted form.

"Transparency is the very least the victims of Libyan sponsored terrorism are entitled to. The most immediate source of support the Government could direct to the victims is the taxation receipts from the frozen assets."

Kenny Donaldson of Innocent Victims United said victims were being retraumatised and he claimed Mr Shawcross had been "actively dissuaded" from meeting victims' groups.

DUP MP Gregory Campbell said the whole episode suggested the Government had "no real interest in pursuing compensation for the victims of Libyan-sponspored IRA terrorism".

He added: "The failure by the Government stands in stark contrast to the actions of the US, Germany and other nations."
A father-of-two was jailed today for six and half years after he pleaded guilty to stealing more than 120,000 from ATM machines using cloned cards in a sophisticated operation where bank machines in several counties were targeted over a five-month period

Romanian national Danile Munteanu (32) received the sentence at Trim Circuit Court today after the evidence against him was outlined at a previous sentencing hearing.

Judge Martina Baxter stated that the headline sentence for the criminal was eleven years but she reduced this to seven and gave a further six months off in mitigation.

Commending the work of gardai on the case, she outlined the huge geographical spread of the crime which was a well planned and sophisticated enterprise.

He was arrested at the Co Meath address where he lived in March, 2019, after a garda surveillance operation and has been in custody ever since.

Trim Circuit Criminal Court heard that hundreds of transactions where cloned cards had been used to withdraw money from the accounts of innocent Bank of Ireland customers were carried out in counties including Monaghan, Louth, Meath, Westmeath, Galway, Kildare, Wicklow and Dublin.

Some customers had their entire accounts cleared out as amounts of up to 700 at a time were withdrawn from them without their knowledge.

The people who were robbed of their money included juveniles and people in their 80s, and one person had more than 7,000 euro stolen from their account.

Bank of Ireland refunded all the money that was stolen from accounts and reported the thefts to gardai.

The court heard that Munteanu has two previous convictions in the UK for similar crimes namely the possession of a skimming device dating from 2010 and 2015. He received eight months in jail for the latter crime.

Judge Baxter told Munteanu that he fully participated in the extensive planning and detail that led detectives to discover a skimming factory.

Expand Close A fake ATM front was seized by gardai. / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp A fake ATM front was seized by gardai.

Read More

The investigation was led by Detective Superintendent Michael Cryan of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB).

At a previous hearing, Detective Garda Stephen Kelly of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau told Judge Baxter that trawling CCTV recorded at the ATMs as well as on the motorway network, as well as information from garda stops and checkpoints, had identified Munteanu as a suspect and an address at Tower Mount, Navan Co Meath was placed under surveillance in December 2018 but appeared to be empty.

But after another spate of thefts on February 23 and 24 2019 at Killester and Dunshaughlin the house was watched again and a warrant obtained to search it.

Gardai raided the house on March 4 2019 and arrested Munteanu.

During a search of the house and a car at the address a large number of loyalty cards with magnetic strips were found, more than 50 of which had stolen bank details overwritten onto them

Det Garda Kelly told the court that cloned cards were made after criminals would place a concealed camera in a fake panel, powered independently with hidden mobile phone batteries, onto the front of the ATM, with the camera looking at the keypad where innocent bank customers would input their PIN.

A second device would be placed around the card entry slot, designed to look like part of the ATM, and skim the details of the card as it was put into the machine.

The criminals would then match the PIN numbers with the skimmed account information and make cloned cards which could be used to withdraw cash from the account at an ATM.

In many cases several transactions were made over a period of days before customers would realise there was something wrong, usually when they went to use their card to pay for something and find there was no money in their account.

Munteanu pleaded guilty to nine charges of theft, each covering multiple transactions, between October 1 2018 and March 3 2019. He also pleaded guilty to nine charges of possession of false instruments, namely cloned bank cards, on the same dates, and of possession of false Romanian ID cards, a false Romanian passport, and a false Romanian driving licence.

He also pleaded guilty to possession of a machine for making cloned cards.

Read More
The Garda Inspectorate has said there are serious concerns over drug use within the gardai and that substance misuse procedures need to be introduced.

It is one of 34 recommendations made by the Garda watchdog contained in its inspection on the threat of internal corruption within the organisation.

In the report  Countering the Threat of Internal Corruption  A review of counter-corruption structures, strategies and processes in the Garda Siochana  the Inspectorate found that:

:: There should be restrictions on where gardai can work after leaving the force;

:: The vetting of recruits should include credit checks, financial intelligence and reviews of social media;

:: There are concerns about the capacity of the new Anti-Corruption Unit to investigate cases, and;

:: There are concerns about the gardais ability to deal with members who abuse their power for sexual gain.

Read More

Good practices were also identified in the report, including regular security reviews of garda property stores, and conflict-of-interest declarations in HR selection and procurement.

It has been welcomed by both the Garda Commissioner and the Justice Minister, who said an implementation plan will be developed by the autumn.

Expand Close Commissioner Drew Harris / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Commissioner Drew Harris

A primary concern within the report was the issue of drug use within the gardai and the impediments to introduce effective testing programmes, including the cost of testing and the risk of legal challenges.

The Inspectorate said it consulted widely at all levels of the Garda Siochana about the issue of substance misuse and the use of illicit drugs among the garda workforce was acknowledged as a serious concern.

Issues with alcohol abuse and the misuse of prescription drugs was also raised.

The Garda watchdog has recommended that substance misuse as well as testing policies and procedures should be introduced.

Read More

The first step, it said, would be that all new entrants undergo mandatory pre-employment testing as a condition.

In a review of store management, it praised the systems in place by garda divisions, but said that there were some notable issues raised.

In one case, a difference of 18,000 was discovered between the value recorded at the time of a cash seizure, compared to when it was audited.

The report said that all property stores should have adequate systems, processes and facilities to achieve the safe and secure management of property.

In one of three recommendations to the Department of Justice (DOJ), it noted that it should carry out a review of the gardais post-employment activities.

This, the Inspectorate said, was to develop suitable rules to reduce the risk of a conflict of interest when gardai leave the organisation.

The report also found that there is no co-ordinated strategy to identify gardai abusing power for sexual gain.

It accepted that, while such instances are likely to be rare when compared internationally, this has resulted in gaps in the sources of intelligence on sexual misconduct.

It also said that gardai should proactively monitor and audit IT systems to identify those trying to sexually exploit people they have met in a professional capacity.

In relation to external investigations, it recommended that the DOJ implement a framework to ensure all such instances of sexual violence or abuse of power are referred for independent investigation.

Justice Minister Helen McEntee said she was particularly focused on addressing the weaknesses relating to abuse of power for sexual gain.

Expand Close Justice Minister Helen McEntee. Photo: Gareth Chaney/Collins / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Justice Minister Helen McEntee. Photo: Gareth Chaney/Collins

This type of behaviour is abhorrent and any risk of it arising cannot be tolerated in our police service. As a community, we look to An Garda Siochana to offer us protection when we need it most and it is crucial that victims of crime feel safe and secure in their interactions with An Garda Siochana, she said.

Last November, a new Garda Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) was launched, with a review taking place after 12 months to determine if they will be assigned to conduct all internal criminal and discipline investigations.

The Inspectorate said there was a continued risk of the ACUs ability to capture and analyse intelligence on corruption due to existing structures effectively bypassing the unit.

As a result, the Inspectorate believes that the ACU needs to be embedded into investigations at a much earlier stage than the proposed 12 months and that this could be managed through a phased approach. It added that the ACU should have sufficient resources, including a separate intelligence unit and independent covert human intelligence sources (CHIS) capacity.

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said that three senior gardai are currently supported by 23 officers, and that an additional 13 members of the force will be allocated to the unit shortly.

There is no room in An Garda Siochana for anyone who engages in corruption and whose standards fall below what the public and I expect from Garda personnel. Our integrity as an organisation is not negotiable, Mr Harris said.

It is an unfortunate reality that experience has shown us that a small number of Garda personnel have abused their position of trust for their own gain. These individuals put themselves before the needs of the communities we serve and their colleagues, and in doing so damage individuals and the reputation of An Garda Siochana.

Other recommendations contained within the report are that gardai should undertake periodic integrity health checks as there are currently limited opportunities to do so.

This, the Inspectorate said, should be done if not on an annual basis, then at the very minimum at critical career points such as on promotion or selection for specialist or designated positions.

It also said that additional vetting recruitment checks should be introduced, including the European Criminal Records Information System, credit checks, financial intelligence, social media, and convictions by other state bodies.

Read More








LOBAMBA - A motion calling for the army to remove its personnel from a private farm in Sicunusa within 24 hours failed yesterday as MPs said it had nothing to do with the passing of the budget.

The motion had been moved by Hosea MP Mduduzi Baceth Mabuza during the adoption of the Ministry of Defence and National Security annual budget report. MP Mabuza is Interestingly the Chairperson of the ministrys portfolio committee. MP Mabuza said he had decided to make another recommendation to the report because the Ministry had not responded satisfactorily to why the army had been deployed on Farm 982 at Sicunusa which belonged to a private citizen cited as Mkhaliphi.

Instead he said the Defence ministry had mentioned that it had occupied the farm because they had been asked by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy. He said this was clearly not even a command issued by the Army Commander or its Commander in Chief. He said Mkhaliphi was a private citizen and that the army was tasked with concentrating on war not intimidating members of the public.

However, deputy Chairperson of the ministrys portfolio committee Maphalaleni MP Mabulala Maseko and another committee member appointed MP Chief Kusa Dlamini submitted that they did not agree to this latest recommendation especially since they had not debated it at committee stage. Other MPs encouraged MP Mabuza to come back to the House with a motion as he had made a valid point, but highlighted that the armys budget should not be affected by this issue.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Borough residents will be riding on a brand new Staten Island Ferry boat this fall, it was announced Thursday.

Following various delays, the Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis, the first of three new Staten Island Ferry boats being constructed in Florida, is expected to arrive in New York Harbor in June and begin regular passenger service in November, according to the mayors office.

The Sandy Ground, the second of the new vessels, is expected to arrive in December and will begin shuttling passengers back and forth between Staten Island and Manhattan sometime in 2022.

On Thursday, Mayor Bill de Blasio also announced the name of the previously-unnamed third boat, the Dorothy Day, named after the Staten Island activist who dedicated her life to serving those in need.

The Dorothy Day, which will be launched into the water for the first time on Friday, is expected to arrive in New York sometime in 2022, with the city yet to give any indication as to when the third and final boat will be put in service.

HISTORY OF DELAYS

The Ollis boat was initially scheduled to arrive in the New York Harbor in fall 2019, with the vessel originally set to be commissioned and put in service in early 2020.

However, the Florida shipyard, operated by the Eastern Shipbuilding Group Inc., where the newest Staten Island Ferry vessels are under construction, was badly damaged by Hurricane Michael in October 2018, delaying the arrival of the new boats.

In October 2019, the Department of Transportation (DOT) said that delays associated with the damage from the storm pushed the Ollis boats expected arrival back to August 2020.

Then, in July 2020, the department announced that the arrival of the new boat had been delayed again, this time as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

At the time, the DOT did not provide an updated timeline on the vessels delivery.

Due to the COVID-19 health crisis, the delivery date for the Ollis ship has been impacted, a DOT spokesperson said at the time. Further details on the delivery dates are forthcoming.

The coronavirus-related delays can be attributed, in part, to international travel restrictions that prevented a team of German engineers from entering the country to inspect the boats.

COVID-19 travel restrictions prevented certain key technical personnel from attending the construction shipyard as originally scheduled, causing delays in the commissioning and delivery schedule, Avila said.

Following a push from Borough President James Oddo and former Rep. Max Rose, the four engineers were granted a National Travel Exception (NIE) allowing them to travel to the country to inspect the boats.

ABOUT THE NEW BOATS

The Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis, the Sandy Ground and the Dorothy Day are the three new Staten Island Ferry boats being constructed by Eastern Shipbuilding Group.

The Ollis boat is named after the late Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis, a New Dorp native who died at age 24 while saving a Polish soldier in Afghanistan.

The Sandy Ground is named for the historic community settled by freed slaves in Rossville.

The Dorothy Day is named for the Staten Island journalist and social activist who spent decades aiding the hungry and needy on the boroughs South Shore.

The new storm-resilient vessels will be more capable of operating in a wide range of weather conditions and locations -- and can also be used in emergency evacuations.

The ships were modeled after the John F. Kennedy boat, popular for its outdoor promenades and extended foredecks.
In a heartfelt tribute to Michael Gudinski during Wednesday nights state memorial service, Bruce Springsteen said the Mushroom boss was a friend who loved his job and music the way I love mine.

It was a sentiment repeated time and time again throughout the three-hour service with stars of the music world recalling Gudinskis boundless passion for connecting people through music.

Gudinskis final coup: Kylie Minogue and English singer Ed Sheeran perform together. Credit:Mushroom Creative House

Ed Sheeran boarded a plan upon hearing of Gudinskis death three weeks ago and was among the performers at Rod Laver Arena who shared memories of the man who encouraged, supported and inspired their creativity.

After performing his song Castle on the Hill, which he said was among Gudinskis favourites, Sheeran played new song Visiting Hours which he wrote during his two weeks in quarantine.
Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Yevheniy Yenin discussed with Special U.S. Envoy for Iran Robert Malley the situation around the final technical report on the causes of the UIA plane crash in January 2020.

"I have just discussed the current situation around the recently published final technical report on the downing of PS752 Flight in the sky over Tehran on January 8, 2020, with Special U.S. Envoy for Iran Robert Malley. I emphasized that the document is absolutely biased and inconsistent with the Chicago Convention requirements," Yenin posted on Facebook.

According to him, it is not only a matter of disrespect for the memory of the victims, but also of a high risk of recurrence of similar incidents in the airspace of Iran and other countries.

"My U.S. colleague expressed full support for Ukraine regarding the need to establish justice and truth in the PS752 Flight case. We agreed on our further steps in this area," the Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine noted.

On March 17, Irans Civil Aviation Organization released the final report on the UIA plane crash. The document states that the plane was shot down due to a mistake by the air defence operator, which identified the plane as a hostile target.

Foreign Minister of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba called Iran's report an attempt to hide the real causes of the UIA plane crash. Deputy Foreign Minister Yevheniy Yenin said that Ukraine would demand that the ICAO Council consider Iran's report on the UIA plane crash and that the Iranian side resume and continue the technical investigation.

On January 8, 2020, Ukraine International Airlines plane (Flight PS752) heading from Tehran to Kyiv crashed shortly after taking off from the Imam Khomeini International Airport. There were 176 people on board  nine crew members (all Ukrainians) and 167 passengers (citizens of Ukraine, Iran, Canada, Sweden, Afghanistan, Germany, and the UK).

On January 11, Iran admitted that its military had accidentally shot down the Ukrainian passenger jet. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) accepted full responsibility for the downing of the Ukrainian airliner.

On February 20, Iran announced the completion of the investigation into this case.

ol
Advertisement

No right to settle under Priti Priti's asylum blitz Migrants who arrive in the UK illegally will no longer have the right to permanently settle here even if they have a strong asylum claim.

Anyone who arrives illegally having passed through a 'safe country' will be deemed 'inadmissible' to the UK asylum system.

The Government will seek the 'rapid removal' of 'inadmissible cases' back to the country they travelled to the UK from.

Those who cannot be returned to a safe country will be granted 'temporary protection status' for 30 months, with only limited access to benefits and limited family reunion rights.

The Government's asylum estate will be expanded with the creation of new reception centres to provide accommodation while claims are processed.

Action to improve age assessment measures to safeguard against adults claiming to be children.

A new 'one-stop' process for claims which will require people to spell out all protection-related issues in one go to prevent last-minute legal bids to thwart removal of failed asylum seekers.

Maximum sentence for people smugglers raised to life, and to five years for foreign criminals who return to the UK in breach of a deportation order.

New humanitarian routes for the 'vulnerable' in 'immediate danger'. Advertisement

Priti Patel has warned countries that refuse to take back migrants will lose visas to the UK after yesterday vowing to turn back boats in the Channel.

The Home Secretary is considering a 'range of levers' to force countries to take back failed asylum seekers and illegal migrants.

Ms Patel warned the current asylum system, which costs taxpayers more than 1.3 billion, is 'collapsing' under the strain placed on it by unscrupulous people traffickers in France and beyond.

Her department is looking at ways to imitate an American law that takes away visa routes from countries that refuse to take back illegal migrants, according to The Times.

The move could target countries such as Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Eritrea and the Philippines, which are the most resistant to taking back their migrants.

More than 10,000 criminals are due to be deported but freely roam the streets, while another 42,000 failed asylum seekers remain in the UK at huge cost to the taxpayer who must fork out for their accommodation and weekly allowances.

The 50-page dossier from the Home Office also proposes toughened powers for Border Force to turn small boats around in the Channel.

It comes as another 67 migrants arrived on English shores on Wednesday, taking the total number to have crossed this year to 1,906 - nearly triple the number at this time last year.

However, much of Ms Patel's crackdown will be contingent on securing agreement with other countries, particularly France, raising questions about how effectively the measures could be introduced while some illegal migrants will still be able to remain in the UK for potentially as long as 30 months.

The proposed changes will mean anyone arriving illegally who has passed through a 'safe country' will be considered 'inadmissible' to the UK's asylum system.

The Government will seek the 'rapid removal of inadmissible cases' to the safe country they travelled from or to another safe third country.

Meanwhile, Border Force will be given new powers to stop and redirect small boats and those on board away from the UK if they are suspected of trying to enter the country illegally. But this proposal will require agreement from the receiving port or country.

In a bid to further deter people smugglers, the maximum sentence for such activity will be raised to life.

Fines for lorry drivers caught with migrants in their vehicles will more than double from 2,000 to 5,000 per person found on board. Drivers will also be penalised for failing to secure their vehicles.

The Government will also expand its asylum estate with the creation of new reception centres which will provide basic accommodation while cases are processed.

This means the use of hotels to accommodate new arrivals who entered the UK illegally will end.

Ms Patel said the 'most significant overhaul of our asylum system in decades' is necessary to 'protect lives because we cannot carry on as we are with people dying in the hands of gangsters and smugglers'.

She said people who arrive in the UK illegally having travelled through France and Germany are 'not seeking refuge from persecution' but rather 'you are choosing the UK as your preferred destination'.

Ms Patel said her new plan to toughen up the system will mark a 'step change in our approach' to asylum which will 'deter illegal entry and the criminals that endanger life by enabling it'.

The full details of Ms Patel's new plan were unveiled as:

The Home Secretary said this morning that European countries like France and Germany 'are not war zones, they are safe countries' and asylum claims should be made there.

Tory MPs asked Ms Patel if she is prepared to be 'really tough in order to be kind' and said 'our European neighbours need to step up'.

Charities and human rights groups said the proposals are 'inhumane' as they demanded a rethink.

Labour warned the plans will do 'next to nothing' to stop people making Channel crossings.

Nigel Farage, the former leader of the Brexit Party, said it was 'yet more tough talk' from Ms Patel as he claimed 'nothing is going to change'.

A young family amongst a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, by Border Force officers following a small boat incident in the Channel today

Priti Patel said changes will help 'create safe and legal routes to give people the chance to resettle and access our asylum' while also combatting people smuggling and dangerous Channel crossings

Migrants are helped ashore on the Border Force vessel 'Hunter' as they walk onto Dover Harbour in Kent yesterday

However, the unveiling of the plan immediately prompted concerns of a potential spike in the number of attempted Channel crossings before the crackdown is implemented.

The Immigration Services Union (ISU), which represents Border Force staff, said announcing changes to immigration rules 'inevitably' causes a 'surge'.

ISU spokeswoman Lucy Moreton told MailOnline: 'It is equally inevitable that the criminals who drive irregular migration such as the small boat migration will use this as a reason to drive up both demand for and the cost of the crossings.'

Another well-placed source said: 'I don't think the proposed measures will stop people from crossing. In fact, I think even announcing them will cause even more crossings.'

It came as UK Border Force today brought more people ashore as a result of small boat crossings in the Channel, with 800 people estimated to have made the crossing so far this year.

The Home Office confirmed that 67 migrants were detained in three small boats today while French authorities prevented three attempted crossings overnight and this morning involving an estimated 114 people.

Setting out her 'New Plan for Immigration', Ms Patel told the House of Commons this afternoon that 'while people are dying we have a responsibility to act'.

She said: 'At the heart of our new plan for immigration is a simple principle: Fairness.

'Access to the UK's asylum system should be based on need, not the ability to pay people smugglers.

'If you enter illegally from a safe country like France where you should and could have claimed asylum, you are not seeking refuge from persecution as is the intended purpose of the asylum system.

'Instead, you are choosing the UK as your preferred destination and you are doing so at the expense of those with no where else to go.

'Our system is collapsing under the pressure of parallel illegal routes to asylum, facilitated by criminal smugglers.'

The Home Secretary said the changes will help to deter people from making the perilous journey across the Channel.

'This plan marks a step change in our approach as we toughen our stance to deter illegal entry and the criminals that endanger life by enabling it,' she said.

'Many illegal arrivals have travelled through a safe country like France to get to the UK where they could and should have claimed asylum.

'We must act to reduce the pull factors of our system and disincentivise illegal entry.'

Ms Patel said the asylum claim process will be streamlined, telling MPs: 'For too long our justice system has been gamed.

'Almost three quarters of migrants in detention raise last minute new claims, challenges on other issues, with over eight in 10 of these eventually being denied as valid reasons to stay in the UK.

'Enough is enough. Our new plan sets out a one stop process to require all claims to be made upfront.'

The plan will mean that people who come to the UK via unauthorised routes  such as crossing the Channel in small boats  will be given far fewer privileges.

The plan states that illegal migrants who have 'passed through safe countries' where they could have claimed asylum 'will be considered inadmissible to the UK's asylum system'.

The UK will seek the 'rapid removal of inadmissible cases to the safe country from which they embarked or to another safe third country'.

Even if they have a legitimate claim to refugee status, migrants who arrive illegally will be granted permission to stay in the UK only temporarily and for no longer than 30 months.

This so-called 'temporary protection status' will also come with 'less generous entitlements' in terms of access to benefits.

People whose cases are deemed inadmissible but who cannot be returned to their country of origin or to another safe country will also have limited family reunion rights.

The changes will also make it possible for asylum claims to be processed outside the UK and in another country.

The plan states that 'this will keep the option open, if required in the future, to develop the capacity for offshore asylum processing'.

More than 100 migrants crossed the English Channel yesterday on what is believed to be the record day of the year

A map shows the points along the coast where migrants have landed in the UK over the past year after crossing from France

The number of asylum applications lodged in the UK in the years ending December 2011 to December last year, dropping after the Covid pandemic was declared

The number of people offered protection in the form of resettlement (bottom line), asylum and alternative forms of leave (middle line) totalled 9,936 in 2020. The total number of people granted asylum or some form of protection (top line) fell by more than half that of 2019

Priti Patel mocked over 'OCGs' reference as Twitter users ask if she has been watching Line of Duty Priti Patel was mocked this morning after she referred to 'OCGs' during an interview as Twitter users asked if the Home Secretary had been watching Line of Duty. The TV crime drama is well known for its extensive use of authentic police jargon. One of the terms used on the programme is OCG which stands for organised crime group. Ms Patel told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that people smugglers are 'also part of OCGs, organised criminal gangs, that are responsible for a raft of criminal activity'. The comment prompted ridicule on Twitter as one user said: 'Priti Patel just used the acronym OCG on R4. Line of Duty has real cut through.' Another said: 'Priti Patel's obviously been watching Line of Duty...' Another user added: 'Did Priti Patel really just say OCG on R4? What next? Illegal immigrants spotted at 1A on the matrix??' Advertisement

By comparison, successful asylum seekers who applied in advance to come to the UK through legal routes, such as the United Nations' refugee agency, will be rewarded.

They will win permission to come to Britain immediately and will be allowed to stay here indefinitely.

The proposals contained within the plan will now be subject to a six-week period of consultation followed by the Government bringing forward legislation to put the measures into law.

Tory MPs welcomed the overhaul but sought assurances that the measures set out will actually be delivered.

Sir Edward Leigh asked Ms Patel: 'Is the Home Secretary prepared to do what Prime Minister Abbott of Australia did? He ensured that because all arrivals were put in a secure location and left there until their claim was processed and they were deported or allowed to stay, there are now no unsafe arrivals in Australia, there are no deaths, there are no criminal gangs, the policy works. Is (Ms Patel) prepared to be really tough in order to be kind?'

Ms Patel said the proposed system will be 'fair but firm' because 'we have to be firm'.

Meanwhile, Conservative MP Shaun Bailey said: 'The broader issue here is this: our European neighbours need to step up. It's as simple as that.'

Refugee charities claim many migrants have no choice but to come to the UK via illegal routes and have slammed the proposals as 'inhumane'.

Ms Patel had earlier told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that illegal migrants should make claims in the European countries they travel through on their way to Britain.

Told that critics believe it is unfair to differentiate based on method of arrival because many people arriving via unauthorised routes will still have strong asylum claims, Ms Patel said: 'Well, they would also have a perfectly acceptable case to be given asylum in the same countries that they have travelled from, so France, Germany, Italy, Belgium.

'These are not war zones, they are safe countries, and it is important to emphasise that, they are absolutely playing into the hands of the people smugglers, the criminals who not only put their lives at risk by smuggling them into the UK but these criminals are also part of OCGs, organised criminal gangs, that are responsible for a raft of criminal activity - smuggling guns, drugs, people into the country.

'That is not right and it is important that as a country we do much more to stop that from happening and also to protect lives because we cannot carry on as we are with people dying in the hands of gangsters and smugglers and I think until we can actually tackle these issues, inaction is not an option.'

The Home Secretary said overnight that under her plan people arriving illegally 'will no longer have the same entitlements as those who arrive legally, and it will be harder for them to stay'.

'If, like over 60 per cent of illegal arrivals, they have travelled through a safe country like France to get here, they will not have immediate entry into the asylum system  which is what happens today,' she said.

'I make no apology for these actions being firm, but as they will also save lives and target people smugglers, they are also undeniably fair.'

Other elements in the wide-ranging package announced today include streamlining the asylum appeals process, and setting up reception centres to replace hotel accommodation and ex-Army barracks used during the pandemic.

It will also be made harder for asylum seekers to make unsubstantiated claims of persecution.

An independent body will be set up to determine the true age of applicants suspected to be posing as children, as revealed by the Daily Mail last week.

Jail sentences will be increased for people smugglers and foreign criminals who sneak back into the country after being deported.

The number of asylum applicants to the top five countries in the EU+ and the UK for the years ending November 2014 to November last year, with Italy receiving the smallest number of applications in 2020. The other EU+ category includes all other countries that are European Union member states, part of the European Economic Area and Switzerland

The top 10 nationalities claiming asylum in the UK and the grant rate at initial decision (shown by percentage) in 2019 and 2020. The most applications in both 2019 and 2020 came from Iran, while Eritrea and Syria had the highest grant rates last year

A new humanitarian route will be created to make it easier to bring individuals to Britain if they face imminent danger in their homeland  as in the case of Asia Bibi, the Pakistani Christian who spent eight years on death row on blasphemy charges before she was acquitted in 2019.

Mike Adamson, chief executive of the British Red Cross, said: 'We agree the asylum system needs reform, but this announcement takes the system backwards not forwards.

'We should not judge how worthy someone is of asylum by how they arrived here. The proposals effectively create an unfair two-tiered system, whereby someone's case and the support they receive is judged on how they entered the country and not on their need for protection. This is inhumane.'

The Migrant Voice charity said the proposals would condemn asylum seekers 'to a life in limbo with restricted rights'.

Nazek Ramadan, director of the advocacy charity, said: 'People fleeing persecution and death have the right to seek sanctuary. That is the starting point, and no policy should undermine it.

'We are dealing here with human beings: they cannot be treated like commodities.'

But Nigel Farage, the former leader of the Brexit Party, said it was 'yet more tough talk' from Ms Patel as he claimed 'nothing is going to change'.

Labour shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said he feared the plan 'will do next to nothing to stop people making dangerous crossings and they risk withdrawing support from desperate people'.

He added: 'These changes risk making the situation even worse for victims of human trafficking as it would be even harder to access help in the UK, helping criminal gangs escape justice.'
This happened to dear friends of mine. Their Tundra was sitting right in front of their business in broad daylight when the catalytic converter was stolen. Our DFW Toyota dealer, Freeman Toyota, had four Tundra catalytic converters stolen one night recently right under the nose of a security guard.

Catalytic Converter Thefts Are Up Nationwide

According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), catalytic converter thefts have seen a significant increase across the country since March of 2020, the start of the global pandemic.

"Vehicle thefts, carjackings, and break-ins are all crimes we've witnessed trending upward for several months, and now catalytic converter thefts are also on the rise," said David Glawe, President and CEO of NICB. "We have seen a significant increase during the pandemic. It's an opportunistic crime. As the value of the precious metals contained within the catalytic converters continues to increase, so do the number of thefts of these devices. There is a clear connection between times of crisis, limited resources, and disruption of the supply chain that drives investors towards these precious metals."

Thefts are an issue around the country, including LA as well as the Houston area. Just check out these recent tweets from the Harris County Sheriff (below) and Houston Police Department (right.)









Last night, in NW Harris County, 4 individuals attempted to flee during a traffic stop. All were quickly apprehended. @HCSOTexas deputies recovered 32 fresh stolen catalytic converters. Catalytic converter theft is A Thing and it seems the problem is only getting worse. Texas is pic.twitter.com/HJ3RMPoFzx - Ed Gonzalez (@SheriffEd_HCSO) March 20, 2021













Officers assigned to HPD's Auto Theft Division, Houston Auto Crimes Task Force (HACTF), conducted an operation into catalytic converter thefts earlier this month. They observed 4 occurrences where 2 suspects removed the catalytic converters from vehicles. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/aFflkJhtPr - Houston Police (@houstonpolice) March 22, 2021











Why Thieves Are Targeting Them

A catalytic converter is a device that looks like a small muffler along with the exhaust system. It is designed to convert the environmentally hazardous exhaust emitted by an engine into less harmful gasses. To do this, manufacturers use platinum, palladium, or rhodium. In recent years, the values of these precious metals have increased significantly. As of December 2020, rhodium was valued at $14,500 per ounce, palladium at $2,336 per ounce, and platinum going for $1,061 per ounce. Typically, recyclers will pay $50 to $250 per catalytic converter.

Roadshow by CNET has a terrific video explaining all this and more.

Thefts By Month

According to NICB's Operations, Intelligence and Analytics study of reported thefts, there were 108 catalytic converter thefts per month on average in 2018, 282 average monthly thefts in 2019, and 1,203 average thefts per month in 2020. During this time period, the top five states for catalytic converter thefts were California, Texas, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Illinois. In 2020, there was a continual climb in thefts. January had the fewest number of thefts at 652, but it continued to climb markedly throughout the year, with December having 2,347 thefts.

The NICB reports that as of the end of February 2021, 18 states  Arkansas, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia  are evaluating potential legislative actions to curb the theft problem.

"Removing a catalytic converter takes only minutes using some basic, readily-available, battery-operated tools from a local hardware store," added Glawe. "And for the vehicle owner, it's costly due to the loss of work, finding and paying for alternate transportation and then paying anywhere from $1,000 to $3,000 to get your vehicle fixed."

What Car Owners Can Do

Some law enforcement agencies are offering free etching where you can have your license plate number or VIN etched on the converter that could potentially thwart thieves efforts or help return the converter to their rightful owner. CBS 11 in Dallas reports that Duncanville police will hold a "Operation Etch and Catch" March 27th from 9-12am. Read the details here.



Catalytic Converter Thefts Have North Texas Police Department Going On The Offensive https://t.co/PnHXXjptEr - CBSDFW (@CBSDFW) March 17, 2021



The NICB further recommends these tips to vehicle owners:



Install a catalytic converter anti-theft device. These are available from various manufacturers and can provide a level of security from theft.



Park fleet vehicles in an enclosed and secured area that is well lit, locked, and alarmed.



Park personal vehicles in a garage. If not possible and vehicles must be parked in a driveway, consider installing motion sensor security lights. While lights may not provide complete security, it may make some thieves think twice, making them leave the area and your vehicle untouched.



Call local law enforcement and your insurer should you become the victim of a catalytic converter theft.



In some cases, the NICB says this theft is covered by insurance. The optional comprehensive portion of your insurance policy, the portion that covers damage caused to your vehicle not caused by accident, covers this kind of loss. However, the owner will be responsible for paying the deductible. If your deductible is $1,000 and the cost to repair the damage costs $1,000 or maybe a few hundred dollars more, drivers may not opt to file a claim. The NICB advises drivers to contact their insurer to report the theft and determine the best course of action.

Copyright 2021 CarProUsa.comThis article originally appeared on CarProUSA
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has ordered the attachment of assets (including bank accounts, share holdings and mutual fund holdings) of the former Yes Bank boss Rana Kapoor since he failed to pay the penalty worth Rs1 crore imposed on him.

In September 2020, SEBI had levied a fine of Rs1 crore on Rana Kapoor for failing to disclose a transaction with Morgan Credit to the board of directors at Yes Bank, thus creating an opaque layer between him and Yes Bank's stakeholders. Morgan Credit was an unlisted promoter entity of Yes Bank. This was in clear violation of the Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements (LODR). The market regulator had also issued a demand notice to Mr Kapoor in February 2021, although he did not pay any dues.

SEBIs attachment notice says that the pending dues are Rs1.04 crore, which comprise an initial fine of Rs one crore, an interest amount of Rs4.56 lakh, and a recovery cost of Rs1,000.

"Whereas no amount has been paid by the defaulter (Kapoor), there is sufficient reason to believe that the defaulter may dispose of the amounts/ proceeds in the banks accounts held with your bank and realisation of amount due under the certificate would in consequence be delayed or obstructed," SEBIs notice said.

Separately, SEBI has also directed banks, depositories, and mutual funds to not permit any debit from Rana Kapoor's accounts. Credits will, however, be permitted. In the notice, SEBI has also directed banks to attach all accounts belonging to Kapoor, including lockers.

In a notice to all banks in the country, SEBI said "attach with immediate effectall accounts by whatever name, including lockers of the defaulter, held either singly or jointly with any other person, in your bank."

SEBI has also asked banks, depositories and mutual funds to provide details of all accounts held by mr Kapoor, including copy of account statements for the past one year. It has also sought complete information of all loan accounts and advances.

Rana Kapoor was arrested in March 2020 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and is currently lodged at Taloja Jail, Navi Mumbai.

According to ED, loans to the tune of Rs30,000 crore were sanctioned when Mr Kapoor was heading Yes Bank, out of these advances worth Rs20,000 crore turned out to be bad loans. ED also accused Mr Kapoor, his family members and others received benefits worth Rs4,300 crore via companies controlled by his family as kickbacks for sanctioning massive loans. Mr Kapoor has also been accused of receiving bribes for going easy on loans given to a few big corporate groups that turned into huge non-performing assets (NPAs).
David Pratt, FSIN Vice Chief, says the memorandum of understanding will assist First Nations members including those in urban areas. (CBC News - image credit)

First Nations throughout Saskatchewan will directly receive COVID-19 vaccinations after signing a memorandum of understanding with the provincial and federal governments.

The agreement will allow for an effective and "culturally supportive" vaccine campaign in First Nations communities and for members of First Nations living in urban areas, the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) announced in a news release Thursday.

The FSIN represents 74 First Nations in Saskatchewan. It says its members will now receive 14 per cent of the province's COVID-19 vaccine doses for distribution.

Details on when the vaccines will begin to be distributed by the FSIN and which First Nations will be prioritized were not immediately available.

Cases of COVID-19 variants, which are more virulent than the common COVID-19 virus, are on the rise in Saskatchewan and First Nations in the province have been hard hit by the virus.

The latest data from Indigenous Services Canada says that as of March 24 there have been 6,156 cases of COVID-19 recorded on Saskatchewan's First Nations.

In general, the rate of reported cases in First Nations living on a reserve is 187 per cent higher than the rate of the general Canadian population.

The COVID-19 variants are on the rise in Saskatchewan and have become a huge concern for our First Nation communities. - Richard Ben, Meadow Lake Tribal Council Chief

Thursday's vaccine news was welcomed by leaders of First Nations across the province.

"The COVID-19 variants are on the rise in Saskatchewan and have become a huge concern for our First Nation communities. This will help ease some of the worries that our members currently face," Meadow Lake Tribal Council Tribal Chief Richard Ben said in the news release.

The FSIN stressed that First Nations are among those in the highest risk category for the COVID-19 virus and have pushed to be a prioritized.

"We're breathing a sigh of relief with this announcement and welcome the news that all of our community members will have vaccines made available to them" said FSIN Vice Chief David Pratt in the news release.

The Saskatchewan Ministry of Health did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
VIGO/CLARK COUNTIES (WTHI) - Police say one person is dead after a crash on Interstate 70.

It happened Wednesday afternoon near the Indiana and Illinois state line.

Indiana State Police told News 10 the crash involved a semi and a passenger car. They confirmed one person was killed.

Other details, including the cause along with the names of anybody involved, were not immediately available.
H&M faces a boycott. Tommy Hilfiger, Adidas, Nike, Converse and Calvin Klein have lost their brand ambassadors. Burberry has had to give up an online video game partnership.

Western brands are suddenly feeling the wrath of the Chinese consumer, the very shoppers who for years have clamored for their products and paid them vast amounts of money. Egged on by the ruling Communist Party, Chinese online activists are punishing foreign companies that have joined a call to avoid using cotton produced in the Chinese region of Xinjiang, where the authorities are waging a broad campaign of repression against ethnic minorities.

The sudden bout of rage lays bare the vulnerability of foreign companies as tensions worsen between China and the United States and other countries. Lawmakers in the United States in particular who have been increasingly critical of China have pressured international companies to take a public stance on Chinas human rights practices, including in Xinjiang. That makes the companies convenient targets for Chinese officials who are aggressively pushing back against American officials.

A lot of Western countries and China are pretty black-and-white on this issue. Theres not a lot of gray, said Trey McArver, a co-founder of Trivium China, a consultancy that helps foreign businesses sell in China, referring to the opposing stances over Beijings policies in Xinjiang. You cant agree with both of them, so I dont think its an easy answer.
A few days after a developer questioned Apple about the fake reviews and rating on the App Store, a report has been published which highlights that a total of 204 fleeceware apps have scammed users of over $400 million.

Its not the first time the App Store is under scrutiny. The developer who earlier notified Apple of the scam going on the App Store recently sued the company for not taking any action against those apps. Avast, a popular antivirus provider, released a lengthy report highlighting the fleeceware apps that have plagued the App Store.

Now what are fleeceware apps, you may ask? Well, fleeceware is a recently coined term, as per the report, and consists of the apps that overcharge the customers in the name of free-trials. For example, many apps include a short free trial, but these apps take advantage of the users who are not familiar with the subscription model.

These apps target users through catchy advertisements on social media, and promise free installation or free to download. By the time a user notices a weekly payment, the fleeceware apps have already extracted significant amounts of money. These apps offer no unique functionality but take the mere advantage of free trial subscriptions, and recurring high fees. Some apps, the report highlights even charge users as high as$3,432 per year.

The report even narrows down a list of apps as being most prone to fleeceware:

Musical instrument app

Palm readers

Image editors

Camera filters

Fortune tellers

QR code and PDF readers

Slime simulators

So how do Google and Apple combat these fleeceware apps? The research says that even though the two companies have been simplifying the process of subscription, like notifying the user of pending subscription when he/she uninstalls an app, they can still improve their in-app purchase systems.

One way of making the process more transparent would be by sending an alert after the free-trial ends. The app could require another confirmation before paying money for the actual subscription once the free trial is over. Another way, obviously, is to remove and filter fake and automated reviews that might fool someone into thinking that a fleeceware application is real.

Have you been scammed by apps like these? How has your experience been with the App Store in general? Let us know in the comments section below!
two mechanics working on underside of car

To offer vehicle owners in the greater Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area a service special for service jobs of all sizes a discount, Performance Kia is now promoting its Variable Discount Coupon. This coupon offers savings that scale in size according to service bills at Performance Kia.

To use this coupon, a service bill must reach a total of at least $50. If a service bill ranges from $50.00 to $100.99, the customer can save $5.00. If a service bill totals between $101.00 and $200.99, the customer can save $10.00. Should a service bill total from $201.00 to $300.99, the customer can save $15.00. If a customers service bill ranges from $301.00 to $400.99, they can save $20.00. To take maximum advantage of the Variable Discount Coupon and save $25.00 a customer must redeem it with a service bill that totals between $401.00 and $500.99.

Environmental disposal fees may apply to service charges. The Variable Discount Coupon cannot be combined with other coupons or discounts. The coupon is limited to one customer per service item. Customers have a limited time to redeem this coupon, as it expires on March 31, 2021.

Another service coupon available at Performance Kia is the $49.95 THE ESSENTIALS coupon. This coupon can be redeemed for the following services, engine oil change, tire rotation, multi-point inspection and genuine Kia oil filter replacement at a discounted price of $49.95. This coupon also expires on March 31, 2021.

For more information on these or other offers, customers are encouraged to learn more by contacting a representative of the Performance Kia dealership by calling (570) 291-5294, using the chat function on the dealership website or by visiting the location at 4225 Birney Avenue, Moosic, Pennsylvania, 18507.


editorial

Today, March 22, World Water Day will be commemorated through an online event that celebrates water and raises awareness of the 2.2 billion people living without access to safe water. The commemoration is about taking action to tackle the global water crisis and achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030.

The Day has as theme, Valuing Water. Indeed, water is central to life as it has enormous multidimensional and complex value for households, offices, food, culture, health, education, economics and the integrity of our natural environment.

On this day, the United Nations Water Development Report will be released, just as it focuses on the campaign for the value of water, it is expected to recommend policy direction to all decision-makers.

Nigeria is blessed with water bodies, being surrounded by more than eight rivers, over 13 lakes, including Shiroro, Kainji, and over 11 freshwaters, yet there is a glaring shortage of safe drinking water for its over 200 million population.

There have been plans to provide safe water for all, but none has met the water needs of Nigerians. Ensuring sustainable access to potable water and basic sanitation was explicitly spelt out in Vision 20:2020, which was conceived by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2006 but launched with fanfare in September 2009 by late President Umaru Yar'adua. Not much was achieved with that.

Also, knowing that the combination of safe drinking water and hygienic sanitation facilities is a precondition for health and for success in the fight against poverty, hunger, child deaths and gender inequality, countries of the world, under the United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), pledged to reduce by half the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. Still no success.

Under the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), goal 6, is the achievement of universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all by 2030.

Nigeria has fallen short of glory in all three national and UN goals. The result is that in an abundance of water bodies, Nigerians grapple with the unavailability of safe water.

Just as there is a scarcity of safe water in urban areas, the situation is worse in rural areas, where people source drinking water from the same river where they wash their clothes and take their bath. This development has led to the outbreak of diseases and sometimes deaths. In the cities, people in the middle to upper class provide their own water through boreholes. This proliferation of boreholes is dangerous for the environment as experts say it is partly responsible for the tremors witnessed in parts of the country. As the United Nations Children and Education Fund (UNICEF) notes, over 100, 000 children under the age of five die from water-borne diseases annually in Nigeria while adults face cholera outbreaks and other water-related diseases.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Environment Water By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

What is disheartening is that despite the budgets for the Ministry of Water Resources and Water Boards, the three tiers of government have failed to provide water for their citizens. Ordinarily, the fact that water supply is on the concurrent legislative list should bring the federal, state and local governments to work harmoniously to meet the water needs of the citizens.

Today is another reminder to the government that it is failing its citizens by its inability to provide safe water and that the consequences are dire. Poor access to water has a huge impact on the health of citizens, and as we know, a healthy nation is a wealthy nation.

The federal government should lead the states in declaring a national emergency in the supply of safe and drinking water. Individuals cannot continue to provide their own water through indiscriminate drilling of boreholes. The government must rise to its responsibility.
Beginning this fall, Army combat units tapped for training or real-world missions no longer will deploy with their major combat systems, but instead draw their equipment from war stocks that are prepositioned around the globe.

"We've got prepositioned stocks in lots of countries, and we need to pay more attention to it, and it needs to become part of our activities that we perform upon deployment," Lt. Gen. Charles Flynn, Army deputy chief of staff, G-3/5/7, told Military.com in a phone interview. "We need to do a better job when we deploy our forces at the drawing of Army prepositioned stocks. We need to access them more, because it creates speed in our movement."

The Army has five caches -- four land-based, one afloat -- of combat vehicles and other large warfighting equipment prepositioned around the world, at the ready for a major mission or contingency.

The change to rely more on these stocks is part of the Army's Regionally Aligned Readiness and Modernization Model, or ReARMM. That effort is intended to align combat forces with combatant commands in priority regions such as the Indo-Pacific and Europe.

Read Next: Wearable Health Monitors Could Lead to Mentally Tougher Troops, Experts Say

"We want our units to be able to get ready for the place where they're likely to operate in, and then we're also trying to give units an idea of the environment that they're likely to operate in -- everything from the weather to the road networks, to the bridging network, to the enemy, to the friendly, to the commanders, to the war plans," Flynn said.

Beginning Oct. 1, the Army's I Corps, which commands the 25th Infantry Division; three Stryker Brigade Combat Teams; and combat aviation, artillery and other combat assets will be assigned permanently to the Indo-Pacific region. Army V Corps will be dedicated to the European theater, overseeing the two combat brigades based on the continent and the permanent rotation of an armored combat brigade.

The Army's rapidly deployable XVIII Airborne Corps units, such as the 82nd Airborne and 10st Airborne, and heavy forces in III Corps, such as the 1st Cavalry Division and 1st Armored Division, will continue to remain available for worldwide deployment, Flynn said.

"So, what you really have is ... I Corps focused on the Indo-Pacific, you have V Corps today focused on Europe, the two priority theaters," Flynn said. "And then we have a heavy corps that's globally available, and we have a light, joint forcible-entry corps that's globally available now."

Units in the active force will be on 24-month rotations under ReARRM. Active-duty units will cycle through eight months each of modernization, training and missions.

During rehearsals for ReARRM, Flynn said the Army considered six-, eight- and 12-month rotational windows.

"We landed on an eight-month window, because 12 was too long, and six was too short," Flynn said.

National Guard and Reserve units will be part of ReARRM, but they will have extended phases because their timelines are different from the active force, Flynn said.

The new eight-month modernization window, which replaces the old support window, is designed to allow units time to be equipped with new combat systems being developed under the Army's sweeping modernization strategy -- an effort to begin replacing Cold War combat systems such as the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, Bradley fighting vehicle and the Patriot air defense system over the next decade.

Units will use this eight-month period to turn in old equipment and conduct training on newly fielded systems that could range from the Next Generation Squad Weapon, hitting the force in 2022, to the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft, part of the the Future Vertical Lift effort, coming online in the 2030 timeframe.

Units also would send soldiers to professional development and leadership courses and go on block leave during the modernization window, Flynn said.

"We really need this window to account for modernization tasks, unit reorganizations," Flynn said. "We needed, you know, sort of a flexible time in the unit life cycle to have landing spots for new equipment, or to get rid of older equipment."

As part of the effort, the Army is placing greater emphasis matching the equipment in prepositioned war stocks to the needs of units in Europe, Indo-Pacific and other regions, Flynn said.

While prepositioned stocks in the Middle East have seen use over the past two decades amid wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and operations in Syria, the Army has not regularly employed its prepositioned resources in Europe and the Pacific.

"We're going to better match our prepositioned stocks forward to the units that are aligned with that mission set," said Flynn, who was reluctant to provide specific details. "It is changing quite a bit because we've not always had that matching.

"The goal would be to use it more often and exercise it more often because it's a combat deployment task. ... We have it forward; we might as well use it."

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.

Related: The Army Is Reorganizing Its SFAB Units to Deploy Globally
Government funding of 750,000 will be provided to support this year's Royal Highland Show which is set to commence behind closed doors.

Show organisers the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS) has confirmed that a live event will go ahead for 2021, albeit with no audience.

Taking place in the week commencing 14 June, the show will see livestock judging, equestrian, food and drink and rural skills.

The annual event will be livestreamed from the showground in Edinburgh to an online audience.

It comes after the RHASS' future was called into question following a substantial loss of income due to the mass cancellation of events last year.

But detailed planning in collaboration with the Scottish government has led to a 750,000 fund being issued to the society to help support the show's future.

RHASS chairman Bill Gray said: The support we have garnered from the wider agricultural sector, coupled with Scottish government funding, reinforces the importance of the show.

"This showcase will enable us to shine a light on our farmers and rural communities, who have been steadfast throughout this pandemic and allow us the opportunity to promote rural Scotland to a wider audience.

Scotland's rural economy secretary, Fergus Ewing added that the Royal Highland Show was an important annual event in the farming and rural calendar.

"While its a shame that we cannot meet in the usual way, I am looking forward to being able to recognise the hard work of the entrants and celebrate their achievements.

Details of the event will be released over the coming days, RHASS 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
FinancialNewsMedia.com News Commentary

PALM BEACH, Fla., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Without lithium, our world would look more different indeed! Lithium-ion batteries are not only in our phones - they are actually at the center of our clean energy transition. Other materials like graphite which is also used in batteries; and tellurium, used in next-generation solar cells are important, but lithium is definitely driving the battery storage market. Pretty much everything - from your phone, to electric vehicles, to utility-scale storage solutions - is finding applications for lithium. So it's no surprise that governments and companies are looking to make sure they can meet the supply chain's demand for lithium while at the same time develop new technologies to extend the usefulness of products/batteries being manufactured. A recent article from mining.com on March 15, addressed the first item supply. It said that sufficient lithium will be mined because prices have soared up 88% in 2021 and that: "Lithium prices continue to rise exponentially in China on the back of heavy demand for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, the first ever mid-month assessment by battery supply chain research and price reporting agency Benchmark Mineral Intelligence shows." Active mining stocks in the markets this week include:Lithium South Development Corporation (OTCQB: LISMF) (TSX-V: LIS), American Lithium Corp. (OTCQB: LIACF) (TSXV: LI), Standard Lithium Ltd. (OTCQX: STLHF) (TSXV: SLL), Neo Lithium Corp. (OTCQX: NTTHF) (TSXV: NLC), Nickel Rock Resources Inc. (OTCQB: NIKLF) (TSXV: NICL).

As to technological breakthrough, a recent article in PCMag spoke off substantially increasing the life span of lithium-ion batteries. It focused on a breakthrough that would allow Lithium-Ion batteries to maintain full capacity for 5 years. It said: "One of the major limiting factors of rechargeable batteries today is how quickly their capacity can degrade. After just a year of regularly recharging a lithium-ion battery, it can't get close to its full capacity anymore. However, a new material holds the promise of changing the situation and allowing full capacity charges for five or more years. EurekaAlert reports, a team of scientists working at the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST) has been looking specifically at the negative terminals inside lithium-ion batteries. They use graphite anodes, but also require a binder material; otherwise the graphite would simply fall apart inside the battery.

Lithium South Development Corporation (OTCQB: LISMF) (TSX-V: LIS), BREAKING NEWS:Lithium South Development Corporation Announces Property Payment Completed on 3287 Hectare Hombre Muerto North Lithium Project - Lithium South Development Corporation (the "Company") announces that it has completed the second to last property payment for the acquisition of the 3,287-hectare Hombre Muerto North Lithium Project located in Salata Province, Argentina. The company issued 2,250,000 common shares and made a payment of US$1,000,000 to Jorge E. Moreno and Alba Silvia Sala (the "Vendors") pursuant to a mining exploration agreement with option to purchase dated May 17, 2017, as amended on October 31, 2017 and April 22, 2018, entered into with the Vendors regarding the Hombre Muerto North Lithium project.

Company President Adrian F.C. Hobkirk is quoted, "we are pleased to have completed this important milestone for the acquisition of this advanced lithium asset. We look forward to working with the vendor and the mining jurisdiction of Salta Province to further develop Direct Lithium Extraction at the project."

The Hombre Muerto salar has three lithium projects under development including the companies, and projects by POSCO and Galaxy Resources.

The Company also announces it has changed its US ticker symbol to "LISMF" on the OTCQB, effective March 18, 2021. CONTINUED.Read this release for the Lithium South news at:https://www.financialnewsmedia.com/news-lis/

Other recent mining developments in the markets include:

Standard Lithium Ltd. (OTCQX: STLHF) (TSXV: SLL), an innovative technology and lithium project development company, recently announced that it has successfully completed the conversion of its Arkansas-produced lithium chloride into 99.985% pure lithium carbonate using OEM technology. The work was completed by Veolia Water Technologies (Veolia) at their facility in Plainfield, Illinois, and demonstrates that the lithium chloride intermediate product produced by Standard Lithium's industrial scale LiSTR Direct Lithium Extraction ("DLE") plant in Arkansas can be converted into better-than battery quality lithium carbonate using established OEM carbonation technology.

As part of a continuous process of derisking the Arkansas Lithium Project, Standard Lithium opted to evaluate two different processes to convert the LiCl solution made by the Arkansas DLE plant into a battery-quality material. The first was using the Company's own patent-pending SiFT technology as previously reported. The second, as reported here, was via conventional technology, widely used within the industry and performed by Veolia. Concentrated lithium chloride solution produced by Standard Lithium was sent to Veolia and was then converted to lithium carbonate using a conventional flowsheet.

Neo Lithium Corp. (OTCQX: NTTHF) (TSXV: NLC) recently announced the closing of the previously announced increased equity investment by Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (SZSE: 300750) ("CATL"), whereby CATL, through a subsidiary controlled by CATL, subscribed for 860,870 common shares (the "Common Shares") of Neo Lithium at a price of C$3.05 per Common Share (the "Issue Price") for gross proceeds to Neo Lithium of C$2,625,652.

Pursuant to an Investor Rights Agreement (as explained below) between CATL and the Company, CATL through the closing of this investment will continue to maintain its pro rata equity interest of 8% in the Company.

American Lithium Corp. (OTCQB: LIACF) (TSXV: LI), a leader in the acquisition, exploration and development of lithium projects, recently reported the results of the latest independent laboratory testing to beneficiate samples from its Tonopah Lithium Claims ("TLC") project which achieved a 49% mass reduction while increasing lithium grade by 66%. Subsequent leach testing extracted 96% of the lithium from upgraded samples.

As previously announced on May 7, 2020, American Lithium has successfully shown the ability, under laboratory conditions, to extract lithium utilizing sulfuric acid leaching on samples of the Company's TLC claystones at extraction rates of 90% in as little as 10 minutes.

Nickel Rock Resources Inc. (OTCQB: NIKLF) (TSXV: NICL) recently announced that reverse circulation drilling is commencing on the Company's recently expanded claim block at Silver Peak, Clayton Valley, Esmeralda County, Nevada. This strategic land package, covering approximately 2,300 acres (930 ha), directly adjoins a western portion of lithium producer Albemarle's (NYSE: ALB) evaporation ponds and is nearby Cyprus Development Corp.'s (TSXV: CYP) 5,430-acre Clayton Valley Lithium Clay Project.

Mr. Robert Setter, Company President and CEO comments "The Clayton Valley area is booming again for lithium clay exploration. On the neighboring property of Cypress Development, they have recently oversubscribed its bought deal offering for gross proceeds of C$19,550,000 from PI Financial Corp. as sole underwriter and bookrunner. This is fantastic news, and it complements news from our other neighbour Albemarle who announced earlier this year that it is planning to double its lithium production in Nevada at its Silver Peak mine by 2025 and is committing between US$30 million - US$50 million in additional investment on the property. With our current exploration program in place, we will be able to lay the groundwork for a more significant exploration program budget and program in the future. We are excited about this opportunity in Nevada for our lithium clay project."

DISCLAIMER: FN Media Group LLC (FNM), which owns and operates Financialnewsmedia.com and MarketNewsUpdates.com, is a third party publisher and news dissemination service provider, which disseminates electronic information through multiple online media channels. FNM is NOT affiliated in any manner with any company mentioned herein. FNM and its affiliated companies are a news dissemination solutions provider and are NOT a registered broker/dealer/analyst/adviser, holds no investment licenses and may NOT sell, offer to sell or offer to buy any security. FNM's market updates, news alerts and corporate profiles are NOT a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities. The material in this release is intended to be strictly informational and is NEVER to be construed or interpreted as research material. All readers are strongly urged to perform research and due diligence on their own and consulta licensed financial professional before considering any level of investing in stocks. All material included herein is republished content and details which were previously disseminated by the companies mentioned in this release. FNM is not liable for any investment decisions by its readers or subscribers. Investors are cautioned that they may lose all or a portion of their investment when investing in stocks. For current services performed FNM has been compensated forty nine hundred dollars for news coverage of the current press releases issued by Lithium South Development Corporation by a non-affiliated third party. FNM HOLDS NO SHARES OF ANY COMPANY NAMED IN THIS RELEASE.



This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may", "future", "plan" or "planned", "will" or "should", "expected," "anticipates", "draft", "eventually" or "projected". You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a company's annual report on Form 10-K or 10-KSB and other filings made by such company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and FNM undertakes no obligation to update such statements.



Contact Information:

Media Contact email: editor@financialnewsmedia.com

- +1(561)325-8757
(CNN)  Even as the pandemic pummeled its businesses, Disney managed to eke out a blockbuster success with its streaming service, Disney+. But to keep those subscribers  and, crucially, to attract new ones  the company needs content.

That includes "Cruella," the origin story of the dastardly-yet-fashionable villain from "101 Dalmatians" starring Emma Stone. That film, which Disney announced on Tuesday is set to debut simultaneously in theaters and Disney+ for an extra fee on May 28, is just one of Disney's many live-action reboots that will be available soon in your living room.

Remakes of "Peter Pan" and "Pinocchio" will be Disney+ exclusives, bypassing theaters entirely. That's a trend that's likely to continue.

The reboot formula hasn't always been a box-office success, but Disney is betting the nostalgia for some of its most beloved (or reviled) heroes and villains will attract new subscribers to the platform. Releasing some of these films, often with an additional fee, directly to Disney+  now the most essential part of the House of Mouse  helps both maintain and grow subscriptions.

A stream is a wish your heart makes

Disney's businesses are still getting hammered by the pandemic. But Disney's stock is thriving because Disney+ has not stopped growing. The company announced earlier this month that the service surpassed 100 million subscribers, shattering its own projections.

To keep that growth going, Disney+ needs to fill its library. That's why Disney+ has a bunch of new Marvel and Star Wars shows on the way, and it's also why one of its biggest films of the year, Marvel's "Black Widow," is heading to the service for an additional fee of $29.99 on July 9. Disney+ costs $6.99 a month.

As for "Cruella," that film too is just another example of Disney+ filling its content coffers, even though viewers have the option of seeing it in theaters.

It's a strategy that Disney has used before.

The service launched in 2019 with "Lady and the Tramp," an exclusive live-action remake of the 1955 animated film for the service. And Disney released its "Mulan" remake on Disney+, albeit for an extra fee, after its theatrical premiere was delayed multiple times because of the pandemic.

While it could be argued that some of Disney's other big brands like Star Wars and Marvel are better for the big screen than the small one, Disney's live-action reboots can go either way. Some are huge hits, and some are misses.

But as weird as it might sound, the brand's uneven track record is precisely what makes it a great fit for Disney's potential release strategy going forward.

It's really about flexibility

Disney's live-action brand has unquestionably had some big hits.

For example, 2019's "The Lion King" made $1.6 billion, and 2017's "Beauty and the Beast" made $1.2 billion. Others like "The Jungle Book" and "Aladdin" have also been blockbusters.

However, it's also had some pretty big disappointments: 2019's "Dumbo" missed the mark, making only $353 million worldwide, and 2016's "Alice Through the Looking Glass" was a complete flop, making only $299 million worldwide, according to Comscore.

Yet in the streaming world, those numbers don't really matter.

Viewership metrics are mostly kept under wraps in streaming, so how something performs is not as important as what something is. Case in point, it may be more important to the health of Disney+ that it simply has film with Cruella de Vil's iconic name in the title, rather than how many people choose to stream it.

Ultimately, the company will decide which film goes where on a case-by-case basis, Disney CEO Bob Chapek said on the company's earnings call earlier this year.

"It's going to be dependent on what our slate of titles are and whether we think that we need to put something on the service for those particular guests, or whether this is something that we could use as another data point in our exploration of Premier Access," he said.

Chapek added that it's really about "flexibility."

"We're going to steer our decision-making over time," he added. "given what information that we get from our guests and our subscriber base on what they prefer."

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Get ready to see more films like 'Cruella' on Disney+."
Nunbelievable x goPuff "Were proud to partner with great entrepreneurs and ensure they continue connecting with their customers in meaningful ways."

Nunbelievable, the mission-based, better-for-you baked goods company, announces a partnership with goPuff, the go-to platform for consumers everyday needs, to deliver artisanal cookies made with natural, non-GMO ingredients to customers.

According to Bryan Janeczko, Nunbelievables Co-founder and CEO, With the recent launch of our snack-size line of shortbread made with baobab, an emerging superfruit, were greatly expanding our product offering with new, delicious and innovative ingredients. Now, customers in Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Austin, and Miami can have our baked goods delivered to their door in about 30 minutes from goPuffs local micro-fulfillment center alongside thousands of everyday essentials.

A goPuff spokesperson added, goPuff is committed to working with and supporting local businesses in each of our communities and we are thrilled to partner with Nunbelievable to bring their products to customers across the U.S. at a time when many small businesses had to close their doors. Were proud to partner with great entrepreneurs and ensure they continue connecting with their customers in meaningful ways.

Were excited to be partnering with the fast-growing instant needs company, said Kuda Biza, Co-founder and CMO. This partnership can only enhance our buy 1, give 1 model, helping us meet our 10 million meal donation goal. For every cookie we sell, we provide a meal to a person in need through one of our soup kitchen partners.

About Nunbelievable

Originally inspired by an order of nuns who commit their lives to feeding and comforting those in need, Nunbelievable is a mission-based company that offers premium, handcrafted baked goods, while providing a healthy dose of inspiration to end hunger and make a difference in the communities most in need. The company was founded in 2019 by Bryan Janeczko (CEO) and Kuda Biza (CMO). Janeczko is a successful health and wellness entrepreneur who pioneered the now $1 billion-plus meal-delivery services industry, while Biza is a proven social venture entrepreneur, passionate about fighting hunger. For every cookie sold, Nunbelievable donates one meal to food pantries, soup kitchens and other organizations on the front lines of the fight against hunger. The company is on track to meet a goal of providing 10 million meals within three years. For more info visit: http://www.nunbelievable.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.
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.
Just a day earlier, an independent panel that oversees the study had accused AstraZeneca of cherry-picking data to tout the protection offered by its vaccine. The panel, in a harsh letter to the company and to U.S. health leaders, said the company had left out some COVID-19 cases that occurred in the study, a move that could erode trust in the science.
By Libby George and Paul Carsten

LAGOS/ABUJA (Reuters) - The University of Aberdeen said on Thursday it would return a Benin Bronze to Nigeria within weeks, one of the first public institutions to do so more than a century after Britain looted the sculptures and auctioned them to Western museums and collectors.

The university said the sculpture of an Oba, or ruler, of the Kingdom of Benin, had left Nigeria in an "extremely immoral" fashion, leading it to reach out to authorities in 2019 to negotiate its return.

Pressure has mounted to return to their places of origin the Benin Bronzes - actually copper alloy relief sculptures - and other artefacts taken by colonial powers.

Neil Curtis, Aberdeen's head of museums and special collections, said the Bronze, purchased in 1957, had been "blatantly looted."

"It became clear we had to do something," Curtis said.

Professor Abba Isa Tijani, director general of Nigeria's National Commission for Museums and Monuments, said the importance of displaying the Bronze inside Nigeria for the first time in more than 120 years was inexpressible.

"It's part of our identity, part of our heritage... which has been taken away from us for many years," Tijani said.

Britain's soldiers seized thousands of metal castings and sculptures from the Kingdom of Benin, then separate from British-ruled Nigeria, in 1897.

The British Museum, which holds hundreds of the sculptures, has alongside several other museums formed a Benin Dialogue Group to discuss displaying them in Benin City, some officially on loan. It has said discussions are ongoing.

Germany is in talks to send back 440 Benin Bronzes as early as the autumn, according to newspaper reports, while the University of Cambridge's Jesus College said it had finalised approvals in December to return another Bronze. Tijani said U.S. museums had also agreed to return two more Bronzes.

The governor of Edo state, of which Benin City is the capital, plans to build a centre to store and study the returned artefacts by the end of 2021, and a permanent museum by 2025.

Story continues

Artist and Edo state native Victor Ehikhamenor said he hoped the decision would prompt others to follow suit.

"Because some of these things are missing from our environment, people are not able to contextualize where we are coming from," Ehikhamenor said.

(Reporting by Libby George in Lagos and Paul Carsten in Abuja, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
CARLSBAD, Calif., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Thermo Fisher Scientific today announced the completion of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) listing for the Applied Biosystems QuantStudio 5 Dx Real-Time PCR System. The innovative product enables clinical laboratories and assay developers to meet testing demands and enhance their molecular diagnostics workflows.

Clinical diagnostic and hospital laboratories across the United States have ramped up PCR testing over the last year in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. These laboratories are now seeking solutions to continue to screen for COVID-19 after emergency use authorizations (EUAs) for SARS-CoV-2 assays expire.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has increased testing demands for laboratories exponentially, with a significant portion of the testing globally conducted on Thermo Fisher PCR instruments," said Mark Smedley, president of Genetic Sciences for Thermo Fisher Scientific. "As our customers' testing requirements grow, we are continuously innovating to meet their needs with our molecular diagnostic products. With the launch of the IVD QuantStudio 5 Dx, we can continue to support our customers around the world."

The high-performing qPCR system's simplified, efficient workflow minimizes steps to deliver quality results in as little as 30 minutes. The system has high sensitivity and specificity and offers up to six channels for multiplexing. The cost-effective and complete solution, including simplified software, enhanced security and a simple-to-use interface, comes in a compact footprint that can fit in any lab.

"Thermo Fisher is a valued partner, supporting us in the development of clinical trial assays and companion diagnostics," said Michael Sloan, global vice president of commercial operations at Almac Diagnostic Services. "Thermo Fisher's QuantStudio qPCR systems offer a seamless integration into our assay development workflows. Both the QuantStudio Dx and QuantStudio 5 Dx offer the flexibility of customizable solutions and provide high-quality data output for molecular diagnostic testing."

The QuantStudio 5 Dx Real-Time PCR System is listed with the FDA, includes the CE-IVD Mark under the self-certification process in the European Union, and has been certified and approved by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) in China. The system is currently registered in more than 50 countries.

For more information, please visit www.thermofisher.com/quantstudio5dx.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in serving science, with annual revenue exceeding $30 billion. Our Mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. Whether our customers are accelerating life sciences research, solving complex analytical challenges, improving patient diagnostics and therapies or increasing productivity in their laboratories, we are here to support them. Our global team of more than 80,000 colleagues delivers an unrivaled combination of innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and pharmaceutical services through our industry-leading brands, including Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific, Unity Lab Services and Patheon. For more information, please visit www.thermofisher.com.

Media Contact Information:

Mauricio Minotta

Phone: 760-805-5266

Email: [email protected]

Jen Heady

Phone: 617-275-6547

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Thermo Fisher Scientific

Related Links

http://www.thermofisher.com


GLEN CARBON  Sometime between May 3 and June 1, Glen Carbon will switch its water supply from Edwardsville to Illinois American Water (IAW).

The village has used city water since June 1996.

A brief overview was given by Joseph Ahlvin, senior operations manager with IAWs southern division, with assistance from Village Administrator Jamie Bowden, Tuesday during a board of trustees meeting.

Weve been proceeding with our batch testing; thereve been two types of tests that the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) has requested from us for this transition, Ahlvin said.

He explained the loop testing that started in 2019 continued into 2020 but in late 2020, he and other IAW officials received notification from IEPA that a second type of test, batch testing, would also be required. Batch testing began this January and IEPA requested three months worth of it from IAW and the village before moving forward with the transition.

The test results so far are coinciding very well with the pipe loop testing earlier in the testing phase, he said. With that, weve decided to move forward with the meter building.

Kassen Excavating has been contracted to begin piping construction and pouring a concrete pad for the meter building the week of March 22, Ahlvin said. During the week of April 5, yard piping should be done and the subcontractor will begin framing the meter building.

The final batch testing water sample is collected and scheduled for April 6, with lab results anticipated on April 12. A memo that highlights the three-month batch testing results is preliminarily scheduled to be sent to the IEPA on April 16.

A telephone call to discuss the results and memo with IEPA is set for the week of April 19, along with other requests the village will have to do related to lead and copper sampling. Right now, it does 20 lead and copper samples but after the switch, that will increase to 60 lead and copper samples every six months, for up to two years, Bowden said.

Meanwhile, the meter building will be complete and SCADA integration and done by the week of April 26. On May 3, the interconnection between IAW and the village will be ready to go, pending IEPA approval. IEPAs verdict will dictate exactly when the village can switch suppliers.

Bowden wants to wait until June 1 to make sure there is enough time to communicate the transition process to all village water consumers. He proposed adding a letter in everyones May 10 and May 24 bills, depending on how things go with IEPA. A more assertive back-up option would be to add the letter to bills on April 9 and April 23. Taking to social media and issuing press releases are other parts of the villages multi-faceted, get-the-word-out program.

The village initially pitched the switch from city water as a way to avoid passing along the citys rising water rates to village residents. Edwardsville will need to make major upgrades to its water system by the end of the decade. Village officials explored a variety of scenarios  build their own water system, join Maryvilles system or link up with IAW. Ultimately, officials decided to go with IAW in the near-term until a long-term solution can be decided upon.

However, in 2019, the Environmental Protection Agency, in the wake of what happened in Flint, Michigan and in other municipalities, put any further direct water supply switches on hold until the municipality in question could prove through a year of loop testing, followed more recently by batch testing, that the water would be safe to drink, bathe and wash with.

Reach reporter Charles Bolinger at 618-659-5735
Armenian acting minister: EU allocated EUR 68,700,000 to Armenia for budget support in 2020

Armenia Finance Ministry: MFA's budget grew by AMD 1,600,000,000 in 2020

Bodies and remains of Armenian soldiers are kept in morgue in Armenia's Martuni

White House confirms Biden-Erdogan meeting in Brussels

Armenia acting MOD touches upon priority directions for development of Armed Forces

Diaspora Armenian writer, publicist Toros Toranian dies

2 Armenian soldiers injured in scuffle with Azerbaijan, Armenian POW is hospitalized, Jun. 3 digest

Wedding held in Armenia's Shurnukh for first time since the war ended

EEU member states to finish preparing for negotiations over free trade zone in Iran in late June

Armenia Central Bank: Economic downfall in 2020 was due to decline in service and construction sectors

Armenia legislature adopts several bills in first reading

Armenia President meets with Nursultan Nazarbayev

Dejavu: Armenia ruling party distributes money for votes at Yerevan district election office

Chief Advisor to Karabakh President sacked

Russian MFA: Works are carried out to settle situation around Karabakh every day

Armenia opposition MP sounds alarm about Baku fabricating criminal cases against Armenian prisoners

Armenia acting health minister: I have apologized, I am not going to resign

Helga Schmid meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Armenia's deputy foreign ministers resigned or have heavy workload?

Dollar goes down in Armenia

Armenia Elections Oversight Committee reports Iranian citizenship of ruling party's MP candidate

Acting deputy minister: Only 17 of 711 Iran-Armenia power transmission line towers were installed by 2017

Armenia Parliament Council holding session

Armenia to host CSTO "Thunder-2021" military exercises

NYT: Chinese hackers launch cyberattack on New York city transportation authority

Armenia President to Kazakhstan counterpart: I would like to see much deeper cooperation between our countries

Armenia citizens shut down Etchmiadzin-Ashtarak road, complaining about lack of irrigation water

Armenia independent MP: Foreign minister and his deputies don't want to take part in treacherous acts

Armenia to get $11mn loan, 350,000 grant for agriculture

WHO worries about worsening mental health worldwide amid pandemic

Armenia health ministry on improper handling of Artsakh war victims bodies: There is no justification

Armenia bloc election foundation already in operation

Russia ambassador to Armenia paying working visit to Syunik Province (PHOTOS)

China pledges to step up resistance to foreign interference in Hong Kong

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: There can be no talk of corridor for Azerbaijan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on incumbent authorities: Wherever they flee, we will bring them by the feet

President: Impossible to ensure peace in region or stay in Artsakh without Russia army joint efforts

China Daily: Dispatch from Makit: Thriving in the desert

Karabakh President: We will never put up with being part of Azerbaijan, it is ruled out

Armenia MFA information department chief: All deputy FMs carrying out their duties

Ardshinbank invited children to the cinema on International Childrens Day

Armenia judiciary to have 10 more judges

Armenia acting premier: We had recorded 40% increase in tax revenues according to 2019 results

Armenia acting PM on Artsakh war casualties bodies: We have 50 remains in which case DNA was not separated

Azerbaijan authorities plan to "squeeze" everything from "terrorist show" related to Armenian captives

Ameriabank announces a contest for bank card design

108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia parliament convenes special session

Armenia interim government holding Cabinet meeting

Catholicos of All Armenians heads for Syunik Province, Artsakh

World oil prices going up

Iran loses right to vote in UN General Assembly

Newspaper: Armenia authorities come up with new way of punishing unwanted characters

Newspaper: Russia army Southern Military District deputy commander to arrive in Yerevan Thursday

Lebanese Armenian man taken prisoner by Azerbaijan is hospitalized

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Are we getting under the burden? Then lets get under to the end

Armenia acting health minister on keeping fallen soldiers bodies in bags: What else should they be kept in?

Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation

Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow

2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik

Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center

"Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans

Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel

Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna

Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations

US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies

Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week

Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection

Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential

Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement

Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues

Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo

Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation

NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident

Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices

Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over

Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest

Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia

Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia

Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels

Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters

Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021

Dollar is stable in Armenia

Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector

Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out

Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe

Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia

Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border

Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor

Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue

Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia

Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this

Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia
URUMQI, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The government of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Tuesday expressed firm opposition and strong condemnation of the European Union (EU)'s unilateral sanctions against some individuals and entities in Xinjiang.

The regional government said the sanctions turned a blind eye to facts, gravely violated international law and basic norms governing international relations and seriously interfered in China's internal affairs, adding that the decision made by the EU is a piece of waste paper.

"The accusations made by some people and media in the EU about 'genocide' in Xinjiang are nothing but lies of the century," said Elijian Anayit, spokesperson for the Xinjiang regional government.

The growth rate of Uygur population in Xinjiang is not only higher than that of Xinjiang's entire population, but also higher than that of other ethnic minorities, and more obviously higher than that of the Han population, he said.

In response to the EU's accusation that Xinjiang "restricts freedom of religious belief," he said that it was a complete slander, stressing that normal religious activities by Muslims in mosques and at their homes are carried out in accordance with their own will and are protected by law.

He pointed out that the conditions of religious sites in Xinjiang have been continuously improving over the years. Xinjiang now has 10 Islamic schools, which enroll nearly 1,000 students each year. Islamic classics such as the Koran have been translated and published in Chinese, Uygur, Kazak and Kirgiz languages.

Elijian Anayit solemnly declared that the EU's accusation of "cultural extinction" in Xinjiang is complete nonsense. He said Xinjiang has enacted a series of local laws and regulations in accordance with China's Constitution and other laws to effectively protect the languages and cultural rights of all ethnic groups.

The Xinjiang regional government invited EU envoys to visit Xinjiang many times, but they delayed the visits in every possible way for various reasons and even put forward unreasonable demands, according to Xu Guixiang, another spokesperson for the Xinjiang regional government.

To put it bluntly, they did not dare to face the real Xinjiang, fearing that the reality of a stable and prosperous Xinjiang, where people live and work in peace and contentment would expose their lies, Xu said.

The progress of human rights in Xinjiang is there for all to see. The actions of the United States, Britain, Canada and the EU not only triggered deep indignation among the Chinese and people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang, but were also spurned by the larger international community, he said. Enditem

[ Editor: Zhang Zhou ]
SAN FRANCISCO  The endangered California condor could return to the Pacific Northwest for the first time in 100 years.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to allow the release of captive-bred giant vultures into Redwood National Park as early as this fall to create a nonessential experimental population for Californias far north, Oregon and northwestern Nevada, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Wednesday.

The project will be headed by the Yurok tribe, which traditionally has considered the California condor a sacred animal and has been working for years to return the species to the tribes ancestral territory.

Certainly within a year we hope to have birds in the sky, Tiana Williams-Claussen, director of the wildlife department of the Yurok tribe, told the Chronicle.

Not having him here for 100 years now, we as a people are wounded without having that spirit flying in our skies, she said.

The California condor is the largest native North American bird, with a wingspan of nearly 10 feet. The scavenger was once widespread but had virtually disappeared by the 1970s because of poaching, lead poisoning from eating animals killed by hunters and destruction of its habitat.

In the early 1980s, all 22 condors remaining in the wild were trapped and brought into a captive-breeding program that began releasing the giant vultures into Southern Californias Los Padres National Forest in 1992. That flock has been expanding its range while other condors now occupy parts of Californias Central Coast, Arizona, Utah and Baja California, Mexico. The total wild population now numbers more than 300 birds.

A dozen adults and two chicks died last summer when a wildfire ravaged their territory in Big Sur, along Californias Central Coast.

The new initiative calls for releasing four or six juvenile condors each year for 20 years throughout Redwood National Park, which is about an hours drive from the Oregon border.

Condors can live for 60 years and fly vast distances, which is why their range could extend into several states.

-- The Associated Press
Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc has recommended a final dividend of 360 kobo per share and a bonus share of one for six for the financial year ended December 31, 2020.

In all, shareholders of the financial institution would be receiving a total dividend of 400 kobo having received an interim dividend of 40 kobo last year.

Details of the audited results showed that Stanbic IBTC posted gross earnings of N234.446 billion as against N233.808 billion in 2019. Net interest income printed at N74.215 billion as against N77.831 billion.

Total income before impairment charges stood at N198.924 billion, up from N186.586 billion, while impairment charges soared from N1.632 billion to N9.935 billion in 2020.

Profit before tax (PBT) stood at N94.717 billion in 2020, up from N90.925 billion, while profit after tax (PAT) rose to N83.211 billion as against N75.035 billion in 2019.

Stanbic IBTC 's deposits to customers improved from N819.944 billion compared with N637.840 billion, while loans and advances improved from N532.124 billion to N625.139 billion.

Based on the results, the board recommended a final dividend of 360 kobo in addition to a bonus of one new share for every six shares already held. The shares of Stanbic IBTC jumped 9.9 per cent from N44.05 to N48.45 as investors reacted positively to the results and dividend declaration.

Analysts at FSDH Merchant Bank Research had said the 6.6 per cent increase in total income to N198.9 billion recorded by Stanbic IBTC primarily driven by a 14.7 per cent jump in non-interest revenue to N124.7 billion.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Company By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Non-interest revenue ascended 14.7 per cent powered by a 43.4 per cent increase in trading income to N52.1 billion.

According to the analysts, the bank reported a decline in the effective tax rate to 12.7 per cent from 17.5 per cent, due to change in tax basis for the banking subsidiary. Hence, it reported a 10.9 per cent growth in net profit to N83.2 billion and earnings per share stood at N7.29 versus N6.92 in 2019.

Also commenting on the results, analysts at FBNQuest said the bank's PAT implied return on average earnings (ROAE) of 25.6 per cent, within management's 25-30 per cent guidance.

According to them, the proposed a final dividend of 360 kobo (200 kobo 2019) per share, markedly higher than their 200 kobo dividend per share forecast and implies a yield of 7.4 per cent.
Priyanka Chopra shared another photo to social media where she did not look at all like she does today.

The Quantico star had on a white bikini top with matching slacks and her hair down as she smiled for the camera with her hands on her hips. She was in her late teens or early twenties at the time.

This comes after the 38-year-old wife of Nick Jonas shared in her new book that surgery on her nose due to a polypectomy altered her looks severely and made her the butt of jokes in her native India.

A look back in time: Priyanka Chopra shared another photo to social media where she did not look at all like she does today. The Quantico star had on a white bikini top with matching slacks and her hair down as she smiled for the camera with her hands on her hips. She was in her late teens or early twenties at the time

Her now: In this new flashback photo, the star looks slender and very confident which is why Chopra captioned the image: 'Shy? Never heard of her.' Seen in 2019

In this new flashback photo, the star looks slender and very confident which is why Chopra captioned the image: 'Shy? Never heard of her.'

She added the photo was for Throwback Thursday and popped on the hashtag for Bindis And Bikinis.

At the time she was a budding model who was stepping into the Beauty Pageant circuit.

Last month she told readers of her new memoir Unfinished she was once picked on for her looks after a nose operation didn't work out so well in the early 2000s.

That led to some haters calling the former beauty pageant queen 'Plastic Chopra.'

The way she was: Last month she told readers of her new memoir Unfinished she was once picked on for her looks after a nose operation didn't work out so well in the early 2000s. Seen in November 2000

She was criticized: That led to some haters calling the former beauty pageant queen 'Plastic Chopra.' Seen in 2000

She was a young adult when she noticed a benign growth in her nasal cavity that needed surgery to be removed.

'Fortunately, a polypectomy sounded like a pretty routine procedure. Unfortunately, it wasn't,' she wrote in her book.

The surgeon 'accidentally shaved the bridge of my nose and the bridge collapsed.' And the star, who had already became famous in her native India for her looks, was left 'horrified.'

'My original nose was gone,' Priyanka shared. 'My face looked completely different. I wasn't me.'

New nose: She was a young adult when she noticed a benign growth in her nasal cavity that needed surgery to be removed. 'Fortunately, a polypectomy sounded like a pretty routine procedure. Unfortunately, it wasn't,' she wrote in her book. The surgeon 'accidentally shaved the bridge of my nose and the bridge collapsed.' And the star, who had already became famous in her native India for her looks, was left 'horrified.' Seen in 2003

The bad surgery lost her work - she says in the book she was fired from two movies.

'All the talk of body parts and skin tone collectively made me feel devalued and unseen and uncertain about my future,' said the siren.

'Having experienced the aftermath of a supposedly simple polyp removal, I knew I wasn't willing to follow the course he'd laid out for me, even if he, as the highly successful expert, was right,' she added.

' My difference is my strength. If I looked like other "classically beautiful" girls, then I wouldn't stand out, and more important, I wouldn't be me.'

Priyanka had 'several corrective surgeries' and has now 'gotten accustomed to this face.'

'Now when I look in the mirror, I am no longer surprised; I've made peace with this slightly different meI'm just like everyone else: I look at myself in the mirror and think maybe I can lose a little weight; I think maybe I can work out a little more. But I'm also content. This is my face. This is my body. I might be flawed, but I am me,' she added.

And at the time the red carpet favorite refused to explain what happened.

'I was dared to give an explanation for the obviously different nose, but I chose a course then that I've followed in all the years since. I decided that there was a line I was going to draw in my life,' wrote the wife of boy bander Nick Jonas.

She felt she did not owe anyone an explanation.

'I am an entertainer,' she began. 'That's what I've signed on to do, and that's what I love doing. I will say my lines, dance my dance, hit my mark. I'll do my best to make you laugh, and I'll do my best to make you cry, but just because I'm a public person doesn't mean everything about my life has to be public knowledge. I get to choose what I share and when I share it.'

But it wasn't only her face that was under scrutiny, so was her body.

Also in February Chopra said she was told to 'get a boob job' and 'add a little cushioning' to her butt when she embarked on an acting career.

As a teen: Seen at age 17 before she had her surgery which altered her face for good

The White Tiger actress was told to overhaul her appearance after she won Miss World in 2000 and admitted she left the meeting with the unnamed director filled with doubt, particularly because her then-manager agreed with his assessment.

She wrote in her autobiography: 'After a few minutes of small talk, the director/producer told me to stand up and twirl for him. I did. He stared at me long and hard, assessing me, and then suggested that I get a boob job, fix my jaw, and add a little more cushioning to my butt.

'If I wanted to be an actress, he said, I'd need to have my proportions "fixed," and he knew a great doctor in LA he could send me to,' she wrote.

As a child: She said, 'I wish I could rewind to the time when you looked like my baby brother,' she said on social media

'My then-manager voiced his agreement with the assessment,' she added. 'I left the director/producer's office feeling stunned and small. Was he right that I couldn't be successful unless I had so many body parts fixed?

'I thought of how individuals in the media and others in the industry had referred to me as "dusky" and "different-looking," and I wondered if I was cut out for this business after all.'

The star insisted her experience was 'normalized' in Hollywood and she was told to keep quiet about the incident if she wanted to enjoy a long career.

She told Metro.co.uk: 'It's so normalized that it doesn't come up in conversation. I talked about a movie that I walked out of because of how I was spoken to by the director.

'It was early in my career, but I never told him why I walked out. I never had the courage to stand up for myself, and actually admit it. Because I heard so often, "Don't be a nuisance, you're new in the industry, you don't want to have a reputation that you cause trouble or you're not easy to work with."

'Now on the other side of 35. I know that's a normalized thing that girls hear so often.'
"Our posture's gonna be that we're posted outside of DC, awaiting the president's orders. We hope he will give us the orders. We want him to declare an insurrection, and to call us up as the militia."

Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, in November, looking ahead to Jan. 6
[March 25, 2021] ATLAS Expands Scope and Impact with Latest Launch

With the recent launch of a Soyuz-2.1a rocket from Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome, ATLAS Space Operations has grown to support three brand new missions with its Freedom Platform. Amid the multinational launch, ATLAS will support Astroscale, LinaSpace, and Axelspace in some of the most impressive space-based missions happening today. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005757/en/ ATLAS Space Operations Network Operations Center (Photo: Business Wire) The challenge of how to address space debris has emerged as an urgent question for the space community to answer. Through a series of technical demonstrations that span several months, Astroscale's ELSA-d spacecraft, will respond to this question by demonstrating the core technologies and capabilities necessary for debris removal and docking. ATLAS, from its Brewster, WA ground station, as well as from its new ground station in Miami, which ATLAS epects to be operational next quarter, is one of the providers that will support the communications that power the ELSA-d spacecraft. Astroscale's mission will use the Freedom API, Freedom Pass Server, and ATLAS' proprietary Flex Scheduler.



The Freedom Pass Server (FPS) provides ATLAS' clients with state-of-the-art networking and Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) abilities. Through its mixed modem capability, the FPS enables ATLAS clients to interface with a diverse range of modems from different ground sites by abstracting away the hardware differences. For this mission, the client's Command and Control System (C2) is designed for a KRATOS frame format; here the FPS enables it to execute Commands and Telemetry using an Amergint Technologies modem. "ATLAS' clients can come with their existing integrations and the FPS will translate to any ground site hardware without the need for additional coding. Adaptive software can address a lot of these issues, and talking to the users and people closest to the problem has allowed us to significantly reduce costs and integration time for our clients. ATLAS offers our clients the freedom to get their data quickly and securely-on their terms," said Brad Bode, Chief Technical Officer at ATLAS.

LinaSpace is also making use of ATLAS' global network of ground stations and Freedom Pass Server. ATLAS will support LinaSpace through their Ghana ground station, as well as two new ground stations in Scotland and New Zealand. LinaSpace specializes in Earth observation and communications. With this launch, LinaSpace has delivered an Earth observation satellite to orbit, with ATLAS supporting the data transfer process to monitor and control the mission. Axelspace, a Tokyo-based microsatellite company building an Earth observation constellation, also launched four satellites from Baikonur. ATLAS will support their mission from its new ground station in New Zealand, bringing valuable insights down from space. All of these initiatives work to further ATLAS' mission in line with the interests of its clients: to connect humanity through space. About ATLAS Space Operations: ATLAS Space Operations is the fastest-growing teleport operator in the world according to the World Teleport Association's Fast 10, and was recognized as the 15th fastest-growing software company on the Inc. 5000. ATLAS' Freedom offers a secure, cloud-based platform for global communications that drive critical decisions on Earth. Our ground network and software provide a revolutionary approach that connects humanity through space. ATLAS' mission is to become the world's largest provider of pure play teleport and gateway services by leveraging the virtualization of global ground communication assets. For more information visit www.atlasground.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005757/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
press release

The DA has written to the Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan, to ascertain the details of South Africa's involvement in the Yemeni humanitarian crisis.

It was reported that South African arms companies, including Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM), have profited by the selling off of weapons to factions central in the humanitarian war in Yemen, thereby aiding to gross human rights violations in the country.

According to a report by the non-profit, Open Secrets, South African arms companies exported mortars, mortal shells, artillery guns and shells, ammunition, armoured combat vehicles and software used in electronic warfare to the tune of R2.81 billion to Saudi Arabia and almost double that amount - R4.74 billion - in these weapons to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Both Saudi Arabia and the UAE are parties in the civil regional war that wages in Yemen since 2015.

The DA wants to know from Gordhan:

What agreement has been put in place with South African arms companies including RDM?

What is the value of these agreements to parties central to the conflict?

What has RDM profited from these deals?

If these deals are in place, RDM - and South Africa itself - may be guilty of contributing to the gross human rights violations in Yemen. Mr Gordhan needs to provide urgent clarity.

Local Government Elections are coming up in 2021! Visit check.da.org.za to check your voter registration status
MBABANE - While congregants celebrate the reopening of churches, His Majesty King Mswati III has warned that nothing has changed from last years Easter celebrations.

By this, the King meant, there would be no camps and large gatherings across the country. The King made the announcement of the celebration of the Easter services through the Minister of Home Affairs, Princess Lindiwe, in a press briefing held at the ministrys headquarters. I am directed by His Majesty King Mswati III to announce that Good Friday services will be held under strict COVID-19 regulations to prevent the spread of the virus, said the minister.

She said the services would be conducted on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The services will be held from April 2 to April 4, from 10am each day. The services will be led by pastors from the three church bodies, said the minister. The three church bodies are League of Churches, Conference of Churches and Council of Swaziland Churches. The nation is advised to follow the services on all available electronic media broadcast platforms, national radio at Eswatini Broadcast and Information Services (EBIS) as well as Eswatini TV, said the minister.

Also present at the press conference was the League of Churches President, Bishop Samson Hlatjwako, who requested pastors to have brief sermons in order to save time during the course of the services. On Tuesday, the Ministry of Home Affairs released the guidelines for reopening of churches, stating that any church that would be found to have breached the regulations would be suspended for two weeks.

Normally, congregants set up camp near Lobamba, where they attend services starting on Friday. The congregants remain at the camp until Sunday, where they join Their Majesties in commemorating the resurrection of Christ. However, the congregants were deprived of this opportunity after the outbreak of the coronavirus last year.

Expectation

Asked about this years Easter expectation, Hlatjwako stated that nothing had changed from last year. He said camps and travels would not be allowed even this year. The bishop mentioned that the reopening of churches did not mean things had gone back to normal. The reopening of churches in the country is different from that of South Africa. We are expected to stick to the regulations put in place by government. Congregants will be expected to maintain the 1.5-metre distance during the course of the two-hour worship at the National Church in Lobamba. It is for that reason there will be no camps and large gatherings, he said. The bishop warned the public not to hesitate; but call the police if they observed any breach of the COVID-19 regulations. By breach of the regulation, Hlatjwako meant prolonged and night services.


The witness says she last heard from her brother when she took food to him at the Kuje police station in Abuja on January 2, 2009.

A witness, Kate Okwor, on Wednesday, told an Independent Investigative Panel probing complaints of rights violations committed by the police, how his elder brother, Jude Onunze, had been missing from the Kuje police station in Abuja over 12 years ago.

Ms Okwor, who appeared before the 11-man panel in Abuja, said her brother was arrested by police officers from Kuje police station on January 1, 2009, following the complaint of assault lodged against him by his friend.

The witness said she last heard from her brother at the police station on January 2, 2009.

Petition

She appeared before the panel on Wednesday to testify in support of a petition submitted to the panel by her family.

The panel, chaired by a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Suleiman Galadima, was set up by the National Human Rights (NHRC) in response to last year's nationwide #EndSARS protests against the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and acts of police brutality.

The NHRC's press unit shared the details of Wednesday's proceedings of the panel with PREMIUM TIMES in a statement.

According to the NHRC's statement, Ms Okwor told the panel that her brother's friend had lodged a complaint of assault against him at the Kuje police station.

She said her brother called her when he was arrested and taken to the Kuje police station on January 1, 2009.

She said she eventually met the officers in charge of her brother's case at the police station that day and was told by them to come the following day.

According to her, she arrived the police station with food for her brother on January 2, 2009.

She said she was able to pass the food and water to him over the counter after tasting them as requested by the police.

The NHRC's statement added, "the witnesses said she, together with her husband, and Chairman of Igbo community in Kuje, Akpata Justice, went to the police station on January 4, 2009 when the 5th respondent, Peter Ageh (the investigative police officer), Kuje police station said that my brother had been taken home in a patrol vehicle.

"Upon hearing this, she said that they quickly went back and on getting to his brother's house, he discovered that the door was locked and that there was no sign to show he was around."

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

According to the witness, she and some members of her family then returned to the police station to inform them that his brother was not at home.

She said her brother had not been seen since then.

She said she had gone to court and the National Assembly over the alleged enforced disappearance of his brother before reporting the case to the NHRC.

Cross-examination, indefinite adjournment

While cross-examining the witness, the counsel for the Nigerian police, James Idachaba, said the "matter had been taken to the court and decided by the court".

Mr Idachaba informed the panel that an appeal was pending before the Court of Appeal in respect of the matter.

But the complainant's lawyer, Chukwudi Igwe, told the panel that the missing Jude person was presumed dead and that he was not aware that the same matter was pending before the Court of Appeal.

The panel, therefore, adjourned the matter indefinitely to enable the parties ascertain the status of the matter at the FCT High Court or the Court of Appeal and report back to the panel.
The Kenya Prisons Service (KPS) has started administering Covid-19 vaccine to its 28,000 prison officers.

Commissioner General of prisons Wycliffe Ogalo launched the exercise at the prisons headquarters on Tuesday as he received the vaccine to allay fears that it is harmful.

Ogalo said the access to the vaccine would not have been possible were it not a very robust partnership with both state and non-state actors.

The prisons will vaccinate 8,000 warders in the first phase before receiving more doses to vaccinate the entire workforce.

"Today we are grateful to have received from the Ministry of Health, Covid - 19 vaccines to vaccinate KPS personnel countrywide," Ogalo said.

"To this end we recognise their enviable humanitarian act that has gone a long way in augmenting our zealous effort in fighting the novel global Coronavirus in our penal facilities," he added.

To fast-track the process, Ogalo noted that the exercise will be supervised and administered by KPS healthcare personnel in the respective prison stations countrywide.

But the prisons boss urged officers not to relent in upholding preventive measures in use.

"I call upon all of us not to drop our guard. We must continue to practice the hygiene measures that we have learned to trust: keeping a safe distance, wearing our masks, washing and disinfecting our hands for that will keep us safe," Ogalo 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.
Overview

April 13

10AM PT, 1PM ET



Watch Now

One of the many lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic is that remote work works  employees are just as productive from their couches and kitchen tables, if not more so, than they are in an office environment. But as leaders look toward the future, and potentially long-term remote and hybrid work plans, how can they support employees in this new environment?

There are important questions to consider:

How do organizations ensure the right balance of work and family?

How do hybrid and remote work impact employee morale?

How can organizations best focus on employee physical and mental health moving forward?

For answers to these questions and more, join Governing and Government Technology on April 13 at 10 a.m. Pacific/1 p.m. Eastern as we talk with Bill Kehoe, CIO of Los Angeles County, and Fred Brittain, CIO of the State of Maine, about how they are leading in this new normal.
New Delhi, March 25 : After the recent military coup in Myanmar, a total of 733 persons, including policemen, have fled to Mizoram in India and are staying illegally across the state. These people entered Mizoram after facing persecution from the military in Myanmar.

Top sources said that a total of 642 Myanmar nationals living at various camps across Mizoram have been located and verified. The intelligence agencies are trying to identify a fresh influx of another 91 refugees. They have been put in the "unconfirmed" category by the agencies. The fresh influx happened between March 18 and March 20.

As per the internal report of an intelligence agency, the maximum number of refugees are staying in Champhai district. The report stated that a total 324 identified refugees are staying in Champhai district and a fresh influx of 91 persons, who have not been accounted for so far, are also staying in the same district.

After Champhai, a total 144 refugees are staying in the border district of Siaha. As per the report, 83 persons are staying at Hnahthial, 55 at Lawngtalai, 15 at Serchhip, 14 at Aizwal, three at Saitual, and two each at Kolasib and Lunglei.

It further stated that most of the refugees are policemen and their families, and some are even army personnel who refused to shoot at the protesters opposing the military rule in Myanmar, sources said.

They are staying in community halls near the borders that are meant to facilitate accommodation under the Free Movement Regime arrangement while some others have taken shelter with relatives away from the border areas. A Free Movement Regime allows people to travel up to 16 km on either side of the borders and stay for up to 14 days.

India and Myanmar share 1,643 km borders and people on either side have familial ties due to the ethnic affiliations. Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland are the Indian states that share borders with Myanmar but the influx after the coup has been limited to Mizoram, which shares 510 km borders with Myanmar.

The influx of these people is a sensitive issue in the state as people on either side of the borders have ethnic affiliations.

The Central and Mizoram governments are at odds over the influx of refugees from Myanmar after the military coup over there.

Mizoram government opened the gates for the facilitation of refugees and migrants from Myanmar in connection with the political development in Myanmar and issued a standard operating procedure (SOP) regarding this.

Learning about the Mizoram government's SOP for refugees, the Centre directed the state to immediately revoke it.

Thereafter, Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga said that the Centre's order to prevent illegal immigration from Myanmar is not acceptable. He urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide them asylum on humanitarian grounds.

(Sumit Kumar Singh can be reached at sumit.k@ians.in)
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 Delhi:

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday filed chargesheet against Shivani Saxena who is director of Dubai-based company in AgustaWestland Case. This is second supplementary chargesheet in case.

Chargesheet was filed against Shivani Saxena under various charges of Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

The next hearing will be on September 19.

Earlier on September 1, CBI chargesheeted Former IAF Chief S P Tyagi and 9 others in connection with a bribery case in the Rs 3,500 crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal.

Besides him, the agency has also chargesheeted retired Air Marshal J S Gujral along with eight others, including five foreign nationals, in the charge sheet filed before Special CBI Judge Arvind Kumar.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Kyiv Court of Appeal has confirmed the legality of the ruling to arrest former President Viktor Yanukovych in absentia in connection with the seizure of state power.

The court issued the corresponding ruling on Thursday, thus refusing to satisfy the appeal of lawyers against the decision of Pechersky District Court of Kyiv dated May 4, 2020 on choosing a preventive measure for Yanukovych in the form of arrest in absentia in the case on amendments to the Constitution with the aim of seizing power.

"The decision [...] that imposes a pretrial restraint for Yanukovych [...] to leave unchanged, the appeal is not sustained," the court said in its ruling.

The court announced the operative part of the ruling, the full text will be made public on March 30.

The defense in its complaint, in particular, appealed to procedural violations by the investigation and the lack of proper documents on the international wanted list of Yanukovych. During the trial, the prosecution said that there were no procedural violations and explained its position on the search: "In this proceeding [...] Yanukovych is registered as a wanted person [...] There is an order from the SBU, given to investigators, about the search [...]. There are letters confirming the international search."

The Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) published information about this court ruling on its website, noting that "at present, the prosecution has the right to initiate extradition proceedings against the suspect and apply to the court for permission to conduct a special pretrial investigation (in absentia)."
Thank you for reading!

Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
It is quite apparent from Krishna Shroff's Instagram that she is a fitness freak. Krishna Shroff's photos of her fitness are quite popular on Instagram. The 27-year-old is often seen showing off her toned body and washboard abs on social media. She also recently shared a story on her social media handle and asked her followers to eat carbs.

Krishna Shroff urges followers to eat carbs

Krishna Shroff is the daughter of the famous Bollywood actor Jackie Shroff and the sister of actor Tiger Shroff. She shared a picture of her toned body on her Instagram story. While sharing the story, she wrote, "Eat your damn Carbs, ladies".

The 27-year-old often shares her workout routine with fans and followers. She is also trained in MMA that is a mixed martial arts and co-owns an MMA training facility called MMA Matrix with her brother Tiger Shroff.

Krishna Shroff's photos from her Maldives vacation

Krishna Shroff was seen vacationing in the Maldives a few days back. She shared the photos of her vacation on her Instagram. The 27-year-old left her fans and followers in awe as she posed for the camera in a pink and black bikini with Maldives' blue beaches in the background. She also shared videos of her diving and swimming underwater in the ocean. Her brother Tiger Shroff's rumoured girlfriend Disha Patani also left a comment on her post.

Krishna Shroff lifts brother Tiger Shroff on her shoulders

Krishna Shroff recently posted a picture with her brother Tiger Shroff on her Instagram. In the photo, Krishna can be seen picking up Tiger on her shoulders. Along with the photo, she also shared videos showing the BTS of the photo. In the video, she can be seen shrieking as Tiger almost falls from her shoulders. And in the third video, Tiger is seen throwing a kick at Krishna while she dodges it skillfully. While sharing the photos and videos, Krishna wrote in her caption about her brother that "Hes always got my back and Ill forever lift him up".

Source: Krishna Shroff's Instagram

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.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - The number of coronavirus cases at Ohio nursing homes dropped again this week, to 531 patients and 395 staff, the Ohio Department of Health reported Wednesday.

This is down from 570 patient cases and 423 for staff at the long-term care facilities a week ago.

Current cases are defined as those active during the seven-day period ending Tuesday. Total patient cases stood at 5,155 in mid-December, dropping to 2,711 by mid-January and 992 by mid-February.

The state began tracking nursing home cases by facility on April 15. There have been 48,806 patient cases and 34,598 staff cases reported since then.

The number of active coronavirus cases for Ohio nursing home patients has declined each week this year.Rich Exner, cleveland.com

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.

However, death counts became unreliable as a tracking measure earlier this month when Gov. Mike DeWines health department switched to a more delayed reporting system, which involves awaiting for confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control before a death is included.

The state this week reported 7,055 patient deaths to date, up from 6,903 and 6,790 the previous two weeks. However, before the switch in reporting procedures, the state had been reporting 7,462 patient deaths. Most of those likely will be added back in later.

Facility-by-facility case details can be found below. If you are having trouble viewing the list, use this link instead.

Previous stories:

Amid coronavirus concerns, heres how to price the difference between flying and driving on vacation - Thats Rich!

See Ohio coronavirus updates, trends, map as state tops 1 million cases, 2.8 million vaccinated

Obamacare now cheaper for millions because of big health insurance changes in stimulus - Thats Rich!

How to claim your unemployment tax break under new stimulus; other coronavirus-related tax matters - Thats Rich!

Heres whats in the latest COVID-19 relief bill, including $5,600 in stimulus payments for a family of 4 - Thats Rich!
United Airlines will beef up its summer flights between the South Carolina coast and the Midwest starting May 27 as more people are vaccinated and get the itch to travel again.

The carrier is adding new nonstop service between seven cities in America's heartland and Charleston, Hilton Head and Myrtle Beach, altogether offering 45 new seasonal flights each week.

United will offer flights from Charleston International to six destinations: three in Ohio and one each in Indiana, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

The airline will add service three times a week to Cincinnati, Cleveland, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh along with flights to Columbus four times a week and Milwaukee twice a week.

Myrtle Beach International will pick up service three times a week to Cleveland and St. Louis and two flights each week to Milwaukee.

The Chicago-based airline is adding flights from Hilton Head to Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus, Pittsburgh and St. Louis three times a week and to Indianapolis four times each week.

"In the past few weeks we have seen the strongest flight bookings since the start of the pandemic," said Ankit Gupta, vice president of Uniteds domestic network for planning and scheduling.

As we rebuild our schedule to meet that demand, adding in seasonal point-to-point flying is just one of the ways we are finding opportunities to add new ... service," he said.

Gupta also noted the airline will continue to adjust its flight schedule as conditions warrant during the pandemic.

Sign up for our new business newsletter We're starting a weekly newsletter about the business stories that are shaping Charleston and South Carolina. Get ahead with us - it's free. Email

Sign Up!

Most of the new routes will use the Bombardier CRJ-550 aircraft that includes seats for 10 first-class passengers and 20 each for economy-plus and standard economy travelers.

Flights will continue until after Labor Day, Charleston International spokesman Spencer Pryor said.

Nonstop flights to Milwaukee are a first from Charleston. Las Vegas-based Allegiant also offers service to the other five Midwestern cities from the Lowcountry.

"We have been on a steady track to returning to pre-COVID passenger volume, and the announcement by United will bring us a step closer," Charleston International CEO Elliott Summey said.

The addition of six new destinations more than doubles Uniteds nonstop flights out of Charleston and adds 18 weekly flights.

Charleston airport board chairwoman Helen Hill noted United's "continued confidence in the strength of the Charleston market" amid the pandemic recovery.

Hill, also CEO of tourism agency Explore Charleston, also pointed to Ohio as consistently being among the top states of origin for visitors to the Lowcountry.

Charleston airport officials expect airlines to offer 90 percent of the pre-pandemic seating capacity by the end of May, helping to boost the nearly decimated travel and hospitality industries over the past year amid the pandemic.

Charleston, like most airports across the U.S., has been operating at 40 percent of its normal levels for several months after plunging to 4 percent last April, during the height of the economic lockdown.

A turnaround in air travel is expected when March's passenger numbers are released next month.
Pictured is the South Perry Street bridge. The bridge, closed and deemed redundant by the state, had more than $160,000 earmarked for work to be done after demolition. The bridge will now get no funding, as the 2019 CDBG funds were modified and will now go toward work at the Diamond Street clearance and demolition project.
Press Release

March 25, 2021 Red-tagging punishable by 10 years in prison under proposed Drilon law Alarmed by the rising cases of red-tagging, Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon proposed a measure that will make red-tagging punishable by up to 10 years in prison and disqualify persons convicted of red-tagging from holding public office. Senate Bill 2121 or the proposed "Act Defining and Penalizing Red-Tagging" seeks to criminalize red-tagging and provide for penalties as deterrence "in order to fix the legal gaps, address impunity and institutionalize a system of accountability." Under the measure, the crime of red-tagging is defined as the act of labeling, vilifying, branding, naming, accusing, harassing, persecuting, stereotyping, or caricaturing individuals, groups, or organizations as state enemies, left-leaning, subversives, communists, or terrorists as part of a counter-insurgency or anti-terrorism strategy or program, by any state actor, such as law enforcement agent, paramilitary, or military personnel. "Any person found guilty of red-tagging shall be imprisoned for 10 years and shall suffer the accessory penalty of perpetual absolute disqualification to hold public office," according to the bill. "The passage of this bill will reverse the 'increasingly institutionalization and normalization of human rights violations' and put a stop on the attacks against the members of the legal profession," Drilon said in the bill's explanatory note. The former justice secretary said libel, or grave threats, is not appropriate where a state agent vilifies a person as an enemy of the state thereby impinging on the rights of that individual. "The measure will likewise serve as a reminder to the government of its primary duty under the Constitution to serve and protect the people," he stressed. Drilon lamented how the continuing governmental public branding has "threatened" the very life, liberty and security of the vilified men and women. "It has resulted in serious human rights violations such as harassments, arbitrary arrests, detentions, and enforced disappearances," he said. He warned: "In some instances, being red-tagged is a prelude to death." The minority leader cited the case of a certain Zara Alvarez whose name was included in the Department of Justice's terrorist list. Last August 17, 2020, Alvarez was fatally shot by unidentified gunmen in Negros. He also cited the assassination of Dr. Mary Rose Sancelan, the only doctor in the City of Guihulngan City, who was number one on a list of 15 people accused of being a member of the Communist Party of the Philippines in Negros Oriental. Last December 2020, a lone gunman fatally shot the barrio doctor. She was the 6th person killed off from the said list. Members of the legal profession were not spared from this systemic and calculated vilification as enemies of the State, according to the former justice secretary, who led his colleagues in the chamber in filing a resolution strongly condemning the killings of and violence against lawyers and judges in the country.
North Korea fired two short-range cruise missiles into the West Sea on March 21, but South Koreans had to find out about it from the international media, and the military here did not admit until Tuesday that it had been watching in real time. Responding to justified criticism, the military then blustered that it does "not reveal everything" related to North Korea. It did however "reveal" the North's cruise missile launches in April of last year, so what guides its policy on these things must remain a mystery. In fact the South Korean government persuaded the U.S. to sweep the launch under the carpet as well, just as it omitted the word "denuclearization" of North Korea from a joint statement of the two allies' defense and foreign ministers last week. But of course the U.S. government then simply leaked the information to American media.

A military spokesman here said it is "too early" to assess whether the missile launch was a provocation or not. But how hard is it to guess? The main issue is that the government is sticking its fingers in its ears and squeezing its eyes tightly shut, and the military is playing along. North Korea also deployed multiple-rocket launchers on Changrin Island near the Northern Limit Line, which serves as a de facto maritime border. That is a clear violation of an inter-Korean military agreement from 2018 that established a wider buffer zone between the neighbors. But the Defense Ministry said the North did not violate the military pact, which "does not even mention such things."

Meanwhile the Foreign Ministry backed out of co-sponsoring a UN resolution condemning North Korea's human rights abuses for the third year in a row. Co-sponsoring the resolution sends a strong message to the international community about where South Korea stands on the issue, and the government has yet to explain why it stood back again. The Moon Jae-in administration is very proud of its credentials as former democracy activists, but now they only interested in sucking up to the brutal human-rights abusers north of the border.

The latest resolution of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees expresses concern about former South Korean prisoners of war and abduction victims that North Korea refuses to send back, as well as their families in the South. As he worked tirelessly to woo North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, President Moon never demanded the return of the POWs. The unification minister went even further by saying "a lot of time has passed" since the brutal murder of a South Korean fisheries official by North Korean soldiers in the West Sea, so he "will support the speedy resumption of assistance for North Korea." The government has become a craven lackey of the North Korean dictatorship.


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 Manitoba government has ordered an in-depth review into the 2018 death of a three-year-old First Nations boy who was taken to a nursing station with broken bones and cigarette burns on his body.

The Manitoba government has ordered an in-depth review into the 2018 death of a three-year-old First Nations boy who was taken to a nursing station with broken bones and cigarette burns on his body.

"It's absolutely tragic what happened to this child," Families Minister Rochelle Squires said about Abel Flett.

The child from Little Grand Rapids, who couldn't walk and suffered from seizures, died on Aug. 23, 2018, after allegedly being abused. Community members have demanded accountability for the death of the child.

FACEBOOK Houston Bushie and Alayna Flett were charged after the death of three-year-old Abel Flett.

On Monday, police announced the arrests of Alayna Flett, 21, and Houston Bushie, 24, who were serving as the temporary guardians of the toddler and his three elder siblings in the months before his death. They have been charged with failure to provide the necessaries of life.

"There are a lot of questions that need to be answered," said Squires. "That is why I'm ordering a Section 4 review," she said.

Section 4 of the Child and Family Services Act gives the director of CFS the authority to fully review a case. It requires any person who, in the opinion of the director, is able to give information, to provide it. It allows the director to enter and inspect the premises where a child is placed and to "inspect and obtain a copy of any record, paper or thing, or a sample of any material, food, medication, or thing that, in the opinion of the director, relates to an agency, a child, a child care facility, or to any matter being investigated by the director."

Such reviews have been conducted following the deaths of five-year-old Phoenix Sinclair in 2005 and two-year-old Gage Guimond in 2007.

Squires later stressed that the reviews findings would not be made public.

"Section four reviews lead to reports with recommendations based on their findings, though they are not made public because they are generally based on case reviews and the confidentiality of the families involved must be maintained," she said.

Manitoba's advocate for children and youth was notified of 1,383 deaths of Manitoba children between birth and five years of age from Sept. 15, 2008 and March 31, 2020. Earlier this month, the advocate's office released a report on 19 maltreatment deaths of children during that time, calling on the province to act on the 62 recommendations of the Phoenix Sinclair inquiry report.

MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES "It's absolutely tragic what happened to this child," Families Minister Rochelle Squires said about Abel Flett.

"I am always saddened to hear of the death of a child, especially any death due to maltreatment," acting children's advocate Ainsley Krone said Wednesday.

"We need to work together as a province to prevent maltreatment, looking after children, youth and families... so we can improve safety for children and prevent future deaths," she said.

Her office confirmed in 2018 that Abel's death was within the scope of the children's advocate to review. It reviews any death of a child or youth under age 21 where there has been any involvement by CFS in the preceding 12 months, including cases where a CFS file was closed, as well as any other type of CFS file that is open at the time of the death.

"I have been in contact with the Little Grand Rapids community and have provided information, on their request, about our current and pending involvement in the review of the death," Krone said.

She said they can't do any further investigating until criminal matters have concluded. Once those are dealt with, they will conduct a review of files associated with the child and their family, interviews with people who knew and loved the child, and try to determine gaps in the system, said Krone.

"I have been in contact with the Little Grand Rapids community and have provided information, on their request, about our current and pending involvement in the review of the death."  Acting children's advocate Ainsley Krone

Until Manitoba's child welfare workers are regulated  one of the 62 recommendations of the Phoenix Sinclair inquiry  children will continue to fall through the cracks, says the registrar of the Manitoba College of Social Workers.

"The Department of Families continues to employ unlicensed child welfare workers and fund agencies who employ unlicensed child welfare workers," said Barbara Temmerman. "Every year, the Manitoba College of Social Workers receives multiple complaints regarding unregistered practitioners whom the public believes are registered and regulated social workers," she said Wednesday. In some cases, it's youth who are complaining and they're told the college cannot assist them  "that their voices cannot be heard  because the college does not have jurisdiction to evaluate their concerns," she said.

"Providing the skilled, regulated services of professional social workers is a key component of what has been missing in the child welfare system in Manitoba," Temmerman said Wednesday.

Squires said that while she is committed to fulfilling the recommendations of the Phoenix Sinclair inquiry and registering social workers employed by the province, it is not within her purview to order that all CFS authorities and agencies ensure their child welfare workers are registered with the profession. She said they receive funding and make their own hiring and spending decisions.

FACEBOOK Houston Bushie and Alayna Flett

New Democrat Bernadette Smith said the buck stops with the families minister who is responsible for making sure children are safe. Smith said the province doesn't provide enough funding to CFS authorities and agencies.

"So many families are in need of support," Smith said. "In remote communities, there's not a lot of support." Too often, struggling families don't get the help they need to stay together and avoid having children apprehended, she said. Child welfare agencies that receive block funding for the basics don't have any funding for prevention, she said.

"We have a broken system and successive governments have not actually put the money into fixing what needs to work at the ground level," said Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont. "Drug abuse, mental illness, homelessness, poverty, broken families, sexually exploited youth  it all ends up in the hands of CFS because CFS can't turn anyone away," he said.

"CFS is a colossal tragedy and a failure because so many other systems have been ignored," he said. Tragedies, such as the deaths of Abel Flett and Phoenix Sinclair, have become routine, he said.

"It is the single greatest failure of Manitoba, as a province  to keep these kids safe."

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
Chinese social media users are targeting global fashion retailers including H&M, Nike and Adidas for criticism and boycotts over statements they had previously made regarding cotton sourced in northwestern China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), where up to 1.8 million Uyghurs have been incarcerated in internment camps.



The United States said in January that the Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities are being targeted by China as part of a state-backed genocide, and the parliaments of Canada and the Netherlands have followed suit.



Up to 1.8 million people are believed to have been held in a vast network of internment camps in the XUAR since early 2017.



Reports also suggest that Uyghurs being subjected to torture, forced labor, state-enforced birth control including forced sterilizations and abortions, and cultural eradication.



Internet users in China also targeted the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), a campaign group that has said it would remove its seal of approval from cotton sourced from Xinjiang during the 2020-2021 season.



Users targeted Spain's Inditex, which owns the Zara clothing chain, and which has vowed to use only BCI-endorsed cotton by 2025.



They also took aim at Sweden's H&M, which also announced it would stop using Xinjiang cotton after the BCI withdrew approval.



A China-based user of the audio chat app Clubhouse, who gave only a nickname J, said the app's chatrooms were buzzing with calls for boycotts on .



"In the past, we had the [campaign against the] Eight Allied Forces during the Boxer rebellion [1900], and now it's against the Five Eyes countries," J said. "It may not be out-and-out war, but there's a sense that we're fighting against the U.S., Japan, the E.U. and other countries."



Nike and Adidas, both of which had said they will end the use of cotton from Xinjiang, also came under fire on Chinese social media platforms.



The Chinese government weighed in behind social media campaigners on , calling on the companies to "correct their mistakes."



"Chinese people do not allow some foreigners to eat Chinese food while smashing Chinese bowls," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular news briefing in Beijing.

Meanwhile, commerce ministry spokesman Gao Feng said Beijing opposed external interference in Xinjiang, and that Xinjiang cotton could not be tarnished.





A policeman tries to prevent photos being taken outside a store of Swedish clothing giant H&M in Beijing, March 25, 2021, after H&M faced calls for a boycott as a backlash brews against Western firms speaking out on human rights. Credit: AFP

Propaganda could backfire

Nike said in a statement that it "does not source products from the XUAR and we have confirmed with our contract suppliers that they are not using textiles or spun yarn from the region."

The Oregon-based U.S. multinational firm added: "We have been conducting ongoing diligence with our suppliers in China to identify and assess potential forced labor risks related to employment of Uyghurs, or other ethnic minorities from XUAR, in other parts of China."

Meiirbek Salanbek, a Kazakh citizen journalist exiled in France, said the online criticism and boycotts were likely orchestrated by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the first place in response to international sanctions being imposed on officials linked to rights abuses in Xinjiang and Hong Kong.

On Monday, Canada, the European Union, the United Kingdom and the U.S. leveled sanctions against Chinese officials and security entities as part of a multilateral approach to hold to account those responsible for abuses in the XUAR.



"The Chinese government used to restrict any discussion of Xinjiang-related topics in China; they didn't want people talking about it at all," Salanbek said.



"Now they are setting it as a topic of concern to manipulate public opinion," he said. "But doing that will make people aware that there is indeed a human rights crisis happening in Xinjiang, and they will start to pay more attention to that."

Uyghur exile groups who have long pushed for sanctions and measure to draw attention to forced labor in Xinjiang's key cotton industry shared the same view of China's new campaign.

China's "retaliatory actions reflect a growing aggression by the Chinese Communist Party to lash out to eliminate perceived threats against it, as the pressure on Beijing increases internationally as they continue their operations of mass oppression and genocide, said Campaign for Uyghurs (CFU) advocacy group in a statement Thursday.

The Chinese regime is clearly in a weak spot and is acting irrationally to not only defend their use of forced labor, but to attack anyone who prioritizes due diligence or has concern for human rights. This is in keeping with their consistent defense of their genocidal crimes, said Rushan Abbas, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based CFU.

Pu Lin, a doctoral student in political science at Tulane University, said no criticism of foreign companies would be allowed if the CCP hadn't endorsed it through approved media and social media accounts in the first place.



"This is all about China's response to pressure from the U.S. and the E.U.," Pu said. "All of the international brands [here] have a China market."



"This is a good opportunity for China to engage in some wolf-warrior diplomacy and force companies to buy Xinjiang cotton," Pu said. "The CCP is manipulating the situation to use as leverage, as a bargaining chip."



Hong Kongers reject Xinjiang cotton

Meanwhile, Japan's Ryohin Keikaku, which owns Muji, has been less than emphatic about removing cotton from Xinjiang from their supply chains.



Muji, which operates 275 stores in mainland China, more than a quarter of its global network, won praise on Chinese social media platforms, with commenters saying the company knew how to survive, after Ryohin Keikaku was quoted by the CCP-backed Global Times as saying that it does use cotton from Xinjiang.



The company told Reuters it was for its suppliers to correct any "issues" in their Xinjiang operations.



Some shoppers in Hong Kong who spoke to RFA on said they were unwilling to keep buying cotton from Xinjiang.



"I never thought a Japanese company would use cotton from Xinjiang," a shopper surnamed Man said. "Now we know, we won't buy it."



A resident surnamed Ma said she would boycott the company.



"Neither Uniqlo nor Nike sell [goods made with] Xinjiang cotton, but [Muji] doesn't seem to care so I wouldn't buy from them," she said. "I think we need to pay more attention to human rights and the environment."



Parent company Fast Retailing has previously said that no Uniqlo products are manufactured in Xinjiang, and that none of its suppliers is based there.



Another shopper surnamed Lau said she would carry on shopping at Muji, however. "I don't know if this news is true or false. It may be propaganda," she said.



At the same time, however, Hong Kong pop star Eason Chan said he would withdraw from his partnership with Adidas, which also works with BCI to ensure a more ethical supply chain.



Amid pressure on entertainers who serve China's market, Chan said via his Sina Weibo account that he felt compelled to "resist any behavior that stigmatizes China."



Reported by Yitong Wu, Chingman, Gigi Lee, Lu Xi and Chan Yun Nam for RFA's Cantonese and Mandarin Services, and Alim Seytoff for the Uyghur Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Obamacare enrollment is typically open for limited periods of time in November and December. People who sign up for coverage at other times must have a qualifying event to do so, such as losing their health insurance because of a job loss or a divorce. Under the extension, no qualifying event will be necessary to sign up for coverage through Aug. 15.
This is China's first intercontinental chartered cargo flight to deliver COVID-19 vaccines. Eastern Air Logistics Co, the freight unit under China Eastern Airlines, was in charge of this flight.

Dominican Republic Vice-President and Head of Health Cabinet Raquel Pena welcomed the arrival of the Chinese developed vaccines at the airport, saying the Chinese vaccines brought hope to the Dominican Republic's people.

Quite a few countries have expressed their willingness to purchase and use China's COVID-19 vaccines. Shipping via air is the best transportation solution when it comes to convenience, efficiency and safety.

Image Attachments Links:

Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=387528

Caption: China Eastern flies vaccines to Dominican Republic.

SOURCE China Eastern Airlines
Portlands police chief said Wednesday he bears some of the blame for a string of brazen actions that appear to involve officers targeting local elected officials deemed opponents of the police bureau.

I feel like where I sit as the police chief you are ultimately responsible for things happening in your organization, Chief Chuck Lovell said. For his agency, these things, in many ways, are self-inflicted injuries of sorts that could be avoidable.

The Oregonian/OregonLive revealed last month that a Portland police officer likely maliciously shared the home address of and other personal information about Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt, a prosecutor who critics believe is too soft on crime. The countys voters overwhelmingly elected Schmidt, who ran on a platform of police reform and racial justice, in May 2020.

A Portland police commander was captured on video in January telling residents at a public safety forum that they should vote Schmidt  a law enforcement partner  out of office, Willamette Week reported.

Those incidents were followed by an apparent information leak intended to damage City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, a longtime police critic. The leak of a report that mistakenly identified Hardesty as a hit-and-run driver prompted the resignation of Portland police union president Brian Hunzeker last week.

During a video news conference, Lovell did not dismiss suggestions that the episodes could point to larger troubles within the bureau, which he took over last year during Portlands wave of protests against police violence and systemic racism.

I think its a good question, he said. Anything that speaks to the overall culture of your agency you have to be willing to take a critical look at. You cant bury your head in the sand and say, No, theres no problem here.

All three incidents are currently under investigation by Portland police, or an outside agency or both.

The city, at the urging of Mayor Ted Wheeler, is also finalizing the details of a broader probe into potential political and racial bias within the bureau that was prompted by the leak against Hardesty, the first Black woman elected to the Portland City Council.

Schmidt told The Oregonian/OregonLive in February that it appeared an officer late last year took a screenshot from a city-issued mobile data terminal showing Schmidts address and that information subsequently surfaced online.

The police bureau, which launched an internal affairs investigation, declined to comment on the allegation at the time and Lovell later said he didnt know anything about it.

In January, East Precinct Commander Erica Hurley suggested to members of the Lents Neighborhood Livability Association that if they wanted to see more drug-related prosecutions they needed to oust Schmidt from office.

The Oregon Secretary of States Office has since opened an investigation into the episode, according to Willamette Week. Oregon laws prohibit public employees from campaigning for or against candidates or ballot measures during work hours.

Brent Weisberg, a spokesman for the district attorney, declined to comment Wednesday.

Finally, a report earlier this month that mistakenly identified Hardesty as the driver responsible for a minor hit-and-run collision surfaced publicly within hours of reaching the citys 911 system and its police agency. Hardesty was cleared later that day as a suspect in the case.

Last week, Hunzeker abruptly resigned from the Portland Police Association because of a serious, isolated mistake in connection to a leaked report, the union said in a statement.

The resignation announcement did not say anything about what Hunzekers misstep was, despite the union statement opening with the line that when we make mistakes, we must hold ourselves to account.

The city late last week hired the OIR Group, a Los Angeles-based firm specializing in police reviews, to conduct an investigation into the leaked report, Wheeler and Hardesty said.

The Portland Police Bureau has also launched a separate internal affairs investigation into what transpired. Matt McNally, a Hardesty spokesman, did not respond to a request for comment.

Lovell on Wednesday said he had not spoken with Hunzeker personally about the leak and said he does not know what action Hunzeker took. But Lovell indicated that the public will eventually learn about what led to his resignation.

I do think he will reveal that during the process that we have laid out and that we all agreed upon, Lovell said.

The chief also said he understands the growing concern among Portland residents about the conduct of the citys police officers.

I do want to let people know that community trust is very important to me, he said. Whenever we have allegations or questions around issues where someone may have done something wrong, I realize it has an impact, a negative impact on community trust.

-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh; 503-294-7632

Email at skavanaugh@oregonian.com

Follow on Twitter @shanedkavanaugh

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
President Joe Bidens administration is moving ahead on approving the Gateway Tunnel project, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Thursday.

I share your sense of urgency with Gateway and related projects, Buttigieg told the House Transportation Committee. This is a regional issue but one of national significance because if there was a failure in one of those tunnels, the entire U.S. economy would feel it.

During his presidential campaign, Biden pledged to support Gateway, a new railroad tunnel under the Hudson River to allow the existing tubes to be closed to repair the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy.

Buttigieg on Thursday said the department hoped to complete the projects long-delayed environmental impact statement by the end of June.

The Federal Railroad Administration missed a March 30, 2018, deadline for the statement and Buttigiegs predecessor as transportation secretary, Elaine Chao said it wouldnt be completed as long as the new Hudson River tunnel did not to qualify for federal funding.

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:





Under Chao, the transportation department lowered the projects rating and made it ineligible for federal assistance.

Buttigieg said the Federal Railroad Administration was working with NJ Transit and the other Gateway partners to complete the environmental impact statement.

The three New Jersey Democrats on the committee  Reps. Tom Malinowski, D-7th Dist., Albio Sires, D-8th Dist., and Donald Payne Jr., D-10th Dist.  all asked Buttigieg about Gateway.

And the secretary said he would come to the region to view the existing tunnel first hand.

We know that its of importance to the region and really the whole country, how much economic activity passes through those tunnels, Buttigieg said.

Buttigieg said the department also was working with local officials and transit agencies to review the projects funding and other criteria.

Former President Donald Trump opposed the project, at one point even threatening to shut down the federal government rather than sign a spending bill providing any money for the new tunnel.

The Federal Transit Administration in February reversed a Trump administration ruling said it would allow states to use U.S. government loans that they have to repay to cover their share of a project, making it eligible for federal funding.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JDSalant.

Start your day with the latest from Trenton, D.C. and your town. Get the N.J. Politics newsletter now.
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.
analysis

The Supreme Court of Ghana has upheld President Akufo-Addo's victory in the December 7, 2020 polls. This followed a challenge from former president, John Mahama. The court ruled that there was no reason to order a re-run of the poll. Akufo-Addo can now focus on his second term agenda.

This is the second petition of its kind in Ghana over the past eight years. By every indication, we can expect to see more - in Ghana and in other African countries. The trend is already set in Ghana: the results of the elections in 2020 and 2021 were fiercely contested by the losing party. Most of the polls were also marred with violence.

The most recent poll in Ghana was relatively peaceful. But the post-election political environment was rife with tension. The opposition rejected the results and called on supporters to take to the streets to stop the electoral commission from "stealing the election".

Electoral disputes and petitions are becoming a prominent feature of the electoral process. Many of these disputes and petitions are reflective of widespread electoral irregularities on the continent. While they may threaten the peace of a nation, they enhance the culture of democracy and expose an underlying cry for inclusive governance.

A natural extension of the electoral process

Post-election crises are not new to Ghana. Elections in which the opposition fails to unseat the incumbent are almost always marred with accusations of fraud and vote-rigging. For example, the 2012 election in which Akufo-Addo failed to unseat then President Mahama was heavily disputed. In that election, opposition protests led to a series of violent incidents.

During the weeks following the election, Akufo-Addo filed what at the time what was the largest legal petition with the Supreme Court. The court was deluged with about half a million documents from over 11,000 polling stations to prove double voting, vote padding, and other forms of illegal voting.

In the end, it dismissed the petition but ordered reforms to the electoral process

Mahama's petition to overturn the 2020 election made similar allegations of double voting, vote padding, and other forms of illegal voting.

In addition to his petition, 16 legal proceedings were initiated by parliamentary candidates from the New Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Congress.

Winner-take-all systems

Ghana has a majoritarian presidential system. The first candidate to pass the 50% plus one threshold assumes all the power that comes with the position. This winner-take-all system makes losing elections extremely costly.

Political candidates spend millions of dollars on campaigns. It, therefore, becomes difficult to accept the results when they and their supporters are suddenly informed that they have lost the election and, for that matter, will have no part in the governance of the country.

Electoral petitions are therefore seen as the final tool in the do-all-you-can playbook for power.

The high cost of losing elections in winner-take-all democracies also incentivises incumbents to attempt to maintain power at all costs, even if that means bribing electoral institutions or using the state apparatus such as the military to suppress the will of the people. These acts themselves make electoral petitions inevitable as the propensity for the opposition to reject results under such conditions rises.

Research has also shown that losing parties in democratic regimes often have an incentive to reject electoral outcomes. While losing parties in autocratic regimes reasonably reject results to publicise fraud, losing parties in democratic regimes may do so for different reasons.

They often use the opportunity to challenge electoral results to create clout over the freeness and fairness of elections. This clout then serves as leverage for the losing party in negotiating favourable reforms with the government.

Presidential petitions also represent an important investment in a country's democratic culture.

A presidential petition involves all three arms of government - the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary. As the petition plays out, citizens are provided a rare opportunity to learn the legal and political operations of their electoral system and other national institutions. As citizens learn more about how elections are conducted and administered, and how elections may be stolen, they become more vigilant and may help reverse such acts in the future.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Ghana Governance Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Elections in Africa are evolving from apparent manipulation to sophisticated (mis)administration. Administrative attempts to rig an election are more likely to be caught by voters who participate in the process than international observes patrolling polling stations.

In conclusion, electoral disputes and petitions are good for growing democracies. They represent useful opportunities for opposition groups to participate in governance. They also activate national institutions for valuable reforms and affirm citizens' trust and confidence in the electoral process.

John Taden, School of Economics, Political, and Policy Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas
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.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. and HOUSTON, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Redwire (or "the Company"), a leader in mission-critical space solutions and high reliability components for the next generation space economy, and Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: GNPK) ("Genesis Park"), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, announced today that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement that will result in Redwire becoming a publicly traded company. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter of 2021, and at that time, Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. will change its name to Redwire and the company will trade on the NYSE.

Redwire provides critical space infrastructure technology and services and is uniquely positioned to deliver critical solutions to meet the growing needs of national security, civil, and commercial customers for a full spectrum of activity in space. The Company is differentiated from its peers because it offers both rich flight heritage, with more than 50 years of space flight experience and more than 150 missions flown, and unmatched innovations in space infrastructure, including over 100 patents and applications. Its infrastructure and services enable nearly every space mission, and Redwire sees increasing opportunities as decreasing launch costs continue to enable exponential growth in deployed space infrastructure.

Redwire is the leading developer of on-orbit servicing, assembly and manufacturing ("OSAM") capabilities, a transformational technology deploying 3D printing that enables customers to build satellites and other spacecraft in space, solving the size and other limitations posed by launch dynamics. Through the launch of raw materials into orbit, in-space manufacturing of component parts through 3D printing and other methods, and robotic assembly of highly functional objects, Redwire's OSAM technology enables lower cost deployment and higher power capabilities. The advantages of Redwire's in-space manufacturing will allow its customers to efficiently create more advanced products in space with greater performance characteristics than terrestrial based manufacturing methods, driving increased investment in space infrastructure from adjacent markets and the commercialization of space.

"Space-based capabilities and services are improving lives on Earth every day, and Redwire is an invaluable mission partner, providing technology that has been at the forefront of space infrastructure from the beginning. Today, the influx of private capital, new public sector space initiatives and decreased launch costs are driving tremendous growth in the space industry, which is projected to exceed $2 trillion by 2040," said Peter Cannito, Chairman and CEO of Redwire. "With our extensive space flight heritage and deeply innovative capabilities, we are accelerating humanity's expansion into space by delivering reliable, economical and sustainable infrastructure for future generations. As we enter this second golden age of space, Redwire is supplying the picks and shovels that enable nearly every space mission, supporting initiatives to help us better understand our planet, transform our space security infrastructure, and move humanity deeper into our solar system. We are thrilled to enter into this business combination with Genesis Park. With their extensive aerospace, operational and financial expertise and strong industry relationships, we are confident that Genesis Park is the right partner to propel Redwire's growth in the public market."

"We intended to find a profitable partner with strong management, powerful intellectual property and impressive organic growth. Redwire achieves that vision by transforming the future of space infrastructure and services at a time when the space industry is on the brink of exponential growth. Redwire is a proven, solidly profitable player in the space community and the undisputed leader in on-orbit 3D printing, servicing, assembly, and manufacturing. We also believe there is significant opportunity to accelerate growth through strategic combinations in the fragmented space landscape. Redwire has established itself as a first-mover consolidator and an acquirer of choice, and we believe its position will be further improved as a public company," said Paul Hobby, CEO and Director of Genesis Park. "We are very excited about Redwire's growth potential and we look forward to partnering with Peter and his team as they help usher in this new era of space exploration."

"As an innovative space infrastructure leader, Redwire is set to power a new age of space travel, exploration and commerce," said Kirk Konert, Partner at AE Industrial Partners. "With this transaction, Redwire will have even greater opportunities to drive growth and value by delivering tailored, responsive solutions for its growing customer base across the public and private sectors."

Redwire Highlights

Applying proven capabilities and transformative technologies in five key strategic growth areas that will enable space missions of today and tomorrow : The Company has numerous organic growth opportunities without substantial capital needs driven by its proven capabilities and transformative technologies. Its investments are focused in five key strategic growth areas that will expand the utilization of space and promote a sustainable low-earth orbit economy: (i) on-orbit servicing, assembly and manufacturing; (ii) low Earth orbit commercialization; (iii) digitally engineered spacecraft; (iv) space domain awareness; and (v) advanced sensors and components.





: The Company has numerous organic growth opportunities without substantial capital needs driven by its proven capabilities and transformative technologies. Its investments are focused in five key strategic growth areas that will expand the utilization of space and promote a sustainable low-earth orbit economy: (i) on-orbit servicing, assembly and manufacturing; (ii) low Earth orbit commercialization; (iii) digitally engineered spacecraft; (iv) space domain awareness; and (v) advanced sensors and components. Significant opportunity to continue consolidating a fragmented space infrastructure market: The proceeds from the proposed transaction enable Redwire to accelerate and de-risk growth plans and pursue targeted acquisitions. Redwire has a proven track record of successful acquisitions and integrations, and typically leverages company founders' expertise and relationships to bolster leadership ranks and expand the M&A pipeline.





The proceeds from the proposed transaction enable Redwire to accelerate and de-risk growth plans and pursue targeted acquisitions. Redwire has a proven track record of successful acquisitions and integrations, and typically leverages company founders' expertise and relationships to bolster leadership ranks and expand the M&A pipeline. High visibility into near- and long-term revenue streams: Redwire has a diversified revenue base, with products and services demanded by national security, civil and commercial customers and more than $150 million in contracted backlog. The Company is projecting 72% estimated revenue compound annual growth rate, from $163 million in 2021 to $1.4 billion in 2025. Redwire's integration expertise make it a prime candidate for margin improvement as it integrates and scales operations.

Key Transaction Terms

The transaction values Redwire at a $615 million pro forma enterprise value, representing 9.6x estimated 2023 Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $64 million and 2.5x estimated 2025 Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $250 million. Assuming no redemptions by Genesis Park stockholders, the Proposed Transaction is expected to deliver approximately $170 million cash to the Redwire balance sheet. The proposed transaction is further supported by a $100 million fully committed and oversubscribed PIPE of common stock, priced at $10.00 per share, with participation by Senvest Management, LLC and Crescent Park Management, L.P.

Redwire's existing stockholders will hold approximately 55% of the fully diluted shares of common stock immediately following the closing of the business combination, assuming no redemptions by Genesis Park's existing public stockholders. AE Industrial Partners will remain a significant shareholder in Redwire following the completion of the proposed merger.

The transaction, which has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of Redwire and Genesis Park, is subject to approval by Genesis Park's shareholders and other customary closing conditions.

Following the closing of the transaction, Redwire will continue to be led by Chairman and CEO Peter Cannito. The Redwire Board will be comprised of current Redwire Board members Pete Cannito, Dr. Reggie Brothers, Joanne Isham and Kirk Konert, along with Jonathan Baliff President, CFO & Director of Genesis Park; John Bolton, Advisor to Genesis Park and Les Daniels, Operating Partner of AE Industrial Partners.

Additional information about the proposed transaction, including a copy of the merger agreement and investor presentation, will be available in a Current Report on Form 8-K to be filed by Genesis Park with the Securities and Exchange Commission and at www.sec.gov. The investor presentation can also be found on https://www.genesis-park.com/redwire.

Investor Conference Call Information

Redwire and Genesis Park will host a joint investor conference call to discuss the proposed transaction on March 25, 2021 at 7:30 AM ET. To access the conference call, please visit https://www.genesis-park.com/redwire. The live call may also be accessed by dialing 1 877 876-9173 or 1 785 424-1667 providing the Conference ID 3086566. A replay of the call will be available on the Genesis Park website.

Advisors

Jefferies is serving as financial advisor and Kirkland and Ellis LLP is serving as legal counsel to Redwire. Greenhill and KPMG are serving as financial advisors, Jefferies is serving as sole placement agent for the PIPE and capital markets advisor, and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP and Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP are serving as legal counsel to Genesis Park.

About Redwire

Redwire is a new leader in mission critical space solutions and high reliability components for the next generation space economy. With decades of flight heritage combined with the agile and innovative culture of a commercial space platform, Redwire is uniquely positioned to assist its customers in solving the complex challenges of future space missions. For more information, please visit www.redwirespace.com.

About Genesis Park Acquisition Corp.

Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. ("GNPK") is a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company sponsored by an affiliate of Genesis Park, trading on the NYSE under the ticker symbolNYSE: GNPK.U. GNPK is one of the first aerospace and aviation services special purpose acquisition companies, and may pursue an initial business combination in any industry or geographic region, but specifically seeks to capitalize on the operational and investment experience of the GNPK management team and Board of Directors by focusing on companies that have significant growth prospects in the aerospace and aviation services sectors.

About AE Industrial Partners

AE Industrial Partners is a private equity firm specializing in Aerospace, Defense, Space & Government Services, Power Generation, and Specialty Industrial markets. AE Industrial Partners invests in market-leading companies that can benefit from its deep industry knowledge, operating experience, and relationships throughout its target markets. AE Industrial Partners is a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investing. Learn more at www.aeroequity.com.

Redwire Contacts

Media: Austin Jordan

321-536-8632

[email protected]

OR

Investors:

[email protected]

Reevemark

Paul Caminiti/Delia Cannan/Pam Greene

212-433-4600

[email protected]

Forward Looking Statements

This document includes "forward looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as "forecast," "intend," "seek," "target," "anticipate," "believe," "expect," "estimate," "plan," "outlook," and "project" and other similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. Such forward looking statements include estimated financial information, including without limitation, forecasted revenue and revenue CAGR. Such forward looking statements with respect to revenues, earnings, performance, strategies, prospects and other aspects of the businesses of Genesis Park Acquisition Corp., Redwire or the combined company after completion of the Business Combination are based on current expectations that are subject to risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those indicated by such forward looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to: (1) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the merger agreement governing the proposed business combination; (2) the inability to complete the transactions contemplated by the merger agreement due to the failure to obtain approval of the shareholders of Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. or other conditions to closing in the merger agreement; (3) the ability to meet NYSE's listing standards following the consummation of the transactions contemplated by the merger agreement; (4) the risk that the proposed transaction disrupts current plans and operations of Redwire as a result of the announcement and consummation of the transactions described herein; (5) the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the proposed business combination, which may be affected by, among other things, competition, the ability of the combined company to grow and manage growth profitably, maintain relationships with customers and suppliers and retain its management and key employees; (6) costs related to the proposed business combination; (7) changes in applicable laws or regulations; (8) the possibility that Redwire may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors; and (9) other risks and uncertainties indicated from time to time in other documents filed or to be filed with the SEC by Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. and Redwire undertake no commitment to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

Additional Information

In connection with the proposed business combination between Redwire and Genesis Park Acquisition Corp., Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. intends to file with the SEC a preliminary proxy statement / prospectus and will mail a definitive proxy statement / prospectus and other relevant documentation to Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. shareholders. This document does not contain all the information that should be considered concerning the proposed business combination. It is not intended to form the basis of any investment decision or any other decision in respect to the proposed business combination. Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. shareholders and other interested persons are advised to read, when available, the preliminary proxy statement / prospectus and any amendments thereto, and the definitive proxy statement / prospectus in connection with Genesis Park Acquisition Corp.'s solicitation of proxies for the special meeting to be held to approve the transactions contemplated by the proposed business combination because these materials will contain important information about Redwire, Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. and the proposed business combination. The definitive proxy statement / prospectus will be mailed to Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. shareholders as of a record date to be established for voting on the proposed business combination when it becomes available. Shareholders will also be able to obtain a copy of the preliminary proxy statement / prospectus and the definitive proxy statement / prospectus once they are available, without charge, at the SEC's website at http://sec.gov or by directing a request to: [email protected].

This document shall not constitute a solicitation of a proxy, consent or authorization with respect to any securities or in respect of the proposed business combination.

Participants in the Solicitation

Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. and its directors and officers may be deemed participants in the solicitation of proxies of Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. shareholders in connection with the proposed business combination. Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. shareholders and other interested persons may obtain, without charge, more detailed information regarding the directors and officers of Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. in Genesis Park Acquisition Corp.'s prospectus relating to its initial public offering filed with the SEC on November 24, 2020. Redwire and its directors and executive officers may also be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the shareholders of Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. in connection with the Business Combination.

Information regarding the persons who may, under SEC rules, be deemed participants in the solicitation of proxies to Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. shareholders in connection with the proposed business combination will be set forth in the proxy statement / prospectus for the transaction when available. Additional information regarding the interests of participants in the solicitation of proxies in connection with the proposed transaction will be included in the proxy statement / prospectus that Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. intends to file with the SEC.

SOURCE Redwire; Genesis Park Acquisition Corp.

Related Links

http://www.redwirespace.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.
Launch of Europe's largest astronomy network

Until now, Europe has had two major collaborative networks for ground-based astronomy, one in the optical wavelength domain and the other in the radio-wave domain. OPTICON and RadioNet have now come together to form Europe's largest ground-based astronomy collaborative network. Launched with funding to the tune of 15 million under the H2020 programme, the project aims to harmonise observational methods and tools, and provide access to a wider range of astronomy facilities.

As our knowledge of the Universe advances, astronomers increasingly need a range of complementary techniques in order to analyse and understand astronomical phenomena. As a result, the European Union has decided to bring together the optical and radio networks OPTICON and RadioNet, who have successfully served their respective communities over the past twenty years.

With 15 million in funding from the European Commission's H2020 programme, the European astronomical community will now benefit from the formation of Europe's largest ground-based astronomy network: the OPTICON-RadioNet PILOT (ORP), which brings together some twenty telescopes and telescope arrays.

The ORP network is intended to harmonise observational methods and tools for ground-based optical and radio astronomy instruments, and provide researchers with access to a wider range of facilities, building on the success and experience of the OPTICON and RadioNet networks.

The new programme will make it easier for the astronomy community to access these infrastructures, as well as provide training for new generations of astronomers.

According to the management team,  it is very exciting to have this opportunity to further develop European integration in astronomy, and develop new scientific opportunities for astronomy research across Europe and globally. 

The ORP will in particular foster the development of the booming field of what is known as multi-messenger astronomy, which makes use of a wide range of wavelengths as well as gravitational waves, cosmic rays and neutrinos. Removing barriers between communities by harmonising observation protocols and analysis methods in the optical and radio domains will enable astronomers to work better together when observing and monitoring transient and variable astronomical events.

Astronomers from 15 European countries, Australia and South Africa, as well as from 37 institutions, have already joined the ORP consortium. It will be coordinated by the French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), which runs and contributes to several optical and radio telescopes, the University of Cambridge (UK), and the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (Germany).

In Belgium, the network involves the Institute of Astronomy at KU Leuven in charge of developing new instrumentation for the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI, Chile) and coordinating one of the seven European VLTI expertise centers. The VLTI is a major European observatory at the forefront of astronomical research.

With the new ORP funding, the Institute of Astronomy will develop a new VLTI observing mode dedicated to exoplanet research, support the VLTI expertise centres network's activities, and gather the whole VLTI community in Leuven in 2023. "We are excited to be part of this new ORP network and to contribute to the development of astronomical research and community in Europe" says Denis Defrere, associate professor at the Institute of Astronomy.

The management team includes Jean-Gabriel Cuby, ORP project coordinator at the CNRS National Institute for Earth Sciences and Astronomy, and Gerry Gilmore, Professor at the University of Cambridge (UK) and Anton Zensus, Director of the Max-Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (Germany), as ORP scientific coordinators for OPTICON and RadioNet respectively.

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101004719.

###

This story has been published on: 2021-03-25. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
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 note The Sun Chronicle is providing this story and all of our local coronavirus coverage for free so that all readers have access to this important information about the pandemic. Please visit our dedicated coronavirus coverage page for more stories. If you'd like to support our mission, please subscribe.
Leading global industry players will be in Dubai next week for the Middle East Smart Lighting & Energy Summit where they will delve into the technologies and strategies being employed across the world to elevate cities from outdated, inefficient models to smart, connected and eco-friendly cities of the future.

Returning for its ninth edition, the Middle East Smart Lighting and Energy Summit will be held at Le Meridien Dubai Hotel & Conference Centre on March 31 and April 1, said the organisers Expotrade.

As the move towards a more sustainable future becomes ever more urgent, there has been a strong focus on finding energy efficient solutions to ensure that durability, sustainability and cost-efficiency can all co-exist.

Smart city is no longer just a buzz word, but a benchmark that demands creative and efficient solutions to lighting, energy use, design and construction, they added.

Some of the high-profile speakers at the event include:

Roberto Inclinati, Global Senior Business Development Manager at UL, who will discuss the ways in which smart lighting can assist in traffic management in his presentation Smart Lighting Intelligently Managing Traffic  Creating Seamless Cities.

Suhas Inamdar, Head of Planning and Technical at Al Wasl Properties, who speaks on Li-Fi  the secure way of data transfer through light waves.

Francesco Lozupone, Business Development Manager at Sylvania Lighting as he discusses Smart Lighting Techniques: Benefits of Implementing Predictive and Monitoring Controls

David Andrew Dunn, Lighting Expert, Department of Urban Planning and Municipalities as he asks Solar Street Lighting- is it feasible for the UAE?

Besides this, the list also includes Faisal Rashid, the Director - Demand Side Management at Dubai Supreme Council of Energy; Trevor Leighton, Global Technical Director at Ligman; Pradeep Singh, the acting director - Business Development & Technical at Etihad Esco and Engineer Roaa Ghassan Alkhatib, Assistant Technical Director at Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority; Majid Ideisan Ibraheem Abuabdoun, Lead - Energy Engineer at Ministry of Infrastructure Development; Bushra Anwar, Associate  Electrical at Cundall; Mohan Daniel, Senior Electrical Engineer at Atkins; Rabab Husain, Associate Director: Head of Electrical & ELV at Ramboll; Vasos Evripidou, MEP Design Director at Parsons; Hassan Younes, Technical Director at Griffin Consultants; Regina Santos, Associate Lighting Designer at Godwin Austen Johnson Architects; Henrique Pereira, Senior Manager  Energy Services, Energy Efficiency & Renewables Administration at Ras Al Khaimah Municipality; Mark Davies, MEP Technical Director at Aurecon and Sheeba Benny, Head of Electrical at Ted Jacob Engineering Group.

Covering the Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030, smart city lighting, energy efficient public lighting solutions, IoT and architectural lighting, this event will explore the countless ways that well-designed lighting and energy solutions can help to create seamless, smart cities, said the organisers.

It will see experts showcasing the advanced lighting technology solutions at the core of smart city development, they added.-TradeArabia News Service
Polish-Czech working group of administrative judges

Hradec Kralove (Czech Republic), May 9-11, 2018.

On 9-11 May 2018, in Hradec Kralove, the seventh meeting of the Polish-Czech working group of judges of administrative courts took place. In this cyclical exchange of judges' experience of both jurisdictions, participated twelve judges from the Czech Republic, including the President of the Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech Republic, judge Josef Baxa, Vice-President of the Court, judge Michal Mazanec and Judge of the General Court of European Union Jan Passer, as well as 23 representatives of Polish administrative courts headed by the Vice-President of the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC), Director of the Judicial Decisions Bureau, judge Maria Wisniewska and Vice-President of the SAC, President of the Commercial Chamber, judge Janusz Drachal.

The central point of the meeting was debate during the plenary session, within a number important for administrative courts issues were discussed. Czech participants presented last changes to the procedural rules regarding public administration in the Czech Republic as well as issues related to the functioning of the judiciary. In this context the reference to the relationship between the Supreme Administrative Court and the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic and to the efforts to establish the Supreme Judicial Council of the Czech Republic, as well as to the Irish question in the Celmer case was made. As a specific issues, Czech speakers presented regulations and case law concerning personal data protection, protection of classified information, as well as higher education. Polish speakers presented legislative changes in the Polish judicial system, as well as current changes of the administrative and administrative court proceedings. Also the specific issues, like the abuse of tax law and the tax system tightening in Poland and in the European Union were discussed.

Participants were also given a publication being the outcome of the previous meeting of the group, entitled "Administrative courts in Poland and in Czech Republic. Selected issues discussed within the framework of Polish-Czech cooperation of administrative courts judges. Wroclaw, October 17-18, 2016."
Zimbabwe's president has received his first shot of the Chinese Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine, a move the government hopes will encourage more people to seek the Chinese vaccines, which are the only ones currently available in the country.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Wednesday got a jab in Victoria Falls, in western Zimbabwe, to promote tourism and launch the second phase of the country's vaccination drive. Mnangagwa's injection was broadcast live on national TV.

Zimbabwe purchased 200,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine which arrived from earlier this month. has also donated 400,000 Sinopharm doses. Currently, the two Chinese vaccines are the only ones in Zimbabwe.

The first phase of Zimbabwe's vaccination campaign, which relied on Sinopharm, targeted front-line workers such as health care workers, border officials, gravediggers, and journalists.

Just over 44,000 people in Zimbabwe have been vaccinated so far, representing 68% of the target population for the first phase, said Mnangagwa, who described the figure as showing broad acceptance of the Chinese vaccine. But representatives of health workers say skepticism remains.

Zimbabwe's second phase is targeting schoolteachers, religious leaders, security forces, the elderly, and people with chronic diseases, said Mnangagwa.

However, the government made an exception in Victoria Falls, where it has invited all of the town's 110,000 residents to get inoculated in order to pave the way for unlimited tourism activities in the country's prime attraction, said Mnangagwa.

The vaccines that Zimbabwean health authorities have approved for use include the Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines from China, for use, Russia's Sputnik-V, and India's Covaxin, although only the Chinese vaccines have arrived in this southern African country.

Zimbabwe aims to vaccinate 10 million of its people, representing 60% of the country's population, in an effort to achieve herd immunity, which is when enough people have immunity, either from vaccination or past infection, to stop the uncontrolled spread of a virus.

Zimbabwe has recorded 36,717 cases of infection, including 1,516 deaths, by Mar.23, according to the health ministry.

(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.)
Attorney Joseph (Jay) Bogdan

Founding Attorney Joseph (Jay) Bogdan is a registered pharmacist and an attorney. He received his Pharmaceutical Doctorate degree from the University of Illinois College of Pharmacy at Chicago and his law degree while attending night school at John Marshall Law School in Chicago.

Jay focuses his legal practice on representing healthcare professionals to state boards and federal agencies. He is also an expert witness in numerous pharmaceutical cases including cases dealing with controlled substances. Jay has represented clients in many types of legal matters, including licensure issues for professionals, healthcare providers, and entities. In addition, he delivers lectures on health care legal matters to professional organizations and provides consultation to various healthcare corporations, companies, and law firms regarding pharmacy and healthcare matters such as billing audits, contract review, and legal consultation. Jay also assists pharmacies in their appeals to auditor and PBM audit result discrepancies.

Attorney Patrick M. Callahan of the Law Offices of Joseph J. Bogdan, LLC has an extensive background in healthcare. He received his Masters of Public Health from Columbia University in New York, New York. He then earned his law degree from DePaul Universitys College of Law with an additional certificate in health care law. He has worked for several Illinois public agencies, including the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and the Health Care Fraud Division of the Illinois Office of the Attorney General.

Patrick handles a wide range of healthcare-related matters, including licensure issues for all healthcare providers and other regulated professionals, medical staff privilege disputes, medical resident disciplinary cases, Drug Enforcement Administration investigations and agreements, Illinois Department of Public Health investigations, and various civil and appellate actions.

About The Law Offices of Joseph J. Bogdan, LLC

At The Law Offices of Joseph J. Bogdan, LLC, we have over 19 years of experience and proven success defending health care professionals who are in jeopardy of having their licenses disciplined by the state. We provide skilled consultation and legal services for nearly all health care providers and entities, including pharmacists, pharmacies, physicians, physician assistants, nurses, nurse practitioners, psychologists, social workers, dentists, chiropractors, physical therapists, residents, hospitals, nursing homes, pharmacies, and durable medical suppliers. We also offer consultations for law firms and in-house regulatory departments for various health care-related legal matters.

To learn more about The Law Offices of Joseph J. Bogdan, LLC, visit https://www.jjblawoffice.com/ or call 630-310-1267 to schedule a free consultation.
Joynal Choudhury (pictured), who lost his 130,000 job after emailing and calling his bosses on Christmas Day, was unfairly dismissed, an employment tribunal has ruled

A Muslim banker who lost his 130,000 job after emailing and calling his bosses on Christmas Day was unfairly dismissed, an employment tribunal has ruled.

Joynal Choudhury, head of real estate at Gatehouse, sued the bank for unfair dismissal after he was made redundant in a company restructuring in August 2019.

In the year leading up to his dismissal Mr Choudhury's relationship with CEO Charles Haresnape and Chief Commercial Officer Paul Stockwell dramatically soured.

A London tribunal heard the pair branded Mr Choudhury 'arrogant', 'full of it' and a 'pain in the a**e' during a telephone conversation two months before his sacking.

The fall-out began when Mr Choudhury sent emails to try to get in touch with his bosses on Christmas Day in 2018.

The head of real estate at Gatehouse (pictured), sued the Sharia compliant bank for unfair dismissal after he was made redundant in a company restructuring in August 2019

Over the Christmas period Mr Choudhury had become concerned he might be personally liable under French law for a loan relating to a property in Paris.

Anxious to clarify his situation he emailed and telephoned Mr Stockwell on Christmas Eve and again on Christmas Day.

A disgruntled Mr Haresnape told his employee the December 25 emails could have waited, asked if he realised 'for many today is a festive period' and threatened to 'disrupt' future Islamic holidays in retaliation, the tribunal heard.

Mr Haresnape who had been copied in to the messages - replied on the evening of December 25: 'Do you realise that for many today is a festive period and your emails could have waited until after tomorrow. Please think about this.'

The chief executive told the tribunal that at a subsequent meeting he told Mr Choudhury he was 'annoyed that he had disturbed him on Christmas Day and that he said he was sure that [Mr Choudhury] would not like it if he disturbed his Eid celebrations'.

Mr Choudhury told the panel Mr Haresnape had said 'if there was anything he considered important, he would call [Mr Choudhury] on Eid and disrupt his Eid'.

He described Mr Haresnape as 'expressing deep annoyance and anger'.

The tribunal heard that Mr Haresnape sent an email to all office staff later that month about 'our culture', which included: 'Email policy. There is very little need for all of us to send emails during the evenings and it is vital to ensure we all have a work/life balance.

'Going forward, Exco [the executive committee] will not send emails out after 6.30pm and will not expect to receive any. We also are not keen on email traffic over the weekends. Clearly if genuinely urgent issues arise we can be contacted on mobiles.'

In the lead up to his dismissal Mr Choudhury's relationship with CEO Charles Haresnape (left) and Chief Commercial Officer Paul Stockwell (right) dramatically soured

In June 2019, the panel heard Mr Choudhury was on leave for Eid, attending mosque and visiting family and friends.

On the same day, Mr Haresnape and Mr Stockwell were discussing a company restructure, which would include letting Mr Choudhury go.

A transcript of a phone conversation between the two men was provided to the tribunal.

In that conversation, Mr Stockwell said that Mr Choudhury was an 'a**ehole'. He said he was 'arrogant', 'full of it' and that 'he's gone now, that's it, we don't need him anymore'.

In the same conversation, Mr Haresnape called him a 'tosser' and a 'pain in the a**e' and added: 'It's now Eid as far as he is concerned and therefore this is dead important probably as well, unlike Christmas for us, which was not important in the slightest.'

Later that day, Mr Haresnape emailed Mr Choudhury asking for an 'urgent update' about a business matter.

The banker told the tribunal he thought this was his boss deliberately interrupting his Eid celebrations as he claimed he had threatened to do in the January meeting.

Gatehouse, a sharia compliant firm, keeps within the ethical values of Islam by making money from profit, rather than interest on bank accounts and loans.

The central London hearing was told Mr Choudhury began working at Gatehouse in 2015 and two years later was promoted to the rank of Vice President before taking charge of the bank's real estate operation in 2018.

The tribunal - chaired by Judge Natasha Joffe - concluded: 'A number of matters arose in late 2018 and early 2019 which caused a deterioration in his previously good relationships with Mr Haresnape and Mr Stockwell, caused animosity towards him and, he believed, led ultimately to his dismissal.

'(They) had no great liking for [Mr Choudhury]. Both had found [his] behaviour at Christmas 2018 annoying.'

The panel ruled that the redundancy process was essentially a sham as it had already been decided that Mr Choudhary would lose his job.

'The telephone call was evidence that a planned outcome of the redundancy process was the dismissal of the claimant,' it said.

Ruling in favour of Mr Choudhary, the panel said the bank had unlawfully deducted his wages by at least 8,242. A hearing to decide the full extent of his compensation will be held at a later date.
No one was hurt but 400 customers lost power when two manholes exploded in downtown Asbury Park, N.J., on Thursday morning, officials said.

Something happened in the cable vault down below that caused the manholes to pop up, Jersey Central Power & Light spokesman Mark Dubin said.

JCP&L and fire crews are on the scene attempting to determine what happened.

Multiple witnesses said that they heard explosions shortly before 9 a.m., felt buildings shake and evacuations followed. Photos show smoke pouring out of the street.

About 400 customers are without power in downtown Asbury Park after two manholes exploded and sent smoke into the air on Thursday, March 25, 2021.Briana Nicole Derenstein

I was actually in my kitchen, and I just heard like this loud, loud explosion, it literally sound like a bomb, DJ Presto, the co-owner of DJs Deli said. I turned around I saw the sign on my door swinging, like a ghost just took it and swung it, so it was like swinging really hard.

The explosion was strong enough that it blew the letters off of the House of Independences marquee, Presto said. He was told to evacuate by police, and again by firefighters when he didnt leave the store fast enough, he said. They didnt give a timeline for when he would be able to get back inside.

Rebecca Kaul, meanwhile, was blow drying her hair when her lights started flickering, and then the outlet started buzzing. Then the Cookman Avenue resident heard an explosion. It was loud. At about 10:30 a.m., shed been standing outside  a block away  for about 90 minutes, awaiting word she could get back to her place.

Asbury Park police said to avoid the areas of Cookman, Mattison, Lake and Bangs avenues, a popular downtown area fulls of bars and restaurants. New Jersey Natural Gas vehicles and fire trucks were visible at the scene.

The Neptune Township firefighters union said its assisting the Asbury Park Fire Department.

Asbury Park police couldnt immediately be reached for additional information.
Belarusian authorities say they detained more than 200 people as citizens took to the streets of Minsk and other cities, heeding a call by opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya to start a new wave of protests against Alyaksandr Lukashenka to coincide with the anniversary of the short-lived Belarusian People's Republic.

Tsikhanouskaya urged Belarusians to use the annual Freedom Day celebration to hold street rallies across the country to pressure the authoritarian leader and declare their unity against the political crisis that has enveloped Belarus since Lukashenka was declared the winner of a presidential election in August 2020 that the opposition says was rigged.



But the event in Minsk faced challenges from police, who refused to agree to provide security for the activists, and Amnesty International expressed concern about how authorities would respond.

Security forces, including police and Interior Ministry troops, military vehicles, and police vans were positioned across Minsk ahead of the planned action.

By late afternoon, Belarusians, many of them holding the red-white flag of the first republic, made their way to the center of Minsk, with some gathering on October Square, while cars honked their horns in solidarity.

The Interior Ministry said in the evening that more than 200 people had been detained in connection with unauthorized gatherings throughout the country.

The Belarusian human rights monitor Vyasna (Spring) reported 126 detentions in the capital alone.

The Nexta Telegram channel, which has mobilized and coordinated demonstrations, urged protesters to march through courtyards and organize flash mobs.

Nexta has also called for mass protests on March 27, casting it as "the day we start the second wave of street protests."

Franak Viacorka, an adviser to Tsikhanouskaya, predicted the large protests the country witnessed in the wake of the election would return.

"People need to be shoulder to shoulder with one another, to see again that they are the majority, to feel that energy they got from those large marches," Viacorka told Current Time, the Russian-language network led by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA.

One woman appeared to be grabbed off the street by police in Minsk in a video interview with a marching Nina Bahinskaya, a frail yet fiery veteran of protests in Belarus for decades.

Detentions were also reported at Independence Square, with the independent news website Tut.by posting video on Telegram of police chasing one protester down the street.

Lukashenka's victory declaration sparked protests that have continued since the election on an almost daily basis. Some of the largest ones drew tens of thousands of people to the streets to demand that Lukashenka step down, that fresh elections are held, and that political prisoners are released.

Security officials have cracked down hard on the demonstrators, arresting thousands. Several protesters have been killed in the violence, some were handed prison terms, while rights organizations say there is credible evidence of torture being used against some of those detained.

Ahead of the planned action, the commander of Interior Ministry troops, Mikalay Karpyankou, described Belarusian protesters as "enemies of our state," before vowing to "deal with them quickly," and harshly as in the past "with pleasure."

Lukashenka has denied any wrongdoing and refuses to negotiate his departure from office and new elections.



The European Union, the United States, Canada, and other countries have refused to recognize Lukashenka, 66, as the legitimate leader of Belarus and have slapped him and senior Belarusian officials with sanctions in response to the "falsification" of the vote and the postelection crackdown.

Crisis In Belarus Read our coverage as Belarusians continue to demand the resignation of Alyaksandr Lukashenka amid a brutal crackdown on protesters. The West refuses to recognize him as the country's legitimate leader after an August 9 election considered fraudulent.

In turn, Lukashenka's government has justified its actions by casting protesters as pawns of foreign forces and being bent on causing havoc.

KGB chief Ivan Tertel told Lukashenka on March 9 that foreign actors were applying "unprecedented pressure on our state," claiming -- without providing evidence -- that plans had been discovered to "destabilize the situation" in Belarus on March 25-27.

March 25 is the 103rd anniversary of the Belarusian People's Republic, which existed for less than a year in 1918. The day has been celebrated annually in Belarus since 1989.

Amnesty International warned that Belarusian authorities have indicated that they are prepared to turn Freedom Day rallies into yet another scene of appalling violence.



Marie Struthers, Amnesty International's Eastern Europe and Central Asia director, said the police response to demonstrations planned for March 25 "will yet again be marked by severe violence" and called for international action to protect the rights of peaceful protesters.

"The world cannot stand by in the face of these threats," Struthers said, calling on diplomatic representatives in Belarus to monitor the March 25 protests, livestream events, and use their diplomatic immunity to expose police violence.



Tsikhanouskaya is currently in Lithuania, where she relocated for security reasons after the August 9 presidential election that she and her supporters say she won.

On March 25, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania imposed travel bans on another 118 Belarusian officials.

The first round of bans since November expands the list of the sanctioned, already including Lukashenka, to a total of 274, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry said.

"If the situation in Belarus keeps deteriorating, and the illegal Lukashenka regime keeps its violence and repressions against peaceful protesters, opposition, civil society and independent media -- the national and European Union sanctions lists will be expanded further," the ministry said in a statement.

With reporting by AP and Reuters
New Delhi:

Varun Dhawan is a hot property for the female fans ever since he made a scintillating debut in Student of the Year.



Since then there is no looking back for the handsome hunk and has had girls drooling over his well-shaped body.

Varun Dhawan gets TROLLED

And now as he is gearing up for Judwaa 2, Varun went to Budapest to shoot a special sequence and shared his bare-chested photo on Twitter and Instagram.

Varun Dhawan gets TROLLED

Varun is seen sporting military green shorts and killer gladiators. His caption on Instagram reads, "Budapest diaries. Shooting something special. Been working hard for this. Doing something new is always difficult but worth it #lovemyjob. Photo credit @aalimhakim oh and he also did my hair." His tweet reads as, "#varuninbudapest. Been training hard for this. Stunts, thrill and love."



Post his tweet, users on Twitter started trolling him for wearing a 'sasti' underwear.
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

Over-50s are being urged to book a jab while they still can  as it emerged some vaccine centres will temporarily close due to looming supply issues.

England's top doctor has called on anyone at risk to book a slot before the NHS stops taking appointments on Monday.

Professor Stephen Powis said those who qualify and have not yet received a first dose should book an appointment in the next few days. His plea comes as some mass vaccination sites across the country announced they will close during the month-long slowdown.

Professor Stephen Powis said those who qualify and have not yet received a first dose should book an appointment in the next few days

Sites in Devon, Cornwall and Kent are among those to have confirm they will 'have to pause' because of national supply issues.

The focus will turn to ensuring there are sufficient vaccine stocks to give second doses, with staff at many larger centres redeployed.

NHS England has said no first appointments should be booked for people under the age of 50 unless they fall into a higher priority group, such as those who are clinically vulnerable.

Some 28,327,873 adults have had a first dose of the jab, with a further 2,363,684 fully vaccinated, latest figures show. Around seven in ten of those aged 50 to 54 have now had a first dose of a vaccine, according to NHS England.

But a shortfall of five million AstraZeneca jabs from India, along with the need to retest a batch of 1.7million doses, means the rollout will slow down next month.

The focus will now turn to ensuring there are sufficient vaccine stocks to give second doses

The UK's vaccine rollout has surged far ahead of the EU's leaving the bloc under huge pressure to explain why

Local vaccination centres have been told to close unfilled bookings from March 31, with the supply constraint expected to last throughout April.

Anybody aged 50 or over can book themselves in for a first dose before March 29 online using the national booking system for England.

People aged 18 and over who are clinically vulnerable should also book themselves in for a vaccine, under the latest guidance.

GPs will continue contacting eligible patients on their lists. But some vaccination sites including Westpoint, near Exeter, have revealed they will close between April 1 and 11.

Countdown begins: Carol Vorderman, 60, has her injection at the Ashton Gate stadium in Bristol

All of Kent's five mass vaccination centres are set to close 'for a number of weeks' from next month.

Dr Paul Johnson, clinical chairman of the NHS Devon Clinical Commissioning Group, said first jabs would be paused in some parts of the county but stressed there was no issue for second doses.

Professor Powis, NHS England's national medical director, said the vaccine programme had a record week, with more than 3.5 million doses in the seven days to Sunday.

He added: 'It is testament to the careful planning and sheer hard work of staff that the NHS vaccination programme is continuing at a record pace.'

An NHS spokesperson said it is delivering the vaccine 'based on manufacturers' ability to supply jabs', adding: 'While we expect supply to be constrained, it makes sense to use our resources wisely across the more than 1,600 vaccination sites.

'There are currently no plans to close sites permanently and, most importantly, people in the top priority cohorts will still be able to book their jab close to home.'

Patients suffering from Long Covid misery FIVE MONTHS after leaving hospital

By Eleanor Hayward, Health Correspondent for the Daily Mail

Seven in ten Covid patients still suffer debilitating symptoms five months after leaving hospital, a study has revealed.

Middle-aged women are worst affected by long Covid and nearly one in five patients developed a new disability, the research found.

More than 300,000 Britons survived after being hospitalised with the virus but experts warned the majority have not yet recovered.

Seven in ten Covid patients still suffer debilitating symptoms five months after leaving hospital, a study has revealed

A fifth of those hospitalised had to give to give up their jobs, and common persistent symptoms include muscle pain, memory loss and fatigue.

The study, led by the University of Leicester, analysed 1,077 patients who were discharged after being treated for Covid.

It found the patients had an average of nine persistent symptoms five months after being sent home.

The most common complaints included impaired sleep quality, joint pain or swelling, limb weakness and breathlessness. White, middle-aged women were the most likely to suffer long-term effects, which experts said could be linked to differences In their immune system.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he is 'determined' to improve the level of care he can provide to long Covid patients

The study, funded by the National Institute for Health Research and not yet published, found that one in four patients had anxiety and depression. One in ten had post-traumatic stress disorder.

Patients who had mechanical ventilation take longer to recover, the study found. And millions who had Covid but were not hospitalised are also at risk of long Covid, it suggested.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: 'I know long Covid can have a lasting and debilitating impact on the lives of those affected and I'm determined to improve the care we can provide.'

Daily Covid cases fall 3% week-on-week to 5,605 while deaths plunge 30% to 98  with a record 170,000 second vaccine doses dished out

By Sam Blanchard Deputy Health Editor for MailOnline

Britain today recorded another 5,605 coronavirus cases and 98 deaths, with both figures down on this time last week.

Positive Covid tests fell by 2.7 per cent from the 5,758 infections posted last Wednesday, while fatalities plunged 30.5 per cent from 141.

The positive news was accompanied by a record number of second vaccine doses being dished out by the NHS, with 170,000 people getting their top-up jab yesterday.

Covid cases have yet to spike, despite millions of extra tests being carried out because of schools reopening in England on March 8. If the promising trend continues, it means ministers will remain on track to relax restrictions further on April 12.

Today's good vaccine news is tinged with concern, however, as supply issues loom larger and Europe doubles down on its threat to throttle exports.

Despite anxiety in many member states about undermining legal contracts, vice-president Valdis Dombrovkis complained at a press conference this afternoon that the EU had exported 43million doses to 33 countries since January  including 10million to the UK.

He said exports could be restricted to destination countries that limit their own exports of jabs or raw materials  whether by law or through other means.

In other coronavirus news:

A study has found seven out of 10 people hospitalised with Covid still have symptoms five months later;

India claims it has spotted a new mutated strain of coronavirus that could escape immunity and spread faster  but scientists in the UK insist it is not a threat here;

The Serum Institute of India has written to the country's government to ask for permission to send five million doses of AstraZeneca's jab to the UK 'immediately' amid confusion about the supply chain;

Rapid Covid tests may miss up to 40 per cent of coronavirus cases among people with no symptoms, researchers say.

The export controls  backed by France and Germany  were today branded as 'mind-blowingly stupid vaccine nationalism' by Tory MPs.

And health committee chair Jeremy Hunt warned that the EU was being 'idiotic' and 'destroying the possibility of a long-term partnership and friendship with its closest neighbour'.

The measures were also condemned by Bernd Lange, chairman of the European Parliament's international trade committee, who said the bloc had 'brought out the shotgun' but risked 'shooting itself in the foot'.

And asked about the controversial move as he was grilled by the powerful Liaison Committee this evening, Boris Johnson cautioned that there would be 'long term damage' from such a move.

The Prime Minister said the 'partnership' with the EU was 'very important' and he wanted to 'continue to work with them'.

'Vaccines as you know are the product of international cooperation,' the premier said.

'I don't think that blockades either on vaccines or medicines, or ingredient for vaccines are sensible. The long term damage done by blockades can be very considerable.'

He went on: 'I would just gently point out to anybody considering a blockade or an interruption of supply chains, that companies may look at such actions and draw conclusions about whether or not it is sensible to make future investment in countries where arbitrary blockades are imposed.'

The row came amid extraordinary reports today that 29million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine are being held at a plant in Italy after a raid by police.

Initially, briefings to European papers including La Stampa suggested the huge stocks were earmarked for the UK, but discovered by the authorities after a tip-off from Brussels.

However, AstraZeneca later insisted that none of the supplies are for Britain, and government sources said the reports were 'not true'.

Sixteen million of the doses are due to be delivered to the European, while 13million are due to be delivered to developing countries, Astrazeneca said.

Meanwhile, in a major boost for the British drive the Serum Institute in India has indicated it could hand over another five million AstraZeneca doses that had been delayed and urged the India government to release the doses for export.

The wrangling comes amid mounting panic in Brussels at its shambolic rollout, with French officials swiping that Europe must not be a 'useful idiot' in the battle against the virus.

The EU is trying to maximise leverage on AstraZeneca to a bigger share of supplies, even though the UK has a stronger contractual position as it funded the initial development.

In a sign of the chaos, hundreds of people from the Republic are said to have been trying to book jabs in Northern Ireland, where availability is far better.

Mr Johnson risked fuelling the row last night by suggesting to Tory MPs that 'greed' was responsible for the UK being so far ahead - although he quickly tried to retract the comment, realising it might cause anger.

The UK currently gets the bulk of its vaccine supply from two AstraZeneca plants in England that produce approximately two million doses a week.

Ministers say that the country has enough doses on stream to cover second doses.

However, there have been hopes of additional doses from an Astrazeneca plant in the Netherlands, while Pfizer doses are imported from Belgium.

Both could be affected by an EU export ban, with some estimates suggesting a ban could delay Britain's vaccine drive by two months and affect supply by 20 per cent.
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of the Congo, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- There have been growing calls for the release of U.S. businessman Alexander Zingman who was detained in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) last week. Zingman, a dual U.S. and Belarusian citizen, was detained with his colleague Oleg Vodchits, a Belarusian citizen and Italian businessman Paolo Persico.

"I am deeply concerned for Alex's welfare. He has been detained by the DRC authorities. No formal explanation has been provided and attempts to receive welfare checks were consistently denied," said Mrs Zingman, wife of the AFTRADE business owner.

"Thankfully, his lawyer was able to make contact briefly on Tuesday. But, given the instability in the country and the recent death of the Italian Ambassador, this is an extremely worrying situation for all of Alex's family, friends and colleagues," she pointed out.

54-year-old Zingman  who is also the Honorary Consul from Zimbabwe to Belarus and holds a diplomatic passport  owns AFTRADE, a company that distributes agricultural and mining equipment in Africa. He was visiting the DRC with Vodchits, the African Representative of AFTRADE, and Persico for meetings in Lubumbashi.

"We are very concerned by Alexander Zingman being detained in the DRC. He was in the country on a legitimate business trip for generating agricultural trade with our partners in Africa," said Henadzi Mosesau, Director of the Representative Office of AFTRADE in Belarus.

"We call on the DRC authorities to release Mr Zingman, his colleague Oleg Vodchits, and their Italian associate Paolo Persico immediately. To detain Western businessmen on a business visit is not helpful for our efforts to promote trade with Africa," Mosesau noted.

AFTRADE has agricultural deals with several African countries to provide tractors and other farming machinery, as well as to provide training in modern farming techniques.

"My client Mr Zingman's business in the DRC is entirely legitimate, and we are working to secure his immediate release from custody. Further, he and his traveling partners are being held without charge and without due process. We urge the Congolese authorities to ensure that their human and legal rights are fully protected," said his lawyer Esther-Rose Lufuta.

In late February, the Italian ambassador to the DRC, Luca Attanasio, and his driver were killed when their car was attacked as they travelled in a UN convoy.

https://aftradedmcc.com

SOURCE AFTRADE
Organisers of a planned Easter commemoration in Derry have been pressed to reconsider holding a public event in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic.

The Derry 1916 Commemoration Committee has encouraged all republicans to attend the annual Easter Commemoration in the city this year.

Comprised of individual republicans opposed to the occupation of Ireland, the group has invited people to gather on Monday, April 5, at the gates of the City Cemetery.

The event will take place two weeks before the anniversary of Lyra McKee.

It comes a week after Saoradh announced that it would hold an online National Easter Commemoration, as it did last year.

It also follows a controversial search and arrest operation in Creggan where political representatives and community groups criticised heavy handed police tactics.

In a statement, the 1916 Committee said: While Saoradh and the Derry 1916 Commemoration Committee are not inexplicably linked, Saoradh will lend their support to the event on Easter Monday.

Join with us to honour those who gave their lives in Irelands freedom struggle and rededicate ourselves to the ongoing struggle for a 32 County Socialist Republic.

It added that due to the ongoing Covid pandemic it encourages all those attending to wear face coverings.

DUP MLA for Foyle, Gary Middleton, believes the decision to hold the event is a clear challenge to police by dissident republicans and an announcement via press release that the group intends to break the law.

He said: "The Covid regulations on public gatherings are very clear and they will be in place over the Easter weekend.

I will be speaking to PSNI in the city about how they intend to respond to this event.

There have been repeated attempts by these groups to impose themselves across the city and even in recent days they have been behind rioting and disturbances.

There must be a clear and united response from all political representatives in opposition to their attempts to drag Northern Ireland backwards."

Speaking to the Derry News, SDLP MLA Mark H Durkan said he intended to raise the issue during a meeting with the PSNI.

I would have concerns in terms of its compliance with Covid regulations and the potential risk it poses to the wider community, he explained.

I also have concerns, given the fact that tensions are undoubtedly high in that area after events last week when the police certainly didnt cover themselves in glory, I would hope that this change of plans isnt an attempt to antagonise.

Could it actually increase tensions in the area. Thats the last thing anyone wants, especially people living in Creggan.

The police service needs to be sensible in the way it approaches this as well.

But I think efforts should certainly be made to make the organisers and proposers of this event to see a bit of sense.

A lot of people have had to change how they do things over the past year and maybe they should be mindful of how they might be able to do that themselves.

Chief Superintendent Darrin Jones reminded the public that Coronavirus regulations remain in place and include restrictions on movement and on gatherings.

We will continue to engage, explain and encourage compliance with the Regulations, and where and when necessary move to enforcement, he added.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Derry City and Strabane District Council, which owns the cemetery, said compliance with the restrictions put in place by the NI Executive is a matter for the PSNI.

Council continues to advise and encourage all users of the cemetery to comply fully with the government regulations and are hopeful that anyone intending to visit the Cemetery over the Easter period would be mindful of the regulations and their responsibilities to keep the public safe during this pandemic, she added.
Supreme Court Makes It Easier to Sue Car Companies Over Defects

The Supreme Court unanimously rejected Ford Motor Co.s claim that people who buy its cars in states with little connection to the company shouldnt be allowed to sue in personal injury lawsuits, a ruling that will make it easier for plaintiffs to sue automakers throughout the country.

The ruling, issued March 25, covers two appeals, Ford Motor Co. v. Montana Eighth Judicial District Court, court file 19-368, and Ford Motor Co. v. Bandemer, court file 19-369.

Conventional legal thinking has been that plaintiffs injured in vehicles cant sue the automaker if the states in which they were injured have a weak business connection to the automaker. Ford argued it could only be sued in states if the cars were designed, manufactured, or sold there.

A plaintiffs claim ought to have at least some causal connection to some act the defendant took in  the forum in which the lawsuit is being heard, the company stated in court documents.

In 2015, Minnesota resident Adam Bandemer was a passenger in a 1994 Ford Crown Victoria driven on a Minnesota road. The driver rear-ended a snowplow, and the car ended up in a ditch. Bandemer, who suffered a brain injury, claims the airbag failed to deploy because of a defect and sued, alleging product liability, negligence, and breach of warranty claims against Ford.

Montana resident Markkaya Jean Gullett, a married mother of two, had been driving a 1996 Ford Explorer on a Montana highway in 2015 when the tread on one of her tires separated. She lost control and died at the scene of the crash. The executor of her estate sued, advancing design-defect, failure-to-warn, and negligence claims against the company.

Ford argued state courts in Minnesota and Montana shouldnt have jurisdiction because the connections between the companys activities in those states and the plaintiffs claims are too far removed. Neither of the vehicles involved was made or sold in Minnesota or Montana.

Courts in both states disagreed with Ford and their decisions were upheld by divided state Supreme Courts. Moreover, courts throughout the nation have rendered an array of contradictory rulings on the jurisdiction issue, which business advocates say encourages plaintiffs to go forum-shopping.

But the Supreme Court rejected Fords reasoning, finding the company was far too well-established to rely on that argument.

Ford is a global auto company, Kagan wrote in the 80 court opinion.

It is incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in Michigan. But its business is everywhere. Ford markets, sells, and services its products across the United States and overseas. In this country alone, the company annually distributes over 2.5 million new cars, trucks, and SUVs to over 3,200 licensed dealerships.

In each of these two cases, a state court held that it had jurisdiction over Ford Motor Company in a products liability suit stemming from a car accident, Kagan wrote.

The accident happened in the State where suit was brought. The victim was one of the States residents. And Ford did substantial business in the Stateamong other things, advertising, selling, and servicing the model of vehicle the suit claims is defective.

Still, Ford contends that jurisdiction is improper because the particular car involved in the crash was not first sold in the forum State, nor was it designed or manufactured there. We reject that argument. When a company like Ford serves a market for a product in a State and that product causes injury in the State to one of its residents, the States courts may entertain the resulting suit.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett didnt participate in the case, which was argued on Oct. 7, 2020, before she joined the court.

Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch wrote separate concurring opinions.

Ford has long had a heavy presence in Minnesota and Montana, Alito wrote.

It spends billions on national advertising. It has many franchises in both States. Ford dealers in Minnesota and Montana sell and service Ford vehicles, and Ford ships replacement parts to both States.  Ford, however, asks us to adopt an unprecedented rule under which a defendants contacts with the forum State must be proven to have been a but-for cause of the tort plaintiffs injury. The Court properly rejects that argument.
Source: Adobe/Jezper

A tokenized apartment has been bought for ethereum (ETH) in Spain by domestic and international buyers  seemingly making it the first property in the nation to change hands in a purely crypto-funded deal.

Per El Correo Web, the apartment is located in Seville, and involved the Spanish crypto exchange Criptan and the real estate investment firm Rental IT. Using the formers Criptan Pay platform, Rental IT said it successfully tokenized the property and bought it using funds from 32 different investors paying in ETH from Spain, Argentina and Mexico  with the original owner receiving the payment in fiat euros.

Rental IT will now proceed to rent out the apartment on the behalf of the investors, who will then receive a share of the monthly rental fee in proportion to the size of their investments.

The tokenization effort raised some USD 65,000, with investors wishing to take part in the project allowed to put up a minimum of around USD 120.

The firms did not state if they would be seeking to repeat the move with other properties in the country or elsewhere, but the co-founder of Criptan Jorge Soriano claimed that the move was a start for small-scale investors that would allow them to access a sector that until now has been difficult to access if it was not in your own country.

Soriano added that tokenization could help cut out excess bureaucracy, noting that total security was guaranteed as the transactions had been powered by blockchain technology.

He explained that the move was helping crypto move into brand new sectors.

The Rental IT CEO Eric Sanchez was quoted as stating that payment in cryptocurrencies was laying the foundations for what we know will be the future, helping convert investment in the real estate sector into a financial product that everyone can have access to.

Sanchez opined that in a decades time crypto brokers would be selling real estate and many other assets.

Earlier this year, an apartment in Barcelona became the first in the nation to be put up for sale with the owner specifying that they wanted to receive bitcoin (BTC) payment for the property, while last week experts in the country stated that interest in crypto-related real estate deals was rising.

___

Learn more:

- bitFlyer to Pioneer Blockchain-powered Home Rentals Platform

- Japanese Firms Unveil First Real Estate STO for New Retirement Home

- tZERO, Tezos Win a Multimillion Real Estate Tokenization Project

- Taiwanese Buy USD 15m Condo In New York with Bitcoin

- Would You Buy This Townhouse for USD 30mln - or 45mln in BTC?
The bill will have to be approved by the House and signed by the president to become law.

The Senate has approved the establishment of the National Agricultural Development Fund for the purpose of providing finance to support strategic aspects of agricultural development of Nigeria.

This followed the clause by clause consideration of the report presented by the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development by the lawmakers during plenary on Wednesday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the chairman of the committee, Abdullahi Adamu, had earlier presented the report adding that the Bill was read for the second time on Wednesday, March 4, 2020.

According to him, the Bill seeks to promote and provide for finance to support agriculture development in the country in order to ensure food production and food security in Nigeria.

"Also to provide finance for the implementation of policies and to strengthen agricultural institutions.

"It also seeks to encourage donor institutions to provide funding for the agriculture sector to ensure increased food production," Mr Adamu said.

The lawmaker noted that it was already acknowledged that the major bane of agricultural sector in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa was inadequate funding.

"To date, Nigeria is yet to fully implement the 2003 Maputo declaration on Agriculture requiring states, parties to allocate ten per cent of its national budget for agricultural development.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Governance Food and Agriculture By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"If this was done, agriculture research and development, food production and food security would have witnessed a major leap," he said.

He said the Bill therefore showed that the availability of the fund would meet these requirements among others.

"With government's commitment to make agriculture the mainstay of our economy, it is only right to make enabling laws for the purpose of providing sustainable funding for agriculture development in Nigeria," he said.

This, he said, would be to take into consideration the critical need to address food production and food security, job creation and international competitiveness in agriculture sector in Nigeria.

In his remarks, the Senate president, Ahmad Lawan, said with the passage of the Bill, "it is important it gets the President's signature".

He said the establishment of the National Agricultural Development Fund would transform the Nigerian economy and ensure job creation.

The Fund would provide emergency support for agricultural control rural access to financing of a transboundary animal disease outbreak; support service through microfinance and collaborate with development partners to support food security and agricultural modernisation and competitiveness.
A host of Britains biggest fund managers have snubbed Deliveroos stock market float amid growing concern over the treatment of its workers.

Aberdeen Standard, Legal & General and M&G joined Aviva in shunning what looks like being the biggest London listing in a decade.

In a further setback, CCLA, which manages funds for the Church of England, charities and councils, said it would not take part, as did BMO Global, the asset management arm of the Bank of Montreal in Canada.

Underpaid? Investors are concerned about tens of thousands of Deliveroo's delivery riders, some of whom are thought to make less than 2 per hour

The funds collectively manage trillions of pounds of savers money so their decision is a blow to Deliveroo, which is seeking a valuation of up to 8.8billion.

There are concerns about tens of thousands of the firms riders, some of whom are thought to make less than 2 per hour.

Deliveroos 50,000 UK riders are classed as self-employed, meaning they are not entitled to the minimum wage, holiday pay or sick leave.

However, that arrangement has come under scrutiny after a Supreme Court ruling forced Uber to change course and offer taxi drivers those benefits.

Deliveroo insists that this ruling does not apply to its riders, who value the freedom to choose when and where they work.

But yesterday major funds lined up in opposition to the practice, saying it was a red flag.

Rupert Krefting, head of corporate finance and stewardship at M&G, said: We do not intend to participate in the Deliveroo IPO [initial public offering].

Whilst we acknowledge the disruptive impact that Deliveroo has had on the food services market, we still see risks to the sustainability of its business model for long term investors.

'This is largely driven by the companys reliance on gig-economy workers in the UK as informal employment contracts potentially fall short in offering the value, job security and benefits of full employment.

Andrew Millington, head of UK equities at Aberdeen Standard, said: There are actually a number of red flags around Deliveroo and the sustainability of its business model, but employee rights is the key one.

As a long-term owner of Deliveroo, we wouldnt be comfortable that the business model is sustainable and that the way in which its workforce is employed is sustainable for the long term.

The judgement that we have to make is whether we as shareholders can effect positive change. Where we find it much more difficult, unfortunately, we sometimes have to take the view that disinvesting  or not investing in the first place  is our only option.

L&G ruled itself out of investing as well, pointing to Deliveroos proposed dual-class share structure  which will give founder Will Shu greater voting powers  as a concern, as well as the rights of employees.

BMO Global and CCLA have also shunned the listing, according to the BBC.

The flurry of opposition came a day after Aviva revealed that it would not invest in Deliveroo because of investment risk and social issues.

Thousands of invoices from 300 riders showed that one-in-three riders earned less than the National Living Wage of 8.72 an hour, according to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. Some reportedly made less than 2 per hour.

Deliveroos listing next month is expected to be the biggest since mining giants Glencores debut in 2011.

It is targeting a valuation of between 7.6billion and 8.8billion. Boss Shu, 41, is expected to make almost 600million from the deal.

But Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, said the company was now facing a bumpier road after public criticism from big City institutions.

Deliveroo said: Deliveroo riders are self-employed because this gives them the freedom to choose when and where to work.

We are confident in our business model, which has been upheld by UK courts three times, including the High Court twice.
YEREVAN, MARCH 25, ARMENPRESS. The delegation of Defense Minister of Iraq Juma Inad Saadoun Khattab has arrived in Armenia on an official visit on March 24, the Armenian defense ministry told Armenpress.

The official welcoming ceremony for the Iraqi defense minister took place at the Armenian defense ministry on March 25. Thereafter, the Armenian and Iraqi defense ministers held a private meeting which was followed by an extended-format meeting.

The officials discussed the Armenia-Iraq cooperation prospects in the defense field, attached importance to the cooperation opportunities in a number of fields of mutual interest, such as exchange of experience, regular military-political consultations, defense cooperation.

Regional security-related issues were also discussed during the meeting.

Defense Minister of Armenia Vagharshak Harutyunyan presented the current situation caused by the recent military operations and the implementation process of agreements reached after the cessation of hostilities.

The Armenian and Iraqi defense ministers signed an agreement on cooperation plans between the two ministries in the defense field, outlining 13 sectors for cooperation. According to the document, a memorandum of understanding on the defense cooperation is also expected to be signed between the two defense ministries.

The Iraqi delegation also visited today the Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan to pay tribute to the memory of the innocent victims.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
A pizza chef who concocted a stream of false stories in a bid to escape conviction for the gang rape of a teenage girl in the back of his restaurant has been found guilty in a Sydney court.

Ricardo Audish, who was 38 at the time of the assault in Sydneys south in October 2016, faced trial in the NSW District Court on three counts of aggravated sexual intercourse without consent.

Ricardo Audish leaving the Downing Centre courts on Tuesday. Credit:Kate Geraghty

A jury of eight men and four women deliberated for two hours on Thursday before delivering the verdict of guilty on all counts. They accepted the Crowns case that Audish raped an intoxicated 18-year-old woman against a stack of chairs at the back of the Lugarno restaurant before she was allegedly passed around to three teenage males, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Audish initially claimed he wasnt at the restaurant at the time of the assault. When that was proven false by a co-workers police statement, he then claimed that, although he was at work that night, he didnt have sex with the young woman. That was proven false by DNA evidence.
As severe weather moves your way, you'll want to make sure you have a safe spot in case of tornadoes.

"I'm not going to be one of those who just brushes it off," Karen Middleton said.

Middleton says she takes severe weather seriously after seeing the damage they can cause.

"Total destruction  you can't even imagine the force of those winds. I take it very seriously," Middleton said.

That's why she along with others across North Alabama are getting ready for Thursday's storms.

"Prepare and make sure the outdoors is in a good shape. So if branches fall or something like that, we don't have to worry too much," Skye Samadani said.

While some people have a safe spot at home, others rely on community shelters. Depending on where you live, those shelters may open at different times.

WAAY 31 reached out to every county EMA in North Alabama.

Jackson and Marshall counties will open their community shelters by Thursday morning.

Lawrence County opens its shelters when a thunderstorm warning goes into effect.

Franklin, Limestone and Morgan county shelters will open during a Tornado Watch.

Meanwhile, community shelters in Lauderdale, Madison and DeKalb counties could open at varying times.

That's because they're not run by the county EMA, but by a municipality or by volunteer managers. They set their own rules for shelters and decide when they also open. However, county EMAs say those shelters are usually asked to open during a Tornado Watch.

Rules at shelters can also vary depending on which county you live at. The rules will be posted on the front door. They usually include basic rules like no smoking or no firearms.

Most community shelters in North Alabama don't accept pets inside storm shelters, which can be tough for some.

"They're like your furry toddlers. They're your kids," Amir Samadani said.

County EMAs say pets can remain in your car outside of the shelter.

However, there are some that make exceptions in Jackson County like the basement of town hall at Section and the garage of the Jackson County Courthouse. There are also some spots of safe refuge in Marshall County that allow pets inside. Some of the shelters that aren't operated by county EMAs may also accept pets. Pets may have to be crated or leashed.

Service animals will be allowed inside shelters as long as they're leashed. Some counties may even require paperwork.

Meanwhile, masking is encouraged at all county shelters. Some places may enforce wearing a mask while others will have some available for people seeking shelter. County EMAs remind people the state mask order is still in effect and ask people to take the necessary precautions.

Other rules may vary, especially between shelters that aren't owned by the county EMA. It's recommended you call ahead of time to make sure you know what is and isn't allowed.

Overall, all EMAs in North Alabama ask people to be weather aware Thursday and have a plan in place, and people say they'll

"You don't want to take any chances on your life or on your family," Laura Sims said.

You can find a full list of storm shelters here.
To simplify inventory management for retail stores, Lightspeed India-backed startup Dukaan has rolled out a first-of-its-kind feature called Magic Upload for merchants that allows them to upload the inventory to their online Dukaan store in 1/10th of the original time.

This artificial intelligence-backed feature requires the merchant to click a picture of the inventory, and each product in the picture is automatically categorised and uploaded into their Dukaan store along with the price within seconds. This saves time spent in digitising the catalogue and inventory management, said Dukaan co-founder Suumit Shah.

The startup, which currently powers over two million small and medium sized businesses across India, with over seven million products added across 40 different categories on the app, is looking to have 20 million merchants open their digital stores on the platform in the next one year.

With over 6.6 million kirana stores in India, over 70 million small merchants (since 2019) and the countrys smartphone market set to cross the Rs 2 trillion-mark in 2021, the need for digital solutions for daily problems are much needed. Several startups such as Max Wholesale, Jumbotail, KiranaKart and ShopKirana are helping retail stores in placing orders, maintain inventory, optimise the delivery routes and make payments, all digitally.

Dukaan powers small and medium sized businesses such as grocery shops, restaurants, fruits and vegetable stores, electronics shops, fashion and apparels, jewelry, furniture stores to start, grow, market and manage their businesses over the internet.

While it is our top priority to continue growing organically at the same pace, in future, we will consider adding inorganic channels such as acquisitions of relevant and highly targeted performance marketing campaigns through digital avenues to acquire users at scale, said Shah.
WILLIAMSPORT  A major natural gas driller in the Marcellus Shale region of Pennsylvania has agreed to pay a $1.9 million civil penalty to resolve litigation over damage to streams and wetlands in five counties.

The proposed consent decree was filed Wednesday in U.S. Middle District Court simultaneously with a suit the federal government and the state Department of Environmental Protection brought against Chesapeake Appalachia.

DEP is to receive half of the $1.9 million, according to terms of the agreement.

Chesapeake, part of Chesapeake Energy Corp. of Oklahoma City that has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, neither admits nor denies liability.

It has agreed to seek expeditious approval of the decree by the bankruptcy court in Texas.

Judge Matthew W. Brann has been asked not to sign the decree until after the Justice Department allows public comments.

The suit accuses Chesapeake of placing fill or dredged material in streams during the construction or operation of well pads, pipelines and impoundments.

Chesapeake had notified the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, DEP and the Army Corps of Engineers in the spring of 2014 it had begun an audit to identify unauthorized discharges of dredged and fill materials.

The complaint cites 76 properties in Beaver, Bradford, Sullivan, Susquehanna and Wyoming counties where this occurred.

Chesapeake agrees to obtain permits to restore or mitigate impacts to aquatic life for 55 wetland acres and 4,410 linear feet of streams, some of which are tributaries to the Susquehanna River.

Once the agreement is signed by Brann, Chesapeake will be enjoined from creating obstructions or encroachments in streams unless they comply with the Clean Water Act or Pennsylvania law and regulations.

Other terms of the decree require Chesapeake to:

Provide for two years to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, DEP and the Army Corps of Engineers upon their request a list of all its oil and gas facilities.

Maintain for two years a compliance representative with the responsibility for oversight of all activities involving discharges of dredged or fill materials or encroachments into waterways

Pay a fine beginning at $1,000 per day for any violation.

The federal government and DEP may seek court approval to terminate the agreement if the civil penalty is paid and there has been full compliance of all requirements.

The government points out Chesapeake in 2014 signed a consent decree resolving similar allegations against it in West Virginia.
By the morning of March 19, when Tony Romero arrived at the Church of the Ascension on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan for a rally, he hadnt eaten for three days. The 60-year-old, who moved to the United States from Nicaragua 15 years ago, was participating in a hunger strike to call for COVID-19 relief for New Yorkers excluded from unemployment benefits. Romero belongs to the largest group of people who didnt get government support  undocumented workers. He has been out of work  he had been a cook and a house painter  for over a year.

I'm on hunger strike because for the last 15 years, I've been paying taxes, and this is a huge injustice that I don't have any type of social safety net right now during the pandemic, Romero, who spoke in Spanish, said through a translator. My landlord has been pressuring me for rent, I have kids I have to support, and Ive been dependent on food pantries to survive.

Romero, along with others who call themselves excluded workers and their allies, joined the hunger strike  which is still ongoing  to demand that the state provide $3.5 billion in aid to compensate workers who were left out.

Romeros story is not unique. According to a report from the Fiscal Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank, there are 187,000 undocumented people in New York who would benefit from a COVID-19 unemployment relief fund. Both the state Senate and the Assembly proposed a $2.1 billion dollar fund in their one-house budget resolutions. But activists and some lawmakers say $2.1 billion is not nearly enough and are still pushing for $3.5 billion, arguing that anything less would be insufficient after a year without any benefits for these workers.

While debates over the amount of relief continue, such a fund was not a part of Gov. Andrew Cuomos executive budget proposal at all. When the governor laid out his budget priorities on Wednesday, he didnt mention the fund. And despite the scandals surrounding the governor, he still has enormous control over the budget.

Although undocumented workers make up the largest portion of these excluded workers, people recently released from incarceration also have not been receiving unemployment benefits from either the state or the federal government. While we've heard a lot about immigrants being excluded from stimulus payments  and that is true and horrible  the sort of more basic thing is the workers who have recently been released from incarceration, and therefore don't have recent work history, said Deborah Axt, co-executive director of Make the Road New York. All told, some 274,000 people would benefit from a fund providing aid to those who have not been eligible to receive it, according to the Fiscal Policy Institute report.

Advocates fighting for this fund have been adamant that the state provide $3.5 billion. That number is based on the cost to provide what they say is the minimum amount that eligible full-time workers could receive after they lost their jobs. Those payments would be retroactive through late March 2020, and would continue until Dec. 31 of this year. According to the Fiscal Policy Institute report, the numbers work out to be $750 a week from late March or early April to July 2020. Thats the sum of the minimum average state unemployment benefit for full-time workers of $150 and the $600 in federal unemployment aid available at the time. From August on, the payments would be $450 a week  the $150 minimum from the state plus the $300 payments from the federal government. Although those enhanced benefits are set to expire in September, advocates are working under the assumption that they will be renewed. Combined with the cost of operating the program and providing payments at a flat rate, the total comes out to $3.5 billion based on estimates of the number of people who would benefit.

The legislative one-house budget proposals, which put forward $2.1 billion, envision different compensation amounts, and for a shorter period. Bill language from the state Senate lays out a framework where from March 27 to July 31 2020, workers would be eligible for $600 a week, and later $300 a week, reflecting just the federal relief provided throughout the pandemic. The payments would stop on Sept. 6, 2021, when that federal aid is set to expire. I'm very thankful that leadership in the Legislature understands the importance of this issue  and that we were able to allocate $2.1 million really is a monumental accomplishment, state Sen. Jessica Ramos, who is sponsoring legislation to create an excluded workers fund, told City & State. But unfortunately, it's not enough to cover everyone in the way that they should. She was one of many lawmakers and candidates, including New York City mayoral candidates Scott Stringer and Dianne Morales, who engaged in a 24-hour hunger strike in solidarity with the long-term strikers after one of the many rallies activists have held in New York City.

David Dyssegaard Kallick, author of the Fiscal Policy Institute report examining the costs of the fund, said that the math behind the $2.1 billion proposed by the Legislature in their one-house budgets works out based on his calculations. I don't want to endorse that idea, of course, but I mean, you could get to $2.1 billion by doing that, Kallick said. But thats not the only calculation he has. Although advocates are calling for $3.5 billion, they consider that total to be the bare minimum of what excluded workers would be entitled to. Kallick said if the fund provided the average unemployment payout over the course of the pandemic, it would cost $4.7 billion. He conceded that all these numbers are big ones, but he noted that this represents two years of coverage, and that the state has spent $117 billion on unemployment so far during the pandemic. This is real, family-sustaining income that all the other workers get, Kallick said.

Of course, all this is moot if people, particularly undocumented immigrants, dont feel safe or comfortable applying for state aid, regardless of how much money the fund ultimately includes. Bianca Guerrero, the coordinator of the Fund Excluded Workers coalition, said organizers are taking lessons from the Green Light Law, which enabled undocumented immigrants to get drivers licenses. We are pretty confident, given the expertise in how those policies have turned out, the lessons we've learned, that we have very robust protections for undocumented workers specifically, Guerrero said. When the fund is actually passed and we have funds to dole out and we're trying to get people to apply, the 200-plus organizations in our coalition include a lot of folks that work deeply in these communities. She added that because formerly incarcerated people would also be applying, the list of applicants would never be an exclusive list of undocumented people. And if someone shares any information with immigratation agents, the legislation put forward by the state Senate in its one-house resolution includes penalties for such behavior of up to a year in prison.

Some of the details about how exactly the program will be run and be administered remain undetermined. We've been in conversations with central staff of both houses, Axt said. And they've been extremely responsive to trying to design the program with a lot of deference to advocates expertise. Guerrero cautioned that placing control of the fund with an agency not equipped to give out the money could lead to problems. We don't want folks in blue areas to get the money before folks in red areas, Guerrero said. We want this to be as quickly expedited across the state as soon as possible.

The fate of the fund, even the $2.1 billion, is uncertain. Cuomo, who did not include an excluded workers fund in his executive budget proposal, has not commented on the fund, despite the intense push from activists and lawmakers to get it passed. A spokesperson for Cuomo did not respond to a request for comment. And getting the full $3.5 billion too might be difficult  traditionally, one-house budgets from legislators represent the ceiling for negotiations between legislative leaders and the governor. Its not often that the budget winds up with more than what the Legislature proposed. Spokespeople for state Senate Majority Leader Andea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie did not respond to requests for comment on where they stand on the $3.5 billion push. We're in the middle of a hunger strike, we're really dedicated to pushing to make sure every single little worker that's eligible gets the maximum possible benefit, Guerrero said. We are not willing to settle.
The Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL) has called on the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations to convene an emergency National Tripartite Committee meeting to address fallout from the 2021 budget.



The 2021 budget imposed on Ghanaians COVID-19 health levy, road toll increment, sanitation and pollution levy, one per cent increase in National Health Insurance Levy (NHIL), and one per cent increase in Value Added Tax (VAT) flat rate as well as increase in the energy sector levies Act.



Mr Abraham Koomson, GFL Secretary General talking to the Ghana News Agency in Tema described the taxes as insensitive, "these new taxes will impact negatively on the conditions of service and the living standards of workers".



Mr Koomson said failure of government to allow the Tripartite to consider wage adjustment and determine public sector base pay would embolden employers to refuse to negotiate salary and wages increases with the Unions.



"Dissatisfied employees will not commit to high productivity, this is natural consequence," Mr Koomson said.



On what measures the Trade Unions would take should government fail to consult them, he said, when they reach that point they would decide adding that, "but I am very sure government would take us seriously and do the needful to appease the working people who tirelessly work to build the Ghanaian economy".



According to him, across the world, governments had committed to mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the citizenry, but the government of Ghana had done little, leading to the collapse of some industries and job loss among workers.

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
ECU

When it comes to bespoke motorcycles, Italy is home to some of Europe's most ambitious enterprises. In Turin, theres Luca Pozzatos revered Officine GP Design , while the picturesque city of Pescara hosts Filippo Barbacanes Officine Rossopuro. And let's not forget about the gifted moto masters over at South Garage, which go about their daily business in Milan.Over the past few months, we checked out these folks portfolio on several occasions to admire their pieces of rolling artwork. As such, the autoevolution pages have featured some of the most notable creations crafted on this firms premises, including a cafe racer-style Harley-Davidson Sportster 1200C and a Ducati Monster S4R-based superstar named  Kelevra .All things considered, South Garage means business. Not convinced? Lets take a quick look at how this workshop managed to transform an undistinguished 2010 Moto Guzzi Bellagio into a unique titan thatll make any moto-loving petrolhead go weak at the knees. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Fenice, the custom ride of your wildest fantasies.To give you a clear idea about the sheer level of craftsmanship thats at work here, let's kick things off by analyzing the donor bikes main specs and features. Within its tubular steel twin cradle frame, Piaggios fiend houses an air-cooled V-twin powerplant fed by a multipoint sequential electronic injection. The Italian monstrosity prides itself with two valves per cylinder and a sizeable displacement of 935cc.This engine supplies up to 73 feral horses at around 7,200 rpm and a ruthless torque output of 57 pound-feet (78 Nm) at 6,000 revs. A six-speed gearbox sends the engines force to the rear wheel by means of a shaft final drive, enabling the Bellagio to reach 62 mph (100 kph) from a dead stop in 5.1 seconds.Right, now that weve covered this things powertrain characteristics, lets see what South Garages Fenice is made of. The makeover process began in the bodywork department, where Milans specialists replaced the standard gas tank with a one-off aluminum item painstakingly fabricated in-house. It wears an alloy filler cap and one handsome three-tone paint scheme consisting of black, gold, and silver.At the opposite end, we notice a carbon fiber tail section, which comes together with Fenices new side panels to form a single unit. The curvy garment packs a slim pair of LED lighting strips that keep things looking clutter-free, while an Alcantara-clad saddle sits between the tail and fuel chamber. With these parts installed, the surgeons turned their attention to the bikes handling.Thus, its front and rear suspension setups were blessed with a premium selection of Ohlins goodies. The entire structure crawls on 17-inch Kineo wheels that boast carbon rims and Diablo Red Race III rubber from Pirellis inventory. Stopping power is summoned by top-shelf Brembo calipers and floating brake rotors on both ends of the machine.In terms of accessories, the aftermarket wizardry continues with an assortment of high-grade components from Rizoma, such as bar-end turn signals and mirrors, as well as fresh levers. Furthermore, FG Racings catalog was consulted to obtain a state-of-the-art headlight, CNC-machined foot pegs, and custom triple clamps. The cockpit received a Motogadget Chronoclassic gauge, which has been nested inside a bespoke alloy housing to round it all out.Last but definitely not least, a comprehensive overhaul was applied to Bellagios 90-degree V-twin brute. On the exterior, the firms enhancements come in the forms of high-flow air filters and a vicious exhaust system developed by Spark, but the internal magic is where the real partys at. Not only did Milans experts equip Dynatech coils and a Rapid Bikefrom Dimsport, but they also added a set of high-compression pistons, lightweight cams, and a revised clutch mechanism.Ultimately, this whole ordeal leads to a healthy power output bump to 95 wicked poniesat the rear wheel, that is. To be quite frank, we totally dig South Garage s Fenice, and Ill bet my bottom dollar that you feel the same.
Shade uses offensive attack to take down Shanksville in D5-A semis
Luanda  The National Assembly (AN) on Wednesday unanimously approved the Law on the Legal System for building property registration, which aims to "reduce conflicts of ownership" of rural or urban buildings in the country.

The law, an initiative of the Head of the Executive Branch, was approved definitively with 180 votes in favour, none against and no abstentions, during the 7th Extraordinary Plenary Meeting of the 4th Legislative Session of the 4th Legislature.

In the preamble of this law, the Government highlights its concern over the "current legal uncertainty" in relation to the correct identification of buildings, including their location, with direct and immediate repercussions on the number of conflicts regarding ownership.

The Diploma aims to establish the basic methodology and rules for the execution, renewal and conservation of the registration.

The law, an initiative of the Head of the Executive Branch, was approved definitively with 180 votes in favour, none against and no abstentions, during the 7th Extraordinary Plenary Meeting of the 4th Legislative Session of the 4th Legislature.

In the preamble of this law, the Government highlights its concern over the "current legal uncertainty" in relation to the correct identification of buildings, including their location, with direct and immediate repercussions on the number of conflicts regarding ownership.

The Diploma aims to establish the basic methodology and rules for the execution, renewal and conservation of the registration.
Trang Nguyen has spent much of her life trying to end the illegal wildlife trade. Photo by AFP/Nhac Nguyen.

As a small girl, Trang Nguyen saw a bear stabbed through the chest with a giant needle at her neighbor's house in northern Vietnam.

The bear, flat on its back, was being pumped for its bile, a fluid drawn from its gallbladder that has long been used in traditional medicine to treat liver disease.

"I had seen visitors to Hanoi zoo who brought sticks to poke animals and it really made my blood boil," Trang, the founder of local conservation group WildAct, told AFP.

"But conservation wasn't something I really wanted to do until I witnessed what happened to this bear."

It was the first of her many encounters with a global multi-billion-dollar illegal wildlife trade that devastates species the world over, fuels corruption and threatens human health.

The 31-year-old -- named by the BBC in 2019 as one of the world's most inspiring and influential women -- has spent much of her time since then trying to end the scourge.

She has gone undercover in South Africa to snare traffickers and secured a PhD in traditional medicine's impact on wildlife.

Trang has also set up her home country's first postgraduate course for aspiring conservationists, to help more Vietnamese make it to the top of her field.

In the 1990s, decades of war and isolation meant environmental awareness was a new notion in Vietnam.

Trang recalls her parents telling her: "Only rich people from western countries do that kind of work."

Now there are more local conservationists, wildlife protection laws have been enacted, if patchily enforced, and the number of bears kept in captivity for bile farming has dropped by 90 percent in the last 15 years, according to Education for Nature Vietnam.

But as the country grew richer, demand for exotic wildlife dishes soared and animal parts sought for their perceived health benefits -- such as rhino horn and pangolin scales -- became a status symbol for some within the fast-growing middle classes.

Wildlife trafficking hub

Today the country is a key producer, consumer and transit point for trafficked wildlife, says WildAct.

Through courses at Vinh University in central Vietnam and community programs in wildlife trade hotspots, Trang is trying to empower Vietnamese people to resolve these problems themselves.

In turn, she hopes they will become a louder voice in the global conversation about illegal wildlife trade, and help shape policy.

The responses of some global wildlife organization to the coronavirus pandemic, widely thought to have begun at a market known to sell wild animals in China's Wuhan, were hugely unhelpful for campaigners in Asia and Africa, says Trang.

One called for a complete ban on "wet markets," even though the term is used in Asia and Africa to describe any market where fresh produce is sold, while another termed them "unhygenic."

"When things like that are said it's very difficult for conservationists to ask people to participate in our work," she explains, as they are seen as "prejudiced."

Trang also wants more women in conservation -- a field still dominated by men -- and has written a book to inspire young girls.

Loosely based on her personal story, "Saving Sorya" tells the tale of a Vietnamese conservationist who must prepare a rescued baby sun bear for life in the wild.

Already published in Vietnamese, and due out in English this year, the children's book has a female protagonist -- something she insisted on despite being told "no-one was going to read it" if she did.

Going undercover

Trang's own story is one of remarkable determination.

From the age of eight, she pestered wildlife groups with requests to intern and learnt English by watching the BBC documentary Planet Earth late at night.

She won scholarships to study in Britain, including for a masters degree in conservation leadership at Cambridge University, and founded WildAct in her mid-20s.

Wildlife traffickers are in prison because of her.

"It was very easy for me to pose as a buyer of wildlife products," she remembers of her time working undercover in South Africa.

Around three rhinos are poached there every day, largely for the Vietnamese and Chinese consumer markets, according to wildlife trade monitoring network Traffic.

But it was there that she learnt that the trade is not "black and white."

"One guy I was helping get arrested, he wasn't high up the chain: he was a poor person who got exploited... (and was asked) to go kill the animal and be the transport."

After the arrest, "I was actually feeling really sad," she said.

"I thought: Now no-one is providing for his kids, they are probably going to become a poacher like him and soon it will be their turn to be imprisoned."

She'll keep fighting for change, she says, but admits it takes a long time to shift people's behavior.

"For some species, things might not move quick enough to save them."
While spring is just getting underway in India, AccuWeather meteorologists expect temperatures across parts of the country this week to be more typical of early summer.

The weather pattern into the beginning of next week can allow daily high temperatures to climb above normal across northern India.

"A strong high building over the northern Arabian Sea will lead to a spell of hot weather across northern India through Tuesday," said AccuWeather Lead International Meteorologist Jason Nicholls.

Temperatures began trending higher on Saturday and Sunday as the area of high pressure began expanding over northern India. Afternoon temperatures of 95-105 degrees Fahrenheit (35-41 degrees Celsius) were common across Gujarat and Rajasthan over the weekend.

By Monday, high temperatures can surge above 100 F (38 C) across most of northern India.

On Sunday, one of the hottest locations was Ahmedabad which hit 111 F (44 C), a temperature that was last felt in June of last year.

Nicholls added that the peak of the heat wave in the Indian capital of New Delhi is expected on Monday when maximum temperatures will climb to near 100 F (38 C).

Normal high temperatures for the city during the end of March range from 87 to 90 F (31 to 32 C).

If the mercury reaches 100 F, or 38 C, it would be the first time that's happened this year in the city. This would be over a week earlier than when New Delhi hit the same temperature benchmark in 2020, which occurred on April 6.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP

"The last time the maximum temperature in New Delhi was 100 F (38 C) was back on Sept. 18," Nicholls said.

Rising temperatures and stagnant air can cause air quality to deteriorate throughout the weekend. Visibility can also decrease if hazy conditions already present across portions of northern India worsen.

This late-March heat wave arrived just in time for the annual celebration of Holi, a Hindu festival that celebrates the triumph of good over evil. The two-day festival takes place from March 28-29.

Story continues

Holi, also known as the festival of love, is considered one of India's most joyous and vivid festivals with colored powder thrown around to pay homage to the bright colors of spring after a long winter.

Any festivalgoers across northern India are reminded to stay hydrated and take breaks out of the sun to avoid heat-related illnesses.

However, some public gatherings may be put on hold to keep the number of COVID-19 cases under control across India. In the capital territory of Delhi, public celebrations of Holi are not allowed, according to the Hindustan Times.

Dry weather is forecast to persist across much of India through the middle of next week, while temperatures begin trending back toward normal.

"The heat is expected to ease starting Wednesday as the high over the Arabian Sea weakens," said Nicholls.

AccuWeather video producer Taliya Riesterer contributed reporting to this piece.

Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
New York, March 26 : The Quad summit "got the Chinese attention" on their seriousness in holding Beijing accountable for its actions in the Indo-Pacific region, according to US President Joe Biden.

He said on Thursday, "I met with our allies and how we are going to hold China accountable in the region. Australia, India, Japan, United States, the so-called Quad, because we have to have democracies working together." "Apparently, it got the Chinese attention," he said.

Biden held the virtual summit with Prime Ministers Narendra Modi of India, Yoshihide Sugo of Japan and Scott Morrison of Australia on March 12 during which they committed to a "region that is free, open, inclusive, healthy, anchored by democratica-values, and unconstrained by coercion." He warned that China's plan is to own the future through its investments in science and technology and said the US has to match it.

"We are in the midst of a Fourth Industrial Revolution of enormous consequence," he said.

At his first news conference as president, he made protection and expansion of democracy the high priority of his administration asserting that the competition of the 21st Century is between democracy and autocracy and that it "is what is at stake, not just in China. Look around the world".

He laid out the future of relations with China, which he described as one of competition rather than confrontation, with an emphasis on human rights.

His strategy to face up to the Chinese challenge, he said, is to reinforce ties with democracies in the effort to make China play by the international rules and to make the US ready for the "Fourth Industrial Revolution" for which Beijing was making heavy investments.

Biden said that "allegedly, by the time I left office of the vice president, I had spent more time with (Chinese President) Xi Jinping than any other world leader".

He said that Xi does "not have a democratic -- with a small 'D' -- bone in his body, but he is a smart, smart guy. He is one of the guys like (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, who thinks autocracy is the wave of the future (and) democracy cannot function in an ever-complex world".

What "I admire about dealing with Xi is he understands and makes no pretence about not understanding what I'm saying," he said.

Biden said that he made it "clear to him" that "we are not looking for confrontation, although we know there will be steep, steep competition." "We will have strong competition, but we (will) insist China play by international rules: fair competition, fair practice is fair trade," he said.

"As you and your country continues to blatantly violate human rights, we are going to continue to call to attention to the world," he said he told him referring to the clampdown on democracy in Hong Kong and the treatment of the Uighur Muslims.

"No American president would back down on that," he said.

And taking taking a dig at his predecessor Donald Trump, he added, "The moment a president walks away from that, as the last one did, is a moment we begin to lose legitimacy around the world." He pointed to the risks of China racing ahead in science and technology.

He said, "The future lies in who can, in fact, own the future as it relates to technology, quantum computing, a whole range of things, including in medical fields. And so what I'm going to do is make sure we invest closer to two per cent." "We're going to invest in medical research -- cancer, Alzheimer's, diabetes, the things - industries of the future - artificial intelligence, quantum computing, biotech. And we're going to make real investments. China is out investing us by a longshot, because their plan is to own that future." (Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter at @arulouis)
TOLEDO, Ohio, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The United Steelworkers (USW) union today commended the Ohio House of Representatives' passage of H.R. 13, urging Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to help maintain economic stability across the Midwest by allowing Enbridge Line 5 to continue operating.

In November, Whitmer and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed suit to revoke and terminate the 1953 easement that allows Enbridge to operate its dual pipelines through the Straits of Mackinac. H.R. 13 calls for Whitmer to reconsider this decision until the planned tunnel and replacement line can be permitted and completed.

"The futures of hundreds of USW members and their communities hang in the balance in this decision," said USW District 1 Director Donnie Blatt. "H.R. 13 recognizes that ending access to Line 5 jeopardizes these workers' ability to safely and efficiently provide energy to our communities, and that losing these good-paying jobs will have a ripple effect that will stifle economic recovery across the region."

The impact would be particularly stark on the roughly 350 USW members at PBF Energy's Toledo Refining Company, which relies heavily on Line 5 for its crude oil. There are currently no viable alternatives to supply the refinery, which the union estimates adds $5 billion of economic activity to the surrounding areas.

"While we understand the concerns about the existing line, the fact is that it is not only safe to operate but a necessary part of the fabric of our industry," said USW Local 912 President Justin Donley. "And the replacement project is a common-sense solution that will protect and create jobs, keep a steady energy supply, ensure a secure future, and maintain the economic viability of the region."

Four USW members, including Donley, testified in support of H.R. 13, which the union intends to keep backing as it heads to the Ohio Senate.

The USW represents 850,000 workers employed in metals, mining, pulp and paper, rubber, chemicals, glass, auto supply and the energy-producing industries, along with a growing number of workers in health care, public sector, higher education, tech and service occupations.

Contact: Jess Kamm Broomell, (412) 562-2444, [email protected]

SOURCE United Steelworkers (USW)

Related Links

http://www.usw.org


Government-designated health centers in South Carolina that largely treat underserved and minority communities will receive $95.2 million in federal funding, the White House announced on March 25.

Officials said the money should be used for COVID-19 efforts to "expand health centers operational capacity during the pandemic and beyond."

The White House said some of the money can be used to improve the centers' physical sites and build out mobile units. There are about two dozen of the centers in South Carolina, and the average award to the organizations is $4.1 million.

For some of the health centers, the award amount in this round of funding is more than they receive in contributions and grants in an entire year, according to nonprofit tax filings.

Other providers in the state will also benefit from federal help, according to the announcement.

Dialysis centers will get their own allotment of COVID-19 vaccines. The companies that manage dialysis across the country have been arguing in favor of receiving doses, noting their patients are much more likely to become seriously ill or die from coronavirus disease than the general population. In a study of end-stage kidney disease patients who caught the virus, more than half were hospitalized and 23 percent died of COVID-19, according to results published early this year in the journal Kidney Medicine.

The White House's announcement did not specify how much extra vaccine dialysis clinics would receive. In South Carolina, so far, dialysis clinics have received no allotment of vaccine, though dialysis providers have argued they could make quick work of vaccinating all of their patients willing to take a shot because they come in for treatment multiple times a week.

Statewide numbers

New cases reported: 551 confirmed, 440 probable.

Total cases in S.C.: 461,418 confirmed, 83,836 probable.

Percent positive: 3.8 percent.

New deaths reported: 31 confirmed, 1 probable.

Total deaths in S.C.: 8,021 confirmed, 1,062 probable.

Percent of ICU beds filled: 68 percent.

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!

How does S.C. rank in vaccines administered per 100,000 people?

43rd as of March 24, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Hardest-hit areas

In the total number of newly confirmed cases, Greenville County (76), Charleston County (46) and Horry County (40) saw the highest totals.

What about the tri-county?

Charleston County had 46 new cases on March 25, while Berkeley had 21 and Dorchester had 17.

Deaths

Two of the new confirmed deaths were in people 18 to 34, four were people 35 to 64 and the remaining 25 were patients 65 and older.

Hospitalizations

Of the 547 COVID-19 patients hospitalized as of March 24, 122 were in the ICU and 56 were using ventilators.

What do experts say?

Nick Davidson, senior deputy public health director at the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, said providers with leftover vaccine doses at the end of the day should make an attempt to get the shots into the arms of people who are currently eligible.

"First and foremost, we want the vaccine used," he said. "We dont want any wasted."

He said several providers, including local pharmacies and urgent care centers, are using waitlists to circle back to adults who may not have been successful in making an appointment but who have expressed an interest in getting a vaccine. Ultimately, vaccinating someone on a waitlist who is not strictly eligible right now is "better than a wasted dose," Davidson said.


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 a fresh development in the Ambani bomb scare case, CCTV footage has emerged which shows that Mansukh Hiren and Sachin Vaze knew each other.

Vaze is a suspended police officer who has been arrested in a case of an explosives-laden Scorpio car found abandoned near industrialist Mukesh Ambani's home, Antilia, on February 25. And Hiren was a Thane-based businessman and was in possession of the SUV.

This fresh development caught in CCTV camera is contrary to Vaze's claims of not having any connections with Hiren.

The CCTV footage shows that Vaze met Hiren near CST station on February 17--the day when Hiren's Scorpio was allegedly stolen.

The footage also showcases deceased businessman Hiren getting down from a taxi outside the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in south Mumbai at 8.25 pm.

Hiren is seen waiting for a while before crossing the road as he spots a Mercedes car at the traffic signal. After that Hiren gets inside the car which then moves towards Thane. As per an official of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad, Hiren and Vaze sat in the car for about 10 minutes on February 17.

About the Ambani bomb scare case:

On February 25, a Scorpio was found near billionaire Mukesh Ambani's house in south Mumbai with explosives and a threat letter inside. Hiren, who was in possession of the SUV, had claimed that it had been stolen a week earlier.

Hiran said on February 17 while he was heading for south Mumbai from his house in Thane, the steering of the Scorpio jammed, so he left it on Mulund-Airoli road and proceeded in a cab. The next day he found the SUV was missing, he said.

On March 5, Hiren was found dead in a creek in Thane. Hiren's wife claimed that her husband had given the SUV to officer Vaze in November, which the officer returned in the first week of February. The ATS suspected that Hiren handed over the keys of Scorpio to Vaze.

The NIA arrested Vaze on March 13. The National Investigation Agency, which is probing this case, recovered a black Mercedes Benz car driven by arrested police officer Vaze. Along with the black Mercedes, the NIA had also seized Rs 5 lakh in cash, a note-counting machine, and some 'incriminating' documents from the car.

Also read: COVID-19: Second wave may last up to 100 days, says SBI report

Also read: Housing sales beat COVID-19 blues, up 29% in top 7 cities in Q1
Two brothers from Pakistan who are in Melbourne studying business have been accused of running a large counterfeit scheme from their home and selling packages of fake postage stamps to people across Australia.

Police allege Obaid and Shaheryer Khan were in possession of counterfeit stamps with an estimated value of $3 million, and had sold on eBay and posted out at least four packages of stamps in denominations of between $3 and $20 each.

The brothers are each charged with possessing and selling counterfeit postage stamps, obtaining property by deception and dealing with the proceeds of crime.

However, Melbourne Magistrates Court was told on Thursday, police believe the number of people duped could be closer to 100.

Theres potentially a large number of victims that we arent aware of and a lot of these counterfeit stamps in circulation, Detective Senior Constable Tim Renshaw told a bail application.
A MAN accused of hijacking a Northern Ireland Electricity van which crashed following a pursuit in Belfast must remain in custody for the publics protection, a judge has ruled.

David Connors (30) was refused bail amid claims he was behind the wheel of the truck as it collided with up to seven vehicles across the city.

Police said he was arrested with co-defendant Raymond Carlisle when the stolen van crashed, struck a tree and overturned on the Springfield Road.

Connors, of Old Forge in the Dunmurry area, faces a total of 44 charges in connection with the incident on February 16. Two men allegedly seized control of the vehicle at Agnes Street after threatening the driver with a sharpened metal bar and dragging him out of the van. Connors is accused of hijacking, driving while disqualified, failing to stop for police and multiple counts of aggravated vehicle taking and failing to stop or remain at an accident. He is further alleged to have assaulted a doctor and been disorderly after he was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital. Carlisle (28), of no fixed abode, has already been granted bail on charges of hijacking, aggravated vehicle taking and possessing an offensive weapon in public. At Belfast Magistrates Court, counsel for Connors argued that he should also be released to ensure parity in the case. Barrister Sean OHare said: "Both men were apprehended at the scene of the crashed vehicle. "The case made by this defendant is that he wasnt the driver, despite police assertions." However, Deputy District Judge Liam McStay denied his application. "The likelihood of re-offending is extraordinarily high in respect of Connors  and serious driving matters," he said. "The prosecution asserts that Connors was the driver and that he made significant statements which are suggestive of an attitude to the law and driving matters which is not impressive. "My concern is the protection of the public and prevention of re-offending." Connors was remanded in custody to appear again next month.
SANTA FE, N.M., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- OpenEye Scientific , developer of the world's only cloud-native molecular design platform, Orion, announced today that it is among the first of only a handful of companies globally that have achieved Amazon Web Services (AWS) High Performance Computing (HPC) Competency status.

The AWS HPC designation recognizes that OpenEye Scientific has demonstrated deep experience helping customers optimize their HPC workloads for performance and efficiency using AWS's elastic and scalable cloud infrastructure.

AWS launched the AWS HPC Competency to allow customers to easily and confidently engage highly specialized AWS Partners that provide technology offerings for faster innovation, better agility, and flexibility in areas such as genomics, computational chemistry, financial risk modeling, computer aided engineering, as well as emerging applications such as deep learning, and autonomous driving.

The AWS HPC Competency takes on the heavy lifting of identifying and validating industry leaders with proven customer success and technical proficiency. Achieving the AWS HPC Competency differentiates OpenEye Scientific as an AWS Partner with deep domain expertise in HPC Management.

"OpenEye Scientific is thrilled to be one of the first AWS Partners to achieve AWS HPC Competency status," said Matthew Geballe, Vice President of Product at OpenEye Scientific. "With our Orion platform powered by AWS HPC infrastructure, our customers benefit from much faster and more efficient screening of billions of molecules for drug discovery. This is something that would not have been possible without AWS."

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.

OpenEye Scientific's Orion molecular design platform was developed to bring together a variety of data visualization, communication, and workflow tools in a robust, scalable Cloud environment. This platform, combined with AWS's computing power, allows biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and agrochemical companies, as well as flavor and fragrance manufacturers, to accelerate their molecular discovery from rapid screening of billions of molecules to intensive calculations on single molecules.

"In the long run, the financial implications of having access to OpenEye's Orion platform powered by AWS are that we can get to our end goal of identifying hits for known G-Protein Coupled Receptor targets more rapidly," said Carleton Sage, Vice President of Computational Sciences at Beacon Discovery.

About OpenEye Scientific

OpenEye Scientific is an industry leader in computational molecular design, based on decades of delivering rapid, robust, and scalable software, toolkits, and technology and design services. Our scientific, physics-based approach to molecular design historically focused on molecular shape and electrostatic potential to inform and guide molecular discovery and optimization. OpenEye now has integrated its applications and toolkits into Orion, the only cloud-native, fully integrated molecular design platform. Combining unlimited computation and storage with powerful tools for data sharing, visualization and analysis in an open development platform, Orion offers unprecedented capabilities for the advancement of pharmaceuticals, biologics, agrochemicals, and flavors and fragrances. Founded in 1997, OpenEye is a privately held company headquartered in Santa Fe, N.M., with offices in Boston, Mass.; Cologne, Germany; and Tokyo, Japan. For more information, go to www.openeye.inc .

Contact:

Marshall Poindexter

OpenEye Scientific

+1.617.849.8670

[email protected]

SOURCE OpenEye Scientific

Related Links

www.eyesopen.com


BANGALORE, India, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Air Freight Market is segmented by Service (Freight, Express, Mail, and Other Services), Destination (Domestic and International), and End-Use (Private and Commercial). The report covers global opportunity analysis and industry forecast from 2020 to 2027. It is published on Valuates Reports in the Transportation Category.

The global Air Freight Market was valued at USD 270.2 Billion in 2019 and is projected to reach USD 376.8 Billion by 2027, registering a CAGR of 5.6%.

Major factors driving the growth of Air Freight market size are:

Safer, decreased risk of theft and damage, faster delivery of shipments as compared with other logistics solutions and rising popularity of consolidated air freight service.

Several operations within air freight are adopting cool-chain tech, robotics, automated systems, artificial intelligence (AI), Big Data, deep learning, IoT, and augmented & virtual reality is anticipated to increase efficiency and productivity there by boosting the growth of the global air freight market.

Significant growth of e-commerce sector.

View Report Details Before Purchasing:

https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/ALLI-Manu-0X44/air-freight

TRENDS INFLUENCING AIR FREIGHT MARKET SIZE

Air Freight offers the faster delivery of shipments as compared with other logistics solutions. This feature is expected to drive the growth of the Air Freight market size. While other modes of transportation, such as shipping, rail, or road transportation, can take days or weeks to deliver items, air transport can do so in just a few hours. High-value products, such as electronics, jewelry, pharmaceuticals, perishables, etc., are generally shipped by air freight.

The rising popularity of consolidated air freight service is expected to fuel the air freight market size. Consolidated air freight allows clients to combine their shipment with a number of other items to form a full load, making consolidated air freight a very cost-effective method of transporting goods by plane.

e-Commerce is expected to be the future growth driver for the air freight industry as the increase in online retail is boosting the demand package transport services around the world. Over the forecast period, increasing e-commerce shipments across the globe via air freight are expected to boost the air freight market size.

Moreover, air freight is the safest among all other modes as goods sent via air go through the least handling, and the safety controls at airports are strictly managed. This decreases the risk of both theft and damage to the shipment. In addition, as the shipment duration is quite short, the insurance premiums on air freight are usually low. These factors make air freight a superior and essential mode of goods transportation.

However, the lockdowns and other control measures to curb the COVID-19 spread have caused significant disruptions in economic activity and supply chains, affecting both trade and air freight. When most lockdowns were lifted in May, manufacturing activity and consumer demand was able to rebound strongly. This recovery is expected to continue, despite some volatility, when renewed COVID outbreaks forced some markets to implement new restrictions.

Inquire For Sample: https://reports.valuates.com/request/sample/ALLI-Manu-0X44/Air_Freight_Market

AIR FREIGHT MARKET SHARE

Based on service, Express service is expected to be the most lucrative segment. With the rise of e-commerce, consumer preferences have moved more and more to the center of attention. Large e-commerce players are working hard to provide their customers with the best customer experience possible, especially by offering express delivery and improving delivery times.

Based on region, Asia Pacific is expected to exhibit the highest CAGR of 6.3% during 2020-2027. The rapid growth of the region is attributed to driven by the rebound in manufacturing activity and export orders, notably from China and South Korea.

Based on the destination, the domestic segment is projected to witness lucrative growth opportunities. And Based on industry, the Private sector is projected as the most lucrative segment.

Inquire For Regional Report: https://reports.valuates.com/request/regional/ALLI-Manu-0X44/Air_Freight_Market

Inquire For Customization: https://reports.valuates.com/request/customisation/ALLI-Manu-0X44/Air_Freight_Market

KEY MARKET SEGMENTS

By Service

Freight

Express

Mail

Other Services

By Destination

Domestic

International

By End-Use

Private

Commercial

By Region

North America

U.S.



Canada



Mexico

Europe

Germany



France



Russia



UK



Rest of Europe

Asia-Pacific

China



India



Japan



South Korea



Rest of Asia-Pacific

LAMEA

Latin America



Middle East



Africa

Key Players

Bollore Logistics

DB SCHENKER (Deutsche Bahn Group (DB GROUP))

Deutsche Post AG (DHL GROUP)

DSV Panalpina

Expeditors International of Washington , Inc.

, Inc. FedEx

Hellmann Worldwide Logistics

Kuehne+Nagel International AG

Nippon Express

United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS)

Inquire For Chapter Cost: https://reports.valuates.com/request/chaptercost/ALLI-Manu-0X44/Air_Freight_Market

Buy Now for Single User + Covid-19 Impact:

https://reports.valuates.com/api/directpaytoken?rcode=ALLI-Manu-0X44&lic=single-user

Buy Now for Enterprise License + Covid-19 Impact: https://reports.valuates.com/api/directpaytoken?rcode=ALLI-Manu-0X44&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 :

- Air Freight Unit Load Device Market by Product-Type: Pallets, Containers, Application: Civil Air Transport, Cargo Air Transport, Other, by key players , by Regions: North America, Europe, China and Japan, etc.

- Global Air Freight Transportation Services Market Product-Type: Ordinary Goods, Special Goods, Application: International, Domestic, by key players , by Regions: North America, Europe, China and Japan, etc.

- Global Air Freight Pallet Market by Product-Type: Lower Deck Pallet, Main Deck Pallet, Application: Cargo Air Transport, Civil Air Transport, Other, by key players , by Regions: North America, Europe, China and Japan, etc.

- The global Air Charter Services market size is projected to reach USD 39040 million by 2026, from USD 17660 million in 2019, at a CAGR of 12.0% during 2021-2026

- The global Air Cargo market size is projected to reach USD 111810 million by 2026, from USD 82570 million in 2019, at a CAGR of 4.0% during 2021-2026.

- Air Cargo Insulated Containers Market by Product-Type: Single Bubble, Double Bubble, Application: Drug, Food, Others, by key players , by Regions: North America, Europe, China and Japan, etc.

- Global Air Cargo Management Market is segmented By Type - Air Freight, Air Mail, by Application - Express Air Cargo, Regular Air Cargo, by key players , by Regions: North America, Europe, China and Japan, etc.

- Air Cargo Security Market is segmented By Type - X-ray system, Human-heartbeat detection systems, by Application - Advanced personnel screening, Air cargo security screening, aviation checkpoint solutions, by key players , by Regions: North America, Europe, China and Japan, etc.

- The global Sea Freight Forwarding market size is projected to reach USD 85200 million by 2026, from US$ 71670 million in 2019, at a CAGR of 2.5% during 2021-2026.

- The global Ocean Freight Forwarding market size is projected to reach USD 206360 million by 2026, from USD 125200 million in 2019, at a CAGR of 7.4% during 2021-2026.

- The global Freight forwarding market size is projected to reach USD 207 Billion by 2026, from USD 170 Billion in 2019, at a CAGR of 2.8% during 2020-2026.

To see the full list of related reports on the Air Freight 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.

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

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
Mike has reported on the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem's wildlife, wildlands and the agencies that manage them since 2012. A native Minnesotan, he arrived in the West to study environmental journalism at the University of Colorado.
Judge Mher Petrosyan of the Administrative Court of Armenia today rejected the motion of the Office of the Prime Minister of Armenia for his self-recusal, ex-chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Onik Gasparyans attorney Artur Hovhannisyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am. The court substantiated that there are no grounds for submitting a self-recusal, the attorney said and touched upon the grounds for the motion filed by the Office of the Prime Minister.

On March 17, Judge Mher Petrosyan of the Administrative Court upheld the motion filed by the attorneys of Onik Gasparyan to apply a measure for securing the claim, meaning that Onik Gasparyan would continue to serve as chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces. After the Court announced its decision, the Office of the Prime Minister filed a motion for the judges self-recusal. A day after the Court announced its decision, on March 18, officers of the National Security Service paid a visit to the Court with the request to meet with Judge Mher Petrosyan, but he rejected the request.
Astrazeneca sacrificed over 21billion of revenues by selling its Covid vaccine at no profit, it emerged last night.

The British company has pledged to produce 3billion doses of the life-saving jab it developed with Oxford University for an average price of just $5 (3.60) globally  the minimum needed to recover costs.

Its decision to forego huge profits is an unprecedented move by a multinational business, prompting the World Health Organisation to hail the jab as a vaccine for the world.

Astrazeneca sacrificed over 21billion of revenues by selling its Covid vaccine at no profit, it emerged last night

But critics in the EU have tried to round on the company over supply chain problems and blame it for the blocs vaccine rollout. Some have even accused the firm of dishonesty and of secretly hoarding jabs.

The attacks are said to have left bosses at Astra dismayed. More than one senior figure is said to have suggested that they wouldnt make the same decision again.

If profit had been its main goal, Astra could have boosted its bottom line significantly.

The Mail understands that had the firm doubled the price per jab to 7.30, it could have made an extra 11billion in revenues. Tripling it would have netted over 21billion.

John Rountree, a pharmaceuticals expert at Novasecta, said Astrazenecas decision was courageous but it had been sucked into politics.

He added: It is not easy to produce vaccines and yet they have managed to do this very fast. Inevitably, it will not all go smoothly all the way but that is normal. And even now when they are getting some bad publicity, they are taking it in their stride and being very professional.

Sir John Bell, the Oxford professor involved in bringing the vaccine to market, said Astra never had credit for its generosity.

But critics in the EU have tried to round on the company over supply chain problems and blame it for the blocs vaccine rollout

Theres a point at which AstraZeneca could just say, Youve got to be joking, were going to stop now because were not getting any credit for what were doing, he told the Daily Telegraph. The share price has gone down, not up. Were making more vaccines than everybody else. This is a safe and effective vaccine, but nobody seems to care.

Rivals have netted huge profits during the pandemic. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is thought to have cost around 15 per dose and Modernas around 28.

Yet EU politicians have made baseless attacks against Astras vaccine, which has been key to the UKs inoculation drive. French president Emmanuel Macron once claimed that it was quasi-ineffective on the elderly.

Belgian MEP Philippe Lamberts accused the firm of dishonesty and arrogance.

Meanwhile in Italy, police were this week sent to raid a factory as part of an attempt to track exports.

And American regulators claimed it had used outdated efficacy data in its figures.

Yesterday a spokesman said: From the outset AstraZenecas approach has been to treat the development of the vaccine as a response to a global public health emergency and we continue to operate in that same public spirit.

We are absolutely committed to make the vaccine available to as many countries as possible at no profit during the period of the pandemic to support broad and equitable access around the world.
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.
BRIDGEPORT  Its been seven years since 20-year-old college student Alyssiah Marie Wiley of West Haven was murdered, her remains found scattered in a wooded area of Trumbull.

But her mother is still seeking that elusive justice.

Im trying to get through it, said Corrinna Martin after learning that the state Supreme Court agreed to hear on Monday the appeal of convicted killer Jermain Richards. I understand the process. Its not always fair when it comes to the victims and the survivors. After all these years, I was hoping the appeal was going to be denied but it wasnt.

In March 2018, Richards, who lived in Bridgeport and worked as a private duty nurse in Stratford, was found guilty by a jury of murder for killing Wiley. He was sentenced to 60 years in prison.

Two previous juries had deadlocked on a verdict.

Martin sat through all three trials in Superior Court in Bridgeport. It was during jury selection for the third trial that she learned her other daughter, Chaquinequea Brodie, 29, and her 9-year-old granddaughter, MyJaeaha Richardson, had been murdered by Brodies former boyfriend, Anthony Rutherford, in their Waterbury apartment. Rutherford was convicted of the crime and is serving 80 years in prison.

Sobbing on a bench outside the Bridgeport courtroom at the time, Martin told Hearst Connecticut Media that her only solace was the visits from Brodie and her daughter.

Following Wileys death, Martin and Brodie had set up a victims family support group called Mothers of Victims Equality in New Haven.

The hardest thing for me as a parent to do is continue living on after suffering the brutally heinous loss of my baby  so I thought, Martin said later.

On April 19, 2013, Wiley, a sophomore at Eastern Connecticut State University, disappeared after leaving the Willimantic campus in Richards car. Twenty-seven days later  after a statewide search and appeals by her mother on television  Wileys partial remains were found in a wooded area at the end of Quarry Road in Trumbull, a mile and a half from Richards Bridgeport home.

The state Appellate Court had previously denied Richards appeal.

The Supreme Court rarely hears sufficiency of evidence claims, said Attorney Norman Pattis, who represents Richards in his appeal before the Supreme Court. This one is significant because the trial court was presented with no evidence on the mechanism of death. It was entirely a matter of speculation how the victim died, even, to press the point to its logical extreme, whether she did, in fact, die at the hands of another. At most, the jury could conclude that the victim likely died. There simply was no way to conclude that Mr. Richards killed her, and that, if he did, whether his actions were intentional, reckless or negligent."

Bridgeport States Attorney Joseph Corradino, who tried the case with Supervisory Assistant States Attorney Ann Lawlor, declined comment because its a pending case.

Richards had been dating Wiley since she had been in high school. But there was no physical evidence in the case  no blood residue or anything to show where or when Wiley was killed, no eyewitnesses and no confession. Richards did not testify during the trial.

Instead, the state rested its case on the claim that Richards had the motive and the opportunity to kill Wiley.

Wileys family and friends testified Richards was jealous and possessive.

Another of Wileys sisters, Chaharrez Landell, testified that a month before Wileys disappearance, Wiley had called her, panicked.

He put me in a headlock and threw me on the bed and I couldnt breathe, Landell said her sister told her.

When Landell picked her sister up at the Norwalk home where Richards was working as a nurse, she said, Wiley was crying and said she wanted to break up with Richards but didnt know how.

Lawlor and Corradino presented a photograph of Wiley sitting in a domestic violence seminar.

Jevene Wright, a high school classmate of Richards, testified that Richards told him he was upset because he believed Wiley was messing around with an old friend.

She doesnt know who she is messing with, Wright recalled Richards telling him. Im a nurse and I know how to get rid of her.
Attorneys for the Jefferson Parish School Board have asked a federal judge to declare unconstitutional the Ka'Mauri Harrison Act, a law enacted last year amid the furor over the system's suspension of a Harvey fourth-grader who was seen holding a BB gun during a virtual lesson.

The motion, filed Tuesday in federal court in New Orleans, argues that the act, which overwhelmingly passed the Legislature in October as outrage over Harrison's suspension reverberated across the country, violates the due process rights of the school system as a political subdivision of the state of Louisiana.

The motion is another sign that the School Board  which has largely been on an island in defending the actions it took against Harrison and another student, Tomie Brown, suspended for a similar offense  is digging in its heels against the legal challenges it faces. Both students were suspended in September after teachers or other students saw them handle weapons on screen during a virtual lesson.

The suspensions prompted a massive public outcry, with voices across the political spectrum criticizing the school system, and led to an increasingly heated war of words in court filings between the two sides. Both students' families have pending cases in federal court in which they argue that the suspensions violated their rights to freedom of expression, to bear arms and due process. They are seeking unspecified damages, including attorneys' fees.

Verbal bullets flying between Attorney General Jeff Landry and Jefferson Parish School Board The legal animus between Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry and the Jefferson Parish school system shows no signs of cooling.

School system attorneys have rejected those claims. Their latest motion takes particular aim at a provision in the law that makes it retroactive and allows Brown and Harrison to recoup attorneys' fees incurred in appealing their suspensions.

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

"Louisiana courts have consistently held that when a statute is amended to provide for additional amounts or types of damages available to claimants, the amendment is substantive and cannot be applied retroactively," the motion argues. Making the law retroactive represents an "immediate threat" to the public funds used to educate students and is therefore unconstitutional.

"The natural consequence of the Act is to deprive JPSB of property without due process of law," the attorneys allege.

A second retroactive provision requires the School Board to offer an appeal to the students. The board has complied with that provision, the motion notes. Those appeal hearings were held in December: Harrison's suspension was reduced from six days to three, and Brown's three-day suspension was upheld.

The motion also claps back at Jeff Landry, who has been fiercely critical of the school system. He sued the system in state court over alleged open meeting violations about discipline policy and also filed to intervene in the federal case, arguing on behalf of the families of Harrison and Brown.

"Defendants deny that the State's intervention is proper in this matter," the motion says. Landry's arguments "exceed the scope permitted" under federal law, according to the motion.
Good news is upon us: Not only is spring here, but also COVID-19 numbers are going down, schools are reopening and Congress has passed a comprehensive pandemic relief bill. I am quite grateful that there seems to be a light at the end of a very long, dark tunnel. We have seen through this pandemic how small our world really is and how closely connected we are to our brothers and sisters around the world. The relief legislation not only provides relief for the American people, but also addresses the needs of the most vulnerable people outside the U.S.

As a member of the Catholic Relief Services Portland advocacy chapter, I want to express much gratitude to Sen. Jeff Merkley, Sen. Ron Wyden, Rep. Earl Blumenauer and Rep. Suzanne Bonamici for voting to pass the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. We are especially grateful to the staff of all four of these lawmakers for meeting with us and listening to our concerns as this bill travelled through Congress. This much-needed assistance is a blessing for all who share this one Earth.

Eileen Sleva, Hillsboro
China Pressures Global Apparel Brands to Recant Stance on Xinjiang Forced Labor

The Chinese regime is taking on foreign apparel and footwear brands amid global fallout over its genocide against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in the Xinjiang region. Undeterred by growing international condemnation over its human rights abuses, Beijing is pressing the companies to reverse their position on Xinjiang by way of boycotts.

The regime has dredged up past statements made by companiessome up to two years oldto distance themselves from sourcing materials from the northwestern Chinese region over potential forced labor abuses. It hopes to stoke nationalist fervor and encourage a nationwide boycott.

The outrage from Beijing followed days after the United States, Canada, the European Union, and the UK issued joint sanctions on Chinese officials for their role in persecuting Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang.

Already, about a dozen brands are feeling Beijings wrath. Nike, H&M, Tommy Hilfiger, Converse, Puma, and Calvin Klein have lost their brand ambassadors as Chinese celebritiesfaced with naming and shaming by Chinese internet trollsmoved quickly to cut ties.

Major Chinese e-commerce sites such as Alibaba-owned Taobao, Pinduoduo, and JingDong Mall have dropped H&M products, while some Chinese internet influencers eagerly endorsed domestic brands. One post circulating on Chinese social media listed more than 30 foreign brands that it suggests boycotting.

The spotless white cotton from Xinjiang brooks no smearing from any forces, said Gao Feng, spokesperson for Chinas Ministry of Commerce, at a March 25 press conference.

Hua Chunying, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, dismissed the forced labor accusation as a malicious rumor and said the companies get to judge what they should do.

Anyone who offends the Chinese people should prepare to pay the price, she said at a press conference on the same day. Chinese people wouldnt allow foreigners to reap benefits in China on the one hand and smear China on the other.

The Trump administration determined that genocide and crimes against humanity were occurring in Xinjiang, citing the detention of more than 1 million Muslims, along with sterilization, forced labor, and torture. In December, the United States also banned all cotton and tomato exports from the region, citing the use of forced labor. Xinjiang supplies about 20 percent of the worlds cotton.

The regime, which has previously described Xinjiang as one of its trigger issues, has since retaliated by slapping sanctions on European officials and scholars, although the action so far has drawn further pushback from Western countries.

I never thought I would ever write this line: Solidarity with Nike! Reinhard Butikofer, a German lawmaker and European Parliament member who was placed on the Chinese sanction list, wrote in a March 24 Twitter post.

The boycott firestorm has nonetheless underscored the precarious situation of Western companies seeking to cater to the Chinese market, where politics and consumerism have become increasingly intertwined. Chinese nationalists have previously taken issue with foreign companies for recognizing self-ruled Taiwan as a country and supporting democracy in Hong Kong.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, in a March 24 opinion piece, claimed that H&M has made a miscalculation and false step, and would definitely pay dearly for its mistakes.

This photo taken on October 14, 2018 shows a farmer picking cotton in a field in Hami in Chinas northwestern Xinjiang region. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Amid pressure, Zaras parent company Inditex has quietly deleted a statement declaring a zero-tolerance approach toward forced labor. The statement, which was last available just a day earlier on March 24, said that Inditex does not have commercial relations with any factory in Xinjiang due to social and labour malpractice that it called highly concerning.

Japanese retailer Muji, which gets about 18 percent of its revenue from the Chinese market, also told the Chinese state media Global Times that its not resisting Xinjiang cotton and has been using Xinjiang cotton for its products.

Nike, Adidas, and H&M are all members of Better Cotton Initiative, a nonprofit that promotes sustainable cotton production. Last October, the group pulled out of Xinjiang, citing increasing risks of forced labor at the farm level have contributed to an untenable operating environment.

The statement had disappeared from the nonprofits website as of March 25.

Asked about the United States policy on China, President Joe Biden reaffirmed a commitment to continue speaking up on Chinas human rights abuses.

Americans value the notion of freedom, Americans value human rights, he told reporters in his first press briefing since taking office. We are founded on that principle.

As long as you and your country continue to so blatantly violate human rights, we are going to continue in an unrelenting way to call to the attention to the world, and make it clear, make it clear whats happening, he said, recalling his first phone call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping since becoming president.
BEIJING, March 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CNFree Chinese eBook Collections (CNFree Collections), developed by China National Publications Import & Export (Group) Corporation (CNPIEC), debut at the AAS conference 2021. CNFree Collections (freechinesebooks.com) consist of important ancient classics, compilation of historical sources, and key Chinese library catalogs. CNFree Collections are the essential academic resources for East Asian Studies.

In recent years, more and more academic databases have adopted the open access model, and free access for academic resources has become a new trend for scientific journals. However, due to the expense of digitalizing ancient manuscripts, Chinese study digital contents are rarely free. As the first open access Asian study digital collection from the Chinese mainland, the CNFree collections will offer all of its content to East Asian Libraries (EAL) for free. The eBook collections adopt the open access free model, free for all education institutions.

Built on the vast amount of resources of the China E-Book Hub by CNPIEC, the first volume consists of three major categories, "Xu Xiu Si Ku", "Library Collection Catalog" and "Historical Source Compilation". The first volume contains more than 3,000 academic eBooks valued at over 26,000 US dollars, from well-known publishing houses such as Shanghai Classics Publishing House, National Library of China Publishing House, Guangxi Normal University Press, and Tianjin Ancient Books Publishing House.

CNPIEC is one of the first publications import and export companies to build its own eBook platform. Amazon Web Service is used to ensure fast and stable access for the platform; functions like remote access, AI recommendations, search, bookmarking, downloading are also offered by the CNPIEC platform. The platform has accumulated more than 2 million titles eBooks, and more than 60,000 titles of buyout eBooks. CNPIEC is planning on offering all of its buyout resources for free to meet the growing demand for East Asia Studies. Two more volumes of CNFree collections are planned to be released later this year.

China National Publications Import and Export (Group) Corporation (CNPIEC) is the largest, strongest importer-exporter in the Chinese publishing and international book fair organizing industries. Focused on building ourselves into a world-class digital agent and wholesaler, CNPIEC is creating a group structure encompassing activities including publications import and export, digital resource services, international exhibition services, print on demand, international publishing, cultural trade, finance and real estate.

SOURCE China National Publications Import and Export (Group) Corporation

Related Links

www.cnpiec.com.cn


Health official proud of residents turning out for vaccine shots

local
analysis

Underlying many of Ethiopia's conflicts and political confrontations is a disagreement over the future of the nation.

Nearly five months since the war in Tigray began, reports continue to trickle out of mass atrocities and attempts at ethnic cleansing. Refugees have told harrowing stories of brutal massacres. Millions of people in the region are reportedly in need of humanitarian assistance. And while journalists' and aid workers' access to the war zone remains severely restricted, information continues to emerge of deadly fighting between Ethiopian soldiers, Eritrean troops and Amhara militias on one side and fighters loyal to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) on the other.

This devastating war began on 4 November 2020 as what Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed referred to as a "law enforcement operation". It came after years and months of escalating tensions between the federal government and the TPLF. Since Abiy took office in April 2018, he has reduced the power of the once dominant Tigrayan party. The TPLF leadership retreated to their home region and clashed with the prime minister on a number of issues.

When Abiy dissolved the ruling coalition known as the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) in December 2019 and founded the Prosperity Party (PP) in its place, the TPLF rejected the move. Similarly, when the federal government postponed national elections last year, allegedly due to the pandemic, the TPLF defied the directive and held regional elections nonetheless. These tensions escalated into military manoeuvres that eventually triggered the conflict.

A broader battle over the future

Underlying these disputes, however, there lies a deeper ideological disagreement over the future of the nation. When the EPRDF, led by the TPLF, overthrew the military regime in 1991 and took power, it inherited a huge country made up of numerous nations and a deeply divided society. Its solution was to institute a multinational federal state structure, largely carved up along ethno-linguistic lines. This resolved some problems but contributed to others and, over the years, animosity towards the increasingly authoritarian rule of the TPLF grew. In the mid-2010s this culminated in widespread protests that were particularly strong in the Oromia region and, later, Amhara region.

By 2018, the EPRDF could not withstand the pressure and selected Abiy as the new prime minister. From the start, the charismatic young leader spoke of uniting Ethiopia. As time has gone on, this has grown into clearer signs that he wants to dissolve the current federal system. In this ambition, he has gained the support of the Amhara elite, who have traditionally ruled the country and who regard both the TPLF and multinational federalism as anti-Amhara. Its region's parties - both those allied to the federal government and those in opposition - have expressed strong support for Abiy. Many Amhara have been given senior positions in the federal government and Amhara militias are involved in the war in Tigray.

Seen through this lens, the Tigray conflict is not an isolated power struggle between Abiy and the TPLF. Rather, it is part of a broader tussle over the heart and direction of Ethiopia. It is an element of a wider battle between Abiy and his allies on one side, and those who oppose a more unitary state system on the other. The conflict with the TPLF was one outcome of this battle, with its own unique dynamics, but is far from the only one.

The Tigray war may be the deadliest culmination of this dispute, but there are several others too. In Benishangul-Gumuz region, for instance, thousands have been killed and 100,000 displaced in recent fighting. Among the warring parties are Amhara militias who have been emboldened since Abiy took office to seize land they believe is rightly theirs. Also active are ethnic Gumuz fighters who are angry at the establishment of the PP and the prospect that ethnic federalism, which guarantees self-rule to ethnic groups, will be abolished.

In Oromia, where the desire for ethnic self-determination is popular, these dynamics are also at play. In this region, Abiy has confronted opposition in various ways. He has disempowered his key opponent Lemma Megersa, who he removed as regional president by making him Defence Minister in April 2019, and then sacked in August 2020. He launched a military campaign against the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), a year after signing a reconciliation agreement with them. His government has jailed thousands of Oromo nationalists, while hundreds more have died in fighting. An Amnesty International report in May 2020 document eight types of gave human rights violations perpetrated by Ethiopian security forces in the west and east Guji zones of southern Oromia. The advocacy group highlighted "a persistence of old-style patterns of violence perpetrated by the security forces".

Deep contradictions

From a historical perspective, Abiy is fighting the same war that many of his predecessors did. These tended to fail spectacularly, solidifying ethno-nationalist claims rather than comprehensively defeating rebel groups. It is this situation that led to the need for multinational federalism in the first place. If this past is anything to go by, then the federal government's wars in Tigray, Oromia and Benishangul-Gumuz are likely to have similar fates. Thousands may be killed and armed groups may go into retreat, but the underlying grievances and demands will remain.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Ethiopia Conflict By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

The Tigray war has many of its own unique rivalries and dynamics, but it also shares many of the same ones that underlie conflict elsewhere in Ethiopia. It is an illustration of Ethiopia's general condition rather than a unique occurrence and can only be understood fully by looking at the broader national political forces at work.

It is hoped that the war will come to an end as soon as possible and that active fighting will cease. But any peace will only be temporary so long as Ethiopia's deep political contradictions remain.

Etana H. Dinka is Assistant Professor of History at James Madison University, where he teaches African history and survey courses. His research emphasises the political and environmental histories of Ethiopia and the Horn, and Oromo-Ethiopia historiographies.


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.
North Korea has tested a new "tactical guided projectile" with a solid-fuel engine, state media said Friday after the nuclear-armed country carried out its first substantive provocation since US President Joe Biden's inauguration.

Pyongyang has a long history of using weapons tests to ramp up tensions, in a carefully calibrated process to try to forward its objectives.

On Thursday it launched two weapons from its east coast, with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga calling them ballistic missiles.

Pyongyang is under multiple international sanctions over its weapons programmes, with UN Security Council resolutions banning it from developing ballistic missiles.

Biden told reporters that UN resolution 1718 "was violated by those particular missiles that were tested".

Pyongyang had been biding its time since the new administration took office, not even officially acknowledging its existence until last week.

The US was "consulting with our partners and allies", Biden said Thursday, warning North Korea that "there will be responses if they choose to escalate. We will respond accordingly."

"I'm also prepared for some form of diplomacy, but it has to be conditioned upon the end result of denuclearisation," he added.

- 'Nuclear capable' -

The firing was supervised by senior official Ri Pyong Chol, the official KCNA news agency reported, rather than leader Kim Jong Un.

It was successful with the two projectiles accurately hitting a target 600 kilometres (370 miles) into the Sea of Japan, known as the East Sea in Korea, it added -- further than the 450 kilometres reported by South Korea's military.

KCNA said the weapon could carry a payload of 2.5 tons, in a dispatch that avoided using the words "missile" or "ballistic".

The test had confirmed the reliability of an improved solid fuel engine, KCNA added.

Pictures in Pyongyang's official Rodong Sinmun newspaper showed grinning officers applauding after the launch from a vehicle, most of them not wearing masks.

Story continues

Vipin Narang of MIT said it appeared to be a weapon that the North displayed at a military parade in January.

"A 2.5 ton warhead likely settles the question whether this KN23 variant is nuclear capable. It is," he tweeted.

The test was "of great significance in bolstering up the military power of the country", KCNA cited Ri as saying, "and deterring all sorts of military threats existing on the Korean Peninsula".

The US stations 28,500 troops in the South to defend it against its neighbour, which invaded in 1950, while Pyongyang says it needs nuclear weapons to deter a possible US invasion.

- 'Familiar pattern' -

As well as Biden, rebukes poured in from Germany, France and Britain which each condemned the tests as violations of UN Security Council resolutions.

At Washington's request, the UN North Korea sanctions committee will meet Friday morning behind closed doors, according to diplomatic sources, although no public statement is expected.

Pyongyang has made rapid progress in its capabilities under North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, testing missiles capable of reaching the entire continental United States as tensions mounted in 2017.

Ex-US president Donald Trump's first year in office was marked by a series of escalating launches, accompanied by a war of words between him and Kim.

The two then embarked on an extraordinary diplomatic bromance, holding two headline-grabbing summits in Singapore and Vietnam.

The United States pulled back on some joint military exercises with South Korea while the North froze intercontinental ballistic missile tests.

But the February 2019 Hanoi summit broke up over sanctions relief and what North Korea would be willing to give up in return.

Communications then dried up, despite a third encounter in the Demilitarized Zone that divides the Korean peninsula, and no substantive progress was made towards denuclearization.

Pyongyang carried out a series of weapons tests last year that it called "long-range artillery" but others described as short-range ballistic missiles.

Trump "had been willing to turn a blind eye to North Koreas ballistic missile launches as long as they were not tests of long-range missiles", said Jean Lee of the Wilson Center in Washington.

"But I suspect the Biden Administration will confront any confirmed ballistic missile launches that violate UN Security Council resolutions."

- Asia outreach -

Thursday's launch, and an earlier test of short-range, non-ballistic missiles at the weekend, came after joint exercises by the US and South Korean militaries and a visit to the region by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

During their trip to Seoul and Tokyo, Blinken repeatedly stressed the importance of denuclearizing North Korea.

Biden administration officials say they have sought to reach out to Pyongyang through several channels but have received no response so far.

kjk/slb/bfm
An unidentified disease has killed one girl and left more than 30 pupils feeling ill at a Nigerian boarding school.

The mystery illness has swept through the state-run Government Girls College in Sokoto - leaving one pupil dead and over 30 hospitalised according to local media.

Images emerged of dozens of girls lying on mats on the floor of the boarding school whilst looking lethargic and distressed.

Images emerged of dozens of girls lying on mats on the floor of the boarding school whilst looking lethargic and distressed

The mystery illness has swept through the state-run Government Girls College in Sokoto - leaving one pupil dead and over 30 hospitalised according to local media

Director of Public Health in Sokoto Ahmed Abdulrahman told TVCNews that over thirty students were admitted to a local hospital as a result of the outbreak.

He did not reveal any details about the girl who died, but said health officials have taken samples from the ill students to investigate the nature of the disease.

The Commissioner of Science and Technology Dr Julu Haruna, whose minitry oversees the boarding school, said the state government has sent ten medical doctors to the school.

'The situation was brought under control due to the quick intervention of the state government,' Dr Haruna told TNG.

Director of Public Health in Sokoto Ahmed Abdulrahman said that over thirty students (pictured at their boarding school) were later admitted to a local hospital as a result of the outbreak

'All the infected students have been isolated to curtail the spread of the disease.'

Mr Abdulrahman called for calm and said the heath ministry have launched an investigation into the illness.

The mystery disease comes as three people died and 284 people were hospitalised after drinking expired fruit drinks in Nigeria.

The outbreak spread across eight towns near the northwestern city of Kano, officials said last Tuesday.

The Kano State commissioner for health, Dr Aminu Ibrahim Tsanyawa, told Anadolu Agency the incident occurred when patients drank expired citric acid powdered drinks.

The outbreak affected 284 people, he said, with 183 patients currently receiving treatment at hospital and 101 discharged from hospitals.
McDonald Worley Named to Top 25 Class Action Trial Lawyers by The National Trial Lawyers

The National Trial Lawyers Association named McDonald Worley as one of the Top 25 Class Action Trial Lawyers in Texas.

Based on objective and uniformly applied criteria, membership to the professional organization is by invitation only and extended only to the most qualified attorneys in each state or region who serve individuals and families who need attorneys to represent them in the American legal system regarding Class Action claims.

As a group of actively practicing trial lawyers from across the country that share experience, expertise and knowledge in handling Class Action cases, nominations for the Class Action Trial Lawyers Association  Top 25 include Board Certification (if available by State Bar recognition) as a lawyer in the specialty area; achievements, settlements and verdicts as a trial lawyer; reputation among peers, the judiciary and the public; and nominations from leading trial lawyers, current members and Executive Committee members.

The mission of The National Trial Lawyers is to provide networking opportunities, advocacy training, and the highest quality educational programs for the nations leading trial lawyers. For more information visit thecatl.org.

About McDonald Worley

The McDonald Worley law office serves victims nationwide. For the people affected, justice and holding the responsible party accountable matters.

In 2012, Newsweek featured McDonald Worley as one of the best trial lawyers in the United States; in 2013, Time Magazine listed McDonald Worley among the nations legal leaders. A member of Leaders Forum with The American Association for Justice, a prestigious group of trial lawyers, McDonald Worley is here to support you during your time of legal need.

For more information, contact the McDonald Worley law firm at 877-721-3423, or visit the website at https://mcdonaldworley.com/houston/personal-injury-lawyer/

CONTACT: McDonald Don Worley

don@mcdonaldworley.com

713-705-7204
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
Italys stymied vaccination rollout

Bureaucratic hurdles and logistical problems have undercut vaccination efforts in Italy, preventing older and vulnerable Italians from getting shots, while hundreds of doses of Covid vaccines are at risk of going to waste.

Italy has the highest rate of daily deaths from Covid-19 among Europes major powers, in a country that has the continents oldest population. Fewer than one in five people over 80 have received two doses of a vaccine, and less than 5 percent of those 70 and over have gotten their first shot.

Europes vaccination campaigns are moving at a maddeningly slow pace, aggravated by multiple countries temporary suspension last week of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Vaccine flash point: The Italian authorities found 29 million doses of AstraZenecas vaccine in a factory near Rome, feeding suspicions that they were meant for export (officials later accepted the companys explanation that they were going through quality control). The E.U. unveiled proposed stringent export restrictions primarily meant to stop drugmakers from sending doses outside the bloc.




March 25, 2021





Dear Shareholders and Investors,

NAT is a Suezmax specialist - each vessel of 150,000/160,000 tons can carry one million barrels of oil. Our fleet consists of 25 Suezmax tankers (including 2 newbuildings).



A Suezmax tanker is the largest tanker that can transit the Suez Canal.



The Suez Canal is now blocked by a large vessel. We cannot predict how long the current situation in the Suez Canal will last.

A closure of the Suez Canal, over a prolonged period of time, would require vessels to divert around Africa going from West to East and vice versa. This is a materially longer distance.



A longer voyage will lock up more shipping capacity, reducing the effective number of voyages the world fleet can perform over a period. This means reduced availability of shipping capacity, which in turn would imply higher freight rates.







Sincerely,

Herbjorn Hansson

Founder, Chairman & CEO

Nordic American Tankers Ltd. www.nat.bm

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements in order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their business. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts.

The Company desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. The words "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "forecast," "project," "plan," "potential," "will," "may," "should," "expect," "pending" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, our management's examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available from third parties. Although we believe that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond our control, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include the strength of world economies and currencies, general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter rates and vessel values, changes in demand in the tanker market, as a result of changes in OPEC's petroleum production levels and worldwide oil consumption and storage, changes in our operating expenses, including bunker prices, drydocking and insurance costs, the market for our vessels, availability of financing and refinancing, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents or political events, vessels breakdowns and instances of off-hires and other important factors described from time to time in the reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the prospectus and related prospectus supplement, our Annual Report on Form 20-F, and our reports on Form 6-K.

NAT is a Bermuda based company.

Contacts:

Gary J. Wolfe

Seward & Kissel LLP

New York, USA

Tel: +1 212 574 1223

Bjrn Giver, CFO

Nordic American Tankers Ltd

Tel: +1 888 755 8391 or +47 91 35 00 91

Herbjrn Hansson, Founder, Chairman & CEO

Nordic American Tankers Ltd

Tel: +1 866 805 9504 or +47 90 14 62 91




They remember the project with which Bill Gates wanted to cover the sun to cool the Earth, well this summer the tests will begin. According to The Times reports, a large balloon will soon be launched in Sweden that will spew out particles of calcium carbonate, which is essentially chalk dust.

The  Controlled Stratospheric Perturbation Experiment  (SCoPEx) wants to prove that the release of this dust into the stratosphere could eventually divert some of the sun's energy and lower the temperatures of our planet.
The COVID-19 relief package allotted an estimated $3.4 billion to Massachusetts counties, cities and towns, based on a federal block grant formula.

But the population estimates under the formula resulted in four of the hardest-hit cities  Chelsea, Everett, Methuen and Randolph  receiving a fraction of funds compared to neighboring cities and towns that had better fared the economic and health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

After calls from the congressional delegation to help those cities, Gov. Charlie Baker announced the state would allot $100 million in federal aid to those four cities. The cities can use the funds in their pandemic response efforts, replace lost revenue from the pandemic, make water and sewer investments and cover broadband infrastructure costs, among other eligible expenses.

We believe its critically important that these communities get the resources that they need to continue to recover from the devastating effects of the pandemic, the Republican governor said Thursday during a news conference at the State House.

The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan allocated $7.9 billion in direct aid to the state, including the $3.4 billion going to municipalities and counties. The package relied on a formula used to administer funds under the Community Development Block Grants program, which relies on population estimates, to determine how much each municipality gets, lawmakers said.

The congressional delegation called on Baker to use a portion of the $4.5 billion going to the state to send aid to the four cities.

We knew from the onset of this pandemic that communities in the Massachusetts 7th, including Chelsea, Everett and Randolph, would be among the hardest-hit by this public health and economic crisis due to decades of under-investment, systemic racism and other structural inequities, said Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, who signed onto a letter to Baker with the rest of the delegation.

The congressional relief package allocated $11.6 million to Chelsea, a city of roughly 40,000 people that was known as the epicenter of COVID-19 in eastern Massachusetts, according to an analysis published by the Massachusetts Municipal Association, based on congressional estimates.

The feds planned to send $14.8 million to Methuen, a city of 50,000 people; $13.5 million to Everett, a city of 46,000 people; and nearly $3.4 million to Randolph, a city of 34,000 people, according to the associations estimates.

Newton, a wealthier city of 88,000 people, is expected to get $65.2 million. Somerville, a city of 81,000 people near Chelsea and Everett, is set to get $79 million, according to the association.

Pressley called Bakers announcement a critical step toward bringing relief to the four hard-hit cities. We appreciate the governor for heeding our calls to target these federal dollars to our most impacted communities, the Boston Democrat said.

The coronavirus pandemic continues to devastate Chelsea, Everett, Methuen, Randolph and other communities of color, and I am pleased that Governor Baker has heeded the Congressional delegations calls to target federal aid to these hardest-hit areas, Sen. Ed Markey said. I will continue to work with local and state leaders, the Biden administration, and my delegation colleagues to ensure that this funding reaches these communities quickly and efficiently.

Related Content:
Washington: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson reportedly credited greed and capitalism for Britains successful coronavirus vaccine rollout in a private meeting on Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT), a gaffe that threatens to further inflame tensions when the countrys vaccine supply may be significantly curbed by the European Union.

Johnson immediately retracted the remark, making it absolutely clear it was a joke and a reference to the film Wall Street, another attendee told the BBC.

Immediately after he joked about greed, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he regretted saying it. Credit:Getty

But to many scientists and public health experts, the unfiltered remark rang uncomfortably true - even if Johnson was joking rather than bragging.

After all, wealthy countries, including the United Kingdom, have snapped up billions of vaccine doses while people in poorer countries could be waiting until 2024 to get their shots.
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 hundred days after the United States started administering Covid-19 shots, it is in a somewhat surprising place: The vaccination effort is, by most accounts, going well.

Many caveats apply. Its early still, with two-thirds of adults not yet having received a single dose. The distribution has been uneven, including along racial lines. And coronavirus variants threaten to cause fresh outbreaks even as more states and counties move toward relaxing restrictions.

But despite the challenges that remain, the rollout of the vaccines has gone far better than many Americans feared it would in late December, when state and local officials seemed unable to get doses off the shelves.

Watching the early days of the rollout in December and January and seeing how little of a plan there was, how little federal guidance there was, how much improv seemed to be involved  everybody was kind of inventing it as we went along, said Dr. Robert Wachter, chair of the department of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.

Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

But now, the success of the vaccine distribution stands as a possible morale boost for a country in which many people wondered last year whether their government was still capable of accomplishing ambitious projects.

What weve shown in the past couple months is were capable of performing quite well at a local, regional and national level in doing a hard thing, Wachter said.

Wednesday marks 100 days since the first federally approved coronavirus vaccine was injected, beginning with an intensive care unit nurse in New York City on Dec. 14.

Problems began appearing in the first weeks of the rollout. The vaccine from Pfizer requires ultracold storage that some states werent prepared for, and neither state nor federal officials had finalized planning for widespread vaccination clinics or even in many cases the websites needed to schedule appointments. Some health departments took time off for the holiday season, weekends and snowstorms, despite a spike in cases underscoring the urgency.

Story continues

The Trump administration cut its projection for the number of doses that would ship in December from 100 million to 20 million, citing a steep learning curve. Some doses wound up in the garbage.

Among experts, a deep sense of foreboding began to take hold.

Personally, Im incredibly frustrated, Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, tweeted in late December. Did we not know that vaccines were coming? Is vaccine administration a surprise?

Robb Cowie, a spokesman for the Oregon Health Authority, said in an interview that back then, states werent getting consistent guidance on subjects like eligibility, so they all made different choices, leading to confusion. Our Phase 1A looked different from other states Phase 1A, he said.

Public health experts and government agencies searched episodes from American history  from the World War II-era Manhattan Project to develop the first atomic bomb to the 1950s rollout of the polio vaccine  to try to underline the scale of effort the country required.

We had to invent a whole new way of distributing vaccines on the fly, Cowie said. Its certainly been rocky at different points in time.

In the months since, many things have gone right to turn the effort around, experts said: the opening of mass vaccination clinics, the training and sign-up of new vaccinators and volunteer help, the ramp-up in manufacturing, the building of scheduling tools, the proliferation of mobile and pop-up clinics, the involvement of drugstores, and the use of federal resources such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Wachter, who was often critical of the pandemic response during the Trump administration, said President Joe Biden taking office Jan. 20 made a marked difference.

The Trump administration has to be given tremendous credit for the development of these vaccines. I think Operation Warp Speed will go down as one of the policy triumphs, he said.

But, he added: They concentrated way too little on sweating the small stuff of, Now weve got vaccines  whats next? They left it up to states and localities to sort it out themselves.

Biden has pledged to deliver 150 million shots in his first 100 days in office. The country is ahead of that pace, and it could quicken even further.

With few exceptions, the rest of the world hasnt managed vaccine distribution as well as the U.S., even when taking into account disparities in wealth. The European Union has faced pointed questions from its citizens about why vaccinations there are moving catastrophically slowly.

If you look across the globe, were in an incredible place, so were very thankful, said Luke Davies, administrator of the Chelan-Douglas Health District in rural Washington state. He said his district is working to hire more than 20 people to help with vaccinations, in anticipation of a ramp-up in supply over the next several weeks.

But, he said, hes not taking anything for granted, especially as new variants of the coronavirus spread.

Everyones on pins and needles: Are we going to be able to vaccinate people soon enough? Or are we going to get caught in a similar position to last year? he said. Were cautiously optimistic that were headed in the right direction.

Equitable distribution has still proved a challenge. About 13 percent of the U.S. population is Black, but Black Americans represent only 8 percent of people with at least one dose administered, according to federal health data. For Latinos, the numbers are 19 percent and 9 percent, respectively.

The governors or the public health infrastructures in certain states have been granted permission to make terrible mistakes, said Michael Kinch, a biochemistry professor at Washington University in St. Louis.

Weve essentially conducted 50 separate experiments within the United States alone. Ultimately, it will be important to grade them and say, what did we do well and what did we not do well?

Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, warned that the success so far of the vaccination program may obscure how difficult the rest is going to be. The first quarter of the population to be vaccinated may be the easiest quarter, he said.

Early on, we have high interest in vaccines, with a segment of the population that cant get it fast enough, he said. Were going to very quickly make a transition to those who dont want it. And weve got some real work ahead of us to get those people vaccinated.

The country will find out how many people require heavy convincing  a difficult number to gauge so far. Surveys show that even many front-line health care workers and members of the military have opted out during the initial vaccination effort.

What could be really great news today could begin to look much more like a challenge in the future, Osterholm said.
Thirty years ago this week Nick Squire took a phone call that irrevocably changed his world - news so shocking, illogical and heart-breaking that he can still recall every single word of it.

On the other end of the line was his mother Norma, calling from Northern Ireland. His parents had travelled there that morning from their home in England to help their daughter Penny (24) pack for her Army captain husband Duncan's new posting to Germany.

Now, as Nick numbly clutched the receiver, he tried to process what he was hearing: that his beautiful, vivacious and kind sister was dead; murdered a short time earlier while walking in Drumkeeragh Forest Park, near Ballynahinch.

That the young woman who had loved travelling the world would make only one more desperately sad final journey to the graveyard of the church near Cirencester where she'd wed only a few years before.

Inevitably Penny's brutal killing - she was lured to a lonely spot by her husband's lover, Susan Christie (22), a UDR private - made sensational, often lurid headlines, around the world. Here, the premeditated slaying of a young wife by another woman appalled people inured to the violent murders of the Troubles.

For the Squire family, though, this was a deeply personal loss and the start of an enduring grief that has wrought a heavy toll on all of them.

Nick's father, Des, now 80, suffered post-traumatic stress and took early retirement shortly after losing his adored daughter. His mother Norma, diagnosed with Alzheimer's several years ago, is now resident in a care home.

Thankfully, they've had their Covid-19 vaccinations and Des can visit his wife again.

Speaking publicly for the first time in three decades about his sister's murder, Nick (52) says: "My parents were never the same people again. And I didn't grieve properly for 25 years. I'm not ashamed to say it created poor coping mechanisms in me and got me into situations I didn't want to be in. It's taken me until now to realise there's a different path."

This Saturday marks the anniversary of Penny's murder, though for years Nick hid from the significance of that date.

Expand Close Penny McAllister: Murder victim killed by Susan Christie. / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Penny McAllister: Murder victim killed by Susan Christie.

"People would have messaged me about it but I'd an in-built mechanism to put it to one side. If I focused on that day, I look at 11 o'clock, then 12... I know when the phone call came. I remember the feeling, how my life changed.

"I was at my parent's house with my then future wife. We both had flu. Her parents came round, I remember thinking that was strange.

"They were there for five minutes and hadn't said much. All the time I was thinking 'something's wrong'. Then the phone rang and my father-in-law said 'Nick, that's for you'. I felt absolute trepidation... it was mum.

"Mum said that something wasn't right and I thought it was dad.

"They'd left that morning to help Penny pack for a posting to Germany, which in a lot of ways was the catalyst for the decisions that were made by Christie.

Expand Close Susan Christie / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Susan Christie

"When mum told me that it was Penny, five seconds later a tonne of bricks hit me on the shoulders. I sat down on the stairs. It was very much a case of 'oh, she has got this wrong, how can I fix this?' I was on this call for 10 minutes but no one could really speak.

"After that, well, it became obvious it was a situation you couldn't fix."

Nick, however, felt compelled to strive to make life better for his parents. He went on to have a 25-year globe-trotting career in internet security.

"I felt I had to steel myself to be something special for them. When it happened I was a simple farm engineer. Suddenly I decided to go another direction. I achieved a great deal, but it had a lot to do with wanting to make my parents feel good about something."

That, too, is primarily why Nick is finally breaking his silence on the landmark 30th anniversary of Penny's murder. He hopes that his father will draw comfort from reading a tribute that celebrates her many qualities and talents.

Brother and sister were incredibly close, even sharing the same birthday, May 23. Penny was born in 1966 and Nick arrived two years later. "We're Gemini... like distant twins," he says.

Nick always felt protective, especially when it came to her many male admirers.

Their father's job as an English teacher at Army bases around the world meant the siblings spent a lot of time together. Summer holidays were memorable.

"We'd a privileged childhood and I don't mean a silver spoon in the mouth," says Nick.

"Dad got a job in Gibraltar and we'd fantastic holidays. I remember going up into the Atlas mountains, seeing snow for the first time. We have Super Eight cine film of us all there. Dad is panning the camera around and you can see Penny and mum playing in the snow, then dad panned round to me writing my name in the snow... I'll leave it to you to imagine how I was doing that!

"I have flashback memories. Our birthdays were always big events because we'd shared the same day.

"Once on a campsite in Morocco mum laid out this beautiful spread of cake and sandwiches on a camping table which then collapsed and a goat got involved as well.

"We moved on to Germany when I was about five and each year about half of the school would be at our birthday party because I'd have my group and Penny would have her group there.

"Birthdays now are a bit double-edged. They are days of 'what ifs?'. You look at the wrinkles round your eyes and wonder what your sister would look like."

Those imponderables are made worse by how much potential Penny had.

"Penny was so vivacious, bubbly, energetic. She was very talented at whatever she turned her hand to. She was brilliant musically and played the clarinet, the oboe, the bassoon.

"She was the lead girl in all the school productions, from Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady to Nancy in Oliver.

"She was a soprano, with a stunning voice. When I was 11, I can remember her singing for a school choir in a big German church... a couple of solos and Once in Royal David's City. We still have the tape recording which dad listens to.

"She entered a competition for the Armed Forces for designing posters for foreign object damage for the RAF and won that.

"Penny had so much capability, she was head girl, at the centre of everything, though she never really did anything with it. She married into an Army life and that kind of negated university. There were a huge amount of missed opportunities."

Penny was just 16 when she met Duncan McAllister, then a 21-year-old lieutenant, in Germany. A year later they were discussing marriage. Nick says the striking comparisons with their parents' own love story meant they supported her decision not to go into third-level education.

"Dad was a trainee teacher and mum was in the sixth form when they met. They joined an operatic society so they could see each other. Marrying young was similar to (what) mum and dad (had done) so it was kind of just accepted. My parents had good old-fashioned values but were also very liberal."

No doubt hoping Penny and Duncan's marriage would be every bit as happy as their own, they could never have predicted the cataclysmic events that would engulf their daughter shortly after her husband was posted to Northern Ireland.

McAllister, by then a Captain, embarked upon an affair with Susan Christie in July 1990 after they met at an Army diving club he'd started. He'd always made it clear to his mistress that he would never leave his wife, Christie's trial was told.

When he tried to end the relationship, Christie invited Penny on a dog walk in Drumkeeragh Forest on March 27, 1991, where she cut her throat. Christie then stabbed herself, concocting a story they'd been attacked by a mystery man, but days later when McAllister told senior officers about the affair, she was arrested.

Expand Close Police at the murder scene in Drunkeeragh Forest / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Police at the murder scene in Drunkeeragh Forest

In a sentence that provoked public outrage, Christie was found not guilty of murder and sentenced to five years for manslaughter, which meant she'd be freed after 18 months. After an appeal, the sentence was increased to nine years. She was freed in December 1995, having served almost five years.

Choosing his words carefully, Nick says: "The only infallible person involved in it isn't here. The one thing I would say is you don't go to court to see justice done, you go to court to see law done."

The outcome added to his parents' anguish. "I do hope there are people who live with guilt," he says.

The Squires were deeply hurt too by a Carlton Television drama, Beyond Reason, based on Penny's murder and screened just two years after her death. Des Squire described it as "profiting from tragedy".

Nick was also incensed when an Ulster artist used his sister's murder as the basis for a painting. "He then sold it to a Swiss couple," says Nick. "What is someone thinking? Doing something like that just to profit from misery? What's the motivation behind someone wanting to buy it?"

Nick reflects: "Life was never going to be the same afterwards for my parents, but things were certainly compounded by other people's poor actions.

"Life after losing Penny has never been particularly good for mum and dad.

"Mum carried on working until her mother couldn't be independent so moved from Devon to live with them. She had Alzheimer's for years.

"In their retirement mum and dad looked after her until she had to go into a home.

"No sooner had we done that than mum started showing all the signs of Alzheimer's. There was no real peaceful period for mum and dad to just be together."

In what many would see as a huge generosity of spirit, the Squire family remained in contact with Duncan McAllister for a number of years, reasoning that he could never have anticipated the cataclysmic outcome of his affair.

"If you drop a pebble into a lake, those ripples go a long way... at what stage do you say that it's direct blame," says Nick. "We were in contact with him fairly regularly over the years. But people need to live their lives with what they have got left and I didn't think it was particularly beneficial on an annual basis to uncover wounds. There was no sudden cessation. Things peter out over time. There's that acceptance you have to go on and live life."

Doing that proved fraught for Nick, who blames unresolved trauma for impacting on previous relationships. A proud dad-of-three, he's a son Harry (19) and daughter Lily (17) from his marriage and a daughter Lotte (6) from a subsequent relationship.

Recently, significant life changes - a new relationship and career - have brought a sense of, if not making peace with the past, learning to live with it.

Last week, he enjoyed his first day at college, where he's studying for qualifications in education. He lives on the West Sussex coast and runs a flourishing children's nursery with his partner Heather.

Sometimes there are unexpected comforts too. "Little signs and reminders which take you by surprise," he says. "I went to New York with my then wife, we were walking through the snow in Central Park and two golden setters suddenly came bounding up to us... those were the type of dogs Penny went to walk with Christie.

"I remember buying a kind of shawl you wrapped round yourself. Every time I picked it up, it gave me a connection to Penny... it was strange."

His daughter Lily has always "had a striking resemblance to Penny" and shares her late aunt's passion for the performing arts, winning a scholarship to the Brighton Dance Academy.

Nick has never been to Drumkeeragh Forest Park but will visit it one day. His former job occasionally brought him to Northern Ireland and he remains touched by how many people here still think of Penny.

On Saturday, he will have his father over to dinner to mark the occasion quietly.

It's been an intense conversation, but as we wrap up Nick laughs quietly, recalling the last time he ever saw Penny.

He'd gone to elaborate lengths to organise a surprise birthday party for his fiancee and as they turned into the street in Arundel where 30 guests were waiting in a pub, there was Penny "skulking across the road like a moorhen, she let the cat completely out of the bag. It's a nice memory".

He adds: "It's been very difficult to stir up all these emotions but I hope it will make for a nice tribute to Penny, something I will be able to show dad of a son doing the right thing, of a brother doing something for his sister."
CHATO Member of Parliament and Minister of Energy Dr Medard Kalemani has said the late President Dr John Magufuli, apart from using his term of office to fully serve Tanzanians, he also prepared the nation to achieve its desire of becoming an independent nation.

He said this on Wednesday in an exclusive interview with the Daily News, explaining people's expectations after the tragedy that struck the nation.

According to Dr Kalemani, despite serving less than six years, the late President Magufuli left an indelible mark in Chato District and in the country in general.

He said during his presidency, the departed president prepared Tanzanians by laying emphasis on the importance of working hard and trusting God.

"He always ordered leaders and representatives of the people to work hard. It is better to remain united even after the tragic loss that has hit the nation," he said.

He said Tanzanians shouldn't be worried as the government is there to serve them.

"Let's continue having trust in the government and representatives of the people. Let's continue to trust them. Let's continue to be confident in ourselves, let's walk boldly as President Magufuli used to advise us. Let's put ourselves in hands of God first as he always insisted," Dr Kalemani said.

Dr Kelemani said Tanzania will remain united and Tanzanians will always remain as one. "Our current leaders will live and respect the ideas and opinions of our deceased leader."

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Tanzania Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

He explained that the most important thing for the people of Chato is to cherish his vision, actions and thoughts, so that they last; and also continue to pray for him because he was a man who loved God and lived in the fear of God.

Dr Kalemani said as a representative of the people of Chato, he will continue to urge them to remain strong and united, peaceful and loving. He also assured Tanzanians who want to invest in Chato to do so as opportunities are aplenty.

Sumbawanga District Executive Director Nyange Msemakweli said he was so touched by this tragedy that he travelled from Sumbawanga to Chato as Dr Magufuli had a great development goal for the nation through his vision of an independent economy.

Meanwhile, Geita Regional Commissioner and Chairman of the Regional Defence and Security Committee, Robert Gabriel said that today is the official day for the people of Geita Region to pay their last respects to the late president; urging them to turn up in large numbers.

He said preparations for burial of Dr Magufuli have been completed.

"We have witnessed the whole world mourn; there are people who did not know him personally but through his work they have been saddened.

He added that the biggest challenge leaders have is to remain on the same lane of integrity, service and accountability in leadership.

"The only way to pay tribute to Dr Magufuli is for us leaders and Tanzanians in general to follow his leadership style.

He urged Tanzanians to continue praying for President Samia Suluhu Hassan in guiding this country.
North Koreans are banned from possessing and using these weapons. On March 21, Pyongyang fired two cruise missiles. Washington says the launch confirms the threat posed by the Kim regime and US is reviewing its policy on North Korea. The role of Beijing.

Pyongyang (AsiaNews) - North Korea launched two missiles into the Sea of Japan this morning, most likely ballistic and short-range missiles. The military commands of South Korea, the USA and Japan confirmed the second missile in a few days.

On March 21, Pyongyang fired two cruise missiles or two artillery salvoes off its west coast. The last launch carried out by the Kim Jong-un regime was about a year ago. Tokyo and Seoul condemned the ballistic test which, according to the Pentagon, highlights the threat the North Korean military program poses to the international community.

Analysts believe Kim is testing the Biden administration, which is reviewing national policy towards North Korea. The US president downplayed last Sundays launch, with Washington stressing that under United Nations resolutions, North Koreans are prohibited from possessing and using ballistic missiles, not cruise missiles.

North Korea is isolated from the international community (except from China and partly from Russia), and has been subjected to international sanctions for years for its nuclear and missile program. Since the end of 2017, in the context of negotiations with Donald Trump, the then-incumbent US president, Pyongyang has unilaterally decreed a moratorium on nuclear tests and long-range ballistic tests.

The dialogue between Washington and the Kim regime is stalled with North Koreans demanding the United States abandon its aggressive policy for a return to the negotiating table.

Pyongyang started its missile escalation immediately after the closure of a tense summit in Alaska between the US and China. On March 23, Kim and Chinese President Xi Jinping exchanged messages in which they reaffirmed the "traditional friendship" between their countries. The North Korean leader expressed his hope for stronger "unity and cooperation" with Beijing in the face of the challenges posed by "hostile forces".
Armenian acting minister: EU allocated EUR 68,700,000 to Armenia for budget support in 2020

Armenia Finance Ministry: MFA's budget grew by AMD 1,600,000,000 in 2020

Bodies and remains of Armenian soldiers are kept in morgue in Armenia's Martuni

White House confirms Biden-Erdogan meeting in Brussels

Armenia acting MOD touches upon priority directions for development of Armed Forces

Diaspora Armenian writer, publicist Toros Toranian dies

2 Armenian soldiers injured in scuffle with Azerbaijan, Armenian POW is hospitalized, Jun. 3 digest

Wedding held in Armenia's Shurnukh for first time since the war ended

EEU member states to finish preparing for negotiations over free trade zone in Iran in late June

Armenia Central Bank: Economic downfall in 2020 was due to decline in service and construction sectors

Armenia legislature adopts several bills in first reading

Armenia President meets with Nursultan Nazarbayev

Dejavu: Armenia ruling party distributes money for votes at Yerevan district election office

Chief Advisor to Karabakh President sacked

Russian MFA: Works are carried out to settle situation around Karabakh every day

Armenia opposition MP sounds alarm about Baku fabricating criminal cases against Armenian prisoners

Armenia acting health minister: I have apologized, I am not going to resign

Helga Schmid meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Armenia's deputy foreign ministers resigned or have heavy workload?

Dollar goes down in Armenia

Armenia Elections Oversight Committee reports Iranian citizenship of ruling party's MP candidate

Acting deputy minister: Only 17 of 711 Iran-Armenia power transmission line towers were installed by 2017

Armenia Parliament Council holding session

Armenia to host CSTO "Thunder-2021" military exercises

NYT: Chinese hackers launch cyberattack on New York city transportation authority

Armenia President to Kazakhstan counterpart: I would like to see much deeper cooperation between our countries

Armenia citizens shut down Etchmiadzin-Ashtarak road, complaining about lack of irrigation water

Armenia independent MP: Foreign minister and his deputies don't want to take part in treacherous acts

Armenia to get $11mn loan, 350,000 grant for agriculture

WHO worries about worsening mental health worldwide amid pandemic

Armenia health ministry on improper handling of Artsakh war victims bodies: There is no justification

Armenia bloc election foundation already in operation

Russia ambassador to Armenia paying working visit to Syunik Province (PHOTOS)

China pledges to step up resistance to foreign interference in Hong Kong

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: There can be no talk of corridor for Azerbaijan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on incumbent authorities: Wherever they flee, we will bring them by the feet

President: Impossible to ensure peace in region or stay in Artsakh without Russia army joint efforts

China Daily: Dispatch from Makit: Thriving in the desert

Karabakh President: We will never put up with being part of Azerbaijan, it is ruled out

Armenia MFA information department chief: All deputy FMs carrying out their duties

Ardshinbank invited children to the cinema on International Childrens Day

Armenia judiciary to have 10 more judges

Armenia acting premier: We had recorded 40% increase in tax revenues according to 2019 results

Armenia acting PM on Artsakh war casualties bodies: We have 50 remains in which case DNA was not separated

Azerbaijan authorities plan to "squeeze" everything from "terrorist show" related to Armenian captives

Ameriabank announces a contest for bank card design

108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia parliament convenes special session

Armenia interim government holding Cabinet meeting

Catholicos of All Armenians heads for Syunik Province, Artsakh

World oil prices going up

Iran loses right to vote in UN General Assembly

Newspaper: Armenia authorities come up with new way of punishing unwanted characters

Newspaper: Russia army Southern Military District deputy commander to arrive in Yerevan Thursday

Lebanese Armenian man taken prisoner by Azerbaijan is hospitalized

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Are we getting under the burden? Then lets get under to the end

Armenia acting health minister on keeping fallen soldiers bodies in bags: What else should they be kept in?

Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation

Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow

2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik

Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center

"Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans

Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel

Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna

Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations

US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies

Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week

Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection

Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential

Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement

Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues

Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo

Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation

NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident

Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices

Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over

Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest

Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia

Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia

Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels

Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters

Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021

Dollar is stable in Armenia

Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector

Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out

Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe

Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia

Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border

Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor

Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue

Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia

Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this

Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia
[March 25, 2021] Sub-Zero Welcomes Sean Graffia to its Builder Team in Southern California

COSTA MESA, Calif., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Sub-Zero Group West, Inc., the leading manufacturer of premium refrigeration, cooking equipment, and dishwashing brands Sub-Zero, Wolf, and Cove is pleased to announce Sean Graffia has transitioned to a new position as the Builder Account Manager for the Orange County and San Diego territories in Southern California. Sean steps into the role after serving over half a decade as the Sales Manager for Sub-Zero West. Inc. Graffia has a combined 30 years of expertise in the luxury appliance and home building industry. His deep experience and passion for Sub-Zero customers enables him to intimately understand the needs of builders and home buyers alike enabling him to deliver kitchen design and appliance innovations that make cooking at home a joy and unique experience. Kelly Ciulla, Affiliate President Sub-Zero West, Inc. said, "In his tenure with Sub-Zero, Sean has proven time and time again that he has the creative vision and relationship building skills we need to move the company forward in the highly competitive Southern California luxury home and appliance market. We can't be more excited to have him step into this new leadership role." Asked what about this new position appeals to him the most, Sean said, "Working with builders gives me the opportunity to be a part of the process of bringing a community to life. It's exciting o watch the transformation happen from the ground up. It's so rewarding to be involved in the project from the specification process to the first loads of dirt being moved, to the culmination of delivering the models and production homes." For Sean, the reward truly comes when he sees the homes completed and the community coming together.



Sean brings the same passion for elegance and excellence that the Sub-Zero, Wolf, and Cove brands are known for to his career. He comments, "Building a premium home with the Sub-Zero, Wolf, and Cove brands elevates the luxury experience for the homebuyer in a way that no other brand or product in the industry can. Sub-Zero products instantly elevate the home's value, giving the builder a competitive edge over neighboring communities. This edge is critical to the builder's success in today's highly competitive market." Sean is a native Californian, born in Long Beach, CA and has lived in Southern California for his whole life. And he enthusiastically lives the California lifestyle to its fullest. An avid mountain biker and novice surfer, he enjoys all the outdoor living that California offers  crushing the trails on his mountain bike in the snow-capped mountains on Saturday, cruising the bay on his stand-up paddle board on Sunday, then chilling on the sandy beaches watching the sunset as he anticipates the coming excitement of another week of luxury home building.

About Sub-Zero Group, Inc. Sub-Zero Group, Inc., headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, manufactures best-in-class appliance brands Sub-Zero, Wolf, and Cove. Founded in 1945, Sub-Zero, Inc., is the leading American-based manufacturer of refrigeration, freezer and wine storage products. Sub-Zero, the preservation specialist, pioneered the concept of dual refrigeration, ensuring that food stays fresher longer. With the acquisition of Wolf Range Company in 2000, Sub-Zero Group, Inc., added the industry specialist in residential cooking appliances, with products including ranges, cooktops, wall ovens, warming drawers and ventilation equipment. In 2018, Sub-Zero Group, Inc., launched the Cove brand of dishwashers, the specialist in all things clean. Cove joins Sub-Zero and Wolf, establishing the brands as corporate companions and a complete kitchen family. In its third generation of family ownership, the privately held company also operates manufacturing facilities in Fitchburg, Wisconsin, and Goodyear, Arizona. Sub-Zero Group, Inc., is continually recognized for the highest achievements in appliance innovation and customer satisfaction. For more information about Sub-Zero, Wolf, and Cove, visit subzero-wolf.com or follow us on Facebook.com/subzerowolf or on Instagram @subzeroandwolf. For Sub-Zero, Wolf, and Cove Customer Care, call 800-222-7820. Copyright  2021, Sub-Zero Group, Inc. All rights reserved. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sub-zero-welcomes-sean-graffia-to-its-builder-team-in-southern-california-301256150.html SOURCE Sub-Zero Group West, Inc.

[ 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.
Every car needs to have a quality set of tyres and this will have a direct impact on the performance, efficiency and safety of the vehicle. While established brands like Bridgestone, Michelin, Goodyear and Continental are all excellent, you will also find that they can be expensive which is why many motorists look to budget brands instead.

Budget brands can be a good way to save money, but you must also be careful as you still need tyres that are high-quality. The good news is that there are 4 brilliant budget brands to consider for any motorist looking for quality rubber but without having to spend a fortune.

1. Autogrip

Made by Fullrun, they also make Fullway, Versatyre and Adereneza branded tyres and there are summer and run-flats available. Autogrip was launched in 2012 and are manufactured specifically for passenger cars and light trucks and despite the cheap price tag, they offer excellent quality and safety.

2. Budget

As the name suggests, Budget (made by Duraturn - a branch of the YC Rubber Company) are affordable tyres but offer exceptional value for money. While budget tyres are cheaper than the big brands named in the intro, they all have to pass the same quality checks to be roadworthy and the Budget reviews show that you are getting quality when you opt for this brand.

3. Ovation

Made by the Shandong Hengfeng & Plastic Company, a company that produces 12 million tyres per year, Ovation is a budget brand that is known for creating among the safest and most reliable tyres within the budget range and these are two hugely important areas to consider when shopping for new rubber.

4. Runway

Finally, Runway are made by Giti Tire company from Singapore and make both budget and performance tyres. This is an up and coming brand that is developing a positive reputation for performance and durability, which you can see by reading the positive reviews of this brand.

Maintaining Your Tyres

As you can see, you do not always need to buy the expensive, well-known brands when it comes to your car's tyres. These 4 budget brands will give the bigger companies a run for their money, so if you are looking to save then these are all companies that are highly worth looking at. Of course, maintenance is hugely important so you should always look after your tyres including checking the tyre pressure and the tread depth.

Tyres are incredibly important in terms of performance, efficiency and safety so it is an area that motorists need to carefully consider when you need new tyres. While it might be easy to simply opt for a recognisable brand like Michelin, you should seriously consider a budget brand as you can get exceptional quality at a fraction of the price.
Plus, Bill's Message of the Day, say goodbye to law and order Joe.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Africa's forest elephants are inching towards extinction, with their population dwindling 86 per cent in the last three decades, conservationists said on Thursday.

Savanna elephants on the continent have also seen a massive decline in numbers, dropping by 60 per cent in 50 years.

The figures were released as part of an update to the 'Red List' of threatened species, produced by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The list highlighted the broad deterioration of the situation for elephants in most of Africa, where they have been subject to decades of poaching and shrinking habitats.

Forest elephants are now considered 'critically endangered' - just a step away from becoming extinct, while African savanna elephants are now listed as 'endangered'.

Elephants on the continent were previously assessed as a single species, which was considered vulnerable, but not endangered.

'Today's new IUCN Red List assessments of both African elephant species underline the persistent pressures faced by these iconic animals,' IUCN chief Bruno Oberle said in a statement.

Africa's forest elephants are inching towards extinction, with their population dwindling 86 per cent in the last three decades, conservationists said on Thursday. Pictured: Forest elephants in Gabon [File photo]

African savanna elephants have also seen a massive decline in numbers, dropping by 60 per cent in 50 years. Pictured: Savanna elephants in Kenya [File photo]

Just half a century ago, around 1.5million elephants roamed across Africa, but in the most recent large-scale assessment of population numbers in 2016, there were only around 415,000 remaining.

'These are really sharp declines,' Benson Okita-Ouma of Save the Elephants and the co-chair of the IUCN African Elephant Specialist Group, said.

While the next full assessment of African elephant population numbers is not expected until 2022 or 2023, he told AFP news agency that the declines seen already should really raise 'alarm bells'.

Elephants will not disappear from Africa overnight, he said, but stressed that 'what this assessment is giving us is an early warning that unless we turn around things, we are likely to (see) the animals go extinct'.

'It's a wake-up call to the entire globe that we are going down a steep terrain, when it comes to... the viability of these elephants.'

Experts had agreed it was better to treat African forest and savanna elephants as separate species following fresh research into the genetics of the elephant populations, IUCN said.

Forest elephants are found in the tropical jungles of Central Africa and in various habitats in West Africa, and are thought to occupy currently only a quarter of their historic range.

The largest remaining populations are found in Gabon and the Republic of Congo.

Forest elephants are found in the tropical jungles of Central Africa and in various habitats in West Africa, and are thought to occupy currently only a quarter of their historic range. Pictured: Forest elephants in Gabon [File photo]

The savanna elephant meanwhile prefers open country and is found in a variety of habitats in sub-Saharan Africa.

Both elephant species had seen particularly sharp declines since 2008, as poaching for ivory exploded.

The problem peaked in 2011, but continues to threaten populations, IUCN said.

Perhaps even more alarming, according to Okita-Ouma, is the ever-increasing destruction of elephant habitats due to expanding land use for agriculture and other activities.

'If we don't plan our land-use properly, moving forward, then as much as we stop poaching and we stop illegal killing of these animals, there will still be other forms of indirect killings as a result of poor land-use planning,' he said.

The savanna elephant meanwhile enjoys open country and is found in a variety of habitats in sub-Saharan Africa. Pictured: A savanna elephant in Kenya [File photo]

Experts had agreed it was better to treat African forest and savanna elephants as separate species following fresh research into the genetics of the elephant populations, IUCN said. Pictured: Savanna elephants

Despite the overall downwards trend, Thursday's report did highlight the positive impact conservation efforts can have.

Some forest elephant populations have stabilised in well-managed conservation areas in Gabon and the Republic of Congo.

Savanna elephant numbers have been stable or growing for decades in the Kavango-Zambezi transfrontier conservation area that stretches across the borders of five southern African countries.

'Several African countries have led the way in recent years, proving that we can reverse elephant declines, and we must work together to ensure their example can be followed,' Oberle said.

Okita-Ouma said the Covid-19 pandemic was taking a toll on conservation efforts as many countries had seen tourism revenues used to fund protection measures evaporate.

At the same time, he said, the dramatic decline in human activity in many areas had allowed elephants to 'recolonise' areas they had previously been driven from.

'During the lockdowns, we have seen animals moving all over, and that is a positive side for the animals.'
I felt his hand underneath my skirt. This could not be happening when we are in the middle of a meeting, he is a senior board member and there are colleagues all around us.

Yet, there it was, inside my skirt, I pushed it away and when I challenged the behaviour, the response was: I was interested in the fabric, my family works in textiles.

Before the #MeToo movement, harassment in the workplace was often accepted. Credit:Nic Walker

Like so many women I took my complaint to management and was told to hush and not be a troublemaker, to think of my career.

This is the life of women in the workplace and too many of us have tales to tell of our backsides being grabbed at work functions, or a colleague or senior manager showing uncomfortable interest in us.
According to Siva Prasad Nanduri, vice-president and business head, IT staffing, TeamLease Digital, attrition in digital skills is going to be 7-8 per cent in the near future, while the hiring number is going to be 15-16 per cent. Analysts tracking the sector say though IT firms are focused on re-skilling, the speed to re-imagine business processes and digitise has been accelerated due to ...

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
California megachurch fires worship director for inappropriate behavior online

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

Correction Appended

Months after their lead pastor was asked to resign for allowing his son with an attraction to minors to work with children, Menlo Church in California has fired the worship director of their Mountain View campus for inappropriate behavior online years ago.

John Crosby, the churchs transitional pastor, along with David Kim, elder board chair, announced in a statement on Saturday that Michael Bryce Jr., the worship director, was terminated effective on March 19 for demonstrated poor judgement.

Many years ago, Michael engaged in inappropriate behavior online. The allegation was from several years before Michael joined our staff. When our leaders learned about the allegation, Michael was immediately put on leave. Due to the claim, we contacted law enforcement, and they are undertaking an investigation, the Menlo officials said.

While the church did not share any specifics regarding the situation, The Mercury News cited a police log showing that the church was contacted by Menlo Park police on March 16 at about 7:10 p.m.

Executive Pastor of Ministries Sue Kim-Ahn told the publication that there is an active law enforcement investigation in progress, and we cannot disclose further information at this time.

Church officials further noted that they are following up with volunteers who worked with Bryce, who is a married father.

We have no reason to believe that anyone was affected at Menlo Church, but if you have any concerns, please reach out to your campus pastor. Or, if you prefer to contact an outside party, Zero Abuse has generously offered to intake any requests, officials said.

We recognize that this news is heavy to receive. It may evoke difficult memories or emotions for many of us. This is a hard reminder that our churches, by the grace of God, are gatherings of ordinary, imperfect people. We are in this together, and our staff and pastors are here for you, they added.

Last July, John Ortberg, Menlo Churchs then lead pastor, resigned over how he managed his sons access to children in the church even after he learned of his son's sexual attraction to minors.

Ortberg was first asked to go on personal leave from the church on Nov. 22, 2019, while an investigation of concerns raised by a third party about a then unidentified church volunteer was conducted. In early July 2020, Daniel Lavery, a trans-identified woman who is Ortberg's estranged daughter, revealed in an extensive thread on Twitter that the volunteer is her brother, John Ortberg III.

In January 2020, without revealing Ortbergs relationship to the volunteer, Menlo Church elders said their leader exhibited poor judgement, but no harm had come to any minor in the Menlo Church community based on the findings of an investigation.

Ortberg returned to the pulpit last March and apologized for his "shortcomings" in a letter to the church on July 6. Pressure from blindsided members of the church who felt betrayed about the details of Ortbergs familial connection to the volunteer, however, forced an ongoing supplemental investigation.

The elder board later asked Ortberg to resign based on a collective desire for healing and discernment.

Our decision stems from a collective desire for healing and discernment focused on three primary areas. First, Johns poor judgment has resulted in pain and broken trust among many parents, youth, volunteers and staff. Second, the extended time period required to complete the new investigation and rebuild trust will significantly delay our ability to pursue Menlos mission with the unity of spirit and purpose we believe God calls us to, the elder board said.

An earlier version of this article published on March 25, 2021, stated that the inappropriate behavior online involved a juvenile, however that was incorrect according to Menlo Church.
Ten people were killed at a Colorado grocery store by a Syrian immigrant, and Democrats are demanding gun control, when they ought to be looking at immigration control. Liberals had launched into a tirade about "white supremacy" before the fact that the perp was a Muslim arab was belatedly announced. The gunman had come into the country as a child with his family after Obama had opened the refugee door wide for Syrians. All of the victims were white, so the real racial question is did the perp target whites?

The New York Times has reported that the FBI had been watching the perp along with another individual, but failed to state what they were watching them for. Common sense tells you it was likely terrorism related, especially after the perp committed a terrorist attack. Why is the FBI so often a day late and a collar short on these terrorists?

The site selected for the attack was, as usual, a gun free zone. These mass shooters are cowards who do not want to carry out their attacks where others might be armed to shoot back. If there had been some concealed carry permit holders present, the body count would have likely been a lot less.

What is also telling is that Colorado has universal background checks for gun purchases, so the Democrat clamor for that is pure nonsense.
Chennai, March 25 : The Shipping and Port Ministry of the Government of India is backtracking from the much celebrated transhipment project in Kanyakumari amid stiff opposition from local fishermen community.

The fisherman are worried that with the commencement of the project, there would be a sharp decline in the catch thus affecting their livelihood.

The Port Trust has already withdrawn the expression of interest it had called for construction of the Private, Public, Participatory (PPP) model of Transhipment project.

The Kanyakumari transhipment project has become a major election issue in Tamil Nadu after the Tuticorn port had released advertisements in major news papers calling for Expression of Interest from private players for the construction of the port.

The Union government had planned to construct an international transhipment hub in the PPP mode in the area between Kovalam and Thenthamarakulam.

The central government had initiated the process to complete the project in three stages. Several organisations including many fisherman organisations had come out on the streets against the transhipment project at Kanyakumari.

It may be recalled that an office for the proposed Transhipment project was opened in Kanyakumari before the 2019 general elections.

In the 2019 polls, Congress candidate H. Vasanthakumar had promised the people of Kanyakumari that if he was elected he would not allow the construction of the port.

The then Union minister of state for Shipping, Pon Radhakrishnan was the NDA candidate from Kanyakumari Lok Sabha elections in 2019. He was trounced by Vasanthakumar by a margin of around 3 lakh votes from the constituency which he had won by around 1 lakh votes in 2014.

After the passing away of Vasanthakumar, Kanyakumari is facing a bypoll and Pon Radhakrishnan is locking horns with the son of late Vasanthkumar, Vijay Vasanth who has promised the electorate that he would not allow the building of the Transhipment project.

Sensing political reversals in the Kanyakumari, Colachel, Nagercoil and adjacent assembly seats, the ruling AIADMK has also distanced itself from the project with Dalavai Sundaram categorically ruling out the project in Kanyakumari.

BJP leader and Lok Sabha candidate of the party for Kanyakumari by-elections Radhakrishnan told IANS: "Projects which the people don't want will not be foisted upon them and as there is stiff opposition to this project and Government of India will not go ahead with this."
Charlottesville, Virginia is home to the University of Virginia. Like all modern college towns, it's a mix of wealthy leftists (mostly White) and a lot of other people, students and townies, living in squalor. It hit the media big time in 2017 because of a clash between White supremacists and leftists that allowed the media to tar Trump falsely as a White supremacist. It's in the news again because its first Black mayor, Nikuyah Walker, thinks her city is a filthy, racist hellhole. Looking at the city's politics and demographics, she's probably got a point.

Unless you come from Virginia or attended the University of Virginia, you probably never thought much about Charlottesville. The city, named after George III's wife, came into being in 1762. It was home to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Their houses still stand and are beautiful examples of Southern colonial architecture.

After the Civil War, as was true for all Democrat-run Southern towns, the city was run along strictly racial lines.

It finally yielded to the reality of civil rights in the 1960s. Nowadays, like all American college towns, the city is very leftist, which means that it is completely on board with the new Democrat party's pro-Black, anti-White policies. Its demographics are approximately 70% White, 19% Black, and 11% other. Many in the Black population are impoverished (as are many Asians, Whites, Hispanics, and mixed-race people).

In 2017, disputes about statues honoring the Confederacy came to a head around a plan to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee. An openly White supremacist group got permission to march in the town, demanding that the statue remain. That protest drew counter-protesters, as well as people who held that, while slavery, the Confederacy, Jim Crow, and racism were all bad, it was a mistake to tear down a nation's history willy-nilly. A White supremacist drove into the crowd, killing a young woman.

After the event, President Trump repeatedly condemned White supremacists. However, he accurately noted that there were some good people there who simply opposed mob action against public art. The media took this last statement, isolated it, and falsely painted Trump as a White supremacist in a hoax that has sustained leftist hatred to this day. That hoax, incidentally, is Ground Zero for the dangerous canard that all Trump-supporters  that is, all 7580 million people who voted for him  are radical White supremacists who must be destroyed.

In 2018, a Black Charlottesville native named Nikuyah Walker ran for mayor, and, in a city with Whites anxious to gain forgiveness for the city's sins, she won. Walker, a single mother of three children, gave an interesting interview to The Guardian. She spoke about the challenges of growing up in Charlottesville and the overwhelming poverty dogging Blacks in her city. Her whole campaign  with its slogan "Unmasking the Illusion"  was intended to expose the city's problems.

Walker deeply resented the city's affluent white liberals, who talk the talk but refuse to walk the walk:

One of the main things that I'm here to do is to call attention to the liberal progressive Democratic structure that's in place, that believes that their best intentions are enough. You need actions behind those intentions. You can't just use words. [snip] It's very easy for people to blame [the white nationalist] Richard Spencer and Jason Kessler [the organizer of last year's white supremacist rally], but they haven't been in charge here.

Today, three years into her mayoral term, Walker seems disillusioned. This tweet replicates a post she uploaded to Facebook, only to have Facebook delete it:

Undeterred, after Facebook backed down, Walker posted the entire poem, one that castigates her city as one suffering badly from White liberalism, on both Facebook and Twitter:

You know what? While Walker isn't your normal mayor, boosting her city, she's got a point: whenever White leftists are in charge, Blacks fare poorly. These leftist Whites are the true White supremacists. They make all the right noises but routinely treat Blacks as useful idiots, best kept ignorant. White leftists are the perfect throwback to the Antebellum and Jim Crow eras, with their low-key segregation (driven today by economic differences, not laws) and the soft bigotry of their low expectations.

Mayor Walker lacks tact, and I suspect that, because she's also a leftist, she hasn't done a bit of good elevating the Blacks in her community. Nevertheless, she's probably correct when she describes her city in terms that make it clear it's analogous to Berkeley, California: it's filled with powerful Whites allied with the college, all paying lip service to civil rights and Black Lives Matter, but offering much less to Blacks than would a conservative community in which there's real liberty, equality, and economic uplift.

Image: Mayor Walker's shorter poem. Twitter screen grab.
Virginia took a historic step on Wednesday by becoming the first state in the South to eliminate the death penalty.

Gov. Ralph Northam signed the legislation a month after the Virginia General Assembly voted to strike down capital punishment in the state.

Virginia became the 23rd state in the country to get rid of the death penalty. Additionally, there are three states - Oregon, California, and Pennsylvania - where a governor-issued moratorium on executions is in effect.

The law is not scheduled to take effect until July 1, but no executions are set to take place in the interim.

According to the Associated Press, the sentences of two men left on death row, Anthony Juniper and Thomas Porter, will now become life sentences without parole.

Juniper was convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend, her brother, and two of her children. Porter was sentenced for killing a Norfolk police officer.

Scroll down for video

On Wednesday, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam signed a bill abolishing the death penalty

In doing so, Virginia became the first state in the South to abolish the death penalty

'Justice and punishment are not always the same thing, that is too clearly evident in 400 years of the death penalty in Virginia,' Northam said during the bill signing, according to NBC News.

Maryland, which is sometimes considered to be a Southern state, though it's not considered part of the 'Old South' of Confederate states, abolished the death penalty back in 2013.

In Virginia, 1,390 people have been put to death via capital punishment since 1608. That includes 113 people who have been executed since 1976, the year the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty four years after striking it down.

The last person to be executed in Virginia was William Morva, who died by lethal injection on July 6, 2017.

Morva was convicted on two counts of capital murder in the shooting deaths of Sheriff's Deputy Corporal Eric Sutphin and a hospital security guard, Derrick McFarland, in Blacksburg in August 2006.

'I can say the death penalty is fundamentally flawed,' Northam said. 'We know the system doesnt always get it right.'

There are now 23 states that have banned the death penalty, as well as three with governor-imposed moratoriums: Pennsylvania, Oregon, and California

Northam signed the bill after touring Greensville Correctional Center, where 102 executions in the state have taken place.

'I know that experience will stay with me for the rest of my life, and it reinforced [to] me that signing this new law is the right thing to do,' Northam said.

The governor stated that at least 170 people around the United States since 1973 were released from death row after being discovered innocent, highlighting the definitive nature of executions.

'Two wrongs don't make a right,' Northam said.

Gov. Northam signed the bill after touring the Greensville Correctional Center, which is where executions have been taking place in the state in recent decades

In Virginia, 1,390 people have been put to death via capital punishment since 1608

He also made note of the disproportionate inequities involved in the utilization of capital punishment.

'When one looks at the history, close to 1,400 individuals have been executed. The great majority of those individuals were African American. And so that number was disproportionate.'

Prior to Virginia, the most recent state to abolish the death penalty was Colorado, which did so in 2020.

Pictured: William Morva, the last person to die via capital punishment in Virginia

'Now that it is coming to an end, we can start a new chapter that embraces an evidence-based approach to public safety: One that values the dignity of all human beings and is focused on transforming the justice system into one rooted in fairness, accountability, and redemption,' said Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy's LaKeisha Cook.

Agreement with the abolishment of the death penalty wasn't unanimous across the state.

'I think fundamentally its going to make Virginia less safe, less secure,' said Republican Virginia Del. Jason Miyares, a candidate for state attorney general.

There were no federal executions in the United States, where capital punishment remains on the books, from April 2003 to June 2020.

In the last seven months of Donald Trump's presidency, however, 13 people were put to death at the federal level.

The Death Penalty Information Center reports that 48 federal prisoners remain on death row, all male.

Earlier this month, the Wyoming state senate shot down a bill that would've repealed the death penalty in the state.

Still, there are other states where legislation to repeal the death penalty has been introduced, including Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina.
The General Teaching Council is riddled with dysfunction and bullying, leaving it unable to operate effectively, its chief executive and registrar has told Stormont's Education Committee.

Education Minister Peter Weir has set up a review of the industry body set up to regulate the teaching profession in Northern Ireland, amid concerns over how it operates.

Chief executive Sam Gallaher admitted he is fearful in the short term over the Council's ability to operate effectively.

Mr Gallaher, who has been in the post since 2018, painted a bleak picture of the Council he inherited for MLAs yesterday, and admitted that some members were only there to bring the organisation down.

And he said the body's powers have been undermined by significant gaps in legislation, which have never been addressed, meaning it can only become involved in cases of gross misconduct and has no say on any other disciplinary matters which remain the remit of schools.

Operating since 1998, the Council is made up of 33 members, with 14 elected to represent teachers, 15 nominated by other education bodies, and four ministerial appointments, although only one of those ministerial roles is currently occupied. It is funded by membership fees.

Mr Gallaher said that similar independent professional bodies in Scotland and Wales have significantly greater powers in regulation matters.

But the Council has been disrupted by allegations of bullying, the undermining of members and whistleblowing, meaning it has been unable to function properly. With a lack of powers to regulate adequately, fears were highlighted that under-performing teachers are remaining in schools.

The Department of Education indicated it was aware that 59 cases are currently listed as live by the GTC. It said it understood 38 of those have completed police and employer checks and come to a conclusion, but the Department is not privy to the outcome. Many of the remaining cases are outstanding and unable to be heard, and some of those teachers are still working in schools in Northern Ireland.

Mr Gallaher was unable to say there is no risk to children caused by the inadequacies of the body.

Committee member Pat Sheehan said he was "very concerned" at what he was hearing.

Concern was also expressed that no other members of the Council had attended the briefing following reports of fractious and flawed election processes and lengthy council meetings ending with no agreement.

Mr Gallaher told the committee "the concept is sound - the construct is not".

"Yes, some feel a level of harassment," he admitted, adding there had also been a dispute over the election of the current chair and vice-chair in 2019.

Questioned by committee chair Chris Lyttle MLA on why the Department of Education had not simply disbanded the organisation given the problems experienced, departmental official Alison Chambers said the decision had been to try to make it workable when reconstituted in October 2019, and that it would need primary legislation from Stormont to abolish the Council.

But she said the Department had continued to receive an extremely high volume of communication from members alleging leadership issues, a lack of common purpose, a lack of skills and timely decisions, as well as accusations of bullying, harassment and a deliberate undermining of staff and officers in the execution of their roles.

Appearing before the Education Committee on Tuesday, Peter Weir said he shared concerns, but given the review, had to be careful what he said.

Mr Sheehan said it was "astounding the Department had waited so long yet done nothing to rectify this".

"A blind man on a galloping horse can see the outcome of another review - why not move to primary legislation immediately?" he asked.

The chair and vice-chair of the General Teacher Council will now be invited to appear before the Education Committee to give evidence.
DENVER, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Biden administration announced a new partnership with dialysis providers to provide COVID-19 vaccinations to people receiving dialysis and health care personnel in outpatient dialysis centers. DaVita Kidney Care will receive a portion of this allocation and will work with other providers to make vaccines available in dialysis centers across the country. In response, DaVita issued the following statement attributed to Javier Rodriguez, CEO for DaVita Inc.

"The dialysis provider community came together to advocate for the needs of our patients. We commend the Biden administration for providing direct access to the COVID-19 vaccine. Dialysis patients are one of the highest risk and most diverse patient populations. Offering patients direct access to the vaccine in a convenient and trusted site of care improves health equity, addresses challenges with third-party sites and reduces hesitancy rates."

Visit DaVita.com/COVID-19-information for more information on DaVita's response to COVID-19.

About DaVita Inc.

DaVita (NYSE: DVA) is a health care provider focused on transforming care delivery to improve quality of life for patients globally. The company is one of the largest providers of kidney care services in the U.S. and has been a leader in clinical quality and innovation for more than 20 years. Through DaVita Kidney Care, the company treats patients with chronic kidney failure and end stage kidney disease. DaVita is committed to bold, patient-centric care models, implementing the latest technologies and moving toward integrated care offerings for all. Through these efforts, DaVita has also become the largest provider of home dialysis in the country. As of December 31, 2020, DaVita served 204,200 patients at 2,816 outpatient dialysis centers in the United States. The company also operated 321 outpatient dialysis centers in ten countries worldwide. DaVita has reduced hospitalizations, improved mortality, and worked collaboratively to propel the kidney care industry to adopt an equitable and high-quality standard of care for all patients, everywhere. To learn more, visit DaVita.com/About.

Media Contact Information:

Ashley Henson

Director, Communications

[email protected]

(303) 876-6626

SOURCE DaVita Inc.

Related Links

https://www.davita.com



interview

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc, Premier Oiwoh, in this interview speaks about the New Quick Response (NQR) payment solution code, an innovative payment platform launched for all financial service providers in the country. Oiwoh explains that with more people being able to pay for goods and services with just their smartphones, the NQR payment is about re-creating the Nigerian payment experience whilst deepening financial inclusion in the country. Excerpts:

Can you tell us more about NQR and why NIBSS is introducing it into the Nigerian market?

The NQR is an electronic payment and it is alternative to cash transaction. Most SMEs and service providers in the country today require instant payment and that is why people still rely on cash. To solve that cash problem in the society as a lot of people still rely on cash, the NQR has been fully developed to meet a lot of Nigerians' needs by understanding our ecosystems and working to ensure that the product meets the needs of the ecosystem. The payment platform is faster in terms of payment process. The buyer does not need to reveal his/her account number to the seller. It just requires scanning and the payment is done and the buyer and seller get their alert instantly. In the area of value, we are looking at efficiency. It is faster and safer means of payment. With the pandemic, the product provides a better means of payment rather than touching cash or any other device. The consumer is in control of his/her mobile phone and from the phone, the buyer can just scan and make the payment.

So, will you say the introduction of the product was informed by the Covid-19 or consumer research to enhance payment?

It was informed by research and it is a product that has been on-going and with Covid-19, it becomes important to use the product for payment. Thankfully to the CBN Governor and chairman of NIBSS as the standard for the QR policy was released by CBN and that enabled all the process.

Where does this leave the point of sale (PoS) and other forms of payment in the market?

The PoS payment and other forms of payment will continue to exist. QR is just an added form of digital payment. One area this will be well addressed is the micro payment side. For instance, a commuter is going into a bus or buying newspaper from vendor and boarding taxi can pay with QR as many of these micro businesses don't have PoS. But the micro business operators can display their QR Codes around their neck or somewhere else and the transactions are carried out. In terms of deployment, as noted by executives of banks, it is faster and cheaper in terms of deployment. Most people selling products have their mobile phone, and all they need to do is to present their QR Code the buyer. But the question is how many have people have smart phones and data for connection and what of the farmers in the rural , how will they be served, but we have factored all this in the product. Working with banks, NIBSS we are going to ensure that Nigerians across have a feel of this product.

QR Code as a product has been around for about three years, so why is NIBSS pushing it now and what is the level of security using the system?

If a customer can transact on his/her bank mobile App today, then the customer can use QR Code for means of payment. This is because the same authentication level the customer passed through on the mobile app is the same the customer will be passing through using NQR Code, this means it is safe as a means of payment.

Another beauty is cash is avoided. Today Nigeria has grown to a level where anything can be tracked electronically in terms of payment and settlement. It is quite safe and robust. Though it has been around but there is a time for everything. It is not ideal to take innovations out without going to the laboratory to test it, develop it and make sure it is addressing some specific needs. Today in Nigeria, there are people who move around with goods and wears in their vehicles and as they sell, they are also collecting cash. A few of them though have POS but a lot of them take cash. This QR Code will solve that problem.

QR Code appears to be a higher technology means of payment being introduced in a high illiterate level society, how do you reconcile the two in the adoption of the payment system?

I can tell you that users don't need to go to school to use the NQR. It is not complicated and the user does not need to have a smart phone to use the QR Code in a much secured manner. Today, I am aware of banks that are already paying cash out from ATM simply by allowing customers putting their fingers on the ATM for withdrawal. I am aware of banks working and displaying the NQR Code on their ATM machines by allowing scanning and withdrawal. There are a lot of innovations. What we have done at NIBSS is to build a platform, release the APIs. With PSBs, banks and other service providers in the industry we are going to find a whole lot of innovations around the APIs that has been released. I assure you that the issue of education on the use of QR Code has been taken care of. It is not about some of us resident in urban area, but the greater number of Nigerians in rural areas must be brought into the eco-system. Many of them don't have bank accounts but with NQR Code, it will provide the opportunity, technically and in an easy way that will not scar them in terms of how it is used and how they adopt it. Our focus in NIBSS is to lower the cost of providing services. Secondly, we are focused on solving problems within the eco-system. Today, cash is a problem and the cost of managing cash is extremely high either within the banks or by merchants. For instance, if you are a service provider, you still need to move the cash to the bank. You will count and the bank will count but with NQR, the money is hitting your account immediately. This will bring a whole lot of efficiency and dynamism in the economy.

What is the volume of payment that can be made with NQR?

This will be determined by each bank in line with the ecosystem. Each bank has the authority to set up the limit they want. But our focus at NIBSS and working with our partners is to ensure that the micro-payment aspect is ensured. My greatest joy is the day I see the man selling gala along the road being able to display his NQR for payment, buses and taxis displaying their NQR for payment. Last week we say tomato sellers opening account because they say NQR working somewhere.

We hear that you are targeting five million merchants/businesses adopting NQR, could you confirm that?

NIBSS will be working with banks as we don't have direct interface with merchants. Basically I am providing a platform to support payment system. The banks understand the logic behind this. Everybody in the banking system today needs NQR. Today, there are 113 million accounts in the industry and if this is reduced, you can get the ration per bank. If those banks decide to focus on their customers, a lot of banks today are uploading and the merchants are, I think the banks will devise strategies to go in to the ecosystem. It is all about safety nets and understanding. I believe that most traders who understand the value to adopt the system for payment than carrying cash.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Business ICT By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

The idea behind this innovation is deepening the financial inclusion, how long have been working on this product and who are you partners?

On the technology and partners, NIBSS has a whole team of technology experts who are involved and who understands Nigerian eco-system. On the financial partners, NIBSS is owned by all the banks and CBN is our leader. The API has been shared to all the banks and now and they are consuming them. They need to get payment into their accounts. For instance, there is low usage of cash in China. We as a nation need to move to that level of digital payment system and it will help the economy in the sense that we will have faster settlement and banks can easily process your type of business and advance credit to customers. This will help bring those cash-related activity into the ecosystem for a better economy and reduce the cost of minting currency, reduce the cost of processing cash.

In two years, what projections are you looking at?

In two years, I am expecting Nigeria having NQR virtually everywhere. It is all about experience, user friendliness and simplicity. It just requires three steps to make payment which are scan, confirm the amount and put your pin. The way we designed it, we don't have to build a technology that will scare people, it is a technology very simple and easy to use with the right safety net embedded. My greatest joy will be farmers as well being able to use it to sell their produce. It will definitely happen because it is all about awareness, adoption and comfort. We need to understand the local market and design product and services that meet the market.
Lawyers for jailed opposition politician Aleksei Navalny say their client is in great pain and fears for his life, contradicting a statement from Russian prison authorities that said the Kremlin critic was in "satisfactory" condition.

Speaking to the TV Dozhd after visiting Navalny in prison on March 25, lawyer Olga Mikhailova said appeals by his legal team for the 44-year-old to be given the necessary treatment for his ailments have been ignored for four weeks.

Mikhailova said Navalny was in an "extremely unfavorable" condition, suffering from severe back pain and issues with his right leg that has made it "practically nonfunctional."

Navalny's condition and his whereabouts became an issue on March 24 after his allies said they were concerned over his deteriorating health and his failure to attend a scheduled visit with his lawyers in prison.

The Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) told the Interfax news agency on March 25 that a routine medical checkup of inmates at the Correctional Colony No. 2 where Navalny is being held was conducted the previous day.

"According to the results of the examination, [Navalny's] health state was determined as stable, satisfactory," the FSIN's press service said to the agency.

The statement, however, did little to ease concerns among Navalny's wife and allies.

In an Instagram post, Yulia Navalnaya called for her husband to be immediately released so that he could be treated by doctors "he trusts."

She described what was happening to her husband as "personal revenge" for his opposition activities and added, "This should stop immediately."

"Now we are really worried," Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation wrote on Twitter. "Even the Federal Penitentiary Service can't call Navalny's condition good. This isn't a surprise since they put in prison a man who was recently poisoned with a nerve agent."

Another of Navalny's lawyers, Vadim Kobzev, said that after "finally" getting to see Navalny, it quickly became clear that he was not only not being treated properly, "but a deliberate strategy is under way to undermine his health."

"In recent days, Navalny has been given 2 tablets of Ibuprofen a day, which, of course, is a clear mockery of the situation. All of this is greatly complicated by the fact that he is actually being tortured with sleep deprivation: 8 times a night he is woken up for 'preventive accounting,' although the video camera is already hanging right above his bed," Kobzev said on Twitter.

"Navalny himself forbade us to tell this story publicly, but after we were not allowed to see him yesterday against the background of a sharp deterioration in his health, we decided to make everything public," he added.

A statement on Navalny's website demanded proper care be "immediately ensured."

"We remind you that Aleksei Navalny is in the colony IK-2 in Pokrov absolutely illegally, on the basis of an invalid verdict, on the personal order of Vladimir Putin, and Putin is directly responsible for his state of health," it added.

Navalny was detained at a Moscow airport in January immediately upon returning from Berlin, where he was recovering from what several Western laboratories determined was a poisoning attempt using a Novichok-type nerve agent that saw him fall seriously ill on a flight in Siberia in August 2020.

Navalny has said the assassination attempt was ordered by President Vladimir Putin -- an allegation rejected by the Kremlin.

A Moscow court in February ruled that while in Germany, Navalny had violated the terms of parole from an older embezzlement case that is widely considered to be politically motivated.

His suspended 3 1/2-year sentence was converted into jail time, though the court reduced that amount to 2 1/2 years for time already served in detention.

On March 25, more than 150 journalists, film directors, lawyers, rights defenders, scholars, and public figures published an open letter on the news website MBKh Media demanding lawyers get immediate access to Navalny and that prison officials remove his status of "inmate inclined to escape," which entails the strict control of inmates.

The authors of the letter reminded FSIN Director Aleksandr Kalashnikov, Prosecutor-General Igor Krasnov, and Ombudswoman Tatyana Moskalkova that Navalny was in a coma for 18 days after being poisoned last year and demanded an end to Navalny's "heavy psychological and physical torture."

"By Navalny's return to Russia, the rehabilitation of his health has not been completed. It is obvious that because he is in custody, he has not received any rehabilitation or serious pharmacological rehabilitation. At this point, due to the information we have received, we have serious reasons to be concerned for his health and his life," the letter said.

Navalny's incarceration set off a wave of national protests and a crackdown against his supporters.

The European Union, the United States, and Canada imposed a series of sanctions against Russia over the Navalny case.

With reporting by Interfax
Armenian acting minister: EU allocated EUR 68,700,000 to Armenia for budget support in 2020

Armenia Finance Ministry: MFA's budget grew by AMD 1,600,000,000 in 2020

Bodies and remains of Armenian soldiers are kept in morgue in Armenia's Martuni

White House confirms Biden-Erdogan meeting in Brussels

Armenia acting MOD touches upon priority directions for development of Armed Forces

Diaspora Armenian writer, publicist Toros Toranian dies

2 Armenian soldiers injured in scuffle with Azerbaijan, Armenian POW is hospitalized, Jun. 3 digest

Wedding held in Armenia's Shurnukh for first time since the war ended

EEU member states to finish preparing for negotiations over free trade zone in Iran in late June

Armenia Central Bank: Economic downfall in 2020 was due to decline in service and construction sectors

Armenia legislature adopts several bills in first reading

Armenia President meets with Nursultan Nazarbayev

Dejavu: Armenia ruling party distributes money for votes at Yerevan district election office

Chief Advisor to Karabakh President sacked

Russian MFA: Works are carried out to settle situation around Karabakh every day

Armenia opposition MP sounds alarm about Baku fabricating criminal cases against Armenian prisoners

Armenia acting health minister: I have apologized, I am not going to resign

Helga Schmid meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Armenia's deputy foreign ministers resigned or have heavy workload?

Dollar goes down in Armenia

Armenia Elections Oversight Committee reports Iranian citizenship of ruling party's MP candidate

Acting deputy minister: Only 17 of 711 Iran-Armenia power transmission line towers were installed by 2017

Armenia Parliament Council holding session

Armenia to host CSTO "Thunder-2021" military exercises

NYT: Chinese hackers launch cyberattack on New York city transportation authority

Armenia President to Kazakhstan counterpart: I would like to see much deeper cooperation between our countries

Armenia citizens shut down Etchmiadzin-Ashtarak road, complaining about lack of irrigation water

Armenia independent MP: Foreign minister and his deputies don't want to take part in treacherous acts

Armenia to get $11mn loan, 350,000 grant for agriculture

WHO worries about worsening mental health worldwide amid pandemic

Armenia health ministry on improper handling of Artsakh war victims bodies: There is no justification

Armenia bloc election foundation already in operation

Russia ambassador to Armenia paying working visit to Syunik Province (PHOTOS)

China pledges to step up resistance to foreign interference in Hong Kong

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: There can be no talk of corridor for Azerbaijan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on incumbent authorities: Wherever they flee, we will bring them by the feet

President: Impossible to ensure peace in region or stay in Artsakh without Russia army joint efforts

China Daily: Dispatch from Makit: Thriving in the desert

Karabakh President: We will never put up with being part of Azerbaijan, it is ruled out

Armenia MFA information department chief: All deputy FMs carrying out their duties

Ardshinbank invited children to the cinema on International Childrens Day

Armenia judiciary to have 10 more judges

Armenia acting premier: We had recorded 40% increase in tax revenues according to 2019 results

Armenia acting PM on Artsakh war casualties bodies: We have 50 remains in which case DNA was not separated

Azerbaijan authorities plan to "squeeze" everything from "terrorist show" related to Armenian captives

Ameriabank announces a contest for bank card design

108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia parliament convenes special session

Armenia interim government holding Cabinet meeting

Catholicos of All Armenians heads for Syunik Province, Artsakh

World oil prices going up

Iran loses right to vote in UN General Assembly

Newspaper: Armenia authorities come up with new way of punishing unwanted characters

Newspaper: Russia army Southern Military District deputy commander to arrive in Yerevan Thursday

Lebanese Armenian man taken prisoner by Azerbaijan is hospitalized

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Are we getting under the burden? Then lets get under to the end

Armenia acting health minister on keeping fallen soldiers bodies in bags: What else should they be kept in?

Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation

Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow

2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik

Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center

"Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans

Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel

Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna

Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations

US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies

Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week

Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection

Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential

Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement

Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues

Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo

Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation

NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident

Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices

Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over

Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest

Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia

Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia

Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels

Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters

Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021

Dollar is stable in Armenia

Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector

Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out

Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe

Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia

Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border

Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor

Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue

Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia

Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this

Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia
PITTSFIELD  Pittsfield school and health officials are responding to a positive COVID-19 case involving a Pittsfield High School student.

The case is one of 15 current in the district involving students. Two staff members are infected, according to a district summary.

Eric Lamoureaux, the districts health and safety coordinator, said the Board of Health alerted officials about the case at PHS on Wednesday afternoon. Anyone who had contact with the student, who was last in a classroom Friday, will be notified by health officials or the district, said Lamoureaux.

The student was using one of the schools self-contained classrooms, Lamoureaux said. People who came into contact with the student will be advised to quarantine and undergo testing.

One student is listed as a current case at each of the following schools: Allendale Elementary, Capeless Elementary, Egremont Elementary, Williams Elementary, Herberg Middle, Reid Middle and PHS. Three students are active cases at Morningside Community School and five students are active cases at Taconic High School.

The district reports two staff cases, one at Reid and one at PHS.
The death of a nurse, hasty European policy decisions and the Georgian churchs indifference all have contributed to a rocky rollout for the vaccination campaign, Eurasianet reports. I call on everyone to take this vaccine, 27-year-old nurse Megi Bakradze told the camera. They were almost her last words. Bakradze was filmed getting her AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at the clinic where she works, Imedi (Hope), in the provincial town of Akhaltsikhe. She told the local TV reporter that lots of medications have side effects but that it wasnt a reason to fear vaccination. Half an hour later, Bakradze fainted and went into coma.

She was rushed to the capital Tbilisi, where she was pronounced dead the following day, March 19. Health officials said that she had suffered an anaphylactic shock, a severe form of allergy. She is now believed to be the first person in the world to die of a coronavirus vaccine-triggered allergic reaction. Her death, just four days into Georgias long-delayed vaccination campaign, further frightened an already skittish public. Healthcare workers, the first category of people eligible for the shots, have reportedly stopped showing up for the jabs. One clinic in the western city of Ozurgeti reported that of 13 people scheduled for vaccination on March 19, only six showed up.

Our immunization campaign got off on the wrong foot, said Deputy Health Minister Tamar Gabunia. A lot of effort will be required to restore the trust. Trust had already been low even before the tragedy, with Georgians broadly hesitant of getting the vaccine. One recent survey showed that over a half of Georgians were reluctant to get the jab; it was conducted prior to the nurses death. Even healthcare workers, the first segment of the population eligible to get vaccinated in Georgia, have been wary. Ahead of the rollout, state health officials complained about the low rate of applications and went so far as to ask the influential Georgian Orthodox Church for help. We are asking you to stand by the doctors in this period and to cooperate because people have a lot of trust in you, often they trust you more than the doctors, Amiran Gamkrelidze, head of the National Center of Disease Control (NCDC), said on March 16, in an appeal to clerics. But the church, the single most trusted institution in the nation, chose to stay out of it. The Church cannot take responsibility for promoting the vaccine as this is the responsibility and the purview of healthcare professionals, a church spokesperson, Andria Jaghmaidze, said.

Then, just as Georgia was beginning its rollout, using AstraZeneca, a number of European countries including France, Germany and Spain, briefly suspended use of the vaccine over concerns of potential links to blood clots. The European Unions drug regulator has since cleared the vaccine for use and European countries have resumed using it.

Before Bakradzes death, only 3,642 doses of the vaccine were administered, out of the small and hard-fought-for first batch of 43,000 that Georgia received from AstraZeneca. Since then the pace has only slowed, as just a few hundred healthcare workers have showed up for the shots nationwide since March 19 and scores of appointment cancellations have been reported. As of March 23, officials have reported that 4,414 healthcare workers have gotten vaccinated.

Amid the low turnout of medical professionals, the authorities have opened up eligibility for the shots to anyone 65 and older. But the slowdown has damaged the chances for Georgia to reach its stated goal of immunizing 60 percent of the adult population by the end of the year.

Much of the public appears preoccupied with the quality of AstraZeneca vaccines or at least the batch given to Georgia, while many commentators say that attention should instead be focused on local clinics capacity to handle anaphylactic shock  a condition that any medication can trigger.

In any case, media coverage of Bakradzes death continues to fan fears.

Georgian viewers have followed the televised drama of Bakradzes distraught husband assaulting his late wifes colleagues and her family as they tried to break into her clinic, which was guarded by police. The family has accused the hospital of failing to render appropriate treatment for the emergency.

The clinics doctors, meanwhile, insist they immediately provided the prescribed treatment, which as a rule includes an adrenaline shot and a dose of antihistamines and corticosteroids. Health authorities have backed the doctors claim but have nevertheless since moved to limit vaccinations to hospitals with strong emergency treatment capacities.

Health officials have rushed to assure the public that the benefits of the vaccines far outweigh the risks. I have a 300,000-time smaller chance of dying from the vaccine than from coronavirus, a former chair of the Georgian parliaments health committee, Akaki Zoidze, told the television channel Mtavari Arkhi.

The United Kingdom has reported 105 cases of anaphylaxis after administering 6.9 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, and a slightly higher number associated with the U.S.-German alternative created by Pfizer and BioNTech, the Financial Times reported. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 21 cases of anaphylaxis out of nearly 1.9 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines and 10 cases out of some 4 million doses of the Moderna vaccine.

Many Georgians  about 35 percent, according to the poll  remain adamantly in favor of vaccination. Some took to Facebook to call on the authorities to let them sign up for shots if other Georgians remain skeptical.

Gabunia, the deputy health minister, said the age limit could be lowered to 55 if not enough over-65s turn up. She also announced that the Pfizer vaccine should become available in Georgia by the end of the week, which could help dilute immunization fears that are at least partly AstraZeneca-specific.

In the meantime, there are signs Georgia is heading into a new wave of the pandemic. There has been an uptick in COVID-19 transmission (528 new cases on March 23) as the nation recently began to emerge from months of strict lockdown. The highly contagious UK variant, now dominant across much of Europe, also has made its way to Georgia, with 50 confirmed cases.

Against this backdrop, health officials are imploring the public to continue with immunization. Gamkrelidze, the head of the NCDC, called on the media to help convince Georgian audiences of the importance of the shots and emphasized that Bakradze believed in vaccination and wanted others to follow her example.

Megi, our young colleague, will forever be remembered in the history of Georgian medicine, Gamkrelidze said in his elegy for the nurse. She believed that immunization is what is going to end the terrible pandemic, which in one year took about 3,600 lives in Georgia and 2.6 million lives around the world.
New Delhi: A few hours from now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Bangladesh. The visit is quite significant for multiple reasons. It is the first time since the coronavirus pandemic, the Prime Minister is going on a foreign visit.

PM Modi's visit is not just important for the bilateral ties between the two nations but also bears a crucial impact on the upcoming polls in West Bengal.

Zee News Editor-in-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary on Thursday (March 25) explained the significance prime minister's historic visit to Bangladesh.

PM Modi's visit comes as Bangladesh celebrates its 50th independence day this year. 50 years ago, on 26 March 1971, East Pakistan became Bangladesh. India played a very important role in this as it fought a war against Pakistan to secure Bangladesh's freedom. India won the war in just 13 days, making it one of the shortest wars in history.

On the 50th anniversary of its independence, PM Modi will meet his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina and hold discussions on key issues which would help boost the ties between the two nations.

Prime Minister's visit is crucial for three main reasons:

Firstly, Modi is going to Bangladesh at a time when there are assembly elections in West Bengal. Notably, he will visit the Orkandi temple of Harichandra Thakur, the founder of Matua Mahasangh. The Matua community has a strong presence in West Bengal, with an estimated population of two crores in the state. In such a situation, this visit can have an impact on the elections.

Secondly, China's influence in Bangladesh has increased a lot in the recent past and it is investing in many big projects in the country. Thus PM Modi's visit is important in diplomatic terms. It could help kick China out of the relationship between India and Bangladesh.

Thirdly, Bangladesh will celebrate its 50th independence day on March 26. And given India's role in achieving that freedom, PM Modi's visit holds special significance.

Impact of PM Modi's visit on West Bengal Elections:

PM Modi's visit is being linked to the upcoming assembly elections in Bengal. There are three points to note in this regard:

1. Prime Minister will visit the Orkandi temple of Matua Mahasangh founder Harichandra Thakur. The Matua community has a very strong connection with West Bengal. In fact, the community holds influence in about 30 Vidhan Sabha seats. These seats fall in the North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Nadia, Jalpaiguri, Siliguri, Cooch Behar and Bardhaman districts of Bengal. Notably, many people of this community do not have citizenship of India. In such a situation, citizenship amendment law can become important for them. BJP is banking on this.

2. Prime Minister will also visit Sugandha Shaktipeeth in Bangladesh. It is considered to be one of the 51 Shaktipeeth and is associated with the faith of Hindus. Many people from Bengal visit the Shaktipeeth every year. In such a situation, the visit can likely sway the voters.

3. Prime Minister will also visit Rabindra Kuthi Bari. It was actually the house of Dwarkanath Tagore, Rabindra Nath Tagore's grandfather. The attachment Bengalis have with Tagore is well-known. He was the first person in Asia to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. He also wrote the national anthem of both India and Bangladesh. Hence, PM Modi's visit could be fruitful for his party in the elections.

Live TV
A former principal dancer with the company, McKenzie is a direct link to the founders of Ballet Theater, which was formed in 1939 by Richard Pleasant, and partially financed by a dancer, Lucia Chase. She became the co-director, with Oliver Smith, a stage designer, in 1945, and hired McKenzie in 1979, shortly before Mikhail Baryshnikov took over as artistic director in 1980.

McKenzie remained a prominent presence at Ballet Theater until 1991 (the critic Arlene Croce once called him the Jeremy Irons of ballet), when he became artistic associate of the Washington Ballet. It was a short apprenticeship; in 1992, he was offered the job of artistic director by a beleaguered Ballet Theater, deeply in debt and without a director. (Jane Hermann, who ran the company after Baryshnikovs abrupt departure in 1989, had resigned five months earlier.)

To say things were chaotic was an understatement, McKenzie said of those first years. I initially succeeded because everybody needed me to, and our only resource was sheer determination. I dont think the current moment is a point of crisis like it was then. Its counterintuitive, but the company is in a healthy state.

McKenzie will leave a different company than the one he inherited. In recent years, he has moved away from Ballet Theaters historic reliance on international ballet stars. While stars generated obvious excitement, he said, they were not primarily focused on the success of the company.

Asked whether this was a good moment for the company to make a leadership change, Barnett said it was a natural time in many ways because the pace of change has been so accelerated. She added, if Kevin has decided that he has overseen this catalytic year, and that this next era requires new skills and interests and ideas, I trust his instincts on that.

Barnett said the company, which holds an endowment valued at $26.8 million, had managed to balance its operating budget ($45 million in 2019 and under $30 million last year) over the last five years. She added that government support as well as individual and corporate donors had enabled Ballet Theater to continue to provide benefits and health care for the dancers and musicians during the shutdown, as well as a portion of their salaries. For 2021, she said, the company was planning a number of different budgetary scenarios, given the uncertainties around a return to live performance.
The federal government has fixed a meeting with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Thursday to consider the progress made in the implementation of agreements reached to suspend the nine-month strike.

A statement signed by the Deputy Director Press in the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Mr Charles Akpan, said the Minister, Senator Chris Ngige, will be meeting with the ASUU leadership.

In the agreement reached with ASUU, government had accepted among others, the union's demand to pay lecturers' salaries withheld during their nine-month strike.

It also approved the release of N40 billion as earned allowances to university workers, and N30 billion as revitalisation fund to fix dilapidated infrastructure in the institutions.

Other agreements for which timelines for their implementation were contained in agreement signed between the federal government side and ASUU include: setting up of new visitation panels for universities and taking measures to check proliferation of state universities and poor funding by state governments.

THISDAY had reported that the government side, comprising officials from the Federal Ministries of Finance, Education, Labour and Employment, Accountant General of the Federation and National Universities Commission (NUC) held a meeting last week Thursday to review the implementation timelines.

A source at the meeting said it considered all the issues contained in the agreement with the unions and the level of implementation of the agreements reached with ASUU on one hand and non-teaching staff on the other.

According to the source, the reconvened talks with ASUU will be used to provide the union details of the progress made so far in the implementation of the agreement.

On the issue of the payment of withheld salaries of university lecturers, the source said that most of them have been paid except a few that were omitted.
A percentage of revenue that is raised will get invested into the communities where the people who suffered mass incarceration come from and still live in many cases, said Assemblywoman Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes, a Democrat who has spearheaded the legalization effort in the lower chamber for years. For me this is a lot more than about raising revenue: Its about investing in the lives of the people that have been damaged.
TRADITIONAL musician Niamh Parsons remembers a worrying trip to Belfast just after news of the viruss arrival was spreading last March.

She was appearing in a show about Irish wakes.

We went up to Belfast as it hadnt locked down and the Henry Girls were there, and God we were so nervous about doing that, she said.

There was a sound engineer there from West Belfast and his mother was a big fan of mine when I was starting my career. Nobody had masks. The first thing he did was give me the biggest hug, and I was petrified.

Read More

She lost a month of work, and then a tour of England was cancelled, followed by a tour of Holland.

Other tours that were beginning to be formed were abandoned, she said. I remember thinking Im not going to be back on stage for a year, and now I know its going to be a second year.

She also had a part-time job and went on the pandemic unemployment payment as soon as the first lockdown happened. She was not considered self-employed because of the part-time job, and her 350 rate has since been reduced to 203 a week.

I was very grateful for the 350 a week rate, which lasted for a short while, Parsons said. I had lost all my touring money. Being a musician you earn a certain amount of money one month and that might do you for another two months.

As a member of the Musicians Union of Ireland, affiliated to Siptu, Parsons has heard many members worrying about rent. Some have taken up jobs in other industries and may never return to the business.

I am suffering not just from not earning, but not being able to bounce ideas off other people, she said. She remembers a recent Zoom concert where she was telling stories and realised how much she needed an audience.

She describes her financial situation as tight although she is not spending as much on petrol or flying anywhere. What I dont spend on flights Im spending on wine, she laughed.

Im also by nature quite an optimistic person and have tried not to let it get me down. We have mental health issues in our family, so Im very aware of minding myself.

She believes it is very difficult to tick all the boxes to qualify for government grants. The money from the government is not really reaching the ground floor, she said. The same people are getting the funding because they know how to do it, or have agents who know how to do it.

Parsons feels the governments attitude is that musicians should go and get a day job.

We are the people that make Ireland so special, she said. We are why people come to Ireland, but we are not nearly as popular in Ireland as in the rest of the world.
You have permission to edit this article.

Edit Close
A local Minnesota theater has cancelled a production of Roger & Hammerstein's Cinderella because its cast was 'too white'.

Chanhassen Dinner Theatres was scheduled to stage the show later this year before its artistic director stepped in to slam its lack of diversity.

'It was 98 percent white, ' the artistic director, Michael Brindisi, told the Pioneer Press on Wednesday after looking at who had been cast.

However, Chanhassen - located southwest of Minneapolis - has a population that is overwhelming white, and the racial demographics of the cast were not strikingly different from the city as a whole.

According to the most recent census, 92.5 percent of people in Chanhassen are white. Less than 3 percent of residents are Hispanic, while 1.1 percent are black.

No photos of the Cinderella cast were officially released before the show was scrapped.

Chanhassen Dinner Theatres has cancelled a production of Roger & Hammerstein's Cinderella because its cast was 'too white'

Dinner and a show! Chanhassen - located southwest of Minneapolis - has a population that is overwhelming white, and the racial demographics of the cast were not strikingly different from the city as a whole

Cinderella has been performed around the world for decades, and usually features a majority white cast. Pictured: a performance of Cinderella on Broadway in New York City in 2013

In a statement released on Monday, the theater stated: 'After careful consideration and with our ongoing commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, we have made the decision to cancel our upcoming production.

'In addition to changing future programming, we are establishing new pre-production protocols. We will be inviting (and paying) BIPOC artists to analyze the production with our creative teams through a new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion lens... This conversation will happen before the design and casting process has begun.'

Chanhassen Dinner Theatres have hired a diversity consultant and pledged a commitment to 'identity-conscious casting and becoming a more intentionally anti-racist theater'.

Meanwhile, the organization is current[ly putting together a production of The Music Man and has a 'strong priority placed on casting BIPOC artists'.

Many of the productions put on by Chanhassen Dinner Theatre in recent years have featured a majority-white cast (pictured). They have now instituted new diversity protocols

The cast of Chanhassen Dinner Theatre's Mamma Mia are pictured

Meanwhile, Brindisi told the Pioneer Press that the theater considered recasting the Cinderella.

However, they decided to scrap the show and start from scratch with a separate production.

While some cast members were upset by the news, Brinidisi says that most 'respected the very hard decision we had to make.'

Chanhassen Dinner Theatres will replace Cinderella with a more diverse adaptation of Footloose, now scheduled for 2022.
For many, Easter and Passover are times of hope  a message thats more relevant now as the COVID-19 vaccine rolls out.

Last year, the onset of the pandemic forced churches and synagogues to close their physical doors and move online just before the holidays. But while this year still isnt completely back to normal, its certainly closer to it as people can once again gather together in person to celebrate.

We have a sense now of emerging from darkness into new light  and thats Easter, said the Rev. Alida Ward of Greenfield Hill Congregational Church in Fairfield.

It resonates with Passover too, which celebrates freedom and redemption.

From the prospective of living through the pandemic, we have been through a traumatic year and are beginning to see what it looks like on the other side, said Rabbi Jeremy Wiederhorn of TCS of Westport. We are not quite there yet, but we believe the sea will split and we will be able to cross through it together.

Passover begins at sunset on Saturday and Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday this Sunday, culminating with Easter the following Sunday.

Synagogues and churches throughout Fairfield and Westport are marking the religious days in a variety of ways.

The state lifted the capacity restriction on places of worship on March 19, but social distancing and masks are still required. Some religious leaders are still hesitant about moving indoors, preferring instead to hold services online or outside.

Its a Hybrid Holy Week for us, and were looking forward to it, Ward said.

The congregation will be able to gather for outdoor service under a tent on the Greenfield Hill green, worship in the sanctuary and online. The breakdown of events is listed on their website.

We are very excited for Holy Week this year, remembering that at this time last year, we were unable to be together in this most sacred week, Ward said. So, its a joy to be able to plan in-person worship this year. At the same time, we recognize and honor the fact that many in our congregation prefer not to be together in person just yet.

This Easter, all of the churches in the Diocese of Bridgeport will be open for in-person Masses, including those in Easton, Fairfield, Weston and Westport. People are required to register in advance in order to help with planning and ensure appropriate social distancing, said Brian Wallace, spokesman for the diocese.

Over the last couple of months, weve seen a gradual but steady increase in the number of those who are attending Mass in-person, he said, adding removing the capacity restriction is a welcome step. In a practical sense, the new rule probably wont have much impact on the smaller parish churches. In order to observe the six feet social distancing, they can only accommodate about 25 percent of normal capacity.

The larger churches, such as St. Theresa in Trumbull where the capacity is nearly 1,200 people, will be able to welcome more people.

Wallace said this year is a stark contrast to last year when Holy Week fell during the state lockdown and Bishop Frank Caggiano celebrated the liturgies in a nearly empty cathedral.

It was an historic and somber moment relieved only by the fact that thousands were able to watch the Masses through live-streaming on the diocesan website, he said.

Most parishes and the main cathedral will still broadcast their services so people can watch at home, he said.

This Easter feels much more hopeful, Wallace said. With the vaccine roll-out and other development, there is a cautious optimism in the diocese.

Others echoed the new feeling of hope.

This year feels calmer, more optimistic and more celebratory than last year, said Samantha Stinson, director of education, ritual and music at Beth El Fairfield. We had time to plan many activities for our congregants and are more confident in our use of technology.

Beth El Fairfield will host a virtual second night Seder with Congregation B'nai Torah of Trumbull and lead the usual Pesach services, just not in person.

They also had several events leading up to the holiday, including a wine tasting of Kosher Israeli wines, a virtual fun house for religious school students and a virtual escape room created by Bagels and Locks games titled Holiday Quest: The Missing Matzah!

Wiederhorn said the vaccine will allow more families to gather on their own for Passover, but most synagogue-based celebrations will still remain virtual. He said TCS is planning to hold Sabbath and Passover services outside if the weather is nice and theyre discussing returning to in-person services indoor, most likely after Passover.

Last year, we were still in the beginning stages of the pandemic, he said. There was so much uncertainty, anxiety and fear. This made celebrating Passover particularly difficult. Today, there is a feeling of optimism and hope for the future so I think we are psychologically, emotionally and spiritually approaching Passover in a much better place this year.

Stinson said Passover always feels relevant because the themes of breaking bonds of oppression, finding freedom and wishing to be in a better place next year are always present in society.

But while last year held so much uncertainty and yearning, she said this year feels more hopeful.

We are still chained by the limitations of the virus and its effects, but we can see the light at the end  or the promised land through the sea, Stinson said. At the end of our Seder, it's customary to say next year in Jerusalem, but this year we'll settle for next year in person.

kkoerting@newstimes.com
Most of England recorded at least one day with no coronavirus deaths over the past week  the first time this has happened in six months.

Five out of nine regions were free of fatalities for a minimum 24 hours while London averaged 1.5 deaths daily over the week.

Official figures show there were no virus deaths in the South East, West Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber or the East of England on Wednesday.

The South West has reported no daily deaths three times in the past week.

Deaths across the country fell to a five-month low this week, with a daily average below 80  compared to more than 1,000 for most of January.

Public Health England said cases have 'plateaued'  down in every age group apart from schoolchildren, who saw a modest increase.

Infections are now highest among children aged ten to 19, with around one in 1,000 testing positive for the virus, many without symptoms.

The infection rate rose from 39.9 to 63.5 per 100,000 among five to nine-year-olds, but all other age groups showed a week-on-week drop.

Following the vaccine rollout, infections are lowest in people aged 70 to 79, with 13.3 per 100,000.

 Slide me  Some 56 of 149 council areas saw an uptick in cases over the week to March 21, according to the latest surveillance report from Public Health England

Boris Johnson requires every school child in England to test themselves for Covid twice a week, to ensure any outbreaks can be nipped in the bud. This has led to a doubling in the number of swabs carried out each day

It came as a further 63 deaths within 28 days of a positive Covid test were reported across the UK yesterday.

NHS England chief Sir Simon Stevens said the trend of much lower figures for Covid cases meant the Health Service's coronavirus alert level should be downgraded from four to three to reflect 'reduced acute pressures'.

He told an NHS England board meeting: 'We had over 34,000 severely ill coronavirus patients in our hospitals in mid-January.

'That number is now 4,000. Although that is still about 400 more Covid patients than we had this same day a year ago...that very sharp decrease in the number of patients with Covid in hospital is a consequence of both declining infection rates across the community and the impact that's now being felt from the vaccination programme.'

The positive snapshot will add to pressure for a swift end to lockdown, with the next phase of the Prime Minister's roadmap coming into effect on Monday.

Figures show Yorkshire and the Humber recorded no daily deaths on Wednesday  the first time since September 8, over 28 weeks ago.

On the same day, the South East, which was once ravaged by the deadly Kent variant, recorded zero deaths for the first time since September 22.

They were joined by the West Midlands and the East of England with no fatalities.

There were three days in the last week in which the South West recorded no deaths, with 11 registered in total.

But when the figures were broken down by age they showed cases were only ticking up among those aged five to 19, but were still falling across all other age groups. They fell fastest in the over-70s who are least at risk from the virus

The positivity rate from cases has stabalised in all regions of England, but experts say this is because of additional testing

Meanwhile, London  the epicentre of the second wave of Covid  had just one death on both Tuesday and Wednesday, with 11 across the whole week.

While cases of coronavirus increased by around 800 yesterday to 6,397, experts believe much of this is due to the millions of lateral flow tests being taken by schoolchildren.

Over the past seven days there were a total of 38,424 cases  down by 781 on the previous week.

Coronavirus cases are dropping in all age groups other than children and teenagers in the United Kingdom since schools reopened in England on March 8, dismissing fears cases would balloon in the wider population once children returned to classrooms

Covid cases fell by six per cent to 37,000 as infections dropped for the tenth week in a row, NHS Test and Trace data has shown

In another positive sign, symptomatic cases recorded by the 'gold standard' PCR tests have fallen by 12 per cent week-on-week up to March 21.

Dr Yvonne Doyle, of Public Health England said swathes of the country are seeing cases level off but warned 'we must not drop our guard now'.

She said: 'Case rates have plateaued in most parts of the country and in younger age groups infections have begun to rise once again. We must not drop our guard now after so much effort by so many.

'We need only look to Europe to see how easy it is for things to take a turn for the worse.'

She told Britons: 'We are all looking forward to being able to see loved ones. However, please remember that this virus spreads through contact.'
New Delhi, March 25 : Mounting pressure on security forces in Jammu and Kashmir through "deliberate" civilian killings is learnt to be a fresh trap of Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) which is continuously involved in pushing terrorists through PoK-based launch pads along the Line of Control (LoC).

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has learnt from intelligence inputs that the motive behind the civilian killings in Jammu and Kashmir is only to build pressure on security forces which has now been gaining sympathy of locals in the Valley after abrogation of Article 370 -- which gave special status to the erstwhile state.

Seeking to counter the stratagem, security forces in the Union Territory are being regularly briefed by their commanding officers to not get in trap, and only follow the "zero tolerance" motto against terrorist activities.

A source, privy to the inputs received from intelligence wing, told IANS that the ISI has given clear direction to all its fresh batches of militants pushed in the Valley in the last one year to target civilians so that security forces could be put under pressure.

The ISI's direction followed proper management of law and order in Jammu and Kashmir in which "there has been no incident of civilian deaths after abrogation of Article 370".

"However, due to terrorist violence supported from across the border, terrorists deliberately target civilians to put pressure on security forces.

"Despite the attempts of terrorists, the number of civilian deaths in terrorist violence and cross firing has decreased post-abrogation of Article 370," the source said.

A written document submitted in the Rajya Sabha by Minister of State for Home G. Kishan Reddy also authenticated the fact that "terrorists deliberately target civilians to put pressure on security forces" in Jammu and Kashmir.

As per Home Ministry data collated between January 1, 2019 to February 28 this year, 78 civilian deaths were reported in Jammu and Kashmir during terrorist violence. Of them, 39 deaths were reported in 2019, 37 in 2020 and two this year.

Civilian killings in terrorist attacks have now been the major concern of the Central and the Jammu and Kashmir governments and it is learnt that a detailed plan has been prepared by the security forces to curb the menace and give befitting reply to the malicious motives of the ISI-led terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.

During 2019 to February 28 this year, 40 civilians lost their lives in cross firing between armed forces and terrorists.

The next of kin of the civilians killed in the militancy related incidents are paid ex-gratia of Rs 1 lakh. Further, they have an option either to be appointed to government service or take a further Rs 4 lakh cash compensation.

In respect of the persons who sustain injuries in such incidents, ex-gratia is provided at the rate of Rs 0.75 lakh (Rs 75,000) for permanent disability, Rs 0.05 lakh (Rs 5,000) for serious injury (hospitalisation more than 24 hours), Rs 0.01 lakh (rs 1,000) for injury (hospitalisation less than 24 hours), and Rs 500 for minor injuries.

In addition, under the MHA scheme, financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh is given to the family members in the event of death or permanent incapacitation of the victim as a result of terrorist, communal or Left-Wing Extremist (LWE) violence, cross border firing and mine or IED blasts on Indian territory.

(Rajnish Singh can be contacted at rajnish.s@ians.in)
The University of Aberdeen in Scotland is to return a Benin bronze sculpture to Nigeria, saying it was acquired by British soldiers in 1897 in "reprehensible circumstances

London, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Mar, 2021 ) :The University of Aberdeen in Scotland is to return a Benin bronze sculpture to Nigeria, saying it was acquired by British soldiers in 1897 in "reprehensible circumstances".

It is the first institution to agree to the full repatriation from a museum of a Benin bronze, raising pressure on other establishments, including the British Museum, to follow suit.

The university acquired the bronze sculpture depicting an "Oba" (king) of Benin at auction in 1957, and it is considered a classic example of Benin Late Period Art.

It was originally taken in 1897, when a British military expedition attacked and destroyed Benin City, looting thousands of metal and ivory sculptures and carvings, known as the Benin bronzes, from the royal palace.

Benin City, in present-day southern Nigeria, was the seat of a powerful West African kingdom at the time.

The university called it "one of the most notorious examples of the pillaging of cultural treasures associated with 19th century European colonial expansion".

"It would not have been right to have retained an item of such great cultural importance that was acquired in such reprehensible circumstances," said university vice-chancellor George Boyne.

Neil Curtis, head of museums and special collections, said a review of its collections identified the work "as having been acquired in a way that we now consider to have been extremely immoral.

"So we took a proactive approach to identify the appropriate people to discuss what to do," he added.

A panel of academic specialists and curators unanimously recommended its return to Nigeria and the university's governing body supported the unconditional return.

Nigeria's minister of information and culture Lai Mohammed called the move a "step in the right direction" and urged other holders of Nigerian antiquity "to emulate this".

Some museums support the creation of the Edo Museum of West African Art in Benin City to house the looted artefacts.

These include the British Museum, which cannot legally give up possession of its artefacts and is reportedly considering lending its bronzes.

A Cambridge University college said in 2019 it would return a Benin bronze of a cockerel that was taken down from display at the famous education establishment after a student protest.
[March 25, 2021] McKesson Approved as QCDR for 2021 MIPS Program Year

For the fifth consecutive year, McKesson has received approval from The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to participate in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) as a Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR). As a CMS-approved QCDR, Practice Insights, a practice performance analytics tool powered by McKesson's new oncology technology and insights business Ontada, can collect and report clinical data on behalf of clinicians for both MIPS and custom QCDR quality measures to drive improvements in quality and cost of care. The designation enables iKnowMed? electronic health record (EHR) users to efficiently submit data directly to CMS without engaging a separate registry vendor, streamlining data submission and minimizing the need for additional administrative resources. In addition, CMS approved all eight of the custom QCDR measures developed by The US Oncology Network and submitted as part of McKesson's 2021 application, confirming the importance of these measures to the quality and integrity of oncology care. "As a QCDR, we are pleased to be recognized as a CMS-approved organization that collects, reports and analyzes medical data with the ultimate aim to improve the quality of patient care," said Marcus Neubauer, MD, chief medical officer of The US Oncology Network, a network supported by McKesson of more than 1,380 independent, community-based physicians. "The approval of eight quality measures that we submitted is a success as much for our organization as for the entire field of oncology and for value-based care, as these measures help raise the bar on patient care while also addressing cost." The eight oncology-specific custom QCDR measures submitted by McKesson and approved by CMS include: Advance care planning in patients with metastatic cancer

Patient-reported pain improvement

Mutation testing for lung cancer completed prior to start of targeted therapy

Supportive care drug utilization in last 14 days of life

Hepatitis B serology testing and prophylactic treatment prior to receiving anti-CD20 targeting drugs

Utilization of PET, PET/CT or CT scans for breast cancer stage 0, I or II at any time during the course of evaluation and treatment

Utilization of GCSF in metastatic colorectal cancer

Combination cheotherapy recommended or received within 4 months of diagnosis by women under 70 with AJCC stage T1cN0M0 to Stage 1B-III ER/PR negative breast cancer



Lalan Wilfong, MD, vice president of Value-Based Care and Quality Programs for Texas Oncology, a practice in The US Oncology Network. "Our ultimate goal is to utilize quality measures to improve the care we provide. It's also important to limit the number of measures in the MIPS program to ease the reporting burden on clinicians and reduce the overall cost of care. For these reasons, we took great care in developing the custom measures, submitting a wealth of supporting data and research to support our case. The approval of each measure from CMS is a validation of the hard work, clinical acumen and patient-first mindset of our team, and we are honored to be part of this important work moving cancer care forward." Along with The US Oncology Network, McKesson also supports oncology practices through its Onmark group purchasing organization (GPO), and the QCDR measure approvals reflect the organization's insight into the entire landscape of oncology care.

"I am extremely proud of the work we do to shepherd both The Network and Onmark practices along the value-based care continuum," said Erin Crum, director, Quality Measurement Strategy, McKesson. "Thanks to the collaborative efforts of diverse teams across McKesson, we are able to deliver reporting that is critical to oncology practices' value-based care success." ### About McKesson Corporation McKesson Corporation is a global leader in healthcare supply chain management solutions, retail pharmacy, community oncology and specialty care, and healthcare information solutions. McKesson partners with pharmaceutical manufacturers, providers, pharmacies, governments and other organizations in healthcare to help provide the right medicines, medical products and healthcare services to the right patients at the right time, safely and cost-effectively. United by our ICARE shared principles, our employees work every day to innovate and deliver opportunities that make our customers and partners more successful - all for the better health of patients. McKesson has been named the "Most Admired Company" in the healthcare wholesaler category by FORTUNE, a "Best Place to Work" by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, and a top military-friendly company by Military Friendly. For more information, visit www.mckesson.com. About The US Oncology Network Every day, The US Oncology Network (The Network) helps more than 1,380 independent physicians deliver value-based, integrated care to patients - close to home. Through The Network, these independent doctors come together to form a community of shared expertise and resources dedicated to advancing local cancer care and to delivering better patient outcomes. The Network provides practices with access to coordinated resources, best business practices, and the experience, infrastructure and support of McKesson Corporation. This collaboration allows the providers in The Network to focus on the health of their patients, while McKesson focuses on the health of their practices. The Network is committed to the success of independent practices, everywhere. About Ontada Ontada is an oncology technology and insights business dedicated to transforming the fight against cancer. Part of McKesson Corporation, Ontada was founded on the core belief that precise insights - delivered exactly at the point of need - can save more patients' lives. We connect the full patient journey by combining technologies used by The US Oncology Network and other community oncology providers with real-world data and research relied on by all top 15 global life sciences companies. Our work helps accelerate innovation and power the future of cancer care. For more information, visit ontada.com or follow @OntadaOncology. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005062/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
At the bottom of India, in the shallows off the seaside village of Kanyakumari, a nondescript flag marks the place where three of Earths largest bodies of water meet and blend their habitats  the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal.

On 9 March 2020, at the end of a two-week stint in the country with The Salvation Army, I stood looking out in wonder over this natural confluence but couldnt help feeling that a confluence shaped by human hands was about to unleash its pent-up waters over the nations, like 2020 was the year the world would change forever.

The wreckage

Blended with the impact of an unsettling ideological clash between modernity and postmodernity, and the threat of environmental calamity, covid-19 has proven to be a catalyst for us questioning and pushing back strongly against our pre-covid lives and lifestyles. It has been like the straw that broke the camels back or, as writer Arundhati Roy described covid in The Financial Times, the wreckage of a train thats been careening down the track for years.

As far as humanitys state of mind and spirit are concerned, the wreckage is in our face. It includes dissatisfaction with consumerism and individualism as a way of life, the demise of truth as a foundation for life and the conduct of our relationships, a lack of confidence in those who lead us, an inability to sustain the pace of our 21st century lives, the widespread experience of depression among us, and a felt loss of hope.

I dont mean to sound apocalyptic, but the experience is global, like a worldwide coming of age in which the vast majority of humans on planet Earth right now are nervous about our future and looking and praying for answers.

TheGlobalEcomomy.coms Political Stability Index gets to the heart of the reason for our anxiety. The index, a composite measure based on data supplied by the world bank and other related indexes, shows that in the past 25 years stability in the world has declined by 500 per cent.

Im an optimist by nature, a disposition I value that has stood the test of time and, on occasions, helped me stare down bucket loads of pessimism. But faced with the current level of instability and restlessness in the world, Ive noticed even optimists have put their optimism aside for a while to seriously question what has gone wrong with humanity and explore what our options might be for a safer, more secure and hopeful future.

It appears we are beginning to own the challenges, a sure sign in itself that we are coming of age.

Relationships key

While we now accept that remedial action to stop environmental decline and other threats to humankind is the responsibility of us all, our coming of age must also include us taking responsibility for improving the quality of our relationships at every level of human interaction  from governments to private citizens.

In other words, we just as urgently need remedial or curative action to reverse relationship decline among us. A good starting point for such action, at least in my view, will be naming the debilitating disconnect between us  an impasse involving a fundamental breakdown of trust and goodwill. From there, positive steps might just be possible.

Theres a verse in Christianitys book of books the Bible that hits a raw nerve here for human beings. Its part of a few stanzas that Christians know as the love chapter, often read at weddings. It goes like this, and I quote, When we were children, we thought and reasoned as children do. But when we grew up we quit our childish ways (First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter 13, verse 11).

A few verses earlier, the author lists some of these childish ways. Among them are jealousy, boastfulness, pridefulness, rudeness, keeping a record of wrongs, being quick-tempered, truth-twisting, and hoping and scheming for ill to fall upon our contemporaries.

These are childish ways that have carried over into our so-called adulthood, the chapter is saying, and only serve to break down our relationships and fracture our community. The author contrasts them against the way of love which he says always supports, always hopes, always trusts; it focuses on unity and works towards the common good as opposed to giving way to suspicion and dysfunction.

This way of love is marked by us being compassionate and empathic towards one another, growing in our ability to walk in each others shoes and respect each others journeys and traditions. Its about not expecting others to be like us but seeing through the eyes of diversity and embracing one another with all our differences.

Such love strives and acts for equity between peoples at all levels of our society  locally, nationally and globally  including equity in the distribution of resources.

Its a big goal, but in the way of love, no one is left out nor left behind. There is give in our relationships. Greed gives way to generosity, exploitation to empowerment, and the words too hard are not part of the reckoning. Even the weakest and poorest among us, whether they be nations, families or individuals, find restoration and new hope for their futures.

Its one thing for humans everywhere to agree that we need to change the way we live. But can we take the next and bigger step in humanitys coming of age, shed our parochial ways, and choose a life centered on loving our neighbour as the foundation of our new normal?

Working together to ensure all peoples can access the covid vaccines will surely be a powerful start. Thankfully, there are signs of hope on the horizon.
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Go to form
HOUSTON, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Next Level Urgent Care, LLC welcomes Jeremy Behling as the new Chief Operating Officer (COO) for its growing organization.

Behling, who has spent the past 10 years providing leadership and strategic support for multi-site healthcare organizations across Florida, including Florida Cancer Specialists, Davita Healthcare Partners and Water's Edge Dermatology, will help the Next Level Urgent Care (NLUC) leadership team maximize its value to partners, providers and patients.

New Next Level Urgent Care Chief Operating Officer (COO)

His extensive experience in financial management, business development and process improvement will ensure continuity of quality, affordable healthcare delivery to the communities Next Level serves.

According to Behling, his focus as COO is to drive Next Level Urgent Care's new PRIME program as well as oversee the strategic growth of the company.

"We want to be part of the solution. The Next Level leadership team is working to quickly identify the needs of the community and address them with the most effective solutions. Remaining eminently flexible is key for continued growth and success," said Behling.

"The entrepreneurial spirit and drive to find creative solutions to problems that our communities face is refreshing and what sets this organization apart. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the Houston community," added Behling.

According to Next Level Urgent Care Founder and CEO Juliet Breeze MD, Behling will play a critical role in the organization's effort to improve the COVID-19 vaccination rate in the greater Houston area, as well as help navigate the internal challenges of rapid growth within a dynamic healthcare environment.

"We are very pleased to have Jeremy join our team. We have a shared vision for better healthcare delivery and commitment to the communities we serve," said Breeze.

"His strategic leadership experience in healthcare will ensure that we not only have a great organization capable of rapid growth to meet changing needs but also a business model that works for insurance providers, employers and patients alike," she added.

Behling obtained a BS in microbiology and biology from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, AL, and an MBA from Warrington College of Business at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL. He and his family recently relocated to Houston.

Among one of his first initiatives, the Next Level PRIME program is a primary care program offered directly to employers, serving as an additional cost-free healthcare benefit to their employees.

Contact Next Level Urgent Care for more information on services and programs, or call 281.783.8162.

Media Contact

Cheryl Bertrand

Director of Business Development & Marketing

Office: 281.201.0657 x 108 | Fax: 281.336.0764

Related Images

jeremy-behling-next-level-urgent.jpg

Jeremy Behling, Next Level Urgent Care COO

New Next Level Urgent Care Chief Operating Officer (COO)

SOURCE Next Level Urgent Care, 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.
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, March 25 : Priyanka Gandhi has slammed the BJP over the heckling incident of two nuns in a train accusing them of religious conversion allegedly by ABVP members.

Priyanka Gandhi tweeted: "Which political party runs the government that enables these goons to harass and demand personal details of young women commuting on a train? BJP." "Which political party do these goons belong to? BJP

"Which party's student wing are some of them members of? BJP

"And now that there is an election in Kerala HM @AmitShah is busy giving hollow statements about protecting nuns from harassment. Really?" she added.

The nuns were heckled allegedly by ABVP members.

According to reports, the incident took place last week when the nuns were travelling on the Haridwar-Puri Utkal Express. On March 19, the ABVP members had accused the nuns and novices of carrying out religious conversions.

The four were allowed to proceed only after an inquiry at the Jhansi railway station established there was no conversion involved.

The ABVP is the student's wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological mentor of the BJP.

A 25-second video from the train compartment shows the women surrounded by some men, some of whom appear to be policemen.

The Kerala unit of the BJP too gave a memorandum on the harassment suffered by the nuns to Shah when he arrived in the state last night for Wednesday's day-long election campaign.

Shah on Wednesday assured that strict action would be taken against all those involved."Those involved in the Jhansi nuns' harassment incident will be brought before the law."

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
This may well be the most interesting story about pillows and bedding you will ever read

The burial field in Valsgarde outside Uppsala in central Sweden contains more than 90 graves from the Iron Age.

"On a light note, we could say that Valsgarde is Scandinavia's answer to Sutton Hoo in England as portrayed in the film The Dig on Netflix," says Birgitta Berglund, professor emeritus of archaeology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology's NTNU University Museum.

Valsgarde is especially known for its spectacular boat graves from the 600s and 700s CE. This timeframe is in the middle of what Norway calls the Merovingian period, the era just before the Viking Age.

Two of these spectacular boat graves are at the centre of this story -- or more specifically, the story is really about the down bedding that was found in the graves.

When researchers from NTNU investigated which birds contributed their feathers to the bedding, they made a surprising discovery that provides new insight into Iron Age society.

The boats carrying the two dead men were about 10 metres long, with room for four to five pairs of oars. Both were outfitted for high-ranking warriors, with richly decorated helmets, shields and weapons. Provisions and tools for hunting and cooking were also included for their last voyage.

In one grave, an Eurasian eagle owl (Bubo bubo) had been laid, with its head cut off. We'll return to that. Horses and other animals were arranged close to the boats.

"The buried warriors appear to have been equipped to row to the underworld, but also to be able to get ashore with the help of the horses," says Berglund.

Beauty sleep was also taken care of in death.Two warriors lay atop several layers of down bedding. The contents of the bedding probably had a greater function than simply serving as filler.

You might have thought of down bedding as a modern concept, which admittedly only became available for common folk in recent times. The down bedding in the graves at Valsgarde is the oldest known from Scandinavia and indicate that the two buried men belonged to the top strata of society.

Wealthy Greeks and Romans used down for their bedding a few hundred years earlier, but down probably wasn't used more widely by wealthy people in Europe until the Middle Ages, Berglund says.

Berglund has been studying down harvesting in Helgeland coastal communities in southern Nordland county for many years, where people commercialized down production early on by building houses for the eider ducks that were the source of the down. The theory was that down from this location might have been exported south, so Berglund wanted to investigate whether the bedding at Valsgarde contained eider down.

"It turned out that a lot of kinds of feathers had been used in the bedding at Valsgarde. Only a few feathers from eider ducks were identified, so we have little reason to believe that they were a commodity from Helgeland or other northern areas," says Berglund.

However, she was not disappointed by this discovery. The great variety of species gave the researchers unique insight into the bird fauna in the immediate area in prehistoric times, along with people's relationship to it.

"The feathers provide a source for gaining new perspectives on the relationship between humans and birds in the past. Archaeological excavations rarely find traces of birds other than those that were used for food," the researcher says.

"We also think the choice of feathers in the bedding may hold a deeper, symbolic meaning. It's exciting."

Berglund explains that according to Nordic folklore, the type of feathers contained in the bedding of the dying person was important.

"For example, people believed that using feathers from domestic chickens, owls and other birds of prey, pigeons, crows and squirrels would prolong the death struggle. In some Scandinavian areas, goose feathers were considered best to enable the soul to be released from the body," she said.

These are well-known folk traditions that have been collected from the 18th century onwards. But they may have their roots in prehistoric times.

In the Icelandic Erik the Red saga, a pillow stuffed with feathers from domestic hens was placed on the throne at Heriolfsnes in Greenland, where a visiting female shaman was to sit. The saga is considered to have been written down in the 13th century, but addresses events around the year 1000, says Berglund.

The examples show that that feathers in the bedding from Valsgarde most likely also had a deeper meaning than just serving as a filler. It's also well known that birds could hold special importance for obtaining information in shamanism -- think of Odin's two ravens Hugin and Munin.

Exactly what ritual function the feathers at Valsgarde had is hard to say. But the bedding contained feathers from geese, ducks, grouse, crows, sparrows, waders and -- perhaps most surprisingly --- eagle owls.

Biologist Jrgen Rosvold, now employed at the Norwegian Institute for Natural History (NINA) identified the species from the feather material.

"It was a time consuming and challenging job for several reasons. The material is decomposed, tangled and dirty. This means that a lot of the special features that you can easily observe in fresh material has become indistinct, and you have to spend a lot more time looking for the distinctive features," Rosvold says.

"I'm still surprised at how well the feathers were preserved, despite the fact that they'd been lying in the ground for over 1000 years."

The feathers in the down bedding weren't the only interesting bird find in the graves. One of the graves also contained a headless owl.

From recent graves we know that people took measures to prevent the buried from returning from the dead, and it's easy to imagine that this was also done longer ago as well.

"We believe the beheading had a ritual significance in connection with the burial," says Berglund.

Swords found in tombs from Viking times were sometimes intentionally bent before being laid in the tomb. This was probably done to prevent the deceased from using the weapon if he returned.

"It's conceivable that the owl's head was cut off to prevent it from coming back. Maybe the owl feather in the bedding also had a similar function? In Salme in Estonia, boat graves from the same period have recently been found that are similar to those in Valsgarde. Two birds of prey with a severed head were found there," says Berglund.

###
CHICO, Calif. - The COVID-19 pandemic has hurt education across the globe, so local districts are looking to expand their summer school programs.

Chico Unified School District is planning on having three summer sessions to help with learning loss.

The first two will include academics, enrichment and recreation.

The early back session will focus on grade-level concepts and skills.

Shannon Logue teaches first grade at Shasta Elementary School.

She is dedicated to seeing her kids grow in the classroom, so when Chico Unified asked her if she wanted to teach this summer, she was all in.

"I think it's going to be great to have the students together, Logue said. And just continuing to keep making progress through everything we lost throughout the school year."

Adding more sessions to the summer is not the only plan Chico Unified has in the works.

They are anticipating a year-and-a-half to two-and-a-half years of additional learning loss activities.

"We have enough money to do it this summer, next summer and to do more extended learning during the school year, said Jay Marchant, assistant superintendent at Chico Unified School District.

Local districts are grateful for the federal pandemic relief funds and Californias Learning Loss Mitigation funds that will make these extra sessions possible.

Joshua Vaneck, a 4th grader at Shasta Elementary, thinks summer school will be a good option for struggling students.

"They will be able to catch up more and get closer to the new grade," Vaneck said.

Ms. Logue looks forward to welcoming students like Joshua back to the classroom this summer.

"I hope parents will sign their kids up and we can just keep growing and continuing to work through the summer, said Logue.

Chico Unified sent out a survey about the elementary summer school programs.

If you have a student in the district, click here to complete the survey by Wednesday, March 31.
Former Mumbai Police Commissioner



Param Bir Singh on Thursday filed a public interest litigation in the seeking an "immediate and unbiased" probe against Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, who he claimed asked police officer Sachin Waze to collect Rs 100 crore from bars and restaurants.

The IPS officer had earlier this week approached the Supreme Court, which on Wednesday termed as quite serious the matter in which he had filed a plea against Deshmukh, but asked him to approach the with his grievances.

Singh said in his plea before the High Court that Deshmukh held meetings at his residence with several Mumbai police officials, including Waze, in February this year.

In these meetings, Deshmukh instructed the officers to collect Rs 100 crore per month from various establishments, the plea reads.

It added that Deshmukh regularly interfered with police functioning and often misused his office. Deshmukh's conduct warranted a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the plea read.

Singh urged the court to direct the CBI to conduct an immediate, unbiased, uninfluenced, impartial, and fair investigation" in the "various corrupt malpractices" of the minister.

(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.)
Mere miles from Brazil's presidential palace, the bodies of COVID-19 victims were laid on floors of hospitals whose morgues were overflowing. Lawmakers fielded calls from panicked constituents across the country, where thousands awaited intensive care beds, and they had no effective health minister to turn to Sunday.

Meanwhile, a smiling President Jair Bolsonaro met hundreds of supporters earlier this week to pass out pieces of green-and-yellow cake in celebration of his 66th birthday. The mood was jubilant even as the country approached a bleak coronavirus milestone.

Brazil was in political disarray as it surpassed 300,000 deaths from the virus Wednesday evening. Foes and allies alike are pleading with the president to change course to stem a recent surge of daily deaths accounting for almost one-third of the total worldwide.

Bolsonaro this month began shifting rhetoric on the value of vaccines but continues to refuse restrictions on activity he paints as infringement on personal freedom and still promotes unproven COVID-19 cures.

'Should I change my narrative? Should I become more malleable? Should I give in? Do what the vast majority is doing?' Bolsonaro said Monday during a ceremony at the presidential palace. 'If I am convinced to do otherwise, I will. But I havent been convinced yet. We must fight against the virus, not against the president.'

Brazil was in political disarray as it surpassed 300,000 deaths from the virus Wednesday evening. President Jair Bolsonaro this month began shifting rhetoric on the value of vaccines but continues to refuse restrictions on activity

A demonstrator carries a Brazilian flag and a flag with an image of Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro during a caravan celebrating Bolsonaro's 66th birthday on Sunday

Mere miles from Brazil's presidential palace, the bodies of COVID-19 victims were laid on floors of hospitals whose morgues were overflowing. Pictured: The body of a COVID-19 victim lies in a body bag at the ICU of the Sao Jose municipal hospital in Duque de Caxias

Lawmakers have been seeking ways to prevail upon Bolsonaro. As hospital systems collapse and crucial supplies run dry, four lower house lawmakers told the Associated Press their constituents are calling them his 'accomplices.' Two are members of allied parties and spoke on condition of anonymity in order to speak freely.

'There is a lot of solidarity, but everything has its limit. Everything,' the house's speaker, Bolsonaro ally Arthur Lira, said Wednesday afternoon in Congress. 'Congress' political remedies are known, and they are all bitter. Some, fatal.'

Opposition Sen. Alessandro Vieira, who is recovering from COVID-19 at home, said the Senates president wont be able to hold back a congressional investigation much longer. Another prominent senator from a centrist party, who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to speak freely, anticipates the chamber opening an investigation next month. That could further damage Bolsonaros popularity ahead of his 2022 reelection bid.

Bolsonaro has made some overtures to show he is taking the pandemic seriously -- one year after he first declared it a 'little flu.' Tuesday night, hours after Brazil posted a single-day record, he delivered a national address to blame variants for the virus's more aggressive spread and to defend his administration's actions to ink deals for more than 500 million vaccine doses.

'We will make 2021 the year of vaccination,' said Bolsonaro, who until recently cast doubt on some vaccines' efficacy while outright rejecting offers from some producers. Most vaccines his health ministry has secured will only reach Brazilian arms in the second half of 2021. His address was met with pot-banging protests in major cities, including capital Brasilia.

A COVID-19 patient arrives in an ambulance to the Sao Jose municipal hospital, in Duque de Caxias

Cemetery workers in full protective gear carry a coffin that contains the remains of a person who died from complications related to COVID-19 to a gravesite at the Vila Formosa cemetery in Sao Paulo

Earlier the same day, the nations fourth pandemic health minister was sworn in, a week after he was named. Marcelo Queiroga secured the spot once the original nominee, Ludhimila Hajjar, declined the job.

When interviewing for the position, Bolsonaro and one of his lawmaker sons peppered Hajjar with questions not just about contentious pandemic lockdowns, but also topics of concern to their conservative base, like abortion, according to two ministers present at the meeting, who spoke on condition of anonymity because theyre not authorized to speak publicly. Avid Bolsonaro supporters also launched an aggressive defamation campaign against her, issued death threats and tried to sneak into her Brasilia hotel.

The choice of Queiroga, a Bolsonaro loyalist, convinced some lawmakers that the president still fails to grasp the gravity of the situation.

On Wednesday, Bolsonaro held the first-ever meeting with leaders from all branches of the federal government to coordinate efforts. Once more, he advocated for malaria drugs that have shown no effectiveness in treating COVID-19 and didnt propose any policies to deal with the pandemic.

He also offered no update on imminent risks to oxygen supply in several states, dwindling stocks of sedatives for intubating COVID-19 patients, nor whether the federal government will resume timely reimbursements to governors for expanding hospital bed capacity. Among Brazils 26 states and federal district, 18 are reporting at least 90% intensive care unit occupancy.

Mato Grosso states health care system already collapsed. Dr. Maria Auxiliadora Rosa, director of the Hospital Evangelico in the small city Vila Bela, said in a video that went viral on social media that she fears there will be no oxygen for patients by the weekend.

'We need help,' Rosa pleaded.

Cemetery workers in full protective gear lower a coffin that contain the remains of a person who died from complications related to COVID-19 at the Vila Formosa cemetery in Sao Paulo

People grieve as they bury a relative who died from complications related to COVID-19 at the Vila Formosa cemetery in Sao Paulo

One of the few governors who attended Wednesday's meeting, Alagoas' Renan Filho, of the centrist Brazilian Democratic Movement party, was nonplussed by Bolsonaros performance.

'The president is trying to change, he is making an effort, but he still has a lot of doubts and not much conviction,' Filho told journalists afterward. 'This looks like survival instinct. He is trying to build some national strategy, but it isnt easy for someone who was so vocal with his narrative.'

Political scientist Luciano Dias, a consultant at Brasilia-based CAC, said Bolsonaro is at his weakest since his administration began in January 2019. A poll by Datafolha published March 17 says 54% of Brazilians disapprove of his pandemic response, up six percentage points from two months earlier.

'The drop in his popularity made him review some of his behavior, such as his interest in vaccines and talking to other authorities,' Dias said. 'The president had to bow to reality. The continuation of this crisis raises the risk he starts losing hardcore supporters and sees his reelection chances disappear.'

A man gets his dose of the Sinovac vaccine at a COVID-19 vaccination point for seniors in Duque de Caxias

People wait to get their the Sinovac vaccine at a COVID-19 vaccination point for seniors in Duque de Caxias

A healthcare worker shows the syringe to a woman after injecting her with a dose of the Sinovac vaccine at a COVID-19 vaccination point for seniors in Duque de Caxias

Opposition lawmaker Alexandre Padilha, a former health minister, highlighted another factor forcing Bolsonaro to adapt: the return of his nemesis, former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The leftist leader who governed between 2003 and 2010 had his political rights restored this month by Brazils Supreme Court and is a likely contender in next years election.

'He will push debate forward in Brazil. He is trying to understand the problems, offer solutions,' Padilha said.

Da Silva has already presented himself as a counterpoint to Bolsonaro: always donning face masks in public, backing restrictions on activity to slow the viruss spread, expressing empathy for victims families and reaching out to foreign leaders to boost vaccine supply.

Freshly dug graves are exposed at the Campo da Esperanca cemetery in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, March 23, 2021. The nation had an average of 2,235 deaths a day last week, the highest since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic

Healthcare workers take on a stretcher a patient suspected of having COVID-19 from an ambulance into the HRAN public hospital in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, March 23, 2021. Hundreds of Brazilian economists, including former finance ministers and central bank presidents, urged the Brazilian government in an open letter published on Monday to speed up vaccination and adopt tougher restrictions to stop the rampant spread of the new coronavirus

The meeting Wednesday also ostensibly sought to mend fences between Bolsonaro and the Supreme Court, which the president has often accused of undermining his authority during the pandemic by upholding governors and mayors jurisdiction to impose restrictions on activity.

During the courts session after the meeting with the president, Justice Luis Roberto Barroso offered a snide review.

'After one year of delay, they decided to create a commission of experts and doctors,' Barroso said. 'That was very good. After one year of delay and 300,000 deaths.'
ACCRA  Gambian lawmakers voted to uphold a ban on skin-lightening products after a debate in parliament.

Skin-lightening or bleaching agents, especially unauthorised ones, may cause multiple health risks such as scarring, blistering, nerve and bone damage. It is also controversial as many argue phenomenon is a toxic legacy of colonialism.

The practice is widely used across Africa as well as South Asia and the Middle East.

Ski-lightening has been banned in The Gambia since 1996, under former president Yahya Jammeh, who ruled for 22 years.

The former president fled The Gambia in 2017 after losing presidential elections to a relative unknown, Adama Barrow.

Barrows government sought to lift the skin-bleaching ban last year, arguing that it discriminated against women.

Justice Minister Dawda Jallow also argued that criminalising people for using cosmetic products was an unfair punishment.

But on Monday, several lawmakers argued in favour of maintaining the ban, citing health or religious reasons.

The chemicals used in the production of skin-bleaching creams is hazardous to human health, Momodou Camara, an MP, told the assembly.

Twenty-three MPs voted to uphold the ban, with 10 voting to repeal it, sources said in Accra  Ghana on Tuesday. Other MPs were either not present or abstained from voting.

Comments
Biomaterials are substances, natural or manmade, that are used in medicine to interact with the human body for various purposes, such as wound healing and tissue regeneration.

Previous work on biomaterials has shown that they can affect cells in many ways, including how they grow, move, and the type of cell they develop into. Scientists have recently begun investigating biomaterials with properties that can be fine-tuned to optimize their use in regenerative medicine.

Now, researchers at Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) have identified a polymer with tunable mobility properties that can alter the immune activity of specific liver cells.

In an article published in Biomaterials Science, the TMDU researchers report how they varied the mobility of specific biomaterials and observed significant effects on mouse Kupffer cells. These are liver cells that form part of the innate immune system--the body's first line of defense against infection in this organ.

The group previously worked with polymer-based biomaterials called polyrotaxane. Other molecules can be weaved within the polymer structure, and their ability to move freely throughout this structure is what the researchers refer to as "molecular mobility."

Polyrotaxane mobility can be adjusted by adding more molecules within the polymer, and this could affect the fate and maintenance of cells interacting with the biomaterials. Because of this, the TMDU group became interested in whether the biomaterials could be utilized to manipulate the immune system.

"We hypothesized that the polyrotaxane molecular mobility could serve as a sort of mechanical cue to the cells in the surrounding environment," says the lead author of the study Yoshinori Arisaka. "Using this property to possibly modulate immune cell activity could revolutionize immunomodulation."

The researchers cultured Kupffer cells on a surface coated with polyrotaxane. They treated the cells with lipopolysaccharide, which is a molecule used as an immune activator.

They adjusted the molecular mobility of the surface and then examined cell movement and shape, as well as the expression levels of certain inflammation-related genes.

Interestingly, they found that surface mobility significantly affected the movement and gene expression profile of the Kupffer cells.

The surfaces with higher mobility increased expression of pro-inflammatory genes in the cells. This means that the cells were behaving as if they were part of an active immune response." Nobuhiko Yui, Study Senior Author, Tokyo Medical and Dental University

The authors believe that this system may be the groundwork for using biomaterials in humans to balance immune activity.

"Our data demonstrate that mechanical cues may play a role in regulating cell behavior," says Arisaka.

This work is a critical step forward in biomaterials research. Mechanically regulating immune system activity with novel biomaterials may transform regenerative medicine.
Advertisement

Boulder grocery store shooter Ahmad Alissa made his first court appearance on Thursday since shooting dead ten people in an as-yet unexplained massacre on Monday.

The 21-year-old is being held at Boulder County Jail on ten counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.

On Thursday morning, his attorneys asked for three months to determine his mental health and whether or not he should stand trial. The prosecution asked for it to happen sooner and said they expect to file more charges next week once the crime scene is processed.

Judge Thomas Mulvahill did not specify how long the matter would be delayed for but he gave the defense two weeks to respond to a motion.

Alissa wore a blue prison jumpsuit, orange slides and a white mask. He was sitting in a wheelchair, after being shot in the leg in a standoff with police.

He spoke once, only answering 'yes' when asked if he understood the charges.

His attorney then said: 'We cannot do anything until we're able to fully assess Mr Alissa's mental illness and we cannot do that until we have the discovery from the government,' his attorney, Kathryn Herold, said.

No plea was entered and he will continue to be held without bond.

Boulder grocery store shooter Ahmad Alissa made his first court appearance on Thursday since shooting dead ten people in an as-yet unexplained massacre on Monday.

King Soopers shooting suspect Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 21, appears before Boulder District Court Judge Thomas Mulvahill at the Boulder County Justice Center in Boulder, Colorado, U.S. March 25, 2021

Alissa spoke only once throughout the hearing. He answered 'yes' when asked if he understood the charges

Ahmad Alissa is shown in his mugshot on Tuesday and right, in a high school photo. He has been charged with ten counts of murder

Alissa is shown being led out of the supermarket on Monday after surrendering to police. He had been shot in the leg

Alissa's legal team are shown leaving the court on Thursday after his brief appearance

Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty spoke outside to say his office would prosecute the case to the fullest extent of the law

On Monday, he opened fire at the King Soopers grocery store shortly before 3pm, shooting dead two people outside then another eight once inside the store.

He has been described by family as a 'loser' who 'never had a girlfriend' but has had temper problems for much of his life.

He is yet to explain what motivated him to carry out the attack.

When police surrounded the store on Monday about 20 minutes after he started killing, he took off his clothes and surrendered, then asked to speak to his mother.

Alissa was using a Rugers AR-556 which is a style of shortened assault rifle. He bought it a week before the massacre on March 16.

Alissa had ranted on social media about Islamophobes hacking his phone and complained about President Donald Trump's immigration policies.

His brother-in-law revealed that he worked in the family's Middle Eastern restaurant, The Sultan Grill, and that he lived in their basement.

He told The Sun on Thursday that the killings had devastated their family and that his 65-year-old father Moustafa hadn't stopped crying since he found out his son was responsible for them.

Mourners stand outside King Soopers grocery store in Boulder, Colorado. The store was the scene of a mass shooting that killed 10 on Monday

The Sultan Grill restaurant in Arvada, CO which is owned by the family of the King Sooper Killer. He worked in the restaurant

Pictured: Family home of shooting suspect Ahmad al Aliwi Alissa, in Arvada, ColoradoFamily of the King Sooper Killer peak out from behind a curtain of their Arvada, Colorado

The family lives in Arvada, Colorad, around 30 miles southeast of Boulder.

It's unclear why Alissa traveled to that specific King Soopers, or how long he'd been planning the attack.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday called for an all-out ban on assault rifles across the country in the wake of the shooting.

He is also urging Congress to pass a bill to tighten the laws on background checks for people when they buy guns.

Alissa's victims range in age from 20 to 65.

Some worked in the store, some were shoppers and others were there to get their COVID-19 vaccines.

Pictured: The Colorado massacre victims

Victims, L-R: Officer Eric Talley, who was among the first to respond, Lynne Murray, who was shopping and Rikki Olds and Teri Leiker who both worked in the store

Officer Eric Talley, 51

The Boulder cop and father-of-seven was one of the first on the scene.

He joined the police force in 2010 with a background that included a master's degree in computer communications, his father Homer said.

He had recently changed jobs because he wanted to work away from the front line.

His father said his son was a gun enthusiast, who even owned an AR-15 rifle - which is similar to the Ruger AR-556 used in the massacre.

He was given a hero's procession from the grocery store to the funeral home on Monday night.

Lynn Murray, 62

Lynn Murray, a mother-of-two, was a retired New York City magazine photo director who had worked for Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire and Glamour before relocating to Colorado to raise her children.

Her family have revealed she was at the store at the time of the shooting to fill an Instacart order.

'She was an amazing woman, probably the kindest person I've ever known,' her husband John told the New York Times.

'Our lives are ruined, our tomorrows are forever filled with a sorrow that is unimaginable. She was one of the greatest people you'd ever want to know: hard working, loving and compassionate, caring, went out of her way to make sure everyone else had a smile on their face.

'I just want her to be remembered as just as this amazing, amazing comet spending 62 years flying across the sky.'

Rikki Olds, 25

Olds was identified by her aunt on Facebook.

A front-end manager at King Soopers, Olds aspired to work her way up the ranks at the store, her family said.

'She was 25 years old, just kind of starting life, bubbly and energetic and charismatic,' her uncle Robert Olds said

Her aunt on Facebook both paid tribute to her and called for the shooter to 'burn in hell'.

'We lost our beloved Rikki Olds to the monster who shot up the king soopers in Boulder CO yesterday may his rotten a** fry and burn in hell,' her aunt Lori Olds said.

Teri Leiker, 51

Leiker had worked at the store for 30 years and was dating a colleague, Clint, who survived the shooting.

Her friends paid tribute to her on Tuesday.

'She loved going to work and enjoyed everything about being there.

'Her boyfriend and her had been good friends and began dating in the fall of 2019.

'He was working yesterday too. He is alive,' her friend said on Facebook.

She said Teri signed off all her calls with 'your buddy Teri' and that working in the store was her 'favorite thing to do'.

She also loved to watch the University of Colorado marching band perform in a kickoff celebration called the Pearl Street Stampede on Friday nights before home football games on the Boulder campus, band director Matt Dockendorf told The Denver Post.

Kevin Mahoney, 61, Denny Stong, 20, and Jody Waters, 65

Kevin Mahoney, 61

Kevin's daughter Erika Mahoney revealed that her he was also among the victims.

She tweeted a touching photo of Mahoney walking her down the aisle for her wedding last year, alongside the caption: 'I am heartbroken to announce that my Dad, my hero, Kevin Mahoney, was killed in the King Soopers shooting in my hometown of Boulder, CO.

'My dad represents all things Love.

'I'm so thankful he could walk me down the aisle last summer.

'Thank you to the Boulder PD for being so kind through this painful tragedy.'

Denny Stong, 20

Friends said Denny Stong, who was the youngest victim, was training to be a pilot. He also worked at the store where the shooting unfolded.

His Facebook profile photo has the caption: 'I can't stay home. I am a grocery store worker' in reference to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It's unclear if he was in the grocery store to shop, or if he was there to get his vaccine.

On 8 March, he asked people to celebrate his birthday by donating to a pro-gun rights charity, the BBC reports.

Jody Waters, 65

Jody Walters, a mother-of-two and grandmother, described herself as a 'creative entrepreneur'.

She owned a boutique store and was involved in the local retail fashion community.

Congresswoman Judy Amabile, who shopped in the store, called her 'just super energetic and nice and fun'.

Tralona Bartkowiak, 49, Suzanne Fountain, 59, and Neven Stanisic, 23

Tralona Bartkowiak, 49

Tralona Bartkowiak ran a small clothing and artisan store in Boulder and had recently become engaged.

Her store mainly sold yoga and festival attire.

Bartkowiak had, in recent years, regularly attended festivals like Burning Man to advertise her business.

Suzanne Fountain, 59

Fountain was an actress and a mother who later won loyal clients as a Medicare agent, doing extensive research to find the right supplemental coverage for older adults signing up for the federal health insurance program, her life partner Phi Bernier said.

'She never skimped, she never did something because it was easier,' he said.

Fountain trained at the Circle in the Square Theater School and the two first met while they were playing lead roles in 'The Glass Menagerie' about 30 years ago, Bernier said.

Up until the pandemic, Fountain was also the manager of eTown, a nonprofit live music venue in Boulder.

'Suzanne was a bright light to all she met, and we were proud to have her represent eTown in our community as she welcomed people into our space hundreds and hundreds of times,' the organization said in a Facebook post.

Fountain won praise for her acting from both reviewers and those who worked with her.

Neven Stanisic, 23

Neven Stanisic was a repairman who was at the store fixing a broken coffee machine, according to a reverend from his family church.

His family had fled from the war in Bosnia to the US in the 1990s.

'They avoided one tragedy by coming here, but now this tragedy struck them', said Rev Radovan Petrovic.
Paducah's TIF District Gets Final Approval

By West Kentucky Star Staff

PADUCAH - The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority gave final approval to Paducah's Tax Increment Financing District on Thursday.During a meeting in Frankfort, the agency authorized $21.4 million in tax increment financing for Paducah.Over the last two years, Paducah has been working to revitalize downtown by capturing state dollars, reinvesting local dollars, and assisting developers with infrastructure costs.The city received preliminary approval to establish the TIF District in August of 2019.Paducah Mayor George Bray said, "As a city government, we look for opportunities to spark development and set the right foundation for growth, job creation, and business expansion. Paducah's downtown is the heart of this city, and we want to keep it healthy by reinvesting in long-term economic success. I'm thrilled that KEDFA has provided a generous final approval for Paducah's TIF."Tax Increment Financing is an economic development tool allowing local governments to capture future increases in property and other taxes generated by new development within a set area. It is not a new tax; it's reinvestment in the district based on growth. Within Kentucky, taxes collected by the state are also eligible to be redirected back to the city.You can learn more about Paducah's Tax Increment Financing District by clicking here.
_As Supreme Court Order NEC To Announce Gbarpolu Result

The Supreme Court of Liberia has put to rest the long standing electoral dispute emanating from the conduct of the December 8, 2020 election in Gbarma district, Gbarpolu County.

The High Court on Wednesday, March 24, 2021 ruled and mandated the National Elections Commission to proceed to pronounce the results of the December 8 election in the county.

On February 24, 2021 the Board of Commissioners of NEC ruled in a complaint filed by Alfred Koiwood of electoral violence against his female counterpart Botoe Kanneh of installing in the just ended election calling for a re-recount in 13 polling places in Gbarma District.

In the verdict, the board ruled against its Magistrate's decision to dismiss Koiwood complain thereby calling for a full scale investigation to establish causes .

This ruling was objected to by Kanneh thereby taking an appeal to the Supreme Court.

Reading the opinion on behalf of the Supreme Court, Associate Justice Jamesatte Wolokollie agreed with the Gbarpolu County female Senator-elect legal team that the NEC lacks jurisdiction to preside over the alleged election violence in the area as it borders on criminality and that the Ministry of Justice had already taken cease of the matter.

She said: "NEC having invited the Ministry of Justice to take ceased of the matter, it should have dismissed the case on keeping with section 2.9(g) of the new election law especially where it border on criminality."

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Liberia Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Justice Wolokollie noted that only the Ministry of Justice had authority or power to probe into issue of violence and that the MOJ is yet to make any pronouncement of those suspected of the December 8 violence in the Nomadatuon Town.

"With the exception of the Nomadatuon Town in Gbarma District, there is no complain by the CDC Senatoral candidate Alfred Koiwood of electoral violence and irregularities in other areas within the district where the election was held," she stated.

The Associate Justice said that the dismissal of Koiwood's complaint by the NEC Magistrate does not in any way violate his right.

On the other hand, the high Court, ruled that there is no record of the Town Chief of Gbarma District filing a complaint with the election Magistrate in the district and that assuming the Town Chief had filed a formal complaint Alfred Koiwood is not in the position to raise any issue to that effect.

The court further holds that Koiwood filed no complain on behalf of the Town Chief.
Three members of a family died in a house fire that erupted in the wee hours of Thursday in Ho Chi Minh City, according to local authorities.

The three include Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuong, 32, her husband Le Nguyen Hoang Huy, 31, and Le Nguyen Tue Man, three, said the Peoples Committee of District 8, where the tragedy happened.

They migrated to the city from Khanh Hoa Province, located in south-central Vietnam, three years ago, neighbors said.

The fire broke out at 4:25 am at their house in an alley on Pham The Hien Street in Ward 4, District 8, the Peoples Committee said in a report.

Six fire trucks and 20 firefighters were sent to the scene immediately after they were informed of the conflagration.

Locals attempted to help with extinguishing the fire in vain before the firefighting force arrived.

The flames quickly escalated and consumed 36 out of 180 square meters of the house.

Neighbors said they heard loud screams from inside the house but could not save the three victims.

Neighbors felt numb when the fire broke out, Ng.Th.H., a 63-year-old neighbor recounted, adding that the house door was locked from the inside.

Ng.V.B., a 56-year-old neighbor who was among the first to attempt to put out the fire, said it was too late when he and others managed to smash the door.

We could do nothing else, hearing painful screams from inside the house, B. said.

Authorities are trying to find out the cause of the fire.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
ROCHESTER, Minn. - As the nation mourns the loss of 18 mass shooting victims within two weeks, Minnesota Senator Tina Smith is calling for action on gun control.

In an impassioned speech on the senate floor Wednesday, Senator Smith urged lawmakers to enact universal background checks on firearm purchases, and a ban on assault weapons as well as high-capacity magazines.

The senator says in a year filled with heartbreak and death, it almost escaped notice the United States had gone a year without a mass shooting in a public space. She says we now "face the grim reminder of our American reality."

"In the space of a week, two separate mass shootings stole the lives of 18 people, and just weeks ago, we suffered a mass shooting in a health clinic in my home state of Minnesota," Smith said. "So here we are again, thrust into a familiar cycle of collective grief and frustration and anger. Our hearts break for the families and loved ones of those whose lives were stolen."

Senator Smith tells KIMT News 3 she believes we are facing an epidemic of gun violence, and there is bipartisan support for common sense reforms to our gun laws.

"It's interesting. This is a bipartisan desire that we have in America. People, even members of the National Rifle Association, believe that we need common sense reforms. And that's what I hope and I pray that we will take up on the Senate floor."

When asked about critics who say most gun crimes are committed by people who acquire firearms illegally, Smith tells KIMT it is not onerous for people who want to buy a gun legally to go through a background check. She also says legislators should act swiftly to close loopholes that allow gun purchases without a background check.
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.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 25)  The United States was joined by Japan, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom in expressing strong support to the Philippines' filing of diplomatic protest over the deployment of suspected Chinese maritime militia vessels in the West Philippine Sea.

The U.S. State Department affirmed its commitment to stand with Manila after over 200 militia boats were spotted on March 7 at the Julian Felipe Reef, located within the country's Exclusive Economic Zone as provided in the historic 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling.

As of Monday, 183 vessels suspected to be Chinese maritime militia remained station in Philippine waters despite formal protests.

"We call on Beijing to stop using its maritime militia to intimidate and provoke others, which undermines peace and security," U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a tweet.

The U.S. Embassy in Manila earlier backed the Philippines in its diplomatic protest, with its filing confirmed by Foreign Affairs Secretary Teddy Boy Locsin Jr. last Sunday.

"The [People's Republic of China] uses maritime militia to intimidate, provoke, and threaten other nations, which undermines peace and security in the region," Embassy spokesperson Heather Fabrikant said in a statement. "We stand with the Philippines, our oldest treaty ally in Asia."

Australia voiced out its concern on brewing tensions in the West Philippine Sea as those actions can provoke escalation on both sides.

"Australia supports an Indo-Pacific region which is secure open and inclusive. The South China Sea  a crucial international waterway is governed by international rules and norms, particularly UNCLOS," said Ambassador Steve Robinson, Australian envoy to the Philippines.

Canada also slammed the latest action of China that threatens regional stability, according to a statement from Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines Peter MacArthur.

Canada opposes recent Chinese actions in the South China Sea, including off the coast of the Philippines, that escalate tensions and undermine regional stability and the rules-based international order," the statement read.

United Kingdom Foreign Minister Nigel Adams said he talked to Locsin on their shared concerns in the status quo at the West Philippine Sea.

"The Philippines is an important partner for the UK and Indo-Pacific," Adams said in his tweet.

Meanwhile, Japan emphasized the enforcement of the rule of law in the West Philippine Sea to have a "free, open, and peaceful" situation in the disputed waters.

"The South China Sea issues are directly related to peace and stability and a concern for all," the Japanese Embassy in Manila said.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila fired back on their Japanese counterparts, asserting it promotes peace and stability in the region by managing differences through bilateral talks with other countries.

"Within our region tensions are rising because some external countries are bent on playing fusty geopolitical games," the Chinese Embassy said in it stweet. "It is a pity that some Asian country, which has disputes with China in the East China Sea and is driven by the selfish aim to check China's revitalization, willingly stoops to acting as a strategic vassal of the U.S."

The Chinese Embassy also denied that the spotted boats are militia vessels, arguing those are merely fishing vessels which took shelter near the area due to rough sea conditions. It said the reef is part of China's Nansha Qundao, also known as Spratly Islands - a hotly contested archipelago in the South China Sea.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines is deploying additional Navy ships to beef up the conduct of maritime sovereignty patrols in the West Philippine Sea.

The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative in December 2020 warned that China may have "increased the frequency" of its patrols in the South China Sea during the COVID-19 pandemic, including areas Manila claims as part of the West Philippine Sea. In the same report, the U.S. think tank flagged that Chinese forces conducted patrols at Scarborough Shoals, also known as Panatag, for a total of 287 days from Dec. 1, 2019.
NEW YORK, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Euclid Transactional, LLC ("Euclid Transactional"), a leading managing general agent focused on transactional insurance underwriting, today announced eight promotions on its North American and EMEA teams. The promotions highlight the depth of talent available to the firm's clients and Euclid Transactional's commitment to maintaining an industry-leading underwriting culture.

Euclid Transactional has seen significant growth over the past year, with new team members joining its practices in the U.S., Canada and Europe, along with the launch of a new office in Frankfurt, Germany. The firm now employs over 60 people, up from 45 at the start of 2020.

The promotions announced today include:

Aina Acosta : Office Manager to Chief Culture Officer

: Office Manager to Chief Culture Officer Kurtis Rossie : Senior Associate to Underwriter and Assistant Vice President

: Senior Associate to Underwriter and Assistant Vice President Derek Shnider : Senior Associate to Underwriter and Assistant Vice President

: Senior Associate to Underwriter and Assistant Vice President Jeremy Feinberg : Associate to Senior Associate

: Associate to Senior Associate Andrew Kim : Associate to Senior Associate

: Associate to Senior Associate Dilshan Anandarajan : Analyst to Associate

: Analyst to Associate Kyle Reiter : Analyst to Associate

: Analyst to Associate Luke Williams : Analyst to Associate

All seven promoted associates and underwriters joined Euclid Transactional as analysts or as interns in the firm's summer internship program, demonstrating Euclid Transactional's commitment to developing its people. Aina Acosta joined the firm shortly after its founding and has played an integral role in building Euclid Transactional's culture.

"Euclid Transactional relies on its strong underwriting team to provide industry-leading service to our client, broker and law firm partners," said Jay Rittberg, Managing Principal of Euclid Transactional. "We are equally committed to creating an inclusive culture, promoting from within and developing careers. As we continue to grow, we want someone specifically focused on further developing our culture, and Aina, who deeply understands Euclid Transactional's core values, is our ideal Chief Culture Officer. We could not be more excited to have all of these talented professionals supporting our business."

Since its founding in 2016, Euclid Transactional has underwritten more than 2,500 policies and insured deals with a combined value of over $1.9 trillion.

"While the past year has been challenging in many ways, it has also underlined the value of transactional insurance for firms looking to address risk on their deals," added Rittberg. "As a result, we saw some of our strongest-ever months in terms of deal volume. We are thrilled about growing our underwriting and claims teams in this environment."

About Euclid Transactional

Euclid Transactional, LLC is a managing general agency specializing in the underwriting of representations & warranties, tax liability, contingent liability and other transactional insurance coverages. Operated by one of the industry's largest teams of experienced underwriters and claims executives, Euclid Transactional provides the size and security of a large insurer with the customer service of a boutique. The firm has offices in New York, London, Chicago, Frankfurt and Toronto, and offers full-service underwriting for deals across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Euclid Transactional is a subsidiary of Euclid Insurance Services, a program administrator that provides its subsidiaries with advisory, accounting, information technology and human resource services. Euclid Transactional's insurance capacity is provided by premier insurers, all of which are rated AM Best A (Excellent) or better.

Media Contact:

Davis MacMillan

RF|Binder

[email protected]

212-994-7509

SOURCE Euclid Transactional, LLC

Related Links

https://euclidprograms.com/


HARTFORD  Connecticut restaurants would be able to continue outdoor dining and entertainment through March of 2022, under bipartisan legislation unanimously approved Thursday in an otherwise sharply divided House of Representatives battling over control of the states reopening.

In a bitter, nearly two-hour debate, Republican attempts to take away some of Gov. Ned Lamonts emergency powers failed in a partisan, 90-50 vote. Despite the rancor, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle quickly agreed to make it easier for restaurateurs to continue serving customers outside.

The bill would let cities and towns close off streets and sidewalks, and food and drink services expedite bureaucratic obstacles, including time-consuming zoning requirements and special-event permits from the state Department of Transportation. It continues social distancing and mask guidelines.

To Republicans including House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora, of North Branford and Senate Minority Leader Kevin Kelly of Stratford, the restaurant agreement was proof that the General Assembly can comb through the 90-plus executive orders Lamont has issued over the last year, taking back its role in setting policy for the state.

There is no reason we cant do the same for all other executive orders. We dont need to extend the governor's powers today. We need to get to work, Kelly said in a statement earlier in the day. Candelora, during a mid-afternoon news conference on the steps of the Capitol, waved a thick printout of potential portions of executive orders that he said could be dropped.

Democrats said now is not the time to invite the sort of chaos that would come from floor debates about details of the reopening. And Paul Mounds, Lamonts chief of staff, in a letter to Kelly on Thursday said that a variety of federal programs could be halted, including federal food services and emergency reimbursements, could become at-risk if Lamonts emergency declarations were to prematurely disappear.

To act otherwise could unnecessarily jeopardize the funding to which Connecticut is entitled, Mounds wrote, stressing that no other states have lifted their emergency declarations.

Covid has changed the way we all interact with the world, said state Rep. Cristin McCarthy Vahey, D-Fairfield, co-chairwoman of the legislative Planning and Development Committee, who introduced the restaurant-relief bill at about 5:45 p.m.

The restaurant extension was aimed at helping perhaps the hardest hit industry in the state. State Rep. David Rutigliano, R-Trumbull, who owns several restaurants, said Lamonts orders to ease outdoor dining helped save jobs and businesses.

Our industry has struggled, he said, detailing the 130,000 workers who suddenly became unemployed and the hundreds of businesses that have closed for good. The single lifeline we had last year, it turned out, was the extension of outdoor dining. I believe it was the single thing weve done to save these small family-owned businesses. Something actually worked out, even in this awful year.

I love it, said Gov. Ned Lamont, when informed of the impending House action during his mid-afternoon news conference on the pandemic. The bill, approved 141-0 after a 15-minute discussion, moves to the Senate, which may met as soon as next Tuesday.

These relaxed rules could be the start of a new Connecticut tradition that increases activity in our towns, Lamont said in a statement after the 6:10 p.m. vote. One positive outcome of this unfortunate pandemic has been that weve been thinking about new, creative ways to offer activities outdoors, including at restaurants. Expanded outdoor dining has created a vibrancy in many of our neighborhoods in ways that we havent seen before, all while supporting locally owned, small businesses.

The two months when Connecticut shut down dining entirely were some of the darkest days ever faced by our industry, said Dan Meiser, chairman of the Connecticut Restaurant Association, after the quick House debate and vote. Collectively we worked with state and local officials to change parking lots, sidewalks, and even roads into dining areas. This should continue in 2021, so that our industry can plan ahead, keep our doors open, and continue on the long road toward recovery to the benefit of local economies throughout Connecticut.

A year after restaurants were asked to close their doors, and we watched more than 600 restaurants close, moving this bill forward is a positive step in the right direction, said Scott Dolch, executive director of the association.

The speedy bipartisan cooperation in the House followed a sometimes acrimonious debate on the extension of Lamonts emergency powers until May 20, as Republicans charged that Democrats let Lamont usurp the duties of the legislature.

The emergency powers had been scheduled to expire on April 20. The governor and majority Democrats said the pandemic continues to rage, but they would use the extra weeks to review which of the 93 executive orders is no longer needed.

This is not about analyzing what has been done up to now, said Candelora, who complained that Republicans have not been consulted on the road ahead. Its about going forward.

When did we give the governor the power to enact these executive orders? asked Rep. Tom ODea, R-New Canaan.

This legislature, this body and by extension the people we represent, replied Rep. Mike DAgostino, D-Hamden, who brought out the bill.

The governors powers were extended by a smaller group of 10 legislative leaders, though a Superior Court judge later said in a ruling that the entire General Assembly should have voted on the extensions.

I would submit that the governor has overstepped his authority because we have allowed him to, ODea charged.

A GOP amendment that would have ended Lamonts emergency powers on May 1 failed 89-50.

House Majority Leader Jason Rojas, D-East Hartford, summing up the debate just before the final vote, said public officials throughout the state have had to be flexible over the last year.

This has not been easy on anyone, Rojas said. Were in a much better place than a year ago, six months ago, even a month ago. We cannot let up just yet. The spread of variants are happening. Its still unclear of what our supply of vaccine will be. We still face considerable financial liabilities related to the pandemic. We must continue to be ready to respond to ever-changing conditions in the pandemic that no one was familiar with a year ago. 

kdixon@ctpost.com Twitter: @KenDixonCT
UK music comedy series, We Are Lady Parts is coming soon to Stan.

The six-part series exploring sisterhood, belonging and finding your voice is written, created and directed by Nida Manzoor (Doctor Who, Enterprice, Hounslow Diaries) and shows the highs and lows of the band  called Lady Parts  as seen through the eyes of Amina Hussain (Anjana Vasan)  a geeky microbiology PhD student, whos on the lookout for love and romance.

The series features original punk songs and cover tracks, written and adapted by Nida and her siblings Shez Manzoor, who also scored the show, Sanya Manzoor and Benni Fregin.

A date has not been confirmed. It is yet to debut in the UK on Channel 4.

Lady Parts fierce and enigmatic frontwoman Saira (Sarah Kameela Impey) sees something in Amina that the others cant see. When Saira discovers Amina fancies Ahsan (Zaqi Ismail), fellow band member and taxi-driving drummer Ayeshas (Juliette Motamed) dreamboat brother, she uses this as leverage by offering to hook them both up on a date, but only if Amina agrees to join the band.

Cartoon-drawing bassist and backing vocalist Bisma (Faith Omole) and Momtaz (Lucie Shorthouse) the bands wheeler-dealer band manager are not convinced that Amina is right for their band. Amina has never, ever met girls like this before and shes soon swept up in their joyful, anarchic energy and punk spirit. But she becomes torn and caught up between two different worlds  that of her more strait-laced uni friends led by her formidable bestie Noor (Aiysha Hart) and the world of Lady Parts. Will she be the key to the bands success? And  will she finally find a husband?

We Are Lady Parts is at once an unapologetically bold comedy and a joyful celebration of the richness and diversity found in contemporary London, whilst also an exploration on the fundamental questions of life: Who am I? Where and with whom do I belong? But ultimately its about funny women with real agency, forging their own lives and identities in a world determined to do it for them.

We Are Lady Parts was created, written and directed by Nida Manzoor. The series is produced by Working Title Television (WTTV), which is part of NBCUniversal International Studios, a division of Universal Studio Group. It was commissioned for Channel 4 by Fiona McDermott, Head of Comedy, and Laura Riseam, Commissioning Executive. Executive Producers for WTTV are Surian Fletcher-Jones, Mark Freeland, Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner. The series is produced by John Pocock and distributed by NBCUniversal Global Distribution.

Related
press release

My sister Ngozi and my other two sisters Kristalina & Isabelle,

And my two brothers David and Angel,

Excellencies, dear colleagues and friends,

First of all, I would like to congratulate my sister Ngozi on becoming the first woman and the first African to be chosen as Director-General of the World Trade Organization.

And thank you for prioritising this important stocktake to address the ongoing economic and health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on global trade.

More than 122 million cases of COVID-19 have now been reported to WHO, and more than 2.7 million people have lost their lives.

But as you know, the impacts of the pandemic go far beyond the death and disease caused by the virus itself.

Millions of people have lost their livelihood, the global economy is in recession and global trade continues to be disrupted.

And although the global rollout of vaccines is giving us hope of bringing the pandemic under control, we still have a long way to go and many challenges to overcome.

After six weeks of declining cases in January and February, we have now had four straight weeks of increases.

And last week, the number of deaths rose for the first time in seven weeks.

Cases are increasing in most regions. These are truly worrying trends as we continue to see the impact of variants, opening up of societies, and inequitable vaccine rollout.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have known that vaccines would be a vital tool for controlling it.

But we also knew from experience that market forces alone would not deliver the equitable distribution of vaccines.

That's why in April last year we established the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator, which includes the COVAX vaccines pillar, a unique partnership between Gavi, CEPI, Unicef, WHO and others.

In total, COVAX has now delivered more than 32 million doses of vaccine to 57 countries and economies.

We expect to deliver a total of 237 million vaccines between now and May.

Still, the rollout of vaccines has not been as equitable as we would have liked.

Globally, 459 million doses of vaccine have been administered, but 76% of those are in just 10 countries.

The success of COVAX is at risk because of the demands that some high- and upper-middle income countries are putting on the global supply of vaccines.

This is not just a moral outrage, it's also economically and epidemiologically self-defeating.

The more transmission, the more variants. And the more variants that emerge, the more likely it is that they will evade vaccines. We could all end up back at square one.

And as long as the virus continues to circulate anywhere, people will continue to die, trade and travel will continue to be disrupted, and the economic recovery will be further delayed.

Vaccine equity is not an act of charity; it's the best and fastest way to control the pandemic globally, and to reboot the global economy. Vaccine equity is in every nation's interest.

Every day, we are engaged in discussions with manufacturers and leaders of countries at all income levels, exploring ways to ramp up the production and equitable distribution of vaccines.

We see four main ways to do this.

The first and most short-term approach is to connect vaccine manufacturers with other companies who have excess capacity to fill and finish, to speed up production and increase volumes.

The second is bilateral technology transfer, through voluntary licensing from a company that owns the patents on a vaccine to another company that can produce them, as AstraZeneca has done with SKBio in the Republic of Korea and the Serum Institute of India.

Critically, bilateral tech transfer must include provisions for affordability and equity, which has unfortunately not always been the case with some of the vaccine deals done so far.

The third approach is coordinated technology transfer and licensing, through a global mechanism coordinated by WHO, which we have established through C-TAP.

This provides more transparency, and a more coherent global approach that contributes to regional health security.

And fourth, waiving intellectual property rights, as proposed by South Africa and India, is a mid- to long-term solution that could help countries with vaccine manufacturing capacity to start moving towards producing their own vaccines.

The TRIPS Agreement was designed, as you know, to allow for flexibility on intellectual property rights in the case of emergencies. If now is not the time to use those flexibilities, then when is? This is an unprecedented situation.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Health Africa International Organisations By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

My sisters and brothers,

In some public discourse, the response to the pandemic has been framed as a choice between lives and livelihoods; between health and the economy.

This is a false choice, a false dichotomy. The pandemic is a devastating demonstration that health and the economy are integrated and inter-dependent.

When health is at risk, everything is at risk. But when health is protected and promoted, individuals, families, communities, economies and nations can flourish.

The pandemic will subside, but there will be another one.

And countries will continue to face myriad health challenges that sap productivity, fuel inequality, and hold nations back.

We can only truly respond and recover if we think of health not as a cost, but as an investment in the safer, fairer and more prosperous world we all want.

I thank you.
Over 500 relics found in prehistoric Sanxingdui Ruins in SW China

14:43, March 25, 2021 By Yang Xuemei, Wang Mingfeng, Song Haoxin ( People's Daily

Photo taken on Jan. 31 shows ivory carving relics unearthed from No. 5 sacrificial pit of the Sangxingdui Ruins, Guanghan, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Photo courtesy of Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute)

Over 500 artifacts were unearthed in the six ancient sacrificial pits newly discovered in Sanxingdui Ruins in southwest Chinas Sichuan Province between November 2019 and May 2020, including pieces of gold masks, bird-shaped gold pieces, and pieces of miniature ivory sculptures, said archaeologists during a meeting held in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan on March 20.

The historic site, located in Sichuan's Guanghan, is believed to be the remnants of the ancient Shu Kingdom dating back some 3,000 years to 5,000 years ago. It is hailed as one of the greatest archaeological findings in the 20th century. Discussions on it have never faded since the first two sacrificial pits were discovered in 1986.

Archaeologists practiced maximum protection over the Sanxingdui Ruins soon after the salvage excavation of the No.1 and No. 2 pits. The six newly discovered pits are similar with the No. 1 and No. 2 pits in terms of shape, structure, orientation and relics unearthed.

The six new pits and the two discovered in 1986 are all in the eastern part of the ancient Sanxingdui city, surrounded by small circular pits, rectangular grooves and large grooves related to sacrificial activities, introduced Lei Yu, a researcher with Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute who heads the excavation work at the Sanxingdui Ruins site. This means that the conclusions formed upon the relics unearthed in the 1986 pits and relevant archaeological activities have to go through new challenges and tests, he added.

This time, bronze heads with colored eyes, gigantic bronze masks, bronze statues, and bronze sacred trees were unearthed in the No. 3 pit of the Sanxingdui Ruins site. Besides, hundreds of ivories were also discovered, a part of which were burned and buried with jade and bronze ware items.

The discoveries this time are of milestone significance compared with those in 1986, as archaeologists made a new attempt to move advanced laboratories to the field, Lei said.

An emergency shelter was set up in the enclosures at the site with constant humidity and temperature to protect organic relics. The shelter was equipped with low-temperature and low-humidity cabinets, as well as low-temperature sample boxes, in which bones, horns, ivories, textiles, lacquerware and woodware can be protected.

Archaeologists also established another emergency shelter for inorganic relics, where gold pieces, bronze ware, jade and potteries could be protected by ion chromatography and extraction devices. Besides, excavation data and videos were also recorded and transmitted. These techniques guaranteed synergetic excavation and protection, multi-discipline integration and multi-party collaboration.

Sun Hua, professor with Peking University noted that the excavation this time wasn't just about unearthing relics, but also discovering, with technological means and theoretical models, how these relics were buried, so as to help archaeologists gain a better understanding of the layout of the sacrificial zone of the Sanxingdui Ruins.

The academic world has never ceased its studies on Sanxingdui civilization over the past three decades, raising a series of questions and conducting plenty of discussions, said Song Xinchao, deputy director of the National Cultural Heritage Administration.

"Today, we have a clearer picture of the history of the Chengdu Plain, and are well prepared both academically and technically, so we are able to carry out multi-discipline cooperation," he said. He also extended a warm welcome to foreign archaeologists to jointly study the Sanxingdui civilization that brings both challenges and surprises.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji)
David M. Shribman is the former executive editor of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. His email is dshribman@post-gazette.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.
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.
India has put a temporary hold on all major exports of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine made by the Serum Institute of India (SII) amid an increase in domestic demand due to a surge in infection.

It will also affect supplies to Gavi, the World Health Organisation (WHO)-backed vaccine alliance, through which more than 190 participating economies  98 higher-income and 92 low and middle-income  are expected to get doses.

We understand that deliveries of Covid-19 vaccines to lower-income economies participating in the Covax facility will likely face delays following a setback in securing export licences for further doses of Covid-19 vaccines produced by the Serum Institute of India, expected to be shipped in March and April, the programmes procurement and distributing partner Unicef told Reuters.

Covax is in talks with the Government of India with a view to ensuring deliveries as quickly as possible, Unicef said.

British authorities are in touch with New Delhi to get the second batch of five million doses which were ordered from SII and have been held up by four weeks, according to Reuters.

The vaccine manufacturer has already delayed the AstraZeneca vaccine shipment to Brazil, Britain, Morocco and Saudi Arabia.

Read more:

There appears to have been no vaccine exports from the country since 18 March. Several factors have been responsible for the slowdown of vaccine export, including increase in domestic cases and the emergence of a double mutation of the Sars-Cov-2 virus in the south-western state of Maharashtra.

On Thursday, India recorded its sharpest daily rise in the past five months with 53,476 cases, taking the total number of recorded infection to 11.7 million.

Everything else has taken a backseat, for the time being at least, sources told Reuters. No exports, nothing till the time the India situation stabilises. The government wont take such a big chance at the moment when so many need to be vaccinated in India.

Foreign ministry sources told BBC that the move is a temporary squeeze and is likely to affect supplies until the end of April.

Indias foreign ministry and the SII have not issued a statement on the matter.

The domestic demand is also expected to rise as India has announced the opening its inoculation drive for those over the age of 45 from 1 April. [The export hold] is a temporary measure. Domestic demand will have to take precedence, one foreign ministry source told the BBC.

SII had earlier said that it will produce one billion doses for low and middle-income countries. But last month, its president Adar Poonawalla tweeted that the institute has been directed to prioritise the huge needs of India and along with that balance the needs of the rest of the world. We are trying our best.

India has so far exported 60.5 million vaccine doses to 76 countries with 17.7 million of Oxford-AstraZeneca jab. Covax has a deal to buy 1.1 billion doses of AstraZeneca and US-based vaccine Novavax from SII.

India has so far administered more than 52 million doses, of which 47 million are the SIIs locally-made version of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The rest is the Covaxin doses, a homegrown government-backed vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech.
The DUP today called for new guidance on flying the Union flag constantly at government buildings to be extended to Northern Ireland.

Up to now there was only a requirement to display the national flag on designated days.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden issued fresh rules last night insisting it should be flown all the time in England, Scotland and Wales.

However, in Northern Ireland - where flags and emblems are a highly contentious sectarian issue - the old guidance will remain in place.

In 2012 the decision of Belfast City Council to reduce the number of days on which the Union flag is flown from City Hall sparked widespread protests and disorder.

The DUP today called for new guidance on flying the Union flag constantly at government buildings to be extended to Northern Ireland. Pictured, a flag at Westminster

In Northern Ireland - where flags and emblems are a highly contentious sectarian issue - the old guidance will remain in place

DUP MP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said it is 'bizarre' that the UK Government is 'only deciding in 2021 to fly the Union flag, the flag of our nation, on all Government buildings every day'.

'When I visit other nations around the world, flying the national flag on Government buildings is commonplace,' he said.

'The decision to exclude Northern Ireland at this stage is wrong and runs contrary to New Decade, New Approach which sought to align us with the rest of the UK when it came to the Union flag being flown on Government buildings.

'This is a matter we will be pressing the Government to address.'

Announcing the move last night, Mr Dowden said: 'The Union flag unites us as a nation and people rightly expect it to be flown above UK Government buildings.

'This guidance will ensure that happens every day, unless another flag is being flown, as a proud reminder of our history and the ties that bind us.'

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick added: 'Our nation's flag is a symbol of liberty, unity and freedom that creates a shared sense of civic pride.

'People rightly expect to see the Union flag flying high on civic and Government buildings up and down the country, as a sign of our local and national identity.

'That's why I am calling on all local councils to fly the Union flag on their buildings  and today's guidance will enable them to do that. '

The guidance comes after the BBC's Charlie Stayt and Naga Munchetty were criticised for mocking the size of Mr Jenrick's Union flag during an interview with him last week.

The broadcaster said it had received complaints from people who were 'unhappy' about Stayt's comments and Munchetty's subsequent behaviour on social media following the incident on BBC Breakfast.
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.
Moncef Slaoui, the former chief advisor to the White House's Operation Warp Speed vaccine initiative. AP Photo/Evan Vucci

Moncef Slaoui, the former head of Operation Warp Speed, is facing a sexual-harassment allegation.

His former employer GlaxoSmithKline said an investigation "substantiated the allegations and is ongoing."

The complaint is from several years ago when Slaoui worked at GSK. He left the company in 2017.

See more stories on Insider's business page.

Biotech companies are cutting ties with Moncef Slaoui, after the drug industry veteran was accused of sexual harassment and inappropriate conduct.

The allegations stem from Slaoui's tenure at GlaxoSmithKline, the pharma company said in a statement on Wednesday. The company launched an investigation into the claims and substantiated them, GSK said.

Slaoui left GSK in 2017. Last year, he was tapped by President Donald Trump as the scientific head of the US vaccine effort, then known as Operation Warp Speed. He stepped down from that role in January at the request of the Biden administration.

On Wednesday, GSK said it fired Slaoui from the board of Galvani Bioelectronics, a startup in which it owns a majority stake. Slaoui also exited three other firms: Centessa Pharmaceuticals, Vaxcyte, and Medicxi.

In a statement late Wednesday, Slaoui apologized and said he was stepping back from his professional responsibilities.

"I have the utmost respect for my colleagues and feel terrible that my actions have put a former colleague in an uncomfortable situation. I would like to apologise unreservedly to the employee concerned and I am deeply sorry for any distress caused," he said in the statement.

'This simply should not have happened'

GlaxoSmithKline CEO Emma Walmsley. Microsoft

In a letter to GSK employees obtained by Insider, CEO Emma Walmsley said that the company received the sexual-harassment complaint in February and that the board "immediately initiated an investigation with an experienced law firm."

"Protecting the woman who came forward and her privacy has been a critical priority throughout this time," Walmsley wrote. "This will continue. I respect and admire her courage and strength. I've spent many nights lately putting myself in her shoes. More than anything, this simply should not have happened."

Story continues

Slaoui, who has a Ph.D. in molecular biology and immunology, spent nearly three decades ascending the ranks at GSK. Then he became well known as the face of the Trump administration's ambitious effort to develop and mass-produce coronavirus vaccines. In January, he resigned at the request of President Joe Biden's team.

Slaoui worked at GSK for almost 3 decades

Slaoui started at GSK in 1988 as a bench scientist. By 2006 he had joined GSK's board of directors, and he oversaw the vaccines business starting in 2009. After retiring from GSK, Slaoui became a venture capitalist, joining the firm Medicxi as a partner in 2017.

Medicxi said on Thursday that Slaoui had stepped down from his role as a partner at the firm.

Vaxcyte, where Slaoui served as chairman, said it requested his resignation when it learned of the allegations against him. Centessa, a biotech startup, said Slaoui has left his role as chief scientific officer.

Slaoui also served on the board of coronavirus-vaccine maker Moderna from 2017 to 2020. In a statement, Moderna said it "was not aware of these or any other allegations of improper conduct by Dr. Slaoui." The company declined to comment further.

Walmsley said in her memo that she was "shocked and angry about all of this, but I'm resolute."

"We are in an age of progress with a female CEO, growing ranks of female leaders, new commitments to diverse representation, and a culture that values speaking up," Walmsley wrote. "I expect everyone to represent GSK with integrity - especially senior leaders."

A vaccine-research site in Rockville, Maryland, that opened in December 2016 and was named after Slaoui will be renamed, she added.

This article has been updated with Slaoui's departures from Centessa, Vaxcyte, and Medicxi.

Read the original article on Business Insider
GREENWICH  Two suspects were charged with trying to make a fraudulent withdrawal of funds from the TD Bank by using fake documents, police said.

Officers were called to the bank branch on Greenwich Avenue last Friday on a report of the male and female suspects, police said.

The female suspect was observed driving away in a car with Pennsylvania license plates, according to the arrest report, and the male suspect was walking away from the scene along Liberty Way. The woman was seen throwing paperwork out of the car before officers pulled her over, police said.

Both suspects were apprehended and later charged with a number of financial crimes, according to the arrest report.

John Buonocore, 40, of Florence Drive, Manchester, N.J.; and Schemika Williams, 32, of Bruckner Blvd., the Bronx, N.Y., were charged with forgery, criminal impersonation, identity theft, conspiracy and criminal attempt at larceny, police said

Williams was also given a ticket for littering and cited for motor-vehicle charges as well, after police determined she did not have a valid drivers license or registration, according to the arrest report.

Bail was set at $10,000 for Williams and $5,000 for Buonocore.

Buonocore and Williams both have a number of arrests involving financial and property crimes on their criminal record in New Jersey, according to court listings.
By Chris Bragg | Times Union, Albany

Albany, N.Y.  Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins has finally made her appointment to New Yorks ethics commission  a move that could end up causing major headaches for Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.

Stewart-Cousins appointment to the Joint Commission on Public Ethics is Juanita Bing Newton, a former longtime judge on the Court of Claims and an ex-state Supreme Court justice. She recently retired as dean of the New York State Judicial Institute, the educational arm of the court system that provides mandatory education to the judges and attorneys.

In a statement, Stewart-Cousins said her appointee brings an impressive amount of knowledge and experience to the commission after a 45-year legal career and a lifetime of civic service.

The Senate majority is committed to reforming the flawed JCOPE process and I thank Judge Juanita Bing Newton for her willingness to continue her service to New York as an independent monitor to uphold and improve the integrity of our state government, Stewart-Cousins said.

In recent months, an unusual dynamic has developed among the commissioners on JCOPE, which regulates government ethics and lobbying in New York. On one side of votes taken at meetings have been the six Cuomo appointees to the panel; on the other side have been the four appointees of Republican leaders in the Legislature, who have joined with the three appointees of Speaker Carl E. Heastie, a Democrat.

That has resulted in several motions aimed at the Cuomo administration failing by a margin of 7-6, with the seven legislative appointees in a majority. But because eight votes are needed to pass motions, the commission has in effect been deadlocked. At a meeting on Tuesday, for instance, a motion to subpoena Cuomos office for records went down by that 7-6 margin, with the six Cuomo appointees in opposition.

The final, 14th JCOPE commissionership appointed by Stewart-Cousins has long been vacant. At Tuesdays meeting, JCOPE Commissioner Jim Yates called out Stewart-Cousins for not making an appointment, noting that effectively, the Senate Democrats are voting no on any investigation.

But now, if the bipartisan legislative bloc holds at future meetings, Stewart-Cousins appointment could bring the eight votes needed for JCOPE commissioners to pass a wide range of motions opposed by the Cuomo appointees.

It remains unlikely that the commissioners will vote to authorize an investigation into the slew of sexual harassment allegations leveled in recent weeks against Cuomo. Under the much-criticized 2011 law creating the commission, two Cuomo-appointed commissioners of his own political party would have to vote in favor of any investigation into the governor. A similar requirement exists for investigating members of the Legislature.

On Tuesday, the Senate Ethics Committee advanced a bill sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi that would reform that requirement. Under the bill, a simple eight votes would be needed start an investigation, not the consent of commissioners appointed by the person being investigated. Similarly, Biaggis bill would remove the requirement that legislators and statewide officials can only be found guilty of ethical violations with the consent of their own appointees to the commission.

JCOPE is an inherently flawed institution, and so this is a short-term fix, Biaggi told the chambers Ethics Committee on Tuesday, adding that the longer-term repair was a constitutional amendment proposed by Democratic state Sen. Liz Krueger.

Stewart-Cousins prior appointee to JCOPE resigned in September 2018, and under state law, Senate Democrats were supposed to make a new appointment within a month. During the more than two-year delay, Senate Democrats have said it was difficult to find someone to serve on the much-maligned panel. They also cited unfairness in the law creating JCOPE, which gave Senate Republicans three appointees to JCOPE and Senate Democrats only one, regardless of which party held the majority.

A spokesman for Stewart-Cousins, whose conference resoundingly took the chambers majority in 2018, said Democrats were considering changing the appointments law as well.
US President has entrusted his Vice President with the task of leading the diplomatic effort and working with neighbouring Mexico and Northern Triangle nations of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to stem the flow of immigrants to the southern border.

Biden said nobody is better qualified than Harris, who ran the second-largest attorney general's office in America, for this.

"This new surge (of migrants) we are dealing with now started with the last administration but it is our responsibility to deal with it humanely and to stop (it from) happening and so this increase has been consequential," Biden told reporters at the White House on Wednesday.

"The vice president has agreed... to lead our diplomatic effort and work with those nations to accept the returnees and enhance migration enforcement at their borders and we are already talking with Mexico about that," he said.

In an interaction with reporters before his meeting with Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on this issue, Biden said his administration is going to be dealing with a full team.

"I (can) think of nobody who is better qualified to do this than... this is a woman who ran the second-largest attorney general's office in America after the United States attorney general in the State of California," he said about Harris.

In her remarks, Harris said there are many factors that lead residents to leave these countries.

"While we are clear that people should not come to the border now. We also understand that we will enforce the law...," she said.

Harris stressed addressing "the root causes that cause people to make the trek, as the president has described, to come here".

"I look forward to engaging in diplomacy with government, with the private sector, with civil society and the leaders of each in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to strengthen democracy and the rule of law and ensure shared prosperity in the region. We will collaborate with Mexico and other countries throughout the Western Hemisphere and as part of this effort, we expect that we will have collaborative relationships to accomplish the goals the president has and that we share," she said.

According to the White House, the vice president's leadership on this issue will focus both on the goal of stemming the flow of irregular migrants to the United States and on the establishment of a longer-term strategic partnership with these countries based on respect and shared values.

"We need to deal with what's happening in the Northern Triangle and address it in a way that is about not only diplomacy, but bringing our allies together," Harris said.

The vice president will oversee diplomatic efforts and work with these nations to accept returnees and enhance migration enforcement on their borders, implement the strategy to address the root causes of migration and work to create economic prosperity, fight corruption, improve good governance and strengthen the rule of law.

In addition, Harris will work closely with various Cabinet members, including the Secretary of State and the Administrator for Development, as well as the Special Envoy for the Northern Triangle.

She will also engage with civil society, organisations and governments in the region to build, strengthen, and expand Central and North American countries' asylum systems and resettlement capacity and increase opportunities for vulnerable populations to apply for protection closer to home.

Meanwhile, the Department of Defence approved a request for assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to temporarily house unaccompanied migrant children at a vacant dormitory at Joint Base San Antonio Lackland, Texas and an area of land on Fort Bliss, Texas to construct a suitable temporary housing facility.

(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 Secret Service tried to intervene in a police investigation in 2018 after Hunter Biden's then-girlfriend, his brother's widow Hallie, threw a gun she'd found in his car into a grocery store trash can because she thought he was going to kill himself with it.

The bizarre incident was revealed by Politico on Thursday.

Hallie had been searching Hunter's truck because she had 'suspicions'. She found a .38 revolver then drove to the Janssen's Market, a grocery store in Wilmington, where she threw the gun away.

She had wrapped it in a black shopping bag and put it in a trash bin.

She then told Hunter what she'd done and he ordered her to go back and get it. When she did, it was gone.

She told the store and the store's general manager called police.

The FBI were called to the scene and both Hunter and Hallie were interviewed by police. During one of his interviews, he referred to two Mexican store workers as 'suspicious' and said they were 'prolly illegal'.

In October 2018, Hallie Biden tossed a gun that she'd found in Hunter Biden's pick-up truck. She was concerned he was going to kill himself with it, he told police later. She then went to retrieve it but it had gone and that's when police got involved. Hunter is shown, left, at his father's inauguration in January with his son, Hunter

When a cop asked if the gun had been used in a crime, Hunter 'became very agitated' and asked the cop if he was intentionally lying to 'make him mad'.

A .38 revolver, similar to the kind Hallie found in Hunter's truck

The cop then asked him if he'd been using drugs or was drunk and he said: 'Listen, it isn't like that.

'I think she believes I was gonna kill myself.'

Hunter's drug and alcohol problems have been well documented.

While the pair were being questioned, Secret Service agents went to StarQuest Shooters - where Hunter had purchased the gun on October 12 - and asked owner Ron Palmieri if he'd give them the sale records.

Ron Palmieri - refused to hand them over. He said he did not want the Secret Service to try to hide Hunter's connection to the weapon if it had been used in a crime.

Within a few days, the gun reappeared when a man who regularly went through the trash bins of the store brought it back.

No one was arrested or charged and the incident was kept mostly a secret.

Hallie wrapped the gun in a plastic bag and put it in a trash van outside Janssen's Market in Wilmington

No one in the Biden family was entitled to Secret Service protection at the time but Politico cites unnamed sources who say that agents from the Secret Service offices in Wilmington and Philadelphia kept an 'informal' role in protecting them after Joe left office as Vice President in 2017.

Vice Presidents are not entitled to lifelong Secret Service protection in the way that Presidents are.

The Secret Service told Politico it had no record of any involvement of its officers in the investigation.

Hunter, during his police interview, told police he never asked his father for 'anything'.

Hunter and Hallie's relationship was revealed in 2017, two years after Beau's death. Beau died from a brain tumor.

Hunter bought the .38 revolver from Starquest Shooters in Delaware on October 12, 2018

An interior shot of the gun store where he filled out forms saying he did not use drugs

The owner of the gun store, Ron Palmieri, said Secret Service agents visited the store and asked for the records that proved Hunter owned the gun. He refused to give them to them

At the time, Hunter was married to Kathleen, his first wife.

He and Hallie dated for two years before ending their controversial romance.

Hunter's drug and alcohol problems are well documented. He is shown in one of a series of compromising photos that emerged during his father' s campaign

Around the same time, it emerged that he'd secretly married a South African woman, Melissa Cohen, six days after meeting her.

They now have a baby son together, who is also called Hunter.

In August 2018, months before the gun incident and when he was still with Hallie, he fathered another child with Lunden Alexis Roberts, a stripper who lives in Arkansas.

She sued him after he stopped paying child support.

Hunter's problems with drugs and tortured personal love life has been a sore spot for President Biden and plagued his Presidential campaign.

He scarcely talks about him other to say that he supports his sobriety, and has denied ever intervening or abusing his powers to help him.

In response to the Politico revelations, a White House spokesman said on Thursday: 'President Biden did not have any knowledge of, or involvement in, the Secret Services alleged role in this incident, and neither he nor any family member was a protectee at that time.'

Hallie was married to Hunter's brother Beau, who died in 2015 after battling cancer
Miracles just kept happening: Firefighter who spent 7 minutes in raging inferno recounts how God saved him from hell on Earth

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

Imagine plunging into a raging inferno and immediately finding yourself trapped in its raging flames with no immediate escape from the searing temperatures.

That was reality for Los Angeles Fire Department Captain Cheyane Caldwell when a 2007 call to aid a burning building nearly claimed his life.

LISTEN: HEAR THE JESUS IS ALL WE NEED PODCAST

Theres no way I should have survived, Caldwell recently said while sharing his incredible survival story on the premiere episode of Edifis Jesus Is All We Need podcast. Nobody expected me to survive.

Caldwell was forever changed on July 24, 2007, a day that now lives in infamy for him. It all began with an event known as the Adams fire, a one-story structure fire in California that became a defining point in his life.

Listen to Caldwell explain the miracles that he believes saved him from the blaze:

When Caldwell and his team arrived at the fire, it was evident the blaze was quicking spinning out-of-control. As he got on the roof to assess the situation, thats when the unthinkable happened.

I stepped over this division wall and ... I fell through the decking into the structure fire and fell about 13 [or] 15 feet into the structure, he said. A ball of fire came out the hole I created, so you can imagine what was underneath me.

As the flames continued to engulf the building, Caldwell remembers waking up on the ground in the midst of sweltering heat, with the blaze quickly closing in and with no immediate exit.

I thought three things in my mind clear as day: OK Lord, Im in here all by myself, he recalled. Second, Lord, this is it. Im ready  and lastly, my life just went before me all on a DVD in fast order.

The immense pain Caldwell felt in those moments was unbearable, as he compared the intensity to putting your hands in the oven and just letting them burn.

I couldnt pull my hands out of the oven, he said. My arms, my hands, my face, the back of my head, my belly. .. this was hell on Earth.

While Caldwell in those moments assumed it was the end, he now believes God had other plans. As the death-defying moments wore on during an excruciating 7 minutes and 10 seconds inside the blaze, Caldwells captain made a surprising decision.

He directed firefighters on the roof to put a hoseline down the hole and blast water inside. The captain believed Caldwell was dead, but wanted his family to be able to have an open casket funeral. That act of mercy, though, ended up being a life-saver.

What he did was like water from Heaven, Caldwell said, noting that the intense burning he felt was immediately stopped  in its tracks.

Against all odds, Caldwell was rescued, survived and remarkably returned to his job within 10 months. He has since shared his story with hundreds of thousands of people through interviews and a popular film from The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

Caldwell openly credits God for his survival, explaining that miracles just kept happening during the ordeal. Even the fall into the building could have been deadly due to sharp spikes on some of the fencing inside, yet he narrowly missed the spikes and a cage broke his fall.

Two feet to the left, I would have been impaled  three feet to the right, I would have fallen straight through to the concrete below, he said. But God had me step right where I stepped.

Caldwell added, I truly believe He held me in the palm of his hand  its real, He loves us.

SUBSCRIBE: LISTEN TO THE JESUS IS ALL WE NEED PODCAST ON YOUR FAVORITE PLATFORMS

Then theres the water hose. Caldwells captain, who wasnt a Christian at the time of the blaze, recalled feeling as though God told him to make that surprising call. The captain later explained, It was like God was speaking to me  God told me to take this hoseline and put it in the hole.

Caldwell offered a message to anyone listening who might be facing questions or struggles of their own: Prayer works. He also affirmed that God always has a plan and purpose.

Theres no reason I should have survived, but I  give all glory to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for what he did on that day. Caldwell concluded. Theres no luck involved, theres no coincidence  its all providence and providence is defined as Gods hand at work for a later activity or mission.

Listen to Caldwells incredible story in the premiere episode of Edifis Jesus Is All We Need podcast.
International relations minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah says African women are still battling for equality in the political arena, adding there is a long way to achieve the 50:50 gender parity project of the African Union.

Nandi-Ndaitwah, who is also Swapo's vice president, yesterday questioned why citizens hardly vote for female presidential candidates when they stand but tend to vote for men into power.

"We have achieved the 50:50 gender parity at the AU Commission. However, we still need to do a lot do to achieve 50:50 gender representation at country level," she stated.

Nandi-Ndaitwah's comments follow the ascendence of Samia Suluhu Hassan to the presidency of Tanzania following the death of former president John Magufuli last week.

Hassan was ushered into the top office and will serve the remainder of Magufuli's term as per that country's constitution. She also made history by becoming Tanzania's first-ever female president.

"Credit must be given to the late Magufuli for making her vice president. Whatever happened during his tenure, it means he did it with madam Hassan. She has been doing very well internationally. She attended all international meetings he delegated her and did well. It is something to celebrate," said Nandi-Ndaitwah, who was in Dar es Salaam last weekend to attend a state memorial service in honour of the late Magufuli.

Hailed

Local political commentators have also hailed Hassan's ascendency to the highest political office in Tanzania, saying it was symbolically and materially significant for women in the East African country.

However, Africa still has a lot to do to ensure equal representation of women in the top and key political positions, local political commentators suggest.

Political commentator Rui Tyitende said it is rather unfortunate that Hassan became president as a consequence of the death of Magufuli, and not through the process of competitive elections.

"That would have given her more leverage and legitimacy to usher in reform across the political spectrum considering the cloud of irregularities that transpired during last year's presidential elections," he observed.

According to Tyitende, Hassan will be able to function in her new role as president with full powers and not an acting president.

"In other words, she has the power to appoint her own cabinet and discard Magufuli's policies and programmes if she so wishes. Whether she can utilise that power to the advantage of the Tanzanian people will be something we will have to wait and see. She has four years to prove herself and deal with the various social, economic and security problems facing Tanzania," he indicated.

Another commentator Ndumba Kamwanyah said Hassan's new role is telling in terms of the political hurdle women have to battle to reach the top.

"So, as much as her presidency, despite the circumstances how she ascended to power, is a victory for gender political representation. Africa still has a lot to do to ensure equal representation of women in the top and key positions," Kamwanyah contended.

Political analyst and senior lecturer in the department of communication at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) Admire Mare said Hassan's ascendance to the presidency means that finally, women are breaking the glass ceiling in political spaces.

"She is one of the few female leaders to have climbed up that ladder. It's a good sign for female empowerment but more structural barriers and negative attitudes must be addressed to ensure the 50: 50 representation as stipulated by the African Union," he suggested.

Female presidents

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Namibia Governance Women By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Africa has had few women leaders over the years. Liberia's Ellen Johnson Sirleaf made history when she became the continent's first elected woman president in 2005. She served two terms until 2018.

Catherine Samba-Panza, a lawyer by profession, also served as Central African Republic interim president from 2014 to 2016.

Another female leader who tasted the presidency was Malawi's Joyce Banda, who stepped up from vice president to president after the death of Bingu wa Mutharika in 2012. She later lost the presidential election in 2014.

Albeit ceremonial, in 2018, the National Assembly in Mauritius voted Ameenah Gurib-Fakim as the first woman to hold the position of president during 2015. She later resigned in 2018 after she was implicated in a financial scandal.

Ethiopia also has a female president in diplomat Sahle-Work Zewde, who was elected to the position in 2018 by parliamentarians, also making her the first woman to hold the honorary role.
India has told Pakistan that the designs of the Pakal Dul and the Lower Kalnai in Jammu and Kashmir, over which Islamabad raised objections, are fully compliant with the provisions of the Indus Water Treaty.

The two-day meeting between India and Pakistan under the concluded here on Wednesday, during which Islamabad raised objections over the designs of these two

Sources said Pakistan also sought additional information on in Ladakh sanctioned by India after the nullification of special provisions of Article 370 which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

"Discussions continued on designs of two Indian projects, namely Pakal Dul (1000 MW) and Lower Kalnai (48 MW)," the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

"The Indian side held that these projects are fully compliant with the provisions of the Treaty and provided technical data in support of its position," it said.

The annual Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) meeting took place here after a gap of over two years. The last meeting had taken place in Lahore in August 2018.

The MEA said the next meeting will be held in Pakistan on mutually convenient dates.

The Indian delegation was led by P K Saxena, India's Indus Commissioner, and his team included officials from the Central Water Commission, the Central Electricity Authority and the Hydroelectric Power Corporation.

The Pakistani delegation was led by its Indus Commissioner Syed Muhammad Meher Ali Shah. The delegation arrived here on Monday evening.

The MEA said the meeting was held in a "cordial manner".

"Both the commissioners reaffirmed their commitment to interact more frequently in an attempt to resolve the issues by bilateral discussions under the treaty," the statement said.

The waters of the Indus river and its tributaries are crucial to India and Pakistan and serve as a lifeline for millions of people of the two nations.

This year's meeting is the first between the two commissioners after the August 2019 nullification of the provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution that gave special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

The meeting also assumes significance as this is the first important engagement between India and Pakistan after militaries of the two countries had announced last month that they would strictly observe a ceasefire along the Line of Control and other sectors.

In 2019, the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir was also bifurcated into union territories -- Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir.

India has since cleared several hydropower projects for the region.

Hydropower projects in Chilling (24 MW), Rongdo (12 MW) and Ratan Nag (10.5 MW) are in Leh; while Mangdum Sangra (19 MW), Kargil Hunderman (25 MW) and Tamasha (12 MW) are in Kargil.

Both Leh and Kargil fall in the Union Territory of Ladakh.

"The Pakistan side requested India for sharing of information on the design of other Indian hydropower projects being planned to be developed. Indian side assured that the information will be supplied as and when required to be supplied under the provisions of the Treaty," the statement said.

The (IWT) warrants the two commissioners to meet at least once a year, alternately in India and Pakistan.

Last year's meeting scheduled to be held in New Delhi in March was cancelled, a first since the treaty came into being, in view of the coronavirus pandemic.

In July 2020, India had proposed to Pakistan that the meeting for discussing pending issues pertaining to the be held virtually in view of the coronavirus pandemic, but Pakistan insisted on holding talks at the Attari border checkpost.

However, India said it was not conducive to hold the meeting at Attari due to the pandemic. With the improvement in the pandemic situation, the meeting was held following all COVID-19-related protocols.

Under the Indus Waters Treaty signed between India and Pakistan in 1960, all the waters of the eastern rivers -- Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi -- amounting to around 33 million acre feet (MAF) annually is allocated to India for unrestricted use. The waters of western rivers -- Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab -- amounting to around 135 MAF annually has been assigned largely to Pakistan.

According to the treaty, India has been given the right to generate hydroelectricity through run-of-the-river projects on the western rivers subject to specific criteria for design and operation. The treaty also gives right to Pakistan to raise objections to designs of Indian hydroelectric projects on the western rivers.

(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 JON GAMBRELL and SAMY MAGDY, The Associated Press

ISMAILIA, Egypt (AP)  A skyscraper-sized cargo ship wedged across Egypts Suez Canal further imperiled global shipping Thursday as at least 150 other vessels needing to pass through the crucial waterway idled waiting for the obstruction to clear, authorities said.

The Ever Given, a Panama-flagged ship that carries cargo between Asia and Europe, ran aground Tuesday in the narrow, man-made canal dividing continental Africa from the Sinai Peninsula. In the time since, efforts to free the ship using dredgers, digging and the aid of high tides have yet to push the container vessel aside  affecting billions of dollars worth of cargo.

In a sign of the global turmoil the blockage has caused, the ships Japanese owner even offered a written apology Thursday for the incident as well.

We are determined to keep on working hard to resolve this situation as soon as possible, Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd. said. We would like to apologize to all parties affected by this incident, including the ships travelling and planning to travel through Suez Canal.

Authorities began work again to free the vessel Thursday morning after halting for the night, an Egyptian canal authority official said. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he wasnt authorized to speak to journalists, said workers hoped to avoid offloading containers from the vessel as it would be a dayslong effort to do so that could extend the closure.

So far, dredgers have tried to clear silt around the massive ship. Tug boats nudged the vessel alongside it, trying to gain momentum. From the shore, at least one backhoe dug into the canals sandy banks, suggesting the bow of the ship had plowed into it. However, satellite photos taken Thursday by Planet Labs Inc. and analyzed by The Associated Press showed the vessel still stuck in the same location.

In this satellite image from Planet Labs Inc. the cargo ship MV Ever Given sits wedged in the Suez Canal near Suez, Egypt, Thursday, March 25, 2021. The skyscraper-sized cargo ship wedged across Egypt's Suez Canal further imperiled global shipping Thursday as at least 150 other vessels needing to pass through the crucial waterway idled waiting for the obstruction to clear, authorities said. (Planet Labs Inc. via AP)

Lt. Gen. Osama Rabei, the head of the canal authority, said navigation through the waterway would remain halted until they refloat the vessel. A team from Boskalis, a Dutch firm specialized in salvaging, arrived at the canal on Thursday, though one of the companys top officials warned removing the vessel could take days to weeks.

It is, in a manner of speaking, a very heavy whale on the beach, Boskalis chairman Peter Berdowski told the Dutch current affairs program Nieuwuur on Wednesday night. The ship, with the weight it now has, cant really be pulled free. You can forget it.

Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, the company that manages the Ever Given, said the ships 25-member crew are safe and accounted for. Shoei Kisen Kaisha said all the crew came from India.

The ship had two pilots from Egypts canal authority aboard the vessel to guide it when the grounding happened around 7:45 a.m. Tuesday, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement said.

Canal service provider Leth Agencies said at least 150 ships were waiting for the Ever Given to be cleared, including vessels near Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea, Port Suez on the Red Sea and those already stuck in the canal system on Egypts Great Bitter Lake.

Cargo ships already behind the Ever Given in the canal will be reversed south back to Port Suez to free the channel, Leth Agencies said. Authorities hope to do the same to the Ever Given when they can free it.

Ships anchor in Lake Timsah, Ismailia, halfway through Egypts Suez canal on Thursday, March 25, 2021. At least 150 vessels are waiting to use the Suez Canal after a skyscraper-sized cargo ship wedged across the vital waterway, according to canal service provider Leth Agencies. It says the backup Thursday affected ships both needing to travel into the Mediterranean and the Red Seas. (Associated Press/ Sam Magdy)AP

Evergreen Marine Corp., a major Taiwan-based shipping company that operates the ship, said the Ever Given had been overcome by strong winds as it entered the canal, something Egyptian officials earlier said as well. High winds and a sandstorm plagued the area Tuesday, with winds gusting as much as 50 kilometers (30 miles) per hour.

An initial report suggested the ship suffered a power blackout before the incident, something Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement denied Thursday.

Initial investigations rule out any mechanical or engine failure as a cause of the grounding, the company said.

In Japan, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told reporters Thursday that the Suez Canal is part of a crucial international sea lane, and that the Japanese government was gathering information and working with local authorities.

The closure could affect oil and gas shipments to Europe from the Mideast, which rely on the canal to avoid sailing around Africa. The price of international benchmark Brent crude stood at over $63 a barrel Thursday.

Overall, famed shipping journal Lloyds List estimates each day the Suez Canal is closed disrupts over $9 billion worth of goods that should be passing through the waterway. A quarter of all Suez Canal traffic a day comes from container ships like the Ever Given, the journal said.

Blocking something like the Suez Canal really sets in motion a number of dominos toppling each other over, said Lars Jensen, chief executive of Denmark-based SeaIntelligence Consulting. The effect is not only going to be the simple, immediate one with cargo being delayed over the next few weeks, but will actually have repercussions several months down the line for the supply chain.

The Ever Given, built in 2018 with a length of nearly 400 meters (a quarter mile) and a width of 59 meters (193 feet), is among the largest cargo ships in the world. It can carry some 20,000 containers at a time. It previously had been at ports in China before heading toward Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

Opened in 1869, the Suez Canal provides a crucial link for oil, natural gas and cargo. It also remains one of Egypts top foreign currency earners. In 2015, the government of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi completed a major expansion of the canal, allowing it to accommodate the worlds largest vessels. However, the Ever Given ran aground south of that new portion of the canal.

The stranding Tuesday marks just the latest to affect mariners amid the pandemic. Hundreds of thousands have been stuck aboard vessels due to the pandemic. Meanwhile, demands on shipping have increased, adding to the pressure on tired sailors.
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 25, 2021) - Heliostar Metals Limited (TSXV: HSTR) (OTCQX: HSTXF) (FSE: RGG1) ("Heliostar" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it is beginning the next field program at its Unga project on Unga and Popof Islands, Alaska.

Highlights

2020 drilling intersected gold mineralized veins at Apollo-Sitka, Aquila and SH-1 that are each open to expansion

Two reverse circulation (RC) and one diamond rig to commence drilling after Easter in early April

Fieldwork will advance over 35 additional targets to prioritize new drill targets

An initial goal of expanding the current gold resource to greater than 1 million ounces

Heliostar CEO, Charles Funk, commented, "The 2020 drilling program at Unga demonstrated the district scale opportunity that the project represents. The favourable climate in southwestern Alaska allows an early start to our 2021 program and a longer exploration season to expand on last year's successful work program. The three drill rigs will focus on expanding the open drill intersections at Apollo-Sitka, Aquila and SH-1 with an initial project goal of expanding the current resource to greater than one million ounces."

2021 Phase 1 program

The team is currently mobilizing to site to establish the field camp and drilling will commence in early April. Fieldwork will build on the 2020 drilling program and the company will return to the three main zones at Unga; Apollo-Sitka, Aquila, and SH-1 and test new high priority district targets.

A total of three drill rigs will be employed: a diamond drill will continue to expand mineralization beneath the SH-1 resource while two RC drill rigs will step out from the Aquila discovery and the Apollo-Sitka veins. The RC drill rigs will also be used to rapidly evaluate new targets at Unga. This complementary pairing will allow the company to advance our high probability targets while also advancing the pipeline of additional prospects.

Apollo-Sitka

The team will follow up last year's success at Apollo-Sitka. That program yielded two holes with exciting intersections:

APS20-03A - 5.10 grams per tonne (g/t) gold equivalent (4.77 g/t gold, 14.3 g/t silver, 0.1% lead and 0.2% zinc) over 1.95 metres (m) from 157.89 m downhole APS20-04 - 1.06 g/t gold equivalent (0.30 g/t gold, 11.9 g/t silver, 0.7% lead and 0.8% zinc) over 24.99 m downhole from 5.79 m downhole

Note: All numbers are rounded and widths represent downhole lengths; true thicknesses are unknown. Gold equivalent is calculated using the following formula: gold-equivalent = ((Au_g/t x 48.23) + (Ag_g/t x 0.6431) + (Pb_ppm x 0.0019) + (Zn_ppm x 0.0021)) / 48.23. Metal price assumptions are $1,500 per ounce gold, $20 per ounce silver, $0.85 per pound lead and $0.95 per pound zinc.

The 5.10 g/t gold equivalent over 1.95 metre intercept beneath the Apollo shaft 1 area identified an exciting new opportunity for discovery at this historic mine.

Last season's drilling intersected multiple sub-parallel veins and located the veins at depth in the Apollo area. The drilling in the wide stockwork zone surrounding the Sitka workings demonstrated that this area has more mineralized material to offer.





Figure 1:Apollo-Sitka plan map with veins, gold in rock chip samples and drill hole locations shown.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7729/78543_db8d680b145daad9_003full.jpg

This season, the company will begin systematically drilling at Apollo-Sitka with a goal of defining the full extent of unexploited mineralization found by earlier miners. Drilling will commence at the Apollo Shaft 2 and Sitka areas where historic workings have delineated veins with gold and base metals that could not be profitably mined using the technology available at the turn of the last century but where current techniques commonly prove effective in similar geologic settings.

Drilling will move along strike to the Apollo Shaft 1 area, the source of the majority of 130,000 ounces of historic gold production, testing the veins in areas where faults made finding the continuations of the veins along strike and downdip difficult and where increasing base metal content made recovering gold at depth more challenging.

High priority drill targets further to the west of Apollo and along the same structure include Empire Ridge, where 2020 drilling intersected 9.35 metres of 0.507 gold equivalent near surface, California, and Heather.

Aquila

In 2020, Heliostar's first hole at the Aquila discovered two veins within a wide shallow intercept:

AQ20-01 - 4.46 g/t gold over 3.6 m from 37.55 m downhole, and

2.24 g/t gold over 17.37 m from 46.63 m downhole, including;

5.56 g/t gold over 5.75 m from 50.25m downhole

Note: All numbers are rounded and widths represent downhole lengths. True thickness is estimated at 35-90% of downhole thickness.

The Aquila target is a new zone at the Unga project. Drilling a wide, shallow interval of gold mineralization in the first hole opens an entirely new and exciting area of exploration. Aquila is interpreted as on the same structure as the SH-1 resource, just six kilometres away. In this area, gold mineralization outcrops over 850 metres. It is one of the high potential exploration targets identified and drilled in 2020.





Figure 2: Cross section through AQ20-01 and AQ20-05 looking towards the west.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7729/78543_db8d680b145daad9_004full.jpg

Aquila follow-up drilling is a priority for the 2021 program and represents both an underground and open pit opportunity. This program will take full advantage of the RC drilling to rapidly assess mineralization along the two principle vein orientations. The Amethyst vein was only intersected in one hole from the 2020 drilling and has the potential for significant strike length. While exploration on the Ankle Creek Vein will focus on locating features that cause the veins to widen such as flexures, dilational jogs, or areas where the veins coalesce. The intersection of these two structures along strike to the east and at depth is also a prime target.

SH-1 Resource

In 2020, SH-1 delivered robust widths and high grades as the company expanded on the historical drilling, particularly in holes SH20-03 and SH20-04. The holes drilled in the upper areas of SH-1 upgraded the quality of the existing shallow resource. In addition, they provided insight into the internal geometry of the high-grade mineralization. In 2021, the company will continue infilling and stepping out beneath open intersections at the SH-1 zone using this improved understanding.

2020 Drilling Highlights SH20-01A -

7.74 g/t gold and 27.0 g/t silver over 11.65 m from 12.95 m downhole, including;

16.06 g/t gold and 37.7 g/t silver over 4.0 m from 12.95 m downhole SH20-02 -

18.66 g/t gold and 11.5 g/t silver over 1.98 m from 50.75 m downhole

SH20-03 -

6.66 g/t gold and 11.7 g/t silver over 6.97 m from 20.0 m downhole, including;

19.80 g/t gold and 23.3 g/t silver over 2.0 m from 23.0 m downhole SH20-04 -

5.13 g/t gold and 14.6 g/t silver over 4.42 m from 13.26 m downhole, including;

11.5 g/t gold and 20.7 g/t silver over 1.58 m from 13.26 m downhole

Note: All numbers are rounded and widths represent downhole lengths. True thickness is estimated at 80-85% of downhole thickness.





Figure 3: Long section of SH-1 looking to northwest with 2020 holes shown and recently received results labelled in red.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 3, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7729/78543_db8d680b145daad9_005full.jpg

Drilling in 2020 provided valuable information about the steeply raking geometry of the high-grade mineralization at SH-1 that is of great value in planning the 2021 drill program. Drilling will also focus on the downdip extent of the main ore shoot which remains unconstrained. Furthermore, drilling also shows that there are several parallel shoots along strike from the Main Shoot that remain open. Testing these areas with the core drill rig will be a priority for the 2021 season.

Other Targets

More than 35 prospects are located within Heliostar's Unga land package, which are being reviewed and prioritized for drill testing. The company will undertake surface exploration to rank these based on prospectivity and advance them to drill ready status for a subsequent phase 2 program. Key targets include Centennial, the Zachary Bay porphyry, Norm's Vein, Beach Vein, Disney, California, Bloomer Ridge and the Pook Vein.

We look forward to a safe and productive field season at Unga in 2021.

About Heliostar Metals Ltd.

Heliostar is a well-financed junior exploration and development company with a portfolio of high-grade gold projects in Alaska and Mexico. The company's flagship asset is the 100% controlled Unga Gold Project on Unga and Popof Islands in Alaska. The project hosts an intermediate sulfidation epithermal gold deposit, located within the district-scale property that encompasses 240km2 across the two islands. Additional targets on the property include porphyry, high sulphidation and intermediate sulphidation epithermal veins. On Unga Island, priority targets include: the SH-1 and Aquila, both on the Shumagin Trend, the former Apollo-Sitka mine, which was Alaska's first underground gold mine and the Zachary Bay porphyry gold-copper prospect. Gold mineralization at the Centennial Zone is located on neighbouring Popof Island within four kilometres of infrastructure and services at Sand Point.

In Mexico, the company owns 100% of three early stage epithermal projects in Sonora that are highly prospective for gold and silver. Cumaro forms part of the El Picacho district, while the Oso Negro and La Lola projects are also prospective for epithermal gold-silver mineralization.

Qualified Person

The Company's disclosure of technical or scientific information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Stewart Harris, P.Geo., Exploration Manager for the Company. Mr. Harris is a Qualified Person as defined under the terms of National Instrument 43-101.

For additional information please contact:

Charles Funk

Chief Executive Officer

Heliostar Metals Limited

Email: charles.funk@heliostarmetals.com

Rob Grey

Investor Relations Manager

Heliostar Metals Limited

Email: rob.grey@heliostarmetals.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Information. This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "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 "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Forward-looking statements in this press release include Heliostar's plans to continue aggressive exploration at Unga in 2021 and its goal of defining a resource in excess of one million ounces, its plan to continue infill drilling to expand to depth where the system remains open, and its belief that the SH-1 prospect has considerable potential for expansion. Although Heliostar believes that 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 may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, weather, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/78543
This year on March 27, Jewish people around the world will join together to celebrate the first night of the festival of Passover. Passover marks the biblical account in the book of Exodus, when God hears the cries of the Israelites enslaved under Pharoah and ultimately frees them from the ancient Egyptian chains. With Moses as their guide, the Israelites flee slavery by crossing the Sea of Reeds, miraculously split for them by the loving hand of the divine. We are commanded each year to recall the narrative of the Exodus, by sitting down together at a festive seder meal, reciting the story and eating foods, such as matzah, that symbolize the experience of slavery and freedom.

More recently, many Jews have also reinterpreted Passover not only as a time to recall our collective past, but as a call to contemporary action; a plea to eradicate modern expressions of oppression and slavery. Many seders incorporate readings and poetry that speak to our modern day commitment to social justice and our obligation to hear the cries of those who still remain shackled in our society.

This year at our seders, we encourage our Jewish communities to incorporate the issue of Clean Slate. Clean Slate, a policy campaign initiated in Connecticut by CONECT (Congregations Organized for a New Connecticut) and supported by the ACLU, Greater Hartford Interfaith Action Alliance and others, is the automatic erasure of criminal records for certain convictions after a set period of time, for individuals who remain free of the criminal justice system upon release from custody. These formerly incarcerated individuals seek to return to their communities, rebuild their lives and reunite with their families.

Clean Slate is a racial justice issue. In Connecticut, Black people are 9.4 times more likely than white people to be incarcerated, and Latinx people are 3.9 times more likely to be incarcerated than white people. Once they have a criminal record attached to their names, it is much more likely that they will have difficulty gaining employment and securing housing. They remain chained to their past far after they complete the terms of their sentences. Without Clean Slate, the effects of this systemic racism will persist for decades to come.

In Jewish tradition, we believe strongly in the notion of tshuvah, the idea that an individual can atone for their past misdeeds and sins through a process of atonement. We teach that a person has achieved tshuvah when they find themselves in the very same situation as their previous misdeed or crime, and do not commit that deed again. We can certainly believe with good faith that someone who has remained free of the criminal justice system for at least three years upon release from custody has in fact reached tshuvah. Thus we want to help them move forward, to return to society, their families, and rebuild their lives. Furthermore our tradition teaches that once a person has made tshuvah, we are not to remind them of their past misdeeds.

This is why we advocate for Clean Slate. In our tradition, we are called to hear the cries of those who remain in chains. Every time a formerly incarcerated individual applies for a job, or seeks housing, they are reminded of their past, they remain shackled. Clean Slate helps to remove the chains that remain long after a prison sentence is served. It promotes the dignity of the human being, and it prompts us to offer the same compassion that God offered to the Children of Israel in the narrative of the Exodus. So at our Passover seders this year, as we taste the bitter herbs and the salt water on our tongues, let us be reminded of the individuals right in our midst, who too seek to cross the sea to freedom. Let us collectively work for racial justice in our state and together advocate to pass Clean Slate in the state of Connecticut.

To send a letter supporting Clean Slate to your local legislators, please visit the Clean Slate Action Network page at: bit.ly/C-S2021

To learn more about Clean Slate, visit the CONECT Clean Slate webpage at: http://www.weconect.org/clean-slate-2/.

Rabbi Colin Brodie, Congregation Bnai Torah, Trumbull

Rabbi Debra S. Cantor, Congregation B'nai Tikvoh-Sholom, Bloomfield

Rabbi Micah Ellenson, Temple Beth David, Cheshire

Rabbi Michael Farbman, Temple Emanuel, Orange

Rabbi Andi Fliegel, Congregation Beth Israel, West Hartford

Rabbi Michael S. Friedman, Temple Israel of Westport

Rabbi Jason Greenberg, Temple Shalom, Norwalk

Rabbi Brian Immerman, Congregation Mishkan Israel, Hamden

Rabbi Randall J. Konigsburg, Congregation Beth Sholom B'nai Israel, Manchester

Rabbi Marcelo Kormis, Congregation Beth El, Fairfield

Rabbi Sarah Marion, Congregation Bnai Israel, Bridgeport

Rabbi Danny Moss, Temple Israel of Westport

Rabbi Ita Paskind, Congregation Beth El, Norwalk

Rabbi Michael Pincus, Congregation Beth Israel, West Hartford

Cantor Michelle Rubel, Congregation Bnai Israel, Bridgeport

Rabbi Evan Schultz, Congregation Bnai Israel, Bridgeport

Rabbi Cantor Shirah Sklar, Temple Shalom, Norwalk
A new study shows that when people replace their old couch with a new one that has no added flame retardants, levels of the harmful chemicals in household dust drop significantly. Replacing the foam inside the couch cushions is also just as effective. The findings confirm that choosing healthier furniture without flame retardants can make a big difference in people's--especially children's--everyday exposures to these toxic chemicals.

We've long suspected that couches are a major source of toxic chemicals in dust. Now, for the first time, we have evidence demonstrating the positive impacts of replacing old furniture containing flame retardants." Kathryn Rodgers, Lead Author, Research Scientist, Silent Spring Institute

The findings appear in the journal Environment International.

Flame retardants can migrate out of furniture into air and dust, and end up in people's bodies. Exposure to the chemicals has been associated with cancer, thyroid disease, decreased fertility, lower IQ, and other harmful health effects. Infants and young children are particularly at risk since they crawl and play on the floor, where contaminated dust settles, and frequently put their hands in their mouths.

Until recently, the use of flame retardants in upholstered furniture across the United States and Canada was driven by a California flammability standard called TB117. Amid a public outcry over the toxicity of these chemicals and their lack of fire safety benefits, California updated TB117 to a new standard called TB117-2013. The new standard is designed to stop smoldering fires in the furniture's fabric before they reach the flammable foam inside, eliminating the need to add flame retardants to the foam. It went into effect in 2014 and allows manufacturers to make furniture without flame retardants.

A healthy exchange

To evaluate the impact of the new standard, Rodgers teamed up with researchers at the University of California, Davis; Environmental Working Group; the California Department of Toxic Substances Control; and Green Science Policy Institute. The researchers recruited participants from 33 homes in Northern California who were willing to swap out their old furniture for flame retardant-free options. About two-thirds of the participants replaced their entire upholstered couch. The rest replaced their couch's foam.

The team collected dust samples from each home before the swap out, and then several times afterward over a period of 18 months. Concentrations of flame retardants dropped significantly after the first six months, and most remained lower a year after the furniture was replaced. The same drops were also seen in homes that replaced just the foam.

Of the seven types of flame retardants the researchers tested for in dust, two in particular--PBDEs and TPHP--decreased the most. The drop in PBDE levels was not unexpected due to their widespread use in furniture that met the old standard, says Rodgers. The researchers also observed decreases in a group of flame retardants called chlorinated OPFRs. However, the declines were not as sustained over time likely because the chemicals are used in other products including textiles, plastics, adhesives, and rubber.

Up to standard

"For decades, our population has been needlessly exposed to harmful flame retardants from their furniture as a result of an outdated flammability standard that provided no fire safety benefit," says co-author Arlene Blum, executive director of Green Science Policy Institute. "This study confirms that the new standard reduces exposure to toxic flame retardants in our homes. This is a win-win for public health and also fire safety."

Beginning June 25, under a new federal bill recently signed into law, all upholstered furniture imported or sold in the United States will have to comply with California's TB117-2013 flammability standard for upholstered furniture.

"With the new national flammability standard, manufacturers are now assured they can continue to make furniture that is fire-safe without the need for toxic flame retardants," says Andy Counts, CEO of American Home Furnishing Alliance. "This is good for our business, and even more important, for the health of our workers and the public."

Despite recent successes at removing flame retardants from furniture, the global market for flame retardants continues to grow as the chemicals are increasingly used in other types of consumer products. "The findings from the new study should spur state and federal policymakers to reduce other harmful and ineffective uses of flame retardants in other items such as television cases and building insulation," says Blum.

What can consumers do?

Because furniture can last a long time, many homes still have furniture that meets the old standard and contains flame retardants. "Replacing old furniture can be costly and may not be an option for everyone," says Rodgers. "The good news is our study shows that replacing your couch's foam can be just as effective." People can replace the foam in their couch by contacting a local foam supplier and asking for new foam that does not contain added flame retardants.

It's also important to keep dust levels low, says Rodgers, since the chemicals like to hang out in dust. She recommends vacuuming using a strong vacuum with a motorized brush and HEPA filter and wiping surfaces with a wet cloth or mop. Fixing rips in the furniture's fabric to make sure the foam is not exposed and washing hands regularly are also important, she says.
President Joe Biden has big, ambitious plans that will continue to ring up unwieldy bills. His administration will have to fund a significant portion of those bills by raising taxes on affluent Americans. And that wont go well unless Bidens team can get ahead of well-heeled taxpayers who outfox the system.

The Internal Revenue Service has spent years underestimating how much income those artful dodgers have masked to avoid paying taxes. The money has been stashed in offshore bank accounts or private business partnerships, shortchanging Uncle Sam by about $175 billion a year.

The data revealing this come from a National Bureau of Economic Research study that looked at audits of individual income tax returns from 2006 to 2013. The researchers zeroed in on the top 1%, top 0.1% and top .01% of U.S. taxpayers. In 2013, you qualified as a one-percenter if your adjusted gross income was $428,713 or more. You were in the .1% if you reported income of about $1.9 million or more, and the .01% if you reported $9.5 million or more.

In fiscal year 2019, the IRS collected $1.9 trillion from more than 154 million returns  about 54% of the $3.5 trillion it collected before it paid refunds So even if the IRS taxes the money that affluent Americans shelter, it may increase the governments overall haul just 10%. More meaningful increases will come only with a significant hike in tax rates.

Nevertheless, $175 billion is found money. The researchers discovered that most offshore tax evasion goes undetected and that an under-resourced IRS easily is outmaneuvered. The study acknowledges that many wealthy taxpayers operate in the gray area between avoidance and evasion  meaning collecting whats owed can be a thorny affair.

Individual taxpayers propensity to embrace greed, possible fraud and risk is boiled down to equations that measure how likely they are to take a binary concealment action. The analysts found that affluent people were more likely to evade taxes if they could find ways to shelter a lot of money inexpensively. If they couldnt save a lot of money, theyd pass. If it was expensive, theyd pass.

But not many are passing. The top 1% underreport 20% to 25% of their income. The top .1% and .01% underreport about 15%.

One of the many perverse outcomes has been that the IRS, whose budget persistently has been gutted in recent years, has developed a preference for auditing poorer taxpayers because their transgressions are easier to detect.

In 2009, as ProPublica has pointed out, the IRS formed a SWAT team of sorts to uncover and derail the complex tax dodges of ultrawealthy Americans. The IRS team found itself outnumbered by well-paid accountants and lawyers representing the wealthy taxpayers and further upended by congressional Republicans who kept draining resources from the agency. The SWAT teams work was dead on arrival, according to ProPublica. The IRS told Congress in 2019 that it audits the poor more often than the rich because its easier and more cost effective.

Theres a better way. Boosting the IRSs resources would be a start. Closing loopholes around income from business partnerships and reducing the availability and abuse of havens such as offshore bank accounts would also help.

If youre making several million dollars a year, think how hard it will be for billionaires who might come under the microscope. The COVID-19 pandemic was particularly good for their finances. As the Institute for Policy Studies observed, the combined wealth of the 657 billionaires in the U.S. has jumped by almost 45%, or $1.3 trillion, since lockdowns began. During the same period, 80 million Americans lost their jobs.

Bill Gates saw his personal wealth grow 29% during the pandemic, to $126.5 billion from $98 billion. Gates repeatedly has said that he considers the current income tax system inequitable and that hes willing to pay billions more in taxes, which would still leave him mind-bogglingly wealthy.

If billionaires are comfortable with the idea of forking over much more, millionaires can get comfortable with it, too. If they cant, the IRS should help enlighten them.

TIMOTHY L. OBRIEN writes for Bloomberg Opinion.
Santander has announced it will close 111 branches up and down the country by the end of August this year.

The Spanish-owned lender said the 'majority' of branches being axed were under three miles from another Santander branch, with the furthest being five miles away.

It said that all of the 111 closing branches were within half a mile of at least two free-to-use cash machines.

Branches in New Malden, Marlow, Leatherhead, Sale, Surbiton, Twickenham and Wickford are just some of the swathes being axed.

SROLL DOWN TO SEE IF YOUR LOCAL SANTANDER IS CLOSING

Closures: Santander has announced plans to close 111 branches for good this year

Around 840 jobs will be affected by the branch closures.

The lender said: 'Santander has consulted its trade unions on the closure proposals and expects to be able to find alternative roles for a significant number of those colleagues wishing to stay with the bank.'

A customer affected by the closure of the Oxford Headington branch closure told This is Money: 'We do not do online banking and actually have not been visiting the branch because of this little thing called lockdown and national pandemic.

'They are using this lockdown as an excuse to cut branches and access to OUR money becomes even more difficult!'

Another reader told This is Money that her 99-year-old father affected by the closures lives alone and has no internet access. He is independent and likes to travel by bus to his local branch and can't stand the thought of having to linger on the phone trying to speak to someone from the bank.

Adam Bishop, head of branches at Santander, said: 'Branch usage by customers has fallen considerably over recent years so we have made the difficult decision to consolidate our presence in areas where we have multiple branches relatively close together.

'The majority of the closing branches are within three miles of another branch and the furthest is five miles away.

'We will provide every support to customers of closing branches to find alternative ways to bank with us that best suit their individual needs.

Phone number for affected customers If you're Santander branch is one of the 111 closing you can phone 0800 085 0879 to get more information.

'We are also working alongside our unions to support colleagues through these changes and to find alternative roles for those impacted wherever possible.

'We continue to believe that branches have an important role to play and we expect the size of our network to remain stable for the foreseeable future.'

The lender said branch transactions fell by 33 per cent over the two years before the pandemic and declined by a further 50 per cent last year.

It added: 'Mobile and online transactions have meanwhile been growing by 20 per cent each year, with almost two thirds of overall transactions now digital.'

Santander said it would carry out a 'programme of activities' to support customers of closing branches to find other ways to bank that best suit their needs, including help to find alternative branches and access digital, telephone and Post Office banking services.

Machines: Santander said branches closing have free-to-use cash machines nearby

The bank will also be contacting vulnerable customers by telephone in order to provide them with 'individual support.'

Poll Are banks right to be shutting so many branches? Yes - the future is online No - we need our branches Are banks right to be shutting so many branches? Yes - the future is online 117 votes

No - we need our branches 486 votes Now share your opinion





The bank will also hold a series of online events over the coming months where a member of Santanders branch team will explain alternative ways to bank.

According to consumer group Which?, banks and building societies in Britain have closed 4,188 branches since January 2015, at a rate of around 50 each month.

The NatWest Group, which comprises of NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank, closed 1,086 branches during this period, Which? said.

Lloyds Banking Group, made up of Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, shut down 680 sites. Barclays is the individual bank that has reduced its network the most, with 650 branches have closed - or scheduled to - by the end of 2021, according to Which?

Critics fear that branch closures are a simple way for lenders to cut costs and axe staff, while leaving some disabled, elderly or otherwise vulnerable customers with sparse and often impersonal banking options.

Major shake-up for Santander's office staff too

As well as cutting branches, Santander also unveiled a big shift to its office network today which will affect thousands of its workforce.

Santander will close its Bootle, Newcastle, London Portman House and Manchester Deansgate offices by the end of this year.

It will also reduce its volume of office space at its London Triton Square, London Ludgate Hill, Leicester Carlton Park and Teesside sites. The bank's main head office will be in Milton Keynes.

All change: Santander UK chief executive Nathan Bostock with current prime minister Boris Johnson

Around 5,000 staff based at closing or 'consolidating' sites will be offered new 'dual location' working arrangements, combining working from home with access to local spaces designed 'to enable team collaboration.'

Nathan Bostock, Santander UK chief executive, said: 'The pandemic has accelerated the existing trend towards greater flexible working, and our colleagues have told us this has brought significant benefits for many of them.

'At the same time, physical spaces remain very important and our sites around the UK will provide our colleagues with first-class facilities fit for the future.

'We are investing 150m in our state-of-the-art new campus in Milton Keynes, which will become our new headquarters.'

NORTH CANTON, Ohio, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Timken Company (NYSE: TKR; www.timken.com), a global industrial leader in engineered bearings and power transmission products, today announced that it will serve as a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) partner of the LeBron James Family Foundation. Specifically, Timken will sponsor the Makerspace learning lab at the Foundation's I PROMISE School in Akron, Ohio, where Timken associates will share their engineering expertise with the school's students.

"Our partnership with the LeBron James Family Foundation builds on Timken's commitment to develop the next generation of leaders," said Natasha Pollock, Timken vice president, human resources. "We're not only investing in proven programs like the I PROMISE School, but leveraging our expertise to help solve challenges that impact our communities and the people who live in them. To achieve the greatest impact, we focus on initiatives that allow us to apply our engineering knowledge to help build a world that is more efficient and resilient."

The I PROMISE School's STEM-focused, problem-based learning emphasis allows students to learn and apply concepts to the world around them. The school's Makerspace is a place where students can explore, create and cultivate their scientific thinking. It serves as both a real-world learning lab and a library that students can use to build robots, create new art concepts or go on an adventure through reading.

"We want to keep our students and families excited about learning and bring them creative, hands-on opportunities to explore and experience new things, which is exactly what this partnership with Timken allows us to do," said Michele Campbell, executive director of the LeBron James Family Foundation. "Through the support of our community partners like Timken, we're continuing to open doors and create opportunities for our students to be successful at school and beyond."

Akron resident Michael Leftwich, a Timken attorney focused on associate relations, will represent the company on the LeBron James Family Foundation Community Advisory Board.

Timken's collaboration with the LeBron James Family Foundation is an extension of the company's investments and associates' volunteer commitments in communities across the country and around the world. Timken's efforts to promote leadership are building better communities, as documented in the company's 2019 Corporate Social Responsibility Report.

About The Timken Company

The Timken Company (NYSE: TKR; www.timken.com) designs a growing portfolio of engineered bearings and power transmission products. With more than a century of knowledge and innovation, we continuously improve the reliability and efficiency of global machinery and equipment to move the world forward. Timken posted $3.5 billion in sales in 2020 and employs more than 17,000 people globally, operating from 42 countries. Timken is recognized among America's Most Responsible Companies by Newsweek, the World's Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere and America's Best Employers by Forbes.

About the LeBron James Family Foundation

With a commitment to redefining community and building stronger families, The LeBron James Family Foundation invests its time, resources and passion into creating generational change for kids and families through a focus on education and co-curricular educational initiatives. With its foundational I PROMISE Program, LJFF serves more than 1,500 students and their entire families by providing them with the fundamental resources, wraparound supports and family programming they need for success in school and beyond. In 2018, the Foundation built all of its family-first programming and academic interventions into the groundbreaking I PROMISE School that has created a new model for urban, public education. The Foundation has layered in additional resources including higher education and family supports at the I PROMISE Institute, transitional housing at the I PROMISE Village, longer-term affordable housing at the upcoming I PROMISE Housing, job training and financial health programming at House Three Thirty, and several hands-on supports in between. These life-changing resources, combined with the Foundation's "We Are Family" philosophy, are re-defining what a family and community looks like. To learn more about our story, visit https://www.lebronjamesfamilyfoundation.org.

Media Relations:

Scott Schroeder

234.262.6420

[email protected]

SOURCE The Timken Company

Related Links

www.timken.com


Medical Center Hospital and Odessa Regional Medical Center have partnered to continue vaccinating residents as the state opens the COVID-19 vaccine to all adults.

MCH was vaccinating up to 7,000 people a week at Ratliff Stadium until demand began to drop in February, President and CEO Russell Tippin said in a phone interview. Then they moved vaccinations to their west clinic and JBS Parkway clinic, which are open seven days a week.

The hospital asked the state to lower their allotment to 3,000 doses a week because there wasnt enough demand for 7,000 doses, Tippin said. Now that Texas officials have opened the vaccine to all adults as of this coming Monday, he said MCH is anticipating more residents will want the vaccine.

While MCH administers first doses, ORMC is administering second doses, or booster shots, at their Community Health Center.

When it first came on, it was such a rush to get it done. We just grabbed the bull by the horns and took the initiative to get out at Ratliff Stadium, Tippin said. And finally, we were out at Ratliff Stadium for so long that we just kind of wore our resources out. And we realized Odessa Regional was a good partner.

First doses at the MCH clinics are available on a walk-in basis while second doses with ORMC require appointments. ORMC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Rohith Saravanan said they receive the exact number of second doses that MCH administers.

Saravanan said Odessa hospitals were ahead of the curve in opening the vaccine to the public, and because of that, 32,000 residents  25 percent of those eligible  have been vaccinated in Ector County.

We didnt want to waste any shots, so if somebody showed up and they had their sleeve rolled up, we were giving them a shot, Tippin said.

Demand began to drop after many of those in high-risk categories received shots, the officials said. Now theyve increased efforts to educate the community about the safety of the vaccine through social media, town halls, press conferences and interviews with news outlets.

I think the demand has gone down mostly because we captured the people who really wanted it and really trusted the science, Saravanan said. Now its about convincing the rest of the population on the facts, and once they understand it, theyre more likely to get it.

He said theyre seeing more people get the vaccine who were initially waiting to see how others reacted to it.

Only one person in Odessa has reported an adverse reaction to the vaccine, according to Tippin. That person was taken to the emergency room after reporting that their throat felt tight and released immediately after being examined, he said.

MCH is able to request more doses from the state if demand increases and will consider opening clinics at Ratliff Stadium again if needed, Tippin said. The officials encouraged anyone 16 or older to get the vaccine, as well as continue other mitigation efforts like mask-wearing and social distancing.

In order for our economy to stay open and in order for our economy to continue to grow, the only way we can do that is by not allowing this disease to resurge, Saravanan said.
From microwave ovens to Wi-Fi connections, the radio waves that permeate the environment are not just signals of energy consumed but are also sources of energy themselves. An international team of researchers, led by Huanyu "Larry" Cheng, Dorothy Quiggle Career Development Professor in the Penn State Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, has developed a way to harvest energy from radio waves to power wearable devices.

The researchers recently published their method inMaterials Today Physics.

According to Cheng, current energy sources for wearable health-monitoring devices have their place in powering sensor devices, but each has its setbacks. Solar power, for example, can only harvest energy when exposed to the sun. A self-powered triboelectric device can only harvest energy when the body is in motion.

"We don't want to replace any of these current power sources," Cheng said. "We are trying to provide additional, consistent energy."

The researchers developed a stretchable wideband dipole antenna system capable of wirelessly transmitting data that is collected from health-monitoring sensors. The system consists of two stretchable metal antennas integrated onto conductive graphene material with a metal coating. The wideband design of the system allows it to retain its frequency functions even when stretched, bent and twisted. This system is then connected to a stretchable rectifying circuit, creating a rectified antenna, or "rectenna," capable of converting energy from electromagnetic waves into electricity. This electricity that can be used to power wireless devices or to charge energy storage devices, such as batteries and supercapacitors.

This rectenna can convert radio, or electromagnetic, waves from the ambient environment into energy to power the sensing modules on the device, which track temperature, hydration and pulse oxygen level. Compared to other sources, less energy is produced, but the system can generate power continuously -- a significant advantage, according to Cheng.

"We are utilizing the energy that already surrounds us -- radio waves are everywhere, all the time," Cheng said. "If we don't use this energy found in the ambient environment, it is simply wasted. We can harvest this energy and rectify it into power."

Cheng said that this technology is a building block for him and his team. Combining it with their novel wireless transmissible data device will provide a critical component that will work with the team's existing sensor modules.

"Our next steps will be exploring miniaturized versions of these circuits and working on developing the stretchability of the rectifier," Cheng said. "This is a platform where we can easily combine and apply this technology with other modules that we have created in the past. It is easily extended or adapted for other applications, and we plan to explore those opportunities."

###

This paper is co-authored by Jia Zhu, who earned a doctoral degree in engineering science and mechanics from Penn State in 2020; Zhihui Hu, former visiting professor in engineering science and mechanics at Penn State and current associate professor at Wuhan University of Technology in China; Chaoyun Song, assistant professor in the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland; Ning Yi, who earned a doctoral degree in engineering science and mechanics from Penn State in 2020; Zhaozheng Yu, who earned a master's degree in engineering science and mechanics from Penn State in 2019; Zhendong Liu, former visiting graduate student in engineering science and mechanics at Penn State; Shangbin Liu, graduate student in engineering science and mechanics at Penn State; Mengjun Wang, associate professor in the School of Electronics and Information?Engineering at Hebei University of Technology in China; Michael Gregory Dexheimer, who earned a master's degree in engineering science and mechanics from Penn State in 2020; and Jian Yang, professor of biomedical engineering at Penn State.

Support for this work was provided by the National Science Foundation; the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health; and Penn State.

WASHINGTON  President Joe Biden has asked Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the administrations efforts to handle the wave of migrants on the United States southern border, putting her in charge of a politically sensitive and complex challenge as her first specific portfolio.

This new surge we are dealing with now started in the past administration, but it is our responsibility, Biden told reporters during a White House meeting with Harris, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.

Biden said he can think of nobody who is better qualified to do this than Harris. The vice president acknowledged, No question, this is a challenging situation.

Her responsibilities will involve diplomatic relations with the Central American countries known as the Northern Triangle  El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras  where many of the migrants begin their journey.

Her real goal is the establishment of a strategic partnership with these countries thats based on respect and shared values, said a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity before the announcement.

Officials described this initiative as an intensive effort designed to address the root causes of migration, in particular the violence and poverty that is driving many Central Americans, including unaccompanied minors, to the United States.

We can talk all day about the symptoms of the situation, but you really have to get at what is causing this phenomenon, and that will be her focus, one of the officials said.

The White House announced no travel plans for Harris. She spoke earlier Wednesday morning with the U.S. delegation thats traveling in Mexico. The delegation had been scheduled to continue to Guatemala but a senior administration official said the plans were jettisoned after the eruption of a volcano there, which scrambled air travel in the region.

The decision for Harris to play a leading role echoes Bidens own history while he was President Barack Obamas vice president and unaccompanied minors began arriving at the border in larger numbers in 2014.

It is a critical effort, one President Biden led on when he was vice president, another official said.
Chennai, March 25 : Tamil Nadu political parties are the forerunners in promising freebies -- ranging from rice to washing machines.

Taking this further is the 33-year-old journalist R.Saravanan, who as an independent candidate in the Madurai, South Assembly constituency, is literally promising the voters the moon apart from other promises.

Saravanan has promised a 100-day trip to the moon, building a rocket launch centre and space research centre in Madurai South.

His list of promises includes:

i-Phone for all Three-storey house with a swimming pool Rs 1 crore free for each household per year deposited in the bank A car worth Rs 20 lakh free A small helicopter for each household free Free robot for homemakers to do household work 100 sovereign gold to women for their wedding Rs 1 crore loan to the youth to start business Rs 10 lakh for disabled Free boat to each house and construction of canals to ride it

11. Artificial ice mountain to keep the constituency cool Given the poll promise trend in the state, the days may not be far away before the major political parties copy Saravanan's promises.

Already gold for marriages, cycles, mixer grinders, television sets, laptops and others were some of the poll promises that were fulfilled by the AIADMK and DMK governments in Tamil Nadu.

The AIADMK had also promised free mobile phones.

India is already planning a human space mission Gaganyaan and globally people are talking about space tourism.

Queried about his poll promises, Saravanan told IANS: "Political parties are promising many freebies during the election time and forget the people after they come to power. I want the people to realise this and vote for a good person rather than falling for freebies." This is the first time Saravanan is contesting in an election.

"I found that well educated journalists, lawyers and others do not know the procedure to contest in an election. This should be part of the school curriculum. The Election Commission should also advertise the procedure to contest in a poll so that independents can contest," Saravanan said.

According to him, if more independents contest in the polls then political parties will reform themselves and they will do good to the people to get elected.

"In this election 'My Vote is for Me," he said.

Saravanan chose dustbin as his poll symbol to signify that there are a lot of corrupt people in public life, and they have to be consigned to the bin.

(Venkatachari Jagannathan can be contacted at v.jagannathan@ians.in)
Thank you for reading!

Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
The plan to turn some suburban districts in HCM City into inner districts is only on paper but it has triggered a new land fever in localities.

The HCM City Department of Home Affairs has reported to the citys People Committee on the preparation for the plan to convert some suburban districts into inner districts in the 2021-2030 period.

The districts include Can Gio, Cu Chi, Binh Chanh, Hoc Mon and Nha Be. They are located at gateways to the city and connect to provinces in the eastern and western parts of the southern region.

Because urbanization.in the districts has been going rapidly, the department has proposed switching Hoc Mon, Binh Chanh and Nha Be to inner districts or cities belonging to HCMC in the 2021-2025 period. The switch for Cu Chi and Can Gio would occur in the 2025-2030 period

A real estate broker recently introduced a 1,000 square meter land plot in Long Hoa commune to a VietNamNet reporter, who acted as a buyer. The broker said land in Long Ha is the hottest in the district because it is adjacent to the sea encroachment project developed by a large corporation. The land is offered at VND12 billion.

It is a good price. The land price will increase further as the sea encroachment project is under execution, while Can Gio will become an inner district, she said.

Investors are flocking here every day."

However, when asked about the legal status of the land plot, the broker said the plot is a small section of a larger plot with total area of 10,000 square meters. In legal documents, the land is listed as "land for long-term crop cultivation".

The land market in An Thoi Dong commune in Can Gio district is now quite busy. The Can Gio upgrade to an inner district is a hot topic of everyday discussions.

When reporters said they were seeking to buy land, the broker offered to sell a 18,000 square meter land plot at VND28 billion. She said the width of the land plot is 300 meters, and suits many different purposes.

Most investors now seek profits from trading, i.e. buying properties today and selling tomorrow, when the land prices increase. Speculators attract buyers by exploiting the news about urbanization or transformation.

There is no common price in the locality. The land plots with larger width will be more expensive because they can be easily divided into smaller plots for sale, the broker said, adding that buyers have to pay 70 percent of the land value immediately, while the remaining 30 percent will be paid when they get red book, or the land use right certificate.

However, legal documents show that the land is reserved for aquaculture.

In Hoc Mon, Cu Chi, Binh Chanh and Nha Be, the land price escalates every time news about the district upgrading into inner districts is released.

A veteran real estate investor said the land price has been increasing rapidly in the last four years in Binh Chanh. The average land price there has surged from VND28 million per square meter in 2018 to VND40 million.

In Binh Hung communes and localities near HCM City's central area, land is traded at VND90 million per square meter. At Trung Son residential quarter, land is offered at VND130 million per square meter.

New price floors are set up every time when information about the upgrading of Binh Chanh into an inner district. But no one can say for sure when this will come true, he said.

Tran Nguyen Dan, a respected economist, said when injecting money into real estate, investors can expect revenue from regular income from leasing the real estate or income from trading.

Most investors now seek profits from trading, i.e. buying properties today and selling tomorrow, when the land prices increase. Speculators attract buyers by exploiting the news about urbanization or transformation.

According to Dan, investors should only invest in land which expects to receive a high number of incoming residents, a new investment wave, or changes in population density.

It is unreasonable to say land will be more valuable just because the locality will belong to inner city and it is unwise to invest in dead land, or land that cannot create regular income.

At a conference on March 18, HCMC Mayor Nguyen Thanh Phong requested the Department of Home Affairs to report about the plan on converting 5 suburban districts into inner districts once again.

Phuong Anh Linh

M&A pushing ahead real estate market The long process of project approval from competent government agencies and the serious impact of COVID-19 have helped mergers and acquisitions in real estate sector become more active.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Urban development is therefore becoming more important. The efficiency of existing real-world lift transport and road network systems can be measured through surveillance equipment such as cameras and global positioning system trackers. However, when wanting to build and deploy new and never-been-seen solutions, data that is required to build it is not existing and needs to be estimated. Simple mathematical models can be used for fast modeling to estimate cars' energy consumption, simple road network systems' traffic flows and lift traveling schedules, but real-world situations are often much more sophisticated, and these simple models is unrealistic. For instance, these simple models do not take into account uncertainties like human behavior, and sudden changes in the environment. Hence, the results of such simple models could be far from reality.

In this thesis, we use multi-agent systems to simulate real-world environment such as car drivers by making smart artificial driver agents to simulate traffic in road networks. The agents behave like how a driver would behave in real-world. For instance, they take the shortest route to their destination but may choose to re-route if they meet with traffic congestion. In the artificial environment, it is easy to change the conditions of the road network system to simulate the immediate effect on the traffic flow.

In this work, we performed two such case studies. First, we study the effects of Singapore drivers on the country's energy consumption assuming that every car has become an electric car. Second, we study the effects of removal bridges across Joensuu's Pielisjoki river on the traffic load. We observed that removing Pekkalansilta significantly increased traffic on both Sirkkalansilta and Suvantosilta, but surprisingly caused slight decrease on the use of Itasilta. Removing Itasilta or Suvantosilta, however, did not affect the use of Pekkalansilta at all. Removing Itasilta burdened Suvantosilta most. Removing Suvantosilta would increase traffic to all other bridges.

In Singapore there are many 40 storeys buildings and higher having two to three elevators each. These elevators serve families with children, elderlies on wheel-chairs and working-class people. The lifts have to run very efficiently to transport as many people as quickly as possible with consuming as little energy as possible. The lifts would need to be clever enough to work cohesively with one another to get the transporting job done. A real estate developers need to model this situation when they construct new buildings but often does not know enough what kind of people would actually live in them and yet they need the lifts to operate efficiently for the residents from day one onwards for all kind of people.

The results of the thesis are used as a part of building Singapore as a Smart Nation. Many of Singapore's infrastructure will be digitally transformed to be intelligent and able to communicate with one another. However, no one has done this before and there is no telling what the outcome would be. Therefore, it is even more important to model and study all aspects of the urban environment, including traffic, to gain insights to plausible and possible outcomes. Singapore Smart Nation initiatives and efforts can be found in my most recent publication titled, Innovating services and digital economy in Singapore, published in Communications of the ACM, volume 6, page 58-59, 2020.

Currently, the candidate works as Head of Singapore's National Research Foundation (NRF), an organization directly under Singapore's Prime Minister Office. Thomas Ho serves in the Services and Digital Economy directorate in NRF. His main role is to bridge research to businesses and government agencies and help Singapore's universities and research laboratories find companies and government agencies for their technology deployments. Conversely, he also helps companies and government agencies to build new capabilities by connecting them to the academics and professors so that they can provide real-world problems. In both cases, government may fund the translation work and capability development. Hence, the resource management work of the Ph.D. helps Thomas Ho to ensure that government resources will be wisely spent.

The doctoral dissertation of MSc Thomas Ho Chee Tat, titled "Optimization for resource management using multi-agent systems," will be examined at the Faculty of Science and Forestry on the 30th of March 2021 at 10 am in Joensuu Campus.

Explore further Researches to develop vehicular communications for multi-modal mobility solutions
Advertisement

Hidden behind the elegant front of an old bank in Melbourne is a spectacular family home that could be easily mistaken for a grand Parisian apartment.

The stately four-bedroom inside what was once the National Bank of Australasia in Fitzroy North, four kilometres northeast of the CBD, has been listed for sale with on-title air rights, which means the lucky buyer can build another storey on top of the existing building - a rare boon in such a central location.

Spread over the 231 square metre home is a luxury marble kitchen, two resort-style bathrooms, a wraparound balcony and a wine cellar that was used as the bank's document repository during World War Two.

Original features including marble fireplaces, intricate parquet floors and an imposing cedar staircase nod to the past, while contemporary additions such as double bathroom sinks and a kitchen kitted out with premium Miele appliances provide a modern twist.

Hidden behind the elegant front of this old bank in central Melbourne is a spectacular family home that could be easily mistaken for a grand Parisian apartment

An upstairs verandah fronted with Victorian arches and carefully carved columns provides the perfect perch to watch the world go by in the bustling suburban village.

Below the house is the wine cellar, underground storage space and basement parking for two cars.

Plastered ceilings soar high above each room, with opulent cornicing skirting the edges adding a touch of historic charm.

The stately four-bedroom is tucked inside the former National Bank of Australasia in Fitzroy North, 4km from Melbourne CBD

Original features including marble fireplaces contrast with contemporary additions such as double bathroom sinks (pictured)

The wine cellar (pictured) was used as the bank's document repository during World War Two

Enormous arched windows stream sunlight into the one-of-a-kind home, which listing agent Arch Staver describes as a 'timeless' European-esque property.

'It's more the type of building you see in some of the older cities around Europe, so it is really refined,' he told realestate.com.au.

Fellow agent David Sanguinedo told Daily Mail Australia heritage-listed properties such as the bank conversion 'don't come up very often' in Victoria.

An upstairs verandah fronted with Victorian arches and carefully carved columns provides the perfect perch to watch the world go by in the bustling suburban village

The 231 square metre home boasts original features including arched doorways (left), stately pillars and an imposing cedar staircase (right)

Enormous windows flood each of the four bedrooms with natural light

'It's one of only a handful in Melbourne, indeed in the entire state,' he said.

Mr Sanguinedo said the inclusion of on-title air rights makes it even more unusual, injecting endless possibility into the landmark home.

'Subject to council approval you could add a roof terrace or another level of living space,' he explained.

Mr Staver and Mr Sanguinedo, who are overseeing the sale of the property for local realtor Nelson Alexander, have set a guide price of $2.4million to $2.6million (AUD), with expressions of interest closing on Wednesday, March 31.

Plastered ceilings soar high above each room, with opulent cornicing skirting the edges adding a touch of historic charm

The landmark home has a marble chef's kitchen with Miele appliances (left) and spacious open-plan dining areas (right)

The house has been listed with a guide price of $2.4million to $2.6million (AUD)

Additional features include underground storage space and a parking garage for two cars

The guide is just over $500,000 higher than the average price of a four-bedroom in the area, which was $1.95million in 2020, according to CoreLogic sales records.

The bank conversion is in auspicious company surrounded by charming two-storey terraces and quaint Victorian cottages, in what is now regarded as one of Melbourne's trendiest neighbourhoods.

Once a working-class suburb on the fringe of the CBD, Fitzroy has morphed into one of the city's most sought-after post codes, teeming with cafes, bookstores and art galleries as well as a vibrant party scene.
PICKERING, ON / ACCESSWIRE / March 25, 2021 / Renforth Resources Inc. (CSE:RFR)(OTCQB:RFHRF)(FSE:9RR) ("Renforth" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the start of a 3,500m drill program on the Victoria Nickel Target which strikes over ~5km on Renforth's wholly owned 215 km2 Surimeau District Property, where Renforth has previously obtained sulphide nickel values on surface and sub-surface, confirming the presence of mineralization as indicated by historic exploration information.

Renforth's Surimeau District Property is located south of the towns of Cadillac and Malartic Quebec, with road access to the west and the centre of the property via well maintained gravel roads which service the hydro-electric generating stations south of the property, whose power lines also run through the property. The eastern end of the property is accessible via municipal roads. Road access makes the movement of the drill from Renforth's Parbec property, where the drill program concluded with 5,925m drilled in 22 holes, a straightforward operation. This finishes the drill program started in September 2020 at Parbec with a total of 15,569m drilled, all of which will be incorporated in a rebuilding of the geological model and a resource restatement, upon receipt of all the assays. Presently there is a total of 42 holes with unreported assays for Parbec.

The Surimeau District Property hosts several target areas, both for critical and strategic metals, as well as for gold. The target areas have been identified on the basis of prior work carried out on the property, including verification of the presence of mineralization by Renforth.

The drill program which has just commenced at Surimeau is focused on the Victoria target area, with drilling planned of ~3km of the ~5km of strike in that target area. This is a follow up program to Renforth's confirmation surface and sub-surface sampling programs which demonstrate the presence of mineralization including sulphide nickel, zinc, copper and silver, the testing for platinum group elements is ongoing.

"The zinc-nickel occurrences at Surimeau bear a striking geological similarity to the Outokumpu, Finland deposits, which have a similar, and unusual, association of these two elements in what appears to be a tectonically juxtaposed magmatic nickel and zinc-rich volcanogenic massive sulfide-type settings. This geological setting is an almost unique association in Canada (there is at least one other occurrence), but a substantial and productive resource in Finland." states Dr. James Franklin PhD FRSC, P.Geo, Renforth's Principal Technical Advisor on the Surimeau District Property.

Victoria Prospect Planned Drill Holes Spring 2021

Technical disclosure in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Francis R. Newton P.Geo (OGQ#2129), a "qualified person" pursuant to NI 43-101

For further information please contact:

Renforth Resources Inc.

Nicole Brewster

President and Chief Executive Officer

C: (416) 818-1393

E: nicole@renforthresources.com

#269 - 1099 Kingston Road, Pickering ON L1V 1B5

Follow Renforth on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram!

About Renforth

Renforth holds the Parbec open pit constrained gold deposit in Malartic Quebec, contiguous to the Canadian Malartic mine, with 104,000 indicated ounces of gold at a grade of 1.78 g/t Au and 177,000 inferred ounces of gold at a grade of 1.78 g/t Au. A 15,569m drill program has been recently completed, this program was planned to twin, infill and undercut existing drill holes at Parbec, to support a rebuild of the geological model and a resource estimate restatement. In addition to this Renforth has discovered a nickel bearing ultramafic, coincident with a copper/zinc VMS, over ~5km of strike in the western end of the 20km central anomaly at Renforth's wholly owned 215 km2 Surimeau property. This prospect was discovered on surface and the subject of a very short, shallow drill program, a more robust drill program is planned for Spring 2021. Renforth also holds the Malartic West property, the site of a copper/silver discovery, and Nixon-Bartleman, west of Timmins Ontario, with gold present on surface over a strike length of ~500m. Renforth is well funded, with ~$6 million in cash and securities on hand (*as at 03/15/21), in addition to the gold contained in our gold deposit.

No securities regulatory authority has approved or disapproved of the contents of this news release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements and information under applicable securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward looking. Forward-looking statements are frequently identified by such words as 'may', 'will', 'plan', 'expect', 'believe', 'anticipate', 'estimate', 'intend' and similar words referring to future events and results. Such statements and information are based on the current opinions and expectations of management. All forward-looking information is inherently uncertain and subject to a variety of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, including the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, fluctuating commodity prices, the risks of obtaining necessary approvals, licenses and permits and the availability of financing, as described in more detail in the Company's securities filings available at www.sedar.com. Actual events or results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements and the reader is cautioned against placing undue reliance thereon. Forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is provided and the Company assumes no obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements except as required by applicable law.

SOURCE: Renforth Resources Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/637328/Renforth-Commences-Drilling-the-Victoria-Nickel-Target-on-Surimeau-District-Property

MINISTER of finance Iipumbu Shiimi says the African Development Bank's approval of a N$1,5 billion loan to Namibia comes at an opportune time as the country is starting the process of rebuilding the economy.

He said the funds would, among others, be used to implement the Harambee Prosperity Plan II.

The AfDB approved the loan application to help address the economic fallout from Covid-19, and to enable Namibia to maintain welfare programmes.

The loan is repayable over 15 years and was approved on 17 March 2021.

According to Ministry of Finance spokesperson Tonateni Shidhudhu, the government approached the Abidjan-headquartered bank in June last year seeking financial support through the Covid-19 Rapid Response Facility (CRF).

"This request was unanimously approved by the board of directors of the African Development Bank as a loan to finance the Namibia Governance and Economic Recovery Support Programme (GERSP)," he said.

The approval follows the completion of the Economic Governance and Competitiveness Support Programme (2017-2020), which, according to Shidhudhu, has achieved significant results in the areas of fiscal consolidation, public financial management and improvement in the business environment.

"However, the Covid-19 pandemic threatens to reverse some of those gains. As the country prepares for the post-pandemic era, the government is pursuing reforms in a wide range of areas," he said.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Namibia Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

The proposed economic recovery programme is designed to support the government's response and to help achieve inclusive post-pandemic economic recovery through improved governance and real sector reforms.

The three main areas of focus are fiscal sustainability, private sector-led agriculture and industrial-sector transformation, and economic and social inclusion.

Shidhudhu said: "It will help to create fiscal space to finance critical development spending, implement reforms that will help to maintain macroeconomic stability, transform key sectors, such as agriculture and industry, and improve economic and social inclusion."

IMF LOAN REQUEST

Shiimi on Friday said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would respond to the government's N$4,5 billion loan request in about three weeks.

It has been almost nine months since the government submitted the request to the Washington-based fund for the first time in 30 years since Namibia became a member in 1990.

Shiimi said the state is in talks with the IMF and that there is progress.

Tabling the 2021/22 national budget last Wednesday, Shiimi said debt is still growing, and is expected to reach N$130 billion for the aforementioned fiscal year.
Video: We Are China

Xinjiang officials, cotton farmers dismiss forced labor allegations

(People's Daily App) 15:50, March 25, 2021

Local farmers in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region dismissed allegations of forced labor on Thursday and said the claims caused them economic losses.

In a recent paper, German author Adrian Zenz accused Chinese authorities of forcing hundreds of thousands of Uygurs to pick cotton.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Bianji)
WINNIPEG, MB / ACCESSWIRE / March 25, 2021 / FP Newspapers Inc. (TSXV:FP) ("FPI") today announced Wendy Daniels has retired as Secretary of the Board of Directors. The Boards of Directors of FPI and FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership ("FPLP"), would like to thank Ms. Daniels for 10 years of service. Jacqueline Driedger, from within the organization will take on the responsibilities of Secretary to the Board of Directors.

About FPI

FPI owns securities entitling it to 49% of the distributable cash of FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership ("FPLP"). FPLP owns and operates the Winnipeg Free Press along with several other newspapers located within Manitoba, Canada. Further information can be found at www.fpnewspapers.com and in disclosure documents filed by FP Newspapers Inc. with the securities regulatory authorities, available at www.sedar.com.

For further information please contact:

Bob Cox, Publisher

FP Newspapers Inc.

Phone (204) 795-8148

SOURCE: FP Newspapers Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/637531/FP-Newspapers-Inc-Announces-Changes-to-Officers
The Texas attorney general's office is attempting to withhold all messages Ken Paxton sent or received while in Washington for the pro-Donald Trump rally that devolved into a riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Several news organizations in Texas have requested copies of the attorney general's work-related communications. The Texas Public Information Act guarantees the public's right to government records  even if those records are stored on personal devices or online accounts of public officials.

RELATED: Twitter sues Texas AG Ken Paxton, asks court to halt his investigation

After Paxton's office refused to release copies of his emails and text messages, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, The Austin American-Statesman, The Dallas Morning News, The Houston Chronicle, and The San Antonio Express-News are working together in an effort to obtain the documents and review Paxton's open-records practices.

The news outlets discovered that Paxton's office, which is supposed to enforce the state's open records laws, has no policy governing the release of work-related messages stored on Paxton's personal devices. It is unclear whether the office reviews Paxtons email accounts and phones to look for requested records, or whether the attorney general himself determines what to turn over without any outside checks.

Paxton is now facing some of the most intense public scrutiny of his career. The Republican attorney general is reportedly under federal investigation for allegedly abusing his office to help a campaign donor. He also led a failed attempt to overturn the presidential election, joining with other GOP attorneys general in a lawsuit seeking to invalidate swing state victories by Democrat Joe Biden.

A spokesperson for the Office of the Attorney General said the agency follows the Texas Administrative Code, which specifies how long agencies have to hold on to records but is distinct from the open records law. He did not answer reporters questions about whether Paxton is given free rein to determine which of his communications are public and which are confidential under these rules.

The Washington trip

On Jan. 6, Paxton spoke at the pro-Trump rally in Washington. Appearing with his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, the attorney general touted his unsuccessful legal effort to overturn the presidential election.

What we have in President Trump is a fighter," Paxton told the crowd of Trump supporters. "And I think thats why were all here. We will not quit fighting. Were Texans, were Americans, and the fight will go on.

Members of the crowd, stirred up by false claims of voter fraud, later stormed the Capitol, fought with riot police and threatened lawmakers.

Five people died in the violence, including a Capitol Police officer.

ANALYSIS: Not all emergencies are priorities in the Texas Capitol

Paxton later falsely blamed the violence on antifa, a left-wing, anti-fascist movement, and claimed Trump supporters weren't responsible for the insurrection. Federal prosecutors have charged more than 300 people in connection with the riot and alleged that some have ties to white supremacy groups. FBI Director Christopher Wray said investigators found no evidence that members of antifa attacked the Capitol.

Amid a massive FBI investigation into the Capitol riot, the public has been eager to understand why and how their elected officials attended the rally. Paxton has refused to release his communications about the event, which could illuminate his real-time reaction to the riot, who booked him as a speaker for the rally and who covered his travel expenses.

As Texas attorney general, Paxton oversees an office of lawyers who determine which records are public or confidential under the law. Any government body in Texas, from police departments to the governors office, must seek the agencys approval to withhold records from the public.

The Houston Chronicle and The Dallas Morning News have requested all of Paxton's messages from Jan. 5 to Jan. 11. Lauren Downey, the public information coordinator at the Office of the Attorney General, said she didnt need to release the records because they are confidential attorney-client communications.

Downey sought confirmation from the agencys open records division, arguing the messages included communications between the attorney general's executive leadership and its criminal prosecution division to discuss litigation, as well as texts between Paxton and a lawyer in the attorney general's office regarding "legal services to the state."

The open records division has 45 business days to issue a ruling on whether the communications should be open to the public. That decision is pending.

James Hemphill, a lawyer and open records expert who serves as a board member of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, said the records described by Downey appear to fall under confidential communications. But it's odd, he added, that Paxton would have no other routine emails or texts during that six-day time frame that could be released.

"It would seem unusual for every single communication made by any kind of lawyer to be subject to attorney-client privilege," Hemphill said, cautioning he hasn't seen the records himself.

Downey also told the Chronicle that the attorney general's office does not have any written policy or procedures for releasing public documents stored on Paxton's personal devices or accounts.

No responsive records

The Morning News filed several other requests for Paxtons communications regarding his Washington trip, including messages sent over encrypted apps.

The agency said there were no public records that fit that description. When the newspaper asked for Paxtons communications with his senior adviser and an executive assistant who usually plan official travel, Downey said, yet again, there were no records to release.

SHOWTIME: The Capitol riot is being turned into a TV series nobody wanted

The (Office of the Attorney General) did not coordinate or pay for General Paxton's trip to Washington D.C., in early January. Thus, our office has no information responsive to your request, Downey said.

Paxton has not answered questions about who paid for his trip.

In a recent legislative hearing, the attorney general did not directly answer questions from state senators about whether he spent any taxpayer money on the travel.

"I didnt spend money personally, he said. Paxton added he had official business in Washington D.C., the week of the rally, when he met with federal officials about a Medicaid program.

I had a state purpose, Paxton said. The next day I had meetings at the White House. ...Thats how I spent most of my time.

Paxtons agency has released other top staffers communications related to the trip.

First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster also traveled to Washington D.C., that week in January, according to calendars and travel documents The Morning News obtained through public records requests. The state paid for Websters travel.

The agency released some of Websters emails and texts from that month, including logistical planning for the Washington trip.

The Utah trip and more

In other recent instances, the responses from Paxtons agency raised questions about the attorney generals own record-keeping practices.

For example, The Morning News requested communications from Utah about the attorney generals trip to that state last month during the winter power outages in Texas.

RELATED: Texas AG Ken Paxton traveled to during freeze, Dallas Morning News reports

In response, Utah officials released a screenshot of a few texts exchanged between Paxton, Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes and a third unnamed individual discussing their plans. The messages were taken from the unnamed individuals phone, not Reyes or Paxtons.

When the newspaper made the same request to the Texas attorney generals office, officials turned over a copy of the screenshot that Utah provided  not one of the exchange on Paxtons device.

Downey said Paxton provided the record, but she did not answer questions about how Paxton searched his accounts or whether anyone in the office confirmed the results of the records search.

The Office of the Attorney General is in full compliance with the Public Information Act, Downey said.

A Morning News reporter also texted a work-related question to Paxton's cellphone in February and the newspaper later requested all text messages related to state business sent to that number on that same day.

The Texas Attorney General's office said there were no messages. When asked why the Morning News reporters text wasnt turned over, a spokesperson suggested they did not need to keep it.

Unsolicited and unwelcome text messages to personal phones do not fall under the records retention law, said Alejandro Garcia, the attorney general's communications director.

Sarah Swanson, general counsel for the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, said state agencies are responsible for adopting their own records-retention schedules. But if texts are exchanged while conducting state business, Swanson said those messages are considered government records and might need to be kept for an "appropriate amount of time," depending on an agency's policy.

Garcia did not answer follow-up questions about how they determine which text messages are unwelcome or unsolicited.

But the agencys own rules include a clear warning: Don't destroy any records subject to public information requests.
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.
U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., and other shoreline officials are encouraging local arts and cultural organizations to apply for federal grants for humanities and art projects.

Twelve days ago, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan, which included an additional chunk of money for NEA and emergency spending, he said. Thats on top of the fiscal 21 budget, which was passed at the end of December.

Together, Courtney said, that is about double the funding the National Endowment for the Arts receives in a normal year.

According to a release, the annual government appropriations bill increased funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities to $167.5 million each  $5.25 million more than 2020 enacted levels.

It also noted the American Rescue Plan Act allocated a new round of $135 million to the NEA and NEH to provide continued support to these organizations.

Courtney spoke of the funding during a workshop hosted by his office, the NEA and the Southeastern Connecticut Cultural Coalition to help members figuring out how to apply for federal grants to support art and cultural projects.

As the name of the event aptly describes, if you dont compete, you cant win, he said. Thats obviously what the work today is going to be focused on  trying to really give people the tools to take advantage of this unique moment in terms of congressional support for NEA.

Courtney said NEA funding became a bit of a punching bag on the House floor during the ARPs passage.

Its exasperating and infuriating to see how arts funding is sort of characterized as some kind of frivolous expenditure thats not related to main street and economic health of local communities, he said. You all know in your bones how inaccurate that characterization and false narrative is.

Courtney urged attendees of the workshop, which took place via Zoom, to continue talking about what their organizations mean to local communities.

In the workshop, NEA officials gave a presentation on how to go about applying for the federal grants offered through the NEA. The latter half of the seminar saw attendants go into breakout groups where experts answered questions on their specific type of programs.

Wendy Bury, the executive director of the Southeastern Connecticut Cultural Coalition, said the workshop is part of a larger series the organization runs called the Funding Booster Program.

We developed the program three years ago, when we started to realize that we were seeing a lot of grant award announcements from both federal, state and local funders, that southeastern Connecticut was not really getting a lot of grant awards, she said.

Bury said the reason was because there were not many applications for the area.

The issue wasnt that we didnt have a lot of great projects and great programs and great organizations, it was that we didnt have organizations that were applying at the same level of other areas and other regions, she said.

Bury said the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut, the Connecticut Office of the Arts, the New England Foundation for the Arts, Rep. Courtneys office and Connecticut Humanities partnered to find to track data on local grant applications, as well as find a way to increase the number of grants local organizations apply for.

Bury said steps taken included having monthly grant clinics, hiring a professional grant writer who helps applicants, and events like the one held Tuesday where funders explain the process.

To make sure they have the support they need to write an application and write a competitive application, she said. We have known all along that federal grants and NEA grants are some of the most cumbersome grant applications to write, but also the most competitive.

The workshop, Bury said, was meant to be a huge voice of encouragement to encourage these organizations to apply. She noted that applying for federal grants can take a lot of time and commitment to apply for and even to manage once an organization gets it.

What we know is that there are tons of eligible organizations and programs, but I think they didnt realize that, she said. So part of our job is to educate them.

Bury said most people in attendance said they were going to try and apply for grants in the next 12 months.

We really want people to learn that, truly, it is worth the payoff in the end, she said. You may not get it the first time, but getting a federal grant is a big deal. It puts you on a national map. As we said, you cant win if you dont play.
Issues relating to COVID featured in many complaints to the Ombudsman in 2020 from people in direct provision.

Complaints about the movement of people from existing accommodation, the transfer of people to self-isolate in the Citywest complex, and allegations that staff within direct provision centres were not ensuring compliance with public health guidelines were among the complaints dealt with by the Ombudsman.

People in direct provision made 61 complaints to the Ombudsman in 2020, down from 168 in 2019. The decrease was largely due to staff from the Ombudsmans office being unable to take complaints in person at direct provision centres because of national travel restrictions.

Speaking on Thursday at the publication of his annual commentary on direct provision, the Ombudsman said: We have found that the best way for direct provision residents to engage with us is through our Outreach programme and our in-person visits to centres. Unfortunately, our visits had to be curtailed in 2020. We will recommence these visits in 2021.

Moves to different centres

There were complaints to the Ombudsman when the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) had to relocate around 600 residents over three weeks to support social and physical distancing in centres. Complaints included the lack of notice about some of the moves and the location of centres people were being moved to. There were also complaints about social distancing on buses and the wearing of masks.

Requests for transfers

The Ombudsman received 25 complaints about requests to transfer to other direct provision centres. In one case, IPAS refused a transfer from a resident, her husband and young child on the basis that there was adequate living space in their current centre. When the Ombudsman pointed out that the woman was shortly expecting a second child, IPAS agreed that it would provide accommodation for a family of four.

Residents were told that all transfers were suspended for public health reasons. While there were exceptions for urgent medical reasons or for the safety of the individual, the Ombudsman said that all requests needed to continue to be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Driving licenses refused

There were two complaints made to the Ombudsman when residents were unable to take up employment as they needed to drive to work. The residents could not obtain a driving licence as it can only be issued to someone who is resident in the EU. Applicants for international protection do not qualify as their residence status has not been decided. The Ombudsman is engaging with the Department of Transport which is introducing legislation to rectify the problem.

Bank accounts

In his annual commentary, the Ombudsman also described the difficulties experienced by direct provision residents in opening bank accounts. An account can be opened only if you provide evidence of a permanent address. Financial institutions will not accept the address of a direct provision centre as a permanent address. The Ombudsman said that the Department of Justice is engaging with the Banking Federation of Ireland and others to resolve the issue.

Medical services

In another case, a resident was having difficulty in accessing badly needed mental health services and getting information on a stay she had in hospital. Following intervention from the Ombudsman, the HSE ensured that the woman was provided with the appropriate mental health services from her centre. The Ombudsmans staff arranged for the woman to contact the hospital she had stayed in which said it would provide her with the information she needed.
New Delhi, March 26 : The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) in association with nine IIMs has invited applications for Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship (MGNF).

In a statement, the MSDE said that the fellowship is a two-year blended programme consisting of classroom sessions at IIMs and a unique opportunity to promote skill planning and development in district economies and yhe last date to apply is March 27.

Following the success of the pilot cohort, the MSDE announces the launch of 'Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship' (MGNF) 2021-23 in collaboration with IIM Ain Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Jammu, Kozhikode, Lucknow, Nagpur, Ranchi, Udaipur and Visakhapatnam. The MGNF 2021-23, has been rolled out nationally in more than 660 districts across India.

"It is a unique opportunity for young, dynamic individuals to combine classroom sessions at IIM with engagement in the district economies to promote skill development and skill planning. Launched last year, the implementation of the programme has been a great success and has garnered appreciation from various stakeholders," the ministry said.

The ministry explained that past fellows have had a substantial impact on their respective District Skill Committees. Some have created interesting projects that use skills as a pre-cursor for employment by integrating ideas from business management, public policy, and development economics learned at IIMB and understanding their district's potential. Some of the initiatives are with SHGs; others are market-based interventions to strengthen local economies.
Autumn-Winter 2021 Shanghai Fashion Week Press Release

By:Liu Xutong | From:english.eastday.com | 2021-03-24 14:21

Shanghai Fashion Week announce the provisional schedule for the upcoming edition of AW2021 starting from 6th April. In the main venues tent located in the famous city landmark of Xintiandi, the show schedule will be opened by famous Chinese fashion brand MarkFairwhale.

Highlights this season include collection launches from established brands and designers including: INXX, RFLEXION, YES BY YESIR, Leaf Xia colorwonderland, C+plus SERIES, YOUWEI, HEMU, TUYUE, CHAURISING, VEECO ZHAO, MOODBOX, Bronze Lucia, WRONG, YOEYYOU, RICO LEE and REINEREN.

As the iconic showcase project, SIFS has movedits location to the center of Shanghais CBD in the Jing An Kerry Center and will bring international labels including Ermanno Scervino, JASON WU, Pronovias, MUSE MARRY and Nicole Milano. Dior will also join the show schedule and bring its physical showcase debut of its 2021 Fall collection to the Shanghai Long Museum (West Bund).

Shanghai Fashion Week also invites Xiao Xue, former publisher and editor-in-chief of ELLE CHINA and now a leading Chinese fashion and lifestyle opinion leader, as SHFW Ambassador for a three-year term to witness the innovation and changes from the new season. Todays Shanghai Fashion Week is far more than just a show, but also the best platform for Chinas fashion industry, said Xiao Xue. I believe that this platform will play a greater role in leading industrial development, supporting Chinese brands, and promoting sustainability and women power. It is also the best stage for international brands to showcase in China."
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

European listed companies in the energy and mining sector provide, to say the least, sparse information on future environmental costs in their annual reports. Researchers believe that stricter guidelines are required as the lack of information may lead to underestimation of environmental liabilities, resulting in that future generations may have to bear the burden of cleanup costs.

"I believe that the future environmental liabilities such as decommissioning costs are often underestimated and few understand the burden these costs might impose on future generations. If, for example, an oil & gas company fails, it costs an incredible amount to clean up after old oil wells and the risk is great that the taxpayers will have to pay the bill. Therefore, it is important that environmental obligations are made visible to investors, lenders and the public so that we can discuss the problem," says Mari Paananen, associate professor of business administration at the School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg.

In fact, as there is no clear claimant for this type of future obligations, there is little demand for information either.

"The International Accounting Standards Board needs to provide clearer requirements about what information should be included in the annual reports in order to make it possible to assess environmental liabilities. I think that such guidelines would make companies inclined to disclose more information and would also provide, for example, auditors a mandate to demand specific information," says Mari Paananen.

Using a sample of 164 European listed companies active in oil, gas, energy (nuclear power) and mining, Mari Paananen and her research colleagues have analyzed environmental disclosures in annual reports over a twelve-year period. Specifically, the researchers use computerized text analysis, to examine information on environment-related restoration costs in the notes to annual reports. Among other things, they searched for information about the discount rate and estimated time horizon for paymentskey information needed to assess the size of environmental liabilities.

"Even though we could see that the disclosure of environmental information in the annual reports has increased over time, companies are, are on average, not very forthcoming with information. Approximately 60 percent of the companies provided information about discount rates and 65 percent disclosed the time horizon for the expected future cash outflow. On the other hand, only just over a third provided information about both," says Mari Paananen.

The researchers also investigated whether the level of disclosure increased when companies faced media exposure focusing on environmental issues or how companies' take responsibility for the environment.

"We clearly saw that if companies were exposed in the media, the environmental information increased and the companies provided more specific disclosure on environmental liabilities in the following annual report. Above all, there was more information if the media used an uncertain or litigious tone," says Mari Paananen.

Explore further Towards a circular economy: European manufacturers tend not to report on their actions

More information: Mari Paananen et al. Time to clean up environmental liabilities reporting: disclosures, media exposure and market implications, Accounting Forum (2021). Mari Paananen et al. Time to clean up environmental liabilities reporting: disclosures, media exposure and market implications,(2021). DOI: 10.1080/01559982.2021.1872909
For centuries members of Europe's royal families often married their close relatives.

The practice, which stretched across countries including France, Spain and Austria, helped consolidate power, titles and thrones.

But it also led to problems. Offspring born to mothers and fathers who share a common ancestry are more vulnerable to birth defects and harmful DNA mutations.

In the case of the kings and queens of Europe, this meant some heirs were born with medical issues or died in infancy. It also, research suggests, caused reduced intelligence, which in turn impacted the monarch's ability to rule.

Sebastian Ottinger and Nico Voigtlander, of UCLA, suggest there is a correlation between how inbred a king or queen was and how effectively he or she ruled in their NBER Working Paper History's Masters: The Effect of European Monarchs on State Performance.

Sebastian Ottinger and Nico Voigtlander, of UCLA, suggest there is a correlation between how inbred a ruler was and how effectively he or she ruled. Among the clearest examples is Charles II, or Carlos II, of Spain, pictured, whose reign spelled ruin for Spain

King Charles II's gene pool was so limited, it was like he was the offspring of two siblings, academics concluded. Pictured, a family tree for Charles II of Spain

The academics looked at 331 European monarchs who ruled between 990 and 1800.

They worked out how inbred the ruler was and then assessed the success of their reigns against two criteria.

Firstly, they considered the score the monarch was given by US historian Adam Woods, who in 1913 'graded' individual members of European royal families on their mental and moral qualities based on what historians had written about them.

This subjective measure was combined with a more objective one: the change in land area controlled by the country under the monarch's rule. Loss of land meant a king or queen was less effective; gaining land reflected a more successful reign.

Results show countries 'tended to endure their darkest periods under their most inbred monarchs, and enjoy golden ages during the reigns of their most genetically diverse leaders,' according to The Economist, which analysed Ottinger and Voigtlander's data.

Among the best performing were King Henry VIII and Maria Theresa of Austria. Both had relatively genetically diverse ancestry - Henry VIII's parents, Henry VII and Elizabeth of York were third cousins - and were highly regarded by historians.

At the other end of the scale is Charles II, King of Spain from 1665 to 1700, who was determined to be the 'individual with the highest coefficient of inbreeding', or the most inbred monarch.

Charles II, who was King of Spain from 1665 to 1700, was the son of Philip IV of Spain (right) and Mariana of Austria (left), who were born to first cousins and were uncle and niece. Based calculations, he was 'more inbred than the offspring of siblings would be'

His parents were Philip IV of Spain and Mariana of Austria, who were born to first cousins and were uncle and niece.

They were part of the House of Habsburg, which produced generations of Austrian and Spanish kings and queens, and occupied the throne of the Holy Roman Empire from 14381740.

However they were also masters of inbreeding and frequently married close relatives such as nieces or first relatives. This in turn led to ill health and a high rate of infant and child mortality.

Centuries of inbreeding within the House of Habsburg culminated in Charles II.

According to Ottinger and Voigtlander's calculations, he was 'more inbred than the offspring of siblings would be'.

Historians believe inbreeding contributed to Charles II's host of medical issues, as well as his inability to produce an heir. Despite having married twice, Charles II died childless, which sparked the War of the Spanish Succession between 1701 and 1714.

Charles's physical disabilities are well documented. He only started talking at the age of four, the same year he became king, and walking at the age of eight. Woods described Charles II as an 'imbecile'.

His tongue was so big he had difficulty speaking and drooled, and when he died in 1700 aged 38, the coroner found lungs corroded and his intestines rotten.

Analysis shows that Spain suffered under Carlos II's rule. Woods noted he reigned over a country characterised by 'misery, poverty, hunger, disorders, decline, especially in agriculture, finances and strength of the army'.

Who was 'The Hexed' Charles II of Spain who brought the House of Habsburg dynasty to an end? Charles II was nicknamed El Hechizado ('The Hexed') because people thought his disabilities were down to witchcraft Nicknamed El Hechizado ('The Hexed') because people at the time thought Charles II's disabilities were down to witchcraft, it is believed he suffered from at least two inherited disorders. One was a hormone deficiency and the other a kidney malfunction which could explain his impotence and infertility which led to the extinction of the dynasty. He was born on the 11th of November 1661, and was the only surviving son of his father's two marriages - a child of old age and disease, in whom the constant intermarriages of the Habsburgs had developed the family type to deformity. Professor Gonzalo Alvarez, of the University of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain, wrote in a 2009 study: 'He was unable to speak until the age of four, and could not walk until the age of eight. 'He was short, weak and quite lean and thin. He first marries at 18 and later at 29, leaving no descendency. 'His first wife talks of his premature ejaculation, while his second spouse complains about his impotency. He looked like an old person when he was only 30 years old, suffering from edemas on his feet, legs, abdomen and face. 'During the last years of his life he barely can stand up, and suffers from hallucinations and convulsive episodes. His health worsens until his premature death when he was 39, after an episode of fever, abdominal pain, hard breathing and coma.' The cosanguineous marriages also contributed to the development of the 'Hapsburg jaw' which featured in paintings by Titian and Velazaquez. This disfiguring condition is where the lower jaw grows faster than upper jaw. As well as having this trait, Charles II's tongue was so big he had difficulty speaking and drooled. Advertisement

In the 1690s the Venetian ambassador characterised the reign of Charles II as 'an uninterrupted series of calamities'.

Under his rule, the amount of land controlled by Spain also declined.

Charles's death meant the male line of the Spanish branch of the family, which produced rulers in Austria, Hungary and the Netherlands, died out.

'The power struggles that followed Carlos IIs death brought a new dynasty to the Spanish throne  the Spanish Bourbons,' noted Ottinger and Nico Voigtlander.

Following Charles II came the reigns of Philip V, who ruled from 1700-46, except for a brief period in 1724, and Ferdinand VI (174659), who are described by the academics as 'relatively undistinguished'.

However after them came the 'highly capable' Charles III, who came to the throne in 1759.

Unlike his namesake, Spain flourished under his reign and saw the 'continued improvement in financial and commercial conditions, including agriculture and the useful arts,' noted Woods.

While this might be due to a number of factors, it is also true that Charles III's parents were cousins of the third degree.
NEW YORK, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Arrivalist, the leading location intelligence platform in the travel industry, today announced that it is making two datasets free to its customers through the end of the year so its clients can act and react to ever-changing travel patterns as the country emerges from the pandemic.

Arrivalist is making two datasets free to customers through the end of the year to help measure travel's rebound Tweet this Comparing March 2021 to March 2019 reveals that U.S. road trips are within 10.9% of pre-Covid levels. Arrivalist has been developing its patent-pending algorithms that normalize, or calibrate, datasets for accuracy for years.

The new datasets allow customers to compare visitation in 2021 to activity from the same period in 2019, not just the timeframe when travel slowed to a virtual standstill in 2020. Comparing March 2021 to March 2019 reveals that U.S. road trips are within 10.9% of pre-Covid levels.

"Whether promoting themselves or not, it's vital that our clients get daily updates  without fear of inconsistency  on the visitation volume to their destinations," says Arrivalist Founder & CEO Cree Lawson.

The company is making custom versions of two datasets  the Calibrated Travel Trending Report, based on the Daily Travel Index, and its revised Daily Arrivals data  free to clients who subscribe directly to its visitation data through the end of the year. A free version of the Daily Travel Index, which measures road trip activity and organizes it by origin of travel, has been available to all online; the custom version distributed to clients will measure daily road trip activity and reveal travel based on the destination travelers are choosing. Clients will also receive daily updates to visitation, improved from a 30-day update cycle. They will also receive free competitive benchmarking insights.

"Accurate aggregated movement data has never been more vital to communities and travel companies than it is today," says Lawson. "We don't want our clients to be rudderless or hobbled by inaccurate data as visitors begin returning to their destinations en masse. If we need to make concessions by deploying our calibrated data openly, then that's worthwhile to help measure travel's rebound during this time of need."

"As a data-driven organization, Visit Florida is committed to partnering with companies that can provide us with the most recent, accurate, and accessible data that support the work we do on behalf of Florida's travel industry," says Staci Mellman, CMO of Visit Florida. "We've found Daily Travel Index to be a vital tool during these volatile times and appreciate access to the tool as we look towards our recovery."

The company has been developing its patent-pending algorithms that normalize, or calibrate, datasets for accuracy for years. Its models aggregate, increment, and decrement movement from a set panel of devices to make that movement representative of all human movement, whether it is biased toward one device, one demographic, or one operating system, such as iOS14 or Android. The fifth version of iOS14 (iOS14.5) is expected to be released any day, and some features in the update are expected to cause erratic changes to app-derived location data, primarily in day-to-day or year-over-year trending.

"This isn't un-precedented or un-expected. Fortunately, we've been future proofing for years," says Lawson. "We've had practice runs with iOS13, Intelligent Tracking Prevention and the deployment of CCPA."

To validate its claims, the company points to its experience, on a more local level, of compensating for the loss of location signal that arose as CCPA was released in California in July 2020.

"If the pandemic has taught us anything, it's that collecting the right data quickly and taking action on it is the best plan," says Lawson. "We're doing our best to make sure that the treasured clients we've worked with for over 10 years continue to have visitation trending data they can rely on."

The company first deployed the road trip measure as part of its popular Daily Travel Index  a free resource that helped to measure the return of travel activity amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The Daily Travel Index measures road trips of 50 or more miles taken from a panel of millions of devices and updated every 48 hours. It has been picked up by the U.S. Travel Association, Skift and the National Travel and Tourism Office as part of their efforts to measure volatile fits and starts in travel behavior during the Covid-19 pandemic. The new Calibrated data, however, is not limited to road trip activity. The Daily Arrivals report reveals arrivals from flights as well.

"It's good to see industry partners stepping up to provide consistent data during an ever-shifting travel landscape," says Ashley McHugh, Director of Research for Memphis Tourism. "We plan to use this data to plot a steady path for our partners through these changing times."

"Visitation trending data is vital to measuring movement in the pandemic and the return of travel," says Lawson. "We've future-proofed our location data to provide clients essential insights about travel's recovery despite the untimely deployment of iOS14.5."

About Arrivalist

Arrivalist is the leading location intelligence platform in the travel Industry. The company uses multiple location data sets to provide actionable insights on consumer behavior, competitive share, media effectiveness, and market trends. Over 200 travel marketers, including 100 Cities, 40 US States, and 4 of the top 10 US Theme Parks, use these insights to inform media strategy, operations, and destination development. Arrivalist is headquartered in New York City, with offices in San Francisco and Toronto.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Jacquelyn Gozdowiak

(414) 247-3866

[email protected]

SOURCE Arrivalist

Related Links

http://www.arrivalist.com


[March 25, 2021] Humana Inc. to Release First Quarter 2021 Results on April 28, 2021

Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) will release its financial results for the first quarter 2021 (1Q21) on Wednesday, April 28, 2021 at 6:30 a.m. Eastern time. The company will host a conference call at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time that morning to discuss its financial results for the quarter and earnings guidance for 2021. All interested parties are invited to dial 888-625-7430. No password is required. A webcast of the 1Q21 earnings call may also be accessed via Humana's Investor Relations page at www.humana.com. The company suggests participants for both the conference call and those listening via the web dial in or sign on at least 15 minutes in advance of the call. For those unable to participate in the live event, the virtual presentation archive will be available in the Historical Webcasts and Presentations section of the Investor Relations page at www.humana.com, approximately two hours following the live webcast. Telephone replays will be available from approximately 12:15 p.m. Estern time on April 28, 2021 until 10:59 p.m. Eastern time on June 26, 2021 and can be accessed by dialing 855-859-2056 and providing the conference ID #9581139.



The company's 1Q21 earnings news release is expected to include financial measures that are not in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). A reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to financial results under GAAP, as well as management's reasons for including non-GAAP financial measures, will be included in the company's 1Q21 earnings news release, a copy of which will be available on the Investor Relations page of www.humana.com on April 28, 2021. About Humana

Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) is committed to helping our millions of medical and specialty members achieve their best health. Our successful history in care delivery and health plan administration is helping us create a new kind of integrated care with the power to improve health and well-being and lower costs. Our efforts are leading to a better quality of life for people with Medicare, families, individuals, military service personnel, and communities at large. To accomplish that, we support physicians and other health care professionals as they work to deliver the right care in the right place for their patients, our members. Our range of clinical capabilities, resources and tools - such as in-home care, behavioral health, pharmacy services, data analytics and wellness solutions - combine to produce a simplified experience that makes health care easier to navigate and more effective. More information regarding Humana is available to investors via the Investor Relations page of the company's website at humana.com, including copies of: Annual reports to stockholders

Securities and Exchange Commission filings

Most recent investor conference presentations

Quarterly earnings news releases and conference calls

Calendar of events

Corporate Governance information View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005721/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
YEREVAN, MARCH 25, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan sent a congratulatory message to Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic Kyriakos Mitsotakis on the occasion of Independence Day, the PMs Office told Armenpress.

Your Excellency,

On behalf of the people of Armenia and on my own behalf, I extend warmest congratulations and best wishes to the friendly people of Greece on the Independence Day of the Hellenic Republic and the 200th anniversary of liberation from the yoke of Ottoman Turkey.

Two centuries ago, the Greek people not only managed to withstand fatal challenges, but they also materialized the long-cherished dream of reinstated statehood.

Armenia highly appreciates the traditionally deep-rooted relations with fraternal Greece, which are underpinned by our two peoples shared values, close historical affinities and reciprocated sympathy. The challenges we faced over the past year came to reaffirm the importance of a continued multifaceted dialogue between our friendly nations.

I am convinced that the ongoing sincere and effective cooperation between our two countries will be further strengthened and expanded in the years to come.

I wish prosperity and wellbeing to you and to the brotherly people of Greece, Nikol Pashinyan said in his congratulatory message.
BUCARAMANGA, Colombia (AP)  Thousands of Venezuelans are seeking shelter in Colombia this week following clashes between Venezuelas military and a Colombian armed group in a community along the nations shared border.

The Colombian government on Wednesday said 3,100 people have moved from Venezuela to Colombia since Sunday in search of protection from the conflict in the border state of Apure, Venezuela. Authorities in Colombia have set up eight shelters to host the influx of people.

On Sunday, the inhabitants of the municipality of Arauquita woke up (hearing) explosions, machine guns, gunshots, with a very complex situation, said Etelivar Torres Vargas, the mayor of Arauquita, the northeast Colombia municipality where the immigrants are seeking refuge. The prognosis is that more Venezuelan citizens, the elderly, children, pregnant women will continue to arrive, there is a humanitarian crisis.

Torres Vargas said the immigrants include elderly people with different illnesses who have asked for medical attention, pushing the local health system to the brink. He added that the municipality does not have the capacity to properly feed everyone.

The Colombian Ombudsmans Office conducted a census at the site and identified the presence of 858 minors, 134 older adults and 52 pregnant women. The displaced include 223 people from the binational Sikuani Indigenous community.

Venezuelan Defense Minister Gen. Vladimir Padrino Lopez said Monday in a statement the clashes that began Sunday resulted in the arrests of 32 people, the destruction of six camps and the seizure of weapons, but he did not name the armed group involved.

The Venezuelan government has not said whether the clashes have continued.

The Colombian government has repeatedly accused Venezuela of harboring members of the National Liberation Army and dissidents of the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known by its Spanish acronym FARC. Colombias Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its concern for the civilian population and called on the international community to join in assisting in the face of this humanitarian crisis.

Colombia and Venezuela share about 1,370 miles (2,200 kilometers) of border but have not had diplomatic relations since February 2019 following the decision of President Nicolas Maduro to expel Colombian diplomats. Colombia President Ivan Duque does not recognize Maduro as Venezuelas legitimate president and instead supports opposition leader Juan Guaido.
Chinese, U.S. officials, entrepreneurs discuss agricultural cooperation in virtual roundtable meeting

Xinhua) 08:49, March 25, 2021

CHICAGO, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese and U.S. provincial and state officials and entrepreneurs gathered online on Tuesday to explore agricultural trade and cooperation opportunities between the two sides.

Addressing the opening ceremony of a virtual U.S.-China Agricultural Roundtable conference, President of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) Lin Songtian said agricultural trade has brought tangible benefits to both Chinese and American people.

Lin expressed hope that China and the United States can communicate frankly at the conference and join efforts to bring agricultural exchange and cooperation between the two countries back to the right track.

The United States and China share a long history of agricultural cooperation, which dates back to the beginning of bilateral relations in the 1970s, said Jason Hafemeister, trade and foreign agricultural affairs acting deputy under-secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

"That relationship remains vitally important to U.S. agriculture, especially as China is once again our top market," Hafemeister said.

Wanxiang America Corporation President Ni Pin, Syngenta Group CEO Erik Fyrwald, ADM Chairman and CEO Juan Luciano, and Deere & Company Board Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John May recalled operation experiences in China and expressed the hope for further cooperation with Chinese companies in the future.

Chinese Hubei Province Vice Governor Ke Jun, Hebei Province Vice Governor Xia Yanjun, U.S. Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill and Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate gave an introduction to their provinces and states, respectively, and briefed the participants on potential cooperation sectors.

The roundtable conference, jointly organized by the CPAFFC and the United States Heartland China Association (USHCA), will organize virtual Trade and Business Dialogue, Agricultural Education Dialogue and Think Tank Dialogue in the following days.

"Agriculture is more than just about trade and business. It is the bedrock of a healthy U.S.-China relationship," said Bob Holden, former governor of Missouri and currently chairman and CEO of the USHCA.

"It is imperative that we support continued dialogue and collaboration in order to build a healthy U.S.-China relationship around agriculture and beyond," Holden said.

Founded in 2003, the USHCA is committed to building stronger ties between China and 20 U.S. states that stretch from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Liang Jun)
UTICA, N.Y. (AP) - The U.S. Department of Justice says county officials in central New York violated the rights of voters in a congressional election won by Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney by 109 votes.

A top Justice Department official notified Oneida County on Tuesday that the federal government plans to sue over violations that disenfranchised voters if a settlement is not reached.

The department says officials failed to process thousands of registration applications and improperly rejected affidavit ballots, violating both the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) and the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA).

The NVRA requires election officials to process voter registration applications sent to agencies like the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) as long as they were submitted at least 30 days prior to Election Day.

In the letter to the county, the DOJ said upon review, they found the county in violation of the NVRA after failing to process 2,400 voter registration applications that were submitted to the DMV within the required time frame.

Election law also states voters who do not appear on the list at their polling location be offered an affidavit ballot after affirming they are eligible to vote. The ballot should then go to an election official for verification. If the ballot is rejected, the board of elections must be able to tell the voter why their ballot wasnt counted.

The DOJ says Oneida County violated the HAVA by rejecting nearly 1,800 provisional ballots that were cast by eligible voters, but not properly verified. According to DOJ, these voters either were already registered, or part of the group whose registration was submitted to the DMV but not properly processed.

The letter state the DOJ would delay filing a complaint for a short period of time to allow the county to settle the matter out of court.

The county's attorney said they intend to cooperate with federal lawyers to work out a settlement.

The errors were uncovered during three months of state Supreme Court proceedings in the race for NY-22.

Tenney was finally sworn in as congresswoman in Washington D.C. on Feb. 11.

Both Oneida County Board of Elections commissioners resigned mid-February, after facing scrutiny over the errors and violations of election law discovered in court.


The hope for a greater independence in Hong Kong by pro-democracy supporters is all but lost after the proposed electoral changes was approved last week. The change, according to the officials, was "meant to close legal loopholes that had allowed anti-China forces to impede governance and incite unrest in Hong Kong," wrote a correspondent for The Wall Street Journal.

In his statement to reporters after the Thursday vote, Premier Li Keqiang said that "the decision is very clear-cut." In principle, they see Beijing's patriots holding office in Hong Kong as contributory to the "one country, two systems" framework of the city. Furthermore, Beijing loyalists re-defined the "one country, two systems" as pertaining only to economics, not politics.



Opposition groups in Hong Kong, however, belie this rationale. They see the change as a mere smokescreen to the CCP's end goal for more power by totally stamping out the city's autonomy, including withholding the rights and freedom of citizens to dissent as they see fit.

Now seen as another "Chinese commercial center," Hong Kong was dropped from the Heritage Foundation's annual Index of Economic Freedom, the reason being that while Hong Kong "offers citizens more economic freedom than is available to the average citizen of China . . . developments in recent years have demonstrated unambiguously that those policies are ultimately controlled from Beijing."

Paul Chan Mo-po, Financial Secretary of the HKSAR Government, contends against Hong Kong's exclusion.

"The exclusion of Hong Kong from the index ignores the fact that, under the Basic Law and the "One Country, Two Systems" principle, the HKSAR is a separate customs territory and individual member of international organizations like the WTO and APEC. We have signed free-trade agreements and double-taxation agreements with 20 and 45 economies respectively," he wrote in his op-ed.

Additionally, op-ed contributors for The Christian Post Arielle Del Turco, Assistant Director of the Center for Religious Liberty at Family Research Council and Bob Fu, Founder and President of China Aid, conjectured that the increasing political and religious crackdown in mainland China will "no doubt extend to Hong Kong."

In fact, Turco and Fu's fear had already started. Earlier reports showed that a Hong Kong pastor who supported pro-democracy demonstrators in 2019 found his back account frozen. Two of his church's locations were also raided by the police with the staffs arrested. The poor pastor and his wife were also falsely charged of fraud and money laundering.

Following this incident, Christians in Hong Kong started bracing for persecution from China's communist government.

"We have prepared ourselves," one Hong Kong pastor said in an interview. "Firstly, we know we might be arrested. Secondly, we will turn our churches into small groups, as long as we are not caught."

With all that said, Turco and Fu hope that freedom loving countries "lend practical and meaningful support for democracy" in Hong Kong by imposing "targeted sanctions as provided by the International Religious Freedom Act" as well as "other sanctions for international human rights offenders under the Global Magnitsky Act." They want Beijing to be held accountable for "trampling Hong Kongers' human rights."
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 01:09:27|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

A woman walks past the European Commission Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Oct. 30, 2020. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)

The mechanism takes aim at vaccines produced in European Union (EU)-based facilities of pharmaceutical companies that are bound by an advance purchase agreement (APA) with the EU. The new version includes two new criteria -- reciprocity and proportionality -- for assessing whether these vaccines can be exported to non-EU countries.

BRUSSELS, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The European Commission presented on Wednesday a revised version of its export transparency mechanism for COVID-19 vaccines, with Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis claiming that it does not constitute an export ban.

The mechanism takes aim at vaccines produced in European Union (EU)-based facilities of pharmaceutical companies that are bound by an advance purchase agreement (APA) with the EU. The new version includes two new criteria -- reciprocity and proportionality -- for assessing whether these vaccines can be exported to non-EU countries, according to Dombrovskis.

The principle of reciprocity will be applied to non-EU countries having at their disposal a large production capacity. The European Commission and the EU member states will examine if the flow of imports and exports of vaccine and vaccine substances between the bloc and destination country is even.

Proportionality is about finding the right balance, the commissioner explained. The European Commission and the member states will take into account the specific situation of the country of destination, including its vaccination rate and the existing availability of COVID-19 vaccines.

A health worker displays the COVID-19 vaccine at Sotiria Hospital in Athens, Greece, Dec. 27, 2020. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos)

Vaccine exports towards low- and middle-income countries covered by the COVAX (COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access) facility remain exempted.

Put in place on Jan. 30, the export and transparency mechanism was launched when the EU argued that some pharmaceutical companies failed to honor their commitments to deliver the promised amount of doses to the EU countries but still could export vaccines from their EU-based facilities.

Originally due to expire on March 12, the mechanism has been extended until June 30.

A total of 381 export requests have been introduced by pharmaceutical companies bound by an APA with the EU, and only one has been declined.

AstraZeneca, a British-Swedish vaccine manufacturer, had applied to export 250,000 doses of its COVID-19 vaccine to Australia, while falling behind its delivery schedule for the EU.

"I remind you that AstraZeneca has only delivered a small portion of its agreed contractual commitments," Dombrovskis said.

People arrive to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, southern France, Jan. 9, 2021. (Photo by Serge Haouzi/Xinhua)
I have supervised an organization with 65 employees, managed a budget of over $10 million annually (and) reported to, and worked with an elected body. My 27 years (working) with the two Carpentersville pension funds have given me a depth of knowledge and experience in both managing investments and working with investment professionals.
Researchers in Mexico claim to have invented a new nose-only mask that protects from Covid-19 - and enables people to eat, drink and talk while wearing it.

The nose masks - worn underneath standard face masks that have become common-place during the pandemic - were unveiled during a video demonstration by an unnamed man and a woman sitting down for lunch.

In the video, shared by Reuters news agency on Wednesday, the pair are shown taking off their face masks revealing the unusual nose-only masks underneath, before eating a drinking while sitting at an outdoor table.

Plastic packets containing the masks are then shown on the table. The mask has been called the 'Eating Mask', according to a label on the packs.

Coronavirus is a respiratory disease that spreads through the air by droplets and smaller particles exhaled from the nose and mouth of an infected person as they breathe, speak or cough.

Researchers in Mexico have invented a new nose-only Covid-19 mask (pictured) designed to keep a person's schnoz covered while eating and drinking

According to Johns Hopkins University, human cells that give people a sense of smell are also key entry point for the coronavirus, meaning it is important to keep noses covered when coming into close contact with other people.

The nose-only face masks offer a layer of protection over a person's nose, while leaving their mouth uncovered to be able to eat and drink, while potentially reducing the risk of spreading or contracting the virus.

But people were quick to mock the goofy look of the new masks.

'Hardly a new invention, clowns have been wearing them for years,' one user posted on Twitter along with a picture of a clown with a bright red nose.

Another wrote: 'Unfortunately - it dramatically Increases the risk of collapsing into hysterical laughter and choking to death on your food.'

'Is there an option to get a nose cover with silly glasses attached,' another asked.

The nose masks - worn underneath standard face masks that have become common-place during the pandemic - were unveiled during a video demonstration by an unnamed man and a woman sitting down for lunch (pictured)

The nose-only face masks offer a layer of protection over a person's nose, while leaving their mouth uncovered to be able to eat and drink, while potentially reducing the risk of spreading or contracting the virus

Plastic packets containing the masks were shown on the table. The mask has been called the 'Eating Mask', according to a label on the packs (pictured)

Some defended the invention, however, pointing out that before the pandemic, masks were considered unusual too.

'Well, just a nose mask would REDUCE transmission of germs and viruses. It looks odd because we're not used to it. A year ago facemasks look odd,' one wrote.

'I know this is dumb but to be fair the nose contains the highest concentration of the receptors that Covid attaches itself to, so this is definitely better than being mask off while eating,' said another Twitter user.

People reacted with bemusement to the video, while other appreciated the potential it had to reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission

The World Health Organisation recommends that people wear masks covering their nose, mouth and chin for best protection against the virus.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention studies, meanwhile, show that it is generally safer to wear masks with more material, with a separate CDC study showing that double-masking can significantly decrease the spread of Covid-19.

Roughly 30 million people have contracted the virus in the US, and 544,000 people have died from it, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.

Despite the devastation caused by the coronavirus, masks have remained a contentious issue for many who continue to refuse to wear them.

The resistance to mask wearing has not been helped by the politicization of the issue by former US president Trump and others, leading to large parts of the country becoming stubbornly against the practice.

One of President Joe Biden's first actions when he assumed office in January was to issue a mask order, requiring people to wear face coverings on planes, airports and on all federal property.
Unprecedented Crisis: Former DHS Acting Secretary Urges Biden to Change Border Policies

Chad Wolf, former acting Secretary of Department of Homeland Security (DHS), told The Epoch Times that there is an unprecedented crisis at the southern border that will continue if the Biden administration doesnt change policies.

At this point of time, Im calling this an unprecedented crisis, Wolf said in an interview with The Epoch Times American Thought Leaders on Wednesday.

Not only are apprehension numbers reaching 20-year highs, but the administration is taking steps that havent been done before, Wolf said.

Border Patrol apprehended 100,441 illegal border crossers in February, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Over 100,000 folks [apprehended] in February was the highest February that we had seen in 20 years, Wolf said. Youre likely to see over 140,000 illegal apprehensions in the month of March.

You got to remember thats equaling about 4,000 to 4,500 folks a day. And those are just the ones that Border Patrol catches. Its estimated that theres anywhere from another 1,000 to 1,500 what we call gotawaysfolks that border patrol never sees.

Temporary facilities in Donna, Texas, are being used to process family units and unaccompanied alien children apprehended by Border Patrol. (CBP)

Wolf said in the Rio Grande Valley, an area at the Texas-Mexico border, almost 50 percent of border patrol agents are now pulled off the line to take care of illegal immigrants in the Border Patrol facilities.

Which means theyre not doing their national security mission, what theyre trained for, Wolf added. Instead, theyre inside Border Patrol facilities doing that care and feeding for these migrants.

Cartels, smugglers, and traffickers can take advantage of that to smuggle more people, drugs, and other contraband over, Wolf pointed out.

The Biden administration has sent the Federal Emergency Management Agency down to the border and is allowing illegal immigrants to be released into the country without a court date.

These are things that the department has never done before because weve never had this type of surge and capacity issues along that border, Wolf added. So its certainly a crisis in my book. Its a crisis to everyone that Ive talked to.

Wolf also criticized the Biden administrations approach to treat the surge as a capacity issue.

If you just simply open up more centers, provide more care, youre just incentivizing more and more folks to come.

The Biden administration has refused to call the spike a crisis, sometimes acknowledged it as a big problem or an enormous challenge.

Disputing Claims

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and other prominent Democrats such as Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently blamed former President Donald Trump for the massive surge of illegal immigrants at the border.

The prior administration completely dismantled the asylum system. The system was gutted, facilities were closed, and they cruelly expelled young children into the hands of traffickers, Mayorkas said in a statement on Mar. 16. We have had to rebuild the entire system, including the policies and procedures required to administer the asylum laws that Congress passed long ago.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., on March 1, 2021. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

Wolf argued that the facts dont back up their claims. For example, in the Trump administrations first three years, they issued more asylum claims than in any three years of the Obama presidency.

If theyre referring that we dismantled catch-and-release, then yes, I would agree with them, Wolf added. But I think most Americans would agree that that is not a functioning immigration process or system.

As to the Central American Minors program that the Trump administration withdrew, Wolf said its because very few minors actually qualified for asylum over the years, and the program required many resources and efforts. We didnt find it was a good use of resources, Wolf said.

Wolf suggested the current administration is actually utilizing some Trump-era policies to effectuate their immigration policy, such as using temporary shelters built during the Trump administration, having Mexico stem the immigration flow, and using Title 42 to turn some individuals back.

Title 42 (pdf) is a public health order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Border agents can use Title 42 authority to send back illegal aliens quickly due to the pandemic.

The DHS is currently using Title 42 to expel single adults and familiesunless Mexico does not have the capacity to receive the families or a family member has an acute vulnerability, according to Mayorkass statement.

But in February, only about 40 percent of families were removed, and the number might be as low as 14 percent in March, Wolf said.

So in some ways, theyre using our playbook, theyre talking about it differently. And theyre not being as effective, Wolf added. But it goes against their argument that we tore down this entire system that theyre having to rebuild from scratch.

Sending Out a Signal That The Border is Open

Wolf suggested that by abolishing or changing some Trump-era policies, the Biden administration is sending out a signal that the border is now open and we are not removing people.

Wolf explained that the Biden administration had stopped border wall construction, restricted the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents abilities to remove illegal immigrants, and took down the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), which would keep asylum seekers remain in Mexico during their immigration proceedings.

We wanted to root out that fraud so that we could get people into their asylum claim, into the immigration system quickly, Wolf said, referring to MPP and pointing out that 85 to 90 percent of individuals dont qualify for asylum in the end.

The Asylum Cooperative Agreements (ACA), which was signed with El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras by the Trump administration to encourage individuals to seek asylum close to their home country, was also rescinded by the Biden administration.

Furthermore, the current administration issued an exemption on Title 42 deportations of unaccompanied children so that unaccompanied children can stay in the United States.

Thats why you see a [unaccompanied children] flood. Thats why you see over 5,000 in custody today, Wolf said. At the height of the 2019 crisis, it was about 2,600. So its almost more than double. Because the signal is given.

Thats a significant pull factor. They have to address the [unaccompanied children] issue. Otherwise, thats going to continue to occur day after day, month after month.

A temporary processing facility in Donna, Texas, as seen in a photo released by Customs and Border Protection on Tuesday, March 23, 2021. (CBP)

Wolf said families are pushing their children across the border, separating themselves from the child because they think a child has a better chance to stay in the United States.

Youre going to see even higher [unaccompanied children] numbers, and I think it was predicted, by May, it could be even 13,000 in one month, which is astronomical, Wolf added. Because they are sending the signal.

The signal is inhumane, Wolf said.

Up to 90 percent of those immigrants would not qualify for asylum and should be returned home. But they are taking a very dangerous journeysome spending life savings to cartels and smugglers because no one is coming across that border illegally on their own, Wolf said.

The White House and the DHS repeatedly told immigrants recently that the border is not open and dont come now.

Migrants just are not listening to the U.S. government officials, Wolf said. They listen to action, and they listen to what is going on on the ground. Do we have MPP? Do we have to wait in Mexico?  The children that we send up there, are they returning home within a matter of weeks?

Actions speak louder than words in this case, Wolf concluded. They can change the messaging, but if they dont change any of their policies and have a different enforcement posture, then again, the crisis is going to continue.

The DHS didnt immediately respond to a request from The Epoch Times for comment.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said there would be a step change in the number of people being vaccinated from next month (Oireachtas TV/PA)

A sharp drop in the number of Covid-19 cases among vaccinated cohorts has been offset by an increase in cases associated with social interactions and movement, the Health Minister has warned.

Stephen Donnelly said that cases were still high and had been rising in recent days.

He said that while people were understandably frustrated, the pandemic would come to an end.

Expand Close More than 700,000 vaccines have been administered in Ireland to date (Brian Lawless/PA) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp More than 700,000 vaccines have been administered in Ireland to date (Brian Lawless/PA)

Mr Donnelly also told the Dail there would be a step change in the number of people being vaccinated from next month.

To date, more than 700,000 vaccines have been administered in Ireland.

By the end of this month, the country will have received approximately 1.1 million doses of coronavirus vaccine.

But Sinn Feins David Cullinane said the number of vaccines received in the first quarter fell short of what was promised as part of the advanced purchase agreements.

There are doubts about whether the shortfall will be made up over the coming weeks and months after the Health Minister said that AstraZeneca had not committed to fulfilling its original obligations.

Minister Stephen Donnelly concedes in the DAil that the number of AstraZeneca vaccines committed to the EU will not be met in full & the shortfall in Q1 will not be made up in Q2. We are entering a critical phase in the battle against Covid & the vaccine rollout is our best hope.  David Cullinane T.D. (@davidcullinane) March 25, 2021

Mr Donnelly said he was very frustrated with AstraZeneca, particularly after it reneged on some of its commitments.

He added: It must feel to many that this pandemic will never end, many people are very understandably frustrated at what can seem a largely unchanging landscape.

But pandemics do end. This pandemic will end too. Its end is firmly in sight.

Next month we are due to begin to receive deliveries of a fourth vaccine, made by Janssen.

The number of cases amongst those aged 85 and older over the past two weeks has fallen by nearly a half.

Cases are still high and have been rising in recent days. What we are seeing is a big fall in cases associated with the vaccinated cohorts and that big fall is being offset by increase in cases being associated with increased mobility and interactions Health Minister Stephen Donnelly

In April, we are due to receive about a million vaccine doses. In May, and then again in June, we are also due to receive around a million vaccines a month. As always, this is dependent on the pharmaceutical companies delivering to the agreed amounts.

If they do, then four in every five adults in Ireland can be offered either one or two vaccine doses by the end of June.

For April, we are not looking at an incremental increase, we are looking at a step change in the number of people being vaccinated.

Huge progress has been made since January. Ireland has one of the lowest Covid cases in Europe.

Cases are still high and have been rising in recent days. What we are seeing is a big fall in cases associated with the vaccinated cohorts and that big fall is being offset by increase in cases being associated with increased mobility and interactions.

Our walk-in no appointment necessary Covid testing centres are located at Aura Leisure Centre, Tullamore; National Aquatic Centre Car Park, Blanchardstown; HSE Phoenix Care Centre Car Park, Grangegorman; Tallaght Stadium; Irishtown Stadium https://t.co/zz3rpayLOG  Stephen Donnelly (@DonnellyStephen) March 24, 2021

Mr Cullinane was also critical of Government measures to reduce the spread of the virus.

The contract we made with people is that they would abide by very tough restrictions, and they have been doing so, and the State would step up its responsibilities and make sure what is under their control, they would get right, Mr Cullinane added.

In areas of test and trace, travel and quarantine and the vaccine rollout, we fell short in the first quarter.

Mr Donnelly said he had been assured by the HSE that there was a sufficient number of vaccinators to meet the rise in supply of vaccines from next month.

Meanwhile, a number of walk-in testing centres have opened in Dublin and Co Offaly.
St Andrews and Aberdeen are set to lose at least 2.5 million - Epics

Scottish universities are set to lose millions in vital research funding after the UK Government slashed overseas aid funding, prompting warnings of job losses and severe reputational damage to Scotlands world-class institutions.

Following the Governments announcement that it was cutting the aid budget from 0.7 to 0.5 per cent of GDP, the UK Research and Innovation Agency (UKRI) - which controls science funding in Britain - told universities across the UK that its budget for international development projects has been cut by 120m.

Academics have warned the move will result in key projects aimed at tackling some of the worlds biggest crises now having to be abandoned. Many of these are already ongoing, which threatens to do huge damage to the reputation of universities for walking away from vulnerable communities.

In Scotland, one of the most immediate impacts of the cuts is expected to be the loss of the Global Challenge Research Fund, which last year was worth more than 13.2m to Scottish higher education.

It can also be revealed that Aberdeen and St Andrews are set to lose at least 2.5m to the cuts, while vital projects at Glasgow, Heriot-Watt and Dundee are also at risk. Meanwhile, approximately 45 per cent of Queen Margaret Universitys research grant income is exposed to the cuts.

Among the projects at risk includes a 1.8m project at Aberdeen that aims to reduce disease transmission from rodents to humans, a St Andrews programme supporting health training in Rwanda, and Heriot-Watt research modelling sustainable land use in the Amazon.

Glasgow University. The city will host COP26 in November - The Image Bank

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Universities Scotland described the cuts as unprecedented and egregious, and in contradiction of the UK Governments post-Brexit Global Britain ambitions.

Its an extraordinary situation, said Alastair Sim, director of Universities Scotland. For the financial year thats starting in April, theres a 70 per cent cut in funding for overseas development, which is putting the UKRI in the unprecedented situation where they may not even be able to honour commitments already made and thats very serious.

Story continues

It means a lot of projects that could achieve real development gains for our partner countries, particularly in the Global South, are just not going to happen, he said.

Mr Sim added the cuts are estimated to cost thousands of researcher jobs across the UK, of which Scotland will bear a proportionate hit.

He warned that the cuts will cause immense damage to Scotlands reputation as a leader in addressing poverty-related challenges, as well as responses to climate change - just as Glasgow is set to host COP26 in November.

Here we are, with an ambitious plan to be a research and innovation-driven nation - to be Global Britain, showcasing our commitments to sustainable development in Glasgow this November - and yet we are doing something of a massive scale that will have such a substantive and reputational impact on our international partnerships.

Its actually so contrary to the general direction of travel of where the UK Government is going, which gives me hope there is still time for senior political intervention.

Boris Johnson and David Attenborough attend an event to launch the United Nations' Climate Change conference, COP26. The conference will be held in Glasgow in November - AFP

Scotlands higher education minister Richard Lochhead has described the UK Governments extremely concerning decision to cut the research funds without warning as a body-blow to Scottish research collaboration.

We will be working with the Scottish Funding Council to fully consider the impacts and while we do not yet know the full extent this loss of funding will cause, some projects will be cancelled, he told the Daily Telegraph.

Meanwhile, Scottish Labour have warned that the cuts will badly disrupt, and in some cases end the work of Scotlands world-class institutes.

They do outstanding work to tackle some of our biggest global threats, such as pandemics, climate change, food poverty and sustainable land use. This work saves lives and makes us all safer, said education spokesperson Michael Marra.

Having been at the forefront of education and research for decades, these cuts risk relegating the status of our universities  along with the loss of thousands of jobs.

Carol Monaghan MP, the SNP's shadow education spokesperson, condemned the cuts as speaking volumes about the Tories narrow post-Brexit Global Britain vision that will have devastating consequences for vulnerable communities in the middle of a pandemic.

A UK Government spokesperson said: We are committed to strengthening universities in Scotland and funding the countrys world class reputation for research and innovation.

This includes 400 million for universities in Scotland through our City Region and Growth Deals and 213 million to upgrade the UKs scientific infrastructure from which Scottish science facilities in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee will benefit.

The UK Government is investing hundreds of millions of pounds in Scottish universities and there is much more in the pipeline. We are working with our delivery partners, including UK Research and Innovation, to implement a new research and development settlement for 2021/22 that delivers on our R&D ambitions."
Senate Democrats plan to deploy an obscure but powerful legislative weapon in the coming weeks to try to quickly reinstate a major Obama-era climate change rule that the Trump administration had effectively eliminated.

Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, is expected next month to invoke the 1996 Congressional Review Act with the goal of undoing a Trump rule finalized in September that lifted controls on the release of methane, a powerful planet-warming gas that is emitted from leaks and flares in oil and gas wells.

Democrats argue that the move, which will be sponsored by Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, will have the legal effect of immediately reinstating the Obama methane rules. That would be a far more rapid timetable than the yearslong regulatory process typically required to undo or reinstate regulations.

The Trump rule to remove limits on emissions of methane from oil and gas was an illogical and a devastating blow to one of the most important tools to curbing greenhouse gas emissions, Mr. Schumer said in a statement. The Democratic Senate will hold a vote to overturn this rule, which is one of many initiatives we are pursuing to fight the climate crisis.
This is the moment an escaped parrot was finally caught by New York firefighters after its owner's attempts to fetch it off a window ledge ended in failure.

The clip, filmed in Manhattan on March 22, starts with a white-haired man scrambling up a ladder to reach the macaw, which had escaped as the pair headed to the vet.

His first attempt to reach the bird fails, at the ladder is too short.

The man tries again with a longer ladder. This time, he manages to coax the bird onto his arm, only for it to spook and fly off up the street.

The desperate pet owner was later forced to call on the New York City Fire Department to help him rescue the colourful bird.

The clip, filmed in New York on March 22, captures an elderly man as he scrambles up one ladder to reach his macaw, who had escaped as the pair headed to the vet

The man's rescue attempts draw quite a crowd as he climbs towards the bird, who was perched above a doorway on Amsterdam Avenue.

Two men hold a silver-coloured ladder steady as onlookers watch him reach out for the parrot. But he can only reach the uncooperative macaw's tail feathers.

He tries again, this time using a longer orange ladder and manages to get the bird onto his arm.

But as the pensioner begins his descent, the bird spooks, taking off towards a tree at 87th Street and Columbus Avenue.

An onlooker shouts 'oh sh**' as the rescue continues.

A second clip then captures the New York City Fire Department as they are deployed to retrieve the parrot from the tree on the Upper West Side.

He manages to coax the bird onto his arm, but as he turns to make his way to the ground, it spooks and flies away towards a tree much further up the road

The desperate pet owner was later forced to call on the New York City Fire Department to help him rescue the colourful bir

One firefighter used a ladder truck to reach the bird at around 6.20pm, twisting the branch it was perched upon in an attempt to grab the fugitive.

Eventually, the team are able to capture the parrot and return it to its owner.

Dozens of people had gathered to watch the dramatic rescue, with several applauding when the parrot was safety contained.

One firefighter used a ladder truck to reach the bird at around 6.20pm, twisting the branch it was perched upon in an attempt to grab the fugitive

The New York Fire Department told West Side Rag: 'Ladder 25 was verbally alerted at 18:20 hrs that someone's parrot had escaped in route to a veterinarian visit.

'Ladder 25 was able to extend their aerial ladder to reach the branch where the bird was and a fire fighter was able to bring the parrot down to safety.

'No injuries to the parrot or anyone else, returned safely to the owner. No information on who the owner is.'
(@FahadShabbir)

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th March, 2021) The US Defense Department approved a request from health officials to house migrant children at military facilities in Texas, Spokesperson John Kirby said in a statement.

"Today, the Department of Defense approved a request for assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to temporarily house unaccompanied migrant children at a vacant dormitory at Joint Base San Antonio - Lackland, Texas and an area of land on Fort Bliss, Texas to construct suitable temporary housing facility.

DoD will provide HHS officials access to these locations immediately to begin initial actions to prepare for receiving unaccompanied migrant children as soon as preparations are complete," Kirby said on Wednesday. "This support... will not negatively affect military training, operations, readiness, or other military requirements."

The United States is experiencing the greatest influx of undocumented migrants in the past 20 years with reports of at least 15,000 unaccompanied children in US custody.
Ward & Burke were shortlisted for two awards at the 2016 Ground Engineering Awards in London for this project

PROJECTS with Irish Water and an opportunistic push into the Finnish market helped Galway-based micro-tunnelling group Ward and Burke deliver revenue at 278m last year, up 6m in 2019.

The firm posted a pre-tax profit of 26m last year, compared to 18m in 2019, strengthening its balance sheet during the pandemic.

Ward and Burke is primarily engaged in the delivery of tunnelling services for water and wastewater projects.

Director Padraig Burke told the Irish Independent that the company has also recently secured its first contracts in California.

Of its turnover last year, 99.8m was generated in Ireland, 73m in Europe and 105.2m in the rest of the world. Its foray into Finland accounted for 17.3m of turnover, while North America accounted for 105m.

Mr Burke said he expects turnover to remain static this year and that the group is not targeting specific geographies for growth.

However, he said expanding Ward and Burkes activities outside Ireland during the financial crash, to Canada, had saved our bacon.

We have benefited from our diversification since the crash in 2008, he said. One market might be suffering while another is developing. Opportunities present themselves across the geographies.

He said that after undertaking its first project in Finland, the group has tendered for other work in the region.

Mr Burke said that the groups work with Irish Water has been an important revenue stream.

Irish Water has secured record current and non-current funding of 1.3bn for 2021 to enable it to deliver projects across the country.

Last year, it received an additional 87m in stimulus funding to undertake a slew of projects that were to be delivered by the end of 2020.

Ward and Burke has been working on a major Irish Water project at Blanchardstown in Dublin, and is also working on a large project in Cork. It employs more than 600 people.
Conservative Member of Parliament Michelle Rempel Garner asks a question during question period in the House of Commons on Nov. 30, 2020. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Tory Motion Calling for Clear Data-Driven Plan to End COVID-19 Restrictions Rejected by Majority of MPs

A motion tabled by the Conservatives to push the Trudeau government to come up with a plan to lift COVID-19 restrictions and reopen the economy failed to get adopted Wednesday.

A majority of MPs 212 versus 122voted against the motion, which urged the government to release a clear data-driven plan to support safely, gradually, and permanently lifting COVID-19 restrictions within 20 days after the adoption of the motion.

In calling for support for the motion in the House on Tuesday, Conservative health critic Michelle Rempel Garner said that with a year having passed since the pandemic began, the tools now exist for an informed return to normalcy.

We are a year into COVID19, and enough is enough, she said.

The problem is that in Canada, we have not had clear guidance from our health officials on the circumstances on which widespread mass lockdowns can safely end. That is a huge problem.

Rempel Garner noted that no level of government in Canada has issued guidance on what options people have once they are fully vaccinated.

The only thing the federal government has said to date, when asked, is that vaccinated people still have to go into controversial quarantine hotels, she said.

The federal government has to at least tell people what the plan is to develop benchmarks on how these tools are going to bring freedom, prosperity, and normalcy back to the lives of Canadians.

Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux accused Rempel Garner of providing false information.

Is the member trying to indicate to those who are following this debate that the federal government is responsible for lifting lockdowns or restrictions? My understanding, according to the Constitution, is that the provinces are responsible. Canada is a vast country with many regions, and it is the provinces that put in the restrictions, he said.

Is it the Conservative Partys policy that Ottawa should start overriding provincial jurisdiction?

The federal government has full jurisdiction on the quarantine hotel debacle that has seen sexual assaults occur, so yes, that issue is its job, Rempel Garner countered.

After billions of dollars and thousands of bureaucrats, a year later the federal government is saying it is not its job.  Liberals will not provide any support on this or any guidance, she added. What we need is a plan, and every person in this place should support it.

NDP MP Don Davies said gaining control of the transmission of the COVID-19 virus takes priority over reopening the economy.

It cannot be the other way around. We cannot put the reopening of the economy ahead of getting control of the health issues, Davies said.

He noted, however, that the government should provide Canadians with a clear path forward by releasing a comprehensive plan to put this pandemic behind us and begin the process of recovery.

Liberal MP Mark Gerretsen said what he finds problematic with Rempel Garners motion is that there are things the federal government is responsible for, but there are also things it is not responsible for.

The prime minister does not have the powers, or certainly the federal government does not have the powers, for certain circumstances, he said.

Conservative MP James Cumming pointed out that government can show its leadership at this crucial time by providing direction to the provinces and equipping them with the tools necessary to get Canadians back to work.

Cumming noted that the U.S. and UK federal governments have already released plans reopening the economy in their countries, but Canadian officials have yet to provide Canadians with any clarity on when regular economic activity and social life will be resumed.

We need a plan to come out of COVID-19 to create jobs, get our economy back on track and allow people to earn those paychecks, he said.

Leader of the Opposition Erin OToole responds to a question during a news conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on March 23, 2021. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

In a statement released Tuesday, Conservative Leader Erin OToole said Canadians need a plan for hope and to know that things are going to get better

To say that the mental health of Canadians has been impacted due to the pandemic is an understatement. Over last year we have seen a dramatic rise of mental health issues, addictions, and overdoses that have become the pandemic of tears within the COVID-19 pandemic. Things must change, OToole said, a point he reiterated in a press conference the same day.

By now, Canadians should know when things are going to turn the corner and what metrics we are using to determine a plan for re-opening. We cant keep asking Canadians to sacrifice more without being clear about when restrictions will be eased.
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
Zaharie Ahmad Shah (pictured) was the pilot of the doomed flight

DID THE PILOT HIJACK HIS OWN PLANE?

Pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah planned mass murder because of personal problems, locking his co-pilot out of the cockpit, closing down all communications, depressurising the main cabin and then disabling the aircraft so that it continued flying on auto-pilot until it ran out of fuel.

That was the popular theory in the weeks after the plane's disappearance.

His personal problems, rumours in Kuala Lumpur said, included a split with his wife Fizah Khan, and his fury that a relative, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, had been given a five-year jail sentence for sodomy shortly before he boarded the plane for the flight to Beijing.

But the pilot's wife angrily denied any personal problems and other family members and his friends said he was a devoted family man and loved his job.

This theory was also the conclusion of the first independent study into the disaster by the New Zealand-based air accident investigator, Ewan Wilson.

Wilson, the founder of Kiwi Airlines and a commercial pilot himself, arrived at the shocking conclusion after considering 'every conceivable alternative scenario'.

However, he has not been able to provide any conclusive evidence to support his theory.

The claims are made in the book 'Goodnight Malaysian 370', which Wilson co-wrote with the New Zealand broadsheet journalist, Geoff Taylor.

It's also been rumoured that Zaharie used a flight simulator at his home to plot a path to a remote island.

However, officials in Kuala Lumpur declared that Malaysian police and the FBI's technical experts had found nothing to suggest he was planning to hijack the flight after closely examining his flight simulator.

And there are also theories that t he tragic disappearance may have been a heroic act of sacrifice by the pilot.

Australian aviation enthusiast Michael Gilbert believes the doomed plane caught fire mid-flight, forcing the pilot to plot a course away from heavily populated areas.

IF NOT THE PILOT, WAS THE CO-PILOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MYSTERY?

Co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27, again for personal problems, was suspected by rumour-spreaders to have overpowered the pilot and disabled the aircraft, flying it to its doom with crew and passengers unable to get through the locked cockpit door.

Theorists have put forward the suggestion that he was having relationship problems and this was his dramatic way of taking his own life.

But he was engaged to be married to Captain Nadira Ramli, 26, a fellow pilot from another airline, and loved his job. There are no known reasons for him to have taken any fatal action.

There have been a series of outlandish theories about the disappearance of the plane

Others have suggested that because he was known to have occasionally invited young women into the cockpit during a flight, he had done so this time and something had gone wrong.

Young Jonti Roos said in March that she spent an entire flight in 2011 in the cockpit being entertained by Hamid, who was smoking.

Interest in the co-pilot was renewed when it was revealed he was the last person to communicate from the cockpit after the communication system was cut off.

DID THE RUSSIANS STEAL MH370 AND FLY THE JET TO KAZAKHSTAN

An expert has claimed the missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370 was hijacked on the orders of Vladimir Putin and secretly landed in Kazakhstan.

Jeff Wise, a U.S. science writer who spearheaded CNN's coverage of the Boeing 777-200E, has based his outlandish theory on pings that the plane gave off for seven hours after it went missing, that were recorded by British telecommunications company Inmarsat.

Wise believes that hijackers 'spoofed' the plane's navigation data to make it seem like it went in another direction, but flew it to the Baikonur Cosmodrome, which is leased from Kazakhstan by Russia.

However, Wise admits in New York Magazine that he does not know why Vladimir Putin would want to steal a plane full of people and that his idea is somewhat 'crazy'.

Wise also noted there were three Russian men onboard the flight, two of them Ukrainian passport holders.

Aviation disaster experts analysed satellite data and discovered - like the data recorded by Inmarsat - that the plane flew on for hours after losing contact.

Careful examination of the evidence has revealed that MH370 made three turns after the last radio call, first a turn to the left, then two more, taking the plane west, then south towards Antarctica.

MH370 WAS USED BY TERRORISTS FOR A SUICIDE ATTACK ON THE CHINESE NAVY

This extraordinary claim came from 41-year-old British yachtsman Katherine Tee, from Liverpool, whose initial account of seeing what she thought was a burning plane in the night sky made headlines around the world.

On arrival in Thailand's Phuket after sailing across the Indian Ocean from Cochin, southern India with her husband, she said: 'I could see the outline of the plane - it looked longer than planes usually do.There was what appeared to be black smoke streaming from behind.'

Ms Tee's general description of the time and place was vague and she lost all credibility when she later stated on her blog that she believed MH370 was a kamikaze plane that was aimed at a flotilla of Chinese ships and it was shot down before it could smash into the vessels.

Without solid proof of the satellite data, she wrote on her blog, Saucy Sailoress, the plane she saw was flying at low altitude towards the military convoy she and her husband had seen on recent nights. She added that internet research showed a Chinese flotilla was in the area at the time.

While the debris proved the plane went down in the Indian Ocean, the location of the main underwater wreckage  and its crucial black box data recorders  remains stubbornly elusive.

THE JET LANDED ON THE WATER AND WAS SEEN FLOATING ON THE ANDAMAN SEA

On a flight from Jeddah to Kuala Lumpur that crossed over the Andaman Sea on March 8, Malaysian woman Raja Dalelah, 53, saw what she believed was a plane sitting on the water's surface.

She didn't know about the search that had been started for MH370. She alerted a stewardess who told her to go back to sleep.

'I was shocked to see what looked like the tail and wing of an aircraft on the water,' she said.

It was only when she told her friends on landing in Kuala Lumpur what she had seen that she learned of the missing jet. She had seen the object at about 2.30pm Malaysian time.

She said she had been able to identify several ships and islands before noticing the silver object that she said was a plane.

But her story was laughed off by pilots who said it would have been impossible to have seen part of an aircraft in the water from 35,000ft or seven miles.

Ms Raja filed an official report with police the same day and has kept to her story.

'I know what I saw,' she said.

THE AIRCRAFT SUFFERED A CATASTROPHIC SYSTEMS FAILURE AND CRASH-LANDED ON THE OCEAN

A catastrophic event such as a fire disabling much of the equipment resulted in the pilots turning the plane back towards the Malaysian peninsula in the hope of landing at the nearest airport.

Satellite data, believable or not, suggests the aircraft did make a turn and theorists say there would be no reason for the pilots to change course unless confronted with an emergency.

A fire in a similar Boeing 777 jet parked at Cairo airport in 2011 was found to have been caused by a problem with the first officer's oxygen mask supply tubing.

Stewarts Law, which has litigated in a series of recent air disasters, believes the plane crashed after a fire - similar to the blaze on the Cairo airport runway - broke out in the cockpit.

After an investigation into the Cairo blaze, Egypt's Aircraft Accident Investigation Central Directorate (EAAICD) released their final report which revealed that the fire originated near the first officer's oxygen mask supply tubing.

The cause of the fire could not be conclusively determined, but investigators pinpointed a problem with the cockpit hose used to provide oxygen for the crew in the event of decompression.

Following the 2011 fire, US aircraft owners were instructed to replace the system - it was estimated to cost $2,596 (1,573) per aircraft. It was not known whether Malaysia Airlines had carried out the change.

If either pilot wanted to crash the plane, why turn it around? So the turn-around suggests they were trying to land as soon as possible because of an emergency.

THE US SHOT DOWN THE AIRCRAFT FEARING A TERROR ATTACK ON DIEGO GARCIA

The Boeing 777 was shot down by the Americans who feared the aircraft had been hijacked and was about to be used to attack the U.S. military base on Diego Garcia atoll in the Indian Ocean. So conspiracy theorists claim.

And former French airline director Marc Dugain said he had been warned by British intelligence that he was taking risks by investigating this angle.

There is no way of checking whether Dugain received such a warning or why he believes the Americans shot down the plane.

But adding to the theory that the aircraft was flown to Diego Garcia, either by the pilot Zaharie or a hijacker, was the claim that on the pilot's home flight simulator was a 'practice' flight to the island.

Professor Glees said: 'The Americans would have no interest in doing anything of the kind and not telling the world.

'In theory, they might wish to shoot down a plane they thought was attacking them but they wouldn't just fire missiles, they'd investigate it first with fighters and would quickly realise that even if it had to be shot down, the world would need to know.'
Sharon Stone blasted cancel culture as 'the stupidest thing' she has ever seen and urged people to 'grow some empathy.'

Stone, 63, made her comments while appearing on SiriusXMs Just Jenny show to promote her new book The Beauty of Living Twice - which is scheduled for release on Tuesday.

Her new comments come after it was revealed in her new memoir that she claimed she was tricked into her infamous Basic Instinct scene and was pressured into sleeping with co-stars.

She also recently defended Christian Bale a dozen years after his profanity-laden outburst on the set of Terminator: Salvation went viral and said she had a 'wonderful' and 'professional' experience working with Woody Allen.

Stone, 63, made her comments while appearing on SiriusXMs Just Jenny show to promote her new book The Beauty of Living Twice

Stone recently defended a viral outburst from Christian Bale, and said that she believes that a lot of people don't fully understand what it takes for actors to do their jobs

'I think cancel culture is the stupidest thing I have ever seen happen. I think when people say things that they feel and mean, and it's offensive to you, it's a brilliant opportunity for everyone to learn and grow and understand each other,' Stone said.

'We all come from different ages, different cultures, different backgrounds, different things, and have had different experiences, different traumas, different upbringings, different parents, different religious backgrounds, different everything.'

She added: 'Give people an opportunity to discuss things before you wipe out their entire person over a statement or a comment or a misunderstanding. Stop being so small.'

'The world is bigger. People have done so much more than one sentence. Like grow up. Grow some empathy,' Stone said to SiriusXMs Jenny Hutt.

Stone recnently publicly railed against her role in Basic Instinct, released in 1992, as 'terrifying'.

Stone's Basic Instinct scene has been hailed as the most heavily scrutinized in film history.

In the erotic thriller, Stone crosses and uncrosses her legs while not wearing any underwear as she toyed with a roomful of male police officers.

The scene was instrumental in making her a superstar and one of Hollywood's most intimidating sex symbols.

It was also a shameful betrayal, according to Stone, who has described how she slapped her director Paul Verhoeven in fury and walked out of a preview of the lurid drama after discovering his assurances that it wouldn't show up on screen had been a lie and that the audience could  as she put it  'see all the way to Nebraska'.

Her new comments come after it was revealed in her new memoir that she claimed she was tricked into her infamous Basic Instinct scene

Stone, 63, also claimed in her new memoir that she was pressured into sleeping with co-stars

Stone appeared on SiriusXMs Just Jenny show to promote her new book The Beauty of Living Twice - which is scheduled for release on Tuesday

The actress has, in the past, been ridiculed for her diva-like behavior and for posing naked for Playboy twice, the first time to get the Basic Instinct role and the second when she was 57.

Now, with the post-#MeToo era portraying notoriously hard-nosed Hollywood women such as her in a kinder light, she has come out all guns blazing against a misogynistic film industry.

In an excerpt which appeared in Vanity Fair, she disclosed that one of her directors insisted she sat on his lap during filming while film bosses pressured her to sleep with male co-stars to strengthen their on-screen chemistry.

According to Sharon Stone, her experience filming Basic Instinct 'was terrifying'

She also revealed that while nakedly astride an actor with whom she had moments before been filmed making love, she hit him so ferociously with a fake ice pick that he passed out and she feared she'd killed him.

Stone also confided that, after years of dead-end acting roles, she was so desperate to get the Basic Instinct job that she had her manager use his credit card to unlock the door of the casting director's office to obtain a copy of the script.

Stone had already made the sci-fi thriller Total Recall - in which she had a small part as Arnold Schwarzenegger's wife - with Verhoeven.

Verhoeven has vehemently dismissed her claims that she was taken by surprise in the leg-crossing scene, saying: 'Any actress knows what she's going to see if you ask her to take off her underwear and point there with the camera.'

He insists he'd already shown Stone the scene on a monitor, but she became embarrassed when the people around her warned it would ruin her career.

Stone said she had expected to watch the film alone with Verhoeven but they were joined by a roomful of agents and lawyers - few of whom had anything to do with it.

She said: 'That was how I saw my vagina-shot for the first time, long after I'd been told 'We can't see anything  I just need you to remove your panties, as the white is reflecting the light, so we know you have panties on".'

"Yes, there have been many points of view on this topic, but since I'm the one with the vagina in question, let me say: The other points of view are bull****,' she added.

She claimed she called her lawyer who said she could get an injunction as it wasn't legal under Hollywood union rules to 'shoot up my dress in this fashion.'

Her lawyer also said the film would probably require an X-rating, which would have hamstrung its box-office chances.

Reminding herself how hard she had fought to get the role, and acknowledging that she'd have left in the scene if she was director, she eventually did nothing.

According to Stone, the film  in which she plays a calculating killer and Douglas is the investigating homicide detective who becomes obsessed with her  revealed 'the dark side of myself'.

She said: 'It was terrifying.' She found herself sleepwalking three times during production, twice waking fully dressed in her car. She had 'hideous nightmares.'

She described how they stopped filming an early stabbing sequence in the film and the actor she had been manically attacking 'just lay there, unconscious'. Stone panicked, convinced the retractable ice pick she was using hadn't actually retracted.

The actor was prostrate on a bed under which a special-effects man was lying, pumping fake blood through a prosthetic chest.

As the director kept screaming 'hit him, harder, harder!' and 'more blood, more blood!', Stone said she became faint with her exertions.

It appeared she had hit the actor so many times that he'd passed out. 'I was horrified, naked, and stained with fake blood,' she recalls. It seemed there was virtually nothing the director wouldn't ask of her to make the film.

Stone said she admits she was opinionated and stood up to the men who ran Hollywood, only to be labelled as difficult.

Learning she was seen as an 'intimidating' presence to men in her industry makes her 'want to cry', she said.

'I was often alone on a set with hundreds of men.' And not just alone but sometimes naked, too.

She's often asked what it was like for her at the height of her fame, she said.

'It was like this. Play ball or get off the field, girl,' she said.

The Hollywood star also recently defended Christian Bale a dozen years after his profanity-laden outburst on the set of Terminator: Salvation went viral.

She recently appeared on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert to promote her book and said she believes people don't fully understand what it takes for actors to do their jobs as they convey emotion in chaotic environments.

Stone explained: 'A lot people they don't really get what that takes or that you have to have a small protected space to do that.

'Many people are trying to get so much else from you while youre doing that that you almost feel like youre gonna snap and youre criticized if you do snap.'

Colbert, 56, brought up her soon-to-be released book and asked if she wrote about any specific instances in which she snapped.

Stone instead brought up the 47-year-old British actor Bale instead saying: 'I would not say so much for myself, but I can certainly say that I see that with such brilliant actors, like maybe Christian Bale, who completely transforms himself into someone else, whether hes playing George Bush or whether hes playing an anorexic or whether hes playing an O.C.D. stockbroker, he becomes a different person.'

She went on to criticize those who have complained about actors like Bale who have had meltdowns on set.

Stone said: 'People want to get up in his business while hes trying to completely transform into another person. And then hes like, "Get away from me!" And then they want to criticize him for not being available to them. I find that a little bit, you know, maybe they should just grow up.'

Back in 2009 there was damning audio of Bale from the Terminator Salvation set where he directed an expletive-laden tirade at Shane Hurlbut, the film's director of cinematography.

Bale said Hurlbut had ruined his concentration by distracting him during an intense scene.

In Hollywood, it was widely agreed that Hurlbut had been out of order, but Bale made an apology on a Los Angeles radio station, saying that his language was 'inexcusable', and that he had 'acted like a punk.'

Bale said at the time: 'We've all done things we regret or we wish we could change. If you've done something you feel bad about, you have a choice  you can just move on and ignore it, or you can learn a lesson from it.

'The incident was resolved within 30 seconds. But I take full responsibility for it. Absolutely.'

Stone also recently said she had a 'wonderful' and 'professional' experience working with Woody Allen, amid accusations of sexual abuse made against the filmmaker in the newly released HBO docuseries, Allen v Farrow.

Allen, 85, was first accused of sexually abusing his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow 29 years ago, but the allegations have gained renewed interest in light of the new docuseries exploring the claims.

While Stone acknowledged the series could have very well been 'true', she spoke highly of the director and recalled her positive experiences working with him starting at age 19.

Stone was promoting her new memoir The Beauty of Living Twice on Sirius XM's The Michelle Collins show when the topic of Allen was raised, whom she wrote about in her book.

'But I don't want to say I never had an untoward experience with Woody Allen,' the actress said on The Michelle Collins Show. 'My experiences with Woody Allen were all wonderful, he was highly professional with me,' she said.

'He was extraordinarily encouraging to me and I was a young woman, 19, when I started working with him. I've done three films with him.'

She added: 'He's been nothing but spectacular with me. I have no experience of him being anything but terrific,' she added. 'I am fully aware of the documentary that's come out recently, but I have zero of those experiences to report.'

'I can say that while the [Allen v. Farrow] documentary may very well be a hundred percent true, it is not my experience. I had a super professional and a particularly wonderful experience working with him. Which is why I worked with him three times.'
The High Court Special Chamber for International and Cross-border Crimes on Wednesday, March 24, resolved that the case involving 21 terror suspects linked to MRCD and its military wing FLN continues despite Paul Rusesabagina's absence.

Rusesabagina, one of the accused, was the sole suspect that did not attend Wednesday's hearing.

The court heard that, according to a letter by the Rwanda Correctional Service (RCS), Rusesabagina explained to RCS that he intentionally decided not to show up in court, adding that it will continue to be the case as long as the case is tried by the same court.

The letter also says that the absence is linked to the decision taken by court on March 12 to reject Rusesabagina's request to push the trial to six months.

Commenting on the accused's statement, prosecution said that his absence should not put the case on hold, because it is the defendant's right to be present in court or not.

Prosecution argued that there were various precedent cases in which the court tried the accused in absentia.

Announcing the verdict, the court heard that though it is important that the accused be present in court, it is also their right to not to be present when they choose not to.

It was ruled that the trial should proceed because Rusesabagina was informed about today's hearing and did not provide a tangible reason for not attending.

Meanwhile, the court said that as long as the case is still open, the accused will be informed about dates of every hearing, their respective proceedings, and will be allowed to attend whenever he wants to.

All the 21 individuals involved in the case are accused of crimes related to terrorism, following terror attacks that took place in south-western Rwanda between 2018 and 2019 and claimed nine lives.
Marcus Thomas, one of two American citizens accused of the assassin-like murder of Andre Heckmair in Windhoek in January 2011, has secured a new lawyer through the Department of Legal Aid.

Local lawyer Lilian Mbaeva has been appointed to represent Thomas for the rest of the trial which has been dragging on since 2014, mostly due to various applications the Americans brought before court and the firing and withdrawing of lawyers.

Mbaeva on Tuesday told Windhoek High Court Judge Christie Liebenberg that she only received her instructions recently and did not have a chance to consult with Thomas yet, and also did not have insight into the record of proceedings.

The judge granted her a postponement until 13 April to go through the record and consult with her client.

Thomas recently fired his ninth lawyer, Braam Cupido, for alleged failure to carry out instructions.

Cupido, however, refuted the allegations, saying the instructions from Thomas were untenable.

The matter is now set down to continue from 13 April to 16 April, again from 5 to 9 July and then from 16 to 20 August.

Mbanga Siyomunji, the private lawyer for his co-accused, Kevan Townsend, did not have an objection to the postponement as he said it is understandable that Mbaeva needs time to familiarise herself with the case.

Similarly, deputy prosecutor general Antonia Verhoef had no objection.

Thomas and Townsend are facing one count each of murder, one count of robbery with aggravating circumstances, three counts of contravening the Ammunitions Act and one count of defeating or obstructing or attempting to defeat or obstruct the course of justice.

The state alleges in count one that they killed Heckmair, who is the son of the owners of the Cattle Baron Steak Ranch, by shooting him in the head on 7 January 2011 along Gusinde Street in Windhoek.

Both Thomas and Townsend were remanded in custody at the Windhoek Central Prison until their next court appearance.
China's investment agreement with Europe is in tatters as major parties in the are considering withholding support to the trade deal after Beijing imposed sanctions on EU officials.

The South Morning Post reported that three of the four biggest parties of the EU have already said that they cannot support the deal until sanctions are lifted.

" is trying to intimidate us by silencing MEPs [Members of European Parliament] because they denounced the human rights abuses against Uygurs in China," said EPP Chairman Manfred Weber in a video posted on social media.

The trade deal requires ratification by the - a process slated to begin next year, SCMP reported.

This comes after Beijing imposed retaliatory sanctions on the EU officials following the European Council's decision to impose sanctions on four Chinese officials and one entity.

On Tuesday, the MEPs had reiterated their serious concerns regarding human rights abuses in China, particularly the persecution of the Uyghur minority in the province of Xinjiang.

Condemning the retaliatory sanctions, the MEPs had slammed the Chinese government's attempts to "interfere in the democratic life of our nations and our European Union".

Amid mounting pressure from the US and its allies, has continued to deny the charges of both forced labour and genocide in Xinjiang.

landmark trade deal -- the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) with China, which was signed in December last year, may prove to be a dangerous move for Europe.

Since the signing of the deal by Chinese Premier Xi Jinping, there is a mounting concern in the over China's human rights record on issues, including alleged forced labour camps and a crackdown in Hong Kong against anti-government protestors, reported Greek City Times.

(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 University of Illinois System, with a $1.4 million grant from The Rockefeller Foundation, announces the expansion of its SHIELD Illinois and SHIELD CU COVID-19 testing initiatives to help safely reopen underserved K-12 schools in communities across the state using the covidSHIELD test, an innovative, saliva-based test developed at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC).

More than 1.5 million covidSHIELD tests have been administered since July 2020, keeping in-person classes open at the University of Illinois campuses in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago, and Springfield since the Fall 2020 semester. The new program, SHIELD Illinois: Target, Test, Tell for Underserved K-12 Districts, will be rolled out in schools located in the three cities, targeting vulnerable areas that have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.

Widespread, regular COVID-19 testing remains critical to reopening and keeping schools open, but it is costly and requires the help of medical personnel. The SHIELD Illinois and SHIELD CU programs address those challenges, giving schools with limited resources, equal opportunity to keep students, staff, and families safe." Andrew Sweet, Managing Director of COVID-19 Response and Recovery at The Rockefeller Foundation

The new Shield K-12 program will be deployed across every grade level in four schools: Champaign Unit 4's Stratton Academy of the Arts Elementary School (K-5 grades), Chicago Jesuit Academy (3-8 grades), J.W. Eater Junior High School in Rantoul (6-8 grades), and Urbana High School (9-12 grades). The comprehensive program includes tests, equipment, rapid results, and on-site support.

"We worked with school districts to select a representative sample of the different kinds of schools across Illinois, focusing on schools that work with low-resource populations," said Rebecca Smith, Professor of Pathobiology at University of Illinois and Project Lead of SHIELD Illinois' K-12 testing program. "The Rockefeller Foundation, through its pandemic response initiative, connected us with school districts and school officials across the country who are trying to develop COVID-safe best practices around re-openings. We are combining this with our experience keeping the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign open by using widescale, frequent testing to help these schools stay open safely."

In February 2021, the University of Illinois received Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to expand the use of covidSHIELD beyond the university system. The saliva-based test is innovative, in part due to its simplicity: individuals fill a test tube with saliva, which is analyzed at a lab, with results available on a phone app in about 24 hours. Because it does not require medical personnel to collect samples, the test costs significantly less than ones using nasal swab tests. The test is sensitive enough to detect even small amounts of genetic material, including new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that originated in other countries, and was shown to be highly accurate in a clinical study for the EUA application.

In addition to the saliva-based tests, the K-12 SHIELD screening testing program includes:

Consistent, evidence-based testing regimen based on a risk assessment in the school and wider community.

Samples processed at CLIA-certified laboratories that meet federal standards for quality and reliability established by the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments.

24-hour turnaround time for results along with a clear process for sample collection and delivery.

Clear notification plan to report positive cases to parents and school staff.

Access to communication tools for successful implementation, including videos and teaching materials to demonstrate how to conduct saliva-based testing and educational narratives--in both English and Spanish--aimed at younger children who may need additional direction.

"In fulfillment of our mission as a preeminent publicly engaged, land-grant research institution in the 21st century, it is incumbent upon us to work with and serve as an anchor for our whole Champaign-Urbana community--to stay well and safe, to offset learning loss, and to combat racial disparities in education," said Dr. Wanda E. Ward, UIUC Executive Associate Chancellor and co-lead of SHIELD CU. "Future generations of Illinois innovators, scientists, educators, and entrepreneurs may well be educated, inspired, and nurtured in these schools. On behalf of SHIELD CU, we wish to extend gracious thanks to The Rockefeller Foundation for providing support to enable Illinois' underserved K-12 schools to safely reopen and remain open during the COVID-19 pandemic." SHIELD CU is the University's local saliva-based testing program designed to serve Champaign-Urbana and surrounding communities and SHIELD Illinois is a screening testing program and infrastructure that deploys the saliva-based testing across the state.

The SHIELD Illinois: Target, Test, Tell for Underserved K-12 Districts program includes collaborations with Johns Hopkins University, Duke University, University of Southern California, and Arizona State University and partnerships with the Illinois Governor's Office, the Mayor of Chicago's Office, the Illinois Department of Public Health, and the City of Chicago Department of Public Health. Rebecca Smith, Illinois professor of pathobiology, will oversee the project with Catherine Cheung, researcher at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, who is coordinating operations across the University of Illinois System, SHIELD CU, OSF HealthCare and selected K-12 schools. The program is also seeking additional support to sustain efforts on reopening K-12 schools and plans to share protocols and guidelines with other K-12 schools across the country. To learn more about SHIELD Illinois, please visit https:/ / www. uillinois. edu/ shield.
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - As more travelers begin to plan long-awaited getaways with family and friends, United Airlines is kicking off summer vacation season with a robust May schedule that includes the addition of 26 new nonstop routes between Midwest cities such as Cleveland, Cincinnati and Milwaukee and popular vacation destinations such as Hilton Head, South Carolina; Pensacola, Florida; and Portland, Maine. The airline also plans to resume more than 20 domestic routes and will start new service between Orange County, California, and Honolulu. Internationally, in May United will fly more than 100% of its pre-pandemic schedule to Latin America compared to what it operated in 2019, including more flights to Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America and South America. The airline also plans to resume flights between Chicago and Tokyo Haneda, resume passenger flights between New York/Newark and Milan and Rome, and restart service between Chicago and Amsterdam. In total, United plans to operate 52% of its overall schedule compared to May 2019, whereas in May 2020 United operated 14% of its overall schedule compared to May 2019. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
The wife and mother of a man who drowned trying to cross a flooded Queensland creek left a series of heartbreaking messages on Facebook trying to find him.

David Hornman's body was found in his upturned ute in Canungra Creek near Lamington National Park in the Gold Coast Hinterland on Wednesday.

'Please, if you see him or the vehicle, let me know,' wife Angela Hornman, wrote on Facebook before he was located.

In Queensland a desperate search for David Hornman, 38, ended when his body was found inside his ute in the Gold Coast Hinterland on Wednesday afternoon

David Hornman's body was recovered from flooded Canungra Creek on Wednesday

'Or at least tell him please to contact someone so I know he's safe ... Please tell him no matter what I LOVE HIM,' she wrote.

'Please don't let this go cold,' she wrote in another post. 'Please keep looking and sharing and PLEASE let either me or police know ANYTHING - even if you think it's nothing, it might be something'.

On Tuesday she began to panic when he didn't turn up to work, pleading for any information that might help.

Mr Hornman's distraught mother also used Facebook to try and enlist help finding her son.

David Hornman's mother left several heartbreaking messages on Facebook (including the one pictured) before and after her son was found drowned in flooded Canungra Creek

One of the heartbreaking messages left on Facebook by Mr Hornman's mother

'He didn't turn up to work and hasn't been able to be reached since. His phone is turned off,' Angela Hornman also wrote.

The 38-year-old father was last seen on Monday and had not contacted his family since heading to a job in the Tamborine area, where torrential rain caused flash flooding.

Police are investigating Mr Hornman's death, but it is believed he died after attempting to cross the flooded creek and they appealed for help from the public.

'Police are interested in obtaining vision of the weather conditions in the area particularly near Coburg Road causeway between 5am and 7am on March 22 as well as any vision capturing a white Isuzu utility heading down Coburg Road towards Canungra within those times,' detectives said in a statement on Thursday.

Mr Hornman is the second person to drown in the New South Wales and Queensland flooding disaster.

SES try to retrieve Mr Hornman's submerged vehicle from flooded Canungra Creek

Mr Hornman's shocked mother posted this message on Facebook after her son's body was recovered

Pakistani national Ayaz Younas was on his first day of a new contracting job when his Toyota Camry became trapped in the flood on Cattai Ridge Road in Glenorie on Sydney's northern outskirts.

Mr Younas spent a desperate 39 minutes on the phone with emergency services before drowning in his car in New South Wales floodwaters.

The inside of the 25-year-old's car was badly damaged, indicating to police that he frantically battled to save his life and escape as waters rose around him.

NSW Police Detective Inspector Chris Laird said Mr Younas called Triple-Zero at 6.25am on Wednesday and remained on the line with the operator until about 7am.

Pakistani national Ayaz Younas' Toyota Camry became trapped in the flood on Cattai Ridge Road in Glenorie on Sydney's northern outskirts

Mr Younas called Triple-Zero at 6.25am on Wednesday and remained on the line with the operator until about 7am

'Had he not rung us, we never would have found him. Not until the water receded anyway,' Det Insp Laird said.

'But we can only speculate that given what I have seen and the damage to the vehicle that it could very well be that the electrics totally failed, and he was simply unable to escape from the car which is an absolute tragedy.

'You can only just imagine somebody fighting for their life to get out of the car  that's what the inside damage of the vehicle looked like.'

Det Insp Laird said Mr Younas 'clearly couldn't get out' of the car as there were no broken windows.

He said the roads had multiple signs and closure warnings, yet the car was located 30m into floodwaters and 6m under water.

Emergency crews were called to Cattai Ridge Road, near Hidden Valley Lane in Glenorie at about 6.30am on Wednesday, following reports a car was submerged in floodwaters

Emergency crews recovered Mr Younas' body at 1pm after locating his submerged car.

Detective Inspector Laird suggested there would be investigations into why Mr Younas was in the area.

'The remote location of the area, (we'll ask) questions about what he was doing up there. He may not have known the area as locals would,' he said.

There was also a padlocked gate blocking off the road, but it was submerged.

The Pakistani Community of Australia said it had spoken to Mr Younas' father.

Community leader Farhat Jaffri said Mr Younas' heartbroken family requested that his body be sent back to Karachi in southern Pakistan.

Mr Younas, who has two elder brothers and one younger sister, was from Malir Cantt in Karachi and studied software engineering.

Shazbaz Muhammad said Mr Younas was a 'dear friend'.

'Please pray for the departed soul,' Mr Muhammad said.

Det Insp Laird said the 25-year-old had strong roots in western Sydney, and that his friends in Australia were devastated by the news.

'From the police force, all emergency services, here is the very reason why you should not make any attempt to drive through swollen rivers,' he said.

Emergency Services Minister David Elliott offered his condolences, saying it would send ripples through the northwest Sydney community.

Police divers are seen searching Cattai Creek on Wednesday, following reports a car was submerged in floodwaters

A police officer is seen in Glenorie after a man's body was discovered in a car in Sydney's north-west

'The human cost of these floods has been brought into sharp focus in the most tragic of circumstances and I urge communities to continue to be cautious in the face of continued and imminent threats to life,' Mr Elliott said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese also made statements in federal parliament about the tragedy.

Mr Morrison labelled Wednesday a 'terribly sad day', saying he knew the area well from childhood camping trips and felt for the man's family.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said there was still extreme danger in flood-hit areas despite the clear weather in Sydney on Wednesday.

'Whilst the sun is out conditions remain extremely dangerous, rivers are still rising,' she said.

Police boats head out on to floodwaters to deliver basic supplies donated by Coles to stranded locals in the Windsor region on Wednesday

'We ask everybody, especially if they are in vehicles to be extra cautious.

'Some would suggest it is even more dangerous now as rivers continue to rise and catchments fill up with water.'

SES volunteers and NSW Police begin delivering food, medicine and essential items and inspecting properties inundated but floodwaters around Windsor in the north west of Sydney
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 25)  Currently available COVID-19 shots designed to protect the body against the original SARS-CoV-2 strain have shown less efficacy against so-called variants of concern, which recently emerged in the country, an expert said Thursday.

There are three variants of concern  B.1.1.7 which originated from the United Kingdom; B.1.351 from South Africa; and P.1 from Brazil. These carry the N501Y mutation, which appears to make the coronavirus easier to spread than old variants. The B.1.351 and the P.1, meanwhile, also have the E484K and K417T mutations, which could evade antibodies, making coronavirus vaccines less effective.

Dr. Nina Gloriani, the Department of Science and Technology's vaccine expert panel head, said in a webinar that in a small study involving 2,000 people in South Africa, the vaccine made by British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca and a team at Britains University of Oxford is only 10% effective against the B.1.351 although it appears to work well on the B.1.1.7.

Meanwhile, its vaccine had 79% efficacy against symptomatic disease and was 100% effective at preventing severe COVID-19 symptoms, based on Phase 3 clinical trials in the United States, AstraZeneca announced early this week.

Citing results of Phase 3 trials conducted in the United Kingdom, Gloriani said the efficacy of the COVID-19 shot of American company Novavax was 96% against the original strain but it dropped to 85.6% when tested against the B.1.1.7. She said this shot was even less effective against the B.1.351 variant at 60%, based on a study that involved over 4,000 participants without HIV, adding that the efficacy went down further to 49.3% when used on volunteers with HIV.

The same is true for Johnson and Johnsons single-dose vaccine, the expert said. Its vaccine's efficacy was just 52% in a trial in South Africa, where B.1.351 is the dominant variant, compared to 74% in a US study. Gloriani also said this shot was 66% effective in Latin American trials where the Brazil variant has been detected.

The vaccine of American company Moderna  which earlier showed over 94% efficacy rate in large studies  is less effective against the South African variant, Gloriani said but added it could still provide protection.

Meanwhile, there is no data on the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines of Chinese firm Sinovac and Russia-based Gamaleya against variants of concern, Gloriani noted.

Officials have said variants of concerns are among the factors behind the recent surge in new infections in the country. On Thursday, the Philippines logged 8,773 additional cases in a single daythe highest since the pandemic started last year.

The country has recorded 223 cases of the variant from the UK, 152 cases of the variant from South Africa, and one case of the variant from Brazil. It also confirmed 104 cases of the variant first reported in the Philippines called P.3. The World Health Organization has yet to declare if P.3 is a variant of concern.

Implications

Over half a million local healthcare workers have already received the vaccines of AstraZeneca and Sinovac, which require two doses.

With the emergence of variants of concern, there is a need for a third dose or a booster shot that works against the new variants, Gloriani said.

She said second-generation COVID-19 shots or ones that address the challenge of the first set of vaccines such as lower efficacy rates against new variants are now being made abroad.

I foresee second-generation vaccines will include prevalent SARS-CoV-2 variants, and we are looking at the possibility of multivalent COVID-19 vaccines in the future, she pointed out. A multivalent coronavirus vaccine is designed to work against variants of concern.
[March 25, 2021] Racial Justice research report released by the Literacy Research Association

LAGRANGE, Ga., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Literacy Research Association (LRA) has released a Literacy Research Report entitled Racial Justice in Literacy Research. "For centuries, literacy has been at the center of the dehumanization of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC). In the aftermath of George Floyd's death, a national insurrection, the waning of a global pandemic, exacerbated educational inequity across the globe, and the recent anti-Asian hate crimes in Atlanta, it is fitting that we look to racial justice in literacy to illuminate a pathway for the future," state co-authors of the report. "Mockery, intimidation, bullying, and violence in schools and public spaces are signs of injustice suffered by individuals who experience racial violence," according to a recently released LRA Statement Against Anti-Asian Violence https://www.literacyresearchassociation.org/. The statement also indicates that incidents from implicit bias to verbal and physical violence can be considered hate incidents. The Racial Justice in Literacy Research report (https://www.literacyresearchassociation.org/) addresses the status of race and racism i the U.S. and discusses how racism operates in society in general, and literacy research in particular. Race and racism in literacy research are interrogated by inviting the field to move beyond the Black-White binary that continues to impede racial justice in U.S. literacy research through a presentation of how race functions in the education of Asian American and Pacific Islanders. In support of the LRA Statement Against Anti-Asian Violence, the Racial Justice in Literacy Research report addresses hate crimes in the Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander communities. More broadly, the report addresses racism in literacy research to advance racial justice for literacy equity. BIPOC continue to face literacy injustices in repressive laws designed to regulate whose literacy is valued, who has access to literacy, and how literacy is assessed. The laws are a pretext for institutionalized racism that justifies and regulates literacy, as well as obscures unfettered and equitable access to all. No other skill has been equally targeted. The report ends with emerging principles for advancing literacy research that reflect racial justice, and in turn, literacy, and educational equity for all.



"We hope that diverse publics, including literacy educators, will utilize the report as a way to have critical conversations that will lead to actions, such as policy changes that address systemic racism," stated LRA president, Gwendolyn Thompson McMillon, professor of literacy, department of reading & language arts, Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. LRA is a non-profit professional organization with 1800+ members who share an interest in advancing literacy theory, research, and practice.

Media Contact:

Gwendolyn Thompson McMillon

gmcmillon@literacyresearchassociation.org View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/racial-justice-research-report-released-by-the-literacy-research-association-301256285.html SOURCE Literacy Research Association

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
F1 rookie Yuki Tsunoda has admitted he deployed DRS too early en route to his impressively fast laps in the recent Bahrain test.

Top Red Bull official Dr Helmut Marko has been particularly vocal about the 20-year-old Japanese, who has been placed also with Honda's support at Alpha Tauri for 2021.

"Helmut called me at the end of every test day," Tsunoda told France's Auto Hebdo. "He was particularly impressed after the last test session."

Marko confirmed: "He will be the best Japanese driver ever in Formula 1."

However, there is still the matter of why Tsunoda felt the need to improperly use DRS in order to finish the test just behind Max Verstappen's quickest lap.

"I have seen that there is some fuss about that," Tsunoda said.

"I did open the DRS earlier than the rest of the drivers," he confirmed. "It was actually quite strange, because in the first two days of testing you could press the DRS button and nothing would happen if you weren't in the DRS zone."

Tsunoda said that wasn't the case on the last test day.

"I thought the FIA must be testing the system so I benefitted from that," he explained. "I opened the DRS just a little earlier than the rest. I think it gave me about two tenths."

Also true is that many other drivers did not use the soft tyre on the final day.

"I think my test was good anyway, even if I think improvements can be made before qualifying for the first race," Tsunoda said.

Nonetheless, it wasn't just Marko who had high praise for Tsunoda, but also his Alpha Tauri boss Franz Tost.

"Of course that pleases me, especially since Franz kept an eye on me when I was taking turn 1," he said.

"Franz is a bit like a grandfather to me. On the first day, he told me I shouldn't look at the test times at all but instead explore the limits of the car."

Marko told Kleine Zeitung newspaper: "According to our analysis, Alpha Tauri should be right after McLaren and Aston Martin and on par with Ferrari and Alpine.

"In any case, they will be ahead of Williams, Haas and Alfa Romeo," the Austrian added.

(GMM)
With a third-grader in the Auburn district attending Herman Avenue, we cant say enough good things about the quality of education he is receiving. The district does what it can with the budget it has and the Auburn Education Foundation has been helpful in fundraising for extra enrichment. In this crazy hybrid schedule, his teachers have taken a pretty difficult situation and made it the best possible learning environment. They truly are amazing despite the district's struggle to ensure they have their fair share of resources.

Why must schools be put in this situation year after year? Why do advocates need to rally in Albany and recruit for letter writing campaigns? Why is the school funding formula so archaic? Just like the Hunger Games' Effie Trinket proclaiming "may the odds ever be in your favor, this too can sum up districts awaiting the governors budget. Why must one district have to fight for its fair share year after year with empty elected promises? Nothing has been fixed and it leads me to wonder, will it ever be? If Auburn was funded at the state average, wed receive an additional $25 million and even with the Auburn district being in the bottom 1% for spending per student, the governor cut Auburns funding by nearly $500,000. And again, other better funded neighboring districts received increases. How can this be during a pandemic when all districts saw increased expenses? Schools fully opening is as reflective of CDC guidance and local health department protocols as it is related to schools having adequate financial resources for staffing, space and equipment.
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.
Presenting at the online event will be archTIS Ltd (ASX:AR9), DomaCom Australia Ltd (ASX:DCL) and 9Spokes International Ltd (ASX:9SP).

The virtual forum kicks off at 12pm Sydney time or 9am Perth time

Proactive will host a Revenue Webinar next Tuesday, March 30, showcasing three ASX-listed companies  archTIS Ltd ( ), DomaCom Australia Ltd ( ) and ( ) - and providing investors the opportunity to hear each growth story.

The virtual forum, which kicks off at 12pm Sydney time/9am Perth time will see each company present for 12 minutes, followed by a five-minute Q&A session.

It will also be live-streamed on the Proactive YouTube channel, which can then be viewed at any time following the presentation.

To register please follow this link.

archTIS expands customer base

First to present will be archTIS' managing director Daniel Lai.

The software solutions company continues to expand its customer base through key global wins along with renewals of existing customer licences including with Flinders University, a Dubai-based mobile communications provider, a large manufacturer, a health insurance provider and a life science company.

These recent customer acquisitions further validate archTIS data-centric security approach and annual recurring revenue licensing model.

DomaCom revenue strategies

Next on the agenda will be DomaCom chief executive officer Arthur Naoumidis.

During the December 2020 quarter, the company progressed its revenue strategies and entered an agreement with leading Islamic finance group Crescent Group to deliver a much-needed housing solution to Australias 700,000-strong Muslim population.

DomaCom and Crescent Group have been working on a model which enables Australian Muslims to purchase a property with leverage using Islamic Finance while maintaining the familiar structure of a traditional home purchase.

The company plans to launch this product in the third quarter of this year.

9Spokes Virgin Money collaboration

Lastly, 9Spokes International co-founder and CEO Adrian Grant will present on the companys recent initiatives, including a collaboration with .

The company signed a framework services agreement with a subsidiary of Virgin Money  Clydesdale Bank PLC - to define a strategy and scope for Virgin Moneys business banking working capital health proposition, set to be launched in quarter three of 2021.

Rundown

Rundown of the day (based on Sydney time):

12pm to 12.01pm, introduction by John Phillips, Proactive Investors

12.01pm to 12.13pm, presentation by Daniel Lai from archTIS

12.14pm to 12.19pm, questions to Daniel Lai

12.20pm to 12.32pm, presentation by Arthur Naoumidis from DomaCom

12.33pm to 12.38pm, questions to Arthur Naoumidis

12.39pm to 12.51pm, presentation by Adrian Grant from 9 Spokes

12.52pm to 12.55pm, questions to Adrian Grant

12.56pm, Wrap-up by John Phillips

Webinar details:

Date: Tuesday, March 30, 2021

Time: 12pm Sydney time/9am Perth time

Register here: https://event.webinarjam.com/register/55/r4gr3t82
Yes, no matter what

Yes, but it depends on variety

No, for medical reasons, uncertainty

No, principle

Vote

View Results
Whether we would like to admit it or not, we have all had our fair share of clown moments.

A clown moment, for those of you that live under a rock, is an instance where one does a ridiculously stupid thing for someone they love.

Usually, these moments are characterised by poor judgement, a sheer lack of self-respect, and crippling low self-esteem, followed by intense feelings of shame and free personal character development building. Lol!

If youve never had a clown moment, too bad, your day is around the corner. Love really does make you do stupid things.

Unlike some of us, one individual who is not embarrassed to share their clown moment is the popular Instagram personality Corazon Kwamboka.

The mother of one did a stupid thing for love two months after her 2018 break up with her former Italian boo, Gaetano Amato, who is based in Rome.

The former lovebirds, according to Corazon, broke up due to the long-distance strain on their one-year relationship.

RELATED: We Were Not Happy. Corazon Kwamboka on Break Up With Italian Boyfriend

In a desperate attempt to get her man back, Corazon came up with a plan to fly to Paris because the French capital is only a flight hour away from Rome.

My naive self thought Id never be able to live without him, so I decided to curate a plan to try and get his attention/ get him back

I packed my bags, collected some coins from my bank and off I went to Paris, just 1 hr flight from Rome.. close enough . Im literally laughing writing this(sic), Kwamboka shared.

Adding: In my silly little mind, hed see Im in Paris, call me and wed get back together .

Woe unto the booty-famous sportswear entrepreneur! She did not even get a booty callYou know? The one we all make for old times sake?

Corazon continued: Only to not even receive a call looool!!!

The vlogger narrated that she resolved to holiday in France and Ibiza.

So I did a solo trip, France for a week and Ibiza for a week then came back to Kenya. I was miserable the whole trip, she said.

Just imagine being miserable in France and Ibiza! Damn!

Corazon shared her clown moment with her over 700k followers on Instagram to inspire young girls who might be going through a heartbreak.

I didnt know the plan God had for me and my future, I thought Id never be able to fall in love again, she wrote.

Ms Kwamboka also published a photo she had taken during the miserable trip. She captioned it: See how skinny I was stress . I had broken up with my ex like 2 months before this moment.

Luckily, one mans poison is another mans meat; Corazon found love in the gym instructor Frankie Justgymit, and the rest is history.

To any young girl going through a heartbreak, it might feel like youll never heal and things will never be the same, they wont be the same, theyll be better. Youll fall in love again, youll be happy again and youll heal. So if you need to cry now, do it. But remember its not the end, days will turn to weeks, weeks into months, youll learn to love again, youll heal, Corazon concluded.
WOOD RIVER  Two Madison County residents were among the 35 additional COVID-19 related deaths reported by the Illinois Department of Public Health on Thursday.

The IDPH listed the deceased as a woman in her 80s and a man in his 80s.

The Madison County Health Department late Wednesday reported no additional COVID-19 related deaths in the county, leaving the total at 475. The county has reported no additional deaths since Friday.

There are sometimes discrepancies in the number of cases and deaths reported at the state and local levels, in part because of the volume of cases, and also as each local department forwards the information and it is verified. Local health officials have said the cases eventually reconcile as the reporting catches up.

To schedule a vaccination, visit the Madison County Health Departments website at https://events.juvare.com/IL-IDPH/885b73c8-4c83-4205-806f-4c23528fa7bd/.

On Thursday, the IDPH reported 5,154,908 vaccines had been administered statewide, including 363,7113 for long-term care facilities, according to the IDPH. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 101,175 doses.

The IDPH also reported 6,091,965 doses of vaccine had been delivered to providers in Illinois on Thursday. About 414,900 doses have been allocated to the federal governments Pharmacy Partnership Program for long-term care facilities. This brings the total Illinois doses to 6,506,865.

The IDPH on Thursday also reported 114,724 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in Madison County. That includes 65,817 people receiving at least first doses and 48,907  or 18.49%  fully vaccinated.

The Madison County Health Department has said the actual numbers for both vaccination categories is higher than the IDPH figures.

More Information Vaccinations First: 65,817 (24.89%) Fully: 48,907 (18.49%) Source: IDPH COVID-19 cases by county Madison - 28,424 (475 deaths) Jersey - 2,525 (48 deaths) Calhoun - 512 (5 deaths) Greene - 1,325 (47 deaths) Macoupin - 4,625 (108 deaths) Montgomery - 3,580 (71 deaths) St. Clair - 26,456 (488 deaths) Clinton - 5,657 (89 deaths) Bond - 1,927 (24 deaths) Monroe - 4,171 (89 deaths) Randolph - 4,017 (82 deaths) Washington - 1,607 (25 deaths) Source: IDPH & Madison, Macoupin, Calhoun, Jersey and Greene county health departments See More Collapse

The IDPH reported that 19.6% of residents in Jersey County was fully vaccinated. Other fully vaccinated rates were 18.74% of Greene County, 16.46% in Macoupin County and 17.10% in Calhoun County.

On Thursday the IDPH reported 2,190 new cases of COVID-19 statewide. To date, the IDPH has reported 1,229,898 cases, including 21,171 deaths.

A total of 44 new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases were reported by the Madison County Health Department late Wednesday. The department also reported 764 tests.

As of Wednesday the county had recorded 28,424 cases and 280,547 tests. The countys three-day positivity rate Wednesday was 6.13%. The seven-day rate was 5.37% and the 10-day rate was 5.46%.

The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from March 18-24 was 2.7%, according to the IDPH on Thursday. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity for the same period was 3.2%.

On Wednesday night, there were 24 COVID-19 patients in Madison County hospitals but none on ventilators. Statewide, there were 1,251 COVID-19 patients in hospitals, including 267 in intensive care units and 119 on ventilators.

For more COVID-19 information, visit https://coronavirus-response-madcoil.hub.arcgis.com/, www.madisonchd.org or Facebook @madisonchd. Also visit www.co.madison.il.us or Facebook @madisoncountyil for more vaccination news and daily updates.

For The Telegraphs online vaccine tracker, visit https://www.thetelegraph.com/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker-alton-illinois/. For additional vaccine locations visit https://coronavirus.illinois.gov/s/vaccination-location.

Local and statewide information also is available at www.dph.illinois.gov. Click the coronavirus banner.

For health-related questions about COVID-19, people also can call the IDPH hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.

Capitol News Illinois contributed to this story.
CALGARY - Canada's oil and gas workforce is expected to shrink by almost 7,300 jobs this year thanks to layoffs linked to corporate mergers and cost cutting, according to an energy industry labour data firm, before staging a modest rebound over the following two years,.

Advertisement Advertise With Us

Pumpjacks draw oil out of the ground near Olds, Alta., Thursday, July 16, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

CALGARY - Canada's oil and gas workforce is expected to shrink by almost 7,300 jobs this year thanks to layoffs linked to corporate mergers and cost cutting, according to an energy industry labour data firm, before staging a modest rebound over the following two years,.

Direct industry employment is projected to rise to about 176,000 jobs by 2023, up from 160,700 this year, but down almost seven per cent from 2019's total of 188,800 jobs, says PetroLMI, a division of Energy Safety Canada, in a three-year forecast.

That compares with 229,000 jobs in August 2014, the highest point in the past 10 years.

"Since 2014, we are down almost 59,000 jobs, about 26 per cent of our workforce," said vice-president Carol Howes.

She said the decline is the result of lower spending in the oilpatch during an economic downturn that started in late 2014, a global price war in early 2020 which impacted oil prices and lower demand for fossil fuels because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The combination of all of those is unprecedented and the duration of our downturn, we've not seen that in recent years," said Howes.

"We've seen peaks and valleys but the valleys have never been this long."

The lengthy downturn has led many experienced and prospective workers to switch to other careers and that will make it difficult for the industry to fill positions going forward, particularly in the oil and gas services sector which is already seeing a shortage of certain skills, she said.

The downturn in the Calgary-based oilpatch has contributed to record high vacancy rates in the city's downtown office towers and a unemployment rate of more than 10 per cent in Calgary.

Cenovus Energy Inc. has said its takeover of rival Husky Energy Inc. will result in cutting between 1,720 and 2,150 workers from the combined workforce. Meanwhile, job cuts were also announced late last year at Suncor Energy Inc. and Imperial Oil Ltd.

PetroLMI says the industry will need about 19,800 net new workers by 2023  7,800 due to industry activity and almost 12,000 replacement roles for those who are expected to retire.

It notes that capital expenditures across the non-oilsands exploration and production sector were slashed by an estimated 38 per cent to $15.8 billion last year and operating spending was cut by 14 per cent to $19.8 billion.

Capital spending in the oilsands, it said, fell 21 per cent to $7.17 billion and operating spending was down by eight per cent to $21.8 billion.

A rise in oil prices early this year led the Petroleum Services Association of Canada to increase its forecast for the number of wells drilled across Canada by 750 to 3,350 in January.

The number represented an increase from 2020, when the actual well count fell to a 50-year low of 2,992.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 24, 2021.

Companies in this story: (TSX:CVE, TSX:IMO, TSX:SU)
Gandhinagar, March 26 : A total of 345 fishermen from Gujarat are in Pakistani jails, as of December 31, 2020, the state Assembly was told on Thursday.

Replying to a question from Congress member Shailesh Parmar, Fisheries and Tourism Minister Jawahar Chavda said that in 2019, a total of 85 fishermen were captured and in 2020, another 163 fishermen.

A total of 97 fishermen were imprisoned by Pakistani authorities before 2019 and are still languishing in the jail. he added.

The Minister said that Pakistan's Maritime Security Agency also seizes the fishing boats when the fishermen are arrested, and over a thousand of these boats, which are primary source of the fishermen's livelihood, have been confiscated over the years. Likewise, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has also confiscated around 300 boats belonging to fishermen from Pakistan.

He also said fishermen from Gujarat, lured by the temptation of larger catch, enter territorial waters of Pakistan unawares, and sometimes, even when they know they are entering Pakistani waters, they cannot stop or drop anchor because of the weather conditions.
The company delivers world-class education and assessment products to both special and general education classrooms via its KNeoWorld portal that engages and empowers students through character-centred narratives and gameplay.

The company is focused on securing new agreements to expand distribution of KNeoWorld technology and building investor support in the US.

KNeoMedia Limiteds ( ) unique education platform is going from strength to strength, with plans to expand to schools throughout New York State and eventually throughout the US.

The unique format of standards-aligned lessons blends language with math instruction and social-emotional learning while embedded analytics measure academic growth.

This month 1,700 Dell Chromebooks, pre-loaded with KNeoWorld technology, will be deployed to another 20 New York City public schools (on top of the 50 schools already involved with the program) as limited in-class activities in some New York public schools resume.

The roll-out is supported by the New York City Council and the New York Department of Education (NYC DOE) with US$2 million of funding commitments secured.

Expanding the platforms reach

KNeoMedia's Jeff Huart, who is a member of the company's Educator Advisory Board, told Proactives Andrew Scott that the companys Connect All Kids program was highly valued by politicians and educators.

He said: Political leaders and educational leaders saw the value of it and believed that it was something all kids should be able to utilise at school and at home.

Right now we are in close to 50 schools here in New York City, we started in the elementary schools and special needs, and now with our new program Connect All Kids weve added about 20 additional schools.

We also have a special component for those programs from Pre-K to Grade 2 so the amount of kids will increase because of the younger population.

As we move forward here in New York City, were going to be going through the rest of New York State, Long Island, and then slowly moving nationwide across the United States.

Instantaneous analytics measure progress

As an approved Google Education Partner, KNeoWorld is an effortless education program to use at school, remotely or both  particularly during COVID where teachers were struggling to measure students progress through online learning.

Huart said: The ambition for KNeoMedia is to find creative and exciting ways to reach students on a very creative platform, bringing them into a new world of education and make it more exciting for them.

But the key component is analytics where we can measure the child's progress instantaneously and that is a tremendous help for the teachers.

Parents love the platform because the characters keep the kids interested and busy so the parent can do their work at home but also with the analytics they can measure their childs progress.

It becomes a great tool in school and out of school for parents and teachers to work collaboratively together.

Supporting special needs and disengaged students

Huart said the company had also found a creative way to work with special needs students using the platform.

He said: There is no measuring tool for special needs students nationwide  how do you access what theyre doing?

KNeoWorld actually shows what they are doing because you can look at the analytics and progress in real-time but they also love it and it keeps them active and that has been a tremendous help for the teachers and the parents.

The KNeoWorld characters have also proved successful at engaging students who are struggling.

Huart said: We have found it's phenomenal for our students - especially our special needs students and those students who are struggling with education saying it's boring or I dont want to be in class.

When they see the characters of KNeoMedia they are engaged and ready to jump right in on the platform.

The platform has also proved effective as an English learning tool for new immigrants.
Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, has announced the Top 50 Master's in Information Systems Degree Programs for 2021. The comprehensive research guide is based on an assessment of 161 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 161 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 Master's in Information Systems Degree Programs. To access the complete ranking, please visit: https://www.intelligent.com/best-masters-in-information-systems-degree-programs/

2021 Master's in Information Systems Degree Programs featured on Intelligent.com (in alphabetical order):

Arizona State University

Auburn University

Bellevue University

Boston University

Brigham Young University

California State University, Fullerton

Colorado State University

Colorado State University, Global Campus

Colorado Technical University

Dakota State University

Drexel University

Florida Institute of Technology

Florida State University

George Mason University

George Washington University

Georgia Southern University

Georgia State University

Harrisburg University

Indiana University

Iowa State University

Johns Hopkins University

Kennesaw State University

Liberty University

Loyola University Chicago

Marist College

Minot State University

Missouri University of Science and Technology

Montclair State University

New Jersey Institute of Technology

New York University

Nova Southeastern University

Oklahoma State University

Pennsylvania State University

Purdue University

Sam Houston State University

Sam Houston State University

Stevens Institute of Technology

University of Arizona

University of Arkansas

University of California, Berkeley

University of Cincinnati

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

University Of Illinois, Springfield

University of Maine

University of Michigan

University of Pennsylvania

University of South Florida

University of Texas, Dallas

Virginia Tech

West Texas A&M 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/.
Phoenix, Arizona--(Newsfile Corp. - March 25, 2021) - The Stock Day Podcast welcomed Global Trac Solutions, Inc. (OTC Pink: PSYC) ("the Company"), a company integrating media, creativity, and technology to develop and deploy thought-provoking ideas and solutions that are fostering and transforming the approach to some of society's most pressing matters. CEO of the Company, David Flores, joined Stock Day host Everett Jolly.

"Global Trac Solutions, through Psychedelic Spotlight, which is our digital media platform, is proud to be the first and currently the only digital media focused company in the emerging space of medicinal psychedelics," shared Flores to start the interview.

Jolly then commented on the Company's increasing growth rate for its Psychedelic Platform, which demonstrated a 40% growth rate from January to February of 2020. "The month-over-month growth that we have seen here with Psychedelic Spotlight has been really encouraging," said Flores. "Where this matters is in positioning ourselves as effectively as possible to really start to incorporate advertising space in Psychedelic Spotlight, and across our growing number of platforms," he continued. "Our focus here now is on incorporating that advertising space and establishing media partnerships with other companies that are in this space looking to grow their audience and expand."

"Spotlight Roundup represents the next phase of our growth in expanding our digital content output and production; it's a news roundup series that is about five minutes in length and is produced in collaboration with Elks Pride Picture," said Flores. "We're currently pushing this out on the 15th and 30th of every month, but we intend on making this a weekly segment."

"We are also looking at a very reputable and recognized digital media network, and we are exploring a partnership opportunity with them," shared Flores. "It's an opportunity that I think if we can bring it together, it's really going to help us grow exponentially and in a way that we haven't seen just yet."

Jolly then asked about the Company's share structure, as well as any changes that may occur in the future. "A lot of what has contributed to the company's increase in outstanding shares over the last several months really has been a product of matters that date back to well over a year ago," explained Flores. "Since I took over in July of 2020, one of the first things that I looked at was how I could run this company more responsibly from a fiscal perspective, as well as from a share structure perspective," said Flores. "On the fiscal side of things, it really has been about reducing our overhead," he continued. Flores then encouraged listeners and shareholders to check out the Company's upcoming annual disclosure. "This is all about cleaning things up, getting the company re-positioned, and really focusing on how we're going to create value going forward."

"My expectation is that over the next several months there are going to be opportunities, whether they are partnership opportunities or acquisition opportunities, that we will be presented with," shared Flores. "Being able to make sure that we have the resources available to capitalize on those opportunities is going to be very important. So, that is where the increase in the authorized shares comes into play."

"When do you think revenues will start reflecting on the balance sheet?" asked Jolly. "We have established Psychedelic Spotlight as the preeminent source for news, information, and original content in this space," said Flores. "I'm not going to lose focus on what we've accomplished on the digital media side; I want to grow it and I want to expand it," he shared. "The second part of it is continuing to explore potential opportunities."

"As far as revenue is concerned, which I know is a big and very important question, it is my goal and objective to have revenue shown on the books by no later than Q3 of this year," said Flores. "Incorporating revenue from advertising sales is just the starting point; we have loftier goals. It's going to take time, but we're on the path."

To close the interview, Flores elaborated on the importance of running the Company in a responsible and value-driven manner. "It is the number one goal for me," shared Flores. "The proof is going to be transparent - it's going to be in the filings and disclosures. People will see the decisions I'm making and how I am going about operating this company in the most responsible manner possible. On the other side of it, it's about constantly looking for opportunities that are going to bring value into the company."

To hear the entire interview with David Flores, follow the link to the podcast here: https://audioboom.com/posts/7830297-global-trac-solutions-inc-discusses-expansion-of-psychedelic-spotlight-platform-through-spotlig

Investors Hangout is a proud sponsor of "Stock Day," and Stock Day Media encourages listeners to visit the company's message board at https://investorshangout.com/

About Global Trac Solutions, Inc. (OTC Pink: PSYC)

At Global Trac Solutions we are integrating media, creativity, and technology to develop and deploy thought-provoking ideas and solutions that are fostering and transforming the approach to some of society's most pressing matters.

PSYC has expressed its intent and commitment to positioning itself at the forefront of the psychedelic revolution and as a resource center for discovering and understanding the latest research and business opportunities surrounding psychedelic inspired medicines. In conjunction with the FDA's more open-minded approach to psychedelic medicines, and as several major U.S. cities continue to approve the decriminalization of psilocybin, investors are speculating that the psychedelic boom could be bigger than that of cannabis. PSYC is your source for current investment related news specific to psychedelic medicines and cutting-edge research improving overall health, moving this sector into the mainstream.

We believe in a forward-thinking approach that embraces groundbreaking new technology and innovations and through the vision of business development we intend to continue to evolve into these unchartered territories as the industry leaders of the future. We truly are the right TRAC to follow.

Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer:

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the following words: "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "ongoing," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "will," "would," or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time the statements are made and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainty and other factors, including the effect of COVID-19, that may cause our results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements in this press release. This press release should be considered in light of all filings of the Company that are disclosed on the OTC Markets.com website.

Disclaimer: Global Trac Solutions, Inc. does not in any way encourage or condone the use, purchase, sale or transfer of any illegal substances, nor do we encourage or condone partaking in any unlawful activities. We support a harm reduction approach for the purpose of education and promoting individual and public safety. If you are choosing to use psychedelic substances, please do so responsibly.

Corporate Contact:

Global Trac Solutions, Inc. (PSYC)

www.globaltracsolutions.com

(702) 239-1919

psyc@globaltracsolutions.com

(OTC Pink: PSYC)

About The "Stock Day" Podcast

Founded in 2013, Stock Day is the fastest growing media outlet for Nano-Cap and Micro-Cap companies. It educates investors while simultaneously working with penny stock and OTC companies, providing transparency and clarification of under-valued, under-sold Micro-Cap stocks of the market. Stock Day provides companies with customized solutions to their news distribution in both national and international media outlets. The Stock Day Podcast is the number one radio show of its kind in America.

SOURCE:

Stock Day Media

(602) 821-1102

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/78565
Vicarious Surgical, a developer of medical robot technology thats backed by Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates, is in talks to go public through a merger with blank check-firm D8 Holdings Corp., according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

The companies are discussing a deal that values the combined entity at about $1.1 billion, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. Terms arent final and its possible talks could fall apart.

ALSO READ: Robert Downey Jr. and Bill Gates bet on electric motor startup

Representatives for Vicarious and D8 didnt immediately respond to requests for comment.

Charlestown, Massachusetts-based Vicarious Surgical, co-founded by Adam Sachs, Sammy Khalifa and Dr. Barry Greene in 2014, touts minimally invasive surgery using proprietary human-like surgical robots and virtual reality.

ALSO READ: Here's why Bill Gates likes Android phones more than an iPhone

Along with Gates, investors include E15 Capital, Khosla Ventures, Innovation Endeavors and AME Cloud Ventures.

By Gillian Tan
The latest stumble came after the 2019 appointments of three people to represent Districts 3, 5, and 6 were voided when county officials said they were never certified with the Lake County Board of Elections.
Burma Myanmar Junta Accused of Using Deepfake Technology to Prove Graft Case Against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

Deepfake detection technology revealed that there is an 80% chance that the video of U Phyo Min Thein is a deepfake.

The juntas attempt to prove the graft allegation against detained State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi by showing a video clip of the detained Chief Minister of the Yangon Region who is alleged to have bribed her has met with public skepticism. Many citizens doubted the authenticity of the video, as the chief ministers lip movements were not synchronized with the audio.

On March 11, the military regimes spokesman alleged that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi accepted US$600,000 and more than 21 pounds of gold from U Phyo Min Thein, the head of the Yangon region, between December 2017 and March 2018.

A 4:43 minute-long video clip was shown during a press conference held by the juntas spokesman on Tuesday in Myanmars capital Naypyitaw. The spokesman said that U Phyo Min Theins video offers proof of the allegations, in an effort to dispel public doubt over the case.

U Phyo Min Thein, who has now been detained by the regime, says on the video that he went to meet Daw Aung San Suu Kyi at least three times to give her the money and gold, and that he helped lease a compound for the State Counselors charity, the Daw Khin Kyi Foundation, at a reduced price.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was detained by the military regime immediately following the militarys Feb.1 coup. The junta has filed four charges against the ousted State Counselor, including incitement, using a walkie-talkie without a license and breaching COVID-19 restrictions.

The regime has also accused her of graft in another case, alleging that a businessman gave a total of US$550,000 to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on four separate occasions between 2018 and 2020. But this businessmans video clip also said that he gave her the cash without witnesses present. If found guilty on both counts the 75-year-old Daw Aung San Suu Kyi would face combined prison terms of 30 yearsmeaning that she would spend the rest of her life behind bars.

Many Myanmar netizens are skeptical about the veracity of the video clip showing U Phyo Min Thein, as his voice sounds different. Their concern is shared by the historian Dr. Thant Myint-U, who tweeted that, Ive met U Phyo Min Thein dozens of times and I agree this doesnt sound like his voice at all. The historian called also for the immediate release of U Phyo Min Thein and all other political prisoners.

Myanmar netizens have run a deepfake check to ascertain if the video has been manipulated or faked. Deepfake detection technology revealed that there is an 80% chance the video is a deepfake.

But a foreign media forensics expert said it is hard to say if the video is deepfake because the video has been compressed.

Analyzing the video is complicated because the video quality is low and compressed. This makes it harder to run tests on it and harder to discern what is just low-quality video from what could be deliberate efforts to hide digital fakery, said Sam Gregory, program director at the human rights and video organization WITNESS.

He told The Irrawaddy that expert opinion based on the video suggests that this is unlikely to be a deepfake video with a face swap, lips moving in sync with a fake soundtrack or an audio clone of the Chief Ministers voice, citing he and other who are experts on deepfake, audio, video and visual effects and who have run repeated tests on the video clip.

However, he added, There are some confusing signs in the video  for example, digital artifacts around his mouth as it moves  but experts indicate that these are as likely to be from compression as from digital fakery.

Sam Gregorys organization WITNESS uses video and technology to protect and defend human rights. He said that the chief minister may have been made to read a statement from a teleprompter under duress.

In human rights work globally we regularly see use of so-called forced confessions where someone is forced to say something when they are held in detention. It seems more likely that this is a forced statement or confession than a deepfake, added Gregory.

You may also like these stories:

63 Striking Myanmar Investment Staff Suspended by Junta

NLD Lawyers to Defend Suu Kyi Against Myanmar Military Charges

Myanmar Military Regime Detains Workers Taking Part in Silent Strike
Duomo subway station in Naples was designed by prominent Rome architect Massimiliano Fuksas.

Naples is putting the finishing touches to what has been hailed as the "most beautiful metro station in the world" by Luigi de Magistris, mayor of the southern Italian city.

The futuristic Duomo subway station has been designed by Massimiliano Fuksas, the celebrated Roman architect who was behind the Nuvola congress centre in the capital.

Duomo metro station Studio Fuksas Napoli, The Temple.

The metro station will also act as a museum thanks to the discovery of the remains of an ancient Roman temple which will be visible from street level thanks to a transparent steel and glass dome.

The long-awaited Duomo station, part of Linea 1 and located in Piazza Amore, is scheduled to open in July following extensive delays caused by the discovery of the first-century AD temple in 2004.

The existence of the long-lost Roman temple of the Neapolitan Isolympic Games was known to archaeologists for centuries, reports the Archaeology News Network.

Duomo metro station Studio Fuksas Napoli.

The Olympic-style Neapolitan Games, or Ludi Neapolitani, were established in 2 AD to honour Augustus, some years after the emperor came to the aid of the Neapolitan city when it was devastated by a powerful earthquake.

Fuksas has defined the concept behind the project as "an astronaut's walk" with commuters descending to the subway platforms 40 metres underground through a series of steel panels that change colour according to the times of the day and depending on the weather.

The flooring and stairs are in travertine marble while the exit staircase is in lava stone, and archaeological excavations are set to continue at the site even after the metro station opens, reports Artribune.

Cover photo: Fermata metropolitana Duomo Studio Fuksas Napoli EXT VIEW.
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.
Salts are far more complicated than the food seasoning - they can even act as electrical conductors, shuttling current through systems. Extremely well studied and understood, the electrical properties of salts were first theorized in 1834. Now, nearly 200 years later, researchers based in Japan have uncovered a new kind of salt.

The results were published on March 17 in Inorganic Chemistry, a journal of the American Chemical Society.

The researchers were specifically investigating how one-dimensional versions of three-dimensional substances exhibit unique physical phenomena and functionality in a process called the phase diagram.

"We were developing a new substance to deepen our understanding of the phase diagram," said paper author Toshikazu Nakamura, researcher with the Institute for Molecular Science of the National Institutes of Natural Sciences. "In this process, I found a completely new salt."

Tetrathiafulvalene is a sulfuric compound that acts as a skeleton for several organic conductor salts. Its molecular structure can be built upon to develop new substances, and it can be easily tweaked to adjust the structural parameters as part of the phase diagram. Nakamura was building upon this compound with negatively charged ions and an atomic group derived from carbon disulfide. During this process, the one-dimensional substance transferred an electric charge, and converted into an entirely new material.

Conventional organic conductors have an easily deformed lattice structure and are composed of more complicated arrangements, according to Nakamura. The new conductor's negative ions are arranged with an infinite chain structure, stabilizing the atomic arrangements of niobium, oxygen and fluorine. When exposed to low temperatures of 5 Kelvin, about -450 degrees Fahrenheit, neighboring sites on the salt begin to develop a magnetic coordination.

"We will investigate this phenomenon in detail -- we want to understand the origin," Nakamura said.

The researchers plan to study other infinite chain salts with the goal of understanding and applying the structure as the skeleton of new organic conductors as one-dimensional electronic systems.

"Our ultimate goal is to understand the electronic state of these systems and what happens when we gradually increase the inter-chain interactions from one dimension to two dimensions," Nakamura said.

###

Co-authors include Lidong Zhang, Shunsuke Kitou and Hiroshi Sawa, all with the Department of Applied Physics at Nagoya University. Kitou is also affiliated with the Institute for Molecular Science of the National Institutes of Natural Sciences.

Nanotechnology Platform, MEXT and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science funded this work.
Pupils have staged a walk out at one of the best private schools in the country in protest against an alleged 'toxic rape culture'.

Boys and girls hugged each other outside the 22,000-a-year Highgate School in north London after claims emerged from current and former students.

They were also understood to have stood in front of headmaster Adam Pettitt's office as a show of strength.

One female demonstrator held up a placard which read: 'We stand strong, we stand tall and most importantly we stand together.'

Another raised one which said: 'Sexual violence is not bullying. It is a violation of human rights.

The protest comes after a dossier was sent from former and current pupils to the governors listing abuse and harassment at the 456-year-old school.

Highgate - ranked the best independent School of the Year in 2020 by TES - is the latest top London public school to be caught up in the 'rape culture' row.

Similar claims have been levelled at Westminster, Latymer Upper, Kings College, London Oratory and Dulwich College.

Boys and girls hugged each other outside the 22,000-a-year Highgate School in north London after claims emerged from current and former students

They were also understood to have stood in front of headmaster Adam Pettitt's office as a show of strength

One female demonstrator held up a placard which read: 'We stand strong, we stand tall and most importantly we stand together'

Another raised one which said: 'Sexual violence is not bullying. It is a violation of human rights'

The school, which alumni includes poet Sir John Betjeman, F1 commentator Murray Walker and cricketer Phil Tufnell, last year sent 25 pupils to Oxbridge.

One told the Times a boy had hounded Year 8 girls into send him naked pictures of themselves.

On a different occasion male students were said to have chanted encouragement after another was suspended for abusing a girl who later left.

The ex-pupil said: 'The boys banded together and would chant his name at parties as if he was the one being treated unjustly.

'Anyone who spoke against him was talked down they were silenced by this culture of protecting abusers. The boys were allowed to run wild.

'The culture was so toxic that my friends and I didn't realise it was so bad until we left to go to university and had normal friendships with men.'

Headteacher Mr Pettitt told MailOnline: 'Sexual harassment, abuse, intimidation and violence against girls and women are abhorrent, and we condemn them utterly.

'The testimonies are devastating and it is clear from the passionate voices of our young people that, despite all we do to safeguard pupils, we haven't done enough to tackle the issue of peer on peer sexual violence and harassment against girls.

'I want to apologise to the girls and women at Highgate for the ways you have been made to suffer. I am truly sorry.

'Safeguarding every child in our care continues to be at the heart of what we do as a school.

'Our commitment to action has to be real and deep. We will be commissioning an independent review of the issues raised in the testimonies following a listening exercise with our pupils, alumni, staff and parents; we will be working with external partners to enhance our PSHE and to improve staff training to challenge and eradicate sexism and sexual harassment.

'We recognise the urgent need for systemic change and we at Highgate are fully committed to playing our part.'

The protest comes after a dossier was sent from former and current pupils to the governors listing abuse and harassment at the 456-year-old school

One told the Times a boy had hounded Year 8 girls into send him naked pictures of themselves

In a statement, Highgate School Governing Body added: 'We are deeply shocked and horrified by the allegations that have recently come to light through the ''Everyone's Invited'' website.

'The Highgate they describe runs entirely contrary to the values of our whole community and we echo what our Head, Adam Pettitt, has already said in apologising to any victim of sexual harassment or abuse who was not properly supported during their time at Highgate. We are truly sorry.

'The Governing Body has commissioned an immediate external review of the allegations led by a team of professionals with expertise in this field.

'The review will transparently scrutinise exactly what took place. We will make public its findings when they are available, and we are committed to taking whatever action is required to achieve the necessary culture change at Highgate.

'We have reassured our parents and carers that safeguarding every child in our care continues to be at the heart of what we do as a school. We are encouraging all of our pupils, past and present, who wish to share their experiences, or to give feedback anonymously, to contribute to the review.

'Their voices will be heard. We also fully support and commend the actions of our pupils today, standing in solidarity with all victims of sexual harassment or abuse.'

It follows a series of 'rape culture' allegations made against other top schools by pupils who claim they were sexually assaulted by their peers.

Sixth Form students at the London Oratory - where Nick Clegg and Tony Blair's children are among the alumni - were the latest to raise concerns on Instagram.

One post saw the state-funded Roman Catholic school in Fulham, west London, blasted for having 'the worst rape culture of any school I know'.

Sixth Form students at the London Oratory (pictured) made allegations of rape and sexual assault on an Instagram account

Dulwich College reports students to the police after sexual abuse claims Dulwich College has reported its own pupils to the police after receiving allegations of criminal sexual harassment following the publication of an open letter that branded the school 'a breeding ground for sexual predators'. Headmaster Joe Spence announced the move in a message to parents explaining how the 21,246-a-year institution was responding to accusations from victims of assault and revenge porn revealed in an open letter on Sunday. He wrote: 'Since the publication of the Open Letter a small number of individuals have come forward naming their abusers and in these cases Dulwich College has either disciplined those pupils or, where there has been an allegation of criminal behaviour, passed the case on to the police.' Mr Spence added: 'We understand why victims of harassment or abuse may not wish to be named or to name perpetrators, but we welcome the opportunity to deal with specific cases, both so that wrongdoing can be punished and so that individual pupils against whom allegations have been made have an opportunity to defend themselves.' The headmaster wrote that he 'condemns unreservedly the behaviours and attitudes reported in the open letter' and vowed to 'challenge' any instances of poor or illegal behaviour. The original letter, published by the Sunday Times on March 21, was written by 19-year-old Samuel Schulenburg and includes about 250 anonymous stories from girls who went to schools nearby such as James Allen's Girls' School ( Jags). The alleged accusations include assault, revenge porn, sexual violence, 'slut shaming' and claims the school has an 'established rape culture.' Mr Schulenburg, who now goes to Oxford University, said: 'The behaviour of...students is a testament to their entitlement, to their experience of an institution which has enabled their sexism. 'The submitted testimonials do not present a divide between the many and the few. They describe a community of abusers and their enablers, violently sexist boys whose behaviour is underpinned by a collective understanding that their comfort and status is worth more than the lives of those who fall prey to their abuse. 'In almost every story, experiences of assault, revenge pornography and slut shaming were exacerbated by the aggressor's friends, young men who laughed at stories of sexual violence, who shared illicit photos of teenage girls without consent, who stood by as their mates ruined lives. These accounts are heartbreaking as they are outraging. 'They describe a plethora of victims, female students at nearby schools, fellow Alleynians, female teachers. Their purpose is not to highlight the tragedy of individual cases, but to expose the overarching nature of this problem. 'I believe that the College and its culture can be so much more than this. 'There has to be accountability. There has to be justice. It is long overdue.' Advertisement

Its headteacher wrote to parents, staff and pupils saying he had spoken to students who shared their 'alternative experiences of life at the school'.

But he said parents should take charge on handling the issue as they are the 'most influential educators on such matters', the Times reported.

One account by a London Oratory pupil on the Instagram page read: 'My boyfriend at the time who went to [London] Oratory raped me.

'He then went on to lie to all of his friends about what happened.'

Another claimed staff left her alone in a room with a boy who she accused of sexually assaulting her.

A third commented: 'It's not just the private schools with issues. There is no sex education whatsoever at this school, never mind any talk about consent.

'There is too much focus on the religion of the school, with little understanding that everyone is still just a teenager that really, really needs to be taught about consent, respecting boundaries. It is appalling and shows in so many things people do and say.'

Its headmaster said in a letter: 'I would also like to take this opportunity to thank those many pupils, both male and female, past and present, who have approached me to alert me to their alternative experiences of life at the school.'

He then took a quote from another letter collectively signed by the group, with read: 'If anything good comes of this, let it be a clearer understanding amongst all the pupils of the physical and spiritual dangers of present day cultural norms [...] and the necessity of chastity and sacraments, in particular regular confession, holy communion and the sacrament of marriage.'

Former Lib Dem leader Mr Clegg's eldest son Antonio is understood to have attended the school.

Former PM Mr Blair also sent his two eldest sons, Nicky and Euan, to London Oratory with daughter Kathryn believed to have joined in sixth form.

A spokesman for London Oratory said: 'The school was made aware of a number of concerning but unspecified allegations of sexual harassment and assault amongst its pupils, via a social media platform.

'We have encouraged affected pupils to refer any matters to the police as these are criminal matters.

'On hearing the news, we aligned our established and extensive counselling team. Last week we swiftly opened a solution focused dialogue to address the full spectrum of pupil concerns.

'To support and extend the work parents do in their role as first educators, we have also brought forward the delivery of our (recently consulted on) RSHE programme.

'This emphasises developing caring and respectful dispositions.

'This is one element in the School's strategy to continue to address contemporary issues pre-emptively, creatively and faithfully, in partnership with parents and parishes.'

The claims were just days after pupils at Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, west London said their school has a 'rape culture'.

It contacted pupils and alumni to offer support after youngsters reported a 'toxic environment' within the 20,000-a-year co-educational school.

Headteacher David Goodhew said he was 'troubled' by the anonymous allegations made online.

They included claims female students had been assaulted by their male counterparts and coerced into sex acts.

Social media campaign Everyone's Invited has received hundreds of anonymous claims of sexual abuse.

They involve pupils from some of Britain's leading private schools including Eton and St Paul's Boys School in Barnes, south-west London.

Pupils at Latymer said it had a 'serious and ongoing problem'. A second website has since been set up to demand the school tackles its alleged 'rape culture'.

Meanwhile, former-prime minister Tony Blair sent his two eldest sons, Nicky (far left) and Euan (second left), to London Oratory with daughter Kathryn (far right) believed to have joined in sixth form

Nick Clegg's eldest son Antonio is understood to have attended London Oratory. Pictured: The former deputy PM

The school, where alumni include actor Hugh Grant and model Lily Cole, said it had alerted parents and the local council's child safeguarding officer to the allegations.

One shocking account claimed some 'rich, white, privileged boys' at the school were 'predators' who forced girls into performing sex acts.

Girls alleged boys made 'sexual comments' to them in the classroom, compared nude photographs of them and ranked them based on their faces and bodies.

Pupils said they were bullied and sexually harassed during lessons and that teachers had ignored the behaviour.

Parents who complained to the school were also ignored, according to some of the accounts on the Everyone's Invited website.

One anonymous writer said they had been repeatedly sexually harassed in a classroom by a boy.

They said: 'The teacher could also see this happening every lesson and the other boys laughing and chose to ignore it.'

Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, London, contacted pupils and alumni to offer support after youngsters reported a 'toxic environment' at the 20,000-a-year school (file photo)

Latymer said: 'It was deeply disturbing reading the accounts by young women, and men, of alleged incidents that have occurred, both on-site and outside of schools or university campuses across the UK.

'We are full of respect and compassion for all of those who shared their harrowing stories.

'We were troubled to see a number of the stories and experiences attributed to Latymerians.

'The welfare of our students and alumni is of the utmost importance to us and we take any report or allegation made by a member of our community extremely seriously.

'Sexual harassment and abuse have no place at Latymer or in the wider world. Such behaviours are completely incompatible with Latymer's values and contrary to our ethos of respect for others.

'Our policies around safeguarding and anti-bullying stress a zero tolerance approach to behaviours that foster the prevalence of misogyny, sexism, harassment, abuse and assault.

'All staff at the school undergo regular safeguarding training, including a unit on Sexual Violence and Harassment between Children and Young People.

'When an allegation is reported to us, we follow the appropriate processes, including referral to and involvement with outside agencies and the police if appropriate, and work with our young people to ensure they feel empowered and supported.

'If an allegation were to involve a member of staff, we would always follow our safeguarding procedure which requires us to take any disclosure extremely seriously, notify the LADO and carry out a thorough investigation.

'We take all such issues very seriously and have encouraged anyone affected to come and talk to us directly.

'The welfare of our students and alumni is of the utmost importance to us and we will be listening carefully to our students and alumni and reflecting on what further steps we should take.'

Condemning the actions described, St Paul's Boys School said it had also reported the website allegations to its local council's safeguarding team.

Eton said it took any allegations 'extremely seriously', would investigate thoroughly and take appropriate disciplinary action.

Dulwich College reports its own students to the police after ex-pupil claimed 21,246-a-year school is a 'breeding ground for sexual predators' in open letter

By Rory Tingle

Dulwich College has reported its own pupils to the police after receiving allegations of criminal sexual harassment following the publication of an open letter that branded the school 'a breeding ground for sexual predators'.

Headmaster Joe Spence announced the move in a message to parents explaining how the 21,246-a-year institution was responding to accusations from victims of assault and revenge porn revealed in an open letter on Sunday.

He wrote: 'Since the publication of the Open Letter a small number of individuals have come forward naming their abusers and in these cases Dulwich College has either disciplined those pupils or, where there has been an allegation of criminal behaviour, passed the case on to the police.'

Headmaster Joe Spence announced the move in a message to parents explaining how the 21,000-a-year institution was responding to accusations from victims of assault and revenge porn revealed in an open letter on Sunda

Headmaster's full letter Dear Parents When I first wrote to you about the Open Letter from Samuel Schulenberg OA I assured you of regular updates outlining how the College would respond to the allegations made and the accompanying reports from individuals who testified to experiencing abuse or harassment. I reiterate that Dulwich College as a community condemns unreservedly the behaviour and attitudes reported in the Open Letter and is united in its determination to challenge them and to ensure that such a report could not be compiled in the months and years ahead. Our pupils have made clear that they will work hard with College leadership to live up to this assurance; their contribution to our plans for the future will be integral to all we will do. We apologise to anyone who has experienced abuse or harassment perpetrated by a pupil of Dulwich College. We will act on any case where an individual pupil is named. Since the publication of the Open Letter a small number of individuals have come forward naming their abusers and in these cases Dulwich College has either disciplined those pupils or, where there has been an allegation of criminal behaviour, passed the case on to the police. We understand why victims of harassment or abuse may not wish to be named or to name perpetrators, but we welcome the opportunity to deal with specific cases, both so that wrongdoing can be punished and so that individual pupils against whom allegations have been made have an opportunity to defend themselves. In the film accompanying this letter I outline, in broad terms, the actions the College is taking in response to the Open Letter. For ease of reference, an accompanying PowerPoint contains slides with brief notes on each of the actions. This Dulwich Post, film and PowerPoint will be followed up in the Easter holidays with a formal letter with more granular detail on many of the actions, as confirmed by our Governors, but I am conscious that the community wants to know what is being planned and that any vacuum can be filled with fear, doubt and misinformation. Thank you for the many letters and e-mails you have written over recent days, expressing confidence that we can be part of the answer to a societal problem in our response to the Open Letter, offering advice or contacts and helpfully seeking clarification on particular issues. The common thread in all you have written is an appreciation of the fact that we will only affect change if we work together and take a shared responsibility for the actions of our children; thank you for that earnest of your engagement and support. As ever Joe Spence Advertisement

Mr Spence added: 'We understand why victims of harassment or abuse may not wish to be named or to name perpetrators, but we welcome the opportunity to deal with specific cases, both so that wrongdoing can be punished and so that individual pupils against whom allegations have been made have an opportunity to defend themselves.'

The headmaster wrote that he 'condemns unreservedly the behaviours and attitudes reported in the open letter' and vowed to 'challenge' any instances of poor or illegal behaviour.

The original letter, published by the Sunday Times on March 21, was written by 19-year-old Samuel Schulenburg and includes about 250 anonymous stories from girls who went to schools nearby such as James Allen's Girls' School ( Jags).

The alleged accusations include assault, revenge porn, sexual violence, 'slut shaming' and claims the school has an 'established rape culture.'

Mr Schulenburg, who now goes to Oxford University, said: 'The behaviour of...students is a testament to their entitlement, to their experience of an institution which has enabled their sexism.

'The submitted testimonials do not present a divide between the many and the few. They describe a community of abusers and their enablers, violently sexist boys whose behaviour is underpinned by a collective understanding that their comfort and status is worth more than the lives of those who fall prey to their abuse.

'In almost every story, experiences of assault, revenge pornography and slut shaming were exacerbated by the aggressor's friends, young men who laughed at stories of sexual violence, who shared illicit photos of teenage girls without consent, who stood by as their mates ruined lives. These accounts are heartbreaking as they are outraging.

'They describe a plethora of victims, female students at nearby schools, fellow Alleynians, female teachers. Their purpose is not to highlight the tragedy of individual cases, but to expose the overarching nature of this problem.

'I believe that the College and its culture can be so much more than this.

'There has to be accountability. There has to be justice. It is long overdue.'

Former pupils from the school include Sir Ernest Shackleton, Bob Monkhouse, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Nigel Farage.

Several testimonies about males from Dulwich College were made by female pupils from other schools.

One wrote: 'I was filmed in a vulnerable position at a party by a DC boy without my consent and he then posted those videos on social media and shared them with friends.

'Since then, I have been incredibly paranoid in any kind of intimate situation or party, I feel as though I can't enjoy myself without the fear of being watched and ridiculed.

'The DC lad culture is truly one of the most toxic and harmful environments I have ever been exposed to, I can only imagine what others have been through because of the shared mentality of arrogance and thoughtlessness that pervades Dulwich College.'

Former Dulwich College pupil Samuel Schulenberg wrote an open letter including the acusations

The letter, addressed to Dulwich master Dr Joe Spence, was posted to the former pupils' Instagram page which included as link to the testimonies

The open letter includes the harrowing testimonies from former and current pupils at Sulwich College

Another said: 'I was held down and had my top and bra taken off by a group of Dulwich College boys who only gave my clothes back ten minutes later as I cried and screamed.'

Dulwich students are also said to use polling app Waggle It to rate the attractiveness of girls and sex acts they would like to perform.

MailOnline has contacted Dulwich and the Met Police.
London, March 25 : UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Thursday the country has an "exclusive" contract with coronavirus vaccine developer AstraZeneca, while the European Union's is based on a "best efforts" basis.

Hancock told the Financial Times that both sides were looking to resolve a dispute surrounding vaccine delivery, reports dpa news agency.

But he added the bloc should not try and suspend the export of vaccines from a site in the Netherlands to the UK, due to the nature of the contractual agreements they have with the British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant.

"I believe that free trading nations follow the law of contracts," he told the newspaper on Thursday.

"They have a 'best efforts' contract and we have an exclusivity deal.

"Our contract trumps theirs. It's called contract law - it's very straightforward," Hancock added.

On Wednesday, the EU tightened controls of its vaccine exports further, allowing shipments headed almost anywhere to be halted.

The move triggered warnings from the UK, a major recipient of EU-produced jabs.

Member states including Belgium and Ireland have voiced concern about the potential backlash to blockades.

The UK and the EU also issued a joint statement on Wednesday evening, stating they were working on a "win-win situation" to "expand vaccine supply for all our citizens".
This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it.

Sixteen women have filed civil lawsuits accusing Deshaun Watson of varying degrees of sexual assault, putting the Houston Texans quarterbacks future in doubt. Watson denied any wrongdoing in a general statement last week.

Amid the pile of lawsuits though, one that was filed late Tuesday afternoon in Harris County, Texas, could prove to be the most problematic for Watson.

It includes a potential criminal act, possible physical evidence and multiple counts of contemporaneous reporting that experts say is critical in these kinds of situations. It also mirrors many of the other allegations and potentially bolsters them due to the date of the act and the woman's real-time reporting.

This is clearly the one with the most credibility to it and clearly the one that could present criminal problems for Watson, said Craig Mordock, a New Orleans-based attorney who frequently handles sexual assault defense and has also represented victims of sexual assault in civil and criminal matters.

Much of Jane Doe 15s allegations are similar to those by other women, each of whom Watson hired to provide massages. In May of 2020, she said Watson contacted her via Instagram seeking a massage that would focus on his groin area, his glutes and his lower abdominals. 

Doe 15 was surprised that a famous NFL quarterback sought her out. She alleged that she informed him that she was a licensed personal trainer, not a massage therapist. She could help with post-workout muscle therapy, but massages were not her specialty.

Watson was undeterred and scheduled her to come to his house on May 28, according to the lawsuit. She arrived and Watson led her to the theater room, where she set up before Watson returned wearing just a towel.

Doe 15 alleged in her lawsuit that when Watson eventually flipped over onto his back, the towel fell off [and]  Watson was completely naked and exposed his penis to the Plaintiff. Watson also moved his penis onto Plaintiffs hand. Watson had pre-ejaculate leaking out of his penis, which got onto Plaintiffs hand. Plaintiff felt like she wanted to vomit.

Story continues

Deshaun Watson is now facing 16 civil lawsuits alleging various levels of sexual assault. (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

Doe 15 said she was confused and upset and chose to end the massage session. She stated she left soon after.

Watsons actions are a potential violation of 22.012 of the Texas penal code  indecent assault  which is punishable for up to one year in prison or a fine of $4,000.

If what happened is as its described in the lawsuit, then it is absolutely indecent assault, Mordock said.

Watson could face more serious felony sexual assault charges based on the allegations by Jane Doe No. 3 and No. 9 concerning forced oral sex, however those civil lawsuits do not indicate a level of contemporaneous reporting that Jane Doe 15 does.

When Plaintiff got home that day, the lawsuit reads, Plaintiff immediately called her mom and her best friend to tell them what happened and said she was traumatized  Plaintiff also received a text message from Watson that same day asking her if she was OK. Plaintiff did not respond. For weeks afterwards, Watson repeatedly contacted Plaintiff asking if he could book her again. Plaintiff either ignored the requests or said she was too busy.

The fact that Doe 15 alleges to have told two people  her mother and her best friend  that very day about what allegedly happened could provide significant credibility to her claim. Her story is on the record. Both individuals could be called to testify in either a criminal or civil claim.

That is a contemporaneous report, Mordock said. It is the key to these cases. It signals that the alleged victim in the matter knew that it was severe enough that she had to tell someone right away. They knew something was wrong right away.

Then you have him following up asking if she is OK? Mordock continued. That is not a particularly good fact for Watson. And then she refuses to engage with him.

The lawsuit did not include any of the alleged direct messages or text threads between the two. There would, however, be records of any communication between them if they did in fact take place, as Jane Doe 15 alleges.

Jane Doe 15 is, as the moniker suggests, the 15th woman to file a lawsuit against Watson. All of the plaintiffs have the same attorney, Tony Buzbee, which Watsons team has suggested undermines their credibility.

While it is not known when Doe 15 contacted Buzbee, the timing of her lawsuit, a full week after Jane Doe 1 first made her allegations public, suggests she joined up after the news broke.

If that is the case, then her contemporaneous report on May 28 would potentially offer proof that she isnt just mimicking the stories of the other massage therapists. In fact, she established the story before any of them began telling very similar ones. Hers would be the first known report, and since what she told her mother and friend would be unknown to the others, it in turn makes their ensuing stories more believable.

It matches up with pretty much every other description, but she reported it in May, when she knew nothing about any other women or any other complaints and no other women knew about her, Mordock said.

More from Yahoo Sports:
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.
April Love Geary has revealed her 'beautiful' aunt Nina has passed away from coronavirus.

The model, 26, confirmed the news in a heartfelt tribute shared to Instagram on Wednesday as she reflected on how her late relative was 'full of life, love and so much laughter'.

In accompanying images, musician Robin Thicke's fiancee, with whom she shares children Mia, three, Lola, two, Luca, three months, cosied up to Nina at her home and a past baby shower.

'Last night, I had to say goodbye to my beautiful Nina': April Love Geary has revealed her 'beautiful' aunt Nina has passed away from coronavirus

A grieving April wrote on her platform: 'Last night I had to say goodbye to my beautiful Nina.

'I am beyond blessed to have spent so much time with her growing up. Most of my favorite memories were made at her house. She was full of life, love and so much laughter.

'Covid took one of my favorite people away from me. I am happy that she was able to come home last night and be surrounded by so much love. I will cherish that last hug & kiss forever. I love you so much my auntie Nina.' (sic)

Tragic: The model, 26, confirmed the news in a heartfelt tribute shared to Instagram on Wednesday as she reflected on how her late relative was 'full of life, love and so much laughter'

Good times: In accompanying images, Robin Thicke's fiancee, with whom she shares Mia, three, Lola, two, Luca, three months, cosied up to Nina at her home and a past baby shower

''I am beyond blessed to have spent so much time with her growing up': Nina pictured beaming with one of the couple's children

Last goodbye: 'I am happy that she was able to come home last night and be surrounded by so much love', the mother-of-three revealed

The fashion star and five-time Grammy nominee Robin, 44, had just announced they received the COVID-19 jab together.

In a post shared to her account, the couple did a victory dance following the vaccination.

The mother-of-three captioned the post: 'Couples who get the vaccine together, stay together. Also fellas, getting the vaccine is BDE [big di** energy].'

It's unclear how they were eligible for the vaccine as they have no known underlying health conditions or disabilities.

Los Angeles are currently prioritising the injections for those who are vulnerable, teachers, living in underserved communities, or working in high-risk congregate residential settings.

President Joe Biden recently said he believes every adult could be vaccinated 'by the end of May' during his national address.
Advertisement

Exhausted National Guardsmen in Texas have been spotted sleeping in a truck in Texas as migrants poured across the border illegally, while in California a Cuban man tragically drowned while trying to swim into the U.S.

The incident in Texas unfolded near the border in Roma during the early hours of Tuesday, as border personnel stretched thin from a huge surge in illegal crossings apparently couldn't stay awake.

Cameras from Fox News were rolling as migrants gathered patiently near the truck with the two sleeping Guardsmen, waiting to turn themselves in to claim asylum in the U.S.

Finally, one of the migrants politely knocked on the window of the truck to alert the Guardsmen, according to Fox Business correspondent Hillary Vaughn.

Migrants wait to surrender as two National Guardsmen sleep in a truck in Roma, Texas early on Tuesday

A smuggler takes migrants, mostly from Central American countries, on a small inflatable raft towards U.S. soil in Roma, Texas on Wednesday. A surge of migrants on the Southwest border has the Biden administration on the defensive

Migrants wade through shallow waters after being delivered by smugglers on small inflatable rafts to Roma on Wednesday

Migrants, mostly from Guatemala, wait at a U.S. Border Patrol intake site after they were smuggled on an inflatable raft across the Rio Grande in Roma, Texas on Wednesday. The lights of the Mexican city of Miguel Aleman are seen in the background

Vaughn and her cameraman watched as hundreds of migrants illegally entered the U.S. across the Rio Grande, many of them wearing wristbands indicating they had paid Mexican cartels to ensure their crossing.

In Texas, several hundred Guardsmen have been sent to the border to assist overwhelmed Border Patrol agents.

National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) President Brandon Judd told Fox News that the exhausted Guardsmen falling asleep on the job is a "good example of the strain cartels are putting on government resources."

"All personnel are having to work extremely long hours, often away from home while living in hotels," he said.

Recent months have seen a huge surge in illegal crossings at the southern border, with many migrants apparently viewing the Biden administration as more welcoming.

In January and February, apprehensions of unaccompanied minors who crossed the southern border illegally surged 92 percent from the same period last year, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

An unaccompanied minor, 7, who said she came alone from Mexico, gets off of a small inflatable raft onto U.S. soil after being delivered by a smuggler in Roma, Texas, Wednesday, March 24, 2021. She claims she is trying to reach relatives in the U.S.

Migrant families wade through shallow waters after being delivered by smugglers on small inflatable rafts on U.S. soil in Roma, Texas on Wednesday

Smugglers talk to journalists after they delivered a group of migrants across the Rio Grande river in Roma, Texas, Wednesday

More than 300,000 solo adults were apprehended in the same period, a surge of 188 percent.

The huge number of people attempting the often dangerous illegal crossing has taken a tragic toll, including the latest example of a Cuban man who drowned trying to swim to California.

The migrant's body was recovered on a Tijuana beach, after he apparently tried to swim around a sea barrier that extends into the Pacific Ocean.

The Biden administration says that it's working to address the increase in migrants coming to the border.

On Wednesday, President Joe Biden tapped Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the White House efforts at the U.S. southern border and work with Central American nations to address root causes of the migration.

The government also issued a statement saying it will provide a daily tally of child migrants in custody.

The government said there were nearly 5,000 children in Border Patrol custody as of Tuesday and an additional 11,551 at shelters from the Department of Health and Human Services.

The body of a Cuban migrant, who drowned while swimming to cross into the U.S., lies on the sand near the border fence at Playas Tijuana, in Tijuana, Mexico

An agent inspects the body of a Cuban migrant, who drowned while swimming to cross into the U.S., in Tijuana Wednesday

The migrant's body was recovered on a Tijuana beach, after he apparently tried to swim around a sea barrier with California that extends into the Pacific Ocean

Forensic technicians carry the body of a Cuban migrant, who drowned while swimming to cross into the U.S.

Pressed repeatedly on the border issue at his first news conference since taking office, Biden said his administration was taking steps to address the situation with measures such as setting aside space at a Texas Army base for about 5,000 unaccompanied minors. But he mostly fired back at criticism.

He noted that his administration, as was done under President Donald Trump, is continuing to quickly expel most adults and families under a public health order imposed at the start of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The crucial difference is that the government is allowing teens and children, at least temporarily, to stay in the country, straining government resources during the pandemic.

"The only people were not going to let be left sitting there on the other side of the Rio Grande by themselves with no help are children," he said.

The situation along the U.S.-Mexico border has become an early challenge for the administration, drawing more questions than any other subject at the maiden news conference, and diverting attention as the administration addresses the pandemic and the economy.

The number of migrants attempting to cross the border is at the highest level since a spring 2019 surge under Trump, according to the most recently released statistics. The numbers appear to be rising and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas recently warned they are on pace to hit a 20-year peak.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 25, 2021) -Compel Capital Inc. o/a ScreenPro Security (CSE: SCRN) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that, further to its press release of March 16, 2021, the board of directors of the Company has been reconstituted with the appointment of the following four director nominees of ScreenPro Security Ltd.: John McMullen, Youngcho Lee, James Hyland and Richard Yoon. Please refer to the Company's press release of March 5, 2021 for biographical information on the new directors, who have replaced the four prior directors who have all resigned as part of the reverse take-over transaction between the Company and ScreenPro Security Ltd. John McMullen has also been appointed as Chief Executive Officer and Paul Haber has been appointed as Chief Financial Officer.

About ScreenPro

ScreenPro provides turnkey coronavirus screening solutions to the private sector. ScreenPro's unique access to multiple manufacturers of high quality South Korean test kits and its strategic partnership with Canvas Labs in Vancouver and Integrated Explorations in Ontario. This platform allows ScreenPro to be a nationwide provider of a full-service testing solutions across Canada. In addition to providing test kits, ScreenPro has its own pool of certified nursing professionals, and access to high quality PPE to ensure that its clients are protected in all aspects of their testing needs.

For additional information on ScreenPro and other corporate information, please visit the Company's website at www.screenprosecurity.com.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange (the "CSE") nor it's Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For further information please contact:

John McMullen

Email: info@screenprosecurity.com

Forward Looking Statements:

Certain statements contained in this news release may constitute forward-looking information, including statements relating to expectations regarding the future development of ScreenPro's business. 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 actual results of ScreenPro could differ materially from those anticipated in this forward-looking information as a result of regulatory decisions, competitive factors in the industries in which ScreenPro operates, prevailing economic conditions, changes to ScreenPro's strategic growth plans, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of ScreenPro. Management of ScreenPro believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information herein 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 ScreenPro's expectations as of the date hereof and is subject to change after such date. ScreenPro 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.

###

ACTIVE_CA\ 44502009\1

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/78537
MARLBOROUGH, Mass., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- There are lots of ways that today's consumers can interact with their financial services providers. To truly deliver a superior standard of care, companies need to maintain an exceptional experience across channels. DALBAR's Customer Experience Excellence Award, our highest honor, recognizes those companies who are able to consistently provide a best-in-class experience across the channels that make up the vast majority of customer interactions. The winners of the 2021 Customer Experience Excellence Award are:

AIG Life & Retirement  Individual Retirement

Nationwide Retirement Solutions

This is both AIG Life & Retirement and Nationwide Retirement Solutions second consecutive year earning this honor. Both of these companies were found to provide an award-winning experience across the following service channels:

Telephone  Consistently considered the most important channel by customers

 Consistently considered the most important channel by customers Web  The channel with the most repeat users

 The channel with the most repeat users Mobile  Particularly important with younger customers

AIG Life & Retirement also recently received DALBAR's top ranking for variable annuity statement. Nationwide had several web portals certified for various customer segments.

DALBAR Director Brendan Yeager explains, "DALBAR holds companies to stringent quality standards. To exceed our award levels in a single channel is a huge accomplishment, but to do so across the channels that make up the overwhelming majority of customer interactions is something else entirely; it is truly remarkable. This accomplishment not only speaks to AIG Life & Retirement and Nationwide's deep commitment to the customer experience, it also reflects their ability to execute flawlessly. These companies are really delivering on the promise of a superior standard of care, regardless of how their customers choose to interact."

DALBAR's Customer Experience Audit (CXA) programs have been evaluating the various channels through which financial services companies communicate and interact with their customers for over 30 years. Our auditor's approach involves reviewing actual interactions, communications and interfaces against industry-leading criteria and accumulated best practices.

For more information about DALBAR Awards and Customer Experience Audit programs, please contact Courtney O'Leary-Lima at 617-624-7273 or [email protected].

DALBAR, Inc. is the financial community's leading independent expert for evaluating, auditing and rating business practices, customer performance, product quality and service. Launched in 1976, DALBAR has earned recognition for consistent and unbiased evaluations of investment companies, registered investment advisers, insurance companies, broker/dealers, retirement plan providers and financial professionals. DALBAR awards are recognized as marks of a superior standard of care in the financial community.

SOURCE DALBAR, Inc.

Related Links

www.dalbar.com


David Hammons has had an extraordinary career. Moving to Los Angeles from his native Illinois in 1963, when he was 20, he studied with the great Social Realist painter and illustrator Charles White and soon found his way to the middle of the burgeoning Black Arts Movement.

Along with a handful of other young artists, he helped define what Black American art would be going forward. For him, it would be conceptual and incisive, a decades-long leveraging of symbols  fair or unfair, positive or pejorative, self-applied or externally imposed  of Black identity. Hes made sculptures out of chicken bones, originated a widely reproduced American flag in Pan-African colors and sold snowballs on the street. If theres a line between art as activism and art for arts sake, hes walked it like a tightrope.

His most famous series may be the body prints he started making in the late 1960s, inspired by Yves Klein and by other art students in Los Angeles. (Hammons took classes at Otis Art Institute and visited other local programs.) But where Klein and the other kids used paint, Hammons greased up his body  or, later, someone elses  and sprinkled powdered graphite on the paper only after hed made an impression. It was a formidable innovation. Instead of the vague, if graphic, smudges a painted body would produce, these soft-edged, X-ray-like images caught every last detail. They look less like ordinary art works than like the Shroud of Turin.
She said the Veridocs system is good, but not foolproof, so in the event a card fails the scan, a security officer would make the determination if the card is valid. As of now, Jenkins said anyone who appears under the age of 30 and doesnt pass their security checkpoint system will be turned away.
Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili.

US, 25 March 2021 In the fast-paced life, individuals have more workload on their mind, and most individuals are living a very hectic life schedule. Sometimes, individuals experience stress, anxiety, migraine, nerve damage, and several other health diseases due to over workload and several other reasons. Nerve damage is quite common in todays society as there are several reasons for nerve damage. The primary reason for nerve damage is nerve pain that occurs due to stress, anxiety, depression, and overthinking. Nerve damage also becomes the reason for poor cognitive function, lower brain memory, and unbearable pain. It is observed that thousands of older individuals are struggling with nerve damage, but they want to heal the nerves in an effective manner. They utilize various approaches to get a healthier lifestyle and to get better nerve health. Many individuals consume several medicines to eliminate nerve pain in a short while.



Even they consume various supplements to reduce nerve pain and heal the nerves, but many of them are struggling to find the best supplement among numerous supplements because some of the supplements dont provide satisfactory results. Moreover, some supplements arent made with beneficial ingredients, but nerve control 911 is considered the most powerful formula developed by PhytAge Labs. It is one of the best supplements that both males and females can conveniently utilize to heal the nerves effectively. The nerve control 911 supplement can be used daily to eliminate nerve pain quickly, and individuals can also use this supplement to eliminate several other problems. This nerve control 911 review helps you to know about its ingredients and benefits. It is the only supplement that also enhances brain memory and improves eye-sight in a short while. If needed, interested individuals can click here or visit our official website to know more about nerve control 911 benefits.



This supplement helps in improving nerve health, and it also improves the bodys muscles effectively. Along with it, individuals can get rid of anxiety, stress, and higher blood pressure by consuming this supplement. It also reduces inflammation and promotes deep sleep. This formula is available in the form of pills, and it is suggested that every individual should consume 2 nerve control pills to get rid of nerve pain and get a better cognitive function. There are no nerve control 911 side effects because it is a natural formula made by using natural and safe ingredients, like Corydalis powder, Prickly pear extract, California poppy seed, Marshmallow root, Passion Flower Herb Powder, and much more. These ingredients have the capability to provide satisfactory results. Individuals can conveniently buy the nerve control 911 formula from its official website. Better is to click here or visit our official website to know more about nerve control 911 reviews.





Website : https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/03/12/2192305/0/en/Nerve-Control-911-Reviews-Negative-Side-Effects-or-Legit-Ingredients-2021-Review.html
Wilkes-Barre, PA (18701)

Today

Thunderstorms likely. A few storms may be severe. High 73F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Cloudy with showers. Low 63F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.
The Lagos State government gave loans totalling 1 billion to some tourism and hospitality sector practitioners in the state on Thursday.

The loans were meant to be seed capital to help drive new growth in the sector in the state.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that presentation of the loans to beneficiaries was held at the maiden edition of the Lagos Tourism, Hospitality, Arts and Culture economic summit.

The summit was organised by the Lagos State chapter of the Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN) in collaboration with the states Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had earlier approved the loans as seed capital for the revival of the tourism and hospitality sector and to cushion the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on practitioners.

Secretary to Lagos State Government, Folashade Jaji, who represented Mr Sanwo-Olu at the occasion, noted that tourism and recreation contribute approximately 6 per cent to the GDP.

She said opportunities for growth which could be strengthened through collaborations between the public and private sectors still abound in the hospitality industry.

She assured members of FTAN that government would continue to leverage on meaningful partnership with the private sector towards achieving A Greater Lagos which the governor promised residents of the state.

She said government had put in place policies and strategies that would enhance the opportunities available to advance the states tourism potentials.

Mrs Jaji also said efforts were being put in place to discover more tourism sites and also bring existing ones to international standards.

The synergy between government and private sector investors and entrepreneurs will ensure a steady and sustainable growth of the tourism and recreation sector in Lagos State.

Opportunities are available for private investor entrepreneurs to develop tourism sites.

It is my privilege to inform you that UNESCO has certified Sungbo Eredo in the Epe Division as a World Heritage Site which can be developed to boost tourism potentials in Lagos State, she said.

Mrs Jaji said the state government had secured 100 hectares of land to establish a film city in the state.

She urged FTAN to leverage on the platform provided by the summit to advance the tourism sector by coming up with strategies that would enhance the development of Lagos State tourism.

She also called on FTAN to provide a guide on how to domesticate tourism sites in the state and bring them to international standard.

The governors representative also said that with the support of main actors in the sector, governments aim of making Lagos State the first to be reckoned with in tourism and recreation was achievable.

The theme of the summit was: Public Private Partnership for Sustainable Growth of the Tourism, Arts and Culture Industry for a Greater Lagos.

ADVERTISEMENT

Earlier in her remarks, Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf, commissioner for tourism, arts and culture, said the state government had approved a 50 per cent rebate for practitioners in the payment of their operating license fees for year 2020.

Mrs Akinbile-Yussuf said that would help in promoting synergy with the stakeholders.

She said the presentation of cheques to the loan beneficiaries showed that the initiative was real, transparent and sincere on the part of the ministry.

The commissioner explained that applicants for the loan could receive up to N30 million depending on the nature of the organisation applying for the loan, adding that a special desk would be created in the ministry to attend to issues pertaining to the loan.

Responding, Gbenga Sunmonu, coordinator, FTAN, Lagos chapter, assured that the association would re-double its efforts to increase contributions to the states GDP.

He said it would also create and recreate wealth through promotion of domestic tourism and creation of volunteers for different aspects of tourism.

Mr Sunmonu explained that the summit, which focused on public-private partnership, opened discussion in areas of concerns for stakeholders with the intention of reviewing issues raised toward improving the ease of doing business in the state.

NAN reports that some of the stakeholders who spoke at the summit also advocated strong public private partnership as a needed synergy that would fast track investments into the sector and aid rapid development of key tourism sites in the state.

The stakeholders comprised hotel owners, tour operators, tour guides and investors. (NAN)

The Web Summit booked 47.9m in revenue in 2019, up from 35m the year before, the company says, citing newly-filed accounts.

Paddy Cosgraves company made a 27.7m gross profit and 9.3m in earnings before tax, with no dividend paid.

However, the company says that its business was severely affected in 2020 by Covid 19, which has been catastrophic for the events industry.

To partly offset this, it has turned to licensing its own online conferencing software.

The company, which employs 231 people with its largest office in Dublin, says that it made large investments in 2019 in software, as well as in its Lisbon office and in a Toronto office.

Read More

It recently announced a plan to hire another 50 people this year in Dublin, Lisbon, Toronto and San Francisco.

Throughout 2020, despite significant losses in revenue, the company made no redundancies or pay cuts across its offices in Dublin, Lisbon, Toronto and Hong Kong, a company spokesperson said.

Cofounder and chief executive Paddy Cosgrave owns the majority of the Web Summit.

The investments weve continued to make each year in software made the decision to move online easier, said Mr Cosgrave.

Despite the global pandemic, we were able to deliver a valuable networking event online for over 136,000 attendees across nearly 200 countries by building our own conference software in a matter of weeks.

Mr Cosgraves company previously announced a first paying customer for its licensing scheme, the United Nations Development Programme. The body will use the software this week for an event in Turkey.

In time, we hope to add many more customers, and open up more of our software to third parties to use for both online and offline events. We hope to make several product announcements later this summer, he said.

The in-person global conferencing business has ground to a halt worldwide and is not expected to recover this year.

While Zoom and other online video platforms have stepped in, a handful of online conferencing software systems are beginning to emerge as larger, fit-for-purpose alternatives.

The startup Hopin, which counts Irish investors such as Des Traynor and Paddy Cosgrave as investors, is now valued at $5bn.

Last year, both the Web Summit and its US sister conference, Collision, were held online using Mr Cosgraves companys software. However, its Hong Kong conference, Rise, was cancelled.

The company says it still intends to hold an in-person conference in November this year in Lisbon, although its unlikely that many potential customers from outside Europe will travel for in-person events.

In December, the Web Summit announced a series of expansion deals and plans.

It signed a five-year deal with Japanese officials to host a new event called Web Summit Tokyo from September 2022. The in-person conference will be called Web Summit Tokyo.

It also announced a Web Summit conference to be heldin Brazil in 2022, with two cities  Rio de Janeiro and Porto Alegre  involved in discussions to host it.

And it said that its Rise event, held in Hong Kong for the last five years, is to move to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia from March 2022 after a three-year deal was struck with the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation to host in-person conferences.
analysis

On 4 March, Ghana's Supreme Court unanimously ruled to uphold the second term victory of President Nana Akufo-Addo in the 7 December 2020 general elections. Akufo-Addo's opponent and immediate past predecessor John Dramani Mahama, who had challenged the results in court and argued for a rerun, criticised the decision.

He and his main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) party, said the presidential and parliamentary results were rigged for Akufo-Addo and the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP). They accused Ghana's Electoral Commission of bias and incompetence.

The situation sets the stage for possible paralysis in government decision making in Parliament. It also raises the risk of more inter-party acrimony that could provoke violence before and after the 2024 elections in which Mahama may run.

In the short term, the Akufo-Addo government won't have the numbers to pass its legislative agenda. The NPP and the NDC each hold 137 of the 275 seats in Parliament, with the remaining one held by independent Andrew Asiamah Amoako of the Fomena constituency. The NPP expelled Amoako following a controversial party primary and his decision to run as an independent.

In the short term, Akufo-Addo's government won't have the numbers to pass its legislative agenda

Ghana operates a semi-parliamentary system that obligates presidents to appoint the majority of ministers from Parliament. This approach means the government will need the NDC's support in approving bills because Members of Parliament (MPs) who double as ministers are often not present to vote due to their ministerial duties.

Experts interviewed by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) said this could constrain governance if the NDC decides to obstruct government business in the chamber. The opposition party may use this strategy to frustrate the NPP and score political points ahead of the 2024 elections. Inter-party relations are already bitter, as was displayed during the chaotic election of a new Speaker on 7 January when MPs from both sides openly brawled with each other.

Some NDC MPs and senior figures have hinted that Parliament will not readily approve bills and agreements submitted by the executive. Haruna Iddrisu, NDC Parliamentary leader, has warned that the party's MPs, who occupy 13 out of the 26 seats on the chamber's vetting committee, won't approve more than 70 ministers and deputies. Akufo-Addo has indicated that up to 85 are to be appointed.

On 1 March, all NDC members on the committee voted to reject Akufo-Addo's nominees for the agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture, and information ministers on the grounds of dishonesty during their vetting. The three nominees were ultimately approved by the parliamentary plenary after more than 20 NDC MPs voted with their NPP colleagues.

A hung Parliament could mean better governance and oversight over Ghana's executive

The vote drew fiery criticism from the NDC's communications officer and many of the party's supporters who accused their MPs and the party leadership of betraying a collective cause. This reaction and the call for a leadership change will probably make the NDC cautious in its engagement with the government, experts told ISS Today.

Nonetheless, the hung Parliament presents opportunities for better governance and accountability through oversight over the executive. It's a departure from the past seven Parliaments in Ghana's Fourth Republic (1992 to date), in which governing parties had comfortable majorities, and the executive always had its way. These were, according to experts, 'rubber-stamp' Parliaments, especially as many MPs were part of the executive as ministers and seldom challenged bills and agreements.

For the next four years, the government will try to avoid criticism by being more diligent and thorough in presenting budget statements and other vital documents for debate.

Meanwhile, although the Supreme Court's ruling hasn't revived the violent protests that followed the election, the NDC may take a firm position in the next polls. Ghana has a competitive winner-takes-all electoral system. Both the NPP and NDC have mobilised political vigilante groups to attack and intimidate opponents.

If security and justice institutions lack legitimacy, future election disputes could be settled on the street

The government outlawed vigilantes in 2019, but experts expressed grave doubts about the political will to enforce the law. They cited the two main parties' reluctance to sign a code of conduct on peaceful campaigning ahead of the December 2020 elections.

More than a year after the law was passed, the Ministry of Justice hasn't issued its enforcement guidelines. For opposition parties that feel the courts won't afford them justice, vigilantes become a reliable source of security during campaigns.

In addition to their distrust of the Electoral Commission, Mahama and the NDC have subtly expressed their lack of confidence in the independence of state security and justice institutions. Among these bodies are the military, the police and the courts.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Ghana Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

If these vital institutions lack legitimacy, future election disputes may be settled on the street rather than in the courts. The 2024 election will be crucial for the opposition, as observers note that a third consecutive loss would seriously demoralise the party and deepen factional divides.

Akufo-Addo should adopt a consensus-building approach to governance and ensure opposition views are considered, especially on crucial laws. The Electoral Commission needs to strengthen the Inter-Party Advisory Committee as a platform for consensus and trust building around election preparations.

The National Peace Council, which facilitated the signing of the peace accord by Akufo-Addo and Mahama on 4 December 2020, should work with both sides to defuse election-related tensions.

Sampson Kwarkye, Senior Researcher, ISS Dakar and Paul Nana Kwabena Aborampah Mensah, Team Leader, Ghana Center for Democratic Development

This article was produced with the support from the UK Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) and the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF).
Siliguri, Mar 24 (UNI) Stressing for free and fair polling, the full bench of Election Commission of India (ECI) headed by Sunil Arora on Wednesday said that it would not tolerate any unrest or violence before and during the eight-phase assembly elections across West Bengal.

The poll body also said all the covid norms to be adhered strictly in exercising the constitutional obligations.

The ECI made it clear to ensure maintaining social distancing, wearing masks, and using sanitizers in the polling booths.

The commission has also asked the district administration to procure PPE kits and machinery for thermal scanning in the polling booths.

West Bengal will witness a record number eight phases polls beginning March 27 and the last phase poll is on April 27.

The results will be declared on May 2.

The full bench of the Commission headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora met state Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay and DGP Niraj Nayan in Siliguri to review the law and order situation across the state.

The ECI directed the administration to ensure web casting arrangements at polling booths.

The poll body directed to depute central forces to ensure free and fair polling in the state.

The commission was not happy with the recovery of weapons in several poll-bound districts so far.

The full bench of ECI was on a two-day visit to this commercial hub of north Bengal to review the poll preparedness.

The poll body had virtual meetings with all District Magistrates and police officials of the state in presence of four special observers appointed by the commission.

On Tuesday the Commission led by Mr Arora also reviewed poll preparedness in 54 assembly constituencies across eight districts of north Bengal.

It emphasised extra vigil against illegal arms and sought webcasting in 50 per cent sensitive booths.

Polling in this region will be held on April 10, 17, 22, 26 and 29.

CEC Arora and election commissioners Sushil Chandra and Rajiv Kumar also discussed the randomization of state and central forces with Bengals chief electoral officer Ariz Aftab, special police observer Vivek Dubey and ADG (law and order) Jag Mohan, among others.

The EC is contemplating having over 1,000 companies of central forces across 23 districts of the state.

UNI PC RN
Its heartbreaking to think about whats happening with these dogs overseas, Fischer said. They just dont have people advocating for them like we have here, where there are so many groups. We have so many rescues. Over there, there are no laws against animal cruelty or animal abuse. The stories are just horrendous. Its just bad.
An Israeli cargo ship was today struck with a missile in the Arabian Sea in a suspected attack by Iran.

A security source in Israel said the vessel was on its way from Tanzania to India when it was struck on Thursday.

Nobody was injured and the vessel was only lightly damaged, able to continue its journey to the city of Mundra on India's west coast.

The Liberian-flagged ship is owned by XT Management, based in the Israeli port city of Haifa.

The vessel was struck as it travelled from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to Mundra on the west coast of India

Maritime security company Dryad Global said it suspected, though could not confirm, that the vessel involved in the alleged attack was the container ship MT LORI.

It said the ship, while en route to the Indian port Mundra from Dar Es Salaam, came to a full stop and drifted for about three hours, before continuing its journey at about its original speed.

Reuters could not reach officials at the company for comment. Israeli government officials had no official comment.

It comes about a month after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Iran for an explosion aboard an Israeli-owned ship in the Gulf of Oman.

The vehicle-carrier MV Helios Ray was hit between the night of Feb 25 and morning of February 26 by a blast above the water line that a U.S official said ripped holes in both sides of its hull. An Israeli official said limpet mines were used.

"Iran is the greatest enemy of Israel, I am determined to halt it. We are hitting it in the entire region," Netanyahu said.

But Iran denied the allegation that it was behind the ship explosion, accusing Netanyahu of suffering from 'an obsession with Iran'.

Hours before Netanyahu accused the Iranians, missile strikes were launched at Iranian troops based in Syria.

Syrian air defences intercepted what they said were Israeli missiles over Damascus, in an area where Iranian Revolutionary Guards and their Hezbollah allies are believed to be present.

The Israeli army had refused to confirm its involvement in the missile launch towards Syria, where there were no immediate reports of casualties.

Benjamin Netanyahu, pictured, said Israel was 'striking back' at its 'greatest enemy' Iran as he blamed the Islamic republic for an attack on an Israeli-owned ship last week

The damaged Israeli-owned cargo ship Helios Ray sits at a port in Dubai on Sunday following the blast last week which Netanyahu is blaming on Iran

Iran has sought to pressure the U.S. to lift sanctions on Tehran as President Joe Biden's administration considers option for returning to negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program.

Biden has said repeatedly the U.S. would return to the nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers that his predecessor, Donald Trump, withdrew from in 2018 only after Iran restores its full compliance with the accord.

The recent explosions on Israeli-owned ships recalls the tense summer of 2019, when the U.S. military accused Iran of attacking several oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman with limpet mines, designed to be attached magnetically to a ship's hull.

The Gulf of Oman leads through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, a vital passage for the world's oil supplies. Tehran has denied the accusations that it was behind the limpet mine attacks.
| By Jena Frick

As vaccination sites across Maryland race to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine to as many people as possible, students from the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy (UMSOP) are volunteering their time to help with the effort. As part of the vaccination clinic opened in the University of Maryland, Baltimores (UMB) campus center, UMSOP students are training to work behind the scenes to ensure that the vaccines are properly managed and distributed.

Part of our role as pharmacists is medication management and preparation for administration, said Cherokee Layson-Wolf, PharmD, BCACP, FAPhA, associate dean of students at UMSOP. It is very important to have our students involved in this process so they can understand how important it is to manage this very important resource.

Amna Kahn, a first-year student at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy (right), learns how to prep the COVID-19 vaccine doses.

The dose preparation process is particularly important because the COVID-19 vaccines are fragile and must be carefully mixed and distributed. This is because the mRNA structure and protein ingredients in each dosage will lose their potency the more they are manipulated.

With this training, our students will be able to both vaccinate patients and prep the doses, said Layson-Wolf. This will give them an appreciation for how the vaccines are mixed and created, and they will have a better understanding of the whole process.

(View a photo gallery.)

Pharmacy students of all education levels are encouraged to take part in this training. Fourth-year students who have had experience in the COVID vaccination clinic are tasked with training first-, second-, and third-year students. Many of them actually opted to give up one of their clinical rotations to teach other students how to handle the COVID vaccines.

I thought it was a really unique opportunity that I wouldn't be able to get with just my schoolwork, said Michael Obineme, a fourth-year student at UMSOP. It is a real privilege to be able to step up to the front lines and help with the recovery effort in any way that I could.

During the training, each student was given two different sized vials of saline solution, one the size of a standard Pfizer dose and the other the size of a standard Moderna dose. The students practiced splitting up the doses into syringes, six for Pfizer and 10 for Moderna.

Our students are critical members of this response to COVID, said Layson-Wolf. Through this whole effort, I believe that our students have really found that they play a really important role in public health on both a one-on-one basis and broader basis.

Because of the virtual learning mandates that were put in place during the pandemic, for many students this was the first in-person learning experience they have had over the last year. Belinda Tamrakar, a first-year pharmacy student, jumped at the chance to volunteer her time to help with dose preparation. She was happy to have the opportunity to help the community get vaccinated while also furthering her education.

I really wanted to get more hands-on experience the same way a real pharmacist would work in the day-to-day world, she said. Over the last year, we have seen a lot of health care workers doing what they can to help everyone in this pandemic, so I just wanted to be a part of that effort.

So far, about 50 students from UMSOP have been trained on COVID vaccine preparation and management and will be working in UMBs vaccination clinic at the Southern Management Corporation Campus Center. Layson-Wolf says that they plan to train more students to work in the clinic as vaccination efforts continue throughout the state.

It's really fulfilling to be able to play such an important role in the recovery effort and providing vaccinations to the community, she said. This global pandemic is what we are training for here at the School of Pharmacy. Vaccine administration and preparation is so critical and its wonderful that we have been able to collaborate with other schools at UMB to serve the community during such an important time.
Key lies in independent development of rockets



A mid-sized next-generation satellite that Korea had independently developed was successfully launched on Monday. According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, the 540-kilogram observation satellite was launched using Russia's Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, made its first contact with the base station 102 minutes after launch. The satellite successfully reached its targeted orbit of between 484 kilometers and 508 kilometers above Earth and is operating as planned.



Equipped with an imaging sensor system developed by Korean researchers, the satellite will conduct observation missions 497.8 km above the Earth's surface over the next four years. Starting in October, it will send precision ground observation images of the Korean Peninsula, which will be used for various purposes, including ground change detection, crop surveys, urban planning and damage estimation from typhoons, floods and brush fires.



The satellite was manufactured in 2015 at a cost of 158 billion won ($139 million) under the supervision of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI). Many Korean companies participated in the project, independently developing a "standard platform" and localizing more than 90 percent of parts, system design, assembly and test processes. Based on the standard platform, private businesses will launch a second satellite in 2022, followed by three more satellites before pushing for their exports.



Korea has made several small multipurpose satellites since the early 1990s. Based on accumulated technology, it has come to make a mid-sized one this time around. However, the nation has a long way to go before attaining space technology independence. At stake is how it develops a launching vehicle that sends a satellite to space, without depending on U.S., European or Russian rockets, as have been the cases.



Korea plans to launch its first independently developed rocket, Nuri, with a mock payload in October, for which the country has spent about 2 trillion won since 2010. The independent development of the rocket is a precondition for attaining space technology independence and developing future markets. National attention and support are becoming increasingly necessary to ensure stable progress in technological development, securing demand from the private sector and launching rockets without a hitch.






The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) is conducting searches at the offices of the All-Ukrainian civil movement Ukrainian Choice - Right of People, which leader is Viktor Medvedchuk, a law enforcement source has told Interfax-Ukraine.

"Investigative actions are taking place in Kyiv and Dnipro," the agency's interlocutor said, stressing that during the occupation of Crimea, the movement's central office coordinated the actions of Crimean cells, whose representatives actively promoted the entry of the peninsula into the Russian Federation.

Viktor Medvedchuk is a MP, a member of the Opposition Platform - For Life faction.

Later, a message appeared on the SBU website that investigators of the security service "continue a pretrial investigation into the actions of representatives of the public organization Ukrainian Choice, who are reasonably suspected of assisting the illegal referendum and elections in the temporarily annexed Crimea and Sevastopol in 2014."

"It has been established that the members of the All-Ukrainian civil movement Ukrainian Choice during the annexation of the peninsula and in the future actively supported the occupation authorities. They became representatives of illegal election commissions and precincts, and participated in the activities of the illegal armed formation Crimean self-defense. Members of illegal armed groups carried out illegal persecution of Ukrainian activists, and seizure of administrative buildings of Ukrainian authorities," the message said.

According to the security service, during the pretrial investigation, the SBU investigators received irrefutable evidence that the leadership and representatives of the public organization participated in the organization and conduct of an illegal referendum and illegal elections in the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol after the temporary annexation of the Russian peninsula. According to the preliminary version of the investigation, they are also involved in the commission of other criminal acts.

The SBU also noted that the organizers of the Ukrainian Choice imitated the liquidation of 210 Crimean cells, however, no documents were submitted to the Ministry of Justice, and the organization itself "continued to carry out activities in Crimea to the detriment of Ukraine's state security" until 2017, when the termination of its activities on the peninsula was executed in accordance with the current Ukrainian legislation.

"According to the investigation, these facts may indicate the creation of an imaginary non-involvement of the leadership of the All-Ukrainian civil movement Ukrainian Choice - Right of People in the illegal activities of its cells on the territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea," the SBU said.

SBU investigators are conducting investigative actions within the framework of the initiated criminal proceedings under Article 366 (official forgery) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The issue of informing the participants about suspicions under Article 110 (encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine) and Article 111 (high treason) of the Criminal Code is being addressed. The pretrial investigation continues.

The exposure was carried out under the procedural guidance of the Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.
Mourad Kerollos, 62, not guilty of murdering his wife Gihan Kerollos in 2019

A husband who stabbed his wife to death outside her work at a Sydney hospital has been found not guilty of murder due to mental illness.

There was no doubt Mourad Kerollos, 62, intended to kill his wife of 24 years when he followed her out of her last shift at Randwick's Prince of Wales Hospital on May 18, 2019.

After stabbing Gihan Kerollos multiple times in the neck he dialled 000 and told the operator 'I kill my wife'.

Her body was found lying partly on the footpath with her head covered in a plastic bag.

At the time of his wife's death, a delusional Mr Kerollos was convinced his partner was working as a prostitute

Mourad Kerolos (pictured right) has been found not guilty of the murder of his wife due to mental illness

Acting Justice Peter Hidden, presiding over the trial without a jury, found the killing was plainly the product of mental illness following family observations and that of police on the night, and two psychiatrists.

'This is not the typical case, sadly all too common, of violence inflicted upon a woman by a controlling, jealous and suspicious husband,' Justice Hidden said in his Supreme Court judgment on Thursday.

Kerollos's delusion of infidelity began about two or three years before he killed her, and after he himself had an affair in 2015.

'When I had an affair I went and confessed ... All I want is for her to confess,' he told a bishop of his Coptic Orthodox Church.

He became obsessed with the idea his wife was a 'prostitute' and making adult films for money. He regularly checked her mobile phone, installed a GPS tracker on her car and began secretly recording her conversations.

Ms Kerollos, fondly known as Gigi, told a colleague and close friend of 13 years that she had split with her husband but they remained living together for financial reasons.

Jacqueline Crombie witnessed Mr Kerollos randomly showing up at the hospital, fighting with her in Arabic about her 'cheating' and heard a telephone argument where he was angry the pair were going out, according to the facts.

At the beginning of 2019, Ms Kerollos told Ms Crombie: 'I don't know if he is insane or just evil.'

About two weeks later Ms Crombie asked how he could possibly believe she was having an affair as she spent all her time at work or at home.

'He's got two personalities,' she responded.

On the day of the killing, 'ominously,' she sent a text to a friend saying he was 'getting worse and he really needs medical attention,' Justice Hidden said.

Mr Kerollos also accused his wife of making adult films for money. He regularly checked her mobile phone, installed a GPS tracker on her car and began secretly recording her conversations

The scene in Randwick in Sydney's east after Gihan Kerollos died back in 2019

Both forensic psychiatrists agreed with the defence of mental illness and that he was 'psychotic' at the time of the killing.

They say the death of his mother 24 years ago was a significant event for him, as he often heard her voice in his head.

He told both psychiatrists his belief that his wife was a sex worker and was concealing the money that she earned, and suggested to one that 'her promiscuity extended to members of the clergy of their church'.

He had been drinking about half a bottle of whisky daily leading up to the incident and smelled strongly of alcohol when police found him after the incident.

Forensic psychiatrist Kerri Eagle determined he had been suffering from a major psychotic disorder, describing in oral evidence some traits of his morbid jealousy associated with delusions of infidelity as 'Othello syndrome'.

Kerollos will be detained 'for some years,' and subject to a regime of treatment and rehabilitation.
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.
THIBODAUX, La. (AP)  A former principal at a south Louisiana middle school has been arrested for allegedly having sex with a teenager. Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre says 44-year-old Ashleigh Landry, of Raceland, was arrested Wednesday on a charge of felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile. She has since been released on $25,000 bond. It was unknown if she has an attorney who could speak on her behalf. Multiple news outlets report Landry had served as principal of Lockport Middle School, but her employment recently ended. Detectives began investigating Landry earlier this month after learning she had exchanged sexual messages with a teenage boy.
Downhole geophysics interpretation underway

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 24, 2021 / Searchlight Resources Inc. ("Searchlight" or the "Company") (TSXV:SCLT)(OTC PINK:CNYCF)(FSE:2CC2) is pleased to announce that the planned drill program has been completed on the Beatty South target located approximately 15 km northwest of Creighton, Saskatchewan, in the historic Flin Flon mining camp.

The program of a single NQ diamond drill hole, 207 metres in length, has been completed on a geophysical target located approximately 15 kilometres northwest of Creighton, Saskatchewan in the historic Flin Flon mining camp. A borehole electromagnetic (BHEM) survey has also been completed, and interpretation is ongoing.

This pilot drill hole was based on systematic geophysics programs including airborne, UAV and ground surveys. Additional airborne targets have been defined along a four-kilometer strike length, and are now being integrated into Searchlight's Flin Flon North database to determine areas for future ground geophysics follow-up.

Qualified Person

Stephen Wallace, P.Geo., is Searchlight's Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release.

About Searchlight Resources Inc.

Searchlight Resources Inc. (TSXV:SCLT; US:CYNCF) is a Canadian mineral exploration and development company focused on Saskatchewan, Canada, which has been ranked as the top location for mining investment in Canada by the Fraser Institute. Exploration focus is on gold and battery minerals throughout the Province, concentrating on projects with road access.

Searchlight holds a 427.6 square kilometre land position within the gold and base metal rich Flin Flon - Snow Lake Greenstone Belt. The Company is currently advancing its Bootleg Lake Gold Project located in Saskatchewan, less than 10 km from Flin Flon, Manitoba, and which hosts four past producing high-grade gold mines.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

"Stephen Wallace"

Stephen Wallace, President, CEO and Director

SEARCHLIGHT RESOURCES INC.

For further information, visit the Company's website at www.searchlightresources.com or contact:

Searchlight Resources Inc.

Alf Stewart, VP Corporate Development

(604) 331-9326

info@searchlightresources.com

Forward-Looking Statements

Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance. The Company 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 the Company's control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to the Company's limited operating history and the need to comply with environmental and governmental regulations. 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, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.

NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

SOURCE: Searchlight Resources Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/637357/Searchlight-Resources-Completes-Drill-Program-on-Beatty-South-Target

New Delhi, March 25 : The Delhi High Court will hear on May 5 a petition filed by former Union Minister M.J. Akbar against the acquittal of journalist Priya Ramani by the court in a criminal defamation case.

The matter was adjourned after the court of Justice Mukta Gupta did not assemble on Thursday. It will now be taken up in May.

On February 17, a district court had acquitted Ramani.

"The women has right to put her greviance at any platform of her choice and even after decades," Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ravindra Kumar Pandey had noted, while acquitting her.

The court had further said that right of reputation cannot be protected at the cost of right to dignity. "Women cannot be punished for raising voice against the sexual abuse in the pretext of complaint of defamation." In the wake of #MeToo movement in 2018, Ramani had made allegation of sexual harassment against Akbar.

Pursuant to this, he filed the criminal defamation case against her and resigned as the Union Minister. Trial began in 2019 and went on for almost two years.

In 2017, Ramani wrote an article for the Vogue where she described her ordeal of being sexually harassed by a former boss during her job interview for his publication.

One year later, she revealed that the person alluded to as harasser in article was M.J. Akbar.

Akbar told the court that Ramani's allegations were fictitious and cost him his stellar reputation. Priya Ramani, on the other hand, contested these claims, pleaded truth as her defence and said that she made allegations in good faith, public interest, and for public good.
VICE-PRESIDENT Inonge Wina has called on local commercial banks to fully support citizens with ideas of growing the economy through farming.

Ms Wina also urged traditional leaders to avail people more land to help promote farming activities.

Speaking when she toured the Barotse Ranching and Cropping farm in Sioma district yesterday, Ms Wina said Zambia had great potential of further turning around her economic fortunes through agriculture.

Barotse Ranching and Cropping farm hosted the production of pumpkins, butternuts, watermelon groundnuts, potatoes, onions, goats and cattle.
The US State Department has condemned Iran's government for the violence in the southeast Baluchistan region. The statement comes at a time of high tensions between the two countries.

On Thursday, the departments Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs called on Iran to show restraint in the area.

Deeply concerning reports of internet outages & government violence against fuel carriers & protestors in Iran's Sistan & Baluchestan province. We call upon Iran to uphold its commitments to human rights & fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression & peaceful assembly, the department tweeted.

The situation in the Sistan-Baluchistan province began when members of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps opened fire on unemployed locals who were bringing untaxed fuel to Pakistan to earn money. This led to outrage and protesters storming state institutions throughout the province. Both demonstrators and Iranian security officers have been killed. Authorities also cut internet access in the area.

US President Joe Biden vowed to engage Iran diplomatically, eschewing the maximum pressure campaign of his predecessor Donald Trump. Relations remain tense, however. Also on Thursday, the US military struck Iran-backed militia targets in Syria. The strike was in response to the recent attack on US military positions in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, which the United States blamed on Irans Iraqi militia allies.

The situation in Baluchistan could develop into yet another sore point between Washington and Tehran.

Many people in the province belong to the Baluchi ethnic minority. There are Baluchi separatist groups active there and in neighboring Pakistan, and the province has experienced armed conflict before.
A man holds a sign calling for the release of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor outside B.C. Supreme Court where Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou was attending a hearing, in Vancouver on Jan. 21, 2020. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)

The Price China Never Paid for Its Hostage Diplomacy

Analysis

After Canadian authorities arrested Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on a U.S. extradition request on Dec. 1, 2018, Beijing warned Canada of serious consequences if she wasnt freed. It carried through with its threat a few days later, when it detained Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. After that, the regime blocked Canadian agricultural imports to China.

Ottawa has adopted stronger language of late over the arrest of the two Canadians, in contrast to its earlier, noticeably softer tone, which typically praised China for the economic benefit it presents before calling out the regimes hostilities.

But apart from this change in Ottawas tone, Beijing has not been made to pay a price for what some have termed its hostage diplomacy.

With Kovrig and Spavor having just been subjected to closed-door trials in China with no consular representation, heres a look at some of the means Canada has used in the past to respond to hostile actions by foreign governments, and some approaches that observers have suggested for countering Beijings hostilities today.

Diplomatic Relations

When Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi was tortured and killed in Iran, the Liberal government of Jean Chretien recalled Canadas ambassador from Iran. Stephen Harpers Conservative government recalled Canadas ambassador from Moscow and limited diplomatic ties with Russia after its military intrusion into Eastern Ukraine.

The Chinese Embassy in Ottawa. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Based on Global Affairs Canadas November 2020 records, China has 159 diplomats in Canadathe highest number after our closest ally the United States, which has 168 representatives in Canada. For comparison, the United Kingdom, another close ally, has only 28 diplomats in Canada.

The Canadian government has not limited Chinas diplomatic operations in Canada in any way since Kovrigs and Spavors arrest, which Ottawa calls arbitrary. Conversely, China has limited consular access to the two Canadians and denied Canadian diplomats permission to attend their trials.

Chinas ambassador has chided Canada on multiple occasions without pushback from Ottawa. Meanwhile, Chinese diplomats have continued to make appearances in official capacities in different venues in Canada.

Winnipegs mayor invited the Chinese ambassador to his city in December 2019 and posed for photos with him, which he posted on social media. The Union of British Columbia Municipalities accepted a donation from the Chinese Consulate and allowed it to host a social event at the unions 2019 annual convention in Vancouver, giving Chinese diplomats access to B.C. municipal representatives, despite protests by Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West and several city councillors and groups over Chinas arrest of Kovrig and Spavor and other human rights violations.

Canadian cities that have sister city agreements with Chinese cities have also maintained their agreements. According to Epoch Times contributor Heng He, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) uses these friendship agreements to advance its interests in a more subtle way, as city-level officials are not on the list of diplomatic envoys.

2022 Beijing Olympics

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) awarded the 2008 Summer Olympics to Beijing based on the regimes promise to improve its human rights record. The long list of rights infractions at the time included the suppression of democracy activists, Tibetans, Uyghurs, Christians, and Falun Gong adherents, with the latter having been confirmed by Canadian researchers two years prior as being victims of Chinese state-sanctioned organ harvesting.

An exhibition centre for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing on Feb. 5, 2021. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

Since then, Chinas illicit organ harvesting operations have expanded to use Uyghurs as victims on a wide scale. And the regimes persecution of Uyghur Muslims has escalated to the point that Canadas House of Commons and two U.S. administrations have now recognized it as genocide.

Yet China has been awarded the Olympics once again, in winter 2022.

In a Feb. 22 vote that the entire Liberal cabinet abstained from, the MPs voted 22929 to urge the IOC to move the 2020 Games out of China.

The federal government has refused to make a decision on whether Canadian athletes should participate in the 2022 Games, leaving it up to the Canadian Olympic Committee, which has said it plans on sending athletes to China.

Canada is also still allowing Chinese athletes to train on Canadian soil for the 2022 Games. Former Canadian ambassador to China Guy Saint-Jacques has called for their expulsion over Chinas retaliatory measures following Mengs arrest.

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

Conservative MP Candice Bergen said in the House of Commons on March 22 that while Kovrig and Spavor are appearing in [Chinas] kangaroo court, the Liberal government just sent some US$40 million to Chinas Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

Chinese leader Xi Jinping applauds after unveiling a sculpture during the opening ceremony of the AIIB in Beijing on Jan. 16, 2016. (Mark Schiefelbein, Pool/AP Photo)

Ottawa became a member of the AIIB in 2017 and committed to a US$200 million contribution over five years. The Beijing-led and -controlled international development bank was founded in 2016 to rival the Asia Development Bank and the World Bank.

The Conservative Party has asked for Canadas withdrawal of its investment given Beijings hostilities against Canada.

Huawei

Canada is the outlier in the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, whose other countries have either banned Huawei from their 5G networks or made plans to phase it out (as in the case of the UK).

A Huawei sign at an exhibition in Las Vegas on Jan. 12, 2018. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

The Chinese telecom giant, despite being a private company, has close ties to the Chinese regime, and Mengs arrest is the reason Beijing has risked international condemnation to detain Kovrig and Spavor on whats widely seen as baseless charges.

Chinas National Intelligence Law requires all Chinese companies and citizens to assist and co-operate with the regimes intelligence institutions.

The Conservative Party and many China observers in Canada have said that Canada needs to ban Huawei from the countrys 5G networks.

However, in February, The Globe and Mail reported that the federal government is partnering with Huawei to fund research studies at Canadian universities despite security concerns.

Import Bans

After Washington imposed tariffs on Canadian aluminum in 2020, Ottawa reciprocated with its own plan to hit back on U.S. aluminum products.

A farmer holds canola seeds on his farm near Cremona, AB, on March 22, 2019. (The Canadian Press/Jeff McIntosh)

Shortly after Mengs arrest, China banned a number of Canadian imports, including canola and other agricultural products, but Ottawa didnt retaliate.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe has called on Ottawa to impose reciprocal trade tactics in response, but so far China hasnt paid any price for its import bans against Canada.

Virus Outbreak

Canada was the odd one out among its close allies when it continued to allow flights from China during the early days of the pandemic in 2020, a move that was praised by Beijing.

A health worker tests a paramilitary police officer for COVID-19 in Shenzhen, China, on Feb. 11, 2020. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

The regime has strongly lashed out at countries, notably the United States and Australia, that blame it for its lack of transparency in handling the initial virus outbreak which became a global pandemic.

China has slapped heavy tariffs on Australian imports over Canberras actions to curb Beijings influence operations in the country as well as the Aussie stance demanding accountability for and transparency concerning the virus outbreak.

In contrast, Canadas Health Minister Patty Hajdu praised Chinas initial response to the outbreak and dismissed as a conspiracy theory a reporters question on whether China might be underreporting its infection rates.

Canada sent 16 tonnes of personal protective equipment (PPE) to China in the early days of the pandemic while news emerged later that China was hoarding global supplies of PPE. Shortly thereafter, Canadian health professionals struggled with PPE shortages.

At the time, Beijing praised Canadas PPE shipment. Our heartfelt thanks go to Canada for its support and assistance in Chinas fight against the epidemic, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said at the time.

Despite Canadas approach, however, the plight of Kovrig and Spavor hasnt taken a turn for the better. Meanwhile, China found a friendly voice from Canada in its handling of the pandemic.

Human Rights and Sanctions

Canada joined its allies on March 22 in following the footsteps of the European Union to slap sanctions on four officials and one entity in China for gross and systematic human rights violations against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

Pro-democracy signs seen near Victoria Park in Hong Kong on June 4, 2020. (Isaac Lawrence/AFP via Getty Images)

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that the sanctions are unrelated to the detention of Kovrig and Spavor.

Canada enacted the Magnitsky law in 2017 and soon after used it to sanction officials in Russia, South Sudan, and Venezuela, among other countries, for gross human rights violations, but not China. A group of Canadian senators has urged Trudeau to use the law to take a stand against China for its detention of Kovrig and Spavor along with its clampdown on democratic rights in Hong Kong and other rights abuses.

The United States, meanwhile, has imposed Magnitsky as well as other sanctions against China related to its abuses of the Uyghurs, Falun Gong practitioners, Tibetans, and the people of Hong Kong.

Both the Trump and Biden administrations have recognized Beijings campaign against the Uyghurs as genocide. Canadian MPs voted 2660 on Feb. 22 on a Conservative Party motion to recognize the persecution as genocide, but Trudeau and his cabinet abstained from voting on the motion.

Canada also has yet to enact legislation against international organ trafficking to allow it take measures against Chinas state-sanctioned organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience. Proposed legislation introduced in prior parliaments as private members bills did receive strong support from parliamentarians, but each time the session was dissolved ahead of an election before the bill could complete the process to become law.

Several countries, among them Taiwan, Spain, Norway, and Israel, have enacted legislation on this issue.

Military Engagement

At the height of the Ukraine crisis in 2014, Canada suspended nearly all military relations with Russia and expelled nine Russian soldiers who were training in Canada.

Chinese soldiers take part in a winter training session in Heihe, northeast China, on Jan. 28, 2015. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Internal government documents, however, showed that in the case of China, Global Affairs pushed for the Department of National Defence (DND) to maintain military engagement with the regime after Beijing had just detained Kovrig and Spavor in December 2018. The documents showed that DND cancelled Canadas joint winter training with China after U.S. pressure over security concerns.

A report by Glacier Media in January 2021 said that the Justice Institute of B.C. has accepted nearly 2,000 Chinese law enforcement professionals to train in the province since 2013, something critics say raises security concerns.

Visa Centres and Airport Security

Opposition MPs have raised concerns that a company managing Canadian visa applications in Beijing uses a subcontractor reportedly owned by a Chinese police agency.

Police officers stand guard outside the Canadian embassy in Beijing on Jan. 27, 2019. (Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images)

The federal government has so far stood by the arrangement.

Amid criticism last year, the Liberal government announced that it had dropped a Chinese state-owned company as a supplier of X-ray security equipment to Canadian embassies and consulates around the world.

Influence Operations

The parliamentary watchdog overseeing national security and intelligence said in its 2018 report that Beijing uses its United Front Work Department to influence the Chinese community in Canada as well as Canadian politicians to adopt pro-China positions.

Peoples Liberation Army soldiers participate in a ceremony in this file photo. (Chandan Khanna/AFP/Getty Images)

Many organizations in Canadas Chinese community continue to promote positions in line with Beijings interests, including condemning Hong Kong pro-democracy protests and the declaration of the persecution of Uyghurs as genocide.

Canada has not enacted legislation that targets foreign interference, such as requiring registration by those acting on behalf of foreign entities, as have the United States and Australia.

Pension Funds

Major Canadian pension funds, as well as university endowment funds, have invested heavily in China.

Canada Pension Plan information on the Service Canada website in a file photo. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick)

The Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) reported nearly $15 billion in holdings in Chinese currency in its 2020 annual report.

The fund also includes investments in Chinese companies that make video surveillance equipment used in Beijings campaigns against Uyghurs.

So far, the CPPIB has shown no sign of slowing or halting its investments in China.

Editors note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated the number of MP votes urging the International Olympic Committee to move the 2020 Games out of China. The vote was in fact 22929. The Epoch Times regrets the error.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
An Aboriginal man is suing Victoria Police claiming he was tackled by officers and sworn at with a racial slur on his way to work in Melbourne.

Korey Penny alleges police called him a 'black c***' after tackling him off his bicycle as he rode to his job on the Metro Tunnel project in September 2020.

In a writ filed in Victoria's Supreme Court, the 32-year-old says he was falsely imprisoned on St Kilda Road in breach of his human rights.

An Aboriginal man is suing Victoria Police over claims he was tackled by officers and sworn at with a racial slur. Stock image pictured of Victorian Police officers

One officer is alleged to have put his knees on Mr Penny's legs, grasped his clothing and shook him, causing his head to strike the ground repeatedly.

Mr Penny also claims police grabbed his arms, pushed him against a wall, and went through his bag and pockets.

The officers are accused of abusing their power, acting unlawfully and humiliating the man in a 'contumelious disregard' for his rights, according to the claim filed by Robinson Gill Lawyers.

It says the man left the scene in an ambulance suffering an elbow injury including numbness to his right hand and fingers.

The 32-year-old says he was falsely imprisoned on St Kilda Road (pictured) in breach of his human rights

Mr Penny is seeking damages for the officers' 'reprehensible' conduct, including for psychiatric injury, medical expenses and loss of earning capacity.

He is also seeking a declaration the police involved acted unlawfully in breach of Victoria's Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia the force was unable to comment as the matter was before the courts.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on March 24, 2021. (Virginia Mayo/Pool AP/AFP via Getty Images)

US Secretary of State Calls on China to Release Kovrig, Spavor

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has joined in the call for the release of the two Canadians who have been arbitrarily detained in China since 2018.

We join our partners in calling on Beijing to immediately release the two arbitrarily detained Canadians, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, Blinken wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.

Human beings are not bargaining chips, Blinken said, echoing the words of the U.S. President Joe Biden on the issue earlier last month.

We join our partners in calling on Beijing to immediately release the two arbitrarily detained Canadians, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig. Human beings are not bargaining chips. https://t.co/e5WszeKKuS  Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) March 23, 2021

Spavor and Kovrig, commonly referred to as the Two Michaels, were taken into custody in December 2018. While Chinese officials said the two men were charged with stealing state secrets, their detention has been widely interpreted as a hostile retaliation for Canadas arrest of Huaweis senior executive Meng Wanzhou nine days earlier.

Meng was arrested in a Vancouver airport on the basis of a U.S. extradition warrant while she was en route from China to Mexico in December 2018. Meng and her company have been accused of fraud and conspiracy when allegedly lying to multiple financial institutions in an effort to evade American sanctions against Iran.

Meng was released on bail shortly after her arrest in 2018. She is currently under house arrest in one of her two mansions in Vancouver, and has been fighting her extradition since.

Chief Financial Officer of Huawei, Meng Wanzhou leaves her home to go to B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver, Canada, on March 24, 2021. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press)

On Monday, Kovrig was put on trial in Beijings No. 2 Intermediate Court, three days after a separate trial for Spavor was held on March 19.

Jim Nickel, the deputy chief of mission of the Canadian Embassy in Beijing, said Chinas barring foreign consular and officials from attending the closed-door hearing was a violation of Canada-China bilateral treaty obligations.

Nickel also said representatives from 26 countries were sent to show their support outside of the court, including the United States, the UK, Australia, and many European nations.

On Monday, the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Marc Garneau issued a statement condemning Chinas arbitrary detention of the two Micheals, and thanking the allied for their support.

The eyes of the world are on these cases and proceedings and I want to thank our international partners for their continued support and solidarity, Garneau said.
THE president of Cork Business Association (CBA) has said the planned expansion of the Penneys store on St Patricks St marks a huge vote of confidence for Cork City centre as well as retail in the city.

The retail juggernaut has confirmed its intention to redevelop and expand its flagship store in Cork.

We have embarked on the planning process to redevelop our Patrick St store, said a Penneys spokesperson.

If our application is successful, we will increase the retail space by 17,000 sq ft to 54,000 sq ft, which will bring an enhanced shopping experience to our customers.

We will plan a phased building schedule to allow the store to remain open during construction.

The whole of Cork city when the new Penneys opens. pic.twitter.com/Q5ofJIAIr8  Niecy O'Keeffe (@NiecyOKeeffe) March 24, 2021

We have partnered with the OFlynn Group to support on the planning and development process.

CBA president Eoin OSullivan said the planned expansion would be a great development for Cork.

Penneys is one of the biggest retailers in the city centre, youd even see it after the last lockdown with the queues down the street, so its a very popular retailer which is doubling in size.

Its great for the city centre and hopefully more to come, he said.

Independent councillor and former lord mayor Mick Finn also welcomed the news.

This is a timely boost for Cork City and is a vote of confidence in the future of the city centre as a retail destination, particularly as high street retail is under such constant threat from online shopping and, of course, the current Covid-19 restrictions, he said.

Penneys has been a loyal company to Cork and employs a large local workforce.

We must do more to encourage that loyalty and try to avoid incentivising overseas companies to set up shop only to see them depart on a whim, leaving staff out in the cold.

Kudos to the Penneys group, and we look forward to the unveiling of their new Irish flagship store, he said.

It is understood that, if granted planning permission, the new development will expand Penneys presence along St Patricks St and will include retail spread over three floors.

The Penney's Store on St. Patrick's Street, Cork. Picture Dan Linehan

Speaking to The Echo, Richard Jacob of Idaho cafe on Caroline St welcomed the proposed expansion of Penneys.

This is great news for the city. The fact that development will start and the store will remain open is such a bonus, he said.

Hopefully, this vote of confidence will be an impetus to the sale of the Debenhams lease.

A great day and the good news this city needs.

The news regarding the proposed expansion follows the commencement of a new city centre strategy, commissioned by Cork City Council, which will provide the framework for how the city centre will grow and develop in the coming years.
Executive members of Kombo East District Youth Committee (KEDYC) of the West Coast Region (WCR) last Saturday convened a youth empowerment conference at a ceremony held at Jiboro.

The forum attracted stakeholders across the district and was aimed at helping the district youth better understand the opportunities available for them.

In addition, the forum also brought to the fore the leadership role youth must adopt to ensure their development.

Welcoming the gathering, Aboulie Njie, chairperson for Kombo East Youth Committee described the forum as very important for the district youth as a whole.

He noted that the subject matter of the conference: Peace building, youth in migration; youth employment and women in community development are all relevant for youth folk.

"This youth talk show is very important. The leadership and advocacy is something very important. We are facing leadership crisis in our country and young people we are seeing ourselves as future leaders. Therefore, it is very important that we start everything from the grassroots level." he said.

Creating an enabling environment for the young people, he observed, would help in eliminating the unfortunate situation in the society.

"We want to see our young people empowered and we want to see them in a new direction." Njie said.

Ebrima Ceesay, secretary general for both KEDYC and Jiboro Youth Development Association (JYDA), highlighted that the forum would help the youth in the district immensely especially in making informed-decisions.

He thus urged the participants to make best use of the forum.

Dembo Kuyateh, chairman for Kombo East Youth and Children Development Alliance (KEYCDA) said the forum would help youth leaders to learn from one another and develop best practices.

Kuyateh, who presented the topic: 'drug abuse', revealed that statistics have shown that 98.5% of the population whose drugs were seized, are young people between 18-35 years old.

He therefore called on youth leaders in the area to engage their fellow youth to ensure they avoid drug abuse.
Heres what foreign brands have to say about Xinjiang View Photo

HONG KONG (AP)  Nike. The Gap. Uniqlo. Major clothing and footwear brands are under attack in China after Europe, the U.S. and other countries sanctioned Chinese officials this week over alleged human rights abuses.

The companies, under pressure from activists, have tried to distance themselves from reports of forced labor in Chinas Xinjiang region. Such statements have drawn attacks from state media and others.

H&M was targeted first. The Communist Party Youth League called attention to a March 2020 statement by H&M that it would stop buying cotton from Xinjiang. Celebrities have cut their ties with H&M and Nike, and state media has called for a boycott of the Swedish clothing chain.

Heres what some major brands have said about the Xinjiang situation:

H&M

We strictly prohibit any type of forced labor in our supply chain, regardless of the country or region, H&M said in an undated statement posted on its website. The retailer said it does not work with any garment manufacturing factories in Xinjiang, nor did it source any products from the region. It also said it conducted an inquiry at its factories to make sure they were not using any forced labor from Xinjiang.

NIKE

The sportswear brand says on its website that it was concerned about reports of forced labor connected to Xinjiang. Nike said it did not source products from the region and confirmed with its suppliers that textiles or spun yarn used were not from the region.

GAP

American apparel brand Gap Inc. confirmed in a statement on its website that it does not source any garments from Xinjiang. At Gap Inc., we have strict policies against the use of involuntary labor of any kind in our supply chain, it said. The company also said it has taken steps to better understand how its global supply chain may be indirectly impacted since a significant amount of the worlds cotton comes from Xinjiang, as part of its commitment to respecting human rights.

UNIQLO

Uniqlos parent company, Fast Retailing Group, said in an earlier statement on its website that it has a zero-tolerance policy for any human rights violation and strictly prohibits all forms of forced labor. The Japanese company added: We are aware of reports raising serious concerns on the situation for Uighurs in Xinjiang, China. No UNIQLO product is manufactured in the Xinjiang region. The company also said that no Uniqlo production partners subcontract to fabric mills or spinning mills in the region.

ADIDAS

The sportswear brand said in 2019 that it has never manufactured goods in Xinjiang and has no contractual relationship with any Xinjiang supplier. However, Adidas confirmed in a separate statement that year that Xinjiang features in its global supply chain, as the company is supplied cotton from that region via a sustainability program called the Better Cotton Initiative. Adidas said it found no cases of forced labor on farms participating in that initiative.

ZARA

Zaras parent company Inditex said in an earlier statement that it has a zero-tolerance approach towards forced labor of any kind. The Spanish company also confirmed that it has no commercial relations with any factory in Xinjiang. As of Thursday, that statement was no longer accessible on its site.

NEW BALANCE

New Balance previously said on its Canadian website that it did not have any manufacturers of finished products or key material suppliers in Xinjiang. As of Thursday, that statement was no longer accessible. In a separate 2019 Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery statement, New Balance said that it would work on mapping its supply chain further upstream to identify potential risks regarding forced labor.

___

Associated Press researcher Chen Si in Shanghai contributed to this report.

By ZEN SOO

AP Business Writer
Shares of Craftsman Automation made a weak debut at the bourses on Thursday, listing at Rs 1,350, a 9 per cent discount over its issue price of Rs 1,490 per share on the BSE. The stock opened at Rs 1,359 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

However, post listing, the stock rose up to 1,433 on the BSE and NSE, the exchange data shows. At 10:10 am, it was trading at Rs 1,416, down 5 per cent against its issue price on the BSE.

The initial public offer (IPO) of Craftsman Automation had received decent response from the investors. The issue was subscribed 3.8 times led by qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) who bid for 5.21 times the shares on offer, according to exchange data. The non-institutional investors portion subscribed by 2.84 times and of retail investors by 3.44 times, the data shows.

Craftsman Automation is a diversified engineering company involved in manufacturing key components for automobile and industrial sectors. It owns and operates 12 plants pan India, strategically located close to its customers. The company is the largest player involved in the machining of cylinder blocks and cylinder heads in the intermediate, medium and heavy commercial vehicles (M&HCV) segment as well as in the construction equipment industry in India.

The company counts all major auto OEMs and key players in the industrial segment as its key clients. In the automotive segment, its key clients include; Daimler India, Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, M&M, TAFE, Escorts, John Deere, JCB India, TVS Motors, Royal Enfield, among others. Its clientele in industrial & engineering segments includes Siemens and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Top 10 customers constituted 53 per cent, 59 per cent of its sales in FY20, 9MFY21, respectively.

M&HCVs and tractors comprise over 70 per cent in the overall revenue pie of the company. Besides, both the segments together contribute around 51 per cent of the total share of domestic automotive powertrain industry. Further, auto aluminium and storage solution divisions contribute 21 per cent and 6 per cent of the total revenue, respectively.

Given robust growth opportunities, we believe these business divisions are at a nascent stage in India as compared to global industries and the company can harness the opportunities in both segments, said analysts at Prabhudas Lilladher in IPO note.

The company proposed to utilise the net proceeds of the issue for repayment or pre-payment of certain borrowings availed of by the company and for general corporate purposes. In addition, the company expected to receive the benefits of listing the equity shares on the stock exchanges.
The foodservice that holds the master franchise for Dominos Pizza in India and other Asian countries, Jubilant FoodWorks on March 24 announced that it has inked an exclusive master franchise and development agreement to operate and establish Popeyes restaurants in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. Popeyes is an American multinational chain of fast-food restaurants that was founded in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1972. The quick-service restaurant is famous for offering a New Orleans-style menu known for iconic fried chicken and sandwiches. In over 25 countries, Popeyes has more than 3,400 restaurants and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.

In a press release on Wednesday, Jubilant FoodWorks said, Jubilant Foodworks Limited (JFL), the largest foodservice company in India, announced today that it has entered into an exclusive Master Franchise and Development Agreement with PLK APAC Pte. Ltd., a subsidiary of Restaurant Brands International Inc. (RBI), to develop, establish, own and operate hundreds of Popeyes restaurants in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan in the coming years.

It was Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen that introduced fried chicken sandwich in 2019 and according to a Forbes report, it became a fast-food phenomenon. Reportedly, the sandwich hit the restaurant world like an asteroid even when it returned to the menu. The Takeout even called it the biggest food news story of 2019 and maybe our lifetime.The same dish gives Popeyes an earning of an estimated $65 million in marketing power, as per reports. The fast food restaurant chain is known for frying chicken just perfectly.

Excited to introduce Louisiana-style chicken

In a statement, David Shear, President International at RBI said, Were excited to introduce our iconic Louisiana-style chicken to a new population in the world that already celebrates and loves bold and delicious flavours. At Popeyes, we believe that the best food takes time, we marinate our chicken for 12 hours in bold Louisiana seasonings, then hand batter and slowly cook it to make it the juiciest and crispiest chicken that I think our guests will ever have.

However, Jubilant FoodWorks latest move is expected to further intensify competition in the already aggressive quick service restaurant market in India where Popeyes will hit on with Burger King, KFC and McDonalds who are known to have developed a loyal customer base in the country. Since Popeyes acquisition by RBI, the chain has expanded to several nations including Spain, Switzerland, China, Brazil, Sri Lanka and the Philippines over the past few years. This year, Popeyes will also open in the UK and Mexico.

Image credits: Shutterstock
A scientist uses a microscope to look at cells containing the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in a file photo taken at the Stabilitech laboratory in Burgess Hill south east England on May 15, 2020. (Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images)

UK Organization to Audit COVID-19 Deaths for Any Misattribution

The COVID-19 Assembly, an organization in the United Kingdom, recently announced that it is gathering a team of experts to investigate all of the COVID-19 deaths in the country to ascertain if any may have been wrongly attributed.

With over 126,000 deaths in the United Kingdom and over a year into the pandemic, there is still confusion over whether people died of the disease or with the disease. Those concerned with COVID-19 deaths being unduly inflated argue there needs to be a differentiation between the two in determining the actual fatality rate of the CCP virus.

The CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, also known as the novel coronavirus, causes the disease COVID-19.

The COVID-19 Assembly says there is increasing speculation that the official number of Covid deaths may be incorrect as a result of how these deaths are defined and with the removal of existing procedures to registering deaths.

The UK government made changes to how deaths are certified and who may complete and sign a death certificate during the pandemic in passing the Coronavirus Act 2020 in March of last year.

Prior to the pandemic, in England and Wales, a death that was due to a notifiable disease such as COVID-19 required an inquest to be held before officially registering it.

A notifiable disease is any infectious disease that must be reported to a health authority or the government.

After the act became law, an inquest by a coroner was no longer required when it was suspected that a death was caused by COVID-19.

The Bill will modify the current legislation to disapply the requirement that coroners must conduct any inquest with a jury where they have reason to suspect the death caused by COVID-19, the explanatory notes (pdf) related to the act explained.

@ClareCraigPath announces the Covid Death Audit which will investigate EVERY official UK Covid death. https://t.co/ZjKAltBYBj pic.twitter.com/aeYhOycFGa  Covid19 Assembly (@C19Assembly) March 23, 2021

In addition, the act allows a doctor who has never seen the deceased to certify the cause of death on the death certificate.

If it is impractical for the doctor, or if they are unable to do so another doctor can state the cause of death to the best of their knowledge and belief and this certificate can be delivered to the Registrar to enable the death to be registered. Paragraph 4 also allows a doctor to sign the MCCD [medical certificate of cause of death] of a deceased person who was not attended personally during their last illness by a doctor, if the doctor can state cause of death to the best of their knowledge and belief.

The COVID-19 Assembly says deaths used to be registered only after an attending physician submitted a completed death certificate to the local medical examiner who would scrutinize it and discuss the death with a family representative for any concerns. And if none, the examiner and the representative would sign the death certificate and the death would be officially registered.

The COVID-19 Assembly was founded in September 2020 and the COVID Deaths Audit will be overseen by pathologist Dr. Clare Craig and will involve a team of experienced researchers, health professionals, statisticians, data analysts and legal experts.

A member of the public is swabbed at a drive-through CCP virus testing site in Wolverhampton, England on March 12, 2020. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Definition of COVID-19 Death

The Public Health Englanda government agency responsible for promoting healthy living and protecting the public from disease and other environmental health hazardsdefined a COVID-19 death as:

1) A death in a person with a laboratory-confirmed positive COVID-19 and either:

died within (equal to or less than) 60 days of the first specimen date

or

died more than 60 days after the first specimen date, only if COVID-19 is mentioned on the death certificate

2) A death in a person with a laboratory-confirmed positive COVID-19 test and died within (equal to or less than) 28 days of the first positive specimen date.

While the Office of National Statistics tasked with collecting and publishing statistics on COVID-19 deaths in England includes all deaths where COVID-19 is recorded on the death certificate, regardless of whether a laboratory result is available or not.

Public Health England came under fire last summer after it made changes to how it counted fatalities, as concerns that its initial method was overstating them. The health agency changed a COVID-19 death from all deaths after a positive test to deaths within 28 days after a positive test.

Before the change was made, anyone who tested positive to COVID-19, recovered, and later died of a different illness would still be counted as a COVID-19 death. This lead to claims that Englands COVID-19 deaths may have included individuals who had died of other causes and prompted Health Minister Matt Hancock to order a review into how England reported CCP virus deaths in July 2020, according to Reuters.

Then in August, Hancock announced that the government health agency would be scrapped and replaced by a new body called the National Institute for Health Protection by merging the Public Health England with the National Health Service Test and Trace.

Concerns with CDC Guidance on Completing Death Certificates

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) headquarter is seen in Atlanta, Georgia on April 23, 2020. (Tami Chappell/Getty Images)

Early in the pandemic, a Minnesota doctor who is also a state Senator raised concerns that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC) guideline on completing COVID-19 death certificates may influence medical certifiers to attribute many deaths to the disease and thus inflate the number of deaths.

But some health experts say that COVID-19 deaths are likely under-reported as there were not enough tests to confirm deaths that occurred outside the hospital setting early in the pandemic.

A presumed COVID-19 death could be counted as part of the death toll without confirmation with a laboratory test.

In cases where a definite diagnosis of COVID-19 cannot be made, but it is suspected or likely (e.g., the circumstances are compelling within a reasonable degree of certainty), it is acceptable to report COVID-19 on a death certificate as probable or presumed, according to the guidance (pdf).

The same doctor alleged that the COVID-19 deaths in the midwest state may have been inflated by 40 percent after he and his colleague at the state Senate reviewed 2,800 death certificates. They called for an audit of all COVID-19 death certificates in December 2020.

Officials at the Minnesota Department of Health said they are following the CDCs guideline on how we are doing our death reporting from COVID-19 and said the allegation that car crash victims being counted as a COVID-19 death is false, FOX9 News reported.

In the United States, the attending physician is responsible for reporting the cause of death on the death certificate. However, if an inquiry is required by a State Post-Mortem Examinations Act, the medical examiner or coroner will make that determination, as stated in the Physicians Handbook on Medical Certification of Death (pdf).

How medical examiners should respond to COVID-19, the National Association of Medical Examiners said it would not offer set guidance since the United States has no uniform death investigation system but instead have varieties of systems that are governed by varying state laws.

The association also said that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) now recommends that COVID-19 deaths not be autopsied.

OSHA didnt respond to a request from The Epoch Times for clarification on its recommendation.

Autopsies will be performed when needed for legal purposes or when the cause of death cannot be determined by testing for COVID-19 alone, the association said.

As of publishing time, the United States had over 545,000 deaths and more than 30 million COVID-19 cases. The CDC reports both probable and confirmed deaths and cases.
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.
Despite not having political commonality, Senator Bernie Sanders and former President Donald Trump seemed to have found common ground on the issue of Trump's ban from Twitter.

Bernie Sanders expressed not being comfortable with banning a president from a social media platform. Trump, a prolific Twitter user, was permanently banned from Twitter after the January 6 Capitol riot.

The said move did not only displease Trump but also put his fellow Republicans in rage as they were annoyed by the banning. Republicans even accused the social media platform of bias due to the political censorship that they have done.

According to Fox News, Bernie Sanders told a New York Times columnist that he did not feel particularly comfortable about the idea of banning a sitting president on Twitter.

The Senator, an outspoken Trump critic, noted that a president should not be barred from expressing his views on a social media platform.

"Look, you have former president... who was a racist, a sexist, a xenophobe, a pathological liar, an authoritarian... This is a bad news guy," Sanders said.

But he added: "If you're asking me do I feel particularly comfortable that the then president of the United States could not express his views on Twitter? I don't feel comfortable about that."

Bernie Sanders also emphasized that social media platforms should not be used for authoritarian purposes and insurrection.

RELATED ARTICLE: Trump to Use His Own Social Media Platform in Coming Months

As Donald Trump seeks for his possible social media return, the biggest challenge for him is his audience. His ban on social media platforms did not only happen on Twitter but also on Facebook, wherein he had tens of millions of followers.

Bernie Sanders was not happy about the situation as he pointed out that he was not comfortable with giving much power to a "handful of high tech people" who could make their own distinctions between free speech and dangerous rhetoric.

The Senator said the issue was not only about Donald Trump. He noted that tomorrow might be a different story, and somebody with a very different point of view might be banned.

Donald Trump to Launch His Own Social Media Platform

The said comments from Bernie Sanders came after Jason Miller, a senior adviser to Trump, said the former president would return on social media by launching his own platform.

Trump's senior adviser noted that the former president is having meetings with various teams regarding his possible venture. He said several companies that are interested in the partnership have already approached them.

Jennifer Grygiel, a professor at Syracuse University who studies social media and its influence, said that Trump currently has a problem with not being present on social media since he currently does not have many individuals who are paying attention to him.

Grygiel noted the new social media platform would be a perfect attention-getter, NPR reported.

READ MORE: Trump Believes Biden's Mental State Is Deteriorating, Says Harris May Replace Him

WATCH: Sanders Not 'Comfortable' With Trump's Twitter Ban - From Sky News Australia
Labor leaders and liberal Democrats have seized on the union drive, saying it shows how Amazon is not as friendly to workers as the company says it is. Some of the companys critics are also using its resistance to the union push to argue that Amazon should not be trusted on other issues, like climate change and the federal minimum wage.

Amazon has always fought against unionizing by its workers. But the vote in Alabama comes at a perilous moment for the company. Lawmakers and regulators  not competitors  are some of its greatest threats, and it has spent significant time and money trying to keep the government away from its business.

Amazons business practices are the subject of antitrust investigations at the Federal Trade Commission and in multiple state attorney general offices. Mr. Biden on Monday nominated Lina Khan, a legal scholar who came to prominence with her critique of the company, for a seat on the F.T.C.

I think everyone is seeing through the P.R. at this point and focusing on both their economic and political power, Sarah Miller, a critic of Amazon, said about the company. Ms. Miller, who runs the American Economic Liberties Project, an antitrust think tank, added, I think the narrative is cooked now on their status as a monopoly, their status as an abusive employer and their status as one of the biggest spenders on lobbying in Washington, D.C.

Drew Herdener, Amazons vice president for worldwide communications, said in a statement that the company shared common ground with the Biden administration on climate change, immigration reform, the minimum wage and pandemic policy, and was seeing really positive collaboration on those fronts with the White House.
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.
Chef Will Made It Provides His Services to Athletes, Celebs, and Actors Throughout Southern California

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / March 24, 2021 / Chef William Winton, who goes by the name Chef Will Made It, is pleased to announce the upcoming launch of his cookbook, Volume 1 on Amazon and Google.

Chef Will Made It specializes in making delicious home-cooked meals. After becoming a smashing success on social media, Chef Will Made It, is all set to step into the world of books, as he has announced the upcoming launch of Volume 1 of his cookbook series. Chef Will Made It stated that the cookbook is a part of a four-book series, in which he will be sharing his favorite healthy recipes with people who love to cook.

In his fifteen years of culinary experience, Chef Will Made It has touched the hearts and souls of thousands of diners. In addition to the impeccable high-volume fine dining experience, he provides private chef services to celebrity families, athletes, and actors throughout Southern California as well as around the globe.

Chef Will Made It is highly active on social media, especially on Instagram, and has over 65,000 followers. He always allures his followers by sharing mouth-watering pictures of his culinary creations. To enhance the interaction with his fans, he also offers free access to his seasonal and holiday recipes on all his social media accounts.

Whether you want to try international delicacies or enjoy a simple healthy meal, Chef Will Made It has got you covered. He has constantly been working to create alluring recipes that make people happy and alleviate the negative mood.

Meal delivery companies have seen sales boom tremendously during the coronavirus pandemic. On the contrary, the health-conscious consumers who desire fresh, home-cooked, healthy meals, have either hired private chefs or took cooking into their own hands.

Thousands of fans expressed their concerns to Chef Will Made It regarding their need for more recipes to help with adding a variety to their home-cooked meals during the pandemic. To resolve this problem, Chef Will Made It has curated his cookbooks to help his viewers learn how to prepare fine cuisines, healthy dinners, and creative vegetarian meals using the culinary techniques of any beginner or expert chef.

Chef Will Made It's first cookbook is focused on Asian cuisine, as hinted on a recent Instagram post. All the cookbooks are designed for those who want to eat freshly cooked healthy meals and are tired of buying expensive meals with low nutritional value, and for people who want to cook at home but can't find healthy recipes. The upcoming cookbooks will arrive in a print edition, and be available on Amazon and Google publishing networks for digital purchase.

To learn more about Chef Will Made It, please visit https://chefwillmadeit.com.

About Chef Will Made It:

Chef Will Made It is a friendly, enthusiastic chef who uses cooking to express himself. He takes great pleasure in the happiness of diners who eat the meals created by him. He specializes in multicultural cuisines like Italian, Mediterranean, Creole, and French. Today, Chef Will is a highly-reputed figure in the culinary world, with over 20,000,000 views on YouTube, 65,000 followers on Instagram, and three cookbooks in production. He recently took to Instagram and announced the launch of his cookbook series, starting with Asian cuisine. If you want to learn more about Chef Will Made It, you can visit his website. You can also follow him on social media, including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and YouTube.

Media Contact

Name: Los Angeles Private Chefs

Email: media@chefwillmadeit.com

Phone: (323) 543-7099

SOURCE: Chef Will Made It

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/637338/Chef-Will-Made-It-a-Los-Angeles-Celebrity-Chef-Announces-the-Upcoming-Launch-of-His-Cookbook-Volume-1-on-Amazon-and-Google
Associated Press

The younger generation of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales are on average about three feet (one meter) shorter than whales were 20 years, drone and aircraft data show in a study in Thursdays journal Current Biology. Entanglements with fishing gear, collisions with ships and climate change moving their food supply north are combining to stress and shrink these large whales, the study says. This isnt about short right whales, its about a physical manifestation of a physiological problem, its the chest pain before the heart attack, said Regina Asmutis-Silvia, executive director of Whale and Dolphin Conservation North America, who wasnt part of the study.
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!
Former Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni unveiled the new jersey of his IPL team Chennai Super Kings on Thursday. MS Dhoni, in a video, unboxed the new-look of the jersey featuring camouflage design on the shoulder. The camouflage design is a tribute to the Indian armed forces. This is the first time that the CSK has redesigned their jersey since the first edition in 2008, according to an official statement by the Chennai Super Kings.

Dhoni, who is serving as Lieutenant Colonel in the Indian Territorial Army, will be sporting the new jersey in the upcoming IPL 2021 matches, starting April 9. In a video shared by the franchise, Dhoni urged the CSK fans to start the whistles as he gears up for the new season. "Thala Dharisanam! #WearOnWhistleOn with all new #Yellove!" CSK wrote.



"The new-look jersey features camouflage as a tribute to India's armed forces and three stars atop the much-loved franchise's logo," CSK said in a statement. Earlier, the jersey had red and blue stripes near the shoulders.

"It has been on our mind for some time now to find ways to raise awareness about the significant and selfless role of the armed forces. The camouflage is an appreciation of their service they are the true heroes," CSK CEO KS Viswanathan said.

Apart from the camouflage design, the CSK jersey also has three stars above their logo, highlighting the three titles they have won so far in the IPL. The trademark roaring lion logo has been placed at the left corner of the shirt. The new jersey also features the logo of CSK's new shirt sponsor, Myntra.

The jersey has received a lot of compliments from fans of MS Dhoni, as well as the CSK on social media.

Thala is Back



Lion is back



Gurudev  pic.twitter.com/O38G4TEQVt  Tanmoy Chakraborty (@Tanmoycv01) March 24, 2021

Respect  for Indian army. 

 pic.twitter.com/JEgkmQfoJk  NISIKANTA PRADHAN (@NISIKANTAPRADH6) March 24, 2021

In the IPL 2021, CSK will play its first match on April 10 against Delhi Capitals in Mumbai. IPL 2021 begins on April 9 with defending champions Mumbai Indians taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore in Chennai.

Also read: Serum CEO Adar Poonawalla leases London property for record Rs 50 lakh a week

Also read: Govt tells companies to use software to record audit trail of each transaction
Mumbai, March 25 : After a setback in the Supreme Court, Mumbai's former Commissioner of Police Param Bir Singh on Thursday filed a criminal case in the Bombay High Court, seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the corruption charges he levelled against Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh.

In his plea, Singh, an IPS officer of 1987 batch, has maintained the accusations against the Minister and cited his removal as the Mumbai Police chief by transferring him as the Commandant General of the Home Guards.

Singh had ignited a major political furore last Saturday after he, in a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, alleged that Deshmukh had asked arrested-suspended Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Vaze "to collect" Rs 100 crore per month.

The MVA government and Deshmukh had dismissed Singh's allegations as an attempt to save himself from the ramifications of the SUV Scorpio case and the subsequent death of Thane businessman Mansukh Hiran, and is planning to order a probe against the former city top cop.

On his part, Singh followed it up by filing a plea in the Supreme Court claiming, among other things, he was pressured to probe the role of certain Bharatiya Janata Party leaders and to implicate them in the February 22 suicide case of Dadra & Nagar Haveli MP Mohan Delkar.

The SC refused to entertain his plea and while terming his allegations as of a serious nature, directed him to first approach the Bombay HC.

Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) (NYSE: PM) announced in the 2021 Proxy Statement filed today that its Board of Directors has nominated two new members, Dr. Juan Jose Daboub and Mr. Shlomo Yanai.

Additionally, Mr. Jacek Olczak has been nominated to the Board following the announcement of his appointment as CEO, a role he will assume immediately following the Annual Shareholders Meeting on May 5.

Dr. Juan Jose Daboub

Dr. Daboub is an entrepreneurially minded professional who started his career as an engineer before moving into government. In 1999, he was the youngest senior cabinet member in El Salvador, serving first as Chief of Staff to the president and then as Minister of Finance. Later, as a Managing Director at the World Bank Group, he was credited with having driven several corporate initiatives and reforms, including leading the institutions global agenda on governance and anti-corruption. In the last decade, Dr. Daboub has focused on climate adaptation and energy transition through public and private investment vehicles and not-for-profit organizations, including as Chair of the Council on Climate Change at the World Economic Forum and founding CEO of the Global Adaptation Institute. He is currently President of The Daboub Partnership and of ThinkHUGE USA-Central America Job Creation Council.

Mr. Lucio Noto, PMIs interim Chairman, welcomed the nomination, saying: Juan Jose fully embraces PMIs commitment to delivering a smoke-free future. Juan Joses experience across multiple business sectors, combined with his deep understanding of geopolitics and international institutions, will be a great addition to the PMI board.

Dr. Daboub studied industrial engineering at North Carolina State University in the United States, where he earned a bachelors degree, a masters degree, and a PhD.

Mr. Shlomo Yanai

Mr. Yanai was President and CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries from 2007 to 2012. In that time, he led the companys international expansion and increased annual revenues by nearly USD 10 billion. Prior to that, Mr. Yanai was President and CEO of ADAMA (formerly Makhteshim Agan Industries Ltd.) for three years. His time at those organizations and later as a board member or Chair of several other companies in the pharma space, as well as his current position as Chairman of the Board of Lumenis, a medical devices company, have given Mr. Yanai a solid understanding of the science behind drug discovery, development, and regulation. He also served in the Israeli Defense Forces for more than 30 years, reaching the rank of Major General. In his military career, Mr. Yanai worked extensively with politicians and public sector bodies.

Mr. Noto endorsed the nomination, saying: The combination of Shlomos broad board experience and his knowledge of the pharma industry and its regulatory processes will bring to the Board an extremely relevant set of skills as PMI continues to develop and commercialize scientifically validated smoke-free products and starts deploying its beyond-nicotine strategy.

Mr. Yanai, a graduate of Harvard Business Schools Advanced Management Program (AMP), holds a BA (cum laude) in political science and economics from Tel Aviv University and a masters degree (MPA) in national resources administration from George Washington University. He is also a graduate of the National War College of the U.S. National Defense University.

The nominations announced today follow the appointments of Michel Combes and Bonin Bough to the Board of Directors in December 2020 and February 2021, respectively. Mr. Combes is President of SoftBank Group International and oversees several SoftBank portfolio companies. He was Chief Financial Officer and then CEO and a member of the board of directors of Sprint, CEO of Vodafone Europe, CEO of Alcatel-Lucent, CEO and Chief Operating Officer of Altice, and Chairman and CEO of SFR Group. Prior, he held several positions within French ministries, at France Telecom (including Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer) and TDF (Telediffusion de France). Mr. Bough is the founder and Chief Growth Officer of growth accelerator Bonin Ventures. He has been Chief Growth and Marketing Officer of Sundial Brands (Unilever); Chief Media and E-commerce Officer of Mondelez International; Vice President, Global Media and Consumer Engagement of Kraft Foods Group; and Chief Digital Officer of PepsiCo.

Philip Morris International: Delivering a Smoke-Free Future

Philip Morris International (PMI) is leading a transformation in the tobacco industry to create a smoke-free future and ultimately replace cigarettes with smoke-free products to the benefit of adults who would otherwise continue to smoke, society, the company, and its shareholders. PMI is a leading international tobacco company engaged in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes, as well as smoke-free products, associated electronic devices and accessories, and other nicotine-containing products in markets outside the U.S. In addition, PMI ships versions of its IQOS Platform 1 device and consumables to Altria Group, Inc. for sale under license in the U.S., where these products have received marketing authorizations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) pathway; the FDA has also authorized the marketing of a version of IQOS and its consumables as a modified risk tobacco product (MRTP), finding that an exposure modification order for these products is appropriate to promote the public health. PMI is building a future on a new category of smoke-free products that, while not risk-free, are a much better choice than continuing to smoke. Through multidisciplinary capabilities in product development, state-of-the-art facilities, and scientific substantiation, PMI aims to ensure that its smoke-free products meet adult consumer preferences and rigorous regulatory requirements. PMIs smoke-free product portfolio includes heat-not-burn and nicotine-containing vapor products. As of Dec. 31, 2020, IQOS is available for sale in 64 markets in key cities or nationwide, and PMI estimates that approximately 12.7 million adults around the world have already switched to IQOS and stopped smoking. For more information, please visit www.pmi.com and www.pmiscience.com.

# # #

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005426/en/
American Rescue Plan is sowing signs of hope for economy

Joe Biden on Thursday said the economic outlook is brightening thanks to the recent passage of his $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package, and a majority of economists now expect growth this year to exceed six percent.

"Since we passed the American Rescue Plan, we're starting to see new signs of hope in our economy," Biden said during his first press conference since taking office in January. "Since it was passed, a majority ... of economic forecasters have significantly increased their projections on the economic growth that's going to take place this year. They're now projecting it will exceed 6% growth in GDP."

Indeed, that may understate how quickly the economy may grow this year as covid-19 vaccine rollouts gather pace, allowing greater freedom of movement and activity, and as the stimulus bill boosts consumer spending.

Just last week, Federal Reserve officials signaled they expect growth of 6.5% this year, which if achieved would mark the fastest expansion since the 1980s, and some private forecasters have predicted the economy will grow in excess of 7% this year. That would mark a dramatic upward swing following the 3.5% contraction suffered in 2020, the steepest annual downturn in more than seven decades.

Photo by JIM WATSON / AFP
The Aiken County Public School District is planning a summer program that will last three summers to combat COVID-related learning loss, with data showing failing grades and reading struggles among thousands of students.

Millions of dollars from the school district's federal COVID-19 emergency relief funds will be devoted to programs meant to help students catch up after a turbulent year.

At Tuesday night's meeting, the Aiken County Board of Education approved most of a proposed spending plan that allocates more than $9.8 million for summer academic recovery programs in 2021, 2022 and 2023. So far, 3,352 students have been invited to summer school  and that's just elementary students.

Falling behind

Dr. Kate Olin, director of accountability and assessment for the school district, presented data on academic achievement gaps at Tuesday's school board meeting, showing course failure rates and different skill areas students are struggling with.

The learning loss problem areas are spread across all grade levels, according to the data.

Olin said the numbers reflect what schools have been experiencing nationwide.

"The pandemic has had  I don't want to say crushing, but a significant impact on learning  It's very difficult to teach kids to read online and when they're not in school. We're no different than anyone else, but it's still very troubling, and we want our kids to grow," Olin said.

About two-thirds of kindergarten and first grade students in Aiken County are at "some risk" or "high risk" for reading difficulties, said Olin. The number of kindergarten and first grade students considered "high risk" in reading and math skills increased from fall to winter in 2020.

In the first semester this year, about one in six students were failing sixth grade math. Nearly one in five seventh graders were failing English language arts. Eighth graders have struggled with the Pythagorean Theorem, the laws of exponents and, in ELA, determining the figurative and connotative meanings of words and phrases.

"Then we get to high school," Olin said during her presentation. "You'll see here an exponential jump in course failures. Over a third in ELA and math, and almost a third in science and social studies. I think it's really important that we understand here, too, that it's not necessarily that students just aren't mastering the content. In some cases, this is students not turning in work that has resulted in failure, too."

Over a third of ninth graders were failing math, ELA or both, according to the data. In eleventh grade, 25.4% of students failed math.

High school seniors have had lower numbers of class failures compared to other students in middle and high school. In the first semester of this year, 11.1% of twelfth graders were failing math, and fewer than 10% were failing ELA, science and/or social studies.

Olin noted that students in the all-virtual Aiken Innovate program had more course failures than those who attended face-to-face classes.

"Again, some of the case is some students just aren't turning in work, and some is definitely a lack of mastering the content," Olin said.

Catching up

Preparations for summer school were already underway before the Tuesday night meeting.

In February, the school board approved a raise for summer school teachers from $30/hour to $37/hour in order to attract more teachers to the job. The board also voted in January to allow middle school students to take up to three subjects in the summer, potentially saving students failing all four core subjects from getting held back.

Breakfast and lunch will be free for students in the summer academic recovery programs, using funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Summer school isn't the only program offered to students who need academic help. Chief Officer of Instruction Jeanie Glover said the district recently started after-school and Saturday school programs, which offer tutoring for students. Currently, 1,672 students are being served in those programs.

The approved spending plan for the federal relief funds includes over $9.8 million for summer programs, $1,125,000 for after school and Saturday school programs, $4 million to staff each elementary school with an early interventionist, as well as other allocations.

Board chairman Dr. John Bradley said early intervention is the most important part of the spending plan.

"Kindergarten kids, first- and second-grade kids, we've already seen tonight what trouble we're in there," Bradley said. "And it's not just COVID with them. I mean, every year, we have massive numbers of children who are going into kindergarten who don't even know how to sit still, and we're going to try to teach them to read? Come on."

To view a livestreamed video of the school board meeting, visit acpsd.net.
CHEYENNE  During a monthly weather briefing last week, Cheyenne National Weather Service Meteorologist Jared Allen talked about the welcome moisture last weekends record-breaking snowstorm had on Wyomings drought.

We had quite a weekend, Allen said. A significant winter snow event, with Wyoming on the cold side of the storm getting wet, heavy snow.

This impact of this moisture, he said, helped push fire season back a couple of weeks across the region  it normally starts at the beginning of March, then kicks into high gear between mid-June and mid-September  the first time in Allens recollection that fire season has been pushed back, instead of ahead.

Allen was also concerned about what happens when as much as 52.5 inches of snowfall  the official tally at Windy Peak, north and west of Cheyenne  begins to melt. This could create ice jams on the regions rivers, causing flooding.

Those two indicators alone are quite different from the outlook just a month and a half ago.

Last summer and fall, what meteorologists deem a flash drought hit Wyoming.

It left some 95% of the state abnormally dry  quite a change from 2019, a wet year across Wyoming and the region.

As a result, at the end of January, the U.S drought monitor for Wyoming classified 26% of the state in extreme drought, one step above the exceptional drought classification, the most severe drought measure.

Only 4% of the state had no dry or drought conditions by the end of January. Soil moisture was abysmally low, with 2020 being the fifth-driest year since 1895, Tony Bergantino, acting director of the Water Resources Data System in the Wyoming State Climate Office, told WyoFile.com.

The last time Wyoming saw such a drought was in 2012-13, when drought maps had the southern two-thirds of the state in exceptional drought.

Snowmageddon brought about 2 inches of precipitation to the region. As a result, there was a drastic change in snow/water equivalent amounts across the state, Allen said.

The water budget looks healthy and normal now, he said.

Snow/water equivalents are how hydrologists and water managers measure the amount of life-giving liquid water in snowpack when it melts.

Statewide, prior to the storm, this number stood at about 75% of normal.

As a result of the storm, that number is now 100% or plus in many areas, Allen said. Where the storm hit hardest, between Arlington and Gillette, the numbers range from 115% to 118%.

Brad Pugh of the National Drought Mitigation Center in Lincoln, Nebraska, noted that the storm eliminated precipitation deficits and resulted in precipitation surpluses for the past 90 days for much of the Central Plains.

As a result, a broad one-category improvement was made for drought areas that received an inch or more of precipitation.

Cheyenne, meanwhile, remains at 76% of normal  although Allen pointed out that most of Laramie Countys winter and early spring moisture comes between March and mid-April.

Unfortunately, while this was a shot in the arm and brought the playing field up a bit, it didnt end the drought  far from it, especially in some places, Bergantino said.
Ares took the bait again, or at least the juicy bit. Thus AMP Capital is being sold in a peculiar piecemeal fashion. The company is now working on a proposal to sell 60 per cent of AMP Capitals unlisted markets business to Ares. Loading But even that deal is under a cloud as an interloper, Dexus, is attempting to grab the management rights of one of the big funds inside AMP Capital. De Ferrari could not have anticipated that when he stepped through the door of the AMP tower at Sydneys Circular Quay headquarters in December 2018 that he was entering a management and board graveyard, and certainly not one that he would ultimately occupy.

There had been rumblings over recent months that De Ferrari had been unhappy with the boards attempted garage sale of AMPs businesses. But as recently as two weeks ago the board was asking shareholders to agree to a remuneration package for De Ferrari that involved granting him performance rights with a face value of $2.2 million alongside his $2.2 million base pay and a potential short-term bonus of up to 200 per cent of his base pay. In classic AMP style, speculation of De Ferraris plans to resign were not meaningfully adressed. Instead, the company moved to halt trading of its shares. Confusion reigns. Trans-Tasman banking bubble set to burst Westpac is no Robinson Crusoe among its Australian peers when it comes to frustrations with the creeping capital regulatory imposts from across the Tasman. But it is likely the only bank that has reached the point of seriously investigating cutting loose its New Zealand operations.

Westpacs revelation that it was mulling the idea of what to do with its Kiwi child was viewed as a knee-jerk reaction. It came hot on the heels of an edict from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) that it had to boost its liquid capital and undertake two independent reports on its liquidity risk management and risk governance. To be fair, Westpac had started the ball rolling a few weeks ago on reviewing whether to separate its New Zealand bank and had enlisted Macquarie as an adviser. Westpac has been in New Zealand for 160 years. Credit:Will Willitts Having said that Westpac had already read the tea leaves floating across the Tasman and would have known the prudential regulator, the RBNZ, was gunning for it. But if, as some believe, signalling its intention to get out of New Zealand constituted an attempt to pressure the RBNZ to ease up on what have been labelled as the toughest capital requirements in the world, the regulator seems unlikely to take the bait.

Nor is New Zealands central bank likely to back away from its edict that Australian banks have to have operational autonomy from their Kiwi offshoots - robbing them of capturing trans-Tasman synergies. For a while now Westpac has been embarking on a cleaning up process it calls simplification as it grapples with getting its house in order after the AUSTRAC money laundering scandal. However, retreating from New Zealand is a huge structural move. Such an outcome would effectively shrink the bank given the New Zealand operations contribute about 15 per cent of group earnings. While Westpac confirmed it was looking at a potential demerger of New Zealand, that outcome would be second prize. First prize would be selling the business, but even with the help of its advisers from Macquarie, buyers would be thin on the ground. It is impossible to think that the New Zealand competition regulators would allow another Australian bank to buy it given the New Zealand subsidiaries of Australian banks dominate the market. There isnt a financial services company in New Zealand with the capacity to digest a $10 billion-plus acquisition.

First prize would be selling the business, but even with the help of its advisers from Macquarie, buyers would be thin on the ground. And there would be limited international interest in a domestic New Zealand bank. If any of the other three Australian banks decide to pursue the same course they would come up against the same hurdles. A demerger would initially give all Westpac shareholders a direct stake in Westpac New Zealand, but if history is any guide, over time Australian shareholders would sell down their stake in the NZ bank and be replaced with Kiwi investors. Without a New Zealand operation, Westpac could avoid the countrys more onerous capital requirements and this could provide it with a small advantage in return on capital relative to its Australian peers. Given NZ earnings dont generate franking credits, it may enable Westpac to boost its fully franked dividend payout ratio.
The 46th regular session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), held at the UN office in Geneva, concluded on Wednesday.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh. VNA/VNS Photo

The session consisted of 51 meetings held in both face-to-face and online formats. Apart from high-level meetings, there were a number of dialogues and panel discussions about human rights issues.

During the 46th session, the UNHRC discussed and approved the universal periodic review reports of 14 countries and about 30 resolutions, including one resolution on ensuring equitable, affordable, timely, and universal access for all countries to vaccines in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh led the Vietnamese delegation at the session.

Addressing the high-level segment that began the session on February 22, he highlighted the countrys policies, efforts and achievements in protecting and promoting human rights amid the pandemic, noting that Vietnam has concurrently managed to contain the outbreak, care for peoples health, sustain economic growth, and guarantee social security.

Minh also briefed participants about Vietnams contributions to the worlds concerted efforts in response to the pandemic such as providing face masks and medical supplies for more than 50 countries and international partners. It also proposed the date December 27 be designated as the International Day of Epidemic Preparedness, which won the UN General Assemblys unanimous approval.

Particularly, the Deputy PM and FM also spoke about Vietnams bid to run for a seat in the UNHRC for the 2023  2025 tenure in its capacity as a candidate of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with a wish to make more effective contributions to the worlds common efforts in human rights promotion and protection.

The Vietnamese delegation actively gave opinions at panel discussions and dialogues, in which it underlined the countrys policies, engagement in international cooperation, and achievements in poverty reduction and human rights promotion and protection so as to realise the Sustainable Development Goals.

Speaking at many meetings, Ambassador Le Thi Tuyet Mai, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UN, the World Trade Organisation, and other international organisations in Geneva, emphasised the countrys consistent implementation of and outstanding achievements in ensuring human rights.

She also called on countries and the UNHRC to enhance cooperation and dialogue to practically promote human rights in reality instead of being based on imprecise and unverified information to criticise certain states.

The Vietnamese delegation, along with the delegations of the Philippines and Bangladesh, co-authored a joint speech about climate change and human rights which received support from many countries.

Noting climate change has greatly affected the enjoyment of human rights and eroded peace, security, and development, the speech appealed for more financial and technical assistance for developing countries to cope with climate change.

The delegation of Vietnam also played an active role in drafting documents and co-sponsored some resolutions that the UNHRC adopted at the session, including one on ensuring all countries equitable, affordable, timely, and universal access to COVID-19 vaccines.

Representatives of Vietnam and other ASEAN countries also delivered joint speeches of the bloc at some dialogues and discussions about the COVID-19 pandemics impacts on the enjoyment of human rights, the role of poverty alleviation in promoting and protecting human rights, the rights of persons with disabilities to participate in sport, human rights agencies and mechanisms, and technical cooperation and capacity building.

Vietnams participation in the 46th session demonstrated the countrys sense of responsibility, active cooperation, consistent policy implementation, and achievements, as well as ASEANs viewpoints and common accomplishments in human rights promotion and protection, thereby joining other states to ensure the UNHRCs activities accord with fundamental principles of international law.

VNS
ALBANY  The National Weather Service in Albany issued a wind advisory for the Capital Region beginning noon Friday, with winds expected between 15 and 30 mph, and as high as 50 mph in Schenectady, Fulton and Montgomery counties and points south.

Rain is expected to move in after midnight early Friday, according to the National Weather Service in Albany.

Well see rain persist through the day tomorrow and ending in the evening hours on Friday before 7 p.m., said National Weather Service meteorologist Andrei Evbuoma.

The temperature hit 67 degrees in Albany just after 3:30 p.m. Thursday. The average high is 49 degrees, making temperatures unseasonably warm, Evbuoma said.

Before you head out ... check your inbox Get special updates and plan your weekend around the weather: Sign up for Jason Gough's weather newsletter Click here for a complete list of newsletter offerings

Well see another mild night and another mild day tomorrow, Evbuoma said.

The wind advisory is expected to be in place until midnight Friday, according to the National Weather Service.

A second rain system is forecasted to enter the region on Sunday, and a third on Wednesday or Thursday next week.

Winds are forecast to reach as high as 60 mph in western New York and the Finger Lakes regions starting Friday, where Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo directed state agencies on Thursday to prepare emergency response assets for potential lakeshore flooding along Lake Erie and in the North Country through Saturday.

High winds could potentially cause downed trees and power lines that could lead to widespread power outages, as well as dangerous travel conditions.

Potentially significant lakeshore flooding along Lake Erie is possible due to a rapid rise in water levels through Friday afternoon, according to the governors office. In the North Country, a combination of rainfall, warm temperatures and snowmelt in higher elevations could cause flooding in some locations Friday into late Saturday.
Another member of the Polish community in Belarus has been detained by police amid rising tensions between Warsaw and Minsk.

Reports said Andrzej Poczobut, a journalist and a member of the Association of Poles in Belarus, was detained in Hrodna early on March 25, two days after its leader, Andzelika Borys, was arrested and sentenced to 15 days in jail.

"This morning, Andrzej Poczobut...was detained in Hrodna; a righteous and principled man, who has been fighting for the rights of Poles in Belarus for many years and has been repeatedly repressed by the Lukashenka regime," the head of the prime minister's office, Michal Dworczyk, wrote on Twitter.

He added that Poland will raise the issue of repression against Poles in Belarus through international forums. "We simply cannot agree to what is happening to our compatriots abroad," Dworczyk said.

Warsaw has also called for coordinated action to help the protest movement in Belarus, where protesters have rallied almost daily since a presidential election in August 2020 handed authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka a sixth term amid allegations the vote was fixed.

The news comes a day after Poland accused Belarus of persecuting its Polish minority, calling on its government to stop "taking hostages."

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said he would raise the matter during a videoconference of EU leaders on March 25, adding that he would propose limitations on the movement of goods across the Belarusian-EU border so that the authorities in Minsk would feel the economic consequences of their actions.

Poland, Belarus's neighbor to the west, has criticized Lukashenka, and has provided sanctuary for Belarusian opposition leaders and activists.

With most independent media shut down in Belarus, Poland has become an alternative work site for journalists. The independent Belarusian Belsat news website is based in Poland, as is Stsyapan Putsila, who runs the popular Nexta Telegram channel, which also offers uncensored news.

In a statement on March 25, EU foreign-policy chief Josep Borrell called on Belarus to release Borys and Poczobut "immediately and unconditionally, along with all political prisoners currently detained."

The EU "expects Belarus to uphold its international commitments to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms," he added.

In a worsening diplomatic standoff following tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions this month, the Polish Foreign Ministry said it had summoned the Belarusian charge d'affaires for discussions on March 23 but gave no further details.

Borys was arrested in the city of Hrodna in western Belarus near the border with Poland on March 23 and sentenced to 15 days in jail, Polish media said.

Belarusian media said Borys was being held on charges of violating mass gathering rules, citing the Interior Ministry. The Association of Poles in Belarus said it feared further "repressions" of the diaspora but would continue its work.

The Belarusian Interior Ministry was not available for comment and the government issued no statement on her arrest or on reports of several other Poles in Belarus being detained.

"I want to express my absolute condemnation of Andzelika Borys's arrest...we cannot condone taking hostages in this way. That's what you can call this sort of large-scale action that the Belarusian authorities are taking," Morawiecki said in a televised statement on March 24.

The prosecutor's office in the southwestern Belarusian city of Brest has also opened a criminal case into suspected glorification of war criminals, following a memorial evening in a Polish school in Belarus dedicated to Poles who fought against the Soviet Union.

The unofficial, commemorative event at the heart of the dispute took place on February 28 in Brest in honor of so-called "cursed soldiers," Polish fighters who initially fought against Nazi occupation and later turned against Soviet occupiers.

The soldiers often acted violently against non-Poles, especially Belarusians.

As a result of the incident, three Polish diplomats, including the heads of the consulates in Brest and Hrodna, were expelled, triggering a symmetrical response from Warsaw.

With reporting by dpa
After two months of tenure, the United States President Joe Biden will hold his first formal news conference on March 25 at around 1:15 p.m. E.T., based on Tuesday's statement of White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.

The recent past U.S. presidents back to Bill Clinton each held a solo White House News conference in their first month as a good-faith gesture toward the free press. Later on, each of them picked up different paces in resolving and responding to various issues their administration initially faced.

According to CBS News, at this point in the presidencies of former Presidents Obama and Trump, both have held press conferences which ranged from different issues during their terms. In the case of Biden, he is sure to be bombarded with questions from the current situation at the southern border of the U.S., the possibility of another stimulus check sent out, the status of the vaccine rollout, and even other surprising revelations.

Despite Biden taking shouted questions from reporters during events, some experts stated that it will be a different scenario for the U.S. president. The press conference is an unfamiliar situation for him as he has to answer uncontrolled questions from the media but in a formal and open way.

ALSO READ: Border Patrol Whistleblower Reveals Inhumane Situation in Texas Processing Center

Based on historian Martha Joynt Kumar, the "high-risk, high-reward" presidential news press conference will put Biden in line with his recent predecessors in terms of opening himself up not only to the media but also to the public. But Kumar, the Co-Founder and Director for the White House Transition Project, shared that the Biden administration in the White House is a notably tight ship and should be fully aware of his history of flubs, PBS reported.

Biden, in his early political career, had a reputation for committing gaffes, and the U.S. president and his team had been cautious and ensured messages in the first weeks of his presidency, down to his campaign. But there were instances that the president has strayed, which his team worries might also happen during the news press conference.

Despite efforts of the White House in stepping up its media presence and boosting the administration's efforts about the recently enacted $1.9 trillion stimulus package and the scaling up vaccinations for COVID-19, still, issues overshadowed the initiatives of the administration. Also, it will be challenging for the U.S. president in terms of the question's scope as the country is now in the middle of the pandemic while experiencing problems from its borders to abroad, Marketwatch reported.

Possible Issues

The first issue that Biden might hear is about the response of the Biden administration in the ongoing Border crisis as officials of the U.S. Border patrol are already pleading for any action from Washington. Beyond the border, U.S. has lately faced issues with Russia and China, specifically the exchange of words of Biden with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Also, the U.S. president will be hearing questions in relation to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the country. As the distribution of the third stimulus checks is still ongoing and the vaccination rollout continues, what will be the next move of the Biden administration.

RELATED ARTICLE: Biden Under Investigation by GAO for Border Wall Funds Freeze

WATCH: Joe Biden holds first press conference as US President - DW News

RELATED ARTICLE: Biden Under Investigation by GAO for Border Wall Funds Freeze
Updates on CCP Virus: Utah Governor Signs Bill Lifting Statewide Mask Mandate

Utahs mask mandate will end April 10 after the Republican governor signed a bill that lays out a new timeline for lifting some of the states CCP virus restrictions.

Masks orders will remain in place for schools and gatherings of more than 50 people. Businesses can also choose to require them. Gov. Spencer Cox signed the measure on Wednesday, the same day that vaccinations opened to all people aged 16 and older.

Poland Reports New Daily Record of Over 34,000 Cases

Poland reported a record daily number of new CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus cases for the second day in a row as the prime minister prepared to give details of harsher restrictions for the Easter period.

Polands Health Ministry reported over 34,000 new confirmed cases on Thursday, thousands more than the nearly 30,000 cases that set a daily record on Wednesday. Poland also registered 520 more virus-related deaths.

AstraZenecas Revised Vaccine Data Shows Slight Dip in Efficacy

AstraZeneca on Wednesday released an updated estimate showing a slight dip in the efficacy of its COVID-19 vaccine, days after American officials accused the drugmaker of using outdated information in a prior report.

The Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB), which monitors trials and reviews data collected at regular intervals, had criticized British drugmaker AstraZeneca for not using the most up-to-date information when it published an interim analysis on Monday that said its COVID-19 vaccine was 79 percent effective.

AstraZeneca now says its vaccine is 76 percent effective against symptomatic COVID-19 infection. The latest report used data based on 190 infections among more than 32,400 participants in the United States, Chile, and Peru. The vaccines efficacy in those 65 years and older rose by five percent, from 80 to 85 percent, based on the latest report.

Toronto Airport Loses $383 Million in 2020 as Passenger Numbers Plunge Due to Virus

Canadas largest airport lost $383 million last year as the number of passengers plunged nearly 74 percent from 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Greater Toronto Airports Authority says its net loss compared with a $139.8-million profit in 2019 as revenues decreased nearly by half to $823.5 million, from $1.5 billion a year earlier.

Spains Jobless Hit 4 Million for First Time in Five Years as Pandemic Curbs Bite

The number of jobless people in Spain rose above 4 million for the first time in five years in February, official data showed on Tuesday, as COVID-19 restrictions ravage the ailing economy.

Since the onset of the pandemic, Spain has lost more than 400,000 jobs, around two-thirds of them in the hospitality sector, which has struggled with limits on opening hours and capacity as well as an 80 percent slump in international tourism.

Jobless claims rose by 1.12 percent from a month earlier, or by 44,436 people to 4,008,789, Labour Ministry data showed, the fifth consecutive monthly increase in unemployment.

Hungarys Death Toll Hits New Daily Record

Hungary set a new record for daily deaths on Thursday with 252, bringing the countrys total to nearly 19,000 in the country of fewer than 10 million.

Additional lockdown measures introduced on March 8 have not yet produced results as the number of new infections and hospitalizations continue to dwarf previous peaks set in December, and hospitals have reported capacity problems as intensive care units fill up.

Isabel van Brugen, The Canadian Press, Reuters, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
document

The Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development yesterday received a briefing from the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development on the 2019/20 annual performance and financial statements of the former Department of Rural Development and Land Reform.

In his opening remarks, the Chairperson of the committee, Inkosi Zwelivelile Mandela recounted the experience of Mr Ivan Cloete, who was a beneficiary of the land reform process on the West Coast and who was frustrated by the very people mandated to resolve his claim. The chairperson raised this matter as an example of how the system sometimes fails the people. The Chairperson credited Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Ms Thoko Didiza for investigating and resolving the matter. Mr Cloete will be concluding a 30-year lease on the farm Colenso.

Inkosi Mandela congratulated Mr Ivan Cloete for staying the course and being resilient in the face of alleged corrupt officials. "How many people in similar situations just give up or simply don't have the energy, resources or technical expertise at their disposal to sustain such a fight?" he remarked. Inkosi Mandela thanked the Minister for her commitment to stamp out corruption in the department and for investigating officials alleged to have contravened the Public Finance Management Act.

The committee queried the department's poor performance, considering it spent 100% of its budget and land reform is a government priority. For the year under review, the department achieved a 37% performance rating, with an expenditure of R3.6 billion. A trend analysis of land reform shows a significant decline in performance when compared to 2018/19. The committee also noted that the department had a vacancy rate of 16.4% and a performance rate of 37%. This does not indicate a priority programme, in the Chairperson's opinion. Nor does it show a department achieving value for money on land reform.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines South Africa Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

The committee is also concerned about departmental vacancies in senior management and asked what the department was doing about this problem. By the end of March 2020, there were 73 vacancies, which could contribute to poor performance. The committee further asked why 42 of 342 senior management staff, including the Director-General and Deputy Director-Generals, do not have performance agreements.

The committed called on the department to provide an update on legislation and approved policies. The committee had previously been assured that the Communal Land Tenure Policy, which commenced in the 2019/20 year, would be tabled by the end of 2020. However, this did not happen. The committee urged the department to take heed of the Auditor-General's report and speed up land reform.
OTTAWA  An average of 86 Manitobans have returned home from abroad each day this month and faced a legal requirement to self-isolate under the federal Quarantine Act.

OTTAWA  An average of 86 Manitobans have returned home from abroad each day this month and faced a legal requirement to self-isolate under the federal Quarantine Act.

But the chance of having police knock at your door depends on where you live, with Manitobans outside Winnipeg much more likely to get a random check.

Winnipeg police have checked on only a few dozen more recently arrived travellers than their colleagues in Brandon, despite having nearly 15 times the population, according to data obtained by the Free Press.

That's because police forces make these visits as resources allow, and according to a risk level Ottawa assigns to each traveller.

The RCMP says it has managed to make at least one house check for every person isolating in a community served by a detachment, amounting to 5,592 checks, as of March 18.

Since March 25, 2020, returning Canadians who dont appear on a list of essential workers have been required to isolate for 14 days and have food and necessities brought to their home or hotel room.

Starting last April, Ottawa prepared lists of returning travellers, sorting them on a four-point scale for risk of breaching their quarantine. Manitoba RCMP say they receive 20 to 200 names each day, and pass along the information on local arrivals to the relevant police force or RCMP detachment.

With a wave of snowbirds expected to start migrating home from the southern United States, the Free Press surveyed a handful of police forces about how theyve enforced the Quarantine Act.

Officials mum on who's written tickets At least 11 tickets have been issued to Manitobans under the Quarantine Act, and it appears none have faced charges. The RCMP say theyve issued 10 tickets under the Quarantine Act in the past 11 months. The province has only ever reported five Quarantine Act tickets dating back to Feb. 1, and refused to say which forces had issued each ticket, despite receiving data for its recurring reports. click to read more At least 11 tickets have been issued to Manitobans under the Quarantine Act, and it appears none have faced charges. The RCMP say theyve issued 10 tickets under the Quarantine Act in the past 11 months. The province has only ever reported five Quarantine Act tickets dating back to Feb. 1, and refused to say which forces had issued each ticket, despite receiving data for its recurring reports. Due to the number of agencies involved and the ever-evolving enforcement landscape, it is sometimes challenging to capture information consistently. However, in the interest of transparency, we endeavour to provide as much information as possible to keep Manitobans informed about our collective efforts, a provincial spokeswoman wrote. Yet media have reported on Altona police issuing a fine to a Plum Coulee man for visiting another province before his 14-day quarantine period had ended. Meanwhile, officials disclosed a month ago that one of Manitobas first detected carriers of the highly contagious and deadlier B.1.1.7 strain of COVID-19 racked up 27 contacts after returning from abroad, but the lack of data from the province makes it impossible to tell if this person got a ticket. Manitoba supports a strengthened response to international travel in an attempt to keep everyone safe including from variants. However, we dont provide details on any specific cases, beyond posting business infractions, a spokeswoman wrote. Ottawa is also not able to fully explain how the Quarantine Act is being enforced. Local police conduct follow-ups with travellers, and are not required to report the results of these activities to the Public Health Agency of Canada, wrote agency spokeswoman Tammy Jarbeau. Yet she noted that at least 212 tickets and eight criminal charges had been laid nationally, as of March 5. The frequency of on-site compliance visits by law enforcement is based on operational requirements and priorities of each law enforcement unit. Individuals who contravene the mandatory isolation or mandatory quarantine requirements may be subject to a range of enforcement measures, which include verbal and written warnings, and fines. Winkler Deputy Police Chief Chris Kalansky said his force has issued four warnings for people who made minor breaches of the Quarantine Act, saying tickets would be issued if someone knowingly created a risk to others. "We found a violation, based on the totality of circumstances, to be minor in nature, and our officers at the time that were there felt like a verbal warning was sufficient to deal with that. These are usually just a misunderstanding, or something like that, he said.  Dylan Robertson Close

The RCMP says it has managed to make at least one house check for every person isolating in a community served by a detachment, amounting to 5,592 checks, as of March 18.

The Winnipeg Police Service says its officers have done 712 checks in the past 11 months, and that the WPS generally limits checks to people in the two higher-risk levels of the four set by Ottawa.

Brandon police say they've completed 622 checks in the same time frame.

The Brandon Police Service says it has managed to reach all of the returned travellers during their 14-day quarantine period, with those Ottawa has deemed higher risk more likely to get multiple visits.

"We can prioritize around that, and do the checks when there's time," said Sgt. Kirby Sararas.

Winkler's police force says it has had 154 files involving 200 people, including about 125 addresses. The rest were closed after someone returned to the United States, couldn't be connected to an address or had been ranked by Ottawa as a low priority.

The Winnipeg Police Service says its officers have done 712 checks in the past 11 months, and that the WPS generally limits checks to people in the two higherrisk levels of the four set by Ottawa.

"It does take up time, and we've noticed that, obviously," said deputy chief Chris Kalansky.

The Public Health Agency of Canada said that between March 1 and 20, 1,723 people entered the country listing a quarantine address in Manitoba, an average of 86 people each day.

"Of these, 1,118 entered via air and were required to stay in a government (hotel) until a negative test result was received. The remainder arrived by land," wrote PHAC spokesman Andre Gagnon.

Many more people have entered the province without having to quarantine, due to exceptions for essential workers such as truck drivers, according to national data from the Canada Border Services Agency.

"Between March 31, 2020, and March 5, 2021, approximately 93 per cent of travellers in land mode have been exempt from quarantine," wrote spokesman Louis-Carl Brissette Lesage, referring to Canadas entire land border.

The police forces and province wouldn't speculate on whether the return of snowbirds would require an increase in checks.

 With files from Danielle Da Silva

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
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
No extra Aircraft Carrier is needed for the US Navy to maintain global dominance. This will be the status quo until challenges show they are needed. Critics say they are not effective against newer weapons like hypersonic missiles. Having 11 of them, the US owns the most than any national navy.

Another extra aircraft carrier is not needed

The US Navy has the most flat-tops operated by any nation. America can send the floating airbases anywhere it's needed. Few nations can challenge the Nimitz class, or the newer for class carriers reported Military.

One of the most important areas of operation is the Asia-Pacific, where China is causing instability. The QUAD under the Trump administration's leadership saw China cringe. It changed as China became bolder with the new administration.

During a Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday, Adm. John Aquilino said the 11 aircraft carriers in the military's arsenal are just what the army requires, as required by the law. Aquilino has been chosen to lead the U.S. Naval forces in the Indo-Pacific Command.

Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., asked Aquilino if the Navy's carriers can repel and deter China. The Chinese military expansion in the Pacific will affect another area of operation. Flat tops are needed in the Middle East with Iran's aggression.

Wicker said the Navy has 11 of the ships during the hearing, and an extra aircraft carrier is needed. He added if more flat tops are needed. Changes in the law and votes to approve more of them.

Aircraft Carriers Will Pack a Huge Punch When Compared to Other Naval Vessel Types

The Admiral added that US carrier strike groups are powerful forms to stop Chinese aggression. But, it did not say if a few more flat tops are needed for U.S. strategy. Another is the Chinese want to equal the American carrier force in the future.

He added there might be enough ships for now. If more are needed, the pentagon will be informed.

Currently, all of the US Navy's flat tops are need for operations worldwide. In 2019, the naval leaders got criticized for retiring on them by lawmakers. It was unwise, according to lawmakers, to scrap on for the next technology investments.

One source alleged that the Pentagon is thinking of a smaller naval force. This is in effect in 2022, when Congress decides on the expense.

Lawmakers might deny a request for more funds to build new ships. Wicker called for a larger navy with more ships than now with the competition. They are Russia and China, who added more naval ships and submarines to counter the US.

Once the US Navy was the biggest navy, but China has more ships. Wicker said the Trump proposal for more ships to 405 is needed by 2051. If Biden refuses, he allows both Russian and China to best America at sea.

Wicker said that if the Biden administration decides not to add more ships will be a disaster. A future conflict will find America on the losing end. This includes having more flat tops or carriers at America's use.

Bryan McGrath, a naval officer and consultant, said that an extra aircraft carrier is needed. Saying Aquilino is wrong in having only 11 flat tops in the future. More carriers will allow more operations than 11 of them.

Deployment of Chinese Aircraft Carriers Close to Taiwan Could Trigger US Naval Confrontation

Two US Warships Warned Chinese Navy to Stop Coercing an Unarmed Drilling Ship in Malaysian Waters

US Navy Deploys Reagan, Nimitz Carrier Strike Group for Operations

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks as the city commemorates a COVID-19 Day of Remembrance in Brooklyn, New York, on March 14, 2021. (Kevin Hagen/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

De Blasio Suggests Cuomo May Be Twisting COVID-19 for Political Considerations

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday said he is concerned that political considerations may be coming into play in Gov. Andrew Cuomos administrations calculation of state COVID-19 data.

The state of New York has their own methodology [in calculating CCP virus statistics], and we dont always agree that its the most rigorous methodology, de Blasio told reporters during a City Hall news conference.

Sometimes I am concerned that it might be a more subjective methodology, or there might be political considerations in the data, the mayor said. We want the data to tell us the whole truth. We want to be led by the data and science.

Cuomos office didnt immediately respond to a request for comment by The Epoch Times.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), for the week ending March 21 the New York City metropolitan area had the second highest COVID-19 case rate in the United States, at nearly 260.6 cases per 100,000 people.

Thats as cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus continue to drop nationwide since the winter peak, and as vaccines continue to be rolled out across the country. Three COVID-19 vaccines have been approved for use in the United States so far: Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson.

Cases in New York City have reached a plateau, and currently are not dropping, Dr. David D. Ho, director of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center at Columbia University, told ABC News.

Further, approximately 18 percent of intensive care unit beds in the state are currently occupied by COVID-19 patients.

The mayor asserted that data from the citys Department of Health is the most accurate read of whats happening in New York City.

Were going to stick by it, because if we have the facts, we can protect our people, but were not going to depend on anyone else to understand the facts of New York City. Well do that for ourselves, de Blasio said.

I would say I believe our numbers are more accurate and more consistent, and I know our numbers are based on objective science and I cant say that about the state, the mayor added when asked whether he believes the governor or the health department are cooking the numbers.

De Blasios comments come weeks after he joined a growing chorus of calls for Cuomo to resign after sexual misconduct accusations were made against him, and over his administrations handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks at the COVID-19 vaccination site at Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City, on March 8, 2021. (Seth Wenig/Reuters)

Last week, he accused the governor of being in the way of saving lives by defying calls to resign.

At least eight women, including current and former aides, have come forward with allegations of sexual harassment against Cuomo. Cuomo, 63, has repeatedly denied all allegations, and has said he wont resign.

Cuomo has also been under fire for withholding COVID-19 death data from state lawmakers and the public.

In January, New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, published a report that found that the state under-counted nursing home deaths by as much as 50 percent, while the New York Post later reported that one of Cuomos aides, Melissa DeRosa, admitted to lawmakers in a private setting that the administration hid nursing home data last summer due to a federal probe.

I think he should resign so we can move forward in this state, but Im not expecting him to do that today. So, the next thing he should do is resume normal democracy, restore democracy in the state of New York, restore local control so we can move forward, de Blasio reiterated Wednesday.

I am concerned that some of the decisions hes made lately, I think, are more and more about politics than about the health of our people, he added. Well, the way to resolve that is to restore local control.
Russia will resume international passenger flights from 13 more airports from April 1, the federal operational headquarters for the fight against coronavirus said, Trend reports citing TASS.

"The operational headquarters decided to resume flights to foreign countries from the international airports of Barnaul, Belgorod, Volgograd, Voronezh, Kaluga, Krasnodar, Lipetsk, Nalchik, Orenburg, Saratov, Sochi, Tyumen and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk from April 1, taking into account the need to comply with sanitary and epidemiological requirements," the headquarters said.

Earlier, Russia resumed flights from 12 cities: Astrakhan, Yekaterinburg, Irkutsk, Makhachkala, Mineralnye Vody, Nizhny Novgorod, Perm, Kemerovo, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and Khabarovsk. From the summer of 2020 to February 2021, flights were carried out only from Moscow and St. Petersburg.
interview

Debating Ideas is a new section that aims to reflect the values and editorial ethos of the African Arguments book series, publishing engaged, often radical, scholarship, original and activist writing from within the African continent and beyond. It will offer debates and engagements, contexts and controversies, and reviews and responses flowing from the African Arguments books.

This is an abridged version of a discussion with Zitto Kabwe, the party leader of one Tanzania's main opposition parties, the Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT-Wazalendo), and a former Member of Parliament. In our wide-ranging conversation, wediscussed his political rise, Tanzania's 2020 general election, the current state of the country's opposition, the political legacy of Julius Nyerere, and the role of youth in African politics.

Since conducting this interview with Mr. Kabwe in December of 2020, Tanzania has been rocked by the deaths of two of its most prominent politicians. In February of 2021, the Vice President of Zanzibar and a senior member of ACT-Wazalendo, Seif Sharif Hamad, died. His death occurred just weeks after Hamad had confirmed his positive covid-19 status. This event significantly undermined the declaration made by the country's then president, John Pombe Magufuli, that Tanzania was "covid-19 free" in June 2020. Magufuli's government had not shared new covid-19 case figures since April 2020. Last week, Magufuli himself died, officially from a "heart condition", though amid rumours that he too had contracted Covid-19. On 19 March, Magufuli's successor, Samia Suluhu Hassan, was sworn in. We have decided to publish this interview, as it provides, among other things, important context for analyzing opposition politics in Tanzania in the post-Magufuli era.

Luke Melchiorre (LM): I wanted to start by asking about your political career. You had a fairly remarkable rise. You were elected as a Member of Parliament in your constituency of Kigoma at the tender age of 29 in 2005 and fairly early on you were appointed to parliamentary positions of great responsibility. I am curious: What made you want to enter politics? What were your formative political influences?

Zitto Kabwe (ZK): I joined a political party at the age of 16, at the height of the movement for multiparty democracy in the country. Because Tanzania was a single-party country from 1965 all the way to 1992. By the time I joined the university, I was already a party activist [for one of Tanzania's leading opposition parties Chadema]... working at the party's headquarters as a research officer. I go[t] into party hierarchy to become the Head of Foreign Relations for the Party... So, all that, by the time I was elected to parliament, I had already been exposed to party positions... It was seen as a rapid rise, but because I was already a senior party leader at a young age.

LM: And why do you think you had acquired such political responsibility and had such electoral success at a very young age?

ZK: First of all, as I said, Kigoma was already an opposition area. It was easier to organize and win. But secondly, I participated a lot in civil society movements in the country. In the university, I was a student leader.

LM: In 2015, you decided to leave Chadema, which at that point was a centre-right party to join a new political party; ACT-Wazalendo. Why did you make those decisions? Why leave Chadema and join a new party at that point in your career?

ZK:In 2006, there were constitutional changes within Chadema to bring the party to the centre, rather than being very centre-right... There was some sort of ideological struggle within the party over the direction of the party. So, in 2006, we managed to bring the party into the centre. By 2009, there was already a faction within the party that wanted a further left-wing orientation. And I was the leader of that faction. So, [that faction] pushed me to run for the Chairperson for the party... When I am asked what political mistakes have you made in your life, this was one of the mistakes that I say I have made. It was too quick.

Because I was very young... I should have waited. But I ran. And that created tension [in the party] that did not stop. So, after the 2010 [national] elections... it was clearly seen that I would contest [for the Chairmanship again] in 2014. So the tension within the party continued... Then in November 2014, I was literally expelled from the party. But already we had seen the eventuality would be for me to be expelled. So, we started the formation of [ACT-Wazalendo] in 2014. By the time of my expulsion, I had a vehicle to continue with my political activities and that's why I joined ACT.

LM: How would you describe the politics or ideological commitments of ACT? What are the party's main aims and where does it fit within Tanzania's broader political landscape?

ZK: When we decided to form a new party, we wanted to fill the ideological void that had existed [on the left of Tanzania's political spectrum]. Because as you know [Chama Cha Mapinduzi] CCM... was a socialist party. Yet the government of CCM implements neoliberal policies. Since 1995, after Benjamin Mkapa became President, and then later Jacob Kikwete were both for free market, private sector development, and trade liberalization. For us, we saw that there is an ideological void in the country [on the left]. That is why our party pronounced the remaking of the Arusha Declaration [Julius Nyerere's landmark 1967 document, which explicitly committed his regime to socialist policies, like nationalization and rural collectivisation].

We developed a party document out of the meeting that we had in the town called Tabora and we called it the Tabora Declaration, as the rebirth of the Arusha Declaration. But of course, a modernized Arusha Declaration, whereby the party stands for public ownership in strategic sectors and not in all means of production, as it used to be with the Arusha Declaration. Rather than having a free market economy, having a fair market economy. And also, reestablishing the original Tanzanian foreign policy, in favour of the people who are oppressed around the world. That is why you see our positions is in strong support of Western Sahara independence and very strong support of the Palestinian cause.

While we formed a party to fill a political void [on the left], this has become very challenging because, by March 2019, we received membership of the party from Zanzibar former CUF [Civic United Front] members, under the leadership of Maalim Seif Shariff Hamad [As noted, Hamad died in February of 2021, over two months after this interview had been conducted] who were liberals. So, we are actually in the process of redefining the ideological position of the party to make sure that the Zanzibar factor is taken into consideration. Definitely the obvious solution will be moving [ACT] to the centre, so that we will care for the left and also for the liberals within the party.

LM: At the party's beginnings, as you mentioned, you wanted to revive the democratic socialism of Tanzania's founding father, Julius Nyerere, and to, as you put it, 'modernize' it. Can you explain what Ujamaa means to you? And are those still the objectives of the party, given the developments that you just talked about in terms of your membership from Zanzibar?

ZK:Yes. So, for me, personally, and for most of the members [of ACT], ujamaa is about justice and lack of inequality and making sure that the wealth of the nation benefits the majority and ends the inequality which is created by the capitalist system.

LM: I wanted to now turn to a discussion of the recent election. In October of this year, in an election that has widely been viewed, both in Tanzania and internationally, as fraudulent, opposition parties in Tanzania were only able to win, for one of the estimates that I read, 3 out of 264 directly elected constituencies.

The ruling party, CCM, saw their share of legislative constituency seats increase from 73% to 99%. Magufuli's share of the popular vote supposedly increased from 58% in 2015 to 84% and opposition candidates (including yourself) lost seats in constituencies that had previously been opposition strongholds. How do you explain these improbable, irregular results?

ZK:There were no elections. There was no election at all. It was a military operation to bring the country back to single-party rule. This is the conclusion that every single, objective political analyst in Tanzania will say. And I think we have already read a lot about the evidence that we collected on the ballot-stuffing, on the pre-marked ballot papers that were brought into the polling station, and even just declaration of results without tallying.

So, from our point of view, there was no election and that is why you have the results that you have. It was impossible even a day before the election to comprehend that CCM could win in a city like Kigoma, Kigoma Urban. It was unthinkable that a leader of the opposition, Freedom Mbowe, in Hai constituency, can lose his seat to an unknown person in CCM. We don't say that the opposition won 3 seats, 2 seats in the mainland out of 214. We say that the opposition was given two seats, just to show that there are elements of the opposition in parliament. But in reality, there was no election.

LM: You told The East African in the November 2018 that the Tanzanian opposition was in 'shambles'.How would you describe it today post-election?

ZK:It is dead.

LM: Do you want to elaborate on that anymore?

ZK:I said [in 2018] that the Tanzanian opposition is in shambles, because of the measures that Magufuli took and the reaction that [the opposition] took then. That shambolic situation continued. We tried to reorganize ourselves, to re-energize and with a candidate like Tundu Lissu, the base was highly energized. But post-election, maybe saying [the opposition is] dead is too much, it was too extreme, I should say it's on its deathbed, in the ICU.

It can be brought back; we are going to have to work hard on that. And a lot of work has to be done to ensure that we come back and refocus our work and work outside the formal structures. Because between 2016 and 2020, [the opposition] had [elected representatives in] forums, like parliament and municipalities. But now we do not have a single local government authority that is under the opposition. We have a very, very small number of [opposition] members in parliament. So, it means we do not have a forum to channel the grievances. That requires a lot of work. Working from outside the formal structures.

LM:I want to think more broadly now, about how your politics and the politics of ACT relates to politics beyond Tanzania. 2020 has obviously been a tumultuous year. In East Africa, for example, we have witnessed Ethiopia descend into civil war; in Uganda, the political campaigns of opposition candidate, Bobi Wine, have been met by brutal state violence; and, of course, as we mentioned, in Tanzania, the recent election saw a level of government repression against the opposition which is without precedent in the country's history. How do you understand these developments in relation to one another?

ZK:I think the dictators learn from each other. And they profit from these situations. What happened in Tanzania [in the 2015 and 2020 elections] is feeding into what is going on in Uganda now. Because Magufuli hasn't faced consequences to the moment regarding the stolen election, or the so-called election.

So, Museveni is having a free[r] hand. He is following the same pages that Magufuli used. So, they are learning from each other... I hope you read an article in The Economist... about the export of the Chinese model into the world and how effective it is in Africa. That's what I see. The authoritarianism of the Chinese Communist Party being seen as a model for development by a lot of ruling parties in Africa. We are going back to the era of the 1970s [and] the 80s, with the dictatorial regimes being part of Africa [again].

LM: In recent years, across the continent, we have seen generational tensions becoming increasingly politicized in countries, like South Africa, Uganda and Nigeria. In Tanzania, where the median age of the population is just 18, how important were such generational cleavages in the country's last election? How, if at all, have they manifested themselves?

ZK: Actually, very interestingly, the young people in Tanzania shunned the election completely. A lot of young people did not even bother to vote [in the recent election]. For us, it is evidence that young people in Tanzania either do not trust the political system or see the politics as a process that doesn't have any meaning to their lives.

Or they made the conclusion that why bother voting when the winner is already known. So, it is different from Uganda, where you see a lot of young people in the streets, demanding changes, democratic changes in the country... But in Tanzania, you see the young people are shunning politics. Seeing politics as something that is not of their concern, which is a worrying trend and something that has to be worked around, in order to make sure that they have an interest.

LM: And how do you explain the difference between Uganda and Tanzania in that regard? Why do we see a mobilized youth population in Uganda electorally, and not in Tanzania?

ZK: I think Uganda, first of all, it has a history of defiance. Museveni came to power as a rebel. A history of people going to the bush and fighting for change. Tanzania does not have that history. Secondly, Uganda has seen Museveni and his repressive regime for three decades. While in Tanzania, we are experiencing a kind of repression like that of Uganda, [only] over the last five years. So, I am sure the continued repression might make young people get more involved into the civic activism in order to bring change.

LM: The French Anthropologist, Marie-Aude Fouere has argued that Mwalimu remains 'a political metaphor for debating and acting upon the present' in contemporary Tanzanian politics. In the most recent election, Magufuli has emphasized his developmental achievements, claiming that he is 'following in Nyerere's footsteps', while the opposition leader Tundu Lissu has been more critical, blaming Nyerere for creating an 'imperial presidency'. Where do you stand on Nyerere and his political project today? What do you see as being his ultimate legacies for contemporary Tanzanian politics?

ZK: Mwalimu Nyerere's legacy is on the stability of the country and the unity of the country. Mwalimu Nyerere was not very good on the economic front, but he built a nation. And I always give this example of the difference between building a country and building a nation. Building a country involves the bridges, the grids, and whatever, the roads and everything. Building a nation is having a kind of society that we aspire to have, and Nyerere had that.

The stability that we see so far is the legacy that Nyerere had on our country. So, when Magufuli compares himself to Nyerere, I always laugh. Because it is a contrast: Nyerere was a philosopher king. He had a vision of building a nation. Magufuli is, as he has famously been called, a bulldozer. His vision is roads, rail, power stations, and the like. And not about nation-building. Nation-building is on the social side; on the education of the people, the health of the people, on the ethics of the nation, the values that define a nation, and [Magufuli] has no interest in that.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Tanzania Governance Human Rights By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

LM: Now, Nyerere passed away in 1999, which means that there were Tanzanians who voted in the most recent election, who were born after Nyerere died. In your experience with your party and on the campaign trail, do you believe his political ideas still resonate with the youth of Tanzania?

ZK: Yeah, in a way. Sometimes the ideas of Nyerere resonate with the old[er] generation rather than the [young] people, who are the majority now. And from my experience during the campaign, I didn't see th[e] resona[nce] [of Nyerere's message] at all [with Tanzanian youth]. Although the ruling party tries to use Nyerere to satisfy themselves, rather than to make sure that the majority of people understand [Nyerere's ideas].

Although, this generation of young people who did not see Nyerere, did not see the dark side of Nyerere's regime: the repression... [and] the economic hardship that took place during that time. These people have only the positive side of Nyerere. We have to appreciate that. That there is something of a positive vibe when you mention Nyerere, about the ethical leadership, about building the nation, about peaceful nation, and something like that. But the resona[nce] is not that big. You cannot win an election on the manifesto built by Nyerere, no.

LM: Zitto, it has been a pleasure to speak with you again. I just have a couple more questions. 2020 has also been a year that has witnessed a wave of popular protest across the world. On the continent, from Nigeria, to Sudan, to Uganda, and beyond, young people seem to be at the forefront of a number of these political movements. Is there something special or unique about this present historical moment? And if so, what do you think the defining characteristics of this moment are?

ZK: The changes in Sudan, the protests in Nigeria, were being seen from Tanzania... they inspired the people, but as I said before, still because of the political history of this country, Tanzanians are not yet able to do what other countries are doing. Nobody expected that today, as we are speaking, Omar Bashir would be in custody.

Nobody would have thought that. When the demonstrations started in Nigeria, nobody expected that it would have such huge impacts, that the president would disband the SARS and the like. So, this is seen, from the Tanzanian perspective, as inspirational. But it hasn't really had an impact in terms of behaviour change of Tanzanians. But we are observing, and we are seeing.

LM: But do you think we are in a unique historical moment, now? Do you think we are entering a new moment in Africa and, perhaps, beyond?

ZK: I can't say so... If you compare these [developments] to the 1990s, sovereign conferences [in Africa] that brought in multiparty democracy, starting in Benin, during Matthieu Kerekou's regime, all the way to Zaire under Mobutu. That was the moment of the second wave of change... after independence... that saw democratic changes of governments in Zambia, in Malawi, [and] in Benin. But [developments today] are not spreading as a coordinated historical event... Because look after Sudan, what happened? We only see war in Ethiopia. The peace process in South Sudan is not taking place. But we saw the changes in Algeria, then a coup in Mali. So, you cannot even define what is going on in Africa [today].

The Xtalks Food Podcast will give food industry professionals a new way to stay up to date on the latest in their field, and hear diverse perspectives on controversial topics.

The Xtalks editorial team is pleased to announce the launch of the Xtalks Food Podcast. Each week, host Sydney Perelmutter will be joined by editorial team members, Mira Nabulsi, Ayesha Rashid and Sarah Hand to discuss trending food industry topics and share insights from industry experts.

As Xtalks lead food industry writers, Sydney and Mira will present stories on a wide variety of topics and trends, with Sarah and Ayesha weighing in on their point of view. The Xtalks Food podcast will also feature interview clips from discussions with food industry insiders to get their perspective on current events. Specific topics include:



Food technology

Plant-based food

Food safety

Ingredients and innovation

Sustainability

Grocery and foodservice

The podcast will allow team members to explore, and give their opinions on, the latest food stories like no other piece of editorial content. Most importantly, it will give food industry professionals a new way to stay up to date on the latest in their field, and hear diverse perspectives on controversial topics.

The weekly podcast is available for streaming every Thursday on Spotify, Apple, Google and wherever you stream podcasts. Subscribe to the Xtalks Food Podcast to never miss a new episode.

ABOUT XTALKS

Xtalks, powered by Honeycomb Worldwide Inc., is a leading provider of educational webinars to the global life science, food and medical device community. Every year, thousands of industry practitioners (from life science, food and medical device companies, private & academic research institutions, healthcare centers, etc.) turn to Xtalks for access to quality content. Xtalks helps Life Science professionals stay current with industry developments, trends and regulations. Xtalks webinars also provide perspectives on key issues from top industry thought leaders and service providers.

To learn more about Xtalks visit http://xtalks.com

For information about hosting a webinar visit http://xtalks.com/why-host-a-webinar/


Rutgers University students will be required to get vaccinated against COVID-19 before the fall semester, making New Jerseys flagship one of the first colleges in the country to tie enrollment to vaccination, campus officials said Thursday.

The 71,000-student university will allow medical and religious exemptions as it does for other mandatory vaccines, said Antonio Calcado, the universitys executive vice president and chief operating officer. But Rutgers will otherwise require the vaccine even if some students are largely learning remotely in the fall, he said.

We are trying to build the safest campus in America, Calcado said in an interview with NJ Advance Media. That is really what our goal is  to try to be as safe as we possibly can.

Rutgers believes it could be the first university in the United States to mandate COVID-19 vaccination for students, he added.

We havent seen it anywhere else, Calcado said.

Rutgers has been approved as a vaccination site by the state and is awaiting a supply of doses.

The university will not require faculty and staff to get vaccinated, though it strongly encourages them to do so, officials said. Calcado said students have had a much higher positivity rate than staff, based on the testing Rutgers has done on campus, and they are really very interactive with each other.

Our faculty and staff, they are pretty responsible, Calcado said. I think they will respond well to being encouraged to get vaccinated.

Students have accounted for 1,756 of the universitys 2,348 positive tests, according to Rutgers testing program dashboard.

Arielle Dublin, vice president of the universitys student government, endorsed the policy.

This is something that I think is necessary and have been pushing for, said Dublin, who serves on the universitys reopening committee.

Gov. Phil Murphy commends the university for its commitment to ensuring a safe reopening, spokeswoman Christine Lee said.

The student requirement is an about-face for Rutgers after a top official previously said the university would not mandate vaccination. The change was spurred by President Joe Bidens pledge that every adult in the country should be eligible for vaccination by May 1, Calcado said.

Rutgers will mandate vaccination for students enrolled at all of its campuses  New Brunswick, Newark and Camden  but not for students in fully remote online degree programs or online-only continuing education programs.

Vaccination is key to stopping the current pandemic and to the return of campus instruction and activities closer to what we were accustomed to before the pandemic drastically changed life at Rutgers, said Dr. Brian Strom, chancellor of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences and executive vice president for health affairs.

University President Jonathan Holloway said the new policy will help provide a safer and more robust college experience after the pandemic brought campus life to a halt last March. Rutgers has offered few courses in person throughout the pandemic and has fewer than 20% of its on-campus housing occupied.

Despite the vaccination requirement, campus operations might still be limited in the fall by state-imposed restrictions on gatherings as well as public health guidelines, Calcaldo said. The university has previously said it wants all students to have the opportunity to be on campus this fall, but not all at the same time. Campus officials plan to test rotating schedules for in-person instruction over the summer.

We want our students to know they can be safe with us, Calcado said.

New Jersey has now administered 3.7 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, including 1.3 million people considered fully vaccinated, according to state data. About 500,000 vaccine doses were administered last week, Gov. Phil Murphy said Wednesday.

More than 18% of New Jerseys adult population is fully vaccinated and more than half of adults have received at least one shot, according to state data.

New Jersey hopes to vaccinate 70% of its eligible adults, or about 4.7 million people, by the end of May. The university advises students younger than 18 to receive the Pfizer vaccine, the only one of three vaccines currently approved in the United States that may be administered to 16- and 17-year-old students.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Adam Clark may be reached at aclark@njadvancemedia.com. Have a news tip or a story idea about New Jersey schools? Send it 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.
Cotton producers in China's autonomous region are accused of exploiting forced Uyghur labour and other Muslim minorities. Communist youth start a campaign to boycott Western clothing brands. Beijing is flexing its economic muscles to block US and European sanctions.

Beijing (AsiaNews)  Ordinary Chinese, Chinese state media and Chinese celebrities have lashed out at Western clothing giants who refuse to buy Xinjiang cotton.

Cotton producers in China's autonomous region are accused of exploiting the forced Uyghur labour f and other Turkic and Muslim minorities.

US-based Nike and Sweden's H&M are the first targets of the boycott campaign. Adidas, New Balance, Burberry, Puma and Gap are also in the crosshairs.

Some of these firms had announced as recently as last year that they would stop buying cotton from Xinjiang.

The attacks against them came after the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Canada decided on 22 March to impose sanctions on China for human rights violations in Xinjiang.

According to expert data, confirmed by the United Nations, China is holding or has held more than one million Muslims in concentration camps in Xinjiang, which Uyghurs, Kazakhs and Kyrgyz call East Turkestan.

Recent media revelations have also highlighted the existence of labour camps in China's autonomous region, where hundreds of thousands of Muslims are forced to work, especially picking cotton.

According to German researcher Adrian Zenz, in Xinjiang some garment factories are built next to internment camps. Satellite imagery show masses of people in uniform moving from one site to another.

The Chinese government has denied all the charges, claiming that those in Xinjiang are vocational centres, part of a project to reduce poverty and fight against terrorism and separatism.

The protests against Western brands began yesterday with a post on Weibo, China's best-known microblogging platform, by the Communist Youth League.

The Communist Party youth organisation wrote that H&M cannot boycott Xinjiang cotton, while also wanting to make money in China.

State media followed the young Communists lead. CCTV said H&M will pay a heavy price for its wrong actions. Later, at least three major Chinese e-commerce platforms  Pinduoduo, JD.com and Tmall  stopped selling H&M products.

Various Chinese celebrities announced that they were severing ties with the brands, with one noting that the country's interests are above all.

In fact, mainland China is feeling the pressure. The US and the EU seem increasingly willing to coordinate their initiatives against it.

The Chinese government has responded to Xinjiang-related sanctions with punitive countermeasures against EU entities and Members of the European parliament, as well as European politicians, academics and research centres.

Targeting Western companies is another retaliatory measure designed to convince business groups and the general public in the United States and Europe that it is not convenient to challenge China.
How Cancel Culture is Changing California | Melissa Melendez

As cancel culture rises in California and across the nation, employees and students are facing backlash for their personal beliefs. My guest is Melissa Melendez. She is a state senator representing Californias 28th District. She discusses the need to protect individuals from social and professional discrimination and how cancel culture is permeating into the legislative process.

California Insider is an Epoch Times show available on YouTube, Rumble, Youmaker, and The Epoch Times website. It also airs on cable on NTD America. Find out where you can watch us on TV.
In this Nov. 29, 2019, file photo, a demonstrator holds a terrestrial globe in Lisbon during a worldwide protest demanding action on climate change. The European Union's top court definitively rejected an effort by a Scandinavian youth group and eight families around the world to force the EU to set more ambitious targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. (AP Photo/Armando Franca, File)

The European Union's top court on Thursday rejected an effort by a Scandinavian youth group and families around the world to force the EU to set more ambitious targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, arguing that they were not "individually" affected by Europe's climate policy.

Those behind the initiativeincluding a Portuguese farmer, an Arctic indigenous activist and German islandersexpressed disappointment at the ruling, but also were determined to keep fighting for faster action against climate change.

Families from Kenya, Fiji, Germany, France, Italy, Portugal and Romania, along with the Swedish Sami Youth organization, launched the legal action in 2018. They hoped to draw attention to the impact that climate policy had on individuals and those fighting for starving Arctic reindeer and other environmental issues.

The European General Court acknowledged that the plaintiffs are generally affected by climate change but rejected the case in 2019 on procedural grounds. The families and youth group appealed to the European Court of Justice, or ECJ, the bloc's top court.

The ECJ upheld the lower court's decision Thursday, saying the plaintiffs "are not individually concerned" by the EU's climate legislation so the case won't be heard.

"The Sami people live in the middle of the climate crisis every day. We see how the climate crisis affects the reindeer, nature and our culture," Sanna Vannar of the Sami youth organization told reporters. "It makes me so angry and frustrated that the EU does not take this problem seriously and address it like an emergency."

Plaintiff Alfredo Sendim, a Portuguese farmer who has struggled with season after season of drought, said: "The court's decision is disappointing, but we will not give up. We will continue seeking protection of our rights and demand climate protection."

After the legal effort was launched, the European Commission proposed a "European Green Deal" with more ambitious goals toward fighting climate change. European Union leaders reached a deal last year to cut the bloc's net greenhouse gas emissions at least 55% by 2030 compared with 1990 levels, more than the previous goal of 40%.

Experts say ending the use of fossil fuels is one of the most important measures needed to limit global warming, which is believed to be causing stronger storms, fiercer droughts and other weather problems that are damaging lives and livelihoods around the world.

Explore further EU court rejects historic citizen's climate case

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
YEREVAN, MARCH 25, ARMENPRESS. Newly-appointed Ambassador of Iceland to Armenia Arni Thor Sigurdsson (residence in Moscow, Russia) presented his credentials to President Armen Sarkissian, the Armenian Presidents Office told Armenpress.

President Sarkissian congratulated the Ambassador on appointment and wished success to his mission.

Touching upon the opportunities of further deepening the bilateral relations, the officials agreed that there is a great potential for developing the mutual partnership. In this context they in particular outlined a number of fields for cooperation such as high and new technologies, energy, finance, banking, etc.

The Ambassador of Iceland expressed readiness for making all efforts to further develop the bilateral ties.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
people

Ontd View Answers

Star Trek 29 ( 54.7 % ) Star Wars 6 ( 11.3 % ) Tribbles 10 ( 18.9 % ) Ewoks 5 ( 9.4 % ) Jar Jar Binks 3 ( 5.7 % )

More behind the cutSen Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) said she would vote No on future Biden admin until more AAPI representation exists in the admin. Then, after multiple conversations with Biden and surrogates, she stated she would support his staff and goals and said there has been promise of AAPI Liaison to bring more awareness and representation of AAPI community. Sunny thinks her approach was fine and good for her. Sara also agrees that it was a good approach. Me-again and her stupid hair will make you rage mid-way through segment and bemoans the impact on white straightmen. [Id also like to point out that racist Me-again didnt apologize ON AIR for her anti Asian remarks that she said previously ON AIR.] Joy calls out the legacy impact (lool). Inexplicably they go back to Me-again who already blathered about this long enough the first time. Sunny brings it home.Rep Joe Neguse (D-CO) talks about the tragedy in Boulder CO. More talk about the Boulder vote to ban assault weapons, that was overturned by a Judge a mere 10 days before the mass shooting. The shooter bought his weapons 4 days later. The Judge ruled the law unenforceable at city level, claiming it could only be at state or federal level. Biden is calling again for ban on assault weapons and mass capacity magazines. The GQP claims it wont reduce deaths, which is a lie based on stats from the previous assault weapons ban timeframe. The panel and Neguse talk about the futility of these conversations and what it will take to make a change. Muted MAM.The segment was derailed by Joy and Sunny having tech issues and being frozen on screen. Stop punishing women for having babies, and offer family leave for dads as well. [Sidebar, Europe and Scandinavia in particular is parental leave goals]William Shatner is 90 years old. William Shatner is 90 years old. William Shatner is 90 years old. William Shatner is 90 years old. William Shatner is 90 years old. William Shatner is 90 years old. William Shatner is 90 years old. William Shatner is 90 years old. William Shatner is 90 years old. William Shatner is 90 years old. He talks about his filmwhich starts Friday in cinemas and On Demand, how he celebrated his birthday. Tells jokes. Still rides motorcycles, horses. Pluson History Channel. More about the film, which includes Christopher Lloyd and Jean Smart. Gives advice from his old age wisdom. Life is a journey. Talks about Star Trek. He would only consider reprising Capt Kirk if it was integral to story, not a cameo. Whoopi said she finally felt good for the future when she saw a Black person on Star Trek (previously wondering if no Black people were part of the future).+++++++++++++++The second mass shooting in one week. Boulder residents voted on assault weapon ban. The NRA sued and won an injunction 10 days prior to the shooting in Boulder. Literally 4 days after this court victory, the shooter purchased his weapons used to gun down innocent people at the market. The panel says all the normal things, its exhausting to talk about this all the time. Shut up Meghan. Ban assault weapons like Clinton did, which showed an obvious reduction in mass shootings. Bush43 let the ban lapse in 2003 and mass murders with AR-xx style weapons have skyrocketed since then. The NRA is a terr0rist organization. Full stop.Harmless promo and if it works, then great. Nobody cares about the nutrition factor of a Krispy Kreme (or lackthereof) lol. Find your spot, get your shot. And if it gets you a free donut, well there you go. Joy says withhold stimulus check, better incentive! Sidebar but Ben Affleck would get a lot of good press if he paid for everyone to get a free Dunkin Doughnut for getting their covid vaxx since hes so obsessive about Dunkin.Andy Cohen is promoting his new showon E! about the realities behind reality tv. He talks about his son, covid, RH of /all of them/, being an older parent, a viral clip on IG with Anderson Cooper chasing Ben, the elephant on the floor is awesome. He dishes on his new show.Dr Ayanna Howard is the first female Dean of College of Engineering at Ohio State and has a book(with audio narrated by Amandla Stenberg). Shes an expert in robotics and AI. She talks about her narrative, what drew her to this field, theon TV (!), shes often the -first- but shes stubborn and driven. She talks about racism in robotics in a unique way. Robots are not directly racist, but how theyre (innocently) programmed can create scientific biases that affects demographics in unique areas. They talk about the bad possibilities of robots and AI like. She talks more about how robots have capacity to learn empathy and takes the optimistic route. They talk about women only 20% of STEM workforce.+++++++++++++++Jacob Soboroff is promoting his bookand is profiting off the never-ending border control issues*. Biden is still in first 100 days and inherited a *four years long* disaster from T45, but the MSM isnt happy unless its driving rage clicks and creating false narratives. The GQP latching onto this is (a) distraction and typical politics and (b) racist and no surprise from GQP. It remains complicated and no remarks from US leadership (good or bad) is going to stop people fleeing terrible circumstances.Jacob with luscious hair explains what Biden is doing differently. Facilities are either different, or being renovated to be more humane to the asylum seekers. They discuss whether its a mistake to restrict media access to facilities holding minors (without mentioning that the occupants areand shouldnt be photographed for clicks on the internet). Actual numbers this way and related article here The youngs are still trying it. Then returning to their home states to infect those not yet vaccinated. Seems excessive force with pepper spray and policing to poc vacationers vs white vacationers. Ana who is in Miami backs up Sunny on racial disparity. Has her Friday rant on Monday about the disproportionate impact of covid on poc.The panel covers Kylie and her tone deaf plea for followers to donate to fmr MUAs gofundme, which she only donated $5K. This whole family bleh. She couldve (a) donated but kept her mouth shut, (b) covered all of it but kept her mouth shut, or (c) done nothing but kept her mouth shut. These performative grifters paved the way for the Trump degenerates and they should all go away.Cynthia Erivo and Courtney B Vance promoteon National Geographic channel, then Hulu. They both talk about how they came into the role, Arethas influence on them, literally and metaphorically. CE talks about her process of signing her songs. She sings one of Arethas songs live, telling a story. CBV talks about Aretha's activism and his own history.Source links are below each video or section
New Delhi, March 25 : Hotter years have been routinely linked with reduced economic output in the developing countries, and one reason is that people are less productive at work and are more likely to be absent on hot days, a new research showed on Thursday .

The aggregate effects are large enough to significantly reduce the output of the manufacturing sector. By using several high-frequency microdata sets of worker output and a nationally representative dataset of more than 58,000 factories across India, researchers have found that plants produce about 2 per cent less revenue for every one-degree rise in annual temperature.

The greatest declines occurred in labour-intensive plants.

"The effect of high temperatures on lower crop yields has been previously established. This paper shows that rising temperatures can also hurt economic output in other sectors by reducing the productivity of human labour. The damage is greatest when already warm days become hotter. If India wishes to succeed in becoming a manufacturing powerhouse using cheap labour, we need to think hard about how we can adapt to a hotter world," said Anant Sudarshan, South Asia Director of the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago.

Sudarshan co-authored this study with E. Somanathan of Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi, Rohini Somanathan of Delhi School of Economics, and Meenu Tewari of University of North Carolina in the US.

The authors argue that although the focus of the paper is on Indian manufacturing plants, because heat stress is a universal physiological mechanism, there are implications for any sector where labour is important such as construction or services.

This multi-year study indicates that climate control in the workplace removes productivity declines but not absenteeism, presumably because workers remain exposed to high temperatures at home and outside.

And the fact that climate-control is expensive, makes its use limited. "We see that in the absence of climate control, worker productivity declines on hot days and we spot absenteeism even for workers in factories with cooling facilities. When you compound that with limited adoption of climate control technologies in manufacturing industries, you know that we are dealing with a complex problem here," Somanathan said.

So what does the future look like? "It is entirely possible that the industrial sector might respond to high temperatures by increasing automation and shifting away from labor-intensive sectors in hot parts of the world. These adaptive responses may negatively influence wage inequality," added Somanathan.

Echoing a similar concern, Sudarshan said, "The trends that we see in our data makes us think that warm countries in the developing world may face a pervasive 'heat tax' that could damage the competitiveness of their manufacturing sectors and further hurt the wages of poor workers. Research into low-cost technologies to protect workers from ambient temperatures may have significant social value."
The 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections is more than just a contest between a regional party, the Trinamul Congress, and the challenger, which is a national party, the BJP. It is a battle that may well trigger a limited, yet crucial, domino effect in Indian politics.

The battle for West Bengal which begins on March 27, the first day of the eight-phase election, will be a test like no other. This contest is not a verdict on the performance of the Trinamul Congress government led by Mamata Banerjee over the past 10 years or the prospects of the state under a new untested regime of the BJP. It is a confrontation between two ideological positions that are fundamental to the future form of Indias polity.

If the Trinamul Congress manages to retain power, then the war for federalism, multi-party democracy and secular politics will get a shot in the arm against the BJPs vision of a one-nation, one-identity, one nation-one party model or, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi explains it at every one of the many public meetings he has addressed in West Bengal as another unit of the double engine sarkar model. The conquest of this border state for the BJP would significantly strengthen its ideological and popular appeal as the defender of the Hindu majority and its legitimacy to discriminate on the basis of religious identity against the Muslim minority through a process that cancels the status of Muslims as citizens by deploying the Citizenship Amendment Act as an instrument of exclusion.

It will not be an easy election for any of the three blocs that are competing for the voters hearts and minds. Because elections are about choosing a party for running a government, ideology and policy matter in equal measure. It boils down to weighing two things -- first, which party will do more or give more to the voter; second, which party can be trusted to keep its election promises. Every voter will decide based on his or her priorities, which is a complex mix of basic needs, aspirations and sentiments.

And then there is the Samyukta Morcha, a combination of the CPI(M)-led Left Front, the Congress and the newly hatched Indian Secular Front headed by a Muslim cleric, Abbasuddin Siddiqui. Put together as a survival and restoration strategy for the Left parties and the Congress, on its performance will depend the fate of the BJP and to an extent the Trinamul Congress.

The first and second phases, on March 27 and April 1, will set the stage as the 60 seats cover constituencies in East and West Midnapore, Jhargram, Purulia, Bankura, West Burdwan and South 24 Parganas districts where the BJP has pinned its hopes of beating the Trinamul Congress. Nandigram, in East Midnapore, is the crucial constituency; Mamata Banerjee is contesting against Suvendu Adhikari, once her blue-eyed boy now with the BJP, and it will be the key to this election. It defines the nature of the contest between the dominant Trinamul Congress and its leader, and the BJP led by Narendra Modi and defectors from the Trinamul Congress.

It will be definitive in another sense; it will give a clue of how the Samyukta Morchas appeal, especially that of the CPI(M) and the ISFs appeal works. Will the CPI(M) cut into the BJPs vote share by taking back the support it lost in 2019? Will the ISF cut into Trinamul Congress Muslim vote share? Any reduction in the BJPs vote share will make its position, as the main challenger, precarious.

The options for the voter boils down to this -- the Trinamul Congress, which as the party of the incumbent government has a lot to live down, but has a leader who remains the most popular choice as chief minister; the BJP, that does not have a chief ministerial candidate and is banking on the Narendra Modi mystique to hoist it to power and then install a face to lead the government, should it succeed in winning; or, the newly formed Samyukta Morcha, which is in the running as the alternative, if not to the party in power then as the alternative to the party in the Opposition.

This is also a fight between Mamata Banerjee and the rest. Can she be dislodged from her position of dominating the political landscape of West Bengal? Her campaign slogan Bangla nijer meyeke chai, that is, Bengal wants it own daughter, underlines the centrality of Mamata Banerjee.

The BJPs campaign has swung between Ashol Poriborton, or real change, which is a makeover of the Trinamul Congress 2011 slogan calling for poriborton, Sonar Bangla, that is restoration of Bengal to an imaginary unspecified golden age, and Aar Noy Anyay, that is no more oppression, wrongdoing, abuse, violation and a host of grievances, as it tests the public response and calibrates its appeal. By projecting itself as the only party in West Bengal which does not have legacy issues, since it was a nonentity till the 2016 Assembly elections and zoomed to principal challenger position after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections winning 18 seats out of the states 42, the BJP has crafted a narrative of being a newly minted choice. For the BJP, West Bengal is like the final frontier; it has positioned itself as defending the nation from being overrun by Muslims crossing over as illegal immigrants, of bringing the periphery into the centre by imprinting Hindutva trademarks on the wayward margin through adoption of Jai Shri Ram as a unifier and the Ganga Arti as a sacred practice.

The CPI(M)s campaign does not have a single defining slogan; instead it has updated its appeal by delivering its messages in the language of urban young adult voters, selling itself through reusing a mix of advertising slogans in Hindi, flash mobs and songs that are a takeoff on popular lyrics.

Inserting itself in between the spaces separating the parties in the fray, a platform has emerged that has one unequivocal message -- No Vote to BJP. It is an appeal for tactical choices in every constituency to keep the saffron tide at bay. Its also a call to Bengali voters to use their choice to shut out the principal enemy, even if it means voting to bring back the Trinamul Congress for a third term.

West Bengal has to decide to be its whimsical wayward self or join the gang.
Image: Shutterstock



Here are a list of top 5 cleanest cities of India that you need to explore





One thing Indians are familiar with (and quite fed up of) is the pollution that surrounds us all the time. Being an overpopulated country, it is only natural that we generate more garbage than other nations, but that doesnt mean were okay with seeing dirt everywhere! Wouldnt you just love to open the door to a cleaner environment and take a deep breath of fresh air?





Swachh Bharat Abhiyan had started a Swachh Survekshan (Hindi for cleanliness survey) in order to promote cleanliness, hygiene and sanitation in villages, cities and towns across India. The result of the fifth edition of the nationwide cleanliness survey is here in the form of Swachh Survekshan 2020, and we are about to recommend to you the top five cleanest cities in India, to which all germaphobes can travel in peace without having to worry a lot about anything but the ever-present COVID protocols.





Keep in mind, though, that just because they are at the top of the list doesnt mean these cities are squeaky clean, but they are clean enough for the Indian government to give them cities a clean chit.
"The activities of Chinese ships in the waters off Grierson Reef seriously violate Vietnams sovereignty and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)," Foreign Affairs Ministry spokewoman Le Thi Thu Hang said Thursday.

"This goes against the spirit of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and complicates the situation in the sea. Vietnam demands that China ends its violations, respects Vietnam's sovereignty, comply with the DOC and not complicate the situation further," Hang said.

"It should be repeated that Vietnam has full legal basis and historical evidence to assert sovereignty over the Spratly Islands, in accordance with international law. As a coastal state and a member of the UNCLOS, Vietnam enjoys sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction in accordance with the convention," she said at a press meet, answering questions about the situation of many Chinese ships anchored in the reef in the South China Sea, which Vietnam calls the East Sea.

The Grierson Reef belongs to Spratly Islands and is part of Sinh Ton Commune, Truong Sa District in the south-central province of Khanh Hoa.

Hang said Vietnam's maritime law enforcement forces are fulfilling their obligations under Vietnamese and international laws, such as UNCLOS, in coping with the issue.

The Philippines Coast Guard announced earlier that some 220 vessels, believed to be manned by Chinese maritime militia personnel, were seen operating near a reef in the South China Sea on March 7. The vessels kept the light on overnight, but have not engaged in any fishing activities despite the convenient weather.

Philippine military chief Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana confirmed Monday that the ships are still in the area and the Philippines is making an accounting of the exact number of vessels.

The U.S. Embassy has said it shared the concerns of the Philippines and accused China of using "maritime militia to intimidate, provoke, and threaten other nations, which undermines peace and security in the region."

An international tribunal in 2016 invalidated Chinas claim to 90 percent of the South China Sea, but Beijing does not recognize the ruling. China has in recent years built islands in the waters, putting air strips on some of them.
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.
Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa and his wife, Mary Majaliwa pays their last respects to the body of fallen President John Magufuli at Uhuru Stadium in Dar es Salaam on Saturday 20, March 2021.

Tanzania is in mourning but for Chato it is more than that, for this is the last time they will ever get to see their beloved son, former President John Magufuli.

Here is the funeral programme:

March 20: The body will be taken to Lugalo Military Hospital then St Peter's Catholic Church in Dar es Salaam before proceeding to Uhuru Stadium for Tanzanian leaders to pay their last respects.

March 21: Public pays respects at Uhuru Stadium in Dar es Salaam.

March 22: Body flown to Dodoma for paying of last respects by public. Also a public holiday.

March 23: Body to be transferred to Zanzibar for locals to pay their last respects.

March 24: Public to pay last respects in Mwanza before transfer of body to Chato.

March 25: Family and public to pay last respect in Chato.

March 26: Mass at Catholic Church in Chato followed by burial at his home. Also a public holiday.
This map shows an area in Bennington, North Bennington and southern Shaftsbury where the state is proposing reclassifying the groundwater as not meeting drinking water standards. The area surrounding two former Bennington factories was affected by PFAS contamination of the groundwater.
He'll make his on-screen debut in series 13 later this year.

And John Bishop got stuck into Doctor Who filming with his co-star Mandip Gill to shoot scenes at St George's Hall in Liverpool on Thursday.

The comedian, 54, who has joined the cast as The Doctor's new companion Dan, appeared to go back in time as he donned a period costume.

Busy bee: John Bishop got stuck into Doctor Who filming with his co-star Mandip Gill to shoot scenes at St George's Hall in Liverpool on Thursday

John wore a pair of high-waisted brown trousers with a dark waistcoat, white T-shirt, navy blue blazer and tweed flat cap.

The comedian appeared to be getting on well with his new co-stars and crew as he shared a laugh while receiving direction on set.

Elsewhere, Mandip, 33, who plays Yasmin Khan, wore a tweed fitted dress and matching coat combo which she accessorised with a patterned tie, crossover bag, gloves and leather boots.

The actress styled her brunette back and tucked under a straw hat, she added a slick of make-up.

Period costume: Mandip, 33, who plays Yasmin Khan, wore a tweed fitted dress and matching coat combo which she accessorised with a patterned tie, crossover bag, gloves and boots

Amazing: The comedian, 54, who has joined the cast as The Doctor's new companion Dan, appeared to go back in time as he donned a period costume

It is believed that the crew are filming their final scenes in Liverpool before moving to Cardiff, Wales, to resume production.

John has joined the cast as one of The Doctor's new companions, following the departure of Ryan (played by Tosin Cole) and Graham (Bradley Walsh) during the New Year's special Revolution of the Daleks.

It comes after rumours emerged that Jodie Whittaker will leave Doctor Who after series 13.

Earlier this month, the BBC refused to comment on speculation, after it was reported that the screen star handed in her notice for the show.

Direction: The comedian appeared to be getting on well with his new co-stars and crew as he shared a laugh while receiving direction on set

Busy bee: Mandip styled her brunette back and tucked under a straw hat, she added a slick of make-up

Location: It is believed that the crew are filming their final scenes in Liverpool before moving to Cardiff, Wales, to resume production

Jodie reportedly told BBC bosses that she won't be returning to the popular series following the conclusion of the upcoming series 13.

That will mark a three-year run for the actress, which is about average for recent actors playing the time-traveling alien.

Matt Smith, David Tennant and Peter Capaldi also appeared on Doctor Who for three series each, while Christopher Eccleston only appeared on one series after the show was revived in 2005.

According to a source for The Mirror, the show is already at work on figuring out how Whittaker will be replaced by the Fourteenth Doctor.

Character: Mandip transformed into character and was later seen having her costume adjusted by crew members

Amazing: John has joined the cast as one of The Doctor's new companions, following the departure of Ryan (played by Tosin Cole) and Graham (Bradley Walsh) during the New Year's special Revolution of the Daleks

'Its all very hush-hush but it is known on set that Jodie is leaving and they are gearing up for a regeneration,' a source said.

'Her departure is top secret but at some point over the coming months the arrival of the 14th Doctor will need to be filmed. Its very exciting.'

As with previous Doctors, at the end of Whittaker's tenure her character will 'regenerate' into a new form, at which point the next actor will take over the role.

Jodie made history in July 2017 when she was announced as the first-ever female doctor after Peter Capaldi ended his run.

Earlier this month, Mandip revealed that bosses are 'open' to casting a 'woman of colour' as the next Time Lord.

The actress, who plays Yasmin Khan in the sci-fi series, said that 'there's definitely room for change,' when it comes to diversifying the show's cast, following reports that Jodie has quit the role after four years in the TARDIS.

It comes after Who was universally praised by fans for introducing its first ever black Doctor, played by Jo Martin in a shocking twist that saw the time traveller learn of numerous incarnations from her past.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4, Mandip said she could see another black actor taking on the famous role, as bosses are yet to confirm rumours that Jodie will leave the show later this year.

She said: 'I think there's a long way to go but there's definitely room for change. And actually, I think at the BBC and at Doctor Who they are very open and forward-thinking, so yes.'

Mandip joined the cast as Yaz alongside Jodie's Doctor in 2018, and will appear alongside John when he joins the series as the new companion Dan later this year.
This article is part of the On Tech newsletter. You can sign up here to receive it weekdays.

Today there is yet another congressional hearing about an internet law that is older than Google: Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Please dont stop reading.

Odds are the law wont change. But its still worth talking about Section 230 because its a stand-in for big questions: Is more speech better, and who gets to decide? Shouldnt we do something about giant internet companies? And who is responsible when bad things that happen online lead to people being hurt or even killed?

Let me try to explain what the law is, whats really at stake and the proposals to fix it.

What is Section 230 again? The 26-word law allows websites to make rules about what people can or cant post without being held legally responsible (for the most part) for the content.

If I accuse you of murder on Facebook, you might be able to sue me, but you cant sue Facebook. If you buy a defective toy from a merchant on Amazon, you might be able to take the seller to court, but not Amazon. (There is some legal debate about this, but you get the gist.)
Pfizer Inc and its German partner BioNTech SE have begun testing their COVID-19 vaccine in children under age 12.

On Wednesday, Pfizer spokesperson Sharon Castillo said the first volunteers in the early-stage trial were given their first injections.

The vaccine was authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in late December for those aged 16 and older.

The companies hope they will be able to expand vaccination to that age range by early 2022.

Pfizer Inc and BioNTech has begin testing their coronavirus vaccine in children between ages six month and 12 (file image)

The pediatric trial, which will include children as young as six months old, follows a similar one launched by Moderna Inc last week.

The safety of their two-shot vaccine at three different dosages - 10, 20 and 30 micrograms - in a 144-participant trial.

Researchers plan to later expand to a 4,500-participant late-stage trial with, children will be split into three groups: ages six months to two years, ages two to five years and ages five to 12, according to clinicaltrials.gov.

In each group, about half will receive the two doses 21 days apart and the other half will be given the placebo.

The team will test the safety, tolerability and immune response generated by the vaccine, likely by measuring antibody levels in the young subjects.

Provided the vaccine is proven to be safe and effective, the trial will be unblinded at the six-month follow-up, meaning those who received the placebo will be offered the vaccine.

The trial is currently being conducted at centers in three states: Massachusetts, North Carolina and Ohio.

Castillo said the companies hope to have data from the trial in the second half of 2021.

Meanwhile, Pfizer has been testing the vaccine in children from age 12 to 15. The company expects to have data from that trial in the coming weeks, she added.

Only the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is being used in 16- and 17-year-olds in the U.S.

About an average of 2.5 million people are being vaccinated every day and President Joe Biden has set a goal of 200 million vaccinations in his first 100 days in office.

So far, 85.4 million Americans - 25.7% of the population - have received at least one dose and 46.3 million - 14% - are fully immunized

Moderna's shot as well as Johnson & Johnson's were cleared for those age 18 and older, and no COVID-19 vaccine has been authorized in younger kids yet.

Nearly 66 million doses of the vaccine had been administered in the United States as of Wednesday - with 206,000 going to those under age 18, according to data from the CDC.

Children are often the last group to be tested during clinical trials because they are not merely little adults.

Their bodies and immune systems behave differently, meaning they might have different treatment needs.

What's more, children may need different doses or needle sizes depending on their height, weight and age - which is why most children are only vaccinated after safety has been well-documented in the adult population.

So far, 85.4 million Americans - 25.7 percent of the population - have received at least one dose and 46.3 million - 14 percent - are fully immunized.

About an average of 2.5 million people are being vaccinated every day and President Joe Biden has set a goal of 200 million vaccinations in his first 100 days in office.
After much pressure, the Chief Executive Officer of KD Records, Oluwagbenga Oluwafemi Dawodu, popularly called Kristen Dawodu, has given his reasons for not signing female artists, adding that there are other factors that are considered before signing the dotted lines with an emerging artiste.

Kristen Dawodu, an Ogun State indigene and a graduate of Tai Solarin University said that he has been in the music business but was not known until last year when KD Records made a bold step during the Coronavirus pandemic.

He highlighted what it takes for KD Records to sign on a new Act and why the label which already has Specdo and Deedee Jojo is not ready to welcome a female artiste yet.

"I have no reason for not signing a female artiste. I guess I haven't found the right one. Trust me, it is not all about just signing an artist; it's a matter of if she can push. Can she do all that is required to push a new project?," he asked rhetorically.

Speaking on the business of the music industry, the music label boss said that KD Records conduct a background check before signing any artiste to avoid breakup between artists.

"First of all, before I sign my artiste, I do my background checks to know if he or she is going to be someone who will give me hard times. I just don't jump into signing and working with people just like that," Kristen Dawodu stated.

During last year's pandemic, KD Records signed two new artists, showing that the company is ready to break into the music world. Nevertheless, KD Records has laid down rules and types of artists to work with.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Entertainment By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"The business is not all about me now. It's all about my artist. We all trying to work on some good music and promote it with lots of money. I want my artist to be known worldwide. We work together as a team to sharpen their talents. Once in a while, we seat together and discuss how we can move our music/ record forward. Trust me most record labels don't do this.

" We don't have any plan to add to our talents for now. We just want to focus on the two artists ( Specdo and Deedee Jojo). We want to push them as much as I can," Kristen Dawodu stated.

Kristen Dawodu might be strict on investing much because of what it takes to invest in Nigeria "I spend dollars so it helps to look at the rate to Naira; it's an advantage for me.

"While operating business in Nigeria, I have learned that if you don't have more than enough capital for business in Nigeria, don't start it. If you do, you will end up quitting or getting it closed. Most of the people in Nigeria buy on credit so you need enough capital to keep your stand or ground. And I have also learned that you don't underestimate anyone. Don't look down on people because you don't know the future. Life is a teacher; the more you live, the more you learn," Kristen Dawodu stated.
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.
Phasing out of aid packages and the normalization of the bankruptcy legislation expected to cause significant deterioration in global insolvency outlook

AMSTERDAM, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite the deep recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic last year, the expected spike in global bankruptcies did not occur. Globally the number of bankruptcies fell by an estimated 14% in 2020 with some of the larger European economies: Spain, Germany, France and the United Kingdom, experiencing declines of 14%, 17%, 40% and 27%. In the Netherlands, bankruptcies decreased by 17% in 2020, compared to the already low level in 2019.

Turkey and Ireland were the only two countries examined where bankruptcies increased last year. In Turkey, companies faced tighter financing conditions and limited government support. In Ireland, the increase was only 1%.

Two factors can explain the striking trend of declining bankruptcies. Firstly, many countries made changes to their insolvency regime in order to protect companies from going bankrupt. Secondly, governments across the world have taken fiscal measures to counteract the adverse economic effects of the pandemic and support small businesses, in particular.

Increase in bankruptcies expected in all major regions worldwide

Despite the rollout of vaccines and positive growth figures, we expect a 26% increase in bankruptcies at global level in 2021. An increase is expected in all major regions and countries reviewed, except for Turkey, where bankruptcies were already on the rise in 2020. The largest increases are expected in Australia, France and Singapore.

These forecasts are mainly based on expectations of gradual phasing out of local fiscal support measures and reopening of bankruptcy courts and proceedings. Consequently, many companies that were rescued last year by the above mentioned measures, will likely file for bankruptcy in 2021. It is worth mentioning that the countries with the highest expected increase in insolvencies in percentage terms this year are most likely the ones with unusually low insolvencies in 2020.

Bankruptcy levels expected to remain high at the end of 2021

Bankruptcy levels in almost all countries examined - except for Germany, Greece, New Zealand and Romania - are expected to be higher at the end of 2021 than before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Spain and the Netherlands are among the countries forecast to experience the largest increase in bankruptcies, taking together the forecast of 2020 and 2021. This is due to a relatively strong reaction of bankruptcies to GDP fluctuations traditionally observed in these countries.

Theo Smid, Senior Economist at Atradius, commented on the report: "Three forces are expected to shape global insolvencies development in 2021: The strength and breadth of economic growth this year, the gradual phasing out of government stimulus and other support schemes, and whether temporary changes in bankruptcy legislation reduced or just delayed filings. Their combined impact will greatly influence actual insolvency numbers and trade credit risk in 2021 and 2022."

About Atradius

Atradius is a global provider of credit insurance, surety and collections services, with a strategic presence in over 50 countries. The products offered by Atradius protect companies around the world against the default risks associated with selling goods and services on credit. Atradius is a member of Grupo Catalana Occidente (GCO.MC), one of the largest insurers in Spain and one of the largest credit insurers in the world. You can find more information online at https://group.atradius.com

For further information: Atradius Corporate Communications Christine Gerryn Tel.: +31 20 553 2047 E-mail: christine.gerryn@atradius.com www.atradius.com Connect with Atradius on Social Media Twitter https://twitter.com/atradius LinkedIn https://linkedin.com/company/atradius YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/atradiusgroup







Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/712156/Atradius_Logo.jpg
A young mother has been left to raise her seven-year-old son and six-month-old twins alone after she lost her partner in a freak motorcycle accident.

Ayla Miers' fiance Adam Rischitelli came off his motorbike while riding through Winchelsea, an hour south of Melbourne, on Saturday afternoon.

The family - Ms Miers, 29, Mr Rischtelli, son Ari and six-month-old identical twins Alivia and Audrey - jokingly called themselves the 'A team' before the tragedy.

Ms Mier, 29, lost her fiance Adam Rischitelli to a tragic motorcycle crash and has been left to raise son Ari (left) and her six-month-old twins Alivia and Audrey

Ayla Miers' fiance Adam Rischitelli (pictured left) came off his motorbike while riding through Winchelsea, an hour south of Melbourne, on Saturday afternoon

Victoria Police confirmed Mr Rischitelli was travelling north on Winchelsea-Deans Marsh Road when he came off his bike and crashed into a tree on March 20.

'The motorbike was engulfed in flames and sadly the rider died at the scene', police said.

Ms Miers told Daily Mail Australia life with Adam had been incredibly happy, describing him as 'loyal, genuine, funny and calm'.

'He was the other half of my soul. He was the beating heart of our lives,' she said.

The young family have received an outpouring of support from friends and loved ones, including generous donations from strangers.

Ms Mier (pictured) has been left to raise son Ari and six-month-old identical twins Alivia and Audrey, after losing a vital member of what the family jokingly calls the 'A team'

Ms Mier's Aunt and friend Kate have created a GoFundMe page to raise money for the young family, and have received over $90,000 in donations in just three days.

The fundraiser will aim to raise $200,000 which Ms Meirs said would be used to provide a stable life for her children, including their schooling and the mortgage.

'It is going to take me a long time to process the overwhelming support we are receiving. I cannot express in words what it means to us', Ms Mier said.

'Adam just wanted them to be happy and stable and thats what will happen.'

Ms Mier also posted a tribute to her beloved on Facebook, addressing the post to all of the couples friends and family.

'He was the best father, son, partner, friend, colleague that anyone could have ever asked for. He was and always will be incredibly loved', she wrote.

'Adams legacy will live on through his twin daughters he has left behind and his Step son. We will stay strong, we will grieve but we will not dwell.

'He often told me not to dwell as life is too short. He was and is right. The memories of him will never leave us and will make us laugh, cry and love infinitely.'
THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON  Episode 1340A  Pictured in this screengrab: Senator Bernie Sanders during an interview on October 23, 2020  (Photo by: NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

On Wednesday, Senator Bernie Sanders announced that he would be flying out to Birmingham, Alabama to meet with workers at an Amazon warehouse. Employees at the trillion-dollar company are currently on the precipice of a historic vote that will determine whether or not theyll unionize, despite Amazons repeated attempts to dissuade workers from doing so.

But then, Amazons corporate overlords responded to the Senators planned trip. Dave Clark, Amazons Senior Vice President of Worldwide Operations, weighed in: I often say we are the Bernie Sanders of employers, but thats not quite right because we actually deliver a progressive workplace, Clark wrote on Twitter. If you want to hear about $15 an hour and health care, Senator Sanders will be speaking downtown. But if you would like to make at least $15 an hour and have good health care, Amazon is hiring.

Unsurprisingly, Clarks attempts to school the Senates resident champion for workers rights backfired. First, Sanders confirmed his plan to visit. All I want to know is why the richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos, is spending millions trying to prevent workers from organizing a union so they can negotiate for better wages, benefits and working conditions, he added. Clark then replied with an accusation that Vermonts $11.75 minimum wage is lower than Amazons $15 an hour. But that argument doesnt make sense for several reasons: Amazon implemented the minimum wage after pressure from supporters of the Stop BEZOS Act, a piece of legislation introduced by Sanders. Vermont also has a Republican governor, and because Sanders is not a state legislator, his home states minimum wage is not exactly under his jurisdiction. What Sanders can do is fight for a higher federal minimum wage, which hes been doing. For ages.

This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it.

The heated back-and-forth only continued to unfold when others got involved. Clarks Twitter mentions were  and still are  a mess, with users sharing article after article about Amazons exploitative, disturbing working conditions. Hey Dave Clark, remember that time you lied to millions of Americans about people dying of COVID at Amazon? wrote one person. Fight for 15, a workers rights organization, shared another link to a Guardian story about warehouse workers dying (of reasons unrelated to COVID, prior to the pandemic)  employees have alleged that theyve watched coworkers die of heart attacks, and by suicide, and then been instructed to get back to work as if nothing had happened. Several people even cited a Fortune article about Clark, which alleges that he was nicknamed the Sniper because he admitted to hiding in the shadows at Amazons warehouses in order to find slackers he could fire.

Story continues

But what really took this Twitter war to new heights was responses claiming that workers are forced to pee in bottles and trash cans. These allegations have floated around for a while, with several workers and undercover employees in both the U.S. and the U.K. sharing that because there werent any nearby bathrooms, workers would pee wherever they could so as to not miss their targets and get fired. But according to a U.S. staffer who spoke with Business Insider in 2018, workers caught peeing in cans were fired anyway. Paying workers $15/hr doesnt make you a progressive workplace when you union-bust & make workers urinate in water bottles, Wisconsin Rep. Mark Pocan wrote on Twitter.

A verified Amazon account responded to Pocans statement. You dont really believe the peeing in bottles thing, do you? wrote @AmazonNews, adding that if that were true, nobody would work for Amazon. But New York Rep. Mondaire Jones put it best: If that were true, nobody would work for us. Imagine if our economy made it that easy. Thats why we need unions.

Amazon executives have been accused of working overtime to prevent employees from unionizing and even gone so far as to hire intelligence analysts to monitor labor organizing threats. Recently, the company was accused of deleting the profiles of hundreds of thousands of entry-level employees from an online staff directory, which some people viewed as an attempt to cut communication between workers. (An Amazon spokesperson denied that this change was related to unionization efforts.)

The decision of whether to form a union will be determined by a mail-in election. Workers began voting in February, and the National Labor Relations Board will start tallying results on March 30. Refinery29 has reached out to an Amazon representative for comment.

Sanders has been a longtime critic of Amazons labor conditions and surveillance practices. The fact that Amazon has decided to heavily invest in systems to retaliate against freedom of expression about unsafe and unhealthy working conditions, and to refer to organizing efforts as threats against the company equal to those posed by hate groups and terrorism, is unacceptable, Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and two other Senators wrote in a letter to CEO Jeff Bezos last October.

And on Thursday, he once again reiterated his support for warehouse workers: In the case of Amazon, lets be clear. Youre dealing with an enormously profitable corporation owned by the wealthiest guy in America, Jeff Bezos, Sanders said in a video shared to Twitter. They can afford to pay their workers living wages and provide decent health benefits.

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

Biden Throws Support Behind Amazon Workers Union

Instacart Has Laid Off Almost 2,000 Workers

How You Can Unionize Your Workplace
By Sakura Murakami and Josh Smith

TOKYO/SEOUL (Reuters) - The U.S. military landed in hot water with Japanese officials on Thursday when a spokesman used the term "East Sea" to refer to the wedge of sea between Japan, Russia, and the Korean peninsula where North Korea tested missiles earlier in the day.

"We are aware of North Korean missile launches this morning into the East Sea," the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command spokesman Captain Mike Kafka said in the only initial official statement from the U.S. government.

North Korea launched two suspected ballistic missiles into the sea near Japan, drawing condemnation and concern from Japan, the United States, and South Korea.

The U.S. military's use of the term "East Sea" made a splash of its own in Japan, which prefers the name "Sea of Japan".

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Manabu Sakai told a news conference that the use of East Sea was inappropriate".

"Japans stance on this issue is that 'Sea of Japan' is the one and only official, international name for this body of water," he said.

"We have already made our position on this issue clear to the United States and are currently requesting a correction."

Kafka did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Japanese consternation highlights the challenges for the new Biden administration, which has vowed to rebuild relations with its allies in Asia.

South Korea, which was occupied by Japan from 1910-1945, argues that the area of ocean should be known by what it sees as the neutral name "East Sea".

The sea is also the location of islets that both South Korea and Japan claim. South Korea, which administers the outcrops, calls them Dokdo while Japan calls them Takeshima.

Those are just two areas of tension between the U.S. allies.

Historical and economic disputes nearly led to South Korea scrapping, in 2019, an intelligence-sharing deal with Japan that had been backed and brokered by the United States.

Rhetoric has since cooled but the disputes can flare up unexpectedly and complicate U.S. efforts to coordinate Asia strategy.

(Reporting by Josh Smith; Editing by Robert Birsel)
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.
Connecticut will receive approximately $1.8 million from a nearly $189 million settlement that 47 states and the District of Columbia have reached with Boston Scientific Corp., to resolve allegations that the company deceptively marketed transvaginal surgical-mesh products, state officials announced Wednesday.

Boston Scientific misled millions of women through marketing that disguised the dangers of surgical mesh, with thousands of women suffering serious complications, alleged state Attorney General William Tong.

In addition to the fine, the settlement requires Boston Scientific to undertake marketing, training and clinical-trial reforms to ensure this type of preventable and unacceptable tragedy never happens again, Tong said in a statement.

Surgical mesh is a synthetic woven fabric implanted in the pelvic floor through the vagina to treat common health conditions including stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. Such conditions are due to a weakening in pelvic-floor muscles caused by factors including childbirth and age.

This case is another example of the serious consequences deceptive advertising can have on consumers, state Consumer Protection Commissioner Michelle Seagull said in a statement. The terms of this settlement are an important step toward protecting women from further harm due to the poor marketing and misrepresentation of the risks associated with surgical mesh by Boston Scientific.

The state alleges that Marlborough, Mass.-headquartered Boston Scientific misrepresented the safety of its products by failing to fully disclose potential serious and irreversible complications caused by mesh, including chronic pain, voiding dysfunction and the new onset of incontinence.

We feel this settlement, which is not an admission of misconduct or liability, is in the best interests of the company and its shareholders, Boston Scientific said in a statement. We are pleased to resolve this dispute and to continue focusing on delivering innovative products and solutions to physicians and patients.

The investigation that resulted in the settlement was led by California and Washington along with Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas.

From Connecticuts $1.8 million settlement share, $200,000 and $100,000 will, respectively, be allocated to funds maintained by the Attorney Generals Office and Department of Consumer Protection that support consumer-protection programs. The remainder of the settlement money will go to the states general fund.

During the past year and a half, Connecticut has reached two other, similar settlements related to allegedly deceptive marketing of transvaginal surgical-mesh devices.

Last September, it joined a 48-state agreement that required C.R. Bard Inc., and its parent company Becton, Dickinson and Co., to pay $60 million.

In October 2019, it participated in a 40-state settlement requiring Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Ethicon Inc., to pay nearly $117 million.

pschott@stamfordadvocate.com; twitter: @paulschott
Smithsonian ChannelLast year, the Smithsonian Channel announced it was making a documentary that followed Cher in her quest to rescue an elephant from a lonely and unhealthy existence in the Pakistan Zoo. Now, the project has an official title, and a premiere date.

Cher & The Loneliest Elephant will premiere on Earth Day, April 22, on Paramount+ in the U.S. For those without that streaming platform, it'll arrive on the Smithsonian Channel on May 19 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

As previously reported, several years ago, Cher was made aware of Kaavan, an elephant that had spent nearly 20 years in chains in a dilapidated zoo in Islamabad. His unhealthy living conditions led to depression and angry psychosis, and when his only mate died of neglect, he became even more isolated.

Cher promised to help and co-founded the charity organization Free the Wild to work to relocate Kavaan. In May of last year, Pakistan finally ordered him freed, and in November, Cher flew to Pakistan to retrieve him and relocate him to a wildlife sanctuary in Cambodia. The mission was successful, despite many obstacles along the way.

People want a happy ending. People don't want to see animals suffer," says Cher in a statement. "And I know people are suffering too, but this is a story that can brighten their lives.

By Andrea Dresdale

Copyright  2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
In this episode of Cheers PA! Beer Tours, we visit Pennsylvanias beer trail in Lancaster County. The Lancaster County Ale trail features over 20 breweries and distilleries one can visit while enjoying all that Lancaster County has to offer in Amish country. Join our host and brewer Hannah Ison, as we tour the Lancaster Brewing Company, the Central Market farmers market, and explore the Cartoon Network Hotel next to Dutch Wonderland.

Watch the episode below and on Cheerspa.com. You can follow Cheers PA! on Facebook, Instagram and on Twitter. In addition to Beer Tours, join Mike Lintal for a live podcast show at noon today, March 25 (and every second and fourth Thursday of the month) on Cheers PAs YouTube channel and Facebook page. Get the chance to ask brewers and industry insiders your questions about craft beer brewing in Pennsylvania.
The General Secretary of the NPP, John Boadu, has disclosed that the party will soon begin a nationwide exercise of compiling a register of all the members of the party, as well as persons wishing to be members, at each of the over 38,000 polling stations of the country, as part of the partys restructuring and reorganization efforts.



This exercise, according to him, is expected to commence in the month of April 2021, after the partys NEC meets and adopts the proposed modalities for its rollout. He encouraged every member of the party to go to their respective polling stations and get their details captured in the membership register which shall be kept at the polling station levels, and updated every six months in line with Article 3(10) of the NPP Constitution.



The governing partys chief scribe and Director of Operations and Logistics for the 2020 campaign [John Boadu] made this disclosure on Tuesday, March 23, 2021, at a meeting with party grassroots including constituency executives of the Bono East Region at the regional capital, Techiman.



The meeting forms part of the National Executives nationwide thank you tour following the partys 2020 electoral victory, which was recently affirmed by the nations Supreme Court as a true and accurate reflection of the will of the Ghanaian people.



At the moment, all the ten elected National Executives of the NPP, led by the National Chairman, are embarking on a nationwide tour to touch base with the partys grassroots, and to also listen to their legitimate grievances. Each of the ten national executives of the party took turn to address the meeting of party grassroots in the regions visited.



The executives have so far visited Greater Accra, Ashanti, Bono, Ahafo and Bono East regions. They are expected to resume their tour of Greater Accra on Thursday, where they will be visiting some outstanding constituencies, which will then mark the completion of the first phase of their nationwide tour.



Also in attendance at these touching-base and thank you meetings, were the regional executives who were led by their regional chairmen, as well as MMDCEs and Members of Parliament for the respective districts and constituencies that were visited.



The National Executives embarking on this tour comprised the National Chairman, Freddy Blay; General Secretary, John Boadu; National 1st Vice Chair, Rita Asobayire; National 2nd Vice Chairman, F.F Anto; National 3rd Vice Chair, Omari Wadie; National Treasurer, Abankwa Yeboah; National Organizer, Sammi Awuku; National Youth Organizer, Nana Boakye; National Nasara Coordinator, Abdul Aziz Futah; and the National Women Organizer, Kate Gyamfua.

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
TEL AVIV  Israels fourth election in two years has ended in another stalemate, with neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor his opponents able to win a parliamentary majority, according to final results released Thursday by the Israeli election authority.

The results set the stage for weeks or even months of protracted coalition negotiations that many analysts expect may fail, prompting yet another election in late summer.

The results, though final, are not yet official, since they have yet to be formally presented to the countrys largely ceremonial president, Reuven Rivlin. That will happen next Wednesday, a spokesman for the central elections committee said.

But the count confirms earlier projections that Mr. Netanyahus alliance of right-wing and religious parties won 52 seats, nine short of an overall majority. A heterogeneous collection of centrist, left-wing, right-wing and Arab opposition parties won 57.
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 the evening of March 17, Western diplomats and political analysts around the world were still puzzling over the real motives behind President Joe Bidens brutal verbal attack on his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin (a killer), when in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S. diplomacy lashed out head-on at a high-level Chinese delegation during what was supposed to be the first major USA-China Summit since the new Presidential Administration took office in Washington, Modern Diplomacy reports. Those who had imagined that, with the end of Trumps era, U.S. international relations would go back to the polite manners of diplomacy and multilateralism quickly had to change their minds.

Joe Biden made his debut on the international scene by ordering the bombing of an Iraqi village that allegedly housed Shia militiamen supported by Iran. The action resulted in 22 to 27 deaths, whether guerrillas or collateral victims is not known. The fact remains that a President who coldly and lucidly ordered a necessarily bloody war action, carried out on the territory of a sovereign State, calls his Russian colleague a killer and at the same time declares that China is a strategic enemy of the United States.

This new policy line of unsuspected aggression of the new U.S. President was evidently shared with conviction by the new Secretary of State, Antony Blinken (who was Hillary Clintons number 2 when the disgraceful operation of rapprochement with the Libyan militias was conceived, which cost Ambassador Chris Stevens his life in 2012), who, on the evening of March 17, opened the Summit with the Chinese delegation bluntly accusing China of repressing the Uygur Muslim minority in Xinjiang, as well as of undemocratic actions in Hong Kong and of cyberattacks on the United States.

The reply by Jang Jeichi, Director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC), was also outside the bounds of diplomatic courtesy: The United States  the Chinese diplomat replied-uses its military power and financial hegemony to crush other countriesabuses the so-called notion of national security to hinder trade and incite other States to attack ChinaYou have to put an end to this Cold War mentality. Thisisnot the way to deal with our country. Cooperation can benefit both sides, but you have to follow diplomatic protocol.

The Summit ended with a vague preliminary agreement on combating climate change, not without yet another deviation from the manners of diplomacy, when Blinken abruptly cancelled dinner with the Chinese delegation in a way that the guests found unnecessarily rude and irritating.

The useless Anchorage Summit will also adversely affect the issue of USA-North Korea relations.

The strategy devised by Donald Trump to convince the North Korean leadership to start a process of real denuclearisation of the country had become ever more evanescent since -once half of his term of office had elapsed  he showed he was more interested in his re-election than in international relations, to the point that his Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, coming back from a poor figure in Rome where he had not been received by Pope Francis, who was clearly irritated by American interference in relations between the Vatican and China, made a pointless visit to Pyongyang where the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, refused to receive him.

Those who expected a change of tune with the new Presidential Administration had to change their mind.

If the problem of a North Korea equipped with nuclear weapons and modern carriers is considered a real problem, then the U.S. Department of State must recognise that its solution passes through China, because without sound Chinese guarantees, it is difficult for Kim Jong Un to abandon his strategy of self-defence, including the nuclear one.

It would therefore seem very difficult for the new Secretary of State to reopen a channel of dialogue with North Korea by heavily insulting a Chinese delegation visiting the United States, while the United States  in the silence of the new Administration  is facing a wave of protests over the violence suffered by Americans of Asian origin.

After President Bidens cold TV attack on Putin, Russia, too, reacted with detached firmness: after recalling its Ambassador to Washington  a move which is hardly less severe than the breaking off of diplomatic relations  Putin contented himself with poking fun at his American colleagues health conditions and mental state, while his Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, refrained from commenting on the American Presidents accusations and preferred to fly to Beijing on March 21 for consultations with President Xi Jinping.

In short, faced with an American Administration that wants to appear decidedly more aggressive than the one led by Trump who, however, at the end of his term of office managed to act as a catalyst for the new relations between Israel and the Arab world, Russia and China are strengthening ties and cooperation, with the creation of an axis that can shift the true centre of gravity of international relations to the East, without neglecting the geo-strategic attention that both Russia and China pay to the Mediterranean.

In fact, while Russia is firmly present in Syria, where it has the port of Latakia as its base, and is the main partner of Syria in the reconstruction of the country from the ruins of civil war, China, which has the largest commercial fleet in the world, after dedicating its energies and investment to Africa, has entered the Mediterranean with strong investment in Greece (it is said that after having conquered Piraeus, China is looking carefully at Palermo and Trieste) and sound initial contacts with Israel for the use of the port of Haifa.

Like Israel, China has actually emerged from the Covid-19 pandemic crisis and appears to be intelligently oriented towards encouraging the recovery and revival of international economy after the collapse following the health emergency.

In this situation, which should see the worlds most advanced countries trying to deploy common and synergistic efforts to revive the economy at world level, by overcoming long-standing and old-fashioned ideological fences, the United States is even thinking of shifting NATOs attention eastwards, in a prospect of confrontation with Russia and China that seems to want to bring back the bleakest and gloomiest climate of the Cold War.

The strategy inaugurated by President Biden and his Secretary of State Blinkenis a strategy of tension to which Europe looks with obvious embarrassment, being aware that only an innovative approach to trade, as well as to financial and political relations at global level, will be able to get our world out of the most severe crisis of the century.

A strategy of tension that appears short-sighted and unmotivated and does not take into account the old saying that when goods do not cross borders, soldiers will.
ADVERTISEMENT

Citing insecurity, the acting Chief Judge of Imo State, Justice Ijeoma Oguguo, has relocated the Etiti High Court in Ihite-Uboma council area to Owerri High Court premises.

The decision was conveyed in a memo signed on her behalf by the Chief Registrar, C. N. Okereke, a copy of which was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday.

According to NAN, some angry youths from Ihite-Uboma had attacked the Etiti High Court recently and set it ablaze.

The youths, who were protesting the alleged killing of two siblings by police officers, also set ablaze the police divisional headquarters in the area.

The memo stated that the movement was temporary and was as a result of the fire incident and safety of judicial workers.

(NAN)
I get questioned all of the time, what is the department doing about the violence, the shootings and the homicides? What were doing is risking our lives every day to protect this city, Chicago police Superintendent David Brown said at a news conference outside Mount Sinai Hospital, where police said the officer was treated for a gunshot wound to the shoulder and underwent surgery before being released later Thursday.
The United States of America is closely watching Russia's actions in eastern Ukraine and is preparing to show more active diplomacy in this area.

George Kent, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, said this in an interview with VOAs Ukraine service on March 24.

"The United States is very concerned. You can see it in open-source reporting, different actions along the line of contact. New trenches near the old Donbas airport. I think the key thing is our expectation for Russia, the same as Ukraine is that President Vladimir Putin and Russia need to live up to the obligations and commitments that Putin made in February of 2015, six years ago. There would be a total cease-fire, foreign forces, by which mean Russian forces, are recalled from Russia and that Ukraine recovers the control of its sovereign border. And today seven years later, Russia has not lived up to its obligations," he said.

Asked if the U.S. plans to be more active in negotiations with Russia in Normandy format or other formats, Kent noted that when they fill out their team at the State Department, they all get vaccinated and are able to resume travel, "you will see more active U.S. diplomacy in this area."

ish
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.
RTHK: Rights groups urge EU to rebuff online content law

EU lawmakers should reject a proposed law that forces Google, Facebook and Twitter to remove terrorist content within an hour of publication because of the risks to fundamental rights, 61 civil rights groups said on Thursday.

The European Commission drafted the legislation in 2018 after a spate of attacks by radicalised lone-wolf attackers in several European cities, with online terrorist content seen as one of the contributing factors.

The European Parliament is expected to vote on the legislation next month, three months after reaching a political agreement with EU countries.

The civil rights groups, which include Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Civil Liberties Union for Europe and the European Federation of Journalists, said the proposal threatened freedom of expression, freedom to access information, the right to privacy and the rule of law.

The Commission defines online terrorist content as material inciting terrorism or aimed at recruited or training terrorists.

The short time frame given to online platforms to remove terrorist content meant they would likely use automated content moderation tools, such as upload filters, the groups said.

They said such tools may fail to spot the differences between activism, counter-speech and satire about terrorism.

"Increased automation will ultimately result in the removal of legal content like news content and content about discriminatory treatment of minorities and under-represented groups," the groups said, citing the examples of the Syrian and Yemeni Archives  two non-governmental organisations that archive video from conflict zones in the Middle East.

The groups also took issue with the power given to national authorities rather than courts to order terrorist content to be taken down across the bloc, saying this amounted to state over-reach.

"This regulation could also empower authoritarians to stamp out criticism beyond their borders. It means leaders like Viktor Orban could demand an online platform removes content hosted in another country because he doesn't like it," said Eva Simon, senior advocacy officer at the Civil Liberties Union. (Reuters)

This story has been published on: 2021-03-25. 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 24, 2021] ADA's Marketing Technology Service Uses Data and AI to Transform Businesses

ADA launches MarTech service across APAC

New MarTech-as-a-Service offering to boost sales and marketing performance

Clients to benefit from ADA's existing data analytics skillset to drive business outcomes SINGAPORE, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ADA launched a new Marketing Technology (MarTech) service across Asia-Pacific (APAC) to help clients optimise their end-to-end sales and marketing efforts. Clients will benefit from this new MarTech-as-a-Service offering in addition to the current suite of products and services as ADA continues to use existing data analytics skillset to drive impactful business outcomes. According to Gartner, some 80% of organisations feel they are sitting on an outdated MarTech roadmap, and 67% think their existing technology is not useful A study by Harvard Business Review found that 80% of marketers want better tools to measure return on investment.



To meet this need, ADA's MarTech-as-a-Service offering will empower businesses to scale up via three core services: Business Value Discovery - Analyse client's business operations across sales and marketing funnel by consulting and matching with ADA's existing expertise to grow and scale.

Analyse client's business operations across sales and marketing funnel by consulting and matching with ADA's existing expertise to grow and scale. Growth Solutions - Help clients choose the right MarTech solutions that match the business maturity level and to optimise current stacks.

Help clients choose the right MarTech solutions that match the business maturity level and to optimise current stacks. Marketing Technology Operations & Enablement - Acts as an extended arm of the client to enable, train, and scale in-house talent to ensure continuity of strategy and execution. Srinivas?Gattamneni, CEO of ADA, said: "ADA has continuously evolved to create new ways for businesses to adopt data-driven marketing. We are excited to offer these new MarTech services that complete the circle for our clients by allowing them to look at their full sales and marketing funnel with an always-on approach."

Chris Wiseman, the newly appointed Head of Marketing Technology at ADA, said: "ADA's MarTech services exists to support businesses in unlocking the full potential of their MarTech investments and to drive growth across all their sales and marketing channels. We believe business growth is not driven by one solution, but many tactics and approaches. We want to be there to collaborate with our clients through the entire journey and to grow together." ADA's expertise in MarTech has enabled various companies to bounce back from COVID-19 by increasing new customer acquisition and customer lifetime values, improving click-through rates, maximising marketing productivity, and automating marketing systems. Learn more about ADA's MarTech solution here: https://ada-asia.com/marketing-technology/. About ADA ADA is a data and artificial intelligence company that designs and executes integrated digital, analytics, and marketing solutions. Operating across nine markets in South and Southeast Asia, ADA partners with leading brands to drive their digital and data maturity, and achieve their business goals. We are anchored on the following main services: Providing business insights, data enrichment, and advanced analytics

Understanding the consumer mindset and designing data-driven creative marketing strategies

Executing end-to-end digital marketing solutions for growth hacking, funnel optimisation, and goal optimisation ADA complements its unique digital expertise with deep proprietary data of 375 Million consumers. SOURCE ADA

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
CLAYTON, Mo., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Olin Corporation (NYSE: OLN) announced today that on Wednesday, April 28, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time, Olin's senior management team will review the company's first quarter 2021 financial results. Prepared remarks will be followed by a question and answer period.

A press release, including financial statements and segment information, will be distributed after the market closes on Tuesday, April 27, 2021 along with the associated slides.

CONFERENCE CALL INFORMATION

Interested participants may access the conference call by dialing (877) 883-0383 (Canadian callers, please dial (877) 885-0477; International callers, please dial (412) 902-6506), using the pass code 2478492. The call will also be webcast live on the company's website at www.olin.com, accessible under the first quarter conference call icons. Participants should log on to the website 15 minutes prior to the start of the call.

Following the event, the webcast will remain available for replay on the company's website for one year. A telephonic replay of this conference call will be available beginning at 12:00 p.m. Eastern time for 14 days by dialing (877) 344-7529 (Canadian callers, please dial (855) 669-9658; International callers, please dial (412) 317-0088), using the pass code of 10153486.

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

Olin Corporation is a leading vertically-integrated global manufacturer and distributor of chemical products and a leading U.S. manufacturer of ammunition. The chemical products produced include chlorine and caustic soda, vinyls, epoxies, chlorinated organics, bleach and hydrochloric acid. Winchester's principal manufacturing facilities produce and distribute sporting ammunition, law enforcement ammunition, reloading components, small caliber military ammunition and components, and industrial cartridges.

Visit www.olin.com for more information on Olin.

2021-10

SOURCE Olin Corporation

Related Links

http://www.olin.com


After weeks on the cusp of a lose-lose Covid-19 vaccine supply war, both the EU and the UK have publicly said they are now seeking a better way of managing things.

The news  provided it is borne out in reality  will come as a relief to everyone. Not least by fretful and weary citizens everywhere waiting on their only credible get-out-of-lockdown card.

There is also more immediate relief for embattled Taoiseach Micheal Martin.

For today it means one battle less to be fought by Mr Martin when the 27 EU leaders gather for an online summit. The leaders will yet again discuss the crisis of vaccine shortages  but this time set against worsening numbers and tighter lockdowns in most mainland European states.

The Taoiseach was among a minority of colleagues who disapproved of new moves by the EU Commission to restrict vaccine exports, in reality targeting the UK. Despite the immediate relief, Mr Martin will again forcefully make that point at this summit, but his far greater need is credible news that large-scale EU vaccine supplies are headed to Ireland soon.

At lunchtime yesterday EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled tougher vaccine export controls. The latest rules do not specify a vaccine maker, nor do they mention any one country.

But its clear that this is about the British-Swedish firm, AstraZeneca, and the United Kingdom authorities. AstraZeneca has met its UK supply contracts but seriously under-delivered to the EU.

The plan cites tighter vaccine supply controls for those countries which are restricting vaccine exports to EU countries. It notably states that such restrictions can be either by law or any other means.

The tighter controls can also hit countries which are disrupting supplies of pharmaceutical raw materials. The relative vaccination levels will be taken into account.

It was notable that UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson did not indulge his frequent trope of poking the EU beast for home political consumption. He told the London parliament soberly that blockades were not sensible  and it was noted that he had previously phoned Berlin and Paris in efforts to dial down this row ahead of tonights EU summit.

It was also well ventilated that London was getting worried about disruption of AstraZeneca supplies from India.

The UK is moving towards half the population getting a first Covid jab, and the EU is lagging far behind with one in eight people vaccinated with the first injection.

But a serious cut in EU supplies to the UK could well stall Mr Johnsons soaraway success. Over the past two months a quarter of the EUs vaccine exports of 40 million doses have gone to the UK. A sudden halt to UK supplies of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna could deal a cruel blow.

Mr Martin is among that minority of EU leaders who believe what could amount to a vaccine export ban, at what is hopefully just a temporary supply choke-point, would seriously dent both the EUs central aim of promoting global trade and avoiding accusations of vaccination nationalism.

On Monday, Mr Martin was first to point out that an export ban risks seriously backfiring.

The bulk of medicines made in the EU  including Covid vaccines  source vast amounts of diverse raw materials from around the globe.

So the joint EU-UK statement which emerged around teatime yesterday was a positive move and also a welcome relief. Given our interdependencies, we are working on specific steps we can take  in the short, medium and long term  to create a win-win situation and expand vaccine supply for all our citizens, the key words of the statement read.

So, both sides said notably they wanted to create a win-win situation and expand vaccine supply. But there is continuing anger in Europe at AstraZeneca. A French government spokesman, Gabriel Attal, said after a cabinet meeting yesterday that AstraZenecas failure to deliver on its vaccine commitments was totally unacceptable.

It would not take much to reignite that anger. So Mr Martin is right to insist that any EU fallback action be measured and proportionate.

Vaccine supply chains are complex and international and we need to keep them open to help us ramp up supply, he reiterated last night.

The same view is taken by Belgium, Netherlands, Finland and Sweden, with Germany also cautious.
A German woman who has been identified as Stefanie A, has been accused of taking her son to Islamic State-controlled territory in Syria and then fighting for the extremist group was arrested on Wednesday, March 24. According to the reports by AP, the federal prosecutors in a statement said that the woman travelled to Syria in 2016 to join her husband. They further added that the womans husband had left Germany the previous year and was fighting for IS.

As per the statement, the son was killed in an air raid in March 2018 and Stefanie A. and her husband were later arrested. The woman is suspected of membership in a foreign terrorist organization. The prosecutors also said that the suspect joined IS after her arrival and with her husband and decided to have her son get firearms training at a training camp run by the group. Also, her son was used in military operations. This is how she also became an IS fighter.

Earlier in January, the United Nations urged the member states to repatriate over 27,000 Syrian children currently stranded at a camp in the northwestern part of the country. UN counter-terrorism chief Vladimir Voronkov said that the children, who are living at the Al Hol camp, are in dire need of help as they face various risks, including radicalization. The children are sons and daughters of Islamic State militants, who have either been killed or are in jail.

Voronkov, while speaking at an informal UN Security Council meeting, urged countries to repatriate those children as quickly as possible. Voronkov called it one of the most "pressing" issues in the world right now. According to the United Nations, the Al Hol camp in Syria houses more than 62,000 people, mostly women and children, who were displaced after the Islamic State was defeated in 2019. Voronkov said that it is the responsibility of member states to get those children out of Syria. He said that children of 60 different nationalities currently reside in the camp, which is being guarded by the Kurdish forces.

What is happening in Syria?

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) controlled huge landmasses across Syria and Iraq, almost as large as the United Kingdom. However, after the intervention of foreign forces and the killing of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the terrorist group lost all its strongholds, and children of militants, who were killed or captured, were left by themselves. Those children then fled to Al Hol and other camps in the northeast.

The war in Syria is currently being fought between forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and several rebel Sunni groups. Assad's Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is being backed by international allies, including Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah. Meanwhile, the United States, which had deployed its Army in the region to fight the Islamic State, has on several occasions carried out airstrikes against pro-Syrian government forces. Some other countries that are said to have been involved are Turkey, Lebanon, and Israel.

(Image Credits: RepresentativeImage/AP)
ROME, MAR 25 - Task forces sent by COVID-19 Emergency Commissioner Francesco Paolo Figliuolo will be operative in Molise and Basilicata within hours to support the structures engaged in the coronavirus vaccination campaign, sources said Thursday. The task forces will be made up of a doctor and two nurses who will be used to vaccinate people in isolated areas, the sources said. Premier Mario Draghi's government is seeking to support the regions where the COVID-19 vaccination rollout has been slower. (ANSA).
BURNEY, Calif.  An Arizona man has been arrested in connection to the murder of a Burney man, according to the Shasta County Sheriffs Office.

On March 8, deputies from the Shasta County Sheriffs Office Burney Station responded to the rear parking lot of the Burney Church of Christ due to an assault victim.

Once on scene, deputies said they found 61-year-old Mark Russell Anderson of Burney in a travel trailer with injuries caused by an assault. Anderson was transported to the hospital, however, he died from his injuries on March 18, according to authorities.

As the detectives began investigating the assault as a homicide, authorities said they learned Donald Joseph Marquez from Glendale, Arizona, may have been involved.

Marquez had only lived in the Burney area for seven months. About a month prior to the assault, Marquez and Anderson became acquantiances, according to the sheriffs office.

On March 23, detectives served a search warrant in the 20000 block of Sugar Pine Ave. in Burney, where Marquez was living. During the warrant, Marquez provided authorities with a statement. He was then placed under arrest and booked into the Shasta County Jail on suspicion of homicide, according to the sheriffs office.

The Shasta County Sheriffs Office said no further details about the circumstances or motive regarding the assault will be released.
During his March 20 visit to Armenias Aragatsotn province, addressing a rally in one of the villages, Pashinian said that Yerevan purchased Russian Su-30SM fighters in May 2020, but did not manage to purchase missiles for them before the start of the 44-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh in September.

Meanwhile, it was still in December 2019 that the press service of the prime minister and the Ministry of Defense officially announced that the Armenian Armed Forces had been equipped with Su-30SM multifunctional fighters.

In July last year, Pashinian wrote on Facebook that the Su-30SMs successfully tested missiles.

Opposition members have accused the prime minister of lying to the public with contradictory statements.

Meanwhile, in his answer to a related question asked by a pro-government lawmaker in parliament on March 24, Pashinian denied any contradictions between his comments.

He explained that since fighter aircraft are ultra-modern powerful weapons.., it is obvious that manufacturers of aircraft and missiles of different modifications are not the same entities.

In other words, they are not produced in one place, and, therefore, are not purchased in one place, but they are purchased from different entities. Su-30SM fighter jets arrived in Armenia in May 2020 and, yes, training flights were carried out, and missiles that were already in the arsenal of the Armenian Armed Forces were used. In a specific military situation decisions on their use or non-use were made in accordance with the extent to which the available ammunition allows these aircraft to fulfill the combat missions assigned to them. And what I said in the village of Ohanavan and what I said earlier did not contradict each other. Unfortunately, during the war we did not have time to purchase all those necessary accessories, missiles that would make it possible to use the ultra-modern Su-30SMs for their intended purpose and in accordance with their power, Pashinian said.

Pashinian did not explain the discrepancy between the December 2019 press statement from his office showing photographs of him and then-Defense Minister David Tonoyan at an airfield watching demonstration flights of Su-30SM fighters and boarding the cockpit of one of the aircraft, and his statement that the Su-30SM fighter jets arrived in Armenia in May 2020.

Opposition Bright Armenia lawmaker Ani Samsonian seized upon that, accusing Pashinian of lying again.

When will the government stop lying, manipulating and misleading the public? she charged in her question to Pashinian.

The prime minister did not answer the opposition lawmakers question himself. Instead his deputy Tigran Avinian said: A full answer on Su-30SM aircraft was given, there is nothing that I can add on that.

Earlier this month Pashinian effectively retracted his claim that the Armenian armys most advanced Russian-made Iskander missiles seriously malfunctioned during the recent war in Nagorno-Karabakh. The retraction came after a storm of criticism from Russian pro-government lawmakers and pundits, who accused the Armenian prime minister of incompetence and deceit.
Former Old Forge School Director Frank Scavo will turn himself in to the FBI this morning to face charges for his role in the Capitol rioting on Jan. 6, his lawyer said.

Attorney Ernie Preate Jr., Scavos lawyer, said Wednesday a federal magistrate judge will arraign Scavo on four misdemeanor charges. Scavo will plead not guilty, he said.

I must stress that people ought not to jump to conclusions, Preate said. We have not seen the charges nor the affidavits. He is presumed innocent, and he intends to enter a not guilty plea.

Preate said he was unsure of the specific charges Scavo will face, but they will likely involve disorderly conduct and unlawful entry into the Capitol.

He said an FBI agent called him to ask Scavo to appear voluntarily rather than face arrest at his Old Forge home.

We have cooperated with the FBI from day one, the first day they called us, he said.

Efforts to reach Scavo, who has acknowledged cooperating with the FBI, were unsuccessful.

Scavo, 58, organized a caravan of five buses loaded with about 200 supporters of President Donald Trump to a Washington, D.C., rally. At the rally, they protested again that the election was stolen from Trump, a false claim.

The rally happened Jan. 6, just hours before Congress was scheduled to meet to ratify the election of Scranton native and former Vice President Joseph Bidens election to the presidency.

During a speech that day, Trump encouraged supporters to keep believing the election was stolen from him and to march to the Capitol.

Instead of protesting peacefully outside, hundreds stormed the building, breaking windows, attacking guards, roaming through offices and taking over the Senate chamber as members of Congress scurried to safety. Five people died in the attack, including a Capitol police officer. Later that night, Congress ratified Bidens election.

In interviews, Scavo initially denied entering the Capitol, but photos of him inside the building later emerged.

So far, federal authorities have charged more than 375 people for various roles in the rioting, according to USA Today. They include Anne Howell, 30, of Swoyersville.

She was charged last week with trespassing, disorderly conduct, violent entry, obstruction of Congress and picketing in the Capitol in violation of federal law.
Welsh national plaque scheme suggested as committee finds more needs to be done to commemorate underrepresented groups

This article is old - Published: Thursday, Mar 25th, 2021

The Senedds Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee is calling for the commissioning of new statues or commemorative artworks in Wales to address the lack of diversity of those commemorated in public spaces.

Groups such as women; disabled people; Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people and LGBT+ people are all underrepresented, the Committee has outlined.

The Committee has carried out an inquiry looking at the way historical figures are remembered in Wales public spaces. The Committee explored how society determines who gets remembered; what principles might be used to determine acts of commemoration; and the process that could, or should, be followed if people want something removed.

The Committee is calling for the creation of a new national Plac y Ddraig, a national plaque scheme, of public commemoration and for a national conversation on the initial tranche of plaques. The Committee is hoping the scheme would help to raise awareness of our history and how it relates to the Wales of today and the Wales of tomorrow.





The scheme proposed by the Committee should be accompanied by funding, with every local authority area taking part, within a national framework overseen by the Welsh Government.

As part of its inquiry, the Committee heard conflicting opinions on the removal of statues. Opinions ranged from blanket opposition to the removal of any statues to others who questioned the purpose and relevance of statues at all.

On the question of removing contentious statues, the Committee stated its view that local communities should give full consideration to the range of options available such as providing more information and context. The report recommends that decisions on who should be commemorated should be made by communities and local authorities but the Welsh Government must provide more leadership and guidance. The Committee is calling for guidance to include:

advice on best practice for consulting local communities

advice on methods for engaging harder to reach and minority groups

advice on involving specialist opinion, including local historians.

Bethan Sayed MS, Chair of the Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee said: In Wales we were shocked by the events in the summer of 2020 and the tragic death of George Floyd. The wave of protest that followed ignited a debate about who we remember in our public spaces.

There is much in our history to be proud of, but that pride we all feel should not blind us from some of the more egregious events that have also taken place in our past  the legacy of which is still being felt today.

Were keen for communities to have the final say on who should be commemorated in their areas but we believe the Welsh Government should show leadership and provide guidance on how to involve all parts of the community.

Diversity is a serious problem and the overwhelming majority of statues across Wales are commemorating white men. Its time that we addressed this and created new statues or commemorative artworks that recognise the contributions of women; disabled people; Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people and LGBT+ people as well.

Our recommendation for a new Welsh national plaque scheme, Plac y Ddraig, could begin to address the imbalances and involve the whole community in commemorating the great people who have contributed to our country.
El Geneina  A convoy from Khartoum arrived in El Geneina, West Darfur, yesterday. It carried food and non-food items for the displaced and others affected by the recent events as the city currently experiences severe shortages in essential goods, including food and drinking water.

The convoy was received by activists, the resistance committees, and local authorities.

Displaced people in El Geneina and surrounding camps have complained about the terrible deterioration of the security and humanitarian situations.

Activists told Radio Dabanga that thousands of families living in 10 camps around El Geneina are severely suffering from food shortages. They also explained that the value of the materials provided by humanitarian organisations does not exceed one dollar per family per month.

They also pointed to the terrible deterioration in health services and the great difficulties people experience in obtaining drinking water because most of the wells are defunct due to technical malfunctions. Displaced people also experience a lack of fuel, covers, and tarpaulins or tents.

El Geneina recently witnessed a surge in violence. Most significantly the El Geneina Massacre in January when large groups of armed men from Arab herding communities attacked El Geneina and the two Kerending camps, killing at least 163 people and leaving more than 123,000 people displaced.

In February, a committee of victims from the Kerending camps warned about the impending humanitarian and health disaster in the shelters of El Geneina. They indicated that there was a lack of toilets and medical support, and that food was scarce.
- Foreign exchange rate predictions for next 12 months:

- EURUSD to fall to 1.17 by end-June 2021 (from current spot rate of 1.1781) and then steadily rise to 1.24 by 2022.

- GBPUSD to fall to 1.35 by end-June 2021 (from current spot rate of 1.3755) and then appreciate to 1.45 by end-2022.

- EURGBP to rise to 0.87 by end-June 2021 (from current spot rate of 0.8565) and then fall slightly to 0.85 until 2023.

- Forecast table also covers USD/JPY, USD/CHF, AUD/USD, NZD/USD, USD/CAD, EUR/NOK and more...

- Jump to FULL currency forecast table at the end of the article.

Exchange Rates UK Research: Euro to Regain 1.20 Against Dollar, Pound Sterling Rangebound

Foreign exchange rate analysts at Credit Agricole expect the US Dollar to maintain a firm tone in the short term as strong growth expectations boost demand.

The bank expects the US Dollar (USD) to weaken on a 6-12 month view as the bank pushes back against any tightening of financial conditions.

The bank expects that the Euro US Dollar (EUR/USD) exchange rate will weaken to 1.17 in June 2021, a loss of 1.0% from the current spot rate.

Thereafter, it expects gradual and sustained recovery with an advance to 1.19 at the end of September, an advance of 0.7% and a further net gain to 1.20 at the end of 2021, a 1.6% gain from current levels.

This trend is expected to continue in 2022 with rates of 1.22 for June and 1.24 for December, an advance of 3.3% and 4.9% respectively from the current spot rate.

Credit Agricole forecasts a narrow 108.00-110.00 range for the US Dollar Yen (USD/JPY) exchange rate.

Analysts at the bank forecast a 110 rate at the end of 2021, a gain of 0.9% from current levels with no change for 2022.

Apart from a lift to 0.9400 in June 2021, the USD/CHF is forecast at 0.9300 throughout the forecast period, a decline of 0.5% from the current spot rate.

US Dollar (USD) Moves to Dominate Pound Sterling (GBP) Trends

Credit Agricole predicts narrow moves for the Euro Pound Sterling (EUR/GBP) exchange rate.

EUR/GBP is forecast at 0.87 for June 2021, 1.0% above the current rate before a retreat to 0.86 for December 2021 and no change into June 2022.

The pair is forecast at 0.85 at the end of 2022, a decline of 1.3% from the current spot rate.

The Pound US Dollar (GBP/USD) exchange rate is forecast to decline to 1.35 in June 2021, a retreat of 1.6% from the spot level.

Thereafter, the rate is projected to recover steadily with a gain of 2.0% to 1.40 for December 2021.

The trend is forecast to continue in 2022 with GBP/USD rate of 1.43 for June and 1.45 for December, gains of 4.2% and 5.7% respectively from the current spot rate.

Commodity Currencies Forecast to Make Solid Gains by End 2022

According to the currency experts, the Australian Dollar (AUD) is set to advance 1.2% to 0.77 against the US Dollar (USD) by June 2021, with a further advance to 0.80 for December; a gain of 5.1% from the current spot rate.

The bank predicts an exchange rate of 0.82 for both June and December 2022, gains of 7.8% from the current spot rate.

The US Canadian Dollar (USD/CAD) is forecast to strengthen 1.1% to 1.27 by June 2021.

Thereafter the Canadian dollar is forecast to regain ground with a linear USD/CAD decline to 1.23 at the end of 2022, a decline of 2.1% from the current spot level.

After the slide over the past week, the New Zealand US Dollar (NZD/USD) is forecast at 0.70 for June 2021, a slight 0.3% advance from the current spot level.

A strong advance to 0.74 is forecast for September and December 2021, a gain of 6.0% from current levels.

The investment bank forecasts a 0.76 rate for June and December 2022, an advance of 8.9% from the current spot rate.

The Norwegian krone and Swedish krona are both forecast to strengthen throughout.

The EUR/NOK is projected to decline to 9.60 by the end of 2021 and 9.40 by the end of 2022, declines of 5.4% and 7.4% respectively from spot levels.

The EUR/SEK is tipped at 9.80 in December 2021 and 9.60 at the end of 2022, declines of 3.6% and 5.6% respectively.

Table of 2021-2023 exchange rate forecasts from Credit Agricole as of 25/03/2021
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.
New Delhi, March 26 : Highlighting the lack of women's security, political violence and unemployment among other issues of misgovernance under the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday launched the 'Ebar BJP' (This time BJP) campaign in the poll-bound state.

The 294-member West Bengal Assembly will go to the polls in eight phases from March 27 to April 29. The results will be declared on May 2.

The 'Ebar BJP' campaign was launched just before the end of campaigning for the first phase of polling on March 27, in which 30 Assembly constituencies will go to the polls.

Launching the campaign, the BJP urged the voters to cast their votes in favour of its candidates for a 'Sonar Bangla' (Golden Bengal). The BJP released a series of videos on campaign themes on the occasion, highlighting the alleged misrule of the Mamata Banerjee-led government.

A senior party leader said that the issues raised in the campaign are the reality of West Bengal.

"Corruption, lack of women's security, unemployment, poor health infrastructure -- these are all realities. We are just pointing out all these things to the voters and urging them to vote for the BJP for 'poriborton' (change)," he said.

The BJP, which has claimed that more than 130 of its workers have been killed by ruling party workers in West Bengal, said that many people were killed in the state for raising their voice against the ruling dispensation. The party appealed to the voters, saying that this is the time to free Bengal from political violence.

Pointing to the rumours of corruption in government hospitals, the BJP said that many ordinary people have suffered as a result of the rumours.

"What happened to you should not happen to anyone else. Vote for corruption free Bengal, vote for the BJP this time," the party campaign said.

The BJP campaign also took a dig at the alleged corruption over distribution of monetary compensation to the people affected by cyclone 'Amphan'. "When nature's wrath erupted, people saw that their reliefs were stolen by the Trinamool cadre," said a Bengal BJP leader.

Raising the issue of women's security in the state, the saffron party campaign said that those who attacked or threw acid on girls have no fear of law.

Talking about employment, the BJP pointed out that the future of millions of youth remained in the dark during Trinamool's 10-year rule in the state.
Charleston, WV (25301)

Today

Chance of an isolated thunderstorm early, then variable clouds overnight with more showers at times. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 61F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Chance of an isolated thunderstorm early, then variable clouds overnight with more showers at times. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 61F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
New Delhi:

Indian underworld gangster Dawood Ibrahim's properties were frozen by British authorities on Wednesday. As per reports, assets worth USD 6.7 billion belonging to the wanted underworld don have been seized by British authorities.

Dawood, who Indian agencies claim runs his crime empire from Cliffton area in Karachi, Pakistan, appears on the latest UK Treasury department's Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets, updated last month.

The action against Dawood Ibrahim comes nearly two years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's UK tour. PM Modi, during his November 12-14, 2015 tour, had reportedly handed over a dossier concerning the underworld gangster to his then British counterpart David Cameron.

According to Forbes, Dawood Ibrahim is one of the richest gangsters of all time. In 2015, Forbes estimated Dawood Ibrahim's net asset at US$ 6.7 billion. Dawood Ibrahim has his business interests in more than a dozen countries spread over Europe, Africa and South Asia. He has assets worth US 450 million in the UK alone. He is said to have invested in over 50 properties in different countries

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Prime Minister on Thursday said he will hold "substantive discussions" with his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina during his two-day visit to Bangladesh, as he expressed happiness that his first foreign tour after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic would be to a friendly neighbouring country with which India shares deep ties.

Modi said he will be visiting on March 26-27 at the invitation of Prime Minister Hasina, and looks forward to his participation at the Day celebrations on Friday.

In his departure statement, he said, "I am happy that my first foreign visit after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic will be to our friendly neighbouring country, with which India shares deep cultural, linguistic and people-to-people ties."



Noting that Bangladesh's Day celebrations on Friday will commemorate the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Modi said 'Bangabandhu' was one of the tallest leaders of the last century, whose life and ideals continue to inspire millions.

"I look forward to visiting Bangabandhu's Samadhi in Tungipara to pay my respects to his memory," the prime minister said.

Modi said he also looks forward to offering prayers to Goddess Kali at the ancient Jashoreshwari Kali Temple, one of the 51 Shaktipeeths in the Puranic tradition.

The prime minister said he is looking forward to his interaction with representatives of the Matua community at Orakandi, from where Sri Sri Harichand Thakur disseminated his pious message, Modi said.

"I will be having substantive discussions with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, following our very productive virtual meeting in December last year. I also look forward to my meeting with President Abdul Hamid, and to interactions with other Bangladeshi dignitaries," Modi said.

"My visit will not only be an occasion to convey appreciation for Bangladesh's remarkable economic and developmental strides under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visionary leadership, but also to commit India's abiding support for these achievements," he said.

Modi said, during his visit, he will also express India's support and solidarity for Bangladesh's fight against COVID-19.

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, while briefing reporters on the PM's visit to Bangladesh, had said on Wednesday that a range of pacts will be signed and new announcements for bolstering cooperation in several areas will be made during the two-day visit.

Modi's visit is taking place at a time is commemorating Mujib Borsho, the birth centenary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and 50 years of the country's War of Liberation. The two countries are also celebrating 50 years of the establishment of diplomatic ties.

The two prime ministers held a virtual summit on December 17 during which Modi said Bangladesh is a key pillar of New Delhi's 'Neighbourhood First' policy, while Hasina described India as a "true friend" and asserted that both countries could play a significant role in the global and regional value chains by further integrating their economies as well as boosting connectivity.

During that summit, the two countries had inked seven agreements to further broadbase cooperation in a plethora of sectors, and restored a cross-border rail link snapped by the 1965 war with Pakistan.

(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.)
Eventually 33 bodies were discovered, 29 in the house and four others nearby. Gacy went on trial, he was quickly convicted and executed in May 1994. Then came the rush of post-mortems in the form of books and movies, some good and some bad. If you might now believe that there is nothing more to say, you will change your mind after watching a brilliant and provocative John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise, a six-part, six-hour documentary premiering Thursday on Peacock. Handsomely made, judicious in its uses of archival footage, and benefiting greatly from a rarely viewed and lengthy 1992 interview session in the wardens office in downstate Menard Correctional Center, conducted by FBI profiler Robert Ressler.
Leader of Opposition on Wednesday condemned the ruckus that took place in the where police personnel reached the assembly premises to evict the MLAs, stating that the "Bharatiya Janata Party is killing democracy".

"The incident that took place in the is condemnable. I have never seen police beating women MLAs. The is killing democracy," Kharge said, a day after the Assembly session witnessed multiple adjournments as Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leaders shouted slogans against the Bihar Special Armed Police Bill, 2021.

After a few Opposition leaders prevented Assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha from leaving his chamber, police personnel reached the Assembly premises to evict the MLAs. Women MLAs of the Opposition were carried out of the Assembly building by women security personnel.

"If this is happening with elected leaders, what about the law and order situation in the state. If the Bihar Police law passed, it will give leeway to them," Kharge added.

Amid the chaos in the Assembly, RJD MLA Satish Kumar was also carried on a stretcher from the after he was allegedly manhandled by 'police and local goons' inside the Assembly during a protest against the Bill.

Following this, Tejashwi Yadav had alleged that Opposition MLAs wanted to speak against the Bill but they were assaulted.

"We wanted to speak but we were thrashed. This law means that search will be conducted without a warrant and 'any policemen can arrest if they believe something is wrong'. There is no use of courts and magistrates," he had 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.)
NEW YORK, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Stoli Group, the leading global ultra-premium spirits and wines company, today announced the addition of Doug Altmeyer as Global Brand Leader, Agave Brands. Altmeyer will grow Stoli's Agave Brands and build on the success of Villa One, which was launched in partnership with celebrities Nick Jonas and John Varvatos.

"Stoli's Agave Brands are poised for growth. As tequila continues to grow in popularity, there is a demand for premium, unique products," explained Damian McKinney, Global CEO of Stoli Group. "The Stoli Agave line is a standout in the category, and Altmeyer's exceptional track record makes him a perfect choice to build and grow Stoli's products."

Altmeyer joins Stoli as a seasoned, innovative, strategic manager who has built and led brands across the spirits, beer and wine industry. Most recently, he was a Global Marketing Director at Treasury Wine Estates for a number of brands including 19 Crimes, which he helped launch and propel. Previously, Altmeyer held marketing and sales management roles at Pernod-Ricard USA, LVMH, Bulmers and Anheuser-Busch.

"I'm very excited to join The Stoli Group and the dynamic team and brands led by Damian and his vast experiences growing brands. I'm looking forward to growing Villa One and the Agave Brands in collaboration with Nick, John and our customer, distributor partners and ultimately consumers everywhere."

About Stoli  Group

Stoli Group was established in 2013 and is responsible for the production, management, and distribution of SPI's global spirits portfolio. Mainly known for the Stolichnaya Vodka brand, Stoli Group has expanded its portfolio in recent years to appeal to premium on-premise and more sophisticated global consumers. Signature brands are: Stoli Vodka, Elit Vodka, Bayou Rum, Kentucky Owl, Villa One, Gator Bite Rum Liquers, Cenote Tequila, Kah Tequila and Se Busca Mezcal. With a presence across a network of more than 176 markets, Stoli Group works with a passionate team of 200 distributors around the world. Headquartered in Luxembourg, Stoli has production facilities in Russia, Latvia, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Argentina, and the United States some of which are steeped in history as early as the 1900s. For more information, visit stoli-group.com .

SOURCE Stoli Group

Related Links

https://stoli-group.com


A plan to launch Vietnams first regular direct flight to the United States has been submitted to the board of directors of flag carrier Vietnam Airlines, CEO Le Hong Ha confirmed in a conversation with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Wednesday.

In May 2020, Vietnam Airlines debuted its direct flight to the United States from Vietnam to repatriate over 300 Vietnamese citizens in light of the unpredictable development of COVID-19 transmission in North America.

According to a Vietnam Airline representative, the carrier has operated 12 repatriation flights from the U.S. for Vietnamese citizens since May 2020.

However, the demand for repatriation among the Vietnamese diaspora in the U.S. remains high, while Vietnam Airlines has used up the flight quota granted by U.S. authorities since August last year.

Considering this, Ha suggested that the repatriation process be continued with a regular flight route from the U.S.

Given the global-scale restriction of international flights, the plan becomes more feasible as it can make use of Vietnam Airlines large fleet of wide-body aircraft, a requirement for commercial flight routes to the U.S., as they have been put out of service since early 2020 and may not fully return on regular schedule until 2023.

According to Ha, this is the optimal solution, given that options of reselling or leasing aircraft are not favorable for the airline, while regular flights can provide the inbound cash flow to help Vietnam Airlines stay afloat during the current crisis.

Earlier, Vietnams State Capital Investment Corporation was looking to funnel VND8 trillion (US$347 million) into the charter capital of Vietnam Airlines to help the national carrier navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic.

In early 2019, the Vietnam Aviation Administration obtained the U.S. CAT-1 certificate, a prerequisite for Vietnamese airlines to apply for permits to fly to the U.S. and to codeshare with U.S. airlines.

Following this, Vietnam Airlines and its domestic competitor Bamboo Airways both won the license to operate flights from Vietnam to the U.S. in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
The European Commission on Thursday said it would expand financial and policy support to help achieve a goal for a quarter of Europes farmland to be organic by 2030.

Agriculture produces roughly 10% of EU greenhouse gas emissions and is on the front line of climate change impacts, with record heatwaves and prolonged droughts reducing some European crop yields.

Organic farmland, which restricts chemical pesticides, synthetic fertilisers and genetically modified organisms, has expanded by more than 60% over the last decade in the European Union, to nearly 9% of the blocs agricultural area.

The Commission on Thursday outlined plans to speed up this expansion and stir demand for organic products, which it said would help the EU reach its goal to eliminate net emissions by 2050. Reaching a 25% organic share of farmland this decade would also protect bees and biodiversity, the Commission said.

Agriculture emits nitrous oxide from the use of artificial fertilisers, while livestock produces potent planet-warming methane.

By curbing fertilisers, organic farming can cut emissions, although it does not necessarily tackle emissions from livestock, and lower crop yields associated with organic farming can mean more land is required, denting potential emissions savings.

The EU will spend 49 million euros ($57.94 million) on promoting organic products this year, 27% of its total budget for promoting EU agricultural products at home and abroad.

The Commission said the EUs farming subsidy programme, which is being reformed, will offer farmers 38-58 billion euros over 2023-2027 for eco-schemes, including organic production.

Organic food and farming organisation IFOAM welcomed the EU plan as a new era for the transformation of our food systems.

Farmers association Copa-Cogeca said in a statement further policies and product innovation would be needed to ensure organic farmers can fend off weeds and pests.

The EU is developing mandatory sustainability requirements for the public procurement of food, which could integrate organic products into school meals or public canteens.

Brussels said national measures, such as removing reduced tax rates on pesticides, could also make organic food less expensive relative to non-organic food.
Tiffany Haddish is set to auction off paintings she has created to raise money for charity.

The comedian, 41, is teaming up with Painting with the Stars which is a foundation that supports non profit organisations providing underprivileged young people with access to the arts.

Painting with the Stars delivers art kits to celebrities with no art experience and asks them to create a piece that will then be sold on, according to TMZ.

Creative: Tiffany Haddish is set to auction off paintings she has created to raise money for charity

In pictures uploaded to the organisation's Instagram page, Tiffany beamed at the camera as she got to work on one of her designs.

The piece featured a road made of pink piano keys surrounded by pretty yellow flowers.

Alongside they wrote: 'This girl is on fire! Winning a Grammy recently and creating a super cool piece for our auction we can't wait to show.

Project: The comedian, 41, is teaming up with Painting with the Stars which is a foundation that supports non profit organisations which provide underprivileged young people with access to the arts

'Details on her piece coming soon! This multi-talented artist will be just one of many celebrities joining @paintwiththestars. Thank you for joining our mission!'

The auction will happen this summer with one of the beneficiaries being Inner-City Arts.

It comes after last week Tiffany was not too thrilled when a guy called her the 'Nicki Minaj of comedy right now' during a leaked conversation on Clubhouse.

A different male voice chimed in: 'But unlike Nicki, she shows up on time.'

Mission: Painting with the Stars delivers art kits to celebrities with no art experience and asks them to create a piece that will then be sold on. Tiffany is pictured with a painting alongside her rapper boyfriend Common

After a beat, the Emmy winner could then be heard clapping back: 'And unlike Nicki, I treat everybody with respect and dignity.'

Tiffany - who's a highly-publicized celebrity user of the new invitation-only app - had an uncomfortable run-in with the 38-year-old rapper onstage the 2018 MTV VMAs.

After taking offense to co-host Haddish's opening monologue, Nicki snapped: 'Don't be coming for Fifth Harmony because Normani is that bi***!'

Minaj has previously publicly feuded with the esteemed likes of Cardi B, Travis Scott, Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, Mariah Carey, Lil' Kim, and Remy Ma.

Good cause: The auction will happen this summer with one of the beneficiaries being Inner-City Arts

50 Cent weighed in on the whole thing in the comments of Onsite's Instagram post: 'SMH, I don't know why people mess with [Nicki], LOL!'

On Sunday, the platinum-blonde funnywoman scored the best comedy album Grammy for her Netflix special Black Mitzvah whereas Nicki never won despite being nominated 10 times.

It was the first time an African-American woman won the trophy since EGOT champ Whoopi Goldberg scored Grammy gold in 1986 for the recording of her Broadway show.

Tiffany beat out the likes of Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Burr, Patton Oswalt, and Jim Gaffigan for the honor.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Ohios progress toward meeting Gov. Mike DeWines stated goal before he will lift health orders ranging from mask mandates to restaurant seating stopped this week, with the rate for new cases going up for the first time since mid-January.

Meanwhile, 55 counties remain on red alert for concern over coronavirus spread, the Ohio Department of Health reported Thursday. This compares with 66, 76, 80 and 84 red alert counties the previous four weeks.

Level 3 red alert, according to the health department, means there remains a public emergency for increased exposure and spread, and that people should exercise a high degree of caution.

But for the last several weeks the focus has moved away from the alert map and to the Thursday updates for new cases over the last two weeks. This is because DeWine on March 4 announced he would condition removal of his health orders to the rate dropping to 50 cases per 100,000.

Ohio reported a rate of 146.9 cases per 100,000 on Thursday, up from 143.8 per 100,000 a week ago.

This marked the first increase since Jan. 13. The rate was 155 per 100,000 two weeks ago and 178.5 three weeks ago as DeWine made his announcement.

Ohio was last below 50 per 100,000 in June. The rate was a record high of 845.5 in mid-December.

Gov. DeWine described this weeks rate as still very high. ... We have to continue to work on this. Its the defense of wearing the mask. Its the offense on vaccinate, vaccinate and vaccinate.

Ohio's coronavirus case rate per 100,000 residents increased for the first time since mid-January. This rate is is based on cases with an onset of symptoms in the last two weeks, and excludes incarcerated individuals.Rich Exner, cleveland.com

Case rates in 52 of the 88 counties increased, DeWine said.

This case rate is based on cases for which symptoms began in the last two weeks, not when the state reported the cases. Cases involving incarcerated individual are not included in the calculations. Thursdays update covers the period of March 10 through Tuesday.

Cuyahoga and most other counties in Northeast Ohio are among the 55 counties statewide on red alert, a higher level of concern than orange and yellow alert. Here are the orange and yellow counties.

Level 2 orange alert (31 counties): Adams, Allen, Ashtabula, Brown, Carroll, Columbiana, Coshocton, Darke, Fayette, Fulton, Gallia, Guernsey, Harrison, Hocking, Jackson, Knox, Lawrence, Logan, Meigs, Mercer, Monroe, Morgan, Morrow, Noble, Preble, Putnam, Shelby, Tuscarawas, Vinton, Wayne and Williams.

Level 1 yellow alert (2): Holmes and Van Wert.

The rates by county according to Thursdays update for the last two weeks through Tuesday ranged from a high of 253.6 cases per 100,000 in Clark County to a low of 38.9 cases per 100,000 in Van Wert Couinty. Van Wert and Holmes (43.2) are the only counties below 50 per 100,000.

In Greater Cleveland:

* Cuyahoga: 167 per 100,000, up from 162 last week. Cuyahogas rate two weeks ago was 190.6.

* Geauga: 106.8, down from 122.8 and 147.4 the last two weeks.

* Lake: 126, down from 149.5 and 160.8 the last two weeks.

* Lorain: 148.5, up from 143 last week. The rate two weeks ago was 159.1.

* Medina County: 190.8, down from 206.4 last week. The rate two weeks ago was 189.7.

* Portage County: 186.5, up from 164.3 and 155.7 the last two weeks.

* Summit County: 219, up from 203.7 and 184.3 the last two weeks.

Coronavirus case rates by county in Ohio, based on the number of cases with an onset of symptoms in the last two weeks.Ohio Department of Health

The advisory system

Heres a closer look at the advisory system introduced in early July. Alert levels are determined by the number of warning benchmarks met. But once a county reaches red alert, it does not drop unless its rate of new cases also drops below 100 per 100,000 over two weeks.

* 1. New cases - Alert triggered when there are 50 new cases per cases 100,000 residents over the last two weeks.

* 2. Increase in new cases - Alert triggered by an increase in cases for five straight days at any point over the last three weeks. This is based on the date of onset of symptoms, not when the cases are reported.

* 3. Non-congregate living cases - Alert triggered when at least 50% of the new cases in one of the last three weeks have occurred in outside congregate living spaces such as nursing homes and prisons.

* 4. Emergency rooms - Alert triggered when there is an increase in visits for COVID-like symptoms or a diagnosis for five straight days at any point in the last three weeks.

* 5. Doctor visits - Alert triggered when there is an increase in out-patient visits resulting in confirmed cases or suspected diagnosis for COVID-19 for five straight days at any point in the last three weeks.

* 6. Hospitalizations - Alert triggered when there is an increase in new COVID-19 patients for five straight days at any point over the last three weeks. This is based on the county or residence, not the location of the hospital.

* 7. Intensive Care Unit occupancy - Alert triggered when ICU occupancy in a region exceeds 80% of total ICU beds and at least 20% of the beds are being used for coronavirus patients for at least three days in the last week.

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.

Previous stories

How close is your ZIP code to reaching the goal of 50 coronavirus cases per 100,000, set by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine?

Ohio postpones tax filing deadline to May 17, matching the IRS revised deadline for federal taxes

Heres how to price compare driving vs. flying on vacation - Thats Rich!

See Ohio coronavirus updates, trends, map as state tops 1 million cases, 2.8 million vaccinated

Ohio to reach 1 million mark for coronavirus cases on Monday
Government officials in Samburu have destroyed illegally logged sandalwood estimated to be worth Sh2.4 million after the conclusion of court cases on the seized woods.

Several tonnes of the endangered tree species were Wednesday burned in a ceremony led by a multi-agency team that comprised of officials from Kenya Forest Service (KFS), Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and the county's top security team.

Logs that had been impounded since last year were destroyed at Wamba Police Station where they had been preserved. The cases concerning the logs had been concluded and the suspects who were caught with the wood jailed for seven years each.

Sandalwood, mostly found within community land, is a close-grained fragrant yellowish heartwood with insect repelling properties.

Samburu County KFS Ecosystem Conservator Charles Ochieng said the government is doing everything possible to curb illegal sandalwood trade through the use of a multi-agency security team.

The teams include National Police Service, Kenya KFS, KWS and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).

Endangered species

Mr Ochieng said that the rare shrub is under threat of dying in Samburu forests due to constant illegal harvesting, but revealed that interventions have been put in place to save the trees.

"The endangered species (sandalwood) is getting extinct and if [illegal logging is] not stopped, there will be none for future generations. It therefore calls for combined efforts from leaders and also the community to be part of the team involved in protecting the endangered species. I think we will win this fight," Mr Ochieng said on Wednesday.

The official also revealed that most community members in Samburu are collaborating with unscrupulous individuals to cut down the trees which are in great demand.

It is said that the community is well armed and often provide suspects with protection from security authorities.

Perfumes and lotions

According to experts, the tree is used as raw a material in the production of perfumes and lotions and is usually trafficked through porous borders to neighbouring countries.

Mr Ochieng urged stakeholders to work together to check the illegal trade, even as he put those involved on notice.

"We are dealing with a serious concern that involves clever smugglers who keep changing tactics. We have security agencies everywhere and we have intercepted tonnes of sandalwood being smuggled outside the county. No Sandalwood will be ferried past Samburu borders. We shall continue the fight," he said.

Samburu County Criminal Investigation Officer Dennis Oango said they have sealed all loopholes to ensure no piece of sandalwood gets past Samburu borders easily.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

He cautioned residents against cutting down endangered trees species.

"Dealers have changed tactics of transporting sandalwood but we have set a very strong joint security team. No piece of sandalwood is ferried past this region," the official said, urging locals to stop cutting down the trees.

He called on conservancies and residents to cooperate with the security authorities in the area to fight the vice.

Almost every part of the tree -- leaves, stem, roots and even barks -- has an economic value and is now turning traders into millionaires in the North Rift.

The tree is being harvested illegally in forests within Samburu County and other parts of the North Rift including Pokot and Baringo counties.

It is said that some 'big names' including well-known politicians, several administrators and security personnel are running the multi-million shillings illegal business, thus making difficult to control it.
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 research shows that consumers judge 'activist brands' based on how morally competent they are perceived to be when challenging free speech.

The report, co-authored by experts at the Business School (formerly Cass), Birkbeck, University of London and the University of Sussex Business School explains that stakeholders draw their conclusions on the biggest brands by measuring three moral skills: sensitivity, vision, and integration.

Lacking these traits, a brand raising controversy is judged as transgressing, reproducing and manipulating the boundaries of free speech. Displaying these traits proves the brand is not merely 'woke-washing' -- using customers' social awareness to meet their own ends.

Based on the analysis of 113 controversies involving 18 brand companies such as Nike, Ben & Jerry's, Greenpeace, and Starbucks over the last 38 years, the report authors have created a new method of calculating whether consumers will think of an activist brand as 'real' or 'fake' based on their approach.

Moral sensitivity -- a brand must recognise the moral content of a situation as failure to do so is likely to damage customer satisfaction, customer-brand relations, and brand equity. For example, in 2014 Greenpeace activists in Peru hung a banner on the Nazca lines to appeal for renewable energy, but as this is considered a world heritage site and a Peruvian cultural symbol they were declared morally insensitive.

Moral vision -- a brand must show a clear moral vision when outlining challenges to free speech that help solve problems for markets and society as failure to do so results in brands being dubbed as 'conformists' -- those who reproduce the dominant moral judgments about what is acceptable to say publicly. For example, Mattel's introduction of Barbie Entrepreneur was criticised for promoting 'unhelpful stereotype career images' in 2014, because of the brand's roots in how women are defined by appearance.

Moral integration -- a brand must have the ability to pursue their moral beliefs in all situations as failure to do so results in brands being dubbed as 'opportunists' and 'fame-seekers' -- manipulating the boundaries of free speech to serve personal interest rather than reform morality. For example, cosmetics brand Lush has been praised for its continued stance as ethical, fair, and sustainable, without seeking attention.

The study also introduces new strategies by which brands can implement their activist stance and avoid 'woke-washing'. The three methods managers can use controversies to communicate their brand effectively are;

Creating monstrous hybrids -- breaking down taboos and revitalizing interest around important but displaced causes, such as environmentalism, or bringing to light emerging values in public debates, such as gender non-binaries.

Challenging the moral establishment -- bringing to light the flaws in the moral judgments promoted by powerful social actors.

Demonstrating moral exemplarity -- by pioneering moral precepts, supporting emerging moral leaders whose values align with theirs, or even creating their own social movement.

Dr Laetitia Mimoun, Lecturer in Marketing at the Business School and co-author of the report, said: "This report illuminates new ways of revising free speech boundaries but also the risks and responsibilities for brands that engage in such debates. It is imperative that consumers can trust brands and for that to happen brands must not overstep the mark by falsely labelling themselves as activists to further their own agenda."

Dr Olivier Sibai, Lecturer in Marketing at Birkbeck, University of London, and co-author of the report, said: "Believers in brand activism embrace the trend as a branding revolution, while cynics discount it as a marketing gimmick. We find that brand activism matters because it changes the boundaries of free speech. Yet, marketers must use it responsibly or they will waste an amazing opportunity to turn brands into a force for good."

Dr Achilleas Boukis, Lecturer in Marketing at the University of Sussex and co-author of the report, said: "Our work is a roadmap for activist brands so that they can harmonise their brand comms with their activist profile and stay afloat among the myriads of brands that recklessly jump on the social activism bandwagon."

'Authenticating Brand Activism: Negotiating the Boundaries of Free Speech to Make a Change' by Dr Olivier Sibai, Lecturer in Marketing at Birkbeck, University of London and former visiting scholar at the Business School, Dr Mimoun, Lecturer in Marketing at the Business School, and Dr Achilleas Boukis, Lecturer in Marketing at the University of Sussex, is published in 'Psychology & Marketing'.

###
Presidential pet German Shepherd, Major Biden, has returned to the White House after undergoing behavioral therapy with a trainer following an aggressive behavior incident involving an aide.

Both Major and his more laid back fellow pooch Champ are back at the White House, Michael LaRosa, a spokesman for First Lady Jill Biden, said Wednesday.

The pooches were sent to internal exile in the Bidens hometown of Wilmington, Delaware earlier this month after Major was involved in an incident with a White House aide.

Some sources said the younger dog bit the worker but President Biden insisted there was no puncture of the skin involved.

The dogs underwent some specialized behavioral training designed to get them acclimated to their new digs in the nations capital.

Major, now 3-years-old, is the first rescue dog to ever live in the White House and while the White House wont confirm, the rambunctious pup is rumored to be responsible for President Bidens fractured foot due to roughhousing following the election.

There have been no reported incidents involving Champ, who is 13.

___

(c)2021 New York Daily News

Visit New York Daily News at www.nydailynews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Germany on Wednesday backtracked on its plan to impose a strict Easter weekend shutdown after public outcry, as the European Union said it would tighten vaccine export controls in a bid to ramp up its stuttering inoculation campaign.

Inoculations across the EU remain stubbornly behind hard-hit countries outside the bloc, which has blamed production and supply problems on its slow rollout.

The melee over vaccines comes as several countries battle third waves of the virus, with some governments looking to impose new anti-virus measures despite widespread lockdown fatigue more than a year into the pandemic.

Germany on Wednesday said it would scrap plans to close most shops in the country over Easter from April 1 to 5 after facing stinging criticism of the plan.

The government instead asked people to stay home over the holiday and Chancellor Angela Merkel issued a mea culpa after reversing the measures.

"This mistake is mine alone," Merkel said. "The whole process has caused additional uncertainty, for which I ask all citizens to forgive me."

- 'Big lesson in humility' -

Elsewhere on the continent, Belgium said it would bring in a new partial lockdown for four weeks, closing schools and limiting access to non-essential shops as it sought to quell a third wave.

The pandemic "is a big lesson in humility for politicians, for everyone," Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said in announcing the measures.

Poland meanwhile recorded its highest daily infections with nearly 30,000 new cases, while the Netherlands extended coronavirus restrictions until April 20.

And Norway said it would roll out new restrictions this week, including banning alcohol sales at bars and restaurants.

Vaccines are seen as the way out of the pandemic that has now killed more than 2.7 million people around the world and plunged the global economy into a recession not seen in decades.

More than 479 vaccine doses have now been administered globally, mainly in wealthier countries with Israel, the United States and Britain leading the pack.

Story continues

But with demand far outstripping supply, countries are scrambling to secure much-needed jabs, with just a handful of vaccines approved around the world.

- AstraZeneca woes -

The EU said Wednesday it would adopt tougher export rules to to prevent what it sees as an unfair one-way flow of vaccines out of the bloc.

"Open roads should run in both directions," European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said.

The measure could limit vaccine exports to countries like Britain which produce some of their own vaccines but do not in turn send doses to the EU.

Brussels accuses the former EU member of laying claim to AstraZeneca vaccines produced at a plant in the Netherlands, and says the UK-based company has fallen short on deliveries promised to the EU.

The tussle has added to AstraZeneca's woes after several countries suspended its vaccine over blood clot fears.

The World Health Organization and the European Medicines Agency have both said the jab is safe and effective and dismissed feared links with clots.

In a fresh controversy, the British-Swedish firm this week published results from its US trials showing the vaccine to be 79 percent effective in preventing Covid-19.

But a day later the US National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases raised concerns that the results were outdated.

The firm backed its shot on Tuesday, saying a review found the interim results it had announced were "consistent", and that it would release new analysis and data "within 48 hours".

And there were more vaccine troubles on Wednesday when Hong Kong and Macau suspended the Pfizer/BioNTech jab over what authorities said were packaging problems.

Health officials did not explain what exactly was wrong with them, but insisted there were no safety issues.

- 'Like a war' -

As rich nations have accelerated their vaccine drives, fears are growing about supplies for the rest of the world.

"I am deeply concerned that many low-income countries have not yet received a single #COVID19 vaccine dose," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres tweeted Wednesday.

"Vaccines must be a global public good. The world must unite to make this a reality."

The pandemic has taken a turn for the worse in many nations, with known infections worldwide approaching 124 million.

Hard-hit Brazil's daily death toll crossed 3,000 for the first time, as the South American nation's healthcare infrastructure was pushed to the brink by an explosion of cases.

Supplies of medical oxygen for Covid-19 patients have fallen to "worrying" levels in six of Brazil's 27 states, officials said Tuesday.

The warning raised fears of a repeat of horrific scenes in the northern city of Manaus in January, when oxygen shortages left dozens of Covid-19 patients to suffocate to death.

"You have no idea what it is to see families running around to find oxygen canisters, the fights outside places selling oxygen," Manaus-based doctor Adele Benzaken told AFP.

"It was like a war -- the chaos of a bombing, when people are running around desperately without knowing what to do."

bur-jv/txw
American culture is a grand mix of the old and the not so old, as we all know. As is true in other cultures, including the island culture here Read more
Tracey Medeiros had started to see articles popping up that shared wellness properties associated with cannabis.

Already the author of several cookbooks, Medeiros knew where to take her sudden attention to the plant.

I thought, why not write a cookbook that would showcase cannabis and all the wonders of it and I thought it was important also to support and write about the food community throughout our country, Medeiros said in a phone interview. I began seeking out folks who looked at cannabis as an artform and folks that wanted to elevate this plant as a serious culinary ingredient.

That process has led to the creation of The Art of Cooking with Cannabis, a cookbook replete with 125 recipes divided into three categories, CBD, Hemp, and THC, some of which were created by Massachusetts chefs. The book will hit local bookshops next month, and will also be available from big retailers like Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Medeiros includes a recipe or two of her own in her books, but primarily looks to highlight the work of farmers, chefs and food producers. She created her first cookbook after moving to Vermont 17 years ago, and her previous works include The Vermont Non-GMO Cookbook, The Connecticut Farm Table Cookbook, The Vermont Farm Table Cookbook and Dishing Up Vermont.

Im a big advocate for farmers and obviously you cant have recipes and ingredients and food without farmers so I think its really important to showcase and put a face on these hardworking folks who are just so passionate and just do their job out of love with very little money, Medeiros said.

That mindset carried into The Art of Cooking with Cannabis, showcasing the work of cannabis and hemp farmers.

Inside the cookbooks pages, readers can get a taste of cannabis recipes created by chefs located from Central Massachusetts to the Cape and Islands.

Jared Forman, the chef and co-owner of Worcesters deadhorse hill, said the increasing legalization of cannabis in the U.S. is helping to make the plant less taboo, a good thing from his perspective.

I just like to have more ingredients at our disposal. I think having things available to us is always a good thing and being able to introduce different flavors, just new stuff. Its a lot of fun, Forman said.

Though Forman doesnt use cannabis personally, he said there is no shortage of people who are willing to taste-test.

Being able to use cannabis in the restaurant would be welcome, Forman said.

Obviously were allowed to serve alcohol at the restaurant but youre not allowed to serve alcohol and marijuana at the same time, Forman noted. If youre not allowed to overserve people alcohol, which is, I think, appropriate, then in moderation why shouldnt we be able to serve another ingredient and just do it in moderation and do it responsibly?

Formans recipes in the book include a mixed greens salad with a beet vinaigrette, a wild Maine blueberry sorbet and Mass. maple ice cream, all using either hemp oil or extract and included the books hemp chapter.

Maple ice cream featured in "The Art of Cooking with Cannabis," a cookbook by Tracey Medeiros. Photo by Clare Barboza.

Nicole and Rupert Campbell, owners of The Green Lady Dispensary in Nantucket, are featured in the chapter on THC, with recipes from dispensary chef Eric Anderson.

Anderson produced recipes for Nantucket Protein Logs, classic chocolate chip cookies and a simple cannabis-infused butter.

He took all of his knowledge and experience and applied it to cannabis, Nicole Campbell said of Anderson. I cant say enough about how flexible he is, how many things he can do, he just doesnt let anything hold himself back.

Campbell, like Medeiros, said she feels cannabis lends itself to the creative process. She also appreciated the messages among the recipes. Page 5 reads, This book is dedicated to the civil rights and cannabis advocates who are tirelessly working to effect social justice reform and equity into the fabric of the industry.

That also just lines up very much with what were trying to do about educating the consumer, Campbell said. We believe that an educated consumer would make wise decisions when consuming cannabis and if people make wise decisions then everybody is safe. Theyre safe and all the people around them are safe, so were big proponents of that.

The book also features Cloud Creamery, a newly-approved cannabis company that incorporates the plant into ice cream. Medeiros said she was drawn to that company because the chef uses local milk from grass-fed cows and organic sugarcane.

These recipes represent something that deeply energizes them and gives them a purpose. Food and cannabis is their love and I just hope that when folks look through this book and read this book and see these recipes that they just feel that. They feel the passion and it inspires them to cook, said Medeiros.

Related Content:
CENTRAL POINT, Ore.  The Central Point School District on Wednesday released a preliminary plan for adopting Oregon's new classroom spacing guidelines, with the first changes set to begin in April.

The Oregon Department of Education released its updated guidance on Monday, adjusting school restrictions based on new recommendations from the CDC. Elementary schools were broadly cleared to adopt three feet of spacing between students in the classroom, but middle and high schools are only allowed to adopt the reduced spacing if county COVID-19 case rates allow.

With Spring Break underway and logistical challenges posed by the new guidance, many local districts said that it would take some time before they could get their affairs in order  particularly for middle and high school students. In some cases, younger students have already been back in the classroom on a full-time schedule.

We are excited to have this opportunity to utilize more space and have all our students back in the building. We will be working with the county to implement these changes as soon as the county metrics and new guidance align, said Superintendent Dave Valenzuela with the Three Rivers School District in Josephine County.

As of last week, Jackson County's COVID-19 case rates were low enough to allow for the spacing reduction at middle and high schools. The Central Point School District issued a statement on Wednesday, laying out its initial plan for the transition to full-time learning.

"Governor Brown and the Oregon Department of Education have released new guidance for schools that reduces physical distancing requirements from 6 feet to 3 feet and allows us to serve more students in our schools and classrooms," the District said. "We are excited to make the changes necessary to bring students back! Our District Leadership Team met today to develop a plan to welcome students back for significantly more time in person."

Central Point Elementary, Mae Richardson Elementary, and Jewett Elementary will begin a four-day per week schedule for all K-5 students on April 5. Patrick and Sams Valley elementary schools were already on a four-day schedule.

For Hanby Middle School, Scenic Middle School, Crater School of Business, and Crater Academy, an updated schedule is anticipated starting April 12. Crater Renaissance was already on a four-day schedule.

"These changes will require school day start and end times to change at the secondary level to accommodate a second bus run," Central Point School District said. "Please look for information from your principal about these changes."

Oregon's guidance requires that every district continue to offer Comprehensive Distance Learning for any students who do not wish a return to full-time learning in the classroom. As a result, Central Point is keeping Wednesdays as a distance learning day for all students.

Earlier this week, the Klamath County School District released a similar preliminary schedule, planning to bring all students back to full-time classroom learning five days per week beginning April 5.

"The district will receive its most accurate information on March 29, and at that time, we will verify we can meet all the requirements," KCSD said. "We will update our families by March 30."

Many other districts are still developing their plans. NewsWatch 12 will offer updates on those transitions as more information becomes available.
HOUSTON (AP)  A former governor of a Mexican border state who prosecutors have said was connected to drug cartels pleaded guilty in a Texas court Thursday to taking more than $3.5 million in bribes for government contracts then laundering that money in the U.S.

Tomas Yarrington Ruvalcaba, 64, was governor of Tamaulipas  which borders Texas and is one of Mexicos most violent states  from 1999 to 2005

In 2013, Yarrington was indicted in the U.S. on eight counts, including racketeering, drug smuggling and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He was a fugitive until his arrest in Italy in 2017, and was later extradited to the U.S.

He initially pleaded not guilty, but on Thursday Yarrington pleaded guilty to the money laundering count in a plea agreement with federal prosecutors, who dropped the other seven charges.

During the hearing, Yarrington, who was dressed in a green jumpsuit, spoke only to answer procedural questions from U.S. District Judge Hilda Tagle.

Yarrington had been accused of taking bribes from the Gulf Cartel and letting it smuggle large amounts of cocaine into the U.S. The indictment also alleged that from 2007 to 2009, Yarrington became involved in drug trafficking.

But the plea agreement focused on bribes that Yarrington accepted from individuals and private companies in Mexico to do business with Tamaulipas while he was governor.

Federal prosecutor Karen Betancourt said the money from those bribes was laundered in the U.S. through the purchase of real estate and other personal property, including vehicles.

Yarrington has agreed to forfeit any interest he has in a condominium in the South Texas city of Port Isabel, Betancourt said. Other property forfeitures that prosecutors had been pursuing were dismissed with the plea agreement, Chris Flood, one of Yarringtons attorneys, said.

Prosecutors also alleged that Yarrington collected bribes from commercial operations in Mexico and acquired stolen public funds that were later used to buy a private jet.

Story continues

Flood said after the hearing that his client denies ever being involved with drug cartels and that the details of the plea agreement clearly showed that now almost 20 years later, the government realizes that he had no involvement with the cartels.

Angela Dodge, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Houston, declined to comment on whether prosecutors still believe Yarrington worked with the cartels or why no drug-related charges were included in the plea agreement.

No sentencing date has been set. Yarrington faces from nine to more than 11 years in prison. Prosecutors agreed to recommend a term on the lower end of the sentencing guidelines.

Organized crime groups have long had deep roots in Tamaulipas, and Yarrington is one of a string of governors from Mexicos former ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party who have been charged in corruption cases in recent years.

U.S. officials also have tried to extradite the governor who succeeded Yarrington in 2005, Eugenio Hernandez, to face money laundering charges.

Tamaulipas current governor, Francisco Garcia Cabeza de Vaca, from the opposition National Action Party, is being investigated on charges of organized crime, money laundering and tax evasion.

Another man who was indicted with Yarrington  Fernando Cano Martinez, who remains a fugitive  is accused of paying bribes to Yarrington in exchange for public works contracts for his construction firm.

___

Follow Juan A. Lozano on Twitter: https://twitter.com/juanlozano70
On the Climate Front: Tensions Where Green Jobs Meet Blue Collars

The construction workers who traveled to central Kansas to erect a wind farm for utility giant American Electric Power thought it would be a good job. Then they fell victim to the troubling side of the renewable power industry.

The nomadic band of workers had come to the Flat Ridge III project from Texas, Michigan and other states to install 62 turbines with towers as tall as 300 feet using cranes and heavy machinery. But after a few months, the project broke down. Subcontractor C2 Logistics Solutions stopped paying the crew, causing workers to protest and walk off the job. Some quit in disgust.

At least 60 employees and possibly dozens more are owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in wages, overtime and travel expenses, according to workers and a lawsuit against the company. We still havent been paid, from the supervisors on down to the hands, says David Saucedo, the former C2 general foreman who says hes owed about $10,000. You have to understand, I went late on my rent and car payments because I didnt get paid.

Flat Ridge III is a cautionary tale as renewable power balloons into a big industry that may eventually employ a few million mostly blue-collar workers. The Biden administration stresses the good-paying jobs that await Americans in selling its plans for a fast expansion of clean power to curb climate change. Marketers burnish this upbeat image, with photos on company websites of men and women smiling under hardhats amid sunshine and blue skies.

A wind turbine beyond the Corpus Christi Ship Channel in Corpus Christi, Texas, on March 11, 2019. (Loren Ellitoo/AFP via Getty Images)

But thats not the on-the-ground reality in many states today. Sure, skilled workers who hook up with established wind and solar contractors can make a solid middle-class living, particularly in a handful of states with strong labor practices like California, Minnesota and New York. Elsewhere, the influx of smaller operators and a lack of labor standards are spurring complaints about wage theft, starting pay as low as $10 an hour, scant training and safety lapses causing injuries and death, according to interviews with workers, union organizers, developers and state regulators.

Every little construction company wants to get into wind, but they dont know what they are doing and sometimes they dont have the money, says Saucedo, who has built wind farms for big and small firms for eight years. I hear lots of complaints about small companies that dont pay, or pay late, and treat workers like dogs.

A Prevailing (i.e., Union-Scale) Wage

Trade union leaders have taken the battle to Washington, pressing President Biden to keep his green-jobs promise. Their top priority in Americas clean energy transition is a set of labor standardsparticularly a guarantee of a prevailing wage, says Yvette Pena-OSullivan, executive director of the 500,000-member Laborers International Union of North America (LiUNA).

A prevailing wage, which typically equals union rates and benefits, is about more than paychecks. It could transform the growing renewable industry by triggering the use of apprenticeship programs and attracting more skilled workers and reliable companies that invest in training, says Carol Zabin, an economist at UC Berkeley who researches low-wage labor markets and green energy.

Climate politics come into play too. If Biden can deliver a win for construction workers, he may get something in returnless resistance from trade and utility unions to his anticipated push to slash carbon emissions. Good union jobs in hundreds of uneconomical coal power plants and mines would be first in line to go.

But a prevailing wage for clean energy, which could be part of the upcoming infrastructure package, is certain to face strong opposition in a divided Senate. Republicans and business groups have long denounced the countrys most prominent prevailing wage law, a Great Depression relic called Davis-Bacon. It applies only to federal public work projects such as highways but is touted as a model to use in the private renewable energy industry.

Critics say Davis-Bacon distorts the market by boosting labor costs, which in turn can reduce the number of workers a company hires in order to control expenses. Budget hawks point out that repealing Davis-Bacon would save the government about 1 percent of what it spends on construction, or $12 billion in the decade ending in 2028, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Green energy workers make more money than Walmart clerks but less than union members doing similar tasks. A report commissioned by Environmental Entrepreneurs and other business groups found that in 2019 wind technicians made a median hourly wage of about $25 and solar installers somewhat less along with some health care and retirement benefits. The wages are above the national median average but not enough to support a small family in many states, according to the Living Wage Calculator created by a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The vast majority of our jobs are high-paying, secure jobs, says Erin Duncan, vice president of congressional affairs for the Solar Energy Industries Association. Over the next decade, the solar industry will be creating hundreds of thousands of careers.

Wind turbines, of the Block Island Wind Farm, tower over the water off the shores of Block Island, R.I., on Oct. 14, 2016. (Don Emmert/AFP via Getty Images)

The Labor Brakes on Breakneck Growth

The industry posted another year of record growth in 2020, thanks to a combination of federal tax credits, state requirements for supplying clean energy and rapidly declining costs. It has installed 4,900 wind and solar farms in the U.S., at times working closely with unions, particularly when developers need a large skilled workforce for difficult projects. The 2020 deal between Denmarks Orsted and North Americas Building Trades Unions to erect offshore wind farms in the Atlantic Ocean was heralded by both sides as a breakthrough for labor-industry collaboration on clean energy.

But labor issues threatened the industrys ability to grow at the breakneck pace needed to meet Bidens ambitious goal of cleaning the power grid of carbon emissions by 2035. The industry suffers from a shortage of managers, engineers, technicians and installers, with 83 percent of solar firms reporting difficulty in hiring the qualified employees they need, according to a 2019 jobs census from the Solar Foundation. The industry is trying to fill the gap by tapping groups like Hiring Our Heroes for military veterans who want training for solar jobs. But we certainly dont have the numbers of people that we need to facilitate the increasing growth of the industry, Duncan says.

The industrys poor labor practices are part of the problem in luring blue-collar talent, says UC Berkeleys Zabin. To keep costs in check, developers often rely on a peripatetic workforce of manual laborers, electricians, ironworkers and heavy-machine operators. They travel almost year-round from state to state and job to job, sleeping in cheap hotels and campgrounds. Many of them report to temporary staffing agencies and brokers, whichacross various industriesoften tend to depress wages and blur the lines of accountability when labor disputes over pay and unsafe conditions erupt, according to research by the National Employment Law Project.

Job training would help these roving green workers build careers that can support a family. But training is hard to find other than at the biggest firms like GE and Vestas, says a worker who asked to remain anonymous. He dropped out of Southern Texas University for a wind job and was certified as a gearbox technician. But after five years in the business hes stuck making about $25 an hour. I love working in wind but I need to get to the right company that will give me the opportunity to learn, he says.

Occupational Hazards

One major developer can spot a reckless contractor with poorly trained crews by the crazy low bids it submits. There are some contractors with crews that put on Wild West shows, says an executive at the renewables company who asked to remain anonymous. Things happen on land where theyre not supposed to, equipment being in places where its not supposed to be, and there are safety issues too.

At least eight workers have died in the dangerous occupation of wind farm construction since 2008, according to interviews with employees, filings with the Occupational Health and Safety Administration and media reports. Workers are suspended from towers hundreds of feet in the air as huge cranes swing massive steel parts into place in sometimes windy and mountainous conditions. The deaths include a man in South Dakota who was run over by a semi-trailer truck and a worker in California who fell to the ground through an open hatch on a tower.

Last year, a 24-year-old man suffered what authorities called a preventable death on a wind farm in Washington. He jumped into a deep and unshored-up trench to rescue a trapped co-worker when it collapsed and buried him alive. A group of workers spent hours trying to dig him out of an enormous dirt pile.

Renewable Energy Systems Americas, a major player in clean energy, was among the companies fined a total of more than $500,000 for many safety violations. A state agency found that digging such a deep trench after days of rain without bracing the walls was a recipe for disaster.

Most large firms like Mortenson and White Construction are known as safe operators that follow rules. But some companies disregard time-consuming safety procedures in order to meet milestones, such as quickly erecting 10 towers, to get paid.

In order to get these paychecks, they tell us to do really risky things, says Grant Schermitzler, who has worked on many wind crews over the years. In 42-mile-an-hour winds, above the legal limit, they have us lift tower parts with a crane. They dont understand how dangerous it is. It happens all the time.

Big Labor Goes to Bat

Unions often intervene to address safety concerns with employers. But they have only a very small presence in wind and solar construction because of the difficulties in organizing workers employed by temp agenciesworkers who dont stay in one place long enough for a union campaign, says Steve Schwartz, LiUNAs director of organizing.

So organizers resort to other tactics, such as going directly to developers and urging them to sign project labor agreements on wages, benefits and training in exchange for a skilled workforce. The agreements are widely used in Californias buildout of renewables. When developers in other states reject them, unions make their case to regulatorswith mixed results.

In Minnesota, where unions have long held sway over jobs, a perfect storm was brewing a few years ago. While coal plants in the state were set to be retired, thus eliminating union jobs, wind and solar projects were springing up and being built by traveling workers with out-of-state license plates.

Union leaders complained to the state Public Utilities Commission. Developers had sold these projects to regulators as job creators for Minnesotans, but they werent getting the work, says Kevin Pranis, LiUNAs marketing manager in the state.

The PUC responded by telling developers to begin disclosing the local composition of their workforce, sending a clear signal to hire more Minnesotans without actually requiring it. Renewable goliath NextEra Energy and RES Americas protested.

They complained that local hiring is too hard and costs more and will mess everything up, Commissioner Joe Sullivan says. But developers came to realize that the commission wants to promote economic development, and they have complied and continue to build projects.

The number of Minnesotans hired, often from unions, has shot up in a state with 477 wind and solar farms. Locals made up less than a fifth of workers on a project in 2018, just after the reporting requirement began. Two years later, on another wind farm, the number had increased to three-quarters.

A research technician prepares a wind turbine gearbox for testing at the National Renewable Energy Laboratorys (NREL) wind technology center on the outskirts of Boulder, Colo., on March 3, 2009. (John Moore/Getty Images)

In Colorado, unions have watched from the sidelines as traveling workers built most of 125 renewable plants. The Keep Jobs in Colorado Act of 2013 seemed like a win for organized labor in a state where it has a small footprint. It required the utilities commission to consider labor practices such as wages, training and local hiring in approving energy construction and acquisitions.

But commission delays implementing the statute and a loophole for companies to avoid reporting their labor practices undermined it. Theres a race to the bottom on labor costs, and that hurts the economy in Colorado and nationwide, says former Commissioner Frances Koncilja, who found the PUC to be unsupportive of unions.

State Democrats recently put teeth into the law to force developers to report labor practices. It gives unions leverage as Xcel Energy, Colorados largest utility, prepares to double renewable energy generation by 2030. But unions arent celebrating. Thats because the commission is still free to take the low-cost road, says Gary Arnold, business manager of a Denver Pipefitters local.

We always seek ways to use union labor on projects where it does not put us at a competitive disadvantage and allows us to deliver the lowest cost energy to our customers, Xcel spokeswoman Julie Borgen says.

Who Foots the Bigger-Paycheck Bill?

Faced with a hodgepodge of state practices, LiUNA and other big unions are now lobbying for a federal prevailing wage law to set a floor on pay across the country. They want the pay requirement to apply to projects that receive federal tax credits and other incentives, arguing that if developers get a government handout, then workers should benefit too.

Will energy consumers foot the bill for green workers bigger paychecks? For decades, academic researchers have examined whether prevailing wage laws, which exist in many states, boost labor costs. Their answer is sometimes.

In most of the many peer-reviewed studies since 2000, costs didnt go up because higher wages attracted more skilled and productive workers and prompted developers to shave other expenses, according to researchers at the Midwest Economic Policy Institute and Colorado State University.

Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 9, 2021. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

After losing a bid for a prevailing wage mandate in December, unions are banking on support from the labor-friendly Biden administration and Democratic heavyweights in Congress. Rep. Richard Neal, chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee, is an outspoken proponent. And Sen. Joe Manchin, a key swing vote, defended a prevailing wage law in his home state of West Virginia before it was repealed.

The solar trade group, which has joined the discussions in Washington, has a more nuanced position. It might support a pay standard if its optional and tied to an additional subsidy for developers, says SEIAs Duncan.

Its a stark choice, says Zabin at UC Berkeley. Either we have low-wage, dead-end jobs or we use the tools of government to make companies better employers and create real careers.

Conclusion of a Cautionary Tale

C2 Logistics, which was building the Kansas wind farm, shut down in December after failing to pay its crew. Owner Jim Clark didnt have experience in the construction or energy industries before moving into the wind business, according to his LinkedIn page. He ran a trucking company.

Wood, a global engineering and consulting firm that hired C2 to build Flat Ridge III, took over the messy project and hired the workers after Clark left. The crews morale and productivity tanked after the paychecks stopped coming, and the wind farm has since missed its deadline for completion, former employees say.

Flat Ridge III is also ensnarled in lawsuits. The workers are suing both Wood and C2 Logistics for back pay and damages. U.K.-based Wood says it wont pay the employees money that Clark allegedly owes them because thats his responsibility. Wood is also suing Clark for defaulting on his agreements to the workers and the project. And C2 is suing Wood and a subsidiary, claiming they withheld funds from the small wind company, which is why it didnt pay its workers.

Wind farm owner American Electric Powerwhich earned $2.2 billion in net profits in 2020could easily pay the crew and make this controversy go away. But the utility doesnt plan to make the workers whole. We expect our suppliers to fulfill their commitments, a spokesman says.

Meanwhile, Clark has been plotting his return. He aims to start another wind business and tried to recruit some of his former C2 workers, says crewman Schermitzler, who served on the Kansas project. Over a meal in Texas, he says, Clark asked him not to join the lawsuit and instead come aboard his new venture. Clark denies he is trying to launch a new business.

Schermitzler, who is owed about $6,400, has learned his lesson. He joined the lawsuit.

I want to get the word out so what happened to me doesnt happen to anyone else, he says.

This article was written by Vince Bielski for RealClearInvestigations


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.




By Yi Whan-woo







Orange Life and Shinhan Life Insurance have joined a campaign led by Sunfull Foundation to root out malicious comments and help improve cyber etiquette on social media, Orange Life said.







The Sunfull Internet Peace Movement campaign marks the forthcoming merger of Orange Life and Shinhan Life Insurance.







The merged insurer will be renamed Shinhan Life possibly by July.







Sunfull Foundation, a private non-profit organization, is chaired by Min Byung-chul, who is also a chair professor at Chung-Ang University.







"The campaign is expected to help employees of Shinhan Life keep in mind what it means to work in the life insurance industry and spread their good spirit across the society," Shinhan Life Insurance CEO Seong Dae-gyu said after signing an agreement on the joint campaign this week.







The CEO expressed hope that the campaign will also help the employees of the two firms to respect and care for one other based on a spirit of mutual trust.







Min voiced a similar view. "Encouraging and lauding one another at workplaces as pursued by the campaign can stimulate reconciliation in case of dispute," he said.







"Such a working environment can lead to increased productivity and sales, and in return, improve the welfare of workers."







Established in 2001, Shinhan Financial Group started with banking, securities, capital loans and investment management and expanded its scope of business later on.







It acquired Shinhan Life Insurance in 2005 and Orange Life in 2019.







Since its foundation in 2007, Sunfull Foundation has been expanding its campaign as malicious comments have grown into forms of hate speech, cyberbullying and fake news.







More than 7,000 organizations, including those abroad, have taken part in the campaign.


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.
* Turkish imports hit record low

* Down 98% yr/yr, 72% mth/mth (Adds detail)

DUBAI, March 25 (Reuters) - The value of Saudi Arabian imports from Turkey, already at record lows amid an informal boycott, fell further in January, official data showed on Thursday.

Saudi businessmen and retailers last year called for a ban on Turkish imports over political tensions between the two regional rivals.

Imports from Turkey fell to 14.1 million riyals ($3.76 million) from 50.6 million in December, and from 622 million riyals in January 2020, data from Saudi Arabia's General Authority for Statistics showed.

December was already the lowest figure since Saudi Arabia started publishing monthly trade data in 2016.

Turkey and Saudi Arabia have been at loggerheads since the 2011 uprisings across the Arab world when Riyadh accused Ankara of supporting Islamist political groups.

Tensions escalated in 2018 over the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdoms Istanbul consulate.

Turkey dropped to 76th in imports from 13th in January last year, the data showed.

In November, Saudi Arabia formally suspended imports of meat, eggs and other products from Turkey, the Turkish exporters' union said.

The Saudi government has said the authorities have not placed any restrictions on Turkish goods.

Saudi Arabia's overall value of imports in January increased by 20.7% year on year to 47.9 billion riyals, the data showed.

Imports from China ranked first at 9.6 billion riyals in January, followed by the United States and the United Arab Emirates.

($1 = 3.7495 riyals) (Reporting by Davide Barbuscia; editing by Christian Schmollinger and Jason Neely)
Seoul: North Korea has test-fired its first ballistic missiles since President Joe Biden took office, as it expands its military capabilities and increases pressure on Washington while nuclear negotiations remain stalled.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the launches on Thursday threaten peace and safety in Japan and the region, and that Tokyo will closely coordinate with Washington and Seoul on the Norths testing activities.

The launches came a day after US and South Korean officials said the North fired short-range weapons presumed to be cruise missiles into its western sea over the weekend.

South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, after meeting his Russian counterpart in Seoul, expressed deep concern over the launches and urged the North to uphold its commitments for peace. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called for a swift resumption of dialogue to resolve the standoff with North Korea.
The Ministry of Health affirmed that Vietnam now can master organ transplantation techniques, but the number of transplants remains modest.

The workshop on human tissue and organ donation sources held in HCM City on March 22

Thousands of patients need organ transplant operations every year but the number of donors remains small, according to Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son who spoke at a workshop on human tissue and organ donation sources held in HCM City on March 22.

He asked agencies to propose an amendment to the National Organ Transplant Act and submit the draft of the amended law to the National Assembly in 2022. He said it is necessary to reconsider the age of people who can donate organs and simplify procedures to create a clear legal framework for organ donation from brain-dead people.

At the workshop, experts put forward many issues and solutions to help people have more open views about organ transplantation.

Nguyen Hoang Phuc, Deputy Director of the Vietnam National Coordinating Center for Human Organ Transplantation, confirmed the low number of patients who have had organs transplanted over the last 29 years, since the first organ transplant operation was conducted by the Military Medical University and Cho Ray Hospital.

Vietnam has 20 organ transplant centers.

Phuc reported that as of December 31, 2020, the total number of organ transplant cases had reached 5,587 nationwide. Of these, kidney transplants accounted for the largest proportion with 5,255 cases.

The first kidney transplant in Vietnam was conducted on June 4, 1992 at the Military Hospital 103. The recipient was Vu Manh Doan, 40, while the donor was his younger brother, 28.

There were nearly 600 marrow transplants, and 270 liver and 48 heart transplant cases. As for heart-lung, lung, pancreas and pancreas-kidney transplants, there was one for each type. Surgeons also have conducted two upper limbs and two bowel transplant cases.

Phuc pointed out that there are problems in policies and laws, which lead to a serious lack of organs for transplants. Meanwhile, organ trafficking remains a burning issue.

There are also problems at some organ transplant facilities: they still have not established a brain death council; have not received licenses; or have conducted transplants on patients whose names were not found on the national waiting list.

Phuc has suggested solutions, including the amendment of the law. Vietnam needs to observe The Declaration of Istanbul on Organ Trafficking and Transplant Tourism; formulate a coordination cost package as a basis for payment and apply it nationwide; build a kidney transplant service package as the basis for health insurance to pay at a rate of 80 percent; and only carry out transplant operations for those on a waiting list.

Barriers

Tran Ngoc Sinh, Vice Chair and General Secretary of the Vietnam Organ Transplant Association, said the demand for organ transplants increased after the first kidney transplant, because the majority of patients have good health after the transplant.

With the strong development of science and technology, kidney transplantation can be implemented even though donors and recipients dont have the same blood type. The kidneys that have urine after transplantation account for a high percentage.

Sinh said that Vietnam now can transplant many human organs, but organ donation is limited in the context of increasingly high demand.

Traffic accidents cause thousands of deaths every year. Because of spiritual beliefs and legal problems, the organs of these people cannot be donated.

With the strong development of science and technology, kidney transplantation can be implemented even though donors and recipients dont have the same blood type. The kidneys that have urine after transplantation account for a high percentage.

He also mentioned that organ trafficking is a burning issue not only in Vietnam, but globally as well. He believes that there should be a strong legal system and heavy sanctions on violators to stop the trafficking.

In Thailand, for example, both organ traffickers and doctors who help take organs are punished heavily and doctors will have their practice licenses revoked.

He suggested developing software to manage registration and coordinate organ sources to provide information in a transparent way.

Tran Hoai An from the Hue Central Hospital stressed that it is necessary to coordinate the sources of organs for transplants. Those waiting for transplants must register at the national coordination center.

Nguyen Huy Quang, director of the Legal Department of the Ministry of Health, admitted that organ trafficking is a sensitive issue. Many trafficking cases have been put into prosecution by investigation agencies, but there are no official statistics about the number of cases.

Du Thi Ngoc Thu from Cho Ray Hospital, said that under Vietnamese laws, tissue and organ donors are granted different rights and benefits.

Those who register to donate organs can have periodic medical examination for free and can get financial support if they have to stay at hospitals overnight (VND450,000 per day). They also receive financial support for meals during the days for periodic medical examinations (VND200,000 per day) and a travel allowance.

Meanwhile, dead donors will be given financial support for burial service, equal to 10-month basic salary. However, the regulations still have not been applied.

Lien Anh

Doctors carry out organ transplant to 6 patients from brain-dead donor The Hanoi-based 108 Military Central Hospital has performed a multiple organ transplantation with organs taken from a brain dead donor, saving the lives of six different patients.
ALBANY, Ore.  A money laundering scheme involving local restaurants and an illegal marijuana grow resulted in the arrests of 11 people, authorities said Wednesday.

The investigation focused on the illegal manufacture of marijuana in Linn County, and money laundering through local restaurants in Linn, Benton and Marion counties. As a result of the warrants investigators seized cocaine, more than 1,900 marijuana plants, 40 pounds of processed marijuana, more than $373,000 in cash, as well as guns and several vehicles.

Capt. Jerry Drum of the Albany Police Department said investigators are not releasing the names of the restaurants that were involved due to an ongoing investigation, and also to protect the safety of restaurant employees who were not involved in criminal activity.

Authorities served five search warrants at two locations in Linn County, one location in Benton County, and two in Marion County. The warrants were served by the Linn Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Task Force.

The following people were arrested during the search warrants on March 17, and taken to Linn County Jail:

 Yue Michael Chong Chen, 41, of Salem  Racketeering, Money Laundering, Criminal Conspiracy and Aid and Abet Unlawful Manufacturing of Marijuana, Unlawful Manufacturing of Marijuana.

 Yongkang Chen, 36, of Salem  Racketeering, Money Laundering, Criminal Conspiracy and Aid and Abet Unlawful Manufacturing of Marijuana, Unlawful Manufacturing of Marijuana.

 Enrong Zhou, 40, of Albany  Racketeering, Money Laundering, Criminal Conspiracy and Aid and Abet Unlawful Manufacturing of Marijuana, Unlawful Manufacturing of Marijuana.

 Yaorun Li, 27, of Lebanon  Unlawful Manufacture of Marijuana, Criminal Conspiracy.

 Guiqua Chen, 33, of Renton, Wash.  Unlawful Manufacture of Marijuana, Money Laundering, Racketeering, Identity Theft, Conspiracy.

 Pinzheng Zhao, 39, of Sweet Home  Identity Theft, Racketeering, Money Laundering, Criminal Conspiracy and Aid and Abet Unlawful Manufacturing of Marijuana, Unlawful Manufacturing of Marijuana.

 Jinhui Liu, 28, of Portland  Criminal Conspiracy, Aid and Abet Unlawful Manufacturing of Marijuana.

 Liang Huan Chen, 65, of Salem  Criminal Conspiracy, Aid and Abet Unlawful Manufacturing of Marijuana.

 Jianwen Zhu, 52, of San Francisco, Calif.  Criminal Conspiracy, Aid and Abet Unlawful Manufacturing of Marijuana.

 Rongchu Mai, 52, of old San Francisco, Calif.  Criminal Conspiracy, Aid and Abet Unlawful Manufacturing of Marijuana.

 Weihong Gong, 56, of San Francisco, Calif.  Criminal Conspiracy, Aid and Abet Unlawful Manufacturing of Marijuana.

The following agencies participated in the investigation and search warrant service: Linn County Sheriffs Office, Albany Police Department, Lebanon Police Department, Drug Enforcement Administration, Sweet Home Police Department, Linn Regional SWAT, Corvallis Police Department, Benton County Sheriffs Office, Philomath Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigations assisted in the investigation and search warrant service. The Benton County Health Department assisted with local restaurant health code violations.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 15:09:50|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

SHANGHAI, March 25 (Xinhua) -- The so-called "American exceptionalism" has made some U.S. politicians and academics believe that their country is "truly exceptional," and thus bear animosity towards China's development, an expert has said.

They are very narrow-minded and represent a conservative political faction in the United States that is highly obsessed with the idea of America's global hegemony, Shen Yi, professor from the School of International Relations and Public Affairs at Shanghai-based Fudan University, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Their deep-seated prejudice towards some progressive thoughts inside the United States, as well as towards China's development, has prevented them from viewing the world from a rational perspective, Shen said.

In Shen's eyes, the incooperative attitude adopted by the previous U.S. administration towards China on the COVID-19 issue has also exposed maladies of the U.S. politics. "When Washington opts out of cooperation with Beijing in the anti-virus efforts, it is to some degree a result of the decaying partisan politics in the United States," he told Xinhua.

Within the United States, he noted, "it is the partisan politics that has sent the epidemic out of control, and in such disarray, no politician is willing or bold enough to take the responsibility, because if doing so, it is only ruining their political career."

The United States highlights human rights quite frequently, and yet the human rights it has always preached are those of the rich, said Shen.

Commenting on China-U.S. relations, the professor said that while it is common sense that China and the United States stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation, Washington seems unlikely to abandon its containment and oppressive measures against China for the primary reason that Washington has been seeking hegemony in the international system.

He also said that Washington can no longer forge an alliance excluding Beijing, given China's market, its technological development, and the efforts to shore up global security.

"The era of a single country or a handful of them as the world's absolute center has gone," Shen said, adding that in the future more countries are needed to provide public goods for the world, act as positive role models and help tackle global crises, and join efforts to boost effective growth. 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.
Doctors in at least a dozen countries, supported by US Christian Right activists, are providing women with a dangerous and controversial treatment that claims to reverse medical abortions, openDemocracy can reveal today.

Womens health and rights activists have called for urgent investigation by authorities into these findings  which were described as horrific especially during the pandemic when its critical for people to trust healthcare providers.

openDemocracy undercover reporters on four continents contacted a hotline run by US Christian Right activists and were connected to doctors willing to prescribe so-called abortion pill reversal by phone or email. Where hotline operators could not make connections to local doctors, they emailed reporters dosage instructions.

European and British parliamentarians called these activities completely unacceptable and deeply worrying and said they must be shut down.

So-called abortion pill reversal (APR) treatment was invented by an anti-abortion doctor in California. The only trial into the treatment was halted in 2019 after some participants were sent to hospital with severe haemorrhaging. The trials lead researcher said It wasnt safe for me to expose women to this treatment.

No medical authorities in the countries in this investigation have approved or recommended this treatment, which involves taking high doses of progesterone, a hormone, following the first of two pills used for a medical (or medication) abortion.

Progesterone in itself is not a dangerous drug but there are concerns, including some from health authorities, about using it in this treatment. A UK Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists spokesperson referred openDemocracy to the US study which it said showed that APR is associated with a high risk of serious bleeding and consequently dangerous for women, as well as ineffective.

In the US  where some conservative state governments have passed laws requiring that doctors inform women about this treatment  the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has called these laws based on unproven, unethical research and dangerous to womens health.

Medical (as opposed to surgical) abortions, have become increasingly common in some countries during COVID-19. Some governments have changed rules to make it easier for women to access these abortions via online appointments.

Abortion pill reversal proponents oppose such changes, suggesting that treatment provided online is risky, even though they provide theirs in a similar way.

In the UK, the doctor that the US-run hotline connected our reporter to responded to questions about possible health risks from abortion pill reversal treatment, saying: At the end of the day, you live in the UK, youve got a hospital there and if you were worried about the bleeding, youd go get help.

In South Africa, a doctor told our reporter to go to any pharmacy, get them to call him from there, and that hed give the necessary prescription over the phone.

In Uruguay, a doctor told our reporter there is no reason for fear and that there are studies proving that this treatment works, though it is not standard practice.

In Mexico, a doctor who described himself as an APR volunteer emailed our reporter a handwritten prescription including his medical licence number.

Each of our undercover reporters contacted the 24-hour abortion pill reversal hotline  run by the US Christian right group Heartbeat International  either by telephone or by using the online chat function on the hotlines website.

Each reporter was emailed a copy of the same consent form  produced by Heartbeat  stating that they understand APR is an off-label use of progesterone and should seek emergency medical care immediately if they are in pain.

Screenshot of consent form sent to our undercover reporters.

Mina Barling, director of external relations at the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), said openDemocracys findings are another terrifying example of just how well funded and how radicalised this anti-woman movement is.

Elizabeth Nash from the Guttmacher Institute, a US reproductive health research group, said it is incredibly distressing that this kind of misinformation is being exported around the world, apparently under the radar of medical authorities.

Pamela Merritt, executive director of US Medical Students for Choice, called the treatment a direct violation of the oath that every physician takes, referring to pledges to do no harm and uphold ethical standards.

It is unclear how many women have tried these treatments globally. In some countries, APR appears more established, while in others it seems to be just getting started, with doctors more recently involved.

In August 2020, Heartbeat International claimed that 60 women in the UK had requested these treatments since the start of the year (about seven months).

Last year in Canada an anti-abortion group advertising the number for Heartbeats hotline on Twitter claimed that 105 women had started the treatment after calling.

You are the first client I personally have worked with in Germany, but we have assisted many women all over Europe, a US-based nurse told an openDemocracy undercover reporter who contacted the hotline from that country.

That nurse then emailed our reporter instructions and dosage information for a prescription to take to a local hospital or pharmacy to get the medication.

A Global Network

The Heartbeat International group that runs the hotline also has a large global network of affiliated anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centres  which openDemocracy revealed last year use misinformation in their efforts to discourage women from ending their pregnancies under any circumstances.

Melissa Upreti, special rapporteur for the UN working group against discrimination against women and girls, said openDemocracys findings about the spread of abortion pill reversal globally are concerning as they indicate that womens lives are being put in jeopardy by misinformation and harmful practices.

When we provide a treatment off-label, it is only with evidence to show a benefit and no harm. Otherwise, the treatment is considered experimentation, Mitchell D Creinin, the lead researcher on the cancelled US study, told openDemocracy.

The Heartbeat-produced consent form given to our undercover reporters, Creinin said, is a joke because this treatment should only be provided under a study protocol to see if it is safe for everyone [] and effective.

In response to questions from openDemocracy, Heartbeat International said APR is a cutting-edge application of a time-tested, FDA-approved treatment used for decades to prevent miscarriage, preterm birth, and support ongoing pregnancy.

The group suggested that Creinin is biased towards abortion access and claimed his study actually showed that the abortion pill carries major health risks.

More than 2,000 women have successfully stopped an abortion and saved their children through the life-saving intervention of APR, it claimed.
The Texas House Elections Committee abruptly ended its meeting today before about 200 people who traveled to the Capitol could testify on a controversial anti-voter fraud bill.

Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, who chairs the committee and authored House Bill 6, had recessed briefly as he argued with the committees vice chair, Democrat Jessica Gonzalez.

Gonzalez wanted to hear from Rep. Nicole Collier, a fellow Democrat and chair of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus.

Vice Chair Gonzalez, at this moment, you are not chairing this committee, Cain said as he overrode Gonzalezs attempts to allow Collier to speak. Im not recognizing anyone but a member of this committee at this time.

The meetings undoing came to pass for a procedural reason: Cain had not specified when the committee would reconvene, meaning the meeting would have to be rescheduled for a later date. He apologized to the hundreds who had made the trip to Austin to share their feedback on the bill.

Even though I wish very much to continue today's hearing, the rules prevent me from doing so," he said. Please forgive me for my error.

This is the third-term GOP members first time chairing a committee during a legislative session.

Cain and Gonzalez did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

Civil rights and voting advocacy groups slammed Cain, who had said it was committee practice not to allow non-members to ask questions, for blocking Colliers testimony. There are no Black members of the elections committee.

Today was further evidence of the GOP efforts to silence our voices. We can no longer stand by and allow them to shut us down, Collier said at an informal, livestreamed citizens hearing in the Capitol rotunda. We must speak up. Today shows why its important we have a seat at the table.

Common Cause Texas executive director Anthony Gutierrez said non-members participate in committee hearings all the time.

This deviation from standard practice to prevent a Black woman from engaging in debate on a bill that would impact Black communities disproportionately is appalling, Gutierrez said. There is truly nothing more absurd than Briscoe Cain having to adjourn his committee hearing on his bill that would criminalize procedural mistakes people might make while voting because he made a procedural mistake.

Those who had planned to speak Thursday immediately expressed their deep frustration.

(Cain) has promised a future hearing on the bill, date yet to be determined, Texas Civil Rights Project, a voting-focused advocacy group, said in a tweet. But this is still deeply unfair to all the Texans who took time off of work and school to be there today. And its troubling that no effort was made to accommodate and listen to these Texans.

IN-DEPTH: GOP Texas lawmakers take aim at 2020 Harris County voting expansions

The meeting had kicked off with Republican lawmakers repeating an incorrect statistic from the attorney generals office, where officials have claimed there are 500 pending voter fraud prosecutions in the state.

Data from the attorney generals office shows it has about 40 pending fraud prosecutions involving about 500 counts. The office has not responded to a request for comment from Hearst Newspapers as to why it has not clarified the number of prosecutions after an assistant attorney general repeatedly cited the 500 number in testimony to the Legislature earlier this month.

The overstated claims of voter fraud came as the committee was set to discuss House Bill 6, a voting bill that Republicans say would curb fraud. Democrats say the legislation would criminalize even innocent mistakes.

The bill contains various provisions that would make it a misdemeanor for a presiding election judges to remove poll watchers while votes are being cast. The bill would make it a felony for public officials to distribute a mail-ballot application to anyone who has not asked for one, and would also make it a felony for a person assisting a voter with disabilities to make an error on a mail ballot.

The legislation, along with a similarly wide-ranging bill in the Senate, SB 7, is among Republicans priorities this session. Testimony on Thursday was expected to run long with many registered to comment, including former Democratic Texas Congressman Beto ORourke.

Rep. Travis Clardy, R-Nacogdoches, repeated the false number of pending cases in arguing that an increase in alleged voter fraud was a troubling trend that needs addressing.

If youre a physician and you see someone who has a cut and its leading to an infection, you know if it goes untreated, it can develop into a very serious condition, Clardy said. We should have, in the state of Texas and frankly throughout the country, zero tolerance for voter fraud.

To Clardys metaphor, Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot, who testified before the committee, said if he had a cut, a doctor could handle the case, rather than the hospitals CEO. In the same way, he said, district attorneys can handle the small number of voter fraud cases and they do not need to take up the resources of the attorney generals office.

Creuzot said that if laws are written based on faulty data like that cited by the AG, he worries about the integrity of the process. Creuzot also noted that the pending cases are still unproven in court and merely allegations at this point.

Its just ridiculous to say that we need to change state law, that theres a problem out there that needs a solution, Creuzot said. What I think this is, is a solution looking for a problem and theres no legitimate reason based on data or facts to change public policy in this regard.

taylor.goldenstein@chron.com
Local writer Ann Murtaghs latest novel will have a virtual book launch this Saturday.

Ann, a former teacher at Kilkenny School Project, ventured into the world of childrens books last year. The Irish War of Independence provided the backdrop for her debut novel, The Sound of Freedom, a story which was set on a farm in Westmeath.

Inner city

For her second book, also published by The OBrien Press, Ann has left rural life for North Inner-City Dublin. The Kidds of Summerhill is set in the closing months of the Second World War.

Orphaned Nancy Kidd is now head of her family. She and her brothers and sister are in danger of being sent to industrial schools.

The Cruelty Men have the power to do this to the family, and their next-door neighbour is one of their spies. Will Nancy be able to keep her family together?

As her life begins to unravel, she meets Karla, a Jewish refugee. Karla had left Prague for London in 1939. She was part of a Kinderstransport organised by English man Nicholas Winton to save Jewish children following the German invasion of Czechoslovakia.

When London is being evacuated, she comes to Dublin and becomes friends with Nancy in the clothing factory where they both work. Karla might know a way to provide the help Nancy so desperately needs.

Rags to Riches

The inspiration for writing this novel came from a visit by the author to 14 Henrietta Street. This museum tells the riches to rags story of the grand Georgian buildings in Dublin transforming into squalid tenements of the poor over time.

Despite all the hardship suffered by the people of Summerhill, there was a strong community spirit - a determination to get through the tough times and be there for each other. Families were still able to laugh, enjoy themselves, have fun and play pranks. The author tapped into the essence of that spirit for her story.

Online

According to childrens book advocate and author Sarah Webb, Ann's books are perfect for fans of Marita Conlon McKenna. The Kidds of Summerhill is available to order online from The Book Centre www.thebookcentre.ie and Khans Books www.khansbooks.ie

All are welcome to the virtual book launch on Saturday at 4pm.

People can register for the launch at www.eventbrite.ie
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.
Rosario Gonzalez- Ferez, researcher at the Department of Atomic, Molecular and Nuclear Physics and the Carlos I Institute of Theoretical and Computational Physics of the UGR

Dr. Rosario Gonzalez-Ferez, a researcher at the Department of Atomic, Molecular and Nuclear Physics and the Carlos I Institute of Theoretical and Computational Physics of the University of Granada, has published an article titled "Ultralong-Range Rydberg Bi-molecules" in Physical Review Letters. The results of the study show a new type of bi-molecule formed from two nitric oxide (NO) molecules, both in their ground state and in the Rydberg electronic state.

The work was made possible thanks to the scientific collaboration between the researcher and the Institute for Theoretical Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics (ITAMP) at Harvard University. The study began during her stay at Harvard between March and July 2020, meaning that the entire process, from data-gathering and analysis to final written conclusions, was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. The stay, which was funded by the Fulbright Foundation and the Salvador de Madariaga program of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, enjoyed the scientific collaboration of ITAMP's Hossein R. Sadeghpour and Janine Shertzer.

This new type of bi-molecule is the result of the union of two molecules of nitric oxide (NO) whose structure is arranged in such a way that the NO and NO+ ion are located in opposite poles. The electron orbits around both, acting like a "glue" that binds the bi-molecule. In addition, its size corresponds to between 200 and 1,000 times that of NO, and its lifetime is long enough to enable its observation and experimental control, as these fragile systems are easily manipulated by means of very weak electric fields.

This type of bi-molecule enables researchers to implement and study chemical reactions at low temperatures from a quantum perspective and facilitates the investigation of intermolecular interactions at large distances, since they coexist at low temperatures.

Dr. Gonzalez-Ferez observes that the use of these bi-molecules in quantum technologies would be interesting, both for the processing of information by entanglement and for the development of quantum sensors, with multiple technological applications in quantum optics and quantum computing.

Gonzalez-Ferez continues her work with two research groups, from the University of British Columbia in Canada and the University of Stuttgart in Germany, which aims to create this bi-molecule experimentally and confirm the theoretical predictions made over the last year.

Explore further A new theoretical model to capture spin dynamics in Rydberg molecules
They Should Have Walked Him: Kale Stevenson's clutch homers spark Post 17 to doubleheader sweep
Offer aggregator startup has announced a digital campaign called #PartyonwithGoPaisaCashback to spread awareness around cashback. The idea behind the campaign is to excite customers to check discounts and offers on the GoPaisa platform first in order to enable them to make an informed decision on how to shop and where to shop. The campaign has been launched ahead of the festival of Holi keeping the shopping traffic in mind. Also, the idea is to help people save those extra bucks as they begin their shopping for the new season.

The foundation of the storytelling showcased in the campaign comes from the real-life experience of one of the regular GoPaisa user only, wherein a shopper goes online and while buying presents for family and friends falls short on budget to buy anything for himself/herself. In similar situations, a cashback received can comfortably be further saved or spent on more shopping.

A lot of people are still directly opting for the offers that appear on the checkout while shopping on eCommerce websites. Though people are aware of the terminology of cashback they still have not really developed a habit of opting for a cashback coupon before hitting the pay button. And the difference that an added cashback offer can make is significant. Hence, we are launching this digital campaign to create awareness with a dash of humor, which falls in line with the taste of the digital audience too, said Ankita Jain- CO-Founder, GoPaisa

The cashback platform has unveiled a series of shot videos in the form of short situational dialogues to spread awareness around the concept of cashback and added money-saving methods. The campaign is live across the social media platforms connecting directly with the potential online shoppers.
.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.  If youve ever driven to Boulder, you know that view.

You know that ribbon of Highway 36 that cuts northwest out of Denver, how it undulates over golden hills and fields until it rises in a last, grand crest that briefly hides for dramatic effect the breathtaking view beyond of blue Flatirons, green valley and the magical city that changed this Albuquerque girl forever.

That view never failed to make my heart flip. It made me feel like I was one of the fortunate ones to have called this place home, at least for awhile.

ADVERTISEMENTSkip



................................................................

Highway 36 is known on maps and signage as the Denver-Boulder Turnpike, but I never heard it called that. It was always the Boulder-Denver Turnpike.

Thats how it was. Boulder always saw itself as above it all, privileged and proud and apart from the ordinary world. It was a liberal college town that believed in love and peace and parties. If there was any crime, violence or ugliness, I was never aware of it. Someone quite aptly described Boulder as Disneyland for adults, a hedonistic, perfect place where you never had to grow up.

In the 1970s and 80s when I lived there  first as a University of Colorado student and then as a carefree dropout  I certainly never did. After I moved away and inevitably grew up to some degree, I returned to Boulder from time to time to drop out of the real life to luxuriate again in that beautiful bubble.

On Monday, that bubble burst with the blast of bullets from an AR-556 that killed 10 people, including a Boulder police officer originally from Albuquerque, at a King Soopers grocery store.

Once again, America hears the chorus: We never thought it could happen here.

Once again, America was wrong.

I was wrong.

And here comes the rest of that old, tired song: The left demands sensible gun reform to keep firearms out of the hands of those too unstable, too angry or too criminal to responsibly use one; the right complains that the left is trying to take guns away from law-abiding folk and that any reform is not only a blight on the Second Amendment but wont stop the bloodshed anyway.

It doesnt matter how many children are slaughtered, how many students, spa workers, shoppers, churchgoers, synagogue-goers, gurdwaras-goers, moviegoers, concertgoers, nightclub-goers are killed. Nothing changes.

Boulder tried. In 2018, the city enacted an ordinance outlawing assault weapons. But just 10 days before Mondays mass shooting, a judge blocked the measure, ruling that state law allowing the sale and possession of such firearms trumps city law.

Mondays massacre was carried out with a Ruger AR-556 pistol, an assault weapon that would have been banned by the ordinance.

Its not likely the accused shooter, who hails from the Denver suburb of Arvada, would have known or cared about the ordinance had it survived in court.

But what else could have been done to keep a weapon of mass destruction away from someone hellbent on mass destruction? A federal ban on certain assault weapons? On large-capacity magazines? Tougher background checks? Closing the Charleston loophole? Age limits? Licensing?

Shall we talk about how to stem the bleeding, perhaps introduce a bill or two, hold a march, stage a protest, tuck flowers near the site where blood was shed? Will we then move on, nothing done, nothing changed?

That this latest mass shooting happened in a city like Boulder is striking in that for as long as I have known it, it has been an enclave apart from the obsession over guns and the ensuing gun violence so pervasive across much of the West. That includes the rest of Colorado, which gave us the tragedies of Columbine and the Aurora movie theater mass shootings.

In 2013, Colorado booted two Democrat state senators  not from Boulder  in special elections over their support of gun restrictions. Last year, it sent Lauren Boebert, a gun-toting, diehard Second Amendment worshipper not from Boulder, to Congress.

Even Boulders now-derailed 2018 assault weapons ban was prompted not by local gun violence but by the mass shooting that year at a high school in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 students and staff.

Boulder banned assault weapons because it made us feel safer to do that, Rep. Edie Hooton, a Boulder Democrat, told The Denver Post.

That feeling of safety is gone now.

Boulder has, not surprisingly, changed since I lived there. The student ghetto  though it hardly qualified as ghetto with its tree-lined streets and Victorian houses so close to the majestic Flatirons that you could see hikers along the trails  has been gentrified, inhabited now by well-paid professionals and well-off families. Pearl Street Mall is crowded with upscale restaurants and boutiques.

Highway 36 has been widened to include express lanes and more exits to the encroaching suburbs that cover the once golden hills and fields.

That scenic overlook that made my heart flip has been modernized and popularized with bike trails, benches and a dog park.

The view is still breathtaking. But now it looks like another community grieving over the needless shooting deaths of too many too quickly, too impossible to prevent, too unlikely to change anything.

UpFront is a front-page news and opinion column. Reach Joline at 730-2793, jkrueger@abqjournal.com, Facebook or @jolinegkg on Twitter.
A dad who has become famous on social media for his elaborate lunchboxes that he makes for his two daughters has revealed his recipe for a unique Aussie twist on empanadas.

An empanada is a type of baked or fried turnover consisting of pastry and filling, that is common in Southern European countries, and it works perfectly as a lunchbox sandwich alternative.

George Georgievski, from Melbourne, said to make his empanadas, you just need frozen puff pastry, a large wine glass, your choice of toppings and between 15 and 20 minutes spare to make them.

Scroll down for video

A dad who has become famous on social media for his elaborate lunchboxes that he makes for his two daughters has revealed his recipe for a unique Aussie twist on empanadas (George Georgievski pictured with his two kids)

An empanada (pictured) is a type of baked or fried turnover consisting of pastry and filling, that is common in Southern European countries, and George puts them in lunchboxes

'To start, just get a sheet of puff pastry, grab a wine glass and cut circles with it so there are nine of them,' George (pictured making them) said

On this occasion, George filled his empanadas with leftover bolognese, grated cheese and cut-up strawberries, which add a sweet twist on the typically savoury dish.

'What I'm going to make this morning is a simple Aussie version of the empanada,' George said in a TikTok video.

'To start, just get a sheet of puff pastry, grab a wine glass and cut circles with it so there are nine of them.'

Once you have your nine circles, grab one and add whatever filling you would like, taking care not to over-stuff the empanada so it can't be folded over.

How to make the delicious empanadas INGREDIENTS George shared his simple recipe for the empanadas (pictured) Frozen puff pastry Leftover bolognese Grated cheese Cut-up strawberries Milk METHOD 1. Get a sheet of frozen puff pastry and use a large red wine glass to cut out circles. 2. Fill each circle with a filling of your choice, taking care not to over-stuff each one. 3. Fold it over so the filling is perfectly encased, and then pinch, fold, pinch, fold each one. 4. Brush a little bit of milk over the top of the pastry pieces with a brush. 5. Bake in the air fryer on 180 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes or in the oven at the same temperature for 20 minutes. Source: School Lunchbox Dad Advertisement

'In this one, I'm going to add some bolgonese, and then all you do is fold it over and pinch, gold, pinch, fold, pinch, fold,' George said (pictured being made)

'In this one, I'm going to add some bolgonese, and then all you do is fold it over and pinch, gold, pinch, fold, pinch, fold,' George said.

You should end up with a seashell-type shape, or an empanada.

Once this is done, brush a little bit of milk over the top of the pastry pieces with a pastry brush.

'Then, pop them in the air fryer for 10 minutes on 180 degrees Celsius or cook them at the same temperature for 20 minutes in the oven,' George said.

Once this is done, brush a little bit of milk over the top of the pastry pieces with a pastry brush and bake them in the air fryer or oven (pictured being made)

Thousands who saw the simple trick said they were surprised to find out how easy empanadas are to make at home, and they will definitely be trying them (finished result pictured_

Thousands who saw the simple trick said they were surprised to find out how easy empanadas are to make at home, and they will definitely be trying them.

'Wow, they look insane - I could devour the entire tray,' one commenter wrote.

'Leftover taco mix would work really well in these too,' another added.

A third wrote: 'Chileans add boiled eggs and raisins'.

George shared his lunchbox (pictured) tips, which include using the rainbow as inspiration and putting together a meal with an array of colours

Speaking previously to FEMAIL, George shared his advice for parents wanting to put together the perfect school lunch.

George's three tips for other parents are: use the rainbow as inspiration by putting together a meal with an array of colours; use lunchboxes at home during the school holidays; and try the 'rule of five' when it comes to including a range of fruits and vegetables.

'The number five is the most important thing to think about with kids' lunchboxes,' he told FEMAIL.

'That means two fruits and three vegetables in every lunchbox to make sure they get good nutrition throughout the school day.'

'The number five is the most important thing to think about with kids' lunchboxes,' he told FEMAIL - this means two fruits and three different veg (lunchbox pictured)

George's second tip for parents this summer is that they should buy and start using their new school lunchbox long before term starts to get their kids used to it (lunchbox pictured)

George's second tip for parents this summer is that they should buy and start using their new school lunchbox long before term starts:

'That way, the kids get used to eating from them and they will have a sense of comfort at school, especially when everything is daunting and new,' he said.

The more colours you can pack into their midday meal, the better, as George said you should always remember that 'children eat with their eyes'.

'Let them go wow when they open their lunchbox, as if it looks good, it'll taste even better,' he said.

One of George's favourite things to include in his kids' school is a 'ravwich', which is his take on the Italian ravioli, or the 'spring-wich', which is his take on a Chinese spring roll.

He said anything you can do to update and change your kids' lunchboxes from boring sandwiches is good.
Luanda  The president of the ruling MPLA party, Joao Lourenco, said Wednesday that in the framework of the diversification of the national economy, there are enormous perspectives of cooperation with the Russian Federation in several sectors.

He stressed the sectors of industry, agro-livestock, fisheries, energy, tourism, telecommunications and science and technology, as the ones that can contribute the most to this effect.

In a message sent to the Russia-Africa inter-party conference, which is being held for two days in Moscow, he said that scientific research and the training of excellent cadres should also be given special attention in cooperation between the two countries.

Joao Lourenco said that the world is still living the effects of the pandemic resulting from Covid-19, which had a negative impact on the economies of all countries.

"Angola adopted very early the prevention measures recommended by the World Health Organisation; however, the structure of the country's economy, where the informal sector has considerable weight, could not withstand the effects of the paralysis of the economy for a long time, which led to the implementation of measures aimed at alleviating the confinement and the progressive return to the activities of the different sectors," he stressed.

According to the leader of the ruling party in Angola, in this way, it was possible to avoid the massive spread of the disease, which would lead to the collapse of the national health system.

He considered important the development of the relations between the African countries and the Russian Federation, as well as between the political parties, which have the responsibility of defining the policies that guide the action of the respective governments, to face the enormous challenges that are faced today.

At the event, the MPLA President is represented by the party's Vice-President, Luisa Damiao, in a virtual way, from Luanda.

He stressed the sectors of industry, agro-livestock, fisheries, energy, tourism, telecommunications and science and technology, as the ones that can contribute the most to this effect.

In a message sent to the Russia-Africa inter-party conference, which is being held for two days in Moscow, he said that scientific research and the training of excellent cadres should also be given special attention in cooperation between the two countries.

Joao Lourenco said that the world is still living the effects of the pandemic resulting from Covid-19, which had a negative impact on the economies of all countries.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Angola Governance Europe and Africa By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"Angola adopted very early the prevention measures recommended by the World Health Organisation; however, the structure of the country's economy, where the informal sector has considerable weight, could not withstand the effects of the paralysis of the economy for a long time, which led to the implementation of measures aimed at alleviating the confinement and the progressive return to the activities of the different sectors," he stressed.

According to the leader of the ruling party in Angola, in this way, it was possible to avoid the massive spread of the disease, which would lead to the collapse of the national health system.

He considered important the development of the relations between the African countries and the Russian Federation, as well as between the political parties, which have the responsibility of defining the policies that guide the action of the respective governments, to face the enormous challenges that are faced today.

At the event, the MPLA President is represented by the party's Vice-President, Luisa Damiao, in a virtual way, from Luanda.
Working mothers and their partners in New Zealand will be allowed to take paid leave after suffering a miscarriage or stillbirth.

The bereavement allowance, passed after a unanimous vote in parliament late Wednesday, gives employees three days' leave when a pregnancy ends with a stillbirth, rather than forcing them to use their sick leave.

The bereavement leave extends to a woman's partner if she suffers a miscarriage, as well as to people who were attempting to have a child through surrogacy.

The new proposed law has broadened the circumstances under which would-be mothers in New Zealand can take paid bereavement leave. Mothers and their partners who suffer a miscarriage or stillbirth would receive three days paid leave

Prior the the bill's approval New Zealand already provided paid leave for mothers who suffered a stillbirth after 20 weeks or more of pregnancy. The new legislation will broaden bereavement leave to mothers and partners who lose a pregnancy at any point.

The New Zealand Ministry of Health estimates that between one and two out of every ten pregnancies result in a miscarriage.

Ginny Andersen, the lawyer and parliamentarian who drafted the bill, said a stillbirth should be recognised with dedicated bereavement leave but the stigma that surrounds the issue meant many people were reluctant to discuss it.

'The grief that comes with miscarriage is not a sickness; it is a loss, and that loss takes time - time to recover physically and time to recover mentally,' she told parliament.

The new bill does not apply to pregnancies ended by means of abortion. New Zealand decriminalised aborion in 2020.

New Zealand's Labour MP and lawmaker Ginny Andersen who has spent years working on the bill and drafter the proposed law

The new bill is expected to become law in the following weeks.

Other countries across the globe have similar policies in place.

In the UK miscarriages suffered before the end of the 24th week of pregnancy do not qualify for any leave. However mothers who suffer stillbirths following the 24th week of pregnancy are entitled to maternity leave and accompanying pay.

In India, women are entitled to six weeks of leave if they suffer a miscarriage. However, the majority of female employees in the country work in the informal sector and therefore are not entitled to the leave.

The Canadian province of Ontario provides women with 17 weeks of unpaid leave is they lose a pregnancy up to 17 weeks before the baby's due date.

In Australia, would-be mothers who suffer a miscarriage after the 12th week of pregnancy receive unpaid leave.
The Senate yesterday passed for second reading, a bill seeking to establish a fund specifically to cater for the welfare of families of dead military and security personnel.

The bill for an Act to Establish the Families of Fallen Servicemen Support Fund was sponsored by Senator Abba Moro.

Moro told his colleagues that the piece of legislation, would, among other things, establish a fund to be known as 'The Families of Fallen Serviceman Support Fund.'

He said all monies prescribed under the Bill as donations, bequeaths, trusts, and contributions for the welfare of families of members of the armed forces and operatives of other security agencies who die in the line of duty including combat and non-combat duties, shall be paid into the fund.

He said, "We all know that coping with the death of loved ones is an enormous load to bear as it sparks traumatic heartbreaks that can lead to feelings of desertion or indignation in addition to deep poignancy.

"In the case of families of fallen heroes, it is even more burdensome because, in any of such circumstances of the loss of a loved one, a grieving spouse may have the additional responsibility of caring for the children."

He said leaders of the military widows association have stated that there were more than 11,000 registered members.

He added that "given the security situation in our dear country Nigeria, it has become pertinent to enact a law that will establish a Fund to take care of the welfare challenges facing the indigent families of security operatives who die in the line of duty."

Meanwhile, a bill seeking to amend the Police Service Commission Act, 2001, also scaled second reading during plenary yesterday.

Sponsor of the bill, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha said the amendment became imperative in view of holding the Police "accountable for their actions through both internal and external mechanisms."
BAAR, Switzerland, March 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Lurra Capital AG, a Swiss-based private capital investment firm, has participated in a $475 million funding round for New York headquartered Dataminr, one of the world's leading AI companies.

Lurra Capital, an existing investor of Dataminr, joins other leading investors including Eldridge, Valor Equity Partners, MSD Capital, Reinvent Capital, ArrowMark Partners, IVP, Eden Global and investment funds managed by Morgan Stanley Tactical Value in providing capital for Dataminr, whose AI platform detects the earliest signs of high-impact events and emerging risks from tracking publicly available data. Clients include Citi, Dyson, Shell and Vodafone.

Founded in 2009 by entrepreneur Ted Bailey, Dataminr is now ranked by Forbes as the 5th most promising AI firm in the US, with more than 650 employees in seven offices globally. This funding round gives the company a post-money valuation of $4.1bn.

Tyron Birkmeir, the Founder and CEO of Lurra Capital AG, said:

'As one of the existing investors in Dataminr, we targeted data-centric investments and recognised the company's unique AI platform, powerful proprietary algorithms and data-driven advantage whilst being steered by an experienced and robust leadership team. It was first to market in providing a broad range of clients with real-time information on high-impact events and emerging risks ahead of all other information sources.

'We are extremely excited to participate in this latest and exclusive funding round, as the company forges ahead as the leader in the data discovery market. Dataminr is one of the most exciting and important firms of our time.'

Lurra Capital is an invitation-only private capital investment firm headquartered in Switzerland, overseeing $5 billion from a group of families and wealthy investors. It sources the most desirable and strategic investment opportunities globally via a highly effective and powerful network.

Notes to Editors

Founded in 2017, Lurra Capital is an invitation-only private capital investment firm combining specialist expertise, innovative and alternative investment solutions to ultra-high net worth individuals and families. Lurra's strategy encompasses exclusive, highly sought-after investments in the core areas of real estate, private equity and venture capital, and its investment philosophy is focused on strategic assets with significant growth and development potential. The firm, which is headquartered in Switzerland, currently oversees $5 billion of assets.

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lurra-capital-participates-in-475-million-funding-round-for-dataminr-301253980.html

SOURCE Lurra Capital
Bill Brock, a Chattanoogan who served in both houses of Congress and later held several important national posts, has died at the age of 90 at his home at Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Mr. Brock, whose family long operated Brock Candy Company in Chattanooga, was elected to a House seat in 1963 and later served as a senator.

He served as chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1977 to 1981.

After Ronald Reagan was elected president, Mr. Brock was named U.S. Trade Representative and then was named Secretary of Labor in 1985.

He resigned the cabinet post in late 1987 to serve as the campaign manager for the presidential campaign of Senator Bob Dole.

Mr. Brock's grandfather, William Emerson Brock Sr., was a U.S. senator from 1929 to 1931.

Scott Golden, state Republican Party chairman, said:

We are extremely saddened to learn of the passing of Senator Bill Brock of Chattanooga. His legacy of service to our State is as long and mighty as the Tennessee River itself. Stepping away from public life in 1987, many Tennesseans may not realize the impact of Senator Brock's contribution to the history of Tennessee and the United States.





First elected to Congress in 1962, he served 4 terms as Chattanooga's Congressman before being elected to the United States Senate in 1970. Following his service in the Senate, Bill Brock was elected Chairman of the Republican National Committee. He led our Party for four years culminating in President Ronald Reagan's landslide victory in 1980. President Reagan appointed Senator Brock to be the United States Trade Representative from 1981 through 1985, and then again asked him to serve in his cabinet as US Secretary of Labor ending in 1987.





The Tennessee Republican Party had the opportunity to honor Senator Brock with our highest award, The Howard Baker Award, at the 2019 Statesman's Dinner for his years of dedication and commitment to our State and Party. Our prayers go out to his wife, Sandy, and the entire Brock family, especially our colleague Oscar, who is currently serving the Tennessee Republican Party as our Committeeman for the RNC.





We are truly blessed as a State and Country that men of such character and caliber as Bill Brock dedicated their lives to making our lives better, and his efforts and impact will not be forgotten.

Senator Marsha Blackburn said, Bill Brock was a dedicated public servant and patriot who will be dearly missed by many. He lived a life of service to Tennesseans and Americans, from serving in our military to representing the United States as our Trade Representative and Labor Secretary. It was a privilege to consider him a friend of mine. I am sending my heartfelt condolences to his wife, Sandy. I am asking Tennesseans to join me in keeping his family and friends in our prayers.

Senator Bill Hagerty said, Chrissy and I are saddened to learn of the passing of Bill Brock, someone who represented the people of Tennessee in the U.S. House and Senate for more than a decade before going on to serve in the Reagan Administration as Trade Representative and Labor Secretary. A navy veteran, Bill was a Tennessean first and foremost who had a deep love for Chattanooga where he was born. Tennessee has a rich history of sending transformative leaders to represent them in Washington - many of whom went on to serve in congressional leadership, a cabinet post, or in higher office - and Bill is certainly a part of that amazing legacy. Bill loved his country, and fought for her during his entire career in public service. My family and I extend our thoughts and prayers to Bills loved ones, and ask that God bring them comfort and peace during this difficult time.

Rep. Chuck Fleischmann said, I am incredibly saddened to hear of the passing of Senator Bill Brock. Senator Brock was an institution in East Tennessee. Throughout his career of public service, he always put the people of East Tennessee first. He leaves behind a legacy of immeasurable leadership and service to our nation. Senator Brock will be dearly missed. Brenda and I send our most heartfelt condolences and prayers to the Brock family during this time of grief.

Tim Kelly, candidate for mayor, said, "Bill Brock was a statesman known around the world for his ability to work closely with a broad coalition of Democrats and Republicans in bringing widely ranging views together. Those efforts led to the 'Era of Cooperation' which led to major reforms including the Clean Water Act of 1972, Endangered Species Act of 1973, Safe Drinking Act of 1974 and Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, all of which passed without opposition in the Senate.

Bill Brock was a true testament to what those in public service should aspire to become, said Kelly. He was someone who was able to reach across the political aisle to build consensus for issues that benefited the country. He prized both his country and his party and able to honor both through his life of service. His leadership and statesmanship will be greatly missed. Ginny and I send our heartfelt condolences to the Brock family.

Republican Party Chairman Arch Trimble IV released the following statement in regard to the passing of former Senator Bill Brock:



Today is a somber day in Hamilton County. Though one which allows Republicans to rejoice in the life of a true Tennessee Statesman. Stated Chairman Trimble. Senator Brock (R-TN) passed today after a life of servitude for not only his family, but both this state and our nation.



"Our Senator embodied the true spirit of Tennessee Values during a career that spanned over 50 years. He served our community in Congress from 1963 to 1971. And, under President Ronald Reagan he served as the Secretary of Labor and Chairman of the Republican National Committee. Senator Brock was a true leader of men, and we ask that all Tennesseans keep the Brock family in our prayers during this time.






Does this situation appear familiar to you? You go shopping on an empty stomach and notice at the checkouts that more - and mostly unhealthy - products have found their way into your shopping cart than originally planned. Unconsciously, your brain has told you to still your hunger by buying lots of high-calorie food, such as chocolate and frozen pizzas. In her research group at the University of Konstanz, biologist Dr Katrin Vogt is using fly larvae of the species Drosophila melanogaster to study how the brain controls behaviour depending on hunger and other internal states.

###

Read more about how hunger affects information processing in the larval brain and the animals behaviour - and what conclusions can we draw from this about the human brain - in the online magazine campus.kn: https:/ / campus. uni-konstanz. de/ en/ when-fly-larvae-are-hungry-1

Key facts:
(Alliance News) - Plus500 Ltd on Thursday hired Israeli economist Jacob Frenkel as its new chair.

Frenkel has over 40 years' experience in macroeconomics, according to Plus500, a Haifa-based online trading platform. He was chair of JPMorgan Chase International for 11 years until 2020, and previously served as governor of the Bank of Israel. He is currently chair of New York-based BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc.

Frenkel will take over as Plus500 chair after the annual general meeting on May 4, subject to shareholder approval.

He will replace Penny Judd, chair since 2017, who decided not to stand for re-election.

"Professor Frenkel's significant experience and knowledge of the financial services sector will be a huge asset for Plus500, as we enter a new phase of development, evolving into a multi-asset fintech group over time," Plus500 Chief Executive David Zruia.

Plus500 shares were up 0.8% to 1,382.00 pence in London.

By Ivan Edwards; ivanedwards@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
He has been desperately clinging to his 15 minutes of fame since appearing on Married At First Sight back in 2018.

And now former reality star Nasser Sultan has sunk to a new low - charging fans money to follow them back on social media.

The 53-year-old announced his latest ridiculous stunt in a video he posted to Instagram.

How low can he go? He has been desperately clinging to his 15 minutes of fame since appearing on Married At First Sight back in 2018, and now former reality star Nasser Sultan has sunk to a new low - charging fans money to follow them back on social media

'Guys, have you ever wanted a celebrity to follow you on Instagram?' he began.

'Well look no further you can have Australia's favourite celebrity - me - follow you on social media' he added.

While he originally wanted to charge people $5 for the service, Nasser has decided to drop the price to less than a couple of dollars.

'I havent gone bananas! I am giving fans the chance to get a follow from me for $1.95. DM me for payment details,' he captioned the post.

Bottom dollar: While he originally wanted to charge people $5 for the service, Nasser has decided to drop the price to less than a couple of dollars

The former music promoter's post already appears to have garnered the interest of fans, with one commenting: 'Thank you Nass for the follow.'

'You sir are always one step ahead. The rest are just trying to keep up,' another added.

But it seems not everyone appreciated the offer, with one commenting: 'Omg I hope he is joking.'

'Ur not Australias fav celeb,' a second added. While a insisted: 'What a Wally !!! $1.95.'

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Nasser Sultan for comment.

Nasser currently has more than 43k followers on Instagram and is following less than 500 people on his social media account.

Mixed reactions: The former music promoter's post already appears to have garnered the interest of fans, with one commenting 'Thank you Nass for the follow; However, another disagreed, commenting 'What a Wally !!! $1.95'

His post comes after he revealed he's been 'playing the character' of a 'deluded reality star' for three years.

In February, he admitted it's been difficult to return to real life after becoming obsessed with fame.

'It's not easy, it's not like switching a light off. I am obsessed with it - why am I caring about these people?' he said on Not Another Reality TV Podcast.

In the same month, the self-proclaimed 'favourite celebrity' stormed out of the Married At First Sight Grand Reunion after refusing to apologise for making a string of hurtful comments about his castmates.

And while he did say sorry on the podcast for some of his more 'personal' insults, Nasser blamed his behaviour on a 'split personality'.

'I wanted to continue to be noticed and recognised,' he said.

'I never wanted it to end  I wanted my name to be known by everyone across Australia.'
ALMOST 300 new road signs are set to be erected across Limerick s metropolitan district by the autumn.

The information, from John Sheahan in the roads division, came to light following a question from Labour councillor Elena Secas.

She had asked why the signs have not been rolled out yet under Covid-19 emergency measures and sought a survey spreadsheet of all the areas where the signs will be erected.

In response, she was told by Mr Sheehan that 300 signs had been acquired by the local authority, and these will be erected by the autumn.

Ordered in December 2020, the signs were received at the councils Annacotty depot on January 29 last.

Limerick City and County Council will agree locations for the placement of these signs in the next few weeks, he confirmed.

Already, of this stock, signs have been erected at the Rosbrien Road, and Ballyclough. Further signs are expected to be put up this week at the Groody Road, Plassey Road and the Ballysimon Roundabout.
(Newser)  President Biden conducted his first press conference since assuming office, one in which he doubled the nation's vaccination goal and said he expected to run for re-election in 2024. But Biden faced questions on a host of other issues, including immigration and the filibuster. Highlights:

Immigration: He disputed the notion that migrants were surging to the border because he's a "nice guy," per Axios. He said part of the problem is that immigration agencies are "building back up the capacity that should have been maintained and built upon that (former President) Trump dismantled," adding, "It's going to take time."

He disputed the notion that migrants were surging to the border because he's a "nice guy," per Axios. He said part of the problem is that immigration agencies are "building back up the capacity that should have been maintained and built upon that (former President) Trump dismantled," adding, "It's going to take time." Immigration, II: Biden was pressed on whether his moves to relax Trump rules sent a message to migrant families that they should head to the border. Biden said he is not going to let kids "starve to death" and "stay on the other side." At another point: "Rolling back the policy of separating children from their mothers, I make no apologies for that."

story continues below

Filibuster: He said the current filibuster system is being "abused in a gigantic way" and suggested that he's open to changing it if Republicans block legislation on key issues, per the Hill. Biden has previously backed a return to the "talking filibuster." "I strongly support moving in that direction," he said Thursday, "in addition to having an open mind about dealing with certain things that are just elemental to the functioning of our democracy, like the right to vote. Like the basic right to vote. Weve amended the filibuster in the past."

He said the current filibuster system is being "abused in a gigantic way" and suggested that he's open to changing it if Republicans block legislation on key issues, per the Hill. Biden has previously backed a return to the "talking filibuster." "I strongly support moving in that direction," he said Thursday, "in addition to having an open mind about dealing with certain things that are just elemental to the functioning of our democracy, like the right to vote. Like the basic right to vote. Weve amended the filibuster in the past." Filibuster, II: "Were going to get a lot done, and if we have to, if theres complete lockdown and chaos as a consequence of the filibuster, then well have to go beyond what I'm talking about," he said. (Republicans have warned of strong repercussions if the filibuster is removed.)

"Were going to get a lot done, and if we have to, if theres complete lockdown and chaos as a consequence of the filibuster, then well have to go beyond what I'm talking about," he said. (Republicans have warned of strong repercussions if the filibuster is removed.) Voting rights: Biden criticized Republicans for pushing legislation that he says would make it more difficult to vote in some states. He called such efforts "sick" and "un-American," per the New York Times. This makes Jim Crow look like Jim Eagle."

Biden criticized Republicans for pushing legislation that he says would make it more difficult to vote in some states. He called such efforts "sick" and "un-American," per the New York Times. This makes Jim Crow look like Jim Eagle." Afghanistan: He cautioned that the US might not meet its May 1 deadline for withdrawing troops, reports the Wall Street Journal. "We will leave," he said. "The question is when we will leave."

He cautioned that the US might not meet its May 1 deadline for withdrawing troops, reports the Wall Street Journal. "We will leave," he said. "The question is when we will leave." China: In his talk with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Biden said he made it clear to him again, what Ive told him on several occasions, that were not looking for confrontation, though we know there will be steep, steep competition. He said the US would continue to hold Beijing accountable on human rights, adding that while China aims to become the richest and most powerful nation, "that's not going to happen on my watch."

(Read more President Biden stories.)
Hatfield Medical Group, an Arizona-based team of primary care physicians with nine locations in the East Valley, has partnered with Devoted Health, one of the fastest-growing Medicare Advantage plans in the United States. Devoted Health recently launched in Arizona across Maricopa County and provides seniors with the highest-quality care and experience possible, with an emphasis on extraordinary customer service.

We are committed to helping our patients receive the highest-quality and most cost-effective care possible, said John Woodley, CEO of Hatfield Medical Group. Our new partnership with Devoted Health deeply aligns with our mission of having the ability to treat our patients like they are family and focusing on preventative treatment.

Devoted Health will work closely with Hatfield Medical Groups primary care physicians who focus on preventative care and management of chronic conditions. Hatfield Medical Group enables adults on Medicare to stay healthy through spending the time needed with a provider, scheduling same-day and next-day appointments, experiencing little-to-no time waiting and including patients in social activities designed to improve health and wellbeing. Devoted Health supports this care with dedicated Guides who help members navigate the healthcare system and get the care that they need.

We are thrilled to partner with Hatfield Medical Group, as they work with some of the top primary physicians in Arizona, said Arizona Market President, Keith Dines. We are working closely with them to ensure that our members get the care that we would expect for our own family.

Additionally, Devoted Health offers members standout supplemental benefits beyond whats covered by Original Medicare, including dental cleanings and X-rays, a quarterly allowance to spend on over-the-counter items, medical alert devices, and Wellness Bucks that can be used on equipment, fitness trackers,and more.

Devoted Health was founded in 2017 and currently offers Medicare Advantage plans in Texas, Florida, Ohio and Arizona. Devoted Health also has support services located in Massachusetts and Maine. For more information about Devoted Health and the plans it offers, visit devoted.com or call 1-800-497-4086.

ABOUT Hatfield Medical Group:

Hatfield Medical Group is leading the conversation on what value means by lowering costs and improving accessibility to primary care for adults on Medicare. Hatfield Medical Groups ambitious redefinition of what a doctors care can be is doctor-driven and patient-focused. Since 2019, Hatfield has grown to 9 clinics and is on pace to expand to 50 clinics in the next 5 years. Hatfield Medical Group has set its sights on rapid expansion to bring our model of care to the greater Phoenix area.

ABOUT DEVOTED HEALTH:

Devoted Health is a next-generation Medicare Advantage plan guided by a deep belief that every member should be treated like we would treat our own family: with loving care, a profound commitment to their health and well-being, and respect for them and their time. As a "payvidor" that integrates being both a payor and provider of health care services, Devoted Health partners with top doctors and hospitals, uses industry-leading technology, and supports members with dedicated guides and tech-enabled care services in order to help Medicare beneficiaries get the highest-quality health care  the right care in the right place at the right time. Led by co-founders Ed and Todd Park, Devoted Health is powered by a proven, world-class health care and technology team. For more information, go to http://www.devoted.com

Devoted Health accepts other providers. Hatfielf Medical Group accepts other plans. Devoted Health is an HMO plan with a Medicare contract. Enrollment in Devoted Health depends on contract renewal. Devoted Health complies with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex. ATENCION: Si habla espanol, tiene a su disposicion servicios gratuitos de asistencia linguistica. Llame al 1-800-338-6833 (TTY 711). H8173_21P163_M
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 GF Value





The stock of Washington Prime Group (NYSE:WPG, 30-year Financials) is believed to be possible value trap, according to GuruFocus Value calculation. GuruFocus Value is GuruFocus' estimate of the fair value at which the stock should be traded. It is calculated based on the historical multiples that the stock has traded at, the past business growth and analyst estimates of future business performance. If the price of a stock is significantly above the GF Value Line, it is overvalued and its future return is likely to be poor. On the other hand, if it is significantly below the GF Value Line, its future return will likely be higher. At its current price of $2.09 per share and the market cap of $50.8 million, Washington Prime Group stock shows every sign of being possible value trap. GF Value for Washington Prime Group is shown in the chart below.





Washington Prime Group Stock Shows Every Sign Of Being Possible Value Trap

The reason we think that Washington Prime Group stock might be a value trap is because its Piotroski F-score is only 3, out of the total of 9. Such a low Piotroski F-score indicates the company is getting worse in multiple aspects in the areas of profitability, funding and efficiency. In this case, investors should look beyond the low valuation of the company and make sure it has no long-term risks. To learn more about how the Piotroski F-score measures the business trend of a company, please go here. Furthermore, Washington Prime Group has an Altman Z-score of -0.26, which indicates that the financial condition of the company is in the distressed zone and implies a higher risk of bankruptcy. An Altman Z-score of above 2.99 would be better, indicating safe financial conditions. To learn more about how the Z-score measures the financial risk of the company, please go here.

Link: These companies may deliever higher future returns at reduced risk.

Story continues

Since investing in companies with low financial strength could result in permanent capital loss, investors must carefully review a company's financial strength before deciding whether to buy shares. Looking at the cash-to-debt ratio and interest coverage can give a good initial perspective on the company's financial strength. Washington Prime Group has a cash-to-debt ratio of 0.03, which ranks worse than 72% of the companies in REITs industry. Based on this, GuruFocus ranks Washington Prime Group's financial strength as 3 out of 10, suggesting poor balance sheet. This is the debt and cash of Washington Prime Group over the past years:

Washington Prime Group Stock Shows Every Sign Of Being Possible Value Trap

Investing in profitable companies carries less risk, especially in companies that have demonstrated consistent profitability over the long term. Typically, a company with high profit margins offers better performance potential than a company with low profit margins. Washington Prime Group has been profitable 7 years over the past 10 years. During the past 12 months, the company had revenues of $524.4 million and loss of $11 a share. Its operating margin of 4.38% worse than 89% of the companies in REITs industry. Overall, GuruFocus ranks Washington Prime Group's profitability as fair. This is the revenue and net income of Washington Prime Group over the past years:

Washington Prime Group Stock Shows Every Sign Of Being Possible Value Trap

Growth is probably the most important factor in the valuation of a company. GuruFocus research has found that growth is closely correlated with the long term performance of a company's stock. The faster a company is growing, the more likely it is to be creating value for shareholders, especially if the growth is profitable. The 3-year average annual revenue growth rate of Washington Prime Group is -11.8%, which ranks worse than 88% of the companies in REITs industry. The 3-year average EBITDA growth rate is -42%, which ranks in the bottom 10% of the companies in REITs industry.

Another way to evaluate a company's profitability is to compare its return on invested capital (ROIC) to its weighted cost of capital (WACC). Return on invested capital (ROIC) measures how well a company generates cash flow relative to the capital it has invested in its business. The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is the rate that a company is expected to pay on average to all its security holders to finance its assets. If the ROIC is higher than the WACC, it indicates that the company is creating value for shareholders. Over the past 12 months, Washington Prime Group's ROIC was 0.57, while its WACC came in at 4.32. The historical ROIC vs WACC comparison of Washington Prime Group is shown below:

Washington Prime Group Stock Shows Every Sign Of Being Possible Value Trap

In conclusion, the stock of Washington Prime Group (NYSE:WPG, 30-year Financials)gives every indication of being possible value trap. The company's financial condition is poor and its profitability is fair. Its growth ranks in the bottom 10% of the companies in REITs industry. To learn more about Washington Prime Group stock, you can check out its 30-year Financials here. To find out the high quality companies that may deliever above average returns, please check out GuruFocus High Quality Low Capex Screener. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


Blinken: Path of Diplomacy is open

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week that the decision is Tehrans whether to reengage on the Iran nuclear deal.

The path of diplomacy is open, he told Judy Woodruff March 3.

The European Union invited all of the parties to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or Iran nuclear deal  the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Iran, Russia and China  to resume talks.

The United States said yes. Iran said no this time, but it may be reconsidering (see below).

Weve been very clear that Iran has to come back into compliance with its obligations under the nuclear agreement, and if it does, well do the same thing, Blinken continued. And  that would involve, if they do it, some sanctions relief.

In other words, the United States is ready, in the context of the JCPOA group, to discuss compliance for compliance  sanctions relief for Iran, once Iran returns to uranium enrichment levels and other protocols as agreed in the JCPOA.

US President Joe Bidens approach to Iran has been consistent and straightforward, and so far by the diplomatic book. And it's paying off.

The first US priority has been to rebuild trust and consensus with its EU partners. The Trump administration, in breaking from the JCPOA, had gone it alone on Iran, alienating European allies.

The Biden administration has taken a few shots from critics on both sides on the issue. Some have argued that the administration should have immediately jumped back into the nuclear deal, ending the Trump administrations sanctions, with Iran immediately getting back into compliance.

A more hawkish take has been that the Biden team, many of whom are Iran deal veterans, may be too quick to cut a deal with Iran, to the detriment of US interests.

Neither criticism hits the mark.

True, those in this administration who were involved in the 2015 Iran deal consider it a signal achievement and stand by it as foundational in addressing Irans nuclear weapons potential.

While that view holds, among the new/old officials who will be dealing again with Iran, there is also an awareness of the many changes over the past six years.

Wendy Sherman, Biden's nominee to be deputy secretary of state, who as undersecretary of state for political affairs was the lead US negotiator on the nuclear deal, said at her nomination hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on March 3 that 2021 is not 2015, when the deal was agreed, nor 2016, when it was implemented. The facts on the ground have changed, the geopolitics of the region have changed, and the way forward must similarly change.

Colin Kahl, Bidens nominee for undersecretary of defense for political affairs, similarly said during his nomination hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on March 4, "I think dynamics in the Middle East have changed. I support the Abraham Accords and I wouldnt move the embassy  away from Jerusalem, adding that he backs Israels airstrikes against Iranian and Iranian-backed forces in Syria, as Jared Szuba reports.

The US-brokered normalization agreements (Abraham Accords) between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan  in the context of more open Israel-Gulf alignment over a shared concern of Iranian intentions  further strengthen the administrations diplomatic hand.

Anticipating these changes, Biden said during his presidential campaign that he will consult US regional partners this time on diplomacy with Iran. Hard-liners in Israel had been concerned that Biden would rush back into the Iran deal. At least so far, those concerns seem overblown. The US-Israel relationship under Biden is rock solid. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far steered a more pragmatic approach in dealing with both the United States and Iran, including in his measured response to an attack on an Israeli tanker in the Gulf of Oman, which Israel has blamed on Iran, as Ben Caspit reports.

Deterrence also part of the plan

The Biden administration itself has also not shied away from confronting Iran with force, and will likely continue to do so if nuclear diplomacy stalls, and probably even as it resumes.

Iran doesnt take a holiday from its policies in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and the Gulf. The Islamic Republic is likely to continue to challenge and probe the resolve of the United States and its partners. And the United States will respond.

This week, US warplanes struck Iran-backed targets in Syria on the Iraq-Syria border, in retaliation for rocket attacks presumed to have been carried out by Iran-backed militias on al-Asad air base and Erbil International Airport in Iraq, as Szuba reports here.

The attacks in Syria were criticized by some members of Congress and by Donald Trump Jr., the son of former US President Donald Trump, as Adam Lucente reports.

Despite a recalibration of US policy toward Saudi Arabia, including sanctions against Saudis implicated in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as Elizabeth Hagedorn reports, the United States remains committed to the US-Saudi military-military relationship in dealing with the threat from Iran and the Ansar Allah (Houthi) forces in Yemen.

The Biden administration has made ending the war in Yemen a top priority.

Rezai: Clear signal can lead to talks

In a potential opening for renewed nuclear diplomacy, Mohsen Rezai, head of Irans Expediency Council and former head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, said Iran may be willing to reengage on talks if the US sends a "clear signal" that US sanctions "would be lifted in less than one year."

In an interview with the Financial Times, Rezai added that "we have to see every month during the talks that some sanctions which are of urgency to us are being liftedfor instance, sanctions on financial transactions and restrictions that European banks have imposed should be lifted in the first month. Oil exports are also among our top priorities.

2020 was Irans third straight year of negative economic growth.

Rezais message is a diplomatic flare and gives some cover for Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who told the Economic Cooperation Organization that "Iran will reciprocate action by actionthe return path to the JCPOA is straightforward, and if the US government is determined to return, there is no need for negotiations," in addition to noting that "nothing will be added or removed from the JCPOA; it is a fixed text and we will not have a new negotiation within the framework of the JCPOA."

Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, responding to Rezais comments, tweeted that he will "shortly present our constructive plan of action  through proper diplomatic channels."

Rouhanis missing coattails in Irans elections

Rezais statement could give Rouhani space to broker an interim deal as a kind of bridge to keep diplomacy going during the election season and when a new government takes over after the June elections.

Rouhani cant run for a second term, and his political legacy is complicated. The Iran nuclear deal was considered a success for him and for Iran, until the Trump administration withdrew in May 2018 and imposed sanctions that have devastated Irans economy at a time of falling oil prices and subsequently the coronavirus pandemic.

The economic problems, compounded by systemic corruption, have been blamed on Rouhani, and have been used by hard-liners to undermine Rouhani and his Reformist coalition and retake Iran's Islamic Consultative Assembly, or Majles, as the parliament there is known. Parliamentary elections last year were a disaster for Rouhani and Reformists. Hard-liners  or Principlists  now control 220 of the 290 seats; Reformists hold only 22 seats.

Sabaz Nazari explains that the Rouhani-Reformist coalition was never a perfect fit.

Widely believed to be a pragmatic, moderate figure, Rouhani has never called himself a member of the Reformist camp, Nazari writes. And despite the unequivocal support he received from Reformists, the Iranian president appears to have all but disappointed them by his refusal to grant them top ministerial positions.

The challenges faced by the Reformists are many, from diminishing popularity to the suppression at the hands of powerful hard-liners, Nazari adds. Amid all that, the Reform movement has yet to come up with a name that could truly represent it and hold a chance to push aside the powerful hard-liners.

Rezai's diplomatic flare, and Zarifs intention to shortly submit a "plan of action," signals there still may be room for some creative choreography or interim steps for nuclear diplomacy with Rouhani, as we described here in January. The fate of the JCPOA, and the potential for more expansive negotiations with Iran, will ultimately depend, however, on who replaces Rouhani. The United States cant dictate or foresee the outcome of those elections. By reinforcing the US-EU alignment on Iran, and engaging US regional partners, the US diplomatic hand is only getting stronger.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 16:45:26|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

People take part in a protest against Asian hate in New York, the United States, on March 21, 2021. (Photo by Winston Zhou/Xinhua)

With mounting pressure from nationwide protests against anti-Asian hate, the U.S. government is likely to take some perfunctory measures. But one thing is clear: without sweeping reforms and an earnest attitude, Uncle Sam can hardly clean up its mess in human rights protection, let alone act as a beacon.

by Xinhua writer Dong Yue

BEIJING, March 25 (Xinhua) -- The videos and images of a 76-year-old Asian woman pitifully crying with a bruised eye after being assaulted by a white man in San Francisco have gone viral on social media and shocked the whole world.

The elderly woman who bravely beat off the attacker was yet the latest victim of a surging tide of anti-Asian violence and hate crimes in the United States, which has traumatized millions of Asian Americans and plunged them into growing fear. Ealier this month, six Asian Americans were shot dead in cold blood by a young white gunman in Atlanta, Georgia.

When people across the world are expressing sympathy for the victims as well as their indignation against those perpetrators, they are also wondering why the United States, a country known as a nation of immigrants, is struggling with waves of violence and xenophobia?

A man wearing a face mask walks on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Jan. 1, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

With a short history densely stained by a racist tradition, the country built by immigrants is unsurprisingly infamous for racial discrimination. From the state-sanctioned killings of native Indians and the extreme abusive policies against African slaves and Chinese laborers, to the Chinese Exclusion Act and the Immigration Act of 1924, the United States has a deplorable track record in maltreating its minority groups.

As time passes, such a racist tradition has turned more extreme and violent. When political, economic and social problems arise, ethnic minorities have always been made the scapegoats. That is also the case in the COVID-19 pandemic, which has so far infected over 30 million people in the world's most developed country.

To gloss over the country's incompetence in fighting the pandemic and shift the blame, unscrupulous Washington politicians and media outlets have been explicitly manipulating racist rhetoric and sentiments by linking the deadly pathogen to specific ethnic groups, leading to increasing violence and hate against Asian Americans.

According to Stop AAPI Hate, a California-based nonprofit social organization tracking incidents of violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, it received nearly 3,800 reports of attack or abuse against people of Asian descent between March 2020 to February 2021.

People take part in a rally against anti-Asian hate crimes in San Mateo, California, the United States, Feb. 27, 2021. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling)

Erika Lee, a historian and the author of "America for Americans," described the acts of racism and violence facing Asian American and Pacific Islander communities "a systemic national tragedy."

Behind the tragedy is the U.S. society's deep-seated and long-standing white supremacy, a belief that white people constitute a superior race and should therefore dominate the society. This extremist bigotry has gained fresh momentum in recent years from the intensified polarization of American politics.

In 2020, distribution of white supremacist propaganda in the United States increased nearly twofold from a year ago, with 5,125 incidents of racist, anti-Semitic and other hateful messages being reported, according to the Anti-Defamation League, an anti-hate organization headquartered in New York.

Regrettably, successive U.S. administrations have been tolerant and insensitive to these problems, letting the systemic national tragedy deprive ethnic minorities of their basic rights in wealth distribution, employment, healthcare, education and political participation.

A protester holds a sign near the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, on June 8, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

In fact, devastating racism is only the tip of the iceberg of America's mess in human rights protection. China's State Council Information Office on Wednesday issued the Report on Human Rights Violations in the United States in 2020, depicting the whole picture of the country's chaotic human rights situation.

Besides comprehensive, systematic and continuous racism, the report also disclosed Washington's incompetent pandemic containment, the American democracy disorder, the continuous social unrest, the growing polarization between the rich and the poor as well as the U.S. trampling on international rules that has resulted in worldwide humanitarian disasters.

With mounting pressure from nationwide protests against anti-Asian hate, the U.S. government is likely to take some perfunctory measures. But one thing is clear: without sweeping reforms and an earnest attitude, Uncle Sam can hardly clean up its mess in human rights protection, let alone act as a beacon. 
Netflix has officially contracted a studio in Japan to start working on the upcomingYu Yu Hakusho live-action series.

The streaming behemoth inked a deal with TOHO Studios for a multi-year contract to lease two of its facilities in Tokyo. Production is slated to begin on April 1 of this year.

Anime News Network reports that Netflix intends to stream the live-action adaptation of the wildly beloved nineties anime series worldwide at the same time. The website also notes how this isnt technically the first time the anime has gotten the live-action treatment, as it was turned into a stage play back in 2019.

For those of you unfamiliar (sad), Yu Yu Hakusho follows the story of Yusuke Urameshi, a teenage delinquent (as evidenced by his slicked back hair) who dies after pushing a kid out of the way of a car.

In the afterlife, Yusuke meets the grim reaper bubbly Botan, who gives him a second chance at life he if agrees to becoming a spirit detective who battles dark forces. Yusuke agrees, taking down said dark forces along with buddies Kuwabara (whose hair is equally styled in delinquent fashion), Kurama (the first anime love of sensitive emo girls), and Hiei (the first love love of emo girls in existential crisis).

The series ran from 1992 and 1995, and served as the gateway anime for many people who ended up loving the genre. Modern fans were delightfully treated to a two-part OVA (original video animation) in 2018, which now in retrospect probably served as a hint that Yu Yu Hakusho would somehow be ushered into the modern age.

The release date of the live-action Yu Yu Hakusho series on Netflix remains unconfirmed.

Lets just hope the Dark Tournament arc makes it in there somehow.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Pakistan and Hungary on Thursday launched the 'Trade & Economic Window' for collaboration in diverse fields and explore joint ventures in energy, information technology and tourism

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Mar, 2021 ) :Pakistan and Hungary on Thursday launched the 'Trade & Economic Window' for collaboration in diverse fields and explore joint ventures in energy, information technology and tourism.

As an important step of Ministry of Foreign Affairs towards economic diplomacy, Foreign Minister Qureshi and his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto through video-link launched the Hungary-Pakistan Trade & Economic Window and also the first bilateral Business Forum.

Speaking at the occasion, Foreign Minister Qureshi said the opening of Trade & Economic Window would strengthen cooperation between Pakistan and Hungary in a number of areas including energy, alternative energy, information technology, food and tourism.

Qureshi announced that Pakistan was ready to host the second meeting of the Pakistan-Hungary Joint Economic Commission in near future.

He mentioned that promotion of high-level ties between the two countries could increase the volume of bilateral trade.

He said according to the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan, the government was shifting focus from geopolitics to geo-economics.

Qureshi said as per global business rankings, Pakistan's position was improved by 28 points due to the government's economic policies.

He said Pakistan attached special importance to its bilateral relations with Hungary and thanked the government of Hungary for providing scholarships to the Pakistani students.

Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Hungary's big companies relating to food, technology, medical and IT were planning to invest in Pakistan.

To promote bilateral cooperation in food security, he said, Hungary's Agricultural University was in touch with Pakistan's Agriculture Council.

The Hungarian Foreign Minister thanked Foreign Minister Qureshi for his efforts in promoting bilateral cooperation in various fields.

Foreign Minister Qureshi invited his Hungarian counterpart to visit Pakistan, which he accepted and said that he would soon be visiting the country along with a business delegation.
Gottingen, March 25, 2021. Testing and vaccination - these are the pillars on which humanity is trying to get a grip on the Coronavirus pandemic. Although it is taking longer than many had expected, it is believed that it is only a matter of time before we are all vaccinated and thus protected. However, time is also working for the virus, which has now mutated several times, with variants B.1.1.7 from the United Kingdom, B.1.351 from South Africa and P.1 from Brazil spreading rapidly. These viruses have mutations in the so-called spike protein, the structure on the surface of the virus that is responsible for attachment to host cells. At the same time, the spike protein is also the major target of the immune response. Antibodies generated in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection or vaccination bind to the spike protein, thereby blocking the virus. A team led by Markus Hoffmann and Stefan Pohlmann of the German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research and Jan Munch of the Ulm University Medical Centre has found that the SARS-CoV-2 variants B.1.351 and P.1 are no longer inhibited by an antibody used for COVID-19 therapy. In addition, these variants are less efficiently inhibited by antibodies from recovered patients and vaccinated individuals. Thus, convalescence from COVID-19 as well as vaccination may offer only incomplete protection against these mutant viruses (Cell).

SARS-CoV-2 viruses invade lung cells in order to multiply. For the virus to enter a cell, it must first attach to the cell surface. For this, the virus uses its so-called spike protein, which is located on the viral envelope. The spike protein is also the target for therapies and vaccines aimed at preventing the virus from replicating in the body.

At the beginning of the pandemic, SARS-CoV-2 was relatively stable, but recently several viral variants have been detected and are spreading rapidly. Variants B.1.1.7, B.1.351, and P.1, which first appeared in the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Brazil, respectively, have mutations in the spike protein and some are located in areas targeted by currently used antiviral agents and vaccines. "This is worrisome because the rapid spread of variants that might not be efficiently inhibited by antibodies could undermine our current vaccination strategy," says Stefan Pohlmann, an infection biologist at the German Primate Center in Gottingen. Therefore, the team led by Pohlmann and Munch investigated how effectively the mutant viruses are inhibited by drugs and antibodies.

"We found that certain antiviral agents that block host cell entry and are in (pre)clinical development inhibit the mutant viruses just as well as the original virus. Variant B1.1.7, which is currently spreading rapidly in Germany, was also efficiently inhibited by antibodies, including antibodies induced by vaccination. In contrast, an antibody used for COVID-19 therapy did not inhibit variants B.1.351 and P.1. Moreover, these variants were less well inhibited by antibodies from convalescent or vaccinated individuals, they partially bypassed the neutralizing effect of the antibodies," says Jan Munch. The use of the currently available vaccines makes sense and a rapid expansion of the vaccination efforts in Germany is desirable. However, it is possible that vaccination or recovery from COVID-19 may offer reduced protection from SARS-CoV-2 variants B.1.351 and P.1." Clinical studies must now show the extent to which this fear is true. "Our findings show that it is important to limit the spread of the virus as much

###

Original publication

as possible until widespread vaccination is feasible. Otherwise, we risk the emergence of new variants that cannot be effectively controlled by the currently available vaccines" says Markus Hoffmann, first author of the study.

Hoffmann, M., Arora, P., Gro, R., Seidel, A., Hornich, B.F., Hahn, A.S., Kruger, N., Graichen, L., Hofmann-Winkler, H., Kempf, A., Winkler, M.S., Schulz, S., Jack, H.-M., Jahrsdorfer, B., Schrezenmeier, H., Muller, M., Kleger, A., Munch, J., Pohlmann, S.: SARS-CoV-2 variants B.1.351 and P.1 escape from neutralizing antibodies, Cell (2021), doi: https:/ / doi. org/ 10. 1016/ j. cell. 2021. 03. 036

Contact and notes for editors

Prof. Dr. Stefan Pohlmann

Phone: +49 551 3851-150

Email: spoehlmann@dpz.eu

Dr. Markus Hoffmann

Phone: +49 551 3851 338

Email: mhoffmann@dpz.eu

Dr. Susanne Diederich (Communication)

Phone: +49 (0) 551 3851-359

Email: sdiederich@dpz.eu

Printable pictures are available here: http://medien. dpz. eu/ pinaccess/ showpin. do?pinCode= zA6mwX1bldaS

You will also find the press release on our website (https:/ / www. dpz. eu/ en/ news/ press-releases. html ). Please send us a reference copy or link in case of publication.

The German Primate Center GmbH (DPZ) - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research conducts biological and biomedical research on and with primates in the fields of infection research, neuroscience and primate biology. The DPZ also maintains four field stations in the tropics and is a reference and service center for all aspects of primate research. The DPZ is one of the 96 research and infrastructure facilities of the Leibniz Association.
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.
SOLDIERS have arrived at the airport in Thompson to set up equipment for the 100-day effort to get COVID-19 vaccines to the most remote corners of Manitoba.

SOLDIERS have arrived at the airport in Thompson to set up equipment for the 100-day effort to get COVID-19 vaccines to the most remote corners of Manitoba.

"This operation will accelerate the pace of immunization in the province," Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller said on Parliament Hill Wednesday.

"Together we will make sure that residents needs are met and that everyone can be safe and healthy."

Community leaders will set priorities for up to 200 military personnel, and despite the military only being told to deploy to reserves, the province says theyll also help nearby Metis communities.

The plan is to administer two doses of the Moderna vaccine to 50,000 adults in all 63 First Nations reserves in the province, and 21 communities that are near reserves.

Of those 84 communities, federal officials say the military will work in "up to 23," First Nations reserves.

Those at risk of being evacuated due to potential wildfires or floods are the priority.

The teams include logistics and medical experts, and theyll start leaving the Thompson staging centre as soon as March 29. The operation should wrap up by June 30.

The deployment will involve one Hercules plane, "a number of logistic vehicles" and up to two Chinook helicopters as well as Twin Otter planes.

"Were going to deploy up to 200 military personnel consisting of medical personnel, command and control and general duties," said Lt.-Gen. Wayne Eyre, the interim head of the military.

Federal officials said theyd be willing to have the military visit northern communities that arent First Nations if Manitoba requested that, particularly those that have Metis populations.

"That this has been a very heated conversation, particularly with the provincial government. We continue to push the prioritization of Indigenous peoples as set forth in the (national advisory) guidelines," Miller said.

"Were looking at a situation now where we are going to have a big lift and ensuring that that is done in Metis communities in a culturally respectful way is key."

However, Manitoba Metis Federation president David Chartrand said hes in the dark on how both the military effort and the broader northern vaccine campaign will work.

"It doesnt help when youve got mental anguish and stress and fear in my communities, and they dont know what to do or if theyll be included," he said.

The province has already transported vaccines to all 63 reserves, but they have not been shared with neighbouring communities, including those with large Metis populations.

Yet the province suggested it will switch course under the new 100-day vaccination plan, inviting people in adjacent communities onto First Nations reserves to get shots.

Chartrand said that was news to him.

He said his Metis contacts in these communities have no clue how the rollout will work.

The federation and the province have accused each other of ignoring correspondence, and the MMF has boycotted provincial meetings after being invited to working groups that had nothing to do with vaccine rollout planning.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
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.

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

We're answering your questions about COVID-19 and vaccines here in Southern California.

A reader wrote in and told us about something they're worried about:

"I wanted to ask if you could research this a little. I'm pretty concerned that the COVID stats for infections are starting to degrade because most testing centers are being converted to vaccination centers ... if you're not testing, how can you really know that your infection rate is going down? Doesn't that skew the statistics? Is your infection rate only going down because your volume of testing is going down?"





Let's break this question into a few parts.

First: In January, Dr. Christina Ghaly, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, acknowledged that switching a big testing site like Dodger Stadium to a vaccination site might create some "testing gaps" that would need to be filled.

But by February, L.A. County Public Health Chief Science Officer Dr. Paul Simon told reporters, "we feel like we've addressed that and we've been able to ramp back up testing."

And while Dodger Stadium was a big testing site, there are still many more places you can get tested for COVID-19 -- including from home.

That said, testing still isn't back to the level it was earlier this year.

We know this because the county publishes a dashboard that shows what's going on at sites run by the city and county.

And on that dashboard, you can see that the number of completed tests at those sites -- in the top chart, in blue -- has gone down.

The County of Los Angeles publishes a dashboard showing how COVID-19 testing is going at sites run by the city, county, and state. (Screenshot of a County of Los Angeles document)

The peak was one week at the beginning of the year -- Jan. 3 to Jan. 9 -- when the sites administered almost 300,000 tests.

Compare that with earlier this month -- March 7 to March 13 -- when those sites completed just over 41,000 tests in a week.

LOWER DEMAND

On that same dashboard, you can also see unused testing capacity (in yellow).

Take that same week from earlier this month. The dashboard shows there were another 180,000 available tests that went unused, either because someone didn't show up or because an appointment was never scheduled.

I asked the L.A. County Department of Health Services why it thinks demand for tests is so much lower now.

"Though we can't draw any specific conclusions, the decrease in demand for testing may be the result of a variety of factors, such as a decline in COVID-19 cases and community transmission, as well as the increased vaccination effort," the department told me.

So those circumstances might explain why fewer people are seeking tests now.

Additional Variant Cases Detected, Pregnant Women and Skilled Nursing Facility Cases Decline. 92 New Deaths and 666 New Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County. View https://t.co/LRcJx6mos6 for more. pic.twitter.com/LerJE9nh8S  LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) March 25, 2021

POSITIVE TESTS

There is another way to compare tests and cases over time, though, and that's by looking at how many tests taken come back positive (also known as the test positivity rate).

"In California, in this past week, we've done over a million tests and only 1.6% of them were positive, which is a low number we feel good about," USC virology professor Paula Cannon told my colleagues at KPCC's Take Two earlier this week.

In L.A. County, that rate bounced around 20% in January. Now, it's less than 2%.

You can monitor the seven-day daily average testing positivity rate by visiting the county's COVID-19 "surveillance" dashboard and clicking "Table: Tests by Date."

READ OUR ONGOING COVERAGE OF COVID-19 AND VACCINES:

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.
A hopeless admirer has tried to woo their neighbour by leaving her a note declaring 'I will always love you' on her doorstep along with two frankfurter sausages.

Elleanor Holland, 25, from Barnoldswick, Lancashire, was forced to explain to her 'shocked' boyfriend how she had no idea who it was.

She was passed the bemusing contents of a white envelope by her elderly neighbour who spotted it outside her house on Saturday morning.

The secret admirer's hand-written note was scribbled on creased white paper and was accompanied by the bizarre gift of two jumbo hot dog sausages.

Elleanor Holland, 25, from Barnoldswick, Lancashire, was forced to explain to her 'shocked' boyfriend that she didn't know who had sent her a note and bizarre gift

Elleanor, who is a young people's support worker, insists she has no idea who would leave her such a strange package but suspects it could be a misguided 'town bachelor' on the hunt for love.

Luckily, partner of one year Adam Greenway, 32, hasn't felt threatened by the peculiar approach and Eleanor said it left her in fits of laughter rather than feeling uneasy.

Her only explanation for his inclusion of the two meaty treats would be if they were for her three-year-old Hungarian Vizsla, Teddy.

Elleanor said: 'I'm pretty sure it's not anybody I know. Well, I hope not. I've asked everybody and even Adam. There might be a town bachelor going round.

She was passed a note on crumpled paper saying 'I will always love you' and two frankfurter sausages by her elderly neighbour who spotted it outside her house on Saturday morning

She's since posted a tongue-in-cheek Facebook post to show off her new secret admirer, claiming 'romance isn't dead' and asking if someone wants to get in touch

'There were two jumbo hot dogs you get in glass jars. I threw them away because I didn't want to give them to the dog in case it was a crazy person trying to poison him.

'My neighbour was quite worried about it, but I reassured her it'd be a joke and she shouldn't worry about it.

'Adam was quite shocked, so I explained that I don't know [why I've got it], and he was laughing. We've all seen the funny side. It's just a bit of fun. I hope it's nothing more than that anyway.'

She's since posted a tongue-in-cheek Facebook post to show off her new secret admirer, claiming 'romance isn't dead' and asking if someone wants to get in touch.

Luckily, partner of one year Adam Greenway (right), 32, hasn't felt threatened by the peculiar approach and Eleanor said it left her in fits of laughter rather than feeling uneasy

She's even offered the mystery man a few tips for his next crush, calling for him to switch the sausages with plane tickets for a holiday - or at least his phone number.

Elleanor said: 'There's definitely more romantic ways to go about declaring your love. If they're looking for somebody they should at least include their mobile number.

'They should definitely leave out the sausages. Maybe replace them with plane tickets. We could do with some of them after the year we've had.'

Luckily, partner of one year Adam Greenway, 32, hasn't felt threatened by the peculiar approach and Eleanor said it left her in fits of laughter rather than feeling uneasy

Elleanor, who is a young people's support worker, insists she has no idea who would leave her such a strange package but suspects it could be a misguided 'town bachelor' on the hunt for love

Elleanor's Facebook post said: 'And some will still argue romance is dead. Does the sender of this want to contact me?'

She said Facebook users found it hilarious and she's pleased it's given some people something to smile about.

Elleanor added: 'We live in one of those towns where all they talk about on the Facebook group is dog poo, so at least this made people laugh and cheered them up. I just hope I don't get another one anyway.'
Susan O'Kane, eastern regional manager, Invest NI with Terry Robinson, chief executive of Vox Financial

A financial tech firm is expanding its operations here and adding 30 new jobs.

Vox Financial Partners says its investing 1m in its service delivery centre, which includes Belfast, to support its growth.

It says the investment will be primarily in additional staff to service new and existing clients nearshoring and business process outsourcing requirements.

"Were looking for ambitious, data-literate people to join our rapidly growing team, Neil McComiskey, head of the delivery centre, said.

The roles our clients require are technical in nature and typically carried out in their London or New York offices.

"However, Belfast has the talent pool and track record of delivering high quality work as a nearshore alternative.

Vox launched its operation offering last year and says it has quickly developed an industry reputation as a centre of excellence for data-intensive project work.

The Belfast company advises on regulatory changes and requirements in North America and Europe.




SAN FRANCISCO, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Baton, a logistics technology platform developed out of 8VC's acclaimed Build program, announced its $10.5 million Series A today, co-led by 8VC and Maersk Growth--the corporate venture arm of AP Moller-Maersk, the global leader in transportation and logistics. Baton both paves the way for the adoption of autonomous vehicles in trucking and solves the largest and most well-known problem in the industry: the over two billion hours lost annually due to dwell and detention.

Baton's technology platform enables long-haul truckers to drop off and pick up loads at Baton drop zones in major metro areas, and then a network of local fleets does the first and final mile of delivery to warehouses. This completely eliminates the wasted hours associated with detention, in-transit dwell and inter-appointment dwell for long-haul trucks. Additionally, it increases wages for drivers, reduces carbon emissions and, furthermore, enables highway-only autonomous trucks to hand off loads to human drivers for the first and final mile.

Baton sub-leases these 24/7 drop zones and provides the software to seamlessly coordinate vehicles, drop-zones, warehouses and local drivers through a single API.

"We're excited to bring cutting-edge technology to one of the biggest problems in transportation," said Baton Cofounder Nate Robert. "We have the opportunity to fundamentally change how long-haul trucking works by bifurcating routes into a highway-only segment and a local segment, enabling trucking companies to increase efficiency, improve profit margins and increase driver miles and wages."

"In the future, Baton's platform will make it possible for highway-only autonomous trucks to hand off their loads to human-driven electric trucks in the city, who can then drive at off-peak hours for the greatest efficiency," added Baton Cofounder Andrew Berberick. "None of this would be possible at scale without the world class optimization engine that underlies Baton's core operation, monitoring and coordinating a host of loads and appointment windows concurrently."

Baton currently operates in Los Angeles and plans to use this Series A funding to hire more engineers and service additional major cities across the country, including Atlanta, Chicago and Dallas in the next 12 to 18 months.

"I am excited to see the growth of their engineering team and expansion into new cities across the country. The adoption of autonomy will also drive home the long-term value proposition," said 8VC Partner and Cofounder Jake Medwell. "As we see automated and eventually electric trucks become standard for certain routes, the network of Baton hubs and the coordination provided by its software will become seen as core infrastructure. Baton makes the transformation to automated trucking possible."

"We are proud about investing in the Baton Team. Baton is a great addition to our Maersk Growth portfolio supporting our mission to democratize the supply chain," said Maersk Growth Partner Jeppe Hoier. "The Baton solution addresses major inefficiencies in haulage dwell and detention to the benefit of all players in the ecosystem. We look forward to partnering with them on their exciting drop and hook technology and facilitating more sustainable last mile services."

8VC and Maersk Growth were joined in this round by add on from Prologis Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Prologis, the worlds leader in logistics real estate solutions; RyderVentures, the corporate venture capital arm of Ryder System, Inc., one of the largest logistics and transportation companies in North America; Lineage Logistics; Jett McCandless, CEO of Project44; Shoaib Makani, CEO of KeepTruckin; John Larkin, Operating Partner at Clarendon Capital; Trace Haggard, Founder of I.S.G.; and Cooley LLC.

Baton is headquartered in San Francisco with its operations office in Chicago. It was founded in October 2019 by Nate Robert and Andrew Berberick out of 8VC's Build Program. For more information, please visit www.baton.io.

SOURCE Baton

Related Links

https://www.baton.io


Amid a worsening humanitarian situation in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, reports of indiscriminate and targeted attacks against civilians, including rape and other horrific forms of sexual violence, continue to surface. This must stop.

We call on all State and non-State parties to the conflict to fulfil their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law; ensure their forces respect and protect civilian populations, particularly women and children, from all human rights abuses; explicitly condemn all sexual violence; and take action to bring perpetrators to justice where abuses do occur.

Women and children in affected areas are reporting significant challenges in accessing health, social welfare and justice services. Facility assessments undertaken in some health facilities in the region, including Mekelle, Adigrat and Shire, show gaps in premises' security, as well as in staffing, services and supplies. Initial assessments of 106 facilities in Tigray between December 2020 and March 2021 show that nearly 70 per cent of facilities were looted, 30 per cent damaged, and only 13 per cent in Tigray were functional.

Health services have also been rendered less functional by the displacement of many health-care workers, in addition to non-payment of salaries. Further health service availability assessments of over two thirds of the total 264 facilities in the region report large and widespread disruptions of services. Childhood vaccination services were observed in only 28 per cent of facilities and comprehensive nutrition services available in approximately 29 per cent of functioning facilities.

Only one facility provides the full range of services for clinical management of rape survivors, and emergency contraception is fully available in less than half of the facilities assessed. The lack of direct access to health care also creates an environment of fear accessing health care, especially for women and children, who are already facing frequent and severe security threats and displacement. Moreover, many displaced civilians are sheltering in unfinished or damaged buildings, and most collective centres do not include separate spaces or latrines for women and men, girls and boys, thus increasing risks of gender-based violence (GBV) and the spread of certain infectious diseases.

Preventing and responding to the grave human suffering resulting from this conflict will require a concerted effort at all levels.

First, it is essential that an independent investigation into conflict-related sexual violence in Tigray be initiated, with the involvement of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Humanitarian access is essential. Humanitarian staff need to be able to reach all regions of Ethiopia affected by conflict and violence. This includes major towns and rural areas in Tigray, as well as Benishangul Gumuz, Oromia, Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples (SNNP) and Amhara, and in the regions hosting thousands of internally displaced people.

When it comes to getting aid staff and supplies into Tigray, notwithstanding recent developments, much more remains to be done. If they are given the access and resources they need, aid agencies will be able to make the desperately needed prevention and response interventions that will save and transform lives, including health services and supplies, GBV case management, dignity kits, post-rape treatment, and safe spaces for women and children. Given the deep trauma many have experienced, support for mental health and psychosocial needs is also required.

It is only with a concerted and comprehensive effort, fully grounded in respect for human rights and international humanitarian law, that the humanitarian response in Tigray will match the scale of humanitarian need, especially for women and children.

Signatories

Mr. Mark Lowcock, Emergency Relief Coordinator and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

Mr. Ignacio Packer, Executive Director, International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA)

Mr. Samuel Worthington, Chief Executive Officer, InterAction

Mr. Antonio Vitorino, Director General, International Organization for Migration (IOM)

Ms. Michelle Bachelet, High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

Mr. Achim Steiner, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Dr. Natalia Kanem, Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

Mr. Filippo Grandi, High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

Ms. Maimunah Mohammed Sharif, Executive Director, United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat)

Ms. Henrietta H. Fore, Executive Director, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

Ms. Cecilia Jimenez-Damary, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs)

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO)
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.
(KAIR) An investigation is underway regarding the death of an Effingham woman whose obituary cited the COVID-19 vaccination as the cause of death.

Jeanie Evans died Wednesday, with the obituary from Atchisons Becker-Dyer-Stanton Funeral Home saying Evans died unexpectedly at the age of 68 at Topekas Stormont-Vail Hospital.

On Thursday, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment issued a statement confirming the death, saying the agency became aware Thursday morning of the death of a 68-year-old Atchison County resident who had been vaccinated in Jefferson County. The

statement says that according to the Local Health Department, appropriate CDC guidelines were followed.

The statement explains that during the waiting period following receipt of the vaccine, the individual began experiencing anaphylaxis and medical treatment was provided, prior to transport for hospital treatment. Adding that the death will be fully investigated in accordance with standard protocol, the statement says that until the investigation is complete, it is premature to assign a specific cause of death.

The Centers for Disease Control website offers information related both to potential severe allergic reactions, or anaphylaxis, and non-severe allergic reactions, for those receiving the vaccine. The CDC has also learned of reports that some people have experienced a red, itchy, swollen, or painful rash where they got the shot.

Among the posted information is that pertaining to safeguards in place for vaccine recipients, including on-site monitoring, as cited in the KDHE release. According to the release, the Local Health Department entered the death into the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, a national vaccine safety surveillance program, as required anytime a death or any adverse event occurs post vaccination.

Evans, cited in her obituary as a member of the Effingham City Council, will be remembered during a memorial service 2:00 Monday afternoon at the funeral home.

Among her survivors are three sons and two daughters.
An Australian bitcoin mogul wanted in the US over allegations he conspired to break US banking and money laundering laws remains at large after the surrender of the groups high profile founder and chief executive Arthur Hayes last week.

US lawyers for BitMEX senior employee Greg Dwyer confirmed he is yet to broker a deal to hand himself into US authorities which charged him and the three founders, including Mr Hayes, six months ago.

Greg Dwyer and Arthur Hayes Credit:Mark Stehle

Last month, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald revealed the 37-year-old maths whiz from the Sydney suburb of Gordon and graduate of the prestigious St Ignatius College, Riverview was at the centre of the biggest cryptocurrency scandal in the world.

Mr Dwyer and the three founders have also been named in a lawsuit in California that alleges BitMEX went to extraordinary lengths to avoid its own losses, including allegedly confiscating customers money, closing out customer positions and faking a hardware outage during a massive rout on the price of bitcoin in early 2020. The claimant, a BitMEX customer, is seeking $US50 million ($66 million) and the return of bitcoins worth $US5 million.
Got some scoop for our reporters or editors? Click on the link below to send us your information.

Send your news

As companies line up to announce their plans to offer increased remote working on a permanent basis, one could be forgiven for thinking the future of our offices is bleak.

Liberty Insurance, Mirror publisher Reach, and HSBC are among the firms that have outlined plans for increased working from home and reduced office space.

However, the reality for many firms may be somewhat different.

While people generally agree that a hybrid form of working is on the cards, the office will remain a key part of business life for most.

One senior industry source in the commercial property sector pointed to the fact that many young people are working from home in apartments with two or three friends.

A lot of these companies [they work for] set themselves up to give you very attractive facilities on site where you don't have to cook, you can access gyms, all that kind of stuff. I think there's going to be a big pull factor as well from organisations to get people back into the office, that person said.

They added that the monetary savings in moving to a working from home environment are, for some companies, miniscule.

Twelve months since people were asked to work from home where possible in order to limit the spread of Covid-19, people have realised there is actually a place for the office, according to Marie Hunt, director of research at commercial real estate services firm CBRE.

Most are saying, we want to go back to the office at least three days, maybe four, but we want to have the flexibility of having a day from home as well. I think for most firms, it's a blend of the two, Ms Hunt said.

Her comments have been echoed by the industry source, who believes that once everyone is vaccinated you will see a sea change.

You're going to see a significant amount of people returning to the office, more so than people initially expect, the person said.

Hybrid working, with fewer numbers of people in office each day may not necessarily lead to a reduction in demand for physical space, however.

An easy way for companies to reduce their physical footprint is to bring in hot desking, a growing trend here in recent years, where employees take whatever desk is free.

Read More

When Covid started people wanted to sit at the same desk every day for hygiene reasons, Ms Hunt said.

A lot of people that we're talking to are saying, initially, at least we will probably go down the set desks [route] and then in time, once everybody's vaccinated and we're no longer paranoid about social distancing, that maybe we will revert back to unassigned seating and hot-desking, she added.

Another factor behind why industry experts are not expecting to see long-term ghost offices appearing here is down the number of commercial office blocks that have agreed tenancies before they are built.

50pc of what is being built are already let, according to Iain Sayer, a director at surveyor and property consultant group HWBC.

In addition, Mr Sayer says there is a lot of investor appetite in Dublins commercial property market.

Investors certainly believe that the office is not dead, even though companies might be occupying offices in different ways. Because it was so difficult to get development finance in Dublin we havent built millions of square feet of offices that nobody wants so there is no huge supply overhang, he said.

The companies that are building offices here are generally are very, very large funds, according to Mr Sayer.

We have seen a lot of German funds and a lot of French funds investing here. They tend to be long-term investors

These are the sort of people who arent going to panic, who arent going to cut rent to let buildings because they are well financed and not under pressure, he added.

The commercial property investors are predominantly from the continent, we have seen a lot of German funds and a lot of French funds investing here. They tend to be long-term investors, he said.

What impact then has the Covid-19 pandemic had on commercial property rents over the past 12 months?

While the market is considerably quieter  with much of the current activity is being generated by firms that are coming to the end of existing leases  there is a lack of supply.

It is not going to be a situation where we are left with a load of empty space because there isnt that much empty space full stop, according to Goodbody analyst Colm Lauder.

Office rents have softened a bit, coming back to 57.50 a square foot from about 65 a square foot at the peak 12-18 months ago according to Ms Hunt.

While one senior industry source said the frothy rents of 63-64 [per square foot], I don't think ever really existed, mid-to-late 50s is really where we saw the market being fairly stable.

Rather than companies selling offices, what you're probably going to see is companies offloading a floor or excess accommodation, according to Ms Hunt.

Beyond Dublin and the lack of office space becomes a bigger issue, according to Jonathan Laredo, chief executive of listed property investor Yew Grove Reit.

The difference with Ireland is outside of Dublin there is almost no vacancy really, and because of that when you are looking at offices in institutional quality, the vacancy rate collapses, he said.

The Irish regional market has some very particular metrics, which people need to understand, and I think those metrics will keep driving rent up for the next few year, he added.
Lucknow, March 25 : The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognizance of reports in Etah district where the policemen got involved in a squabble at a roadside eatery over the payment of bill for the food they consumed.

The policemen then falsely implicated and arrested ten people, including the brother of the owner of the eatery and eight customers in an alleged encounter with them. The persons reportedly arrested by the police are presently lodged in judicial custody.

The Commission has issued a notice to the Director General of Police to submit a report within six weeks.

A copy of these proceedings has also been sent to the Member Secretary, Uttar Pradesh State Legal Aid Services Authority to ensure free legal aid to the arrested people, if not provided.

Issuing the notice, the Commission has observed that the contents of the media report, if true, raise serious issue of violation of human rights.

The incident, apparently, is a classic example of failure of the entire system of checks and balances. Hence, fair investigation is required to be conducted to know from where the policemen could manage to procure these items.

It may be recalled that on February 4, some policemen were eating food at a roadside eatery. These cops had an argument with the owner over paying for the food. They were regularly visiting the eatery but never paid for their food.

Some of the customers, present at that time, also asked the policemen to pay the bill. An argument reportedly took place and the policemen started beating the brother of the owner of the eatery.

After some time, around 15 policemen reportedly arrived in three vehicles, pointed guns and took away the brother and the cousin of the eatery owner as well as eight customers with them to the Kotwali police station and lodged an FIR against them.

The persons arrested by the police are lodged in judicial custody and as per the FIR, ten people, part of a gang, were hatching a plan to commit a crime of loot and the police caught them after an encounter.

Six illegal weapons, 80 litres illicit liquor and 2 kg contraband had been reportedly projected as recovered from the persons arrested by the police.

The matter came to light almost 40 days later after senior police officials learnt of the case and ordered action against the guilty police personnel.

A police inspector and two constables have been suspended for allegedly arresting the persons after a fake encounter and booking them on charges of possessing illicit liquor and cannabis.
Syracuse, N.Y.  Syracuse police will give an update today on the investigation into the slaying of a 93-year-old woman in Skyline Apartments.

The Syracuse Police Department is set to hold a news conference at noon in the departments South State Street headquarters, said Sgt. Matthew Malinowski, police spokesman. The Onondaga County District Attorneys Office will also be present.

Connie Tuori was found dead on St. Patricks Day in her apartment in the notorious 753 James St. building.

Victoria Afet, 23, of Syracuse, is being investigated in connection to Tuoris death, defense lawyer Susan Carey told Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard on Tuesday. Carey said she was contacted Monday about the case by a judge who needed to assign Afet a lawyer from the countys approved homicide list.

Officers found Turori, a world traveler and retired teacher, dead in her 12th-floor apartment during a wellness check. Its unclear when the homicide took place or how Turori died.

Read more

Skyline Apartments to hire off-duty Syracuse cops for extra security after womans murder

Walsh says hes exploring legal action against Skyline owners: Its public nuisance No. 1

Elderly murder victims family on Skyline squalor: Did they get away with this because who owns it?

Connie Tuori, 93, survived Afghanistan, Antarctica and African safari, only to be killed in her Syracuse apartment

Family IDs 93-year-old woman murdered in Skyline Apartments

Inside Tim Greens Skyline Apartments: Murder, drugs and filth. Tenants, cops say enough is enough

Woman killed at Skyline Apartments on James Street

Police, tenants push football legend Tim Greens firm to fix nightmare apartments

Staff writer Samantha House covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? Reach her at shouse@syracuse.com.
Texas lawmakers are preparing to arm Attorney General Ken Paxton with $43 million to fight Google in court.

A key committee in the state Senate on Wednesday amended its proposed budget for Paxton, restoring most of the cuts members had threatened and giving the Republican extra money to hire outside attorneys to pursue an antitrust case against Google Inc.

This case has the potential to bring down significant dollars to the state, state Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, said Wednesday in advocating for the revised budget plan.

The move came as Paxton increased the political pressure on the Legislature to restore funding for his office. On Twitter on Wednesday as the committee was meeting, he called on the public to push lawmakers to restore his offices budget after lawmakers originally had proposed slashing nearly $90 million and cutting 154 positions from his 4,000-person workforce.

Fellow Texans: Ensure your legislator is FULLY RESOURCING my Office. Any cuts are a loss for TX and in turn a loss for USA, Paxton wrote to his 128,000 Twitter followers and on Facebook to more than 286,000 followers.

Paxton is also getting help from outside of Texas on that push. Yesterday, a group called Conservative Action Project sent a letter to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan pushing for restoration of the money and helping fund the Google lawsuit.

Any reduction to the Office of the Attorney Generals budget will result in tremendous harm to the state and nation, the letter signed by 15 prominent Republican lawyers, including former U.S. Attorney General Ed Meese III. The cause of liberty and justice cannot afford that.

Though the Legislature is dominated by Republicans like Paxton, key players in the Senate were upset with Paxton for violating his budget authority by moving $40 million in his budget to cover pay raises that were not authorized by lawmakers.

I wish we had done that one differently, Paxton conceded during a committee hearing in February when legislators chastised him for the move.

That appears to have been enough for the Senate to alter its initial budget proposal and give Paxton most of everything he requested.

Google calls case baseless

The $43 million cost of the litigation stems from Paxtons decision to use outside attorneys.

Jeff Mateer, Paxton's former top lieutenant who resigned in October, told the Associated Press in January that the office initially intended to put together a team for the Google case from the 700 lawyers attorneys on the AGs staff.

But then eight of Paxton's top aides, including Mateer, accused Paxton of corruption and all were fired or resigned, including the attorney leading the Google investigation, former Deputy Attorney General Darren McCarty.

But Paxton in February disputed that he intended to rely on in-house lawyers for the case.

There was never anybody in my office that could handle that alone, he told the Senate Finance Committee in February. If Google is going to have the very best lawyers that know antitrust, we wanted to be able to compete on the same playing field.

Paxton is suing Google, claiming it has built a monopoly on online display advertising. In court documents, he says Google chased off competition using a variety of methods, including conspiring with Facebook to manipulate auctions where ads were sold.

Googles monopolization of the display-advertising industry and its misleading business practices stifle innovation, limit consumer choice and reduce competition, Paxton said last year after he filed the suit. Texas and its coalition of allied states bring this action to lift the veil on Googles secret practices and secure relief to prevent it from engaging in future deceptive and misleading practices.

Google officials have called Paxtons case baseless.

Attorney General Paxtons ad tech claims are meritless, yet hes gone ahead in spite of all the facts, a Google spokesman said. Weve invested in state-of-the-art ad tech services that help businesses and benefit consumers. Digital ad prices have fallen over the last decade. Ad tech fees are falling too. Googles ad tech fees are lower than the industry average. These are the hallmarks of a highly competitive industry. We will strongly defend ourselves from his baseless claims in court.

The move to restore Paxtons budget still has a long way to go in the Texas Legislature. The Texas Senate and House both have to agree on a two-year budget to run the state government before the session ends on May 31.

Taylor Goldenstein contributed reporting.

jeremy.wallace@chron.com
* Username

This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely!
VIGO COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) -- Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb made the announcement Tuesday.

"Wednesday, March 31st we'll plan to open up vaccine eligibility to all Hoosiers 16 years and older," he said.

Ashlee Stewart works with the Vigo County Health Department. She said that it's exciting news, but that plan has a small snag.

"The Moderna vaccine is only eligible for 18 and up as well as johnson and johnson. The Pfizer vaccine is for 16 and up," she said.

That means anyone under the age of 18 would have to get the Pfizer vaccine. Which, in Vigo County, Stewart said, is only being offered at one place.

Plus, they have to find a way to store the Pfizer vaccine properly. Stewart also said they rely on the state to give them their vaccine allocations. So, she said there could be a few road bumps along the way when March 31st rolls around.

Governor Holcomb also announced the state's mask mandate will end April 6th. Holcomb said they will stay mandatory in all state buildings, vaccination, and testing sites, and public schools, but here locally, Stewart said she personally doesn't think the move is good for Hoosiers.

"This is personal, and I think I'm also speaking for medical professionals in a way as well. The mask has prevented so much more than we even recognize. Yes, it's helped slow down covid, but ultimately we've seen like no flu this year," she said. "So, I'm hoping and praying that people still use their best brain and wear their mask because it is working."

Stewart said if you are scheduled to get your vaccine to show up on time, or only 10 minutes early. She said they're experiencing backups with people showing up too early.
(Photo : Sean Gallup/Getty Images) A sticker on the window of a local pub indicates the acceptance of Bitcoins for payment on April 11, 2013 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo : Spencer Platt/Getty Images) NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 08: A Tesla showroom stands in Manhattan on September 08, 2020 in New York City. Shares of Tesla Inc. today suffered their biggest loss since going public as technology stocks suffered another day of losses. The electric vehicle and battery makers stock plunged more than 21 percent. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Elon Musk once again blew up the internet after he announced Tesla's move to accept Bitcoin, but several financial experts have predicted this early on.

Now, the question remains: is it worth buying a Tesla vehicle with Bitcoin?

The Risk of Buying in Bitcoin

Last month, CNN reported that the risk of using Bitcoin for purchases depends entirely on its price, which is particularly hard to predict.

Compared to most currencies, the price of Bitcoin fluctuates too quickly that in a span of one week, its value had gone up to $42,000, down to $30,000, and then back up again at $40,000. As of Wednesday, March 24, the value is now over $52,000.

In conclusion, the rapid price change may favor the car buyer, but only if the buyer gets the timing right.

One good example is when a prospective buyer bought a Bitcoin when the price was at $10,000, it will be worth it for that person to buy a Tesla now that the price for a Bitcoin is $52,000.

On the other hand, a buyer may regret spending their Bitcoin on a $38,000 Tesla Model 3 today should the digital currency's price shoots up to a price equivalent to a $120,000 Model S Plaid.

Elon Musk already told the public that the value of a single Tesla vehicle may costs different compared to the regular pricing for the brand, once a buyer uses Bitcoin.

Tesla is using only internal & open source software & operates Bitcoin nodes directly.



Bitcoin paid to Tesla will be retained as Bitcoin, not converted to fiat currency.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 24, 2021

Also Read: Elon Musk's Tesla Accepts Bitcoin Payment; Crypto Value Now Spikes!

Bitcoin's Volatility

A Business Insider article published, also published last month, reports that Bitcoin's volatility led many institutions to rethink their stand on accepting the digital currency for their products or services.

Tesla acknowledged this risk in their 2020 annual report, noting that the concept of Bitcoin as an asset is a relatively new trend.

The concept alone makes Bitcoin's volatility hard to predict as it heavily depends on the willingness of investors, consumers, and businesses to adopt the digital currency trend.

"Moreover, their lack of a physical form, their reliance on technology for their creation, existence and transactional validation and their decentralization may subject their integrity to the threat of malicious attacks and technological obsolescence," the report continued.

Bitcoin and Taxes

According to a CNBC report published on Wednesday, March 24, the IRS treats Bitcoin and other digital money as property, which makes its disposal-such as using it to pay for goods or services-is in itself a taxable event.

Garrett Watson, a senior policy analyst at the Tax Foundation, stressed the importance of knowing when a cryptocurrency was bought and for how much.

Knowing those two details will ultimately determine how much of the exchange will be subject to tax and the tax rate that would apply.

The increase in Bitcoin's price between its acquisition and disposal is considered a gain that would be taxed depending on its owner's total income and tax bracket.

If the owner had the Bitcoin for a year or less before using it as payment, the IRS would be taxing it at short-term capital gains rates, which falls between the ranges of 10% to 37%.

Alternately, Bitcoins held for more than a year would be taxed at long-term capital gains rates, which may be 0%, 15%, or 20%.

Related Article: Tesla to Accept Bitcoin as Future Payment! Experts Warn This Could Lead to More Greenhouse Gas Emissions

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Lee Mercado

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The Senate yesterday passed a bill seeking to establish the National Agricultural Development Fund.

This followed consideration of the report of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, chaired by Senator Abdullahi Adamu (APC, Nasarawa West).

Adamu, while presenting the committee's report, explained that the purpose for the establishment of the Fund was to provide finance to support the strategic aspect of Agricultural Development in Nigeria.

He noted that Nigeria was yet to fully implement the 2003 MAPUTO Declaration on Agriculture requiring States Parties to allocate 10 percent of its National budget to Agricultural Development.

"If this was done, Agricultural Research and Development, Food Production and Food Security would have witnessed a major leap," Adamu said.

Adamu said the Fund was empowered to provide emergency support funding for Agricultural control access to finance trans-boundary animal disease outbreak; as well as support service through micro finance and collaborate with development partners to support food security and Agricultural modernization.
The emergency rooms are heaving, health care workers are falling sick, and misinformation about the coronavirus is running rife. It has all left Papua New Guinea, an island nation just north of Australia, in the grip of a deadly crisis, as a tripling of infections over the past month has swamped an already fragile health care system.

The wave of cases, which the authorities have described as a major epidemic, most likely began in February. About 70 percent of symptomatic patients are testing positive  among the highest rates in the world. Of the countrys 39 deaths from the virus, 30 have happened in the past six weeks, and the number is expected to swell. Confirmed infections have passed 4,100, having remained at zero through June, though the actual number of cases is believed to be far higher.

The toll on health workers has been severe. About 10 percent of workers have tested positive at the countrys major hospital, in Port Moresby, a city of 380,000 people that has been hit hardest. In field hospitals, workers, sweating beneath protective equipment, are rushing between beds to tend to the dying.

We fear that we are going to fill all these beds and then we will have nowhere else to continue to care for Covid patients, said Mangu Kendino, an emergency physician and the chair of the Covid-19 committee at Port Moresby General Hospital. Were tired, were exhausted, were fatigued.
Cheyenne, Wyoming--(Newsfile Corp. - March 25, 2021) - AAP, Inc. (OTC Pink: AAPJ) would like to update our shareholders and potential investors on the current status and events of a very exciting acquisition candidate that we have been working on for the past few months. The company believe an announcement in finalizing this acquisition will be provided very soon. After a great deal of due diligence and negotiation we now have a final working agreement in place which both parties are very satisfied with and have now placed it in the hands of the attorneys for legal compliance review and final drafting in order to have a final agreement that all parties can sign. With this acquisition we are acquiring a fully operating, asset-based, revenue producing company with audited financial statements. This acquisition candidate will provide AAP, Inc., and its shareholders the opportunity to create a highly successful company for years to come.

Paul Bakajin, CEO, stated, "We are all excited to be in the final stages of an agreement that will provide a major source of excellent long-term growth and stability for the company. I am hoping, very soon, to be making an announcement about a signed agreement. The Company have made so much progress and so much work has been done and we are very positive about the company's future.

Currently the only media outlet is the Company's twitter account @TheRealAAPJ. To better communicate with our shareholders, please email us at info@aap-inc.com . The Company's website is www.app-inc.com . All information can be verified at https://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/AAPJ/profile . A company press release will announce any new social media outlets. The company will be providing many more updates for our shareholders as the company moves forward in this new direction.

Disclaimer: The Company relies upon the Safe Harbor Laws of 1933, 1934 and 1995 for all public news releases. The company may make forward-looking public statements concerning its expected future operations, performance and other developments. Such forward-looking statements are estimates that reflect the company's best judgment based upon current information. All investments involve risks and uncertainties, and there can be no assurance that other factors will not affect the accuracy of such forward-looking statements. It is impossible to identify all such factors. Factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those estimated by the company include, but are not limited to, government regulation; managing and maintaining growth; the effect of adverse publicity; litigation; competition; and other factors which may be identified from time to time in the company's public announcements.

Contact:

AAP, Inc.

info@aap-inc.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/78552
Best Digital Marketing Agency By implementing effective conversion rate optimization tools and strategies, our clients are able to fully realize their online advertising potential. No other digital agency offers this kind of approach.

Experience Advertising, Inc., an award-winning digital marketing and online advertising management agency based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is celebrating their 14 year anniversary as of March, 2021. Experience Advertising was founded by and currently led by e-commerce expert Evan Weber, who began his career in the digital marketing industry in 1997 when he launched a free auction website and started selling collectibles on eBay and through e-commerce websites.

Evan Weber, CEO and Founder of Experience Advertising, Inc. stated, I couldnt be more delighted for my agency, staff members, and clients as we celebrate our 14 year anniversary as a cutting-edge digital marketing and online advertising agency. Over the years, we have evolved into an award-winning digital marketing agency that provides industry-best digital agency services in as many as 10 distinct online marketing and digital advertising channels. Our team is made up of quality, competent digital marketing professionals that manage the top digital advertising platforms for our clients at the highest level in the industry. I would put our processes, procedures, optimization strategies, and results up against the largest digital agencies in the United States. However, we deliver these services at an affordable cost, as opposed to typical over-priced agencies with less than experienced account managers.

Experience Advertising, Inc. began in 2007 as an affiliate program management agency (or OPM), specifically focused on growing and managing affiliate programs for companies on affiliate networks like CJ Affiliate, Linkshare/Rakuten, Shareasale, and inhouse programs. Over the years, Experience Advertising has added additional digital agency services to their menu of online marketing management services. Weber continued, Since I had the advanced background in managing and growing the core digital marketing channels from my previous successful Internet startup Dentalplans.com, and given the fact that many companies desperately need better management of those digital marketing channels, it was inevitable that we would begin to offer agency management in a wider variety of online advertising channels. Now, when you come to us for a particular need like affiliate marketing, you may just end up having your paid search, SEO, retargeting, and website conversion rate strategies managed by us as well. Its a really exciting position to be in. In fact, I often tell prospective clients that when they hire Experience Advertising, they are getting much more than the typical digital marketing agency. Rather, they are getting to work directly with a true digital marketing and social media expert like myself, with a proven track record of exponentially growing online revenue for companies of all types. Someone that, with the click of a mouse, can increase the rate at which their website converts traffic into sales on all of their online marketing campaigns, which instantly increases their bottom line profitability and revenue. As you can imagine, they get pretty excited at the prospect of that occurring. Then, when it does occur, they get even more excited and we go from there to properly scale their company online.

Experience Advertising places extreme importance on boosting their clients overall website conversion rate. Weber stated, We are one of the only digital agencies out there, if not the only, that is actually able to significantly increase our clients website conversion rate through a series of proven strategies, tools, and tweaks. When a websites conversion rate is increasing steadily over time, their website sales will increase proportionately. Also, the ROI on any current digital advertising campaigns will increase, which provides additional budget to drive more targeted traffic from the primary sources like Google Ads. Most companies arent able to realize all of their paid search volume, which is a huge problem. Therefore, by implementing effective conversion rate optimization tools and strategies, our clients are able to fully realize their online advertising potential. In fact, we wont even sign a new client unless they are onboard with boosting their website's conversion rate, otherwise the channels we are managing for them wont do as well as they should, and we refuse to have any disappointed clients. Experience Advertising has been implementing effective conversion rate optimization strategies for companies for 10+ years.

Experience Advertising, Inc. manages the following digital marketing channels for their clients:



Affiliate Program Management and Affiliate Marketer Recruiting - #1 Ranked for Best Affiliate Marketing Agency for 10 years consecutively

Paid Search Advertising - SEM, PPC, Google Ads, Bing Ads, Google Shopping

SEO Strategies - SEO Content Writing, Blogging, Online PR, and Video Production

Retargeting Ads - via Display, Email, Facebook Ads, Google Ads, Twitter, & Native

Social Media Advertising - ROI-Focused Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, Twitter Ads, ands LinkedIn Ads

Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) - On-site Strategies and Conversion Rate Boosting Tools which Instantly Increase Website Effectiveness

Influencer Marketing and Influencer Outreach

B2B Advertising - Lead Generation, Email, Inbound, FB Ads, and LinkedIn Advertising

Native Ads - managing and placing Native Ad campaigns with our Partners

Email Marketing - Designing and Deploying HTML Email Campaigns

Digital Marketing Consulting - growth hacking to grow website traffic, revenue, and ROI

Website Design and Development- designing and developing amazing websites, landing pages, building web and mobile applications.

If you are looking to work with one of the leading digital marketing agencies in the U.S., or directly with their CEO Evan Weber on a digital marketing consulting basis, contact Experience Advertising to learn more about their services and to contact them for a complimentary evaluation and proposal.
ALBION, MI- When youve already been named Michigans Best Burger, where do you go from there? If you are Albion Malleable Brewing Company, you decide that bigger is definitely better, and you add 20% more beef to your award winning burger.

We actually didnt tell anyone ahead of time, said Ben Wade. He co-owns the brewery, which opened in 2018, with Charles Moreau. And then one day, in a roundabout with the kitchen managers and the chef, we said just start doing it.

We named Albion Malleable Brewing as Michigans Best Burger in 2020. We thought it was pretty perfect back then, to be honest. Heres just some of what Michigans Best reporter John Gonzalez had to say about the brewery:

Michigans Best Burger is in ... Albion! At a brewery? Yes, folks. Its putting this tiny town in Calhoun County off I-94 between Marshall and Jackson, on the map. Not only are we celebrating its spirit of transformation, which the Albion Malleable Brewing Company has done when it opened two years ago, we are declaring the burgers from an all-scratch the best in the state. Whether youre a fan of traditional greasy bar burgers with American cheese or gourmet burgers with adventurous toppings such as roasted poblano peppers, Albion Malleable Brewing Company has it all. And great, Belgium-inspired beer, too.

RELATED: Winning Michigans Best Burger instills community pride, Albion Malleable Brewing says

The brewery started experimenting with adding more beef to their burgers a few weeks ago. The back story is that when we opened, we dialed in this burger, Wade explained. At the time, the brewery only offered our Signature Burger. It was our house ground patty, with our signature sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles. We didnt offer variations, it wasnt a build your own burger. This was our menu item, the Signature Burger.

Since then, the brewery has developed a whole host of awesome and amazing burgers, featuring a variety of toppings. During our visit, we fell in love with several. The Jolly Roger burger comes with roasted poblano peppers, bacon, jalapeno honey mustard and smoked gouda cheese. The Boomer is topped with mushrooms, bacon, caramelized onions, crispy parmesan cheese, arugula and garlic aioli.

We came out with burgers we were really, really happy with, Wade said. But the quarter pound smash burger patty, with out house made bun, with a stack of toppings, kind of sent the burger to the back seat a little.

Albion Malleable grinds their own meat from primal cuts for their burgers, using brisket, sirloin, and chuck. The original burger used a 4 ounce patty, but you could also upgrade your burger to a double. Wade said that they thought the beef flavor really shined when a burger was made with two patties. With the single patty, we just really felt that it needed a little bit more, to just hold its own with the rest of the toppings.

The beef should definitely be the centerpiece of the burger Wade said.

So the breaking news out of Albion is that Michigans Best Burger is now built on a five ounce all beef patty. And if you are brave enough to order a double, youll be getting ten ounces of house ground fresh beef on your burger.

The team at Albion believes that this slight increase in meat on their burger creates a much more balanced burger, especially with the variety of new toppings they now offer.

RELATED: These are the 10 best burgers in Michigan

You can look for a few other menu changes coming to Albion Malleable in the next few months. One of the things weve heard is that our menu is heavy, with its focus on burgers, Wade said. The chefs have listened, and theyll be taking a few items that have done well as specials, and will add them to the menu. One of these new dishes is the salmon salad which features a seared fillet served over a caesar salad. Theyll also be making a few current menu items into monthly specials. We wanted to have a few lighter options for people as well, Wade said.

RELATED: 21 of Michigans must-eat items for 2021

Since they were named Michigans Best Burger in 2020, Albion Malleable has seen about 60% of their sales represented by burgers. Its a great thing, Wade said. Well agree with that.

A Deluxe burger at Albion Malleable Brewing Company in the search for Michigan's Best Burger on Friday, March 6, 2020. Albion Malleable was one of three stops in the Jackson area in the search.J. Scott Park | MLive.com

John Gonzalez and Amy Sherman of MLive selected Albion Malleable Brewing Company in Albion, Michigan, as Michigan's Best Burger. (L-R) Chef Joe Marciano, co-owner/head brewer Ben Wade and co-owner Charles Moreau.Courtesy of Albion Malleable Brewing Company

RELATED: See all the burgers we tried at Albion Malleable Brewing on our search for Michigans Best Burger

New brewery in Albion to revive name of towns departed iron industry

Owners hope the revived Albion Malleable namesake can serve as a beacon of economic prosperity in the town again.

Albion Malleable Brewing Company in the search for Michigans Best Burger

Burgers are served at Albion Malleable Brewing Company in the search for Michigan's Best Burger on Friday, March 6, 2020. Albion Malleable was one of three stops in the Jackson area in the search.J. Scott Park | MLive.com

If you go:

Albion Malleable Brewing Company

420 S. Superior St

Albion, Michigan 49224

517-343-2202

More info: Facebook or albionmalleable.com

Taste tests of the many beers at Albion Malleable Brewing Company in the search for Michigan's Best Burger on Friday, March 6, 2020. Albion Malleable was one of three stops in the Jackson area in the search.J. Scott Park | MLive.com

More Michigans Best:

See when some of our favorite Michigans Best restaurants will open in 2021

Michigans Best Ultimate Fish Fry Guide 2021

These are the 10 best burgers in Michigan

These are the greatest Michigan burgers of all time

30 Michigan burgers you must try

MLIve's John Gonzalez and Amy Sherman try burgers at Albion Malleable Brewing Company in the search for Michigan's Best Burger on Friday, March 6, 2020. Albion Malleable was one of three stops in the Jackson area in the search.J. Scott Park | MLive.com

If you have questions about our search for Michigans Best or you want to suggest a future search, feel free to email us.

Amy Sherman: asherma2@mlive.com

John Gonzalez: gonzo@mlive.com

Follow our Michigans Best adventures on social media:

@mlivemibest on Twitter

@mlivemibest on Instagram

Facebook at MLiveMIBest.

Join in by using the hashtags #mibest

In addition:

Amy Sherman is on Twitter @amyonthetrail, as well as Facebook and Instagram @amyonthetrail.

John Gonzalez is on Twitter @michigangonzo, as well as Facebook and Instagram @MichiganGonzo.
* Username

This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely!
Kathmandu, March 25 : The Nepal government has kicked-off preparations for the 12th National Population Census, a government official said.

Pushparaj Kadel, vice-chairman of the National Planning Commission told Xinhua news agency that this census is crucial since it is the first one under the 2015 Constitution and new federal system.

The Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) conducts National Population Census Program every 10 years and the first one took place in 1911.

The program compiles population statistics at the national and local levels.

It also contains data on a variety of social, demographic, and economic indicators relevant to the monitoring and assessment of National Periodic Development Goals and Sustainable Development Goals.

In order to ensure the success of the national census, the CBS has been conducting a sample census program.

According to information made public on the CBS website, the sample census program will be conducted in 55 wards across 14 districts until April 12.

The CBS department says that it has arranged a variety of trainings to ensure the census effective.

From February 14 to February 20, the department held a National Facilitator Training.

From March 22 to March 28, state-level trainers will be receiving instruction, according to officials.

Similarly, the department has stated that it will provide training to local census officers from April 1 to April 7.

According to the 2001 census, Nepal's total population was 23,151,423 people.

In the 2011 census, it rose to 26,620,809.

According to the CBS officials, the full details of the census will be made public in around five years.

The CBS office predicts that the census would cost more than $35 million.
Potentially deadly will likely become more commonplace in South Asian countries, including India, in the coming decades even if is limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius, according to a new study.

Scientists, including those from Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the US, said such an increase in extreme heat events can create unsafe labour conditions in major crop producing parts of India, such as Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, as well as coastal regions and urban centres like Kolkata, Mumbai, and Hyderabad.

According to the research, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, with two degrees of warming, the population's exposure to lethal temperatures rises by close to three times as compared to recent years.

"The future looks bad for South Asia, but the worst can be avoided by containing warming to as low as possible. The need for adaptation over is today, not in the future. It's not a choice anymore," said Moetasim Ashfaq, study co-author from Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

"Even at 1.5 degrees, will have serious consequences in terms of heat stress. That's why there is a need to radically alter the current trajectory of greenhouse gas emissions," Ashfaq added.

In the study, the researchers used climate simulations and projections of future population growth to estimate the number of people who will experience dangerous levels of heat stress in at levels of 1.5 and 2 degrees Celsius.

They estimated the wet bulb temperature residents could experience, which is similar to the heat index, as it takes into account both humidity and temperature.

The study noted that a wet bulb temperature of 32 degrees Celsius is considered to be the point when labour becomes unsafe, and 35 degrees Celsius is the limit to human survivability when the body can no longer cool itself.

Based on the analysis, the scientists said 2 degrees of warming may increase people's exposure to unsafe labour temperatures by more than two-fold, and exposure to lethal temperatures by 2.7 times, as compared to recent years.

While the planet has warmed by 1 degree Celsius since the start of the Industrial Revolution, it may reach 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming by 2040, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on

"Only half a degree increase from today is going to cause a widespread increase in these events," Ashfaq said.

According to the scientists, densely populated South Asian cities already lack regular access to air conditioning, and about 60 per cent of their populations perform agricultural work and cannot escape the heat by staying indoors.

This deadline leaves little time for South Asian countries to adapt, since the people here are especially vulnerable to deadly with the area already experiencing very hot, humid summers, the researchers added.

"A policy framework is very much needed to fight against heat stress and heat wave-related problems," said T.V. Lakshmi Kumar, an atmospheric scientist at SRM Institute of Science and Technology in Chennai, who was not involved in the study.

(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.)
Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey (CECH, Criminal Justice 88) never imagined shed be where she is today  the first woman and first openly gay person to serve as Hamilton County sheriff. She never imagined herself in a political role where she could elevate humanitarian standards in criminal justice. She never imagined that she might one day have the potential  and the very real power  to help create a new model of law enforcement.

I never would have thought it, McGuffey said in a recent interview. It was not something I aspired to, even during my career. I really just wanted to have a good career. I wanted to achieve some rank in the department, and I wanted to influence some things and wear the uniform as long as I could. Those were my goals.

Propelled by grit, a peoples touch and a trauma that sparked rebirth, McGuffey achieved those goals, exceeded them, and today is ushering in a new era of reform at the sheriffs office. Her platform is expansive, ranging from de-escalation during confrontations to inmate rehabilitation to ethnic diversification in staffing and outreach. She has promoted the first African American woman to the rank of major. She has authorized the launch of a transparent, user-friendly Community Affairs Unit that will connect callers with real people. She is re-imagining the Citizens Review Board so that it brings people to the table from all walks of life, with intentional diversity and with neighborhoods in mind. She is a champion of no-cash bail for low level, non-violent crimes.

Within the jail itself, shes working to provide a better, more hopeful life for inmates by shifting the focus from punitive to rehabilitative strategies. I want to improve their food; I want to improve their medical care; I want to improve the way theyre treated, McGuffey said. I want them to start learning that you can come to jail to become whole again, meaning that you meet people who can help you, people who are mentoring you. So when you walk out that door you have a strong likelihood of not coming back. And there are people who do come back. So Im not someone who doesnt have my eye on reality. But each and every time you come back, were going to offer you opportunities to become healthy again. Those are my plans.
By rehabbing vacant property and creating more quality affordable housing, supporting entrepreneurship for communities of color, and returning property to the tax rolls, Robs leadership helped spur economic development where it was needed the most, Preckwinkle wrote in a statement. I look forward to cheering for Robs success in his new endeavors, and were thankful to have his assistance during the transition.
-- Huawei Presents Latest Solutions and Practices in Five Intelligent Upgraded Scenarios

SHENZHEN, China, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- At the Industrial Digital Transformation Conference 2021, Huawei highlighted on the Intelligent Twins architecture to demonstrate the latest solutions and practices in five key fields -Highly Efficient campus, Intelligent cloud, Green power, Hyper-converged data center, and Time-delay determined network solutions. These fields lay a foundation for building an intelligent world providing intelligent upgrades for governments and enterprises.

In 2020, Huawei launched the Intelligent Twins, the industry's first reference architecture for the intelligent upgrade of governments and enterprises. The company leverages the Intelligent Twins to work with customers and partners, providing scenario-based solutions that meet diverse requirements. To date, the solutions have been applied to more than 600 projects.

David Wang, Executive Director of the Board, Huawei, commented in his keynote speech: "With the Intelligent Twins as the reference architecture, we are providing customers with scenario-based solutions of Highly Efficient campus, Intelligent cloud, Green power, Hyper-converged data center, and Time-delay determined network. The words representing the key features of the five solutions can form the word HEIGHT. Based on this concept, Huawei will provide the best products and solutions for enterprises worldwide to implement intelligent solutions, and explore the new HEIGHT of the intelligent world together."

1. Intelligent Cloud: The intelligent hub represent the "brain" and decision-making system of the Intelligent Twins, and cloud infrastructure constitutes the core of the intelligent hub.

HUAWEI CLOUD integrates AI into traditional enterprise support systems and, more importantly, main service processes, while also serving as the core for governments' and enterprises' intelligent upgrades through solutions such as the Multi-Cloud Container Platform (MCP), FusionInsight, and the one-stop AI development platform ModelArts. This simplifies and automates both development and management using AI throughout the application lifecycle, helping partners and developers quickly develop intelligent applications.

Jacqueline Shi, Vice President of Huawei's Cloud & AI Business Group and President of Cloud & AI Marketing Department, Huawei Cloud & AI BG, pointed out: "We believe, in a digital economy, the cloud is no longer just about provisioning resources. Instead, it is an application-centric platform that will help enterprises intelligently upgrade and achieve core competitive strengths using the Intelligent Twins reference architecture."

2. Hyper-converged Data Center: the foundation of the intelligent hub

Hyper-converged data centers with all-flash storage and all Ethernet networks are required to achieve efficient storage and lossless transmission of large amounts of data. Huawei's Hyper-Converged Data Center Solution includes OceanStor and CloudFabric 3.0 and DC OptiX 2.0.

"Data is valuable in the 21st century. If you can fully mine the value of data, you will have more initiative in the future competition. Huawei will continually develop the hyper-converged data center network solution. With the deep collaboration of storage and network, it will help customers build a powerful intelligent hub, and empower enterprises' digital transformation." Said by Kevin Hu, President of Data Communication Product Line, Huawei.

Dr. Peter Zhou, President of IT Product Line, Huawei, commented: "Huawei OceanStor Dorado has a fully interconnected architecture. This architecture allows the system to remain operational even seven out of eight controllers fail. Together with active-active disaster recovery solution, it achieves 99.99999% reliability for mission-critical production data. In addition, OceanStor Dorado all-flash storage help build energy-saving all-flash data centers. To unleash the unlimited potential offered by massive amounts of unstructured data of HPC/HPDA and big data, Huawei OceanStor Pacific next-generation data lake storage provides super capacity expansion of up to 4096 nodes, 60% higher performance density and 2.6 times higher capacity density than the industry, as well as hybrid workloads and multi-protocol interworking capabilities."

Huawei also launched the CloudFabric 3.0 Hyper-Converged Data Center Network Solution, which include CloudEngine and iMaster NCE as core components .The solution is the first to achieve level-3 autonomous driving network capability in the industry. By providing end-to-end intelligent deployment and operations, the OPEX can be reduced by 30%. The solution can also build all Ethernet computing and storage networks with zero packet loss, helping to fully optimize computing performance by 100%."

Huawei DC OptiX 2.0 solution provides ultra-broadband, simplified, and intelligent all-optical interconnect for DCs. The solution has also been successfully deployed in the Philippine ISP customer, Converge. Ronald Brusola, CTO of Converge, said, " By cooperating with Huawei, we have learned about Huawei's leadership in the DCI field. Through Huawei DC OptiX 2.0 solution, we are confident and ensured that Converge will thrive more in IDC field to provide the Filipino market with the services they truly deserve."

3. Intelligent connectivity is the body of the Intelligent Twins, connecting the intelligent hub and intelligent interaction

To meet the diverse requirements for connectivity scenarios, Huawei has developed numerous innovations for optical fiber and IP technology platforms, building time-delay deterministic networks.

Richard Jin, President of Transmission and Access Network Product Line, Huawei, stated that the world is in an era of explosive data growth, but only flowing data can produce value. Intelligent connectivity combined with deterministic experiences provides a high-bandwidth and low-latency information highway for data flow and is the main artery of industrial intelligence.

The optical slicing based on Liquid OTN technology is a major breakthrough in deterministic networks after SDH. Liquid OTN inherits the advantages of physical isolation of SDH hard pipes and implements two innovations: protocol simplification and architecture convergence. Liquid OTN reduces the latency by 30%.

In addition, the slice size can be adjusted from 2 Mbit/s to 100 Gbit/s in real time as required. This solution guarantees service experience and meets the long-term evolution requirements of industrial digital transformation, making it an ideal choice for upgrading SDH networks in industries such as power grids and transportation.

In the intelligent IP field, Huawei has made technical innovations based on SRv6 and launched the CloudWAN 3.0 intelligent cloud network solution. Agricultural Bank of China and Huawei have partnered with innovative and leading SRv6 technologies to achieve optimal efficiency and performance for multi-cloud connections.

4. Highly Efficient Campus: the basic unit of the intelligent world

Huawei's HQ campus in Bantian features cloud, intelligence, fully-wireless access, and all-optical bearer. With Wi-Fi 6, employees can work and get connected anytime and anywhere. They can access WeLink, enabling mobile phone projection and real-time translation. 5G also supports the real-time transmission of 4K video by UAVs, which means that personnel can monitor campuses in real-time, building safe environments.

Bob Chen, President of Marketing & Enterprise Network Technical Sales Department, Huawei Enterprise BG, believes that campuses will be the "cells" carrying all the DNA needed for the future intelligent world where we will see more campus scenarios. Going forward, Huawei will continue to develop more scenario-specific solutions for more campuses using its 30-year experience and technology know-how. In doing so, Huawei's solutions can accelerate digital transformation of campuses and enable more service innovation, with the potential to achieve zero-boundary, zero-waiting, and zero-danger campuses.

For example, Huawei's all-optical industrial network solution reduces the number of explosion-proof nodes in coal mines by 40%, achieving efficient fault locating capability of 0.5 m, and achieving safe production in mine campuses.

Huawei also released the CloudCampus 3.0 cloud campus network solution on this conference.

5. Green Power: providing green power, conserving energy, and reducing emissions by building Intelligent Twins.

Zhou Taoyuan, President of Digital Power Product Line, Huawei, stated: "For years, Huawei Digital Power has made many exciting innovations by integrating power electronics and digital technologies. Using bits to manage watts, we achieve green power generation and efficient power usage, making the intelligent world greener."

In the Binhe New Area on the east bank of the Yellow River in Baofeng, Ningxia, China, Huawei is building a 640 MW PV power station. It integrates the globally leading flat single-axis automatic tracking technology. This enables solar panels to follow the light like sunflowers and increases power generation by more than 20% compared to traditional PV power stations. Over 400 square kilometers of high-quality organic wolfberries have been planted under the solar cells to control about 650 square kilometers of desertified land.

From March 24 to 26, Huawei hosts the Industrial Digital Transformation Conference 2021 online, exploring the power of the resilient and innovative digital world from three perspectives: business, technology, and ecosystems. For more information, please visit us at https://e.huawei.com/en/events/industry-digital-transformation/2021

Video - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1473993/KN2_Highlight_EN.mp4
Islamabad, March 25 : Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who has been living in London for the past 16 months after being ousted from power but was later allowed to travel abroad on medical grounds, had sought renewal of his diplomatic passport but the government has denied his request and told him to return to Pakistan.

As per diplomatic sources, Nawaz Sharif wrote to the Pakistani High Commission on February 15, a day before the expiry of his passport on February 16. In a two-line letter, he called on the mission to take all steps necessary in accordance with the rules and regulations to issue a new diplomatic passport to him.

"As you may be aware that February 16, 2021 is the expiry date of my diplomatic passport number BV5128363. It is requested to take all the steps necessary in accordance with rules and regulations to issue new diplomatic passport," he said.

The Pakistani High Commission wrote to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad seeking advice on the request, and it, in turn, forwarded the letter to the Ministry of Interior, which has sought details of Sharif's medical treatment in the UK.

These details include the current diagnosis by medical doctors, name and address of the doctor under whom medical treatment is being received, copies of all the medical reports including tests undertaken in the UK with results of the tests, details of treatment received in the UK hospitals, details of ongoing treatment, details of payment made for medical treatment in the UK, and dates of visits and consultations made with doctors in the UK.

The Interior Ministry, in its letter, also asked Sharif to sign an attached consent form for release of medical information to the Pakistan High Commission in London.

The letter comes in pursuance of a decision by the Lahore High Court on November 16, 2019, along with the undertaking, provided by Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif before the court.

As per the undertaking, Sharif had agreed to provide medical information to the government, which was also mentioned in the judgment of the Lahore High Court.

However, the Interior Ministry instructed the foreign office against processing the passport renewal application of Nawaz Sharif, highlighting that he has been declared as an absconder and proclaimed offender by the Islamabad High Court in a corruption reference, while the same has been done by the National Accountability Court (NAB) as well.

"Nawaz Sharif is thereby required to return to Pakistan and appear before the relevant courts to face charges. He, being a fugitive of law and absconder, cannot seek any further relief unless he surrenders before the courts in Pakistan," its letter read.

Reminding Sharif that the bail permission by the Lahore High Court was for eight weeks, and that the Punjab provincial government did not extend the bail after the expiry of this time, the Ministry stated: "Nawaz Sharif is now required to serve the remainder of his sentence at Kot Lakhpat Jail, Lahore. Yet, rather then obeying the dictates of the court and abiding by the conditions in the bail granting order, he fled the country to avoid prosecution."
LOS ANGELESJoe Biden and Donald Trump did not agree on much during the 2020 presidential campaign. But one policy view they both shared was that Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act  the 26-word piece of 25-year-old legislation that is often described as the First Amendment of the Internet  should be repealed. The law, which experts have called vital to the growth of the internet as a forum for communication and commerce.

The law is especially important for the adult industry which relies on freedom from censorship and speech restrictions for its very existence. But Section 230 has come under attack in the past year from all sides of the political spectrum, with Republicans and Democrats in Congress combining to introduce a staggering 25 bills in just the last year to cut back on the freedoms protected by the law. Seven of those anti-Section 230 bills have been introduced in the new, 117th Congress which opened less than three full months ago.

Section 230 protects online platforms from legal liability over user-created content. That shield allows platforms that publish millions, even billions, of pieces of such content every day to avoid monitoring everything that they post. Without Section 230, critics fear, sites would be forced to simply shut down most content posting or impose strict censorship to avoid the impossible task of policing their entire sites.

On Thursday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee will summon the CEOS of three online mega-corporations to testify about how they use or, in the view of many in Congress, abuse Section 230 to regulate content on their platforms. Facebook Chair Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter founder and boss Jack Dorsey, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai will all appear before the committee to give testimony.

The hearing  the third since October with all three top tech CEOS  will be streamed live via YouTube starting at noon Eastern on Thursday, March 25. The livestream will be available at this link. The title of the hearing is Disinformation Nation: Social Medias Role in Promoting Extremism and Misinformation.

Some legal experts, however, question the point of the congressional hearings, saying that even without Section 230, free expression online would be protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Congress is really complaining about speech that is lawful...and they just dont like it, Santa Clara University law professor told Yahoo News. We call that censorship.

The inventory of 25 bills aimed at curtailing Section 230 in the past year does not include a new effort by House Democrat David Cicilline, who chairs the Judiciary Committees Antitrust Subcommittee. Cicilline says that he is now crafting legislation aimed at penalizing online platforms if they employ algorithms that promote objectionable content.

Also on the recent agenda is the SAFE Tech Act, a bill sponsored by three Senate Democrats that would remove Section 230 protections from platforms that have accepted payment for making speech available to the public, a provision that would cover most of the big social media companies.

Photo By Gerd Altmann / Pixabay
Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez on Wednesday again dismissed accusations of having links to drug trafficking and claimed to have evidence to disprove what he said were "lies." Hernandez made the comments after Honduran national Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez was convicted in the US of drug trafficking.

Prosecutors told a New York court that Fuentes had received help from Hernandez to smuggle drugs into the US. Witnesses at the two-week trial also recounted that Hernandez accepted bribes from drug traffickers from his time as a presidential candidate until at least 2019.

Hernandez has repeatedly denied any connection to drug traffickers and he has not been charged with any crime. In Wednesday's news conference in Tegucigalpa, Hernandez labelled the accusations as "offensive" and "perverse." Federal prosecutors, however, have become increasingly outspoken in connecting his political rise to funding from drug trafficking. One of his brothers, Tony Hernandez, was convicted of drug trafficking in 2019 and is scheduled to be sentenced next week.

Image Credits: AP

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
More than half of Israel's population has been fully vaccinated with two doses of protection against Covid-19, the country's health minister announced today.

Israel's rapid progress means more than 4.6million people have had two jabs and are eligible for a so-called 'green pass' in a scheme being closely watched by other countries.

Around 60 per cent have had a first dose, the highest figure for any country in the world and one of the few ahead of the UK where 41 per cent have had a jab.

Studies of the real-world Israeli data have shown the jabs both slashing the number of symptomatic cases and also appearing to reduce transmission of the virus.

Israel has given two vaccine doses to more than half its population - a total of more than 4.6million people - in the fastest jab programme in the world. These figures from Our World In Data also show the UK level with France in second doses despite Britain's first-dose priority

Cases have plummeted since Israel's winter peak, with studies linking the country's vaccination success to a drop in virus transmission

Deaths have also come crashing down as the vaccines slash the number of people getting ill

Israel's health minister Yuli Edelstein celebrated the milestone today but called on citizens to 'follow health guidelines so that the coronavirus does not return'.

Israel counts Palestinians in East Jerusalem as part of its population and has offered them vaccines, but has come under criticism for not doing more to help Palestinians.

Palestinian health officials have launched a more limited vaccine drive in the Gaza Strip and West Bank using doses provided by Israel, Russia, the UAE and the global COVAX scheme.

Israel vaccinated more than 100,000 Palestinian workers with permits to enter Israel or Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

But a survey by a Palestinian research centre released on Tuesday found that only 55 per cent of Palestinians were willing to take the vaccine when it becomes available.

In Israel, some officials privately estimate that 10 per cent of the eligible population do not intend to get vaccinated.

Israel began easing a nationwide lockdown in late February, with most businesses and schools gradually resuming activity with limits on capacity.

Along with the people who are fully vaccinated, another 8.7 per cent of the population are presumed immune after previously recovering from Covid-19.

That makes the majority of the population eligible for the so-called 'green pass' certificates that allow access to various leisure venues.

People sit on a cafe terrace in Jerusalem after Israeli authorities re-opened restaurants, bars and cafes to vaccinated people with a 'green pass'

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man receives his second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine at a medical centre set up in a synagogue in Bnei Brak, Israel

Hezi Levi, the director-general of Israel's health ministry, has estimated that the entire adult population will be fully inoculated by the end of May.

About a third of the country is under 16 and cannot be vaccinated until the shot is deemed safe for children.

This month the health ministry said that recovered Covid-19 patients could get vaccinated with a single jab administered at least three months after recovery.

Israel has seen an 85 per cent drop in daily Covid-19 deaths since the peak of the third wave in January, according to Eran Segal, a data scientist at Israel's Weizmann Institue of Science.

There has also been a 72 per cent drop in the number of critically ill patients and there are 86 per cent fewer daily coronavirus cases, Segal says.

As of Thursday, Israel's positivity rate was 1.1 per cent, a drop from nearly six per cent a month ago, according to the health ministry.

In addition, there were 482 patients in serious condition on Thursday, compared to more than 800 in late February.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu hoped to ride Israel's vaccine success to victory in this month's election, but the results showed his path to a governing coalition remaining unclear

Amid criticism of Israel for not doing more to enable vaccination among Palestinians, some of those who work in Israel started receiving doses earlier this month

One real-world study published in February showed the Pfizer vaccine cutting the number of symptomatic cases by 94 per cent in Israel.

Other research suggested that the same vaccine had massively reduced transmission, shedding light on one of the biggest questions of the vaccine race.

Israel has had three lockdowns and 6,157 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

The government had faced public frustration at the uneven enforcement of health restrictions among the ultra-Orthodox population.

But Israel quickly leaped ahead in the vaccine race after beginning injections with the Pfizer jab in December.

Israel, which has one of the world's most sophisticated medical data systems, secured a substantial stock of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine by striking a data-sharing deal with the drug giant.

The Israeli government has not confirmed speculation that it paid over the odds to obtain its free-flowing stock of vaccines.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu hoped the country's success in the vaccine race would propel him to victory in this week's election, the fourth in two years.

Netanyahu's Likud party won the most seats but the country's political deadlock appeared unresolved with his path to a governing majority uncertain.
Republican Senator Ted Cruz has discussed the ongoing migrant influx at the southern border, saying that the migrant crisis is a "direct result of political decisions made by President Joe Biden."

"Even Biden's DHS secretary admitted we're seeing the highest volume of illegal immigration across the southwest border in 20 years. Just last month, in February, there were over 100,000 illegal aliens," Ted Cruz said as Fox News reported.

On the other hand, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi insisted that the President had the immigration situation under control during a press conference at the Capitol last week.

Pelosi added that Biden is approaching the situation in a more humane and value-based way as compared to former president Donald Trump, The Sun reported.

But border patrol officials are telling a different story, saying that they are being overwhelmed with the increase of migrants coming to the U.S.-Mexico border.

Ted Cruz has accused the president of hiding information after a request to bring reporters to a visit to the border was declined.

"Next week, I'm bringing 15 senators to the border. DHS said NO to our request to bring media," the senator said in the report. Ted Cruz added that the cause of the migrant crisis is the promise of "amnesty," according to a CBS News report.

RELATED ARTICLE: Biden Admin Weighs Flying Latin American Migrants to Canadian Border

Biden Administration Faces Migrant Influx

Biden has raised some eyebrows in his own party and is being questioned by his Republican opponents after the migrant surge at the border.

He also was accused of lacking transparency with the media and the restrictions he imposed at the border, AFP News reported.

According to Trump, the current migrant situation is insane, and nothing can be compared to what will happen in the coming months. Biden said he would go to the border himself at some point.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Monday that the border is not open, and most migrants at the border are being turned away.

Psaki added that they are focusing on the expedition of the processing at the border and ensuring that the unaccompanied migrant children can get shelters as soon as possible.

About 5,200 children are being held in migrant facilities meant for adults, according to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Also, over 600 of the children have been in there for more than 10 days, surpassing the days that the law allows, which is a maximum of three days.

The majority of the migrants encountered at the border this year have been single adults, primarily from Mexico, and often deported. Sometimes these migrants cross the border multiple times.

Mayorkas noted that unaccompanied minors were exempt from the expulsions policy. Reuters reported that only around 15 percent of families arrested on Mar. 17 were expelled based on the Customs and Border Protection data.

The Biden administration has announced that an $86 million contract was in place to house some families identified vulnerable in U.S. hotels for processing.

READ MORE: Biden Ends Trump Policy That Allows DHS to Deport Caregivers for Migrant Children

WATCH: Sen. Ted Cruz on Spectrum News: President Biden's Political Decisions Have Worsened Border Crisis






A pilot was caught on a hot mic making shocking comments about the Bay Area as he was piloting an aircraft in the region.

The expletive-laden rant, which was archived by Live ATC, took place on March 13.

The pilot, who has not been publicly identified, was captured on the air traffic control scanner of the Mineta San Jose International Airport.

Southwest Airlines Flight 531 was referenced in the recording, but it's not clear if that was cross-chatter caught on the radio. Southwest didn't return a request for comment from DailyMail.com

'F**k this place, goddamn liberal f**ks,' the pilot can be heard cursing, seemingly unprompted.

The audio, which is choppy at times, appears to record the pilot continuing his rant while making several odd comments.

Scroll down for video

A hot mic incident at the Mineta San Jose International Airport reveals the shocking moment an airline pilot went on an expletive-laden rant about the 'liberal f**ks' in the region

The audio was captured on an air traffic control scanner and archived by Live ATC (Pictured: Interior of Mineta San Jose International Airport)

'Eight guns out here somewhere as it is,' the pilot appears to say; it's not clear what he's referencing.

'F**king weirdos, probably driving around in f**king Hyundais, f**king roads and s**t that go slow as f**k,' he continues.

'You dont have balls unless youre f**king rolling coal man, goddamnit,' the pilot adds, presumably comparing electric-powered cars to traditional gas-powered ones.

The airline the pilot works for has not been identified, nor is it clear whether or not he was landing an aircraft at the airport or departing.

A flight identification appears to be given before the rant, but it cannot be deciphered.

That flight does typically have routes from Las Vegas to San Jose, and San Jose to Seattle, but no flights are listed on March 13, per FlightAware.

The pilot and airline at the center of the hot mic incident have not been identified, although there is a reference to a Southwest Airlines flight towards the end of the rant

Additionally, the scanner may have picked up audio from other flights at the time.

One user on Twitter tagged Southwest Airlines in a post about the incident, but they have not confirmed that the pilot is theirs.

DailyMail.com has reached out to Southwest Airlines for comment.

'We can neither confirm nor verify who made those comments,' a Live ATC representative told SFGATE.

Meanwhile, a representative for the airport called the communication 'very unprofessional' and forwarded it to the FAA.

'FAA regulations prohibit airline pilots from talking about subjects that are unrelated to safely conducting their flight while taxiing and while flying below 10,000 feet altitude,' the FAA said in a statement to DailyMail.com

'The FAA is investigating communications that an airline pilot made while taxiing at Mineta San Jose International Airport last week. The FAA also reported the incident to the airline.'

The Bay Area, particularly San Francisco, is known to be a liberal region of the United States, as referenced by the pilot.

San Francisco is associated with liberal values, such as LGTBQ equality (Pictured: Then-presidential candidate Kamala Harris during San Francisco Pride parade in June 2019)

A March 2014 report by political scientists Chris Tausanovitch and Christopher Warshaw titled 'Representation in Municipal Government' ranks San Francisco as the most liberal city of at least 250,000 people in the United States, based on public policy preferences.

Oakland, another city in the Bay Area, ranks fourth in the same report.

Some values often associated with San Francisco include the fight for LGBTQ equality and the anti-war movement.

Harvey Milk was the first openly gay politician in the city of San Francisco prior to his assassination.

San Francisco was the site of a 150,000-strong rally in April 1971, a protest that opposed the Vietnam War.

Currently, the mayor of San Francisco, London Breed, is a Democrat, as is the city's entire Board of Supervisors.
Scientists in China have developed a laser that can locate a hidden object from a mile away.

Researchers hid a mannequin inside an apartment and fired a laser emitter at its location, determining the dummy's location by calculating how long it took photons to hit different parts of the room and travel back to the laser.

The technology, known as non-line-of-sight (NLOS) imaging, could be utilized by the military to find enemy targets or rescue teams to find victims.

It could also be beneficial in helping self-driving cars detect pedestrians and other vehicles from behind buildings.

Calculating how long it took photons to hit the walls of an apartment and bounce back to their emitter, scientists in Shanghai were able to determine the position and rough shape of a mannequin hidden behind a screen in an apartment a mile from their location

A team at the University of Science and Technology of China perfected the new technique.

They set up a laser emitter at the school's Shanghai campus and then hid a mannequin behind a screen in an apartment about a mile away.

From their location at the school, they projected a pulsed laser at the apartment.

Some of the photons from the laser hit the apartment wall and bounced right back to a sensor next to their emitter.

Earlier experiments could only locate objects from about 10 feet away, because particles in the air and stray environmental light confused the sensors. To overcome those obstacles, their emitter and sensor used different telescopes that limited signal interference

Previous experiments had only found objects about 10 feet away because particles in the air and stray light confused the sensors. The team was able to reach much further using different telescopes that limited signal interference and an imaging algorithm adjusted to account for long-range outdoor conditions..

Other particles, though, hit the mannequin and reflected back onto the apartment wall before traveling back to the sensor.

Looking at the time it took the photons to travel between the different locations, they were able to figure out how far each part of the mannequin was positioned from the wall and compose a rough three-dimensional image of their quarry.

They were able to determine the mannequin's position using the photons' travel time because the speed of light is constant, the researchers said.

Earlier experiments could only locate objects from about 10 feet away, because particles in the air and stray environmental light confused the sensors.

To overcome those obstacles, their emitter and sensor used different telescopes that limited signal interference.

The technology, known as non-line-of-sight (NLOS) imaging, could be utilized by the military to find enemy targets or rescue teams to find victims

Some of the photons from the laser hit the apartment wall and bounced right back to a sensor next to their emitter. Other particles hit the mannequin and reflected back onto the wall before traveling back to the sensor

The sensor was also equipped with multiple lenses to prevent stray light from affecting it, The South China Morning Post reported, and the system's imaging algorithm was adjusted to account for long-range outdoor conditions.

'This range is about three orders of magnitude longer than previous experiments,' the researchers wrote in a new report in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

'The results will open avenues for the development of NLOS imaging techniques and relevant applications to real-world conditions.'

The scientists were also able to distinguish different objects placed about 3.7 inches apart.

While NLOS imaging would have obvious uses in military operations, and by police and emergency crews, researchers suggested it could also help self-driving cars with detecting unseen vehicles and pedestrians.

'For example, the ground or walls of a building can be used to reflect light, even when the surface is uneven,' physicist Wu Chen told the South China Morning Post.
The Hungarian President Janos Ader (R) meets with the visiting Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe (L) in Budapest on March 24, 2021. (Photo by Li Xiaowei)

BUDAPEST, Mar. 25 -- The Hungarian President Janos Ader met here with the visiting Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe on March 24.

Ader said that in recent years, the bilateral relations between Hungary and China have been developing rapidly and becoming increasingly interconnected, the remarkable achievements China has made in its anti-pandemic campaign and post-pandemic economic recovery have attracted worldwide attention.

Hungary is much appreciated the vaccine assistance from China, which has brought hope to Hungary's fight against the pandemic, Ader said.

He hoped that the two countries will continue to strengthen cooperation in the areas of fighting the pandemic, economy and trade, tourism and military, pushing forward in-depth development of the Hungary-China comprehensive strategic partnership.

Wei said that China always regards Hungary as a good brother and partner, and would like to deepen cooperation with Hungary in various fields. Wei also briefed Ader of the real situations of social and economic development in Xinjiang.

Wei said that China is firmly opposed to and strongly condemns the EU, the US, the UK and Canada for imposing unilateral sanctions on China under the pretext of the so-called human rights issue in Xinjiang.

The Chinese side appreciates Hungary's firm support for China on issues concerning China's core interests including Xinjiang and speaking up to uphold justice, Wei said. He also stressed that the Chinese military is willing to expand and deepen exchanges and cooperation with the Hungarian military in a bid to push the military-to-military relations to a new level.

Hungarian Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjen met with General Wei Fenghe on the same day.

Wei Fenghe held talks with his Hungarian counterpart Tibor Benko on March 25. The two sides had in-depth exchange of views on bilateral and military-to-military relations as well as the international and regional situations.
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!
A senior federal government MP has been forced to apologise to two Brisbane women who accused him of trolling them on Facebook.

Andrew Laming conceded his social media commentary had caused significant distress to two 'well regarded individuals' of his Bowman electorate after being slammed by Scott Morrison.

The Facebook exchanges sparked accusations of slander, stealing and stalking, with one of the women claiming she was left feeling suicidal.

Mr Laming apologised to both women in writing and during a speech to parliament after being hauled in to the Mr Morrison's office.

'His comments were not acceptable to both women and also to the Prime Minister,' a spokesperson for the Prime Minister's Office said.

'Every Australian has the right to feel safe online and Mr Laming has made a commitment to change his online communication practices.'

Liberal MP Andrew Laming (pictured) has been forced to apologise to two Brisbane women who accused him of online abuse

Mr Laming on Thursday said he acknowledged his comments about Alix Russo and Sheena Hewlett left them suffering considerable distress.

'I want to express my regret and deep apologies for the hurt and the distress that communication may have caused,' Mr Laming said.

'I want to retract those comments and issue a public unreserved apology.'

The Liberal National Party backbencher, who regularly attracts criticism for his behaviour and comments on social media, acknowledged he had lessons to learn about his use of words.

'I have made a concerted effort to understand the impact of these responses upon others and demonstrate a clear change in the way I communicate,' he said.

'I want to say to any person who has received correspondence from me which fell short of what they expect from an MP that I intend to own that failure and apologise without hesitation.'

Mr Morrison had demanded Mr Laming stop using social media to troll the women.

'At the Prime Minister's request, the Member for Bowman issued an unreserved public apology,' a spokesperson for the Prime Minister's Office said.

In one Facebook post, Mr Laming accused Ms Russo, a single mother, of misappropriating funds at a homeless charity.

Mr Laming accused Alix Russo (left) of misappropriating funds at a homeless charity, while Sheena Hewlett (right) said she was forced to contact police after claiming Mr Laming hid in the bushes and took photos of her in a public park

A statement issued by Mr Laming on Thursday, where he issued 'an unreserved public apology'

'You can't be trusted with other people's' (sic) money. That's why your organisation is drying up,' Mr Laming claimed on Facebook.

In another post, Mr Laming wrote: 'Thankfully, they all left you and set up an alternative charity. Unfortunately for you, I make the rules and you follow them.'

Ms Russo said she was outraged at the comments directed towards her that left her felling suicidal.

'I want to be alive, I don't want to be attacked anymore,' she told Nine News.

'This man has to stop. He cannot continue abusing his community like this.'

Ms Hewlett said she was forced to contact police after claiming Mr Laming hid in the bushes and took photos of her in a public park, which were later posted to Facebook.

Ms Hewlett, a teacher, also claimed Mr Laming rang the school where she is employed, demanding to know her work timetable.

'I certainly fear for my family,' Ms Hewlett said.

Both women had publicly pleaded with Mr Morrison to intervene to stop the online abuse.

Lifeline 13 11 14
Dhaka, March 26 : At least 14 people have been injured during a demonstration here in Dhaka University campus against the upcoming scheduled visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Modi is expected to arrive on Friday to attend the joint celebrations of the Golden Jubilee of Bangladesh's independence and birth centenary of Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

The injured include two journalists, and two pro-government Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) workers.

Activists of Left student organisations, who were demonstrating on Thursday against Modi's visit, allegedly came under attack from the BCL at Dhaka University campus.

Earlier in the day, Jubo Odhikar Parishad activists clashed with police in the city's Motijheel area while protesting against the Indian prime minister's visit.

Left student organisations under the banner of 'Progressive Student Alliance' were demonstrating at the VC Chattar area of the campus protesting against Modi's visit.

The Left organisations alleged the ruling party student wing Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) activists carried out the attack on the demonstrators around 8 p.m. on Thursday evening.

All the 14 injured are undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

The clashes ensued when the law enforcers obstructed the demonstrators.
SCHENECTADY  The idea of giving frustrated parents a choice versus working to improve a challenged school system dominated discussion during a public hearing Wednesday for a proposed charter school in the city.

ReShawn Rogers, founder and proposed head of school at Destine Preparatory Charter School, told the audience during the virtual session that after hearing concerns in meetings with community residents, Destine will feature an extended school day and school year, two teachers in classrooms during reading and math time, Spanish as a second language starting in the second grade and will make safety a priority.

"We believe that Destine Prep will be a community school informed by the community and for the community, said Rogers.

Charter school hopes to open doors to Schenectady students in 2022

Ex-Schenectady schools leader files $7.8M claim against district

At Schenectady middle, high schools: Weird, happy to be back

Schenectady school district to restore programs, rehire staffers

Several Destine board members extolled the virtues of their school. Other speakers were more conflicted.

Destine's application, 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.



If approved, the school would initially open with about 104 students in kindergarten and first grade in the fall of 2022 and then add a grade each year for the next four years until it serves 390 students through fifth grade.

Destine's proposal indicates the total expected revenue from the district in the charter school's first year would be about $1.53 million, rising to $5.8 million in the fifth year.

Neimra Coulibaly wondered whether the charter school would be beneficial to students of color or is it something that is going to be taking away from all the students in the community?

I feel like one of the best options would be better investing into the school district that we already have and making that the best that it could possibly be, said Coulibaly, a product of Schenectady schools. This whole idea of school choice wouldnt even be choice if the Schenectady district was doing what they actually need to do.

Oriana Miles, another Schenectady schools graduate who currently teaches at Schenectady High School, said that charter schools start off with good intentions but later become super-punitive.

She also noted that the city school district has for years been shortchanged when it comes to state financial aid and that students have color often lag behind their white counterparts when it comes to academic achievement.

No one can argue with the data that our students of color are struggling because of racism, but it is hard for me to say that instead of fixing where we are that serves a huge entire population that we should to just move over to this other place that serves a smaller population, said Miles.

Parent Kristine Moore, who has four children in the district and is an educator, said while choice is important so too is parental involvement, which she contends is lacking in Schenectady.

Karen Lewis with the Schenectady County NAACP chapter, also a teacher in the district, said the civil rights organization does not support charter schools.

She later pleaded with exasperated parents encouraging them to reach out to her and other teachers in the district who she said care deeply for students and want to help in any way they can.

Raysheea Turner, Destine Preps proposed board chair, said she didnt receive much support from the school district when she called about signing her young son up so she opted to have him attend Catholic school.

If Schenectady public schools wanted it to be about the children and make the schools better, thats what they would have done a long time ago, added Turner, who graduated from Schenectady High School and is an attorney.

She recounted graduating early despite not getting the support she needed from her high school counselor or the choice to go to another school.

Bill McColl told the group that he is against charter schools because they are anti-democratic, anti-union and do not perform better than public schools.

He pointed to the dozen or so charter schools that have been in Albany, which he characterized as a plethora of failures.

Robert Giordano, who works for the charter school industry but has no ties to Destine, disagreed with McColl, saying democracy is choice, quality of choice arguing that theres huge pent up demand in Schenectady for parental choice thats outside of the district.

Cheryl Lare, another Destine Prep board member, said she has spoken to teachers in the Schenectady school district who have shared with her that they don't feel that academics is a priority and parents are trapped with no choice close to home.

"I know people are saying 'charter school or the city school district' like it's some sort of competition but I think there could be a partnership," she said, citing New York City as an example where that happens.
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 chosen to work with Sereno for a variety of reasons, most notably its belief in the independent brokerage and its subsequent ability to better serve its clients and community. Bob Bredel, partner at Dwell.

Sereno is pleased to announce they have joined forces with San Carlos based real estate brokerage, Dwell Realtors, led by partners Laura Bertolacci, Bob Bredel, Tatum Clarke, Joyce Romeo, Alana Corso, and their team of highly regarded agents. Dwell has been ranked number one in residential sales in San Carlos since 2015. The firm closed nearly 500M in sales over the last 12 months.

"This unification allows us to further our quest for a better client experience and expand our community reach while providing the same exceptional service clients have come to expect from Dwell," said partner, Laura Bertolacci.

For Sereno, this is the fourth addition in less than 10 months and brings the firm to 575 experienced agents producing $6B in annual sales and furthers its goal to advance the cause and impact of the independent brokerage.

Partner Alana Coros noted, The heart and soul of Dwell Realtors was built upon collaboration, client advocacy and community so it is amazing to unify with a company like Sereno that shares our same ethos and core mission to continue to elevate the client and agent experience.

Dwell opened its doors in January 2015 as a completely independent brokerage and was built from scratch by a group of high-producing agents. They have ranked the #1 office every year since 2015 in total listings sold, total buyer transaction, and total gross sales volume for San Carlos sales.

Theres a natural synergy that has occurred between these two companies and I couldnt be more excited for our agents, clients, and our community to experience it, said partner Tatum Clarke.

In 2019, Dwell also became the #1 office for gross sales volume for Redwood City properties.

I am thrilled that we are able to join forces with a company that embodies the same core values that we built our company on 7 years ago. This is truly a win-win for our company, our agents and our clients, remarked Dwell partner, Joyce Romeo.

This expansion reflects Serenos commitment to advancing the spirit of the independent brokerage to best serve agents, clients, and communities. This latest move follows the firm's intentional growth into the East Bay area through its acquisition of J. Rockcliff Realtors (now branded as Sereno,) the Lake Tahoe region with the Granger Group, and the Sierra Foothills with the Margaretich Group. Sereno is Northern Californias largest, locally owned, and operated independently branded residential real estate company.

Words cannot begin to express how honored and inspired we are to unite with the esteemed Dwell Realtors. We remain convinced that professional and caring Realtors provide the most comprehensive service to the clients they serve. Sereno intends to invest further into this reality for many years to come, said Chris Trapani, co-founder and CEO of Sereno.

To learn more about Dwell, please visit 662 Laurel St, Ste A, San Carlos, CA 94070 or dwellagents.com.

About Sereno

Founded in 2006, Sereno is the largest, locally owned and operated, independent real estate company in Northern California with 14 offices and 575 agents in Silicon Valley, the SF peninsula, Santa Cruz, the East Bay, Lake Tahoe, and Sierra Foothills producing $6 Billion in annual sales volume. Sereno is ranked among the top 5 in the nation for both per agent productivity and highest average sales price. The company offers a highly curated support platform and provides agents with concierge services to strengthen client relationships, as well as world-class technology for well-executed transactions. Its agent-driven Sereno 1% For Good Charitable Foundation is changing lives in local communities, and to date, generated over $3.5 million in charitable donations given to 246 local organizations.

To learn more, visit sereno.com.
New Delhi: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has ordered a detailed probe into updated privacy policy and terms of service of instant messaging app WhatsApp.

Fair trade regulator found WhatsApp's "exploitative and exclusionary conduct" in the garb of the policy update prima facie violated competition norms.

CII has taken suo moto cognisance of the matter on considering media reports and the potential impact of the policy and terms for WhatsApp users and the market, a PTI report said.

WhatsApp has recently faced a lot of flak over its privacy policy and terms of use update. It said that it will not delete users' account after the new privacy terms come into effect from May 15, however, in the long term users won't be able to read or send messages from the app.

"To give you enough time to review changes at your own pace and convenience, weve extended the effective date to May 15th. If you havent accepted by then, WhatsApp will not delete your account. However, you won't have full functionality of WhatsApp until you accept. For a short time, you'll be able to receive calls and notifications, but won't be able to read or send messages from the app," a WhatsApp FAQ page said.

Earlier, in February WhatsApp said that it would display a banner on the app providing users with more information on the privacy policy.

WhatsApp in its recent blog wrote, "Today were sharing updated plans for how well ask WhatsApp users to review our terms of service and privacy policy. We previously encountered a great deal of misinformation about this update and we continue to work hard to clear up any confusion."

Notably, WhatsApp had asked users to either give their consent to sharing data with Facebook or lose their accounts after February 8. The policy was, however, put on hold till May 15 due to a massive backlash by the users.
From: Jan DuPlain - Embassy Liaison Falls Church, , VA Thursday, March 25, 2021





Political and Business Leaders Call for Engagement of Global Diaspora



Conference to build a global voice for collaboration and coalition development among the U.S., African Nations, and the Greater Diaspora.



Building Better Bridges - Swahili Village, Wednesday, March 31, 2021



Washington, DC, March 25, 2021  As Africa's continent-wide free trade area becomes open for business, The Made Man Foundation (TMM) is hosting a series of international gatherings to discuss ways to maximize new and unprecedented opportunities. The series of events are part of TMM's "100 Days of Action" campaign focused on building a global coalition among African nations and the worldwide diaspora.



Although delayed by the pandemic, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement has just gone into full effect this year. The AfCFTA covers a population of 1.3 billion people across Africa who comprise $3.4 trillion in gross domestic product. The value of the new agreement can't be overstated: The World Bank has declared it has the potential to lift 30 million Africans out of poverty, restore the continent's economic and public health, and boost member nations' self-reliance and ability to increase political stability and security.



"The coming years are going to offer great potential for Africa," says Dr. Ky Dele, international relations strategist, lead organizer and Founder of Made Man Foundation. "However, maximizing this potential requires engagement by the world community and we must start building those bridges now."



To that end, TMM is hosting "Building Better Bridges: United States, African Nations and the Greater Diaspora" where representatives of African and Caribbean nations, U.S. political institutions, industry, and populations of African descent will discuss ways to increase cooperation. Topics will include engaging the current U.S. administration to expand trade with Caribbean and African companies; increasing dialog between U.S. international policy makers, and African nations and diasporas; reducing the gap in bilateral government and multilateral organization contracts obligated to Black-owned firms; and overcoming challenges onset by the pandemic.



The "invitation only" event will be held at Swahili Village's DC location, known as The Consulate, a fine dining African restaurant, social and cultural space for programming that fosters Africa-to-the-world engagement located in the heart of DC's power-dining corridor. Swahili Village is a brand that outside its fine dining experience, is creating a cultural enlightenment bridge between the African home continent and the rest of the world - one city at a time. With each location, it supports, educates and enlightens that city and community the truths about the African culture and history through food and diversified opportunities.



MEDIA: For journalists interested in Africa, business, free trade, and the global economy, you are cordially invited to join the first of these virtual events on March 31 in Washington, DC. Please register on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/building-better-bridges-afcfta-and-the-new-africa-tickets-148378703697 or contact Jan Du Plain at janduplain@gmail.com or call 202-486-7004.



What: Building Better Bridges: United States, African Nations & the Greater Diaspora



Facilitators: Dr. Ky Dele - Founder, The Made Man Foundation



Felix Chevalier, Founder and Partner, Cooke Chevalier, PLLC



Hosts: His Excellency Dr. Barfour Adjei-Barwuah, Ambassador of Ghana to the United States



HIs Excellency Sidique Abou-Bakarr Wai, Ambassador of Sierra Leone to the United States



Co-Hosts: Reverend Dr. George E. Holmes - Served and Assisted 4 US Presidents, National Clergy Leadership Network; Jason Martin - Principal/Managing Partner MCCG International; Charles Debow Vice President, National Black Chambers of Commerce; Dr. Tommie Thompson President, Bazillio Cob Associate; Dr. Charles Olawole- Principal, Graffiti Consulting Inc.



When: Wednesday, March 31, 2021



5:00-6:00 pm Virtual Press Conference* (To register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/building-better-bridges-afcfta-and-the-new-africa-tickets-148378703697 or contact Jan Du Plain at 202.486.7004; janduplain@gmail.com)



6:00-9:00 pm Live Event. By invitation only. Ambassador and VIP guests. (No media)



Where: Swahili Village Bar & Grill | 1990 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20036 | Visit www.theconsulatedc.com to step into the Swahili Village. Contact Mr Ike Nwaneri - 301.841.0012 or marketing@zendglobal.com for all inquiries regarding Swahili Village



Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, current president of the Republic of Kenya, participated in a special ribbon- cutting opening ceremony for the Swahili Village last year in March, 2020.



Sponsors | Supporters| Partners include: Swahili Village; ZENDHealth.com and Peachtree medical supplies ; National Black Chambers of Commerce; Diaspora Africa Forum; Empire Group NYC; Embassy of Ghana, Washington DC; Embassy of Liberia, Washington DC; Embassy of Mali, Washington DC; MCCG International; Onaps Advisory Bluffajo Cosmetics Inc; IBS Management & Consultancy Services, LLC; Graffiti Consulting Inc.; Bazilio Cobb Associates; Cooke Chevalier, PLLC; ZEND Global Marketing; KRUZRTech.com; Robotic Sterilizers



NOTICE: The in-person event will follow CDC guidelines and participants are required to wear protective face coverings. Masks will be provided if necessary. Peachtree Medical Supplies is sponsoring rapid Covid tests to all guests. The restaurant has installed an FDA Approved ventilator air purifier.



*VIRTUAL PRESS CONFERENCE: A virtual one-hour press conference scheduled for 5 pm-6 pm. Interviews available with Ambassadors, government officials, dignitaries, principal owners at Swahili Village downstairs in showroom - limited time for interviews. RSVP to Jan Du Plain at 202-486-7004 or janduplain@gmail.com



**The Free Trade area, founded in 2018, with trade commencing as of January 1, 2021, was created by the African Continental Free Trade Agreement among 54 of the 55 African Union nations. The free-trade area is the largest in the world in terms of the number of participating countries since the formation of the World Trade Organization.



***Accra, Ghana serves as the Secretariat of AfCFTA and was commissioned and handed over to the AU by the President of Ghana Nana Akufo-Addo on August 17, 2020 in Accra. ###






Thank you for reading!

Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Chinas iron grip over the nations internet has taken years to achieve and huge resources to enforce. By blocking virtually every foreign website and allowing Chinese consumers to have access only to information approved by Beijing, the Communist Party has built a powerful tool for control and surveillance.

Tens of billions of dollars have been funnelled into construction of its so-called Great Firewall, including the creation of a giant bureaucracy to monitor online activity, censor content and help push out a rose-tinted view of the governments efforts at home and overseas.

The digital push is Chinas boldest gambit yet to turn the yuan into a truly global currency to rival the US dollar. Credit:AP

In terms of its sheer scale and ambition, nothing else globally comes close. From Riyadh to Moscow and Tehran, other authoritarian regimes can only look on with envy at the almost hermetically-sealed information edifice Beijing has carefully constructed.

But China is only just getting started - and the implications for the rest of the world could be startling.
Cuba continues to advance in its Phase III testing of its two vaccine candidates against the new coronavirus.

The studies have broadened by incorporating new volunteers to obtain more reliability in which tens of thousands of people are now part of a gradual immunization strategy.

"I am a little nervous but calm, proud to be able to receive the vaccine after such a long time," Beatriz Ortega, a 25-year-old physiotherapist, told The Associated Press on Wednesday morning while she received the first dose of Soberana 02 at a clinic in Havana.

The island's health authorities began an "intervention study" this week with 150,000 additional people, mostly health personnel, to strengthen the information on its star antigen, Sovereign 02, developed by the Finlay Institute and which is already being given to more than 44,000 people.

The study is superior to the original Phase III testing in that it is rapidly expanding the amount of inoculated until the entire Cuban population is completed, according to local health officials.

Cuba is the only Latin American country that has its own product prospects against COVID-19, a unique achievement for a small nation that is experiencing serious economic problems.

The Caribbean nation of 11 million inhabitants has achieved relative control of the disease since the pandemic broke out in March 2020, but as of the beginning of this year it had a surge in cases that it is finding difficult to control.

Cuban scientists and specialists have developed five vaccine candidates that have advanced with some success. Soberana 02, Soberana 01 and Soberana Plus through the Finlay Institute. Abdala - the other in an advanced study position - and Mambisa by the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology.

Another 48,000 people began Phase III investigations of the Abdala vaccine in the eastern part of the country, where an "intervention study" is also expected to be carried out with 120,000 more people in Santiago de Cuba, Granma and Guantanamo provinces.

Health and science development are areas are in complete control of the Cuban State.

Phase III as such would end in June, but with the intervention studies, some 1.7 million people - over 19 and under 80 - would be vaccinated at that time.

By August, about six million people would be vaccinated and in the following months the rest of the population.

Authorities said they had the productive capacity to generate the necessary doses and they are also expected to commercialize or distribute to other partner countries.

Iran and Venezuela indicated that they were participating in the trials and the island announced that thousands of doses had been sent there.

The government reported on Wednesday that 68,986 cases of COVID-19 have been reported since the beginning of the pandemic, of which 405 have died since March 2020, when the first cases were detected on the island.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
Approval of the roadmap for the implementation of the Minsk Agreements, which may be drafted on the basis of the German-French project on key clusters for the implementation of the Minsk Agreements with proposals of the Ukrainian and Russian sides, should take place at the level of the leaders of the Normandy Four countries (Ukraine, Germany, France, Russia), Head of the President's Office of Ukraine Andriy Yermak has said.

"In our opinion, the leaders of the Normandy Four should be responsible for the final approval of the roadmap. This position is supported by our colleagues from France and Germany," Yermak said in an exclusive blitz interview with Interfax-Ukraine on Wednesday.

The head of the President's Office recalled that according to the decision of the Normandy Four leaders, the roadmap is being drafted in the appropriate four-sided format at the level of political advisers to the leaders of Germany, France, Ukraine and the Russian Federation.

At the same time, Yermak added that Ukraine "has no objections to the Trilateral Contact Group taking part in the process of drafting the roadmap."
PORTLAND, Ore., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- [See Case 3:20-cv-02075-HZ Document 29 filed Wednesday, March 24, 2021]

REX, the technology company resetting traditional real estate on behalf of consumers, has filed a response brief in the lawsuit against the state of Oregon over its anti-rebate law. If REX is successful in it's lawsuit, Oregon real estate consumers will be freed from a state-sanctioned system that has allowed traditional real estate to operate in secrecy, fix prices, and manipulate rules for the benefit and profit of big brokers.

REX's brief, which follows an amicus brief filed earlier this month by the Consumer Federation of America and the Oregon State Public Interest Research Group, shows how the state's policies put a brazenly anti-consumer exclamation point at the end of the traditional real estate transaction which is already set up to benefit the broker at the consumer's expense.

The law prohibits firms like REX from rebating fees back to its clients. In 2020 alone, REX's cash back program could have saved Oregonians nearly $250 million.

Oregon is among a dwindling handful of states that forbids pro-consumer rebates. As REX's brief points out, regulators in many states have determined laws like Oregon's should not be enforced in a way that costs homebuyers thousands (if not tens of thousands) of dollars. REX's response brief demonstrates how Oregon's rebate policies are anti-consumer, anti-innovation, and unconstitutional.

At a time when housing affordability is already a major issue in Oregon, many consumers simply cannot afford the state's anti-consumer policies. An anti-rebate law prevents buyer brokers from reducing egregiously high transaction costs, which cause consumers to pay two to three times more in real-estate commissions than consumers in comparable international markets. Without reform, the status quo policies place homeownership out of reach for lower- and middle-income Oregon families.

REX CEO and Co-Founder Jack Ryan commented on the filing of the brief:

"There is no place for laws that guarantee special protection for real estate brokerages and punish consumers. I am pleased to see REX standing with national and state consumer groups in this case as it reflects our employees' commitment to disrupting the old anti-consumer model that has dominated real estate for decades. Our company is decidedly on the side of Oregon consumers and we will continue to lower costs and improve consumer experiences everywhere we do business nationwide."

Earlier this month, the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) joined the Oregon State Public Interest Research Group (OSPRIG) in filing an amicus brief in the case and called out the state for "prohibiting buyer rebates that reinforce high and uniform real estate commissions." CFA and OSPRIG's brief also called out the $100 billion consumers pay in traditional real estate fees each year as well as the forty other states who have updated their laws to allow firms to rebate significant savings back to consumers.

Key Arguments Made By REX In The Response Brief:

Oregon's rebate bans prevent consumers buying homes from receiving cash back from their brokers. In other words, the rebate bans make illegal pro-consumer price competition among buyer brokers. The bans make it thousands of dollars more expensive for Oregonians to buy homes.

State laws prohibiting rebating commissions to real estate consumers are unconstitutional and violate federal law. The anti-rebate regime protects the entrenched cartel while deterring new market entrantsall to the detriment of consumers. The state of Oregon offers no path around that settled law, offering instead implausible defenses of their naked market-distorting protectionism.

On top of being plainly anticompetitive, real-estate rebate bans are relics of the pre-Internet past. Today's buyers are doing the work themselves, yet rebates protect sky-high commissions even when buyer brokers barely need to lift a finger.

REX's cash back program represents a major opportunity to Oregonians and the state. Through technological advances and a business model that dramatically lowers transactional costs by pairing machine-learning with licensed salaried real estate agents, REX has lowered fees nationwide to 2.5% and offers cash back at closing to real estate buyers. However, due to Oregon's anti-rebate law, REX customers are unable to receive thousands of dollars back at close.

Based on MLS data of homes transacted in 2020, Oregon consumers would have saved $249 million using REX's cash back program.

In the Portland metro area alone, REX's cash back program in 2020 was worth a total of $143 million .

About REX (rexhomes.com)

REX is resetting the traditional real estate broker model and upending how Americans interact with real estate  from buying and selling processes to managing all aspects of your home, including maintenance, landscaping, mortgage, escrow, title, insurance, and moving. REX is dramatically lowering costs and improving the consumer experience in real estate to help Americans unlock the wealth in their homes. We're headquartered in Austin, TX and run by engineers, data scientists, and market experts with prior experience at Google, Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Uber. REX works as a partner in the global fight against housing insecurity. For every 50 homes sold at REX, the company builds a home for a family that would otherwise be unable to realize the dream of homeownership. Check out REX's newsroom (newsroom.rexhomes.com) for the latest press releases, podcast episodes, market analysis, useful data for stories on tech and real estate, and information about the company.

CONTACT

Colin Maynard

[email protected]

(916) 834-4274

SOURCE REX
Rajkummar Rao Talks About Struggling Days As An Actor With No Money Even For Food, Says, "I Never Came With A Plan-B"

Looking back at his decade-long career, "Shahid" and "Stree" star Rajkummar Rao says his journey in Bollywood has been surreal and rewarding but not without its share of challenges.

The actor said his late mother's faith in him kept him going even on days when he had nothing when he moved to Mumbai from Gurgaon to chase his childhood dream.

Rao started his career with Dibakar Banerjee's "Love Sex Aur Dhokha" 10 years ago and soon earned acclaim for his performances in films like "Kai Po Che!", "Aligarh" and "Newton".

In an interview with PTI, the National award-winning actor spoke about completing a successful decade in the film industry.

"The initial two years when I was looking for work, it was extremely tough. There were days when there was no money to buy food. But my mother gave me that confidence had this unshakable trust in me.

"I would call back home and they would send me money so that I could have food on my table," the actor told PTI.

Rao, 36, a Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) graduate, said it was only after Banerjee's found-footage drama in 2010 that things started moving forward for him.

But even when he was struggling, the thought of putting his acting ambitions on hold didn't cross Rao's mind.

"I never thought of giving up, of going back and doing something else. I never came with a plan-B. This is what I wanted to do ever since I was a kid. Things started moving post 'LSD' and since then the journey has been good.

"When I look back, it feels surreal. I never expected this to happen, to do all these wonderful films and roles. I didn't come to this city chasing fame or money. I am in films because I really love it," he added.

It isn't that when his success streak started, there were no setbacks.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by RajKummar Rao (@rajkummar_rao)

After consecutive hits, from 2017 comedy "Bareilly Ki Barfi", National Award-winning black comedy-drama "Newton" to the 2018 horror comedy "Stree", Rao saw a failure with his big 2019 Diwali release "Made in China".

Rao said despite the film's failure, he is proud of the project as he looks at failures only as temporary.

"I am proud of the film. There are those films as well which I think I could've avoided, but that's alright. What I've realised is you can't be low. The key is to get up and move on to the next one."

Up next, Rao will be seen in director Harshvardhan Kulkarni's "Badhaai Do", co-starring Bhumi Pednekar. Backed by Junglee Pictures, the film is a sequel to the 2018 National Award-winning hit "Badhaai Ho!".

The actor, who plays a cop in the film, said the movie is not "exactly a sequel."

"Badhaai Do" continues the spirit of the first film which chronicled the story of a middle-age couple facing unexpected pregnancy and aims to deliver a timely message in an engaging manner.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by RajKummar Rao (@rajkummar_rao)

"It's a different world with new characters but our producers are the same. I'm extremely happy the way it has shaped up. Harshwardhan is a director to look out for. Bhumi and I had such a gala time making the film with him. The audience will see me in a new light with this one.

"What we are trying to say with the film is important but we are saying it in an entertaining manner. It's the kind of film you'd laugh while watching but also take back home something from it," he added.
He was the wartime Prime Minister regarded by many to be the greatest Briton who ever lived.

Sir Winston Churchill's leadership during the fight against Nazi Germany was symbolised by the indomitable spirit he championed in his numerous speeches to the British public.

Now, a new documentary sheds light on how the ambition and drive which saw him serve two terms as Prime Minister stemmed from a childhood desire to prove himself to his harsh father.

Lord Randolph Churchill, himself a prominent politician who rose to become Britain's youngest Chancellor of the Exchequer, died at the age of just 45 in 1895 from suspected syphilis.

In Channel 5's Churchill, the first episode of which airs on Friday, the politician's granddaughter Celia Sandys tells how he 'idolised' Randolph, even though his father penned letters telling him he would become a 'social wastrel'.

Experts reveal in the show how Churchill was 'utterly prostrate with grief' following his father's death and strove from then on to reconcile himself with the man's 'ghost'.

Viewers also learn of Churchill's exploits as a soldier, both in India and in the Boer War in South Africa - when he became a national celebrity after he was taken prisoner and wrote of his daring escape.

A new documentary sheds light on how Winston Churchill's childhood desire to prove himself to his harsh father went on to fuel a political career which saw him serve as Prime Minister, where he lead Britain to victory in the Second World War. Left: Churchill aged 7 in 1881. Right: His father Lord Randolph, seen in 1885

Channel 5's show features the voices of a series of experts, as well as footage and photos of Churchill as a young child, soldier and fledgling politician.

The letters he sent to his father whilst away at boarding school are also shown, as are the older Churchill's written rebukes to his son.

Born at Blenheim Palace - his father's ancestral home  in 1874, Churchill was an 'unloved' and 'difficult' child who grew up amid opulent surroundings.

Allen Packwood, the director of the Churchill archives, tells of how Churchill's 'aristocratic birth' likely had an 'enormous impact' on the young man, who felt like he needed to 'live up' to the great lives of his ancestors.

Churchill's American mother Jenny was a glamorous socialite who spent her time socialising. She had a series of affairs, including with the then Prince of Wales.

It meant that Churchill was largely left to be brought up by his nanny. Whilst that was not unusual for someone of his social status, he is said to have felt it 'particularly keen'.

Churchill was sent to Harrow boarding school. Reports from his teachers described him as 'very naughty' and 'troublesome'.

Winston Churchill is seen above in Downing Street in 1940, at the start of his first stint as Prime Minister

Churchill was born at Blenheim Palace - his father's ancestral home in Oxfordshire  in 1874

He was an 'unloved' and 'difficult' child who grew up amid opulent surroundings. Allen Packwood, the director of the Churchill archives, tells of how Churchill's 'aristocratic birth' likely had an 'enormous impact' on the young man, who felt like he needed to 'live up' to the great lives of his ancestors. Pictured: Churchill in 1888, during his time as a boarder at the prestigious school Harrow

Churchill's American mother Jenny was a glamorous socialite who spent her time socialising. She had a series of affairs, including with the Prince of Wales, who went on to become King Edward VII

The bad feedback meant that Lord Randolph did not think much of his son.

Churchill would write letters bearing kisses to his father but would often not get a reply.

David Lough, the author of Churchill and his Money, said: 'Lord Randolph didn't have a high opinion of his son's academic abilities or really his career prospects.'

After finding his son playing with toy soldiers, he decided the army would be the best fit.

At the age of just 18, Churchill was sent to the prestigious Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst.

Despite being 'desperate' to get his father's approval, Churchill disappointed once again when he failed to make it into the Infantry  which was regarded as the top class.

Instead, he was put into the cavalry, landing his father with an extra cost of 200.

Lord Randolph then penned a letter which read: 'I am certain you will become a social wastrel. One of the hundreds of public school failures.'

However, Lord Randolph then fell seriously ill with what was then believed to be syphilis. Churchill rushed to his father's bedside in the hope of speaking to him one final time.

But the politician was unconscious and died without seeing his son.

Reports from his teachers at Harrow described the young Churchill as 'very naughty' and 'troublesome'. They were revealed in Channel 5's documentary

The bad feedback meant that Lord Randolph did not think much of his son. Churchill would write letters bearing kisses to his father kisses but would often not get a reply

Katherine Carter, the curator at Churchill's Kent home Chartwell, said: 'When Lord Randolph died, it had a huge effect on Winston.

'He was utterly prostrate with grief for the day and the night that followed his father's death. Completely inconsolable.'

Just weeks after his father's death, Churchill passed out of Sandhurst and became an officer in the British Army.

He was posted to India - which was then part of the British Empire  and was involved in the suppression of an uprising in the Malakand region.

Churchill sold articles to British newspapers about his fighting. In them, he branded Indian people as 'simple races' and said British rule would end their 'dreadful state of barbarism'.

Oxford University historian Dr Priya Atwal said: 'Churchill most definitely viewed himself as racially superior to so-called native people in India.

At the age of just 18, Churchill was sent to the prestigious Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst. Despite being 'desperate' to get his father's approval, Churchill disappointed once again when he failed to make it into the Infantry  which was regarded as the top class. Instead, he was put into the cavalry

'And I think we can see that as a fundamentally racist ideology in that he felt that his whiteness and his culture somehow entitled him to rule over that person and to rule in such a way that he could change the civilisation and culture of that other person.'

However, Churchill's writing helped to make him a household name. Once again, it was the quest to emulate his father which drove him on.

Professor Richard Toye, the author of Churchill's Empire, said: 'The quest for glory is what motivates Winston.

'I think he sees his father's career as to some extent glorious and wants to emulate that.

'His father didn't believe that he was going to be able to achieve anything. He wants to show that he can and indeed do that in the arena which his father thought was the most important one.'

At the age of just 24, Churchill returned to the UK to try to launch his political career.

Mr Packwood said that the young man's mother was crucial in helping him to establish himself.

'She had used her network to support Randolph's career. She transfers that support network to pushing and developing her son's political career.

After his first attempt to become a Member of Parliament failed, Churchill decided to put his political life on hold and instead headed to South Africa to act as a war correspondent in the Boer War

On arriving in South Africa, Churchill was quickly embroiled in action when his train was ambushed by heavily armed Boers  who opposed the British Empire's influence in South Africa. After helping to load wounded soldiers onto the train's remaining carriages, Churchill was captured. Pictured: The stunning image of Churchill's arrest, revealed in Channel 5's documentary

Churchill was taken prisoner ended up launching a daring escape which saw him travel 200 miles to safety. Pictured: The wanted poster which called for the return of Churchill 'dead or alive'

Ms Sandys added: 'She may not have been a great asset to him as a child but he made a very good relationship with his mother after his father died. And she helped him enormously.'

But Churchill's first attempt to stand as a Member of Parliament, in the working class town of Oldham, Greater Manchester, in 1899, failed.

He therefore decided to put his political life on hold and instead headed to South Africa, which was then named Rhodesia as part of the British Empire, to act as a war correspondent.

Mr Packwood said: 'Churchill is the archetypal young man in a hurry. He knows what he wants to achieve.

Churchill wrote an account of his escape for British newspapers. It made him a national celebrity and was, says Dr Jacob Field, one of the 'turning points' in his early life. Pictured: The Daily Mail's account, which was published in December 1899

A Daily Mail article reporting on Churchill's 'political debut'. It described him as 'Lord Randolph's son'

'He believes in himself, he believes in his abilities. And he is impatient of all obstructions and frustrations in his path.'

On arriving in South Africa, Churchill was quickly embroiled in action when his train was ambushed by heavily armed Boers  who opposed the British Empire's influence in South Africa.

After helping to load wounded soldiers onto the train's remaining carriages, Churchill was captured.

A stunning image revealed in the Channel 5 programme shows the moment of his arrest.

Churchill then returned to Britain to re-launch his political career. He again stood in the seat of Oldham, and was this time successful. Pictured: Churchill in 1900, the year he became an MP

He was taken to the Boer stronghold in Pretoria, which is now one of South Africa's three capital cities.

After being told he would spend the rest of the war as a prisoner, Churchill escaped and successfully travelled across more than 200 miles of enemy territory to get to safety.

The Boers used a poster to offer a 25 reward for Churchill 'dead or alive'.

Mr Packwood said: 'I think the escape shows incredible reserves of self-confidence and trust that if he pursues this course it will come right.'

Author Sarah Gristwood added: 'That escapade could have gone wrong at so many stages, but it didn't and maybe that is the secret of Winston Churchill.'

Churchill wrote an account of his escape for British newspapers. It made him a national celebrity and was, says Dr Jacob Field, one of the 'turning points' in his early life.

Churchill then returned to Britain to re-launch his political career. He again stood in Oldham, and was this time successful.

In his maiden speech, he again spoke of his father to a House of Commons chamber full of politicians who would have known him.

Ms Sandys said: 'There were, obviously, people in Parliament who remembered his father in his heyday when he had been a hugely powerful Chancellor and very prominent politician and very charismatic.

'So I think he was referring to that and he was determined to try to bring that memory back. The memory of his father in his powerful days.'

Churchill is said to have felt as though he had a 'mission' to fulfil of finishing what his father started.

Churchill rose through the political ranks very quickly. He is pictured above as Foreign Secretary in 1915

Churchill is said to have felt as though he had a 'mission' to fulfil of finishing what his father started. Pictured: Churchill giving a speech in Chelmsford in 1916

He was recorded on several occasions as saying he would one day be Prime Minister.

But even after he achieved the feat in May 1940 and led Britain to victory in the Second World War, Churchill was still gripped by his father's influence.

In his 1947 essay The Dream, he described how, while painting a portrait of his father, he was visited by his ghost.

Describing the dream, Mr Packwood said: 'Just before Churchill has had the chance to explain what he has done in the 20th century, the father's ghost disappears in a puff of tobacco smoke.

'That short story tells you an enormous amount about the relationship between father and son, or the lack of relationship between father and son.

'Because these are the conversations that Churchill was never able to have with his father.

'And his father was never able to see that he became more than this clumsy, harem scarem youth. '
Ulster Bank has been fined almost 37.8m euro for its role in Irelands tracker mortgage scandal (Brian Lawless/PA)

The Central Bank of Ireland has fined Ulster Bank almost 37.8 million euro for its role in the countrys tracker mortgage scandal.

The bank was issued with the record penalty after it denied borrowers access to the low interest home loans.

The Central Bank said 5,940 people were denied tracker mortgages, resulting in significant and widespread overcharging.

The financial regulator said Ulster Bank failed to provide clear documentation for tracker mortgage customers and that people were denied the ability to make fully informed decisions in relation to their home loans.

The Central Bank has fined Ulster Bank Ireland DAC a37,774,520 for serious failings in the treatment of its tracker customers holding 5,940 mortgage accounts between August 2004 and April 2020. https://t.co/DOKmp6rdYN pic.twitter.com/YXPnDNVcwz  Central Bank of Ireland (@centralbank_ie) March 25, 2021

It also said Ulster Bank devised and implemented a deliberate strategy not to provide certain customers with their correct tracker mortgage entitlement unless they complained.

Some 43 properties were sold by customers, 29 of which were family homes and 13 buy-to-let properties.

Ulster Bank admitted 49 separate regulatory breaches of the European Communities (Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts) Regulations 1995.

The investigation found that Ulster Banks failure to warn certain tracker customers about the consequences of decisions happened at four key stages.

This included prior to drawing down a loan; prior to entering into a fixed rate period; upon seeking to break from a fixed rate period; and upon exiting a fixed period.

The bank, which confirmed it is leaving the Irish market, also actively sought to avoid Central Bank intervention due to concerns about its financial exposure if it had to remediate all affected customers.

Our investigation identified the numerous opportunities that Ulster Bank had to do right by its customers and the efforts that Ulster Bank went to in order to evade its obligations to these customers Seana Cunningham, Central Bank of Ireland

The Central Banks director of enforcement and anti-money laundering, Seana Cunningham, said: Our investigation identified the numerous opportunities that Ulster Bank had to do right by its customers and the efforts that Ulster Bank went to in order to evade its obligations to these customers.

Despite it being clear to Ulster Bank from customer complaints that certain customers were paying more for their mortgage than they should be, Ulster Bank continued to deny customers the lower tracker rates that they were entitled to.

In deciding in 2011 to only return customers who complained to their tracker rates, Ulster Bank calculated the cost of returning all impacted customers to their tracker mortgage rate.

Instead, informed by that financial analysis, it decided to take the option that cost it the least and return only customers who complained to their correct rate.

The bank was to face a fine of 54 million euro; however this was reduced by 30%.

The Central Bank said the fine reflects the gravity of its findings, after Ulster Bank caused unacceptable and avoidable harm to its customers.

Ulster Bank fine again shows the destructive culture at the top of our banks. 29 people lost their homes as a result of egregious behaviour.



Yet not one senior decisionmaker has been held to account for the tracker scandal. @geraldnash's statement  https://t.co/fTfizTAQiJ  The Labour Party (@labour) March 25, 2021

Labour Party finance spokesman Ged Nash said: It is now 12 years since the tracker mortgage scandal first came to public attention, which has now cost the banks close to 1.5 billion euro.

However, it is impossible to calculate the harm done to the lives, family relationships and finances of the 40,000 bank customers who were deceived by their lenders and moved off the tracker rates they were entitled to be on.

We must never forget the victims of this scandal, and especially the 100 families who had their homes wrongly repossessed because of the actions of the banks.

This damning Central Bank investigation found that Ulster Bank devised and implemented a deliberate strategy not to provide certain customers with their correct tracker mortgage entitlement unless they complained.

This speaks volumes about the culture of impunity and misconduct which was at play here.

And even after they were caught, Ulster Bank dragged its heels in the investigation, by failing to comply with a statutory deadlines for providing information to the Central Bank.
The 2021 University of Guam Conference on Island Sustainability will take place as a virtual event from April 6 to April 9. With "Islands Are Rising" as its theme, the 12th annual conference will feature island communities rising up to achieve a sustainable global future.

"Under the weight of health crises, biodiversity loss, debilitating storms, and swallowing seas, islands are not sinking. Strong and resilient, islands are rising," said Austin J. Shelton, director of the university's Center for Island Sustainability, which hosts the annual event.

Speakers will share examples of island leadership and innovation during plenary panels focused on the three key areas of sustainability: human society, the natural environment, and the economy. Additionally, a series of inspirational "CIS Seed Talks" will feature sustainability leaders and advocates from the Philippines, the Federated States of Micronesia, New Zealand, and Denmark.

"This conference provides an opportunity for all islands to connect across oceans, particularly during this pandemic. With the unique challenges that islands face, it's important that we all come together to share ideas and solutions and inspiration that will help our island communities prosper and achieve a more sustainable future," said UOG President Thomas W. Krise, who is co-chairing the conference with Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero.

The conference will continue uniting island communities toward the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It will also feature special events, including a symposium to mark the start of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science and the biannual Guam Green Growth meeting.

"As sea levels rise, islands must also rise to meet today's challenges," the governor said. "As we reflect on one year since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is imperative for islands to come together to build a better, more sustainable future."

The conference attracts attendees from academia, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and private businesses. More than 2,000 individuals representing more than 80 countries, states, and territories participated in last year's conference, which was also held virtually.

General conference registration is available for $20 and $10 for students. Learn more about UOG's virtual Conference on Island Sustainability and register at https:/ / www. uog. edu/ cis2021/ .

###
The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), has expressed confidence in the readiness of StarTimes to move Lagos from analogue broadcasting to digital broadcasting by April 29, this year.

The Acting Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission, Prof. Armstrong Idachaba, raised the hope of government when he visited the StarTimes and ITS facilities in Lagos, recently, for on-the-spot assessment. Pleased with the required transmitters and other facilities that were put in place, Idachaba said the digital transition plan for broadcasting in Lagos, was on course.

Speaking after an inspection tour of digital transmitters at NTA Station, Channel 10, Tejuosho, Lagos, Idachaba said he was confident that the country would complete the digital rollout plan by 2022.

According to him, "Nigeria has taken a decision that we are continuing with the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting.

"The journey practically began in 2016 with the pilot rollout in Jos. And a few years after, we have gone into phase two. Under phase two, Lagos, Port Harcourt and other cities will be switched on to digital TV.

"We are going to many other cities and following the rollout time table, we hope that by the end of 2022, we would have completed the digital rollout in Nigeria.

"This visit to the NTA premises in Tejuosho is in furtherance of this objective. We are glad that ITS Ltd has already installed DVB2 technology. We have seen that the installed capacity for DTT transmission is very high.

"I acknowledge the role of their partners, StarTimes and I think that between NTA and StarTimes, there is a great combined effort to ensure that the rollout happens in Lagos and other cities in Nigeria quickly."

Idachaba further said the inspection was reassuring, adding that Nigeria has the technical and infrastructural capabilities to kick off in Lagos on April 29.

On the availability of set-up boxes, the DG said 13 indigenous companies have been licensed to produce set-up boxes "because we believe that it is also another strategy to transfer technology and create opportunities for manufacturing within the Nigerian market."

He added: "Digital Switch Over is a revolution and it is also capital-intensive. All over the world, from America to the UK and many developed and emerging economies, the cost is massive.

"The federal government has also decided that the project itself, seeing how viable it is could also be self-sustained.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria ICT By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"So we are hoping that some of the component players will be able to go forward to generate their own funds to sustain the rollout but one must also acknowledge that the government has assisted greatly.

"Recently, the federal government approved N9.4billion for NBC to facilitate the DSO drive."

d.

Acting CEO, NTA-Star TV Network, Alex Jian, said the company's technical team would be ready to support the nation in transiting fully to digital TV.

"The NBC DG has a big strategy for DSO and NTA-StarTimes will cooperate very well with ITS Ltd to support this project. Our technical team is ready.

"We have already prepared ourselves for this switch over all over the country. On StarTimes' plan to make digital-TV more accessible to Nigerians," Jian said.
China's State Council Information Office issued the Report on Human Rights Violations in the United States in 2020, on March 25, 2021.

Here are highlights of the report:

[ Editor: SRQ ]
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The German brand Alcovit has created a product that addresses the hangover in an innovative fashion. Rather than focusing on easing symptoms and side effects, the powerful powdered supplement claims to catch alcohol after consumption and flush it out of the digestive system. It follows this up with a battery of vitamins to relieve stress and bolster the body.



The hangover is classically associated with a plethora of unwelcome side effects. Waking up the morning after a night of heavy drinking can leave an individual feeling, among other things, fatigued, thirsty, achy, nauseous, anxious, and sweaty.



Many of these side effects aren't directly related to the consumption of the alcohol itself, but rather to further, secondary effects that it can have on the body. For instance, according to Mayo Clinic, too much drinking has been shown to lead to things like:

Increased urine production leading to dehydration and dizziness.



Irritation of the lining of the stomach, causing nausea or even vomiting.



Falling blood sugar levels, leading to fatigue and a shaky mood.

In other words, hangovers aren't just the body dealing with too much alcohol. They're also a chain reaction of complicating factors. This is why the founders of Alcovit made it a goal to do more than simply treat the symptoms. They also wanted to stop the hangover from happening in the first place.



With this lofty goal in mind, they spent the next decade creating a formula that included three things: zeolite and vitamins and minerals.



The former is a volcanic rock sourced from South Africa that is particularly good at attracting alcohol to itself. It is ground into a powder that is small enough to mix well with water but large enough to avoid absorption by the digestive system. This enables the lava rock to literally "collect" alcohol and then remove it from the body.



The zeolite does most of the grunt work. However, some alcohol will still be absorbed throughout the drinking process. This is where the vitamins come into play. In the words of the brand, these aim to provide "support energy and reduce stress." The goal here is to reduce "the side effects caused by the production of secondary toxins that are formed as part of the metabolizing process."



At its root, Alcovit is a one-two punch that aims to do two things:



First, it attempts to severely limit the amount of alcohol being absorbed by the bloodstream. The alcohol is absorbed by the zeolite before it is processed by the liver.



Second, it bolsters the body against the side effects caused by excessive drinking. Essential vitamins that are often lost through excessive urination are provided in the formula, naturally reducing the side effects of a hangover in the process.



This dual approach to the problem has made Alcovit an effective hangover cure in Europe and many areas of the world. It's a fact that is born out by rave reviews and ecstatic feedback from countless customers who have found themselves enjoying a night out on the town without paying the price the next morning.



Please direct inquiries to:

Jacobo Chodosh

(954) 434-9887

[email protected]

SOURCE Alcovit
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
Big Tech Twitter improperly censored the pictures of migrant facilities. They wanted to prevent viewing of a post by Project Veritas allegedly.

The social media platform has been brazenly branding conservative posts. Preferably they'd allow a foreign adversary tweet than those critical of the Democrats.

Twitter improperly censored pictures that made Biden look bad

Twitter has apologized for giving a "misleading" warning on a post showing undocumented immigrants. They huddled under emergency blankets in crammed "cells" at a Texas detention center. This was reported by the Epoch Times.

In an email statement to The Epoch Times, a Twitter representative said, "The alert was wrongly enforced by one of our automated tools. The alert was removed already.

The alert was applied to Project Veritas, a non-profit dedicated to undercover journalism, who wrote the post at issue in this dispute.

James O'Keefe, the founder of Project Veritas, recently posted a video with a collection of images. That revealed Biden's blunder in the escalating crisis at the US-Mexico border.

The pictures, which O'Keefe argues, were taken at a Donna immigration detention center in Texas. It showed children sleeping on four-inch-thick mattresses, though some look to be sleeping on the floor.

Twitter had put the information behind a filter when it was published, saying that the content was potentially sensitive. In answer to Twitter's comment, O'Keefe questioned the selectiveness of the app's automated tool.

The Veritas founder said that Twitter is censoring what it wants to. He added that what Twitter improperly censored is the truth under attack by leftists and liberals. Twitter is stopping conservatives and assisting the Democrats/liberals unfairly. Calls to end the control of Big Media is a battle cry of conservatives.

Mainstream Media Calls Out White House for Lack of Border Access

Multiple Silicon Valley firms, particularly Twitter and Facebook, have attracted criticism. They are guilty of increased user speech regulation, especially in the run-up to the Nov. 3 election. They followed the breach of the US Capitol on Jan. 6, locked down hard on conservatives.

Former President Donald Trump's Twitter account is permanently suspended after Jan.6 incident. All his Facebook and Instagram accounts were suspended permanently.

These social media companies kicked out content from conservatives all over the platform. They targeted on anti-liberals and supporters of Trump.

Project Veritas and Twitter have been at odds several times. The social media platform shut down accounts of Project Veritas and O'Keefe's in February. A video of its reporters asked comments from Guy Rosen of Facebook.

A Twitter spokesman told The Epoch Times via email that @Project Veritas was permanently suspended after repeated violations. Twitter's private information policy put blame on Veritas. To restore access to their account, the account owner should delete the objectionable Tweet.

O'Keefe denied the report in a comment to The Epoch Times at the time. He claims that his group had not violated Twitter's private information policy.

Twitter told Project Veritas to give the reason, not to suspend them. O'Keefe just shut down the Veritas account because they were challenged. The social media platform said to delete the tweet to get access.

Joe Biden's Policies to Blame for Sending Children to U.S. Border

Biden Administration to Use Taxpayers' Money to Pay for Migrants' Hotel Accommodations

Biden Promises Migrants Entry at the Border

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Chandigarh, March 25 : Two men were shot dead and two others injured as part of a "gang war" in Haryana's Ambala city on Thursday, police said.

The deceased have been identified as Rahul and Pankaj, while the injured were Ashwani and Gaurav.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Sultan Singh said one of injured was admitted to Civil Hospital in Ambala, while another one was taken to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh.

He said all four were going towards Punjab in a car when the firing took place at Kalka Chowk.

"Prima facie, it seems to be a gang war where the attackers are reported to have arrived in a car and opened fire on the four," he said.

No other details were revealed.
THE departed fifth-phase President John Magufuli was a dynamic leader who left an indelible mark on the entire country, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said yesterday.

The Premier said his devotion to work for Tanzanians has left a mark in the hearts and lives of his people and that is why his demise is grieved by people from all walks of life, including those in rural areas.

The PM made the remarks while addressing Mwanza residents who flocked CCM Kirumba Stadium to bid their final farewell to President John Magufuli who died last week in Dar es Salaam from heart complications.

Thousands of residents lined up in the streets of Mwanza City to pay their final goodbye to the fallen president as the body was transported by road to his home village of Chato for burial scheduled for tomorrow.

Mr Majaliwa who is a chairperson of the national funeral committee said that Mwanza is a historic place for Dr Magufuli because he lived and worked in the region for a long time.

"Our beloved President was a dynamic leader, he built relationships with different people... during his service he did great things which have left a mark in all Lake Zone regions and the country in general," Mr Majaliwa said.

Conveying condolences on behalf of President Samia Suluhu Hassan, he called upon Mwanza residents to be patient, stand together and show love to each other as they mourn the passing of former President John Magufuli.

He said every citizen should continue praying for Dr Magufuli for his soul to rest in eternal peace.

After leaders paid their last respects at the stadium, residents were given the chance to also bid final farewell by waving to the late president's motorcade as it made its way in various streets in Mwanza City and its environs.

The body of Dr Magufuli was transported to his homestead, Chato, through Kigongo-Busisi Bridge. The motorcade of the late president stopped at the deceased's widow Mama Janeth Magufuli at Busisi Town to allow elders, relatives, friends and other residents to pay their final respects.

Thereafter the motorcade headed to Sengerema District and then Geita through Katoro and it was expected to arrive at the deceased's homeland in Chato on Wednesday evening.

Earlier, the Premier led various leaders and residents in Mwanza region to receive the body of the fallen President at Mwanza Airport.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Tanzania Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

The Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office -Policy, Parliamentary Affairs, Labour, Employment, Youth and the Disabled, Ms Jenista Mhagama said that Mwanza residents had a great contribution in raising Dr Magufuli as a true patriot for Tanzania and Africa in general.

"We shall never forget Mwanza residents when we talk about Dr Magufuli because they had great contribution in promoting his leadership talent...he was born in Chato but you (Mwanza) raised him by cooperating with other areas in the country," Ms Mhagama noted.

She said Dr Magufuli will be remembered because he has left a mark in the lives and hearts of Tanzanians... "we shall honour his legacy."

She commended Mwanza authorities and other leaders in the Lake Zone for cooperating with the national funeral committee in preparations for the burial of Dr Magufuli.
BUENA VISTA TWP, MI - Buena Vista has approved ordinances to allow adult-use marijuana facilities to open in the Saginaw County township.

The township Board of Trustees voted to approve the ordinances at a Monday, March 22 meeting, said Township Supervisor Christina Dillard. The township originally approved medical marijuana ordinances in April 2018, with discussions on approving marijuana businesses beginning at the end of 2020, she said.

The ordinances will allow licenses for dispensaries, grow facilities, processing facilities, transportation businesses and more, Dillard said. Its tough to say at this time, she said, but if the recreational licensing process plays out along a similar timeline to the medical marijuana process, the first adult use facilities in the township could open to the public in the late fall.

It is a market now that is definitely not going to go away, Dillard said. It can be a very beneficial funding stream for any area that decides to allow such businesses, so were looking forward to those revenues those businesses could potentially bring, the jobs, and the traffic that may bring customers to other businesses within the township.

The township board voted not to allow recreational facilities in December 2018, shortly after Proposal 1 overwhelmingly passed through the Michigan electorate. The vote was both to make sure the township took time to get its ducks in a row and to allow the then-recently-allowed medical marijuana industry room to breathe in the township, Dillard said.

As a board, we wanted to take our time to make sure that we had everything in alignment, and plus to give the medical marijuana a go, Dillard said. We have about a 70% township vote for recreational use, we really just wanted to make sure that we were being open to what the residents want.

Read more:

Buena Vista Township board rejects recreational marijuana facilities

Buena Vista grants licenses for 8 medical marijuana facilities

Medical marijuana facilities welcomed by Buena Vista citizens at forum
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 80-and-over age group are vaccinated in Isabel Zendal hospital in Madrid. Jaime Villanueva

As the threat of a fourth wave of the coronavirus looms over Spain, many of the people most vulnerable to Covid-19 continue to be at risk of contracting the disease. Only 50% of the 80-and-over age group in Spain have been vaccinated against Covid-19, according to an estimate by EL PAIS based on figures provided by regional governments. The data indicates that around 1.2 million people who are 80 and over have been vaccinated. This figure does not include residents of care homes, a group that has been nearly completely immunized. The rate of vaccination of the 80-and-over population in Spain is slightly below the average in the European Union, where 55% of people in this age group have received their first shot.

According to EL PAIS calculations, there are 2.5 million people aged 80 and over in Spain who are not living in senior homes. This number was calculated by subtracting the number of people living in senior residences from the total over-79 population, which is 2.8 million, according to the National Statistics Institute (INE). This figure was then broken down by territory and compared with the vaccination statistics provided by each regional government (the North African exclave city of Melilla did not provide data).

In Andalusia, Navarre and La Rioja, for example, more than 60% of the 80-and-over population have been vaccinated. In the North African exclave city of Ceuta, 84% of this age group have received their first shot. On the other end of the spectrum are Catalonia and the Canary Islands, where only 30% and 36.3%, respectively, have been immunized.

Only the vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are being used on the 80-and-over group as the Oxford-AstraZeneca medication is limited to the under-65s. The central Health Ministry says that the vaccines are distributed equally among Spains 19 regions and territories on the basis of population size, but each area is progressing at a different speed.

We have vaccinated everyone in healthcare centers as well as adults with need for daily assistance who are not in care facilities and their carers, explains a spokesperson from the Catalan regional government. We are also vaccinating transplant patients and at-risk collectives in hospitals with the Moderna vaccine, which is logistically very complex. Catalonia has pushed forward the vaccination of transplant patients, a priority group that according to the national strategy should be inoculated alongside the 70-and-over population.

As has been seen in Spains care homes, the vaccination of the senior population  even just from the first dose  is very effective and greatly reduces the risk of mortality among this group, whose members are the most vulnerable to the disease. The slow rollout of the drive comes at a moment when the epidemiological curve is rising and the new, more contagious variant first detected in the United Kingdom is now dominant in Spain. The coronavirus incidence rate has been steadily rising since last Wednesday, prompting experts to warn of a fourth wave of the pandemic. It is a bad situation precisely because what we are interested in is protecting the most vulnerable, warns Toni Trilla, the head of preventive medicine at Clinic hospital in Barcelona. If we dont do this, the risk of mortality will spike.

He continues: This is a race between the virus and us and the vaccine. If we dont hurry up, the most vulnerable population will be at risk. The easy excuse is that we dont have enough vaccines, but I dont know if we could have done things differently. There are no criteria to measure whether the vaccination drive is going slow or fast. But the fact that the percentage of people aged 80 and over who have been vaccinated in Spain is similar to the figure in other EU countries, and that most doses received have been administered, indicates that the speed depends on the number of vaccines available rather than the healthcare systems capacity to administer them.

Vaccination drive in La Rioja.

There is however a debate on whether Spain would have vaccinated a higher percentage of its senior population if it had followed the example of Britain and used the AstraZeneca vaccine on the over-65s. Spain, like many other EU countries, restricted the use of this medication to under-65s on the basis that there was not yet sufficient evidence of its effectiveness for the older age group.

The European Medicines Agency did not set an age limit, explains Trilla. With the data available at the time, Spain made a restrictive analysis to provide all possible guarantees. Now there is more data that says that it is safe and effective for whatever age. If the AstraZeneca vaccine had been administered [on the 80-and-over age group], perhaps more of the population would be protected.

Daniel Lopez-Acuna, a former official of the World Health Organization (WHO), agrees: We should concentrate our vaccination efforts on reaching 100% of the 80-and-over age group in a few weeks. We should be doing this by using the AstraZeneca vaccine and the Janssen vaccine once it is available. It does not make much sense that we are shifting the attention of the vaccination drive towards the under-55s. With spikes and the presence of the British variant, the impact on the elderly is very serious.

With reporting by Sonia Vizoso, Juan Navarro, Pedro Gorospe Bernat Coll, Lucia Bohorquez, Ferran Bono, Eva Saiz, Guillermo Vega, Soledad Alcaide and Diego Estebanez.

English version by Melissa Kitson.
Fort Bend County Associate Judge Don Bankston, who formerly served as the local Democratic Party chair, died Wednesday night, according to a tweet from Fort Bend County Judge KP George.

George did not say what caused his death, but said Bankston "has served the Fort Bend community with distinction for decades."
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.
Far north Queenslanders are being urged to take precautions after recent floodwaters and mud caused a spike in soil and water-borne diseases in the region.

More than 90mm of rain saturated the Cairns region in just an hour on Wednesday evening with hundreds of homes losing power.

This comes after ex-tropical cyclone Niran battered north Queensland in early March, bringing heavy rainfall, gale-force winds and blacking out 42,000 homes at its peak.

The Tropical Public Health Service said due to the heavy rainfall, they received increased notifications of melioidosis and leptospirosis in recent months.

More than 90mm of rain saturated the Cairns region in just an hour on Wednesday evening with hundreds of homes losing power

The Tropical Public Health Service said due to the heavy rainfall, they received increased notifications of melioidosis and leptospirosis in recent months. Pictured: the Gold Coast on Tuesday

Dr Annie Preston-Thomas from TPHS said while cases were expected to increase over the wet season and first months of the year, the average amount of infections has nearly doubled already in 2021.

'There have been 17 cases of melioidosis across the Cairns and Hinterland region since January 1, including two deaths and four people requiring intensive care management,' she said.

'There have also been 25 cases of leptospirosis in the region since the start of the year, with most occurring in the Cassowary Coast and Tablelands areas.'

Both melioidosis and leptospirosis are potentially fatal bacterial diseases found in contaminated water and soil, with their outbreaks documented worldwide following extreme weather events.

Melioidosis is known to sometimes have a long incubation period and present months or years after exposure.

'Melioidosis is caused by the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei, which is typically found in muddy surface waters,' Dr Preston-Thomas said.

Both melioidosis and leptospirosis are potentially fatal bacterial diseases found in contaminated water and soil, with their outbreaks documented worldwide following extreme weather events. Pictured: Brisbane on Tuesday

'Most infections occur when skin abrasions or wounds come into contact with wet soil or water contaminated with the organism.'

Dr Preston-Thomas said leptospirosis is prevalent throughout mainland Australia but is more common in the tropics, especially after flooding.

'It is caused by the bacteria Leptospira which is passed from animals to people,' she said.

'Although it can be passed directly from animals, it is usually transmitted to people by skin or mucous membrane contact with urine of infected animals, which may be in water, moist soil or vegetation.'
"It is unconscionable that your ability to pay should determine whether you live or die," said Associate Professor Lydia Cairncross, the head of the Breast and Endocrine Surgery Unit at the University of Cape Town's (UCT) Faculty of Health Sciences and Groote Schuur Hospital.

An equitable health system organised on the principles of social solidarity and equality is one in which an unemployed health worker from Khayelitsha would have the same access to quality care (including high care and intensive care) as a chief executive officer of a major conglomeration, Associate Professor Cairncross added.

The COVID-19 pandemic has yet again placed an unrelenting spotlight on the stark inequities in the South African health and social systems. Around 84% of South Africans are dependent on the public healthcare sector with around 16% making use of the private healthcare sector.

"We need one health system to effectively implement a strategy to contain a virus that crosses social boundaries."

Facing a pandemic with a fragmented and unequal health system will only exacerbate existing inequalities, said Cairncross. "We need one health system to effectively implement a strategy to contain a virus that crosses social boundaries. The public-private divide prevents this."

In an ideal system, health should be viewed as a public good and access to the health system should be free at the point of service, she said.

"The health system should be publicly funded and publicly managed and grounded in the principles of primary healthcare, which means that you start off at a community level with community health workers and health promoters as your first connection between the health system and communities. And it means a move away from a purely curative approach to a preventative one."

Mobilising communities

Cairncross, a fierce defender of health and human rights, is also a member of the People's Health Movement of South Africa (PHM-SA). Her advocacy work around the pandemic has been focused on mobilising communities to campaign for a just response to COVID-19.

"COVID-19 has shown us that the link between communities and the health system needs to be strengthened."

"I think COVID-19 has shown us that the link between communities and the health system needs to be strengthened. To prevent COVID-19 spread, we needed deep and trusted roots in all communities so that the early messages of prevention (and now the message of vaccination) could be delivered quickly and supported effectively," she said.

"This means having health promoters and community health workers who are recognised, respected and integrated into the health system."

With the support of PHM-SA, Cairncross initiated small-group, face-to-face, COVID-19 training workshops in various communities, including Gugulethu, Khayelitsha, Nyanga, Blikkiesdorp, Tulbagh and Manenberg.

"We wanted to set up the workshops ... to teach communities how to meet safely in the presence of the virus," she explained.

"We knew that women were still running soup kitchens; children were still being taken care of in groups; neighbourhood watches were still functioning. There were basic community-level meetings that continued and had to continue during lockdown for basic survival.

"You learn about what it means to physically distance when you share a bathroom with two or three other families."

"And these extensive social networks were what really kept people going during that time, and those community leaders - both official and unofficial - needed to have the knowledge to keep themselves and others safe."

She also conducted workshops to "train the trainers", bringing together people from communities who could go on to train others.

Cairncross emphasised that teaching and learning within the community is not one-directional but rather mutually enriching: "It wasnt just empowering for community members in the workshops - it was also empowering for us connected to the health system and involved in various kinds of policy conversations, because you learn every time you engage with people who live a different life from yourself," she said.

"You learn about what it means to physically distance when you share a bathroom with two or three other families, about what it means for families to have children home from school when there is no space for their online learning and only one device in the home, and what it means to have to decide between buying sanitiser and masks and buying food."

Engaged citizenry

Cairncross believes that more people should engage with "the stark reality of the South Africa we live in" as this will generate a deeper and more nuanced understanding of why people behave in a certain way.

"We have an extremely active engaged citizenry. People are intelligent and innovative and creative. So, if theyre not doing the things that public health officials think they should be doing, theres probably a good reason. And if we dont understand what those reasons are, were not going to get through this pandemic safely."

"If we dont have housing, water, education [and] good food, we will never be able to close the tap on the illnesses that people get."

A common thread throughout her work is an emphasis on the socio-economic determinants of health: access to housing, water, education, employment, nutritional food and so on. She said that the factors that determine whether we are sick or healthy begin way before we actually present with disease.

"If you think of something like childhood diarrhoea, this is directly linked to nutrition and to the quality of water that children drink. If you think of measles, this is linked to access to primary care facilities and vaccination. If you think of diabetes and hypertension, this is connected to access to and knowledge of good nutrition, and the ability to exercise in safe neighbourhoods.

"So, if we just fix the health system, we are intervening too late to make a tangible difference to the health of all the people in the country and beyond. And we can only do so much as doctors, but if we dont have housing, water, education [and] good food, we will never be able to close the tap on the illnesses that people get."

Bridging the mistrust

In her advocacy work, this multisectoral collaboration is reflected and provides a well of inspiration for Cairncross. From campaigning for a basic income grant to working with housing activists and advocating for better conditions for women working on farms, South Africa needs to tap into the energy of existing social movements and bridge the mistrust between communities and official government structures, she said.

"I meet women and men (but mainly women) in communities who are doing incredible work locally and I just feel that they dont get the recognition and we dont learn from them. We are not doing enough to tap into this energy to help us during one of the biggest public health crises of our time," she added.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines South Africa By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"Being connected, even in a peripheral way, to these movements is inspiring."

"For me, being connected, even in a peripheral way, to these movements is inspiring and I wish that our state structures would work more on harnessing and respecting that energy."

It is clear that Cairncross is far more comfortable discussing her work as an activist than drawing any attention to her personal life. Born into a deeply political family and having joined the Treatment Action Campaign's fight for antiretroviral drugs in 2001, it is easy to understand her inherent propensity toward activism and infusing a social justice lens into any work she is involved with.

Cairncross's substantial contribution to health activism makes it easy to forget that she also has a very busy day job as a clinician, as an academic who was promoted to associate professor in 2020, and as a mother of two children.

She admits that it's not easy to juggle it all.

"By the end of 2020 ... I had to breathe and rest to find the usual hopefulness and optimism I have in people and in the impact of our efforts," she said.

"I suppose the lesson is that when we engage with the world, we need to do so mindfully, respecting our energy and need for rest. Because when people burnout, it is no longer possible for them to continue to participate in a meaningful way with this important work."
OROVILLE, Calif. - An Oroville man was sentenced to 15 years in state prison for setting a series of wildland fires in September 2019, Butte County District Attorney said.

37-year-old Jeremy Gendreau pleaded guilty to a series of fires he set in Butte County spanning from Sept. 8, 2019, to Sept. 27, 2019.

Gendreaus plea also includes an admission that fires were committed during a proclaimed state of emergency.

District Attorney Mike Ramsey said Cal Fire responded to a one-acre vegetation fire, the Flat Fire, in the Mt. Ida community in East Oroville on Sept. 8.

Fire crews were nearby at the Swedes Fire and crews were able to respond quickly and put the fire out. Cal Fire took note the fire was in an area with no logical reason for a fire to start and started an arson investigation.

A witness was able to provide a description of a male who was driving a sage green metallic minivan and was able to write down the license plate number.

Related: CAL FIRE: Arson arrest in Butte County

On Sept. 27, two more suspicious vegetation fires were reported on Oregon Gulch Road in East Oroville and the same minivan was found backed into a clearing on the side of the road.

During a further investigation, Cal Fire arson investigators found five fires had been ignited, each at the bottom of a slop that threatened nearby structures.

A witness identified Gendreau as the driver and lone occupant of the green minivan and added he left the area of the fires in the minivan.

After a further investigation, on Oct. 1, 2019, Gendreau was arrested by Cal Fire arson investigators on his way to work in his green minivan.

In the minivan, a pen-type butane torch lighter was found and Gendreau remained in Butte County Jail from the date of his arrest.

As part of his sentencing on Wednesday, Gendreau was found to be in violation of two prior grants of formal felony probation for theft, vandalism and narcotics.

Gendreau also had to register as an arson offender once a year for the rest of his life following his prison term.

In the wake of several devastating wildfires, Mr. Gendreaus actions seriously endangered the residents and first responders of Butte County, Ramsey said.  I applaud Cal Fire investigators for vigorously investigating this case. I also want to thank the citizen witnesses who came forward with information, which ultimately assisted in solving this series of arsons.
SHELTON  Fears about losing control over its local zoning has city and state officials joining the front lines in the fight to keep legislative bills from being approved.

Nearly a dozen bills  in the state House and Senate  call for changes to local zoning, some of which would overrule local zoning authorities and mandate the construction of multi-family and affordable housing, regardless of existing local regulations, city officials said.

State Reps. Ben McGorty and Jason Perillo, both Republicans who represent Shelton, are pushing back against these proposals, which they describe as a money and power grab by Hartford Democrats.

Hundreds of people signed up to testify live online March 15 on several proposals to implement a new statewide property tax and override local zoning control.

Shelton prides itself on being a welcoming, safe and affordable community where people can raise a family and start a business, Perillo, who is deputy House Republican leader, said. Now, Democratic legislators who represent larger, fiscally distressed cities are introducing legislation that would undermine the local efforts of Connecticuts well-managed towns.

Let me be clear, these statewide property tax proposals and anti-local zoning bills are nothing more than a money and power grab by urban politicians attempting to backtrack on decades of their poor policy decisions, Perillo added. These taxes would be in addition to our local property taxes and we would have no control over how that money is spent. We need to fight back on these proposals.

State Sen. Kevin Kelly, R-Stratford, listed a number of bills, including S.B. 1024, H.B. 6107, H.B. 6611, H.B. 6613, S.B. 1026, S.B. 1027, and H.B. 6107, as those opposed by Republicans as an overreach on zoning laws.

Many of the zoning proposals made by Connecticut Democrats this year will allow developers to overdevelop in communities, threaten open space, endanger our environment, and upend local control of land use decisions, Kelly said.

The need for more diverse housing in Connecticut must be addressed, Kelly said, but the unique needs and geography of each community, including cities, suburbs, and rural areas, must be considered.

We must look at ideas like the redevelopment of existing structures and housing as a way to improve access to affordable housing without negative impacts on open space and the environment, Kelly said. We need more dialogue between the state and local municipalities to reach solutions that work for all.

The proposals include mandating what type of multi-family housing and accessory apartments are built and where and mandating what towns take into account when determining whether to approve a housing project.

I am opposed to (SB bill 1024) as well as any other effort by our state legislature to take the control of a municipalitys land use regulations away from its elected or appointed officials, said Planning and Zoning Commission Chairwoman Virginia Harger.

Harger has spoken or submitted testimony for five separate hearings on these proposed bills.

Connecticut communities do not stand to benefit from the elimination of local control and decision-making," Harger added.

Replacing home rule and local zoning control with a one-size-fits-all mandate from the state as proposed under the provisions of this bill will surely have negative effects on our communities, Harger said.

Perillo said he is worried any time Hartford wants to dictate policy to local municipalities.

People choose to live in a community for many reasons, one of which is the character of the community, Perillo added. What may be constructed in Shelton should be decided locally, not by a bureaucracy in Hartford that has no connection to our town.

Perillo said Republicans major effort has been bringing pressure to suburban Democrats to hold back their support.

They represent communities that are largely happy with the character of their town and, like us, they dont want Hartford to dictate local zoning decisions, Perillo said.

Harger also testified last month at a hearing concerning Senate Bill 804.

Harger criticized the bill as it would create as of right zoning without the need for a public hearing, regardless of what changes would be made to the look, feel and character of the community; eliminate parking requirements within a quarter mile of a main street, which would allow builders to disregard per unit parking needs; allow accessory apartments smaller than 1,200 square feet on large, single-family lots; and change traffic standards from the number of vehicles generated by a development to a vehicle miles traveled standard.

Lets not fall for the guise that zoning reform will help Connecticut to flourish and live up to its full potential, Harger said. Connecticut municipalities will flourish and live up to their full potential by providing appropriate housing based on common-sense, market-driven solutions.

Harger said if state legislators really want to improve housing opportunities and provide for the creation of more affordable housing units, they would require the 40-year deed restriction be revoked on affordable housing.

This restriction has given developers little or no incentive to include affordable housing in new housing proposals, Harger said.

The Connecticut General Assembly created the Affordable Housing Land Use Appeals Act, 8-30g in 1989. After more than 30 years, many Connecticut communities still have not achieved the affordable housing threshold required by this law.

I believe part of it stems from affordable units that existed at the time this law was passed, but due to the lack of a 40-year set aside, they could not be included in a towns calculation, Harger said.

Shelton zoners routinely ask developers to consider including affordable housing  under the state statutes  in their housing projects. One of the latest applications, on Petremont Lane, would add five more such units to the city stock, if approved.

What Connecticut needs is better public policy that promotes a vibrant economy, bringing revenues, jobs, additional funding for education, and better opportunities that are so badly needed in our state, Harger said. We must maintain our decision rights over local land use and zoning in our towns and cities and to trust ourselves and our neighbors to continue to exercise local integrity."

brian.gioiele@hearstmediact.com
[March 24, 2021] CNN's 'Innovate Japan' meets the pioneers developing the future of space exploration

HONG KONG, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- This month on 'Innovate Japan', CNN international correspondent Selina Wang meets the Japanese tech pioneers working on the future of space exploration. From lunar rovers and robotic astronauts to the future of space food and accessible rockets, this 30-minute special showcases the Japanese startups taking on the final frontier. To date, no private company has successfully landed a spacecraft on the moon but Takeshi Hakamada, founder and CEO of Tokyo-based startup ispace, hopes to change that. CNN speaks to Hakamada about his goal to land a spacecraft on the moon and explore the lunar surface, alongside his long term ambitions to build a lunar colony to support life and commerce on the moon. CNN then meets Sho Nakanose, founder and CEO of GITAI, a robotics startup which is developing a new generation of astronauts, and they aren't even human. GITAI's robots can be controlled by a person on earth via a virtual reality headset and haptic gloves. GITI is one of a growing number of space robotics startups that could pave the way to greater space development.



Chiaki Mukai, the first Japanese woman to travel to space, is turning her attention to another challenge: making food in the great beyond. She is leading a collaboration between academics and private companies who are developing a range of innovative solutions to help humans live in space, including a hydroponic farm that could grow crops on another planet. CNN also hears from Ryosuke Sakaki, who is working alongside scientists and manufacturers to develop a 3D printer that he hopes could one day recreate food at the push of a button, even in space. Finally, CNN meets Masatoshi Nagasaki, founder and CEO of Space BD, who wants to make space accessible to more people. SpaceBD helps private companies and universities send satellites into orbit, including hitching a ride on Japanese rockets. CNN also speaks to Ko Ogasawara, Vice President and General Manager of Space Systems at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, about the technical innovations which he hopes will halve the price of the company's latest rocket and make launching satellites from Japan more affordable.

Innovate Japan trailer: https://bit.ly/3f4AVC6

Innovate Japan images: https://bit.ly/3qZy1RF Airtimes for 30-minute special:

Sunday, 28th March 12:30am, 6:00am and 6:00pm HKT About CNN International CNN's portfolio of news and information services is available in seven different languages across all major TV, digital and mobile platforms, reaching more than 475 million households around the globe. CNN International is the number one international TV news channel according to all major media surveys across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific region, and Latin America and has a US presence that includes CNNgo. CNN Digital is a leading network for online news, mobile news and social media. CNN is at the forefront of digital innovation and continues to invest heavily in expanding its digital global footprint, with a suite of award-winning digital properties and a range of strategic content partnerships, commercialised through a strong data-driven understanding of audience behaviours. CNN has won multiple prestigious awards around the world for its journalism. Around 1,000 hours of long-form series, documentaries and specials are produced every year by CNNI's non-news programming division. CNN has 36 editorial offices and more than 1,100 affiliates worldwide through CNN Newsource. CNN International is a WarnerMedia company. SOURCE CNN International

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
From a sentence of life imprisonment, a Christian in Pakistan is now facing death penalty after the High Court yielded to the pressure from an Islamist legal group. The Christian was charged of blaspheming Islam's prophet in a text message he sent to a Muslim in 2011.

Sajjad Masih, the convicted 36-year-old Christian and a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Punjab Province, had appealed to the Lahore High Court in 2013. His appeal sat on the bench for the past seven years. In contrast, the same court has swiftly approved an appeal for the criminal code revision filed by the Khatam-e-Nabuwwat Forum (KNF, or Movement for the Finality of the Prophethood). The code calls for capital punishment as the sole penalty to violators.

Back in July 2013, Sajjad Masih was sentenced to life imprisonment after he was accused of blasphemy in a text message he sent to a Muslim in December 2011. Masih's lawyer said that there had been huge gaps in his case and that he was also ordered to pay 314,500 rupees (US$2,010). But KNF, apparently, wasn't satisfied, hence their appeal for the revision of the criminal code used to convict Masih.

Sources told Morning Star News that KNF lawyers have resorted to "intimidation tactic" during the hearing. They came in droves and presented themselves in the courtroom so that they could procure a harsher punishment for Masih.

"They told the judge that capital punishment was the only sentence for blaspheming against Islam's prophet, and that Sajjad must be executed without delay," said one of the anonymous sources.

The court's ruling was announced on Twitter by one of the prosecutors which states;

"Honorable Lahore High Court accepts our prosecution argument that 'capital sentence' is the only possible sentence in blasphemy and 'imprisonment for life,' though provided in 295 CPPC and awarded by trial court, is illegal being repugnant to injunctions of Islam!"

The Section 295-C, according to Morning Star News, is part of the controversial blasphemy laws which states that "Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation or by any imputation, innuendo, or insinuation, directly or indirectly, defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine."

The outlet asserted that since KNF was founded 20 years ago, blasphemy cases filed against Christians and other minorities in Punjab Province have jacked up. Among these cases of convictions was Aasiya Noreen's. She had become internationally known as Asia Bibi after her case was highly profiled by Christian groups with the help of conscientious firms like Saif Ul Malook's. Malook is a Muslim lawyer, but mostly works to defend Christians on death row.

"Hundreds of Khatam-e-Nabuwwat lawyers are using their expertise and influence across Punjab voluntarily to ensure that anyone insulting Islam or the Prophet Muhammad is charged, tried and executed," Saif Ul Malook told Morning Star News.

The lawyer further explained that KNF has "instilled fear in lower and higher courts" with their crowding pressure tactics.

In 2018, a recommendation to also hold those found guilty of making false blasphemy accusations accountable and be given the same punishments as those they have convicted was dismissed by the Pakistani government. This makes Pakistan ranked fifth on Open Doors 2021 World Watch list of the 50 countries where it's dangerous to be a Christian.
NO words can sufficiently describe the level of grief that Chato residents experienced on Wednesday as the body of the gallant son of Africa, the late President John Magufuli arrived at his birthplace ahead of burial ceremony scheduled on Friday.

Business came to a standstill in Chato, the hometown of the late President Magufuli with many houses closed as residents lined up in the streets to give a grand reception to their departed fellow citizen, who died on Wednesday last week.

He has several times been visiting his home village when on leave and other official trips, and his latest visit was in January but yesterday his fellow residents received him while in a casket.

Thousands of residents of different ages turned up along the roads that the motorcade carrying the body of Dr Magufuli passed to his home from Mwanza, where people paid their last respects at Kirumba Stadium.

Sombre mood engulfed Chato residents and many cried after the body arrived at around 6pm ahead of the final respect paying event today before his burial scheduled for tomorrow.

One of the residents, James Kwizela, a tricycle (bajaj) rider, said he was deeply saddened by the death of Dr Magufuli, who served them as a lawmaker for 20 years, with the area having recorded considerable achievements, especially road infrastructures.

"The Chato of today is completely different from how it looked in the past, we didn't have street lights, but now we have them...Chato has been beautified," he said.

Ms Martha Ruteremla, an entrepreneur in Chato, said Chato residents really loved their leader because of his kindness and caring for his people.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Tanzania Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"Every time he came to Chato he would stop at Njia Panda area and greet us, he would listen to people's problems and address them," Ms Martha said.

She admitted that Dr Magufuli helped them with many things meant to improve socio-economic activities in the district, including building schools.

Primary school teacher, Mzee Deogratius Mutalemwa, who taught the late Dr Magufuli, said he was very shocked and saddened by the death of his former pupil who rose to a great leader in the nation and and an important person to the world.

He travelled from Muleba in Kagera to ensure that he doesn't miss paying his last respects to the departed Dr Magufuli.

"I have decided to come because the death of my former student has really touched me, considering that he has left good records of leadership for this country," he said.
The company said the products have been formulated with VESIsorb for optimized absorption, bioavailability, and rapid onset of action

Heritage subsidiary Opticanns CBD/CBDA sublingual filmstrip will also be launched through its all-out e-commerce effort later this year

Heritage Cannabis Holdings Corp ( ) ( ) (FRA:2UE) revealed on Thursday that this year, it would launch in the US, several new medical products, formulated with its patented VESIsorb drug delivery technology through its subsidiary Opticann.

The Toronto-based cannabis company said the products, to be introduced in a phased manner, would include ArthroCBD soft gel capsules, as well as topical cannabinoid applications created to address eczema, psoriasis, and local pain.

We continue to innovate and expand our clinically proven cannabinoid product offerings as we launch our initial suite of products formulated with the VESIsorb drug delivery system technology, said Umar Syed, President of the Medical Division at Heritage.

With our products, we aim to reach the broader healthcare market that includes sophisticated consumers and healthcare professionals, who are seeking highly effective products that have substantial safety and efficacy data to support their utility for medical applications, he added.

The company plans to launch its first product, ArthroCBD 25 mg CBD and 6 mg beta-caryophyllene (BCP) soft gel capsules by April 19. Heritage said the product has been formulated with VESIsorb for optimized absorption, bioavailability, and rapid onset of action.

In addition, Heritage said CBD topical applications formulated with VESIsorb for maximum skin penetration are in the final stages of product development with a launch planned in the summer on Opticann.com, as well as at leading retailers in the food, drug, and mass market.

Opticanns CBD/CBDA sublingual filmstrip, which is already planned for launch in Canada and Australia, will also be launched through the e-commerce effort later this year, said the company.

In the run-up to the launch, Opticann is presenting its products and brands at the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) annual meeting in late-April.

VESIsorb is an innovative drug delivery technology for dramatically improving the stability, absorption, and bioavailability of natural ingredients like cannabinoids, and is backed by a robust body of supporting scientific evidence spanning several decades.

Most recently, the peer-reviewed journal 'Molecules', published the results of a double-blind, cross-over study comparing the pharmacokinetic performance of a CBD extract formulated with VESIsorb to that of the same CBD extract formulated with industry-standard (MCT) oil.

Overall, the VESIsorb formulation showed statistically significant improvements for all measured parameters, including much higher total absorption (a 440% increase in maximum plasma CBD concentration, and a 285% increase in total CBD exposure over 8 hours AUC). In addition, the time to reach the peak concentration was 300% faster than the standard formulation (one hour for VESIsorb versus three hours for the standard to reach Tmax).

Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com

Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive
President Joe Biden on Thursday said he would be 'flattered' if migrants were coming to the United States because of him as he was grilled about his border policy during the first formal press conference of his presidency.

He also ridiculed the idea the surge in migrants at the border is because he's a 'nice guy.'

'Look, I guess I should be flattered that people are coming because I am the nice guy, that that is why they are coming, that I am a decent man or however it was phrased. That that is why they are coming, because Biden is a decent guy. But the truth is nothing has changed,' he said.

Biden was referring to Republican arguments that the migration surge is because of his more 'humane' policies. Republicans also claim that the border surge is because Biden rolled back some of former President Donald Trump's stricter policies.

But the president claimed he was dealing with the fallout from his predecessor, saying Trump dismantled the immigration system.

'He dismantled all the elements that exist to deal with what has been a problem and has continued to be a problem for a long time,' Biden said of Trump. 'In fact, he shut down the number of beds available.'

Biden also repeated his argument that Trump is to blame for the thousand of migrants trying to cross into the United States as his administration struggles with what to do in the surge of migrant crossigns.

'Does anybody suggest there was a 31% increase under Trump because he was a nice guy and he was doing good things at the border? That's not the reason they are coming. The reason they are coming is that it's the time they can travel with the least likelihood of dying on the way because of the heat and the desert, number one. Number two, they are coming because of the circumstances in-country,' he said.

Biden took questions for nearly an hour in his first presidential press conference, answering multiple queries from the Associated Press, PBS, The Washington Post, ABC News, Wall Street Journal, NBC News, CBS News, CNN, Bloomberg, Univision.

He was grilled on a number of topics, including the situation at the border, the Senate filibuster, working with Republicans, his 2024 re-election plans and Afghanistan - but received no questions on the coronavirus pandemic.

He grew testy at a few times but maintained his folksy attitude throughout much of the back-and-forth. His voice sounded hoarse as he answered questions from reporters he called on from a list he had on the podium. Sometimes he paused and sounded tentative as he spoke. Other times he flipped through a binder he had with him on the podium.

'Folks, I'm going,' he said as he ended the event.

The border policy and images of children crossing over from Mexico dominated the event. In his remarks, Biden claimed that President Trump left children to starve on the border although it's unclear what he was referring to.

'Look, the idea that I'm going to say, which I would never do, if an unaccompanied child ends up at the border we are just going to let them starve to death and stay on the other side. No previous administration did that, either. Except Trump. I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to do it,' he said.

He expressed no regret for signing executive orders that rolled back Trump policies and for stopping construction on Trump's border wall.

'First of all, all of the policies that were underway did not help at all, did not slow up the amount of immigration, as many people coming. Rolling back the policies of separating children from their mothers? I make no apology for that. Rolling back the policies of remain in Mexico sitting on the edge of the Rio Grande, the muddy circumstances, not enough to eat. I make no apologies for that. I make no apologies for ending programs that did not exist before Trump became president that have an incredibly negative impact on the law, international law, as well as on human dignity. And so I make no apologies for that,' he said.

He was referring to Trump's decision to separate migrant children from their families, a policy that came under heavy criticism and was eventually repealed by Trump.

More than 16,500 unaccompanied migrant children were in federal custody as of early Wednesday, according to CBS News. More than 11,500 of those children were being housed in shelters and emergency housing sites, while another 5,000 were stranded in overcrowded Border Patrol facilities.

President Joe Biden ridiculed the idea the surge in migrants at the border is because he's a 'nice guy' as he kicked off his first formal press conference

President Joe Biden leaves after his first presidential news conference, a binder under his arm

He also committed to letting the press into the shelters on the border holding migrant children, including the shelters where there is overcrowding and not enough bed.

And he said he hasn't visited the border yet because of the large amount of people that travel with him as president. He has sent administration officials to the border to observe the situation and report back.

'One of the reasons I haven't gone down, my chief folks have gone down, is I don't want to become the issue. I don't want to be bringing all the Secret Service and everybody with me to get in the way. So this is being set up and you will have full access to everything once we get this thing moving,' he said.

BIDEN 'PLANS' TO RUN FOR SECOND TERM, JOKES HE MISSES TRUMP

Biden also said he plans to run for a second term and joked he misses Donald Trump as he kicked off his first formal press conference of his presidency.

He was asked why he hasn't announced his intentions for the 2024 election given that his predecessor - former President Trump - had set up his re-election committee by this point in his first term.

'My predecessor needed to. My predecessor, oh god, I miss him,' Biden said. 'My answer is yes, I plan to run for reelection, that is my expectation.'

But Biden grew testy when pressed about a re-election campaign.

'Look, I don't know what you guys come from. I've never been able to travel, I am a man of faith, I have never been able to plan three, four years in advance,' he said.

He did say he would expect Vice President Kamala Harris to be his running mate again.

'I would fully expect that to be the case, she is doing a good job. She is a great partner,' he said.

But he wouldn't speculate on who his Republican opponent might by four years from now and said he had no idea if it would be Trump or even if there would be a Republican Party to run against him.

'I have no idea,' he said when asked if Trump would be his opponent in 2024. 'I have no idea if there will be a Republican Party, do you?'

President Biden again blamed President Trump for the situation at the border

President Joe Biden said he plans to run for a second term and joked his missed Donald Trump as he kicked off his first formal press conference

DENOUNCES GOP EFFORT TO ROLL BACK BALLOT ACCESS

Biden saved some of his most emphatic language to denounce Republican efforts to roll back voting access.

FACT CHECKING BIDEN'S FIRST PRESS CONFERENCE ON MIGRANTS AT THE BORDER BIDEN'S CLAIM: 'Nothing has changed' in the numbers of children coming to the United States since his predecessor, Donald Trump, was in office. 'As many people came - 28 per cent increase in children to the border in my administration; 31 per cent in the last year in 2019, before the pandemic - in the Trump administration,' Biden told reporters Thursday. 'It happens every single solitary year. There is a significant increase in the number of people coming to the border in the winter months of January, February, March. It happens every year.' THE FACTS: The president erred. Unaccompanied immigrant children have come to the border at a higher percentage than what he said. According to statistics published by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, authorities encountered 9,457 children without a parent in February, a 61 per cent increase from January, not 28 per cent. The numbers of unaccompanied children did rise 31 per cent between January 2019 and February 2019. In response, the Homeland Security Department pointed to figures for all border crossings, including adults and families traveling together. There was a 28 per cent rise in all encounters with migrants between January and last month, compared with 31 per cent between the same months in 2019. But Biden specifically noted a rise 'in children.' Biden correctly noted seasonal trends in migration and a tendency in many years for more border crossings before hot summer months. But while he tried to play down his inauguration as a reason many children and teenagers have decided to migrate to the U.S., people interviewed by The AP have expressed hope that the country would be more permissive to migrants under Biden than under Trump. BIDEN'S CLAIM: His administration has been sending back the 'majority' of migrant families trying to cross into the US. 'We're sending back the vast majority of families that are coming. We're trying to work out now with Mexico their willingness to take those families back. That's what's happening. They're not getting across the border,' he said. THE FACTS: Not true, at least not according to last month's figures, CNN's Daniel Dale reported. The data shows only 41 per cent of immigrant families were turned away under Title 42, which allows the US Border Patrol to immediately expel any migrant to prevent the spread of COVID-19, in February. It is true, however, that the majority of single adults, or 79 per cent, were sent back last month. ON TRUMP'S TAX CUTS BENEFITS BIDEN'S CLAIM: Republicans who contend his pandemic relief package is too expensive passed a tax cut favoring the top 1 per cent. 'Do you hear them complain when they passed (a) close to $2trillion Trump tax cut, with 83 per cent going to the top 1 per cent? Do you hear them talk about that at all?' Biden said. THE FACTS: Biden's comments are misleading. The tax cuts disproportionately favor the top 1 per cent, but not nearly as much as Biden and many Democrats claim. Biden can cite his figure because many of the Trump tax cuts for families and individuals will expire, unless Congress extends them. If they expire as scheduled, 83 per cent of the tax cuts that remain in place will go to the top 1 per cent of earners in 2027, according to an analysis by the Tax Policy Center. But's it's not the case that the highest 1 per cent of income earners are getting 83 per cent of the benefits now or over the next several years. Biden is expected to propose a corporate tax increase that would undo a lot of what Trump achieved in his 2017 overhaul. The Associated Press contributed to this fact check. Advertisement

'It's sick. Deciding, some states, that you cannot bring water to people standing in line waiting to vote,' Biden said.

'Deciding that you're going to end voting at 5 o'clock when working people are just getting off work. Deciding that there will be no absentee ballots' except under 'rigid circumstances,' he said.

'It is the most pernicious thing,' Biden said. 'This makes Jim Crow look like Jim Eagle' he said.

The president echoed remarks by Sen. Charles Schumer of New York at a Rules Committee hearing this week where he blasted efforts in Georgia and Arizona to restrict voting.

Biden said he would work to push through a House-passed bill to expand voting rights. It is a sweeping measure that would fix a minimum for in-person voting, push automatic voter registration, and a raft of other measures. Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell has ripped it as a power play.

Biden also called for 'educating the American public' on the issue. He said Republican voters he knows finds the restrictions pushed in GOP-controlled legislatures 'despicable.'

GAFFE ALERT

And, less than 20 minutes into the press conference, Biden issued his first noticeable gaffe.

When asked about getting legislation passed in Congress if the filibuster remains  especially in regards to immigration policy  Biden stumbled toward the end of his answer when attempting to describe how to get things done in the federal legislature.

'I'm going to say something outrageous  I have never been particularly poor at calculating how to get things done in the United States Senate,' the president, who spent 36 years in the Senate representing Delaware, said.

'So the best way to get something done if you hold it near and dear to you that you'd like to be able to  well, anyway,' Biden said, cutting himself off and trailing off.

After a long pause he continued in concluding his answer: 'We're ready to get a lot done and if we have to, if there's complete lockdown and chaos as a consequence of the filibuster then we'll have to go beyond what I'm talking about.'

WORKING WITH REPUBLICANS

Biden also challenged Republicans to work with him during his time in office, pointing out he didn't need them to pass legislation.

'My Republican colleagues are going to have to determine whether or not we want to work together or decide the way they want to proceed is to just divide the country, continue the politics of division. But I'm not going to do that, I'm just going to move forward and take these things as they come,' he said.

Democrats control both chambers of Congress on Capitol Hill and Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan was passed without a single Republican vote.

'I want to get them done, consistent with what we promised the American people,' he said.

'People's lives are changing. So let's see what happens. All I know I've been hired to solve problems,' he said.

During the question-and-answer period, Biden brushed off comments McConnell made on Fox News Wednesday. The Kentucky Republican said he hadn't yet received an invite to the White House and mistakenly said he hadn't spoken to Biden since before the inauguration. His office later clarified their last conversation was on February 1.

McConnell's broader point was that Biden had moved 'far left' and was no longer interested in bipartisanship.

'Look, I know Mitch well, Mitch knows me well, I would expect Mitch to say exactly what he said,' the president said.

Biden emphasized that he was interested in bipartisanship.

'When's the last time a president invited the opposite party down at least half a dozen times to talk about issues ... We're working with a group of 20 members of the Senate right now and House on how we reestablish our ability to make computer chips, how we get ahead of the game, how we can work together - we're working together on a bunch of things,' he said.

Biden said he'd like to have 'elected Republican support.'

'But what I know I have now is I have electoral support from Republican voters. Republican voters agree with what I'm doing,' Biden said.

President Biden had a cheat sheet with reporters names and pictures during his press conference

The room was spaced out due to COVID concerns

'HARD TO MEET' MAY 1 DEADLINE ON U.S. TROOP WITH DRAW FROM AFGHANISTAN

He also said it would be 'hard to meet' a May 1 deadline to withdrawal U.S. troops from Afghanistan, site of the nation's longest war.

'It's going to be hard to meet the May 1 deadline,' he said when asked about the impending deadline, negotiated by Trump.

'Just in terms of tactical reasons, hard to get those troops out,' Biden said, when asked about his plans Thursday.

'How and under what circumstances do we meet that agreement that was made by President Trump to leave under a deal that looks like it's not been able to be worked out to begin with - how is that done?' he said.

The Trump administration negotiated the deadline in talks with the Taliban in February 2020. It tied the withdrawal to the Taliban cutting ties with Al Qaeda and ending attacks on U.S. forces.

There are currently about 2,500 U.S. troops there.

Some advisors fear a total withdrawal will lead to more chaos in the country.

MIXED MESSAGES ON FILIBUSTER

Biden gave his biggest rebuke of the filibuster yet when he said the legislative procedure is a 'relic of the Jim Crow era' that has been fundamentally abused.

During the same event the president also said it would benefit Congress to continue working under current rules to get things done.

'Regarding the filibuster, at John Lewis' funeral, President Barack Obama said he believed the filibuster was a relic of the Jim Crow era. Do you agree?' CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins asked Biden during his briefing in the East Room Thursday afternoon.

'Yes,' he quickly replied.

'If not, why not abolish it  if it's a relic of the Jim Crow era?' Collins pushed.

The president took a long pause where he looked at his notes on the podium.

'Successful electoral politics in the art of the possible,' the president started. 'Let's figure out how we can get this done and move in the direction of significantly changing the abuse of even the filibuster rule first.'

'It's been abused from the time it came into being by an extreme way in the last 20 years. Let's deal with the abuse first,' he continued.

Here is where Biden presented some mixed messaging on his thoughts on the filibuster, appearing to almost defend its existence and advocate for making changes rather than throwing it out completely.

'You're going to have to  the existing rules  it's going to be hard to get a parliamentary ruling that allows 50 votes to end the filibuster  the existence of a filibuster,' the president fumbled in an appearance riddled with stumbles and gaffes.

'But, it's not my expertise in what the parliamentary rules and how to get there are,' Biden, who spent 36 years in the Senate representing Delaware, said.

He added: 'Our preoccupation with the filibuster is totally legitimate, but in the meantime we've got a lot we can do while we're talking about what we're going to do about the filibuster.'

NEW COVID VACCINE GOAL: 200 MILLION SHOTS IN FIRST 100 DAYS

Biden started his first formal press conference, which lasted about hour, with the announcement of a new goal of 200 million COVID vaccine shots in his first 100 days in office.

'Today I'm announcing that, we will by my 100 day in office, have administered 200 million shots in people's arms. That's right 200 million shots and 100 days. I know it's ambitious - twice our original goal,' he said before he took questions.

He made the pronouncement - double his original goal - from the East Room of the White House, standing at a podium with the presidential seal.

Biden hit his original benchmark of 100 million shots last Friday, his 59th day in office. It was a target critics called too low. At the current pace of 2.5 million shots a day, the administration is on track to hit the 200 million mark by April 30th, his 100th day in office.

He also expressed confidence that schools will be fully re-opened soon.

'I also set a goal before I took office of getting the majority of schools in k-8 fully open in the first 100 days. Now, thanks to the enormous work done by our administration, educators, parents, local, state education officials and leaders, the recent department of education survey shows that nearly half of the k-8 schools are open now full-time, five days a week for in person learning. Not yet a majority, but we are really close and I believe in the 35 days left to go we will meet that goal as well,' he said.

The White House limited the number of reporters in the room because of the COVID pandemic

A White House staffer holds up a microphone for Associated Press reporter Zeke Miller to ask a question to President Biden as White House press secretary Jen Psaki looks on

Biden also talked about school reopenings, the COVID pandemic, and working with Republicans

He also pointed out that he had 100 million checks sent out under his America Rescue Plan.

White House press officials limited the number of reporters in the room for the press conference to 25 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Biden will pick the reporters he'll call on but he has no control over what questions are asked.

The pressure was on Biden to look presidential and commanding while being grilled by members of the media.

The president himself put in much prep work for the event, including holding a practice session earlier this week, CNN reported.

Biden has been known to be prone to gaffes and verbal slips - he's referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as 'President Harris.' And, at 78, he'll be watched for any signs of ill health, particularly after he tripped trying to board Air Force One last week.

Ahead of the long-anticipated event, the administration has taken a series of steps on potential hot button issues.

Biden announced Wednesday that Vice President Kamala Harris will led his policy efforts on the border, where a surge in migration has resulted in thousands of children being held in shelters, some without beds or enough to eat.

The administration has sought to blame Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump, for the problems while Republicans blame Biden's decision to roll back some of Trump's stricter immigration policies for the situation.

The White House has notably refused to call it a 'crisis.'

The Education Department held a summit this week on reopening schools. And first lady Jill Biden, a teacher, has visited schools around the nation that have safely opened during the coronavirus pandemic.

The White House is also weighing executive action on gun control amid doubts about Congress' ability to act.

Administration officials have spoken to some Senate Democrats about three possible executive actions, The New York Times reported: one would classify as firearms so-called ghost guns  kits that allow a gun to be assembled from pieces; another would fund community violence intervention programs; and the third would strengthen the background checks system.

Thursday marks Biden's 65th day in office, a record for a modern president in waiting to hold a press conference.

The White House has been criticized for not holding a formal press conference and faced accusations about their accountability to the public.

Biden has taken questions from reporters informally at events and on the South Lawn of the White House.

The East Room of the White House set up for Biden's first presidential press conference

But the previous record for a formal press conference was set by President George W. Bush, who waited 33 days before hosting one.

Most presidents - including Donald Trump and Barack Obama - hold a press conference in the first month of their administration. Trump held one on day 27 while Obama held one on day 20.

A CNN analysis of the past 100 years found Biden is behind his 15 most recent predecessors, who all held a solo press conference within 33 days of taking office.
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.
Family & Childrens Services of Mid-Michigan (FCS) welcomed Joe Blewett as the new chief executive officer, effective March 22.

Under the leadership of Blewett, FCS is confident they will continue to provide the high quality of mental health treatment and support services that the community has relied on for so long. Blewett brings with him eight years of experience leading initiatives focused on the health and well-being of others. Prior to joining FCS, he served as the administrator of Pinecrest Farms, a facility providing long-term assisted living care to Midland County adults. Blewett is a member of the Leadership Midland Alumni Association and an Ambassador for the Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliance Institute for Leaders and also serves as a Board member at Memorial Presbyterian Church.

I am excited to join the excellent team at Family & Children's Services. Im looking forward to working with the area agencies and organizations to provide quality services to community members. FCS has had steady leadership and has benefited the community for more than 95 years. We plan to continue that commitment of client-focused services to ensure that people receive the best care possible," stated Blewett. "Midland is fortunate to have a strong non-profit network and Im eager to continue and build relationships in the community and region. The Midland area human services field takes care of so many needs of area residents and Family & Childrens Services is certainly a big part of that support group.

The mission of FCS is to inspire hope and well-being for people of all ages by providing counseling, education, and support.

Joes proven skills and experience in healthcare, leadership, and relationship development will help ensure continued growth and success for Family & Childrens Services, said Michael Rogers, chair of the FCS Board of Directors. We are excited to have him leading the organization and our efforts toward achieving our mission.
If a crisis grows daily, does it cease to be a crisis?

Does it become something worse, something so cruel and inhumane that it shocks the system?

Pundits and politicians are calling the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border a crisis, but the problem has persisted for weeks, and the word suddenly seems too small, too puny, to convey the gravity of what we are seeing.

This is a stain, a horror, a calamity that no civilized nation should tolerate.

If those words seem overblown, you have not seen the photos or videos of unaccompanied migrant children apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border, some of them toddlers with the phone numbers of their parents scrawled on their clothes.

They show children, packed like livestock in detention facilities, weeping for their parents, yearning for a homeland thousands of miles away.

The number of children apprehended at the border has exceeded 550 a day for almost a month, and the exodus will likely become the largest in the last 20 years, according to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Shelters are at 92 percent of capacity, according to Health and Human Services officials, which could result in physical and psychological damage for the children, health experts say.

The problem has confounded every president in the 21st century, but none faced a problem of this magnitude.

These photos show what weve been long saying, which is that these Border Patrol facilities are not places made for children, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Monday. Our focus now is on solutions.

Solutions are elusive, because comprehensive immigration reform is elusive, but President Joe Biden is taking a humanitarian approach to a humanitarian emergency, tapping Vice President Kamala Harris to spearhead efforts to stem the flow of immigrants into the United States. He refuses to expel the children, searching for other facilities to handle the overflow, including Freeman Coliseum and Joint Base San Antonio.

Acquiring these facilities, however, is only a temporary measure. It will do nothing to resolve a mess that has bedeviled politicians for decades. The result is both infuriating and heartbreaking.

Republicans call this a Biden crisis, but the truth is far more complicated. Former President Donald Trump created a backlog of asylum cases when he enforced his inhumane policy of separating children from their parents in 2019. Immigrants were told their cases would be processed quickly, but it never happened.

Immigrants waited months in Mexico, and when a federal judge halted the expulsions, the horrendous backlog emerged. Biden should have foreseen the flood, but he has been in office for only two months, fully engaged with the pandemic. This problem did not emerge overnight.

(The Biden administration) will not expel into the Mexican desert, for example, three orphan children whom I saw over the last two weeks, Mayorkas told NBC News. Thats not who we are.

Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-San Antonio, provided Axios with photos of children at a temporary overflow facility in Donna. The center contains eight pods with a total occupancy of 260 people. One pod, according to Cuellar, held more than 400.

We have to stop kids and families from making the dangerous trek across Mexico to come to the United States, he said. We have to work with Mexico and Central America to have them apply for asylum in their countries.

The effort must transcend the asylum process. It demands an approach akin to the Marshall Plan, the U.S.-sponsored program to help restore the economies of European nations following World War II. For some countries, the aftermath of the war was as brutal as the war itself.

In Mexico and Central America, poverty and gang violence have partnered to create the exodus. The murder rate in El Salvador was just over 50 per 100,000 in 2018, according to refugee organizations. Many families are so desperate they send their children on the long trek by themselves.

Biden will dispatch envoys to Mexico and Guatemala to address the problem, administration officials said. The aim is to address root causes of migration in the region and build a more hopeful future, White House spokeswoman Emily Horne said.

That would be the first step in resolving this issue, no matter what we call it.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 25)  President Rodrigo Duterte again defended his reliance on former military officials in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This is a mechanical act. It is not a study of medicine. Parang transaction sa negosyo (It's just like a business transaction)," Duterte said in a late night address on Wednesday.

"You need not be a doctor here, because you are transacting a business. It is not really a matter of medical science that you are talking of," he added.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana currently heads the National Task Forces against COVID-19, while former Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff and now Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano is the vice chairman.

Carlito Galvez, Jr., also a former AFP chief, is the country's Vaccine czar and chief implementer of the government's national response against COVID-19.

Duterte also appointed Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu to oversee the COVID-19 response in Cebu City last year.

Malacanang has said the country needs "men and women trained in the art of warfare," since "we are in a state of war against an unseen enemy."

Duterte has always preferred appointing former military officials to various Cabinet posts. Other Cabinet officials who have military backgrounds include Information and Communications Technology Secretary Gringo Honasan, Social Welfare Secretary Rolando Bautista, and Bureau of Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero.

The Philippines has so far recorded 684,311 COVID-19 cases. The country received its first batch of coronavirus vaccines last February.
Page Content

The City of Johannesburg joins the rest of the world today to mark world TB Day and through its Department of Health, the municipality is running a series of webinars to discuss how to stop the spread of tuberculosis (TB).





World TB Day is observed on 24 March to commemorate the date when German physician and Nobel Laureate Robert Koch announced the discovery of the bacterium that causes tuberculosis on 24 March 1882. According to the World Health Organisation, 360 000 South Africans contracted TB in 2019.



One of the areas discussed in the webinars is the prevention and management of the spread of TB between health care workers and their support staff. One of the areas discussed in the webinars is the prevention and management of the spread of TB between health care workers and their support staff.





Health workers are the pillar of a thriving society. They are constantly putting their own health at risk in order to help others. Nothing highlights this more than the Covid-19 pandemic, where everyday health care workers are on the frontline. According to Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize, over 339 state health workers died from Covid-19 related illness between March and November 2020.





The Covid-19 pandemic has also demonstrated to us that increasingly we are being confronted by new strains of diseases which add to already existing health problems and further compound our response mechanisms, said Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Health and Social Development in the City of Johannesburg Cllr Eunice Mgcina. Communicable diseases such as HIV/Aids and TB have also largely impacted the lives of health care workers who run the risk of contracting the diseases while on duty.





TB in particular is a highly infectious disease, which is among the top leading causes of death and a major cause of illness in the world. TB is a bacterial disease that mainly affects the lungs. Health workers are disproportionally affected by TB and have a six times fold greater incidence rate of hospitalisation for multi-drug resistant TB.







Joburg faces a huge burden of TB given the fluidity of the population dynamics in the city that are fuelled by migration patterns, not only from within the country, but the continent as a whole, said Cllr Mgcina.





The spread of TB among health workers can be minimised by the correct use of personal protective equipment, hand hygiene, sterilisation/disinfection of medical devices and respiratory hygiene (cough etiquette).





Health workers who contract TB are also susceptible to discrimination, which can lead to workers not disclosing illness and discourage them from adopting healthy behaviours. Discrimination creates barriers for health care workers to access and use medical and psychosocial support services that are important for affected colleagues and can lead to anxiety and depression.





The Citys Health Department encourages all employees to be supportive of colleagues who are infected with TB, HIV/Aids or Covid-19. Creating a support environment goes a long way in ensuring that health care workers return to work timeously and in good spirits.


Initial research project awarded to CMC Microsystems, ETH Zurich, and Polytechnique Montreal will be presented on March 18 via OpenHW TV webinar. Register at https://bit.ly/3dMIay3

Ottawa, ON  March 25, 2021 -- Mitacs and OpenHW Group are pleased to announce OpenHW Accelerate, a $22.5M multi-year, co-funded research program, the worlds first open-source hardware research program of its kind. OpenHW Accelerate will drive research in the next generation of class-leading open-source processors, architectures, and support software for embedded AI and machine learning applications, among other future energy-intensive computing requirements.

OpenHW Group, a global not-for-profit organization set up to facilitate collaboration in the design and development of open-source cores, related IP, and software tools, collaborates with Mitacs, a not-for-profit organization that powers research and development by connecting industry with the best post-secondary institutions in Canada and internationally to solve business challenges. The partnership enables the creation of the innovative OpenHW Accelerate program.

The first OpenHW Accelerate project, CORE-V VEC, is a research effort to explore architectural optimizations for RISC-V vector processor implementations used in high-throughput multidimensional sensor data processing and machine learning acceleration at the edge.

With industry sponsorship from CMC Microsystems, Canadas leading specialists in microsystems and nanotechnologies, CORE-V VEC is a three-year, joint-research collaboration between Polytechnique Montreal and ETH Zurich, institutions at the forefront of international semiconductor and software engineering research.

Mitacs and the OpenHW Group plan to announce several new OpenHW Accelerate projects pairing industrial sponsors with academic institutions in the coming months.

Quotes:

The Honourable FrancoisPhilippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry

Open science accelerates research, drives innovation and grows the economy to the benefit of all Canadians. Our Government is proud to support the OpenHW Accelerate program as they help researchers and industries engage in greater collaboration to find innovative solutions to todays challenges.

Dr. John Hepburn, CEO and Scientific Director, Mitacs

The OpenHW Accelerate program, supported by the Government of Canada, represents a major step forward in open-source hardware research. This collaboration marks the onset of first-of-its kind, openly available hardware research to those around the globe; this accessibility reduces barriers for start-ups and small businesses to advance.

John Rick OConnor, Founder and CEO, OpenHW Group

OpenHW Group is transforming how the industry adopts open-source hardware and is bringing relevant research projects to leading industry and academic institutions worldwide. With strong support from Mitacs, the OpenHW Accelerate co-funded research project is available to all members and technology partners across the OpenHW ecosystem worldwide.

Gordon Harling, President and CEO, CMC Microsystems

The potential of open-source hardware is boundless. As the industrial sponsor for the CORE-V VEC project, this is a perfect fit for CMC to connect research innovation with industrial applications like AI and machine learning where Canada is recognized as a global leader, and is well-positioned for future growth.

About the OpenHW Group

OpenHW Group is a not-for-profit, global organization driven by its members and individual contributors where hardware and software designers collaborate in the development of open-source cores, related IP, tools and software such as the CORE-V family of cores. OpenHW provides an infrastructure for hosting high-quality open-source HW developments in line with industry best practices. CORE-V is a series of RISC-V-based open-source cores with associated processor subsystem IP, tools and software for electronic system designers. The CORE-V family provides quality core IP in line with industry best practices. The IP is available in both silicon and FPGA optimized implementations. These cores can be used to facilitate rapid design innovation and ensure effective manufacturability of high-volume production SoCs.

For more information, visit: OpenHWGroup.org

About Mitacs

Mitacs is a not-for-profit organization that fosters growth and innovation in Canada by solving business challenges with research solutions from academic institutions. Mitacs is funded by the Government of Canada and the Government of Quebec along with the Government of Alberta, the Government of British Columbia, Research Manitoba, the Government of New Brunswick, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Government of Nova Scotia, the Government of Ontario, Innovation PEI, the Government of Saskatchewan, and the Government of Yukon. For more information, visit: Mitacs.ca

About CMC Microsystems and Canadas National Design Network

CMC Microsystems works with researchers and industry across Canadas National Design Network, providing access to world-class tools, technologies, expertise, and industrial capabilities for designing, prototyping, and manufacturing innovations in microsystems and nanotechnologies. CMC reduces barriers to technology adoption by creating and sharing platform technologies. For more information, visit: CMC.ca






Q. I was laid off due to the coronavirus and am collecting unemployment for the first time in my life. Im 63. I was thinking about taking a SIMPLE IRA withdrawal but Im worried about the question unemployment asks about taking retirement plan distributions when I certify for benefits. Will it affect my unemployment? These are tough times. Not only was I laid off because of COVID, but no one is hiring, either. Is it true it actually wont affect my benefits?

 Without a job

A. Were sorry to hear that you were laid off because of the pandemic.

And yes, these are certainly tough times.

New Jersey unemployment benefits may be negatively impacted if you take a distribution from a pension plan, said Dawn Brown, a certified financial planner with Peapack Private Wealth Management in New Providence.

She said if your SIMPLE IRA retirement plan includes contributions from the employer that your unemployment claim is based on, your claim may be reduced.

In this situation you should try and wait to take the withdrawal when your unemployment claim ends, she said.

If you receive a pension from the employer that your unemployment claim is based on and only your employer contributed to the plan, your claim may be reduced by 100% of the amount of your weekly pension, Brown said. If both you and your employer contributed to the plan, unemployment benefits may be reduced by 50% of your weekly pension.

A SIMPLE IRA usually includes contributions from an employer, she said.

If the SIMPLE IRA is from a previous employer  not the one you were laid off from  then your unemployment claim should not be impacted, she said.

Email your questions to Ask@NJMoneyHelp.com.

Karin Price Mueller writes the Bamboozled column for NJ Advance Media and is the founder of NJMoneyHelp.com. Follow NJMoneyHelp on Twitter @NJMoneyHelp. Find NJMoneyHelp on Facebook. Sign up for NJMoneyHelp.coms weekly e-newsletter.
INDIANAPOLIS- The Indiana Department of Health is partnering with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IU Health to host a multi-day mass vaccination clinic at the speedway to protect Hoosiers from COVID-19. The Indiana National Guard will support the operation.

Getting thousands of Hoosiers vaccinated in a matter of days is a huge undertaking that would not be possible without the medical and logistical support of IU Health, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and the Indiana National Guard, said State Health Commissioner Dr. Kristana Box, We are incredibly grateful for their partnership and look forward to getting up to 96,000 shots in arms by the end of April at this special location.

The clinic will provide the single-dose Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccine and will be held from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the following days:

 April 1-3

 April 13-18

 April 24-30

Because the clinics will offer the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, only Hoosiers age 18 and older are eligible to be vaccinated at this site. Registration is required in advance at ourshot.in.gov or by calling 211. Appointments will be available Wednesday afternoon.

The speedway is located at 4790 W. 16th St. Entrance will be through Gate 2 off 16th Street. All individuals are asked to wear a mask while being vaccinated.
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, CANADA, AUSTRALIA AND JAPAN

This press release does not constitute and cannot be considered to constitute a public offering, an offer for subscription, an offer for sale or a solicitation of interest with a view to making a public offering of securities in any country whatsoever.

Regulatory News:

Median Technologies (Euronext Growth ALMDT) announced today the success of the capital increase via a private placement, opened to any qualified investors and limited circle of investors according to article L.411-2, 1 of the French Monetary and Financial Code, launched yesterday in an accelerated book-build. Due to very strong investors demand, coming from both French and international investors, Median Technologies decided to set the capital increase at 28.1 million euros, compared to approximately 20 million euros originally planned.

Median Technologies placed 2,446,285 new shares at a price per share of 11.50 euros, including the share premium, i.e., 0.05 euro of par value and 11.45 euros of premium; for a total amount of 28,132,277.50 euros, representing 20 of Median Technologies' share capital pre-capital increase, i.e., an overall dilution rate of 16,7 %.

"We would like to thank the investors who participated in this capital increase, as well as our historical investors who continue to support our company in its mission and development. This capital increase is key for our company; it not only allows us to meet in advance our obligations related to the contractual commitments with the European Investment Bank, but above all, it will enable us to achieve our ambitious goal of conducting simultaneously our iBiopsy clinical developments plans in our three priority indications: early diagnosis of lung cancer, liver cancer and NASH", highlights Fredrik Brag, CEO and founder of Median Technologies. "We are looking towards the future, and we are confident that our iBiopsy non-invasive tests for early diagnosis will help to bring crucial improvements in the management of life-threatening diseases such as cancer, and improve patient outcomes", he adds.

The capital increase is carried out with a waiver of preferential subscription rights through a private placement based on the 19th resolution of the General Shareholders' Meeting on June 19, 2020.

The subscription price of 11.50 euros per new share represents a discount of 3.8 compared to the last closing price and 8.2 compared to the average closing price recorded during the twenty trading days preceding March 24, 2021.

Following this operation, Median Technologies' share capital will be increased from 611,571.25 euros to 733,885.50 euros, divided into 14,677,710 shares with a par value of 0.05 euro.

For informational purposes, to the knowledge of the Company, the breakdown of the share capital before and after the settlement-delivery operations of the capital increase will be as follows:

Before operation

Shareholders Number of shares % of capital Theoretical number of voting rights % of theoretical voting rights Manager 567,679 4.64 567,679 4.65 Other shareholders in the nominative form 6,886,523 56.30 6,863,323 56.22 Bearers 4,777,223 39.06 4,777,223 39.13 Total 12,231,425 100% 12,208,225 100%

After operation

Shareholders Number of shares % of capital Theoretical number of voting rights % of theoretical voting rights Manager 567,679 3.87 567,679 3.87 Other shareholders in the nominative form 6,886,523 46.92 6,863,323 46.83 Bearers 7,223,508 49,21 7,223,508 49.29 Total 14,677,710 100% 14,654,510 100%

For informational purposes, the impact of the capital increase on the participation in the capital of a shareholder holding 1 of the Company's share capital prior to the capital increase (calculations made on the basis of the number of shares on March 19, 2021) after the issuance of 2,446,285 new shares would be 0.83 of the share capital.

Settlement for the new shares and their admission to listing on Euronext Growth Paris are expected to take place within 3 business days. The new shares will be entitled to dividends from delivery and will be traded under the same listing as the existing shares (ISIN FR0011049824, ALMDT). They will be assimilated with and give the same rights as the existing shares from their issue.

TP ICAP (Europe) SA and Gilbert Dupont have acted as Global Coordinators, Lead Managers and Book Runners for the private placement.

Impact of the share capital increase

Impact on the share in equity per share

For informational purposes, the impact of the capital increase on the share in equity per share (calculations made on the basis of the share in equity as of December 31, 2020 and the number of shares as of today (12,231,425)) would be the following:

Share in equity per share (in euros): 0.6544 euro

After the issuance of the 2,446,285 new shares: 1.3714 euro

Disclaimer

As a reminder, the above transaction has been carried out exclusively as part of a private placement, in accordance with article L.411-2 of the French Monetary and Financial Code and the applicable regulatory provisions. It does not constitute a public offering within the meaning of article L.411-1 of the French Monetary and Financial Code. Consequently, no prospectus has been or will be published or approved by the Autorite des Marches Financiers (French Financial Markets Authority).

Median Technologies ("the Company") would like to draw readers' attention to the fact that, in accordance with article L.411-2 of the French Monetary and Financial Code and article 1.5 of European Parliament and Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 of June 14, 2017, the operation will not be the subject of a prospectus receiving a visa from the Autorite des Marches Financiers

Detailed information concerning Median technologies, and specifically its business, its results and the risk factors that it is exposed to, is provided in the Annual Financial Report for the financial year ended on December 31, 2019 published in 2020, in the Half-year financial Report on June 30, 2020 and in the management report presented to the Shareholders' General Meeting dated June 19, 2020. These documents can be consulted, along with the other regulatory disclosures and all the press releases, on the Company's website (www.mediantechnologies.com).

This press release is intended exclusively for information. This press release does not constitute and cannot be considered to constitute a public offering, an offer for subscription, an offer for sale or a solicitation of public interest with a view to an operation through a public offering of securities in any country whatsoever.

Securities can only be offered or sold in the United States of America after registration in accordance with the amended U.S. Securities Act of 1933 ("Securities Act"), except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirement. The Company's securities subject to this press release have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act, and the Company does not intend to make a public offering of the securities subject to this press release in the United States of America.

The publication or distribution of this press release in certain countries may be prohibited under applicable laws. The information contained in this press release does not constitute an offer of securities in France, the United States of America, Canada, Australia or Japan or any other country. This press release is not intended to be published, released or distributed, directly or indirectly, in the United States of America, Canada, Australia or Japan. This document does not constitute an offer for sale or a public offering for Median Technologies shares in the United States of America or any other country.

About Median Technologies:Median Technologies provides innovative imaging solutions and services to advance healthcare for everyone. We leverage the power of Imaging Phenomics to provide insights into novel therapies and treatment strategies. Our unique solutions for medical image analysis and management in oncology trials and iBiopsy for imaging phenotyping, together with our global team of experts, are advancing the development of new drugs and diagnostic tools to monitor disease and assess response to therapy. Median Technologies supports biopharmaceutical sponsors and healthcare professionals around the world to quickly and precisely bring new treatments to patients in need. This is how we are helping to create a healthier world.

Founded in 2002, based in Sophia-Antipolis, France, with a subsidiary in the US and another one in Shanghai, Median has received the label "Innovative company" by BPIfrance and is listed on Euronext Growth market (ISIN: FR0011049824, ticker: ALMDT). Median is eligible for the French SME equity savings plan scheme (PEA-PME), is listed on the Enternext PEA-PME 150 index. The company has been awarded the Euronext European Rising Tech label (2020). For more information: www.mediantechnologies.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005160/en/

Contacts:

Median Technologies

Emmanuelle Leygues

Head of Corporate and Marketing Communications

+33 6 10 93 58 88

emmanuelle.leygues@mediantechnologies.com

Press ALIZE RP

Caroline Carmagnol

+33 6 64 18 99 59

median@alizerp.com

Investors ACTIFIN

Ghislaine Gasparetto

+33 1 56 88 11 11

ggasparetto@actifin.fr
Lets set things straight; Officine Rossopuro is among Italys go-to enterprises when seeking to customize one of Moto Guzzis mechanical titans. A little while back, we visited the workshops lineup to drool over a remarkable entity brewed on their premises, namely a modified 1979 model from the Italian manufacturer's 850 T3 range. Honestly, this sexy beast does a sweet job at looking absolutely flawless!Today, well be proceeding with a quick analysis of yet another sensational masterpiece crafted by Pescaras revered moto surgeons. The project in question revolves around Mandello del Larios vicious Griso 1200 8V SE  a competent donor with plenty of horses on tap. Within its tubular steel double cradle frame, this bad boy carries an untamed V-twin behemoth that boasts four valves per cylinder and a gargantuan displacement of 1,151cc.The twin-cooled powerplant is fully capable of generating as much as 110 hp at 7,500 rpm, along with up to 83 pound-feet (113 Nm) of ruthless twist at about 5,800 revs. This force is fed to a shaft final drive via a six-speed transmission, enabling the two-wheeled warrior to accelerate 0-62 mph (0-100 kph) just 3.5 seconds. On the other hand, top speed is generously rated at 130 mph (210 kph).After sketching the envisioned design on paper, Rossopuros experts proceeded to strip the bike naked of its factory bodywork. With the creature dismantled, the team went about treating Grisos brakes to a premium selection of Brembo goodies on both ends, as well as dual 320 mm (12.6 inches) aftermarket discs at the front.Suspension duties are taken good care of by top-shelf Marzocchi forks up front, coupled with a Bitubo monoshock on the opposite end. Additionally, you will spot a bespoke stainless-steel exhaust system thats been painstakingly fabricated in-house. The entire structure rides on a pair of lightweight magnesium wheels from OZ Racings mighty catalogue.At the rear, the stock subframe has been amputated to make way for a billet aluminum alternative that supports a slim tail section. Speaking of bodywork, we also notice a carbon fiber fender and an angular fairing adorning the machines front end. These items are joined by a gorgeous fuel tank thats been fabricated from scratch. To give it a personality of its own, Officine Rossopuro nicknamed their menacing superstar  Ipothesys .
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.
Several of San Francisco Bay Area's largest technology companies including Twitter Inc and Google plan to keep their offices largely closed for months more despite the government allowing them on Tuesday to be opened in a limited capacity.

Starting Wednesday, companies are allowed to open up their offices for up to a quarter of their capacity.

"San Francisco is going to come alive," Mayor London Breed told reporters. "When we start to reopen, more and more people are going to want to return to work and want to be around other folks."

But Silicon Valley companies that committed last year to allowing workers to stay home until this summer or indefinitely said that they stood by their timelines.

ALSO READ: Microsoft to reopen its headquarters from March 29

They cited their own analyses of public health data, other safety considerations and workers' preferences. Adoption of vaccines, which in California are accessible to only the most vulnerable populations, is also a factor but a smaller one.

Networking gear maker Cisco Systems Inc and file-storage service Dropbox Inc said their mandatory work from home policies would remain effect until June, while Box Inc said its reopening is still scheduled for September.

Pinterest Inc is not eyeing a significant reopening until at least August, Alphabet Inc's Google until September and DocuSign Inc not before October.

Twitter, Adobe Inc, PayPal Holdings Inc, Twilio Inc, Yelp Inc and Zoom Video Communications Inc also will stay closed despite what Breed and other local government officials described as a move to the "orange tier" from the "red tier" of California lockdown restrictions.

Breed's spokesman Jeff Cretan said San Francisco officials expect smaller and mid-sized companies to be the first to return.

'HIRING ADVANTAGE'

Among the few companies aiming to take advantage of the easing were SAP SE, which said it is strongly considering partially reopening its Bay Area offices within weeks, and Slack Technologies, which is weighing a date to invite back some workers.

San Francisco ecommerce software startup Fast will open its doors - and windows for safety - to up to 25% of its 56 Bay Area employees on Wednesday, spokesman Jason Alderman said. He said the company expects to start getting job applications from people forced to work remotely by their current employers.

"Companies like Fast that are allowing people to come into the office if they want to is going to be a hiring advantage," he said.

ALSO READ: 8 techniques that can radically improve employee engagement in the new world

A survey late last year of 9,000 knowledge workers commissioned by workplace chat software company Slack found 20% want to work remotely, 17% in the office and 63% a mix of the two.

Facebook Inc, whose offices otherwise remain closed globally until July 2, said this month it is opening 10% of seats in Seattle area offices to help workers struggling at home. It did not have similar news to share about its San Francisco offices.

ALSO READ: Spotify to allow employees to work from anywhere

Microsoft Corp, which announced plans on Monday to partially reopen its Redmond, Washington, headquarters next week, did not immediately comment on San Francisco locations.

IBM declined to discuss Bay Area plans. But several senior executives at its New York headquarters have begun working from their offices with doors closed.
Islamabad, March 25 : The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved the release of a $500 million loan tranche to Pakistan, reviving a bailout package that had been suspended due to Islamabad's failure to implement reforms.

"The program aims to support Pakistan's policies to help the economy and save lives and livelihoods amid the still unfolding Covid-19 pandemic," the IMF said in a statement after the approval to revive the stalled loan facility on Wednesday.

The approval has paved the way for the release of the third tranche of a $6 billion bailout package which Pakistan had secured in 2019 to avert a balance of payment crisis, dpa news agency reported.

The loan facility was suspended in April 2020 due to lack of progress on a package of economic reforms attached to the loan which included raising energy prices and boosting revenue collection, which is one of the lowest in the world.

The IMF had also asked Pakistan to give up central bank control of the currency and to adopt a market-based exchange rate, privatize loss-making public sector companies and end subsidies in power and agriculture sectors.

Some of the reforms have been implemented since the deal was signed. The government increased electricity prices by 16 per cent in February.

Pakistan's economy had started gradually recovering from the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, but the country currently faces a third wave.

Last week, the central bank projected 3 per cent GDP growth for this fiscal year.
Napa Police were called to Raley's supermarket on Soscol Avenue Wednesday evening where staff had detained a man suspected of stealing alcohol.

The suspect had a key with a tag from Jimmy Vasser Toyota in his pocket that belonged to a Toyota Tundra pickup truck in the Raley's lot, reported Corporal Dominic DeGuilio.

Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register.

Police arrested Chase Anthony Sinai, 34, for possible charges of vehicle theft and receiving stolen property.

Jimmy Vasser Toyota said Sinai had been to the dealership earlier in the day and had asked to take a vehicle for a test drive, DeGuilio said. The request was denied when he couldn't produce sufficient documentation, he said.

Sinai apparently took the keys to the Tundra when no one was looking, DeGuilio said.

Sinai had been arrested on Saturday for investigation of a similar incident. He is suspected of taking keys from Les Schwab Tire Center, also located at South Napa Marketplace, and driving off with a customer's vehicle, DeGuilio said.

Police arrested Sinai a short time later in the parking lot of South Napa Century Center, DeGuilio said.
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.
Tavernier was born in Lyon. By the time he reached adolescence, he wanted to become a filmmaker. In a discussion before an audience in Australia in 2009 as part of an On the Set with French Cinema program, the director, according to the Socialist World website, told the audience that every artist and intellectual had a moral responsibility to be faithful to his characters and his art and to tell the truth. This outlook, he said, had been instilled in him by his writer father, Rene Tavernier, who published a resistance literary journal in Lyon during WWII and had provided sanctuary for anti-Nazi intellectuals.
press release

Graaff-Reinet Detectives arrest a 37-year-old Elliot Alam for death of Luthando Innocent Sam.

Luthando Innocent Sam succumbed to injuries after he had been stabbed in New location, Umasizakhe, Graaff-Reinet, in the early hours of Tuesday, 23 February 2021.

Soon after a murder docket was opened Graaff-Reinet detectives conduct a thorough investigation and linked the suspect to the murder.

The 37-year-old suspect appeared before the Graaff-Reinet Magistrates Court today, 24 March 2021. He will make his next court appearance on 31 March 2021.

The suspect will remain in custody.

Graaff Reinet Detective Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Nhlanhla Mpanza commended the Detectives for their investigation and the arrest of the murder suspect.
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.
The Jharkhand Government has received over 100 complaints from migrant labourers who were called to work after being given a flight ticket after the lockdown opened last year.

A sad situation

The migrants who work in Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru have said that money for the flight ticket they got is now being deducted from their salaries as per a report in Dainik Bhaskar.

Express Computer

One labourer called the helpline saying his company had called him on a flight to Chennai.

What is going on?

He was then told that the company is bearing the expenses, but now the rent amount is being deducted from his salary in instalments.

The Wire

Their plight is very bad

During lockdown more than 9 lakh labourers returned to Jharkhand.

This is truly unfortunate and the plight of these migrant workers is just so hard to contemplate.


The professor of soil science was a returning officer in the 2019 general elections in Akwa Ibom North-West senatorial district.

A High Court in Akwa Ibom State on Thursday found a Nigerian professor, Peter Ogban, guilty of fraudulent manipulation of election results, and of publishing and announcing false results.

He has therefore been sentenced to three years in jail for the offences. He is also to pay a N100,000 fine.

Mr Ogban, a professor of soil science, University of Calabar, and a returning officer in the 2019 general elections in Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District, was charged for manipulating the election results of two local government areas - Oruk Anam and Etim Ekpo.

In a previous court session, Mr Ogban had told the court how results of the election were falsified to give the All Progressives Congress (APC) an unfair advantage over its main rival, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Godswill Akpabio, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, was the APC candidate in the election. He was seeking a return to the Senate, after he defected from the PDP.

The PDP candidate, Chris Ekpenyong, a former deputy governor in Akwa Ibom State, defeated Mr Akpabio in the election which was gripped by pockets of violence.

Mr Ogban was prosecuted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the landmark case.

The university lecturer was in the dock, pleading for mercy from the judge, Augustine Odokwo, as of the time of filing this report.

More details to come..
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Commander Royal Saudi Land Forces Lieutenant General Fahd Bin Abdullah Al-Mutair Thursday called here on Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa

RAWALPINDI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Mar, 2021 ) :Commander Royal Saudi Land Forces Lieutenant General Fahd Bin Abdullah Al-Mutair Thursday called here on Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

During the meeting, regional security situation and issues of mutual interests, including cooperation in the fields of defence, security and military training between both the armies, were discussed, said an Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) press release.

The visiting dignitary acknowledged and appreciated the Pakistan Army's sincere efforts in bringing peace to the region, especially the Afghan Peace Process.

The COAS thanked the dignitary and said the Pakistan Army greatly valued its close brotherly ties with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
THE reunification of Ireland cannot be the predetermined end goal of the current debate in the North and the Republic on the future of this island, Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney has said.

If the reunification of Ireland is our starting point it is very difficult to get everybody involved and there will be people outside, he declared at a Shared Island dialogue.

We cant have a pre-determined outcome.

Discussions had to be open and fully inclusive, and people would see where the process would take us, which might surprise some, he told civic society groups at a webinar.

Some issues have become very polarised, but we have to keep trying. We do have to talk about the future of his island, he said.

Relations between Ireland and Britain had been damaged by recent events, he said. The Prime Minister and Taoiseach have already spoken about what kind of structure we may put in place to reinforce the relationship between Dublin and London.

Read More

And I think we need to increase the dialogue North-South as well, particularly around the [Northern Ireland] Protocol, so that we can debunk some of the myths and really listen to each other on what the problems are and how we can resolve them together.

But the role civic society has played in Northern Ireland has been absolutely vital and had found solutions where politics was wanting, Minister Coveney noted.

They have played a constructive role around emotive issues like flags and parades, he said.

Current circumstances are driving isolation and tribalism, he warned, particularly linked to Brexit and the Northern Irish Protocol.

Patricia McBride of the civic group Irelands Future suggested an all-island citizens assembly.

Mr Coveney said the challenge was to find a structure that people could buy into, rather than remaining outside.

The straight answer to your question is that the Irish Government has an open mind to the setting up of all-island citizens assembly. But it was about finding a way to create a space of trust and tolerance that would allow difficult issues to be explored together.

Politicians could not do it on their own, and this has been shown time and time again. Civic society was needed for its generosity and building bridges, he said.

Were very serious about trying to find a way to make this new initiative work. We have set aside half-a-billion euro to spend on projects that are about shared island perspectives.

So this isnt an academic or theoretical discussion.

Many problems in the past have been overcome by the role and the intervention of civil society groups, and the perspectives that they bring, he said.

The example that they give can be a really valuable force for change and for tolerance, and for the kind of approach that I believe can lead to a much more settled and content island, in terms of relationship between peoples and perspectives, he said.

Mr Coveney said he believed a lot of people in Ireland underestimate how much an example Ireland had been for other parts of the world that have been torn by conflict and division.

A total of 1.3 million people had been born since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, he said, and their perspective was not influenced by the trauma of violence.

He urged civil society representatives: Do not disappoint people from the Middle East, from Libya, Asia and across the world.

Mr Coveney told Eileen Weir of the Shankill Womens Centre that the Government would shortly announce an increase in funding and support to the reconciliation fund for Northern Ireland.

Representatives from both jurisdictions are pushing an open door with the Biden administration and political leaders in Washington DC, and North and South had to coordinate for investment.

Elements of the protocol had been very difficult for unionism, but the other side was an extraordinary economic opportunity for Northern Ireland, which involved unfettered access to the GB market but also to the EU single market.

The protocol needed some pragmatic and flexible implementation, but it can work to drive significant investment into Northern Ireland, and much of it will come from the US, Mr Coveney said.
Thank you for reading!

Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
The Government has agreed to lift movement restrictions until 2.00 on Saturday of Catholic and Orthodox Easter, Deputy Prime Minister Kelemen Hunor announced on Thursday.

"Today, together with Prime Minister Florin Citu, Secretary of State Raed Arafat and several members of the Government, we had a discussion with representatives of religious denominations in Romania on the epidemiological measures to be implemented for the Easter holidays. We all have agreed to lift the restrictions on Catholic Easter Saturday, ie on the night of April 3 to 4, until 02.00 a.m., and to do the same on the occasion of Orthodox Easter," the UDMR [Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania] leader said in a post on Facebook.

According to him, the measure is an important one for the believers, because they will be able to participate in the Resurrection service.
Mr. Roberts succeeds David Charlton, who has announced his retirement. Mr. Roberts will report to David Lupica, Chief Operating and Distribution Management Officer, Westchester. He will be based in Malvern, Pa.

"Dave's background makes him an ideal fit for this role," said Mr. Lupica. "As a key contributor to the development of our small business platform, he has a keen understanding of the needs of our small business clients and distribution partners. I look forward to working with him to further expand our presence and offerings throughout the marketplace."

Mr. Roberts brings close to two decades of industry experience, having held several regional and national leadership roles prior to joining Westchester in 2014. Before this most recent appointment, he served as Senior Vice President, Small Business Underwriting. Mr. Roberts earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Management from the Pennsylvania State University. He holds CPCU and RPLU industry designations.

About Westchester

Westchester is one of the largest and most diverse excess and surplus lines commercial property and casualty insurance underwriters in the United States. Focused on the wholesale distribution channel, Westchester provides innovative specialty products for property, specialty casualty, environmental, professional risk, inland marine, product recall, small business, binding and programs. The business is further distinguished by exceptional financial strength, underwriting excellence and superior claims handling expertise. Westchester is a Chubb company. Additional information on Westchester can be found at www.westchester.com.

About Chubb

Chubb is the world's largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company. With operations in 54 countries and territories, Chubb provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident and supplemental health insurance, reinsurance and life insurance to a diverse group of clients. As an underwriting company, we assess, assume and manage risk with insight and discipline. We service and pay our claims fairly and promptly. The company is also defined by its extensive product and service offerings, broad distribution capabilities, exceptional financial strength and local operations globally. Parent company Chubb Limited is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CB) and is a component of the S&P 500 index. Chubb maintains executive offices in Zurich, New York, London, Paris and other locations, and employs approximately 31,000 people worldwide. Additional information can be found at: chubb.com.

SOURCE Chubb

Related Links

www.chubb.com


WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  An unexpected look at food trucks has become one of the latest successful entrepreneurial endeavors for a member of Purdue Universitys growing family of entrepreneurs.

Ariel Smith, a doctoral student in American studies, is the founder of the podcast, The Food Truck Scholar. As part of her enterprise, Smith started and hosts a podcast looking at individual stories of those in the food truck industry.

The idea came when Smith noticed an increasing number of black-owned food trucks being operated in her hometown of Birmingham, Alabama.

This stems from my academic research, Smith said. I combined that research and my entrepreneurial aspirations to develop The Food Truck Scholar brand. I attended school in Alabama, where I became very interested in the voices of Black food truckers.

Smith also is scholar-in-residence for the Black Cultural Center and has taught classes at Purdue about entrepreneurship. She also has gained insight through Purdues Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship and the Purdue Foundry.

Enterprise has been the undergirding of our American history, Smith said. I try to inspire other young innovators by helping them realistically understand the risks and benefits associated with being an entrepreneur. I also bring in Black entrepreneurs to share their stories.

Rayvon Fouche, a professor of American studies, said he has enjoyed seeing Smiths passion for entrepreneurship grow since she arrived as a graduate student at Purdue. Fouche serves as a co-advisor for Smiths dissertation.

Ariel seeks to build connections between her research and the communities she studies, Fouche said. You can see her bold spirit and passion for sharing stories and taking a smart approach to storytelling that brings the human connection alive.

About Purdue Research Foundation

Purdue Research Foundation supports Purdue Universitys land-grant mission by helping the university improve the world through its technologies and graduates. Established in 1930, PRF is a private, nonprofit foundation. The foundation helps patent and commercialize Purdue technologies; builds places to encourage innovation, invention, investment, commercialization and entrepreneurship; and makes equity available to students to finance their Purdue education. For more information on licensing a Purdue innovation, contact the Office of Technology Commercialization at otcip@prf.org. For more information about involvement and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Foundry at foundry@prf.org.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to todays toughest challenges. Ranked the No. 5 Most Innovative University in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at purdue.edu.

Writer: Chris Adam, cladam@prf.org



Sources: Ariel Smith, ariel@thefoodtruckscholar.com

Rayvon Fouche, rfouche@purdue.edu
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 Chicago City Council, one of the most powerful city councils in the after New York, has voted against a resolution critical of India's Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the human rights situation in the country.

"Many members of the council felt uncomfortable (in voting in favour of the resolution) because we don't know the ins and out of what's going on thereon the ground in India," Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot told reporters on Wednesday.

The resolution was rejected by a 26-18 vote.

According to the CAA, members of non-Muslim communities who have come to from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014, and facing religious persecution there will not be treated as illegal immigrants, and be given Indian citizenship.

Lightfoot said it is for the federal Biden administration to make comments or pass a judgement on such issues and not for the local city governments.

"What you saw was reluctance on the part of the city council to weigh in on an issue so far away that many did not feel that they had enough information," she said in response to a question, adding that there are so many pressing issues in the city of Chicago.

"What I say sitting here as the mayor of Chicago is I'm not going to get ahead of the Biden administration," she said.

Alderman Raymond A Lopez described the resolution as divisive. "I am not in support of this item. This is a very divisive issue."



"My office was reached by thousands of people communicating with overwhelmingly in opposition to this resolution. The Consul General of has reached out to me. That is how much it impacts the broader community and broader discussion. I ask my colleagues to vote 'No' in this item," Lopez said.

Ahead of the resolution, the Indian Consulate in Chicago is also believed to have reached out to the mayor and all 50 Aldermen of the Chicago City Council.

Alderman George A Cardenas asked if is being debated in the City Council of Chicago, why not the Chinese Uighur cleansing.

"Why not on Israel-Palestine conflict? How about Boko Haram and Nigeria and exploitation of women? If we go on like this there are many global issues. We have many pressing issues here at home that need our attention. We are to unite communities," he said.

Alderman David M Moore said there is not enough information for him on this issue.

Alderman Jason Ervin said, "As a city, we must focus our energies on challenges and problems that we have here... Majority of constituents (Indian community in Ward 28) are not in support of this resolution. I think we have more than enough work in the city of Chicago - to talk about oppression, to talk about racism, to talk about other issues that impact the members of the community."



"People have the right to propose any type of resolution, they wish, but unfortunately we cannot support (it)," Ervin said.

Chicago-based eminent Indian-American Dr. Bharat Barai welcomed the decision of the Chicago City Council.

Dr. Barai, who along with several Indian-Americans had organised a campaign against the anti-CAA resolution, alleged that the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) was behind the efforts to pass the resolution that was sponsored by Alderman Maria Hadden.

The role of CAIR needs to be further examined, he demanded.

Hadden said her resolution was based on the feedback from her South Asian constituents.

"Here we strive and we don't always hit the mark on our values. We've gone through several recent years of really missing the mark when it comes to freedom of religious expression; we've gone through a pretty fraught time very recently," she said.

Hadden argued that the purpose of the resolution is to hold a fellow democracy accountable.

"That's really the spirit of why we should be connecting on similar issues in our sister countries," she said.

During the outreach by the consulate and the Indian-American community, most Aldermen had no background knowledge on any issues mentioned in the resolution.

"We consistently reached out to all the 50 aldermen. We expressed our views against the decisive agenda of the resolution," said community leader Amitabh Mittal.

"CAIR should stay away from India's internal politics," he said.

There was a wide acknowledgement that this was not a matter for the city council to get involved in. During the vote on the resolution, several aldermen of the council also voiced opposition to such measures.

(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.)
Armenian acting minister: EU allocated EUR 68,700,000 to Armenia for budget support in 2020

Armenia Finance Ministry: MFA's budget grew by AMD 1,600,000,000 in 2020

Bodies and remains of Armenian soldiers are kept in morgue in Armenia's Martuni

White House confirms Biden-Erdogan meeting in Brussels

Armenia acting MOD touches upon priority directions for development of Armed Forces

Diaspora Armenian writer, publicist Toros Toranian dies

2 Armenian soldiers injured in scuffle with Azerbaijan, Armenian POW is hospitalized, Jun. 3 digest

Wedding held in Armenia's Shurnukh for first time since the war ended

EEU member states to finish preparing for negotiations over free trade zone in Iran in late June

Armenia Central Bank: Economic downfall in 2020 was due to decline in service and construction sectors

Armenia legislature adopts several bills in first reading

Armenia President meets with Nursultan Nazarbayev

Dejavu: Armenia ruling party distributes money for votes at Yerevan district election office

Chief Advisor to Karabakh President sacked

Russian MFA: Works are carried out to settle situation around Karabakh every day

Armenia opposition MP sounds alarm about Baku fabricating criminal cases against Armenian prisoners

Armenia acting health minister: I have apologized, I am not going to resign

Helga Schmid meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Armenia's deputy foreign ministers resigned or have heavy workload?

Dollar goes down in Armenia

Armenia Elections Oversight Committee reports Iranian citizenship of ruling party's MP candidate

Acting deputy minister: Only 17 of 711 Iran-Armenia power transmission line towers were installed by 2017

Armenia Parliament Council holding session

Armenia to host CSTO "Thunder-2021" military exercises

NYT: Chinese hackers launch cyberattack on New York city transportation authority

Armenia President to Kazakhstan counterpart: I would like to see much deeper cooperation between our countries

Armenia citizens shut down Etchmiadzin-Ashtarak road, complaining about lack of irrigation water

Armenia independent MP: Foreign minister and his deputies don't want to take part in treacherous acts

Armenia to get $11mn loan, 350,000 grant for agriculture

WHO worries about worsening mental health worldwide amid pandemic

Armenia health ministry on improper handling of Artsakh war victims bodies: There is no justification

Armenia bloc election foundation already in operation

Russia ambassador to Armenia paying working visit to Syunik Province (PHOTOS)

China pledges to step up resistance to foreign interference in Hong Kong

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: There can be no talk of corridor for Azerbaijan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on incumbent authorities: Wherever they flee, we will bring them by the feet

President: Impossible to ensure peace in region or stay in Artsakh without Russia army joint efforts

China Daily: Dispatch from Makit: Thriving in the desert

Karabakh President: We will never put up with being part of Azerbaijan, it is ruled out

Armenia MFA information department chief: All deputy FMs carrying out their duties

Ardshinbank invited children to the cinema on International Childrens Day

Armenia judiciary to have 10 more judges

Armenia acting premier: We had recorded 40% increase in tax revenues according to 2019 results

Armenia acting PM on Artsakh war casualties bodies: We have 50 remains in which case DNA was not separated

Azerbaijan authorities plan to "squeeze" everything from "terrorist show" related to Armenian captives

Ameriabank announces a contest for bank card design

108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia parliament convenes special session

Armenia interim government holding Cabinet meeting

Catholicos of All Armenians heads for Syunik Province, Artsakh

World oil prices going up

Iran loses right to vote in UN General Assembly

Newspaper: Armenia authorities come up with new way of punishing unwanted characters

Newspaper: Russia army Southern Military District deputy commander to arrive in Yerevan Thursday

Lebanese Armenian man taken prisoner by Azerbaijan is hospitalized

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Are we getting under the burden? Then lets get under to the end

Armenia acting health minister on keeping fallen soldiers bodies in bags: What else should they be kept in?

Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation

Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow

2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik

Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center

"Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans

Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel

Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna

Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations

US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies

Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week

Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection

Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential

Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement

Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues

Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo

Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation

NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident

Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices

Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over

Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest

Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia

Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia

Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels

Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters

Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021

Dollar is stable in Armenia

Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector

Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out

Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe

Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia

Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border

Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor

Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue

Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia

Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this

Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia
"We are very appreciative of our continued relationship with West Tennessee Healthcare and its leadership team's continued trust in RTG to manage their growing real estate portfolio. We believe that we can provide substantial value and cost savings for years to come," said Chad Simpson , RTG Executive Vice President. "We have enjoyed working with their staff and value those relationships across the organization. We are proud to work alongside them to support the delivery of high-quality healthcare services to the residents of West Tennessee."

Based in Jackson, TN, West Tennessee Healthcare's geographic service area includes more than half a million people in 19 counties throughout western Tennessee and eastern Missouri. The health system is one of the largest employers in the region with more than 130 healthcare providers and over 7,000 employees across seven hospitals.

RTG's Nashville office will oversee the day-to-day property management operations with additional support from RTG's corporate services team providing property accounting services for the portfolio. RTG will also continue to provide ongoing lease administration, transaction support, project management, advisory and special projects support services across the portfolio.

About Realty Trust Group

Realty Trust Group, LLC ("RTG") is a real estate advisory and services firm offering a full spectrum of real estate services including advisory, development, transactions, operations and compliance.

Since 1998, RTG has helped hospitals, physician groups, and property owners navigate the rapidly changing industry with growth strategies that gain market leadership as well as enhance patient and physician experiences for better delivery of care. Our philosophy is to provide innovative solutions to the complex and challenging issues found in today's healthcare real estate market. These solutions include strategic campus and facility planning, portfolio optimization, portfolio monetization, project development, leasing, acquisition and disposition services, portfolio management, regulatory compliance and many other ideas and services. For more information about RTG and our innovative healthcare real estate services, visit www.realtytrustgroup.com, Facebook, LinkedIn, or call 865-521-0630.

Contact: Angie Surface

Realty Trust Group

Phone: 865-684-2891

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.realtytrustgroup.com

SOURCE Realty Trust Group LLC

Related Links

www.realtytrustgroup.com


ADVERTISEMENT

Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, on Thursday held a closed-door meeting with Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun at the latters office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, the state capital.

Mr Bankole arrived the governors office at about 4.25 p.m. and was welcomed by the governor. The duo then went into a closed-door meeting. The agenda of the meeting is yet to be made public as of the time of filing this report.

The ex-speaker ,alongside Gbenga Daniel, former Ogun State governor, recently joined the ruling All Progressives Congress(APC). They were hosted by President Buhari at the Villa on Monday.

Mr Bankole was elected as Speaker of House of Representatives between 2007-2011 under the banner of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and later contested the governorship election in Ogun State on the platform of Action Democratic Party (ADP).

As of 6 p.m. Thursday, both Governor Abiodun and Mr Bankole were still in the meeting, while journalists wait patiently outside the governors office.
The city of Chattanooga's homeless population is growing at an incredible rate. These are not Chattanoogans losing their homes. These are transients coming here because the word is out that Chattanooga is a good place to be homeless (we are a compassionate people).

I've just learned the city is going to provide hotel rooms for these individuals. This just makes Chattanooga an even better place to be homeless.

Look out people. If you thought the homeless problem was growing in Chattanooga, you ain't seen nothin yet.

If anyone has had any doubt about the level of intelligence of the people we have running the city, you should have no doubt now. Our elected officials and their appointees are begging for more of these people to migrate here.

The reasonable thing to do is take care of our own when they fall on hard times. As to the transients coming here, lets help them continue to transit.

Jerry Yates

* * *

If Chattanooga wants to bankrupt itself attracting all the homeless in the region with free housing, fine by me; I dont pay Chattanooga taxes, and I dont live there.

What Im not fine with is Chattanooga sending their homeless to East Ridge. We have a homeless problem on our own, and we are already the most densely-populated city in the state of Tennessee; there flat-out isnt room here to house Chattanoogas homeless population as well.

There are plenty of hotels inside Chattanooga city limits, if your city council feels that strongly about it, unless the real idea was simply to relocate them away from the voters.

In addition, the city of East Ridge was not consulted on this move; in fact, our mayor and city manager found out about it the same way we all did, by reading the news.

Charles McCullough

East Ridge

* * *

Mr. Yates was right in his post about the plan to displace the homeless from near City Hall to a neighboring city. The impact on East Ridge restaurants and businesses trying to come back after the effects of the China Plague could be devastating.

Was Budgetel Inn really the low bidder or the only bidder? There are many questions as to why Chattanooga hotels werent chosen to solve a Chattanooga issue. The residents and business owners of East Ridge need to know if any of the trendy downtown hotels even submitted bids on this progressive boondoggle.

Another issue is meals. So where are they expected to eat? The Community Kitchen and Miller Park meals are nearly 10 miles away from Budgetel Inn. Once they are out of Chattanooga, it appears feeding them would be someone elses problem. Thats because the enlightened progressives dream up this stuff, even when it hasnt worked elsewhere.

Once again Einstein was right about doing the same thing over and over when it doesnt work. Thats also the definition of progressivism.

Ralph Miller

* * *

Mr. McCullough, Mr. Yates, and Mr. Miller are correct. The city of Chattanooga has no right to make a plan to move their homeless population into the city of East Ridge.

We worked diligently to clean up the property that is now the Budgetel. When the transient population who was there before paid for their own rooms, the police, fire and EMS were there constantly, multiple times per day. Do you know how difficult it was to force them to leave when it was determined the property was actually unsafe and was condemned? It wasnt just difficult logistically, it was heartbreaking.

If this new population doesnt have to pay, how much respect will they have for the property, for the neighbors, or the nearby business? What happens in 90 days when they have to move?

Is the city of Chattanooga going to reimburse the city of East Ridge for the extra police, fire and EMS time and effort?

Housing is a great idea, Mr. Yonts and Mr. Berke, but do it within your own city Limits. You have lots of hotels and motels in Chattanooga.

Pam Stone

* * *

Parking 100 homeless in an East Ridge hotel for 90 days is like putting a band-aid on a gunshot wound and a dirty trick on the town of East Ridge. Typically, the chronically homeless have drug, alcohol, and psychiatric issues and having them live en masse greatly magnifies the dangers which also attracts drug dealers, prostitutes and pimps.

Many homeless prefer to panhandle to make money. I was at a convenience store on Bonny Oaks a few years ago and a homeless panhandler who worked the Lee Highway-Bonny Oaks area boasted to me that he made $500 on a slow day and almost double on Sundays; $4,000 weekly, tax free. He said he had come to town on a bus from Indiana, to work the area.

Currently, Los Angeles and other California cities are housing many of their homeless in hotels. Project Room Key. These hotels become infested with lice, bed bugs, rodents, etc. and there is no way to do effective pest control with rooms fully and constantly occupied. Very rapidly, these hotels become trashed and the area becomes a magnet for very unsavory types.

I have heard stories that were frightening and shocking. There needs to be another permanent solution for getting the homeless off the streets. Why not buy up an area near the current shelters and set up military style barracks? It would be adequate enough.

Leslie Mitts
2020 Public Transit Change in Ridership from 2019

San Francisco: -67.0%

Washington, D.C.: -65.4%

Boston: -57.4%

Chicago: -56.7%

New York City: -55.6%

Seattle: -53.1%

Atlanta: -51.1%

Los Angeles: -42.5%

Dallas: -41.6%

Houston: -40.4%

Miami: -39.8%

As public transit adjusts to a post-COVID world, watch for it to be more flexible, less focused on rush-hour peaks and more focused on the kinds of partnerships that build equity.Im of the mind that cities will recover. Its a question of when, remarked Chris Snyder , Europe CEO and senior vice president of expansion at Via, an on-demand private mobility provider partnering with public transit systems across the United States and Europe.That means that transit demand will as well, Snyder added, in a recent webinar with CoMotion LIVE to discuss the future of public transit. But its going to take time, maybe years, which means we have an opportunity now to shape how we recover.It was roughly a year ago that transit ridership fell off the proverbial cliff as the nation all but halted in its tracks in an unprecedented move to slow the transmission of COVID-19. These efforts emptied buses, trains and freeways for not only weeks, but months, and the fallout for public systems like transit has been nothing less than monumental.Ridership on the nations transit systems fell 53.3 percent in 2020, according to the latest statistics released by the American Public Transportation Association. Major systems like those serving the New York City metro region  which make up a third of all transit trips in the country -- were down 55.6 percent in 2020.Commuter rail systems  those which tend to serve white-collar suburbanites traveling into downtown workplaces  seemed to crater the deepest, with ridership declining 65.6 percent, as workers decamped to home offices. Subway ridership declined 60.9 percent, bus ridership fell 45.5 percent and light-rail ridership declined 54.4 percent, according to the APTA report.The ridership declines in 2020 followed a year when the publics use of transit seemed to be turning a corner. Ridership in 2019 was up 0.30 percent following several years of declines.To save transit, Congress sent $30.5 billion in aid in its latest round of stimulus funding to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. This follows two other stimulus packages last year sending $39 billion to transit.As transit recovers from the pandemic, watch for it to respond quicker to disruptions, and expect to see more partnerships with other mobility providers  like Via  say transit watchers.What were seeing is the need to pivot your needs to more flexible modes of transportation, said Lerin Jensen, a communications spokeswoman for TransLoc, a transit tech company and subsidiary of Ford Mobility, and host of The Movement Podcast I think if weve learned anything from this pandemic, its no longer time to ask riders to adjust their lives to transit, but instead, its time to adjust transit to the lives of riders, said Jensen, in her comments during the webinar.The pandemic proved that cities and transit can respond quickly when they need to, said Karen Vancluysen , secretary general of POLIS Network, made up of cities and regions in Europe dedicated to growing transportation innovation.They [cities] really stepped into the front lines, and they showed that they can also be agile and quick. And its not just the private sector who can move fast. So that, I think, is a very encouraging sign, said Vancluysen in some of her comments with CoMotion.In numerous U.S. cities, transit responded to the pandemic by altering service  cutting it back in some locations, while expanding in others, such as transporting hospital workers. In a number of cities, buses were deployed to neighborhoods to serve as mobile Wi-Fi hot spots In the past, transit was generally planned around the need for increased service during rush hour peaks. With rush hour peaks leveling off because of less commuter traffic, transit in the future could be easier to plan and manage, said Snyder.It is fundamentally easier to serve flat demand rather than peak demand, he added.The recovery of public transit will depend on a transportation system that's interactive, equitable, convenient and affordable  made up of public and private sources  to compete with the personal car, said Vancluysen.And that means that we really need all sustainable modes to join forces and come together, said Vancluysen, as she advocated for new business models and newly structured public-private partnerships, especially when it comes to those new mobility services.The future for transit  and cities  is still largely to be determined. Will cities enact tolling and congestion pricing programs to cut down on personal car use and generate new funding for transit? Will more than just todays small fraction of urban dwellers use transit and shared mobility on a regular basis?Trends like mobility as a service (MaaS), a shorthand for the use of technology to achieve fully integrated transportation systems, have been slow to take off. David Zipper, a visiting fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School's Taubman Center for State and Local Government, speaking at the Urbanism Next conference last week, said transit and transportation in the U.S. still has much room for evolving.As interesting as I think MaaS is  none of them that I can see have really driven mode-shift, said Zipper. So, until that happens, Im going to be a sort of like supportive skeptic of MaaS, because I want to see it work. Because I support the goals of reducing the role of automobiles in cities, but lets not kid ourselves, we dont have evidence that thats happened yet, anywhere.Still, cities have proved to be dynamic in the past, and they will be in the future, said Snyder.I think across the board, Ive been, frankly, shocked, if not very surprised by how quickly things have moved, which is just a very good sign, he added.

- Fluidra has reached an agreement to acquire the "Splash and Zen business" from Realco SA. The Business generated gross sales of approximately 4.9 million euros in 2020. Closing of the transaction is expected to occur in September 2021.

- The price for the business comprises a fixed payment of 3.5 million euros and three earn-out payments equal to 10% of the business's gross sales in 2022, 2023 and 2024

- Splash and Zen customers will now benefit from Fluidra's full range of products dedicated to the mass market

BARCELONA, Spain, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Manufacturas Gre SAU, an indirectly wholly-owned subsidiary of Fluidra, signed on 24 March 2021 an asset purchase agreement by virtue of which it has agreed to acquire from the Belgian company Realco SA a business consisting in the sale and distribution in Belgium of a range of pool and spa maintenance products under the commercial trademarks "Splash" and "Zen" (the "Splash & Zen Business").

The Splash & Zen Business gross sales for the financial year closed on 31 December 2020 was approximately 4.9 million Euros, featuring encouraging growth prospects for 2021. The closing of the transaction is expected to take place in September 2021, once all customary conditions precedent have been completed. The purchase price agreed consists in a fixed payment of EUR 3.5Mn, plus three earn-out payments equal to ten per cent (10%) of the Splash & Zen Business's gross sales each, over the years 2022, 2023 and 2024.

This Business will be integrated within Gre's existing operations, expanding its business in Belgium through Gre's leading product portfolio, while providing an improved service to the extended customer base and allowing Fluidra to become mass market leaders in the country.

"The Splash and Zen brands are very well known in Belgium and their acquisition will allow us to reach out to a large and loyal customer base with a wider product offering," said Bruce Brooks, Chief Executive Officer of Fluidra. "This combination creates a compelling opportunity to better serve our customers and increase our growth in this important market."

SOURCE Fluidra
(CNN)  North Korea launched two ballistic missiles on Thursday, according to an intelligence assessment, a senior US official tells CNN.

It is not known yet whether the missiles were short, medium or long range, such as an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The US military and intelligence community is still analyzing data from the test launch to determine what kind of missile was fired and how far it went.

The US tracks all North Korean weapons tests through radar and satellites, which are able to detect heat signatures of a missile launch almost immediately.

Earlier in the day, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff told reporters that North Korea had launched unidentified projectiles toward the sea between the Korean peninsula and Japan.

"South Korean military has strengthened its surveillance and maintaining readiness in close cooperation with the US," the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

According to Japan's Defense Ministry, the projectile is likely to have landed outside Japanese territory and its exclusive economic zone. Japan's Coast Guard has warned ships to be on the lookout for falling debris.

The second test in less than a week

Last weekend, North Korea carried out its first weapons test since US President Joe Biden took office, according to three US officials, launching two projectiles in a move that senior administration officials downplayed as falling "on the low end of the spectrum" of provocations.

Officials and experts had anticipated that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would attempt to send a message to the Biden administration about the country's importance in the region.

In that test, one US official told CNN that North Korea had launched short-range projectiles, possibly artillery or cruise missiles, not ballistic missiles -- a key distinction underscored the Biden administration's view that it was not a serious breach and will not prevent the US from pursuing diplomacy with Pyongyang.

But in a statement to the Senate Armed Forces Committee on March 16, US Air Force General Glen VanHerck warned that the isolated regime could go further.

Pyongyang has "indicated that it is no longer bound by the unilateral nuclear and ICBM testing moratorium announced in 2018, suggesting that Kim Jong Un may begin flight testing an improved ICBM design in the near future," he said.

'When we practice attacking them, they practice nuking us'

A ballistic missile launch is a violation of UN Security Council resolutions, and "that's going to make it a little harder for the Biden people," said Jeffrey Lewis, a professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, which specializes in open-source intelligence.

Lewis, who previously described the weekend's short-range launches as a "two" out of 10, told CNN on Wednesday evening that the new ballistic launches would be "more than a two."

But the launch wasn't entirely unexpected, coming days after the US Secretary of State and Defense Secretary visited the region and following a joint US-South Korea military exercise. "When we practice attacking them, they practice nuking us. that's just the yin and the yang of the thing," said Lewis.

Though it remains unclear whether exactly what kind of ballistic missile was launched, Lewis said it seemed unlikely to be the more powerful long-range missile.

"For really long range missiles, they tended to be picked up when they went up, and they stay aloft for 10-20 minutes. With the ICMBs, we heard about the launch before they came down, and that was a good give away," he said.

"This time, they went up and they came down."

This story is developing and will be updated.

Thi story was first published on CNN.com, "North Korea fires two ballistic missiles, senior US official says."
Christian relationship guru Derrick Jaxn admits extramarital affairs; wife says God has forgiven him

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

Gripping tightly to his forgiving wifes hand on Monday, popular Christian relationship guru Derrick Jaxn, who is well known for preaching a message that black men don't cheat, confessed to his millions of social media followers that he had been unfaithful to his wife multiple times.

This chapter of our marriage was one that was preceded by a marriage that I completely failed," Jaxn (also known as Jackson) revealed in a video posted on Facebook, with his wife Da'Naia by his side.



"I would say it started around August or September of last year. But a lot has been said already about what was the cause. And some of it is true, some of it is completely false. But the truth is, and Im saying it here now, is that Derek Jackson was involved with other women outside the marriage."

"And by involved, I want to be clear: Im not just talking about casually kicking it maybe at lunch or something like that," he continued. "Im talking about as serious as sex, sexual flirtation and that kind of thing."

Jaxns confession comes just days after vlogger Tasha K. interviewed a woman identified as Candice De Medeiros, who said she had an affair with Jaxn. She alleges that Jaxn told her he was separated from his wife of four years.

De Medeiros said that last July, Jaxn planned a lavish Miami trip during which they had sex. She claimed that he also took her to his marital home in Atlanta, where they also connected while his family was away.

All of it falls under the umbrella of inappropriate, cheating, affairs, stepping out. Definitely not in line with the vows that I took and definitely not in the line with the biblical standard of what it means to be faithful, which is the standard that Im going by now, Jaxn admitted Monday.

He further stated that he previously confessed everything to his wife and wanted to confess publicly to be transparent.

Im saying this publicly, not because Im married to you guys," he said. "First and foremost, Im accountable to God, and then I have to be accountable to my wife in which Ive already had this conversation."

Jaxn apologized for not practicing the messages he has been preaching and made clear that he did not stand by his behavior.

Now that its been made so public, its important that I, first off, let you guys know that I do not stand by those actions. I dont want to encourage anybody to do that. And then secondly, I know that I cannot build a platform preaching certain things, preaching against certain things, and then in my real life, live contrary to that for any amount of time or any length of time to any extent and think that I cant be held accountable," he said.

The same way that I preach that men and women in this situation need to face consequences for their actions, deserve to be held accountable, guess what? Derrick Jackson is no exception. Hes not exempt from that. Im also not a victim. Nobody made me do this. She didnt make me or push me to do it. The next person didnt influence me "

When he asked his wife if she wanted to say anything after his confession, Da'Naia Jackson said she agreed with everything her husband said. She made it clear that her decision to remain by his side should not be interpreted as tolerating his actions.

She explained that she had been flooded with messages asking, why havent I left? She revealed that she did initially leave her husband when she learned of his indiscretions.

The answer is: when I found out about it, I left. I did not hesitate or waste time to do so. And I stayed gone. No matter how many times he came, I stayed gone. And stood firm on 'Im not coming back.' And I did not come back until I see a shift and change in his mentality in how he carried himself, in how he presented himself in conversations that we were able to have, that we have never been able to have in just 12 years of knowing each other, she detailed.

We were able to have these dialogues. [I] said, 'OK Lord, this is something that youve had your hand on.' And this was with me being completely removed from his life, and in him pursuing God, continuing to pursue God and continuing to eliminate these things that led up to the catastrophe that you guys are seeing for the first time."

She added that she and her husband are getting counseling, and men of God are currently guiding him.

I forgave him. And most importantly, God has first forgiven him, and I also forgive the others as well. And with that, we are free and moving forward. So thats all I have, she concluded.

Jaxn apologized to his fans after his wifes comments and said he understood if people didnt want to listen to him again after hearing about his sins.

I get it. [To] some of you, all this may have come as a huge shock, a huge disappointment. I let a lot of you down," he said. "If youve had a perspective shift on who Derrick [is], hopefully, its away from anything remotely close to perfection, and its simply that I am a human. And that does not justify anything that I did, but I dont want anybody out there putting me on a pedestal."

"If you did, then I hate that you did that," he continued. "Maybe I gave you cause. I apologize if I did. For those who are saying, 'Derrick, I dont ever want to listen to you again,' its understandable. I appreciate you while I had your support.

Jackson is now promoting his latest book, titled Heal Together.

No matter how badly youve been hurt in the past or present, God didnt give you a desire for a healthy marriage without also providing an action plan to manifest it into your reality, a blurb about the book on his website reads.
Lawyers for jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny sounded the alarm Wednesday over the politician's deteriorating health in prison and demanded immediate access, saying he complained of back pain and leg numbness

Moscow, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Mar, 2021 ) :Lawyers for jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny sounded the alarm Wednesday over the politician's deteriorating health in prison and demanded immediate access, saying he complained of back pain and leg numbness.

Last August President Vladimir Putin's most prominent critic survived a near-fatal poisoning with Novichok, a military-grade nerve agent, and was flown to Germany for treatment.

The 44-year-old was arrested upon his return to Russia in January and was sentenced to two-and-a-half-years in jail the following month. He is serving his sentence outside Moscow, in a penal colony notorious for harsh discipline.

Navalny's lawyer Olga Mikhailova said on Wednesday he had recently been complaining of strong back pain, adding that his leg went numb this week.

The opposition politician had seen a neurologist but the doctor had not said what was wrong with him, Mikhailova said, adding that Navalny had simply been given ibuprofen.

"That's all his treatment," she told AFP, implying that the painkiller did not help, while his leg went numb on Tuesday.

"I don't know what's wrong with him. He should be seen by a proper doctor," she said.

Mikhailova said she was not allowed to see Navalny on Wednesday.

Navalny's team expressed strong concern.

The opposition politician's right-hand man Leonid Volkov suggested the prison administration might be covering up the fact that he had been transferred to a prison infirmary.

"We don't know where Alexei Navalny is and why they are hiding him from his lawyers," Volkov said on Facebook.

Maria Pevchikh, head of investigations at Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation said: "The rapid deterioration of his health condition raises our extreme concerns.""We believe that Navalny's life is in danger and demand immediate access to him for his lawyers," she tweeted.

Last month Navalny was sentenced to two and a half years in a penal colony for breaching parole terms while in Germany recovering from the poisoning attack.
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.
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.
IDEMIA, global leader in Augmented Identity, and Cybernetica, leader in secure data transmissions and digital identity, partner up to offer governments and other interested parties a new two-in-one digital ID solution.

The solution aims to reinforce trust in mobile-based ID authentication and qualified signatures when using remote online services.

This partnership increases value for eService providers and citizens by offering strong mobile authentication and digital signatures. It enables reliable and convenient access to eServices regardless of location, by turning a citizen's smartphone or tablet into a highly-secure authentication and signing device.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005345/en/

(Photo: Business Wire)

Cybernetica's technology, SplitKey, complements IDEMIA's digital ID solutions based on biometrics in order to better meet the diverse needs of governments with a mobile-app and cloud-based approach. These solutions enable secure authentication and qualified signatures in accordance with the EU regulation (eIDAS).

SplitKey uses innovative cryptographic solutions. To ensure security, authentication and signing are only successful when all parts of the person's credentials (i.e. private keys) stored between their smart device and the SplitKey host's server act together across the devices. SplitKey currently assures 70 million transactions a month all over Europe, made by millions of users across hundreds of eServices.

IDEMIA's digital ID solution, IDway, facilitates ID issuance and authentication and is customizable to meet specific national technical and regulatory requirements. Governments can issue an airtight digital ID based on a national database or ID document.

"We welcome the synergy of combining Cybernetica's unique expertise in developing digital identity technology with IDEMIA's outstanding position around the world. We are focused on delivering technology that helps people securely interact in an increasingly connected world. Our partnership with IDEMIA, the global leader in Augmented Identity, is a step towards the widespread use of secure mobile authentication and digital signing services globally," said Oliver Vaartnou, Chairman of the Management Board at Cybernetica.

"We are delighted to partner with Cybernetica, whose unique role in building the eGovernance ecosystem in Estonia is a global reference. Establishing a secure authentication and eSignature via smartphones is becoming increasingly sought after by many citizens. Cybernetica's technology fits perfectly with our Digital ID solutions so that we can always support governments as they roll out trusted ID systems among their populations." said Pierre Lelievre, IDEMIA Senior Vice President Digital Identity Public Security Identity.

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 Follow @IDEMIAGroup on Twitter

About Cybernetica

Cybernetica has over 20-years of experience in building future-proof products that rely on research and development. The company has had an integral role in building Estonia's unique e-governance ecosystem, notably the digital identity and secure data exchange infrastructure, and the secure internet voting system. In the digital identity space, the company developed the concept for the original ID-card infrastructure along with supporting legislation in Estonia and has consulted various governments on the topic. SplitKey technology was created by combining Cybernetica's experiences in the digital identity domain and strength in research and development in cryptography. Currently Cybernetica's technologies are used in 35 countries all over the world, from Asia to North America to the Caribbean and more.

For more information on Cybernetica, visit cyber.ee Follow @cybernetica on Twitter.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005345/en/

Contacts:

Press

Hanna Sebbah idemia@havas.com

Press contact for Cybernetica:

Mari Krusten, Head of PR and Marketing

e-mail press@cyber.ee

phone +372 524 0742
Egyptian Streets (Link: Catch Egypt's Pharaohs' Golden Parade from Tahrir to National Museum on April 3)

Photo Courtesy: Mohamed Reyad

Egypts Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced that the Pharaohs Golden parade, where 22 mummies will be transferred from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, is set to take place on April 3.

The mummies that will be transferred include Pharaoh Ramses II; Pharaoh Ramses IX; Pharaoh Ramses VI; Pharaoh Ramses V; Pharaoh Seti I; Pharaoh Seqenenre; and Pharaoh Thutmose III, as well as Queen Hatshepsut; QueenMeritamun, the wife of King Amenhotep I; and Queen Ahmose Nefertari, the wife of King Ahmose.

The event will also feature various artistic performances by Egyptian artists, musicians as well as renowned film stars, such as Mona Zaki, Hussein Fahmy and Sawsan Badr.

Ahmed Ghoneim, head of the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, told Daily News Egypt that the museum will be open to the public on April 4, two weeks before the mummies will be officially displayed.

As one of the main projects sponsored by UNESCO, the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization presents Egypts heritage across a long historical period of time, from past to present. It will also act as a cultural centre that shall host concerts, live performances, as well as various leisure activities.

The museum also includes an education centre, a conference Room, and a library. It is located in Ain Elsira, Al Fustat, Cairo.
Two girls, aged 13 and 15, have been arrested on charges of felony murder in Washington DC after police say they attempted to carjack an UberEats driver, resulting in a rollover crash that killed the man.

The incident took place in the 1200 block of Van Street SE near the Nationals Park just after 4.30pm on Tuesday and was partially caught on video.

Footage captured by a neighbor and shared with NBC4 shows a dark-colored Honda Accord resting on its side against the curb, and two National Guard troops pulling a pair of teenage girls out of the overturned vehicle.

Video shows a chaotic scene in Washington DC on Tuesday, where an UberEats driver died after his Honda Accord crashed and flipped over during a carjacking attempt by two teen girls

National Guard troops pulled the girls, ages 13 and 15, from the victim's overturned car. One of them is pictured in an orange sweatshirt just steps away from the victim's body

A few steps away, a man in a light-colored shirt is seen lying motionless on the sidewalk.

The victim was identified as Mohammad Anwar, 66, a father of three and a grandfather, from Springfield, Virginia. He was rushed to a hospital but could not be saved.

The Metropolitan Police Department described the suspects in the felony murder and armed carjacking as a 13-year-old girl from Southeast DC, and a 15-year-old girl from Fort Washington, Maryland. They have not been named because they are juveniles.

Anwar, an immigrant from Pakistan, leaves behind his wife, three grown children and four grandchildren

According to officials, Anwar was making deliveries for UberEats on Tuesday when the two teens approached his car and Tasered him in an attempt to steal the vehicle.

An eyewitness said Anwar put up a fight and the car ended up crashing and flipping on its side.

Anwar was ejected onto the sidewalk and sustained fatal injuries, including head trauma and broken bones.

Two National Guardsmen who were in the area removed the juvenile suspects from the overturned car and detained them until police responded to the scene and arrested them.

Family members said Anwar immigrated to the US from Pakistan in 2014 and worked in food delivery to provide for his wife, three adult children and four grandchildren.

'The family is devastated by this senseless crime,' relatives said in a statement. 'Mohammad Anwar was a father, a grandfather, a husband, a brother, and uncle beloved by many here in the United States and in Pakistan, his birth country.'

Prosecutors said Anwar was in his car when the girls got inside, used a stun gun on him and put the gear into drive

The Honda flipped on its side after hitting something and causing Anwar to be ejected onto the sidewalk

The two suspects made their initial court appearance on Wednesday, reported WUSA9.

Prosecutors claimed that the teenage girls got into Anwar's Honda and set the gear into drive while the victim was wedged between the driver's seat and the door.

The car then sped down Van Street SE as Anwar was hanging from it. According to prosecutors, when the Honda struck something, the door swung back and hit Anwar.

When the car made a sharp right turn onto North Street SE, Anwar became airborne and landed on the ground before his Honda crashed into two parked cars.

The 66-year-old man, who is seen lying motionless on the ground, suffered fatal injuries and could not be saved. One of his alleged attackers is seen being detained by troops

The two girls (circled) were charged with felony murder and armed carjacking

A judge concluded that the two teen girls pose a threat to the community and are a potential flight risk, and ordered them detained pending their next court appearance scheduled for March 31.

Meanwhile, the victim's niece has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for a traditional Islamic funeral for him. As of Thursday morning, more than $85,000 has been raised.

'Words can not describe how our family is feeling currently,' Lehra Bogino wrote in the campaign's description. 'Devastation, confusion, shock, anger, heartache, and anguish are just a few that come to mind. We will carry him with us always, but it doesnt take the pain away of losing him so tragically and so unexpectedly soon.'
The United States has slumped below Mongolia and Argentina in a new ranking of freedom around the world in which Finland, Sweden and Norway top the table.

America has crashed down the rankings after a long series of political woes that culminated in a mob of Donald Trump fanatics rampaging through Congress in a doomed attempt to overturn an election result.

The study by Freedom House also gives the US low marks for racial inequality and growing restrictions on voting - with its overall 'freedom score' falling to 83 out of 100 compared to 94 a decade ago.

By contrast, the three Nordic countries at the top of the table all scored the maximum of 100 points with high praise for their civil liberties and political rights.

New Zealand, the Netherlands, Uruguay, Canada and Australia were also near the top of the rankings, while Britain's score of 93 out of 100 placed it well above the US.

At the other end of the table, Syria and Tibet registered a score of just one out of 100, with North Korea just above them among the nations considered 'not free'.

Scroll down for full rankings

Finland tops Freedom House's 'Freedom in the World', which it gives full marks on both political rights and civil liberties

Ranking last is Tibet, which the Freedom in the World report says is 'not free', giving it a score of one out of 100

Freedom House's special report on America's 'battered democracy' said the political crises in the US 'have a uniquely damaging effect on democracy in the rest of the world'.

January's riot caused widespread alarm among America's allies and delight among its enemies who revelled in the chance to question the health of US democracy.

'The strength of American democracy is important for people everywhere, not just here at home', says Michael J. Abramowitz, president of Freedom House.

'Congress and the Biden administration must make it a priority to strengthen our institutions, restore civic norms, and uphold the promise of universal liberty on which our nation was founded', he adds.

The report says efforts must be made to combat racial injustice and curb the outsized influence of money in politics and policy-making.

America's score of 83 out of 100 keeps it on the list of 'free countries' but means the US is faring worse than Mongolia, Croatia, Argentina and Romania among others.

In January, a separate study found that US corruption levels were at their worst since 2012.

There are 'alleged conflicts of interest and abuse of office at the highest level', said Transparency International, a campaign group.

Weak oversight of the $1 trillion Covid-19 relief package and improper PPE contracts have made the US more corrupt, the study found.

Map showing 'freedom status' of each country. Green means the country is 'free', orange means it is 'partly free' and purple means it is 'not free'

A map showing the global trend in freedom, with those in yellow, orange or red losing freedoms over the last year, while those in green gained freedoms

Britain has suffered a milder dip in the rankings, dropping from 95 out of 100 four years ago to a score of 93 in the latest report.

'Recent years have seen concerns about increased government surveillance of residents, as well as rising Islamophobia and anti-immigrant sentiment', it says.

The UK scores maximum points for holding fair elections and allowing opposition parties to operate freely with a realistic chance of defeating the government.

But concerns were noted about Covid-related procurement deals with politically connected firms, as well as ministers making 'forays into the academic curriculum'.

The UK ranks behind Taiwan and Cyprus in the table as well as Germany, Austria and the Nordic countries, but ahead of France, Italy and Spain.

Countries with scores of 72 or higher were all regarded as 'free', with Brazil, Israel and Bulgaria among the countries only narrowly scraping into the top tier.

The next category - 'partly free' - included major global players such as India and Hong Kong, where China has imposed a major security crackdown in the last year.

The score for Hong Kong has slumped by nine points to 52 out of 100 in the last four years after Beijing responded with force to a wave of protests in the city.

Increased government surveillance in the UK has curbed freedom in the country, alongside rising Islamophobia and anti-immigrant sentiment

The report says efforts must be made to combat racial injustice and curb the outsized influence of money in politics and policy making

Meanwhile Russia came in the lowest category, 'not free', with a score of only 20 out of 100 in what was described as an 'authoritarian political system'.

Freedom House authors criticised Vladimir Putin's 'highly orchestrated referendum' last summer which could allow him to remain in power until 2036.

They also highlighted the poisoning of opposition figure Alexei Navalny, who says he was targeted with a nerve agent by Kremlin operatives.

Also near the bottom of the table is Saudi Arabia, which scored just seven out of 100 despite its efforts to brand itself as a modernising nation.

The Saudi monarchy 'restricts almost all political rights and civil liberties' and 'relies on pervasive surveillance' and the 'criminalisation of dissent', the report says.

North Korea scored three out of 100, while war-torn Syria was equal-bottom of the table with just a single point - and a score of minus three out of 40 for political rights.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson and fellow Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee this week sent a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to invest significantly in the modernization of the nations nuclear weapons and related infrastructure.

The U.S. nuclear triad is the bedrock of our national defense and our allies and partners rely on our nuclear deterrent to maintain peace and order, the Tuesday letter states. It would be a fatal and strategic mistake for us to lose or degrade that capability.

The missive, signed by 24 lawmakers, comes as the new administration crafts its fiscal year 2022 budget, an initial step in the federal funding dance. The letter leverages the moment: Now is the time to prioritize long-overdue investments required for the Department of Defense and the National Nuclear Security Administration, it reads. We have regrettably allowed much of our nuclear deterrent to atrophy.

A large chunk of NNSA infrastructure is more than four decades old  a concern that the agencys former boss, Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, often mentioned in congressional testimony and other interviews. Biden's defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, has said the U.S. nuclear arsenal has been extended well beyond its original service life, and the tipping point, where we must simultaneously overhaul these forces, is now here.

Ensuring that 80 plutonium pits per year are produced by 2030, too, is critically important and must be supported simultaneously, the lawmakers wrote to Biden.

We are at a critical juncture to ensure that DOD and NNSA nuclear programs are maintained and executed on time, they collectively continued. Our nations security and the security of our allies and partners depend on it.

As proposed in 2018 and pursued since, plutonium pit production, the crafting of nuclear weapon cores, intimately involves the Savannah River Site south of Aiken. Wilsons congressional district, South Carolinas 2nd, includes the Savannah River Site and all of Aiken County, where plenty of site workers live.

The congressman has been a supporter of the multibillion-dollar mission for years. And he has used his senior position on the House Armed Services Committee to advocate for it.

In a January interview, Wilson said he wants to work with the cabinet members in the interest of the extraordinary opportunities we have at Savannah River Site. And on Twitter earlier this month, Wilson said he would continue to stress to the Biden Admin the key asset we have here in South Carolina and support the Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility in Congress.

The latter comment came in reaction to news that a Pentagon official backed out of a pit production briefing in Columbia because, according to Rick Lee, the chairman of the S.C Governor's Nuclear Advisory Council, the Biden administration is engaged in a full review of the program.
Mumbai, March 25 : A special court in Mumbai on Thursday extended till April 3 the NIA custody of Assistant Police Inspector (API) Sachin Vaze, the prime accused in the SUV case that pertains to the explosives-laden Scorpio with a threat note that was found abandoned near Antilia, the residence of industrialist Mukesh Ambani.

Vaze was produced before the Special NIA Court after his NIA custody ended on Thursday and the agency secured his custody for another nine days, exactly a month after the SUV was found near Antilia on February 25.

Seeking extension of Vaze's custody by 15 days, Additional Solicitor-General Anil Singh, representing the NIA, said the agency had seized 62 live bullets from Vaze's home which are not yet accounted for since he was only issued 30 bullets by the police department, of which five have been accounted for.

He argued that when Vaze had allegedly gone to plant the SUV near Antilia, he reportedly collected and destroyed some critical CCTV footages of several places, and used fake id cards to check into a five-star hotel.

The NIA has already seized around half-a-dozen high-end cars and gathered forensic evidence like burnt clothes and mobile phone, other samples and blood traces from the vehicles which have now been sent for DNA profiling and further forensic analysis.

Seeking Vaze's extended custody, the NIA said that it wants to question him further and verify his statements by confronting him with the other accused who have been arrested in connection with the case.

In his submissions before the special court, Vaze and his lawyer Abad Ponda dismissed the NIA's contentions and urged that its plea for extending custody should be rejected, as he was innocent and was being framed in the entire matter.

"I am being made a scapegoat in this whole incident. I have nothing to do with the crime," pleaded Vaze, who was arrested on March 13, four days after the probe was handed over to the NIA on March 9 following a massive political furore.

He said that he had investigated the case for just one-and-a-half days, doing whatever was required as the IO, along with other Mumbai Police and Crime Branch officers, but something happened abruptly and when he went to the NIA office on March 13, he was arrested.

Advocate Ponda said that the NIA would also have to convince the court on invoking the stringent anti-terror provisions under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, on March 24, even as it was handed over the connected case pertaining to the death of Mansukh Hiran.

Thane-based businessman Hiran, who was in possession of the Scorpio, was found dead under mysterious circumstances on March 5.

A former high-profile 'encounter specialist', Vaze was suspended in 2004, joined the Shiv Sena briefly, and was reinstated to the police force in 2020.
Who are you? This sounds like a simple question, but really it's just about the hardest question there is. Philosophers have wrestled with it for millennia, and have still not settled on a definitive answer...
A WOMAN caught with 120 sleeping tablets after being seen in a "suspicious" huddle on the street insisted they were for her own use as she suffered chronic pain.

Vivienne Moran (45) was found guilty of a drug supply charge after Judge Brian O'Shea said there were "too many remarkable coincidences" in the case.

However, he left her without a conviction after noting she was on so much medication she was like a "walking pharmacy" and did not want to see her "damned as some sort of significant drug dealer when she is not".

Moran, of Mary Aikenhead House, James's Street, Dublin, had admitted simple possession of the drugs but pleaded not guilty to sale or supply.

The judge fined her 300 on the lesser charge and applied the Probation Act on the other.

Garda Gemma Seagrave said Moran was in a well-known area for drug users at Christchurch Place last July 24 in a suspicious group and looking over her shoulder.

She was stopped as she walked away and 120 Zopiclone tablets were found in her handbag, Gda Seagrave said.

Moran said she got them from "some guy on the quays" and she "wasn't selling them, they were for myself".

The garda believed she had interrupted a transaction.

Moran told the court she suffered chronic neuropathic pain, was on her way home with her tablets and stopped "to give a girl a cigarette".

Judge O'Shea concluded she was supplying drugs, but "whether she was selling them, I don't know".




This is the Thursday, March 25, 2021 edition of Today in Slovakia. Learn about politics, business, and other notable events of the day in Slovakia in less than five minutes. If you like what we are doing and want to support good journalism, buy our online subscription. Thank you.

SaS out of the coalition, OLaNO favours three party rule

After foreign affairs minister Ivan Korcok and education minister Branislav Grohling handed their resignations to President Zuzana Caputova, Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) announced its withdrawal from the coalition until PM Igor Matovic resigns.

Chair Richard Sulik said his party will only return to the negotiating table when a new person takes the lead in the coalition talks - the person whom President Zuzana Caputova appoints to put together the new cabinet after Matovic resigns.

"Crisis equals Igor Matovic," Sulik stated.

Matovic's Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OLaNO) party said in a statement that Sulik has decided to bring down another government. It further stated that Sulik was putting his own ministerial chair before the future of the country, which the movement called regrettable.

Now, the responsibility is on us, the remaining coalition parties, to prevent attempts to break the government, to thwart this attack, to find an agreement and take the country out of this political crisis, the statement reads.

The Sme daily reported that OLaNO is considering a coalition of three parties - without the SaS, but this was ruled out by another junior coalition party Za Ludi, represented by chair Veronika Remisova.

If the coalition crisis is not solved by Monday, March 29, Za Ludi will also leave the coalition, Remisova added.

"If the situation is not solved, there is no point in staying in a crumbling and non-functioning government, she told the media.

Economists predict 3.3 percent growth of GDP

Slovakias economy should grow by 3.3 percent in 2021. In its recent macroeconomic prognosis, the IFP predicts that the second pandemic wave will bring lower losses, while the export and labour market will remain stable. New jobs should be created in the second half of the year.

After the pandemic is over, the economy may rise by 6.3 percent in 2022, also thanks to money from the EU recovery fund. A year later, the economy may benefit from EU funds, the IFP forecasts.

The drop was caused by lower household consumption, the IFP commented, as quoted by TASR. Net export will be a driving force and household consumption will be under pressure. A supporting factor for domestic demand is also higher state support.

On this day in history

Today Slovakia commemorates the departure of the first transport from Slovakia to Auschwitz. There were 1,000 young women and girls on the train. After the war, only about 20 of them returned.

From our archive

From our archive We were joking before the trip, women from the first transport to Auschwitz recall Read more

Feature story for today

In order to build a monument to a Nazi collaborator, you have to transform them into something other than a collaborator: a freedom fighter or a victim. Thats very easy to do in eastern Europe, Lev Golinkin, an American writer, says.

Slovakia can do better than Tiso Read more

Other news

The National Criminal Agency (NAKA) is searching for Peter Kosc who was close to the secret service. His brother was the head of a personnel department in the Slovak Intelligence Service. He owns real estate in the Seychelles. He reportedly bribed former special prosecutor Dusan Kovacik who faces new allegations that he accepted a bribe of 50,000. (Aktuality.sk)

(NAKA) is searching for who was close to the secret service. His brother was the head of a personnel department in the Slovak Intelligence Service. He owns real estate in the Seychelles. He reportedly who faces new allegations that he accepted a bribe of 50,000. (Aktuality.sk) The Supreme Court turned down a complaint filed by Alena Zsuzsova against the prolongation of her custody . It upheld the previous decision of the pre-trial judge of the Specialized Criminal Court, ruling that Zsuzsova should remain in custody until November 3 .

filed by against the prolongation of her . It upheld the previous decision of the pre-trial judge of the Specialized Criminal Court, ruling that Zsuzsova . The average amount owed by Slovak debtors slightly decreased last year. While in 2019, it was 2,700 on average, last year it was 2,500. (analysis by Kruk Czech and Slovak Republic)

Slovak debtors slightly last year. While in 2019, it was 2,700 on average, last year it was 2,500. (analysis by Kruk Czech and Slovak Republic) The switch to daylight savings time will impact one pair of trains run by the Slovak national transporter ZSSK. Night trains from Bratislava to Humenne and back will be delayed by 60 minutes . International trains are suspended due to the pandemic.

will impact run by the Slovak national transporter ZSSK. Night trains from Bratislava to Humenne and back will be . International trains are suspended due to the pandemic. The EU Court of Justice turned down the complaint made by Slovak Telekom and its mother company Deutsche Telekom against a fine for misusing their dominant position on the market. The European Commission fined them more than 38 million in 2014. Spokesperson Michal Korec confirmed that the fine had been paid.

Do not miss on Spectator.sk today

Banska Bystrica will be launching a plan for sustainable mobility Read more

The walls protecting the city are now a piece of history Read more

Hall of mirrors Read more

Korcok: Slovakia is on thin ice in foreign policy as well Read more

If you have suggestions on how this news overview can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk.
ADVERTISEMENT

The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, has redeployed the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Onipanu Division, Francis Ani, and other officers over unprofessional conduct.

The redeployment was decided on Wednesday, the Lagos police spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi, said in a statement.

The police chiefs action came on the heels of the arrest and detention of a Lagos resident, Tunde Abass, for filming police harassment.

Mr Adejobi said the DPO has been redeployed to the State Command Headquarters.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how Mr Abass was arrested by operatives of Onipanu Division for filming police officers harassing a driver in Lagos.

The incident took place at Onipanu on March, 19.

Under the watch of Mr Ani, Mr Abass was detained and brutalised, after an attempt to charge him to court failed.

Disclosing the response of the Commissioner of Police on Thursday, Mr Adejobi said he has ordered an immediate redeployment of CSP Francis Ani, the Divisional Police Officer, Onipanu Division of the Lagos State Police Command and some of his boys.

The police spokesperson said they were redeployed for the harassment and illegal detention of Tunde Abass and Kabir Mohammed (the driver who was harassed).

Tunde Abass was arrested by the police at Onipanu Division for recording the harassment and forceful arrest of Kabir Mohammed at Onipanu Area of the State on Friday 19th March, 2021 at about 5pm after Tundes intervention in the case, which did not go well with the policemen.

The police boss took the (redeployment) decision on Wednesday, 24th March, 2021, after he perused the report of the investigation into the incident that had gone viral on the gross violation of Tundes human rights by the DPO and his boys, the statement said.

The Commissioner condemned the unprofessionalism and excessive use of power by the police officers.

Mr Adejobi added that the action taken will serve as a deterrent to other police officers who are fond of harassing, extorting and engaging in acts of lawlessness, unprofessionalism and gross violation of peoples human rights in the state.

Mr Odumosu has also ordered that the affected police officers be tried in an orderly room trial for unprofessional conduct, the statement 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.
The drama surrounding the Duke and Duchess of Sussex quitting the royal family will be fictionalized in a Megxit Lifetime movie, it has been announced.

Harry & Meghan: Escaping the Palace will reveal tell a fictionalized account of 'what really happened inside the palace that drove Harry and Meghan to leave everything behind in order to make a future for themselves and their son Archie,' according to Deadline.

Like Netflix's The Crown - but on a much tighter budget - the movie will feature actors playing senior members of the Royal Family including Prince William and Kate Middleton and Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall.

Producers will no doubt draw heavily on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's explosive Oprah Winfrey interview, which aired earlier this month, although it remains to be seen if it will go near controversial topics such as the alleged racist remark about Archie.

It is the third in a trilogy of Lifetime films about the couple. It follows 2018's Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance, which covered the early days of their relationship, and 2019's Harry & Meghan: Becoming Royal, which focused on the royal wedding.

Harry & Meghan: Escaping the Palace will reveal 'what really happened inside the palace that drove Harry and Meghan to leave everything behind,' according to Deadline. Pictured, Parisa Fitz-Henley and Murray Fraser starred in 2018's Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance

Deborah Ramsay (Duchess of Cornwall), Steve Coulter (Prince Charles) and Murray Fraser and Parisa Fitz-Henley as Prince Harry and Meghan in 2018's Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance

Casting for the third film is underway with production scheduled to begin this spring for a release later this year. Pictured, the actors playing the Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry in 2019's Harry & Meghan: Becoming Royal

Casting for the third film is underway with production scheduled to begin this spring for a release later this year.

According to Deadline, the new film will 'detail Meghans growing isolation and sadness, their disappointment that "The Firm" was not defending them against the press's attacks and Harrys fear that history would repeat itself and he would not be able to protect his wife and son from the same forces that caused his mother's untimely death.'

It will also look at 'family feuds' between Kate and Meghan, Charles and Harry and Harry and William, it is reported.

It remains to be seen who will play the lead roles, with two sets of actors appearing in the first two films.

Parisa Fitz-Henley and Murray Fraser played Meghan and Harry, respectively, in the first biopic, which explored how the couples relationship blossomed from their first date in 2016 to their engagement in November 2017.

It aired in May 2018, just days before the couple's royal wedding.

The third film will cover the lead up to Megxit. Pictured, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex with Prince Charles and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at Harry and Meghan's last official royal engagement with the family in March 2020

The second movie offered a playful, fictional account of the events immediately leading up to Harry and Meghan's May 2018 wedding and their first few months as husband and wife. It aired in May 2019.

Actress Tiffany Smith played the Duchess of Sussex, while British star Charlie Field took on the role of the Duke of Sussex in the film.

Speaking to Vanity Fair about the second film, screenwriter Scarlett Lacey explained the plot features a mix of truths and fiction.

Lacey returns to write the third installment, and will no doubt bring a similar approach.

It will be directed by Menhaj Huda and executive produced by Merideth Finn and Michele Weiss.

Speaking on the release of the second film, Lacey suggested she had gained access to some of Meghan's and the royals' inner circles, although she did not name any names.

She told Vanity Fair: 'Some of the people I talk to are close to the royals. Others are Hollywood friends of Meghan, and others are journalists and experts in the royal field.'

The second movie offered a playful, fictional account of the events immediately leading up to Harry and Meghan's May 2018 wedding and their first few months as husband and wife. It aired in May 2019. Pictured, a scene from the film showing the actress as Meghan in her wedding dress

The character of Meghan admitted she felt as though she's 'pretending to be a beautiful swan'

However she acknowledged that the movies - which portray Harry and Meghan in a highly favorable light - are definitely a mixture of fact and fiction.

Airing on Lifetime five days before the pair married in real life, the first movie charted the whirlwind romance of Meghan and Harry by mutual friend Violet von Westenholz, to their time in Botswana where they fell in love.

It culminated in Prince Harry going down on one knee in his Kensington Palace apartment to ask Meghan to marry him.

It also featured other members of the royal family, including Kate Middleton, who will no doubt play an even bigger part in the third film.

The second film touched on the lead up to the wedding, and touched on Meghan's relationship with her father.

Lacey said at the time: 'This film deals with the drama of planning a wedding: the moment you'd much rather elope, the moment your family might mess it all up - and they nearly do.'

Star Tiffany said in the same interview: 'We got to do some stuff with Kate, which I really liked.

'I think one of the biggest things, obviously, about Meghan is that she's such a supporter of other women and women's empowerment. That was something I think was important for all of us to focus on, myself included.'
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, Texas  Texas officials on Thursday raised the death toll from Februarys winter storm and blackouts to at least 111 people  nearly doubling the states initial tally following one of the worst power outages in U.S. history.

The frigid weather also was blamed for dozens of more deaths across other Southern states including Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama.

The majority of the Texas deaths are associated with hypothermia, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. And the dramatic number of new victims is still a potential undercount, as officials continue investigating deaths that happened around the time the storm knocked out power to more than 4 million customers in Texas.

ADVERTISEMENTSkip



................................................................

Many homes went without power or drinkable water for days after subfreezing temperatures, failing power plants and record demand for heat pushed Texas electric grid to the breaking point.

Texas officials earlier this month put the initial tally of deaths at 57 but warned it would increase. The toll now officially exceeds that of Hurricane Harvey in 2017, which was blamed for 68 deaths in Texas.

The list of victims from the February snowstorm cut a wide swath across the state of 30 million people: Some fatalities were nearly as far north as Oklahoma, while others were close to the U.S.-Mexico border. State officials said the causes of multiple deaths included motor vehicle accidents, carbon monoxide poisoning, medical equipment failures, exacerbation of chronic illness, lack of home oxygen, falls and fire.

The most confirmed deaths occurred around Houston, where Harris County officials have reported at least 31 victims.

Among them was Gilbert Rivera, 60, who told relatives after the power went out in his garage apartment that he was cold but staying bundled up. Rivera, who had worked for about two decades as a custodian, had a learning disability but reveled in his independence and chose to live on his own.

Lawrence Ibarra, his 44-year-old nephew, said that after being unable to reach Rivera since the day earlier, his father went out on Houstons treacherously icy and snowy roads to check on him. When he arrived at Riveras apartment, he found his brother bundled up and dead on the floor.

Ibarra said his father told him: I think he froze to death.

The autopsy determined the cause of death was hypothermia, which occurs when ones body loses heat faster than it can produce it.

Ibarra noted that the temperature in his own house which also lost power had dropped to 37 F (3 C).

The body first tries to generate heat by shivering and boosting ones heart rate, but if internal temperatures keep dropping, that slows and the body will restrict blood circulation to extremities to maintain blood in the core and keep internal organs warm.

Left untreated, hypothermia begins to affect the brain.

As people get colder, their mental status can change, and they can become unresponsive and not think as clearly, said Dr. Deborah Diercks, chair of emergency medicine at UT Southwestern in Dallas.

Riveras family is among dozens who have filed lawsuits against electricity providers and the states embattled power grid, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. The disaster led to a congressional investigation and the ouster of ERCOT CEO Bill Magness.

Next week, the Texas House is expected to vote on a package in response to the storm, including efforts to winterize power plants. On Thursday, ERCOT announced that projections show a low risk for blackouts during Texas sweltering summer months, when demand on the system is typically highest.

___

Stengle reported from Dallas.
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
NIIGATA, Japan, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- SUS Inc. announced on March 25 that its titanium tableware brand "SUSgallery" will finally be launching an online store for overseas customers from March 24, 2021, as a world-leading titanium tableware site. SUSgallery's products have been used at high-end hotels and restaurants in the United States and Europe. Now, SUSgallery is aiming for further expansion and gaining public recognition.

Logo: https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M106554/202103122203/_prw_PI2fl_Ux0cax1k.jpg

Photo1: https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M106554/202103122203/_prw_PI1fl_5EG3B98D.jpg

Official global website:

https://susgallery-online.com/

Official Instagram account:

https://www.instagram.com/susgallery.jp/

Official video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLn5amLLirE&feature=youtu.be

About SUSgallery

SUSgallery is the tableware brand that pursues the authentic creativity offered by pure titanium. SUSgallery was established to draw on the metalworking traditions of Tsubame, in Niigata Prefecture, which has been passed down since 17th century to create beauty for the next era. The unique surfacing created by SUSgallery's special processing techniques ensures no two pieces are alike. In an industrial world dedicated to churning out identical replicas, SUSgallery has focused on creating new value based on uniqueness and individuality. SUSgallery will challenge the limit of titanium with its timeless brilliance and create pieces that are both beautiful and functional.

About products

The TITANESS series uses a vacuum-insulated double-wall construction method to offer superlative insulating properties, keeping their contents warm or cool as desired. Vacuum insulation is a far more effective way to insulate than normal double-walled insulation. TITANESS products remain unaffected by ambient temperatures. So the ice in the drink will remain there longer. This means everybody can relax and enjoy his/her drink without needing to be concerned about melting ice diluting it and affecting its true flavor.

Titanium's Shine Reaches the World

Items created by SUSgallery are considered masterpieces of traditional skills that bring forth modern beauty. SUSgallery's tumblers were chosen for the toast at a luncheon marking the end of the APEC summit hosted by Japan in 2010, and each guest was given a set as a present. They were also presented to members of the British Royal Family on Prince William's visit to Japan in 2015.

Photo2: https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M106554/202103122203/_prw_PI3fl_J065nLZ6.jpg

Photo3: https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M106554/202103122203/_prw_PI4fl_k0U0c1Ts.jpg

SOURCE SUS Inc.
POTTSVILLE  A city man charged with shooting and injuring a man and killing a dog in the heart of Pottsville in January waived his right to a preliminary hearing Wednesday.

Seth Clayton Howard, 34, of 1711 W. Market St., was scheduled to appear before Magisterial District Judge James K. Reiley to answer charges of one felony count each of aggravated assault and aggravated cruelty to animals; 10 misdemeanor counts of recklessly endangering another person; and one misdemeanor count each of simple assault and disorderly conduct.

After lengthy discussions between his attorney, Gilbert Ambler, of Carlisle, and Assistant District Attorney Andrew Bench, Howard decided to waive the charges to Schuylkill County Court.

Howard was charged by Pottsville police Cpl. Renee Truscott stemming from an incident around 1:30 p.m. Jan. 14 in the 300 block of West Market Street.

In arrest papers, Truscott said Howard intentionally fired several shots from his Glock 23 .40-caliber handgun at a pit bull, killing it. One of the shots fired by Howard struck the owner of the dog, William Clark Jr., 35, of Pottsville, in the right thigh.

Clark suffered serious injuries and was flown to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, Allentown, for treatment. He was subsequently released.

After firing the shots, Howard set down the weapon and was immediately taken into custody.

Truscott said Howards actions put several people in the area, and pedestrians and passing motorists, in danger and caused alarm and risk to residents.

When police examined the firearm, it held one round in the chamber and two rounds in the magazine. Ten spent shell casings were recovered at the scene, Truscott said.

Howard remains free on $75,000 straight cash bail pending future court action.

During Howards arraignment, Reiley placed a stipulation on his bail saying he is not allowed to purchase, possess or procure a firearm.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 08:23:23|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

BEIJING, March 25 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

- - - -

NEW YORK -- The total number of COVID-19 cases in the United States topped 30 million on Wednesday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

U.S. COVID-19 case count rose to 30,001,245, with a total of 545,053 deaths, as of 6:27 p.m. local time (2227 GMT), according to the CSSE tally.

- - - -

OTTAWA -- While COVID-19 continues to impact people of all ages in Canada, new infection rates are the highest among those aged 20 to 39, said Canadian Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam in a statement on Wednesday.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Canada reported 2,643 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the cumulative total to 944,962, including 22,754 deaths and 885,604 recoveries, according to CTV.

- - - -

KHARTOUM -- Sudan's Higher Committee for Health Emergencies on Wednesday warned against increased infection and death cases of COVID-19.

The committee on Wednesday held an emergency meeting to discuss the necessary measures to confront the pandemic.

- - - -

QUITO -- Ecuador's Health Ministry reported on Wednesday 3,237 new COVID-19 infections and 32 more deaths in the last 24 hours.

According to the ministry's daily report, the total number of cases rose to 316,807, while the death toll climbed to 11,720, with another 4,820 "probable deaths" due to the virus.

- - - -

VIENNA -- Three eastern states of Austria will go into a lockdown during the Easter holidays to contain a resurgence of COVID-19 infections, Health Minister Rudolf Anschober said Wednesday evening.

With the spread of the coronavirus variant first detected in Britain more dramatic than previously thought and the intensive care units under enormous pressure, Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland will impose more restrictive measures from April 1 to 6, said Anschober at a press conference.

- - - -

NOUAKCHOTT -- Mauritania received on Wednesday the Chinese government's donation of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine and medical ventilators.

Mauritanian Health Minister Mohamed Nedhirou Ould Hamed welcomed the donation at Nouakchott Oumtounsy International Airport, along with the Charge d'affaires ad interim of Chinese Embassy in Mauritania, Wang Jian.

- - - -

JERUSALEM -- Israel's Ministry of Health reported 246 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, raising the total confirmed tally in the country to 829,935.

The death toll from the virus reached 6,154 with 32 new fatalities, while the number of patients in serious condition decreased from 505 to 483, out of 737 hospitalized patients.

- - - -

ANKARA -- Turkey on Wednesday confirmed 29,762 new COVID-19 cases, including 1,142 symptomatic patients, as the total number of positive cases in the country reached 3,091,282, according to its health ministry.

The death toll from the virus in Turkey rose by 146 to 30,462, while the total recoveries climbed to 2,881,643 after 17,761 more cases recovered in the last 24 hours. Enditem
Profits at Bloomsbury will smash City expectations after reading provided a ray of sunshine in the third lockdown.

Bookworm Britons snapped up the new Sarah Maas novel, A Court of Silver Flames, and Anna Norths Outlawed  as well as old favourites such as the Dishoom cook book and the publishers eternal cash cow Harry Potter.

On the back of an unexpected sales surge in February  the final month of its financial year Bloomsbury upgraded its forecasts for the second time in as many months.

Book boom: On the back of an unexpected sales surge in February Bloomsbury upgraded its forecasts for the second time in as many months

Turnover will be higher than the 171million it previously predicted, while profits will be significantly ahead of the 14.8million it pinpointed in January.

Nigel Newton, the chief executive, admitted it is not clear whether the reading renaissance will continue once restrictions lift.

But the company could take encouragement from the sales of new books compared with a boom in demand for long novels such as Middlemarch and War and Peace last year.

Bloomsbury has paid back 63,000 of furlough funds to the Government, and repaid temporary salary reductions for staff.

Stock Watch - Keywords studios Keywood Studios will pay dividends again this year after a pandemic boom in people playing video games. The AIM-listed group, based in Dublin, provides services such as translation and visual and sound effects to video game developers. It said the launch of the Playstation 5 and the Xbox X/S series also increased demand for its services. Profits at the group, whose shares climbed 4.3 per cent, or 104p, to 2510p, rose by more than a third to 48million last year.

And its online academic platform has performed well as teaching at schools and universities has stayed remote. Investors celebrated the book binge and its shares rose 11.2 per cent, or 30p, to 298p.

An upgrade to forecasts also helped Halma trade higher. The smoke detector and safety equipment maker now expects profits for 2020/21 to be in line with the previous years 267million. Shareholders had been braced for a 5 per cent fall.

In a trading update, Halma said it was performing well in Asia  driven by demand from China.

But its medical arm has been hit by the disruption to elective surgery caused by the pandemic. Shares rose 2.3 per cent, or 54p, to 2359p.

It was FTSE 250-listed Softcats profit news that really wowed the market, however.

The IT reseller, which sells hardware and software systems to small businesses, jumped 14.5 per cent, or 226p, to 1785p, after a 10 per cent rise in profits in the six months to the end of January on the back of cost-cutting.

The wider FTSE 250 finished the day 0.3 per cent higher, up 70.78 points, to 21,402.54, while the FTSE 100 rose 0.2 per cent, or 13.70 points, to 6712.89, as bargain hunters swooped on battered travel and leisure stocks.

Housebuilders swung into the red, however, as UK house price growth slowed in January compared with the previous month.

Taylor Wimpey sank 3.1 per cent, or 5.7p, to 178.15p, Barratt Developments by 1.7 per cent, or 13.4p, to 764.6p, and Persimmon by 1.1 per cent, or 32p, to 2945p.

Average prices rose by 7.5 per cent in the year to January, according to the Office for National Statistics, compared with 8 per cent in December.

This was put down to the third lockdown and uncertainty about the length of the stamp duty holiday.

Bellway also lost ground  falling 2.3 per cent, or 79p, to 3413p  despite reinstating its dividend at 35p per share after it reported record half-year results.

Revenues rose by almost 12 per cent to 1.7billion as it completed the sale of 5,656 homes.

Travis Perkins (up 1 per cent, or 15p, to 1600p) has taken another step towards separating Wickes from the wider business.

The firm has now submitted key documents to the Financial Conduct Authority, although it did not provide a more detailed timeline for when it plans to list the DIY chain on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.

Shares in Harvester and Toby Carvery-owner Mitchells & Butlers rose 2.5 per cent, or 8p, to 324.5p as it shrugged off an investor revolt at the companys annual meeting after at least 23 per cent of votes were cast against the re-election of five directors.
Refugees are being treated as human bargaining chips instead of people created in the image of God.

Refugees continue to be treated like a commodity.

The refugee crisis is again in the headlines as Kenya recently issued an ultimatum to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), ordering the closure of Kakuma and Dadaab refugee camps.

According to a CNN report, Fred Matiang'i, the interior minister, has now given the UNHCR 14 days to draw up a plan for the closure of both Dadaab and Kakuma, his ministry said in a tweet, adding that there was no room for further talks on the issue. This is just the latest example of governments proposing plans that put the livelihoods of countless refugees at risk.

Our team at the Humanitarian Disaster Institute has been actively engaged in helping train refugee pastors in the Kakuma refugee camp in trauma care for nearly a decade. This isnt the first time weve seen refugees in the Kakuma and Dadaab refugee camps treated like human bargaining chips.

Nearly five years ago a similar ultimatum was issued, as leaders in Nairobi threatened to close the camps in an attempt to stem the tide of migration from other countries, citing the growing camps represented a security threat to the nation.

We should note that host countries like Kenya, near to the conflicts from which refugees flee, bear a significant load of providing for refugees. Meanwhile other wealthier nations that are farther away, like our own, do not adequately share in the burden of caring for refugees. This in turn exacerbates the conditions that can lead to politicians exploiting refugees for political purposes.

Our friend Tom Albinson, Founder and President of the International Association for Refugees, has visited Kakuma many times. He points out that Kenyas presidential elections are coming up in 2022: In many countries, candidates find that painting refugees as dangerous and then declaring that they will protect the nation from them is a ploy to get votes. US candidates have done this too. But most refugees are women and children. They are voiceless.

Concerningly, more and more governments continue to put forward policy recommendations that fuel negative views of refugees. Over the last handful of years, its become common for host-nations to force self-serving negotiations, often under the guise of refugee concerns designed to fuel fear. Thus, plans like those announced in Kenya compound the challenges faced by refugees, including opening the door for possible governmental abuses, and conceivably, even incentivize support for on-going conflicts.

Plans like those announced in Kenya compound the challenges faced by refugees.

Pastor Jean Pierre Gatera, now in Minneapolis, lived in Kakuma Refugee Camp for nearly 20 years. He says this kind of bargaining is common in every election cycle.

When they threaten this, the international community takes notice and sends someone to bargain with the government, Pastor Gatera shared with us. Then they ask the UN to pay some amount of money. If the UN wants the Kenya government to keep the refugees there, they have to pay some money. So of course, the UN pays more money, some billions. And that money goes in their pocket. This has been going on for years. You can trace it in previous elections, and youll find the same pattern. But after the election is over youll find the pressure goes down because they have gotten what they want.

Gatera says this is still a traumatizing moment for refugees.

Refugees themselves, they are the symptoms, he said. These countries need to address the problems causing these refugees to flee. Chasing them around is not going to help.

If somebody is really desperate, they will walk into gunfire because they are losing nothing. It is a kind of suicide mission.

As Christians, we should be alarmed not only by the recent announcement in Kenya, but the continue dehumanization of refugees around the globe. This includes continued anti-refugee sentiments here in the United States, including in our churches, and even espoused by some Christian leaders.

A couple of our recent studies may help give insights into this troubling trend. In a study led by psychologist Marianne Millen Carlson in a survey of more than 800 people from across the United States, our team found that individuals who primarily adhere to religion for personal gains demonstrated higher levels of prejudicial attitudes toward the refugees. In another study we conducted on prejudicial attitudes toward refugees with over 900 people in the United States, we found that participants with lower levels of cultural humility reported similar fear-driven responses, including reporting feeling more threatened.

Throughout the Scripture and the ministry of Jesus its clear that Christians are called to prayerfully act in the face of injustices. Christians and churches need to prayerfully do more to welcome refugees, from humbly learning from the refugee community to caring for our refugee neighbors to advocating for fair governmental responses. We need to take action so that refugees are treated as people created in the image of God, not as pawns in local, national, or global politics.
The Michigan Womens Commission (MWC) awarded a $300,000 grant to the Saginaw Intermediate School District on behalf of the Great Lakes Bay Region to act as one of three regions across the State of Michigan to pilot the MI Tri-Share Child Care Program. This program will assist qualifying employees, who work with participating regional employers, with childcare expenses.

According to the MWC, which is located within the State of Michigans Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, The program is an innovative approach to increasing high-quality, affordable childcare for working families. It removes one barrier for employment while reducing out-of-pocket expenses for employees and helps employers with employee recruitment and retention.

As advocates for expanded child care options, the MWC conducted a statewide survey on child care use which shows a majority of parents prefer to care for their children themselves or use family and friends for child care during the pandemic. When asked about post-pandemic care plans, nearly half of the respondents report a desire to send their kids outside the home to licensed childcare centers. Survey results indicating family needs, along with the desire to strengthen the talent pipeline for employers, were key factors for launching MI Tri-Share Child Care Program.

Mark Sanchez, Senior Writer for MiBiz, published an article Pilot Program to Address Growing Biz Challenge: Child Care that explains, State support for people who meet income criteria, as well as the financial backing of their employers, can ease the cost issue for some parents who face a tough question of whether the cost  especially for families with multiple children  outweighs having a second income. That consideration is even harder for families who need two incomes to get by.

Through the program, childcare expenses are shared by an employer, the employee, and the State of Michigan with each contributing up to one-third of the costs. For example, under this program, an employee paying $9,000 in annual childcare services will now pay $3,000, the employer will cover $3,000, and the State of Michigan will cover $3,000. Participating employers within Arenac, Bay, Clare, Gladwin, Gratiot, Isabella, Midland and Saginaw counties will also receive a tax credit at the end of the year to mitigate the employers contributions.

Currently, four employers in the region have expressed interest in program participation  Vantage Plastics, Fullerton Tool, Forward Corporation, and The Design Company. The program is open to additional applicants from qualifying counties, and it is anticipated that 70 to 80 employees from participating companies will be able to engage in the program.

Participating employers must agree to identify and recruit eligible employees, provide the employer portion of each participating employee's childcare costs, and maintain communication with the facilitator hub regarding each employee's continued employment and eligibility. Eligible employees must be employed by a participating employer and have an income above 150% and below 250% of the Federal Poverty Level, and not otherwise be eligible for the Child Development and Care Program (commonly called the childcare subsidy). Designed for working families, eligibility is targeted at Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed (ALICE) families across the region.

Paul Aultman, an owner of multiple companies including Vantage Plastics, says, Childcare has always been an important issue within our workforce. Availability is tight and our 24-hour operation can cause scheduling issues for parents. The Tri-Share program brings a great opportunity to help employees and parents with many of these issues at an affordable cost. Vantage Plastics is happy to participate in this program.

The Great Lakes Business Advisory Council for Early Childhood recruits and partners with employers, partners with child care providers, assists eligible employees with finding available child care openings, and remains responsible for program administration. The advisory council, sponsored by Consumers Energy and the Saginaw Community Foundation, is a consortium of regional Great Start Collaboratives, businesses, community leaders, and philanthropic members which includes representation from education, nonprofit, business, government, and health industries. Educational agencies are the foundation of the council and include Bay-Arenac ISD, Clare-Gladwin RESA, Gratiot-Isabella RESD, Midland County ESA, Saginaw ISD, and each of their Great Start Collaborative programs, including support from the Great Start to Quality Eastern Resource Center team. The Saginaw ISD will serve as the fiduciary and regional facilitator hub for the awarded Tri-Share Child Care Program Grant.

Rich VanTol, director of Great Start Collaborative at Bay-Arenac ISD, commented, The Great Lakes Bay Early Childhood Business Advisory prioritizes regional community and economic development, focusing on cradle-to-career talent development while supporting businesses and their employees. We work in cooperation with local businesses and human resources departments to identify employee challenges and offer solutions for building better work-life-family balances.

By increasing engagement with the business community, we can effectively demonstrate the value of assisting employees with finding access to high-quality child care providers, other early childhood programs, and assisting with child care costs, VanTol added.

The Tri-Share Child Care Program began grant facilitated operations on March 15, and is operational through March 15, 2022; however, the State of Michigan anticipates that the success of the pilot programs will drive future program extension and expansion into other communities in Michigan. The three regional facilitator hubs chosen for the Tri-Share pilot are: Goodwill Industries of West Michigan, serving Muskegon County; Saginaw Intermediate School District, serving the Great Lakes Bay Region; and the United Way of Northwest Michigan, serving a five-county rural region in Northwest Lower Michigan.

Employers within the Great Lakes Bay Region interested in learning more, or participating in the MI Tri-Share Child Care Program, should contact Rich VanTol, 989-233-8729, vantolr@baisd.net or Ericka Taylor, 989-399-7423, etaylor@sisd.cc.
China in Focus (March 24): 7 EU Countries Summon China Ambassadors

Seven countries in Europe summon Chinese ambassadors for talks. The requests come as more backlash unfolds over Chinese-EU sanctions.

A European company and U.S. trade groups resist forced labor in Xinjiang. The effort triggers a boycott in China.

Chinas foreign ministry spokeswoman adds more fuel to the sanction-driven flame as the head of a Chinese state-run media outlet offers a suggestion for tackling Beijings aggression.

Chinas possible invasion into Taiwan could happen sooner than expected, according to the head of the U.S. Navy in the Indo-Pacific. A new Beijing military campaign demands loyalty from its soldiers.

And, a cigarette butt found in a bowl of noodles. A Chinese Internet celebrity gets pulled into a food safety scandal.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more first-hand news from China.

For more news and videos, please visit our website and Twitter.
Revealing nano big bang -- Scientists observe the first milliseconds of crystal formation

When we grow crystals, atoms first group together into small clusters - a process called nucleation. But understanding exactly how such atomic ordering emerges from the chaos of randomly moving atoms has long eluded scientists.

Classical nucleation theory suggests that crystals form one atom at a time, steadily increasing the level of order. Modern studies have also observed a two-step nucleation process, where a temporary, high-energy structure forms first, which then changes into a stable crystal. But according to an international research team co-led by the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), the real story is even more complicated.

Their findings, recently reported in the journal Science, reveal that rather than grouping together one-by-one or making a single irreversible transition, gold atoms will instead self-organize, fall apart, regroup, and then reorganize many times before establishing a stable, ordered crystal. Using an advanced electron microscope, the researchers witnessed this rapid, reversible nucleation process for the first time. Their work provides tangible insights into the early stages of many growth processes such as thin-film deposition and nanoparticle formation.

"As scientists seek to control matter at smaller length scales to produce new materials and devices, this study helps us understand exactly how some crystals form," said Peter Ercius, one of the study's lead authors and a staff scientist at Berkeley Lab's Molecular Foundry.

In line with scientists' conventional understanding, once the crystals in the study reached a certain size, they no longer returned to the disordered, unstable state. Won Chul Lee, one of the professors guiding the project, describes it this way: if we imagine each atom as a Lego brick, then instead of building a house one brick at a time, it turns out that the bricks repeatedly fit together and break apart again until they are finally strong enough to stay together. Once the foundation is set, however, more bricks can be added without disrupting the overall structure.

The unstable structures were only visible because of the speed of newly developed detectors on the TEAM I, one of the world's most powerful electron microscopes. A team of in-house experts guided the experiments at the National Center for Electron Microscopy in Berkeley Lab's Molecular Foundry. Using the TEAM I microscope, researchers captured real-time, atomic-resolution images at speeds up to 625 frames per second, which is exceptionally fast for electron microcopy and about 100 times faster than previous studies. The researchers observed individual gold atoms as they formed into crystals, broke apart into individual atoms, and then reformed again and again into different crystal configurations before finally stabilizing.

"Slower observations would miss this very fast, reversible process and just see a blur instead of the transitions, which explains why this nucleation behavior has never been seen before," said Ercius.

The reason behind this reversible phenomenon is that crystal formation is an exothermic process - that is, it releases energy. In fact, the very energy released when atoms attach to the tiny nuclei can raise the local "temperature" and melt the crystal. In this way, the initial crystal formation process works against itself, fluctuating between order and disorder many times before building a nucleus that is stable enough to withstand the heat. The research team validated this interpretation of their experimental observations by performing calculations of binding reactions between a hypothetical gold atom and a nanocrystal.

Now, scientists are developing even faster detectors which could be used to image the process at higher speeds. This could help them understand if there are more features of nucleation hidden in the atomic chaos. The team is also hoping to spot similar transitions in different atomic systems to determine whether this discovery reflects a general process of nucleation.

One of the study's lead authors, Jungwon Park, summarized the work: "From a scientific point of view, we discovered a new principle of crystal nucleation process, and we proved it experimentally."

###

The research collaboration was led by Berkeley Lab in collaboration with South Korea's Hanyang University, Seoul National University, and Institute for Basic Science.

The Molecular Foundry is a DOE Office of Science user facility.

This work was mainly supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea. Work at the Molecular Foundry was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences. Additional funding was provided by the Institute for Basic Science (Korea), Samsung Science and Technology Foundation, and the U.S. National Science Foundation.

Founded in 1931 on the belief that the biggest scientific challenges are best addressed by teams, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and its scientists have been recognized with 13 Nobel Prizes. Today, Berkeley Lab researchers develop sustainable energy and environmental solutions, create useful new materials, advance the frontiers of computing, and probe the mysteries of life, matter, and the universe. Scientists from around the world rely on the Lab's facilities for their own discovery science. Berkeley Lab is a multiprogram national laboratory, managed by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.

DOE's Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science.

This story has been published on: 2021-03-25. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Kisumu County Governor Anyang' Nyong'o has ordered the suspension of enforcement officers who were caught on camera dragging a hawker on tarmac.

According to a statement seen by Nation.Africa, the county officers will remain on suspension until investigations into the incidence is concluded.

"As investigations continue on this matter with the urgency it deserves, I have directed the city manager to immediately suspend from duty all the officers who were involved in this incident with immediate effect, until the conclusion of the ongoing probe on the matter," the governor said.

Ms Beatrice Atieno, a fruits vendor in Kisumu town, was dragged for about 400 meters on hot tarmac by a pick-up vehicle belonging to the Kisumu City Enforcement Department.

Her crime was selling her oranges and lemons on the pavements of the Kisumu central business district.

Though not visible from a recorded video of the incident, Mrs Atieno told journalists that one of the county askaris seated at the back of the truck held her hand firmly, refusing to let her go, as the vehicle sped off.

The incident left the woman with tattered clothes and bruises on the left hip and knee as well as massive losses after her goods were scattered.

The Nation tracked the 39-year-old mother of three from Rabuor, who, amidst tears, shared her near-death ordeal in the hands of the county officers.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"It is not the first time they were doing this. They usually take away our good and demand for money before we get them back. But on this day, I thought I was going to die because they dragged me as the vehicle drove off," said the distressed fruit vendor.

Sensing danger from the irate bodaboda riders, the askaris drove to Kisumu Central Police Station where the injured woman was released after a scuffle ensured between the askaris and the angry mob.

To add salt to injury, a female enforcement officer went ahead to throw away the remaining goods, forcing the injured Mrs Atieno to bend down to pick her fruits and omena fish (Lake Victoria sardine).

This angered his son who was arrested after he confronted the officers before police officers threw tear gas to disperse the angry crowd baying for the blood of the more than 14 enforcement officers.

Some Good Samaritans helped the woman with some wrappers to cover herself with since her clothes were all torn.

Mrs Atieno went to hospital to have her wounds dressed and later reported the incident to the police.
Opalesque Industry Update - ZEDRA, the fast-growing global specialist in Fund Services, Active Wealth and Global Expansion, today announces the acquisition of BFCS, the fund and corporate services arm of Banque Internationale a Luxembourg ('BIL'). The transaction is subject to regulatory approval from Luxembourg's financial regulator, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier ('CSSF'). The acquisition strengthens and compliments ZEDRA's existing fund and related corporate service offering in Luxembourg and is in line with the firm being recognised as a leading fund formation and administration provider globally. BFCS, which has been active for more than 50 years, offers a comprehensive suite of services and solutions in both the corporate and funds' sector, ranging from services such as central administration for alternative investment funds, to legal secretarial, domiciliation, management, accounting, investor reporting and ESG services. BFCS' clients currently include high-net-worth individuals, asset managers, investment and real-estate fund professionals making this latest deal an ideal fit for ZEDRA. The acquisition will boost ZEDRA's presence in Luxembourg, known as the largest investment fund centre in the EU, from where investment managers can market their funds seamlessly throughout Europe. The deal reinforces ZEDRA's commitment to driving company growth by developing and investing in its fund administration services with the Group having already established teams for regulated funds in Jersey, Guernsey, the Cayman Islands and Singapore. Also, in other jurisdictions ZEDRA caters for non-regulated funds. In October last year, ZEDRA appointed Wim Ritz to the newly created role of Global Head of Funds, based in Luxembourg, to signal the next stage of its strategic ambition to develop a robust international fund administration business. Upon regulatory approval of the deal, the BFCS business will be fully integrated within ZEDRA and staff will move to ZEDRA's existing Luxembourg offices. Ivo Hemelraad, ZEDRA Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are delighted to welcome both staff and clients of BFCS business. We have a great relationship with BIL. As ZEDRA continues to expand its network and service capabilities, we are very much looking forward to meeting and working closely with BFCS' existing clients, fulfilling their aspirations and unlocking opportunities as they grow and develop." Wim Ritz, Global Head of Funds at ZEDRA, said: "We are very pleased to add a successful and experienced team with strong sector expertise which will further solidify the foundations of our existing funds team. This is a significant milestone for ZEDRA as it will bring additional scale and expertise to our already fast-growing Luxembourg office. It underpins our view that Luxembourg is the hub and centre for excellence in the EU for fund management." Hans-Peter Borgh, Chairman of the Board of BFCS and Group Head International BIL Group commented: "We see the transfer of this business activity being beneficial for our employees and clients, who join a Group's established global network. The proud heritage, core values and long-term vision of ZEDRA made them our preferred partner. The partnership with ZEDRA will allow us to extend our service for our clients here in Luxembourg but also in other regions. We are bringing together the expertise of BFCS and ZEDRA's best-in-class processes and experience in the sector with a strong objective of long-term growth."
MPs are going on an Easter break for nearly three weeks from today despite the government planning a flurry of crucial lockdown moves.

At the end of its business this evening the House of Commons will break up and not return until April 13.

That is the day after non-essential shops and hairdressers are due to be allowed to reopen - and pubs and restaurants should be allowed to start serving customers outdoors again.

The recess means that MPs will not be able to scrutinise ministers as they make a series of crucial decisions and announcements that would typically happen in the Commons chamber.

Mr Johnson is expected to host a press conference from the new 2.6million Downing Street briefing room on Monday, when the stay at home order will be formally lifted.

MPs are going on an Easter break for nearly three weeks from today despite the government planning a flurry of crucial lockdown moves

MPs are not due to be back until April 13, the day after non-essential shops and hairdressers are due to be allowed to reopen - and pubs and restaurants should be allowed to start serving customers outdoors again

From that point the Rule of Six will return, and two separate households will be able to mix outdoors.

Mr Johnson is also expected to address the nation again from Downing Street on April 5 so he can give a week's notice before the measures in the roadmap take effect.

Announcements on 'vaccine passports' and whether foreign holidays will be allowed this summer are also on the cards before the Commons returns from its break.

Although MPs can be recalled from recess this typically only happens when urgent issues need to be considered - such as the Brexit deal being struck over Christmas.

Up to 60 Conservative lockdown sceptics are threatening to vote against an extension of lockdown laws until the autumn on the final day before the Easter break.

MPs will vote tonight plans to extend emergency powers to the end of September, despite the lockdown officially ending in June.

Politicians in the Covid Recovery Group (CRG) blasted the 'significant draconian powers' and questioned the need for them to be in place if the UK has returned to relative normal.

However, any Tory rebellion is doomed to fail with Labour refusing to join them in the Noe lobbies.

While visiting the the Monkey Puzzle Day Nursery in Greenford, west London, today, Mr Johnson told reporters that the review on vaccination certificates should be complete before April 13.

He added: 'All sorts of things are being considered. What we want to do is roll out the vaccine programme and see what that builds in terms of general resistance to the virus. And I do think there is going to be a role for certification.

'What we've said is that we'll be reporting on the work of the certification group in early April, either on April 5 or on April 12.'
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.
Maharashtra Home Minister Anil



Deshmukh on Thursday said he would welcome a probe if Chief Minister orders any into former Commissioner Param Bir Singh's allegation of corruption against him.

Deshmukh made the comment in a midnight tweet and also shared the copy of his March 21 letter to Thackeray, in which he had sought immediate probe into Singh's allegation.

"I had demanded the honourable chief minister to order probe into Param Bir Singh's allegation against me to clear the air. I will welcome if the honourable chief minister orders probe," Deshmukh tweeted, adding "Satyamev Jayate" (truth shall prevail).

In his letter, Deshmukh had said that there is "no truth" in the allegations levelled against him and demanded investigation into the matter.

In his eight-page letter to Thackeray, Singh on March 20 had created a flutter in Maharashtras political circles, claiming that Deshmukh wanted police officers to collect Rs 100 crore monthly from bars and hotels.

On the same day, Deshmukh trashed the allegations Singh made against him.

Under fire over the handling of the bomb scare outside industrialist Mukesh Ambani's house in Mumbai, the state government had on March 17 transferred Param Bir Singh from the post of city police commissioner to the low-key home guard department.

A day after that, Deshmukh had said Singh was transferred after some of the latter's colleagues committed "serious and unforgivable mistakes".

(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.)
Associated Press

The younger generation of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales are on average about three feet (one meter) shorter than whales were 20 years, drone and aircraft data show in a study in Thursdays journal Current Biology. Entanglements with fishing gear, collisions with ships and climate change moving their food supply north are combining to stress and shrink these large whales, the study says. This isnt about short right whales, its about a physical manifestation of a physiological problem, its the chest pain before the heart attack, said Regina Asmutis-Silvia, executive director of Whale and Dolphin Conservation North America, who wasnt part of the study.
Acting Features Editor

Jennifer Huberdeau is the acting features editor. Prior to The Eagle, she worked at The North Adams Transcript. She is a 2020 New England First Amendment Institute Fellow and a 2010 BCBS Health Care Fellow.
Credit: YE Yangyong

A coordinated global effort to reduce the production of greenhouse gas emissions from industry and other sectors may not stop climate change, but Earth has a powerful ally that humans might partner with to achieve carbon neutrality: Mother Nature.

An international team of researchers called for the use of natural climate solutions to help "cancel" produced emissions and remove existing emissions as part of a comprehensive plan to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsiusthe point at which damage to human life and livelihoods could become catastrophic, according to the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The researchers published their invited views on March 24 in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences. "The Earth is heating up, and climate change has become a major environmental concern for the whole planet," said first author Dr. Qin Zhangcai, professor at Sun Yat-sen University and Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai). "In this work, we want to highlight the important role of nature and human action in mitigating climate change."

Called natural climate solutions, largely land-based ecosystems, such as forests, agriculture, grasslands and wetlands, could sequester carbon emissions from industry and store them in trees, grass and soil. While the energy and industrial sectors are essential in their commitment to reduce emissions, Qin said, they are both insufficient and unable to rectify already emitted gases.

"Natural climate solutions have been recognized as one of the most cost-effective and readily available options that can be used to supplement energy and industrial mitigation in the climate portfolio," Qin said.

He pointed to China, which has launched several nationwide ecological projects over the past half century, as an example of success, although these projects were not intended as natural climate solutions at the time they were initiated. The Natural Forest Protection Project, for instance, was implemented to help mitigate mass flooding in 1998 but has since contributed to more than half of the country's natural carbon sinks.

"China started its first major projects in the 1970s, and it took over 40 years and several phases to finally reshape its degraded landscapes," Qin said. "Studying China's past experiences offers a shortcut to learning how Mother Nature can help us deal with climate change."

According to QIN's team, the use of natural carbon solutions, if managed properly under local and global guidance, could result in achievable mitigation of the equivalent of nearly 15 trillion pounds of greenhouse gases per yearwhich would account for more than 10% of current global annual greenhouse gas emissions. That's more than a quarter of the annual global emissions reduction of 50% needed in the next 10 years to reach net zero by the 2050s, as set out in the Paris Climate Agreement.

Qin and the team are now establishing a systematic and comprehensive evaluation strategy for large-scale natural climate solutions to help avoid any potential failures in an effort to help advance mitigation efforts.

"We call for global collaboration and immediate actions in natural climate solutions," Qin said. "This is our best shot to achieve a carbon neutral society globally."

More information: Zhangcai Qin et al. Natural Climate Solutions for China: The Last Mile to Carbon Neutrality, Advances in Atmospheric Sciences (2021). Zhangcai Qin et al. Natural Climate Solutions for China: The Last Mile to Carbon Neutrality,(2021). DOI: 10.1007/s00376-021-1031-0
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:
.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.  Albuquerque police have released the names of two men killed in separate incidents in the city this week.

Rebecca Atkins, an Albuquerque Police Department spokeswoman, identified the men as Michael Cabrera, 48, and Dylon Spiess, 29.

Officers responded to the first incident, a domestic dispute, sometime before 1 a.m. Tuesday.

ADVERTISEMENTSkip



................................................................

Police found Cabrera dead, and a 15-year-old with a hand injury, at a home in the 9300 block of Verdad de Luz SW, near 94th and Tower. A police spokesman said the woman who called 911 had a restraining order against Cabrera.

Atkins said the death is being investigated as a possible justifiable homicide. She said Cabrera had been shot but she did not reveal how the teen injured their hand.

In the other case, on Tuesday evening police responded sometime before 7:15 p.m. to a shooting at the American Inn and Suites near Central and Wyoming.

Officers found Spiess fatally injured at the scene, and he died at a hospital the following morning.

No arrests have been made.

There have been 26 homicides in Albuquerque this year, according to Journal records. By this time last year, there had been 16.
New Delhi, March 25 : A crucial meeting on Thursday on FDI policy for the e-commerce sector is being attended by 25 leading companies.

The meeting through video conference is being held under the Chairmanship of Secretary, DPIIT regarding FDI Policy on e-commerce sector.

The meeting is being attended by e-commerce players, including RIL, Amazon, Udaan, 1mg, Firstcry, Flipkart, Swiggy, Shopclues, Pepperfry, Snapdeal, Urbanladder, Paytm, Nykaa, Naukri, Netmeds, Bigbasket, Tata, Uber, Tata Unistore and Ola.

As per the draft policy, an e-commerce operator operating in marketplace or hybrid mode shall manage its relationship with sellers on its platform in an agnostic manner and without being partial to any of its sellers.

This is laid out in the Draft e-commerce policy prepared by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry.

This National e-Commerce Policy is therein, not a fresh construct of government's ambitions but is a consolidated document for the continued vision of providing a level playing field to all stakeholders, including individual consumers, MSMEs, traders, artisans, startups, while pursuing a development agenda which addresses growth and reduces prevalent market distortions. This focus is important as retail trade has been complaining against it.

Meetings are underway to receive feedback on the policy. One on one interactions have been held with concerned Ministries/Departments, based on which the revised version of the policy has been prepared.

In this policy, e-commerce means the business activities of sale, marketing, distribution of goods or provision of services through the Internet or other information networks. The policy covers all modes of e-commerce, i.e., inventory, marketplace and hybrid model. This policy is equally applicable to entities, natural and/or legal with foreign and domestic investments.
Dar es Salaam  It was an anxious wait for one of their own who rose to become President of Tanzania - and who is credited with achieving a lot during his five-year and 114 days administration.

Dr Magufuli, who died in Dar es Salaam on March 17, 2021, will be laid to rest in his Chato hometown tomorrow.

The actual burial comes after several days of mourning during which, the body was mourned in Dar es Salaam, Dodoma, Zanzibar and Mwanza before finally being brought to Chato.

In Mwanza, residents started flocking to the CCM Kirumba Stadium from as early as 4am, to bid farewell to the body of Dr Magufuli.

The stadium was filled to capacity, and the government had to request some mourners to follow the scene from outside.

"The coffin containing the body of the late John Magufuli will go around the stadium and later in various popular streets before proceeding to Geita via Kigongo-Busisi ferry," the Prime Minister, Mr Kassim Majaliwa, told mourners.
DCNA is partnering with the Caribbean Islands Manta Conservation Program, an affiliate project of the Manta Trust, and Observation.org to track local manta rays and devil rays within the Dutch Caribbean. Through individuals reporting their (old and new) sightings and interactions with mantas and devil rays, researchers are hoping to learn more about local populations to shed light on this mysterious species.

Manta Rays and devil rays

Manta and devil rays are highly charismatic and have some of the largest brains of all fish species. Although they can be found throughout tropical, subtropical and temperate waters worldwide, they are highly threatened, often victims of fishing. Whether caught as bycatch or targeted for their gill plates, which are valuable on the black market and used in Traditional Chinese Medicine, populations of this species are dwindling, leaving them endangered.

Mantas and devil rays are some of the largest of the ray family, reaching sizes of up to 7 meters wide. Until only a few years ago, manta rays were thought to be a single species of their own genus, but they are now considered to be part of the mobulid genus, along with the devil rays. Two distinct species of manta ray have been identified, yet a third is likely. Oceanic manta rays (Mobula birostris) are the largest mobulids and are found worldwide, typically in open ocean water. Reef manta rays (Mobula alfredi) are found in the Indian and West Pacific Oceans, more commonly along coastlines and coral reefs. A third species of manta ray, the Caribbean manta ray or Mobula c.f. birostris has been proposed, and scientists are working to confirm the distinct species. Caribbean manta rays are likely sympatric to the oceanic manta ray and found in the Atlantic, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico.

All mobula species are filter feeders, swimming along with their mouths open, sieving out zooplankton and krill from the water. They're known to use creative techniques involving repeated somersaults to create a cyclone effect, trapping their food in the water column. Unlike stingrays, they have no stinger or barb in their tail and are completely harmless to humans. Manta rays and devil rays will always be on the move through the water, as they are ram-ventilators and must continuously swim to run water over their gills. They can swim very quickly but they can also be quite curious about divers and will often circle around to investigate, especially when divers or snorkelers are calm in the water.

Manta rays often make regular visits to the reef, particularly to known cleaning stations where smaller fish feed off larger fish, removing parasites and dead skin. Knowing these locations and tracking regular visitors can help researchers understand more about mantas' life cycles and migration patterns. Many of the sightings from the Dutch Caribbean have been of feeding manta rays in areas of dense plankton concentration.

Manta rays can be identified as individuals by the unique spot pattern on their ventral side or belly. Using a photograph of these spots, researchers can track individuals over time, perhaps across international borders. Anyone with a camera can take a photo of manta ray and all images are helpful regardless of showing the mantas spot pattern. Even images taken from land or a boat can be helpful in determining seasonal movements and aggregation sites.

Around the islands of the Dutch Caribbean, Mobula birostris and Mobula c.f. birostris as well as two species of devil ray, Mobula hypostoma, and Mobula tarapacana have been identified. Sightings appear to be infrequent and unpredictable; however, researchers are hoping to learn more with increased data and reports.

Highly Threatened

Although manta rays are long-lived, with expected life spans of 30-50 years, females are slow to sexually mature and tend to only have one pup every two to five years. Threatened by overfishing, these species have seen a drastic decrease in their numbers worldwide. Luckily since 2011, mantas have been protected within international waters by the Convention on Migratory Species as well as a variety of local conservation efforts such as the establishment of the Yarari Sanctuary in the Dutch Caribbean. Much of this has been driven by countries realizing the economic value these species can generate, as many tourists will travel from around the world to see these creatures first hand. In fact, one study estimated that a single ray could generate up to one million dollars in its lifetime.

In 2020, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) changed the status of oceanic manta rays from vulnerable to endangered, signifying that they need further conservation worldwide. This species and the putative third species, the Caribbean Manta Ray, are the two most sighted in the Dutch Caribbean waters. It's essential to continue researching these species to protect them and their habitats for the future.

The Project

Together with the Caribbean Islands Manta Conservation Program, an affiliate project of the Manta Trust and Observation.org, DCNA is working to catalog local manta populations and educate residents and visitors about these incredible species. By reporting sightings and interactions with mantas in the Dutch Caribbean, individuals can contribute to this database. Each sighting can be validated using either an automatic or manual method, especially with the manta conservation program staff validating species for Observation.org.

The Manta Trust collects information on manta ray sightings worldwide, and they have now recorded more than 120 encounters throughout the Dutch Caribbean. DCNA and the Caribbean Islands Manta Conservation Program are currently working to build a regional database of ID photos from citizen scientists and researchers. More than 20 individual manta rays have been identified in the Dutch Caribbean, and lucky photographers have named some of these individuals. Recently, Caribbean manta rays from Bonaire were named Caicai (reported by Bas Tol) and Ari (reported by Arinae Scharpenberg). In Aruba, an oceanic manta ray was named Dushi (reported by Danielle de Kool and Rudolf Ulloa). If you are the first to photograph the spot pattern of a manta ray and submit it for the database, you'll also be given the opportunity to name the manta.

Report your sightings

Please report any sightings or photos (new or old) you have of manta rays or any other unique species on https://dutchcaribbean.observation.org. The current goal is to increase data collection to highlight multiple sightings of individuals and to determine what areas mantas tend to revisit. With increased submissions, researchers hope to determine whether there are any aggregation sites or seasonal patterns of sightings around the Caribbean islands. Observation.org and DCNA will share your photos with Manta Trust researchers; however, you can also submit your photos and videos from anywhere in the world directly to https://www.mantatrust.org/idthemanta, an international manta tracking database of the Manta Trust.

If you prefer, or for more information regarding your sighting, you can email photos or videos (make sure to include the date and location) to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Photos can also be sent through the Caribbean Islands Manta Conservation Program social media pages on Facebook and Instagram. If uploading images to social media, particularly Instagram, tag #Caribbeanislandsmanta in your uploads to make sure these images are easily found and included in the global database.

We look forward to hearing about your encounters and learning more about these incredible species in the Dutch Caribbean.
.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........

Our state Constitution says lawmakers shall receive per diem for each days attendance at legislative sessions in Santa Fe and for attending legislative committee meetings between sessions. It also says every legislator shall receive a mileage reimbursement for going to and returning from the seat of government by the usual traveled route.

The per diem was meant as a way to compensate our citizen legislators for lodging, meals and incidental costs for their part-time public service. The state Constitution bars any other compensation, perquisite or allowance, such as a salary. And while the state has debated for years on switching to a full-time, paid Legislature  New Mexico is the only state with unsalaried lawmakers  that presumably would take a constitutional amendment.

In the COVID-19 era, the New Mexico Legislature has had two short special sessions and the recent 60-day session. Senators were required to participate from the Roundhouse in Santa Fe. House members could participate remotely from their homes.

An untold number of House members opted not to travel to Santa Fe. Yet many think they deserve the $194 per diem payments and the mileage reimbursements of 56 cents a mile  over $1 million on the taxpayers dime.

ADVERTISEMENTSkip



................................................................

What reinforces that notion is that lawmakers automatically receive the per diem and mileage checks  regardless of whether they live in Santa Fe or Roswell.

Each lawmaker received over $10,000 in per diem payments for this past 60-day session, totaling nearly $1.2 million, according to KRQE. Its unclear how many lawmakers accepted the full checks.

In the past, before COVID and remote participation, few questioned lawmakers simply accepting the checks.

But this year, many lawmakers were paid per diem and mileage expenses though they never set foot in Santa Fe. Ive been in Las Cruces the entire time, state Rep. Angelica Rubio, D-Las Cruces, told KRQE TV last week, because I have older parents who were at high risk, and I didnt want to be anywhere near the petri dish that is the Roundhouse.

Her caution is understandable. But she is clearly of the mind that lawmakers deserve to be paid for their time, regardless of whether the expense of traveling to Santa Fe is involved. Asked by KRQE whether remote lawmakers should forgo per diem, Rubio responded with an unapologetic no. A nonprofit consultant, she said the only income for quite a few of us is per diem. That is not how it works under our Constitution or in any dictionary: Per diem is not income; it is compensation to cover expenses.

Rubio sponsored an unsuccessful joint resolution this session giving the State Ethics Commission authority to establish salaries for all elected officers.

Senate Minority Whip Craig W. Brandt, R-Rio Rancho, told KRQE that while the Constitution requires lawmakers be paid per diem, it is not required that the legislator accepts it. He says lawmakers who did not attend the 60-day session should have refused the money.

This past session highlighted an issue worth clarification.

Its time the state attorney general or auditor weighed in on the constitutionality of lawmakers being paid per diem and mileage for expenses they did not incur  whether its because they are participating remotely or because they live a few blocks from the Roundhouse.

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.
Students return to in-person learning at St. Anthony Catholic High School in Long Beach, Calif., on March 24, 2021. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

Education Secretary: Premature to Say All Children to Be Back in School in Fall

Its too soon to confirm that all K-12 students in the United States can resume in-person learning in the fall, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said on March 24.

Its premature to tell. One thing that I know as a former commissioner of education, COVID-19 numbers will dictate how we move to reopen schools, Cardona said during an appearance on MSNBC.

So, its not just about whats happening in the schools, its about whats happening in the community. If, as members of our community, we can follow those mitigation strategies to make sure that our schools are safe places for our students and for our staff, we should have students in school next year. We should have them in school in the spring.

I really want to move forward this spring to safely reopen schools as much as possible, for K-8 is the goal, but we also know we have high schoolers that are waiting for their drama club to start, for their band, for those graduation ceremonies that are so important, he said.

So, we really need to make sure were following the mitigation strategies and doing everything to get our students in school now.

Approximately three-quarters of students in pre-K through eighth grade are being offered either part-time or full-time in-person instruction, according to federal data. Nearly half are back in school five days a week.

According to the tracking organization Burbio, 51.2 percent of K-12 students had resumed in-person and daily instruction as of March 21. Another 30 percent were attending hybrid schools, or facilities that offer a mix of in-person and remote learning.

American Enterprise Institutes tracker says 37 percent of districts are fully in-person, while 54 percent are hybrid, as of March 15.

A school bus driver is seen in a caravan demanding funding from Congress for the safe reopening of schools, in Los Angeles, on Aug. 13, 2020. (Mike Blake/Reuters)

Educators and officials during a summit earlier in the day heard about how some districts have successfully reopened schools amid the pandemic as they grapple with demands, sometimes overlapping, from parents and educators.

Cardona said he knows firsthand how remote learning negatively affects children and that hes working to get children back in school.

Governors across the country, along with many parents, have been pushing for a return to in-person learning.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, on March 24 said remote instruction has led to learning loss as he announced new guidance from the states Department of Health that says schools should reopen now if they can require constant masking and regular handwashing.

Social distancing in the school can be as little as three feet, though six feet is required in common areas such as cafeterias.

Now is the time for all of our schools to meaningfully move forward, rather, with a return to in-person instruction, whether it be full-time or through a hybrid schedule, Murphy said, adding that every student should be back in school when the 2021-2022 school year starts.

Also on March 24, President Joe Biden announced that $81 billion in funds from the recently passed $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan will be made available to all 50 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico to support efforts to return to in-person instruction.
A new coronavirus strain has been discovered among returned travellers arriving in Queensland from Papua New Guinea.

PNG is gripped by a coronavirus crisis with cases spiking out of control across the country, with very low testing rates meaning the problem is even worse.

The Queensland Health Department is aware of 64 people in hotel quarantine with the newly-identified B.1.466.2 strain after arriving or transiting through PNG.

PNG is currently experiencing a rise in Covid-19 cases ravaging across the country, despite low testing rates (Pictured: Policeman orders a man to wear a mask in PNG)

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk with Dr John Gerrard look on as registered nurse Zoe Park receives her second COVID-19 vaccine at Gold Coast University Hospital

'The Covid-19 pandemic is a rapidly-evolving situation and as the pandemic is ongoing, we have continued to see new variants emerge, such as the UK and South African variants,' Queensland Health said.

'Currently, the variant most commonly detected in travellers from Papua New Guinea is the B.1.466.2 lineage, which is not a lineage of concern.

'This is the new name for the specific B.1 strain mentioned as circulating in PNG.'

Australia has already committed 8,480 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and are considering sending more.

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade secretary Frances Adamson said the government was aware of the urgency of the situation.

'The possibility of some of Australia's domestically produced stocks being able to be used for this purpose is certainly something that is live but yet formally to be decided by government,' she said on Thursday.

Hotel Quarantine worker Zuby Daryau is being vaccinated during a rollout of the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine at STARS Metro North Health facility, in Brisbane

Pharmaceutical giant CSL is contracted to manufacture 50 million AstraZeneca doses in Melbourne during the year.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne indicated cabinet would consider the issue of sending more Australian-made vaccines.

'That is something which must be on the table,' she said.

Australia has also pledged to redirect one million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine ordered from Europe to PNG.

But there are doubts those vials will ever leave Europe where countries are desperately trying to hang on to domestic stocks.
London: Mathematician Alan Turing spent World War II cracking German codes and is credited by many historians with helping to hasten the end of the conflict. But a conviction under Victorian indecency laws for his homosexuality left his postwar life in ruins.

On Thursday, the Bank of England unveiled a bill featuring Turing, one of a series of efforts by Britain in recent years to posthumously right some of the wrongs inflicted on Turing during his lifetime.

The new 50-pound notes featuring scientist Alan Turing. Credit:Bank of England

Turings scientific contributions embodied the spirit of the nation and showed us the way to the future, said Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, as he introduced the bill. By placing him on this new 50 bank note, we celebrate him for his achievements and the values he symbolises, for which we can all be very proud.

The new bill, worth about $90, features an image of Turing taken in 1951 by the photography studio Elliott & Fry and includes a 1949 quotation by him about one of his computer inventions: This is only a foretaste of what is to come, and only the shadow of what is going to be. The bill will start circulating June 23, Turings birthday.
By David Crary, AP National Writer

Emily Snook is the daughter of a Southern Baptist pastor. She met her husband, also a pastor, while they attended a Southern Baptist university

Yet the 39-year-old Oklahoma woman now finds herself wondering if its time to leave the nations largest Protestant denomination, in part because of practices and attitudes that limit womens roles.

Every day I ask that, Snook said. I dont know what the right answer is.

Shes not alone. Among the millions of women belonging to churches of the Southern Baptist Convention, there are many who have questioned the faiths gender-role doctrine and more recently urged a stronger response to disclosures of sexual abuse perpetrated by SBC clergy.

For many SBC women, even those committed to staying, the topic of gender became more volatile this month when popular Bible teacher Beth Moore said she no longer considered herself Southern Baptist. Moore, perhaps the best-known evangelical woman in the world, had drawn the ire of some SBC conservatives for speaking out against Donald Trump in 2016 and suggesting the denomination had problems with sexism.

Karen Swallow Prior, a professor of English and Christianity and Culture at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, has belonged to an SBC megachurch and wrote a passionate article in February explaining why she remains Southern Baptist.

Yet she is among a number of SBC women publicly sharing their dismay about sex abuse and the vitriol directed at Moore.

Beth has been scorned, mocked, and slandered while doing exactly what the denomination has determined she could and should do: be a woman teaching other women, Prior said via email.

I cannot count the number of women who have reached out to me over the past few years, lamenting and grieving the way women have been and are being treated in some SBC churches and by some denominational leaders, Prior added. If these women leave, it wont be because Beth left. It will be because the men the Baptist Faith and Message says are supposed to lead in Christ-like ways have failed to do so.

Prior was referring to the doctrine adopted by the SBC in 2000 which espouses male leadership in the home and the church and says a wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband. It specifies that women cannot be pastors, citing the Apostle Pauls biblical admonition, I do not allow a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; instead, she is to remain quiet.

Snook, who lives in Norman, Oklahoma, said she grew up being taught that men were leaders in the church and the home to protect women, to lift them up.

Is it about protecting women  or is it really about protecting your power and covering up sexual abuse in the church? she asked. Thats caused a crisis of faith among a lot of women and men.

Snook gained some attention  and criticism  in Southern Baptist circles when she posted an article in January on a blog called SBC Voices describing how she found herself admiring Vice President Kamala Harris despite her support for abortion rights. Now, Snook and others in her circle are pondering whether they have a future in the SBC.

Do we stay and work for what were supposed be? she asked. If we all leave, are we abandoning our responsibility?

Katie McCoy, a professor of theology in womens studies in the undergraduate branch of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, tells her female students there are meaningful roles they can play in the SBC even if pastoring is off-limits. But she says many Southern Baptist women, including students of hers, were unsettled by the criticism of Moore.

There are a lot of women who will never have the scope and reach of a Beth Moore but believed they had something to contribute because of her, McCoy said. Its those women who look at the online vitriol and feel discouraged before they even begin, thinking, If this is what they say about Beth Moore, what will they say about me?

Melissa Edgington, who is married to an SBC pastor in Olney, Texas, and describes herself as a stay-at-home mom of three children, says shes had lifelong devotion to her denomination. She also has been an admirer of Moore.

I have lost count of the number of times I have seen evangelical men on social media repeating that awful command Go home to Beth Moore, she said via email. I wonder if they realize when they say those two words with such glee, they are sending a message to all women that our giftings and opinions and ideas may not be all that welcome in our denomination.

Under certain circumstances, women can make professional strides in the SBC world  teaching at seminaries, working at SBC missionary organizations or, like Moore, carving out a niche as Bible teachers for a female clientele.

At First Baptist Dallas, the outspoken conservative pastor, Robert Jeffress, has encouraged daughter Julia Jeffress Sadler to be active in ministry, even though he cautioned her at age 11 that she couldnt hold the title of pastor.

He explained to me, Julia, you cant be a head pastor for the same reason I cant have babies. Thats not Gods design, Sadler said.

Sadler, 33, directs a program at her fathers megachurch called Next Generation that develops ministries for teens, college students, single young adults and young moms. She says there are about 1,500 participants, with a 60%-40% female-male split.

A lot of times we focus on the one thing that the Bible says women arent supposed to do, which is be the head pastor, instead of looking at all the things we can do, she said. Were going to miss out in churches, miss out in ministries, miss out in Christianity as a whole, whenever we take women out of the equation.

Sadler said her husband, Ryan, who oversees some of the churchs education programs, understands that women are called to ministry, and that some of us really hate cooking. We have other things wed like to do.

Denise McClain Massey, who earned three graduate degrees from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, left the SBC after it formalized the no-women-pastors rule in 2000 and is now a professor of pastoral care and counseling at Mercer University School of Theology.

There are painful, disorienting double-messages for women in the SBC, she said. Youre created in the image of God, but if you experience God leading you to be pastor, you get told there are limits to what you can do  sit down, go home, be quiet. Theres kind of a crisis where women feel shut down and dismissed and attacked.

Christa Brown, a Colorado-based author and retired attorney who attended Southern Baptist churches from infancy until college and says she was sexually assaulted by a youth pastor as a teenager, has long been an outspoken critic of the SBCs response to revelations of sex abuse by clergy.

Brown sees a link between the abuse and the doctrine that women should submit to male leadership.

It sets up interpersonal and institutional dynamics that help to foster abuse and cover-ups, she said. The SBCs pervasive misogyny inculcates attitudes that, at best, are limiting of female potential, and at worst, are disrespectful and dehumanizing.

She expects most Southern Baptist women will stay loyal to their churches but hopes others will stop graciously submitting and start graciously walking.

In some cases, entire congregations have walked away. Joel Bowman, pastor at Temple of Faith Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky, recently abandoned plans to move the congregation into the SBC fold. Bowman, who is African American, had differences with SBC leaders on racism issues and also gender roles  his wife, Nannette, is an associate minster at the church.

Towne View Baptist Church in Kennesaw, Georgia, is being expelled by the SBC for accepting LGBTQ people into its congregation. Its pastor, Jim Conrad, also opposes the SBCs gender rules and is likely to affiliate with a Baptist denomination that allows female pastors.

Tradition is fine, said Cheryl McCree, a deacon at Towne View. But when it comes to faith, we follow Christ.  We have to reach out to everybody.

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support from the Lilly Endowment through The Conversation U.S. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Hilary Sweeney remembers Jesten Mata  her ex-fiance and father of their now 17-year-old son, Ryan  as a kind, loving and generous man who struggled.

They met as teens who attended the same school in Arizona, but grew apart as Matas run-ins with the law landed him behind bars for burglary and theft charges. While in prison, Sweeney said, Mata made friends with people that she believes led him down a different path in life  one that ultimately led to his story ending in New Mexico. It was there that the 40-year-olds body and those of three others were found in the back of a pickup truck parked at an airport in Albuquerque.

Its just absolutely devastating that it ended up this way, Sweeney said. I want people to know his story and that he was a good person, because its just horrible what happened.

Sweeney relocated to Oregon with her parents and Ryan in search of a better life in 2007, but remained in touch with Mata, giving regular updates on their sons progress.

She said he struggled with addiction issues, developed symptoms of PTSD while in prison and didnt get the help he needed when released in 2015. His record in New Mexico since 2016 included drug, theft and shoplifting charges.

On March 5, Matas body was found along with Matthew Miller, Randal Apostalon and Jennifer Lannon. Lannons ex-husband, Sean M. Lannon, 47, of Grants, New Mexico, is a suspect in the killings and authorities say charges against him are pending in those deaths.

Sean Lannon, who grew up in New Jersey and returned here earlier this month, is charged with murder in the killing of his youth mentor, Michael Dabkowski, 66, who was found bludgeoned to death in his East Greenwich Township home on March 8.

Lannon flew from New Mexico to New Jersey with his three young kids a day before the bodies were found in Albuquerque, leaving his kids with family in South Jersey before heading off on an odyssey that took him to Virginia, then back to New Jersey, where he allegedly confronted Dabkowski.

Lannon told investigators that Dabkowski sexually abused him as a teen when they were involved in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program and had taken photos of the acts. He claimed he went to Dabkowskis home to retrieve the photos and had no intention of harming the man.

Investigators in New Jersey would not comment on whether they had recovered any photos.

Sean M. LannonSalem County jail

Lannon remains jailed pending trial in that case. He allegedly confessed to the five killings and said he killed 11 others in New Mexico, though police say they have found no evidence yet to support that claim.

Sweeney offered her familys condolences to all touched by the cross-country killings.

Ryan and I are so sorry for all of the families involved and everyone affected by this horrible crime.

She believes Mata was still hanging around with people he met in prison when he was killed. Family members told Sweeney that Mata was shot in the back of the head and dismembered.

Lannon allegedly told a relative that he murdered his wife and her boyfriends in New Mexico, and while police have described the Lannons as friends of Miller and Mata, Grants Police Lt. David Chavez confirmed Wednesday that Mata was dating Jennifer Lannon. The Lannons divorced in 2019, according to court records.

Investigators have not found a connection between this group and Apostalon, who was said to offer people rides for money. Investigators believe Apostalon was killed in Albuquerque, while the other victims died in Grants, about 80 miles west.

Police say a man named Daniel Lemos, 46, of Grants, is still sought as a person of interest in the disappearances of Miller, Mata and Jennifer Lannon, who were originally reported missing there in January.

Sweeney said she wasnt comfortable around Matas associates in Arizona and worried about the influence his lifestyle could have on their son, but didnt want to freeze him out of their lives. That was the source of many arguments during their engagement. Everyone close to us thought that we were already married because of the way we argued, she said.

She recalled trying to get Mata help.

Growing up, he would often come over to her familys home to assist with yard work and other chores. Sweeney said she felt safe with him.

Mata was close to his father, who died of cancer in 2013, and joined a pipefitters union with him. Their work took them to the Hoover Dam, she recalled.

The one main job that he really enjoyed was going down to the bottom of the Hoover Dam with his dad. He was really doing good at those times.

Matas mom still lives in Arizona and is doing her best to deal with the loss of her oldest son, Sweeney said.

Shes a real strong believer in God  Hes really holding her up right now. Shes doing a lot of praying for justice. I think that shes still in shock and holding it in a little bit.

Last May, Mata was planning to travel to Oregon to see his son, but Sweeney had to call off the trip. Mata was still using drugs and she worried that the visit could do more harm than good.

It just all started to scare me because my son and I have come so far in being safe. After that, Jesten got a little upset with me and felt like I was keeping Ryan from him, but, knowing the past, I really didnt want to pull on Ryans heartstrings like that.

Her son is handling his fathers death exceptionally well, Sweeney said.

He remembers his dad before everything got really bad, she said. He remembers little things like playing Chutes and Ladders with him. Im really thankful for all the pictures I took.

Since learning of Matas death, Sweeney has been looking back over the old photos and cards and remembering the good times.

Ryan was very important to him, she said. Last night I came across a birthday card that he had drawn for Ryan.

Those cards included promises to his son and reflected what Mata truly wanted in his life, Sweeney said.

He just kept telling Ryan, Im going to do whatever I can to get back to you. I will be with you again. In his heart, mind and soul, that was his ultimate goal. I really, truly do believe that.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com.
CHANDLER, Ariz., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Primavera Online School, is celebrating 20 years of student success as it enters the 2021/22 school year. Founded in 2001, Primavera Online provides a tuition-free, accredited online education for students throughout Arizona. Since opening its doors two decades ago to a handful of students, Primavera Online has grown to be the largest online school in the state. This school year Primavera brought its 20-year history of quality education to grades K-5 in partnership with Edkey Inc. As they enter the 2021/22 school year, they are expected to educate more than 22,000 students.

When Primavera Online was founded, it was with the conviction that every child deserves a great education. With an award-winning digital curriculum, Primavera Online accomplishes just thatand moreby offering students a high-quality, online education that is accredited and NCAA-approved. Courses are filled with interactive videos, live teacher-led lessons, instructional videos and animations, and educational games. By providing a supportive educational environment that is engaging, Primavera Online prepares students to be college and career ready.

In addition to providing students with a quality online education, Primavera Online offers a unique alternative to the traditional model and serves students with different needs. Its student body includes alternative students, those at risk of not graduating on time, and those looking to excel in their classesall of whom can enroll in 1-2 classes while still being enrolled at another school. At Primavera Online, students have the option to enroll full-time or part-time, depending on whether they want to catch up on credits, get ahead in their schoolwork, or earn an accredited diploma that is recognized by universities, colleges, and employers nationwide.

Additionally, Primavera Online offers free summer school. This year, summer school is available for grades 3-12 with sessions in June and July 2021. Children across the state in grades 3-8 who want to continue their learning momentum through the summer can now enroll in free summer school at ChoosePrimavera.com. High school students in grades 9-12 who are looking to catch up on credits, get ahead in school, and keep their learning momentum going through the summer can now enroll for summer school at FreeSummerSchool.com. Enrollment is also open for Fall 2021/22 at ChoosePrimavera.com with classes starting on August 2, 2021.

For More Information, Contact:

Cody Bendix

(480) 490-8414

[email protected]

ABOUT PRIMAVERA ONLINE

Primavera Online School is a tuition-free, public charter school providing Arizona students in grades K-12 a rigorous, award-winning curriculum, a flexible schedule and personalized attention from highly qualified instructors. Primavera is Cognia accredited and NCAA-approved. Visit www.chooseprimavera.com for more.

SOURCE Primavera Online School
BIG RAPIDS  Its been a tough year for all of us, including the travel industry. The impact of COVID on daily lives has been insurmountable and each of us has had to weather the storm differently over the past year. One thing remains: travel and tourism is as important now as it ever was prior to COVID.

Weve seen increased interest in travel and intent to travel in the near future, all positive signs as we head into Spring/Summer, said Connie Koepke, executive director of the Mecosta County Visitors Bureau. We also know through statewide surveys that visitors are going to be looking for road trip destinations and places that are closer to home this year.

This is one of the reasons that the Michigan Association of CVBs has come up with a statewide gift card scavenger hunt to celebrate National Travel and Tourism Week, May 2-8.

This creative and unique marketing initiative is a fun, statewide scavenger hunt to engage visitors both on social media platforms and to Michigan destinations. It also encourages guests to visit new places on future trips, Koepke said.

Participating state CVBs are looking for donations of five gift cards valued at $100 (or a combination of two at $50 each) to restaurants, shops, attractions or lodging in their communities. Participating CVBs will hide the gift cards throughout their community and then post on social media various clues to fans on where to find them.

The program will be asking social media audiences to share a photo of their favorite overnight vacation in Michigan using the hashtag #MIpoweroftravel. Those fans will be entered to win an additional overnight vacation package.

Travel Michigan (Michigan.org) will be supporting the initiative with social media posts as well as a landing page on Michigan.org with further information. For example: A visitor vacationing on Mackinac Island may find a $100 gift card to a business located in the Big Rapids Region.

If you are a tourism related business located in Mecosta County and are interested in participating (donating) to this amazing statewide initiative, please reach out to Connie Koepke  Executive Director of the Mecosta County Visitors Bureau at director@bigrapids.org by Monday, April 16, 2021. Your business will then be featured in all related social media posts as well as the Mecosta County Visitors Bureau and Michigan.org web pages.

Currently there are 15 CVBs in the state that are participating in this unique tourism program.

For more information on Exploring the Big Rapids Region, Things To Do and Local Happenings, you can contact the Mecosta County Visitors Bureau online at BigRapids.org, by calling them at 231-796-7640 or 888-229-4fun and by visiting the Mecosta County Welcome Center located at 127 S. State St., Big Rapids. Monday thru Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Whether it was a gaffe or a goof, Boris Johnsons crediting of greed and capitalism for the UKs vaccination success was pure Gordon Gekko. The mean spirit of the Wall Street movies character seems to have poisoned the atmosphere on vaccine supplies. Aggressive competition and naked one-upmanship threatens to thwart concerted action.

There is now an almost complete breakdown in relations between the EU and AstraZeneca.

Revelations in Italian media about 29 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses has sparked further finger-pointing and recriminations. There may be nothing untoward about the stockpile, but the reaction to it highlights the febrile atmosphere over supplies. Mistrust has reached toxic levels.

Failure to meet targets have now driven the EU to change the rules on the export of Covid-19 vaccines, giving it a clearer right to block shipments. One French official captured the mood of frustration in Europe when saying: Europe doesnt want to be a useful idiot in all this.

Contentious though the moves may be, they are less draconian than what they might have been. While regrettable, the decision to assess exports on a case-by-case basis is less disruptive than the total ban on vaccine exports some had sought.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin was correct to speak out this week about the unforeseen consequences such a measure could have had.

The prospect of further interference in vital supply chains, by tit-for-tat retaliatory moves, could lead to a total breakdown in production at a time when the variants are already wreaking havoc.

Hopefully a more considered response will lead to a thaw in the current cold war between London and Brussels.

As EU trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis explained, the so-called export authorisation mechanism does not target any specific country. The hope is that the granting of export licences will establish what the EU sees as ground rules of reciprocity and proportionality. The fear is they could provoke a trade war.

Under the plan, the rate of vaccination, and access to it, will determine whether a country is approved. As a UK government spokesperson pointed out, all countries are fighting the same pandemic. A code of conduct needs to be accepted.

Brussels felt the need to move in the face of what it described as priority systems set up for vaccinating citizens in other countries, which were in effect de facto bans by another name.

The bloc has exported 43 million doses since the end of January, including 10.9 million to Britain. The UK, meanwhile, has exported none.

A scarcity of vaccine supplies has fractured global solidarity when we have never been more inter-dependent. The recent co-operation between Johnson & Johnson and Merck is an example of how production around the world can be ramped up.

As we grapple with the pandemic, and with the likelihood of more to come down the line, a credo of greed is good is in no-ones interest.
Syracuse, NY  A woman being investigated in the recent murder of a 93-year-old woman at Skyline Apartments was charged in mid-February with attacking another elderly woman in the same building, but a judge released her, Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard has learned.

Victoria Afet, 23, remains under suspicion Thursday in the slaying of Connie Tuori. A homicide lawyer had been assigned to defend her, indicating charges are likely. (Update: Police announced midday that Afet was charged in the murder.)

Afet has a history with law enforcement that includes charges that she robbed and bit another elderly woman at Skyline on Feb. 18. She was released by a judge the next day.

That raises the question: Did Afet murder Tuori after being released from jail with no bail on the earlier robbery charge?

Tuoris body was found last week, but Afet couldnt have killed her anytime this month: Shes been jailed on unrelated charges since Feb. 28, records show.

Authorities, however, are investigating whether Tuori was killed weeks before she was found in her apartment when police were called to check on her.

Afets last short stint of freedom, from Feb. 19 to 28, came after Syracuse City Court Judge Felicia Pitts Davis released her from jail without bail on charges from the earlier Skyline attack.

In that case, Afet was charged with a crime that cant typically result in jail under the states recent bail reform laws.

The reform law, however, does have a legal exemption that would have allowed the judge to set bail and hold her in jail. The judge chose not to use that exemption, although the prosecution advocated for it at the bail hearing.

Police and prosecutors have declined comment on Afets case, citing the ongoing investigation. Judges are not allowed to talk about pending cases.

But the circumstances of Afets release from jail around the time of Tuoris murder are revealed through public records, sheriffs office jail records and interviews with lawyers involved in the case who spoke to Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard.

By the time she faced the judge Feb. 19, Afet already had four ongoing felony cases, a short, failed stint on probation and a misdemeanor larceny conviction, public records show.

Shed been jailed seven separate times in the past three years and had gotten released or bailed out each time, according to records provided by Onondaga County Sheriffs Office spokesman Sgt. Jon Seeber.

The February robbery and biting incident at Skyline was not considered a bail eligible charge -- something a judge could set bail and jail a person on -- under the states recent bail reform law: third-degree robbery, described as the forcible stealing of property, is not classified as a violent crime. The biting itself was minor enough it wasnt even considered a crime.

However, the bail reform law allows a judge to make an exception to the rule: a defendant can be sent to jail if charged with a new offense during a pending case, if both the new and old cases involve identifiable harm to other people.

In this case, Afet had been accused of robbing a 74-year-old woman at Skyline, stealing $38 and biting her hand, police said in a felony complaint filed in Syracuse City Court. And she had prior ongoing allegations that included, in separate cases from 2020: slamming a womans head against a tree, flashing a serrated knife while threatening someones life and injuring someone with a knife outside a store.

Given that, prosecutors asked City Court Judge Felicia Pitts Davis to keep Afet held on $50,000 bail on the Skyline robbery case, records show. They argued that Afets prior charges fit the bill for the exemption to the bail law.

But the judge opted instead to release Afet on pretrial release. Thats akin to probation, aimed at people awaiting their day in court.

Its unclear how much of Afets other criminal cases Pitts Davis considered at the time; judges arent allowed to comment publicly about pending cases. Also, prosecutors had agreed to reduce charges to misdemeanors in all but one of those older cases.

Still, the record shows that Pitts Davis considered and rejected an argument from prosecutors to keep Afet jailed on the bail-reform exemption that involves harm to people.

After Afets release on Feb. 19, she continued getting in trouble, records show.

On Feb. 26, state troopers arrested Afet and charged her with driving a 2005 Honda Civic that had been reported stolen in DeWitt, said Trooper Jack Keller, a state police spokesman.

She was ticketed and released in that case without going before a judge, records show.

Two days later, state police found Afet in another stolen car in the Baldwinsville area, Keller said. This time, she was driving a car that had been reported stolen in Syracuse. She was also carrying methamphetamine and hash oil, the trooper said.

That time, Afet was arraigned before a judge. Since Pitts Davis had placed Afet on pretrial release earlier in February, that was another factor that could be considered in sending her to jail.

This time, Clay Town Justice Jeffrey Schiano ordered Afet jailed with no bail, records show. Afet has been in custody ever since.

Not counting the homicide probe, Afet has a total of seven pending cases and one conviction, records show:

April 10, 2020: Accused of stealing a Chevrolet SUV from outside a North Side store. She was seen getting into vehicle with a bandaged, bloody hand injury, according to court records. When the vehicle was later recovered, blood inside was matched to Afet, police said. (Afet wasnt arrested until Oct. 22, 2020, after DNA blood analysis completed.)

June 16, 2020: Accused of stealing from the Butternut Street Rite Aid, then flashing a serrated knife at a civilian who tried to stop her; also accused of threatening to kill the civilian. Sent to jail with unknown bail, remained there for a month. That case is still pending in City Court after prosecutors consented to pursuing misdemeanors, not felonies.

July 16, 2020: Pleaded guilty to misdemeanor petit larceny from May, which also closed or reduced several other pending cases. Sentenced to three years on probation, freed from jail for the first time since June 16.

Aug. 16, 2020: Accused of injuring someone with a knife outside a North Side store. That case has been indicted as an assault and is pending in felony court. She faces up to 7 years in prison, if convicted. (Afet wasnt arrested in this case until Oct. 1, 2020.)

Aug. 22, 2020: Accused of slamming another womans head into a tree on Highland Street. That case is also pending in City Court after prosecutors consented to pursuing a misdemeanor.

Aug. 23, 2020: Sent to jail in head-slamming case, with bail set at $2,500 cash or $5,000 bond. Bail is increased as older cases linked to Afet: additional $20,000 bail in head-slamming incident from June; additional $1,000 bail in SUV theft case from April. Remains jailed for nearly next five months.

Sept. 4, 2020: Accused of violating probation from her sentence in the earlier petit larceny conviction. Specific allegations are unknown, though new arrests are considered probation violations.

Jan. 13: Officially taken off probation, resentenced to nine months in jail. Because shed already spent six months behind bars since her crime back in June 2020, shes released from jail Jan. 29. (Under jail rules, an inmate only serves 2/3 of a sentence, assuming theres no problems in custody.)

Feb. 18: Does not show up for felony court for 10:15 a.m. arraignment on indicted assault charge stemming from 2020 knife incident outside store. Around 4:30 p.m. the same day, accused of robbing and biting the 74-year-old woman at Skyline Apartments. Released from jail the following day, after arraignment, on pretrial release. A grand jury is now hearing the Skyline robbery case.

Feb. 26: Accused in DeWitt stolen car case. Ticketed by police and released.

Feb. 28: Accused of driving another stolen car in Baldwinsville. Also charged with drug possession. At arraignment, sent to jail with no bail, based on her prior pretrial release provisions.

March 17: Connie Tuori, 93, found dead by police in her 12th floor apartment at Skyline, 753 James St. Police were checking on her condition after she missed an appointment. Her death ruled a homicide.

March 23: Defense lawyer Susan Carey confirms to Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard that she is meeting with Afet in jail that afternoon regarding the Skyline Apartments homicide. Authorities decline comment.

Staff writer Douglass Dowty can be reached at ddowty@syracuse.com or 315-470-6070.

Related articles

Skyline Apartments to hire off-duty Syracuse cops for extra security after womans murder

Walsh says hes exploring legal action against Skyline owners: Its public nuisance No. 1

Elderly murder victims family on Skyline squalor: Did they get away with this because who owns it?

Connie Tuori, 93, survived Afghanistan, Antarctica and African safari, only to be killed in her Syracuse apartment

Family IDs 93-year-old woman murdered in Skyline Apartments

Inside Tim Greens Skyline Apartments: Murder, drugs and filth. Tenants, cops say enough is enough

Woman killed at Skyline Apartments on James Street

Police, tenants push football legend Tim Greens firm to fix nightmare apartments
Any borrowing by the national government that exceeds Sh1 billion will require the approval of the National Assembly if a proposed amendment to the law is passed and assented to by the President.

The Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly wants the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act amended to ensure that the country does not continue to pile up loans whose repayment may pose a challenge due to limited public resources.

"The approval must be sought from the National Assembly before the government signs loan contracts with various lenders," the PAC, chaired by Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi, says in its report on the audited accounts of the national government for the 2017/18 financial year.

This amendment will require the National Treasury to engage an independent audit consultant to audit the national debt register and report to Parliament within three months.

The need for a national register was buttressed by the fact that the Office of the Auditor-General noted variances between figures reflected in the loan registers, other supporting schedules and the financial statements.

Further, the committee wants the National Treasury cabinet secretary to, within three months of adoption of the report, form a national task force on public debt.

The PAC report tabled in the house on Tuesday says spiralling public debt could strain the country coming at a time that the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is facing challenges raising revenue to finance the country's annual budgets.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Business Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

The medium-term debt strategy paper, a document prepared by the National Treasury, shows that the nominal stock of public debt stood at Sh7.28 trillion (US$ 65.6 billion) as of the end of December 2020.

This is an equivalent of 65.6 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the country's wealth.

However, a recent Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) document on the macroeconomic challenges underpinning the budget implementation for the current financial year, shows that the country's public debt stands at Sh8.41 trillion.

Approval by parliament

The lack of approval by parliament before the external loans are procured by the government has been PBO's main concern in managing public debt.

In Uganda, where the committee relied on in drafting the recommendations, parliament has to approve each loan agreement before it is signed while in Kenya, MPs only approve payment of the loans.

The 2021 Budget Policy Statement (BPS) projects that the government will borrow from the local and external market at least Sh1 trillion to bridge the deficit in the Sh3.02 trillion budget for the 2021/22 financial year.

This will require amendment to the PFM (National Government) Regulations to increase the national debt ceiling from the current Sh9 trillion.

Already, there have been talk of raising the ceiling to Sh12 trillion despite concerns from the public, politicians and the international community.
The competition for consumer dollars spent on broadband internet service in Connecticut gets a little more heated this week, as telecommunications giant Verizon launches what it calls 5G Home in parts of Hartford.

Verizon plans to extend the service to other communities in the future, according to Verizon spokesman Chris Serico. The service carries a $50 per month price tag for for Verizon customers and $70 per month for everyone else.

In return, company officials say users will get typical download speeds of 300 megabits per second and upload speeds around 50 megabits per second.

The lack of choice among providers has become a high profile issue in Connecticut in the past year, with so many more people working from home during the pandemic.

High-speed service is what makes Zoom meetings and remote classrooms run smoothly, without video images freezing. It allows workers to download large files from their employers more quickly, and also to stream movies or video games.

Gov. Ned Lamont has said his administration would push to make broadband more widely available available across the state and to increase the service choices in areas that already have it.

Serico said bringing 5G Home to your residence doesnt require the help of a technician. It also comes with no annual contracts and no data caps.

The launch of the service marks Verizons first entry into Connecticuts overall broadband market. While the company has long been part of the states cellular phone service market (which allows for internet access), it does offer its FIOS fiber optic broadband and cable television service anywhere in Connecticut.

5G, or fifth generation technology, started out as an exclusive broadband service for cellular phone users.

But according to Jeff Kagan, an independent telecommunications analyst based in Atlanta, Verizon and other mobile service providers are now looking to exploit the technology to woo customers who are dissatisfied with their existing broadband choices.

Though its a cellular broadband technology, the real push right now is the home market, Kagan said. Everything you do with [traditional] broadband now, youll have the ability to do with 5G home.

Heres how 5G home works in the simplest of terms, according to Lon Seidman, a technology expert from Essex. The signal is delivered to the home through the air using cellular transmissions. An antenna at the home picks up the signal and delivers it to the rest of the home, creating an internet hot spot.

The big takeaway from 5G is that they can fit more customers on a single [cellular] tower, Seidman said. Before, they could not get as many people crammed on a tower.

With the launch of 5G home in Hartford, the service will be available in parts of 28 cities around the country. Seidman said that while Verizons 5G service is pretty darn good, its success will ultimately depend upon where you are in the state.

A lot of areas struggle to get a cell signal, so its not going to be good everywhere, Seidman said. It will be better in the more densely populated areas.

luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com
A huge restaurant franchise deal has resulted in new ownership for dozens of Pizza Hut restaurants across Alabama.

Flynn Restaurant Group announced this week that it has sealed a deal to acquire 937 Pizza Hut restaurants and 194 Wendys units from NPC International. NPC had been one of the largest franchise restaurant operators in the country, but according to reports in industry news sites such as Restaurant Business it had been under financial pressure even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020. NPC declared bankruptcy in 2020.

Flynn Restaurant Group, which described itself as the largest franchise operator in the country even before the deal, already boasted holdings including Applebees, Panera Bread, Taco Bell and Arbys. Of those, only a few Panera Bread stores are in Alabama. It said the 1,131 additional restaurants would nearly double its portfolio for a total of 2,355. Combined, they will generate about $3.5 billion in annual sales and employ 73,000 people in 44 states.

Most of the restaurants in Flynns new Hut American group are in the Southeast, with the biggest swath stretching northwest from Alabama across Mississippi, western Tennessee and Arkansas into Oklahoma and Missouri.

Flynn cited the support of backers Main Post Partners, a private equity investment firm, and the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board in funding the deal.

Pizza Hut has 116 restaurants in Alabama, according to the chains website. Theyre widely scattered across large and small communities, rather than clumped in major cities. Birmingham and Mobile each have six of the stores, Montgomery and Huntsville each have four, according to the site. In the majority of cases, there appears to be one Pizza Hut per town.

It wasnt immediately clear how many of them were affected by the deal. Flynns map of its holdings showed dozens of Pizza Huts scattered across the state, with concentrations along the coast and in the region around Birmingham. A request for more detail from Flynn was pending as this story was published.

According to a Franchise Times report, Moodys had specifically noted lackluster results at Pizza Hut as part of the problem when it downgraded NPCs credit rating in 2019. The report said Pizza Hut had been posting declining operating results and losing market share to Dominos.
Min. Brophy announces Irish Aid support to Humanitarian Response to Fires in Rohingya Refugee Camp

Press release

In response to the fires in the Rohingya refugee camps in Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh, Minister of State for Overseas Development Aid and Diaspora, Colm Brophy, T.D., today announced 100,000 in Irish Aid funding for Concern Worldwide to support efforts to address the crisis.

Minister Brophy said:

Initial reports from the UN have confirmed 15 deaths, with hundreds more still missing. The blaze has also led to further displacement and destruction of infrastructure, compounding the suffering of Rohingya refugees, who have endured so much hardship in recent years.

"Ireland is responding at speed to this tragedy through our funding to Concern Worldwide. In 2021 we will also, as I pledged at last Octobers humanitarian conference on the Rohingya crisis, provide funding of 1 million to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, for its activities in Coxs Bazar. This assistance is a meaningful expression of Irelands solidarity with the Rohingya, one of the worlds most vulnerable communities.

ENDS

Press Office

24 March 2021

Notes for Editors Humanitarian Situation (related to the fires) A massive fire broke out in Balukhali Rohingya Camp on 22 March 2021.

Preliminary estimates indicate that fifteen people have lost their lives. An estimated 400 people are still missing. More than 560 people have been injured.

Up to 10,000 Rohingya refugee families (more than 45,000 persons) have been displaced following the fire. This figure could increase in the coming days as assessment efforts continue.

Around 10,000 shelters were either damaged or destroyed.

At least six health facilities have been reported as damaged or destroyed by the fire: one secondary health facility (field hospital), one specialized clinic, one primary health care (PHC) facility, and one health post (HP) were destroyed while another PHC and HP were damaged. Overall Humanitarian Context In 2017 a violent crackdown the Myanmar military on the Rohingya minority ethnic group in Myanmar led to mass exodus to neighbouring Bangladesh. Almost one million Rohingya refugees live in extremely precarious conditions in Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh, the largest single refugee settlement in the world. Rohingya refugees and members of the Bangladeshi host community rely on humanitarian aid to meet their basic needs. Ireland has provided direct funding of over 4.6m to the Rohingya crisis (in both Bangladesh and Myanmar) since the Myanmar military operations in late 2017. The additional funding announced today will bring Irelands support since 2017 to a minimum of 5.7m by the end of 2021.

 Previous Item | Next Item 
CONVENING OF THE ORDINARY GENERAL MEETINGS OF SHAREHOLDERS OF 30 APRIL 2021

The shareholders are invited to attend the ordinary general meeting, which will take place on Wednesday 30th of April 2021 at 11:00AM at the registered seat in 1070 Brussels (Anderlecht), Allee de la Recherche 60.

Due to the health crisis linked to Covid-19 and the measures taken by the public authorities, the board of directors recommends that shareholders who wish to participate in the ordinary general meeting to express their vote by proxy by giving a mandate to the person independent mentioned in the form of proxy attached to this notice and specifying their voting instructions.

The board of directors has decided not to organize a remote general meeting in accordance with article 7: 137, 1 of the Companies and Associations Code.

However, the board has decided to broadcast the meeting through Teams. Shareholders wishing to attend are requested to provide their email address in the notice of attendance attached to this notice. Remote electronic voting will not be possible.

AGENDA OF THE ORDINARY GENERAL MEETING OF 30 APRIL 2021

Report of the board of directors on the financial year ended 31 December 2020

Commentary : the board report discusses all the items referred to in article 3:6 of the Company and Associations code.

Remunerations report on the financial year ended 31 December 2020

Proposed decision : approve the remunerations report on the financial year ended 31 December 2019.

Statutory auditor's report on the annual accounts as at 31 December 2020

Commentary : this report has been prepared in accordance with the articles 3:74 and 3:75 of the Company and Associations code.

Annual accounts as at 31 December 2020 - Result appropriation

Proposed decision : approve the annual accounts as at 31 December 2020, including the distribution of a gross dividend of  0,68 per share.

EU-IFRS financial statements as at 31 December 2020

Commentary : to provide a useful and complete set of information to the market, the Company prepares, in addition to the annul accounts in accordance with the Company code and Belgian accounting law (BE GAAP), financial statements in accordance with international financial reporting standards as adopted by the European Union (EU-IFRS), with equity accounting of UCB.

Discharge of the directors for the financial year ended 31 December 2020

Proposed decision : by special vote, discharge each of the directors for the execution of their respective mandate during the financial year ended 31 December 2020

Discharge of the statutory auditor for the financial year ended 31 December 2020

Proposed decision : discharge the statutory auditor for the execution of his mandate during the financial year ended 31 December 2019

Remuneration policy

Proposed decision: approve the remuneration policy established in accordance with article 7: 89/1 of the Companies and Associations Code

Board of Directors - Renewal - Resignation - Appointment

Proposed decision : renew the term of office of Cedric van Rijckevorsel for a period of four years ending at the end of the ordinary general meeting to be held in 2025; Proposed decision: renew the term of office of NV Vauban duly represented by its permanent representative Mr Gaetan Hannecart, for a period of four years ending at the end of the ordinary general meeting to be held in 2025; Proposed decision : Confirm that NV Vauban is appointed as independent director, the company and its permanent representative both responding to the independence criteria laid down in article 7:87 of the Company and Associations code and the 2020 Governance code; Proposed decision: register the resignation of Mr Bruno Holthof as a director with effect from the date of this meeting; Proposed decision : approve the appointment of Praksis BV duly represented by its permanent representative Mr Bruno Holthof as a director for a period of four years ending at the end of the ordinary general meeting to be held in 2025; Proposed decision : Confirm that Praksis BV is appointed as independent director, the company and its permanent representative both responding to the independence criteria laid down in article 7:87 of the Company and Associations code and the 2020 Governance code; Proposed decision: register the resignation of Mr Cyril Janssen as a director with effect from the date of this meeting; Proposed decision : approve the appointment of Nikita Srl duly represented by its permanent representative Mr Cyril Janssen as a director for a period of four years ending at the end of the ordinary general meeting to be held in 2025; Proposed decision: register the resignation of Mr Nicolas Janssen as a director with effect from the date of this meeting; Proposed decision : approve the appointment of Mr Edouard Janssen as a director for a period of four years ending at the end of the ordinary general meeting to be held in 2025.

Designation of the statutory auditor for the financial year ended 31 December 2024

Proposed decision : on the proposal of the Board of Directors, exercising the powers of an audit committee, appoint as statutory auditor BDO BEDRIJFSREVISOREN-BDO REVISEURS D'ENTREPRISES S.C.R.L. (N d'entreprise 0431.088.289 ) whose head office is located Ave Da Vincilaan 9, 1930 Zaventem, represented by Mr Christophe Colson, auditor, for a period of three years which will end at the end of the ordinary general meeting to be held in 2024, and set the annual remuneration for the exercise of this mandate at an amount of  13,000 (excluding VAT), this amount being reviewed annually, starting from the 2022 financial year, to take account of the evolution of the consumer price index.

Formalities to attend the general meeting

To attend or be represented at the general meeting and exercise her/his voting right, a shareholder must have carried out the accounting registration of his/her shares on the fourteenth day before the general meeting at 24:00h Belgian time (being Wednesday 16 April 2021, the "Registration Date"), either by registering them in the Company's register of nominative shares, or by registering them in the accounts of a licensed account holder or a settlement institution, the number of shares held on the day of the meetings being disregarded.

The shareholder must also inform the Company of her/his desire to attend the general meeting. A holder of nominative shares should send to the Company the duly signed attendance notice, this form being appended to the invitation to attend. A holder of dematerialized shares should send to the Company the attestations issued by the licensed account holder or by the settlement institution, certifying the number of shares that are registered in the accounts of the account holder or settlement institution on the name of the shareholder at the Registration Date and for which the shareholder has declared he/she wants to participate in the general meeting. The attendance notices or the attestations should reach the Company, at the e-mail address aspijcke@financiere-tubize.be , no later than six days before the date of the general meeting (being Thursday 24 April 2021).

A Teams invitation to attend the general meeting will be communicated to the email address provided by the shareholder in the notice of attendance.

Voting by proxy

The board of directors encourages shareholders to be represented by a proxy, in accordance with the provisions of articles 7: 142 to 7: 145 of the Companies and Associations Code

The proxies must be executed in writing on the basis of the form drawn up by the board of directors and must be signed by the shareholder. For the nominative shareholders, the form is appended to their invitation to attend. Holders of dematerialized shares can retrieve the form from the Company's website www.financiere-tubize.be . The proxy must reach the Company, at the e-mail address aspijcke@financiere-tubize.be , no later than six days before the date of the meeting (being Thursday 24 April 2021).

Adding items to the agenda and submitting proposed decisions

One or more shareholders collectively holding at least 3% of the share capital may request that items be added to the agenda of the meetings and submit proposed decisions concerning original and/or added matters on the agenda.

Requests should be made in writing and include the text of items to be added with corresponding proposed decisions or of proposed decisions relating to original agenda items. They should state the e-mail address to which the Company can send an acknowledgement of receipt within 48 hours. Requests should reach the Company no later than twenty-two days before the date of the general meeting.

Shareholders intending to exercise this right should prove, on the date of their request, that they hold at least 3 % of the share capital, either through a certificate stating that the corresponding shares are registered in the Company's register of nominative shares, or through a certificate drawn up by a licensed account holder or settlement institution certifying the number of corresponding dematerialised shares registered in accounts on the name of the shareholders. They should also perform the accounting registration for at least 3 % of the capital.

If shareholders exercise this right, the Company shall publish a supplemented agenda for the general meetings according to the same terms as the original agenda and no later than fifteen days before the date of the general meetings (being Tuesday 15 April 2021). Simultaneously, the Company will make amended forms for voting by proxy available to its shareholders through its website.

Right to ask questions to the directors and the auditor

Each shareholder who has satisfied the formalities for admission to the meeting has the right, as from the publication of the invitation to attend, to ask questions in writing about the directors' and the statutory auditor's reports, as well as about any other items indicated on the agenda of the general meeting, to which will be responded, as the case may be, by the directors or the statutory auditor, as long as the disclosure of data or facts does not harm the Company's commercial interests and does not violate the confidentiality agreements binding the Company, its directors or the statutory auditor. These questions should be sent electronically to aspijcke@financiere-tubize.be , no later than the sixth day before the date of the meeting (being Thursday 24 April 2021).

Information on the website

The following information can be consulted on the Company's website www.financiere-tubize.be.:

Present convening

Proxy form

Total number of shares and voting rights at the date of the present convening

All documents intended to be presented to the ordinary general meeting Annual accounts EU-IFRS accounts Management report of the board of directors Remuneration report Statutory auditor's report on the annual accounts Auditor's report on the EU-IFRS accounts Annual financial report Draft remuneration policy Profile of the proposed new directors and profile of the directors whose term of office is proposed.



Holders of nominative shares receive a copy of all documents together with the invitation to attend. Other shareholders may obtain a free copy of the documents by sending a request to aspijcke@financiere-tubize.be .

Brussels, 25th of March 2021

The board of directors
.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.  State officials are giving the green light for long-term care facilities to allow in-person visits thanks to vaccinations and the drop in COVID-19 infections.

All testing and control measures will remain in place and outdoor visitation remains the preferred method of visiting, the state Aging & Long-Term Services Department and Department of Health announced Wednesday in a news release. Indoor visits will be determined by the size of a room and the number of occupants.

Residents who are fully vaccinated will be allowed to hug and hold hands with visitors, but masks must be worn by all, and hands are to be washed and sanitized after the visit.

ADVERTISEMENTSkip



................................................................

Communal dining will also be allowed although social distancing requirements will remain in place  6 feet for those wearing masks and 12 feet for residents who are unable to wear a mask.

The new visitation guidelines remain linked to county positivity rates, and will not be permitted in facilities experiencing an outbreak until they have followed the required safety procedures and infections subside.

This vicious virus has taken so much from all of us, but especially long-term care residents, said Aging and Long Term Services Secretary Katrina Hotrum-Lopez.

We are overjoyed to announce that we are making progress  we are seeing cases decrease and more people are choosing to protect themselves and their loved ones by receiving the vaccine, she said.

State Health Secretary Dr. Tracie Collins said the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over, but thanks to more and more New Mexicans being vaccinated and the number of new cases declining, visitation is now possible where the rate of active COVID cases are low.

In addition, state ombudsmen  advocates who ensure that the rights of residents are being upheld  will transition from virtual visits back to in-person consultations at the long-term care facilities.

For a list of green, yellow and red counties, based on their positivity, visit: https://cv.nmhealth.org/long-term-care-guidelines/ and click on the County Positivity Rate. It is updated every two weeks.

To view the updated visitation guidelines in full, click on LTC Facility Guidance.
By Richa Naidu

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Walgreens Boot Alliance is opening its first corporate COVID-19 vaccine clinics at several Amtrak offices in early April to vaccinate "large numbers" of the U.S. passenger railroad's employees, the companies told Reuters exclusively.

Deerfield, Illinois-based Walgreens said the clinics will be similar to those set up for flu vaccinations and will be run by a combination of pharmacists and technicians from Walgreens stores.

American corporations are counting down the days to when their employees will be eligible for vaccine shots.

A Willis Towers Watson survey published on Thursday showed that one in four employers is trying to help employees get vaccinated by obtaining vaccines or facilitating access to vaccines through a third party.

With nearly 70% of Americans over 65 now vaccinated, as well as willing healthcare workers and teachers around the country, most states have begun inoculating essential workers, people with health conditions and/or people in older age groups.

It is up to state governments to decide which industries and workers in their jurisdictions are considered essential.

"We run a 24/7/365 operation providing intercity rail service across 46 states so all of our employees are considered essential workers under most eligibility guidelines," Amtrak said in a statement.

Vaccines will not be mandatory, but Amtrak is "encouraging all employees across the country" to get them.

Walgreens said it has been approached for months by companies looking for guidance on when their workers will be eligible.

"As long as they fall within the eligibility criteria and they have a vaccine allocated from the state, then we're able to support them," said Rick Gates, Walgreens' head of pharmacy and healthcare.

The company also told Reuters it has tested over 400,000 U.S. corporate employees at about 14 companies since the pandemic began.

Walmart, CVS Health and Kroger and others have yet to set up corporate clinics with companies. CVS, Walgreens' biggest rival, said it does not have information to share on its plans.

(Reporting by Richa Naidu; Editing by Karishma Singh)
WATERLOO, ON, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Transoft Solutions (ITS), developers of transportation engineering software and road safety analytic technology, is working in partnership with the Autonomous Vehicle Innovation Network (AVIN), led by the Ontario Centre of Innovation (OCI), on developing an innovative crash risk prediction system, which includes near-miss notification alerts to improve traffic safety across the Regional Municipality of Durham.

TRANSOFT SOLUTIONS AND REGION OF DURHAM DETECTING ROAD SAFETY ISSUES IN REAL-TIME WITH ONTARIO GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

Based in Waterloo, Ontario, Transoft Solutions (ITS) has matched the $876,000 in support from Ontario's AVIN R&D Partnership Fund with $1,798,350 in industry funding for a $2.67M project designed to tackle collisions and everyday road safety issues in a proactive way. Annually, tens of millions of people around the world are injured in traffic collisions. Cities have historically relied on collision datacollected after vehicle impacts have occurredto determine the most dangerous roads and decide which interventions might reduce injuries and fatalities. However, that data, compiled over a period of years, rarely details all the factors contributing to collisions. And while many cities have recently installed cameras on streets and at intersections, manually checking countless hours of video footage is a daunting task.

The AVIN project will extend the core capabilities of Transoft's automated road safety solutions to allow collision courses between road users to be predicted in real-time so that potential crashes can be detected in advance and avoided. And to further enhance the prediction accuracy and computation efficiency, AI will be moved from the cloud to the edge to accelerate advanced collision warning time for users. Additionally, by monitoring and understanding the patterns of these near-misses, a system for forecasting long-term safety problems will also be included. This data informs planners when allocating road safety budgets and solutions.

Transoft's automated road safety solutions use artificial intelligence and deep learning technology to automate video analysis of traffic flow. The technology detects crashes, near-misses, and other potential safety concerns, such as excessive speeding. This empowers transportation engineers and planners to better understand traffic patterns and road user behaviour to make informed decisions that improve safety before a crisis occurs.

"Traffic safety technologies are going through an exciting transformation today. We at Transoft Solutions are proud to receive the support from the Ontario government to expedite the commercialization of our innovative technologies that reduce road fatalities. This project will further enhance our leadership position in the industry while making Canadian roads safer," said Charles Chung, VP Transportation Safety at Transoft Solutions.

"The Regional Municipality of Durham has partnered with Transoft Solutions to help look for new ways to improve safety at intersections. Durham Vision Zero has identified that a majority of collisions occur at intersections and in order to reach our goal, new innovative and effective methods are necessary. Real-time prediction and crash forecasting is an example of this, which diagnoses safety issues prior to collisions occurring. The Region of Durham is thrilled to be part of this progressive team," said Amanda Spencer, Project Manager Road Safety Group at the Regional Municipality of Durham.

"Ontario's roads are among the safest in North America, and we're committed to making them even safer," said Caroline Mulroney, Ontario Minister of Transportation. "As connected and automated vehicle technology continues to advance, Ontario is proud to be a leader by supporting innovative projects, like this one by Transoft Solutions, that have the potential to reduce collisions and make roads safer for drivers, passengers and pedestrians."

"Congratulations to Transoft Solutions and Durham Region for your forward-thinking and collaboration to apply predictive artificial intelligence technologies to improve road safety and traffic planning," said Vic Fedeli, Ontario Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. "This project illustrates how our Autonomous Vehicle Innovation Network is fostering made-in-Ontario mobility technologies that benefit society while strengthening our economy."

"This innovative and cutting-edge collaboration between Transoft Solutions, the Regional Municipality of Durham and the Ontario Government is an example of public-private partnership that not only creates jobs and boosts the economy but also has the potential to improve road safety in our community in a novel way," said Lindsey Park, Member of Provincial Parliament for Durham.

This project builds on the proven experience and reputation of Transoft's transportation safety solutions that have been deployed in over 80 cities in 18 countries worldwide and are unrivaled by other video detection solutions on the market today.

Contact:

For more information about this initiative, please contact Transoft Solutions' Product Marketing Manager - Transportation Safety, Terezinha Hignett by clicking here.

About Transoft Solutions (ITS) Inc.

Based in Waterloo Ontario, Transoft Solutions (ITS) Inc. is the Transportation Safety division of Transoft Solutions, Inc. The company uses AI and machine learning to offer automated road safety analytic solutions that generate data on traffic conditions, road user conflict patterns (near-misses), and other key traffic safety metrics. This data allows practitioners to identify high-risk locations in a network, determine the most high-risk movements or risk causes, and evaluate road safety improvements quickly using a measurable safety index. Transoft's road safety solutions have been deployed in over 18 countries worldwide and are unrivaled by other video detection solutions on the market today. Clients include government agencies at the provincial/state, county and municipal levels, as well as engineering and transportation planning firms.

About AVIN

Ontario's Autonomous Vehicle Innovation Network (AVIN) is an initiative by the Ontario government, led by the Ontario Centre of Innovation (OCI), designed to reinforce Ontario's position as a North American leader in transportation technology and infrastructure systems. Through resources such as research and development (R&D) support, talent development, technology acceleration, business and technical supports, and demonstration grounds, AVIN provides a competitive advantage to Ontario-based automotive and mobility technology companies.

Related Images

transoft-solutions-its-and-ontario.jpg

Transoft Solutions (ITS) and Ontario Government Support

TRANSOFT SOLUTIONS AND REGION OF DURHAM DETECTING ROAD SAFETY ISSUES IN REAL-TIME WITH ONTARIO GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

SOURCE Transoft Solutions (ITS) Inc.
CHEYENNE  What can cash-strapped Wyoming do with $1.3 billion from the federal government?

Plenty, if you ask members of the Wyoming Legislature. Yet lawmakers are hesitant to say such a windfall can solve the current budget crisis. It will take time to fully understand the restrictions on spending, they say, and could be months before the specifics are understood well enough to act on  a delay that may necessitate a special legislative session this spring or summer, according to Speaker of the House Eric Barlow (R-Gillette).

On March 11, President Joe Biden signed a massive, $1.9 trillion dollar aid package that, according to estimates from Congress, includes $1.3 billion in aid to Wyoming to shore up everything from schools and healthcare facilities to local government and unemployment insurance.

Its a significant injection of money that was announced as the Wyoming Legislature mulls over hundreds of millions of dollars in spending cuts due to historic declines in revenue brought on by underperformance in minerals and the COVID-19 pandemic.

And though officials are still unsure how exactly the money can be used, the Biden administrations American Rescue Plan is already influencing the discussions taking place in the halls of the Capitol. On Friday, members of the House Appropriations Committee met to discuss a proposal to expend those dollars, setting the stage for an anticipated special session this spring or summer to appropriate the money.

The federal funding has also entered the minds of lawmakers tasked with funding Wyomings K-12 education system. The House of Representatives on Friday suspended its discussions on a bill that would make more than $68 million in additional cuts to states education budget, citing an anticipated $303 million ARP windfall coming to Wyoming specifically for those programs.

The one-time money may not deter voices seeking significant longer-term cuts to those programs, however. While the House of Representatives is anticipated to present the Senate with a bill that includes a conditional 1% sales tax increase to fund education, the Senate  which has to challenged the states current funding model  has taken a different stance. That body is standing by its proposal to cut more than $130 million from Wyomings schools, and members remain skeptical of using federal funds to bail out a system Senate leaders believe is fundamentally unsustainable.

Were still trying to figure out what the feds have done to us, Sen. Charlie Scott (R-Casper) told reporters Friday. Were probably still in a position where were having to make some reductions this year. And its probably a good year to do it. Because some of those temporary federal funds may well cushion the impacts for a while.

Well make the best use of it we can, he added. But my guess it will be sometime in the middle of spring before we understand what the feds have really done.

Wyoming officials have not yet ascertained exactly how much money ARP will deliver to the state and how restrictions on spending might influence those decisions, they say.

A consultant for Gov. Mark Gordons office has provided the state with tentative estimates for what dollars will be earmarked for what programs. But so far, little is actually known about what strings are attached to those dollars, officials say, making it challenging for policymakers to evaluate what implications the ARP could have on the state budget.

A previous relief package under the federal CARES Act did not allow those funds to be used to replace lost revenues, and lacked flexibility that some officials  like Gordon  desired to meet the states needs.

Were in a bit of a holding pattern right now to know all the details that we will need to put the finer points on the spending proposals the governor will put out, Renny Mackay, Gordons policy adviser, said in an interview. What were doing now is preparing for that by putting together a group to start developing collective thinking around what this could look like for our cities, towns and counties.

The bills unknowns have already caused friction with some states. Soon after its passage, Wyoming Attorney General Bridget Hill signed onto a letter with 20 other attorneys general challenging a provision in the ARP preventing states from implementing tax cuts after receiving funding. That guidance was later clarified after Ohios attorney general challenged the provision in court.

Theres a lot of discussion still about the interplay of the federal money, Mackay said. That was one of the issues all along with the first CARES Act, which didnt allow anything for revenue replacement. That was what the legislature has had certainty on up until this point.

While it can certainly aid the state in the near future, officials say, the money from the ARP is not a long-term solution to Wyomings greater budgetary issues.

Wyomings budget deficit is structural, not situational, in origin, lawmakers say. Even with a backfill from the federal government, the state still faces a reckoning on balancing its declining revenues with the level of government services it provides.

On the second reading of the House budget bill, for example, the House rejected an amendment to defund a savings account intended for rural broadband.

That came despite the governor appropriating millions of federal CARES Act dollars to support those efforts.

One time funding, the amendments critics argued, is no replacement for a sustainable funding source.

Weve got systemic revenue issues, Mackay said. While there is revenue replacement allowed with the funding thats coming, that would only be a patch. It does not do anything to help the long-term revenue issues we have. The level of spending we have, both on the executive branch side and the K-12 side, are huge discussions to have there. The long-term issue remains, and this doesnt do anything to address that.

WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.
A plan to restore San Diego Countys only freshwater lagoon to its original saltwater state received unanimous support this week from the Carlsbad City Council.

Now we finally have light at the end of the tunnel, said Councilman Keith Blackburn, who praised the regional planning agency, the San Diego Association of Governments, or SANDAG, for taking over the Buena Vista Lagoon restoration project after it stalled under the states Department of Fish and Wildlife in 2012.

Saltwater is the preferred alternative in the final environmental impact report released in September by SANDAG for the lagoons proposed restoration. The other options are 2) to keep the lagoon filled with freshwater but clean out the weeds and silt, 3) to create a hybrid water body with the western half saltwater and the eastern half freshwater, or 4) to do nothing.

The 240-acre lagoon at the border of Carlsbad and Oceanside has contained freshwater since property owners installed a weir in the 1940s at the outlet near the beach. The weir is a type of low dam installed at the lagoons outlet near the beach to keep out saltwater and hold in the freshwater supplied by creeks and storm runoff. The present structure was built in 1972.

Advertisement

Like all Southern California lagoons, the Buena Vista has been slowly shrinking. Development has encroached on its edges, along with reeds and cattails, and sand and sediment have clogged its channel. Without extensive dredging and excavation, the lagoon would fill completely in a few more years.

But the proposed restoration has been delayed for years by controversy over whether to keep the weir.

Removal of the weir would allow the ocean tides to sweep in and out, creating a more natural habitat that supports native species of plants and animals. Experts say tidal flows also help prevent flooding and greatly reduce the stagnant water that creates a breeding ground for mosquitoes and other pests.

Saltwater performs best for flooding, water quality, mosquitoes and more, Keith Greer, a senior regional planner for SANDAG, said in a presentation Tuesday to the Carlsbad council.

Also, state and federal agencies have said they would only provide funding for the saltwater project, he said. That basically rules out the other options.

The hybrid is the worst of all worlds, and it costs the most, Greer said, and doing nothing is not acceptable.

The Carlsbad council voted unanimously Tuesday to write a letter of support for the saltwater alternative.

Advertisement

The project is expected to go to the county Board of Supervisors for approval in January, Greer said. Numerous other federal, state and local agencies also will have to sign off on the work.

Past estimates of the restoration costs range from $43 million to $62 million for the various alternatives. No construction funding has been identified so far, but money could be available through the North Coast Corridor Project, which includes the widening of the Interstate 5 and railroad bridges across the lagoon. One condition of most grants is that the project be shovel-ready, Greer said.

Most of the property owners at the edge of the lagoon and many overlooking it want it to stay filled with freshwater. They say they prefer their open-water views, and that tidal flushing would twice a day expose smelly mudflats, stop people from walking across the inlet, and that a proposed pedestrian bridge would create a safety and security hazard.

Representatives of the Buena Vista Lagoon Foundation and the Buena Vista Audubon Society, which has a nature center and offices in Oceanside on Coast Highway at the edge of the lagoon, spoke in favor of the saltwater alternative.

Advertisement

They have chosen the alternative that is best for the lagoon, the community, and the taxpayers, said Natalie Shapiro, the Audubon Society chapter president and a Carlsbad resident.

The lagoon foundation was a reluctant convert to the saltwater alternative, its longtime president, Regg Antle, told the council.

The foundation was formed in 1982 to work for the restoration of the lagoon, he said. Originally, the goal was to keep the freshwater state, but more than 30 years later, nothing has happened, and the foundations board has agreed to back the SANDAG recommendation.

We want the lagoon restored, he said, and the saltwater plan is the only viable option.

Advertisement

No one opposed to the saltwater plan spoke at Tuesdays meeting, but many residents and owners near the lagoon want to keep it the way it is.

Maintaining our lagoon view with substantial open water is of high importance to our community, states a letter supporting freshwater submitted by Robert and Michelle Dupre in 2015 when the draft environmental documents were released.

Creating a saltwater wetland in this important habitat would be a tragic disruption to a well-established ecosystem, wrote Carlsbad resident Elizabeth Jacinto in her comments on the plan.

Adding to the challenges of the proposed change is that the weir is on private property.

Advertisement

About half is owned by the wealthy residents of the Saint Malo Beach Colony, a gated community of large, multimillion-dollar homes built in the 1920s and 30s just north of the lagoon. The other half of the weir is owned by the Carlsbad Beach Homeowners Association, which represents 14 properties at the northern end of Ocean Street in Carlsbad. Both groups oppose the removal of the weir.

Advertisement

philip.diehl@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @phildiehl
Mayfield Man Jailed for Fleeing, Assaulting Police

By West Kentucky Star Staff

a man kicking in the front door of a home. When police arrived, they tried to place 28-year-old Jared Medlock under arrest, but he fled on foot.



After a short foot pursuit, Medlock was apprehended. According to police, Medlock continued to struggle and assaulted an officer.



Medlock was transported to the Graves County Jail on charges of public intoxication controlled substance (excludes alcohol), criminal mischief, assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest and fleeing or evading police.

MAYFIELD - A Mayfield man was arrested Wednesday on multiple charges after he allegedly assaulted a police officer.The Mayfield Police Department said officers responded to a call about
Huawei has published a new white paper focused on innovation and intellectual property at its Forum on Innovation and IP Prospects in 2021.

The white paper focuses on how Huawei has been a leader in innovation and intellectual property (IP) management since the 1990s.

This has been key to Huawei rising as one of the worlds most influential technology powerhouses.

African consumers have benefited particularly from this, as Huawei has brought numerous impressive technologies to previously underserved areas on the continent.

These range from mobile network technologies that are affordable and reliable, to smartphones that offer incredible value for their price.

We want to show the history of our innovation over the past 30 years and our long-term commitment to respecting, protecting, and contributing to IP, said Huaweis Chief Legal Officer Song Liuping.

Huawei  The leader in patent filing

Huawei is one of the worlds largest patent holders, and as of the end of 2020 it held over 100,000 active patents in more than 40,000 patent families worldwide.

Huawei first topped the World Intellectual Property Organisations (WIPOs) list of patent filers in 2008. Since then, it has finished first on this list for all but one of these years.

This has been key to the company repeatedly dominating the market in developing important technologies, with the most notable example of this being 5G.

Huaweis innovation has been key to several African mobile networks developing high-quality networks that offer tremendous benefits for businesses  both now and in the future.

The white paper also focuses on how Huaweis priority on intellectual property and R&D did not appear out of nowhere.

Innovation has been at the core of Huaweis business since the company was founded, explained Huaweis Head of Intellectual Property Rights Jason Ding.

Our white paper lists the number of patent applications Huawei filed, or our R&D and innovation activities, in the late 90s and early 2000s.

5G royalty rate announced

The company also announced that for multi-mode 5G smartphones, it will be providing a reasonable percentage royalty rate of the handsets selling price and a per unit royalty cap of $2.50.

This will drive the adoption of 5G by making the cost structure for 5G implementers transparent and affordable.

This certainty and affordable licence fee structure goes a long way to ensuring that 5G smartphones are attainable to African consumers.

Huawei is therefore supporting African countries embrace future technologies that drive economic growth, improved education, and a better quality of life

Partager et informez vous aussi......

0 shares Share

Tweet

LinkedIn
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 DUP MP has given his support to calls for the United States to end its long-standing blockade of Cuba.

Gavin Robinson was among a number of MPs to sign an early day motion for the issue to be debated in the House of Commons.

The motion was put forward by Labour MP Grahame Morris and was also signed by SDLP MPs Colum Eastwood and Claire Hanna.

It has thus far attracted 38 signatories, including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, John McDonnell, Diane Abbott and the Green Party's Caroline Lucas. Mr Robinson is the only DUP MP to sign the motion.

The US first placed a trade embargo on Cuba in the 1950s after Fidel Castro's Communist regime seized control of the country.

Cuba played a key role in the Cold War with the decision of the Soviet Union to store nuclear missiles in the country. This escalated into the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 in which the USSR and US came their closest to nuclear war.

Relations thawed between Cuba and the US during the Obama presidency but soured after Donald Trump took office.

Mr Robinson said he was happy to lend his support to the motion which called for the UK Government "to promote international cooperation between Cuba and the UK and to encourage the Biden administration to normalise relations by reversing the designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism and ending the blockade".

"I have no affinity with Cuba, but I just felt the step taken by President Trump to shut down increased relations was a backwards step and if it is going to be reconsidered by President Biden, that it is done properly and thoughtfully," he said. "I think Cuba has moved on, I think the country would benefit. Northern Ireland's health committee travelled to Cuba at one stage to see how good their healthcare provision is. Trade between them and their nearest neighbours, particularly Florida, would greatly improve the situation in Cuba."

Mr Robinson said he had been lobbied by his constituents in east Belfast on the issue.

He said he felt Mr Trump's move to reimpose sanctions on the country had been "deeply political" and noted that Cuban medical brigades had been posted to British overseas territories.

In January, Derry City and Strabane District Council voted in favour of asking Cuba for assistance in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic.

"It's not so much that I hold a flag for Cuba, I don't see it as a left and right issue," said Mr Robinson.
Legislators are not above the law, but legislatures  the place where laws are made  a House of Parliament or a state Assembly or Legislative Council chamber  are privileged sites, where the law and order machinery of the State, as embodied in the police force, may not intervene  and interfere with proceedings. The legislature, therefore, has marshals who obey the Speaker or Chairman and have been known to deal with unruly situations with firmness.

The logic is if elected representatives of the people were to be interfered with in the performance of their constitutionally mandated duties, then why bother having elections? A despotic executive may then do as it pleases.

In a democracy, these are matters that lie in the realm of first principles. If this were not the case, the majority party which runs the government will be at liberty to send the police into silence opponents through force, pass unhindered any laws it likes and in the manner it likes, without fear of criticism. Then law-making may be conducted with the peace of the graveyard reigning.

Such a state of affairs will produce order and harmony of a kind that behoves a police state even if it masquerades as a democracy. Such examples are not unknown in the world. In India, however, we have been proud to run a noisy democracy. This has given us prestige even among autocracies which may sometimes denounce us but also envy us.

In light of this, what was witnessed in the Bihar Assembly last Tuesday can only fill every Indian with shame. MLAs of Opposition parties, men and women, were dragged on the ground by the police who had been called in. The scene that was telecast was one of brutality. Legislative decorum was being given a severe beating.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar appeared later to justify the police action, referring only to the bedlam his partys opponents were creating. Does he remain his own master, or is he dancing to the tune of his alliance partners who now appear to direct his every action and place him in the position of a puppet? On a subsequent day, standing up to speak in the Legislative Council, the CM, according to one report, quivered with anger as he continued to denounce the conduct of the Opposition. Not one word about the rights and wrongs of the police entering the legislative chamber.

The Opposition MLAs, led by RJD, had indeed been unruly in mounting their criticism of the Bihar Special Armed Police Bill, 2021, at the introduction stage. This is to be a state paramilitary force apparently on the lines of CISF, with the difference that it will have the power to arrest. In India, only civil police in a state have been given this power. Such a Bill is weighted against citizens. Some reports suggest Opposition parties tried to prevent the Speaker from coming out of his chambers. This is crossing the line. In such situations, marshals are known to be resourceful and vigorous, and are trained to deal with legislators.

If the Speaker called in the police, did he act on his own or did he act on advice? The circumstances are murky, to say the least, and deserve to be enquired into without delay. The CM, for his part, should be contrite, not brazen.
Protests as Wang Yi visits Turkey for talks

Protests as Wang Yi visits Turkey for talks

Nearly 1,000 Uighurs rallied in Istanbul on Thursday as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met his Turkish counterpart for talks expected to focus on coronavirus vaccines and the countries' extradition treaty.



Wang also met privately with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a visit coinciding with a spike in new virus infections that follows an easing of restrictions at the start of the month.



Turkey is using the Chinese firm Sinovac's CoronaVac jab in its inoculation effort and is currently negotiating new deliveries.



But the country's 50,000-strong Uighur community fears that China is making new shipments dependent on Turkey's ratification of an extradition treaty that the parliament in Beijing approved late last year.



Both countries officially deny any such link and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu tweeted that he had "conveyed our sensitivity and thoughts on Uighur Turks" to Wang.



Turkey and China "will enhance our cooperation on (the) fight against (the) pandemic", as well as on vaccines, Cavusoglu's tweet added.



The protesters waved sky blue flags of Uighur separatists' self-proclaimed state of East Turkestan as they gathered in Istanbul's historic old town chanting "China, stop the genocide!"



Turkish police forced a smaller group of protesters to move away from China's embassy in Ankara.



Rights groups believe at least one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities have been incarcerated in camps spread out across the vast northwestern Chinese region of Xinjiang.



Beijing strongly denies the allegations and says it is organising training programmes and work schemes to help stamp out extremism in the region. (AFP)
DOVER, Del.  A bill legalizing recreational marijuana use by adults in Delaware cleared its first legislative hurdle Wednesday as a Democratic-led committee voted along party lines, with one lone GOP vote, to send the measure to the House floor.

The bill creates a state-controlled and licensed pot industry that supporters say will eliminate the black market while creating jobs and boosting the states tax coffers.

While the proposal has significant support among Democratic lawmakers, Democratic Gov. John Carney has expressed concerns about legalization.

The governors position hasnt changed, Carney spokesman Jonathan Starkey said in an email Wednesday. He supported decriminalization and an expansion of Delawares medical marijuana program. But he still has concerns about legalizing recreational marijuana.

Carney has not said, however, whether he would veto the legislation if it reaches his desk.

Critics argue that legalization will do little to eliminate the black market and will result in increased marijuana use among minors, more traffic deaths and injuries, and more people struggling with mental health and substance abuse issues.

Supporters say the concerns of critics are unfounded and overblown, and that people will continue to smoke marijuana, whether its legal or not. More than a dozen states have legalized marijuana for adults.

Who do you want controlling this market, drug dealers or the citizens of Delaware? asked John Sybert, vice president of the Delaware Cannabis Advocacy Network.

The bill legalizes the possession and use of up to 1 ounce (28 grams) of marijuana by adults over age 21. People would not be allowed to grow their own plants, and public consumption and driving under the influence would be prohibited.

The bill establishes a marijuana tax, described as a control enforcement fee of 15% at the point of sale, which sponsors contend compares favorably with other states where pot is legal and would keep prices competitive with existing street values on the black market.

The legislation would create an Office of Marijuana Control Commissioner to regulate the industry and would initially authorize 30 retail store licenses, 30 manufacturing licenses, 60 cultivation licenses and five testing facility licenses.

Licenses for retail, testing and product manufacturing facilities would cost $10,000 every two years. Cultivation licenses would depend on the size and of the facility and type of ownership, ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 every two years.

The legislation sets aside a certain number of licenses for social equity and microbusiness applicants.

Social equity applicants are defined as those who either live in an area disproportionately affected by marijuana laws, have been convicted of a marijuana-related offense, or who have a parent convicted of a marijuana-related offense. They would be entitled to technical assistance, reduced fees, loans and scoring preferences in the awarding of licenses.

Microbusiness applicants, which chief sponsor Rep. Ed Osienski compared to craft brewers, would have to be majority-owned by Delaware residents and would also be entitled to reduced fees and an adjusted points scale for scoring cultivation and product manufacturing licenses.

The scoring system would reward applicants for paying family-supporting wages, providing employer-paid health insurance and other benefits, hiring more full-time workers, and supporting diversity in the workforce.

The commissioner also would be required to consider whether an applicant has agreed to use union labor for construction or renovation of a facility, or has agreed not to disrupt efforts by organized labor to unionize its employees.

This is part of our goal for community benefits, Osienski, a retired business agent for a sprinkler fitters union, explained to Rep. Bryan Shupe, R-Milford.

It seems to me that excludes a whole host of businesses in the private market, Shupe responded. ... Why is that considered a community benefit?

While the bill allows employers to prohibit use of marijuana by employees at work and to discipline those who are under the influence while on the job, representatives of the businesses community said it needs to explicitly allow them to implement and enforce zero-tolerance policies, both on and off the job.

Meanwhile, state finance officials have expressed concern about how sales would be handled and taxes paid in what is often a largely cash business. Given that marijuana remains an illegal drug under federal law, federally regulated banks have been reluctant to process payments or deposits related to the marijuana industry.

We, as a state, certainly dont want to be holding this money in cash, said Finance Secretary Rick Geisenberger.

Randall Chase of The Associated Press wrote this story.
New Delhi:

An establishment personality Halimah Yacob has been named Singapore's first female president on Wednesday but this was criticised by citing her selection undemocratic after she was handed the job without a vote. In this election, there were no other contenders for the position.

Halimah Yacob, a former speaker of parliament from the Muslim Malay minority, did not have to face an election for the largely ceremonial post originally due this month after authorities decided her rivals did not meet strict eligibility criteria.

It was not the first time in the affluent city-state  which is tightly controlled and has been ruled by the same party for decades  that the government has disqualified candidates for the presidency, making an election unnecessary.

But there was already unease about the process as it was the first time that the presidency had been reserved for a particular ethnic group, in this case, the Malay community, and the decision to hand her the job without a vote added to the anger.

Social media was abuzz with criticism after this announcement. A Facebook user Pat Eng wrote, "Elected without an election. What a joke."

"I will call her President Select from now on," said Joel Kong on the networking site, while some posts were marked with the #NotMyPresident.

Halimah, a member of parliament for the ruling People's Action Party for nearly two decades before resigning to contest the presidency, tackled the doubts about the selection process in a speech to a cheering crowd after she was named president-elect. "I'm a president for everyone.

Although there's no election, my commitment to serve you remains the same," she said. Authorities had decided to allow only candidates from the Malay community to put themselves forward for the presidency, a bid to foster harmony in the city-state of 5.5 million people which is dominated by ethnic Chinese.

Singapore's head of state has limited powers, including vetoing senior official appointments, but an establishment figure has always held the role and there are rarely tensions with the government.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.

TEL AVIV, Israel, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- MobileODT, an Israeli Digital Health FemTech company that is producing the latest innovation in cervical cancer screening, is proud to announce that their Visual Check AI technology is supporting a large-scale government cervical cancer screening project in the Dominican Republic. This proof of concept project was initiated as part of the company's strategic direction in providing cervical cancer screening at scale, utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) capabilities.

MobileODT EVA VisualCheck AI Technology for Cervical Cancer Screening (PRNewsfoto/MobileODT)

The project is currently run by the Dominican Republic Ministry of Health in cooperation with MobileODT. In the past three months, 9,000 women were screened for cervical cancer with the EVA Visual Check AI technology. Due to the initial success of the project, it was decided to expand this program to cover another 50,000 women who are due to be screened over the next 6 months. VisualCheck, provides non specialists with an AI clinical decision support tool, predicting how highly trained colposcopists would determine positive or negative cervical cancer diagnosis.

With a high cervical cancer rate among the Dominican Republic women population, early prevention can make a huge impact on women's lives. Furthermore, it can help the health system save significant funds that would have been otherwise directed to treatment.

"Many cervical cancer cases happen due to a lack of timely follow-up," says Dr. Alfredo Levy, MD, OBGYN , one of the leading physicians involved in this project. "The ability to receive the results immediately at the point of care, is a complete game changer. The EVA VisualCheck system is quick and easy to use, allowing us to screen more patients, and predict results with a high accuracy."

Visual Check AI is the first step in the company's long-term strategy to develop groundbreaking AI solutions that will transform the FemTech market. "We are the only company in the world with an AI capability in cervical cancer screening ," says Leon Boston, MobileODT's CEO. "Our unique AI algorithm, allows an unprecedented screening scale, that can be life saving for so many women around the world. We are currently in the midst of a funding round, to support our long-term strategy and expand to broader areas in women's health with AI technology."

About MobileODT

MobileODT helps clinicians utilize the power of AI on its portable medical devices to enhance women's health. MobileODT's EVA System combines advanced imaging, data and software applications, to expand access to quality care in over 20 countries and across more than 60 US health systems. The EVA System's smart mobile colposcope is used by clinicians worldwide for colposcopy, general gynecology, telegynecology, and forensic imaging. MobileODT is integrating its AI in approved markets to provide powerful clinical decision support to healthcare providers at the point-of-care. The company raised $26 million to date from Orbimed, Tristel, Tara Health, Laerdal, DAI, private funds and investors. For further info please visit mobileodt.com

Contact:

Olga Rosenman

[email protected]

SOURCE MobileODT
German Chancellor Angela Merkel addresses the German parliament Bundestag ahead of an European Union summit at the Reichstag building in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, March 25, 2021. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

The European Union's problems with getting deliveries of coronavirus vaccines have underscored the need for the bloc to redouble its efforts to produce its own doses, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday.

Speaking to Parliament ahead of an EU summit, Merkel acknowledged that the vaccination rollout in Germany has not gone as quickly as hoped. But she rejected criticism that not enough shots had been ordered, instead saying it was more about how many had been delivered.

"We can see clearly that British facilities are producing for Great Britain. The United States isn't exporting, and therefore we are dependent upon what can be produced in Europe," she said.

At the summit, she said European leaders planned to talk about how the bloc can ensure a steadier vaccine supply for the future.

Merkel has previously urged the EU to be "very careful" with vaccine export bans. But she has said she supports efforts by the bloc's executive Commission to ensure that vaccine contracts are fulfilled, citing the supply problems the EU has had with the AstraZeneca shot.

She told Parliament that in addition to ensuring its own supply, the EU must work with other vaccine-producing countries to ensure there's enough vaccines available for everyone around the world who needs it.

"If we do not succeed with that, we will be confronted again and again with mutations, which raise the possible risk that the vaccines are no longer effective," she said.

Germany has registered more than 75,000 deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic. The country's disease control center reported 22,657 new confirmed daily cases Thursday, up from 17,504 new daily cases a week ago.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends a session of the German parliament Bundestag ahead of an European Union summit at the Reichstag building in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, March 25, 2021. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

"We are in the third wave, and again seeing exponential growth," Merkel cautioned.

Merkel and state governors earlier this week agreed on a new framework to try and slow the spread of the virus, though she backed down from a planned 5-day shutdown over Easter.

Restaurants, bars and many leisure facilities remain closed. A plan drawn up earlier this month to allow limited reopeningsof shops, for examplefeatures an "emergency brake" under which regions are supposed to reimpose restrictions when the number of weekly infections exceeds 100 per 100,000 residents on three consecutive days.

Germany is currently recording 113.3 weekly new cases per 100,000 residents nationwide, with wide regional variations.

Merkel urged Germans to get vaccinated as soon as they can and to use the coronavirus tests being provided as a "bridge" to help slow the spread of the virus until enough people have been vaccinated.

"The more that we test, the less we must restrict," she said.

She said with the vaccines and the increased tests, a "light at the end of the tunnel is visible" and urged Germans to be as positive as possible.

"You can't achieve anything if you only ever see the negative," she said. "It is not for nothing that it's said it is critical whether the glass is half full or half empty. If it's always only half full, we won't be able to develop the creative powers necessary as a country to get out of this crisis."

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.
(Newser)  Charlottesville Mayor Nikuyah Walker was apparently not in the mood for any civic boosterism Wednesday. Walker posted a poem on social media likening the Virginia city she leads to a rapist, CBS19 reports. The "beautiful-ugly" city "rapes you, comforts you in its **** stained sheets and tells you to keep its secrets," she wrote in the poem, which she tweeted after Facebook removed it for violating community standards. She later tweeted a longer version, asking whoever reported it to Facebook, "Is this better?" It read, in part, "Charlottesville rapes you of your breaths. It suffocates your hopes and dreams ... Charlottesville is anchored in white supremacy and rooted in racism. Charlottesville rapes you and covers you in sullied sheets."

story continues below

In the longer poem, Walker, the city's first Black female mayor, also described Charlottesville as "void of a moral compass" and a place where white people "say gentrification started with the election of a Black woman in 2017." The poem led to a backlash online, especially for the rape analogy, the Washington Post reports. "Rape survivor here," tweeted a woman who said she was from Charlottesville. "This is horribly offensive to every single one of us." Walker did not respond to media requests for comments, but later tweeted about Thomas Jefferson, who owned slaves on a plantation near Charlottesville and is believed to have fathered six children with one of them. Jefferson "raped Sally Hemings," Walker wrote. "He 'owned' and raped her." (Read more Charlottesville, Va. stories.)
Nokia and United Group bring next generation fiber services to millions of homes and business across South East Europe

United Group deploys Nokia's next generation fiber and WiFi solution to provide enhanced ultra-broadband services to customers across the South East Europe region.

Nokia is the preferred fiber-access network equipment supplier to United Group

25 March 2021

Espoo, Finland - Nokia has signed a deal with United Group (UG), the leading multi-play and media provider in South East Europe, to deploy a fiber network and in-home mesh Wi-Fi solution across the eight different countries it operates in. The fiber network will enable UG to extend new ultra-broadband and 10Gbps services to millions of residential and business customers across the region.

Focused on accelerating the broadband coverage it offers, UG will work with Nokia to extend its fiber network into new areas and upgrade existing areas with 10 Gbps enabled infrastructure based on XGS-PON. Based on Nokia's Lightspan FX series, the rollout will enable UG to deliver new enhanced broadband services to residential and business customers, offer mobile transport services, create new business opportunities such as off-loading mobile traffic and seamlessly evolve toward a virtualized access-network (SDN - Software Defined Networking).

Nokia will also provide UG with its industry-leading portfolio of Wi-Fi mesh enabled ONTs and Beacons to help ensure customers receive an unmatched broadband experience in the home. With a unique algorithm for intelligent Wi-Fi mesh networks, Nokia's solution solves potential Wi-Fi issues in real-time to deliver a reliable, whole home broadband service essential for remote working, gaming, online TV, video streaming and downloading content across multiple devices. Additional features also allow UG to monitor in-home networks in real-time and further optimize Wi-Fi settings network-wide.

Sandy Motley, President Nokia Fixed Networks Division, said: "We are excited to be the preferred fiber access network equipment provider to United Group and to work with them on this new phase of growth. With our FTTH and Wi-Fi solution, we are able to provide a high-speed, reliable network infrastructure and an unmatched in-home Wi-Fi experience that will meet United Groups subscribers needs today and in the future."

United Group Vice President Technology Zeljko Batistic: As the region's leading telecom serving a market of 40 million people, United Group is committed to investing in the most advanced technology in order to deliver our users the most innovative products and services and the best customer experience. We're also helping to secure Southeast Europe's digital future by guaranteeing our next-generation network - already the region's largest - is ready to support the future needs of our users both at home and their places of business."

Overview of the solution:

Nokia Lightspan series FX for GPON and XGS-PON services

Nokia ONT customer premises equipment and WiFi Beacons

Resources

Nokia Next Generation PON (https://www.nokia.com/networks/portfolio/next-generation-pon/)

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.

Media Inquiries:

The CWs Superman & Lois introduced Captain Luthor as Supermans new nemesis. But the characters mysterious origins include his involvement in a military project called 7734.

We know that Captain Luthor is a new addition to the Superman universe. But is Project 7734 in the DC comics?

Tyler Hoechlin from Superman & Lois. | The CW

Project 7734 appears in several DC Comics

In DC Comics, Project 7734 is a secret operation helmed by Lois Lanes father, General Sam Lane. He created it as a safeguard against the invasion of alien species after the rise of New Krypton.

Lane worked alongside Supermans famed foe, Lex Luthor, on technical aspects of Project 7734  which when turned upside-down spells hell. Throughout the comics, Lane and his scientists acquire and use the bodies of villains defeated by Superman, including Brainiac and Doomsday, to further his extreme agenda.

RELATED: What Is Superman & Lois Star Tyler Hoechlins Fitness Routine?

Captain Luthor inspires Sam Lane to create Project 7734 on Superman & Lois

While Superman & Lois Captain Luthor (Wole Parks) is nothing like Lex Luthor, he does share the same sentiments. As seen in the first few episodes, Captain Luthor believes Superman (Tyler Hoechlin) is a threat to all humanity. After trying and failing to kill the superhero, Captain Luthor leaves a dog tag for Sam Lane (Dylan Walsh) with the number 7734.

It becomes clear that Captain Luthor is from an alternate reality where Superman is a murderous maniac through flashbacks. In his world, he worked with Sam Lane in trying to defeat the Kryptonian. And when his Sam Lane dies, he hands Luthor the 7734 dog tag.

Who is The Stranger? Stream the extended cut of Episode 2, free only on The CW App: https://t.co/LpX1i0MSUq #SupermanAndLois pic.twitter.com/oIrCjyJx9K  Superman & Lois (@cwsupermanlois) March 4, 2021

In the latest episode of Superman & Lois, General Lane is growing weary of Clark. Upon noticing Clarks preoccupation with his family, he asks his grandsons, John (Jordan Elsass) and Jordan (Alex Garfin) to stay out of their dads hair. But when Clark and Lois (Bitsie Tulloch) find out, they ask the General to leave their house.

Feeling insecure about Clarks loyalties, Sam Lane recalls his conversation with Captain Luthor. He then calls Lt. Rosetti asking him to create Project 7734 as a contingency plan in case the superhero goes rogue.

RELATED: Why Smallville Star Michael Rosenbaum Kicked Allison Mack Out of His House

In the comics, Project 7734 proves to be dangerous for any Kryptonians that get in Sam Lanes way. And its introduction in Superman & Lois could foreshadow the danger Clark and his family may soon face.

When will Superman & Lois return with new episodes?

After the fifth episode of Superman & Lois, The Best of Smallville, aired on March 23, the show went on a brief hiatus. In its place, the CW is airing new episodes of Supergirl season 6.

Don't worry, they'll be back. New episodes return May 18! Stream every episode so far: https://t.co/LpX1i14uj0 #SupermanAndLois pic.twitter.com/DCjLi4hoGv  Superman & Lois (@cwsupermanlois) March 24, 2021

RELATED: Superman & Lois: Why You Wont See New Episodes Until Late Spring

Unfortunately, fans will have to wait a while to see how Sam Lane develops Project 7734. After a two-month break, Superman & Lois will return with new episodes on May 18.

Episode 6 remains untitled for now, but it should pick up where The Best of Smallville left off. In the meantime, fans can take comfort in knowing that the CW series has been renewed for season 2.
Yesterday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting en banc, upheld Hawaiis restriction on carrying firearms.

Under Hawaiian law, residents can carry a firearm only if they prove to the state that they have an urgency of need, are of good moral character, and are engaged in the protection of life and property. Thus, the state, if its clever, can effectively ban its residents from carrying guns. Alternatively, it can manipulate its determinations as to who can carry them to favor preferred parties and/or members of preferred classes.

The vote to uphold Hawaiis law was 7-4. The majority opinion was by Judge Jay Bybee. Hes a Bush 43 appointee who was vilified by the left for signing the Justice Departments torture memo in early days of the war on terror.

Im not an expert on the Second Amendment, nor am I Power Lines go-to writer on gun issues. For what its worth, however, I consider the Ninth Circuits decision highly dubious and a good candidate for reversal by the Supreme Court.

The majority opinion opens by noting that Hawaii law began limiting public carriage of dangerous weapons, including firearms, more than 150 years agonearly fifty years before it became a U.S. territory and more than a century before it became a state. (Page 15) Okay. But when Hawaii became a state, it agreed to be bound by the U.S. Constitution. Thus, its traditions cannot trump the Second Amendment.

The majority proceeds to a broader discussion of the history of restrictions on firearms, dating back to the Middle Ages. It concludes that because history demonstrates a longstanding tradition in English and American law of government prohibit[ing] certain weapons from entering . . . public spaces as means of providing domestic Tranquility and forestalling domestic Violence, there is no right to carry arms openly in public. (Page 113)

Yet, the majority acknowledged that in colonial times, there was a general acceptance by local governments of some firearms in the public square. (Page 61)

Judge Diarmuid OScannlain wrote a powerful dissent. He stated:

The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the right of the people to keep and bear Arms. U.S. Const. amend. II (emphasis added). Today, a majority of our court has decided that the Second Amendment does not mean what it says. Instead, the majority holds that while the Second Amendment may guarantee the right to keep a firearm for self-defense within ones home, it provides no right whatsoever to beari.e., to carrythat same firearm for selfdefense in any other place. This holding is as unprecedented as it is extreme. While our sister circuits have grappled withand disagreed overthe question of whether public firearms carry falls within the inner core of the Second Amendment, we now become the first and only court of appeals to hold that public carry falls entirely outside the scope of the Amendments protections. In so holding, the majority reduces the right to bear Arms to a mere inkblot. The majoritys decision undermines not only the Constitutions text, but also half a millennium of Anglo-American legal history, the Supreme Courts decisions in District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008), and McDonald v. City of Chicago, 561 U.S. 742 (2010), and the foundational principles of American popular sovereignty itself.

(Page 128)

Cam Edwards at Bearing Arms finds a silver lining in the Ninth Circuits decision. He contends that there is now a clear conflict on the right to bear arms in the various appellate courts [which] greatly enhances the odds of the Court taking at least one of these cases in the very near future. Indeed, Edwards says that later this week, the Court will consider in conference whether to hear such a case.

On the other hand, Kent Scheidegger at Crime & Consequences points out that the high court has passed on a lot of Second Amendment cases that seemed to be eminently certworthy.

Again, Im no expert, but this decision seems more certworthy than most.
Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca on March 25 updated its data on how well its coronavirus jab works and said that its vaccine showed 76 per cent efficacy against symptomatic coronavirus disease and 100 per cent efficacy against severe or critical disease. According to a press note, the drug firm said that the vaccine was also 85 per cent effective in preventing symptoms in volunteers 65 and older. The latest data comes after US health officials had rebuked the drugmaker for not using the most up-to-date information when it published an interim analysis on Monday that said that the vaccine was 79 per cent effective.

In a statement, Mene Pangalos, executive vice president for biopharmaceuticals research for the company, said, The primary analysis is consistent with our previously released interim analysis, and confirms that our COVID-19 vaccine is highly effective in adults, including those aged 65 years and over. We look forward to filing our regulatory submission for Emergency Use Authorization in the US and preparing for the rollout of millions of doses across America.

Well-tolerated and no safety concerns

As per the press release, the latest data is based on 190 infections among more than 32,400 participants in the US, Chile and Peru. AstraZeneca said that the vaccine was well-tolerated and no safety concerns related to the vaccine were identified. Now, in the coming weeks, the company will submit the primary analysis for peer-reviewed publication.

It is worth mentioning that earlier this week, the independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) that reviews data from multiple COVID-19 vaccine candidates expressed concern over AstraZenecas announcements on its latest findings. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases had announced that the company may have included outdated information from the trial, which may have provided an incomplete view of the efficacy data. The US officials had urged AstraZeneca to work with DSMB to review the efficacy data and ensure the most accurate data to be made public as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, the updated 76 per cent efficacy rate compares with rates of about 95 per cent for vaccines from Pfizer/ioNTech and Moderna. Now, if the US FDA approves AstraZenecas vaccine in the coming weeks, it will become the fourth COVID-19 vaccine to receive an emergency use authorization in the country. The United States has already given approval to Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnsons COVID-19 vaccine. The most recent approval came late last month when the FDA approved J&Js single-dose vaccine, which is being dubbed revolutionary because of its minimal storage and transportation requirements.

(Image: AP/Unsplash)
Sorry!

This content is not available in your region
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.
Hivebrite is delighted to partner with Girl Up and support their work towards gender equality and social justice. Tweet this

Girl Up was founded by the UN Foundation in 2010 to help support UN agencies that focus on adolescent girls.

Its transformative leadership development program exposes girls and young women to new possibilities, improving their sense of confidence, and positioning them to be changemakers in their communities. Today over 85,000 girls participate in 4,500 local clubs in 125 countries.

Digital Technologies for Connection, Communication, and Activism

In 2020, young people embraced digital technologies more than ever to campaign and raise awareness. During this period, Girl Up experienced a 200% growth in members.

To sustain this momentum and growth, Girl Up decided to further focus its strategy on facilitating connections and communication within its community to elevate voices and drive change.

Girl Up recognized that its previous community management platform lacked the robust capabilities that would allow it to drive further growth and engagement at scale. Consequently, Girl Up decided to partner with Hivebrite to create a brand new community experience to better support new and existing members and cultivate the community's growth.

Uniting Girls to Change the World

The Girl Up community is now the primary mode of communication and connection for all members globally. It centralizes all communications, unites all members in one online space, and replaces other communication streams such as Whatsapp, WeChat, and social media.

Members worldwide can utilize the new community platform for social engagement, planning, organizing, meeting other members, chatting, sharing videos, and downloading resources to learn more about gender equality.

Members can now quickly and easily search and connect with other members at the local and global level. Members can find local clubs and see what events and activities they've organizedhelping to grow local clubs, create coalitions between different clubs, and improve event turnouts.

Hivebrite's community platform supports Girl Up's mentoring program, connecting members with specific skills, knowledge, and experience (mentors) with individuals (mentees) who need or want those skills.

"Especially now, as a digital-forward movement, it's critical to give our leaders and girls a dedicated space to connect with each other and stay informed. We're excited that this platform will help keep existing members engaged  with the ability to visually share their stories and videos, discuss activities they've hosted, and organize around issues that matter to them  and allow new members to easily interact, as well." Melissa Kilby, Executive Director, Girl Up, United Nations Foundation

Increasing Adoption and Participation

The new community experience with Hivebrite offers a seamless and targeted journey, to encourage joining the community and immediate engagement.

Non-members can view past events and activities to encourage them to join. Signing up and getting involved with the community is fast and personalized. New members are recommended starting points in the community based on their interests. Importantly, for a global community, the platform is multilingual ensuring that language is not a barrier to joining.

Mobile access is critical as most members access the platform only through mobile devices. With Hivebrite, Girl Up offers its members a fully branded mobile application that is available through the App Store and Google Play.

"We are delighted to partner with this growing global organization focused on gender equality and social justice, causes that Hivebrite strongly values. Hivebrite's community management and engagement platform supports Girl Up's extraordinary work, connecting members with each other and essential resources to create potentially viral content, make voices heard, spur collective action, and fight inequalities." Usha Iyer, President, North America and Chief Product Officer, Hivebrite

ABOUT HIVEBRITE

Hivebrite is an all-in-one community management and engagement platform.

It empowers organizations to launch, manage, and grow fully branded private communities. Hivebrite is completely customizable and provides all the tools needed to strengthen community engagement.

Over 500 customers worldwide, including American Heart Association, JA Worldwide, Earthwatch, the University of Notre Dame, and Princeton University Advancement, use Hivebrite to create and engage vibrant communities.

Press contact

Kathryn Bird

[email protected]

https://hivebrite.com/

SOURCE Hivebrite

Related Links

hivebrite.com


Graves Man's Elder Abuse Trial Set for August

By West Kentucky Star Staff

Timothy Colley's jury trial will begin Aug. 10. A review of the case is set for July 26.

MAYFIELD - A trial date has been set for a Graves County man arrested last year on elder abuse charges.

Colley is accused of threatening his 77-year-old mother with a handgun, unhooking her medical device and denying her of her wheel chair.

He's charged with 4th degree assault, criminal abuse, wanton endangerment, menacing, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a handgun by a convicted felon.
CAMBRIDGE, England, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- 2020 winners of the Queen's Award for Enterprise Cambridge Healthcare Research (CHR), and its market research division Vox.Bio, announces the appointment of Steve Scott as Head of Finance.

Steve offers the group a wealth of experience in finance and operations, with his international exposure to large, global, multi-function teams as well as his dedication to driving efficiencies, strengthening controls and delivering substantial cost savings at the operating level. Steve will report to CEO Chris Stevenson.

Commenting on the appointment, Chris said, "With Steve joining our team we can continue our plan to strengthen the finance function in CHR. We are a rapidly growing business and we continue to evolve how we provide our best services for both our internal and external customers. Having a strong and effective finance function will ensure that we can best support our teams and provide the internal analytics to optimise the way we operate. This supports our consistent goal of being a leader in the understanding and strategic interpretation of healthcare markets for our clients."

Steve is a proven and respected leader in finance with extensive commercial experience in global finance roles across multi-functional teams. He is a qualified accountant with the ACCA and has just returned to the UK having worked in the US for the last eight years. Steve joins CHR from McCarthy Law, plc in Arizona, where he was Financial Controller. With well over 20 years in financial leadership roles, Steve's previous roles include time at Travelex, Western Union and Shell Oil and Gas Corporation.

About Cambridge Healthcare Research

Cambridge Healthcare Research is a management consultancy providing strategic decision support to the pharmaceutical, medical device and consumer healthcare industries. Working closely with clients on asset commercialisation, product strategy and future opportunities, CHR enables its partners to navigate difficult commercial decisions, mapping their position in complex markets, and outlining the impact of competitor activities, intent and capabilities on their success. Vox.Bio is CHR's dynamic healthcare market research agency, re-thinking healthcare market research to delivering meaningful insights to clients in pharmaceutical, consumer health and medical device industries.

The team is passionate about healthcare and medical innovation, and its evaluation of market dynamics  combined with a targeted understanding of key trends in the prescriber, regulator and payer environments  equips their clients to make the right decisions from an optimally informed position.

In 2020, CHR won The Queen's Award for Enterprise in International Trade. The team spans global healthcare markets, with offices in Cambridge and London as well as consultants located across Europe, Asia and North America.

For further information please contact:

Dana Miller

[email protected]

Twitter, LinkedIn, Queen's Award, Queen's Award Video

+44-1223-900-191

Related Links

http://www.camhcr.com

https://vox.bio/

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1157854/Cambridge_Healthcare_Research_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Cambridge Healthcare Research
(Reuters) - Fourteen U.S. states including Louisiana and Wyoming filed lawsuits on Wednesday against President Joe Biden's administration, challenging his pause on new leasing on federal lands and waters.

The legal actions, which seek to restore regular federal drilling auctions, came a day before the administration is set to launch a review of the leasing program.

Biden, a Democrat, in January signed an executive order putting on hold new leasing pending that review. During his election campaign, he pledged to end new federal leasing as part of a sweeping plan to address climate change.

The pause has triggered heavy criticism from the oil industry and producing states that receive half of the revenues generated from federal lands drilling within their borders.

"We believe that the president's actions are illegal and unlawful, and we're going to hold him accountable for them to try to make sure that the gains that we've made over the years to help protect domestic and energy continue," Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry said in an interview.

A coalition of 13 states filed one lawsuit in federal court in Louisiana, while Wyoming filed its own lawsuit in federal court in that state.

The states joining Louisiana's lawsuit included Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and West Virginia. All have Republican attorneys general. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards is a Democrat.

The lawsuits allege the administration's leasing pause violates the Mineral Leasing Act that requires quarterly lease sales.

In its lawsuit, Wyoming said the administration was also required to conduct an environmental review of the leasing suspension under the National Environmental Policy Act before taking action.

"The real consequences of the action are far from certain and far from uniformly environmentally friendly," Wyoming said in its complaint.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, responding to a question about the lawsuits, said the Trump administration had "flooded the oil markets with cheap federal leases. This will not affect oil and gas markets for years to come."

The Department of Interior, which oversees the federal leasing program, declined to comment.

(Reporting by Nichola Groom and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Will Dunham, John Stonestreet and Richard Chang)

(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.)
Last year's nightmarish toilet roll shortages could be on their way back because of a crisis in the shipping container world, a top industry figure fears.

Space on container ships has been scarce for months because of bottlenecks caused by the pandemic - with the Suez Canal blockage only making things worse.

Walter Schalka, whose firm Suzano SA produces the wood pulp that toilet roll is made from, told Bloomberg that shipping problems had already forced his company to delay some shipments from its South American terminals.

That in turn could lead loo roll manufacturers to run out of wood pulp, ultimately causing fresh shortages on supermarket shelves.

Will this come back? A Sainsbury's customer with a trolley full of toilet roll looks at the emptying shelves at a store in Northwich shortly before the UK's first lockdown last year

Blockage: The Taiwan-owned MV Ever Given remains lodged in the Suez Canal in Egypt, exacerbating what was already a crisis in the container shipping world

The global container shortage has been driven by a surge in online shopping and a Chinese export boom after the country suppressed the initial wave of the pandemic.

At times, China has been exporting three containers for each one imported as firms seized market share from rivals in hard-hit countries abroad.

But at the same time, supplies of containers became scarce after manufacturers who expected a slump in trade slowed their production of them, said Simon MacAdam, a senior global economist at Capital Economics.

All of this means it is harder than ever to charter a container from China as the pandemic continues to disrupt the global economy,

Container shipping costs have already leaped by 250 per cent between January 2020 and last week, MacAdam said, and are now set to rise further.

The pandemic has also caused delays in shipping returning to China, further disrupting global trade.

Suzano, the Brazil-based wood pulp firm, relies on shipping that transports the raw material in loose quantities or 'break bulk'.

But as firms battle for space on container ships, break-bulk shipping of the sort needed by Suzano is falling by the wayside and docking at its terminals less often, according to Schalka.

A container ship is loaded at an Australian port last year - with demand for containers surging during the pandemic due to the growth of online shopping and Chinese exports

Suzano, which produces around a third of the world's hardwood pulp, already faces exporting less of the raw material than planned in March.

'All the South American players which export through break bulk have faced this risk,' said Schalka, the firm's CEO.

If the wood pulp trade faces significant disruptions, loo roll producers may find themselves unable to make toilet paper unless they have sufficient stocks.

That could ultimately lead to renewed shortages on supermarket shelves a year after a run on loo roll became one of the symbols of the early weeks of the pandemic.

Empty shelves were an early sign of the disaster unfolding in Italy last March, when it became the first country in Europe to go into lockdown to slow the pandemic.

It subsequently reached Britain where toilet roll shelves were emptied and supermarkets were forced to impose limits on how much loo roll could be sold.

Empty shelves in the toilet roll aisle at an Asda in East Dunbartonshire last year as panic-buying set in around the world

Further episodes of panic-buying have followed since then, including in Australia when Melbourne went back into lockdown in the Southern Hemisphere winter.

In the US, toilet paper sold out in California cities including Fresno and Los Angeles as the country entered its deadliest phase of the pandemic late last year.

Pulp producers last year warned that border closures in Europe were causing transport logjams that delayed shipments of the raw material.

Producers such as Finland's Metsa Fibre and Sweden's Sodra Cell International said at the time that trucks of pulp were stuck in traffic jams for hours or even days.

Now, container shipping has been further snarled by the Suez Canal crisis that could take days or even weeks to resolve.

'With supply chains already under pressure, a large container ship has now literally blocked one of world trade's major routes,' said ING economist Joanna Konings.

'As the Suez Canal Authority works to free the canal, traffic is building up, and missing inputs will disrupt supply chains.'

Egypt's Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said it was doing all it could to refloat the MV Ever Given, a 1,300ft vessel which ran aground in a sandstorm on Tuesday.

Tug boats, dredgers and heavy earth-moving equipment have been deployed but so far the ship has not budged.

Salvage experts warned the shut-down could last weeks, potentially forcing businesses to re-route cargo ships around the southern tip of Africa.

Leon Willems, a spokesman for Rotterdam's port - Europe's largest gateway - said logistics demand had already been outstripping capacity before the Suez incident.

SEOUL, March 25 (Reuters) - South Korea's National Security Council members on Thursday expressed deep concerns over North Korea's missile launches amid the United States policy review on the North, the presidential Blue House said in a statement. (Reporting by Sangmi Cha; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
Statement by Ambassador Byrne Nason at UNSC Briefing on Libya

Statement

Thank you very much indeed Madam President, and I want to also say welcome and thank you to Special Envoy Kubis for his briefing this morning.

Madam President,

The endorsement of the Government of National Unity by the House of Representatives on 10 March was indeed a welcome step towards unified institutions and national reconciliation.

Ireland welcomes the historical political milestone-as Jan Kubis called it this morning- the Governments formal swearing in on 15 March, as well as its firm commitment to holding inclusive elections on 24 December. We hope to see the new Government accord the highest priority to preparations for those free and fair national Presidential and Parliamentary elections.

Ireland and its EU partners are ready to assist in whatever way we can.

Madam President,

We wish Prime Minister Dbeibah, his government and the Presidency Council well. We commend former President Serraj for his leadership and his facilitation of a smooth transition of power.

The new government now must work together to provide improved basic services, especially health care and provision of electricity. This will demonstrate to the Libyan people themselves that they will be directly benefitting from political change.

Ireland welcomes the appointment of women to senior ministerial positions. We hope that the thirty per cent target set out by the LPDF will be achieved at the earliest opportunity. As women delegates themselves to the LPDF have said, we must ensure that political participation by women is empowered and effective, as well as full, equal and meaningful.

Ireland urges the Libyan Government to restructure and to activate the Womens Empowerment Unit and also to ensure that it is adequately staffed and resourced.

Ireland also encourages the Libyan Government to facilitate a safe operating environment for all of civil society to undertake its crucial work freely and effectively.

Madam President,

I want to thank the Secretary-General and his team for the report on the ceasefire monitoring preparations, which we know now must be a Libyan-led process. We welcome the openness to have monitors from the EU and other regional organisations.

We urge further confidence-building measures, including the re-opening of the coastal road from Sirte and the creation of conditions for the safe and effective deployment of the monitoring mechanism itself around Sirte.

This Council should ensure that the proposed ceasefire monitoring arrangements fully integrate a gender perspective and we encourage continued dialogue with womens organisations on that point.

Ireland reiterates the need for effective implementation of all provisions of the 23 October Ceasefire Agreement, in particular the immediate withdrawal of all foreign fighters and mercenaries.

I welcome the publication last week of the Panel of Experts Report, and in this context, reiterate our call for an end to breaches of the UN arms embargo.

As acknowledged by the Panel of Experts, the EUs Operation Irini has provided support to the Panels investigations. Operation Irini works impartially, and in accordance with the relevant Resolutions of this Council.

Madam President,

Ireland calls for further progress on the human rights track. This Council should highlight the need for accountability, including in respect of the massacres at Tarhuna, as well as credibly documented work by human rights organisations and the GNA. Ireland strongly supports the work of the UN Fact Finding Mission on Libya and welcomes the willingness expressed by the Libyan government to engage and cooperate with the FFM.

This Council should condemn threats, attacks and killings of women leaders, including women human rights defenders.

My country shares concerns about the continued detention of migrants at unofficial centres and urges further action by the Libyan authorities. We also urge access to these centres for international humanitarian organisations. We call on the Libyan authorities to put in place measures to protect and assist detainees who have suffered, or are at risk of, sexual and gender-based violence, including by transferring women detainees to facilities with sufficient female guards.

This Council should also urge the Libyan authorities to adopt anti-trafficking legislation and, with the support of the UN, we can work to strengthen Libyan rule of law institutions to ensure that allegations of sexual and gender-based violence can be effectively investigated and prosecuted.

In conclusion Madam Chair, I want to say that this is a time of hope and expectation for the Libyan people. We have faith in their commitment to travel on the difficult path to a peaceful future for all Libyans. We stand ready to do all in our power to support the people of Libya in arriving at that well deserved destination, as Jan Kubis said this morning, with determined political will and receptivity to the desires of the Libyan people themselves.

Thank you, Madam President.

 Previous Item | Next Item 
Texas knows how to change the minds and behavior of its citizens  white males included. Just think of the wildly successful Dont Mess With Texas ad campaign that helped tamp down littering. Gov. Greg Abbotts office could do a world of good by launching a similar campaign to convince Texans of the truth that vaccines save lives, including perhaps their own.

Now that Texas is set to become the first large state to open coronavirus vaccine eligibility to its entire adult population, we have to find a way to reach a certain faction of white male Republicans who are insisting they intend to spurn the shot. According to a recent NPR/PBS/Marist poll, 49 percent of GOP men said they are not planning to get vaccinated. That startling number, higher than in any other demographic, is in contrast to only 6 percent of Democratic men saying no. Other polls report similar findings.

The vaccine naysayers apparently are unmoved by the fact that theyre not only risking their own health, but also the health of family, friends and the broader community. Their stubbornness threatens to stymie the nations efforts to reach COVID-19 herd immunity, the only way were going to put this dreadful pandemic behind us.

If Republican men have dismissed Dr. Anthony Fauci, now that hes working under the Biden administration, maybe they will listen to our local, plainspoken and trusted vaccine scientist, Dr. Peter Hotez of Baylor College of Medicine. Both experts believe that herd immunity will require vaccinating between 70 percent and 85 percent of the population. Men of the GOP are standing in the way, for what appears to be no good reason, just politics.

They arent entirely alone. Some Americans, wary of a history of exploitation at the hands of unethical medical authorities, have also proven reluctant to be vaccinated. Reassuring Black Americans has been a top priority for public health officials for months now. But those same efforts have fallen flat among Republican men. Perhaps its because a certain immediate past president who made sure he and his wife got their shots, albeit in secret, still has their ear (and their arm). Perhaps these men are listening to Rand Paul, the maskless GOP senator from Kentucky who prefers picking a political fight with Fauci to finding ways to defeat a devastating pandemic. Maybe the holdouts have fallen into the clutches of a shameless Tucker Carlson, who stokes his Fox News ratings by accusing government health experts of lying about vaccine efficacy.

None of these carnival barkers have these mens best interest in mind. And their objections  plus the ridiculous conspiracy theories bandied about on social media  are taking their toll  and risk ruining what might otherwise be a major accomplishment by Texas. Beginning Monday, our hope is that the GOP skeptics will relent, particularly when they see more and more family members and acquaintances getting vaccinated with no lasting ill effects, more and more friends hugging grandkids, boarding flights and dining at restaurants without fear.

Vaccine holdouts, we implore you to join those who have been freed from the bonds of this pandemic.

We urge churches and synagogues, fraternal organizations, civic groups and, yes, political parties to encourage their members to get the shot. Point them toward the Texas Department of State Health Services websites links to vaccine hub providers across Texas. Print readers: just Google Texas vaccine signup to find the DSHS vaccine page.

In Houston, were fortunate to have Dr. Hotez, who recently co-authored a paper with 17 other vaccine experts that corrected much misinformation. Despite the accelerated timetables, for instance, the new COVID-19 vaccines have been proven safe. Tens of thousands of volunteers served as test subjects in those trials, an effort equivalent to other large trials in the past. The work to develop the vaccines didnt begin last year  it relied on decades of previous research on coronaviruses.

Oh, and the vaccine doesnt change your DNA, despite what youve heard. While mRNA in the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines does enter the cell, it doesnt enter the cells nucleus, where our DNA is kept.

Lastly, while some claim the vaccines arent worth it because they cant entirely eliminate the chance of getting the virus, the vaccines in the U.S. are highly effective at keeping you alive and out of the hospital if you get it. Preliminary research also shows that if you are vaccinated, you have a smaller chance of spreading the virus to someone else.

Bottom line: all of us, from politicians to doctors to concerned sons and daughters, need to persuade the vaccine-skittish among us to step up and do their patriotic duty. To do otherwise, as conservative columnist Kathleen Parker has gently suggested, is just plain dumb  but more importantly, potentially deadly.
(TNS)  Last week, the Sutter County Sheriff's Office switched over to a new integrated software program from company Central Square, which replaced the department's computer aided dispatch and jail management system that was more than 30 years old.The new software program is an all-in-one system, which means the entire department can work more efficiently through each of the department's three divisions. The upgrade includes a streamlined report writing module, portals for the courts and other county offices to view information and an evidence system component, according to the sheriff's office."We continue to make great strides and are focused on becoming the best version of our sheriff's office as we move into the future," Sutter County Sheriff Brandon Barnes said. "I am glad we were able to bring this program to our staff, and the community, while being fiscally responsible at the same time." The company that managed the old system merged with several other companies and allowed the sheriff's office to save money on licensing fees and customer discounts making the move more affordable. The entire cost after equipment purchases and transferring of data was just under $500,000."It was a change we needed to make many years ago, we are excited for our new system," Captain Chad Niswonger said. Having a "view only" portal in the new software for county offices to access reports and information is expected to reduce calls to dispatch and the sheriff's office records unit. The public will be able to look up statistics on the department's website, which come directly from the new system. There will be an integrated community platform link that will allow the community to look up types of calls and crimes in their neighborhoods.The biggest obstacle for the sheriff's office has been ensuring the successful transition of data from the old system to the new system. Another challenge has been familiarizing employees with a new system when they are used to another system. "I am excited for the new evidence system that Central Square has brought to the sheriff's office; it is going to make our evidence system more efficient," Sutter County Sheriff's Office Evidence Technician Anahi Duran said.County Information Technology staff have been working for more than a year to ensure a smooth transition, according to the sheriff's office. "The public should know that while there are some adjustments internally, there will be no negative impact on the public," it was stated in a statement from the department. "In fact, we strongly believe we will be more efficient in the services we provide."
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.
MLW FUSION REPORT: THE FINAL BUILD TO NEVER SAY NEVER, CHAIN ROPES MATCH, AND MORE

We begin with Josef Samael talking about week after week after week the Injustice Infidels talk about rising up against Contra. I can smell the fear. Last week, Contra showed just how pathetic you stray children are. Next week, at Never Say Never, Contra will unleash a campaign of horrors unlike any other. Especially on you Calvin Tankman. You say you are going to take the title by any means necessary. That is what they all say . . . before their execution. There is no escaping the public execution that is awaiting you next week. First, you have to survive tonight.

We are in Orlando, Florida and your announcers are Rich Bocchini and Jared St. Laurent.

Match Number One: Gino Medina versus Zenshi

Zenshi with a waist lock and Medina with a waist lock and he throws Zenshi to the mat. Medina with a wrist lock into a side head lock. Zenshi with a front face lock but Medina blocks a suplex. Medina with a wrist lock and Zenshi with a snap mare into a reverse chin lock. Zenshi with a drop kick that sends Medina to the floor. They return to the ring and Medina goes back to the floor and Zenshi waits for Medina in the middle of the ring.

They lock up and Medina backs Zenshi into the turnbuckles and Medina punches and kicks Zenshi. Zenshi avoids a tilt-a-whirl move and Zenshi with a head scissors and leg sweep followed by a standing moonsault for a near fall. Zenshi hangs in the ropes and he misses a leg sweep but he drops Medina onto the top rope. Medina gets knees up when Zenshi goes for a springboard move. Medina with a chop and he gets a near fall. Medina with a chop and he gets a near fall.

Medina with an abdominal stretch into a hip toss and rear chin lock. Medina stretches Zenshi and gets a near fall. Medina gets another near fall. Medina gets a third near fall. Medina with a kick to the head. Zenshi kicks Medina from the corner and he connects with a head butt and forearms. Medina with a forearm and elbow to the back of the head. Medina puts Zenshi on the turnbuckles and he pulls at the mask. Zenshi with elbows to send Medina to the mask. Zenshi with a somersault senton off the turnbuckles into a Shiranui for a near fall. Medina grabs Zenshi by the mask and Zenshi with a pele kick. Zenshi with a rollup for a near fall and a springboard cross body and slingshot senton for a near fall. Zenshi with a forearm and Irish whip. Medina gets Zenshi on his shoulders and hits snake eyes. Medina with a rollup for a near fall and then he hits a scorpion kick for the three count.

Winner: Gino Medina

We go to Alicia Atout and she has breaking news. She mentions that Tom Lawlor says he is injured and cannot wrestle tonight.

We take a look at what happened between Alexander Hammerstone and Mil Muertes a few weeks ago.

We go to commercial.

We are back with comments from Myron Reed. Myron says he felt like he was on top of the world when he was the Middleweight Champion. He says he felt like he could have been the World Champion. At Kings of Colosseum, I lost the title and before I could process what happened, I was attacked by Contra. I dont let stuff slide easily. I am looking at Daivari. You stuck your nose where it doesnt belong.

Match Number Two: Mil Muertes (with Salina de la Renta) versus Gringo Loco

Loco pushes Muertes and chops him. Muertes blocks a chop and chops Loco. Muertes with an Irish whip and Loco floats over and flips across the ring. Muertes with a spear and punches to Loco. Loco is sent into the turnbuckles and Muertes with shoulders and kicks. Muertes and the referee exchange some words.

Muertes with a head butt and forearms to Loco. Muertes with a punch and he throws Loco to the floor. Muertes sends Loco into the wall of the production booth. Muertes sends Loco into the ring post and apron. Muertes chops Loco against the ring post. Muertes with a clothesline against the ring post but he misses a second one and hits the post.

Loco with chops and a forearm. Muertes with a tilt-a-whirl back breaker on the floor. Loco is sent back into the ring. Muertes with a short arm clothesline and he drives Locos head into the mat. Muertes chokes Loco and the referee warns Muertes. Muertes chokes Loco in the ropes. Muertes catapults Locos throat into the bottom rope. Muertes sends Loco into the turnbuckles and connects with clotheslines in the corner. Muertes with a punch. Muertes with an Irishw hip and he misses a splash when Loco moves. Loco is sent to the apron and Loco with a shoulder and he goes up top. Loco with a twisting moonsault and a drop kick to the knee.

Loco with a round kick and a running cutter for a near fall. Muertes grabs Loco by the throat and hits a choke slam for a near fall. Muertes with a chop and Loco with a kick. Muertes with a power slam for a near fall. Muertes sends Loco into the ropes and Salina chokes Loco while Muertes discusses something with the referee. Muertes catches Loco on a handspring move. Muertes with a flatliner for the three count.

Winner: Mil Muertes

We go to Alexander Hammerstone in the back and he says he is getting sick of the tweets and text messages with the questions about whether he lost the title to Mil Muertes. I spent over a year working my ass off to make that title prestigious and you take it from me. You are not a champion. You are a phony, a fake, and a fraud. You take time to post photos with the title, but you dont answer my calls. We will meet on April 14th for the title.

Alicia Atout says that Tom Lawlor has an injured bicep so he will not be cleared to wrestle. It will be a standard tag match with Ku and Garrini facing The Von Erichs.

We take a look at Calvin Tankman. He says Heavyweight Hustle is a cant quit attitude. He has time to pay for a car and college for his daughter. Where everybody else is going to quit or fold, he shakes his head and he gets back up and swings for the fences. There is no give up and there is no other option other than to take care of himself and his family.

We go to commercial.

We are back with an update of Bu Ku Dao. Rich says that he will be out for 2 or 3 weeks.

We are told that TJP has been fined $2,500.

We will hear from Bu Ku Dao next week.

Match Number Three: Calvin Tankman versus Sendai Death Squad Member Zad

They go face to face and Tankman pie faces Zad. Zad with a chop and Tankman with a forearm and chops. Tankman with a shoulder tackle and boot to the chest. Tankman with a spinebuster and a back fist to the back of the head for the three count.

Winner: Calvin Tankman

After the match, Jacob Fatu, Daivari, and Simon Gotch come to ringside and Tankman with a twisting pescado onto Contra Unit. Jordan Oliver and Myron Reed make their way to the ring to help Tankman. Tankman with a Tankman Driver to Daivari while Fatu works over Oliver.

We go to Ross and Marshall Von Erich in the back. Ross says it is convenient that Tom Lawlor is injured. Marshall says that Tom is yellow. Ross mentions the chains that are going to be ropes tonight.

We go to commercial.

We are back and Salina is outside the building and she is asked if Mil Muertes will accept Hammerstones challenges. Salina says she has signed the contract. She is then asked about Azteca Underground and the representative says no comments.

Tom Lawlor says Team Filthy will not let tonight go to waste. Dom and Kevin Ku will take those steel chains and they will wrap them around the Von Erichs. They will break their hands so they cannot do that stupid claw. The Von Erichs will pay for their transgressions.

Alicia Atout is in the Never Say Never Control Center and she mentions the three matches announced for next weeks show.

Match Number Four: Ross Von Erich and Marshall Von Erich versus Kevin Ku and Dominic Garrini (with Tom Lawlor) in a Chain Rope Match

All four men brawl as the bell rings. Marshall works over Garrini and Ross punches Ku. Marshall with a forearm and Garrini with a forearm and knees. Ku chops Ross. Ku with a European uppercut to Ross. Ross kicks Garrini in the back of the head while Marhsall slams Ku. Ross suplexes Garrini and Marshall gets a near fall on Ku. Marshall with a suplex to Ku.

Ross kicks Garrini while Marshall works over Ku. Ku and Garrini are Irish whipped into the chain and Lawlor distracts Marshall and Ross and Garrini and Ku attack the Von Erichs from behind. Garrini sends Ross back into the ring and Ku chops Ross. Garrini sends Marshall into the ring post and he chokes Marshall with the chain. Lawlor chokes Marshall while Garinni talks to the referee. Ku with a figure four on Rosss legs while Garrini tells Ross to tap out. Ku with boots to the back and then Ku applies an STF. Garrini chokes Marshall with the chain. Ku gets a near fall on Ross.

Garrini with a snap mare to Marshall and Ku and Garrini with kicks to the back. Ku kicks Ross in the knee. Ross with forearms to Ku and Garrini hits Ross from behind. Tom goes after Marshall while Ku works over Ross. Marshall with forearms to Garrini and Ku. Marshall with a drop kick to Ku and clotheslines to Garrini followed by a discus clothesline. Marshall choke slams Ku onto Garrini for a near fall on Garrini.

Marshall with a discus punch and Garrini blocks a drop kick and applies a heel hook on Marshall. Ku with a guillotine on Ross but Ross drops Ku onto Garrini to force a break of the heel hook. They pair up and exchange forearms. Marshall and Garrini exchange chops while Ross connects with forearms. Garrini slaps Marshall and kicks him in the leg. Ku is sent into the chains and so is Ross. Ku and Garrini drop Marshall groin first on the chain.

Garrini gets Ross up and he hits a Go 2 Sleep followed by a Dragon suplex from Ku for a near fall. Lawlor tries to throw brass knuckles to Ku and Garrini but he misses and Marshall catches it and hits Ku and Garrini. Marshall with a claw and they hit the belly-to-back suplex and claw slam combination for the three count.

Winners: Marshall Von Erich and Ross Von Erich

Myron Reed says they have had to work for everything they have. Jordan Oliver says they took their friend and they think about it every day.

Josef Samael says only a fool would believe that Injustice has a chance against Contra Unit in an ambush.

We go to credits.

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!
President Joe Biden announced on March 24 that Vice President Kamala Harris will be tapped to lead the administrations efforts in stemming the influx of illegal immigrants at the U.S.Mexico border.

Biden told reporters that Harris was the most qualified person to handle the task. It comes as the administration faces growing pressure over how its handling a surge at the border that started after Biden was sworn into office.

This increase has been consequential, but the vice president has agreed  to lead our diplomatic effort and to work with those nations to accept the returnees and enhance migration enforcement at their borders, Biden said.

Its not her full responsibility job, but she is leading the effort because I think the best thing to do is to put someone who  speaks for me, doesnt have to check with me. She knows what shes doing, and I hope we can move this along, he told reporters, according to pool reports.

Border Patrol apprehended 100,441 illegal border-crossers along the southern border in February, according to Customs and Border Protection. The number reflects a 28 percent increase over January.

An ongoing immigration policy tracker by the Heritage Foundation found that Biden has rolled back almost all of former President Donald Trumps immigration policies.

The White House and the Biden administration have repeatedly refused to use the word crisis when describing the historical increase of illegal immigrants crossing the U.S.Mexico border. Reporters have in recent weeks been pressing the administration on this.

Later, Harris thanked Biden for appointing her and described whats happening at the border as a challenging situation.

While we are clear that people should not come to the border now, we also understand that we will enforce the law and that we alsobecause we can chew gum and walk at the same timemust address the root causes that cause people to make the trek, Harris told reporters.

I look forward to engaging in diplomacy with government, with the private sector, with civil society, and the leaders of each in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to strengthen democracy and the rule of law and ensure shared prosperity in the region.

Meanwhile, Mexicos president cast the blame this week on Bidens policies, saying he created certain expectations that are ultimately spurring illegal immigrants into making the trip.

Expectations were created that with President Bidens government there would be a better treatment of migrants. This has caused Central American migrants, and also from our country, to want to cross the border thinking that it is easier to do so, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on March 23.

Bidens changes to immigration policies have triggered a surge in illegal crossings, especially by unaccompanied minors, more than 11,000 of whom were being kept in overcrowded facilities as of March 23.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) proposed an immigration measure on March 24 that aims to close loopholes in the asylum system and change policies that may be contributing to the escalating crisis on the southern border.

Grahams bill would require asylum-seekers from the Northern Triangle countriesGuatemala, Honduras, and El Salvadorto apply for refugee status at asylum centers outside the United States. The proposal would also afford equal treatment to unaccompanied minors from the Northern Triangle as those from Canada and Mexico. Under the current law, unaccompanied minors from Mexico and Canada are returned to their home countries.

Ivan Pentchoukov contributed to this report.

From The Epoch Times
Dr. Rokhiatou Babio is one of the few women in Benin spearheading a medical team on the COVID-19 frontline. She narrates her gut-wrenching experience on that dark day, a month after taking office.

"The most painful moment in managing this crisis was in June 2020 when I had three severe cases of COVID-19. They all died on the same day," she explains.

"One of the three patients practically died in my arms."

A deep silence overcomes her, and she continues. "Then, you have to deal with the parents after the announcement of the deaths. The hardest part for these parents was not being able to take the remains with them. It is difficult to convince them, even with the support of a psychologist," the doctor recounts.

Dr. Babio is a general practitioner at the Emergency department of the University Hospital of Borgou in northern Benin. Working for several medical facilities, she supervises a team of 40 medical staff at the COVID-19 care centre of the Borgou Army Instruction Hospital. Her centre receives COVID-19 patients from five of Benin's 12 departments -- Atacora, Borgou, Alibori, Donga and Collines.

Epidemic response expert

As a veteran in medical emergency and epidemic response for health centres in the north of the country, Dr. Babio has managed four health crises in her career. Faced with the COVID-19 pandemic, her fifth emergency, she quickly inspired confidence in other "less experienced" team members.

"As soon as I took office, the goal was to save the lives of patients while protecting health care workers, most of whom had never managed an epidemic before. It was, therefore, necessary from the first days to establish a climate of confidence and make them want to manage COVID-19 patients," she says.

Dr. Babio divided her staff into three multi-disciplinary, mixed-gender teams. To get the best out of each of them, she listened to issues from all staff members, both professional and personal.

"Each colleague has my number and can contact me at any time to complain. This decreases staff stress and ensures good management of the epidemic," she adds.

But it is sometimes surprising for people in Benin to see a woman at the helm of the emergency department, let alone as the COVID-19 case management coordinator.

"Some people go so far as to say that it was because I am a woman that I was appointed as the coordinator, because I was friends with the authorities, without taking into account the fact that since 2016, I have been managing epidemics of viral hemorrhagic fevers in Lassa and that my competence has been recognized at the international level," she says.

Women managing crises

The doctor stresses that women are good at managing crisis. She quips: "We are first and foremost mothers and, therefore, born to show empathy."

Her colleague, Dr. Hermes Melvis Amoussouvi, a general practitioner, agrees. He acknowledges that leadership is "genderless."

"A leader should be able to inspire both women and men. But it is important, and it is increasingly noticeable, that women realize their capacity to do as much or even better than men. Women have their own potential, and we must embrace it," Dr. Amoussouvi says.

The UN country team in Benin is working closely with the government to facilitate women's integration in all sectors of society, including medicine.

"We cannot build the future we want and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) without the full participation of all stakeholders in society, especially women," says Salvator Niyonzima, UN Resident Coordinator in Benin.

He emphasizes the significance of the promotion of gender equality and women's rights in a broader social context.

"Gender equality, enshrined in SDG 5, is often measured by the existence of a legal framework to promote, enforce and monitor the application of the principles around non-discrimination based on sex," notes Mr. Niyonzima.

First COVID-19 case in Benin

Since the first case of COVID-19 was declared in Benin in March 2020, the centre managed by Dr. Babio has registered 117 patients, with 96 cases recoveries and five still undergoing treatment.

Benin had recorded 5,434 confirmed cases by the end of February 2021, including 4,248 recoveries, 1,116 under treatment and 70 deaths. By 19 March, the number of confirmed cases had risen to 6,501 and cumulative 81 deaths, according to WHO statistics.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Coronavirus Women Benin By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Under the leadership of the Resident Coordinator, all the UN entities in Benin and other partners have been contributing to the fight against COVID-19, offering the government a wide range of support, including essential materials, medical equipment, finance, and capacity building. This One UN support also reached out directly to all COVID-19 treatment centres, including that of Dr. Babio in Parakou.

With such assistance, Dr. Babio takes charge of the centre, following up treatments and managing complicated cases. She always moves forward.

"What a pleasure to see our patients getting better. I feel re-energized when they are grateful for our support. Yes, we save human lives," she says decisively.

Dr. Babio's competence is well recognized by her peers and patients. "I take my hat off to this very dynamic team under the leadership of a rigorous and methodical woman," explains Ms. Hermine Fatoumbi, a patient who has just recovered from COVID-19.
You are here: China

China's State Council Information Office on Wednesday issued the Report on Human Rights Violations in the United States in 2020.

The report said Washington's incompetent pandemic containment led to tragic outcomes and that American democracy disorder triggered political chaos.

Ethnic minorities suffered racial discrimination and continuous social unrest threatened public security in the United States, it said.

The report also drew attention to the growing polarization between the rich and the poor that aggravated social inequality in America.

The U.S. trampling on international rules resulted in humanitarian disasters, it added.

Full text: The Report on Human Rights Violations in the United States in 2020
After the COVID-19 pandemic forced students into distance learning, schools looked for solutions to help those challenged by the shift. With students having unequal access to the technology necessary to succeed in a virtual environment, the achievement gap has increased. Now districts are looking for ways to adapt so that students do not fall behind, and Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools (KCKPS) is doing it with virtual reality.KCKPS has partnered with the virtual-reality company OmniLife VR for a new pilot program, purchasing two video cameras and 130 virtual reality headsets. The program is co-sponsored by the UG CARES Act Grant and the Barton P. and Mary D. Cohen Charitable Trust, a regional charitable foundation.Without those funds, we would not have been able to conduct the pilot, said Christal Watson, executive director of Kansas City, Kansas School Foundation for Excellence. This has been a true collaborative effort, combining public, private and nonprofit.According to Principal Canise Salinas-Willich of New Chelsea Elementary, the sudden shift to distance learning presented a challenge for keeping students interested and meeting their educational needs. This led Salinas-Willich to attend some technology conferences, where she was connected to OmniLife VR. Being aware of students interest in virtual reality as it pertains to gaming, she was eager to see how the technology would work in a classroom.OmniLife VR has partnered with other school districts in the past, but Sales Manager Tim Truesdale said this partnership is different. For one thing, he said the Kansas City, Kansas Foundation for Excellence was instrumental in anchoring the group and getting the equipment deployed. Truesdale said the project is also unique because it represents progress during COVID-19-related setbacks, and it's creating advantages for KCKPS over some other districts that have previously had greater access to resources.If we can do it here, we can do it anywhere, he said.Truesdale was optimistic about the potential of this tool to become more common in classrooms as the company generates data about its effect on engagement. He added that it's one more piece of technology to enhance school curriculums, as Chromebooks and iPads have done in the past.For example, students could be transported to the dinosaur age or allowed to mix chemicals without risk, in interactive lessons that improve engagement and retention. KCKPS is even offering a "career center" in the form of a trailer with a miniature VR-lab, allowing students to explore careers that they might not interact with in their day-to-day life.Now, they can actually see these things and picture themselves as a scientist, or architect, or geologist, or something of that nature, Salinas-Willich said.According to Truesdale, engagement is the No. 1 issue that K-12 educators are reporting, and it has only become worse through the COVID-19 pandemic. It's hard to keep students paying attention, and KCKPS administrators see virtual reality as a potential game changer in that regard.Based on the research ... we can increase student engagement by up to 100 percent and increase academic score up to 30 percent, Watson said.The pilot program will be available in KCKPS elementary, middle and high schools, and the district is open to purchasing more equipment in the future. Salinas-Willich said it will be up to the administration within each school to determine where exactly to apply it.Rather than having the teachers dive into this new technology blindly, technology teachers within the school will work with it first, ideally to eliminate bugs or confusion before handing it off to others.Another feature of OmniLife's VR technology is that it doesn't have to exacerbate the digital divide. According to Truesdale, one can load experiences into the headset itself, so students can participate without Internet connectivity.There are other ways this technology could help level the playing field and create equal opportunities, according to Salinas-Willich. For example, kinesthetic or visual learners may excel with virtual reality more than with traditional reading materials.KCKPS and OmniLife VR hope the data accumulated from this pilot program will reflect a significant increase in student engagement and provide a framework that other districts can replicate.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin made a three-day visit to India last weekend, the first by a top official of the newly-installed Biden administration. Austin was accorded a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, in a clear indication of the importance Indias Bharatiya Janata Party government attached to his visit. On the following days, Austin had other high-level meetings, including with his Indian counterpart, Rajnath Singh, and Modis National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.

At the conclusion of the talks, both sides pledged to greatly expand bilateral military-strategic ties, which during the past seven years of BJP-rule have already resulted in India being transformed into a veritable frontline state in Washingtons military-strategic offensive against China.

Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at their March 20, 2021 joint press conference. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Underscoring the extent to which Indias military is working with the Pentagon, Defence Minister Singh said his discussions with Austin had covered military-to-military engagement across services, information sharing, cooperation in emerging sectors of defence, and mutual logistics support.

Austins visit is part of a whole series of moves the Biden administration has taken to signal that it not only intends to continue the Trump administrations full-court campaign of diplomatic, economic and military-strategic pressure on China. It is determined to intensify it, with enhanced coordination with and the systematic mobilization of its allies, such as India, viewed as a pivotal component in what Biden has called extreme competition with Beijing.

As Austin was beginning his India visit, US officials were threatening and issuing demands to Beijing at a bilateral US-China summit of cabinet and other high-ranking officials in Alaska. The meeting degenerated into mutual mudslinging and denunciations after US diplomats provocatively denounced China for human rights violations and threatening the rules based order, i.e., US global supremacy, during their opening remarks.

Biden personally underlined the importance his administration attaches to integrating India still more fully into Washingtons Indo-Pacific strategy to isolate and encircle China by convening and hosting the first-ever heads of government meeting of the Quad earlier this month. Led by the US, the Quad is a strategic dialogue that involves India and Washingtons longstanding principal Pacific allies, Japan and Australia. It is enmeshed with an ever thicker web of bilateral, trilateral, and quadrilateral ties between India and the other Quad partners.

Washingtons push to expand its military-strategic partnership with India will accelerate the deterioration of relations between New Delhi and Beijing. Tensions between the worlds two most populous countries exploded last year into bloody clashes over their disputed Himalayan border. The fighting in the Galwan Valley along the Line of Actual Control that separates Indian-controlled Ladakh from Chinese-held Aksai Chin resulted in the first fatalities on the disputed border in over four decades, and far and away the most serious threat of a Sino-Indian war since the two countries fought a month-long border war in 1962.

For well over seven months spilling into this year, New Delhi and Beijing were locked in a tense military stand-off involving tens of thousands of troops, tank units, and dozens of warplanes on both sides. Only in recent weeks have there been initial steps toward disengagement.

The US encouraged India to take a more hawkish posture over its border clashes with China. In a sharp contrast with its public statements when Indian and Chinese troops were involved in a border standoff on the Doklam Plateau in 2017, Washington labelled Beijing the aggressor and tied Chinas alleged incursions along its border with India to the South China Sea dispute, where Washington has incited Chinas neighbours to press their territorial claims.

Egged on by Washington, India carried out an aggressive military operation in late August 2020, involving thousands of troops, to seize a series of mountain peaks that Indian officials later admitted could have spiralled into all-out war.

Modis participation in the Quad leaders summit and the subsequent welcoming of Austin to New Delhi are a direct rebuff of the appeal Beijing made for a reset of Sino-Indian relations in conjunction with the initial steps to deescalate the tensions along their joint border. Moreover, they indicate that in pursuit of a further strengthening of its ties with Washington and its key Pacific allies, the Modi government is ready to place the de-escalation itself in jeopardy.

Austins visit is merely the latest in a long series of steps taken by New Delhi and Washington to develop their military-strategic partnership over recent years. During the past five years, India has signed three foundational agreements to facilitate cooperation and joint action with the US militarythe Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA), the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) and the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA). In the past year, New Delhi has also signed agreements similar to the LEMOA with Japan and Australia, allowing for the mutual use of military bases for refueling and resupply. It has also expanded joint military exercises with the US and its allies, including transforming the annual Indo-US Malabar naval war games into a quadrilateral exercise.

The bilateral talks between Austin and Singh examined how the US-India partnership can be expanded to tackle joint challenges on the global arena. At the joint press conference with Austin following their talks, Singh said they had reviewed the wide gamut of bilateral and multilateral exercises and agreed to pursue enhanced cooperation with the US Indo-Pacific Command, Central Command and Africa Command. Acknowledging that we have in place the foundational agreements, LEMOA, COMCASA and BECA, we discussed steps to be taken to realise their full potential for mutual benefit.

In other words, India increasingly sees itself not merely as a partner of the US in Asia, the Indian Ocean and South China Sea, but also in the Middle East and Africaregions that successive US-led wars of aggression have devastated and plundered.

In line with Washingtons encouragement of India to play a larger role in global geopolitics, it is now urging India to get involved in the Afghan peace processthat is, in the talks it has sponsored between the Taliban and Kabul government, with the aim of extricating the US military from a two-decade long war that has proven an immense drain on its resources. The Trump administration, in deference to Pakistan which is anxious to limit Indias influence in Afghanistan, did not include New Delhi in the Afghan peace talks.

However, Washingtons overriding priority is consolidating India as a key player in its war drive against Beijing. At his joint press conference with Singh, Austin said, India in particular is an increasingly important partner among todays rapidly shifting international dynamics. I reaffirmed our commitment to a comprehensive and forward looking defence partnership with India as a central pillar to our approach to the region.

Taking more direct aim at China, Austin continued, The relationship is a stronghold of a free and open Indo-Pacific region. Prime Minister Modi has stated that India stands for freedom of navigation and freedom of overflight, unimpeded lawful commerce and adherence to international law. This is a resounding affirmation of our shared vision for regional security in the Indo-Pacific.

This reckless agenda, which carries the very real danger of triggering a catastrophic conflagration between nuclear-armed powers, enjoys overwhelming support within Indias ruling elite. The Indian bourgeoisie is clutching to the coattails of Washington, even as US imperialism faces an historic crisis rooted in the vast erosion of its world position, so as to advance its own predatory global interests and strengthen its hand in the face of rapidly mounting opposition from the working class.

An editorial in the Indian Express titled Deepening ties emphatically welcomed Austins visit. It praised the Modi governments enthusiastic reception of the US Defence Secretary which underlines the urgency in both capitals to elevate the bilateral defence partnership. It added, Driven by shared threats from a rising China and united by a new geopolitical perspective on the Indo-Pacific, Delhi and Washington appear set to expand the scale and scope of the security partnership. Justifying Indias closer integration into the US-led war drive against China, the editorial added, As Chinas aggressive tactics in the Great Himalayas and the Western Pacific began to strain Beijings ties with both Delhi and Washington, it was inevitable that India and America would tighten their defence embrace.

Despite their ever closer military-strategic partnership, tensions between India and the US remain, especially over New Delhis longstanding military-strategic ties with Russia. India remains reliant on Russia for much of its weaponry and elements of its nuclear program, and hopes to use its ties with Moscow to resist becoming entirely strategically dependent on American imperialism. However, Washington is determined to limit, disrupt and ultimately break Indias strategic ties with Russia, which it considers an unacceptable impediment to the reassertion of US imperialist global hegemony.

Currently, the US is pressuring New Delhi over its purchase of Russias S-400 air defence missile system, which is set to be deployed to India in October. Washington has threatened to impose sanctions under the Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) if New Delhi goes ahead with the purchase.

When asked at his joint press conference with Singh whether he had raised the threat of CAATSA sanctions during their bilateral talks, Austin said they had discussed the S-400 purchase but that the issue of sanctions had not figured in their discussions because India is yet to get delivery of the missile system from Russia. Austin then added a sting to his remarks, concluding menacingly, We certainly urge all our allies and partners to move away from Russian equipment and avoid any kind of acquisitions that would trigger sanctions.
US fishing industry not hooked on NOAA Fisheries' climate plan

by Thomas Frank

Fishing industry officials in the US had a message yesterday for NOAA Fisheries: Climate change doesn't exist.



At least not in the ocean.



"I don't think we're in a climate crisis," Jeff Kaelin, director of sustainability and government relations at Lund's Fisheries in New Jersey, told senior NOAA Fisheries officials. "We've been adapting for many years to ocean changes."



The comments occurred during a telephone town hall that was part of a little-noticed plan by NOAA to make the nation's fisheries more resilient to climate change.



President Biden ordered NOAA to collect information from a wide range of groups on increasing the resilience of fisheries as part of his plan to address climate change and to protect 30% of U.S. ocean areas by the year 2030. The NOAA directive is included in the sweeping executive order Biden signed his first week in office that made "the climate crisis" a centerpiece of his presidency.



"Fisheries, protected resources, habitats and ecosystem are being affected by climate change," acting NOAA Fisheries chief Paul Doremus said at the beginning of yesterday's conference call.



Citing warming oceans, increasing ocean acidification and rising sea levels, Doremus said climate change and fisheries "is a very large and very urgent topic."



Fishing-industry representatives voiced their own urgency yesterday, expressing fear that NOAA Fisheries would put wide swaths of the ocean off-limits to both commercial and recreational fishing. Biden's so-called 30x30 plan to conserve 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030 drew particular alarm.



"Seafood is the solution to many of our climate-related problems," said Eric Brazer, deputy director of the Texas-based Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders' Alliance.



Brazer and other callers said that reducing commercial fishing catches would force U.S. consumers to rely on "terrestrial" protein sources such as cattle that generate far more greenhouse gases.



"You're taking away the livelihood of many people and being harmful in the process," said Jim Kendall, executive director of New Bedford Seafood Consulting in Massachusetts. "You need to consider the effects of what you're trying to accomplish."



Jeff Angers, president of the Center for Sportfishing Policy, said recreational fishers and boaters are "America's original conservationists" with a "long history of championing marine conservation including habitat restoration and ending overfishing."



Closing fisheries could increase carbon emissions by forcing fishing vessels to spend more time searching for fish stocks, said Dennis Moran, president of Fishermen's Finest of Alaska, a fishing company.



"We know from history that when you do broad area closures, you increase carbon footprint, because boats have to spend more time looking for fish," Moran said.



Several fishermen said flatly that they don't believe the climate is changing and that they thought Biden's efforts are driven entirely by politics.



"The executive order is no more than the manifestation of an ongoing political campaign," Kaelin said.



Several environmental advocates applauded NOAA Fisheries' effort to address climate change and urged increased study of its effects on fishing stocks and fish migration.



"We are at a critical moment for fisheries. Climate change is challenging every aspect of fishery management," said Meredith Moore, director of the fish conservation program at the environmental group Ocean Conservancy. "The Biden administration must recommit to sustainable management of stock, ending overfishing and rebuilding our fisheries."



NOAA Fisheries is accepting comments through April 2 and is holding two additional conference calls in the next week to receive input.

 Politico, LLC

Theme(s): Others.
YEREVAN, MARCH 25, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian held a meeting with Chairman of the Board of the Heritage party Raffi Hovhannisyan, the Presidents Office told Armenpress.

Armenias domestic and foreign policy, as well as the ways of solving the domestic political crisis were discussed during the meeting.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Democrats are looking for their next step forward on gun control after the second mass shooting in just one week. CBS News congressional correspondent Kris Van Cleave, CBSN Washington reporter Caitlin Huey-Burns, and Axios congressional reporter Alayna Treene spoke to "Red and Blue" host Elaine Quijano about the push for universal background checks.

Video Transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING]

ELAINE QUIJANO: Hi, everyone. I'm Elaine Quijano. It is good to be with you. Thanks for joining us. The White House is urging Congress to take the next steps on gun control legislation after two deadly mass shootings in just a week. President Biden is urging the Senate to pass universal background checks on gun purchases. The measure was already approved by the House. It could land on the president's desk if the votes are there for it, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

On "CBS This Morning," Vice President Kamala Harris did not rule out executive action but made the argument for a bill instead.

KAMALA HARRIS: There is the piece about executive action. But if we pass legislation, it's permanent. If the Congress acts, then it becomes law. And that is what we have lacked. That is what has been missing. We need universal background checks. You know, various states have done it. But there's no universal approach to this. And so what ends up happening? People can move from one state to another, depending on what the law is.

It has to be possible that people agree that these slaughters have to stop. And this is, again-- reject the false choice, and stop pushing it, for sure. Stop pushing the false choice that this means everybody's trying to come after your guns. That is not what we're talking about.

ELAINE QUIJANO: After that interview, President Biden placed the vice president in charge of efforts at the southern border. She will work with Mexico and Central American countries to slow what's been a surge in migration to the US. The government is struggling to house children and teens seeking asylum in the US by themselves. Here is how President Biden explained his administration's goals.

Story continues

JOE BIDEN: The best way to keep people from coming is keep them from wanting to leave. And the reason why so many people were leaving, we learned, was that not only gang violence and trafficking cartels, but natural disasters-- hurricanes, floods, earthquakes. If you deal with the problems in your country, it benefits everyone. It benefits us. It benefits the people, and grows the economies there.

Unfortunately, the last administration eliminated that funding-- did not engage in it, did not use it, even though there was over $700 million to help get this done. We're re-instituting that program.

ELAINE QUIJANO: Kris Van Cleave, Caitlin Huey-Burns, and Alayna Treene join me now. Kris is a CBS News Congressional Correspondent. Caitlin is CBSN's Washington Reporter, and Alayna is a Congressional Reporter for Axios. Welcome to you all.

Kris, let me start with you. I want to first ask about the White House's push for gun control. Is there any sort of legislation which could get through the Senate at this point?

KRIS VAN CLEAVE: It doesn't look like it, Elaine. You need 60 votes to move something through the Senate. And it's not clear that even the two measures that the House passed last week that would close gun loopholes-- require universal background checks and give law enforcement more time to vet somebody trying to buy a gun-- it doesn't look like those even necessarily have 50 votes of support, let alone the 60 you would need.

So while I think you're going to hear a lot of talk about gun control in the weeks ahead, right now it doesn't look like there is a bill that has the votes to pass, which could end up setting the stage for it going back over to the other side of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, go down the block here to the White House, and executive action being taken. But for now, you're going to hear a lot of talk in the Senate. I don't know that there is a piece of legislation right now that would get you 60 votes.

ELAINE QUIJANO: All right. So Caitlin, to pick up on what Kris was saying there, what kind of potential executive action is the Biden administration considering?

CAITLIN HUEY-BURNS: Well, they have been pretty vague so far about what they are considering. But they have acknowledged that they could take steps on executive authority. They could potentially, as activists have pointed out, do things to strengthen background checks, close some loopholes, do some things from a regulatory perspective.

But really, what we're seeing from the White House is this push for Congress to act. We heard Kamala Harris in her interview with "CBS This Morning" this morning say that while executive action could be on the table, that they are really focusing on Congress. But as Kris mentioned, this is an issue that is completely elusive on Capitol Hill, and has been.

This is also an issue with which Biden is intimately familiar. He was, of course, one of the architects of the assault weapons ban back in the 1990s. While he was vice president after the Sandy Hook shooting, then-President Obama tasked him with leading this effort in Congress. We know how that turned out. There wasn't enough support for even background checks, which are wildly popular-- widely popular. That measure failed in the Senate.

So this is an issue that shows kind of how much ground has shifted since Biden has been in office as a senator, and even as vice president-- that this is an issue that, while they're saying Congress needs to act and they're waiting for Congress to act, this is an issue that we know faces a huge uphill climb. We should also note that when Biden was campaigning for president, he made gun legislation a priority on the campaign trail. He said on day one he would send legislation to Congress to get rid of liability protections for gun manufacturers.

As we know, COVID relief and the economic fallout, now immigration-- those are issues that have taken center stage. And the issue of guns has fallen to the wayside, really, until now.

ELAINE QUIJANO: Yeah. I mean, we've just continued to watch, as you all have noted, the ways in which this debate has played out time and time again with, in the end, no action being taken in Washington. Let's turn to another topic. Alayna, you have been following a push from Senate Republicans to get Democrats on the record regarding the Southern border. What are you learning?

ALAYNA TREENE: Well, Elaine, I think that we've seen over the past several weeks now that the issue at the border is really becoming a crisis. I know that the administration is trying not to call it that, but I think it's come to the point now where we can say that it is a crisis. And it's something that Republicans are really trying to seize, particularly as a messaging strategy.

And we saw some of those efforts today. A bunch of different Republican senators put forward bills, or [INAUDIBLE] for some of these bills on the floor, trying to get Democrats on the record. Of course, knowing that they wouldn't pass, but just trying to gain more attention for what's happening right now at the border.

We're also seeing a ton of Republicans, like led by Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, go to the border later this week and bring 17 Republicans with them, just to check out what's happening there. And we've seen that there is this overwhelming amount of unaccompanied minors crossing the border. Of course, the situation is much more dire because of COVID. A lot of-- I think about 300 unaccompanied minors in facilities right now at the Southern border have the coronavirus, according to a report that my colleague, Stef Kight, had released earlier today.

And so it's just a bad situation all around. And I think that the Biden administration is doing what it can to address this, or sent down some people today on a trip to get a better look of what's happening at some of these border situations and try to seize back some of the narrative. But it's really an issue that they're having a lot of trouble to fix, and it's going to be one that they have to continue to monitor very closely.

ELAINE QUIJANO: You know, there's so much interest in it, especially after some of these more recent images that have been released about what it looks like for these migrants inside these facilities. Kris, let me ask you-- more than two months after the January 6 insurrection, the fencing surrounding the US Capitol has now been removed. What do we know about the current threat level, and where are they in their investigation?

KRIS VAN CLEAVE: So Elaine, there were two fence lines inside the Capitol complex. The outer perimeter has been completely removed. There's are still high-security fencing that surrounds the Capitol building itself. The razor wire has been taken off of all of that.

What we're hearing is that there is not an immediate credible threat against the Capitol complex. However, we continue to hear that threats against lawmakers remain at an all-time high. Representative Van Drew today at a hearing spoke about a threat against his life that his wife received at their home that also threatened her and his kids. Just another example of some of, at the very least, the increased threatening rhetoric aimed at lawmakers. So that remains a big concern. But the intelligence right now that we know about doesn't point to an immediate threat to the Capitol complex.

Where does the investigation of the Capitol attack stand? We learned this week that between state and federal charges, more than 400 people have been charged, that prosecutors are weighing sedition charges in some cases. And we're going to talk tonight on the CBS Evening News about some new information just unsealed, just revealed in court documents about some coordination perhaps between some of the extremist groups that we know have had members charged on the 6.

ELAINE QUIJANO: All right. Really looking forward to hearing the details on that. Kris Van Cleave, we know you have to go. Thank you very much. Meantime, Caitlin, the Senate Rules Committee met earlier today discussing voting rights legislation, as many states move to change election laws. Caitlin, what is at stake here?

CAITLIN HUEY-BURNS: Well, Democrats who are pushing for this say that what's at stake is that you have this movement underway in state legislatures to change voting laws in light of the 2020 elections. Some of those have already gone through. Iowa has signed some restrictions into law already. We're watching Georgia this week as their legislative session wraps up.

Republican-- and this bill, among other things, would create an automatic same-day voter registration. It would expand vote by mail across the country. It would reform gerrymandering. Those are some of the highlights that Democrats say are of this bill. Republicans say that this is a federal takeover of elections systems that are supposed to be run by the states. Watching this hearing today, you heard Republicans over and over again describe this as a Democratic power grab and something that would interfere with states' rights to run elections.

What I took away from this hearing today is that if there was any doubt that this bill was essentially non-passable in the Senate as it stands now, this made that even more clear. There is Republican unity against this measure, so much so that we've talked to activists and other party leaders who say opposition to this bill is an animating issue among their base, unlike anything that they've seen recently. Democrats have really not been banking at all on support for Republicans for this, and that's why you've had a lot of this conversation focused on reforming or even eliminating the filibuster.

ELAINE QUIJANO: All right. Well finally, Alayna, in our show last night we played the criticism from Illinois Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth calling the White House's rationalization for the lack of Asian-American cabinet representation insulting. You broke the news of that White House call with senators. What happened?

ALAYNA TREENE: Well, Elaine, it was in their Monday night meeting. It was a virtual retreat among Senate Democrats, and the White House joined the call, some officials, including the president for one period of time. But after President Biden got off the call, his deputy chief of staff, Jen O'Malley Dillon, gave a presentation. And it was during that presentation that Senator Duckworth spoke up and confronted her over the lack of, or really absence of Asian-American representation in the cabinet.

She was backed up by Senator Mazie Hirono, a Democrat from Hawaii. And both kind of just brought up this issue. Look, there aren't enough-- there isn't enough representation of Asian-Americans, especially after what we've seen over the past year, a rise in hate crimes and violence against Asian-Americans. The timing of it especially, I think, was a trigger for some of these senators.

And the White House came back and said, you know, the Vice President, Kamala Harris, she is African-American, but also an Asian-American, given her Indian American roots. And Senator Duckworth said that was insulting. She spoke to reporters last night at the Hill about that call. And she said, I found that insulting, because you know, just to have one person in the administration isn't enough.

Now of course, Kamala Harris is the vice president. There's also Katherine Tai, who is United States trade representative. That is a cabinet-level position technically, but she's not a cabinet secretary. And so these are some of the concerns that they've had.

Since then and this conversation, the White House has said that they would appoint an Asian-American liaison for some of these issues. And that seemed to appease Senators Duckworth and Hirono, who said that they wouldn't be holding back their support for any of these nominees that they had previously mentioned they would do if they didn't address this issue.

ELAINE QUIJANO: It's certainly something that we are going to continue to follow. I know a lot of folks are, especially given the context of what you mentioned, the time that we're in right now. Caitlin Huey-Burns and Alayna Treene for us. Thank you very much.
The Federal High Court in Lagos has summoned four Indian and British citizens, as well as their companies, to face fraud and cheating charges worth over $37 million.

The money translates into over N14 billion at the exchange rate of $1 to N380.5.

In the court documents obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, the Attorney-General of the Federations (AGF) office accused the foreigners and others of defrauding a Nigerian bank, Access Bank Plc, through an import loan scheme.

The 11 defendants charged in the case were also accused of defrauding the federal government through tax evasion and refusal to pay relevant import duty.

PREMIUM TIMES, on Thursday, obtained copies of the court documents, including the charges and the summonses issued individually against seven out of the 11 defendants listed in the case as defendants.

The judge, Oluremi Oguntoyinbo, issued the individual summonses against the seven defendants on March 10 following an oral application by Pius Akutah of the Office of the AGF office.

The summonses, PREMIUM TIMES gathered, are part of moves to initiate extradition requests against the accused foreigners, who are said to have left Nigeria for their home countries.

Complaint has been made this day by the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the judge stated, in each of the seven summonses seen by our reporter and ordered the affected the defendants to appear in court on May 5.

You are, therefore, hereby, summoned to appear before the Federal High Court sitting at Court 7 on May 5, 2021 at the hour of 9.00 in the fore noon to answer to the said complaint, the documents read in part.

Those summoned

An Indian company, Kannu Aditya India Ltd, and its two Indian directors  Bhagwan Rawat and Mukul Tyagi  are among those summoned by the court.

Also summoned is a company registered in both the United Kingdom (U.K.) and in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Wilben Trade Limited.

The firms British chairman, Marcus Wade, and its British chief executive officer, Andrew Fairie, were also issued separate summonses.

The court also issued a summons against a company owned by some Indians but registered in Nigeria, Metal Africa Steel Products (MASP) Limited.

Other defendants

The rest of the defendants are Prem Garg and Devashish Garg, father and son of Indian nationality, and owners of MASP Limited.

PREMIUM TIMES understands that the AGF office did not request the court to issue summonses against the Gargs because an extradition request had already been sent to Indian authorities to help bring them back to Nigeria, to face the charges.

The remaining defendants are a Nigerian firm, Fisolak Global Resources Limited, and its Nigerian Managing Director, Oluwatoyin Kolade.

INTERPOL to be contacted

In a verifying affidavit filed along with the charges, the AGF office said police investigations revealed a prima facie case against the defendants, and that the charges were filed to enable it to obtain a warrant of arrest to kick start the extradition process.

An official of the Federal Ministry of Justice, Abubakar Bello, who deposed to the affidavit, added that by this charge, the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation will inform the INTERPOL NCB, Abuja to declare the defendants wanted and will proceed to make request for their extradition to stand trial before this honourable court.

ADVERTISEMENT

Investigations

Access Bank Plc had sent a petition to the police in June 2019, accusing MASP and its owners of fraudulently obtaining finance facilities by false pretence, forgery of transactional documents, and the diversion of the said facilities.

The bank said it granted $37.8 million as an import facility to MASP in August 2015, to support the companys importation of billets and acquisition of machinery for its expansion.

It said the facility was disbursed to the company, based along Ikorodu-Sagamu Road, in Ogun State, in two tranches of $32 million for the importation of steel billets and $5.8million for the importation of machinery.

The bank alleged that the company diverted a major part of the facilities.

Police investigators alleged that MASP Ltd obtained $32million from Access Bank purportedly for the importation of steel billets, but only bought less valued version of the products at about $6million, and diverted the balance of $26million.

The company was similarly accused of not spending the $5.8million on the machinery it was agreed for.

Charges

The AGF office filed 10 counts of conspiracy, over-invoicing, cheating, advance fee fraud, fraudulent conversion through record falsification, and tax evasion against the 11 defendants.

Mr Akutah, the lead prosecuting counsel from the AGF office, filed the charges before the Federal High Court in Lagos on October 8, 2020.

The charges are mainly in two folds, with part of them relating to the $32million and the others relating to the $5,724,000.

Both transactions, which were said to have taken place in August 2015, totalled $37,724,000 translating into over N14billion.

MASP, its owners as well as other alleged conspirators are part of the 11 defendants charged in the case.

Prem Garg, Devashish Garg (Indians), MASP Ltd., Fisolak Global Resources Limited (Nigerian firm), Ms Kolade, Wilben Trade Limited (U.K. and UAE firm), Mr Wade and Mr Fairie (British nationals) are fingered in respect of the $32million transaction.

The prosecution alleged in one of the counts that in August 2015, at Apapa Sea Port Lagos, the defendants committed an offence of cheating Access Bank.

The defendants allegedly caused the bank to deliver $32million for the purchase of steel billets, but went ahead to use the money to purchase steel billets of a lesser value of about US$6,000,000, while diverting the difference of about US$26,000,000.

The alleged offence is said to be punishable under Section 421 of the Criminal Code Act, Cap C38 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

The prosecution alleged in another count that the same set of defendants conspired among themselves to commit the offence of inducing the bank in Lagos by means of over-invoicing to deliver $32million through the medium of contract with the bank for the benefit of Wilben Trade Ltd in the UAE, thereby committing an offence said to be punishable under Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, Cap. A6, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.

It also alleged that the defendants obtained the $32million from Access Bank Plc under false pretence of purchasing steel billets of the same value but fraudulently failed to do as agreed by contract and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 419A of the Criminal Code Act, Cap C38 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.

The prosecution also accused them of conversion of the sum of US$32,000,000.00 derived directly from falsifying records to avoid payment of assessed duty payable on the letters of credit and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 18 of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011.

They were also accused of defrauding the federal government of duty payable, by unlawfully removing the metal billets from Tin Can Island Wharf, Lagos, to MASP Ltd at KM 16 Ikorodu-Sagamu Road, in Ogun State, and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 164 of the Customs and Excise Management Act, Cap C45, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

In respect of the $5.8million transaction, the prosecution alleged that the Gargs, MASP Limited, Fisolak Global Resources Limited,Ms Kolade Kannu Aditya India Ltd, Messrs Rawat and Tyagi, with an intent to defraud Access Bank Plc, allegedly induced the bank to deliver $5,724,000 to Kannu Aditya India Ltd based in Delhi, India under the false pretence that they would import machinery.

The prosecution stated that, instead of importing the agreed machinery, the defendants purchased products different from those stated in the contract and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, Cap. A6 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.

The prosecution also alleged that the defendants, at Apapa Sea Port, Lagos, converted the $5,724,000, allegedly derived directly from tax evasion and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 18 of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011.
The nationwide reexamination of policing after the killing of George Floyd has led an Ivy League town in New York to consider an ambitious and contentious plan to remake its force.

A proposal would replace the 63-officer Ithaca Police Department with a new Department of Community Solutions and Public Safety. It would comprise both armed officers as well as unarmed responders to handle nonviolent calls like petty thefts.

Mayor Svante Myrick argues dramatic change is needed to make law enforcement less militarized and more effective. Police denounce it as a radical idea that could threaten safety in the city that is home to Cornell University.
Welcome Guest! You Are Here:
Advertisement

Officer Eric Talley, 51, was shot dead on Monday alongside nine other victims as he was responding to an active shooter situation at the King Soopers supermarket

Hundreds of residents gathered along a procession route on Wednesday for slain hero, Eric Talley, as Boulder police, paramedics and firefighters honored the officer just two days after he was shot dead by a gunman who opened fire at a supermarket, killing nine others.

Talley, 51, was the first officer to arrive to the scene of the King Soopers supermarket just before 3pm Monday afternoon. He was killed while trying to help shoppers and employees escape a gunman inside.

Nine other men and women were killed by suspected gunman, Ahmad Alissa, 21, who now faces 10 counts of murder.

In honor of Talley, an 11-year veteran with the Boulder police force, officers from the Boulder Police Department, paramedics and local firefighters held a procession on Wednesday.

Law enforcement vehicles were seen escorting Talley's body from the coroner's office to a funeral home in Boulder as hundreds of local residents turned out to salute the officer.

Some were seen creating hearts with their hands as the vehicle carrying Talley's body passed by. Others were seen waving Blue Lives Matter and American flags.

Makeshift memorials of flowers, votive candles and condolence messages sprang up this week outside the supermarket and at police headquarters.

The memorial near the supermarket has been adorned with wreaths, candles, banners reading '#Boulderstrong' and 10 crosses with blue hearts and the victims' names.

Several other community vigils were planned this week to honor the victims.

Homer Talley described his son as a devoted father who 'knew the Lord.' He had seven children, ages 7 to 20.

Alissa will make his first court appearance on Thursday. He faces 10 counts of murder and an attempted murder charge stemming from the rampage on Monday at King Soopers grocery store in the Table Mesa section of Boulder, some 28 miles northwest of Denver.

Scroll down for video

Law enforcement vehicles escort the body of slain Boulder Police Officer Eric Talley to a funeral home on Wednesday in Boulder, Colorado

Talley, 51, was the first officer to arrive to the scene of the King Soopers supermarket just before 3pm Monday afternoon. He was killed while trying to help shoppers and employees escape a gunman inside. His body was escorted from the coroner's officer to a funeral home on Wednesday

In honor of Talley, an 11-year veteran with the Boulder police force, officers from the Boulder Police Department, paramedics and local firefighters held a procession on Wednesday

Members of the North Metro Fire Rescue salute on their firetruck during the procession of Officer Talley from an overpass on the US 36 on Wednesday

Members of the Boulder Police Department line the side of the road as law enforcement vehicles escort Talley's body to a funeral home

Members of the Boulder Fire Department stand at ease as law enforcement vehicles escort Talley's body to a funeral home on Wednesday

Officers are seen saluting a hearse carrying Talley's body on Wednesday to a funeral home

Crowds line the streets as the body of Talley is transported to a funeral on Wednesday

Firefighters stand on the side of the road while waiting for a procession of law enforcement vehicles escorting Talley's body

Members of the North Metro Fire Rescue wait on their firetruck for the procession of Boulder Police Officer Eric Talley on an overpass on the US 36 on Wednesday

Some local residents seen creating hearts with their hands as the vehicle carrying Talley's body passed by

A man is seen waving a Blue Lives Matter flag during the procession on Wednesday

A woman holds her hand over her heart as the procession passes by on Wednesday

A man is seen waving an American flag as Talley's procession passes by on Wednesday

He will appear in county court in Boulder at 8.15am, according to court records.

Police have not yet publicly identified a motive for the killings. Alissa's 34-year-old brother described him as antisocial and paranoid in an interview with the Daily Beast.

The suspect's sister-in-law told police on Monday evening that he had been 'playing with' a firearm she described as resembling a 'machine gun' two days earlier, upsetting family members, according to an arrest affidavit filed by police in the case.

The gunman arrived at the King Soopers store armed with an AR-style semi-automatic rifle and a handgun and wearing a tactical vest, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit also said law enforcement databases show that six days earlier Alissa purchased a Ruger AR-556 pistol, a weapon that resembles a semi-automatic rifle.

Alissa, a naturalized US citizen from Syria who graduated from Arvada West High School in 2018, pleaded guilty to third-degree assault for punching a classmate in late 2017.

Makeshift memorials of flowers, votive candles and condolence messages sprang up this week outside the supermarket and at police headquarters

Talley's vehicle was adorned with flowers and messages following his death on Monday

A woman is seen hanging flowers on the fence outside the King Soopers supermarket on Wednesday

A woman is overcome with emotion as she prepares to place a flower at the makeshift memorial outside the King Soopers store on Wednesday

The memorial near the supermarket has been adorned with wreaths, candles, banners reading '#Boulderstrong' and 10 crosses with blue hearts and the victims' names

People pay their respects at a memorial outside a King Soopers grocery store on Wednesday after the shooting

The classmate said the attack was unprovoked, an account supported by interviews with several witnesses, according to an Arvada Police Department incident report. Alissa told an officer the classmate had called him a 'terrorist' and racist names.

Alissa was sentenced to probation and community service.

Those killed in the massacre include: Denny Stong, 20; Neven Stanisic, 23; Rikki Olds, 25; Tralona Bartkowiak, 49; Suzanne Fountain, 59; Teri Leiker, 51; Kevin Mahoney, 61; Lynn Murray, 62; and Jody Waters, 65.

Stong, Olds and Leiker worked at the store, authorities confirmed.

Witnesses told police the assailant killed one man in his vehicle and then gunned down another in the parking lot. The shooter stood over him, firing multiple times, before entering the store to continue the rampage.

When apprehended, Alissa did not answer questions but asked to speak with his mother, according to the affidavit.

The Boulder shooting occurred less than a week after eight people were killed across three Atlanta-based spas.

Both the Boulder and Atlanta-area shootings prompted President Joe Biden to call on Congress to tighten gun laws.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed to bring forward two House-passed bills to require expanded background checks for gun buyers. Biden supports the measures, but they face a tougher route to passage in the Senate, with its slim Democratic majority.

Colorado has seen some of the most shocking episodes of gun violence in US history, including the 2012 mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora and the 1999 rampage at Columbine High School, near Littleton.
Adelaide-based connectivity provider for nanosatellite Internet of Things devices, Myriota, has started offering commercial IoT services in the US and Canada with the launch of the first of three nanosatellites on Rocket Lab's "They Go Up So Fast" mission.

Each weighs less than 7kgs and is about the size of a loaf of bread, the company said in a statement, adding that this would make it a second-generation network for the firm.

Alongside the launch, Myriota is offering a new developer toolkit. It already has a number of commercial products such Goanna Ag's rain gauge and water-tank level monitor (GoRain and GoTank), Yabby's dam level monitor, (Yabby Floating Level Sensor) and the Yabby Level Sensor and Rain Gauge.

"The launch of our second-generation network ushers in a new era for the global IoT sector  one where data from devices is accessible anywhere on the planet in a secure and affordable manner," said Dr David Haley, Myriota co-founder and chief technology officer.

"Myriota Certified devices developed by our customers are already in the hands of end users and are revolutionising their industries.

"With our second-generation platform they will now be able to send more messages and larger amounts of data each day.

The Myriota-branded second-generation nanosatellite. Supplied

"We are very excited to be launching our commercial service in the US and Canada. This expansion puts us in pole position in the race to provide connectivity everywhere to support a global IoT market that is expected to triple in size to more than 25.4 billion devices by 2030.

"As the first network of our kind to be supporting commercially available products, we have already demonstrated the power of our unique direct-to-orbit technologies to transform the IoT sector.

"We see huge potential to help our customers develop and bring new IoT driven solutions to the American and Canadian markets."

The company claims its second-generation network will:
Strong winds on Tuesday evening blew off the roof of Bulampya Primary School in Isiolo, minutes after Class Eight candidates finished sitting their afternoon KCPE paper.

The winds also swept away the entire roofing of the block that hosts the headteacher's and senior teacher's offices, the staffroom and a store.

The school's headteacher, Ms Rachel Mwongela, said no one was hurt during the incident that also saw doors and windows of the building destroyed.

"I was so shocked when the incident occurred but I am happy that no one was hurt. The roofing has been completely damaged," Ms Mwongela told the Nation.

Assess damage

The school head said she had notified the sub-county education office of the incident and that assessment of the damage would be done.

Bulapesa residents visited the school and assisted in collecting debris scattered all over the compound.

The chairman of the school's board of management Galgalo Halake and member Abdi Mohammed appealed to the government to assist in repairing the roof.

"The school needs assistance to construct strong roofing so that such incidents do not recur in future," said Mr Halake.

They lamented over the safety of the items in the building and asked for security to be provided so that they are not stolen.

Activist Abdi Waqo asked education stakeholders, Isiolo county government and elected leaders to assist the school in putting up better infrastructure.

"The school infrastructure needs some improvement and our leaders should come to its assistance," Mr Waqo, who is eyeing the Bulapesa Ward seat, said.
Johns Hopkins All Childrens Hospital's newest employee, Brea, is assisted by child life specialist, Leah Frohnerath. I have made every effort in my life and career to facilitate these magic moments and incognito therapeutic interventions between human and animal, and particularly dogs through my work, says Leah Frohnerath, child life specialist at Johns Hopkins All Childrens.

Johns Hopkins All Childrens Hospital welcomed its newest employee, a furry, four-legged friend named Brea. The 2-year-old yellow Labrador Retriever will serve as the hospitals first facility dog. Brea, trained by Canine Companions for Independence, will assist child life specialist, Leah Frohnerath. Brea will focus on motivating and inspiring patients and staff as well as helping hospitalized children and those with special needs through their medical journey.

Facility dogs undergo a two-year extensive and specialized training where they learn more than 40 commands that allow them to interact with and calm patients and staff appropriately. They can also pull toy wagons, push drawers and retrieve items. Facility dogs differ from therapy dogs or service animals in that they are trained beyond the role of a comfort animal, and handlers must complete a two-week, full-time training course. Facility dogs also must receive special certification through a national standardized practical test and return for follow-up assessments on a periodic basis.

Growing up with a disability, I spent a lot of time doing therapies and visiting doctors, said Frohnerath. My parents introduced me to the concept of animal assisted therapy at six years old through a horseback riding program and I benefitted greatly from the therapy and positive influence of the horses. Since then I have made every effort in my life and career to facilitate these magic moments and incognito therapeutic interventions between human and animal, and particularly dogs through my work facilitating Pet Therapy here at Johns Hopkins All Childrens Hospital.

She adds, I am extremely excited for Brea to be a part of our team. Although we have only been working together for just over a month, I am already stunned by Breas ability to make connections with patients. She has made painful procedures tolerable, even enjoyable for our patients, and helped staff bolster their energy to do the amazing work that they do.

For nearly 44 years, Canine Companions for Independence has been enhancing the lives of people with disabilities by training and placing more than 6,700 assistance dogs with program graduates, including more than 350 dogs with military veterans and more than 2,000 dogs with children. The estimated cost of a highly trained Canine Companions facility dog like Brea, and all follow up support, is $50,000, however each facility dog is provided at no cost. Canine Companions depends on the support of tens of thousands of donors and volunteers to match our facility with an assistance dog like Brea entirely free of charge.

Brea and her handlers services are funded through Johns Hopkins All Childrens Foundation gifts from the Zimmerman Family Foundation as well as the 2020 Pup Cup 5k, a virtual run and community fundraiser supporting facility dogs.

PHOTOS: https://www.flickr.com/photos/allchildrenshospital/sets/72157718426037106/

VIDEO: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1N1Dx5QaB1dzZUvz7Ude5qutVlAm-zLDL/view

About Johns Hopkins All Childrens Hospital

Johns Hopkins All Childrens Hospital in St. Petersburg is a leader in childrens health care, combining a legacy of compassionate care focused solely on children since 1926 with the innovation and experience of one of the worlds leading health care systems. The 259-bed teaching hospital, stands at the forefront of discovery, leading innovative research to cure and prevent childhood diseases while training the next generation of pediatric experts. With a network of Johns Hopkins All Childrens Outpatient Care centers and collaborative care provided by All Childrens Specialty Physicians at regional hospitals, Johns Hopkins All Childrens brings care closer to home. Johns Hopkins All Childrens Hospital consistently keeps the patient and family at the center of care while continuing to expand its mission in treatment, research, education and advocacy. For more information, visit HopkinsAllChildrens.org.

About Canine Companions for Independence

Canine Companions for Independence provides highly-trained assistance dogs to children and adults with disabilities. Established in 1975, Canine Companions has six regional training centers across the country. Canine Companions is recognized worldwide for the excellence of its dogs, and the quality and longevity of the matches it makes between dogs and people. For more information, visit http://www.cci.org or call 1-800-572-BARK.
Kamala Harris is now in charge of the White House response to the southern border crisis and has immediately faced a slew of criticism from conservatives for her very lax stance on immigration.

'An undocumented immigrant is not a criminal,' Harris tweeted in April 2017 in bashing then-President Donald Trump's hard-line immigration policy.

Republicans were quick to pounce on Biden's decision to put Harris at the helm of this issue, pointing to her past criticism of offices dealing with the border.

Specifically, the GOP referenced a congressional hearing in 2018 when Harris, then a U.S. senator for California, compared Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to the KKK.

In her 2017 tweet, Harris vowed: 'We are not a society that is going to stand for tearing families apart. We are not going to buy into this administration's fear mongering.'

Kamala Harris asserted in 2017 tweet illegal immigrants aren't criminals  exhibiting her 'weak' immigration stance conservatives pounced on following her appointment to lead the White House response to the border crisis

President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that Harris would be in charge of addressing issues at the southern border

Then-Senator Harris continued: 'It's ludicrous to say we're going to deport 12 million people. Now how are you going to do that?'

'Give people a path to citizenship,' she urged in her Twitter thread just a few months after Trump took office. 'The vast majority of folks we're talking about are living a lawful life and paying taxes.'

As the Joe Biden White House faces a growing crisis at the southern border, the vice president was put in charge of addressing the administration's response, it was announced Wednesday.

Her response is expected to focus on two different areas. The first is slowing the flow of 'irregular migrants' by instead looking at and addressing 'root causes' that prompted them to leave their home countries. Secondly the vice president wants to strengthen relationships with Mexico and Central American countries.

Harris, conservatives were quick to point out, is 'weak' on immigration and they claim the move is indicative of the White House not taking the mass migration crisis at the southern border seriously.

Josh Hawley, a hardline Republican senator from Missouri, tweeted Wednesday: 'This is the person Joe Biden is putting in charge of the border - an advocate for decriminalizing illegal border crossing.'

He was referencing how Harris raised her hand during a Democratic primary debate in June 2019 when candidates were asked if they were in favor of decriminalizing border crossings.

Thousands of immigrants continue to arrive at the U.S.-Mexico despite Biden declaring the 'border is closed' and urging migrants, even asylum seekers, not to come to country right now

Holding facilities have swiftly become overwhelmed after Biden promised during his presidential campaign that all migrants would be welcomed in the U.S.

WHAT KAMALA HARRIS SAYS ON IMMIGRATION AND BORDER AGENTS - April 2017 Twitter thread: 'An undocumented immigrant is not a criminal. We are not a society that is going to stand for tearing families apart. We are not going to buy into this administration's fear mongering.' 'It's ludicrous to say we're going to deport 12 million people. Now how are you going to do that? Give people a path to citizenship. The vast majority of folks we're talking about are living a lawful life and paying taxes.' - Nov. 10, 2016  days after Donald Trump took office: 'This issue of how we are treating our immigrants, and in particular our undocumented immigrants, is one of the most critical issues facing our country. We are not going to be achieving who we say we are as a country if we attack our community members, our neighbors, our friends and our colleagues.' - Wednesday  comments after being appointed to head border crisis: 'While we are clear that people should not come to the border now, we also understand that we will enforce the law and that we alsobecause we can chew gum and walk at the same timemust address the root causes that cause people to make the trek, as the president has described, to come here.' 'At some point, absolutely we will go down to the border and I've been down to the border and our secretary of the Homeland Security Alex Mayorkas has been down there twice. Senior administration officials have been down there and yes, we will go.' - 2018  when voting against 2018 bill with $25 billion in border wall funding: 'A wall will not secure our border and I remain concerned those billions of dollars may also be used to implement this Administration's anti-immigrant agendaone that targets California and its residents.' - 2019  published in her book, The Truths We Hold: 'There are a few things more cruel, more inhumane, more fundamentally evil than ripping a child from her parent's arms. The administration claimed that it wouldn't separate families seeking asylum if they arrived at an official port of entry, as opposed to other parts of the border. But that didn't hold true.' - 2018 confirmation hearing for Trump's nominee to head Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Ronald Vitiello: VITIELLO: Well, the Klan was what we would call today a domestic terrorist group. HARRIS: Why? VITIELLO: 'Cause they tried to use fear and force to change political environment. HARRIS: And what was the motivation for the use of fear and force? VITIELLO: It was based on race and ethnicity. HARRIS: Right. Are you aware of the perception of many about how the power and the discretion at ICE is being used to enforce the laws? And do you see any parallels? VITIELLO: I do not see any parallels between sworn officers and agents HARRIS: I'm talking about perception. VITIELLO: I do not see a parallel between what is constitutionally mandated as it relates to enforcing the law  HARRIS: Are you aware that there's a perception  VITIELLO: I see no perception that puts ICE in the same category as the KKK. Is that what you're asking me? June 18, 2018 statement calling for Trump's DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to resign: 'The government should be in the business of keeping families together, not tearing them apart. And the government should have a commitment to transparency and accountability. Under Secretary Nielsen's tenure, the Department of Homeland Security has a track record of neither. As a result, she must resign.' 'During her time as the manager of the government's third largest agency, the Department has implemented a policy that has separated thousands of children from their families, issued a directive to make it easier to detain pregnant women, tried to use [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals] DACA recipients as leverage to achieve the President's anti-immigrant agenda, failed to address some of the agency's most pressing management challenges and overseen the continued failed response to tragedy in Puerto Rico.' Advertisement

Harris made clear Thursday that the administration is discouraging migrants from arriving at the border right now.

'While we are clear that people should not come to the border now, we also understand that we will enforce the law and that we alsobecause we can chew gum and walk at the same timemust address the root causes that cause people to make the trek, as the president has described, to come here,' the vice president said.

During his campaign, Biden said all asylum seekers would be welcomed  and when he was elected president in November 2020, a massive caravan from Central American began migrating to the U.S.-Mexico border.

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, a Republican, said Biden has made 'about the worst possible choice' by tapping Harris to lead the border crisis response. Critics, like the border-state leader, pointed to the vice president's previous statements as evidence of her being unfit for the role.

'I have been informed that Vice President Kamala Harris has been put in charge of border security,' said Ducey, whose state has 370 miles of border with Mexico.

'She's about the worst possible choice that one could make,' he added. 'In no point in her career has she given any indication that she considers the border a problem or a serious threat.'

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, a Republican, said Wednesday that Biden made 'about the worst possible choice' by tapping Harris to lead the border crisis response

In Harris' book 'The Truths We Hold', which was published in 2019 as she ran in the Democratic presidential primary, she exhibited her pro-immigration stances.

'There are a few things more cruel, more inhumane, more fundamentally evil than ripping a child from her parent's arms,' Harris wrote in her book, which came as the Trump administration received intense criticism after pictures of children migrants in 'cages' emerged.

'The administration claimed that it wouldn't separate families seeking asylum if they arrived at an official port of entry, as opposed to other parts of the border,' she continued. 'But that didn't hold true.'

Despite these comments, Biden's administration is now urging migrants  even those seeking asylum  not to come to the U.S.-Mexico border right now.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has said the 'border is closed.'

Mayorkas, and other officials have been doing damage control as Biden faces the biggest challenge of his presidency in the situation at the border  which the administration so far has refused to call a 'crisis.'

'She's leading the effort,' Biden said Wednesday in announcing Harris as point person. 'The best thing to do is put someone when he or she speaks, they don't have to wonder about is that where the president is.

'She speaks for me. She knows what she's doing,' he assured.

Conservatives are also pointing out the hypocrisy of Biden and Harris by denouncing Trump's policies, but now implementing some of the same.

John Cooper, a spokesman for the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank, tweeted of Harris: 'Let's take a walk down memory lane and look at some of her recent statements about the border, kids in cages, and more!'

He referenced her previous comparison between the KKK and ICE, and her promise that children would not be kept 'in cages'.

He also pointed out she said child migrants should not be 'treated like criminals', and now the Biden/Harris administration keeping thousands in detention and holding facilities.

'These are just some of the things Vice Pres. Harris has said about the border. Some are extreme positions, like bragging about making her state a sanctuary state,' he wrote on Twitter.

'Others show her political opportunism,' he continued. 'She is unfit to be handling any response to this border crisis.'

Harris is not unique in being a Democrat in opposition to Trump's border wall  something conservatives have lamented ever since Biden halted construction and froze Pentagon funds already appropriated for the project.

'A wall will not secure our border and I remain concerned those billions of dollars may also be used to implement this Administration's anti-immigrant agendaone that targets California and its residents,' Harris said in 2018.

Her comments were made as she voted against the bill appropriating $25 billion in border wall funding.

At the time, Republicans held a majority in the Senate, and the measure passed.
LIMERICKs county town has suffered a blow after it emerged one of its banks will close in May.

EBS has announced that its outlet at Bishop Street in Newcastle West will cease trading on Monday, May 24 next.

EBS confirmed the news through a notice published in this newspaper, while customers of the branch have also been contacted.

Three jobs will be impacted, but it's hoped some of these will be redeployed within the EBS network.

The closure will leave three EBS branches in Limerick  one at the Crescent Shopping Centre, one in the Parkway Shopping Centre and a city centre outlet in William Street.

In terms of commercial banks, Newcastle West still has branches of AIB, Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB.

Last month, Bank of Ireland announced a raft of branch closures across Limerick, including in nearby Abbeyfeale.
Mozambican soldiers have launched an offensive to repel insurgents from the northern town of Palma, the hub of a giant gas project, a day after it came under attack, the defence ministry said Thursday.

Jihadist militants raided the coastal town on Wednesday afternoon, forcing terrified residents to flee into surrounding forest.

The attack came shortly after French oil giant Total announced plans to resume construction at the nearby site of a $20-billion (16.9-billion-euro) offshore gas project.

Defence ministry spokesman Omar Saranga said Mozambiques security forces (SDS) were pursuing the enemys movement and working tirelessly to restore security and order.

SDS will do everything to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the population while continuing to guarantee the protection of economic projects, he told reporters in the capital Maputo.

Saranga said the number of any casualties and extent of damage was not yet known, adding that mobile communications with the area had been interrupted.

Palma is located more than 1,800 kilometres (1,118 miles) northeast of Maputo, in the gas-rich Cabo Delgado province, where authorities have grappled with a brutal insurgency since 2017.

Militants affiliated to the so-called Islamic State group have raided villages and towns across the province, causing hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.

The violence has killed at least 2,600 people, half of them civilians, according to the US-based data collecting agency Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED).

Amnesty International this month said local people were caught between militants on one side and government security forces and a private militia on the other.

The watchdog accused all three parties of war crimes causing hundreds of civilian deaths.

The insurgency has also rocked the development of Africas largest liquified natural gas (LNG) project off the Afungi peninsula, due to go online in 2024.

Total is the projects main investor, with a 26.5-percent stake.

Six other international businesses are also involved, including Italys Eni and US major ExxonMobil.

Total had earlier on Wednesday announced that it would progressively resume construction at the site following the implementation of additional site security measures.

The company was forced to evacuate some staff in January after jihadists launched a series of attacks just kilometres from the LNG site.

str-sch/sn/ri

TOTAL

EXXONMOBIL

ENI
The Company advises that Group sales for the six months to 1 February 2021 were $181.98 million, an increase of 13.6% over the corresponding period last year ($160.27 million). Net profit after tax was $19.84 million, an increase of 28.6% over the corresponding period last year ($15.44 million). The result is in line with the guidance announced to the NZX on 17 February 2021.

Gross margin on sales was 56.5% compared with 58.3% in the prior corresponding period, this was mainly due to increased freight costs resulting from shipping delays over the key trading period where stock was required to be airfreighted to manage availability. General expenses across the business were well controlled.

Dividend

The Directors have declared an interim dividend of 23 cents per share (fully imputed) (last year 15 cents per share) to be paid on 16 April 2021. The balance sheet continues to be strong, inventories well controlled and the current trading patterns have allowed the Company to increase the dividend payment.

Future Outlook

Although the trading environment in both New Zealand and Australia remains challenging, and with the uncertainty of COVID-19 ever present, it is encouraging that Group sales for the first 7 weeks of the Winter season are +17.8% ahead of the same period last year. However, it must be considered that it was this time last year that the COVID-19 impact was beginning to be felt in both New Zealand and Australia.

During the period Auckland moved to Level 3 on the 15th February to 17th February 2021 and 28th February to 6 March 2021 where thirteen Hallenstein Brothers stores and twelve Glassons stores were closed.

Following the appointment of Stuart Duncan as the new Group CEO from 1 April 2021, the business will continue to focus on building digital engagement with our customers, cost control and improving our market share in the New Zealand and Australian fashion apparel sector in which we operate.

Please see the links below for details:

Managing Directors Report for period ended 1 February 2021

Results Announcement 1 February 2021

Financial Results for 6 months ended 1 February 2021

Distribution Notice 1 February 2021

Source: Hallenstein Glasson Holdings Limited

Comments from our readers

No comments yet

Add your comment:

Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process.

Related News:

3rd June 2021 Morning Report

New Zealand King Salmon Investments Limited (NZX: NZK) Market Update

Me Today Limited (NZX: MEE) Confirms $10m Placement to Wholesale Investors

2nd June 2021 Morning Report

New Zealand Rural Land Company Limited (NZX: NZL) Rights Issue Documents

Infratil Limited (NZX: IFT) Update on Infratil Infrastructure Bond Offer

1st June 2021 Morning Report

Synlait Milk Limited (NZX: SML) Update Following Canterbury Flooding

Me Today Limited (NZX: MEE) Full Year Results to 31 March 2021

31st May 2021 Morning Report


IDC has released a new study, the first of its kind, that predicts that cloud computing could help to prevent more than one billion metric ton of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the next three years.

The forecast uses IDC data on server distribution and cloud and on-premises software use along with third-party information on data center power usage, carbon dioxide emissions per kilowatt-hour, and emission comparisons of cloud and non-cloud data centers.

IDC's forecast includes upper and lower bounds for the estimated reduction in emissions. If the percentage of green cloud data centers today stays where it is, just the migration to cloud itself could save 693 million metric tons over the four-year time period.

If all data centers in use in 2024 were designed for sustainability, then 1.76 billion metric tons could be saved. IDC's projection of more than 1 billion metric tons is based on the assumption that 60% of data centers will adopt the technology and processes that underlie more sustainable, "smarter" data centers.

"The idea of 'green IT' has been around now for years, but the direct impact of hyperscale computing can have on CO2 emissions is getting increased notice from customers, regulators, and investors, and it's starting to factor into buying decisions," said Cushing Anderson, program vice president at IDC in a statement.

"For some, going 'carbon neutral' will be achieved using carbon offsets, but designing datacenters from the ground up to be carbon neutral will be the real measure of contribution. And for advanced cloud providers, matching workloads with renewable energy availability will further accelerate their sustainability goals."

The reduction in emissions is largely predicated on the theory that aggregated compute resources across enterprise and large data centers, especially cloud data centers, are more efficient. That efficiency can result in more efficient power capacity, cooling, and server utilization.

Its not that far out of a theory. Hyperscalers like AWS and Google tend to cycle through hardware a lot faster than enterprises and especially SMBs. Its not unusual for a hyperscale cloud provider to retire servers after one or two years and sell them used, while businesses tend hold on to servers for five years or more.

IDC says that the biggest opportunity lies in those areas that generate higher emissions per kilowatt-hour. American hyperscalers are exceptionally green-minded and usually put their data centers close to hydro- and wind-energy resources.

Not so much in the Asia-Pacific. Most of their data centers are powered by coal-fired plants. IDC said if APAC nations move off coal, it could save more than half of the total emissions over the next four years. On the other hand, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) have low emission per kilowatt-hour, which means it will generate just 10% of total savings.

IDC also said that while shifting to cleaner sources of energy is very important to lowering emissions, reducing wasted energy will also play a critical role. Cloud data centers are doing this through reducing the energy spent cooling them and optimizing the physical environment. The goal of an efficient data center is to have more energy spent on running the IT equipment than cooling the environment where the equipment resides, the report stated.

And that is one thing hyperscalers excel at because every dollar saved through energy efficiency goes to the bottom line. Energy efficiency isnt as top of mind for private data centers.

Another advantage for cloud-computing providers is the ability to shift workloads to any location around the globe, another trick to lower CO2 emissions. Heavy workloads can be moved--within compliance limits on data--to more efficient locations.

The IDC report, Worldwide CO2 Emissions Savings from Cloud Computing Forecast, 20212024: A First-of-Its-Kind Projection (IDC #US47426420), provides annual CO2 savings on a worldwide and regional basis and estimates the annual savings for each year above the 2020 baseline.
A new federal effort announced today will help people with chronic kidney disease who require dialysis access COVID-19 vaccinations through dialysis clinics, as well as provide vaccines for healthcare workers at dialysis centers. This effort is another important step in making sure that vaccines reach the most medically vulnerable communities and that equity continues to anchor our efforts to end the COVID-19 pandemic.

People on dialysis who contract COVID-19 often have severe adverse health outcomes  half require hospitalization and 20 percent to 30 percent die from COVID-19.

Furthermore, advanced stage chronic kidney disease disproportionately affects racial and ethnic minorities, including African Americans, Hispanics, and American Indians/Alaska Natives. These same groups are less likely to receive a kidney transplant  and more likely to rely on long-term dialysis treatments  than non-Hispanic Whites. It is estimated that 34 percent of people receiving dialysis are Black and 19 percent are Hispanic; and that 22 percent of staff in dialysis clinics are Black.

Dialysis clinics provide a trusted innovative pathway to help COVID-19 vaccines reach populations that have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Each year, more than 550,000 people receive regular dialysis treatments through the Medicare End-Stage Renal Disease Program. The dialysis partners effort will onboard clinics that participate in the Medicare program to administer COVID-19 vaccines to their patients and workers.

Dialysis care providers have longstanding experience administering flu and hepatitis B vaccinations to people who receive dialysis treatment. They also have extensive operational, logistical, and information-technology infrastructure to support COVID-19 vaccinations. Importantly, this effort will allow people who receive dialysis treatments to receive a COVID-19 vaccine from a trusted, trained, and familiar source at a location they already visit several times each week. It will also protect the healthcare personnel who care for this population. To date, only 35 percent of healthcare workers in dialysis centers have been vaccinated.

I am proud that CDC has partnered with dialysis provider organizations across the U.S., including the two largest operators of dialysis clinics nationally, DaVita Inc. and Fresenius Medical Care North America, to support the rapid vaccination of most dialysis patients and healthcare personnel. CDC is partnering with additional dialysis providers to ensure the widest reach possible with this population across the United States. This is another crucial step to help stop the spread of COVID-19 and to protect populations that have been put at increased risk of getting sick and dying from COVID-19.
The Prime Minister says that Corpus Christi, also known as the "Day of Wreaths", is set aside on the Christian calendar to honour the Holy Eucharist which was observed at the last supper before Christ was crucified.
African Agenda

UNSETTLING reports of the resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic are emerging across the world where thousands are now succumbing to the pandemic.

A third wave of Covid-19 is advancing swiftly across Europe with countries like Italy, France and Germany reporting five digit figures of new infections on a daily basis.

Elsewhere, other countries are also under siege from new infections, forcing many to reintroduce lockdown restrictions as they battle to contain the latest development.

The coronavirus which appeared to have retreated is rising even in some parts of Asia, where India is reporting an average of 31 000 cases daily from as low as 9 000 a month ago.

With the third wave wreaking havoc in Europe, fears are abound that the third wave will heavily impact several African countries that are already battling to secure vaccines for their people.

Vaccinations have begun in earnest in several countries.

Frontline workers are being given priority before moving to other vulnerable people, under different vaccination programmes which will eventually be rolled out to everyone.

In Zimbabwe, the vaccination programme has moved a gear up after President Mnangagwa yesterday launched the second stage of the campaign, which will target community leaders among them the clergy, teachers and the judiciary.

The second phase is expected to vaccinate more people against the virus, a development which should ultimately result in a decline in new infections.

Suffice to say, despite warnings of a third wave is set to sweep across the continent, there seems to be reluctance by some people to be vaccinated against the virus, which is becoming virulent with each day.

With knowledge of Covid-19 less than a year old, treatment remains fraught with uncertainty, a development that has seen a low uptake of the Covid-19 vaccine, being given for free in several countries, Zimbabwe included.

Vaccine hesitancy remains a legacy concern that governments and health personnel need to take head on to ensure they reach herd immunity which is crucial against further spread of the virus.

Reasons differ, with religion and the safety issues being cited as the major concerns why many have not yet opted to be vaccinated against the virus.

Some of the reasons being given by some sections of society are already fuelling concerns that the coronavirus could continue to disproportionally affect some communities, prompting calls for Government to action and the inclusion of medical personnel to take an active role.

The juncture that Zimbabwe and the globe finds itself in dealing with vaccine hesitancy now requires health personnel such as doctors to step up and become the face of Covid-19.

By its nature, the medical field is a highly sophisticated area that borders on matters of life and health.

Trust then becomes a fundamental aspect of the patient-doctor relationship to sustain and preserve life whenever possible.

It is that trust that people have that forces even highly-educated and knowledgeable patients to rely on their doctors to provide them with appropriate information on health matters.

As a result, patients will naturally take medication prescribed by their physicians on the understanding that the dosage will heal them and preserve their lives.

The introduction of Covid-19 vaccines have laid bare the health disparities and mistrust that people have on any new medical innovation to curb the spread of an infection.

The Covid-19 era that the whole world finds itself in, has given an impetus on the role of physicians to unpack information relating to the virus and on what millions of people need to know as part of the many preventative measures.

While information has been trickling in, considering that it is a novel virus continuously under research, there still remains a yawning gap on the nexus between the virus and the vaccines, an information gap that medical practitioners would need to fill by explaining the importance of vaccines in further reducing new cases.

Doctors and health personnel now need to add their voice in the fight against Covid-19, by fronting awareness campaigns on the importance and efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines.

Boasting their expertise in the medical field, physicians are better placed to explain the consequential effects that the world find itself in, if no necessary measures are taken to prevent the further spread of the diseases.

Currently outside the World Health Organisation prescribed regulations, such as social distancing, masking up and practicing good hygiene, vaccinating the people against Covid-19 remains one of the key strategies in reducing new infections and therefore cannot be put in the hands of soothsayers and prophets.

With so much falsehoods being peddled on the Internet, physicians should step in and play a crucial role in dissemination the right information to a population that is now beyond itself with fear and trauma of losing loved ones to Covid-19.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Coronavirus Zimbabwe By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

They should do more by providing accurate information, based upon facts.

Physicians should go a step further and also fashion messages that are culturally appropriate and reach out to the people that need the vaccination the most.

The clergy are also better placed to disseminate message of hope and the importance of the jab to its legions of followers who are seized with fear and uncertainty.

Sadly some men of the cloth have not done well in encouraging their followers to take the Covid-19 jabs. They have instead instilled fear in the very same people being encouraged to be vaccinated against the pandemic to stop further loss of lives.

With a third wave, already ripping several countries apart vaccination becomes key and one of the best strategies to get people out of the crisis the globe is faced with.

The medical personnel should step and affirm the importance of the vaccine, without batting an eye lid, and save millions currently faced with demise of Covid-19.

[email protected]
Chinese navy meteorologists carry out observations on Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands in 2010.

Chinas new militarized outposts in the Spratly Islands and its expanded bases in the Paracel chain are helping harvest one of the South China Seas most valuable but least visible resources: data.

Research by the Chinese military and other documentation show that the collected data informs ongoing construction activities, helps improve naval weapons and underwater communications in the unique local environment, and could support amphibious landing operations in the future  among other uses.

This data is valuable because it allows the Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) to understand the elements that constitute the ocean battlespace environment, according to Ryan Martinson, a professor at the U.S. Naval War Colleges China Maritime Studies Institute.

China needs to collect this information because it is used to build and improve models for how these elements of the ocean battlespace environment change under particular circumstances, Martinson said.

Civilian government scientists and PLAN personnel stationed on these features collect different kinds of information, including hydrological, meteorological, bathymetric and tidal data.

In addition, scientific survey ships operated by state-run research organizations regularly probe the depths of the South China Sea, gathering biological samples, mapping the seafloor and scooping up sediments.

Continuing construction

This data has many uses, including facilitating ongoing Chinese construction activities in the South China Sea, where Beijing is locked in maritime and territorial disputes with Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan.

In January, BenarNews reported that China was reclaiming additional land on the northern side of Woody Island, its main base in the Paracel Islands, and fortifying the islands coast against erosion.

A satellite image from December 2020 shows new seawalls, jetties and other anti-erosion installments as well as newly reclaimed land along the northern coast of Woody island. [Planet Labs]

In preparation for this project, the Chinese Ministry of Transports Tianjin Research Institute for Water Transport Engineering agreed to simulate the erosion of the islands coast using data gathered over several years, bidding documents indicate. The documentation offers a rare look at how China can leverage its long-term occupation of contested islands and reefs to collect and then exploit data in support of construction projects.

According to the materials reviewed by BenarNews, the institute was to synthesize multi-year bathymetric measurements, remote sensing imagery, hydrometeorological measurements and other data collected on Woody Island as well as data generated by previous construction projects in nearby waters. Bathymetry is the measurement of the seas depth while hydrometerology studies the water cycle as it relates to atmospheric processes.

The ocean battlespace environment

Data gathered from remote outposts also aid Chinas naval operations in the South China Sea  and helps the Chinese military prepare for potential conflicts with other claimant states or outside rivals such as the United States.

For example, Martinson noted, tides, currents, wave height, temperature, wind and salinity are all subject to change.

Being able to forecast these changes is very important to the PLAN because these elements directly affect naval operations, everything from basic navigation to weapons employment to ISR [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance], Martinson told BenarNews.

Publicly available research authored by engineers, meteorologists and other specialists affiliated with the PLA confirms the ongoing interest of the Chinese military in these environmental factors.

For example, in 2020 researchers from PLA Unit 61741 published a paper that addresses how the thermocline  the transition layer between warmer water near the oceans surface and cooler water deeper below  affects underwater communications and underwater vehicle concealment in the South China Sea.

A recent South China Sea-oriented study from experts at the PLA Naval Research Academy examines how ocean modeling can help analyze the impacts of complex ocean mesoscale phenomena on the effectiveness of naval weaponry and equipment.

According to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, the Chinese academy focuses on technological research, the maritime environment, and defense engineering.

Other subjects explored by PLA researchers include how the South China Sea environment corrodes airborne electronic equipment and stainless steel, the mechanical properties of sand used for land reclamation in the South China Sea, and how to treat brain injuries sustained during naval combat in the South China Sea environment.

Expanding capabilities

The development of Chinas bases in the South China Sea has long been intertwined with the collection of environmental data.

For example, after China occupied Woody Island  the largest natural feature in the Paracel chain  in the 1950s, it quickly established a meteorological station.

And according to a study published in The China Quarterly, Beijing used international meteorological data collection for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a pretext for establishing a permanent presence in the Spratlys in the late 1980s, initially building an observation post on Fiery Cross Reef.

From this observation post, PLAN meteorologists have measured factors such as wind direction, wind speed, temperature and tides every two hours every day for the past 30 years, Chinese state media reported.

And as China built massive artificial island bases in the Spratlys, its capacity to collect this data appears to have grown.

In theory, more land area allows for installation of more and larger equipment, Martinson told BenarNews.

Martinson also noted that Chinas new facilities in the Spratly chain likely support the ships used to service and deploy surface and subsurface buoys, which China uses to monitor conditions over wide areas of water.

Additionally, these expanded outposts allow the PLAN to deploy more personnel in the Spratly islands, including meteorologists and engineers to help the Chinese military gather crucial data.

A technical diagram shows an underwater surveying device and dynamic draft surveying instrument designed by a PLAN engineer stationed in the Spratly islands. [Patent application by the Dalian Naval Academy and Wu Jingquan] For instance, according to a 2020 report in PLA Daily, which is published by the Chinese military, a PLAN engineer stationed in the Spratly Islands, Wu Jingquan, has designed and patented measuring devices tailored to the local environmental conditions since 2018. Tides are an important factor influencing the ocean battlespace environment, PLA Daily says, but the salinity and temperature of the waters in the Spratlys often affects tidal measurements, leading to errors

With support from his superiors, Wu set out to solve this problem, reportedly establishing multiple observation points on Fiery Cross Reef to collect tidal data on a day-to-day basis. He then used this data to construct a tidal data model, ultimately designing a new type of automatic tidal gauge that would be unaffected by salinity and temperature, PLA Daily says.

BenarNews obtained the patent application documents for two of Wus inventions: the aforementioned tidal gauge and an underwater surveying device and dynamic draft surveying instrument intended to aid ships carrying out bathymetric surveys.

Tides are an especially important factor in amphibious operations. If you are trying to land on an island or bring a ship close to an island, you need to know how tides affect the water depth around the island at any given time, Martinson said.

Organ donation activists hold a campaign in Jung-gu, Seoul, to encourage public participation in organ donation while calling on the government for better treatment of donors after organ procurement, Dec. 8, 2017. Korea Times file









By Lee Hyo-jin







Kim Myung-seung, 58, a security guard at the Korea Airports Corp., fell unconscious on his way to work, March 1.







During hospital treatment, he was declared brain dead due to heart failure. Upon his family's consent, Kim's organs  lungs, liver, kidneys, and eyes  were donated through the Korea Organ Donation Agency (KODA), to six patients in dire need of transplant surgery.







The same month, a 54-year-old woman surnamed Kim in Busan was pronounced brain dead during nasal polyp surgery. Based on her consent form which she had submitted in 2008, her family agreed to donate her heart, lungs, liver and kidney, to five people in need.







But such humanity-affirming stories of ordinary people displaying potentially life-saving generosity are very rare in Korea, as the number of registered organ donors is extremely low compared to the number of patients on organ transplant waiting lists.







More people have become open to organ and tissue donation in recent years. But many still find it difficult to actually sign the consent form while they are in good health.







According to a survey of 1,000 people aged 19 and above conducted in 2020 by the Korean Network for Organ Sharing, 96 percent said they are aware of the organ donation system, while 60 percent supported it and 61 percent were willing to sign up.







However, only three percent of the population was registered as donors as of last year, a significantly low figure compared to 59 percent in the U.S. or 39 percent in Britain.







When asked why they chose not to register, 48 percent replied that they just felt hesitant, and 24 percent did not know where and how to register, while 15 percent cited disapproval by their families and friends.







Medical staff at Ewha Womans University Medical Center stand in silence and pay tribute to a donor ahead of organ harvest, Sept. 30, 2019. Courtesy of Ewha Womans University Medical Center





Meanwhile, data from the Ministry of Health and Welfare showed that the number of people waiting for organ transplants increased to 38,152 last year from 26,584 in 2016, while the number of organ donors who died decreased to 478 from 573 during the same period.







The average waiting period of a transplant recipient is three and a half years. Among the patients on the waiting list, 5.8 people died every day in 2020.







According to the ministry, a major reason why people feel hesitant to register for organ donation is concern over poor management of the donor's body after procuring organs.







Another reason for the low participation rate is insufficient promotion of the organ donation program. Despite continuous efforts by authorities to encourage the public through various platforms such as public advertisements and promotional materials, only one out of five people said they have seen such ads.







The low donation rate can also be attributed to the current system, under which the actual process of organ donation cannot be carried out without the consent of the family of the deceased. So in cases where a donor's family is unaware of their loved one's decision, the consent form bears no weight.







In this regard, the health ministry on Tuesday announced comprehensive plans to boost the registration rate of organ donation from the current three to 15 percent by 2025.







The government plans to improve existing problems, first by strengthening support for donors and their families to ensure they are treated with respect during the whole procedure by implementing a "one-stop total service."







In addition to financial support for funeral procedures that are currently offered, the service will include emotional support for bereaved families and opportunities for communication between the donor and recipient, which are currently strictly regulated in order to prevent illegal organ trades.







Also, promotion of organ donation will be largely expanded using online chat bot services. Accessibility to registration will be enhanced by making it possible to sign up at public health centers and driver's license test centers.







In the long term, the ministry plans to revise relevant laws to better reflect a donor's decision and make sure that such intentions are shared among family members.


Nairobi  NAIROBI, Kenya Mar 24 - Kenya confirmed Wednesday it had approved emergency use of Russia's Sputnik V CPVOD-19 vaccine for emergency use.

The approval comes barely two weeks after the government launched a nationwide vaccination drive for AstraZeneca vaccine whose eficacy has been questioned by experts leading to suspension by several countries in Europe. South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo have also paused its use.

On Wednesday, the Pharmacy and Poisons Board said it had approved Sputnik V vaccine.

"Yes, he application for Emergency Use Authorization has been evaluated and approved," the board said in a statement, that warned "Note: this is not a registration."

On whether Kenya plans to purchase the vaccine, the board said, "The Pharmacy and Poisons Board role is the authorization and safety monitoring of medicines and health technologies. It's the duty of the Ministry of Health as guided by the National Vaccine and immunization programme to determine what vaccine (s) to buy based on factors, such as, cost and cold chain considerations."

Russia has developed three vaccines -- Sputnik V, EpiVacCorona and CoviVac -- though most of the attention has focused on Sputnik, named after the first satellite launched into space by the Soviet Union.

The vaccine has been registered under the emergency use authorization procedure and is is one of only three vaccines in the world with an efficacy of over 90 percent.

Currently, Kenya is using the AstraZeneca vaccine which has an efficacy of 62 percent and over 40,000 Kenyans have so far received the jab.

Kenya received just over one million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, which was manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, under the UN-led Covax initiative which is assisting poorer countries to receive the medicine.

President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday received his first dose of a coronavirus vaccine, his spokesman said as Russia looks to boost a vaccination campaign that is faltering despite having produced three home-grown jabs.

Putin joined other world leaders who have received jabs including US President Joe Biden, Pope Francis and Britain's Queen Elizabeth.

But unlike many others who were vaccinated in public, Putin's vaccination took place in private.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told news agencies late on Tuesday that the 68-year-old Russian leader was vaccinated but did not specify which jab was administered.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Coronavirus By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"Putin has been vaccinated against the coronavirus. He feels well. Tomorrow he has a full working day," Peskov said, according to state-run RIA Novosti news agency.

Earlier on Tuesday, Peskov said that Putin, who has never been media shy during his two decades in power, did not want to get a jab in front of the cameras.

"We will not show this, you will have to take our word for it," Peskov told reporters.

Peskov said the Kremlin chief would receive one of three Russian vaccines, declining to specify which one "on purpose".

"All three Russian vaccines proved their effectiveness and reliability," Peskov said.

Russia's vaccination campaign has been slower than in many countries but Peskov said Putin did not have to get vaccinated in public to encourage more Russians to get jabs.

"The president is doing a lot to promote vaccines as is," Peskov said.

Only about four million of the country's 144 million people have so far received two doses of a vaccine, while another two million have had a first dose.

Vaccine scepticism runs high in Russia, with a recent opinion poll showing less than a third were willing to be inoculated, and close to two-thirds saying they believed the coronavirus is a man-made biological weapon.

The country has been among the hardest hit by Covid-19, with more than 4.4 million cases of the coronavirus and more than 95,000 deaths.
A woman who made it her life mission to help woman orgasm has claimed she's never been busier since moving classes online due to Covid.

Ky Hoyle, who founded Sh! Women's Erotic Emporium, Europe's first women-focused sex shop, in London in 1992, had to make the difficult decision to close the shop amid the global pandemic last year.

Having previously run evening classes to help women who were struggling to orgasm and have honest conversations about sexuality and pleasure, she moved her courses online, and has since attracted clients from all over the world including Saudi Arabia, where sex toys are banned under Islamic law.

Appearing on This Morning today, Ky revealed she now teaches up to 500 women a week to climax - including those with medical issues who have struggled for years to have pleasurable intercourse.

Scroll down for video

Ky Hoyle, who founded Sh! Women's Erotic Emporium, Europe's first women-focused sex shop, in London in 1992, had to make the difficult decision to close the shop amid the global pandemic last year

'Actually just taking it online has spread our reach, we're having women tuning in from South America, Saudi Arabia, it's absolutely astounding what people, they're searching for real information about sexuality rather than fantasy,' she told hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby.

'[Before] we were offering classes just in store, so unless you could get to London at 8pm on a Wednesday evening you couldn't actually come, so that was a good thing about Covid.

'Obviously having to close the shop was a massive decision and a very sad decision because we loved having those one-to-one conversations with women and that's where the real honest conversations about sexuality and pleasure happen.'

Ky told how she set up the shop after going on a shopping trip for a sex toy in Soho in the early Nineties, and was disappointed by her experience.

'I went shopping for a toy one day and found it to be the most alienating and icky experience as a woman because they're all focused on male pleasure,' she said.

Ky told how she set up the Sh! shop after going on a shopping trip for a sex toy in Soho in the early Nineties, and being disappointed by her experience

'We've just watched It's A Sin, and it was around that time, when the whole AIDS thing was happening and we were being told to go and explore our sexuality and actually about the kind of safer sex that we were going to have.

'I went down to Soho thinking it was my right to explore my sexuality and just found this wasn't the case. I literally stomped home from that shopping trip really mad that women's sexuality wasn't being put at the fore, it was absolutely hidden.'

Investing 700 to set up the shop, it proved an instant success after coveting much press attention for being the UK's first ever female-focused erotic shop

Ky said she still believes there is a taboo around female pleasure, and feels a lot of porn creates a false reality around sex.

'There's so much "fantasy" around female pleasure that is essentially lies,' she told Holly and Phil.

Going forward, Ky said she will continue to run online classes and attempt 'pop ups' when lockdown restrictions are eased

'It's not helping women to have full, fabulous sex lives, it's actually stopping them from doing that... things like porn and the expectation we'll all orgasm through penetration, that isn't what happens for the vast majority of women, 75 per cent of women don't do it that way.

'One of the most astounding facts is that the true size and complexity of the clitoris was only discovered in 1998. That's 20 years ago! So it is very much an area that isn't studied, it is getting a lot better, but there are still massive issues.

'It's very difficult to get to the absolute bottom of the statistics but it's believed only about 35 per cent of women can name their anatomy and understand it.

'One of our classes is called Becoming Orgasmic because it's teaching women - and men if they want to - they should be interested in this, in how to orgasm because there's this whole expectation that we'll learn to do it naturally and that just doesn't happen for a lot of women.'

Ky said she regularly receives feedback from happy customers, adding: 'One of the first letters we had was a handwritten letter that said, "Dear Sh!, after 20 years of marriage and three children I've finally had an orgasm."

Ky told Holly and Phil she regularly receives feedback from happy customers, adding: 'One of the first letters we had was a handwritten letter that said, "Dear Sh!, after 20 years of marriage and three children I've finally had an orgasm"'

'We've had women coming up to us in the streets hugging us. It's almost unbelievable.'

She revealed the classes have also helped women suffering from medical issues such as vaginismus, where vaginal muscles tighten up when penetration is attempted, making it difficult and painful.

'We had a message saying due to our help we made a vaginismus baby, which we were buzzing about, as they were,' she said.

Going forward, Ky said she will continue to run online classes and attempt 'pop ups' when lockdown restrictions are eased.
SOE Virtual Vaccination Card Our patent-pending SOE Verified system creates a validated virtual vaccination card for your smartphone, so you can have it wherever you go, said Steve Krause, President, Second Opinion Expert, Inc.

Second Opinion Expert, Inc. (SOE), a leading healthcare technology company, announced today that it has launched a Virtual Vaccination Card that provides proof of COVID-19 vaccination on a smartphone.

The fast and easy-to-use platform is being provided by SOE free of charge as a community service.

The SOE Virtual Vaccination Card contains a scan code that can be used by others to verify it against SOEs HIPAA-compliant online database. This simple, safe and secure solution provides those that have been vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus with easy-to-access digital proof of their vaccination right on their smartphone without having to download an app.

Our patent-pending SOE Verified system creates a validated virtual vaccination card for your smartphone, so you can have it wherever you go, said Steve Krause, President, Second Opinion Expert, Inc. Your virtual card can be independently verified by another person using their phones camera to scan the code on your virtual card, which queries our secure database and verifies your card.

Our digital solution is far superior to a paper card -- Its a safe, secure, and effective way to show that you have been vaccinated. We are pleased to offer this free service to help expedite the safe reopening of our economy.

The SOE Virtual Vaccination Card is available now at http://www.secondopinionexpert.com

About Second Opinion Expert

Second Opinion Experts online technology increases the quality and efficiency of healthcare delivery, improves healthcare access and empowers patients to make better informed medical decisions. The HIPAA-compliant patented platform leverages recent advancements in information technology and electronic medical record systems enabling the company to provide fast, reliable and secure online medical opinions. The system provides patients greater peace of mind in knowing that they have a medical experts perspective for their medical decisions.

SOE offers exclusive, one-on-one, online, professional diagnostic evaluations to patients across the United States and around the globe. We also offer attractive plans for utilizing second opinions as an employee benefit, which helps hold down rising health care premiums. Our skilled panel is composed of hundreds of physician specialists with exemplary academic credentials as well as significant patient care experience in all major diagnostic specialties and subspecialties. Utilizing our patented processing technology and databases, our physicians can more efficiently and effectively review a patients prior tests and symptoms when writing a second opinion report. Thereafter, the physician may also interact with the patient through a secure video link allowing for meaningful and instructive face-to-face counseling and next treatment advice.

Our technology is available for use in the US and worldwide. Our patent is also available to be licensed, and the platform can be customized for government, institutional or enterprise use.

Additional information can be found at http://www.secondopinionexpert.com
By Jody Godoy and Chris Prentice

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. securities regulator has opened an inquiry into Wall Street's blank check acquisition frenzy and is seeking information on how underwriters are managing the risks involved, said four people with direct knowledge of the matter.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in recent days sent letters to Wall Street banks seeking information on their special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, dealings, the four people said.

SPACs are listed shell companies that raise funds to acquire a private company with the purpose of taking it public, allowing such targets to sidestep a traditional initial public offering.

The SEC letters asked the banks to provide the information voluntarily and, as such, did not rise to the level of a formal investigative demand, two of the sources said.

However, one of those two people said letters were sent by the SEC's enforcement division, suggesting they may be a precursor to a formal investigation.

This person said the SEC wanted information on SPAC deal fees, volumes, and what controls banks have in place to police the deals internally. The second above source said the SEC asked questions relating to compliance, reporting and internal controls.

Representatives for the SEC did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside U.S. business hours.

Wall Street's biggest gold rush of recent years, SPACs have surged globally to a record $170 billion this year, outstripping last year's total of $157 billion, Refinitiv data showed.

The boom has been fueled in part by easy monetary conditions as central banks have pumped cash into pandemic-hit economies, while the SPAC structure provides startups with an easier path to go public with less regulatory scrutiny than the traditional IPO route. But the frenzy has started to meet with greater investor skepticism, and has also caught the eye of regulators.

This month, the SEC warned investors against buying into SPACs based on celebrity endorsements and said it was closely watching SPAC disclosures and other "structural" SPAC issues.

Investors have sued eight companies that combined with SPACs in the first quarter of 2021, according to data compiled by Stanford University. Some of the lawsuits allege the SPACs and their sponsors, who reap huge pay-days once a SPAC combines with its target, hid weaknesses ahead of the transactions.

The SEC may be worried about the depth of due diligence SPACs perform before acquiring assets, and whether huge payouts are fully disclosed to investors, said a third source.

Another potential concern is the heightened risk of insider trading between when a SPAC goes public and when it announces its acquisition target, the second source added.

"Wall Street's biggest banks are being asked: what's going on?" the person said.

(Reporting by Jody Godoy in New York and Chris Prentice in Washington; Editing by Michelle Price and Christopher Cushing)

(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 furious row has erupted on Q+A after an audience member tore into two high-profile panellists who questioned Australia's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Both The Australian's economics editor Adam Creighton and UNSW economist Gigi Foster were targeted for their anti-lockdown stance during Thursday's episode.

Audience member Louise Ihlein claimed the experts played down the impact of the virus by suggesting 'when people get to 60 their life is pretty much done'.

'And then I have seen Adam a couple of times last year on and on Twitter saying similar stuff, about the fact that his Dad was 65 and he would be OK to be done,' the 60-year-old said.

Ms Ihlein - who has an illness she said she 'was not going to get better from' - said it was 'disgraceful' to suggest people over a certain age weren't worth anything.

The Australian's economics editor Adam Creighton has been forced to defend himself from heavy criticism from a Q+A audience member about his stance on Australia's Covid-19 lockdowns

'I wanted to ask them how they could live with themselves after the comments they made last year,' she said in a video question submitted to the show.

'I hope as they travel through life they never have to be thought of as the other. And I want to know how they propose we give sick and disabled people a better life, a good life?

Poll Has Australia's response to the Covid-19 pandemic been proportionate? Yes - lockdowns have saved lives No - it has ruined the economy Has Australia's response to the Covid-19 pandemic been proportionate? Yes - lockdowns have saved lives 164 votes

No - it has ruined the economy 73 votes Now share your opinion





'I want to know, do they want me got rid of?'

Creighton said he had never made the comment attributed to him about his father.

'On that last point about 65 and saying about my dad  I never said that, that was actually someone else,' he said.

He said he and Ms Foster had never said those over the age of 60 were not worth the inconvenience of social distancing restrictions, adding that would be a 'shocking claim'.

'All we've been arguing was for what was the concensus view of science at the end of 2019 which you take a rational approach to a pandemic and you don't shut everything down and don't force people to do things and don't drag them screaming from cars at the border,' he said.

Travellers wearing face masks at Tullamarine Airport in Melbourne on January 8. Australia has lost 909 lives to coronavirus, compared to more than 545,000 in the US

'You don't shut the borders and don't close hospitals to all other patients for months on end, you don't end travel.

'I'm no extreme libertarian at all. But this is extraordinary what's happened in the past year.'

Australia has lost 909 lives to coronavirus - compared to more than 545,000 in the US - but has been subject to repeated state border lockdowns in recent months over a handful of COVID-19 community transmission cases.

Ms Foster also stressed she would never say someone's life after the age of 60 'is not worth living'.

'This was an amazing opportunity for me to see people in action completely spellbound on a particular thing that can hurt people, which is COVID, and forgetting about everything else that matters in a normal time,' she said.

Economics Professor Gigi Foster said Australia's Covid-19 response forgot 'about everything else that matters in a normal time'

'I was prepared to call it out and Im proud that I did because there were very few voices in Australia who were telling a sensible, sane story despite the hysteria gripping the world.'

Australia has faired well in the pandemic compared to the majority of other countries, with just 909 deaths compared to 545,000 in the US.

But the response has been plagued with problems, particularly the continuous closures of state borders as premiers vowed to keep the virus out of their community.

The controversial measure has left families separated for months on end and has ravaged the domestic tourism industry.

Meanwhile lockdowns have also wreaked havoc on the economy, with Melbourne's lockdown alone costing around $12billion.
Having assessed the most promising oil-focused exploration wells of 2021, the time has come to do pinpoint this years up-and-coming gas wildcats. It will not be easy to forget and let go of all the difficulties that 2020 generated  global gas production decreased by 4% compared to 2019, capital expenditures were cut across all continents, exploration wells were routinely delayed until external conditions improve. In some cases, the COVID-induced market depression has had unexpected consequences that either directly or indirectly impact exploration drilling  look no further than insurgents in Mozambique debilitating the 13mtpa Mozambique LNG project. Not everything was negative in 2020, albeit one needs to relativize the concept of success  for instance, the 2020 oil and gas price slump has insulated gas demand from an even steeper decline as low prices made it financially viable to ramp up gas-powered generation.

Interestingly, projects focusing on LNG entertained higher odds of keeping their market share as overall global LNG demand actually increased over the course of 2020, attaining an all-time high of 362-363 million tons LNG. Simultaneously, gas production that was less mobile and flexible in terms of diversified outlet markets suffered tangibly more, as attested by US gas producers and Europes main pipeline supplier, Gazprom. With this being said, one might assume that exploration wells that were drilled with an arriere-pensee for LNG dominated the 2020 landscape and little could be further from the truth. Be it UAEs Jebel Ali find, South Africas Brulpadda or perhaps even Turkeys Sakarya, the majority of last years discoveries will provide much-needed gas for economies that have gotten used to gas imports, spinning a new story of self-sufficiency. Related: Pandemic Puts Saudi-Kuwaiti Oil Plans On Ice

We have analyzed the hottest gas prospects of 2021 and present you the Top 5, fully cognizant of the fact that in depressed times the highest impact wells might come from high-risk wildcats.

1.Skuratovskaya-2 (Russia)

The most likely candidate for the largest 2021 gas discovery will be Skuratovskaya-2, Gazproms second prospecting well in the Skuratovskaya block in the Arctic Kara Sea. There are several reasons corroborating this claim. First and foremost, despite being offshore the Skuratovskaya block is adjacent to the worlds largest gas field, Bovanenkovo. Second, all previous drillings in the Kara Sea have unearthed massive gas reserves; the last of the discoveries was the Skuratovskaya-1 well which unearthed 202 BCm in 3P reserves (the field was quickly renamed 75 Let Pobedy to commemorate the Soviet Unions WWII victory). Although Gazprom is evidently not eager to develop cost-heavy Arctic fields and intends to bring them onstream after 2030, it is still pushing forward with drilling, Skuratovskaya-2 is expected to take place in the summer months.

Cronos-1 (Cyprus)

Following the undisputable success of the 6.5 TCf Calypso discovery in 2018, one of the largest gas finds globally in 2018, Total and its partner ENI (both hold 50% of Block 06) are set to drill the Cronos-1 wildcat in the second half of 2021. Initially the wildcat was assumed to be spudded in April 2020, however, the severe impact of COVID-19 delayed it by more than a year. Off the bounds of Turkeys (hardly airtight) continental shelf claim vis-a-vis Cyprus yet still very close to Calypso and Glaucus, Cronos is expected to confirm the existence of even larger deposits within Block 06. The well, located to the southwest some 150km off the Cypriot coast, will be drilled in water depths of 2300-2400 meters, i.e. several hundred meters deeper than Calypso and Glaucus. The restart of the Idku LNG and the rumored tying-in of Cypriot discoveries to Egypts liquefaction infrastructure indicates that should there be a Cronos discovery in late 2021, it would most probably be marketed as LNG.

Rencong-1X (Indonesia)

The coronavirus pandemic has also pushed the spudding of Rencong-1X, a potentially frontier-opening offshore wildcat to the north of Sumatra, well into 2021. Repsol (51% stake and operatorship) and Petronas (49%) will target the Tampur Carbonate Formation (Upper Eocene/Lower Oligocene) that has heretofore never been drilled, with estimated resources of 4 TCf. Rencong-1X is located 40km from the Sumatran coastline and will be spudded in water depths of 1000-1100 metres. Repsol has had its fair share of difficulties along the projects administration, primarily connected to the provision of a suitable drillship all the while complying with Indonesian regulations but now it seems that those travails have been left behind. Against the background of steadily declining mature gas production in Indonesia, the emergence of a new gas-rich frontier might spark a mini-revolution in the North Sumatra Basin. Related: How Will We Pay for the Energy Transition?

Block 09 (Lebanon)

The French major Total will try to overcome the disappointing result of Lebanons first-ever offshore wildcat that was spudded in February 2020. Located within Block 04, Byblos-1 turned out to be non-commercial and was subsequently abandoned. This year the drilling of a second wildcat (still unnamed) in Lebanons offshore and there are several reasons to believe that it will fare better than Totals pioneering wildcat. First and foremost, it is located to the south to Block 04, much closer to the maritime border with Israel, effectively abutting the Tamar field, hence the prospects of the Tamar Sandstone reservoirs would be higher than with Block 04. Due to ongoing Lebanese-Israeli maritime border disputes the operator has so far kept the exact location of the forthcoming wildcat shrouded in secrecy, however one can assume fairly confidently that it will avoid drilling in disputed waters.

Mzarabani-1 (Zimbabwe)

Arguably the most disputable project in our Top 5 ranking, Zimbabwe has no known hydrocarbon reserves and has routinely relied on other neighboring countries to cater for its energy needs. This year, however, might alter that picture completely as appraisal activity heats up in the African nations Rufunsa Basin. The operator of the SG 4571 block, Invictus Energy, has had seismic surveying programs in 2020-2021 and now is stating its readiness to drill the Mzarabani-1 prospect in Zimbabwe, a 4-way dip closure spread across more than 200km2. The wildcat will be drilled in October-November 2021 to a total depth deeper than 4000m and will aim to confirm the prospects prospective resources of 4.5 TCf. According to the operator, the total assessed reserves of the SG 4571 stand at 9.25TCf and 294 MMbbls. Mzarabani will be Zimbabwes second-ever wildcat, the first was drilled in 2018 and deemed dry, only confirming the high-risk nature of Zimbabwean drilling.

By Viktor Katona for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The Benue State Police Command has said that bandits disguised as buyers killed one and injured nine persons at Abaji Market, in Katsina-ala...





The Benue State Police Command has said that bandits disguised as buyers killed one and injured nine persons at Abaji Market, in Katsina-ala LGA of the State, on Wednesday.

The State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Catherine Anene, made this known in a statement made available to newsmen in Makurdi, on Thursday, NAN reports.

Anene said that the bandits who disguised themselves as buyers came into the market at about 6:30pm on Wednesday and started shooting sporadically.

At about 6:30pm on Wednesday, while traders were closing from Abaji Market in Katsina-ala, bandits who disguised themselves as buyers started shooting sporadically.

One person was shot in the process while nine others were injured.

The joint operation of Police and other security agencies returned fire and repelled the bandits to the forest with gunshot injuries where a search party has been set up to ensure that they are apprehended, she said.

Anene further revealed that the corpse of the deceased has been deposited at the morgue while the injured persons are receiving treatment at the General Hospital, Katsina-Ala.
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
A FATHER of four accused of laundering crime cash told gardai that 1.200 had come from up his Swiss roll when asked to account for it, the Special Criminal Court has heard.

The non-jury court heard yesterday that Graham Whelan told officers from the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (DOCB) he had got 1,275 in cash from up his Swiss roll, up his arse and told them to keep it when they searched his hotel suite in 2019.

Mr Whelan was granted bail yesterday despite the objections of gardai, who said they believed he was a flight risk as he had access to endless amounts of cash.

Presiding judge Mr Justice Tony Hunt said that despite evidence of the accused man presenting as a flight risk, the crucial factor in this case was the death of his partner.

Keith Spencer, defending, had submitted that his clients partner died last September and Mr Whelan was now responsible for their four children, who are aged between two and 10.

Mr Whelan (38), with an address at Walkinstown Avenue, Walkinstown, Dublin 12, appeared before the court on Monday charged with 10 non-scheduled offences that include charges related to drug trafficking.

At yesterdays bail hearing,

Detective Garda Donal Donoghue told Gerardine Small, for the State, that he had arrested Mr Whelan on foot of a warrant at Walkinstown Avenue at 12.35pm on Monday.

The witness said gardai from the DOCB searched a penthouse suite at the Intercontinental Hotel on January 31, 2019, which he said Mr Whelan had booked for three nights and is alleged to have paid 2,140 for in cash.

Det Gda Donoghue said 1,275 in cash was found in Mr Whelans pocket, and after caution he told gardai he got the money from up his Swiss roll, up his arse and told them to keep it.

The witness said the second item discovered was a receipt in Mr Whelans name for 2,140 for the hotel, which the accused told gardai he had got from his life savings.

The next item seized was an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Gentlemans watch, which was valued at 28,000 and found on the accuseds wrist, said the detective.

A tick list was recovered with words including jacket, nasty and duck, which the detective said were code names for controlled drugs.

A number of mobile phones were seized, said the witness, which he believed the accused had on him to assist in drug trafficking offences.

Cocaine and cannabis were also recovered, Det Gda Donoghue said.

Mr Whelan was not arrested after a search of the hotel room, and a money laundering investigation started, the detective said.

On May 1, 2019, the defendants home was searched and he was arrested on suspicion of money laundering but later released without charge.

During the search, the detective said gardai discovered a substantial amount of work had been undertaken to refurbish his property and it was alleged Mr Whelan had paid cash to upgrade the premises.

The detective said the maximum conviction for money laundering was 14 years in prison.

Det Gda Donoghue indicated he had a concern that the accused would interfere with witnesses in the case.

Ms Small said Mr Whelans passport was seized from his family home on Clonard Road in Crumlin on May 1, 2019 and he had applied for a new one on June 12 that year, saying he had lost his passport while moving house.

The detective said it was his belief that the accused was aware his original passport was in the possession of gardai on May 1 and it has not since been returned to him.

Keith Spencer, for Mr Whelan, put it to the witness that his client was unclear what items were taken from his house and it had transpired to be a passport.

Mr Whelans solicitor later got in touch with gardai and asked for his passport to be returned, he said.

The barrister said the accused had applied for another passport on June 20,2019 and had ticked lost on the form.

He was then issued with a new passport.

The detective accepted that his clients solicitor had written to gardai last October, indicating the accused was willing to cooperate with the investigation and would present himself at a garda station if he was to be arrested.

In his submissions to the court, Mr Spencer said the offending was toward the lower end of the scale and the court could admit his client on bail subject to conditions.

Mr Spencer said his client did not know where his passport was when he applied for the second one and only subsequently learned it was in the possession of gardai.

He had the tools to leave the jurisdiction but didnt leave and remained here, he added.

Mr Justice Hunt interjected, saying: He stood pat and took a second passport he was then not entitled to and put it in his back pocket.

Presiding judge Mr Justice Hunt, sitting with Judge Gerard Griffin and Judge Flann Brennan, granted bail to Mr Whelan on a number of conditions.

He said that while Mr Whelan does present a flight risk, the court has to consider whether the risk justifies a refusal of bail and whether it could be managed.

He told Mr Whelan the crucial factor in this case was the death of his partner.

Mr Whelan better understand very clearly thats the reason he is getting bail, he added.

Mr Justice Hunt said that if he does not comply with the conditions, his bail will be revoked.

The court will require an independent surety of 20,000, which is expected to be lodged tomorrow.
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.
Anambra State Commissioner for Housing, Arc Michael Okonkwo, Wednesday, commended Arnold and Associates Group for their commitment to the provision of affordable housing for the people of the state.

Speaking to newsmen, after a tour of Brownwood Estate Awka, one of exquisite properties being developed by the real estate firm, the Commissioner revealed that the State Governor, Willie Obiano, created a secure and enabling environment in Anambra with a view to attracting partnerships from the private sector.

Okonkwo, who was guided on the tour by Mr. Arnold Ekweoba, the CEO of the company, expressed delight at the level of work on ground.

He noted that the Anambra housing development was a growing effort to close the gap between supply and demand through social housing initiatives and other public-private partnership ventures.

He said, "The state government under Governor Obiano created a secure and enabling environment to attract partnerships from the private sector like the Arnold and Associates.

"What I see here is superior work, starting from the planning out of how the place is going to look, to the implementation which is the actual construction to realize that vision. What I see here is nothing but excellence. I just realized that you are one of the best-kept secrets in Awka. This is in tandem with the Governor's charge to the housing commission on the provision of a minimum of 10,000 housing units per year in Anambra."

While assuring the firm of the Government's continued support, the Commissioner reiterated Obiano's commitment towards improving the ease of doing business in the state.

In his remarks, Ekweoba averred that Arnold and Associates remained resolute in bridging the dearth of housing in the state and the South East region, and assured of the continued contribution of the firm towards providing luxury and affordable living for the people of the State.

Vanguard News Nigeria
Pfizer began the first clinical trial of its COVID vaccine in children younger than 12 on Thursday. The company says the trial will further evaluate the safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in healthy children ranging in age from 11 years to 6 months old.

The study aims to enroll around 5,000 children, and initial results are expected in the second half of 2021.

The New York Times reports that the first trial participants to receive a dose were nine-year-old twin sisters in North Carolina, who received a first shot at Duke University on Wednesday.

Pfizer, BioNTech launch COVID-19 vaccine trial in kids under 12 https://t.co/GTshTi3DJ6 pic.twitter.com/ViGDEYDtb0  Reuters U.S. News (@ReutersUS) March 25, 2021

Moderna began testing its COVID vaccine in younger children earlier this month.

Johnson & Johnson is currently testing its single-dose vaccine in older children, but has announced plans to extend that trial to children under 12.

MORE:

7 questions and answers about the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna coronavirus vaccines

6 things to know about new Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine

COVID-19 vaccines in U.S. do not contain aluminum, despite social media claims


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.
Associated Press

The younger generation of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales are on average about three feet (one meter) shorter than whales were 20 years, drone and aircraft data show in a study in Thursdays journal Current Biology. Entanglements with fishing gear, collisions with ships and climate change moving their food supply north are combining to stress and shrink these large whales, the study says. This isnt about short right whales, its about a physical manifestation of a physiological problem, its the chest pain before the heart attack, said Regina Asmutis-Silvia, executive director of Whale and Dolphin Conservation North America, who wasnt part of the study.
A demonstrator places a Brazil national flag on a mattress symbolizing COVID-19 victims, during a protest against the Government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, organized by the Rio de Paz NGO, in front of the Ronaldo Gazolla hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, March 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Brazil topped 300,000 confirmed COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday, becoming the second country to do so amid a spike in infections that has seen the South American country report record death tolls in recent days.

The United States reached the grim milestone on Dec. 14, but has a larger population than Brazil.

On Wednesday, Brazil's health ministry reported 2,009 daily COVID-19 deaths, bringing its pandemic total to 300,685. On Tuesday, the country saw a single-day record of 3,251 deaths.

According to local media reports, the latest coronavirus figures might be affected by changes in the government's counting system. Newly appointed Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga said in a press conference that he was going to check whether the numbers had been artificially reduced.

With daily death tolls at pandemic highs, state governors and mayors in Brazil have expressed fears that April could be as bad as March for the country's overwhelmed hospitals.

Just in the past 75 days, Brazil has registered 100,000 confirmed coronavirus deaths, a spike health experts blame on a lack of political coordination in fighting the virus, new variants that spread more easily and a disregard for health protocols.

President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday held a meeting with the heads of other government branches to coordinate anti-virus efforts. But he didn't propose any policies to deal with the pandemic.

Bolsonaro has consistently downplayed the severity of the pandemic, insisting the economy must be kept humming to prevent worse hardship, and he has criticized health measures imposed by local leaders.

Mattresses with roses and signs that read "Shame," symbolizing COVID-19 victims lay on a sidewalk during a protest against the Government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, organized by the Rio de Paz NGO, in front of the Ronaldo Gazolla hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, March 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

The body of a COVID-19 victim lies in a body bag at the ICU of the Sao Jose municipal hospital in Duque de Caxias, Brazil, Wednesday, March 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

COVID-19 patients rest in the ICU of the Sao Jose municipal hospital, in Duque de Caxias, Brazil, Wednesday, March 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Residents place roses on mattresses symbolizing COVID-19 victims, during a protest against the Government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, organized by the Rio de Paz NGO, in front of the Ronaldo Gazolla hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, March 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

COVID-19 patients are treated in the ICU of the Sao Jose municipal hospital, in Duque de Caxias, Brazil, Wednesday, March 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

A demonstrator places roses on mattresses symbolizing COVID-19 victims, during a protest against the Government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, organized by the Rio de Paz NGO, in front of the Ronaldo Gazolla hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, March 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

An intubated COVID-19 patient is treated in the ICU of the Sao Jose municipal hospital, in Duque de Caxias, Brazil, Wednesday, March 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

A COVID-19 patient arrives in an ambulance to the Sao Jose municipal hospital, in Duque de Caxias, Brazil, Wednesday, March 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

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.
The common assumption on the right is that Joe Biden has been endlessly rehearsing answers to questions that will be asked by friendly reporters when President Biden holds his first-ever presidential press conference. But his response to a question shouted out to him yesterday raises a couple of alternative possibilities to consider.

According to Peter Doocy, the White House correspondent for Fox News, "[s]omebody shouted out to Biden 'how are you getting ready for your press conference' and he said: 'What press conference?'"



File photo: Gage Skidmore.

Watch as Doocy stated so:

Tomorrow is going to be hilarious. https://t.co/lQsfHC0CpX  The Columbia Bugle  (@ColumbiaBugle) March 25, 2021

I trust Doocy's account completely. He has quickly distinguished himself in the briefings conducted by Jen Psaki with his tenacious and informed questioning. His position as White House correspondent is a huge leap forward in his career, and he would be a fool to blow it by making up something like this.

Here are the two possible interpretations of this presidential response, in order of their likelihood, in my opinion.

Biden is so out of it, so in the throes of dementia (which is an on-again, off-again phenomenon) that he forgot his schedule for today and all the preparation that he has done for it. After all, on the campaign trail, he did not know what state he was in a few times. If, as many suspect, he will be juiced up on some pharmaceuticals during the press conference (as many of us hypothesized he was during the presidential debates), yesterday he was in a down phase of activity and medication, so as to have maximum effect today.

Or:

Biden was having fun with us, mocking the notion that he is in any way at less than full strength mentally. There are a few problems with this hypothesis.

First, Biden is not known for his command of irony. In fact, he is a serial fabulist and has no solid ground on which to stand when mocking others' criticism of his mentality. He's lied about his class standing in law school and plagiarized others' words and life experiences. Such a person who can't withstand close scrutiny is unlikely to mock those who question him.

Second, there is plenty of evidence, including falling upward on the stairs for A.F. 1 three times, that he indeed is declining rapidly.

Other than Peter Doocy, who may not even get called on to ask a question, are there any reporters who will ask Biden questions more difficult than his favorite ice cream flavor? Not if they pay attention to the astonishing advice handed out by two reporters for the Bezos propaganda organ, the Washington Post. Nick Arama of RedState reports:

According to Margaret Sullivan and Jen Rubin, the question wasn't really how Biden would do in the presser but whether the media could contain themselves from going too hard at him. From Sullivan: It's a major test for news organizations and reporters in covering Biden. And Joe Lockhart, a press secretary under President Bill Clinton, fears the press corps won't be able to resist walking in with the mentality of, "We're gonna show all the MAGA people we can be just as tough on Biden as we were on Trump." (snip) Jen Rubin was even worse. Any concerns or questions were just things "ginned up" by Republicans, according to her. So therefore media shouldn't be falling for all that or pressing Biden on those questions. Indeed, Biden should be fact checking the media if they dared ask. No kidding, that's what she said. As my Post colleague Margaret Sullivan writes, "The burgeoning number of migrants  including thousands of children  is a legitimate concern and a valid story. But much of the news media seems to be using it to show that they intend to present [President] Biden in just as critical a light as they often did Trump  regardless of whether that's deserved." What's more: The media storyline has been factually misleading. In reality, there has been no surge of arrivals outside the normal fluctuation of migration. [.] The lesson here for the administration is to debunk and rebut a false Republican-driven narrative quickly. As they do with covid-19 hearings, showering reporters with data rather than debating an issue on Republican terms generally works better. It is now also incumbent on the media to review its coverage and come clean with viewers and readers. When its breathless coverage turns out to be deeply misleading, it should explain how and why they got it wrong.

I confess that I will be watching the presser and hoping for a train wreck. But I strongly suspect that the same magic that made Biden perform acceptably in the presidential debates will be at work. Some combination of chemical and electronic wizardry will have him seeming to listen to and answer questions in a semi-credible fashion. The bar is set very, very low, after all, and his media claque will hail it no matter how sketchy it is.

If not, the pieces are in place for a transition to President Harris.
SUGAR LAND, Texas and HOUSTON, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Noble Corporation ("Noble") and Pacific Drilling Company LLC ("Pacific Drilling") announced today that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Noble will acquire Pacific Drilling in an all-stock transaction. The definitive merger agreement was unanimously approved by each company's Board of Directors. The transaction has also been approved by a majority of Pacific Drilling's equity holders, and no shareholder vote is required for Noble to close the transaction. As part of the transaction, Pacific Drilling's equity holders will receive 16.6 million shares of Noble, or approximately 24.9% of the outstanding shares of Noble at closing. Noble expects to realize annual pre-tax cost synergies of at least $30 million, and additionally, will move to dispose of the Pacific Bora and Pacific Mistral expeditiously. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to be completed in April 2021.

Noble's President and Chief Executive Officer, Robert Eifler, said, "The acquisition of Pacific Drilling will enhance our position in the ultra-deepwater market through the addition of its technologically-advanced ultra-deepwater drillships, which are highly complementary to Noble's existing fleet. By bringing these modern drillships into the Noble fleet, we will be able to better serve the needs of our customers globally and to participate in a wider range of drillship tender activity. The combination brings together two companies who share a common culture prioritizing safety and operational excellence. Additionally, the acquisition expands and further solidifies our relationship with certain key customers, facilitates re-entry into both the West African and Mexican regions, and strengthens our presence in the US Gulf of Mexico."

Mr. Eifler continued, "This acquisition is a positive strategic step for Noble, and we will work expeditiously to close the transaction and integrate the two companies. We remain committed to generating shareholder value through safety and operational excellence, capital discipline and customer satisfaction. As the offshore drilling landscape evolves, we look forward to maintaining our leadership role as we continue to grow in concert with the needs of our customers."

Bernie Wolford, Pacific Drilling's Chief Executive Officer, stated, "Bringing together the Pacific Drilling and Noble fleets creates a stronger and more stable combined company with the scale to provide solutions for our clients on a global basis. This combination will advance the ongoing recovery in the industry and will allow Pacific Drilling equity holders to fully participate in that recovery. I would like to personally thank the entire Pacific Drilling team for their unwavering commitment to delivering safe, efficient and reliable services to our customers, and we look forward to working with Noble to successfully integrate the two companies."

Significant Value Creation Potential for Noble Shareholders and Pacific Drilling Equity Holders

Pacific Drilling's high specification UDW drillships are complementary to Noble's high specification fleet : The combined fleet will be one of the youngest and most technologically advanced fleets in the industry. The complementary nature of both drillship fleets will permit sharing of expertise, capital spares and equipment across the rigs. For example, both companies utilize the same original equipment manufacturers for engines, thrusters, well control and drilling equipment.

: The combined fleet will be one of the youngest and most technologically advanced fleets in the industry. The complementary nature of both drillship fleets will permit sharing of expertise, capital spares and equipment across the rigs. For example, both companies utilize the same original equipment manufacturers for engines, thrusters, well control and drilling equipment. Shared culture and commitment to operational excellence : Noble and Pacific Drilling both operate with a commitment to best-in-class safety performance and environmental stewardship. A key component of both companies' value proposition also includes delivering the most efficient and reliable drilling performance to the customer.

: Noble and Pacific Drilling both operate with a commitment to best-in-class safety performance and environmental stewardship. A key component of both companies' value proposition also includes delivering the most efficient and reliable drilling performance to the customer. Expansion of Noble's customer relationships and geographic footprint : The acquisition facilitates Noble's reentry into the growing West Africa and Mexico regions, and broadens its customer relationships. Given Noble's fully contracted drillship fleet, these additional assets will also allow participation in key drillship tendering activity.

: The acquisition facilitates Noble's reentry into the growing and regions, and broadens its customer relationships. Given Noble's fully contracted drillship fleet, these additional assets will also allow participation in key drillship tendering activity. Meaningful cost synergies : Noble expects to realize annual pre-tax cost synergies of at least $30 million , with the full amount of cost synergies being realized by the end of 2021.

: Noble expects to realize annual pre-tax cost synergies of at least , with the full amount of cost synergies being realized by the end of 2021. Strengthens balance sheet: Pacific Drilling will be acquired on a debt free basis and with approximately $30 million of anticipated cash and cash equivalents, after adjusting for certain anticipated transaction related expenses. Noble remains committed to maintaining a conservative balance sheet.

Noble  Customer Focused, Global Provider of High-Specification Rigs

Pro forma for the acquisition, Noble will own and operate a high specification fleet of 24 rigs, with 11 drillships, 1 semisubmersible, and 12 jackups. Additionally, Noble will have pro forma backlog of approximately $1.7 billion, split across a diverse set of customers and regions of operation. Noble remains focused on serving the needs of its customers and delivering best-in-class operational excellence that is consistent across all geographies.

No changes to Noble's Board of Directors or executive management team are anticipated as a result of the acquisition. Noble will continue to have its principal executive offices in Sugar Land, Texas.

Advisors

Ducera Partners LLC and DNB Markets, a part of DNB Bank ASA, are acting as financial advisors, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP is acting as legal advisor to Noble.

Houlihan Lokey Capital, Inc. is acting as financial advisor and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is acting as legal advisor to Pacific Drilling.

Conference Call

Noble has scheduled a conference call and webcast to discuss this transaction on Thursday, March 25, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. U.S. Central Time. Noble will not be hosting a question and answer session as part of this call. Interested parties are invited to listen to the call by dialing 1-877-680-4232, or internationally 1-647-689-5432, using access code: 3014907, or by asking for the Noble Corporation conference call. Interested parties may also listen over the Internet through a link posted in the Investor Relations section of Noble's Website, which will also include an investor presentation.

A replay of the conference call will be available on Thursday, March 25, 2021, beginning at 1:00 p.m. U.S. Central Time, through Saturday, April 24, 2021, ending at 11:00 p.m. U.S. Central Time. The phone number for the conference call replay is 1-800-585-8367, or for calls from outside of the U.S., 1-416-621-4642, using access code: 3014907. The replay will also be available on Noble's Website following the end of the scheduled call.

About Noble Corporation

Noble is a leading offshore drilling contractor for the oil and gas industry. Noble 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 .

About Pacific Drilling

With its best-in-class drillships and highly experienced team, Pacific Drilling is committed to exceeding its customers' expectations by delivering the safest, most efficient and reliable deepwater drilling services in the industry. Pacific Drilling's fleet of seven drillships represents one of the youngest and most technologically advanced fleets in the world. For more information about Pacific Drilling please visit its website at www.pacificdrilling.com.

Forward-looking Disclosure Statement

This communication includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this communication or in the documents incorporated by reference, including those regarding the proposed transaction, the benefits, expected synergies, and other expense savings and operational and administrative efficiencies, opportunities, timing, expense and effects of the transaction, and those regarding rig demand, the offshore drilling market, contract backlog, fleet status, the parties' future financial position, business strategy, liquidity, borrowings under the parties' credit facility or other instruments, sources of funds, future capital expenditures, contract commitments, contract commencements, extension or renewals, contract tenders, plans and objectives of management for future operations, industry conditions, access to financing, impact of competition, worldwide economic conditions, and timing for compliance with any new regulations are forward-looking statements. When used in this report, or in the documents incorporated by reference, the words "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "might," "plan," "project," "should," "shall" and "will" and similar expressions are intended to be among the statements that identify forward-looking statements. Although the parties believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, the parties cannot assure you that such expectations will prove to be correct. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this communication and neither party undertakes any obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement for any reason, except as required by law. The parties have identified factors, including, but not limited to, the risks and uncertainties inherent in the transaction, including, among other things, the ability to obtain requisite approvals relating to the acquisition, potential costs and difficulties related to integration, the possibility that anticipated synergies and other benefits of the transaction will not be realized in the amounts anticipated, within the expected timeframe or at all, delays, costs and difficulties related to the transaction, market conditions, the combined company's financial results and performance following the completion of the transaction, and the ability to satisfy closing conditions, as well as other factors including, but not limited to, the effects of the Chapter 11 Cases on Noble's, Pacific Drilling's or the combined company's liquidity or results of operations or business prospects, the effects of the Chapter 11 Cases on Noble's, Pacific Drilling's or the combined company's business and the interests of various constituents, the effects of public health threats, pandemics and epidemics, such as the recent and ongoing outbreak of COVID-19, and the adverse impact thereof on the parties' business, financial condition and results of operations (including but not limited to the parties' growth, operating costs, supply chain, availability of labor, logistical capabilities, customer demand for the parties' services and industry demand generally, the parties' liquidity, the price of the parties' securities and trading markets with respect thereto, the parties' ability to access capital markets, and the global economy and financial markets generally), the effects of actions by, or disputes among OPEC+ members with respect to production levels or other matters related to the price of oil, market conditions, factors affecting the level of activity in the oil and gas industry, supply and demand of drilling rigs, factors affecting the duration of contracts, the actual amount of downtime, factors that reduce applicable dayrates, operating hazards and delays, risks associated with operations outside the US, actions by regulatory authorities, credit rating agencies, customers, joint venture partners, contractors, lenders and other third parties, legislation and regulations affecting drilling operations, compliance with regulatory requirements, violations of anti-corruption laws, shipyard risk and timing, delays in mobilization of rigs, hurricanes and other weather conditions, and the future price of oil and gas, that could cause actual plans or results to differ materially from those included in any forward-looking statements. These factors include those "Risk Factors" referenced or described in Noble's most recent Form 10-K, Form 10-Q's, and other filings with the Commission. The parties cannot control such risk factors and other uncertainties, and in many cases, the parties cannot predict the risks and uncertainties that could cause the parties' actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements. You should consider these risks and uncertainties when you are evaluating us.

SOURCE Noble Corporation

Related Links

www.nobleenergyinc.com


The Russian Federation uses the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions as a testing ground for new weapons. The situation in the east remains tense and tends to worsen.

Commander of the Ukrainian Land Forces, Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrsky said this at a meeting with Turkish Minister of Defense, General Hulusi Akar and Commander of the Turkish Land Forces, General Umit Dundar during his visit to Turkey, according to the Facebook page of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine are opposing a terrorist group, which includes regular units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The situation remains tense and tends to aggravate. The aggressor uses the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions as a testing ground for new weapons. At the same time, despite the difficult situation, Ukraine has achieved significant success in equipping the Armed Forces with weapons and military equipment, Syrsky said.

During the meeting with Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar, Syrsky thanked him for the consistent political support for Ukraine, non-recognition of the occupation of Crimea, material, technical and financial assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and assistance in the treatment and rehabilitation of wounded servicemen of the Armed Forces.

During the meeting, they also discussed Ukraine's intention to join NATO.

We are interested in Turkeys further comprehensive support for our strategic course towards joining the North Atlantic Alliance, the commander of the Ukrainian Land Forces said.

As reported, Commander of the Ukrainian Land Forces, Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrsky is on a visit to the Republic of Turkey. The visit includes official events in Ankara and Istanbul. It will last until March 26.

ish
The PPP Extension Act of 2021 was passed by the US House of Representatives last week, extending Paycheck Protection Program loan applications from March 31 to May 31. The bill received overwhelming support from business groups and trade associations, passing 415-3. The bill is now making its way to the Senate, requiring 60 votes to pass.

House votes to extend PPP loan deadline

The bill to extend the PPP deadline has bipartisan support, but it faces several challenges. A coalition of Senate Republicans proposed a bill that restricts the Small Business Administration's ability to distribute PPP funds. According to Rollcall, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said, "We hope that the Senate will pass the bill easily, that no one will delay it." Schumer also promised that this week wouldn't end without passing the PPP loan extension, reassuring that they will complete the task once more.

Following the House passage of the PPP Extension Act, a group of almost 100 trade groups and chambers of commerce wrote to the bill's sponsors, thanking them for their "bicameral leadership and decisive bipartisan action."

"Nearly a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, the small business sector's continuing liquidity problems are acute," the letter states. "This is particularly true for those companies constrained by drastic capacity constraints and other vital health and safety protocols in place to protect the environment, customers, and employees from COVID-19."

Cuomo Family Receives Special Access To COVID-19 Testing, Report Claims

PPP loan extension now awaits in Senate

The National Association of the Remodeling Industry, the National Association of Home Builders, and the Associated General Contractors of America are among the organizations that signed the document, as per familyhandyman via MSN. They also listed some problems that continue to plague the PPP loan in the letter.

The House of Representatives passed a bill extending the deadline to apply for a PPP loan to May 31 by a virtually overwhelming vote as the new March 31 deadline approaches. "As of last week, over 30% of the allocated funds for this round of PPP is still available," said Mikel Williamson, president, and CEO of Happy State Bank.

Kamala Harris' Stance Before Joe Biden Puts Her In-Charge of Migrant Influx on US-Mexico Border

Small business groups have pushed the extension to allow lenders more flexibility to incorporate several improvements proposed to the scheme under the new administration. "One of the requirements of the March 31 deadline was that it be processed by that date. The deadline is May 31, but it only has to be filed by then," said Shane R. Groff, a company analyst at WTAMU's America's SBDC.

The SBA will have until June 30 to process applications under the bill. Since being mocked for encouraging larger banks and corporations to scoop up the majority of the initial contributions, the scheme has continued to change its policies and procedures to make funds more accessible to small businesses. These improvements, however, have resulted in a decline, News Channel 10 reported.

Joe Biden May Regret Passing the $1.9 Trillion Stimulus Bill, Realizes It Could Be Useful for Other Priorities

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

They are still present around Bratislava Castle, but others were demolished to allow the city to grow.

This article was published in Bratislava City Guide. With this detailed, pocket-sized guide, it is impossible to get lost in the Slovak capital.

In years past, only so-called royal towns enjoyed the privilege to have fortifications around them, and Pressburg obtained this right in 1297. The city walls encircled the relatively small area of the current Old Town, while the castle had its own fortification system.

However what initially helped the town to thrive behind the protection of thickstone walls and a moat later hampered its development. Finally Empress Maria Theresa ordered demolition of the city walls in 1775 to allow the town to grow.

Relatively little of the mediaeval fortification system remains today, including only one of the original four gates, St Michaels Tower, St Michaels Bridge, the barbican and the moat. The biggest section of preserved walls is next to St Martins Cathedral, whose facade used to form part of the fortification  the reason there is no entrance to the cathedral from this side.



Some city walls on the north side of the cathedral became the back walls of the houses in the Jewish quarter, meaning they survived until the 1960s. But they were eventually destroyed, along with the rest of the area, during the large-scale re-building of that era.

Opening hours:

The walls are an open site from May until September, Monday through Sunday.

Ticket prices:

Admission is free.

The City Walls (Hradby) Address: Uzka / Staromestska, Bratislava

Related article

Related article Bratislava travel guide: Lost in Bratislava? Impossible with this City Guide! Read more

25. Mar 2021 at 7:00 | Compiled by Spectator staff
Dr. Hans Maric has received one of the German Research Foundation's highly prestigious Emmy Noether awards, worth around 1.7 million euros.

He will use his biochip technology to study a so far unexplored group of brain proteins and determine their potential to cure so far untreatable mental diseases.

Dysfunctional nerve cell proteins are thought to underlie a large number of mental disorders. The involved proteins and their specialized tasks remain largely unexplored, rendering a targeted therapy impossible.

Dr. Hans Maric of the Rudolf Virchow Center for Integrative and Translational Bioimaging at the University of Wurzburg wants to use his biochip technology to explore the proteins that contribute to the maintenance and function of important nerve structures and determine their pharmacological potential.

Therapeutic options remain untapped

Targeted therapy for neuropsychiatric disorders requires the selective modulation of dysfunctional neuronal pathways. In contrast, currently used neuropharmaceutics act across different brain regions and neural circuits. This lack of precision results in severe side effects reduced efficacy and leaves a number of serious disorders untreatable.

1.7 million for a fundamentally new research approach

One of the main target proteins for brain active drugs is the group of so-called gamma-aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) receptors.

Since the drugs bind directly to the receptors across brain regions, they interfere with numerous different processes, thereby preventing their targeted use and resulting in severe side effects for the patients.

"Our approach is to think outside of the receptors and identify better drug targets," Maric explains. Accordingly, his focus is on receptor-associated proteins. These proteins are highly specific to different brain regions and even individual neuron types, which could allow targeted treatment of pathologically altered neurons.

The German Research Foundation (DFG) is now funding Maric's innovative research approach within the Emmy Noether Program.

Recent research by Maric in collaboration with the laboratory of Prof. Stephen Moss (Boston, USA) has shown that it is possible to influence GABAA receptors via the associated proteins with enhanced precision compared to conventional drugs. Mice with appropriately modified proteins are free of otherwise fatal neurological symptoms.

Interdisciplinary research in Germany, Denmark, and the U.S.

After studying chemistry in Wurzburg, Maric made a significant contribution to understanding the molecular architecture of inhibitory synapses in the human brain as part of his doctoral research at the Rudolf Virchow Center.

To determine not only the function but also the therapeutic value of protein complexes associated to the GABAA receptor, I joined the laboratory of Kristian Strmgaard, a pioneer for brain-active peptides at the Center for Biopharmaceuticals in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2012 as a Lundbeck Foundation fellow." Dr. Hans Maric, Rudolf Virchow Center for Integrative and Translational Bioimaging, University of Wurzburg

Supported by Danish research foundations, he explored a new class of brain-active molecules that exert their cell-specific effects via GABAA receptor-associated proteins.

After a stopover in the laboratory of Prof. Matthias Kneussel, at the Center for Molecular Neurobiology Hamburg of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Maric worked as Assistant Professor at the Center for Biopharmaceuticals from 2015.

Funding of the "Excellent Ideas Program" allowed him in 2018 to start at the Rudolf Virchow Center of University of Wurzburg setting-up a unique biophysical technology platform to explore protein interactions in the brain.

Biochip-based basic research for new brain active compounds

"I had realized that a number of still unknown proteins contribute crucially to the complex interconnection of our brain cells by binding to the receptors. Therefore, I was looking for a suitable high-throughput method to identify these proteins faster and to investigate them more effectively," says Maric.

As a solution, he developed a modern biochip-based method, benefiting from his training as a chemist. "Chemically synthesized fragments of the actual receptors are printed in a microarray format. The resulting microarrays allow us to elucidate the exact molecular functions of newly identified receptor-associated proteins," explains Maric.

The knowledge gained on the basis of the arrays contributed to answering fundamental questions about the structure and function of the brain and will now be used to develop new active substances and thus potential drugs.

"The funding in the Emmy Noether Program will enable us not only to clarify the contribution of these specialized proteins in the maintenance and function of synapses but also to determine their pharmaceutical potential," emphasizes Maric.

The Rudolf Virchow Center for Integrative and Translational Bioimaging is a central institution of the University of Wurzburg. The multidisciplinary research groups of the center are dedicated to the study of key proteins using state-of-the-art infrastructure.

This is done using sophisticated imaging techniques at all levels of biology and across the entire range of scales - from the atomic structure of proteins to individual cells to tissues in model organisms.
Drugmakers Serum Institute, Bharat Biotech told to boost Covid vaccine production

The central government has asked Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) and Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech to boost the manufacturing of their vaccines, ThePrint reported. Officials said there is "enough vaccine available" to inoculate the beneficiary groups but this move was needed to ramp up the vaccination coverage. This comes on the heels of the government's decision to form an inter-ministerial panel to increase the production of Covid-19 vaccines. Read more here

Over 10% of people in Kerala with Covid antibodies: Sero survey

The findings of a serosurvey carried out in Kerala last month show that an estimated 10.76 per cent of the state's population has already been exposed to the and have developed antibodies, a report in ThePrint said. The survey also said police personnel were particularly exposed to the virus, with 15.3 per cent of them having developed antibodies. The proportion of unidentified cases is much less in Kerala as compared to the national average. Kerala might have identified 1 out of 4 actual cases whereas the country as a whole might have identified and reported only 1 out of 30 actual cases. This shows the effort the state of Kerala is taking to identify the cases and declare the number transparently in public domain, the survey conducted by the state health department said. Read more here

variants of concern found in India: Govt

Coronavirus variants of concern and a novel variant have been found in India, according to the genome sequencing carried out by the Indian SARS-Cov-2 Consortium on Genomics (INSACOG), a group of 10 national laboratories, a report in The Quint said. "Though variants of concern and a new double mutant variant have been found in India, these have not been detected in numbers sufficient to either establish or direct relationship or explain the rapid increase in cases in some states. Genomic sequencing and epidemiological studies are continuing to further analyse the situation [sic]," the government said in a statement. Read more here

Holi amid coronavirus: What are the restrictions?



Many state governments have imposed fresh curbs to contain the resurgence in coronavirus infections in light of Holi and other upcoming festivals, a report in The Quint said. The public has been asked to maintain special vigilance and show due diligence. In Uttar Pradesh, no event or procession can be held without permission from administrative authorities. In Mumbai, the city's governing civic body has placed a blanket ban on public functions. Read more here

Bollywood stares at fresh financial woes amid surge in cases

\There is a sense of anxiety creeping back into Bollywood with shoots getting disrupted amid a resurgence in coronavirus cases, a report in Hindustan Times said. Several actors including Aamir Khan and Kartik Aaryan have tested positive forcing shoots to be put on hold. Typically, a film with a big budget directly translates into a bigger scope for loss when a shooting schedule gets disrupted, the report said. Read more here
Financial experts have called on the federal government to diversify the economy as well as support local production in order to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the country.

They were of the view that FDI and local investment are presently low in Nigeria.

The experts spoke recently at a webinar organised by the American Business Council (ABC), in partnership with Lagos Business School, where the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Article IV Consultation on Nigeria was the focus of discussion.

Although the experts noted that the ICT and agricultural sectors of the Nigerian economy are driving development in the country, despite the impact of COVId-19, they however called on the federal government

to develop policies that would help the country achieve a unified exchange rate.

They called on government to raise more revenue through taxes and to be more transparent on how monies generated from taxes were spent.

Mission Chief for Nigeria at International Monetary Fund, Jesmin Rahman, during her presentation, explained that although the Nigerian economy contracted in 2020, it is experiencing fast economic recovery due to activities in the ICT and agriculture sectors, even though there are still more opportunities for recovery.

"The agricultural sector is less affected by the impact of the COVID-19, because agriculture is subsistence and relatively dependent on supply chain.

"In 2020, while agriculture grew by 2.2 per cent, the rest of the economy contracted by 2.4 per cent. In the last five years to 10 years, agriculture grew by 3.2 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively.

"The ICT sector has also been a growing sector, helping to grow the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Nigeria in the past years. But even at these, Nigeria needs a robust economy that will create jobs for its citizens," Rahman said.

Rahman said increased revenue mobilisation and better exchange rates remain key to quick economy recovery of Nigeria.

According to her, Nigeria remained the largest country on the African continent with huge potential and should not be seen to be having a parallel exchange rate.

Chief Economist for Africa at JP Morgan, Mr. Ayomide Mejabi, who also spoke on the recovery path of the Nigerian economy, said a significant part of the economy may not recover fast because most people now work from home.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Investment Business Nigeria By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

While speaking on exchange rates in the country, Mejabi said although JP Morgan does not canvass for a single exchange rate for Nigeria, he advised that the different exchange rates should be streamlined to about two.

He said the current situation in the Nigerian financial sector, where there are different exchange rates, does not show clarity for new and existing businesses in the country.

He stressed the need for structural reforms and increase in the country's revenue mobilisation, and ensure that people pay taxes across all levels.

Also, the Chief Executive Officer/Executive Secretary, American Business Council, Margaret Olele, said policy inconsistency was already affecting business in Nigeria, adding that government must come with clear policy formulation to streamline foreign exchange rates in Nigeria.

The Practice Head for Africa, Eurasia Group, Amaka Anku, who spoke on export diversification, said: "Nigeria does not produce or manufacture products for export outside of oil, and so there is no demand for the naira.

"The reason why FDI has been dropping in Nigerian, is because Nigeria is a mono economy relying only on oil for export.

"So there is need to diversify Nigeria's export in order to boost local investment and to grow the country's FDI."
SAGINAW, MI  Did a Saginaw man defend his home when he fatally shot a potential intruder? Or did he wantonly murder his neighbor while she was outside his home?

Those are the competing theories presented by attorneys during a preliminary examination for 37-year-old Calvin Joshua Jr., who is charged with open murder and felony firearm. The hearing took place the morning of Thursday, March 25, before Saginaw County District Judge A.T. Frank.

Saginaw County Assistant Prosecutor Melissa J. Hoover began the hearing by calling Saginaw Police Officer Alex Mawer to the stand. Mawer testified that in the early morning hours of Oct. 9, he responded to a reported shooting at 2017 Delaware St., a duplex in which Joshua resides in half of.

Mawer arrived to find 48-year-old Stacey D. Johnson outside Joshuas home, lying on her back in a pool of blood under a window. Joshua was at the scene and told police he had shot the woman, adding the gun he used was in the trunk of his vehicle, Mawer said.

Mr. Joshua advised me that he had heard some footsteps on the outside of his house and that he heard noises on the roof of his house, Mawer said. He advised that he thought he heard a window breaking on the northside of the venue. He said that his blinds were broken there so he could partially see out of the window and that he could see somebody wearing a red shirt and he thought his house was being broken into so he shot out the window approximately five to six times.

Joshua did not indicate the person outside his home had said anything, Mawer said. He also said the person had not actually gained entry to his house, Mawer said.

Hoover asked Mawer what Joshua told him he did after the shooting.

He advised me that after he fired the five to six shots out the window that he observed a female laying on the ground, that he did not recognize her, Mawer said. He got scared, so he went to the Genesee Street Market where he purchased a Black & Mild and then he called his mother, advised her what happened, and after talking to his mother, he had called 911.

Police found three spent .22-caliber shell casings inside Joshuas home, near the window he had fired through, Mawer said.

Under cross-examination by defense attorney Alan A. Crawford, Mawer said Johnson was not wearing shoes when police arrived on scene. Joshua also told Mawer he had seen a woman in his backyard a few days before the shooting.

He fired those shots while protecting his home from a possible intruder, correct? Crawford asked Mawer.

He did not say those exact words, Mawer said.

After Mawer stepped down, Michigan State Police Detective Trooper Peter Oskvarek took the witness stand. He said investigators determined Johnson lived at 2009 Delaware St., the only residence between hers and Joshuas being the unoccupied half of Joshuas duplex.

Oskvarek said he interviewed Joshua at the Saginaw Police Department within a few hours of the shooting, which occurred around 1:30 a.m.

He informed me that several days prior to the shooting he had been hearing noises, Oskvarek said. He said it sounded like footsteps could have been coming from possibly the roof or the attic or just next door. He also indicated he had seen a white female leaving his backyard as he was pulling up to his residence when he was coming home from work. He said she was carrying a small dog and shaking and he thought that was suspicious.

Joshua said he was sleeping when the noises awoke him just before the shooting, Oskvarek said.

He said initially that the noises were like footsteps, loud thumping, followed by a light tapping, Oskvarek said. He wasnt sure if it was coming from inside his house or not, so thats when he grabbed his firearm.

Joshua said he took his .22-caliber rifle and went through his house to make sure no one was inside. He then looked out his kitchen window, saw a red shirt, and opened fire, Oskvarek said.

Joshua told police he did not know Johnson, Oskvarek said. After the shooting, Joshua was gone from his home for about a half-hour, calling relatives before calling 911, Oskvarek said.

Crawford asked Oskvarek if he has worked home invasion cases in which a burglar cases a house before committing a break-in. The detective replied that he has.

Inside Johnsons house, police found a small dog, medication prescribed to her, an empty fifth of Crown Royal, and a shoe matching one found in a storm drain between hers and Joshuas residences, Oskvarek said. Investigators never learned why Johnson was shoeless when they found her, but it appeared she had left her residence with only one shoe on, Oskvarek said.

We do know she was going through some mental health issues, correct? Crawford asked.

Correct, the detective replied.

A toxicology report indicated Johnson had quite a lot in her system on this particular day, Crawford said. Among the psychotropic medication in Johnsons system quetiapine, an antipsychotic used to treat mental and mood conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and sudden episodes of mania or depression, Crawford said.

Johnson also had fluoxetine in her system, a drug that Crawford said can create confusion, difficultly in concentrating, and memory problems. Asked if he was aware of these side effects, Oskvarek said he was not.

Another drug found in Johnsons system was trazodone, which Crawford said has a side effect of increased risk of suicidal ideation and behavior. Other substances found in Johnsons system are used to treat opiate withdrawal and epilepsy, Crawford said.

We have a woman who is outside of her home at 1 oclock in the morning with no shoes on and theres no investigation into why she might have been out there? Crawford asked Oskvarek

The detective replied that investigators followed up with Johnsons family, adding they did not have the toxicology report at the time.

After Oskvarek finished testifying, Hoover asked the judge to bind Joshuas case over to Circuit Court for trial. She said that while Crawford appeared to be mounting a Castle Doctrine defense  which allows residents to use lethal force to protect themselves from intruders  the matter should be decided by a jury. Crawford objected to the bind over, saying the prosecution had not met its burden of establishing probable cause that Joshua had any intent to kill Johnson.

This is a justified killing, Crawford said. You have the right to protect your home. This is one of the most safely guarded things that we have in our Constitution, the home. He felt somebody was breaking in and he protected his home.

Judge Frank ruled in the prosecutions favor and bound Joshuas case over to the higher court. Joshuas next court date is pending.

Read more:

Man charged with murder in fatal shooting of Saginaw woman

Saginaw woman shot, killed outside home on citys West Side

Man with 0.345 blood alcohol level charged in crashed that killed Standish-area father, husband
For the first time, federal prosecutors have released communications revealing that members of the far-right Oath Keepers, Proud Boys and III Percenters militia groups coordinated and communicated ahead of the January 6 siege on the Capitol.

Arguing against a request for release from pretrial detention, federal prosecutors on Tuesday released partial communication logs between previously indicted Florida Oath Keeper leader Kelly Meggs and an unnamed individual. The logs reveal that nearly a month before the assault on the Capitol, Oath Keeper members were planning to overturn the election through violent force with fellow fascist groups.

Anthony Aguero and Marjorie Taylor-Greene

According to government documents, in a December 19, 2020 message, Meggs boasted this week I organized an alliance between Oath Keepers, Florida 3%ers, and Proud Boys. We have decided to work together and shut this sh*t down.

Three days later Meggs wrote another message to the unnamed person, Contact with [Proud Boys] and they always have a big group. Force multiplier. Discussing coordinated plans to fight with possible counter-protesters on January 6 Meggs wrote, I figure we could splinter off the main group of [Proud Boys] and come up behind them. F*cking crush them for good.

In messages allegedly sent between December 22 and December 25, Meggs recruited another person to join him in Washington D.C. on January 6. He informed the unnamed person that he had been named State lead of Florida today and advised the new recruit on the provisions list for the attack on the Capitol, which included mace, gas mask, baton and a plate carrier.

In the social media messages, Meggs elaborated on the violence he foresaw for January 6: We are gonna march with them for awhile (sic) then fall back to the back of the crowd and turn off. Then we will have the Proud Boys get in front of them, the cops will get between antifa and Proud Boys. We will come in behind antifa and beat the hell out of them.

Echoing statements made by Republican county officials in the aftermath of the coup attempt, in a December 26 message Meggs allegedly wrote, Trumps staying in, hes gonna use the emergency broadcast system on cell phones to broadcast to the American people. Then he will claim the insurrection act.

In a follow-up message, Meggs added, ...wait for the 6th when we are all in DC to insurrection. On January 3, Meggs wrote to the same contact that he expected 200+ to be in DC and that he expected Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act while ...Pence announced he is going to allow the evidence to be presented to Congress. That checks all the boxes. I think this is why we were called there. Anything less would be a terrible mistake. The natives are restless.

Meggs added, Tell your friend this isnt a rally!! Be very very cautious.

The court documents also allege that between December 12, 2020 and January 3, 2021, Meggs organized and participated in approximately 10 online meetings, using GoToMeeting, that were affiliated with the Oath Keepers. Using the handle Gator 1, Meggs participated in meetings that were named dc planning call, florida dc op planning chat and SE leaders DC 1/6/21 op call.

Demonstrating the ongoing threat that Meggs represents, prosecutors also released messages from a Signal text he sent in the late afternoon of January 6.

Ok who gives a damn who went in there... We are now the enemy of the State, wrote Meggs. An hour later in the same chat he wrote, We arent quitting!! We are reloading!!

Meggs, 52, along with his wife Connie, 59, were among nine members of the fascistic Oath Keepers militia to be charged with conspiracy in February. The group was seen in multiple videos wearing military gear and moving in a stack military formation up the Capitol steps in order to break into the Capitol and obstruct Congress from certifying the election of Joe Biden as president.

So far, at least 20 members of the Proud Boys and 13 members of the Oath Keepers have been charged with crimes related to the assault on the Capitol. In an CBS interview that aired earlier this week, outgoing acting US Attorney for the District of Columbia MIchael Sherwin said that roughly 10 percent of the over 400 cases pertaining to the siege on the Capitol involved Oath Keepers, Three Percenters, Proud Boys and that they did have a plan.

It is a fact that far-right militia groups such as the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys, the latter of which Trump infamously told to stand back and stand by, are teeming with current and former police and military members as well government informants and agent provocateurs.

The fact that leaders of these groups, such as Meggs, used monitored platforms such as Facebook to discuss their violent plans underscores the complicity of intelligence agencies such as the FBI in the coup attempt. It is impossible that neither the FBI, nor any of the 18 other US intelligence agencies, with their thousands of intelligence professionals and multibillion-dollar budgets, did not know that an attack perpetrated by violent right-wing militias on the Congress was imminent.

Even though the leader of the Oath Keepers, Stewart Rhodes, was seen on the Capitol grounds on January 6 and has been named in several court documents directing the groups actions that day, including as recently as Wednesday, Rhodes, a Yale Law School graduate and former Army paratrooper, has yet to be charged.

In a separate series of messages released by prosecutors on Wednesday, indicted Oath Keepers Donovan Crowl and Jessica Watkins discussed their actions on January 6 and developed plans to hide out in the Kentucky mountainside should they fail to stop the inauguration of the usurper Biden.

The messages also detail further involvement by a Person One, who has been identified in previous court documents as Rhodes.

The documents discuss the first MAGA rally held in Washington D.C. on November 14, 2020. Rhodes is named in the documents as having organized a QRF for the event, which in Rhodes words consisted of our most skilled special warfare veterans standing by armed, just outside DC, as an emergency QRF in the event of a worst case scenario in DC (such as a Benghazi style assault on the White House by communist terrorists, in conjunction with stand-down orders by traitor generals.)

This tracks with comments Rhodes made during a November 10 appearance on the fascistic InfoWars program with Alex Jones, in which he claimed, we have men already stationed outside D.C. as a nuclear option in case they attempt to remove the president illegally, we will step in and stop it.

While there is no doubt that fascist militias led the charge on the Capitol and that prosecutors have charged hundreds of the foot soldiers, the actual organizers of the Stop the Steal rallies, Representatives Andy Biggs, Paul Gosar of Arizona and Mo Brooks of Alabama, have not been charged, despite the fact that they enjoy close relations with the aforementioned fascist groups.

In another revelation, CNN confirmed on Wednesday that a close associate of Georgia Republican lawmaker and QAnon conspiracy theorist Marjorie Taylor Greene, conservative live-streamer and influencer Anthony Aguero, was inside the Capitol on January 6.

CNN had previously reported that Aguero was on the Capitol grounds but did not confirm if he had entered the building. Footage reviewed by CNN has confirmed that he did break into the Capitol.

Aguero was also with Greene at the same Washington D.C. November 14 MAGA rally. Greene gave a speech at the event and was photographed walking off the stage with Aguero.

In a video taken while Aguero was outside the Capitol, Aguero states, A message was sent. These politicians are not going to continue to get away with the abuse as theyve been doing. We will continue to press on these individuals.
By David French and Anirban Sen

(Reuters) - Robinhood Markets Inc is building a platform to "democratize" initial public offerings (IPOs), including its own, that would allow users of its trading app to snap up shares alongside Wall Street funds, according to people familiar with the matter.

The move could further erode Wall Street's grip on stock market flotations. It would be easier to implement for Robinhood's own IPO, given how companies and their investment bankers tightly control allocations to investors in new listings.

Currently, Robinhood users and other amateur traders cannot buy into stock of a newly listed company until its shares start trading. Since shares often trade higher when they debut, big funds that get allocations in the IPO have an advantage. The average first-day trading pop on U.S. listings of businesses in 2020 was 36%, according to data provider Dealogic.

Robinhood plans to carve out a chunk of its shares on offer in its IPO for its 13 million users, and to use technology it is building to administer this part of the offering, the sources said.

While Robinhood's technology would be new, the concept of reserving shares for users is not. Deliveroo Holdings Plc, the Amazon.com Inc-backed food delivery firm that announced plans this month to list in London, is doing this, although a third-party provider is administering the process.

More novel are Robinhood's ambitions to let users directly buy into IPOs of other companies. It would need to negotiate agreements with companies and their brokerages and get the blessing of U.S. regulators, the sources said. Robinhood could have leverage in these negotiations by arguing it would be acting as a bridge between the IPO and a major pool of investor demand, the sources added.

It was not clear what kind of arrangements Robinhood would seek to put in place, and no certainty its ambition will come to fruition, said the sources, who requested anonymity because the matter is confidential. Robinhood declined comment.

Story continues

Providing access to IPOs could boost Robinhood's appeal with users, some of whom criticized it over restrictions it placed on trading of heavily shorted "meme stocks" such as GameStop Corp following a Reddit-driven buying frenzy earlier this year. Robinhood said its clearinghouse forced it to place the curbs because it lacked sufficient capital to settle the trades.

The move could also boost Robinhood's valuation in its own IPO, as the offering would price in additional demand for the shares that would normally have come through only after the stock market debut.

On Tuesday, Robinhood announced it had confidentially filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for its IPO. While the company has yet to disclose details, the offering could happen in coming weeks and value Robinhood at up to $50 billion, the sources said.

Robinhood's plans to let amateur traders buy into IPOs represent the latest attempt by Silicon Valley firms to disrupt the traditional IPO. A number of companies, including Slack Technologies and Palantir Technologies Inc, have listed directly without using investment bankers.

The move would antagonize Wall Street, which is accustomed to getting big allocations in IPOs. Fund giants such as BlackRock Inc and State Street Corp have argued they are better owners of companies than day-traders, because they stick with companies for the long run.

The Menlo Park, California-based company was founded in 2013 by Baiju Bhatt and Vladimir Tenev with the aim of "democratizing finance", by giving people access to markets normally dominated by professional investors.

Backed by investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Ribbit Capital and 9Yards Capital, its platform allows users to make unlimited commission-free trades in stocks, exchange-traded funds, options and cryptocurrencies.

(Reporting by David French in New York and Anirban Sen in Bangalore; Editing by David Gregorio)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 00:38:04|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

SINGAPORE, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Singapore announced here Wednesday easing a slew of preventive measures against COVID-19 while further expands the local vaccination program.

Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a press release that infection of COVID-19 was kept under control with local community cases remaining low at around two per week in the past month.

Starting from March 24, local residents aged 45 to 59 years old can register their interest for the vaccination. Once there are vacant slots available for booking, the applicants will be notified.

Singapore began vaccinating seniors aged 70 years and above since Feb. 22, which was followed by seniors aged 60 to 69 years-old. As of March 23, more than 799,000 individuals have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

In another development, up to 75 percent of local employees can return to their workplace, up from the current 50 percent, which will become effective on April 5.

"We will shift from working-from-home as a default to a more flexible and hybrid way of working," the MOH said.

Moreover, the current cap on the time an employee spends at the workplace will also be lifted, but employers should continue to stagger start times and implement flexible working hours where possible.

From April 24, the limit for marriage solemnisations and wedding receptions will be increased from the current 100 to 250 attendees, in zones or timeslots of up to 50 attendees each. For solemnisation-only events involving more than 100 attendees, pre-event testing will be required for the wedding couple. When there are more than 100 attendees at wedding receptions, pre-event testing for all attendees will be required.

Live performances at designated venues will be allowed to have up to 750 attendees if they implement pre-event testing, or to have up to 250 attendees if they do not implement pre-event testing.

Singapore Wednesday reported 15 new COVID-19 cases, all being imported ones. Enditem
Guwahati, March 26 : In the run up to the five states' elections, the double face of the BJP has been completely exposed on the issue of Citizenship (Amendment) Act -- CAA, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said here on Thursday.

Baghel said that in West Bengal, Home Minister Amit Shah claimed that if the BJP government is formed, then the CAA will be passed in the first Cabinet meeting and it will be implemented at once in the state while the BJP leaders in Tamil Nadu are saying that CAA would not be enforced under any circumstances there.

"The BJP leaders have been completely silent on the issue of CAA in Assam. Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal is silent... Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is quiet. Prime Minister Narendra Modi remained silent on this issue during the election campaign and Shah also avoided the issue in each of his speech in election rallies," said Baghel, who is campaigning for the Congress in Assam for the past one month.

Interacting with the media, Baghel said that former Congress president Rahul Gandhi has time and again announced that his party would not allow CAA to be enforced in Assam, under any circumstances.

"Among the five guarantees given by the Congress, we have promised that rigorous attempts will be made by the party to repeal this law that threatens to divide people," the Chief Minister said.

Assam Congress leaders also condemned the statement of Amit Shah that there were no protests in Assam in the last five years.

"Shah wants to simply obliterate the anti-CAA uprising that happened in Assam. He wants to deny the existence of those young boys like Sam Strafford and Dipanjol who lost their lives in police firing by Sonowal police force. What can be more unfortunate for the people of Assam than this? "None of the BJP leaders neither had the time nor the empathy to visit the family of the anti-CAA movement martyrs whereas our leader Rahul Gandhi visited Hatigaon and Chaygaon to share the pain with their parents," a Congress party statement said.

The Congress, which was in power in Assam for 15 consecutive years (2001-2016) has formed a 10-party 'Mahajot' (grand alliance) with three Left parties - CPI (M), CPI and CPI (ML) -- along with the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), the Anchalik Gana Morcha, Bodo People's Front, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) along with two community-based parties - Jimochayan (Deori) People's Party (JDPP) and Adivasi National Party (ANP).

The 126-member Assam Assembly will go to the polls in three phases on March 27 (47 seats), April 1 (39 seats) and April 6 (40 seats).

The results will be declared on May 2.
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.
MPs will review all the levies imposed on petroleum and its products in the next budget in an attempt to make it cheaper and accessible.

The Energy Committee of the National Assembly at a virtual meeting with Petroleum Principal Secretary Andrew Kamau and Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority acting CEO Daniel Kiptoo was unanimous that the high fuel prices have made life unbearable for a majority of Kenyans.

Nakuru Town East MP David Gikaria, who chairs the committee, noted that other than the Finance Bill 2021, the committee also plans to review the legal notice of 2010 on the energy (petroleum pricing regulations) which governs the current regime of petroleum pricing in the country.

"We should avoid posting on Twitter to complain before Kenyans yet we have the solutions here," said Mr Gikaria. "We need to speed up as a committee to review these levies so that life does not become unbearable to Kenyans," Mr Gikaria said.

The Finance Bill is enacted annually and provides a legal tax regime to finance the country's budget passed every year.

A breakdown of the taxes and levies in Kenya as at March 2021 shows that Excise duty tax on petrol attracted Sh21.95 per litre, Sh11.37 per litre for diesel and Sh11.37 per litre for kerosene.

Road maintenance levy is charged at Sh18.00 per litre for petrol and diesel, with kerosene exempted.

Petroleum development levy is Sh5.40 per litre for petrol and Sh0.40 per litre for kerosene.

The other levies include petroleum regulatory levy, railway development levy, anti-adulteration levy, merchant shipping levy, import declaration fee levy and value added tax.

VAT is Sh9.10 per litre of petrol and Sh7.97 and Sh7.25 per litre respectively for diesel and kerosene.

"Parliament needs to go on a soul searching to save Kenyans from exploitative prices. You cannot compare the prices with the region yet a majority of our neighbours use our port," Gem MP Elisha Odhiambo, a member of the committee, said.

A document presented to the committee by Mr Kiptoo shows that for the period January to March 2021, the tax regime on fuel in Kenya was the highest in the East African region.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 19:34:25|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

HONG KONG, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong's Center for Health Protection (CHP) reported nine additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, taking the total tally to 11,428.

The new cases included four local infections that were linked with previously confirmed cases. This is the first time in more than four months that no cases of unknown origin were recorded in Hong Kong. The five imported cases were from the Philippines, India and Pakistan, according to the CHP.

According to the Hospital Authority, 191 COVID-19 patients are currently being treated in public hospitals and the North Lantau Hospital Hong Kong Infection Control Center, and 10 patients are in critical condition. Enditem
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
MIAMI  Four years after a Miami teacher was imprisoned in Cuba on espionage charges, her family is pleading with President Joe Bidens administration to intervene, saying the jailed Cuban American, Alina Lopez Miyares, has kidney problems and is not receiving treatment.

Lopez Miyares 93-year-old mother, also named Alina Miyares, said her daughter is innocent, and she fears dying without seeing her daughter again. Lopez Miyares father died two years ago while she was in prison.

The pain that a mother feels does not compare with anything, said Lopez Miyares mother. She is hoping she will have better luck reuniting with her daughter with the new Biden administration and blames the Unites States hostile policy toward Cuba for complicating her daughters case.

Lopez Miyares, 61, was charged with espionage and sentenced in 2017 to 13 years in prison by a military court in Cuba.

Her husband, Felix Martin Milanes Fajardo  a former Cuban official assigned to the Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations  was sentenced to 17 years.

Lopez Miyares is accused of serving as a link between her husband and the FBI and CIA. The court alleged she was channeling information in exchange for political asylum for her husband and his relatives.

Image: picture of Alina Lopez Miyares (Carmen Sesin / NBC News)

Cuba has denied Lopez Miyares U.S. consular visits because its government considers anyone born in Cuba to be a Cuban national and does not recognize dual citizenship once they step foot on the island.

Lopez Miyares was born in Cuba and became a U.S. naturalized citizen after she fled the island with her family when she was 9 years old.

Her family and her Washington, D.C., attorney, Jason Poblete, have been demanding she have access to U.S. consular visits. If granted, it would allow American diplomats to get Lopez Miyares much needed medicine. U.S. sanctions and the coronavirus pandemic have ravaged Cubas economy and led to a shortage of food, medicine and basic goods on the island.

Image: Alina Lopez Miyares (Alina Lopez Miyares)

Consular visits would also give diplomats direct access to information they could bring up in discussions with their counterparts at Cubas foreign ministry.

Story continues

Lopez Miyares mother had been making monthly trips to Cuba to visit her daughter and supply her with food and medicine in prison, but she fell over a year ago and has been unable to travel since.

Poblete said he has been working seamlessly with the Biden administration since the transition. He said both the National Security Council and the State Department are concerned for Lopez Miyares well-being and are figuring out ways to help her.

Cuba should take notice that the release of Americans unlawfully detained, such as Alina, is a priority of the Biden administration, Poblete said.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a call in February with families of loved ones held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad. A State Department press release said that during the call Blinken said their family members are a top priority in our diplomatic engagements with both allies and adversaries.

A State Department spokesperson would not comment on Lopez Miyares case, citing privacy reasons, but said the welfare and safety of U.S. citizens abroad is one of the highest priorities of the Department of State.

Cubas embassy in Washington, D.C., did not respond to a request for comment.

Poblete said Lopez Miyares is now in a work camp where she teaches English to other prisoners, who have nicknamed her La Americana.

According to the family, Lopez Miyares met her husband, Milanes Fajardo, in the early 2000s during a trip to New York. The couple later married in Cuba, where he lived. Lopez Miyares continued living and working as a teacher in Miami public schools, while making trips to Havana to visit her husband. During a trip in 2017, she was detained by authorities.

U.S.-Cuba relations deteriorated under former President Donald Trump after the two counties had previously re-established diplomatic ties. Trump imposed harsh sanctions, limited travel and placed Cuba on the list of state sponsors of terrorism just before leaving office.

A White House spokeswoman recently said that while the administration is reviewing Trumps last-minute designation, a broader shift in policy is not currently among Bidens top priorities.

Poblete recorded a message from Lopez Miyares during a telephone call from prison in February where she said: Please help me. Please help me. Im innocent. ... Ive been wrongly accused.

Her message for Biden was: I am very proud of you and the vice president, and I really, really want to go home. Thats all I want to do. And congratulations once again.

From her Miami Beach apartment, Lopez Miyares mother said, I think Biden is going to do a better job and bring my daughter home.

Follow NBC Latino on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Man killed by truck as shack dwellers block roads with burning tyres and toilets

Angry shack dwellers blocked busy Cape Town roads with burning tyres and chemical toilets on Wednesday.

They were complaining that the City of Cape Town had warned them they must leave the land they are occupying.

Police fired rubber bullets and teargas.

Police said a man thought to be a protester had been killed by a truck.

A man was killed by a truck and police fired rubber bullets and teargas to disperse hundreds of angry shack dwellers during protests in Cape Town on Wednesday. The protesters blocked Old Paarl Road and nearby streets with burning tyres, chemical toilets and tree branches near Bloekombos High School in Cape Town on Wednesday.

Gunshots rang out. Each time the protesters dispersed, only to come together again and light fires on the busy road.

The protesters came from newly established informal settlements in Wallacedene and Bloekombos.

When we arrived at midday, protesters were busy stripping a truck which had been torched earlier near Leboheme Street in Wallacedene.

Bloekombos High School teachers and learners were standing outside their classrooms and watching the protest.

"We are all out of our classrooms because the police teargas chokes us," said Vuyo Duna.

He said the teargas forced teachers to halt learning and teaching at about 10:30 today.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines South Africa Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"Teachers struggled to come to work because of the road blockage. The protesters stoned a car belonging to one of our colleagues," he said.

Police spokesperson Andre Traut said public order police had been deployed to Malibu village and Wallacedene in Kraaifontein. He said a "suspected male protester who is yet to be identified" had been killed when he was struck by a truck. "The circumstances surrounding the culpable homicide case are under investigation."

"In Malibu Village a case of public violence has been registered after a bus has been set alight, and suspects are yet to be arrested," Traut said.

Protester Ziyanda Mbuthuma said the shack dwellers were protesting because the City of Cape Town had sent them a court order saying that they must leave the City's land (we have a copy of the order).

"We are angry that the City wants to take its land back. Where will we stay? We don't even work," she said.

"We want the City to install toilets, electricity and water taps instead of telling us to vacate the land," she said.

Spokesperson for the Western Cape Education Department Bronagh Hammond said, "We appeal to communities to consider the rights of learners when protesting. They too have a basic right to education, and have lost valuable teaching time due to the pandemic."

Questions sent to the City of Cape Town had not been answered at the time of publication.
Kolkata: As per the election commission's announcement, the first phase of voting for the West Bengal Assembly elections 2021 will begin from Saturday (March 27). West Bengal is witnessing intense political fight between BJP, TMC and other parties ahead of the first phase of assembly elections, in which 30 constituencies will go for polling.

March 25, Thursday, marks the last day of campaigning for the first phase of voting and all the political parties are gearing up for putting in the final effort ahead of the voting. The citizens of West Bengal are embracing for over a dozen rallies and public meetings on the last day of campaigning.

The star campaigners for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) include Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty and UP CM Yogi Adityanath. Whereas, on the other hand, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is holding her ground tight for TMC, along with her nephew Abhishek Banerjee.

The Union Home Minister is scheduled to address over five rallies in the poll-bound state today. Shah will address a rally in Purulia in the morning, followed by Jhargram, Tamluk, Turki Math Bishnupur and Bishnupur in the afternoon.

The Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will also address public meetings in West Bengal to boost the prospects of BJP candidates in the upcoming state assembly elections. He will address public meetings in Joypur, Taldangra and Kakdwip assembly constituencies.

"I shall be in West Bengal tomorrow (on Thursday) to address public meetings in Joypur, Taldangra and Kakdwip assembly constituencies," Singh tweeted on Wednesday.

Heading to West Bengal to address election meetings in Joypur, Taldangra and Kakdwip assembly constituencies. Looking forward to it. @BJP4Bengal  Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) March 25, 2021

The BJPs campaigners list also includes the name of Uttar Pradesh CM, Yogi Adityanath who will be addressing three public meetings in the state, including a rally in Nandigram. Additionally, veteran actor and fairly new BJP leader, Mithun Chakraborty will also be taking out four road shows in the poll-bound state. The veteran actor will be campaigning for the party from 9 in the morning to late evening.

On the other hand, guarding the ground for TMC in the state, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee will hold four shows herself. The CM will be seen in Sagar Islands and Patharpratima in the morning, Dantan and Medinapur in the evening. Mamata Banerjees nephew, Abhishek Banerjee will also be seen holding three rallies ahead of the state assembly elections in the state, starting from Bandwan, followed by Baghmundi and finally Diamond Harbour.

The assembly elections in West Bengal are scheduled to be held in eight phases. The voting for phase 1 for 30 constituencies will take place on March 27, voting for phase 2 for 30 constituencies will be held on April 1.

The polling for phase 3 for 31 seats will take place on April 6, for phase 4 for 44 constituencies on April 10, for phase 5 for 45 constituencies on April 17, for phase 6 for 43 constituencies on April 22, for phase 7 for 36 constituencies on April 26 and for phase 8 for 35 constituencies on April 29.

Live TV
Even in South Florida, where family fraud cases are commonplace, its rare that several members of a family go to prison quite like Davies Ana Cummings, her children and a son-in-law.

As the six guilty pleas attest, the group collaborated to defraud multiple banks on a combined 10 real estate transactions. Theyre now all headed to federal prison, with Cummings sentence on Monday completing the set after each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

Cummings, 61, got two years and three months in prison and paid $1,342,928 in restitution, the exact same sentence as her 43-year-old daughter Grace Pazmino, also of Davie. Miami daughter Diana Pazmino, 31, received one year, 10 months hard time and coughed up $1,201,531 in restitution. Cummings son Valentin Pazmino, 34, got two years and three months prison time, paying out $1,173,249 in restitution. Cummings son in Hialeah, 36-year-old Rene Pazmino, took a year and a half prison sentence along with an order to hand over $347,403 in restitution; Graces husband, Jared Marble, 43, got one year, four months and was forced to shell out $371,818 in restitution.

The defendants made a full payment of the restitution judgment prior to their sentencings, the Justice Department said.

Short sale shenanigans

As detailed in the proffer statement  the admission of facts with a guilty plea  the scheme they ran from May 2012 through June 2015 was simple.

In reality, the sales were between and among the defendants, companies controlled by the defendants and/or individuals recruited by a defendant to participate in the fraud scheme, the admission states. They told the banks via affidavits that each of the 10 short sales  sales in which the sale price is less than the mortgage owed  were between unrelated parties.

They also created faux HUD-1 settlement statements, which fabricated that the buyer made the necessary cash-to-close payment. So, lenders authorized property sales for amounts less than the outstanding principal balances due on mortgages they held on the properties, thereby incurring losses.

Story continues

A Fort Lauderdale doctor got $15,000 a month in disability. Then, he began dealing meth

He bilked Medicare, feds say, and buried $2.5 million in pipes under Miami bedroom closet

A Hialeah Gardens tax preparer tried to pull a $2.3 million COVID loan fraud, feds say
I think it is very difficult to persuade the UK population to sit at home, or holiday at home when everybody's been vaccinated"

Ryanair PLC ( ) is to fly 80% of its schedule over the summer holiday period due to the success of the UK vaccination programme, chief executive Michael OLeary said today.

The Ireland-based airline said it had seen a surge in bookings from Germany and the UK for the summer and especially during July, August and September.

I think it is very difficult to persuade the UK population to sit at home, or holiday at home when everybody's been vaccinated," he said in an interview.

OLeary also said that people who dont want to fly on a 737-Max will be able to wait until a flight that isnt one of the Boeing planes.

Ryanair is one of the biggest advocates of the troubled aircraft, which has just been allowed to fly again after being grounded for almost 24 months after two fatal crashes.

The airline boss said he expects to receive 16 737-Maxes by the summer, compared to an original forecast of 24 given in February, with eight to arrive in each of April and in May but none now in June.

OLearys optimism over summer flights is in contrast with the UK government, which has been attempting to rein back travel hopes on fears that the third wave of coronavirus infections spreading across Europe might be brought back to the UK.

A clampdown on attempting to travel on holiday ahead of the roadmap to recovery timetable was announced yesterday by the UK authorities with fines of 5,000 for anyone caught leaving the country without a reasonable excuse.

British Airways cancelled hundreds of flights scheduled for this summer following the fine announcement and fears that many more countries will be placed on the travel red-list due to the third wave of infections.

Boris Johnsons recovery road map envisages air travel resuming on May 17 and despite the caution from the UK authorities, Michael OLeary said he was still optimistic.

He said he rated at above 50% that holidays would happen, especially in places such as Greece, Spain and Portugal that have said they would welcome people who can prove they had been vaccinated.

An announcement on travel is expected by the UKs global travel taskforce on 5 April.

Shares in Ryanair rose 3.8% to 16.16 while British Airways owner IAG added 2.6% to 192.2p.
ELMIRA, Ore. -- The Lane County Sheriff's Office responded to reports of gunfire early Thursday morning.

Reports came in around 3:41 a.m. about a shooting on the 2400 Block of Horn Road in Elmira.

Deputies say one person was shot and was taken to Riverbend Hospital. The individual was reported to be conscious and breathing when they were taken from the scene.

Officials are still gathering information, but from initial reports, it appears someone was struggling with a mental health crisis. The suspect allegedly entered the home on Horn Road and deputies say he was then shot by the homeowner.

According to deputies, the family who lives inside the home is unharmed.

Lane County Sheriff's Office says there is no ongoing threat to the public at this time.

This is a developing story.
The Wisconsin Assembly reportedly authorized an investigation of the November 2020 presidential elections after votes cast show it is .63% or 20,682 more than the actual number recorded that President Joe Biden won the state with.

The Daily Wire said the resolution authorizing the investigation forcing the state into a recount gives Republicans the "authority to issue subpoenas to compel testimony and gather documents" based on Assembly Elections and Campaign Committee Vice Chairman Representative Joe Sanfelippo.

Meanwhile, US News reported that the resolution was passed on Tuesday a month after state Republicans ordered the election results be audited considering a partial recount and lawsuits by former President Donald Trump has been rejected by state and national courts amidst audits on the voting machines and recounts did not show any problems.

US News cited Sanfelippo in saying during the conference last Tuesday that "it was in everyone's best interest" that the resolution was past and hoped that there won't be any need to send anyone a subpoena to testify. While Assembly Speaker Robin Vos added that it also intends "to see if any other issues are raised that need to be considered," especially since the investigation will be held more public than the election audit conducted.

This was contradicted by Democrats, particularly Assembly Minority Leader Gordon Hintz, who raised that the resolution was against the "public's trust and faith in elections."

In addition, US News said that the Assembly Elections Commitee also held a hearing on the issues raised by Republicans last month regarding the administration of elections in Green Bay and Brown County. The hearing did not call on election officials to testify on accusations against them, such as Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich who "defended his city's handling of the election" against the hearing whom he labeled as a "Stalinist show trial."

In line with the resolution for the election's investigations, US News disclosed that Assembly Republicans have also lined up a set of bills related to the elections designed to address the issues raised by Trump and his supporters related to absentee balloting and absentee voters. A bill prohibiting "election officials from completing missing information on the certification envelopes returned by voters that contain absentee ballots" is also intended to be presented.

According to the Wisconsin State Legislature website, the proposed legislation are as follows:

Assembly Bill 194 or "an act to amend, to create the statutes, relating to actions for violations of election laws";

Assembly Bill 192 or "an act to amend, to create, and relating to the secure delivery of absentee ballots and providing a penalty";

Assembly Bill 180 or "an act to amend, to created, and relating to the "status as an indefinitely confined voter for purposes of receiving absentee ballots automatically and providing a penalty";

Assembly Bill 178 or "an act to renumber and amend, to create, and relating to applications for absentee ballots"; and

Assembly Bill 177 or "an act to renumber and amend, to create, and relating to "returning absentee ballots to the office of the municipal clerk."

The Website also presented that the State Assembly is composed of 60 Republicans and 38 Democrats where eight Republicans take the lead, providing claims of it being controlled by the latter such as one reported by the Associated Press.

The Associated Press said the "Republican-controlled Wisconsin Assembly" passed the resolution on a "58-35 party line vote, with all Republicans in support and all Democrats against it."

"Republicans said they wanted to gather more evidence to see if laws were broken, but Democrats said they were trying to score political points, undermining the public's faith in elections and insulting election clerks, poll workers and others who ran the election," the Daily Wire quoted the Associated Press in reporting on the matter.

A similar incident has happened mid-March in Michigan where a court ruling said the secretary of state broke law on absentee ballots that vindicated Trump on the issue of voter fraud alongside various states still looking into election irregularities on Biden's winning.
When it comes to Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who died on January 7, we know a few hard facts. One of those facts is that the New York Times lied about his cause of death to turn what would have been a normal day for leftists into a deadly "insurrection" narrative showcasing Trump-supporters. The Times has walked back that lie, but an email blast shills a new narrative intended to criminalize conservatives.

The following is a bullet-point list of the few facts known about Officer Sicknick's last days.

The New York Times has been playing with those facts ever since. On January 8, the Times reported as fact the claim that Sicknick had been beaten to death with a fire extinguisher:

At some point in the chaos  with the mob rampaging through the halls of Congress while lawmakers were forced to hide under their desks  he was struck with a fire extinguisher, according to two law enforcement officials.

That's not news; that's gossip. Based on that gossip, the entire Democrat machine, whether in politics or the media, characterized the events on January 6 (which, in scope, were small compared to the BLM riots of 2020 and, in damage to the Capitol, were small compared to past leftist incursions and even a bombing) as a fiery insurrection that made every person on Capitol grounds a participant in a death penalty murder.

Over a month later, the Times quietly amended the article to admit that a fire extinguisher didn't figure in Sicknick's death:

Law enforcement officials initially said Mr. Sicknick was struck with a fire extinguisher, but weeks later, police sources and investigators were at odds over whether he was hit. Medical experts have said he did not die of blunt force trauma, according to one law enforcement official. "He returned to his division office and collapsed," the Capitol Police said in the statement. "He was taken to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries."

The above language is still what appears in the current iteration of the Times article. It's a flabby narrative, so the Times is now trying something new. It's shilling a new version of events that, by virtue of its urgent phrasing, implies that the pepper spray killed Sicknick. This is the email blast the Times distributed:

New videos obtained by The New York Times show for the first time how the U.S. Capitol Police officer who died after facing off with rioters on Jan. 6 was attacked with chemical spray. The officer, Brian D. Sicknick, who had been guarding the west side of the Capitol, collapsed later that day and died the next night. Little had been known about what happened to Officer Sicknick during the assault, and the previously unpublished videos provide new details about when, where and how he was attacked, as well as about the events leading up to the encounter. Two rioters, Julian Elie Khater and George Pierre Tanios, were arrested on March 14 and charged with assaulting Officer Sicknick and two other officers with chemical spray. The investigation is continuing, and federal prosecutors haven't ruled out pursuing murder charges. The videos show Mr. Khater retrieving a can resembling bear spray from Mr. Tanios's backpack and then approaching a line of bike rack barricades manned by Officer Sicknick and his colleagues. For about two minutes, Mr. Khater waits in the crowd, observing the police. Then, at 2:23 p.m., rioters try to pull the bike racks away from the officers. Mr. Khater raises his arm over other rioters and sprays something toward Officer Sicknick. A thin stream of liquid is visible shooting from a canister in Mr. Khater's hand. It is unclear in the video what Mr. Khater is firing, but Officer Sicknick reacts immediately to the spray, turning and raising his hand.

Again, not news. Two protesters did to Sicknick what police all over America routinely do to protesters who are not with BLM. It's assault, but, absent hard information about Sicknick's cause of death, it's merely malevolent gossip to bolster the narrative.

The fact that the Times sent this spiteful missive tells us that the left is worried that its insurrection narrative about January 6 is collapsing. The email blast can only be intended to stoke the dying fires behind a narrative intended to destroy conservatives and conservatism in America.

Image: Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, may he rest in peace. Public Domain photo.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI  The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) board has approved $3.6 million in tax incentives for a developer who wants to transform a three-story vacant industrial building along Market Avenue SW into 173 market-rate apartments.

The $31.3 million project is being proposed by Chicago-based 3F Properties. Rent for the apartments, which are expected to include studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units, will range from $975 to $1,700 per month.

The $3.6 million incentive approved by the MEDC board is part of the states brownfield program.

It uses tax increment financing to reimburses developers for certain expenses related to the redevelopment of contaminated, functionally obsolete, blighted or historic properties. For the 470 Market Ave. project, the developer would receive the reimbursement over a 25-year period.

While the brownfield incentive is expected to total $3.6 million, it could be used for as much as $4.8 million, an MEDC memo indicates.

The project has also received a 10-year Obsolete Property Rehabilitation Act incentive valued at $2.9 million.

Dana Kollewehr, a community assistance team specialist at MEDC, said the incentives were needed to make the project successful.

We looked at the financial performance of the project and its ability to be financeable without incentives and without the Brownfield TIF incentive, it really limits their ability to cover the debt service on the project, she said.

The building, 470 Market Ave. SW, formerly housed the American Boxboard Company and other commercial and industrial uses. Its located in an industrial area at the northern edge of the Roosevelt Park neighborhood, where more than three-quarters of residents are Hispanic and a significant number of families live below the poverty line.

The developers request for tax incentives drew pushback in March 2020 from one member of the Grand Rapids Downtown Development Authority. Board member Luis Avila said he opposed providing a public subsidy for a project that does not include any units that would be reserved for low-income residents.

The DDA and the Grand Rapids City Commission previously approved the incentives for the project.

Mike Obloy, principal of 3F Construction, could not be reached for comment. Last year, when speaking to the DDA, he said for a project like this, the subsidies are necessary to make the project financially feasible.

Studies have shown demand for more housing in Grand Rapids.

One study, conducted for the city of Grand Rapids by the group Housing Next, estimated the city needs 5,340 additional apartments by 2025 to meet demand. Of those, about 2,400 units are needed for individuals who make $45,000 and up.

City of Grand Rapids spokesperson Katrina Danko said the 3F Properties request for a building permit was approved Monday, and that the firm can start construction once it pays the building permit fee. The firm noted in its application that it intended to start construction as soon as its permit was approved, she said. The expected completion date for the project is May of 2022.

The proposed apartment building is located near the Grand River, just south of a large-scale planned redevelopment along Market Avenue between Fulton and Wealthy streets. Tentative plans for the area include a 12,000 seat outdoor amphitheater, housing, retail and greenspace.

This is important housing stock that is necessary, said Jeremiah Gracia, director of economic development for the city of Grand Rapids.

Read more:

$5.1M project on Portage and Pitcher streets will add bike lanes, extend road diet

Drone captures view of 1882 Lake Michigan shipwreck suddenly uncovered on beach

MDHHS doctor says Michigan high school sports are at a tipping point as coronavirus cases surge
Kenya says it has given the United Nations 14 days to come up with a plan to close refugee camps in the country that host hundreds of thousands from war-torn neighboring nations.

Internal Security Minister Fred Matiangi said there is no room for further negotiations, in a tweet issued Wednesday by his ministry. The ministry did not give further details.

The U.N. High Commission for Refugees said Wednesday it had been informed by the Kenyan authorities of their intention to close the Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps within a short timeframe. It said the decision would have an impact on the protection of refugees in Kenya, including in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The U.N. refugee agency urged the Kenyan government to "allow suitable and sustainable solutions to be found and that those who continue to need protection are able to receive it.

Kenya has said the Dadaab refugee camp near the Somalia border is a source of insecurity. Some officials have argued that it has been used as a recruiting ground for the jihadist rebels of al-Shabab and a base for launching violent attacks inside Kenya, but officials have not provided conclusive proof.

A Kenyan court in 2017 blocked the closure of Dadaab camp, saying it was not safe for refugees to return to Somalia.

Kenya has been saying for years that it would like to close Daadab, near Kenya's eastern border with Somalia and which hosts nearly 200,000 mostly Somali refugees.

The Kenyan government's latest demand is seen as retaliation against Somalia for insisting on pursuing a case at the International Court of Justice over a disputed maritime border between the two countries. Kenya wants the case settled out of court.

Kakuma camp in Kenya's northeast has nearly 200,000 refugees, mostly South Sudanese nationals escaping civil war.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.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.
Extends its reach in the North American market

Hornetsecurity Group, a leading cloud email security provider, has announced its second acquisition this year. Hot on the heels of its acquisition of worldwide backup solution provider Altaro in January, it has now acquired Zerospam, email protection specialists headquartered in Montreal, Canada.

Zerospam is a fast-growing business that serves more than 4,000 small, midsized and enterprise customers worldwide via an ecosystem of 400+ partners focused primarily on Canada and the US. It is a recognized leader in providing cloud-based email security solutions to the SMB market across North America, helping them block unwanted emails and combat cybercriminals.

Providing customers and partners with innovative and safe solutions

"Zerospam has made a name for itself by living its core values, whereby we 'always stay calm', 'dig deeper', 'collaborate' and 'continuously improve'. This has helped us deliver on our aim to provide innovative and safes solutions for our partners and clients, coupled with expedient customer service," said David Poellhuber, Zerospam President and Founder.

"Becoming part of the Hornetsecurity Group is a critical step in Zerospam's progression, as we believe it will greatly benefit our customers and partners, as well as our entire team. They will now be able to benefit from high-powered, enterprise-class functionality based on Hornetsecurity's years of expertise in this field, Microsoft 365 integration, and more."

"We are on a journey to provide all organizations with a comprehensive security and compliance solution for their use of cloud technologies," said Daniel Hofmann, CEO of Hornetsecurity. "We warmly welcome David Poellhuber and the Zerospam team to the Hornetsecurity Group and are keen to integrate all team members into the Hornetsecurity family. We will be investing heavily in the Zerospam partner community and providing them with a wide range of new products so that they can boost their customers' security and compliance beyond their current offerings."

Strategic step to expand Hornetsecurity's North American reach

Daniel Blank, COO at Hornetsecurity added: "Our acquisition of Zerospam falls in line with Hornetsecurity's goal to become the #1 security, compliance and backup provider, and will help the company achieve its aggressive plans in its strongest growth market, North America. We are dedicating additional investment into these regions and are excited to shape the next chapter of our successful journey together with our new colleagues at Zerospam."

The transaction is supported by Hornetsecurity's shareholders PSG, a leading growth equity firm partnering with middle-market software and technology-enabled service companies, and Verdane, the specialist Northern European growth equity investor.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Notes to Editors

About Hornetsecurity

Hornetsecurity is a leading email cloud security and backup provider, which protects the IT infrastructure, digital communication and data of companies and organizations of all sizes. The security specialist provides its services worldwide via 9 redundant, secured data centres. Its product portfolio covers all important areas of email security, including spam and virus filters, legally compliant archiving and encryption, defense against CEO fraud and protection against ransomware; as well as backup and recovery. With more than 300 employees, Hornetsecurity operates in more than 30 countries through its international channel partner network and its premium services are used by approximately 40,000 customers.

About PSG

PSG is a growth equity firm that partners with middle-market software and technology-enabled services companies to help them navigate transformational growth, capitalize on strategic opportunities and build strong teams. Having backed more than 65 companies and facilitated over 275 add-on acquisitions, PSG brings extensive investment experience, deep expertise in software and technology, and a firm commitment to collaborating with management teams. Founded in 2014, PSG operates out of offices in Boston, Kansas City and London*. https://www.psgequity.com/

*Currently, the London team operates via an advisory agreement with Providence Equity LLP.

About Verdane

Verdane is a specialist growth equity investment firm that partners with sustainable, tech-enabled Northern European businesses to help them reach the next stage of international growth. Verdane can invest as a minority or majority investor, either in single companies or through portfolios of companies, and looks to deploy behind three core themes; the Digital Consumer, Software Everywhere and Sustainable Society. Verdane funds hold more than 3bn in total commitments and have made over 120 investments in fast-growing businesses since 2003. Verdane's team of over 60 investment professionals and operating experts, based out of Berlin, Copenhagen, Helsinki, London, Oslo and Stockholm, is dedicated to being the preferred growth partner to tech-enabled businesses in Northern Europe.

More info: www.verdane.com

Follow Verdane on LinkedIn

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005573/en/

Contacts:

PSG

Ryan Smith

RSmith@prosek.com

Verdane Press Office

press@verdane.com

+46 76 27 28 100
The Armenian parliament has approved today a set of amendments to the Criminal Code in the second and final reading which set life imprisonment as penalty for high treason.

The amendments were co-sponsored by MPs from the opposition Prosperous Armenia party Vahe Enfiajyan , Naira Zohrabyan and Iveta Tonoyan.

Vahe Enfiajyan, who is also deputy parliament speaker, said high treason is punishable by life imprisonment and confiscation of property, and espionage - by 12 to 20 years in prison.

"High treason and espionage are the most terrible crimes and the punishment, accordingly, should be the most severe," ARKA cited Enfiajyan as saying.

According to the co-authors of the amendments, over the past 10 years, about 13 criminal cases have been launched into high treason and espionage in the country.

According to the current legislation, high treason is punished by imprisonment for a term of 10 to 15 years with or without confiscation of property. For espionage, the penalty is imprisonment for a term of 8 to 15 years.
New Delhi: Amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, the Gujarat government on Thursday (March 25) banned public gatherings in mosques and other places for Shab-e-Barat which is to be observed on March 28.

In its notification, the Gujarat home department said on the occasion of Shab-e-Barat, Muslims gather in large numbers in mosques to offer prayers. As the coronavirus cases are rising, it is important people do not assemble in mosques as cases are likely to increase due to large gatherings, PTI reported.

"There has been a recent increase in the number of coronavirus cases. In such a situation, cases are likely to grow due to large gatherings. It is important people do not gather in mosques and other places for Shab-e-Barat and COVID-19 guidelines issued by state and Central governments are strictly followed and social distancing maintained," the notification read.

Earlier, on Wednesday (March 24), the Gujarat government had banned any mass gatherings at public spaces to play the Holi festival in the wake of the COVID-19 cases. The Holi festival will be celebrated on March 29.

However, permission for organising Holika Dahan ceremony on March 28 was allowed with the following of social distancing guidelines in place.

Keeping in view the current situation of Covid-19 in the state, the ceremony of Holika Dahan or Holi can be observed traditionally within limited number of persons where the Holika exhibition and traditional Pooja ceremony can also be held. However it will be the organisers responsibility to ensure that large crowd does not get assembled during the ceremony and COVID related guidelines are being followed, the notification had read.

Gujarat reported 1,961 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, the highest single-day spike for fourth consecutive day, taking the caseload to 2,94,130.

Live TV
March 25, 2021

Stuck In Mud

I am feeling a bit like the operator of that excavator. There is too much to do and too little motivating progress.

Those are 200,000 metric tons stuck in sand and gravel on both ends. Too much weight for the usual tugs to pull it off.

They will probably have to lighten the ship and dredge the sand at both end . That may well take several days or weeks.

These swimming walls are now too big. They are difficult to maneuver. With this height of the load the slightest gust of wind will move the ship in unintended ways. There was a sand storm in the area when this one got stuck. Unless a crew is extremely attentive and immediately uses the bow and rear thrusters any gust will push it off course. Add the bank effect which sucks the ship towards the canal walls and such an outcome is inevitable.

Brendan Greeley @bhgreeley - 12:40 UTC  Mar 25, 2021 Water moves differently around a boat in a tight canal than it does in the open ocean. When water gets squeezed between the hull and the sand, the water accelerates, and its pressure drops /2

When the hull gets too close to the bank, the pressure drop sucks the hull in to the bank. This is called the "bank effect." In shallow water, like in the Suez, the stern moves toward the bank, but the bow moves away. The boat spins. /3

The bigger the hull, the more water it displaces, the stronger the effect. The closer the hull is to the bank, the stronger the effect. So big, wide boat = strong bank effect. And container ships are getting HUGE. /4

Fifteen years ago I wrote about a record breaking ship I had photographed in Hamburg's harbor:

TEU Monsters

Find the people on the foredeck.

Yesterday the COSCO Guangzhou made her first visit to Hamburg. This harbor fan just had to go down to the river and take some pictures. This is the worlds biggest container vessel for now. It is 350 meters (1,150 feet) long and can carry a maximum of 9,500 TEU, i.e. 20" long containers (TEU = Twenty foot Equivalent Units). There are four more of this type on order and as ship-size always increases, 12,000 TEU ships are already planed. Bigger ships though would not fit through the Suez canal and, due to the wider deck, the loading time might increase too much. Right now, shipping cost are high with about all available ships worldwide booked. Even though scrap iron prices are up, those nasty scrap-yards have free capacity. Any available rust-bucket (some scary pictures within those PDF-files) is kept afloat. But worldwide some 2,000 new seagoing ships will be launched this year and with all the new tonnage coming afloat, shipping rates are expected to fall significantly. Stocks for shipping companies are already down. So maybe those 12,000 TEU monsters will never be build and the COSCO Guangzhou and her sister-ships will be the largest box-carrier to see for some years.

I was wrong with that. The Ever Given now stuck in the Suez canal is 400 meters long and at 20,000 TEU can carry double the load of the COSCO Guangzhou. More of these Suez-Max ships are being build.

Such ships pay $700.000 to pass through the Suez canal. Smaller ones pay less. But the average is some $450,000 and at 50+ ships per day the losses for Egypt add up. The hundreds of ships which are currently blockaded and the owners of their cargoes may also ask for compensation.

The ship is insured for probably up to 140 million. That will not be enough to pay for this incident. Many court claims will be made. The Japanese owners of the ship, the Taiwanese charterer, the German company managing the ship, the pilots and the crew will all be asked to pay for every penny that is not covered by the insurance.

In future Egypt may demand mandatory tug escorts for the passage of such large ships. That would be expensive and put a limit on their cost effectiveness.

Posted by b on March 25, 2021 at 17:03 UTC | Permalink

Comments

next page 
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (2nd R), joined by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan (R), speaks while facing Yang Jiechi (2nd L), director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Office, and Wang Yi (L), China's State Councilor and Foreign Minister, at the opening session of U.S.-China talks at the Captain Cook Hotel in Anchorage, Alaska, on March 18, 2021. (Frederic J. Brown/Pool via Reuters)

CCP Brags Two Xin Chou Years After Alaska Meeting, Forgets the Most Tragic One

Commentary

The open confrontation at the U.S.-China meeting in Anchorage, Alaska on March 18 has been used by the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) propaganda department to create an uproar in public opinion in China aimed at the United States.

The state media CCTV stated that China was invited to Anchorage and went with sincerity to conduct a strategic dialogue with the United States. However, they said, the U.S. side exceeded severely the set time limit in the opening remarks to begin with, rampantly attacked Chinas domestic and foreign policies, and provoked disputes.

They claimed: this is not the way one should welcome his guests, nor is it in line with diplomatic etiquette. China, therefore, made a solemn response.

The time that CCTV accused the U.S. side of severely exceeding was about 20 seconds.

In fact, in the opening remarks of the Anchorage talks, Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke for 2 minutes and 27 seconds, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan spoke for 2 minutes and 17 seconds, Director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Office of the CCP Yang Jiechis opening speech lasted 16 minutes and 14 seconds, and then the interpreter took 3 minutes and 26 seconds. Foreign Minister Wang Yis opening speech took 4 minutes and 09 seconds.

Afterward, Blinken called the reporters back and responded again. He directly said that because the Chinese side took a long time to speak, he needed to respond.

The diplomatic protocol on the time limit to speak is a mutually agreed limit. If one party goes over the allotted time, the other party has the right to supplement. Therefore, the step Blinken took was reasonable.

But CCTV reversed cause and effect and took Blinkens step as an excuse for Yang Jiechi to speak over time. This is a normal propaganda trick of the CCP.

Of course, what angered Yang was that Blinken directly crossed CCPs red line by including in his opening remarks comments about Xinjiang, Hong Kong, and Taiwan issues.

CCTVs manipulated report included half-true and half-false information, another propaganda trick the CCP excels at. The misleading statement that the U.S. exceeded the time limit served to cover up Blinkens statements about domestic and foreign policies.

CCP Propaganda Applauds Victory

Xinhua News quoted Yang as saying, The United States is not qualified to speak to China in a condescending way from a position of strength.

This received 2.45 billion views and 1.16 million comments on Sina Weibo, a Chinese social media site.

This meeting will be written in the annals of history, wrote Hu Xijin, the Global Times editor-in-chief. Whoever provokes China, dont expect China to respond politely.

On March 19, Xu Pan, a China Daily reporter tweeted with a historical picture of the signing of the Boxer Protocol on Sept. 7, 1901, From 1901 to 2021. It takes China 120 years to tell the U.S. they dont have the qualification to speak to China from a position of strength.

From 1901 to 2021. It takes China 120 years to tell the US they dont have the qualification to speak to China from a position of strength. pic.twitter.com/pKlyGV6fYV  Xu Pan  (@PenicilinPan) March 19, 2021

Peoples Daily followed that with a comparison of two Xin Chou Years, which set off a further wave of angry comments, attracting more than 700 million views.

History Repeats Itself?

In ancient China, there was a profound method of chronology that allowed people to understand the future by examining the past.

Chinese Taoists believe that heaven and earth each have their own cycle. Heaven has a 10-year cycle, and earth has a 12-year cycle. Finally, through certain regulations, heaven and earth meet and form a cycle of harmony every sixty years, which is known as the Chinese sexagenary cycle.

Heaven and earth repeat anew every sixty years. Xin (a heaven year) Chou (an earth year) is one name of a year in this sexagenary cycle.

According to Taoism, every 60 years when heaven and earth reach the same year, such as the Xin Chou year, in this case the 38th year of the cycle, politics and economics will be very similar to Xin Chou years that have taken place in previous cycles.

This is a Chinese-style metaphysical expression of the philosophers saying that history repeats itself.

The Xin Chou year has a very mysterious and turbulent concept in Chinese history.

The 120 years mentioned in the CCPs propaganda compared the Xin Chou year from 1901 to 2021. They compared the humiliation of Chinas diplomacy in 1901 with Yangs tough statement in Alaska in 2021, as proof of the CCPs success in governing China.

However, in these 120 years, there are two Xin Chou years to examine.

1900 was known as the Geng Zi year in the sexagenary cycle, just one year before the Xin Chou year. It was the year the Boxer riots broke out in northern China. The Qing Dynasty used the Boxer rebellion to launch a wave of xenophobia, killing foreign missionaries, businessmen, and even foreign diplomats on the streets of the capital. With the assistance of the regular troops of the Qing Dynasty, the Boxers attacked foreign embassies for several months.

That year, an Eight-nation Alliance landed from Tianjin, and within a month they invaded Beijing.

In the next year, the 1901 Xin Chou year, Li Hongzhang, on behalf of the Qing Dynasty signed a treaty in Beijing that had the Qing Dynasty pay 450 million taels (16.9 million kgs) of silver, based on the Chinese population of one tael per person. This was known as the Geng Zi Indemnity or Boxer Indemnity.

This is the story of the Xin Chou year. But, if we continue, we can examine another Xin Chou year, 1841.

The Opium War broke out between Britain and China in the Geng Zi year of 1840. In the Xin Chou year of 1841, the British army captured Ningbo and Tanggukou and occupied Hong Kong. In the end, the Manchu government ceded land to the British.

The Most Tragic Xin Chou Year

1841 and 1901 are two Xin Chou years that both ended in failure for the Chinese in foreign conflicts, where they lost land and wealth. But these two Xin Chou years are not the most tragic for the Chinese.

For the Chinese, the most miserable and most memorable Xin Chou year was 1961. But the CCP will never mention it.

From 1959 to 1961, tens of millions of Chinese died from starvation because of the CCPs Great Leap Forward campaign. A report from the CIA in 1962 stated that there was a great famine in mainland China, and at least five million Chinese died of starvation.

By the end of the last century, there were various official and semi-official figures within the CCP. The general basic understanding was that in the three years, including the Xin Chou year in 1961, the number of deaths in mainland China was at least 25 million and could be as high as 45 million. No matter what the number is, there were more deaths than Chinas eight-year war against Japan.

I was born after the famine. Our generation did not know the existence of the Great Famine when we were young. The only thing I remembered was that we were generally taller than our older brothers and sisters. This used to be the topic among us. For this reason, we asked the adults. The adults answer was usually eat well. But why did we eat better than children who were only a few years older than us? The adults never explained.

Alexander Liao is a columnist and journalist in research on international affairs in the United States, China, and Southeast Asia. He has published a large number of reports, commentaries, and video programs in newspapers and Chinese financial magazines in the United States and Hong Kong.

Editors note: The headline of an earlier version this article misspelled Xin Chou. The Epoch Times regrets the error.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
The European Unions (EU) two-day summit was dominated Thursday by growing tensions over its failed vaccine rollout. But having threatened an export ban on vaccines, EU leaders issued a joint statement late Thursday backing away.

We underline the importance of transparency as well as of the use of export authorisations, the statement said. In a reference to UK-Swedish manufacturer AstraZenecawhich is expected to only fulfil about of a quarter of the 120 million doses ordered by Brussels this quarter it continued, We recognise the importance of global value chains and reaffirm that companies must ensure predictability of their vaccine production and respect contractual delivery deadlines.

Tensions between the EU and Boris Johnsons UK government reached boiling point ahead of the summit over the supply and distribution of vaccines from AstraZeneca.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine (credit: WSWS media)

Britain and the EU have both signed deals to receive millions of doses, but only a small proportion have been delivered with the company citing production difficulties. The UK insists that its deal was signed three months earlier than the EUs and must receive priority, including doses made at a plant in the Netherlands. Britain exited the EU last year and cut its own deal with corporations manufacturing vaccines.

Total vaccinations within the EU are catastrophically low and by March 22 stood at just 12.9 per 100 people. In contrast the UK has vaccinated 44.7 per 100. Just 88 million vaccine doses have been distributed within the EU to constituent states with a total population of nearly 450 million.

In response the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, threatened to ban exports of vaccines. On Wednesday, European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis announced plans that all shipments of vaccines from the EU be assessed in relation to the destination countrys rate of vaccinations and vaccine exports. The tightening of EU policy was aimed at the UK, which has not exported any vaccines to the EU, with officials and senior political figures queuing up to denounce Downing Street ahead of the summit. Dombrovskis complained that the EU continues to export vaccines to countries that have production capacities of their own, but when these countries do not export to the EU there is no reciprocity.

To stem a crisis with the summit imminent, Johnson phoned EU heads of state and the EC this week, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron. No solution was reached.

Johnson threatened that if the EU issued an export ban, this would fuel trade conflicts that the UK would seize on to its advantage. I would just gently point out to anybody considering a blockade or interruption of supply chains that companies may look at such actions and draw conclusions about whether or not it is sensible to make future investments in countries where arbitrary blockades are imposed, he said.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the Financial Times Wednesday, I believe that free trading nations follow the law of contracts. He ridiculed the EUs contract with AstraZeneca declaring, They have a best efforts contract and we have an exclusivity deal. While stating that ongoing talks were co-operative, practical and collaborative, he added, Our contract trumps theirs.

Thierry Breton, the EUs internal market commissioner told the newspaper, We have a feeling that the vaccine nationalism is really on the other side of the Channel.

By late Wednesday all that could be achieved was an EU/UK joint holding statement that We are all facing the same pandemic and the third wave makes co-operation between the EU and UK even more important.'

Claims that peace had broken out were belied by the recriminations hurled as the talks began. An official said that the EU had sent 21 million vaccines to the UK but received none in return. Among these were about 1 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Frances EU affairs minister, Clement Beaune, said, We want to avoid that AstraZeneca doses produced in Europe go to Britain when we are not receiving anything AstraZeneca says: I am experiencing delays. We say: mobilise your plants for us and if you dont, we will block exports to the UK.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted that the EU has exported 77 million doses of vaccines to 33 countries since 1 December 2020 and that the EU summit needs to 'ensure that Europeans get their fair share of vaccines'.

Tensions reached such a peak that last weekend an elite unit of Italian military police, acting on EU orders, raided the Catalent plant in Anagni, near Rome, where the AstraZeneca vaccine is put into vials and labelled. The unit was reported in La Stampa to have found a stockpile of 29 million doses being hoarded. The Italian media initially said that the vaccinesroughly half AstraZeneca's delivery shortfall to the EUwere being readied for delivery to the UK. This claim was false, with the UK saying they had no order coming from the plant. Within hours the EU was forced to acknowledge that the vials were in fact being sent in two separate batches onto AstraZeneca's Belgium plant for onward distribution around the EU.

Only a few weeks previously, Italys Prime Minister Mario Draghi blocked the export of 250,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Australia.

Prior to the summit Pfizer stepped in to warn the EU that the UK could retaliate against an export ban by withholding raw materials for its vaccine that are shipped from Yorkshire. On Thursday, Reuters reported that US biotech Novavax is delaying signing a contract to supply its vaccine to the bloc, with an EU official citing problems it had sourcing some raw materials.

Every major capitalist power is engaged in the same beggar thy neighbour policy, with catastrophic consequences that only aids the spread of the virus. President Joe Bidens US administration does not export to any other country, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel making the barbed remark this week, We can see clearly that British facilities are producing for Great Britain. The United States isn't exporting, and therefore we are dependent upon what can be produced in Europe.'

After Thursday's meeting, Merkel commented, Regarding the export regime we said we had absolutely no desire to disturb the global supply chain, but also that we of course have an interest in ensuring that the companies that have made contracts with us remain truly loyal to those contracts.

We are, as the EU, the part of the world that is not only supplying itself but also exporting to the wider worldunlike the US, unlike Britain.

The EUs retreat does nothing to prevent further crisis. The day before the EU summit, India, one of the worlds biggest vaccine producers, announced that it would not export any more until further notice after a surge in infections. On Thursday it reported 53,000 new infections over the previous 24 hours, a level not recorded since October and heading to the peak of nearly 100,000 new infections a day last September. The UK has already been hit by a delayed shipment of five million AstraZeneca doses from Indias Serum Institute, with Johnsons government warning that its vaccine rollout will soon start to be scaled back as a result.

The vaccine rollout has exposed not only tensions between the EU and UK, but between EU states. Austrias Chancellor Sebastian Kurz demanded to know how an extra 10 million doses of the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine would be distributed. Countries including the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Croatia and Estonia have not received the AstraZeneca jabs they ordered and are demanding they receive the BioNTech/Pfizer first. Speaking before the event, Kurz said, 'If no solution is found here it could cause damage to the European Union the likes of which we have not seen in a long time. He was insisting he would veto any distribution deal that does not include Austria. Austrias demands were rejected.

The row over the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines has nothing to do with concern by the major powers for their own citizens. The mass distribution of vaccines is being used to justify a homicidal policy of reopening economies globally, with schools at the forefront. Every government lyingly claims that this can be done without a significant threat to the lives of millions of people thanks to vaccination. But their justifications collapse in the face of a calamitous rollout.

More fundamental still, as the worlds leading epidemiologists make clear this is a global pandemic and the failure to combat the virus on that basis is already leading to a resurgence of COVID-19. In Europe alone, 19 EU states are recording a rise in infections. The UK variant of the virus that is significantly more infectious is now dominant in many countries, including Germany, and Spain has said it accounts for half of all new cases.

Other mutations are associated with South Africa, Brazil and the US. It is feared that the surge in India could be due to the emergence of new mutations.

The vaccination of the worlds population must be taken out of the hands of the capitalist class. What is required is a scientific approach centred on the globally planned distribution of vaccines, with the pharmaceutical conglomerates taken into social ownership. The working class must act independently to spearhead an international fight against COVID-19 by uniting its struggles and directing them against capitalism.
A billboard about the dangers of fentanyl in southern Alberta on April 27, 2018. (The Canadian Press/Bill Graveland)

Bill to Decriminalize Hard Drugs the Wrong Approach: Retired Physician

A private members bill introduced in the Senate that seeks to decriminalize hard drugs on the grounds that substance use disorder is a public health issue rather than a criminal justice issue is taking the wrong approach, says a retired physician with extensive experience treating drug users.

Taking drugs is not fundamentally a medical problem. It has medical consequences but is not in itself a medical problem, so to treat it as if it were a health problem and far from anything else is false, said Anthony Daniels, who for 15 years worked to help drug users in Birmingham, England, both inside and outside of prison.

The problems of drug-taking are not caused by their illegality.  People coming into prison who were drug addicts, you found they were criminals before they took drugs, not afterwards. In other words, whatever attracted them to drugs attracted them to crime.  They actually like this living on the marginthats why they do it in the first place.

Introduced by Liberal Senate appointee Gwen Boniface, Bill S-229 calls for the federal government to develop a national strategy within two years to decriminalize simple possession of illegal substances, including heroin, methamphetamines, cocaine, and fentanyl.

Simple possession generally refers to possession of a controlled substance for personal use without intent to traffic. The bill would replace more severe criminal charges and jail sentences in favour of fines or treatment programs.

In 2019, the Commons health committee recommended that the federal government undertake an evaluation of Portugals approach to the decriminalization of simple possession of illicit substances and examine how it could be positively applied to Canada.

Daniels told The Epoch Times that he doesnt find the Portuguese example compelling.

The situation in Portugal has not been a disaster but it has not been a triumphant success either. In fact, things have been much the same, he said.

Drugs was never much of a problem in Portugal anyway. I dont think they really had the kind of problem that one reads about in San Francisco or in Vancouver.

Merited or not, the idea is gaining momentum. In September 2020, Toronto Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith introduced private members Bill C-235 to repeal fines and jail sentences for drug possession. Earlier this month, the City of Vancouver requested that Ottawa exempt the city from laws that criminalize the simple possession of drugs for personal use.

Philip Salzman, a professor emeritus of anthropology at McGill University, wonders if governments are asking the right questions.

I think the question is why? Why do so many people want to take drugs? Its pathological. And its a social pathology that people are turning to drugs as a way of compensating, Salzman said in an interview.

Drugs are about filling a hole in your soul, because if you dont have a hole in your soul, why bother?

Many communities across Canada have reported record numbers of opioid-related deaths, emergency calls, and hospitalizations in the past 12 months during the COVID-19 pandemic. Salzman said governments that want to help should loosen lockdown measures that have crippled small businesses.

This is North America, with the society in which men particularly get their identity from their work and from being productive. And when you get rid of that, they dont have anything left, he said.

The solution to the problem is to give people a life, or at least not actively take away their lives as our elites have done.

Attorney Heather Mac Donald, a best-selling author and essayist at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, says that the use of illicit drugs goes well beyond a private matter that affects only the user.

Such use has enormous external effects on society.  The more stoned a society, the less it will be able to function for the good of its most vulnerable members, above all children. By decriminalizing drug possession, the authorities send the message that mind-altering drugs, which are ingested solely for such mental effects, are innocuous and expected in their use, Mac Donald told The Epoch Times.

Virtually no one is in prison for possession of a users amount of drugs; the possession statutes are a way of getting at high-level drug dealers who are adept at breaking apart the steps of a drug transaction to make acquiring probable cause for a trafficking arrest extremely difficult. Decriminalizing drug possession removes a valuable tool  to protect the public from clear harm.

Bonifaces bill seems unlikely to pass. In December 2019, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told The Canadian Press he was opposed to decriminalization of hard drugs.  It is not something that I would be convinced isor even could bethe panacea.

An Ipsos poll conducted for Global News in January 2020 found that 47 percent of Canadians supported the decriminalization of the possession of a small amount of illicit drugs, while 53 percent were opposed.
opinion

Abracadabra is now commonly used as an incantation in the performance of magic. Literally it is used as the more you look, the less you know or see. Abracadabra is the best word to describe what is going on in Port Harcourt Refinery. The refinery is situated at Alesa Eleme, which is 19 kilometres from Port Harcourt city. I have visited the refinery thrice. Twice I accompanied my two bosses, Alhaji Gidado Idris, GCON and Chief Ufot Ekaette, CFR, both late Secretaries to the Government of the Federation. My last visit to the refinery was three years ago with a friend, who once worked in the refinery. One needs to see the refinery.

The scandal in Port Harcourt Refinery is so deep that it can't be uncovered by the most competent spy master in the world.

The Port Harcourt Refining Company,(abbreviated PHRC), is a Nigeria-based oil and gas company primarily specializing in the refining of crude oil into petroleum products. The company is a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

The latest news about Port Harcourt Refinery is that the Central Government has approved 1.5 billion dollars for the rehabilitation of the refinery. The Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, who briefed reporters after the FEC meeting said the rehabilitation will be done in three phases of 18, 24 and 44 months. He said the contract was awarded to an Italian company, Tecnimont SPA, who, according to the minister, are experts in refinery maintenance. Mr Sylva said the funding of the repairs will be from many components including the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), budgetary provisions and Afreximbank. "The Ministry of Petroleum Resources presented a memo on the rehabilitation of Port Harcourt Refinery for the sum of 1.5 billion, and that memo was $1.5 billion and it was approved by council today. "So we are happy to announce that the rehabilitation of productivity refinery will commence in three phases. The first phase is to be completed in 18 months, which will take the refinery to a production of 90 percent of its nameplate capacity. "The second phase is to be completed in 24 months and all the final stage will be completed in 44 months and consultations are approved. "And I believe that this is good news for Nigeria."

To many, it is not good news. They call it capital flight. Only Italy will benefit while Nigeria becomes poorer.

The approval therefore confirms a January 7 report by Reuters this year that Nigeria's state oil firm NNPC is in talks to raise around $1 billion in a prepayment with trading firms to refurbish its largest refining complex at Port Harcourt. According to the report, the money would be repaid over seven years through deliveries of Nigerian crude and products from the refinery once the refurbishment is complete, the sources said. Cairo-based Afreximbank is leading the financing. "Afreximbank is looking into a facility for the refurbishment of the Port Harcourt Refinery. However, the borrower is yet to be determined," a spokesman for the bank said.

On July 27, 2017, the former Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu promised to end fuel importation by 2019, or he would resign from his position. He never resigned and fuel importation did not stop until he was dropped by President Muhammadu Buhari in his second term.

Nigeria has spent over $1.6 billion on the Turn-Around Maintenance of the country's four refineries, without any sign of improvement since 2000. Nigeria is the fifth largest exporter of crude oil in the world, but spends over $16 million per day importing refined petroleum products. This situation has been attributed to the poor refining capacity of the country. The total utilisation capacity of the refineries was estimated at below 40% of the total installed refining capacity, making them the worst performing refineries in Africa. Dr Ibe Kachikwu confirmed the poor conditions of the plants during an oil and gas stakeholders' meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, July 18, 2017. "Our refineries have not been maintained at the same levels that other nearby countries have continued to do theirs. Look at Ghana and Ivory Coast, the same refineries, about the same ages and working at over 90 per cent capacity," he said.

On November 22, 2019, the House of Representatives ordered an investigation into the financial allocations set aside for 'Turn-Around Maintenance' of the petroleum refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna, estimated to have cost $396.33 million in four years. The inquiry was initiated following the motion titled "Call for investigation of the $396.33 million allegedly spent in four years on turn around maintenance of the nation's three refineries."At the plenary session, Ifeanyi Momah, representing Ihiala federal constituency of Anambra State called for the inquiry, alleging that the amount spent on maintenance of the facilities had not yielded the desired results.

The House also called on the Federal Government to consider "divesting a certain percentage of its shareholding in the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries to competent investors under a transparent and fair bidding process."

Also, the House mandated the Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) to conduct an investigative hearing into the maintenance expenses made from 2015 to date while the committee was to submit its findings within eight weeks.

Till today, the report of the so called investigation by the House of Representatives has not surfaced.

Let us take a brief look at the three refineries that we have. The first, Port Harcourt Refinery was built in 1965 under the then Prime Minister, Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (1912-1966), GCFR. It was commissioned, operated and managed by SHELL BP. The capacity was 35,000 barrel per day. However, ownership passed to the Central Government in 1970 under General Yakubu Gowon, GCFR. The refinery was upgraded in 1971 to 60,000 barrel per day. The second Port Harcourt Refinery, a deep conversion facility, with an installed capacity of 150,000 barrel per day was built and commissioned on November 25, 1989 under General Ibrahim Babangida, GCFR, bringing the combined capacity of the refinery to 210,000 barrel per day.

The refinery in 2000 under President Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR, operated at about 47% of the total installed capacity. The Turn Around Maintenance (TAM), was last carried out in 1994 under General Sani Abacha, GCFR. The old refinery was shut down because internally generated power is not enough to run the two refineries and public power was unreliable.

-Teniola is a journalist and retired director in the presidency. He now lives in Magodo, Lagos

Warri Refinery was commissioned in 1979 under General Olusegun Obasanjo with an initial capacity of 100, 000 barrel per day. It was de-bottle-necked to a capacity of 125,000 barrel per day in 1988. It was further expanded in 1988 with the addition of a petrochemical plant with a capacity to produce 35,000 metric tonnes and 18,000 metric tonnes per annum of polypropylene and carbon black respectively. The last TAM was carried out in 1994. The Refinery operated from January to February 2000 at about 10.3% of the installed capacity and was shut down because the main heater blew up. In 2000, four capital projects were identified for optimizing the performance of the refinery at a total cost of $220.7 million dollars and N351.15 million.

The Kaduna Refinery was commissioned in 1980 by President Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari (25 February 1925-28 December, 2018) with an initial capacity of 100,000 barrel per day. In 1985, under Major General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.), GCFR, it was de-bottle-necked to 110,000 barrel per day. The refinery was integrated with a petrochemical plant in 1988 with a capacity for the production of 30,000 metric tonnes of linear alkyl benzene. It was shut down in August 2000 partly to allow rehabilitation of the heaters and because the TAM which started in 1998 was yet to be completed. The last TAM carried out before then was in 1992 which means that two consecutive TAM (1994 and 1996) were not carried out. Eighteen capital projects were identified for optimizing the performance of the refinery at a total cost two billion naira.

The refinweries are limited liability companies, which should be able to do their production planning, funds projection and procurement. They should also have audited Profit and Loss Account and Balance Sheet. The refineries though limited liability companies, are not run like enterprises, which should pay their way. They have no Board of Directors and are tied to the apron string of the NNPC in a system of inter-locking directorates. They operate by presenting annual budgets and performance targets plans to the NNPC, which examines the budget and makes resources available on the basis of request and availability and not necessarily requirement. Furthermore, the financial operations of the refineries, whereby they are regarded as contract processors, to whom fixed processing fees are paid by the NNPC, who in turn supplies the crude oil and consigns all the petroleum products to PPMC for sale and distribution, does not allow for proper appreciation of the cost structure and profitability of refining operations.

In 2000, the Port Refinery was refining only about 90,000 barrel per day out of its installed combined capacity of 210,000 barrel per day since the old refinery was shut down due to a haulage constraints on naphtha and fuel oil tankage.

The major processes used by the refinery to produce petroleum products from crude oil are crude distillation, vacuum distillation, Naptha Hydro-Treating, Catalytic Cracking and Gas Concentration. The salable products obtainable from the refinery are liquefied petroleum gas or cooking gas, premium motor spirit or petrol, dual purpose kerosene (aviation/household), automotive gas oil or diesel and fuel oil. The refinery was also said to produce some special products namely--unstenched LPG for insecticide manufacture, straight run naphtha and propylene rich LPG, feed to to Eleme Petrochemical Plant. Product availiability at PHRC was said to be satisfactory in spite of the ongoing Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) which was commenced in May, 2000.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Petroleum By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Port Harcourt Refinery was said to generate its own steam and electrical power. During normal operations, three boilers and three turbo-generators were used to supply the required energy. Evacuation facilities available included 120 storage tanks of various sizes for crude oil, intermediate and finished products; 2 modern jetties at Okrika each of which had two berths- an outer berth capable of handling up to 35,000.00 DWT vessels, and inner berth for ships of up to 5,000 DWT; A 55km pipeline constructed from NNPC/Shell Bonny Terminal to supply crude to the refinery and road tankers and pipelines. The refinery has modern treatment plants to handle all waste from its operations.

The constraints of the refinery were poor performance of the two other refineries in the country; inadequate products evacuation facilities.

By next year the 12 billion dollars oil refinery of the Dangote refinery being built on 6180 acres of land between the Atlantic Ocean and the Lekki Lagoon will take off and will process 650,000 barrels of crude oil daily.

With the Dangote Refinery and its monopolistic policy patronized, endorsed, encouraged and approved by the central government, whatever money to be spent on Port Harcourt Refinery will go down the drain again. The money will just be a waste. The Central Government has so much money to waste while the states are dying. And this is in a country that has the growing population of unemployed youths while poverty is on the rise daily. And this is in a country where nothing works while millions live in fear because of insecurity. And this is in a country that has the largest number of displaced people in Africa. And this in a country that is marching backward so fast.

It's so sad.

Journalist and retired director in the presidency now lives in Magodo, Lagos
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.
Initially, the company plans to drill four diamond holes to test the targets directly along strike from shallow high-grade nickel sulphide mineralisation.

( ) (FRA:T59) has started diamond drilling to test high priority magnetic targets at the Leinster Nickel Project in Western Australia.

The drill program will begin with four diamond drill-holes directly along strike from shallow high-grade nickel sulphide mineralisation returned at the Horn prospect.

Following these diamond holes, the company will start reverse circulation (RC) drilling to further test the strike potential along from the Horn, as well as some of the more-advanced regional targets across the Leinster tenure.

Excited to be back on the ground

Auroch managing director Aidan Platel said: We are excited to be back on the ground at Leinster and drilling such high-potential exploration targets.

Our drilling last year confirmed thick high-grade nickel and copper sulphide mineralisation at very shallow depths at the Horn Prospect, but importantly it also showed how well this mineralisation is mapped by the aeromagnetic anomaly there.

Drilling program

The combined drill program comprises around 1,200 metres of diamond drilling and 1,800 metres of RC drilling.

This follows the companys successful diamond drill program at the Horn in late 2020, which intersected thick high-grade nickel-copper sulphide mineralisation at shallow depths.

Best results include:

7.30 metres at 2.20% nickel & 0.53% copper from 143 metres; and

4.09 metres at 2.40% nickel & 0.61% copper from 119.91metres.

High-grade nickel-sulphide mineralisation

A detailed review of the projects geochemistry and geophysics identified that the high-grade nickel-sulphide mineralisation at the Horn was strongly coincident with an aeromagnetic anomaly.

The highest priority of these aeromagnetic target areas is the magnetic anomaly directly northwest of the Horn.

This target has been named the Woodwind Prospect and the company has planned three diamond holes and a further eight RC holes to test this prospects potential to host nickel sulphide mineralisation.

Platel said: We have very similar aeromagnetic anomalies along strike to the northwest of the Horn which basically have never been drilled, so we are eager to test these anomalies and see if the relationship between the aeromagnetic highs and the nickel sulphide mineralisation continues along strike.

Nepean drilling update

Meanwhile, the company has completed drilling at the Nepean Nickel Project after 32 holes for 3,397 metres testing shallow targets near the historic high-grade Nepean nickel mine and regional aeromagnetic targets along strike.

All samples have been delivered to the laboratory and DHEM surveys are underway.

Results from this program will be modelled and used to define targets for the next phase of drilling at Nepean.

Platel said: Our maiden RC program at Nepean has been completed, which tested both near-mine shallow drill targets as well as more regional greenfields targets along the full 10 kilometres of prospective strike.

We are awaiting assay and DHEM results which we expect to receive over the coming weeks.
Russia's opposition figure Alexei Navalny is in 'great pain' and believes prison guards are torturing him by preventing him from sleeping, his lawyers say.

In a statement passed to his lawyers today, the Kremlin critic says he requested a visit from a civilian doctor after experiencing serious pain but had been refused.

Earlier, Russia's prison service said he was in 'satisfactory' condition.

After an examination, prison medics said 'his state of health was assessed as stable and satisfactory.'

But one of his lawyers said Navalny had been experiencing health problems for several weeks in jail.

Lawyers to Navalny demanded immediate access to their client on Wednesday, saying that he had complained of back pain and leg numbness.

Navalny is in one of Russia's most notorious prisons, where his lawyers are rarely able to speak to him.

Before and after: Alexei Navalny (L) stands trial on embezzlement charges. Right: an Instagram post shows Navalny after being sentenced

Navalny was jailed in February for two-and-a-half years on old embezzlement charges in a move his allies said was a pretext to silence his criticism of Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

He has since been moved from a Moscow prison to 'Penal Colony No. 2' in the village of Prkrov, though Russian authorities have still not officially said where he is.

Penal Colony No. 2, or IK-2, has been described as 'a breaking camp', by Pyotr Kuryanov, a lawyer with the NGO Fund for the Defense of Prisoners Rights.

The prison is known to be unusually harsh and a place where prisoners are subjected to intense psychological pressure, former inmates have said.

In a letter dated 15 March, Navalny compared the prison to George Orwell's 'Nineteen Eighty-Four'.

He said that he hasn't seen 'even a hint at violence' there but faced overwhelming controls and security.

Penal Colony No. 2 or IK-2 stands out among Russian penitentiary facilities for its particularly strict regime. One lawyer described it as a 'breaking camp'

The prison is known to be unusually harsh and a place where prisoners are subjected to intense psychological pressure, former inmates have said

Its location is in in Pokrov in the Vladimir region, 53 miles east of Moscow where temperatures regularly drop below freezing

In a letter dated 15 March, Navalny compared the prison to George Orwell's 'Nineteen Eighty-Four'. He said that he hasn't seen 'even a hint at violence' there but faced overwhelming controls and security

Navalny made headlines in last year when he was nearly killed by a poison attack during an internal flight, allegedly the work of Russian authorities.

He was then arrested in January on his return to Russia from Germany where he had been recovering from exposure to the Soviet-designed nerve toxin Novichok.

Navalny's allies this week launched a campaign seeking his release and announced plans to stage what they said would be 'modern Russia's biggest protest'.

An image from the website free.navalny.com shows the number of people involved in protests to free Alexei Navalny across Russia

Navalny's allies this week launched a campaign seeking his release and announced plans to stage what they said would be 'modern Russia's biggest protest'
MASON CITY, Iowa - A man accused of releasing hydrogen balloons that would explode and could be heard across Mason City has had his charges dropped.

Court documents state the three charges against Doran Maklenburg were dropped last week.

He had been charged with three counts of felony unauthorized possession of an offensive weapon.

"Defendant is alleged to have possessed a bag or balloon filled with hydrogen or other unknown explosive gas. The device in question is referred to as an HHO balloon and does not contain incendiary or explosives. An HHO balloon consists of hydrogen and oxygen, run through an HHO generator. There is no allegation that Defendant possessed gun powder, gasoline, or black powder. While an HHO balloon makes a loud noise, it is an implosion into itself and not an explosion," court documents state. "The State has failed to provide sufficient evidence that the HHO balloon possessed by Defendant meets the definition of an offensive weapon as defined in Iowa Code Section 724.1(1)(c)."
You have permission to edit this article.

Edit Close
From time to time, whether motivated by politics or articulating a misinformed position, commentators will seek to claim Trinidad and Tobago is a failing state.

I take serious umbrage to that because when one understands what a failing state or economy looks like, it is clear we are very far from that. In fact, by independent measures, we are closer to the opposite side of that spectrum.
You have permission to edit this article.

Edit Close
[March 25, 2021] Field Effect and Harris partner to protect customers worldwide from cyber threats

Industry innovators join forces to deliver unparalleled comprehensive cyber protection. OTTAWA, ON, March 25, 2021 /CNW/ - Field Effect, a global cyber security company specializing in intelligence-grade protection for small and medium enterprises, and Harris, an international vertical market software provider, have announced their partnership to bring best-in-class security solutions to Harris customers worldwide. This partnership is part of Harris' ongoing commitment to security. Not only will this enhance the security of their own applications, but it will also make it easy for their customers to secure their organizations. "This partnership is a great fit. Harris understands the emerging needs of their clients and is dedicated to providing them with the highest quality solutions so they can do business efficiently and securely," said Matt Holland, Founder, CEO, and CTO of Field Effect. "Our combined global reach matched with the ease and assurance of our cyber security solution is in perfect alignment to help businesses move forward securely." Field Effect's managed detection and response solution, Covalence, is the only security solution built and designed from the ground up that makes it easy for small and medium businesses to get comprehensive, sophisticated protection from a single platform. The unique strength of Covalence is that it sees into every aspect of a business' threat surface and aggregates the data from multiple security events into simple, actionable steps, making it fast and easy to prevent and reolve threats.



"Organizations across all industries are realizing that the new cyber security reality is one that cannot be ignored," said Jeff Bender, CEO of Harris. "They find themselves struggling to make sense of the threat, keep up with the pace of change, and find knowledgeable staff. We decided we needed to move beyond helping our customers recover from an attack to helping them prevent one from occurring. This is what led to our partnership with Field Effect, a company that has the knowledge, expertise, solutions, and passion to protect our customers." The partnership between Harris and Field Effect reflects their ongoing commitment to proactively strengthening the cyber resilience of people, businesses, and organizations around the world.

About Field Effect

Field Effect believes businesses of all sizes deserve powerful cyber security solutions to protect them. The company's threat detection, monitoring, training, and compliance products and services are the result of years of research and development by the brightest talents in the cyber security industry. For more information, visit www.fieldeffect.com About N. Harris Computer Corporation (Harris)

Harris acquires vertical market software businesses, manages them using industry best practices, and builds them for the future. Through acquisitions, Harris has grown extensively from its roots in the utilities, local government, education, and healthcare sectors to operate over 150 businesses globally across more than twenty industries. Harris is an operating group of Constellation Software Inc. (TSX: CSU), one of North America's most active acquirers of software businesses. SOURCE Field Effect

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
analysis

The uneasy relationship between humans and nature is in constant evolution, but we are now witnessing major ecological and climatic changes that affect all of us. In the current context, we need to develop new concepts and solutions, curb 'business as usual' practices and move toward a world that is more respectful of our environment and ultimately of ourselves.

Global biodiversity policies should be implemented at all scales, linking conservation and restoration of biodiversity to people, and bringing it in an equilibrium of mutual respect and responsible stewardship.

Established in 1971, the UNESCO Man and Biosphere programme (MAB) has been contributing to this global effort. It is the custodian of more than 700 biosphere reserves around the world, each with its own national protection status and management type.

Biosphere reserves belong to the world's most iconic natural areas and offer a multitude of opportunities to showcase that 'sustainable development and conservation can work hand in hand'. Biosphere reserves are the living labs in which people and nature learn - again - how to live and thrive together.

The EVAMAB project

Following the recommendations of the Lima Action Plan, UNESCO commissioned the Belgian Science Policy administration (BELSPO) to mobilise expertise to study the added value of the concept of 'ecosystem services'. This concept, also dubbed 'nature's contribution to people', is being increasingly used by international experts working on human-nature interactions.

This concept is popular because it shows the possible benefits nature is providing to humans. Think about cultural services (e.g., income generated by tourism, spiritual sites, sacred groves), supporting services (good soils, plant growth), provisioning services (e.g., food, fish, timber, fuelwood, medicinal plants) or regulating services (clean water and air, stable climate).

The CEBioS programme, funded by the Belgian Development Cooperation and housed at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, took up that challenge and created the EVAMAB project. They assembled a consortium of Belgian scientists. Each brought his or her own expertise and track record and, most importantly, dedicated scientific African partners to tackle specific aspects. The three-year EVAMAB project (2017-2019) was born.

The ideas behind the EVAMAB project are manifold, like introducing the concept of 'ecosystem services' through participative workshops and engaging different stakeholders to understand and discuss these services or related issues, such as 'payment for ecosystem services' (PES). Of course, each of the biosphere reserves is different and requires a tailored approach.

EVAMAB focused on four pilot sites in Africa, spanning a range of ecosystems and associated social-economic systems. The project's main aim was to scope the actual needs and concerns of African stakeholders in a participative way. The project aimed at mapping and understanding stakeholders' perceptions of a selection of ecosystem services and their value(s). By doing so we did test a range of tools and methods in real-life conditions.

The four African sites

In Benin, the Pendjari National Park was investigated. It is one of the last important refuges for the West African megafauna such as lions and elephants, and its landscape is made up of savannas, wetlands and rivers at the edge of the Sahel, and part of a larger complex of protected areas (Arly in Burkina Faso and "W" in Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger). It is bordered by a number of villages.

In Tanzania, the Lake Manyara National Park was chosen for its extraordinary densities of wildlife, its soda lake and its importance for tourism and many different local communities. In Uganda, EVAMAB researchers worked on Mount Elgon National Park, a transboundary (with Kenya) Afromontane ecosystem, threatened by high human densities, forest degradation and devastating landslides.

And finally, the project also focused on Lake Tana, on the high plateaus of Ethiopia, at the source of the Blue Nile. This large freshwater lake harbours fisheries and cultural highlights embodied by century-old Orthodox monasteries. Its waters are increasingly threatened by the invasive water hyacinth.

Outcomes, guidance manual and dialogue

One of the major outcomes of this project was the production of a guidance manual for the assessment of ecosystem services in African Biosphere reserves (in press). It explains the concepts of 'ecosystem services' and 'biosphere reserves' and gives general guidance on how to select the most appropriate tools to assess ecosystem services. The manual also has a chapter about the valuation of these services, the concept of 'payments for ecosystem services' (PES), and finally, some recommendations on how this valuation can be used to generate actual change for a better management of biosphere reserves. The manual details case studies, scientific results from the EVAMAB project and scientific literature and is a remarkable example of co-production of knowledge.

Among the main findings of the project, we found that the key to successfully manage biosphere reserves in Africa is to actively engage with all concerned stakeholders. They can be local authorities, scientists, fishermen, pastoralists or farmers. We were impressed by their knowledge of their respective MAB sites and by their openness to find solutions to mitigate environmental conflicts.

The use of different stakeholder engagement techniques in Lake Manyara National Park and Pendjari National Park allowed us to better discern the different perceptions and the priorities of local communities.

Different results for different regions

In Pendjari National Park, it appeared that different villages are inhabited by distinct ethnic groups with different stakes in the park. This demands a differentiated approach as to the ranking of priority ecosystem services - for example, some stakeholders are more focused on agriculture, others focus more on guiding tourists, etc. A systematic mapping of stakeholders' perceptions highlighted contrasting views of the limitations of agricultural activities in the park's buffer zones. Building trust and achieving mutual understanding will be necessary to avoid an escalation of conservation conflicts in the area.

All stakeholders acknowledge the importance of the area, which is one of the last strongholds for charismatic and culturally important megafauna. This highlights the fact that, despite many disagreements, there is a shared appreciation of the Pendjari National Park's heritage. A valuation exercise confirms the importance of the distance of villages from the buffer zone.

In Manyara National Park, through participative community mapping we realised how the perceptions of the Maasai pastoralists fundamentally differ from the local farmers. This understanding allows biosphere reserve managers, in cooperation with the communities, to ensure a more customized conservation. Winning the hearts of the communities is only possible by devising a smart approach to use the available ecosystem services in an inclusive and equitable way. For that you need to have an estimate of the value of ecosystem services, be it in a monetary or non-monetary sense.

In Uganda's Mount Elgon National Park we analysed farmers' perspectives on payments for ecosystem services and the effectiveness of existing certification systems of coffee farms and the link to biodiversity. It appeared that of the two locally prominent systems the fair-trade coffee, bundled with organic coffee had a higher tree and insect biodiversity and stored more carbon, but had a very negative impact on farmers' income due to lower yields. The Utz certified coffee had higher yields, resulting in higher farmers' income, largely because of the use of fertilisers and pesticides, but this reduced biodiversity where ants and spiders were used as indicators. Ecotrust, a local NGO that attracts funding mainly from the voluntary carbon market, was successful in its promotion of tree planting - not only to store carbon, but also to increase tree biodiversity.

In Lake Tana National Park, we analysed local farmers' willingness to contribute labour and money to eradicate the invasive, non-native water hyacinth. Local farmers suffer from the infestation of irrigation canals, and the study showed that they are willing to contribute substantial amounts of time and money to address the problem. Here again, we realised how local solutions can benefit both biodiversity and the local residents. These data may help develop concepts of regular weed harvesting and creating an additional income and some new value chains. This case study also shows the importance of a stakeholder-centred approach to investigate and value ecosystem (dis)services.

In addition to the guidance manual, this three-year project generated eleven masters theses, more than ten peer-reviewed articles and two policy briefs.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Africa Environment Sustainable Development By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

The UNESCO manual, as a complement to existing reviews and guides, should be useful to policy makers, communities and management entities to help them more sustainably harness the potential of ecosystem services for local stakeholders in biosphere reserves and beyond. That should contribute to making conservation and sustainable development two sides of the same coin, as it is the aim in biosphere reserves.

Associated researchers or co-authors in Belgium:

- Anne-Julie Rochette, CEBioS (coordinator of EVAMAB), responsible together with Luc Janssens de Bisthoven for general coordination and the parts in Benin and in Tanzania.

- Bruno Verbist, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium, responsible for the part in Uganda and Benin.

- Koen Vanderhaegen, KU Leuven, responsible for the part in Uganda.

- Steven Van Passel, UAntwerpen, Antwerp, responsible for the part in Ethiopia.

- Hossein Azadi (UAntwerpen), responsible for the part in Ethiopia.

- Jean Huge, Open University of The Netherlands, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, responsible for stakeholder engagement in Benin and Tanzania.

- Luc Brendonck (KU Leuven) and Prof. Dr. Maarten Vanhove (UHasselt), responsible for parts in Tanzania.

Associated researchers or co-authors in Africa:

- Benin: Kakai Glegle and Jean-Didier Akpona, Pendjari National Parks, Universite Abomey-Calavi, Cotonou, Benin.

- Ethiopia: D. Berihun and N.E. Tefera, Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia.

- Tanzania: Linus Munishi, Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology, Arusha, Tanzania.

- Uganda: M. Isabirye, Busitema University, Uganda.

For 50 years, the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Program (MAB) has combined exact, natural and social sciences to find solutions implemented in the 714 exceptional sites (129 countries) of biosphere reserves.

Luc Janssens de Bisthoven, Coordinator of the CEBioS programme at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
Question Everything! Purpose and Intent of this website: The Banality of Evil on Sanctions



By Jacob G. Hornberger March 25, 2021 " Information Clearing House " - - The banality of evil within the mainstream press when it comes to actions carried out by the U.S. national-security establishment never ceases to amaze me. The latest example appears in the New York Times in an investigative piece that absolutely stunned me. The piece consists of a video that details an extensive investigation into a ship that was suspected of violating the system of economic sanctions that the U.S. government and the UN have imposed on North Korea. The video was put together by what the Times calls its Visual Investigative Team. The video, according to the Times, examines the maze of connections behind secret oil deliveries to North Korea, in defiance of international sanctions. There are five staff members who were assigned this task. They say that they spent months reviewing ship-tracking data, corporate records and satellite imagery to uncover one way North Korea evades strict international sanctions. They didnt say how much their investigation cost but my hunch is at least a few million dollars. To which I ask: Who cares? Or to put it another way: Why shouldnt North Korea evade those strict international sanctions? Whats wrong with doing so? Why should their attempts to evade the sanctions be investigated and reported on by the U.S. mainstream press? I cant help but think that those types of questions never enter the minds of the people serving on that investigative team. Their assumption is undoubtedly that since the U.S. and UN imposed the sanctions, they must be legitimate and, therefore, that it is illegitimate for North Korea to be violating them. No Advertising - No Government Grants - This Is Independent Media Get Our Free Newsletter After all, that investigative team could have instead spent their time, efforts, and money studying the horrific effects of the sanctions on the people of North Korea. For example, an extensive study of the deaths from starvation would have been edifying. So would an examination of how the sanctions have contributed, in combination with North Koreas socialist economic system, to the economic impoverishment of the North Korean people. There is another important point to consider about what the Times has done with its investigation: Its research into how North Korea evades the sanctions could assist the U.S. national-security state to clamp down on such evasive efforts. Clamping down would, of course, help to bring about more deaths and more suffering among the North Korean people. The mindset of those investigators is obviously mired in the notion that the U.S. and UN are the good guys and North Korea is the bad guy. The good guy has imposed the sanctions. The bad guy is evading the sanctions. So they do an extensive investigation into how the bad guy is evading the good guys sanctions. If the investigation helps the good guy to enforce his sanctions, so be it. After all, hes the good guy. Thats been the mindset of most of the mainstream press ever since the U.S. government was converted to a national-security state after World War II, with the ostensible mission of preventing the United States from being enveloped by what U.S. officials said was an international communist conspiracy that was supposedly based in Moscow, Russia. (Yes, that Russia  the same Russia with which U.S. officials and the mainstream press are still so obsessed today.) North Korea was supposedly part of that supposed international communist conspiracy. Thats why the U.S. and UN intervened in the Korean civil war in the early 1950s. The idea was that if North Korea were permitted to win the war, the Reds would soon be taking control of the United States. Its also why the CIA had such an easy time recruiting assets within the U.S. mainstream press as part of its secret Operation Mockingbird. Publishers, editors, and reporters considered it a big honor to be serving the CIA as a trusted asset in the global war on communism. The mainstream mindset is the same when it comes to Cuba. The U.S. government has maintained a strict economic embargo on that country since 1959. In combination with Cubas socialist system, the embargo has squeezed the lifeblood out of the Cuban people. Yet, how often have we seen the mainstream press over the past several decades objecting to the evil and immorality of that embargo? Rarely. The assumption has simply been that the good guy has the legitimate authority to impose an embargo on the bad guy. Even when some in the mainstream press now call for ending the embargo, more often than not its because they havent worked rather than the fact that they are evil and immoral. And why is Cuba considered to be the bad guy. Because it is ruled by a communist regime. In the eyes of the U.S. national-security establishment, that automatically makes it the bad guy and, therefore, subject to sanctions and embargoes that kill and impoverish its citizens. For that matter, it also means that the good guy wields the authority to assassinate people serving in the regime of the bad guy. Of course, a dark irony in all this is how the mainstream press praises these bad guys for developing and maintaining such socialist programs as government-provided old-age retirement benefits (i.e., Social Security), government-provided healthcare (i.e. Medicare and Medicaid), and government-provided education for children (i.e., public schooling). The fact is that from a moral, legal, and constitutional perspective, the U.S. government and the UN have no legitimate authority to impose sanctions or embargoes on North Korea, Cuba, or anyone else. For that matter, the U.S. government and the UN never had the legitimate authority to involve themselves in the Korean War and kill millions of Koreans in the process. The U.S. government also never had the legitimate authority to assassinate any Cuban official, including Cubas leader Fidel Castro. Moreover, North Korea has the legitimate authority to use nuclear weapons to deter or defend against another U.S. military attack on their country, especially given the willingness of U.S. officials to use nuclear weapons on populated cities. Under what authority do the U.S. government and the UN deny people the right of self-defense? Lets not forget, after all, that the United States is still formally at war with North Korea given that no peace treaty was ever signed to end the Korean War. Lets also not forget that the U.S. war is illegal under our form of government, given that Congress has never declared war on North Korea, as the Constitution requires. These are the types of points that unfortunately the mainstream press rarely raises. They just assume that the U.S. government and the UN must be in the right and that their targeted regimes must be in the wrong. They are unable to break out of that pro-national-security state mindset, which is why they waste their time, efforts, and money in studying how people are violating sanctions rather than pursuing the moral high ground by investigating and reporting on the horrific consequences of sanctions, with the aim of bringing them to an end. Jacob G. Hornberger is founder and president of The Future of Freedom Foundation. He was born and raised in Laredo, Texas, and received his B.A. in economics from Virginia Military Institute and his law degree from the University of Texas. He was a trial attorney for twelve years in Texas. He also was an adjunct professor at the University of Dallas, where he taught law and economics. https://www.fff.org Registration is necessary to post comments. We ask only that you do not use obscene or offensive language. Please be respectful of others. See also Self-interest and the Care for Others | Noam Chomsky #videohttps://t.co/Uc1ySWj3AX  Noam Chomsky (@noamchomskyT) March 24, 2021
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-26 04:52:05|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

CAIRO, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Tunisia received on Thursday a batch of COVID-19 vaccines donated by China. Meanwhile, Iraq confirmed 6,513 COVID-19 infections, the highest daily spike since the pandemic outbreak last year.

"China is the first country to provide a vaccine donation for Tunisia," Chinese Ambassador to Tunisia Zhang Jianguo said at the Carthage International Airport in Tunis, capital of Tunisia.

"We are convinced that these vaccines will contribute to the control of the epidemic situation, the recovery of the economy in Tunisia and the protection of the health of Tunisians," Zhang said.

Tunisian Minister of Health Faouzi Mehdi expressed gratitude to China for sending "large quantities of Sinovac vaccine against COVID-19 as a donation."

"It will be of great benefit to us to speed up the vaccination process," the minister said.

The Iraqi Ministry of Health said the tally of COVID-19 cases climbed to 815,605 with the addition of 6,513 new infections.

It also reported 33 new deaths, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 14,128, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 4,781 to 732,252.

Turkey reported 28,731 new COVID-19 cases, raising its total infections to 3,120,013. Its death toll surged by 157 to 30,619, while its tally of recoveries climbed by 2,900,829 with the addition of 19,186 newly recovered cases.

Iraqi Minister of Health Hassan al-Tamimi announced the arrival of the first batch of Britain's AstraZeneca vaccine, which contains 336,000 doses.

Iran reported 7,506 new COVID-19 cases, raising its tally of infections to 1,830,823. The death toll from the virus surged by 97 to 62,142, while the total recoveries in Iran soared by 6,988 to 1,569,697.

Israel's Ministry of Health reported 826 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, raising the total confirmed tally in the country to 830,761.

The death toll from the virus reached 6,158 with four new fatalities, while the total recoveries in Israel rose to 812,766, with 1,954 newly recovered cases.

The number of people vaccinated against COVID-19 in Israel has surpassed 5.2 million, or 55.9 percent of its total population, since the vaccination campaign began on Dec. 20, 2020.

Jordan recorded 8,433 new cases, bringing the total infections in the kingdom to 571,290. The COVID-19 death toll in Jordan rose by 96 to 6,277, while the tally of recoveries climbed by 7,705 to 463,893.

Morocco's COVID-19 tally rose to 493,353 as 511 new cases were registered, according to a statement by the Moroccan Ministry of Health.

The death toll hit 8,788 as two more patients died, and the total number of recoveries from COVID-19 in Morocco increased to 481,074 after 467 new ones were added, it added.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) confirmed 2,043 new COVID-19 cases, taking its total infections to 448,637. The virus has claimed 1,466 lives in the UAE with the addition of 10 more fatalities, while the tally of recoveries rose by 2,200 to 431,773.

The Kuwaiti Health Ministry reported on Thursday 1,390 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total infections in the country to 224,432.

The ministry also announced two more deaths, taking the death toll to 1,258, while the tally of recoveries rose by 1,379 to 208,771.

Abdullah Al-Bader, assistant undersecretary for medicine affairs in the ministry, said on Thursday that a new batch of coronavirus vaccines will arrive in the country next week.

Qatari Health Ministry announced 587 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 175,919.

It also reported three more deaths from the virus and 327 more recoveries, bringing the death toll to 281 and overall recoveries to 161,815.

In Oman, the health ministry reported 733 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total confirmed number in the sultanate to 153,838.

It also reported six new COVID-19 deaths and 546 new recoveries, taking the death toll in Oman to 1,650, and the overall recoveries to 140,766.

Algeria reported 105 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total confirmed cases in the North African country to 116,543.

The death toll from the virus rose to 3,071 in Algeria after two new fatalities were added, while the tally of recoveries rose by 93 to 81,158, said the Algerian Ministry of Health in a statement. Enditem
Przepraszamy!

Ogoszenie na stanowisku:

Senior Java Developer in Intraday Liquidity Risk Management Team



wygaso z dniem 2021-04-23



Ta propozycja bya zozona przez Nordea Bank Abp SA Oddzia w Polsce

Mozliwe przyczyny wygasniecia ogoszenia to:

oferta zozona przez pracodawce zostaa usunieta z naszych zasobow

rekruter zakonczy proces rekrutacji uzyskujac odpowiednia ilosc CV

rekruter zmodyfikowa tresc zlecenia i jest ono dostepne pod innym adresem url

dostawca tresci usuna ogoszenie z bazy danych

zy adres WWW ogoszenia

Jezeli poszukujesz pracy w branzy Informatyka / Telekomunikacja, zajrzyj tutaj: Praca Informatyka / Telekomunikacja

Jezeli poszukujesz pracy na stanowisku Senior Java Developer in Intraday Liquidity Risk Management Team, zajrzyj tutaj: Praca Senior Java Developer in Intraday Liquidity Risk Management Team

Jezeli poszukujesz pracy w miescie: Gdansk, zajrzyj tutaj: Praca Gdansk



Pamietaj, ze mozesz takze rozpoczac poszukiwanie pracy od strony gownej, kliknij tutaj.

Inne oferty, ktore mogy byc w kregu Twoich zainteresowan:
document

The United States strongly condemns the horrific terrorist attacks in Niger, the most recent of which tragically killed 137 civilians on March 21 in the Tahoua region. We are deeply concerned by the increasing violence against civilians and call for those responsible to be held accountable to the full extent of the law.

The United States stands with the Nigerien people as they enter a period of mourning for the victims. We remain committed to working together with the Government and security forces of Niger to counter violent extremism and ensure security and prosperity for all Nigeriens.
The Programme reinforces HexGn and Invest India's commitment to helping women-owned emerging technology ventures succeed and grow. The HexGn Startup Ready Programme is a 3-month high- speed Acceleration Programme. It will support women-owned technology-based businesses across urban and rural India.

The HexGn Startup Ready Programme aims to fast-track opportunities for women technologists and innovators, working towards advancing key emerging technologies and propelling the vision of a self-reliant New India.

For this exclusive online Startup Acceleration Programme for women working in the field of science & technology, HexGn has partnered with Invest India (via Startup India and AGNIi Mission team, executing the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of Indias flagship technology commercialisation Programme).

At the launch, Mr Deepak Bagla, MD & CEO, Invest India said, Our women entrepreneurs are not only helping the countrys economic growth but also playing a pivotal role in leaving a positive impact on society. Invest India is committed to strengthening the women entrepreneurship ecosystem, through programmes, innovation challenges, and creation of robust networks. Our partnership with HexGn for this Programme is another step in this direction.

Further, Mr Rahul Nayar, Vice President Invest India added, Indian women are at the very forefront of global innovation  leading advanced technology programmes across the world, from artificial intelligence to space exploration. This collaboration recognises the importance of ensuring India's women have access to innovation opportunities and, is a small step towards delivering this long overdue need.

The Programme reinforces HexGn and Invest India's commitment to helping women-owned emerging technology ventures succeed and grow. The HexGn Startup Ready Programme is a 3-month high-speed Acceleration Programme.

It will support women-owned technology-based businesses across urban and rural India. Applicants can register for the Programme on the Startup India portal (http://www.startupindia.gov.in)

Aastha Grover, Head, Startup India Hub at Invest India said, Startup India is dedicated to promoting women entrepreneurship, through curated programmes such as the HexGn Startup Ready Programme. We are not only focused on reducing the gender gap when it comes to choosing entrepreneurship as a career track, but also making the startup ecosystem in India more inclusive so that women founders can scale their ventures with ease.

In the last decade, India has come a long way in increasing womens participation in education and the economy as a whole. Access to early-stage support will bolster the journey of women entrepreneurs in the country.

At the launch, Jappreet Sethi, CEO, HexGn said, Entrepreneurship will enable women to play a pivotal rather than a peripheral role in New India. We are delighted to support budding women entrepreneurs, who are leveraging technology to lay the foundation of the next generation of businesses in urban & rural India".

Empowering women with innovation knowledge and tools is the first step towards motivating women entrepreneurs to build global enterprises from India.

The HexGn Startup Ready Programme coincides with the launch of INR 945 Crore Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS), announced by Honble Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently. The scheme will become operational from the first April 2021. Selected startups can get up to INR 20 lakh as grant, and at the commercialisation stage an additional INR 50 lakh in convertible debentures.
Since taking office the Biden Administration has been fighting to hide the crisis on the Southern Border. It is worse than we know, and they just keep lying about it. Read this:

The family-unit holding cells smell like urine and vomit. Fights break out in the unaccompanied-minor cells. Scabies, lice, the flu, and COVID-19 run rampant.

Up to 80 individuals are squeezed into each 24- by 30-foot cell, and there arent enough mattresses for everyone. Sheets of plastic divide the rooms.

Any diseases that are in there, its being kept in there, like a petri dish. The smell is overwhelming, a Border Patrol agent said, describing the conditions in a facility in south Texas. The agent, Carlos (not his real name), spoke to The Epoch Times on condition of anonymity, for fear of repercussions.

Border Patrol agents on the front lines are getting so frustrated that theyre now risking their livelihoods to reveal whats really going on in the illegal immigrant processing facilities.

One or two agents are left to control 300 to 500 people during a shift. No agent wants to report physical or sexual assaults between the aliens because theyll get blamed for letting it happen. Theyre also forced to separate a child from an extended family member because he or she is not a biological parent.

The number of unaccompanied minorschildren under 18 who arrive without a parentis buckling the system. The law requires Border Patrol to prioritize unaccompanied minors and transfer them to the Department of Health and Human Services within 72 hours.

Were getting them out of here as quickly as possible, but we are so overwhelmed right now, Carlos said. It used to be easy to get them out in 72 hours. Not anymore. Theyre staying here for 10, 12 days. Its horrible.

So far this fiscal year (from Oct. 1, 2020), Border Patrol has apprehended more than 29,000 unaccompanied children crossing the border illegally. In all of fiscal 2020, just over 33,000 were apprehended, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) statistics.

This years numbers are on a trajectory to surpass the 2019 crisis numbers, when 80,634 minors were apprehended.

CBP declined to provide the number of unaccompanied minors currently being held. In general, CBP does not provide daily in-custody numbers, as they are considered operationally sensitive because CBPs in-custody numbers fluctuate on a constant basis, CBP spokesman Nate Peeters wrote in an email to The Epoch Times on March 23.

Health and Human Services confirmed on March 23 that its Office of Refugee Resettlement is holding approximately 11,350 children.

CBP and Health and Human Services have opened several extra facilities to deal with the influx, with the latest being the San Diego Convention Center.

Carlos confirmed that the majority of unaccompanied minors coming across the border already have parents or family members in the United States.

Everybody that shows up hereeven if its a 3-year-old kid with no one aroundthey all have an address on them. And theyll give it to you: Heres my address; this is where you are sending me,' Carlos said.

And thats what we do. This is the way we are being played.

Most of the unaccompanied minors come from the Central American countries of Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador.

Were dealing with a different culture whos not afraid to send all their kids under the age of five, knowing theyre going to get raped, knowing theyre going to get killed, Carlos said. You talk to the adults or the teenagers and theyll tell you, They raped three or four girls, and they kicked them off the trains. Theyre going to die.

Two-thirds of migrants traveling through Mexico report experiencing violence during the journey, including abduction, theft, extortion, torture, and rape, according to Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which has been providing medical and mental health care for migrants and refugees in Mexico since 2012.

Almost 1 in 3 women surveyed by MSF said they had been sexually abused during their journey60 percent through rape.

Families Released

A new directive from the Biden administration is allowing for family units to be released into the interior of the United States without a notice to appearthe paperwork that states the date an illegal immigrant must turn up in court to plead their case.

Theres no repercussions. Im not even going to give you a court date. You dont even have to show up at court if you dont want to. Itd be nice, but you dont have to. That word gets out immediately. And I mean overnight, Carlos said.

He said its now common knowledge that if you bring a child, youll be quickly released into the United States. Theyre being transported all over the country, but popular destinations include Houston, New York, and California, as well as Maryland and Washington, D.C.

Theyll put them in a hotel for a couple of days until their flight is ready to fly them to where they are going. Thats tax dollars, Carlos said.

Theres no end in sight. The people that were apprehending are warning us of the larger caravans that are on their way.

He said President Joe Bidens rollback of the Trump administrations border policies is the direct cause of the surge.

One hundred and ten percent. They were already ready before Biden was even in office. They knew that the doors were going to be open. And now weve got a point where we cannot stop it, he said.

The administration hasnt allowed media to access the processing facilities and, according to agents, its even requiring that agents in the field move illegal aliens they apprehend onto private land to process them.

Keep trying until you find us on a public road. But weve been instructed to move all the traffic onto ranches to make sure theres no public eye, an agent said.

Bidens strict on that. Trump was a different story. This administration is a no-go on media, Im guessing because they dont want to let the word out on whats going on here on the borderto make him look good.

Carlos said the agency has stopped dropping illegal immigrants off directly at bus stations now. We were given strict orders from Washington, D.C., that that ceasesits drawing too much attention, he said.

Now they drop the illegal immigrants nearby or at a local NGO facility near the bus station, he said.

The administration hasnt yet called the current situation a crisis, and Biden said on March 21 that hell visit the border at some point.

Our Defenses Are Down

Morale among Border Patrol agents has plummeted, Carlos said. The attrition rate right now is ridiculous, he said. We dont want to work for the Border Patrol anymore. Its not the Border Patrol.

During the Trump era, agents felt empowered to do their jobs, he said. Whatever deals he made, everything was working just fine. Now weve got this trash.

As agents get moved to deal with the increase in family units and unaccompanied minors, the smuggling organizations and cartels move drugs and other individuals through other, unpatrolled areas.

Our manpower is being depleted because we need to go babysit these people, move them as fast as possible to release them into the country, Carlos said. Its ridiculous. We have no backup. Were losing more than were catching. And its no secret.

Our defenses are down. So if theres anybody that we should be worried about, they know this is the time to come in. They know it.
Soares said she worries about all the things hes missed even though he passed all his classes.

He quickly learned how to work on his own, which was great for us to see, but theres also challenges, she said. Hes approaching his senior year and for me this is precious time we lost and are not going to get back.

Daniels parents hoped to take advantage of these high school years to see their son at his most independent and comfortable in a familiar setting and to be able to observe his potential trajectory out of school or for independent living in the future.

He needed to learn so many things to become an adult like any other student, Soares said. We could have used every year possible. Daniels education support will end when he graduates high school.

In October, when his school offered a hybrid program for special-needs students, Daniel was enthusiastic about going back for his junior year. He missed interacting with other people, Soares said.

Even on campus, he still learns through Zoom but hes in a classroom with 4 to 5 other students and a teacher who helps them out. Plus, he got to go back to track and field last month for a quick four-week season.
Smartphone maker on Wednesday said it expects to get 10-15 per cent share in the 4G handsets segment priced in the range of Rs 10,000-Rs 20,000 a unit with the launch of new 8 series devices.

The company will have all devices above Rs 20,000 price range enabled with 5G technology.

"With the launch of 8 series, we are aiming to penetrate deeper into the Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 mid-range 4G market, and capture the young users across the country.

"We plan to increase our market share in this segment to 10-15 per cent with the launch of the 8 series," Vice-President and Chief Executive Officer (India and Europe) Madhav Seth said on sidelines of launching the new series.

The company unveiled two new models, Realme 8 Pro, first smartphone with 108 megapixel ultra quad camera and Realme 8 with 64 MP AI quad camera.

Realme has launched two variants of Realme 8 Pro priced at Rs 17,999 and Rs 19,999 which will start selling on March 25 at the company's website, e-commerce portal Flipkart and mainline channels.

Three variants of Realme 8, which comes with Mediatek Helio gaming processor, priced in the range of 14,999 and Rs 16,999 will also start selling the same day.

According to market research firm IDC, Realme recorded the highest year-on-year growth of 19 per cent in the smartphone category in 2020 with shipment of 19.2 million phones amounting to 13 per cent market share in India.

Seth said that the company is looking to sell 25-30 million smartphones in 2021.

(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:

In a tragic incident, a shooter opened fire at a high school in Washington state on Tuesday. The deadly shooting killed one person whereas 5 others were injured.

Brian Schaeffer of the Spokane Fire Department told reporters that one person died at Freeman High School in Rockford, south of Spokane, and three injured victims were taken to a hospital.

Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children'sHospital received three pediatric patients, spokeswoman NicoleStewart said. They were in stable condition, and family members were with them, she said.

Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich said that the shooter was in custody. Cheryl Moser said her son, a freshman at Freeman HighSchool, called her from a classroom after hearing shots fired.

"He called me and said, 'Mom there are gunshots.' He sounded so scared. I've never heard him like that," Moser said. "You never think about something happening like this at a small school."

Ambulances and a Lifeflight helicopter were sent to the school. Stephanie Lutje told The Associated Press that she was relieved to hear her son was safe after his high school near freeman was put on lockdown.

She commended the school district for its communication with parents. "It's been amazing, within probably 15-20 minutes ofhearing about it, I'd already received a phone call, I'dalready received a text message saying that their school isOK," she said. She still worried for others she knew, including a co-worker who had yet to hear from her son, a sophomore atFreeman. "My stomach's in knots right now," she said.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Today's assays come from the historic Plomosas mine area, and included results from lower levels of the mine area

Today's underground drill assays will be incorporated with existing historic drilling data ahead of the upcoming resource estimate on the Plomosas mine area

Ltd ( ) (OTCQB:GRSLF) (FRA:GPE) has reported more positive drill results from its Plomosas project in Mexico, which have expanded the high-grade silver-gold bulk tonnage zones.

The latest assays come from the historic Plomosas mine area, and included results from lower levels of the mine area, where previous underground drilling has been limited. Here, assays included 159 grams per ton (g/t) of silver equivalent over 7m (m) from a depth of 343.6m.

Another highlight from the surface and underground program hit an intercept of 21m at a grade of 377 g/t silver, 0.23 g/t gold, 0.7 % lead and 1.5% zinc starting from a depth of 112m.

The underground drill assays will be incorporated with existing historic drilling data ahead of the upcoming resource estimate on the Plomosas mine area. A second resource estimate is underway on the San Juan Area, which sits 2.5 kilometres (km) away. Both are earmarked to be released in the second quarter of 2021.

"Our surface and underground drilling program continues to expand the high-grade Ag-Au bulk tonnage zones at the Plomosas Mine Area," said GR Silver's CEO Marcio Fonseca.

"The lower levels of the historic Plomosas Mine had seen only limited drilling by previous operators, oriented primarily towards exploitation of only Pb-Zn mineralization rather than the high-grade Ag-Au mineralization recently being discovered by .

He added: "These results are evidence of the potential bulk tonnage scale of the high-grade mineralizing system at the Plomosas Mine Area.

"They also demonstrate the opportunities that lie ahead for the Plomosas project, with additional core drilling programs to follow the upcoming resource estimates."

believes that Plomosas represents a district-scale project and is carrying out an 11,900m drill program.

The company said the Plomosas Mine Area displays evidence of a 600m long epithermal system, potentially extending up to 1.2km, where multiple veins and discoveries have so far defined a much larger high-grade silver and gold mineralized footprint.

Plomosas, which spans an 8,515 hectares land position, is a past-producing asset, where only one mine, the Plomosas silver-gold-lead-zinc underground mine, operated a 600 tpd crush milling flotation circuit from 1986 to 2001, producing around 8 million ounces of silver, 73 million pounds of lead and 28 million pounds of zinc.

Contact the author at giles@proactiveinvestors.com
A lawsuit that sought to ban mountain bikers from the Palisades Wilderness Study Area in Wyoming has been thrown out, the Jackson Hole News and Guide reports Wilderness Study Areas are protected areas of land that may one day be designated as Wilderness . Unlike in true Wilderness areas, motorized and mechanized activities like mountain biking are allowed in Wilderness Study Areas so long as the level of use remains similar to the time of designation.The lawsuit was filed in 2019 by Mountain Pursuit, a group that advocates on behalf of Wyoming's hunters. It was an attempt to sue the Bridger-Teton National Forest (BTNF) for allowing mountain bike access and argued that mountain bikers and ATV drivers were in danger of eroding the Wilderness eligibility of the Palisades. Mountain Pursuit particularly cited increased mountain biking in Black Canyon and on the Lithium Trail near Teton Pass, and it described a "negative impact...on big game, specifically elk and deer." The lawsuit also targeted ATV use in the Shoal Creek Wilderness Study Area.However, U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Freudenthal dismissed the case as it had no legal standing. "In short, Mountain Pursuit does not identify the specific federal conduct, decision or action at issue and, because of that, it fails to explain how any of the general allegations... would constitute final agency action," she said. "It is Mountain Pursuits burden to identify a discrete and legally-required action that the [U.S. Forest Service] failed to take.The judge believed that Mountain Pursuit took issue with about 30 years of perceived U.S. Forest Service mismanagement of certain trails, rather than a specific unlawful decision, and dismissed the case. After an earlier initial dismissal, Mountain Pursuit's attorneys amended the complaint, but Freudenthal ruled again that the group failed to identify a specific action from the past six years.The case was thrown out in August last year, but it was not widely publicized until Mountain Pursuit's founder, Rob Shoal, wrote about it in the organization's newsletter. He said, "What we really wanted to do was demonstrate that hunting organizations truly care about wildlife and habitat. We learned a lot with our lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service and are looking for another issue to litigate.Freudenthal's order can be read here
SHREVEPORT, La. -Acting United StatesAttorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that Hayden Philip Breaux, 21, of Houma, Louisiana and DQuincy Marquis Jones, 23, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, have both been charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury with one count of conspiracy to commit identity theft and five counts of identity theft. The indictment alleges that Breaux and Jones were involved in a fraudulent scheme to obtain emergency financial aid grants offered to colleges as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, which was passed by the U.S. Congress in March 2020. As part of the CARES Act, funds were given to the Office of Post secondary Education as the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund. Louisiana College in Pineville, Louisiana was an institution of higher learning allotted emergency funding for its students. It is alleged in the indictment that between June 5, 2020 and June 20, 2020, Breaux and Jones conspired to fraudulently obtain CARES Act funds for their own use. Breaux and Jones and other members of the conspiracy used personally identifiable information (PII), specifically, the Louisiana College Student Identification Numbers and passwords of other students to access the Louisiana College Online Student Portal (the Portal) to apply for CARES Act emergency financial aid grants in the names of individuals and direct the grants to specific bank accounts controlled by members of the conspiracy. In total, members of this conspiracy used, without lawful authority, the Louisiana College Student Identification Numbers and passwords of nine individuals to access the Portal,to apply for,and direct payment of CARES Act emergency financial aid from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund. An indictment is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The FBI and U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General are conducting the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth D. Reeg is prosecuting the case.

License Link

Image Source Link
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has announced the launch of a pilot project in Ukraine to provide assistance in creation of online courts to consider small claims (EUR 5,000-10,000), which is then planned to be extended to other countries.

"The project starts in Ukraine, where 49% of companies surveyed in Kyiv said that the courts are the main or very serious obstacle to their activities," the bank said in a press release on Thursday.

As explained by the EBRD, online courts involve a remote dispute resolution procedure, ranging from filing a claim and ending with a decision.

"These courts are available directly to litigants and their representatives, and are complemented by services and tools to facilitate access to justice and participation in the trial," the release said.

As a first step, the EBRD is launching a comprehensive assessment of court performance and performance standards based on the best international, European and national commercial court practices. These standards will set performance targets for the concept and development plan for online courts, which will be developed in the second phase, highlighting the necessary legal, technical and budgetary prerequisites for their creation. The concept and roadmap developed at the second stage for Ukraine can be replicated in other economies where the EBRD invests, the report explains.

For the pilot project, the category of low-cost cases was chosen, since in this case the cost of court costs and delays in proceedings are disproportionate and are unfair obstacles to justice. At the same time, these barriers can be removed through online courts, which will improve access to justice for small and medium-sized businesses.

"According to the World Bank, the cost of resolving a commercial dispute through a local court of first instance in Serbia is on average 39.6% of the cost of a claim, while in Ukraine this figure reaches 46.3%, and in the Kyrgyz Republic - 47%," EBRD reports in the message.

As the bank says, the pandemic has increased the relevance of the issue of accessibility of courts in the countries where the EBRD operates. This is explained by the overload of the judicial system with cases, as well as the cost and duration of the process, and the high level of its complexity.

At the same time, in such developed economies as Canada, the United Kingdom or the United States, online courts have shown impressive results, the EBRD notes. "The EBRD pilot project aims to develop a system based on the experience of these countries and make it available to the countries of the Western Balkans, Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia," the bank said in a release.
The deceased joined the Customs on Oct. 17, 2013, as Customs Assistant II (CAII) and got promoted to the rank of AIC on Jan. 1, 2019.

The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Western Marine Command, on Wednesday, said it lost an officer in a boat mishap on Monday.

The Public Relations Officer, Idaho Sulaiman, disclosed this in a statement in Lagos.

He said the incident occurred at about 6:10 p.m. on March 22, while operatives of the command, Akere Surveillance/Monitoring team under Idiroko Outstation, were acting on credible information along Vawhe-Isalu creeks.

Mr Sulaiman said the team, led by Inspector of Customs (IC) Ajayi A.S., had the mishap while trying to intercept a boat suspected to be carrying smuggled items.

"The accident resulted in the death of Assistant Inspector of Customs (AIC) Aliyu AA by drowning.

"The body of the deceased was found underneath the river with the assistance of villagers around the axis.

"The body was taken to General Hospital Badagry and later deposited at the mortuary, having been certified dead by the doctor on call.

"The corpse was transported by air on-board MAX air airline to Kano on March 23, on the request of the family of the deceased," he said.

He said the deceased, who hailed from Funtua Local Government Area of Katsina, was born on July 10, 1987.

According to him, Mr Aliyu joined the NCS on Oct. 17, 2013, as Customs Assistant II (CAII) and got promoted to the rank of AIC on Jan. 1, 2019.

"At these trying times, the Customs Area Controller, on behalf of the officers/men of the WMC, commiserate with the family of the deceased and pray for the repose of his soul and also for God to grant the deceased eternal rest," he said.

(NAN)
The development of a wearable to detect early Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases years before symptoms show has taken a step closer to reality today, as UK charity Alzheimer's Research UK announces a partnership with Boston University that will see the first digital data flowing into its global Early Detection of Neurodegenerative diseases (EDoN) initiative.

The announcement comes as Alzheimer's Research UK welcomes over 500 dementia researchers to its annual Research Conference. The week-long event, the largest meeting of UK dementia researchers, is taking place virtually and features a session dedicated to sharing developments from the EDoN initiative with the wider dementia research community.

EDoN, whose Board is chaired by former UK Prime Minister David Cameron and has secured funding from Bill Gates and the Iceland Foods Charitable Foundation, brings together over 35 leading organisations in data science, clinical and neurodegenerative research to use digital technologies to detect diseases like Alzheimer's, 10-15 years before symptoms show.

EDoN aims to use smartphone apps and wearables like smart watches and headbands to collect digital data on a range of measures including sleep, neural activity, cognition, speech and language, gait, heart rate, fine motor skills and physical activity.

The data will be validated with clinical data such as brain scans and analysed by EDoN's Analytic Hub, made up of experts from The Alan Turing Institute, University of Exeter, MRC Harwell Institute and the University of Cambridge. By collecting and combining large amounts of retrospective and prospective digital and clinical data, the EDoN team hopes to develop robust machine learning models that could detect subtle patterns or 'fingerprints' in people's digital data that could be a red flag for early disease.

If successful, EDoN will see experts developing a new digital toolkit that can collect the most predictive digital measures of early disease and could be used by doctors as part of a midlife health check to identify those most at risk of developing symptoms of dementia in the years ahead.

The three-year partnership with Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (BU ADRC) will see up to 200 volunteers with and without dementia using devices, including two smartphone apps, an activity tracking watch and a headband to analyse sleep, with the data being shared with researchers in EDoN.

The participants, who live in the Greater Boston area, will initially use the devices for two weeks every three months for a year. The partnership is part of a wider project taking place at the BU ADRC testing a range of wearable devices to collect digital data that could give clues to a person's brain health.

Ultimately EDoN aims to collect data from up to 50,000 people through ongoing research studies across the world before testing its final digital device in up to 1million people through health checks. The charity hopes that the digital fingerprints developed through EDoN's work could not only indicate early disease but distinguish between the different diseases that cause dementia.

The COVID-19 pandemic has seen more health care being delivered remotely using technology, with a recent survey of attitudes to digital health during the pandemic showing that 73% of respondents agreed digital health technology is important to the future of health services.

Dr Jesse Mez, Clinical Core Director for the BU ADRC, said: "Digital technologies are providing ever more opportunities for people, and their doctors, to understand and monitor their health. The diseases that cause dementia can start in midlife, but we currently don't have inexpensive and non-invasive methods to detect this early disease. Digital technologies like smartphones and wearables could provide a low cost, easy-to-use way to pick up some of the very subtle early changes in diseases like Alzheimer's. The findings of this study could really transform the way we tackle these diseases in the future."

"Last year, Boston University received $2.8m funding from Bill Gates and the American Heart Association to create a Brain Health and Dementia Technology Research Center. This partnership with EDoN brings our two organisations together towards a common goal: to use digital technology to streamline and fast-track better patient care and treatment in the years ahead."

Hilary Evans, CEO of Alzheimer's Research UK, said: "There are currently no treatments to slow or stop diseases like Alzheimer's and this is a major goal for scientists across the world. To have the best chance to change lives in future, we need to be testing potential new treatments and preventions when these diseases are starting to take hold in the brain, not when the damage has already been done.

"Identifying diseases like Alzheimer's much earlier than we can today would transform research efforts into the condition and help bring about these life-changing treatments much sooner. Brain health is an incredibly important part of our overall health. The technology being explored through EDoN could help raise red flags that would see many more people benefit from early conversations, diagnosis and access to treatment and research."

###

Alzheimer's Research UK

Alzheimer's Research UK is the UK's leading charity specialising in finding preventions, treatments and a cure for dementia. For our latest updates follow us on Twitter @AlzResearchUK

Our animation "What is dementia

" explains the essentials of dementia and the diseases that cause it https:/ / youtu. be/ HobxLbPhrMc

We rely on donations to fund our vital dementia research. To help make breakthroughs possible, donate today by visiting http://www. alzheimersresearchuk. org or calling 0300 111 5555. EDoN

EDoN is the largest initiative of its kind to collate and analyse clinical and digital health data from the global dementia research field with the aim of developing a digital fingerprint for early Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases.

EDoN partners include Alzheimer's Research UK, The Alan Turing Institute, Exeter University, Newcastle University, University College London, University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, Crawford Works, Mezurio. Applied Cognition, University of Sussex and MRC Harwell Institute.

Watch our EDoN animation, voiced by Stephen Fry, and visit http://www. edon-initiative. org Boston University

Originally established in 1848 as the New England Female Medical College, and incorporated into Boston University in 1873, Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) today is a leading academic medical center with an enrollment of more than 700 medical students and 1,180 students pursuing degrees in graduate medical sciences.

BUSM faculty contribute to more than 605 active grants and contracts, with total anticipated awards valued at more than $211 million in amyloidosis, arthritis, cardiovascular disease, cancer, infectious diseases, pulmonary disease and dermatology, among other areas.

The School's teaching affiliates include Boston Medical Center, its primary teaching hospital, the Boston VA Healthcare System, Kaiser Permanente in northern California, as well as Boston HealthNet, a network of 15 community health centers.
The federal budget is $23 billion in front of expectations due to strong consumer spending, high iron ore prices and lower unemployment but is still on track for the largest deficit on record.

Figures to be released on Friday by Finance Minister Simon Birmingham show a budget shortfall of $134.6 billion for the eight months to the end of February. At the mid-year budget update, the deficit to the end of February was forecast to be $157.7 billion on its way to a full-year deficit of $197.7 billion.

Finance Minister Simon Birmingham: This is still a huge deficit in anyones language but more people in work is providing a marked improvement to date thanks to lower unemployment payments and more taxpayers. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Through February, the budget deficit increased by only $700 million after rising by almost $18 billion in January.

The improvement is being driven by factors tied directly to the stronger economy.
Kenya's interior minister has given the UNHCR two weeks to draft a plan to close two main camps housing half-a-million refugees, mostly from Somalia.

Interior Minister Fred Matiang'i told Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper the United Nations Refugee Agency had 14 days to present a plan to repatriate hundreds of thousands of people within four months.

Matiang'i asserted there was "no room for further negotiations," citing government intentions since 2016 to shut down the Dadaab refugee camp in northeastern Kenya, close to Somalia.

The Kakuma camp in Kenya's northwest, close to South Sudan, should also be closed, the cabinet secretary for interior insisted.

Failing closures, Kenya itself would "transport the refugees to the border with Somalia," reported the Daily Nation, citing Matiang'i.

Timeframe 'short,' says UNHCR

In an initial reaction Wednesday, the UNHCR's Nairobi office said Matiang'i's initiative came "within a short timeframe" and "would have an impact on the protection of refugees in Kenya," complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We urge the Government of Kenya to ensure that any decisions allow for suitable and sustainable solutions to be found," added the UNHCR

Since May 2020, the UNHCR and affiliated agencies have provided quarantine and hygiene facilities to mitigate the disease in both camps.

Dadaab, established in 1991 to house people fleeing drought and warfare in Somali, and Kakuma, mainly housing South Sudanese, have 512,000 refugees and asylum-seekers combined, according to UNHCR statistics.

Also present at Kakuma are people from Ethiopia, Burundi, DR Congo and Sudan.

Allusions to terror attacks

Matiang'i said it was the government's task to protect Kenyans -- an apparent reference to Al-Shabaab attacks by Islamist militants based in Somalia on Nairobi's Westgate mall in 2013 and Garissa University College in 2015 in eastern Kenya and Kenya intelligence assertions that elements inside the camps had been involved in terrorist planning.

Kenya's Interior Ministry denied that Matiangi's initiative was related to diplomatic differences with Somalian authorities, for example, over a maritime boundary.

In 2016, the UNHCR had also expressed "profound concern" over the then-Kenyan government's intention to end the hosting of refugees, which was blocked by Kenya's High Court on the grounds that Nairobi would be in breach of its international obligations.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya International Organisations By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Kenya had been a "leading beacon" for international protection, said the UNHCR at the time, providing safety for hundreds of thousands fleeing persecution.

Voluntary repatriations

Since 2013, when Kenya, Somalia and the UNHCR agreed on a voluntary repatriation scheme, Somali refugees on at least seven "Go and See" trips have been able to visit Baidoa and Mogadishu, Somalia's capital. to assess possible returns.

Voluntary repatriations from January to December last year amounted to 26, notes the UNHCR in the small print of its February statistics, while 53 refugees had been resettled to other countries.

Kenya also hosts tens of thousands more refugees at smaller camps such as Kalobeyei, also in Kenya's northwest, and near Nairobi.

Climate change impacts

Last Monday, to mark World Water Day, Save the Children said three-quarters of Somalia's families lack safe drinking water as climate change exacted a heavy toll across eastern Africa.

Somalis were leaving customary areas in search of water and food, also for their livestock, said Save the Children head for Somalia Mohamud Mohamed Hassan.

Some 1,700 new arrivals at Kakuma in February, says the UNHCR, included people from South Sudan, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

(Reuters, AFP)
A woman in Japan must fork over hundreds of dollars to a man because she had sex with his wife, according to a rare court ruling.

The Tokyo District Court ordered the unnamed 37-year-old gal to pay the 39-year-old jilted husband $1,010 because she had an affair with his 35-year-old spouse, according to a Feb. 16 ruling reported by the Japanese news outlet The Asahi Shimbun.

The angry hubby first filed a lawsuit against his wifes lover for allegedly turning her into a two-timer after the women met online, the outlet reported.

As a defense, she claimed the affair should not legally be considered infidelity because it didnt ruin the couples marriage, the outlet reported.

But the court ruled that any act undermining the peace in a marriage  including extramarital sex qualifies as infidelity.

In past years, affairs between same-sex lovers have not been considered infidelity under the law, experts told the outlet.

However, the Tokyo High Court ordered a woman to pay compensation to her same-sex partner last March for destroying their union by cheating, sparking a new legal precedent.
"Petra takes the allegations of human rights abuses at the Williamson mine extremely seriously, the company said

Zenith Security guards employed at Ltds (LON:PEDL) Williamson mine in Tanzania deliberately swapped rubber projectiles with metal shot in their weapons, causing serious harm to local residents shot on the companys concession, UK corporate watchdog RAID said.

Petra was quick to repond to the report.

As previously stated, Petra takes the allegations of human rights abuses at the Williamson mine extremely seriously, the company said. Petra has committed to provide feedback on the investigation being carried out by an external advisor, in conjunction with our legal advisors; the scope of this investigation already includes the allegations mentioned by RAID in their report.

RAID said the information was uncovered as part of ongoing research into human rights abuses at the mine.

Deliberately altering ammunition to cause indiscriminate injury, even death, to local residents raises serious questions about Petra Diamonds oversight of security at its diamond mine in Tanzania, said Anneke Van Woudenberg, executive director of RAID.

Petra said it had taken a number of actions to address the situation at the mine, including the replacement of the third-party security contractor Zenith.

The diamond producer previously said that there have been frequent organised incursions of groups of illegal diggers, sometimes in large numbers and who are believed to be sponsored by local dealers in illicit diamonds, onto the concession.


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Real Water, Inc. has recalled all sizes of its Real Water brand drinking water and water concentrate, citing possible link to certain instances of non-viral hepatitis.



The recall follows warning by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration about the products after reports of at least five cases of acute liver failure in infants and children that occurred in November 2020 in Southern Nevada.



The health regulator said the consumption of 'Real Water' brand alkaline water is the only common link identified among all of these cases to date.



At present, the FDA, along with the CDC and the Southern Nevada Health District, is investigating these reports of acute non-viral hepatitis in the state of Nevada associated with 'Real Water' brand alkaline water.



Meanwhile, Real Water founder Brent Jones, in a video posted to the company's site, apologized to his customers following the FDA warnings about its water products.



As per the recall statement, the company has called back 1.5 liters, 1 liter, 500 ml and 1 gallon ready-to-drink bottles, as well as 5-gallon home and office delivery bottles. Also included in the recall are the 4 oz bottles of Real Water Concentrate, sold on the company's website.



The ready-to-drink bottles sold in retail stores have a blue rectangular bottle with 'Real Alkalized Water' printed on the label, while 5-Gallon home and office delivery bottles are blue with white labels.



The ready-to-drink bottles were distributed throughout the United States by UNFI and KEHE to the natural channel of stores, as well as through direct distribution to various retail stores on a regional basis. Real Water is also sold on Amazon.com.



Further, the 5-gallon home and office delivery bottles were distributed through direct delivery to homes and offices.



According to the company, the reported cases of non-viral hepatitis in or about November 2020 were suspected to be potentially linked to Real Water's 5-gallon Home and Office Delivery.



All five patients, who consumed 'Real Water' brand alkaline water, had been hospitalized but have since recovered. Five additional people, two adults and three children, were reported to have experienced other symptoms as well.



Symptoms of all types of hepatitis, including non-viral hepatitis, can include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, clay or gray-colored bowel movements, joint pain, yellow eyes, and jaundice.



The customers experiencing these symptoms are urged to contact their doctor.



Real Water has now ceased production and distribution of the product as the investigations into the potential cause of the problem are ongoing.



Customers of Real Water's 5-gallon Home and Office Delivery should contact Real Water to have any remaining product picked up, while those purchased Real Water ready-to-drink bottles may return it to the place of purchase for refund.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Thursday has approved several key changes in its regulations for delisting, Alternative Investment Fund, promoter reclassification, sustainability reporting and dividend policy. The SEBI board, at its meeting in Mumbai, which was attended through video conferencing by out-of-station members, also decided to extend to top-1,000 companies by market-capitalisation, the dividend distribution policy and need to have a risk management committee.

The SEBI board approved several amendments to the SEBI (delisting of equity shares) regulations (delisting regulations) primarily to make the process more transparent and efficient. Under the amended regulations, promoter and acquirer will have to disclose their intention to delist the company by making an initial public announcement.

"Promoter / acquirer will be permitted to specify an indicative price for delisting which should not be less than the floor price. Promoter will be bound to accept the price discovered through reverse book building if the same is equal to the floor price or indicative price," SEBI says.

While stipulating timelines for completion of various activities for the delisting process, SEBI says, "The committee of independent directors is required to provide their reasoned recommendations on the proposal for delisting."

In its review of regulatory framework for reclassification of promoter and promoter group entities, the market regulator decided to reduce the time gap between the date of board meeting and shareholders' meeting for consideration of reclassification request, to a minimum of one month and a maximum of three months from the existing requirement of minimum period of three months and maximum six months.

Further SEBI decided to exempt promoters from the requirement of seeking approval of shareholders in cases where the promoter seeking reclassification holds shareholding of less than 1%, subject to the promoter not being in control.

Promoters are also exempted from few procedural requirements related with reclassification like obtaining request from promoter, approval from the board and shareholders in case of open offer under SEBI takeover regulations and scheme of arrangement. "This exemption will be subject to the outgoing promoter's intent of reclassification being disclosed in the letter of offer or scheme of arrangement along with fulfilling other requirements such as not being in control, and not represented on the board," the release from SEBI says.

The board also approved several amendments to SEBI (listing obligations and disclosure requirements) regulations (LODR). Under the new changes, the requirement for formulation of dividend distribution policy by the existing top 500 listed entities has been extended to the top 1,000 listed entities based on market capitalisation.

Further, in case a board meeting is held for more than one day, financial results should be disclosed by listed entities within 30 minutes of end of the board meeting for the day on which the financial results are considered, SEBI says.

While dispensing with the requirement of seeking approval from stock exchange for change of name of a listed entity, the market regulator streamlined report submission to 21 days. It says, "The timelines for submission of periodic reports like statement of investor complaints, corporate governance report and shareholding pattern will be harmonised to 21 days from the end of each quarter."

The SEBI board also approved the proposal to amend the AIF Regulations. This will provide a definition of 'start-up' as specified by government of India for the purpose of investment by angel funds.

The amendment removes the list of restricted activities or sectors from the definition of venture capital (VC) undertaking to provide flexibility to VC Funds registered under Category I AIFs in making investments.

It will allow AIFs, including fund of AIFs, to simultaneously invest in units of other AIFs and directly in securities of investee companies subject to certain conditions. The amendment is expected to provide clarity on scope of responsibilities of managers and members of investment committees and prescribe a code of conduct for AIF, trustee and directors of the trustee, designated partners and directors of the AIF, manager, members of investment committee and key management personnel of AIF and manager, SEBI says.

The SEBI board also reviewed disclosures for analyst and institutional investor meets by listed entity. At present, a listed entity is required to disclose the schedule of analyst and institutional investors meet and presentations made in such meetings, to the stock exchanges and on its website.

SEBI decided to introduce audio or video recordings of such meetings on the website of the listed entity and exchanges promptly, before next trading day or within 24 hours, whichever is earlier and written transcripts of such meetings within five working days from the meeting.

The market regulator has also asked top 1000 listed companies to submit business responsibility and sustainability report (BRSR) on voluntary basis for FY2021-22 and on mandatory basis afterwards. The BRSR will replace existing business responsibility report (BRR).

In a release, SEBI says, "The new reporting requirements are expected to bring in greater transparency through disclosure of material ESG-related information to enable market participants to identify and assess sustainability-related risks and opportunities. These requirements set the stage for taking a leap for better disclosures in the ESG space in India."

The disclosures under the BRSR are segregated into essential (mandatory) and leadership (voluntary) indicators. "The BRSR lays considerable emphasis on quantifiable metrics, which allows for easy measurement and comparability across companies, sectors and time periods. Further, the disclosures on climate and social like employees, consumers and communities, related issues of the entity have been significantly enhanced and made more granular," SEBI says.

During the meeting the market regulator also decided to review its framework for innovators growth platform (IGP). At present eligibility requirement under IGP, for issuer is to have 25% of pre-issue capital held by eligible investors for two years, which is now reduced to one year.

The term 'accredited investor' for the purpose of IGP is renamed as 'innovators growth platform investors'. At present, pre-issue shareholding of such investors for meeting eligibility, is considered for only 10%, which is now increased and will be considered for the entire 25% required for meeting eligibility norms.

Further, currently issuer company is not permitted to make discretionary allotment. SEBI decided to allow issuer company to allocate up to 60% of the issue size on a discretionary basis, prior to issue opening, to eligible investors with a lock in of 30 days on such shares.

For companies listed under IGP framework, stipulation for triggering open offer under takeover regulations has been relaxed to 49% from existing 25%. However, SEBI says irrespective of acquisition or holding of shares or voting rights in a target company, any change in control directly or indirectly over target company will trigger open offer.
Syracuse, NY -- A 93-year-old woman murdered a month ago inside her Skyline apartment was last seen alive on security video walking into her apartment with a 23-year-old woman tailing her, authorities revealed Thursday.

The younger woman, Victoria Afet, is now accused of killing the older woman in an attempt to steal from her, Syracuse Police Chief Kenton Buckner announced Thursday. Afet is facing first-degree murder and burglary charges.

Security video of Afet following the elderly woman led authorities to believe that Connie Tuori, 93, was murdered Feb. 26. But what happened after the murder might be even more disturbing.

Tuori remained dead in her apartment for nearly three weeks before police went to check on her on the afternoon of March 17.

During that time, multiple people went in and out of Tuoris apartment, Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said at the news conference Thursday.

No one from Skyline reported the elderly lady dead in her own home.

I just kind of got got sad thinking about it, Fitzpatrick said. You gotta look out for each other.

It wasnt until Tuoris family got concerned and asked police to check on her that the murder was eventually discovered 19 days later, Fitzpatrick said.

By then, Tuoris body was badly decomposed, the DA said. It took days to confirm her identity.

Connie Tuori

Much remains unknown about Tuoris death. The countys former medical examiner, Dr. Robert Stoppacher, is still investigating exactly how she died.

Police and prosecutors say they have evidence that Afet was stealing from Tuori at the time she entered the elderly womans apartment. But Fitzpatrick said hed save details of the alleged theft for trial.

Authorities are still questioning others seen entering and exiting Tuoris apartment in the days and weeks after her death, the DA said. None of those people are believed to have been involved with her murder.

Police have spent several days watching security video to see who came and went from the apartment over those several weeks.

If those witnesses cooperate, they will not be charged for their entry into the dead womans apartment, Fitzpatrick said. If they dont, the DA vowed to prosecute them under any charges he could prove.

That cooperation will help authorities get a picture of what happened in Tuoris apartment after her death.

The same day Afet is accused of killing Tuori, she was arrested on charges of driving a stolen car. But she was ticketed and released.

Two days later, Afet was jailed after being arrested in another stolen car case, state police have said.

That timeline means Afet was free for roughly two days after the murder. During that period, she may have spent time in Tuoris apartment, but was not believed to be living there full-time, the DA said.

Afet was officially homeless at the time of Tuoris death, though tenants at Skyline said she was a regular presence in the building, roaming the lobby and hallways at will.

Afet has a lengthy history of arrests, including a robbery charge stemming from an attack on a 74-year-old at Skyline on Feb. 18, records show. A judge released her the next morning. Tuori was believed to have been killed a week later.

Afet remains jailed now with no bail. She will be arraigned on the murder and burglary charges this evening. If convicted of first-degree murder, Afet faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole.

Syracuse Police Chief Kenton Buckner and DA Bill Fitzpatrick share details about Connie Tuori's murder at Skyline Apartments. March 25, 2021.Katrina Tulloch

Read more

Woman charged in slaying of 93-year-old woman in Syracuses Skyline Apartments

Skyline murder suspect was accused of attacking other woman, 74, in same building and freed a day later

Skyline Apartments to hire off-duty Syracuse cops for extra security after womans murder

Walsh says hes exploring legal action against Skyline owners: Its public nuisance No. 1

Elderly murder victims family on Skyline squalor: Did they get away with this because who owns it?

Connie Tuori, 93, survived Afghanistan, Antarctica and African safari, only to be killed in her Syracuse apartment

Family IDs 93-year-old woman murdered in Skyline Apartments

Inside Tim Greens Skyline Apartments: Murder, drugs and filth. Tenants, cops say enough is enough

Woman killed at Skyline Apartments on James Street

Police, tenants push football legend Tim Greens firm to fix nightmare apartments

Staff writer Douglass Dowty can be reached at ddowty@syracuse.com or 315-470-6070.
press release

The World Health Organization is calling for action to address quality of care in fragile, conflict-affected and vulnerable (FCV) settings, with the release of a technical package on this subject. On 16 March 2021, WHO hosted a global webinar to introduce the content of the technical package and consider how it can be applied by a range of stakeholders to drive action. A recording of the webinar is available here.

The challenge of quality in FCV settings

In FCV settings, where nearly a quarter of the world's population lives, there are many challenges to the delivery of quality health services, such as damaged infrastructure and systems, insufficient numbers of trained health workers, and increased health needs. FCV settings include a range of situations such as humanitarian crises, protracted emergencies and armed conflicts. Poor quality care accounts for an estimated 15% of all deaths in low- and middle-income countries [1]; this is likely to be worse in FCV settings. Estimates indicate 60% of preventable maternal deaths, 53% of deaths in children under 5, and 45% of neonatal deaths take place in fragile settings where political conflict, displacement and natural disasters prevail [2]. As WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, "for our sisters and brothers already facing such extreme adversity, the cost of inaction on quality of care is needless human suffering and lives lost. This is a preventable tragedy".

WHO's response

WHO has responded to this need through development of this technical package. The package is the product of a two-year collaboration between WHO HQ, WHO EMRO and the University of North Carolina and has undergone wide consultation. It consists of a document outlining a flexible approach to taking action on quality of care in FCV settings and an accompanying tools and resources compendium.

Dr Tedros issued a call to the global community in his remarks, highlighting that "the challenge now is to put these tools into action, to work together and learn together, and to proceed with compassion and conviction in our shared mission to achieve universal health coverage".
Armenian acting minister: EU allocated EUR 68,700,000 to Armenia for budget support in 2020

Armenia Finance Ministry: MFA's budget grew by AMD 1,600,000,000 in 2020

Bodies and remains of Armenian soldiers are kept in morgue in Armenia's Martuni

White House confirms Biden-Erdogan meeting in Brussels

Armenia acting MOD touches upon priority directions for development of Armed Forces

Diaspora Armenian writer, publicist Toros Toranian dies

2 Armenian soldiers injured in scuffle with Azerbaijan, Armenian POW is hospitalized, Jun. 3 digest

Wedding held in Armenia's Shurnukh for first time since the war ended

EEU member states to finish preparing for negotiations over free trade zone in Iran in late June

Armenia Central Bank: Economic downfall in 2020 was due to decline in service and construction sectors

Armenia legislature adopts several bills in first reading

Armenia President meets with Nursultan Nazarbayev

Dejavu: Armenia ruling party distributes money for votes at Yerevan district election office

Chief Advisor to Karabakh President sacked

Russian MFA: Works are carried out to settle situation around Karabakh every day

Armenia opposition MP sounds alarm about Baku fabricating criminal cases against Armenian prisoners

Armenia acting health minister: I have apologized, I am not going to resign

Helga Schmid meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Armenia's deputy foreign ministers resigned or have heavy workload?

Dollar goes down in Armenia

Armenia Elections Oversight Committee reports Iranian citizenship of ruling party's MP candidate

Acting deputy minister: Only 17 of 711 Iran-Armenia power transmission line towers were installed by 2017

Armenia Parliament Council holding session

Armenia to host CSTO "Thunder-2021" military exercises

NYT: Chinese hackers launch cyberattack on New York city transportation authority

Armenia President to Kazakhstan counterpart: I would like to see much deeper cooperation between our countries

Armenia citizens shut down Etchmiadzin-Ashtarak road, complaining about lack of irrigation water

Armenia independent MP: Foreign minister and his deputies don't want to take part in treacherous acts

Armenia to get $11mn loan, 350,000 grant for agriculture

WHO worries about worsening mental health worldwide amid pandemic

Armenia health ministry on improper handling of Artsakh war victims bodies: There is no justification

Armenia bloc election foundation already in operation

Russia ambassador to Armenia paying working visit to Syunik Province (PHOTOS)

China pledges to step up resistance to foreign interference in Hong Kong

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: There can be no talk of corridor for Azerbaijan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on incumbent authorities: Wherever they flee, we will bring them by the feet

President: Impossible to ensure peace in region or stay in Artsakh without Russia army joint efforts

China Daily: Dispatch from Makit: Thriving in the desert

Karabakh President: We will never put up with being part of Azerbaijan, it is ruled out

Armenia MFA information department chief: All deputy FMs carrying out their duties

Ardshinbank invited children to the cinema on International Childrens Day

Armenia judiciary to have 10 more judges

Armenia acting premier: We had recorded 40% increase in tax revenues according to 2019 results

Armenia acting PM on Artsakh war casualties bodies: We have 50 remains in which case DNA was not separated

Azerbaijan authorities plan to "squeeze" everything from "terrorist show" related to Armenian captives

Ameriabank announces a contest for bank card design

108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia parliament convenes special session

Armenia interim government holding Cabinet meeting

Catholicos of All Armenians heads for Syunik Province, Artsakh

World oil prices going up

Iran loses right to vote in UN General Assembly

Newspaper: Armenia authorities come up with new way of punishing unwanted characters

Newspaper: Russia army Southern Military District deputy commander to arrive in Yerevan Thursday

Lebanese Armenian man taken prisoner by Azerbaijan is hospitalized

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Are we getting under the burden? Then lets get under to the end

Armenia acting health minister on keeping fallen soldiers bodies in bags: What else should they be kept in?

Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation

Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow

2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik

Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center

"Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans

Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel

Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna

Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations

US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies

Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week

Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection

Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential

Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement

Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues

Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo

Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation

NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident

Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices

Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over

Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest

Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia

Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia

Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels

Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters

Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021

Dollar is stable in Armenia

Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector

Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out

Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe

Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia

Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border

Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor

Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue

Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia

Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this

Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia
The iconic Sycamore fig tree saved from being felled to make way for the Nairobi Expressway (file photo).

Three activists from Homa Bay County have sued the Coca-Cola Company for allegedly destroying a "sacred" fig tree that was planted by ODM leader Raila Odinga at Posta Grounds in Homa Bay town seven years ago.

The activists now want the Environment court to compel the beverage maker to facilitate Mr Odinga's visit to the town to plant another tree -- locally referred as Bongu -- at the same spot where he had planted the one that was destroyed by a pick-up truck belonging to the company.

In Central Kenya, the sycamore fig or Mugumo tree (ficus sycomorus) is considered sacred.

In Nyanza, the tree which is not common, provides shade where elders hold meetings.

Planted in 2014

Mr Odinga planted the fig tree on August 2, 2014 when he toured Homa Bay town for a political function and to usher in the devolved system of government.

Members of Bunge la Wenye Nchi -- a group of Homa Bay activists -- believe that the tree, considered sacred, was meant to rescue Nyanza from political and economic woes.

The Bongu tree became stable and started maturing up to a height of about 3.5 meters before it was cut.

Reversing car

On March 25, 2017, the driver of a Toyota pickup, belonging to Coca-Cola, which was reversing near Bunge grounds where the tree was planted, did not notice it and thus ran over it.

ODM supporters, who would always water the plant every morning since it was planted, demanded that action be taken against the driver of the car that destroyed the tree and the company she worked for.

The case was reported at Homa Bay Police Station under OB No. 16/25/3/2017.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Coca-Cola is said to have made attempts to bring a similar tree, which did not impress some ODM supporters.

An assessment by the Kenya Forest Service (KSF) in April 2017 estimated the cost of the tree to be about Sh68,000.

Mr Evance Oloo, Mr Micheal Kojo and Mr Walter Opiyo filed a case under a certificate of urgency before the Environment and Land Court in Migori County on Tuesday, saying fig tree is traditional supposed to be handled with care.

Coca-Cola Company Limited, Kisii Bottlers and Almasi Beverages have been listed as the first, second and third respondents respectively.

The Luo Council of Elders and Mr Raila Amollo Odinga have also been listed as first and second interested parties.

The activists say the tree should only be planted by Mr Odinga because of its sacred nature, adding that it cannot grow if planted by someone who is not "chosen".

Justice G. Ongondo has scheduled the case for hearing from June 21, 2021 with the activists expected to file submissions during the course of the case.
There was a time, in recent memory, when the Republican Party both believed it could win a national majority and actively worked to build one.

Take the last Republican president before Donald Trump, George W. Bush. His chief political adviser, Karl Rove, envisioned a durable Republican majority, if not a permanent one. And Bush would try to make this a reality.

To appeal to moderate suburban voters, Bush would make education a priority and promise a compassionate conservatism. To strengthen the partys hold on white evangelicals, Bush emphasized his Christianity and worked to polarize the country over abortion, same-sex marriage, and other questions of sexual ethics and morality. Bush courted Black and Hispanic voters with the promise of homeownership and signed a giveaway to seniors in the form of the Medicare prescription drug benefit. He also made it a point to have a diverse Cabinet, elevating figures such as Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice and Alberto Gonzales.

Whether shrewd or misguided, cynical or sincere  or outright cruel and divisive  these gambits were each part of an effort to expand the Republican coalition as far as it could go without abandoning Reaganite conservatism itself. It was the work of a self-assured political movement, confident that it could secure a position as the nations de facto governing party.

There is no such ambition, or confidence, in todays Republican Party.

Convinced after Trumps defeat in the 2020 presidential election that there is no way to win the White House in a diverse electorate with high turnout, Republicans have made it their mission to restrict the vote as much as possible.

Conservative grassroots and political action groups are joining the crusade, according to reporting by my newsroom colleague Jeremy Peters, galvanized into action by the former president, who blames nonexistent fraud and illegal voting for his defeat.

Weve got 106 election-related bills that are in 28 states right now, Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, told an online town hall of supporters. So heres the good news: There is action taking place to go back and correct what was uncovered in this last election.

Other organizations, like the Heritage Foundation, have pledged to spend millions in support of policies that would limit access to the ballot and keep voters from the polls. As Peters notes, Those include laws that would require identification for voters and limit the availability of absentee ballots, as well as other policies that Heritage said would secure and strengthen state election systems.

The other side of this effort to restrict the vote is a full-court press against the For the People Act, which would pre-empt most Republican voter-suppression bills. It kind of feels like an all-hands-on-deck moment for the conservative movement, when the movement writ large realizes the sanctity of our elections is paramount and voter distrust is at an all-time high, Jessica Anderson of Heritage Action for America told the Associated Press.

And in a recording of an address to Republican state legislators obtained by the AP, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas warned that a voter-protection bill would spell the end of the Republican Party as a viable national party. HR 1s only objective is to ensure that Democrats can never again lose another election, that they will win and maintain control of the House of Representatives and the Senate and of the state legislatures for the next century, he said.

Some of this is undoubtedly cynical, a brazen attempt to capitalize on the conspiratorial rhetoric of the former president. But some of it is sincere, a genuine belief that the Republican Party will cease to exist if it cannot secure election integrity.

Whats striking about all this is that, far from evidence of Republican decline, the 2020 election is proof of Republican resilience, even strength. Trump won more than 74 million votes last year. He made substantial gains with Hispanic voters  reversing more than a decade of Republican decline  and improved with Black voters too. He lost, yes, but he left his party in better-than-expected shape in both the House and the Senate.

If Republicans could break themselves of Trump and look at last November with clear eyes, they would see that their fears of demographic eclipse are overblown and that they can compete  even thrive  in the kinds of high-turnout elections envisioned by voting rights activists.

Indeed, the great irony of the Republican Partys drive to restrict the vote in the name of Trump is that it burdens the exact voters he brought to the polls. Under Trump, the Republican Party swapped some of the most likely voters  white college-educated moderates  for some of the least likely  blue-collar men.

In other words, by killing measures that make voting more open to everyone, Republicans might make their fears of terminal decline a self-fulfilling prophecy.
BURNABY, B.C. - Homicide investigators say a 15-year-old and a 21-year-old have been charged with first-degree murder after a woman's burned body was found in a park in Burnaby, B.C.

BURNABY, B.C. - Homicide investigators say a 15-year-old and a 21-year-old have been charged with first-degree murder after a woman's burned body was found in a park in Burnaby, B.C.

Cpl. Frank Jang of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team told a news conference Wednesday that Carlo Tobias and the youth have also been charged with indignity to human remains.

Ma Cecilia Loreto, 49, is pictured in an undated handout photo. The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says Carlo Tobias, 21, and a 15-year-old youth have been charged with first-degree murder and indignity to human remains in her death. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO Integrated Homicide Investigation Team MANDATORY CREDIT

He says the victim, 49-year-old Ma Cecilia Loreto, was a recent immigrant from the Philippines and a mother with a "loving family" who worked in a food store in the Vancouver area.

Jang says the three individuals knew each other, the alleged killing was targeted, and none of them was previously known to police or involved in crime.

He says investigators believe Loreto was killed at her home in New Westminster on March 17, before her "badly burned" body was found in Greentree Village Park the next day.

Jang says he could not provide more details on the case as it is now before the courts.

"Those are young lives, young people, now facing the most serious charges we have in the book," he said.

Jang said investigators told Loreto's family on Wednesday that two people have been charged in her death.

"As we can all understand, they're devastated. It's devastating news."

The Burnaby and Richmond RCMP along with New Westminster police officers put in long hours to gather evidence in the case over the past week, he said.

"We could not have done it without them. I don't think they got really any sleep, maybe a few hours here and there," he said.

"They realized when we came upon this scene, a burned body of a woman  a badly burned body  and these are seasoned investigators who've seen, probably, the worst of the worst, it was a very troubling scene."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 24, 2021.
A LIMERICK community is appealing for financial support to ensure the long-term viability of their local town park.

Due to Covid-19, the committee behind Abbeyfeale Town Park cannot run fundraising events including the popular annual Dog Show, and, as a result, are looking to the generosity of the public to assist them in their endeavours.

Recently we established a GoFundMe page on our Abbeyfeale Town Park Facebook page, explained Gerardine OBrien, company secretary, Abbeyfeale Community Leisure Ltd.

In 1995, Abbeyfeale Community Leisure Ltd was formed with the purpose of purchasing and developing a 30-acre site as a town park. It was necessary for a limited company to be formed to oversee the running of the park.

This limited company was also required in order to qualify for what was then called a FAS scheme and to secure any grants that would be needed for this development, Geraldine explained.

At the time we were blessed to get the FAS scheme and 25 years later this is now known as a Community Employment (CE) Scheme which is under the auspices of the Department of Social Protection and it continues to play an integral part in the day-to-day running of Abbeyfeale Town Park.

The CE workers cut the grass, maintain flower beds, trim trees and hedges, pick up the litter and undertake individual projects as planned by the committee.

Only recently the committee secured 60,000 from the Urban and Village Renewal Scheme to upgrade all the pathways around the park.

In the past two years Abbeyfeale Town Park has been awarded the internationally recognised Green Flag with the help and support of Abbeyfeale Community Council. It is one of the few privately run parks in the country to achieve Green Flag status.

The committee have now set a fundraising target of 50,000 to help keep the town park open.

We owe 9,000 to the bank from last year, we need 15,000 towards the upkeep of the park and the ongoing administration costs associated with having a CE scheme, Geraldine pointed out.

We need 10,000 towards insurance and auditor costs, and we also need 10,000 to 15,000 in reserve for certain grants that we need, what is known as match funding.

Match funding is required by certain organisations to access grants for future developments.

The more we have, the better our chances are for qualifying for these grants, noted Geraldine. We are losing out on certain grants by not having a reserve in the bank.

The committee has established a number of different ways to make donations to the park fund.

A GoFundMe page has been set up and more information can be found on the Abbeyfeale Town Park Facebook page.

A standing order/direct debit can be made to the bank account and contributions can be made to the donation box in the town park.

Private donations would also be much appreciated and you can contact any of the committee for further details on 087 7729690 or 087 9282322, said Geraldine.

Abbeyfeale Town Park would also welcome any new members who are interested in joining the Abbeyfeale Community Leisure committee.
Scott Morrison has angrily defended his handling of the Brittany Higgins rape claim and other parliament sex scandals in a fiery TV interview.

The prime minister repeatedly slapped down accusations by A Current Affair host Tracy Grimshaw as she pummelled him on Thursday night's program.

Mr Morrison insisted he was not 'judge and jury' and police investigations should be allowed to play out.

He defended not opening an independent investigation into allegations that Christian Porter raped a 16-year-old girl in 1998 when he was 17.

Police closed the investigation as there was not enough evidence to proceed after the alleged victim took her own life last year.

Tracy Grimshaw grilled Scott Morrison over why Brittany Higgins' rape complaint was so badly handled and she was essentially left 'on her own' when the process failed her

Mr Morrison attempted to draw a line under many of the issues, and frequently rejected the premise of Grimshaw's questions.

He said he found it shocking and daunting when he first learned of Ms Higgins' allegations that she was raped by a male colleague in defence minister Linda Reynolds' Parliament House office in 2019.

Grimshaw grilled him over why her complaint was so badly handled and she was essentially left 'on her own' when the process failed her.

'Why was she on her own? You don't need processes to know how to act humanely,' Grimshaw asked.

'You don't need processes to make them a cup of tea, drive them home, make an appointment for a counsellor.

'Don't just give them a number and say "here, call this number, do your best ". She was abandoned, wasn't she?'

Scott Morrison has angrily defended his handling of the Brittany Higgins rape claim and other parliament sex scandals in a fiery TV interview

The prime minister repeatedly slapped down accusations by A Current Affair host Tracy Grimshaw as she pummelled him on Thursday night's program

Mr Morrison agreed Ms Higgins was failed and abandoned by the ministerial staff who were made aware of the claims several days after the alleged rape.

'I agree with you that clearly that did not pass the test and failed Brittany. No one is disputing that,' Mr Morrison said.

'Why weren't they fired?' Grimshaw asked, bluntly.

Mr Morrison shot back: 'They were trying like everyone else would be trying in those circumstances.'

'We have to fix this and you don't have to tear things down to build things up. What we need in this place and around the country is much better systems and resources to help people in these situations.'

He's yet to speak to Ms Higgins six weeks after the allegations were made public and says the offer remains on the table.

'She hasn't asked to speak to me directly,' he said. 'But I'm happy to have the conversation. If she's happy to, we can arrange it.'

The prime minister then clashed with Grimshaw when he was accused of 'immediately believing' Mr Porter's denial of the rape allegation.

Mr Morrison defended not opening an independent investigation into allegations that Christian Porter raped a 16-year-old girl in 1998 when he was 17

Mr Morrison has repeatedly refused to open an independent inquiry, insisting the closure of the police investigation ended the matter.

He stuck to this line of argument when questioned again about it by Grimshaw, and compared Mr Porter's case to when sexual assault allegations against former opposition leader Bill Shorten were dismissed in 2014.

'What I have done is to respect the rule of law in this country and how people need to be treated under that rule of law. An allegation can be made against you, me, against anyone else,' he said.

Grimshaw countered: 'There really wasn't an investigation because his accuser died, she took her life. There really hasn't been an investigation.

'There has been no investigation, prime minister, you have just believed him.'

Mr Morrison hit back: 'The right way to answer that question to anyone satisfaction is not for me to play judge and jury, or anyone else who are given those powers.'

Mr Morrison is yet to speak to Ms Higgins six weeks after the allegations were made public and says the offer remains on the table

Grimshaw brought up that Ms Higgins was called a 'lying cow' by Ms Reynolds, which Mr Morrison agrees was 'disgraceful'.

'It was very out of character for Linda' he said.

This set off Grimshaw, who brought up Mr Morrison's backing of Liberal senator Eric Abetz, who is accused by former Speaker of the Tasmanian House of Assembly of making shocking 'victim blaming' comments about Ms Higgins' rape.

'The pattern here is that women are always liars. Brittany Higgins, Sue Hickey, Christian Porter's accuser,' she said.

Mr Morrison said he didn't agree with Grimshaw's assessment.

'In this country, people will make allegations and we have ways of dealing with it. I am not making that judgement about the truth of neither statement,' he said.

He hinted both Ms Reynolds and Mr Porter will remain on the frontbench as he considers a cabinet reshuffle.

But the prime minister did not deny he planned to move both ministers said they will 'continue to play a very important role in my cabinet'.

'I am working through those issues now. One is on mental health leave and the other is on physical health leave. Linda in particular, had a very serious coronary condition,' he said.

Defence Minister Linda Reynolds has extended her leave raising questions of her future in politics after she called alleged rape victim Brittany Higgins a 'lying cow'

Mr Porter is expected to be demoted because his defamation lawsuit against the ABC for publishing the rape claim was a conflict of interest to his role as attorney-general.

Peter Dutton is expected to replace Linda Reynolds as Defence Minister.

Mr Morrison's assurances he was doing 'the best a bloke can' to address violence against women also sparked exasperation from Grimshaw.

At one point in the testy segment Grimshaw asked Mr Morrison if he was 'living in a bubble' to which he accused the veteran TV host of being unfair.

'Where have you been?' she asked.

'I think that's a bit unfair, Tracy,' Mr Morrison fired back.

'I think there are many people across this country who live with it every day, you have lived without your whole life. You have. Almost every woman has.'

He was then interrupted by Grimshaw.

'But you are not on an island, or maybe you are in a bubble. You must know, you have a wife you love, orders, you have referenced them several times. How did you not know the depth of it?

Grimshaw brought up Mr Morrison's backing of Liberal senator Eric Abetz (pictured), who is accused by former Speaker of the Tasmanian House of Assembly of making shocking 'victim blaming' comments about Ms Higgins' rape

'This is the difficult part of this. You understand it in a way that only you could,' Mr Morrison said.

'I have a different experience to yours but I can tell you, for many Australians, this has been like a big wake-up call and it's been like a red light to say 'stop, look, listen and that's what' we're doing.'

Grimshaw countered: 'It hasn't been a wake-up call to 52 per cent of Australians.'

She went on to criticise Mr Morrison for refusing to join a march of 100,000 women around the country earlier this month protesting violence against women.

Instead he only offered to meet with a few of the protest leaders in private, but was rebuffed.

'You said to them 'I will meet a couple of you on my turf, on my time, on my turns, or nothing',' Grimshaw said.

'And then you said, 'and my minister for women, she things what I think'.'
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-24 21:07:49|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

A healthcare worker collects a swab from a man for a COVID-19 test at a marketplace in Chennai, India, on March 24, 2021. India's COVID-19 tally reached 11,734,058 on Wednesday even as 47,262 new cases were reported from across the country, according to the latest figures released by federal health ministry. (Str/Xinhua)

HONG KONG, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Asia-Pacific countries are still fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic as India witnessed a resurgence of infected cases and the second batch of China's Sinovac vaccines arrives in the Philippines.

India's total tally reached 11,734,058 as 47,262 new cases were reported from across the country, according to the latest figures released by the federal health ministry.

Besides, 275 deaths since Tuesday morning took the death toll to 160,441. Both the number of new cases and deaths recorded in the past 24 hours are the highest this year so far.

There are still 368,457 active cases in the country, while 11,205,160 people have been discharged so far from hospitals after medical treatment.

The second batch of the Sinovac vaccines donated by China arrived in the Philippines amid the rapid resurgence of COVID-19 infections in the Southeast Asian country.

The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported 6,666 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 684,311.

The death toll climbed to 13,039 after 47 more patients died from the viral disease, the DOH added.

The confirmed cases in Indonesia rose by 5,227 within one day to 1,476,452, with the death toll adding by 118 to 39,983, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday.

According to the ministry, 7,622 more people were discharged from hospitals, bringing the total number of recovered patients to 1,312,543.

Malaysia reported 1,268 new infections, the health ministry said, bringing the national total to 336,808.

Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a press statement that five of the new cases are imported and with 1,263 being local transmissions.

Two more deaths have been reported, taking the death toll to 1,246.

Another 1,083 patients have been released after recovery, bringing the total number of cured and discharged to 320,925 or 95.3 percent of all cases.

South Korea reported 428 more cases, raising the total number of infections to 99,846.

Of the new cases, 135 were Seoul residents and 150 were people residing in Gyeonggi province.

Seventeen cases were imported from overseas, lifting the combined figure to 7,476.

Three more deaths were confirmed, leaving the death toll at 1,707.

A total of 481 more patients were discharged from quarantine after making full recovery, pulling up the combined number to 91,560.

Japan's capital city Tokyo reported 420 new COVID-19 cases, the highest this month, bringing the capital's tally to 118,461.

It is the second time in March that the daily figure has surpassed 400, after reaching 409 a week ago.

The capital of 14 million reported 337 new cases on Tuesday and 187 on Monday.

The jump in cases comes just days after the COVID-19 state of emergency for the greater Tokyo area expired and related restrictions were lifted.
A closed portfolio of life policies underwritten by Blue Cross (Asia-Pacific) Insurance Limited will also be transferred to AIA as part of the sale, expected to close by the end of the year.

Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China.

The century-old bank, controlled by the Li family since 1918, previously said the sale of BEA Life would enhance the value of its business, improve its financial position and enable management to focus on its core banking operations in Hong Kong and mainland China.

Brian Li Man-bun (left) and Adrian Li Man-kiu (right), Bank of East Asia's co-CEOs. Photo: Handout alt=Brian Li Man-bun (left) and Adrian Li Man-kiu (right), Bank of East Asia's co-CEOs. Photo: Handout>

Net premium income from whole life and annuity products grew by 9.5 times in 2020 from a year earlier, leading to an 83 per cent increase in commission income from sales of BEA Life products last year, the bank said at the time.

Part of the proceeds will be paid to shareholders following the disposal, taking into account "prevailing market conditions and regulatory expectations", the bank said. The proceeds also will be used to support its future business development.

"AIA has an extraordinary track record in bancassurance and deep commitment to the GBA," BEA's co-CEOs Adrian Li Man-kiu and Brian Li Man-bun said. "We are delighted that they share our vision and recognise the opportunities presented by our franchise."

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright  2021 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2021. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
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 25, 2021] SPYR Technologies Enters Revenue Generating Phase with Sales of Apple HomeKit Products Set to Begin at Applied MagiX

NEW YORK, NY, March 25, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- It has taken SPYR Technologies (OTC Pink: SPYR) just 5 months to arrive at where the company is todayentering the revenue-generating sales phase of its business plan. Five short months ago, SPYR moved into the technology sector as SPYR Technologies, it landed a $15-million funding commitment, and it acquired the Internet of Things (IoT) company, Applied MagiX, Inc., a registered Apple developer that develops and resells Apple ecosystem compatible products with an emphasis on the growing multi-billion-dollar Smart Home market. Since that corporate makeover, SPYR has been extremely transparent, and with the help of Applied MagiX, has been hitting on all cylinders and checking off a list of promised milestones one after another. The companys most recent success has SPYR, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Applied MagiX, on the precipice of commencing sales of its initial shipment of an array of Apple HomeKit products that arrived well ahead of schedule. Its the first of what should be a myriad of shipments of vetted products from the companys trusted supplier, Onvis. It is these products that will begin to drive sales and generate revenue for the company. Every publicly traded company and its shareholders delight in this moment. Its the point where a company stops simply discussing its plans for the future, and instead, begins delivering on them. With products now available, SPYR is in the unique position of having developed a business plan, acted upon it, and is prepared to turn those October 2020 ideas into 2021 fundamentals. SPYRs Chief Executive Officer (CEO), James R. Thompson, said, Let's face it, the purpose of business is to make a profit. The more profit you make, the more value we create for shareholders, and we create a situation whereby we can take advantage of bigger and better opportunities to continue to grow. In SPYRs efforts to do just thatgenerate revenue and make a profitthe company along with Applied MagiX offered more clarity this week on which products were in this first shipment and provided more detail about each one, including the (i) Onvis C3 HomeKit Secure Video Camera; (ii) Onvis SMS1 Smart Multipurpose Sensor; (iii) Onvis CS1 Smart Alarm Multipurpose Sensor; and (iv) Onvis CT2 Smart Contact Sensor. ( https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/spyr-technologies-applied-magix-receive-shipment-of-apple-homekit-products-ahead-of ) Applied MagiX will sell the 4 different essential HomeKit products on its website to Apple HomeKit consumers and those who are in the market to smarten up their homes. The website https://appliedmagix.com is being completely redesigned to include an online store, and Applied MagiX expects to launch the site soon. Dr. Harald Zink, CEO of Applied MagiX, said of the companys initial strategy to source products from its trusted partners like Onvis, This strategy of reselling vetted products will allow us to begin to generate revenue and put us one step closer to profitability while were developing our own branded proprietary products for Apple HomeKit for release into the market. Its an ideal strategy that includes selling the aforementioned products as well as other sourced Apple HomeKit products and accessories, Apple Watch accessories, and even Apple CarPlay products and accessories. The strategy buys the company time to continue to develop and produce its own signature line of Apple HomeKit products and accessories that will likely demand an even higher price tag and lead to even greater revenues. With sales expected to start very soon, this is where the CEO of Applie MagiX should excel given his expertise and long-standing relationships in the Apple community with the development and marketing of the brands products and accessories. Applied MagiX will launch an advertising/marketing campaign to online destinations and via social media to reach out directly to HomeKit enthusiasts and consumers. As revenue begins to ramp up, SPYR can reinvest in the company and create new sources of revenue through additional Smart Home products, other technologies, and further acquisitions.



SPYRs CEO said, The importance of SPYR/Applied MagiX creating revenue-generating opportunities with the initial products that the company will order and sell is to get cash flow started as Applied MagiX builds out its sales infrastructure (online store and other distribution channels, fulfillment, etc.) and product mix to prepare for it to handle the demand we anticipate for our proprietary products that we plan to introduce later in the year. The primary driver of profitability is revenue. The more SPYR/Applied MagiX can grow revenue the more likely it is they will grow profits. If SPYR achieves higher levels of revenue and can manage costs so that they rise at a lower rate, then SPYR/Applied MagiX can maximize profits. As more shipments arrive and Applied MagiX is able to advertise and market the Apple HomeKit products, the company can accelerate the rate of revenue growth, and eventually generate more profits faster which will enable SPYR to (a) take more profits, (b) reinvest in the company, (c) create new sources of revenue, (d) merge or acquire another business, and (e) improve the value of the company for its investors.

This should be music to the shareholders ears, and to hear words like sales, revenue, profitability, earnings, and fundamentals, is an exciting place to be as a SPYR shareholder. With SPYR now in a position to begin to generate revenue, its revenue growth will have a powerful impact on the company, and it will act as the engine that allows SPYR to reinvest, acquire additional products, acquire other companies, as well as expand its operations, and attain even more growth and profit well into the future. Read SPYR Technologies press releases at https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/stocks/spyr/press-releases About SPYR Technologies SPYR Technologies is a technology company that, through its subsidiary, Applied MagiX Inc., develops and resells Apple ecosystem compatible products with an emphasis on the growing multi-billion-dollar smart home market. SPYR continues to identify and target acquisitions that will grow its footprint in the industry and expand the products it offers consumers, including companies developing artificial intelligence and smart-technology products. About Applied MagiX, Inc. Applied MagiX is an Internet of Things (IoT) company headquartered in Manhattan Beach, California, with an office in Hong Kong. The company is a registered Apple developer that develops and resells Apple ecosystem compatible products with an emphasis on the growing multi-billion-dollar Smart Home market. About Stock Market Media Group Stock Market Media Group is a news & media content development IR firm offering a platform for corporate stories to unfold in the media with press releases, feature news articles, corporate videos, radio-style CEO interviews, and research reports. This article was written based on publicly available information. Stock Market Media Group may, from time to time, include our own opinions about the companies, their business, markets, and opportunities in our articles. Any opinions we may offer about any of the companies we write about are solely our own and are made in reliance upon our rights under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and are provided solely for the general opinionated discussion of our readers. Our opinions should not be considered to be complete, precise, accurate, or current investment advice, or construed or interpreted as research. Any investment decisions you may make concerning any of the securities we write about are solely your responsibility based on your own due diligence. Our publications are provided only as an informational aid, and as a starting point for doing additional independent research. We encourage you to invest carefully and read the investor information available at the website of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov , where you can also find all of SPYR Technologies filings and disclosures. We also recommend, as a general rule, that before investing in any securities, you consult with a professional financial planner or advisor, and you should conduct a complete and independent investigation before investing in any security after prudent consideration of all pertinent risks. We are not a registered broker, dealer, analyst, or advisor. We hold no investment licenses and may not sell, offer to sell, or offer to buy any security. Our publications about SPYR Technologies are not a recommendation to buy or sell a security. Should Stock Market Media Group and its management own shares in the profiled company, they may benefit from any increase in the share price of the profiled companies and hold the right to sell the shares bought or issued at any given time including shortly after the release of the companys profile. Section 17(b) of the 1933 Securities and Exchange Act requires publishers who distribute information about publicly traded securities for compensation, to disclose who paid them, the amount, and the type of payment. Under the Securities Act of 1933, Section 17(b), Stock Market Media Group discloses that its coverage was extended and was remunerated an additional fifteen-thousand dollars, paid for by a third party via bank wire, for its published content related to SPYR Technologies. In February 2015, SPYR agreed to issue to us 250,000 shares of SPYRs Restricted Common Stock. Our rights to sell any of this Restricted Common Stock are subject to prior compliance with all U.S. Securities Laws, including but not limited to Rule 144. Further, our sale of any of the Restricted Common Stock is subject to a volume restriction providing that we may only sell 5,000 shares daily for every 250,000 shares of daily trading volume. All shares have been held for the requisite period under Rule 144 and were eligible to be sold immediately upon reaching the requisite holding period without further notice. Stock Market Media Group and its management never accept compensation in free-trading shares for its marketing services of the company being profiled, however third parties that have compensated Stock Market Media Group may hold free-trading shares of the company being profiled and could very well be selling shares of the companys stock at the same time the content is being disseminated to potential investors; this should be viewed as a definite conflict of interest and as such, the reader should take this into consideration. For more information: www.stockmarketmediagroup.com . Contact:

Stock Market Media Group info@stockmarketmediagroup.com

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
The suspect in the shooting at a Boulder, Colorado, supermarket was convicted of assaulting a high school classmate but still got a gun. The man accused of opening fire on three massage businesses in the Atlanta area bought his gun just hours before the attack  no waiting required.

They are just the latest suspected U.S. mass shooters to obtain guns because of limited firearms laws, background check lapses or law enforcements failure to heed warnings of concerning behavior.

OFFICIAL: Colorado shooting suspect prone to rage, delusions

In the wake of the shootings, which together left 18 people dead, President Joe Biden renewed calls for stronger gun laws  including banning assault weapons and expanding background checks. Many Republicans oppose the measures, and the National Rifle Association blasted the discussions as a rush to politicize this horrific situation.

A look at how suspects in recent mass shootings obtained guns, based on police accounts, court documents and contemporaneous reporting:

BOULDER, COLORADO: MARCH 22, 2021. 10 DEAD.

Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa bought a Ruger AR-556 pistol, an assault weapon with a 30-round capacity, on March 16, police said. Days earlier, a judge struck down an ordinance that banned assault rifles and high-capacity magazines in Boulder, citing a state law prohibiting local gun bans. A lawsuit challenging Boulders ordinances had the backing of the NRA, which said the ruling gave law-abiding gun owners something to celebrate. Alissa was prone to sudden rage and was convicted of misdemeanor assault and sentenced to probation for attacking a high school classmate, law enforcement officials and former associates said. It was not immediately known where Alissa purchased his gun or whether that incident came up on a background check. Had he been convicted of a felony, his purchase would've been barred under federal law. Alissa is charged with 10 counts of murder.

'I DON'T NEED TO WAIT': Biden calls for action on gun laws in divided Senate

ATLANTA: MARCH 16, 2021. 8 DEAD

Robert Aaron Long purchased a 9 mm handgun just hours before going on a shooting rampage at three massage businesses in the Atlanta area, police said. A lawyer for the gun shop said it complies with federal background check laws. Georgia, like the majority of states, has no waiting period to obtain a gun. Long claimed to have a sex addiction, police said, and he spent time at an addiction recovery facility last year. Federal law bans guns for people who are unlawful users of or addicted to a controlled substance or whove been court ordered to a mental health or substance abuse treatment facility, but doesnt mention treatment for other compulsions as a barrier to ownership. Long is charged with eight counts of murder.

MIDLAND, TEXAS, AUG. 31, 2019. 7 DEAD.

Seth Aaron Ator purchased an AR-style rifle through a private sale, allowing him to evade a federal background check, and fired it indiscriminately from his car into passing vehicles and shopping plazas. He also hijacked a mail truck, killing the driver. Ator had been blocked from getting a gun in 2014 after his background check was flagged because a court determined he was mentally ill, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the matter. Private sales, which account for up to 40 percent of all gun sales according to some estimates, are not subject to a federal background check and private sellers aren't required to determine if a buyer is eligible to own a gun. Ator was killed by police.

DAYTON, OHIO: AUG. 4, 2019. 9 DEAD.

Connor Betts classmates said he was suspended in high school for compiling a hit list and a rape list, but authorities said there was nothing in his background that prevented him from purchasing the AR-15-style pistol used in the shooting at Ned Peppers Bar. Ohio law requires that sealed records of any juvenile crimes be expunged either after five years or once the offender turns 23. Betts, who was 24 at the time of the shooting, bought the gun online from a Texas dealer. It was then shipped to a Dayton-area firearms dealer, in accordance with federal law. Betts was killed by police.

RELATED: Colorado suspect got assault weapon 6 days before shooting

EL PASO, TEXAS, AUG. 3, 2019. 23 DEAD.

Patrick Crusius bought an AK-47-style rifle and 1,000 rounds of hollow-point ammunition online 45 days before the Walmart attack, prosecutors said. A Crusius family lawyer said his mother raised concerns about the purchase in a call to police on June 27. Police said she asked if Crusius, who was 21 at the time, was old enough to buy a gun. Police said she was assured he was and that he'd qualify if he passed a background check. Police said she expressed concern only about his safety and said shed seen no recent change in his behavior. Texas does not have the kind of red flag law that in other states allows courts to take guns from people posing immediate danger. Crusius posted a racist screed online just before the attack and appeared to target Mexicans. He's charged with capital murder in Texas and federal hate crimes and firearms offenses.

VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA: MAY 31, 2019. 12 DEAD.

Former Virginia Beach city employee DeWayne Craddock legally purchased six firearms in the three years before he opened fire on a municipal building, including the two .45-caliber pistols used in the attack. An independent review of the shooting, commissioned by the City of Virginia Beach, found that Craddock displayed no warning signs or prohibited behaviors associated with a pathway to violence, and that he had no known history of mental health treatment. Craddock was killed by police.

THOUSAND OAKS, CALIFORNIA: NOV. 7, 2018. 12 DEAD.

Ian David Long, a former Marine machine gunner who served in Afghanistan, used a legally purchased .45-caliber pistol with an extended magazine in the shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill. California tried to outlaw high-capacity magazines, but a federal judge reversed that after a pro-gun group sued. Months before the shooting, sheriffs deputies called to Longs home found him acting irrationally, but a mental health specialist didnt feel he needed to be involuntarily committed. California has a red flag law, but theres no indication authorities sought a court order to take away Long's guns. Long killed himself.

PITTSBURGH: OCT. 27, 2018. 11 DEAD.

Robert Gregory Bowers had a carry license and legally owned the Colt AR-15 SP1 and three Glock .357 handguns police said he used to kill worshipers at Tree of Life synagogue. Bowers spent months posting angry rants against Jews on Gab, a social media site favored by right-wing extremists. He also posted photos of his "glock family. Just before the attack, he posted a screed against a Jewish organization that resettles refugees, saying: I cant sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, Im going in. None of the rhetoric appeared to raise red flags. His case is pending.

SANTA FE, TEXAS: MAY. 18, 2018. 10 DEAD.

Dimitrios Pagourtzis, a 17-year-old student, used a shotgun and a .38-caliber handgun that his father purchased legally and stored in a closet at their home, authorities said. It wasnt clear if his father knew hed taken the guns. Prior to the attack, Pagourtzis posted a photo on social media of a T-shirt with the phrase Born to Kill and had writings indicating he planned to attack his high school. A judge sent him to a mental health facility after ruling he was incompetent to stand trial.

PARKLAND, FLORIDA: FEB. 14, 2018. 17 DEAD.

Nikolas Cruz legally purchased a Smith & Wesson M&P 15 rifle in February 2017 from a licensed dealer a few miles from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, authorities said. Hed been treated at a mental health clinic but hadnt been there in more than a year. Federal law prohibits gun purchases if a court declares a person a mental defective or commits them to an institution, but not if the person seeks treatment voluntarily. Federal law allows people as young as 18 to buy semi-automatic weapons. Cruz was 19 at the time of the shooting. His trial has been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.

SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, TEXAS: NOV. 5, 2017. 25 DEAD.

Devin Patrick Kelleys history of domestic abuse barred him from buying guns. He was able to because information about his crimes was never entered into a federal database used for background checks. The Air Force failed to follow rules requiring that it inform the FBI about his conduct. Kelley purchased four guns, including an AR-15-style rifle found at First Baptist Church, from licensed Texas and Colorado dealers over a four-year span. Kelley killed himself.

LAS VEGAS: OCT. 1, 2017. 58 DEAD.

Stephen Paddock purchased 33 of the 49 weapons found in his hotel room and at his homes in the year before he opened fire on a country music festival. Paddock passed all background checks. His gradual accumulation of guns went undetected because federal law doesn't require licensed gun dealers to alert the government about rifle purchases. Paddock killed himself.

ORLANDO, FLORIDA: JUNE 12, 2016. 49 DEAD.

Omar Mateen purchased an AR-15-style rifle, a Sig Sauer MCX, and a handgun from a licensed dealer on separate days about a week before the Pulse nightclub attack. He passed a background check and had a security license that allowed him to be armed while on duty. The FBI investigated Mateen in 2013 and 2014 over co-workers concerns that hed spoken about ties to terror groups. Neither inquiry led to charges. Even if he'd been placed on a terrorism watch list, Congress in 2015 rejected attempts to prevent people on the list from purchasing guns. Mateen was killed by police.

SAN BERNARDINO, CALIFORNIA: DEC. 2, 2015. 14 DEAD.

Syed Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, used weapons the FBI said his neighbor, Enrique Marquez, legally purchased from a licensed dealer in 2011 and 2012. Marquez pleaded guilty to charges he conspired to provide support to terrorists and made false statements to acquire a firearm. He told investigators Farook asked him to buy the weapons because he would draw less attention. Farook and Malik were killed by police.

ROSEBURG, OREGON: OCT. 1, 2015. 10 DEAD.

Christopher Harper-Mercer and his family members legally purchased the handguns and rifle used in the Umpqua Community College shooting from a licensed dealer. Investigators found six guns at the college and eight at an apartment. Neighbors said Harper-Mercer and his mother went target shooting together. Harper-Mercer killed himself after he was wounded by police.

CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA: JUNE 17, 2015. 9 DEAD.

A drug arrest should've prevented Dylann Roof from purchasing the pistol he used at Emanuel AME Church, but a record-keeping error and background check delay enabled the transaction to go through. The FBI said a background check examiner never saw the arrest report because the wrong arresting agency was listed in state criminal history records. After three days, the gun dealer was legally permitted to complete the transaction. He was convicted and is on federal death row.

WASHINGTON, D.C.: SEPT. 16, 2013. 12 DEAD.

Aaron Alexis, a former reservist turned civilian contractor, passed background checks and legally purchased the shotgun used in the Washington Navy Yard shooting despite recent mental health treatment and a history of violent outbursts. He previously fired a gun in anger twice but wasnt prosecuted in either case. Alexis was killed by police.

NEWTOWN, CONNECTICUT: DEC. 14, 2012. 26 DEAD.

Adam Lanza used his mothers weapons, including a .223-caliber semi-automatic rifle, in the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Lanzas mother, whom he fatally shot before going to the school, also purchased the ammunition. Lanza killed himself.

AURORA, COLORADO: JULY 20, 2012. 12 DEAD.

James Holmes was receiving psychiatric treatment when he passed required federal background checks and legally purchased the weapons he used in his movie theater assault. As in the Parkland and Navy Yard cases, treatment alone did not prevent him from buying guns. He was convicted and sentenced to 12 life terms and thousands of years in prison.

___

Associated Press writer Michael Balsamo in Washington contributed to this report.

___

Follow Michael Sisak on Twitter at twitter.com/mikesisak
BETHESDA, Md., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- When deciding whether to get a COVID-19 vaccine, Republicans who voted for President Trump will be far more influenced by their doctors and family members than any politician, including Trump, according to a new national poll. When asked if they'd be more likely to get vaccinated if their doctor or Trump recommended it, 81% chose their doctor. This and other findings reveal that like other Americans, Trump voters see vaccination as a personal issue, not a political issue, and they want unbiased facts from doctors and other trusted, non-political sources.

A full 78% of all respondents said they may eventually get vaccinated. When asked if they would wait days, weeks, months, a year, or more than a year after it was available to them, 50% said they would wait months, and only 21% said more than a year.

Conducted by Frank Luntz on March 14-16 for the de Beaumont Foundation -- in partnership with United States of Care and Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of Vital Strategies -- the poll identifies specific language that can help build confidence in the vaccines for all Americans. Findings include messages about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines, the potential long-term effects of COVID-19, and the careful review process that each vaccine has followed. The poll findings, communication tips, and effective messaging are available at www.debeaumont.org/changing-the-covid-conversation/gopattitudes.

As previous polls of the general public have shown, Trump voters said they're most concerned about safety, the speed at which the vaccines were developed, and the unknown long-term side effects. These individuals found the following information helpful and said it made them more likely to take a vaccine:

The vaccines are up to 95% effective, even more than the annual flu vaccine, which is typically 40% to 60% effective.

If enough people are vaccinated, we can prevent 100,000 deaths or more.

Almost all doctors who have been offered the vaccine have taken it.

The speed of the vaccines' development was a result of cutting red tape and bureaucracy, not cutting corners or bypassing any safety precautions.

The phase 3 trials for the three authorized vaccines enrolled tens of thousands of people and none were hospitalized or died.

The poll questions were informed by a March 13 nationwide focus group with 19 Trump voters who said they may "possibly" get a COVID-19 vaccine or "probably would not." The poll validated many of the focus group findings, including a lack of trust of government, political leaders, and the media. "In both the focus group and the poll, they said they want to hear unbiased, un-politicized facts and data from doctors and medical professionals, not politicians," Luntz said. "Then they want to make their own decisions. We heard very clearly they don't want to be told what to do by Washington, but they're open to listening to facts so they can make an informed decision."

Brian C. Castrucci, DrPH, president and CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation, said, "The poll findings make it clear that getting a COVID vaccine is a personal decision, and people want to keep politics out of it. The messaging we developed from these findings can help public health officials and others address the real concerns that Trump voters and many other Americans have."

Dr. Tom Frieden, MD, MPH, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and current president of Resolve to Save Lives, said, "The messages and messengers matter when communicating the benefits of the COVID vaccine to people and communities across the United States and around the world. Transparency is key to vaccine rollout. It's important to share with people what we know when we know it, and be open about what we don't know and what we're doing to learn more."

Natalie Davis, co-founder of United States of Care, added, "We know that taking the vaccine is a personal medical decision and that people across populations need accurate information. When they get that honest and trusted information, they're deciding to get the vaccine. That's great news for all of us and shows just how important these conversations are."

The poll is the third in a series of national polls focused on "Changing the COVID Conversation," designed to guide more effective public health messaging during this pandemic among diverse populations, including Black Americans, Latinx communities, Republicans, rural residents, and others. For more details about the poll findings, visit www.debeaumont.org/changing-the-covid-conversation/gopattitudes.

Other Findings:

96% said COVID-19 is real, but 55% think its risks have been exaggerated.

There are significant differences in the perceptions of older and younger Republicans. Those age 18-49 said they were almost equally concerned about getting COVID-19 (51%) as getting the vaccine (49%). But 69% of Republicans 50 and older said they were more concerned about the virus.

Respondents 18-49 said they would be more motivated than respondents 50+ by employee incentives, a day off, the recommendation of religious leaders, and the decision of friends and family members to get vaccinated.

74% of all respondents said they always or usually wear masks when they are indoors and around others. At the same time, 70% said that no longer wearing masks was a compelling reason to get vaccinated.

Poll Methodology

The nationwide survey was conducted March 14-16 by pollster Frank Luntz, with 1,000 registered GOP voters who voted for President Trump in the 2020 election (+3% margin of error), modeled demographically based on voter turnout. They were polled about the specific words, sentences, phrases, and arguments that would make them more likely to take a COVID-19 vaccine.

About the de Beaumont Foundation

Founded in 1998, the de Beaumont Foundation creates and invests in bold solutions that improve the health of communities across the country. The Foundation advances policy, builds partnerships, and strengthens public health to create communities where people can achieve their best possible health. For more information, visit debeaumont.org.

About Frank Luntz

Frank I. Luntz, PhD, has written, supervised, and conducted more than 2,500 surveys, focus groups, ad tests, and dial sessions in more than two dozen countries and six continents over the past 35 years. He has worked for more than 50 Fortune 500 companies and CEOs, but he's best known for political commentary. More media outlets have turned to Dr. Luntz to understand the hopes and fears of Americans than to any other political pollster. For more information, visit filuntz.com.

Media Contact:

Mark Miller

(301) 802-6783

SOURCE de Beaumont Foundation

Related Links

https://debeaumont.org


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
Dr Helmut Marko says Red Bull is "open to partners" as the energy drink-owned camp prepares to take over the Honda engine program for 2022 and beyond.

The big rumour is of a potential tie-up with long-time Red Bull sponsor Volkswagen via the luxury Porsche brand - particularly for when the engine regulations are simplified in 2025.

When asked about the Porsche rumours, Marko told Kleine Zeitung newspaper: "Other manufacturers can also become interested in Formula 1.

"The regulations have been simplified to such an extent that we are able to do this," he added, referring to Red Bull's decision to prepare its own engines based on the Honda technology.

"Everything will be easier and, above all, more cost-effective. That's why we can do that too. We want to work completely independently, but yes we are open to partners."

It is unclear whether Red Bull is actually ahead of Mercedes heading into the 2021 season, but Marko admitted: "The others are miles away.

"We also know that Mercedes drove in the testing with full tanks and did not use full power. So we can't say exactly where we stand at the moment.

"We will find out in qualifying," added the Austrian, who remained in Bahrain after the recent test.

"We've never had a test session as good as this one," Marko admitted, crediting Honda for producing a more compact and slimmer engine for the new season.

"They also found a few horsepower," he said.

(GMM)
"At the same time, Pfizer's intravenous anti-viral candidate is a potential novel treatment option for hospitalised patients. Together, the two have the potential to create an end-to-end treatment paradigm that complements vaccination in cases where the disease still occurs," Dolsten added.Protease inhibitors act by preventing the virus from replicating in the cell. They have been effective at treating other viral pathogens such as HIV and hepatitis C virus, both alone and in combination with other anti-virals, the company said.This Phase 1 trial is a randomized, double-blind, sponsor-open, placebo-controlled, single and multiple dose-escalation study in healthy adults evaluating the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of PF-07321332.Previously preclinical studies have demonstrated the antiviral activity of this potential first-in-class SARS-CoV-2 therapeutic designed specifically to inhibit replication of the SARS-CoV2 virus.The company is loos forward in investigating an intravenously administered investigational protease inhibitor, PF-07304814, which is currently in Phase 1b multi-dose trial in hospitalized clinical trial participants with COVID-19.Together, the two (oral and intravenous candidates) have the potential to create an end-to-end treatment paradigm that complements vaccination in cases where disease still occurs," Pfizer's Chief Medical Officer Mikael Dolsten said in a statement.Source: Medindia
Under the agreement, Chatham becomes the exclusive global sales and marketing agent for Los Siete Misterios, excluding Mexico, while the Mestres remain responsible for the production of Los Siete Misterios as well as sales in Mexico. This new partnership, which entails an equity investment by Chatham, will bolster Los Siete Misterios' production capacity and enhance the brand's route-to-market within the United States and abroad.

Julio Mestre, CEO of Los Siete Misterios, commented: "We have known Matt Magliocco and his family for years and we have been following what they have achieved with Michter's internationally and the great job they have done. We couldn't think of a better partner to help us take Los Siete Misterios to the next level. Both companies have the same values and each of us shares the same passion to produce the best spirits in our respective categories. That's why we are certain this will be a great venture for both companies."

Matt Magliocco, Executive Vice President of Chatham, commented: "We are absolutely thrilled to partner with Julio and Eduardo in the development of Los Siete Misterios. I have been friends with Julio and Eduardo for years, and from the very first day we met, I have admired their commitment to producing superb Oaxaca mezcal ethically and responsibly. Since founding Los Siete Misterios in 2010, Julio, Eduardo, and their team have done a remarkable job establishing one of the world's greatest mezcals and have earned a well-deserved reputation as leaders in our industry."

Magliocco added, "Los Siete Misterios delivers in every respect, from the consistently delicious liquid across its diverse range of expressions to the arresting Catrinas artwork. The brand's preeminent status in Mexico City's renowned bars and restaurants is a testament to Los Siete Misterios' reputation and credibility at home. For Chatham, Los Siete Misterios exemplifies all the qualities we value in a brand and aligns perfectly with our existing portfolio. We cannot wait to bring Los Siete Misterios to more people in the United States and around the world."

About Los Siete Misterios

Founded in 2010 by Julio and Eduardo Mestre with only one thing in mind: to respect and preserve the mezcal making traditions, as well as to promote local commerce and stimulate the culture of small mezcal producers, all of this with a contemporary approach. Thus, we were able to relive the past and match it with the present time, combining the best of both worlds. We remain respectful of one of the purest essences: the mezcal, a genuine Mexican heritage. The legends and mysteries of Mexico, our land, were our source of inspiration to start a quest, looking for a beverage that is fully representative of the Mexican customs, culture and of course the passion that goes along with every Mexican product. With support from our bartender friends in over 20 countries, we have established Los Siete Misterios as one of the most beloved brands in the Mezcal category. Los Siete Misterios offers a wide range of mezcals starting with Doba Yej, a copper pot-distilled Espadin; our Ancestral line of clay pot-distilled Espadin, Barril, Mexicano, Coyote, Arroqueno and Tobala; our new Ensamble collection of copper pot-distilled Espadin and wild agave blends; and special releases including our Pechuga expression. For more information, please visit www.sietemisterios.com

About Chatham Imports

Headquartered in Manhattan's Flatiron District, Chatham represents a portfolio of quality-focused spirits, wine, and beer labels. Chatham's spirits brands include Michter's American Whiskey and its Legacy Series consisting of Bomberger's Declaration Bourbon and Shenk's Homestead Sour Mash, Crop Harvest Earth Organic Vodka, Farmer's Organic Gin, Foro Amaro and Vermouth, Marti Autentico Rum, and Faretti Biscotti Liqueur. Chatham's wine offerings are led by Santa Marina and Tuffo, while the portfolio is rounded out with New Amsterdam Beer. Chatham's subsidiaries include Michter's Shively and Fort Nelson distilleries in Louisville, Kentucky, as well as Michter's 145-acre farm and operations in Springfield, Kentucky. Chatham products are sold in all 50 United States as well as approximately 60 foreign markets spanning the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. For more information, please visit www.chathamimports.com.

Chatham Imports Contact: Los Siete Misterios Contact: Matt Magliocco Eduardo Mestre +1 (502) 774-2300 x470 +52 55 29812311 [email protected] [email protected]

SOURCE Chatham Imports

Related Links

http://www.chathamimports.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.
Members of Cambodia's Women for Society Association place thumbprints on a police document promising to end a campaign to petition Prime Minister Hun Sen to provide financial relief to impoverished Cambodians.

Cambodian police on Thursday stopped a youth group from collecting thumbprints in support of a petition drive asking Prime Minister Hun Sen to address cases of economic hardship in the country, forcing them to add their own prints instead to a pledge to end their campaign, sources said.

Under pressure from authorities, the group had already canceled plans to lead a march to Hun Sens cabinet office in Phnom Penh, where they had planned to call for government payments to the millions of Cambodians left jobless as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Keo Thithlida, president of the Women for Society Association, and six other youths were held overnight by Stung Meanchey I district police and released next day after putting their thumbprints on a document handed to them by police, Yean Raksaa member of the associations board of directorstold RFA on Thursday.

They told me very briefly that they will now suspend their campaign and that they dont want to talk about it, Yean Raksa said. I dont know if they were simply told to do this or if they were pressured in some way.

What I can see is that they are afraid, he said.

RFA could not reach the detained youths for comment, but the association later asked local media not to use any information in its reporting not taken from the groups own Facebook page.

We dont want to become a political tool, Yean Raksa said.

We dont want to see any allegations [made against us] of political motivations or ill will. We are youth with clean hands, he added.

Reached for comment, Phnom Penh Municipality Police spokesperson San Sokseiha declined to discuss the youths detention and release, saying he had no information about the case and was too busy to speak.

'A normal campaign'

But Ny Sokha, a spokesperson for the Cambodian rights group Adhoc, said the youths had not committed any crime.

Forcing people to place their thumbprints on documents in exchange for their release is illegal and a violation of peoples rights, he said.

They were waging a normal [campaign], he said. They were seeking support because we live in a democratic world, and they should be allowed to express their views.

Many Cambodians are now struggling to pay their debts and meet the costs of rent, utility bills, and gasoline amid Cambodias latest outbreak of COVID-19 after an already year-long shutdown of the economy.

Cambodia marked its first official death from COVID-19 on March 11, a year to the day after the World Health Organization (WHO) labeled the coronavirus a global pandemic. Since then, five people have died as a result of the disease.

While Cambodia has remained relatively unscathed by the virus, it reported a daily record last week of 105 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the countrys total number of infections to 1,430nearly triple that of a month ago when the latest outbreak was first detected.

By Wednesday, the number of infections had climbed to 1,817.

A court in Phnom Penh has meanwhile charged a Cambodian man in a first case of tampering under the provisions of a new law forbidding criticism of the Chinese-made COVID-19 vaccine.

The accused, Tor Chanthi, was arrested on Wednesday after posting a video on TikTok urging factory workers not to take the shot.

Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Richard Finney.
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.
Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - March 24, 2021) - Wilton Resources Inc. (TSXV: WIL) (the "Corporation") is pleased to announce that it intends to issue, by way of non-brokered private placement, units of the Corporation ("Units") at a purchase price of $0.50 per Unit (the "Offering Price") for gross proceeds of a minimum of $200,000 (the "Offering"). The principal use of the proceeds of the Offering will be for general corporate purposes and as a reserve to pursue the acquisition of an international oil and gas property.

Each Unit will be comprised of one common share in the capital of the Corporation ("Common Share") and one Common Share purchase warrant ("Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one Common Share for a period of 24 months from the date of issuance at an exercise price of $0.55 (the "Exercise Price"), subject to an accelerated expiry as described below.

In the event that the 20-day volume weighted average price of the Common Shares as listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV") is greater than $1.50, the Corporation may accelerate the expiry date of the Warrants by giving notice to the holders thereof and, in such case, the Warrants will expire on the 10th day after the date on which such notice is given.

The Corporation may pay finder's fees to Haywood Securities Inc. (the "Finder") consisting of a cash payment equal to 6.0% of the aggregate proceeds raised from the sale of Units to subscribers introduced to the Corporation by the Finder and the issuance of such number of non-transferable warrants ("Finder Warrants") that is equal to 6.0% of the gross proceeds raised in respect of the issuance of Units to subscribers introduced to the Corporation by the Finder, divided by $0.50. Each Finder Warrant will entitled the holder thereof to acquire one Common Share for a period of 24 months following the closing date of the Offering (the "Closing Date") at a an exercise price of $0.50 per share.

Completion of the Offering is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals including the approval of the TSXV. The TSXV has not approved the Offering Price or the Exercise Price and these remain subject to the change. The Common Shares, Warrants and Finder Warrants issued in connection with the Offering and the Common Shares underlying the Warrants and Finder Warrants will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months plus one day from the Closing Date, in accordance with applicable securities legislation.

For more information concerning the Corporation, please refer to the Corporation's profile on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com.

Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking information. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "intend", "may", "will", "expect", and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Corporation's current beliefs or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Actual future results may differ materially. In particular, this press release contains forward-looking information with respect to the receipt of regulatory approvals (including TSXV approvals) and the timing thereof, compensation payable to the Finder, the potential accelerated expiry of the Warrants, statutory hold periods and the principal uses of the proceeds of the Offering. Various assumptions or factors are typically applied in drawing conclusions or making the forecasts or projections set out in forward-looking information. Those assumptions and factors are based on information currently available to the Corporation. The material facts and assumptions include obtaining approval of the TSXV of the proposed Offering; the availability of certain prospectus exemptions in respect of the Offering; and the intended use of proceeds remaining in the best interests of the Corporation. The Corporation cautions the reader that the above list of risk factors is not exhaustive. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof and the Corporation is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Due to the risks, uncertainties and assumptions contained herein, investors should not place undue reliance on forward- looking information. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein.

For more information, please contact:

Wilton Resources Inc.

Richard Anderson

Chief Executive Officer and President

(403) 619-6609

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 the content of this release.

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.

THE SECURITIES OFFERED 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 THE REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS. 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/78539
ADVERTISEMENT

The Presidency says there is no rift between President Muhammadu Buhari and the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu.

This was disclosed in a statement on Wednesday by presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, who described the speculations as handiwork of cynics.

Ahead of the 2023 presidential election, there are speculations that there is a rift between Mr Buhari and Mr Tinubu.

Mr Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State, played a major role in the emergence of Mr Buhari as president in 2015.

The duo have enjoyed warm relationship until recently when there were speculations about a rift between them.

Mr Shehu said the report of the alleged rift was the handiwork of media mischief makers.

He said Messrs Buhari and Tinubu have a very strong commitment to the All Progressives Congress, APC, towards bringing change and this is a commitment they have made to the Nigerian people.

Read full statement below:

STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE

ALLEGED RIFT BETWEEN PRESIDENT BUHARI AND TINUBU; HANDIWORK OF CYNICS

The Presidency wishes to make it clear that there is no rift between President Muhammadu Buhari and his strong ally, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The President and the Asiwaju have a very strong commitment to the All Progressives Congress, APC, towards bringing CHANGE and this is a commitment they have made to the Nigerian people.

Recent reports of a rift between the two leaders of our party are false; the handiwork of some media mischief makers.

It is quite unfortunate that certain sections of the media feed on birthing controversies, providing a nexus for naysayers who work behind the scenes planting such stories which are absolutely false.

This administration is aware of pessimists and cynics who willfully spread misinformation to create doubts in the minds of the people about the relationship between its leaders and whether the party will remain intact or not. There is no doubt that the President and the party are focused on development, peace and security, restructuring of the economy and war against corruption in the country and will not be diverted to anything else. This desperate attempt to fool the people will not succeed.

To President Buhari, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu remains one of the most respected political leaders in the country who has stuck to his principles in the face of all adversities. He was instrumental to the formation, growth and development of the APC into a formidable political party and the political alliance is waxing even stronger.

If the Asiwaju is not a frequent face in the Aso Rock Villa, it is on account of the fact that he is not a cabinet member of this government. The fact that he is not every day around the Villa does not make him less of a friend to the President and this administration.

Garba Shehu

Senior Special Assistant to the President

(Media & Publicity)

March 24, 2021
Nairobi  The Jubilee Party has handed nomination certificates to candidates who will vie in the Parliamentary by-election in Bonchari and Juja and that of the Garissa Senatorial race scheduled for May 18.

The party Secretary General Rapahel Tuju on Wednesday unveiled Zebedeo Opore (Bonchari), Susan Waititu (Juja) and Abdul Haji (Garissa) as the party's preferred choices for the mini polls.

The seats fell vacant following the deaths of Oroo Oyioka (Bonchari), Francis Munyua Waititu (Juja) and Yusuf Haji (Garissa).

"This country belongs to all of us, nobody is greater than the other and at the end of the day they will put cotton wool on our noses and we will be buried like those who have gone ahead of us. So, we should proceed with the context of mutual respect, let us embrace each other us brothers and sisters," he said at the party's headquarters.

The Bonchari by-election is the most critical of all as it will be closely followed primarily due to the decision by Jubilee Party to field a candidate in a region that is considered to be an ODM stronghold.

Jubilee Party and ODM have been sharing a mutual partnership since the March 9, 2018 handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

The partnership which now stands to be tested has before seen the respective parties opt out of previsions by-elections considered to be strongholds of either parties.

Jubilee Vice Chairperson David Murathe who witnessed the handing over of the certificates to the three candidates, however, clarified that the party's decision to contest in Bonchari would not, in any way, affect the relationship it currently enjoys with ODM.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"We are not trying to start a war with our handshake partner ODM, the seat was not theirs in the first place. We have not done anything wrong and so we will go to the electorate who will now decide," he said.

Oroo Oyioka, the late Bonchari MP, was a member of the Kenya African National Union Peoples Democratic Party.

Opore who is keen in making a come back to the National Assembly after previously serving in the same position for three terms since 1997, expressed confidence of clinching the seat in the high stake poll where he will face off with ODM's Parvel Oimeke and Oyioka's widow who is vying on a United Democratic Alliance Party (UDA) ticket, Teresa Bitutu among other candidates.

"I will deliver this seat as this message is coming directly from the electorate in Bonchari. I know how they feel and we will surely deliver," he said.

Juja's candidate Susan also expressed optimism that the seat will be retained by the party and committed to hit the ground running.

"Work will continue and I am going to deliver and my only appeal to my supporters is that they should turn up in large numbers during the election day," she said.

On his part, the son to the late Senator Yusuf Haji, Abdul also expressed gratitude for the support he has received from leaders from the pastoralist community who have unanimously backed his candidature.

"I promise to closely work with all the leaders to deliver on issues that are important to our communities. We shall deliver," he said.
Ukraine informed Turkey about the current state of affairs in the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula, in particular the illegal militarization of territories, human rights violations, and the demographic situation.

Director of the Second Territorial Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Vasyl Zvarych said this in a commentary to Ukrinform following the quadriga format consultations that took place in Ankara on March 24.

We informed the Turkish side about the real situation in the occupied Crimea, in particular about the increase in the number of Russian occupation troops, human rights violations, and the demographic situation on the peninsula, Zvarych said.

The meeting participants discussed not only the security of Ukraine but also the security of the entire Black Sea region.

Our assessments of security threats actually coincide. And this is very important for us as strategic partners, since security in the Black Sea region is our common responsibility as two great maritime states, Zvarych noted.

According to him, Turkey is ready to take an active part in the Crimean Platform, including in the preparation of the final documents of the summit scheduled for August 23, and in promoting the initiative as a platform for consolidating international efforts to de-occupy Crimea.

As Ukrinform reported, on March 24, Ankara hosted political and security consultations between the national coordinators of the quadriga bilateral cooperation format.

ish
What impact will the AfCFTA have on the oil and gas industry? (By Shantel Mufandaidza)
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 assembly on Thursday passed the Telangana Public Employment (Regulation of Age of Superannuation Amendment Bill 2021 to enforce the retirement age hike with immediate effect. (Twitter/file photo)

Hyderabad: Finance minister T. Harish Rao has allayed fears of any hurdles in the fresh recruitment drives, on account of state government's recent decision to increase the retirement age of employees from 58 years to 61 years.

Speaking in the state Assembly on Thursday, Harish Rao made it clear that the retirement age hike will in no way impact the fresh recruitment drives. The government will soon issue job notifications to fill over 50,000 vacancies in various departments, he said.

The assembly on Thursday passed the Telangana Public Employment (Regulation of Age of Superannuation Amendment Bill 2021 to enforce the retirement age hike with immediate effect.

Harish Rao, who introduced the bill, said some Opposition parties and vested interests groups were trying to mislead and provoke students and job-seekers through a misinformation campaign that the retirement age hike by three years will halt fresh recruitment drives in Telangana for the next three years.

"Chief Minister KCR garu has ordered promotion to all government employees based on their seniority. Promotions for over 80 per cent employees were already completed and the balance will be completed in a month. The promotions have created vacancies at lower levels. All these vacancies will be filled under direct recruitment. This apart, several vacancies existed in various departments. All these will be notified soon. The government will issue job notifications to fill over 50,000 posts," he stated.
Adriane Garcia treats two dozen patients a day, mostly from her computer screen, inside a small school-based clinic on the outskirts of San Antonio.

But at the end of the day, it can feel like so many more because patients on the video calls usually ask for medical advice for other people in the household: parents, siblings, children.

Theyre not on the appointment, Garcia, a licensed physician assistant, said during a quick pause between patients at the Southwest Independent School District clinic. But its in regard to the entire patient, so that means treating everyone else that has been affected. Im doing this with every patient, so it puts me a little behind. Theres nights where we stay until 7 or 7:30.

The doors close at 5 p.m.

The clinic is run in partnership with University Health, which also has two clinics in San Antonio ISD and one in Harlandale ISD. University Health is working on adding a clinic in Edgewood ISD and two more school-based clinics on the North Side.

At the Southwest ISD clinic, Medical assistant Crystal Casias was putting on a gown and preparing a cart with supplies before meeting a patient in the parking lot. Thats how the clinic conducts COVID-19 swab tests  through the car window.

Garcia said these are ways the staff has had to adjust to the pandemic. Were trying to keep the clinic as safe from COVID as possible, she said.

Most of the people who work in the clinic graduated from Southwest High School. Garcia is one of the few who didnt, but her husband did.

Casias lives in Natalia, a small town 20 minutes away. Her mother works for Southwest ISD, and her son goes to Southwest Elementary.

This is more of a home to us. Not just work, she said. I do anything I can for this clinic.

Since opening in 2015, the Southwest ISD clinic has served as a lifeline for students, faculty, staff and the surrounding community.

Business Operations Manager Elizabeth Manrrique said University Health does this by providing patients access to affordable, convenient medical care services where there were none before.

On ExpressNews.com: Vascular surgeon plans to open South Side's first accredited outpatient surgery center

Many patients qualify for University Healths financial assistance program, called CareLink, which helps offset the cost of needed medical care for Bexar Countys most vulnerable residents.

We just try to work with the family as best as possible, Manrrique said. So we figure out what their needs are, and then see what kind of visit they truly do need so that we can get them the care they need at what they can afford.

Over the past year, the clinic has become even more of a resource for the school and its nurse as they deal with COVID-19 transmission and infection control requirements on top of the usual health concerns such as vaping, depression and teen pregnancy.

School administrators and the nurse have Manrriques cell phone number and meet often to try to stay ahead of troubling trends.

Long before the coronavirus arrived in the U.S., people living in this part of Bexar County had been at higher risk of serious health complications resulting in shorter life spans.

The federal government designates this area near Southwest High School as a place with a severe shortage of primary care professionals, noting most of its population has a low income.

More than 84 percent of students are economically disadvantaged, compared with 60 percent statewide, according to Texas Education Agency data.

Students from this district are overwhelmingly Hispanic  more than 90 percent identify as being of Latino descent  much higher than the countys 61 percent.

Latinos are more likely to die from diabetes and poorly controlled high blood pressure than non-Hispanic white people. This population is also more likely not to have health insurance through an employer, and those who do more likely cant afford to use it.

Those are some of the reasons the school district partnered with University Health, the countys hospital district, to build the clinic on the edge of its main campus, just off Loop 1604 on the Southwest Side.

Teri De La Haya, University Healths senior vice president of community health and clinical services, said the health system initially collaborated with school districts for onsite clinics using federal funds available through the Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment program.

The health systems first school-based clinic was with Harlandale, then Southwest and Southside ISD clinics opened; however, Southside has since struck a deal with a different provider.

Once these federal dollars dried up, De La Haya persuaded University Health officials to keep these partnerships going as an investment.

On ExpressNews.com: University Health preparing for increase in supply, looks for another mass vaccination site

Outpatient clinics are not usually profitable, but she advocated to keep the clinics running because they help prevent illness and disease among county residents who would otherwise likely show up in emergency rooms needing costly care.

Typically, a school-based clinic is open to current students, then their siblings, then the school staff and lastly the general community.

The health systems deal with Edgewood ISD would follow a different model, serving its employees before its students. The plan calls for recommissioning a clinic on Old Highway 90 into a health center for employees that would eventually serve students and then the entire West Side neighborhood.

The reason for that is because Edgewood wanted to provide more preventive health services to their own staff to get them to be a little more proactive in their health, De La Haya said. Theyll be able to be checked for chronic health conditions more frequently, and having a clinic thats accessible to them is very critical. Thats an attractive offer to provide those services for your staff or even cover the co-pay for their visit.

School-based health centers first opened up years ago in Northern states, and theres robust evidence showing that regular child well-visits and vaccinations keep students in school.

The Southwest ISD clinic has been a lifesaver for many.

Medio Creek Elementary teacher Amanda Gonzales said her oldest son struggled with severe asthma, which caused him to miss school for sick days and medical appointments.

It wasnt until they saw Garcia at the Southwest ISD clinic that they were able to find the right treatment, a preventive inhaler.

Since then, Gonzales said, shes relied on the clinic and Garcia as a trusted medical provider to keep her family of four healthy  including through a spate of the coronavirus.

The family lives and works outside San Antonio city limits, but they never have to travel far for a same-day medical appointment or annual flu shots.

Growing up, that wasnt the case for Gonzales mother, who also worked for the school district. Anytime they had a medical appointment, they had to miss a day of school.

The best thing is that when Im sick I can get an appointment the same day with no issues, and I can also go during my conference period, Gonzales said.

So in January when the entire family came down with COVID-19, she knew whom to call.

Her husband and their boys had mild symptoms, but she was knocked back.

Health researchers say the COVID-19 pandemic has only further driven a wedge between those who can afford to take a sick day and those who cannot.

I had the worst headache of my life, said Gonzales, 35, recalling how even walking and breathing became difficult.

At the school clinic, Gonzales was given a free pulse oximeter, a device she placed on her fingertip to monitor her heart rate and oxygen saturation. Thats how she knew when it was time to go to the ER.

The kindergarten teacher who previously was in good health and loved to exercise found herself hospitalized for three days and then out of work while she recovered.

I finally was able to wash dishes and do a few loads of laundry. Im able to kind of slowly get back to normal. Even right now, its difficult to talk, but Im on the end of it.

laura.garcia@express-news.net
A GlaxoSmithKline executive who was poached to run the US vaccines programme has been fired by the British company over sexual harassment allegations.

Moncef Slaoui, 61, is accused of 'wholly inappropriate' behaviour towards a female employee while at GSK, where he was the research and development boss until 2017 and then chairman of GSK subsidiary Galvani Bioelectronics.

He remained in this role even after he was hired to lead former US president Donald Trump's 'Operation Warp Speed' last year.

Glaxosmithkline executive Moncef Slaoui, 61, is accused of 'wholly inappropriate' behaviour towards a female employee

But GSK has sacked Slaoui from Galvani after a probe by a law firm backed up the harassment claims.

It is also reviewing stock options awarded to him that were worth a reported 7million last year.

GSK boss Emma Walmsley said: 'Dr Slaoui's behaviours represent an abuse of his position,' adding: 'Protecting the woman who came forward and her privacy has been a critical priority.

'This will continue. I respect and admire her courage and strength.

'We are in an age of progress with a female chief executive, growing ranks of female leaders, new commitments to diverse representation, and a culture that values speaking up. Sexual harassment will not be tolerated.'

Slaoui resigned from the US vaccine programme in January, but has recently advised the EU on its jabs rollout. He could not be reached for comment.
A landlord who is fighting for the eviction of a large family from his house in Longford will not be demanding the 2,330 owed in rent because he just wants them out, the District Court has heard.

Two of the familys 16 children appeared before Granard District Court on Friday afternoon, with no appearance from a third because he is currently in the custody of Oberstown Childrens Detention Centre.

The two girls, who faced three new charges and two new charges, respectively, last week have already been charged with a long litany of shoplifting offences with gardai previously telling the court that they believe the children are encouraged to shoplift by their parents.

The new charges facing the girls on Friday are from 2020, with Judge Seamus Hughes warning both that he would be taking the matter very seriously if any new charges crop up from January 1, 2021, onwards.

I dont want to see any new charge picked up, even if its a pack of chicken burgers or a bag of potatoes, he told one of the girls.

Im going to introduce you to the probation services today, he added, adjourning her case to June 15 and ordering a probation report for that date.

The second girl has been monitored to ensure she has gone to school with gardai confirming that since the school returned on March 15, she had attended three out of four days.

I want no more days of school missed, said Judge Hughes to the girl. Looking at the probation report, she doesnt want to attend school and dislikes same and is unable to say why. Shes very guarded in her answers to the probation officer. Shes very guarded with me too.

Judge Hughes noted one serious theft among the charges before the court, which was 88 for four duvet covers.

I know whats going on and I wont tolerate it. Dont come to the notice of the gardai and attend every day at school, he said, adjourning the second girls case to June 15 next.

The large family has been living in rented accommodation in a Longford estate and the court has heard that a notice of termination was served on them in recent weeks.

Their tenancy started in June 2018 and the house is in bad condition at the moment. Theres also an issue with anti-social behaviour and its causing serious issues for the residents, said solicitor for the landlord, Ms Carol Daly.

Theres rubbish at the back of the house and its being thrown over walls, she added.

The father of the family, who cannot be named due to the age of the children before the court, explained that Longford County Council had been in touch and said that they wont rehome the family unless they were homeless.

I understand the residential tenancies board has made an order that no evictions can be carried out. But they want you evicted from the house. Will you go or will the court have to make you go? said Judge Hughes, addressing the man.

Ms Daly explained that there are significant rent arrears of 2,330 but my client isnt even looking for rent - he just wants the house back.

A termination order was served on the family on March 14, 2021, giving the respondent and all persons in the property 14 days to leave and to pay the rent arrears.

Were very sorry, Judge, but the ceilings came down on top of us in my house, said the tenant.

Im not interested in that, said Judge Hughes, adding that all he was interested to know was whether or not he could grant the order.

Solicitor for the defence, Mr John Quin said that during the pandemic, no order of ejectment should be made but Ms Daly noted that the termination order was originally made in June 2019.

The landlord and his daughter, who attended court on Friday, told Judge Hughes that they were getting phone calls from the neighbours about serious anti-social behaviour from the family.

We just want the house back. Were getting phone calls about them abusing people and harassing the neighbours. The house is in a terrible state and the residents feel unsafe. These people are vandalising their houses and their property, they said.

Judge Hughes adjourned the case to April 16 for hearing, commenting that this family are in dire condition.
Luanda  The representative of the World Health Organisation in Angola, Djamila Cabral, Tuesday reaffirmed the need to maintain measures to prevent and fight against Covid-19 to avoid a second wave of the disease in the country.

The public health technician, who was speaking to Angolan Public Television (TPA), said it was essential that health authorities and Angolans in general reinforce the transmission of messages about the importance of using face masks and alcohol gel, among other prevention measures, so as not to "throw away" the gains made since March 2020.

Djamila Cabral praised the Angolan authorities for, in her opinion, having given a quick and adequate response, a decisive factor in controlling the disease in the country.

The specialist considers that continuous preparation is fundamental so that the country does not run the risk of being surprised, once again, by a second wave.

In relation to the vaccines, Djamila Cabral states that they have a six-month immunity, having as main objective the reduction of the number of Covid-19 cases.

In addition to reaffirming the safety of the vaccine AstraYeneka administered in Angola, she considers it a gain.

The specialist also noted that Angola was one of the first African countries to receive the vaccine, stating that it was by its own merit, taking into account the technical conditions for vaccine conservation (chambers) and the number of prepared professionals.

The public health technician, who was speaking to Angolan Public Television (TPA), said it was essential that health authorities and Angolans in general reinforce the transmission of messages about the importance of using face masks and alcohol gel, among other prevention measures, so as not to "throw away" the gains made since March 2020.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Angola Coronavirus International Organisations By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Djamila Cabral praised the Angolan authorities for, in her opinion, having given a quick and adequate response, a decisive factor in controlling the disease in the country.

The specialist considers that continuous preparation is fundamental so that the country does not run the risk of being surprised, once again, by a second wave.

In relation to the vaccines, Djamila Cabral states that they have a six-month immunity, having as main objective the reduction of the number of Covid-19 cases.

In addition to reaffirming the safety of the vaccine AstraYeneka administered in Angola, she considers it a gain.

The specialist also noted that Angola was one of the first African countries to receive the vaccine, stating that it was by its own merit, taking into account the technical conditions for vaccine conservation (chambers) and the number of prepared professionals.
The Perth fisherman who died at sea on Wednesday has been identified as a grandfather who loved fishing, his family and his dog.

Ralph Jongedyks body was recovered on Thursday morning washed up on a beach in Yanchep around 19 hours after his boat was spotted five nautical miles off the coast driving in circles with no one on board.

A police vessel stopped the dinghy around 3pm and found the 68-year-olds dog, Cassy, and two fishing rods still on board  sparking a desperate sea and air search for the retired anaesthetic technician.

Water police, sea rescue, jetskis, a number of aircraft scoured the choppy waters while the State Emergency Service and police searched the shoreline.
Prime Minister Scott Morrisons chief of staff will investigate whether people in his office gave information to the media about former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins partner after her writing to him with a formal complaint.

Ms Higgins says in a letter to chief of staff John Kunkel on Thursday that numerous journalists had made her aware of the information being briefed in the days after she went public with allegations she was raped in a ministerial office in Parliament House in March 2019.

Brittany Higgins addresses thousands of people outside Parliament House. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

Ms Higgins allegations, made public in mid-February, sparked intense scrutiny of the culture within Parliament House that has morphed into widespread anger about the treatment of women and prompted many others to speak out about their own experiences of sexual harassment and assault. Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins is now leading a review into the culture of Parliamentary workplaces.

Labor has repeatedly questioned Mr Morrison in Parliament over whether his staff backgrounded against Ms Higgins or her partner, and what he has done to find out if it was true.
Britain's ban on foreign holidays will likely stay in place until Europe's vaccination drive picks up and it gets a lid on cases, one of the Government's scientific advisers warned today.

Putting plans for May half-term breaks abroad in doubt, Sir Jeremy Farrar cautioned the biggest threat to lockdown-easing plans now came from 'outside the country'.

The Wellcome Trust chief and SAGE member said that the UK must avoid importing dangerous variants  including the South African strain  that make vaccines less effective.

He added the continent was staring down the barrel of a 'terrible month or two', with its epidemic curve in a similar position to the UK's in December.

Ministers are yet to approve holidays abroad this summer, with hopes hanging in the balance amid Europe's third wave.

The Government plans to allow international travel from May 17 should the lockdown easing roadmap go to plan but holidays abroad remain illegal. Ministers will bring in 5,000 fines to deter Britons seeking to defy the rules from Monday.

Sir Jeremy Farrar said the biggest threat to the UK's lockdown exit strategy now came from abroad, and the risk of importing new dangerous variants that could evade vaccines

Europe is staring down the barrel of a 'terrible month or two' he warned, amid rising cases and a sluggish vaccination rate

MORE THAN 150 JABBING CENTRES MAY CLOSE IN APRIL AMID SHORTAGES Mass coronavirus vaccination sites across the UK have announced they will close temporarily next month due to looming supply issues  as Matt Hancock revealed the jabs have saved at least 6,000 lives already in the UK. Vaccine centres in Devon, Cornwall and Kent are among those to have confirmed they will 'have to pause' during the month-long slowdown, which has been triggered by a shortfall of five million AstraZeneca jabs from India. If the rest of the country follows suit, it could see all 150 mass vaccination sites shut. The focus of the rollout will turn to ensuring there are sufficient vaccine stocks to dish out crucial second doses, with staff at mass hubs around the country expected to be redeployed. Local vaccination centres have also been told to close unfilled bookings from March 31, with the supply constraint expected to last throughout April. The NHS has called on over-50s to book their first vaccine appointment while they still can before Monday, or risk facing delays. GPs will continue contacting eligible patients on their lists, but some vaccination sites including Westpoint, near Exeter, have revealed they will shut between April 1 and 11. All of Kent's five mass vaccination centres, for example, are set to close 'for a number of weeks' from next month. Advertisement

Sir Jeremy warned Britain will have to think 'very hard' before giving the green light to summer holidays this year.

'I think the ban will have to continue until we see progress in Europe with the epidemic coming down and vaccination rates going up,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

'The best answer to travel is to bring the epidemic under control in the UK, and to make vaccines available globally.

'Then we can get travel going, and we can get economics back, we can get all of our health and education back much faster.'

He added: 'The UK is in a very good position now. Infection rates are falling and the epidemic is getting smaller every day, while the vaccine rollout is nothing short of staggering.'

Ministers are watching nervously as cases continue to take off in Europe, including of the more troubling variants.

In France alone the South African and Brazilian variants are thought to make up around 10 per cent of cases, with infections concentrated in the north.

It comes amid a sluggish vaccine roll-out, with EU leaders holding a 'virtual' gathering today amid threats from the commission to ban jab exports to the UK.

France and Germany are backing the tough action as they face massive pressure over their own dire roll-outs, but Ireland and many other members are alarmed at the idea of undermining legal contracts.

Former commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker waded into the spat this morning, branding the idea of a 'vaccine war' stupid and raising fears it will cause 'major reputational damage' to the bloc.

The EU and UK issued a joint statement pledging to work together last night, after Boris Johnson warned that businesses could flee the bloc's borders if it imposed 'arbitrary' blockades.

And Health Secretary Matt Hancock delivered another blunt rebuke today, insisting that the UK's contract with AstraZeneca was fundamentally better than the EU's.

'I believe that free trading nations follow the law of contracts,' he told the FT. 'They have a ''best efforts'' contract and we have an exclusivity deal.'

Amid mounting concern over travel, Downing St is expected to add more countries to its quarantine 'red list' on March 29, including France, and is planning to announce more information on foreign travel on April 5.

Ministers are considering deploying a 'traffic light' system to permit travel to any destination that has successfully suppressed their Covid outbreaks and kept variants under control.

This could mean holidays to low risk countries would be on the cards but those to 'red' nations would remain banned.
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
Taiwan detains 13 Chinese fishers for alleged poaching- report

Taiwan has detained 13 Chinese fishermen for alleged illegal fishing off Taiwanese shores earlier this week, its Central News Agency said Wednesday.



Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration caught the Chinese fishermen on March 23 near Pengjia Islet, a resource-rich area about 14 nautical miles off the coast of Keelung, a major port city situated in the northeastern Taiwan, the report said.



The Chinese trawler tried to flee after Taiwanese authorities requested an inspection but was intercepted, according to the report.



About 2,000 kilograms of live fish were found aboard "Min Jin Yu 05369," a Chinese fishing vessel that had sailed from China's Fujian Province on March 19, it said.



The Chinese boat was escorted to Zhengbin fishing port in Keelung City, where its 13 crew members were detained, pending further investigation, according to Taiwanese media reports.



Under Taiwan's laws, the maximum fine for illegal fishing is NT$2.4 million (US$84,200). China regards Taiwan as a renegade province, while the latter has been asserting sovereignty.



The incident came days after 220 Chinese militia vessels were seen moored near the Julian Felipe Reef in the West Philippine Sea, the Philippines' exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the disputed South China Sea.



Chinese incursions in disputed parts of the South China Sea have continued despite a 2016 Hague ruling that invalidated China's sweeping claims in the strategic waterway where about $3 billion in goods pass annually.



Aside from Taiwan and the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam also have overlapping claims with China in the South China Sea.

  2021 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved

Theme(s): Fishing Craft, Gear and Fishing Methods.
Indonesian-made vessels controversially replacing the iconic Manly ferries may not be safe enough to unveil this year.

Transport Minister Andrew Constance last year announced plans to scrap the four double-ended ferries that take 1,000 passengers at a time between Circular Quay and Manly on a half-hour scenic trip across Sydney Harbour.

After the decision provoked outrage, Mr Constance agreed to keep two of ferries running at weekends and public holidays only.

Indonesian-made vessels controversially replacing the iconic Manly ferries may not be safe enough to unveil this year

New Emerald-class ferries will replace the Freshwater-class ferries on weekdays, which the NSW government says will be faster and more energy-efficient.

But inspectors from the Maritime Union of Australia found 80 safety flaws in the Indonesian-made boats - and fear the issues are too complex to be fixed by the middle of the year, The Daily Telegraph reported.

The report found all the windows need replacing and the steel plating on the hulls are too thin to hold a rigid form.

The second generation Emerald-class ferries were scheduled to run by the middle of the year but the MUA believes this target it out of reach due to the defects.

Labor believes the current issues would not have been apparent if the boats were manufactured at home.

'When the Freshwater ferries are due for replacement, it should be with a locally built and designed vessel that can manage heavy seas safely and reliably,' Deputy Labor leader Yasmin Catley said.

New Emerald-class ferries will replace the Freshwater-class ferries on weekdays, which the NSW government says will be faster and more energy-efficient

'The cheap junk that Andrew Constance has built offshore are just no match for the Freshwaters.'

A spokesperson for Transport for NSW said they are assessing the noted 'improvements'.

'The three Emerald class ferries are currently undergoing a final fit out in Port Macquarie,' the spokesperson said.

'A number of improvements have been identified and these are currently being assessed by Transdev Sydney Ferries in consultation with shipbuilder Birdon.

'This is a rigorous and robust process to ensure each vessel meets the strictest of safety standards before entering into customer service by around the middle of the year.

'Trials and testing of this nature are a normal part of any commissioning process for new fleet. A similar process was undertaken prior to introducing the first generation of Emeralds into service.'

Two women pose for a selfie with the Opera House while on board a ferry travelling through Sydney Harbour

The River and Generation 2 Emerald Class ferries were designed by Sydney-based vessel designer Incat Crowther.

Australian shipbuilder Birdon completed the engineering and and more than two thirds of the materials used for the vessels has been sourced from Australia.

Taking a Manly ferry from Circular Quay is not only one of Sydney's premier tourist attractions, but has been a right of passage for kids from the city's sprawling western suburbs seeking access to the beach for generations.

The boats - known as Freshwater ferries - also generate millions in revenue for the Northern Beaches economy.
One of the few silver linings of the COVID-19 pandemic is that it could lead to a huge expansion of telemedicine in America. Since the pandemic began, more Americans than ever before are seeking alternatives to traditional in-person doctor appointments.

Fortunately, the development of telemedicine offers millions of Americans easy access to convenient, high-quality health care. This has led to a large increase in momentum from doctors and patients for continued use of telemedicine.

Telehealth is a useful tool that allows patients to seek care virtually, without having to visit a medical office in person. By utilizing technology that is practically ubiquitous, telehealth offers doctors the ability to remotely diagnose, treat, and monitor their patients.

Over the past year, many patients have abstained from in-person visits. For some, this is out of convenience. For others, it is out of fear of contracting COVID-19.

A recent study found that more than 40 percent of patients have delayed or avoided medical procedures and appointments out of fear of contracting COVID-19. The use of technology to increase access to advanced medicine is a no-brainer. And telehealth fills a desperate need in today's society as alternative to traditional in-office visits.

Legislators in Arizona are considering a bill that would permanently expand access to telemedicine, making it easier for patients, especially those in rural areas to receive quality health care.

Even high-level bureaucrats agree that telemedicine is beneficial and should be made widely available. Seema Verma, the former administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid noted, "I can't imagine going back," suggesting that putting the telemedicine genie back in the bottle would be a huge mistake.

Advances in technology are inevitable, and legislators must adapt policy that supports innovation in the health care marketplace. A 2017 report on the global telemedicine market estimates the telehealth market is poised to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 16.3 percent over the next decade, reaching approximately $78.3 billion by 2025, according to Accuray Research LLP.

Patients are more inclined to use telemedicine, not to mention that some patients prefer telemedicine over in-person visits. According to a 2016 survey, 80 percent of telehealth patients accessing care via a mobile app preferred telehealth service to in-person visits. For many elderly and rural Americans, telemedicine offers options to care they otherwise might not have.

Telemedicine is not a substitute for in-person care, but a complement. It allows patients the flexibility to seek care at times that are more convenient for them.

In rural America, there is a health care access crisis. More than 120 rural hospitals have closed over the past decade, leaving rural Americans more vulnerable than ever. Increased telehealth access will make a substantial impact for these patients. Moreover, telehealth is becoming more appealing to patients as they grow more accustomed to virtual meetings and such.

States throughout the country are looking at ways to modernize health care and continue to support efforts that make patient-centered care a priority. Arizona is on the forefront of technology advancement in pursuit of better care for patients, and it would be beneficial for the Legislature to remove regulatory barriers and expand health care access for the Grand Canyon State's most vulnerable residents.

Christina Herrin (cherrin@heartland.org) is the government relations manager at The Heartland Institute, a nonpartisan, free-market think-tank headquartered in Arlington Heights, Ill.

Image: Agathe PADOVANI.
michael barbaro

From The New York Times, Im Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily.

[music]

Today the state of vaccinations. My colleague, Apoorva Mandavilli on the rapid expansion of inoculations, who is still holding out, and the new rules of the road for those who are now vaccinated. Its Thursday, March 25. Apoorva, good evening.

apoorva mandavilli

Hi, Michael. Nice to talk to you again.

michael barbaro

Nice to talk to you. It feels, Apoorva, like after many months of frustrating sluggishness that the story of vaccinations in the United States is now moving so quickly that its actually kind of hard to keep track of. And so thats why we wanted to check in with you about where exactly everything stands with inoculations. And I want to start with the question that I think has loomed over this entire process, which is, when the general population adults, no matter how old or with what medical conditions when they will be allowed to book appointments to get their shot. And Biden said May 1. But my sense is that its actually starting to happen a little bit faster. So I wondered if you can walk us through that.

apoorva mandavilli

I think part of the reason its been tough to keep up is because every state is moving at a different pace. And almost every other day theres a new announcement about which state is opening vaccinations up to all adults. So if you live in Alaska or Mississippi or West Virginia, youre lucky enough to already get a vaccine. If you live in Connecticut, you can start to get one April 5. If youre in Georgia, you can start this week. In Texas, you can get it on Monday. If you live in Indiana, you can get it next week. And New York state, where I live, just announced that they would give the vaccine to anyone 50 and over. Doesnt cover me, but Im hoping that that means pretty soon theyll start to move down the lane. So you can see that its sort of every state is getting there at a different pace. But I think Bidens announcement that every adult who wants one will get it by May 1 is pretty realistic. And as you said, we may even get there sooner.

michael barbaro

Whats your understanding of why things are now moving so much faster when it comes to vaccines? Is this simply a question of how long it took to ramp up the supply? Is this about us just getting better at administering them and finding people to administer them?

apoorva mandavilli

Supply was never the issue. We had plenty of doses sitting around. I think what the issue was was that we were just not getting the doses out to the people who needed them fast enough. And weve solved a lot of those distribution problems now, which, when you think about it, is pretty understandable. Weve never done a mass vaccination campaign of this scale this quickly. And it took a little while to figure out all the glitches. And I think the Biden administration has solved some of them. We now have mobile vaccination sites. We have 24 hour sites. Pharmacies are giving them out. Weve got three different vaccines that have three different sorts of storage. So weve just really corrected all the problems that we had initially. And were now moving at a pretty good clip.

michael barbaro

Gotcha. And everything you just said is predicated on the current scenario of those three vaccines Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna all of which have been authorized for emergency use in the U.S. My sense is that a fourth vaccine could soon be in the mix in the U.S. And I wonder if thats a correct assumption. And if it is, would that change the speed of this rollout that weve been describing? And here, of course, Im talking about AstraZeneca, about which there has been a fair bit of drama.

apoorva mandavilli

So the AstraZeneca situation is a bit confusing. Earlier this week, AstraZeneca came out with a study that showed that its a very safe and effective vaccine. But then the National Institutes of Health and the data safety monitoring board, which is this group that looks at all the data from the clinical trial, came out with a pretty strong statement saying that they didnt agree with how AstraZeneca had presented its data and said maybe some of that data was now outdated. So we dont know exactly how good AstraZeneca is. It looks like its pretty good. We just dont know how good. But none of that may really matter for the United States, because by the time AstraZeneca would be authorized here, we would probably be done vaccinating all the adults who want a vaccine. Between Pfizer and Moderna and J&J, we will probably have more than enough doses. And we may actually end up giving away all the AstraZeneca doses that we do have.

michael barbaro

God, that would be a far cry from where we all were a year ago, the concept that we wouldnt need a vaccine approved by the U.S. government. But that is, I guess, where we are.

apoorva mandavilli

I think that is something that maybe people dont marvel at enough, the idea that we did not even dream that we could have a vaccine this quickly. And here we are vaccinating millions of people every day. And we have three good candidates and a fourth one in the offing. Its just amazing.

michael barbaro

Well said. So during this period were in in which some adults are still waiting to become eligible in their states Im sure youre aware of this there seem to be a lot of adults who are trying to work the angles to get a vaccine before they are technically eligible. And my question for you is, is that OK? And if it is OK, whats the most appropriate and ethical way to go about doing that?

apoorva mandavilli

You know, early on I might have answered this question differently. But now we have so many vaccines, so much of it and so quickly, that I think anybody who really, really wants one and is willing to go to the extra effort of getting one should probably just get one. I mean, I wouldnt

michael barbaro

Thats interesting.

apoorva mandavilli

I wouldnt recommend falsifying a condition, which I have heard of people doing. But I think if people want to stand in line for hours or be a little creative with how they figure out their eligibility, Im OK with that.

michael barbaro

And why is that? Because I guess I have to say I didnt expect that answer.

apoorva mandavilli

Because at this point, Michael, were really just trying to get to herd immunity. We are trying to get as many people vaccinated as possible because we have to get those numbers down. The infection rate is still way too high.

michael barbaro

So what youre saying is a dose in an adult arm is a good thing period.

apoorva mandavilli

Yes, I do want to add one caveat though, which is that, on an individual level, I think thats absolutely fine. But I think as a society, we do need to figure out how to get vaccines to communities that are hit the hardest, and yet probably have the least time and resources to get themselves a vaccine.

michael barbaro

Very interesting. So that is adults and their timing for vaccines. We talked to you a few weeks ago about children. And during that conversation, you told us that the issue was that the vaccine had not been tested in children, which means they wont be eligible to be vaccinated until we know much more. And you said back then that your estimated timing for when children in the U.S. would start to be vaccinated was winter of 2022, which is a ways off. Has that changed?

apoorva mandavilli

Well, lets say what we mean by children. If we mean children 12 to 16 or 12 to 18, those children were going to be vaccinated in the fall. That has not changed, because those results from the clinical trials that are going on now will be expected sometime around the summer. What has changed is that Moderna announced that it would now start testing the vaccine in kids six months and up. And thats completely new, and it was kind of a surprise, really, because the thinking was that all the companies would wait to see how the vaccine did in older children before moving to younger children. Im not exactly sure why they changed their plan. And this is not the kind of information Moderna will freely give out. But its overall good news, because it does mean that the process is moving quickly. And we may see vaccines for all kids by the end of the year.

michael barbaro

OK. Speaking of people who the vaccine has not been widely tested on pregnant women and nursing mothers. What are we learning about them that we didnt know before?

apoorva mandavilli

The vaccine was always recommended for women who are breastfeeding. There was never any safety concern about them. And that has not changed. For pregnant women, it was a little bit more nuanced. Because there was not a lot of data, the C.D.C. said, every woman should really talk to her doctor and figure out if it makes sense for her sort of weigh the risks and benefits for each individual. We have not seen anything to indicate that the vaccines are unsafe for pregnant women. If anything, we now have tens of thousands of pregnant women whove been vaccinated and we havent heard of anything going wrong. So I think the chances are pretty good that, as we suspected, the vaccine is actually quite safe for pregnant women.

michael barbaro

So finally on the subject of vaccinations and availability, Im curious as more and more people are becoming eligible what were learning about who is refusing vaccines in the United States and if we can begin to say which group of Americans is holding out the most and I guess the longest?

apoorva mandavilli

I think the dominant narrative out there is that its communities of color, that its the minority populations who very legitimately have mistrust of the government and that they are refusing the vaccine. But in fact, thats not quite true. The group that is showing the most hesitancy right now is a group of men who vote Republican.

michael barbaro

Conservative men.

apoorva mandavilli

Conservative men who vote Republican. About half of them have said they have no plans to get the vaccine.

michael barbaro

Thats a very meaningful number.

apoorva mandavilli

Its a huge number.

michael barbaro

And how do we explain that?

apoorva mandavilli

Well, when you think about the fact that even something as simple as masks became a political weapon, its not entirely surprising.

[orchestra music]

I think there have been a lot of political leaders on the Republican side who have said things about the vaccine that are not true, have said things about the virus that are not true. Former President Trump got vaccinated, but he did so not publicly, not with photographs the way that all the other former presidents did. All of those things give a message. And they give a message that the vaccine is either something you dont want or you dont need. And until that message changes, I dont think we have a hope of reaching those men.

michael barbaro

Well be right back. Apoorva, with vaccinations expanding so rapidly, we want to talk to you about the latest understanding of life after the shot. And I want to start with literally moments after the first shot, since a lot of Americans are about to get one of the vaccines that requires two shots. So what are the common side effects of an initial shot and how commonly and quickly do they appear?

apoorva mandavilli

So when you first get a vaccine, probably the only thing you will feel immediately is a little bit of soreness at the injection site. What happens after that has been hugely variable. For a lot of people, they feel perfectly fine, maybe a little bit of tiredness, but thats pretty much it. But some people react a little bit more. They may have headaches. They may have a little bit of a fever. They may have a body ache. They may need to lie in bed for a few hours. Its extremely variable.

michael barbaro

So by and large, mostly minor side effects, and still pretty rare.

apoorva mandavilli

Thats right.

michael barbaro

OK. So staying with the first shot, how meaningful is the immunity that comes with just the first shot? It feels like nobody quite quantifies it. I mean, is it half the immunity or is it more than half the immunity?

apoorva mandavilli

As you said, nobodys really quantified it, so I dont want to give people any assurances about one shot of the Pfizer or Moderna. But it does look like even one dose does a pretty good job. And it looks like its more than half. But protection is absolutely not complete after the first dose. So people should continue to take all precautions, wear a mask, maintain social distance, all of that until after they get their second dose.

michael barbaro

Got it. So they should not act as if theyve gotten halfway towards immunity. They should, in some ways, act as if theres no immunity and theyre still operating under all the normal rules.

apoorva mandavilli

Thats right.

michael barbaro

OK. So on to the second shot. I want to start with symptoms. Many people in my own life say that the second shot is the one that really ran them ragged. And I dont want to rely on anecdotes. But my sense is that that is a somewhat widely held experience.

apoorva mandavilli

I think thats true. And I think it makes sense. Your body has already been exposed to the protein from the virus. It already knows how to recognize and give a reaction. And so the second dose really causes you to have a very strong reaction. Its really telling you that your first dose worked, in a way.

michael barbaro

Thats interesting. So when you hear people say, oh, I really dont feel well after my second shot, that means the vaccine is working, theyre kind of right.

apoorva mandavilli

Yeah. You should congratulate them.

michael barbaro

But just to be clear, if you have no reaction, thats not necessarily a sign youre missing out.

apoorva mandavilli

Absolutely not, because as I was saying earlier, the reaction can be very variable. Its not the same for everybody.

michael barbaro

Got it. So what is the guidance on how long after the second shot is required for real and robust immunity to take effect?

apoorva mandavilli

Two weeks for full protection regardless of the vaccine.

michael barbaro

So two weeks. And from everything you and our colleagues have told us, we know that vaccinated people will be well protected from the worst forms of infection. But the open question remains how readily a vaccinated person can transmit the virus and whether the vaccine diminishes that ability to transmit the virus. So what is the latest understanding of that?

apoorva mandavilli

We know a little bit more than we did a few weeks ago. But this is the sort of burning question that everybody wants to know the answer to because they want to know if they can stop wearing masks around unvaccinated people. The problem is that we just didnt really measure that during the clinical trials. So were trying to get that information now. There are a lot of natural experiments going on in the sense that millions of people have been vaccinated. And some of the countries that have vaccinated them are following people to see how many get infected. So hopefully well know soon. And so far, at least, its looking like most people who are vaccinated dont transmit the virus, that its a very small chance. Exactly how small is what we need to know.

michael barbaro

OK. So knowing that, lets turn to the rules of the road for the vaccinated. I know the United States government, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has just issued some pretty detailed guidance on this who can be with whom under what circumstances. So I want to talk about that kind of one scenario at a time with you. Lets start with vaccinated people who want to spend time with fellow vaccinated friends and family. What are the rules for that?

apoorva mandavilli

There are very few rules. You can take your masks off. You can get together indoors. You can spend time as much time as you want together without worrying about getting infected.

michael barbaro

Got it. So vaccinated with vaccinated can be with each other maskless.

apoorva mandavilli

Thats right.

michael barbaro

OK. Lets say you are vaccinated but your children and your grandchildren are not. Here I speak from experience, my parents now both vaccinated. Can you visit relatives who are unvaccinated and under what circumstances?

apoorva mandavilli

The C.D.C. has said that vaccinated people can spend time indoors with one unvaccinated household. So if thats your unvaccinated children and grandchildren, that is OK.

michael barbaro

Why one household?

apoorva mandavilli

The more people you have, the more risk. But also when you have multiple households youre now bringing in all different kinds of exposure. Its like bringing in all the people that the people in that household interacted with into your home.

michael barbaro

Because its never just one household. Its every single person a member of that second household has interacted with.

apoorva mandavilli

Exactly. And that can add up pretty fast.

michael barbaro

Right. OK, so another scenario what if you are a vaccinated adult and you want to visit unvaccinated friends or family, but you want to do so by plane, which I know many, many people do want to do.

apoorva mandavilli

Its a little bit tricky because air travel does involve spending a lot of time indoors with a lot of people. The plane itself is pretty safe because airplanes have excellent ventilation systems and there are a lot of studies now showing that its really just the two or three people right next to the person who is infected whos at risk. So it should be fairly safe. But taxis, people youre standing really close to at the airport, bathrooms all of those are a little bit different. And so I would urge any grandparent who is traveling or anybody whos traveling, really, whos vaccinated to keep their masks on throughout.

michael barbaro

Got you. But you can travel by plane as a vaccinated person to visit unvaccinated people? Has the C.D.C. said whether thats a good idea?

apoorva mandavilli

The C.D.C. doesnt set rules. So they recommend that people minimize travel unless they really need to. Air travel is back and higher than its been at any other time during the pandemic. So I think this is the C.D.C. being very practical, recognizing that if you say, hey, grandparents, if youre vaccinated you can go visit your grandkids, you cant also then tell them, but no, you cant get on a plane to go see them. Just doesnt make sense.

michael barbaro

Gotcha. OK, another quite common scenario youre vaccinated and you want to go out to eat indoors. You havent done it in a really long time. It feels safe. Is it a good idea?

apoorva mandavilli

The problem with restaurants, especially if theyre crowded, is you dont know how many other people in there are unvaccinated. And unless the restaurant has fantastic ventilation systems that are going to keep everybody safe, you may get infected from a fellow diner then bring it home to other people. We are hoping that the chances of that happening are very low. But we dont know that yet. So I know that there are a lot of states pretty much every state that has lifted restrictions on indoor dining. But I dont think were quite where we need to be for people to freely dine indoors without worry.

michael barbaro

Interesting. So in a way, planes better ventilated appear to be potentially safer than restaurants if they arent all that well ventilated?

apoorva mandavilli

Ventilation, it turns out, for an indoor space, is pretty much the most important thing. So an open window might do the trick if theres a nice breeze and the window is big enough. And it will certainly help. But if we had the kind of health grades that we post on restaurants, if there was a system to certify which restaurant has which kind of ventilation, maybe that would work. But were not there. But for the restaurant owners and restaurant workers listening to this, I do want to say get takeout. We should still support those restaurants. There are other ways to do it. Eat outdoors or get takeout. Just dont sit inside.

michael barbaro

OK. And finally, the office, the workplace very near and dear to both of us. We work in the same office, or we used to. Should vaccinated people be returning to the office?

apoorva mandavilli

Im sorry that Im going to repeat myself here, but ventilation.

michael barbaro

Ventilation, ventilation, ventilation.

apoorva mandavilli

Yes. And masks, masks, masks.

michael barbaro

So workplace return will be predicated on the speed of vaccinations. Everybody has their vaccinations then obviously we can all go back to work. But until then, youre saying if an office is not proven to be very well ventilated, then perhaps people should not return.

apoorva mandavilli

I completely recognize that thats not necessarily an option for everybody, that there are a lot of people who do have to go to work, even if the office is not well ventilated. And as I said, wearing masks goes a long way. So if its a poorly ventilated environment but you have no choice but to go to work, I would just wear a mask and be extremely careful.

michael barbaro

Apoorva, as were talking now, it occurs to me that there are a lot of rules to try to follow right now. And I wonder if you think people are struggling to learn these rules, but also to actually abide by them.

apoorva mandavilli

I think its hard. First of all, the rules are confusing. You know, theres all these distinctions. Are you getting together with one household? Are you getting together with more than one? Is it ventilated? Is it not? Its just too many things to keep straight. But also weve been in this pandemic for a year. And people are desperate to feel like life is somewhat back to normal. And if theyve been vaccinated, if they have actually gone through those stages, its really hard to hear, yes, but we still want you to take all these precautions.

michael barbaro

Right. But that is what people are being told.

apoorva mandavilli

And thats what they unfortunately have to be told until we know a little bit more and until we have enough people in the country vaccinated.

michael barbaro

Right. Its liberation with conditions. So Apoorva, finally, I asked this of Carl Zimmer your colleague, my colleague last time he was on. And I will ask it of you. Have you been vaccinated?

apoorva mandavilli

I have not and I am desperate to be.

michael barbaro

Youre a New Yorker. You are probably weeks away.

apoorva mandavilli

I hope so. I mean, I hope that I can get it sometime before May, if not May. And one of the first things Im going to do is go visit my parents. So yes, I would love to be vaccinated.

michael barbaro

Just one household, though.

apoorva mandavilli

Just one household.

michael barbaro

Thank you, Apoorva.

apoorva mandavilli

Thank you.

[music]

michael barbaro

Well be right back. Heres what else you need to know today.

chuck schumer

Today, now, in the 21st century, there is a concerted, nationwide effort to limit the right of American citizens to vote and to truly have a voice in their own government.

michael barbaro

On Wednesday, Senate Democrats began hearings on whats expected to be their next major legislative push a sweeping plan to expand voting rights and reform federal elections.

chuck schumer

Instead of doing what you should be doing when you lose an election in a democracy attempting to win over those voters in the next election Republicans instead are trying to disenfranchise those voters. Shame on them.

michael barbaro

The legislation is a direct attempt by Democrats to confront a wave of Republican efforts at the state level to restrict access to voting. The bill would enact new rules to make it easier to vote, introduce new campaign finance laws, and end partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts. The bill has already passed in the Democratically controlled House but faces longer odds in the Senate.

ted cruz

This bill is the single most dangerous bill this committee has ever considered.

michael barbaro

where its encountering strong opposition from Senate Republicans, like Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who denounced the bill on Wednesday.

ted cruz

This bill is designed to corrupt the election process permanently. And it is a brazen and shameless power grab by Democrats.

michael barbaro
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- PiiQ Media, the social media threat intelligence and risk analytics company, announced today the launch of Risk HQ. Risk HQ takes a more comprehensive and continuous view of corporate cyber risk that spans multiple channels, including social media and the dark web, setting it apart from other solutions on the market. It is the only cyber risk solution that provides individual employee assessments and monitoring, giving enterprises deeper insight into corporate risk posture.

Click to Tweet: New Risk HQ Solution from @piiqmedia Includes Employees in Cyber Risk Assessment: https://www.piiqmedia.com/products/pq-risk-hq #socialmediarisk #threatintelligence

PiiQ's Risk HQ solution evaluates digital security and risk with an added layer of human attack surface insights at scale through extensive examination of corporate risk posture. Many of the available corporate risk assessment technologies today focus solely on an enterprise's own cyber or information system's attack, including which systems and software owned by the organization are publicly accessible and how might they be exploited to gain access to internal information. This is an important aspect of corporate cyber risk, but it misses many key components.

The FBI's 2020 Internet Crime Report found that social engineering-based business email compromise (BEC) attacks continue to do the most financial damage to corporations, accounting for $1.8 billion in total estimated losses. Other types of attacks may use existing employee personally identifiable information (PII) that was compromised as part of a previous data breach. Bad actors can also take advantage of increased negative sentiment or conversations regarding the company and/or brands across news, social and open/deep/dark web platforms and sites. All of this information should be monitored and assessed for potential increases in threats and risk to the organization.

More comprehensive monitoring and risk assessment gives an organization more information to make critical decisions regarding exposures and risks. The solution offers:

Broader assessment of risk for an organization or third party, providing a more complete view of threats, exposures and risks.

of risk for an organization or third party, providing a more complete view of threats, exposures and risks. Continued monitoring, comparison, alerting and reporting on risks . A snapshot in time of vulnerabilities and risks doesn't give the organization an indication of increased or decreased threats and risk. Seeing the threat levels and risk exposure provides information an organization needs to make effective decisions.

. A snapshot in time of vulnerabilities and risks doesn't give the organization an indication of increased or decreased threats and risk. Seeing the threat levels and risk exposure provides information an organization needs to make effective decisions. Prioritization of employee monitoring. Since employees are the primary means by which an organization is compromised, it makes sense to prioritize monitoring of employees above monitoring of systems. Risk HQ takes employee monitoring and assessment into account to provide a fuller picture.

Aaron Barr, chief technology officer, PiiQ Media, said: "The cyber risk landscape continues to expand, yet current solutions neglect the primary source of attacker success: employees. Risk HQ takes a more comprehensive approach to monitoring for corporate risks. It's the only commercially available solution that takes into account conversations in news, social media, the open and dark web, employee exposures and compromised data, fake pages and profiles. This provides a more complete picture so customers can better protect their data."

About PiiQ

PiiQ is a social media threat intelligence and risk analytics company. Focused on delivering actionable personal and corporate intelligence and risk assessments using open-source information to stop socially engineered cybersecurity attacks, its SaaS-based platform safeguards enterprise and government organizations from employee, corporate and third-party risk. PiiQ addresses the human element of security with the most advanced threat intelligence analytics and automated risk scoring for individuals and organizations. With the only true spear phishing simulation platform on the market, PiiQ helps customers train, test and educate their workforce on information exposure risks and how to improve their security. Website: www.piiqmedia.com

PR Contacts:

Shyna Deepak

Nadel Phelan, Inc.

831-440-2408

[email protected]

SOURCE PiiQ

Related Links

http://www.piiqmedia.com


Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Anyone wanting to arrive in Germany by plane must from Sunday show a negative COVID test before boarding, the health ministry said, amid concerns over German tourists flocking to Mallorca over the Easter holidays.

The new decree must still be approved by Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet, which is expected to happen in the next 24 hours, the ministry told AFP on Thursday.

"All travellers wishing to enter Germany by plane from March 28... must take a mandatory test before departure," the official said. Airline crews are exempt from the new rules.

The test must be less than 48 hours old and is to be paid for by the passenger.

The move comes as Germany is battling a sharp rise in coronavirus infections, fuelled by new virus variants, while the country's COVID vaccination drive is still sluggish.

The Easter holidays next week have added to concerns, with thousands of Germans set to travel to the Spanish island of Mallorca after it was recently taken off Germany's list of coronavirus "risk areas".

Airlines are laying on hundreds of extra flights to cope with the surge in demand, piling pressure on the government to find ways to ensure that returning holidaymakers do not worsen the COVID's spread in Germany.

The government has already said it is considering a temporary ban on travel to popular holiday destinations abroad, but such a step would face high legal hurdles.

Until now, only passengers coming from "high-risk" coronavirus areas are required to show a negative test upon arrival in Germany.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2021 AFP
Mash Central Bureau

A prophetess from Johanne Masowe eChishanu apostolic sect who operated a birth camp at her house in Manhenga area, Mashonaland Central, has been summoned to Chief Masembura's court after failing to help a mother deliver twins resulting in her death.

Nyarai Chibati, also known as Madzimai Jennifer, operates the birth camp approximately 100 metres from Manhenga Clinic.

She told the chief's court that she was not trained in providing pre and post-natal services but helping with delivery babies was a gift she received in church.

Mashonaland police spokesperson Inspector Milton Mundembe confirmed the incident which happened on March 17.

He said the deceased, Modesta Manhenzva (44) suffered complications during the delivery of the twins leading to her death. A post mortem conducted by Dr Kudzai Chimedza at Bindura Hospital indicates that she died because of a ruptured uterus and severe primary haemorrhage.

Speaking at the chief's court, Madzimai Jennifer told the court that she managed one baby was delivered and the other one remained in the womb until the following day.

"The woman came from Norton to my house seeking assistance with her pregnancy. I attend the same church with her relatives. After praying for her she asked to stay and deliver at my house," she said.

"She told me that she was given a prophecy that if she sought healthcare service at the hospital, she was going to deliver through a caesarean section and die together with the babies. She pleaded with me to assist as I was assisting others.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Women Zimbabwe By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"She gave birth to the first twin baby and the other baby came out the following day. She thanked me for helping her. I cooked for her and after eating we started having general talk. In the middle of the night, I woke up and she was not breathing well.

"I woke her up and in a faint voice she said she wanted to rest. I advised her relative and after a short period she passed on." Madzimai Jenifer said the police were advised and they came to collect the body.

Chief Masembura said pre and post-natal services were only provided at clinics and hospitals and he had since banned delivery of babies in bush camps or homes to curb maternal mortality.

"We stopped all traditional birth attendants who eschew modern healthcare in villages and have told them to send all pregnant women to clinics to save lives.

Delivery of twins is complicated and it is not possible that one child is born today and the other remains in the womb and is delivered the following day," said Chief Masembura.

"This woman needed urgent medical attention and you failed to take her to a clinic which was approximately 100 metres away. Stop this practice of delivering babies and let nurses and doctors who are trained for that job do their work."
A commitment to "world peace" might be a beauty pageant cliche, but as blood spills in the streets of Myanmar, Miss Grand International contestant Han Lay made a plea Thursday to end the violence in her homeland.

The Myanmar junta has unleashed deadly violence as it struggles to quell nationwide protests against the February 1 ouster and arrest of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Han Lay, in Bangkok competing for the Miss Grand crown against 63 other contestants, hit out at the crackdown, in which more than 280 people have been killed.

"I want to say from here to the world: please support the Myanmar people," she told Thailand's Khaosod English news outlet.

"So many people die in Myanmar by the guns of the military... Please save us."

The psychology student said some of her peers had been detained since the coup.

"Students from the University of Yangon, my university, were also detained," she said on her Instagram page.

"In a democracy, it is important that we can speak. Our voices must be heard. But now we have no freedom in Myanmar. It is a human rights violation. Release our students."

During the pageant's national costume contest on Wednesday, Han Lay's golden outfit channelled "Goddess of Peace," according to her Instagram account.

"Our Myanmar people are walking on the streets to fight for democracy. As a representative of Myanmar I will walk on the stage of Miss Grand International with the (message) stop the war and violence," she wrote on her Facebook page.

Her social media posts are a mix of graphic photos and footage from the unrest back home, protest messages and photos of herself wearing ballgowns.

The winner of Miss Grand International will be announced Saturday in Bangkok.

bur-lpm/pdw/mtp/jfx
President Joe Biden delivers remarks in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington on March 15, 2021. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Biden Plans to Run for Reelection in 2024: Thats My Expectation

President Joe Biden said Thursday that he is planning to run for reelection in 2024, following anonymously sourced reports saying that he would be a one-term president.

The answer is yes, my plan is to run for reelection, Biden said at the White House. Thats my expectation.

Im a great respecter of fate. Ive never been able to plan four and a half, three and a half years ahead for certain, he said in a follow-up question.

When he was asked about whether Vice President Kamala Harris would join the ticket, he remarked: I would fully expect that to be the case  Shes doing a great job. Shes a great partner.

There have been questions about whether Biden would attempt to run for a second term, as conservatives and other critics have raised red flags about his stamina, cognitive ability, and age. Biden at age 78 is the oldest person to become president, and in 2024, he will turn 82, meaning that he would be 86 years old by the end of his second term.

Throughout the 2020 campaign, Republicans alleged that if Biden wins, he would ultimately step downor the 25th Amendment would be invokedto allow Harris to take over as president. Meanwhile, unconfirmed, anonymously sourced articles in late 2019 reported that Biden told campaign staffers at the time that he would serve only a single term. They cited his advanced age as a reason why.

It was the first time the president answered a question about whether he will take another shot at the White House. He has yet to launch an official reelection campaign since he was sworn into office two months ago.

Asked if he is expected to run against former President Donald Trump, Biden responded: Oh, come on. I dont even think aboutI have no idea.

I have no idea if therell be a Republican Party, he added.

Trump, in recent interviews, said he is undecided on running for the presidency in 2024.

Ill make that decision sometime later, but theres a pretty deep bench, Trump told the podcast The Truth with Lisa Boothe on March 22. I think weve got a lot of great people in the Republican Party, he said.

Since he left office and after Twitter suspended his account, Trump has opted to use press statements via email to communicate.

Im doing things having to do with putting our own platform out there that youll be hearing about soon, Trump told Boothe, suggesting that he might create his own social media platform. Trumps spokesman and adviser, Jason Miller, said last week in a separate interview that the former president was going to come out with his own platform in probably about two or three months.
Gardai have carried out checks on fewer than 600 international travellers who are legally required to quarantine in their homes after arriving in Ireland from overseas.

New figures released by the Department of Justice show gardai called to the homes of 590 passengers between February 24 and March 14.

During the same period, 35,700 people flew into Ireland through Dublin Airport and Cork Airport.

This means there were checks on less than 2pc of all passengers who arrived in Ireland.

Read More

However, some of these passengers may have been travelling for essential purposes and would not be required to quarantine in their homes.

The Department of Health sent gardai the details of 1,300 people who filled in passenger locator forms on arrival in Ireland and who were required to quarantine at home.

Gardai carried out checks on 590 of these individuals between February 24 and March 14.

The people who are referred to gardai are generally those who do not respond to follow-up calls on their passenger locator form information.

All international travellers are required to quarantine in their homes for up to 14 days.

However, they can end their quarantine period if they get a negative Covid-19 test after their fifth day at home.

Breaches of mandatory home quarantine rules can be punished by fines of up to 2,500 and/or six months in prison.

A Department of Justice spokesperson said: "An Garda Siochana has been receiving passenger location information from the Department of Health's service provider since 24 February 2021. This information relates to people arriving into the State who are suspected of breaching the requirement to quarantine at home.

"The information is provided daily to An Garda Siochana approximately six days after the individual arrives into the State. Checks are then scheduled in cases where the data passes preliminary validation by the gardai.

"An implementation pilot has been established in six Garda Divisions which involves the Garda National Immigration Bureau forwarding requests for local gardai in these divisions to call to people to check on compliance.

"The expansion of this work to cover all divisions will be supported by work ongoing in the Department of Health on enhance- ments to the passenger locator form," he added.

Read More




Strong financial performance and the achievement of other key milestones demonstrate the growing strength of Synthace's offering within the biopharma and biotech industries.

Synthace Ltd, developers of Antha, the cloud-based software platform for automating and improving the success rate of biological processes, today announced it increased its annual recurring revenue by 225% compared to the previous financial year. The company also expanded its footprint across the top pharmaceutical companies, establishing relationships with four of the top ten companies across the world.

2020 was a landmark year for the global pharmaceutical and life sciences industry as the global pharma community looked to support global efforts to respond to the pandemic. With a greater recognition of the need to fully automate the execution of experiments in their labs and collate and analyze data more effectively, the adoption of Synthace's automated lab platform rapidly accelerated.

This led to significant business momentum for Synthace; its automated lab solutions allow its growing number of customers to run far more complex experiments and automatically generate complete sets of raw and meta data so they can increase their competitiveness and accelerate innovation.

Business highlights for Synthace include:

A greater than 225% increase in annual recurring revenue

A greater than 80% expansion in annual recurring revenue with existing customers

Multiple customers surpassing six-figure annual recurring revenues, with additional customers set to follow suit in the coming months

The signing of five new, strategic go-to-market partnerships with lab equipment suppliers (Tecan, SPT Labtech, Repligen, Hamilton, and BioTek)

The hosting of its second annual Beer, Bytes and Biology conference, which grew by over 185% compared to last year. The event hosted over 200 participants and included presentations by key industry luminaries on how they have automated their labs.

Synthace's business success in the fiscal year 2021 was driven by the delivery of several new trusted protocols that leverage the Synthace platform and bring immediate benefits to the customer. Protocols are the basic building blocks of biological experimentation. Synthace's trusted protocols are fully automated, highly flexible and optimized, generate fully contextualized data sets, and have been fully verified within its labs. These protocols provide huge value above and beyond the traditionally derived and rigid protocols that pharma companies develop internally.

The company's key product deliverables in the fiscal year 2021 included:

The release of the Miniaturized Purification protocol on Tecan instruments

The release of the ELISA protocol, including support for Hamilton, SPT Labtech, and BioTek instruments

The release of major upgrades to its Design of Experiments protocol

Significantly expanding the capabilities of the Synthace platform to allow the running of experiments on multiple connected instruments to increase performance, reliability and walkaway time

Simplification of the user experience and interface to dramatically decrease the level of expertise required to use the platform

The significant achievements of the last twelve months will support and strengthen the company's mission to fully automate the biological lab, allow the capture of complete sets of raw and meta data for every experiment, and allow radically more complex experiments to be run as standard practice.

Tim Fell, CEO, Synthace, commented, "The pandemic has rapidly accelerated a move toward data-driven automated biology. In response, the global pharma community sought to digitally transform their enterprise operations. Synthace's established leadership in this space has led to significant traction in the market, with new customers signing up and existing ones expanding their use of our offering to enhance their automation and data analysis capabilities. Looking ahead, we are confident our customer base will expand further as more organizations explore the complexity of biology through our advanced software and automation, so they can perform ever more complex experiments.

-ENDS-

Follow Synthace

Synthace Blog

Join the Twitter Conversation

Join us on LinkedIn

About Synthace

Based in London, UK, and Boston, the US, Synthace is accelerating biological discovery and optimization through computer-aided biology. Our cloud software platform, Antha, empowers biologists by enabling them to flexibly program their lab automation without the need to code. The graphical user interface has been designed by biologists for biologists, intuitively enabling them to automate their whole experiment from planning to execution, data collection, and analysis. Antha is the cornerstone of the lab of the future, seamlessly connecting the digital realm of data with the physical of lab automation and wet-lab biology, automatically collecting and structuring data to accelerate biological understanding.

Synthace is unlocking the potential of biology for humankind and our environment. Synthace works with biopharmaceutical companies, and in 2016 was recognized by the World Economic Forum as a Technology Pioneer that is helping shape the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and in 2018 as a cool vendor by Gartner.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005071/en/

Contacts:

Media Contacts

Courtney Glymph

Head of PR

courtney@synthace.com

+44(0)7867488769
Welcome Guest! You Are Here:
Delhi Chief Minister on Wednesday termed the passing of the Government of Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021 in Rajaya Sabha a "sad day for democracy".

In a tweet, the (AAP) chief said that the party would continue doing their "good work" and continue their struggle to restore power to the people.

"Rajya Sabha passes GNCTD amendment Bill. Sad day for Indian democracy. We will continue our struggle to restore power back to people. Whatever be the obstacles, we will continue doing good work. Work will neither stop nor slow down," he tweeted.

The bill, which entails that the term "government" referred to in any law made by the Delhi legislative assembly will imply Lieutenant Governor, was passed earlier in Parliament after it was passed in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

The passing of the bill in the Upper House was met with a walk-out by opposition parties including Congress and the AAP, who strongly opposed the bill. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said the bill should be referred to a select committee of the House.

Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy replied to the debate on the bill, saying that the bill aims at promoting harmonious relations between the legislature and the executive in the capital and seeks to remove ambiguities.

"The Bill is neither aimed at taking away the powers of the elected government of Delhi nor give additional powers to the Lieutenant Governor of the Capital," he said.

Opposition members had earlier resorted to sloganeering and forced two brief adjournments of the House.

MP Sanjay Singh said the bill has been brought as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has twice lost elections in Delhi which AAP won. "I seek justice for the 2 crore people of Delhi, for 130 crore Indians, to seek justice from all members to save Constitution. I am telling all members - we'll be here only if Constitution is there," he said.

The bill seeks to amend the National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991,

The statement of objects and reasons of the bill says it seeks to clarify the expression "Government", which in the context of legislation to be passed by the Legislative Assembly of Delhi, shall mean the Lieutenant Governor of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, consistent with the status of Delhi as a Union territory "to address the ambiguities in the interpretation of the legislative provisions".

It says that the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991 was enacted to supplement the provisions of the Constitution relating to the Legislative Assembly and a Council of Ministers for the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

Section 44 of the Act deals with the conduct of business and "there is no structural mechanism provided in the Act for effective time-bound implementation of the section". "Further, there is no clarity as to what proposal or matters are required to be submitted to Lieutenant Governor," it says.

(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.)
Associated Press

The younger generation of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales are on average about three feet (one meter) shorter than whales were 20 years, drone and aircraft data show in a study in Thursdays journal Current Biology. Entanglements with fishing gear, collisions with ships and climate change moving their food supply north are combining to stress and shrink these large whales, the study says. This isnt about short right whales, its about a physical manifestation of a physiological problem, its the chest pain before the heart attack, said Regina Asmutis-Silvia, executive director of Whale and Dolphin Conservation North America, who wasnt part of the study.
Cave Consulting Group, Inc. (CCGroup) has determined that 30% of specialists should receive relaxed prior authorization and utilization management (PA/UM). At issue is that many health plans and other payers have yet-to-implement an evidence-based, clinical decision support system to gold card network specialists.

"Health plans and health systems spend well over $1 billion annually in PA/UM administrative and processing costs. This administrative burden is why health plans need to objectively and clinically relax current PA/UM efforts over the next several years," stated Dr. Douglas G. Cave, President/CEO of Cave Consulting Group, Inc. (CCGroup). Significant pressure for relief comes from the American Medical Association (AMA) with the 2019-2020 PA/UM Reform Principles, 50 provider healthcare organizations, and the Federal Government with the Regulatory Relief Coalition Bill.

Dr. Cave defined, "Main reform principles are that health plans should restrict PA/UM programs to outlier providers whose ordering patterns differ significantly from their peers; and health plans should offer providers at least one clinically-based alternative to PA, such as gold-carding based on clinical decision support systems. Non-outliers are identified through the implementation of a clinical decision support system that retrospectively examines provider performance and adherence to evidence-based medicine."

"By specialty type, the CCGroup Clinical Decision Support System examines clinical rows of practice for many medical conditions. A clinical row is comprised of a medical condition, an associated MedMarker, and an established Clinical MedMarker Protocol Range  defined further below. There are 58 clinical rows to evaluate cardiologists clinical practice. Then, depending on the number of clinical rows passed, an objective Pass (non-outlier provider) or Fail (outlier provider) is assigned to each specialist," mentioned Yuri Alexandrian, COO/CIO of CCGroup.

Story continues

He continued, "As seen in the table below, we examined the Fail rates (outliers) for specialists practicing in five states: Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. When specialists need to pass only 80% of all clinical rows, then 29% of orthopedists, 25% of cardiologists, and 32% of ophthalmologists are classified as outliers. However, if the desired pass rate threshold is increased to 95% of all clinical rows, then 71% of orthopedists, 66% of cardiologists, and 67% of ophthalmologists are classified as outliers."

Percent of Outlier Specialists in Five States Outliers (Fail)

When Require Outliers (Fail)

When Require Specialty Type 80% Pass Rate 95% Pass Rate Orthopedists 29% 71% Cardiologists 25% 66% Ophthalmologists 32% 67%

"With fairly strict clinical row standards (95% required pass rate), the CCGroup Clinical Decision Support System shows that up to 30% of orthopedists, cardiologists, and ophthalmologists are non-outlier providers (receive a Pass for PA/UM)," declared Dr. Cave. These specialists should be relieved of current PA/UM efforts. Moreover, those specialists that are outliers (Fail for PA/UM) now understand the objective, process of care patterns needed to obtain a Pass in the future.

"We are having success in negotiations to relax PA/UM when clinically appropriate. At this time, pass rates are being set at about 95% of all clinical rows, or fairly strict, as the relief process is getting started. Health plans do not want to lose the PA/UM sentinel effect  important to control unnecessary utilization today," acknowledged Dr. Cave.

CCGroup has remained the market leader in offering an accurate, vetted, and transparent clinical decision support system to improve the cost-effectiveness of payer PA/UM programs. Medical condition MedMarkers and associated Clinical MedMarker Protocol Ranges are the foundation of the CCGroup Clinical Decision Support System.

"CCGroup is the only company in the market that has developed MedMarkers for all prevalent medical conditions treated by each physician specialty type," asserted Mr. Alexandrian. MedMarkers are process of care quality measures, well-defined in clinical guidelines. However, MedMarkers also are the key services and procedures most associated with cost-of-care in treating a medical condition. MedMarker technology is protected under USPTO Patent Numbers 8,301,464 and 8,751,283 and 9,881,129 and 10,319,474.

"Clinical MedMarker Protocol Ranges are achievable and clinically appropriate ranges of clinical practice for MedMarkers. These ranges are developed by presenting the CCGroup National Comparative MedMarker Database results to CCGroup National Specialist Panels," defined Dr. Cave. Clinical MedMarker Protocol Range technology is protected under USPTO Patent Number 10,867,361.

The CCGroup Clinical Decision Support System objectively Pass/Fail ranks all 50 of the top specialty and sub-specialty types.

About Cave Consulting Group, Inc. (CCGroup)

Cave Consulting Group, Inc. is a software and consulting firm located in San Mateo, California. The company is focused on improving the efficiency (cost-of-care) and effectiveness (quality-of-care) of the healthcare delivery system. Senior management of CCGroup has assessed the performance of physicians and hospitals for over 29 years for health plans, health systems, HMOs, physician groups, CINs, ACOs, TPAs, and employers.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005113/en/

Contacts

Mr. Yuri Alexandrian, CCGroup 650-286-4100 yalexandrian@cavegroup.com
Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili.

The Electric Power Distribution Automation Systems Market is anticipated to reach around USD 23.8 billion by 2026 according to a new research published by Polaris Market Research. In 2017, the industrial segment 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 growing adoption of smart cities, along with high demand of smart grids has boosted the adoption of electric power distribution automation systems. The rising demand for electricity, and growing demand for efficient and low-cost solutions for efficient power distribution further support the growth of electric power distribution automation systems market. Increasing investments by vendors in technological advancements, growing need to update existing networks, and increasing ageing infrastructure would accelerate the adoption of electric power distribution automation systems during the forecast period. Growing demand from emerging economies, increasing adoption smart grid applications, and technological advancements are expected to provide numerous growth opportunities in the coming years.

Get Sample Copy : https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/electric-power-distribution-automation-systems-market/request-for-sample

North America generated the highest revenue in the market in 2017, and is expected to lead the global market throughout the forecast period. The presence of established telecom and cloud infrastructure in this region, and growing trend of smart cities drive the market growth in the region. The growing demand from energy sector, and technological advancements further support market growth in the region. The use of smart technologies in energy and utilities, investments in transmission and distribution infrastructure, and increasing ageing infrastructure is expected to support market growth in this region during the forecast period.

The companies operating in the market include General Electric, Eaton Corporation Plc, Mitsubishi Electric Corp., ABB Ltd., G&W Electric Company, Schneider Electric, Elster Solutions, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Siemens AG, and S&C Electric Company. 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.

Get Discount Offer : https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/electric-power-distribution-automation-systems-market/request-for-discount-pricing
Arlan Hamilton remembers what she thought upon learning that roughly 90 percent of U.S. venture capital funds go to companies led by White men: This isn't just unfair--it's a missed opportunity.

"The people I've been surrounded by have been from so many diverse backgrounds," Hamilton, the founder of Los Angeles-based VC firm Backstage Capital, said on Thursday at the 2021 Inc. Vision Summit. "All of these types of people, and they're not being represented."

Hamilton, a Black gay woman, launched Backstage in 2015 to invest in early-stage startups led by underrepresented founders. Since then, she's crossed paths with Steve Case, the AOL co-founder who created the Rise of the Rest seed fund three years ago to increase geographic diversity in startup funding. Case's mission is similarly rooted in an unfortunate statistic on startup funding: Around 80 percent of U.S. venture capital funds go to companies based in California, New York, or Massachusetts.

"Just from an investment return standpoint, we're missing out on some of the great entrepreneurs building some of the great companies in potentially some of the great industries of the future," Case said during a Vision Summit virtual panel with Hamilton about the future of U.S. startup funding.

Put it all together, and you start to see why the two investors want to solve the national problem of access to capital. Here are three of their top takeaways.

1. Seed funds are crucial.

Hamilton and Case both use seed funding to nurture successful startup ecosystems across the country. "Every Fortune 500 company starts as a startup," Case said. "Before every growth round, there's a venture round. And before that, there's a seed round. If you're not seeding more, getting more shots on goal, you're going to see less venture and less growth opportunity."

Seed rounds outside the coasts typically involve relatively low dollar figures compared with those in Silicon Valley. That's a feature, not a bug, said Hamilton: Startups in cities with lower costs of living can get significantly more bang for an investor's buck.

"If I had to choose between only investing either in the coastal cities or the rest of the country, the same way I'm choosing to invest in underrepresented and underestimated founders, I would choose the rest of the country," Hamilton said. "It's such a no-brainer, in my view."

2. Investors everywhere need a new mindset.

Case told a story about a founder near Raleigh, North Carolina, who had different pitch decks for local investors and Silicon Valley investors. The local deck, full of spreadsheets and data, focused on a path to profitability. The Silicon Valley deck centered on the big idea, a vision of what the startup could become--which the founder said was all those investors cared about.

That attitude is common: Many venture-backed startups use giant fundraising rounds to chase hypergrowth and market share, leaving profitability for later. But underrepresented founders often need to build differently, Hamilton noted, prioritizing revenue, earning investors' trust, reinvesting profits in the company, and growing sustainably.

The right mindset for investors, according to Case, falls in the middle. While Silicon Valley investors can lose sight of the present, investors elsewhere can worry too much about why a startup might fail. "Believe a little bit more," Case said. "Just imagine: What if this really ended up being a huge company?"

3. Real progress requires long-term commitment.

Three years ago, only 34 Black women founders had ever raised at least $1 million in venture capital, according to data from Digitalundivided, a Newark, New Jersey-based startup aimed at promoting economic growth in Black and Latinx communities. In 2020, that number jumped to 93.

Progress, right? Hamilton is wary. Much of the recent attention on Black female entrepreneurs, she said, stems from corporate responses to last year's Black Lives Matter protests--and it's too early to gauge whether the momentum is sustainable. "A hundred [Black women] can fill one side of one room. I'm not excited about that," Hamilton said. "There's a lot to be done, and there's a lot of respect that needs to come our way faster."

The $1 million benchmark can also be misleading. Startup founders need investors who can support and even mentor them, and investors need to put in that work over time, Case said. Writing the check should be the beginning of the journey, not the end.
The women of Umoja could soon own titled land, which would have been impossible when the village was founded 30 years ago

* Umoja village is home to dozens of families, but no men

* Women applied for community title to nearby grazing land

* Women in Kenya own less than 2% of all titled land

When Jane Nolmongen's husband banished her from their family home in northern Kenya after discovering she had been raped by a British soldier, she went somewhere she knew she would be safe: a village entirely run by women, where men are not allowed.

For the past 30 years, Nolmongen has lived in Umoja village in Samburu County, supporting her eight children and working land she could soon own, in defiance of a culture in which women are considered the property of their fathers and husbands.

"The village has been a source of support for me, because we have worked together to make progress in our lives and teach each other the importance of women's rights," said Nolmongen, 52, as she lit a fire to make some tea.

"Among the Samburu, we, as women, are just like rubbish to our husbands," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Nolmongen was among the first residents of Umoja, which was founded in 1990 as a refuge for Samburu women who have suffered sexual assault and been cast out and stripped of any claims to their property or children, as well as those fleeing child marriage or female genital mutilation (FGM).

Today, the women are on the brink of being granted the title deed to a tract of grazing land by the county government - a right they never would have had outside the village - and are motivating nearby communities to also start giving land rights to women.

"In (Samburu) community, that was not possible for a woman 30 years ago. She would not be allowed to own land and other property because the husband would not allow her," Nolmongen said.

Umoja was created by Rebecca Lolosoli, who was thrown out of her community and beaten by a group of men for speaking out against the practice of FGM.

While recovering in hospital, she came up with the idea to start a village where men were banned.

Umoja, which means 'unity' in Swahili, started with 15 women - at its peak, the population grew to about 50 families, explained Nolmongen.

Now there are a total of 37 women and their children living in the village, which is made up of homes the women have constructed for each other and a school, all surrounded by a fence of thorny branches.

The women make money selling honey and handmade beads to tourists, although travel restrictions to curb the coronavirus pandemic mean they currently have no income, Nolmongen noted.

"After this disease came, (tourists) no longer come, and we have to think of other ways to survive," she said. "If someone has savings, that is what they use now until we can sell the beads again."

Henry Lenayasa, chief of the administrative region where Umoja village is located, said the women's move to register their land is an example of a growing recognition of equal property rights among the Samburu.

"We, as administrators, are guided by the constitution to ensure women get their fair share. I normally hold barazas (meetings) in various villages to ensure this message reaches them, and also emphasize the need to empower girls," he said.

COMMUNITY OWNERSHIP

Kenya's constitution states that all women have equal rights to own property, but in reality land is most often customarily passed from fathers to their sons, making it hard for women to own land.

Women own less than 2% of all titled land in Kenya, according to the Kenya Land Alliance, an advocacy network.

The Samburu practice communal tenure, with all decisions on how land is used and allocated made by men.

But soon the women of Umoja could have legal control over their own tract of grazing land, a few kilometres from the village, which they bought a few years ago with savings and donations.

The government is currently considering their application for a community title for the land, which is due to be partitioned.

If granted, the land title would help protect the women and their livelihoods from clashes over land and water that frequently break out between the Samburu and rival communities.

A spokesman for the Samburu County Lands Office could not be reached for comment.

SPREADING THE WORD

The women of Umoja also travel to nearby communities to teach people about the importance of including women in land and property ownership.

And whenever a woman leaves the village to return to her husband, the others make sure she does not revert to second-class status, Nolmongen said.

"We step in and teach her about (her rights) and even follow up to ensure that she actually gets to enjoy these rights, including seeing whether she is dressed well and has ownership of some property," she said.

In the neighbouring village of Nashami, Samuel Leyapem, 75, said over the past three decades the women of Umoja have inspired his community to grant women more of the rights they are entitled to.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Women Governance Kenya By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"Nowadays, even us here in our village allow women to own property such as cattle and even buy land," he said, as he sat in the shade outside his home.

"But personally, I would like it more if, after the woman buys (land), she involves her husband, so that they are both happy."

Juliana Nnoko-Mewanu, a researcher on women and land for advocacy group Human Rights Watch, said women should not feel they have to cut men out of their lives to be able to make decisions on their property.

"Women must not resort to women-only spaces to experience the ability to access, use, control and benefit from land and perceive tenure security," she said over the phone.

"The government should institute safeguards to protect women's rights to property during marriage, divorce and in the case of the death of a spouse."

At Umoja village, Nolmongen is grateful that even though she never went back to her husband, she has been able to send all of her children to school and have agency over the land she lives and works on.

It is a right she has instilled in her grown children: one son who is in the police force and a daughter working as a journalist.

"They are now enlightened and can own property any way they want," she said.
The Senate on Wednesday confirmed radical transgender extremist Rachel Levine to be the Assistant Secretary for Health at the Department of Health and Human Services, an advocate of sex changes for kids and the drugging of children with puberty blockers.



From The Times of Israel/AP, "US Senate confirms transgender Jewish doctor as assistant health secretary":

Voting mostly along party lines, the US Senate on Wednesday confirmed former Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine to be the nation's assistant secretary of health. She is the first openly transgender federal official to win Senate confirmation.



The final vote was 52-48. Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine joined all Democrats in supporting Levine.

Levine is making history not only as the first transgender to be approved for a cabinet position by the Senate but also as the first person to be confirmed after openly supporting sex changes for kids and the drugging of children with life-altering puberty blockers which can cause irreversible damages.







Levine last month was grilled on her support for child genital mutilation and drugging children by Rand Paul, the only GOP senator with the balls to take on Levine man-to-man (figuratively speaking).







Levine will be joining the Biden regime together with Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, who during his presidential campaign unveiled plans for a taxpayer-funded, nationwide "mentorship" program to connect "LGBT youth" with "leaders" in politics and business and help teach them "self-love."





Democrat 2020 candidate Pete Buttigieg announced disturbing plans for a taxpayer-funded nationwide "mentorship" program to connect "LGBT youth" with "leaders" in politics & business which many are suggesting sounds like a state-sponsored grooming program. https://t.co/U2EWR4bXVK  Chris Menahan  (@infolibnews) October 11, 2019



Is this what a "return to normalcy" looks like?



Follow InformationLiberation on Twitter, Facebook, Gab, Minds, Parler and Telegram.
THE rate of alcohol-related deaths has increased by almost 50% in the past 20 years, according to official figures.

In the 15 to 74 age range, deaths have risen by 48% from 15.8 per 100,000 people in 2001 to 23.4 in 2019, the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra) found.

The figures around the alcohol-specific age-standardised mortality rate (ASMR) were published in a study on Thursday.

Since 2012/13, there have been more than 10,000 alcohol-related hospital admissions per year.

It was revealed last month that there were 336 alcohol-related deaths in 2019  more than a third higher than a decade ago and an 18% increase on 2018.

Between 2001 and 2019, male mortality rates for alcohol deaths were approximately two times higher than female rates.

However, mortality rates for women have risen more sharply, both where alcohol was the underlying cause of death (rising 41% in males and 64% in females) and where alcohol was a contributory cause (76% in males and 124% in females).

For contributory alcohol deaths in people aged 16 to 44, the main underlying causes of death were drugs (38%) and transport accidents (18%).

For people aged over 45 with alcohol as a contributory factor in their deaths, chronic conditions were generally the underlying causes.

The highest ASMRs were in the Belfast City Council (59.9) and the Derry and Strabane District Council (49.2) areas.

Women aged 65 to 74 had a 42% reduced likelihood of an alcohol-related death compared to females aged 16 to 44.

Alex Bunting, group director of addiction and mental health at Addiction NI, said the figures showed Northern Ireland needed new strategies.

"This report highlights significant issues for older adults, with further increases in death and illness linked to alcohol as people age," he added.

"Also outlined is the co-occurring issues of alcohol use and poor mental health, highlighting the links between mental health and substance use issues."

Gary McMichael, chief executive of the addiction charity ASCERT, said more work had to be done around limiting access to alcohol, including a review of marketing restrictions, particularly in light of the Covid crisis.

"There has been a lot of discussion about the potential mental health crisis as a legacy of the pandemic, but this will also be the case for alcohol and addiction," he said.

Health Minister Robin Swann said tackling the damage caused by the abuse of alcohol was a key public health challenge.

He stressed that his department worked with Nisra on the report as part of the development of a new alcohol and drug strategy. He also plans to run a public consultation around minimum alcohol pricing.

"We can see from this report the very real and increasing harm that alcohol consumption can cause to individuals, families and communities right across the province," Mr Swann added.

"Importantly, the evidence also shows us that the harms do not impact equally on all parts of our society. We need to do more to address these inequalities."

 If you or someone you know needs help, you can call Addiction NI on 02890 664 434 or visit www.addictionni.com
The Nuclein device runs gold-standard, real-time PCR, does not require technical expertise to operate, and delivers battery-powered, sample-to-answer results from saliva in under one hour, without the need to mail in a sample. While the Nuclein technology platform has been designed to detect any infectious disease target, the company is currently focusing on COVID-19 to assist with the ongoing pandemic.

Nuclein's Series B round was led by Trinity Private Equity Group (TPEG), a Southlake, Texas-based private equity firm.

"Trinity is pleased to lead the $14 million Series B equity round for the Company. This round supports our efforts to gain necessary regulatory authorization  and then take the product to market and provide the infrastructure to ramp up manufacturing and distribution. We are excited to partner with Nuclein as it embarks on delivering a quick and easy PCR test that will provide valuable data for healthcare professionals, patients, organizations, and companies around the world to make better decisions," stated Sanjay Chandra, TPEG managing partner and Nuclein board member.

With this investment, TPEG joins other early Nuclein investors, including board members Dr. William Cunningham, former President of the University of Texas at Austin, Dr. John Butler, former Director of IC2, and David Shockley, CEO of International Biophysics Corporation. Other notable early Nuclein investors include advisory board members Joe Aragona, co-founder and General Partner of Austin Ventures, Jason Dorsey, president of the Center for Generational Kinetics, and Alan Richey, a Senior Vice President for Dell Technologies.

"Our vision is to enable simple, affordable, rapid, and accurate disease testing for everyone. We are excited to close this funding round to support advancement of our innovative technology," said Alan Blake, CEO and co-founder of Nuclein.

Dr. Richard Crockett, Nuclein's president and co-founder, added: "The Nuclein platform makes PCR diagnostics as easy as pushing a button. We are excited to work with Trinity as we bring this true sample-to-result technology to market."

Blake and Crockett, long-time Austin biotechnology entrepreneurs, founded Nuclein in 2017 in response to the Zika epidemic. With approximately $20 million raised to date, the company plans to apply to the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to commercialize a COVID-19 testing device in the near future. Nuclein currently employs approximately 30 scientists, engineers, and other professionals. It is seeking to immediately hire additional molecular biologists, engineers, and manufacturing staff to support its growth.

ABOUT NUCLEIN, LLC:

Nuclein, LLC was founded in 2017 by long-time Austin biotechnology entrepreneurs Alan Blake and Dr. Richard Crockett. The company's vision is to enable simple, affordable, rapid, and accurate disease testing for everyone. Mr. Blake and Dr. Crockett's last company was Yorktown Technologies, best known for GloFish, a high-profile, public brand (sold in Walmart, PetSmart, and Petco) that operated under FDA oversight and ultimately sold to a publicly-traded company. They are joined by a highly accomplished board, including Dr. William Cunningham, a former President of the University of Texas at Austin. Other board members include David Shockley, CEO of International Biophysics Corporation, and Dr. John Butler, former Director of IC2. Nuclein LLC is headquartered in Austin, Texas. For more information, please visit: www.nuclein.com.

ABOUT TRINITY PRIVATE EQUITY GROUP:

Trinity Private Equity Group, founded in 2006 by Dan Meader and Sanjay Chandra, has a portfolio of over $3 billion. Areas of focus are diverse operating companies from software to powersports, as well as commercial and residential real estate. In 2020, the firm invested over $800 million and returned over $160 million to investors. Learn more about the firm by visiting: www.trinitypeg.com.

SOURCE Nuclein, LLC

Related Links

http://www.nuclein.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.


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.
A health worker shows a dose of CoronaVac vaccine during a COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Ankara, Turkey, on Jan. 27, 2021. (Adem Altan/AFP via Getty Images)

After SinoVac COVID-19 Vaccination, Healthy Hong Kong Man Suffers Facial Paralysis

A healthy 26-year-old Hong Kong man suffered facial paralysis after receiving the first dose of the China-made COVID-19 vaccine on March 24 as people in Hong Kong grow increasingly concerned about the safety of the Chinese vaccine.

The patients right eye was swollen, and looked like it had been punched by somebody, he told Hong Kong media Oriental Daily, about four hours after he was vaccinated with Chinese company SinoVac made CoronaVac.

In a video shared with Oriental Daily, the patient, surnamed Lam, says his eyes cant be closed, his mouth is tilted to the left, and his face is deformed. He said he also experienced dizziness, red ears, and chest pains.

Lam is a construction worker, who in Hong Kongs vaccination program is one of the priority groups. Before vaccination, he was healthy.

At 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, the young man went to a community vaccination center at Tseung Kwan O Stadium. After vaccination, he felt dizzy and lost consciousness.

I could feel the [first aid] man patting me and could hear him calling me, but I couldnt respond, Lam said. He then was sent to emergency and he regained consciousness about an hour later.

Ivan Hung Fan Ngai, co-convenor of the Hong Kongs Expert Committee on Clinical Events Assessment Following COVID-19 Immunization, said on March 24 that at least nine Hongkongersall malesuffered facial paralysis after the first doses of COVID-19 vaccination. Eight of them received the CoronaVac vaccine, and the other received the BioNTech made Comirnaty vaccine.

Vaccine Safety a Growing Issue

The Hong Kong government started to vaccinate people on Feb. 22, with two choices: CoronaVac and Comirnaty, which is made by BioNTech. By March 24, 412,800 people had received their first dose of vaccination, the Hong Kong Department of Health (DH) announced (pdf).

Since then, eleven people have died after vaccination. The last one is a 59-year-old man who received the first dose of the Comirnaty vaccine on March 18. He passed away after he was found unconscious in Sai Kung by hikers on March 25, according to the DH.

On March 25, the Hong Kong regime announced the second million doses of CoronaVac vaccines arrived in Hong Kong. The regime suspended the Comirnaty vaccine on Wednesday claiming that it received a written notification from Fosun Industrial Co, the Chinese partner of BioNTech, of deviations in the vial seal found in one batch of the vaccine.

We cant rule out the possibility that the suspension might be a trick that the regime is trying to ban any imported vaccines and only allow people to vaccinate with China-made ones, U.S.-based China affairs commentator Tang Jingyuan told The Epoch Times on March 25. Comirnaty is verified of high effectiveness, and more safety than the CoronaVac. If people have a choice, the majority would choose Comirnaty, rather than the CoronaVac.

The safety and effectiveness of China-made COVID-19 vaccines are broadly questioned by even Chinese people. On March 20, Gao Fu, director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told state-run CCTV that two doses of China-made vaccine may not be enough to immunize people, and a third dose could be required to prevent infections.

Back in October 2020, Jin Dong-yan, biochemistry professor at the University of Hong Kongs medical school expressed his concerns about the safety of unverified Chinese vaccines when he talked to the Chinese-language BBC.

As of March 25, no China-made vaccine has been approved. Only two inactivated vaccines from Sinopharm, CoronaVac from SinoVac, and an adenovirus type 5 vectored COVID-19 vaccine from CanSinoBIO have been approved for emergency use.

The Chinese regime announced on March 21 that 74.96 million Chinese people had been vaccinated, but the regime hadnt provided any data about adverse events. Adverse events is a topic that is censored by the regime. Chinese netizens cannot even post their own experience from vaccination.

Sean Lin, an expert in microbiology and immunology and former lab director at the viral disease branch of the Walter Reed Army Research Institute, told The Epoch Times on March 17 that the number of people who died after vaccination or had serious adverse reactions must be strictly tracked and then the data released to the public, but the Chinese government basically still adopts a cover-up attitude.
A popular Disney tour is coming back to San Antonio.

Disney On Ice is bringing its Mickey's Search Party show to the Alamodome from April 29 to May 2, according to a news release from the touring company Feld Entertainment.

The story follows Mickey Mouse and his pals as they go on a quest to find Tinker Bell after Captain Hook attempts to capture her magic. You'll see characters like Coco, Buzz Lightyear, Elsa, Belle and Moana along the journey, according to the release.

READ MORE FROM PRISCILLA: All the local coffee trucks to grab a cup of joe in San Antonio

As it did for its November run in San Antonio, there will be a 25 percent capacity at the Alamodome. However, you'll have plenty of chances to catch the show as there are eight performances during its five-day stint  7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 29 and on Friday, April 30, 10:30 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday.

Additionally, Pod Seating has been created for family and friends to safely enjoy Disney On Ice while social distancing from other groups that are also in attendance. Face coverings are required for guests ages 2 and older except when eating or drinking in their seats, the release noted.

Disney On Ice Preferred Customers can purchase advance tickets starting today, March 25, to get the best seats available before tickets go on-sale to the general public on March 30. Tickets start at $20. To order tickets online visit disneyonice.com.
COLUMBUS, OhioFormer U.S. Attorney David DeVillers, best-known for leading the probe into the House Bill 6 corruption scandal, is joining Ohios efforts to combat rampant unemployment fraud, Gov. Mike DeWine announced Thursday.

DeVillers, now a partner with the law firm of Barnes Thornburg, will serve as a liaison between the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (which runs the states unemployment benefits program) and federal, state, and local law-enforcement officials regarding unemployment fraud, which has surged during the coronavirus crisis.

ODJFS spokesman Tom Betti didnt immediately return an email asking whether DeVillers will be compensated by the state for his anti-fraud work.

DeVillers gained statewide prominence last year for overseeing the arrest and (still-ongoing) prosecution of then-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and four allies for running what DeVillers called the largest bribery scheme in Ohio history to pass House Bill 6, a controversial energy law that benefits FirstEnergy Corp.

However, like other U.S. attorneys appointed by former President Donald Trump, DeVillers was asked to resign earlier this year by the incoming Biden Administration.

Last year alone, more than $330 million in federal benefits alone were paid to fraudulent claims, according to the ODJFS. Bogus claims for traditional unemployment benefits have also surged in Ohio  especially since late January.

The DeWine administration has already brought more than a dozen Ohio banking and insurance executives to help ODJFS with fraud, as well as to improve the states unemployment call centers and claims processing system.

Most of the scammers operate overseas in countries such as Nigeria, Russia, and China, officials say, and there are signs the money they get is being used for terrorism, as well as trafficking in drugs and people.

Ohio has also signed a deal worth about $1.4 million with Google to conduct data analytics on all outstanding jobless claims to flag claims that appear fraudulent, allowing ODJFS to prioritize processing legitimate claims, DeWine said.

This is one of the first things that the private-sector group told me when they came in, is drilling down on this data and doing it in a very, very sophisticated way, the governor said.

ODJFS has also recently signed contracts with Experian and LexisNexis worth a combined $10.6 million to help improve the states efforts to detect and prevent unemployment fraud.
San Francisco will increase community patrols in Chinatown, the Richmond and Visitacion Valley over the next few months, amid a rise in hate crimes and violence against Asian Americans in the city and around the country.

Mayor London Breed announced Wednesday that the city will expand its Street Violence Intervention Program, which normally aims to reduce gun violence in neighborhoods like the Bayview and Fillmore. Now, the program will also be in neighborhoods with large Asian American populations.

A few members of the program have been patrolling some Asian American communities, but the official expansion wont happen immediately. The city, which just secured $2.2 million in funding to expand the program, will now begin hiring. While the first batch of the new patrol teams will be on the ground by late spring, the city doesnt expect to fully ramp up the program until this summer.

Those of you who think that youre going to come to San Francisco and victimize anyone in our communities, you have another thing coming, Breed said at Portsmouth Square on Wednesday. We will stand up and stand strong against the hatefulness, against the violence thats inflicted on people who dont deserve it.

Breeds announcement came as the Asian American community reels from a recent string of attacks in the city. Two Asian women were beaten and robbed on Bush Street last weekend, and an elderly woman of Asian descent was attacked on Market Street last week. An elderly Chinese Filipino man was attacked in the Financial District this month.

Additionally, six people of Asian descent were among those killed in a series of shootings in Atlanta  horrific acts that have reverberated across the country, and prompted protests, vigils and rallies in San Francisco.

Such brazen attacks have highlighted the fear that people like Amanda Ho, 60, have increasingly felt during the pandemic. Ho said that she doesnt carry purses or bags anymore because she doesnt want to be an easy target for muggers.

Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle

She said she regularly receives alerts about new crimes against Asian Americans on WeChat, a messaging app popular in the Chinese community.

Everybodys scared, Ho, who has lived in San Francisco for 40 years, said while arranging flowers in the window of a Chinatown Buddhist center. Everybody just wants to protect themselves.

San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said last week that his department has increased patrols in primarily Asian American neighborhoods. But reactions to the increased police presence were mixed in Chinatown, which has been the scene of unprovoked attacks and an economic downturn during the pandemic.

While some Asian Americans appreciate the increased patrols, activists have also cautioned against heightened police presence.

Right now there are some communities that want more police, but there are long-standing grievances between police and the community, too, said Lai Wa Wu, the policy and alliance director of San Franciscos Chinese Progressive Association. There are people who are not trusting of the police, people with mental health issues, people who do not speak English, recent immigrants who need culturally responsive services.

The point of the Street Violence Intervention Program, Breed said, is to have community members rather than police officers patrol high-risk neighborhoods. She said members of the program should be a comforting presence for people, as they walk down merchant corridors and get to know people in the neighborhood.

She said the city is creating uniforms for the new patrols, so theyre easily identifiable.

Once the city ramps up the program, the teams of four to five people will be stationed at Leland Avenue in Visitacion Valley; Grant and Stockton Streets in Chinatown; Clement Street in the Richmond; San Bruno Avenue in the Portola; and Larkin, Eddy, Turk and Ellis streets and Golden Gate Avenue in the Tenderloin.

The Mayor also announced an investment in continuing a program that escorts seniors in Chinatown to appointments, such as going to the bank, grocery store or doctors office.

They have to go get cash from the bank, go to the post office to get a money order, and then pay the landlord, and in that journey, they could get attacked, almost anytime, anywhere, said Anni Chung, president and CEO of Self-Help for the Elderly. I hope that we all learn from this terrible violence that is attacking our most vulnerable seniors in the community, and each one of us has to stop it.

Trisha Thadani and Malavika Kannan are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: tthadani@sfchronicle.com, malavika.kannan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TrishaThadani, @Malavikawrites
The CEO of an Indian drug company due to supply the UK with AstraZeneca vaccines is said to have agreed to pay 50,000 a week for a Mayfair home.

Adar Poonawalla, the flashy billionaire head of the Serum Institute in India, will reportedly lease the 25,000 sq ft mansion from Polish billionaire Dominika Kulczyk.

According to Bloomberg, two people with knowledge of the deal have said the record-setting rate has been agreed for one of the largest homes in the exclusive neighbourhood.

Vaccine boss Adar Poonawalla (pictured, left, with wife Natasha) has reportedly agreed to pay Polish billionaire Dominika Kulczyk (right) 50,000 a week for a mansion in Mayfair, London

Pictured: Adar Poonawalla is the flashy billionaire CEO of the Serum Institute of India - the largest vaccine company in the world which is due to supply the UK with AstraZeneca vaccines

'The Vaccine Prince': Adar Poonawalla and the world's largest vaccine company Adar Poonawalla began working at his father's vaccine company in 2001. He had just graduated from the University of Westminster, in the UK, before returning to India to join the family business. He started at the bottom, in the sales team before working his way up and was eventually made CEO in 2011. He is married to Natasha, a London School of Economics graduate who now runs the company's charitable foundation, and the couple have two children together. Poonawalla, who is referred to as 'the Vaccine Prince', has been active on social media throughout the pandemic and told the Times last year that he risked his fortune to help save lives by expanding the firm's factory to make sure it was ready to go when a vaccine was approved. Proud of his wealth, Adar Poonawalla and his family own several large homes, as well as 35 supercars and a private jet. He also told the Times: 'We like to enjoy our life, because were not afraid of retribution or anyone who could question us, in the sense that weve made our wealth legally and properly and ethically.' Mr Poonawalla received a number of awards for his business and charity work, and has previously been named one of India's 50 most influential young people by GQ Magazine. Advertisement

The property, which is said to be the equivalent of 24 average English homes, also comes with an adjoining guest house.

Dominika Kulczyk is the daughter of billionaire investor Jan Kulczyk who was Poland's richest man prior to his death in 2015.

Dominika and her brother Sebastian, who is the owner and chief executive of Kulczyk Investments, inherited much of their father's 2.5billion fortune.

Ms Kulczyk last year paid 57million for two Georgian townhouses in Knightsbridge, which was described as proof of the revival of the capital's property market.

Ms Kulczyk purchased the lavish property from residential developer Mike Spink, who is best known for selling a historic mansion near Buckingham Palace last year for a whopping 95 million.

The 43-year-old has been living in London for a number of years.

It is thought Ms Kulczyk may have paid for the property with the profits from an off-shore wind company called Polenergia, that she is the majority shareholder of.

She managed to get a great deal on the two stucco-fronted Georgian townhouses, the original asking price had been 65 million.

With a fortune of 11billion, the Poonawalla family is one of the richest in the world and much of that comes from the vaccine manufacturing company.

Founded by Adar's father Cyrus in 1966, the Serum Institute is the world's largest vaccine manufacturer and has partnered with various developers including Novavax and Codagenix as well as AstraZeneca.

The firm hit headlines this month after it was linked to a delay in the delivery of 5 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses.

The delay became the first stumbling block in the UK's vaccine efforts as health secretary Matt Hancock has been forced to admit it will slow the roll-out next month, meaning millions of over-40s may have to wait until May to get vaccinated.

Ms Kulczyk last year paid 57million for two stucco-fronted Georgian townhouses (pictured) in Knightsbridge, which was said to be proof of the revival of the capital's property market

Britain is getting a delayed shipment from the Serum Institute of India, the world's biggest vaccine-maker, which is producing some of Britain's supply of the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab

Heiress to a 2.5billion fortune: Daughter of Polands richest man and successful businesswoman who bought 57m Knightsbridge townhouse Dominika Kulczyk is the daughter of billionaire investor Jan Kulczyk who was Poland's richest man prior to his death in 2015. Dominika and her brother Sebastian, who is the owner and chief executive of Kulczyk Investments, inherited much of their father's 2.5billion fortune. Ms Kulczyk, 43, is now a successful businesswoman in her own right and runs the Kulczyk Foundation - a company that supports aid projects in impoverished countries. The 43-year-old lives in Warsaw and was married to Jan Lubomirski-Lanckoronski from 2001 to 2013 with whom she has two children. Last year, Ms Kulczyk splashed 57million on a Knightsbridge mansion near Harrods. It is thought Ms Kulczyk may have paid for the property with the profits from an off-shore wind company called Polenergia, that she is the majority shareholder of. She managed to get a great deal on the two stucco-fronted Georgian townhouses, the original asking price had been 65 million. Advertisement

Adar Poonawalla tweeted on February 21 that countries needed to be 'patient' as his firm - the Serum Institute of India - had been instructed to keep jabs in the country.

'[We] have been directed to prioritise the huge needs of India and along with that balance the needs of the rest of the world. We are trying our best,' he messaged.

The Serum Institute has denied being responsible, saying the export was blocked by India's government in what some branded a case of 'vaccine nationalism' akin to the EU's threat to block Pfizer jabs bound for the UK.

But yesterday, it was reported that the Serum Institute has since asked the country's government for permission to 'immediately' ship millions of doses to the UK.

Indian media reports that the company has written to ministers for consent to export a batch of 5million jabs.

The firm's origins go back to the Poonawalla family's background in racehorse breeding - which led them into pharmaceuticals after one of their horses was bitten by a snake.

The horse's death after bureaucratic delays meant no serum was available prompted Poonawalla senior to found the firm so that treatments could be made at the farm.

Part of the Poonawalla-owned campus in Pune is still a stud farm today, but it also employs hundreds of workers on its huge-scale global vaccine production.

Some of the family fortune has gone on supercars including the CEO's so-called 'batmobile', believed to be a 40,000 adaptation of a Mercedes S350.

The family also owns Ferraris and Rolls-Royces including a vintage Silver Shadow and a Phantom Drophead Coupe, according to Indian media.

But last year the CEO and his father decided to invest millions in Covid-19 vaccines, months before it was known whether any of them would even be effective.

'It was just a quick five-minute chat between myself and my father,' Adar Poonawalla told NPR.

Cyrus Poonawalla with Natasha and Adar Poonawalla a at Mahalaxmi race course in 2011

Adar Poonawalla owns a fleet of expensive cars including Bentleys, Lamborghinis and Ferraris

The 40-year-old has long-standing ties with the UK, having been sent to board at St Edmund's School in Canterbury at the age of 9.

He then went on to study at the University of Westminster and has said in previous interviews that Britain is 'definitely a place [he] would want a second home'.

In 2015, Adar lost out on a bid for Londons historic Grosvenor House Hotel in Mayfair.

The company's success means that his father Cyrus Poonawalla was ranked sixth on India's Rich List last year, according to the Times of India.
Five elephants, including a calf, have reportedly been killed in fires started by UK soldiers in Kenya, prompting an investigation by the British Army.

Officials confirmed the probe last night as the most recent of the fires continued to rage over 8,000 acres of the Lolldaiga training area.

All military exercises have been suspended while an emergency operation to put out the huge blaze continues.

Hundreds of UK troops are being deployed to fight the fire, beating back the flames on the dry scrubland.

Huge blaze: The fire seen beyond military vehicles in the 8,000 acres of the Lolldaiga training area, near Nanyuki, Kenya

Last night British and Kenyan army helicopters were pouring hundreds of tons of water on to the blaze. UK military vehicles were on standby to evacuate those living nearby.

Four adult elephants are feared to have perished in the flames on Wednesday night. They were trapped inside an area surrounded by electric fencing, which had been erected to prevent them wandering into area where British troops practice warfighting, according to local reports.

Defence chiefs are investigating the cause of the fire, which reportedly started on Wednesday when troops cooking a meal on a camping stove accidentally set light to dry grass.

The fire spread quickly but no British soldiers were injured, according to official defence sources.

A baby elephant is said to have been killed in a separate fire on a military training area in Kenya last week.

Five elephants, including a calf, (left: file photo) have reportedly been killed in fires started by UK soldiers in Kenya, prompting an investigation by the British Army. One solder posted a message on Snapchat (right) which is believed to refer to last week's inferno rather than the fire which is still ablaze

In this incident Royal Military Police officers apparently set off a flare in a bid to disperse a herd of elephants. But the flare is said to have set light to a bush, trapping a calf.

The Ministry of Defence declined to comment on the reported deaths of the elephants. More than 1,000 British troops are currently taking part in military exercises in Kenya. Some have vented their frustration about the fires on social media.

One soldier wrote in a message sent via social media site Snapchat: 'Two months in Kenya later and we've only got eight days left. Been good, caused a fire, killed an elephant and feel terrible about it but hey-ho, when in Rome.' This post is believed to refer to last week's inferno rather than the fire which is still ablaze.

The Ministry of Defence said last night: 'We can confirm there has been a fire during a UK-led exercise in Kenya and that investigations are ongoing.

'All personnel have been accounted for and now our priority is to urgently assist the local community if they have been impacted. We are putting our resources into containing the fire and are working closely with the Kenyan authorities to manage the situation.

'The exercise has been paused while conditions on the ground can be fully assessed.' It comes as both species of the African elephant were yesterday classed as endangered for the first time, according a 'red list' of at-risk animals by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Most British troops on exercise in Kenya are from the 2nd Battalion, the Mercian Regiment (2 Mercs). Last week Army chiefs announced it will be axed as part of the Government's Integrated Review of defence and security.

There are 230 military personnel permanently based in Kenya to train visiting UK troops and Kenyan forces. Most are part of the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK).
Armenian acting minister: EU allocated EUR 68,700,000 to Armenia for budget support in 2020

Armenia Finance Ministry: MFA's budget grew by AMD 1,600,000,000 in 2020

Bodies and remains of Armenian soldiers are kept in morgue in Armenia's Martuni

White House confirms Biden-Erdogan meeting in Brussels

Armenia acting MOD touches upon priority directions for development of Armed Forces

Diaspora Armenian writer, publicist Toros Toranian dies

2 Armenian soldiers injured in scuffle with Azerbaijan, Armenian POW is hospitalized, Jun. 3 digest

Wedding held in Armenia's Shurnukh for first time since the war ended

EEU member states to finish preparing for negotiations over free trade zone in Iran in late June

Armenia Central Bank: Economic downfall in 2020 was due to decline in service and construction sectors

Armenia legislature adopts several bills in first reading

Armenia President meets with Nursultan Nazarbayev

Dejavu: Armenia ruling party distributes money for votes at Yerevan district election office

Chief Advisor to Karabakh President sacked

Russian MFA: Works are carried out to settle situation around Karabakh every day

Armenia opposition MP sounds alarm about Baku fabricating criminal cases against Armenian prisoners

Armenia acting health minister: I have apologized, I am not going to resign

Helga Schmid meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Armenia's deputy foreign ministers resigned or have heavy workload?

Dollar goes down in Armenia

Armenia Elections Oversight Committee reports Iranian citizenship of ruling party's MP candidate

Acting deputy minister: Only 17 of 711 Iran-Armenia power transmission line towers were installed by 2017

Armenia Parliament Council holding session

Armenia to host CSTO "Thunder-2021" military exercises

NYT: Chinese hackers launch cyberattack on New York city transportation authority

Armenia President to Kazakhstan counterpart: I would like to see much deeper cooperation between our countries

Armenia citizens shut down Etchmiadzin-Ashtarak road, complaining about lack of irrigation water

Armenia independent MP: Foreign minister and his deputies don't want to take part in treacherous acts

Armenia to get $11mn loan, 350,000 grant for agriculture

WHO worries about worsening mental health worldwide amid pandemic

Armenia health ministry on improper handling of Artsakh war victims bodies: There is no justification

Armenia bloc election foundation already in operation

Russia ambassador to Armenia paying working visit to Syunik Province (PHOTOS)

China pledges to step up resistance to foreign interference in Hong Kong

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: There can be no talk of corridor for Azerbaijan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on incumbent authorities: Wherever they flee, we will bring them by the feet

President: Impossible to ensure peace in region or stay in Artsakh without Russia army joint efforts

China Daily: Dispatch from Makit: Thriving in the desert

Karabakh President: We will never put up with being part of Azerbaijan, it is ruled out

Armenia MFA information department chief: All deputy FMs carrying out their duties

Ardshinbank invited children to the cinema on International Childrens Day

Armenia judiciary to have 10 more judges

Armenia acting premier: We had recorded 40% increase in tax revenues according to 2019 results

Armenia acting PM on Artsakh war casualties bodies: We have 50 remains in which case DNA was not separated

Azerbaijan authorities plan to "squeeze" everything from "terrorist show" related to Armenian captives

Ameriabank announces a contest for bank card design

108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia parliament convenes special session

Armenia interim government holding Cabinet meeting

Catholicos of All Armenians heads for Syunik Province, Artsakh

World oil prices going up

Iran loses right to vote in UN General Assembly

Newspaper: Armenia authorities come up with new way of punishing unwanted characters

Newspaper: Russia army Southern Military District deputy commander to arrive in Yerevan Thursday

Lebanese Armenian man taken prisoner by Azerbaijan is hospitalized

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Are we getting under the burden? Then lets get under to the end

Armenia acting health minister on keeping fallen soldiers bodies in bags: What else should they be kept in?

Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation

Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow

2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik

Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center

"Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans

Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel

Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna

Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations

US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies

Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week

Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection

Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential

Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement

Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues

Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo

Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador

Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation

NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident

Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices

Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over

Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest

Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia

Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia

Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels

Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters

Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021

Dollar is stable in Armenia

Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector

Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out

Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe

Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia

Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border

Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor

Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue

Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia

Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this

Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia
Moncks Corner, SC (29461)

Today

Cloudy skies. High 78F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms early, then mainly cloudy overnight with thunderstorms likely. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 68F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
HINSDALE, N.H.  Folks on both sides of the Connecticut River will get another chance on April 1 to chime in on plans for the two bridges connecting Brattleboro with Hinsdale.

Plans for a new bridge over the river have been in the works for many years, and construction is expected to start this year. The bridge is expected to be open to traffic in late 2023.

The $50 million project also calls for the rehabilitation for pedestrian use of the Charles Dana and Anna Hunt Marsh bridges and the island they land on in the middle of the river.

Bridge grant $8M short of request BRATTLEBORO  The federal government recently awarded a $12 million grant to the state of New Hampshire for its Hinsdale-to-Brattleboro bridge project, which is expected to start next year. And 

A citizens advisory group, the Hinsdale-Brattleboro Bridge Project Advisory Committee, was formed to provide guidance to the agencies of transportation in New Hampshire and Vermont and to the towns of Hinsdale and Brattleboro.

And the Hinsdale-Brattleboro Existing Bridges Subcommittee was formed to focus specifically on the historic bridges, the island and their connections to the towns.

After taking public input about the project, the subcommittee turned to Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, to put that feedback into design ideas. On Oct. 15, 2020, those design ideas were presented to the public.

Design ideas propose new life for old bridges HINSDALE, N.H./BRATTLEBORO  Ideas presented Thursday for what to do with the two old bridge

April 1 will be the final presentation of the conceptual plan for the island and the bridges, said JB Mack, principal planner for Southwest Region Planning Commission. This will be the last opportunity for the public to weigh in.

During the Oct. 15 forum, the designs that were presented included beaches, a kayak landing, boardwalks, an event area and small amphitheater, parking for food trucks, green space, walkways lined with flowers and a spot to fish.

Mack said the conceptual plan that will be presented on April 1 combined the best ideas from all the plans.

The plan has evolved over time, he said. It includes an amphitheater on the island, wildlife viewing areas, a restroom, access to the river from the island and both river banks, and space on the island for food trucks.

Mack said estimates of the project cost and ongoing maintenance cost might be available during the meeting.

A lot of elected officials have concerns about the project costs and ongoing maintenance costs, he said.

If the proposal is accepted, said Mack, it could serve as a blueprint for future grant applications to help pay for the project, for maintaining the bridges and keeping the lights on.

We still have a long way to go after this, he said.

To register to participate in the 6:30 p.m. forum, visit http://bit.ly/Apr1PreReg21.

Sometime this summer, said Mack, the subcommittee will present a report to the Hinsdale-Brattleboro Project Advisory Committee as well as the select boards in Hinsdale and Brattleboro.

The report will be advisory in nature, said Mack. The conceptual plan also identifies some opportunities for private-public partnerships which could potentially help fund aspects of the plan or answer some of the questions relating to ongoing maintenance or public safety. It will take some time to develop those plans. That being said, we do have time. It will be difficult to implement any changes to the island and bridges until the new bridge is built.
BATON ROUGE, La., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Integral Consulting Inc. (Integral) is expanding its toxicology, health, and ecological services in the Gulf Coast region by welcoming Principal Lance Fontenot to the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, office. Dr. Fontenot will lead Integral's growing practice with a focus on environmental matters directly faced by the regulated community in the Gulf region.

"Lance is a highly accomplished environmental scientist and client-focused manager, skilled in facing challenging objectives and developing practical solutions," said Judi Durda, Vice President. "We are thrilled to expand Integral's presence in the Gulf Coast region, and have Lance leading our growing team and practice there."

With more than 25 years of experience, Dr. Fontenot specializes in the risk assessment and toxicology practice area, with emphasis on the development of human health and ecological risk assessment projects in the Gulf Coast region. A significant component of his practice involves assessment of regional and site-specific impacts to wetlands, estuaries, and other coastal environments of the Gulf Coast. He is highly experienced in Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality Risk Evaluation/Corrective Action Program regulations, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources Oil & Gas Legacy Site 29-B Evaluations, the Texas Risk Reduction Program, and other state and regional regulations related to site contamination and risk assessment. He has served as lead on several projects and developed a reputational presence in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas.

Dr. Fontenot's academic background is in applied ecology and environmental toxicology. He has regional expertise on functional services associated with wetlands and coastal environments, and has performed extensive research on impacts associated with physical and chemical stressors occurring in these settings. Dr. Fontenot has more than 25 years of experience in teaching, technical literature review, and scientific research. He has published articles on several aspects of ecotoxicology and on other basic ecological studies, usually involving aquatic environments.

Dr. Fontenot's clients include private industry, including the oil and gas, chemical, and transportation and rail sectors, as well as utilities and telecommunications, developers, local municipalities, and the legal community. He has also provided support to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Regions 4 and 6. He provides expert witness and litigation support on cases involving potential impacts to wetlands and other coastal environments.

Dr. Fontenot earned a B.S. in zoology and an M.S. in biology from Southeastern Louisiana University, and a Ph.D. in zoology from Clemson University. He is a Professional Wetland Scientist and has completed a number of USACE-sponsored Wetland Delineator Certification Training Programs.

Dr. Fontenot is practicing from the Baton Rouge office, at 8550 United Plaza Blvd., Suite 702, Baton Rouge, LA, 70809. He may be reached at [email protected].

SOURCE Integral Consulting Inc.

Related Links

https://www.integral-corp.com


As I write this, the United States is administering over 11 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines a week - a sign of hope after 12 long months of fear and uncertainty.

For many of us, it felt more like a decade and there is no way to imagine the amount of loss and grief that has been experienced during this crisis. Through all of the bad, its remarkable to see that in that same year, vaccines for this deadly new virus were developed, successfully tested and are now being distributed across the world.

The unfortunate reality is that across the United States, COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted historically underserved communities. Nationally, minorities make up 23.7 percent of the population. Inversely, minorities account for 36.6 percent of COVID-19 deaths. Here in Birmingham, weve seen this first hand, especially throughout our neighborhoods that have been hit the hardest, exposing a clear and vast disparity in our healthcare system.

When Walmart and their sister company Sams Club announced last month they would be distributing over 14,000 doses weekly of COVID-19 vaccines across the state, Birmingham was absent from the list of locations. After extensive discussions with Walmart we were able to paint the picture of healthcare inequality in Birmingham, and the need for them and other private partners to help us with the vaccination effort.

Right now were in a race against new variants that healthcare experts predict could possibly lead to another spike in cases. The most viable pathway we have out of this crisis is to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible.

Understandably there is some hesitancy among the Black community who still remember the unconscionable acts of medical malpractice and medical torture that occurred in experiments on Black populations. These concerns must not be brushed off. A generation still alive today grew up in an era of segregated medical wards and hospitals in Birmingham. This history is not far behind us.

Prior mistrust in the Black community coupled with challenges in Birmingham -- where the average household income is $37,000 -- means we must do everything possible to make the vaccine accessible, and encourage its use.

The other day I was very candidly asked what do you, Hunter Williams, say to the Black people who do not want to take the vaccine because they dont trust it? My response was very simple: We cant discount the medical malpractice, medical torture, and unequal medical care that has historically been delivered to our residents of color, some as most recent as the horrific Tuskegee syphilis trials conducted by the federal government that ended in the 1970s.

We must acknowledge that in one hand and in the other hand look at who this virus has disproportionately affected. People of color are much more likely to have severe adverse outcomes, and have a much higher mortality rate than other demographics. In order to avoid a prolonged battle with this virus, and countless more deaths, we must do everything we can to ensure equitable distribution of this vaccine to all our residents, while understanding the current challenges presented by this sordid history.

This is going to take cooperation from all our partners, from healthcare providers, faith leaders, the private sector to county, state and federal government agencies. Beyond issues of proximity, many people do not have the luxury of taking off work, or finding childcare in order to go get vaccinated. Not having access to reliable transportation is another major hurdle faced by many of our residents.

Walmart is a name brand thats recognized in almost every American household. They are doing everything that they can to maximize their ability to get vaccines to underserved areas that might otherwise have slipped through the cracks. I cannot stress how thankful I am that Walmart was willing to come to the table and immediately recognize the importance of making sure there are locations in the Birmingham metro area helping serve our residents. Their efforts should serve as blueprint as we work together on this road to recovery.

So be kind to one another. Look out for your neighbor. Give a ride to someone who needs a vaccine but doesnt have a car. Be the light at the end of this dark and unsettling tunnel.

Hunter Williams is Birmingham City Councilor for District 2
A HUSBAND poured boiling water over his wifes leg and threatened to kill her if she called the gardai during a domestic attack, it has been claimed.

The Dublin man (51) is also accused of punching the woman in the back of the neck and face in an assault that happened at their home.

She had a domestic violence court order against him.

Judge David McHugh said he would need to see medical evidence of the womans alleged injuries before he could decide on a trial venue.

He adjourned the case at Blanchardstown District Court.

The accused, with an address in west Dublin, is charged with assault causing harm to his wife and breaching a safety order.

The offences are alleged to have happened last October.

Garda Sergeant Walter Sweeney said the DPP consented to the case being dealt with summarily in the district court, subject to the judge considering the issue of jurisdiction.

Judge McHugh asked him for an outline of the prosecutions proposed evidence.

Sgt Sweeney said gardai got a call from the alleged victim last October 7.

She said that on the day before, her husband had breached a safety order at their home.

She alleged he had assaulted her by punching her in the back of the neck and on the face, connecting with her eye.

She further alleged he had thrown boiling water over her left leg and threatened her that if she went to the gardai he would kill her, Sgt Sweeney said.

The accused was arrested and detained at a garda station, where he made no admissions when interviewed.

Judge McHugh asked if there was a medical report available to the court or if the woman had gone to a doctor.

Sgt Sweeney said he did not have a report.

Judge McHugh said he needed to see one to decide on the issue of jurisdiction, particularly in relation to the allegation of boiling water on the leg, he added. He said he would regrettably have to defer any decision on jurisdiction and adjourned the case to a date next month for further consideration of the issue.

The accused, who has not yet entered pleas to the charges, as not required to be in court and was remanded on continuing bail in his absence.
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.
SK Telecom CEO Park Jung-ho speaks at the company's general shareholders' meeting held in central, Seoul, Thursday. / Courtesy of SK Telecom



By Kim Bo-eun



SK Telecom (SKT) CEO Park Jung-ho pledged on Thursday that SK Group would revamp its governance structure this year as a means to boost shareholder value.



"It is an important task of mine to provide greater value to shareholders. We will be able to carry out (the restructuring) this year so that the greatest benefits can be provided," he said at the telecom firm's general shareholders' meeting held at SKT's headquarters in central Seoul.



The CEO, however, did not elaborate on how this would take place and said a session informing about the planned changes will soon be held.



Park made the governance restructuring project official at a meeting of SK Group CEOs in 2018, and it gained traction with him becoming vice chairman of the conglomerate's semiconductor affiliate SK hynix last year.



The project involves making SKT an intermediate holding company. Under the current structure, SK Holdings owns majority stakes of SKT, and SKT holds a majority of SK hynix. The plan for SKT to become an intermediate holding company is to enable SK hynix to become a first-tier subsidiary, which would enable a broader scope of M&As for the chip maker.




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
After seven contentious years, a final decision on whether the Keystone Sanitary Landfill can continue hauling in trash for the next four decades could come by April 30.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection received a response from the Louis and Dominick DeNaples-owned landfill in Dunmore and Throop on Friday addressing the DEPs second technical deficiency letter, DEP spokeswoman Colleen Connolly said in the email. The DEP sent Keystone the deficiency letter Feb. 26. The receipt of the landfills response last week began a 30-business-day countdown for the DEP to issue its decision on the expansion.

April 30 is a guideline the DEP is using to render its final decision, Connolly said.

While a decision could happen in the coming weeks, the department wants to make a thorough, final review of the application before it reaches a final decision, Connolly said. A final decision is forthcoming.

Keystone began the permitting process when it applied for a major permit modification on March 20, 2014, according to the DEP.

The DEP had two phases of review: an environmental assessment and then a technical review.

The DEP notified the landfill on July 8, 2019, that it had completed its environmental assessment, ultimately ruling that benefits of the project clearly outweigh the remaining known and potential harms. The ruling listed eight social and economic benefits, including jobs, environmental education, goods and services, tax revenue and benefits for Throop and Dunmore from host agreements. Throop receives $2.02 per ton of waste brought into the landfill. Dunmore is receiving $1.53 per ton this year, with the fee increasing by one penny each year.

The DEP listed 15 known and potential harms, including visual impacts, traffic, odors, noise, air quality and groundwater impacts.

Last year, on April 30, the DEP announced it had moved into its technical review phase. It issued its first deficiency letter Sept. 8, citing dozens of technical deficiencies as it asked for clarification, updates and more information on more than 60 items in the expansion plans.

The landfill responded Nov. 25, and the DEP sent its second technical deficiency letter Feb. 26. In it, the DEP cited about 30 deficiencies, including unpaid fines, a groundwater degradation incident from a leak in a leachate storage lagoon that wasnt included in a list of pollution incidents and proposed leachate management that wasnt approved.

Landfill consultant Al Magnotta believes Keystone met or exceeded almost all of (DEPs) requirements and applicable laws in its response.

We believe that we exceed in almost every area the basic requirements of the department, so were pretty positive that, and we trust that, well get a good determination from them, he said.

If approved, the landfills Phase III expansion would begin in April 2023 and allow Keystone to continue accepting waste for 42.4 years, totaling just over 94 million tons, or about 188 billion pounds, according to Keystones expansion plans.

Peak leachate production  the liquid that percolates through trash  is projected to occur in 2027 when the expansions eighth of 16 site pads is constructed, according to plans. During that time, the landfill will generate an estimated 127,644 gallons per day. At that rate, it would take just over five days to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

Throughout the proposed expansion, maximum daily leachate generation estimates range from about 39,000 to 100,000-plus gallons. Keystone discharges the effluent to Pennsylvania American Waters Scranton wastewater treatment plant, but it is seeking DEP approval to discharge treated leachate into Little Roaring Brook near Dunham Drive.

The landfill already began construction of what would be their first expansion site pad to ensure theres no interruption of service if approved, Magnotta said.

Construction of the pad began in January and will conclude in April 2023, according to landfill plans.

Should the DEP deny the expansion, the landfill has about two years left under its current phase, or capacity for about 3 million tons of waste, Magnotta said, adding towns will have to find somewhere else to take their municipal waste.

Its closed. Its over if the expansion is denied, he said. Dunmore will be out of money, and so will Throop.

Opponents of the landfill are confident theyve made their case to the DEP to deny the expansion. Pat Clark, a leader of anti-landfill expansion grassroots group Friends of Lackawanna said they are excited for DEPs decision.

I cant tell you how many times I thought this decision was close, he said. Were thrilled. Its time to get to a decision, and we think we have clearly put forth a case that the DEP is going to have to reject this application.
Harrisburg police on Wednesday accused a 34-year-old woman with giving them false information as they were following leads in the shooting death of a truck driver earlier this month.

Police charged Alma Demirovic, of Lower Paxton, with a third-degree felony: Hindering apprehension, for saying no one else but she had used her rental car, according to court documents. But police say they have surveillance video showing two men alone in that exact car the night of March 6 near the S Club, near Division and N. 7th streets.

The vehicle, a Chrysler 300 in the color Canyon Sunset, was spotted leaving the club just prior to the fatal shooting, according to court records, which occurred about a half mile away near Italian Lake.

Christopher Jerome CJ Hill, from Houston, Texas, had been out that night with a fellow truck driver when he was shot in the back of the head. Hill was driving his friends car and crashed the vehicle in the 200 block of Division Street after the shooting.

Police said they believe the shots came from another vehicle. They declined to provide any other details about the killing because of the ongoing investigation.

Court records filed against Demirovic Wednesday say that police believe her rented Chrysler 300 was involved in Hills homicide.

Demirovic told detectives who questioned her March 15 that she rented the car because hers was being fixed at a garage. When police asked if anyone other than her had access to the car, she said no, court records said. When police asked how many keys she had for the Chrysler, she said one, the documents said.

I asked if she was 100 percent positive that no one else had access to, or drove the Chrysler 300, to which she responded no, the detective wrote in his affidavit. Demirovic asked me if she needed an attorney. I told Demirovic I didnt have any more questions.

The same day police questioned Demirovic, officers arrested a man at the Harrisburg city home on a parole violation. Court records said that man was seen in the Chrysler 300 the night of the homicide near the S Club. The other man seen in the car that night also was arrested March 15 on a simple assault that occurred that day and for violating probation, according to online jail records. Both men remain in custody but have not been charged in connection with the fatal shooting.

Demirovic remained in jail Wednesday night in lieu of a $30,000 cash-only bail.

Hill had been living in Harrisburg in recent weeks as part of a new short-term trucking assignment.

READ: Texas truck driver fatally shot in Harrisburg dreamed of owning his own company
The American boyfriend of missing British woman Sarm Heslop has been described by his ex-wife as quick to anger and narcissistic - as it's revealed he and his yacht have now left the spot in the US Virgin Islands where she vanished.

Heslop, 41, was last seen on her 44-year-old boyfriend Ryan Bane's yacht on the island of St. John in the US Virgin Islands two weeks ago.

Bane has not been cooperating with police investigating the former flight attendant's disappearance and has refused to allow them to search his yacht.

The yacht left St. John at some point overnight and it is not clear where Bane is.

It comes as his ex-wife, Corie Stevenson, told Fox News that he was unpredictable and would often pick fights with women.

Bane served 21 days in prison back in 2011 for attacking Stevenson after he dragged her out of a truck and smashed her head on the floor, breaking one of her teeth.

Sarm Heslop, 41, was last seen on her 44-year-old boyfriend Ryan Bane's yacht on the island of St. John in the US Virgin Islands two weeks ago

Bane (pictured on his yacht this week) has not been cooperating with police investigating the former flight attendant's disappearance and has refused to allow them to search his yacht. The yacht left St. John at some point overnight and it is not clear where Bane is

Stevenson said Bane would regularly push her around and often called her 'b***h' or 'c**t' and that he 'will lie about everything'.

'He's very aggressive with girls, but he doesn't really wanna get in fights with guys,' she said.

The pair were married for six years before divorcing in 2014.

She said he would 'fly off the handle' at any moment and she 'never ever knew what was gonna set him off'.

'If you were just to meet Ryan in the bar, or out anywhere, you would think that he's awesome. Everyone thinks he's wonderful. It's what they're not seeing behind closed doors,' she said.

'I want people to know about Ryan's behavior, and then maybe they can keep looking for the girl.'

Bane refused to comment when DailyMail.com confronted him on a secluded beach when he made landfall in Great Cruz Bay, St. Thomas on Wednesday.

We asked the Michigan native if he would finally let police search his 47ft catamaran - or whether he was prepared to reveal more about the night Heslop mysteriously vanished.

His ex-wife, Corie Stevenson, (pictured above with Bane) described him as unpredictable and said he would often pick fights with females. Bane served 21 days in prison back in 2011 for attacking Stevenson after he dragged her out of a truck and smashed her head on the floor, breaking one of her teeth

Heslop's friends insist they are not 'pointing fingers' at Bane but are calling on the American, who moved to the Caribbean in 2015, 'to provide as many details as possible'

Heslop, from Southampton, England, met Bane on Tinder eight months ago. She disappeared from Siren Song, which was moored 120ft from Frank Bay on the extreme western end of St. John on March 8. The couple are pictured together

The charter boat skipper turned and walked away, heading inland with his pet Labrador.

In the hours after Sarm's March 8 disappearance Bane told authorities she had vanished without trace while the couple were anchored in picturesque Frank Bay.

Two weeks later the case is at a standstill, however, after wealthy Bane lawyered up and blocked detectives from conducting a search of his $500,000 vessel.

Authorities need a warrant to board but are yet to obtain one because Sarm's disappearance has not been classified as a criminal inquiry and Bane is currently neither a suspect, nor a person of interest.

DailyMail.com previously revealed that Bane had been holed up on board Siren Song, which was still anchored in St. John until Thursday.

A DailyMail.com reporting team followed him in a motorboat and caught up with Bane as he tied up his dinghy before walking up a trail towards a grocery store.

Bane refused to answer and his attorney issued a statement, saying: 'At this time we are not fielding any other requests for interviews/statements'.

Heslop's friends insist they are not 'pointing fingers' at Bane but are calling on the American, who moved to the Caribbean in 2015, 'to provide as many details as possible'.

Ryan Bane refused to discuss his girlfriend Sarm Heslop's disappearance today as DailyMail.com confronted him on a secluded beach in the US Virgin Islands
Northern Irelands Health Minister Robin Swann has warned that foreign holidays are very much out this summer.

Mr Swann also expressed concern about the potential of a further surge in cases in the region and the consequences that would have across the regions under-pressure health system.

The Health Minister said administrations across the UK and Ireland were having discussions about drawing up a red list related to foreign countries posing the highest Covid risks.

Asked at his weekly coronavirus media briefing at Stormont whether foreign travel was out in regard to summer holidays, the minister said: I would say very much so.

Mr Swann noted the steps being taken in England to fine people taking unnecessary overseas trips but he said similar action was not being considered by the Stormont Executive.

Its not a direction of travel that we would be going on at this point in time in the Executive, he said.

There are currently no direct international flights in and out of Northern Ireland.

Mr Swann said an Executive task force continued to draw up plans for hotel quarantining arrangements for international travellers in the future.

Read More

The minister also suggested the Executive might have to restrict cross-border travel on the island of Ireland as Northern Ireland emerges from lockdown, given the slower rate of vaccination in the Irish Republic.

He said the disparity in rates would not affect his advice to ministerial colleagues on how fast society opened up north of the border, but he added: What it may influence is advice and guidance that we may give on interjurisdictional interactions as to how that could be potentially looked at in the future as well.

Because what we dont want to see is the risk of further Covid outbreaks or, indeed, different variants even entering Northern Ireland once we progress with our vaccine programme at the rate we are currently doing.

At the briefing, the head of Northern Irelands vaccine rollout, Patricia Donnelly, said the region was on course to have all adults (1.4 million) offered a first dose by July.

Dr Donnelly said while the vast majority of people were engaging appropriately with the programme, she warned of some level of abuse, expressing concern about double bookings of appointments or ineligible people trying to secure jabs.

She made clear anyone who was not eligible for a jab would be turned away.

It emerged on Wednesday that for a period on Tuesday some ineligible people were able to book appointments on the system due to a technical glitch. Those appointments are being cancelled.

Asked about the prospect of the EU restricting the export of supply to the UK, Mr Swann said he and his officials always kept a watchful eye on supply lines.

However, he stressed that Northern Ireland would be using vaccines bought from around the world.

Its not just about supplies coming from Europe, were now looking at a worldwide vaccine supply programme and being part of the UK buying power where we actually pre-bought seven different vaccines I think stands Northern Ireland in good stead for future supplies, Mr Swann said.

He highlighted that he expected the Moderna vaccine to be in use in Northern Ireland within weeks.

Mr Swann said the vaccination programme offered the hope of better times ahead with more freedoms and more normality.

We cannot jeopardise that better future by being reckless now, he said.

We have so much work to do, both in terms of combating the virus and repairing the great damage it has caused.

Rebuilding health services post-pandemic is a top priority of mine, particularly the need to address the backlog in operations and other treatments.

The potential for a further surge in Covid-19 cases, however, represents the single biggest threat to that crucial rebuilding.

At the briefing, the regions chief medical officer Dr Michael McBride was asked whether officials were concerned about early data suggesting the AstraZeneca jab might not be as effective against the South African variant of Covid.

Dr McBride said medical experts constantly monitored the safety and efficacy of vaccines.

Variants are just going to be a fact of life, he said.

We will see new variants arise and they will arise most quickly where the virus is dividing most rapidly.

In terms of how effective the vaccines are and whether some of these variants escape from the vaccines, what we do know at this point in time is that the vaccines that we are using may not provide full protection, but even with those variants that are in circulation should provide protection from severe disease and death.

If, however, we need to change the vaccines, the public should be reassured that that work is ongoing and that now we have these vaccines produced that actually can be taken forward very, very quickly in a matter of weeks to months.

Whether we will require booster doses of different or tweaked vaccines in future is still to be decided.

There were no further deaths of patients who previously tested positive for Covid-19 announced in Northern Ireland on Wednesday. Another 139 confirmed cases of the virus were recorded by the Department of Health.

Dr McBride welcomed the falling death rate but cautioned that infection rates were higher than we would like.

Things are improving, he said.

The short-term trajectory however remains uncertain as we ease our way out.

Dr McBride also announced that official advice to those considered clinically extremely vulnerable would be eased on April 12.

Since December, people in that category were told not to attend work, even if they could not work from home.

From April 12, the advice will allow them to return to a workplace, if they cannot work from home, as long as adequate safety provisions are in place.
Geneva, March 25 : The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that the number of confirmed coronavirus cases have continued to increase globally for a fourth consecutive week.

In the week ending March 21, nearly 3.3 million new cases were reported globally, Xinhua news agency quoted the WHO as saying in its latest update issued on Wednesday.

Four regions saw a "marked" increase in new cases, namely South-East Asia, Western Pacific, Europe and Eastern Mediterranean regions, up by 49 per cent, 29 per cent, 13 per cent and 8 per cent, respectively.

Europe and the Americas still accounted for close to 80 per cent of all cases and deaths, it said.

The increase reported by the WHO followed a trend that saw, in early March, the end of a decrease in the number of infections worldwide, a shift that was deemed by the world body "disappointing but not surprising".

Furthermore, while the number of new Covid-19 deaths was falling in the last few weeks, it plateaued last week, indicating a possible rise in fatalities globally, the WHO said.

Only the Western Pacific region saw a decrease in new reported deaths during the week, according to the report.

In its latest update on Thursday morning, the Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and death toll stood at 124,688,146 and 2,742,974, respectively.

The US is the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 30,009,386 and 545,237, respectively, according to the CSSE.

Brazil follows in the second place with 12,220,011 cases and 300,685 fatalities.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Federal drug enforcement agents opened fire in a Ruby Tuesdays parking lot in New Jersey, wounding one suspect and taking another into custody, according to reports.

Shots rang out outside the restaurant near The Mills at Jersey Gardens Mall in Elizabeth, N.J. around 4 p.m. Wednesday, authorities told ABC New York.

The shooting was part of an ongoing narcotics operation involving a Drug Enforcement Administration task force, federal officials told ABC, but it wasnt clear how the gunfire started.

One suspect was wounded and taken to the hospital. None of the DEA agents were hurt, according to the reports.

Video footage from the scene shows a maroon SUV riddled with bullets. The suspects were believed to be in that vehicle.
Chitwan, March 25

The Chitwan district of southern Nepal has reported the first case of a successful liver transplant on Thursday morning. This is the first time that a liver transplant has been made possible outside the countrys capital, Kathmandu.

Likewise, this is the eighth successful liver transplant case in Nepal.

Organising a press conference this morning, the Chitwan Medical College Hospital said the transplant operation had been done on Dhan Kumari Lama, a 54-year-old woman of Bharatpur metropolitan city-10. The patients 34-year-old daughter Usha had donated the liver for her.

A team of expert doctors, nurses, and biomedical engineers had done the operation on March 21. A few doctors from the Apollo Hospitals of India had also assisted the team.

The hospital says the mother-daughter duo are gradually recovering following the operation.

Dr Harish Chandra Neupane, the chairman and managing director of the hospital, said the success showed patients in the region would not have any compulsion to go to the capital for a transplant. This is also the beginning of our effort to make Chitwan a liver transplant hub, he said, We believe this will give new rays of hope at the national level.
We use Feedtrail across multiple care settings to deliver unique, patient-specific insights and now the post-vaccine visit surveys are adding another layer of feedback and ensuring patients that were listening during this critical time.

Feedtrail, a leading patient engagement platform, has expanded its partnership with Novant Health to prioritize patient satisfaction and education, as vaccine distribution processes continue to evolve across the nation.

Since January 2021, Novant Healths patient experience team has been able to gain crucial visibility into experiences through Feedtrails experience management (XM) platform. Beyond the initial usage, the flexibility of the data gathering system allowed Novant Health to implement a two-question survey specific to each of their vaccine distribution centers and growing number of pop-up clinics in under a week. Incorporating the data in a feedback loop, Novant Health shares the real-time responses in daily huddles to improve communication, encourage team members, and help onsite providers address questions.

We use Feedtrail across multiple care settings to deliver unique, patient-specific insights and now the post-vaccine visit surveys are adding another layer of feedback and ensuring patients that were listening during this critical time. Team members are hearing positive patient stories after a draining year managing the pandemic, and were able to implement small changes every day to enhance our vaccine procedures and communication, says Kirsten Royster, chief experience officer at Novant Health. Were looking forward to continuing our partnership with Feedtrail as we use real-time patient feedback to inform experience design across the patient journey.

Novant Health leverages the Feedtrail XM platform to ask targeted questions to patients via text about their specific experiences in settings including imaging centers, occupational medicine, urgent care, and behavioral health. Insights are integrated into Novant Healths existing systems, enabling leadership to quickly identify and address issues for operational improvements. Establishing a direct dialogue with patients allows Novant Health to deliver personalized engagement, perform real-time service recovery, and achieve their mission to improve the health of communities, one person at a time.

Its fantastic weve been able to support Novant Healths evolving experience management needs, especially as the patient journey has expanded to include COVID prevention and management said Paul Jaglowski, chief executive officer of Feedtrail. Their team knows incorporating the voice of the patient across processes is key to exceed expectations and, ultimately, create better outcomes.

------

About Feedtrail

With Feedtrail XM, healthcare organizations can learn and deliver what matters most to patients, providers, caregivers, and employees. Our secure, cloud-based experience management (XM) solutions and advanced data analytics enable customer experience teams to engage and connect with the right people at the right time, uncover prescriptive insights, and take purposeful action to drive continuous improvement and measurable results across the lifecycle of care. Over 70 innovative health systems across 4,000 sites in 14 countries already use Feedtrail to uncover explicit opportunities to improve human-centered care and advance better outcomes for people and the business of healthcare. Learn more http://www.feedtrail.com

About Novant Health

Novant Health is an integrated network of physician clinics, outpatient facilities and hospitals that delivers a seamless and convenient healthcare experience to communities in Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia. The Novant Health network consists of more than 1,600 physicians and over 29,000 employees that provide care at nearly 700 locations, including 15 hospitals and hundreds of outpatient facilities and physician clinics. In 2020, Novant Health was the only healthcare system in North Carolina to be included on Forbes' Best Employers for Diversity list. Diversity MBA Magazine has also ranked Novant Health third on its 2019 list of "Best Places for Women & Diverse Managers to Work." Novant Health provided more than $993.2 million in community benefit, including financial assistance and services, in 2019. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.NovantHealth.org
Brooklyn, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - March 25, 2021) - Green Stream Holdings Inc. (OTC PINK: GSFI) ("the Company") (http://www.GreenRainSolar.com ), an emerging leader in the solar utility and finance space, announces today it has filed its most recent Quarterly Report for the period ending January 31st, 2021 via EDGAR. The report was filed on March 23, with an Amended Report filed yesterday and submitted by GlobalOne Filings and signed off on by James DiPrima, the Company's CEO.

The report can be found at https://sec.report/Ticker/GSFI

The company anticipates status to reflect as Pink Current Information Tier on OTC Markets within the coming days and anticipates increased accessibility for investors as a result.

Shareholders-visit greenrainsolar.com. where you can view Green Stream's news, filings and even a live Level 2 stream, along with other company information.





To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6720/78556_a48ce63ba4bb79f0_002full.jpg

About Green Stream Finance, Inc.:

Green Stream Finance, Inc., a Wyoming-based corporation with satellite offices in Malibu, CA and New York, NY, is focused on exploiting currently unmet markets in the solar energy space, and is currently licensed in California, Nevada, Arizona, Washington, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Colorado, Hawaii, and Canada. The Company's next-generation solar greenhouses constructed and managed by Green Rain Solar, LLC, a Nevada-based division, utilize proprietary greenhouse technology and trademarked design developed by world-renowned architect Mr. Antony Morali. The Company is currently targeting high-growth solar market segments for its advanced solar greenhouse and advanced solar battery products. The Company has a growing footprint in the significantly underserved solar market in New York City where it is targeting 50,000 to 100,000 square feet of rooftop space for the installation of its solar panels. Green Stream is looking to forge key partnership with major investment groups, brokers, and private investors in order to capitalize on a variety of unique investment opportunities in the commercial solar energy markets. The Company is dedicated to becoming a major player in this critical space. Through its innovative solar product offerings and industry partnerships, the Company is well-positioned to become a significant player in the solar space.

Transfer Agent: Olde Monmouth Stock Transfer Co

200 Memorial Pkwy

Atlantic Highlands, NJ 07716

732.872.2727

Forward-Looking Statements:

This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is subject to the safe harbor created by those sections. This material contains statements about expected future events and/or financial results that are forward-looking in nature and subject to risks and uncertainties. That includes the possibility that the business outlined in this press release cannot be concluded for some reason. That could be as a result of technical, installation, permitting or other problems that were not anticipated. Such forward-looking statements by definition involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Green Stream Finance, Inc. to be materially different from the statements made herein. Except for any obligation under the U.S. federal securities laws, Green Stream Finance, Inc. undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

For All Inquiries Contact:

president@greenstreamfinance.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/78556
Kristen Clarke is Joe Bidens nominee to lead the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department. Shes an odd pick, or would be in a normal administration, given her history of sponsoring anti-Semitism and advancing the idea that Blacks are superior to Whites.

Clarke will argue that this happened long ago, during her college days. However, she is on record as holding another nominee to what he said while in college, and insisting that he not be confirmed because of it.

Clarkes problems are hardly limited to her college days, though. Shes been active on Twitter in very recent years, and some of her tweets are problematic, to say the least.

For example, in January 2019, Clarke promoted Jussie Smolletts bogus hate crime allegations in posts on Twitter. She also criticized the Chicago police department for seeking access to Smolletts cell phone.

Are Senators like Joe Manchin, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski comfortable turning the Civil Rights Division over to someone who uncritically accepts dubious hate crime claims and attacks law enforcement officials for trying to determine the truth of such claims? Well see.

There is reason to believe that these Senators are uncomfortable with nominees who attack them, personally. Neera Tanden found that out the hard way.

Clarke checks that box, too. In February 2017, she blasted Sen. Manchin for voting to confirm Jeff Sessions as attorney general. When Manchin praised Martin Luther King, Clarke accused him of uttering hollow words.

As for Sen. Murkowski, Clarke called her shameful. Murkowskis sin? She voted to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.

The Daily Caller News Foundation reported on Clarkes problematic tweets earlier this month. It now reports that Clarke has restricted access to her Twitter account.

But her tweets stand as evidence of her intemperance and contempt for even moderate politicians who dont fully subscribe to her radical agenda. She cut no slack to Manchin and Murkowski when they voted to confirm respected conservative nominees (including their former colleague, Jeff Sessions). Now, these Senators should cut Clarke no slack, regardless of how apologetic she pretends to be at her confirmation hearing.
Water is being reported over roads in North Alabama on Thursday.

If you see flooding on roads, turn around and do not continue to drive over it.

Well continue to update this list Thursday:

Small rockslide on Highway 35 in Fort Payne due to flash flooding. One lane closed while debris is removed.

District Line Road at Barkley Bridge Road is washed away in Morgan County.

One foot of water over the roadway at Martin Avenue and North Jackson Highway in Sheffield.

The City of Fort Payne is reporting most city roadways are impassable due to heavy rainfall.

The Highway 247/72 intersection is closed to Pride Landing in Tuscumbia

Franklin County EMA says Highway 90 is closed because the road is washing away due to flooding.

The Franklin County Emergency Management Agency said there is flooding at Highway 11 in Red Bay, and water is coming over the bridge.

1700-block of Betty Street SW has significant water in the roadway.

Flooding is reported on Helton Drive in Florence.

Water is reported over the following Morgan County roads: New Cut Road in Massey area, Mt. Nebo Rd, Huckaby Bridge Rd, HWY 67/Crawford Rd, Barkley Bridge Rd towards W Lacon Rd, HWY 36 /Red Oak Rd, Summerford Rd, E Lacon Rd and Apple Grove Rd has two places with high water.

Mat Morrow Road, just west of U.S. 231, is reportedly about to be washed out.

Colbert County EMA says theres flooding on HWY 72/Pride Landing WB and N Jackson/Martin Fiesta

Flooding reported on Highway 90 in Franklin County

DeKalb County EMA says County Roads 5 and 39 are closed due to water over roadway

Turn to WAAY 31 for everything you need to know to stay safe during Thursday's severe weather. Chief Meteorologist Kate McKenna and meteorologists Rob Elvington and Carson Meredith will provide you with the most accurate information on storms by using our StormTracker Early Warning Radar Network.

Stationed in Muscle Shoals, Decatur and Guntersville, the radars provide the best data for all of North Alabama by scanning EVERY community in North Alabama.

See all the radars HERE

Access the Muscle Shoals radar HERE

Access the Decatur radar HERE

Access the Guntersville radar HERE

And download our news and weather apps HERE
Atlanta Police Arrest Man Who Carried 6 Guns, Body Armor Into Grocery Store

Police in Atlanta, Georgia, on Wednesday arrested a man who carried six guns and body armor into a grocery store in Atlantic Station. The arrest comes just two days after a mass shooting took place in Boulder, Colorado, that killed 10 people.

Police officers were called in around 1:30 p.m. to the Atlantic Station Publix grocery store. The store manager told police that a man was seen entering the store and going straight to the restroom, according to police.

A witness observed the male and alerted store management, who then notified police, the Atlanta Police Department said in a statement.

The call to police was made by Charles Russell, who said he went into the restroom and saw the man with a rifle inside a stall. Russell told Channel 2 Action News that upon seeing what appeared to be AR-15, it startled him and made him recall the recent shooting in Boulder. He said he wanted to stop a potential mass shooting.

To be able to stop it, if it were going to be something, thats what I cared about as it progressed, Russell told the outlet.

After the man left the restroom, police arrested him and held him for questioning. They found he was carrying two long guns and four pistols, although the initial police statement said it was two long guns and three pistols. He was later identified as 22-year-old Rico Marley, a black man. Police charged him with reckless conduct.

It remains unclear why he was carrying multiple guns. Police officers interviewed Marley and paramedics carried out a mental evaluation, authorities said. Marley was set to be moved to the Fulton County Jail for further processing.

According to Channel 2 Action News, a background check found that Marley has a criminal record out of DeKalb County from 2018 for a simple assault charge. It was later dismissed on a technicality. The outlet reported that Marley held a weapons carry license on him on Wednesday.

A Publix spokesperson said in a statement to media outlets, We are thankful that there were no injuries, and all were able to exit the store safely.

Separately, police were alerted about a suspicious package found in the parking deck. Atlantic Stations management shut down the parking deck and several interior streets at the request of police on the same afternoon.

At the request of the APD, we have shut down the interior shopping district streets at Atlantic Station and the parking deck to ensure the safety of the community as authorities investigate the suspicious package found onsite, Atlantic Station announced on Twitter Wednesday afternoon.

Atlantic Drive, the main street running in front of the store, was closed to traffic on Wednesday afternoon. Shoppers were being turned away as they approached the grocery store, but there were still plenty of people walking around the open-air mall.

The mass shooting in Boulder came just days after a mass shooting in Atlanta, in which eight people were killed at three separate massage parlors.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........

LONDON  British lawmakers agreed Thursday to prolong coronavirus emergency measures for six months, allowing the Conservative government to keep its unprecedented powers to restrict U.K. citizens everyday lives.

The House of Commons voted to extend the powers until September, and approved the governments road map for gradually easing Britains strict coronavirus lockdown over the next three months.

Prime Minister Boris Johnsons large Conservative majority in Parliament guaranteed the measures passed by a decisive 484-76 margin. But Johnson faced rebellion from some of his own partys lawmakers, who argued that the economic, democratic and human costs of the restrictions outweigh the benefits.

ADVERTISEMENTSkip



................................................................

The Coronavirus Act, passed a year ago as Britain went into lockdown, brought in a wide range of temporary health, economic and social powers to deal with the pandemic. It gives authorities the power to bar protests, shut down businesses, restrict travel and detain people suspected of having the virus.

Heath Secretary Matt Hancock said Parliament had had to take extraordinary measures in response to this extraordinary threat.

But Conservative lawmaker Mark Harper, a leading lockdown skeptic, said he had not heard a single good answer as to why the British government needed to extend the draconian powers for another six months.

The opposition Liberal Democrats opposed the extension, with leader Ed Davey saying it gave ministers a blank check to use draconian powers they dont need. Former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn also spoke out against them, saying our liberties are at stake.

Britain has recorded more than 126,000 coronavirus deaths, the highest toll in Europe. But the U.K.s fast-moving vaccination program has so far given at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to more than half of its adult population, a far better record than the European Unions much-criticized vaccine rollout.

Virus infections and deaths in Britain have fallen sharply in the last month even as they are rising in much of Europe.

Simon Stevens, chief executive of the National Health Service in England, said Thursday that English hospitals were treating about 4,000 coronavirus patients, down from 34,000 in mid-January. He said the health systems coronavirus alert level should be lowered from 4 to 3 on a five-point scale because the pressures on the system had eased.

The British government is gradually lifting a national lockdown. Children returned to school on March 8 and shops, hairdressers and outdoor dining are to reopen on April 12, followed by indoor venues on May 17. Remaining restrictions are to end June 21, if the country is not facing a new virus surge.

Hancock said infections were likely to rise as society opened up, but thanks to vaccines that would not automatically mean more virus-related deaths. But he said it was still right to proceed with caution.

We must restore the freedoms that we all cherish, but in a way that doesnt put the (National Health Service) at risk, he said.

Some lawmakers were concerned about suggestions that people in Britain may have to prove they have been vaccinated in order to travel, attend mass events or even go to the pub. The government is studying proposals for coronavirus status certificates and says it will lay out its plans next month.

Johnson conceded there were moral complexities around the proposal, since some people cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons.

The idea of pub passports has been strongly criticized by restaurant and bar owners. Kate Nicholls, chief executive of the UKHospitality trade body, said the idea was simply unworkable.

___

Follow APs pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic, https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
U.S. Intelligence Community Increasingly Involved in Domestic Politics

March 24 , 2021 (EIRNS)Glenn Greenwald has written a short article on the implications of the March 1 Director of National Intelligence report Domestic Violent Extremism Poses Heightened Threat in 2021. The report makes this point: The IC [intelligence community] assess that domestic violent extremists (DVEs) who are motivated by a range of ideologies and galvanized by recent political and societal events in the United States pose an elevated threat to the Homeland in 2021. Who are these DVEs? Essentially anyone prepared to use violence, intimidation or coercion to pursue an agenda including opposition to perceived economic, racial, or social hierarchies.

The fact that such intelligence community components as the CIA, which are supposed to conduct only foreign intelligence, played a role in crafting the report and are presumably prepared to take part in countering DVEs reminds us of the post-9/11 shift towards the domestic use of intelligence that had been exposed and countered by the Church Committee.

Under the Bush era Global War on Terror, the American line between foreign and domestic activities was eroded towards a British approach, as reported in the Washington Post in 2002: FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III recently described the new arrangement as his answer to MI5, Britains internal security service. Unlike the CIA, MI5 is empowered to collect intelligence within Britain and to act to disrupt domestic threats to British national security. It goes some distance to accomplishing what the MI5 does, Mueller told a House-Senate intelligence panel last week in describing the new CIA role in the FBI task forces.

It was against precisely this goalexpressed by Mueller as accomplishing what the MI5 does that Sen. Frank Church had performed the work of his committee. Church described in a 1975 appearance on Meet the Press the threat he saw:

The United States government has perfected a technological capability that enables us to monitor the messages that go through the air.... We must know, at the same time, that capability at any time could be turned around on the American people, and no American would have any privacy left: such is the capability to monitor everythingtelephone conversations, telegrams, it doesnt matter. There would be no place to hide.

For what purpose is increased surveillance of potential DVEs pursued? Violent acts are already illegal under U.S. law. Is the purpose to criminalize speech and association? Given the direction of discussions about the First Amendment, the increasing trend of young people to view (undefinable) hate speech as beyond the protection of free speech, and the efforts to root out extremism in the intelligence community and the military, it would appear that the answer is a resounding Yes!
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.
CLEAR LAKE, Iowa - A proposed private-public dock on the southeast side of the lake is causing some controversy.

A proposal by Jake Kopriva, the owner of the Lake Time Boat Club, and who also happens to sit on the city's Parks and Recreation Board, is looking to add a 165 ft. long dock that would contain 10 slips, 6 of which are set to be reserved for club members. The dock is set to be located on what is now a public access near 20th Avenue South and South Shore Drive. In addition, the proposal would include parking space on a nearby lot that once contained retail space, with part of that space being repurposed into offices for the club and another business.

About 50 people came out to the board's meeting on Wednesday night to discuss the proposal. Supporters say it will help shorten the wait time for those who have long waited for slip access, and add business to the community.

"As you are aware, lake shore is hard to come by. The proposal I'm presenting mutually benefits the city and the community for those who are wanting a slip space. It will help more people get on the lake, not take away from it," Kopriva says. "For comparison, four city slips serves four individual families. whereas six club boat slips serves 30+ families. By adding a dock, this will take four names off the city's wait list of 300 people."

"I think we need to focus on the opportunity for growth and focus on what can be done here. Yes, it does change line of sight, and that's unfortunate. If I was next door, I probably wouldn't love it either. But there is also a precedent for a commercial business being in our neighborhood, it's at the end of the street," another attendee said.

"If they're going to put this dock out there, and for those who say 'why should he get the next six spots', why don't we look at it like, 'there's four more people going to be off the list because they're investing in the community,'" Movement Solutions owner Jim Flick says.

Opponents to the proposal feel it could damage lake views and private property, the lack of space at the site, and shorten the amount of public access ramps, as well as keeping people on that aforementioned list waiting longer.

"There's simply not enough room for another commercial private dock. There are public approaches that border larger lots that are not boat ramps to be considered. If the extended dock is installed, we're taking away one last accessible boat ramp for the residents of Clear Lake. We do understand the need for boat slips on the lake, but shutting down a boat ramp doesn't seem like a logical owner," Trina Brewer, who lives near the site of the proposed dock says.

"If you put a public dock, and you have to go 4-wide when you go out, you're going to encroach on both of those properties. The biggest concern I have is that someone that has a new business, and you allow him access and he's on your board, and we've been in business for 33 years, and we've never been given that luxury, it's not fair," Shelley Stephens with Shoreline Dock and Hoist says.

"Have you called number five and said, 'hey, is it alright if I take your spot?' Or what about 6-10? How many people have been waiting 15-20 years to get on this lake? How do you think they feel? Is this for you, or is this for the City of Clear Lake?," resident Dale Hill says.

A dock for the 20th Avenue South was proposed in the past, but was withdrawn due to opposition.
ROME, MAR 25 - Over 230,000 COVID-19 vaccine shots were given on Wednesday, health Minister Roberto Speranza said Thursday. He said "the figures are growing" and the government was determined to speed up the vaccine rollout that has been hit by repeated delays. Speranza said it was now "fundamental" to complete vaccinating the over-80s and the more fragile members of the community. He said the government was at work to "involve productive facilities able to guarantee the necessary safety standards". Speranza was speaking after a meeting with Employment Minister Andrea Orlando and Italy's trade union federations. (ANSA).
COLONIE  After a financially devastating year, airlines serving Albany International Airport had something to celebrate last week.

On Wednesday, March 17, they collectively carried more passengers out of Albany than on the same day during the previous year, although they're still well below pre-pandemic levels.

A year ago, of course, the economy was shutting down as the coronavirus accelerated its spread, eventually claiming more than half a million lives nationwide. With no vaccines to prevent it and no drugs to treat it, those who could stayed isolated at home while the rest of us avoided any unnecessary travel.

International borders closed, and airlines saw their traffic plunge. Soon, flights disappeared from schedules. Seats on the few flights still operating were blocked to maintain social distancing between passengers, who now wore masks.

The arrival of newly developed vaccines is starting to have an impact. While supplies are still limited, the number of fully vaccinated individuals is growing. And after a year-long lockdown, they want to travel.

"People are starting to book again, especially people who have been vaccinated," said Jean Gagnon, who operates Plaza Travel in Latham. They're going to the Bahamas, to Jamaica, and to a number of domestic destinations, she added.

International travelers are being tested at the beginning of their trip and again as they depart for home. "You can even pay for a VIP service where they'll come to your hotel to test you," she said.

"People have the expectation this is going to be under control," said Albany International Airport spokesman Doug Myers. "The vaccinations have played a significant role in people resuming their travel."

Many destinations  including most of Europe  remain off limits to Americans. And while Canadians can enter the United States by air, American leisure travelers are prohibited from entering Canada.

Airlines, hotels and tour operators have been willing to allow travelers to reschedule their trips and accommodations, Gagnon said, adding that "99.5 percent of our clients have not lost a single penny."

Bargains have been plentiful during the past year as a way for airlines and hotels to induce people to travel. But now that the pool of fully vaccinated individuals is growing, the deals are disappearing.

"There are attractive prices, but they're not going to be out there long," Gagnon said. "People are starting to book."

The airport terminal is slowly returning to normal. Starbucks, which was closed during the height of the pandemic, has reopened, although with limited hours. Hudson Valley Beer Union is expected to open sometime in April.

Meanwhile, airlines and the travel industry are working to develop a way to identify people who have been fully vaccinated. And travel guidelines for individual countries continue to be in flux. Paris this week entered a new lockdown, for example.

And Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein reminds travelers that masks are still required, whether you're on a plane, train or bus. And it's a good time to refresh your knowledge of what's permitted and prohibited in your carry-on baggage, as well as acceptable forms of identification at the checkpoint.

You may also want to consider enrolling in the TSA Pre-check program, which offers expedited screening at checkpoints.
In Louisiana, 654,876 people are now fully vaccinated against the coronavirus as the state prepares to open eligibility to anyone 16 and older.

The Louisiana Department of Health reported that 96,217 more vaccine doses have been administered since the last update on Monday. A total of 1,718,857 doses have been administered statewide.

Most of those shots are part of the two-dose regimen recommended for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which is why the total number of people who have received at least one dose is lower.

+2 Louisiana will be one of 9 states where anyone can get a COVID vaccine; here are the others When Louisiana opened eligibility for the coronavirus vaccines to anyone over 16 starting Monday, March 29, it joined a small but growing numb

Louisiana is preparing to open vaccine eligibility to anyone 16 years old and older. Gov. John Bel Edwards made that announcement Wednesday, just days after the state hit the milestone of having 1 million Louisianans receive at least one vaccine dose.

The Louisiana Department of Health reported 284 more confirmed coronavirus cases and 13 more confirmed deaths in its noon update Thursday.

These are another few key statewide statistics as of Thursday:

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

Total confirmed cases: 378,515

Total "probable" cases: 64,105

Total confirmed deaths: 9,251

Currently hospitalized: 396

Currently on ventilators: 69

Vaccine series initiated: 1,112,650 (updated twice weekly)

Vaccine series completed: 1,718,857

Presumed recovered: 429,935 as of March 22 (updated weekly)

Note: The Advocate and The Times-Picayune staff calculates daily case count and confirmed death increases based on the difference between today's total and yesterday's total of confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths. The Louisiana Department of Health releases a daily case count on its dashboard that includes probable cases as indicated by a positive antigen test. That case count can be different than the one listed here.

Can't see chart below? Click here.

Can't see chart below? Click here.

Louisiana began reopening for Phase 1 on May 15-16 then moved to Phase 2 on June 5. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards extended Louisiana's Phase 2 restrictions twice in August before moving the state to Phase 3 on Sept. 11. The governor then moved the state back to a modified Phase 2 near the end of November before putting Louisiana back in a modified Phase 3 on March 2, 2021.

This is a developing story. More details and analysis to come.
To my knowledge, this was being done by staff within the Prime Ministers media team, she wrote. Mr Morrison later told Parliament in afternoon question time that another person had contacted Mr Kunkel to support Ms Higgins claim. Describing the person as a primary and direct source, Mr Morrison said he had asked Mr Kunkel to investigate the claim of backgrounding with the assistance of the Department of Finance. Loading We have a process for dealing with that [allegation] and I think it is important that with things like this, that I allow how you deal with these matters to be done properly, Mr Morrison told A Current Affair. Days after the sacking of a Liberal adviser for filming himself in a solo sex act in a Liberal MPs office, Finance Minister Simon Birmingham said he was taking all steps possible to ensure there were consequences for anyone found to have done the wrong thing.

But the government is waiting for staff to volunteer themselves or identify others involved in sharing the images. The reshuffle, expected within days, will move Mr Porter out of the Attorney-Generals post over concerns of a conflict of interest while he takes defamation action against the ABC over its reporting of an alleged historical rape, which he denies. While he could remain in his other portfolio of Industrial Relations, another option is to transfer him to the employment portfolio held by Michaelia Cash so she can take his dual portfolio in a job swap. The would limit other changes to the cabinet. An alternative is a similar swap with Communications Minister Paul Fletcher. The leading contender to replace Senator Reynolds is Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, with Government Services Minister Stuart Robert named as a likely choice for the home affairs portfolio. A key concern for the government is that dropping Mr Porter from cabinet and the ministry would be a concession that an accusation was enough for a minister to lose their job. Mr Morrison commended Mr Porter in Parliament on Thursday on his work in his portfolio and has argued for weeks that it is not for the Prime Minister to judge the claim against him, saying it was a matter for the police.

Asked if he had full confidence in Mr Porter and Senator Reynolds, the Prime Minister told A Current Affair that they would stay in cabinet. Loading They will continue to play a very important role in my cabinet, he said. Asked if he would move them to different ministries, he said: When I make judgments about those things Ill announce them. Mr Morrison criticised Senator Reynolds over some of her response to the alleged rape in her office, saying it was disgraceful she called Ms Higgins a lying cow last month.

He also acknowledged that people in the government failed to give Ms Higgins enough support after the alleged rape in March 2019, even though they were seeking to help. But they were relying on the very processes that were not up to the job as well, he said. Mr Morrison said he was gaining a deeper understanding of the challenges for women and believed the country had to deal with the issues so women would not face the daily humiliations and degradations that included but were not limited to violence. Each and every day, it saps women in this country, he said. And thats what Im hearing. And I need to keep hearing of because I need to understand that even more deeply than I believe Ive been able to understand in the past month.

Loading Labor leader Anthony Albanese declared Mr Morrison was trying to dodge taking action over sexual harassment and assault. After eight long years what weve seen over this last fortnight is a tired, stale government thats unravelling before our eyes, disintegrating before our eyes, Mr Albanese told Parliament. This is a Prime Minister who has an ear of tin, a heart of stone and a wall of concrete to shield him from the concerns of his fellow Australians. He is an angry man who has mastered the rare art of clenching a glass jaw. Labor education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek questioned whether Mr Morrisons tears in a press conference on Tuesday were all an act about the concerns of women given his angry response to a journalist moments afterwards.

Loading The tragedy for Australian women today is, if we started crying about the women we know who have been raped and murdered and sexually assaulted and sexually harassed, if we started crying for the women that we know that this has happened to, we would never stop, Ms Plibersek said. She named rape victims Anita Cobby, Janine Balding and Eurydice Dixon as well as Hannah Clarke, who was murdered with her three children by her estranged husband. I remember all these women. We all do. It takes more than tears, Ms Plibersek said. It takes legislative change. It takes culture change. It takes working with our young people from their earliest days.
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.
Simon Fraser Universitys Clean Energy Research Group (CERG) says B.C. could do more to support the development geothermal resources as a source of renewable energy.

CERG researchers calculated the estimated future energy demand and determined that the Site C dam project would not be adequate. In a new working paper, the group notes that B.C. sits on the Pacific Rim Ring of Fire, which means that BC and Alberta have abundant geothermal resources that could fulfill future energy demand.

SFU political science professor and CERG lead Andy Hira says the federal and provincial governments have yet to seriously invest in exploring and mapping out geothermal, compared to more advanced jurisdictions like California.

Hira, who co-authored the paper with SFU research associate Nastaran Arianpoo, a mining engineer and geothermal specialist, also notes that there is a lack of regulatory frameworks for geothermal energy development in several provincial and territorial jurisdictions. This creates an uncertain environment for investors and developers to advance projects beyond the exploration phase.

Without that investment and a more supportive regulatory environment, the private sector wont take the risks to develop geothermal, says Hira. The government could incentivize geothermal resource exploration in B.C. and Canada through additional grants and loans for research and development, training, surveying, mapping and drilling.

They also suggest lifting B.C. Hydros moratorium on new power purchase agreements (PPAs) for renewable geothermal projects.

The benefits of geothermal power

Geothermal does not suffer from intermittency or the challenges from weather and seasonality in Canadas northern regions, unlike solar or wind.

Geothermal is a reliable source of renewable energy providing electricity, heat and hot water with zero emissions, says Hira. Advanced geothermal regions from Iceland to California to New Zealand and the Philippines have supported geothermal, whereas Canada remains a laggard but it doesnt have to be this way.

According to Hira, the cost of geothermal projects can be reduced by developing geothermal resources at existing oil and gas drilling sites throughout Western Canada. Cheaper, shallow geothermal fields can provide heat and hot water directly, reducing the need for water heaters and electricity.

Hira also notes that geothermal also requires less above ground space than large scale solar or wind projects, creates more jobs than natural gas and produces far less waste from a lifecycle perspective than solar.

A step forward for one geothermal project in B.C.

The Indigenous-led Clarke Lake Geothermal Development Project in northeastern B.C. shows the potential for geothermal projects in the north, which can provide an engine for local growth and reduce reliance on diesel.

It was announced this month that the Clarke Lake geothermal facility would receive funding from Natural Resources Canada. Additional support for the project is provided by the B.C. government, Indigenous Services Canada and Western Economic Diversification Canada.

The Clarke Lake facility is expected to produce enough clean electricity to power up to 14,000 households and by displacing fossil fuel generation will reduce 25,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually, which is equivalent to taking over 5,000 cars off the road.
The Dadaab refugee complexHagadera, Dagahaley and Ifois among the oldest refugee camps in the world today. Since it was first established in 1991, Dadaab has, over the years, hosted several waves of Somali refugees, fleeing a combination of violence, generalised insecurity and drought.

Nairobi  Kenya has issued a 14-day ultimatum to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to provide a road map for the closure of Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi said "there will be no room for further negotiations", after the Tuesday meeting with UNCHR officials.

CS @FredMatiangi issues UNHCR with 14 day ultimatum to have road map on definite closure of Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps. Says no room for further negotiations. pic.twitter.com/8z3yLMjzgD- Ministry of Interior (@InteriorKE) March 24, 2021

Diplomatic sources however, see the decision by Kenya as strongly linked to the strained diplomatic relatons with Somalia which filed a maritime dispute case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague but the Kenya has denied the claim.

"No, it has nothing to do with that case," a high ranking government official said. Kenya pulled out of the ICJ case that kicked off on Monday last week saying it was not prepared.

Keny argues that the two camps are a security threat and strains the country's resources.There are also claims they are a breeding ground for radicalisation.

For example, the 2013 Westgate Mall attack that claimed 67 lives, was said to have been planned in Dadaab refugee camp, according to investigators.

The two refugee camps are home to thousands of refugees from Somalia and other neighbouring countries- with a generation of young ones born and raised there.

While Kenya anchors her argument on the threat to national security, the move might attract condemnation from global players.

There have been similar efforts to close the two camps, that culminated to a voluntary repatriation programme in 2014, that saw a spontaneous return to Somalia.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Refugees By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Since 2014, Dadaab population has drastically reduced from a high of 466, 683 in 2011, when the civil war in Somalia had worsened.

In November 2013, a Tripartite Agreement had been signed by the Government of Kenya, the Federal Government of Somalia and UNHCR, to provide a framework for the voluntary return of Somali refugees from Kenya.

A pilot project was officially launched on December 8, 2014 with the six months of the pilot phase ending on June 30 2015, to support refugees opting to voluntarily return to Somalia.

During the pilot phase, 2,588 returnees were supported to return to three designated areas- Kismayu, Baidoa and Luuq.

At the end of the pilot phase, the Tripartite Commission endorsed a strategy and four-year operational plan to support refugees and to continue with voluntary return.

After the success of the pilot phase, 6 more return areas were included. They are Mogadishu, Beletweyne, Afgooye, Balad, Jowhar and Wanylaweyn.

Currently there are 12 designated areas of return that include Belet Hawa, Diinsor town and Afmadow.

Globally, UNHCR says there are more than two million Somalis are currently displaced by a conflict that has lasted over two decades.

There are 809,273 Somali refugees in the region, including more than 250,000 in Kenya (Dadaab, Kakuma and urban areas).

Of those in Kenya, some are third generation refugees.
There have been three further deaths due to Covid-19 and 606 new cases of the virus confirmed by the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) this evening.

Of the deaths reported today, two occurred in March and one in February. There has now been a total of 4,631 Covid-19 related deaths in Ireland, with 232,758 confirmed cases.

Of the cases notified today, 298 are men and 305 are women, with 75pc being under 45 years of age. The median age is 33 years old.

Nationally, 249 cases were in Dublin, 57 in Donegal, 39 in Kildare, 32 in Meath, 31 in Louth and the remaining 198 cases are spread across all other counties.

As of 8am today, 312 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 75 are in ICU. There have also been 24 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.

As of March 22, 690,449 doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in Ireland, with 503,796 people having received their first dose, and 186,653 people having received their second dose.

Dr. Ronan Glynn, Deputy Chief Medical Officer said that: The vast majority of people are making a huge sacrifice and missing time with loved ones in order for us to stay on course with the public health guidance.

However, we know that in the week ending March 14, approximately one-in-ten people visited another household for social reasons, with most of these visits involving time spent indoors. While this clearly demonstrates that the vast majority of people are sticking with the public health guidance, it does represent a significant change versus January when just one in 20 people were visiting other homes for social reasons.

"Please continue to stick with the public heath advice and avoid visiting other homes at this time  do not give this virus the opportunities it is seeking to spread.

The HSE just received 9,600 doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine last week, the lowest delivery to date. This lined up with the temporary pause of the vaccine while it was being investigated by the European Medical Agency.

Read More

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said it is expected that around 1 million vaccines will arrive here next month. Around 10,000 vaccinators have been trained to administer the vaccines, he said.

In addition, the HSE is also to stop accepting new applications for Covid-19 vaccinations from frontline healthcare workers from tomorrow. This is in a move to increase vaccinations among people who are at high risk due to an underlying illness.

To help increase testing, five new walk-in Covid-19 test centres opened in areas of high transmission today.

The walk-in test centres will be based in Tallaght Stadium, Irishtown Stadium, Blanchardstown Centre, the Primary Care Centre in Grangegorman and in Spollens car park in Tullamore, County Offaly.

Speaking about it today, Dr Miriam Owens, Director of Public Health at the HSE, said: Today sees the opening of new walk-in test centres in areas of high transmission to enable increased ease of access to testing facilities for people who dont have symptoms.

"If you do experience symptoms, I would encourage you to contact your GP to arrange a test as soon as possible. Together we can break the chains of transmission of this infection, by washing our hands, keeping a safe distance and by avoiding all non-essential activity where you are mixing with others.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin said this is part of a strategic approach to tackle the spread of the virus.

Rapid testing may come in to play as a strategic approach in areas of high incidence in localised areas, he said.

Thats something that the Minister for Health is working on with Nphet in terms of adding a more localised response to areas of high outbreak in terms of the application of antigen testing.

The Taoiseach also said a comprehensive statement will be made next week on the level of Covid-19 restrictions that will apply for the period ahead. The Government is set to review current lockdown restrictions on April 5, with current indications suggesting there may be changes to the 5km exercise rule.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 17:22:55|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

NAIROBI, March 25 (Xinhua) -- "We urge the Government of Kenya to ensure that any decisions allow for suitable and sustainable solutions to be found and that those who continue to need protection are able to receive it," the UN refugee agency said in a statement issued on Wednesday evening.

The move follows a government directive to the UN refugee agency to come up with a way forward on the closure of the camps.

Kenya is citing national security threats posed by some of the refugees, including past terror attacks that have been linked to accomplices of the Somali-based al-Shabab militant group within the camps as the reasons for the planned closure.

Fred Matiang'i, Kenya's Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government gave the UNHCR a 14-day ultimatum to come up with a roadmap on the definite closure.

Matiang'i who had met the UNHCR officials on Tuesday said on Wednesday there was "no room" for further negotiations.

But UNHCR said it was concerned about the impact this decision would have on the protection of refugees in Kenya, including in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

"We will continue our dialogue with the Kenyan authorities on this issue," UNHCR said, adding that it's ready to support the government in continuing and further strengthening the work that is ongoing to find solutions that are orderly, sustainable, and respect refugee rights.

The Kenyan team has scheduled another meeting with diplomats from Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and South Sudan on Friday to regularize the repatriation of their nationals from the camps.

Apart from the terror issue, the government team said Kenya's efforts to have the war-torn areas where al-Shabab operates in Somalia to be labeled as terrorist organizations have been hindered continuously.

The drastic move also comes at a time when there is an ongoing maritime case with Somalia which Kenya has accused the International Court of Justice of failure to honor its request to have the new team of lawyers prepare sufficiently for the case.

Dadaab, the world's largest refugee camp, was set up in 1991 to house people fleeing conflict in Somalia. Enditem
Value-based healthcare service providers are leveraging the increased use of electronic medical records in the healthcare sector aimed towards measuring quality metrics.

DUBAI, UAE / ACCESSWIRE / March 25, 2021 / The value-based healthcare service market is estimated to display an exponential growth rate to reach a valuation of US$ 13.98 Bn by the end of the forecast period in 2031. The increased integration of IT-based services in the global healthcare sector and patient-centered medical processes with mobile applications and real time analytics are major factors that are expected to contribute to developments in the industry for the long-term.

"Value-based health care services have proven beneficial to patients, payers, service providers, and suppliers. These services bring the focus towards helping patients for faster recovery, avoiding chronic ailments to achieve better patient outcomes at lower costs. Providers benefit from increased patient satisfaction and better efficiencies. On the other hand, payers gain better services at lower costs and reduced risk, setting up a favorable environment for growth through the assessment period," says the FMI study.

Request a report sample to gain comprehensive market insights at https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-3265

Value-based Healthcare Service Market - Important Takeaways

Cloud-deployment reflects faster growth owing to easier and faster data access at low costs.

Hospitals will remain primary end users owing to easy access to capital and frequent infrastructure expansions.

The United States will hold the lead, supported by a growing demand for controlling healthcare costs.

China, Brazil and India are high potential markets owing to owing to vast patient population bases.

Value-based Healthcare Service Market - Driving Factors

Introduction of favorable value-based healthcare reimbursement policies will provide impetus to market developments.

Easier access to continuous healthcare facilities with in-home services supports adoption rates.

Government reforms for the real-world evolution of devices and treatment generates opportunities in the industry.

Value-based Healthcare Service Market - Leading Constraints

High costs are considered as a barrier to the introduction of patient care technologies, especially in developing countries.

Challenges to interoperability remain a major concern for integration of value-based services to the healthcare sector.

Expected Impact on Market by Coronavirus Outbreak

The covid-19 pandemic is expected to create opportunities for players in the value-based healthcare services market. Significant scope for use of electronic medical data and hospital management services, under the unprecedented burden of the covid-19 pandemic are boosting the use of value-based services by healthcare facilities around the globe.

However, redirection of healthcare resources towards the pandemic has limited access to value-based services for other patients, slowing down adoption rates for the duration of the crisis period. However, demand is likely to rise towards 2021as the number of global covid-19 cases go down and lockdown restrictions are relaxed over time.

We Offer tailor-made Solutions to fit Your Requirements, Request Customization@ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/customization-available/rep-gb-3265

Competition Landscape

Some of the major players participating in the value-based healthcare service market are Baker Tilly, US, LLC, Siemens Healthcare GmbH, Change Healthcare, Boston Consulting Group, NextStep Solutions, Athena Healthcare, McKesson Corporation, Genpact Limited, and NextGen Healthcare among others.

Leading players in the moderately consolidated value-based healthcare services industry are focused on seeking strategic mergers and acquisitions in addition to major expansion in services portfolios to meet a wider range of patient needs.

In March 2021, Humana has collaborated with the University of Houston to announce the launch of an online program on value-based care specializations aimed towards industry professionals, support providers, and academia, for better understanding of real-world applications of such services. Signify Health Inc. has joined hands with Aspen Physician Network to launch the Episodes of Care programs for mid and large sized employers in the Dallas Fort Worth Region. COEUS Holdings LLC announced the launch of COEUS Solutions LLC to provide technology implementation, IT strategy consulting, integration services, and other value-based functional services for healthcare applications.

Contact Sales for Further Assistance in Purchasing this Report@ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/checkout/3265

More on the Report

FMI provides in-depth insights on the value-based healthcare service market. The market is segmented in terms of model (accountable care organization, patient-centered medical home, pay for performance, and bundled payments), deployment (on-premise and cloud), and end user (hospitals, clinics, insurance companies, government, and others), across six regions (North America, Latin America, Europe, South Asia & Pacific, East Asia, and Middle East & Africa).

Explore Coverage of FMI's Technology Landscape

ePassport Market: Find insights on the ePassport market with analysis of statistics, segments, players, influencers, and business strategies adopted over a 10-year forecast period.

Cross-Platform and Mobile Advertising Market: FMI's report on the cross-platform and mobile advertising market provides insights on the market during 2018-2028. The study evaluates restraining forces, revenue sources, market leaders, and strategies.

Simulation and Test Data Management Market: An analysis on the simulation and test data management market with data on opportunities, growth levers, regional markets, restraints, regulatory policies, and strengths of market leaders.

Download Complete TOC Of this Report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-3265

About FMI

Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India. FMI's latest market research reports and industry analysis help businesses navigate challenges and make critical decisions with confidence and clarity amidst breakneck competition. Our customized and syndicated market research reports deliver actionable insights that drive sustainable growth. A team of expert-led analysts at FMI continuously tracks emerging trends and events in a broad range of industries to ensure that our clients prepare for the evolving needs of their consumers.

Contact:

Mr. Abhishek Budholiya

Unit No: AU-01-H Gold Tower (AU), Plot No: JLT-PH1-I3A,

Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai,

United Arab Emirates

MARKET ACCESS DMCC Initiative

For Sales Enquiries: sales@futuremarketinsights.com

For Media Enquiries: press@futuremarketinsights.com

Report: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/press-release/in-circuit-tester-market

Press Release Source: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/press-release/value-based-healthcare-services-market

SOURCE: Future Market Insights

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/637411/Value-based-Healthcare-Services-Market-Players-Look-Towards-Data-Aggregation-and-Interoperability-Says-FMI-Report
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.
Congress gave final approval on Thursday to a two-month extension of the Paycheck Protection Program, a popular federal loan program for small businesses, as well as giving the Small Business Administration an additional 30 days to process loans submitted before the new May 31 deadline.

The House approved the extension on a 415-to-3 vote earlier this month, and the Senate on Thursday cleared the legislation on a 92-7 margin. The program was set to expire on March 31 without congressional action.

Its clear that the most vulnerable small businesses will need help beyond March 31, so we must pass this extension as quickly as possible, said Senator Ben Cardin, Democrat of Maryland and one of the lawmakers who introduced the legislation. This common sense, bipartisan bill will meet the continued demand for P.P.P. loans.

By extending the program, which was first established in the $2.2 trillion stimulus law passed last March, through May 31, lawmakers gave both lenders and small businesses additional time to adjust to an abrupt overhaul to the program announced by the Biden administration in late February. The changes led to gridlock and uncertainty as self-employed people and the smallest of businesses raced to take advantage of more generous aid freed up by the overhaul.
press release

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has received confirmation of receipt from the Zondo Commission of a series of questions directed at President Cyril Ramaphosa pertaining to his role as the chairperson of the ANC's cadre deployment committee. The questions were submitted on the 2nd of February 2021.

The DA has also submitted a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) application to the ANC to obtain a full record of cadre deployment discussions, decisions, minutes of meetings, and other relevant information since President Ramaphosa became its cadre deployment committee chairperson in 2013.

We trust that in the interests of accountability and transparency in the wake of State Capture, Judge Zondo will ensure that these questions are put to President Ramaphosa when he testifies at the Zondo Commission between the 22nd and 29th of April 2021.

The full list of questions is as follows:

1. When did you become the chairperson of the ANC's cadre deployment committee? When did you cease to be chairperson of the ANC's cadre deployment committee? Did you serve on the committee prior to becoming its chairperson? Given your years as chairperson, would you say that you are well-acquainted with the workings of the committee?

2. Why does the ANC have a cadre deployment committee? What is the intention behind the party's long-standing policy of cadre deployment?

3. Please explain the workings of the ANC's cadre deployment committee. How does it go about identifying people it wishes to have appointed to powerful positions in the public sector? How does it come to know of vacancies in the public sector? What are the criteria it uses to select people? Is "loyalty" to the ANC one of the criteria?

4. Once the deployment committee has identified its preferred candidate, how is that preference communicated to officials in the state?

5. Are you aware of any instance where the ANC's cadre deployment committee, or a member of the committee, informed a selection panel, executive authority or any other appointing authority in the state of their preferred choice for appointment to a position of influence in the public sector?

6. Do you believe that pressure being exerted by a political party on the state with the intention of influencing appointment decisions violates the principle of the separation between party and state?

7. Are you aware of any instance where a political party aside from the ANC has ever enjoyed the privilege of informing a selection process that they wanted one of their members appointed to a particular position in the public sector?

8. If not, would it then be reasonable to say that only the ANC enjoys the distinct privilege of advising the state on key appointments?

9. Would it also be accurate to say that as the former chairperson of the ANC's cadre deployment committee, you believe that senior positions in the public service, the public administration, state-owned entities, municipalities and other government agencies should be staffed primarily by people who have proven themselves to be "loyal" to the ANC?

10. Once a person is selected as the preferred candidate by the ANC's deployment committee, and that decision is communicated to officials in the state, does that person then enjoy an advantage over other applicants who were not selected by the committee, or who may not be member of the ANC?

11. Section 197 (3) of the Constitution stipulates that "No employee of the public service may be favoured or prejudiced only because that person supports a particular political party or cause."

Given that cadre deployment is expressly designed to favour members of the ANC deemed "loyal" by the deployment committee while being prejudiced against applicants who are not members of the ANC when it comes to appointment decisions, do you agree that the ANC's policy of cadre deployment violates section 197 (3) of the Constitution?

12. Section 9 (2) of the Constitution further stipulates that "The state may not unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on one or more grounds, including race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth."

Given that cadre deployment in practice disadvantages applicants who do not express a favourable "conscience" or "belief" towards the ANC - as measured through the deployment committee's assessment of "loyalty" to the party - do you agree that the ANC's policy of cadre deployment amounts to unfair discrimination and violates 9 (3) of the Bill of Rights?

13. Could you confirm under oath whether you have ever seen the memorandum entitled "Deployment Committee Procedures," issued by the Secretary-General's Office last year? Can you confirm the authenticity of this memorandum? (Attached)

14. Can you confirm whether the following procedures, outlined in the memorandum, accurately reflect the process currently being followed by the ANC's cadre deployment committee: "The office of the Deputy Secretary General should be informed of all posts prior to them being advertised and be sent the advert once they have been published. This process is to allow for Comrades who meet the criteria on the database to be allowed to apply... No appointment should be taken to cabinet without passing through the deployment committee first."

15. In particular, can you confirm that it is the policy of the ANC that "No appointment should be taken to cabinet without passing through the deployment committee first"?

16. Can you confirm whether the ANC continues to implement its policy of cadre deployment to this very day?

17. Between the time that you served as chairperson of the committee under President Zuma and the present day, would you say that there have been any substantive changes to how cadre deployment operates in the ANC? Or would you say that it broadly still operates in the same manner as when you were chairperson?

18. During her testimony delivered in November 2018, former minister Barbara Hogan described the ANC deployment committee as "a handful of people [that] just simply decide that this is their preferred candidate, on what basis, what transparency is there?" She went on to say that "the ANC saw it as their right to instruct a minister who should be appointed and not appointed. That is an abuse of power and that is usurping executive authority... It cannot be that closeness too or membership of the ANC should be the determining factors in the selection of candidates to senior positions."

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Governance Legal Affairs South Africa By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Do you agree with Hogan's assessment of cadre deployment? If not, why not?

19. As the chairperson of the ANC's cadre deployment committee during President Zuma's tenure, do you agree that you were complicit in what Hogan calls "an abuse of power that is usurping executive authority?"

20. Do you accept responsibility for the appointments that were made while you were chairperson of the ANC's cadre deployment committee?

21. Do you agree that the ANC's policy of cadre deployment - which appears to value political "loyalty" to the ANC over demonstrated merit - was a key element that enabled corruption and state capture through the appointment of unsuitable individuals into positions of power?

22. Do you believe that, in the absence of the ANC policy of cadre deployment and with a stronger separation between party and state, it would have been more difficult for nefarious actors to gain control over the levers of power in the state?

23. Do you believe that the country's current public administration legal framework provides inadequate safeguards against state capture? In what ways do you believe it may be inadequate?

24. Do you believe that the outlawing of cadre deployment and the bolstering of the separation between party and state would be an important element of preventing state capture and corruption in the future?

Local Government Elections are coming up in 2021! Visit check.da.org.za to check your voter registration status
Some students of the Ghana Institute of Journalism(GIJ) went on demonstration to protest a decision by the school's Management.



The Management on Monday, March 22, held a meeting and decided the students who paid their fees after registration deadline to defer their programme.



The students resented the decision stating they are unfairly treated and asked the Management to rescind their decision.



Reacting to the issue on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo", Opanyin Agyekum pleaded with the Management to hold talks with the students to resolve the conflict.



"My prayer is that the school Management must meet with the students to resolve the issue. However, a striking feature about students is that they joke with deadline . . . The best academic is the one who respects deadlines," 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
ANN ARBOR, MI  For those planning to attend the Ann Arbor Hash Bash smoke-in protest at the University of Michigan Diag on April 3, UM offers a word of caution.

We always support the free-speech rights of citizens to gather in public spaces, UMs public affairs division said in a statement Thursday, March 25. At the same time, we do not condone the use of drugs on our campus. It is important that we provide a safe environment for everyone on our campus, especially in the midst of a pandemic.

While marijuana is legal in Michigan, its illegal to use in public, UMs Division of Public Safety and Security noted.

Ann Arbors 50th Hash Bash will be virtual, but smoke-in protest planned

UM police will be on site to monitor the Diag to provide a safe environment for anyone gathering, as it would in any similar situation, DPSS said in a statement Thursday.

COVID restrictions are still in place on campus, the statement reads. Its essential that everyone do their part to stop the spread of COVID-19 by wearing face coverings, social distancing and limiting gathering sizes.

The state has COVID-19 orders in place through April 19 limiting non-residential outdoor gatherings to no more than 300 people, with face masks to be worn at all times unless eating or drinking while seated in a designated area in groups of no more than six people, spaced at least six feet apart, and no intermingling.

Organizers of the annual Hash Bash marijuana rally are planning to hold the event virtually for the second year in a row, with speakers and entertainers via online livestream.

But past organizer Adam Brook said this week hes not sitting out another year and hes planning what he considers the official event: a smoke-in on the Diag in protest of marijuana laws, including restrictions on smoking pot in public.

There wont be an amplified sound system, as the university requires a student group to pull a permit for that, but no permit is needed to assemble, Brook said.

The Constitution is our permit for assembly, he said, adding the right to protest doesnt go away in a pandemic. So, I dont expect any concern from the police.

Brook encourages anyone who shows up to observe COVID-19 social-distancing guidelines and wear masks.

There wont be anybody passing joints  youd be a fool to do that today  but you can unmask and smoke a joint safely, just like you can sit in a restaurant and unmask, he said.

The last in-person Hash Bash in April 2019  the first with marijuana legalized in Michigan  drew a record crowd of well over 10,000 people from around the state and beyond.

Many attendees lit up joints, took hits from bongs and munched on cannabis edibles, even with police nearby, but UM police reported no Hash Bash-related arrests.

MORE FROM THE ANN ARBOR NEWS:

Downtown upgrades planned to coincide with new Ann Arbor affordable housing

Ann Arbor seeking volunteers to help research history of citys 160-plus parks

Ann Arbor may institute unarmed responses to certain 911 calls by end of 2021

Judge signals intent to order cleanup plan in Ann Arbor dioxane pollution case

Ann Arbor PFAS levels rise again. City says its coming from Wixom.
Activities at the Abia State House of Assembly were yesterday grounded following the industrial action embarked on by the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN).

The state Chairman of PASAN, Okezie Chijioke, told journalists that the gates of the Assembly complex had to be closed in compliance with the directives of the national leadership of PASAN.

The PASAN national leadership had declared the nation-wide strike to press home its demand for financial autonomy for states' legislature.

Chijioke said: "We have started and everything is in total compliance as directed. Nobody comes in or out."

He acknowledged that though the state PASAN members enjoy relative good condition of service, they however had to join the national strike in solidarity with the cause the union is fighting for.

Meanwhile, there was an altercation between the Clerk of the Abia State House of Assembly, JohnPedro Irokansi, and the monitoring team from the national secretariat of PASAN over the presence of a handful of workers.

The clerk told journalists that he was at his duty post "to ensure full compliance," adding that he only allowed some accounts officers into their office to complete the preparation of salary voucher which had started before the strike began.

He argued that the fact that activities in the Assembly have been grounded meant that "we have complied fully, hence, we expect the national officers that came for monitoring to appreciate our efforts and not to blackmail us."

But the National Vice-President of PASAN, South-east zone, Anayo Nwinya, who led the monitoring team, told journalists that the team was in Abia State to monitor the strike and ensure full compliance.

"The struggle is for constitutional issue," he said, adding that there was no reason for state governors to refuse the implementation of financial autonomy for states' legislature after the law had been passed and assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari.
.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........

Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

Tina Cordova told lawmakers her father suffered three different cancers in the eight years before his death.

She survived thyroid cancer after being diagnosed at age 39.

On Wednesday, she was helping her aunt prepare for breast cancer surgery.

ADVERTISEMENTSkip



................................................................

Cordova, co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, believes the high rate of cancer in her family and other families across the country, is a result of exposure to radiation from living near nuclear test sites, or from living near or working in uranium mines for decades when the U.S. was building its nuclear weapon stockpile.

Cordova was one of several witnesses who appeared before a House Judiciary subcommittee on Wednesday during a hearing examining the need to expand eligibility under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, or RECA.

The act, created in 1990, paved a way for people to file claims to receive compensation for the harmful effects of radiation exposure. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., is among the lawmakers advocating to amend RECA to allow more people to file claims and to extend the deadline for people to file claims.

His office said that he is working with Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, to introduce updated RECA legislation.

We should be granted the same treatment as other Downwinders,  said Cordova, whose father grew up near the Trinity Site and was 4 years old when the worlds first nuclear bomb was detonated in southern New Mexico 75 years ago. We have suffered greatly. We have high instances of cancer and other diseases associated with radiation exposure.

Lujan, a witness during Wednesdays hearing, said too many New Mexicans, including those who lived near the Trinity Site and Native American communities where uranium was mined, are not allowed compensation under RECA.

While the Trinity test ushered in the atomic age, it also marked the beginning of sickness and suffering for generations of people, he said during the hearing. RECA leaves behind too many New Mexicans and other Americans.

Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez testified at the hearing that the Nation remains greatly affected by its history of uranium mining. He said many Navajo people who worked in the mines unknowingly exposed themselves to danger.

He said that of the more than 500 uranium mines on the Navajo Nation, 300-plus have not been properly reclaimed, creating ongoing hazards.

Nez asked lawmakers to expand RECA eligibility to mine workers after 1971; expand the definition of downwinders to include all people who suffered from radiation exposure because of where they lived in relation to nuclear testing sites; extend the current 2022 deadline for filing claims; add additional categories of workers and cancers to the list of people who qualify for compensation; and increase the maximum compensation to $200,000 from $100,000.
(Natural News) This article is part 9 of an investigative series looking into reported corruption in the Missouri judiciary. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8

(Article by Megan Fox republished from PJMedia.com)

St. Louis television station KMOV Channel 4 waded into the deep waters of the family court corruption by reporting part of the developing story in the Missouri family court system. They sat down with only two of the growing number of alleged victims of a money-making scheme that PJ Media reported when Evita Tolu filed a lawsuit naming the players in the family court system she says took her for everything she hadwhile alienating her children from her and sentencing them to life with an abuser. KMOV reported part of that story:

Most of the criticism the commenters here at PJ Media and some on the KMOV post have had is that the stories of those affected seem to only be women. Thats about to change. Many men have come forward but have been afraid to speak out. PJ Media has been receiving their emails since the story first broke and investigators have been putting together links between the cases. On Monday afternoon, several of the fathers who say they were bled dry by the Missouri family court system came forward on a live stream to tell me their side of the story. The full two-hour event can be found here. But in the interest of breaking it down into a more digestible segment, Ive edited the most important parts of the video for you below.

Most of the fathers only wanted to use their first names and no images because they are currently still in the system and believe that speaking out about the corruption theyve faced will bring retaliation from the judges and guardians ad litem who wield an immense amount of power. One of the whistleblowers is currently sitting in jail on a $75,000 cash-only bond for what she believes is retaliation for talking to the press.

In essence, you have a cabal of folks who are working together on a number of cases that essentially grab your financial records so they have an idea of how much they can get paid, said Mark. And after millions of dollars in expert fees and legal fees, it leaves parents completely broke. He continued, A system that is essentially intended to take care of children puts children in a terrible financial circumstance.

Kenneth Rosa of The Fathers Rights Movement with 700,000 followers joined the stream as well because his guardian ad litem (GAL) was Elaine Pudlowski, the same GAL named in Tolus lawsuit. Rosa saw many similarities in his case and the cases of the victims contacting The Fathers Rights Movement every day.

Theyre doing this to everybody, he said. Out of the 700,000 people we have following us, they all have the same story. The GAL took a bunch of money, they appointed a bunch of court actors who got a bunch of money, and theyre all working and colluding against them to keep fathers, and now its mothers [in court].

Rosa says that the child support system is a well-known money-making scheme. Its really about the fact that these courts are making billions of dollars off of child support, which is a federal incentive program.

A father going by the name Steve called in to talk about his experience with GAL Sarah Pleban, who was featured on a leaked zoom call colluding with other GALs and attorneys to fight Tolus case against Pudlowski. My case involved Sarah Pleban as the GAL. Dr. Reid was the psych evaluator in my case as well, he said. Dr. James Reid is another named defendant in the lawsuit filed by Tolu that alleges he falsified her test results to diagnose her with borderline personality disorder. Other women have come forward with the same story as featured on KMOV and in PJ Medias reporting.

Steves own lawyer told him to hire Pleban and a psych evaluator to try to expose his ex-wifes behavior. He believed, on the advice of counsel, that hiring these people would help him. I followed my attorneys advice, said Steve. That got out of control pretty quickly.

The bills started pouring in. It started at $5000 just to get that report done. The first evaluation came up positive for Steve but he says Pleban didnt want that result and asked the judge to order another one. I was told right up front that [Pleban] always makes a decision very early on about who is the good parent and who is the bad parent and for whatever reason, she decided I was the bad parent.

Steve continued, [Pleban] forced the court to order a new evaluation to be done. It became very clear to us that the evaluator and the GAL were working closely together. There was a narrative here. There was a result they were trying to get to and whatever the facts were they were going to use them to support the conclusions that they had already come to.

Suddenly, Steve found himself being accused of parental alienation. Under the theory of parental alienation, somehow I was this master puppeteer that was controlling everybody and thereforeI shouldnt be around the kids and they needed to be with their mother to prevent this from happening any further.

For the pleasure of being diagnosed as an alienator, Steve was ordered to pay Pleban $60,000 and Reid $30,000. That didnt include his attorneys fees. The grand total of the case ended up being about $300,000. After all that, Steve was declared a fit and willing parent and the court did not give any weight to the false allegations that were made. No family, no parent should have to lose everythingI lost everything, the house, the cars, money from my parentsjust to prove that I was a fit and willing parentI was assumed to be guilty for two-and-a-half years.

Steve says his children have nothing left and he has no ability to send them to college after the family court system got through pillaging his wealth.

Brad Fercho, former CEO of Mallinckrodt, Inc, was almost a victim of the alleged scheme but he outsmarted Pleban right from the beginning. His experience with depositions and court cases and his considerable resources helped him navigate the family court system successfully.

The first time I met with Sarah Pleban I could tell that she just didnt care, said Fercho. She didnt really have any interest in my side of the story. Then they assigned us to this nutjob psychologist who, it was clear that in my opinion, she was in cahoots with my ex-wife and the family court.

After meeting with Pleban for the first time, where Fercho says she refused to hear his evidence, he scheduled another meeting with her but surprised her with his attorney accompanying him to that meeting. This, Fercho says, gave him the leverage he needed to outsmart her. I said, What were going to do is something that you have not afforded me the opportunity of and thats to tell you my side of the case. Fercho then made her sit through two binders full of evidence he had collected refuting every allegation against him, with his attorney as a witness.

After that meeting, Fercho says Pleban knew she wasnt going to pull anything over on him. She got me for $10,000, said Fercho, but he doesnt consider himself a victim because when his ex-wife settled and gave him custody of their oldest son, she also had to pay Plebans fees, along with some of Ferchos attorneys fees. Its so corrupt when you have 39 or whatever judges recuse themselves, when you have all the guardians ad litem in cahoots with the family practice attorneys, this is so deep and corrupt. I dont know what can be done to fix it.

Fercho says he came forward not for himself but for the victims who didnt win and who were financially devastated. My goal now is to do whatever I can to make sure we get these people disbarredwe need to get financial restitution for the people who have really suffered. I dont consider that Ive suffered financially. Im here because I know how smelly it is, he said.

They traffic children at the expense of getting paid exorbitant amounts of money and that to me is about as bad as it gets, said Fercho.

There are other fathers on the live stream with similar stories and you can hear the highlights of their interviews in the video below.

If you or someone you know is a victim of the St. Louis County or Missouri family court system, please contact [email protected] to be a part of this ongoing investigation.

Read more at: PJMedia.com and Corruption.news.
You have permission to edit this article.

Edit Close
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 19:30:38|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

JERUSALEM, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Dozens of vehicles were vandalized in an apparently anti-Arab hate crime in central Israel on Thursday, the police said.

The incident took place in the Arab city of Kafr Qasim before dawn.

Tires of dozens of cars were slashed and several vehicles graffitied with hate slogans, according to a police statement.

One of the slogans reads: "expel or kill" with a Star of David next to it.

Tag Meir, an Israeli human rights group, denounced the incident as "a despicable hate crime." In a statement, the group said similar incidents took place in Beit Iksa, a Palestinian village in the Jerusalem area, and Ein Naqquba, an Arab village in central Israel, where cars had been torched over the past two weeks.

Israeli extremists have been known to carry out such attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank and Israel, including vandalizing olive trees, mosques, churches, and cemeteries. Thousands of these attacks have been reported over the past years, mostly in the West Bank.

Human rights groups say hate crime attacks have been on the rise since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. Enditem
Seemingly overnight, a large segment of America has gone insane. Were not talking about the culture of paranoia and safety that has metastasized in the wake of COVID-19 hysteria. Were talking about the ideological shift, particularly on cultural issues, that has occurred since the start of the Obama Administration.

To pick an easy example, it would have been fairly uncontroversial even five years ago to say that men should not be allowed to compete in womens sports, regardless of what they might subjectively identify as. And yet, this is now a subject contention across a number of sports, including mixed martial arts and powerlifting. Whats more, having the wrong opinion and expressing it publicly might make you the subject of a public shaming, up to and including losing your job and being de facto blacklisted from your industry.

The point isnt to litigate the specific topic of trans identified men competing in womens sports. We use this only as one example of a broader cultural shift. Another, far more troubling development, is how quickly a significant and powerful minority of Americans grew to believe that America is a fundamentally racist country and that white Americans are somehow uniquely evil by virtue of their birth.

Both of the above are extreme viewpoints and would have been recognized as such even five years ago. Now, one can have ones name blackened for taking the wrong viewpoint.

But this change did not come out of nowhere. In fact, its the product of decades of indoctrination of generations of Americans through what is called education. We use scare quotes here, because there is little evidence that American schools educate their students anymore  if, by education, we mean imparting knowledge rather than ideology.

This isnt simply something to handwave away as those crazy kids on college campuses and their left-wing professors. Generations of far-left indoctrination have created a critical mass of Americans openly hostile toward American values and the very notion of liberty itself. If one is looking for an explanation for how we got to this point, a deep and critical view of education  from kindergarten through post-graduate  is in order.

The punchline? Youre paying for it in the form of Americas student loan program, which is little more than a massive welfare program for universities with multi-billion dollar endowments.

What Do We Mean When We Say Indoctrination?

When discussing any subject, its important to define terms. So when we say indoctrination, what is it that were talking about? What do we mean by that?

We mean it in the ordinary sense of being taught to think in terms of a specific ideology, rather than being taught how to think critically. Whats more, it is worth looking at the ideological bedrock on which the indoctrination exists. Not only are students not taught to think critically, but the first premises of the ideology they are indoctrinated in are rooted in hostility toward Western civilization.

We have written about this with regard to the Frankfurt School in another article, which explores the ideological underpinnings of Americas indoctrination of youth. The short version is that American youth, since at least the 1960s, with significant acceleration in the 1980s, have been indoctrinated with hostility toward Western civilization in general, with the obvious corollaries of hostility toward whites, the nuclear family, Christianity, private property and men. Perhaps most troubling is the view that Western civilization and the aforementioned categories are uniquely evil and responsible for the lions share  if not all  of the worlds evil.

This indoctrination has active elements, but primarily relies upon passive elements to do its heavy lifting. While one might immediately balk at a narrative being forced onto them, one is much less likely to resist the imposition of a narrative delivered passively, in the background, as if it werent a narrative at all, but simply a basic truth that is beyond questioning. This is precisely how the leftist worldview is presented to children as young as five; not merely actively pushing the narrative that the world prior to 1965  or 2015  was a hellscape of white, cisheteronormative patriarchal oppression and exploitation, but using this narrative as the background that permeates all other truths.

One example of how this works in practice is an AP history curriculum that relentlessly mentions race. But it is how race is mentioned that is the key takeaway. Rather than a balanced, nuanced and exploratory discussion of Americas complicated racial history, the curriculum simply notes when there are too many white men in a presidents cabinet, presenting it as a given that there are a certain threshold of minority members to be met so that the cabinet would not be considered racist.

There is also the reductive nature of indoctrination. That is to say, concealing truths that contradict the narrative being pushed. Children are not taught certain things, or they are simply not mentioned, such as the fact that the United States didnt invent slavery, but it did fight one of the bloodiest wars in human history to end it. These lies by omission are, much like the passive narrative, arguably a much more potent means of indoctrinating children than beating them over the head with modified slogans presented as knowledge.

We will get into the specifics of how this indoctrination works as we move through this article. However, what we mean by indoctrination is a substitution of ideological conformity training for critical thinking skills, with a basis in the Western tradition.

School Indoctrination Examples

As we dive into specific examples of how schools indoctrinate, keep in mind that indoctrination is not limited to these ideologies.

Critical Pedagogy: The Ideology of Indoctrination

This indoctrination is not occurring by accident. It is a concerted agenda of the far left under the rubric of what is known as critical pedagogy. One should immediately take pause whenever something includes the word critical.

The urtext of critical pedagogy is Pedagogy of the Oppressed, a book by Brazilian Marxist educator Paulo Freire. Critical pedagogy believes that the purpose of education is not to educate, but to help students question and challenge domination, and the beliefs and practices that dominate. These are, of course, leftist code words for indoctrinating children into a radical left-wing world view. Far from a marginal ideology, it is the prevailing educational philosophy of the 21st century. If youre looking for a clearinghouse of articles about how it works from the perspective of educational proponents, you need look no further than a teachers union magazine  the articles are almost universally dripping with critical pedagogy. We strongly urge you to head down to the library and pick up a physical copy of an issue. It will be very eye opening.

In the following text, we will explore what critical pedagogy looks like in practice. But also the various specific iterations it takes, such as critical race theory and gender ideology. We believe this will shed a great deal of light on how children are being indoctrinated in the public schools.

Indoctrination Starts Early: Critical Race Theory for Kindergarteners

One of the biggest misconceptions about the indoctrination of youth is that it begins in college. There is an often touted statistic about how few college students change their opinions and world view over the course of a four-year liberal arts education. This ignores just how early the indoctrination of youth in America and the Western world begins. If we told you that kindergarteners were being educated in critical race theory and gender ideology, you would probably think that we were making it up, but this is, in fact, happening as we speak and has gone on for years.

Indeed, the primary and secondary education systems largely get a pass when the subject of far-left campus hijinks is brought up. But this is 13 years of training where children are systematically prepared for the further indoctrination that takes place once they get to higher education.

Theres a good chance that youve never heard of the Racial Literacy Curriculum from the oddly named company Pollyanna. Before launching into our own opinions on the curriculum, it is worth noting what the company has to say about itself. Racial Literacy Curriculum aims to help students acquire an awareness of their own racial socialization and skills for engaging in productive conversations about race and racism.

Anyone who has been paying attention knows that these are essentially code words for anti-white racism and white racial self-loathing. The curriculum begins in kindergarten with a unit titled The Physical World Around Us  A Celebration of Skin Colors and trains children as young as five to begin noticing race. First graders begin indoctrination about the importance of social awareness and empathy.

By third grade, the curriculum becomes much more explicit in its aims. The third-grade unit is titled Stories of Activism  How One Voice Can Change a Community (and Bridge the World). This is also the age where children are introduced to slavery. [S]tudents will understand and analyze the power of an action and/or voice and how we can be agents of communal, social, political, and environmental change. It goes without saying that there is a very specific notion of what kind of change is called for.

Fourth graders will learn about the largely discredited theory that it was the availability of certain resources that provided some cultures with an advantage over others. The goal here is for students to be able to analyze history and other social assertions that fabricate myths of racial superiority, including the ability to critique and dispel Eurocentric perspectives[.]

Curriculum for fifth and sixth graders is little more than extended denunciation of American history as one of genocide, enslavement and exploitation. Two of the questions asked of fifth graders are Why do Eurocentric perspectives dominate the historical narrative of immigration? and [W]hat were the forms of resistance and various contributions made by those who lived in the U.S.? Sixth graders will be taught that American society is a society thats plagued with violence and efforts of dehumanization.

Seventh grade curriculum is called What is race? and the answer is basically coterminous with the critical race theory and cultural Marxist definitions of race. This prepares students for their eighth-grade unit, which is the apotheosis of the entire project: Racism as a Primary Institution of the U.S.  How We May Combat Systemic Inequality. Here, students will upack [sic] sophisticated ideas like white privilege and white supremacy. The stated goal of this unit  and thus, the entire project  is that students will set commitments for rectifying current social ills, such as learning and planning how to carry out anti-racist activism and/or social advocacy in their communities and/or to improve their everyday lives.

Not only is this a troubling left-wing agenda being delivered to your children on your dime, its also worth asking what any of this has to do with education. The above is little more than an age-appropriate (so-called) version of radical critical race theory. It is not education, it is propaganda. Elementary schools in Virginia, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, California, Rhode Island, Missouri, and Illinois have begun indoctrinating children in this.

But more than simply stupid or crazy, this is an incredibly troubling curriculum. What, after all, will the world look like when the lions share of Americas educated people have been force-fed the narrative that whites are the source of the worlds problems from the age of five? What will a majority-minority America look like when Americas largest ethnic group is pilloried as uniquely, historically evil?

These are all critical questions, particularly with Joe Biden appointing critical race theorist and San Diego school superintendent Cindy Martens to Deputy Secretary of Education, who told white teachers they were guilty of spirit murdering black children and urged them to undergo antiracist therapy. She has also stated that only black Americans know who America really is.

Sexual Indoctrination of Children in Americas Schools

Sex education in public schools has always been a controversial topic. However, with respect to people who have opposed it for years, the content of sex education in public schools is far more troubling today than it was 20, or even 10 years ago. This is because of the way that public schools teach very young children about transgender ideology and abortion.

Children as young as six are being taught about transgenderism  and not just as a social phenomenon, which might be troubling enough  but also as a valid life choice, simply one of many in the marketplace of sexuality. Children from kindergarten to fifth grade are shown the YouTube videos Queer Kid Stuff, which we have linked to so that parents can inspect the material for themselves. Was this done in New York, San Francisco or Portland? No, it was inflicted on children in Superior, Colorado, a small town of about 13,000. The same school invited the Trans Community Choir to perform a play about a transgendered bird.

Queer Kid Stuff is designed for children as young as three.

Not only is this wildly inappropriate for children, it further sexualizes children and, to the point of this article, indoctrinates them in a radical gender ideology that is likely not the values their parents want to pass onto them.

There is some appetite to federalize this agenda, if you can believe it. The Equality Act would extend the protections of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to sexual and gender identity (SOGI). As pointed out by a very valuable article from the Heritage Foundation, this would lead to a deluge of increased gender and sexual propaganda aimed at your children without respect to your personal values or consent of such a curriculum. Five states (California, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey and Washington) as well as the District of Columbia already have SOGI laws. It is explicitly banned in Alabama, Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Utah, with Florida and North Carolina mandating that all sexual education focus on monogamous heterosexual marriage.

Some states are even encouraging children to identify as trans by providing medical treatment without parental consent. Denying your childs gender identity (not a real thing) can be considered abuse and neglect, with the attendant consequences.

But the Heritage Foundation article points out that SOGI education is largely an attempt to take such propaganda outside of the carefully watched realms of sex ed and introduce it everywhere. This would include mandating that children read gender propaganda in their literature and history classes, places where there is far less attention paid by parents to what their children are learning, in the naive assumption that the culture wars have not yet entered these classes. Even such seemingly unassailable classes such as math and phys ed will be home to deconstructions of the gender binary and celebrations of trans-identified athletes.

Children are also being indoctrinated with pro-abortion propaganda. Indeed, a 2016 California law mandates teaching children about abortion as a form of birth control. While the law requires that such education be "medically accurate and objective, a California teacher found themselves in hot water when they showed children videos of what abortion actually looks like. And lest you think this is limited to kooky California, note that Chesterfield, MO (population 47,605) public schools were providing abortion referrals to children as part of their sex ed curriculum.

College Brainwashing and University Indoctrination

All of this, however, is simply a prelude to the indoctrination which your children will endure once they are sent off to higher education. This is not only where the most robust and intrusive indoctrination occurs  of course, because the children are finally out of the clutches of their parents  but the leftist indoctrination also becomes a sort of semi-official state religion that all are required to pledge fealty to.

Fully 72 percent of all American college professors describe themselves as liberal, with only 15 percent describing themselves as conservative. But as we will see, liberal really just means leftist  and in many cases, committed Marxists. These people dont simply hold ideas you disapprove of, they actively seek to indoctrinate your children in contempt and hatred of your values  and you. This isnt just a contempt for Christians, conservatives and libertarians. Conventional, middle-of-the-road liberals are likewise subject to this scorn.

The professors are only one part of the equation. There is also the growing army of diversity consultants, effectively racial and sexual commissars who police every interaction on campus and whose presence looms large. Even the suspicion of wrongthink can ruin a young persons academic career and to some extent their life. This army of diversity consultants is incentivized to find racism and injustice without regard to whether or not it actually exists, hence the growing number of infractions against the intellectual orthodoxy that prevails on college campuses today. This is intense pressure that would be hard for fully grown adults to resist, let alone young people away from home for the first time and ripped away from their support networks.

Dissent is not required. A lack of proper enthusiasm is enough. And these are only the foot soldiers of the enforcement of ideological conformity. There is also a seasoned cadre of administrators with the power to enforce their regime. A commitment to social justice as viewed by the far left is increasingly considered a necessary part of ones education.

Many times, students are subject to what are effectively Maoist struggle sessions during their orientations. Students are told that such widespread beliefs are judging individuals regardless of race, or believing that America is a meritocracy is a microaggression or a small act of racism. Whats more, denying that one is a racist is seen as proof that a person is a racist in a strange age of Catch-22 logic.

There is significant evidence that this environment transforms the ideological view of students. An extensive study conducted on college students in the 1990s found that there were significant changes in world view, that these conformed with the ideology of the faculty and that they were so dramatic that they could not be explained simply through the maturing of young minds.

There is an additional layer to this onion that is especially troubling: A college degree is required for an officers commission in the United States military. Thus, when President Barack Obama purged the military command structure, there were easy replacements culled from this indoctrination process in Americas universities.

The list of shenanigans taking place on Americas college campuses is far too long to even begin to dive into here. However, if you are looking to follow the latest and greatest in leftist madness on Americas college campuses, The College Fix and Campus Reform are great resources for news in this area.

But as we said in the introduction: The punchline here is that youre footing the bill for all of it, while your kids are consigned to a life of debt peonage.

The Role of Student Loans

Were often told that there has never been a better time to be an American because of an abundance of cheap consumer goods. And while this is somewhat true, it ignores the fact that the cost of houses, healthcare and college education have increased significantly over a short period of time. In the case of a college education, this is particularly problematic because, right or wrong, students are told nearly from the time they are old enough to walk that they need a college degree to get a good job.

Between 2008 and 2018, the cost of a college education has increased by 25 percent. One of the primary drivers of this is the federal student loan program. Like many government programs, it is sold to the public as the means of leveling the playing field and increasing fairness throughout society. However, the main result of the federal student loan program is that the cost of a college education has gone through the roof.

Its fairly easy to understand why. For the last 50-plus years, the federal government has effectively given colleges a blank check for education. No matter how much money is needed for a college education, the federal government will underwrite it. The Parent PLUS Loan is the biggest culprit. With no cap, parents may borrow as much as they need  not just to pay for their childrens education, but also lodging, books (which are often themselves price gouged) and any miscellaneous living expenses associated with a college education.

Whats more, thanks to bankruptcy reforms introduced by Senator Joe Biden, it is impossible to discharge student loans in bankruptcy like every other form of debt.

Only 30 cents for every dollar spent on education actually goes toward education. Whats more, administrators have increased 60 percent between 1993 and 2009, while the number of full-time faculty has actually come down. Meanwhile, academic standards continue to decline  and its easy to offer politicized disciplines like Womens Studies, African-American Studies, Post-Colonial Studies, Gender Studies and Whiteness Studies (the last of these being unique in that it is a pillorying of whites rather than a deification of them, as other ethno-narcissistic disciplines are)  with zero educational content when the free money machine is turned on full throttle.

So what can be done about all this? For one, a college education is necessary for a certain style of gainful, white collar employment, regardless of whether or not the degree is actually related to the employment. Only 27 percent of college graduates are actually employed in fields related to their academic discipline. In part, this is because college education is a proxy for IQ tests, which are illegal in employment. This ban should be lifted.

IQ Test Ban: A Major Driver of the University Crisis

The ban on IQ tests is a major driver of the university crisis. A somewhat little-known 1971 Supreme Court case, Griggs vs. Duke Power Company, is responsible for this and is a case study in unintended consequences. The Supreme Court, in its infinite wisdom, ruled that IQ tests were too broad and, thus, racist. The only way to get a similar picture of prospective employees was a college degree, which forced a number of people who have no business in academia to obtain college degrees as a prerequisite of employment.

Part of this is a basic question of intelligence. People are either able to understand certain concepts and complete certain tasks or they arent and this strongly correlates with IQ. But there is also the matter of soft skills  doing things you dont want to do, showing up on time, working well with others  which are also inadvertently measured by IQ tests. Its not that every person with a high IQ has good soft skills. Many, of course, do not. But it is, however, true, that measuring IQ is a good proxy for measuring soft skills.

Part of the argument is that IQ tests dont actually measure anything, but this is demonstrably false: IQ tests are just about the only thing the social sciences have produced thats actually science as it would be understood in any other scientific field. Whats more, IQ tests are neither linguistically nor culturally biased as is often claimed. They are able to meaningfully measure cognitive ability in humans regardless of these subjective factors. Jordan Peterson has pointed out that if IQ is inaccurate, then psychology as a discipline simply doesnt work.

Throwing out IQ testing for job employment means that employers have to find some other way to determine if applicants are up to the tasks performed. Without IQ to rely on, employers opted, in the main, for requiring a college degree. This, despite the fact that four years spent studying sociology or English literature or American history, fails to prepare one for a career in maintaining spreadsheets and sending emails. These tasks could easily be covered in business classes at the high school level. But again, employers are prevented from using what is a quick, easy and inexpensive metric for employment because of disparate impact.

While its certainly true that mean IQ scores for black Americans are lower than those for whites, there is no reason to believe that this is unchangeable. While individual IQ is fairly plastic after a certain age, group IQ is not. One example is that women generally scored lower on IQ tests than men, but now generally score higher. There is no need to rely upon mumbo jumbo about how the tests are racist  its possible to raise group IQ and, in fact, the black-white IQ gap has narrowed considerably. There is also a phenomenon, known as the Flynn effect, where the average IQ in America has increased by three points every decade.

Put simply: Individuals cannot get meaningfully more intelligent after a certain age, but groups can increase their average IQ rather dramatically in short periods of time.

But, as is often the case, the complicated and controversial truth lost out to the quick and easy fix that lined the pockets of insiders. Rather than figuring out how to close the IQ gap, something that would have taken time  and also probably money and effort  college degrees now became a de facto requirement for gainful employment. Three generations of Americans were told that a college degree was a necessity for the American Dream. More to the point, it was required for all manner of white collar employment, specifically due to the ban on IQ tests.

With the market flooded, universities could charge whatever price they liked and the cost of a college education increased accordingly. Between 2009 and 2019 alone, the cost of college increased by 25 percent.

Another driver is that the cost of college is now underwritten by the federal government in the form of student loans. In 1993, the federal government began securing student loans. Unlike Medicare, where the government will only reimburse up to a certain amount that is deemed to be the value of the service, colleges have a blank check. The government will simply come up with whatever students cant afford.

Whats more, the drive to forgive student loans is little more than a boondoggle for the upper middle class, who hold the lions share of these loans. Forgiveness might be a solid bargaining chip in reform of the entire system, which would necessarily mean doing away with the student loan system as we know it. In a perfect world, this would be financed, not by passing the bill onto the American taxpayers and consumers, but by making colleges pay for their role in the debacle in the form of heavily taxing their endowments to pay for it. Peter Thiel has suggested making universities foot the bill anytime someone discharges their student loans in bankruptcy, on the basis that they were responsible for the bad loans in the first place.

For those who are able, pulling your kids out of public schools  and being seriously skeptical of private alternatives, many of which are just as bad  is in order.

Conservatives and libertarians might balk at such nakedly confiscatory taxation, but todays colleges are little more than indoctrination factories for the foot soldiers of a cadre of militants intensely hostile toward Western civilization and the American way of life. We should be mindful about salvaging whatever we can from them while aggressively kneecapping their ability to brainwash our children and attack our freedoms.
DUSHANBE -- Officials at Russia's Education Ministry say the return of Tajik students to universities in Russia remains on hold due to coronavirus restrictions despite others being allowed to come back.

Yelena Gorozhankina and Igor Burulko told journalists in Dushanbe on March 24 that the exact date of when Tajik students can come back to their universities in Russia remains unclear.

On March 20, Russian Education Minister issued a list of 25 countries whose citizens were allowed to return to Russia to continue their studies at universities. Tajikistan was not included to the list, even though Tajik officials have said that there have been no coronavirus cases registered in the country since January 1.

Gorozhankina said that the list had been made by Russia's health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, and "has nothing to do with neighborly ties between the countries."

There are about 26,000 Tajiks studying at Russian universities, many of whom have been stuck at home and forced to study online since borders were closed due to the pandemic last year.

Many of the students have complained that online studies are very difficult in Tajikistan due to the high costs and poor quality of Internet services available.

Burulko and Gorozhankina said that it remains unclear when exactly Tajik students will be allowed to go back to Russia. Representatives from Rospotrebnadzor, which will make the final decision, were in Tajikistan last week to research the situation at hospitals and medical labs.
Khartoum  The Supreme Committee for the Follow-Up Implementation of the Juba Peace Agreement held its first meeting at the Republican Palace in Khartoum yesterday. The meeting was headed by the Vice President of the Transitional Sovereignty Council and Chairman of the committee, Lt Gen Mohamed Hamdan 'Hemeti' Dagalo.

In a press statement, Chairman of the Sudanese Peace Council Prof Suleiman El Debello said that the meeting reviewed the implementation stages of the agreement. He explained that a committee was formed to reorganise the peace agreement implementation matrix. A secretariat and another committee were formed to deal with a number of issues in the different tracks.

El Debello further described the agreement as 'important' and explained that the committee will follow up on the implementation of the Juba Peace Agreement and address the challenges facing it.

He stated that the full attendance of all represented parties confirms the seriousness of the parties to proceed with the peaceful implementation of the Juba Peace Agreement.
Associated Press

The younger generation of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales are on average about three feet (one meter) shorter than whales were 20 years, drone and aircraft data show in a study in Thursdays journal Current Biology. Entanglements with fishing gear, collisions with ships and climate change moving their food supply north are combining to stress and shrink these large whales, the study says. This isnt about short right whales, its about a physical manifestation of a physiological problem, its the chest pain before the heart attack, said Regina Asmutis-Silvia, executive director of Whale and Dolphin Conservation North America, who wasnt part of the study.
ANKARA (Reuters) -Turkey has begun initial talks to procure the Sputnik-V vaccine from Russia, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Thursday, adding Ankara would receive a total of 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from various suppliers by the end of May.

"Initial talks have begun for the procurement of Sputnik-V. This vaccine will be eligible for widespread use following the testing process for its compatibility," Koca said, adding Ankara was in talks with other vaccine providers.

Turkey has until now been using COVID-19 vaccine shots developed by China's Sinovac Biotech Ltd and it has carried out 14.39 million inoculations, with 8.18 million people having received a first dose, since Jan. 14 when the nationwide rollout began.

"As of today, we have received 10 million doses of vaccines, which will be filled in Turkey. By the end of May, we expect a total of 100 million doses of vaccines to arrive in Turkey," he said, without specifying where the additional 10 million came from.

In a statement after a meeting with his coronavirus science council, Koca also added that Turkey would be receiving 4.5 million doses of the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech by early April.

Turkey recorded nearly 29,000 new infections in the last 24 hours, health ministry data showed on Thursday, just under this year's highest level a day earlier. Case numbers have continued to surge after restrictions were eased this month.

TURKEY'S 'NEW WUHAN'

Opposition parties and critics sharply criticised President Tayyip Erdogan and his government on Wednesday for organising a congress for the ruling AK Party with thousands of people, many of whom were seen violating social distancing rules, not wearing or improperly wearing masks.

Social media footage showed hundreds of people being brought to Ankara ahead of the congress in packed buses from across the country, wearing no masks. The government also came under fire last month for a crowded funeral, after which Koca issued an apology.

Story continues

A columnist for the Haberturk daily said on Thursday that the AK Party congress "could be Turkey's 'New Wuhan'," referring to Chinese city where the outbreak first emerged in late 2019. The term "lebalep", meaning "packed" in Turkish, was a top trending topic on Twitter in Turkey as the congress was underway.

"The day you hold congresses like this, you cannot speak to people about masks, hygiene," said Lutfu Turkkan, a deputy for the opposition Iyi Party on Wednesday, while a lawmaker from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) called the event an "enmity to public health".

On Thursday, Koca urged citizens to wear masks and follow social distancing measures.

(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
Inside a vacuum chamber, physicists of the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics trap a single atom with two crossing optical resonators. They are each made of two optical fibres which are visible in the crossing point. This setup enables a destruction-free detection of photonic qubits. Credit: Christoph Hohmann, MPQ

Even though quantum communication is tap-proof, it is so far not particularly efficient. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics want to change this. They have developed a detection method that can be used to track quantum transmissions. Quantum information is sent over long distances in the form of photons (i.e. light particles). However, these are quickly lost. Finding out after only a partial distance whether such a photon is still on its way to its destination or has already been lost, can significantly reduce the effort required for information processing. This would make applications such as the encryption of money transfers much more practicable.

Quantum cryptography could soon become the method of choice to secure the data traffic of government agencies or banks. However, in the foreseeable future, it will probably not protect our email traffic from uninvited readers. The exchange of qubits, the smallest unit of quantum information, is simply far too complex. One of the biggest problems: Light particles that carry qubits over long distances and are easily deflected from their path in the air or absorbed in glass fibersand suddenly, the quantum information is lost. Because most photons are lost in a transmission over around 100 km, thousands of photons would have to be transmitted in order to directly transmit only a single qubit over this distance. The transmission of quantum information can thus become a lengthy affair, even though light travels very fast and can cover the distance from Munich to Berlin (around 600 km) in only about two milliseconds.

The detector does not read the quantum information

A team around Dominik Niemietz and Gerhard Rempe at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics has now developed a physical protocol that can indicate whether the qubit has gone already lost at intermediate stations of the quantum transmission. "If this is the case, the transmitter can send the qubit again with significantly less delay than if the loss is noticed only at the receiving end," says Dominik Niemietz, who developed the detector for photonic qubits (as it is called in technical jargon) as part of his dissertation. "It is essential that we do not destroy the qubit. We are thus only detecting the qubit photon and not measuring it." In other words: The detector detects whether the photon is there or not but does not read the quantum information encoded into it. It's something like tracking a shipment online without being able to see inside the package. "This is crucial because the laws of quantum physics rule out copying a qubit 1 to 1this is what quantum cryptography is based on." Quantum post can thus not be refreshed at an intermediate stationneither by those who installed the transmitter and receiver, nor by spies.

Two resonators and one atom enable the detection of the qubit

In order to detect a photon carrying quantum information without reading the message itself, the physicists work with an atom that they trap in two perpendicular resonators. The two resonators each consist of two mirrors so that the atom is surrounded by four mirrors arranged in a cross. One of the resonators is designed in such a way that the atom recognizes the presence of the photon by an extremely gentle touch: The resonator is located at the end of an optical fiber through which a photon reaches itor not. When the photon arrives there, it is reflected and changes the state of the atom. What is important here is that the quantum information remains unaffected by thisin much the same way as package deliverers leave messages if the recipients are not home and take the package away again. The photon influences the state of the atom. In the process, the atomic spin is changedsimilar to a spinning top, the rotation of which is reversed by 180 degrees from one moment to the next. In contrast, the quantum information is packed into the oscillation planephysicists speak of polarizationof the photon.

But how can we tell whether the photon was there and changed the state of the atom or not? This is the job of the second resonator. If no photon arrives at the detector at the expected time, the Garching physicists can make the atom glow by irradiating it with laser light. They can easily detect the glow via the second pair of mirrors and with a classical photodetector. If a photon is reflected at the other resonator, changing the state of the atom, this does not work, and the atom remains dark.

From 14 kilometers, the detector accelerates quantum communication

The Max Planck researchers have shown with model calculations that the detection of photons transporting qubits makes quantum communication more efficient. Accordingly, the detector they used for their experiment would accelerate the transmission of quantum information at a greater distance than 14 kilometers. "A detector for photonic qubits can also be useful at shorter distances," says Pau Farrera, who was part of the research team. However, in order for this to happen, the detection would have to work even more reliably than it did in the current experiment. "This is not a fundamental problem but rather only a technical one," explains the physicist. The efficiency of the detector currently suffers primarily because the resonator reflects only about one third of the incoming photons. Only in the case of a reflection does a photon leave a trace in the atom. "However, we can increase this efficiency to almost 100 percent by improving the fabrication of the resonators."

A detector that reliably detects a photonic qubit would not only be helpful in tracking quantum information during transmission but could also confirm the arrival of quantum post at its destination. This is beneficial if the information encoded in the photon is to be further processed in a complex mannerfor example, if it is to be transferred to entangled atoms. Entanglement is a quantum mechanical phenomenon that can be used to encrypt and process data. In this process, two spatially widely separated particles become a single quantum entity. Changes in one particle thus directly lead to changes in the other. "Creating entanglement is complex," says Gerhard Rempe, Director at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics. "You should use it to process a qubit only if you are sure that this qubit is there."

Demonstrating how quantum post tracking could be used in information processing is a possible goal of future experiments in Gerhard Rempe's group: "We would like to use the detector for quantum communication between our Institute in Garching and a more distant location. For example, to make the step from our laboratory to practical application," says the Max Planck Director. "In this way, we are once again getting a little closer to our great long-term goal, the quantum internet."

Explore further When memory qubits and photons get entangled

More information: Dominik Niemietz et al. Nondestructive detection of photonic qubits, Nature (2021). Journal information: Nature Dominik Niemietz et al. Nondestructive detection of photonic qubits,(2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03290-z
Tutu Connects with Gods People Through Gift of Pastoral Care

(Subhead) The Rev. Nontombi Naomi Tutu enjoys new role at All Saints Episcopal Church in Beverly Hills

ADVERTISEMENT

Surprising herself is one way to describe the Rev. Nontombi Naomi Tutus approach to ministry. After years of ignoring Gods call, she finally became ordained in 2016, and has been astounded by her deep love of pastoral care.

While admitting that she has always enjoying speaking and preaching in public, Tutu believed she was an introvert and was never inclined to get close to people. But, since joining the staff of All Saints Episcopal Church in Beverly Hills and being assigned as the minister of pastoral care, she realized that God had blessed her to spiritually bond with hurting people.

It felt like a gift to me that people were allowing me into their lives in times of real difficulty and darkness that I could sit with people at hospital beds, when they were dying, or even celebrating the birth of a child recalled Tutu.

That is such an honor to be able to be with people at those times and I had not realized that until I was actually doing the work. Since then I have come to truly love pastoral care and the opportunity it gives for a truly meaningful connection with people.

Interesting enough, Tutu was always drawn to preaching and accepted invitations to speak in pulpits throughout her adult life. However, being the daughter of the renowned Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu of Cape Town, South Africa as well as physically resembling him led her to resist the tug of her heart to enter the ministry.

From the time I was born, I always heard how much I looked like my father, she said. So the last thing I ever wanted to be was a priest because Ive got my fathers nose, I definitely dont want his job. I want to have my own way in the world. I dont want people to say that Im following in my fathers footsteps.

Tutu first felt Gods call as a young adult, but refused to acknowledge it. Her belief at the time was, No, that cannot be right. This is not at all what I want. Yet, she admitted that she possessed the gift of preaching. So I continued to do visiting preaching, but very clearly my position was, Im just visiting. This is not who I am, she remembered with a laugh.

ADVERTISEMENT

Eventually, she accepted the call of God, especially after she removed her feelings of giving up her individuality from the equation. Also, Tutu was enlightened by a conversation with the Rev. Dr. Otis Moss Jr., then-pastor of Olivet Institutional Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio.

Following a speaking engagement at his church, the esteemed theologian told Tutu that her struggle was similar to his sons, a young man who was reluctant to accept the call to ministry because of who his father was. Rev. Moss gave me a number of books and one of them was, Gods Yes is Louder Than My No. He was also instrumental in my being able to accept the gift of preaching because he was really insistent about have faith in the [Holy] Spirit and told me that while I was thinking about what I want to preach, make sure to leave space for the Spirit to change the message that I thought I was standing up to give, explained Tutu.

That scared me initially, but it also gave me such a sense of freedom to say, Let me trust that if God wants me to be speaking, then God will be present and let me be open to that. So I love preaching. Preaching has always been a place for me where I truly feel I am being blessed, she said.

Tutu came to All Saints in September 2020 after serving at the Cathedral of All Souls in Asheville, North Carolina. Getting acquainted with the membership during a pandemic has been challenging, still she said, I have been very warmly welcomed by the congregation, even in the limited ways that we are able to meet because of COVID-19.

In addition, Tutu said she and the parishioners have been rewarded with the recognition that the church is not the building, but the people. Remember, we come out of a tradition that didnt have buildings and people worshipped in the catacombs, in each other homes and in the wilderness, expressed Tutu.

Not being in the building is not a limitation of our faith. In fact, its a new way of showing our faith and affection for one another. I think its a gift of this pandemic to make us stop focusing on the church as a building, but the church, which is really the people of God!

Looking towards the future, Tutu said that she aims to grow in the field of pastoral care, so that people will feel assured that they can consult with her concerning any situation they are facing. I will be there in times of joy, in times of struggle and in times of pain. That is one of the things that I pray to God that He will give me the gift of being a good pastor, she declared.

Another prospect on her mind is spreading the message to institutional church leaders that they must work harder to address the needs of Black women and young people. I belong to a predominately White denomination in the United States. Id like to remind Episcopalians that we are part of the Anglican Communion and the vast majority of the members are Black women, Tutu stressed.

We cannot be a part of this Communion and continue to shut down the voices of Black women. I would like to be a part of the shaking up of the institutional church!
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.
We couldnt find anything at this address. Please check the URL or go to the 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.
A black sand beach littered with huge chunks of glistening ice has become one of the most visited attractions in Iceland, and for good reason, it looks like something out of a fantasy movie.

Known as Breiamerkursandur in Icelandic, Diamond Beach takes its name from the chunks of pristine ice scattered across the black volcanic sand and glistening like giant, uncut diamonds. It is located next to Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon on the South Coast of Iceland, about six hours away from the countrys capital, Reykjavik. Although its not part of the popular Golden Circle Tour, Diamond Beach has become one of the countrys top tourist attractions in recent years, and looking at photos of it, its easy to see why.

Photo: Manuel Amersdorfer/Flickr

Diamond Beach is located by the Jokulsarlon glacial lagoon, which is filled with huge pieces of ice that constantly break off from Breiamerkurjokull, an outlet glacier of Vatnajokull, the largest icecap in Europe. Bits and pieces of these chunks of ice end up on the black sand and create a stunning visual effect.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Travel around the world (@_world_travellor_)

The size of these diamonds can range from palm-size to larger than an average person, as can the color, which ranges from deep blue to bright white, and brilliant turquoise shades in-between.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sam Culley (@samrculley)

Apart from the diamond-like chunks of ice, Diamond Beach is famous for never looking the same on two different days. As the ice melts and new chunks are washed ashore, this place can look completely different from one day to the next.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by @chelsea_rae_travels

In recent years, its famous nickname has made Breiamerkursandur a very popular place for marriage proposals, as well as a hotspot for Instagram influencers looking to impress their followers.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Huacaya (@huacaya.futureoftravel)

If you plan on visiting Diamond Beach during the winter, its recommended to spend 2-3 days on the countrys south coast, as the daylight is limited and you want to take the beauty of this place in ideal conditions.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Arctic Flying Fox (@arcticflyingfox)

For more jaw-dropping beaches, check out this nameless glass sand beach in Japan, or the stunning popcorn beach of Furteventura.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Marloes Staal (@marloesstaal)
Top Franchise to Own "Our independent research identifies only those companies that demonstrate the highest levels of satisfaction and performance. This years Franchisee Satisfaction Award winners are truly the best-of-the-best.

MaidPro announces that it has been named #3 Top Franchise to Own in Franchise Business Reviews 2021 Top Franchises Report. MaidPro is the recipient of two of the top awards from the market research firm, including the #3 Top Franchise to Own and Best-in-Category.

Like most business owners, MaidPro franchisees faced a series of unprecedented challenges in 2020, says MaidPro CEO Mark Kushinsky. Yet they found innovative ways to adjust and thrive. This award is a testament to our franchisees and the loyal customers they servewe are honored to receive this acknowledgment.

Each year, Franchise Business Review honors franchise owners who demonstrate excellence in training & support, operations, franchisee relations, fiscal achievement, and overall success within the franchise model. This year, Maid Pro was distinguished amongst more than 28,000 franchise owners representing over 300 unique brands.

There are thousands of successful franchise companies operating in North America, said Eric Stites, CEO of Franchise Business Review. But many of those companies do not offer a solid investment opportunity for franchise owners. Our independent research identifies only those companies that demonstrate the highest levels of satisfaction and performance. This years Franchisee Satisfaction Award winners are truly the best-of-the-best.

Franchise Business Review performs independent surveys of franchisee satisfaction and provides rankings and awards based solely on actual franchisee satisfaction and performance. The results of this research are published in the firms annual Guide to Todays Top Franchises.

To view the complete list of the 16th Annual 200 Best Franchisee Awards recipients, visit https://franchisebusinessreview.com/page/top-franchises/.

About MaidPro

MaidPro is a Boston-based franchisor of house cleaning services with over 285 locations in 38 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada. The company, which began franchising in 1997, takes pride in its strong owner community, cutting-edge technology, and creative marketing. It has been honored with the Franchise Business Reviews Four-Star Rating and Franchise 50 awards every year from 2006 to 2021 for owner satisfaction. MaidPro has been named a Top Franchise by Forbes, Entrepreneur, and USA Today. MaidPro is also a proud member of the International Franchise Association, Canadian Franchise Association, and the New England Franchise Association.
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.
Nicola Sturgeon on the campaign trail in Glasgow - AFP

Nicola Sturgeon was only able to hand NHS workers a minimum four per cent pay rise in Scotland thanks to the billions of pounds she has been given by the UK Treasury during the pandemic, the Tories have said.

Only hours before the election 'purdah' period started, SNP ministers that 154,000 staff would see their pay increase by more than 1,000, while those on the highest salaries would receive an extra 800.

Ms Sturgeon contrasted the settlement, backdated to December, with the one per cent rise offered to NHS workers in England and urged voters to elect an SNP government that "do more than clap for the people who look after us."

She said her government had to work hard to find the estimated 135 million annual cost of the rise and reiterated her call for another independence referendum saying the the Covid recovery must be "made in Scotland".

This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it.

Douglas Ross, the Scottish Tory leader, said: "I think many people understandably, and I fully agree with this, want to recognise outstanding commitment and dedication of our NHS staff over the last 12 months.

"They have gone above and beyond and everyone is grateful for what they've done to save lives during this pandemic.

"But the offer from the Scottish Government was only possible because of the additional 13.3 billion support from the UK Government to the Scottish Government over the last year and others will look at the timing of that announcement issued just hours before the purdah period at the start of this election campaign."

He said it was a decision for the UK Government whether to match the offer in England and to make a recommendation to the independent panel that determines NHS pay.

But Ms Sturgeon said: "Politics is about choices, and the SNP chooses to back our NHS. In this election we can build a country fit for the heroes who have kept us going every day through the pandemic."

She added: "The Tories miserly one per cent. pay offer south of the border shows that they have the wrong priorities - people will no doubt wonder how they can find the money to massively increase their stockpile of nuclear weapons or build a bridge to Northern Ireland but refuse to find the money to properly reward those who were at the frontline of the pandemic."

Story continues

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie announces his party's plans for teachers while on the Scottish Election campaign trail in South Queensferry - PA

Jeane Freeman, the Scottish Health Secretary, said the rise of up to 5.4 per cent was the largest since devolution started in 1999. It is significantly higher than the pay offer made to other public sector workers.

The announcement followed negotiations between the Scottish Government, NHS employers and unions, who will now consult their members on the offer.

The rise is in addition to a one-off 500 thank you payment for NHS workers unveiled by Ms Sturgeon in November.

Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour's health spokesman, welcomed the new pay offer but said it "fails to consider our social care workers who have been offered pennies in comparison."

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats announced plans to introduce a minimum 30,000 starting salary for teachers to help attract the best graduates.

Willie Rennie, the Scottish Lib Dem leader, also called for more in-class support to help pupils reach their potential, a guaranteed job for every teacher for smaller class sizes and a a new "premium" pay supplement to attract teachers to disadvantaged areas.
A health worker prepares a dose of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine at a Covid-19 vaccination site at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas on 15 March 2021 ((AFP via Getty Images))

Pfizer has begun testing its coronavirus vaccine in young children under the age of 12, following an announcement from Moderna earlier in the month that it was doing the same.

On Wednesday, the pharmaceutical company began its testing on young children by administering vaccines to a pair of 9-year-old twins at Duke University in North Carolina.

The New York Times reported that data from the trial is not expected until later in the year, with the company not planning to vaccinate younger children until 2022.

Moderna announced earlier in the month that it is testing its Covid-19 vaccine in children between the ages of six months and 12, while Johnson & Johnson revealed that it plans to start the same trials soon.

Both Pfizer and Moderna are already testing their vaccines on children over the age of 12 and expect to have results of those tests in the next few weeks.

Sharon Castillo, a spokeswoman for Pfizer told the Times that the company initially planned to wait until it had results from older children before starting trials with children under 12.

However, Ms Castillo, who did not elaborate on the results, said that Pfizer decided to bring forward the trail because we were encouraged by the data from the 12 to 15 group.

More follows...
Church leaders in Scotland are celebrating after a judge ruled that the Scottish government acted unconstitutionally by making in-person services a criminal offense during the lockdown.

Scotland imposed far tougher restrictions on churches than the rest of the U.K., which allowed in-person services to continue during the current lockdown.

Handing down judgment on Wednesday, Lord Braid said the Scottish rules were a disproportionate interference of Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

"It is impossible to measure the effect of those restrictions on those who hold religious beliefs," he said.

Source:The Christian Post
Prosecutors in the Democratic Republic of Congo have launched an investigation into a former police chief over the high-profile murder of a human rights activist, the justice ministry said Thursday.

General John Numbi is suspected of orchestrating the killing of Floribert Chebeya, whose body was found in his car on the outskirts of Kinshasa in June 2010.

"Denunciations of General John Numbi... have been brought to the attention of the judicial authorities," the DRC's acting justice minister, Bernard Takahishe Ngumbi, told AFP.

"At a minimum, a judicial process is launched" in such circumstances, he said. "This has been done. The public prosecutor is currently investigating."

Five policemen have been convicted for the murder, three of them in absentia.

But the European Union and rights groups called for a reopening of the case following evidence in February from two policemen who said they had taken part in the killing and that it had been ordered by Numbi.

Chebeya, head of a group called Voice for the Voiceless (VSV), had been called to a police station the day before his murder.

His driver, Fidele Bazana, who took him to the appointment, subsequently went missing and is suspected to have also been killed.

Numbi was suspended shortly after Chebeya's murder.

He was placed under US and European sanctions in December 2016 for a police crackdown on protests in the region of Bas Congo in 2008 that according to Human Rights Watch (HRW) claimed more than 200 lives.

But in 2017 he was given an award by the then president, Joseph Kabila, a move that incensed campaign groups.

The following year, he was appointed armed forces inspector general, but Kabila's successor, Felix Tshisekedi, replaced him last July.

Numbi has fled to Zimbabwe, according to two sources.

Georges Kapiamba, head of a campaign group called the Congolese Association for Access to Justice (ACAJ), said on Twitter on Monday that Numbi "took refuge in Zimbabwe two weeks ago" and his bodyguard had been arrested.

Story continues

A source close to Numbi told AFP "Numbi is in Zimbabwe."

His farm near the southeastern city of Lubumbashi "was searched on Saturday by soldiers of the Presidential Guard," which was when the bodygard was arrested, the source said.

bmb-mbb/txw/ri
WARSAW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th March, 2021) Poland will advise Lithuania and Latvia to impose joint economic sanctions against Minsk over the recent events with the Union of Poles in Belarus (ZPB), Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Thursday.

"I will offer our Lithuanian and Latvian partners to impose certain restrictions in trade, so that the Belarusian authorities really feel that the fight against the Poles should affect our response  not only with diplomatic steps, but also with specific economic steps," Morawiecki said at a press conference.

The prime minister called on the Belarusian authorities to "take a grip of themselves."

Earlier this week, ZPB leader Andzelika Borys was detained in Belarus and was later sentenced to 15 days in custody for violating rules related to organizing mass events.

Earlier in the day, the Prosecutor General's Office of Belarus opened a criminal case against Borys and several other individuals for deliberate actions aimed at inciting ethnic hatred and for rehabilitation of Nazism.

According to the Prosecutor General's Office, the individuals who have been presenting themselves as ZPB members have held several illegal mass events with the participation of minors in Grodno and other Belarusian cities, attracting minors to honor the participants of anti-Soviet gangs that acted during and after World War II, committing robberies and murders of the civilian population in Belarus.
STATEN ISLAND N.Y.  It feels good, a lot of cops dont get the thank you they deserve.

Envoy Mortgage surprises a Staten Island resident with a months worth of mortgage and taxes as part of the companys Gift of Home program designed to show gratitude during a financially challenging time for its customers.

Manuel Martinez of Great Kills is an NYPD Police Officer who is known to help cover shifts, work long hours, and dedicate himself to the job during the pandemic.

Martinez thought Envoy Mortgage representatives were interviewing him today but upon opening a box with a letter inside, he was surprised to find out that the company was going to cover his payments and taxes for a month.

Envoy Mortgage surprises Manuel Martinez resident with a months worth of mortgage and taxes for the month as part of the companys Gift of Home program on March 25, 2021 in Great Kills. (Staten Island Advance/ Alexandra Salmieri)

He personally thanked Branch Manager Mark Setaro for all that he has done for him and his family.

Im very thankful for everything that hes done, helping me and my coworkers, said Martinez. You guys are awesome, he added.

Unfortunately, Martinez contracted COVID-19 in January and was out of work for a month.

Now he says this extra money will be used to catch up with things around the house.

Manuel Martinez and his mother Ophelia Martinez hold a check from Envoy Mortgage as part of the companys Gift of Home program on March 25, 2021 in Great Kills. (Staten Island Advance/ Alexandra Salmieri)

Aside from the NYPD, he also works as a real estate agent to help his fellow officers find homes.

Martinez expressed that even his real estate job had become challenging during the pandemic.

And while 2020 was a grueling year for him, he hopes things will start to return to normal and his side business grow in 2021.

Sophia Demetrio, Vincent Demetrio, Dominic Moncada, and Mark Setaro present a check for a months worth of mortgage and taxes for the month as part of Envoy Mortgages the Gift of Home program on March 25, 2021 in Great Kills. (Staten Island Advance/ Alexandra Salmieri)

Envoy Mortgage will gift 50 customers across the U.S. up to $150,000 in mortgage payments and tax assistance.

Gift of Home recipients has been randomly selected from current Envoy Mortgage Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) or Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan borrowers, focusing on those who have been giving back to their communities as military veterans, first responders, nurses, educators, and small business owners and employees.
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 DUP have clashed with the Secretary of State Brandon Lewis at Westminster over his move to compel Stormont to commission abortion services in Northern Ireland.

Mr Lewis was appearing in Parliament to answer an urgent question which had been tabled from the DUP MP for Upper Bann, Carla Lockhart.

It comes after the Northern Ireland Secretary of State laid down regulations in Westminster allowing him to compel Stormont to directly implement abortion laws.

While individual health trusts in Northern Ireland are offering services on an ad-hoc basis, Mr Swanns Department of Health has yet to centrally commission the services on a region-wide basis.

Read More

Speaking in Westminster on Thursday afternoon, Mr Lewis described it as unacceptable that women and girls in Northern Ireland did not have widespread access to services as they can elsewhere in the UK.

He added: This is not about new laws but about ensuring the existing law is actually acted upon and delivered.

At the very heart of this matter are the women and girls who have been and continue to be denied the same rights as women in girls in the rest of the UK.

Women and girls are entitled to safe local healthcare, indeed during the pandemic I would argue this is more crucial.

The fact is, the law changed over a year ago now and abortion services should now be available as a healthcare service in Northern Ireland.

We have always sought to deliver in a way that respects the devolution settlement. We are disappointed with the continuing failure of the Department of Health and the Executive to commission abortion services that are consistent with the regulations.

During the question a number of DUP MPs made contributions. The DUP MP Gregory Campbell queried the Secretary of State on whether he would look after the rights of the unborn child."

Carla Lockhart who tabled the question accused Mr Lewis of a breach of the Belfast agreement by taking the action.

She also asked Mr Lewis why he was taking action in relation to abortion but has failed to act on his duties in relation to the Executives failure to introduce payments to victims.

Does he not understand that at the heart of the devolution settlement must be a respect for those areas which have been determined to be for the devolved authorities?" she added.

There is still time for the Secretary of State to think again before he takes action which will undermine and further destabilise the devolved institutions.

During his remarks, Mr Lewis highlighted some of the harrowing cases he had been presented with while speaking to women and girls in Northern Ireland.

I have been informed of two women who have attempted suicide over the last year after their flights were cancelled and so they were unable to travel to England for proper care, he said.

The distress and unacceptable circumstances that women and girls continue to face at a time when local access should be readily available is, I am afraid, unacceptable.
One lawsuit questions the authority of then-Gov. Bruce Rauner, who issued a 2018 order to restore Agpawas rights and cleared the way for him to take office as mayor. A federal court convicted Agpawa of mail fraud in 1999 and only a presidential pardon could resolve the eligibility issue, according to the lawsuit.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 25, 2021) - SKRR Exploration Inc. (TSXV: SKRR) (OTC: SKKRF) (FSE: B04Q) ("SKRR" or the "Company") has received results from the remaining 13 holes of the 18 hole, 2,981m (9,778' feet) Phase 1 drill program completed in Fall, 2020 on the Olson property (the "Olson Property"). Results from OL20001 - OL20005 were issued in a previous news release (February 4, 2021). Follow-up drilling is currently underway at the Olson Property based on encouraging results from Phase 1 where gold mineralization was intersected in all zones drilled in during this inaugural drilling program.

The Olson property area covers 5,038 ha located within the Trans Hudson Corridor 100 km east of La Ronge, Saskatchewan and 80km south of SSR Mining's Seabee Gold Operation. Under the terms of the option agreement with Eagle Plains Resources Ltd. ("Eagle Plains"), SKRR may earn-in up to a 75% interest in the Olson Property.

Highlights:

150m Step Out. Drill hole OL20017 hit 9.64 g/t over 1.23m within 1.19g/t over 19.94m in step out at historic Olson showing area.

Drill hole OL20017 hit 9.64 g/t over 1.23m within 1.19g/t over 19.94m in step out at historic Olson showing area. New gold discovery . First hole completed at Michael's Lake, drill hole OL20018, hit encountered gold mineralization including 2.85 g/t over 1.12m within 0.77g/t over 6.46m.

. First hole completed at Michael's Lake, drill hole OL20018, hit encountered gold mineralization including 2.85 g/t over 1.12m within 0.77g/t over 6.46m. Near Surface Mineralization. 5 holes at the Siskin zone encountered near surface mineralization including 0.42 g/t over 17.87m at a depth of 3.05m to 20.92m Significant intercepts at the Tuscan zone including 0.52 g/t over 11.5m at a depth of 7.5m to 19m.

Mineralized Core.91 of the core samples assayed returned greater than 0.5 g/t Au, with 29 samples greater than 1 g/t Au.

Sherman Dahl, Chief Executive Officer of SKRR comments:

"Based on the very encouraging results from the first 18 holes drilled on the Olson Property, we are conducting a follow-up Phase 2 drill program on the Olson Project. Initial results obtained to date on the Olson project are extremely encouraging," stated Sherman Dahl. President and CEO of SKRR. "Assays from the Phase 1 program have confirmed the presence of wide-spread gold at numerous target areas of the property including high grade gold mineralization within broadly highly anomalous mineralized intervals. In particular results returned at the Olson and Point areas show strong potential and warrant follow-up in a Phase 2 drill program, presently underway."

2020 Drill Results

SKRR completed 18 holes, and 2,981m (9,778' feet) of diamond drilling during the 2020 drill program which tested seven separate target areas including the Jena, Juba, Point, Tuscan, Siskin, Olson and Michael Zones, located in the central part of the Olson Property. The table below summarizes mineralized results from the latest 13 drill holes. Analytical results ranged from trace values to broad, high grade intercepts, as summarized below.

Analytical results ranged from trace values to broad low grade and narrow higher grade intercepts, as summarized below.

Select Drill Results Table:

Link to Drill Result Table

OL20006 - 018 Significant Intervals Hole From To Core Length (m)* Au (g/t) Zone OL20006 47.85 53.34 5.49 0.53 Point Including 49.05 50.13 1.08 1.45 OL20007 90.31 99.75 9.44 1.31 Tuscan Including 95.75 97.17 1.42 3.94 Including 98.17 99.75 1.58 2.61 114.70 115.30 0.60 1.56 OL20008 7.50 19.00 11.50 0.52 OL20009 24.46 25.08 0.62 1.21 Siskin 35.50 39.40 3.90 0.83 Including 35.50 36.35 0.85 1.74 OL20010 3.05 20.92 17.87 0.42 Including 10.70 20.92 10.22 0.59 78.79 79.45 0.66 2.19 OL20011 no significant intercepts OL20012 no significant intercepts OL20013 18.00 28.23 10.23 0.58 Including 23.77 24.84 1.07 1.52 OL20014 158.9 161.85 2.95 0.85 Jena Including 158.9 159.78 0.88 1.51 171.38 173.55 2.17 1.16 Including 171.38 172.43 1.05 1.38 OL20015 no significant intercepts OL20016 no significant intercepts Olson OL20017 130.46 150.4 19.94 1.19 Including 130.46 132.0 1.54 2.64 135.45 137.2 1.75 1.13 140.65 141.88 1.23 9.64 149.0 150.4 1.4 2.20 OL20018 158.0 164.46 6.46 0.77 Michael's Lake Including 161.97 163.09 1.12 2.85

* Drill indicated intercepts (core length) are reported as drilled widths and true thickness is undetermined.





Figure 1: Olson Plan Map

To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6952/78561_a3f83a0714309903_002full.jpg

Olson Drill Sections: Link

DDH OL20006 was drilled at the Point Zone, 150m northeast of DDHOL2004, which returned 1.09 g/t Au over 39.80m from 3.05m to 42.85m. OL20006 tested a mapped shear-vein system along the contact between granodiorite and meta-sediments. A 5.46 m intercept from 47.85 - 53.34m returned 0.53 g/t Au including 1.08m at 1.45g/t Au, associated with arsenopyrite-bearing granodiorite.

Drill holes OL20007 and OL20008 tested the contact between Brownell Lake Pluton granodiorites and metasediments in the area of the Tuscan showing. Both holes intercepted broad zones of gold mineralization associated with arsenopyrite bearing quartz carbonate veining. OL20007 returned 1.31 g/t Au over 9.44m from 90.31 - 99.75m, including 3.94 g/t Au over 1.42m. A lower intercept from 114.70 - 115.30m returned 1.56 g/t Au. OL20008 intercepted near surface mineralization, returning 0.52 g/t Au over 11.50m from 7.50 - 19.0m.

Drill holes OL20009 through OL20013 tested for gold mineralization hosted in metavolcanic rocks at the historic Siskin showing area. Broad zones of disseminated arsenopyrite and chalcopyrite associated with foliation-parallel quartz veinlets were encountered in all five holes. Significant intervals include 0.83 g/t Au over 3.90m from drill hole OL20009, 0.42 g/t Au over 17.87m from drill hole OL20010, 0.28 g/t Au over 28.03m from drill hole OL20011, 0.30 g/t Au over 10.15m from drill hole OL20012, and 0.58 g/t Au over 10.23m from drill hole OL20013.

At the Jena showing area, drill holes OL20014 and OL20015 returned anomalous gold values along intrusive / metasediment contact zones. Drill hole OL20014 intercepted two granodiorite dykes with up to 1% disseminated arsenopyrite that returned 0.85 g/t Au and over 2.95m and 1.16 g/t Au over 2.17m.

Drill holes OL20016 and OL20017 tested the historic Olson showing area quartz veins and shears in metavolcanics. Drill hole OL20017 is a 150m step-out along strike from the 2008 drilling. A 19.94 m interval of metabasalt with intense quartz-carbonate veining averaged 1.19 g/t Au, including 9.64 g/t Au over 1.23m from 140.65 to 141.88m. This mineralization is open along strike to the east and down dip.

Drill hole OL20018 is the first hole ever completed at Michael's Lake, targeting an IP chargeability anomaly thought to represent the contact between Brownell Lake Group metasediments and the Brownell Lake Pluton. Analytical results returned 0.77 g/t Au over 6.46m, including 2.85 g/t Au over 1.12m from metabasalt with pervasive hydrothermal alteration. Although the drill hole did not intercept the centre of the chargeability anomaly and did not encounter the Brownell Lake Pluton this feature remains an attractive drilling target. The contact between the pluton and surrounding country rock is known to host broad zones of anomalous gold endowment at the nearby Point showing and the chargeability anomaly could indicate increased sulphide mineralization.

Olson Project Summary

The Olson project is host to regionally sheared, highly strained meta-volcanic and adjacent intrusive rocks which are considered to be prospective for orogenic gold mineralization. The Olson project area is host to 29 mineral occurrences defined by historical geological mapping, prospecting, trenching and 4700 m of diamond drilling. Historical drilling at Olson Lake has intersected 7.5 m grading 2.07 g/t Au including 13.00 g/t Au over 0.65 m, and grab samples of up to 105.52 g/t Au have been collected at the Kalix occurrence. The project is considered to be significantly underexplored, with known gold occurrences open at depth and along strike. Results are historical in nature and have not been confirmed by Eagle Plains/SKRR but are considered to be reliable and will form a basis for ongoing work.

Methodology and QA/QC

Geological and geotechnical logging and core sampling were completed at a facility on the Olson property. Assay intervals were based on visual identification of mineralization, presence and density of quartz veins and lithological boundaries. Terralogic Exploration geologists maintained chain of custody and sampling procedures reported in this news release according to best industry practice and with due attention to quality assurance and quality control, including sampling field duplicates and insertion of certified standard and blank samples.

Samples were sent for geochemical analysis with ALS Global, Vancouver for the following analyses: 48 element four-acid ICP-MS (ME-MS61) and gold (Au) 30 g Fire Assay - AA finish (Au-AA23). Samples that returned over 1ppm Au by Au-AA23 were re-analysed using gold (Au) 30g Fire Assay - Gravimetric finish (Au-GRA21). ALS is an ISO-IEC 17025:2017 and ISO 9001:2015 accredited analytical laboratory and is independent of SKRR and the qualified person (QP).

On receipt of final certificates of analysis, the QA/QC sample results were reviewed to ensure the order of samples were reported correctly, that the blanks ran clean, and that the results for each standard had minimal variance from its certified value. QA/QC for the Olson Drilling Program included certified reference material ("CRMs") and blanks that were inserted into each sample batch in order to verify the analytical from the lab. The CRMs from the first five drill holes reported passed within 3.5 standard deviations and the blanks returned acceptable values. All of the lab internal standards and duplicates were within acceptable values.

SKRR detected no significant QA/QC issues during review of the data. SKRR is not aware of any drilling, sampling, recovery or other factors that could materially affect the accuracy or reliability of the data referred to herein.

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Ross McElroy P.Geol, a director of the Company and a "Qualified Person" as defined in National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Mr. McElroy verified the data disclosed which includes a review of the sampling, analytical and test data underlying the information and opinions contained therein.

About SKRR Exploration Inc.

SKRR is a Canadian-based precious metal explorer with properties in Saskatchewan - one of the world's highest ranked mining jurisdictions. The primary exploration focus is on the Trans-Hudson Corridor in Saskatchewan in search of world class precious metal deposits. The Trans-Hudson Orogen - although extremely well known in geological terms has been significantly under-explored in Saskatchewan. SKRR is committed to all stakeholders including shareholders, all its partners and the environment in which it operates.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Sherman Dahl

President & CEO

Tel: 250-558-8340

For further information contact:

Rich Matthews, Investor Relations

Integrous Communications

rmatthews@integcom.us

+1 6047577179

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information or statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, which may include, without limitation, statements that address the drilling on the Olson Property, additional drilling on the Olson Property, other statements relating to the technical, financial and business prospects of the Company, its projects and other matters. All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, including the price of metals, the ability to achieve its goals, that general business and economic conditions will not change in a material adverse manner, that financing will be available if and when needed and on reasonable terms. Such forward-looking information reflects the Company's views with respect to future events and is subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include, but are not limited to, continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions, adverse weather conditions, decrease in the price of gold and other metals, equipment failures, failure to maintain all necessary government permits, approvals and authorizations, the impact of Covid-19 or other viruses and diseases on the Company's ability to operate, failure to maintain community acceptance (including First Nations), increase in costs, litigation, and failure of counterparties to perform their contractual obligations. The Company does not undertake to update forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, except as required by law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/78561
For premature infants who can't breastfeed on their own, "mother's own milk" (MOM) is by far the best nutrition. There's an urgent need for effective ways to increase the relatively low rates of MOM feeding for preterm infants born to Black and Hispanic mothers.

But so far, research has offered little or no specific guidance, concludes an evidence-based review in Advances in Neonatal Care, the official journal of the National Association of Neonatal Nurses. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

Until studies of targeted, culturally appropriate interventions are performed, the available evidence points to some promising approaches to overcoming obstacles and facilitating MOM feedings for premature infants of Black or Hispanic mothers, according to the review by Diana Cartagena, Ph.D., RN, CPNP, of Old Dominion University, Virginia Beach, Va., and colleagues.

No studies specifically designed to encourage MOM feedings for Black or Hispanic preterm infants Provided primarily by expressing (pumping) the mother's breast milk, MOM feedings have critical benefits for preterm infants - ranging from a lower risk of prematurity-related complications to fewer neurodevelopmental difficulties and disabilities later in childhood. The higher the "dose" of breast milk, the better the outcomes.

Minority mothers of premature infants may face special challenges in providing MOM feedings. "In the United States, Hispanic and Black preterm infants are less likely than their white counterparts to receive feedings consisting of MOM," Dr. Cartagena and coauthors write. They performed a comprehensive review of the past decade of research, looking for evidence-based strategies to encourage and improve MOM feedings to this group of infants.

However, the initial search identified "zero articles" - not a single study evaluating specific programs designed to promote MOM feedings in Black or Hispanic preterm infants.

All current strategies to encourage and improve breast milk expression and feeding in minority mothers are based on programs developed and tested mainly in White mothers." Diana Cartagena, PhD, RN, CPNP, Old Dominion University

Thus the researchers broadened their search for promising approaches to decreasing racial/ethnic disparities in breast milk expression - focusing on studies that included at least 30 percent Black or Hispanic mothers. Based on ten such studies, Dr. Cartagena and colleagues make some recommendations to improve MOM feedings, including:

Providing a welcoming, family-centered neonatal ICU environment. Professional lactation support is essential for all mothers of premature infants, including early help with breast milk expression and access to breast pumps and supplies. Giving mothers the opportunity to provide skin-to-skin care for their babies is a promising approach to establishing and maintaining the milk supply.

Professional lactation support is essential for all mothers of premature infants, including early help with breast milk expression and access to breast pumps and supplies. Giving mothers the opportunity to provide skin-to-skin care for their babies is a promising approach to establishing and maintaining the milk supply. Addressing language and cultural barriers. For Hispanic mothers, having translators and providing educational materials in the mother's native language are important strategies to reduce disparities. In one study, providing lactation support from bilingual counselors increased MOM feeding at discharge. In another study, Black women who set an initial goal to provide any breast milk for their premature infant were more likely to provide MOM after leaving the hospital.

For Hispanic mothers, having translators and providing educational materials in the mother's native language are important strategies to reduce disparities. In one study, providing lactation support from bilingual counselors increased MOM feeding at discharge. In another study, Black women who set an initial goal to provide any breast milk for their premature infant were more likely to provide MOM after leaving the hospital. Providing social and emotional support. Black women may lack breastfeeding role models and experience; their own mothers (the baby's grandmother) may be an especially important source of support. For younger mothers, social media and even mobile apps may be appealing options. Emotional and technical support from hospital staff may help to overcome barriers to providing MOM, such as obtaining and learning to use a breast pump or challenges in the home environment.

"Limited evidence suggests that variation in neonatal ICU breastfeeding support practices may explain (in part), variation in disparities and supports further research in this area," Dr. Cartagena and colleagues write. They emphasize the need for rigorous, well-designed studies "to evaluate the effectiveness of targeted and culturally sensitive lactation support interventions in Hispanic and Black mothers."
Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) insists she has no plans to blow up big tech.

But now that she's the chair of the Senate Judiciary subcommittee tasked with overseeing the antitrust wings of the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice, some industry observers expect her to try. Bolstering that view is the fact that the antitrust reform package Klobuchar unveiled in February would be the most dramatic overhaul of the laws preventing monopolies in more than a century. Known as the Competition and Antitrust Law Enforcement Reform Act (Calera), her bill is aimed at making it harder for companies to pursue certain mergers and shifting more resources to antitrust regulators.

"I'm not talking about destroying these companies. Far from it. I'm simply talking about allowing for more competition," Klobuchar said on Thursday at the 2021 Inc. Vision Summit.

The senator referenced the U.S. government's landmark 1974 antitrust case against AT&T, which cleared the landscape for more companies to compete in the telecom industry.

"AT&T divested some of its assets. You could do the same thing here, and still have a successful Google, still have a successful Facebook," Klobuchar said. "You could also put in rules that would be helpful to some of the entrepreneurs who rely on them."

At the event Thursday, Klobuchar spoke further about the history of government regulators fighting monopolies and her plans to help small businesses and entrepreneurs as the U.S. heads toward a post-pandemic economic recovery. Here are a few major takeaways from the discussion.

Antitrust regulators need more resources

Klobuchar's bill would increase the funding and head count in the antitrust divisions of the FTC and DOJ. In theory, this would give antitrust regulators greater ability to pursue monopolies and battle big tech in the courtroom.

"Let's up the resources for the agencies that we're charging with being as sophisticated as the companies they're regulating," Klobuchar said. "These are the biggest companies the world has ever known, and these guys are trying to do this with Band-Aids and duct tape." She further noted that the agencies' antitrust divisions have fewer employees than they had when Ronald Reagan was president in the 1980s.

Large companies shouldn't be able to buy their competitors so easily

Klobuchar touted how her bill would rein in big companies from avoiding competition through acquisitions. "The standard should be ... that if you have over 50 percent market share and you go buy a nascent competitor in your same line of business, then you've got to show it's not going to be anticompetitive," she said. For megamergers of more than $5 billion, she added, the bill would require the acquiring company to show that the deal doesn't harm competition, rather than putting the burden on the government to prove otherwise.

The antitrust effort isn't just about the tech industry

Klobuchar's antitrust agenda spans far beyond big tech. As chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights, Klobuchar plans to hold a series of hearings this year tackling a range of antitrust issues. "This really spans a whole number of industries where people feel left out, and that's why we're going to be doing hearings not just on tech, but also on ag, on health care, online travel, and looking at some of the App Store issues. So there's a lot ahead here," she said.

Tech investment needs to broaden geographically
You have permission to edit this article.

Edit Close
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-25 19:38:23|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

TAIYUAN, March 25 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese medical team on Thursday set out for Cameroon and Togo from Taiyuan, the capital city of north China's Shanxi Province, on a one-year medical aid mission.

The team consists of 36 members specialized in 12 areas including internal medicine, surgery, gynecology, obstetrics, etc. In addition to routine medical work, they will also assist local medical staff in fighting COVID-19.

Since China sent its first medical team to Algeria in 1963, nearly 30,000 medical team members have been dispatched overseas, offering treatment to over 300 million patients.

Shanxi Province has sent a total of 59 batches of 1,268 team members to Cameroon, Djibouti and Togo since 1975. Enditem
"The Fleet Complete solution complements the services that General Motors offers. It is an intuitive and easy-to-use fleet management tool designed for OnStar-equipped vehicles," said Priscilla Zozaya, OnStar's Strategy, Planning and Business Manager at GM de Mexico. The platform provides, among other things, information on the location of the vehicle, maintenance, and diagnostics of the fleet.

"Our partnership with GM has a proven track record in North America, and today we are very excited to offer the same solution to Mexican companies," said Rafael Gozzi, Vice President of Operational Efficiency for Fleet Complete Mexico. "This integration is already helping many companies reduce operating costs by better understanding what is happening to the vehicles in their fleet in real time.

This new service will be marketed exclusively for vehicles of the General Motors Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac brands through Chevrolet Fleet Services Dealers.

About Fleet Complete

Fleet Complete is a leading global provider of connected vehicle technology, delivering mission-critical fleet, asset and mobile workforce management solutions. The company is servicing approximately 600,000 subscribers and over 40,000 businesses and government organizations in Canada, the U.S., Mexico, Australia, and across Europe. It maintains key distribution partnerships with AT&T in the U.S. and Mexico, TELUS and Rogers in Canada, Telstra in Australia, Telia in Denmark, COSMOTE in Greece, and Deutsche Telekom (T-Mobile) in multiple European countries. Fleet Complete cultivates strong OEM partnerships with global market leaders, such as Cummins, Ford, General Motors, Mitsubishi Australia, and Toyota, among others. It remains one of the fastest-growing companies globally, having won numerous awards for innovation and growth.

For more information, please visit www.fleetcomplete.com

About GM Mexico has been operating in Mexico for 85 years and employs around 21,000 people directly. It has facilities in Toluca, State of Mexico; Silao, Guanajuato; Ramos Arizpe, Coahuila; San Luis Potosi, S.L.P., and corporate offices in Mexico City. It markets Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac brand products. Visit our website: https://media.gm.com/media/mx/es/gm/home.html

About OnStar, LLC (OnStar) is a wholly owned subsidiary of GM Holdings LLC ("GM"). Along with its subsidiary Shanghai OnStar Telematics Co. Ltd (a joint venture between OnStar, Shanghai General Motors Co., Ltd (SGM) and Shanghai Automotive Industry), OnStar provides security, safety and mobility connectivity solutions and advanced information technology. It is available in 39 GM brand models worldwide. OnStar's main services include automatic crash response, stolen vehicle assistance, remote door opening, turn-by-turn navigation, diagnostics, as well as other services.

Social Media

Twitter: @FleetComplete

LinkedIn: Fleet Complete

Facebook: Fleet Complete

Facebook: OnStar Mexico

Twitter: @OnStarMexico

YouTube: OnStar Mexico

SOURCE Fleet Complete
A former Charleston Southern University economist and business professor who pleaded guilty to orchestrating a $66 million investment fraud in 2007 was freed from federal prison after a judge shaved more than 11 years off his original sentence.

Al Parish left Butner Correctional Institute in North Carolina on March 24, according to information posted on the Bureau of Prisons website.

His release after nearly 13 years in federal custody followed a court ruling last week that found he qualified for a compassionate" release based on myriad health ailments and newly disclosed COVID-19 incarceration guidelines for ailing inmates.

Parish, 63, will serve the next three years in a supervised program. He was originally sentenced to a 24-year term, which would have likely been cut to 21 years based on credit he earned for good behavior, according to U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel.

In a March 17 ruling, Gergel wrote that the onetime "Economan" met the legal threshold for a compassionate release after a "rather involved procedural history dating from the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic."

The decision went against the Department of Justice. Through the U.S. Attorney's Office, the nation's law enforcement agency had maintained for nearly a year that Parish was not an "appropriate candidate" for a compassionate release, though it recently acknowledged that he met the qualifications.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for South Carolina had no comment, a spokesman said earlier this week.

In two previous rulings, Gergel sided with the government and rejected Parish's requests to go free. He changed his position after the Justice Department last month disclosed for the first time "internal guidance" about prisoners and COVID-19, based on information from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The directive said that a federal inmate who demonstrates "one" of the risk factors that the CDC flagged and is "definitively" at "greater risk of severe illness  presents an extraordinary and compelling reason for compassionate release  even if that condition in ordinary times would not allow for compassionate release," Gergel wrote.

Mount Pleasant attorney Cameron Blazer, who represents Parish, said she could not comment publicly about the case when contacted earlier this week.

Parish was a high-profile Ph.D-trained CSU economist and business forecaster with a penchant for flashy clothes, collectible pens and high-end watches. He was charged in April 2007 with engineering a $66 million investment scam that claimed nearly 600 victims.

He pleaded guilty in federal court in October 2007 to two counts of fraud and was later sentenced to 292 months by Judge David Norton, one of Gergel's colleagues at the Four Corners of Law in downtown Charleston.

Sign up for our new business newsletter We're starting a weekly newsletter about the business stories that are shaping Charleston and South Carolina. Get ahead with us - it's free. Email

Sign Up!

Gergel said in his order that he weighed the seriousness of the crimes and the victims in his decision. He said he balanced that against Parish's medical history and the amount of time already served.

Parish presided over "a massive financial swindle in which he converted funds of hundreds of his clients in his investment business to support a lavish lifestyle. These funds included the life savings or retirees and college funds for his clients' children.  These factors support a significant period of incarceration," Gergel wrote.

Parish has been trying without success to have his term at Butner reduced for years, mostly by citing legal technicalities related to his sentencing.

He tried again last April 10, arguing that the coronavirus that was spreading through the prison system was putting his life at risk.

Parish, who later contracted COVID-19, has been diagnosed with chronic kidney disease, diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease and obesity, among other ailments. He uses a walker and he had been housed in Butner's medical center in a minimal security setting before he was released.

The Bureau of Prisons has described his condition as "unstable, complex chronic care," Gergel said.

All of those factors, "exacerbated by his advancing age, makes it highly probable that he faces a progressing declining health status in an institutional setting and would not survive" even if he was released after 21 years in prison, when he'd be 71, the judge said.

Gergel also was swayed by the government's recent acknowledgment that Parish qualified for an early release under the newly disclosed CDC guidelines.

According to the ruling, Parish was a model prisoner, with no documented disciplinary infractions at Butner, where his fellow inmates included the notorious Ponzi scheme fraudster Bernie Madoff.

"He has taken and completed over 150 academic courses while he has been incarcerated.  He poses no meaningful threat to public safety," Gergel wrote.

The ruling reduced the original sentence to time served. Parish's release would be revoked and he'd be sent back to prison is he violates the court-imposed conditions or if he resumes any criminal activity.

He is expected to stay in North Carolina and live with his family north of Raleigh. His computer usage will be limited, and his financial transactions will be monitored.

Also, the terms of his release require Parish to start paying down about $63 million in court-ordered restitution in $500 monthly installments within 60 days.

CSU, which lost money in the scheme, and some other victims did not respond to requests for comment.

Ms Lily Chepngetich Ngok is poised to become the next Kericho Deputy Governor after Governor Paul Chepkwony nominated her for the position on Thursday, two days after the burial of the immediate former office holder who succumbed to Covd-19.

Governor Chepkwony on Thursday afternoon forwarded the name of the nominee to the County Assembly for vetting and if endorsed, Ms Ngok will be appointed to the position.

Ms Ngok is currently the County Executive Committee member in charge of Education, Sports, Culture and Social Services.

Former Kericho Deputy Governor Ms Susan Kikwai, who had served in the position for the last eight years, succumbed to Covid-19 complications on March 20, at Siloam hospital.

"I hereby nominate Ms Ngok as the Deputy Governor, County Government of Kericho for the remainder of my tenure of administration pursuant to the provisions of Article 182(2) of the Constitution as read with section 32 (C) and 32 (D) of the County Governments' Act (Act. No 11 of 2020), and Section 22, 25 and 26 of the Election Act, 2011," Prof Chepkwony said in a letter addressed to Speaker of the County Assembly Dominic Rono.

Prof Chepkwony said the nominee is from Kipkelion East constituency, where the late Ms Kikwai hailed from and that the nomination "addresses continuity, in the distribution of elective seats and gender balance."

Woman nominee

"I confirm that the nominee meets all the requirements for nomination to the post and has all the qualifications, leadership qualities, and competencies necessary for such a demanding job," Chepkwony said.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Prior to Ms Ngok's nomination there had been calls for Governor Chepkwony to pick a female nominee.

"You have heard what the people have said through their leaders, and it is important that you respect their wishes for the sake of continuity. Women form an integral part of the society and have immensely contributed to development," Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago said on Tuesday during the funeral service for Ms Kikwai at Tugunon village in Kipkelion constituency.

"We are forever grateful to you Prof Chepkwony that in the two terms, you picked a woman as a deputy and elevated her office by giving it the portfolio of head of government business. In honoring our departed dear sister, we implore upon you that you nominate another woman to replace her," said Dr Caroline Karugu who chairs the Deputy Governors caucus.

Kericho Senator Aaron Cheruiyot, Woman Rep Florence Bore, MPs Joseph Limo (Kipkelion West), Nelson Koech (Belgut), Mr Japeth Mutai (Belgut), Mrs Beatrice Kones (Bomet East) and Sylvanus Maritim all rallied behind the call.

"There are women with administrative and leadership skills in this county, majority are of high integrity and would fit into the shoes of our fallen sister. Honour us women by picking the next DG from among them," said Mrs Bore.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-24 17:54:33|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

Workers operate at a construction site in Cikampek, West Java Province, Indonesia, March 24, 2021. China's Sinohydro Bureau 7 Co., Ltd. on Wednesday completed the precasting work of 15,390 reinforced concrete rail track slabs for the Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Railway (HSR), the railway's operator said. (Xinhua/Zulkarnain)

JAKARTA, March 24 (Xinhua) -- China's Sinohydro Bureau 7 Co., Ltd. on Wednesday completed the precasting work of 15,390 reinforced concrete rail track slabs for the Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Railway (HSR), the railway's operator said.

A statement released by KCIC, a joint venture consortium between Chinese and Indonesian state-owned firms that runs the 142.3-km HSR, said the completion of the precasting work created a solid foundation for the laying of track slabs on the entire line of the railway.

KCIC said the precasting of rail track slabs undertaken by Sinohydro Bureau 7 Co., Ltd., accounting for 51 percent of the total slab precasting works, will be handed over to Indonesian state-owned company PT Wijaya Karya, a member of the venture consortium.

KCIC said that the first track slab was produced in January last year in Sinohydro's slab yard before the launching of mass production, adding that all the slab transported out reached a qualified rate of 100 percent.

With a speed of 350 km per hour, the high-speed railway built with the Chinese technology will cut the journey between Jakarta and Bandung, the capital of West Java province, from more than three hours to around 40 minutes. 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.
Brittany Higgins has filed a formal complaint with the Prime Minister's office over claims his staff backgrounded journalists in a bid to undermine her boyfriend David Sharaz.

The claims were made after Ms Higgins came forward to allege she was raped by a former Liberal staffer inside a Parliament House office in 2019.

Ms Higgins sent a letter of complaint to Scott Morrison's chief of staff John Kunkel on Thursday after the Prime Minister suggested nobody from the parliamentary press gallery had raised accusations of backgrounding with his office.

Speaking on ABC Radio on Thursday, Mr Morrison indicated only 'second or third hand' allegations had been made about the briefings so far, rather than a complaint from Ms Higgins or her partner.

Hours later, Ms Higgins sent her formal complaint.

Mr Sharaz is a former public servant who once worked with the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

'In the days following my interview with The Project regarding my experience in Parliament House, I was made aware by numerous journalists about the backgrounding that was happening against my partner,' the complaint read.

Brittany Higgins has filed a complaint with Scott Morrison's chief of staff over claims the Prime Minister's Office backgrounded journalists against her boyfriend David Sharaz (the couple are pictured together)

The letter of complaint sent by Ms Higgins to the Prime Minister's chief of staff John Kunkel on Thursday

Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured) on Thursday said suggested nobody from the parliamentary press gallery had raised accusations of backgrounding with his office

'To my knowledge, this was being done by staff within the Prime Minister's media team.'

In an interview with The Project's Lisa Wilkinson last month, Ms Higgins broke down in tears as she told how she was allegedly raped inside Defence Minister Linda Reynolds' parliamentary office in Canberra.

Ms Higgins, who was 24-years-old and in her dream career as a media adviser to Senator Reynolds at the time of the alleged rape, also claimed she felt pressured to stay silent for fear of losing her job.

Mr Morrison has been asked more than a dozen times in the parliament whether he has investigated allegations his staff tried to privately undermine Ms Higgins or her loved ones.

He was asked again during a radio interview on Thursday whether he could say categorically that his office had not engaged in such behaviour.

'There has been no one in the gallery, nothing has been raised with my office from anyone in the gallery making any of those accusations or any discomfort about anything that my office has done,' Mr Morrison told ABC Radio.

'People make allegations all the time second, third-hand. But there's no one who has raised that with my chief of staff out of the gallery, no.'

Shortly after his comments, Ms Higgins lodged the formal complaint.

Brittany Higgins (pictured) has also requested to provide evidence to an inquiry into which of the prime minister's staff knew of her rape allegations

Pictured: Brittany Higgins with her boyfriend David Sharaz. Ms Higgins said in her complaint she was 'made aware by numerous journalists about the backgrounding that was happening against my partner'

Network 10 political editor Peter Van Onselen claimed on ABC radio last month the Prime Minister's Office 'has been backgrounding that her partner, her now partner, has a vendetta, or a gripe might be the better way to put it, against the government because of him being a former public servant'.

Ms Higgins has also requested to provide evidence to department secretary Phil Gaetjens, who is running an inquiry into which of the prime minister's staff knew of her rape allegations before they were made public.

The investigation has been put on hold while police investigate the rape allegations.

'It is my express desire to present my evidence to Mr Gaetjens at the appropriate time once the review recommences,' Ms Higgins wrote.
Xinjiang gov't denounces EU's sanction decision as utterly groundless

Xinhua) 09:36, March 25, 2021

URUMQI, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The government of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Tuesday expressed firm opposition and strong condemnation of the European Union (EU)'s unilateral sanctions against some individuals and entities in Xinjiang.

The regional government said the sanctions turned a blind eye to facts, gravely violated international law and basic norms governing international relations and seriously interfered in China's internal affairs, adding that the decision made by the EU is a piece of waste paper.

"The accusations made by some people and media in the EU about 'genocide' in Xinjiang are nothing but lies of the century," said Elijian Anayit, spokesperson for the Xinjiang regional government.

The growth rate of Uygur population in Xinjiang is not only higher than that of Xinjiang's entire population, but also higher than that of other ethnic minorities, and more obviously higher than that of the Han population, he said.

In response to the EU's accusation that Xinjiang "restricts freedom of religious belief," he said that it was a complete slander, stressing that normal religious activities by Muslims in mosques and at their homes are carried out in accordance with their own will and are protected by law.

He pointed out that the conditions of religious sites in Xinjiang have been continuously improving over the years. Xinjiang now has 10 Islamic schools, which enroll nearly 1,000 students each year. Islamic classics such as the Koran have been translated and published in Chinese, Uygur, Kazak and Kirgiz languages.

Elijian Anayit solemnly declared that the EU's accusation of "cultural extinction" in Xinjiang is complete nonsense. He said Xinjiang has enacted a series of local laws and regulations in accordance with China's Constitution and other laws to effectively protect the languages and cultural rights of all ethnic groups.

The Xinjiang regional government invited EU envoys to visit Xinjiang many times, but they delayed the visits in every possible way for various reasons and even put forward unreasonable demands, according to Xu Guixiang, another spokesperson for the Xinjiang regional government.

To put it bluntly, they did not dare to face the real Xinjiang, fearing that the reality of a stable and prosperous Xinjiang, where people live and work in peace and contentment would expose their lies, Xu said.

The progress of human rights in Xinjiang is there for all to see. The actions of the United States, Britain, Canada and the EU not only triggered deep indignation among the Chinese and people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang, but were also spurned by the larger international community, he said.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Bianji)
This obituary is part of a series about people who have died in the coronavirus pandemic. Read about others here.

Every day, Marianne Steiner wore the same black dress to her job tending window displays at Saks Fifth Avenue, but with one element altered: a different collar or cuffs, or a new decorative flourish from a scarf or brooch.

She didnt want her colleagues to know that she owned only one dress. It was the eve of World War II, and Ms. Steiner and her family were Jewish refugees from Germany.

From that brush with poverty, Ms. Steiner would find herself vaulted in later years to a Fifth Avenue apartment and a Hamptons beach house of her own. The penny-pinching shopgirl often returned to Saks, but now as a customer.
Despite being part of the Congress-Sena-NCP alliance in the Maharashtra government, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, who was named star campaigner in West Bengal from the MVA, Pawar will be campaigning for Trinamool Congress next week after Holi.

NCP sources said that Shaad Pawar will address public meeting and also meet Trinamool supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The first phase of Pawar's campaigning will be for three days.

Congress leader Pradeep Bhattacharya has written a letter to the NCP leader not to campaign for Trinamool which may send wrong signals to the voters as Congress is contesting elections in the state in alliance with Left.

Most of the UPA constituents are supporting Trinamool in place of Congress which is heading the UPA alliance in the country.

Apart from NCP, Shiv Sena, JMM and RJD have extended its support to the Trinamool in West Bengal elections.

The state is witnessing fierce political battle between Trinamool and BJP.

The BJP manifesto is focussing on the "Sonar Bangla model", JMM leader Hemant Soren will be pitched for tribal votes in the state.
The United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Burjeel Hospital & "VPS Healthcare", to enhance cooperation between the two institutions in the fields of medicine, academic research and healthcare.

Zaki Nusseibeh, Cultural Advisor to HH the President of UAE, Chancellor of the UAEU, witnessed the MoU signing ceremony attended by Prof Ghaleb Al Hadrami Al Breiki - Acting Vice Chancellor of the United Arab Emirates University and Omran Al Khoori, President of Business Development at VPS Healthcare.

Commenting on the MoU, Nusseibeh said: The partnership will help students and develop specialised training programmes for them.

Prof Al Breiki said: This will strengthen cooperation between the UAEU and the leading medical institutions in the country such as Burjeel & VPS, in line with the universitys vision of leadership, excellence, and quality education, and to achieve scientific integration. These agreements include exchanging experiences and research and working on preparing graduates as leaders in their various specialties.

He pointed out that this agreement would contribute to developing the level of educational services provided to CMHS students as per the best standards. He also added that the main motive of such cooperation and partnership at the medical level is preparing a generation of physicians armed with knowledge and expertise to support the medical sector in the country and the region.

On his part, Al Khoori said: This MoU would strengthen the association between our two institutions and provide opportunities for students in diverse areas. VPS Healthcare will be working with the stakeholders to design specialised programmes that will add value and open avenues for medical students. We hope the association between the institutions will help the students in gaining knowledge and enthuse them to steer a path towards research and development.

Under the MoU, the two institutions will cooperate to develop updated evidence-based medical education programmes, organise lectures and educational seminars for undergraduate students; develop in-depth training programmes for graduate students in addition to research cooperation in medical fields; and organise seminars, conferences, workshops, and other academic and professional activities. -- Tradearabia News Service
Tragic tales abound among celebrities. Part of it is that their fame makes incidents that wouldnt normally register as newsworthy into front-page headlines, but there is also the fact that many living the life of luxury are out in tempting positions when it comes to substance abuse and risky behavior.

Musicians, in particular, have a reputation for living hard lives and often taking their final bow way too soon. For the band Lynyrd Skynyrd, tragedy has certainly overshadowed much of their legacy. One member managed to cheat death twice before meeting a tragic end that many fans still find suspicious.

Lynyrd Skynyrd (L-R) Leon Wilkeson, Allen Collins, Gary Rossington, Artimus Pyle (Top) Steve Gaines and Billy Powell | Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Lynyrd Skynyrds legacy is tinged with tragedy

Lynyrd Skynyrd started the way many groups form: a bunch of young friends got together and started making music. Ronnie Van Zant, Gary Rossington, Allen Collins, Steve Gaines, Billy Powell, Leon Wilkeson, and Artimus Pyle got together in Jacksonville, Florida, calling themselves Lynyrd Skynyrd as an inside joke involving a gym teacher.

Soon, they found themselves caught up in a Southern rock boom that saw their fame soaring. Their first album released in 1973, and it contained Free Bird and Sweet Home Alabama, hits that would define their influence and success.

Lynyrd Skynyrd named their band after a gym teacher called Leonard Skinner, who suspended them for having long hair.  UberFacts (@UberFacts) April 10, 2020

RELATED: Ronnie Van Zant Predicted He Wouldnt Live to 30 and His Premonition Came True: I Dont Think Im Going to Make It

Unfortunately, that success was short-lived. In 1977, the bands legacy forever became one of tragedy when a plane crash killed two members of the group and left others facing serious injuries. While the band did reunite in 1987, the momentum and focus they had was lost along with Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines.

Leon Wilkeson was on the plane that crashed

RELATED: Lynyrd Skynyrd Nearly Canceled the Doomed Flight That Killed 4 Band Members

That tragic flight is made even more horrifying by just how close it came to not happening. First, Aerosmith had already passed up the plane and its crew  feeling uncomfortable with its safety after catching the pilots drinking whiskey. On top of that, Lynyrd Skynyrd members had seen flames shooting out of the engine just days before the fatal accident. They vowed to make finding a safer ride a priority, but the step wasnt taken soon enough.

Five people died in the crash, and the other members faced serious injuries. One of them was bassist Leon Wilkeson. In fact, as Grunge reports, the bass player faced the most serious injuries among the survivors including massive internal injuries, as well as a smashed jaw, broken nose and facial bones, 15 dislodged teeth, six broken ribs, and a broken left arm and leg. When he was rescued from the crash, he had lost an alarming amount of blood. His heart stopped twice on the operating table. Most concerning for his future career, he almost lost an arm to infection.

Ultimately, Wilkeson did recover from the accident  arm intact  and was able to return to his musical career. He hopped around through different groups before landing back with the reunited Lynyrd Skynyrd. It was then that tragedy struck a second time.

Mysterious incident left Leon Wilkeson near death a second time

While touring with the revamped Lynyrd Skynyrd, Wilkeson faced another brush with death. As Rock and Roll Paradise reports, Guitarist Ed King found Wilkeson with his throat cut, bleeding profusely on the groups tour bus. Wilkeson was rushed to the hospital and once again recovered, but the circumstances surrounding the situation remain a mystery.

Wilkeson may have managed to cheat death twice in his young life, but he ultimately met an untimely end. At the age of just 49, Wilkeson was found dead in a Florida hotel room in 2001. As Billboard explains, Wilkeson was apparently suffering from chronic liver and lung disease and likely died of natural causes. While some fans have continued to suspect foul play in Wilkesons death, the natural cause explanation has stood as the official one in the years since.
There's a lot of money at stake  close to $1 billion  from just one federal law alone to help the government of Guam and the public it serve Read more
Gov. Andrew Cuomo got preferential Covid-19 testing for his family, including brother Chris Cuomo of CNN, according to multiple reports.

The Times-Union, The New York Times and The Washington Post reported Wednesday that the New York governor and state Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker allegedly arranged for members of Cuomos family and other influential people with close ties to his administration to get priority coronavirus testing last year.

Beneficiaries included Gov. Cuomos brother, Cuomo Prime Time host Chris Cuomo; one of their sisters; and their mother, Matilda Cuomo. Multiple sources said they were tested several times during the early days of the pandemic, including at their private homes.

The Times Union reported Dr. Eleanor Adams, an epidemiologist who was a special advisor to the state Health Department, made multiple trips to the Long Island home of Chris Cuomo, who tested positive for Covid-19 in March 2020. Cuomo detailed his battle with the virus on his CNN show and had his brother Andrew on the show several times.

According to WABC, others who received priority testing for Covid-19 included MTA chairman Pat Foye, Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton, and their wives, as well as some state legislators and their staff.

The Democrat & Chronicle reports Cuomos office did not deny the reports, but said the state was trying to test as many people as possible for contact tracing after the states first outbreak in New Rochelle.

We should avoid insincere efforts to rewrite the past, Rich Azzopardi, Cuomos special adviser, said in a statement. In the early days of this pandemic, when there was a heavy emphasis on contact tracing, we were absolutely going above and beyond to get people testing  including in some instances going to peoples homes.

CNN also issued a statement defending Chris Cuomo, saying he acted like any human being would.

It is not surprising that in the earliest days of a once-in-a-century global pandemic, when Chris was showing symptoms and was concerned about possible spread, he turned to anyone he could for advice and assistance, as any human being would, a spokesperson for the cable news network said.

The New York Post reports U.S. Rep Lee Zeldin, a Republican from Suffolk County whos exploring a run for governor in 2022, seized on the latest scandal to again demand Gov. Andrew Cuomo resign from office.

This latest report of prioritizing his family members for COVID testing at private residences conducted by state Health Department officials and having their tests moved to the front of the line at Wadsworth adds to a very long list of reasons why Cuomos Gotta Go, Zeldin said in a statement.

NYS Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou, who has also called on Cuomo to stop down, said there was nobody surprised at the new reports.

New Yorks Democratic U.S. senators, Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, have both called on Cuomo to step down, saying he has lost the confidence of his governing partners. State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins has also said Cuomo should resign, as have numerous others in the state Senate and Assembly, plus Congress members like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Cuomo, a Democrat, has refused to resign as he faces multiple sexual harassment allegations and scrutiny over the states handling of data on Covid-19 deaths in nursing homes. He fired back at critics Wednesday that say he cant do his job effectively right now.

The nature of being governor is there are always multiple situations to deal with, Cuomo said. Its clearly not true... The reality is the exact opposite.

RELATED:

Cuomo impeachment probe could take months

Cuomo ethics commissioners block subpoena to governors office

Chris Cuomo addresses brother Gov. Andrew Cuomos growing scandal on CNN

Late-night TV increasingly targets Cuomo, the only person who still wishes it was 2020
BEIJING, Mar. 25 -- The vaccine assistance provided by the Chinese military is neither for any geopolitical purpose, nor attached with any political strings, said the Chinese defense spokesperson at a regular press conference on Thursday.

Chinese Defense Spokesperson Senior Colonel Ren Guoqiang made the remarks when commenting on the doubts voiced by some western countries over the purpose of Chinas vaccine assistance.

Ren introduced that, since the outbreak of the COVID-19, the Chinese military has provided the international community with support and assistance within its capacity on the premise of sound epidemic containment at home. It has recently provided vaccine assistance to the militaries of Pakistan, Cambodia, Mongolia, the Philippines and other countries.

This is a major step taken by China to fulfill its international responsibility and obligation and to make the vaccines a global public good, without any geopolitical purpose, nor attached with any political strings, stressed Ren.

The Chinese militarys actions have been highly recognized and extensively welcomed by the international community. Governments and military officials of the recipient countries have expressed their sincere gratitude to China through letters, telegraph, diplomatic bulletin, public statement or many other ways. Next, the Chinese military will continue to work with foreign militaries to combat the COVID-19, deepen pragmatic cooperation in non-traditional security domains, added Ren.
(Newser)  An alert customer at an Atlanta grocery store may have helped stop a copycat mass shooting two days after the Boulder shooting. Police say a man was arrested after walking into a Publix supermarket Wednesday afternoon with at least five guns and body armor, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Instacart shopper Charles Russell tells WSB-TV that he alerted store management after he saw the armed man in a bathroom stall. "I saw an AR-15. And I was like, you know, this kind of startled me just again with events that recently happened in the grocery store up in Colorado," he says. Police say 22-year-old Rico Marley was arrested when he left the bathroom, CNN reports. They recovered weapons including two long guns and three pistols.

story continues below

Marley was carrying a rifle when he entered the store, police say. Open carry is legal in Georgia and Marley reportedly had a concealed carry license. Police say they're not sure what Marley's intentions were. He was charged with reckless conduct and was taken for a mental health evaluation, the results of which have not been disclosed, ABC reports. The Washington Post reports that Marley was later charged with six counts of possession of a firearm or knife and five counts of attempting to commit a felony. It's not clear whether there is a link between Marley's arrest and a suspicious package that was found in the store's parking deck Wednesday. (Read more Atlanta stories.)
Living conditions for Tigrayans who fled the border from Ethiopia into Sudan.

A new report by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) says Eritrean troops killed unarmed civilians in the historic town of Aksum in Tigray, piling accusations of atrocities on Asmara.

The document released on Wednesday morning reports of incidents when armed Eritrean troops went from house to house asking for men and boys from villages. They then shot them, it says.

The report titled 'Investigation into Grave Human Rights Violations in Aksum City' is only a preliminary finding, and was released a day after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed admitted for the first time the presence of Eritrean troops on Ethiopian soil.

The findings confirmed that on two days, November 28 and November 29, 2020, "grave violations of human rights" were committed in Aksum against more than 100 civilians including tourists on a pilgrimage to mark the annual Aksum Tsion celebration and IDPs living in the area.

As the residents, families of victims and eyewitnesses described to EHRC, "civilians were killed in front of their children, spouses and mothers."

Eritrean soldiers went door to door asking women "where their husbands or children were" telling them "to bring their sons out if they have any" and asking questions in Tigrinya and shooting at civilian men they dragged out of houses and caught on streets even as the men pleaded saying they were not armed.

"Families of victims and eyewitnesses identified the attackers as Eritrean soldiers by their distinct Eritrean Tigrinya accent, by the uniforms and shoes they were wearing and a distinct cultural marking on the face of some of the Eritrean soldiers."

Eritrea had reacted angrily to earlier reports by Amnesty International and later Human Rights Watch in February, accusing the rights watchdogs of relying on 'biased' witnesses among the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Ethiopia Legal Affairs Conflict By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

On Tuesday, however, Dr Abiy said Eritrean troops had done "favours" to his country when he first launched an operation targeting the erstwhile ruling party, TPLF. But he did say Addis Ababa will not defend atrocities committed by either his own troops or those of Eritrea.

"However, after the Eritrean army crossed the border and was operating in Ethiopia, any damage it did to our people was unacceptable," he said.

"We don't accept it because it is the Eritrean army, and we would not accept it if it were our soldiers. The military campaign was against our clearly targeted enemies, not against the people. We have discussed this four or five times with the Eritrean government," Dr Abiy said.

The Ethiopian rights watchdog said the crimes were not 'ordinary' "but grave contraventions of applicable international and human rights laws and principles, marked by intentionally directed attacks against civilians who were not directly taking part in the hostilities and including intentional looting, destruction and appropriation of property not justified by military necessity (including religious institutions and health facilities)."

"As these grave human rights violations may amount to crimes against humanity or war crimes, it underscores the need for a comprehensive investigation into overall human rights situation in Tigray region."
by Kristina Knight

This despite news that bigger corporations have received federal aid. Instead of relying on government intervention, many small business owners have shifted their focus to take more of their business - from payment processing to payroll - into the digital space.

Adobe's experts found that about only about half of SMBs secured PPP loans, that about one-third (34%) are relying on business credit cards to survive, and that about 20% have applied for bank loans. Only about 23% of small businesses have secured federal/government loans during the pandemic.

Other interesting findings from Adobe's report include:

 51% of SMBs handle physical paperwork daily

 On average, SMB owners process 16 documents per week

 On average, SMB contracts take 6 days to process

The study also shows how small business owners are responding to the pandemic, with about 45% of SMB owners over age 55 staying home during the crisis, and that about one-third of younger SMB owners (age 18-34) allowing their employees to work remotely.

More data from Adobe's report can be accessed here.

Tags: Adobe Digital Analytics, pandemic trends, SMB pandemic advertising, smb pandemic ecommerce, SMB tips, SMB trends

It was around midnight in Rabat in December 2020. The neighbourhoods are empty; time seems suspended in the kingdom's capital. The only people seen are the occasional police patrol officer or street sweeper.

An ambulance siren pierces the air of a city deep in sleep. Inside the vehicle, emergency medics clad in hazmat suits administer oxygen to a man in respiratory distress as it races towards the hospital.

"I thought I was going to die and leave my family and children on their own. I was stressed; I was afraid," said Jamal Eddine Bararh, a gynaecologist, a few days after his recovery from COVID-19. "With one of my lungs distressed, I just couldn't breathe or stand up."

Such scenes have become part of everyday life since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. To stem the virus's spread and save lives, authorities have had to adopt strict measures such as lockdowns and border closures, impacting economies hard.

Morocco has implemented a robust healthcare response. "We have expanded support all over the country and equipped hospitals in time, in order to have the tools to respond to the pandemic," explained Abdelouahab Belmadani, director of planning and financial resources at the Ministry of Health.

The African Development Bank has provided Morocco with more than 380 million through the COVID-19 Response Support Programme (PARC-19) and Additional Funding for the Social Protection Support Programme (PAAPS-FA COVID-19). The funds were used to strengthen the health system: 54 hospital emergency service departments refurbished; approximately 670 new intensive-care beds installed and more than 30 new screening centers put into operation. Pharmaceutical provisions specific to the virus have also been funded.

These efforts have helped to contain the pandemic. "The recovery rate in Morocco, currently running at 90%, is among the highest in the world," said Belmadani. "Intensive care capacity was tripled in nine months. The African Development Bank has been at our side from the beginning of the pandemic, placing a significant sum at our disposal to help us act quickly and effectively."

Morocco also rapidly expanded its testing capacity with the acquisition of more than 200,000 test kits thanks to the Bank's support.

"The capacity of our laboratory sharply increased from 2,000 tests per year to 5,000 tests per day. This is a national achievement!" said Professor Hicham Oumzil, head of the virology department of the National Institute of Hygiene (INH).

Economic and social challenges

The lockdown has triggered unprecedented economic and social problems, taking many businesses to the brink of collapse. To support the private sector and maintain jobs, the Bank has contributed to state financial support for vulnerable employees and supported provisions facilitating business access to finance. More than five million households and 800,000 employees have received help, and 40,000 businesses have benefited from state-guaranteed loans.

"This crisis is like nothing we've ever seen before... orders canceled, suppliers making demands, and then, total uncertainty, said Youssef Mquirej, managing director of events company Imagia Maroc. "I had to fight to protect my ten employees and my company. My staff received government support during the lockdown and we received a loan to relaunch the business."

For Bararh who recovered from COVID-19, the pandemic has been a turning point in his life. Although he survived, he lost both his parents to the virus. "After what I experienced, my outlook on life has changed. What used to go unnoticed is now precious. And life is very precious," he said.

In Morocco, as elsewhere, the virus has hit many people. Some businesses have closed while others are struggling to survive. In this daily battle against the virus, the African Development Bank has made up to $10 billion of emergency funding available to support African countries' response to the crisis and cushion the impact on their economies.

Because every life counts.
PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA [March 25, 2021] -- New recommendations to advance racial equity, ways to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer care, and ongoing strategies for preventing and controlling HPV-associated cancers led the conversation at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) 2021 Virtual Annual Conference March 18-20. More than 1,300 attendees from across the United States and more than 40 countries met online to learn about updates to the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) and new research in the field. Sessions explored supportive care and ways to help survivors return to work, updates on best practices, and the most contemporary treatments for multiple malignancies including breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, gynecologic cancers, and head and neck cancers.

"Despite a year-long pandemic that made both research and patient care more challenging, NCCN's panels of experts from leading academic cancer centers developed continuous updates to the NCCN Guidelines that helped oncology professionals worldwide maintain service to patients with best practices under evolving circumstances," said NCCN Chief Executive Officer Robert W. Carlson, MD.

"At the same time, it was a year of reckoning with the United States' history of racial inequity, in which NCCN and the greater healthcare community have been called with renewed urgency to develop ways to make quality cancer care more accessible and equitable."

Preventing and controlling HPV-associated cancers

The first of three keynote panels addressed the importance of vaccination, screening, public and professional education, and system/process improvement in preventing cancers common in people infected with HPV (human papillomavirus).

"HPV vaccination will have a significant impact on reducing cancer incidence in the U.S., as well as globally," said Wui-Jin Koh, MD, Chief Medical Officer, NCCN, who chaired the panel. "We know that vaccination against HPV can prevent most cases of cervical cancer, for example, yet many countries still have low vaccination rates, and misinformation about vaccines is rampant. Beyond cervical cancer, HPV is also causative in many cancers of the anus, vulvar, vagina, penis, and oropharynx. Strategies to increase vaccination and otherwise control HPV are vital to cancer prevention."

Elevating racial equity

At the conference, representatives from the Elevating Cancer Equity Working Group--convened by NCCN along with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) and the National Minority Quality Forum (NMQF)--discussed detailed recommendations for reducing racial disparities in cancer care. People of color--especially Black, Latinx, and Indigenous people--often have higher cancer rates and yet are medically underserved, experiencing later diagnosis and worse outcomes.

"These disparities result from systemic inequality and bias in access and care delivery," commented Dr. Carlson. "Oncology professionals have a responsibility to respond, and help ensure their patients have access to guideline-adherent cancer care."

Presenters Lisa A. Lacasse, MBA, President, ACS CAN and Elizabeth Harrington, Partner, Public Opinion Strategies (POS) took a deeper look at a recent poll commissioned by the working group that found 63% of African American and 67% of Latinx cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers reported negative interactions with their care team, compared with 43% of white patients. The presentation also included a real-time poll of the audience regarding the importance and feasibility of implementing the recommendations for improving equity in cancer care. In many cases, attendees reported that they already have these policies in place.

"This is where the rubber meets the road. You can have great ideas, but how they're operationalized is critical to any success. It feels big, but certainly people are doing it," said Robert Winn, MD, Director, Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center who co-chaired the working group along with fellow presenter, Shonta Chambers, MSW, EVP Health Equity Initiatives and Community Engagement, Patient Advocate Foundation.

Adapting care in a pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic forced oncology professionals to adapt in order to provide ongoing care for cancer patients--especially those at high risk. The final keynote session, "Effects of the Pandemic on Cancer Care/Future Directions of Cancer Care," reviewed the COVID-related difficulties cancer centers have faced, how they adapted, and the possibility of permanent shifts to incorporate more telemedicine.

"In a moment of crisis, it is important for us to meet the crisis but then to gain something that we carry forward," said Timothy Kubal, MD, MBA, Moffitt Cancer Center, Co-Chair, NCCN Best Practices Committee. "As healthcare providers, I think we are realizing that many of the things that we have held sacred aren't as important to the patient as we thought. The in-person visit, full physical exam and on-site labs, imaging and chemotherapy are the way things have been done for a generation, but telemedicine challenges many aspects of such tradition. We all thought this would be terrible for the patient but as it turns out, in most cases, it's okay. We need to carry this learning forward to better meet the needs of our patient population and to drive innovation in healthcare delivery.

They say the only thing that matters in real estate is 'location, location, location.' But, for our patients, what really matters is, 'What location works for you?'"

The NCCN Annual Conference convenes oncology professionals--physicians, nurses, pharmacists, researchers, payers, advocates, and policymakers--to advance cancer treatment and patient care by exploring emerging therapies and addressing the latest issues and updates. The virtual conference featured more than 35 educational sessions with interactive polling, and moderator-facilitated Q&A. The conference also featured more than 90 research posters and more than 50 virtual interactive exhibits.

The online conference platform will allow attendees to continue accessing all sessions until May 19, 2021. At that time, the sessions will be made available as recorded webcasts via the NCCN Continuing Education portal at education.nccn.org, with a clinical synopsis publishing in JNCCN-Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network this summer. Take part in the post-conference discussion on social media by using the hashtag #NCCN2021, or visit NCCN.org/news for updates.

The 2022 NCCN Annual Conference will take place March 31 - April 2, 2022. More information will soon be available at NCCN.org/conference.

###

About the National Comprehensive Cancer Network

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) is a not-for-profit alliance of leading cancer centers devoted to patient care, research, and education. NCCN is dedicated to improving and facilitating quality, effective, efficient, and accessible cancer care so patients can live better lives. The NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) provide transparent, evidence-based, expert consensus recommendations for cancer treatment, prevention, and supportive services; they are the recognized standard for clinical direction and policy in cancer management and the most thorough and frequently-updated clinical practice guidelines available in any area of medicine. The NCCN Guidelines for Patients provide expert cancer treatment information to inform and empower patients and caregivers, through support from the NCCN Foundation. NCCN also advances continuing education, global initiatives, policy, and research collaboration and publication in oncology. Visit NCCN.org for more information and follow NCCN on Facebook @NCCNorg, Instagram @NCCNorg, and Twitter @NCCN.
(Natural News) The only honest assessment of the left-wing vaccine zealots who are aggressively pushing dangerous, deadly vaccines on everyone is that they are part of a vaccine suicide cult.

Much like the Heavens Gate cult in California led its followers to kill themselves because they thought an alien mothership was going to save them while hiding behind Haleys Comet, todays vaccine cultists believe they will be saved by the very pharmaceutical monsters that are hell bent on maximizing vaccine profits no matter how many people die in the process.

The vaccine zealotry has gone so far beyond any realm of reason or facts that it can only be accurately called a cult. And its a suicide cult, since so many are setting themselves up for mass death from the medium-term side effects that end in horrendous suffering, known as Antibody Dependent Enhancement or ADE.

This is also known as a hyperinflammatory reaction upon exposure to coronavirus strains in the wild, and it presents a very real risk of mass fatalities among those who are dumb enough to have lined up to take the experimental mRNA vaccine thats been shoved down everyones throats.

According to the CDC, about one quarter of the US population has already received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, and the official goal is to get at least 100 million Americans to accept two doses. If this vaccine goes horribly wrong, we could see literally tens of millions of Americans dead from it over just the next couple of years.

In order to accomplish this vaccine suicide brainwashing, every effort is being made to censor, ridicule and discredit anyone who dares raise even a single question about vaccine testing, efficacy or testing. Merely stating that 20+ European countries have paused the deadly AstrZeneca vaccine linked to blood clot deaths will get you banned as an anti-vaxxer. No person is allowed to cite any safety concerns, even those expressed by other governments.

So stupid theyre almost begging to be suicided

The covid vaccine and mask pushers are so unbelievably stupid  almost beyond imagination  that they are now pushing nose masks so that people can continue to talk and eat while wearing a mask.

But if the whole point of wearing a mask is to block the spittle coming out of the mouth, then a nose mask is medically meaningless, serving as nothing more than a symbol of blind, stupid obedience to an insane plandemic lie. Then again, even a regular face mask is also meaningless, we now know, and does nothing to stop the spread of any infectious agent.

Miscarriages following covid-19 vaccines, by the way, have spiked 366% in the UK, demonstrating yet again that vaccines are truly designed as depopulation weapons against humanity.

In the USA, Americas public health policies are now run by an obese transgender named Rachel Levine, who is the perfect symbol of complete insanity, self-harm and a lack of public health. You might think public health should be led by someone who is actually healthy and sane, but not under the Biden regime. They are deliberately trying to be as stupid and evil as possible, which is why Senators Hirono and Duckworth  both of whom are admitted racist bigots  are now claiming they will vote against any white person for Bidens cabinet, promising to ban them based on the color of their skin.

Hirono and Duckworth might have felt right at home running the gas ovens in Nazi Germany, exterminating those they didnt like. Today, they infest the U.S. Senate, which has become a corrupt cabal of demonic evil, corruption, treason and fraud. In no society rooted in real justice should a sitting Senator openly declare they will ban people based on the color of their skin, regardless of their qualifications. Hirono and Duckworth are pure evil and should be removed from the Senate in shame.

Todays Situation Update podcast explores all these issues and many more. This is a hard-hitting podcast that pulls no punches:

Brighteon.com/16cfc617-979f-456b-9ff1-51c6d5a55911

Discover a new podcast each day at:

https://www.brighteon.com/channels/hrreport
The unprecedented rainfall from Hurricane Harvey in 2017 brought more than flood damage to southeast Texas. For people living in environmental justice communities such as the Manchester neighborhood near the Houston Ship Channel, heavy rainfall and flooding may have increased risks of exposure to harmful chemicals from nearby industry.

To gain a better understanding of how flooding mobilized pollution in the area, a research team led by Garett Sansom, DrPH, research assistant professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the Texas A&M University School of Public Health, analyzed samples of soil from the Manchester neighborhood collected immediately after Hurricane Harvey.

Findings were just published in the Journal of Health and Pollution. Student and faculty researchers along with staff from Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services and residents of Manchester collected soil samples at 40 locations throughout Manchester one week after Harvey. The samples were then processed and analyzed to measure concentrations of pollutants known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are linked with poor health outcomes, including different types of cancer.

PAHs come from incomplete burning of hydrocarbons like wood and fossil fuels. They are found in high concentrations near oil refineries and other industrial facilities as well as major highways and other transportation hubs like shipyards and railways. PAHs also attach themselves to particles in the air, meaning once they settle, they can be moved around by flood waters. The high baseline levels of PAHs in Manchester have thus fueled resident concerns that floods such as those caused by Hurricane Harvey could increase exposure risks.

Manchester is close to the Houston Ship Channel, a major interstate highway, a large railyard and several oil refineries. Previous studies have found that this neighborhood has a disproportionately high level of PAH pollution and associated health risks. Because of this it is important to understand how flooding and other disasters impact the area. Flooding is becoming a greater concern for residents in Manchester as well as in other locations in the Houston area as the frequency of heavy rainfall events appears to be increasing. Between 1981 and 2000, the odds of a rainfall event of more than 20 inches increased by one percent, and this frequency is expected to grow by 18 percent between 2018 and 2100.

The analysis found differences in PAH concentrations across all 40 sample sites, with nearly half of Manchester contaminated to some degree and nine of the sites having a higher PAH concentration than the minimum standard for increased cancer risk. The highest concentrations were found at sites closest to the highway and the Houston Ship Channel, and the lowest concentrations were in farther away locations. The distribution of PAHs in Manchester may have been controlled in part by the way flood waters moved through the area. However, the researchers did not have data on street-level differences in surfaces for their analysis. Thus, it is unclear how much surfaces that do not absorb water, such as streets and sidewalks, contributed to the distribution pattern.

The findings of this study build on prior research showing that people in areas that flood may have a greater risk of PAH exposure. This study also points to the need for a better understanding of how PAHs are dispersed during flood events. More data on baseline pollutant concentrations and improved analysis methods will help researchers, policy makers and community leaders assess the risks people living in environmental justice communities face, and possibly find ways to limit the health risks residents of neighborhoods like Manchester face in the future.
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.
Lewis County C-1 School District purchased four 2022 IC Bus propane buses in fall 2020, which operate on regular routes that span 410 square miles and five counties. With propane school buses, Lewis County has taken an important step to safeguard the health of its students, staff and community. Its important to note that the district will achieve reduced emissions while also significantly lowering its fuel and maintenance costs.

Lewis County C-1 School District in northeast Missouri has taken a big step forward to substantially reduce harmful emissions and costs by adding four propane autogas school buses to its fleet. Propane school buses are clean and affordable solutions that eliminate the particulate matter and harmful emissions found with diesel buses.

The district purchased four 2022 IC Bus propane buses in fall 2020, which operate on regular routes that span 410 square miles and five counties.

Anything we can do to provide a cleaner environment and less pollution being breathed in by our students is something I believe strongly in striving to accomplish, said John French, superintendent of Lewis County C-1 School District. We believe the savings gained from our alternative fueled propane school buses will eventually lead to more money going into the classroom, which will, in turn, reduce the local tax burden.

Propane is a nontoxic, non-carcinogenic and non-corrosive fuel, and is classified as a non-contaminant by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Missouri students, bus drivers and personnel who ride propane school buses have significantly reduced exposure to harmful nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, soot and particulate matter. There are more than 300 propane buses operating in Missouri and more than 20,000 across the nation.

Diesel school buses emit toxic chemicals that can damage the lungs and irritate the skin and eyes of children, said Steve Ahrens, president of the Missouri Propane Education & Research Council. With propane school buses, Lewis County has taken an important step to safeguard the health of its students, staff and community. Its important to note that the district will achieve reduced emissions while also significantly lowering its fuel and maintenance costs. Weve seen this when districts adopt propane fleets that replace diesel busestransportation funding is freed up for education funding. That helps taxpayers breathe a little easier, too.

French said the district received Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust grant funds totaling $20,000 per bus for two of the propane buses, and $37,500 per bus for the other two. Additionally, the district received a $2,000 rebate per bus through the Missouri Propane Education & Research Council. The Council, created by state statute to provide propane safety and education programs, has pledged $1 million to help school districts transition from diesel buses to propane models.

French said the district currently operates 18 diesel buses, paying about $2.25 per gallon, compared with propane at $1.55 per gallon. The federal alternative fuel excise tax credit of 36 cents per gallon brings the districts propane cost to $1.19.

Propane buses have no cold-start issues. Being in the northeast part of Missouri, we get pretty darn cold temperatures, French said. When we get below zero, diesel sometimes gels up, and we dont have that problem with propane.

The district currently fuels its propane buses at a local provider site, but is considering the addition of on-site propane infrastructure, which includes a tank and a dispenser. Many propane retailers will install a fueling station for low or zero cost with a fueling contract.

About MOPERC: The Missouri Propane Education & Research Council is a not-for-profit organization authorized by the Missouri Legislature. Dedicated to propane education and public awareness, MOPERC provides industry training, consumer safety, appliance rebates and market development programs. The council is composed of 15 volunteer directors and administered by an executive staff. Visit http://www.PropaneMissouri.com.
HAMILTON, Miss. (WTVA) - Having a severe weather plan is important and could save lives in some situations.

People in Hamilton, Mississippi said they take the threat of severe weather very seriously, especially after a deadly tornado tore through the town in 2019.

2019 tornado damage in Hamilton. 2019 tornado damage in Hamilton.

Several residents said they go to a family members home to shelter or they shelter at the dome on the attendance center campus.

Dell Malone said a tree fell through her bedroom during last weeks storm, but thankfully she was sheltering at a relatives when it happened.

The tree was on my porch... it was my neighbor's tree," said Malone. "It fell across the fence right on top of my house in my bedroom, if Id been there Id be crushed.

Malissa Wood shared her severe weather plan.

When it gets close I just grab my purse that's got my all my information, my I.D. and stuff in it," said Wood. "My husband and I go there and wait until we get the all clear from the TV.

The Hamilton High School Principal said as always, the dome on campus is available as a shelter tomorrow. People who plan to shelter there are encouraged to wear a mask, social distance, and place pets in a crate before entering.
After weeks of furious attention on the mistreatment of women in Parliament, female MPs from all parties are demanding an end to what they say is relentless sexist trolling online.

Queensland LNP MP Michelle Landry said she would no longer put up with online abuse after she was hit with a raft of degrading comments following her expression of sympathy for a man who was sacked when footage emerged of him masturbating on a female MPs desk.

The LNP member for Capricornia in Queensland, Michelle Landry, says she has been subject to a wave of abuse in recent days. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

I had my 80-year-old mother ringing my daughters saying is your mother going to lose her job because Im being attacked, Ms Landry said.

She said she would not be bullied out of Parliament but found the abusive comments, which were posted by Facebook users on community groups and state Labor MPs pages, soul-destroying.
Hotel Rwanda is a 2004 drama film directed by Terry George. It stars Don Cheadle as real-life hotelier Paul Rusesabagina and Sophie Okonedo as his wife Tatiana. The film is based on true events of the Rwandan genocide which occurred during the spring of 1994. The film follows Rusesabagina's heroic efforts to save the lives of his family and more than 1,000 other refugees by providing them with shelter in the besieged Hotel des Mille Collines.

The film became a moderate success and garnered critical acclaim especially for the performances of Cheadle and Okonedo, both of who were nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress respectively for the film. Read to find out if Hotel Rwanda based on a true story and more about the film's plot here.

More about Hotel Rwanda's true story

Hotel Rwanda is based on a true story documenting the real-life hotelier Paul Rusesabagina and his efforts to save both Tutsi and Hutu Rwandan refugees in the Belgian-owned Hotel des Mille Collines. The events took place amidst the horrific Rwandan Genocide where Hutu terrorists killed about 800,000 people mostly of Tutsi descent. Hotel Rwanda plot follows how Mr Rusesabagina (Cheadle), a middle-class Hutu married to a Tutsi woman(Okonedo), used his influence - and bribes - to convince military officials to secure a safe escape for an estimated 1,200 people who sought shelter at the Mille Collines Hotel in Kigali. Following the carnage, Rusesabagina survived along with his wife, four children, two adopted nieces; as well as most of the refugees he sheltered.

Differences between film's depiction of events versus actual events

While the film takes on the angle of how Paul Rusesabagina becomes a hero due to his efforts of saving thousands of lives, over the years the hotelier has been gripped in controversy, especially with reports claiming he used to "extort money" from the refugees for necessities like food water and other facilities. It was also reported that the UN headquarters in Kigali received information that Rusesabagina had provided a Rwandan army commander with a list of hotel guests and their room numbers.

As narrated in the book Inside the Hotel Rwanda: The Surprising True Story ... and Why It Matters Today, the film had many inaccuracies, as the same refugees whom Rusesabagina shielded from the extremist groups claimed that he was a profiteering and politically ambitious "Hutu power sympathiser" who extorted money from those who sought refuge, threatening to send those who did not pay to the genocide causers, despite pleas from the hotels corporate ownership to stop. A refugee survivor named Edouard Kayihura told his own story through the book.

Promo Image Source: A still from Hotel Rwanda (2004)

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.
She always catches the eye with her fashionable ensembles.

And Amanda Holden didn't disappoint on Thursday as she cut a chic figure in a white blazer and straight-leg jeans as she exited the Heart FM studios in London.

The presenter, 50, highlighted her slender silhouette in the timeless outfit as she sauntered through Leicester Square before heading home.

Catch the eye: Amanda Holden cut a chic figure on Thursday in a white blazer and straight-leg jeans as she exited the Heart FM studios in London

Amanda sported a v-neck blouse, complete with a striped pattern and white tie-neck ribbon.

Accesorising tastefully, she clutched a navy tote bag and protected her eyes with cream cat-eye shades.

Her blonde tresses danced in the wind in a loose wave as she rocked a soft make-up look.

Amanda strutted her stuff as she also captured her look on her Instagram Story.

Slim fit: The presenter, 50, highlighted her slender silhouette in the timeless outfit as she sauntered through Leicester Square before heading home

Her outing comes after she shed light on how she goes about selecting her daring ensembles for Britain's Got Talent earlier this month.

The TV judge famously racked up 235 Ofcom complaints during last year's series for a very risque dress but she remains defiant in her wardrobe choices.

Blonde beauty Amanda said she seeks advice from her husband, record producer Chris Hughes, and her daughter, Lexi, 15, when choosing her outfits.

It's all in the details: Amanda sported a v-neck blouse, complete with a striped pattern and white tie-neck ribbon

Finishing touches: Accesorising tastefully, she clutched a navy tote bag and protected her eyes with cream cat-eye shades

The media personality detailed: 'If I'm trying on outfits for shows I'll say to Lexi, "Is there too much side-boob?" or "Is this too much?" and she'll grin and say, "Go for it, Mum".

'I'll ask Chris if I'm looking like mutton and he says, "Mandy, you could never look like mutton."

'It's positive affirmation that we women need. My mum loves it. She just laughs about it. So does my daughter.'
A Rwandan court has on Wednesday ruled that the trial of Paul Rusesabagina, who faces terrorism among other charges, will be held in his absence after he refused to attend the proceedings.

Mr Rusesabagina and his defence lawyers were not present as the court in Kigali resumed the trial hearings on March 24.

He, alongside 20 co-accused -- including one woman, are charged with several counts of terrorism and armed violence that attract sentences ranging from 20 years to life imprisonment.

A report by authorities of the Nyarugenge Prison, where Mr Rusesabagina is being held, and which was read in court, indicated that he declined to show up including in all other trial hearings that would follow as he expects to receive no justice from the court.

On March 12, he had protested the court's refusal to allow him six months to prepare his defence and a demand to be presented by his Belgian lawyer.

Commenting on his absence, the prosecution said his non-attendance should not stop the trial from going on as he had been legally notified about the proceedings and has chosen not to attend.

In reference to precedents both in local and international courts in which defendants chose not to appear before the court, the prosecution demanded that the case continues.

"Based on this, and the report from the prison authorities, and what Mr Rusesabagina had earlier told the court that he would never come back to this trial, he is the one who decided to remove himself from this case.

"Therefore, we request the court to proceed with this trial as if the defendant was present because he has been notified based on the law and all decisions by the court," argued the prosecution.

After retreating for 25 minutes, the judges ruled that the accused should attend court but failure not to would not stop the trial from proceeding.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Rwanda Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"Court has decided that this hearing will carry on even in the absence of Rusesabagina. The court also finds that every time that he will not appear in court he will be informed of the next hearing, the time, and the venue. He, however, has the right to come to any of these hearings as long as the case is still open."

The court also maintained its decision not to allow that Mr Rusesabagina six months to prepare his defence, noting that he already had been given ample time and was always meeting his legal counsel whenever he needed.

Mr Rusesabagina, 66, was arrested in August last year.

He is charged with nine counts - reduced from 13 - related to financing terrorism, armed robbery, abduction, arson, attempted murder, assault, and battery.

His co-accused include Callixte Nsabimana, aka, Sankara, former spokesperson and commander of the FLN rebels, accused of killing up to nine people in attacks in southern Rwanda between 2018 and 2019 and former rebel commanders Gen Felicien Nsazubukire and Gen Anastase Munyaneza.

His trial has attracted international attention.

He was made famous by the 2004 Hollywood movie Hotel Rwanda which depicts his heroic acts in saving over 1,000 people inside a hotel he managed during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsis.
A parliamentary inquiry will be launched into the military coup in Myanmar as concern grows about the violent crackdown on pro-democracy activists in the country.

A public hearing will be held next month to examine the deteriorating situation in Myanmar, the effectiveness of the steps taken by Australia to date and additional measures the government should take in response to the coup.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne concedes she probably would have joined the statement had she been consulted. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

There are at least three Australians who have been detained since the coup began on February 1, while at least 250 people have been killed and more than 2300 individuals arrested.

The Foreign Affairs and Aid Subcommittee of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade will hold a public hearing on April 13 in Canberra where it will hear from government departments, diaspora groups, think tanks and human rights organisations on the military coup.
New Delhi:

At least 25 people, including students, were killed in a fire that broke at a school in the capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur in the wee hours of Thursday.

The fire broke out in Tahfiz Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah, a religious school located in Malay settlement of Datuk Keramat.

A fire department official told a news agency that 25 people were killed in the incident. Two school wardens were among the dead. He said it was the worst fire incident in the past two decades and they are trying to establish the cause of the incident.

At least 25 people, including students, killed in fire that broke at a school in Kuala Lumpur, reports Reuters  ANI (@ANI) September 14, 2017

The official further added that the fire broke out in bedrooms and they rushed to the spot.

"It really does not make sense for so many to die in the fire," Khirudin Drahman, director of Kuala Lumpur's fire and rescue department told AFP.

"I think it is one of the country's worst fire disaster in the past 20 years." He said that the number confirmed dead was 23 students and two adult wardens, adding that they could have died due to smoke inhalation or got trapped in the fire. "We are now investigating the cause of the fire," he said.

Loga Bala Mohan, the government's federal territories deputy minister, said: "We sympathise with the families. It is one of the worst fires involving so many lives in the capital in recent years.

"We urgently want the authorities to quickly probe the cause of the deadly fire so that we will be able to prevent future disasters."

A fire department official at the scene said that the blaze broke out in bedrooms before dawn, and firefighters from a nearby station were on the scene within minutes.

The Star newspaper reported that the fire and rescue department had raised concerns about fire safety measures at unregistered and private religious schools -- known as tahfiz, and had recorded 211 fires at the institutions since 2015.

In August, 16 people including eight students fled a nearly morning fire at a family-run tahfiz in Baling, in the northern state of Kedah, the paper reported.

Also Read | Delhi: 6 injured after fire breaks out in Munirka

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
LANSING, MI - The saying goes: If at first you dont succeed, try again.

Thats what Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is doing with 17 appointments made Thursday to various state agencies and commissions, all of which were previously blocked by the Michigan Senate.

The appointment news starts another 60-day timeline for the Senate to review Whitmers selections, as she has the authority to appoint people to hundreds of state board and commission positions. The upper chamber has that time to reject certain appointments by majority vote in a process known as advice and consent.

Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, has said that the previous slew of rejections were a political gesture to urge changes in COVID-19 restrictions. The Senate historically has not blocked these routine appointments, but Whitmers appointees have faced more scrutiny. In February 2020, the Senate voted to reject two appointments to the Natural Resources Commission, Anna Mitterling and George Heartwell.

The recent adversarial trend stopped two days ago, as the Senate opted to not block the appointment of Elizabeth Hertel to lead the states Department of Health and Human Services.

In fact, Shirkey voted to approve Hertels appointment, which the Senate did by an 18-16 margin. This was not a majority vote, but by motioning to approve the nomination rather than disapproving, the Senate committed to allowing Hertel to continue as MDHHS director.

Whitmers second string of appointments are:

Ronald Campbell to the Barrier Free Design Board

Kristin Totten to the Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board (Childrens Trust Fund)

Richard Corriveau to the Michigan Civil Rights Commission

Gabriella Abel to the Michigan Board of Cosmetology

Emily McDonough to the Data Collection Agency Governing Board

Mikyia Aaron and Noreen Myers to the Grand Valley State University Board of Trustees

Terry Gilligan and Dennis Mowbray to the Board of Mechanical Rules

James Pearson to the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System Board

Thomas Baird and David Cozad to the Michigan Natural Resources Commission

Jason Morgan to the Northern Michigan University Board of Trustees

Erin Kricher to the Rural Development Fund Board

Amy Cox to the Michigan Travel Commission

Andrea Dickson to the Michigan Technological University Board of Trustees

Suzanne Shkreli to the Director of the Office of Childrens Ombudsman

Each of these individuals were previously appointed by Whitmer and subsequently blocked by the Michigan Senate. The Senate also blocked the appointment of Cheryl Kobernik to the Commission of Agriculture and Rural Development in a Jan. 27 vote.

A message was left with Shirkeys office asking if he would continue blocking appointments in the future.

Read more from MLive:

Michigan Senate wont block new state health director

Republicans block more Whitmer appointees, wont name specific goal of political gesture

Michigan Senate rejects 13 Whitmer appointments in show of disapproval over coronavirus response
Advertisement

Britain could be hit with an 'exit wave' of Covid when lockdown is lifted but it's unlikely to lead to an uncontrollable spike in hospital admissions or deaths, experts insisted today despite the predictions of a SAGE model released last week.

Scientists told MailOnline that while there was 'no doubt infections will rise' when pubs and restaurants reopen and people start mixing again, the vaccines had 'solved the problem of serious disease'.

They said that on top of the jab effect, the warm summer months will also curb transmission and stop huge spikes from spilling into the small number of vulnerable people who haven't been jabbed or for whom the vaccines don't work.

The comments came after bleak modelling by Government scientists suggested last week there could be a final peak of more than 1,000 deaths a day later in the year even with the immunisation programme steaming ahead.

Warwick University researchers, who made the projection, claimed the more infectious Kent variant would continue to spread in high numbers when lockdowns are eased, posing a constant threat to the elderly and ill even with vaccines that cut transmission by 60 per cent, as the Pfizer and AstraZeneca jabs do.

Britain has vaccinated around 54 per cent of all adults  almost 28.7million people. But only 5 per cent of people  2.5million  have had both jabs since the mass scheme began last December.

That is not far behind Israel's vaccination level when it reopened the economy earlier this month. It had given 52 per cent of the countrys 9.3million people their first dose. At the same time, 40 per cent had received their booster shot. There as been no exit wave in Israel.

The Warwick modelling team, which feeds into the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), has since admitted its estimates were too pessimistic and underestimated how effective the jabs would be at preventing hospitalisation and death.

The Sage model predicted that deaths could hit 1,000 a day in the summer if restrictions were lifted too quickly and vaccines proved less effective than hoped at preventing infection. Britain is due to open non essential retail and pub beer gardens on April 12, and most of the rest of the economy on May 17 before restrictions are lifted completely on 21 jUNE.

Reacting to Warwick's findings, Professor Keith Neal, an epidemiologist at Nottingham University, told MailOnline: 'That model is so wrong and it just shows you what's wrong with models in general.'

He said it was inevitable cases will go up when lockdown is lifted but insisted people should 'stop caring about cases and start thinking about people getting ill or dying', problems which he claimed the vaccines had solved.

Professor Gabriel Scally, a public health expert at the University of Bristol, told MailOnline that fresh breezy air and warm temperatures in summer were going to give the UK's Covid situation another 'fantastic advantage'. The virus finds it more difficult to spread outside and hot air reduces the time it can survive after being sneezed or coughed into the environment.

He pointed out that last year Covid deaths remained in double digits for four months of summer, without the help of vaccines. Professor Scally said the Warwick forecasts were 'inconceivable' unless a new variant that can duck vaccines becomes widespread.

Modelling by Warwick University, which feeds into SAGE, suggested there could have been 1,750 daily Covid deaths if Britain had lifted the majority of lockdown curbs and reverted to the rule of six and 10pm curfew in February (left). The modelling, published on March 18, suggested daily fatalities could hover at around 200 under Boris' current lockdown plan (right). The purple line is what the researchers predict the UK's epidemic will look like, because the vaccines have been shown to cut transmission by 60 per cent

Warwick also modelled what would happen to deaths if all curbs were gradually lifted by this summer (left) or in autumn (right). Both scenarios would result in a large winter peak, according to the calculations. Lifting all curbs by July could lead to 1,500 daily deaths at the peak, while lifting them by October could result in more than 1,000. Warwick's Dr Sam Moore, co-author of the study, has since admitted the projections were too pessimistic. He told The Telegraph: 'Since we conducted this study, new evidence suggests there may be a higher level of protection against severe disease offered by both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines than the level we assumed.'

But evidence from Israel, the only country jabbing faster than Britain, shows that cases continued to plummet after came out of lockdown a month ago (orange). When Israel opened up it had roughly 50 per cent of its population vaccinated, the same stage Britain is at now. Shown in blue is the country's infection rate after reopening from its previous shutdown last year, before the vaccines were available

Professor Neal told MailOnline: 'There's no doubt that when people start mixing, cases will go up. But vaccines have solved the serious disease problem. We shouldn't care about cases.

'We think the country had about a million students catching Covid in the autumn last year and you'll struggle to find a single one who was admitted to hospital let alone died.

Kent NHS trust fears Covid surge in JUNE that could see it treat as many infected patients as it did during last April's peak An NHS trust fears it could face a huge Covid surge this summer  and is preparing to treat as many infected patients as it did last April. Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells, which was hit hard in the second wave, expects up to 100 beds to be occupied by coronavirus patients in mid-June under a 'reasonably optimistic' scenario. But it warns this could double to 200 beds  more than a quarter of those available  if vaccine uptake is poor, hampered by supply issues or affected by new variants. The trust, which runs two hospitals, saw 90 beds occupied by Covid patients in the peak of the first wave last spring. But this spiralled to more than 300 during the darkest days of the second wave, after the more infectious Kent variant triggered a devastating outbreak. The forecasts were based on modelling by local health chiefs. But NHS sources said similar plans made at other trusts were based on gloomy predictions from SAGE that there could be a third wave of hospitalisations later this year. Experts have poked holes in SAGE's forecasting, pointing out that coronaviruses are seasonal and spreads better in the winter. Advertisement

'So we need to care less about infections and start focusing on monitoring hospital admissions and deaths. The fear is that once lots of young people get infected that it spreads to vulnerable populations but we're not sure that will happen.

'We opened up last year and didn't see the same splurge [as is suggested in Warwick's modelling].'

Asked about how realistic Warwick's forecasts were, Professor Scally added: 'That's inconceivable unless we see the worst possible circumstance, where the virus is able to run free and infect huge numbers of people with moderate risk.

'I suppose if it circulates really widely then there might be the sort of numbers they suggest but that's the most pessimistic picture... summer and being outdoors also has a fantastic advantage.'

He added that as long as a new variant doesn't become widespread then 'we probably won't have it as bad as that [up to 1,000 deaths a day]'.

But he warned: 'The Government is not helping - we still don't have a good Test and Trace programme and we're still not quarantining arrivals, so there will be the danger of variants.'

Dr Sam Moore, who co-authored the Warwick study, has since admitted his team's calculations underestimated the jabs' effect on severe disease.

Latest Public Health England analysis of the real-world impact of the jabs on Britain's crisis has suggested they cut hospital admissions and deaths by more than 90 per cent after two doses, and by 85 and 80 per cent, respectively, after a single injection.

Dr Moore told The Telegraph last Friday: 'Since we conducted this study, new evidence suggests there may be a higher level of protection against severe disease offered by both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines than the level we assumed.

'This may reduce the size of future hospital admissions and deaths we estimated, making future waves more manageable for the health service.'

But despite the admission from Dr Moore, some NHS bosses are still preparing for worst possible outcomes this summer.

The NHS trust in Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells, in Kent, which was hit hard in the second wave, expects up to 100 beds to be occupied by coronavirus patients in mid-June under a 'reasonably optimistic' scenario.

But it warned this could double to 200 beds  more than a quarter of those available  if vaccine uptake is poor, hampered by supply issues or affected by new variants.

The trust, which runs two hospitals, saw 90 beds occupied by Covid patients in the peak of the first wave last spring.

But this spiralled to more than 300 during the darkest days of the second wave, after the more infectious Kent variant triggered a devastating outbreak.

The forecasts were based on modelling by local health chiefs. But NHS sources said similar plans made at other trusts were based on gloomy predictions from SAGE that there could be a third wave of hospitalisations later this year.

The Trust's meeting minutes, revealed by the Health Service Journal, showed they estimated a peak in Covid hospitalisations in the summer.

'With schools returning and public behaviour changing, infection levels have a high probability of starting to pick up again in the younger, less medically vulnerable populations,' they said.

'This was observed in autumn, when case counts started to rise in the younger population, but hospital admissions remained very low until a few weeks later, when infections started to rise in older populations.'

But the trust also predicts hospitalisations should start to tail off from June in its 'optimistic scenario' as the pandemic starts to 'burn itself out'.

They said this would be because the percentage of the population protected against the virus, either from vaccination or prior infection, would hit the critical 70 to 75 per cent 'herd immunity' level.

Ministers are aiming to vaccinate every adult in the country  52million people  by the end of July.

But their roll-out has hit a snag this week amid a blocked delivery of 5million doses from India, and EU threats of a vaccines export ban.

And as the clock ticks down to when second doses must be administered en masse, millions of jabs are being held back to ensure the NHS has adequate supplies.

More than 150 mass vaccination centres could CLOSE next month as shortages force under-50s to wait for first doses - but Matt Hancock claims jabs had already saved than 6,000 lives by March and SAGE claims hospital admissions will HALVE in April

Vaccine centres in Devon, Cornwall and Kent among those to have confirm they will 'have to pause' in April

Health Secretary claimed No10 research found vaccination spared more than 6,000 lives end of February

He said the success of the rollout meant he could 'see an end' to the crisis for the first time in the pandemic

Forecasts by No10's scientists said Covid admissions to English hospitals poised to halve in next fortnight

Mass coronavirus vaccination sites across the UK have announced they will close temporarily next month due to looming supply issues  as Matt Hancock revealed the jabs have saved at least 6,000 lives already in the UK.

Vaccine centres in Devon, Cornwall and Kent are among those to have confirmed they will 'have to pause' during the month-long slowdown, which has been triggered by a shortfall of five million AstraZeneca jabs from India. If the rest of the country follows suit, it could see all 150 mass vaccination sites shut.

The focus of the rollout will turn to ensuring there are sufficient vaccine stocks to dish out crucial second doses, with staff at mass hubs around the country expected to be redeployed.

Local vaccination centres have also been told to close unfilled bookings from March 31, with the supply constraint expected to last throughout April. The NHS has called on over-50s to book their first vaccine appointment while they still can before Monday, or risk facing delays.

GPs will continue contacting eligible patients on their lists, but some vaccination sites including Westpoint, near Exeter, have revealed they will shut between April 1 and 11. All of Kent's five mass vaccination centres, for example, are set to close 'for a number of weeks' from next month.

The pause in Britains vaccine drive will mean that fewer Britons are vaccinated when No10 starts to reopen the economy on April 12 - but ministers have insisted the timetable will not be affected despite predictions of an 'exit wave' of Covid cases as society opens up.

Meanwhile, Mr Hancock today claimed new Government-backed research had found vaccination spared more than 6,000 lives by the end of February. He said the rollout's success meant he could 'see an end' to the crisis.

His comments to the Financial Times came as forecasts by No10's scientists suggested the number of Covid patients being admitted to English hospitals is poised to halve in a fortnight, from 294 to fewer than 150.

The projections from the SPI-M modelling group also projected the number of deaths to drop fourfold, from 92 to 20, early next month and the level of inpatients with the disease to plummet from 4,000 to about 2,000.

The promising calculations, which have been presented to ministers, were made after children returned to classrooms this month, The Times reports. There were fears that reopening schools could trigger a wave of infections.

SPI-M's modelling assumes that vaccinations will continue at current levels. More than 450,000 Brits are being jabbed every day, but there are fears that supply issues next month could drastically slow the scheme down.

Government data up to March 23 shows 28,653,523 people have received a first vaccine dose, a rise of 325,650 on the previous day. Both AstraZeneca and Pfizer's vaccines have been shown to cut deaths and hospitalisations by more than 90 per cent after both doses and symptomatic infections by over 60 per cent.

All the the metrics now suggest Boris Johnson's cautious roadmap out of lockdown is firmly on track and the unusually optimistic projections from No10's experts will pile more pressure on the PM to speed up his plan.

The next phase of his lockdown-loosening schedule sees people allowed to meet outdoors in groups of six, or as two households, from March 29.

April 12 will see the first major easing of restrictions as hairdressers, beauty salons and shops get the green-light and pubs and restaurants able to open for outdoor service.

Hospitality is not due to start welcoming customers through its doors until May and some form of social distancing rules will be in place until June 21 at the earliest.

Mr Hancock told the FT he could see an 'end' to the pandemic that would involve managing coronavirus 'more like flu' with repeated and updated vaccinations.

Mass coronavirus vaccination sites across the UK have announced they will close temporarily next month due to looming supply issues. Vaccine centres in Devon, Cornwall and Kent are among those to have confirmed they will 'have to pause' during the month-long slowdown. If the rest of the country follows suit, it could mean all 150 mass sites will shut

However, separate modelling by Warwick University, which feeds into SAGE, suggested there could have been an extraordinary 1,750 daily Covid deaths if Britain had lifted the majority of lockdown curbs and reverted to the rule of six and 10pm curfew in February (left). The modelling, published on March 18, suggested daily fatalities could hover at around 200 under Boris' current lockdown plan (right). The purple line is what the researchers predict the UK's epidemic will look like, because the vaccines have been shown to cut transmission by 60 per cent

Warwick also modelled what would happen to deaths if all curbs were gradually lifted by this summer (left) or in autumn (right). Both scenarios would result in a large winter peak, according to the calculations. Lifting all curbs by July could lead to 1,500 daily deaths at the peak, while lifting them by October could result in more than 1,000. Warwick's Dr Sam Moore, co-author of the study, has since admitted the projections were too pessimistic. He told The Telegraph: 'Since we conducted this study, new evidence suggests there may be a higher level of protection against severe disease offered by both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines than the level we assumed.'

But evidence from Israel, the only country jabbing faster than Britain, shows that cases continued to plummet after came out of lockdown a month ago (orange). When Israel opened up it had roughly 50 per cent of its population vaccinated, the same stage Britain is at now. Shown in blue is the country's infection rate after reopning from its previous shutdown last year, before the vaccines were available

Matt Hancock today credited the coronavirus vaccines with saving at least 6,000 lives already in the UK. Meanwhile, internal Government projections have predicted Covid hospital admissions will halve by April because of the jabs - suggesting Boris' roadmap out of lockdown is firmly on track

Projections from the SPI-M modelling group suggested the number of Covid patients being admitted to English hospitals is poised to halve in a fortnight, from 294 to fewer than 150

The group also projected the number of deaths to drop fourfold, from 92 to 20, early next month and the level of inpatients (shown) with the disease to plummet from 4,000 to about 2,000

Government data up to March 23 shows 28,653,523 people have received a first vaccine dose, a rise of 325,650 on the previous day

The unusually optimistic projections from No10's experts will pile more pressure on the PM to speed up his lockdown-loosening plan

Macron delivers humiliating vaccine mea culpa as EU 'heads for export ban climbdown' at summit TODAY Emmanuel Macron has delivered an humiliating mea culpa on the EU's vaccine bungling as leaders gather for a crunch summit today. The French president admitted that the bloc did not go 'fast enough or strong enough' on the drive for jabs, saying it thought they would take longer to develop. But Mr Macron seemingly could not bring himself to praise the UK's stunning progress on vaccines, instead heaping praise on the US for 'shooting for the stars'. The comments came as EU leaders hold a 'virtual' gathering amid panicky threats from the commission to ban vaccine exports, with new rules targeted at Britain. France and Germany are backing tough action as they face massive pressure over dire rollouts, but Ireland and many other member states are alarmed at the idea of undermining legal contracts. Former commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker waded into the spat this morning, branding the idea of a 'vaccine war' stupid and raising fears it will cause 'major reputational damage' to the bloc. The EU and UK issued a joint statement pledging to work together last night, after Boris Johnson warned that businesses could flee the bloc's borders if it imposed 'arbitrary' blockades. Advertisement

The Health Secretary expressed confidence about the UK's ability to manage Covid-19 in the future, adding: 'It depends what you mean by ''end''.

'I see an end where Covid is managed more like flu: we repeatedly vaccinate, we update the vaccines according to mutations and we manage the challenges, especially around transmissions over winter.

'I'm confident that's where we can get to. I want to get to a position where we can have an updated vaccine in weeks or months, not a year.'

It comes as Mr Johnson tries to push through an extension of lockdown laws until the autumn, despite restrictions officially ending in June.

A hardcore of as many as 60 Conservative MPs is expected to rebel against Government plans to extend emergency powers to the end of September.

Politicians in the Covid Recovery Group (CRG) blasted the 'significant draconian powers' and questioned the need for them to be in place if the UK has returned to relative normal.

However, any Tory rebellion is almost certain to fail to impede the legislation, with Labour planning to back it in this evening's Commons vote.

CRG leader Mark Harper, who believes plans to ease the lockdown 'could safely go more quickly', told Sky News: 'The biggest problem today is the extension of some very significant draconian powers in the Coronavirus Act which the Government doesn't want to extend until June, it actually wants to extend all the way into October.

'And these are quite significant powers; they are powers, for example, for the police to detain people indefinitely and to continue having powers to shutdown events and so forth all the way through to October.

'And I haven't heard a single good answer about why the Government wishes to do that, given that the Prime Minister has said he wants to be out of all of our legal restrictions by June.'

The legislation for restrictions over the coming months, as the Government sets out its road map for coming out of lockdown, will see some restrictions remain in place in England until at least June 21.

There are also question marks over summer holidays taking place after that date, amid a third wave of Covid infections in mainland Europe.

But Conservative MP Steve Baker, deputy chairman of the CRG, said the vote was a 'rare opportunity' for MPs to 'say no to a new way of life in a checkpoint society'.

'I was glad to hear the Prime Minister reassure William Wragg MP at the Liaison Committee today that 'anything that is redundant will go' in relation to Coronavirus Act powers,' the former minister said last night.

'Draconian police powers under Schedule 21, which have a 100 per cent unlawful prosecution record, must be considered 'redundant' to say the very least.

'I am seeking to table an amendment to the motion tomorrow asking ministers to suspend those powers. I now hope the Government can support it.'
NEWARK, N.J., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- SEEDS  Access Changes Everything is pleased to announce the appointment of John Miller, Jr., M.D. to the Board of Trustees.

Dr. Miller serves as Senior Corporate Counsel for Pfizer where he focuses on intellectual property and policy issues in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Prior to joining Pfizer, he served as an associate for Morgan Lewis in their Intellectual Property service, as well as a scientific advisor at a private law firm.

"As an accomplished physician and lawyer, Dr. Miller brings with him unique knowledge, expertise, and insights which will be of incredible benefit to our organization and scholars," said John Castano, President and CEO of SEEDS. "On behalf of SEEDS, I am honored to welcome him to the Board of Trustees and look forward to his contributions."

Dr. Miller earned a Juris Doctor degree from Rutgers University School of Law and is admitted to practice law in New York and New Jersey and before the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. He earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Michigan, where he conducted research for the university's MedSport Program in the Department of Orthopedics. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology from the University of Texas at Austin.

Dedicated to promoting education in the fields of medicine, law, and the sciences, Dr. Miller volunteers his free time to mentor and tutor students who demonstrate interest in these fields.

Dr. Miller is a devoted father of four children with whom he lives with in New Jersey.

To learn more about Dr. Miller and the SEEDS Board of Trustees, visit www.seedsaccess.org.

About SEEDS  Access Changes Everything

Founded in 1992, SEEDS  Access Changes Everything, formerly New Jersey SEEDS, is a nonprofit organization that provides motivated, high-achieving, low-income students with access to top-tier education that would have otherwise been unattainable due to socioeconomic status. Through three challenging academic programs, SEEDS aims to prepare students for eventual placement into competitive private schools and colleges across the country.

SEEDS has been recognized locally and nationally by leading organizations including the Althea Gibson Foundation, Bank of America, Jersey Cares, Mutual of America, Oprah's Angel Network, the Partnership in Philanthropy and Rutgers University. In addition, Charity Navigator, an independent evaluator of the financial health and efficiency of nonprofit organizations, has awarded SEEDS four consecutive 4-star ratings, its highest rating.

Media Inquiries

Jasmine L. Guerra

E: [email protected]

P: 862.227.9150

SOURCE SEEDS - Access Changes Everything

Related Links

https://seedsaccess.org/


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 have permission to edit this article.

Edit Close
Editors Note: This is the fifth story in a series about the anniversary of the border closure.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the related border shutdown have had a significant impact on the local economy. However, some specific sections of the economy have grown during the closure.

Nuevo Laredo has seen an increase in local spending and even external dollars coming into the city as people who used to regularly cross into Laredo with tourist visas are spending more at home. There have also been more people from Laredo traveling across to purchase essentials.

On the health side, infections continued to increase due to the fact that people could come from the U.S. to Mexico. The only advantage was on the economic side, said Oscar Garcia, an independent journalist from Nuevo Laredo. Since Mexicans could not cross, they invested more in local businesses instead of going to buy in Laredo.

Garcia said another economy that saw growth was the local supermarkets selling more of their merchandise than ever before. Many Laredoans crossed to buy essentials such as water, food and toilet paper at times when they were scarce around the city.

According to Garcia, the shopping centers in Nuevo Laredo were full of products, but due to the crossing of people from Laredo some supplies were scarce and there were even restrictions imposed as they sold out like never before. Though this was good for the local economy, this was bad for the people of the city looking for the same supplies.

Former Nuevo Laredo Municipal President Enrique Rivas Cuellar said in January that Nuevo Laredo had enjoyed one of its best shopping seasons ever locally during the Christmas shopping season as the Buen Fin, which is the Mexican counterpart to Black Friday, saw major success and many items like toys, clothes and even exercise equipment saw increased sales compared to typical times when Mexican shoppers often buy those items in the Gateway City.

Some people have even seized new entrepreneurial opportunities created by the closure. Some Americans living in Nuevo Laredo capitalized on the ability to still cross and would purchase things for others who could not travel into Laredo. They post about their service on social media and will buy items for people for as low as a $10 fee on top of the purchase price.

Mauricia Bermudez is one of these entrepreneuers, and she used the opportunity to compensate for being laid off.

I got laid off from the local hotel I worked in at Laredo, because they told me I could not be travelling along the border to go to work and back home for health reasons, Bermudez said. Therefore, I picked up this side hustle and also survived with unemployment for some time, and even though I found a new job already, I still continue to do this on the side so I just can make some good money and always be sure to provide for my family.

According to Laredo economic development director Teclo Garcia, many people have sought out new business opportunities during the pandemic.

Other professional services and businesses have started as, for example, in our Mile One facility downtown people come up with business ideas, Garcia said. Some people want to start their own businesses such as providing accounting services, baking services and other ideas which are businesses that continue to pop up in Laredo, and fortunately many of these businesses have been doing well because of the pandemic.

Organizations have also spearheaded mutually beneficial ways to help people create new businesses.

There is a trend towards boutique shops and a renewed focus on mixed-use developments that will also improve our quality of life, and the airport expansion plans are ongoing which is very exciting, Laredo Economic Development Corporation president and CEO Gene Lindgren said. The Main Event at the mall will drive a resurgence of traffic and eventually stores there, especially after the bridge fully re-opens

Bermudez, who continues to reside and live in Nuevo Laredo with her family, said she is thinking of several business ventures which could have cross-border success including selling food items that can legally be transported. However, she is waiting to see if the situation improves.

During these times, we must think of any possible option to make a living as times are tough, but there are many new ways of making money and supporting a family and living on the border, Bermudez said. We must embrace that instead of thinking that it is an obstacle.

jorge.vela@lmtonline.com
Raman Bandarenka died from his injuries after being beaten up by masked men in November 2020, but the authorities in Belarus claimed he was drunk before he was detained by police. It was the start of an alleged cover-up that has seen a doctor jailed for disclosing that there was no alcohol in his body and evidence that senior regime figures were at the scene when Bandarenka was attacked.
Thursday, March 25, 2021

Attacked By A Trump Supporter

We live in a divided society in the United States, thanks to propaganda from right wing radio and TV. This is a natural tendency for a highly militarized empire society over the course of time. Why? Because the economic stagnancy that comes from draining key resources away from production and into power dominance leads to a similar stagnancy in the political regime. Having a crazy president like Trump only clarifies trends long time developing. Thanks to tutoring from Russia's Putin the former president has pushed America closer to dictatorship under Trump with his careful demeaning of all truth that comes from the mainstream press, as he gaslights his way forward denying he ever does anything wrong. When challenged, he doubles down with the falsehoods to get his way, calling all negative evidence against him a hoax. This is exactly what happened when a new rookie mailman had problems with our mail and then acted out against our family and was backed up by police when he lied to falsely characterize the surprise attempt to reclaim our mail in real time. This occurred while the mailman was still on his route after the inappropriate taking of mail from our box late in the day. It became almost impossible to take on the various bureaucracies of the postal service, police, city attorney and Marines in the face of nine or more major lies documented in the police report. Fortunately, false statements to police constitute perjury with up to a six year or $10,000 fine for each perjury. This is a story of how easily a person can be framed and denied rights thanks to institutional and personal biases and incompetence. Pandemic has forced a lot of junior hires as government is underfunded.

Cast of Characters

Mailman, 23, six months experience. Afraid the male resident might actually talk to his supervisor, he convinces everyone on an excessive three calls to police that the mail resident attacked him. Then he concedes that the male resident never came closer than 10 feet away, a gross underestimate of that closest distance as it was more like 25 feet away. One witness sees him relaxed despite the claim of an attack. He is easily twice as fast as the old man, who keeps trying to walk up to him to talk about the mail. He refuses to make eye contact most of the time and keeps moving away until the mailman stops 100 feet away and answers the question "will you give me my mail back?" with the one word answer, "NO". If he returns the mail, he does not get to punish the old man by forcing him to go to the post office ten minutes away, wait in a long line, to get his mail back in a half hour.

Male Resident, 70, 14-year resident, seeks to get mail back after 7% full mailbox is falsely declared "completely full" on police report. No required 10-day notice is left in the box despite postal regulations. Policeman never inquires about size of mailbox, just assumes small mail stack completely fills mailbox. Must assume an apartment size mailbox, not the 1000 cubic inch mailbox of the resident.

Female Resident, 66, 14-year resident. Police report leaves out her testimony that no threat to harm the mailman ever occurred, as if two witnesses to one impeached witness does not win the case.

Male Policeman, 35, 20 months experience. Too inexperienced to detect obvious lies, he fell for everyone of the seven big lies of the mailman, and hid those hideous lies from the male resident, refusing to give him a chance to refute them. When asked about the police report, he laughs, again showing his bias, guilty until proven innocent. Then he either does not view the video or he would see that there is no mail truck involved in the incident like the mailman's shaggy dog story lie. No honking or cutting off in traffic.

Female Policeman, young trainee, months experience at most. When the lead cop lies and cites the mail truck lie was confirmed by the old man, it must be based on the woman cop asking the old man if he followed the mail truck. When the old man stared at her, she nodded her head up and down and claimed the old man had confirmed the non-existent episode. Mailman are 90% on foot and maybe 10% driving while on the route. There is no room on the timeline for this big "traffic" lie.

Postal Management, generally most experienced of all parties other than the two elderly residents. At one point on the police call notes the old man is still at the scene and then two minutes later at the postal counter a ten minute drive away. This was needed to maintain the illusion of "hiding in a garage" long after old man and woman have left the scene. Despite old man's request to talk to the supervision, the call notes suggest he was trying to see the mailman again. How absurd, the mailman said "NO" and that is why the couple went to see the supervisor at the post office.

City Attorney, 27, two years experience. Old man talks to her for 30 minutes, she is incapable of discussing the case intelligently, unlike prior experience with a city attorney.

City Attorney, 33, eight years experience. Insultingly suggests the mailman should be treated better and that 10 hours of community service is not worth $2000 of the old man's time. Suggests the post office took the mailman off the route "temporarily" ignoring the postal complaint that completely explains the incident from an honest perspective. Mail station manager confirms that this is a lie, that the decision to remove postman from the route was for the mutual protection of all parties.

Key Evidence

Google: What postal authority exists for removal of all mail from a mailbox?

Answer: If a mail receptacle is deemed by the letter carrier to be full, the letter carrier will leave a "We ReDeliver for You" form (PS Form 3849) in that receptacle and return the overflow mail to the local Post Office location for pickup. Oct 21, 2020.

Video: Shows no chase ever happened, either by vehicles or on foot. Completeness belies the traffic incident lie of the mailman and the lie in the police report that the old man confirmed the non-existent traffic incident. Mailman and policeman perjuries revealed by this video, which covers the whole four-minute incident which began four minutes after the mail was found missing. The ten minute drive to the post office and a two minute wait in line are confirmed by the police call notes.

Mailman Motive

The Marine flag at the home where the mailman lives with his parents and where another Marine witness made up false charges like honking and swearing and acting like a big ape. Sounds like one Marine doing a favor for another Marine's son. Also explains how a "No F-35" and many peace signs on residents property would offend the mailman. The incident took place on the second workday after the media declared Trump a loser in the election. The mailman must be a Trump fan and acted out impulsively and with anger taking mail from the resident's mailbox. Then he lied and called the police when the citizen sought to pursue his constitutional right to petition the government over grievances. The forty minutes he spent talking to the policeman shows how he had to make more and more outrageous claims to convince the police to issue a ticket. The policeman was more interested in revenue than justice. When and if the policeman watched the video without sound he should have dropped the charges after seeing no mail truck involved in the incident at all. One major lie is enough to lose a case, especially two witnesses to one impeached witness. But almost no one acted with honor or integrity while falsely framing the old man, except the partner with the old man during the entire incident, who was ignored repeatedly. Abuse of power by mailman, cops, and prosecutors is disgraceful.

Summary

Police refusal to allow old man to talk to the mailman's supervisor, not paying attention to his story and not revealing the extensive false claims of the rookie mailman to allow a response show the unfairness of the policeman. Both policepersons and the mailman may be guilty of ageism to the elderly couple and sexism to the old man's partner. They also thought very little of the older residents, treating them both with disrespect and failure to engage in dialogue about the numerous outlandish charges of the mailman. Waiting 41 days for the police report with nine major lies in it, more weeks for the call notes, and more weeks for the video, shows the callous disregard for a defendant facing false charges with at least nine big lies in it. The hard evidence clearly shows the injustice by a variety of youngsters against the baby boomers they often hate and resent.

Tomorrow is my deceased mom's 99th birthday. Happy birthday mom!

Another Policing Story:

https://www.academia.edu/9028202/MILITARIZED_TERROR_POLICING_2_p_8_17_14

Please cite this work as follows: Reuschlein, Robert. (2021, March 25), "How A System Did Not Work" Madison, WI, Real Economy Institute. Retrieved from: https://www.expertclick.com/NewsRelease/How-A-System-Did-Not-Work,2021254037.aspx

Dr. Peace, Professor Robert Reuschlein, Real Economy Institute, Nobel Peace Prize nominee 2016-2021 with accelerating interest from the deciding Norwegians. A consistently growing pattern shows intense interest in my work on my expertclick.com website; daily "hard looks" per year have gone from 2 to 3 to 48 to 128 to 200 to double last year's pace (140/69) so far, this 167 days.

Contact: bobreuschlein@gmail.com

Info: www.realeconomy.com

Before eight peoplesix of whom were women of Asian descentwere shot and killed at three different spa locations in Atlanta last week, Asian students at the University of Miami were using their voices to stand against hate crimes targeting their community.

The Asian American Student Association and Filipino Student Association will host a Cultural Showcase for a Cause this Saturday, March 27, on the Lakeside Patio to condemn the year-long acts of violence endured by Asian Americans. The events mission is to raise awareness of Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) culture and raise funds for Hate is a Virus, a nonprofit group aimed at dismantling racism and hate.

In the past year, Stop AAPI Hate, a reporting center that tracks and responds to incidents of hate, violence, harassment, discriminations, shunning, and child bullying against the AAPI community in the United States, has documented nearly 4,000 anti-Asian hate incidents.

Earlier this week, University of Miami President Julio Frenk condemned the violence in a tweet, stating, As communities continue to grapple with a convergence of crisis that go beyond the pandemic to the twin scourges of racism and violence, we @univmiami stand against hatred.

Frenk and Patricia A. Whitely, senior vice president for Student Affairs, are planning to attend Saturdays event and offer words of comfort and encouragement.

As communities continue to grapple with a convergence of crises that go beyond the #pandemic to the twin scourges of #racism & #violence, we @univmiami stand united against hatred. I look forward to joining our AAPI students for the AASA Cultural Showcase. https://t.co/vv9i8yqbl9  Julio Frenk (@julio_frenk) March 19, 2021

Bao Duong, president of the Asian American Student Association and a junior studying neuroscience, said the recent uptick in violence prompted the group to use its inaugural event in a different way.

We thought that it would be important to merge the two ideas, said Duong. To be honest, a lot of people dont know whats going on, so we look forward to educating them through our scripts, through informational pamphlets that can be found in their goodie bags, tabling throughout the semester, and hosting events at the Office of Multicultural Students Affairs (MSA).

Christopher Clarke, MSA director, and Kennedy Robinson, assistant director, have extended their full support and provided resources for all AAPI student organizations during this time. On Monday, March 29, from noon to 1 p.m., MSA will host a virtual Brave Spaces event to provide a space for AAPI students to express themselves and to share tangible tools available to interested students and faculty and staff members who would like to become allies.

First and foremost, we want to make sure that the students impacted have the support that they need, and we are connecting them to the resources that are available to them, said Clarke, who is gratified by the Universitys multiculturalism support. MSA is centered around our students voices and its important to us to make sure that they are heard. We always want to make sure that if we are advocating, that we are advocating with their thoughts in mind.

Im excited to see how our students bring together the campus community to not only display culture but to be able to point people to supporting the organization Hate is a Virus, the UM AAPI community, and the national AAPI community at-large, said Robinson.

At Saturdays event, participants can expect to be fully immersed in a variety of Asian cultures, foods, and dance. From feeling the percussions of Japanese Taiko Drumming by the diverse group Fushu Daiko to experiencing a high-energy performance by SwaggeRaas, a University of Miami garba-raas competitive dance team, attendees should come ready to learn more about the AAPI community.

Our purpose is to share the beauty of Asian cultures with the University community while also raising awareness about the issues we face today, said Duong. We are all coming together and showing solidarity against the unfortunate recent rise of hate, and we encourage those who can, to donate to the cause.

Registration is required to attend the cultural showcase, which is open to students, faculty, and staff. Get more information about the nonprofit and register.
MDHHS Updates Residential Care Facilities Order to Reflect Recent Changes in CMS Guidance, Continue Protecting Seniors

MDHHS Updates Residential Care Facilities Order to Reflect Recent Changes in CMS Guidance, Continue Protecting Seniors

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 17, 2021

CONTACT: Lynn Sutfin, 517-241-2112

LANSING, Mich. - Today, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) updated its Residential Care Facilities Order to reflect recent changes in Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services guidance for visitation. The state recently rolled out an expanded visitation program, using a testing protocol to keep residents and staff safe. The updated order and accompanying guidance continues to support visitation and improve quality of life for seniors while maintaining precautions to help keep residents and staff safe. Testing is strongly encouraged prior to visitation, particularly in counties with medium or high positivity, but not required. The order goes into effect immediately.

"Throughout the pandemic we have focused on protecting vulnerable long-term care residents from COVID-19, which has required physical separation from family and other loved ones," said Elizabeth Hertel, MDHHS director. "The new CMS guidance provides reasonable ways these facilities can safely facilitate in-person visitation to address the needs of residents."

Michigan has made protecting the health and safety of our seniors and most vulnerable residents a top priority. The state acted quickly to slow the spread of the virus in nursing homes, followed CDC guidance, secured PPE, provided more than 1.3 million antigen tests for patients and staff, recorded results of more than 650,000 PCR tests and administered more than 270,000 vaccines for nursing home residents and staff. As a result, Michigan has a lower rate of nursing home deaths than the national average, according to an independent study conducted by the Center for Health and Research Transformation at the University of Michigan.

The order continues to require facilities to:

Make efforts to allow safe communal dining and group activities for residents.

Inform employees and residents of the presence of a confirmed COVID-19 positive employee or resident as soon as reasonably possible, but no later than 12 hours after identification.

Inform legal guardians or healthcare proxies for all residents and post a visible notice in the facility, no later than 24 hours after identification of a confirmed COVID-19 positive employee or resident.

Report to MDHHS and the applicable local health department all presumed positive COVID-19 cases in the facility together with any additional data when required under MDHHS guidance.

"While we are still very much fighting this pandemic and seeing some concerning trends in new cases and hospitalizations, these new changes align with CDC guidance and support families being able to visit their loved ones in nursing facilities," said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive and chief deputy for health. "We continue to monitor the data closely and urge Michiganders to continue doing what works to slow the spread of the disease by wearing a mask, washing their hands, avoiding crowds and making a plan to get the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine when it is their turn."

CMS guidance says facilities should accommodate and support indoor and outdoor visitation as long as the facility has not had a new COVID-19 case in the last 14 days. Visitors will be required to wear face masks or other personal protective equipment when required by the facility at all times. In general, visitors will need to maintain six feet from residents.

The new MDHHS Residential Care Facilities Visitation Guidance covers nursing homes, home for the aged, adult foster care facilities, hospice, substance use disorder residential and assisted living facilities.

Information around this outbreak is changing rapidly. The latest information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus. To learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine, visit Michigan.gov/COVIDVaccine.

# # #
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
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.


LONDON (dpa-AFX) - AstraZeneca Plc. (AZN) said U.S. Phase III primary analysis confirmed that its COVID-19 vaccine 'AZD1222' was highly effective in adults, including those aged 65 years and over.



The company's primary analysis results come amid US health agency said earlier this week that the British drug major may had included outdated information in trial results of its COVID-19 vaccine.



The company said Wednesday that its vaccine has demonstrated a statistically significant vaccine efficacy of 76% at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 in the U.S. phase III trial. But the company had reported a symptomatic efficacy rate of 79%.



The updated report maintains that the vaccine is 100% effective at preventing severe or critical disease and hospitalization. It also demonstrated a 85% efficacy against symptomatic COVID-19 in participants aged 65 years and older.



The primary efficacy analysis included the accrual of 190 symptomatic cases of COVID-19 from the 32,449 trial participants, an additional 49 cases to the previously announced interim analysis. Participants were randomized on a 2:1 ratio between the vaccine and placebo group.



AstraZeneca noted that it looks forward to filing its regulatory submission for Emergency Use Authorization in the US and preparing for the rollout of millions of doses across America.



Co-invented by the University of Oxford and its spin-out company, Vaccitech and licensed by AstraZeneca, the vaccine also referred to as COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca and Covishield, is approved for emergency use in more than 70 countries across six continents.



The vaccine is not approved in the U.S. yet. The company is preparing for the primary analysis to be submitted to the FDA for Emergency Use Authorization in the coming weeks.



Following reports of blood clots in people receiving COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca, 13 European countries had temporarily paused vaccination. The UK and EU regulatory agencies, which have been investigating the side effects of the vaccine, reaffirmed last week that benefits of COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca continue to far outweigh the risks. Some of the countries have resumed the use of the COVID-19 vaccine, following the assurance from the UK and EU regulators.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

ASTRAZENECA-Aktie komplett kostenlos handeln - auf Smartbroker.de
Pregnant women who drink even just a moderate amount of caffeine risk giving birth to a small baby, US researchers reveal.

Expectant women who consumed the caffeine equivalent of as little as half a cup of coffee a day on average had slightly smaller babies than pregnant women who did not consume caffeinated beverages, they found.

Smaller birth size can place infants at higher risk of obesity, heart disease and diabetes later in life.

The experts advise pregnant women to steer clear completely from caffeinated beverages such as coffee, tea and fizzy energy drinks like Red Bull.

Even moderate daily caffeine intake during pregnancy may lead to giving birth to a smaller baby, the new US study reveals

How much caffeine is in your drink or snack - and what does the NHS say about its risks? The NHS advises pregnant women to limit their daily intake of caffeine to 200 milligrams, which is roughly equivalent to two mugs of instant coffee. The health service's website warns: 'High levels of caffeine in pregnancy can result in babies having a low birthweight, which can increase the risk of health problems in later life. Too much caffeine can also cause a miscarriage.' It also offers a guide to the average amount of caffeine in products: One mug of instant coffee: 100mg One mug of filter coffee: 140mg One mug of tea: 75mg One can of cola: 40mg One can (250ml) of energy drink: Up to 80mg  larger cans may contain up to 160mg One bar (50g) of plain chocolate: Less than 25mg One bar (50g) of milk chocolate: Less than 10mg Advertisement

The NHS says pregnant women can drink caffeine, but no more than 200 milligrams (mg) per day, which is about the caffeine you'd get in two mugs of instant coffee.

But the team found reductions in size and lean body mass for infants whose mothers consumed below this amount.

Caffeine is believed to cause blood vessels in the uterus and placenta to constrict, which could reduce the blood supply to the foetus and inhibit growth.

It could also potentially disrupt foetal stress hormones, putting infants at risk for rapid weight gain after birth and for later-life obesity, heart disease and diabetes.

The researchers were led by Katherine L. Grantz at the US's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

'Until we learn more, our results suggest it might be prudent to limit or forgo caffeine-containing beverages during pregnancy,' Dr Grantz said.

'It's also a good idea for women to consult their physicians about caffeine consumption during pregnancy.'

Previous studies have linked high caffeine consumption (more than 200 mg of caffeine per day) during pregnancy to infants being small for their gestational age (at a particular stage of the pregnancy).

High caffeine intake has also been linked to the risk of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR)  when the foetus does not grow as expected  in a previous study.

However, studies on moderate daily caffeine consumption (200 mg or less) during pregnancy have produced mixed results.

Some have found similar elevated risks for low birth weight and other poor birth outcomes, while others have found no such links.

The current study authors noted that many of the earlier studies did not account for other factors that could influence infant birth size, such as variation in caffeine content of different beverages and maternal smoking during pregnancy.

For their study, the authors analysed data on more than 2,000 racially and ethnically diverse women at 12 clinical sites who were enrolled from 8 to 13 weeks of pregnancy.

The women were non-smokers and did not have any health problems before pregnancy.

From weeks 10 to 13 of pregnancy, the women provided a blood sample that was later analysed for caffeine and paraxanthine, a compound produced when caffeine is broken down in the body.

They also reported their daily consumption of caffeinated beverages (coffee, tea, soda and energy drinks) for the past week  once when they enrolled and periodically throughout their pregnancies.

Compared to infants born to women with no or minimal blood levels of caffeine, infants born to women who had the highest blood levels of caffeine at enrolment were an average of 84 grams lighter at birth (about 3 ounces).

They were also 0.17 inches (0.44 cm) shorter and had head circumferences 0.11 inches (0.28 cm) smaller.

Based on the women's own estimates of the beverages they drank, those who consumed about 50 mg of caffeine a day (equal to a half cup of coffee) had infants 66 grams (about 2.3 ounces) lighter than infants born to non-caffeine consumers.

Similarly, infants born to the caffeine consumers also had thigh circumferences 0.13 inches (0.32 cm) smaller.

'Our results suggest that caffeine consumption during pregnancy, even at levels much lower than the recommended 200 mg per day of caffeine may be associated with decreased fetal growth,' the team say in their paper, published in JAMA Network Open.

Last August, experts concluded that pregnant women should avoid caffeine altogether for the sake of their baby's health.

3D illustration of a caffeine molecule. Caffeine consumption during pregnancy has been an ongoing topic of debate

Based on 48 studies over 20 years, their research, by a professor at Reykjavik University in Iceland, concluded that even minimal caffeine intake raised the risk of miscarriage, stillbirth or low birth weight.

Just like the NHS, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) says pregnant women should consume no more than 200mg a day  and it insisted it would not change this advice based on the study.

'Other  and potentially more reliable  research has found that pregnant women do not need to cut caffeine out entirely because these risks are extremely small, even if the recommended caffeine limits are exceeded,' said Dr Daghni Rajasingam, RCOG spokesman, at the time.

Dr Luke Grzeskowiak, of the University of Adelaide in Australia, who was also not involved with the research, added: 'The author's conclusion that all pregnant women and women contemplating pregnancy should avoid caffeine is overly alarmist and inconsistent with the evidence.'
Purchases made via links on our site may earn us an affiliate commission
Bharat Bandh: Stepping up their agitation against the Centre's newly enacted farm laws, the protesting farmers are going to observe a countrywide Bharat Bandh on Friday, March 26. Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), which is leading the anti-farm law protests, has urged citizens of the country to make the nationwide strike a complete success.

The Bharat Bandh is going to be observed on completion of four months of farmers' agitation against the Centre's three new farm laws at Delhi borders. The SKM has reportedly planned several protests over the days, which comprises the "burning of anti-farmer laws during Holika Dehan."

Also Read: Farmer unions call for Bharat Bandh on March 26 as farm law protests complete 4 months

As per a statement released by the front of the protesting farmer unions, farmers have been protesting on Delhi's borders for the last four months, and rather than acknowledging their demands, the Centre is discrediting them entirely.

On March 26, from 6 am to 6 pm, all road and rail transport, markets, and other public places will be closed across the country, the statement added.

However, this is not necessary for the places where elections are going to be held, it said.

"We appeal to the people of the country to make this Bharat Bandh a success and honour their 'Annadata'," farmer leader Darshan Pal said.

Farmers organised programmes across the country on Martyrdom Day on Tuesday. A torch procession was taken out at Bhatgaon, Sonipat, in Haryana.

In Ashok Nagar, Madhya Pradesh, young people wrote slogans of "Inquilab Zindabad" with their blood and organised a blood donation camp, the statement said.

Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait on Wednesday said the farmers' agitation will continue till the time the Centre rolls back the farm laws and provides a legal guarantee on MSP.

Referring to cases registered against many farmers in the aftermath of incidents on January 26 in Delhi, Tikait said, "Farmers are not scared of cases. This agitation will continue so long the Centre does not withdraw these laws and until the time a law is framed giving a legal guarantee on MSP."

Also Read: Withdraw parl panel's recommendation on agri laws, farmers' body tells govt

"This agitation will go till November-December," he said, while making it clear that the government should not be mistaken that farmers were going anywhere.

"The government thinks farmers will return home in summer. Earlier they thought we would go back home in peak winter. But we are not going anywhere, we have installed fans, etc there," he said, addressing a farmer 'Mahapanchayat'.

Anyone helping farmers in their agitation is facing harassment from government agencies, he alleged.

Claiming that the farm laws were not in favour of farmers, Tikait said the next target of the Centre is to create a situation where "farmers will eventually leave their land."

"It is their plan to take away your land in the next 20 years," he added. "Their target is to turn farmers into labourers, and once that happens, they will get cheap labourers from villages for factories," Tikait said.

He also thanked farmers of Haryana and 'khaps' (caste council) of the state for supporting this agitation. Tikait also called upon the farmers to be ready to move towards Delhi whenever required.

Hundreds of farmers have been camping near Delhi's borders since November last year, demanding that the Centre repeal the three contentious farm laws.

The farmer leader said that a nationwide movement against the farm laws has started and the youth have a big responsibility now.

Tikait said the country will be saved when slogans of "Jai Ram" and "Jai Bhim" are raised together. Enacted in September 2020, the three farm laws have been projected by the Centre as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove middlemen and allow farmers to sell their produce anywhere in the country.

Also Read: Protesting farmers to block Delhi-Noida border, says Rakesh Tikait

The protesting farmers, on the other hand, have expressed apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of the minimum support price and do away with the "mandi" (wholesale market) system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates.

A meeting was organised at the collectorate chaired by ADM (City) Shailendra Kumar Singh on Wednesday to discuss the upcoming 'Bharat Bandh' call by farmers' unions on March 26, officials said.

Participation in the countrywide 'Bharat Bandh' call given by the farmers' unions on March 26 against the three farm laws would be optional for the traders, according to a few office-bearers.

General Secretary of Mahanagar Vyapar Mandal Ashok Chawla told PTI that the association would remain neutral during the 'Bharat Bandh'.

No association would force anybody to close their shops or compel them to keep it open as traders are free to take decisions on their own, Chawla added.

In the meeting, all the problems regarding COVID-19, 'Bharat Bandh', and deposition of arms licenses during panchayat elections were discussed, he further said.

(With inputs from PTI.)
Evangelist Nick Vujicic declares all of life has value at Roe v. Wade premiere

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

ORLANDO, Fla.  Nick Vujicic, who's known as the "limbless evangelist" because he was born without arms or legs, has shared his life story with people around the world to show that all life has value. Regardless of what the circumstances look like or what the doctors say, God has a plan for the unborn, he told The Christian Post.

Vujicic, alongside his wife, attended the movie premiere of Roe v. Wade held at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Feb. 26. The film is based on the facts behind one of the nation's most contentious U.S. Supreme Court rulings.

Roe v. Wade will hit theaters on April 2 and features a star-studded cast, including Hollywood actors Jon Voight, Robert Davi, Corbin Bernsen, John Schneider, Stacey Dash and Nick Loeb.

The film depicts the history of "what happened from 1966 through 1973" that led to the Supreme Court's decision declaring existing state laws banning abortion unconstitutional.

"Many people have asked me, especially over the last 18 months, 'What happened, what really happened in our country for it to be where it is?' And I really believe that it started with the family, Vujicic told CP of why he wanted to attend the premiere of such a controversial film.

I also believe that it started with the church and understanding that we must hold on to what God has given us, the basics of what He's given us in Scripture  that all of life has value, that all of life God can use for His purpose. And that even though we don't get a miracle, we can still be one.

Without any medical explanation, Vujicic was born in the early 80s without arms and legs. According to his biography, growing up proved to be difficult for him, and during his school-age years, he struggled with depression and loneliness. It was his faith in God that would eventually grant him victory over his struggles.

Vujicic said regardless of what appears to be a roadblock, God has a plan for every life.

"No matter who that child is, no matter what the doctors say, God has a plan. When God says He's got a plan, a good plan, He can take whatever we have and use it for good, he declared.

The Australian evangelist, who has inspired millions of people worldwide with his testimony of overcoming the odds, went on to encourage people to look to the Lord in lifes most difficult of moments.

"You got to trust in God. And that's the pinnacle and epiphany of faith  to understand that only God can do that, Vujicic continued. Only God can use the man without arms and legs to be His hands and feet and call him to stand in front of the gates of Hell and redirect traffic.

"When we stand in front of the gates of Hell and redirect traffic, that's when we understand that what is for man impossible  it is possible with God! he concluded.

In the past, Vujicic has spoken out against the abortion of Down syndrome babies. He said he was once told that as a disabled person, he should not have been allowed to preach, get married or even have children. All of which Vujicic has accomplished.

As previously reported by CP, Roe v. Wade, a Nick Loeb-directed film, encountered several obstacles, including Facebook banning their ads and losing cast members who opposed the film's mission.

The featured film tells "the untold story of how people lied, how the media lied, and how the courts were manipulated" to legalize abortion nationwide, which has led to the killing of more than 60 million Americans, Loeb previously said in an interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

Despite many setbacks, the film will be in theaters nationwide on April 2. For more information, visit "Roe v. Wade" movie.com.
She's the stylish daughter of legendary supermodel Kate Moss.

And Lila Grace looked effortlessly fashionable as she stepped out for a stroll with some pals in London on Thursday.

The rising star, 18, who modelled alongside her mum in the Fendi runway show in January, wrapped up warm in a padded Prada jacket for the walk.

Keeping it casual: Lila Grace looked effortlessly fashionable as she stepped out for a stroll with some pals in London on Thursday

Lila opted for a comfortable ensemble as she rocked her designer coat paired with a green V-neck jumper and black top.

She also donned some wide-leg grey jeans and pair of chunky black leather boots to complete her look.

The blonde beauty seemed to be wearing only the lightest touch of makeup and tied her sleek locks back into a messy bun.

Not forgetting her accessories, Lila toted a small black handbag and added some gold hoop earrings.

Laid back: The model, 18, opted for a comfortable ensemble as she rocked her designer coat paired with a green V-neck jumper and black top

Lila stormed the runway with her mum Kate for designer Kim Jones's first couture catwalk show for Fendi in Paris for Fashion Week in January.

Models stayed socially distanced from one another amid the coronavirus pandemic as they stood inside giant perspex letters which spelled out the word 'Fendi'.

British designer Kim joined Italian fashion house as its lead designer for womenswear in September 2020 and continues to fulfil his role as artistic director at Dior Men's.

The fashion expert succeeds the late Karl Lagerfeld in his Fendi role, which the designer held from the mid-1960s.

Stroll: Lila was joined by some pals for the walk, with her friends also rocking designer garb

Animated: She seemed very entertained while chatting to another pal and showing off her blonde locks in a chic messy bun

While Lila's mum Kate recently reflected on enduring 'intimidating' photoshoots in her early modelling career and revealed that teen models are often pressured into posing nude in a new interview.

The supermodel, 47, who was first scouted as a model in 1988 at age 14, admitted she felt 'terribly uncomfortable' during many shoots in her youth, explaining that some photographers will only work with models who agree to 'a nude element.'

Kate told Reader's Digest: 'There were many shoots in the early days where I felt terribly uncomfortable.'

Explaining how it's typical for a model to start their career at a young age, she said: 'That was the case with me, but even so there were some photographers who wouldn't agree to shoot you unless there was a nude element.

Fashion: Lila paired her jacket with some grey jeans and black leather boots

'That was very common then and still is now. For a very young woman that could be incredibly intimidating.'

Kate become synonymous with the 'heroin chic' aesthetic of the 1990s due to her skinny frame and pale skin, but branded the term 'awful with no positive interpretation'.

She added that her natural frame meant she was always 'thin and small' no matter what she ate, as she slammed similar criticism of lithe models in the present day.

Kate also said that her frame had changed after welcoming her daughter Lila Grace in 2002.
Christmas is still nine months away. I dont want to cause you to panic. The Christmas decorations shouldnt be up until May, April at the earliest. But I heard an account about a famous Christmas carol that cant wait. It carries a poignant message that fits where we are today.

We all know the carol, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, a much-celebrated poet and literary critic. Longfellows probably best known for poems such as Paul Reveres Ride and Song of Hiawatha, but his poem-turned-carol resonates with many of us. Considering the story behind this heartwarming holiday favorite, which traces back to the Civil War, makes it even more meaningful.

In 1861, Longfellows wife Fannie died after her dress caught on fire. Henry, awakened from a nap by her screams, had attempted to extinguish the flames, first with a rug and then with his body. However, Fannie already had suffered severe burns and passed away the following morning. Henrys own burns were so serious he was unable to attend her funeral.

While still mourning his wifes death, Longfellow experienced more family heartache in March 1863. His 18-year-old son Charles Appleton Wadsworth (known as Charley), the oldest of the six children, left their Cambridge, Mass. home to enlist in the Union army to fight in the Civil War. Charley soon merited a commission as a second lieutenant, but before he could see combat contracted camp fever, one of several forms of serious illnesses, and returned home for several months to recover.

The young man overcame the disease and rejoined his unit in August 1863. His father was dining alone in December when he received word that Charley had been severely wounded in the Mine Run campaign in Virginia. Longfellow and another son, Ernest, went to Washington, D.C. to be by Charleys side when he arrived from the battlefield for treatment. The initial grim diagnosis that paralysis might ensue was changed to a more favorable report that Charley would recover, but would be long in healing.

Back in Cambridge on Dec. 25, 1863, Longfellow, then a 57-year-old widowed father of six, began to write a poem to capture his depth of feelings, not only for his loss and the pain of seeing his suffering son, but also to capture his despair over the turmoil of a nation divided against itself in a bloody civil war.

As he was reflecting on all of this, Longfellow heard church bells ringing and the singing of peace on earth. Here are the original words from his poem, which was later set to music:

I heard the bells on Christmas Day

Their old, familiar carols play,

and wild and sweet

The words repeat

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!



And thought how, as the day had come,

The belfries of all Christendom

Had rolled along

The unbroken song

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!



Till ringing, singing on its way,

The world revolved from night to day,

A voice, a chime,

A chant sublime

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!



Then from each black, accursed mouth

The cannon thundered in the South,

And with the sound

The carols drowned

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!



It was as if an earthquake rent

The hearth-stones of a continent,

And made forlorn

The households born

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!



And in despair I bowed my head;

"There is no peace on earth," I said;

"For hate is strong,

And mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"



Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:

"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;

The Wrong shall fail,

The Right prevail,

With peace on earth, good-will to men."

Can you visualize this emotionally tortured man, grieving for his wife, shattered by the narrow escape of his oldest son from paralysis or even death, and wounded by his beloved United States of America being torn apart by strife and disunity? But then he heard the ringing of the bells, lifting his spirits and renewing his hope. We need not wait for Christmas. We can all cling to the closing words of Longfellows poem, God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; the Wrong shall fail, the Right prevail, with peace on earth, good will to men.

In Luke 2:14, were told one of the reasons Jesus Christ came was to bring, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men! Another translation says, on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased! With discord and conflict so pervasive, we could use a huge dose of the peace that can come only a life-changing, transforming relationship with the Lord, the peace of God that transcends all understanding (Philippians 4:7).

Jesus assured His followers, Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid (John 14:27). Years ago a popular song told of looking for love in all the wrong places. Apparently, as Longfellow observed in his now-famous poem, many of us are looking for peace in all the wrong places, too.

By trusting in Christ, even in the most dire, seemingly hopeless moments, there is always eternal hope. As Titus 2:13 expresses it, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.

* * *

Robert J. Tamasy is a veteran journalist, former newspaper editor and magazine editor. Bob has written, co-authored and edited more than 15 books. These include the newly published, Marketplace Ambassadors; Business At Its Best: Timeless Wisdom from Proverbs for Todays Workplace; Tufting Legacies, The Heart of Mentoring, and Pursuing Life With a Shepherds Heart. A weekly business meditation he edits, Monday Manna, is translated into more than 20 languages and sent via email around the world by CBMC International. The address for his blog is www.bobtamasy.blogspot.com. His email address is btamasy@comcast.net.
BEIJING, Mar. 25 -- The Taiwan question is China's internal affair. It bears on China's core interests and brooks no outside forces interference in any form, said Senior Colonel Ren Guoqiang, Spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of National Defense (MND) at a regular press conference on Thursday.

Ren made those remarks when asked to making comment on an article about the Indo-Pacific situation recently published on the website of US Department of Defense which claimed that Taiwan was never part of China.

"The relevant remarks by the US side seriously breached the one-China principle and sent a wrong signal to the 'Taiwan independence' secessionists. Such remarks are of egregious nature. China is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to that," said the spokesperson.

Ren reasserted China's standpoint, that the historical and legal facts that Taiwan region is part of China and both sides across the Taiwan Strait belong to one China can never be altered by anyone or any force.

The Taiwan question is Chinas internal affair. It bears on Chinas core interests and brooks no outside forces interference in any form. The Chinese PLA is resolutely determined to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, he stressed.

"China urges the US to earnestly abide by the one-China principle and the stipulations of the three China-US Joint Communiques, and prudently and properly handle the Taiwan question, lest it should bring severe damages to the state-to-state and mil-to-mil relations between the two countries and further harm cross-strait peace and stability," Ren warned in the end.
Its always interesting when an impressionist talks about their craft, all the more so when that impression is a good one. The Trump presidency was a goldmine for this sort of peek behind the curtain, because virtually every working comedian occasionally impersonated Trump, but most of their Trumps were horrible, which meant that the few people who got Trump dead-to-rights were frequently asked how they did it. James Austin Johnson, who has arguably the funniest Trump impression outside of the Hall of Presidents, gave one of the most revealing answers: Half the battle is picking the right version of the person youre trying to impersonate. While other impressionists used the Trump of the 1980s as a starting point, Johnson went straight to what he called Rally Trump, a rambling, love-starved old man who seems perpetually about to cough up a lung. More evidence that the key to a good impression is a carefully-chosen starting point arrived on Tuesday, as former Saturday Night Live cast member Dana Carvey discussed his terrific Joe Biden impression on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. I do him at the town hall, when hes like the gentle father to the country, Carvey told Colbert. The results speak for themselves:

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Dana Carvey gets very detailed with his President Biden impression. #LSSC https://t.co/tELJigQJsx pic.twitter.com/f1skS1zdrN  A Late Show (@colbertlateshow) March 24, 2021

For comparison purposes, heres a clip of Biden being a gentle father to the country in his February town hall. (He doesnt do the Number one thing Carvey mentioned in this clip, but he did it several times during the full town hall.)

Advertisement

Advertisement

There are two key differences between Carveys Joe Biden and the mostly-lackluster Bidens on Saturday Night Live. Number one, Carvey is taking virtually nothing from the Onions Shirtless Biden Washes Trans Am in White House Driveway version of the character. The Onions Biden requires a level of wackiness that Biden has rarely exhibited in public since he was telling stories about Corn Pop, which was all the way back in June of 2017. Number two, like Austin doing Trump, Carvey has thought about the way Bidens mind workshis Bob Woodward to Joanne Woodward to Bob Redford free association is masterfuland his impression comes as much from the way Biden tries to get a point across as from his verbal and physical tics. Its such a funny impression that were calling it now: Despite the fact that Carvey has never played Biden on Saturday Night Live, he is nevertheless Saturday Night Lives greatest Joe Biden. Isnt that special?
WASHINGTON  In February, Vice President Kamala Harris called a meeting with U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3, and three other Democratic women in Congress to discuss the national emergency at hand.

Harris meant the pandemic, yes, but specifically, how it has forced millions of women out of work through layoffs, furloughs, small business closures and a lack of child care. Thats the main topic the vice president will tackle on Friday as she visits New Haven.

In one year the pandemic has put decades of the progress we have collectively made for women workers at risk, Harris, the first female vice president, warned the female lawmakers at the White House. This is a national emergency.

And she added, Without you, each and everyone of you, we will not be able to get the American Rescue Plan over the finish line.

Less than a month later, the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan did cross the finish line and was signed into law by President Joe Biden.

As part of Harris Help is Here campaign promoting the law around the country, she and DeLauro will highlight on Friday how the law increases the child tax credit and offers billions of dollars to help child care providers reopen.

The goal: To put women back to work by making more child care available. Other reforms in the law increase jobless benefits and food assistance.

This is like the New Deal. It really is going to change peoples lives, DeLauro said on Wednesday. For me the child tax credit is central to really providing the opportunity and security to women and their families.

Every week since the start of the pandemic, more women in Connecticut have filed continuing employment claims in Connecticut than men, data from the state Department of Labor shows. Two weeks ago, women filed 51 percent of continuing employment claims, but that number was as high as 56 percent in August.

The American Rescue Plan temporarily ups the child tax credit from $2,000 per child to $3,600 per child under age 6 and $3,000 per child ages 6 to 17. This expanded benefit will be available for taxpayers with income up to $75,000, or $150,000 for a joint return; taxpayers who make more can still receive the regular benefit as long as they earn less than $200,000.

Instead of waiting until the 2022 tax filing season, families could start receiving regular installments in payments as early as July  although that date could shift backward due to an extension in the 2021 tax filing season, the Internal Revenue Service commissioner said last week.

Also, the money will now be available to low-income families who do not file taxes  as with stimulus checks  although previously, it was not.

DeLauro is the powerful chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee, who has been advocating for expanding the child tax credit for 20 years. When she was a senator, Harris was the first senator to back DeLauros legislation to expand the child tax credit, other than the bills two co-sponsors.

DeLauro spoke to Harris and President Joe Biden about including this tax credit expansion in the American Rescue Plan in an Oval Office meeting in February, she said. In the meeting, Harris and Biden sat underneath a portrait of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who enacted the New Deal programs in the Great Depression.

DeLauro noticed the portrait and reminded Harris and Biden of Roosevelts impact.

I said that Franklin Roosevelt and Social Security lifted 90 percent of seniors out of poverty and I believe the president and the vice president, with the stroke of a pen, could lift millions of children out of poverty, DeLauro said.

In Connecticut, 31,000 children under 5 live below the federal poverty level.

What that tax credit means to a family below the federal poverty level  its just a total game changer, said Beth Bye, commissioner of the state Office of Early Childhood. It has implications for everything: families trying to pick between child care and food and they need both.

The temporary change in the child credit will cost the federal government over $100 billion, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

DeLauro plans to try to make this change permanent with future legislation. Its a move supported by Harris and Biden, but one that could receive opposition from Republicans who support other child tax credit reforms.

The American Rescue Plan also includes billions to support child care providers across the country, including $277 million to help day care and preschools in Connecticut.

That money has not arrived in state coffers yet for distribution to child care programs through grants, Bye said. The state is just now getting ready to hand out $70 million federal funding for child care providers that was included in a December relief package and arrived in February.

Like schools, many child care providers  which include public and private operations  had to shut their doors and many have not reopened or are operating with many vacancies because some children have not returned. Both factors have driven revenues down immensely.

In Connecticut, I think the data was almost half of providers were putting program costs on their personal credit card to keep programs open because the enrollments were low, Bye said.

As of last week, 76.6 percent of child care slots available before the pandemic were open in Connecticut, according data collected by Connecticut United Way 211. Over 70 percent of open child care providers also said they had vacant spots.

Reopening child care and providing funding so providers can stay open at reduced capacity could help more women return to work  the many who are employed in the child care industry and in other industries.

Harris and DeLauro are also expected to highlight other aid for families included in the plan and the need for people to get vaccinated. The bill also increases unemployment benefits with an additional $300 weekly benefit through Sept. 6, 2021.

The American Rescue Plan Act is estimated to cost over $1.9 trillion through 2031, but the ultimate price tag could be twice as high if some of the policies like the child tax credit, are made permanent, the Committee for a Responsible Budget found.

Biden is also reportedly preparing to announce a new $3 trillion for infrastructure and other spending as soon as next week.

emilie.munson@hearstdc.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson
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.
Welcome to Wine of the Week , a series in which Chronicle wine critic Esther Mobley recommends a delicious bottle that you should be drinking right now. Last week, she highlighted a bag-in-box red wine from Ryme Cellars. Check for a new installment online every Wednesday.

Under normal circumstances, Graham Tatomer sells his wines for very fair prices. The Santa Barbara County winemaker is dedicated to Austrian-inspired bottlings, and consistently produces some of Californias best Gruner Veltliners and Rieslings made in the racy, precise, dry styles that Austria is known for  mostly under $30.

But while shopping for wine recently, I noticed a Tatomer white at a truly spectacular price: $15. My interest was piqued. I bought it and threw it in the fridge. A blend of Gruner (80%) and Riesling (20%), the wine  which Tatomer calls Hinter de Mauer  smelled like honeysuckle nectar and lemon verbena, with a juicy, deliciously viscous texture. It was layered and complex, and continued to taste fresh as I sipped it over the next couple of days.

Wines this good at prices like this are hard to come by in California, so I called Tatomer to ask how he does it.

This is the COVID cuvee, he said.

Before the pandemic, Tatomer had sold almost all of his wine through restaurants, he explained  a necessity for a brand built on a theme (Austria) thats not top of mind for many American drinkers. Geeky sommeliers loved to recommend his wines to diners, especially because theyre so food-friendly, but getting Austrian-inspired California wines on a retail shelf was always a challenge. There arent a lot of people coming into a wine shop asking, Got any Santa Barbara dry Riesling? he said.

So a year ago, when COVID-19 shut down restaurants throughout the country, Tatomer panicked. Restaurants shutting down really felt like my business was shutting down, he said. He watched as other wineries slashed their bottle prices, but that seemed like a short-term fix.

Leah Millis / The Chronicle 2014

Instead of discounting his existing wines, Tatomer decided to make an entirely new one. He took five of the white wines hed made during the 2019 harvest  Gruners and Rieslings from single-vineyard sites around the Central Coast  and, rather than bottling them each individually like he usually does, made a kitchen-sink blend of them all. He priced the wine essentially at cost, he said. The conventional wine-pricing math suggests that he should be selling the Hinter de Mauer for somewhere between $25-$30, but hes doing it for $15.

The main goal, Tatomer said, is just to get some cash flow going during a time when it otherwise might have been completely static. And the ideal outcome is that the $15 price tag will introduce some people to the other Tatomer wines, the ones closer to the $30 range.

The phrase Hinter de Mauer is a local idiom in the small Austrian village of Loiben, where Tatomer lived while working for Weingut Knoll, one of the countrys most famous wineries. Loosely, it translates to against the wall, a reference to the walls surrounding Loibens terraced vineyards. The grapes that grow closest to the wall often taste the best, in part because they get some of the walls radiant heat.

Theyre the best-tasting grapes, but also the hardest to work, Tatomer said of Loibens wall-adjacent vines. It felt like an apt metaphor for his business survival during the pandemic: being stuck within a confined space, under the most challenging conditions, and making something great out of it.

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

As exciting as the Hinter de Mauer is for wine drinkers, however, the prospect of making a kitchen-sink blend and selling it at cost again in 2021  the prospect, in other words, of restaurants wine sales remaining as enervated as they have been  is not very exciting to Tatomer. He wants to go back to making his normal set of wines this year and selling them at real prices. Still, he said, he might try to make another type of $15 wine, if he can find less expensive fruit sources. Hes eyeing other Teutonic white grape varieties that can be sourced for less money than Gruner and Riesling: Sylvaner, maybe, and Pinot Gris.

Is this going to be around next year? Tatomer said. I hope not!

The wine is available at Castro Village Wine, West Coast Wine & Cheese, K&L, Farmstead Cheeses and Wines, Wine Mine, Bi-Rite and Little Vine. Its also available directly from the Tatomer Wines website, but must be purchased in 12-bottle increments.

Tatomer Hinter de Mauer White Blend Central Coast 2019 ($15, 11%)

Esther Mobley is The San Francisco Chronicles wine critic. Email: emobley@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Esther_mobley
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.
LONDON, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- UMBR holders can capitalise on their tokens with the introduction of the Umbria Farm.

Users of the Umbria Layer 2 DeFi protocol can soon deposit their UMBR-ETH LP (liquidity pool) tokens into the Umbria Farm https://farm.umbria.network/ and earn even more $UMBR as a reward.

After buying UMBR on Uniswap, anyone can add liquidity to the UMBR-ETH pool on the Uniswap platform. They receive LP tokens and earn fees in return. Holders of these LP tokens will be able to put them directly into the Umbria Farm to get a share of 50,000 UMBR (share dependent on how many ETH-UMBR LP tokens they are staking). This is in addition to the fees they earn for liquidity provision on Uniswap.

Watch this video for a step-by-step guide:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGhks3zMSZY

At block 12120000 farming rewards will begin being distributed to those who have staked their UMBR-ETH tokens in the Umbria Farm. Participants will receive a portion of the 0.25 UMBR minted per block for the subsequent 50,000 blocks. It's currently estimated that yield farming on the platform will commence around the 27th of March. Check the block countdown here for the latest update.

Anyone adding their LP tokens to the Umbria Farm will be included in the Umbria airdrop snapshot on April 15th and eligible to claim their free tokens on May 15th.

"By putting your LP tokens into another contract  that is the Umbria Farm - you can really capitalise and make your assets work much harder. You still get fees for providing liquidity, but you're also earning additional UMBR. Welcome to farming!" said Oscar Chambers, Co-lead developer at Umbria. "We're looking forward to deploying many more features on the Umbria Network in 2021."

See the latest price of UMBR on CoinMarketCap:

https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/umbria-network/news/

Head on over to our Discord channel or Telegram to find out more on the latest developments.

If you are interested in becoming an official Umbria Ambassador and earning additional UMBR please get in touch at [email protected] using the subject 'Brand Ambassador' in your email.

About Umbria

https://umbria.network/

Umbria is a decentralized protocol, which enables DeFi (Decentralised Finance) applications on the Ethereum blockchain. It aims to demystify and simplify DeFi and get people earning income on their crypto. Using cutting edge-layer two technology developed by Polygon, Umbria is developing a suite of popular DeFi features at fractional on-chain cost of many current DeFi platforms with greater transaction speed (while maintaining all the cryptographic security provided by Ethereum).

Umbria is available on Uniswap and users can add liquidity to earn fees. A user of Umbria will soon be able to swap tokens and earn interest on their cryptocurrency positions on the Umbria website with other facilities coming online (via developers and community initiatives) which will utilise the Umbria protocol and its governance token. One of the initial features of Umbria is that it will allow users to deposit cryptocurrency as liquidity in AMM (automated market making) pools to earn fees from token swapping and earn additional Umbria as an incentive for providing liquidity. The Umbria governance token will also enable users in the network to take control over decision-making and have voting power over the development and governance of Umbria's protocol.

UK-publicly listed Online Blockchain plc (LSE: OBC) is acting as Umbria's coordinator, administrator and advisor.

Francesca De Franco; [email protected]; +44(0) 794 125 3135

SOURCE Online Blockchain plc
A leader of the Oath Keepers militia was communicating with members of the far-right Proud Boys in the weeks leading to the U.S. Capitol attack, federal prosecutors allege, suggesting for the first time the extremist groups had formed an alliance for the day of the deadly assault.

The disclosure came in court papers filed late Tuesday arguing that Kelly Meggs, the 52-year-old head of the Oath Keepers chapter in Florida, is too dangerous to release pending trial in Washingtons federal court. Meggs has been charged along with nine other alleged members of the Oath Keepers in a six-count indictment accusing them of conspiring to attack the Capitol Jan. 6 to stop the counting of Electoral College votes cementing President Joe Bidens victory.

In their expansive investigation of the Capitol assault, which left five people dead, federal agents are examining the role far-right groups played in organizing and fomenting the riot. At least 16 alleged members of the Oath Keepers, described by federal authorities as a large but loosely organized anti-government militia, have been charged in the insurrection.

Prosecutors allege Meggs played a key role in the Oath Keepers plotting and financing of their actions in Washington, while coordinating his militias actions with other extremists in the hopes of disrupting Congress work counting Electoral College votes.

Meggs revealed his coordination efforts in electronic communications to other members of his group, prosecutors said. On Dec. 19, for example, he bragged to an associate that he had organized an alliance between the Oath Keepers, Proud Boys and Three Percenters, another far-right group. We have decided to work together and shut this s--- down, he wrote.

A few days later, he wrote, we have made contact with the (Proud Boys) and they always have a big group. Force multiplier. He described how the two groups could coordinate attacks on demonstrators, particularly anti-fascists. We will come in behind antifa and beat the hell out of them, Meggs added.

At least 20 members of the Proud Boys have been indicted in the riot. The Proud Boys have been labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center for espousing white nationalist views, as well as misogynistic and anti-Muslim rhetoric. The group, whose members have been known to engage in violent actions, describes itself as a pro-Western fraternal organization for men who refuse to apologize for creating the modern world.

Meggs attorneys have argued that the manager of an auto dealership should be released on bail because there is no evidence he acted violently or destroyed property, and they say he protected a Capitol police officer who was about to be assaulted by the mob. Lawyers for other alleged Oath Keepers have said that their clients had intended to battle antifa, a loose association of anti-facist activists, not to break into the Capitol.

The Justice Departments court filing, however, argues that as the Jan. 6 counting of electoral votes approached, Meggs was focused on overturning the results of the election, by any means necessary.

Trump is staying in power, the Oath Keeper wrote an associate Dec. 26, according to alleged messages prosecutors included in their filings. Hes Gonna use the emergency broadcast system on cell phones to broadcast to the American people. Then he will claim the insurrection act.

Thats awesome, the associate replied. Any idea when?

Next week, Meggs wrote. Then wait for the 6th when we are all in DC to insurrection.

On Jan. 6, a large group of Oath Keepers put on tactical gear, went to the Capitol and formed a stack formation at the buildings steps. At 2:40 p.m., they broke past police and entered the Capitol, allowing hundreds of other rioters to enter, forcing the evacuation of lawmakers and staff, prosecutors allege.

Prosecutors wrote in their memo Tuesday seeking Meggs continued detention that the Florida man remained a danger. In the hours after the insurrection, prosecutors wrote, Meggs wrote in an Oath Keeper chat group that we arent quitting! We are reloading! During a search of his house, prosecutors added, authorities found three guns.

While gearing up for an insurrection, prosecutors said, Meggs was also expecting to provide some security for an undisclosed individual during events associated with former President Donald Trumps Stop the Steal rally. That individual is almost certainly Roger Stone, a close Trump associate and self-described dirty trickster, whose political involvement stretches back to Watergate. A defense lawyer for an Oath Keeper argued last week that his client had only come to town to guard Stone, not engage in an insurrection.

In a related Oath Keepers case, prosecutors failed Wednesday to persuade a federal judge to continue detaining Laura Steele, a 52-year-old alleged member of the group. Steele, a North Carolina security guard, has been held since her arrest last month on the broader Oath Keeper conspiracy indictment.

In ordering her release, U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta ruled that prosecutors failed to show she had played a substantial role in the Oath Keepers planning for Jan. 6, committed acts of violence or destroyed property. She will be detained at home and cannot have access to computers, tablets or other electronic communication devices.

In an unrelated case, U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden ordered the release pending trial of a 22-year-old Costa Mesa, California, man accused of storming the Capitol. Christian Secor, a UCLA student, was widely photographed sitting on the chair of the Senates presiding officer and waving a Trump flag in the chamber. McFadden said he did not believe Secor was a risk to the community, and ordered him confined at home.

___

2021 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Below reads the Chairman Lamin J. Sise's message:

Today Monday, 22 March, 2021 the TRRC will begin its 22nd session of public hearings. As at the end of the 21st session, the Commission had heard testimonies from a total of 358 witnesses. Of these, 285 were male and 73 were female. Out of the total number of witnesses appearing before the Commission so far, 216 were victims and 75 were self-confessed perpetrators and adversely mentioned persons. Twenty-nine witnesses have testified via video link from the Gambian Diaspora. Thepublic hearings of the TRRC also included protected witnesses as well as witnesses who testified in camera.

As we begin today what could be the last month of the public hearings of the Commission, we would first recapitulate the highlights of the two themes we examined during our last three sessions. In view of time constraints, we delayed review of the highlights of the two consecutive sessions devoted to the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) which ran from 22 October, 2020 to 23 February, 2021 and was part of the general theme on Institutional Hearings. The Commission paid careful and thorough attention to the NIA as it was the entity, together with the murderous squad called the Junglers who were during the mandate period of the TRRC (i.e. July 1994 to January 2017), responsible for the greatest number of gross violations and abuses of human rights in The Gambia.

It would be recalled that the constituent Act which established the Commission (TRRC Act, 2017) defined human rights violations or abuses as including "the commission of acts of torture, unlawful killings, sexual and gender based violence, enforced disappearances of persons, inhumane and degrading treatment, arbitrary arrest, detention without trial..." and ordering, instigating, inciting, aiding and abetting, counseling or procuring any of these acts. Yahya Jammeh and his cluster of confederates at the NIA and among the Junglers committed all these acts during twenty two years with undisguised wickedness against the citizens of The Gambia with impunity and total disregard for the rule of law. Testimonies from the victims during the NIA public hearings, albeit different, were not a series of unrelated cases. They showed a consistent pattern of gross violations and abuses of human rights by the agents of the State. It was also clear from witness accounts that the actions of these agents weren't the product of individual decisions on their part but rather a calculated and intentional policy of Yahya Jammeh to consolidate and perpetuate his reign of terror and fear in The Gambia.

Some witness perpetrators testified that they themselves would be killed if they did not carry out superior orders to torture detainees to unlawfully obtain confessions. The torture meted out reached its crescendo when the detainee was accused especially of being part of a plot to overthrow Yahya Jammeh. It is the old story of feeding the crocodile with innocent people, hoping that the storm of dictatorship would pass before their turn comes to be devoured by the reptilian beast.

Against this background of fear and paranoia of the all-powerful man in The Gambia, Jammeh's brutality reached a new height in July 2005 when, according to witness testimonies, the President of the Republic of The Gambia ordered the killing of nearly fifty unarmed West African migrants who ostensibly were on their way to what they perceived as greener pastures in Europe. They were given short shrift and mercilessly tortured and slaughtered in The Gambia by Jammeh's agents. Again, according to witness testimonies before this Commission, on orders by Jammeh. He and his Government mendaciously claimed, and informed the government of Ghana, the United Nations, and ECOWAS, that the innocent and unarmed migrants were killed by "rogue elements" in the Gambian Army. The killers were not part of any renegade unit of the Army. No such unit could exist in the Gambian armed forces under Yahya Jammeh. The Junglers, some of their members in testimonies before the TRRC, confirmed that they got their orders from and reported directly only to President Yahya Jammeh. The truth of what exactly happened to the migrants became a big casualty of this tragic episode. But alas, like the proverbial prophet, Martin Kyere, the sole survivor from among the migrants, lived and traveled over land and sea, including appearing before this Commission, to tell mankind what happened in The Gambia in late July 2005.May God lead us from these negative and brutal attributes that led to the slaughter of innocent strangers who landed on our shores. These attributes did not represent The Gambia. Our cultures, ethos, and traditions welcome strangers. We share food and shelter willingly with them. Not kill them!

The killing of the West African migrants adds to the chilling litany of mass murders of human beings in addition to individual killings in The Gambia during the mandate period. Here is a partial list of the killings.

1. April 10-11, 2000 (12-14 Student demonstrators killed by Gambian Security Forces)

2. Witch Hunt Deaths (41 innocent human beings died in the custody of Gambian Security Forces or shortly thereafter, following the administration of illegal and hallucinating concoctions)

3. Presidential Alternative Treatment Programme, PATP HIV/AIDS (over 30 vulnerable individuals suffering from the infection died during or shortly after leaving the fraudulent treatment administered by President Jammeh himself, an untrained and uneducated medical personnel)

4. West African Migrants (Nearly 50 innocent migrants killed by Gambian Security Forces allegedly on orders given by President Jammeh in July 2005 and buried in unmarked areas in The Gambia and reportedly also in the Casamance in southern Senegal)

5. Extrajudicial killings of Prison Inmates (9 in 2009 at the Mile Two Central Prisons)

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Gambia Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

6. Murder of Journalists (3 in 2000, 2004 and 2006) and

7. Extrajudicial killings of Members of The Gambia Armed Forces accused of participating in plots to overthrow the Jammeh Government (11 November, 1994;March, 2006 alleged Ndure Cham coup attempt;30 December, 2014).

There was absolutely no reason for these deaths. We as a people, every single Gambian, must resolve to embrace the TRRC mantra: Never Again! Never Again!

As we get closer to the end of our public hearings, this Commission reiterates its firm commitment to executing its mandate to the fullest possible extent. We hope to finish our final report, and submit our findings and recommendations to the Government of the Gambia during the first week of July. Ultimately, it is the TRRC's firm conviction that all victims of human rights violations that occurred between July 1994 and January 2017 will get the justice they deserve. We invite you to join us on this last leg of what has been a highly revealing sojourn into our recent past - a past, unfortunately, that was marked by rampant violations of the human rights and dignities of Gambians by the State.

The TRRC has not been deterred and will not be deterred or intimidated in carrying out its mandate until we safely conclude our work.

Thank you for your kind attention.
OPPO Malaysia has officially unveiled the OPPO Find X3 Pro at the price of RM4299. The smartphone will be available for pre-order starting from today onwards until 8 April 2021 at all selected OPPO Brand Stores located across Malaysia, OPPO official store, as well as participating e-commerce and telco partners.

But thats not all, if you were to pre-order the smartphone, you will be eligible for free gifts consisting of an OPPO Enco X, a wireless charger, an extended warranty and more thats worth up to RM1935. If youre not interested in pre-ordering the device, the first sale of it will start on 9 April 2021.

As for the tech specs, the OPPO Find X3 Pro comes equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset, 12GB RAM, 256GB ROM, 6.7-inch 120Hz display with a touch sampling rate of up to 240Hz, and a 4500mAh internal battery that supports up to 65W fast charging. Furthermore, it has a 50MP + 50MP + 13MP + 3MP rear camera that supports up to 60x hybrid zoom while the front has a 32MP selfie camera.

As for the colour options, the smartphone is available in gloss black and blue. If you want to find out more information regarding the smartphone, as well as the pre-order promo offered, head over to their official website.

Other than the smartphone, OPPO also unveiled the OPPO Enco X wireless earphones at the price of RM699. The Enco X supports active noise cancellation, LHDC codec, Binaural Low-Latency Bluetooth Transmission and its capable of lasting up to 25 hours of non-stop listening on a single charge.

Would you be interested in getting the OPPO Find X3 Pro? Let us know on our Facebook page and for more updates like this, stay tuned to TechNave.com.
The National Police arrested a 59-year-old Finnish woman at Fuengirola railway station this Tuesday after her actions forced trains to grind to a halt for 20 minutes when she refused to wear a mandatory face mask on public transport.

Railway staff called in the police after the woman had refused to wear a mask or respect coronavirus control social distancing measures.

When police arrived at the station they found her in carriage and she produced a card, in Spanish, saying, "Respect my right not to wear a mask."

The woman refused to produce identification and when the officers tried to inspect her purse she began to 'violently struggle' with one of them. Trains at the station were stopped as alarmed passengers looked on.

Finally, the woman was arrested for alleged resistance and serious disobedience of the police charges.

British man arrested

This arrest joins another last Monday, also in Fuengirola, when a 35-year-old British man was detained for serious disobedience to police. The man was seen, not wearing a mask, on calle Francisco de Pizarro and ignored the officers request to put it on.

When police asked for identification the man refused and allegedly pushed the policemen away, before they arrested him.
A Tompkins County man was arrested for having child pornography, state police said.

James L. Jackson, 24, of Ithaca, was charged on March 15 with possessing a sexual performance by a child, a felony, according to a news release issued Wednesday by New York State Police.

Jackson was released with an appearance ticket to return to the Town of Dryden Court on March 31, police said.

Staff writer James McClendon covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? Reach him at 914-204-2815 or jmcclendon@syracuse.com.
Maputo  Mozambican Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosario has reaffirmed the government's commitment to adopt effective strategies to fight tuberculosis.

Speaking on Wednesday in Maputo at a ceremony to mark World Tuberculosis Day, Rosario said implementation of those strategies has contributed to meaningful progress in efforts to control the disease.

He said there has been enormous progress in the treatment of TB patients, as well as the use of antiretroviral therapy for those co-infected with HIV/AIDS.

"The results we have been recording with the implementation of these strategies reflect government efforts, as well as the international commitments made after the United Nations High Level Meeting on Tuberculosis in 2018," he said.

In Mozambique, added Rosario, there are an estimated 361 new infections by tuberculosis in every 100,000 habitants per year, which means the epidemic affects nearly 110,000 Mozambicans across the country.

World Health Organisation (WHO) data point out that nearly 10 million cases of tuberculosis were recorded in 2019, causing 1.4 million deaths. 95 per cent of these deaths occurred in developing countries.

Since the declaration of tuberculosis by the WHO, 25 years ago, as a public health emergency, many countries, including Mozambique, have been making efforts to control and eradicate the disease which is curable.

"We reaffirm the government's commitment and determination to keep on adopting measures and to implement actions intended to consolidate the outcome we have achieved so far in preventing and fighting against tuberculosis", declared the Prime Minister.

At the ceremony, the National Guideline for Latent Tuberculosis Treatment was launched in a presentation given by the Minister of Health, Armindo Tiago.

The latest instrument is intended to improve the mechanisms to identify and screen individuals with latent tuberculosis, who have no evident symptoms of the disease.

The health authorities believe that the implementation of several actions envisaged in the National Guideline for Latent Tuberculosis Treatment will reduce transmission and cut down the number of people infected with the disease.
New Delhi, March 25 : In one of the biggest aerial surveys, over 500 high resolution drones would be deployed soon to map nearly 6 lakh villages in the country to validate the residential properties of more than 83 crore Indians.

The survey, once completed, would enable a large population of India to validate their rural residential property and use it as a financial asset.

A big force of drone pilots on the ground to measure the rural land in India stretching from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and Shillong to Somnath, would be deployed by the Survey of India (SOI).

"A hi-tech drone takes around 15 minutes to map an average Indian village. We expect that by March 2024, the 'drone flying' in the country would be complete," said Sunil Kumar, the Union Secretary for the Panchayati Raj Ministry, the nodal agency for implementing the massive land survey scheme.

Almost all Indian states, except Telangana, have consented to map the entire rural properties in their respective jurisdiction.

The mega scheme, promoted by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, enables people in rural areas to unlock their rural assets.

"Once the survey would be complete, every owner would be given a property card. This card will enable countrymen to use their residential property as a financial asset... They can further be entitled to seek loans from banks," Sunil Kumar, also an IAS officer of the UP Cadre, noted.

A pilot project of the drone survey has been hitherto successful as more than 40,000 villages have been covered.

The country now gears for the full and final survey to map the rural assets of people.

Sources said that in Uttar Pradesh, hundreds of people have got their property cards during the pilot project. In some villages, farmers who got the validation of their houses also sought loans from the banks.

Last year, Modi had launched the pilot project for the drone survey which then covered only six states; Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

Later, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh also joined hands with the Centre and consented to go for the land survey, being conducted by Survey of India.

Sources said that during one of the meeting of the group of Ministers in late 2019, the idea of land survey of rural properties was picked up by Modi.

"The Prime Minister realised that by validation of property, the survey would benefit over 68 parent of population living in rural India. He quickly gave the go ahead. In fact, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, who also looks after Panchayti Raj Ministry, has been in touch with a team from Maharashtra which had earlier suggested the benefits of validation of rural property," the sources said.

The government which started the pilot project in April 2020, named it as "Swamitva Scheme".

"Now from the pilot project, the scheme would benefit the entire population," sources in the government added One of the key benefits of the scheme is to end disputes over measurement and ownership of rural residential property.

In fact in most cases, rural residential property has not been validated as it's not taxed, though agriculture land is well documented. The residential survey of villages will also help the state governments to create accurate land record for a better rural planning.

According to a mid-level officer of the Panchayti Raj Ministry, at present 162 drones, mostly imported from Germany, have been been deployed to conduct the land survey.

The hi-tech drones have an accuracy of around 5 cm, a condition required to measure land.

Efforts are on to encourage Indian companies to manufacture such drones.

For every drone, almost two technicians are required to conduct the aerial survey properly.

"Once an accurate survey is completed, postal delivery of goods through e-commerce can begin in rural areas too," said the officer.

During the current financial year, government has provided rs 566 crore to expedite the mega land survey project in India.
Highlights Nokia Lite Earbuds may launch on April 8

It will support touch controls.

The charging case will come with a type-C charging port.

The Finnish smartphone maker Nokia is making serious efforts to make its presence felt in the headphone market. It had launched the Nokia Power Earbuds Lite TWS earphones last month, and hot on its tail, the brand is looking to launch another.

Nokia Lite Earbuds seems to be the next truly wireless earphones in the brands launch pipeline. The earphones were first spotted by 91 mobiles on the FCC certification website, which revealed a lot of details, including a bunch of live images and a user manual.

Currently, there's no information around the launch of the Nokia Lite Earbuds. However, we are speculating that it may arrive along with Nokia X10 and Nokia X20, which are slated to launch on April 8.

Photo Credit- 91mobiles, Nokia Lite Earbuds case and earbuds

The live pictures showcase an oval case with a Nokia branding on top. Moving further, the images provide us with the first look at the Nokia Lite Earbuds, these are in-ear style earphones with an elongated stem and silicone tips. We can also see a Nokia branding on the stem of each earbud.

Photo Credit - 91mobiles, Nokia Lite Earbuds user manual leaked

Now the user manual informs us that the case comes with a LED indicator that turns red when charging and turns off when completely charged. Besides this, the Nokia Lite Earbuds also feature touch controls allowing you to single, double, or triple-tap to control music playback or calls.

Also, the user manual showcases a picture of the charging case with a USB Type-C charging port, which is a nice addition.

Another document on the FCC website helps us with the key specs of the Nokia Lite Earbuds. The document says these truly wireless earphones bear the BH-205 model number. Further, it reveals that the case will come equipped with a 400mAH battery, whereas each earbud will get a 40mAh battery. In terms of connectivity, the TWS earbuds will have support for Bluetooth 5.1.
Washington: An updated company analysis of AstraZenecas coronavirus vaccine shows that the two-shot regimen was robustly effective in clinical trials  76 per cent at preventing symptomatic illness  according to a news release from the pharmaceutical company.

The finding released late on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT) is only slightly lower than results announced days earlier, underscoring the evidence that the vaccine being widely used by many countries appears to be a powerful tool to help end the pandemic. No severe cases of illness were reported in study volunteers who received the vaccine. Among people 65 and older, the vaccine was 85 per cent effective, the company reported.

The updated results from US trials of AstraZeneca still show the drug is robustly effective against COVID-19 Credit:Kate Geraghty

The new data may not resolve challenges that the vaccine and the company face, because repeated missteps have sown confusion and distrust that may result in slower and closer scrutiny of the data.

AstraZeneca and Oxfords announcement at the start of the week that their vaccine was 79 per cent effective in a 32,000-person trial in the United States buoyed the companys stock price and impressed government officials.
3/25/2021

Page Content

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) has awarded grants to the schools of medicine at both Marshall University and West Virginia University (WVU) to facilitate the creation of a statewide infection prevention network.





Led by infectious disease experts at both institutions, the two-year, $1 million project will foster partnerships among academic medical centers and schools of public health to develop regional centers for infection prevention and control consultation and support services. The network will also build expertise in infection prevention and control throughout the state by creating training curriculums for epidemiologists and a variety of health care personnel related to infectious disease and epidemiology.





With a focus on infection prevention, this project will further enable the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources and its valuable partners to promote the health and well-being of our residents, said Dr. Ayne Amjad, State Health Officer and Commissioner of DHHRs Bureau for Public Health. As a state, we must help our healthcare facilities implement infection control protocols and procedures that work to stop the spread of infectious disease and protect every patient, in every activity, during every healthcare interaction.





Other major components of the network include:

 creating a team of experts to support infection prevention and control in health care settings, starting with long-term care facilities.

 working closely with local health departments to provide education and support for infection prevention and control.

 conducting a learning needs assessment of the health care workforce.

 developing training/learning platforms to deliver free infection prevention education.





The unparalleled challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted the importance of infection prevention as a necessary measure of public health safety, said Peimei He, M.D. , an assistant professor of infectious disease at the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine and the principal investigator at Marshall for the project. As infectious disease clinicians, we champion this crucial cause and a collaborative initiative that will make evidence-based infection prevention education and resources in infection prevention accessible throughout West Virginia.





In addition to promoting patient safety, West Virginia will benefit from increased knowledge and awareness for infection prevention and control; improved access to training and infection prevention experts; and increased number of training opportunities on a variety of platforms.





"West Virginia University, in collaboration with DHHR, has spearheaded the COVID-19 response in West Virginia, including the vaccination program, said Shipra Gupta, M.D. , assistant professor of pediatrics specializing in pediatric infectious diseases at WVU School of Medicine and WVUs principal investigator for the project. The statewide infection control network will provide wide access to infectious disease consultants with expertise in infection control and prevention. We envision this will support and guide practices in organizations especially long-term care facilities that are not affiliated with an academic center. In coordination with local health departments and epidemiologists, the network will strengthen and support infrastructure for surveillance of emerging pathogens as well as continue education and training, so we are prepared to tackle infection outbreaks."




John Patrick Holian (pictured), the headmaster of a Catholic school on Long Island, has resigned after an incident involving an 11-year-old black student

The white headmaster of a Long Island Catholic school who reportedly forced an 11-year-old black student to kneel down and apologize to a teacher has resigned.

John Patrick Holian, the headmaster at St. Martin de Porres Marianist School in Uniondale, New York, allegedly said kneeling to ask forgiveness was the 'African way.'

Holian was placed on leave prior to his resignation, while St. Martin de Porres Marianist School said it will continue to review the event to ensure something similar never happens again, CBS 2 New York reported.

Holian's suspension stemmed from an incident last month involving a sixth grade Haitian-American student, Trayson Paul, according to the New York Daily News.

On February 25, Trayson was in English class when he finished a reading assignment and started a different task because he wanted to get a head start, according to his mother, Trisha Paul.

That's when Trayson was scolded by the teacher for doing the wrong assignment, Paul said.

The teacher took Trayson to the headmaster's office. It was there that Holian allegedly told Trayson to kneel and say sorry.

Holian is said to have told Trayson that kneeling and apologizing was a method of seeking forgiveness that the headmaster learned from a Nigerian father of a former student who claimed it was the 'African way.'

Haiti is a North American country in the Caribbean Sea.

'Once he started mentioning this African family, that's when it just clicked,' Paul told the Daily News.

'Like, this is not normal procedure. I felt there was no relevance at all.

'Is he generalizing that everyone who is black is African? That's when I realized something is not right with this situation.'

The boy's mother said that the family suspects Trayson was treated more harshly due to his race.

She said her son, who is normally an outgoing and socially active kid, has become 'really reserved' since the incident. As a result, he has started to see a therapist, according to Paul.

Holian was headmaster at the $15,000-a-year St. Martin de Porrest Marianist School in Uniondale, New York (above). According to the New York Daily News, Holian forced a black sixth-grader from a Haitian-American family to kneel and apologize to a teacher because it was the 'African way'

Holian met with the boy's mother and told her the point of the discipline 'is for your son to see he can't speak to women that way'

'My son was humiliated, hurt, embarrassed, sad and confused,' the concerned mother told the Daily News.

'He reads about things happening because of your skin color. To experience it... he's just trying to process it in his 11-year-old brain.'

Holian told the Daily News that 'we love our students here' while noting that the 'vast majority' of matriculated kids are students of color, though he declined to comment on the specifics of the allegations.

On Friday, school officials sent an email to parents informing them that Holian was placed on temporary leave while the matter is being investigated.

'I want to assure you that St. Martin's neither condones nor accepts the actions of our headmaster,' acting headmaster James Conway wrote to parents in the email.

'The incident does not reflect our long, established values or the established protocols regarding student related issues.'

Paul, who works in hospital administration, said that she enrolled her son in the school last fall.

'I did my research,' she said.

'I placed him where I thought he was in a safe, a warm and loving environment where I thought he would learn.'

She said that when Trayson told him about being forced to kneel, she initially gave the school the benefit of the doubt.

But on March 1 she asked Holian about the incident over the phone.

The boy's mother was outraged after Holian told her that he learned the method of discipline from a Nigerian father of a former student who said it was the 'African way' to apologize. The undated file photo above shows a church on the school grounds in Uniondale, New York

When she wondered if forcing students to kneel was a common practice to mete out discipline, Holian acknowledged that it wasn't, according to Paul.

That's when the headmaster told the mother of the anecdote about the Nigerian family.

'I asked the headmaster how the story was relevant,' Paul said. The headmaster did not give a clear response, she said.

The mother said she was left with the impression that Holian thought the punishment was appropriate simply because Trayson was black.

Paul then met Holian face to face on March 4. The Daily News said it obtained a recording of the meeting.

'It was a situation where your son was really disrespectful and rude to a teacher in front of the other students,' Holian told Paul.

'The whole idea is for your son to see he can't speak to women that way.'

Paul said that the school never complained in the past about her son's behavior, noting that Trayson is a 'well-mannered, honor roll student.'

In the recording, Holian is alleged to have told Paul that forcing Trayson to kneel was a way to ensure that the apology was sincere.

'If I had said to him 'Apologize and get back to class' it would've meant nothing,' Holian is quoted as saying.

'So it was changing the way you say 'I apologize'.'

Holian is reported to have told Paul that he was told about the kneeling apology by the Nigerian father of a former student at the school.

'This father came in and said, "You're going to apologize to this teacher the African way, and you're going to get down on your knees and apologize",' the Daily News quotes Holian as saying.

'I want to assure you that St. Martin's neither condones nor accepts the actions of our headmaster,' acting headmaster James Conway wrote to parents

'I've never seen that before.'

Holian said that left an impression on him and that he thought it was an appropriate way to discipline all children regardless of race.

'I have six kids, and four boys. And if one of them is really acting rude and arrogant... I will say at times, 'Get on your knees and apologize',' Holian is reported to have told Paul.

'I was speaking to your son as I would my own son.'

Holian is then reported to have told Paul: 'I'm sorry if you're upset. It wasn't a thought-out situation.'

Paul said she has no plans to accept Holian's apology.

'He showed no remorse until he realized how it's impacted my son,' Paul said.

'He's going to therapy. He's been very reserved and humiliated.'

She said Trayson has been traumatized to the point where he is fearful of going back to in-person instruction and tries to avoid the headmaster and teacher.

She has reportedly hired a lawyer.

'What else can happen where it doesn't occur again to any other African-American or Haitian-American students there?' she asked.
press release

Thank you, Sam, for that kind introduction. It is an honor to take part in the InterAction Forum this year. I know how important these two days are for all of you and the communities you serve.

The lessons you take from this forum will save lives.

After all, you are literally on the front lines. Your teams take enormous risks each and every day to serve the worlds most vulnerable. Ive seen your work up close. I spent over half of my 35-year career working on humanitarian and refugee issues in the foreign service. No matter what country I was in, or what issue I was working on, we relied on you  constantly.

So, let me be very clear: The United States values our partnership. And we recognize your indispensable role in making bilateral and multilateral cooperation work.

Thats why, on my first day here at the United Nations, I met with NGOs on the ground in Yemen. They shared stories about the dire conditions in a country brought to its knees by six years of fighting. I was in awe hearing about the heroic work many of you are doing there. Your coordination and advocacy on Yemen have been vital. You raised the alarm and mobilized the community to try to avert a deadly famine.

On my first day, I also spoke with several other NGO heads to hear more about the global landscape. Three themes quickly rose to the surface.

First was the wide-ranging and devastating second-order impacts of COVID-19 on the worlds most vulnerable.

More than 168 million children have been out of school for a full year now, which catalyzes its own spinoff crises. Like how, according to UNESCO, 11 million girls may never go back to school. Thats not just a threat to their advancement. It also puts them at higher risk of adolescent pregnancy, early and forced marriages, and other forms of gender-based violence.

To help those girls  and so many others around the world suffering from all the myriad effects of the COVID-19 pandemic  the United States is providing up to $4 billion in funding for COVAX. We see this as a down payment for our efforts to end the global pandemic and protect the most vulnerable.

Second, all the NGOs Ive spoken to have said we need to do more in the Security Council on humanitarian issues.

I agree wholeheartedly.

Over the last decade, conflict was the leading driver of food insecurity. Today, we have famine looming in at least six countries. We cannot allow that to happen on our watch. We can still prevent these tragic outcomes.

Thats one reason why we made the signature event of our March Presidency of the Security Council an open debate on conflict-induced hunger. In particular, we shined a spotlight on the dire situations in Ethiopia and Yemen, where over two million children under the age of five are at risk of starvation and acute malnutrition.

Third, I heard again and again that the world needs American leadership. That it needs us to reengage at the United Nations and around the world.

Fortunately, thats exactly what were doing.

Under President Bidens leadership, we rejoined the World Health Organization, because we need to coordinate on COVID-19 and build better global preparedness for future pandemics to come. We also know how important the WHO is to so many of you, working by your sides to respond to emergencies like Ebola and cholera.

We also proudly rejoined the Paris Agreement, which we helped form, because the only way to reverse the effects of the climate crisis is to join forces.

We restored financial and political support to the United Nations Population Fund, eliminating the global gag rule on reproductive rights.

And we immediately re-engaged with the Human Rights Council and have announced our intention to seek election in Geneva, so that we can advance our most-cherished democratic values around the globe.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Africa U.S., Canada and Africa International Organisations By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

All of this is to say, America is doing everything we can to advance peace, progress, and prosperity around the world  through principled diplomacy and effective multilateral institutions.

Thats where you come in. Because on every one of these issues  from COVID-19 to climate change, ongoing conflicts to humanitarian crises  we need your help. I need your unfiltered voice. I need you to tell me whats really happening on the ground.

I need you to tell me where and how we need to act  even if its not what we want to hear. More broadly, your advocacy and action are critical for meeting the worlds most pressing challenges. Im counting on your partnership, and I want you to know you can count on ours.

So, thank you for everything that you do. I look forward to working with you in the days, weeks, and months ahead.
Herald Reporter

Apostolic sects, whose members have been known for resisting national health programmes such as vaccination, say they fully embrace the Covid-19 vaccination programme.

In an interview on Tuesday, Union of Apostolic Churches in Zimbabwe (UDACIZA) founder Mrs Gloria Chitanda said: "We are urging members of the apostolic sects to get vaccinated. People should ignore information that is circulating on social media which is claiming negative effects associated with vaccination.

"Vaccination is the only way to go, there is no other chance."

Apostolic churches constitute about 38 percent of the country's population and over the years, they were among groups of people frequently affected when diseases broke out.

About seven leaders of individual sects that fall under UDACIZA were vaccinated on Monday at Victoria Falls Hospital, where President Mnangagwa officially launched the second stage of vaccination under phase one.

A member of UDACIZA, who is also the senior prophet in Johane Masowe eSabata, Mr Morris Jonasi, said they were raising awareness regarding and many members had expressed keenness to take their jabs.

"Vaccination is for our own safety so everyone should understand the importance of vaccination."

"We have already sensitised our members so as a church leader, I am impressed that all members in our sect are not resisting the vaccine," said Mr Jonasi.

The country's frontline workers such as doctors, nurses, members of the security establishment, along with media practitioners, have been receiving Covid-19 vaccines in the first phase of the vaccination programme.

Some religious leaders have come under fire for discouraging their members to take vaccine.

Zimbabwe has approved the use of the Sinopharm and Sinovac from China, Covaxin from India and Russia's Sputnik V.
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.
NSW detectives will speak with suspended Nationals MP Michael Johnsen on Friday over allegations he raped a sex worker, with the scandal plunging the Coalition into minority government.

Mr Johnsen agreed several weeks ago to meet police on Friday before allegations were aired in NSW Parliament that an unnamed male MP had forced a sex worker to have non-consensual sex.

The Upper Hunter MP identified himself as the man at the centre of the allegations after Deputy Premier John Barilaro called to confront him amid speculation it was Mr Johnsen. He has strenuously denied the accusations.

Mr Johnsen agreed to move to the crossbench, he stood aside as a parliamentary secretary and has been suspended from the Nationals while the police investigation is pending.
July reopening to prevent Phuket from plunging into poverty

PHUKET: Reopening Phuket to receive foreign tourists from July 1 is aimed at preventing island residents from plunging into poverty, it was revealed yesterday (Mar 24).



By The Phuket News

Thursday 25 March 2021, 11:55AM

Phuket Vice Governor Pichet Panapong at the meeting of the Phuket Communicable Disease Committee meeting yesterday (Mar 24). Photo: PR Phuket

Before the pandemic, the average income in Phuket was B43,000 per month, Phuket Vice Governor Pichet Panapong told a meeting of the Communicable Disease Committee.

After the outbreak began last year, the average income fell to B8,303 per month, he said.

If the tourism industry and the islands economy does not recover, the average income in Phuket is likely to keep decreasing, he added.

in July, the average income will be only B1,964, Vice Governor Pichet noted.

Vice Governor Pichets dire prediction yesterday is consistent with the economic forecast delivered by Assistant Professor Dr Chayanon Phucharoen, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies, Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism, Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Phuket campus, last month.



Speaking at the meeting, Phuket Public Health Office (PPHO) Chief Kusak Kukiattikoon said, At this stage, the Phuket government and the tourism private sector [sic] had filed a request to the central government for 933,174 doses of COVID-19 vaccines.

The number of vaccines is to be provided to 466,587 people, more than 70% of people living on the island, Dr Kusak said.

Phuket has 417,402 people registered in the civil registration [database] as living in Phuket, Dr Kusak said.

The other groups are 94,100 people working in the tourism industry who are not registered as living in Phuket, 5,250 people working in other industries, and 56,700 foreigners living on the island, he added, providing a total of 573,452 people believed to be on the island today.

But the vaccination will be provided only to those who are older than 18 years, so there are 310,357 residents in total [to be vaccinated], Dr Kusak noted.

Dr Kusak gave the quota of vaccine doses to be provided to Phuket as: 4,000 doses arriving in March, 100,000 in April, 300,000 in May, 200,000 in June, 64,587 in July, 200,000 in August and September, and 64,587 in September and October.

The breakdown gives a total 933,174 doses to vaccinate 466,587 people.

Permission from Bangkok for Phuket to start receiving international tourists from July 1 is dependent on the island achieving herd immunity to the COVID virus by having at least 70% of the islands residents vaccinated.

However, while in recent days officials have consistently cited the same population figures given by Dr Kusak yesterday, Phuket officials have yet to explain different figuresgiven just weeks ago for how many people are on the island, and need to be vaccinated in order to satisfy Bangkoks requirement.

The main discrepancy is the number of foreigners on the island.

On Mar 19, previous Vachira Hospital Director Chalermpong Sukontapol told the press, At this stage, Phuket has about 600,000 people, comprising 417,000 people registered as permanent residents in the civil registration database, 100,000 people from other provinces, and 81,000 foreigners and migrant workers.

As recognised by Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew yesterday, a major obstacle to achieving herd immunity, and reopening Phuket to international tourists from July 1, is the apprehension among island residents themselves to be vaccinated.

An online poll by The Phuket News poll last month revealed that Phuket people were divided on whether or not to take a COVID vaccine.

Overall, 28% of respondents voted an outright Yes to taking a COVID vaccine, and a further 28% voted It depends on the vaccine.

The remaining 43% voted an outright No to taking a COVID vaccine.

Regardless, Dr Kusak explained yesterday, The PPHO will set up nine vaccination stations across the island, at: Phuket Rajabhat University, Saphan Hin stadium, Prince of Songkla University [Phuket campus], Chalong Hospital, Phuket Orchid Resort, Jungceylon shopping mall, the Angsana Convention and Exhibition hall [at the Angsana Laguna Phuket resort], the Thanyapura Health Resort and Splash Resort Phuket.

The Phuket government and the private sector have to work together for tourism to recover, he said.
Government has reiterated its resolve at improving the perennial flooding challenges in Accra through the implementation of the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) project with funding from the World Bank.



At the third (3rd) Steering Committee meeting of the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) project held in Accra, chairman of the inter-ministerial committee and Minister for Works and Housing, Francis Asenso-Boakye, said the project when completed will help improve flood risk and solid waste management while improving access to basic infrastructure and services in the targeted flood-prone communities in the Greater Accra region.



The project also seeks to improve access to basic infrastructure and services in targeted flood-prone communities and foster adaptation of the flood management infrastructure to climate change in the region, he added.



GARID is a collaborative effort of four (4) implementing ministries, that is, the Ministry of Works and Housing; Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources; Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development.



The Government believes that no Ghanaian deserves to die or lose his/her properties just because God has decided to bless us with rains. Every single life is important, and that is why we are making the right investments to find more lasting solutions to sanitation and flooding challenges in Accra, said Mr Francis Asenso-Boakye.



The Minister also underscored the importance of stakeholder support, especially from the public. I am certain that the holistic approach being adopted by the GARID project in tackling the twin challenges of flooding and solid waste management will help improve sanitation and flooding situations in Accra. I, therefore, appeal to all stakeholders especially residents of Accra and affected areas to support this initiative, he asserted.



The meeting was also attended by the Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah; Ministry for Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, Hon. Dan Botwe as well as officials from the project implementing office ministries.

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
Hatice Cengiz, the fiancee of murdered Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions Agnes Callamard at the Press Club in Brussels in 2019. Dursun Aydemir/Getty Images

The US and French governments were told about a Saudi threat to kill the UN researcher investigating the Kashoggi murder.

The UN was annoyed that neither government overtly reacted.

So last week, the UN organized a leak to make sure the Saudis don't make good on the threat.

See more stories on Insider's business page.

United Nations officials informed French and American intelligence services last year that a Saudi official appeared to threaten the life of a UN researcher investigating the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, sources told Insider. But neither government reacted overtly to the news. So the UN and the official - angry at the lack of action - leaked the threat to the media this week, according to two European officials familiar with the incident.

Agnes Callamard, an independent French human rights investigator working for the UN, has aggressively investigated the 2018 murder of Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, much to the dismay of Saudi officials. The Saudis called a meeting in January 2020 to complain about her, two European Union security officials told Insider. Their account confirmed the account given publicly earlier in the week by Callamard to the Guardian newspaper.

The threat, which the UN confirmed the day after Callamard disclosed it to the Guardian, involved the Saudi chairman for the Human Rights Commission, Awwad Alawwad. He told UN officials at least twice that if Callamard did not ease off her investigation and anti-Saudi rhetoric there were people willing to kill her. At one point he indicated he was about to phone such people during the meeting. UN officials immediately ended the meeting, warned Callamard and passed along the threats to US and French intelligence.

'The accounts of the meeting are true'

"The accounts of the meeting are true, the Saudis wanted to pressure the UN to back off the investigation and he threatened Callamard to her UN colleagues," said a French official who had been briefed on the matter but refused to be identified speaking about international diplomacy. "I will not explain the steps that France took to ensure her safety because these are not public matters, but action was taken."

Story continues

Al Awwad used Twitter on Thursday to admit he was the official and had been in the meeting but denied making threats.

Both the French and Belgian officials said the UN account of the meeting was far more credible than al Awwad's denial.

Fourteen months later, despite believing the threat was real, it appears Callamard and the UN were not satisfied with the official reactions from France and the US, said a Belgian police official who works closely with international criminal investigations, such as the Khashoggi case.

'They told the Americans but this was during the Trump administration, which never had any enthusiasm for investigating'

"They went to the French about it but it was handled behind closed doors with the Saudis and it's obvious this does not satisfy the UN or Callamard," said the Belgian. "They told the Americans but this was during the Trump administration, which never had any enthusiasm for investigating it at all."

Making the threat public now serves two purposes, according to the Belgian official:

First, it draws attention to the threat to the extent it would almost be impossible for Saudi to further insult or target Callamard.

Second, it will pressure the new Biden administration to take even further steps to punish the Saudis.

"I would have made the threat public last year immediately," said the Belgian. "Because that would stop any further harassment immediately. But leaking it in this manner now that Trump is gone and Biden clearly furious at the Saudis over the matter already, this could spark new pressure on the Saudis."

Some want more sanctions against the Saudis

The Biden administration, in a stark departure from Trump's refusal to directly blame the Saudi government for the Khashoggi's murder, last month released a summary of the US intelligence assessment that pinned blame on Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's entourage and stopped arms transfers to the Saudis over the war in Yemen.

But critics in both parties have demanded even firmer sanctions and actions against the crown prince.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The Board of Directors of Vietnam Airlines has unexpectedly approved a plan to resume direct flights from Vietnam to the US.

Vietnam Airlines said that this is the right time to open a direct air route to the US, followingv12 repatriation flights that carried Vietnamese from the US back home in May 2020.

According to the national airline, many Vietnamese in the US want to return home but since August 2020, it has used its flight quota allowed by US authorities.

To serve the needs of the Vietnamese community in the US, Vietnam Airlines needs to continue to organize repatriation flights and ask for permits for commercial flights.

In the context of the surplus of wide-body aircraft, the national air carrier believes that the opening of the air route to the US will help it increase revenue and minimize financial losses caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

This plan will include two phases, with the first stage starting immediately after Vietnam Airlines completes all legal procedures for flight permits with the US authorities until it fully serves all Vietnamese who want to return home.

Vietnam Airlines will open flights in the form of regular commercial operations, serving the repatriation needs of Vietnamese in the US, and travel between the two countries for diplomats, civil servants, experts and businesspeople, students, and foreign relatives.

Based on the recovery of the aviation market between the two countries when Covid-19 is under control, Vietnam Airlines will continue to use regular commercial flights between Vietnam and the US in 2022.

Vu Diep
VFDs Seek Community Support After A Year Of Canceled Events After a year of canceled fund raisers, many volunteer fire departments in Hill County are struggling to make ends meet. The reduced income comes at a time when departments are planning for the future needs of a rapidly growing county with an aging group of volunteers, and they are asking for the help of the communities they serve.



At a meeting of Hill County Emergency Services District (ESD) 1 held Thursday, March 18, Board President Ken Goins discussed the new subdivisions and growth throughout the county and told volunteer firefighters in attendance that departments need to be prepared for the future.



"Hill County is going to start growing by leaps and bounds," he said. "We're going to have to tighten our belts. We're going to have to get better at what we do."



He stressed the importance of departments training and working together in groups.



"The people coming in here know one thingthey know that when they call 9-1-1, somebody is going to show up," he said. "The only difference between us and the people who draw a paycheck is that they draw a paycheck and we don't."



Goins explained that the increase in housing coupled with recent legislation regarding property taxes will limit how much tax money the district can bring in without an election. "We tried an election, and we're not going to do that again," he said.



Mount Calm Volunteer Fire Department Treasurer Steve Haught said that his department is preparing to hold its Fourth of July fund raiser with COVID-19 restrictions eased, but even coming up with the money to hold the fund raiser is an issue for the department after the recent winter storm caused damage to vehicles.



Local fire departments get some of their operating funds from the ESD but rely heavily on fund raisers and grants to address their needs. Some have tried to adapt by offering take-out meals and other alternatives, but with many families struggling financially due to the pandemic, there is less money to go around.



Peoria Volunteer Fire Department attempted to hold a take-out fish fry last year instead of its regular in-person event. "I ordered 150 pounds of fish and didn't sell half of that," said Chief Bobby Baker. "The year before, I sold out of fish in 45 minutes."



Hubbard Volunteer Fire Department Assistant Chief Kenneth Baldwin said that his department is faring better than some others in the county with donations, but volunteers remain the biggest need.



Hubbard has 18 volunteers on its department, but out-town jobs make it difficult for some to respond regularly. "One of the big problems is the young people have jobs and there aren't any around," he said.



Baldwin said that he would like to reach out to younger retirees who are willing to join the department to increase the number of volunteers who are available throughout the day.



At last week's meeting, Goins said that aging volunteers and fewer new recruits is a problem for fire departments nationwide.



"We've got to try to get some young people," Goins said. "This bunch sitting in here tonight is the last of the volunteers. If somebody has a better answer, let's come up with it."



Firefighters discussed ways to reach out to volunteers and expressed interest in working with area school districts to recruit teenagers who would be willing to begin training.



Several departments indicated that aging equipment, which is costly to replace, is a major concern for their departments as they work to gather the funding to replace bunker gear, vehicles and other necessities.



Baldwin said that his department was appreciative of a recent donation of 20 pairs of fire boots from local resident Jim Fritsche that will benefit Hubbard's firefighters.



Mount Calm Chief Greg Brown said that his department is hoping to replace outdated equipment. "Some of our equipment, like the Jaws of Life, are the first series that ever came out," he said. This can cause an issue with newer vehicles that are made of different types of materials, he explained. "We bought a Sawzall to assist with that," he said.



Brown pointed out that while the department's income has been decreasing, the population is increasing. "The amount of calls we are getting have not gone down," he said.



Doreen Strickland of Abbott Volunteer Fire Department said that her department has been fortunate to have support from its community, but the department is also dealing with an increasing population.



She explained that people moving from bigger cities don't always understand that in a rural community, calling 9-1-1 doesn't necessarily mean someone is sitting at the station and will be there in two minutes. "Sometimes its 'let me get out of the tractor and get to the truck and then I'll bring it to you,'" she said.



Still, Strickland said that Hill County's firefighters will be there for their communities. "We don't think twice about walking away from the dinner table or a birthday party to answer a call," she said. "This county has phenomenal volunteers."



She pointed out that it is easy to forget about the fire department until you need them. "But we're in the background keeping equipment up and training," she said. "If you happen to have some spare change this pay day, think about sending it to your fire department."



Several fire departments are making plans to resume fund raisers this year with COVID-19 restrictions eased, and they are hoping that their communities will come out to support them as dates are announced.


Chinese ships are seen around Whitsun Reef in the South China Sea in an image provided by Maxar Technologies, March 23, 2021.

The Philippine military said Thursday it had ordered navy ships deployed to the South China Sea, days after the coast guard reported that hundreds of Chinese boats, believed to be crewed by militia, were seen swarming near a contested reef.

Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Gen. Cirilito Sobejana gave the order to beef up maritime sovereignty patrols in an area within the countrys exclusive economic zone, AFP spokesman Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo said in a statement.

By the increased naval presence in the area, we seek to reassure our people of the AFPs strong and unwavering commitment to protect and defend them from harassment, and [to] ensure that they can enjoy their rights over the countrys rich fishing ground which is the source of their livelihood, Arevalo said.

Philippine officials over the weekend reported that around 220 steel-hulled boats had been seen moored near Whitsun Reef, which Manila calls Julian Felipe, 175 nautical miles off Palawan Island.

On Wednesday, representatives of the Philippine military met with their Chinese counterparts to convey Manilas demand that the ships leave Whitsun Reef in the Spratly Islands, Arevalo said.

The Chinese military representatives reiterated their governments assurance that the boats were not militia but fishing boats taking shelter near the reef because of inclement weather, he said.

Chinas foreign ministry issued the assurance earlier this week after Manila lodged a diplomatic protest over the sighting of the 220 Chinese ships.

On Thursday, Philippine presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the government believed that the Philippines and China could resolve the issue.

China said that their fishermen were in the area seeking refuge from bad weather, Roque told a virtual press briefing. We hope the weather clears up and in the spirit of friendship we are hoping that their vessels will leave the area.

The state weather bureau has reported no disturbances in the area.

President Rodrigo Duterte, Roque said, had raised concerns about the encroachment of the Chinese ships during a social call with Huang Xilian, Chinas ambassador to Manila, ahead of the presidents birthday on Sunday. He added that Duterte also broached an international court ruling in 2016 that invalidated Chinas expansive claims to the waterway.

The president repeated what he told the United Nations, that we stand by and protect our territory, that we believe this has to be resolved through the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea [UNCLOS] and we stand by our victory at the Arbitral Tribunal, Roque told reporters.

Meanwhile, a group of Filipino fishermen appealed to the government on Thursday to ensure their safety when out on the contested waters, especially since Beijing has enforced a law that allows its coast guard to fire at boats perceived to be intruding in Chinese territory.

The presence of about 200 Chinese vessels in our marine territory came at the heels of the passing of the controversial Coast Guard Law. We cant help but be alarmed of what could possibly happen to Filipino fisherfolk conducting livelihood in our own traditional fishing grounds with these big foreign vessels around, said Fernando Hicap, chairman of the fishers organization Pamalakaya.

If our authorities could not dispel the Chinese vessels, the least they could do is to escort our fisher folks in Julian Felipe Reef, and ensure that no bad thing would happen to them during fishing operations, Hicap said.

International support

Earlier this week, the U.S. State Department backed Manilas position regarding the large number of Chinese vessels clustered in disputed waters in the South China Sea.

The U.S. stands with our ally, the Philippines, regarding concerns about the gathering of PRC maritime militia vessels near Whitsun Reef. We call on Beijing to stop using its maritime militia to intimidate and provoke others, which undermines peace and security, said Ned Price, the departments spokesman, referring to the Peoples Republic of China.

The Philippines, China, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam have competing claims over parts of the South China Sea. While Indonesia does not regard itself as party to the South China Sea dispute, Beijing claims historic rights to parts of that sea overlapping Indonesias exclusive economic zone.

Meanwhile on Thursday, the foreign ministry in Hanoi expressed its own concerns about Chinese ships in the Spratlys.

[A]ctivities by Chinese vessels within the territorial waters of Sin Cowe Island in the Spratlys were a violation of Vietnams sovereignty and of the 1982 UNCLOS on foreign vessels' activities within a coastal countrys territorial waters, ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang told a regular press briefing.

Vietnam has full legal basis and historical evidence to assert its sovereignty over the Spratlys in accordance with international laws, she added, according to the Vietnamese Service of Radio Free Asia (RFA), a sister entity of BenarNews.

Other countries joined the diplomatic fray as well.

Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines Peter MacArthur, British Minister of State for Asia Nigel Adams, Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Koshikawa Kazuhiko, and Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Steven J. Robinson all voiced concerns on Twitter about the unfolding situation in the South China Sea.

Canada opposes recent Chinese actions in the South China Sea, including off the coast of the Philippines, that escalate tensions and undermine regional stability and the rules-based international order, MacArthur said on Twitter.

Chinese ships

The Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies had reported that hundreds of Chinese militia ships maintained a constant presence near the Philippine-controlled Thitu Island in the Spratly chain, from late 2018 to early 2020.

Reports of Chinese ships harassing or intimidating Philippine fishing crews have increased in recent years. In June 2019, a Chinese ship suspected of being manned by militia collided with a Philippine fishing boat moored on Reed Bank near Palawan Island, causing the boat to capsize and leaving the Filipino crew marooned.

Zachary Haver in Washington contributed to this report.
Many Texan families with Medicaid are facing challenges obtaining therapy for children living with autism. Gov. Greg Abbott signed a budget bill in 2019 approving Texas Medicaid to cover medically necessary Applied Behavior Analysis, or ABA, therapy for children enrolled in Medicaid. Since then, the momentum has stalled.

Although the programs funding was available as early as Sept. 1, 2019, many Texas families are still waiting for the program to start. The current budget proposal does have some  but not enough  dedicated funding for the 2022-2023 state fiscal year. However, the Health and Human Services Commission has requested a start date of February 2022. Thats another year of waiting for Texas families.

Parents, advocates and professionals know ABA therapy is essential for families living with autism. It is known as the most-effective intervention.

It can increase language and communication skills; improve attention, focus, social skills, memory and academics; and decrease challenging behaviors. Decades of research into ABA therapy has shown marked improvements to the quality of life for those living with autism and their families.

About 80,000 Texas children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder may qualify for the program. The financial cost of ABA therapy is a barrier for thousands of families, especially since Medicaid funding and coverage for this initiative has not moved forward since 2019.

Throughout the pandemic, families caring for loved ones with a disability have also struggled with the unique challenges presented by the isolation of the coronavirus. Individuals with autism are at a higher risk of vulnerability to unpredictable changes in their routine or structure, which can cause distress and anxiety.

Due to the hardships of COVID-19, many families struggled with school closures and distance learning, which played a role in unpredictable changes in routine.

On ExpressNews.com: Get the latest update on coronavirus and a tracking map of U.S. cases

This has caused many families living with autism to report regression in skills and developmental milestones, and an increase in stress, anxiety and behavioral issues. Such issues include loss of skills in speech, more need for potty training, challenges with sleeping or eating, loss of impulse control and an increase in tantrums.

As a parent of a child with autism, I can attest to the critical need for ABA therapy services. ABA therapy has helped my son develop new skills and reach milestones, and has increased communication. It has been life-changing for our family and is helping my son to thrive.

Families need access to these much-needed services. This means Texas must fully invest in these services  and begin reimbursing therapy providers when funds become available Sept. 1. Without appropriate funding allocations, low-income families with Medicaid still will not have access to ABA therapy.

Texas legislators must support eligible children for Medicaid funding of ABA therapy services as soon as possible.

Texans can help fight for access for this essential therapy by contacting their legislators and advocating for dedicated funding for the program in the budget.

The longer it takes to implement funding for these services, the more these children will miss out on early intervention and crucial support services. Appropriate and immediate funding needs to be released now.

Bianca Ramirez is a licensed clinical social worker in San Antonio.
A few years ago, Bob Hoffman was getting new siding on his house. He was sitting on his living room couch just under where a Hoffman family heirloom  an antique seder plate  was hanging on the wall. Workers outside were banging on the exterior wall and, suddenly, the seder plate fell right into Hoffmans lap.

That was freaky, he said. I just happened to be right there at that exact moment, and the plate landed softly.

Hoffmans Spode bone china English seder plate has an intricate design that doubles as a seder how-to, with instructions including wash the hands and eat the bitter herb.

Its a cherished belonging thats been in his family for decades. And its part of his annual Passover seder. Hoffman knows his way around regular china, too. Hes director of catering operations at Congregation Bnai Amoona.

Jewish families in St. Louis like the Hoffmans have a tradition on Passover each year. They take from a safe place their special seder plates.

For Joyce and Bob Olshan, their plate is a reminder of their time living in Israel. Bob had just finished a seven-year stint in Israel as a representative of Boeing (then McDonnell-Douglas).

My recollection is it came to us as a gift, Joyce Olshan said. It came from an art museum gift store, and its a replica of an original piece of art thats a seder plate. What struck me when we first got it was I knew the original came from a time when the Jews were living as Marranos in Spain or Portugal.

Olshan, who has a degree in Jewish history, explained that Marranos were forced to convert to Christianity during the Middle Ages, but many continued to practice Judaism in secret. The Olshans plate is unusual because there are a few typos that may very well have been intentional.

A typical seder plate would have the words Pesach, seder, matzo and morar, but youll see here Pesach is spelled Pesar, Olshan said. It could be that it had been so long since this artist had been around Jewish people that he forgot how to spell the word, or it could be a purposeful typo so the Christian police wouldnt realize that people with the plate were practicing Judaism.

Olshan was familiar with this plate before she and her husband got it. It was in a book about Passover history she had owned since her studies at the yeshiva in Israel in the 1970s.

To find the exact same plate in this history book for me personally, it was a real coincidence, she said.

Ron and Roz Tepers seder plate is an ornate china piece with raised gold letters and visual interpretations of the Old Testament, including a depiction of a baby Moses left in a basket in a clump of reeds. The plate is at least 60 years old and was passed down to Roz.

It may have come from Italy originally, she said. It belonged to my Aunt Belle, my mothers sister, Belle Wiseman Miller. She was married to Rabbi Julian Miller from Bnai El. My mother gave it to me because we always had a seder.

Like the Tepers seder plate, a common story for many Jewish families is a plate that doubles as a family heirloom. Laurie Sperlings seder plate has been in her family since the 1950s.

Its definitely an heirloom, Sperling said. Its made of metal, maybe tin, and when we use it we put little glass bowls in the indentations. I cant figure out what the sixth indentation is so I use it for an orange, which is a more modern tradition.

The inclusion of an orange on the seder plate is usually attributed to Susannah Heschel, professor of Jewish studies at Dartmouth College. Heschel included an orange in recognition of gay and lesbian Jews. Urban legend suggests that Heschel, while lecturing in Florida, was denounced by a man who said a woman belongs on the bimah as much as an orange belongs on the seder plate.

Brother and sister Laura Corn and David Montani each own unique seder plates. Corn and her husband, John, received theirs as a wedding gift 20 years ago. Montanis seder plate belonged to his grandparents.

They traveled a ton, so it could be from Israel, maybe its from Spain, Montani said. Or maybe its from Cleveland, where my grandmother was from. My guess is its probably from a trip to Israel around the 1960s.

Brigitte Rosenberg, senior rabbi at United Hebrew Congregation, got her unusual seder plate in Israel at an artists coop in Jerusalem near Ben Yehuda Street.

Weve been going there since 1996 and we found this little coop where all kinds of artists display their work, Rosenberg said. We fell in love with it because its different from other seder plates. So many are circular. This was a totally different shape and we loved the fact that its simple and colorful.

Another colorful seder plate owned by a Jewish St. Louisan isnt a plate at all. Its an artistic impression of a plate created by visual artist Marian Steen.

Last year, when we all became familiar with the pandemic, we decided to have a Zoom seder, Steen said. We did it with our West Coast and East Coast relatives, as well as everyone here in St. Louis. As I was preparing the table, I realized that I didnt have a seder plate. I went into the studio and did a painting of a seder plate and had it on exhibit during the whole Zoom. It was a hit!
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Go to form
Duckworth, Hirono drop threat to block Biden's nominees who aren't racial minorities, LGBT

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

Democrat Senators Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Tammy Duckworth of Illinois have backed off a threat to block President Joe Bidens white nominees until more minorities are nominated.

Hirono and Duckworth had initially demanded that the Biden administration include more diversity in his administration nominees, taking particular issue with the lack of Asian Americans among his nominees.

On Tuesday, Duckworth told reporters that she informed the Biden administration that she would oppose all non-minority and non-LGBT nominees until more Asian Americans were nominated to high-ranking positions in the executive branch.

"I am a 'no' vote, on the floor, on all non-diversity nominees. ... I will vote for racial minorities and LGBTQ but anybody else, I'm not voting for," said Duckworth.

Hirono initially backed Duckworth, saying she, too, would not vote to confirm any of Bidens white nominees until his administration committed to having "more diversity representation in the cabinet and in senior White House positions."

"This is not about pitting one diversity group against another. So I'm happy to vote for a Hispanic, a black person, an LGBTQ person, an AAPI person. I'd just like to see more diversity representation," Hirono said, according to NPR.

However, Hirono took to Twitter on Tuesday evening to announce that she was dropping the objection after speaking with the White House, which promised to appoint a high-level Asian American Pacific Islander liaison.

I welcome the appointment of a senior level White House liaison to the AAPI community to further strengthen our voice, Hirono said on Twitter. I had a productive conversation with the White House [on Tuesday] to make clear my perspective about the importance of diversity in the Presidents cabinet.

Ben Garmisa, the communications director for Duckworth, said in a statement Tuesday evening that the senator was also dropping her objections after speaking with the administration.

Duckworth appreciates the Biden administrations assurances that it will do much more to elevate AAPI voices and perspectives at the highest levels of government, including appointing an AAPI senior White House official to represent the community, secure the confirmation of AAPI appointments and advance policy proposals that are relevant and important to the community, stated Garmisa, according to CBS News.

Accordingly, she will not stand in the way of President Bidens qualified nominees  which will include more AAPI leaders.

Critics of Duckworth and Hirono's demands, which were unconstitutional, among them The Daily Wire's Matt Walsh, denounced their views as engaging in anti-white racism.

[The left has] built into the system an excuse to be racist because it is part of critical race theory, and our kids are indoctrinated into this stuff from the age of 5 on up. They are told it doesnt count if its against a white person, Walsh told Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

Its important for us to call this out and to also name it. To call it what it is. This is specifically anti-white racism, which is now the only acceptable form of racism in the West. Thats what it is, and its a scourge, its evil, its wrong and we need to call it what it is.

On multiple occasions, including last December, Biden promised to make his cabinet the most diverse cabinet anyone in American history has ever announced.

Im going to keep my commitment that the administration, both in the White House and outside in the cabinet, is going to look like the country, Biden said last year, according to CNN.

And when its all over people will take a look and say, I promise you, youll see the most diverse cabinet representative of all folks, Asian Americans, African Americans, Latinos, LGBTQ, across the board.
EAST ALTON  The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC) held its annual Water Festival and World Water Day Photo Contest encouraging water appreciation.

The virtual formatted festival, held on and to celebrate United Nations World Water Day, March 22, and March 23, included approximately 15 teachers and 375 students from five area schools taking part in the event.

The research and education center, along with Swarovski Waterschool, also hosted a student photography contest open to all K-12 students in the Metro East and St. Louis area, designed to bring attention to this years theme, What does water mean to you? The contest garnered 30 submissions, with 29 from the Metro East and Illinois and one from Missouri.

Wed like students to tell us their stories, thoughts and feelings about water through their words and photographs, said NGRREC Environmental Educator Jen Young during the announcement of the contest. Today, water is under extreme threat from a growing population, increasing demands of agriculture and industry, and the worsening impacts of climate change.

There were three winners in each of the following grade categories: K-3, 5-8 and 9-12. Winners received prizes of Swarovski crystal items, donated by Swarovski through the centers partnership with the Swarovski Waterschool and a National Great Rivers Research and Education Center certificate. Winners also will be featured on the websites of NGRREC and the city of Alton, as well as the social media accounts of NGRREC and Swarovski Waterschool.

The winners are as follows:

K-5th category

 First place: Lydia Gaddis, fifth grade, Pocahontas

 Second place: Ivy Dickens, second grade, Glen Carbon

 Third place: David Vogel, fourth grade, Golden Eagle

6-8th category

 First place: Adam Elik, eighth grade, Alton

 Second place: Jenna Fraley, eighth grade, Calhoun County

 Third place: Blake Nolte, seventh grade, Golden Eagle

9-12th category

 First place: Grey Gomez, twelfth grade, Edwardsville

 Second place: Jillian Welsh, eleventh grade, Glen Carbon

 Third place: Sonora Haake, ninth grade, Webster Groves, Missouri

Founded in 2002 as a collaborative partnership between the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Lewis and Clark Community College, the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center is dedicated to the study of great river systems and the communities that use them. The center aspires to be a leader in scholarly research, education and outreach related to the interconnectedness of large rivers, their floodplains, watersheds and their associated communities. To learn more about NGRREC, visit www.ngrrec.org.

For more information on the educational opportunities available through NGRREC, contact Director of Environmental Education Sarah Fisher at saafisher@lc.edu.
Nairobi  Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala has been removed as the Senate Deputy Minority Leader.

An Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Senate Parliamentary Group meeting held on Wednesday morning resolved to oust Malala from the post. It was attended by 28 Senators.

ODM is an affiliate party of the National Super Alliance (NASA) that brings together ODM, Amani National Congress (ANC) party, Wiper and Ford Kenya.

Malala was replaced by Kilifi Senator Stewart Madzayo who was set to be confirmed on the floor of the House by Speaker Ken Lusaka.

Senate Minority Leader James Orengo had dispatched invites for the Wednesday meeting which also focussed on issues around the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) Bill.

Whereas the grounds for removal of Malala were not given by the Siaya Senator, the Amani National Congress (ANC) Party member is reportedly accused of gross misconduct and disrespect to the ODM Party that largely catapulted him to the position.

In particular, Malala is accused of showing disrespect to some of the ODM Party members during the Matungu by-election where he campaigned for his party candidate, Peter Nabulindo who eventually clinched the seat.

While Malala's removal is not strange owing to the NASA coalition woes where ODM has been accused of frustrating its coalition partners, the move has widened the rift especially at a time ANC and Wiper Party are in the process of forming alliances with other parties without the Raila Odinga-led movement.

Malala has in recent days been drumming up support for his party leader Musalia Mudavadi whom he says is fit to succeed President Uhuru kenyatta in 2022.

Malala was on Wednesday set to respond to his ouster.
Canadian fishers oppose potential closure of cod fishery, withdraw from quota negotiations

by Chris Chase

March 25,2021 | Source: SeafoodSource

The Fish Food and Allied Workers Union (FFAW), Atlantic Groundfish Council (AGC), and the Association of Seafood Producers (ASP)  which represent thousands of employees in the fishing industry in Canada  have announced opposition to the potential closure of Newfoundland, Canadas 3P fishery, located off the southern coast of the province



Earlier this week, the FFAW called on Canadian Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard Bernadette Jordan to reject recommendations to close the fishery, citing the thousands of jobs it would cost and the lack of evidence that a closure is necessary. According to the union, current Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) assessments found that the biomass index increased and mortality has been at low levels due to reduced quotas in the area.



According to the FFAW, landings of cod from the 3P area represent millions of dollars in revenue for the region, and fishing supports hundreds of local operations that rely almost exclusively on the species.



The closure of this fishery will have devastating impacts, many of which DFO has not considered. Cod is a key part of the overall picture that makes up the fishery of the South Coast, FFAW President Keith Sullivan said. Many harvesters depend upon this stock. It is a meaningful part of their income, and many do not have a license to access shellfish to supplement that income.



Sullivan told the Canadian Broadcast Company that the fishery has already taken severe cuts, and that the union strongly opposes any closures.



The FFAW members certainly are not accepting a decision that's unnecessary and will do so much damage to people who have already sacrificed a lot with very low quotas already, Sullivan told the CBC. "The cuts that harvesters have already taken, 55 percent last year, massive decreases in their catch than in previous years, and with the science we saw this year, we expected that there would be a status quo certainly and then carry on and assess this."



Just two days after the FFAWs plea, the union  and the AGC and ASP  withdrew from advisory positions in negotiations between Canada and France over cod quotas. Canada negotiates and shares parts of the regions cod quota with France, which controls St. Pierre and Miquelon, off Newfoundlands southern coast.



The withdrawal was announced on 23 March, with the union saying it is concerned with the current direction of negotiations.



We have serious concerns about how FFAW members are considered in decision-making leading to positions for this negotiation, and vocalized similar concerns following last years process. The recommendation proposed for this year relating to 3Ps cod is unacceptable and must be revisited, Sullivan said. We remain dedicated to finding a path forward that includes more in-depth and constructive discussion on the issues related to the negotiation, and trust that the socioeconomic impact of any decision the involves fish harvesters in Newfoundland and Labrador is justly considered.



According to a release by the AGC, the decision to withdraw came after the organizations learned that Canada was likely to declare a moratorium on cod fishing in the 3P area.



Given that the mandate for the Canadian delegation is something that we cannot support, we feel we have no choice but to withdraw from the position of advisors to this week's bilateral meetings with France, AGC President Bruce Chapman said. We do not make this decision lightly. In my over 40 years of being involved as an advisor to DFO in many bilateral and multi-lateral fisheries negotiations, there have been many times when there has been differing views. But never something so severe that has required this action.



Each of the AGCs Newfoundland members  Icewater Seafoods, Ocean Choice International, and Harbour Grace Shrimp Company  all also withdrew from an advisory role, the AGC said.



A closure, Icewater Seafoods said, would be devastating to the companys operations. According to Icewater Seafoods President and CEO Alberto Wareham, landings of cod from the 3P area make up 40 to 50 percent of the raw material processed at its Arnolds Cove location.



3Ps cod is the backbone of our plant, the backbone of this town and Id argue, the backbone of the entire area, Wareham said. The harvesters who catch cod, the plant workers who process it, the truck drivers, fishing gear suppliers, dockside monitors  many, many local businesses. Its a lot of people and a lot of families who deserve an explanation as to why 3Ps cod is being held to a different standard than other fish stocks.



After the Groundfish Advisory Council meeting this year, the AGC recommended that the total allowable catch for cod stay the same level as the previous season  at a level 55 percent lower than prior years. At the time, the AGC said, there were no indications that the DFO might go as far as closing the fishery entirely.



We know 3Ps cod is in the critical zone. We also know we have prioritized the long-term health of this stock in our recommendations year after year. Its a principle we will never waiver from, AGC Executive Director Kris Vascotto said. But the science doesnt support the need to close the fishery. Knowing that and knowing how many people and families depend on this for their livelihoods, we just couldnt participate in bilateral discussions with France, intended to achieve an agreement to close the fishery, on the basis of the scientific evidence presented and without fulsome discussion with those most impacted by a decision.



In addition to industry groups calling for the DFO to back off a closure of the fishery, Newfoundland and Labrador Fisheries Minister Elvis Loveless is also calling for a delay on the decision, the CBC reported.



"We need to pause right now, and reflect on the issues with regards to the modeling around the science numbers," Loveless told the CBC. What I do support is proper science around the numbers in the 3Ps. I'm listening, and I hear concerns around the modelling 2018 model versus the 2019 model. There is gaps in the information, and reading more it really leaves me concerned about the proper science around the numbers in the zone that we call 3Ps."

 2021 Diversified Communications. All rights reserved.

Theme(s): Fisheries Development and Aquaculture.




Haiti - Politic : Message from President Jovenel Moise





On Wednesday March 24, President Jovenel Moise in a message posted on his official Twitter account once again called for national unity and solidarity, a message we invite you to read.



Message from President Moise :



"Let's not remain prisoners of the divisions that divide and limit the responsibilities entrusted to us. Let's work for national unity around this desire to want to reach the other side, in search of those who are far away and scattered.



We cannot deny the tensions and the differences, they exist. The important thing is to know how to manage them, look them in the face and assume them. In unity, in an honest and sincere dialogue.



We must, whatever happens, stand united and in solidarity and not give in to the poison of division. This period is difficult precisely because it tests our resilience and our unity... But I have confidence in us, in you. We must hold on.



The Haitian people, in their vast silent majority, are united on the major issues of the day and the country's security priorities. National unity must be expressed by a policy, by acts in accordance with this will of the Nation considered as a whole."



HL/ HaitiLibre


















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 began with a record exchange, but virtually, in true pandemic style.

About a year ago, Chaka Mkali, the musician, artist and racial justice trainer also known as I Self Devine, was introduced to Minneapolis Institute of Art curator Gabe Ritter.

"I have an acute knowledge of dub"  a stripped-down, reverb-heavy style of reggae  "but Gabe was sending me stuff I hadn't seen," Mkali said during a recent visit to Mia.

"Chaka has all the connections," Ritter chimed in, "but then he was sending me music through Instagram and he was like, 'I think this is your jam.' It was an OG pressing of Barrington Levy's 'Shaolin Temple.' "

Their deep dive into music led to "Rituals of Resilience," an audiovisual show at Mia centered on artists of the African diaspora, with a soundtrack from Mkali's new album of the same name. Bring headphones, then scan a QR code on the gallery wall so you can hear Mkali's music on your device as you cruise through the show.

The walls are painted black to complement the soundscape. There's a mystical feeling swirling around the 28 mostly two-dimensional artworks from Mia's collection.

"Minnesota," a painting by New York artist Jordan Casteel that shows a Black man on a subway car wearing a neon yellow MINNESOTA hat, greets viewers in the first gallery. Minneapolis-based Leslie Barlow's figurative painting of her grandmother Ellen reclining on a couch ensures that local artists are represented.

The exhibition is part of a Mia initiative to acquire more art representing the African diaspora. (Works by Black or African artists account for about 3% of the museum's permanent collection.)

The show includes two pieces that were in "Mapping Black Identities," a 2019 Mia show that focused exclusively on Black artists.

There's "Shelves for Dynamite," a triptych of three Black men posing, wearing white shirts, by English painter Lynette Yiadom-Boakye. "False Start," a hulking, luscious 7- by 17-foot painting by British-Guyanese artist Frank Bowling, is a world map in which all the continents and oceans are bathed in a hazy peach-orange. Africa and Australia are highlighted in white and South America is outlined in black. Europe and North America are hardly visible.

Story continues

The wall labels include lyrics from Mkali's album as well. Positioned next to Yiadom-Boakye's painting is a sample from the song "I Feel It":

Related to the physical

Somatic/emphatic/it's visceral

/Feeling every emotion/ literal/the motion

Similar to floating/over land and ocean open

Sleepwalking and empathetic

Black aesthetic/magnetic

Blurring linesThe museum sought to continue expanding on the foundation it created with "Mapping Black Identities."

Elisabeth Callihan, head of multigenerational learning at Mia, suggested that Ritter and Mkali connect because they are both from Los Angeles. Mkali had intersected with museum staff in 2017 when New York artist Aliza Nisenbaum visited Mia as an artist-in-residence and connected with people at Hope Community, a nearby neighborhood nonprofit where Mkali is director of organizing and community building.

The focus of the exhibit is community building, a point stressed by both Mkali and Ritter. When they started talking about the show, George Floyd's death at the hands of Minneapolis police had not yet happened. The show was never intended as a response to the events that shook the world.

Mkali was interested in blurring the lines between community and institution.

"Growing up in Los Angeles during the gang-riddled, crack-infested, crime-heavy Carter and Reagan eras, I was raised by parents who were revolutionaries, organizers, artists and activists involved in the Black Power struggle," he wrote in an essay for the show. "My orientation of art and culture has always been grounded as a form of resistance, subversion, storytelling and liberation."

Mkali views his partnership with Mia as the "Art of Radical Collaboration"  a way of shifting power by re-examining the dynamics that exist between nonprofits and institutions in the community.

"We are in a real interesting time societal-wise, spiritually," he said. "To be able to have a place and a space to re-examine and bring things to the forefront, not as an afterthought but in terms of the initial reading, is special."

To create the album  which features such notable guests as the Lioness, Tish Jones, Muja Messiah and Greg Grease  Mkali said he approached it on his own terms.

"I wanted to focus on faces ... not in a voyeuristic way, but to immerse," he said. "When you are dealing with racism and things of that nature, it doesn't live in the policy of history, it lives in the body and how it's held."

Mkali received 8- by 11-inch pictures of each artwork in the show. Rather than interpreting the images, he spent time researching each artist, and noticed themes emerging, such as the movement of bodies from home to foreign lands.

From there he could find "places to connect my lived experience, and that's when it became ours," Mkali said. The rest of it came together like one would cook a meal, he said, ensuring that the rice would be done at the same time as everything else.

For Ritter, the process was eye-opening.

"I've never had to put myself into another person's head space in the way that I have, to translate what Chaka was doing into kind of what the institution does," he said. "That was definitely a learning experience and growing experience."

@AliciaEler  612-673-4437

Rituals of ResilienceWhen: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Thu.-Sun., through Feb. 27.

Where: Minneapolis Institute of Art, 2400 S. 3rd Av.

Admission: Free. Reserve tickets at artsmia.org or call 612-870-3000.
A body found washed up on a beach in Yanchep is believed to be that of a man in his 60s who has been missing for about 30 hours.

A search and rescue mission resumed on Thursday morning to try and find the 68-year-old man from Perths northern suburbs after his boat, with his dog on board, was found circling off the coast of Alkimos on Wednesday.

Water police and surf life saving club members on jetskis found the body on Thursday morning.

Police were called just before 2pm after a beach fisherman spotted the small boat through binoculars driving in circles about 5 nautical miles off the coast of Alkimos with no sign of people on board.
The Texas attorney general's office is attempting to withhold all messages Ken Paxton sent or received while in Washington for the pro-Donald Trump rally that devolved into a riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Several news organizations in Texas have requested copies of the attorney general's work-related communications. The Texas Public Information Act guarantees the public's right to government records  even if those records are stored on personal devices or online accounts of public officials.

RELATED: Twitter sues Texas AG Ken Paxton, asks court to halt his investigation

After Paxton's office refused to release copies of his emails and text messages, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, The Austin American-Statesman, The Dallas Morning News, The Houston Chronicle, and The San Antonio Express-News are working together in an effort to obtain the documents and review Paxton's open-records practices.

The news outlets discovered that Paxton's office, which is supposed to enforce the state's open records laws, has no policy governing the release of work-related messages stored on Paxton's personal devices. It is unclear whether the office reviews Paxtons email accounts and phones to look for requested records, or whether the attorney general himself determines what to turn over without any outside checks.

Paxton is now facing some of the most intense public scrutiny of his career. The Republican attorney general is reportedly under federal investigation for allegedly abusing his office to help a campaign donor. He also led a failed attempt to overturn the presidential election, joining with other GOP attorneys general in a lawsuit seeking to invalidate swing state victories by Democrat Joe Biden.

A spokesperson for the Office of the Attorney General said the agency follows the Texas Administrative Code, which specifies how long agencies have to hold on to records but is distinct from the open records law. He did not answer reporters questions about whether Paxton is given free rein to determine which of his communications are public and which are confidential under these rules.

The Washington trip

On Jan. 6, Paxton spoke at the pro-Trump rally in Washington. Appearing with his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, the attorney general touted his unsuccessful legal effort to overturn the presidential election.

What we have in President Trump is a fighter," Paxton told the crowd of Trump supporters. "And I think thats why were all here. We will not quit fighting. Were Texans, were Americans, and the fight will go on.

Members of the crowd, stirred up by false claims of voter fraud, later stormed the Capitol, fought with riot police and threatened lawmakers.

Five people died in the violence, including a Capitol Police officer.

ANALYSIS: Not all emergencies are priorities in the Texas Capitol

Paxton later falsely blamed the violence on antifa, a left-wing, anti-fascist movement, and claimed Trump supporters weren't responsible for the insurrection. Federal prosecutors have charged more than 300 people in connection with the riot and alleged that some have ties to white supremacy groups. FBI Director Christopher Wray said investigators found no evidence that members of antifa attacked the Capitol.

Amid a massive FBI investigation into the Capitol riot, the public has been eager to understand why and how their elected officials attended the rally. Paxton has refused to release his communications about the event, which could illuminate his real-time reaction to the riot, who booked him as a speaker for the rally and who covered his travel expenses.

As Texas attorney general, Paxton oversees an office of lawyers who determine which records are public or confidential under the law. Any government body in Texas, from police departments to the governors office, must seek the agencys approval to withhold records from the public.

The Houston Chronicle and The Dallas Morning News have requested all of Paxton's messages from Jan. 5 to Jan. 11. Lauren Downey, the public information coordinator at the Office of the Attorney General, said she didnt need to release the records because they are confidential attorney-client communications.

Downey sought confirmation from the agencys open records division, arguing the messages included communications between the attorney general's executive leadership and its criminal prosecution division to discuss litigation, as well as texts between Paxton and a lawyer in the attorney general's office regarding "legal services to the state."

The open records division has 45 business days to issue a ruling on whether the communications should be open to the public. That decision is pending.

James Hemphill, a lawyer and open records expert who serves as a board member of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, said the records described by Downey appear to fall under confidential communications. But it's odd, he added, that Paxton would have no other routine emails or texts during that six-day time frame that could be released.

"It would seem unusual for every single communication made by any kind of lawyer to be subject to attorney-client privilege," Hemphill said, cautioning he hasn't seen the records himself.

Downey also told the Chronicle that the attorney general's office does not have any written policy or procedures for releasing public documents stored on Paxton's personal devices or accounts.

No responsive records

The Morning News filed several other requests for Paxtons communications regarding his Washington trip, including messages sent over encrypted apps.

The agency said there were no public records that fit that description. When the newspaper asked for Paxtons communications with his senior adviser and an executive assistant who usually plan official travel, Downey said, yet again, there were no records to release.

SHOWTIME: The Capitol riot is being turned into a TV series nobody wanted

The (Office of the Attorney General) did not coordinate or pay for General Paxton's trip to Washington D.C., in early January. Thus, our office has no information responsive to your request, Downey said.

Paxton has not answered questions about who paid for his trip.

In a recent legislative hearing, the attorney general did not directly answer questions from state senators about whether he spent any taxpayer money on the travel.

"I didnt spend money personally, he said. Paxton added he had official business in Washington D.C., the week of the rally, when he met with federal officials about a Medicaid program.

I had a state purpose, Paxton said. The next day I had meetings at the White House. ...Thats how I spent most of my time.

Paxtons agency has released other top staffers communications related to the trip.

First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster also traveled to Washington D.C., that week in January, according to calendars and travel documents The Morning News obtained through public records requests. The state paid for Websters travel.

The agency released some of Websters emails and texts from that month, including logistical planning for the Washington trip.

The Utah trip and more

In other recent instances, the responses from Paxtons agency raised questions about the attorney generals own record-keeping practices.

For example, The Morning News requested communications from Utah about the attorney generals trip to that state last month during the winter power outages in Texas.

RELATED: Texas AG Ken Paxton traveled to during freeze, Dallas Morning News reports

In response, Utah officials released a screenshot of a few texts exchanged between Paxton, Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes and a third unnamed individual discussing their plans. The messages were taken from the unnamed individuals phone, not Reyes or Paxtons.

When the newspaper made the same request to the Texas attorney generals office, officials turned over a copy of the screenshot that Utah provided  not one of the exchange on Paxtons device.

Downey said Paxton provided the record, but she did not answer questions about how Paxton searched his accounts or whether anyone in the office confirmed the results of the records search.

The Office of the Attorney General is in full compliance with the Public Information Act, Downey said.

A Morning News reporter also texted a work-related question to Paxton's cellphone in February and the newspaper later requested all text messages related to state business sent to that number on that same day.

The Texas Attorney General's office said there were no messages. When asked why the Morning News reporters text wasnt turned over, a spokesperson suggested they did not need to keep it.

Unsolicited and unwelcome text messages to personal phones do not fall under the records retention law, said Alejandro Garcia, the attorney general's communications director.

Sarah Swanson, general counsel for the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, said state agencies are responsible for adopting their own records-retention schedules. But if texts are exchanged while conducting state business, Swanson said those messages are considered government records and might need to be kept for an "appropriate amount of time," depending on an agency's policy.

Garcia did not answer follow-up questions about how they determine which text messages are unwelcome or unsolicited.

But the agencys own rules include a clear warning: Don't destroy any records subject to public information requests.
(TNS)  A hacker accessed personal identifying information of up to about 9,000 people in California last week, according to the State Controller's Office.The breach came after an employee in the office's Unclaimed Property Division was targeted by a "spear phishing" attack Thursday, said Jennifer Hanson, a spokeswoman for the office.The division safeguards about $10 billion worth of lost or forgotten properties, including money in bank accounts, stocks, bonds, never-cashed checks, insurance benefits, wages and safe deposit box contents.The office is notifying 9,192 people with unclaimed property whose information might have been accessed, and has contacted about 9,000 people in the employees' contacts list, some of whom received emails from the account during the time it was hacked, Hanson said. "The unauthorized user did have access to information that could help someone submit a claim for unclaimed property," Hanson said in an email. "However, in most cases it would not be enough information for them to complete a claim."The office has put in place additional security measures to protect the property of the people who were affected by the breach, she said. The hacker sent the employee an email that looked like it came from an organization the employee had conducted business with on behalf of the state in the past, she said. The unauthorized user had access to the email from Thursday afternoon to Friday afternoon, according to a notification on the Controller's Office web site.The office's IT security team was able to determine that none of the employee's files outside their email were accessed, Hanson said. The office is telling the people it contacts about the breach to monitor their accounts and to request that credit bureaus place fraud alerts on their accounts."Controller (Betty) Yee would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that bad actors are using ever-more-convincing methods to gain access to information," Hanson said in an emailed statement. "Be cautious clicking on a link or attachment you are not expecting  even if it appears to come from a trusted source. The best course of action is to check with the supposed sender first."
New York's legislative leaders want to raise taxes by $7 billion, while the governor says tax hikes won't be needed this year. As with most things in Albany, the correct approach lies somewhere in the middle  and the clock is running because the negotiations need to be completed in just a week.

Assembly and Senate budget resolutions passed a week ago would raise income and capital gains taxes on millionaires, and put a surcharge on corporate franchises, utilities and insurance companies to finance an increase in spending this year and help balance budgets for years to come.

But Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office this week said that state aid in the federal stimulus package and better-than-expected sales tax revenues would be enough to balance the budget and restore all of the spending cuts identified in the executive budget he proposed in January.

We agree with Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins that Cuomo shouldn't be complacent to balance the budget with a one-time infusion of federal money because in a few years that big deficit will be back when the money runs out.
New Delhi:

After reports of various bomb threats, over 20,000 people were evacuated across the Moscow city in Russia on Wednesday.

People were evacuated from shopping centers, train stations and a university in Moscow.

As per reports, evacuation of people were carried out at 20 sites in the city.

Terrorists have earlier rocked Moscow on two occasions.

First was during Moscow theater hostage crisis which claimed the lives of 170 people.

Beslan school siege, which happened in 2004, claimed lives of 385 people.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Aer Lingus is moving staff to Britain because of the pandemic 'uncertainty' threatening Ireland's travel industry, ministers have been told.

Ireland's flag carrier yesterday announced it was launching four trans-Atlantic routes from Manchester Airport in the coming months.

Sinn Fein politician Darren O'Rourke said he had seen a 'deeply concerning' internal memo from the firm asking employees if they want to uproot to England.

He blamed the Irish Government's inadequate financial support and lack of a roadmap to revive aviation.

Meanwhile the country is bearing the cost of the EU's spluttering vaccine rollout that is lagging behind the UK, which has inoculated more than half of its adults.

The Continent has jabbed only about 15 per cent of its citizens and many member states are facing a third wave of the virus.

The British Government is ploughing ahead with its path to lifting lockdown and is due to publish a review next month on the viability of international travel.

Aer Lingus is moving staff to Britain because of the lingering pandemic 'uncertainty' threatening Ireland's travel industry, ministers have been told

Meanwhile the country is bearing the cost of the EU's spluttering vaccine rollout that is lagging behind the UK, which has inoculated more than half of its adults

Unveiling the expansion of its UK operation, Aer Lingus yesterday laid out plans to fly from Manchester to New York and Orlando from July, Barbados from October and Boston from next year.

It will likely prompt speculation the firm could be looking to take advantage of a mooted US-UK travel corridor that travel leaders say is being considered for June.

But speaking in the Irish parliament, the Dail, Mr O'Rourke branded the transfer of jobs from Ireland to Manchester a blow for the workers.

He said: 'It has been said that this is happening because there is such uncertainty regarding the Irish response and commitment to the aviation sector. It really indicates that those companies want a response from the Government that gives them a clear outline of what the future holds.'

He tore into the Government's wanting rescue package for airlines, comparing the 200million support to the billions being handed out by other countries.

The lowly jab rate in Ireland reflects the EU's bungled immunisation drive that has left the Continent more vulnerable to a third wave of coronavirus (Ursula von der Leyen pictured)

A Labour politician also lamented the jobs bloodbath. Duncan Smith said: 'When four aeroplanes that were resident in Ireland go, they are gone and the jobs will go with them.

'Baggage handlers are going. Fuellers are going. They are going in ones, two, sixes and dozens, but they are going. Their livelihoods are gone.'

Minister Hildegarde Naughton said more than 80million had been earmarked specifically for Irish aviation in 2021.

But she acknowledged the critical challenges facing the country's airlines, saying: 'There is considerable uncertainty in Europe today. The numbers of people infected with Covid-19 have increased. This is not just an Irish issue, it is a global issue.'

Ireland has weathered the pandemic comparably well, suffering 4,628 deaths and 230,000 cases.

But the gulf in vaccination rates across the Irish border was laid bare this week when it emerged that residents were travelling from the Republic to the North for jabs.

Around half the adult population has now been inoculated in Northern Ireland , compared to 10 per cent for the Republic.

The lowly jab rate reflects the EU's bungled immunisation drive that has left the Continent more vulnerable to a a fresh outbreak.

Yesterday the EU announced plans for a vaccine export ban to stop doses bound for highly inoculated countries leaving the bloc.

It was thought Britain could be stung by this, but Brussels has appeared to have rowed back from this threat.

Under Boris Johnson's roadmap to exit lockdown, non-essential international travel was pencilled for May 17.

But he is facing calls to strengthen border controls to insulate Britain from worrying strains of the virus spreading abroad.

Paul Charles, boss of the PC travel agency, this week said he understood that phased travel would resume from May, followed by a US-UK travel corridor - meaning no mandatory quarantine - the following month, although this has not been confirmed.

An Aer Lingus spokeswoman said: 'The launch of Aer Lingus' first ever direct, non-stop, transatlantic services from the UK has created up to 120 job opportunities for the North of England region.

'These opportunities are open for application to Aer Lingus staff. All Aer Lingus employees working at our Manchester base will be on local terms and conditions.'
Deliveroo's stock listing could be London's biggest in a decade

The meal delivery platform Deliveroo is bracing for strikes and other social actions by disgruntled riders as it gears up for a major London stock listing.

Tipped as possibly the biggest stock market flotation in London for a decade, the group has come under fire for employment conditions that have already scared off a couple of large institutional investors.

In Britain, where Deliveroo is based, a group of riders who are not affiliated with a trade union planned to stage a strike on Sunday.

Others who have joined the IWGB union of independent workers say they will stage an action on April 7, the day that Deliveroo shares are to be made available to small shareholders.

Large investors are to have a head start on buying the company's stock a week earlier.

The eight-year-old delivery platform hopes for a market capitalisation of between 7.6 billion and 8.8 billion ($10.4 -12.1 billion, 8.9-10.3 billion euros).

Deliveroo's 100,000 riders deliver meals for 115,000 restaurants in 800 cities across the world.

In France, two trade unions, the ITF and CGT, have called for Deliveroo riders to mobilise on Friday, with strike calls in Bordeaux, Lyon and Toulouse.

The international network Rights4Riders and other organisations are also planning operations, including one in Sydney, Australia.

'Precarity and poverty'

"Deliveroo has left them little choice, subjecting them to precarity and poverty pay while refusing to enter dialogue with their union," said IWGB general secretary Henry Chango-Lopez.

Deliveroo and its rivals have come under mounting criticism for classifying its riders as independent contractors, which means they are not guaranteed a minimum number of hours, the minimum wage or benefits like sick leave and vacation time.

The firm counters that riders like the flexibility of being independent.

"Deliveroo riders are self-employed because this gives them the freedom to choose when and where to work," the company said in a statement.

"Riders in the UK are paid for each delivery they choose to complete and earn 13 per hour on average at our busiest times," it added.

But the IWGB published Thursday a study by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism that showed riders receive less pay than Deliveroo says.

The company claims they receive more than 10 an hour on average in Britain, whereas the study that analysed thousands of documents found it was less, and in some cases below the minimum wage of 8.72.

In one case, a rider in Yorkshire, northern England, worked 180 hours for the equivalent of two pounds an hour.

'Bumpier road' before IPO

The IWGB's Chango-Lopez said that Deliveroo harms Britain's reputation and warned potential investors to weigh the risks before buying shares in the company.

One such risk is that Deliveroo could be forced to reclassify its "self-employed" riders as workers.

That just happened for ride-hailing app Uber, whose drivers won a favourable ruling from Britain's Supreme Court.

But Deliveroo said: "We are confident in our business model, which has been upheld by UK courts three times, including the High Court twice."

Deliveroo riders are also waiting for the London appeals court to rule on whether they qualify for a collective bargaining status that would help improve work conditions.

Meanwhile, Aberdeen Standard and Aviva Investors, two large investment funds, have said they will not take part in the share listing because of Deliveroo's social policies.

"Deliveroo is facing a bumpier road ahead of its IPO," said Neil Wilson at Markets.com.

In addition to concerns about the working conditions of riders, Wilson said the asset managers also question Deliveroo's financial prospects.

"Growth has been exceptional  thank the pandemic  but it couldn't serve up a profit despite last year's 50 percent rise in revenues," he noted.

With intense competition from rivals, the firm may not turn a profit for years, Wilson warned.

Explore further Deliveroo eyes 8.8 bn valuation at London float

 2021 AFP
DStv has warned customers of a surge in the number of scams related to the satellite and Internet broadcasting service.

Theres been a surge in the number of scams targeting our DStv customers in recent weeks, the company said on its blog.

Scammers use various tactics to either defraud customers of their money or to get customers personal information.

To help customers be aware of the myriad scams targeting them in South Africa, DStv explained a number of common scams related to its broadcasting service.

These are summarised below.

Phishing or gift cards

In this scam, DStv customers receive an email informing them that they have won a cash gift card or huge sums of prize money from a MultiChoice competition.

Alternately, they may be told they have won a huge sum of money for being a loyal DStv customer.

The email then asks the customer to provide their personal details in order to claim the prize.

There is no prize, however, and the customer is being tricked into giving away sensitive information that may be used to defraud them.

Final notice SMS scam

Some DStv customers have received an SMS claiming to be from DStv demanding payment for a DStv Explora account. The message threatens action if payment is not made on that day and includes banking details.

This SMS is not from DStv, the company said. Please do NOT make payment into any bank account or through any link supplied.

Remember, you can check your account at any time using one of our self-service platforms including our website, our DStv app, or WhatsApp (0600603788).

Even if the message looks legitimate, it is best to contact a confirmed DStv number directly to verify SMS communication before acting on it.

Fake premium upgrades

This scam has been circulating in South Africa for years, but it remains popular amongst local scammers.

It sees the scammer approach a DStv customer offering them an upgrade to a DStv Premium bouquet.

They offer DStv Premium for a fixed once-off fee per year where the customer pays the fee directly to the scammer, DStv said.

Please be aware that you can upgrade your DStv account online at any time, do not believe anyone claiming to upgrade your account on your behalf.

Installation scam

Scammers posing as DStv accredited installers are also offering customers unrealistic DStv services like free package upgrades or free DStv for life for a minimal once-off fee.

DStv offers six subscription packages that you can choose from, the company told customers.

If someone offers you a discounted DStv subscription at a once-off payment, treat this with suspicion and check it with us.

To check if someone is a DStv accredited installer, you can ask them for their DStv ID card, which specifies their qualification as well as the accredited company they work for.

You can also check on the DStv website.

Recruiting for MultiChoice

DStv also noted that there are dangerous scams on social media disguised as recruitment ads for MultiChoice.

One of our suppliers who recruits on our behalf, Afrizan, does use Facebook and Twitter to advertise roles, it said.

Every advert has a reference number which can be verified against opportunities posted to the Afrizan website.

Please note that neither MultiChoice nor its suppliers will ever offer to drive you to an interview, the company added. Please be vigilant.

If you are interested in working for MultiChoice, the company advises that you can look for opportunities on the careers page on its website.
Announcement of Periodic Review: Moody's announces completion of a periodic review of ratings of Novo Banco, S.A.Global Credit Research - 25 Mar 2021Madrid, March 25, 2021 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") has completed a periodic review of the ratings of Novo Banco, S.A. and other ratings that are associated with the same analytical unit. The review was conducted through a portfolio review discussion held on 18 March 2021 in which Moody's reassessed the appropriateness of the ratings in the context of the relevant principal methodology(ies), recent developments, and a comparison of the financial and operating profile to similarly rated peers. The review did not involve a rating committee. Since 1 January 2019, Moody's practice has been to issue a press release following each periodic review to announce its completion.This publication does not announce a credit rating action and is not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is likely in the near future. Credit ratings and outlook/review status cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted by this announcement. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history.Key rating considerations are summarized below.The B2 long-term deposit ratings and Caa2 senior unsecured debt ratings of Novo Banco S.A. (Novo Banco) reflect its caa1 Baseline Credit Assessment (BCA), two-notch and a negative notch of uplift respectively under Moody's advanced Loss Given Failure (LGF) analysis, and low probability of government support that results in no further rating uplift.Novo Banco's caa1 BCA reflects the bank's very weak credit profile that is constrained by still weak asset quality and loss making operations despite substantial progress in reducing its legacy assets. The bank's plans to further de-risk its balance sheet and restore the profitability of its franchise are likely to be challenged by the Portugal's weak operating environment from the pandemic crisis. Novo Banco's BCA also reflects Moody's assessment that there are still significant challenges to the bank's credit profile, given the high uncertainty around the bank's medium-term strategy and planned actions to achieve the goals of its restructuring plan.This document summarizes Moody's view as of the publication date and will not be updated until the next periodic review announcement, which will incorporate material changes in credit circumstances (if any) during the intervening period.The principal methodology used for this review was Banks Methodology published in November 2019. Please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology.This announcement applies only to EU rated, UK rated, EU endorsed and UK endorsed ratings. Non EU rated, non UK rated, non EU endorsed and non UK endorsed ratings may be referenced above to the extent necessary, if they are part of the same analytical unit.This publication does not announce a credit rating action. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history. Maria Jose Mori VP - Senior Credit Officer Financial Institutions Group Moody's Investors Service Espana, S.A. Calle Principe de Vergara, 131, 6 Planta Madrid 28002 Spain JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456 Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454 Carola Schuler MD - Banking Financial Institutions Group JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456 Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454 Releasing Office: Moody's Investors Service Espana, S.A. Calle Principe de Vergara, 131, 6 Planta Madrid 28002 Spain JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456 Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454  2021 Moodys Corporation, Moodys Investors Service, Inc., Moodys Analytics, Inc. and/or their licensors and affiliates (collectively, MOODYS). All rights reserved.CREDIT RATINGS ISSUED BY MOODY'S CREDIT RATINGS AFFILIATES ARE THEIR CURRENT OPINIONS OF THE RELATIVE FUTURE CREDIT RISK OF ENTITIES, CREDIT COMMITMENTS, OR DEBT OR DEBT-LIKE SECURITIES, AND MATERIALS, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND INFORMATION PUBLISHED BY MOODYS (COLLECTIVELY, PUBLICATIONS) MAY INCLUDE SUCH CURRENT OPINIONS. MOODYS DEFINES CREDIT RISK AS THE RISK THAT AN ENTITY MAY NOT MEET ITS CONTRACTUAL FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS AS THEY COME DUE AND ANY ESTIMATED FINANCIAL LOSS IN THE EVENT OF DEFAULT OR IMPAIRMENT. SEE APPLICABLE MOODYS RATING SYMBOLS AND DEFINITIONS PUBLICATION FOR INFORMATION ON THE TYPES OF CONTRACTUAL FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS ADDRESSED BY MOODYS CREDIT RATINGS. CREDIT RATINGS DO NOT ADDRESS ANY OTHER RISK, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO: LIQUIDITY RISK, MARKET VALUE RISK, OR PRICE VOLATILITY. CREDIT RATINGS, NON-CREDIT ASSESSMENTS (ASSESSMENTS), AND OTHER OPINIONS INCLUDED IN MOODYS PUBLICATIONS ARE NOT STATEMENTS OF CURRENT OR HISTORICAL FACT. MOODYS PUBLICATIONS MAY ALSO INCLUDE QUANTITATIVE MODEL-BASED ESTIMATES OF CREDIT RISK AND RELATED OPINIONS OR COMMENTARY PUBLISHED BY MOODYS ANALYTICS, INC. AND/OR ITS AFFILIATES. MOODYS CREDIT RATINGS, ASSESSMENTS, OTHER OPINIONS AND PUBLICATIONS DO NOT CONSTITUTE OR PROVIDE INVESTMENT OR FINANCIAL ADVICE, AND MOODYS CREDIT RATINGS, ASSESSMENTS, OTHER OPINIONS AND PUBLICATIONS ARE NOT AND DO NOT PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS TO PURCHASE, SELL, OR HOLD PARTICULAR SECURITIES. MOODYS CREDIT RATINGS, ASSESSMENTS, OTHER OPINIONS AND PUBLICATIONS DO NOT COMMENT ON THE SUITABILITY OF AN INVESTMENT FOR ANY PARTICULAR INVESTOR. MOODYS ISSUES ITS CREDIT RATINGS, ASSESSMENTS AND OTHER OPINIONS AND PUBLISHES ITS PUBLICATIONS WITH THE EXPECTATION AND UNDERSTANDING THAT EACH INVESTOR WILL, WITH DUE CARE, MAKE ITS OWN STUDY AND EVALUATION OF EACH SECURITY THAT IS UNDER CONSIDERATION FOR PURCHASE, HOLDING, OR SALE.MOODYS CREDIT RATINGS, ASSESSMENTS, OTHER OPINIONS, AND PUBLICATIONS ARE NOT INTENDED FOR USE BY RETAIL INVESTORS AND IT WOULD BE RECKLESS AND INAPPROPRIATE FOR RETAIL INVESTORS TO USE MOODYS CREDIT RATINGS, ASSESSMENTS, OTHER OPINIONS OR PUBLICATIONS WHEN MAKING AN INVESTMENT DECISION. IF IN DOUBT YOU SHOULD CONTACT YOUR FINANCIAL OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL ADVISER.ALL INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS PROTECTED BY LAW, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, COPYRIGHT LAW, AND NONE OF SUCH INFORMATION MAY BE COPIED OR OTHERWISE REPRODUCED, REPACKAGED, FURTHER TRANSMITTED, TRANSFERRED, DISSEMINATED, REDISTRIBUTED OR RESOLD, OR STORED FOR SUBSEQUENT USE FOR ANY SUCH PURPOSE, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN ANY FORM OR MANNER OR BY ANY MEANS WHATSOEVER, BY ANY PERSON WITHOUT MOODYS PRIOR WRITTEN CONSENT.MOODYS CREDIT RATINGS, ASSESSMENTS, OTHER OPINIONS AND PUBLICATIONS ARE NOT INTENDED FOR USE BY ANY PERSON AS A BENCHMARK AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED FOR REGULATORY PURPOSES AND MUST NOT BE USED IN ANY WAY THAT COULD RESULT IN THEM BEING CONSIDERED A BENCHMARK.All information contained herein is obtained by MOODYS from sources believed by it to be accurate and reliable. Because of the possibility of human or mechanical error as well as other factors, however, all information contained herein is provided AS IS without warranty of any kind. MOODY'S adopts all necessary measures so that the information it uses in assigning a credit rating is of sufficient quality and from sources MOODY'S considers to be reliable including, when appropriate, independent third-party sources. However, MOODYS is not an auditor and cannot in every instance independently verify or validate information received in the rating process or in preparing its Publications.To the extent permitted by law, MOODYS and its directors, officers, employees, agents, representatives, licensors and suppliers disclaim liability to any person or entity for any indirect, special, consequential, or incidental losses or damages whatsoever arising from or in connection with the information contained herein or the use of or inability to use any such information, even if MOODYS or any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, representatives, licensors or suppliers is advised in advance of the possibility of such losses or damages, including but not limited to: (a) any loss of present or prospective profits or (b) any loss or damage arising where the relevant financial instrument is not the subject of a particular credit rating assigned by MOODYS.To the extent permitted by law, MOODYS and its directors, officers, employees, agents, representatives, licensors and suppliers disclaim liability for any direct or compensatory losses or damages caused to any person or entity, including but not limited to by any negligence (but excluding fraud, willful misconduct or any other type of liability that, for the avoidance of doubt, by law cannot be excluded) on the part of, or any contingency within or beyond the control of, MOODYS or any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, representatives, licensors or suppliers, arising from or in connection with the information contained herein or the use of or inability to use any such information.NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO THE ACCURACY, TIMELINESS, COMPLETENESS, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE OF ANY CREDIT RATING, ASSESSMENT, OTHER OPINION OR INFORMATION IS GIVEN OR MADE BY MOODYS IN ANY FORM OR MANNER WHATSOEVER.Moodys Investors Service, Inc., a wholly-owned credit rating agency subsidiary of Moodys Corporation (MCO), hereby discloses that most issuers of debt securities (including corporate and municipal bonds, debentures, notes and commercial paper) and preferred stock rated by Moodys Investors Service, Inc. have, prior to assignment of any credit rating, agreed to pay to Moodys Investors Service, Inc. for credit ratings opinions and services rendered by it fees ranging from $1,000 to approximately $5,000,000. MCO and Moodys Investors Service also maintain policies and procedures to address the independence of Moodys Investors Service credit ratings and credit rating processes. Information regarding certain affiliations that may exist between directors of MCO and rated entities, and between entities who hold credit ratings from Moodys Investors Service and have also publicly reported to the SEC an ownership interest in MCO of more than 5%, is posted annually at www.moodys.com under the heading Investor Relations  Corporate Governance  Director and Shareholder Affiliation Policy.Additional terms for Australia only: Any publication into Australia of this document is pursuant to the Australian Financial Services License of MOODYS affiliate, Moodys Investors Service Pty Limited ABN 61 003 399 657AFSL 336969 and/or Moodys Analytics Australia Pty Ltd ABN 94 105 136 972 AFSL 383569 (as applicable). This document is intended to be provided only to wholesale clients within the meaning of section 761G of the Corporations Act 2001. By continuing to access this document from within Australia, you represent to MOODYS that you are, or are accessing the document as a representative of, a wholesale client and that neither you nor the entity you represent will directly or indirectly disseminate this document or its contents to retail clients within the meaning of section 761G of the Corporations Act 2001. MOODYS credit rating is an opinion as to the creditworthiness of a debt obligation of the issuer, not on the equity securities of the issuer or any form of security that is available to retail investors.Additional terms for Japan only: Moody's Japan K.K. (MJKK) is a wholly-owned credit rating agency subsidiary of Moody's Group Japan G.K., which is wholly-owned by Moodys Overseas Holdings Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of MCO. Moodys SF Japan K.K. (MSFJ) is a wholly-owned credit rating agency subsidiary of MJKK. MSFJ is not a Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization (NRSRO). Therefore, credit ratings assigned by MSFJ are Non-NRSRO Credit Ratings. Non-NRSRO Credit Ratings are assigned by an entity that is not a NRSRO and, consequently, the rated obligation will not qualify for certain types of treatment under U.S. laws. MJKK and MSFJ are credit rating agencies registered with the Japan Financial Services Agency and their registration numbers are FSA Commissioner (Ratings) No. 2 and 3 respectively.MJKK or MSFJ (as applicable) hereby disclose that most issuers of debt securities (including corporate and municipal bonds, debentures, notes and commercial paper) and preferred stock rated by MJKK or MSFJ (as applicable) have, prior to assignment of any credit rating, agreed to pay to MJKK or MSFJ (as applicable) for credit ratings opinions and services rendered by it fees ranging from JPY125,000 to approximately JPY550,000,000.MJKK and MSFJ also maintain policies and procedures to address Japanese regulatory requirements. 
The recent attack on two nuns from Kerala in Uttar Pradesh may become a setback to the attempts of the BJP to make inroads into the Christian vote banks in Kerala.

As soon the the incident came to light, the CPM and the Congress in Kerala took it up. Forums like the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council had expressed anxiety over the incident. Demonstrations were also staged by some prominent churches.

A four member group comprising of two nuns attached to the Sacred Heart convent that comes under the Syro Malabar church in Kerala were allegedly harassed and intimidated by a group of Bajrang Dal activists at Jhansi on March 19. The nuns, who were traveling from Delhi to Odisha, were accused of converting peolple.

The incident came to light at a time when BJP's national leaders including Home Minister Amit Shah were campaigning for the party in Kerala.

Read | Shah assures action against those who harassed nuns

As soon as the incident came to light, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan sent a letter to Shah urging that stringent action should be taken against the accused. He also said that such incidents would tarnish the nation's image and tradition of religious tolerance and practices. The Centre should strongly condemn such attempts to impair individual freedoms, he said.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is also on election campaign in Kerala, said the incident was the outcome of vicious propaganda of the Sangh Parivar groups to pitch one community against another and trample the minorities. "Time for us as a nation to introspect and take corrective steps to defeat such divisive forces," he tweeted.

In a damage control effort, Amit Shah said during an election meeting in Kerala on Wednesday that stringent action would be taken against the attack.

Sources close the BJP leadership said that the incident had upset the BJP candidates, especially in the Christian pockets of the state. The BJP was trying to make inroads into the Christian community that comes to 18 percent of state's population. Even national leaders of the party has been constantly meeting church leaders seeking support.
New Braunfels, TX (78130)

Today

Thunderstorms - some locally heavy downpours are possible, especially during the afternoon hours. High 74F. Winds E at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected..

Tonight

Thunderstorms likely. Low 67F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall may reach one inch.
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
Louisiana - Pending the decision of the Edwards v. Vannoy U.S. Supreme Court case, more than 1,500 Louisiana inmates could soon have another chance and a new trial.

"When they heard that the Supreme Court said their convictions were unconstitutional and when the Supreme Court said they came from a Jim Crow law, the question became will there be a remedy," said Jamilia Johnson who is the managing attorney of Jim Crow Juries Project at the Promise of Justice Initiative.

During Ramos v. Louisiana, The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that non-unanimous jury verdicts were unconstitutional. Johnson, who represents more than 900 current Louisiana inmates convicted by a non-unanimous jury says the ruling should be retroactive. "Men and women who spend each night in Louisianas prisons, who have non-unanimous jury convictions, they are being held there with non-constitutional conviction."

She says Louisianas previous Jim Crow era law was rooted in racism.

"They were explicitly started for the purposes of silencing the voices of black jurors and convicting more black Louisianians," she said.

Pending the outcome of the Edwards v. Vannoy case, that could change. But Johnson says that isnt the only path to new trials for her clients. 'The state supreme court could say that our local Louisiana values and the credibility of the criminal justice system is so important to us, that we will make this retroactive and that would give a path to these 1,500 people," Johnson said.

Regardless of the path to justice for her clients, Johnson says theyre optimistic about the outcome.
DEARBORN (dpa-AFX) - Ford (F) announced, from late 2022, Valencia Engine Plant will build the 2.5-litre Duratec hybrid engine for Europe which powers the Kuga PHEV as well as the Kuga, Galaxy and S-MAX Full Hybrid models. Ford also confirmed an additional 5.2 million euros to support increased battery pack assembly capacity at Valencia. The 2.5-litre Duratec hybrid engine - which is built currently at Ford's Chihuahua Engine Plant in Mexico - will be manufactured in Valencia alongside the 2.0-litre and 2.3-litre EcoBoost petrol engines. The company said, by mid-2026, 100 percent of Ford's passenger vehicle range in Europe will be zero-emissions capable, all-electric or plug-in hybrid, moving to all-electric by 2030. Ford also announced it will phase out the Mondeo, its large car, at the end of March next 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.
Biden Addresses Immigration, Voting Rights and More in His First Formal News Conference During a question-and-answer session that lasted more than an hour, Mr. Biden said he expected to run for re-election and suggested all U.S. troops would withdraw from Afghanistan within a year. Follow live: The latest news from Washington.

Biden calls Republican efforts to limit voting sick and un-American President Biden held his first news conference in the East Room of the White House on Thursday. Credit... Doug Mills/The New York Times President Biden said on Thursday that Republican efforts to limit voting rights were sick and un-American, vowing to prevent states from taking what he called despicable actions that undermine democracy by making it harder for people to cast ballots. Speaking to reporters in the East Room of the White House for his first formal news conference, Mr. Biden said he would do everything in my power to pass voting rights legislation now under consideration in the Senate. But when asked about ending the Senate rule that requires 60 votes to approve most legislation  one of the biggest obstacles to the voting rights bill and much of the rest of his agenda  the president was more cautious, suggesting he was open to change but not committing himself to it. The 60-vote threshold imposed by the filibuster was being abused in a gigantic way, Mr. Biden said, reiterating his support for a proposal that would require senators to keep talking in order to block legislation  a shift in practice that could deter routine use of the rule. I strongly support moving in that direction, he said. But he also signaled more directly than he has previously that he might eventually back more far-reaching proposals to limit or abolish the filibuster if doing so turned out to be essential for passage of a voting rights measure and other key elements of his agenda in a Senate that is currently divided 50 to 50. If theres complete lockdown and chaos as a consequence of the filibuster, the president said, then well have to go beyond what Im talking about. During a question-and-answer session that lasted more than an hour, Mr. Biden said it was his expectation that he would run for re-election in 2024, with Vice President Kamala Harris as his running mate. He said for the first time that he cant picture American troops still in Afghanistan beyond the end of the year, though he repeated that it would be hard to have them out by the current deadline of May 1. And he promoted his administrations progress in fighting the health and economic crises caused by the coronavirus pandemic, vowing to deliver 200 million vaccinations by the end of April  twice his previous pledge  even as the government also delivers a big new infusion of financial aid. As of yesterday, more than 100 million payments of $1,400 have gone into peoples bank accounts, the president said, referring to the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan that he pushed through Congress with no Republican support. Thats real money in peoples pockets bringing relief instantly, almost. And millions more will be getting their money very soon. Michael D. Shear and

U.S. troops to withdraw from Afghanistan within a year, Biden suggests. Video transcript Back bars 0:00 / 1:58 - 0:00 transcript Biden Suggests U.S. Will Withdraw Troops in Afghanistan This Year President Biden said that a full withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan by a May 1 deadline was unlikely. He also warned that the United States would respond if North Korea escalated violations of U.N. resolutions. Reporter: Can you commit to the American people that by May 2, the U.S. will no longer have forces in Afghanistan? The answer is that its going to be hard to meet the May 1 deadline. This, in terms of tactical reasons, is hard to get those troops out. So what weve been doing, what Ive been doing and what Secretary Blinken, has been doing, has been weve been meeting with our allies, those other nations that have NATO allies who have troops in Afghanistan as well. And if we leave, were going to do so in a safe and orderly way. It is not my intention to stay there for a long time. But the question is, How and on what circumstances do we meet that agreement that was made by President Trump to leave under a deal that looks like its not being able to be worked out to begin with? Hows that done? But we are not staying a long time. Reporter: Do you believe, though, its possible we could have troops there next year? I cant picture that being the case. Reporter: Overnight, we learned that North Korea tested two ballistic missiles. What, if any, actions will you take? U.N. resolution 1718 was violated by those particular missiles that were tested, No.1. Were consulting with our allies and partners, and there will be responses. If they choose to escalate, we will respond accordingly. But Im also prepared for some form of diplomacy, but it has to be conditioned upon the end result of denuclearization. President Biden said that a full withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan by a May 1 deadline was unlikely. He also warned that the United States would respond if North Korea escalated violations of U.N. resolutions. Credit Credit... John Moore/Getty Images President Biden said on Thursday that he was unlikely to withdraw all American troops from Afghanistan by May 1, the deadline agreed to by his predecessor, but added that he could not imagine troops still there a year from now. His statement, at his first formal news conference since his inauguration just over two months ago, marked the first time that he had put a time frame on the American withdrawal. He had previously said that he was unlikely to meet the May 1 deadline for withdrawal that was part of an agreement made a year ago between the Trump administration and the Taliban. Weve been meeting with our allies, Mr. Biden said, particularly those who still have troops in Afghanistan, and if we leave we are going to do so in a safe and orderly way. But moment later, when pressed, he moved away from the if, saying It is not my intention to stay there for a long time. Mr. Bidens statement appeared to make clear that he plans to pull out the 2,500 American troops remaining in the country, nearly 20 years after President George W. Bush ordered the invasion of the country to eliminate Al Qaedas base there, from which the September 11, 2001 terror attacks were launched. But Pentagon officials have long warned that the troops are necessary to maintain a minimum force to collect intelligence and conduct counterterrorism operations. And Mr. Biden has not yet explained how, once the troops are gone, those functions will be carried out from afar. In the same news conference, Mr. Biden said that North Koreas decision to launch two short-range ballistic missiles on Thursday violated United Nations resolutions. There will be responses if they choose to escalate, he said. We will respond accordingly. But he also opened the door to negotiations, conditioned on the end result of denuclearization. That condition may be a nonstarter for any meaningful negotiation: North Korean officials have previously said that they would never agree to unilateral denuclearization. During the first summit meeting in 2018 between President Donald J. Trump and Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, the country appeared to commit to eventual denuclearization. But its stockpile of nuclear material ultimately soared during the Trump years.

Advertisement Continue reading the main story

Biden expects to run for re-election in 2024, and says he has no idea whether there will be a Republican Party then. Video transcript Back bars 0:00 / 0:54 - 0:00 transcript Biden Says He Plans to Run for Re-Election in 2024 President Biden said on Thursday that he expected to run for re-election in 2024 with Vice President Kamala Harris on the ticket. He added that he had no idea, if there would be a Republican Party by then. Reporter: Have you decided whether you are going to run for re-election in 2024? You havent set up a re-election campaign yet, as your predecessor had by this time. My predecessor needed to  my predecessor? Oh, God, I miss him. Have you, have you  The answer is yes. My plan is to run for re-election. Thats my expectation. Reporter: So is that a yes? That you are running for re-election? Look, I dont know where you guys come from, man, Ive never been able to  Im a great respecter of fate. Ive never been to plan four and a half, three and a half years ahead for certain  And if you do run, will Vice President Harris be on your ticket? I would fully expect that to be the case. Shes doing a great job. Shes a great partner. Shes a great partner. And do you believe youll be running against former President Trump? Oh, come on. I dont even think about  I dont have, I have no idea. I have no idea if there will be Republican Party. Do you? President Biden said on Thursday that he expected to run for re-election in 2024 with Vice President Kamala Harris on the ticket. He added that he had no idea, if there would be a Republican Party by then. Credit Credit... Erin Schaff/The New York Times President Biden on Thursday swatted aside speculation that he would not seek a second term, saying he anticipated running again  while casting doubt on whether there will be a Republican Party in 2024 when asked about a rematch against former President Donald J. Trump. The answer is yes, my plan is to run for re-election. Thats my expectation, Mr. Biden said, adding that he was confident that Vice President Kamala Harris would also be on the ticket. When a reporter followed up to ask if he expected Mr. Trump to run again, Mr. Biden  enlivening an otherwise low-key, fact-laden performance  perked up. Oh, come on. I dont even think about  I have no idea. I have no idea if there will be a Republican Party, do you? he said. Mr. Biden, who recovered from a succession of personal tragedies and political setbacks over many years to win the White House, hedged a little, saying that he had no way of predicting what the future might hold. Look, I dont know where you guys come from, man, he added. Im a great respecter of fate. Ive never been able to plan four and a half, three and a half years ahead for certain. The Joe Biden who held forth for about an hour in the East Room on Thursday had much in common with the Joe Biden who held forth on the Senate floor for nearly four decades, although he was grayer, and more hoarse and halting in his delivery. The president was characteristically long-winded, self-deprecating and intent on projecting the image of a convivial and candid leader  as he has throughout his career. Mr. Bidens staff, both in the White House and on the campaign trail, have been reluctant to put him in front of reporters for long, unstructured intervals, a hangover from decades of gaffes and rambling performances. But he appeared to do himself no great harm, and made a point of striking a contrast with his combative predecessor, who labeled the press the enemy of the people. He apologized to reporters for over-talking or for assuming they did not have background information on issues, and he went out of his way to praise them for their reporting on the immigration crisis at the countrys border. Yet for all his deep-dive policy discussions, personal asides and demonstrations of decorum, Mr. Biden could not quite shake off the lingering, disruptive presence of Mr. Trump. My predecessor. Oh, God, I miss him, Mr. Biden said with an acid laugh.

Heres a fact check of Bidens first news conference. President Biden held his first formal news conference at the White House on Thursday. Credit... Doug Mills/The New York Times President Biden spoke to reporters on Thursday in his first formal news conference. Heres a fact check of his remarks. What was said Were sending back the vast majority of the families that are coming. This is false. Federal officials recorded about 19,000 encounters with families at the southwestern border in February. Of those, about 7,900 families, or 42 percent, were expelled, far short of a majority. According to Axios, that rate was 13 percent last week. Mr. Biden correctly noted later in the news conference that most encounters over all led to expulsions because of the high proportion of single adults: Out of more than 100,000 encounters at the southwestern border in February, more than 70,000 led to expulsions. But that is not true for families specifically. What was said I started to deal with it back when I was a United States senator  I mean, vice president, putting together a bipartisan plan of over $700 million to do the root causes of why people are leaving. What did Trump do? He eliminated that funding. He didnt use it. This is false. President Donald J. Trump did not completely eliminate the aid that Mr. Biden cited. The federal government increased foreign assistance to Central America to $750 million in 2016 from $338.1 million in the 2014 fiscal year. While Mr. Trump requested steep cuts to foreign aid in his annual budgets, he did not seek to eliminate that funding entirely. Congress ultimately agreed to reduce aid to Central America to $505.9 million in the 2021 fiscal year. The Trump administration also temporarily suspended that aid in April 2019, when the number of migrants at the border increased, but restored the funding in October 2019. What was said He, in fact, shut down the number of beds available. This is exaggerated. As The New York Times has previously reported, Mr. Trump did not shut down bed capacity to house migrant children. When the Obama administration faced an influx of migrant children, the refugee agency increased its monthly bed capacity to about 8,000 beds in the 2015 fiscal year from about 2,000 in the 2011 fiscal year, according to a Government Accountability Office report in 2016. Under the Trump administration, monthly bed capacity fell to less than 7,000 in October 2017 but grew to over 16,000 by December 2018. By Mr. Trumps last full month in office, in December 2020, monthly bed capacity was more than 13,000. During the pandemic, some shelters reduced occupancy to comply with coronavirus protocols before returning to full capacity this month as the number of children increased. What was said Between 1917 and 1971 the filibuster existed, there were a total of 58 motions to break a filibuster. That whole time. Last year alone, there were five times that many. True. The filibuster is an old procedural tactic to delay action on a bill. Mr. Biden highlighted 1917 because that year, the Senate adopted a rule allowing a two-thirds majority to invoke cloture, or end debate and vote on a measure. In 1975, the Senate reduced that threshold from two-thirds to three-fifths of the body. Experts have considered motions to invoke cloture a useful proxy to measure how often filibusters occur. According to the Senate website, there were 58 motions for cloture between 1917 and 1970, but debate was ended only eight times. In the 116th Congress  from 2019 to 2020, when Democrats were the minority party  there were 328 motions, and 270 resulted in cloture being invoked. Mr. Biden did not mention that of those motions to end debate, all but one was filed by Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, who was the majority leader at the time. What was said Did you hear them complain, when they passed close to $2 trillion Trump tax cut, of 83 percent going to the top 1 percent? This is exaggerated. Mr. Biden repeated a talking point that has been popular for years among Democratic politicians. It comes from a 2017 study from the Tax Policy Center on the tax cut law that year. According to the study, by 2027, about 82.8 percent of the benefits of the tax cut will accrue to the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans. But in two other years examined in the study, 2018 and 2025, the researchers estimated that the top 1 percents share of the tax cuts would be about 20 percent to 25 percent.

Georgia Republicans enact a major law to restrict voting, part of a nationwide push. Demonstrators protesting Georgias bill of voting restrictions in Atlanta on Thursday. Credit... Nicole Craine for The New York Times Georgia on Thursday passed a sweeping law to limit voting access, making it the first major battleground state to overhaul its election system since the turmoil of last years presidential contest. The legislation, which followed Democratic victories that flipped the state at the presidential and Senate levels, comes amid a national movement among Republican-controlled state legislatures to mount the most extensive contraction of voting access in generations. Seeking to appease a conservative base that remains incensed about the results of the 2020 election, Republicans have already passed a similar law in Iowa, and are moving forward with efforts to restrict voting in other states, including Arizona, Florida and Texas. Democrats and voting rights groups have condemned the Georgia law, arguing that it unfairly targets voters of color. They say it particularly seeks to make voting harder for the states large Black population, which was crucial to President Bidens triumph in Georgia in November and the success of Senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in the January runoff elections. Mr. Biden joined Georgia Democrats on Thursday in denouncing efforts to limit voting, calling Republicans push around the country un-American. It is the most pernicious thing, Mr. Biden said at his first formal news conference since taking office. This makes Jim Crow look like Jim Eagle. Though the law is less stringent than the initial iterations of the bill, it introduces a raft of new restrictions for voting and elections in the state, including stricter voter identification requirements, limiting drop boxes, stripping the secretary of state of some of his authority, imposing new oversight of county election boards, restricting who can vote with provisional ballots, and making it a crime to offer food or water to voters waiting in lines. The law also requires runoff elections to be held four weeks after the original vote, instead of the current nine weeks. The law does not include some of the harshest restrictions that had been proposed, like a ban on Sunday voting that was seen as an attempt to curtail the role of Black churches in driving turnout. And the legislation now, in fact, expands early voting options in some areas. The law passed the Georgia House on Thursday morning by a party-line vote of 100 to 75, and was approved by the Senate in the evening on a 34-to-20 vote. It was promptly signed by Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican. Thomas Kaplan contributed reporting.

Advertisement Continue reading the main story

Parler says it sent the F.B.I. posts about threats to the Capitol ahead of Jan. 6. In the days and weeks leading up to Jan. 6th, Parler referred violent content from its platform to the F.B.I. for investigation over 50 times, the company said in a letter to Representative Carolyn B. Maloney. Credit... Olivier Douliery/Agence France-Presse  Getty Images Parler, the social network popular with Trump supporters, said on Thursday that it had been working with law enforcement for months to identify possible illegal activity, including notifying authorities of specific threats to the Capitol ahead of the Jan. 6 assault on Congress. Parler said in a letter to Representative Carolyn B. Maloney, Democrat of New York and chair of the House Oversight Committee, that it formalized its relationship with the F.B.I. in November to facilitate proactive cooperation and referrals of violent threats and incitement to law enforcement. The company said that it sent the bureau dozens of concerning posts written by its users, including some related to the deadly Jan. 6 attack. In the days and weeks leading up to Jan. 6, Parler referred violent content from its platform to the F.B.I. for investigation over 50 times, the company said in its letter. Parler even alerted law enforcement to specific threats of violence being planned at the Capitol. The letter raises fresh questions about whether the F.B.I. took seriously enough threats of violence made ahead of Jan. 6, when Congress formally certified the Electoral College after President Donald J. Trump had spent weeks spreading baseless claims about election irregularities. The F.B.I. declined to comment on the letter or on what it has done with any information it has received from Parler. Four days before the riot, the company said it gave the F.B.I. posts made by a user who said that he would attend the Jan 6 rally in body armor because its no longer a protest. This is the final stand where we are drawing the red line at Capitol Hill, according to quotes from his messages that Parler shared with Congress. This is not a party until they announce #Trump2020 a winner, the user wrote. Dont be surprised if we take the #capital [sic] building. In late December, the company said that it gave the F.B.I. three screenshots of particularly violent rhetoric from a user who threatened to kill politicians and who specifically threatened former Attorney General William P. Barr. And on Christmas Eve, it gave the F.B.I. a post by a user who said that he was looking for some guys that are planning on lighting up Antifa when they came to Washington on Jan. 6 because he wanted to start eliminating people Even after the violent attacks stopped, Parler continued to dutifully and proactively report posts to the F.B.I. where users threatened additional violence, the company said in its letter. Parler was embraced by conservatives after the November election, as Twitter and Facebook cracked down on misinformation around the election and kicked Mr. Trump off their platforms for incendiary speech. The social network became a conservative cause celebre in January, when mainstream companies like Apple, Amazon and Google removed it from their app stores and refused to provide it with technical services, claiming that it had allowed too much content that encouraged violence and crime. The company came back on line last month with the help of a network of small web-hosting firms. Separately on Thursday, top Democrats sent letters to the White House, the Justice Department, the F.B.I., the Pentagon, Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington, the Park Police, the Metropolitan Police and some cabinet officials requesting all documents and communications related to the attack on the Capitol and its aftermath. The letters were signed by the chairs of the House committees on oversight, judiciary, intelligence, homeland security, administration, armed services and appropriations.

President Biden rejects idea that more migrants are arriving at the border because he is a nice guy. Video transcript Back bars 0:00 / 1:42 - 0:00 transcript Majority of Migrants at the Border Are Being Turned Away, Biden Says President Biden rejected the idea that more migrants are arriving at the southwestern border because hes a nice guy and said his administration was working with Mexico to take back more migrant families. Reporter: Youve said over and over again that immigrants shouldnt come to this country right now, this isnt the time to come. That message is not being received. Instead, the perception of you that got you elected as a moral, decent man is the reason why a lot of immigrants are coming to this country and entrusting you with unaccompanied minors. How do you resolve that tension? Truth of the matter is, nothing has changed. As many people came  28% increase in children to the border in my administration, 31% in the last year in 2019 before the pandemic in the Trump administration. It happens every single, solitary year. Its the time they can travel with the least likelihood of dying on the way because of the heat in the desert, No. 1. No. 2, theyre coming because of the circumstances in country. And Id like to think its because Im a nice guy, but its not. Its because of whats happened every year. Let me say one other thing on this. If you take a look at the number of people who are coming, the vast majority, the overwhelming majority of people coming to the border and crossing are being sent back. What about dealing with families? Why are not some not going back? Because Mexico is refusing to take them back. Theyre saying they wont take them back, not all of them. Were in negotiations with the president of Mexico. I think were going to see that change. They should all be going back, all be going back. The only people were not going to let sitting there on the other side of the Rio Grande by themselves with no help are children. President Biden rejected the idea that more migrants are arriving at the southwestern border because hes a nice guy and said his administration was working with Mexico to take back more migrant families. Credit Credit... Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times President Biden said Thursday his administration was working with Mexico to rapidly turn away all migrant families that cross the southwest border, while rejecting the notion that the surge in migration was because he was a nice guy. The Biden administration has faced growing criticism over its handling of migration at the border, with Republicans saying Mr. Bidens campaign promise to be more compassionate to migrants has led to an increase in crossings. Mr. Biden is still using a pandemic emergency rule to rapidly turn away most single adults and families that cross without providing them the chance to ask for asylum, although an increasing number of those families have been released into communities in the United States. Some Mexican officials along the South Texas border have refused to accept families that the Biden administration has tried to turn away, citing a lack of shelter capacity in Mexico and a recent change in Mexican law that prohibits the detention of small immigrant children. Mr. Biden said on Thursday his administration was negotiating with the president of Mexico to take back more of the migrant families. I think were going to see that change, he said. They should all be going back. All be going back. The only people were not going to let sitting there on the other side of the Rio Grande by themselves with no help are children. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit challenging the pandemic emergency rule but the legal action was put on hold to negotiate with the administration. Lee Gelernt, a lead attorney in the case, said on Twitter that Bidens comments at the news conference on expelling migrant adults and families may leave litigation as the only choice. The administration has welcomed children and teenagers into the United States and has struggled to quickly process them. The number of children and teenagers stuck in border detention facilities that were originally set up to temporary hold adults increased to more than 5,150, according to data released on Thursday by the Department of Homeland Security. The largest number of minors held this way under the Trump administration was about 2,600 in June 2019, according to current and former Customs and Border Protection officials. The Biden administration is scrambling to build more emergency shelters at military sites and convention centers around the United States. Mr. Biden said he expected to move 1,000 young migrants out of the border patrol into safe, secure beds and facilities. Were going to significantly ramp up, he said.

Responding to questions on gun control legislation, Biden makes clear its not his top priority. A gun shop in Des Moines. The White House is expected to roll out three executive actions related to gun violence in the coming weeks. Credit... Alex Wroblewski for The New York Times President Biden made it clear in his first news conference since taking office that being successful in passing any gun safety legislation is far from his next priority. The successful presidents, better than me, have been successful in large part because they know how to time what theyre doing, Mr. Biden said, when asked about what actions he planned to take in the wake of back-to-back mass shootings that killed 18 people. Order it, he said. Decide priorities. What needs to be done. The next major initiative is, and Ill be announcing it Friday in Pittsburgh in detail, is to rebuild the infrastructure both physical and technological infrastructure of this country. Responding to a mass shooting at a grocery store in Boulder, Colo., earlier this week, Mr. Biden called on the Senate to pass a ban on assault weapons and to close background check loopholes. But so far, his administration has done nothing to indicate it plans to spend much political capital on a proposals that were immediately met with a blockade of opposition by Republicans. The White House is expected to roll out three executive actions in the coming weeks. One would classify some firearms as so-called ghost guns  kits that allow a gun to be assembled from pieces. Another would fund community violence intervention programs, and the third would strengthen the background checks system, according to congressional aides familiar with the conversations. But that may be the extent of Mr. Bidens efforts on the issue for now, as he confronts crises on multiple fronts. The fundamental problem is getting people some peace of mind so they can go to bed at night and not stare at the ceiling wondering whether they lost their health insurance, whether theyre going to lose a family member, whether theyre going to be in a position where theyre going to lose their home because they cant pay their mortgage, the president said.

Advertisement Continue reading the main story

Lawmakers grill tech executives on misinformation and social medias role in the Capitol riot. Video transcript Back bars 0:00 / 3:00 - 0:00 transcript Tech Executives Testify on Disinformation Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Sundar Pichai of Google and Jack Dorsey of Twitter testified remotely before Congress on misinformation and disinformation plaguing online platforms. I dont think anyone wants a world where you can only say things that private companies judge to be true. Our mission is to organize the worlds information, and make it universally accessible and useful. We believe in free debate and conversation to find the truth. At the same time, we must balance that with our desire for our service not to be used to sow confusion, division or destruction. There are two faces to each of your platforms. Facebook has family and friends, neighborhood, but it is right next to the one where there is a white nationalist rally every day. YouTube is a place where people share quirky videos, but down the street, anti-vaxxers Covid deniers, QAnon supporters and Flat Earthers are sharing videos. Youve failed to meaningfully change after your platform has played a role in fomenting insurrection, and abetting the spread of the virus and trampling American civil liberties. And while it may be true that some bad actors will shout fire in the crowded theater by promoting harmful content, your platforms are handing them a megaphone to be heard in every theater across the country and the world. Your business model itself has become the problem. How is it possible for you not to at least admit that Facebook played a central role or a leading role in facilitating the recruitment, planning and execution of the attack on the Capitol? Chairman, my point is that I think that the responsibility here lies with the people who took the actions to break the law, and take and do the insurrection and secondarily, also the people who spread that content, including the president, but others as well. Your platform bears some responsibility for disseminating disinformation related to the election and the Stop the Steal movement that led to the attack on the Capitol. Just a yes or no answer. Congressman, its a complex question. We  OK, well move on. Mr Dorsey. Yes, but you also have to take into consideration a broader ecosystem. Its not just the technology platforms we use. Were all aware of big techs ever-increasing censorship of conservative voices and their commitment to serve the radical progressive agenda by influencing a generation of children  removing, shutting down or canceling any news, books and even now, toys, that arent considered woke. First of all, do you recognize that there is a real concern, that theres an anti-conservative bias on Twitters behalf? And would you recognize that this has to stop if this is going to be, Twitter is going to be viewed by both sides as a place where everybody is going to get a fair treatment? We dont write policy according to any particular political leaning. If we find any of it, we route it out. Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Sundar Pichai of Google and Jack Dorsey of Twitter testified remotely before Congress on misinformation and disinformation plaguing online platforms. Credit Credit... Via Reuters Lawmakers grilled the leaders of Facebook, Google and Twitter on Thursday about the connection between online disinformation and the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, causing Twitters chief executive to publicly admit for the first time that his product had played a role in the events that left five people dead. When a Democratic lawmaker asked the executives to answer with a yes or a no whether the platforms bore some responsibility for the misinformation that had contributed to the riot, Jack Dorsey of Twitter said yes but then qualified that by saying lawmakers also have to take into consideration a broader ecosystem. Its not just about the technology platforms we use, he said. Neither Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook nor Sundar Pichai of Google would answer the question directly. The roughly five-hour hearing before a House committee marked the first time lawmakers directly questioned the chief executives regarding social medias role in the January riot. The tech bosses were also peppered with questions about how their companies helped spread falsehoods around Covid-19 vaccines, enable racism and hurt childrens mental health. Tough questioning from lawmakers signaled that scrutiny of Silicon Valleys business practices would not let up, and could even intensify, with Democrats in the White House and leading both chambers of Congress. The chief executives have become Capitol Hill regulars in recent years. Mr. Zuckerberg has testified seven times since 2018. Mr. Dorsey has appeared five times and Mr. Pichai has testified four times since then. But these hearings, regarding disinformation, antitrust and data privacy, have not led to regulations. Though there is bipartisan animus toward the companies, there is still little agreement on how specifically to hold the internet giants to account. At the heart of the hearing were questions about whether the companies had a financial incentive to keep users engaged  and clicking on ads  by feeding them divisive, extreme and hateful content. Lawmakers from both parties said Congress should reconsider a law that shields the platforms from lawsuits over content posted by their users. Youre not passive bystanders, said Representative Frank Pallone, the New Jersey Democrat who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Youre making money. Lawmakers also criticized the platforms for the way they have enabled the spread of misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic and the vaccines for Covid-19. Representative Anna Eshoo, a California Democrat who represents part of Silicon Valley, told Mr. Dorsey that Twitter should eliminate all Covid misinformation  and not label or reduce its spread, but remove it. David McCabe and

200 million vaccines in 100 days is the new goal, Biden says, though the U.S. is already on track to meet that. Coronavirus vaccines were administered at a drive-through site in Cleveland, Miss., on Wednesday. Credit... Rory Doyle for The New York Times President Biden, who said when he was inaugurated that he would have 100 million shots in the arms of Americans by his 100th day in office, announced Thursday at his news conference that he is doubling that goal. The moving target is in keeping with the presidents pattern: aim low, and when it is clear the initial target will be exceeded, adjust upward to another attainable goal. The nation is on track to meet the 200 million figure already. As of Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that a total of 130 million shots had been administered, and that 14 percent of the American population is fully vaccinated. The White House is counting shots administered since January 20, when Mr. Biden took office; the nation hit that milestone last week, on his 58th day in office, the president said Thursday. We will by my 100th day in office have administered 200 million shots in peoples arms, Mr. Biden said, announcing his new goal at the outset of his news conference. Thats right  200 million shots in 100 days. I know its ambitious, twice our original goal but no other country in the world has even come close. Vaccine makers are also hitting their stride. Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson have promised enough doses to inoculate all the nations roughly 260 million adults by the end of May, as Mr. Biden promised. In June, the first vaccine producers, Pfizer and Moderna, are expected to deliver another 100 million doses  enough to cover another 50 million people. The United States has been averaging about 2.5 million doses a day during the last week. If that pace continues, the nation would surpass the 200 million shots goal before Mr. Bidens 100th day, April 30. The new goal was reported earlier by MSNBC and CNN. Officials say the nation will soon reach a point where the supply of vaccine outpaces demand; when that happens, the chief concern will not be a shortage of vaccine, but convincing those who are skeptical of the vaccine to get the shots and deciding what to do with a growing stockpile. Vaccine hesitancy is particularly prominent among minorities, and also Republicans, who spent months last year listening to former President Donald J. Trump suggest that the risk of the virus was being exaggerated. Earlier Thursday, White House officials said the administration would spend $10 billion of congressionally appropriated money to expand access to Covid-19 vaccines and build vaccine confidence in the hardest-hit and highest-risk communities. The C.D.C. also announced Thursday that dialysis clinics would now offer vaccines to chronic kidney disease patients at dialysis centers, and the centers health care personnel, as part of a federal partnership.

We have started to see new signs of hope in our economy, Biden says, hailing the passage of the stimulus bill. President Biden speaks about the stimulus plan in Columbus, Ohio, last week. Credit... Doug Mills/The New York Times President Biden used the opening remarks of his first formal news conference on Thursday to celebrate what he cast as encouraging signs for the American economy since the passage of his $1.9 trillion economic rescue bill, citing new forecasts that show economic growth for the year could reach 6 percent. Since we passed the American Rescue Plan, we have started to see new signs of hope in our economy, Mr. Biden said. He pointed to economic forecasters raising their estimates for growth this year after the passage of the bill. Mr. Biden also told reporters that his administration had now delivered 100 million direct payments of $1,400 per individual to low- and middle-income Americans, which were funded by the relief bill that he signed into law this month. The bill also included extended and expanded unemployment benefits, new tax credits for parents that are meant to fight poverty and money for vaccine deployment, school reopenings and Covid testing, among other provisions. He cited news from the Labor Department on Thursday that initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell last week to 657,000, a decline of 100,000 from the previous week. Thats the first time in a year the numbers fallen below the prepandemic high, he said. The president stressed that the economy still had a long road of recovery ahead of it, and that there were still too many Americans out of work, too many families hurting. But, he said, I can say to you, the American people: Help is here and hope is on the way. Mr. Biden is set to travel to Pittsburgh next week to unveil the next phase of his economic agenda, a pair of infrastructure packages that could cost between $3 trillion and $4 trillion. Its details have not been finalized, but administration officials have settled on a strategy that breaks the effort into two proposals. Mr. Biden said near the end of the news conference that his next major effort would be to rebuild the infrastructure, both physical and technological infrastructure in this country, so that we can compete and create good-paying jobs. He mentioned capping oil wells, repairing roads and bridges, replacing aging pipes that leach lead into water and helping the United States close an infrastructure-spending gap with China. The planned first package will spend as much as $2 trillion on physical infrastructure development, according to documents and people familiar with the plans. It will center on the construction of roads, bridges, rail lines, ports, electric vehicle charging stations, and improvements to the electric grid and other parts of the power sector. It will also boost the development of clean-energy projects and projects in other high-growth industries of the future like 5G telecommunications, and it includes money for rural broadband, advanced training for millions of workers, and one million affordable and energy-efficient housing units. The second package includes investments in what progressive groups call the nations human infrastructure, including education and caregiving. It would make community college free, create universal prekindergarten, seek to reduce the cost of child care, establish a national paid leave program and include home-based care assistance for older adults. Mr. Bidens aides have drawn up plans to offset the first package, at least in part, with corporate tax increases, including raising the corporate income tax rates and pursuing a variety of efforts to increase taxes on the income that multinational companies earn and book outside the United States. The plans to offset the second package include Mr. Bidens proposals to raise the top marginal federal income tax rate from 37 percent to 39.6 percent, and other measures meant to increase taxes on people and households earning more than $400,000 a year.

Advertisement Continue reading the main story

Joe Manchin pumps the brakes on Democrats elections overhaul. Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, said he singled out several areas of the voting legislation where he believed the two parties could find common ground. Credit... Anna Moneymaker for The New York Times Democrats racing to enact the most significant federal election overhaul in a generation, including a major expansion of voting rights, ran into a familiar roadblock on Thursday: Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia. A day after Democratic leaders used the first Senate hearing on the overhaul to propel the nearly 900-page behemoth to the top of their legislative agenda, Mr. Manchin, the most conservative Democrat in the chamber, called for the proposal to be sharply pared back and renegotiated with Republicans. He said there were legitimate concerns over some of its provisions. Pushing through legislation of this magnitude on a partisan basis may garner short-term benefits, but will inevitably only exacerbate the distrust that millions of Americans harbor against the U.S. government, Mr. Manchin said in a lengthy statement. We can and we must reform our federal elections together  not as Democrats and Republicans, but as Americans to restore the faith and trust in our democracy. With Republicans uniformly opposed to the bill  which would end partisan gerrymandering, restructure the Federal Election Commission, neuter state voter identification laws, expand early and mail-in voting, and curb the influence of dark money in politics  Mr. Manchins statement spelled considerable peril for its advocates. The bill, called the For the People Act, already passed the House on party lines. Activists who have spent spending tens of millions of dollars lobbying Mr. Manchin and others for its adoption insist it cannot be broken up. One such group, Common Cause, said on Thursday that it would continue working with Mr. Manchin to address his concerns and that it was confident the bills backers would win his support. To pass it in the Senate, the bills proponents have increasingly concluded they must persuade all 50 Democrats in the chamber to set aside earlier opposition and jettison the legislative filibuster to overcome Republican opposition. With Republican statehouses across the country moving swiftly to clamp down on ballot access after the 2020 election, they argue the stakes for American democracy and Democrats ability to win future elections are simply too high. Mr. Manchin appeared to reject that thinking for now. A former West Virginia secretary of state, he indicated he shared concerns raised by state election administrators and Republicans in Washington that the bills requirements and changes would be too onerous to carry out and represented a misguided federal takeover of the election system currently overseen by states. I know firsthand the importance of local decision-making around voter accessibility and election security, he said. Mr. Manchin singled out several areas where he believed the two parties could find common ground, including ballot access, election security and campaign finance disclosure. He called for a national requirement that states hold at least 15 days of early voting to ease access to the ballot, said Congress should allocate more resources to make it easier for Native American and Alaska Natives to vote and mentioned a handful of modest election infrastructure and advertising transparency bills. But those proposals are a far cry from the scope of the plans Democrats have spent significant political capital selling as a necessary tonic for a badly ailing democracy. Mr. Manchins suggestions would do little to blunt restrictions put in place by Republican states, stop the drawing of partisan congressional districts or meaningfully cut back the influence of dark money. Nor was it clear, a day after a stinging partisan hearing over the For the People Act, that there was much room for the meaningful compromise he wants. Republicans flatly reject Democrats view of the election system, and their strategists have openly said their candidates suffer when more people vote.

The Senate extends Paycheck Protection Program for two months. By extending the program, lawmakers gave both lenders and small businesses additional time to adjust to an abrupt overhaul to the program announced in late February. Credit... Stephen Speranza for The New York Times Congress gave final approval on Thursday to a two-month extension of the Paycheck Protection Program, a popular federal loan program for small businesses, as well as giving the Small Business Administration an additional 30 days to process loans submitted before the new May 31 deadline. The House approved the extension on a 415-to-3 vote earlier this month, and the Senate on Thursday cleared the legislation on a 92-7 margin. The program was set to expire on March 31 without congressional action. Its clear that the most vulnerable small businesses will need help beyond March 31, so we must pass this extension as quickly as possible, said Senator Ben Cardin, Democrat of Maryland and one of the lawmakers who introduced the legislation. This common sense, bipartisan bill will meet the continued demand for P.P.P. loans. By extending the program, which was first established in the $2.2 trillion stimulus law passed last March, through May 31, lawmakers gave both lenders and small businesses additional time to adjust to an abrupt overhaul to the program announced by the Biden administration in late February. The changes led to gridlock and uncertainty as self-employed people and the smallest of businesses raced to take advantage of more generous aid freed up by the overhaul. The Paycheck Protection Program has been instrumental in helping small businesses keep their doors open and continue paying their employees during the pandemic, but many small businesses need additional time to access this lifeline and have their loans processed, Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, said in a statement urging her colleagues to support the legislation earlier this week. The nearly 100 groups that support our legislation agree that we need to extend this vital program. I urge our colleagues to support this bipartisan bill.

This makes Jim Crow look like Jim Eagle, Biden says of G.O.P. efforts to curtail voting. A polling place in Sullivans Island, S.C., in November. Credit... Cameron Pollack for The New York Times President Biden on Thursday offered blistering criticism of attempts by Republican-controlled state legislatures to impose new voting restrictions around the country, calling their efforts un-American. Im convinced that well be able to stop this, because it is the most pernicious thing, Mr. Biden said at his first formal news conference. This makes Jim Crow look like Jim Eagle. I mean, this is gigantic, what theyre trying to do. And it cannot be sustained. He vowed to do everything in my power, along with my friends in the House and the Senate, to keep that from becoming the law. At the news conference, Mr. Biden was asked whether he worried that Democrats could lose control of the House and Senate in the 2022 midterm elections if they were unable to pass voting rights legislation. What Im worried about is how un-American this whole initiative is, he responded. Its sick. Its sick. Earlier this month, the House passed a sweeping elections overhaul that would expand access to the ballot, and House Democrats are also expected to advance legislation strengthening the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Both efforts face dim prospects in the 50-50 Senate, where it takes 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, unless Democrats agree to change the rules. Mr. Biden said at the news conference that the filibuster was being abused in a gigantic way and signaled that he could ultimately support more aggressive changes to the Senates rules in order to clear the way for passing key parts of his agenda. His comments about voting came on the same day that the Georgia General Assembly passed a bill that would restrict access to voting in the state, and Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, signed it into law.

Advertisement Continue reading the main story

A Bloomberg group will spend at least $1 million pushing G.O.P. senators to pass a gun control bill. Michael R. Bloombergs gun control organization plans to spend at least $1 million on advertising next month. Credit... Chet Strange for The New York Times The gun control organization backed by Michael R. Bloomberg will soon begin a national advertising campaign aimed at pressuring Republican senators to support measures that would strengthen and expand background checks for gun buyers. The campaign by the group, Everytown for Gun Safety, comes after two mass shootings in less than a week killed eight people at spas in Georgia and 10 at a supermarket in Boulder, Colo. The organizations political arm plans to kick off the campaign in April with $1 million to $1.5 million in television and digital advertisements. John Feinblatt, Everytowns president, said the ads would target Republican senators including Patrick J. Toomey of Pennsylvania and Susan Collins of Maine, who backed the failed 2013 effort to expand background checks, along with a number of retiring senators who have opposed new gun control measures in the past. Mr. Feinblatt said the campaign was aimed at securing the 60 votes needed for the Senate to pass gun control proposals that have already passed the House, which include expanding federal background checks for new gun purchases. It will not ask Democratic senators to alter the filibuster rules to pass any measure with a simple majority vote. Every senator needs to know how urgent this matter is, and every senator needs to know we mean business about seizing the moment and getting the bills passed, Mr. Feinblatt said on Wednesday. This is about getting 60 votes, which we think is entirely possible because the political calculus has changed. Everytown has become the biggest player in gun control politics in recent years. The organization spent about $55 million backing Democratic candidates in 2020. Mr. Feinblatt said the campaign would continue until the Senate sent the measures to President Biden, who called on Tuesday not only for background checks but also for an assault weapons ban. Such a ban has not received a serious debate in Congress, and Mr. Bloombergs organization is not pushing it at the moment. We will stick with this until theres a vote, Mr. Feinblatt said. I dont know when that vote will take place, but I know that we will spend what it takes for as long as it takes.

Senate panel deadlocks over the nomination of Vanita Gupta to a high-ranking Justice Dept. post. Vanita Gupta rose to prominence in 2003 when she proved that dozens of men had been arrested on fabricated drug charges in Texas. Credit... Anna Moneymaker for The New York Times The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday voted to advance the nomination of Lisa Monaco to serve as the No. 2 Justice Department official, but was deadlocked on Vanita Gupta, President Bidens nominee to serve as the agencys third highest-ranking official, leaving it to Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, to bring her vote to the full Senate. A bipartisan group of senators on the panel supported Ms. Monacos nomination to serve as deputy attorney general on a voice vote. Ms. Monaco, a longtime Justice Department veteran and respected national security expert, is expected to receive bipartisan support during her confirmation vote, and if approved she will run the departments day-to-day operations and oversee the nations federal prosecutors. But after nearly two hours of debate, the committee voted along party lines, 11-11, on Ms. Guptas nomination. Senator Charles E. Grassley, the committees ranking Republican, expressed a desire from his party members for a second hearing to further question her about legal immunities for police officers, drug decriminalization, defunding the police and the death penalty. Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois and the committees chairman, had denied on Wednesday the request for a second hearing, calling it a stall tactic to slow her confirmation. Mr. Durbin said in a letter to Republicans that three of them had not shown up to her first hearing, and that of the eight who did attend, only five took the opportunity to ask a second round of questions. He also said that only two Republicans had been willing to meet with her. He charged that Republicans repeatedly misrepresented Ms. Guptas views, particularly on policing, and he noted that a broad coalition of police and sheriffs groups had supported her nomination, recommending her to the committee. Several Republicans gave lengthy comments opposing Ms. Gupta, including Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, who called Ms. Gupta a liar for saying that she has never advocated for the decriminalization of all drugs. He pointed to a 2012 editorial in which she said that simple possession of drugs should be decriminalized. Mr. Cornyn has a long history with Ms. Gupta, who rose to prominence in 2003 when she proved that dozens of men, almost all of them Black, had been arrested on fabricated drug charges in Tulia, Tex. The narcotics agent behind those arrests, Tom Coleman, was found guilty of perjury and Rick Perry, then the governor of Texas, pardoned 35 people as a result of Ms. Guptas work. In 1999, Mr. Cornyn had presented Mr. Coleman with the Texas Lawman of the Year award for his work in Tulia. Even though Ms. Gupta does not have the support of a majority of the committee, Mr. Schumer, as majority leader, has the right to bring any nominee he sees fit to the floor. In that case, Ms. Gupta will need the support all Senate Democrats and at least one Republican, or Vice President Kamala Harris, to be confirmed.

As Biden reacts to shootings, the A.T.F. remains handcuffed and without a permanent leader. A makeshift memorial at the King Soopers grocery store in Boulder, Colo., where a mass shooting on Monday left 10 dead. Credit... Stephen Speranza for The New York Times While President Biden considers a gamut of executive and legislative actions on gun control in the wake of two mass shootings, the federal agency tasked with enforcing existing gun laws remains without a permanent leader and hobbled by restrictions on its enforcement power. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or A.T.F., has long been the target of a campaign by the National Rifle Association and its legislative allies to weaken oversight of gun purchases. It is hard to think of any federal agency that has been so completely handcuffed as the A.T.F. has been by the N.R.A. and its friends in Congress, said Adam Winkler, a professor of constitutional law specializing in gun statutes at the University of California, Los Angeles. Mr. Biden, who made an emotional appeal on Tuesday for Congress to enact gun control legislation, has not yet picked a nominee to lead the agency. White House officials said they had no timetable for doing so, but two administration officials with knowledge of the situation said that several potential candidates were being interviewed  although no names have yet been floated on Capitol Hill or among advocacy groups, according to the officials. The administration is going to revitalize A.T.F. and ensure that our guns laws are vigorously enforced, said Michael Gwin, a Biden spokesman. One high-profile figure under early consideration, the former Houston police chief Art Acevedo, recently accepted an offer to run Miamis police department. One of the main problems in picking a director, according to two gun control activists in close touch with the administration, is that potential candidates are reluctant to sign on for a nomination likely to go down in defeat. The delay is emblematic of the enormous practical and political challenges that come with efforts to make any significant changes at the agency. Over the last two decades, Republicans, with the support of conservative Democrats, have embedded into spending bills riders intended to constrain the bureau, including limits on unannounced inspections of gun dealers, prohibitions on documenting the inventories of gun shops and an especially damaging provision that bars the agency from digitizing its records. Gun rights groups say such steps are necessary to keep the A.T.F. from mounting an assault on the rights of gun owners. But critics consider it part of an effort to shield gun companies and owners from oversight and responsibility. Whats been done to the A.T.F. is systemic, its intentional, and its a huge problem, said T. Christian Heyne of Brady: United Against Gun Violence, a gun-control group that has proposed a plan for executive action on the issue centered on stepped-up enforcement by the agency. Mr. Biden is expected to roll out a series of executive orders related to gun violence in the coming weeks. Almost all of the orders require a significant expansion of A.T.F. enforcement. But even naming someone to lead the agency is a headache. In 2006, N.R.A.-allied lawmakers enacted a provision making the position of A.T.F. director, which had previously been a political appointment, subject to Senate confirmation. As a result, only one director has been confirmed over the last 15 years: the Obama nominee B. Todd Jones. Regina Lombardo, a well-regarded agency veteran who helped direct the federal response to the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando in 2016, has served as acting director since early 2019. She got the job after former President Donald J. Trump, who ran on a defiantly pro-gun platform, withdrew the nomination of a former top police union official, Chuck Canterbury, after the nominee refused to entirely rule out expanding background checks and other safeguards.

Advertisement Continue reading the main story

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland calls for rethinking Trumps oil and gas leases Interior Secretary Deb Haaland last month in Washington at her nomination hearing before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Credit... Pool photo by Leigh Vogel Interior Secretary Deb Haaland on Thursday defended the Biden administrations policy of suspending new oil and gas leases on public lands and waters as a chance to rethink policies that she said enriched the industry but hurt some communities and the climate. Speaking at the agencys first public forum to discuss the pause, Ms. Haaland said fossil fuels will continue to play a major role in America for years to come. But the Trump administration offered vast swaths of our public lands and waters for drilling, prioritizing fossil fuel development above all other uses on public lands and waters, Ms. Haaland said. The potential impacts to people, water, wildlife and climate were deliberately ignored. The burning of coal, oil and gas extracted from public lands and waters accounts for almost a quarter of all U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, and President Biden campaigned on a promise to end new drilling permits as a key to tackling climate change. The suspension of new leases for 60 days, announced on Inauguration Day, represents a first step toward enacting that promise. It has met with fierce opposition from Republicans and the oil and gas industry. This week, 13 states led by Louisiana filed suit to overturn the moratorium. Wyoming filed a separate legal challenge calling the lease suspension a nice headline about fighting climate change that will hurt the economy as well as the environment. Were not in a position to simply flip the switch to renewables from fossil fuels, Jeff Landry, the attorney general of Louisiana, said in an interview. He said Mr. Bidens drilling moratorium and other executive orders on climate change were hurting his state and driving up energy prices. Oil industry leaders on Thursday said that they were committed to reducing emissions, but argued that stopping new leases would lead to more imports from countries with weaker environmental standards. That will ultimately lead to higher emissions, the opposite effect of the administrations stated goals, said Frank Macchiarola, senior vice president of the American Petroleum Institute, the countrys largest oil and gas trade group. In a major policy shift on Thursday, A.P.I. announced it will support a price on carbon emissions. While it opposes Mr. Bidens leasing plan and other decisions like canceling permits for the Keystone XL pipeline, the group said it will lobby Congress for sensible legislation that prices carbon across all economic sectors while avoiding regulatory duplication. Indigenous and environmental experts said on Thursday that pollution from oil and gas wells not only hurts the climate but is actively harming communities. For far too long the people in the Eastern Navajo agency have been living an environmentally racist horror show, said Mario Atencio, a legislative district assistant with the Navajo Nation Council in New Mexico. Feedback from Thursdays hearing and other comments to the Interior Department will inform a sweeping report it is conducting later this year.
Rohingya refugees look for objects they can salvage from the site of a grocery store gutted in a massive fire at the Balukhali camp in Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh, March 24, 2021.

Bangladesh officials denied Wednesday that a barbed-wired fence around Rohingya refugee camps disrupted relief and rescue work during and after a massive fire at a refugee settlement this week that left at least 11 people dead.

They also denied United Nations claims that around 400 people were missing after the blaze at the Balukhali camp, saying many of those who fled the fire were sheltering in neighboring camps in southeastern Coxs Bazar district.

Mohammad Shamsud Douza, an additional commissioner for refugee relief and repatriation, said it took a long time for firefighters to extinguish the blaze, not because of the fence but weather conditions.

It is not correct to say that rescue operations are disrupted due to barbed-wire fencing, Douza told BenarNews.

It took time to douse the fire mainly because of the high wind speed. Moreover, the fire was spreading rapidly as the camp is densely populated.

The fire injured more than 500 people, gutted 10,000 makeshift shelters and left 45,000 refugees homeless, according to UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency.

Complicating matters was the almost fully installed barbed-wire fence surrounding the congested and densely populated Rohingya camps in Coxs Bazar, humanitarian groups said on Tuesday.

Rescue efforts proved to be challenging as a result of the presence of perimeter fencing. In some instances, refugees themselves cut through the fence to escape the fire, the Inter Sector Coordination Group, a coordinating group of various international NGOs and humanitarian aid agencies, including those affiliated with the U.N., said in a statement on Tuesday.

Most of the 1 million Rohingya who fled from neighboring Myanmar live in 34 refugee camps in and around Coxs Bazar, a district that borders Myanmars Rakhine state. The refugees include more than 740,000 who escaped a brutal military crackdown in Rakhine in 2017.

Bangladeshi officials had said in January that the governments installation of barbed-wire fencing around Rohingya would keep the Rohingya safe and secure and would also deter their criminal activities.

In a joint statement on Wednesday, a host of local and international NGOs said the Bangladesh government needed to rethink fencing in the camps.

Fences across roads into camps should be reconsidered, and pocket gates should be opened and staffed for 24-hour access, to ensure safe passage during emergencies and access for emergency response services, the groups statement said.

Missing after the fire

On Wednesday, Bangladeshi authorities reiterated that the death toll from the fire was 11, not 15 as UNHCR had reported a day earlier.

We are continuing to confirm figures with the authorities of Bangladesh and understand only 11 deaths have been officially declared and bodies identified to date, Louise Donovan, the spokeswoman for UNHCRs Dhaka office, told BenarNews on Wednesday.

However, BRAC, the largest NGO in Bangladesh, said that at least 13 people had been killed in Mondays fire, including six children.

Donovan said that, as of Wednesday, 339 people remained unaccounted for since the fire, but Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Shah Rezwan Hayat rejected this.

No one is missing. The affected Rohingya took refuge at the nearby camps, learning centers and mosques. They have already started returning, Hayat told BenarNews.

A Rohingya refugee rests under a temporary shelter on the site of his burned house at the Balukhali camp in Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh, March 23, 2021. [Sunil Barua/BenarNews]

Cause of fire still unknown

Bangladesh officials said Wednesday they were still investigating the fires cause.

Mondays blaze was the largest of at least 25 major fires in Coxs Bazar camps since 2017, officials had said.

In another massive fire at a camp on Jan. 14, more than 550 shelters were gutted, leaving some 3,000 Rohingya homeless, but there were no fatalities.

The risk of fires is high in the sprawling camps, Otto Van Manen, country director for Save the Children, had said this week.

As he visited the site of the fire, Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal reiterated that the Rohingya were welcome to move to a remote Bay of Bengal island, where the government has relocated thousands of refugees.

We will welcome the Rohingya to Bhashan Char if any of the affected Rohingya desire to do so, the minister told reporters on Wednesday.

Very good arrangements have been put in place in Bhashan Char, he said, referring to the island.

The government had said it spent about U.S. $280 million to construct housing, a large embankment, and other infrastructure on Bhashan Char in a bid to relieve pressure on the crowded camps in mainland Coxs Bazar.

Authorities had said the facilities on the island were better than in the refugee camps.
Around two-thirds of viral anti-vaccine social media content circulating on Facebook and Twitter has been linked to just 12 notable individuals in new research.

Content that was shared more than 812,000 times on the social media platforms between February 1 and March 16 was analysed by The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) and Anti-Vax Watch alliance.

The alliance found that up to 65 percent of the content was attributed to 12 people, dubbed the 'disinformation dozen', including Robert F Kennedy Jr, a prolific anti-vaccine campaigner and son of former US attorney general Robert Kennedy.

In the 40-page report, the CCDH and Anti-Vax Watch alliance variety a breakdown of examples of the types of posts being shared by the 12 people, and devoted a number of pages to each person.

Examples of their posts were included in the report. Some posts perpetuated conspiracy theories relating to Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, unfounded claims that vaccines cause harm to specific groups, or that vaccines cause autism.

Other posts from the 12 people claimed that the coronavirus pandemic was not real, that masks had no effect on transmission, shared unproven coronavirus treatments and the unfounded claim that Covid-19 vaccines pose a threat to pregnant women.

In addition to anti-vaxx and Covid-19 content, the examples also included posts that used racist antisemitic imagery, such as one post shared by Erin Elizabeth in which she perpetuated a prominent conspiracy theory about the Rothschild family.

The groups found that up to 65 percent of the content was attributed to 12 people, dubbed the 'disinformation dozen', including Robert F Kennedy Jr (pictured in August 2020 speaking during a protest against coronavirus related measures) a prolific anti-vaccine campaigner and son of former US attorney general Robert Kennedy

The most prominent spreader of anti-vaccine content was Joseph Mercola (pictured), an alternative medicine entrepreneur who has over 3.6m followers across Facebook, Instagram and Facebook

The most prolific spreader of anti-vaccine content was Joseph Mercola, an alternative medicine entrepreneur who has over 3.6m followers across Facebook, Instagram and Facebook, the report said.

Mercola has previously been warned by the US Food and Drug Administration to stop selling supplements that claimed to treat coronavirus.

Ty and Charlene Bollinger, anti-vaxxer campaigners who have promoted the conspiracy theory that Bill Gates plans to inject humans with microchips in Covid-Vaccines, were also on the list.

Mask-sceptic physician Sherri Tenpenny and conspiracy theorist and influencer Rizza Islam also featured on the list.

The 'Disinformation Dozen' Joseph Mercola

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

Ty and Charlene Bollinger

Sherri Tenpenny

Rizza Islam

Rashid Buttar

Erin Elizabeth

Sayer Ji

Kelly Brogan

Christiane Northrup

Ben Tapper

Kevin Jenkin Advertisement

The companies behind the social media platforms have recently pledged to crackdown on misinformation, particularly targeting anti-vaxx content in the midst of the pandemic.

But the CCDH pointed out that the disinformation dozen have repeatedly violated Facebook and Twitter term's of service agreements.

Despite this, of the 12 most prominent spreaders anti-vaxx information, nine are still active on all three platforms - Facebook, Instagram and Twitter - while only three have been prevented from using one, the CCDH said.

The study of anti-vaxx content posted to Facebook more than 689,000 times over the past two months found that 73 percent of it could be traced back to the same 12 people, as could around 17 percent of 120,000 anti-vaxx tweets.

The CCDH is now calling on the platforms to remove the most prominent known anti-vaxxers from their sites to reduce the volume of disinformation being produced and circulated, and likely harming people's trust in vaccines that are seen as vital to getting the coronavirus pandemic under control.

'Disinformation has become a direct threat to public health,' said Imran Ahmed, chief executive of CCDH in a statement.

Left: Conspiracy theorist and influencer Rizza Islam. Right: Erin Elizabeth. An example of one of the posts made by her feature antisemitic imagery

Ty and Charlene Bollinger, anti-vaxxer campaigners who have promoted the conspiracy theory that Bill Gates plans to inject humans with microchips in Covid-Vaccines, are on the list

Mask sceptic Sherri Tenpenny, whose account has been part-removed from Facebook

'In the midst of a global pandemic, the anti-vaccine industry has executed a targeted campaign to mislead the public about the safety of the Covid-19 vaccines.

'Social media is enabling anti-vaxxers to recruit millions of people and indoctrinate them with fear and doubt. If Big Tech companies don't act now, the pandemic will be prolonged, and more lives will be lost.'

When contacted by iNews, Facebook and Twitter responded with comment, while Instagram was yet to reply at the time of reporting.

A Facebook spokesperson told the news outlet that the company works with health organisations to update its policies regarding vaccine misinformation, and that is has already taken action against some of the names on the 12-person list.

'Since research shows that the best way to combat vaccine hesitancy is to connect people to reliable information from health experts, we've also connected over 2bn people to resources from health authorities, including through our Covid-19 Information Centre,' the Facebook statement said.

Rashid Buttar is an osteopath physician and conspiracy theorist known for videos posted to his YouTube channel, according to the report

Sayer Ji runs a popular alternative health website, GreenMedInfo.com, and affiliated social media accounts that promote pseudoscience and anti-vaccine misinformation (pictured left). Right: Kelly Brogan, the partner of Sayer Ki, who encourages people not to wear masks

A Twitter spokesperson said that it is unable to take action against every tweet that contains 'incomplete or disputed information about Covid-19', adding that for a post to be removed it must meet certain criteria.

The post must: 'advance a claim of fact, expressed in definitive terms; be demonstrably false or misleading, based on widely available, authoritative sources; and be likely to impact public safety or cause serious harm,' the spokesman said.

'Since introducing our Covid-19 guidance last year, we have removed more than 22,400 Tweets and challenged 11.7 million accounts worldwide,' they added.

Pictured left: Christiane Northrup, an obstetrics and gynaecology physician who has embraced alternative medicine and anti-vaccine conspiracies, according to the report. Right:Ben Tapper is a chiropractor with a growing following on social media. He has routinely posted COVID disinformation and spoken out against wearing masks, the report says

Kevin Jenkins is an anti-vaccine activist with a growing social media presence who has appeared at public events with Robert F. Kennedy. He has previously called vaccines a 'conspiracy' to 'wipe out' black people, the report says

On Wednesday, the Democratic attorneys general for 12 states demanded Facebook and Twitter 'take immediate steps' to stop the spread of what they say is false information about COVID-19 vaccines on the social media sites.

In a letter to Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter's Jack Dorsey, the attorneys general said on Wednesday that 'anti-vaxxers' lacking medical expertise and often motivated by financial gain have used the platforms to downplay the danger of COVID-19 and exaggerate the risks of vaccination.

They accused the social media giants of doing too little to stop people from using their platforms to spread the false information that coronavirus vaccines are unsafe.

They called on both companies to enforce their own community guidelines by removing or flagging vaccine misinformation.

The letter quotes figures from the Center for Countering Digital Hate that claims there are 59 million subscribers to anti-vaccine accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. The letter also adds the disinformation dozen claims from the CCDH and Anti-Vax Watch alliance.

It also said some misinformation targets black communities and others of color where vaccination rates are lagging.

In a letter to Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg (left) and Twitter's Jack Dorsey (right), the attorneys general demanded on Wednesday that the companies crack down on anti-vaccine posts

The Democratic attorneys general for 12 states, including Connecticut's William Tong, have demanded Facebook and Twitter 'take immediate steps' to stop the spread of what they say is false information about COVID-19 vaccines

'Given anti-vaxxers' reliance on your platforms, you are uniquely positioned to prevent the spread of misinformation about coronavirus vaccines that poses a direct threat to the health and safety of millions of Americans in our states and that will prolong our road to recovery,' the letter said.

The letter was signed by the attorneys general of Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Virginia.

Facebook spokeswoman Dani Lever said the company has removed millions of pieces of COVID-19 and vaccine misinformation and tries to combat 'vaccine hesitancy' by regularly directing users to reliable information from health authorities.

Twitter said it has removed more than 22,400 tweets in connection with its policy toward COVID-19 posts and prioritizes removing content that could cause 'real-world' harm.

It comes as the CEOs of social media giants Facebook, Twitter and Google prepare to face a new grilling by Congress Thursday, one focused on their efforts to prevent their platforms from spreading falsehoods and inciting violence.

That's been a familiar theme for lawmakers over the past few years. But the pressure is even higher following the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, the rise in COVID vaccine misinformation and united Democratic control of Congress and the White House. The latter could make legislative action more likely, although it remains far from a sure thing.

Facebook spokeswoman Dani Lever said the company has removed millions of pieces of COVID-19 and vaccine misinformation and tries to combat 'vaccine hesitancy' by regularly directing users to reliable information from health authorities (an example is pictured above)

Pictured: Conspiracy theorists take part in a rally in New York City on March 20, holding signs that say 'arrest Bill Gates' and 'They are lying to you'

As malicious conspiracy theories continue to spread, lawmakers are pounding the social media companies over their market dominance, harvesting of user data and practices that some believe actually encourage the spread of engaging but potentially harmful misinformation. Some Republicans have also alleged, without proof, censorship and political bias against conservatives as another reason to rein in the enormous firms.

There's increasing support in Congress for imposing new curbs on legal protections regarding speech posted on their platforms.

Both Republicans and Democrats - including President Joe Biden as a candidate - have called for stripping away some of the protections under so-called Section 230 of a 25-year-old telecommunications law that shields internet companies from liability for what users post.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter chief Jack Dorsey and Google CEO Sundar Pichai - whose company owns YouTube - will testify in a virtual hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The session's title leaves little doubt as to the majority Democrats' stance: 'Disinformation Nation: Social Media's Role in Promoting Extremism and Misinformation.'

Pictured: An effigy of Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg (C), dressed as a January 6, 2021, insurrectionist is placed near the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on March 25, 2021

These executives testified on the subject at several congressional hearings last year, sometimes under threat of subpoena. This time they face tougher dynamics and may be called to account for earlier promises. In a Senate hearing shortly after the election in November, for instance, Zuckerberg and Dorsey gave lawmakers assurances of vigorous action against disinformation.

Former President Donald Trump enjoyed special treatment on Facebook and Twitter until January, despite spreading misinformation, pushing false claims of voting fraud, and promulgating hate. Facebook banned Trump indefinitely a day after rioters egged on by Trump swarmed the Capitol. Twitter soon followed, permanently disabling Trump's favored bullhorn.

Banning a sitting president from social media was an unprecedented step. Of course, so was Trump's heavy use of Twitter to lambaste opponents, laud supporters and spread false claims to more than 80 million followers. He was also only the second president to have a social media presence while in office.

Facebook hasn't yet decided whether it will banish the former president permanently. The company punted that decision to its quasi-independent Oversight Board - sort of a Supreme Court of Facebook enforcement - which is expected to rule on the matter next month.

Republicans have stepped up their complaints of alleged censorship and anti-conservative bias at the social media platforms. Researchers say there's no evidence that the social media giants are biased against conservative news, posts or other material, or that they favor one side of political debate over another.

Facebook Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before the House Financial Services Committee on "An Examination of Facebook and Its Impact on the Financial Services and Housing Sectors" in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC on October 23, 2019 (file photo)

Democrats, meanwhile, are largely focused on hate speech and incitement that can spawn real-world violence. An outside report issued this week found that Facebook has allowed groups - many tied to QAnon, boogaloo and militia movements - to extol violence during the 2020 election and in the weeks leading up to the deadly riots on the Capitol.

The report from Avaaz, a nonprofit advocacy group that says it seeks to protect democracies from misinformation, identified several hundred pages and groups on Facebook that it says spread violence-glorifying material to a combined following of 32 million users. Facebook acknowledged that its policy enforcement 'isn't perfect,' but said the report distorts its work against violent extremism and misinformation.

The tech CEOs plan a spirited defense of the liability shield under Section 230, saying it has helped make the internet the forum of free expression that it is today. Zuckerberg, however, will also again urge Congress to update that law to ensure it's working as intended.

He's adding a specific suggestion: Congress could require internet platforms to gain legal protection only by proving that their systems for identifying illegal content are up to snuff.

'Instead of being granted immunity, platforms should be required to demonstrate that they have systems in place for identifying unlawful content and removing it,' Zuckerberg said in written testimony prepared for Thursday's hearing.

Pictured: A man holds a sign and dresses as a plague doctor to encourage people to be vaccinated and help prevent prolonging the COVID-19 pandemic March 25. The sign reads 'Anti-vaxxers are prolonging the pandemic', followed the the Anti Vax Watch website, the organisation that co-authored the report on the 'disinformation dozen'

It's not clear lawmakers will buy that argument. Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, charged that Zuckerberg's plan would entrench giant firms at the expense of smaller rivals. 'Everyone working to address real issues online should be deeply wary about Mark Zuckerberg's proposals for new regulations,' Wyden said in a statement.

Pichai and Dorsey have urged caution about any changes to Section 230. Regulation is important to protect the open web while curbing its harmful use, Pichai said in his written testimony. But he warned that many reform proposals 'would not serve that objective well,' and could inadvertently harm free expression and limit the platforms' ability to protect users.

Dorsey didn't directly address the issue in his written statement, but did respond to recent questions about how Twitter should handle world leaders who violate its policies. 'We are currently re-examining our approach to world leaders and are soliciting feedback from the public,' he said in the statement.


Dhaka, March 25 : The Matua community of Bangladesh, a Scheduled Caste group with a presence in at least six parliamentary seats of West Bengal, is all set to welcome Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi later this week.

Matuas trace their ancestry to Bangladesh and large chunk of the community moved into West Bengal following the Partition and specially after the 2001-02 anti-Hindu pogroms during the Khaleda Zia government.

While no official count is available, community leaders put their population at 3 crore, while a state minister of India said there were 1.75 crore Namasudra voters.

After his arrival in Bangladesh on Friday, Modi will also visit the Jashoreshwari Kali temple at Ishwaripur under Shaymnagar upazila.

Image Source: IANS News

This will be the first-ever visit by a foreign head of state to the temple.

Prior to Modi's visit, Ishwaripur of Shyamnagar in Sathkhira, particularly the temple, has taken on a festive look.

Custodian of the temple, Jyoti Chattapaddhaya said necessary preparations to welcome the Indian Premier and the delegates are at the final stage.

The next day, he visit and pray at the Matua community's Shri Shri Harichand temple and the Hari temple of Guruchand at the Orakandi Thakurbari under Kashiani upazila, Gopalganj.

Modi is also scheduled to spend time with the family of Harichand Thakur, founder of the Matua community who was born at Orakandi in 1812, said Padmanabha Thakur, president of the Bangladesh Matua Maha Mission.

Also on Saturday, Modi will visit the mausoleum of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Tungipara in Gopalganj.

Image Source: IANS News

Security around Orakandi has been beefed up. A helipad was being prepared in front of the Thakurbari.

The public works department has erected a rest house besides the Hari temple.

Kashiani upazila parishad chairman Subrata Thakur, also a descendant of the Thakur family, said the Matua followers are eagerly awaiting the Indian Prime Minister's visit.

"The visit will further strengthen the relationship between the two neighbouring countries," he said.

Shahida Sultana, deputy commissioner at Gopalganj, assured that all the necessary preparations have been taken to receive the Indian Prime Minister.

Modi is scheduled to visit Bangladesh from Friday to Saturday to join the celebration of Bangabandhu's birth centenary and the Golden Jubilee Bangladesh's independence.

-- Syndicated from IANS
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.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Onlookers can be heard screaming as the woman fell into the water on Sunday

A woman has fallen off a bridge into an overflowing creek during Queensland's horror flash flooding event.

Waters had flooded a road bridge above Mudgeera Creek in the southern region of the Gold Coast on Sunday as heavy rainfall battered the region.

Horrifying footage shows the young woman attempting to walk across the submerged bridge, but losing her footing and falling off the edge into deep waters.

Onlookers can be heard screaming as the woman disappeared underwater.

'Travis she's in the water, she's fallen off the bridge, go get her!' a woman said.

A group of four men on either side of the road carefully trudged through the rising water and helped the woman back onto dry land.

A young woman attempted to walk across submerged the bridge above Mudgeerba Creek but lost her footing and fell off the edge into deep waters

A group of four men on either side of the road carefully trudged through the rising water and helped the woman back onto dry land

The south east of the state was under a severe weather warning on Wednesday, as major flooding continued and residents were put on notice to evacuate following days of heavy rain.

Queensland residents from the Pimpama and Beaudesert regions were warned to expect flooding due to rapid water rising in Logan River - with concerns of flash flooding in surrounding catchments.

Emergency services have received 1,400 calls for help since Sunday, with five water rescues made as a result of people driving into floodwaters.

Emergency services received 1,400 calls for help since Sunday with five water rescues made as a result of people driving into floodwaters (pictured, rescue crews in Beaudesert near Brisbane on Tuesday)

The Logan River floods over the Alan Struss Bridge near the town of Beaudesert in Queensland

Queensland residents remain on high-alert as the search for David Hornman, 38, ended when his body was found inside his ute in the Gold Coast hinterland on Wednesday afternoon.

In Queensland a desperate search for David Hornman, 38, ended when his body was found inside his ute in the Gold Coast Hinterland region

The 38-year-old father was last seen on Monday and had not contacted his family since heading to a job in the Tamborine area, where torrential rain caused flash flooding this week.

His ute was spotted earlier in the day in the flooded Canungra Creek.

Mr Hornman's desperate wife had been active on social media, appealing for help from anyone who saw him.

'He didn't turn up to work and hasn't been able to be reached since. His phone is turned off,' Angela Hornman posted on Facebook on Tuesday.

'I just have to know he's ok. Please tell him no matter what I LOVE HIM.'

Police are preparing a report for the coroner and are appealing for any mobile or dashcam vision to assist them in their investigations into Mr Hornman's death.

Meanwhile in New South Wales, Pakistani national Ayaz Younas was going for a final interview for a job when his Toyota Camry became trapped in the flood on Cattai Ridge Road in Glenorie on Sydney's northern outskirts.

The inside of the 25-year-old's car was badly damaged, indicating to police that he frantically battled to save his life and escape as waters rose around him.

Det Insp Laird said Mr Younas 'clearly couldn't get out' of the car as there were no broken windows.

Mr Younas died when his Toyota Camry became trapped in the flood on Cattai Ridge Road in Glenorie on Sydney's northern outskirts

Det Insp Laird said Mr Younas 'clearly couldn't get out' of the car (pictured) as there were no broken windows

'You can only just imagine somebody fighting for their life to get out of the car  that's what the inside damage of the vehicle looked like.'

Emergency Services Minister David Elliott offered his condolences, saying it would send ripples through the northwest Sydney community.

'The human cost of these floods has been brought into sharp focus in the most tragic of circumstances and I urge communities to continue to be cautious in the face of continued and imminent threats to life,' Mr Elliott said.
Wednesday, March 24, 2021

Bookpleasures.com welcomesas our guest Denise George. Denise is the author of 31traditionally-published books, (with Penguin Random House, TyndaleHouse, Zondervan, LifeWay, Bethany House, etc.) and more than 1500magazine/newspaper articles, including Redbook, Essence, HistoryNews Network, Christianity Today, AAA, Guideposts, etc.

She writes on topics:Civil Rights, World War II, and books about Christian living. Herlatest book, Called to Forgive (withAnthony Thompson, Bethany House, 2019) just received a starredPublishers Weekly review.

For years, she taughtwriting to publish classes, and has traveled widely, speaking touniversities, seminaries, churches, etc. She is married to Dr.Timothy George, founding dean of Beeson Divinity School, SamfordUniversity, Birmingham, AL.

Norm; Good day Deniseand thanks for taking part in our interview.

What do you think isthe future of reading/writing?





Denise: I think readingand writing certainly have a future even though people say they arereading fewer books these days.

But with conveniente-books and e-book readers, I don't think reading will go out ofstyle any time soon. I believe the main media up and comingopportunities might be in script-writing alongside book-writing.

People are watching films,and film companies are needing new material.

Norm: Howdid you get started in writing? What keeps you going?

Denise: I started writingas soon as I could hold a pencil. I've always had a passion forwriting. I waited 17 years, and then had my first newspaper articlepublished.

That certainly triggeredthe passion, and I've been writing ever since.

Norm: Ifyou had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

Denise: I've had so manywonderful mentors who guided and taught me: My professor at HarvardUniversity, also the Associate Editor of the Atlantic Monthly, C.Michael Curtis, and his wife, Jean, served as mentors for severalyears.

Dr. Lucien Coleman, myseminary professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, servedas a mentor more than 37 years ago, and we still keep in constantcontact.

Author Dr. Calvin Millermentored me in story-writing for a decade, showing me the value ofwriting written in narrative form. Recently, a lawyer and WWIIhistorian, Holbert Harlan Grooms, took me under his wing, taught meabout precise sentence structure, and all about WWII.

He mentored me throughthree WWII narrative nonfiction books with Penguin Random House. Ihave been fortunate to have great mentors, and now I'm excited aboutbeing a mentor myself to new writers.

Through my privateFaceBook group, Writers for Life, I teach online writingseminars, counsel, guide, etc. I've also taught writing around theworld and at university graduate levels. I enjoy teaching as much asI enjoy writing.

Norm: Wheredo you get your information or ideas for your books?

Denise: I keep a keen eyeand ear, watching and listening for trends, people expressing theirfelt needs, etc.

I mainly write to help,guide, teach, and encourage people--so many hurting people out therein the world today.

Through the decades, I'vediscovered that many of my best ideas come through prayer. I am aChristian, but I write both for secular and Christian markets.

Norm: Whatdo you think makes a good story?



Denise: Tension.Great characters. Timing. Characters will goals to accomplish. And,most of all, great conflict--on every level!

Norm: Whathas been your greatest challenge (professionally) that youveovercome in getting to where youre at today?

Denise: Finding time towrite in the midst of all life's constant responsibilities andinterruptions, including: working in inner city, Boston, foryears--chaotic always; school/classes; traveling; speaking; marriage;my husband's professional positions, raising two active children; nowraising a 3-year-old grandson!

I have to think in orderto write; any noise hurts my train of thought. I must tell you,writing has been a challenge since I started writing. I am stillconstantly overcoming impossible challenges in order to write.

Norm: Whatare common mistakes you see aspiring writers make?

Denise: That's an easyquestion! I see most aspiring writers wanting to write-to-publishbefore they've learned the ropes.

Writing skills must belearned, practiced. For instance, a story must have structure, andeach genre has its own special requirements. I also think manywriters write to themselves, not to the readers. A writer must knowthe felt needs of his readers, his audience, before he attempts towrite to them.

Also, a writer must learnthe business of writing, what writing terms mean, how to work wellwith editors, how to honor deadlines, how to write queries, bookproposals. How to approach a publisher. It must be done in aprofessional way.

Norm: Doyou write more by logic or intuition, or some combination of the two?Please summarize your writing process.

Denise: Both. I intuit thefelt needs of people, my audience I write for. Then I switch tologic, do everything by the book, employ the business of writing.

I've made sure I am set upto write: separate, quiet, well-stocked, equipped office; researchinformation at my fingertips; a wonderful book agent of 25 years whobrings in contracts from great traditional publishers; etc. I'mserious about writing and research.

I work with full outlines,unlimited access to research, experts in the fields I choose to writein, etc. I don't write for fun. It's a business with regular hours,professional everything.

Norm: Why do you write?Do you have a theme, message, or goal for your books? As afollow up, how long did it take you to get your first major bookcontract?

Denise: I write because Iam called by God to write. Simple. I want to inform, educate,counsel, help, and encourage people through my writing.

I think the best way tograb people and hold their attention is through story-writing. Storyis just an innate part of a human being--part of our DNA.

Through story, I tellpeople that God loves them, they have ultimate worth, they areindividuals with specific gifts, and that every life is important toGod and to His purpose for His world. I'm careful about using"God-language" though. It can turn off people and they willshut out your message.

That's why it's soimportant to know your audience, your readers. I also do not use rawlanguage. I hate it. I hate to read it. It's a lazy writer who mustresort to it to make a point or to describe a character.

My first book contract:How to Be A Seminary Student--And Survive. LifeWay Publishers.

Talked with an editor faceto face, he liked idea, send contract in about 3 weeks. The second,third, fourth, fifth, sixth contracts came easily and quickly. When Ibecame a book agent's client, he did the leg work with editors, hegot the book contract and I could concentrate on writing the book.

I would not work without abook agent. Worth his weigh in gold! I have a great one: GregJohnson, WordServe Literary.

Norm: What advice canyou give aspiring writers that you wished you had received, or thatyou wished you would have listened to?

Denise: Learn writingskills, learn the writing business, and then write. Persevere, don'tgive up, keep writing even when rejections come.

Norm: How many times inyour career have you experienced rejection? How did they shape you?

Denise: Not much. I've hada few, but I work differently than many writers. I study themarketplace, research the publisher, know every specific detail abouttheir readers, check social trends, see what books are already outthere, and plan every detail in a book proposal, and have thepublisher's contract in hand before I write the first word of a book.

It's not hit or miss,ever. That's what I try to teach new writers to do. Takes out all theguesswork.

Norm: What, in youropinion, are the most important elements of good writing?

Denise: Making words"sing" creatively, placing them right where they need to goin sentences, timing in story-writing, writing to the reader'sheart--not head. Loving your reader and truly wanting to help herthrough writing. And about 10,000 other things!

Norm: Has a review orprofile ever changed your perspective on your work?

Denise: No. I appreciatethe 5-star reviews. I loved receiving a Publisher's Weekly starredreview for one of my books with Bethany House.

But, I've been writinglong enough to develop a rhino's hide and bad reviews don't bother meanymore. I respect other people's opinions, and we're all different.

I once received an amazonreview on one of my Penguin Random House WWII books--it said:"Everyone should buy this book and use it for toilet paper!"

The same week I receivedthat review, I also received a film producer's contract to make amajor motion picture of that book! If people don't like a book I'vewritten, I would hope they return it, get their money back, and spendit on a book they do like. Reviews are subjective, and rarely haveanything to do with the book itself.

Norm:You are the administrator of a Facebook Community Writersfor Life. What is this all about?

Denise: Thanks for asking!We are a wonderful family of writers who help, guide, and encourageeach other.

I am just beginning tooffer a whole selection of pre-recorded, online writing seminars--andpricing them so low that everyone can afford them.

I pour my heart into thisgroup--now about 1700 members strong--and I am seeing wonderfulthings happening to writers as they encourage/help each other.

Writers need writers forencouragement; writing can be a lonely business, and it helps to knowyou've got support from people who understand the writing life, it'schallenges, obstacles.

Norm: Where can ourreaders find out more about you and your books?

Denise:Please come to my WEBSITE--newly remodeled.We have informative, in-depth teaching blogs, books, everything.Also, check out Writers for Life on FaceBook. It interested, anyonecan reach me through my website.

You can also check out my Amazon page.



Norm: Are you workingon any books/projects that you would like to share with us? (We wouldlove to hear all about them!)

Denise: Yes! Yes! Yes!After having written 32 books, all traditionally-published, and morethan 1500 magazine articles--for both secular and Christianpublications, I have embarked upon another writing challenge: writingmajor motion picture screenplays.

It is very exciting! Ialso hope one day to write historical fiction. I guess I'll need atleast 120 more years to do everything I want to do in the field ofwriting.

Passion runs high, andthere is a whole world of readers and film viewers out there. I alsohope to teach more, revise a dozen of my writing work books, and seemy wonderful students publish books, articles, and scripts. It'sexciting work! Very fulfilling.

Norm: As this interviewends, if you can invite three authors (dead or alive) to your dinnertable, who would they be and what would you discuss with them?

Denise: I've beenfortunate to have had many wonderful authors sit at my dinner table,and I'd like to invite all of them back because each gave me so muchencouragement and information: Frank Perretti, Calvin Miller, ChuckColson, J. I. Packer, Sue Monk Kidd, Terry Helwig, Lucien Coleman,Jim Cox, Eric Metaxas, Holbert Grooms, C. Michael Curtis, John Piper,A. V. Hill, Elizabeth Sherrill, and many many more. And I'd like tosit down with C. S. Lewis, Tolkien, Louisa May Alcott, Edgar AllenPoe, Charles Spurgeon--oh my--Charles Bunyan, and, of course, all thegospel writers! Far too many to name.

Norm: Thanks once againand good luck with all of your future endeavors

Denise: Thank you, Norm!your questions prompted much thought and I wrote answers very freely!
Advertisement

The Prince of Wales rounded off a two-day visit to Greece by receiving Athens highest distinction  the Gold Medal of Honour  before departing for the UK.

Charles said he was 'enormously touched by the gesture at the culmination of a packed second day of the whistle-stop visit with the Duchess of Cornwall that earlier saw him lay watch a military parade and meet the countrys prime minister.

The heir to the throne spoke warmly of his familys ties to the Greece during his brief visit with Camilla as the country marked the bicentenary of Greece's uprising against the Ottoman Empire in 1821.

They joined President Katerina Sakellaropoulou and her partner Pavlos Kotsonis for tea at the presidential mansion in Athens on Thursday morning after watching the Independence Day Military Parade.

Charles told the president that he and his wife were 'enormously touched' that they were invited to Athens for the occasion of the bicentenary.

The prince said they were not quite sure if it would be possible to come, adding: 'But the great thing is it has been possible.'

Later, Charles was awarded the gold medal by Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis at the City Hall.

'I didn't realise, even at my age, I'd actually win a gold medal, so I'm even more grateful,' the prince quipped.

Charles said he was 'particularly touched' that Athens wants to enact his ambitious Terra Carta, or Earth Charter, which has parallels with the Magna Carta.

It aims to encourage the private sector to safeguard the planet by adopting sustainability and to invest 10 billion dollars (7.3 billion) in 'natural capital' by 2022.

Charles said the mayor has 'made such strides in ensuring that Athens becomes a great example of sustainability', adding: 'Because it is crucially important it seems to me that cities like Athens and all around the world are much more involved in the drive towards greater sustainability, decarbonisation of the economy and indeed a regeneration of biodiversity.'

The prince added: 'In the meantime, I shall wear this medal with great pleasure and pride as it will always remain as something I shall treasure as a result of this visit to Athens but also of your great kindness and consideration to me after all these years.'

The Prince of Wales (left) after being presented with the City of Athens Gold Medal of Honour by Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis

Pictured: The Prince of Wales, after being presented with The Gold Medal of Athens by Mayor of Athens, Kostas Bakoyannis, at Athens City Hall, Athens, during a two-day visit to Greece, by The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall

Prince Charles and Camilla Duchess of Cornwall prepare to leave Athens after visit to mark Greek independence day

This marks only the second time the RAF Voyager has been used after controversial 900k makeover including Union flag tail

Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall depart Athens International Airport on an RAF Voyager

French Defence Minister Florence Parly (L), Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin (2-L) and Britain's Prince Charles (R) during a ceremony to lay a wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Athens, Greece, during anniversary events today

Charles inspected the shows of the Evzones guards. The Evzones are the elite light infantry units of the Greek Army and are known for their distinctive uniform, which originates from the clothes worn by Greek irregulars who fought against the Ottomans during the Greek Revolution in the 1821-1827 period

The Prince of Wales at a meeting with the Mayor of Athens, Kostas Bakoyannis who presented His Royal Highness with a silk tie and a replica of a 1790s engraving depicting a polo match taking place on ground below the Acropolis at Athens City Hall

The Prince of Wales lays a wreath at the Memorial of the Unknown Soldier in Syntagma Square

He referred to the 'quite a bit of Greek blood that's flowing round me' adding that the medal will always remind him of his connections to the 'remarkable' country.

In previous years, thousands of people waving Greek flags have lined the main streets of central Athens to watch the March 25 parade.

But this year the route was much more muted due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the public encouraged to stay at home and watch the event on television amid a strict lockdown.

A curfew is in place in Athens from 9pm to 5am on weekdays, while face masks are mandatory in all public places, both indoors and outdoors.

Charles and Camilla's visit was at the request of the British Government following an invitation from the country's prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

This morning, they attended the Greek Independence Day Military Parade at Syntagma Square in Athens before joining President Katerina Sakellaropoulou and her partner Pavlos Kotsonis for tea at the presidential mansion.

The Prince was gifted a miniature Greek uniform as a gift from the presidential guards in Athens and in return he gave them a framed photograph of his father as a child dressed as an Evzone guard.

The couple arrived at Athens International Airport on the government's official RAF Voyager plane yesterday, only the second time it has been used following a controversial 900,000 makeover, including a Union flag tail.

They were greeted by officials before visiting the National Gallery and attending an official state dinner at the presidential mansion where Charles gave a speech to mark the 200-year anniversary in which he stressed that Greece 'can count on her friends in the United Kingdom'.

In his speech, the Prince of Wales said he was 'delighted' to be back in Greece, as he paid tribute to the country where his father was born almost 100 years ago.

The heir to the throne hailed the 'strong and vital' ties between the UK and Greece, and gave a nod to the 99-year-old Duke of Edinburgh's link to the country.

Philip was born a prince of Greece and Denmark, allegedly on the kitchen table of his family home, Mon Repos, on the Greek island of Corfu, in 1921.

The couple later arrived at the Presidential Mansion and were greeted by The President of Greece, Her Excellency Katerina Sakellaropoulou and her partner Pavlos Kotsonis

In previous years, thousands of people waving Greek flags have lined the main streets of central Athens to watch the March 25 parade, which was a more subdued event due to the coronavirus pandemic

A blanket was placed over the Duchess of Cornwall's lap as they prepared to watch the parade

In Athens, Their Royal Highnesses join representatives from Greece, Cyprus, France and Russia at the Monument of the Unknown Soldier for a wreath laying ceremony

Charles and Camilla with President of Greece, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, who was sworn in as President of the Republic on 13th March 2020, and is the first woman to serve in the role

The Prince Of Wales was deep in conversation with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis

Greek Air Force helicopters fly over the Parthenon in Athens to mark the event today

Charles and and the Duchess of Cornwall arrived at Syntagma Square for the Wreath Laying ceremony early this morning

As part of the Bicentenary Independence Day celebrations at Syntagma Square, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall - and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his wife Mareva Grabowski - viewed a military parade by members of the Hellenic Armed Forces, followed by a flypast

The Prince of Wales lays a wreath at the memorial, which is dedicated to Greek soldiers who died during conflict

Prince Charles and wife Camilla are spending their second day in Greece where they are marking the country's 200th anniversary of independence

Charles enjoyed a meeting with the Prime Minister of Greece, Mr Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the Prime Minister's Office

People watched the spectacle from balconies of a nearby building overlooking the square

Prince Philip's Greek ancestry and how he ended up marrying the Queen Prince Philip as a toddler in Greece Prince Philip was born on June 10, 1921, on the kitchen table at his family home Mon Repos on the Greek island of Corfu. He was the fifth child, and only boy, of parents Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg. His ancestry is a mix of Greece, Denmark, Russia and Prussia on his father's side, and his maternal grandmother, Princess Victoria of Hesse, was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, making him Elizabeth II's third cousin. Philip's father, a Lieutenant-General in the Greek army, was accused of high treason after allegedly disobeying an order and abandoning his post with his cavalry regiment in the face of attack during the Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1922. The family managed to escape on British naval vessel HMS Calypso, with the newborn prince carried to safety in a cot famously crafted from an unused fruit box. They were taken to France where they settled in a leafy suburb in Paris in a house loaned to them by his wealthy aunt, Princess George of Greece and Denmark. From then on, the Duke's childhood was incredibly unsettled as he was without a permanent home. At the age of eight, Philip was sent to Cheam school in Surrey for three years - but moved to Germany where all four of his sisters had married. His stint in Germany proved brief when he moved back to Britain and was sent to Gordonstoun, a boarding school in Scotland. After leaving school, Philip joined the Royal Navy, beginning at the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, in May 1939, and was singled out as best cadet. He stayed in the Royal Navy and served on several ships - firstly on HMS Ramillies - and saw active service against German, Italian and Japanese forces. The next year he became a midshipman. At Christmas 1943, with 'nowhere particular to go', as he nonchalantly put it, Philip went with his cousin, David Milford Haven, to stay at Windsor Castle. Princess Elizabeth, then 17, was animated in a way 'none of us had ever seen before', wrote her governess, Marion Crawford. That weekend of dinner parties, charades, films and dancing to the gramophone proved to be a turning point. After a subsequent visit to Windsor in July, Philip wrote to the Queen of 'the simple enjoyment of family pleasures and amusements and the feeling that I am welcome to share them. I am afraid I am not capable of putting all this into the right words and I am certainly incapable of showing you the gratitude that I feel.' Late that summer, the Queen asked him to Balmoral for three weeks to shoot grouse and stalk. It was probably during this holiday that he proposed. Advertisement

In previous years, thousands of people waving Greek flags have lined the main streets of central Athens to watch the March 25 parade.

But this year the route was much more muted due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the public encouraged to stay at home and watch the event on television amid a strict lockdown.

The parade featured Evzone guards - the elite light infantry units of the Greek army - in traditional uniforms.

The Evzones are known for their distinctive uniform which originates from the clothes worn by Greek irregulars who fought against the Ottomans during the Greek Revolution in the 1821-1827 period.

Evzone guards kicked off the parade on horseback - a sight said to be unfamiliar to Greek people and especially arranged for the bicentenary celebrations.

Soldiers on horseback wearing army uniforms from different periods of history paraded past followed by dozens of people in traditional Greek dress.

This was followed by a variety of military vehicles including tanks.

Charles and Camilla were joined by other officials including Russian prime minister Mikhail Mishustin to watch the parade, which was topped off with a flypast featuring the RAF Voyager.

The event took place beneath sunshine and clear skies, although Camilla - wearing a blue satin dress and coat by Bruce Oldfield - held a blanket over her legs to keep warm at one point.

Earlier, the couple were joined by President Katerina Sakellaropoulou and her partner Pavlos Kotsonis at the Monument of the Unknown Soldier - a memorial dedicated to Greek soldiers killed during war - to take part in the wreath laying.

Speaking at the dinner last night, which had 45 guests in total and was hosted by Ms Sakellaropoulou, Charles said: 'My wife and I could not be more delighted to be back in Greece, which has long held the most special place in my heart.

'After all, Greece is the land of my grandfather; and of my father's birth, nearly one hundred years ago, in the centenary year of Greek Independence.

'Later, it was in Athens that my dear grandmother, Princess Alice, during the dark years of Nazi occupation, sheltered a Jewish family - an act for which in Israel she is counted as 'Righteous Among The Nations'.'

Charles also said that Athens wants to enact his ambitious Terra Carta, or Earth Charter, which has parallels with the Magna Carta.

It aims to encourage the private sector to safeguard the planet by adopting sustainability and to invest 10 billion dollars (7.3 billion) in 'natural capital' by 2022.

Greece is aiming to reopen its borders to foreign tourists from May 14.

Visitors will be required to have been vaccinated, had a recent negative Covid-19 test or have coronavirus antibodies.

Charles has previously described Greece as 'the land of my grandfather', a reference to Prince Philip's father, Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark, whose own father was the assassinated King George I of Greece.

Andrew's elder brother, Constantine, became king but was forced to abdicate and most of the royal family, including Andrew, were exiled.

Charles recalled how his first visit to Greece more than five decades ago had left a 'vivid impression' on him.

He also emphasised the need to work together to rebuild society after the pandemic, particularly when it comes to the environment, saying: 'As we all work to rebuild our societies and our economies from this year of previously unimaginable upheaval, and to set our world on a more sustainable path, perhaps we can take some inspiration from the courage, determination and ambition of 1821.

'Once again, the stakes could hardly be higher. The choices we make will determine the fate not only of our nations, but of this singular planet which we all share.'

The Greek Army and the Monument of the Unknown Soldier Prince Charles lays a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during the celebrations for the 200th anniversary of the Greek War of Independence The Monument of the Unknown Soldier is a war memorial located in Syntagma Square in Athens, in front of the Parliament building. It is a cenotaph dedicated to Greek soldiers killed during war. It was sculpted between 1930 and 1932 by sculptor, Fokion Rok. The sculpture represents the male figure of a dead soldier lying on the ground, holding a shield and wearing an Ancient Greek helmet. Adjacent to the sculpture are phrases from Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War. By the stairs on the left, are inscribed the names of battle locations from the First and Second Balkan War, and World War I. By the stairs on the right, are inscribed the names of battle locations from the Russian Civil War and Greco-Turkish War. The Presidential Guard, also known as The Evzones, are the elite light infantry units of the Greek Army. The Presidential Guard (The Evzones) are the elite light infantry units of the Greek Army They are known for their distinctive uniform, which originates from the clothes worn by Greek irregulars who fought against the Ottomans during the Greek Revolution in the 1821-1827 period. First established as Light Infantry battalions in 1833 under King Otto, they became the core body of the Royal Guard from the 1870s, under King George I. They existed as a regular army unit until World War II. Advertisement

The Prince of Wales with Mayor of Athens Kostas Bakoyannis at Athens City Hall, Athens, for a signing of the Terra Carta and a presentation of the Gold Medal of Athens

The Evzones are the elite light infantry units of the Greek Army and are known for their distinctive uniform, which originates from the clothes worn by Greek irregulars who fought against the Ottomans during the Greek Revolution in the 1821-1827 period.

Charles and Camilla and Russia's Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin (right) during a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

The couple donned face masks for the occasion - Camilla in a dark embroidered mask and Charles in a simple surgical face covering

Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou and her partner Pavlos Kotsonis welcome the couple

The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, accompanied by the President and Mr. Kotsonis, arrived at the Presidential Guard Barracks and were greeted by The Commander of the Presidential Guard

Their Royal Highnesses were invited to inspect the first rank of the Guard and were then given an overview of the Guard's history by the Commander

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, right, with Charles and wife Camilla during the parade in front of the Greek Parliament in Athens

Charles at the Monument of the Unknown Soldier, a memorial dedicated to Greek soldiers killed during war, where he took part in the wreath laying

Charles and Camilla's two-day visit to Greece is at the request of the British Government following an invitation from the country's prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis

The Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall at the Greek Independence Day Military Parade at Syntagma Square

This morning, the couple attended the Greek Independence Day Military Parade at Syntagma Square in Athens

A military helicopter flies past the Parthenon temple atop the Acropolis

From left: French Defence Minister Florence Parly, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and his wife Andri Anastasiades, Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his wife Mareva Grabowski

Greek presidential guards are seen during the changing-of-the-guard ceremony

Military jets fly over the Parthenon during celebrations for the 200th anniversary of the Greek War of Independence

In previous years, thousands of people waving Greek flags have lined the main streets of central Athens to watch the March 25 parade. But this year the route was much more muted due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the public encouraged to stay at home and watch the event on television amid a strict lockdown

Charles and Camilla, left, joined Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, second right, and Mareva Grabowski-Mitsotakis

Charles and Camilla were joined by other officials including Russian prime minister Mikhail Mishustin to watch the parade, which was topped off with a flypast featuring the RAF Voyager

The Evzones are known for their distinctive uniform which originates from the clothes worn by Greek irregulars who fought against the Ottomans during the Greek Revolution in the 1821-1827 period

Evzone guards kicked off the parade on horseback - a sight said to be unfamiliar to Greek people and especially arranged for the bicentenary celebrations

Soldiers on horseback wearing army uniforms from different periods of history paraded past followed by dozens of people in traditional Greek dress

The couple observed the Independence Day Military Parade as part of the country's Bicentenary celebrations, marking Greece's uprising against the Ottoman Empire in 1821

The Prince of Wales has watched the military parade to mark Greek Independence Day in Athens, after declaring a profound connection to the country

Mayor of Athens Kostas Bakoyannis told reporters: 'We're very grateful that he's here. It's a great honour for us. It's a great honour for the city of Athens. It's a great honour for the Greek nation.

'Our ties - the ties between the British people and the Greek people - are very close, are very strong.'

He added: 'For us it was an opportunity, despite the pandemic, despite the difficulties, to celebrate with our friends and our partners.'

But Graham Smith, chief executive of Republic, an anti-monarchy campaign group, compared Charles to an influencer travelling to Dubai for work purposes, while former Home Office minister Norman Baker said 'ordinary people' who are unable to travel will 'take a dim view' of the visit.

A Clarence House spokesperson said: 'This visit is being undertaken at the request of the British Government'.

This followed an invitation from the Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Mr Smith said: 'There's really no difference between Prince Charles and some twenty-something influencer going to some other country in breach of the rules just to say: 'Look at me, I'm here'.

'These royal trips are entirely unnecessary, they are certainly not essential travel, and there is no justification for them.

'The royals have a desperate need to look useful and they do that with these trips, and given that everyone else has been stuck in the UK for a year at the risk of large fines, I think it's pretty poor taste.

'It's going to cause some level of confusion about why there's apparently no risk of Charles and Camilla catching and spreading coronavirus, but for everyone else, there is.

'The Government needs to explain why they have allowed that to happen and Prince Charles needs to explain why he agreed to go.

'People are quite upset about being told they can't go overseas, when often this is the only break they get in a year.'

Former Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker said: 'Ordinary people in Britain having to endure lockdown and unable to take foreign holidays for the foreseeable future will take a dim view of Charles and Camilla escaping for a nice jolly in Greece.

'As so often with the monarchy, it looks like one rule for the royals and one for everybody else.'

Charles and Camilla observe the Independence Day Military Parade which marks Greece's uprising against the Ottoman Empire in 1821

The Prince of Wales watching a military parade to mark Greek Independence Day after declaring that the country has 'the most special place in my heart'.

In a speech last night, the heir to the throne hailed the 'strong and vital' ties between the UK and Greece, and gave a nod to his 99-year-old father's link to the country

Charles also said that Athens wants to enact his ambitious Terra Carta, or Earth Charter, which has parallels with the Magna Carta. It aims to encourage the private sector to safeguard the planet by adopting sustainability and to invest 10 billion dollars (7.3 billion) in 'natural capital' by 2022

Charles and his wife arrived at Athens International Airport on the government's official RAF Voyager plane (pictured), only the second time it has been used following a controversial 900,000 makeover, including a Union flag tail

The couple at the Independence Day Military Parade at Syntagma Square in Athens this morning

Charles and Camilla landed at Athens International Airport at just before 5.30pm local time on Wednesday.

The brief tour will be Charles' third official visit to Greece following his first in 1998 and a further trip in 2018 with Camilla, her first official visit to the country.

The couple have already travelled overseas during the Covid-19 pandemic, visiting Germany in November for a brief two-day trip to attend commemorations marking the country's National Day of Mourning.

Last July, Charles said he hoped to visit Greece again after the pandemic. Clarence House announced the visit to Athens last week in a statement.

In an opinion piece for Ta Nea, a daily newspaper in the country, he sent his 'heartfelt wishes to the people of Greece at this very difficult time'.

He added: 'The resilience of Greece and her people has been tested before, and I hope that the country will once again emerge with renewed vigour and optimism.

'When that moment comes and the world has made its way through this challenging time, my wife and I do so hope to visit Greece and to see you all again. Until we meet again.'
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Ahomosexual, his boyfriend and his godless sister take an Anglican minister and his wife to a gay party in Sydney. It sounds like the start of a joke, but this happened last autumn. William Yang was debuting a new show at the Sydney Opera House, and a rare conspiracy of timing meant my boyfriend Scott, sister Tammy and I were all in the city together. Tammy and her husband Bruce asked their Sydney-based friends to join us  an Anglican minister and his wife, who are Asian-Australian  as they wanted to introduce them to an Asian-Australian icon they hadnt encountered before. For my sister, boyfriend and me, William Yangs work resonated personally. For my photo-documentarian sister, it was Williams commitment to documenting Chinese-Australian history and community. For my boyfriend, it was how William captured decades of joy and grief in Sydneys queer community, one wed recently joined. For me  a gay Chinese-Australian who told stories for a living  it was all of the above. Through his photographs, William Yang illuminated my twin cultural heritages: being Chinese-Australian and being queer. His Sydney Opera House show that night was Party (verb) 2019, the story of Sydneys queer underground dance parties spanning the 1970s, when William first arrived in Sydney, through the horrors of the AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s, to the present day. Told through projected images, monologue and live music, Party (verb) was the latest evolution of the art form William pioneered in the late 1980s, a marriage of spoken word, performance and photography. Photographer William Yang with writer Benjamin Law in Sydney this month. Credit:Louise Kennerley

Advertisement

Somehow, William had taken a format synonymous with searing dullness  slideshow night!  and rescued it from the tedious horror of suburban fathers droning on about their latest caravan holidays. What William delivered instead were vital, transformative and soulful acts of storytelling and bearing witness. Its a format thats since been so replicated and emulated that many Australian performing arts circles now use phrases like William Yang-style or William Yang-esque as shorthand. William designed Party (verb) as a tribute to a queer party scene that never stopped, even for the horrors of AIDS. Williams thesis was that, for many, partying was the way through the bleak trauma of that era, and that to party  to celebrate and forge joy in community  could be an act of defiance. Looking back, it was actually a terrible time. There was a great range of emotions, because you might be at a dance party this weekend, and the next weekend youd be at a funeral. But people partied on right through the whole thing. On the night of Party (verb), we took our seats in the Opera House and the lights went down. Sydney DJ-royalty Stereogamous revved up the music. Williams show-and-tell began and, within seconds, I wondered whether bringing our new Anglican friends was a mistake. The first photo was of a naked man. And his penis  projected on the Opera House walls  was now rendered huge; it mustve been over a metre long. My sister and I stifled a laugh, then flashed each other a wide-eyed silent scream. What would the Christians think? Lets temporarily park what the Anglican minister and his wife thought. First, I need to tell you what I think, and what William Yangs work means to me. Growing up gay and Asian in Queensland is a singular experience for each person and generation. William is nearly 40 years older than me. His familys history on this continent goes back a century (mine only starts in the mid 1970s), and our ancestors come from slightly different parts of China. Yet when I first saw Williams photographs, I felt like there was some spiritual cord connecting us, as if we were siblings from different generations  possibly dimensions  who had nevertheless found each other through time and space. All great art gives you that sensation. But there were uncanny biographical parallels too: William and I were both gay, grew up in regional Queensland, and were more or less the only Chinese kids in a sea of white faces in our towns, before we moved to Sydney in our 20s and 30s, respectively. Coincidentally, we both have boyfriends named Scott.

Advertisement

And there is something about growing up as dual outsiders  as homosexuals coming of age in the last mainland state to decriminalise homosexuality, and as Chinese-Australians living in a country that federated on anti-Asian, whites-only policies  that bonds people like us. Ben Law, 2016. Credit:William Yang Some would argue that were also both degenerates. By his own admission, William says he likes to watch. I was a photographer, he once said, which means that I was a voyeur. Famously, William first plunged headfirst into photography as an architecture student who had a crush on a classmate. Take off your shirt, William told him, finding it far easier to give instructions with a camera in hand. Lie on the bed. Perhaps one lesson here is that, contrary to popular belief, Asian men can be just as assertive as anyone, given the right tools. Besides his capacity to capture beauty, William Yangs other great superpower is his capacity to disarm. To my mind, hes like the Chinese-Australian photographer version of the American writer Joan Didion, who once said she was so physically small, so temperamentally unobtrusive that people ended up underestimating her capacity to capture them in her work  usually against their best interests. Besides his capacity to capture beauty, William Yangs other great superpower is his capacity to disarm. William never works against anyones best interests (as far as I know), and his quietly cheeky charm ensures people are comfortable in that most searingly uncomfortable of situations: being examined and exposed in front of a camera. In Williams presence, you just forget. One moment, youre talking about work and gossiping about friends; the next, youre shirtless, have your face covered in permanent marker, and down to your jocks as he snaps away. And, yes, I speak from experience, via photoshoots that ... may or may not have made their way into this exhibition.

Advertisement

There is a story William Yang tells in his show Sadness 1999  also inscribed on a childhood photo  that hes told audiences so many times its almost become an incantation: When I was about six years old, one of the kids at school called me Ching Chong China man, Born in a jar, Christened in a teapot, Ha Ha Ha. I had no idea what he was talking about but I knew from his expression that he was being horrible to me, so I went home to my mother and I said to her, Mum, Im not Chinese, am I? My mother said to me very sternly, Yes you are. Her tone was hard and it shocked me. I knew in this moment being Chinese was like a terrible curse and I could not rely on my mother for help. Or my brother who was four years older than me, very much more experienced in the world. He chimed in, And youd better get used to it. LifeLines3-SelfPortrait2(1947); Childhood photo of William Yang, which he inscribed for his 1999 show Sadness. Credit:William Yang Collection: University of Queensland Art Museum Its a familiar wrestle for any Australian kid from an immigrant background  the discovery of your ethnicity and difference is often coupled with the sense that its somehow also a liability. For the rest of our lives, we teeter back and forth between embracing and rejecting our cultural heritage, and going through phases of insisting our ethnicity shouldnt matter, and periods where it feels like its the only thing that matters at all. In order to survive in this country, to blend in, to assimilate, so many Australian families forfeit cultural connections. Like my family, Williams family shielded him from the most painful parts of their history to protect him. What William discovered is that sometimes in order to find the truth, you have to bypass family and circumvent erasures in Australian history, as well as Chinese families tendency towards silence, and head straight to the archives. In telling my family story, Ive often had to do the same. To engage with Williams work is to recalibrate your understanding of the Chinese in Australia. Its not only an archaeological dig through history, but an excavation of the last five decades of Australian history, art and subculture. Though equally adept at capturing the famous (actor Cate Blanchett, writer Patrick White, painter Brett Whiteley, Olympic diver Matthew Mitcham), Williams real skill is rendering seemingly ordinary Australians iconic. His mother, friends and lovers: he captures them all with fierce tenderness and love.

Advertisement

Golden Summer 1987/2016. Credit:William Yang. But for all of Williams romances, you get the palpable sense that his first love is the human face. And the face from Williams photographs that has stayed with me most is Allans. In the aftermath of AIDS, for millennials like me, sex was pathologised before we even started having it. But for Williams generation  and the generation between us  AIDS was a war, obliterating so many lovers, friends and peers to the point where funerals often competed with each other. It was a war with mens bodies, in particular, from outside and within. To imagine the horror of friends writing wills in the prime of their lives  and at their most beautiful  is something Ill always struggle to comprehend. While the scale of the loss is so difficult to convey in statistics, its Williams story of Allan  a sequence of portraits and memories, brutally unsentimental, yet utterly tender  that allows you to understand on an emotional level. He seemed like an old man and I had a strong desire to burst into tears, William writes over one photograph. Even if you didnt know Allan  and I didnt  I defy you not to struggle with tears. Yet Australias queer story is not just pure sadness. For me, seeing Williams images of men, swaddled in their desire, affection and easy love for one another, continues to disentangle something thats been knotted up inside me for as long as I can remember. Asian men occupy a very specific idea in the Australian imagination  of being non-sexual, and therefore, undesirable  that we all inevitably internalise. The raw, unashamed sensuality of Williams imagery  of his unabashed desire for the men he captures, and the framing of Asian male beauty itself  is such a potent corrective. His images remind us that desire isnt anything to be ashamed of, and that Asian men are desirable too. The Synthetics, Paddington Town Hall, 1977. Credit:William Yang. Tableaux of gay friendship and sex, mates sharing mattresses on the floor in the aftermath of a party: William Yang made all this worthy of witness and celebration. In an era when queer people were so targeted and vilified by government and so-called men of god, in these quiet scenes, William has broadened our idea of what aspects of Australian life should be considered sacred, and celebrated.

Advertisement
Two people have been confirmed dead while three others remain unaccounted for after a lorry they were travelling in was swept away by a flooded river in Chikombedzi on Monday.

The 8-tonne DAF truck was being driven by Josphat Kwembeva (42) from Chiredzi town to Samu market in Chikombedzi with 12 small-scale traders when it got stuck in the mud on Malibangwe River.

Five passengers who remained in the lorry while Kwembeva and seven other passengers were trying to push-start the lorry, were swept away after water levels suddenly rose.

A search party comprising the police and villagers has so far retrieved the bodies of a male and a female adult from the river while three others remain missing.

National police spokesperon Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi yesterday said the search for those missing was still ongoing.

"We are still looking for three other passengers who were swept away by the flooded River. We have so far retrieved bodies of two passengers but their names are still subject to verification by the police so we are withholding them for now," said Ass Comm Nyathi.

He said on Monday around 3am Kwembeva set off for Samu market in Chikombedzi from Chiredzi with 12 passengers on board.

Upon arrival at a narrow bridge along Malibangwe River, the small lorry got stuck in the mud. The driver, assisted by seven passengers, started pushing the lorry while five other passengers remained inside.

Scores of people have lost their lives countrywide since the beginning of the current rainy season after drivers tried to cross flooded rivers and were swept away.
King Soopers shooting suspect Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 21, appears before Boulder District Court Judge Thomas Mulvahill at the Boulder County Justice Center in Boulder, Colo., on March 25, 2021. (Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post/Pool via Reuters)

Colorado Shooting Suspect Makes First Court Appearance, Lawyer Says He May Have Mental Illness

The man suspected of killing 10 people at a King Soopers grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, on March 22 made his first court appearance on March 25.

Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 21, is dealing with mental issues, defense lawyer Kathryn Herold told Boulder District Court Judge Thomas Mulvahill.

Our position is that we cannot do anything until we are able to fully assess Mr. Alissas mental illness, she said.

The nature of the illness wasnt disclosed.

Alissa waived his right to a preliminary hearing within 35 days to accommodate the time it will take the government to put together discovery, given that the probe is ongoing and the data is going to be voluminous, the lawyer said.

Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said prosecutors didnt object and that the crime scene has not yet been fully processed. Prosecutors plan to file additional charges in the next couple of weeks.

Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 21, appears before Boulder District Court Judge Thomas Mulvahill at the Boulder County Justice Center in Boulder, Colo., on March 25, 2021. (Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post via AP/Pool)

Law enforcement vehicles believed to be transporting King Soopers shooting suspect Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa from the Boulder County Justice Center after making his first court appearance in Boulder, Colo., on March 25, 2021. (Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images)

Alissa is accused of gunning down a police officer and nine others in a shooting spree at approximately 2:40 p.m. at King Soopers on Table Mesa Drive. Three of the dead were grocery store workers.

Alissa exchanged fire with law enforcement but ultimately surrendered after removing all of his clothing except for a pair of shorts. When he was arrested, he had blood on his right thigh.

Authorities later found a firearm that appeared to match the Ruger AR-556 pistol the suspect bought six days before the shooting.

Alissa was treated for his injuries at a hospital before being moved to prison. The former high school wrestler was rolled into the courtroom on March 25 in a wheelchair, wearing a surgical mask to comply with COVID-19 rules.

The defense legal team led by public defenders Kathryn Herold (C) and Daniel King (2nd L) leave Boulder county court after the initial appearance of King Soopers shooting suspect Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, in Boulder, Colo., on March 25, 2021. (Alyson McClaran/Reuters)

Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty (R) and assistant district attorney Ken Kupfner speak outside the justice center in Boulder, Colo., after a hearing for the suspect in Mondays mass shooting at a grocery store, on March 25, 2021. (David Zalubowski/AP Photo)

Alissa will be held without bail until the next hearing, the judge said. Defense and prosecution were set to meet in two or three months regarding the next court date.

I want to make sure that the defense has ample opportunity to prepare to move forward, he said after prosecutors objected to the length of time.

District Attorney Michael Doherty said Alissa has the right to a fair trial. Hes confident 12 people can be found who will be fair and open-minded while serving as jurors.

Any homicide case takes at least a year to complete, he warned members of the public who are expecting an expeditious trial.

A sign honoring the 10 victims is seen at the site of a mass shooting at a King Soopers grocery store in Boulder, Colo., on March 23, 2021. (Kevin Mohatt/Reuters)

A makeshift fence stands around the parking lot outside a King Soopers grocery store where a mass shooting took place a day earlier in Boulder, Colo., on March 23, 2021. (David Zalubowski/AP Photo)

Doherty said the prosecution will wait to see whether the defense attempts to say Alissa is mentally unfit to stand trial. He wasnt sure if the defendant is on suicide watch in jail.

Relatives have told news outlets that Alissa suffered from mental illness, including the false belief that certain people were pursuing him.

The victims were identified as Boulder police officer Eric Talley, 51; King Soopers employees Denny Stong, 20; Rikki Olds, 25; and Teri Leiker, 51; along with Neven Stanisic, 23; Tralona Bartkowiak, 49; Suzanne Fountain, 59; Kevin Mahoney, 61; Lynn Murray, 62; and Jodi Waters, 65.

In a press conference on March 24, Olds uncle Robert Olds declined to talk about the suspect. He remembered his niece as the light of our family.

When Rikki showed up at the house, we never knew what color hair was going to be, we never knew what new tattoo she may have. But that was Rikki and Rikki lived life on Rikkis terms, not anybody elses terms, he said. And her life was cut short, unfortunately, by the events the other day. Saddened that she didnt get to experience motherhood. She didnt get to experience marriage, she didnt get toshe was 25 years oldshe didnt get to experience a lot of the stuff that we get to experience in life. And Im saddened for her and Im saddened for all the rest of the victims.
Zeszyty Naukowe Sadownictwa Administracyjnego (ZNSA)

Scientific Bulletin of the Administrative Courts

The bimonthly journal launched by order no. 16 of the President of the Supreme Administrative Court of 10 June 2005, currently issued under order no. 3 of the President of the Supreme Administrative Court of 30 January 2018 on the publishing of Zeszyty Naukowe Sadownictwa Administracyjnego.

The launching of the ZNSA journal was inspired by the reform of administrative judiciary in 2004. This event basically shaped the structure of the journal and made it a platform for discussions among law-makers, court practitioners and theoreticians on matters significant for the administrative judiciary.

The objective of the ZNSA journal is to disseminate the case-law of administrative courts and research topics related thereto, presented as studies, papers and analyses, as well as notes, and to inform about the activities of administrative judiciary in Poland, Europe and around the world.

The journal is addressed mainly to judges, academics, public administration officers, representatives of legal professions and students.

Publisher  Supreme Administrative Court in Poland

Volume  15 publishing sheets

Format - B5

Court press register: Pr 12901 (20.06.2005)

Index No. 204358

ISSN 1734-803X

Basic (referential) version of ZNSA is a paper version

ZNSA is listed at the List B of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education with 20 points.

ZNSA is indexed in the following databases: European Reference Index for the Humanities and Social Science ERIH PLUS

Selection of year and issue: volume

Selection of alphabetical index year: volume

Address:

Naczelny Sad Administracyjny

Kancelaria Prezesa NSA

Redakcja Zeszytow Naukowych Sadownictwa Administracyjnego

00-011 Warszawa, ul. G.P. Boduena 3/5, pok. 701

tel. (22) 551 67 25 or 26; e-mail: msawicka@nsa.gov.pl

www.nsa.gov.pl/zeszyty-naukowe.php

Distribution and subscription is administered by Wolters Kluwer Polska Sp. z o.o. Publishing House

ul. Przyokopowa 33,01-208 Warszawa

www.wolterskluwer.pl

Department of Journals; e-mail: czasopisma@wolterskluwer.pl

tel. +48 22 535 82 03, fax +48 22 535 81 35; Helpline: 801 044 545

Editorial Committee

Editorial Board

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

prof. dr hab. Janusz Trzcinski (retired judge of the Supreme Administrative Court)

DEPUTY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

prof. dr hab. Andrzej Gomuowicz (Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan)

ASSISTANT EDITOR

mgr Magorzata Sawicka-Jezierczuk (main specialist in the Chancellery of President of the Supreme Administrative Court), e-mail: msawicka@nsa.gov.pl

Advisory Board

MEMBERS

prof. dr hab. Barbara Adamiak (University of Wrocaw)

dr Stefan Babiarz (judge of the Supreme Administrative Court)

prof. dr hab. Wojciech Chroscielewski (University of odz)

dr hab. Jacek Chlebny (University of odz)

mgr Irena Chojnacka (member of the Judicial Decision Bureau at the Supreme Administrative Court)

prof. dr hab. Roman Hauser (Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan)

dr Andrzej Kisielewicz (retired judge of the Supreme Administrative Court)

prof. dr hab. Andrzej Skoczylas (Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan)

mgr Maria Wisniewska (retired judge of the Supreme Administrative Court)

prof. dr hab. Zbigniew Witkowski (Nicolaus Copernicus University)

prof. dr hab. Andrzej Wrobel (retired judge of the Supreme Court)

prof. dr hab. Marek Zirk-Sadowski (University of odz)

INTERNATIONAL MEMBERS

Dr., Dr. h.c. mult. Eckart Hien (Germany; retired judge of the Federal Administrative Court of Germany)

Dr. Univ.Prof., Clemens Jabloner (Austria; University of Vienna)

Prof. JUDr Jan Filip (Czech Republic; Masaryk University in Brno; judge of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic)

Olof Olsson J (Finland; retired judge of Supreme Administrative Court in Finland)

Prof. Dr. Dr.h.c.mult. Rainer Arnold (Germany; Univeristy of Regensburg)

Prof. dr Georges Ravarani (Luxembourg; judge of the European Court of Human Rights)

Prof. dr hab. Virgilijus Valancius (Lithuania; judge of the General Court of the European Union; honorary lecturer at the University of Luxembourg)

Editors:

Thematic editor prof. dr hab. Wojciech Piatek

Linguistic editor mgr Justyna Woldanska

Statistical editor dr Micha Szwast

Structure of ZNSA

Ethical rules of ZNSA

Ghostwriting / guest authorship firewall

Author's declaration Transfer of publishing license

Guidelines for authors on how to prepare the paper to be published

Guidelines for reviewers

External review form

Reviewer's Declaration on the Conflict of Interest

GDPR Policy

Reviewers

List of reviewers collaborating with ZNCA in 2011

List of reviewers collaborating with ZNCA in 2012

List of reviewers collaborating with ZNCA in 2013

List of reviewers collaborating with ZNCA in 2014

List of reviewers collaborating with ZNCA in 2015

List of reviewers collaborating with ZNCA in 2016

List of reviewers collaborating with ZNCA in 2017

List of reviewers collaborating with ZNCA in 2018

List of reviewers collaborating with ZNCA in 2019

List of reviewers collaborating with ZNCA in 2020

Table of contents, contents, summary  ZNSA by year (downloads):
BlackRock to Host 2021 Virtual Investor Day on June 10th, 2021

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK) today announced that it will host its 2021 Investor Day virtually on Thursday, June 10th, 2021 from approximately 8:00am to 12:00pm EDT.

The event will be video webcast and related presentation materials will be available to all interested parties through BlackRock's website, www.blackrock.com. For those unable to join the live webcast, a replay will be available on the website fllowing the event.







Any questions regarding BlackRock's 2021 Investor Day may be addressed to BlackRock's Investor Relations team at invrel@blackrock.com.

About BlackRock

BlackRock's purpose is to help more and more people experience financial well-being. As a fiduciary to investors and a leading provider of financial technology, we help millions of people build savings that serve them throughout their lives by making investing easier and more affordable. For additional information on BlackRock, please visit www.blackrock.com/corporate.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005248/en/
NORWALK  Norwalk is exploring the idea of a digital summer academy for incoming freshmen thatll not only get them ahead credit-wise but close an educational gap.

The Brien McMahon Digital Summer Academy would be five weeks long and include academic and enrichment activities for incoming freshman that earns them course credit and prepares them for high school, according to a program proposal pitched to the Board of Educations Curriculum and Instruction Committee on Tuesday.

Norwalks Chief Academic Officer Donalda Chumney said such a program could allow students who werent on the advanced track in middle school to come into high school with the chance to tackle higher level coursework later in their academic career.

So much of our work to remedy disproportionality and access to accelerated coursework has to do with students having prerequisite classes in order to have access to advanced classes in their junior and senior year, she said. Often that doesnt start in sophomore year. It really starts when kids are coming from eighth grade.

The proposed academy would take place from 8:15 a.m. to 3 p.m., with mornings filled with three 90-minute classes and afternoons occupied by enrichment programs like cooking, art or rowing classes. Proposed classes would focus on language and literature, science, math, inquiry and research and a course called High School 101, which would prepare and educate students for the opportunities offered at Brien McMahon.

Enrichment programs would be offered in collaboration with community partners such as the Carver Center.

The program would serve as a way to introduce students to IB learner profile/program and also include opportunities for mentorship and social-emotional support from adult staff and peers.

Brien McMahon Principal Scott Hurwitz said students participating in the program would be able to start ninth grade in the fall with half an elective credit.

For any student to start high school with half a credit in the bank is meaningful, he said. We think from a motivation, mindset and personal concept standpoint, itd be really valuable for students. ... Theres fleshing out that needs to be done but the basic framework and structure is really strong.

Having such a program is also a component of the RISE network, a nonprofit that helps schools assist students in reaching their full potential. Brien McMahon became a RISE partner in 2019.

The RISE network really works to disrupt inequities in education, said Brien McMahon Assistant Principal Lashante James. It aligns perfectly with what the superintendents vision is.

The Curriculum and Instruction Committee decided to advance the idea to the full Board of Education.

I personally think that its a wonderful program, said Committee Chair Sherelle Harris.

erin.kayata@hearstmediact.com
(Natural News) Covid-19 is beginning to spike in over a dozen states, most with high vaccination rates. Hawaiis Department of Health has begun to report on covid-19 cases occurring in people who are fully vaccinated against covid-19. The Department is labeling these breakthrough cases, but says that people should not be alarmed. It turns out that healthcare professionals are not worried about these post-vaccination covid-19 cases.

For over a year, a covid-19 case was treated as a serious issue, with 14-day quarantines and aggressive contact tracing. But if the covid-19 case is detected after vaccination, the public should NOT be alarmed. In an attempt to plunge as many needles in people arms as possible, health authorities deceive patients about vaccine safety and efficacy and nonchalantly brush aside any covid-19 cases that appear in the fully vaccinated.

Doctors admit the vaccines do not prevent infection, so whats the point?

The doctors reporting for KITV4 in Hawaii even admit that the vaccine doesnt prevent infection! If disease prevention and eradication is the traditional goal of vaccination, then why are people still testing positive after covid-19 vaccination, and why are people still getting fever, chills, headaches and respiratory illness after submitting to the shots?

Instead of addressing vaccine efficacy issues, the doctors who spoke to KITV4 discouraged travel after vaccination. Dr. Melinda Ashton, Chief Quality Officer with Hawaii Pacific Health said that one breakthrough case of covid-19 was from a healthcare worker who traveled to multiple cities, before testing positive. Absolutely you need to be careful during those times when youre in the airport, on the airplane, with other people in larger groups, Ashton said, while ignoring the issue of waning vaccine efficacy. It doesnt matter whether anyone gets vaccinated or notit seems anyone has the exact same risk of being infected with covid. This confession debunks any crooked rationale used to install coercive Vaccine Passports. (Related: Top 7 reasons people are testing positive for covid-19 after vaccinations.)

Doctors routinely ignore the data and lie about vaccine side effects and hospitalizations

Dr. Julius Pham, chair of the COVID-19 committee at Queens Medical Center, admitted that the vaccines arent perfect but did offer significant protection against hospitalization. This statement is deception as well. According to the latest updates to the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS), there have been 6,786 emergency room visits after administration of covid-19 vaccines in the US. There have also been 5,920 doctors visits and 762 permanent disabilities linked to the experiment. Most shocking, the covid-19 vaccine is associated with 4,063 hospitalizations and another 1,644 fatalities. At least 38, 303 adverse events have been reported in the US so far, representing less than one percent of all issues associated with these vaccines.

Most of these issues arent being reported and are being accepted as normal. People are sometimes bedridden after the second dose of mRNA and are suffering from fever, chills and severe headaches. Instead of addressing these serious issues, many healthcare professionals are telling patients these vaccine injuries are much easier to endure than a hypothetical infection. Patients are told that any coronavirus infection after covid-19 vaccination is a mild infection compared to what they would have experienced. This is also an untrue statement, for most covid-19 cases were mild, asymptomatic, and easily treated. How do health authorities make such a general assumption about potential infections, as they plunge needles, with experimental, untested vaccines, into peoples arms and promise brighter days?

If these experimental vaccines worked as promised, then fully vaccinated patients should never become infected. Instead, the fully vaccinated are told to wear a mask and avoid family members until everyone submits to the group experiment. This is a blatant confession that the vaccine science does not work. Dr. Michael Walter, Kalihi-Palama Health Center, spoke to KITV4: Over time, as more people get vaccinated, we have more time under our belt with this vaccine, we have a better idea of how long the protection lasts.

According to clinical studies, the so-called protection didnt last for long, as antibody levels waned within two to three months. In order to stay concurrent with the vaccine science, vaccinated individuals will theoretically NEVER be fully vaccinated and would need updates to their cells four to six times each year. The makers of the mRNA vaccine science at Moderna report that they have hacked human DNA and are using mRNA to upload software and updates to human cells. If the fully vaccinated are getting infectedis it already time to upgrade their system?

In the end, it will be much easier to convince the vaccine compliant population to segregate those who are vaccine hesitant  blaming healthy people for spreading infections they do not have, but sooner or later, the vaccinated will go along with all the new vaccine updates in order to be considered safe again. The destruction of human bodies, minds and civilization will only continue.

Sources include:

KITV.com

Forbes.com

NaturalNews.com

NaturalNews.com

NaturalNews.com

NaturalNews.com
Theyre doubling down against President Joe Biden and Congressional Democrats who are pushing for stronger gun laws, including an assault weapons ban, after eight people were killed in Atlanta last week and 10 more in Boulder this week.

'I DON'T NEED TO WAIT': Biden calls for action on gun laws in divided Senate

"They are gonna come to get your guns," said Gov. Greg Abbott, speaking at a Texas Young Republicans dinner in the Austin area on Tuesday evening, just a day after a gunman went on a rampage in a Colorado grocery store.

The renewed commitment from GOP leaders to protect gun owners comes as the first Texas legislative session is underway since 2019s mass shootings in El Paso and Midland-Odessa, where a total of 30 people were killed and 50 more were injured. After the 2019 massacres, Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick struck a softer tone regarding gun control legislation, hinting at potential common ground with Democrats as they raised concerns about state laws allowing private gun sales between strangers without background checks.

At the dinner, Abbott said there is an even greater urgency this legislative session to pass laws expanding gun rights because of Bidens presidency.

"Yes, what Beto said turned out to be true," Abbott said, in a reference to the former El Paso Congressman Beto O'Rourkes comment during his bid for president that, "Hell, yes," he wanted to take away people's AR-15s and AK-47s.

"All I've gotta say to Beto is, 'Hell no, Beto, you're not gonna come get our guns in the Lone Star State,'" Abbott said.

ANALYSIS: Not all emergencies are priorities in the Texas Capitol

The political winds have completely shifted since the Texas shootings, and Democrats now control Congress and the Oval Office. Biden, a longtime supporter of gun control laws, reinvigorated the decadeslong battle surrounding federal gun laws this week when he called for an assault weapons ban and stronger background checks for gun purchases.

This is not and should not be a partisan issue  it is an American issue, Biden said Tuesday. We have to act.

Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz was quick to push back on Democrats.

Every time there is a shooting, we play this ridiculous theater where this committee gets together and proposes a bunch of laws that would do nothing to stop these murders, Cruz said Tuesday during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on gun violence. His comments quickly drew criticism from prominent gun control advocates.

After sixteen people were killed in a hot air balloon in Lockhart, Texas, Ted Cruz authored and passed federal legislation improving safety rules, tweeted Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action. I guess that's not because laws don't work, but because there's no hot air balloon lobby funding his Senate seat.

Cruzs spokesperson said in a statement Wednesday, It is clear from their rhetoric Democrats arent interested in actual solutions. They just want to take guns away from law abiding citizens while making Americans less safe.

State Rep. Cesar Blanco, D-El Paso, who has advocated for stronger gun laws in the state after the massacre at a Walmart in his city, fired back at Cruz.

I quite frankly don't need to hear anything from Sen. Cruz. He has said enough. I think his actions or inaction speak louder than words, Blanco said in an interview. He chalked it up to theater when people are looking for real solutions to save lives. I think that hurts people.

RELATED: Man pulls gun on 11 National Guardsmen delivering COVID-19 vaccine

Texas Republican lawmakers have been key opponents of attempts to revive a federal ban on assault weapons that was passed in 1994 and expired in 2004. Cruz led the fight against an effort to reintroduce an assault weapons ban in 2012 following the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.

Critics point to studies that say the original ban had little effect on overall criminal activity and firearm homicides. However, gun control advocates say there is evidence that suggests the legislation was successful at decreasing the number of mass shootings in the nation.

Now Abbott and GOP state lawmakers are laying a groundwork to block Texas from federal gun regulation through legislation that could make Texas a Second Amendment sanctuary state, prohibiting state agencies and local governments from enforcing new federal gun laws or rules.

We need to erect a complete barrier against any government official anywhere from treading on gun rights in Texas," Abbott said during his annual State of the State address in February.

Abbott did not respond to a request for comment.

Dozens of gun measures have been filed on both sides of the aisle this year, including a slate of bills by El Pasos statehouse delegation aimed at preventing future mass shootings by restricting assault weapons and keeping guns out of the hands of people who should not possess them, among other changes.

RELATED: Colorado suspect got assault weapon 6 days before shooting

As of Wednesday, none of the at least seven Second Amendment sanctuary state bills had been scheduled for a committee hearing.

Other proposals would make it easier for Texans to carry guns. On Thursday in the House Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee, lawmakers will consider a group of controversial bills that would allow Texans to carry handguns  openly or concealed  without a permit.

Despite growing support in recent years from both Republican and Democrat voters for stricter gun control measures, state and federal lawmakers remain split along party lines.

In the February 2020 University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll, 61% of Texans strongly supported background checks on all gun purchases, while only 15% either somewhat or strongly opposed such a measure. Texas Democrats were the most supportive, with 91% of those polled saying they strongly or somewhat supported the measures, along with 68% of Republicans.

That Texas would consider loosening gun laws in light of the recent shootings is disturbing, insensitive and operates in its own reality, said Ed Scruggs, spokesperson and board member for Texas Gun Sense, a group that advocates for gun control.

But then again, I'm not really surprised, because that seems to be what our Legislature does in times of gun violence, Scruggs said.

Meanwhile, gun rights groups are applauding Abbott's efforts to defend Texas from what they see as federal attacks on gun ownership and possession.

"The Biden administration has declared war on the entire law-abiding shooting community," said Andi Turner, legislative director for the Texas State Rifle Association. "I am very proud of our governor and the steps he is taking to protect law-abiding gun owners."

Blanco said hes optimistic this session that lawmakers can pass stricter gun rules, especially with support from federal leaders and growing bipartisan support from voters.

It's important for our community to let folks know that communities like El Paso and Boulder and others that we've not forgotten about these tragedies and that we're actively working towards solutions, he said.

For state lawmakers from El Paso, Blanco said the shootings hit close to home.

Every time I see another mass shooting my heart breaks, and I can't help recall all the feelings of the deep sadness and the frustration and the confusion that I felt and my fellow El Pasoans felt, Blanco said. Atlanta and Boulder are feeling the same thing.

Patrick Svitek contributed reporting.
Academic who initiated the idea before they were made redundant called the university 'hypocritical'

Comes after cull on English department that saw Shakespearean experts sacked

A university has been scolded for embarking on an expensive virtual reality Shakespeare project - after sacking its bard experts to cut costs.

Portsmouth's Faculty of Creative and Cultural Industries collaborated on the Royal Shakespeare Company's VR performance of 'Dream' - an idea initiated by a lecturer who was later made redundant.

One academic ridiculed the situation, saying: 'They've got a VR Shakespeare project that they're championing but they've got no Shakespeareans or anybody with any Renaissance expertise left in the English Literature team.'

University of Portsmouth bosses fired more than half of its English Literature department last year including two lecturers who specialised in early modernism.

The department was culled from 13 members of staff down to six as part of a redundancy process last summer.

Portsmouth University has been scolded for embarking on an expensive virtual reality Shakespeare project - after sacking its only two bard experts to cut costs

University of Portsmouth bosses fired more than half of its 13 English Literature department staff last year including two lecturers who specialised in early modernism

'Dream' is inspired by William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Nights Dream yet the highly-rated university now has no staff who specialise in the period pre-1800 - Shakespeare wrote A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1595.

The 50-minute production performed in a motion capture space at The Guildhall, Portsmouth, Hants, ran from 12 to 20 March, cost 10 per ticket and was supported by the government's Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, delivered by UK Research and Innovation.

Nearly 40 million has been invested in the government's development of new immersive technologies.

The university described the project as 'bringing Shakespeare to life' and was supported by a team from its Faculty of Creative and Cultural Industries.

The academic, who worked at the university for over 10 years before losing their job as part of the cuts, added: 'To be boasting about "bringing things to life" at a time when you haven't got anybody who was doing anything substantial in relation to bringing technology together with heritage and the Shakespeare brand, it just seems so hypocritical.

'I can't begin to imagine why the RSC or anyone else would work with a university that cuts all of its staff that had anything to do with Shakespeare to begin with.

'It's stripping education back to the bone. They've made people redundant at a time of national pandemic when they financially did not need to do any of this.'

A protest was held by students against the redundancies of English Literature lecturers in February last year and a Twitter account was set up named 'Save English Literature at Portsmouth UCU'.

'Dream' is inspired by William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Nights Dream yet the highly-rated university now has no staff who specialise in the period pre-1800 - Shakespeare wrote A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1595

The university is being further criticised as it is 'urgently' removing webpages from its site showcasing past Shakespeare projects carried out by staff and students at Portsmouth University which included a VR workshop.

A VR simulation for users to 'visit' the Globe was part of Much Ado About Portsmouth (MAAP), a wider project organised and run by English Literature staff and students.

Despite being online since 2015, the MAAP site has now been decommissioned, meaning a loss of public work for both the staff and students who worked on the project.

The 'SaveUoPLit' twitter account called this 'another attack of the legacy' of early modernists sacked by the university.

Portsmouth university is one of the top 25 UK universities and is one of only four in the South-East rated Gold in the Government Teaching Excellence Framework.

It has a number of notable alumni from the Poet Laureate Simon Armitage to Baroness Diana Maddock.

Its website describes Portsmouth as the 'perfect place to study literature' where students build their 'knowledge of literature, from Shakespeare to the present day'.

The BA English Literature course offers an optional module called 'Bloody Shakespeare' where students study Shakespeare's 'most fascinating plays' such as Richard II and Henry V.

A University of Portsmouth spokesperson today said it collaborated with the RSC on the live performance due to 'the reputation and expertise of our creative technology and performance teams here at Portsmouth'.

The spokesperson said: 'The artistic vision and creative oversight of the project came from the Royal Shakespeare Company.

'The production was performed with seven actors in a specially created motion capture space at The Guildhall in Portsmouth. A team from the University of Portsmouth's Faculty of Creative and Cultural Industries supported the technical production.

'Dream is a pioneering project combining live performance with virtual reality and gaming technology to bring immersive theatre to audiences wherever they are in the world.

'The University was invited to collaborate on Dream by the Royal Shakespeare Company because of the reputation and expertise of our creative technology and performance teams here at Portsmouth.

'Our hope and expectation is that by being involved in exciting and innovative projects like the RSC's Dream, we encourage young people to study English literature and the creative arts at university and that we demonstrate what incredible opportunities and careers can lie ahead.'
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.
Gamoswaana  The President, Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi has been applauded for planting a seed in the Kanye South constituency.

Handing over a Dorper ram to Ms Hilda Ramogomana and a Boer buck to Ms Keabetswe Roomane Dr Masisi donated through Presidential small stock initiative recently at Gamoswaana and Nneneke farming Harmlets respectively, the area MP Dr Lemogang Kwape said the President was stepping up both quality and number of small stock across the country.

He said the government had secured an Asian market for the small stock market that would require both quality and numbers and thanked President Masisi for preparing farmers for market demands.

Dr Kwape said the gesture was in sync with the founding national pillar of self-reliance and the Vision 2036 ideal of human and social development.

Dr Kwape also a Vision 2036 board member said he was pleased to see the fulfilment of the Vision in the everyday lives of Batswana.

He said the duo stories were a testimony that government programmes could give Batswana a push down the road if they were utilised with the right mindset.

District agricultural coordinator Ms Monia Mfolwe said Ms Ramogomana was assisted with eight sheep and 10 goats through the LIMID programme in 2011. She now has 36 goats and 60 sheep.

Along the way, she sold some and bought six cows, built a house and contributed P24 000 to fence her field through ISPAAD.

She now planned to drill a borehole in the farm through the same.

Ms Roomane has also been sustaining her family through the small stock she was assisted with in 2014.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Botswana Governance Food and Agriculture By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

She was given 13 goats but now has 41 at her farm in Nneneke.

She said the goats have enhanced her dignity in her community, adding that the project had enabled her to wed off her daughter, bought a wedding dress and food, something she said she could not have imagined if it was not for the project.

She now planned to connect her house to the power grid through proceeds from small stock sales. She said she was passionate about small stock and ecstatic that the buck would improve her flock.

Area councillor Mr Shimane Thelo, for his part, said the donation reached the right beneficiaries.

He said it was imperative to pick deserving candidates for the donation to reinforce the spirit of hard work and commitment among farmers.

He also applauded Dr Masisi for the initiative and wished it could continue touching many other lives.

<i>Source : BOPA</i>
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.
Decision time is approaching for the Port Authoritys list of mega projects, now that officials say federal coronavirus aid has fallen short for a third time.

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey officials have not yet said exactly how much money the agency will receive from the American Rescue Act. But, they did say Thursday the amount itll get will only provide a fraction of the aid that it needs to ease a $1.7 billion revenue loss due to coronavirus traffic declines. As a result, officials now will look at cutting projects from the agencys capital plan.

Newark airport, which is run by the Port Authority, received $164 million out of $8 billion for airport operations nationwide from the American Rescue Act. It is unclear if that money needs to be shared with airlines that fly to the airport, since the law also contained $15 billion for the airline industry. It was also unclear if any additional funds were received to go toward relief at other Port Authority airports or other proterties.

The bi-state agency received $450 million from the federal CARES Act for airport losses last year. But officials said under agreements in place, that funding had to be shared with airlines, said Elizabeth McCarthy, Port Authority chief financial officer.

Half the funding flowed to the Port Authority, $218 million. The rest went to the airlines, she said. The Port Authority continues to advocate for continued federal support to address this $3 billion projected shortfall.

As officials warned in the past, the projects that are not in or near construction are liable to be on the chopping block as a result of the revenue losses.

We are in the process to grind the numbers, said Rick Cotton, Port Authority Executive Director. We are now in a position to understand what we got from the federal government, which falls short of offsetting the loss of revenue. It leads us back to the capital plan and the line we drew.

That will depend on how fast travel and revenue returns at Port Authority facilities, Cotton said. Decisions could be made this summer, he said.

Were coming to an important inflection point in summer (about) our volume and what rate it recovers, Cotton said. Well have a better view of the recovery of revenue.

What had been a point of pride for the Authority, that it is self-supporting without relying on tax or other revenue from New York or New Jersey, has now become a problem.

Revenue support has been dramatically reduced. Thats why we went to the feds in this emergency, which was the point of the state and local government section of the American Recovery Act, Cotton said.

As in past months, traffic at airports and PATH trains has returned slower than at its bridges and tunnels, or at the ports.

(Facility) volumes remain dramatically down, McCarthy said. We expect volume to eventually return, but the speed of the recovery is difficult to project.

Air travel volumes at Port Authority airports this month were 71% lower than 2019 and PATH ridership down 67% compared to 2019, she said. Bridge and tunnel traffic fared better with activity down just 23%. Cargo volumes at the ports in March were 1.5% higher than 2019 and set a record last month, she said.

A sister agency, the Delaware River Port Authority received aid from the CARES and CRSSAA acts to make up for lost revenue from it s PATCO transit system. That and spending reductions allowed that agency to offset revenue losses.

But the DRPA received coronavirus aid because PATCO had received Federal Transit Administration grants in the past that made it eligible. PATH has not applied for grants and FTA officials said that the Port Authority would need to appeal to New Jersey and New York officials about having an allocation from the states American Rescue Act funding.

Port Authority officials are having conversations with state officials about sharing some of the American Rescue Act funding allocated for state and municipal governments, said Kevin OToole, board chairman.

Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust.

Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com.
New Delhi:

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday informed the Supreme Court that former union minister P Chidambaram's son Karti Chidambaram owned 25 properties abroad.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra was told by additional solicitor general Tushar Mehta that the CBI was submitting a report in sealed cover detailing the properties owned by Karti.

Congress leader and senior advocate Kapil Sibal said that the allegations levied by the CBI are innuendoes. These allegations aim at defaming Chidambaram family, he said.

"During Karti's questioning, not a single question was asked about the properties. If the government, income tax department or the CBI finds I have any undisclosed assets abroad, I am ready to sign a declaration that the government can take them over, Sibal said while responding to the CBIs allegations.

ALSO READ: SC bars Karti Chidambaram from leaving nation, CBI justifies look out notice

Earlier, Karti dared the government and the CBI on Monday to provide a list of his undisclosed assets, as alleged by the agency in the Supreme Court, terming the charges as wild and reckless.

Kartis challenge came after the CBI told the apex court that it has furnished details about his possible transactions in foreign countries and 25 alleged offshore properties in a sealed cover.

ALSO READ | INX media case: CBI grills Karti Chidambaram for seven hours

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
MILAN  Italian insurer Generali has nudged up its bid for Avivas Polish arm, valuing the business at almost 2.5 billion euros ($3 billion), in a last-ditch effort to prevail over Dutch insurer NN, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

London-listed insurer Aviva received three binding bids on March 22 for its Polish operations, with NN submitting the highest offer, which valued the unit at about 2.5 billion euros, the sources said.

German insurer Allianz and Generali  which have existing operations in Poland  were given a final chance this week to improve their bids, the sources added. (Editors note: After the publication of this article by Reuters, it was reported that Allianz won the bidding war for Aviva Poland).

Allianz also improved its offer as it sees the Aviva unit as a strategic asset that will give the winner an edge in Poland and central Europe, two separate sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Aviva is expected to enter exclusive talks with one of the three bidders in the coming days, they said.

A spokesperson for Aviva said the British insurer was exploring options for Poland but no decision had been made.

Generali, NN and Allianz declined to comment.

Aviva is the second largest life insurer in Poland after state-owned PZU and the tenth biggest provider of general insurance in the country. Its Polish business also includes two key bancassurance partnerships with Santander and ING.

Generali initially valued the Polish business at just over 2 billion euros only to sweeten its bid on March 24, offering close to 2.5 billion euros, the sources said.

NN immediately offered about 2.5 billion euros, while Allianz improved its initial offer, which was more than 2 billion euros, after the March 22 deadline to keep up with the other contenders, the sources said.

They wouldnt stop early when they have gone so far, a source familiar with the German insurers strategy said.

Aviva, whose boss Amanda Blanc is about to complete an ambitious asset divestment program in Europe, wanted to take advantage of the competitive environment and has given the three bidders an opportunity to make their final offers this week.

For Generali, the deal would serve as a springboard to Poland  a market seen by boss Philippe Donnet as core to the companys expansion, with the Italian insurer recently saying it would consider any growth opportunity there.

Aviva is the real winner in this auction as the price is going through the roof, one of the sources said.

Panmure Gordon analysts initially estimated the sale of Avivas remaining European assets in Poland and Italy would be worth 2.1 billion pounds ($2.9 billion) overall.

Aviva sold its life insurance businesses in Italy to Frances CNP Assurances for 543 million euros on March 4.

It also pocketed 3.2 billion euros [$3.8 billion] from the sale of its French operations to Macifs Aema Groupe in February and an additional 122 million pounds [$167.2 million] from flipping its 40% stake in a joint venture in Turkey to Ageas Insurance International.

($1 = 0.8470 euros) ($1 = 0.7292 pounds)

(Reporting by Pamela Barbaglia, Stephen Jewkes and Agnieszka Barteczko; additional reporting by Gianluca Semeraro, Carolyn Cohn and Alex Huebner; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle, Mark Potter and Edmund Blair)

Topics Carriers Generali Life Assurance (Thailand) Plc.
The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and its Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program has recognized Ubly Community Schools Agriscience greenhouse for its implementation of pollution prevention practices.

As such, the greenhouse has been recognized as a verified greenhouse in the states greenhouse system.

Melissa Kramer, an Ubly science teacher who works with the agriscience program, said that Katie Volmering, a MAEAP technician with Huron Conservation District, had reached out to Ubly Schools about this verification process.

Katie is a graduate of the program, Kramer said. That was one of the reasons she was interested in helping us get certified.

As a MAEAP certified greenhouse, the people using it have to track any fertilizers or chemicals, such fertilizers and chemicals have to be locked up when not in use, and a spill kit must be on hand in case something gets spilled. Chemicals are not used anyways since the students have to be certified to use them.

This certification must be renewed every five years, with Kramer saying that verification can happen either through a job ticket or whenever an officer stops by.

The greenhouse has been used by the districts agricultural department for the past seven years for hydroponics, plant research, hanging baskets, and for use by elementary school students. There are about 160 students that take part in the agriscience program and use the greenhouse.

Farmers across the state of Michigan understand how fortunate we are to be surrounded by fertile land and abundant fresh water, and they are committed to protecting these amazing resources, said MDARD Director Gary McDowell in a statement. Participation in the program increases year after year, and it has been used as a model by other states. By earning MAEAP verification and putting that sign out front, they are letting neighbors know that they are excellent stewards of their land so that it can be sustainable for future generations.

To become MAEAP verified, farmers must complete three comprehensive steps, which include attending an educational seminar, conducting a thorough on-farm risk assessment, and developing an implementing an action plan addressing potential environmental risk. MDARD conducts an on-farm inspection to verify program requirements related to applicable state and federal environmental regulations, Michigan right to farm guidelines, and adherence to an action plan.

The MAEAP is a collaborative effort of farmers, MDARD, the Michigan Farm Bureau, commodity organizations, universities, conservation districts, conservation and environmental groups, and state and federal agencies.

More than 100 local coordinators and technical service providers are available to assist farmers as they move through the MAEAP process toward verification. 10,000 Michigan farms have started this process and more than 5,000 have completed it.
San Francisco, March 25 : Facebook has taken tough action against China-based hackers who abused its platform to target activists, journalists and dissidents predominantly among the Uyghur community.

The Facebook threat intelligence analysts disabled the accounts of a group of hackers in China known as "Earth Empusa" or "Evil Eye", disrupting their ability to use their infrastructure to abuse its platform, distribute malware and hack people's accounts across the Internet.

The investigation and malware analysis found that Beijing Best United Technology Co., Ltd. (Best Lh) and Dalian 9Rush Technology Co., Ltd. (9Rush), two Chinese companies, are the developers behind some of the Android tooling deployed by this group.

"They targeted activists, journalists and dissidents predominantly among Uyghurs from Xinjiang in China primarily living abroad in Turkey, Kazakhstan, the United States, Syria, Australia, Canada and other countries," Nathaniel Gleicher, Head of Security Policy at Facebook, said in a statement late on Wednesday.

The cyber espionage campaign manifested primarily in sending links to malicious websites rather than direct sharing of the malware itself.

"We saw this activity slow down at various times, likely in response to our and other companies' actions to disrupt their activity," Facebook said.

The hacker group set up malicious websites that used look-alike domains for popular Uyghur and Turkish news sites.

They also appeared to have compromised legitimate websites frequently visited by their targets as part of watering hole attacks. A watering hole attack is when hackers infect websites frequently visited by intended targets to compromise their devices.

"This group used fake accounts on Facebook to create fictitious personas posing as journalists, students, human rights advocates or members of the Uyghur community to build trust with people they targeted and trick them into clicking on malicious links," the social network explained.

Facebook also found websites set up by this group that mimic third-party Android app stores where they published Uyghur-themed applications, including a keyboard app, prayer app, and dictionary app, and disabled those.
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
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 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Px, the digital health company dedicated to improving cancer patient experience and oncology outcomes, today announced the UK launch of its OWise mobile app platform for prostate cancer patients.

In the UK, one in eight men will get prostate cancer during their lifetime. Data from 2019[1] show that following their diagnosis, 62% did not receive a care plan from their NHS providers, leaving many prostate cancer patients anxious and distressed.

On the back of its success of the award-winning, NHS accredited OWise breast cancer app, Px has developed, and co-designed with patients and clinicians, the OWise prostate cancer app and website to give patients personalised support from the first day of diagnosis.

OWise is a freely downloadable app that gives patients a range of personalised, self-management and shared decision-making tools to help them improve their wellbeing. It supports patients with customised, safe and reliable information based on the UK guidelines. By collating valuable insights about patients' day-to-day wellbeing OWise also assists medical teams in making informed decisions about on-going treatment.

OWise for prostate cancer has been positively received by both patients and clinicians.

Rob (64), prostate cancer patient, said, "This new app is a valuable addition for men with prostate cancer who want to record useful information about their cancer over time. OWise works on two levels and can be used as a simple record of events but is also an up-to-date source of information on prostate cancer and related problems. A bonus feature is the Decision Aid option which helps men work out which treatment might be best for them."

Professor Bhaskar Somani, Consultant Urological Surgeon at University Hospital Southampton, who is a widely published author on urology and technological innovation, commented, "A patient-facing app that empowers patients with the right information and shared decision-making tools at the right time, is exactly what was missing. OWise is a holistic solution that has the potential to transform how prostate cancer patients experience their diagnosis, treatment and follow-up."

For more information about OWise Prostate Cancer please visit www.owise.uk/prostate

watch this video: https://vimeo.com/516294047

or contact Px Founder and CEO Dr. Anne Bruinvels, at:

E-mail: anneb@pxhealthcare.com

Twitter: @owiseprostate | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/owiseprostate

About Px HealthCare:

Px was established by medical scientists in 2012. The OWise breast cancer app was launched in the UK in 2016 on the back of its ongoing success in the Netherlands.

OWise was initially developed by Px founder, Dr. Anne Bruinvels. While Executive Director at the European Personalised Medicine Association, Anne realised that cancer patients' experience following diagnosis is poorer than it needs to be, and can be much improved when patients are correctly informed and supported during treatment and recovery.

Anne is a pharmacist by training and has a PhD in molecular neuroscience. She is joined in Px by her brother Dr. David Bruinvels, a clinical occupational physician specialising in oncology, and a team of 10 biomedical scientists, software developers and data scientists.

[1] National Cancer Patient Experience Survey 2019

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1473430/OWise_BethCrockatt_50.jpg
Shares in dual-listed Chinese companies fell sharply on Thursday in Asia after the US securities regulator adopted measures that would kick foreign companies off American stock exchanges if they do not comply with US auditing standards. The move by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adds to the unprecedented regulatory crackdown in China on domestic technology companies, citing concerns that they have built market power that stifles competition. The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, signed into law by then-President Donald Trump in December, is aimed at removing Chinese companies from US exchanges if they fail to comply with American auditing standards for three years in a row. The rules also require firms prove to the SEC they are not owned or controlled by an entity of a foreign government and to name any board members who are Chinese Communist Party officials, the SEC said in a statement Wednesday. Chinas foreign ministry said the SEC decision would hurt the reputation of U. S. capital It is clearly discriminatory against Chinese companies, it is wanton political suppression of Chinese companies listed in the US, spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Thursday. It deprives the U.

S. public and investors in sharing in Chinese businesses' growth. It will harm the US position as a capital market. We urge the US to stop politicising security regulation, stop discriminating practices against Chinese companies, and provide a fair just and non discriminatory business environment for all businesses listed in the US. The China Securities and Regulatory Commission (CSRC) did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. In Hong Kong, the news prompted a sharp sell-off of the US-listed Chinese companies which have also listed on the citys exchange in the past two 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.
Among the four states and one Union Territory that are going to polls from March 27, West Bengal emerged as the topper in spending for political advertisements on Facebook this year, according to data available with the social media platform.

Besides West Bengal, will be held in three other states Assam, Kerala and Tamil Nadu and in the Union Territory of Puducherry.

The Facebook ad spend of the Trinamool which seeks to return to power in West Bengal for the third consecutive term, exceeds that of the BJP, the main rival of the Mamata Banerjee-led party, in 90 days till March 22, the data revealed.

During the period, political parties of West Bengal spent about Rs 3.74 crore on poll-related campaigns which fall under Facebook's advertisement category of 'social issues, election or politics'.

In ad spend under this category, West Bengal is followed by Tamil Nadu (Rs 3.3 crore), Assam (Rs 61.77 lakh), Kerala (Rs 38.86 lakh) and Puducherry (Rs 3.34 lakh) during the period, as per the data.

The Trinamool has spent the maximum amount among parties, around Rs 1.69 crore, of West Bengal during the period. The state BJPs Facebook ad spend is around Rs 25.31 lakh.

The state spent around Rs 5 lakh in advertisements on Facebook while the amount spent by Left parties is negligible.

According to an analyst, the total spending on digital advertisements of political parties would be more as they do not always pay directly for campaigns.
The police in Lagos have released an American nurse Kari-Ann ORourke from custody, after spending over one month in detention.

In a statement on Thursday by Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, the lawyer to the American nurse, he said she was released on Wednesday, after spending 44 days in illegal detention.

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported how Mrs ORourke was arrested on February 9 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos over the death of a friend.

According to her lawyer, Mrs ORourke came to Nigeria in January to discuss setting up a humanitarian organisation with a friend she met online.

Mr Adegboruwa said his client left her host (friend) with his family in good health but was found dead in the hotel room, leading to her arrest.

The police arrested and detained Kari Ann at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Yaba, Lagos and kept her in custody, even when the autopsy report indicated that her host died of heart trauma and cardiac arrest, thus exonerating Kari Ann of any involvement in his death, he said.

Mr Adegboruwa earlier filed a lawsuit against the Commissioner of Police in Lagos, Hakeem Odumosu, and the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department, over the unlawful detention of his client.

He said all efforts to get Mrs ORourke released on bail failed which made his client seek a court order for her immediate release and N100m damages against the police.

In the course of time, Kari Anns lawyer discovered, upon further investigation, that the case file had been forwarded to the Lagos State Ministry of Justice a long ago and that a legal opinion had been issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions, to the extent that there was no prima facie case worthy of prosecution.

In the Legal Advice dated March 5, 2021, and signed by the DPP, it was stated as follows:

The medical report attached to the duplicate case file establishes that the cause of the deceaseds death were acute cardiac failure and hypertensive heart disease, Mr Adegboruwa said.

He added that the presence of his client at the hotel aroused suspicions by the deceaseds family which led to her arrest.

Mr Adegboruwa, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, said the DPP in their advice said the office shall not prosecute the suspects for the offences of conspiracy to murder and murder.

They should therefore be discharged and released if still in custody, as there is no case to be established against them from the facts presented in the duplicate case file, the Ministry of Justice wrote.

Mr Adegboruwa said upon obtaining the certified copy of the Legal Advice in his clients case, he insisted on her immediate release from unlawful custody and was released on Wednesday.

The lawyer appealed to the police to show greater respect for the rights of citizens because his case has shown the intolerable level of impunity prevalent within the law enforcement agencies.

He also condemned the non-compliance of the police with the valid directive of the Ministry of Justice which is the body recognised by law for the prosecution of suspects.

Muyiwa Adejobi, the Lagos police spokesperson, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

ADVERTISEMENT
[March 25, 2021] Aspen Appoints New Director

Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited ("Aspen" or the "Company") announced today that Tammy Richardson (News - Alert) -Augustus has been appointed to its Board as a Non Executive Director. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005913/en/ Tammy Richardson-Augustus (Photo: Business Wire) Ms Richardson-Augustus is a partner at Appleby Global, one of the world's leading international law firms, which advises public and private companies, financial institutions and private individuals. She joined Appleby Global in 1998 practising securities and funds work in Bermuda and Hong Kong. Ms Richardson-Augustus maintains a diversified business transactions practice, with emphasis on domestic and international mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, capital markets and securities, secured and unsecured lending transactions and general corporate governance matters. She has extensive experience working with clients in a wide range of industries, including in energy, oil and gas exploration, and maritime shipping. Among other accolades, s Richardson-Augustus has been recognised as a 'Leading Individual' in the Banking, Finance and Capital Markets category by Legal 500 Caribbean. She is also a member of the Bermuda Bar Association, a justice of the peace, and serves with a number of Bermudian community organisations.



Mark Cloutier, Executive Chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer, commented: "I am delighted to welcome Tammy to the Aspen Board. Her extensive experience across a range of diverse sectors will make her an excellent addition to our strong Board of Directors. Tammy will bring new insights and experiences to the Aspen leadership and I look forward to working with her, and fellow Directors, as we continue our transformation journey." About Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited

Aspen provides reinsurance and insurance coverage to clients in various domestic and global markets through wholly-owned subsidiaries and offices in Australia, Bermuda, Canada, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. For the year ended December 31, 2019, Aspen reported $12.6 billion in total assets, $7.0 billion in gross reserves, $2.7 billion in total shareholders' equity and $3.4 billion in gross written premiums. Aspen's operating subsidiaries have been assigned a rating of "A-" by Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC, and an "A" ("Excellent") by A.M. Best Company Inc. For more information about Aspen, please visit www.aspen.co. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain written "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include all statements that do not relate solely to historical or current facts. In particular, statements using the words such as "expect," "intend," "plan," "believe," "aim," "project," "anticipate," "seek," "will," "likely," "assume," "estimate," "may," "continue," "guidance," "objective," "outlook," "trends," "future," "could," "would," "should," "target," "predict," "potential," "on track" or their negatives or variations and similar terminology and words of similar import generally involve forward-looking statements. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005913/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Scottish church leaders overjoyed as judge rules church ban 'unlawful'

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

Church leaders in Scotland are celebrating after a judge ruled that the Scottish government acted unconstitutionally by making in-person services a criminal offense during the lockdown.

Scotland imposed far tougher restrictions on churches than the rest of the U.K., which allowed in-person services to continue during the current lockdown.

Handing down judgment on Wednesday, Lord Braid said the Scottish rules were a disproportionate interference of Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

"It is impossible to measure the effect of those restrictions on those who hold religious beliefs," he said.

"It goes beyond mere loss of companionship and an inability to attend a lunch club.

"The fact that the regulations are backed by criminal sanctions is also a relevant consideration.

"Were the petitioners to insist on manifesting their beliefs, in accordance with their religion, they would be liable to be met with a fine of up to 10,000, a not insignificant penalty.

"The above factors all point toward the conclusion that the regulations have a disproportionate effect."

He also concluded that online worship was not real Christian worship, and that it was not for the Scottish ministers to "dictate to the petitioners or to the additional party, that, henceforth, or even for the duration of the pandemic, worship is to be conducted online."

"That might be an alternative to worship but it is not worship. At very best for the respondents, in modern parlance, it is worship-lite," he said.

The 27 church leaders came from different denominations, among them the Church of Scotland and Free Church of Scotland, and included a number of independent churches.

The Rev. William Philip, senior minister at the Tron Church in Glasgow, who was among the church leaders taking action, said: "We are very pleased that Lord Braid has recognized how essential gathered church worship is to our communities and to Scotland as a whole.

"From the outset we have recognized the serious decisions the Scottish ministers had to take in response to the pandemic. However, its approach to banning and criminalizing gathered church worship was clearly an over-reach and disproportionate and if this had gone unchallenged it would have set a very dangerous precedent.

"However well intentioned, criminalizing corporate worship has been both damaging and dangerous for Scotland, and must never happen again.

"There is an urgent need for a message beyond that of just health and safety: a message of hope and salvation, and Jesus Christ is the only hope that dispels all fear, death included. Now is the time as we begin to exit the current lockdown for the church in Scotland, and across the U.K., to provide the spiritual leadership that is so desperately needed."

Christian Concern, which supported the church leaders, called the victory "unprecedented."

Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said: "Over centuries, Christian worship has been regarded as a fundamental freedom in the nations of the United Kingdom. During this pandemic, for the first time in history, our governments chose to criminalize gathered church worship.

"We are thankful and relieved that the High Court in Scotland has recognized this dangerous interference with our God-given right to engage in worship for exactly what it is, and ruled it unconstitutional. The fundamental principle of freedom has prevailed with a strong dash of good old common sense."

Churches in Scotland were due to reopen on Friday as the country eases out of lockdown, but Lord Braid ruled that the judgment has immediate effect.

Canon Tom White, who joined the legal action with the support of ADF International, said the verdict showed the court "understood the essential need to protect not only the physical and material health of our society but also its spiritual needs and therefore overturned the disproportionate, unnecessary and now deemed illegal blanket ban on public worship."

"This decision highlights the significance of the church's role in the very fabric of our society," he said.

"Now, we can trust that our fragile and damaged communities will never again be left without the church as a source of hope, comfort, and vital spiritual nourishment in times of crisis.

"I'm grateful to all across Scotland and beyond who have offered their financial support for my case, and who have faithfully prayed with me for church doors to be reopened.

"Thanks be to God for this wonderful news."

Originally published at Christian Today
(@FahadShabbir)

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th March, 2021) Some 365 small businesses, many minority or women owned, will receive initial funding for technology projects in a $45 million program announced by NASA on Thursday.

"NASA selected proposals to receive funding based on their technical merit and commercial potential. The selections span the breadth of NASA missions to empower the agency's work in human exploration, space technology, science, and aeronautics," the US space agency said in a press release.

The firms operate in 38 US states, Washington, DC and Puerto Rico and include women-owned, minority-owned and veteran-owned small businesses, as well as Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) and other types of research organizations, the release said.

Funding recipients cited in the release include Syrnatec, a woman-owned small firm and first-time NASA awardee based the state of Connecticut. The firm will develop radiation tolerant, high-voltage, high-power diodes, a technology needed to manage and distribute power.

Another grantee, Qubitekk in the state of California will partner with the University of New Mexico, a Hispanic-serving institution. Together, they will develop a compact hardware package that provides a reliable calibration tool for detectors of quantum-sized information, the release said.

More than 30 percent of the awards announced on Thursday will go to first-time recipients of NASA funding, the release added.
2020

31st January 2020, Strasbourg (France)

On behalf of the President of the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC), Vice-president of the SAC, prof. U dr hab. Jacek Chlebny - President of the General Administrative Chamber, represented Polish administrative judiciary during the official opening of the Judicial Year 2020 of the European Court of Human Rights that took place on 31st January 2020 in Strasbourg. He also took part in a seminar on the topic The European Convention on Human Rights: living instrument at 70. Following the seminar, President of the ECtHR Mr. Linos-Alexandre Sicilianos addressed an audience at the solemn hearing.

22-24 January 2020, Valletta (Malta)

Vice-president of the Supreme Administrative Court, prof. U dr hab. Jacek Chlebny - President of the General Administrative Chamber attended the Annual Coordination and Planning Meeting organized by the European Asylum Support Office (EASO). This meeting provided an opportunity to discuss the EASOs activities in 2019 and EASOs work programme 2020.

2019

3 December 2019, Brussels (Belgium)

Ms Marta Kulikowska, chief specialist in the Office of the President of the Supreme Administrative Court, took part in the meeting of the working group of the Association of Councils of State and Supreme Administrative Jurisdictions of the European Union (ACA-Europe) in Brussels. The meeting was devoted to the development and improvement of the Juri.Fast database containing the administrative courts decisions, which is publicly available on the ACA-Europe website.

17-19 November 2019, Luxembourg (Luxembourg)

On 17-19 November 2019 in Luxembourg a forum of judges and prosecutors of higher court instances of the European Union Member States, organized by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) took place. The Supreme Administrative Court was represented by the Judges of the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland: Magorzata Korycinska, Magorzata Niezgodka-Medek, Iwona Bogucka, Cezary Pryca and Wojciech Krecisz.

During the meeting lectures and workshops regarding: recent CJEU case-law concerning procedural aspects of preliminary ruling proceedings and judicial independence, as well as regarding the horizontal application of the Charter, notion of implementation of Union law and limitations on the exercise of fundamental rights, were held. Participants also took part in the hearing before the Grand Chamber of the Court.

7 November 2019, Kiev (Ukraine)

On 7th November 2019 in Kiev, at the headquarters of the Supreme Court of Ukraine - Administrative Court of Cassation, a scientific conference International Judicial Forum - Judicial protection of the environment and environmental rights was held. The conference was led by judge Mikhailo Smokovitsh - President of the Administrative Court of Cassation in the Supreme Court of Ukraine. The meeting was attended by judges from Ukraine, Austria, China, Lithuania and Poland, as well as by representatives of science. The Supreme Administrative Court of Poland was represented by: Janusz Drachal, President of the SAC Commercial Chamber with a lecture: Environmental protection as part of economic processes. Experiences of administrative courts", Bartosz Wojciechowski, judge of the SAC Financial Chamber with a lecture: The line of adjudication of the European Court of Justice on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, Krzysztof Winiarski, judge of the SAC Financial Chamber with a lecture: Impact of tax policy on wind power plants in Poland.

4  15 November 2019, Leipzig (Germany)

On 4 15 November 2019 prof. UJ dr hab. Adam Nita  professor of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow and judge of the Voivodship Administrative Court in Gliwice, took part in the 2 weeks study visit in the Federal Administrative Court of Germany (Bundesverwaltungsgericht) in Leipzig. The visit was organised within bilateral partnership and exchange programme between the Polish Supreme Administrative Court and the Federal Administrative Court of Germany.

During the study visit Judge Nita held meetings with the President of the Court Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Klaus Rennert, as well as judges of the 3rd, 8th and 9th Senates. He had also opportunity to participate both at pre-deliberations and hearings before the 3rd Senate, in cases regarding transport law and food law. He observed also court hearings before 2nd and 8th Senates in cases regarding occupational pension provision, gambling and lottery law; labour law regarding civil servants and soldiers as well as legal status of judges (elections of federal judges).

Moreover he visited the Administrative Court in Leipzig (court of first instance) where he met the President of that Court judge Brigitta Braun. Judge Nita observed further court hearings before one among Chambers of that Court in asylum cases.

21-22 October 2019, Warsaw



On 21-22 October, a scientific conference for judges' assistants of the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) took place in Warsaw. The conference was entitled "Assistant of the administrative judge  comparative and practical issues" and was organized by the Judicial Decisions Bureau of the SAC.



The conference was opened by Prof. dr hab. Marek Zirk-Sadowski, the President of the Supreme Administrative Court, stressing that it is the first scientific conference in the history of administrative judiciary concerning the role and work of judicial assistants, conducted by themselves.



The inaugural lecture was delivered by Prof. dr hab. Marek Safjan, judge at the Court of Justice of the European Union, whose speech was devoted to the issues of the application of European law by a national judge, in particular in the context of the principles of effectiveness of EU law and procedural autonomy of the Member States. The following lecture was delivered by prof. UJ dr hab. Nina Potorak, whose speech concerned proceedings before the courts of the European Union and the role of court referendaries.



The first day of the conference was devoted to comparative legal issues. Apart from the judicial assistants of the SAC, the assistants from the Supreme Administrative Courts of the Czech Republic and Lithuania as well as from the Federal Administrative Court gave speeches. The speeches concerned the position and the role of the assistant in the administrative court, the methodology of work with the judge and the perspectives for the professional development of judges assistants in each of these countries. During the second day of the conference, the sessions were held in three groups, corresponding to the Chambers of the Supreme Administrative Court. The issues presented during the day were diverse and related to the current problems of jurisprudence, which the assistants of a judge face in their practice. The subjects of the second day of the conference concerned new institutions in the Polish legal system, constitutional law and European law.

14-17 October 2017, Vilnius, Kaunas (Lithuania)

On 14-17 October the President of Supreme Administrative Court (SAC), Prof. Marek Zirk-Sadowski, Vice-Presidents of the SAC: dr hab. prof. U Jacek Chlebny  President of the General Administrative Chamber and SAC judge Janusz Drachal - President of the Economic Chamber together with the delegation were received by the President of the Supreme Administrative Court of the Republic of Lithuania, President Gintaras Kryzevicius. The delegation also paid a visit to the Regional Administrative Court in Kaunas where the guests met with its President, Rimantas Giedraitis.

During a number of working meetings, the constitutional position, competences and organizational structure of the administrative courts of both countries, as well as the status of administrative judges, the recruitment procedure for the position of a judge and the rules of proceedings before administrative courts were discussed.

7 October 2019, Brussels (Belgium)



Vice-President of the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC), dr hab. prof. U Jacek Chlebny - President of the General Administrative Chamber of the SAC took part in a meeting of the working group of the Association of Councils of State and Supreme Administrative Jurisdictions of the European Union (ACA-Europe) in Brussels. The group worked on the Cross-sectional analysis 2019 for the 2019 EU Justice Scoreboard.

25 September 2019, Luxembourg

On 25 September 2019 a colloquium The General Court of the European Union in the digital era at the headquarters of the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg was held. The colloquium was organized on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the creation of the General Court of the EU. During the meeting, the impact of digital technologies on access to the courts, improvement of the justice efficiency and the quality of judicial decisions was discussed.

The Supreme Administrative Court was represented by the SAC judge, dr Anna Dumas, Vice-President of the Voivodship Administrative Court in Cracow.

17  18 September 2019, Poznan

On 17-18 September at the seat of the Voivodship Administrative Court (VAC) in Poznan, the 3rd Polish-German working meeting of administrative judges took place within the framework of cooperation between the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) and the Federal Administrative Court.

The purpose of the meeting organised by the SAC in close cooperation with the VAC in Poznan was to strengthen the exchange of knowledge and experience in the field of interpretation and application of administrative law by the Polish and German administrative courts.

The delegation from the Federal Administrative Court attended the meeting: Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Klaus Rennert - President, Prof. Dr. Andreas Korbmacher - Vice-President, Judges: Dr. Markus Kenntner and Dr. Stefan Langer and the Presidents of the Higher Administrative Courts of Berlin-Brandenburg (Judge Joachim Buchheister), Lower Saxony (Dr. Thomas Smollich), Saxony (Judge Erich Kunzler) and Thuringia (Dr. Klaus Hinkel).

In turn the Polish administrative judiciary was represented during the meeting by the President of the SAC Prof. dr hab. Marek Zirk-Sadowski, Vice-President of the SAC prof. U dr hab. Jacek Chlebny and SAC and VAC judges, including President and Vice-President of the VAC Poznan and Presidents of VACs in Gliwice, Krakow and Warsaw.

The topics of this year's meeting concerned the scope and limits of judicial independence, the latest jurisprudence of Polish and German administrative courts in the field of environmental law and computerisation of administrative court proceedings in both countries.

During working seminars on each of these topics, the papers were delivered by Polish judges of the SAC: Prof. dr hab. Marek Zirk-Sadowski (Judicial independence in the light of the principle of separation of powers and the procedure for appointing judges), prof. U dr hab. Jacek Chlebny (Problems of environmental law jurisprudence. Protection against smog), Jerzy Stankowski (Selected issues related to the location and construction of wind power plants in Polish law and in the jurisprudence of administrative courts) and Tomasz Kolanowski (Computerisation of administrative court proceedings) and by the German judges: Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Klaus Rennert (The judge's discretion - on the legitimacy of judicial power), Erich Kunzler (Independence and [administrative] supervision / situations of danger for independence), Prof. Dr. Andreas Korbmacher (Environmental law in the jurisprudence of the Federal Administrative Court), Dr. Markus Kenntner (Wind energy plants  legal standing of state authorities), Joachim Buchheister (Informatisation/digitisation of administrative court proceedings. - Protection of Information Society Data in Court Proceedings) oraz Dr. Thomas Smollich (Informatisation/digitisation of courts - impact on the functioning of the judiciary).

The meeting was also attended by specialists from the Chancellery of the SAC President and the Judicial Decisions Bureau of the SAC.

12-14 September 2019, Helsinki (Finland)

On 12-14 September 2018 in Helsinki a conference on theme: The role of science in environmental adjudication organized by EU Forum of Judges for the Environment (EUFJE) was held. During the meeting the Supreme Administrative Court was represented by Judges of the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland: Professor Jerzy Stelmasiak and Teresa Zyglewska.

12-13 September 2019, Paris (France)

The conference of the Chief Justices of the Supreme Courts of the Council of Europe Member States, organised by the Constitutional Council, the Council of State and the Court of Cassation of France, took place on 12-13 September in Paris. During the debates, the right to an effective remedy before a court, relations between national courts and the European Court of Human Rights and issues concerning the right to freedom of expression facing the respect for private and family life were discussed.

The Supreme Administrative Court was represented at this conference by the Vice-President of the Court, Prof. U, dr hab. Jacek Chlebny  President of the General Administrative Chamber of the Court.

3-12 September 2019, Beijing (China)

Judge of the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC), dr hab. prof. U Bartosz Wojciechowski  Head of the European Law Division in the Judicial Decisions Bureau of the SAC, participated from 3-12 September in the exchange programme for administrative judges organized by the International Association of Supreme Administrative Jurisdictions (IASAJ) at the Supreme People's Court of China.

During the internship, judge Wojciechowski met i.a. with the Chief Judge of the Administrative Division of the Supreme People's Court and the Deputy Director and employees of the International Cooperation Department of this Court. Judge Wojciechowski also visited, among others, the Information Management Centre, the Ministry of Justice, the National Judges College, the Intellectual Property Court and the China University of Political Science and Law.

During the meetings, the following issues were discussed: the practical aspects of an administrative judge work, deliberations and court hearings in administrative cases, the scope of discretionary power of a judge, relations between the judicial and executive power, the system of common and administrative courts in Poland, the process of appointing judges and the status of judges, the role of judges in a country under rule of law, the enforcement of judgments of administrative courts.

10 September 2019, Brussels (Belgium)

Vice-President of the Supreme Administrative Court, dr hab. prof. U Jacek Chlebny - President of the General Administrative Chamber took part in the Board Meeting of the Association of the Councils of State and the Supreme Administrative Jurisdictions of the EU (ACA-Europe) in Brussels.

9 September 2019, Luxembourg (Luxembourg)

On 9 September 2019, at the seat of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the second meeting of the Correspondents of the European Union Judicial Network - an online platform created by the CJEU and containing the case law of the CJEU, the case law of national courts related to EU law and information on the application of international law and EU law was held. During the meeting, issues concerning the current functioning of the Network and the perspectives for its development were discussed.

The Supreme Administrative Court was represented at the meeting by the SAC judge, dr Anna Dumas, Vice President of the Voivodship Administrative Court in Cracow.

9 September 2019, Brno (Czech Republic)

Judge of the Supreme Administrative Court Roman Wiatrowski took part in a seminar on Measures to Facilitate and Restrict Access to Administrative Courts organised by the Association of Councils of State and Supreme Administrative Jurisdictions of the EU (ACA-Europe) and the Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech Republic. During the seminar the structure of administrative judiciary, issues related to fees and cost of proceedings, as well as other measures which simplify or restrict access to the courts were discussed.

2 July 2019, Brussels (Belgium)



Vice-President of the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC), dr hab. prof. U Jacek Chlebny - President of the General Administrative Chamber of the SAC took part in a meeting of the working group of the Association of Councils of State and Supreme Administrative Jurisdictions of the European Union (ACA-Europe) in Brussels. The group worked on the Cross-sectional analysis 2019 for the 2019 EU Justice Scoreboard.

24-27 June 2019, Mexico City (Mexico)

On 25-27 June 2019 in Mexico City took place the XII Congress Public Law and Digital Technologies organised by the International Association of Supreme Administrative Jurisdictions (IASAJ) in cooperation with the Federal Court of Administrative Justice of Mexico, as well as the IASAJ Board Meeting and the General Assembly. During the Congress the impact of digital technologies on administrative jurisdictions, digital jurisdiction security, ethics, criminal liability and digital tools were discussed.

The IASAJ Board decided inter alia to accept the application of the Supreme Administrative Court of Jordan to the Association, to organise the next Congress in cooperation with the Belgian Council of State and to appoint the new Secretary-General of the IASAJ, Mrs Martine de Boisdeffre, President of the Section of Reports and Analysis in the French Council of State. The Supreme Administrative Court of Poland has been chosen the member of the Management Committee of the IASAJ for the next term, until year 2022.

The Supreme Administrative Court was represented by the Vice-President of the SAC and the President of the Commercial Chamber judge Janusz Drachal and by the SAC judge Tomasz Kolanowski, responsible for computerisation of proceedings before administrative courts.

13-14 June 2019, Budapest (Hungary)

On 13-14 June 2019 judge of the SAC Tomasz Kolanowski took part in an international conference on Digitalization for V4 countries, organized in Budapest by the Hungarian Academy of Justice (HAJ). During the first day of the meeting judge Tomasz Kolanowski participated in discussion panels on digital training in the judiciary and digital tools used in the courtroom. The programme of the second day of the conference included workshops on electronic communication and administration as well as digital solutions in the field of court management.

6-7 June 2019, Strasburg (France)

On 6-7 June 2019 the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg held the third Focal Points Forum of the Superior Courts Network (SCN). Representatives of the courts from 34 countries met judges and employees of the ECHR and discussed the Knowledge Sharing for SCN created by the ECHR, which is one-stop gateway to case-law knowledge and thematic analyzes. In addition, during the meeting a speech was delivered on the subject of collective understanding and enforcement of fundamental rights in Europe, and the ECHR case-law related to immigration and terrorism was also presented.

The Supreme Administrative Court was represented by Ms Marta Kulikowska, Head of Domestic and Foreign Relations.

31 May 2019, Vilnius (Lithuania)

The President of the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland, Prof. dr hab. Marek Zirk-Sadowski took part in the international scientific conference New Challenges and Experiences in Administrative Proceedings at the invitation of the President of the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania, Gintaras Kryzevicius. The conference was organized to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the establishment of administrative courts in Lithuania. During the conference, the President of the Supreme Administrative Court gave a lecture on The cassation-type model of the Polish administrative court proceedings and the exercising of the constitutional right of access to court (fair trial). The conference was also attended by representatives of, among others, the Court of the European Union, the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland and representatives of German and Lithuanian universities.

22 May 2019, Brussels (Belgium)

Ms Marta Kulikowska  Head of Domestic and Foreign Relations, team in the Chancellery of the President of the SAC took part in the meeting of the working group of the Association of Councils of State and Supreme Administrative Jurisdictions of the European Union (ACA-Europe) in Brussels. The meeting was devoted to the development and improvement of the Juri.Fast database containing the administrative courts decisions, which is publicly available on the ACA-Europe website.

15-17 May 2019, Darmstadt (Germany)

Judge of Supreme Administrative Court adjudicating in the Financial Chamber dr. hab. prof. U Bartosz Wojciechowski  Head of the European Law Division of the Judicial Decisions Bureau and Przemysaw Florjanowicz-Bachut  foreign relations officer and chief specialist at Domestic and Foreign Relations, team in the Chancellery of the President of the SAC took part in the 19th German Congress of Administrative Judiciary organized by Association of German Administrative Judges (Bund Deutscher Verwaltungsrichter und Verwaltungsrichterinnen) in cooperation with the local Administrative Court of Darmstadt (federal state of Hessen).

Judge Wojciechowski within the international discussion panel, co-organized by the working group Independence-Efficiency of the Association of European Administrative Judges (AEAJ) gave a lecture on The discretionary power of judge.

During the Congress within 14 working groups it has been discussed inter alia the current legal development in the European and German asylum, spatial and environmental law, the digitalization and digital security in administrative and administrative court proceedings as well as ethical and practical standards of good judging and the discretionary power of judge.

13-14 May 2019, Berlin (Germany)

Vice-President of the Supreme Administrative Court dr hab. prof. U Jacek Chlebny  President of the General Administrative Chamber of the SAC and Ms Marta Kulikowska  Head of Domestic and Foreign Relations, team in the Chancellery of the President of the SAC took part in the Annual General Assembly of the Association of State and Supreme Administrative Courts of the EU (ACA-Europe) and in the seminar on Functions of and Access to Supreme Administrative Courts, co-organized by the Federal Administrative Court.

The main topics of the seminar were the purposes of supreme administrative courts, binding effects of their decisions and filter systems for appeals to the supreme administrative courts. During the second panel of the seminar devoted to the binding effects of the courts decisions the Vice-President of the SAC, prof. Jacek Chlebny delivered a speech titled Resolutions  how to ensure the consistency of case law?. A general report prepared on the basis of national reports sent by ACA-Europe member institutions (including the SAC) was presented.

Vice-President of the SAC as a Treasurer of the Association also participated in the ACA-Europe Board meeting.

1-2 April 2019, Lisbon (Portugal)

On 1-2 April 2019 in Lisbon at the seat of the Centre for Judicial Studies took place the meeting of the national contact points of the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN). Poland was represented by the employees of the National School of Judiciary (Polish EJTN member). The Supreme Administrative Court (EJTN partner in Poland) was represented by Ms. Marta Kulikowska, Head of Domestic and Foreign Relations, team in the Chancellery of the President of the Supreme Administrative Court. During the meeting the activities of the EJTN in the year 2018 and also the planned activities and perspectives for years 2019-2020 were discussed.

25-26 March 2019, Dublin (Ireland)

On 25-26 March 2019 Vice-President of the Supreme Administrative Court dr hab. prof. U Jacek Chlebny and Marta Kulikowska - Head of Domestic and Foreign Relations, team in the Chancellery of the President of the SAC took part in the seminar How Courts Decide: The Decision-Making Process of Supreme Administrative Courts, organised at the Dublin Castle by the Supreme Court of Ireland and the Association of Councils of State and Supreme Administrative Jurisdictions of the European Union (ACA-Europe). For the purposes of the seminar, on the basis of 28 national reports from the ACA-Europe member institutions, the General Report was prepared. The General report was presented by Frank Clarke  Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Ireland within first session of the meeting.

Within three next sessions the following issues were presented and discussed by presenters and participants: the oral hearings; delibetarions of judges and methods of discussion; the use of dissenting opinions in the reasonings; the role of legal support staff; the use and nature of chambers/divisions and panels; the specialisation of judges; the use of Grand Chambers or Plenary Sessions. During the fird session President Chlebny delivered a speech about the Allocation of Roles of Desicsion-Makers in the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland.

Participants also took part in the hearing before the Supreme Court of Ireland in case P v. Ministry for Justice & Equality.

25 January 2019, Strasbourg (France)

On behalf of the President of the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC), judge of the SAC, dr Anna Dumas, Vice-President of the Voivodship Administrative Court in Cracow, represented Polish administrative judiciary during the official opening of the Judicial Year 2019 of the European Court of Human Rights that took place on 25 January 2019 in Strasbourg. She also took part in a seminar on the topic Strengthening Confidence in the Judiciary. Following the seminar, President of the ECtHR Mr. Guido Raimondi and Mr. Laurent Fabius, President of the French Constitutional Council, addressed an audience at the solemn hearing.

21-22 January 2019, Valletta (Malta)

Vice-president of the Supreme Administrative Court, prof. U dr hab. Jacek Chlebny - President of the General Administrative Chamber attended the Annual Coordination and Planning Meeting organized by the European Asylum Support Office (EASO). This meeting provided an opportunity to discuss the EASOs activities in 2018 and EASOs work programme 2019.

2018

10 December 2018, Brussels (Belgium)

Vice-President of the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC), dr hab. prof. U Jacek Chlebny - President of the General Administrative Chamber of the SAC took part in a meeting of the working group of the Association of Councils of State and Supreme Administrative Jurisdictions of the European Union (ACA-Europe) in Brussels.

2-4 December 2018, Cologne (Germany)

Vice-President of the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC)  President of the General Administrative Chamber prof. U dr hab. Jacek Chlebny took part in the seminar ReNEUAL I. Administrative Law in the European Union. Single Case Decision-Making co-organized by the Association of the Councils of State and Supreme Administrative Jurisdictions of the EU (ACA-Europe) and by the Federal Administrative Court of the Federal Republic of Germany.

The main topic of the colloquium were the issues of the legal position of different categories of parties to the proceedings and the administrative determination of facts and discretionary powers. The general report prepared on the basis of national reports sent by 28 ACA-Europe member institutions (including the SAC) was presented. Within the programme of the seminar the moot court based on the case regarding the legality of the permit under pollution control law for the construction of a small wind farm was organized.

30 November 2018, Vienna (Austria)

On 30 November 2018 judge of the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland, dr Tomasz Kolanowski took part in the Conference on the effectiveness of justice systems, co-organized by the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and by the European Commission  Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers.

During the conference the quality of justice systems for citizens and business and their economic impact, as well as risks and opportunities of digitalization in judiciary were presented and discussed among the participants.

26 November 2018, Paris (France)

President of the Supreme Administrative Court, prof. dr hab. Marek Zirk-Sadowski and Ms. Marta Kulikowska, Head of the Domestic and Foreign Relations, took part in the meeting of the Management Committee of the International Association of Supreme Administrative Jurisdictions (IASAJ).

During the meeting the Activity Report of the IASAJ as well as its Financial Statement was presented. The participants discussed also material and logistical organization of the next Congress (Mexico City 2019), exchange programme for administrative judges and the development of the website of the Association.

22-23 November 2018, Luxembourg (Luxembourg)

Vice-president of the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC), President of the General Administrative Chamber of the SAC, dr hab. prof. U Jacek Chlebny attended in the High Level Judicial Roundtable with CJEU, ECtHR and IARLJ-Europe, which was organized by the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) and took place on 22-23 November 2018 in the seat of the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg.

President Chlebny gave a lecture during the IV. Session of the meeting, titled: Push-backs at the land border.

18-20 November 2018, Luxembourg (Luxembourg)

On 18-20 November 2018 in Luxembourg a meeting of judges from the first instance courts and courts of appeal of the European Union Member States, organized by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), took place. The Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) was represented by Judges of the Financial Chamber of the SAC: Mr. Roman Wiatrowski and Mr. Tomasz Kolanowski.

During the meeting lectures and workshops on procedural issues, as well as on the current case law of the CJEU, were held. Participants also took part in the hearing before the Grand Chamber of the Court.

16-17 November 2018, Sofia (Bulgaria)

On 16-17 November 2018 a conference Training and Specialisation in Environmental Law organised by the EU Forum of Judges for the Environment (EUFJE) was held in Sofia.

The Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) was represented by judges of General Administrative Chamber of the SAC: Ms. Teresa Zyglewska and Prof. dr hab. Jerzy Stelmasiak.

18-19 October 2018, Vienna (Austria)

On 18-19 October 2018 judge of the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC) dr Iwona Bogucka  Head of the 4th Division of the Judicial Decisions Bureau of the SAC took part in the seminar Data Protection in the Judiciary. New EU rules and best practice in the Member States, organized by the Academy of European Law in Trier (Germany) in cooperation with Supreme Court of Justice of the Republic of Austria.

During the meeting i.a. the issues of ensuring data protection in the light of GDPR in national courts, the Court of Justice of European Union, European Court of Human Rights, in the police and justice sectors and within cross-border judicial cooperation and communication, as well as the using of digital technologies in courts within the different fields (access to case files, camera in the courtroom, anonymisation of court decisions, press releases) were presented and discussed among the participants.

18-19 October 2018, Tallinn (Estonia)

On 18-19 October 2018 Marta Kulikowska - Head of the Domestic and Foreign Relations (team in the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland) attended a seminar on the issue of Due Process organized by the Association of Council of State and Supreme Administrative Jurisdictions of the European Union (ACA-Europe) and the Supreme Court of Estonia. For the purposes of the seminar, on the basis of 30 national reports from the ACA-Europe member institutions, the general report was prepared.

During the seminar the following issues were presented and discussed: cross-border administrative proceedings, judicial protection, due process and trends towards efficiency in the light of Europes post-totalitarian constitutional tradition, right to public hearing and efficiency of court proceedings in the context of simplified proceedings.

11-13 October 2018, Lizbon (Portugal)

On 11-13 October 2018 the seminar on Intra Community Supplies and Triangular Transactions was held in Lisbon. The seminar was organized by the Association of European Administrative Judges (AEAJ  Working Group Taxation) in cooperation with the Supreme Administrative Court of Portugal. Judges of Supreme Administrative Court adjudicating in the Financial Chamber: dr. hab. prof. U Bartosz Wojciechowski - Head of the European Law Division of the Judicial Decisions Bureau, dr. Roman Wiatrowski and dr. Krzysztof Winiarski took part in the meeting. During the seminar judge Roman Wiatrowski gave a lecture titled Proof of Transportation. Judge Bartosz Wojciechowski also took the floor presenting a speech on the subject of discretionary power of administrative judges.

8-12 October 2018, Paris (France)

Judge of the Supreme Administrative Court dr Anna Dumas  the President of the Voivodship Administrative Court in Cracow and Ms. Marta Kulikowska  Head of Domestic and Foreign Relations, team in the Supreme Administrative Court participated in a weekly internship organized by the Council of State of France (Conseil d'Etat).

During the visit, Judge Dumas and Ms. Kulikowska discussed with members of the Council of State in the 1st, 2 and 4th Chamber of the Litigation Section (Section du contentieux) and in the Section of Public Works (Section des travaux publics). The role and significance of the Council of State in the administrative judiciary system, as well as the role of the public rapporteur in the judicial proceedings before the Council of State were particularly discussed. The consultative function of the Council of State as a body preparing and issuing opinions on draft of law and draft of government decrees with the power of law (projets d'ordonnance) was presented. The subject of constitutional questions, referred by the Council of State to the French Constitution Council (Conseil constitutionnel), was also presented. Judge Dumas took part in the public session (seance publique) of the Litigation Section and in deliberations of the 9th and 10th Chamber of this Section. On the other hand, Ms. Kulikowska met Ms. Natalie Laurent-Atthalin, the Chef of the Cabinet (Cheffe de cabinet) in the Council of State, responsible for the International Association of Supreme Administrative Courts (IASAJ).

President Dumas and Ms. Kulikowska also held meetings at the Center for Legal Research and Dissemination of Jurisprudence (Centre de recherches et de difussion juridiques), where they got acquainted with the methods of working on comparative law studies; in the Directorate of Information and Communications (Direction de l'information et de la communication), where they discussed the information policy of the Council of State, and got acquainted with the work of the Report and Studies Section (Section du rapport et des etudes) of the Council of State, where the legal measures for the enforcement of judgments issued by the Council of State Litigation Section and by tribunals and administrative courts were presented.

4 October, 2018, Luxembourg (Luxembourg)

On 4 October 2018 in Luxembourg a conference on the challenges facing modern law libraries organized by the Court of Justice of the European Union was held. During the conference, the evolution of the libraries manner of functioning and expectations towards library professions were presented, as well as changes in the methods of acquiring new resources and bibliographic research.

The Supreme Administrative Court was represented by Ms. Magorzata Szyszkowska, specialist in the Domestic and Foreign Relations, team at the Chancellery of the President of the Supreme Administrative Court.

1-2 October 2018, Brussels (Belgium)

Vice-president of the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC), President of the General Administrative Chamber of the SAC, dr hab. prof. U Jacek Chlebny took part in the final conference of the judicial training project Roadmap to European Effective Justice (Re-Jus): Judicial Training Ensuring Effective Redress to Fundamental Rights Violations; project co-funded by the Justice Programme of the European Union JUST/2015/JTRA/AG/EJTR/8703.

During the first day of the conference President Chlebny took part in the discussion of project results within the field devoted the Effectiveness, proportionality and dissuasiveness in the enforcement of EU law: how general principles may stimulate judicial dialogue between European and national courts. On the second day of the meeting Professor Chlebny gave one of the keynote speeches regarding the question of The impact of article 47 CFREU on national caselaw between general principles and sectorial application. In addition, he also took part in the roundtable on Access to justice and effective protection of immigrants and asylum seekers: the impact of article 47 CFREU, in the light of recent developments of EU law.

20-21 September 2018, Prague (Czech Republic)

On 20-21 September 2018 an international scientific conference "Currency, Taxes and Other Institutes of Financial Law in the Year of the 100th Anniversary of the Founding of Czechoslovakia", organized by the Department of Financial Law and Financial Science of the Faculty of Law of the Charles University, was held in Prague. Dr hab. prof. SGH Dominik Gajewski - Head of the Economic Analyses Team of the Judicial Decisions Bureau in the Supreme Administrative Court participated in the conference.

17-28 September 2018, Leipzig (Germany)

On 17-28 September 2018 prof. U dr hab. Agnieszka Krawczyk  judge of the Voivodship Administrative Court in Warsaw, delegated to the Financial Chamber of the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC) took part in the 2 weeks study visit in the Federal Administrative Court of Germany (Bundesverwaltungsgericht) in Leipzig. The visit was organised within bilateral partnership between the Polish SAC and the Federal Administrative Court of Germany.

During the study visit Judge Krawczyk held meetings with the President of the Court Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Klaus Rennert, the Presiding judge of the 7th Senate, Prof. Dr. Andreas Korbmacher, as well as judges of the 2, 7th and 8th Senates. She had also opportunity to particpate both at pre-deliberations and hearings before the 2, 7th and 8th Senates, in cases regarding: public services law and labour law regarding civil servants and soldiers; environmental law and waste law; gambling law, law of certification and accreditation of the market and press law.

Moreover she visited the Administrative Court in Leipzig (court of first instance) where she met the President of that Court judge Brigitta Braun and judge Joanna Gabrysch  member of the Polish-German Association of Judges. Judge Krawczyk observed further court hearings before 5th Chamber of that Court and held the working meeting with mediators employed in the Administrative Court of Leipzig.

12-14 September 2018, Catania (Italy)

Vice-president of the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC), President of the General Administrative Chamber of the SAC, dr hab. prof. U Jacek Chlebny attended workshops and conference "The Right to Effective Judicial Protection under EU Asylum Law" organized in Catania by International Association of Refugee & Migration Judges (IARMJ) - Europe and Scuola Superiore Delia Magistratura (SSM) with the participation of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

During the first day of the conference President Chlebny chaired the panel concerning the future of Common European Asylum System (CEAS).

3 September 2018, Brussels (Belgium)

Vice-President of the Supreme Administrative Court, dr hab. prof. U Jacek Chlebny - President of the General Administrative Chamber took part in the Board Meeting of the Association of the Councils of State and the Supreme Administrative Jurisdictions of the EU (ACA-Europe) in Brussels.

18-22 June 2018, Seoul (South Korea)

Vice-president of the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC), President of the General Administrative Chamber of the SAC, dr hab. prof. U Jacek Chlebny attended in the 10th World Congress of Constitutional Law, which took place from 18 to 22 June 2018 in Seoul.

President Chlebny gave a lecture in the judicial panel during the Fourth Plenary Session of the Congress titled: The right to an effective judicial protection in immigration and asylum cases from a national judges perspective.

8 June 2018, Strasburg (France)

On 8 June 2018 the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg held the second Focal Points Forum of the SCN (Superior Courts Network). Representatives from 59 different courts from 33 countries met the ECHR Judges and their Registry counter parts (SCN Focal Points) for a one-day working session which includes the entry into force of Protocol No. 16 and its practical implementation, as well as discussions concerning the practical aspects of functioning the SCN. The Supreme Administrative Court was represented by Ms Marta Kulikowska, Head of Domestic and Foreign Relations.

The SCN was born out of a desire to create a more structured and effective dialogue between the Strasbourg Court and the national Superior Courts on exchanging knowledge on Convention case-law.

14-15 May 2017, The Hague (The Netherlands)

Vice-President of the Supreme Administrative Court prof. U dr hab. Jacek Chlebny and Marta Kulikowska - Head of Domestic and Foreign Relations, team in the Chancellery of the President of the SAC took part in the Annual General Assembly of the Association of State and Supreme Administrative Courts of the EU (ACA-Europe) and in the colloquium on the topic of An exploration of Technology and the Law.

Vice-President of the SAC was re-elected Treasurer of ACA-Europe by the General Assembly.

The main topic of the colloquium were the issues of automatic (digital) making of administrative decisions and their enforcement, as well as the related issues of personal data protection and technology-neutral legislation. A general report prepared on the basis of national reports sent by 29 ACA-Europe member institutions (including the SAC) was presented. Vice-President of the SAC as a Treasurer of the Association also participated in the ACA-Europe Board meeting.

22  23 March 2018, Vienna (Austria)

On 22-23 March 2018 the delegation of judges of the Voivodship Administrative Court in Gliwice which was led by judge of the Supreme Administrative Court Leszek Kiermaszek  President of the Court, paid a study visit to the Federal Finance Court and Federal Administrative Court in Vienna. The visit took place within the framework of partner contacts between the judges of Court in Gliwice and the Umbrella Association of Austrian Administrative Judges.

The Polish delegation was received by the President of the Federal Financial Court Dr. Daniela Moser and the Vice-President of the Federal Administrative Court Dr. Michael Sachs. During the meetings the organisation and functioning of both Austrian High Courts as well as legal provisions regarding administrative court proceedings were presented. Also the similarities and differences between the system and proceedings before administrative courts in Austria and Poland were discussed.

21-22 March, Zagreb (Croatia)

On 21-22 March in Zagreb took place the meeting of the contact persons of the member institutions of the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN). Poland was represented by the employees of the National School of Judiciary (Polish EJTN member). The Supreme Administrative Court (EJTN partner in Poland) was represented by Ms. Marta Kulikowska, Head of Domestic and Foreign Relations, team in the Chancellery of the President of the Supreme Administrative Court. During the meeting the activities of the EJTN in the year 2017 and also the planned activities and perspectives for years 2018-2019 were discussed.

19 March 2018, Warsaw (Poland)

On 19 March 2018 the scientific conference Application of the European law in jurisprudence was held in the Assembly Hall of the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC), with the participation of the President of the Court of Justice of Europeaqn Union Prof. Koen Lenaerts, the General Advocate of the CJEU, Prof. US dr hab. Maciej Szpunar, Prof. UJ dr hab. Nina Potorak  Judge at the General Court of European Union, the President of the SAC Prof. dr hab. Marek Zirk-Sadowski and the Vice  President of the SAC Prof. U dr hab. Jacek Chlebny. The conference was organized by the Supreme Administrative Court.

It was already the sixth in the series of conferences of judicial assistants and other employees of the legal services of the Supreme Court (SC), the SAC and the Constitutional Tribunal (CT), initiated in 2012.

Over 120 participants took part in the conference, including SAC judges, administrative judges, court assessors, court referendaries and judicial assistants representing voivodship administrative courts in Biaystok, Bydgoszcz, Gdansk, Kielce, Cracow, Lublin, odz, Poznan, Rzeszow, Szczecin, Warsaw, judicial assistants of the Chambers of the SAC and SC, as well as members and experts of the SC Bureau of Studies and Analyses, SAC Judicial Decisions Bureau, Bureau of the Legal Service of CT and academics.

In his opening speech the president of the SAC Prof. Marek Zirk-Sadowski welcomed all participants. He pointed out that the idea of scientific meetings of young lawyers employed in the legal services of the three highest courts of Poland was established in 2012 at the initiative of the CT. He also reminded the subject of previous meetings. The SAC President stressed, that European law issues had already appeared during previous conferences, but this year's conference at the SAC is entirely devoted to the judicial application of European law, in particular European Union law. He drew attention to the significance of this topic due to the systemic reforms of the judiciary concerning the Constitutional Tribunal and the Supreme Court and the rules for the election of members of the National Council of the Judiciary. He noted, however, that these reforms do not directly concern administrative courts, which are separate and independent judicial power from other constitutional powers. The SAC President stressed that administrative courts in Poland play active role as EU courts, applying both the primary and secondary law of the European Union in pending cases and using the possibility of conducting judicial dialogue with the CJEU through a preliminary ruling procedure.

The introductory lecture highlighting the core topics of the conference The Court of Justice and national courts: a dialogue based on mutual trust and judicial independence held the CJEU President Prof. Koen Lenaerts  Professor of European Law at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. In his lecture Prof. Lenaerts described the role that judicial independence plays in the context of the preliminary reference procedure, the keystone of the EU judicial system. He illustrated this principle through the recent judgment of the CJEU in case Associacao Sindical dos Juizes Portugueses, where that court held that EU law protects the independence of national courts, since it is an essential prerequisite for the judicial dialogue between the ECJ and the national courts. In second part of his speech, he presented another recent judgment of the CJEU in case Achmea, which reflects the objective of protecting the integrity of that dialogue. In the last part of the lecture President Lenaerts analyzed the judicial dialogue from a transnational perspective. He noted that in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice such a transnational dialogue can only take place between judicial authorities that are independent  in particular, from the executive , as only those authorities guarantee the successful operation of the principle of mutual trust. President Lenaerts emphasized that judicial independence is part of both our common heritage and of our very identity as Europeans.

Next within three panels devoted to European inter-judicial dialogue, standard of EU and international law and the Europeanization of the substantive public law the following issues were presented: the influence of CJEU case-law, on the application of the law by SC as the EU law court; judicial standards of ECtHR and CJEU and contemporary migration challenges; decision to locate a companys head office within the EU and domestic registration requirements; reasonable time for hearing the case in the light of Council of Europe standards and administrative court practice; the service of the letters in the administrative court proceedings in foreign relations in the light of EU law principles; international standards of the right to public information; implementation of rights resulting directly from EU law in the light of Regulation (EC) 261/2014; implementing decision of EU Council in the area in the common system of VAT and single undertaking concept in the area of pomocy de minimis aid in the agricultural sector.

The moderators of all three panels of the conference were SAC judges: Prof. U Bartosz Wojciechowski  Head of the European Law Division of the Judicial Decisions Bureau, Prof. U dr hab. Jacek Chlebny  Vice-president of the SAC, President of the General Administrative Chamber and Prof. SGH dr hab. Dominik Gajewski  Head of the Economic Analyses Team of the Judicial Decisions Bureau.

Prof. UJ dr hab. Nina Potorak - Judge at the GC summed up the conference. She emphasized the high scientific level of presentations and discussions. She also set examples of the implementation of principles of equivalence and effectiveness of EU law by Polish administrative courts. She also pointed to the importance of the application of European law and European standards by Polish courts during the current constitutional crisis regarding the administration of justice.

The conference was ended by the President of the SAC who thanked all the referees, moderators and participants for the participation and discussion during the meeting. He also thanked his colleagues and collaborators who were involved in the organization of the conference.

2-16 March 2018, Paris (France)

Judge of the Supreme Administrative Court Ryszard Pek - the President of the Voivodship Administrative Court in Wrocaw, participated in a study visit organized by the Council of State of France (Conseil d'Etat). During his stay judge Pek met the Presidents and the councillors (conseiller d'Etat) of the 2nd and the 9th Chamber of the Litigation Department (Section du Contentieux) to discuss the role and the importance of the Council of State in the system of French administrative judiciary. On this occasion judge Pek presented the position of the administrative judiciary in Poland. Polish judge also took part in public hearings (seance publique) of the Litigation Department and participated in deliberations (seance d'instruction) of both Chambers of this Section.

While getting acquainted with the consultative tasks of the Council of State, judge Pek met with the Presidents and members of the Administrative Chamber and the Financial Chamber. During the meetings, the role of the Council of State as an advisory body which issues opinions on draft bills and draft ordinances (government decrees having the force of law - projets d'ordonnance) was discussed. On 13 March, 2018 judge Pek took part in a session of the Financial Chamber regarding the adoption of a preliminary opinion on a draft concerning the prevention of the financial support for terrorism. On 15 March, 2018 judge Pek participated in the General Assembly of the Council of State of France. The subject of the Assembly was to express an opinion on bills and to clarify a legal issue raising serious doubts. On the last day of the study visit, having become acquainted with the work of the Reporting and Study Section, Polish judge discussed legal measures aimed at bringing the judgments of the Dispute Section of the Council of State and the administrative tribunals into effect.

27-28 February 2018, Geneva (Switzerland)

On 27-28 February 2018, the 11th meeting of the Aarhus Convention Task Force on Access to Justice  the special session for representatives of judiciary, judicial training institutions and other review bodies, organized by United Nations Economic Commission for Europe was held in the seat of the UNECE. The main goal of the meeting was the assessment of the progress of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention in the field of the implementation of the provisions on access to justice and access to information in environmental matters.

The meeting was focused on best practices in the said matters, increased pan-European judicial cooperation in environmental matters, outcomes of the sixth session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Convention in September 2017, including the decision on promoting effective access to justice. It was also agreed that the topic of the future meeting in February 2019 will be access to justice in matters related to air pollution. The purpose of future activities will be also to create a platform for the exchange of information on legislation, policy and case law on matters related to the implementation of the provisions of the Aarhus Convention. In the meeting participated, among others judges from Belgium, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, Finland, Latvia, Georgia, Ireland, Germany, Poland, Moldova, Tajikistan and Italy. The Polish administrative judiciary was represented by Prof. U dr hab. Piotr Korzeniowski - judge of the Voivodship Administrative Court in Warsaw seconded to perform the duties of a judge in the General Administrative Chamber of the Supreme Administrative Court.

6 February 2018, Kyiv (Ukraine)

Judges from the Financial Chamber of the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland: Dr. Tomasz Kolanowski  Deputy President of the 2nd Division of the Chamber and Dr. Krzysztof Winiarski participated as guest speakers in 2nd International Conference Abuse of rights in tax legal relations organized by All-Ukrainian Association of Administrative Judges, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and Ukrainian Tax Advisers Association. The Polish judges presented the papers on the instruments to fight against tax evasion in the Polish tax law.

26 January 2018, Strasbourg (France)

Roman Wiatrowski, Judge of the Financial Chamber of the Supreme Administrative Court, represented on behalf of the President of the Court Polish administrative judiciary during the official opening of the Judicial Year 2018 of the European Court of Human Rights that took place on 26 January 2018 in Strasbourg. He also took part in a seminar on the topic The authority of the judiciary. Following the seminar, President of the ECtHR Mr. Guido Raimondi and Mr. Koen Lenaerts, President of the Court of Justice of European Union, addressed an audience at the solemn hearing.

16-19 January 2018, Valletta (Malta)

Vice-president of the Supreme Administrative Court, prof. U dr hab. Jacek Chlebny - President of the General Administrative Chamber attended the Annual Coordination and Planning Meeting of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO). This meeting provided an opportunity to discuss the activities planned by EASO in 2018 and beyond.

2017

4-6 December 2017, Strasbourg (France)

On 4  6 December 2017 judge of Supreme Administrative Court Magorzata Miron visited the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the Council of Europe (CoE). The visit was organized by the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN) as a part of the exchange program for judges. In the study visit participated judges and prosecutors from the member states of European Union.

The programme of the study visit included visiting Debating Chamber of the Parliamentary Assembly, presentation of the HELP programme of the CoE and within visit to ECHR working meetings with Deputy to the Registrar Mr Michael Wischuf, the employees of the Legal Division, Research Division, Case-law Information and Publications Division of the Chancellery of the ECtHR. The participants has also occasion to familiarise themselves with the activities of the Departmenet for the Execution of Judgments of the ECHR, Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and also of the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights of CoE. The participants attended also Grand Chamber hearing in a case concerning the application of Islamic religious (Sharia) law to an inheritance dispute Molla Sali v. Greece (application no. 20452/14).

6-10 November 2017, Stockholm (Sweden)

On 6-10 November 2017 judge of the Financial Chamber of the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) Roman Wiatrowski visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Sweden. The visit was organized by the European Judicial Training Network as a part of the exchange programme for judges. During the stay judge Roman Wiatrowski also visited the Supreme Court of Sweden, the Administrative Court of Appeal of Stockholm, the Swedish Revenue Law Commission and the Swedish Parliamentary Committee on Taxation. During the meetings with the President of the Supreme Administrative Court of Sweden, judges and employees of this court the organization and the jurisdiction of the court, as well as Swedish career as a judge were discussed. The programme of the visit also included attendance at an oral hearing of cases before the Supreme Administrative Court of Sweden. Moreover judge of the SAC Roman Wiatrowski gave a lecture concerning Polish administrative judiciary.

19  20 October 2017, Trier (Germany)

In 2017 the Academy of European Law (ERA) celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary. On this occasion the Jubilee Congress entitled The Authority of EU Law - Do we still believe in it? was held on 19 - 20 October 2017 in Trier.

The aim of the meeting was to identify the grounds for the current crisis of the European Union in relation to the decreasing respect for the authority of EU law and its legitimacy. The first day of the Congress was devoted to the role of EU legislation and the perspective of supreme and constitutional courts in the context of the authority of EU law. During the second day of the Congress some current challenges regarding compliance with and enforcement of EU law were discussed within the framework of three parallel working sessions. Participants focused in particular on the remaining and new obstacles to the Single Market rules, increasingly contested effectiveness of EU law in areas such as Economic and Monetary Union and current threats to the rule of law in the EU. In the last part of the meeting the crisis of the European project undermining the authority of EU law was analysed.

At the Congress the Supreme Administrative Court was represented by prof. Jan Pawe Tarno - judge of the General Administrative Chamber of the Supreme Administrative Court.

17  19 October 2017, Vilnius (Lithuania)

On 17-19 October the President of Supreme Administrative Court (SAC), Prof. Marek Zirk-Sadowski, Vice-Presidents of the SAC: Maria Wisniewska - Director of the Judicial Decisions Bureau and Janusz Drachal - President of the Economic Chamber together with the delegation were received by the President of the Supreme Administrative Court of the Republic of Lithuania, President Gintaras Kryzevicius. The delegation also paid a visit to the Constitutional Court where the guests met with President Dainius Zalimas.

During a number of working meetings the constitutional position, competencies and organizational structure of the administrative courts of both countries were discussed. The issues related to electronisation of judicial proceedings in Poland were also discussed, emphasizing that the Lithuanian experience in this field is a source of inspiration for the Polish SAC.

The meetings were also attended by the President of the Vilnius Regional Administrative Court Jolanta Malijauskiene and the President of the Voivodship Administrative Court in Biaystok Wojciech Stachurski.

The purpose of the Polish delegation's visit was to establish closer cooperation both at the level of the Lithuanian and Polish Supreme Administrative Courts as well as at the courts of first instance.

5 - 6 October 2017, Ljubljana (Slovenia)

On 5-6 October 2017 the Seminar on administrative cooperation in tax matters, organized by the Association of the European Administrative Judges (AEAJ) and the European Commission, was held in the seat of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Slovenia. During the meeting the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) was represented by judges of the Financial Chamber: Roman Wiatrowski, dr. Krzysztof Winiarski and prof. U dr hab. Bartosz Wojciechowski - Head of the European Law Division in the Judicial Decisions Bureau of the SAC.

The seminar was opened by Edith Zeller, President of the AEAJ, Peter Golob, Head of Administrative Chamber of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Slovenia, Jasna Sagan, President of the Administrative Court of the Republic of Slovenia and Wolfgang Mederer, Head of the Direct Taxation Legal Unit, Directorate General for Taxation and Customs Union, European Commission.

During the first day of the seminar a presentation of the Administrative Cooperation Directive (DAC) was made, including the CJEU case law and fundamental principles of EU law applied to tax procedural cases and also a state of implementation of the DAC and its amendments into national law. In addition some practical aspects of administrative cooperation in the field of taxation were discussed. The second day of the seminar was devoted to the rights of taxpayers and information holders in the context of administrative cooperation.

26  27 September 2017, Venice (Italy)

On 27 September 2017 in Aula Magna of the Venice International University (VIU) took place the seminar Electronic access to the Courts organized by the International Association of Supreme Administrative Jurisdictions (IASAJ) in cooperation with the Council of State of Italy. The participants have been welcomed by Mr Alessandro Pajno - President of the Council of State of Italy, who held opening speech introducing to the topic of the meeting.

The first roundtable, moderated by Mr Franco Frattini  President of III section of the Council of State of Italy, focused on The implementation of electronic procedures. Within that session respective national contributions were presented by: Mr Ali Urker  Member of the Council of State of Turkey, Mr Zhang Shuyuan  Vice-President of the Supreme Peoples Court of China, Mrs Suzanne Cote - Judge of the Supreme Court of Canada, Roger Bilodeau  Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada and Panagiotis Efstratiou  Member of the Council of State of Greece.

During the second round table, moderated by Mr. Jean-Marc Sauve - Vice-President of the Council of State of France, the issues raised by the dematerialization of procedures were discussed. Their statements on this topic presented: Gregory Delannay - Chief court clerk at the Council of State of Belgium, Mario Luigi Torsello  Secretary general of the Council of State of Italy and Sangyup Lee  Director of Judicial IT at the Supreme Court of the Republic of Korea.

The seminar was preceded by the IASAJ Board meeting that focused on: the activities of the Association, changes in the internal organization of the Association (inter alia request for membership of the Supreme Court of Canada and appointment of the members of the Management Committee), financial matters concerning 2016 budget execution and approval of the estimated 2017 and 2018 budgets, as well as use of the website of the Association and organization of the next IASAJ Congress in 2019.

The IASAJ Board during its Venice meeting decided inter alia on the appointment of the representative of Supreme Administrative Court of Poland to the Management Committee.

The SAC was represented during IASAJ Board meeting and seminar by the Vice - President of the SAC and the President of the General Administrative Chamber prof. U dr hab. Jacek Chlebny.

22  23 September 2017, Oxford (United Kingdom)

On 22-23 September 2017, in Merton College of the University of Oxford took place the conference Climate Change and the Judiciary organized by the European Union Forum of Judges for the Environment - EUFJE). The scientific discussions were preceded by a welcoming address by EUFJE - President Prof. Luc Lavrysen  judge of the Constitutional Court of Belgium and The Rt Hon Lord Justice Lindblom  Lord Justice of Appeal in the Court of Appeal of England and Wales.

During the first day of the conference the following issues were discussed: question of the global pact for the environment; climate change science and policy; EU Climate Change Policies after the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21); role for international law in climate change adjudication; environmental protection as judicial discretion: the case of EU Public Procurement Law; the relevance for climate action of the EU Commission notice on access to justice in environmental matters; climate change in the UK courts from the perspectives of an advocate and a judge and the role of judges in climate change.

During the second day of the meeting, the discussions focused on the climate change adjudication from the viewpoint of the survey of judicial review wind turbine decisions, Urgenda v. Dutch Government case and progress of public interest litigation in China.

The programme of the conference included also presentation of the progress report of the Working Group on Sanctioning, Prosecution and Judicial Practice in Environmental Cases within ENPE/EUFJE/LIFE+ project.

The Polish administrative judiciary was represented by judge of the Supreme Administrative Court, prof. Jerzy Stelmasiak  the judge of the General Administrative Chamber of the SAC and member of the EUFJE-Board and judge of the Voivodship Administrative Court in Warsaw Teresa Zyglewska  President of the 4th Division of that Court.

21-22 September 2017, Belgrade (Serbia)

On 21-22 September 2017 an International Conference devoted to "Organization and Competences of Administrative Judiciary", organized by OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) - Mission to Serbia, was held in Belgrade. Vice - President of the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) prof. U dr hab. Jacek Chlebny and judge of the Voivodship Administrative Court in Warsaw dr Mirosaw Gdesz attended the conference.

Opening speeches were made by the President of Administrative Court - judge Jelena Ivanovic, President of the Supreme Court of Cassation - judge Dragomir Milojevic, Head of OSCE Mission to Serbia - ambassador Andrea Orizio and the Minister of Justice of Republic of Serbia Ms Nela Kuburovic.

During the conference representatives of Austria, Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia presented advantages and disadvantages of the existing administrative judiciary systems in their countries (the first day of the conference). They also discussed legal remedies in administrative dispute and the subject matter of administrative dispute in the mentioned countries (the second day of the conference).

21-22 September 2017, Vilnius (Lithuania)

On 21 - 22 September 2017 judge of the Supreme Administrative Court, dr hab. prof. ALK Artur Mudrecki - Head of the Division III of the Judicial Decision Bureau attended the XVI International Scientific Conference in Vilnius under the theme The Optimization of Organization and Legal Solutions Concerning Public Revenues and Expenditures in Social Interest. The meeting was organized by the University of Biaystok - the Faculty of Economics and Computer Science in Vilnius and the Center for Information and Research Organization in Public Finance and Tax Law of Central and Eastern European Countries. Representatives of nine countries from Central and Eastern Europe took part in the conference. Presentations of the participants focused on issues concerning relation between budget incomes and expenditures and the financial public interest. During the conference judge Artur Mudrecki gave a lecture titled: The principle of proportionality in VAT law.

18 September 2017, Cracow (Poland)

On 18 September 2017 the seminar "Public order, national security and the rights of third - country nationals in immigration and citizenship cases" was held in the oldest building of Jagiellonian University (Collegium Maius) . The seminar was organized by Association of the Councils of State and Supreme Administrative Jurisdiction of the European Union (ACA-Europe) and Supreme Administrative Court of Poland in cooperation with the Voivodship Administrative Court in Cracow, represented by the Vice-President of this Court dr Anna Dumas. Over forty participants were present at the seminar, representing the Councils of State and the Supreme Administrative Courts from twenty EU Member States.

The seminar was opened by the President of the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland Prof. dr hab. Marek Zirk-Sadowski and the President of ACA-Europe, the Vice  President of the Council of State of the Netherlands, Prof. Piet Hein Donner. Then the General Advocate of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), Prof. US dr hab. Maciej Szpunar took the floor. He presented  from the perspective of CJEU  the case law of CJEU related to notions of the public order and national security. At the same time he underlined that those notions have to be interpreted in the context of relevant national law, so it is for the national courts to establish case-by-case, if the criteria resulting from EU law are met. The General Report, based on the national reports of the ACA-Europe Members, was presented by its author, the Treasurer of the ACA-Europe Association, the Vice  President of the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland Prof. U dr hab. Jacek Chlebny. He underlined that neither national security nor public order are terms of precise comprehension in the judicial practice of EU Member States and the national reports show that there is no definitive or consistent interpretation which is placed on these terms. He pointed out that the difficulty of defining such vague notions allow for the weighing up of the rights of the individual and the public in an individual case. He noted that, when defining the risk to national security or public order, national judge must have thorough knowledge of the transnational legal instruments and the relevant case-law of the CJEU. However, in the end of the judicial process it is a national judge who has to answer whether the entry or stay of a third-country national poses a threat to public order or raises concerns with regard to national security.

During the seminar as panelists and moderators also spoke among others: the First President of the Council of State of Belgium Roger Stevens, the President of the Supreme Court of Hungary dr Peter Darak, the First President of the Supreme Court of Ireland Frank Clarke and Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Klaus Rennert, the President of the Federal Administrative Court.

Participants discussed the legal framework and proceedings before national administrative bodies in the field of immigration and citizenship cases and the scope and methods of exercising judicial control over decisions issued in this matter. In the context of the CJEU case-law it was emphasized that national judges, taking into account the national security - on the one hand and the right of the access of individual to information on the reasons of the decision made on the grounds of Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States - on the other hand, have to strike balance between those principles in three aspects: legal basis of the decision, its reasons and public access to the case-law. The issue of the access of national judges to confidential documents was also discussed, as well as methods of classifying documents depending on their disclosure and their impact on the possibility of using those documents in the judicial proceedings. National judges emphasised several times that the judicial control, especially in the field of immigration and citizenship cases, is a very important and an extraordinary tool of control over the executive power and activities of the public administration in the framework of the principles of checks and balances and separation of powers.

The closing remarks were made by the President of Supreme Administrative Court Prof. dr hab. Marek Zirk-Sadowski who stressed out that the European, comparative and national perspective, reflected in the General Report and in presentations of the participants of the seminar, leads to a conclusion that administrative judges in Europe are facing similar challenges in each EU Member State. He also pointed out that the complexity of the court cases in the discussed matter requires a special and individual treatment, taking into consideration the need to strike the balance between the rights of individuals and the standards arising from CJEU and European Court of Human Rights case-law on the one hand and public interest and national security as a part of constitutional identity of EU Member States on the other.

11-15 September 2017, Lisbon (Portugal)

On 11-15 September 2017 judge of the Financial Chamber of the Supreme Administrative Court, dr Magorzata Wolf-Kalamala visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Portugal. The visit was organized by the European Judicial Training Network as a part of the exchange programme for judges.

During the stay judge Wolf-Kalamala met the President, Vice-Presidents and judges of the Supreme Administrative Court of Portugal. She also attended - as an audience - a sessions of the General Chamber and Financial Chamber of the Supreme Administrative Court of Portugal and took part in a hearing before the administrative court of the first instance. Moreover she visited the Lisbon Central Administrative Court (court of the second instance).

During meetings with judges of those courts the system and organization of administrative courts in Lisbon were presented and principles of judiciary proceedings in Portugal and Poland were compared. Also the reasons for excessive length of proceedings before the courts and most common tax cases in both countries were discussed.

11 September 2017, Luxembourg (Luxembourg)

On 11 September 2017 Vice-President of the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) prof. U dr hab. Jacek Chlebny attended a meeting of representatives of the highest courts of the EU Member States, which took place in Luxembourg. The meeting concerned a project called "European Union Judicial Network", which aimes to create a special platform in a form of a website, opened at the beginning of 2018, involving case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, national case law of relevance to EU law and information on application of the international and EU law. During the meeting some basic assumptions and general rules of functioning of the platform (e.g. access rights, uploading of documents) were presented and some practical arrangements for judicial cooperation were made, necessary for application of the above mentioned judicial network.

6-8 September 2017 Leipzig (Germany)

On 6-8 September 2017 the delegation of the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (SAC) visited the Federal Administrative Court of Germany. The meeting took place in the framework of the cooperation the Supreme Administrative Court has set up with the Federal Administrative Court in order to strengthen the exchange of knowledge and experience in the field of interpretation and application of administrative law by the Polish and German courts.The delegation headed by the President of the Polish Court Prof. dr hab. Marek Zirk-Sadowski, included Vice-Presidents of the SAC  Judge Maria Wisniewska and prof. U dr hab. Jacek Chlebny and judges of the SAC  presidents of some voivodship administrative courts as well as representatives of the SAC.

The German administrative judiciary was represented during the meeting by Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Klaus Rennert  the President of the Federal Court of Germany, six judges of the German court, the Presidents of Higher Administrative Courts of Berlin-Brandenburg, Lower Saxony and Thuringia, as well as the President of the Administrative Court in Dresden.

The expert discussions organized within the visit included the following topics: The Administrative Judiciary and the Division of Powers; The large scale infrastructure projects as a subject of the proceedings before administrative courts; The Supreme [Administrative] Court as a court of appeal. The respectively introductory lectures were held by Polish judges: prof. dr hab. Marek Zirk-Sadowski, Andrzej Irla and prof. U dr hab. Jacek Chlebny and German judges: Prof. Dr. Ingo Kraft, Martin Steinkuehler and Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Klaus Rennert.

3 - 4 July 2017, Luxembourg (Luxembourg)

On 3 - 4 July 2017 judge of the Financial Chamber of the Supreme Administrative Court Roman Wiatrowski visited the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg. The visit was organized by the European Judicial Training Network as a part of the exchange programme for judges. The programme of the visit included participation in lectures devoted to the general presentation of the Court, the procedure before the Court, the role of the Legal Secretary and advocate general, the preliminary procedure and also other matters concerning translation of legal documents and rules of using the electronic catalogue provided by the library of the Court. During the stay at the Court, judge of SAC Roman Wiatrowski also attended a public hearing before the Court.

26-28 June 2017, Strasbourg (France)

On 26-28 June judge of Supreme Administrative Court Zdzisaw Kostka visited the European Court of Human Rights and the Council of Europe. The visit was organized by the European Judicial Training Network as a part of the exchange program for judges. The program of visit included working meetings with the employees of these institutions and participation as a public in the debate before the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. During the stay at the Council of Europe, judge of SAC Zdzisaw Kostka also met with the staff of the General Secretariat of the Council of Europe. At the meeting the basic issues related to the execution of judgments of the ECHR and the European Social Charter were discussed.

12 June 2017, Berlin (Germany)

On 12 June 2017 at the European Academy in Berlin (EAB) the workshop was organized by the European Chapter of International Association of Refugee Law Judges (IARLJ).

During the workshop the following issues were particularly discussed: latest developments of the harmonisation of EU Asylum Law, legal provisions and cases from Member States regarding to the concept of safe countries of origin and safe third countries, the matter of granting refugee status or subsidiary protection to civil war refugees from Syria and problems of returning failed asylum seekers to their home countries.

The programme of the workshop included also initiation of the Judicial Analysis on Qualification for International Protection as well as meeting and discussions with Dr. Jan Hecker, asylum expert of the German Federal Chancellery.

The Supreme Administrative Court was represented by professor Jacek Chlebny  the Vice-President of the SAC and the President of the General Administrative Chamber.

8-20 May 2017, Konigswinter  Leipzig  Schleswig (Germany)

Judge of Supreme Administrative Court Andrzej Kuba  President of the 2nd Division of the Commercial Chamber of SAC and Przemysaw Florjanowicz-Bachut  Foreign Relation Officer at Domestic and Foreign Relations, team in the Chancellery of the President of the SAC, participated in Multilateral Trainee Programme 2017 for Judges of Administrative Courts and Members of the Judiciary, organized in cooperation with the German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation (Deutsche Stiftung fur internationale rechtliche Zusammenarbeit e.V.) and the Union of German Administrative Judges (Bund Deutscher Verwaltungsrichter und Verwaltungsrichterinnen).

The Exchange Programme included an introductory course about German administrative law and special administrative law, administrative judiciary in Germany, the organisation of the courts and allocation of jurisdiction activities, procedural principles in administrative court proceedings, court administration and legal status of judges, professional associations of judges and also the internship at Administrative Court and Higher Administrative Court of Land Schleswig-Holstein in Schleswig and debriefing session. The introductory course and debriefing session took place in Konigswinter by Bonn.

Polish participants of Exchange programme have also the possibility to attend the conference of German administrative judges Leipzig Dialogue in Administrative Judiciary, co-organized by the Federal Administrative Court of Germany in Leipzig.

18-19 May 2017, Paris (France)

On 18-19 May took place in Paris 20th Annual International Judicial Conference, organized by The Furth Family Foundation and co-organized by The International Foundation for Electoral Systems.

This year's conference was devoted issues regarding the necessity of continuing education for judges by developing judicial training institutes, the criminal justice response to terrorism, international environmental law, developments in private antitrust litigation and universal jurisdiction clause.

The Supreme Administrative Court was represented by Ryszard Pek  judge of the Financial Chamber of SAC and President of the Voivodship Administrative Court in Wrocaw.

17-18 May 2017, Brussels (Belgium)

On 17-18 May took place in Brussels the workshop Challenges of the digital age: better access to legal information for EU citizens, organized by the Publications Office of the European Union. The event was opened by Mr Rudolf Strohmeier  Director-General of the Office.

The conference was attended by the representatives of European Union institutions: Parliament, Council, Commission, Publications Office, European Central Bank and Court of Justice as well as by the representatives of the 26 EU Member States and EEA member  Norway, including national supreme courts of these states.

During the workshop it has been discussed: EU legislation and consolidation, electronic Official Journal, national electronic law data bases and official journals, with special reference to the experiences of Spain, Latvia, Slovakia, France, Austria, Romania, Ireland, Italy and The Netherlands, as well as Denmark and Portugal. The issues discussed included also synergies between EU law and national law, including the issue of access for EU citizens to EU and national legislation procedures and case law, inter alia by electronic data bases EUR-Lex and N-Lex and also by European legislation Identifier (ELI) and European Case Law Identifier (ECLI).

The Supreme Administrative Court was represented by Ms. Marta Kulikowska  Head of Domestic and Foreign Relations, team in the Chancellery of the President of the SAC.

15-16 May 2017, The Hague (The Netherlands)

President of SAC prof. Marek Zirk-Sadowski and the Vice-President of SAC prof. U dr hab. Jacek Chlebny took part in the Annual General Assembly of the Association of State and Supreme Administrative Courts of the EU (ACA-Europe) and in the seminar on the topic of Better regulation. In the meeting also participated Marta Kulikowska - Head of Domestic and Foreign Relations, team in the Chancellery of the President of the Supreme Administrative Court.

The central issues of the meeting concerned national feedback practices between administrative tribunals and advisory bodies on the one hand, and governments and parliaments on the other, aimed at the quality of the new legislation.

As the treasurer of the Association, the Vice-President of the SAC also participated in the ACA-Europe Board meeting.

21 April 2017, Riga (Latvia)

On 21 April 2017 the international final conference Supreme Courts as guarantee for effectiveness of judicial systems in the European Union organized by the Supreme Court of Latvia in collaboration with the Supreme Courts of Hungary, Lithuania and Spain as well as the Universities of Antwerp and of Ljubljana, within the project co-funded by the European Commissions Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers took place in Riga at the Aula Magna of the University of Latvia.



During conference the publication Best practice guide for managing Supreme Courts was presented. The publication was based on survey answered by 26 Supreme Courts of EU (among others the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland) containing advices and best practices how the work of the Supreme Courts could be improved in four areas: performance of research and documentation divisions of Supreme Courts, general organization of judicial work in order to speed up the deadlines of hearings, communication with the public, as well as work of the Councils of Judiciary.



The conference was attended by the representatives of the Supreme Courts or Supreme Administrative Courts of Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden as well as of European Network of Councils of Judiciary (ENCJ). The Supreme Administrative Court was represented by Ms. Marta Kulikowska  Head of Domestic and Foreign Relations, team in the Chancellery of the President of the Supreme Administrative Court and Przemysaw Florjanowicz-Bachut  chief specialist in this Department.

27-28 March 2017, Luxembourg (Luxembourg)

On 27-28 March took place the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the Rome Treaties in the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg. The organized for this occasion Forum of Judges: The network of EU justice: guarantee of a high-quality system of justice, as well as the hearing before the Grand Chamber of the Court, was attended by the Vice-President of the Supreme Administrative Court prof. Jacek Chlebny - President of the General Administrative Chamber of SAC.

23-24 March 2017, Ljubljana (Slovenia)

Vice-President of NSA prof. Jacek Chlebny - President of the General Administrative Chamber of the Court and Marta Kulikowska - Head of the Domestic and Foreign Relations attended a seminar on the issue of administrative sanctions organized by the Association of Council of State and Supreme Administrative Jurisdictions of the EU (ACA-Europe) and the Supreme Court of Slovenia. During the seminar reports of the national courts of the member states and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the EU concerning administrative sanctions were presented.

8-9 March, Lisbon (Portugal)



On 8-9 March in Lisbon took place the meeting of the contact persons of the member institutions of the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN). Poland was represented by the employees of the National School of Judiciary (Polish EJTN member). The Supreme Administrative Court (EJTN partner in Poland) was represented by Ms. Marta Kulikowska, Head of Domestic and Foreign Relations, team in the Chancellery of the President of the Supreme Administrative Court. During the meeting the activities of the EJTN in the year 2016 and also the planned activities and perspectives for years 2017-2018 were discussed.

ETJN is an international non-profit association that organizes and promotes training for judges and prosecutors and the exchange of knowledge on the European judiciary. NSA is a EJTN's partner since November 2016.

27 January 2017, Kyiv (Ukraine)

Judges from the Financial Chamber of the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland: Prof. Bartosz Wojciechowski, Dr. habil. Artur Mudrecki and Dr. Krzysztof Winiarski participated as guest speakers in International Conference AntiBEPS regulations in Ukraine and EU organized by Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and Ukrainian Tax Advisers Association.

After the conference Polish judges visited also the High Specialized Court of Ukraine for Civil and Criminal Cases (HSCU), at the invitation of judge Oleh Tkachuk - the Academic Secretary of the HSCU Scientific and Advisory Board. The meeting focused on exchange of experiences between Ukrainian and Polish colleagues, familiarization with the activity organization in terms of European integration processes in Ukraine and positive experiences of Ukrainian judicial reform. Polish judges have drawn the presents attention to peculiarities of functioning of Polish judicial system.

At the same day members of Polish delegation participated also in panel discussion organized by Aspen Institute Kyiv.

27 January 2017, Strasbourg (France)

Judge Roman Wiatrowski from the Financial Chamber of the Supreme Administrative Court, represented on behalf of the President of the Court Polish administrative judiciary during the official opening of the new judicial year of the European Court of Human Rights that took place on 27 January 2017 in Strasbourg. He also took part in a seminar on the theme Non-refoulement as a principle of international law and the role of the judiciary in its implementation. Following the seminar, President of the ECtHR Guido Raimondi and Silvia Alejandra Fernandez de Gurmendi, President of the International Criminal Court, addressed an audience at the solemn hearing.

16-17 January 2017 Valletta (Malta)

Vice-president of the Supreme Administrative Court, Judge Jacek Chlebny - President of the General Administrative Chamber attended the Annual Coordination and Planning Meeting of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO). This meeting provided an opportunity to discuss the activities planned by EASO in 2017 and beyond.
Welcome Guest! You Are Here:
A witness, Kate Okwor, on Wednesday, told an Independent Investigative Panel probing complaints of rights violations committed by the police, how his elder brother, Jude Onunze, had been missing from the Kuje police station in Abuja over 12 years ago.

Ms Okwor, who appeared before the 11-man panel in Abuja, said her brother was arrested by police officers from Kuje police station on January 1, 2009, following the complaint of assault lodged against him by his friend.

The witness said she last heard from her brother at the police station on January 2, 2009.

Petition

She appeared before the panel on Wednesday to testify in support of a petition submitted to the panel by her family.

The panel, chaired by a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Suleiman Galadima, was set up by the National Human Rights (NHRC) in response to last years nationwide #EndSARS protests against the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and acts of police brutality.

The NHRCs press unit shared the details of Wednesdays proceedings of the panel with PREMIUM TIMES in a statement.

According to the NHRCs statement, Ms Okwor told the panel that her brothers friend had lodged a complaint of assault against him at the Kuje police station.

She said her brother called her when he was arrested and taken to the Kuje police station on January 1, 2009.

She said she eventually met the officers in charge of her brothers case at the police station that day and was told by them to come the following day.

According to her, she arrived the police station with food for her brother on January 2, 2009.

She said she was able to pass the food and water to him over the counter after tasting them as requested by the police.

The NHRCs statement added, the witnesses said she, together with her husband, and Chairman of Igbo community in Kuje, Akpata Justice, went to the police station on January 4, 2009 when the 5th respondent, Peter Ageh (the investigative police officer), Kuje police station said that my brother had been taken home in a patrol vehicle.

Upon hearing this, she said that they quickly went back and on getting to his brothers house, he discovered that the door was locked and that there was no sign to show he was around.

According to the witness, she and some members of her family then returned to the police station to inform them that his brother was not at home.

She said her brother had not been seen since then.

She said she had gone to court and the National Assembly over the alleged enforced disappearance of his brother before reporting the case to the NHRC.

Cross-examination, indefinite adjournment

While cross-examining the witness, the counsel for the Nigerian police, James Idachaba, said the matter had been taken to the court and decided by the court.

Mr Idachaba informed the panel that an appeal was pending before the Court of Appeal in respect of the matter.

ADVERTISEMENT

But the complainants lawyer, Chukwudi Igwe, told the panel that the missing Jude person was presumed dead and that he was not aware that the same matter was pending before the Court of Appeal.

The panel, therefore, adjourned the matter indefinitely to enable the parties ascertain the status of the matter at the FCT High Court or the Court of Appeal and report back to the panel.
Photo: The Canadian Press

The federal government says COVID-19 vaccine distribution will steadily increase in the coming weeks as Canada hits an important milestone.

Deputy chief public health officer, Dr. Howard Njoo, says the country has surpassed the 10 per cent mark of residents over 18 who have received at least one shot.

More than 11 per cent of the country's adult population is now at least partially protected from the virus.

But Njoo warns that's not enough to stop the spread, as more transmissible variants continue to pose a "significant threat" until more people are vaccinated.

Officials say a total of six million doses have been delivered to the provinces so far.

Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, the military commander in charge of Canada's COVID-19 vaccine distribution, says two million doses are set to be delivered next week  for a total of eight million by the end of March.

Defeat to Leicester City in the FA Cup quarter-final may not be the disaster many are making it out to be for Manchester United, although the manner of the defeat did highlight the fact that the club won't be able to challenge for the major honours until they get a proper holding midfielder.

Much is made of the 2004 Arsenal team which went an entire Premier League season without defeat, there was of course the quality of Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira, yet it was the presence of Gilberto Silva which made all the difference.

Signed for a paltry five million euros in the summer of 2002, Silva would go onto become the perfect foil for Patrick Vieira, sitting just deeper than the Frenchman, sweeping up every bit of danger before it was able to even get to the Gunners' backline.

Manchester United don't currently have this kind of player, and if you look at their last two European Cup successes, they have.

In 1999 it was Roy Keane and in 2008 it was Owen Hargreaves, and neither player has been properly replaced as we head into the 2021/22 season.

United have a plethora of midfielders who don't actually fit the role

Paul Pogba is not disciplined enough for the role, and it limits his creative talent, whilst Fred and Scott McTominay lack the requisite technical ability to receive the ball in the difficult positions and move it on across shorter distances.

Manchester United's defence can be extremely porous, and it will continue to be so if Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof are picked to play together.

Neither of the two are blessed with any great pace, and often get put under incredible pressure as a result.

A holding midfielder would perfectly take such pressure off the pairing, preventing a lot of danger actually getting to them.

Just imagine Youri Tielemans' goal on Sunday, the way he strode through a static United midfield before placing a shot into the bottom corner of the net, do you really think a player in Gilberto Silva's mould would have let him get that far unchallenged?

Wilfred Ndidi is the blueprint

Ironically, on the other side of the pitch there was perhaps the ideal candidate to take such a role at Old Trafford... Wilfred Ndidi.

The Nigerian is so wonderfully gifted, and is criminally undervalued by those outside of Leicester City, which explains why nobody has tested the Foxes' resolve in the market to this point.

His defensive prowess is clear, he is confident in challenges, but it's his positional discipline which is so eye-catching.

Rarely is the former Genk midfielder ever out of position, he locks the centre of the pitch down, and at the same time is talented enough to keep the ball moving.

At Leicester he is fortunate in the sense possession isn't a priority, and he can fire the ball forward at will, but he is more than capable of being part of a team that wants to dominate in such a manner.

New recruitment setup will have credentials tested in the summer

Manchester City have had Fernandinho, Liverpool have had Fabinho, Real Madrid have had Casemiro and Barcelona have had Sergio Busquets, yet in recent years United believe they have known better, and dismissed the need for such a protective presence in midfield.

Until that arrogance is removed, United will continue to struggle in the face of attacking pressure, and results like the 3-1 defeat against Leicester City will continue, never mind the defensive aberration in Turkey which ultimately cost the team in the Champions League.

It's impossible to challenge for the two important trophies, the Premier League and Champions League, without an elite holding midfielder, and whilst much of United's summer will be spent chasing a player who can play on the right wing, the aforementioned area is one which should be their priority.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-24 17:18:57|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani (C-R) attends an inauguration ceremony of Kamal Khan Dam in Chahar Burjak district, Nimroz Province, Afghanistan, on March 24, 2021. Ghani on Wednesday inaugurated the key hydropower dam in Nimroz, which is expected to boost economy and agriculture in the land-locked Asian country, the state-run National Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) reported. (Afghan Presidential Palace/Handout via Xinhua)

KABUL, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Afghanistan's President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani on Wednesday inaugurated a key hydropower dam in the western province Nimroz, which is expected to boost economy and agriculture in the land-locked Asian country, the state-run National Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) reported.

Ghani was joined by hundreds of Afghan officials, dignitaries and locals at the inauguration ceremony held near the Kamal Khan Dam located in Chahar Burjak district, about 95 km south of Zaraj, capital of Nimroz.

"Inauguration of Kamal Khan Dam is a historic moment of emotion and pride for Afghans. The project will irrigate lands and light up homes. The dam is a generator of hopefulness and confidence in the future of Afghanistan," Ghani said at the ceremony broadcast live by the RTA.

The construction work of the dam was initiated in 1970s but affected by the prolonged conflicts in the country.

"Hearts of all Afghans are beating today for Kamal Khan Dam, success in construction of Kamal Khan Dam was a big victory for Afghanistan, which is a symbol of national unity," Ghani said.

The dam, built on the Helmand River, is capable of irrigating 174,000 hectares of crop land. It will also produce electricity power to bring light to hundreds of thousands of Afghan households in the far-flung province, about 790 km southwest of capital Kabul.

The dam has a storage capacity of 52 million cubic meters of water and will create over 650,000 job opportunities.

Scores of casualties have been reported in the Afghan national security forces in protecting the dam's construction from the attacks by militants, reports said.
McDowell group plans 42-mile trail in Pisgah National Forest

A Black community situated at the base of the Blue Ridge escarpment in McDowell County is taking a leading role in developing an ambitious trail project in Pisgah National Forest.

Work is slated to begin later this year on the Old Fort Trails Project, which will create roughly 42 miles of new sustainably constructed trails to improve community connectivity, reduce barriers to access, and support environmental and social sustainability.

The project is spearheaded by People on the Move for Old Fort, a Black-led collaborative that advocates for the communitys Black residents. The efforts are designed to remove some of the hurdles, including historical legacies, to Black participation in trail building and recreation.

Its hard to get Black people in the woods, given the history, said Lavitia Logan, a Black resident of Old Fort and the program coordinator for People on the Move for Old Fort. The old people say that the boogeyman was there. Thats the reason why Black people dont go in the woods in the South. I just want people to go to take advantage of it. This is our backyard.

When she heard about the Old Fort project, Logan jumped at the opportunity to connect the Black community of Old Fort with the national forest.

Her enthusiasm may be traced to cheerful memories of swims at a nearby national forest recreation area, Curtis Creek. On summer evenings her father, who worked for the railroad, took her to swim when he returned from work.

Logan is committed to the idea that her community can take advantage of the business opportunities a trail town can generate.

People on the Move for Old Fort is the largest financial contributor to the project thus far, sharing grant funds allocated to develop Black entrepreneurship in the community. That money will be used, in part, to help speed up the planning requirements of the federal government to build trails on public land.

Historical realities

Dawn Chavez, executive director of the nonprofit environmental organization Asheville GreenWorks, understands why the Black community in Old Fort and communities of color in other parts of the state stay clear of the forest and other public lands.

Many Black people came to the region as slaves or forced labor. Near Old Fort, a memorial was recently created to commemorate roughly 3,000 Black men  some of whom perished  from the N.C. State Penitentiary who were forced to work as inmates under harsh conditions to expand the railroad west to Asheville in the 1870s.

Later, during the Jim Crow era, public recreation spaces, such as parks, campgrounds and beaches, were segregated.

That has a long impact in communities of color, Chavez said. The reason for telling children not to go to the woods may be forgotten, but its still a practice passed down through generations. People of color were not welcome, and that legacy carries on today. Its hard to dispel that and build trust.

Chavez, who grew up in the Bronx, N.Y., connected with the outdoors on family camping trips. After graduating from college, she led a center in New York City that introduced the outdoors to kids of color. And in Boston, she launched a program creating pathways for minorities to environment-related careers.

She told Carolina Public Press that the Black communities participation in a public lands project is a really big deal.

Its not something you see anywhere really except in predominantly Black places. And those places usually dont coincide with public lands, she said.

Often, according to Chavez, organizations with good intentions approach communities of color with preconceived notions about their interest in outdoor recreation.

A more appropriate strategy, she said, is to approach communities of color with humility and to get peoples buy-in and seek their input from the beginning.

In 2019, Jason MacDougald, a leader of the nonprofit G5 Trail Collective, a local trail organization, attended a community meeting in Old Fort, a community of about 1,000 residents 27 miles east of Asheville, to explain a trail initiative he was spearheading in collaboration with the Grandfather Ranger District of Pisgah National Forest.

McDougald, executive director of Camp Grier near Old Fort, realized there was enormous potential for trail development in the tens of thousands of acres of forest sandwiched between Old Fort and the Blue Ridge Parkway.

But the U.S. Forest Service relies on partnerships with private groups to maintain and develop trails. Although other mountain towns, such as Boone, Brevard and Asheville, have dedicated trail maintenance groups, the trails around Old Fort were in a maintenance shadow.

McDougald said engaging the community was an outgrowth of his observations of Ashevilles path to prosperity, largely from tourism and its access to world-class outdoor recreation.

Weve seen Asheville grow and develop and the Black community get left behind, said McDougald. Were in the position to build this from scratch. I hope that this project will engage the local community in being more active and connected to public lands surrounding Old Fort.

Several years ago, McDougald began hosting regular trail maintenance weekends at Camp Grier that were a big success, attracting bicycle riders from Asheville, Charlotte and Raleigh.

His interest in developing new trails led to a proposal to build a network of accessible and sustainable trails and transform Old Fort into Western North Carolinas next trail town. McDougald and other leaders of the project, however, arent just aiming to create a playground for bikers. He envisions an outdoor hub that will draw all sorts of other users: hikers, trail runners, equestrians, nature lovers and the local community of Old Fort.

Both McDougald and Grandfather Ranger District trail manager Lisa Jennings saw a need to invite nonconventional forest users to the table. According to Jennings, traditional interest and user groups  such as hikers, conservation organizations and anglers to name a few  typically have a seat at the table to develop Forest Service projects in Western North Carolina.

What we havent done before is ask the community at large to be involved, she said.

Listening as the first step

The trail project will develop a purpose-built trail system that will serve a diverse range of users from equestrians to walkers. Many current trails in the area follow legacy roads that were created decades ago to extract timber with no regard for sustainability. Now, those trails are prone to erosion and costly to maintain.

This is really bigger than anything Ive ever worked on, said Jennings of the Forest Service. Weve listened to what people want from the community. Weve learned that you have to invite people and make sure the community is not left out.

This summer, the Forest Service will supervise a team of Black and Latinx students from McDowell County, restoring and repairing trails in the project area. The five-week paid summer job is part of the U.S. Youth Conservation Corps, a nationwide employment program for teens.

Chavez said representation of people of color in the woods makes a huge difference, and there is a growing movement in Asheville and across the nation to engage minorities in outdoor recreation activities, such as Black Folks Camp Too and Asheville-based Everybodys Environment.

Formed in Asheville in 2014, Everybodys Environment is a coalition of organizations working in the conservation and environmental fields that aim to diversify their staff and boards, form more inclusive and equitable programs, and train more culturally competent staff. The U.S Forest Service is a member of the coalition

Those efforts, said Chavez, should focus on building authentic relationships with communities of color before an invitation comes. Its a process to build relationships and trust. Thats the crux of it.

This month, the public will have an opportunity to comment on the Old Fort Trails Project.

On Feb. 24, the Forest Service released a scoping document for the project and announced a 30-day comment period. Public feedback will help guide the project, followed by an environmental review and a final plan this fall.

Jennings said the groups hope to break ground in late 2021 and implement the project over the next five to 10 years.
AstraZeneca is among the real corporate heroes of the pandemic.

Its workforce strained every sinew to bring the Oxford-Jenner Covid vaccine to fruition and, selflessly, it as been making it available at close to cost price.

So it was shameful to hear Belgium MEP Philippe Lamberts frothing at the mouth and describing the company as 'dishonest'.

It is also disturbing that Italian inspectors are making politically charged claims that Astra secretly stockpiled 29m doses.

Lifeline: AstraZeneca's workforce strained every sinew to bring the Oxford-Jenner Covid vaccine to fruition and, selflessly, it as been making it available at close to cost price

What is frustrating for its Swedish chairman Leif Johansson, a former chief executive of Volvo, is the reputational damage.

He is concerned by the high-profile rift with the EU and with Astra's less than robust regulatory filings in the US, which have been subjected to challenge.

A problem has been the absence of French chief executive Pascal Soriot, who has been at home with his family in Sydney away from the fray.

Some members of the board feel that they went out on a limb by awarding Soriot a 15.4million pay package for 2020, partly for rising to the Covid challenge.

This met his perennial concern about being undervalued. But it is now felt that Soriot has been less than effective in dealing with European and US regulators.

It is argued that differences with Brussels over what some insiders at Astra now regard as not a particularly well written EU contract could have been smoothed over.

Healing the rift has not been made any easier by Soriot's defiant rather than conciliatory interviews with the European press.

The rumbles of discontent with Soriot's leadership and the lack of a strong enough support system around him are understood to have coalesced around non-executive Graham Chipchase, chief executive of former GKN offshoot Brambles.

There is no suggestion that anyone is calling for Soriot's head. He has delivered not just on the vaccine but also on the growth targets and immunology drugs put in place at the time of the successful defence against a Pfizer takeover in 2015.

Johansson and the board stood full square behind the sturdy defence put up by Soriot.

Astra's stock has retreated from its peaks of July 2020 partly as a response to the 29billion bid for US drug maker Alexion.

But there can be no doubt that the EU vaccine war has marred an undoubted triumph and engendered unwanted turbulence.

Rough rider

David Cumming at Aviva has taken some of the shine off the 8.8billion Deliveroo float with objections to the work status of the food service company's riders.

The focus on working conditions in the gig economy has come under scrutiny following the Supreme Court ruling in favour of the entitlement of Uber drivers to the living wage and better employment conditions.

In a country where successive Tory-led governments have raised the national living wage, all employers, Deliveroo included, have legal obligations to make sure it is paid. There are also moral obligations about rights of access to sick pay.

But there also needs to be recognition that in the UK there are individuals in further education and young people seeking extra income who enjoy the flexibility of being a delivery rider.

It would also be fascinating to know if Aviva, in the interests of governance parity, would be willing to offload its holdings in all the other quoted firms in the retail, online and logistics sector which subscribe to the gig economy.

Flexible working arrangements suit great swathes of the workforce. Not being a PAYE employee can also be economically advantageous.

Sure, potential employment legal liabilities are a risk factor in the float. But whether they justify UK long-funds climbing onto their high horse is a moot point.

Jackpot joy

Why is the UK services sector doing so well in lockdown, soaring to a seven-month high in March?

It is partly due to the country's creative, tech and online skills. The gaming sector is a major contributor to the economy with an estimated contribution of 5.7billion.

The intrinsic value is underlined with the latest deal, with Britain's Gamesys, inventor of online betting brands such as Star Spins, Sun Bingo and Virgin Games, getting into bed with US casino operator Bally's in a 2billion deal.

The takeover enriches founder Noel Hayden by 299million. Another British enterprise goes West.
Research

11 Ways to Protect Privacy When Using Student Data

While student data has long been mined to support retention efforts and institutional decision-making, the COVID-19 pandemic has introduced new and sometimes troubling uses for data in higher education. For example, campuses might track students' location and social media data to monitor social distancing compliance and help prevent virus outbreaks, according to a new report from NASPA and New America. The pandemic has also "heightened campus interest in tracking student data to better understand how students are faring in online learning environments and the need to intervene with the right resources at the right time," the report explained. More than ever, the researchers argued, there is a vital need for transparency in how colleges collect and use personal data.

To gauge students' perceptions of data use in higher education, NASPA and New America conducted a series of student focus groups, discussing campus privacy, contact tracing, targeted outreach and more. Participants represented a variety of institution types, academic levels, instructional formats and racial/ethnic categories. Among the findings:

Students generally trust their schools to do the right thing with their data, and feel more comfortable with school-led data collection than collection by third parties.

Students were somewhat willing to be tracked to help combat COVID-19 outbreaks on campus, but were uncomfortable with their data being used when it wasn't related to the pandemic.

Students had mixed responses to social media monitoring (whether by institutions or via peer-to-peer monitoring) and felt it could create a negative campus climate.

Students felt online proctoring software could be invasive and an uncomfortable violation of privacy.

Targeted outreach based on demographics could be helpful, students said, but their comfort level varied with the type of communications.

The report offered 11 recommendations for institutions to be more mindful of student privacy when using data, both during and after the pandemic:

1) Limit the use of location data. "Before schools decide to use this type of data, they should discuss it with their students and have clear limits around that data," the report asserted.

2) Stay out of students' social media. Most students felt that monitoring social media accounts  even when those accounts are public  is a violation of their privacy.

3) Be mindful of data limitations. "Data on demographics are often limited and only tell a small part of a student's story," the report emphasized.

4) Clearly communicate data policies. "Institutions should clearly outline policies about data use and have a process in place that allows students to ask questions they may have about their data."

5) Use internal, university-controlled applications, when possible. Students were skeptical about how third-party applications and companies use their data.

6) Practice proctoring restraint. "Colleges should reduce the number of third-party proctoring companies with which students must interact and should be clear about what data they are collecting," the report said.

7) Avoid peer reporting structures. Asking students to "snitch" on their peers can have negative results. "Institutions who use this approach may face a backlash by students who no longer find the campus culture welcoming, a consequence that may linger long after the pandemic has passed."

8) Train faculty and staff in student outreach. "Ensuring that the faculty and staff responsible for reaching out to students have the right training is critical for effective intervention," the report noted.

9) Provide training for faculty and staff about online expectations. It's important that institutional expectations around student privacy are clear, and that faculty and staff understand what they can and cannot require of students.

10) Ask students who should communicate with them. While students were generally willing to accept help from advisers, their response to other campus roles was mixed. "Colleges should survey or conduct focus groups with their students about what messenger they feel is appropriate for different kinds of outreach," the report said.

11) Plan your messages thoughtfully. Students want to be treated as adults, and "reacted negatively to messages that they viewed as paternalistic," according to the report. "Colleges should test their messages with students formally (like in focus groups) and informally (in conversation) before they are used.

The full report, "Keeping Student Trust: Student Perceptions of Data Use within Higher Education," is available on the New America site.
OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada ruled Thursday that the national price on pollution is entirely constitutional, upholding a pivotal piece of the Liberal climate-change plan.

The statue representing justice looks out from the Supreme Court of Canada over the Parliamentary precinct in Ottawa, Thursday March 25, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada ruled Thursday that the national price on pollution is entirely constitutional, upholding a pivotal piece of the Liberal climate-change plan.

The case brings a legal end to a years-long battle between Ottawa and many provinces over a carbon tax, and prompted Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe to start looking at a homegrown carbon-pricing mechanism and Alberta Premier Jason Kenney to nudge open the door to doing so too.

Saskatchewan, Ontario and Alberta challenged the Liberal government's 2018 Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act in court, arguing it was a federal overreach into provincial jurisdiction over everything from taxes and the environment to natural-resource development.

On Thursday all three were on the losing end, as the court declared Ottawa has the constitutional authority to impose a minimum price on greenhouse-gas emissions.

The undisputed existence of a threat to the future of humanity cannot be ignored," wrote Chief Justice Richard Wagner in the 6-3 decision.

He said even the parties arguing against the law agreed that "climate change is real" and that there is extensive evidence showing that carbon pricing is a critical element in addressing it.

The onus had been on Canada to prove it has the power to implement a minimum national price on greenhouse gas emissions because it was in the national interest and didn't infringe on provincial jurisdictions guaranteed by the Constitution.

Wagner said Ottawa had made its case because of the real threat posted by climate change, and the fact that even one province refusing to act could wreak irreversible harm on the rest.

Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson called it "an historic day for Canada" and asked provincial governments to work with Ottawa as a result.

"Canadians rightly expect their governments to build an economy that fights climate change using the most effective tools at our disposal and now we can get on with the job,"" he said.

He said he hopes the provinces without their own carbon prices will implement one now, but the partisan fight over carbon pricing in Canada is still far from over.

Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole, whose party grassroots voted against a motion last weekend to add "climate change is real" to the party policy book, said he will still scrap the carbon tax.

"We will protect the environment and fight climate change but we won't be doing that by making the poorest Canadians pay," he said.

Provinces were more open to adjusting their plans as a result of the decision however.

In a news conference, Kenney said he was disappointed with the decision but respects it. Asked if he would restore the Alberta carbon tax he scrapped when he took office in 2018, Kenney said many options are on the table.

We are going to consult with Albertans and also talk to our allied provinces to determine the best way forward to protect jobs and the economy in Alberta, to minimize the costs of any future policies on this province, he said.

In Saskatchewan, Moe said the decision did not change his "core conviction that the federal carbon tax is bad environmental policy, bad economic policy, and simply wrong."

But he said given the decision, Saskatchewan is moving immediately to bring all its industries under a provincial pricing system for industry, and is immediately working to implement a fuel charge that would mimic one introduced last year in New Brunswick.

Ontario Environment Minister Jeff Yurek expressed disappointment in the outcome but said Ontario will respect the decision. He did not say whether Ontario will reintroduce its own pricing mechanism.

The Ontario Tories scrapped a cap-and-trade system implemented by the previous provincial Liberal government.

The court ruling prompted a flurry of celebration and relief from climate activists who hope this is the beginning of a new day for Canadian climate action.

"(The) Supreme Court of Canada just dropped a love letter to the planet," said Catherine Abreu, the executive director of Climate Action Network Canada.

Stewart Elgie, director of the environment institute at the University of Ottawa, said this was "the most important environmental court decision ever in Canada."

"I hope this decision will end the partisan fighting over carbon pricing," he said. "We can't keep having our climate laws ripped up every time there's a change in government."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2021.

With files from Stephanie Taylor in Regina, Dean Bennett in Edmonton and Shawn Jeffords in Toronto
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Go to form
The Texas attorney generals office is attempting to withhold all messages Ken Paxton sent or received while in Washington for the pro-Donald Trump rally that devolved into a riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Several news organizations in Texas have requested copies of the attorney generals work-related communications. The Texas Public Information Act guarantees the publics right to government records  even if those records are stored on personal devices or online accounts of public officials.

After Paxtons office refused to release copies of his emails and text messages, the Houston Chronicle, the Dallas Morning News, the San Antonio Express-News, the Austin American-Statesman, ProPublica and the Texas Tribune are working together in an effort to obtain the documents and review Paxtons open records practices.

The news outlets discovered that Paxtons office, which is supposed to enforce the states open records laws, has no policy governing the release of work-related messages stored on Paxtons personal devices. It is unclear whether the office reviews Paxtons email accounts and phones to look for requested records, or whether the attorney general himself determines what to turn over  without any outside checks.

Paxton is facing some of the most intense public scrutiny of his career. The Republican attorney general is reportedly under federal investigation for allegedly abusing his office to help a campaign donor. He also led a failed attempt to overturn the presidential election, joining with other GOP attorneys general in a lawsuit seeking to invalidate swing state victories by Democrat Joe Biden.

EN ESPANOL: Para leer este articulo en espanol, haga clic aqui.

A spokesman for the Office of the Attorney General said the agency follows the Texas Administrative Code, which specifies how long agencies must retain records but is distinct from the open records law. He did not answer reporters questions about whether Paxton is given free rein to determine which of his communications are public and which are confidential under these rules.

The Washington trip

On Jan. 6, Paxton spoke at the pro-Trump rally in Washington. Appearing with his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, the attorney general touted his unsuccessful legal effort to overturn the presidential election.

What we have in President Trump is a fighter, Paxton told the crowd of Trump supporters. And I think thats why were all here. We will not quit fighting. Were Texans, were Americans, and the fight will go on.

Members of the crowd, stirred up by false claims of voter fraud, later stormed the Capitol, fought with riot police and threatened lawmakers.

Five people died in the violence, including a Capitol Police officer.

Paxton later falsely blamed the violence on antifa, a left-wing anti-fascist movement, and claimed Trump supporters werent responsible for the insurrection. Federal prosecutors have charged more than 300 people in connection with the riot and alleged that some have ties to white supremacy groups. FBI Director Christopher Wray said investigators found no evidence that members of antifa attacked the Capitol.

Amid a massive FBI investigation into the Capitol riot, the public has been eager to understand why and how their elected officials attended the rally. Paxton has refused to release his communications about the event, which could illuminate his real-time reaction to the riot; who booked him as a speaker for the rally; and who covered his travel expenses.

As Texas attorney general, Paxton oversees an office of lawyers who determine which records are public or confidential under the law. Any government body in Texas, from police departments to the governors office, must seek the agencys approval to withhold records from the public.

The Houston Chronicle and the Dallas Morning News have requested all of Paxtons messages from Jan. 5 to Jan. 11. Lauren Downey, the public information coordinator at the Office of the Attorney General, said she didnt need to release the records because they are confidential attorney-client communications.

On ExpressNews.com: Texas lawmakers propose giving AG Ken Paxton $43M to fight Google

Downey sought confirmation from the agencys open records division, arguing the messages included communications between the attorney generals executive leadership and its criminal prosecution division to discuss litigation, as well as texts between Paxton and a lawyer in the attorney generals office regarding legal services to the state.

James Hemphill, a lawyer and open records expert who serves as a board member of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, said the records described by Downey appear to fall under confidential communications. But its odd, he added, that Paxton would have no other routine emails or texts during that six-day time frame that could be released.

It would seem unusual for every single communication made by any kind of lawyer to be subject to attorney-client privilege, Hemphill said, cautioning he hasnt seen the records himself.

Downey also told the Chronicle that the attorney generals office does not have any written policy or procedures for releasing public documents stored on Paxtons personal devices or accounts.

No responsive records

The Morning News filed several other requests for Paxtons communications regarding his Washington trip, including messages sent over encrypted apps.

The agency said there were no public records that fit that description. When the newspaper asked for Paxtons communications with his senior adviser and an executive assistant who usually plan official travel, Downey said, yet again, there were no records to release.

The (Office of the Attorney General) did not coordinate or pay for General Paxtons trip to Washington DC in early January. Thus, our office has no information responsive to your request, Downey said.

Paxton has not answered questions about who paid for his trip.

In a recent legislative hearing, the attorney general did not directly answer questions from state senators about whether he spent any taxpayer money on the travel.

I didnt spend money personally, he said. Paxton added he had official business in Washington the week of the rally, when he met with federal officials about a Medicaid program.

I had a state purpose, Paxton said. The next day I had meetings at the White House.  Thats how I spent most of my time.

Paxtons agency has released other top staffers communications related to the trip.

First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster also traveled to Washington that week in January, according to calendars and travel documents the Morning News obtained through public records requests. The state paid for Websters travel.

The agency released some of Websters emails and texts from that month, including logistical planning for the Washington trip.

The Utah trip and more

In other recent instances, the responses from Paxtons agency has raised questions about the attorney generals own record-keeping practices.

For example, the Morning News requested communications from Utah about the attorney generals trip to that state last month during the winter power outages in Texas.

In response, Utah officials released a screenshot of a few texts exchanged between Paxton, Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes and a third unnamed individual discussing their plans. The messages were taken from the unnamed individuals phone, not Reyes or Paxtons.

When the newspaper made the same request to the Texas attorney generals office, officials turned over a copy of the screenshot that Utah provided  not one of the exchange on Paxtons device.

Downey said Paxton provided the record, but she did not answer questions about how Paxton searched his accounts or whether anyone in the office confirmed the results of the records search.

The Office of the Attorney General is in full compliance with the Public Information Act, Downey said.

A Morning News reporter also texted a work-related question to Paxtons cellphone in February and the newspaper later requested all text messages related to state business sent to that number on that same day.

The Texas attorney generals office said there were no messages. When asked why the reporters text wasnt turned over, a spokesman suggested they did not need to keep it.

Unsolicited and unwelcome text messages to personal phones do not fall under the records retention law, said Alejandro Garcia, the attorney generals communications director.

Sarah Swanson, general counsel for the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, said state agencies are responsible for adopting their own records retention schedules. But if texts are exchanged while conducting state business, Swanson said those messages are considered government records and might need to be kept for an appropriate amount of time, depending on an agencys policy.

Garcia did not answer follow-up questions about how they determine which text messages are unwelcome or unsolicited.

But the agencys own rules include a clear warning: Dont destroy any records subject to public information requests.

John Tedesco and Jay Root are Houston Chronicle staff writers. Lauren McGaughy and Allie Morris are Dallas Morning News staff writers.

john.tedesco@chron.com
Allegations of human right violations against civilians will be investigated and perpetrators will be punished if there is any, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed appeared before lawmakers to respond to wide-ranging questions posed by the MPs regarding the law enforcement operation in Tigray, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and tripartite talks, the upcoming election, Ethio-Sudan border tension, ten-year economic plan and other current affairs.

Here follows the Premiers' response in relation to the law enforcement operation that has been carried out in Tigray and the rehabilitation process as wells misinformation surrounding the circumstance of the operation. Some of the statements are directly quoted from the social media accounts of the Office of the Prime Minister.

It is abundantly clear that the main source of the conflict was the reckless force. Around 1.8 people of the state were surviving through Safety Net program for 20 years and were fighting with locusts. These people do not deserve war and conflicts. However, the Junta kept on adding fuel to the fire getting involved in a wide variety of evil deeds.

The law enforcement operation has been taking in the Tigray region with a view to serving a wide spectrum of functions. It is to be recalled that the TPLF junta officials opened fire on the Ethiopian National Defense Forces positioned in the Tigray region and caused indescribable human suffering by demonstrating extreme cruelty and unparalleled betrayal.

Sad as it may sound, they ended up throwing some of them into prison, killing and throwing away the soldiers' bodies like rubbish. They committed a crime of high treason. As the constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia does not allow this aforementioned reality on the ground to take place, we began disarming the TPLF junta.

As everybody knows, the TPLF Junta officials who were held hostage by the Ethiopian National Defense Forces have been in good hands. They are all in very good condition.

The first mission is to bring the perpetrators to justice, save the hostages. Furthermore, quite a lot of officers and generals were taken hostage. We freed all of them. In the first mission, a wide spectrum of criminals were caught successfully despite some remnants in Tigray. As a matter of fact, at an institute level, the TPLF Junta officials have been paralyzed to the extent that they cannot function.

We have made our officers be released. We were able to bury defense forces who have been killed and thrown away by the TPLF junta clique. The TPLF junta officials were able to loot quite a lot of military equipment of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces. However, we have possessed back all our military equipment. It was a success.

The interim administration of the Tigray region has been setting up infrastructure in all zones and Woredas and pulling up all the stops to serve the community.

The administration should be supported. What is more, the federal government and regional states should stand by the side of the interim administration for the love of our people. Unless the people stand by the side them, they will be immersed into a state of misery.

During the law enforcement operation, we have made a great effort not to cause a civil causality. When the TPLF junta officials launched rockets in the war, we did not do anything in retaliation for their evil acts for the sake of not harming civilians.

While on the subject, the main reason why the TPLF junta stored military equipment in religious institutions and cities to cause were for the loved civilians' causalities.

When the Ethiopian National Defense Forces embarked on undertaking the law enforcement operation in the Tigray regional state, on the whole, more than 30,000 prisoners were freed almost instantaneously.

More than ten thousand prisoners were unleashed merely from Mekelle prison. In the olden days, we did not have an inkling of what was going on there.

If you remember, I myself had appeared in front of you and apologized the people of Ethiopia for the crimes the then EPRDF and TPLF clique perpetrated for over 20 years. We agreed to leave the past and began by apologizing to the Ethiopian people.

I have clearly stated that the people of Tigray should no more hear the sound of gunfire. The problem continued to emerge from the destructive forces. Personally, I have made several attempts to mediate before going to the operation. However, the preparation by the other party was arrogant preparation for war. The government handled the matter patiently until it was accused of failure to act.

What happened to us as a country should not be forgotten. In the Tigray region, 200 coordinated attacks took place overnight. When the Defense Forces arrived in Mekelle, more than 1,300 government officers were not found. The destructive force fired rockets on our airports, destroyed infrastructure, and released more than 10,000 prisoners in Mekelle alone. The Mai Kadra massacre was highly organized.

Reports of violence are extremely exaggerated. However, the government will not tolerate even a single crime and human rights abuse. It is the government that ultimately faces the devastation and work hard to rebuild Tigray. So far, we have spent over forty billion Birr to rehabilitate, and the regions have provided support. The utmost collaboration is needed from the people of Tigray. If the global community is not able to realize these facts, it implies the need to shift their focus.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Ethiopia Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Ethiopian people will never forget the way the Eritrean people and government have cared for our army who were attacked by their own. However, we do not allow any force to cross borders and attack our people. We have had extensive discussions with the Eritrean government in this regard. The response from the Eritrean military to the fortifications is that those forts have been used by the destructive group for the past 20 years and could be used to attack them again if unguarded.

The Ethiopian army evacuated due to the rule of law operation. The Eritrean government has asked for assurance from the Ethiopian government which we have not been able to do as we are in the middle of the operation. Once we have controlled the destructive power that fights us, we can immediately guarantee that. The Eritrean government has also announced their decision to punish any perpetrators on their side.
The recent poor rating of Nigeria in its anti-corruption campaign by the Transparency International (TI) received the attention of the federal government yesterday as it punctured the assessment, saying it was full of discrepancies, inaccurate data and indices.

The National Contact to TI in Nigeria, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), had on Tuesday, accused the present Nigerian government of not being transparent in its anti-corruption crusade and management of recovered assets.

But in a swift response, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, told reporters at the end of the weekly virtual Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting emphasised that TI has been using incorrect indices to rate Nigeria in the last decade.

He said TI had failed to make use of available data on the federal government's various reforms and other preventive steps, all focused on making a success of the anti-corruption crusade.

According to him, Nigerian has taken another look at TI's ratings and criticism of the administration's anti-graft crusade and had discovered that despite all moves made over the years, the international organisation's details of its rating of Nigeria had been consistent for 10 years.

The Minister stressed that what had been pushed out by TI about Nigeria's corruption perception index in the last few years were not real reflections of what is on ground, saying much had been done to change the influence of corruption in the country.

He expressed optimism that the results of the various reforms and hard work being put into the corruption fight by the federal government will soon start to yield result and will be reflecting in international rating of the country.

Mohammed said: "We actually also analysed the process that the TI used in the rating that was used recently and we found quite a few discrepancies in the rating process, including some data sources in which Nigeria's course has remained flat over the past 10 years."

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Corruption By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

What we said is that we take this ratings seriously; So, we actually went and analysed the ratings and we found that there've been some gaps. It's either we've not flooded enough data or they have not revised all data because we found it strange that the country's rating in certain areas has remained the same for a period of 10 years and we are taking the media measures so that they can get this data in respect of these sectors because we believe that it's not possible for you not to improve, for you not to lose points for 10 years. So there's a bit of discrepancy there".

Mohammed said there is also the need to understand why these occur, adding that the federal government is also looking at the robustness of its own methodology.

"We believe that overall, by the time our various reforms in the areas of ease of doing business and other preventive measures, start taking effect, our rating by TI in the next years would have substantially improved. Yes, I think that I'm aware of that particular rating, which was not quite flattering to Nigeria, but our position, which I've declared before is that that rating does not truly reflect the great strides that the administration has made in the area of fighting corruption."

"The government has put in place various reforms in fighting corruption, but some of these reforms will take time to yield the desired results because the matrix used by TI is not just about grafts alone," he explained.
BRENTWOOD, Tenn., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Delek US Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: DK) ("Delek") today filed its definitive proxy statement in connection with the Company's 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which is scheduled to take place on May 6, 2021, at 1:00 p.m., central daylight saving time, and will be held virtually. The Company also mailed a letter to Delek shareholders recommending they vote "FOR" all of the Company's highly qualified directors on the WHITE proxy card or voting instruction form. The full letter has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and can be found on the investor section of the Company's website at https://ir.delekus.com/proxy-materials

All stockholders of record at the close of business on March 18, 2021, are entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting. Shareholders are reminded that their vote at the 2021 Annual Meeting is extremely important following the nomination by CVR Energy, Inc. ("CVR"), a majority owned subsidiary of Icahn Enterprises L.P. and competitor of Delek, of three candidates for election to the Delek Board of Directors. Shareholders are urged to discard any "gold" proxy materials sent by CVR and to only vote using the WHITE proxy card.

Your Vote Is Important, No Matter How Many or How Few Shares You Own

You can vote by Internet, telephone or by signing and dating the WHITE proxy card and mailing it in the envelope provided.

If you have any questions about how to vote your shares, or need additional assistance, please contact:

MACKENZIE

PARTNERS, INC.

[email protected]

(212) 929-5500

or

Toll-Free (800) 322-2885

REMEMBER:

We urge you NOT to vote using any Gold proxy card sent to you by CVR, as doing so will revoke your vote on the WHITE proxy card.

About Delek US Holdings, Inc.

Delek US Holdings, Inc. is a diversified downstream energy company with assets in petroleum refining, logistics, asphalt, renewable fuels and convenience store retailing. The refining assets consist of refineries operated in Tyler and Big Spring, Texas, El Dorado, Arkansas and Krotz Springs, Louisiana with a combined nameplate crude throughput capacity of 302,000 barrels per day.

The logistics operations consist of Delek Logistics Partners, LP (NYSE: DKL) ("Delek Logistics"). Delek US and its affiliates also own the general partner and an approximate 80 percent limited partner interest in Delek Logistics. Delek Logistics is a growth-oriented master limited partnership focused on owning and operating midstream energy infrastructure assets.

The convenience store retail business operates approximately 253 convenience stores in central and west Texas and New Mexico.

Information about Delek US Holdings, Inc. can be found on its website (www.delekus.com), investor relations webpage (ir.delekus.com), news webpage (www.delekus.com/news) and its Twitter account (@DelekUSHoldings).

Additional Information

Delek has filed a definitive proxy statement on Schedule 14A and form of associated WHITE proxy card with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") in connection with the solicitation of proxies for the Company's 2021 Annual Meeting (the "Definitive Proxy Statement"). Delek, its directors and certain of its executive officers and employees may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the company's shareholders in connection with the matters to be considered at the Company's 2021 Annual Meeting. BEFORE MAKING ANY VOTING DECISION, DELEK SHAREHOLDERS ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO READ ALL RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED WITH OR FURNISHED TO THE SEC, INCLUDING THE COMPANY'S DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT AND ANY SUPPLEMENTS THERETO AND ACCOMPANYING WHITE PROXY CARD, BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION.

Information regarding the names of Delek's directors and executive officers and their respective interests in the Company by security holdings or otherwise is set forth in the Definitive Proxy Statement. Details concerning the nominees of the Company's Board of Directors for election at the Company's 2021 Annual Meeting are included in the Definitive Proxy Statement. Shareholders may obtain a copy of the Definitive Proxy Statement, any supplements to the proxy statement and other documents filed by Delek with the SEC for no charge at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Copies will also be available at no charge on the Company's website at http://www.delekus.com.

SOURCE Delek US Holdings, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.delekus.com/


SUGAR LAND, Texas, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- HCSS, a leading provider of innovative solutions that help heavy civil businesses streamline their operations, announces that HCSS Aerial was selected as one of the Top 20 Most Promising Construction Tech Solution Providers by CIO Review magazine. HCSS Aerial, a drone-based data analytics platform, was chosen for its outstanding job-site mapping and data-visualization features that help clients make more informed and timely decisions.

HCSS Named Most Promising Construction Tech Solution Providers 2020

"Drones are seeing rapid adoption in the heavy civil construction industry as innovative companies use the equipment to transform how they deliver surveying, planning, and worksite data," said J.P. Giometti, Executive Director, Global Strategy and Corporate Development, HCSS. "With HCSS Aerial, our customers can easily track execution progress over time for a project and generate site documentation and reports in hours, not weeks. HCSS is pleased to be recognized for this groundbreaking technology."

With HCSS Aerial, construction companies can collect and visualize data in real time, allowing crews to make cost- and time-saving decisions quickly. The drone helps streamline data collection from the field and automatically generates computerized engineering data and continuous digital project documentation, providing a more accurate reading of work. Clients compare design, schedule, and materials with data collected for more comprehensive project management.

By providing a single source of up-to-date data through the entire lifecycle of assets, HCSS Aerial empowers stakeholders to manage construction sites from planning through execution and maintenance efficiently. Digitizing and automating monitoring, data analysis, and reporting processes reduce direct professional costs by 20%, savings of up to 5% of overall project execution costs, and double project profitability.

More information on the award can be found at CIO Review - https://construction.cioreview.com/vendors/top-construction-tech-solution-companies.html.

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

most-promising-construction-tech.jpg

Most Promising Construction Tech

HCSS Named Most Promising Construction Tech Solution Providers 2020

SOURCE HCSS
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-26 01:39:47|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

LONDON, March 25 (Xinhua) -- British lawmakers on Thursday voted to extend the government's emergency COVID-19 legislation for another six months.

The 2020 Coronavirus Act was passed by 484 votes to 76 with a majority of 408, paving the way for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's roadmap out of lockdown.

The Coronavirus Act was fast-tracked through parliament in four days in March 2020 to bring in emergency powers to tackle the coronavirus crisis as Britain went into its first lockdown.

The legislation have to be renewed every six months and the latest extension will allow England's lockdown roadmap to continue as planned.

On Feb. 22, Johnson announced his long-anticipated "roadmap" exiting the lockdown, the third of its kind since the start of the pandemic in the country. The March 8 reopening of schools was first part of the four-step plan which is expected to see all legal restrictions in England being removed by mid-June.

Other parts of Britain, including Wales and Norther Ireland, have also unveiled plans to ease the restrictions.

Earlier Thursday, National Health Service (NHS) England Chief Executive Simon Stevens recommended lowering the COVID emergency alert level due to reduced pressures on the health service.

Because of "much reduced acute pressures on the health service", Stevens said he recommended "that we reduce the national alert level across the health service from level four to level three and that would take effect today".

The reduced hospital admissions are due to "both declining infection rates across the community and the impact that's now being felt from the vaccination programme", said Stevens.

Level four of the the Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response Framework means an "incident that requires NHS England national command and control to support the NHS Response".

Level three means "an incident that requires the response of a number of health organisations across geographical areas within a NHS England region".

Nearly 29 million people in Britain have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest official figures.

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
Thank you for reading!

Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Advertisement

Three superyachts worth a total of 142million have been waiting out the Covid pandemic in Poole because there is no parking space in Monaco, Nice and Majorca.

The brand new 30million vessel 'Totally Nuts' and the 20million luxury Sunseeker 'Out of the Blue' have joined the mega yacht 'Elandess' in Poole, Dorset.

'Elandess', worth 92m and is a staggering 240ft in length, arrived in the south coast harbour last month.

The brand new 30million vessel 'Totally Nuts' and the 20million luxury Sunseeker 'Out of the Blue' have joined the mega yacht 'Elandess' (pictured) in Poole, Dorset

It is believed the trio of luxury vessels are moored in Poole because of a lack of parking spaces in places such as Monaco, Nice and Majorca.

Superyachts are often chartered out at a cost of tens of thousands of pounds a week but they are unable to sail anywhere at the moment due to coronavirus.

So they have to anchor up in marinas and harbours where there is room for them.

The 115ft 'Out of the Blue' (pictured, right) was made by exclusive boat builders Sunseeker whose premises are opposite the marina it is now berthed in. The vessel was completed in 2020 and has also been designed to accommodate up to 10 guests in five cabins

They are permanently manned by their own crew who live onboard and a likely to remain in Poole until the summer at the earliest.

The 165ft 'Totally Nuts' has just been built and has come to Poole straight from renowned boat builders Feadship in the Netherlands.

It is thought to be owned by billionaire investor Sarkis Izmirlian, who owns the high-end Baha Mar Resort and casino in the Bahamas.

The 165ft 'Totally Nuts' (pictured) has just been built and has come to Poole straight from renowned boat builders Feadship in the Netherlands

It accommodates 10 guests in five cabins and 10 crew who have their own accommodation on bard.

It is thought to be one of the fastest superyachts in its class with a top speed of 28 knots.

The 115ft 'Out of the Blue' was made by exclusive boat builders Sunseeker whose premises are opposite the marina it is now berthed in.

The vessel was completed in 2020 and has also been designed to accommodate up to 10 guests in five cabins.

There is a luxurious master suite, two double cabins and two twin cabins.

She has a British flag and is named after the Electric Light Orchestra album Out of the Blue. It even has the ELO logo painted on its side.

'Elandess' is reportedly owned by the multi-millionaire Lloyd Dorfman, founder of the currency exchange company Travelex.

'Elandess' is reportedly owned by the multi-millionaire Lloyd Dorfman (pictured), founder of the currency exchange company Travelex

At 240ft long, it features a huge pool on the sun deck, a bar, a sky lounge, a reading lounge, an observation lounge and a dining table sitting 32 people.

On a lower deck there is a viewing lounge which has views of above and below the waterline.

A local boat owner said: 'These three superyachts are really causing a buzz in Poole. They are spectacular to see close up.

'People are wondering why they are here but it is because all yachts like these aren't allowed out on charter and so they have to moor up. There is a lack of space for them, especially in the Mediterranean.

'The irony is there are moored right where the Sunseeker boat yard is. It is said that millionaires buy Sunseekers but billionaires buy superyachts like Elandess and Totally Nuts.'

A spokesman for the Poole Harbour Master refused to comment when approached.
The month of March 2021 will go down in history as the month that turned Kenyan social media timeline into an online obituary.

Many Kenyans, who have lost their loved ones, family members, friends, colleagues, acquaintances and leaders, both local and international, turned to social media to share their sad news.

Most of those who have passed on and their deaths announced on social media, have died from Coronavirus which has so far claimed the lives of 2,023 in Kenya alone.

The third wave of the deadly virus has really hit the country hard with 160 deaths recorded in the month of March alone, according to data from Nation Newsplex.

According to Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe, the number of fatalities being recorded and the positivity rate of 22 per cent on Tuesday were worrying.

This rate is the highest the country has experienced since the beginning of the year.

Here are some of the people who succumbed to Covid-19 in the month of March.

KMPDU mourns with the family of Dr Kenneth Mutuma who passed on this week due to COVID-19 complications. He worked at Mbagathi Hospital,served his patients diligently & was an inspiration to his peers. The fraternity will miss you dearly. Condolences to the family and friends. pic.twitter.com/PWFRU3IwJz

- KMPDU (@kmpdu) March 20, 2021

Double tragedy. Dr Patricia Njuki and her mother passed on due to COVID. The father is in ICU and son on a life support machine at Karen hospital. The mother and daughter Patricia were buried on Wednesday in Embu. She was everything to her parents.Very tragic#CovidIsKilling pic.twitter.com/hbciyvgoNu

- Ovial Movial (@Kenya_Finest_) March 19, 2021

Between tomorrow and saturday I have 5 burials to attend to( Fuck GOK and their 72 hrs burial BS)... . This is how it panned out... Lady attended a party, went theu the night... Came home to hubby and asthmatic son..

- Gida (@gidakabunyi) March 22, 2021

My heart bleeds this morning, I have lost a friend, a brother and a mentor. Robin Njogu gave me my first Job on radio fresh from the village with no experience and a heavy accent but he never gave up on me. Fly with the angels my friend. pic.twitter.com/XES5Me1Clq

- Trevor Ombija, HSC (@TrevorOmbija) March 16, 2021

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Coronavirus By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Damn, my heart is broken. Winnie Mukami 

She's family. Corona, why???

- Chapati Mistress' Place (@chapatimistress) March 18, 2021

Eng Jack Ndambiri has bowed to Covid 19 today.Association of Biomedical Engineering of Kenya AMEK mourns, Biomedical Engineering Fraternity mourns, Nyeri PGH mourns

May he RIP pic.twitter.com/5ucMmMiXC0

- Eng.Millicent Alooh (@aloohmillicent) March 22, 2021

Lorna's death is one painful. Watched her interview with @GraceMsalame a few months ago and how she was aware she's at risk of this pandemic and the cautions she was taking only to be finished by the same. No respect for Covid-19. RIP Lorna.

- Steve (@theKENYANguy) March 22, 2021

Utterly devastated to hear about the untimely death of Kericho County Deputy Governor H.E Susan Kikwai who has succumbed to Covid-19. Go well my sister.

- Nick Salat (@kipro_hon) March 20, 2021

Condolences to Governor Ali Roba and the entire Mandera County for the loss of Ibrahim Barrow , CEC finance,and Economic planning.We pray to Allah (SW) to elevate his soul to the highest rank in Jannah.

Janaza will be at Masjid Noor SouthC. #Covid19.

Sanitize, Wear Your Mask pic.twitter.com/vh5HdRWEcz

- Abdiweli Duale (@AbdiweliDuale1) March 19, 2021

Nakuru based journalists light candles in remembrance of Samuel kingori chief officer health nakuru county who succumbed to #COVID19 . He was a key pillar in bridging communication links for media coverage especially during corona period. pic.twitter.com/7JllzxkzRA

- Sir Edwin. (@LordTanui___) March 23, 2021
A former child star best known for playing Will Ferrells son in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is dead at age 28.

Shelby County Coroner Lina Evans said Houston Tumlin was found dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

Authorities responded to Tumlins Chase Creek Circle home just after 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. He had only lived in Pelham for about three months.

Here are more stories of those we have lost in 2021

Tumlin, according to a previous AL.com article, was born in Pell City in 1992. His only film was the 2006 comedy Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, in which he played Walker, the son of Will Ferrells title character.

He graduated in 2011 from Victory Christian High School. He went on to serve in the U.S. Armys 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell.

Tumlin played Walker Bobby, the 10-year-old son of NASCAR racecar driver Ricky Bobby (Ferrell) in the 2006 movie Talladega Nights.

He and Grayson Russell, who played Walkers younger brother Texas Ranger, had memorable scenes at the family dinner table with Ferrell, John C. Reilly (as Cal Naughton Jr.), Leslie Bibb (as the boys mother Carley) and Ted Manson (as the boys grandfather Chip).

Resources in Alabama

 Alabama Suicide Prevention and Resource Coalition

 Crisis Center, Inc. (Birmingham) Phone: (205) 323-7777 Kids Help Line: (205) 328-KIDS (5437) Teen Link: (205) 328-LINK (5465) Senior Talk Line: (205) 328-TALK (8255) Hours of Operation: 24/7

 Crisis Services of North Alabama (Huntsville) Phone: (256) 716-1000 Toll Free: (800) 691-8426 Hours of Operation: 24/7

 Lifelines/Family Counseling Center of Mobile Phone: (251) 431-5111 Toll Free: (800) 293-1117 Hours of Operation: 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. (CST) Monday-Friday

See two scenes from Talladega Nights featuring Tumlin below. Note: Some language may not be suitable for younger audiences.
FLINT, MI -- Two of former Gov. Rick Snyders cabinet members wont get the judge they requested to hear their criminal cases related to the Flint water crisis.

Chief Genesee County Circuit Court Judge Duncan Beagle ruled Thursday, March 25, that the cases of Nick Lyon, former director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and former Chief Medical Executive Dr. Eden Wells will continue to he heard by Circuit Court Judge Elizabeth A. Kelly.

The court finds that Michigan Court Rules do not mandate reassignment and further that reassignment is not warranted under the facts of this case, Beagles decision says. In summary, the court finds that promoting the interests of judicial economy are within the discretion of the chief judge, that the attorney general had no knowledge of how these cases would be assigned, and that the charges against Lyon and Wells arose out of the same occurrence as the other defendants ...

Earlier this month, Lyon and Wells asked Beagle to reassign their cases to Circuit Court Judge Joseph J. Farah, whom both Lyon and Wells appeared before previously when their original water crisis cases were bound over for trial in 2018.

Both the Lyon and Wells cases, along with six others, were later dismissed by the Michigan Department of Attorney General in 2019 following the election of Dana Nessel, but both were charged again in January after the investigation restarted under the leadership of Michigan Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy.

Lyon, 52, faces nine counts of involuntary manslaughter, each count punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a count of willful neglect of duty. Wells, 58, is charged with nine counts of involuntary manslaughter, punishable by up to 15 years in prison and or a $7,500 fine, as well as two counts of misconduct in office and one count of willful neglect of duty.

The charges are directly related to Legionnaires disease outbreaks in Flint while the city used the Flint River as its water source.

Officials at MDHHS were aware of the outbreaks in the Flint area during the water crisis as well as suspicions they were related to river water but never warned the public until January 2016, the same month the water crisis was recognized as a federal public health emergency.

DHHS officials have said previously that exposure to McLaren-Flint hospital -- not Flint water -- is the only explanation for the surge in cases.

In their motion for reassignment, Wells and Lyon contended that Farah became deeply knowledgeable about the underlying facts and novel legal theories involved in the original cases against them and that Flint water prosecutors selected the arraignment dates -- and thus the judge -- by directing counsel to surrender clients on a specific date without any accommodation whatsoever.

Hammoud accused Lyon and Wells of speaking from both sides of their mouth, saying they charged prosecutors of an elaborate conspiracy theory to explain how their cases were assigned and requesting reassignment to Farah precisely because they believe (he) is sympathetic to their legal arguments.

Kelly was assigned to six felony water crisis cases, including the cases of Lyon and Wells, because of an order of judicial assignment signed by Beagle on Jan. 14. The order states that because Kelly was the criminal duty judge for the week that the Flint water arraignments took place she was assigned all of the cases.

Read more on MLive:

Former top Michigan health officials ask for new judge in Flint water cases

Flint water prosecutors say former state health bosses arent entitled to new judge

Former Gov. Snyder, 8 others criminally charged, accused of trampling trust of Flint people
The Minister for Education has committed to two options that could end the dire situation faced by children and staff of the main primary school in Abbeyleix.

Minister Norma Foley met virtually on Thursday, March 25 with Scoil Mhuire representatives and staff and local public representatives at a meeting chaired by Laois Offaly TD and Minister of State Sean Fleming.

Speaking afterwards, Minister Fleming outlined what his colleague in Government had committed to after hearing first-hand accounts of what it is like to attend and teach at the building which has a leaking roof, broken sewerage and a host of other problems.

The meeting was attended by the Chairman of the Board of Management William Swayne, Principal Aidan McEvoy, a teacher who represented the children and a parent's representative.

Minister Fleming said the Minister felt the strongest messages at the meeting were those of the children which were delivered in a report by a teacher.

"The Minister was very taken by the voice of the children...The children said they were freezing, had to wear their coats, are afraid the ceiling is going to fall, and are afraid to go to the toilet because of the smell," he said.

After the representatives spoke, Minister Fleming said Minister Foley, who was accompanied by two officials, outlined her next steps.

"The Minister has given a guarantee that the Department will contact the school in the coming weeks to arrange a full audit of the building. There are two options: a complete retrofit or a new building," she said.

She said a decision on what to do next would be based on the assessment.

Minister Fleming said he was absolutely satisfied with what was put on the table by the Minister.

"It is real progress, she has put two options on the table. She used the phrase: 'I can't contradict anything that has been said today'. She has got the seriousness of it so it is a positive good sign," said Minister Fleming.

He added retrofit is being considered as an option as part of complying with climate change work and commitments in all Government departments to consider green alternatives in the construction of public buildings.

The meeting was also attended by Minister of State Pippa Hackett, Charlie Flanagan TD, Brian Stanley TD, Carol Nolan TD and Cllr John Joe Fennelly.

It is more than a year since parents and teachers made the case for the school at an INTO pre-general election meeting in 2020. The local TDs were also given a tour of the building in October 2019.
The following list includes recent reports from the Midland County Sheriffs Office and the Midland Police Department. Compiled by reporter Mitchell Kukulka.

Tuesday, March 23

9:48 p.m. -- Deputies impounded an abandoned vehicle at a Porter Township location, which was blocking the roadway and causing a traffic hazard.

9:30 p.m. -- A deputy stopped a 57-year-old man for speeding in Lee Township. During the stop, it was discovered the man's license was suspended. He was cited for driving while his license was suspended and with no insurance, and was given a verbal warning for speeding.

8:10 p.m. -- Deputies responded to a vehicle crash in Lincoln Township.

5:51 p.m. -- A deputy was dispatched to a single-vehicle crash on Coleman Road near Huckleberry Road in Geneva Township.

4:02 p.m. -- A 39-year-old woman contacted 9-1-1 stating someone was trying to harm her. After deputies made contact with the woman at her residence, it was discovered she was highly intoxicated and no one was attempting to harm her.

11:23 a.m. -- Deputies were dispatched to a Homer Township location for an vehicle crash. One of the drivers sustained minor injuries.

10:40 a.m. -- A 54-year-old woman reported a suspicious situation at her residence on March 20. An man claimed she owed money for postage on a package. The man did not leave the package and later left the property.

8:38 a.m. -- A deputy responded to a traffic crash on M-20 near 11 Mile Road. One vehicle left the area and was not located. There were no injuries and there was only minor damage.
Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security is calling for a national strategy to combat health misinformation and disinformation that it believes undermines the US response to the COVID-19 public health crisis.

The Center blames contradictory messaging and active subversion for reducing trust in public health responders, increasing belief in bogus medical cures and politicizing measures to keep the American public safe.

In its March 23 report, Johns Hopkins called on the National Security Council, drawing on support from federal agencies, to lead the fight against misinformation and disinformation.

The Center wants the NSA to:

Intervene against false and damaging content as well as the sources propagating it. Encourage traditional news outlets and social media platforms to identify and remove, control the spread of and curtail generators of false information. Promote and ensure the abundant presence and distribution of factual information. Increase coordination between public health experts and the sources of public information, including social media platforms to increase dissemination of accurate material through multiple channels. Increase the publics resilience to misinformation and disinformation via digital literacy programs at schools and community organizations to help people choose responsible sources of information and bolster awareness of dishonest players. Ensure a whole-of-nation response though collective planning with social media, news media, government officials, national security personnel, public health officials, scientists and the public.

Johns Hopkins' report offers solid suggestions to deal with the flood of false information and fake news.

After all, who would oppose training young people to spot disinformation? The answer: those that rely on disinformation to discredit political opponents in efforts to win elections.

The Center's recommendations will never fly in today's hyper-partisan political environment.

The US Chamber of Commerce is pushing back hard on a potential move by Democrats and the Securities and Exchange Commission to force companies to disclose how much they spend on political causes.

The feeling is that such a mandate would make the SEC the arbiter of free speech and would crimp the rights of companies to address the government, Tom Quaadman, executive VP of the Chamber, told the Financial Times.

Proponents of disclosure want the SEC to rule that companies must say how much they contribute to trade groups. They also want a central information clearinghouse to chart contributions from political action committees.

That could prove problematic for some companies. For instance, many of them announced they would suspend contributions to PACs following the storming of Capitol Hill on Jan. 6.

The Dallas Morning News reported March 23 that the PAC of its hometown corporate giant AT&T, which took the Jan. 6 pledge, has sent thousands of dollars to Republican groups with ties to members of Congress who objected to the certifying of Joe Biden as president.

An AT&T spokesperson said the companys PAC did not contribute to the individual re-election campaigns of members who objected to the Electoral College vote.

The telcom claims that it has been assured that any donated money did not go to those who voted nay on the vote to certify Bidens win.

It also says future donations to multi-candidate PACs will be in line with its Jan. 6 policy.

AT&T has dialed a wrong number on transparency.

Instead of fudging the issue, AT&T should just drop the political donations.
Above: The new 50 banknote to be released in 90 days - BoE

The Bank of England has unveiled the design of the new polymer 50 note featuring Alan Turing.

The use of cash in transactions has declined sharply during the pandemic and, if demand remains weak, the debate surrounding digital currencies will continue to intensify.

Bank of England unveils 50 note design, debate over digital currencies set to intensify as cash transactions decline further

The Bank of England has unveiled the design of the new polymer 50 note featuring Alan Turing.

The use of cash in transactions has declined sharply during the pandemic and, if demand remains weak, the debate surrounding digital currencies will continue to intensify.

Following its public unveiling today, the polymer 50 will be issued for the first time on 23 June 2021, which coincides with Alan Turings birthday.

The public can continue to use paper 50 notes as usual. Notice will be given at least six months ahead of the date when the old paper 50 is withdrawn.

To mark Alan Turing being made the face of #TheNew50, were setting you our toughest ever puzzle  the #TuringChallenge!



Can you hunt down the answers to 12 puzzles hidden on the new note?



Get to work https://t.co/m191L9nAgc pic.twitter.com/pHFzlLTPjD  GCHQ (@GCHQ) March 25, 2021

Governor Andrew Bailey said: There's something of the character of a nation in its money, and we are right to consider and celebrate the people on our banknotes. So Im delighted that our new 50 features one of Britains most important scientists, Alan Turing. Turing is best known for his codebreaking work at Bletchley Park, which helped end the Second World War.

The polymer note also carries a quote by Turing about the rise of machine intelligence: "This is only a foretaste of what is to come, and only the shadow of what is going to be."

As a side-show, the UK's intelligence agency GCHQ has set what it describes as its toughest ever puzzle to mark the new note.

Twelve puzzles - called the Turing Challenge - increase in complexity leading to one final answer. The agency's in-house experts claim that 'an experienced puzzler' should be able to complete it in just seven hours.

The bank continued to flag the security aspects; Like the 20, it incorporates two windows and a two-colour foil, making it very difficult to counterfeit. There is also a hologram image which changes between the words Fifty and Pounds when tilting the note from side to side.

Sarah John, the Banks Chief Cashier. She said: This new 50 note completes our set of polymer banknotes. These are much harder to counterfeit, and with its security features the new 50 is part of our most secure series of banknotes yet. These security features are common across all our banknotes, so if you can check one, you can check them all.

Short-term demand likely to be low, focus on digital currencies

The 50 note is the least likely to be used in transactions. According to the Bank of England, out of a total of nearly four billion Bank of England notes in circulation last year there were 351 million 50 notes.

The notes also tend to be held as a store of value rather than actively circulating in the economy.

The notes do tend to be used by overseas visitors to the UK, especially from the US and Asia. Given the tough restrictions on international travel, demand in this context is also likely to be weak.

The government has previously discussed whether it should be abolished, especially given its perceived link with money laundering and tax evasion.

There will be a further focus on digital currencies with security issues also likely to be a key focus surrounding the debate.
Last week the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) announced a partnership with 18F, an office within the General Services Administrations Technology Transformation Services, to modernize its unemployment insurance (UI) system.The partnership follows a long legislative process that approved the overhaul of the states UI system after complications about funding stalled a decision DWDs current system uses the 60-year-old COBOL language, and the outdated system caused public concern as the COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented number of unemployment claims.Between March 2020 and January 2021, DWD received 8.8 million unemployment claims, which surpassed the total number of claims of the previous four years combined by 1.6 million, according to Gov. Tony Evers in his State of the State address In January 2021, Evers called a special session to help fix the states unemployment system. In his address, he acknowledged modernization should have happened sooner but that there was not another moment to waste.Since the beginning of this pandemic, we saw an unprecedented influx of unemployment claims, Evers said. It exceeded the number of claims even during the Great Recession.The state responded to the massive number of claims by increasing the size of its UI team, Evers said. State employees from other divisions or agencies were reassigned, and new workers were hired to help with the increased workload. The UI division had about 500 employees at the beginning of the pandemic and increased that number to over 1,800. DWD worked diligently to pay more than $4.6 billion in UI benefits to Wisconsin residents.But the bottom line is that our unemployment system isnt designed to handle the massive numbers of modern days, which has contributed to delays in processing claims, required more time to implement new federal programs and made it harder to get benefits out the door, explained Evers.According to Evers, both Republicans and Democrats share the blame for the lack of upgrades to the antiquated system. For over a decade, legislators knew the system needed upgrades to be able to handle an economic crisis, but instead, the Legislature passed laws that made it more difficult for people to access this assistance. The COVID-19 pandemic brought matters to a turning point.This past year brought to bear the inaction of my predecessors and members of this and previous legislatures who avoided their responsibility for far too long, Evers said in his address. Well, Ill tell you this: Its gone on long enough.The UI project will have a tight timeline. A project of this type tends to take more than a year "to lay out the requirements," as stated by DWD Secretary-designee Amy Pechacek in a press release.The department is on an aggressive timeline to begin a full-scale modernization of the UI system, so weve worked to start this project as quickly as possible, said Pechacek. Building on DWDs success over the past four months, we are taking a nimbler approach to modernization that can provide faster results with the federal funding that is available.The project is made possible through $2.4 million in federal funding made available on March 8. On March 16, DWD signed a $1.2 million contract with 18F to develop the details of the project. DWD signed a Memorandum of Understanding on March 9 with U.S. Digital Response (USDR), a nonprofit focused on helping governments respond to critical public needs. USDRs involvement includes no-cost preliminary consulting services and assistance outlining a framework, goals and plans.The involvement of 18F will especially help with bringing the necessary expertise to the acquisitions process. Using modular contracting, with a focus on user experience, 18Fs solicitation package will ultimately bring a qualified vendor team no later than 10 weeks after the projects start. The agile acquisition strategies are intended to help de-risk the process while staying on the timeline.Modular contracting is an approach that allows teams to pivot to the solutions users need, said 18F Acting Deputy Director and Acquisitions Director Ashley Owens in a press release. Focusing on the user, we hope to provide an approach for DWD that can be replicated and scaled.In the first phase of the project, DWD is looking to better serve the publics needs with an integrated cloud-based communications center with 24/7 responsiveness. The solution will benefit DWD by offering an easy-to-use platform for agents and management. It also allows for scalability as the programs needs change and expand.As Evers tweeted on March 19, the new UI call center is expected to be launched this fall to connect Wisconsin residents with the help they need.
3 1 of 3 Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Courtesy of the Bayview Opera House, Inc. Show More Show Less 3 of 3





At the corner of Newcomb Avenue and Third Street in San Francisco, a 133-year-old theater stands tall in spite of its tumultuous history.



For decades, the Bayview Opera House has buzzed with activity, hosting theatrical performances, music and dance classes as well as a variety of community programming.



Today, the gold lettering embossed on front of the buildings historic entryway still bears its original name  South San Francisco Opera House  surrounded by antique filigree, but its unusually quiet, save for the occasional clang-clang of a Muni train passing by. Theres no show on this brisk, sunny Monday afternoon, but a line of residents has queued up outside of the venue anyway, patiently waiting on blue chalk Xs marked on the sidewalk.



Nearly a year into the pandemic, the theater is serving a new purpose: as a free COVID-19 testing site serving the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood, which has had some of the highest case rates in the city.

Amanda Bartlett/SFGATE

Originally built in 1888 by the San Francisco Masonic Lodge No. 212 to serve as an entertainment hall for its members, the Bayview Opera House was designed by prominent German architect Henry Geilfuss, who would later be responsible for crafting much of the citys eponymous Victorian architecture. Staging a variety of dramas, comedies and vaudeville (as well as operas starting in the 1960s), the 300-seat auditorium was considered the first cultural center in the Bayview-Hunters Point district.



Today, its considered San Franciscos oldest theater, said theater Executive Director Barbara Ockel.Everything else burned in the fire, she said.



With a foundation built upon a massive boulder nearly the size of the building itself, she suspects this infrastructure was the reason why it survived the 1906 earthquake. But it wasnt until decades later that a historic event would cement the Bayview Opera Houses status as a local and national landmark, saving it from demolition.



For a number of reasons, the theater fell into a state of disrepair. Touring theatrical productions that would often travel to the Bayview Opera House first before going downtown to perform at venues like the Alcazar and the California Theatre stopped coming to San Francisco altogether because the latter theaters, where the productions made most of their income, were destroyed.



The Bayview Hunters Point area as a whole was also largely neglected by the city. During World War II, thousands of Black individuals from across the nation  particularly those hoping to escape the Jim Crow South  moved to the neighborhood seeking employment at the shipyard recently acquired by the U.S. Navy.



By 1945, the population had expanded from about 14,000 to 43,000 people, and 20% of it was Black. As the war came to an end and employment at the shipyard declined, the San Francisco Housing Authority acquired many of the residential units where they had lived. This wasnt a problem for white workers  they could move to other parts of the city. However, discriminatory housing practices prevented Black workers from doing the same.



The shipyard attracted people hoping for a better life, then dumped them on the streets, and the city didnt step up to offer training or give them other jobs, Ockel said. Its resulted in generations of poverty from people who were laid off with no possibility of getting another job.



Activist Gene K. Walker decided to do something about it, spearheading the Hunters Point Project Committee in the 1950s with the goal of improving conditions throughout the district. In 1954, they were successful in convincing the San Francisco Housing Authority to replace the dilapidated, temporary war housing with new public housing. They also attempted to purchase the Bayview Opera House, recognizing its potential as a gathering space their community needed.


Women Army officers The Supreme Court on Thursday said "the structures of our society has been created by males for males", and "equality will be farce" if change does not occur and women get equal opportunity. The apex court was directing the Centre to consider granting permanent commission (PC) to women army officers, within a month and allow PC within 2 months after following due process. In February, in a landmark verdict last year, the top court had directed that women officers in the Army be granted permanent commission at par with their male counterparts. Sixty women officers moved the top court stating that they were denied PC in the Army on the ground of failure to adhere to Shape- I fitness. A bench headed by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud held that Army's selective ACR evaluation and late implementation of Shape 1 criterion discriminates and disproportionately affects women officers, who have sought PC. The top court criticized the Army for indirectly discriminating against women short service commission officers by denying them PC, and cited that women officers who brought laurels for country in different fields have been ignored. The Army said medical category has been applied by taking age-related factors into account. However, the top court observed that women officers were given symbolic equality and Shape-1 medical criteria cannot be applied to the women officers 10 years later.




Huambo  At least 38,000 people of Huambo province began being vaccinated this Wednesday against Covid-19, as part of the massive campaign to prevent this pandemic, which began on 2 March, in Luanda.

The first to be vaccinated, in a ceremony led by health minister, Silvia Lutucuta, were the local governor, Lotti Nolika, and the rector of the Jose Eduardo dos Santos University, Cristovao Simoes.

Speaking at the event, Silvia Lutukuta said that 38,000 doses of vaccines were made available to immunise the population at risk in Huambo province, particularly health professionals, the elderly, teachers, religious leaders, members of the government and defence and security bodies.

According to the health minister, the vaccine is from Astrazeneca, which is very safe.

The Cabinet minister also said that it was a very quick and free process, which as well as Huambo is being administered in the provinces of Luanda, Benguela, Cabinda and Huila.

"If you are part of a certain risk group it is important that you go to the vaccination posts to protect yourself from Covid-19, a very contagious and deadly disease," she noted.

The governor of Huambo province, Lotti Nolika, praised the campaign initiative and said that the epidemiological situation of Covid-19 in this region was calm, with a total of 859 registered cases, 817 of which were recovered, 28 deaths and 14 active cases.

The first to be vaccinated, in a ceremony led by health minister, Silvia Lutucuta, were the local governor, Lotti Nolika, and the rector of the Jose Eduardo dos Santos University, Cristovao Simoes.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Angola Coronavirus By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Speaking at the event, Silvia Lutukuta said that 38,000 doses of vaccines were made available to immunise the population at risk in Huambo province, particularly health professionals, the elderly, teachers, religious leaders, members of the government and defence and security bodies.

According to the health minister, the vaccine is from Astrazeneca, which is very safe.

The Cabinet minister also said that it was a very quick and free process, which as well as Huambo is being administered in the provinces of Luanda, Benguela, Cabinda and Huila.

"If you are part of a certain risk group it is important that you go to the vaccination posts to protect yourself from Covid-19, a very contagious and deadly disease," she noted.

The governor of Huambo province, Lotti Nolika, praised the campaign initiative and said that the epidemiological situation of Covid-19 in this region was calm, with a total of 859 registered cases, 817 of which were recovered, 28 deaths and 14 active cases.
Amid the second wave of the coronavirus and a slow-paced recovery of the economy, the housing sector in the top 7 cities showed considerably improvement with sales jumping 29 per cent and new launches by 51 per cent. The new figures were released in Anarock's Q1 2021 report.

MMR & Pune account for 53 per cent of total sales in top cities, driven by stamp duty cuts, discounts and rock-bottom home loan rates, data showed. "As many as 58,290 homes were sold in the top 7 cities in Q1 2021 in comparison to 45,200 units in Q1 2020 - effectively breaching pre-Covid levels. Mumbai and Pune together accounted for 53 per cent of in the quarter  MMR sales increasing by 46 per cent annually, and Pune by 47 per cent. With approx. 8,670 units sold, Bengaluru was the only city in the top 7 to not record a major yearly change in total sales numbers in this quarter," Anarock said in a statement.

Meanwhile, unsold inventory in the top 7 cities saw a nominal yearly decline  from 644,000 units towards Q1 2020-end to approx. 642,000 units by Q1 2021-end. However, on a q-o-q basis, the unsold stock rose by 1 per cent due to a robust new launch pipeline in most cities, the report noted.

Demand boosters like stamp duty cuts, further reductions in home loan rates by most banks (to 6.70 per cent) and ongoing developer discounts and offers helped the residential sector stage a convincing comeback in Q1 2021. Egged on by buoyant sales and enthusiastic consumer sentiment in the October-December period, developers launched several new projects in this quarter - with some spill-over from the pandemic-dampened 2020 pipeline, said, Anuj Puri, chairman, Anarock Property Consultant.

Q1 2021 Overall Sales Overview

* Hyderabad recorded the maximum rise in sales in this quarter among the top cities.

* In Chennai, approx. 2,850 units were sold - an increase of 30 per cent over Q1 2020

* In Kolkata and NCR, increased by 10 per cent and 8 per cent respectively over Q1 2020, with approx. 2,680 units, and 8,790 units, respectively

* In Bengaluru, approx. 8,670 units were sold as compared to 8,630 units sold in Q1 2020.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 25, 2021) - Flow Metals Corp. (CSE: FWM) ("Flow Metals" or the "Company") is pleased to report further results from the drill program at the 100% owned Yukon Sixtymile gold project in the traditional territory of the Tr'ondek Hwech'in First Nation.

5.6 g/t Au over 1.5 m in SM20-02 from 10.7 to 12.2 m

4.0 g/t Au over 1.5m in SM20-09 from 35.1 to 36.6 m

Wider intervals with anomalous gold detected in SM20-14 and SM20-15

Scott Sheldon, CEO of Flow Metals comments: "The RAB drilling at upper Glacier Creek and the results from south of Miller Creek show high-grade gold occurs underneath the placer workings as well as in the intervening mountains with the potential for continuity. Our low-cost drill program proved to be efficient as we confirmed our working hypothesis for the Sixtymile Project by showing the placer gold has a local source. We are keen to follow-up the three mineralized zones at upper Glacier Creek, and our new shallow high-grade target south of the historic Miller Creek."

The Sixtymile placer district is an active gold camp. The three placer operations on the claim have produced over 150,000 ounces of gold. The focus of the recently completed drill program was to confirm a local source for the placer gold.

Drill and trench results

A total of 15 RAB drill holes between 40 - 60 m depth were drilled in the fall of 2020. The drill holes tested a series of structures that were interpreted from a prior ground geophysical survey.

Hole SM20-2 targeted the confluence of two faults and intersected 5.6 g/t Au over 1.5m from 10.7 to 12.2m. SM20-09 targeted a break visible in ground magnetic data where a fault appears to offsets klondike schist from metasediments. This drill hole intersected 4.0 g/t Au over 1.5m from 35.1 to 36.6m.

Five RAB holes and two trenches intersected wider anomalous but low-grade (<200 ppb) gold. The gold in all these intersects is associated with arsenic. The results potentially represent haloes around higher-grade coarse-gold zones. The geophysical and drill data, including downhole OTV surveys will be integrated over the coming months to identify the controls on mineralization, which will lead to enhanced and more efficient targeting for future programs.

Historical drill core from south of Miller Creek was resampled and yielded 12.8 g/t Au over 2.1 m from 41.15m to 43.28m as previously released in news dated February 1st. The company plans to use the same geophysical surveys and targeting methods on the south Miller Creek zones as they have the same rock type and alteration as the targets on Glacier Creek.

Trenching revealed visible gold in arsenopyrite-quartz veins and grab samples ranged up to 0.6 g/t Au. The trenching was performed on a small and discrete zone of coarse-grained placer gold to test the association with bedrock gold.

The intersects and data show that the Sixtymile Project is underlain by a complex auriferous fault set which partly occurs underneath the placer occurrences. The drillhole data is currently being interpreted in the context of regional, project, and occurrence scale geophysics to plan future geophysical programs and drilling. The interpreted dataset will allow for the findings on Upper Glacier Creek to be expanded to the remainder of the claim block.

Ashuanipi, Quebec

The company has engaged IOS Geoscience to execute a two-phase program at the Ashuanipi gold project in eastern Quebec this summer. The project contains numerous AI targets over banded iron formations generated by Windfall Geotek after a 330,000 km AI mining study of Quebec. The project is northeast of Schefferville in the Ashuanipi complex, on the edge of the Superior Province. The company is planning to test these targets using till sampling and channel sampling.

About Flow Metals

Flow Metals is a Canadian gold explorer with a focus on early-stage gold projects in renowned mining districts.

Qualified Person

Adrian Smith is the qualified person for the Company and has reviewed and approved this news release.

QA/QC and Data Verification

RAB chips were collected using a 20/80 splitter, bagged and security tagged, and shipped to MS Analytical in Langley for 500g metallic screen assay.

Historic drill core was drilled in 2010 and 2011 and stored in a placer camp onsite. Core was relogged and certain intervals resampled based on alteration and historic assay results. A total of 107 historic core samples were sent to MS Analytical for 1kg metallic screen assay. The results indicate a large discrepancy between historical fire assay results and metallic screen assays because of heterogeneously distributed and coarse-grained gold on the Sixtymile Project.

MS Analytical operates under strict QAQC protocols using industry standard duplicate, standard, and blank samples.

For further information, please contact:

Scott Sheldon, President

604.725.1857

scott@flowmetals.com

Forward-Looking Information

This press release may include "forward-looking information" (as that term is defined by Canadian securities legislation), concerning the Company's business. Forward-looking information is based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the Company's management, including future plans for the exploration and development of its mineral properties. Although the Company believes that such expectations and assumptions are reasonable, investors should not rely unduly on such forward-looking information as the Company can give no assurance they will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements in this press release are made as of the date of this press release. The Company disclaims any intent or obligation to publicly update any forward-looking information (whether as a result of new information, future events or results, or otherwise) other than as required by applicable securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/78519
It is only March, but it feels like May with these big outbreaks & so many ENHANCED, MODERATE & HIGH RISK severe weather days.

A real rarity: this is the second HIGH RISK outbreak in a week for the South.

I believe the last time & one of the very few times this every occurred was 2011. 2011 was one of our big analog years for the spring forecast, as well.

Here, there is a MARGINAL RISK of severe weather for the southeastern half of the viewing area.

Some showers are possible tomorrow midday to afternoon. Then, heavier rainfall & storms move in during the evening.

Risk of a couple to few severe storms lines up from Pine Village to Peru & southeastward. Northwest of there, risk is not there.

This risk includes potential of a tornado or two.

Heavy rainfall is likely.

Again, risk is in the 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. time frame.

Highs should run in the 60s.

Gradient high wind event around rapidly-deepening surface low will lead to that period of gusts 45-65 mph.

Surface low may deepen to 985 mb in our eastern counties! Impressive!

If you are prone to aches & pains from low pressure, it will be a rough night.

Winds will be sustained at 25-40 mph from the northwest to west-northwest.

Some tree damage & power outages are expected.

Friday looks calmer with west to southwest winds 10-25 mph decreasing to 5-15 mph.

Skies are trending more mostly cloudy now with high in the 50s after 40s in the morning.

With low clouds lingering Friday night, lows should run in the 40s.

Saturday looks windy & much warmer with highs 68-73.

It now appears some severe weather risk will get in here for Saturday late evening-night.

Line of supercells should form from southern Wisconsin to Arkansas with other severe weather Tennessee & Arkansas to Mississippi to Alabama.

The line of supercells should congeal into a squall line & move eastward.

Although instability may wane in the area some, but strong wind fields aloft mean risk of a few severe wind gusts while large hail & wind threat (& perhaps an isolated tornado) would tend to occur over southern Wisconsin to Illinois to Missouri fairly early in the storm development.

SLIGHT RISK is just southwest of our area per SPC, but entire viewing area is in MARGINAL RISK currently.

This is for the 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. period for us Saturday evening-night.

Sunday looks windy & cooler with partly to mostly cloudy skies & highs in the 50s.

Much warmer weather with showers & storms should return mid-next week, but the severe weather risk is south of us at this point. However, we will monitor for changes to this forecast.
The measure was proposed last month by three of the five political parties represented in Nagorno-Karabakhs parliament. One of them, Free Fatherland, is led by Arayik Harutiunian, the regions ethnic Armenian leader.

Earlier this month Harutiunians administration endorsed a relevant bill drafted by the three parties, paving the way for its passage.

The bill envisaging amendments to the regions laws on the language as well as television and radio was passed with a vote of 27-0, with two abstentions.

It cites Nagorno-Karabakhs history of cultural, military and economic links with Russia and says that giving Russian an official status would deepen them.

Its proponents have also argued that this would facilitate communication with Russian soldiers and aid workers deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh after last years Armenian-Azerbaijani war.

Russias presence in Nagorno-Karabakh increased dramatically after Moscow brokered a ceasefire agreement that stopped the six-week war on November 10. The deal led to the deployment of about 2,000 Russian peacekeeping troops in Nagorno-Karabakh as well as along a land corridor connecting the disputed territory to Armenia.

The peacekeepers have helped tens of thousands of Karabakh Armenians, who fled the fighting, to return to their homes.

But some Karabakh lawmakers have voiced objections to the bill. They include Metakse Hakobian of the opposition Artarutyun (Justice) party, one of the bills three co-sponsors.

Hakobian said on March 12 that the proposed legislation needed to be amended to guarantee the supremacy of the Armenian language. Russian should have more of a working than official status and the two languages should not be equated, she told RFE/RLs Armenian Service then.

Several Karabakh academics have also spoken out against making Russian an official language. One of them, Yana Avanesian, said the bill in question was unfounded in its current form.

Free Fatherlands Aram Harutiunian, one of the authors of the bill, insisted that Armenian will remain Nagorno-Karabakhs main official language, while Russian will be used when necessary.

The bill passed by Nagorno-Karabakhs elected representatives will become law upon signing by the regions leader.

Still in February, Azerbaijan, which considers Nagorno-Karabakh to be its territory, condemned the regions plans to give Russian an official status.

President Ilham Aliyev said at a press conference on February 26 that there can only be one official language in Azerbaijan  the Azeri language.

Earlier, the Kremlin described the matter as an internal affair.

This is not a subject of talks, it is a de-facto situation when people speak Russian both in Azerbaijan and Armenia, the Russian presidents spokesperson Dmitri Peskov said on December 2, according to TASS.

This is an internal affair of any country  both Azerbaijan and Armenia, he added.
TORONTO, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Engine Media Holdings, Inc. (TSXV: GAME; OTCQB: MLLLF) ("Engine Media" or the "Company") announced today it has filed a final short form base shelf prospectus (with the securities regulators in each province of Canada, except for the Province of Quebec) and a corresponding shelf registration statement on Form F-10 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The prospectus and registration statement allows the Company to offer up to US$150 million of common shares, preference shares, warrants, subscription receipts, debt securities, units, or any combination thereof ("Securities") during the 25-month period that the shelf prospectus is effective. The specific terms of any offering of Securities, including the use of proceeds from any offering, will be set forth in a shelf prospectus supplement.

Engine Media has filed the shelf prospectus and corresponding registration statement in order to provide the Company with greater financial flexibility going forward but has no immediate plans to offer or issue any Securities at this time. The registration statement is not yet effective, and the Securities may not be sold, nor may offers to buy, be accepted prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective.

A copy of the final short form base shelf prospectus 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. A copy of the prospectus and registration statement may also be obtained on request without charge from the Secretary of the Company at its head office at 33 Whitehall Street, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10004.

This news 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 province, state, or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to qualification or registration of such Securities under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

About Engine Media Holdings, Inc.

Engine Media Holdings Inc. is traded publicly under the ticker symbol (TSX-V: GAME) (OTCQB: MLLLF). The organization is focused on developing premium consumer experiences and unparalleled technology and content solutions for partners in the esports, news and gaming industry. The company's subsidiaries include Stream Hatchet; the global leader in gaming video distribution analytics; Eden Games, premium video game developer and publisher with numerous console and mobile gaming franchises; WinView Games, the industry leader in audience second screen play-along gaming during live event; UMG, an end-to-end competitive esports platform enabling the professional and amateur esport community with tournaments, matches and award nominating content; and Frankly Media, a digital publishing platform empowering broadcasters to create, distribute and monetize content across all channels. Engine Media generates revenue through a combination of direct-to-consumer and subscription fees; streaming technology and data SaaS-based offerings; programmatic advertising and sponsorships; as well as intellectual property licensing fees. To date, the combined companies clients have included more than 1,200 television, print and radio brands, dozens of gaming and technology companies, and have connectivity into hundreds of millions of homes around the world through their content, distribution and technology services.

Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains 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 Engine Media to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "estimates", "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.

The forward-looking statements and information in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the filing of any prospectus supplement filed in connection with the (final) base shelf prospectus, the potential issuance of securities of the Company, the amount of securities that may be issued and the use of proceeds under the (final) base shelf prospectus and any prospectus supplement filed in connection therewith, financial, operational and other projections and outlooks, expectations regarding the successful integration of recent acquisitions of WinView, Inc. and Frankly Inc. and expectations regarding the growth and impact of esports. Such statements and information reflect the current view of Engine Media. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause Engine Media's actual results, performance or achievements or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include: expectations regarding existing products and plans to develop, implement or adopt new technology or products; expectations regarding the successful integration of recent acquisitions of WinView, Inc. and Frankly Inc.; the expectation of obtaining new customers for the Company's products and services, as well as expectations regarding expansion and acceptance of the Company's brand and products to new markets; estimates and projections regarding the industry in which the Company operates and adoption of technologies, including expectations regarding the growth and impact of esports; requirements for additional capital and future financing options; the risks inherent in international operations; marketing plans; ability to compete with our competitors and their technologies; the availability of intellectual property protection for the Company's products, and the ability to expand and exploit the Company's intellectual property; statements related to the expected or potential impact of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic; the completion of and our use of the proceeds of any offering; and, those factors discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Prospectus filed with the Canadian Securities Administrators, which may be viewed at www.sedar.com.

Should one or more of these risks, uncertainties or other factors materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information or statement prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Engine Media cautions that the foregoing list of material factors is not exhaustive. When relying on the Company's forward-looking statements and information to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events.

Engine Media has assumed that the material factors referred to in the previous paragraph will not cause such forward-looking statements and information to differ materially from actual results or events. However, the list of these factors is not exhaustive and is subject to change and there can be no assurance that such assumptions will reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors. The forward-looking information contained in this press release represents the expectations of Engine Media as of the date of this press release and, accordingly, is subject to change after such date. Readers should not place undue importance on forward looking information and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. While Engine Media may elect to do so, Engine Media does not undertake to update this information at any particular time except as required in accordance with applicable laws.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Engine Media Holdings, Inc.

Related Links

https://www.engine.media


Russian oil shipments to the U.S. hit a record high last year, according to calculations by Bloomberg, while at the same time Washington was amping up its warnings about Europes energy dependence on Russia.

Russia leapfrogged Saudi Arabia to become the third-largest oil supplier to the U.S. last year, accounting for 6.85% of all U.S. imports. That amounted to an average of 538,000 barrels a day  or around 5% of Russias entire oil production.

U.S. oil refineries have increasingly turned to Russia following the imposition of sanctions on Venezuela, which as recently as 2018 accounted for 6% of all U.S. oil imports. Saudi Arabias production cuts  part of an OPEC+ deal brokered with Russia to support prices throughout the pandemic  also left space in the market for Russian oil producers, analysts told Bloomberg.

The surge in U.S. demand for Russian energy came as the outgoing Donald Trump administration was going into overdrive in its eleventh hour attempts to thwart the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline between Russia and Germany, citing concerns over Europes energy reliance on Russia. The controversial pipeline  more than 95% complete  is also opposed by many eastern European states, and France recently joined calls to ditch the project.

Analysts told Bloomberg increased U.S. imports from Russia have not raised concerns in Washington, and they expect that once Saudi Arabia begins to ramp up production, Russian exports to the U.S. could fall back.
Tucker Carlson, host of 'Tucker Carlson Tonight' speaks onstage at IGNITION: Future of Media at Time Warner Center in New York City on Nov. 29, 2017. (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)

Carlsons Criticism of US Military Policy Was Intended to Help

Commentary

As the esteemed classicist and military historian Victor Davis Hanson recently wrote, the U.S. military has turned its wrath inward on Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin expressed his revulsion after Carlson questioned the role of women in combat. Keeping women mostly out of combat has been the U.S. militarys centuries-old orthodoxy until just a few years ago, Hanson notes.

My regard for the United States military is high, and Im grateful for its continuing protection of my country, Canada. During the Cold War, Canada fell under the nuclear and conventional forces umbrella of NATO. Now, we still have trouble finding the will and finances to procure military hardware, and our three main branches are weak, compared to their power while helping to defeat the Axis enemies from 1939 to 1945, when women played auxiliary rolesimportant roles, but they were not in combat. Today they can be. And today, Canada still depends on our American friends for protection.

My esteem for the American soldier and airman was burnished by tales from my late uncle, who fought beside U.S. forces under the great Ranger Commander William Orlando Darby for many weeks in the Italian Campaign in 1944. My late father flew in the war and worked with American pilots, including Wing Commander Joe McCarthy of Dam Buster fame, in the 1950s, while training pilots for service in Europe. Both smiled and became animated when sharing exploits of their U.S. colleagues, whom they spoke of with admiration.

My own service as a war reporter allowed me to witness the determination of U.S. soldiers in Kosovo in February 2000 to protect the Muslim Albanians from their Serbian enemies. One U.S. base was called Checkpoint Apocalypse, close to the village of Dobrosin. Days earlier, Serb soldiers had entered Dobrosin and executed at least two people.

When I spoke to Sgt. First Class Brad Houston from that U.S. base, four scruffy and sullen children from Dobrosin approached us. They were gaunt and unsmiling, I noted in my book My Dear Boy, and soldier Houstonabout 24, fresh-faced and sinceretook it to heart.

For me, when you look into the eyes of these little guys, you realize theyre the ones who suffer most, he told me. Probably the biggest thing that hits home is the poverty level. I watched as Sgt. Houston shared treats with the children, and their faces lit up.

And so it is with caution that I find myself questioning Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin now. Yet if a friend cannot speak frankly, then who rightly can? His criticism of Carlson is unfortunate, and perhaps was expressed in the heat of the moment. Carlson is many thingsa patriot, an intelligent and insightful TV commentator, a defender of traditional values, and a man alert to the threats posed by woke thinking, which is to say liberal and progressive thinking that threatens the integrity of our most cherished institutions, including education, free speech, and the military.

And so for the secretary of defense to liken him to an enemy, as Hanson has pointed out, or to suggest Carlson is unfit to criticize policy, is a charge to which defenders of military tradition and free speech must respond.

I watched that day as Tucker related his concerns about the recent relaxation of military standards, including fitness tests. He also has concerns about transgender issues in the military and the possible overall diminishment of its quality in the face of an increasingly bellicose and belligerent China. These are valid concerns, ones shared by many millions of people in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, India, Japan, and other countries who depend on the power of the United States to defend democracy and the rule of law in the world. Our freedoms and our lifestyles are at stake.

The Chinese Communist Party, which rules with an iron fist some 1.3 billion inhabitants (they are not citizens in the sense that we understand the word) of China, has taken clear and ominous steps to challenge the United States as the worlds leading military and industrial power.

The same deterrent that kept the peace between the United States and the USSR in the bi-polar world remains basic to continued peace today. That deterrence depends on two foundations: One is Americas predominance in the field of nuclear weaponry; the other is Chinas understanding that even in conventional warfare, the American soldier is every bit a match for his or her Chinese counterpart.

Should Chinas autocrats come to believe that America has weakened its armies by compromising standards to placate the shrill whine of progressiveswhose campaign China is financingthen the threat of military action by China increases.

Surely Secretary Austin agrees we dont want that.

Yet that is exactly, as I understand it, the essence of Carlsons concern.

So lets be hard-headed on defense matters. The United States must not signal even a suggestion that its forces are in decline. Peace is in the balance.

Brad Bird is a conservative commentator and an award-winning journalist based in British Columbia. A war correspondent in Kosovo, Western Sahara, eastern Ukraine and elsewhere, he has written or edited five books, including the family history My Dear Boy: A familys wartime letters and memoirs from 1915 to the Kosovo Conflict and Nickel Trip about his fathers military service.

Editors note: A previous version of this story misspelled Victor Davis Hansons name. The Epoch Times regrets the error.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch 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.
Former Bank of America employee Juan Esteban Ramirez, 27, faces two felony counts of unlawful disclosure of intimate visual material for allegedly stealing nude photos and video from two separate female customers

A former Bank of America employee from Houston has been accused of stealing nude photos from at least two female customers after allegedly duping them into handing him their phones.

Juan Esteban Ramirez, 27, faces two felony counts of unlawful disclosure of intimate visual material stemming from two separate incidents that took place just days apart last fall.

Ramirez was initially arrested in January 2021 after a 20-year-old woman came forward, accusing him of tricking her into giving him access to her phone, and then copying and sending more than a dozen personal photos from her digital album to his own number.

On Monday, the Harris County District Attorneys Office filed a second felony charge against Ramirez in connection with an incident that had taken place two days before the breach cited in the January complaint.

A Bank of America spokesperson told DailyMail.com on Thursday that Ramirez was fired in October.

According to court records obtained by DailyMail.com, the 20-year-old victim in the first case told investigators that she walked into the Bank of America branch at 7770 Highway 6 North in Houston on September 14 to get a new debit card and asked Ramirez to help her pull up her account information.

The incidents took place just two days apart in September 2020 at this Bank of America branch at 7770 Highway 6 North in Houston

The criminal complaint states that Ramirez asked the woman to see her phone, which she unlocked for him so that he could obtain her account information.

After about 10 minutes, Ramirez handed the device back to the customer and told her that her new card would be mailed to her.

Later in the day, according to the complaint, the woman noticed delivery confirmation messages of sent texts on her Apple Watch, which included photos. The woman checked her phone but found no outgoing text messages.

The confirmation messages indicated that the texts had been sent to a phone number she did not recognize during the time that Ramirez was using her phone.

The complaint alleges that the texts contained 16 photos of the victim nude or wearing only underwear.

Investigators were able to link the phone number to Ramirez and arrested him in mid-January. He was released after posting $1,500 bond.

A second complaint that was filed against Ramirez earlier this week alleges that on September 12, 2020, another 20-year-old woman arrived at the Bank of America branch on 6 Highway North with her parents to set up an account.

The woman handed Ramirez her unlocked phone so he could assist her, and the man allegedly used this opportunity to text her nude photos and a sexually explicit video to his own number.

Ramirez then allegedly went a step further and sent a series of text messages to the victim, threatening to forward her private photos and a recording showing her having sex with a man to her parents.

The woman was so 'alarmed and scared' that she changed her phone number, according to the complaint. The incident was said to have caused the victim 'embarrassment and humiliation.'

'The victims trusted that due to the defendant's employment status he would act professionally and was at no time authorized to view, posses or transmit any personal and private messages, photos, images and or videos,' a prosecutor wrote.

Ramirez is due back in court on April 19.
Graves Home Invasion Suspects Go to Trial in June

By West Kentucky Star Staff

Two men involved in a 2019 home invasion and shooting in Graves County will go to trial in June.

The trial for Valdarius Starks and Kendrick Owens begins June 8, and is expected to last three days. A review of the case is set for May 24.

Starks and Owens were shot by Dominique Crittendon on Nov. 19, 2019, when authorities say they tried to rob him at his home. The two men allegedly forced their way into Crittendon's home after Santasia Donald knocked on his door and asked to use his phone.

Starks, of Clarksville, TN, and Owens, of Paducah, were both arrested after being released from the hospital.

Starks is charged with burglary, kidnapping, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, assault and robbery. Owens faces charges of burglary, attempted robbery, kidnapping, assault and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.



Donald pleaded guilty last year to amended charges of facilitation to burglary and facilitation to attempted robbery. She was sentenced to eight years in prison for her crimes.. As part of the plea deal, Donald will have to testify against Starks and Owens.

MAYFIELD -
The brother of an SAS hero TV star has died in jail while serving a life sentence for stabbing his eight-year-old daughter to death.

William Billingham - brother of SAS: Who Dares Wins' Mark 'Billy' Billingham MBE - was found slumped in a chair inside his cell at HMP Birmingham on Friday morning.

The cause of death is not yet known but it is believed the killer died before staff could reach him, The Sun reported.

The 58-year-old was jailed for life in October 2018 after he knifed his daughter Mylee Billingham to death as she pleaded: 'Please Daddy, no Daddy, stop it'.

William Billingham, 58, (left and right) was jailed for life in October 2018 after he knifed his daughter Mylee to death as she pleaded: 'Please Daddy, no Daddy, stop it'

Just 15 minutes before the murder Billingham had posted a photo on Facebook showing his smiling daughter eating pizza on his bed

Mylee Billingham, eight, was killed by her father in January 2018

William Billingham's celebrity brother Mark 'Billy' Billingham MBE has appeared on Channel 4's SAS: Who Dares Wins

The evil thug is the brother of TV's SAS Who Dares Wins star Mark Billingham (pictured, right, with his brother, left)

He killed the defenceless schoolgirl to get back at his ex-partner who had started a new same-sex relationship.

The inmate, from Walsall, West Midlands, was moved from P Wing to the comfier J Wing in mid-2020.

Billingham was taken to the wing, which accommodates frail and elderly prisoners, after his health declined.

A source told The Sun: 'He was found in a chair, the officers had opened up and found him.

'It drove people mad, he was living the life of luxury in there.

'He worked on the servery helping give meals out to fellow inmates.'

Billingham was jailed for 27 years after the callous killing of daughter Mylee - who he nicknamed 'Moo.'

He had grown resentful of his ex Tracey Taundry's relationship with her new partner and feared she would stop him seeing his children.

On January 20, 2018, Billingham waited for Tracey to collect Mylee from his home, where he armed himself with a kitchen knife.

As the youngster left his house, the father-of-six pulled his daughter back indoors by her hood as she screamed 'mummy, mummy' and 'please daddy, no daddy, stop it'.

Mylee Billingham's mother Tracey Taundry holding a doll as she arrived at the funeral of the eight-year-old stabbing victim at St James' Church, Walsall, in April 2018

Chilling footage played to the court shows Mylee Billingham laughing with her father in a shop just over two hours before she was stabbed to death

Tracey Taundry (far left) is pictured outside court in September 2018

Billingham then 'violently' thrust the blade into Mylee's chest in a 'swift, deliberate and brutal' manner as a 'final act of revenge' against his ex.

Ms Taundry meanwhile desperately tried to bang the door down as she screamed for help.

Just 15 minutes before the murder Billingham had posted a photo on Facebook showing his smiling daughter eating pizza on his bed.

Officers and paramedics performed CPR on the youngster who was rushed to Birmingham Children's Hospitals where she was pronounced dead at 11.30pm.

At his sentencing hearing it was revealed how Billingham tried to take his own life midway through his trial by cutting both his wrists with razor blades in his cell.

For confidential support call Samaritans on 116 123 or visit samaritans.org


By Joseph Shin





Every time someone says the value of their apartment has gone up 50 percent  and you hear this quite often in Seoul  it adds another toxic drop into a pool of resentment and envy that has come to define much of Korea's housing landscape.



To be clear, it isn't the increase in wealth that's the issue here. If anything, that should be applauded. But there is something to be said about how housing rhetoric in our nation has been reduced to a number and percentage gain.



As a society, we have become fixated on finding the next hot neighborhood in the hope that we too might one day speak of our success in the housing market. Urban renewal opportunities in constrained parts of Seoul are talked about in terms of redevelopment prospects and financial windfalls. New cities such as Sejong City or the Songdo IBD are talked about in terms of capital gains potential.



It's unfortunate, but unsurprising, that housing has taken on such a singular dimension. Since 2017, the median apartment price in Seoul has soared by 70 percent, sitting now at over 1 billion won ($930,000) (and yes, this figure accounts for the pandemic). Affordable housing is scarcer than ever and entire neighborhoods in Seoul have become practically off limits to low-income and front-line workers alike.



We should strive for something better, and this pandemic presents a precious opportunity to re-think our approach to urban planning.



It's easy to feel like we are making progress, especially when you hear of proposals to build thousands of apartments on the outskirts of Seoul  except when was the last time you heard of someone realistically considering a move away from Seoul?



The reality is that the educational, economic and social opportunities are simply greater in cities, and with 92 percent of Koreans currently living in urban areas, doubling down on housing supply outside of Seoul lacks consideration of the needs of many.



Similarly, it isn't enough to simply build a new city in Sejong and relocate over 20 government agencies there. A housing plan that would result in the migration of thousands of government employees isn't an effective policy  it's just passing the problem on to a different city.



Front-line workers are particularly hurt by decisions not to improve housing supply in already constrained areas. Front-line workers are, by definition, tethered to their local neighborhood, and no matter how tough it gets, some work will always need to be done in person: A cleaner can't Zoom conference their way to a cleaning job just as a paramedic can't remote access their way to the aid of the injured.



Rather than build as many apartments and new cities in the fastest possible time, we should look a little more introspectively at what we can do within Seoul, not just outside of it. After all, Seoul is home to 70 percent of Korea's population and to expect many of its residents to pick up their lives and give up on the opportunities available in Seoul for an unproven city is hopeful at best.



One immediate step could be to consider changing zoning regulations so that they prioritize and promote greater diversity in housing options. Another could be to consider build-to-rent schemes, a measure that has found relative success in the United Kingdom and the United States. Or perhaps even an unconventional one? Last month, the New Zealand government ordered the country's central bank to account for housing prices when it sets rates.



The pandemic would also suggest that, instead of rows and rows of the same-old white or cream-colored apartments, urban development should now allow residents to gather and socialize safely and comfortably.



We also need to be serious about creating incentives for developers to build housing projects that cater to the spectrum of Seoul's community. And we need to do it quickly.



Because when we fail to support low-income and front-line workers, we all lose.



Joseph Shin (josephshin63@gmail.com) is a foreign lawyer living and working in Korea. He has a particular interest in affordable housing policy and real estate entrepreneurship.


Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy arrives in the Ontario Legislature with Premier Doug Ford to deliver the Provincial Budget on March 24, 2021. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press)

Ontario Budget Pledges Billions in Pandemic Recovery Spending, as Deficit Soars

Ontario pledged to boost the economy, take measures to defeat COVID19 and fix long-term care, and support families in the 2021 budget unveiled Wednesday, the second budget the Ford government has delivered since the pandemic.

These and other promises in the budget will be achieved with a $173 billion spending plan, resulting in a projected deficit of $33.1 billion in 202122.

Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said that while this level of the deficit is neither sustainable nor desirable forever, he is convinced the record investments contained in budget are necessary for the health of the Ontarians and the economy amid the pandemic.

You cant have a healthy economy without healthy people, Bethlenfalvy said in a statement on March 24. When this chapter is finally closed, Im confident that the people of Ontario are going to unleash the economic growth that is necessary for job creation, prosperity, and a stronger province.

Over $1 billion will be spent on provincewide vaccination, $1.4 billion on securing personal protective equipment, masks and gloves, and an additional $2.3 billion for testing and contract tracing in the fight against COVID-19.

In other health funding, $1.8 billion will go toward providing care to COVID-19 patients and $650 million to protect residents in long-term care (LTC) homes.

Another $4.9 billion will be spent over the next four years to increase the daily hours of direct care to four for residents in LTC homes, and hire more than 27,000 personal support workers and nurses to fill up the shortage in health-care staff in these settings, according to the budget. The plan was first introduced in November 2020 but the costs werent detailed.

Anthony Dale, CEO of the Ontario Hospital Association, said the group appreciates new funding as hospitals work to maintain stability during this ongoing crisis.

The budget is also welcomed by Donna Duncan, CEO of Ontario Long Term Care Association, who said long-term care spending around staffing and expansion of available beds will make a meaningful difference in the lives of Ontarios seniors now and in the future.

In terms of family support, the budget includes a third round of payments to families with children through the Ontario COVID-19 Child Benefit. The payment will double to $400 per child and $500 for each child with special needs.

For people seeking retraining due to job loss because of the pandemic, $260 million will be set aside to provide up to $2,000 per individual to pay for half of their eligible training expenses under the new Ontario Jobs Training Tax Credit program, introduced in the budget.

For small businesses, the Ford government said it will provide a second round of grants ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 to those affected by the provincewide shutdown. The program was launched in January, and the second round will incur another 1.7 billion in costs, totalling the amount to $3.4 billion in order to help about 120,000 small businesses.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business applauded the governments move to double the grant funding, but said some amendments are still needed.

Thousands of hard-hit small businesses across the province remain ineligible, said CFIB spokesman Ryan Mallough. CFIB urges the Ontario government to expand eligibility for this important program.

Think tank Fraser Institute raised concerns about Ontarios mushrooming debt and the associated interest costs.

How much interest will Ontarians pay on their governments growing debt? the institute asked on Twitter after the budget was announced.

How much interest will Ontarians pay on their government's growing debt? https://t.co/d8uesjl7r8 #onpoli  The Fraser Institute (@FraserInstitute) March 24, 2021

According to the province, the deficit is projected at $33.1 billion for 2021-2022, down from $38.5 billion last year. Deficits of $27.7 billion and $20.2 billion are projected for 2022-23 and 2023-24 respectively.

All of these large deficits mean substantially more debt will be added to the governments books, the Fraser Institute said in a blog on its website.

According to budget forecasts, provincial net debt in 2023/24 will reach $503.1 billion. Ontarios debt-to-GDP ratio (a good measure of debt sustainability) will reach the highest level in provincial history at 50.2 percent if the current plan comes to fruition.

The think tank added that the debt interest payments will total $13.1 billion in 2021/22 and reach $14.6 billion in 2023/24 at the end of the current fiscal plan.

The growing debt interest payments mean its more difficult for Ontario to reduce the deficit and return to budget balance in the near future, it said.

In fact, Ontarios debt interest payments will eat up roughly 9 percent of provincial revenues and equal nearly three-quarters of the overall deficit by 2023/24. Put differently, debt interest payments are one reason why the provincial deficit will remain stubbornly large in years to come.

With files from The Canadian Press.
Greece on Thursday celebrated 200 years since the start of its independence war with the Ottoman Empire with parades and ceremonies attended by foreign dignitaries, though the pandemic forced officials to scale back events

Athens, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Mar, 2021 ) :Greece on Thursday celebrated 200 years since the start of its independence war with the Ottoman Empire with parades and ceremonies attended by foreign dignitaries, though the pandemic forced officials to scale back events.

"Today the nation celebrates," Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said as the Greek flag was solemnly raised over the Acropolis in Athens.

"Two centuries ago, a handful of determined fighters in and outside Greece raised the banner of independence... with the help of their allies, they fought heroically and won their freedom," he said, ahead of events planned all over Greece and among diaspora communities overseas.

Security was tight, with 4,000 police, drones and snipers set to be deployed in Athens, a police source said. Owing to the coronavirus pandemic, no spectators are allowed to attend aside from a small number of reporters.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Britain's Prince Charles and French Defence Minister Florence Parly placed wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Greece's foremost military monument, ahead of the national parade.

Britain, France and Russia were instrumental in helping Greece attain its independence in 1830 after nearly a decade of warfare against overwhelming odds.

At the time, the Ottoman Empire extended through the Balkans and modern-day Turkey to North Africa, the Arabian peninsula and the Caucasus.

"As the wellspring of Western civilisation, Greece's spirit runs through our societies and our democracies," Prince Charles said at a dinner at the presidential mansion on Wednesday.

"Without her, our laws, our art, our way of life, would never have flourished as they have." The three allies from the 1821-1829 conflict are among countries to have sent military hardware for Thursday's celebrations.

A parade of tanks, artillery and overflying jets will mark the occasion in the capital Athens, alongside mounted troops in traditional costumes from the 1821 conflict.

A cannon on Lycabettus Hill overlooking Athens had earlier fired a salute of 21 shots.
Register with JOC.com and receive 5 free pieces of content for the first thirty days. After thirty days, you will receive 3 pieces of content and after sixty days you will receive 1 piece of content. To receive full access, Subscribe Today . You can also subscribe to our daily newsletter.

Register
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.
Korean People's Army (KPA) soldiers gather as part of celebrations marking the birthday of late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, known as the 'Day of the Shining Star', in 2019 - ED JONES /AFP

A unit of six North Korean border soldiers has defected to China, according to reports, in a sign of the increasingly high level of discontent in the reclusive country.

While there has been a steady stream of one or two guards fleeing the authoritarian country, a group this large is highly unusual.

The soldiers fled across the Yalu River on the border with China earlier this month along with their weapons, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported this week.

The unit was part of the 25th Border Guard brigade, which has been deployed to stop other North Koreans from escaping, and reportedly complained of being overworked and underfed since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, according to RFA.

The six were on nighttime stakeout at the border on the night of the 2nd and did not show up after their scheduled return time in the early morning, a military source from Hyesan told RFAs Korean Service.

A search team combed the entire border area looking for them. It was determined that the six had crossed the river with their weapons and escaped to China.

Its caused quite the stir."

Workers attend a mass ceremony to inaugurate the start of construction on a building project in Pyongyang on March 24 - KCNA /via REUTERS

Life in North Koreas military has become especially hard in recent months amid severe food shortages and a crackdown on smuggling following the closure of the border in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Usually, border guards are in collusion with professional smugglers and merchants and they live better than soldiers in other regions, RFA quoted a source in the North Korean military as saying.

But the coronavirus outbreak has been raging for more than a year, so smuggling has completely stopped and they are suffering from hunger these days.

There have been reports of soldiers shooting farmers livestock for their meals, while the government announced a campaign for the public to surrender spare clothing to get troops through the bitter winter months.

Life in the military in the North was already hard, with conscripts forced to serve between 10 and 12 years and effectively used as forced labourers on national construction projects, said Daniel Pinkston, a professor of international relations at the Seoul campus of Troy University.

Story continues

Border security officers charged with enforcing discipline among the troops are in a state of chaos over the incident, according to a military source quoted by RFA.

The Chinese authorities have been informed of the defections and are understood to be searching for the armed men, while repercussions are unavoidable, the source said.

Their entire company will be disbanded and their commanders and anyone else [related to the incident] will have to take responsibility, so it will be a bit of a bloodbath around here for a while.

The incident reflects a broader deterioration in the countrys situation.

Last month, a man wearing a diving suit and flippers managed to slip across the heavily fortified crossing into South Korea, and in November, a North Korean gymnast vaulted over a three-metre-high security fence to escape the country.

International sanctions were already hurting the North and that has just been made worse by the coronavirus and the decision to shut the border, said Mr Pinkston.

There was already significant food insecurity and they are now about to go into their lean period, with last years stockpiled food running out long before the next harvest is ready, he added.

There are now clear signs of distress in the economy and society there.
At a time when Congress should be looking for ways to help the American worker, the U.S. House of Representatives passed HR 842, known as the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, or PRO Act, which would have a devastating impact on our economy.

While some in Congress will claim this bill protects workers, it does anything but that. From stripping workers of their independent contractor status to forcing them to pay dues to a union they do not support, the PRO Act is bad for the American worker and bad for the American economy.

One of the miracles of the 21st century has been the rise of the gig economy and the gig worker. From Uber and Lyft drivers to DoorDash runners, this economy has allowed millions of Americans to become their own boss and set their own schedule as independent contractors. It has also afforded people additional income as they seek to create a better life for themselves and their families.

Seventy percent of gig workers are independent contractors by their own choice, the ADP Research Institute said in a February report.

Unfortunately, the PRO Act would seek to eliminate the gig economy and deprive hardworking Americans of the right to earn a paycheck. The bill would strip these workers of their independent contractor status and force them into joining unions and paying union dues, regardless of their support for unionization.

Commentary: A year later, COVID has changed the global economy

Texas economy has experienced such rapid growth in part because of its right-to-work laws, which protect workers who refuse to pay union dues from being fired, and protect them from intimidation and coercion into joining a union. This bill would strip workers of that right by eliminating these laws.

The bill also would eliminate private ballots in union elections. This has the potential to lead to workplace harassment of employees who vote against union-backed measures by making their votes known to union bosses and their fellow workers.

It also would harm employers by taking away their rights. It does not allow an employer to keep its business operating during a strike. Furthermore, it would impose mandatory union contracts if an employer and union do not come to an agreement, essentially taking away an employers bargaining power.

While this bill has passed the House, there is still a chance to stop it in the Senate, and the Texas Association of Business expects both senators from Texas will fight against it. Texas workers should also take some solace in the fact that every Texas congressional Republican  as well as Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Laredo Democrat, voted against this disastrous bill and are putting their interests first.

As vaccines become readily available and people get back to normal, the economy must rebound so Americans can put food on their tables and create a better future for their families. If Congress wants to be a partner in that effort, it should stop the PRO Act dead in its tracks.

Instead, it should start focusing on issues that will lead to an economic recovery that benefits all Americans. This includes reducing the regulatory burden on businesses and investing in infrastructure and workforce development for a 21st-century economy.

Glenn Hamer is CEO of the Texas Association of Business.
[March 25, 2021] Optima Seguros to Upgrade Majesco Policy for P&C and Move to Majesco CloudInsurer to Bolster their Growth Strategy

Majesco, global leader of cloud insurance software solutions for insurance business transformation announced that Optima Seguros based in Puerto Rico will upgrade Majesco Policy for P&C and move from on-premise to Majesco CloudInsurer to bolster their growth strategy. Optima Seguros has been a customer of Majesco's since 2013 and is one of twenty Majesco customers in Puerto Rico. Optima Seguros is a property and contingency insurer created and authorized to operate in Puerto Rico in 2006, underwriting insurance under the name Optima Insurance Company. In 2012 QBE, an insurer with global operations based in Australia, acquired the insurer and later changed the name to QBE Seguros. Late 2018, QBE Seguros signed an agreement for the acquisition of its Puerto Rico operations with Grupo Optima, a Puerto Rican holding company and in August 2019, Grupo Optima assumed the administration of the insurer upon completion of the regulatory process, operating under the Optima Seguros brand. "Optima's growth strategy demanded our ability to rapidly adapt to market opportunities, innovate and scale at speed," commented Jonathan A. Martinez, Head of Technology at Optima. "Our long-term partnership with Majesco and their commitment to supporting the Puerto Rico market demonstrated by their stellar reputation for their robust cloud-based platform was a key factor in our decision to upgrade and move to the cloud. Our ability to deliver the products and service our customers expect, demanded next generation cloud soltion like Majesco's that delivers leading-edge business capabilities with cutting-edge technical architecture that delivers on our commitment to our customers. We look forward to our deepening and expanding partnership with Majesco."



Optima is one of the leading commercial carriers in Puerto Rico and has been using Majesco Policy and the out of box ISO Content to provide Commercial Package and Commercial Auto Insurance to their customers in Puerto Rico. Majesco Policy for P&C on Majesco CloudInsurer brings advanced and innovative capabilities that will help support Optima's growth strategy. "We are thrilled to deepen and extend our partnership with Optima Seguros and help them move to the newest version of Majesco Policy for P&C on Majesco CloudInsurer," commented Prateek Kumar, EVP at Majesco. "The demanding and unique needs of the Puerto Rican market highlight the strategic value of the Majesco solutions as a platform that delivers agility, innovation and speed while delivering a competitive, safe, scalable and secure operation. We look forward to our growing partnership with Optima."

About Majesco Majesco provides technology, expertise, and leadership that helps insurers modernize, innovate and connect to build the future of their business - and the future of insurance - at speed and scale. Our platforms connect people and businesses to insurance in ways that are innovative, hyper-relevant, compelling and personal. Over 200 insurance companies worldwide in P&C, L&A and Group Benefits are transforming their businesses by modernizing, optimizing or creating new business models with Majesco. Our market-leading solutions include CloudInsurer P&C Core Suite (Policy, Billing, Claims); CloudInsurer LifePlus Solutions (AdminPlus, AdvicePlus, IllustratePlus, DistributionPlus); CloudInsurer L&A and Group Core Suite (Policy, Billing, Claims); L&A Insurance Data & Analytics Platform; Digital1st Insurance with Digital1st Engagement, Digital1st EcoExchange and Digital1st Platform - a cloud-native, microservices and open API platform; Distribution Management, P&C Insurance Data & Analytics Platform, including an Enterprise Data Warehouse. For more details on Majesco, please visit www.majesco.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005467/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Carl Corcoran (b. 1952, Dublin) is Course Director on the MA in Song Writing at University Limerick.

He has had an interesting and varied career path to this position. He went to University College Dublin. His first choice subject would have been music but his parents persuaded him to study law. A short time into that course he landed a record deal.

Record deal

Carl played gigs in folk clubs and the Director of EMI Ireland came across what he considered to be the voice he was looking for  a project to take an unknown artist to send into the stratosphere of stardom.

EMI offered him a three-year / three-album contract. His first album, New Day comprised ten original songs under a new name given to him by the record company  Jamie Stone. It was a writing collaboration with his brother Michael, the next two albums with a variety of collaborators.

In 1974 the New Day swept up awards, including Artist of the Year at RMI  the equivalent of the Choice Music Awards. So Corcoran was on an upward trajectory and two albums followed. The third album (1978) was released across Europe and showcased at Cannes, where he gigged. All was going swimmingly up to January 1978.

The record company had sent him on an exploratory mission to Los Angeles to see if he could have an American release. That mission did not prove to be successful and by August that year he was dropped. Thats the way it goes in the music industry says Carl, philosophically.

Corcoran is honest about that experience and admits that he was damaged by it, but it strengthened him and he found the resilience to overcome the disappointment. His ability to reflect on experiences, both positive and negative and to process them into learning encounters is at the core of this mans character.

However, having tasted America and seen the potential opportunities he went to New York in October 1978, pursuing the craft/art of song writing, knocking on doors, submitting tapes, doing showcases in Manhattan. He was stonewalled, which he says, Was par for the course. This was a sharp learning curve for Corcoran and the reality of having to make a living became clear In order to avoid starvation Carl adds pragmatically.

Broadcasting

Corcoran became heavily immersed in broadcasting in New York. He found this to be a particularly satisfying medium as it fulfilled a lot of what he, as a performer, wanted to achieve, There was a buzz when that red light went on which was almost like going in front of a live audience Carl explains.

He lived sixty miles north of New York and needed to get broadcasting experience, so he knocked on doors and he was offered a programme called A Drop of the Irish on a Saturday evening slot. He capitalised on his connections with people in Ireland  Bill Whelan, Michael Flatley  that meant something to the Irish-American community. After a year he was offered a programme that was to showcase Irish music from the 1950s to current (1995).

Corcoran learned the trade in his six year experience in NY radio and it was a good calling card for interviews on his return home as the local radio station was an affiliate of American Broadcasting Company (ABC).

RTE Lyric FM

Carl acknowledges that when he moved to Lyric classical music was a genre he didnt know much about. He grew to love it but initially he felt very much out of his depth. In Lyric he was in the company of people who had immense knowledge of particular genres of classical music,

But I had great colleagues and being a musician helped says Carl. He started on a weekend slot and the powers that be felt he was worth retaining. Music lovers are immensely grateful for that as he presented / curated the fabulous The Blue of the Night.

He had submitted his CV to RTE and in 1999 he got a phone call telling him that his name had come up for a position as a weekend presenter with Lyric on a programme called The Third Wave. Asked if he was interested he said, Absolutely, when would I start? The answer  This weekend!

Whoever they had chosen for the position decided not to honour the commitment so they offered it to the next person on the shortlist  Carl.

Lyric opened with the eclectic Third Wave programme on May 1st 1999. As Corcoran came from the DJ world of NY radio he had to adjust to less talk and more music. He immersed himself in performers and composers and admits to making some clangers in pronouncing their names!

Carl is refreshingly humble.

The Blue of the Night

Carl and his wife had three children and wanted to come home from America. He returned to Ireland in 1999 and took up a position with Lyric FM (1999-2017).

For the last ten years of that tenure Carl curated, The Blue of the Night of which he is rightly proud. This late night three-hour programme gained a reputation as a go-to place for good music.

He had a good response through texts and emails and he started to conduct interviews and live sessions. Thus he developed a relationship with both audience and participants. He now uses this to his advantage as Course Director of the Song Writing MA at UL. He calls on people that he championed to reciprocate by coming to his students to talk about their process of song writing.

The road to UL

On the night of his retirement party from RTE he was approached and asked to consider coming on board at the academy as Course Director. Corcoran had associations with the academy from its inception, through broadcasting and he had a great ally and colleague in the late Micheal O Suilleabhain the renowned musician, composer, academic and educationalist. Carl says, He was my mentor, inspiration and my earthly psychopomp. It was he that persuaded Corcoran to do a MA in Community Music.

When the offer to join the academy came about Carl was at a loose end and had not decided what he might do, so he grasped it. The Course is now in its fourth year.

From Listening to Carl one gets a definite sense that he feels lucky in his career. He readily acknowledges that he did not really plan a career path but took advantage of opportunities that came his way.

Nevertheless he had worked to develop and hone his skills and reputation. Being the founding course Director makes total sense for this man who has ticked all the right boxes. Carl explains, Song writing cannot be taught but it can be learned through observation, imitation and finding your unique voice. He elaborates, Students must have a strong desire and some experience in song writing in order to access the course. They must also be persistent.

In a world where virtually anyone can upload their music the song writer needs to get above the millions of others in some way  to get noticed, to get that song featured on Greys Anatomy, The Wire etc. Music supervisors are the key to success. They are the link between artist and outlet. Carl Corcoran has the ability to communicate well in the music industry. He has connections and is willing to network for the advantage of his students.

As a songwriter who has known success and failure in the music business and a person who has significant experience in broadcasting he is ideally placed to direct such a course. It is a one-year MA which has all the academic rigours one might expect from a postgraduate programme.

The numbers of participants is small but that is how it should be for the dynamics of the course.
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.
Faulkner University announced Thursday morning that former Vice President Mike Pence will headline its annual benefit dinner Oct. 7 in Montgomery.

Pence served under former President Donald Trump, and also previously served as governor of Indiana and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Faulkners President Michael Williams made the announcement during a Thursday morning press conference.

The universitys benefit dinner started more than 40 years ago and sells out with nearly 2,000 guests each year, according to the school. Its the Christian, liberal arts universitys biggest fundraiser, and sends dollars to student scholarships.

Previous speakers include former South Carolina Congressman Trey Gowdy, Donald Trump Jr., former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, among others, according to The Montgomery Advertiser.

For tickets call 334-386-7257 or visit Faulkner.edu/pence.
There has been no evidence of adverse effects for pregnant women who have been vaccinated against Covid-19, according to the chair of the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in Ireland.

Dr Cliona Murphy, who has been vocal about the safety of the vaccine, told the Irish Examiner that pregnant women shouldn't hesitate to get the vaccine when it becomes available to them.

"Absolutely get the vaccine. To be fully vaccinated prior to pregnancy will give a lot of reassurance and reduce the risk of developing Covid in pregnancy, she says.

Dr Murphy's reassurances are sure to be welcomed by the thousands of women who are looking for answers surrounding the topic, with over 9000 views clocking in on the Institute's online questions and answers infographic so far.

Dr Cliona Murphy is a Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist in the Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital and Tallaght University Hospital, and Chair of the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.Picture: Gareth Chaney/ Collins

Can and should I get the vaccine if Im pregnant?

A spokesperson from the Department of Health told the Irish Examiner that while pregnant women are at similar risk to non-pregnant women of contracting Covid-19, they are more likely to be admitted to hospital with the virus.

"Most pregnant women who are infected with Covid-19 will experience mild to moderate symptoms, and the risk of passing Covid-19 virus to the baby is low. However, pregnant women who become ill from Covid-19 are more likely to be admitted to hospital, to need care in an ICU, and to die when compared with non-pregnant women patients."

They also stated that women from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds may be more likely than other pregnant women to be admitted to hospital with Covid-19.

Dr Murphy and others have said that while pregnant women weren't included in the original vaccine trial studies, it was subsequently found that a number of participants had been pregnant at the time and there were no adverse outcomes.

The HSE also recommends that anyone who is pregnant get the vaccination when it becomes available.

The information we have so far shows that the AstraZeneca, Moderna, and Pfizer/BioNtech vaccines do not have any negative effect on babies in the womb. They are not live vaccines, so they cannot infect either mother or baby with Covid-19. The vaccines are rapidly broken down in the body and cannot become part of your or your babys DNA, the HSE website reads.

If you are pregnant, you should get your Covid-19 vaccine when it's offered to you. Being vaccinated will reduce the chance of you becoming very unwell. It may also reduce the chance of complications during pregnancy, such as premature labour. This can happen if you are seriously ill with Covid-19.

When can I get the vaccine if I am pregnant?

Dr Cliona Murphy urges anyone of reproductive age to get the vaccination when it is offered to them.

In Ireland, the Covid-19 vaccine is currently being offered to frontline healthcare workers, people aged 70 and older living in the community, those aged 65 and older who are living in long-term care facilities, and people aged 16 to 69 who are at very high risk.

Pregnant women are currently listed in the last group to have the vaccine offered to them. However, pregnant healthcare workers or "those who have medical conditions which put them at high risk of severe disease are included in the respective priority groups", according to the Department of Health.

The spokesperson added: "The priority for other pregnant women will be determined when more evidence is available."

One woman, who is currently six months pregnant with her first child, told the Irish Examiner that no medical professional she has seen has mentioned the vaccine to her and she would struggle to agree to receive it without a lot of professional reassurance.

"No one has said anything to me about the vaccine in any of my appointments. I would be very for vaccines usually, but I have a very different view when it comes to getting one during pregnancy. If it is offered to me while I'm still pregnant, it would take a lot of convincing for me to get it," the young woman says. "I'd rather just isolate."

The recommendation for pregnant women who do wish to receive the vaccine, once the vaccine is available to them, is that they receive the first dose of the vaccine at, or after, 14 weeks of pregnancy and the second dose before 33 weeks.

What happens if I get pregnant between vaccine doses?

If you get pregnant after the first dose, a 14-week waiting period before getting the second dose is recommended. There is no need to worry if this occurs, according to the HSE.

"Do not worry if you get your vaccine before knowing you are pregnant. You should wait until 14 weeks or after to get your vaccine as a precaution. This is to avoid any possible association with a miscarriage," the HSE website reads.

There is also no need to worry about conceiving following the doses, Dr Murphy says.

"There is no requirement to put off trying to conceive. In the event of testing positive a few days after the first dose, we recommend delaying the second until 14 weeks."

Can I get the vaccine if Im planning on getting pregnant?

When asked about the possibility of the vaccine causing infertility, Dr Murphy and other experts have been adamant that there is no evidence so far to back the claims.

Dr Murphy has also said that couples planning on using IVF should not be afraid to get the vaccination and that it would be safe to continue treatment within two days of receiving the immunisation.

The HSE and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in the US have also both stated that the vaccine isnt thought to have any effect on fertility.

There is currently no evidence that any vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines, cause fertility problems. If you are trying to become pregnant, you do not need to avoid pregnancy after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, the CDC website reads.

The organisation also states that studies in animals receiving a Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, or Johnson & Johnsons Janssen vaccine before or during pregnancy found no safety concerns.

Can I get the vaccine if Im breastfeeding?

There is no evidence to suggest that breastfeeding women can't receive the Covid-19 vaccination. Picture: iStock

All of the Covid-19 vaccines approved in Ireland can be given to breastfeeding women and will not have any effect on a breastfed baby, according to the HSE.

The Irish Pharmacy Union also released a statement earlier this month saying that it is safe for breastfeeding women to receive the vaccination.

It reads: There is little data on breastfeeding but no theoretical risk from these vaccines. If remnants get into breastmilk they get digested in the babys stomach.

Dr Murphy agrees. "Breastfeeding mothers can get the vaccine, there is no evidence of harm from any studies, there is no theoretical risk of harm. Breastfeeding mothers are likely to pass protective antibodies to their babies."

"We do not recommend weaning off prior to vaccination and there is also no minimum wait [to get inoculated] after birthing a baby," she adds.

The Department of Health spokesperson added: "It is important to emphasise that vaccination is only one part of our response to the prevention of Covid-19 infection. People who are vaccinated need to continue with all the public health measures that have been proven to reduce the risk of infection until a sufficiently large proportion of the population are immune."

Meanwhile, the Labour Party have just published legislation to provide leave for workers who suffer from early miscarriages or need to go to IVF appointments.

In other reproductive health news, the Labour Party published legislation to provide workers with up to 20 days paid leave following an early miscarriage or up to 10 days leave for other reproductive health-related reasons such as IVF appointments.

The reproductive health-related leave bill was proposed as an amendment to the organisation of working time act.

Announcing the introduction of the bill, Senator Ivana Bacik said: For far too long, women have had to remain silent in their workplaces about the grief of early miscarriage; or have had to use their annual leave in order to attend appointments for IVF treatments.

"This Bill seeks to provide women  and men  with support in the workplace, where they are struggling with fertility or other reproductive health issues.
CHICAGO, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- They changed the world. So can you. That's the inspiration behind Art of Power, a new weekly podcast from acclaimed podcast producer WBEZ Chicago. In each episode, host and creator Aarti Shahani hunts down leaders, innovators and changemakers who have turned their passion into making real impact and explores how wielding power transforms a person and the world around them.

Shahani calls Art of Power "a different kind of inspiration podcast for 2021" and said her aim is to "motivate a generation to act skillfully."

"Now it's ok to want to change systems. Lots of people want to do that. My job is to help listeners learn from the best, so they can make progress happen faster. Art of Power is about the journey inward and the journey outward. In every episode we'll share the stories of how someone changed the world, with an eye toward how you can, too," Shahani said.

For Art of Power's inaugural episodes, WBEZ and Shahani have lined up guests including Harlem Children Zone's founder Geoffrey Canada; former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun; author Mary Trump; Pixar founder Ed Catmull; and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. Art of Power's first episode features DREAM Act activist Gaby Pacheco, in an episode called "Gaby Pacheco Corners The President."

Among the "power tips" Shahani gleans from her conversations with these and other guests, which she offers to listeners for a fresh take on power, are: Listen to your gut when your fear is shouting at you. Figure out what you're the most qualified person on Earth to do...and quit doing everything else. And, stop talking with other people's voices.

Beyond the insights and lessons held within the conversations on Art of Power, Shahani also draws from her own world experience for the podcast. A South Asian immigrant, she grew up in a working class family in Flushing, Queens. As a young adult, she became a community organizer and activist. She then pivoted, becoming an award-winning journalist as NPR's former Silicon Valley correspondent. Shahani is also the author of Here We Are: American Dreams, American Nightmares, a memoir about her family's 30-year campaign to make America home, despite the arrest, prosecution and deportation case against her father. It's a coming-of-age story about how the so-called "powerless" can stand up and win.

As Art of Power debuts in 2021, Shahani acknowledges the timeliness of its release during a global pandemic, amid a reckoning in the media industry about whose stories get told, and as definitions change about who a leader is.

"We hope to present empowering journeys and the success stories behind mainstream news, including from people of color and young leaders who are too often left out of leadership coverage," said Shahani.

Kevin Dawson, managing director for content development for WBEZ Chicago, said Art of Power is an exciting new chapter in WBEZ's legacy as a podcast innovator.

"As the birthplace of some of the most iconic, groundbreaking shows in public media, we're known for engaging storytelling and insightful conversations that go deeper than headlines," said Dawson. "We're thrilled to be collaborating with Aarti on Art of Power to tell new stories each week about fascinating people across sectors and perspectives."

Art of Power's trailer and first episode with Gaby Pacheco are available now, with new episodes out every Thursday. It will be available on WBEZ.org, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever listeners get their podcasts. Listeners can join the conversation in social media by following Aarti Shahani @aarti411 and @wbez on Twitter.

Art of Power Production Credits

Host and Creator: Aarti Shahani

Aarti Shahani Executive Producer: Kevin Dawson

Kevin Dawson Producer: Justin Bull

Podcast Production Intern: Heena Srivastava

About WBEZ Chicago

WBEZ, Chicago's NPR news station, serves the community with fact-based, objective news and information. WBEZ's award-winning journalists ask tough questions, dig deep for answers and expose truths that spark change and foster understanding. In addition to its local and national news programming, WBEZ Chicago is home to a growing portfolio of popular podcasts, including the "Making" series of Making Beyonce, Making Obama and Making Oprah; an investigative podcast series, Motive; 16 Shots: A podcast about the fatal police shooting of Laquan McDonald; Nerdette; and Curious City. WBEZ Chicago has a legacy of innovation as the birthplace of nationally acclaimed programs such as This American Life, and Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! and the ground-breaking podcast, Serial.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Betsy Berger, Senior Director of Communications, [email protected]

SOURCE WBEZ Chicago
California has one of the nations highest voter-registration rates, but disability-rights advocates say the state is violating a legal duty to register voters in offices serving disabled students and the elderly, who have less access than others to motor-voter sign-ups. A state appeals court disagrees.

While the populations served by those offices are less likely than others to apply for drivers licenses, which would entitle them to immediate voter registration, they are not the types of public agencies required by law to have their own registration sites, the First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco said Tuesday.

Federal law requires states to establish voter-registration centers in offices that provide either public assistance or state-funded programs primarily engaged in providing services to persons with disabilities.

After advocacy groups said California was not fully complying with the law, then-Secretary of State Alex Padilla agreed in 2018 to set up registration sites in some county welfare departments, the state Office for Services to the Blind, and offices serving disabled students in community colleges. At a judges orders, Padilla added more welfare offices and student financial aid centers as registration sites in 2019.

But he declined to install registration sites at special education offices serving students with disabilities, or at the 33 Area Agencies on Aging, nonprofits commissioned by the state to deliver meals and provide other services to elderly people who need them. The court said neither one was the type of office mandated by federal law to register voters.

Some of the education sites are at public schools, and all are at locations where federal law allows a state to decide whether to provide voter registration, Justice Rebecca Wiseman said in the 3-0 ruling, which upheld a judges decision. She said the Area Agencies on Aging may provide funding for meal delivery and similar programs but lack the direct contact with the elderly that the law requires for mandatory voter sites.

California had nearly 88% of its eligible voters registered for the November election, its highest total in 80 years, the secretary of states office said. The total of 22 million registered voters was an increase of more than 2.6 million over November 2016. The office is now headed by Shirley Weber, appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom after he chose Padilla to succeed Vice President Kamala Harris in the U.S. Senate.

Advocacy groups could appeal to the state Supreme Court. Attorney Fred Nisen of Disability Rights Advocates said the ruling was disappointing but voter registration opportunities for people on public assistance and people with disabilities have been greatly expanded because of the court case and cooperation from state election officials.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko
Hundreds of Uyghurs filled the streets of Ankara and Istanbul on Thursday, protesting a visit to Turkey by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and calling on the Turkish government to denounce human rights abuses against Uyghurs in China, AP reports.

Why it matters: Despite having one of the largest populations of the Turkic Muslim minority outside of China, Turkey has been reluctant to vocally criticize Beijing on the issue due to the two countries' economic ties, according to AP.

Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.

We call on Turkey to not turn its back on our Uyghur people because of some economic benefit," said Burhan Uluyol, one of the protestors in Istanbul, per AP.

Chinese officials continue to deny the existence of human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims in the region of Xinjiang, even as they come under increasing scrutiny and condemnation by the international community.

The U.S. State Department and several legislative bodies have deemed China's campaign of surveillance, mass detention, forced labor and forced sterilization of the Uyghurs a genocide.

In photos

Protestors in front of the Chinese embassy in Ankara, on March 25, 2021. Photo: Adem Altan/AFP via Getty Images

Protestor in Istanbul on March 25, 2021. Photo: Bulent Kilic/AFP via Getty Images

Protestors in front of the Chinese embassy in Ankara, on March 25, 2021. Photo: Photo: Adem Altan/AFP via Getty Images)

Protestors in Adana, Turkey on March 25, 2021. Photo: Eren Bozkurt/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

More from Axios: Sign up to get the latest market trends with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) says that after a series of examinations and other investigative actions under the investigation into the creation of an illegal armed formation, new suspicions will be brought up.

"At the first stage of implementation, we presented six suspicions to the main persons involved, who actually headed certain areas of activity of this private military company. A number of investigations and expert studies have been assigned, according to the results of which there will be other suspicions," Head of the SBU Main Directorate in Kyiv and Kyiv region Oleh Holovash said at a briefing on Thursday.

Explaining what exactly former MP of Ukraine Semen Semenchenko and agent of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) Yevhen Shevchenko are being accused of, the head of the main directorate said: "Semenchenko in 2018, along with Shevchenko and with the assistance of other persons whom we do not disclose today, organized and carried out the registration of a private military company on the territory of one of the foreign states," Holovash said.

He said the SBU blames Semenchenko "not the fact of the creation and registration of private military company on the territory of a foreign state, but the fact that he created on the territory of Ukraine since 2018, headed, provided equipment along with Shevchenko's illegal military formation."

According to the head of the SBU Main Directorate in Kyiv and Kyiv region "he was in fact the organizer, the head and directly drafted labour contracts and agreements, he was declared suspicious under Part 3 of Article 260 of the Criminal Code [the creation of paramilitary and armed formations]."

"Yevhen Shevchenko, who performed role participation, namely, ensured the search for channels of financing and supply of military ammunition, special equipment, technical equipment and ammunition, was notified of suspicion under Part 2 of Article 260. We additionally served Shevchenko's with charges under Part. 2 of article 133 of the Criminal Code (commission of a crime as part of a group) an hour ago," Holovash said.

He said: "We regard the fact of the creation of the private military company as a threat to commit a crime under the article of the Criminal Code 'mercenary' by persons who were part of illegal armed groups, including Semenchenko."

According to the head of the SBU Main Directorate, petitions for the selection of a preventive measure for the defendants in the case were sent to Pechersky District Court; decisions have not yet been made.

"There are many more episodes of illegal activity that we will document," he said.

At the same time, Holovash said the SBU has been checking the activities of public organizations and security structures since last summer. "We will continue to implement our existing developments. Only the government has the right to force," he said.

In turn, Head of the department of the Prosecutor General's Office Yan Streliuk, speaking about the validity of the suspicions presented, said: "I consider any insinuations and comments of those involved in this inappropriate."
Aviva, rapidly followed by Aberdeen Standard, has run up the fashionable environmental, social and governance (ESG) flag over the prospective 8.8bn Deliveroo float.

It is good to know these fund managers, along with Legal & General and M&G, are taking seriously their responsibility towards the working conditions of Deliveroo riders. It would be terrific if founder Will Shu was listening.

Before we award them a sainthood it is worth knowing that as of the end of last year Aviva was an investor in Uber, which has just been told by UK Supreme Court to put its drivers on the payroll.

Some of the UK's biggest fund managers have boycotted Deliveroo's upcoming float amid concerns over the working conditions of the firm's delivery riders

It is also disturbing that Aviva has, in the past, been a big backer of New York raider Ed Bramsons Sherborne, which dismembered Electra, a venture capital firm that backed UK start-up technology and waged war against Barclayss investment banking arm.

Aberdeen cites its decision not to hold shares in Boohoo as evidence of ESG credentials. In many ways, for ESG activists to sell the shares is the wrong thing to do. It deprives the funds and their investors of the chance to change matters by engaging with management or speaking out at annual general meetings.

In pre-merger days, the old Standard Lifes governance guru Guy Jubb intervened at the annual meeting of the biggest beasts, including Shell, to expose governance breaches.

Instead of scoring easy media points, it would be far better if UK fund managers spent more time investigating ESG failings.

The destruction of the sacred 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge cave in Australia by Rio Tinto, which cost both the chairman and the chief executive their jobs, was down to the assiduous work of the Australian Superannuation fund working with First Nation groups.

The idea that Aberdeen Standard should smother itself in piety for not investing in Boohoo should also be resisted. It was brave reporting by Paul Bracchi of the Daily Mail and journalists from The Sunday Times that exposed horrendous conditions in sweat shop textile factories, some of which had familial connections to executive chairman Mahmud Kamani.

It was these investigations which led to the stinging report by Alison Levitt QC and the changes just revealed.

As result of her work, the UK supply chain has been narrowed down to 78 suppliers and 100 audited factories. Previously, it was using 200 main suppliers and 300 sub-contractors.

There is still a long way to go in terms of cleaning up the groups governance and checking the overseas supply chain. But a better course has been set including regular reviews by retired judge Sir Brian Leveson.

None of this was achieved by chest beating.

No Minister

Former prime ministers often take on roles advising finance. Tony Blair has the title of senior adviser to JP Morgan.

John Major, a former banker, does work for Credit Suisse and even Gordon Brown sits on the advisory board of the Pimco bond fund controlled by insurance behemoth Allianz.

The list of political leaders lending their advice to finance firms is used by friends of David Cameron to suggest there is nothing out of the ordinary in his activities.

The former Tory prime minister sought to persuade the Government that Greensill Capital might have a larger role to play in the countrys Covid-19 loan schemes.

There is a very important difference. All of these entities, including Carlyle where John Major used to advise, are tightly regulated, with accounts audited by the top firms and a high level of transparency.

Greensill has none of these characteristics. It is an unregulated shadow bank, with opaque accounts, engaged in financial alchemy with a dangerous dependence on serving one client, the equally complex metals group GFG Alliance.

Greensill failed the smell test. That is why Cameron should not have become involved or asked for special treatment.

Horror film

Cineworld had better hope that lockdown and streaming hasnt killed the appetite for the silver screen, the James Bond movie No Time To Die and huge beakers of popcorn.

A 2.2billion loss in 2020 makes it one of the biggest leisure losers from the pandemic and has left it with a Matterhorn of 6billion of debt four times its current market value.

Any delay in reopening its Regal Cinemas chain in the US next month and Britain and the rest of the world in May could bring down the final curtain.
BitDefender and Recorded Future say the promise of "contextualised security intelligence" will drive "superior cybersecurity decision making and operational efficiency for enterprises and managed security service providers", so what are the details?

Bitdefender. It's one of the world's well known cybersecurity company that protects hundreds of millions of endpoints and systems worldwide, and the company has just announced "a threat intelligence sharing partnership with Recorded Future."

Recorded Future bills itself as "the worlds largest provider of intelligence for enterprise security," with partnership said to "enhance both companies breadth and depth of threat intelligence to provide customers with increased visibility at the apex domain level (the top-level domain) and actionable insights to eliminate cyberthreats from environments."

Of course, in an era of endless hack attacks, zero-day exploits, ransomware and more, all security companies need an edge to combat cyber crime, and the customers of both companies and the companies themselves will be the beneficiaries, and with advanced persistent threats and worse not just from cyber criminals, but nation states, such partnerships are welcome news.

Craig Adams, the chief of product and engineering at Recorded Future said: Our unmatched, single source of truth for security intelligence is invaluable to our clients as they work to combat daily cyber threats.

Enhancing our platform with threat intelligence from Bitdefender bolsters our endpoint data collection and further empowers our clients to accurately detect and assess threats. This partnership has already proved vital to our customers by magnifying visibility into current malicious campaigns.

So, how will the companies work together?

Were told that Recorded Future incorporates threat intelligence from Bitdefender feeds containing domain and URL reputation data into the Recorded Future Security Intelligence Platform.

Recorded Futures enterprise, managed security services provider (MSSP) and security operations center (SOC) customers will benefit from heightened visibility into the evolving threat landscape.

This will enable them to validate threats to make faster and more informed security risk management decisions by tying specific cyberthreats to potential impact on operations. Bitdefender customers will benefit from Recorded Futures open source, dark web, technical sources and human analytics to enhance threat detection accuracy and validity.

While many organisations recognise the importance of threat intelligence, were reminded that most do not have access to actionable data.

In a January 2021 report titled: How To Integrate Threat Intelligence Into Your Security Program, Forrester Senior Analyst Brian Kime wrote Good threat intelligence possesses all the necessary parts to provide the consumer what they need to take an appropriate action to reduce risk.

Steve Kelley, president and GM of the Bitdefender Business Solutions Group said: Access to actionable threat intelligence is highly critical in todays cybersecurity environment as ransomware, drive-by download attacks and phishing campaigns put organisations at severe risk of malware infiltration and security breaches.

Bitdefenders extensive global knowledge of real time cybercriminal activity is second to none. This collaboration with Recorded Future will provide better protection against emerging threats for organisations looking to improve their security posture and to become more cyber resilient against advanced attacks.

Bitdefender reminds us that its threat intelligence is powered by the Bitdefender Global Protective Network (GPN), an extensive network of hundreds of millions of sensors continuously collecting endpoint threat data worldwide.

Bitdefender Labs, an elite team of security practitioners, correlates GPN data against known indicators of compromise (IOCs), malware, malicious domains and URLs and performs deep analysis to discover unknown threats.
I ran across an old book once that has now become a prized part of my library. It was a biography, simply titled Borden of Yale 09.

It told of a man named William Borden who went to Yale University as an undergraduate and afterward became a missionary candidate for China. Heir to the Borden Dairy estate, he was already a millionaire by the time of his high school graduation. As a gift for his graduation from high school, Borden was sent on a trip around the world. As he traveled throughout Asia, the Middle East and Europe, he experienced a growing concern for the hurting and lost of the world. He wrote home to say, Im going to give my life to prepare for the mission field.

After making this decision, he wrote two words in the back of his Bible: No Reserves.

From there he went on to Yale University, but with purpose and determination. During his first semester, he began a movement among the students that spread throughout the campus to gather, read the Bible and then pray. By the end of his first year, 150 fellow freshmen were meeting for weekly Bible studies. By the time he was a senior, 1,000 out of Yales 1,300 students were joining together in these groups. Beyond the campus, Borden founded the Yale Hope Mission to reach out to those on the streets of New Haven. Yet all was in view of his sense of call to foreign missions, that soon had a focus on Muslims in China. After graduation, he was offered numerous high-paying jobs, all that he declined, in order to pursue the mission field.

At this point, he wrote down two more words in the back of his Bible: No Retreats.

Borden next went to graduate school at Princeton Seminary, where he was ordained to the ministry. After he finished his studies, he set sail for China through the China Inland Mission, stopping first in Egypt to study Arabic. While there, he contracted cerebrospinal meningitis. In less than a month, William Borden was dead. He was 26 years old.

But before his death, knowing that the steps of his life would take him no further, he wrote two more words in his Biblebeneath No Reserves and No Retreats he wrote No Regrets.

Why is this perhaps my favorite story? Because it details the dynamics of a very lost trait.

Commitment.

And not just commitment, but the idea that what makes for a life is not quality, but sanctity. Its not what we experience or fulfill, but what we submit and invest.

Was Bordens a wasted life? By the worlds standards, yes. But by the Kingdoms standards, it may have been one of the greatest lives ever lived.

James Emery White

Sources

Adapted from Mrs. Howard Taylor, Borden of Yale '09: The Life That Counts (China Inland Mission, 1927). See also The Yale Standard, Fall 1970 edition.

About the Author

James Emery White is the founding and senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, NC, and the ranked adjunct professor of theology and culture at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where he also served as their fourth president. His latest book After I Believe is now available on Amazon or your favorite bookseller. To enjoy a free subscription to the Church & Culture blog, visit ChurchAndCulture.org, where you can view past blogs in our archive and read the latest church and culture news from around the world. Follow Dr. White on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @JamesEmeryWhite.
Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

Officer Eric Talley was one of 10 people killed Monday afternoon when a shooter attacked a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado.

Officer Talley joined the Boulder police department a decade ago. He had seven children; the youngest was 7 years old. According to his father, He loved his kids and family more than anything. He was looking for a job to keep himself off the front lines and was learning to be a drone operator. He didnt want to put his family through something like this and he believed in Jesus Christ.

Nonetheless, Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold told reporters that Officer Talley was the first on the scene, and he was fatally shot. Holding back tears, she added, My heart goes out to the victims of this incident. And Im grateful to the police officers that responded. And I am so sorry about the loss of Officer Talley.

His father said, Didnt surprise me he was the first one there. Chief Herold called Talleys actions nothing short of heroic.

A friend described him: He was a devout Christian. He had to buy a 15-passenger van to haul all his kids around, and he was the nicest guy in the world.

Willing to die that we might live

CNN reports that the Colorado tragedy is the seventh mass shooting in the U.S. in the past seven days. According to Wikipedia, there have been 107 mass shootings in the U.S. so far this year, killing 122 people and wounding 325 others. There have only been five days this month without such a tragedy.

The Officer Down Memorial Page lists 79 police officers who have died in the line of duty so far this year. Sergeant Gordon William Best of North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, was the first. He was killed in a vehicle crash while responding to a call at about 4 a.m. on Jan. 1 and is survived by his wife and two children. Officer Talley is the last, so far.

There are more than 800,000 sworn law enforcement officers serving in the U.S. Since the first recorded police death in 1786, more than 22,000 have been killed in the line of duty.

What kind of courage is required for police officers to risk their lives every day for people they do not know? What depth of commitment to their shared calling enables their spouses and children to watch them leave each day with no assurance that they will return?

What kind of person runs toward a shooting when everyone else is running away?

Each police officer and each officers family member deserves our deepest gratitude and highest respect, today and every day. The next time and every time you see a police officer, please thank them for their courageous service. They are willing to die that you might live.

Do you know your cross?

I do not expect to risk my life today in the service of others. But I should be willing to do so or to pay any other price to fulfill Gods calling in my life.

Luke 9:23 records that Jesus said to all, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.' Note that this is said to all, not just some. There is a cross for everyone who would follow Jesus.

It is a personal cross: take up his cross. Your cross may not be mine, and mine may not be yours.

cross: take up his cross. Your cross may not be mine, and mine may not be yours. It is a constant cross: take up his cross daily. This is a decision we must make every day of our lives. There is a cross for us every day that we live.

cross: take up his cross daily. This is a decision we must make every day of our lives. There is a cross for us every day that we live. It is an imperative cross: Jesus said that we must take up our cross in order to follow me. We are not following Jesus unless we are bearing a cross to do so.

Do you know your cross? It might be a temptation you must pay a price to refuse, or a calling you must pay a price to fulfill, or both. Would you ask the Lord to identify your cross today? Then would you ask him to give you the strength to bear it?

'Well done, good and faithful servant'

John 21:15 reads: Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? He said to him, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, Feed my lambs.'

In todays First 15, Craig Denison responds: Jesus is looking for disciples who will say yes to that which is greater than they could have ever imagined doing. Hes looking for friends like Simon Peter who will follow him wherever he leads, even it if means to their death. Hes looking for those who are so in love with him that at a single statement from his lips we willingly and obediently respond by taking up our cross as he did and living a surrendered, purposeful life.

Craig then invites us to assess whether Jesus truly is your greatest love. If he isntif you wouldnt follow him anywheretake time to surrender anything youve placed above him. Confess any idols you have in your life that he might truly be crowned King of your heart today.

Officer Eric Talley paid the highest price to fulfill his calling on behalf of those he served. The best way I know to honor his commitment is by emulating it. Then, one day, I hope Jesus will say to me what I am confident he said to Eric Talley yesterday: Well done, good and faithful servant (Matthew 25:23).

By his courage and his sacrifice, Officer Eric Talley was a good and faithful servant, indeed. How will you follow his example today?

Originally published at the Denison Forum
Welcome Guest! You Are 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.
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
Thousands of high-risk Victorian healthcare workers who could be called upon to treat coronavirus patients if there is a new outbreak are still waiting to receive their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine more than a month after the national immunisation program began.

Of the 83,000 high-risk workers allocated to phase 1a of the vaccine rollout, just under 60,000 had received their first vaccination by Monday night.

The first batch of 830,000 vaccines left the CSL factory in Parkville on Wednesday. Credit:Eddie Jim

Earlier this week, 23,000 Victorians  most of whom are healthcare workers, including doctors in hospital wards and respiratory clinics treating patients with COVID-like symptoms  were yet to receive their first jabs under the initial phase, as the rollout moved on to less urgent phase 1b groups.

Delays in the rollout have been blamed on patchy distribution of the vaccine due to supply constraints from overseas, with medical lobby groups such as the Australian Medical Association and The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners now pushing for immunisation of the states front-line healthcare workers to be accelerated at newly opened mass vaccination clinics.
BANGKOK, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Thailand Board of Investment's New York office announced the official dates for SUBCON THAILAND, the ASEAN region's largest industrial manufacturing and sourcing matchmaking event, May 12-15, 2021.

SUBCON THAILAND 2021 will be co-locating with the INTERMACH and MTA Asia tradeshows, creating one of the most important Asian sourcing events of the year. With over 300 manufacturers expected to attend, this year's event will be hybrid, with live and virtual options available for companies looking to source their manufacturing in Thailand.

Last year, SUBCON facilitated over 1,280 matchmaking sessions and featured seminars on doing business in Thailand, highlighting industries such as Agriculture and Food Processing, Electronics, Automotive and Component Manufacturing, Petrochemical and Chemicals, as well as Travel.

"SUBCON is one of Thailand's landmark business events of the year," said Vorawan Norasucha, Director of the Thailand Board of Investment's New York Office. "This year the event will be hybrid, with a mix of in-person and virtual participants."

"I encourage companies looking for Asian manufacturing partners to look to Thailand," added Norasucha, "SUBCON is an excellent way to fast-track introductions to Thai manufacturers and meet with potential partners."

Foreign companies wishing to attend SUBCON in person may be eligible to receive a complimentary exhibition booth, accommodation, local transportation, assistance with appointment setting and access to the VIP Buyers Lounge.

To register for SUBCON, please visit: http://match.subconthai-matching.com/register or contact: [email protected]

Thailand is a preferred market for foreign investors. In 2020, the Thailand Board of Investment received 1,717 applications for tax incentives, representing over USD 16 billion in investment. More than 907 of these investment applications were from foreign companies. Thailand's top foreign investors markets include Japan, China, and the United States.

ABOUT THAILAND BOARD OF INVESTMENT NEW YORK OFFICE

The Thailand Board of Investment New York (BOI New York) is one of 16 BOI overseas offices. The BOI New York team works with U.S. and Canadian companies, to facilitate foreign direct investment and to provide support services to companies investing in Thailand. BOI's services are free of charge and customized to help foreign businesses succeed in Thailand.

For more information, please visit www.boi.go.th and www.thinkasiainvestthailand.com

Press Contact

Sandy Pratt

UNDERPINNED

[email protected]

+1 646 496 7668

SOURCE Thailand Board of Investment - New York Office

Related Links

http://www.thinkasiainvestthailand.com


Two years ago a case of the finest French wine hitched a ride into orbit in the name of science. It has since returned and now some very important questions are being answered. Namely, "What does wine aged in space taste like?"

In November 2019, Space X delivered a dozen bottles of red wine to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of an experiment spearheaded by Luxembourg start-up Space Cargo Unlimited, according to a press release

SPACE PLANTS: Bacteria found on the ISS could be key to growing plants

The bottles sent weren't filled with just any wine, however. The shipment contained 12 bottles of 2000 vintage Petrus, one of the most expensive vintages in the world.

The experiment was part of Mission Wise, the world's first privately-led space research program.

Nicolas Gaume, co-founder of Space Cargo Unlimited discussed the importance of the mission in a statement.

It was with great emotion that we recovered the twelve bottles of 2000 vintage Petrus in Bordeaux at the beginning of February, intact and having withstood all the constraints of preparation, travel, and storage on the ISS, Gaume said. Of course, the analysis is still in its early stages, but the first findings are very promising for the future of the research program. We are extremely enthusiastic."

The case of the wine spent a total of 438 days and 19 hours aboard the ISS and traveled an estimated 300 million kilometers at an altitude of 400 km. All in zero gravity, of course. The ride was the equivalent of about 300 trips between Earth and the Moon, according to the release.

An analysis of the space-wine recently took place among a panel of 12 experts led by Philippe Darriet from the Institute of Vine and Wine Sciences at the University of Bordeaux.

Some of the distinctions the panelists noted included distinct differences in color. The space wine had taken on a "light brick coloring" with "ruby hues [and] brick-like reflections."

The panel noted that the edges of the wine also showed "shades of brick, slightly more pink along the disk."

The panel of experts sampled the space wine in a blind-tasting where they compared the bottles alongside one that remained on Earth, according to Elva Ramirez with Forbes.

So what did the wine taste like?

The space-aged wine contained "dimensions of sweetness, harmony, and persistence [that] were particularly noted," according to the panelists remarks.

Real differences were noted with both appearance and taste. It was more complicated for the participants to differentiate olfactory dimensions," Emmanuel Etcheparre, co-founder of Space Cargo Unlimited, said.

In addition to the wine bottles, 320 vine canes spent 10 months on the ISS to see the effects on the plants in a microgravity environment. Upon their return to Earth on Jan. 14, the vines underwent "detailed microscopic analysis," according to the release.

Both experiments are being considered essential to future studies, according to Etcheparre and Gaume, co-founders of Space Cargo Unlimited.

Even if it is still premature to provide scientific conclusions, however these first observations validate the uniquely innovative approach of Space Cargo Unlimited, which consists both of using space as a new research environment for the future of agriculture, and capitalizing on the vine and wine, which are an incredible medium for scientific research, as Pasteur demonstrated in the past."
press release

The Department of Science and Innovation has invested about R18,9 million in the development of two nanosatellites, towards increased maritime domain awareness in South Africa. It is the first such initiative for the country to provide communication services to the maritime industry.

The funding was channelled through the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), an entity of the DSI, to the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), an institution that is playing a leading role in growing space science and technology in South Africa. The university has developed cutting-edge nanosatellites and cube satellites (CubeSats) over the years, demonstrating advanced technological capabilities in the country's space industry.

South Africa needs a more strategic and coordinated approach to ensure optimal surveillance of the waters off its coast, including shipping movements within the country's exclusive economic zone. This will promote improved maritime domain awareness and enhanced maritime security.

The two maritime industry nanosatellites will be powered by "M2MSat" technology, in the form of cutting-edge VHD Data Exchange System (VDES) software-defined radios for machine-to-machine (M2M) communication.

A software-defined radio (SDR) system uses software for the modulation and demodulation of radio signals, performing significant amounts of signal processing in a general-purpose computer. The technology brings flexibility, cost-efficiency and power to drive communications forward, with wide-reaching benefits.

The innovative SDR technology will provide emerging M2M and Internet of things applications capable of delivering complex analytics and ubiquitous positioning of high-value assets, as well as mission-critical services, at a lower cost than the deployment of traditional satellite systems.

Developed as a collaboration between CPUT and local company Stone Three Communications, the M2MSat technology advances the state of the art in space innovation, significantly improving on the technology onboard CPUT's ZACube-2 nanosatellite, which was launched in 2018.

In the South African context, the space industry ecosystem - including supporting space engineering programmes, human capacity development, infrastructure investments and technological innovations - is part of the high-end infrastructure sectors that are critical to the country's economic recovery.

The development and commercialisation of the M2MSat platform will position South Africa as a key contributor of innovation in the space sector globally, feeding into the space value chain, growing partnerships with industry, and fast-tracking the creation and exploitation of space knowledge and innovation.

Meanwhile, plans are underway to develop Denel's Overberg Test Range (OTR) in the Western Cape as a facility to launch future CubeSats developed by the CPUT.

Already the OTR has proven the capacity to function as a launch pad. Earlier this month, researchers and students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal's Aerospace Systems Research Group successfully launched two hybrid rockets as part of the Phoenix Hybrid Sounding Rocket Programme.

The successful launch saw one of the test rockets travel 17,9 km into the air achieving a new African hybrid rocket altitude record, a significantly huge success for South African engineering and the development of African satellite rocket launch capability. The second rocket made more than 10 km altitude with a payload from CPUT.

About the CPUT satellite programme

CPUT has identified space science and technology as one of its seven strategic research focus areas, and is collaborating with the French South African Institute of Technology (F'SATI) in this regard. The CPUT/F'SATI partnership enables students to obtain dual Master's degrees.

This collaboration focuses on postgraduate research on nanosatellite technology, along with innovation that produces commercially viable nanosatellite communications subsystems that are marketed to the international CubeSat community.

CPUT's Africa Space Innovation Centre has produced two satellites that were launched successfully in 2013 and 2018 respectively. The next mission - the most advanced yet - will see three nanosatellites placed in orbit for the purpose of maritime domain awareness, in line with the goals of the government's Operation Phakisa: Oceans Economy.

The past seven years have seen rapid progress in the application of nanosatellite technology for scientific exploitation. ZACube-1, Africa's first locally produced CubeSat, demonstrated the feasibility of placing scientific payloads into orbit in a relatively affordable way.

ZACube-2, launched five years later, was the most advanced African nanosatellite to date, carrying instrumentation in support of two scientific missions - the location monitoring of ships through automatic identification system (AIS) tracking, and the detection and monitoring of wildfires by means of a potassium-line (K-line) imager developed in collaboration with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Innovation Governance South Africa By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

These missions paved the way for the MDASat-1 mission, South Africa's first mini-constellation of three nanosatellites that will work together to monitor the country's exclusive economic zone, while embracing the next evolutionary step in tracking, the VHD Data Exchange System.

In 2019, the DSI announced a three-year, R27 million investment in the country's Maritime Domain Awareness Satellite (MDASat) programme. The launch is expected to take place in 2021.

CPUT, with continued financial support from the DSI and its agencies, the National Research Foundation (NRF) and the South African National Space Agency, has successfully produced state-of-the-art satellites and satellite components, while providing terrestrial support to other satellite missions through its ground station. With additional support from the NRF, CPUT has also produced more than 70 master's and doctoral graduates over the course of a decade.
Modern society is in dispute over the value of chivalry. Chivalry originally referred to the medieval knights code of honor but today references a range of  usually male  behaviors, from courtesy to overprotectiveness. Some see it as the mindset of elite warriors, glorifying violence and demeaning women. Others see it as necessary and desirable to protect groups under attack.

As a historian of literature who studies chivalry, I stand with the latter group. Rather than fostering misogynistic attitudes or overprotective behaviors that insult women, chivalry has been a liberating force from ancient times onward. Across many cultures it arises to protect societys most vulnerable.

Ancient chivalry

The earliest chivalric incident I teach appears around 2100 B.C. in Gilgamesh, perhaps the oldest surviving epic poem. In it, the wild man Enkidu, civilized by a woman, confronts the sexually abusive king Gilgamesh. Enkidu defeats Gilgamesh in hand-to-hand combat to end his custom of sleeping with every bride in his city on her wedding night, and wins that kings friendship.

Jewish laws also influenced the chivalric customs of medieval leaders. Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the the Hebrew Bible, outlined laws of war around the 7th century B.C. that require protections for captive women, peace overtures to enemies and prohibitions against destroying fruit trees. It inspired the international law that nations are governed by today.

The Bible also features warrior women who emerge as chivalric figures. The prophetess Deborah, for example, accompanies an army into battle. In her visionary song she praises Jael, the lone woman who assassinates a predatory enemy general on the run. Deborah even reproaches Siseras mother for raising her son to plunder and enslave women as spoils of war.

The Middle Ages

Early medieval knights were essentially hired thugs of low social status. Their adoption of chivalry as a professional code of honor allowed some of them to achieve respect as gentlemen.

European literature soon featured knights and kings as protectors of women. In Geoffrey of Monmouths History of the Kings of Britain of 1138, King Arthur kills the rapist giant of Mont-Saint-Michel. A few decades later, the French poet Chretien de Troyes portrays Sir Lancelot casting aside reputation, glory and treasured warhorses to save the kidnapped Queen Guinevere. Such popular tales of chivalry pressured aristocrats to adopt the chivalric code  to some extent.

By the later 14th and mid-15th centuries, English writers like Geoffrey Chaucer and Sir Thomas Malory depict the court of King Arthur as a bastion of justice for women, well beyond the norms of that day. In their most famous works, The Canterbury Tales and Le Morte d'Arthur, respectively, they wrote about women sentencing rapist knights to death or reeducation. In Malorys version of the story, King Arthurs knights take an oath that decries brutality toward women and demands they both aid women and strengthen them in their rights.

Western chivalry rapidly became a liberating force for both men and women as knights intervened to protect civilians.

Chivalry today

As in ancient times, chivalrous medieval women themselves led armies and defended castles. One of the most famous, the peasant girl Joan of Arc, was 18 when she led her countrymen against the English and saved French independence.

[Deep knowledge, daily. Sign up for The Conversations newsletter.]

Their inspiration has fired up a long series of activists who carry chivalric ideals of social justice into the present day. Suffragists in the 19th and early 20th centuries  as well as Black Lives Matter protesters today  have identified with medieval knights destroying evil customs. We have come together as, if you will, knights at the Round Table, and our King Arthur is justice, said a young protester in Fort Worth, Texas, after the police killing of George Floyd.

Just as toxic masculinity and aggressive misogyny persist, so does the original chivalric ideal of the warrior defending human life and freedom against tyranny and its thugs.

The principled medieval knight  and principled men and women of whatever rank  valued self control. They joined clerics of different faiths in opposing cruelty when law and bigotry gave victims little recourse.

Inequities and prejudices have not disappeared since the days of King Arthur. I believe men and women of today need the chivalric values of mercy, justice and humility more than ever before.

Jennifer Wollock, Professor of English, Texas A&M University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
HONG KONG, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Yeahka Limited ("Yeahka" or the "Company", Stock Code: 9923), a leading payment-based technology platform in China, is pleased to announce the audited consolidated results for the year ended December 31, 2020 (the "Reporting Period").

Mr. Luke Liu, Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of the Company, said, "I am pleased to present Yeahk's first annual results as a public company. Over the past year, we were able to maintain solid growth, and create value for our shareholders as well as merchants and consumers. As a leading payment-based technology platform in China, our business philosophy is 'Start From Payment, Go Beyond Payment' and we have progressively established a sustainable commercial digitalized ecosystem by leveraging our app-based payment services as the core. Leveraging the resources within our ecosystem, including traffic, data and R&D, we expanded our innovation business by launching technology-enabled merchant SaaS products, precision marketing services and fintech services, which have in turn helped to drive the rapid growth of various businesses within our company."

Mr. Liu continued, "As we continue to innovatively promote digitalized upgrades and integration across industries, we are creating greater value for both merchants and consumers. Looking ahead, the continued development of the consumer and industrial internet will accelerate the digital transformation of Chinese enterprises, and the landscape of business services will change significantly during this process. For both our merchant and consumer business segments, we will continue to utilize the traffic and data captured by the vast number of payment transactions that we process to explore new opportunities in various business segments, and fully commercialize our growing ecosystem."

Financial Highlights

During the Reporting Period, the Company's total revenue reached RMB 2,292.9 million , representing a year-on-year increase of 1.5%, mainly driven by the growth of the technology-enabled business. Revenue contribution from technology-enabled business services increased rapidly to 20.2% from 7.8% in 2019. Within this segment:

- Revenue from marketing services reached RMB 364.9 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 234.1% and 15.9% of the total revenue.

- Revenue from merchant SaaS products reached RMB 29.9 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 99.5% and 1.3% of the total revenue.

- Revenue from fintech services reached RMB 68.7 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 30.2% and 3.0% of the total revenue.

Gross profit increased 14.9% year-on-year to RMB 743.7 million . Gross profit margin increased to 32.4% from 28.7% in 2019.

. Gross profit margin increased to 32.4% from 28.7% in 2019. Net profit increased 420.6% year-on-year to RMB 440.8 million . Adjusted net profit increased 19.8% year-on-year to RMB 360.6 million . Earnings per share was RMB 1.45 .

Business Highlights

Despite the impact from the pandemic, the total number of app-based payment transactions saw a 119.1% increase in the second half of 2020 compared with the first half. As of December 31, 2020 , the number of active payment service customers increased by 4.5% year-on-year to 5.5 million, and the number of payment service customers increased by 75.5% year-on-year to 645.3 million.

, the number of active payment service customers increased by 4.5% year-on-year to 5.5 million, and the number of payment service customers increased by 75.5% year-on-year to 645.3 million. The Company continued to expand and diversify its distribution channels. As of the end of 2020, the Company had collaborated with more than 10,000 independent sales agents and sales partners. Among them, the Company proactively cooperated with nearly 900 merchant SaaS service providers from offline scenarios spanning catering, retail, parking, refueling, ticketing, bicycle sharing, charger sharing, internet cafes, tourist attractions and vending machines. Fushi Technology, the Company's one-stop digitalized platform for merchants, accumulated more than 320,000 merchants. The daily active users of its merchant App had exceeded 120,000. The number of peak daily payment transactions of grew over 4 times year-on-year to over 7.3 million.

Company's one-stop digitalized platform for merchants, accumulated more than 320,000 merchants. The daily active users of its merchant App had exceeded 120,000. The number of peak daily payment transactions of grew over 4 times year-on-year to over 7.3 million. During the Reporting Period, the Company's technology-enabled business services achieved significant breakthroughs. The number of customers from technology-enabled business services hit 982,000, representing an increase of 128.2% year-on-year. Specifically, among the Company's merchant SaaS products, Juhuisaosao, the Company's payment aggregation tool, served over 63,000 merchants in 2020 and recorded a daily peak sales volume of 1,191 units. Smart Shopkeeper, an integrated SaaS management platform for restaurants, maintained solid growth, as its total number of merchants increased by 201.1% year-on-year and it ranked at the top of the charts in terms of sales volume and review ratings on various Chinese mainstream e-commerce platforms. On the precision marketing front, the total exposures generated by the Company's precision advertising platform were more than 23.9 times greater than 2019. For the Fintech services, the total number of transactions that the Company facilitated was approximately RMB568.5 million , a 15,2% growth year-on-year, and the weighted average tenor was 10.39 months. As of December 31, 2020 , the M1+ delinquency rate by vintage (over 30 days overdue) has remained stable at around 1.05% since the second quarter of the year.

Business Review

Payment Services

The Company regards payment services as an important portal to attract traffic. During 2020, the Company continued to steadily expand its payment business and remained focused on building out its app-based payment services. The Company continued to diversify payment channels to rapidly expand its merchant base. Meanwhile, it also actively optimized its payment-based technology platform, further integrated its internal resources, substantially increased R&D investments and continuously refined the management of its payment business operations.

Payment services continued to expand during the Reporting Period. The number of app-based payment transactions jumped 119.1% , while GPV increased by 28.5% in the second half of 2020 as compared to that in the first half of 2020. The peak daily average number of QR code payment transactions exceeded 30 million. Despite the pandemic, the number of active payment service customers increased by 4.5% year-on-year to 5.5 million, and the number of payment service customers increased by 75.5% year-on-year to 650.0 million.

The Company continued to collaborate with premium industry partners. As of December 31, 2020, the Company had collaborated with more than 10,000 independent sales agents and sales partners. The Company also proactively cooperated with almost 900 merchant SaaS service providers that offer services in a wide range of offline-scenarios, including across food and beverage, retail and parking, by providing one-stop payment services to the merchants they serve. By leveraging the abundant merchant resources and the nationwide branch network of joint stock banks, urban commercial banks and rural commercial banks, the Company co-developed a merchant payment service system and jointly provided bank card acquiring services with these banks, and had established a merchant resources sharing system with almost 50 banks, efficiently expanding the Company's payment service business. In terms of emerging payment methods, the Company set up dedicated teams during the Reporting Period to support development in digital currencies.

Merchant SaaS Product Portfolio

As merchants continued to digitalized their operations, the Company developed and provided a comprehensive merchant SaaS product portfolio, allowing merchants to reduce their operational costs and acquire customers more easily. The Company's SaaS products and services are primarily accessible to merchants through online channels such as WeChat mini programs and merchant applications, as well as other offline touch-points. During the Reporting Period, the Company invested in Fushi Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. Fushi's one-stop merchant digitalized platform, Haoshengyi, is an important part of the Company's ecosystem that helps the Company expand and serve its merchant base. As of December 31, 2020, Fushi had expanded its coverage to 25 cities nationwide and accumulated more than 320,000 merchants. The number of its peak daily payment transactions exceeded 7.3 million, which was more than four times higher than 2019, and the daily active users ("DAU") of its merchant app exceeded 120,000 as of December 31, 2020. Furthermore, the latest data shows that, as of March 22, 2021, its peak daily payment transaction counts rose further to 8.1 million.

For the retail industry, in the first half of 2020, the Company launched Juhuisaosao, a proprietary QR code payment SaaS with a voice reminder function. Leveraging the big data capabilities of the Company's ecosystem, Juhuisaosao can provide merchants with multi-dimensional transaction reports and analysis, cash flow analysis and forecasts via mobile devices and WeChat mini programs based on their needs, thereby allowing merchants to gain additional insights into their business performance and facilitating business decisions. Since its launch, Juhuisaosao has been well received by merchants as it effectively reduce delays and omissions during rush hours. In the first half of 2020, it had served over 11,000 merchants, which further increased significantly by 439.1% to 63,250 merchants in the second half of the year. During the Reporting Period, Juhuisaosao recorded daily peak sales volume of 1,191 units. In 2020, the Company also launched Smart Store, a lightweight SaaS product that offers merchants a one-stop platform to manage store procurement, sales and inventory.

For the catering industry, the Company launched its first one-stop SaaS platform Smart Shopkeeper in China in 2015. Since then, Yeahka has developed two brands, namely Smart Shopkeeper and Milican, that target different segments of the catering industry and different types of merchants to offer better solutions. In particular, Smart Shopkeeper targets catering merchants with single stores, while Milican targets catering franchises with multiple stores. As of December 31, 2020, the total number of merchants served by Smart Shopkeeper increased by 201.1% year-on-year. The App ranked at the top of various Chinese mainstream e-commerce platforms in terms of sales volume and review ratings. In order to help merchants manage decentralized native traffic, in March 2020, the Company launched Yuehuiquan, a coupon aggregation and distribution platform built on blockchain technology. During the Reporting Period, the platform has served over 56 thousand merchants and expanded to become a platform that manages millions of coupons. In October 2020, Yuehuiquan was officially titled and given a recordation number in the domestic blockchain-based information service by the Cyberspace Administration of the PRC. In January 2021, the Group launched Yuehuiquan Pro, a community-based fully-automated hosting membership management system, with the aim of assisting more merchants build customized membership programs from scratch and satisfying merchant's' increasing needs for customization.

In 2020, the Company made a number of strategic investments through RYK Capital Partners Limited, an investment platform jointly established by the Company and Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd., a renowned Japanese internet company, including Shenzhen Zhibaiwei Technology Development Co., Ltd., an O2O mobile internet SaaS provider focusing on retail and F&B POS-ERP services, and Jiangsu Ruipos Data Technology Co., Ltd., a SaaS service provider focusing on domestic catering chains, including tea and beverages, fast food and lu wei (braised snacks) restaurants (operated under the Shuaishouzhanggui brand).

Precision Marketing Services

The Company is dedicated to building a precision digital advertising platform which is based on diversified data traffic. Using proprietary payment data, integrated from a wide range of case scenarios, Yeahka maximizes value for its customers by intelligently matching target users with advertisers and merchants through its precision marketing services. In recent years, the Company has established a proprietary data management platform (DMP) and used it as the core to launch a precision advertising marketing platform "Juliang". Yeahka leveraged its growing artificial intelligence ("AI") and machine learning capabilities to intelligently match target users, refining and labelling data in Juliang, thus precisely matching offline traffic owners' demands for monetization with advertisers' demand for advertisement placement results.

In November and December 2020, the Company reached an agreement to acquire an 85% equity interest in Beijing Chuangxinzhong Technology Co., Ltd., a leading content performance-based marketing service provider in China. The acquisition will not only allow the Company to quickly expand its advertising inventory, but will also further enhance its capabilities to collect data related to user behaviors and preferences. Beijing Chuangxinzhong's online media network will quickly bolster the Company's consumer profiles and data based on their preferences, strengthen traffic labels on Juliang, as well as improve ad placement efficiency.

Fintech Services

Yeahka provides fintech services, including loan facilitation services, entrusted loan services, and small-sized loan and insurance referral services to merchants. During the Reporting Period, the total number of transactions that the Company facilitated was approximately RMB568.5 million, representing an increase of 15.2% from 2019, with a weighted average tenure of 10.39 months. As of December 31, 2020, the M1+ delinquency rate by vintage (over 30 days overdue) had remained stable at around 1.05% since the second quarter of the year, demonstrating the effectiveness of the Company's credit risk management capabilities across various economic cycles.

Outlook

Looking ahead, the continued development of the consumer and industrial internet will facilitate the ongoing digital transformation of Chinese enterprises. The landscape of business services will change significantly during this process. For both its merchant and consumer business segments, the Company will continue to utilize the traffic and data captured through the vast number of payment transactions it processes to explore and capitalize on opportunities in various business segments. The Company will further leverage its ecosystem to support digital transformation and commercialize services around it.

For technology-enabled business services, the Company will continue to enhance its ecosystem, which includes merchant SaaS products, precision marketing services and fintech services. In addition, the Company will accelerate its embrace of market changes, stay at the forefront of technological advancements, and proactively promote emerging payment methods such as digital currencies. The Company will continue to expand its business boundaries, strive to enable businesses to operate and acquire customers through decentralization, and enhance consumer lifestyles and merchant capabilities by providing greater convenience.

About YEAHKA LIMITED (9923.HK)

Yeahka Limited is a leading payment-based technology platform in China providing payment and technology-enabled business services to merchants and consumers. The Company was listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the "Stock Exchange") in June 2020 under the stock code "09923.HK". The Company's value proposition is to create a commercial digitalized ecosystem that enables seamless, convenient and reliable payment transactions between merchants and consumers and further offer a rich variety of technology-enabled business services, including (i) merchant SaaS products, which help customers improve their operational efficiency, (ii) precision marketing services, allowing customers to effectively reach their target markets, and (iii) fintech services, which cater to customers' diverse financial needs.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

Year ended December 31







2020 2019

RMB'000 RMB'000 Revenue 2,292,903 2,258,019 Cost of revenue -1,549,224 -1,610,984 Gross profit 743,679 647,035 Selling expenses -73,691 -66,869 Administrative expenses -181,273 -129,564 Research and development expenses -127,778 -78,400 Impairment losses on financial assets -50,189 -27,411 Other income 13,482 4,983 Other gains  net 28,196 2,922 Operating profit 352,426 352,696 Finance costs -9,822 -5,615 Share of losses of investments accounted



for using the equity method -13,964 -14,521 Fair value changes of convertible redeemable



preferred shares 125,822 -181,521 Profit before income tax 454,462 151,039 Income tax expenses -13,682 -66,376 Profit for the year 440,780 84,663 Attributable to:



Equity holders of the Company 438,907 84,663 Non-controlling interests 1,873 

440,780 84,663 Other comprehensive loss:



Items that may be subsequently reclassified to



profit or loss Currency translation differences -156,620 -19,993 Total comprehensive income for the year 284,160 64,670 Attributable to:



Equity holders of the Company 282,287 64,670 Non-controlling interests 1,873 

284,160 64,670 Earnings per share attributable to

equity holders



of the Company (expressed in RMB per share)



 Basic 1.45 0.46  Diluted 0.87 0.39

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION







2020 2019

RMB'000 RMB'000 ASSETS



Non-current assets



Property, plant and equipment 65,285 39,854 Intangible assets 367,056 170,676 Investments accounted for using the

equity method 24,865 31,067 Prepayments and other receivables 15,375 32,279 Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss 84,895 41,046 Other non-current assets 36,847 90,450 Deferred tax assets 15,082 8,504





609,405 413,876





Current assets Other current assets 9,600 46,698 Inventories 16,220 7,282 Trade receivables 332,741 43,528 Prepayments and other receivables 2,098,975 1,159,213 Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss 14,133  Restricted cash  162,124 Cash and cash equivalents 2,542,316 441,315





5,013,985 1,860,160





Total assets 5,623,390 2,274,036





EQUITY Share capital 73 31 Reserves 2,759,130 260,345 Retained earnings/(accumulated losses) 360,584 -815,872





Equity/(deficit) attributable to equity holders

of the Company 3,119,787 -555,496





Non-controlling interests 47,068 





Total equity/(deficit) 3,166,855 -555,496







LIABILITIES



Non-current liabilities



Other payables 11,785 56,880 Lease liabilities 31,723 17,568 Financial liabilities at fair value through profit or

loss 77,243 1,373,447 Deferred tax liabilities 11,295 6,002





132,046 1,453,897





Current liabilities



Trade and other payables 2,035,399 1,164,851 Contract liabilities 26,508 25,910 Current tax liabilities 27,737 38,162 Lease liabilities 23,845 10,212 Borrowings 211,000 136,500





2,324,489 1,375,635





Total liabilities 2,456,535 2,829,532





Total equity and liabilities 5,623,390 2,274,036

SOURCE Yeahka Limited
Three crooks assaulted a woman after she demanded they stop vandalizing a Brooklyn home with graffiti, police said.

The attack happened just before 3:30 p.m. Sunday in Bushwick, cops said.

The woman was walking by and spotted two men and one woman tagging a private home on Linden St. near Broadway with the tags AGONE and FONT in bubble letters.

After a brief argument, the woman walked off but the suspects followed her around the block onto Broadway, police said.

One man, wearing glasses and camouflage clothing, struck the victim in the arm with a box cutter before all three suspects ran off.

The woman did not require medical attention, cops said.

Police released surveillance images of the suspects Thursday in the hopes that someone recognizes them and calls Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
A Scranton man pleaded guilty Wednesday to drug trafficking after federal agents intercepted a package mailed from the Virgin Islands containing a kilogram of cocaine.

Jean Quinones, 26, pleaded guilty in federal court to attempt to possess with intent to distribute in excess of 500 grams of cocaine, according to the U.S. attorney's office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Federal homeland security agents and U.S. postal inspectors arrested Quinones last year shortly after he picked up the package at a Scranton post office.

U.S. District Judge Malachy E. Mannion ordered a presentence investigation. The drug trafficking offense carriers a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, a term of supervised release post-imprisonment and a fine. Quinones' sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.
The American people deserve to know whats going on at the border. In shutting out journalists, President Joe Biden is repeating the mistakes of his predecessors, trying to control the message by limiting access instead of trusting the public.

The government has blocked the media from visiting overcrowded facilities holding an increasing number of unaccompanied minors detained at the border. With a shelter system failing to keep pace, many of the migrant children traveling alone are being held in overcrowded conditions and for far longer than what is legally allowed. This is a complicated challenge not of Bidens making, but neither is it unprecedented or entirely unexpected. It is fully Bidens responsibility to respond to the new arrivals in humane and effective ways. Its early yet, but his response so far is in need of improvement.

Images released Monday by U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, from a temporary Customs and Border Protection tent near McAllen show children packed into rooms with clear plastic walls, lying on thin mattresses on hard floors and covered with foil blankets.

These pictures are not flattering to the administration, but we can handle the truth. What the truth cant handle is a lack of transparency. It not only erodes trust, but it also leaves the facts open to interpretation, spin and outright lies.

Enter U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. He and Sen. John Cornyn are traveling to the border Friday with about a dozen of their Republican colleagues. In a letter to the president, Cruz chastised the Biden administration for refusing to allow any press to accompany them.

It is not enough for members of the Senate to see what is happening  the American people must see, Cruz wrote.

We couldnt agree more that the administrations media blackout is terrible policy and worse politics. But Cruz and company headed to the border Friday must think very little of the American people if they expect their outrage to be taken at face value. Where was their fury during the previous administrations straight-arming of the media, and by extension the public, as conditions on the border deteriorated to levels far beyond what were seeing this early in Bidens tenure? Where was it? It didnt exist.

Whats different now is that Cruz wants fodder to play the kind of divisive politics he is best known for. He cynically hopes that the images that emerge will be worth more than the thousand words that can put them into context. The better to push his narrative of an unprecedented crisis at the border created by Bidens radical immigration policies.

Thats a common theme among his GOP colleagues in Washington, now, and among some Texas officials, too. Last week, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy called the arrival of migrant children a crisis created by Bidens policies. Thats wrong on both fronts.

An analysis of CBP data published in the Washington Post found what has become a predictable increase that follows a seasonal upswing in undocumented immigration as winter ends and before the hot summer begins. Movement during 2020 was affected by the pandemic, but 2021 figures through February are almost a mirror image of what happened in 2019, University of California at San Diego researchers found. An analysis by the libertarian Cato Institute found similar results.

While preliminary data for March point to more of a surge and officials have said they expect the numbers to reach a 20-year high, those figures do not represent individual crossings, but in many cases repeated attempts by the same person. For most migrants, the border remains closed over COVID concerns, meaning that anyone detained is immediately sent back and most likely able to try to cross again. CBP estimates a 40 percent rate of recidivism.

What the presidents critics dont want to recognize is that this has less to do with Biden  or Trump  than with desperate conditions of violence and poverty that push people to leave their home, regardless of who sits in the White House. A situation made worse last year by two hurricanes that pummeled the region and the spread of the deadly pandemic.

These are complex problems that require complex understanding and refuse easy solutions. We continue to be heartened that while Republicans are trying to score easy political points, the Biden administration seems willing to do the hard work.

It continues to expand available shelter space to move kids more quickly from Border Patrol detention, is working on alternatives that would allow asylum seekers to apply from their home countries and has sent officials to Mexico and Guatemala.

On Wednesday, Biden announced that Vice President Kamala Harris will lead efforts to curtail immigration in the short term and implement a long-term strategy to address the root causes.

To that growing list of actions we would add allowing journalists to visit and observe the situation on the border, in detention centers and inside shelters, in a way that protects and respects immigrants. Allowing NBC News to follow a recent visit by White House officials and lawmakers to a shelter facility in Texas is a step in the right direction, but more must be done to set the record straight.

Speaking at a press conference Thursday, the president promised to give the media full access, but his timeline was vague.

Thats not good enough. If Biden hopes to find a solution that has eluded past administrations, he will need the support and trust of the American people. That starts with transparency.
Villupuram : , March 26 (IANS) Thol Thirumavallavan, the president of Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), on Thursday asked the Centre to urgently initiate steps to free the Tamil Nadu fishermen arrested by the Sri Lankan navy.

Speaking to mediapersons after releasing his party's manifesto for the upcoming Assembly polls in Tamil Nadu, the leader of the Dalit political party also called for getting back the Katchatheevu island from Sri Lanka.

Accusing the BJP-led NDA of being inimical to the interests of Tamils, he alleged that because of the tacit support of the Central and state governments, the Sri Lankan navy continues to attack Tamil fishermen.

The VCK in its manifesto raised the issue of protection for Tamil Nadu fishermen who are regularly attacked by the Sri Lankan navy. It also calls for tougher laws to discourage caste killings.

The party has called for delinking education from the concurrent list and make it a state subject. The manifesto also says that it would work on reforming the Centre-state relations by promoting autonomy for the states.

The party also wants the Centre to takeover the state's debt burden.

The 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly will go to the polls on April 6. The results will be declared on May 2.
Discussions underway to legalize shark fishing: Maldives Fisheries Minister

by Aishath Hanaan Hussain Rasheed

Maldives Minister of Fisheries, Marine Resources and Agriculture Zaha Waheed has said that discussions are now underway to legalize shark fishing in the Maldives, as it presents a profitable revenue-generation strategy for the state.



Minister Zaha made the remarks at the 14th meeting for the People's Majlis Committee on Economic Affairs, and stated that the fisheries industry is required to generate revenue for the Maldivian government, they were considering legalizing shark fishing as a strategy for improving profits from the fisheries industry. Fisheries Minister Zaha went on to confirm that discussions were being conducted to that effect at the committee meeting, and stated that as very few countries had protected shark populations for conservation, the Maldives could also begin fishing sharks to generate profits.



Researchers from James Cook University conducted a study in 2009 estimated that a single gray reef shark was worth $3,300 a year to the Maldivian tourism industry, compared with the one-time value of $32 that a fisherman would get from the same shark. Over a decade down the line, it is only understandable that the value of those "shark sightings" would have skyrocketed even further for tourists as shark populations continue to decline across the world.



In addition to this, studies have proved that sharks as apex predators are essential to maintain healthy ocean ecosystems, as they regulate species abundance, distribution and diversity, which in turn can impact the health of marine habitats. Additionally, they provide essential food sources for scavengers and remove the sick and weak from populations of prey species.



Citizens have taken to social media to protest Minister Zaha's comments in light of these findings, noting that no matter how well managed, supervised or limited the Fisheries Ministry would make the process, legalizing shark fishing in the Maldives would see the species exploited for game fishing, and even mutilated with just their fins cut off as they are considered a delicacy in some parts of the world.



In January this year, Maldives Customs Services on Sunday seized a total of 21 boxes containing 429kg of shark fins which were about to be illegally exported via Velana International Airport (VIA). On Monday this week, four people were detained near ADh. Mandhoo for shark fishing.



Maldives declared a total ban on shark fisheries within the country's Exclusive Economic Zone in 2010 following a decline in shark populations and sightings in the region. In 2011, the Ministry of Housing and Environment announced a ban on the capture, keeping, trade and harming of sharks under the Environment Protection and Preservation Act (EPPA). By law, the responsibility for regulating the trade of any commodity and implementing trade bans on commodities comes under the mandate of the Ministry of Economic Development under the Maldives Export and Import Law.

 2021 Raajje, All rights reserved

Theme(s): Fishing Craft, Gear and Fishing Methods.
The Karnataka government has launched a new mobile application called Quarantine Watch in Bengaluru to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The app developed by the government will monitor those on quarantine so that they do not violate the rules.

Users of the app will need to send photos or selfies to the monitoring team every hour through the app. The selfies would have GPS coordinates that will tell the exact location of the person. The state government said that all the photos sent will be checked by the government photo verification team.

As positivity rates increase between people of 20-40 years, the government has started stamping patients under quarantine. "We don't want their movement when they're in isolation," the state health minister K Sudhakar said, as mentioned in a report in ANI.

On Thursday, the Karnataka government announced that people coming to Bengaluru from other states would need to take the RT-PCR test. "People coming from any state to Bengaluru need to take RT-PCR test including Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Chandigarh and other states as well," said the health minister.

The government also limited the number of people allowed to attend social gatherings. It said that 500 people would be allowed to attend marriages in an open space and for closed space the limit would be 200 people. Limit for birthday parties and celebrations would be 100 people, while 500 people would be allowed to attend religious celebrations and political functions.

Organisers will be responsible for ensuring that protocols are maintained. In case of violation, they will be fined. The government also said that a fine of Rs 250 will be imposed for not wearing masks in public.

Also read: India reports new 'double mutant' strain, multiple Covid-19 variants

Also read: COVID-19: Second wave may last up to 100 days, says SBI report
DUBLIN, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "India Disposable Syringes Market, By Type, Pre-filled Syringes, Safety Syringes, By Application, By End User, By Material, By Region, Forecast & Opportunities, FY2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Research and Markets Logo

The Indian Disposable Syringes Market was valued at USD888.40 million in FY2020 and is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 13.28% in value terms to reach USD1,828.20 million by FY2026.

The Indian Disposable Syringes Market is expected to witness rapid growth during the forecast period owing to the growing prevalence of various chronic diseases that require treatment using disposable syringes and increasing demand for vaccines around the world. Increasing cases of infectious diseases, including COVID-19, are also creating a high demand for disposable syringes.

In addition to this, various government organizations are providing funding to companies for manufacturing disposable syringes that can be used for the treatment of coronavirus patients. This is anticipated to drive the market growth significantly in the coming years. Moreover, increasing cases of needlestick injuries and growing demand for injectable drugs due to the lack of bioavailability in conventional drug delivery methods are some other key factors fueling the growth of the Indian Disposable Syringes Market.



The Indian Disposable Syringes Market can be segmented based on type, application, end-user, material, and region. Based on application, the market can be segmented into general surgery, therapeutic, diagnostic, respiratory, orthopedics, cardiovascular, dental and others.

Among them, the therapeutic segment is expected to undergo the fastest growth owing to the introduction of new injectable drugs and spikes in the prevalence of various chronic disorders that require the administering of therapeutic agents with the help of disposable syringes.



Regionally, North India is expected to dominate the Indian Disposable Syringes Market during the forecast period owing to the easy availability of disposable syringes and high expenditure on healthcare in the region.



Key market players are undergoing collaborations, new product launches, partnerships, and acquisitions as their growth strategies.

Story continues

Key Target Audience:

Manufacturers, Distributors, and End-users

Market research and consulting firms

Government bodies such as regulating authorities and policy makers

Organizations, forums, and alliances related to Disposable Syringes

Years considered for this report:

Historical Years: FY2016-FY2019

Base Year: FY2020

Estimated Year: FY2021

Forecast Period: FY2022-FY2026



Key Topics Covered:



1. Product Overview



2. Research Methodology



3. Impact of COVID-19 on India Disposable Syringes Market



4. Executive Summary



5. Voice of Customers/Customer Insights



6. India Disposable Syringes Market Outlook

6.1. Market Size & Forecast

6.1.1. By Value

6.2. Market Share & Forecast

6.2.1. By Type (Conventional Syringes, Pre-filled Syringes, Safety Syringes)

6.2.2. By Material (Glass, Polymer)

6.2.3. By Application (General Surgery, Therapeutic, Diagnostic, Respiratory, Orthopaedics, Cardiovascular, Dental, Others)

6.2.4. By End User (Hospitals, Diagnostic Laboratories, Blood Banks, Pharmaceutical Industry, Vaccination, Veterinary Purposes, Others)

6.2.5. By Region (North, South, East, West)

6.2.6. By Company

6.3. Product Market Map



7. India Conventional Syringes Market Outlook

7.1. Market Size & Forecast

7.1.1. By Value

7.2. Market Share & Forecast

7.2.1. By Type (Luer Lock Syringes, Normal Slip Tip Syringes, Catheter Tip Syringes, Eccentric Tip Syringes)

7.2.2. By Material

7.2.3. By Application

7.2.4. By End User



8. India Pre-filled Syringes Market Outlook

8.1. Market Size & Forecast

8.1.1. By Value

8.2. Market Share & Forecast

8.2.1. By Type (Needle-free pre-filled Syringes, Needled pre-filled Syringes)

8.2.2. By Material

8.2.3. By Application

8.2.4. By End User



9. India Safety Syringes Market Outlook

9.1. Market Size & Forecast

9.1.1. By Value

9.2. Market Share & Forecast

9.2.1. By Type (Retractable Safety Syringes, Non-Retractable Safety Syringes)

9.2.2. By Material

9.2.3. By Application

9.2.4. By End User



10. Market Dynamics

10.1. Drivers/Opportunities

10.2. Challenges/Restraints



11. Market Trends & Developments



12. Policy & Regulatory Landscape



13. India Economic Profile



14. Competitive Landscape

14.1. Company Profiles

14.1.1. Becton Dickinson Pvt Limited

14.1.2. B.Braun Medical India Pvt. Ltd.

14.1.3. Terumo India Pvt Limited

14.1.4. Teleflex Medical Pvt Limited

14.1.5. Nipro India Corporation Pvt. Ltd.

14.1.6. Novo Nordisk India Pvt Ltd.

14.1.7. Cardinal Health India Pvt. Ltd.

14.1.8. Hindustan Syringes & Medical Devices Ltd.

14.1.9. Baxter Pharmaceuticals India Pvt Limited (BPIPL)

14.1.10. Albert David Ltd.



15. Strategic Recommendations



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ggc6cd

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/india-disposable-syringes-market-report-2021-2026-covid-19-are-creating-a-high-demand-for-disposable-syringes-301255829.html

SOURCE Research and Markets
The Minister of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, Badara Joof, on Wednesday the 24th of March, challenged lecturers of the University of The Gambia (UTG) to not only demand 25% or 50% of salary increment, but also justify that demand by adding value on research and on the education system.

Minister Joof made this remark on the inauguration of the UTG main library and the opening of the university career and wellness center for counseling and guiding.

Joof said it is important to justify the added value of salary increment in the plans and national development plan of the government and make sure that those plans are push forward for development.

"This is a challenge for UTG that is not just a talking shop but a university that has an apply aspect of it and the apply aspect of it must be linked to the development needs of this country and development of its people through well research and learning," he said.

Minister Joof said the country has been facing issues regarding food self-sufficiency in rice and up to date, there is no food security. He said as a university, they should be informing the ministry of agriculture on their policies, plans and programs for the betterment of self-sufficiency in rice in the next few years.

The public officer also used the moment to challenge the staff of UTG, MDI, Gambia College and GTTI to ensure that their students link the research work they are doing with the development needs of the country.

Meanwhile, Joof said the library has both traditional and E-library learning materials, thus, he urged both staff and students to use the materials and domesticate them in the development plans of the country.

"Since I was going to school, we are told that we want to be self- sufficient in our stable food rice," he said. "When will it be?"

"How can UTG faculty of agriculture use these facilities in the library and make sure that we have those things here with us and how to use those things in solving the poverty issue of this country," he queried.
The Oswego County Sheriffs Office issued a warning Wednesday of a fake job posting on Facebook.

The posting detailed a full-time airport attendant position at the Oswego County Airport that paid $800 to $1,200 per week, according to a news release issued by Sheriffs deputies.

The posting asked applicants to submit a scanned photo ID and social security card, said Andrew J. Bucher, a lieutenant in the sheriffs criminal investigations division.

Bucher said jobs posted by Oswego County does not ask for either items when applying for a job.

Staff writer James McClendon covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? Reach him at 914-204-2815 or jmcclendon@syracuse.com.
Canberra Raiders player Corey Harawira-Naera has been convicted and fined $250 after being caught drink-driving on Christmas Day.

The 25-year-old New Zealand Test second rower, who pleaded guilty in ACT Magistrates Court on Tuesday, was also formally handed a three-month licence suspension, which he has already served.

The court heard he blew 0.12 after being pulled over in the early hours of December 25 at Belconnen in suburban Canberra.

Canberra Raiders player Corey Harawira-Naera has been convicted and fined $250 after being caught drink-driving on Christmas Day

Outside court, he apologised for his 'poor judgment'.

Under an NRL breach notice issued earlier this month, Harawira-Naera was fined $10,000 and suspended for the first two matches of this season.

Under the breach notice, he must also complete an education program as directed by the NRL.

Harawira-Naera joined Canberra last year, having been released from his contract with Canterbury following his role in a sex scandal involving Port Macquarie schoolgirls.

Fellow Raiders forward Corey Horsburgh, who recorded a low-range blood alcohol reading after being pulled over in another Christmas Day incident, was fined $500 and disqualified from driving for three months when he faced ACT Magistrates Court in February.

Under his NRL breach notice he was suspended for one match and fined $5000, with the fine suspended for 12 months. He must also complete an education program.

Both players have been omitted from the Raiders squad for Saturday's third round clash with the Warriors, despite having served their NRL suspensions.
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.
Just about everyone who has visited a shop, cafe or other consumer business in the last year will have seen signs along the lines of "please pay by card if possible."

By and large, we complied  even when making purchases as small as $1, especially (though anecdotally) if the business did not surcharge card transactions.

A new report from Square provides the data to back observations that the COVID-19 pandemic led to a spurt in the use of cashless transactions.

Where one in 12 Australian businesses were cashless (defined as accepting cards for more than 95% of transactions) at the start of the pandemic, the figure is now one in four.

And the proportion of all in-person transactions paid in cash has approximately halved, with little sign yet of a return to pre-pandemic habits.

Square's report Payments and the Pandemic was based on data from millions of transactions at thousands of Square businesses across the country over the past 12 months.

"As the COVID-19 pandemic swept across Australia last year, we saw a sharp decline in cash use as businesses and consumers became more reluctant to physically handle money at a time when health, and mitigating the spread of germs, was their top priority," said Square Australia head of industry and payments Samina Hussain-Letch.

"And while some regions and industries are starting to see cash pick up in circulation again, we are yet to see it return to pre-pandemic levels."

Not surprisingly, Square's data shows that Victoria saw the most significant rise in the number of cashless businesses, from just 5% in February 2020 to peaks of 40% in April and August 2020, coinciding with the state's two lockdown periods.

While the number of cashless businesses in the Northern Territory still doubled over the course of 2020, this region saw the least dramatic shift in businesses turning away from cash.

National retail chain Pretzel owner and managing director Brittany Garbutt said "Over the past year, our east coast stores have been more impacted by COVID-19 restrictions than our west coast stores, but the shift away from cash use is definitely felt everywhere

"Even in our stores that remained open to in-store customers throughout 2020, like Perth, there was still a huge shift in consumers opting to pay contactless. With health concerns top of mind, people just don't want to handle cash that others have touched  and honestly neither do we."

Swinburne University Business School's Professor Steve Worthington concurs. "A preference to minimise contact with physical currency is likely to be top of mind for consumers for quite some time.

"What's more, with bank branch closures and fewer ATMs available, it has become more difficult to access cash and then to find places to spend it," said Professor Worthington. "Combining that with the fact that many businesses favour digital payments for ease of use, speed and security, there's less incentive for any of us to carry cash now."

Square has also benefited from the trend towards online ordering for delivery or collection. The company said the share of Australian businesses accepting online payments on the platform increased more than 1.5 times over the past year.

The ease and convenience of such transactions means that at least some of the people who tried them for the first time during lockdown periods will continue to use click-and-collect and delivery services as life progressively returns to normal.
My Post Office credit card account was taken over, like thousands of others, by Jaja last year.

On 18 February, I told Jaja that a refund of 917 from Premier Holidays had been paid to me onto an old Post Office credit card which expired in May 2020.

There was a lot of back and forward with Jaja's customer services and eventually I was told I didn't even pass security so I couldn't speak to anyone.

Jaja gaga: It took over thousands of Post Office credit card customers but many have had problems

To make matters worse, Jaja then took a further 917 from my account.

It took a month for it to be returned but this caused me much distress and, as a pensioner, it was a lot of money to be without. Am I entitled to compensation? J.N., via email

Grace Gausden, consumer expert at This is Money, replies: When little-known financial firm Jaja took over half a million Post Office accounts last year, it was quite a surprise.

The company was founded in 2015 by Norwegian entrepreneurs and based in London.

It has received complaints from customers with some finding money going missing and others saying customer service wait times were proving unbearable - Jaja has seemingly turned some of its new customers gaga.

My colleague, George Nixon, has previously written extensively about the problems faced by former Post Office credit card holders.

In your case, a 917 refund for a cancelled holiday was sent to your old Post Office credit card on 8 February this year.

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

This was a simple error that should have been fairly easy to sort.

However, you say that getting those funds back was 'distressing and difficult' with many sleepless nights.

You had breast cancer surgery and treatment last year and you say this 'awful' service has only added to your worries.

Initially, when you realised the money was in the wrong account, you were told by customer services it could not find this amount and you should phone its disputes team which you did, explaining the situation.

It decided to set up a dispute, despite the fact your money was simply a refund that had gone into the wrong account.

When calling customer services again the same day, you were told your notes from the previous day say you had failed security and the call was 'not accepted'.

Calling the next day and answering all the security questions, this time you were told by the operator they couldn't say if you had passed the checks or not. They said Jaja could not speak to you until security had phoned you to sort.

Eventually, you say security did phone you, asking a number of questions, and you were allowed to speak to customer services.

After this, you phoned almost daily but were given no answers - in one case even being told the transaction had been deleted before then being told that had been a mis-communication.

Then, rather unbelievably, Jaja debited your account by another 917 leaving you 1,834 out of pocket.

One customer found herself out of pocket by hundreds of pounds thanks to Jaja's service

This left you incredibly distressed, but fortunately, a customer services agent finally credited your account twice, leaving you with the correct amount.

You asked for the balance, which was now 789.98, after you had made extra spending on your credit card, to be transferred onto your current account but was told this would take 5 to 10 days.

Now you have all the money back and, although relieved, you asked Jaja for compensation due to the length of time it took to get it back  and the immense distress it caused you along the way.

This request, in my opinion, is fully justified for just how much time and effort it took you to sort.

However, you never received a reply.

I contacted Jaja to ask whether its customer service in this scenario was good enough and why it hadn't replied to your request for compensation.

It apologised for its service and has now given you 150 in redress as a result.

A Jaja spokesperson said: 'We're very sorry for the poor experience Mrs N had with us.

'The delay in returning the amount refunded to her card was a result of individual agent error, which has been raised to management to ensure this does not happen again.

'This is not the standard of service we'd expect for our customers and we have offered Mrs N a gesture of goodwill in recognition of the inconvenience this situation caused, which she has accepted.'

You are now satisfied with the outcome - it's just a shame that it took such effort to get the money that was rightfully yours, and then my involvement to get you compensation for such poor service.

One reader found her pan was covered by a lifetime guarantee despite getting it from an outlet

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: This week, reader Grant, has complained about a generator he bought from Iforce Marketzone for 141.49 last April.

He said it started faltering after about 10 uses but he first contacted the company last month after the issues became worse. However, he was told it was out of warranty by six months.

Grant contacted Impax, the manufacturer of the generator, who specify it should have a one year warranty in the manual, but told him he must deal with Iforce Marketzone.

I contacted with Marketzone about this issue and it agreed to refund the cost of the generator once it was sent back, which has now happened.

Hopefully this experience hasn't generated too much hassle and you can now buy another product that will last years, not months.

Hit: In happier news, reader Claire got in touch to praise the services of Denby.

She said: 'I bought a saute pan from a Denby outlet six years ago. During the last six months the surface started to peel away. It's my favourite pan, so I went online to buy another, which cost approximately 60.

'I saw Denby had a lifetime guarantee on their pans so made enquiries. After a few emails with excellent customer services, a brand new saute pan was sent, even though the previous pan was bought at an outlet for half the price.

'Many people forget that lots of companies offer lifetime guarantees for certain products - I certainly did. I can't fault Denby for honouring their guarantee so readily.'

Luckily this wasn't pan-demonium and you are incredibly happy with Denby's customer service.

It is also a very good point made by Claire. Many companies do offer lifetime guarantees - it is well worth contacting them if something goes wrong with your product.
New Delhi: Murari Lal Jalan, who is trying to purchase Jet Airways, is being backed by the infamous Gupta brothers (Ajay, Atul, Rajesh Gupta) of South Africa who are facing serious charges of corruption. For this reason, the Guptas had to flee from the country.

We had earlier revealed the business and family links between the two families. Today we will show you where Murari Lal Jalan himself has given in writing that he has a connection with the family of the Gupta brothers.

Through various documents accessed so far, Zee Media has been continuously making revelations about the connections between Murari Lal Jalan and Gupta brothers. We made these disclosures based on business transactions between the two families and shares transactions between their companies.

It has now come to light that Murari Lal Jalan has himself revealed the relationship between the two families.

Zee Media has a copy of the resolution plan given by Murari Lal Jalan in the Company Law Tribunal. In this document, Jalan has mentioned the name of Shashank Singhala, son of Atul Gupta, one of the Gupta brothers, in a column under the 'Connected Persons' category.

Now you need to understand what does the 'Connected Persons' written in this document mean. 'Connected Persons' means those people who are associated with the promoters of the company. In the Company Law Tribunal, Murari Lal Jalan has given the details of his brother Vishal Jalan and his family. He has named his niece Shivangi along with her husband Shashank Singhala. Jalan has also mentioned that Shashank Singhal is the son-in-law of his brother Vishal Jalan.

It is also important to understand why Murari Lal Jalan named the people of the Gupta family in the information related to 'Connected Persons'. According to the Insolvency Act, it is necessary to give details of all the members of the family of the bidder attempting to buy a company. It is also necessary to check the eligibility of the promoter who is filing the resolution plan.

Also Read: Jet Airways deal will put country's airports at risk, read this exclusive report from Zee News

Exclusive: Are the infamous Gupta Brothers of South Africa secretly buying Jet Airways?

Exclusive: Are Gupta brothers backing Jalans in Jet Airways deal too?

Will Jalan be able to buy Jet Airways? Security clearance in doubt as DGCA steps in

Zee Media had earlier disclosed how the two families have business connections.

An agreement was done in July 2018, which was registered in Delhi. The two parties to this agreement were LCR Investments, a Gupta family company and the Bengal Orion Financial Hub Ltd of the Jalan family. According to this agreement, LCR Investments signed an agreement to sell a 68.50 per cent stake in its partner company, Heritage Aviation, to the Jalan family company Bengal Orion Financial Hub for 6 crore 85 lakh rupees.

Murari Lal Jalan's nephew Ankit Jalan signed on these documents. While Shantanu Awasthi signed on behalf of LCR Investments, a Gupta family company.

Shantanu Awasthi is the director of LCR Investments. According to the documents filed in the Ministry of Company Affairs, Government of India, the agreement was signed in July after which the shares were transferred from LCR Investments to Bengal Orion Financial Hub on December 1, 2019. Murari Lal Jalan previously held about 78 per cent stake in the Bengal Orion Hub. Later this stake was transferred to his brother Vishal Jalan.

While 65 per cent stake in LCR Investments is held in the name of Anguri Gupta, mother of the Gupta brothers, 15 per cent stake is in the name of Suryakant Singhala, son of Ajay Gupta. Another 15 per cent stake is owned by Anil Gupta, a close relative of the Gupta brothers.

Till 2017-18, Suryakant Singhala was named as the director of LCR Investment. Later, Suryakant Singhala's name was removed from the list of directors. But his name is still on the list of shareholders.

In response to Zee Media, Murari Lal Jalan denied that Gupta brothers had no hand in the Jet Airways bid. He also said that he has no business links with them. But the documents tell otherwise. The documents clearly establish the deep connections between the Gupta brothers and the Jalan family.
A Los Angeles Fire Department official gives a vaccine shot to former Los Angeles Lakers basketball star Magic Johnson on parking station rooftop clinic at the University of Southern California on Wednesday (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times/AP)

Figures in the US are painting a more encouraging picture in the countrys Covid-19 battle more than three months into its vaccination drive.

Covid deaths have dropped below an average of 1,000 a day for the first time since November, and 70% of Americans 65 and older have received at least one dose of a vaccine.

Dozens of states have thrown open vaccinations to all adults or are planning to do so in a matter of weeks.

And the White House says 27 million doses of both the one-shot and two-shot vaccines will be distributed next week, more than three times the number when President Joe Biden took office two months ago.

I'm often asked, are we turning the corner? My response is really more like we are at the corner. Whether or not we're going to be turning that corner still remains to be seen Dr Anthony Fauci

Still, the governments top infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci on Wednesday said he was not ready to declare victory.

Im often asked, are we turning the corner? Dr Fauci said at a White House briefing. My response is really more like we are at the corner. Whether or not were going to be turning that corner still remains to be seen.

Dr Fauci said his hesitancy was based on the fact new cases remain at a stubbornly high level, at more than 50,000 per day.

The US on Wednesday surpassed 30 million confirmed cases, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University. The number of deaths now stands at more than 545,000.

Nonetheless, the outlook in the US stands in stark contrast to the deteriorating situation in places like Brazil, which reported more than 3,000 Covid-19 deaths in a single day for the first time on Tuesday, and across Europe, where another wave of infections is leading to new lockdowns.

Expand Close Dr Anthony Fauci feels it is not time to declare victory over the coronavirus yet (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, Pool) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Dr Anthony Fauci feels it is not time to declare victory over the coronavirus yet (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, Pool)

The gloom in Europe is compounded because the vaccine rollout on the continent has been slowed by production delays and questions about the safety and effectiveness of AstraZenecas shot.

Public health experts in the US are taking every opportunity to warn that relaxing social distancing and other preventive measures could easily lead to another surge.

Dr Eric Topol, head of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, sees red flags in states lifting mask mandates, air travel roaring back and spring break crowds partying out of control in Florida.

Were getting closer to the exit ramp, Dr Topol said. All were doing by having reopenings is jeopardising our shot to get, finally, for the first time in the American pandemic, containment of the virus.

Across the country are unmistakable signs of progress.

More than 43% of Americans 65 and older  the most vulnerable age group which accounts for a major share of the nations 545,000-plus coronavirus deaths  have been fully vaccinated, according to the Centres for Disease Control.

The number of older adults showing up in emergency rooms with Covid-19 is down significantly. Vaccinations overall have ramped up to more than 2.5 million shots per day.

Deaths per day in the US from Covid-19 have dropped to an average of 940, down from an all-time high of over 3,400 in mid-January.
Scores of fishermen at Sanyang beach landing site have on Friday called on the authorities to provide them with new fishing boats after a mob attacked and burned down six of their boats and fishing nets during last Monday's violence.

The violence that erupted on 15th March 2021 resulted in confrontation between the youth of Sanyang and Police. A mob burned-down a Police station and a Fishmeal Company in the area. This incident happened after an alleged thief stabbed and killed one Gibril Ceesay, aged 30, on Sunday night.

Following the incident, young people set ablaze fishing boats and materials. During the attack, other fishermen decided to stop work and run for their lives.

Some fled and sought refuge at Batokunku, while others sought protection from their colleagues in Sanyang. These fishermen, who were licensed to operate in the area, were frustrated and worried in the wake of the incident.

During a second visit to this site on 19th March, the reporter observed machines, fishing nets and 6 boats were burned by the rioters.

Few fishermen returned and cleaned the debris. They were seen repairing some damaged materials. It was observed some of the boats were not torched. And a sight of uncertainty was all over their faces.

Before the attack, the landing site was a busy place. Selling and buying of fish was the order of the day, but the area has been transformed into a ghost town.

Few women were seen on the ground preparing their dried fishes. Some fishermen said they were yet to start operation.

Most of the fishermen said they were unfairly treated and discriminated as they had nothing to do with the circumstances leading to the breakdown of law and order in the community.

Military personnel were deployed at the landing site and others at the Nissim Fishmeal Company's gate. They were patrolling the area with guns. The paramilitary were also seen at the area. It was under tight security.

Batch Jobe, a Senegalese fisherman and a victim of the attack, said his boat and machine were burned by the attackers.

"I spent 20 years in Sanyang and I married my wife here too. So I rely on this boat for our survival. I used to take care of my wife, mother, sisters and others in the community from the money I earned from my work," he said.

Jobe thus called on the authorities and NGOs to help him with a new boat and machine, so that he can continue his job. He added his fishing nets were also burnt.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Gambia Legal Affairs Agribusiness By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"Now, I only come to the beach to watch the environment and then go back home before the night. If my boat was not burned, I will not be sitting here. I'm a hard working person and I rely on fishing for my survival," he said.

Ndlawar Saye, also a victim whose boat was burned during the incident, said the collective punishment meted out to them was painful and rendered them jobless.

Saye said the little he managed to save before the attack is what he is using for his survival. He called on the authorities to support them to restart their businesses.

Modou Sowe Mbye, a fisherman said some of their colleagues fled to Batokunku, while others went to Brufut.

"We decided to return here because we were told security personnel were deployed here," he said.

Mbye said he spent 30 years in Sanyang and that kind of violence had never happened in the area. He said he relied on fishing for his family's feeding.

Meanwhile, most of the elders and fishermen at the fishing landing site fled to Batokunku during the attack on Monday. The Fishmeal Company was undergoing renovation, but the place remains under tight security.
Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

One of the values that is prized in our culture, particularly among younger adults, is authenticity. There is an exaltation of (and an exultation in) the authentic. We all have seen the many coming-out or transitioning stories that describe an experience of liberation coming from an embrace of ones authentic self. These sorts of stories come in various forms, but an astute observer will note that there is great cultural acclamation and praise for those who leave behind an old identity to embrace a new, alternative, authentic one. It is seen as the height of individualism and personal liberty to leave behind what one was taught or how one was raised, with all of the forms and traditions accompanying these, for the new frontier of a new identity or self-expression. The shucking off of the expected or established path is celebrated; there is no prize or commendation for adhering to or maintaining beliefs that represent an old way of doing things. Although there are exceptions to this (perhaps testimonies of conversion to Christianity, for example), our society loves a story of transformation that leads to a sense of personal liberation.

A unique place where we see this pattern is the stories of deconstruction from those who have long identified as Christian or have been raised in a Christian environment. If you are like me, you have heard many stories from friends, family or by celebrities about this process of taking apart, or deconstructing, what they once believed. The deconstruction narrative generally begins with a period of simply accepting what one was taught, whether as an effect of borrowing from the familys faith or of being immersed a Christian culture with little interaction with those leading different lives or believing entirely different things. Then, over time, removal from those environments can lead to the inevitable question, do I even truly believe these things? This self-examination may be brought about by relationships with non-Christians who are kind, genuine people who live normal lives, but have an entirely different perspective. It may be brought about by having to face a personal or spiritual crisis for which one was woefully unprepared. Whatever the harbinger, it leads to a crisis, where ones assumptions and presuppositions are taken apart like bricks from a proverbial wall of ones constructed reality or worldview. The foundation underlying this wall is never as strong as the person hoped, and eventually it comes down.

For those of us who have heard many of these stories, there is a sense that this comes out of the blue; we feel shocked that someone we knew or were influenced by rejected their faith. However, it is never that simple. Deconstruction is always a long process, and sometimes it leads to a revelation that someone is not necessarily rejecting what they believed so much as becoming aware that they did not really believe many of those things in the first place. In that case it may be accurate to cast it as an exchange of the pretentious for the authentic. Deconstruction is a highly experiential and affective process, one that involves how a person feels about Christianity or certain Christian beliefs just as much as (or possibly much more than) it involves whether or not someone finds Christianity or certain Christian beliefs to be intellectually reasonable, rational or consistent with reality. This is why deconstruction stories always tend to focus on someones emotional response or personal aversion to difficult Christian beliefs like the existence of hell.

It would be wrong to cast in a negative light all that is associated with deconstruction. To question previously-held beliefs or the ways that one was raised is not negative; in fact, it is often necessary to avoid a sort of nominal, anti-intellectual confession that has not done the hard work of navigating tragedy, grief, inexplicable evils, unfulfilled hopes, mental health issues, cultural opposition to biblical ethics, the disappointment and difficulty of seeing respected leaders fall and be exposed as hypocrites, being hurt by the church, seeing the worst of the baleful, unholy union of Christianity and politics, or experiencing the dark night of the soul that comes to any of us who have followed Jesus long enough. To stay the course is exceedingly difficult. And sometimes it is very lonely.

Understanding that these difficulties will come should create a deep sense of compassion in us and a posture of open arms to those who are struggling. However, many of the deconstruction stories I have heard suggest quite the opposite; there is an experience of shame about struggling, a sense that there is no safe space to bring up questions and doubts, and a surface-level engagement with intellectual difficulties (such as the relevance or validity of the certain biblical texts) or cultural issues (such as the Christian response to LGBTQI+ people) that is heavy in truth and light in grace.

Even so, one of the problems that I see with so many of these deconstruction stories is that they do not seem to be leading to a reconstruction. That is, when many of these (particularly young) people go through this process and turn away from their faith, it is not followed by a process of critical evaluation, strengthening areas of weakness, engaging with questions and doubts, seeking counsel, and building their faith back up again. More often than not, it seems that they are not returning to anything that resembles historic, orthodox Christianity, if indeed they attempt to reassociate themselves with anything Christian at all. If a spirituality remains, it tends to be an inward, personally defined, enlightenment-oriented syncretism that is heavy in grace and light in truth.

No deconstruction story is exactly the same, but there are some basic commonalities among them. One of these is that the rubble which remains from the process tends to look more like a reaction against the vacuity of bad theology than it is a repudiation of the radical, counter-cultural person and message of Jesus. Sometimes, when friends have turned from the faith because of a loss or tragedy, I have often wondered whether they had believed all this time in a God who cannot exist, love them, and allow them to experience inexplicable pain or tragedy at the same time. For some hurt and loss there is no simple answer, but if that was their theology, it hardly resembles the theology of the New Testament authors. We could welcome the deconstruction of this sort of bad theology.

Conversely, if we as the church are to be a community of people that minimizes the need for deconstruction, we must develop a greater understanding of the changing times in which we live in order to meet people where they are. This was the masterful, beautiful way of Jesus, who fits no boxes and transcends all our categories and expectations. That process entails the creation of a safe space within our communities that allows for dialogue and processing, all while maintaining our convictions and being able to contend for and defend them in a winsome and intellectually viable way. It entails balancing theology and apologetics, knowledge and experience, grace and truth. It is easier said than done, but we will never get there if we do not first set the trajectory.

Lastly, if we as the church are to be a community of people that encourages healthy reconstruction, those of us who are leaders should live up to the high standard of our calling and own up in humility to our failures so that others have an achievable example to follow. There should be more education and not less, and more willingness to express and engage with the doubts and difficulties that confront us in a postsecular age. Perhaps it is also time to focus on developing smaller communities where a nominal spirituality is harder to sustain, rather than the larger, seeker-sensitive, experience-oriented, emotion-driven, just-pray-a-prayer sorts of movements to which we have become accustomed. We must also revitalize the practice that Jesus himself illustrated: discipleship. Many who go through the deconstruction process have heard countless sermons, but they have experienced little of the life-on-life spiritual formation that comes from that relationship.

Deconstruction is not the end, but it is an end. And the church must address it, both the church corporately and the smaller communities that make up our inner circles. There is something about the version of Christianity given to many that is not sustaining them; it is a going-through-the-motions spirituality that cannot survive the changes in modern culture. This unraveling that we see should produce a desire within us to return to the core message of Jesus, the radical, transformative power of the Gospel to which the New Testament attests. Jesus would not condemn the process, but would walk with his true disciples through the gray areas that come with growth, refinement and maturity, so that deconstruction can become reconstruction.
USDA Reopens Program Sign-Up to a Larger Share of Producers with Plans to Expand Outreach and New Programming

WASHINGTON, March 24, 2021  Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that USDA is establishing new programs and efforts to bring financial assistance to farmers, ranchers and producers who felt the impact of COVID-19 market disruptions. The new initiativeUSDA Pandemic Assistance for Producerswill reach a broader set of producers than in previous COVID-19 aid programs. USDA is dedicating at least $6 billion toward the new programs. The Department will also develop rules for new programs that will put a greater emphasis on outreach to small and socially disadvantaged producers, specialty crop and organic producers, timber harvesters, as well as provide support for the food supply chain and producers of renewable fuel, among others. Existing programs like the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) will fall within the new initiative and, where statutory authority allows, will be refined to better address the needs of producers.

USDA Pandemic Assistance for Producers was needed, said Vilsack, after a review of previous COVID-19 assistance programs targeting farmers identified a number of gaps and disparities in how assistance was distributed as well as inadequate outreach to underserved producers and smaller and medium operations.

The pandemic affected all of agriculture, but many farmers did not benefit from previous rounds of pandemic-related assistance. The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to helping as many producers as possible, as equitably as possible, said Vilsack. Our new USDA Pandemic Assistance for Producers initiative will help get financial assistance to a broader set of producers, including to socially disadvantaged communities, small and medium sized producers, and farmers and producers of less traditional crops.

USDA will reopen sign-up for CFAP 2 for at least 60 days beginning on April 5, 2021. The USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) has committed at least $2.5 million to improve outreach for CFAP 2 and will establish partnerships with organizations with strong connections to socially disadvantaged communities to ensure they are informed and aware of the application process.

The payments announced today (under Part 3, below) will go out under the existing CFAP rules; however, future opportunities for USDA Pandemic Assistance will be reviewed for verified need and during the rulemaking process, USDA will look to make eligibility more consistent with the Farm Bill. Moving forward, USDA Pandemic Assistance for Producers will utilize existing programs, such as the Local Agricultural Marketing Program, Farming Opportunities Training and Outreach, and Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, and others to enhance educational and market opportunities for agricultural producers.

USDA Pandemic Assistance for Producers  4 Parts Announced Today

Part 1: Investing $6 Billion to Expand Help & Assistance to More Producers

USDA will dedicate at least $6 billion to develop a number of new programs or modify existing proposals using discretionary funding from the Consolidated Appropriations Act and other coronavirus funding that went unspent by the previous administration. Where rulemaking is required, it will commence this spring. These efforts will include assistance for:

Dairy farmers through the Dairy Donation Program or other means:

Euthanized livestock and poultry;

Biofuels;

Specialty crops, beginning farmers, local, urban and organic farms;

Costs for organic certification or to continue or add conservation activities

Other possible expansion and corrections to CFAP that were not part of todays announcement such as to support dairy or other livestock producers;

Timber harvesting and hauling;

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other protective measures for food and farm workers and specialty crop and seafood producers, processors and distributors;

Improving the resilience of the food supply chain, including assistance to meat and poultry operations to facilitate interstate shipment;

Developing infrastructure to support donation and distribution of perishable commodities, including food donation and distribution through farm-to-school, restaurants or other community organizations; and

Reducing food waste.

Part 2: Adding $500 Million of New Funding to Existing Programs

USDA expects to begin investing approximately $500 million in expedited assistance through several existing programs this spring, with most by April 30. This new assistance includes:

$100 million in additional funding for the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, administered by the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), which enhances the competitiveness of fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops.

$75 million in additional funding for the Farmers Opportunities Training and Outreach program, administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and the Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement, which encourages and assists socially disadvantaged, veteran, and beginning farmers and ranchers in the ownership and operation of farms and ranches.

$100 million in additional funding for the Local Agricultural Marketing Program, administered by the AMS and Rural Development, which supports the development, coordination and expansion of direct producer-to-consumer marketing, local and regional food markets and enterprises and value-added agricultural products.

$75 million in additional funding for the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program, administered by the NIFA, which provides funding opportunities to conduct and evaluate projects providing incentives to increase the purchase of fruits and vegetables by low-income consumers

$20 million for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to improve and maintain animal disease prevention and response capacity, including the National Animal Health Laboratory Network.

$20 million for the Agricultural Research Service to work collaboratively with Texas A&M on the critical intersection between responsive agriculture, food production, and human nutrition and health.

$28 million for NIFA to provide grants to state departments of agriculture to expand or sustain existing farm stress assistance programs.

Approximately $80 million in additional payments to domestic users of upland and extra-long staple cotton based on a formula set in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 that USDA plans to deliver through the Economic Adjustment Assistance for Textile Mills program.

Part 3: Carrying Out Formula Payments under CFAP 1, CFAP 2, CFAP AA

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, enacted December 2020 requires FSA to make certain payments to producers according to a mandated formula. USDA is now expediting these provisions because there is no discretion involved in interpreting such directives, they are self-enacting.

An increase in CFAP 1 payment rates for cattle. Cattle producers with approved CFAP 1 applications will automatically receive these payments beginning in April. Information on the additional payment rates for cattle can be found on farmers.gov/cfap. Eligible producers do not need to submit new applications, since payments are based on previously approved CFAP 1 applications. USDA estimates additional payments of more than $1.1 billion to more than 410,000 producers, according to the mandated formula.

Additional CFAP assistance of $20 per acre for producers of eligible crops identified as CFAP 2 flat-rate or price-trigger crops beginning in April. This includes alfalfa, corn, cotton, hemp, peanuts, rice, sorghum, soybeans, sugar beets and wheat, among other crops. FSA will automatically issue payments to eligible price trigger and flat-rate crop producers based on the eligible acres included on their CFAP 2 applications. Eligible producers do not need to submit a new CFAP 2 application. For a list of all eligible row-crops, visit farmers.gov/cfap. USDA estimates additional payments of more than $4.5 billion to more than 560,000 producers, according to the mandated formula.

USDA will finalize routine decisions and minor formula adjustments on applications and begin processing payments for certain applications filed as part of the CFAP Additional Assistance program in the following categories: Applications filed for pullets and turfgrass sod; A formula correction for row-crop producer applications to allow producers with a non-Actual Production History (APH) insurance policy to use 100% of the 2019 Agriculture Risk Coverage-County Option (ARC-CO) benchmark yield in the calculation; Sales commodity applications revised to include insurance indemnities, Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program payments, and Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus payments, as required by statute; and Additional payments for swine producers and contract growers under CFAP Additional Assistance remain on hold and are likely to require modifications to the regulation as part of the broader evaluation and future assistance; however, FSA will continue to accept applications from interested producers.



Part 4: Reopening CFAP 2 Sign-Up to Improve Access & Outreach to Underserved Producers

As noted above, USDA will re-open sign-up for of CFAP 2 for at least 60 days beginning on April 5, 2021.

FSA has committed at least $2.5 million to establish partnerships and direct outreach efforts intended to improve outreach for CFAP 2 and will cooperate with grassroots organizations with strong connections to socially disadvantaged communities to ensure they are informed and aware of the application process.

Please stay tuned for additional information and announcements under the USDA Pandemic Assistance to Producers initiative, which will help to expand and more equitably distribute financial assistance to producers and farming operations during the COVID-19 national emergency. Please visit www.farmers.gov for more information on the details of todays announcement.

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. In the Biden-Harris administration, USDA is transforming Americas food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, ensuring access to healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate-smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean-energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.

#

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.
There are striking parallels between the murder cases of Colten Boushie, a young Indigenous man fatally shot on a Saskatchewan farm in 2016, and Helen Betty Osborne, a 19-year-old Cree woman abducted and brutally murdered in The Pas in 1971.

There are striking parallels between the murder cases of Colten Boushie, a young Indigenous man fatally shot on a Saskatchewan farm in 2016, and Helen Betty Osborne, a 19-year-old Cree woman abducted and brutally murdered in The Pas in 1971.

Both were marred by sloppy RCMP investigations, each was fuelled by racial discrimination and both contributed to a culture of injustice against Indigenous people.

The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission released its final report Monday into the murder of Mr. Boushie, who was shot and killed after the vehicle he was riding in entered the property of Gerald Stanley near Biggar, Sask. The report found myriad problems with the RCMP investigation, including a failure to preserve the crime scene, resulting in the loss of important bloodstain evidence.

RCMP officers surrounded Debbie Baptiste's home while she was informed of her son's death, asked if she had been drinking, smelled her breath and searched her home without permission.(Kayle Neis / The Canadian Press files)

The RCMPs major-crimes unit did not visit the property, and police failed to employ forensic specialists to analyze evidence. It took the RCMP three days to obtain a warrant to search the property.

It is impossible to know with certainty how those departures from investigative norms affected the prosecution (which ended in the acquittal of Mr. Stanley), the commission found. However, it would stretch credulity to suggest they had no impact.

The murder of Ms. Osborne nearly 50 years ago, one of the most well-known cases of racist and sexualized violence against Indigenous women, was also fraught with investigative errors by the RCMP. Mistakes were made at the crime scene and police failed to follow up on important leads. They chose not to arrest four white male suspects during the initial investigation; many Indigenous people, by contrast, were brought in for questioning as possible suspects (all were cleared).

Only one of four suspects, Dwayne Archie Johnston, was convicted, but not until 15 years later (and only because of the enterprising efforts of one RCMP constable).

Neither the commissions findings in the Boushie case, nor Manitobas 1991 Aboriginal Justice Inquiry (which probed the Osborne murder) found conclusive evidence that racial discrimination materially affected the outcome of the police investigations. The full legal impact of racial bias in the justice system is not always verifiable. However, its existence in the broader scope of both cases was demonstrably evident.

People take part in a vigil in support of Colten Boushie's family in Montreal in 2018 following the acquittal of Gerald Stanley on charges in connection with Boushie's death. (Ryan Remiorz / The Canadian Press files)

The commission found RCMP officers discriminated against Mr. Boushies mother, Debbie Baptiste, when they surrounded her home with police officers while she was informed of her sons death. They asked if she had been drinking and smelled her breath, as officers scoured her home without permission in search of a witness they believed (based on a flimsy lead) had a firearm. Officers opened Ms. Baptistes microwave oven to verify claims her sons dinner was there awaiting his return.

"Not only did the RCMP members actions show little regard or compassion for Ms. Baptistes distress and pain, they compounded her suffering by treating her as if she was lying," the commission found.

The RCMP issued a press release following the shooting that focused on an alleged property crime, with no mention of a murder investigation. It gave the impression Mr. Boushies killing was justified, the report said.

Circumstances surrounding the Osborne case were also rife with racial discrimination. The failure by the RCMP to follow up on some leads was likely influenced by racial bias, as was the silence of white townspeople in The Pas who refused to come forward with relevant information about the case, the AJI found.

Almost 50 years after the killing of Helen Betty Osborne, racial discrimination remains an infuriating and deeply disturbing feature of Canadas justice system, which feigns enlightment as it allows racial inequalities to fester.
WASHINGTON, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Disaster Tech, the leader in decision science technologies for emergency management, today announced that Rich Serino, Distinguished Senior Fellow at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Senior Advisor, MIT Urban Risk Lab and former Deputy Administrator of FEMA, has joined the company's Board of Directors. Serino brings to Disaster Tech's Board more than 40 years of experience in disaster preparedness, response, recovery, mass casualty incidents, and leadership and innovation in government. Serino joins Disaster Tech's Board as billion-dollar weather and climate disasters accelerate globally, accelerating the demand for innovation in emergency management.

"We're proud to welcome Rich Serino to Disaster Tech's Board of Directors. Rich is one of the most accomplished and respected experts in emergency management, and I'm thrilled to partner with him. He has a proven track record of building, sustaining, and improving FEMA's capacity to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards," said Sean Griffin, CEO, and co-founder of Disaster Tech. "As a Board member, Rich's unparalleled passion and deep expertise in disaster preparedness will be invaluable as we continue to build our user-centric platform and enhance our solution so that emergency managers can save more lives, money, and time."

Serino currently serves as a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, which he joined in 2014. Prior to Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Serino was the former Deputy Administrator of FEMA. Over his esteemed career, he has received more than thirty-five local, national, and international awards for public service and innovation, including the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative's (NPLI) Meta-Leader of the Year Award for his work in the response to multiple disasters and Super Storm Sandy. Before FEMA, Serino served as Chief of Boston EMS and Assistant Director of Health at the Boston Public Health Commission. In this role, he bolstered the city's response plans for major emergencies, including chemical, biological, and radiological attacks. Serino also led citywide planning for H1N1 influenza.

"Disaster Tech is removing barriers within the emergency management industry by providing advanced technologies that enable practitioners to make better informed decisions that ultimately lead to saving more lives and building resilient communities," said Serino. "I look forward to joining the Board and supporting the Disaster Tech team as they enter the next phase of growth."

Serino attended Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government Senior Executives in State and Local Government program in 2000, completed the Kennedy School's National Preparedness Leadership Initiative in 2005, and graduated from the Executive Leadership Program, Center for Homeland Defense and Security at the Naval Postgraduate School.

Serino joins Disaster Tech's distinguished Board, which also includes retired Air Force colonel and former FEMA Region VIII Administrator, Lee daPalo; Professor of data science and co-founder of the Crisis and Innovation Lab at Indiana University, Dr. David Wild; Chief Operations Officer (COO) for First Data, Christine Larsen and others.



About Disaster Tech

Disaster Tech, a veteran-owned public benefit company, offers data science and decision science technologies for situational awareness, operational coordination, and risk management before, during, and after disasters. Disaster Tech's goal is to save lives, protect the environment, and build resilient communities by providing the most sophisticated, advanced analytics and distributed high-performance computing platform on the planet. Find more at https://www.disastertech.com/

SOURCE Disaster Technologies Incorporated

Related Links

http://disastertech.com


You are here: China

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, Wednesday inspected the city of Fuzhou during his trip to east China's Fujian Province.

Xi visited Fudao, a 19-km-long pedestrian walkway, the historical and cultural block of Sanfangqixiang (Three Lanes and Seven Alleys) and RICOM, an optical lens company.

He learned about local efforts in urban planning and development and the protection of historical and cultural blocks, as well as corporate innovation and development.
Daniel Hand High School / Contributed Photo

MADISON  There was an additional police presence at a local high school Thursday after an alleged threat toward a student, according to officials.

Administrative staff at Daniel Hand High School were made aware of a threat made via electronic communications toward a student after school Wednesday afternoon, Superintendent of Schools Craig A. Cooke said in a letter to the school community.
GCI, the largest telecommunications provider in the state, is planning to move all of its call-center operations out of Alaska and will contract with a third-party vendor to provide the service from the Philippines.

The move will start this summer, according to a report in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner on Saturday.

The company, which provides cable television, internet, cell and wired telephone services in Alaska, has had a hard time filling its call-center jobs, said Heather Handyside, vice president for corporate communications at GCI.

Currently, GCIs operation in Anchorage is set to...
BRATTLEBORO  The school resource officer program at Brattleboro Union High School will be suspended next school year as it is evaluated ahead of budget season, after activists and other groups called for its end.

Brattleboro Union High School has four Core Values that we use to inform decisions and shape our goals as a school community. These Core Values are Respect, Relevance, Responsibility and Community, Principal Steve Perrin said in a letter sent to the school community Friday. As we have listened carefully to the criticisms regarding the use of a School Resource Officer at BUHS, we have paused to consider these concerns through the lens of Community and Respect.

The Windham County Sheriffs Office ran the SRO program at the high school for 16 years. The program is meant to ensure access to education and safety to all students, staff, and faculty at the school, which I believe we have done, Sheriff Mark Anderson said in a statement.

District to study school resource officer program BRATTLEBORO  School officials have agreed to have Brattleboro Union High Schools Leadershi

At the Windham Southeast School District Board meeting last week, Superintendent Andy Skarzynski outlined a process to evaluate the program with the schools Leadership Council, which includes staff, parents, students and community members. On Friday, Perrin announced a facilitator will be hired to assist in the review.

My office looks forward to the process that Superintendent Skarzynski set forth using an impartial outside facilitator to objectively examine the school resource officer program, Anderson said. I believe the community needs to have a detailed conversation with all school stakeholders to examine the program supported by our local data.

Anderson disagrees with the decision to suspend the program, calling it hasty and one that doesnt contemplate all aspects of the program and the effects that an unplanned removal will have.

It pains me to hear the lived experiences members of our community have had with law enforcement, he said. It is my hope that the schools process can help illuminate these experiences. However, it is also vital to consider the needs of the entire school community regarding student safety and access to their education.

In an interview, Anderson said hes happy to support the review process. Hes aware of national and statewide conversations about whether SRO programs are harmful, but feels the local one is unique because alternative justice methods are its primary activity.

We think that our data support that this is accommodating the needs and concerns of the school community, and that prioritizing students accessing education as one of the primary initiatives has been part of the success and reasons we support implementation of our program, he said.

Final report on community safety released BRATTLEBORO  A report that looks at safety, danger and harm within policing and community s

Concerns about SRO programs appeared in a community safety report commissioned by the town of Brattleboro last year. A review process included listening sessions and surveys to gather input on local systems.

Activists seek to end school resource officer program BRATTLEBORO  Activists are calling for an end to a program where a sheriffs deputy is stat

Activists in Youth 4 Change, a group associated with the Root Social Justice Center in Brattleboro, proposed removing the program and reallocating the funds to invest in mental health services, more trauma-informed training for teachers, and improving the schools existing restorative justice program. The effort is supported by the Vermont American Civil Liberties Union and the Windham County Vermont Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Quite frankly my concern is not to undermine any of the people with lived experience or the people from the NAACP or ACLU saying on a national basis these programs hurt people, Anderson said. That resonates deeply with me, but were glossing over the fact that the schools safety plan relies on the SRO. Those are well thought out, well rehearsed concepts. So to say, Lets roll all this back, the schools going to have a lot of work on its hands to unravel.

In Andersons view, multidisciplinary teams serve the population better. He said the SRO has been known to share information about potential danger within the school community, then the school can take action to help students in a way that allows them to still get their education.

Whats in it for us? he said. We know people with a higher degree of education are less likely to commit crimes.

His office was asked to provide data for the review including information about times the SRO was involved in a case leading to law enforcement interactions, human services assistance and restorative justice or diversion programs. Anderson said an incident the SRO was asked to look at the data for several years ago resulted in the school changing the way its locker rooms were arranged in order to prevent theft.

The SRO contract lasts for the school year and includes more than 1,400 hours of service. Anderson recalled the contract being amended at one time to three days a week instead of five but it being switched back after other incidents in Vermont prompted concerns about school safety.

Perrins letter notes all the services provided by the SRO and recognizes that having an armed officer on campus can be difficult for some students.

One of the goals of our review will be to examine how we can balance these two important community needs, he wrote. That is not a process that can be completed in a short time.

In an interview, Perrin said the program will remain in place for the rest of this school year because logistics need to be considered. He anticipates the safety plan will be rewritten prior to next school year with input from the towns police and fire departments.

Obviously our goal is to keep things as safe as we can, he said. Were going to have to think about staffing because were going to have to make up for those gaps in coverage and service.

With the review process still being ironed out, Perrin envisions a trained facilitator working with the Leadership Council, Council Chairman Ricky Davidson, parents and students to ensure all stakeholders are heard.

In the meantime, Perrin said he believes the SRO will continue to do a fantastic job.

The SRO works well with students and families who are mistrustful of law enforcement, he said. Hes done a really, really great job of making connections with kids. Its going to be really tough replacing what he does.

Perrin said the program is aimed at offering support to students, and keeping them in school and attending classes. He commended the way the SRO coordinates with the States Attorneys Office and other agencies to determine the best path forward.

Skarzynski told the Reformer he is looking forward to starting the process of conducting a conversation about not only the role of the SRO at BUHS but engaging in a broader discussion on how we purposefully cultivate relationships with our community partners, who in this case, are our local law enforcement officers.

In order to engage in this work, it was vital that we create the space where multiple voices can be heard, he said, anticipating the work will require time and patience. I am hoping that by suspending the use of the SRO for the 2021-2022 school year as well as examining our supports in place to engage students, we are demonstrating the good faith necessary to begin this conversation.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has come under criticism for what the opposition says are lies and contradictory statements about why the Armenian military did not deploy fighter jets purchased from Russia during last years war with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh.



Pashinian told parliament on March 24 that he saw no contradiction between his comments about why Armenia did not purchase missiles for its Russian Su-30SM fighter jets and his prewar statement on social media about the aircraft successfully testing missiles.



Pashinian said at a weekend rally that Yerevan purchased Russian Su-30SM fighters in May 2020 but did not manage to purchase missiles for them before the start of the 44-day war.



The prime ministers press service and the Ministry of Defense announced in December 2019 that the Armenian Armed Forces had been equipped with Su-30SM multifunctional fighters and in July 2020 Pashinian wrote on Facebook that the Su-30SMs had successfully tested missiles.



Pashinian denied any contradictions between his answer to a question related to the purchase of the fighter jets and the test of missiles asked by a pro-government lawmaker in parliament on March 24.



He explained that since fighter aircraft are ultramodern and powerful, it is obvious that manufacturers of aircraft and missiles of different modifications are not the same entities.



In other words, they are not produced in one place, and, therefore, are not purchased in one place, he said.



Unfortunately, during the war we did not have time to purchase all those necessary accessories...that would make it possible to use the ultramodern Su-30SMs for their intended purpose and in accordance with their power, Pashinian said.



He said training flights were carried out after the Su-30SM fighter jets arrived in Armenia in May 2020 and missiles that were already in the Armenian militarys arsenal were used for the tests.



Specific military situation decisions on their use were made during the war in accordance with the extent to which the available ammunition allowed the aircraft to fulfill combat missions, he said.



Pashinian did not explain the discrepancy between the December 2019 press statement from his office showing photographs of him and then-Defense Minister David Tonoian at an airfield watching demonstration flights of Su-30SM fighters and boarding the cockpit of one of the aircraft, and his statement that the Su-30SM fighter jets had arrived in Armenia in May 2020.



Opposition Bright Armenia lawmaker Ani Samsonian seized on that, accusing Pashinian of lying.



When will the government stop lying, manipulating, and misleading the public? she asked.



The prime minister did not answer the opposition lawmakers question. His deputy, Tigran Avinian, said: A full answer on Su-30SM aircraft was given. There is nothing to add.



Earlier this month, Pashinian effectively retracted his claim that the Armenian Armys most advanced Russian-made Iskander missiles seriously malfunctioned during the war. The retraction came after a storm of criticism from Russian pro-government lawmakers and pundits, who accused him of incompetence and deceit.
Due to the shortage of a global supply of Covid-19 vaccines, the vaccine batch provided for Vietnam by the COVAX program may arrive in Vietnam later than scheduled.

According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), it is expected that by the end of March, the first 1.37 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine out of 30 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine committed to Vietnam by COVAX Facility will arrive in Vietnam. After that, the next 2.8 million vaccine doses are scheduled to arrive in the country by the end of April.

However, due to the shortage of vaccines globally, the vaccine may arrive in Vietnam later than the initial plan, according to information from a meeting of the Central Propaganda and Training Commission on March 23.

Vaccination against Covid-19 in Hanoi - Photo: Pham Hai

The remaining amount of vaccines committed by COVAX Facility for Vietnam from the 3rd quarter of 2021 may be delayed until 2022. The Ministry of Health is working with COVAX Facility to accelerate the progress.

COVAX, the overarching effort to accelerate development and access to COVID vaccines, is co-led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the World Health Organization (WHO) working in partnership with UNICEF as well as the World Bank, manufacturers and civil society organizations, and others.

Regarding the batch of AstraZeneca vaccine imported through the Vietnam Vaccine Joint Stock Company (VNVC), it is expected that the remaining 29.87 million doses will arrive in Vietnam in the second and third quarters of 2021. However, the exact time of arrival may be pushed back due to the shortage of global supply of vaccines.

Previously, VNVC signed a contract to buy 30 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine with a deposit of up to VND600 billion (nearly $30 million) during the clinical trial of phase 3 of this vaccine.

VNVC has agreed to sell the vaccine to the Ministry of Health in a non-profit form. In late February, the first 117,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine produced by SK Bio - Korea arrived in Vietnam, and have been used in a nationwide vaccination campaign since March 8.

The worldwide supply of Covid-19 vaccine is scarce. There are not many manufacturers of vaccines meeting the pre-assessment standards of the World Health Organization (WHO) and their production capacity is limited.

Moreover, a number of developed countries like the US, UK, and European countries actively supported research and development of vaccine and placed big orders from the start of the research and development stage.

Over 30 countries ordered volumes of vaccines that are higher than their population even when the vaccines were not produced. Some countries even ordered a number four times more than their population. This makes it difficult for many countries, especially developing ones, to have access to vaccine sources.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Health has tried to access different sources of Covid-19 vaccine supplies.

In addition to vaccines provided by COVAX Facility and imported by VNVC, the Research Center for Vaccines and Medical Biologicals Production (POLYVAC) is negotiating with Russia to buy Sputnik V vaccine with the maximum quantity and supply in the shortest time.

The Ministry of Health is negotiating to buy Pfizer's vaccine. According to the firms latest announcement, it can provide 31 million doses of vaccine to Vietnam. However, this type of vaccine must be kept at a very cold temperature, from minus 30 to minus 60 degrees Celsius, while the current cold storage of Vietnam can only preserve vaccines at a temperature of 2-8 degrees Celsius.

The Ministry of Health is also working with Johnson & Johnson and Moderna, and manufacturers in India and China, to ask for their official answer to the Covid-19 vaccine supply for Vietnam.

Besides seeking imported vaccine sources, Vietnam is promoting vaccine research and development at home. Nanocovax vaccine developed by Nanogen has been tested on humans, and has been in phase 2 since February 26. Covivac vaccine developed by IVAC has entered clinical trial phase 1 on March 15.

Locally made vaccines are expected to be used in 2022.

According to latest announcement form UNICEF, due to production delays of COVID-19 vaccine distributed through COVAX, the projected deliveries to all countries have had to be delayed, and the amount to be sent have been reviewed and adjusted.

This means that Vietnam is now due to receive 811,200 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the next three weeks. This quantity is smaller than previously announced for the first shipment and based on an equitable pro-rata distribution of available doses between all participating countries. Based on initial information shared by the manufacturer, the aim remains to deliver a total of 4,176,000 doses to Vietnam by the end of May, pending operational and supply constraints.

In this early phase of COVID-19 vaccine roll-out, vaccine manufacturers require time to scale and optimize their production processes. AstraZeneca, which uses a novel supply chain network with sites across multiple continents, is working to shorten its lead times to enable timely supply to all COVAX participants.

Nguyen Lien

First batches of COVID-19 COVAX vaccine to arrive in Vietnam soon Vietnam is expected to get 5.657 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19 in March and April, with most of them to be delivered by the COVAX Facility.
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Go to form
Abuja  The federal government is considering ways to cushion the impact of fuel-subsidy cut as it weighs the possibility that the reform may stoke popular discontent, an adviser to the nation's president, Mr. Zakari Ahmad, has said.

While those policies are being formulated, the state is continuing interventions that it says cost an estimated N744 billion ($1.8 billion) a year from 2006 to 2019 to maintain lower gasoline prices, an equivalent of about 10 per cent of this year's projected government revenue.

"There is broad alignment that deregulation is an urgent need. There is a clear understanding of the challenges that Nigerians face economically and government will be sensitive to that as we craft any implementation," Bloomberg quoted Ahmad to have said.

Raising pump prices, let alone allowing them to move in line with international crude markets, is a risky proposition for Nigerian politicians.

Many in Africa's largest economy, which also hosts the highest number of people living in extreme poverty globally, regard cheap fuel as their single dependable benefit from the country's misspent oil wealth.

The president has been trying since March 2020 to remove the subsidies, with the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, saying in September Nigeria expected to save as much as 1 trillion naira a year with the abolition of the support.

The government understands, "it can no longer sustain the petroleum subsidy regime," NNPC Managing Director Mele Kyari said through a spokesman, adding that deregulation will allow the company to no longer be the sole importer of gasoline and "market forces to determine prices of products thus ensuring availability at all times," he said.

Nigeria's reserves have dropped $1 billion this year, heading toward levels last seen in 2017, when the economy was recovering from recession.

The decline, combined with the apparent backsliding on subsidies, has resulted in Nigeria's dollar bonds not performing as well as they could have this year, according to Samir Gadio, the London-based head of Africa strategy at Standard Chartered Bank.

"Nigeria has outperformed lower-yielding sub-Saharan African credits as oil prices rose, but more significant Eurobond outperformance has been constrained by the fall in foreign-exchange reserves and the fuel subsidy backtrack," he said.

With Agency Report
Adam Wingard landed the job of a lifetime four years ago, when Warner Bros. hired him for Godzilla vs. Kong, a $200 million globe-trotting blockbuster pitting the legendary lizard and ape in their next knockdown drag-out and blending two franchises with plans to go even bigger.

The go-to horror director on projects like Blair Witch and Death Note would follow up on 2014s Godzilla, 2017s Kong: Skull Island and 2019s Godzilla: King of the Monsters, finally marrying the MonsterVerse in the long-awaited bout between the iconic movie monsters. And despite never making a movie for more than $40 million at that point, Wingard felt ready for the challenge.

The Tennessee-born Wingard, who claims Birmingham as his hometown, made a name for himself directing independent horror features like Youre Next and The Guest, as well as segments in the popular V/H/S anthology films.

His budgets have typically been quite small, working within the parameters of independent financing that often give his films less than $5 million for production. His 2017 adaptation of the popular anime Death Note for Netflix reportedly cost $40 million. But a big blockbuster jump like that for a filmmaker used to working with a smaller budget reflected a Hollywood trend, given big studios reliance on directors like Colin Trevorrow (went from Safety Not Guaranteed to Jurassic World) and Jon Watts (went from Cop Car to Spider-Man: Homecoming).

Godzilla vs. Kong finds the pair clashing after Godzilla seemingly turns on humans due to unseen forces in an adventure that spans the globe and leaves a new path of destruction, heightened by eye-popping visual effects. The film is obviously meant for the big screen. Due to COVID-19, Warner Bros. opted for a dual-release, streaming it on HBO Max for a month while also releasing it in theaters nationwide March 31. Some will see it that way, while most will probably watch on HBO Max, as theaters continue to struggle through the pandemic despite there being light at the end of the tunnel. As more people get vaccinated, their comfort level with going back to the movies will surely increase, putting more people back in theaters for the film.

Born in Tennessee, the 38-year-old Wingard only lived in his home state for about a year before moving to Marion where he spent most of his life through high school before spending his 20s in Calera and Birmingham. I kind of cite Birmingham as my hometown, once I went to Calera, because thats where I spent all my time, and I did live there for a little while, he said.

He cut his teeth making movies through Sidewalks 48-hour film festivals, known to many as scrambles, which he called his initial profound filmmaking upbringing. He said he made about six shorts with a group called Team Bloodjet in the early-to-mid-2000s, even winning a few contests and gaining more confidence as a storyteller despite some trepidation at first.

I was just this rag-tag dude. I always dressed kinda slouchy and was always kind of unkempt, he said. I remember showing up to the premiere of the 48-hour film festival thing, and I just felt so out of my element. Wed heard some people had access to cranes and all this big equipment. And I remember when we showed up, heres all these filmmakers showing up, and everybody was dressed really nice and were real slick-looking. And I thought Oh God, Im just like this weirdo loser.

But when the movies played, we ended up actually winning. And I thought you know what, all that stuff, all the cranes and big equipment and people presenting themselves as fancy filmmaker-types and stuff, all of that is just smokescreen. All that matters is what youre putting on screen and putting on camera. That was a really great experience and a big deal for me in terms of learning a lot about how to become a filmmaker.

Wingard said he dove into the Godzilla and Kong archives ahead of making this movie, basically watching every movie in existence, to understand every inch of the characters and the mythology so hed know what to avoid and what to reference, a necessary deep dive he said anyone leading this franchise must take.

I just didnt feel like it made sense for a filmmaker to make a Godzilla film if I couldnt point back and say that I knew what the origin of this was, he said. I knew it has a strong fan base. There was no part of me that wanted just a casual Godzilla fan to have more knowledge about Godzilla than me. Im making the movie. If anybody needs to understand what his origins are, what his ups and downs are and finding those inspirations, I have to do that.

He said theres also a really exciting, kind of self-indulgent aspect to it where he suddenly has permission to tell everyone Dont call me, Im busy because Im watching Godzilla films and this is work. He said it was extremely important and helpful because having the knowledge of where these things come from and what theyve done and all the different styles that the films have gone through over the years really gave him the perspective he needed. He said when he reaching Godzilla vs. Destroyah, a 1995 film, was a hugely influential because it struck the right emotional tone with the character he wanted to find with his project.

If these movies are done right, they can really affect you, Wingard said. Its easy to write off a Godzilla film as a big dumb monster movie. People do that all the time. You could just make that, and Im sure that would be fun because destruction is always fun to watch. But the more emotion and empathy you can bring to it treating these monsters like characters, the more interesting the movies going to be for everybody. A building getting destroyed by a monster you care about is way more interesting than one that you dont.

(Story continues below the photo)

Alexander Skarsgard (left) and director Adam Wingard on the set of Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures action adventure Godzilla vs. Kong, a Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures release. (Photo by Vince Valitutti / Courtesy of Warner Media)

This film is massive, as big in scale as it gets, with a reported production budget of up to $200 million, filming in Hawaii, Australia and Hong Kong. With a deep background as an independent filmmaker where he made moves for next to nothing before graduating to theatrical horror with films costing as much as $5 million, the jump to the blockbuster level did not intimidate Wingard, who said tentpole movies like Star Wars, Aliens and Indiana Jones are the reason he even got into film. And budget and scale dont matter to him as long as hes making movies and telling stories.

The origins of me wanting to become a filmmaker were all these big movies, he said. But starting from middle-of-nowhere, Alabama, trying to figure out how to get my foot in the door, your inspirations start shifting towards things that are achievable.

Thats when he dove into horror, a genre with a built-in audience that doesnt need astronomical budgets or even name actors.

Horror in itself is a production value you can bring to something, he said. I kind of understood that, so a lot of my influences started gearing more towards horror and experimental cinema. Similarly with experimental cinema, you dont need a big budget. Its about the style that youre bringing to it. So for many years, thats where sort of my influences went.

This director of Godzilla vs. Kong, a film about skyscraper-tall monsters punching each other and wrecking big cities, reached a point where he couldnt even watch big blockbuster films because they felt so intangible.

I didnt want to think in those terms until I was ready to, he said, recalling a moment in 2009, a period he described as the lowest point of his career, despite gaining some festival experience. James Camerons Avatar, one of the most expensive movies ever made, came out that winter, and Wingard couldnt bring himself to see the latest work from a hero who made Aliens. He said things had totally stagnated for him, he had no money and he thought it looked too silly, so he refused to see it out of principle. But now he regrets it and hopes to catch it in re-release.

But when you flash-forward through Wingards career -- after making so many films whose budgets creep up with each new production, creating a slow curve of a trajectory -- he said it finally prepared him to take this leap. At times, after a director makes one movie that makes a big splash at a festival, Hollywood will scoop them up and hand them a mega-budgeted blockbuster (as has been the case with this franchises directors Gareth Edwards, Michael Dougherty and Jordan Vogt-Roberts), which almost happened to Wingard. He said, coincidentally, he was approached to make a follow-up to Peter Jacksons 2005 King Kong, a sequel set on Skull Island, based off of his success with Youre Next.

Luckily that didnt happen because my head still wasnt in the big budget, spectacle world, he said. I was still kind of getting to the point where I was accepting the fact that Im doing this for a living and making decisions about what I want to see and not just what can I scrape together, which was always the methodology before that.

After his Netflix film Death Note, which cost a reported $40 million to make and gave him more insight and experience with the visual effects process, Wingard felt ready for something the size of Godzilla vs. Kong.

The special effects world is a very intuitive thing because everything happens in steps, he said. It seems daunting from the outside. When youre making a movie like Godzilla vs. Kong, its not just Heres the script. Go. Youve got years ahead of you. Ive been on this thing since 2017. Through that time, everything happens very slowly. You work out each beat at a time.

And even with what we perceive as a popcorn flick about a giant fire-breathing lizard and a massive, angry ape fist-fighting in Hong Kong, Wingard wanted it to feel personal. He said he wanted to make the most Adam Wingard movie he could make and put everything that represented him as a filmmaker into it. The first thing he imagined for it was the pair fighting in a neon futuristic synth wave city, which he says represents him on an aesthetic level. He infuses an 80s sensibility into it where possible, from the pop music cues to the lead characters wardrobe and even to young characters outsmarting the adults. But he really wants it to come across in the overall tone.

What I really meant by the most Adam Wingard film possible is all about tone, he said. Im a guy who grew up in the 80s. Thats when movies made their first impression on me as a thing. So for whatever reason, its kind of stuck in my head. The way the 80s approached film, just had this kind of sense of fun. So I guess what I mean when I say an Adam Wingard film, its not just one thing. Its everything. A lot of it really boils down to my approach to tone and to the style of the movie in general.

Godzilla vs. Kong will begin streaming on HBO Max on Friday, March 26 and will release in Alabama theaters March 31. Watch the trailer below.
Kingwest Resources Limited (ASX:KWR) is a mining and exploration company focused on advancing its gold projects into production as well as discovering new gold resources in its highly prospective projects located in the Eastern Gold Fields region of Western Australia.
Together with curator Leena Aulikki Airola, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology's Birgitta Berglund was able to select and borrow feathers from Gustavianum, the Uppsala University Museum in Sweden. Credit: NTNU University Museum

The burial field in Valsgarde outside Uppsala in central Sweden contains more than 90 graves from the Iron Age.

"On a light note, we could say that Valsgarde is Scandinavia's answer to Sutton Hoo in England as portrayed in the film 'The Dig' on Netflix," says Birgitta Berglund, professor emeritus of archaeology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology's NTNU University Museum.

Valsgarde is especially known for its spectacular boat graves from the 600s and 700s CE. This timeframe is in the middle of what Norway calls the Merovingian period, the era just before the Viking Age.

Two of these spectacular boat graves are at the center of this storyor more specifically, the story is really about the down bedding that was found in the graves.

When researchers from NTNU investigated which birds contributed their feathers to the bedding, they made a surprising discovery that provides new insight into Iron Age society.

The boats carrying the two dead men were about 10 meters long, with room for four to five pairs of oars. Both were outfitted for high-ranking warriors, with richly decorated helmets, shields and weapons. Provisions and tools for hunting and cooking were also included for their last voyage.

In one grave, an Eurasian eagle owl (Bubo bubo) had been laid, with its head cut off. We'll return to that. Horses and other animals were arranged close to the boats.

"The buried warriors appear to have been equipped to row to the underworld, but also to be able to get ashore with the help of the horses," says Berglund.

Beauty sleep was also taken care of in death.Two warriors lay atop several layers of down bedding. The contents of the bedding probably had a greater function than simply serving as filler.

You might have thought of down bedding as a modern concept, which admittedly only became available for common folk in recent times. The down bedding in the graves at Valsgarde is the oldest known from Scandinavia and indicate that the two buried men belonged to the top strata of society.

Valsgarde in Sweden is especially known for its spectacular boat graves from the 600s and 700s CE, an era just before the Viking Age. Two of these spectacular boat graves are at the center of this story - or more specifically the down bedding that was found in the graves are.When researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology investigated which birds contributed their feathers to the bedding, they made a surprising discovery that provides new insight into Iron Age society. Credit: Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NTNU University Museum

Wealthy Greeks and Romans used down for their bedding a few hundred years earlier, but down probably wasn't used more widely by wealthy people in Europe until the Middle Ages, Berglund says.

Berglund has been studying down harvesting in Helgeland coastal communities in southern Nordland county for many years, where people commercialized down production early on by building houses for the eider ducks that were the source of the down. The theory was that down from this location might have been exported south, so Berglund wanted to investigate whether the bedding at Valsgarde contained eider down.

"It turned out that a lot of kinds of feathers had been used in the bedding at Valsgarde. Only a few feathers from eider ducks were identified, so we have little reason to believe that they were a commodity from Helgeland or other northern areas," says Berglund.

However, she was not disappointed by this discovery. The great variety of species gave the researchers unique insight into the bird fauna in the immediate area in prehistoric times, along with people's relationship to it.

"The feathers provide a source for gaining new perspectives on the relationship between humans and birds in the past. Archaeological excavations rarely find traces of birds other than those that were used for food," the researcher says.

"We also think the choice of feathers in the bedding may hold a deeper, symbolic meaning. It's exciting."

Berglund explains that according to Nordic folklore, the type of feathers contained in the bedding of the dying person was important.

"For example, people believed that using feathers from domestic chickens, owls and other birds of prey, pigeons, crows and squirrels would prolong the death struggle. In some Scandinavian areas, goose feathers were considered best to enable the soul to be released from the body," she said.

These are well-known folk traditions that have been collected from the 18th century onwards. But they may have their roots in prehistoric times.

In the Icelandic Erik the Red saga, a pillow stuffed with feathers from domestic hens was placed on the throne at Heriolfsnes in Greenland, where a visiting female shaman was to sit. The saga is considered to have been written down in the 13th century, but addresses events around the year 1000, says Berglund.

Zooming in on individual areas of a feather help researchers determine which birds the feathers came from. Credit: NTNU University Museum

The examples show that that feathers in the bedding from Valsgarde most likely also had a deeper meaning than just serving as a filler. It's also well known that birds could hold special importance for obtaining information in shamanismthink of Odin's two ravens Hugin and Munin.

Exactly what ritual function the feathers at Valsgarde had is hard to say. But the bedding contained feathers from geese, ducks, grouse, crows, sparrows, waders andperhaps most surprisinglyeagle owls.

Biologist Jrgen Rosvold, now employed at the Norwegian Institute for Natural History (NINA) identified the species from the feather material.

"It was a time consuming and challenging job for several reasons. The material is decomposed, tangled and dirty. This means that a lot of the special features that you can easily observe in fresh material has become indistinct, and you have to spend a lot more time looking for the distinctive features," Rosvold says.

"I'm still surprised at how well the feathers were preserved, despite the fact that they'd been lying in the ground for over 1000 years."

The feathers in the down bedding weren't the only interesting bird find in the graves. One of the graves also contained a headless owl.

From recent graves we know that people took measures to prevent the buried from returning from the dead, and it's easy to imagine that this was also done longer ago as well.

"We believe the beheading had a ritual significance in connection with the burial," says Berglund.

Swords found in tombs from Viking times were sometimes intentionally bent before being laid in the tomb. This was probably done to prevent the deceased from using the weapon if he returned.

"It's conceivable that the owl's head was cut off to prevent it from coming back. Maybe the owl feather in the bedding also had a similar function? In Salme in Estonia, boat graves from the same period have recently been found that are similar to those in Valsgarde. Two birds of prey with a severed head were found there," says Berglund.

Explore further What Vikings really put in their pillows

More information: Birgitta Berglund et al, Microscopic identification of feathers from 7th century boat burials at Valsgarde in Central Sweden: Specialized long-distance feather trade or local bird use?, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports (2021). Birgitta Berglund et al, Microscopic identification of feathers from 7th century boat burials at Valsgarde in Central Sweden: Specialized long-distance feather trade or local bird use?,(2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.102828
(Fornebu/Stockholm, 25 March 2021) Businesses searching for world class Internet of Things solutions will find that Telenor's new operating model brings the best capabilities and competence to every customer, today and in the future.

Telenor Group today announces it is unifying its IoT offering across the Nordics and internationally. The Nordic IoT portfolio and the global Telenor Connexion portfolio will be gathered under the brand Telenor IoT. Effective immediately, Telenor IoT will be offered from all Telenor business channels in the Nordics, internationally by Telenor Connexion and through selected partners.

As a part of introducing Telenor IoT, a new operating model is being launched to leverage on Telenor's global competency, synchronise product development, accelerate the customer facing business and improve technical support. In doing so, Telenor is bringing together 200 full time IoT specialists, the largest team for any Nordic IoT service provider. Telenor will act as one united global IoT team with a uniform product portfolio and go-to-market strategy - bringing the best capabilities and competence to every customer.

Commenting on the announcement, Mats Lundquist, CEO of Telenor Connexion and manager of Telenor IoT, says: "The new operating model reinforces our competitive edge and makes our product portfolio easier to buy for any customer searching for world class IoT operation and platform capabilities. We are also getting scale benefits on new technology investments."

The Telenor IoT offering will be supplied by Telenor IoT specialists located in 18 countries across Africa, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe.

"The launch of Telenor IoT and unifying our IoT capabilities and competencies will make us better positioned to accelerate the digital future that will benefit customers, businesses, and society. The steps we are taking now is the culmination of several months of intense collaboration between colleagues in Telenor's Nordic telco businesses, Telenor Connexion, and Telenor's Nordic Hub," says Jukka Leinonen, Nordic EVP and Chairman of the Telenor Connexion Board.

With over 17 million connected devices active in more than 190 countries, Telenor is a recognised world leading provider of IoT connectivity services. In 2019, Telenor was positioned as a leader in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for Managed IoT Connectivity Services, Worldwide. Today, Telenor ranks among the top 10 IoT operators globally, and in the top 3 in Europe by volume, and is the clear market leader in the Nordics. The company was one of the early pioneers in the IoT area and has long standing international customers such as Volvo, Scania, Verisure, and Hitachi.

Media contacts:

Cristoff Martin, CMO, Telenor Connexion | +4673 441 73 17 | cristoff.martin@telenorconnexion.com

Stian Kristoffer Sande, Communication Manager, Telenor Group | +47 97 53 92 21 | stian-kristoffer.sande@telenor.com

About Telenor Connexion

Telenor Connexion is the specialised IoT company within the Telenor Group, one of the world's major mobile operators. Building on more than 20 years of experience, Telenor Connexion provides global IoT connectivity and cloud services to enterprises with large fleets of connected devices as well as third-party service providers. With headquarters and tech centre located in Sweden, the company has regional sales representation in the UK, US, Germany, Italy, South Africa, Singapore, South Korea, China, Malaysia, and Japan. For more information, see www.telenorconnexion.com.

About Telenor Group

Telenor Group is a leading telecommunications company across the Nordics and Asia with 182 million customers and annual sales of around USD 14 billion (2020). We are committed to responsible business conduct and driven by the ambition of empowering societies. Connectivity has been Telenor's domain for more than 160 years, and our purpose is to connect our customers to what matters most. Telenor is listed at Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker TEL. For more information, see www.telenor.com.
European Union flags flutter outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium (Photo : REUTERS/Yves Herman)

France, Poland and five other countries have written to the European Commission, warning that EU climate change policies could hamper nuclear power's role in cutting CO2 emissions.



The letter, dated March 19, arrived as Brussels is finishing landmark green finance legislation designed to steer cash into low-carbon projects, with the Commission yet to decide whether the EU rules will label nuclear power as a sustainable investment.



Advertisement

In the letter to the Commission, seen by Reuters, the countries said the EU should do more to put nuclear power on a level footing with other low-carbon technologies in climate policies, including the sustainable finance rules.



"We are highly concerned that the Member State's right to choose between different energy sources and the right to determine the general structure of the energy supply is currently heavily limited by EU policy making, which excludes nuclear power from more and more policies," they said.



It was signed by French President Emmanuel Macron and the Prime Ministers of Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.



EU leaders in December agreed to cut their net greenhouse gas emissions at least 55% of 1990 levels by 2030 - a goal the Commission says will require extra energy sector investments of 350 billion euros a year this decade.



While nuclear technologies are eligible for EU research funding, the countries said a focus on technologies that will take decades to become commercially viable risked sidelining near-term projects.



EU countries are divided over nuclear, which produces roughly a quarter of EU electricity from the 13 states that use it. Supporters promote its low CO2 emissions, while opponents raise concerns over hazardous waste, and the delays and spiralling costs of recent projects.



France generates around 70% of its electricity from nuclear. The other countries behind the letter use the fuel - which comprises roughly 56% of power produced in Slovakia, 48% in Hungary and 35% in Czech Republic - except for Poland, which wants to build reactors to reduce its dependency on coal.



The Commission said it could not confirm receipt of the letter.



"We have a neutral position on that as the European Commission," EU climate policy head Frans Timmermans said of nuclear power at an online event hosted by the University of Pittsburgh this month.



EU states should compare nuclear's costs and benefits to those of renewable sources when considering new reactors, Timmermans said.


Gov. Charlie Baker on Wednesday said in a radio interview that he did not favor mandatory vaccinations for state police and other public employees.
Head of the President's Office of Ukraine Andriy Yermak points out that the publication in the Russian newspaper Kommersant, revealing the provisions of the German-French draft peace settlement project for Donbas on key clusters for the implementation of the Minsk Agreements, which was finalized by Ukraine, confirms the existence of this document in the Russian side.

"The positive moment is that the published material confirms my previous statement, which for some reason was questioned by the representatives of Russia. I will remind you that I said that the peace plan, created on the basis of the German-French project and finalized by the Ukrainian side, lies on the table of the Russian delegation," Yermak said in an exclusive blitz interview with Interfax-Ukraine on Wednesday.

He said that "the presence of a peace plan in Russia gives it the opportunity to contribute to the end of the war in Donbas, and to return its territory and people to Ukraine, provided existence of the political will to do so."

Yermak also added that the very fact of such a publication in the Russian media disclosing details of the negotiation process between the political advisers to the Normandy Four leaders "violates the existing ethics of internal agreements within the framework of the Normandy format."

On March 24, the Russian newspaper Kommersant published a material that reveals the essence of the drafted German-French project on key clusters for the implementation of the Minsk Agreements with corresponding proposals of the Ukrainian and Russian sides on their vision of resolving the situation in Donbas.
Codoxo's AI software helps Highmark Inc. save millions. Codoxos Forensic AI Platform has accelerated Highmarks ability to detect and prevent suspicious activity more quickly and stay attuned to the ever-changing schemes of bad actors, said Kurt Spear, Highmarks Vice President of Financial Investigations and Provider Review.

Codoxo, a trusted provider of healthcare artificial intelligence solutions for healthcare payers and agencies, has announced its healthcare AI software helped contribute to the $220 million in savings related to fraud, waste, and abuse for Highmark Inc. in 2020. In a March 16 press release, Highmark announced its Financial Investigations and Provider Review (FIPR) department had generated cumulative financial savings of nearly $1.1 billion in such activity since 2015.

Since 2019, Codoxo has worked with Kurt Spear, Highmarks Vice President of Financial Investigations and Provider Review, as a part of Highmarks healthcare payment integrity strategy to decrease fraud, waste, and abuse as schemes grow more prevalent and sophisticated. Codoxos Forensic AI Platform has accelerated Highmarks ability to detect and prevent suspicious activity more quickly and stay attuned to the ever-changing schemes of bad actors, said Spear. Highmark recently expanded its partnership with Codoxo to include Special Investigations Unit and Payment Integrity services for further identification of fraud leads and to uncover billing and payment errors.

Codoxos Forensic AI Platform analyzes claims to detect entities that intentionally or unintentionally waste money and builds connections across various claim types to deliver actionable insights. Specifically, the Forensic AI Platform evaluates the holistic behavior of any entity (provider, facility, claim, or member) and accurately identifies suspicious activity.

Codoxos AI and sophisticated machine learning algorithms are producing savings well beyond what healthcare payers are typically able to achieve, stated Musheer Ahmed, Codoxo Chief Executive Officer. Our ability to take a more holistic approach to the payer, provider, and patient data relationship allows health plans and healthcare agencies to identify sophisticated trends as well as anomalous activity to identify and ferret out specific schemes that cost the healthcare system billions of dollars.

Codoxos Healthcare Integrity Suite, built on Codoxos Forensic AI Platform, has been used by healthcare payers and government agencies across the country to identify hundreds of millions of dollars in savings and reduce false positives in fraud detection by 93 percent. It is built on a HIPAA-compliant and HITRUST-certified environment.

About Codoxo

Codoxo is the premier provider of artificial intelligence-driven solutions that help healthcare payers and agencies quickly identify and act to reduce risks from fraud, waste, and abuse. Codoxos Healthcare Integrity Suite helps clients reduce risks and costs across network management, clinical care, provider education, payment integrity, and special investigation units. Our software-as-a-service applications are built on our Forensic AI Platform, which uses a patented algorithm to identify problems and suspicious behavior earlier than traditional techniques. Our solutions are HIPAA-compliant and operate in a HITRUST-certified environment. For additional information, visit https://www.codoxo.com.
It should not be a partisan issue, said US President Joe Biden. This is an American issue. It will save lives, American lives.

In the United States yesterday, Democratic Party members said they were pushing toward a vote on expanded gun control measures as America reels from its second mass shooting in a week.

US President Joe Biden said they have to act  but prospects for any major changes are slim in the closely divided US Congress.

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer vowed on Tuesday to bring to the US Senate legislation already passed by the House that would require background checks for most gun sales and transfers.

He said the senate must confront a devastating truth after a lack of action on the issue for almost three decades.

This senate will be different, said Schumer, said a day after the shooting at a crowded Colorado supermarket killed 10 people.

The senate is going to debate and address the epidemic of gun violence in this country.

While a senate vote on new gun control would be the first in several years, Democrats do not have the votes to pass any significant reform.

They are not even united themselves. One Democratic senator, Joe Manchin of Virginia, told reporters that he opposes the law on background checks.

It is unclear whether any of the bills up for consideration  most of them involving more restrictive background checks  would have made a difference in the Colorado case.

A 21-year-old man charged with killing eight people in the Atlanta area last week had purchased a 9mm handgun just hours before the murders, prompting advocates to push for longer waiting periods for purchases.

In brief remarks responding to the shooting, Biden urged the US Congress to move quickly to close the loopholes in the background check system and to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines  an effort that will be difficult to achieve politically.

According to Boulder police, the Colorado shooter had purchased an assault rifle six days earlier.

It should not be a partisan issue, Biden said. This is an American issue. It will save lives, American lives.

US Vice President Kamala Harris said yesterday in a CBS News interview that Biden would not exclude taking executive action on gun control  but if we really want something that is going to be lasting, we need to pass legislation.

Democratic senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, who has aggressively pushed for expanded gun control since the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook that killed 20 children and six educators, expressed optimism.

He felt there was a chance for new laws with Biden in the White House and Democrats controlling the House and the Senate, and called it the dawn of a new era.

But the reality is that Democrats do not currently have deep enough support among Republicans to pass new gun control legislation in the US Senate which is split 50-50  as they would need 60 votes to do so.

Read More

While expanding background checks is generally popular with the American public, even with some conservatives, politicians have been unable to find a successful compromise on guns in decades, making it one of the most intractable issues in American politics.

The gun debate also highlights a larger difficulty for Democrats in the senate, as they try to move forward on policy priorities of the Biden White House.

With the filibuster in place, forcing a 60-vote threshold for most legislation, House-passed bills on issues like gun control and voting rights are effectively nonstarters unless Democrats secure significant GOP support.

Some Republicans hinted that they would be open to negotiations, though it was unclear if there were any real bipartisan discussions.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said he was opposed to the House legislation, but Im certainly open to the discussion.

The House legislation would close loopholes to ensure background checks are extended to private and online sales that currently often go undetected, including at gun shows, with some limited exemptions for family and other scenarios.

The House also passed a second bill to extend a certain review period for background checks from three to 10 days.

Democrats say they feel the environment around gun legislation has evolved.

They point to troubles at the National Rifle Association, the long-powerful advocacy group that poured tens of millions of dollars into electing Donald Trump in 2016. The organisation has been weakened by infighting as well as legal tangles over its finances.

Democrats are hoping there is a gradual political shift among voters as well.

A Pew Research Center poll in September 2019 showed a 88pc of Americans supported making private gun sales and sales at gun shows subject to background checks, which is what the House-passed bill would do. 93pc of Democrats and 82pc of Republicans were in favour of the policy.

Many in the GOP base are still strongly opposed to gun control of any kind.

In Tuesdays hearing, which was scheduled before the Colorado shooting, Republicans showed no signs of wavering.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said that every time there is a shooting, the Senate engages in ridiculous theatre, with Democrats proposing laws that he said could take guns away from law-abiding citizens.

Republicans have argued that background checks would not stop most mass shootings and would prevent some lawful gun owners from purchasing firearms.

We already know this pattern is predictable, over and over and over again, Cruz said.
LOS ANGELES (AP)  Californias primary power grid manager approved plans Wednesday aimed at averting a repeat of the blackouts that rolled across parts of the state in August during a punishing heat wave.

The California Independent System Operators board approved several policies to provide financial incentives to import power, have producers procure other energy sources to compensate for plant maintenance shutdowns and require storage facilities to keep batteries charged when supplies get tight.

Elliot Mainzer, the president and CEO, said ISO wanted a feasible plan to address a potentially challenging summer again.

More than 800,000 homes and businesses lost power at times on Aug. 14-15 after the ISO ordered the first widespread rolling blackouts in nearly 20 years. A report later cited the extreme heat wave across the West and blamed poor planning that didnt schedule enough energy in advance and market practices that created a shortage during peak demand.

The ISO, which manages the grid and wholesale energy market for 80 percent of California, said current rules can result in lower market prices. The changes would allow producers to cover some of those costs when prices spike and provide more accurate price signals during low supplies.

Utilities and other power producers generally agreed with the pricing incentives.

Governing board member Severin Borenstein questioned whether companies might try to game the system through pricing changes that would compensate them when prices spiked.

ISO employees said they had considered that possibility because of previous schemes to game the energy market but didnt think it would come into play because these changes would only be triggered in rare occasions.

The ISO also designated a power plant in Kingsburg in Fresno County, which was scheduled to go into retirement, to be available when supplies are short.

The ISO said there would be 2,000 megawatts of storage available this summer, a tenfold increase from last year.

When energy supplies are low, entities that store power in batteries will have to reserve a minimum charge to keep the lights on at night when solar plants stop producing.

Last month, the California Public Utilities Commission allowed utilities to pass on costs to consumers to buy extra energy to avoid a repeat of last summers electricity disruptions.

By The Associated Press
Image: times content





It is rightly said that the best thermometer of the progress of a nation is its treatment of its women, and there is no chance for the welfare of the world unless the condition of women is improved. In the latest news, things seem to be working out for women in the aviation industry in our country. The Indian Air Force (IAF), for the very first time, has assigned a woman pilot to the MiG-29 squadron, who will become the first woman in the squad.

The IAF has been assigning woman pilots to fighter squadrons for the past five years, and women have been part of the MiG-21 Bison, Sukhoi and Rafale squads previously. The Mikoyan MiG-29 is the fourth type of fighter aircraft that will have a woman fighter pilot in the squad. IAFs multifunctional MiG-29s have been equipped with new avionics, weapons, radar and helmet-mounted displays in the last decade.







The woman of the hour Shivangi Singh, currently posted in Ambala, became the first woman to join the Rafale squadron in 2020. In 2017, Singh was the first girl from the city of Lucknow to be a part of the Air Force as a female fighter pilot. A talented and hardworking woman, prior to her selection and appointment, she was deployed as a cadet of the 7 UP Air Squadron in the National Cadet Corps.





There is no difference in the performance of male or female fighter pilots. They are military professionals trained to carry out specific roles, an official commented regarding the appointment. As per the government, as of now, there are 9,118 women serving the army, navy and air force, with the services giving them more opportunities to boost career progression.





Furthermore, the army will soon open the doors of its aviation wing to women officers. In January of this year, it was announced that the proposal to recruit women in the Army Aviation Corps will begin in July this year, with officers undergoing a pilot training course. After which women officers will be able to join operational duties after completing one year of training



Also read: Meet Tejaswi Ranga Rao, Indian Air Forces First Woman Wizzo
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.
Luanda  Four new ambassadors delivered Wednesday in Luanda their credentials to the President of the Republic, Joao Lourenco.

In separate ceremonies held at the Presidential Palace, the Angolan Head of State received the credential letters from one resident and three non-resident ambassadors.

The ambassador Hamdi El Jalil Aali (Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic) is a resident.

With non-resident status are the ambassadors Osamah Mohialdeen Krenshi (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), Pascal Ruhomuyumworo (Republic of Burundi), Wisnu Edi Pratignyo (Indonesia).

Priorities in diplomatic relations

Speaking to the press at the end of the ceremony, the Saharawi diplomat, Hamdi Aali, thanked Angola for the support it has given his country and expressed his intention to work towards strengthening cooperation between the two states.

Hamdi Aali has held various posts in the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, as an army officer.

For the Burundian ambassador, Pascal Ruhomuyumworo, who has represented his country in Norway, the focus is on working quickly to comply fully with the agreements on diplomatic consultations and general cooperation initialled between the two governments.

In relation to the priority areas of cooperation with Angola, Wisnu Edi Pratignyo, ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia, said that his country would maintain investments in the sectors of industry and agriculture in Angola.

According to Wisnu Edi Pratignyo, who has already worked in the Russian Federation, China and Thailand, this investment is aimed at diversifying the Angolan economy.

In separate ceremonies held at the Presidential Palace, the Angolan Head of State received the credential letters from one resident and three non-resident ambassadors.

The ambassador Hamdi El Jalil Aali (Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic) is a resident.

With non-resident status are the ambassadors Osamah Mohialdeen Krenshi (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), Pascal Ruhomuyumworo (Republic of Burundi), Wisnu Edi Pratignyo (Indonesia).

Priorities in diplomatic relations

Speaking to the press at the end of the ceremony, the Saharawi diplomat, Hamdi Aali, thanked Angola for the support it has given his country and expressed his intention to work towards strengthening cooperation between the two states.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Angola Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Hamdi Aali has held various posts in the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, as an army officer.

For the Burundian ambassador, Pascal Ruhomuyumworo, who has represented his country in Norway, the focus is on working quickly to comply fully with the agreements on diplomatic consultations and general cooperation initialled between the two governments.

In relation to the priority areas of cooperation with Angola, Wisnu Edi Pratignyo, ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia, said that his country would maintain investments in the sectors of industry and agriculture in Angola.

According to Wisnu Edi Pratignyo, who has already worked in the Russian Federation, China and Thailand, this investment is aimed at diversifying the Angolan economy.
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.
Speaker of the National Assembly Catherine Gotani Hara has assured that parliament will spearhead the endorsement and implementation of the national long-term vision - dubbed Malawi 2063 - to ensure the continuity of development plans contained in the plan despite changes in political governments.

Gotani Hara made the assurance in Lilongwe today when the National Planning Commission (NPC) handed over MW2063 VISION documents to the parliament.

She said as representatives of different political parties, members of Parliament (MPs) acknowledge that the importance of being at the forefront in the implementation of national development blueprints.

"Let me assure you that the document you are sharing with us this morning will not be shelved to gather dust. As members of Parliament, we will make sure that this is a living document - a reference point in the performance of our functions," she said, adding that the documentation will help them to understand, appreciate, own and champion the implementation of MW2063 vision as they represent their constituents in the advancement of their developmental needs.

The Speaker further stated that the MPs will assume the role of advocates of the national vision both within their constituencies and at national level.

She added that through their legislative function and in line with their mission, which is "To represent the people of Malawi by debating issues of national importance, passing legislation and holding the Government to account", MPs will make sure that parliament passes legislation that reflects the needs and interests of the people of Malawi in order to support the realization of Malawi 2063 Vision.

She assured that MPs will play a crucial role in ensuring that adequate resources are allocated towards the implementation of MW2063.

"Through our oversight function, the Malawi 2063 Vision document will be a reference material for parliamentarians to provide the necessary checks and balances so that we do not derail from this great vision. Through our representation function, MPs will make sure that the wishes of the people of Malawi that are contained in this MW2063 Vision are well represented in parliament and realized. I am absolutely sure that if we join hands, we are going to achieve this vision," she emphasized.

In his remarks, the NPC Board Chairperson Professor Richard Mkandawire said the National Assembly is key to the successful implementation of the new vision and the eventual wealth creation and self-reliance agenda that it propagates.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Malawi Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Mkandawire said it is against this background that the Commission decided to formally present to the parliament the vision document as well as some other branded materials including facemasks and flash drives containing related documentation such as the youth essay publication, and MW2063 summaries in both English and Chichewa languages.

He also expressed confidence that MPs will support the Commission in widely disseminating and popularizing the MW2063 Vision within their respective constituencies and beyond.

"Not only do MPs bring to the National Assembly the development needs of their constituents, but are also party to the formulation of their plans in order to ensure that constituencies embark on the most transformative initiatives that will improve the welfare of the people. NPC has a project Called Malawi Priorities in which the Commission and its partners are identifying initiatives that offer most value for money using cost-benefit analysis. In this regard, your thorough knowledge of the pillars and enablers of the MW2063 will ensure that our funds are directed towards initiatives that will always bring about value for money in the budgets, laws and loans that you approve," 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.
As the scramble for Covid-19 vaccine jabs intensifies in the country due to a deadly third wave, Sputnik V, the Russian coronavirus vaccine, has found its way into the country.

The Ministry of Health (MoH), however, insists it is not part of any agreement allowing distribution and sale of Sputnik V to Kenyans.

Dr Willis Akhwale, who is Kenya's vaccine advisory taskforce chairman, on Tuesday told the Nation that he is not privy to any discussions with anyone that arrived at such a decision at the ministry.

"I am not aware and the taskforce has not agreed to anything concerning Sputnik V, the pricing was definitely not done by us," he said.

Official communication between some MoH officials as seen by Nation however mentions Harleys and Unisel as distributors appointed by Dinlas EPZ who have a long-term relationship with Gamaleya as the ones interested in getting an approval to distribute the vaccine in the country.

"This application for distributorship is yet to be approved by PPB, a technical agreement stipulating the responsibilities of all the parties has not been submitted to PPB, the persons and entities are being summoned to appear before the Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB)," the communication reads in part.

The drug control board in response to queries from the Nation denied any involvement in the distribution of the vaccine maintaining that its role in all these has only been to test and give approvals for the use but not distribution and pricing.

Efficacy of the vaccine

"MoH will not have answers for you on that because they deal with distribution of health products and pricing, not us," board said.

Over a week ago, Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), the country's sovereign wealth fund, announced the approval of the use of Sputnik V in Kenya on its official website.

The efficacy of the vaccine is rated at 91.6 per cent as per data published in the Lancet, one of the world's most trusted medical journals.

This means that Sputnik V is one of three vaccines in the world with efficacy of over 90 per cent.

The Pharmacy and Poisons Board then confirmed to Nation that the Russian vaccine application had indeed been evaluated and approved.

But this did not imply registration, according to the regulator.

"The initial application was submitted on 5th February 2021. First round assessment on quality, efficacy and safety was initiated on 08th February 2021 (with rolling submission of data) and completed on 24th February 2021 and communication sent out the same day. The application was not successful during the first but in the second round of assessment following the applicant's response to outstanding questions was completed on 5th March during which it met all requirements," the regulatory body said in an email response to the Nation.

Local distributors

The board added that in reviewing Sputnik V it considered all aspects of quality, safety and efficacy and found that it is wholesomely safe but MoH has not yet decided to use the vaccine as it is not included in the national vaccination program.

Investigations by the Nation led to a Kenyan man of Asian descent in Nairobi along Lenana Road who claims to be among the distributors of the vaccine.

The middle-aged man disclosed that the consignment of Sputnik V vaccines had made its way into the country through the port of Mombasa and was awaiting to be sold.

He added that a similar consignment was on its way and would arrive on Friday.

Mombasa is Africa's fifth-busiest harbor handling cargo for the whole of East Africa and parts of Central Africa according to a 2020 report by financial advisory firm Okan and the Africa CEO Forum.

Unfortunately, the coastal city has the reputation of being a major entry point for narcotics from the Middle East and illicit pharmaceuticals from Asia, according to ENACT Observer.

As from 2020 there has been increasing talk in East African intelligence and law enforcement circles on the role Mombasa could play in facilitating shipments of falsified and substandard Covid-19 vaccines.

Vaccine taskforce

Another member of Kenya's vaccine taskforce who sought anonymity confirmed that indeed an unknown quantity of the Russian vaccine is currently in the country.

"I have been informed that imported Sputnik V vaccines have not been released from the warehouse awaiting technical agreement on the proposed insurance with MoH and AG. This said, any advertisement of any kind is in contravention of the law and conditions stipulated in Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) and necessary actions will need to be taken," our source said.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Coronavirus By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Sputnik V is already in use in Russia, Belarus, Argentina, Bolivia, Serbia, Algeria, Palestine, Venezuela, Paraguay, Turkmenistan, Hungary, UAE, Iran, Republic of Guinea, Tunisia, Armenia, Mexico, Nicaragua and Republika Srpska (entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina).

Other countries where the vaccines is in use are Lebanon, Myanmar, Pakistan, Mongolia, Bahrain, Montenegro, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Gabon, San-Marino, Ghana, Syria, Kyrgyzstan and Guyana.

It is also in use in Egypt, Honduras, Guatemala, Moldova, Slovakia, Angola, Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Sri Lanka, Laos, Iraq and North Macedonia.

Two weeks ago, European Medicines Agency (EMA) cautioned European Union (EU) members to delay granting national authorisation for the Russian-developed vaccine until the agency finishes its safety review.

"We need documents that we can review. We also don't at the moment have data about vaccinated people," EMA Managing Board chief Christa Wirthumer-Hoche told Austrian broadcaster ORF.

"It is unknown. That's why I would urgently advise against giving a national emergency authorisation," she explained.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)  Authorities have arrested a man was arrested for allegedly leaving a pipe bomb and a homemade gun near a Sacramento elementary school.

The county Sheriff's Office says 57-year-old Gustavo Aguilar of Sacramento was booked into jail on suspicion of four felony charges and released on $25,000 bail. A sheriff's website listed him as being released on Wednesday.

Authorities say a loaded zip gun and a pipe bomb filled with metal shrapnel, putty, firecrackers and gasoline were discovered on March 2 on a sidewalk in front of Ethel I. Baker Elementary School. Both were rendered safe.

Authorities haven't released other details.
In 2019, the African Development Bank and technology firm Microsoft launched the Coding for Employment digital training platform, an online tool providing digital skills to African youth. Of the more than 126,000 students who have completed the courses, 47% are women.

The platform aims to promote a continuous learning culture among young people and build their capacity to shape the continent's future. We asked Lagos-based Coding for Employment graduate Oluwakemi Adeleke, to tell us about her online learning experience.

My name is Oluwakemi Adeleke; I'm a product designer based in Lagos, Nigeria.

I started my journey to product design in February 2020 and spent the following months learning on my own until in September 2020 when a very good friend of mine told me about the Coding for Employment program. Upon hearing it was free of charge, I registered for the program and of course I hoped to learn, grow and connect with more young designers in the industry.

Before the Coding for Employment program, I would say I was an experienced beginner. I understood basic design concepts, prototyping, design thinking and all. However, the program widened my knowledge and I gained a deeper understanding of how design works in real life and how I can actually design a usable product.

My personal experience with the Coding for Employment program was a sweet one - full of learning and fun. I love the product design tutor and his teaching approach. I'm happy I was part of the program because it helped me improve my skills and I gained more knowledge and met amazing young designers similar to myself.

Now, I work remotely as a product designer with a software development company in Austin, Texas. It's one of the best things that has ever happened to me. Being an extrovert and an outspoken person helped me to leverage a career platform - in my case LinkedIn - and use it to my advantage. I am an active LinkedIn user, and it was through the platform that I got my job.

Furthermore, being tutored by the best design mentor in the Coding for Employment program and working on projects on the course helped to boost my confidence and portfolio, which were part of the things that helped me to secure the job.

Also, working remotely with a diverse team filled with amazing and intelligent people has been a great experience and I'm enjoying every bit of it. I'm learning and I'm growing and my team is filled with amazing techies.

My appreciation goes to the African Development Bank, the Coding for Employment team and [implementing partner] McAnderson Institute of Technology for putting this program together to help young designers grow and improve their skills. It helped me and I would recommend the Coding for Employment program to any young designer hoping to start a career in tech. Trust me, you will enjoy it and you will get tutored by the best mentors and professionals in the industry.

Coding for Employment prepares Africa's youth for tomorrow's jobs by training them in demand-driven information and communications technology (ICT) and matching graduates directly with ICT employers. Coding for Employment aims to create over 9 million jobs and reach 32 million youth and women across Africa. The Coding for Employment Program is part of the Bank's Jobs for Youth in Africa Initiative.

Learn more about Coding for Employment: https://coding4employment.org/
A strike by almost 100 workers at a McCormick Foods Australia plant, in southeastern Melbourne, is in its fourth week, with the strikers demonstrating their determination to fight sweeping company attacks on their pay and conditions.

But the United Workers Union (UWU), which covers the site, is isolating the workers and doing nothing to mobilise its claimed 150,000 members across the country in support of them. The union is seeking to limit opposition to a picket outside the factory, is not providing regular strike pay, and is begging management to sit down with the UWU officials and make a fair offer.

McCormick Foods (Source: WSWS Media)

The UWU is reprising the role it played at Coles Smeaton Grange warehouse in southwestern Sydney. For over three months of the Coles lockout, the union hung the workers out to dry on a picket line, ensuring that production continued unhindered at every other Coles facility. Moreover, it refused to provide strike pay, in a bid to literally starve the workers into accepting a sell-out. On February 27, the UWU pushed through Coles enterprise agreement, providing for the closure of the facility, the destruction of all 350 jobs, and a return to work on management terms.

This is a warning of what the union is seeking to impose on the McCormick workers.

The strike there began on February 26, in response to the companys demands for a new enterprise agreement which, according to the UWU, would slash the take-home pay of some workers by up to $500 per week and gut long standing working conditions. These latest attacks follow a five-year wage freeze.

The companys main aim is to abolish the four-day working week, which has been in place for decades. This would allow for a major reduction in overtime pay and the introduction of a night shift. McCormick also wants a cap of 10 years on redundancy payouts, even though many workers have been employed at the factory for more than double that length of time.

McCormick Foods Australia is a subsidiary of a Fortune 1,000 corporationone of the largest producers of herbs and spices in the world. Globally, McCormick has 13,000 employees and annual revenues of more than $4 billion. It is based in Hunt Valley in the US state of Maryland.

The Melbourne plant supplies condiments to fast-food outlets KFC, McDonalds, Hungry Jacks and Subway, as well as the supermarket chains Aldi, Woolworths and Costco.

WSWS reporters spoke to strikers at the picket last Saturday. One, who has worked at the plant for more than 10 years said: Weve come out and we have to keep going otherwise weve wasted our time. The four-day week is important as weve made our lives around it.

The company wants to get rid of that so they can bring in three shifts on the busier lines and reduce overtime payments. There are a lot of other conditions that they are trying to remove.

Another long-standing worker said: We worked very hard last year. They should just leave us alone. People with small kids and mortgages are finding it difficult. Electricity prices go up every few months. We are seeing trucks going in and out. Were not sure if theyre making product, but nobodys going back to work.

As at Smeaton Grange, the UWU officials responded with intense hostility to the presence of WSWS reporters and Socialist Equality Party (SEP) campaigners at the picket. One declared that any criticism of the UWU was illegitimate because workers are the union and demanded that the WSWS and SEP leave.

The officials were particularly opposed to any discussion of their recent betrayal at Smeaton Grange. They claimed that the disputes were entirely unrelated, and that the outcome at the Coles warehouse had been because the company was able to continue operations in pop-up sheds, using casual labour. The union bureaucrats did not mention that the company was only able to do this because the UWU allowed it to do so. The thrust of their argument, moreover, was that there was no need for an expansion of the struggle at the McCormick plant.

In a striking expression of the contempt for workers among the privileged officials, one UWU organiser took exception to the WSWSs exposure of the refusal of the union to provide the Smeaton Grange staff with strike pay during the lockout.

This was false, the organiser said. The workers had been given three $200 supermarket vouchers, and if they had financial problems they were able to apply for assistance. The vouchers amounted to $600, or less than half a weeks pay, over the course of a 14-week lockout. Many Coles workers were compelled to deplete their savings and their superannuation to survive, while others were forced to look for work elsewhere. There was intense anger over the refusal of the union to provide strike pay.

The UWU organiser at McCormick added that there was nothing the union could have done, because its assets were tied up in property and were not liquid. In fact, the UWU declared cash reserves of over $94 million last June, as part of an asset base of more than $300 million. In the 201920 financial year, the union paid affiliation fees and donations of $706,000 to the big business Labor Party. Employee expenses and indirect employment expenses totalled $48.5 million.

At the McCormick plant, the union is again refusing to provide strike pay. It has called an online community fundraiser, and has thus far offered workers one-off payments of $300, meaning they are already thousands of dollars out of pocket.

The union is calling for a no vote on a company ballot next week, as it did in the early stages of the Smeaton Grange dispute. Both the union and the company, however, calculate that without regular income, the workers cannot hold out indefinitely.

In addition to begging management for backroom negotiations, the UWU officials are promoting Labor Party and Australian Council of Trade Union (ACTU) officials who have been involved in sweeping attacks on workers jobs and conditions.

The UWU welcomed Labor leader Anthony Albanese to the picket last week, providing him with a platform to posture as a supporter of the strike. Albaneses leadership has been based on assurances to big business that a Labor government would be better placed to impose a productivity and growth agenda, aimed at driving up profits at the expense of workers.

Albaneses presence could be likened to a kiss of death. He was similarly featured at a UWU event for the Smeaton Grange dispute last December, right at the point when the union was dropping its wage claim, adopting the companys demands and preparing to impose a sell-out.

ACTU secretary Sally McManus has also been rolled out. Over the past year she has worked with the Liberal-National Coalition government and employers to force millions of workers off overtime and other entitlements, on the pretext of the pandemic, while the unions have allowed the mass sacking of millions more.

A fight for decent wages and conditions is a fight, not only against management, but also Labor, the ACTU, the UWU and the Fair Work industrial legislation they imposed in 2009, which bans collective action and provides for continuous pro-business restructuring. This is a political struggle against the austerity agenda of the entire ruling elite, including Labor and the unions.

The experiences of Smeaton Grange, and of the past 30 years, demonstrate that workers need new organisations of struggle. This requires the establishment of independent rank-and-file committees, at the McCormick plant and everywhere else, to begin a genuine industrial and political struggle involving broader sections of workers, and to defeat the union sell-out operations.

The emerging disputes pose the need for a new political perspective that rejects the corporatism of the unions. The major corporations, including McCormick, Coles, and all of the major corporations and banks, must be placed under public ownership and democratic workers control, to meet the needs of workers and of society, not the profit interests of a tiny oligarchy. That necessitates the fight for a workers government and for socialism.
A 16-year-old has turned his love of making maple syrup into a lucrative business with the production of his own brand, which is already available in 100 stores.

Will Wanish, a junior at Colfax High School in Wisconsin, has thousands of trees tapped and a production facility with $30,000 in new equipment, where he makes and bottles his Wanish Sugar Bush maple syrup.

'This is what I want to do for the rest of my career,' he told KARE11. 'I dont even eat breakfast in the morning  [I] get up and go.'

Scroll down for video

Budding entrepreneur: Will Wanish, a junior at Colfax High School in Wisconsin, is the teen behind the family-run maple syrup business Wanish Sugar Bush

Amazing: The 16-year-old started tapping trees and making maple syrup with his uncle in 2018 and turned the hobby into a career

Will started tapping trees and making maple syrup with his uncle during the 2018 season and continued the hobby the following year.

The teen's entrepreneurial spirit led him to start his company, Wanish Sugar Bush, though his father, Todd, admitted he was skeptical at first.

'I said, "You know you can go to Walmart and buy a gallon of Mrs. Butterworth for seven bucks,"' Todd told KARE11 with a laugh.

Will has gone from having just a few tapped trees in his yard to monitoring roughly 3,000 taps on several parcels of forest land owned by his family and neighbors.

Big business: Will has gone from having a few tapped trees in his yard to monitoring roughly 3,000 taps on several parcels of forest land owned by his family and neighbors

Smart: Will used the money he made working at a neighbors dairy farm to build a steel sugar shed for the company when he was 15

He has also replaced his collection bags with miles of tubing that distribute the sap into large tanks that are pumped out daily.

The budding entrepreneur used the money he made working at a neighbors dairy farm to build a steel sugar shed for the company when he was 15.

He then took out a microloan from a local regional business fund to fill the facility with $30,000 in syrup-making equipment to grow his business.

'This is all I think about,' said Will, who makes the syrup after school.

Expansion: The high schooler took out a microloan from a local regional business fund to fill the facility with $30,000 in syrup-making equipment to grow his business

Dedicated: 'This is all I think about,' said Will, who makes the syrup after school

Helping hands: Will's family and friends are helping him bottle the syrup during busy spring season

The teen will sometimes work in his sugar shed until 4 a.m. and get only a few hours of sleep before his classes.

Local: Wanish Sugar Bush's pure maple syrup is now sold in 100 stores in Wisconsin and Minnesota

'Even when he was little, there was no nap,' his mother, Heather, said of his energy.

She was the one who helped him with marketing, and now his 100 per cent pure maple syrup is being sold in a total of 100 stores in Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Spring is his busy season, and this year he is getting bottling help from his friends and family.

His father and grandfather also collect sap for him in 300-gallon tanks that they keep in the beds of their pick-up trucks.

The only thing in his Wanish Sugar Bush maple syrup is sap from maple trees in northwestern Wisconsin, according to the company's website.

Customers can also buy the syrup online.

One gallon of Will's pure maple syrup costs $77, while an 8-ounce bottle goes for $6. He even sells a cinnamon flavor.

Will already has an impressive business going, but he has plans to push himself even further.

'I want to be at least 20,000 taps within 15 years,' he said.
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Go to form


Ozlem Tureci started the German drug company BioNTech with her husband Ugur Sahin in 2008.

The two are now known for doing important work on the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against the coronavirus. But they started their company to work on a cure for cancer. In fact, the doctors started a different company about 20 years ago to work on cancer drugs. They sold that company for about $1 billion in 2016.

BioNTech was looking for a way to cause the bodys immune system to fight tumors with a technology called messenger RNA, or mRNA.

In early 2020, Tureci and Sahin heard about a new virus that was infecting people in China. They thought they could find a way to use their technology to fight it. They had already been working with Pfizer on a new influenza vaccine. They created a new project, to find a vaccine for the new coronavirus, and called it Project Lightspeed.

Within 11 months, Britain approved use of the coronavirus vaccine they developed working with Pfizer. One week later, the U.S. approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for emergency use. Now, tens of millions of people around the world have received their vaccine.

Tureci said she was not worried about finding a way to make a coronavirus vaccine. Instead, she was worried about how her small company would create enough of the vaccine for all who would need it.

Pfizer and BioNTech worked with a Chinese company called Fosun Pharma to increase their ability to produce the vaccine.

It pays off to make bold decisions and to trust that if you have an extraordinary team, you will be able to solve any problem and obstacle which comes your way in real time, Tureci told the Associated Press. She said working together with international companies was important to their success.



Future of mRNA

The vaccine from Moderna also uses mRNA technology. Treatments of this kind use mRNA to carry instructions that tell the body to make proteins that attack viruses. Tureci and Sahin said they think they can do the same thing for cancer tumors.

We have several different cancer vaccines based on mRNA, Tureci said.

She said she thinks BioNTech will develop its cancer drugs so they can be offered to people within a few years. Right now, however, the company is continuing to work to be sure it can fulfill coronavirus vaccine orders and deal with variants of the virus.

Tureci said people should trust that all of the vaccines are safe for people to use. She said the vaccines were developed quickly, but still observed "a very rigid process."

She said officials around the world are paying careful attention to how people react to the vaccines from BioNTech and other drug companies.

National honor

Germany recognized what its two citizens did for the world in developing a successful vaccine. Tureci and Sahin received the Order of Merit on March 19. It is one of Germanys highest honors. Germanys President Frank-Walter Steinmeier presented the award while Chancellor Angela Merkel attended.

Tureci said she was pleased to be recognized. But she said many people deserve credit for helping with the vaccine.

Its about the effort of many, she said. The way we see it, this is an acknowledgment of this effort and also a celebration of science.

Im Dan Friedell.

Frank Jordans wrote this story for the Associated Press. Dan Friedell adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor.

Did you know about the wife and husband team between the BioNTech vaccine? We want to hear from you. Tell us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page.

Editor's Note: Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna produce the two currently-approved vaccines using mRNA technology. An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified another vaccine as using the technology. We regret the error.

_______________________________________________

Words in This Story

immune system n. the system that protects your body from diseases and infections

tumor n. a mass of tissue found in or on the body that is made up of abnormal cells

bold adj. not afraid of danger or difficult situations

extraordinary adj. extremely good or impressive

obstacle n. a problem that makes it difficult to reach a goal; a barrier

variant n. something that is different in some way from others of the same kind

rigid adj. unwilling to lower requirements or compromise quality

credit n. praise or special attention that is given to someone for doing something or for making something happen

acknowledge n. the act of showing that you know, admit, or accept that something exists or is true
.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........

LAS VEGAS  Lawsuits are mounting against a Las Vegas-based bottled water brand, Real Water, amid a U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigation and accusations by more people in more states that it caused liver illness and other ailments.

A Nevada mans case blamed the product for his liver transplant in September 2019, a federal class-action lawsuit was filed this week in Nevada, and another lawsuit filed in state court also sought class-action status.

Defendants  sold their product as the healthiest drinking water today,  attorneys Gustavo Ponce and Mona Amini said in the third case, representing Peter Anthony Arambula. In reality it has dangerous levels of toxins in it making it unsafe and dangerous to human life.

Brent Jones, president of the bottler, AffinityLifestyles.com Inc., and a former Nevada state Republican lawmaker, did not immediately respond Wednesday to telephone and email messages seeking comment.

ADVERTISEMENTSkip



................................................................

Jones issued a statement March 17 calling for stores nationwide to pull Real Water from shelves until the issue is resolved.

Now, a nearly two-minute video message featuring Jones on the Real Water website offers deepest sympathy and concern over the events that led to the inquiry.

It said the voluntary nationwide recall of all products will remain in effect until the safety of our product is clearly established.

The court actions follow an FDA warning last week not to drink, cook with, sell or serve Real Water, which is marketed widely in the U.S.

Lee Gray, an attorney representing the company in the FDA probe, said Wednesday that Real Water issued a voluntary product recall and is continuing to work closely with FDA to investigate and determine the root cause of any issues with its products. He declined to comment about the lawsuits.

Will Kemp, a Las Vegas attorney, launched the legal barrage with a civil negligence and deceptive trade practices case filed March 16. It blamed the water for liver illness in five hospitalized children.

The regional Southern Nevada Health District reported investigating illnesses of six other people since November 2020 who reported less severe symptoms including vomiting, nausea, appetite loss and fatigue.

A new lawsuit by Kemp, filed Monday on behalf of plaintiff Myles Hunwardsen and four other people, blamed the water for Hunwardsens liver failure in September 2019. It said he received a liver transplant at a hospital in Los Angeles.

Real Water is believed to be the cause of an extraordinary number of liver damage cases involving Nevada residents, the lawsuit said.

The separate class-action negligence case filed Monday by attorney David Hilton Wise in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas seeks unspecified damages on behalf of three California women.

It alleges deceptive trade practices and false advertising, and identifies the class of injured possible plaintiffs as anyone in the U.S. who bought Real Water for personal, family or household use.

Real Water is marketed as premium drinking water with healthy detoxifying properties. It comes in distinctive boxy blue bottles with labels calling it alkalized and infused with negative ions.

Kemps court filings say the water is drawn from the Las Vegas public tap water supply.

The company posted copies of technical water-quality reports dated Jan. 6 and listing certification in 42 states and the U.S. territories of Guam, Puerto Rico and the Commonwealth of Northern Marianas Islands.
Published on 2021/03/24 | Source

SBS' Monday-Tuesday drama "Joseon Exorcist" has been embroiled in controversy over its distortion of history. SBS decided to stop replaying reruns of the first and second episodes, which had already been aired, and fix the problem scene. In addition, the next episode will be pre-empted to fix the overall contents of the drama.

"Joseon Exorcist" is a drama set in the Joseon Dynasty, in which Taejong Yi Bang-won and the crown prince fight evil spirits. There are two main controversies. The scene shows King Sejong serving mooncakes, Chinese dumplings, and duck eggs to a Catholic exorcist from the Vatican. The background is Joseon but there's Chinese food, and there are concerns that it can be used in China's cultural process.

It was also pointed out that the setting such things as slaughtering the people after seeing his father Taejo's hallucination, or Royal Prince Chungnyeong being ignored by exorcist priests and military officials, was overboard. The Jeonju Lee clan will protest against SBS, taking issue with the matter.

On the bulletin board of the presidential office Blue House's national petition, a petition was posted to suspend the broadcasting of "Joseon Exorcist" and about 100,000 people agreed as of 8 PM on the 24th. The Korea Communications Standards Commission also received 3,900 complaints regarding "Joseon Exorcist". Compared to more than 1,500 complaints filed in the past two months, it is a record.

The production team of "Joseon Exorcist" said on the 23rd, "We are sorry for the inconvenience of viewership with scenes that can be misunderstood at a sensitive time. It was just a setup to explain the location of the characters away from Hanyang in the drama, and there was no special intention at all. It was a place for a group of Exorcist Priests in the West who had just come to Joseon through the Ming Dynasty to rest, and since it is an area close to the Ming border, we prepared props with the imagination that the Chinese would have frequented the area". However, some netizens criticized the drama to change its title to "Chinese Exorcist". The production apologized saying, "I apologize again for causing misunderstandings and inconvenience in Chinese art and props". SBS also issued an apology and said on the 24th, "As we deal with real people and history, we should have taken care of them in more detail and inspected them, but we deeply apologize to the viewers for not being able to do so".

Writer Park Kye-ok, who wrote the script for "Joseon Exorcist" also caused controversy over her distortion of history in his previous work, tvN's weekend drama "Mr. Queen". This is because 'The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty' was described as 'tabloid' and described Queen Shinjeong as a superstitious figure. When the Poongyang Jo Clan protested, the production team hurriedly began to modify the Andong Kim and Poongyang Jo Clans, who are important axis in the drama, as Ansong Kim and Poongan Jo.

As the "Joseon Exorcist" scandal grows, companies such as Samsung Electronics, Ssangbangwool and Ace Bed are also withdrawing their advertising or production support. "We immediately requested the withdrawal of the advertisement after recognizing the related issue, but the advertisement was sent out on the 22nd due to the broadcaster's situation", Kozima said in a website notification. "Kozima has nothing to do with the contents of the drama. We will support the production with a cautious attitude".

Broadcasters seem surprised at the expansion of such controversy. "We thought it would be over if the production team apologized for using Chinese-style props, but I was surprised that advertisers were withdrawing one after another", a ground-wave official said. "I didn't know that public anti-China sentiment was so great".

Jung Duk-hyun, a pop culture critic, said, ""Joseon Exorcist" seems to have judged too complacently at a time when public opinion is sensitive due to China's northeast process and cultural process, such as conflicts between Korean and Chinese netizens over Song Joong-ki's bibimbap in the drama "Vincenzo"".

___________



"Joseon Exorcist" is directed by Nam Tae-jin, Sin Kyeong-soo, written by Park Kye-ok, and features Kam Woo-sung, Jang Dong-yoon, Park Sung-hoon, Seo Young-hee, Lee Yoo-bi, Kim Dong-jun. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2021/03/22~Now airing, Mon, Tue 22:00 on SBS.
A priest is facing a court in Malaga after police found hundreds of thousands of child pornography files on his computer after tracing his location via his network's Internet Protocol (IP) address.

During a search of the property National Police investigators also found realistic-looking dolls of naked children on his living room floor and, in an adjoining room, a multitude of used condoms and hundreds of items of children's clothing and sweets.

The alleged crimes came to light after authorities in the US tipped off Spanish police that IP addresses from the Malaga area were accessing paedophile networks in the States.

One of the leads finally led to the home of the man who had served as a religious education teacher in Madrid for 12 years after his ordination as a priest in May 2003. He moved to Malaga in October 2017 to take care of his elderly mother and moved next door to her.

Initially the IP trace led police to the womans house and there they found various computer equipment and mass storage devices. Officers then searched the priests apartment and found hard drives with more than 400,000 images and videos of child pornography as well as the dolls, condoms and childrens' clothing.

Prosecutors are calling for a nine-year prison sentence for the alleged crimes of the possession and distribution of child pornography.
Ahead of his Bangladesh visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday put out an official statement in which he expressed pleasure over his visit to the neighbouring country. "I am happy that my first official visit after the outbreak of the pandemic will be to our neighbouring country with which India shares deep cultural, linguistic and people to people ties."

"I look forward to participation in the national day celebration, tomorrow, which will also commemorate the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation of Bangladesh Sheikh Mujibur Rahman," he added.

He is visiting Bangladesh at the invitation of his counterpart in Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina.

Guest of honour at 50th Independence Day

The country is celebrating its 50th year of Independence on March 26 this year, and PM Modi is going to grace the occasion as the guest of honour. Besides PM Modi, the heads of state and government from Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and the Maldives will also be present at the celebration.

The invitation for the same was extended to PM Modi last year, as per the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh who back then had said, "We would love to see Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modin join the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of our Independence."

PM Modi was to visit Bangladesh last year as well to participate in the Mujib centenary celebration, but the visit was cancelled keeping in mind the COVID-19 pandemic.

The PM is also supposed to hold bilateral consultations with PM Hasina, and there are talks of several Memorandum of Understandings to be signed between the heads of the two countries. Apart from this, he will also call on the President of Bangladesh H.E. Md. Abdul Hamid and will be called on by Foreign Minister of Bangladesh Dr A.K. Abdul Momen.

This is going to be PM Modi's first trip abroad after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/25/2021 -- The global zincair batteries market was valued at US$ 1,414.45 Mn in 2017 and is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 8.2% from 2018 to 2026, according to a new report titled 'ZincAir Batteries Market: Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth Trends, and Forecast, 20182026,' published by Transparency Market Research (TMR). The global zincair batteries market is driven by rise in the demand for use of these batteries in hearing aids in the medical industry. Europe accounts for a major share of the global zincair batteries market.



Read report Overview-



https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/zin-cair-batteries-market.html



Rise in demand for hearing aids among geriatric population to drive the global zincair batteries market



Increase in the rate of incidence of hearing disorders among geriatric population, typically in the U.S. and Europe, has boosted sales of hearing devices. Rise in the rate of incidence of hearing disabilities among newborns is a major concern in the global health care sector. The need for improved hearing aids is gaining momentum, which is driving the demand for zincair batteries. Ability of zincair batteries of providing a steady supply of power, by ensuring proper functioning of hearing aids, is likely to augment the demand for zincair batteries for use in hearing aids in the next few years. Hearing aids with zincair batteries can function under various temperature conditions. All these factors along with cost effectiveness are likely to propel the demand for zincair batteries for use in hearing aids in the near future.



Request PDF Brochure 



https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=30146



Growing number of applications of zincair batteries such as traffic signaling and communication to augment the market



Demand for battery systems for use in traffic signaling systems has increased exponentially in the last few years. Zincair batteries are used in LED traffic lights, traffic signs, temporary traffic signs, and various warning signals. Features of zincair batteries such as quick startup, stable voltage, light weight, and low self-discharge are anticipated to offer lucrative growth opportunities to the global zincair batteries market during the forecast period. Demand for zincair batteries is high in the railways industry, owing to extreme resistance to vibrations that these batteries provide. Improper functioning of traffic signals led by reduced shelf life of battery backup can lead to accidents. Zincair batteries can function well in such conditions owing to their long shelf life. Zincair batteries are safe to handle, without any risk of leakage on fixed or moving installations.



REQUEST FOR COVID19 IMPACT ANALYSIS 



https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=covid19&rep_id=30146



Surge in demand for rechargeable zincair batteries to act as a growth opportunity for the market



Rechargeable zincair batteries are anticipated to be significantly applied in consumer devices, automobile starters, light vehicles (motorized wheel chairs, electric forklifts, electric vehicles, etc.), portable consumer devices, tools, and uninterruptible power supplies. Rechargeable batteries offer a more reliable, ecological, and sustainable replacement for non-rechargeable batteries. Increase in the demand for consumer devices, portable devices (such as music players, digital cameras, camera phones, and portable computing devices), automobiles, and bio-based vehicles is likely to drive the zincair batteries market from 2018 to 2026.



More Trending Reports by Transparency Market Research 



https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/high-demand-from-fashion-industry-to-replace-leather-to-open-plethora-of-opportunities-for-the-flexible-pvc-films--sheets-market-growing-use-in-haute-couture-fashion-to-accelerate-its-uptake-in-the-industry-tmr-301249282.html



Presence of traces of mercury and unstable redox reactions to hinder the zincair batteries market



Presence of traces of mercury in zincair batteries can cause health hazards. Mercury can leak as the zincair battery casing disintegrates. A large number of countries have mandated that zincair batteries be mercury-free. This is attributable to risk of mercury poisoning from accidentally ingested batteries. High-performance electrodes are necessary to catalyze the oxygen-reducing reaction during discharge and oxygen production during recharge. In zincair batteries, these two reactions are sluggish. However, performance of the anode can be enhanced by using zinc nanoparticles.



Small devices segment dominates the global zincair batteries market



Among applications, the small devices segment (including watches, hearing aids, pagers, etc.) dominates the global zincair batteries market. Light weight is a major factor that drives the demand for zincair batteries in the small devices sector. Other advantages offered by zincair batteries used in small devices include high energy density, cost-effectiveness, constant voltage rate over a relatively long time, and proven technology.



Europe leads the global zincair batteries market



Among regions, Europe accounted for a major share of the global zincair batteries market in 2017. According to a report by the European Association of Hearing Aid Professionals, more than 80 million adults in Europe were suffering from hearing impairment in 2015. Growth of elderly population and introduction of appealing technologies in Europe are boosting the demand for zincair batteries in the region. Government initiatives to replace the existing railway signaling systems, typically in Denmark and Switzerland, are boosting the market in Europe.



High degree of competition among established players



Key players profiled in the report include Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc., Energizer Holdings, and Panasonic Corporation. These players are forward integrated and they account for a major share of the global zincair batteries market, in terms of production capacity. Brand promotions and launch of new products are likely to increase sales of zincair batteries in the near future. Market leaders are striving to adopt measures such as strategic pricing and product improvement to gain market share.
CABI and the Open Data Institute (ODI) has launched a Data Sharing Toolkit which could contribute to greater food security in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia through better access to data on soil health, agronomy and fertilizer

CABI has joined forces with the Open Data Institute (ODI) to launch a Data Sharing Toolkit which could contribute to unlocking greater food security in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia through better access to information on soil health, agronomy and fertilizer.

The new resource, made possible thanks to funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), aims to equip development practitioners (Gates' programme officers, their grantees, partners and other donors) with the necessary skills to develop better grants that will foster more access to agricultural data.

Based upon FAIR principles - that is the data should be Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable, the Data Sharing Toolkit helps to increase the understanding of good data-sharing practices and the potential benefits, such as greater food security.

The Data Sharing Toolkit - which is accessed via the CABI Academy platform - includes seven eLearning modules with supporting case studies, checklists, cheat sheets and guides to help demystify how to use, collect, share FAIR and safeguarded data for the benefit of a country's agricultural economy.

Example topics of the seven modules include 'Considering data in investments' as well as 'Reusing data from third-party sources' and 'Assessing in-country potential for data sharing.' Meanwhile, case studies provided include 'Improving food security through harmonised soil data in South Asia' and 'Making soil data findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable and open.'

Practical guides - such as 'Developing a data management plan' and 'Deciding how to provide access to data' are also included on in the Data Sharing Toolkit along with country profiles that outline agricultural data policy and legislation for Ethiopia, India, Kenya and Tanzania.

The Data Sharing Toolkit was developed in joint collaboration with senior officials and academics in Ethiopia and India. This work has contributed to the implementation of a soil and agronomic data policy in Ethiopia while training and support around data sharing in India has already caused a shift in attitudes towards FAIR data.

Ruthie Musker, CABI's Project Officer, Data Policy & Practice, said, "Countries within Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are facing significant challenges to feed their growing populations amidst the threats posed by climate change as well as crop pests and diseases.

"By enabling greater access to data on soil health, agronomy and fertilizer, smallholder farmers already strained can be better equipped to innovate and improve their farming practices and, ultimately, increase their yields, livelihoods and local, regional and national food security.

"Not only do we hope to see greater access to data but also, in time, better quality data which will help make services more efficient right across the agricultural value chain."

While the toolkit has been tailored for BMGF programme officers, and their grantees and partners responsible for agricultural projects across South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, it will be available for anyone to access, use and share under an open licence.

Deborah Yates, Principal Consultant at the Open Data Institute, said, "This set of tools has been developed for agricultural projects and has been tailored with those in mind. But the concepts and the ideas in there could very easily be tailored for other domains in other walks of life."

Christian Witt, Senior Program Officer Soil Health, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said, "We've made excellent progress on this important work and I am really pleased with what has been achieved to date. The new data sharing toolkit will help us to mainstream a new approach to FAIR data access within our agricultural development projects."

###
FLINT, MI -- An early morning fire that killed two dogs at a recently condemned Flint apartment complex is being investigated as suspicious, Flint Fire Chief Raymond Barton confirmed.

The fire occurred around 5:20 a.m. Thursday, March 25 at the Richfield Court Apartments near Richfield Road and Averill Avenue.

Christopher Renshaw, 34, and his fiancee Lacey Ivey, 36, were in bed when Renshaw said he smelled smoke.

Two people were injured during the fire, Renshaw said. One woman was burned and injured after jumping out a second floor window, while another person suffered burns to his back and shoulders during his escape.

Renshaw said two dogs were also killed during the blaze. While attempting to escape, Renshaw, who is on crutches, attempted to open the apartments door.

As soon as I opened the door, the blackest, thickest smoke Ive ever seen in person just floods right at my face and I take a big inhale of it, Renshaw said. My lungs still hurt bad from it. Then I see flames just outside the door so I slam the door shut, throw one crutch out, put the other one down and I basically jumped out of the window with the cast on. I feel like I might have messed it up again, but the silver lining is Id rather have pain in my foot than be dead.

Renshaw was absolutely petrified and the couple kicked into survival mode as they jumped out the window.

Once outside, Renshaw said he saw his upstairs neighbor jump out the second-floor window. He couldnt get out through the stairway. His wife followed.

Residents pounded on the door of the apartment across from Renshaw where a couple and their baby were sleeping, he said. Eventually they woke up and were able to escape.

The woman who jumped from the upstairs apartment was taken to the hospital after she was injured from the fall and burned from the fire, Renshaw said. The neighbor across the hall was burned on his shoulder and back as well.

The fire intensified quickly, Renshaw said.

From the time that I said Do you smell smoke? to the time we were outside, that fire was engulfing the entire front of the building, he said. It was life or death  you either jump out that window or youre going to burn alive, he said.

Renshaw said he is grateful for every firefighter and officer who responded to the scene.

Its amazing how fast the response of the firetruck was, he said. By the time I got out the window they were here in less than five minutes, so they definitely saved the day.

The American Red Cross is working to help displaced residents.

I was thinking of (Lacey) and the cat and thinking Im not dying today and neither is she and neither is our cat. We arent dying, Renshaw said.

The couples cat, a four-year-old calico Maine Coon mix, ran away after escaping the fire. They are asking for help locating it.

The Flint Fire Department contacted the Michigan State Police arson team, which will investigate the fire and provide a report, Barton said.

No additional information was provided by police or fire department officials.

The city issued a condemnation notice for the apartments on Feb. 17.

Related: Flint condemns Richfield Court Apartments, says basements flooded with water and sewage

The condemnation notice states that it is the responsibility of the property owners to secure the buildings and ensure they are no longer being inhabited, according to the city. The owners could face additional legal action for failing to do so.

While some residents are resistant to leave, housing has been secured for 75 residents of Richfield, a Thursday news release from the city states. A security company is also actively patrolling at Richfield Court and Flint Police Chief Terence Green has said police are increasing patrols in the area.

The city is extremely grateful to our community partners, especially the United Way, for their ongoing commitment to serving the residents of the City of Flint, the release states.

The condemnation order came after city inspectors found water flowing in hallways at Richfield Court because of broken pipes and basements flooded with both water and sewage.

In addition to the notice of condemnation, the city has filed a motion for a preliminary restraining order in Genesee Circuit Court in order to force owners to allow the city access to the property to ensure the safety and welfare of residents, according to prior reporting.

A hearing has been scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 31, before Genesee Circuit Judge Celeste Bell, to determine what additional steps will be taken with regard to the apartment complex, according to the city.

Read more on MLive:

Pregnant woman ejected, seriously injured in two-vehicle crash

Man sentenced in death of 5-month-old boy at Mt. Morris area home

Neighbor dispute in Burton leads to shooting and arrest, police say

Man shot to death outside Flint liquor store

Man arraigned on 11 felony charges after shot by Michigan trooper
Hong Kong: 2nd batch of Sinovac jabs arrives

The second batch of about one million doses of the Sinovac vaccine was delivered smoothly to Hong Kong from Beijing today.

Soon after the arrival of the vaccines this afternoon, staff checked and inspected them to ensure that they comply with the product specifications and that the transportation process followed the cold-chain requirements.

Together with the one million doses delivered to the city in February, about two million doses of the Sinovac vaccine have arrived in Hong Kong.

The Government urged members of the public to participate in the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme as early as possible to safeguard public health in the community.

People in the vaccination priority groups may make appointments online to receive the Sinovac vaccine for free at community vaccination centres and the Hospital Authoritys general outpatient clinics.

They can also make an appointment directly with a private doctor or clinic under the programme, without going through the Government's online booking system.

Participants need to bring their identity document and proof of belonging to a priority group to their vaccination appointment.

The vaccination fact sheet is available online.

This story has been published on: 2021-03-25. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
The remains of a murdered woman which were found more than 40 years ago in Delaware have finally been identified as belonging to the wife of a police officer who failed to report her missing and told their kids she had run away.

Marie Petry Heiser's body was discovered in woodland near Townsend, Delaware, in 1977, approximately 60 miles southwest from where she lived with husband Bill Heiser Snr.

The remains of Marie Petry Heiser were found in 1977, but it took 44 years before she could be identified

But Heiser Snr - who died in 2006 - had never reported her missing, and their children believed she had packed her bags and left without saying where she was going

Heiser Sr was a daredevil motorcyclist performer with the Philadelphia Highway Patrol in the 1950s, but was forced to quit the department in the early 1960s after suffering a severe injury while rehearsing for a show.

It was only after a chance encounter between cold case officers from New Castle County Police and a crack genealogy sleuth from the Montgomery County Police Department that officers matched DNA from the remains with Marie's surviving family members.

This week, her son Bill Heiser Jr told FOX 29 he had never suspected their mother might have been murdered.

'We were told things weren't good at the house,' he told the station.

'She ended up packing up and leaving. We never in a million years ever, ever thought that it was foul play or something would happen to her.'

The breakthrough, announced this week by the New Castle County's Cold Case Squad, was the result of years of painstaking genealogy tracing and police work.

New Castle Police said 'extensive investigations' were undertaken to identify the remains at the time the body was discovered in a wooded area off Old Union Church Rd, near Townsend, Delaware, by a teenager biking home.

At the time of her disappearance, police relied on fingerprints and dental records to match missing persons with human remains.

Parabon Nanolabs, which specializes in a forensics technique known as DNA phenotyping, was able to complete a computerized composite of the mystery woman's remains

In 2008, the case was reviewed by the New Castle Police Department's Cold Case team, and details were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs).

A team from the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification extracted a DNA profile from the remains.

The profile failed to show up any matches in the nationwide database, known as the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).

Then in 2017, advances in forensics led New Castle Police to reexamine the case.

They approached a Virginia-based company called Parabon Nanolabs, which specializes in phenotyping, a specialist area that uses DNA to predict a person's physical traits and family ancestry.

Forensic artist Thom Shaw drew a sketch of the victim, which the lab used to create a computerized composite of the missing woman.

Parabon Nanolabs provided a detailed genetic analysis of the victim's DNA and a potential family tree to several ancestry databases.

In 2019, officers from New Castle Police attended Law Enforcement Cold Case Seminar where Steven Smugeresky, a genealogy specialist with the Montgomery County police department in Maryland, was speaking.

Smugereskey had been instrumental in catching Giles Daniel Warrick, who was suspected of raping 10 women in the Washington DC area.

He took over researching the ancestry of the victim's DNA profile.

Bill Heiser Jr, pictured recently, said he never for a moment suspected his mother could have been the victim of foul play when she vanished without trace in 1977

'He worked tirelessly on potential family trees in an attempt to develop information on the identity of the remains,' New Castle County Police said in a statement.

The police department began matching the DNA profile with missing person cases from the area, and obtained DNA samples from potential family members.

Relative's DNA profiles were entered into the national DNA database and a positive match eventually came back to the remains found in 1977.

The match was confirmed by the Delaware Division of Forensic Science's Chief Medical Examiner.

Heiser Sr joined the Philadelphia Police Department Highway Patrol in the 1950s, and performed 'thrill shows' on his motorbike in packed stadiums and arenas.

He retired after being seriously injured while rehearsing for a show in the early 1960s.

According to New Castle Police, he worked as a truck driver for transportation company before moving to South Daytona Beach, Florida, in the late 1970s. He died in 2006.

Prior to her disappearance Marie Petry Heiser had been a homemaker who worked part-time at a country club in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, in the 1970s.

The Heisers' son, Bill Heiser Jr, told police 'he appreciated all of the hard work by law enforcement in identifying his mother as it gave his family some sense of closure regarding her disappearance.'
Advertisement

Will the vaccine delay affect lockdown timetable or lead to a bigger exit wave of Covid cases? The pause in Britains vaccine drive will mean that fewer Britons are vaccinated when Britain starts to reopen the economy on 12 April - but ministers have insisted the timetable will not be affected despite predictions of an 'exit wave' of Covid cases as Britain opens up. The inoculation campaign must go smoothly for Number 10 to feel comfortable enough to relax lockdown restrictions drastically over the coming months. Israel  which has repeatedly been hailed for its world-beating roll-out  opened up society once 52 per cent of the countrys 9.3million people had their first dose. At the same time, 40 per cent had received their booster shot. Britain is not far behind, with around 54 per cent of all adults having been vaccinated  almost 28.7million people. But only 5 per cent of people  2.5million  have had both jabs since the mass scheme began last December. And in Israel, coronavirus cases have continued to drop as the economy reopens. In the UK, SAGE experts have predicted an 'exit wave' coronavirus cases that could cause up to 1,000 deaths a day. However other disease modelers point to the real-world data from Israel that suggest these forecasts are far too pessimistic. Senior Government sources this month sparked hopes of a faster route out of lockdown, briefing select journalists that over-40s could be offered their first dose by Easter because stocks were expected to double. But ministers had to resort to their original target last week after it was revealed India had blocked the export of 5million AstraZeneca doses. Matt Hancock said the mammoth campaign would focus on second doses, suggesting that No10s unofficial briefings were based on the hope of getting an extra shipment from New Delhi. Ministers only signed the deal with the Serum Institute of India at the start of March, with vaccine chiefs before that insisting that the majority of AstraZenecas supply would be manufactured on British soil. The Health Secretary last week said there would be no weeks in April without first doses being dished out  but the NHS today urged over-50s who have yet to be jabbed to book an appointment in the next few days before slots dry up. Unless No10 negotiates a deal with Narenda Modis administration to release the missing doses or finds itself another bumper vaccine source, it is unlikely over-40s will be jabbed until May. Ministers are expecting to get shipments of Modernas vaccine in the coming weeks, making room for more first-timers to get jabbed. But it is not clear how many Britain will receive at first, or whether they will be used for over-50s not already jabbed or for over-40s. Government sources were last week hopeful the programme could move to the next phase in April, even under the huge supply issues. Advertisement

Mass coronavirus vaccination sites across the UK have announced they will close temporarily next month due to looming supply issues  as Matt Hancock revealed the jabs have saved at least 6,000 lives already in the UK.

Vaccine centres in Devon, Cornwall and Kent are among those to have confirmed they will 'have to pause' during the month-long slowdown, which has been triggered by a shortfall of five million AstraZeneca jabs from India. If the rest of the country follows suit, it could see all 150 mass vaccination sites shut.

The focus of the rollout will turn to ensuring there are sufficient vaccine stocks to dish out crucial second doses, with staff at mass hubs around the country expected to be redeployed.

Local vaccination centres have also been told to close unfilled bookings from March 31, with the supply constraint expected to last throughout April. The NHS has called on over-50s to book their first vaccine appointment while they still can before Monday, or risk facing delays.

GPs will continue contacting eligible patients on their lists, but some vaccination sites including Westpoint, near Exeter, have revealed they will shut between April 1 and 11. All of Kent's five mass vaccination centres, for example, are set to close 'for a number of weeks' from next month.

The pause in Britains vaccine drive will mean that fewer Britons are vaccinated when No10 starts to reopen the economy on April 12 - but ministers have insisted the timetable will not be affected despite predictions of an 'exit wave' of Covid cases as society opens up.

Meanwhile, Mr Hancock today claimed new Government-backed research had found vaccination spared more than 6,000 lives by the end of February. He said the rollout's success meant he could 'see an end' to the crisis.

His comments to the Financial Times came as forecasts by No10's scientists suggested the number of Covid patients being admitted to English hospitals is poised to halve in a fortnight, from 294 to fewer than 150.

The projections from the SPI-M modelling group also projected the number of deaths to drop fourfold, from 92 to 20, early next month and the level of inpatients with the disease to plummet from 4,000 to about 2,000.

The promising calculations, which have been presented to ministers, were made after children returned to classrooms this month, The Times reports. There were fears that reopening schools could trigger a wave of infections.

SPI-M's modelling assumes that vaccinations will continue at current levels. More than 450,000 Brits are being jabbed every day, but there are fears that supply issues next month could drastically slow the scheme down.

Government data up to March 23 shows 28,653,523 people have received a first vaccine dose, a rise of 325,650 on the previous day. Both AstraZeneca and Pfizer's vaccines have been shown to cut deaths and hospitalisations by more than 90 per cent after both doses and symptomatic infections by over 60 per cent.

All the the metrics now suggest Boris Johnson's cautious roadmap out of lockdown is firmly on track and the unusually optimistic projections from No10's experts will pile more pressure on the PM to speed up his plan.

The next phase of his lockdown-loosening schedule sees people allowed to meet outdoors in groups of six, or as two households, from March 29.

April 12 will see the first major easing of restrictions as hairdressers, beauty salons and shops get the green-light and pubs and restaurants able to open for outdoor service.

Hospitality is not due to start welcoming customers through its doors until May and some form of social distancing rules will be in place until June 21 at the earliest.

Mr Hancock told the FT he could see an 'end' to the pandemic that would involve managing coronavirus 'more like flu' with repeated and updated vaccinations.

Mass coronavirus vaccination sites across the UK have announced they will close temporarily next month due to looming supply issues. Vaccine centres in Devon, Cornwall and Kent are among those to have confirmed they will 'have to pause' during the month-long slowdown. If the rest of the country follows suit, it could mean all 150 mass sites will shut

Analysis carried out by Public Health England (PHE) suggests that the COVID-19 vaccination programme prevented 6,100 deaths in those aged 70 and older in England, up to the end of February 2021

The graph show how PHE would expect deaths to fall with the lockdown alone (red) compared to with the boost of the vaccines (blue). Broken down by each age group, right

However, separate modelling by Warwick University, which feeds into SAGE, suggested there could have been an extraordinary 1,750 daily Covid deaths if Britain had lifted the majority of lockdown curbs and reverted to the rule of six and 10pm curfew in February (left). The modelling, published on March 18, suggested daily fatalities could hover at around 200 under Boris' current lockdown plan (right). The purple line is what the researchers predict the UK's epidemic will look like, because the vaccines have been shown to cut transmission by 60 per cent

Warwick also modelled what would happen to deaths if all curbs were gradually lifted by this summer (left) or in autumn (right). Both scenarios would result in a large winter peak, according to the calculations. Lifting all curbs by July could lead to 1,500 daily deaths at the peak, while lifting them by October could result in more than 1,000. Warwick's Dr Sam Moore, co-author of the study, has since admitted the projections were too pessimistic. He told The Telegraph: 'Since we conducted this study, new evidence suggests there may be a higher level of protection against severe disease offered by both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines than the level we assumed.'

But evidence from Israel, the only country jabbing faster than Britain, shows that cases continued to plummet after came out of lockdown a month ago (orange). When Israel opened up it had roughly 50 per cent of its population vaccinated, the same stage Britain is at now. Shown in blue is the country's infection rate after reopning from its previous shutdown last year, before the vaccines were available

Matt Hancock today credited the coronavirus vaccines with saving at least 6,000 lives already in the UK. Meanwhile, internal Government projections have predicted Covid hospital admissions will halve by April because of the jabs - suggesting Boris' roadmap out of lockdown is firmly on track

Projections from the SPI-M modelling group suggested the number of Covid patients being admitted to English hospitals is poised to halve in a fortnight, from 294 to fewer than 150

The group also projected the number of deaths to drop fourfold, from 92 to 20, early next month and the level of inpatients (shown) with the disease to plummet from 4,000 to about 2,000

Government data up to March 23 shows 28,653,523 people have received a first vaccine dose, a rise of 325,650 on the previous day

The unusually optimistic projections from No10's experts will pile more pressure on the PM to speed up his lockdown-loosening plan

Macron delivers humiliating vaccine mea culpa as EU 'heads for export ban climbdown' at summit TODAY Emmanuel Macron has delivered an humiliating mea culpa on the EU's vaccine bungling as leaders gather for a crunch summit today. The French president admitted that the bloc did not go 'fast enough or strong enough' on the drive for jabs, saying it thought they would take longer to develop. But Mr Macron seemingly could not bring himself to praise the UK's stunning progress on vaccines, instead heaping praise on the US for 'shooting for the stars'. The comments came as EU leaders hold a 'virtual' gathering amid panicky threats from the commission to ban vaccine exports, with new rules targeted at Britain. France and Germany are backing tough action as they face massive pressure over dire rollouts, but Ireland and many other member states are alarmed at the idea of undermining legal contracts. Former commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker waded into the spat this morning, branding the idea of a 'vaccine war' stupid and raising fears it will cause 'major reputational damage' to the bloc. The EU and UK issued a joint statement pledging to work together last night, after Boris Johnson warned that businesses could flee the bloc's borders if it imposed 'arbitrary' blockades. Advertisement

The Health Secretary expressed confidence about the UK's ability to manage Covid-19 in the future, adding: 'It depends what you mean by ''end''.

'I see an end where Covid is managed more like flu: we repeatedly vaccinate, we update the vaccines according to mutations and we manage the challenges, especially around transmissions over winter.

'I'm confident that's where we can get to. I want to get to a position where we can have an updated vaccine in weeks or months, not a year.'

It comes as Mr Johnson tries to push through an extension of lockdown laws until the autumn, despite restrictions officially ending in June.

A hardcore of as many as 60 Conservative MPs is expected to rebel against Government plans to extend emergency powers to the end of September.

Politicians in the Covid Recovery Group (CRG) blasted the 'significant draconian powers' and questioned the need for them to be in place if the UK has returned to relative normal.

However, any Tory rebellion is almost certain to fail to impede the legislation, with Labour planning to back it in this evening's Commons vote.

CRG leader Mark Harper, who believes plans to ease the lockdown 'could safely go more quickly', told Sky News: 'The biggest problem today is the extension of some very significant draconian powers in the Coronavirus Act which the Government doesn't want to extend until June, it actually wants to extend all the way into October.

'And these are quite significant powers; they are powers, for example, for the police to detain people indefinitely and to continue having powers to shutdown events and so forth all the way through to October.

'And I haven't heard a single good answer about why the Government wishes to do that, given that the Prime Minister has said he wants to be out of all of our legal restrictions by June.'

The legislation for restrictions over the coming months, as the Government sets out its road map for coming out of lockdown, will see some restrictions remain in place in England until at least June 21.

There are also question marks over summer holidays taking place after that date, amid a third wave of Covid infections in mainland Europe.

But Conservative MP Steve Baker, deputy chairman of the CRG, said the vote was a 'rare opportunity' for MPs to 'say no to a new way of life in a checkpoint society'.

'I was glad to hear the Prime Minister reassure William Wragg MP at the Liaison Committee today that 'anything that is redundant will go' in relation to Coronavirus Act powers,' the former minister said last night.

'Draconian police powers under Schedule 21, which have a 100 per cent unlawful prosecution record, must be considered 'redundant' to say the very least.

'I am seeking to table an amendment to the motion tomorrow asking ministers to suspend those powers. I now hope the Government can support it.'
They Should Have Walked Him: Kale Stevenson's clutch homers spark Post 17 to doubleheader sweep
Former DG Watson is one of the senior women in public service promoted in a book recently launched by PSC. She was terminated last week. Regenvanu is seen here with the book.
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.
C-17's 'Sightseeing Tour' Over Ireland That Drew Complaints from Locals Was Pre-Approved, Base Says

The C-17 made headlines overseas after aircraft spotters noticed the massive aircraft moving through Irish airspace.
Biswal recently retired as Chief Scientist at The Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology, a premier research institute of government of India

PLC ( ) has appointed a world-leading graphene scientist and mineral processing technology expert, Dr S. K. Biswal, and strengthened its team across its three business units to support the companys rapid growth.

Biswal, who specialises in graphene and mineral processing technology, will head up the Tirupati Graphene and Mintech Research Centre. The centre, which is being developed in India, is looking to become a leading graphene manufacturer and to develop its applications to give the company its technological backbone.

I am delighted to join Tirupati in its efforts in building a global leading business in the graphite and graphene field, and firmly believe in its ethos of advanced technology forming the backbone of the business development for a greener world, said Biswal.

The graphite producer and graphene developer also engaged Dr S. K Sathpathy, an ex-executive director of National Aluminium Company Ltd, as an advisor to look into the application of graphene in aluminium manufacturing smelters and graphene aluminium composites development. Dr P. Dash, who is also focused on graphene engineering science, has also joined the company.

Tirupati has appointed more than 30 engineers, geologists, technologists, and specially trained technicians in recent months across all three business units.

I feel honoured to add such impactful scientists and technology intellects to the Tirupati team, and strongly believe that they are our biggest asset, said chief executive Shishir Poddar.

"Dr Biswal's reputation precedes him. As a technologist and scientist in Tirupati's areas of specialisation, with unparalleled business development, he is ideally placed to lead advances at the Graphene and Technology Centre.

We are in accelerated development mode and strengthening the management team is key to successfully driving our developments forward," said Poddar.
Women lobby groups in Mt Kenya region led by Maendeleo ya Wanawake, over the weekend promised to work with security agencies in the war against narcotics and illicit brews.

Through the Central region chairperson Lucy Nyambura, the women termed the war as "good for family units."

Federation for African Women Educationists led by Organising Secretary Cecilia Gitu, supported the move too.

Murang'a Girl Child Protection Action Group Chair Patricia Wairimu and Young Christian Women Initiative Secretary Njeri Mwangi also agreed to support in the war that had wasted away many youths in the region.

In a joint statement, they said the future of family units and that of the nation stands compromised if blatant abuse of alcohol and narcotics is not addressed as a matter of regional tragedy.

This came as regional commissioner Wilfred Nyagwanga warned chiefs and their assistants against taking bribes to protect illicit brews and narcotics dealers.

Speaking at Gakoigo Showground in Murang'a County during a security meeting, he said the vice that has led to the death of many local youths was being fuelled "by the greedy inclinations of some of our officers who instead of working hard to crush the dealers, were edging closer them to dine and wine together."

Security agents

Mr Nyagwanga said security agents in the county had been directed to act viciously against illicit brews and narcotics cartels, adding that "rampant cases of indiscipline in our schools is related to these two illegal sectors."

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Legal Affairs Women By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

He said all counties in the region are affected by the menace, promising that security actors found abetting the illegal networks will be axed.

"We are not ready to work with people who are not adding value to our mandate as a security sector. You cannot be what we are fighting and expect to be tolerated. We will kick you out so that you can join the outlaws and we confront you from that destiny," he said.

The administrator said alcohol and drug abuse had become a challenge to both genders, and contributed to grassroots poverty due to lowered productive lives, diseases and deaths.

He noted that great brains that could serve the country in fixing many of its challenges were getting wasted in alcoholism and drug abuse, saying the government would not sit by and watch a few unscrupulous business mind-sets get rich by killing others with "horrible lifestyles."
The Zanu PF Makonde District Coordinating Committee (DCC) youths this Wednesday held a crisis meeting to discuss the future of beleaguered secretary for youth affairs, Ketty Chanetsa.

The youthful politician stands accused of a litany of charges including disclosing sensitive party secrets to known elements aligned to the vanquished G40 faction.

The G40 faction, once headed by exiled former ministers, Saviour Kasukuwere and Jonathan Moyo, is strongly opposed to President Emmerson Mnangagwa rule.

Chanetsa was last weekend barred from attending the DCC's inaugural meeting held at the Public Service Training Centre in Chinhoyi on charges of being a "G40 sell-out."

Sources close to the development told NewZimbabwe.com that youth chairpersons from all the 15 local government wards in Chinhoyi, which seconded Chanetsa to the post, attended the crunch indaba where it was resolved to recall her from the position.

"We invited two representatives from all 15 wards in Chinhoyi, which included the various chairpersons, to the emergency meeting held under strict Covid-19 protocols," a source, who requested anonymity, said.

"Those in attendance unanimously agreed to recall Ketty Chanetsa from the post of youth affairs secretary for crossing the line. Effectively, she is fired."

Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) and police intelligence operatives reportedly observed the proceedings held at the party's Makonde district offices in Chinhoyi.

The Zanu PF youths accuse Chanetsa of leaking sensitive party information to South African-based social media personality, Gugu Ncube a.k.a "Dr. Amai", who in-turn allegedly uses it to denigrate the party and its leadership on various platforms.

Controversial Ncube uses her Twitter handle "@African Delinquent" to launch periodic attacks against top-ranking Zanu PF leaders, including Mashonaland West chairperson and Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi, and Youth League national deputy secretary for indigenisation Mike Chimombe.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Zimbabwe Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Chanetsa also faces charges of fomenting divisions, holding unsanctioned meetings, gossiping, maligning and blackmailing senior party leaders.

She is also accused of faking her abduction by alleged party colleagues ahead of the emotive DCC elections last December, and thereby putting the party's name into disrepute.

The Makonde DCC youths have now set in motion a petition calling for Chanetsa's dismissal from her party post. The youth executives, who constitute the assembly, have appended their signatures and the petition now awaits ratification by the main DCC body at a meeting expected soon, sources said.
Photo: Reddit/theunknowngoat

Police are investigating whether assault charges are warranted in the case of an unmasked man who allegedly spat in the face of another man at a Burnaby McDonalds.

Officers were called to the Metropolis at Metrotown McDonalds shortly after 11 a.m. Monday for a report of an assault, during which a man allegedly spat in the face of another man, according to Burnaby RCMP.

A 48-year-old West Vancouver man was arrested and charged under the Emergency Programs Act for failing to wear a face covering.

A video of the incident posted on Reddit shows three men standing in line at the McDonalds inside the mall.

Two construction workers, both with masks on, stand behind another man who is not wearing a face covering.

At one point, the unmasked man turns toward one of the construction workers, and an altercation suddenly ensues.

The construction worker can later be heard telling a security guard that the unmasked man had spat at him.

The unmasked man was released from custody shortly after his arrest.

This incident is an example of how quickly a situation can escalate. If you encounter someone who is not abiding by the laws, please contact the police and avoid any confrontation, Burnaby RCMP Supt. Graham De la Gorgendiere said.
PARIS, March 25, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

ORPEA SA



Pre Stabilisation Notice

HSBC (contact: 'synd manager'; telephone: +44 207 992 8066) hereby gives notice, as Stabilisation Coordinator, that the Stabilisation Manager(s) named below may stabilise the offer of the following securities



The securities: Issuer: ORPEA SA Guarantor (if any): NA Aggregate nominal amount: minimum EUR 300,000,000 Description: Fixed rate due 1st Apr 2028 Offer price: TBC Other offer terms: Stabilisation: Stabilising Manager(s): BNP Paribas / Credit Agricole / HSBC / Natixis / Societe Generale Stabilisation period expected to start on: 25th March 2021 Stabilisation period expected to end no later than: 30th April 2021 Existence, maximum size & conditions of use of over-allotment facility[1]: 5% of the aggregate nominal amount Stabilisation Venue(s) Over the counter (OTC)

In connection with the offer of the above securities, the Stabilisation Manager(s) may over-allot the securities or effect transactions with a view to supporting the market price of the securities at a level higher than that which might otherwise prevail. However, there is no assurance that the Stabilisation Manager(s) will take any stabilisation action and any stabilisation action, if begun, may be ended at any time. Any stabilisation action or over-allotment shall be conducted in accordance with all applicable laws and rules.

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.

In addition, if and to the extent that this announcement is communicated in, or the offer of the securities to which it relates is made in, any EEA Member State that has implemented Directive 2003/71/EC, as amended (together with any applicable implementing measures in any Member State, the "Prospectus Directive") before the publication of a prospectus in relation to the securities which has been approved by the competent authority in that Member State in accordance with the Prospectus Directive (or which has been approved by a competent authority in another Member State and notified to the competent authority in that Member State in accordance with the Prospectus Directive), this announcement and the offer are only addressed to and directed at persons in that Member State who are qualified investors within the meaning of the Prospectus Directive (or who are other persons to whom the offer may lawfully be addressed) and must not be acted on or relied on by other persons in that Member State.

This announcement and the offer of the securities to which it relates are only addressed to and directed at persons outside the United Kingdom and persons in the United Kingdom who have professional experience in matters related to investments or who are high net worth persons within article 12(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 and must not be acted on or relied on by other persons in the United Kingdom.

_____________________________________________

[1] Please note that the existence and the maximum size of any greenshoe option, the exercise period of the greenshoe option and any conditions for exercise of the greenshoe option must also be disclosed, if such option exists. In addition, the exercise of the greenshoe option must be disclosed to the public promptly, together with all appropriate details, including in particular the date of exercise and the number and nature of securities involved
ABT Limited, one of south Indias largest corporate houses with interests in transportation and autodelaerships, has forayed into the wellness segment under the brand 'Mirakle'. After a wellness clinic, the company has now launched a flavoured drink.

Mirakle is a vitamin C immunity drink that was launched recently in Mumbai, after a soft launch in Tamil Nadu.

The drink is infused with 1000mg of vitamin C: This mango flavoured drink comes in a 200ml aseptic pack. Approved by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the pack is priced at Rs 50 for the variant containing sugar and Rs 60 for sugar free version.

Mirakle is more effective than oral vitamin C capsules and the absorption rate of nutrients in the drink is 98 per cent, said Manickam Mahalingam, chairman & managing director, ABT LTD.

Given the viral infections that are being discovered everyday, and our current lifestyle, there is a dire need to stress on building and improving ones overall health. Mumbai is a very promising market and we hope to strengthen our footprint across the country as well. Soon, we are planning to launch Mirakle in the international market, he said.

Manufacturing plants are located at the plant of Sakthi Sugars Limited, a group company, in Tamil Nadu. The 4,000 sq ft facility produce 200,000 packs per day. Until January 2021, Mirakle manufactured 900,000 tetra packs.

Current monthly sales of Mirakle aare around 60,000 packs a month and the company is targeting around 200,000 packs a month in 2021-22.

The company did a soft launch in Tamil Nadu market at the end of March 2020 and last month it launched the product in Mumbai and Pune. By the end of 2021 it will go a pan India.

Currently, the product is available across 400 stores in Tamil Nadu and Mumbai area, where it is available across Wellness Forever stores.

Mirakle is being exported to Singapore at present and the company is in talks with distributors in the Gulf.

Manickam said. When we started, our mission was to ensure that we create awareness about the importance of vitamin C for building the bodys immunity. Mirakle provides you with the nutrients to support a healthy immune system. Apart from that, it is also a collagen-rich drink which is good for joints, skin, and hair. Our aim is to see Mirakle become an integral part of peoples everyday nutrition for their overall well-being.

The company claims that Mirakle has the highest concentration of vitamin C than any other product available at present as nano-particles are delivered in a liposomal mode with elements such as lysine and proline, buffered with phospholipids. The anti-oxidants in Mirakle help in fighting cardiovascular diseases, muscular degeneration and neutralise oxidative stress. By energising the mitochondria - the powerhouse of the cell - one can also cope with stress and metabolic disorders.
Magi Helena

Tribune Content Agency

BIRTHDAY STAR: Actress Sarah Jessica Parker was born in Nelsonville, Ohio, on this day in 1965. This birthday stars signature role was Carrie Bradshaw on the Sex and the City TV series and two subsequent feature films. More recently, she starred as Frances on Divorce and played Isabelle Wright on Glee. On the big screen, Parkers film rsum includes various roles in Here and Now, The Family Stone and Honeymoon in Vegas.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Enjoy the synergy of like-minded people. There are plenty of people who share your values and are interested in making profits. Look for support from friends and colleagues who admire your astute observations.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Remain open-minded about adopting innovative ways to handle problems. You can likely rely on friends to lend a helping hand. Spending time on hobbies or fascinating side interests may be more appealing now.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): You can learn valuable lessons by keeping an ear to the ground. Other things you must learn through repetitive action. If youve learned from a mistake, put things right by paying diligent attention to detail.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): You may be fully in touch with your emotions and can discuss your feelings openly and with ease now. You might find yourself sought after for financial advice, and you may be in the perfect frame of mind to give it.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Exercise good judgment. Unexpected complications with a financial matter may sidetrack your social life. Any temporary upsets can be dealt with swiftly. New investments could cause more problems than theyre worth.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): An enlightened outlook and scintillating observations can brighten conversations. You can receive food for thought by seeking out new sources of information. Structure your workday so that you can attend to a priority.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Handle all your responsibilities with care. Try not to dwell on negative thoughts or concerns, but deal with them as soon as possible so they dont interfere with your joy in life. Your kindness might charm a loved one.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): It could be the right time to let your partner or a loved one take the lead. Dont let your mind linger over incurable problems, but take steps to protect yourself from issues that might pop up in a worst-case scenario.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): There is nothing wrong with being skeptical sometimes. Surface appearances can fool you. Talk over your latest ideas with trusted friends, and they can tell you if you are correct in your assessment of people and things.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Investments and money-making ideas may outweigh other items on your to-do list, but money and material success arent the only things you need for happiness in life. Spend time alone to put things in perspective.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Learn your lessons and take them to heart. Dont spread yourself too thin by spending money on frivolous things. It is a busy time, and adding extra responsibilities could overwhelm you.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Creativity, imagination and understanding might be in short supply. Your most esoteric notions may not be understood in your social circle. Focus on money-making activities and keeping your assets safe.

IF MARCH 25 IS YOUR BIRTHDAY: The key to your financial success during the next three to four weeks is exercising insight and being observant of business trends. Youll likely need to tone down your competitiveness and remember to be polite as May arrives. Your enthusiasm can be contagious and win over adversaries. June is a better time to enter competitions or exercise your leadership abilities. Focus on your career aspirations in July, and then youll be free to socialize or consider a vacation in August. Prepare for a fine future in early November by widening your horizons, whether that means travel, taking a course, or reading and learning on your own. Any opportunity that comes along could change your life for the better.

Learn more at https://magihelena.com/ Questions? Reach out to Helena at questionsmagihelena.com.

2021 Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Jovenes Contra la Violencia provides information on COVID-19 prevention and protection to a family in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.  JCV/Edras Suazo

A refugee radio station combatting COVID-19 misinformation in Kenya and a local group distributing food and medication to LGBTQI+ refugees and asylum seekers in South Africa were among the winners of the 2020 UNHCR NGO Innovation Awards, announced during a virtual ceremony on Thursday.

Every year, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, celebrates the innovative efforts and achievements of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in providing protection and services to refugees, forcibly displaced and stateless people. This years awards were dedicated to refugee-led organizations, in recognition of their leading role in the COVID-19 response.

Through this award, we want to give a signal that  more than any other type of organization  refugee-led organizations have proven to be the most important and effective at finding innovative and local solutions to the challenges faced in their own communities during these difficult times, Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said during the virtual ceremony.

From a record 410 nominations a total of seven winners were announced, one from each of the regions where UNHCR operates, who will each receive US$15,000 prize money.

See also: Helping vulnerable children to find their inner hero

The winners included Refugee Youth Education Hub, based in Kenyas Dadaab refugee settlement to promote peace and development through learning. As well as setting up a library of over 60,000 books to help refugees continue learning during COVID-19, the organization also hosts a local radio show to provide refugees and host communities with updates during the pandemic and combat a surge of misinformation about the virus.

Moroccos Association Vivre Ensemble (Live Together Association) promotes social cohesion among refugees and host communities in the country through youth activities in schools, summer camps, youth clubs and universities. In addition to providing food and rental assistance to refugee and Moroccan families during the pandemic, it has also shared life-saving information through digital outreach campaigns.

We felt it was vital for the organization to be part of the response to COVID-19, said Vivre Ensembles Hanin Joha.

The Fruit Basket is a South African NGO that advocates for the rights and safety of LGBTQI+ refugees, asylum seekers and migrants living in the country. Through appeals and crowdfunding campaigns, they have responded to some of the communitys most pressing needs during the pandemic, providing food, rent and medication as well as maintaining a sense of community for those experiencing social isolation.

In Honduras, Jovenes Contra la Violencia (Youth Against Violence) was established by young leaders from communities affected by violence and forced displacement. During COVID-19, the organization developed a survey to identify vulnerable individuals within these communities and provide them with targeted support and information.

This award is dedicated to every single person globally that was forced to flee from their home in search of protection, said Jovenes Contra la Violencia co-founder Santiago Avila.

Other winners include Hero2B, set up by Syrian refugee Imad Elabdala in Sweden to help children overcome traumatic experiences through storytelling, psychosocial support and technology; Great Step Initiative, established by Cameroonian refugees in Nigerias Adagom settlement, which provides psychosocial counselling and set up a number of COVID-19 hotlines; and Indonesias Roshan Learning Centre, which established remote education tools and resources to help refugees continue learning during the pandemic.
A battle is brewing between trucking and insurance industry interests and trial lawyers in Texas over a pair of companion bills introduced in the Texas House and Senate that proponents say are aimed at providing consistency and uniformity in civil actions involving commercial vehicle accidents. Opponents, on the other hand, say the bills are simply an attempt to shield trucking companies and their insurers from liability in lawsuits brought by crash victims.

HB 19 by Rep. Jeff Leach and SB 17 by Sen. Larry Taylor are identical pieces of legislation that if passed would require a two-part trial in civil actions involving a commercial motor vehicle if requested in a motion by the defendant.

The first phase of the bifurcated trial would determine liability for and the amount of compensatory damage. The second phase would determine liability for and the amount of exemplary damages to be awarded, according to a House summary of HB 19.

HB 19 also provides, among other things, that a defendants failure to comply with a regulation or standard would not be admissible into evidence and would not support a judgment for liability or damages unless the regulation or standard governs a specific aspect of the defendants or defendants employees conduct or omission that is at issue in the action, or a specific aspect of use or condition of the defendants property or equipment that is at issue, and a reasonable jury could find that the failure to comply was a proximate cause of the injury or death for which damages are sought, the House summary states.

Texans for Lawsuit Reform and the Keep Texas Trucking Coalition support the bills, as does the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA), which says it is concerned about the increase in attorney involvement in automobile accidents in Texas.

Opponents of the bill say its a giveaway to trucking companies and insurers. According to a message posted on the website of Texas Watch, which describes itself as a consumer advocacy organization, the bills give trucking corporations less incentive to follow safety measures and make it harder to punish trucking companies through our courts when they violate safety standards.

The House summary also states that a provision of the bill would require a court, on motion of a defendant, to dismiss a direct action against a defendant if the defendant stipulates that the injury or death for which damages are sought were caused by an employee acting within the scope of employment.

A press statement released by the Texas-based Thomas J. Henry Law Firm, said that means the bills would force victims to take legal action against truck drivers first, before they can hold trucking companies responsible for their failure to safeguard the public from big rig accidents. Even worse, the legislation would prevent an accident victims attorney from presenting discovery evidence into a trial that would incriminate the drivers employer, the trucking companies who hire and oversee them.

In 2019, the latest year for which crash data is available from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), there were more than 39,000 commercial motor vehicle accidents across the state. For the year ending 2019, in the total commercial auto insurance market there were 106 insurer groups and 326 companies writing business in Texas. Direct premiums written totaled $4.2 billion and direct losses paid totaled $2.8 billion, according to data from the Texas Department of Insurance.

APCIA has released a report analyzing the influence of attorney involvement in commercial auto claims cases. Trends in Attorney Representation: Texas Commercial Automobile Insurance was published by the Milliman actuarial firm for the APCIA. The study looked at thousands of commercial vehicle accident claims over a five-year period, concluding that larger losses in Texas grew at a faster pace than other losses. During the same period, attorney representation increased, even on smaller claims, and the relative costs of resolving claims were significantly higher for claims with attorney representation, according to APCIA.

The APCIA highlighted the following key findings from the report:

The number of commercial auto liability claims over $500,000 in value grew by 60 percent in Texas from 2015 to 2019.

Attorney involvement in commercial auto liability claims continues to rise in Texas, increasing over 14 percent compared to 2015. Attorney involvement also continues to increase in commercial auto liability claims, reaching nearly 40 percent of all claims.

When an attorney is involved in a commercial auto claim in Texas, both the average time to report claims (17 v. 31 days) and resolve them (165 v. 516 days) are considerably longer than when no attorney is involved.

The average commercial auto claim payout, for commercial auto claims with attorney involvement, are increasing faster than the costs for claims without an attorney.

In 2019, the average total loss with attorney involvement was 17.1 times higher, while the average cost for adjudicating a claim was 52.8 times higher.

According to APCIA state government relations vice president, Lee Ann Alexander: Lawsuit abuse is a top concern for insurers. APCIA is working with policymakers, industry leaders, consumers, and the business community to enact meaningful reforms that address lawsuit abuse and restore balance to the civil justice system. Our primary focus is a balanced civil justice system  one that is fair to all participants, promptly resolves legitimate claims, and increases certainty and predictability for all participants.

Texas Top 10 Commercial Auto Insurer Groups  2019

Insurer Group Market Share 1. Progressive Group 17.31% 2. Travelers Group 5.85% 3. Berkshire Hathaway Group 4.41% 4. Liberty Mutual Group 4.06% 5. Old Republic Group 3.77% 6. State Farm Group 3.77% 7. Zurich Insurance Group 3.32% 8. Hallmark Financial Service Group 2.98% 9. Nationwide Corp. Group 2.78% 10. Ace Limited Group 2.72%

Market Share Source: TDI

Topics Lawsuits Texas Auto Commercial Lines
CACI falls short in effort to win relocation work

CACI Internationals argument that it was the rightful winner of an Army contract to support a massive relocation effort in South Korea fell on deaf ears at the Government Accountability Office.

GAO rejected CACIs arguments that the Army improperly relaxed a deadline for bidders. One other ruling of GAO's was that CACI didnt even have the right to protest.

The fight involves a $35.9 million Allliant 2 task order that went to Telos to support the Yongsan Relocation Program/Land Partnership plan. Yongsan is an effort to move U.S. troops and dependents from Seoul to a new area outside of the city. The relocation effects some 42,000 troops and dependents.

CACI filed its protest after Telos was picked as the winner. CACI argued that Telos missed a deadline to file an intention to bid.

But the Army said the contracting officer decided to let Telos and two other companies to file their notices about two weeks late, on June 3. He allowed the later submission because it would increase competition for the contract.

All bidders had to submit their proposals by July 10. The companies met that deadline.

CACI's argument was that because Telos missed the notice of intent to bid due date, it had violated the terms of the solicitation and should be eligible to bid.

But GAO ruled the relaxing of the intent deadline was within the Armys discretion.

Even if GAO decided to knock Telos out of the competition, CACI would not be the next company eligible to win.

Telos, CACI and a third company known as "Offeror C" all had the same score of Good for their management and technical competency scores.

The award went to Telos because it had the lowest cost proposal at $35.9 million. Offeror C had the next-lowest at $37.96 million. CACI had the highest at $38.3 million.

GAO said that even it agreed with CACIs argument that Telos was ineligible because of a missed deadline, CACI would not be the next company in line for the award, Offeror C would be.

CACI didnt challenge the evaluation of Offeror C in its protest.

Because of all this, GAO dismissed CACI's protest on them not being an interested party" -- a legal term that means CACI cant protest because it wouldnt have won the contract anyway.
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa, who received his first Covid-19 jab at a momentous occasion attended by different religious and political leaders yesterday, has called on the nation to shun conspiracy theories and get vaccinated for the country to return to normalcy.

Officially launching the Second Phase of the national vaccination programme, the President said all political players should pull together in the fight against Covid-19, a global plague that has derailed economies across the world and wrecked lives and livelihoods.

The President said Zimbabweans must disregard conspiracy narratives being peddled by some religious and political leaders and embrace the Government-sourced, free Covid-19 medicines that have been scientifically proven to be safe

Leading by example, President Mnangagwa got vaccinated in full public view and jokingly asked the nurse to inject him with the antidote again as he felt no pain.

The Second Phase, which is targeting teachers, security personnel and the elderly among other groups got off to a flying start in the resort city of Victoria Falls where residents of the world-famous town also received the vaccines, as part of Government plans to reopen the economy and reset the country on its development trajectory of being an upper middle economy by 2030.

This is anchored on tourism, mining and agriculture.

"Let me reiterate the global call by the World health Organisation that 'No one is safe, until everyone is safe'. I therefore challenge all of us in our respective communities to accept the vaccination programme and to shun vaccine hesitancy, misinformation and the negative conspiracy theories. Getting vaccinated is a personal and a family responsibility as well as a national obligation.

"Vaccination further advances our country's global obligation to combat the continued spread and negative socio-economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic in line with the United Nations and African Union expectations," he said.

"The first phase of the vaccination programme was a success due to the broad acceptance of the vaccine doses by the targeted groups. Over 68 percent of the target group in the first phase has been vaccinated. I commend all frontline workers and the security services sector for the fortitude and dedication to duty with regards to our fight against Covid-19 pandemic.

"Your unflinching service and patriotism to your country and people, has seen you emerge true heroes during these distressing times. Well done," the President said.

With other political leaders who included the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) leader Prof Lovemore Madhuku and main opposition leader Mr Douglas Mwonzora joining him to get the jab, the President reckoned a new era of politics of engagement and patriotism among all political players has dawned.

"This launch is historic in that it is not only being held here at the City of Victoria Falls, our premium tourist destination, but also in attendance are leaders from various political parties in our country, who will also receive their Covid-19 vaccine doses.

"We are indeed all united in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. Going forward, let us build on the singleness of purpose demonstrated here today and move together in unity, love and harmony to build the Zimbabwe we want. As political leaders, it is incumbent on us to galvanise the people to always act in the national interest, and to be productive, honest and hardworking for the prosperity of our great country.

"Such is the culture and ethos we must all entrench under the Second Republic, where patriotism, unity of purpose and value consensus must reign supreme. In our diversity and different persuasions, we are one people, with one motherland, Zimbabwe," the President said.

Yesterday's launch was attended by Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, who is also the Minister of Health and Child Care, Defence Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, Finance Minister Prof Mthuli Ncube, Higher and Tertiary Education Minister Prof Amon Murwira, Women Affairs Minister Stembiso Nyoni and Tourism and Environment Minister Mangaliso Ndlovu, among other senior Government officials.

The President said it is encouraging that the country has been able to flatten the curve but any complacency could reverse the gains made so far.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Coronavirus Governance Zimbabwe By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Giving a vote of thanks MDC-T leader Mr Mwonzora criticised some leaders for politicising the vaccination programme.

"This pandemic must be completely depoliticised that is why we have all political leaders here.

"We have adopted a new philosophy and new way of doing our politics; first of all, we must be guided by what is in the best interest of our people. It must be Zimbabweans first and our political self-aggrandisement second. Your Excellency, on my part and my political party we urge a new politics in this country. Gone are the days rancour, acrimony, violence, hate and intolerance. We want to substitute this with the politics of rational disputation and tolerance, you are because I am, I am because you are."

Zimbabwe is currently in the process of vaccinating its population and the second phase will see the nation getting a step closer towards the unfettered reopening of the economy to maximise production and productivity.
A wild black bear pried the lid off a holidaymaker's steaming jacuzzi and climbed inside to warm up as the sun rose over the mountains in astonishing footage.

The clip, filmed in the Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee, captures the animal as it strolls across a patio fence, jumps down and makes its way over to the hot tub.

Mason Trebony, who shot the footage on March 20, had been renting the cabin with his wife when he saw the bear climb onto the deck of the cabin he was renting.

In the clip, the animal is seen scrambling up a small set of steps before jumping in the hot tub - which is filled with warm water.

The clip, filmed in the Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee, captures the animal as it relaxes in a holidaymaker's hot tub for 15 minutes

The holidaymaker said the bear sat soaking in the jacuzzi for 15 minutes before it climbed out and returned to the nearby mountain.

Footage captures Mr Trebony as he describes the astonishing moment to another person, saying: 'Look, this bear walked over my coffee, it's about to jump down.'

After being asked a question, he responds: 'No, I didn't speak to it, it's a black bear, they're bad bears. They can be mean. It just knocked my jacuzzi top over.

'And now it just got into my jacuzzi. OK. It's getting warm, it's just having a blast.

Mason Trebony, who shot the footage on March 20, witnesses the bear climb into the hot tub as the sun rose over the mountains

Footage captures Mr Trebony as he describes the astonishing moment to another person, saying: 'Look, this bear walked over my coffee, it's about to jump down'

'I'm glad I wasn't in the jacuzzi. There's a wild black bear in the jacuzzi getting warm. Unbelievable.'

Mr Trebony then opens the patio door and steps outside as the bear swims to the other side of the steaming hot tub.

He later explains that the bear had been 'playing' with another nearby the cabin before abandoning his pal in search of the hot tub.

The clip ends as the bear continues relaxing in the jacuzzi, and Mr Trebony steps back inside the safety of his home with the door shut firmly behind him.

The US National Parks Service estimates that roughly 1,500 wild bears live in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Umuahia  Soldiers of the 144 Battalion, stationed at Ariaria junction, along the Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway, yesterday, allegedly killed 16 gunmen who engaged them in a fierce gun battle.

A military source, however, said it was a joint operation of the Nigerian Army and police which led to the death of about 16 gunmen who were operatives of the Eastern Security Network, ESN.

The source said hundreds of security operatives on Tuesday night launched a heavy attack on the camp of the ESN in Aba, Abia State, killing no fewer than 16 of them and injuring others.

It was gathered that the operation was in response to a series of attacks against security personnel in the South-East. Not less than 20 security operatives have been killed in the region by unknown gunmen in the last three months. Police stations are also not left out in the assault as four of them were razed since January.

This came as the Abia State Government raised an alarm that arms and hoodlums had been imported and camped in a location in Aba for the March 27, 2021, Aba North/South federal constituency by-election.

However, the Nigerian Army, and the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, have dismissed as fake, the report that the military attacked the ESN camp in Aba, killing no fewer than 16 personnel of the security outfit.

The alleged killing is coming 48 hours after three policemen were ambushed and murdered by hoodlums in Abiriba, in Ohafia Local Council of Abia State.

The gunmen, said to be numbering about 50, engaged the soldiers at their checkpoint at the Ariaria junction.

Sources told Vanguard that before the gunmen arrived the area; the soldiers had gathered intelligence and laid in wait for them.

As soon as the gunmen arrived, they opened fire but the soldiers responded.

In the ensuing gun duel which was said to have lasted for over 30 minutes, 16 persons were shot dead in the duel. Other members of the gang reportedly sustained bullet wounds.

However, there are conflicting reports about the number of casualties. While some sources said 16 persons were killed, among them, a soldier, a top military source in Aba said only 11 gunmen were killed while there was no casualty on the side of the army.

"No soldier was killed, but we killed 11 of the gunmen. I assure the public that there was no casualty among the soldiers." he said.

Reacting to the incident, Abia State government commended the soldiers for their gallantry, stressing that it is committed to the protection of lives and properties of Abia residents.

Military didn't attack ESN camp in Abia --Army IPOB

Assistant Director Army Public Relations, 14 Brigade, Ohafia, Captain Iliya Dauda, told Vanguard in Aba that there was no military operation against any ESN camp in Abia.

He rather explained that unknown gunmen attacked an Army checkpoint at Osisioma junction Aba but were repelled.

He said there were no casualty on the part of the Army but begged for more time to receive report from their men at the scene investigating and assessing the incident.

The Army spokesman urged members of the public to disregard the said report which he insisted was false.

Similarly, IPOB dismissed the said report as cheap propaganda by those who planted it.

IPOB Media and Publicity Secretary Emma Powerful, in a reaction said no ESN camp was attacked in Abia.

He rather claimed that the military indiscriminately arrested innocent Igbo young men and tagged them ESN personnel and executed them to create an impression that they had inflicted casualty on ESN.

Powerful said ESN was formidable and could not be easily dislodged by the Nigerian security agencies, adding that the outfit is in the forest to get rid of terrorists.

"They gathered innocent people last night and tagged them ESN operatives. Let them tell the world which ESN camp they attacked. Nigeria soldiers in their normal ways removed some young men's clothes and saw marks on their body, then they arrested and tagged them IPOB and ESN members."

But in a swift response, Captain Dauda denied any involvement of the military in the allegation, saying it was concocted to whip up sentiments.

He said the alleged photos of corpses in the said story were photoshops, insisting that the military did not carry out any military operation in any part of Abia.

Abia govt raises alarm over Importation of hoodlums, arms

Decrying alleged procurement of arms and importation hoodlums camped in a location in Aba for the March 27 election by one of the opposition parties, the Abia State Government tasked the security agencies to ensure that the hoodlums are swiftly arrested while others on the way are prevented from entering the state.

Commissioner for Information, Chief John Okiyi Kalu who disclosed this in Umuahia, explained that intelligence reports available to the state revealed that the opposition party plans to overheat the polity as a prelude to calling for full deployment of the military which will in turn create room for the deployment of the hoodlums with fake uniforms and procured arms."

His words: "Specifically, we are aware that about 200 armed youths have already been camped at a location and are awaiting deployment with fake military uniform made available to them by an Abia born retired Army General who only recently joined the opposition party, with the intention of unleashing mayhem on the people of the state.

"We advise the police and military high command as well as office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) and the Department of State Services (DSS) to be wary of the antics of desperate politicians seeking for expansion of family enterprise, even at the expense of precious lives of citizens rather than growth and unity of our nation."

Lagbaja, 82 Division GOC tasks soldiers on alertness

Meanwhile, the General Officer Commanding, 82 Division Nigerian Army, Maj General Abiodun Lagbaja, yesterday, told officers and men of the 302 Artillery Regiment (General Support), in Onitsha, to remain professional and responsive in the discharge of their duties. Major General Lagbaja, also charged the soldiers to be conscious of their safety while at their duty posts, warning that they should not relax as if they are at their homes, just as he warned them about leaving only one person at their duty post for any reason to give hoodlums opportunities to attack them.

He also enjoined the soldiers to ensure full enforcement of the State Government's order banning tinted vehicles and covered number plates.

Major Gen Lagbaja's visit is coming one week after hoodlums attacked two military check points in Anambra State where they killed three Nigerian Navy officers and made away with their riffles.

The GOC who assured his officers and men that the army authority is working hard to improve on their welfare, advised them to take the Astrazeneca COVID-19 vaccine to safeguard themselves and their loved ones from the dreaded Corona-virus pandemic.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Legal Affairs Nigeria By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

He said: "The Nigerian Army will continue to carry out its constitutional responsibilities with high sense of professionalism despite any form of provocation.

"As soldiers, if you are six in a duty post, stay together and at alert. If you must give permission for any one to eat, you must not allow more than one person at a time to leave for any excuse. If you observe the rules of your engagement, there will not be any issue of human rights violation in the discharge of your jobs or attack against you.

"I have gone round Anambra State and I have discovered that soldiers are misbehaving. IPOB is trying to tell the world that we are Army of occupation and you must not prove them right. You must discharge your duties as soldiers of the Nigerian Army.

"The job we ask you to do is not to harrass and intimidate people or collect money at road blocks. When you stay together, you will fight together against the enemies. Permit only one person out at a time."

He acknowledged that the soldiers have a lot of problems militating against their jobs but assured them that these problems are being addressed especially accommodation and other issues, adding that in no distant time, those problems will be a thing of the past.

"I am here for the first time as the GOC 82 Division to sympathise with the Nigerian Navy Onitsha Out Post for the loss of their three personnel and fire arms and to familiarize with you and know some of the problems you face.

"The Nigerian Army under the leadership of Lt General Ibrahim Attahiru is sincere in addressing your welfare issues and the only way to pay back for his genuine commitment is to work hard and in line with the rules of your engagement."

Vanguard News Nigeria
A Mount Maunganui fisherman is stunned after seeing a pod of orca in the harbour.

Koos Joubert was heading back to Sulphur Point after a rough morning of fishing, when he spotted the marine animals at around 9am Sunday.

As he was preparing to bring his jet ski back around Mauao and enter the harbour, he noticed something of a commotion.

I went out fishing with one of my mates, says Koos. The wind was terrible and the sea was rough, so we decided to come back earlier.

On my way back from Motiti I noticed a boat looking at something. When I got closer I noticed a massive fin coming out of the water. Just then I realised it was the orcas.

Koos is a keen fisherman and spends a lot of his time on the water.

But in the two years he has been based in the Mount this is the first time he has encountered one of New Zealands most enigmatic marine creatures.

Whilst orca are impressive animals the DOC do have some important advice regarding how people should interact with them if they come into contact.

Vessels should not be within 50m of a killer whale. No more than three vessels should be within 300m of any marine mammal.

DOC has advice on how to interact with orca in the water. Photo. Koos Joubert.

DOC has advice on how to interact with orca in the water. Photo. Koos Joubert.

Your vessel should approach orca from behind and to the side, do not circle them, obstruct their path or cut through any group.

Operate your boat slowly and quietly at 'no wake' speed when within 300m of a killer whale and you should avoid sudden noises that could startle the animals.

Koos believes there was anywhere between eight and 12 orca in the pod and was clearly left humbled by the encounter.

This was an absolute amazing sighting, he says.

Just watching them making their way across the ocean. The size of these orcas can't be explained to someone and photos and videos don't justify the reality.

Sightings of orca can be reported to the DOC by calling 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468), or by filling out an online form. Sightings are always of interest and help increase the DOCs knowledge of cetacean distribution and movements around New Zealand.
Publicis says that Balance Internet, which has offices in Australia, Vietnam and Ukraine, and a staff of around 90 staff, will sit within the Publicis Commerce unit, led by Chief Product Officer, Jason Tonelli.

Publicis Groupe ANZ CEO, Michael Rebelo, says Balance Internet has been in operation since 2008, and has worked with some of Asia Pacifics leading brands, government agencies and educational institutions, including Ego Pharmaceuticals, Mitre 10, Total Tools, Krispy Kreme, Betta Home Living and the Australian Government.

Balance Internet delivers enterprise-grade commerce solutions utilising the Magento, Adobe and BigCommerce platforms.

Balance Internets addition to Publicis Groupes breadth of connected capabilities and services forms part of our broader efforts to ensure that we are continually advancing solutions in key growth areas, including commerce, so that we can help unlock growth for our clients in a world dominated by platforms, Rebelo said.

As the only holding company in Australia and New Zealand with the ability to genuinely deliver end-to-end marketing and business transformation solutions to clients, Im pleased to welcome the talented team at Balance Internet who for more than a decade have successfully delivered digital transformation to their clients.

Rebelo said the addition of Balance Internet builds upon the breadth of commerce capabilities across the group, with Publicis Sapient already working with advertisers on eCommerce solutions.



The Publicis Commerce unit includes omni-channel retail solutions, and Marketplace Commerce, an online marketplace management and optimisation solution that helps advertisers increase their sales on online retailers and marketplaces such as Amazon, Google and Facebook.



Tonelli said: After expanding our commerce capabilities over the past 12 months through Marketplace, we are excited to bring in a leader in the specialist craft of building and managing large-scale commerce platforms for their customers, and I am looking forward to bringing Balance Internets services to our customer base, to enable them to capitalise on this growth.



Balance Internet CEO James Horne said: We are proud of the reputation we have built as a trusted digital commerce transformation partner for many of Australias leading businesses.

Were delighted to join Publicis Groupe and have the backing of an organisation with a proven track record of delivering both marketing and digital business transformation for some of the leading brands across ANZ.

Balance Internets Director of Business Operations, David Crothers said: I am really excited for the entire team at Balance Internet. Our unique and powerful offering is going to jump to the next level in Australia and globally by being part of an innovative, creative and diverse business like Publicis Groupe.
Christian Health Is More Than Spiritual

The struggle is real. For healthy-but-homebound American families entering their second year of close-quarters pandemic life, keeping fit is crucial for preserving our health and sanity. Regular exercise is proven to reduce stress, increase strength, improve sleep quality, strengthen the immune system, regulate blood pressure, and aid vaccines with antibody production. In senior citizens, physical activity can improve balance, lowering the risk of fall-related injuries, help maintain cognitive function, and prolong independenceimproving the life expectancy and quality-of-life for our most vulnerable populations.

However, for many Americans, a healthcare program that allows them to receive the medical care they need to stay healthy seems to be out of reach.

An issue that many Americans consider to be a problem with the current structure of the US healthcare system is that there is little to no incentive to be a savvy healthcare consumer. After all, the system is so complicated and opaque that its often easier to just pay the monthly price, receive the medical care when you need it, and move on without thinking much about it. But for those among us who strive to be healthy and play an active role in our healthcare and more importantly, our health, a new way to manage our healthcare, known as healthcare sharing is an intriguing option.

Healthcare sharing ministries, such as Share HealthCare, are Christian-based organizations who promote healthy living as a way to honor our most precious gift from God  our body. The importance placed upon taking good care of our bodies by healthcare sharing ministries has led them to be a popular choice for young and healthy Americans to pay for their medical expenses.

As a fully compliant member-to-member cost sharing organization, Share HealthCare enables health-conscious individuals and families to be informed and savvy healthcare consumers. From the state-of-the-art membership dashboard, Share HealthCare members can track their expenses, see what their monthly share amount is being shared towards, and manage their account. Additionally, Share HealthCare has no provider network, meaning members can continue seeing their preferred medical professionalsoften for less than they were paying through their traditional healthcare plan.

As health systems struggle with their own financial crises, this is a good timeto partner more closely with hospitals and doctors, says Harvard Medical School senior lecturer Vivian S. Lee, MD. As self-pay patients in a healthsharing community that puts wellness first, Share HealthCare members develop a close working relationship with their medical providers and make informed decisions about their care. All personal medical and financial decisions are made by the member, not the healthshare program.

Share HealthCare members agree to abstain from illicit drugs, avoid dangerous activities, and exercise regularly. As a result, members of Share HealthCare suffer fewer injuries and chronic illnesses, fewer pre-existing conditions, and have quicker recovery periods. And because each member assumes personal responsibility for his or her good health, Share HealthCare members are a low-risk community who enjoy significant savings on common eligible medical procedures. Additionally, they also enjoy lower monthly prices than many of them are used to paying on the healthcare marketplace.

The Harvard Business Review reports that healthcare costs will continue to skyrocket in 2021, as monthly prices for programs on the marketplace are projected to rise between 4% and 40% nationwide. While this latest increase is attributed to uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, the trend is nothing new. Kaiser Family Foundation data released in 2019 shows that health insurance premiums for a family of four increased by 54% between 2009 and 2019 while wages grew by only 4%a disparity which forces many families, even healthy ones, to survive with an inadequate healthcare program, or none at all.

With programs starting as low as $149/month, Share HealthCare has membership options for any size family or budget. Each month, members set aside a voluntary gift in an FDIC-insured account to be used to help pay for eligible medical bills submitted by other Share HealthCare members. When a member is confronted with an unexpected eligible medical expense, they simply upload documentation to the membership dashboard and the bills are reimbursed by the monthly share amounts of fellow members.

In addition to savings on inpatient and outpatient medical care, medical expenses eligible for sharing with Share HealthCare include medical testing, medical imaging, ambulance transportation, prescription, wellness and screening appointments, urgent care, physical therapy, speech therapy, respiratory therapy, and vaccinationsmaking it an efficient way for you and your family to receive the healthcare you need during these uncertain times.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a media conference after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, March 24. AP



The United States will not force any NATO ally to choose sides between Washington and Beijing, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday, although he warned that the West needed to show authoritarian states that democracy was superior.



European allies France and Germany are looking for a strategic balance in relations with Beijing and Washington that ensures the European Union is not so closely allied with one of the world's two big powers that it alienates the other.



"The United States won't force allies into an 'us-or-them' choice with China," Blinken, on his maiden voyage to Europe as Washington's top diplomat, said at the NATO headquarters in Brussels.



The European Union, led by France, wants independence from the United States, its ally and protector for over seven decades. Spain and the Netherlands urged the bloc to keep its economy open while seeking "strategic autonomy".



"Countries can work with China where possible," Blinken said. He noted that climate change was an area where cooperation was necessary with a country of 1.34 billion people that already emits a quarter of the world's carbon dioxide, more than the United States, but is also an investor in renewable energy.



In his first trip to the EU headquarters, Blinken also urged the bloc to help stand up for liberal values and human rights, in a stark shift from four years under former U.S. President Donald Trump, who shunned the EU and promoted Britain's departure from the club of 27 states.



"There is a fundamental debate under way about ... whether democracy or autocracy offers the best path forward. I think it is up to us to come together and show the world that democracy can deliver for our people," Blinken said.



As the United States and China vie for supremacy in areas from electric cars to biomedicine, Blinken also accused Beijing of undermining the international trading order that the United States and its allies built after World War Two.



"They are actively working to undercut the rules of the international system and the values we and our allies share," Blinken said of China, standing by the 30 flags of the NATO alliance. "If we work together to make real our positive vision for the international order ... we're confident that we can outcompete China on any playing field," he said.



China's military ambitions were also growing, he said.





U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends the second day of a NATO foreign ministers' meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, March 24. AFP
A Christian in Oran, Algeria convicted of posting a caricature of Islam's prophet Muhammad on social media was sentenced to a five-year prison. His lawyer said that the heavy sentence was due to his religious affiliation.



The presiding judge in Oran City Court of Justice gave the sentence on Monday and added a fine of 100,000 dinars (US$750). Farid Khemisti, the defendant's attorney, said that his 43-year-old client apparently received such burdensome verdict for the simple reason that he is a Christian.

"I really hoped for a reduction in the sentence - I expected at the worst, six months in prison," Khemisti told Morning Star News. "That is the maximum that a fair judgment would have given, but I don't think my client's being a Christian made it any easier."

The attorney pleaded for his client's release as he is not the creator nor the original source of the cartoon in question. He merely re-posted it on his Facebook account in 2018.

"I pleaded for his release, because it is clear that my client does not deserve such a heavy sanction," Khemisti explained and added that "the investigating security services could not find anything else in his client's Facebook account other than the cartoon."

Khemisti also said that the judge and prosecutor didn't like it when he suggested that the punishment was that heavy simply because his client was a Christian.

"I said to them, 'If it's because my client is a Christian that you condemn him so heavily, say it honestly,'" Khemisti said. "Of course, they didn't like it; their faces changed color as I told them that."

According to the non-profit news service, Khemisti's client was accused by an Islamic extremist whom he had done business with as a honey seller. His accuser filed his complaint in December 2020 which led the security services to get a hold of the cartoon used to pin a crime on Khemisti's client. The cartoon sat on the accused Christian's Facebook for 3 years prior to his arrest.

"(The client) assured me that he had never intended to harm Islam or anyone, and that he did not know how he had become trapped in receiving this post," Khemisti said. "If I was not sure of the innocence of my client, I would not have agreed to defend him, because I will never defend someone who infringes on the freedom of others, on the religion or faith of anyone."

The Christian convicted of blasphemy is a father of 4 children ages 6, 4, 3 and 3 months. He's also a poultry farmer in El-Aiyaida near the city of Oran. Police arrested him on Jan. 20 and was soon sentenced to 5 years of imprisonment under the Article 144 of Algeria's penal code which penalized anyone convicted of insulting Muhammad.

Several organizations have also condemned Article 144 for its violation of international human rights law. Freedom House, a pro-democracy group, said the article has been "commonly used to persecute Christians" in Algeria where Muslims are the majority.

"It is a tragedy for us and for his family, " said Pastor Seighir of Oratoire Church in Oran. "When a member of the Body of Christ is sick, the whole body feels the pain. (This brother) was naive in accepting this cartoon on his Facebook account. That this story goes back three years and only now it's resurfacing - it's hard to digest."

Open Doors ranked Algeria ranked 24th in its 2021 World Watch List.
reported 1,515 cases on Thursday, highest in over three months, while five more people succumbed to the disease, the health department said.

This is the highest number of cases since December 16 when 1,547 people tested positive for the virus, according to official data.

The city had recorded 1,254 cases on Wednesday and 1,101 cases on Tuesday -- the first time since December 24 that the number of cases crossed the 1,000-mark.

The active cases rose to 5,497 on Thursday from 4,890 a day ago. The positivity rate rose to 1.69 percent from 1.52 per cent on Wednesday, the health bulletin said.

The positivity rate was 1.31 percent on Tuesday,1.32 percent on Monday and 1.03 per cent on Sunday.

The new infections pushed the tally to 6,52,742, while over 6.36 lakh patients have recovered from the virus.

There were 888 cases on Monday, 823 on Sunday, 813 on Saturday, 716 on Friday, 607 on Thursday, and 536 on Wednesday last week, according to official data.

Five more people died from the pathogen on Thursday, taking the number of fatalities to 10,978.

A total of 89,836 tests, including 58,303 RT-PCR tests, were conducted a day ago, the bulletin said.

The number of people under home isolation rose to 2,871 from 2,560 from a day ago. The containment zones rose to 1,076 from 976 on Wednesday, it said.

The caseload in on January 1 had stood at over 6.25 lakh and the total fatalities were 10,557.

The number of daily cases had started to come down in February. On February 26, the month's highest daily count of 256 cases was recorded.

However, the number of daily cases begun to rise again in March and has been steadily increasing over the last few days.

Health experts and doctors have attributed this "sudden rise" in cases to people turning complacent, not following COVID-appropriate behaviour and "assuming all is well now".

The nexttwo-three months could be challenging, they said, adding the situation can be kept under control if vaccination is opened up for more people and COVID-19 protocols are strictly adhered to.

Amid a rise in cases, the Disaster Management Authority had on Tuesday ordered that there will be no public celebrations in the national capital during upcoming festivals such as Holi and Navaratri.

(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.)
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 media fraternity is mourning the death of veteran journalist Reuben Githinji who succumbed to Covid-19 complications on Wednesday.

The Star newspaper reporter based in Embu died aged 52.

According to his sister Grace Wacheke, the journalist passed on at 8.30am at the Murang'a Hospital where he was undergoing treatment.

"My brother has died of Covid-19. We have learnt of his demise with great shock," she told the Nation.

Mr Githinji was taken ill last week and rushed to Embu Referral Hospital where he was admitted in critical condition.

He complained of difficulty in breathing and he had to be put on oxygen immediately on arrival at the health facility.

While at Embu, his condition deteriorated and doctors said he had to be taken to an Intensive Care Unit.

However, it was established that all the ICU beds were occupied forcing the hospital management to transfer Mr Githinji to Murang'a after local journalists intervened.

The journalists had demanded that he be moved to another hospital where there were ICU beds to save his life.

Specialised treatment

Mr Githinji died a few days after being transferred to the hospital for specialised treatment.

Born in 1969, Githinji is survived by a wife and one child, a Form Four candidate.

The seventh born in a family of eight, Mr Githinji will be buried at his Nyahururu village home.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Coronavirus Kenya Media By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"We shall meet as a family to make burial arrangements for our beloved brother," Ms Wacheke said.

Embu journalists described Mr Githinji as a humble, hardworking and friendly writer.

"He took his work seriously and related well with his colleagues. We shall surely miss him," Embu Media Association chairman Brian Malila said.

The journalists vowed to stand with the family of Mr Githinji during this trying moment.

Mbeere South MP Geoffrey King'ang'i also sent a message of condolences to the bereaved family saying Mr Githinji's departure was a big blow to Embu residents.

"Mr Githinji's reporting was objective and balanced. We have lost a good writer but may God rest his soul in eternal peace," he said.

The MP said Mr Githinji cooperated with local political leaders and they will forever remember him.

"He was consistent in his reporting and he used to cover both development and political events so well. We have lost a partner in our political journey," added Mr King'ang'i.
A prison officer who had a baby with an inmate serving life behind bars for murder has been spared jail.

Kerianne Stephens, 26, slept with hit-and-run killer Louis Tate, 35, during a four-month romance at HMP Swaleside on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent.

The relationship, which carried on between September 1, 2018, and January 8, 2019, also saw them exchange phone calls and text messages via an illegally-held mobile.

Stephens gave birth to a daughter in June 2019 and Tate was later confirmed as the father.

Kerianne Stephens, 26, slept with hit-and-run killer Louis Tate, 35, during a four-month romance in HMP Swaleside on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent (pictured outside Maidstone Crown Court in October last year)

The relationship, which carried on between September 1, 2018, and January 8, 2019, also saw them exchange phone calls and text messages via an illegally-held mobile

The mother pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office at the category B jail.

Stephens also admitted unauthorised transmission of image or sound by electronic communication between the same dates.

Tate, 35, and formerly from Southall, London, pleaded guilty to the same phone offence.

Stephens sobbed in the dock at Maidstone Crown Court as Judge Philip Statman told her that despite the seriousness of her crime, exceptional circumstances which included the delay in court proceedings and the significant impact of custody on her toddler allowed him to impose a 16-month jail term suspended for two years.

She was also ordered to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work and 25 days of a rehabilitation activity requirement.

The judge told her: 'You were trained and aware of your responsibilities and you would have known how important it would be for the rules to be observed and for you to set an example, not just to the prisoners in your care but also in terms of integrity to the officers with whom you served.

'You would have known the importance of boundaries when it came to dealing with those who had committed the gravest of crimes, namely murder.

From murderer to father Murderer Louis Tate killed father-of-three Garry Frater outside his own Edgware home in May 2009. He drove at him and knocked him over, before callously reversing over him and dragging him under the wheels. Tate only stopped when the bump of going over his body caused his Ford Fiesta to jump into the air. He claimed he had not noticed what had happened because another man had smashed an axe into the windscreen. Tate, who had a girlfriend at the time, had gone into Watford to try and pick up girls on the night of the murder. He had come across Mr Frater and his friends and then followed him back to his home before the attack A post-mortem gave cause of death as multiple internal injuries. When Tate was arrested on June 11 and taken to a North London police station he gave a 'no comment' interview. He was sentenced to life after being found guilty of murder at the Old Bailey. Another man, who had been his co-accused was cleared. Advertisement

'There will be those in the community who will look upon you and wonder how it can be that a sexual relationship between you and your co-defendant was able to continue, albeit over a comparatively short period of time, and leading to the birth of your child.

'This is not a court of morals but the acts you performed in a public office which led to sexual intercourse in a prison, undermining all that is going on in that institution, make this a very serious crime.'

Tate, who was jailed for life with a minimum 18-year tariff in October 2010 for a hit-and-run murder of a father-of-three in Edgware, north London, had another 10 months added to his sentence to be served concurrently.

His affair with Stephens came to light when, during a move to another prison on October 25 2018, he was overheard telling another inmate he had left 'a six' (a phone) in his cell. He also referred to a 'Miss Kerianne'.

As a result, his cell was searched and an iPhone 6 was discovered hidden in a sock on a table.

A download of the data revealed calls and text messages being exchanged with Stephens's personal mobile in the 11 days before his planned transfer to Lowdham Grange Prison in Nottingham.

Details of their sexual relationship and as to how it was conducted behind bars were not revealed during their sentencing hearing on Thursday.

But on the day of her arrest as she arrived for work on January 8, 2019, Stephens confirmed she was three months pregnant.

Her diary also revealed she had attended a pregnancy ultrasound scan a month earlier, and giving a conception date of September 29, the court heard.

Prosecutor Maria Karaiskos said all the telephone communications were made while Stephens, who had been a prison guard for five years, was off-duty. Many occurred however within minutes of her finishing a shift.

Murder victim Garry Frater was killed by Louis Tate in 2010 in a hit and run attack

'Her mobile phone showed it had made or received over 50 calls and sent or received over 20 texts with the phone found in Mr Tate's cell between October 14 and October 25 2018,' she told the court.

'There were also numerous attempted calls made and Internet-based calls made. A lot of material had also been deleted.

'In summary, it showed that when she was not working, calls were made from her mobile to the mobile found in Mr Tate's cell.'

The night before Tate's prison transfer he called Stephens three times, with the calls lasting just over a total of two hours.

She then made a staggering 25 calls to him in the early hours and sent five texts.

Tate, who has 12 previous convictions for 33 offences, initially denied even knowing his lover until he was shown her photograph.

'He confirmed she was a prison officer that had worked at Swaleside, he stated he knew her and described her as a very professional officer,' said the prosecutor.

'He denied any relationship with her other than a purely professional one.'

The court heard Stephens had also been communicating with Tate's brother, although the details and his location were not given in court.

The phone found in Tate's cell had also been used to contact others on the outside.

Bethan Rogers, defending Stephens, said her sexual relationship with Tate occurred at a time when she had been 'broken down' by a previous abusive partner to such an extent that she was drinking, using cannabis and self-harming.

But Miss Rogers told the court the birth of her child had been her 'saving grace'.

'She was a deeply traumatised young woman and one has to ask why someone who is motivated and clearly intelligent finds herself in this extraordinary position,' she said.

'She accepts what she did, she knows how wrong it was. In relation to the phone it's important to remember she didn't bring it in to the prison.

'She allowed its use without reporting it but the content of those messages seems entirely to be about their relationship.

'She is a profoundly immature and profoundly foolish woman who has made a big mistake but out of that mistake came something wonderful for her.'

HM Prison Swaleside in Eastchurch on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent holds 778 criminals

Tate was later transferred to category C prison The Mount in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, but appeared for sentencing via video link with HMP Elmley, also on the Isle of Sheppey.

The court heard Tate has a prison adjudication for possessing a mobile phone in 2017, and on the day of Stephens's arrest was found with a USB stick plugged into his cell TV.

Sarah Morris, defending Tate, said the phone contact with Stephens was extremely brief and entirely of a 'personal and romantic' nature.

In the immediate aftermath of the phone being found, he spent 28 days in isolation and lost his enhanced status.

However, he has since regained that position, become a violence reduction representative, and been commended for preventing a prison staff member from being assaulted.

Stephens, of Aylesford, Kent, pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office at the category B jail between September 1, 2018 and January 8, 2019.

She also admitted unauthorised transmission of image or sound by electronic communication between the same dates.

Tate, formerly of Southall, London, pleaded guilty to the same phone offence.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-26 06:28:01|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

PRAGUE, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Officials, economists and entrepreneurs from China and the Czech Republic attending an online forum here on Thursday agreed that China's opening-up policies and economic development provide Czech companies new opportunities to enter the Chinese market.

Wang Jinsong, Economic and Commercial Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in the Czech Republic, said that China and the Czech Republic are important trading partners for each other. In the trying times since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, China and the Czech Republic have reached out to each other and made sound progress in anti-pandemic cooperation.

He said that bilateral trade has been growing against headwinds and "China will continue to support Czech companies to enter the Chinese market through various channels and platforms such as the China International Import Expo (CIIE), promote bilateral trade cooperation and promote two-way investment."

Richard Hlavaty, Director General of the Department of Foreign Economic Policies II from the Czech Industry and Trade Ministry, focused his discussion on balanced trade.

He said that the Czech Republic considers China a "significant and promising trade partner."

"With the aim to achieve more balanced trade, I believe a broader range of successful export products can find its way to the Chinese market, including such sections (as) environment protection, aviation, health industry, engineering and services. We also want to see more export of high-quality Czech agricultural products," he said.

Yang Yu, head of the Prague branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), said that the ICBC, as the official partner of the 4th CIIE, will continue to organize the China-Europe Entrepreneurs Conference, and will launch a special promotion event at the end of March to woo Czech companies to participate in the 4th CIIE, slated for November in Shanghai this year.

With the theme of "new opportunities of Czech enterprises expansion in the Chinese market," the forum was sponsored by the Association of Chinese-Invested Enterprises in the Czech Republic and the ICBC. More than 70 experts and entrepreneurs from both countries attended the forum. Enditem
China Plans For Supremacy In AI & Quantum Computing

The Chinese government plans some significant breakthroughs in quantum technologies, which would make China a leading quantum superpower. The country is entering a race with the US in advanced technologies from semiconductor chips to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Quantum Computing over the next five years. China is already actively involved in quantum communications and the country's efforts are set to increase further with its latest 5 year economic planning cycle, where it intends to create a long-distance and high-speed quantum communication system that is compatible with classical communication technology.

China has been a long-running rival and partner of the United States in producing massive technologies from various companies like Apple, Intel, Microsoft, and Amazon. Indeed, many of the components that are used to make these companies' products are made in Chinese factories, which offer lower production costs compared to the US and EU.

The Chinese government is also setting high expectations in the field of quantum computing, with plans to achieve the coherent manipulation of more than a few hundred qubits before the end of the 14th five-year plan, while also developing quantum simulators that can perform beyond classical computers in solving a number of problems. However, the tension between the two countries has tightened in the past years, as the United States has enforced a Trade Ban on several Chinese companies, including Huawei.

This issue was repeatedly denied by Huawei but has been banned from using components and tech from Google and Qualcomm, which it heavily relies upon.

Economists and industry analysts say the latest five-year plan stands out for its emphasis on advanced technologies and innovation. It also includes Chinas vision for 2035, when the country expects to have significant breakthroughs on core technologies and seeks to be among the most innovative nations globally. China is known to have been working on a hack-proof quantum computer that could send messages like electronic mail and video calls using next-generation technology. The tech heavily relies on satellites to boost its power and quantum computing which has been the focus of most researchers to develop.

Artificial Intelligence is also a significant thing in China, as it aims to assign the telecoms company ZTE the status of national champion in creating the country's native AI that could power most of its technology and end its reliance on the United States. Huawei would also join the five-year plan's timeline, helping the country develop and advance in various technologies such as smartphones and computers.

China is developing a collection of impressive innovations in the past years, and it includes robotics, artificial intelligence, and 5G networks. The move by the country is to move away from its heavy reliance on partner countries such as the US and to become self-sufficient across a range of new technologies, including electric vehicles, AI, and the smartphone technology which Huawei has initially dominated.

These technologies are critical and likely to emerge as dominant over the next decade and China is aiming its sights on developing in this aspect to establish its supremacy.

XinHuaNet: TechTimes: WSJ: ZDNet: Endgadget: Yahoo: Image: Unsplash

You Might Also Read:

Has China Become The Greatest Cyber Power?:
The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.

The big idea

While the battle over privacy is everywhere in American life, its actually a relatively new concept that didnt become grounded in law until over a century after the Declaration of Independence.

Privacy is supposedly a core American value, forged in the countrys founding. For example, historians claim that privacy concerns drove the American Revolution. Colonists were reacting to British troops invading their warehouses and shops in search of taxable goods, and to British demands that the Colonists shelter soldiers in their homes.

And today, civil liberties advocates argue that democracy requires privacy. They believe privacy is necessary to create independent-minded, free-thinking citizens who vote as they wish.

Yet the term privacy is not mentioned in the Constitution. A legal right to privacy wasnt articulated until 1890. And it came to be robustly defended by the Supreme Court only in the 1960s.

These are among the many things I discovered while researching Life after Privacy: Reclaiming Democracy in a Surveillance Society, which explores the nature of privacy, its history and its uncertain future. I also learned that privacy remains an ill-formed and embattled concept.

Why it matters

Americans feel their privacy is gravely endangered in the digital age. Corporations use increasingly sophisticated methods of data collection to analyze and influence peoples behavior.

This ability can be used both to bolster and hamper democracy. For example, Facebook used its deep knowledge of user data to boost voter turnout in 2010. Four years later, data firm Cambridge Analytica used the same technique to target voters with Donald Trump campaign ads.

In my research, I learned that political liberty relies much less on privacy than on peoples ability and willingness to demonstrate and deliberate in the public realm. By that I mean protecting privacy alone will not help with consumer and citizen freedom. I believe people need to use the power of public protests to gain and maintain their civil liberties.

The gay rights movement demonstrated this power in the past century. Throughout the 20th century in much of America, people were prosecuted for homosexual behavior in their private lives. The aggressive work of ACT UP and other gay rights activist groups led to legal protections for people to live and love as they wished. And in 2003, the Supreme Court overruled all state laws that had prohibited homosexuality.

Civil and labor rights campaigns in the 20th century had similar outcomes. Despite civil rights leaders being spied on and hounded from the start, they used their power of coordination and public organizing to trump their lack of privacy. Their organizational roots, built over many decades, enabled them to withstand repeated assault and launch disciplined, creative protests.

In other words, privacy is not so much a prerequisite for democracy as it is a product of democratic action.

What still isnt known

It is still unclear how digital technology has changed the nature of political protest, and whether it has made it more or less effective.

As scholar Zeynep Tufekci notes, modern, internet-fueled networked protests like Occupy Wall Street and the Arab Spring used social media to quickly organize massive protests, but with limited long-term success.

Whats next

Digital technology has changed Americans behavior in surprising ways, including when it comes to privacy. People share intimate details about their lives on social media. Meanwhile, digital media has also given rise to hardened partisanship and political radicalization.

I believe philosophers need to look ahead and consider what other new behaviors digital technology is inspiring. Perhaps consumers and citizens will become more predictable, as data analysts believe. Alternatively, people may rise up and rebel against constant surveillance and the efforts of spying governments and marketers to control them.

[Deep knowledge, daily. Sign up for The Conversations newsletter.]

Firmin DeBrabander, Professor of Philosophy, Maryland Institute College of Art

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Moscow considers Canada's sanctions against Russia illegal and will take retaliatory measures, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, Sputnik reports.

When asked whether Russia would respond to Canadian sanctions against Russia, Peskov answered in the affirmative.

"We will", he said, adding that these sanctions were illegal.

Earlier in the day, Canada imposed sanctions on nine senior Russian officials in line with similar measures taken earlier by the United States and the European Union over the case of opposition blogger Alexey Navalny.
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.
Patrick Crusius bought an AK-47-style rifle and 1,000 rounds of hollow-point ammunition online 45 days before the Walmart attack, prosecutors said. A Crusius family lawyer said his mother raised concerns about the purchase in a call to police on June 27. Police said she asked if Crusius, who was 21 at the time, was old enough to buy a gun. Police said she was assured he was and that hed qualify if he passed a background check. Police said she expressed concern only about his safety and said shed seen no recent change in his behavior. Texas does not have the kind of red flag law that in other states allows courts to take guns from people posing immediate danger. Crusius posted a racist screed online just before the attack and appeared to target Mexicans. Hes charged with capital murder in Texas and federal hate crimes and firearms offenses.
The Tennessee Department of Education on Wednesday announced a request for applications from vendors to develop and support a new Advanced Placement Access for All program designed to help more students have the opportunity to earn college credit while in high school.

The AP Access for All program will help open access to students across the state by providing AP courses virtually, allowing them to enroll in AP courses not currently offered at their home high school, and reducing financial barriers to taking AP exams. Further, the program will provide training and professional development to support both current and prospective AP teachers.

For many students, AP courses are a pathway to earn college credit, but earning college credits while in high school is an opportunity that should be available to all students, said Commissioner Penny Schwinn. This new grant will provide more low income and rural Tennessee students with access to AP courses while eliminating financial barriers to taking the AP exam, and will invest in our teachers to deepen their content knowledge and help them promote the benefits of postsecondary readiness to their students.

The grant award to develop this program is secured through federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund funding. One grantee will be selected through the competitive application process to manage the AP Access for All program. Additionally, the grantee will support the development of the course curriculum for AP course expansion as well as manage the test registration and administration process with students home high school staff.

Responses to the request for applications are due April 9. The application and additional information can be found here.

For additional information about Tennessees advanced placement courses, click here.
Major, one of the family dogs of President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, explores the South Lawn at the White House in Washington on Jan. 24, 2021. (Adam Schultz/White House/Handout via Reuters)

Bidens Dogs Return to White House After Incident

President Joe Bidens dogs have returned to the White House after they were sent to Delaware when one caused an injury.

Champ and Major joined the first family at Camp David over the weekend before traveling with them to Washington on Sunday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Wednesday.

The dogs will come and go, and it will not be uncommon for them to head back to Delaware on occasion, as the president and first lady often do as well, she said.

Major, the familys younger dog, had caused a minor injury to an individual, the White House said earlier this month.

The individual was reportedly a member of the White House security and the incident was reportedly a bite.

The administration alleged the removal of the dogs was pre-planned.

Biden told ABC News in a recent interview that Major was out of the dog house.

Major was a rescue pup. Major did not bite someone and penetrate the skin. The dogs being trained now with our trainer at home in Delaware, he said.

Biden moved the dogs to the White House shortly after being sworn in on Jan. 20.

He and his wife, First Lady Jill Biden, adopted Major from the Delaware Humane Association in 2018. Champ was adopted in 2008.
Yulia Burmistenko, Advisor to DTEK CEO on international affairs

The 4th Ukrainian-German Business Forum took place in Berlin on March 19. It was attended by nearly 400 representatives from the business and investment community as well as German and Ukrainian government officials. Discussions centred on a common theme: the EU Green Deal. German Chancellor Angela Merkel opened the Forum, confirming that Ukraine has a special place in strengthening Europe's energy security, especially with regard to transit infrastructure. Given Germanys particular experience with transforming its energy sector, it is critical that those best practices are shared with Ukraine in coal and just transition. Additionally, further cooperation with our German partners will allow us to seize opportunities in the development of renewable energy sources and the hydrogen economy. Hydrogen was paid special attention during the discussions. Ukraine reaffirmed its desire to become a key partner in the implementation of the EUs Hydrogen Strategy. Energy has a special role to play in developing Ukrainian-German relations, as noted by the invited speakers in their speeches and discussions.

Mr. Vitrenko (acting Minister of Energy of Ukraine) and Mr. Feicht (State Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy of Germany) agreed that energy transition will be the basis for fundamental economic transformation and the creation of new jobs. As such, increasing the share of RES should be simultaneously accompanied by the development of opportunities for energy storage, such as green hydrogen and batteries. Mr. Feicht emphasized that a "master plan" is required, however it will need flexibility given the innovative processes that are inevitable throughout the course of the energy transition. In summary, a stable and clear framework for investors and competitive markets are required in order to reduce the cost of energy transition.

The next matter related to both countries experience was RES support mechanisms. It was noted that Germany has already taken a similar path to the one Ukraine is currently pursuing. In this regard, it is important to maintain investor confidence and develop work formats that enable decisions to be made in close consultation with the government and businesses. According to our German partners, it is also important for the market to operate efficiently as it acts as the main driver of energy transition. Mr. Meixner (Senior Vice President, Europe, Siemens Energy AG) stressed the importance of functioning auction mechanisms for RES that are capable of ensuring the stability and confidence of investors.

Talking about specific hydrogen projects, the German government plans to launch two models of international cooperation in which Ukraine will be actively involved by September 2021. This will entail: Establishing the H2Global Foundation to be involved in green hydrogen auctions. The German Government will compensate enterprises for the price differential of hydrogen technologies to ensure the creation and expansion of the hydrogen market Introducing rules when granting subsidies for individual hydrogen projects. Two areas will be covered: directly producing green hydrogen, which will then be exported to Germany, and processing hydrogen into methanol or synthetic fuels.



DTEK is pleased to contribute to the partnership between Germany and Ukraine in the areas of renewable energy, just transition, energy efficiency and hydrogen. DTEK was the first Ukrainian company to join the Hydrogen Europe trade association, which gathers leaders in applying hydrogen technologies in Europe. This membership allows the company to establish a network of direct contacts with international partners interested in the development of hydrogen economics in Ukraine and across the world.

For this reason, we invite all energy sector players in Ukraine to join homework on reforms and align their activities with the green transition  or Energiewende, as our German partners call it  to achieve carbon neutrality in our country.
U.S. won't force NATO allies into 'us or them' choice on China

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers an address after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium (Photo : Virginia Mayo/Pool via REUTERS)

The United States will not force any NATO ally to choose sides between Washington and Beijing, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday, although he warned that the West needed to show authoritarian states that democracy was superior.



European allies France and Germany are looking for a strategic balance in relations with Beijing and Washington that ensures the European Union is not so closely allied with one of the world's two big powers that it alienates the other.



Advertisement

"The United States won't force allies into an 'us-or-them' choice with China," Blinken, on his maiden voyage to Europe as Washington's top diplomat, said at the NATO headquarters in Brussels.



The European Union, led by France, wants independence from the United States, its ally and protector for over seven decades. Spain and the Netherlands urged the bloc to keep its economy open while seeking "strategic autonomy".



"Countries can work with China where possible," Blinken said. He noted that climate change was an area where cooperation was necessary with a country of 1.34 billion people that already emits a quarter of the world's carbon dioxide, more than the United States, but is also an investor in renewable energy.



In his first trip to the EU headquarters, Blinken also urged the bloc to help stand up for liberal values and human rights, in a stark shift from four years under former U.S. President Donald Trump, who shunned the EU and promoted Britain's departure from the club of 27 states.



"There is a fundamental debate under way about ... whether democracy or autocracy offers the best path forward. I think it is up to us to come together and show the world that democracy can deliver for our people," Blinken said.



As the United States and China vie for supremacy in areas from electric cars to biomedicine, Blinken also accused Beijing of undermining the international trading order that the United States and its allies built after World War Two.



"They are actively working to undercut the rules of the international system and the values we and our allies share," Blinken said of China, standing by the 30 flags of the NATO alliance. "If we work together to make real our positive vision for the international order ... we're confident that we can outcompete China on any playing field," he said.



China's military ambitions were also growing, he said.



SANCTIONS



China denies any wrongdoing and says it respects global rules upheld by international institutions such as the World Trade Organisation and the International Monetary Fund.



Prior to the speech, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Twitter: "The US, UK and Canada together account for only 5.7% of the world's population. Even if EU is added, that will be about 11%. They cannot represent the international community."



Blinken, speaking to reporters, said in reference to gross domestic product: "When we are actually working with our European partners, Asian partners and others, we might be 40, 50 or 60% of world GDP. That's a lot harder for Beijing to ignore."



The United States, the EU, Britain and Canada imposed sanctions on Chinese officials on Monday accusing them of rights abuses in Xinjiang, in the first such coordinated Western action against Beijing under new President Joe Biden. Beijing hit back with broader punitive measures against the EU.



China's decision to sanction European lawmakers, diplomats and institutes on Monday in response to Western sanctions appeared to galvanise opposition to Beijing at NATO and the EU, with several EU governments summoning Chinese envoys this week.



Italy said in a statement after meeting with the Chinese ambassador to Rome that the sanctions were "unacceptable".


The investment trend of Japan has changed since the China+1 policy was established, and now COVID-19 is another landmark event. According to your new survey, how has the pandemic affected investing decisions?

Ikenaga Azusa, representative for the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) in Hanoi

Due to the outbreak of coronavirus, Japanese manufacturing companies have started to strengthen their supply chains in Asia.

The manufacturing network in the ASEAN region is extremely important to Japanese companies. In this years survey, on the impact of COVID-19 on the supply chain, we asked the question: Which country/region of your overseas business (production side) was most affected by the COVID-19 outbreak?.

Among the impacted areas, ASEAN (264 companies) ranked second, following China (283 companies) with a very small difference in the number of votes. This result indicates the importance of the supply chain in ASEAN to Japanese companies, but also shows how vulnerable the supply chain in the region is to external shocks.

In the survey result, 28 companies said they were considering relocating existing overseas production bases to other countries as one of the solutions to strengthen the supply chain in ASEAN (as of September 2020). As noted, the China+1 strategy has been discussed for nearly 10 years, but China maintains its vital role as the main production base in Asia.

However, with the outbreak of a specific and real crisis, more companies have actually started to restructure their supply chains within ASEAN, by setting up production bases near the market or decentralising productive capacity. It seems natural for these companies to focus on Vietnam as a shifting destination for investment, and a country which has swiftly controlled the spread of COVID-19, without shutting down the economy for a long time.

As a way to support the companies affected by COVID-19, JBIC established a new financial facility in April 2020, and we are supporting many Japanese companies direct investment into Vietnam.

According to the survey, Vietnam ranked third in most promising countries over the mid-term, maintaining the vote rate compared to the previous survey. What is the significance of this result?

This result shows that the Japanese companies interest in Vietnam is very concrete. This is the fifth consecutive year that Vietnam ranked third among potential countries/regions in the medium term.

Although the ranking is still the same as previous years, the rate of votes has increased slightly to 36.8 per cent (up 0.4 per cent compared to the previous year), and it is now top among ASEAN countries, leaving Thailand further behind. So it is more accurate to say that Vietnam is strengthening its position, rather than viewing this result as a status-quo.

Vietnam has been seen as more promising during the COVID-19 outbreak, as seen in the detailed version of the promising reasons section of the survey. For Vietnam, 19 companies chose Good for risk diversification to other countries as their reason for choosing Vietnam, the highest number among all the countries in the rankings.

What are the advantages of Vietnam in attracting Japanese investment, in comparison with other neighboring countries?

The top five reasons of Japanese manufacturers for choosing Vietnam were future growth potential of the local market, inexpensive source of labour, qualified human resources, size of local market, and the base of export to third countries. These aspects have been and are bright spots in attracting foreign investment.

As for the issues that the Japanese companies have been feeling towards Vietnam, an unclear execution of the legal system has been felt widely, next to India and China.

Improving the transparency and clarity in related laws and administrative procedures will be an important factor for enabling more stable inflow of foreign direct investment in the future.

JBIC is working closely with the Vietnamese government and related ministries on this point, for instance on legal framework for public-private partnerships, and we truly appreciate their eagerness in listening to the Japanese companies voices.

Regarding future business expansions, the idea of maintaining present levels has increased significantly, while the ratio of strengthening/expanding in overseas business fell across all sectors. Could you explain how this has come about?

We asked companies about their mid-term (next three years) prospects relating to their overall domestic and overseas businesses. The result shows that in overseas business, the ratio of maintaining present level increased (26.7 per cent of responders in 2019, 37.8 per cent in 2020) and strengthen/expand decreased sharply (from 74.1 per cent in 2019 to 59.3 per cent in 2020) in all industries. This trend is understandable due to the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak.

However, there is a difference among major industries. General machinery and electronics industries have a strong stance of expanding, and the degree of decline was small. On the other hand, the status quo attitude increased significantly in both automobiles and chemicals industries.

Especially in automobiles, it seems that the idea to scale back or withdraw is slightly higher than in other industries. In the interview section, one Japanese automobile parts company said they will minimise overseas investment because of COVID-19, while the textiles industry has also been widely affected.
Falsification of product labeling to be criminalized in Russia - bill

 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov

13:19 25/03/2021

MOSCOW, March 25 (RAPSI)  The Government Law-Making Commission has approved amendments to the Russian Criminal Code introducing liability for falsification of the labeling of goods, Chairman of the Board of the Association of Lawyers of Russia Vladimir Gruzdev informs RAPSI.

The changes envisaged by the document are to be made to the article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on production, acquisition, storage, transportation, or sale of goods and products without marking and (or) without indicating information provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation, the Char of the Association said.

A way to legalize illegal goods is the use of counterfeit labels. The bill extends this article of the Criminal Code to the use of counterfeit identification marks of goods. To let market participants to adapt to the new rules, it is planned to postpone the entry into force of the proposed law by six months from the date of its official publication, Gruzdev explained.

The Chair of the Association reminded that according to the Judicial Department at the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, in the six months of last year, 249 people were convicted under the said article of the Russian Criminal Code.
(Natural News) Another mass shooting is being reported in Boulder, Colo., where a Syrian man by the name of Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa allegedly shot and killed 10 people at a King Soopers grocery store.

The 21-year-old man, who looks closer to about 50, faces 10 counts of first-degree murder after he allegedly sprayed the place with bullets as some shoppers were being injected with Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccines.

Gov. Jared Polis, who has kept Colorado on lockdown for many months, issued a statement condemning Alissa and promising to hold the evildoer responsible to the full extent of the law for his actions.

Occurring on March 22, or 3/22, also known as Skull and Bones Day, the alleged mass shooting is the second in a little over the week, following another alleged mass shooting in the Atlanta area that reportedly left eight people dead.

Alissas now-deleted Facebook page supposedly contained posts about Islam as well as complaints about Islamophobia and being bullied in high school. It also talked about Muslim prayers and religious holidays along with Alissas fears about possibly being under surveillance.

Yeah if these racist islamophobic people would stop hacking my life phone and let me have a normal life I probably could, read one entry from July 2019 that was allegedly posted by Alissa. The page also revealed that Alissa was born in Syrian in 1999 and came to the USA in 2002.

Following the 2019 mosque massacre that was reported in Christchurch, New Zealand, Alissa put up a post condemning people who disapprove of Islam.

The Muslims at the #christchurch mosque were not the victims of a single shooter, the post read. They were the victims of the entire Islamophobia industry that vilified them.

Alissas brother told reporters the suspect suffered from mental illness

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conveniently claims to have already known Alissas identity because he is linked to another individual currently under investigation by the agency. Who that person is and why they are under investigation by the FBI has not been publicly revealed.

Alissa had reportedly purchased a Ruger AR-556 pistol on March 16, a little less than a week before the shooting. He was shot in the leg during the melee and is being hospitalized in stable condition.

Why did this happen? asked Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty during a briefing about the shooting. We dont have the answer to that yet, and the investigation is in its very early stages.

According to Alissas older brother, Alissa is mentally ill.

When he was having lunch with my sister in a restaurant he said, People are in the parking lot, they are looking for me, the 34-year-old man told The Daily Beast.

She went out and there was no one. We didnt know what was going on in his head.

Alissas older brother further described the suspect as having been very anti-social in high school, and was constantly worried that he was being chased or that someone was behind him or was looking for him.

Back in 2017, Alissa was busted for cold cocking a classmate at school, which left the classmate with bruises, swelling, and cuts to the head. The incident allegedly occurred because the victim had made fun of [Alissa] and called him racial names weeks earlier.

Alissa was busted a second time in 2018 for criminal mischief, though details on that case, including its outcome, were not immediately available.

[It was] not at all a political statement, Alissas brother added, somehow knowing his brothers motives. The guy used to get bullied a lot in high school. He was  an outgoing kid but after he went to high school and got bullied a lot, he started becoming anti-social.

More of the latest news about the Boulder shooting can be found at FalseFlag.news.

Sources for this article include:

NYPost.com

Rense.com

NaturalNews.com
As thousands of trees are being chopped down across the city in an attempt to quell Dutch elm disease, around 200 healthy ones have been stripped from Omand Park.

As thousands of trees are being chopped down across the city in an attempt to quell Dutch elm disease, around 200 healthy ones have been stripped from Omand Park.

Now members of the Wolseley Residents' Association are calling out Manitoba Hydro, which hired a private company to remove the trees  mainly healthy Manitoba maples  along the rail line on the western edge of the park at the end of February.

JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Crews were out clearing trees along a hydro and rail line near Omand Park in Winnipeg Tuesday.

"The residents have no input, have no notice, and we have no say," said Marianne Cerilli, chairwoman of the association. "And we really say that the maples could have been pruned back, and that there should be a plan now for Manitoba Hydro to take responsibility to replant this area."

A spokesman for Manitoba Hydro said the trees were chopped down, rather than pruned, in an attempt to curb costs to the crown utility.

"If we prune, we know in a few years well have to come back and repeat it," he said. "This is extremely costly."

Manitoba Hydro made the decision to remove the trees after power outages during the unprecedented storm in October 2019.

If we prune, we know in a few years well have to come back and repeat it. This is extremely costly.  A spokesman for Manitoba Hydro

"We have high-voltage lines directly over these trees that serve thousands of customers," the spokesman said. "Besides reducing unnecessary outages, we are also reducing the public safety and fire risks of a hazard tree falling and causing a downed live line in that area."

He said Hydro does not typically replant trees and has no plans to do so in this case, but would be "happy to consult on the right vegetation for the right area."

However, Cerilli said the association plans to press the issue further, including calling on the city to provide greater insight into tree removal and implementing a tree-planting volunteer program.

JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Manitoba Hydro made the decision to remove the trees after power outages during the unprecedented storm in October 2019.

"I really feel like the city has abdicated their responsibility  they have a responsibility to have a net gain in trees... when push comes to shove, trees lose all the time," Cerilli said.

Erna Buffie, chairperson of the Wolseley association's green space committee, said the "decimation of a whole green belt" in Omand Park means natural wildlife in the area has fewer places to seek shelter.

"Its like urban forestry is this frill, trees are this aesthetic thing that can be there or not be there," Buffie said. "They are not calculating the work that mature trees do."

Manitoba maples are native to the province, and are tolerant to drought and cold. The trees provide a food and shelter source for certain species of birds, and their flowers are a source of pollen and nectar. A Manitoba maple left to reach its full lifespan can live over 50 years.

That's all the more reason losing so many healthy trees is so disappointing, Cerilli said.

"The beauty and the refuge of the park has really been lost," she said.

The Wolseley Residents' Association plans to hold a public vigil in April to mourn the loss of the trees.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: malakabas_
Tui has slashed its summer holiday schedule to three quarters of its pre-pandemic capacity amid a spiralling Covid third wave in Europe.

The Anglo-German firm had already planned to operate at 80 per cent capacity but today confirmed it would hack holiday options down by another five per cent.

Bookings for summer are down by 60 per cent compared to the same period in 2019.

The decision by Tui comes on the heels of scrapped flights by British Airways and Easyjet - with some cancellations even running into September.

Under Boris Johnson's roadmap out of lockdown, overseas leisure travel is pencilled in for May 17, but the Continental outbreak makes this date appear increasingly optimistic.

Tui has slashed its summer holiday schedule to three quarters of its pre-pandemic capacity amid a spiralling Covid third wave in Europe (file photo of a Tui jet)

European leaders are being forced to impose tough new lockdown measures to curb a rise in Covid infections driven by new and more-infectious variants of the virus, with Germany the latest to slam on the brakes

Indeed, the government will start fining people 5,000 from next week if they leave England to go on holiday.

The Prime Minister yesterday told the Commons that things were 'looking difficult on the Continent' as he refused to confirm whether he would be taking a foreign jaunt.

European countries reporting the most cases and deaths CASES: FRANCE: 33,120 POLAND: 24,368 ITALY: 22,722 GERMANY: 14,365 UKRAINE: 13,214 DEATHS: ITALY: 415 RUSSIA: 398 POLAND: 353 UKRAINE: 269 FRANCE: 249 *Latest 7-day average Advertisement

Germany and France have imposed fresh restrictions, while there is speculation that the UK could impose restrictions on people returning from much of the continent once leisure travel resumes.

As of Wednesday, France had a 7-day rolling average of 352 coronavirus cases per million people, while Germany had 191 cases per million - this compares to Britain's 81 cases per million.

British travel haven Portgual is faring considerably better with a 7-day average of 45 cases per million, Spain's stands at 86 cases per million, but Greece and Italy's holiday prospects look doubtful with 249 cases and 376 cases per million over the last week respectively.

Just over 10 per cent of adults have received their first vaccine dose across the EU, compared to the UK's figure exceeding 53 per cent.

Health minister Lord Bethell yesterday warned that the entire Continent could be placed on the 'red list' of countries requiring arrivals to undergo hotel quarantine.

Tui chief executive Fritz Joussen told the company's annual general meeting it must 'retain sufficient flexibility' to increase capacity 'if our customers' demand recovers more quickly when the travel restrictions are lifted'.

He said: 'We continue to see a strong pent-up demand and desire to travel among our customers'.

Many UK-based travellers who booked trips due to begin before May 17, the earliest date for the resumption of foreign leisure travel for people in England, have rescheduled their holiday for a later date.

'We look to the coming seasons with optimism,' Mr Joussen said.

'We're seeing strong demand for next summer in the UK with bookings up some 120%, and May 2022 in particular is already up by more than 150%.'

There will be a 'strong summer business in tourism this year' if coronavirus rules are relaxed, Mr Joussen said.

'The prospects of this are at least good in the United Kingdom', he added.

On Tuesday, Tui revealed it plans to close 48 more retail stores in the UK, stating that the travel industry and the high street 'are both facing unprecedented pressure'.

This came after it announced in July 2020 that 166 shops closed due to the virus crisis would not reopen, which was nearly a third of its total.

British Airways insists its cancellations were not due to the evolving situation on the Continent but a routine review of flights to reflect the view of IATA, the airline trade body, that foreign travel will not resume to pre-pandemic levels by 2023.

Foreign holidays have been dealt a fresh blow after British Airways scrapped yet more summer flights

The pared-back routes include fewer flights to Italy, the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden, and extend as far into the future as August.

Sources played down the flight cuts as 'business as usual' - and suggested more could be added in the future if there is scope.

Yet would-be holidaymakers were exasperated that flights they had booked for after lockdown were being axed.

So what IS a reasonable excuse to leave the UK? The 5,000 fine, set out in legislation laid in the Commons yesterday, is on top of the previously announced 200 fine for not filling out a travel declaration form on reasons for leaving the country. Exemptions also apply including: Those needing to travel for work, study, for legal obligations or to vote.

People can go abroad for some childcare reasons or to be present at a birth, to visit a dying relative or close friend.

They are also allowed to leave the UK to attend a funeral, to get married or to attend the wedding of a close relative, for medical appointments or to escape a risk of harm.

They can also go abroad to view houses to buy or rent, to visit an estate agent or a show home, or to move house. Advertisement

One said: 'I'm getting welcome back emails so booked flights in good faith having had my first vaccine dose.

'Yesterday two were cancelled for mid July. Today, another cancelled for mid August. This is absolutely ridiculous, you either want passengers back or you don't!'

Nick Murrell tweeted: 'Book with confidence you tell us British Airways. Budapest and Milan flights in September cancelled in 24 hours. What's the point in booking with you?'

British Airways said: 'We are sorry that, like other airlines, due to the current coronavirus pandemic and global travel restrictions we are operating a reduced and dynamic schedule.'

EasyJet also stressed they have not cancelled flights for fear of a European third wave but that the flight schedule is reviewed 'on an ongoing basis to align our flying programme with customer demand and government travel restrictions'.

Thirty-five countries are currently on the red list, including the whole of South America, southern Africa, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Portugal was on the list but was removed last week.

Matt Hancock yesterday said 'we don't have any plans to do that' but said it's too early to tell if summer holidays will get the green light.

He told BBC Breakfast: 'I entirely understand people's yearning to get away and have a summer holiday, and we're looking at that question right now as part of the global travel taskforce, which will report in the middle of next month.

'The earliest that will take any steps will be May 17 but, obviously, we're taking a cautious approach because we want any openings that we make to be irreversible.'

He said a traffic light system for travel with red and amber lights is in place at the moment but more details on the way forward would be published around April 12.

'Until then, I'm afraid, as people have got used to over the last year, frankly it is wait and see.

Angela Merkel last night ordered all shops across Germany to close over Easter with church services moved online to combat an 'exponential' rise in cases that is threatening to overwhelm health systems

Meanwhile French health experts have warned that lockdown measures imposed on 16 regions last week will not be enough to curb the country's third wave of infections, after cases doubled in a week

The EU has threatened to block millions of doses of AstraZeneca's Covid vaccine from coming to the UK after Britain streaked ahead in the race to inoculate its population

'Because we'll only make steps that we think are safe but, on the other hand, we do understand, of course I understand, how people want to be able to get away in the summer, especially after the last year that we've all had.'

Professor Neil Ferguson, whose modelling promoted the first national lockdown a year ago, urged Britons to book holidays in the UK.

He told BBC Radio 4's World at One: 'I certainly am in favour of relaxing border measures at a slower rate than we relax controls within the country and doing all we can to reduce the risk of importation of variants, which might undermine our vaccination programme.

'I think we should be planning on summer holidays in the UK, not overseas.'

The 5,000 fine sent travel stocks - including easyJet , British Airway-owner IAG, Jet2 and TUI - down 2-4 per cent in early trade on Tuesday.

Britain's travel sector has lost more than 45,000 jobs and passenger numbers at the biggest airport, Heathrow, have fallen to their lowest since 1966 during the crisis.

Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee of Tory MPs, said extending travel restrictions will be 'devastating' for millions of people working in tourism.

Paul Charles, boss of the PC travel agency, said: 'It's a draconian measure that tightens the problems in the travel sector and actually puts of people from even making inquiries, let alone booking.

'I think it's a smokescreen for the lack of inbound testing policy in this country. Here we are a year after lockdown began and there is still no major testing system in place.'

The 5,000 fine will be introduced when MPs vote to renew the emergency coronavirus legislation that expires this month.

Despite hawkish Tory MPs threatening to rebel, the vote is widely expected to pass with the backing of Labour.

The Government's gradual easing of lockdown will be done in four stages - March 29, April 12, May 17 and June 21, if the data allows.

Yesterday the Prime Minister said that Britain will inevitably feel the bleak situation on the Continent, saying their Covid woes will 'wash up on our shores'.
A UNIVERSITY administrator has received a suspended sentence for sexually assaulting his Airbnb guest after taking the woman and her fiance on a historic pub tour in Dublin.

Brendan Leahy (54), of Fenian Street, Dublin 2, appeared before Judge John Hughes at Dublin District Court yesterday.

He had pleaded guilty earlier to sexually assaulting the American tourist at Kehoe's Pub on South Anne Street on a date in the summer of 2018.

Leahy held the woman from behind and repeatedly pushed his front into her after he offered to show her something in the pub.

"There was some premeditation, I would call it a devious element," Judge Hughes said.

Leahy absented the woman from her partner, took her around a screen and "took his opportunity then to self-gratify himself", the judge said.

He imposed a three-month sentence but suspended it on condition Leahy completes a sex offenders education course, pays a 1,000 fine and gives another 1,000 in compensation to his victim.

He was also ordered not to provide Airbnb services again.

The court heard the sexual assault had a "profound effect" on the victim.

Garda Ruth Finnegan told Judge Hughes the woman and her partner had been staying in Leahy's spare bedroom, which he was using for Airbnb.

He took the couple on a tour of historic Dublin pubs, got drunk and offered to show the woman the hatch area in the snug at Kehoe's.

Gda Finnegan said that "when the injured party stepped inside the area the accused came behind her, grabbed her waist and thrust into her, four or five times".

CCTV footage was shown in court, and Gda Finnegan said the attack lasted six-and-a-half seconds.

Later that night, the woman and her partner went to Pearse Street garda station and reported the incident.

Gardai accompanied them to Leahy's apartment so they could get their belongings.

The woman did not have to return to Ireland to give evidence because Leahy had pleaded guilty.

The divorced father-of-two had no previous criminal convictions and cooperated with the investigation, the court heard.

Two months later, he went to Pearse Street garda station and explained he had no recollection of the incident because he was too drunk.

He identified himself on the video footage from the pub.

Leahy could have faced a 12-month prison term and a 5,000 fine in the district court.

In a mitigation plea, defence solicitor Ruth Walsh said Leahy was remorseful and "absolutely devastated".

The court heard he was willing to engage in restorative justice programmes and would donate money to women's aid organisations and charities to avoid a conviction.

Judge Hughes said there had to be a deterrent as he recorded a conviction.

He imposed the three-month sentence which was suspended on condition Leahy does not re-offend within the next 12 months and attends education, as directed by the Probation Service.

Judge Hughes said that while the compensation order was part of the sentencing, it was not indicative of the level of damage the victim would have been entitled to in a civil court.
TORONTO - Ontario would like to see migrant farm workers vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as they arrive and is willing to take on the task if Ottawa doesn't, a top provincial health official said Thursday.

People arrive at the City of Toronto operated mass COVID-19 vaccination site in East York Town Centre, servicing the Thorncliffe Park community on Wednesday, March 24, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston

TORONTO - Ontario would like to see migrant farm workers vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as they arrive and is willing to take on the task if Ottawa doesn't, a top provincial health official said Thursday.

Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Ontario's associate medical officer of health, said the province is in talks with the federal government to have the temporary foreign workers given a vaccine "when they come in, optimally at the airport."

"We're working with the federal government on this, hopefully they will be OK to do it," Yaffe said. "If they don't do it, we will probably do it because it's important."

During the first wave of the pandemic, dozens of farm outbreaks were reported across Ontario as the province struggled to test and isolate workers.

More than 1,780 temporary foreign workers tested positive for COVID-19 in the province last year, and three died of the virus.

Advocates, doctors and labour groups have been calling on all levels of government to ensure the vaccination of all migrant and undocumented workers.

Yaffe said vaccinating migrant farm workers on arrival would involve many considerations, including ensuring information is properly translated so workers can understand that the immunization process is voluntary.

Some 20,000 temporary foreign workers are employed on Ontario farms each year.

Workers do maintenance at the Scotlynn Group, near Vittoria, Ont., in Norfolk County, Wednesday, June 3, 2020. Ontario wants to vaccinate migrant farm workers against COVID-19 as soon as they arrive in the province, a top provincial health official said on Thursday, noting it's an important measure after the widespread infections experienced on farms last summer. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Farm workers are to be vaccinated in the second phase of Ontario's vaccine rollout, set to begin next month.

Migrant farm workers are listed as priorities during that phase because many live in congregate settings considered high-risk for COVID-19 spread.

Syed Hussan with Migrant Workers Alliance for Change said officials should consult with worker groups to ensure proper protocols are in place for the vaccination plan.

Airport situations can be stressful, he said, as workers encounter immigration officials and take COVID-19 tests. He said measures must be taken to ensure people can comfortably say yes or no to the shot.

Hussan also questioned the reason the province is offering vaccinations at the airport. He said it suggests the government doesn't trust employers and that workers aren't able to take measures to protect themselves because of their immigration status.

"This is translating into saying that the Ontario government doesn't believe that farm workers can go get health care in Ontario, because if they could, you wouldn't have to offer it at the airport," he said.

Hussan's organization wants all levels of government to ensure that people without permanent immigration status can access vaccines without having to share identifying information like a health card.

Yaffe also said Thursday that more contagious COVID-19 "variants of concern" now make up half of new cases in the province.

The province's top doctor has said variants of COVID-19 are causing more severe illness, leading to intensive care admissions and deaths.

Dr. David Williams also noted this week that more young people appear to be getting more severely ill from the variants.

The scientific director of an expert panel advising the province said Thursday that a strict provincial shutdown, similar to one imposed when the pandemic hit, is needed to curb the alarming spread of variants in Ontario.

Currently, even the strictest level of the province's pandemic framework isn't enough to reduce rising infections from more contagious variants, said Dr. Peter Juni of the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table.

"This pandemic has never been under the control since it started to (take) hold in Ontario, and that's the challenge," Juni said in an interview.

"We need stronger, more strict public health measures to keep the new variants contained enough to avoid tremendous challenges for the health-care system."

The variant first detected in Britain is the most common one in Ontario, though variants first detected in South Africa and Brazil have also appeared across the province.

While Ontario's vaccination effort is ongoing, Juni said it can't move fast enough to protect the population from the variants that have also driven dire waves of infection across Europe.

The province should move quickly to impose strict measures to clamp down on variants, he said, while encouraging safe outdoor activities where people stay at least two metres apart.

"If we now do everything right, this will be the last time that we need to go into harsh restrictions," he said.

Ontario reported 2,380 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, although the Ministry of Health said the number was inflated by about 280 cases due to a data processing issue.

Ontario also reported 17 more deaths linked to the virus.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2021.
Patna, March 25 : Two days after the alleged assault on opposition legislators in the Bihar Vidhan Sabha, Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav claimed that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had directed goons to attack opposition legislators on Tuesday.

"We have more than 200 video evidences of the assault in which former officers from the police department belonging to the CM's caste can be seen abusing women and assaulting male legislators in the Vidhan Sabha on Tuesday. They were allowed to enter the Vidhan Sabha building to execute the conspiracy," he further alleged.

"I want to ask the CM who these persons in civil dress were and who allowed them to roam freely in the Vidhan Sabha and assault leaders of opposition parties?" asked Yadav.

"Nitish Kumar will not be the permanent CM of Bihar. Change will come to the state. The activities of the police and civil department officers involved in wrongdoing are on record and these will be remembered when our government comes to power in the future," Yadav said.

"I want to repeat that the CM is giving a clean chit to those involved in beating our legislators," he added.

Yadav pointed out that the protest inside the House is not new in history of parliamentary and assembly operations in our country.

"In 1974, socialist leaders headed by Karpoori Thakur took control of Bihar Vidhan Sabha ... In 1986 when Nitish Kumar was an MLA of his party, Thakur sat on a dharna in the well of the Assembly for three days. I want to ask the CM: was Karpoori Thakur a goon? At that time, the police were not called inside to thrash public representatives. Now, the same CM is justifying the act of the police and goons of his own caste and repeatedly lying before the people of Bihar," alleged Yadav.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 25)  COVID-19 cases are also rising in provinces excluded from the NCR Plus "bubble," OCTA Research warned on Thursday, urging the government to study the possibility of imposing stricter restrictions in more areas.

OCTA fellow Dr. Guido David said Batangas and Pampanga are seeing alarming spikes in new coronavirus infections. He said Batangas is recording as much as 140% increase in their daily COVID-19 cases this past week. From previously averaging 60 cases per day, the province is now recording around150 new infections daily.

"That is very significant, that's a very big increase. That increase is even bigger in some of the increase seen in the bubble provinces," he told CNN Philippines. "I think we have to watch these carefully. We may have to reconsider expanding the bubble if the numbers continue to increase in Batangas and Pampanga."

Metro Manila and neighboring provinces Rizal, Bulacan, Cavite, and Laguna were placed in a bubble set-up until April 4 in the hopes that two weeks of slightly stricter restrictions can curb the surge of new COVID-19 cases.

Batangas Vice Governor Mark Leviste told CNN Philippines that the local government favors inclusion in the bubble. In fact, the province began following stricter quarantine rules since Monday because of the surge in cases.

"Last Monday, ang provincial IATF... ay nagpasa at nag-apruba ng [the provincial inter-agency task force passed and approved] Executive Order 02-2021 enjoining strict compliance by Batangas with the rules and regulations under general community quarantine," Leviste told CNN Philippines' News.PH.

He said the situation in Batangas is still "manageable."

OCTA also proposed that Metro Manila be prioritized for vaccination. On Friday, it reported that the reproduction number in Metro Manila slightly decreased to 1.91, but it said it is too early to tell if this is the start of the downward trend in new cases. As the reproduction number goes down, this means fewer people are getting infected by a single COVID-19 patient.

Leviste said he cannot say if Batangas is willing to let Metro Manila get all the vaccines, but adds that he understands the situation. He also mentioned that some cases in Batangas were residents who work outside the province.
LONDON, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bacchus Capital Advisers Limited ("Bacchus Capital"), the independent investment and merchant bank specialising in cross border public market M&A, and natural resources sector ventures, is pleased to have advised the battery materials company Euro Manganese Inc. (TSX-V / ASX: EMN) on its successful A$30 million (C$29 million) private placement.

Bacchus Capital has been working closely with Euro Manganese in a financial advisory capacity, and has helped garner support from investors with a strong stance on environmental, social and corporate governance ("ESG") issues.



Details of the raise were released by Euro Manganese on Monday 22 March 2021, with the private placement offering comprising 50,000,000 CHESS Depositary Interests ("CDIs", with each CDI representing one common share at a price of A$0.60), and Canaccord Genuity (Australia) Limited acting as Lead Manager and Bookrunner to the offering. The offering was anchored by a strategic investor and an ESG-focused fund, and received solid backing from several existing institutional shareholders.

Driven by an exceptional environmental footprint

Euro Manganese aims to become a primary producer of ultra-high-purity manganese products in Europe through the development of its 100% owned Chvaletice Manganese Project, which is located in the Czech Republic. Manganese is necessary for the lithium-ion battery industry, as well as other high-technology uses.



Demand for high-purity manganese products has continued to grow and the latest market developments, such as renewed focus on electric vehicle targets and the increased need in Europe for lithium-ion battery products, have further enhanced Euro Manganese's prospects. Furthermore, the Chvaletice Manganese Project is deemed to have an exceptional environmental footprint, which is undoubtedly attractive to those committed to ensuring ESG is at the core of new investments.



Marco Romero, CEO of Euro Manganese, stated: "The demand for high-purity manganese products continues to grow and the latest market developments have further improved our prospects. Volkswagen Auto Group recently announced plans to use a high proportion of manganese in the batteries that will be used in the largest segment of its future electric vehicle production.

"With demand for electric vehicles only set to grow across the region as countries strive to achieve decarbonisation targets, it appears that Euro Manganese is very much in the right place at the right time."

Funding development and production



The offering is intended to close in two tranches. The first consists of an issuance of 41,666,666 CDIs for aggregate gross proceeds of A$25 million (approximately C$24.2 million) and is expected to close on or about 30 March 2021. The second tranche consists of the issuance of 8,333,334 CDIs for aggregate gross proceeds of A$5 million (approximately C$4.8 million), upon receipt of shareholder approval.

The company has earmarked the proceeds of the offering to advance its Chvaletice Manganese Project. "We now have the funds required to install, commission and operate our Demonstration Plant and to finalise our Definitive Feasibility Study and Final Environmental Impact Assessment during the next 12 months," Mr Romero said.



The company also stated that the second tranche of funding will be used to introduce two new institutional investors that have strong, positive views on ESG projects and the market opportunities for environmentally friendly, high-purity manganese in Europe.

About Bacchus Capital

Bacchus Capital was established in 2017 as an independent merchant banking platform specialising in public market M&A, capital raisings and natural resource sector ventures. Bacchus Capital is headquartered in Central London, with representation in Asia, the United States and Australia.

Media Enquiries

Peter Ogden

Powerscourt

+44 7793 858 211

SOURCE Bacchus Capital Advisers
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
Heather Hutt is Top Vote Getter in CA Democratic Party Delegate Election

Front-runner Heather Hutt continues to outpace the competition, securing more Democratic delegate votes than any other candidate

On Sunday, March 21, the Democratic Caucus met to decide which of three Dems they would be supporting for the special election for the 54th Assembly District seat. Heather Hutt, former California Statewide Director for then-U.S. Senator Kamala Harris, earned more votes than any other candidate in the California Democratic Party endorsement delegate vote for the upcoming May 18 special election for the 54th Assembly District seat.

According to the votes tallied, Hutt earned 25 delegate votes, which was more than any other candidate. In response, Hutt released the following statement:

We are running a grass roots, people-powered campaign. Despite a wide-ranging field of candidates in this critically important special election, we were able to come out on top as the campaign with the most support from AD54 delegates. Im deeply grateful for the support we earned from these key activists, who join our broad coalition of support from working families, women, young people, seniors, and neighborhood leaders across our district. I look forward to continuing our sprint towards the May 18 primary election.

ADVERTISEMENT

In yet another testament to her dedication to working families, today, then-Senator Kamala Harriss California Statewide Director Heather Hutt garnered the endorsement of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 18, as well as UA Locals 250 and 761.

In announcing their support, IBEW Local 18 Business Manager Brian DArcy released the following statement:

IBEW Local 18 is made up of thousands of essential workers that provide safe delivery of clean water and reliable power for millions of Angelenos. For our members and their families, its critical to have representation from voices that have a dedicated track record of protecting our wages, our rights, and our safety, time and time again. Heather Hutt has fought for working Californians throughout her career in public service, and were extremely confident she will continue to fight for us in Sacramento. IBEW Local 18 is excited to support Heathers campaign for State Assembly District 54.

In a statement released with their announced endorsement, Rudy Rodriguez, PAC Chairman of UA Local 250 had similar sentiments in his steadfast support of Hutt for Assembly. The working men and women of UA Local 250 Steamfitters-Refrigeration are proud to give Heather Hutt our strong support and endorsement because shes been a forceful leader on behalf of working people. As a public servant, Heather worked tirelessly to improve wages and working conditions for the hard-working people of California, as well as ensuring working men and women had the resources and PPE they needed during the COVID-19 crisis. Heather Hutts experience and proven track record are unrivaled in the race for 54th District, and were excited to support her campaign.

Hutt was born and raised in Los Angeles and has dedicated her life to Democratic activism, public service, and the community. She recently served as the first Black U.S. Senate State Director in Californias history, and in her capacity serving Senator Harris, was the principal representative among constituents and elected leaders throughout California. She used her position to stand up for women by bringing together healthcare professionals to discuss implicit bias in health care, especially for women and women of color, as well as advocating for DACA recipients and fighting against the Trump Administrations assault on Dreamers and immigrants.

In a race where Heather could become only one of two African American women in the California Assembly, it is Heathers experience working in Sacramento and in Washington, D.C., along with her life-long history of community advocacy in addressing homelessness, healthcare, affordable housing, police reform and environmental justice, which are all major reasons why we need to elect Heather Hutt to fill the vacant seat left by Sydney Kamlager-Dove as she has now moved on to the CA Senate, stated former Congresswoman and Ambassador Diane Watson who previously represented the district and was the first African American woman elected to the California Legislature and Los Angeles Unified School Board.

Prior to her work in the U.S. Senate, Heather championed environmental justice policy changes for Watts and South Los Angeles while serving as the district director for California State Senator Isadore Hall. She also organized the Assembly Select Committee on Community Resources Impacted by AB109 Re-Entry as well as the Assembly Select Committee on Human Rights, Diversity and Race Relations.

Through her work as a California Democratic Party delegate and Treasurer of the CDP Black Caucus, Hutt has been an activist and organizer, working tirelessly to ensure civil rights, human rights, womens rights, equality, economic and social justice for all people. In addition, she launched the VOTE L.A. campaign, L.A. Cities Clean Air-Clean Water campaign, and shaped critical outreach to pass the Durbin Bill, which provided aid for small businesses. Heather is also the single mother of three sons.

Governor Gavin Newsom has called for a special election to be held on Tuesday, May 18, 2021 for the currently vacant 54th Assembly seat. The California State Assemblys 54th District includes the communities of Baldwin Hills, Crenshaw, Culver City, Ladera Heights, Leimert Park, Mar Vista, Mid-City Los Angeles, Palms, West L.A., Westwood, and Windsor Hills in Los Angeles County.
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.
ROME, MAR 25 - Pope Francis and President Sergio Mattarella paid tribute on Thursday as Italy's celebrated Dantedi - Dante Day - to mark the 700th anniversary of the death of the author of The Divine Comedy. Pope Francis released an Apostolic Letter entitled "Candor lucis aeternae" marking the anniversary, highlighting the relevance, timelessness and depth of faith in The Divine Comedy. "At this particular moment in history, overclouded by situations of profound inhumanity and a lack of confidence and prospects for the future, the figure of Dante, prophet of hope and witness to the human desire for happiness, can still provide us with words and examples that encourage us on our journey," the pope wrote. "Dante can help us to advance with serenity and courage on the pilgrimage of life and faith that each of us is called to make, until our hearts find true peace and true joy, until we arrive at the ultimate goal of all humanity": The great poet died in Ravenna after being exiled from Florence due to his political activities. "Dante gave a lesson of coherence for everyone, politicians included, because you must not go against your conscience," Mattarella told Corriere della Sera. "And one of the most important parts of his legacy is the dilemma between justice and compassion". The 'Supreme Poet' will be celebrated across the country with the highest-profile event being a televised reading of Canto XXV of the Paradiso by comic actor, director and Dante buff Roberto Benigni at the presidential Quirinal Palace at 19:10 in the presence of Mattarella and Culture Minister Dario Franceschini. In the famed canto, Dante's muse Beatrice vouches for the poet and pilgrim's possession of hope in redemption. March 25 was chosen as Dante Day as scholars believe it was on this date that Italy's greatest poet descended into Hell for the first part of his epic journey through the Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso. Later on Thursday Benigni will recite on Rai3 the iconic Paolo and Francesca episode from Canto V of the Inferno, a tale of forbidden love and honour killing that has inspired artists including Rodin and Dante Gabriele Rossetti, as well as countless musical interpretations. Dante as a pilgrim was so struck by the story of passionate love that he fainted in Inferno, while Dante the philosopher and religious thinker condemned the lovers for their adultery. (ANSA).
Xplore! championed by Wrexhams MP in Parliament during a STEM learning and careers debate

This article is old - Published: Thursday, Mar 25th, 2021

Wrexhams MP Sarah Atherton has spoken in a Westminster Hall debate about the importance of Science and Discovery Centres for promoting science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning for younger people.

In the debate, Ms Atherton noted her pride in the fact that Wrexham is home to Xplore!, one of twenty nine UK Science and Discovery Centres, and she discussed her visit there last year when the centre reopened in its new town centre home.

Ms Atherton described the centre as akin to Wonkas chocolate factory for inquisitive minds and as a brilliant facility for learning and educational development, and said such centres around the country could be used in the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The MP explained, In Wrexham, we have a brilliant science discovery centre called Xplore! It was formerly called Techniquest and I took my child there many times when he was growing up. In September last year I was honoured to be invited to the Xplore! rebrand event at its new location in Wrexham town centre, and to see at first hand its brilliant facilities and demonstrations. I saw children and adults wide-eyed, laughing, playing and learningindeed, I was one of them. The most accurate analogy I can think of is being let loose in Willy Wonkas chocolate factory. Xplore! has myriad interactive installations akin to Wonkas chocolate factoryfor inquisitive minds but without the calorie count.





I would like the young people of Wrexham to learn and remember that Wockhardt in my constituency has bottled the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. I want them to be inspired by that. We have numerous pharmaceutical companies here on the Wrexham industrial estate. We have a major hospital, the Maelor, for those who seek a career in healthcare, and brilliant higher education facilities at Wrexham Glyndwr University and Coleg Cambria, which are able, keen and willing to facilitate STEM education. And we have Xplore! to provide the perfect foundation for the promotion of those careers from an early age.

The MP raised concerns that in Wales these centres have fallen through the gaps in respect of income support saying, With science and discovery centres having the potential to be such crucial players in the covid recovery education system, their funding model needs to reflect that importance.

Over the past year, science centres in Wales have struggled. Xplore! has received minimal covid funding from the Welsh Labour Government. Ordinarily, Xplore! receives funding via the Welsh Governments school programme in order to offer reduced cost visits and workshops. Thankfully, that funding scheme, which was due to end this month, has been extended until early next year. That is most welcome, but what happens in 2022? The fear is that children will lose out not only in terms of the catch-up agenda but on ongoing interactive learning which in turn promotes the take-up of STEM subjects. There is a domino effect.

We have the opportunity to be forward thinking in our approach to protecting our science and discovery centres. I urge the Welsh Government to contractually embed school visits within the national curriculum for the benefit of future generations of Welsh children.

In response to the debate, the UK Government Minister for Universities, Michelle Donelan, agreed with Ms Atherton that it was vitally important that these centres survived the pandemic so that they can continue teaching and training young people, pointing to some UK Government support as well: Visitor attractions, which are not categorised as museums, will continue to benefit from the reduced rate of VAT, which the Government have temporarily applied to visitor attractions, as well as the pan-economic measures such as the coronavirus job retention scheme, Government-backed loans and business rate deferrals.

Commenting after the debate Sarah Atherton said: I am really grateful to have been able to support and promote Xplore! here in Wrexham. When I visited last year, I was inspired by the centre and the work it does to promote the STEM sector to young people and I was very pleased to be able to champion it in Parliament.

In preparing for this debate, I was concerned to hear that Science and Discovery Centres in Wales feel they have fallen through the net in funding from the Welsh Government, so I was also happy to raise this in Parliament in the hopes that this issue might be considered.

Following on from my question to the Prime Minister earlier this month, I was also thankful to be able to, once again, raise the possibilities for Wrexhams young people in the STEM sector. I really do think Wrexham has many opportunities in these fields, with Glyndwr University, Coleg Cambria, the Wrexham Maelor and the businesses on the Industrial Estate all contributing to Wrexhams excellent existing infrastructure in these sectors. Xplore! is an additional part of this local network and it provides a great foundation for the promotion of STEM learning and careers from an early age.
TOKYO, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Nippon Express Co., Ltd. has obtained IATA CEIV Pharma (*) pharmaceutical transport quality certification for its Narita Temperature-Controlled Hub (NTCH) and for transport operations between NTCH and Narita Airport, effective March 15. This is the second pharmaceutical-related quality certification awarded to NTCH, the first being the Good Distribution Practice (GDP) certification it received in March 2020.

Logo:

https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/img/202103192533-O3-f5kKE6j5

Photo1: Sorting room inside NTCH facility

https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M103866/202103192533/_prw_PI1fl_xe3Objon.jpg

Photo2: Entrance of NTCH

https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M103866/202103192533/_prw_PI2fl_5zLgg8BA.jpg

Note:

(*) CEIV Pharma (Center of Excellence for Independent Validators in Pharmaceutical Logistics): A quality certification program formulated by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to set high standards for the air transport of pharmaceuticals that encompass differing good distribution practices (GDP) established for pharmaceuticals by countries around the world

In October 2019, Nippon Express began seeking certification as a member of the community hosted by Narita International Airport Corporation (NIAC), and, with NIAC's assistance, has now obtained certification as a forwarder in this community.

The "Nippon Express Group Business Plan 2023 -- Dynamic Growth" regards the pharmaceutical industry as a priority industry, and this fiscal year Nippon Express completed construction of four GDP-compliant dedicated pharmaceutical warehouses in Japan (East Japan, West Japan, Kyushu and Toyama) that have begun providing services to customers. The Company is also engaged overseas in obtaining GDP certification and otherwise reinforcing its business infrastructure.

NTCH is an important node connecting Japan with the rest of the world, and this certification incorporating GDP standards from countries around the world will enable it to provide more secure and better-quality pharmaceutical transport services from end to end.

Nippon Express website: http://www.nipponexpress.com/

Official LinkedIn account: NIPPON EXPRESS GROUP

https://www.linkedin.com/company/nippon-express-group/

SOURCE Nippon Express Co., Ltd.

Related Links

http://www.nipponexpress.com/


Next Story : Moheys Wedding Collection Sets The Tone For The Bridal Season

Actortalks about her journey and her years in the industry withForty-one films, six short films, three television series, 13 plays in seven languages, many accolades later, Radhika Apte is still going strong. The self-confessed workaholic has spent the lockdown in London, occupied with setting up a new home, watching films, reading, being inspired, and writing a lot. The lockdown, she tells us, was a good opportunity to get back to regular sleep cycles, take a break from work, and be with herself.Excerpts from an interview...A Call To Spy was a very inspiring story. Taking up the film made me read a lot about the legendary Noor Inayat Khan. I am so grateful that playing her made me learn so much about her. Working on a diverse set also gave me a very good friend in Lydia Dean Pilcher (American producer), a relationship I will always cherish. And I got to travel to places such as Philadelphia and Budapest. Because it was such a small film, everybody put their heart and soul into the project.Raat Akeli Hai gave me the opportunity to play a North Indian girl for the first time; Im usually cast in Marathi, Hindi or South Indian roles. I had to work on my accent; that was a great learning experience. Honey Trehan is such a great director, and that really reflects in his work a lot. Even Smitha Singh is a great writer; it was the whole team that came together to create the magic.Ive learnt over a period of time that the film industry is a business, and people dont only create because they love the art. When you find work that is in sync with your thought process, you are motivated to be better at it. Also I can never imagine getting surgeries done; that has been my biggest fight.Very true. In terms of fashion, I own very limited items; I would call myself a minimalist in that sense. I never own what I wouldnt use. I like to spend my money on food, travel, and my hobbies.Exercise, sleep and good food are very essential. I believe that your body is your instrument, and keeping your body healthy also reflects on your mental well-being. The last year has taught me acceptance, to not live in denial, and to let go of the anxiety of not being able to control things. Building a good support system is also important for mental health.Uncertainty is the spice of life. And stress is something that needs to be constantly worked on. Exercise is a great stress-buster for me. I also try to invest my time in something constructive. I indulge in learning new languages, writing, running house errands to add value to myself.I love waking up to the thought of breakfast! And when Im occupied with some great work, or have planned to meet somebody I am looking forward to meeting!There is a futuristic series I shot last year that is scheduled to release this year, and I absolutely love that project. Its a comedy mystery and extremely exciting.
Even before a pandemic stirred still-incomplete economic devastation, west-central Illinois was seeing geographic prosperity eroding in many counties, a new report says.

In its Distressed Communities Index report, Washington, D.C.-based Economic Innovation Group lists most area counties in the middle of its five-tier rating system, with Madison county considered comfortable. The full report is online at https://eig.org/dci.

Economic Innovation Group was founded in 2015 by several technology entrepreneurs. It mapped every ZIP code in the U.S. based on criteria that included poverty rate, adult unemployment, housing vacancies, median household income, percentage of population without a high school diploma, changes in employment and changes in establishments.

Each metric was chosen to capture a distinct aspect of economic distress. Combined, they provide a more complete assessment of a place than any single measure could in isolation, the reports authors state. For example, a low-income community with a thriving small business sector where work is plentiful and homes are occupied and maintained is very different from a high-poverty neighborhood where attachment to the labor force runs low, homes are abandoned, and businesses are closing.

From those statistics, it assigned each county a distress score between 1 and 100. The lower the score, the better.

Tiers were determined in 20-point increments, going from prosperous to comfortable, mid-tier, at risk and distressed.

Make no mistake, there is much to celebrate about the past decade and the breadth and duration of the economic expansion that followed the Great Recession, which demonstrated the positive impact tight labor markets can have for low-income families, the report concluded. Yet, now that the music has stopped, it is clear that modest gains briefly enjoyed can slip away in an instant, while the foundations of prosperity for well-off people and places stand on much firmer ground.

The extended shutdowns of many businesses, particularly lower-wage service industries, during the past year will compound the problem, it said.

Places and households that were finally beginning to benefit from a long economic growth cycle now face a slew of new challenges, from housing insecurity to business failures and immense uncertainty about what the future may hold. The pandemic will test the fragility of the more equitable, more diverse prosperity that was taking shape across the country and threaten the modest progress made in Black communities since the turn of the century, according to the report.

Sixteen Illinois counties were determined prosperous, with Grundy County in northern Illinois rated the highest at 1.5. Fourteen counties were in distress, with Alexander County in southern Illinois rated the lowest at 97.1.

Madison County was at 31.9, according to the study, a slight improvement compared to its 35.5 at-risk status in 2000. While the nation averaged a 4.5% increase in businesses, Madison County lost just 2% of its establishments, according to the report.

This research is a sobering reminder that the United States has largely failed to translate national economic growth into tangible improvements for our countrys most vulnerable communities since the turn of the century, Economic Innovation Group President John Lettieri said. In the midst of the pandemic and economic crisis, policymakers move with greater urgency to lay the groundwork for a broad-based recovery  one that truly reaches the 50 million Americans living in distressed communities.

Statewide, 22.1% of Illinois residents live in economically distressed ZIP codes, the study found.

A deeper look

The Distressed Communities Index assigns a rating of 1 to 100 based on key economic indicators and ranks them as prosperous, comfortable, mid-tier, at risk or distressed.

Here are the ratings for towns and cities in the area:

Alton | 91 (Distressed)

Barry | 73.3 (At risk)

Baylis | 64.9 (At risk

Bethalto | 19.5 (Prosperous)

Brighton | 33.1 (Comfortable)

Bunker Hill | 54.1 (Mid-tier)

Carlinville | 56.1 (Mid-tier)

Carrollton | 69.8 (At risk)

Cottage Hills | 96.7 (Distressed)

Dow | 30.6 (Comfortable)

Edwardsville | 15.7 (Prosperous)

Elsah | 18.5 (Prosperous)

Fieldon | 58.4 (Mid-tier)

Girard | 67.9 (At risk)

Glen Carbon | 21.1 (Comfortable)

Godfrey | 16.8 (Prosperous)

Golden Eagle | 57.4 (Mid-tier)

Grafton | 53 (Mid-tier)

Greenfield | 80.7 (Distressed)

Hardin | 90.5 (Distressed)

Hartford | 78.5 (At risk)

Jerseyville | 60.5 (At risk)

Kampsville | 82.1 (Distressed)

Kane | 89.9 (Distressed)

Moro | 34.4 (Comfortable)

Palmyra | 70 (At risk)

Pearl | 86.2 (Distressed)

Pittsfield | 71.4 (At risk)

Pleasant Hill | 88.5 (Distressed)

Roodhouse | 95.3 (Distressed)

Shipman | 39.5 (Comfortable)

Staunton | 47.6 (Mid-tier)

Virden | 53.6 (Mid-tier)

White Hall | 94.1 (Distressed)

Wood River | 76.7 (At risk)
GODFREY  This years winners experience in quarantine inspired her prize speech for the annual You Have a Voice! Humanities Speech Contest of Lewis and Clark Community College.

I loved the idea of taking that time to be a better person, but quickly realized that, in trying to do that, I was ignoring all of the progress I had already made, said LCCC sophomore Grace Costello, of Bethalto. I wanted to take this contest opportunity to remind others how great they already are, too, faults and all.
By Ed Potosnak

It doesnt matter if you have an R or a D after your name  we can all agree that New Jersey State Senator Kip Bateman (R-16) has put his constituents ahead of polluters and developers, focusing his career in public office on how the government can help solve problems. Thats why the announcement that he will not seek re-election represents a true loss for New Jersey. Hes a moderate voice, takes a common-sense middle approach, and actually believes in coming together for the greater good. Hes a rare breed in todays political atmosphere, and his leadership will be missed.

Senator Bateman is the ranking Republican in the Senate Environment Committee, and his role in environmental legislation cant be overstated. At a time when even the climate crisis and conservation have become partisan issues, he has never wavered in his support for the environment. The senator knows that no matter your zip code, everyone in New Jersey has the right to clean air, safe drinking water, and open space.

One of his top environmental legislative achievements includes bipartisan legislation to create permanent funding for open space and farmland preservation, which was signed into law last year. The legislation constitutionally establishes a permanent dedication of the Corporate Business Tax to fund the states open space, farmland, and historic preservation programs. This is how Senator Bateman described this monumental achievement: Open space preservation needs a constant source of funding  a one-time payment isnt enough. This is a fiscally responsible way to maintain the green and blue acres we have already preserved, and prevent other areas we have yet to protect from being destroyed. I am glad that once again, we could come together on a bipartisan basis to get this done.

Unlike other politicians who are trying to inject politics into our science, Senator Bateman not only rightly believes that climate change is real, he also understands the science behind climate change and the impact it will have on the state if we dont reduce carbon emissions.

Senator Bateman supported legislation signed by Governor Murphy to reduce carbon emissions and mandate utilities source 50% of their electricity from clean renewable energy, solar and wind, by 2030, and he supported the governors executive order calling for the state to develop a plan for 100% clean energy by 2050.

Most recently the senator supported the 30x30 campaign to protect 30% of the worlds land and oceans by 2030. The campaign was born out of the need to avoid predictions made by the worlds leading scientists that 1 million animal and plant species will go extinct due to the degradation of natural habitats and climate change. It is a local response to this global crisis, by setting a goal to preserve 30% of New Jerseys land and coastal areas under the same timeframe. If enacted, New Jersey would become the first state in the northeast to pass such a measure, cementing our status as a conservation leader in the 21st century.

This is what Senator Bateman said when describing why he thought 30x30 is needed: We understand that conservation is extremely important if we are going to prevent overdevelopment and destruction, from our beloved Jersey Shore to the Highlands. Conserved lands and waters provide an escape, they offer innumerable mental and physical health benefits, they protect water supplies and prevent disastrous flooding during severe storms, like we saw with Superstorm Sandy.

I could go on and on about Kip Bateman and his contributions to New Jersey and, specifically, in support of conservation and protecting the environment. There is a shared desire, whatever party you identify with, to protect our environment for our kids and grandkids. Senator Bateman exemplified this belief every day he served in office.

Senator Batemans decision to not run again makes two things abundantly clear. We need a dedicated conservation champion to fill his seat and to protect our great state for generations to come, and we need Republicans to step up. New Jersey LCV is especially committed to making sure whoever takes Kip Batemans seat lives up to his legacy of conservation and environmental leadership.

I wish Senator Bateman the best on his new adventures, and even though he wont be in the Senate, we look forward to continuing to work alongside him to protect our environment.

Ed Potosnak is the executive director of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, a non-partisan organization whose mission is to elect environmental champions, hold public officials accountable and improve the quality of peoples lives.

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.
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.
Dreamstime, HO

A Texas man has been senteced to 35 months in prison for his role in an East Texas money laundering conspiracy for a methamphetamine trafficking ring.

A multi-agency narcotics and money laundering investigation, dubbed Operation Patch Over, led to the prosecution and sentencing of El Paso resident Damian Munoz, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Texas.
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.
The unfortunate tanker mishap in the Suez Canal that continues to block tanker traffic is being overshadowed by another wave of coronavirus-inspired lockdowns, sending oil prices once again downward.

Oil prices slipped roughly 4% on Thursday afternoon, with WTI crude trading down $2.80 per barrel at $58.88down 4.58% on the day.

Brent crude was trading down $2.48 per barrel at $61.93a slide of 3.85% on the day.

Weighing heavily on oil prices are the third wave of coronavirus lockdowns in Europe. Experts suggest that Poland is in the throes of its worst point in the pandemic, reporting a record number of cases. As a result of the increase in infections, Poland has just announced a strict two-week lockdown that will close nursery schools and salons and reduce church capacity.

The Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that Poland was one step away from crossing the border beyond which we will not be able to properly heal our citizens.

Additional lockdown measures in France went into effect on Saturday, and the government has threatened to implement tougher measures still.

Germany had imposed a strict five-day lockdown over the Easter holiday but has since rethought that strategy, which has angered its citizens.

The lockdowns will stifle oil demand in Europe, and the market is more concerned with this aspect than with the vessel that has lodged itself in the Suez Canal, creating a traffic jam that includes oil tankers, which is tightening short-term supplies.

Add to these two events OPECs meet that is coming up on April 1. Although it is expected that OPEC will hold oil its production steady for the most part considering the volatile nature that still exists in the market, the uncertain nature of the meeting has put traders on edge as they watch for signs that would give clues to OPECs strategy as the group tries to keep the market in balance and prices at optimum levels.

By Julianne Geiger 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.
Libya's new unity government on Thursday demanded the "immediate" withdrawal of all foreign mercenaries ahead of year-end elections, in a call backed by the visiting top diplomats of France, Germany and Italy.

The North African country descended into chaos after dictator Moamer Kadhafi was toppled and killed in a 2011 NATO-backed uprising, resulting in multiple forces vying for power.

Fighting only came to a halt last summer, and a formal ceasefire in October was followed by the establishment of a unity government led by interim Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah.

The conflict was stoked by outside powers, but the issue of foreign forces and mercenaries -- estimated by the UN to number 20,000 in December -- is seen as a threat to the UN-backed transition leading to December 24 elections.

"We reiterate the need for the departure of all mercenaries from Libya, and immediately," Libyan Foreign Minister Najla al-Mangoush said at a Tripoli news conference joined by her French, German and Italian counterparts.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian echoed her call, saying their departure "is essential for the Libyan state to assert its sovereignty".

"We cannot look away from the consequences that the Libyan crisis may have in Europe in terms of security, terrorism and migration," he told the same news conference.

- Show of support -

The three European diplomats were in Tripoli in a show of support for the newly formed Government of National Unity, or GNU.

"We represent the EU's support for Libya as it moves towards peace," said Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio.

"Italy and Europe are still convinced that there can be no military solution to the Libyan crisis," he said.

"We reiterated the importance of maintaining the ceasefire, the reopening of the coastal road and the departure of mercenaries."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had said in a report on Wednesday that he "remains deeply concerned" that "foreign elements" continue to operate in the country.

Story continues

The document, obtained by AFP and discussed on Wednesday by UN Security Council members, notes some mercenaries have moved position, but considers the action insufficient.

- Militia 'movements noted' -

A French diplomatic source said on Thursday that Syrian mercenaries deployed by Turkey were beginning to withdraw.

"This is one of the encouraging gestures that we have seen. There are movements (of the Syrian militia forces) that have been seen and noted," said the source, who asked not to be named.

"Our message is that this must continue, not only with the Syrian mercenaries but with all foreign forces," added the source.

As well as Syrians, previous UN reports have highlighted the presence in Libya of Russian, Chadian and Sudanese mercenaries, among others, as well as Turkish military units.

Dbeibah was sworn in as interim prime minister last week after his cabinet was approved in a move widely hailed as "historic".

The new transitional executive emerged from a complex UN-sponsored process launched in November, and its members were confirmed by Libya's parliament on March 10.

Libya had been divided between two rival administrations: the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) based in Tripoli, and its rival in the east loyal to military strongman Khalifa Haftar.

The eastern administration officially handed over power to the new executive on Tuesday, a week after Fayez al-Sarraj, the outgoing head of the GNA, formally ceded to the new unity government.

In spite of a long-running arms embargo, the GNA was backed by Qatar and Turkey while Haftar received support from Egypt, Russia and the United Arab Emirates.

Haftar has not officially taken part in the political negotiations.

Libya's population of seven million, sitting atop Africa's largest proven crude oil reserves, faces a dire economic crisis with soaring unemployment, crippling inflation and endemic corruption.

The visit by the trio of EU foreign ministers comes after President Emmanuel Macron said France would reopen its embassy in the Libyan capital next week.

Their host Mangoush said on Thursday that Germany and Italy had also agreed to reopen their embassies in Libya, adding that the process "must be accelerated".

Other countries including Egypt and Malta have also announced their intention to reopen embassies in Tripoli.

hme/dv/fz
The life nowadays moves at a rapid pace. As an older generation, its natural for us to conclude that technology is redefining every aspect of life in a fundamental way.

In many ways, for children today, the influence of technology in their day-to-day lives is unavoidable. While the change is inevitable, the transition though seamless, has ben radical.

Also read: Reddit's High Value Asset That Made Childhood Brighter: For A 90s Kid In India, Pen Was No Less Than A Smartphone

Representational Image/Alamy

For a pre-internet generation, mostly for the kids born in '90s, the golden days of childhood were carefree and less dependent on the virtual joys. The time then was unique, and happiness came in ways, that today's generation is oblivions to. Living and revering each moment, not capturing them, unlike today.



From pop culture to cultural traditions, everything has evolved with time.

Also read: 90s Kids: These 19 Struggles That Were Too Real

Yet, time and again people come up with distinctive and interesting ways to remember the good old days. An example of this has been trending on all social media platforms for days now. It's called 'in search of gold, we lost a diamond."

Many people on Twitter are sharing the difference of how time and advancements have changed everything.

In search of We lost a

Gold. Diamond. pic.twitter.com/qY701obA5h  Thanoothu Vivasayi (@jeevanantham100) March 22, 2021

In search of gold We lost a diamond pic.twitter.com/H54Dn3AXDP  Naai sekar (@snehaplsstop) March 22, 2021

In search of Gold. We lost a Diamond. pic.twitter.com/muMIJ1OGbu  IMShubham (@shubham_jain999) March 24, 2021

In search of gold We lost a diamond pic.twitter.com/H9GcBCjHcv  magicalTales (@kerthima) March 23, 2021

In search of Gold We lost our Diamonds pic.twitter.com/TUiNTIF2cP  r R a o  e e (@iamraojee) March 25, 2021

In search of We lost

Gold Diamond pic.twitter.com/cRXxAmgceO  AaYuu (@A_BrahminGirlll) March 22, 2021

In search of We lost a

GOLD DIAMOND pic.twitter.com/pasfrcWbl4  Divya Noronha (@divya_noronha) March 24, 2021

In Search Of We Lost A

Gold. Diamond. pic.twitter.com/jXOYZ8SCp7  Mr. Perfect  (@Boiesji45) March 22, 2021

In search of gold we lost a diamond. pic.twitter.com/FMGvKYNIqi  Make it pop! (@gomakeitpop) March 23, 2021

You just can't explain how different, and special the childhood was for the 90s kids. It was a different world that was full of life, in literal terms.

While time might have passed, the memories continue to form an important part of life. Every now and then, a trip down the memory lane helps us appreciate what a magical time it was.



Also read: 35 Outdated Problems From The Olden Days That Todays Kids Will Never Have To Deal With
People seen queueing at a vaccination centre in Jurong West on 23 February 2021. (PHOTO: Dhany Osman / Yahoo News Singapore)

SINGAPORE  The Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed 15 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore on Wednesday (24 March), taking the country's total case count to 60,236.

All cases are imported and there are no local infections reported for the 12th day in a row. "Amongst the new cases today, 14 are asymptomatic, and were detected from our proactive screening and surveillance, while one was symptomatic," said the MOH.

Among the 15 imported cases, three are Singaporeans  including a 14-year-old boy and 16-year-old girl  who returned from Indonesia and the UK.

Another is a dependants pass holder who arrived from Indonesia. Two others are work pass holders who arrived from India.

The remaining nine cases are work permit holders who arrived from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, and Malaysia, of whom one is a foreign domestic worker. Wednesday's sole symptomatic case is a 35-year-old male work permit holder who arrived from Malaysia and had an onset of symptoms on 11 March.

All imported cases were placed on the stay-home notice upon their arrival here and were tested while serving the notice.

The MOH said that the number of new cases in the community has decreased from two in the week before to none in the past week. The number of unlinked cases in the community has also decreased from two in the week before to none in the past week.

This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it.

437 NUS UTown hostel residents tested negative, 1 pending

The MOH said on Tuesday that low levels of COVID-19 viral RNA were detected on 21 March from the National Environment Agencys testing of wastewater sample from the UTown Residence North Tower at the National University of Singapore. The sample was collected a day before.

"There is evidence to suggest that this may be due to viral shedding from a recovered past infection among the residents, but as a precautionary measure, the MOH carried out a special testing operations today to test residents of the affected apartments," it added.

Story continues

A total of 438 people, excluding the recovered case, have been swabbed for COVID-19 during the testing operations, of which 437 results have come back negative, and one is pending, the MOH said on Wednesday.

99% of total cases have recovered, none in ICU

With 15 more patients discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities on Wednesday, 60,078 cases  or 99.7 per cent of the total  have fully recovered from the infection.

Most of the 25 hospitalised cases are stable or improving. None of them are in the intensive care unit.

A total of 103 patients  with mild symptoms or are clinically well but still test positive  are isolated and cared for at community facilities.

Apart from the 30 patients who have died from COVID-19 complications, 15 others who tested positive for the virus were determined to have died from unrelated causes, including three whose deaths were attributed to a heart attack and another four, whose deaths were attributed to coronary heart disease.

Among the 99 confirmed cases reported from 18 to 24 March, 33 cases have tested positive for their serology tests, 49 have tested negative, and 17 serology test results are pending.

Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore

More Singapore stories:

Singapore received 200,000 Sinovac doses; no 'coercion' or 'external influence' involved

No need for COVID antibodies tests for Singapore residents after vaccination: MOH official

Up to 750 attendees allowed at live performances with COVID-19 testing from 24 April

COVID-19: Singapore opens vaccination bookings to those aged 45 to 59

From 5 April, work-from-home no longer default; more allowed back at workplaces

Attendees allowed at marriage solemnisations, receptions to be raised to 250 with COVID-19 testing
DUP MP Carla Lockhart and SDLP MP Claire Hanna said more must be done to protect people from online abuse after MPs debated online anonymity and anonymous abuse in the House of Commons on Wednesday. (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

People should not be allowed hide behind anonymous accounts two Northern Ireland MPs have said, after it was reported Facebook's bullying and harassment policy allows calls for the death of public figures.

DUP MP Carla Lockhart and SDLP MP Claire Hanna said more must be done to protect people from online abuse after MPs debated online anonymity and anonymous abuse in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

Facebook's internal moderator guidelines were reportedly leaked to the Guardian newspaper and indicate that public figures are considered to be permissible targets of certain types of abuse, including "calls for [their] death".

Ms Lockhart, who has been a victim of online abuse, said the information contained in the leak is "very concerning" and said the social network should not distinguish between the treatment of private and public figures.

"We now have an online abuse pandemic," she said.

"Social media platforms now appear to embolden people to be nasty and vindictive."

The issue of anonymous accounts being used to direct abuse at others needs to be addressed, she said. "You use Paypal and you have to identify yourself, even though it's never made public."

The Government has in recent years been urged to bring forward an Online Harms bill, legislation Ms Lockhart said "needs to deal with these platforms and their lack of accountability".

The MP for Upper Bann, who manages her own social media, said abusive comments on Facebook are upsetting. "Every so often there's that one comment that rocks you. It's that one individual who takes it too far and beyond a computer screen, that's what concerns me."

SDLP MP for South Belfast Ms Hanna said online abuse needs to be tackled.

"The internet is essentially a large public space with an anti-social behaviour problem; we design and shape our physical environment to promote safety - social media companies have failed to do that effectively so the Government must step up."

She added: "Children and young people need to be equipped with the tools and knowledge to navigate the online world including source literacy and being able to identify misinformation, reporting and filtering abuse, and knowing what isn't acceptable online."

Campaigner for citizenship rights and vice chair of VotingRights.ie Emma DeSouza has also been targeted with sexist and derogatory abuse.

"Social media platforms are an invaluable resource but are becoming increasingly hostile spaces, used as a cover for racism, misogyny and hate speech. Being a public figure should not deem you a 'permissible target' for abuse," she said.

A Facebook spokesperson said: "We think it's important to allow critical discussion of politicians and other people in the public eye.

"But that doesn't mean we allow people to abuse or harass them on our apps.

"We remove hate speech and threats of serious harm no matter who the target is, and we're exploring more ways to protect public figures from harassment.

"We regularly consult with safety experts, human rights defenders, journalists and activists to get feedback on our policies and make sure they're in the right place."
Sadly, Walt Disney World has joined the ranks of airports and corporations using COVID-19 as an excuse to install facial recognition.

According to the Disney Tourist Blog , Walt Disney World will trial facial recognition at Magic Kingdom.

Walt Disney World has been treating families like suspected criminals at a TSA checkpoint so it's the next logical step for them.

As part of an ongoing effort to enhance the arrival experience for guests at the entrance to Magic Kingdom Park, we have relocated some of our bag checks and metal detectors to the Transportation and Ticket Center and the monorail stations at Disneys Contemporary Resort, Disneys Grand Floridian Resort & Spa and Disneys Polynesian Village Resort said Disney spokeswoman Rebecca Peddle."

"From what I have heard over the next year Disney is going to implementing new security measures to all of their theme parks entrances. Early reports state that we will be seeing airport style security scanners, hand-held wand scanners, and more uniformed Police presences with K-9 units," blogger Anonymouse said.

According to a Walt Disney World announcement, Magic Kingdom will be using facial recognition to ID guests between March 23 and April 23, 2021.

"At Walt Disney World Resort, we're always looking for innovative and convenient ways to improve our Guests experienceespecially as we navigate the impact of COVID-19."

"The technology were testing captures an image of a Guests face and converts it into a unique number, which is then associated with the form of admission being used for park entry."

Nothing says 'improving a guest's experience' quite like using facial recognition to track their movement's.

Walt Disney World's claim that, "children under the age of 18 who wish to participate may do so with the consent and in the presence of a parent or guardian," is somewhat misleading.

If a guest (child under 18) approaches a ride or walks through the park how does facial recognition not ID them or associate them with a parent? Facial recognition cameras do not automatically stop trying to ID people and children because they refused to participate. That is not how this technology works.

In 2017, the Universal Informer revealed that when Universal Orlando Resort "tested" facial recognition to ID guests, their facial recognition cameras automatically attempted to validate or ID every guest's face.

The Walt Disney World announcement also revealed that they are storing guest's faces.

"If you return to Magic Kingdom park during our limited-time test, consider entering using the same designated entry points. Re-entering through the same lanes helps us better understand how the technology works."

If Walt Disney World permanently installs facial recognition in Magic Kingdom how will they use the images of the roughly 20 million guests who visit the park yearly? (Note: the 20 million figure is pre-pandemic.)

As the Disney Tourist Blog said , "facial recognition has already proven controversial among Walt Disney World fans. The objections are more or less what youd expect, along the lines of past Big Brother concerns about Walt Disney World."

But privacy concerns over Walt Disney World's CCTV cameras goes far deeper.

The group is urging assistance on rent, debt, utility bills, and the cost of gasoline amid the latest outbreak.

A Buddhist layman beats a giant drum at a pagoda to warn the public of the latest coronavirus outbreak in Phnom Penh, March 24, 2021.

A youth group demanding that Cambodias government tackle major causes of economic hardship with payments to the millions left jobless as a result of the coronavirus pandemic on Wednesday called off plans to petition Prime Minister Hun Sen after municipal authorities denied it permission to rally.

On Tuesday, the Women for Society Association sent a request to City Hall in the capital Phnom Penh to lead a march Friday of 200 participants to Hun Sens cabinet office, where the group planned to call for government assistance on rent, debt, utility bills, and the cost of gasoline amid Cambodias latest outbreak after a year-long economic shutdown of the economy.

However, the request was rebuffed, and the group said it would honor the local governments order.

Cambodia marked its first official death from COVID-19 on March 11, a year to the day that the World Health Organization (WHO) labeled the coronavirus a global pandemic. Since then, five people have died as a result of the disease caused by the virus and restrictions aimed at stopping the spread of the outbreak have decimated the impoverished countrys economy.

Speaking to RFAs Khmer Service on Wednesday, Women for Society Association President Keo Tithlida said that while her group no longer plans to lead a march of supporters to Hun Sens cabinet office, she plans to petition the prime minister herself.

City Hall said if we proceed with the march, we will be opposing the law, she said.

We are not in opposition to the municipal authorities  I am willing to go alone, as long as the petition reaches the [central] government.

While Cambodia has remained relatively unscathed by the virus, it reported a daily record last week of 105 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the countrys total number of infections to 1,430nearly triple that of a month ago when the latest outbreak was first detected. By Wednesday, the number of infections had climbed to 1,817.

Independent Democracy of Informal Economy Association (IDEA) President Vorn Pov told RFA that the government needs to do more to help those in need, echoing several of the Women for Society Associations demands.

The government should consider providing people daily sustenance, stimulus checks like neighboring countries, free utilities, and intervene in loan debts, he said.

Driven to scavenging

Phnom Penhs refusal to allow the Women for Society Association to march later this week came as representatives of around 100 scavengers who rely on what they can pick out of the citys dumpsters told RFA that their hardships have become even more pronounced due to coronavirus restrictions.

One scavenger named Bun Mann said that quarantine rules have prevented her children, who recently returned to Cambodia from neighboring Thailand where they labored as migrant workers, from seeking employment back home.

It is very difficult to earn a living during the coronavirus, she said, adding that she has been forced to take on extra work to support her family.

A taxi driver in Siem Reap named Kim Nai told RFA that he had been out of work for a year because no tourists are coming to the area to visit Angkor Wat.

He said he had been forced to scavenge, picking up snails and crabs from local rice fields to buy food.

Its been very quiet, with no tourists, he said. Before the coronavirus, I could barely make enough, but now it is even worse. I have no steady income.

Kim Nai said that if he is lucky, he can earn between 5,000 and 10,000 riel (U.S. $1.25 and $2.50) a day, although he often does not have enough rice to eat because he cant find enough to scavenge.

Buddhist monks walk through the Angkor Wat complex in Siem Reap province, Nov. 29, 2020. AFP

Sector hard hit

Another taxi driver in Siem Reap named Pok Tho said the decline in tourists also caused him to give up driving. Instead, he said, he now raises chickens and ducks to earn a living.

As someone who relies on tourists, Ive been left with no income, he said.

To be honest, if I have enough food in the morning, I wont have enough in the evening.

Pok Tho said he hopes to find a job in construction but has yet to do so.

According to the Phnom Penh Post, Cambodia Association of Travel Agents (CATA) president Chhay Sivlin said Tuesday that the prolonged pandemic had devastated Cambodias tourism industry, warranting government support.

Cambodias Ministry of Tourism has said that from January to March last year, Cambodia hosted 1.16 million international tourists, a decrease of 38 percent over the same period a year earlier. In the second quarter of 2020, the number of tourists had dropped by 90 percent.

Angkor Enterprise, the agency that sells tickets to the Angkor Wat complex, said that slightly more than 400,000 people visited the site over the past two monthsa decline of 99 percent from a year ago.

Hotel manager Eang Chhal told RFA that around 200 five-star hotels had been forced to close their doors during the pandemic, while several other tourism-related businesses had also been shuttered, but the cost of meat and vegetables is up.

Ministry of Tourism recently announced that it will waive fines for tourist businesses that have yet to apply for licenses until the end of the year, after around 30 percent filed for closure or suspension of operations.

Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
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 Canada, there is no outside temperature above or below which animals can or will not be trucked off to slaughter. Regardless of Manitobas extreme weather, nearly every day in this province, open-sided trucks without mechanical climate control haul animals to their death.

Opinion

IN Canada, there is no outside temperature above or below which animals can or will not be trucked off to slaughter. Regardless of Manitobas extreme weather, nearly every day in this province, open-sided trucks without mechanical climate control haul animals to their death.

For pigs, that trip can legally run for 28 hours without food, water or rest. For cows, that maximum is 36 hours, and for newly hatched birds, 72 hours. Animal advocates have long deemed Canadas animal transport regulations the worst in the western world  and it is due, in part, to this that activists across the country have zeroed in on transport trucks as a place of peaceful protest and evidence-gathering.

But that may soon come to an end in Manitoba, thanks to recently tabled Bill 62, the Animal Diseases Amendment Act, and Bill 57, the Protection of Critical Infrastructure Act, which many legal experts are calling ag-gag legislation. Ag-gag laws are harmful to animals, harmful to the rights of protesters, and harmful to the rights of journalists like me.

Animal agriculture is ubiquitously shrouded in secrecy. While knowing how the sausage is made may turn off many consumers, a growing number of Canadians have in recent years become interested in the origins and ethics of their food. Getting a true glimpse of how animals are treated on Canadian farms, however, is difficult.

In fact, outside of oft-deceptive industry marketing, it is only while they are on transport trucks, or through footage gained by activists willing to be there, that the public ever gets a chance to see these animals.

Danae Tonge is a co-organizer with Manitoba Animal Save and Winnipeg Chicken Save, groups that hold vigils outside of trucks and slaughterhouses to document the conditions of the animals, and occasionally offer water to animals in dire need. She says it is crucial that Animal Save groups  which exist all around the world  are able to be outside of these trucks in order to show the public how farmed animals are truly treated.

"The CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) isnt going to put images out there of these animals being transported; the meat industry isnt going to show whats really going on," she says. "And if we cant be there getting footage, showing whats going on, interacting somewhat with these animals, then there is nobody who is."

In the past, Tonge says she has filed complaints with the CFIA about animals on trucks appearing to have frostbite or suffering from heat stroke, "then you never hear back from them, or they send you a stock email saying everything seems fine."

Having the ability to share, directly with the public and media, evidence of animals suffering in transport is necessary for transparency and accountability. Consumers deserve to know. I have written on the topic of farmed animal transport in Canada for numerous publications, thanks in great part to shocking evidence gathered by activists from Animal Save groups. But if Bill 62 and Bill 57 pass, this will all become much more difficult. Activists could face significant fines, or even jail time.

"Law professors and legal experts across Canada have already warned that making it an offence to interact with farmed animals en route to slaughter restricts individuals constitutionally protected rights to protest on public property," says Kaitlyn Mitchell, a Winnipeg-based animal rights lawyer with Animal Justice. "Because they target critically important expressive rights, there is a strong likelihood that Bill 62 and Bill 57 will be subject to constitutional challenges if they pass as drafted."

In the U.S., several similar ag-gag laws have been struck down as unconstitutional. In Ontario, ag-gag legislation is currently being challenged in court in a suit spearheaded by Animal Justice, another Animal Save activist and myself.

As more consumers grow concerned about where their food comes from, and about animal welfare in general, now is not the time for the Manitoba government to be pushing animal agriculture further into the dark. And as we cope with a pandemic caused by the transmission of a zoonotic disease from animals to humans, we need to push for far more transparency from industries that house, breed, transport and kill animals  not allow for even less.

Jessica Scott-Reid is a Winnipeg based writer and animal advocate. She is also the co-host of the Paw & Order Podcast, produced by Animal Justice.
Raipur: Amid the surge in COVID-19 infections, the Chhattisgarh government has imposed section 144 in the capital, Raipur on Thursday (March 25). The announcement was made by the Raipur collector after monitoring the COVID-19 situation in the capital.

The state authorities have also issued orders for the travellers or tourists entering the state to stay in the home quarantine for at least seven days.

Additionally, the authorities also issued new guidelines for the celebration of Holi festival. As per the fresh guidelines, use of any kind of sound amplifiers will be prohibited. While no more than five people will be able to participate in the Holika Dahan ceremony in the capital, Holi celebrations or any other programs are completely banned.

Random inspections will be conducted in multiplexes, talkies, commercial complexes, shopping complexes, malls etc. The government will be taking stricter actions for the proper implementation of the guidelines.

All tourist places and numerous public places in the state have been ordered to remain closed till further orders. Additionally, the authorities have banned any type of public events, religious events, festivals, social, cultural, political, sports, ceremonies. Also, the number of guests in a wedding has been limited to 50 people.

Chhattisgarh Health Minister TS Singh Dev expressed concern on the COVID-19 condition in the state at a press conference on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, India on Wednesday recorded 47,262 new cases of the novel coronavirus, which is the highest reported single-day rise for the year 2021. This takes the nationwide COVID-19 tally to 1,17,34,058, as per the Union Health Ministry.

While the active caseload too rose sharply for the 14th consecutive day and was recorded at 3,68,457, comprising 3.14 per cent of the total infections. The recovery rate further dropped to 95.49 per cent, the ministry said in an update.
RTHK: Brazil surpasses 300,000 Covid-19 deaths

Brazil's death toll in the coronavirus pandemic surpassed 300,000 on Wednesday, as a deadly surge that has pushed hospitals to the brink made it the second country after the United States to pass the bleak milestone.

A total of 300,685 people in Brazil have now died of Covid-19, the health ministry said, as the country struggled to deal with an explosion of cases blamed on a local variant of the virus that is believed to be more contagious.

Brazil currently has the highest daily death toll in the pandemic by far. It has more than tripled since the start of the year, to an average of 2,273 for the past week.

President Jair Bolsonaro announced earlier he was launching a crisis committee to deal with the pandemic, a change of course amid mounting pressure over a situation he has repeatedly minimised.

The far-right president vowed no one would "politicise" the pandemic, after a meeting with the heads of both houses of Congress, the chief justice of the Supreme Court, the central bank chief, most of his cabinet and six of Brazil's 27 governors.

"The prevailing sentiment was solidarity and the commitment to minimise the effects of the pandemic," Bolsonaro said at the presidential palace.

"Life comes first."

He said the group had agreed to create a coordinating council with Brazil's 27 governors, led by Senate speaker Rodrigo Pacheco.

He himself will convene a crisis committee that will meet weekly, he said.

The announcements appeared to do little to tame criticism of Bolsonaro, who has flouted expert advice on lockdowns and face masks, pushed a drug regimen he calls the "early treatment" package that scientists say does not work, and spoken out against vaccines.

Newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo accused the president of "lying" when he said his government had worked ceaselessly to fight the virus.

"For 12 months, Bolsonaro minimised the pandemic, promoted crowds, spoke out against mask use and halted talks to secure vaccines," it said.

Bolsonaro has softened his position on vaccines under pressure, saying Wednesday's meeting had "unanimously agreed" on the need for mass vaccination.

However, he was apparently unable to resist his habitual plug for "early treatment" with hydroxychloroquine and other drugs discarded as ineffective against Covid-19 in a raft of studies.

"We also spoke about the possibility of the early treatment regimen," he said.

"That comes under the health ministry, which respects the right and duty of all doctors to treat their patients, including with off-label drug prescriptions."

His new health minister - his fourth of the pandemic - later said in his first press conference that he was setting up a special secretariat within the ministry to fight the pandemic.

The minister, cardiologist Marcelo Queiroga, also vowed to triple the number of people vaccinated to one million per day, "in the near term."

Brazil, a sprawling country of 212 million people, has now administered at least one dose of vaccine to around six percent of its population, but is far off pace to reach its goal of vaccinating all adults by the end of the year.

The new wave of Covid-19 has pushed many hospitals to the breaking point, with intensive care beds and oxygen supplies at critically low levels.

The Pan American Health Organisation warned on Tuesday that the situation in Brazil was "dire," and threatening the rest of the region.

"The virus continues to surge dangerously across Brazil," PAHO director Carissa Etienne said in Washington.

"Cases and deaths are increasing, and ICU bed occupancy is very high in many states." (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2021-03-25. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP)  Pennsylvanias highest court has delivered a victory for natural gas exploration firms, ruling that the state attorney generals office doesnt have authority under state law to sue them on consumer protection grounds over their mineral rights-leasing practices.

The lawsuit by the attorney generals office included an antitrust action under state law, and had attracted the close attention of major business groups in Pennsylvania, the nations No. 2 gas-producing state thanks to a decade of drilling in the prolific Marcellus Shale reservoir.

But the state Supreme Court, in a 6-1 decision late Wednesday, overturned lower court decisions and agreed with Texas-based Anadarko Petroleum Corp. that state consumer protection law does not allow sellers to take action against buyers.

As a result, the court declined to rule on whether the attorney generals office has the legal authority to pursue an antitrust action under the law.

Jackie Root, the membership director for the Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Landowner Alliance, called the decision the nail in the coffin in efforts to protect an estimated 200,000-plus lease-owners from predatory practices of natural gas companies.

Its big business, Root said. They have the advantage and regardless of who is the buyer and seller. The landowner is the little guy, the one who is disadvantaged in the transaction.

The office of Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said it still can press an antitrust claim in a county court that was not part of the appeal and will ask state lawmakers to update Pennsylvania laws to better protect those misled by corporations like this one.

The attorney generals office sued in 2015, accusing Anadarko and Chesapeake Energy Corp. of Oklahoma City of eliminating competition and shortchanging landowners of signing bonuses and royalties by divvying up counties in northern Pennsylvania in which to lease mineral rights.

The office also accused the companies of deceiving landowners in a slew of ways to get them to sign a lease and to minimize how much they were paid in royalties.

But Anadarko had argued that it was not a seller of services and not subject to action under state consumer protection law. The companies were buying mineral rights in land leases, not selling, they contended.

Three oil and gas trade associations backed up Anadarko, writing in a joint court brief that applying the states consumer protection laws to their leasing transactions will introduce a great deal of uncertainty and complication.

Lawmakers had had the chance to insert consumer protection provisions into laws regulating oil and gas leasing, but did not, they wrote.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. bought Anadarko in 2019 and declined comment Thursday. Anadarko announced in late 2016 that it was selling its assets in the Marcellus Shale reservoir.

Chesapeakes appeal was dropped from the case last year when it filed for federal bankruptcy protection. It remains one of the most active companies drilling in Pennsylvanias Marcellus Shale, however.

A lower court decision in the Anadarko case spawned an effort in 2019 by the attorney generals office to define, through regulation, what sort of business practices amount to unfair competition or acts under state consumer protection law.

It has received support from consumer groups and broad pushback from business associations, accusing the attorney generals office of trying to create antitrust law without any approval by state lawmakers.

Prospects for action in Pennsylvanias Republican-controlled Legislature are iffy.

The Legislature for years has not acted on proposals to create antitrust law and, for a decade, has rebuffed attempts by leaseholders to prevent natural gas companies from deducting costs before paying royalties.

___

Follow Marc Levy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/timelywriter.

By MARC LEVY

Associated Press
Despite mass opposition to school reopenings among educators, parents and students, United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) and Oakland Education Association (OEA) were able to ram through deadly deals to reopen schools in Los Angeles and Oakland on Sunday. This marks a major turning point in the homicidal drive to reopen schools throughout California and across the US, which is one of the Biden administrations key domestic policies.

In Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the second largest school district in the US with over 600,000 students, all teachers are required to be in classrooms by April 12 unless they have a verified medical reason to stay remote. In-person classes will also begin for K-6 students April 12, with secondary students returning in late April. In Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), the 96th largest school district in the US with roughly 50,000 students, all teachers are to report back to their classrooms by April 14, with K-6 students and high-needs students in grades 7-12 being brought back April 19.

Teachers, students and supporters rally at Frank Ogawa Plaza in front of City Hall in Oakland, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

The reopening deals were only approved due to the immense pressure and intimidation brought to bear by the UTLA and OEA on their membership. Both unions have conspired with their local school boards, Democratic Party officials in the state, the Biden administration and the leadership of the state and national teachers unions to orchestrate these abject betrayals, which will lead to infections and deaths in schools and their surrounding communities.

The reopening of schools takes place under extremely dangerous conditions. Californias politicians have eased restrictions, reopening restaurants, businesses and schools, despite the spread of more infectious and lethal variants. At the national level, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has manipulated science to serve the Biden administrations agenda, lowering their spacing recommendation between students from six feet to three feet in order to pack as many children into schools as possible. On Saturday, California Department of Public Health released their own guidelines to allow three-foot distancing in classrooms.

In response to the unions betrayals, there has been radio silence from the various pseudo-left outlets and organizations, including Jacobin, Labor Notes, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), Socialist Alternative, By Any Means Necessary (BAMN) and others active in both Los Angeles and Oakland.

It is critical that educators draw lessons from this experience to prepare for future struggles, in particular the need to expand the network of Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committees that now exist in California and internationally, as an independent voice of opposition to the unions and big-business parties. Throughout the drive to reopen schools, these committees in Los Angeles, Northern California and across the West Coast have been the only organizations actively fighting to warn educators and oppose these deadly plans throughout the region.

How the betrayals in LA and Oakland unfolded after Chicago

In early February, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) forced through a similar deal to reopen the third largest school district in the US. The union lied to teachers, claiming that no concessions would be made to the detriment of public safety, and then reneged on all its pledges and reached a completely unsafe deal with the district that they pressured members to approve.

This was a critical turning point in the nationwide push to reopen schools in major Democrat-led cities and it coincided with a massive propaganda campaign by the corporate media to smear educators and pressure parents into believing schools were safe.

The CTU, UTLA and OEA are all run by pseudo-left radical caucuses within the union apparatus. This includes the United Caucuses of Rank-and-File Educators (UCORE), which took control of the CTU leadership in 2010, now led by Jesse Sharkey, ex-leader of the International Socialist Organization (ISO). The UTLA and OEA have followed in their footsteps in an attempt to give their unions a democratic and militant veneer.

OEA president Keith Brown, UTLA president Cecily Myart-Cruz and vice president Alex Caputo-Pearl all helped orchestrate the current betrayals, repeating on a far graver scale their stifling of the 2019 teacher strikes in LA and Oakland. While their betrayals in 2019 led to budget cuts, school closures and teachers layoffs, the betrayals today will lead to infections and deaths from COVID-19 throughout both cities.

Over the past five weeks, the UTLA and OEA followed the same playbook of the CTU to reopen schools in their districts. To illustrate the collusion of the unions with the Biden administration and Democrats to force open schools, it is important to review events leading up to the approval of the deal between the UTLA and LAUSD, which was more openly on display in the media than parallel developments in Oakland.

Feb 2-5: UTLA Twitter account hails support of the CTU as supposedly leading the opposition of teachers to in-person learning.

February 11: After the CTU betrayed teachers and imposed their deal to reopen schools, both the UTLA and OEA have remained silent on the conditions of educators and students in Chicago, under conditions in which K-12 schools have become the number one source of COVID-19 transmission throughout Illinois.

March 1: An estimated 75,000 vaccine doses are made available for California teachers, as part of a nationwide push to vaccinate teachers in order to reopen schools.

Newsom informs both LAUSD and UTLA officials in a closed meeting the guidelines for reopening under Senate Bill 86. One of the LAUSD officialswho wished to remain anonymous to avoid retaliationrevealed to the WSWS that as Newsom briefed participants, the UTLA reps remained absolutely quiet and raised no objection whatsoever.

That evening, UTLA president Cecily Myart-Cruz launched a sham propaganda poll of resistance to support a yes vote for the tentative agreement, provided that three prerequisites are met: community transmission falls into the still deadly red tier; vaccines are made available for all teachers; and teachers have access to PPE.

March 2-5 UTLA holds chapter meetings among its membership throughout LAUSD to promote a yes vote in favor of the three prerequisites for a safe return. The unofficial vote was made to promote the illusion that teachers agreed with the paltry safety measures and prepared the stage for reopening in the red tier, which the UTLA and Newsom knew would shortly happen.

March 4: Voluntary return to work begins for teachers to provide in-person services and assessments for students. This effort to divide LA educators was endorsed by the UTLA.

March 5: Newsom signs SB 86 into law. The bill accelerates school reopenings regardless of the level of community transmission of COVID-19 in Californias 58 counties and offers districts access to a $2 billion pool as an incentive to reopen by April 1. UTLA announces that its membership voted to approve their three prerequisites for a safe return.

March 9: Los Angeles County officially reaches red tier status. LAUSD superintendent Austin Beutner and Myart-Cruz release a joint celebratory statement announcing a tentative agreement was reached to reopen schools.

March 14: California updates its metrics to denote that once the state administers a total of two million vaccine doses to areas hardest hit by COVID-19, the case rates for the red tier could be broadened from 7 up to 10 cases per 100,000. The new metrics would help to keep counties out of the states most restrictive purple tier in order to facilitate the opening of schools and businesses.

March 17-21: Official vote on TA begins. On March 18, Myart-Cruz told UTLA membership during a UTLA Facebook Live video that if teachers vote No, the district would be allowed the directive to unilaterally reopen physical school sites without our enforceable safety conditions in place.

March 21: Beutner announces that schools will reopen April 12, which comes as a huge surprise to LAUSD teachers under the impression that schools would reopen April 19. A few hours later, the UTLA announces the approval of the TA and results of the vote.

The vote results show a high level of opposition to the TA and lack of confidence in the UTLA. Though the UTLA claims that 89 percent of the membership voted in favor of the TA, roughly 12,000 members abstained from voting altogether and 2,286 members voted against the deal, meaning that only slightly more than half of LAUSD teachers and other staff voted to approve the plan.

Unions censor opposition to their deadly deals

Immediately after both TAs were announced in LA and Oakland, opposition exploded on social media. This prompted concerted efforts by the unions and their allies to censor critical voices by parents and educators opposed to these deadly plans, above all those sharing material from the WSWS.

The UTLA-backed Facebook group Parents Supporting Teachers, which has well over 22,000 members, has banned a retired LAUSD teacher for attempting to post in opposition to the unions reopening plan. A current LAUSD kindergarten teacher has been banned from the UTLA public Facebook page for posting comments criticizing the union. Other posts in opposition to school reopenings have been deleted from UTLAs Facebook video announcements.

The same policies were carried out in 2019 during the LA and Oakland teacher strikes. WSWS supporters who were banned in 2019 when fighting against the union betrayals of those strikes are still not able to post on the union pages.

Just as the CTU did with its membership in Chicago, a propaganda campaign was carried out by both the UTLA and the OEA to ensure reopening. The unions have done everything they can to isolate teachers, attempt to instill defeat and insist that there is no way to prevent going back in.

Expand the network of rank-and-file committees and the fight for socialism

Everywhere schools have reopened, there has been mass absenteeism, and every indication points to the majority of parents not sending their kids back as schools reopen in the coming weeks. Survey results released Monday by the Los Angeles Times found only 28 percent of LA families said they will send their elementary school students back, with 17 percent of middle school families and 10 percent of high school families.

Educators, parents and students everywhere must draw from this experience and break free from the stranglehold of the unions. Hostile to the genuine interests and unification of all workers, the unions are in no way fighting organizations. Rather, they are tied politically and financially to the Democratic Party, which is now spearheading the reopening of schools in order to reopen the economy, no matter the cost of workers lives and the health of their families. In reality, the unions are the organizations used to police the class struggle and stifle genuine opposition.

While the UTLA and OEA were negotiating behind closed doors with Newsom and state education officials such as Tony Thurmond and others, the West Coast Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committees have been organizing independently of both parties and the unions and have fought to connect educators and workers across district and state lines to oppose reopenings.

These committees continue to hold weekly meetings with educators from California, Oregon, Washington and throughout the US, during which educators and workers present and discuss the political situation, lay out the genuine science behind the dangers of reopening, and organize opposition and a fighting way forward. We urge all educators in Los Angeles, Oakland and throughout the West Coast to join the rank-and-file committees that exist in these areas.

Fundamentally, the crisis of the pandemic has exposed the systemic crisis of the capitalist system, which cannot be reformed. Workers must fight to unify every section of the working class internationally and take up the fight for socialism.
It is understood more than 100 people were able to book an appointment at one of Northern Ireland's vaccination centres despite not being in one of the priority groups

Health officials are in the process of cancelling appointments of people not eligible for the Covid-19 vaccine after a problem with the online booking system, it has emerged.

It is understood more than 100 people were able to book an appointment at one of Northern Ireland's vaccination centres despite not being in one of the priority groups.

The issue occurred on Tuesday, with the system taken offline later in the day as officials scrambled to resolve the problem.

A spokesman from the Department of Health last night said: "Yesterday, some members of the public in Northern Ireland, who are not yet eligible to receive a Covid vaccine, were able to make an appointment.

"This was a result of an issue with the system's eligibility checker and we are looking into the circumstances that allowed this, but we want to clarify that such appointments are being cancelled.

"Ineligible appointments will, in any event, be turned away at the vaccination centre through checks that apply there.

"Our thanks go to the vast majority of people who are using our services properly."

DUP MLA Jonathan Buckley, a member of the Stormont health committee, welcomed the checks that are in place to stop ineligible people getting a jab but said abuse of the system means slots are being wasted.

He said: "I want to put on record my thanks to everyone who has been involved in the vaccination programme, which has been running extremely well to date.

"This has meant that there is an awful lot of excitement among people about getting the vaccine but I would just remind everyone to be patient, to wait until their turn, to ensure that those who are most at risk get their vaccine as quickly as possible."

Earlier in the week, the Department of Health said it is aware of people abusing the system by booking appointments when they are not yet eligible for a vaccine.

Patricia Donnelly, who heads up the programme, said they are seeing an increasing number of ineligible people, including people from the Republic of Ireland, trying to book an appointment at a vaccination centre.

Vaccinations are only available to people who meet specific criteria, including anyone who is 50 and above, healthcare workers, care home staff or residents, people who are clinically extremely vulnerable and the homeless community.

Everyone attending an appointment at a vaccination centre must provide proof they are eligible.
Istanbul, March 25 : Turkish police detained 18 suspects in the country's biggest city of Istanbul for their alleged ties to the Islamic State (IS) terror group, local media reported.

Police forces and special operation teams launched simultaneous operations on Wednesday at 15 addresses to capture the suspects, Xinhua news agency quoted the local media as saying.

Those targeted in operations, including 16 foreign nationals, illegally crossed into Turkey after spending "a long time" in conflict zones in Iraq and Syria.

Many organisational documents and digital materials were also seized during the raids.

Last week, at least eight more suspected IS members were detained in the city for their alleged ties to the terror group, according to press reports.

The IS has conducted a spate of deadly attacks in Turkey since 2015.

Since then, Turkish counter-terrorism units conduct operations against the group members in the country.
Credit: John EderStone Temple Pilots are reissuing their 1996 album Tiny Music...Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop in honor of its 25th anniversary.

The release will be available in a variety of different formats on July 23, including a super-deluxe edition that consists of the original album remastered, various alternate and instrumental versions, and a full live recording from a 1997 STP show in Panama City Beach, Florida.

You can listen to the alternate version of the song "Big Bang Baby" now via RollingStone.com.

Tiny Music..., STP's third album, was originally released March 26, 1996. While not quite as commercially successful as the band's first two albums, 1992's Core and 1994's Purple, Tiny Music... did spawn the hit singles "Big Bang Baby," "Lady Picture Show" and "Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart," and was eventually certified two-times platinum.

STP's most recent album is 2020's Perdida, the band's second release with new lead vocalist Jeff Gutt.

By Josh Johnson

Copyright  2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
AN earlier opening date for the Offaly Covid vaccination centre must be prioritised due to the high incident rate in the county, Tullamore District and Commerce have stressed.

In a statement released on Thursday, the Chamber welcomed the opening of the Tullamore walk-in test centre as a very positive development.

Our understanding from public health is there is no one particular Covid-19 transmission source; workplace, community, schools etc. The corollary being Covid is everywhere at this time. Large-scale testing will enable outbreaks to be isolated and extinguished. In our previous lockdowns, high-volume testing was called for but not provided. Industry-specific weekly testing has allowed the meat processing sector to continue in an orderly fashion, said Chamber President Roger Guiney.

The Chamber chief said the next step in the battle against Covid is to prioritise the opening of the county vaccination centre at the Tullamore Court Hotel.

He said: If the solution is to go where the fish are swimming, then the next obvious step is to prioritise the county vaccination centre for much earlier opening while virus incidence rates here are highest in Ireland and around three times higher than our neighbours. Seeing the impact vaccination has had on healthcare worker infections, this would ensure we are ready for a Level 5 exit in-line with the rest of country.

Mr Guiney also stressed Offaly must not be left behind when restrictions are being eased.

We are currently at the highest level of restrictions. What is still not publicly known is at what levels of infections or vaccinations restrictions will ease. Offaly must not be left behind. While there is nothing to say this is being considered, it must not even be contemplated. The consequences are too great. Under previous periods of restrictions, while industry worked away largely unimpeded, the negative publicity created a perception of Offaly being closed and unable to supply customers, which was not the case, he outlined

Mr Guiney added: Different business sectors will return to work at different times. It is generally said that construction will emerge from Level 5 first and will show what we already know from manufacturing and essential retail; that workplaces are safe when controls are in place.

In terms of on-going business supports needed, there is not a one size fits all. Retail and wholesale for example, accounting for about 20% of employment in Offaly is largely cyclical and liquidity will be key to a successful restart. Hospitality will likely need on-going wage supports until patrons are confident and return in numbers.

Mr Guiney said that even before Covid Offaly was economically disadvantaged and at the bottom of the State's per-capita income table.

He said the county had been entering a challenging period with the shut down of Bord na Mona before the virus struck.
YEREVAN, MARCH 25, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia has issued three collector coins, the Bank told Armenpress.

The 100th Anniversary of Establishment of Petros Adamyan Armenian State Drama Theater in Tbilisi

Armenian performances have been organized in Tbilisi, Georgia, since the 1820s. The Armenian theater as a professional structure was founded in 1858 and became a direct successor of the best traditions of the Eastern Armenian theater, undertaking the creation of a new Armenian theatrical art. In 1921 the theater was organized as an Armenian state drama theater. The opening took place at the Artistic Theater (now the Rustaveli Theater), premiering Octave Mirbeaus play Les mauvais bergers (directed by A. Beroyan). The founders included, among others, I Alikhanyan, A. Vruyr, O Maysuryan, A. and M Beroyans, Zabel, A. Rshtuni. In the first years the performances were given in different theaters of Tbilisi. In 1936 the theater moved to a new building in the Havlabar district (the first performance was Shahnameh by Janan), a time when the theaters creative growth began. During those years, plays by both national and Russian and West-European authors were staged. In 1955-1991, the theater was named after Stepan Shahumyan and, since 1991,after Petros Adamyan. Many prominent Armenian artists, including V. Papazyan, H. Abelyan, V. Vagharshyan, H. Nersisyan, G. Janibekyan performed at the Armenian State Drama Theater in Tbilisi. Now the Petros Adamyan Armenian State Drama Theater in Tbilisi is considered one of the main Georgian-Armenian cultural and social centers.

Obverse: a stylized image from Petros Adamyans repertoire, symbolizing the role of Hamlet, and an image of an actress.

Reverse: the sculpture of Petros Adamyan (sculptor: Ara Sargsyan) and the graphic image of the theater building.

Designers: Vardan Vardanyan (obverse) and Lusine Lalayan (reverse).

The coin is minted in the Lithuanian Mint.

Technical specification

Face value 1000 dram

Metal/fineness silver 9250

Weight 33,6 g

Diameter 40,0 mm

Quality proof

Edge ribbed

Quantity of issue 500 pcs

The 100th Anniversary of Gabriel Sundukyan National Academic Theater

The first state theater of Armenia was founded in Yerevan, on August 16, 1921. The ceremony opening of the theater took place on January 25, 1922, with a performance of Pepo written by Gabriel Sundukyan. The theater was renamed after Gabriel Sundukyan in 1937. The theater has brought together best Armenian theatrical figures living in different countries of the world, the artists who were the facade of the Armenian culture of the 20th century. The decades of huge work and enormous efforts has made it the center of Armenian theatrical art. To this day, people still call it MOTHER THEATER. Since its founding up until 1938, the theater operated in one of the central buildings on the Republic Square, then moved to a new place, which is now the English Park. In 1962 the building of the theater burned down. It was rebuilt on the same site and reopened on March 5, 1966. In 1950-70s, the theater was among the most renowned ones in the entire USSR. This may explain the success of the theater, as the Shakespearean performances - the first Shakespeare festival and conference organized in the USSR took place in Yerevan. In 1960 the theater became academic, and in 1996 - national. The Gabriel Sundukyan National Academic Theater has always been home to the creative cooperation of actors and directors of different generations. True to its centuries-old history and traditions, the theater, however, remains young, with unique combinations of the old and the new.

Obverse: the memorial plaque of Gabriel Sundukyan, stylized images of a sheet of paper and thread from the play Pepo.

Reverse: the drawing of the theater building, the icon of the theater and an Armenian ornament.

Designer: Vardan Vardanyan.

The coin is minted in the Lithuanian Mint.

Technical specification

Face value 1000 dram

Metal/fineness silver 9250

Weight 33,6 g

Diameter 40,0 mm

Quality proof

Edge ribbed

Quantity of issue 500 pcs

The 200th Anniversary of Establishment of Armenian College and Philanthropic Academy of Kolkata

The Armenian College and Philanthropic Academy (ACPA) was established in 1821 in Kolkata (India), in the vicinity of the Armenian Holy Church of Nazareth, at the initiative of the philanthropists A. Muradkhanian and M. Vardanian from Jugha. Over the years Galutsian Armenian School and Davidian Girls School joined the ACPA, and a boarding faculty unit was set up. Since 1824, a printing house had been functioning in the ACPA for about 50 years. The Ararat Library was founded in 1828, which had the largest collection of Armenian books and manuscripts of the time. In 1999, under the decision of the Kolkata Supreme Court, the ACPA was transferred to the trusteeship of the Holy Etchmiadzin in the person of Catholicos of All Armenians, who was granted the right to direct the ACPAs activity. The ACPAs educational programs include the subjects on Armenology and natural sciences and are drawn up in such a way that the graduates receive the opportunity to enter educational institutions of India without difficulties. In the course of 200 years of functioning, the ACPA has educated thousands of Armenian children from Iran, Iraq, Myanmar, India and Armenia. A great number of academic and cultural programs have been implemented here making educational and cultural ties with the Motherland closer and more comprehensive. The Armenian College and Philanthropic Academy of Kolkata is an important center for tutoring and upbringing an Armenian background in the Diaspora and one of the most influential educational institutions.

Obverse: fragments of the images of the Armenian College building and the Armenian Holy Church of Nazareth.

Reverse: the logo of the Armenian College.

Designer: Lusine Lalayan.

The coin is minted in the Lithuanian Mint

Technical specification

Face value 1000 dram

Metal/fineness silver 9250

Weight 33,6 g

Diameter 40,0 mm

Quality proof

Edge ribbed

Quantity of issue 300 pcs

Notice

Collector coins are made of precious metals and are issued to present to the society the national, international, historical and cultural, spiritual and other values of the country, to immortalize these values in the metal and to meet the demands of the numismatic market. Like any other currency the collector coins have face value which makes them the means of payment. However, the face value of these coins is much lower that their cost price which includes the cost of the precious metal used for manufacturing of the coin, mintage and other expenses. Low face value and high cost price allow these coins to be considered as the items of collection and not the means of payment used in money circulation. The collector coins have also the sale price set by the Central Bank of Armenia. As the items of collection the collector coins are issued in very restricted quantities and are not reissued. Numismatists, collectors and all interested persons can buy the Armenian collector coins in the sales salon Numismatist which is in the building of the Central Bank of Armenia and is open for everyone.




















TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / March 25, 2021 / AurCrest Gold Inc. (the "Company" or "AurCrest") (TSXV:AGO) is pleased to announce the closing of the $1,000,000 brokered private placement (the "Offering") announced on February 25, 2021 with the issuance of 3,333,333 flow-through units (the "FT Units") of the Company at a price of $0.30 per FT Unit. The Offering was led on a best-efforts basis by IBK Capital.

Each FT Unit consists of one (1) flow-through common share of the Company and one (1) common share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder to acquire one (1) common share until March 24, 2023 at a price of $0.40.

The Company had also granted IBK Capital an option to purchase up to an additional 25% of the FT Units exercisable at any time until 48 hours prior to Closing (the "Agent's Option"). The Agent's Option has been exercised for up to 455,000 FT Units for gross proceeds of up to $136,500. It is anticipated that closing on the Agent's Option will occur early next week.

"The entire team at AurCrest is eager to advance exploration at our Ranger Lake Gold Property," stated Christopher Angeconeb, President and CEO, "and with the closing of this financing we are well-funded to conduct our initial phase of drilling on gold targets identified through our work in 2020. We are also eager to continue to develop our understanding of the potential across both our Ranger Lake and Richardson Lake Gold Properties, with the intent of designing future exploration drilling programs. We would at this time also like to thank IBK Capital for their efforts in closing this financing."

AurCrest Gold is a leader in the First Nations advancement into shared participation and inclusion in the regional mining opportunities and counts as its board of directors and management, past and present, many indigenous business and cultural leaders. AurCrest is proud to play a leading role in the gold exploration of Northwestern Ontario, especially in the Birch-Uchi Greenstone Belt and the Red Lake mining district, as it forges new business relationships between Canada's founding cultures.

The Company paid IBK Capital a commission of $69,999.99 cash and issued 333,333 broker warrants ("Broker Warrants"). Each Broker Warrant is exercisable at a price of $0.30 until March 24, 2023 to acquire a Unit comprising one (1) common share and one (1) Warrant.

All securities issued are subject to a statutory hold period expiring on July 25, 2021.

About IBK Capital Corp.

IBK Capital is an independent and privately owned investment banking firm which offers a full range of financial advisory services. Such services include private placements of equity and debt, going public by way of reverse take-over, merger, acquisition and divestiture advisory services, valuations, fairness opinions and take-over defence planning. The Firm's corporate objective is to provide the highest quality independent financial advisory services to its clients.

About AurCrest Gold Inc.

AurCrest is a mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of gold properties. AurCrest has a portfolio of properties in Ontario, which include the Richardson Lake, Ranger Lake, and Bridget Lake gold properties.

For Further Information, Please Contact:

AurCrest Gold Inc.

Christopher Angeconeb

President and C.E.O

(807) 737-5353

christopherangeconeb@gmail.com

Ian Brodie-Brown

Director of Business Development

(416) 844-9969

ianbrodiebrown@gmail.com

Forward-Looking Statement:

Some of the statements contained herein may be forward-looking statements which involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Without limitation, statements regarding potential mineralization and resources, exploration results, and future plans and objectives of the Company are forward looking statements that involve various risks. The following are important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements: changes in the world wide price of mineral commodities, general market conditions, risks inherent in mineral exploration, risks associated with development, construction and mining operations, the uncertainty of future profitability and the uncertainty of access to additional capital. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events may differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. AurCrest undertakes no obligation to update such forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.

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.

SOURCE: AurCrest Gold Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/637326/AurCrest-Gold-Closes-1000000-Brokered-Flow-Through-Private-Placement
A man died by suicide on Thursday morning as law enforcement officers deployed tear gas during a standoff that shut down Interstate 10, according to the Fayette County Sheriff's Office. The standoff happened after Harris County deputies chased the man for roughly two hours from Houston.

Deputies from the Harris County Constable's Office Precinct 5 responded around 3 a.m. to a report of a car parked in the middle lanes of Westheimer Road, said public information officer Jeff McShan.

The driver was asleep at the wheel and sped off when he woke up, McShan said. The driver also fired shots at deputies, who chased the driver into downtown Houston, onto Interstate 45 and west on Interstate 10 for nearly 100 miles, he said. The chase reached speeds up to 100 mph.

In Colorado County, law enforcement officers deployed spikes, blowing out the tires of the fleeing vehicle, according to the sheriff's office.

Still, the man continued driving on rims before coming to a stop shortly before 5 a.m. about a mile past Schulenburg.

Fayette County Deputies, Schulenburg police officers, Flatonia police officers and Texas Department Of Public Safety Troopers responded to the pursuit, the sheriff's office said.

After his car came to a stop, the driver fired shots at authorities and held a gun to his head, McShan said.

The Austin-Fayette County Special Response Team responded to the scene, according to the sheriff's office. Following a long standoff and attempted negotiations with the driver, the team deployed tear gas shortly before 9 a.m. in an effort to end the standoff. The driver then shot himself, the sheriff's office said.

Members of the Texas Rangers and Fayette County Justice of the Peace are conducting an investigation.

The sheriff's office did not release the identity of the driver.

Lanes of the interstate reopened in both directions by mid-morning as the scene was cleared.
Lugano, Switzerland; Denver, CO, USA, 25 March 2021 - Clinical activity with a second drug inhibiting KRASG12C confirms its role as a therapeutic target in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harbouring this mutation, according to results from a study with the KRASG12C inhibitor adagrasib reported at the European Lung Cancer Virtual Congress 2021. (1)

"As we strive to identify the oncogenic driver in more and more of our patients with NSCLC, it becomes critical that we develop therapies that can target these identified oncogenic drivers," said lead author Gregory Riely, from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, USA.

"KRAS mutations are the most frequent oncogenic driver that we see in patients with NSCLC and we've known about KRAS-mutant NSCLC for 30 years. We are now, finally, seeing drugs that can target this subgroup of patients," he said.

The multi-cohort phase 1/2 KRYSTAL-1 study evaluated adagrasib, a selective inhibitor of KRASG12C, in 79 patients with advanced or metastatic NSCLC harbouring a KRASG12C mutation. Most (92%) of the patients had previously been treated with chemotherapy and an anti-PD-(L)1.

Results showed that nearly half (45%) of the 51 patients evaluable for clinical activity had a partial response to treatment with adagrasib, and 26 patients had stable disease.

"The 45% response rate is unprecedented activity in patients with KRASG12C mutant NSCLC," commented Myung-Ju Ahn, from Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. "A response of this magnitude could not be expected with other chemotherapy or immunotherapy in pre-treated KRAS-mutated patients, suggesting that KRASG12C is a therapeutic target." She considered the finding is potentially practice-changing although further studies are needed as long-term follow-up data are currently limited.

The results with adagrasib are comparable to those with another KRASG12C inhibitor, sotorasib, reported earlier this year at the World Conference on Lung Cancer 2021. (2)

"Finding another promising targeted agent against KRASG12C mutant NSCLC sheds light on the treatment of these patients who currently have unmet medical need," said Ahn.

KRASG12C mutations occur in around 14% of patients with lung adenocarcinomas, the most common subtype of NSCLC, but there is currently no approved KRAS-targeting therapy.

"Having more KRASG12C inhibitors gives us additional opportunities to explore combinations of these inhibitors with other classes of agents, including immune checkpoint inhibitors as well as other small molecule MAP kinase inhibitor combinations," said Riely.

"The current data really set up future trials to establish the role for adagrasib in patients with KRASG12C mutant NSCLC. They provide a particular opportunity to explore this drug's activity in patients with KRASG12C mutant NSCLC that have been previously treated with platinum-based chemotherapies to potentially submit for regulatory approval." If approved, he suggested: "I think this would clearly set adagrasib as a preferred second-line therapy, compared with chemotherapy, for patients with KRAS mutant NSCLC."

"Given the low toxicity, adagrasib could potentially be combined with chemotherapy, immunotherapy or other molecules to increase activity in patients with KRASG12C mutant NSCLC," suggested Ahn.

Further data from KRYSTAL-1 showed an even greater response to adagrasib in the subpopulation of patients whose tumours had an STK11 mutation as well as a KRASG12C mutation. STK11 mutations have been associated with inferior responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with NSCLC. Riely noted: "Finding that the response rate was higher for patients with STK11 mutations suggests that this group of patients, who otherwise don't benefit from checkpoint inhibitors, may have even better response to adagrasib."

###

Notes to Editors

Please make sure to use the official name of the meeting in your reports: ELCC 2021 Virtual

Official Congress Hashtag: #ELCC21

Disclaimer

This press release contains information provided by the author of the highlighted abstract and reflects the content of this abstract. It does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the ELCC organisers who cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of the data. Commentators quoted in the press release are required to comply with the ESMO Declaration of Interests policy and the ESMO Code of Conduct.

References

1 https:/ / www. esmo. org/ meetings/ european-lung-cancer-virtual-congress-2021 Abstract 99O_PR

'KRYSTAL-1: Activity and Preliminary Pharmacodynamic (PD) Analysis of Adagrasib (MRTX849) in Patients (Pts) With Advanced Non-Small- Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) Harboring KRASG12C Mutation' will be presented by Gregory Riely during the Proffered Paper Session on Thursday, 25 March, 14:35-15:55 CET on Channel 1. Journal of Thoracic Oncology, Volume 16, Number 4S, Supplement, April 2021

2 Abstract PS01.07. CodeBreaK 100: Registrational phase 2 trial of sotorasib in KRASp.G12C mutated non-small-cell lung cancer. IASLC 2021.

https:/ / library. iaslc. org/ conference-program?product_id= 20&author= &category= &date= &session_type= &session= &presentation= &keyword= sotorasib&cme= undefined&

About the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO)

ESMO is the leading professional organisation for medical oncology. With more than 25,000 members representing oncology professionals from over 160 countries worldwide, ESMO is the society of reference for oncology education and information. ESMO is committed to offer the best care to people with cancer, through fostering integrated cancer care, supporting oncologists in their professional development, and advocating for sustainable cancer care worldwide.

http://www. esmo. org

About the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC)

IASLC is the only global organization dedicated solely to the study of lung cancer and other thoracic malignancies. Founded in 1974, the association's membership includes nearly 7,500 lung cancer specialists across all disciplines in over 100 countries, forming a global network working together to conquer lung and thoracic cancers worldwide. The association also publishes the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, the primary educational and informational publication for topics relevant to the prevention, detection, diagnosis, and treatment of all thoracic malignancies. Visit http://www. iaslc. org for more information.

About ELCC

The ELCC Congress brings together some of the most important organisations in the field of thoracic oncology, with the scope of disseminating education through a multidisciplinary approach and improve the practice of lung cancer specialists worldwide. The ELCC Congress is organised by ESMO (European Society for Medical Oncology) and the IASLC (International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer), along with their partner societies ESTRO (European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology), ESTS (European Society for Throacic Surgeons) and ETOP (European Thoracic Oncology Platform)

99O_PR - KRYSTAL-1: Activity and Preliminary Pharmacodynamic (PD) Analysis of Adagrasib (MRTX849) in Patients (Pts) With Advanced Non-Small- Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) Harboring KRASG12C Mutation

G.J. Riely1, S-H.I. Ou2, I. Rybkin3, A. Spira4, K. Papadopoulos5, J.K. Sabari6, M. Johnson7, R.S. Heist8, L. Bazhenova9, M. Barve10, J.M. Pacheco11, K. Velastegui12, C. Cilliers12, P. Olson12, J.G. Christensen12, T. Kheoh12, R.C. Chao12, P.A. Janne13

1Thoracic Oncology Service, Division of Solid Tumor, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA,

2University of California Irvine, Orange, AL, USA, 3Henry Ford Cancer Institute, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, USA, 4Research Institute, Virginia Cancer Specialist, Fairfax, USA, 5Clinical Research department, South Texas Accelerated Research Therapeutics (START), San Antonio, TX, USA, 6Perlmutter Cancer Center, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY, USA, 7Lung Cancer Research, Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Tennessee Oncology, Nashville, TN, USA, 8Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA, 9Medicine, Moores Cancer Center - UC San Diego Health, La Jolla, CA, USA, 10Mary Crowley Cancer Research, Dallas, TX, USA, 11Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA, 12Mirati Therapeutics, Inc., San Diego, CA, USA, 13Lowe Center for Thoracic Oncology, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA

Background: KRAS, the most frequently mutated oncogene in cancer, is a key mediator of the RAS/MAPK signaling cascade that promotes cellular growth and proliferation. KRASG12C mutations occur in approximately 14% of NSCLC (adenocarcinoma). Adagrasib, an investigational agent, is a potent, covalent inhibitor of KRASG12C that irreversibly and selectively binds to KRASG12C, locking it in its inactive state and was optimized for favorable PK properties, including oral bioavailability, long half-life (~24 h), and extensive tissue distribution.

Methods: KRYSTAL-1 (NCT03785249) is a multi-cohort phase I/II study evaluating adagrasib in pts with advanced or metastatic solid tumors, including NSCLC, harboring a KRASG12C mutation previously treated with chemotherapy and an anti-PD-(L)1. Exploratory endpoints include correlative analysis of co-occurring genetic alterations in tumor tissue at baseline and evaluation of the modulation of PD markers, including transcriptomics, in pretreatment and on-study biopsies.

Results: As of 30 August 2020, 79 pts with pretreated NSCLC were treated with adagrasib 600 mg BID (phase I/Ib and phase II). Most commonly reported (>20%) TRAEs included: nausea (54%), diarrhea (48%), vomiting (34%), fatigue (28%), and increased ALT (23%). Among the 51 pts evaluable for clinical activity, 45% (23/51) had a partial response (PR) and 26 pts had stable disease (SD). In a subpopulation of pts with STK11-comutations, ORR was 64% (9/14). Preliminary PD and mechanistic biomarker analyses on pre- and post-treatment tumor NSCLC biopsies (n=3) demonstrate downregulation of KRAS/MAPK pathway genes including DUSP6 and SPRY4. In pts with tumors harboring STK11-comutations, there was minimal expression of immune transcripts (eg, CD4 and CD8) at baseline and these transcripts were increased after treatment with adagrasib suggesting a potential immune response to therapy.

Conclusions: Adagrasib is tolerable and has demonstrated clinical activity in pts with previously treated KRASG12C-mutant NSCLC. Additional PD and mechanistic data will be presented.

Clinical trial identification: NCT03785249

Editorial acknowledgement: Editorial support was provided by Robin Serody of Axiom Healthcare Strategies.

Legal entity responsible for the study: Mirati Therapeutics, Inc.

Funding: Mirati Therapeutics, Inc.

Disclosure: G.J. Riely: Advisory/Consultancy: Pfizer; Advisory/Consultancy: Roche; Advisory/Consultancy: Takeda ; Advisory/Consultancy: Mirati Therapeutics. S-H.I. Ou: Advisory/Consultancy: Pfizer; Advisory/Consultancy: Roche; Advisory/Consultancy: AstraZeneca; Advisory/Consultancy: Takeda; Advisory/Consultancy: TP Therapeutics; Speaker Bureau/Expert testimony: Genentech; Speaker Bureau/Expert testimony: AstraZeneca; Speaker Bureau/Expert testimony: Takeda; Shareholder/Stockholder/Stock options: Turning Point Therapeutics. I. Rybkin: Advisory/Consultancy: AstraZeneca.

A. Spira: Shareholder/Stockholder/Stock options: Lilly; Advisory/Consultancy: Incyte; Advisory/Consultancy: Amgen; Advisory/Consultancy: Novartis; Advisory/Consultancy: Mirati Therapeutics, Inc; Advisory/Consultancy: Gritstone ; Advisory/Consultancy: Jazz Pharmaceuticals; Honoraria (self): CytomX Therapeutics; Honoraria (self): AstraZeneca/MedImmune; Honoraria (self): Merck; Honoraria (self): Takeda; Honoraria (self): Amgen; Honoraria (self): Janssen Oncology; Honoraria (self): Novartis; Honoraria (self): Bristol Myers Squibb; Honoraria (self): Bayer. K. Papadopoulos: Advisory/Consultancy: Bayer; Advisory/Consultancy: ArQule; Advisory/Consultancy: Basilea. M. Johnson: Spouse/Financial dependant: Otsuka; Travel/Accommodation/Expenses: Abbvie; Travel/Accommodation/Expenses: AstraZeneca; Travel/Accommodation/Expenses: Genentech; Travel/Accommodation/Expenses: Incyte; Travel/Accommodation/Expenses: Merck; Travel/Accommodation/Expenses: Pfizer; Travel/Accommodation/Expenses: Sanofi. R.S. Heist: Advisory/Consultancy: Boehringer Ingelheim; Advisory/Consultancy: Novartis; Advisory/Consultancy: Tarveda; Advisory/Consultancy: Apollonia; Honoraria (self): Chugai/Roche.

L. Bazhenova: Shareholder/Stockholder/Stock options: Epic Sciences; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (self): Beyond Spring Pharmaceuticals; Advisory/Consultancy: AstraZeneca; Advisory/Consultancy: Takeda; Advisory/Consultancy: Roche; Advisory/Consultancy: Blueprint Medicines; Advisory/Consultancy: G1; Advisory/Consultancy: Bayer; Advisory/Consultancy: Boehringer Ingelheim; Advisory/Consultancy: Novartis; Advisory/Consultancy: Regeneron; Advisory/Consultancy: Merck; Advisory/Consultancy: Johnson & Johnson; Advisory/Consultancy: BMSi; Advisory/Consultancy: Daichi Sankyo; Advisory/Consultancy: Neuvogen. J.M. Pacheco: Advisory/Consultancy, Travel/Accommodation/Expenses: AstraZeneca; Advisory/Consultancy, Travel/Accommodation/Expenses: Novartis; Advisory/Consultancy: Hengrui; Advisory/Consultancy: Gerson Lehrman; Advisory/Consultancy, Travel/Accommodation/Expenses: Pfizer; Honoraria (self), Travel/Accommodation/Expenses: Takeda. K. Velastegui: Full/Part-time employment: Mirati Therapeutics, Inc. C. Cilliers: Full/Part-time employment: Mirati Therapeutics, Inc.

P. Olson: Full/Part-time employment: Mirati Therapeutics, Inc. J.G. Christensen: Leadership role, Shareholder/Stockholder/Stock options, Officer/Board of Directors: Mirati Therapeutics, Inc; Advisory/Consultancy: BridgeBio; Leadership role, Shareholder/Stockholder/Stock options: BCTG Acquisition; Shareholder/Stockholder/Stock options: Bluebird Bio. T. Kheoh: Shareholder/Stockholder/Stock options, Full/Part-time employment: Mirati Therapeutics, Inc; Shareholder/Stockholder/Stock options: Tocagen.

R.C. Chao: Shareholder/Stockholder/Stock options, Full/Part-time employment: Mirati Therapeutics, Inc. P.A. Janne: Shareholder/Stockholder/Stock options: Gatekeeper Pharmaceuticals; Advisory/Consultancy, Shareholder/Stockholder/Stock options: Loxo; Research grant/Funding (self): Revolution Medicines; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (self): Takeda; Research grant/Funding (self): Puma Biotechnology; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (self): Boehringer Ingelheim; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (self): Lilly; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (self): Daichi Sankyo; Research grant/Funding (self): Astellas; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (self): AstraZeneca; Advisory/Consultancy: Pfizer; Advisory/Consultancy: Merrimack; Advisory/Consultancy: Roche/Genentech; Advisory/Consultancy: Chugai; Advisory/Consultancy: Mirati Therapeutics, Inc; Advisory/Consultancy: Araxes; Advisory/Consultancy: Ignyta; Advisory/Consultancy: Novartis; Advisory/Consultancy: Biocartis; Advisory/Consultancy: Voronoi; Advisory/Consultancy: SFJ Pharmaceuticals; Advisory/Consultancy: Silicon Therapeutics. All other authors have declared no conflicts of interest.
MasterChef Australia judge Jock Zonfrillo has revealed his teenage heroin addiction almost ended his culinary career before it even started.

The 44-year-old, who moved from the UK to Australia in the year 2000, began using smack at the age of 15, just as he was starting out at restaurants.

He told The Australian Women's Weekly he used to be a high-functioning addict who was 'always in the kitchen on time, ready to work' - but everything changed when he didn't show up one day and was fired from his job.

'I was high functioning': MasterChef Australia judge Jock Zonfrillo has revealed his teenage heroin addiction almost ended his culinary career before it even started

'I was high functioning. I was always in the kitchen on time, ready to work. Except this one time during my apprenticeship... when I turned up for work four days late. In hindsight, I was lucky to be alive,' the Scotsman said.

After being sacked at the age of 17, Jock was given a second chance when he packed his bags, headed to London and knocked on the door of the Hyde Park Hotel.

World-famous chef Marco Pierre White was running the place, and Jock said he was the 'last person' he expected to give him a job - but that's exactly what happened.

Struggles: The 44-year-old, who moved from the UK to Australia in 2000, began using smack at the age of 15, just as he was starting out at restaurants. Pictured with his wife Lauren

Second change: After being sacked from a restaurant at the age of 17, Jock got a second chance in London when Marco Pierre White (pictured) gave him a job at the Hyde Park Hotel

'Marco was amazing because he understood what was going on with me as a young man,' Jock said.

'People were very quick to judge a drug addict. He didn't. I was on my last chance, there's no doubt about it, but he treated me exactly the same as everybody else.'

The candid interview comes after Jock revealed the premiere date for thirteenth season of MasterChef Australia.

Whoops! The candid interview comes after Jock revealed the premiere date for thirteenth season of MasterChef Australia

When a fan on Instagram asked him when the show would be returning to screens, he replied: 'Around Easter I reckon.'

The cooking program will likely begin once The Amazing Race has finished.

Jock is joined on the MasterChef panel by celebrity chef Andy Allen and respected food critic Melissa Leong.
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) said that it has invested in autonomous delivery company, Nuro, as part of their Series C funding round. Nuro uses robotics in their fleet of on-road, occupantless and autonomous vehicles to deliver everyday consumer goods. It is the first significant investment in a third-party technology company the organization has made since Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Brian Niccol took the helm in 2018. Chipotle announced earlier this week that it would expand its footprint in Canada with new restaurant openings over the next year. In addition, Chipotle recently added its first-ever customizable digital entree, the Hand-Crafted Quesadilla, to the Chipotle app and Chipotle.com. 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.
Jessica Rowe has paid tribute to the Good Samaritan bus driver who helped her and her daughter escape their burning car moments before it exploded in a fireball.

The television star was picking up her eldest daughter Allegra, 14, from school in Sydney's eastern suburbs on Thursday afternoon when the black Volvo XC 60 began billowing smoke on New South Head Road in Rose Bay.

A passing school bus driver named Mev flagged them down to alert them of the danger and helped the pair escape from the vehicle and flee to safety just as the car burst into flames.

The pair luckily escaped uninjured but were traumatised by the ordeal.

Rowe hours later assured concerned fans she and Allegra were doing fine at home, and thanked Mev and all the others who helped them.

Jessica Rowe (right) and teenage daughter Allegra (left) are shaken but fine following their narrow escape from their burning Volvo

'We're safe and sound! Thank you for all of your kindness and love,' Rowe posted on Instagram late Thursday night.

'Thank you to the thoughtful, fast thinking and kind school bus driver Mev who got us out of the car, called the fire brigade, cleared the road and then stayed to drive us home.

'Thank you to the police and paramedics who are angels. And the tow truck driver! And the mums and dads who stopped to help. We love you.'

The post include a photo of Rowe dressed in pyjamas kissing Allegra as the teen cuddled the family dog Daphne.

She was flooded with messages from well-wishers.

Newsreader Chris Bath added: 'Now that is a serious school pick up story. Lots of love to all. Glad you are OK. How good is Mev!'

TV star Jessica Rowe and her teenage daughter are traumatised but unhurt after fleeing their car as it suddenly burst into flames

Rowe with her daughters Allegra (left) and Giselle (right)

Dramatic footage posted online by shocked onlookers shows the black vehicle stationary in the middle of New South Head Road, engulfed by fire.

Photos from the scene show a distraught Rowe and her daughter at the scene before heading home.

The burning car was on fire for a short period of time before it was quickly extinguished by firefighters

The expensive car, valued at least $65,690 was destroyed by the inferno and later towed away.

Rowe and her family and friends hailed the bus driver Mev as a hero for alerting the family before the situation became more serious.

'He got the everyone to move away from the footpath, directed traffic, rang the fire brigade and then drove them all home,' Rowe's manager David Wilson told the Wentworth Courier.

'There's no hospitalisation or anything like that involved, but both are really rattled as you would be.'

Mr Wilson later told news.com.au: 'Jess was saying to me earlier that if the school bus driver hadn't jumped out of his bus and run over to Jess' car and told them to get out right now it could have been a much more serious outcome.'

'The whole family is so very grateful to him for his quick action and courage. Approaching a car that was clearly in serious trouble meant he was also at risk of putting himself in harms way, and that's amazing.'

Jessica and her daughter fled to safety as her black Volvo XC 60 burst into flames (pictured)

Jessica Rowe's extensively gutted car (pictured) was later driven away by a tow truck

Rowe's husband of 16 years, Channel Nine newsreader Peter Overton, was preparing to present the nightly bulletin when he got the call from a distressed Allegra and dashed home to be with his family.

'Everyone at work could see that I was absolutely traumatised when I saw my 14-year-old on FaceTime absolutely inconsolable,' he told 2GB radio on his way home to his family on Thursday night.

'I saw in the background the car ablaze.

'Fire and rescue, ambulance and police were there. They're all OK and they're home now. There was a real fear that the car could've exploded.

'I want to point out, there's a lot of heroes we've been talking about in the floods and I salute them but I salute that bloke this afternoon who got Allegra and Jessica out and alerted them that smoke was coming out and that they had to get out of the car.'

Jessica Rowe and her husband of 16 years have two daughters- Giselle (left) and Allegra (right)

He understands the good Samaritan was driving a local school bus at the time.

'This bloke was fantastic. My greatest concern is that the car could have exploded, which happened outside a school,' Overton said.

'I'll make sure we find out his name and make contact with him. I'll be thankful to him when I meet him and I will.'

Overton said the cause of the blaze is still unknown.

'When Allegra rang me, just to see her absolute state of despair, that's why I can't wait to see her. I don't care about the car,' he said.
The mayor of Charlottesville, Virginia sparked an angry backlash online after posting a graphic, sexually charged poem comparing the college town to a rapist.

The original post was initially removed by Facebook for violating 'community standards.' The mayor posted a longer, edited version in its place.

Nikuyah Walker, a former city council member who was elected as Charlottesvilles first ever black mayor in November 2017, posted what she called a short poem to her social media account.

Charlottesville: The beautiful-ugly it is, it reads. It rapes you, comforts you in its c** stained sheet and tells you to keep its secrets.

That post prompted complaints to Facebook, which responded by removing the poem because it goes against our standards on adult sexual exploitation.

Charlottesville, Virginia Mayor Nikuyah Walker (pictured above in this undated file photo) caused a stir online when she posted a 'poem' in which she compared her city to a rapist

Walker, who started her public career as a parks and recreation aide, swept into power by riding a wave of anger in response to the August 2017 white nationalist rally, which paraded through the city and left one counter protester dead and dozens injured.

She had gained a reputation as an advocate for racial and social justice, which catapulted her to the mayoralty after city council members voted to install her in the top job following the events of August 2017. She ran as an independent.

After Facebook took the original post down, Walker posted a longer version of the poem that was edited, with all explicit content removed.

Instead of c** stained sheet, she wrote that Charlottesville rapes you and covers you in sullied sheets.

Walker's city biography says she was born and raised in the city and graduated from Charlottesville High School in 1998. DailyMail.com has reached out to Walker seeking comment.

DailyMail.com has also left messages with the other four city council members and the city manager seeking comment.

Charlottesville: The beautiful-ugly it is, it reads. It rapes you, comforts you in its c** stained sheet and tells you to keep its secrets.

Facebook temporarily suspended Walker's account after her post was deemed a violation of the social network's 'community standards'

Walker then posted a longer, edited version which reads: 'Charlottesville rapes you and covers you in sullied sheets'

Walker, the first black woman to ever serve as mayor of Charlottesville, was elected months after the August 2017 white nationalist rally in the town which left one counter protester dead and dozens injured

When she re-posted the edited poem, the mayor wrote: Is this better? Im asking the person who reported my short poem to FB,

On social media, Twitters users were outraged by Walkers use of a rape analogy to describe her city.

One Twitter user wrote: If you want to be a poet, go be a poet.

As the elected Mayor of a well known city that is in need of leadership, healing, inclusiveness & unity, posting this on social media is a terrible call and does NOTHING to address the needs/ issues in your city. At all.

Walker then posted a link to a 2017 Washington Post article about Thomas Jefferson and his relationship with a slave, Sally Hemings. Walker wrote: Thomas jefferson raped Sally Hemings. He owned and raped her. How repulsed do you think she use to be as she laundered his fluids and scent out of the linens that he raped her on?

In response to the backlash, Walker posted an image on Facebook showing a mug that reads: My art doesnt understand you either.

The full poem reads: Charlottesville: The beautiful-ugly it is. It lynched you, hung the noose at city hall and pressed the souvenir that was once your finger against its lips.

It covers your death with its good intentions. It is a place where white women with Black kids collects signature for a white man who questions whether a black woman understands white supremacy.

It is destructively world class.

White people say that it is a place where gentrification started with the election of a Black women in 2017 and because of white power, a lie becomes #facts.

Its daily practice is that of separating you from your soul. Charlottesville is void of a moral compass.

Its as if good ole tj (Thomas Jefferson) is still cleverly using his whip to whip the current inhabitants into submissiveness.

Charlottesville rapes you of your breaths. It suffocates your hopes and dreams. It liberates you by conveniently redefining liberation.

A Twitter user wrote: It sure sounds like Charlottesville is a very bad place. Maybe they need a new Mayor.

Another Twitter user wrote: As its leader, your job is to raise up your city, make it and it's constituents successful. That's your job. Dragging it through the mud is poor leadership. It's ugly and I'm gonna guess people of all races are having some doubts about their votes for you.

Pat Boldosser tweeted: Sounds awful. Who's in charge of this hell hole? They should be held to account. Or maybe just everyone should move out.

Another Twitter user wrote that the mayors post meant that their child would not be attending the University of Virginia, whose main campus is in Charlottesville. At least you made our decision on colleges much easier, UVA is off the list, wrote the Twitter user

That prompted a response from a resident, Ida B. Landers, who tweeted: Its really sad because Charlottesville itself is such a vibrant and good place to be, and UVA is a genuinely good school. Trust me, Nikuyah does NOT speak for the values and thoughts of the majority of Charlottesvillians.

One person on Twitter commented: Oh man, glad I didn't take that job in Charlottesville! The realtor neglected to tell me about how rapey it was! Thanks Ms Mayor!

Others posted memes mocking Walker. One Twitter user posted a meme showing a worker at McDonalds saying: Heres that attention you ordered.

Another Twitter user wrote: Calling it a "poem" doesn't make it less insane.

Another Twitter user commented that Walkers poem was quite a scathing repudiation of your term as mayor.

One Twitter user appeared to want to be sympathetic to Walker, though she noted that the mayor could have expressed herself differently

Others on Twitter defended Walker, saying that people 'may want to listen' as the mayor is 'trying to tell all of us a story'

Another Twitter user commented that Walker has a 'much deeper view of what's going on behind the scenes and must be frustrated'

Another Twitter user praised Walker for not having a 'typical "make everyone love me" approach' to politics

It progressively chants while it conservatively acts. Charlottesville is anchored in white supremacy and rooted in racism.

FROM ACTIVIST TO MAYOR: THE RISE OF NIKUYAH WALKER Charlottesville Mayor Nikuyah Walker Before becoming mayor in 2017, Nikuyah Walker, 40, was a social activist who was born and raised in Charlottesville. Having grown up in a low-incoming housing development, she made it her mission to help residents from similar circumstances negotiate the citys bureaucracy. She graduated from Charlottesville High School in 1998 and earned a bachelors degree in political science in 2004. After graduating from college, she was hired as an aide for the citys parks and recreation department, where she earned a salary of $14.40 an hour. After the August 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, opinion was split inside the town over who was to blame for the violence. Some accused agitators from outside of coming into the city and stirring up trouble, while other Charlottevillians said that the chaos was a product of pent-up racism with local roots. Walker capitalized politically on those sentiments and won a city council seat. She then managed to receive the support of four of the five city council members who installed her as mayor. In Charlottesville, the city operates under a council-manager form of government. That means voters elect a five-member city council to serve as the city's legislative and governing body. Each member serves a four-year term. They select one of the members to serve as mayor every two years. Elections are held in odd-numbered years. As mayor, Walker earns a stipend of $20,000 per year. Since coming into office, Walkers central focus has been on creating affordable housing for low-income residents. In February, it was reported that Walker was being investigated for potential misuse of city funds after it was learned she bought gift cards for community members who spoke at City Council meetings. Advertisement

Charlottesville rapes you and covers you in sullied sheets.

On Twitter, reaction was generally poor.

Pat Boldosser wrote: Sounds awful. Who's in charge of this hell hole?

They should be held to account. Or maybe just everyone should move out.

Another Twitter user wrote that the mayors post meant that their child would not be attending the University of Virginia, whose main campus is in Charlottesville.

At least you made our decision on colleges much easier, UVA is off the list, wrote the Twitter user.

That prompted a response from a resident, Ida B. Landers, who tweeted: Its really sad because Charlottesville itself is such a vibrant and good place to be, and UVA is a genuinely good school.

Trust me, Nikuyah does NOT speak for the values and thoughts of the majority of Charlottesvillians.

Another Twitter user commented that Walkers poem was quite a scathing repudiation of your term as mayor.

Another Twitter user wrote: As its leader, your job is to raise up your city, make it and it's constituents successful.

That's your job. Dragging it through the mud is poor leadership.

It's ugly and I'm gonna guess people of all races are having some doubts about their votes for you.

Another Twitter user wrote: Calling it a "poem" doesn't make it less insane.

One person on Twitter commented: Oh man, glad I didn't take that job in Charlottesville!

The realtor neglected to tell me about how rapey it was!

Thanks Ms Mayor!

Others posted memes mocking Walker. One Twitter user posted a meme showing a worker at McDonalds saying: Heres that attention you ordered.

Another Twitter user wrote: It sure sounds like Charlottesville is a very bad place.

Maybe they need a new Mayor.

In response to the backlash, Walker posted an image on Facebook showing a mug that reads: My art doesnt understand you either.

She also posted a message which read: It looks like FB took me out of FB jail. I guess my post didnt violate their policies.

Walker then posted a link to a 2017 Washington Post article about Thomas Jefferson and his relationship with a slave, Sally Hemings.

Walker wrote: Thomas jefferson raped Sally Hemings. He owned and raped her.

How repulsed do you think she use to be as she laundered his fluids and scent out of the linens that he raped her on?

Hemings was an enslaved woman of mixed race who was owned by Jefferson, the nations third president who served from 1801 to 1809.

Jefferson is believed to have fathered several of Hemings children. The nature of their relationship has been the subject of controversy among historians in recent years.

Jefferson's home Monticello is in Charlottsville.

In February, it was reported that Walker was being investigated for potential misuse of city funds after it was learned she bought gift cards for community members who spoke at City Council meetings.
[March 25, 2021] Carebook Announces DTC Eligibility of its Common Shares in the United States

MONTREAL, March 25, 2021 /CNW/ - Carebook Technologies Inc. ("Carebook" or the "Company") (TSXV: CRBK) (OTCPK: CRBKF) (XETR: PMM1), a leading Canadian digital health company offering innovative digital health and virtual care solutions for pharmacies, employers and insurers, is pleased to announce that its common shares are now eligible for electronic clearing and settlement through The Depository Trust Company ("DTC") in the United States. The Company's common shares are quoted in the United States on the OTCPK Market under the symbol "CRBKF". This electronic method of clearing securities speeds up the receipt of stock and cash, and thus accelerates the settlement process for investors and brokers, enabling the stock to be traded over a much wider selection of brokerage firms. "We are excited that the Company is now DTC eligible, providing US investors further opportunities to participate in Carebook's growth," commented Pascale Audette, CEO of Carebook. "With Carebook's shares now traded in Canada, Germany, and the United States, we are well positioned in both domestic and international markets to grow our global investor base." About Carebook Technologies Our core is science. Our solutions are accessible. Our mission is to empower people. Built on a powerful health platform, Carebook creates highly engaging, customer-centric digital solutions for pharmacies, insurance providers, individuals, governments and employers. Based in Montreal and led by a world-class team and Board with extensive global business and heathcare industry experience, Carebook's core is science and technology, its philosophy is people-first, and its goal is accessible, connected health for everyone. Carebook recently listed on the TSX Venture exchange under the symbol "CRBK" and trades on the OTC Markets under the symbol CRBKF and Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol PMM1.



www.carebook.com Notice regarding forward-looking statements:

This release includes forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws regarding Carebook and its business. Often, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "is expected", "expects", "scheduled", "intends", "contemplates", "anticipates", "believes", "proposes" 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. Such statements are based on the current expectations of the management of Carebook and are based on assumptions and subject to risks and uncertainties. Although the management of Carebook believes that the assumptions underlying these statements are reasonable, they may prove to be incorrect. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this release may not occur by certain specified dates or at all and could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting the company, failure to obtain regulatory approvals, economic factors, management's ability to manage and to operate the business of Carebook, the equity markets generally and risks associated with growth and competition. Although Carebook has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements or information. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Except as required by applicable securities laws, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and Carebook does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. In addition, the current situation and future developments with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic could cause certain of the assumptions and information set forth herein or the fact that on which such assumptions are based to differ materially from previous expectations including in respect of demand for our products, supply chain and availability of materials, mobility and shipping of materials and or products, access to debt and equity capital and other factors. 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. SOURCE Carebook Technologies Inc.

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
High Definition Vehicle Insurance (HDVI) Group, the next-generation commercial auto insurance business, today announced new relationships with Munich Re Specialty Insurance and Spinnaker Insurance Company as well as expansion into four new states, signaling the companys early momentum in providing innovative solutions for the trucking insurance market. Currently available in Tennessee and Alabama, HDVI is also launching in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Minnesota, with additional states coming soon.

Last year, HDVI announced that it had raised $16 million in Series A funding led by 8VC and Munich Re Ventures, the venture capital investment arm of Munich Re. Munich Re Specialty Insurance will support and collaborate with HDVI around its innovative risk solutions. Spinnaker will serve as the insurance company for the HDVI program. HDVIs captive, which is managed through Mangrove Insurance Solutions, a protected cell company facility operated by leading insurance broker Marsh, will retain a portion of the risk.

Co-founded by Chuck Wallace, a co-founder of Esurance, and Reid Spitz, a former investor in insurtech and logistics at 8VC, HDVI focuses on data-driven technology to deliver a new commercial insurance solution that helps trucking fleets improve safety, compliance, and operations. HDVI was created to provide fleet operators with an integrated suite of hardware, software, and services as well as a next-generation insurance product that rewards fleets and drivers for operating safely. HDVI includes a holding company, operating subsidiaries, and a captive.

Having established itself as an emerging leader in bringing technology and data-centric innovation to commercial auto insurance, HDVIs new relationships provide the capacity required to continue this innovation while rapidly expanding into new states across the country. The combination of innovation, industry-leading global insurance support, and expansion puts HDVI in a position to build a successful commercial auto insurance company while providing a compelling value proposition to its customers. HDVI-insured fleets enjoy the benefits of HDVIs technology and innovation with insurance backed by highly-rated industry leaders with deep financial strength.

Spinnaker is committed to supporting innovation within the insurance industry, said Dave Ingrey, CEO of Spinnaker. We look forward to supporting HDVI as they use technologies like telematics to revolutionize the commercial auto industry.

While rapid innovation is occurring in every other segment of insurance, theres also a clear opportunity to build a new type of commercial auto insurance company that incorporates advanced technology and data into everything it does, said Chuck Wallace, CEO and co-founder of HDVI Group. Building a world-class commercial auto insurance company is filled with both challenges and significant opportunities, and Reid and I are proud to have Munich Re Specialty Insurance and Spinnaker working closely with us to build HDVI. With this team, were poised to tackle the enormous market potential.

To learn more, visit: https://hdvi.com

To learn more about agency partnerships, visit: https://hdvi.com/for_agents/.

####

About HDVI Group

HDVI is the next-generation commercial auto insurance business. The company provides commercial fleets with an innovative, flexible insurance product alongside powerful, easy-to-use tools to help them improve safety, compliance, and profitability. HDVI is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with additional offices in Greenville, South Carolina, Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, California. High Definition Vehicle Insurance, Inc. is a licensed property casualty insurance agent with products underwritten by various insurance companies. For more information, visit http://www.hdvi.com.

About Munich Re Specialty Insurance

Munich Re Specialty Insurance is a description for the insurance business operations of affiliated companies in the Munich Re Group that share a common directive to offer and deliver specialty property and casualty insurance products and services in North America. Munich Re Specialty Insurance offers its clients innovative risk and claims solutions powered by advanced technology and analytics, superior service and enhanced responsiveness to clients needs.

About Munich Re

Munich Re is one of the worlds leading providers of reinsurance, primary insurance and insurance-related risk solutions. The group consists of the reinsurance and ERGO business segments, as well as the capital investment company MEAG. Munich Re is globally active and operates in all lines of the insurance business. Since it was founded in 1880, Munich Re has been known for its unrivalled risk-related expertise and its sound financial position. It offers customers financial protection when faced with exceptional levels of damage  from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake through to the 2019 Pacific typhoon season. Munich Re possesses outstanding innovative strength, which enables it to also provide coverage for extraordinary risks such as rocket launches, renewable energies, cyberattacks, or pandemics. The company is playing a key role in driving forward the digital transformation of the insurance industry, and in doing so has further expanded its ability to assess risks and the range of services that it offers. Its tailor-made solutions and close proximity to its customers make Munich Re one of the worlds most sought-after risk partners for businesses, institutions, and private individuals.

About Spinnaker Insurance Company

Spinnaker Insurance Company is a national property and casualty insurer rated A- by A.M. Best Company. With the ability to offer admitted insurance products in 50 states and the District of Columbia, Spinnaker utilizes program administrators and managing general agents to access niche markets and provide value-added fronting programs, focusing on short-tail business in personal, commercial and specialty lines. Learn more at http://www.spinnakerins.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.
Riot police units forcibly interrupted demonstrations in Amman and other cities across the country. Citizens and organized groups took to the streets for the 10th anniversary of the Arab Spring. Demands include an end to emergency laws introduced to combat the new coronavirus pandemic.

Amman (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Departments of the Jordanian police in riot gear forcibly interrupted a series of protests that broke out yesterday in the capital, Amman, and in several other cities of the country, promoted to commemorate 10 years of the Arab Spring.

The demonstrators, civil activists and other groups that have long been hostile to the government and the Hashemite leadership, aimed to commemorate the democracy movement that, from Tunisia to Syria, swept through parts of the Arab and Middle Eastern world. According to witnesses, the authorities made dozens of arrests.

In Amman, agents handcuffed and took away numerous people, who had defied the government's ban on demonstrations and gatherings. Police stopped a group of people trying to head towards the Dakhiliya roundabout to occupy it. Dozens of armoured vehicles surrounded the demonstrators and positioned themselves to guard one of the most important communication arteries in the country.

This is democracy in Jordan, one protester shouted. Others called for an end to the emergency laws introduced by the executive to counter the spread of the new coronavirus pandemic. Covid-19, in fact, joined the economic crisis and widespread discontent, ending up even more exacerbating the demonstrations, infiltrated by the Muslim Brotherhood with the aim of overthrowing King Abdullah and the leadership in power.

According to critics, the rules introduced constitute a violation of civil and political rights. The incident a week ago, when six patients with Covid died at the Salt General Hospital - a modern facility 15 km west of the capital - also contributed to fuelling the discontent due to an interruption in the supply of oxygen. An episode that led to the resignation of Health Minister Nazir Obeidat, who said he was "ethically responsible" for what happened.

Local sources report that the protests involved several cities and led to the arrest of some prominent activists. The foal point of the protest was the Dakhiliya roundabout, the heart of the first demonstrations in 2011 linked to the Arab Spring and where, at the time, a demonstrator was killed and dozens injured in clashes with the police.

In a statement, Jordanian Interior Minister Mazen al Faraya said the kingdom will not tolerate further protests, which risk worsening the health crisis even further.

The king and the Hashemite dynasty still enjoy - at least for now - the public support of the majority of the population and the monarch remains a unifying figure between local tribes and Palestinian Jordanians, but the risk of new revolts and protests remains high.
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
Press Release

25 March 2021

As the hospitality industry continues to grow and mature in response to emerging and changing customer expectations, technology and global events, the manner in which students are educated and employees trained changes along with them. The changing situation of the hospitality industry has strongly encouraged many to explore more creative educational options. It has driven employers to discover ways that they can adapt, retain and develop their staff's skills so that they can continue to provide their customers with outstanding service.

Advertisements

Jens-Henning Peters, the head of Vocational Education and Training (VET) at EHL recently was a guest on a webinar hosted by Hospitality Insights to share some of the latest ideas that he has worked on surrounding VET and its role within the modern hospitality industry.

What is Vocational Education and Training?

Vocational Education and Training (VET) is education and training that focuses on providing skills for work. It is a great solution for hospitality employers looking for ways to improve the skills of their employees efficiently. These businesses want to know that when the time comes for hospitality businesses to reopen, and when the tourists reemerge and return to their favorite destinations, their organizations will be ready to provide outstanding service and address the needs of their customers.

"This places important hospitality topics at the forefront of the industry."

For Jens-Henning and the EHL Group, their program draws from the wisdom and finds inspiration from several different educational systems and models including the Swiss, German and Austrian ideals. They use this insight to create educational packages for governmental and non-governmental training to prepare people for the future of the industry.

These packages and products work to harness the experience of EHL in the world of education to create programs that students can easily consume and engage with to further their learning. The ease of engagement means that even the smallest hotel or restaurant can run the program and have the content tailored to their business.

What makes hospitality training such an important topic for today?

The world continues to deal with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, which has shut down businesses and halted travel on a global scale. Even as some countries begin to relax restrictions, others find that they have to tighten theirs. This has resulted in a situation where bookings have plummeted around the world and countries are not experiencing the levels of tourism that they and their businesses had become accustomed to seeing.

As a result, many organizations in the hospitality industry have closed their doors and those that remain open often have employees with little to do. Those with the right resources have recognized the potential of this time period to provide training and education for their employees to prepare them for the time in the future when tourists and travelers begin to return.

Alongside the pandemic, however, some of the needs and concerns of customers have changed as a result. Hygiene, cleanliness and safety have become pressing concerns for many, particularly as they begin to venture to various hospitality businesses again. The organizations that manage these changes will need to have the training and resources to reassure their customers that their standards will keep them safe and reduce the spread of germs within the business.

The most important topics in hospitality today

The topics important to those in hospitality today have changed as the pandemic has kept businesses closed. There are a few main topics, however, that the creative educational solutions developed by Jens-Henning and EHL work to help businesses address.

Improving and retraining hospitality skills

Recognizing that the industry continues to change quickly, particularly as technology and the digital transformation emerge, calls for continued education in hospitality skills. Those who have been in the industry for a while may not have had opportunities to receive training on some of the latest advancements in the industry. Others may have begun to forget important skills from their training. Programs can help improve students' skills and retrain them in areas that are weak.

Recognizing that the industry continues to change quickly, particularly as technology and the digital transformation emerge, calls for continued education in hospitality skills. Those who have been in the industry for a while may not have had opportunities to receive training on some of the latest advancements in the industry. Others may have begun to forget important skills from their training. Programs can help improve students' skills and retrain them in areas that are weak. Helping with training in the kitchen

The kitchen remains a critical part of the hospitality business, but particularly after the pandemic, customer concerns with cleanliness are expected to grow compared to pre-pandemic. Providing training that focuses on kitchens can help provide this experience and education for students.

The kitchen remains a critical part of the hospitality business, but particularly after the pandemic, customer concerns with cleanliness are expected to grow compared to pre-pandemic. Providing training that focuses on kitchens can help provide this experience and education for students. Administrative training

Helping hotels improve the booking, check-in and check-out experience for customers can enhance the business's reputation and entice customers to come to visit. Creating smoother processes for everything from booking to checking out and removing obstacles to success can help hospitality businesses increase new customers and repeat customers alike.

Helping hotels improve the booking, check-in and check-out experience for customers can enhance the business's reputation and entice customers to come to visit. Creating smoother processes for everything from booking to checking out and removing obstacles to success can help hospitality businesses increase new customers and repeat customers alike. Hygiene

In addition to learning about kitchen safety, customers want to know that the hotel takes their health and safety measures seriously and is following the established hygiene protocols. Courses to help students and professionals prepare for certifications in this area can help reassure customers and ensure that the hotel's employees know the latest best practices with regard to keeping their customers healthy and safe. This will play one of the biggest roles in encouraging customers to return to the business.

These types of popular themes are implemented within the educational packages that EHL creates for businesses around the world.

Hotels today have to re-earn the trust of their customers.

People feel nervous about traveling after the pandemic, as there is an increased awareness of the risks of contracting diseases. With the warnings about gathering in large groups, many have decided to stay away from possible interaction with strangers, which includes hospitality businesses.

As countries and businesses begin to reopen, hotels need to show their customers that they have taken the necessary steps to protect them and their health. These courses provide an excellent way to begin earning the trust of customers, particularly as employees can earn certifications to prove that they have completed various courses on hygiene, protecting the health of those in the hotel.

Industries interested in creative training solutions

The courses offered by EHL have attracted a wide range of interest from a number of different groups. On an individual level, these educational options draw employees who recognize that this time when the industry is slow provides them with an excellent opportunity to improve their personal skills and position themselves for career growth.

Great interest has also been demonstrated from those who have lost their jobs. Those who used to work in the hospitality industry recognize that one day the hospitality industry will begin to reemerge, and they want to make sure that they are well-positioned to get a job when that time does come. Using the time when they are in between jobs to begin training themselves in important areas, such as hygiene and safety, can help them stand out as a candidate when businesses begin accepting applications. These applicants will have the training that can make them an asset to the prospective employer and a draw for customers who want to know that their hotel (or other hospitality business) is clean and safe.

Interest has also been expressed by the public and private sector. While the private sector pursue the training opportunities because they want to help their businesses grow by demonstrating their commitment to the customer and outstanding service, government agencies have also begun to examine these creative learning solutions.

For governments, the draw lies in creating a strong hospitality industry in their country that will attract tourists or help them create a strong, highly-trained workforce. Other Governments also bet on training and then exporting their skilled labor to other destinations for periods of time. Governments have also experienced the impact of the loss of travel and the revenue that it brings. Investing in educating their workforce so that the country is ready for the future of travel benefits them as well.

The creative training solutions taking hold across the industry represent a shift in how businesses in the industry manage themselves and attract customers. As those across the sector are adapting to the changing life conditions and finding ways to use their time as wisely as possible, these creative educational and training solutions have become increasingly popular. For students themselves, many still see the hospitality industry as an excellent opportunity for a career and an interesting field in which to work. Demand still continues to press forward, signaling the coming re-emergence of the sector as a means of providing safe and enjoyable accommodation to travelers everywhere.




By Ko Dong-hwan







A Vietnamese sailor who used a knife to threaten the captain and crewmates on a fishing boat in Korea's southern waters has been detained.







The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries told The Korea Times Thursday that it transferred the man to the Jeju Island coast guard Wednesday after capturing him aboard the ship in waters 83 kilometers south of the island's Seogwipo.







After being unable to communicate with the ship for several hours, the vessel's operating company reported the problem to a fishery watchdog under the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives, saying the crew of six Koreans, including the captain, and six Vietnamese could be in danger.







The ministry's fishery managing authority dispatched the search boat Moogoonghwa 3.







During the mission, the Moogoonghwa 3 received intelligence information from Korea Coast Guard that the ship was found some 92 kilometers southeast of Ieoh Island, which is located southwest of Jeju.







The search officials discovered that one of the Vietnamese sailors was inside the ship's control room threatening the captain with a knife. The officials, according to the ministry, subdued the sailor.







All members of the ship's crew were unharmed, the ministry said.


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.
A TEACHER from Uukule Secondary School in the Oshikoto region has resigned after being accused of inappropriately touching a pupil.

Oshikoto regional director of education Aletta Eises confirmed the teacher's resignation and the allegations of sexual harassment against him on Tuesday.

She said the school's principal informed her that the teacher admitted to inappropriately touching a Grade 9 pupil.

"The school has not spoken to the pupil yet, as he only returned to school today [on Tuesday]. It's not a sodomy case. It's sexual harassment, because there was no penetration," Eises said.

Uukule's acting principal, Jennifer Lizazi, declined to comment on the matter yesterday, saying: "I don't have concrete information regarding what you are asking about. All I have heard is a rumour."

Eises, however, said a report regarding the matter reached her office on Friday, but she has not read it yet.

She said she understands only one pupil is involved in the incident.
A law to stop cover-ups by healthcare professionals may not be introduced in Northern Ireland for another four years, it can be revealed.

More than three years after a public inquiry called for the introduction of a duty of candour, it has emerged that legislation on the issue will not be passed during the current mandate.

The Department of Health has said there are plans to hold a 16-week public consultation on the matter, before bringing draft legislation to the new Assembly following the elections next May.

However, it could take up to three years for the legislation to be processed and passed by the new Assembly.

The introduction of a duty of candour would require healthcare professionals to tell patients or their families when something has gone wrong.

It was one of the main recommendations made by the Hyponatraemia Inquiry in January 2018 after it examined the deaths of five children following hospital treatment in Northern Ireland.

Delivering his findings as he published his report, the inquiry chair, Mr Justice O'Hara, criticised a culture of defensiveness and secrecy within the health service.

He revealed plans to write to the head of the Coroner's Service to warn coroners to "probe more carefully" when examining the deaths of patients as he said he had uncovered examples of doctors and health service managers "working against the principles behind inquests rather than with them".

And he expressed frustration at the fact that some inquiry witnesses "had to have the truth dragged out of them", while others deliberately withheld vital information.

He said: "The evidence from this inquiry shows that doctors and managers can't simply be relied upon to do the right thing at the right time."

He also expressed shock that, even after examining all of the evidence, he was unable to uncover the truth about four-year-old Adam Strain, who died following a kidney transplant.

He said: "I don't know the full story of what happened in the operating theatre. My belief is that evidence was withheld about what happened there. That's truly shocking."

In relation to the death of nine year-old Claire Roberts, he said her heartbroken parents Alan and Jennifer were "misled when told she had received good care".

He added: "The fact that her death wasn't referred immediately to the coroner is indefensible. It's not just indefensible with hindsight, it was indefensible at the time. The reason for not referring the death to the coroner was to avoid the scrutiny of negligent care she had received. In fact, there was a cover-up by the consultants they spoke to when she died."

Mr Roberts said: "It is very frustrating for us as parents that more than three years after the Hyponatraemia Inquiry chair published the recommendations that there has been so little progress.

"We know that the introduction of a duty of candour will be met with resistance and that the more delays there are, that the matter loses its urgency."

A spokeswoman from the Department of Health said "creating a culture of openness does not need to wait for legislation" and that work is under way to ensure guidance, training and support can be implemented ahead of the legislation.
Formal charges have been filed against four inmates who escaped the Cullman County Jail last week, and the man responsible for the capture of one of them has been rewarded for his efforts.

Leo Santiago Chavez, Tyler Dooley, Robert Alan Peak and Justin Long have been charged with first-degree escape, according to court records make public Wednesday. Escape is a felony crime.

Chavez, convicted in the 2017 killing of his parents and sentenced just two months ago to two consecutive life sentences, was the last to be taken into custody. Though convicted in Blount County, Chavez was being held in Cullman County to keep him separated from his co-defendants. Blount County Sheriff Mark Moon said Chavez has now been transferred to the custody of the Alabama Department of Corrections to being his prison term.

The four inmates made their getaway about 6:33 p.m. on March 18. Cullman County Sheriff Matt Gentry said He said the group escaped by crawling through an air vent next to the showers inside of the holding block of the jail. They crawled through the vents until they came in contact with a brick wall, which they kicked until they made a hole big enough to escape through.

Cullman County Jail Escapees March 18, 2021.

It was like something youd seen in a movie,' Gentry said. Once they got the vent loose, they got into the internal guts of the jail. They were able to start breaking out brick enough to slide through and drop two stories,' he said. It took a lot of work. It wasnt like an easy thing to do.

He said the escape was deliberately planned to take place during shift change, when deputies are rotating in and out of service. Gentry said the inmates were skinned up from their getaway.

He said he spoke with the inmates who had been recaptured and one of them told him, Its our job to try to get out. Its your job to try to catch us and keep us in.

By Fridays early-morning hours, all but Chavez were back in custody. Dooley and Long were captured in less than an hour. Dooley was charged with murder in August following a shootout that left two men dead, was recaptured and taken back into custody at the jail. The incident in New Canaan started as a robbery. Prosecutors this week successfully requested that Dooleys $50,000 bond be converted to no bond.

Long was being held in the Cullman County Jail for the U.S. Marshals Service on drug charges. Authorities said Long broke his foot during the getaway.

Peak was taken into custody early Friday. A pursuit began in Blount County where authorities say Peak was in a stolen 2004 Chevrolet Corvette. The high-speed pursuit went from Blount County into Cullman County where they lost sight of him. Then, as they continued to patrol the area, authorities received word that a pickup truck pulling a horse trailer had been stolen. They spotted the truck, and a second chase was on. It ended on Highway 278 near Berlin after multiple spike strips were deployed. Peak was arrested in Cullman County in November 2020 for first-degree theft of property and unlawful breaking and entering of a motor vehicle.

Hanceville resident Lawrence Baker received a $5,000 reward from Sheriff Matt Gentry after Baker helped in the recapture of a convicted killer. (Cullman County Sheriff's Office)

Chavez was then taken into custody shortly before 7:20 p.m. Friday when Hanceville resident Lawrence Baker saw him outside of his home. Baker had been eating supper at the time. I grabbed my gun and come out and asked him if he was the one they was looking for and he said, Yes sir, Baker said in a Facebook Live video with the citys mayor. I told him he needed to get down on the gravel. Hanceville showed up pretty quick and put him in the car and that was a wrap on that.

The USMS had offered a $5,000 reward for information that led to the recapture of Chavez. Gentry on Friday announced he would match that, so the reward stood at $10,000. Gentry this week presented Baker with the sheriffs office $5,000 portion of the reward money. Baker still stands to receive at a least a portion of the remaining $5,000 offered by the U.S. Marshals Service.
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.
Page Content

On Tuesday, March 23rd, during the meeting between the four ministers responsible for public health of the Four Countries in the Kingdom, the Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor (Ministry VSA), Richard Panneflek, decided in consultation with the Netherlands that Sint Maarten will now offer the COVID-19 vaccine to all residents 18+ residing on the Dutch side of the island.





In the five weeks since the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, only medical frontline workers, persons 60+ and the group 18-59 years of age with underlying medical conditions, were eligible to receive the vaccine.





Essential workers and all other persons above the age of 18 years can now also be vaccinated. However, the vulnerable priority groups mentioned above will still get precedence once they register.





The reason for the decision to now include all persons above the age of 18 is that the vaccination campaign needs to be scaled up if the country wants to reach the goal of vaccinating 70% of the population before the start of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season.





The numbers for the registered 60+ population are still low, which is a reason for concern as this group has the highest risk of developing severe COVID-19 infection.





Another concern is the increasing infection rates on Curacao and Bonaire due to the more contagious United Kingdom (UK) variant. This variant has been identified on Sint Maarten, and therefore, there is a need to protect our population against the COVID-19 virus has become even more important.





Pre-registration for the vaccine is strongly recommended. You will receive a date, time, and location for your vaccination. Minister Richard Panneflek and the Vaccine Management Team (VMT) would like to encourage all Dutch side residents 18 years and older to register. There will be sufficient vaccines available to cover 85% of the population.





Members of the community are reminded to register for the COVID-19 vaccine.





Registration can be done via the online registration form which is available in English, Spanish, and Creole, and can be found via this link: https://forms.sintmaartengov.org/form.aspx?v=OGtn05kNmb





Both Cole Bay and Dutch Quarter Community Helpdesks are currently equipped to provide information and can assist with registration on the spot. 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 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: vaccination@sintmaartengov.org





Sint Maarten, protected together.





A European Commission spokesperson said on Thursday that Von der Leyen is yet to respond to the written request by Prime Minister Scott Morrison. The EUs own rules state that shipments bound for low and middle-income countries should not be blocked. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has taken aim at the UK. Credit:Bloomberg Emerging from Thursdays virtual European Council meeting, von der Leyen said pharmaceutical companies should not export to wealthy countries unless they are meeting their contractual obligations to Europe. Companies have to honour their contract to the European Union before they export to other regions in the world, she said. And this is of course the case with AstraZeneca.

I think it is clear for the company that, first of all the company has to catch up, has to honour the contract it has with the European member states, before it can engage again in exporting vaccines. She did not say whether this was a new rule or just the commissions preferred outcome. Debate at the summit went late into the night as European leaders argued over distribution of vaccines within the bloc. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said some countries were receiving more than their fair share at the cost of others. As the leader of a coalition of six countries, he demanded a correction mechanism, raising tensions between capitals from where the leaders were holding their remote summit. When member states have a lot less vaccines available to them than others, then I think this is a big issue for Europe, Kurz said. This could cause damage to the European Union like we havent seen in a long time.

At the end of the summit, the EUs 27 nations were still locked in a dispute over how an upcoming batch of 10 million doses could be allocated to narrow the vaccine gap between member states and the leaders decided to push the talks to a future meeting of their ambassadors. AstraZeneca had planned to supply 180 million doses to the EU in the second quarter but will only deliver 40 million. Pfizer and Moderna are on course to meet their second quarter contracts. Johnson and Johnson - a one shot vaccine - will also be rolled out over the coming months. Europes leaders are increasingly frustrated by the large volume of doses being shipped from Europe to the UK at a time when the continent is experiencing a third wave of infections. About 21 million doses have been sent from Europe to the UK since December 1 but only 1 million were jabs produced by AstraZeneca. The rest were made by Pfizer, which the European Commission is happy with.

Italian Premier Mario Draghi said that EU countries cannot remain helpless in front of the failure of some pharmaceutical companies that are not honouring commitments. He said that European citizens feel like they are being deceived by some drug makers, according to an EU official who relayed the exchange on condition of anonymity. Loading Von der Leyen said Europe had approved 380 export requests to 33 different countries and only one was stopped - the 250,00 doses bound for Australia, after objections from Draghi. About 77 million doses made in Europe had been exported since December 1 - not far short of the 88 million doses delivered to the bloc. Von der Leyen said 18.2 million Europeans - or 4.1 per cent - had been given two vaccine doses for maximum protection.

But of course we all know we could have been much faster if all pharmaceutical companies had fulfilled their contracts, she said. Loading Despite the delays in vaccine deliveries, the EU is still confident of having 70 per cent of its adult population vaccinated by the end of summer. Based on the EUs contracts with manufacturers, the commission expressed confidence that 360 million vaccine doses will be delivered during the second quarter of the year. French President Emmanuel Macron said the EU will be in the position to develop between 2 or 3 billion doses per year by mid-2021. It means we will not only able to fulfil our needs, but also to massively export, and on the long term, he said. By the end of the summer, Europe will be the continent producing the most doses in the world.
A Bill seeking to prohibit open ruination and defecation in Nigeria has scaled second reading in the Senate.

The Bill which seeks to establish the Clean Nigeria Agency is sponsored by Senator Clifford Ordia (PDP, Edo Central).

Leading the debate on the general principles of the Bill yesterday at plenary, the lawmaker recalled that on November 20, 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari issued a Presidential Executive Order 009 on "The Open Defecation-Free Nigeria by 2025 and Other Related Matters".

He added that pursuant to this Order, a Secretariat in the Ministry of Water Resources called "Clean Nigeria Campaign Secretariat" was created to coordinate and drive the implementation of the said Presidential Order.

The lawmaker explained that the Bill is a product of paragraph 5 of the President's executive order, which states that, "The National Assembly and the state Houses of Assembly shall enact legislation on the practice of open defecation with appropriate sanctions and penalties".

"It is against this backdrop that this bill was conceptualized to give a legal framework for the execution of the Presidential Executive Order," Ordia said.

The lawmaker lamented that Nigeria, despite being the largest market in the continent, with a population about twice the size of Ethiopia (110 million) and Egypt (102 million)", "Nigeria wears a shameful cloak, of being the leading nation in the world with the highest number of people practicing open urination and defecation, estimated at over 46 million people."

"The practice has had a negative effect on the Populace and on the economy, making it almost impossible for the country to meet the 2030 deadline of achieving goal 6 of the United Nations Sustainable development goal; which aims at "Ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all".

According to Ordia, evidence shows that one of the major reasons for iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) among adolescent girls and young mothers is as result of worm infestation that is attributed to open defecation.

He said apart from the stench that emanates from Open Urination and defecation sites, such sites also provides a breeding ground for diseases causing organisms.

"Research has it that a gram of human faeces contains more than 10 million viruses, 1 million bacteria, 1,000 parasite cysts and 100 parasite eggs which can be harmful to human health and the environment," he said.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Health By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Citing a 2012 World Bank Report, Ordia raised alarm that the economy is not spared from the scourging effect of open defecation as Nigeria loses over N455 billion or US$3 billion annually due to poor sanitation.

"According to the same report open defecation alone costs Nigeria over US$ 1 billion a year", the lawmaker added.

Ordia posited that the bill when passed and signed into law would, among other things, empower the Agency to make rules and regulations for enforcing and implementing the provisions of this Act; Issue license to private corporation for the operation of commercially owned public toilets; Certify a public toilet facility to be fit for use by the public; and Shut down any public place that does not meet the required recommended standard of toilet facility.

Contributing to the debate, the Deputy Minority Leader, Emmanuel Bwacha (PDP, Taraba) said the passage of the bill would promote Nigerians to be perceived as a clean people with clean attitude.

According to him, "that is the only way that we (Nigerians) would be respected as a people taking the lead."

The bill after scaling second reading, was referred by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, to the Committee on Water Resources to report back in four (4) weeks.
Two CRPF personnel were killed and two others injured after car-borne terrorists opened fire on a vehicle of the paramilitary force at Lawaypora on Srinagar's outskirts on Thursday, officials said.

According to sources, the car-borne terrorists blocked the semi-bullet proof vehicle of the CRPF and opened indiscriminate fire on it, killing two personnel and injuring two others.

The injured have been rushed to the hospital. Additional forces have reached the spot, the area cordoned off and an operation launched to nab the attackers.
The living room has always been a high-traffic area of the home, but during the pandemic, this room has really come into the spotlight. Much of the past year's working, schooling, and relaxing has happened in the living room, and all the wear and tear makes this area a prime place for an upgrade.

If you plan on selling your home soon and want to spruce up your place, it might be beneficial to focus on the living room. According to a study from the National Association of Realtors, this is the most commonly staged room in the home. If only one room in the home is picked for the star treatment, the living room is staged 93% of the time, compared with the kitchen (84%), the master bedroom (78%), and the dining room (72%).

But home sellers-to-be dont have to hire a stager to make the living room shine. In fact, there are many projects you can accomplish at home with your own two hands. We reached out to real estate and interior design experts for ideas for living room upgrades with wide appeal, keeping a range of budgets and time constraints in mind.

If you have 5 minutes

Whether youre living in your home or not when you sell it, chances are its not as clean as it should be (or you think it is). This goes double for the living room, where mud is tracked in, pet fur is shed, and movie night leaves food debris.

All of our experts agree, taking five minutes to use a wet rag to swipe cobwebs and unsightly dirt from baseboards, fan blades, and window panes is the one quick fix every seller should do before a potential buyer walks in.

It may not seem like a lot, but it will make the space look and feel much more polished, says Geraldine Anello, the founder of New York Citys Handy Women, a virtual community of would-be home renovators.

Cost: Free



A few carefully selected plants can also make a world of difference when selling your home, experts say. In addition to releasing oxygen and freshening the air, indoor plants have been shown to reduce stress levels and boost moodssomething both home sellers and buyers could use.

Dont underestimate the power of greenery, says Meredith Ehn, a real estate agent with Falk Ruvin Gallagher Real Estate in Milwaukee. A plant can transform a stale room and add interest to the decor.

Freshly cut flowers or larger snake plants make enormous visual impressions, and dont require a lot of upkeep.

Cost: $0-plus



If you have 30 minutes

If you have magazines, books, or papers in your living room, even in neatly stacked piles, you have a problem, experts say. Agents warn against having a lot of knickknacks, family photos, or other personal items on tabletops and clogging up shelves.

Buyers will want to picture themselves living in the home you're selling, so the more neutral the setting is, the better. And even if you're not selling your home, clutter in the home has been proven to cause distractions and affect your ability to focus.

A living room filled with these kinds of items also makes the space appear smaller, points out Jeff Shipwash, CEO of Shipwash Properties in Kingston, TN. He recommends grabbing boxes and doing a clean sweep of surfaces and shelves to eliminate all personal items and excess clutter.

Cost: $0



After decluttering, experts advise drawing the buyers eye to the livability of the space, either with an item that grounds the room, like an area rug, or one large, classic, elegant conversation starter.

A correctly sized rug can make a world of difference, says Andra DelMonico, an interior design expert at Next Luxury, a mens lifestyle website. It should be large enough to ground the furniture and tie everything together to create a cohesive space. If your rug is too small, it makes the room look smaller and feel disjointed. You can also replace a generic overhead light with a stylish chandelier.

Cost: $100-plus depending on the size and material of the rug; $100-plus for a well-made chandelier



If you have 1 hour

Decluttering and dusting does a lot, but experts say if you have a full hour, pull out all the stops and do a true deep clean. Tackle lampshades, blinds, window sills, and corners with a dry duster or microfiber cloth, and then mop the floor and polish wood and glass surfaces.

But for the biggest impact, Anello recommends using an upholstery or carpet cleaner to make dingy couches, chairs, and rugs look new again.

This can make an enormous difference, Anello says. Im always shocked by how much better upholstered furniture, rugs, and curtains look after a deep clean.

Cost: Rent an upholstery or carpet cleaner machine from Bissell or Rug Doctor for about $30 for 24 hours, plus the cost of the cleaning solution. Buy a carpet cleaner for about $150, plus the cost of cleaning solution.



Curtains, drapes, or blinds can make a room look so much fresher, says Julie Aragon, a property investor and a mortgage consultant at Lending Tree in Los Angeles. Another dramatic and not too time-intensive way to modernize and transform a room is with a gallery wall of simple framed art pieces. There are so many guides on YouTube to follow to ensure the installation is evenly spaced.

Cost: $100-plus for window treatments; $5-plus for frames; $5-plus for generic art prints



If you have 3 hours

Christa Hyland, a licensed real estate salesperson at Howard Hanna in Saratoga Springs, NY, recommends using an afternoon to rearrange your living room andif you're up for the challenge to make some aesthetic upgrades.

You want the living room to be open and inviting, she says. Make sure your furniture is arranged around a table for conversation. A nice floor lamp adds great visual warmth, too, and mirrors are no-brainers for adding a sense of light and size to any room.

___

Watch: Got Soap? It'll Help You Solve These Household Problems

___

If you have a fireplace, she also recommends looking at ways to modernize and brighten it, from adding a stylish new mantel to a quick DIY tiling project.

I actually retiled my own fireplace recently, and it changed the entire look of the room, she says.

Cost: $50-plus for lamps; $50-plus for decorative mirrors; $500 to $700 to install a fireplace mantel; $5-plus/square foot for fireplace tiles



If you have a weekend

In a weekend, you can tackle many of the projects above, or take on a larger project.

One out-of-the-box idea is having wooden beams installed in your ceiling.

Its easy to do even yourself, and adds a lot of architectural interest to the ceiling, says Derek Christian, owner of Handyman Connection in Blue Ash, OH. It can appear both elegant or rustic, depending on the finish.

Cost: $100 to $250 per beam, plus $200 to $300 per beam for installation



If offloading your home quickly and for top dollar is a priority, Hyland recommends hiring a professional stager.

Its not cheap initially, but the results are immediate," she says. "Ive had vacant homes sitting on the market for months staged, and then had offers come in over the asking price. A lot of buyers cant visually picture themselves in a space without furniture.

Hyland recommends reaching out to your agent, who can either handle the staging if your furniture is still there or hire a stager to rent furniture.

Cost: $200 to $5,000, depending on whats in the space and what is needed

The post 9 Rewarding Living Room Improvement Projects, Based on How Much Time You Have appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com.
Credit: Map: The Conversation, CC-BY-ND Source: John Tures, LaGrange College

After the insurrection, the impeachment, the trial and ongoing partisanship in 2021, many Americans are looking to civics education as a source of hope, according to George Washington University's Center on Education Policy, which reports that "Nearly all Americans (97%) agree that public schools should be teaching civics."

According to the Center for American Progress, civics classes teach students about how the U.S. government works, history about how it was designed and information about how to participate, including voting. After those sorts of courses, it seems reasonable to expect that students should be voting more and engaging in community service.

But my research shows that states that require civics courses do not necessarily have better test scores, more youth voting or young people volunteering at higher rates than other states. And there may be a connection to QAnon support as well.

I'm a political science professor who also teaches government, history, geography and economics classes to college students who major in education. So I strongly believe that civics education is a good thing.

Unfortunately, though, my research has found that civics education isn't making the grade. In states that require students to take a civics course, young voters have slightly lower average voting rates29.9%  than states without such a requirement31.9%.

I analyzed data from the latest study by the Center for American Progress, which provides information on which states require a civics test, and the voting rates for 18-to-24-year-olds, volunteer rates for 16-to-24-year-olds and average scores on the College Board's Advanced Placement civics and U.S. government test.

Credit: Map: The Conversation, CC-BY-ND Source: John Tures, LaGrange College

Civics class requirements

Washington, D.C., and 39 statesincluding California, Iowa and South Carolinahave a civics class requirement. These same places also have lower percentages of youth volunteer rates22.7% on averagethan states without such a civics course requirement. In states that do not have a civics class requirement, including New Jersey, Kentucky and Nebraska, the average youth volunteer rate is 23.5%.

States which require a civics course also have slightly lower scores on the Advanced Placement test about U.S. government and politics2.75 out of 5than states that do not make their students take a civics course2.84. A score of 4 or 5 is often accepted for college credit in political science, though some schools may accept a 3 on the AP test, which covers subjects such as the foundations of American democracy, civil liberties and civil rights, as well as American political ideologies and beliefs, according to the College Board.

Passing a civics exam

Nineteen states require passage of a civics exam for graduation, including Kentucky, which does not have a specific course requirement. But that doesn't seem to make a difference in boosting youth civic engagement or knowledge. States with the requirement have roughly similar youth voting rates30%  as states that do not require passage of a civics exam30.6%.

States demanding a civics exam be passed before receiving a high school diploma also have average test scores on AP exams related to civics or government2.80similar to those states without such a requirement2.75.

There is one bright spot, though: States with a civics exam have higher volunteer rates among younger people22.2% on averagethan those states that do not17.5%.

Credit: Map: The Conversation, CC-BY-ND Source: John Tures, LaGrange College

Community service requirements

Nearly half of all states, plus the District of Columbia, require some sort of community service requirement or provide high school credit for students who volunteer, according to the Center for American Progress.

But I was dismayed to find that states without such a requirement had higher rates of volunteerism among younger peoplean average of 24.4%  than among those states with a community service mandate21.3%.

And states requiring high school students to do community service have lower youth voting rates29.3%  than states where schools did not require volunteering31.4%.

Countering QAnon?

Failure to provide an adequate civics education doesn't just mean lower numbers of young people voting, volunteering and scoring a little lower on AP test scores. It could open the door for QAnon, a wide-ranging conspiracy theory that claims former President Donald Trump is helping the late John F. Kennedy Jr. battle a secret cabal of cannibalistic pedophiles.

Credit: Map: The Conversation, CC-BY-ND Source: John Tures, LaGrange College

States with lower levels of youth volunteering, youth voting and youth civics test scores are also more likely to have QAnon sympathizers active in politics, or politicians who oppose criticism of QAnon.

To determine this, I looked at states which had a congressional candidate who openly espoused some or all of the QAnon philosophy. I also examined which states had a representative who voted against a congressional resolution denouncing QAnon,

The 24 states with QAnon-supporting politicians had lower average youth voting rates38.5%  than states without them42.4%. They also had lower average youth volunteering rates21.8%  than states without major politicians supporting QAnon24%.

There was no significant difference in AP test scores between the two groups of states.

Our country's civics education may not help solve the nation's current political crises. But reform efforts touted by the Center for American Progress are under way in several states to help replace memorizing facts and figures with active learning designed to engage students in real-life problems in and out of the classroom.

Explore further Most U.S. social studies teachers feel unprepared to teach civic learning

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Oregon will give landlords who applied for assistance earlier this month until March 30 to finish submitting necessary documentation after a faulty state website made it impossible for some to complete their applications on time.

The state opened applications for its new Landlord Compensation Fund on Feb. 17, nearly two months after lawmakers allocated $150 million to seed the program to help landlords whose residential tenants had fallen behind on rent during the COVID-19 pandemic. Landlords immediately began complaining that the state website was distorting data or failing to allow them to upload necessary documentation.

That prompted Oregon Housing and Community Services, the state agency administering the program, to extend the deadline to apply until early March before promising to work individually with applicants after the deadline to ensure their applications were completed.

It could now take until May for those landlords to start receiving the much-needed assistance due to delays caused by the faulty website.

Kate Gonsalves, a spokesperson for the state agency, said landlords approved for the funding are likely to start seeing money show up in their accounts approximately 30 days after awards are announced, which will happen sometime after the application process closes on March 30. It could take even longer for that money to reach landlords if local public housing authorities tasked with delivering the money run into any problems distributing the funds.

Those delays could create added stress for struggling landlords and tenants alike.

Landlords who are approved for relief through the state program will receive assistance to cover 80% of the rent they are owed by residential tenants dating back to April 2020 if they agree to forgive 20% of unpaid rent. Tenants whose landlords win approval will have their unpaid rent bills forgiven for the months the landlord receives funding, helping them stay in their homes after the state lifts its ban on evictions.

Barbara Eide is a property manager in Newberg who manages properties for 86 landlords. She said many of those landlords have opted not to apply for the relief because they dont want to forgive 20% of the rent they are owed.

However, several owners she works with who did try to apply ran into issues completing their applications. She said one landlord received an email from the state asking her to upload documentation a second time after she ran into problems with the website when she initially tried to apply. She managed to upload the documents on the second attempt but hasnt received further communication from the state to know whether her application went through.

These owners need these funds to pay their mortgage payments, Eide said. And the state is making it so difficult for them to get ahold of those funds when they are the ones that have forced them to go without rent.

The state plans to hand out $50 million in assistance during the first round of funding. Gonsalves said the state still doesnt know how many landlords have applied or how much money was requested in the first round due to the website issues.

Another $50 million will become available when the application process reopens in April. Gonsalves said the state will decide when to reopen the application for round two funding based on when it finishes processing the applications from round one.

The agency must distribute the entire $150 million allocated by lawmakers before the end of the biennium on June 30.

The state believes it has solved the technical issues that have plagued the fund to date, which it hopes will lead to fewer delays when the application process reopens. Gonsalves said system updates were completed to streamline the application process and make it easier for landlords to upload necessary information to complete their applications.

The vendor has made important system updates and performed system maintenance to overhaul and streamline the application process to put more power in the hands of the applicant and to rely less on its ability to process bulk imported data, Gonsalves said in an email Wednesday. The testing weve done to date has not flagged additional technical issues.

Last week, the agency asked Oregon lawmakers to approve 10 new jobs so it would have adequate staffing to provide additional support to administer the fund. Gonsalves said the agency had already planned to request approval for those positions before it ran into the technical issues. It would pay for the new positions from the $150 million allocated to the fund, but Gonsalves said the agency would not use more than 2% of that funding for administrative costs.

This isnt the first time that Oregon has run into delays getting rent assistance into the hands of landlords and tenants in need during the pandemic.

Oregon lawmakers allocated $60 million in federal money for rent assistance and $15 million for utility assistance last June. But local community agencies struggled to get that money out quickly. In November, the state recouped and reallocated more than $1.5 million in rent and utility assistance earmarked for residents in smaller communities in the southern and western parts of the state after determining that local agencies werent moving fast enough to distribute the money.

Gonsalves said that approximately $7 million from the original $60 million allocated to local agencies last June has still yet to be distributed.

The state allocated an additional $40 million in state funds to those agencies to distribute to renters in need after lawmakers approved the additional funding in December. That money must be distributed by the end of June. The state is working to stand up another rent assistance program in May with the millions in federal funding it is receiving from recent relief legislation.

The need for that assistance is great. The National Council of State Housing Finance Agencies estimates that Oregon renters were behind between $249 million and $378 million in rent payments by January. That number is sure to rise as the pandemic continues.

Tenants behind on rent who declare they are experiencing financial hardship are currently protected by a state eviction moratorium that expires at the end of June. However, those tenants will have to repay the entirety of their past due rent on July 1, if lawmakers dont approve legislation that would extend the grace period to repay that outstanding rent until Feb. 28, 2022.

Deborah Imse, executive director of Multifamily NW, a rental industry group that represents landlords, said earlier this month that the group doesnt oppose a reasonable repayment period to give renters the ability to make up missed payments. However, Imse expressed concerns about the states track record in getting rent assistance into the hands of tenants and landlords in need.

Our greatest concern is the lack of urgency displayed by proponents of this legislation to address the root cause of housing instability, said Imse in a written statement, which is that Oregonians are simply unable to access the emergency assistance that is available.

-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com | @jamiebgoldberg
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 rapid spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) across the world has caused the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. SARS-CoV-2, belonging to the family coronaviridae, has claimed over 2.7 million lives globally. Scientists believe that vaccination is one of the foremost approaches that can contain the ongoing pandemic. However, scientists are concerned that the new SARS-CoV-2 variants, with mutated spike proteins, may escape natural or vaccine-induced neutralizing immunity.

A study conducted in Brazil revealed the waning of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 8 months post-infection. This report increased the need for a better understanding of the replication mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 for devising novel therapeutic strategies.

SARS-CoV-2 is a single positive-stranded RNA virus. Its genomic length is approximately 30 kb. The viral RNA is translated into the cytoplasm of infected cells by the hosts machinery. Like other viruses, SARS-CoV-2 is also dependent on cellular proteins to complete its infectious life cycle, which provides the potential means to formulate strategies to treat COVID-19.

Extensive research has been conducted to understand the molecular interactions that take place between the virus and host cell during infection. Several sophisticated techniques are used in these studies. For example, for the identification of SARS-CoV-2 virus-host protein-protein interactions (PPI), affinity purification combined with mass spectrometry is used. CRISPR-Cas9 phenotypic screens have proved to be invaluable for a better understanding of the role of host genes and cellular pathways in the life cycle of SARS-CoV-2. These studies have led to the identification of multiple potential cellular targets for drug repurposing, such as PI3K complex and the sigma-1 and -2 receptors.

Now, a new study has been published in bioRxiv* that focuses on the identification of RNA-binding protein by mass spectrometry (ChIRP-M/S) approach. This study develops a global map that contains the complete set of host proteins that involve the SARS-CoV-2 genome during infection. This study has successfully identified new SARS-CoV-2 host dependency factors by merging proteomics data with gene silencing experiments. Such a discovery has paved new roads to develop more antiviral therapies.

Biological analysis of the SARS-CoV-2 RNA interactome (A) GO enrichment analysis of SARS-CoV-2 RNA interactome proteins. Circles represent enriched function for an annotated ontology term and circle size correspond to the number of enriched proteins within that term. (B) Heatmap of the top-ranked GO biological processes enriched across all SARS-CoV-2 RNA interactomes (C) Selected biological process networks of SARS-CoV-2 interactome proteins.

While characterizing the hosts factors associated with the SARS-CoV-2 genome, during infection, scientists found that the SARS-CoV-2 N protein is the most potent RNA-binding protein (RBP) of the virus. Other proteins such as structural M and S proteins, replicase polyprotein pp1ab, and the ORF9b (accessory protein) are also associated with the virus replication. ChIRP-M/S analysis revealed that among the 16 non-structural proteins (NSPs) released from pp1ab, 9 take part in the replication of coronavirus. NSP2-NSP16 has significant functions in RNA replication. Previous studies have reported that NSP1 interacts with the 40S ribosomal subunit to impede cellular translation. This protein binds with the viral 5 untranslated region (UTR) to stimulate vRNA translation. The current research shows that the ChIRP-M/S technique can be effectively used to identify viral endogenous ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes that are associated with various stages (replication/transcription to particle assembly) in the SARS-CoV-2 life cycle.

The current research used SAINTexpress scoring algorithms and identified high-confident human proteins that are associated with the SARS-CoV-2 RNA. In comparison with previous studies, researchers found that around 24% to 38% of the SARS-CoV-2 RNA host factors were similar to the present data in the ChIRP-M/S interactome. Additionally, multiple RBPs associated with nucleic acid metabolisms such as splicing, mRNA stability, and transcriptional regulation poly(A) binding protein (PABP) were identified. Chaperone proteins were found to be significantly enriched and played a key role in viral protein folding. Various other components and characteristic RBPs such as paraspeckles (PS) and stress granules (SG) were among the highest-scoring candidates.

For a better understanding of the interactions between host factors and viral proteins, researchers of the current study compared the SARS-CoV-2 interactome with a reference coronavirus interactome. This study is analogous to a meta-analysis of the viral-host PPI of coronaviruses collected from 112 publications. A high-confidence hit was identified by the ChIRP assay, and the associated host proteins were known interactors of multiple coronaviruses viral proteins. The result of the current study agreed with previous studies that stated that fatty acid synthesis is essential for SARS-CoV-2 viral replication.

To understand the role of the identified RBPs in SARS-CoV-2 infection, researchers silenced their expression by RNA interference (RNAi), and thereby, identified the associated virus infection. Cathepsin L protease (CTSL) and the vacuolar ATPase subunit ATP6V1B2 were two host molecules important for SARS-CoV-2 viral entry. Further, researchers have also found that SARS-CoV2 has advanced several existing mechanisms which inhibit the type I interferon response by targeting specific RBPs.

The current research has also identified drugs that target host RBP by digging into several drug databases such as DrugBank, ChEMBL, and PanDrugs. Thereby, they have successfully identified drugs such as camptothecin (XRCC5), cerulenin (FASN), dabigatran (HNRNPC), etc., as potential antiviral agents for SARS-CoV-2.

*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.
A vaccination drive that has begun to pick up speed is propelling the United States ahead in the race to immunize its population against COVID-19.

Currently, the U.S. ranks seventh in the world, with 25.7 percent of Americans having received at least one dose, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Bloomberg.

Meanwhile, the UK is currently fourth in the global campaign with 42.9 percent of its population receiving at least an initial shot.

About one in three U.S. adults have received their first dose in comparison with half all British adults.

But with more doses secured in the U.S. and fewer people needing second shots - as well as supply constraints about to hit the UK - can America pull ahead and get more of its population immunized more quickly?

The U.S. ranks seventh in the world in share of the population receiving at least one dose with 25.7% of Americans having done so and the UK is fourth with 42.9% of its population receiving at least an initial shot

The U.S. is vaccinating an average of 2.5 million people every day while the UK is vaccinating an average of 593,000

After a sluggish beginning to the vaccine rollout, the campaign to immunize the American population is finally picking up speed.

Since President Joe Biden took office, the vaccine allocation to states has tripled from 8.6 million doses per week to 27 million per week as manufacturers have increased supply.

So far, 85.4 million Americans - 25.7 percent of the population - have received at least one dose and 46.3 million - 14 percent - are fully immunized.

In a press conference on Wednesday, White House COVID-19 senior advisor Andy Slavitt said 70 percent of Americans aged 65 and older have received at least one shot in comparison with seven weeks ago when just eight percent had.

Comparatively, the UK has given 42.4 percent of its population one dose and 3.8 are fully vaccinated.

This is because, in an effort to reach as many people as possible, the UK has stretched the amount of time between doses from three or four weeks to 12 weeks.

Public health officials say vaccines offer a high level of immunity one shot, although two are needed for full protection.

However, the U.S. has rejected this approach, with top experts like Dr Anthony Fauci saying that not enough studies have examined giving doses spaced out.

Currently, about 170 million total doses has been delivered - 83 million from Pfizer-BioNTech SE, 80 million from Moderna and 4.6 million from Johnson & Johnson.

Earlier this year, the U.S. government signed deals with both Pfizer and Moderna to each supply 300 million doses by the end of July.

The U.S. is expected to receive 600 million vaccine doses by the end of July, enough to inoculate each adult

Half of the adult population has received at least one dose but, last week, NHS England sent a letter to vaccination sites, warning that Britain would see a 'significant reduction' in doses next month due to a cut in supply

With 257 million adults in the U.S., that would enough to vaccinate every adult by mid-summer.

In addition, a Johnson & Johnson spokesperson told DailyMail.com earlier this week that the company still expects 'to deliver 20 million single-shot vaccines by the end of March.'

President Joe Biden has said he believes the country will have enough doses to vaccinate all adults by the end of April

If the U.S. continues to deliver 27 million doses per week for the next two months, 243 million doses would be delivered by May 29., a DailyMail.com analysis finds.

Coupled with the 170 million already delivered, that would be enough doses to vaccinated 206 million people by the end of May with a two-dose regimen.

What's more, the U.S. is sitting on an estimated 30 million doses of the vaccine made by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, enough to vaccinate 15 million Americans.

Meanwhile, in the UK, about 28 million people received one dose, 2.8 million have received to doses, and about 593,000 people are being vaccinated every day.

However, last week, NHS England sent a letter to vaccination sites, warning that Britain would see a 'significant reduction' in doses next month due to a cut in supply.

The letter warned that volumes for first doses would be 'significantly constrained' and that clinicians would be focusing on distributing second doses.

'The Government's Vaccines Task Force have now notified us there will be a significant reduction in weekly supply available from manufacturers beginning in week commencing 29 March, meaning volumes for first doses will be significantly constrained,' the letter reads.

'They now currently predict this will continue for a four-week period, as a result of reductions in national inbound vaccines supply.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock downplayed the news, saying vaccine shipments have always been 'lumpy' and that at-risk people would still receive first doses.

But vaccination centers and pharmacies have been ordered to not take any new bookings from March 29 and not to upload new appointments online for the month of April.

An estimated 12 million people are expected to receive their second dose next month, but it is unclear how many people will be given their first dose, a DailyMail.com analysis finds.

It is unclear what is causing the supply issue, with both approved vaccine manufacturers, AstraZeneca and Pfizer, saying there are no issues with their supply chains.
Credit: Albert Gonzalez Farran, UNAMID,CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Fears of contracting COVID-19 are preventing people accessing vital health services, experts say.

The COVID-19 pandemic has prevented almost a third of people in Sub-Saharan Africa suffering from a fever from accessing malaria treatment in health facilities, health experts say.

Malaria continues to be a major global health challenge, with six African countries including Nigeria and Tanzania accounting for around half the 409,000 people globally who died from the disease in 2019, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

At a virtual media briefing organized by the Roll Back Malaria Partnership and the African Media and Malaria Research Network last week (15 March), experts said that many people are falsely associating fever solely with COVID-19. This contributed to an increase in the number of malaria deaths in 2020 of more than 40,000 globally from the previous year.

"Thirty-one percent of people with fever in Sub-Saharan Africa did not get access to health facilities due to lockdowns and fear of being exposed to the [COVID-19] pandemic while a similar percentage of those who accessed [malaria treatment] did not get tested," said Kalu Akpaka, WHO regional malaria advisor for Africa.

He added that communities must be made to understand that malaria prevention starts with individuals protecting themselves against mosquito bites and not taking drugs blindly without testing when they develop a fever.

"Parents with children under five [years] and communities in general must make it their responsibility to ensure sick people get medical help as soon as symptoms show," added Aboubacar Kempo, the director of health programs at UNICEF. "It is imperative that fever cases are rushed to health facilities without delay for testing and treatment if the ever-rising incidence of malaria is to be checked."

Kempo called for a stop to diverting malaria funds to control COVID-19. "It is now that more funds need to be channeled in the direction of malaria, independent of COVID-19," Kempo urged, adding that diverting funds to address COVID-19 would create an impression that malaria is a lesser disease.

Akpaka described it as regrettable that fear of contracting COVID-19 and lockdowns in response to the global pandemic have kept many people away from health facilities, leading to deaths from other diseases including malaria.

"Health workers today are not only well trained to safely handle other diseases alongside COVID-19 but have been provided with personal protective equipment to enhance their safety and that of patients. There is nothing to fear," Akpaka explained.

He urged civil society to educate the public to help mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and other diseases and encourage vaccination.

"Vaccines pass in the able hands of a large group of scientists for scrutiny before they are approved for use. They are cheap, effective and the surest way to eradicate diseases. That is why children go through mandatory vaccination to keep common infections at bay," said Akpaka.

Kempo said that a pilot malaria vaccine project trialed in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi has ruled out adverse effects, but did not specify when the vaccine will be available for rollout. In 2019, WHO said the vaccine pilot program would continuefor four years, making 2023 the possibleyear of rollout.

"The vaccine is perhaps the only hope left of eradicating malaria in Sub-Saharan Africa as happened with smallpox and now polio," Kempo added.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

Provided by SciDev.Net
Pelosi Will Steal Seats to Strengthen the Democratic Machine

Commentary

Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks is the certified winner of Iowas 2nd Congressional District election.

In an ironic show of Democratic hypocrisy, her opponent, Rita Hartwith the help of Speaker Nancy Pelosiis objecting to the election results.

Miller-Meeks won by a small margin of six votes, as certified by a bipartisan election board. Hart realized her challenge was more likely to be favorably entertained by Speaker Pelosi than by any court, so she bypassed Iowas court system and took her objection directly to the U.S. Congress.

Pelosi and the House Democrats should leave this to Iowas courts and election officials, and yet every Democrat on the House Committee on Administration voted to bring Harts case to Congress. No Republicans supported the move. These Democrats even hired top election lawyer Marc Elias to represent Hart and help her steal the seat from Iowa voters.

They are not helping Hart to uphold Iowas state election laws or the U.S. Constitution. They are upholding party selfishness and their agenda.

As we all remember, when Republicans across the countryincluding former President Donald Trumpcontested the results of the 2020 election, Democrats threw a fit. Pelosi called Trumps challenges absurd and claimed the Republicans who supported him were refusing to accept reality. The Democrats then impeached Trump for incitement of insurrection after the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol because he continued his election claims.

If the Democrats truly believed that President Trumps election questions were dangerous and undermined election integrity, then why would the Democrats risk American faith in our election system further by investigating Iowa? Its because theyre hypocrites.

This is a classic expression of the Democrats elitism and double standards. When Republicans challenge election results, theyre undermining democracy. When Democrats do it, theyre conducting a thorough and fair review of this election to make sure every vote was counted and counted as cast, as Pelosi put it.

Of course, Pelosi thinks shes doing the right thingnot by pushing for fair elections, but by increasing the Democrat majority in the House. Pelosis majority in the House will not last through 2022, so challenging Iowas election results would help her add another cog to the Democratic Machine.

Even before the next House elections, as the Democratic Machines legislative agenda gets more radical, Pelosi knows her numbers in the House will weaken. So, she is creating more votes for herself by attempting to overturn Iowas election results. If Pelosi is successful, Hart will be indebted to Pelosi and will be a guaranteed vote for the Democratic Machine.

Pelosi operates with the assumption that Americans are too stupid, weak, and codependent to stand for themselves, so they need the Democratic Machine telling them what to do. She can only do this with a strong majority, which she doesnt have.

Since President Joe Biden has pulled two Democratic House members for his cabinet, Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) and Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), the Democrats House majority is a mere two seats, 220-218. If Pelosi wants to get legislation passed, she cant afford to have any dissenters or independent thinkers with such slim margins.

Dissent in the Democratic Party is already beginning to show. Currently, there are four House Democrats who dont support overturning the Iowa election, calling Pelosis actions political malpractice and painful for America. In the world of Democrats peer pressure, these Congress members speaking out against Pelosis attempt to steal a Republican seat doesnt bode well for the Democratic Machine. Pelosi will likely be in a mad dash to corral and punish these, and any, Democrats who dare oppose the machine.

Pelosis attempt to steal influence is not a new strategy; it comes from the heart of the Democratic Playbook. The Democrats in the House voted to overturn a congressional race in 1985 and a gubernatorial race in 2004, the first instance so enraged Americans that it directly assisted in creating the Republican majority that made me speaker in 1994.

If the Democrats dare to overrule Iowan voters and give Hart this seat, they will see a harsh pushback from Republicansand the American people.

They will be proving that they dont care about democracy or what the American people want. They only care about strengthening the Democratic Machine. This will hurt the Democrats in the 2022 elections when Americans decide theyre done being overruled by their supposed representatives.

From Gingrich360.com.

Newt Gingrich, a Republican, served as House speaker from 1995 to 1999 and ran as a presidential candidate in 2012.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.